Chapter Eight.
"What the hell just happened?" Regina demanded, though Henry barely heard her. His eyes were fixated on the spot where his grandfathers had been fighting. Grandpa Gold's blood was splattered on the sidewalk and Gramp's sword still showed signs of it as he stood gaping, almost as if coming out of a dream.
Henry blinked slowly as Regina gathered him into her arms. "Are you okay?"
He came out of his stupor about the time Emma joined on his other side and he pulled away. "I told you!" he yelled. "I told you he could be hurt! Now he's gone and nobody did anything to help him!"
"Henry, we'll get him back," Emma promised.
"You don't know that. No one got Dad back," the teen whispered, his voice breaking as he stared at the blood on the street. Gramps hadn't said a word yet. He just stood there, sword held loosely in his grip, and stared through the same spot Henry's gaze was fixated on. The breakfast crowd was slowly inching out of Granny's behind them, whispers rising from them and swirling around. No one had come out to stop the fight, of course. No one had dared. Surely if their prince was fighting the Dark One he had a good reason for it.
"Hey."
Henry looked up to find Belle in front of him, her voice trembling as were her hands. She reached forward anyway and took his in her own, offering something like a smile. "We'll save him."
"Are you sure?"
"I am. He's not going to have to fight this alone. I think we may know more about the people who took him."
Henry blinked at her, Belle's voice helping to steady his downward spiral. "You think the people causing the dreams took him?"
"It's the only thing that makes sense," Regina said. "Magic leaves a trace behind it. This was certainly powerful magic, but even these people needed to make sure your grandfather was weakened to get ahold of him."
"That's why they used David?" Emma asked, and his name seemed to snap him out of his daze.
"Emma... I was so sure. It was so real…."
"That seems to be the mantra of these dreams," Belle mused. "They just managed to pull you in while you were awake."
"Very powerful and very old magic," Regina mused as she stepped forward, her eyes following something unseen.
"Can you trace it to where they took him?" Henry asked quietly. They had to act fast. He'd been hurt so bad that he was afraid of what they'd find if they didn't.
"I can try. They covered their tracks pretty well."
Henry took a deep breath, but it did little good. He felt small and helpless as he watched one mother try to track where they'd taken Grandpa Gold and the other try to console Gramps. He had almost forgotten that Belle was there until she squeezed his hands between her own fingers. "I need your help, Henry. Regina will find the path, but we need to know more about these clerics than legends have to tell. We need someone old enough to remember them when they lived out in the open."
"The Blue Fairy," Henry breathed. "Will she help us? She doesn't like Grandpa Gold very well."
"She'll help," Emma said firmly. "If she hangs back on it, send her my way. I'll convince her."
"What are you going to do, Mom?"
Emma glanced to her father who looked perfectly miserable. "I'm going to go dig through the new archives that the latest curse brought with it. They can't leave the town if they came with it, so they'll be here somewhere. No one knew who the dead guy was, so they'll probably be someplace that came through recently."
"We'll find him," Regina promised and Henry nodded slowly. They had to. That's what family did.
Though Belle had spent very little time near the Blue Fairy in Storybrooke, she'd grown up on stories of one of the oldest powers in existence. She was supposed to be one of the greatest sources for good that their world had ever known. She was the patron fairy to Snow White's family and always seemed to be on hand if Mary Margaret needed anything from her, but she'd also been the one that had separated Rumple from Bae so many, many years before. The conflicting stories raged in her mind as she and Henry climbed the steps to the convent that sat on the outer edges of the cemetery. Blue eyes met brown very briefly before she raised a hand to knock against the door. She might not be willing to help, but if she could just give them information about who they were up against, that might be enough.
The door opened before Belle's knuckles made contact and the fairy in question stared at her with a startled expression across her face. "Oh. Hello, dear. Can I help you with something?"
"I hope so," Belle answered. "I'm curious what you know about a set of clerics that would be powerful enough to harness the magic of dream walking."
Blue stared a moment. "That would be quite powerful magic indeed. Why do you ask, dear? Surely you husband-"
"That's why we're here," Henry interrupted. "They took Grandpa Gold."
"And why do you suppose that these are dream walking clerics?"
Belle watched the human-sized fairy carefully. "Clerics, no matter what sect they come from, carry a certain bearing with them. My father sought their counsel often when I was young. I was attacked in the street yesterday by three clerics trying to obtain the Kris Dagger."
"Attacked you?" Blue gasped. "Were you hurt?"
"Rumple saved me, but he killed one of them in the process."
The fairy's dark eyes skimmed something beyond Henry and Belle and she stepped back. "Come in," she murmured and set almost immediately off for a hall without further explanation.
Henry looked up at her and Belle shrugged. They followed the elder woman into a room with books that reached the ceiling and Blue motioned to a tiny little woman that had been cleaning and asked her to find a specific book on the history of clerics and the magic they'd developed. She rattled off the years and the woman nodded, scurrying to find it.
"The fairies often worked closely with clerics back in our land," Blue explained as she took the book and thanked the woman. "I have not seen a human able to wield dreams in centuries, though. More than even Rumplestiltskin has lived."
"But it is possible?" Belle pressed.
"More so in numbers," Blue agreed. "One man or woman would be drained nearly to death. There are a couple of ways they might get around that, I suppose, though clerics are servants of light magic, Belle. While dream walking is certainly not dark within itself, to avoid the tolls it would take on a human body would require sacrifices, and often that can darken the magic."
"What would they want with my grandpa?" Henry demanded. "He hasn't hurt anyone."
"Well, that's not quite true, is it?"
Blue eyes narrowed. "I was the one that was attacked, Blue, and Rumple-"
"I'm not condoning the attack on you, my dear," the fairy answered hastily. "I'm merely pointing out that Rumplestiltskin is far from innocent. He's brought darkness with him wherever he goes for the past three hundred years. There were times when certain sects of clerics tried to put a stop to that."
"I thought fairies couldn't stand by murder."
"A human life is precious," she answered carefully.
"But you don't think Grandpa's human, do you?" Henry asked quietly.
Belle watched Blue's expression carefully. "Did you know they were here? The clerics, I mean."
"Their second came to me. That is, the one that serves under their leader. His name is Caiden. He's a pleasant sort and-"
"He's one of the ones that attacked me and tried to kill my husband," Belle cut her off pointedly. She had always thought that perhaps Rumple was too hard on the lead fairy. She'd provided Bae with the bean that had swept him away so long ago and he'd never forgiven her for it, but now his wife was beginning to understand where his undying distrust for the fairy stemmed from.
Blue was beginning to grow nervous and she hugged the book to herself. "Belle, I know this isn't what you want to hear, but it may be best to simply let them do what they've come to do."
"And what is that?"
She paused, lips pursed together in thought. "They wish to strip him of his curse."
The room came into focus slowly with pain to accompany it. Well, it certainly hadn't been a dream.
Rumplestiltskin shifted, feeling the tug of wounds, but it would seem that his magic had begun to stitch him back together immediately. Funny, he thought, he couldn't feel it working now and he most certainly wasn't whole.
"Well look at that. You've lost your bite without your magic. How does the muzzle feel, Dark One?"
Dark eyes flickered up to see one of the survivors from their run-in the day before. He had a glare fixed on him as if they hadn't been the ones to attack Belle on the street. Rumplestiltskin's lips thinned out and then curled dangerously at the corners. "Gloat while you can, dearie. Cages don't hold me long."
"We're well versed in how to handle something like you," his captor growled, pulling a low chuckle from the injured man. The cuffs around his wrist kept his magic pent up tight, working much like the one Pan had used on him did. He could feel it distantly, but he couldn't quite reach it. At least he had healed enough before they slapped them on that he was in danger of immediately bleeding out from the wound David had dealt.
"Didn't work too well for your friend, did it?" he taunted and the angry young cleric grabbed him by the front of his jacket, hauling him up. His injuries screamed in protest, but he didn't dare let the weakness show. Not now. This, right here, would decide much.
"That was my brother," he hissed directly into Rumplestiltskin's face. "You murdered him!"
"He threatened my wife," the Dark One growled back. "He was lucky I killed him as quickly as I did."
The cleric pulled him back and slammed him hard into the wall behind him. Rumplestiltskin's vision swam and he blinked against it, willing himself to stay conscious.
"Watch your tongue, Dark One, or I'll cut it out."
"Silas, that's enough."
Rumplestiltskin tucked the name away in his memory as he was released and sunk the rest of the way to the floor. Silas turned to a figure that stood in the doorway, the light behind him making it difficult to make out any defining features. "Caiden, he-"
"That's enough," the ringleader from the day before said tightly. "See yourself out."
Silas didn't argue again, but he certainly didn't seem happy as brushed past the elder man who had finally moved into the room, his pale eyes falling on Rumplestiltskin. He studied him for a moment and the Dark One lifted his head a bit.
Caiden crouched down, his expression carefully blank. "You're nothing like I had expected, I'll give you that. You look human, and you claim defence of the woman you used as a decoy."
Rumplestiltskin felt his temper flare. "She is not, nor ever was, a decoy," he growled and lunged forward. His magic might have been tied up, but his hands were free and he wasn't planning on going down without a fight.
The cleric's own magic sprang from him and slammed him back. The pressure didn't let up, but held him there as Caiden stood, pulling him up as well so that his feet left the ground just a little. They were eye to eye now and he didn't let his mask crack for an instant. "I've trained my whole life for this. You can't trick me, you can't distract me. This has been planned. We may have missed our opportunity in the first curse, but fate smiled on us and delivered a second chance. We won't waste it."
"Who the hell are you people?" Rumplestiltskin demanded through gritted teeth.
"We are an ancient sect of clerics, originating from the Northern Kingdom, though we go where needed," a new voice said and Rumple realized Caiden was there as the muscle, as it were. His real jailer was now making himself known. He hadn't noticed when he entered, but even the cuffs that cut off his access to his magic couldn't keep him from feeling the power that rolled off the man in waves.
"And who might you be, dearie?" Rumplestiltskin asked, keeping his voice as light as he could while Caiden's magic threatened to crush him.
Milky white eyes stared through him. "I am Magnus. I am the one that will end your curse."
Well that was interesting. "I'm afraid the only way to do that is to kill me with the Kris Dagger, which you don't have. Nor will you find it."
"Killing you with the dagger does not rid this world or our own of the curse. It would only transfer it."
Dark eyes blinked. "You mean to do away with the curse itself?" He was half surprised at the curiosity in his own voice. "That's not possible. I've tried. There's nothing that will destroy the curse. Even the Land Without Magic only quiets it for a time."
"You lack the will to do what is necessary," Magnus answered him.
"And what is that?"
"To die."
The words made him want to squirm, to free himself from his captors and escape, but there was no hope of that in the moment and Rumplestiltskin knew that. He couldn't even twitch a finger, and if he tried, Caiden's spell tightened around him to the point of choking the air out of him. The younger man's pale eyes watched him carefully as the Dark One sputtered, feeling his bones bend under the pressure.
"You are vulnerable here," the head cleric continued. "Your body is frail without your access to magic. Know, at least, that your death will bring about a new time that is void of the darkness that you bring simply by being."
"Why you?" Rumple managed before squeezing his eyes shut against the pain. He wondered just how much he would endure before his body did give in. Even without access to his magic, the curse would be able to reach through and sustain him longer than most, but he wasn't sure that it could indefinitely. They'd weakened him through sleep deprivation and injury before they took him. They'd made sure he was vulnerable, and they'd planned it well. There was something driving them enough that they were willing to risk their own deaths for this cause.
Magnus turned to him and it was as if he were looking directly at him. "Because it begun with us and we will finish this." He closed those sightless eyes and Rumplestiltskin wondered if he had the same Sight as he did. Seers came in many forms. "This will not be the last time we speak."
All at once the spell lifted and the injured man crumbled to the floor. He lay there weakly, still unable to move as he watched Magnus walk away. He left through the door this time, replaced by Silas who wore a wicked smile. "Now it's my turn," he said and Caiden left them alone in the dimly lit room.
He hadn't said anything in the car on their way to the sheriff's station, nor had he asked to speak to Mary Margaret when Emma had called to fill her in. His daughter had left out the detail of what had happened, relying on the urgency of the situation as an excuse. David knew better though. He couldn't explain it, but he'd set on Gold with full intent to kill. The man had gone out of his way not to hurt him, but he'd run him through like it had been a fight for his life. It had felt so damn real.
"You still with me?" Emma asked as she set a mug of coffee in front of him.
David blinked, coming out of his thoughts. "I think so."
His daughter stared at him and her lips tugged downward. "You want to talk about it?" she asked, uncertainty threaded through her voice.
"About what? The fact that I lost my mind and may have just killed my grandson's other grandfather?" he demanded roughly as he grabbed for the stack of papers in front of him to go through.
"We don't know that Gold's dead."
"We don't know he's alive, either. I just... I don't know what happened."
Emma sat in the chair next to him and reached out. She didn't seem entirely sure she was doing the right thing as she took his hand, but he tried for a smile as he squeezed her fingers. His daughter huffed a sigh. "Belle thinks these guys have been using some sort of dream spell to turn everyone against Gold. It's not your fault."
"Yes it was. My hands, my sword... Did you see how Henry looked at me?"
"He was just scared. He knows it's not your fault."
"Really? Because I don't. I didn't think I had that much anger built up, Emma. I thought he'd killed you and... I just snapped."
"You're a good man, David. We'll find him and Gold will know how all this works by then. You know he will."
"Thanks, Emma."
"Hey, what are daughters the same age as you are for, huh? Now let's get busy. Mary Margaret said she'd going to drop Neal off with Granny and she and Ruby are going to start a tracking party. These guys won't know what hit them." She gave him a crooked smile. "Gold's irritating as hell, but like you said: he's Henry's other grandpa. We don't leave family behind."
"Right," David agreed and they started in on the files they had on hand.
Their last session had left Bae feeling drained and a little sick. Magnus had used him to do something terrible, that much he was sure of, and when the cleric had realized that he was trying to use the spell to communicate with his father, it hadn't gone well for him. The threats rang only partially empty until he'd been urgently called away by Caiden who had seemed quietly thrilled over something. Whatever it was didn't sit well with Baelfire.
His fingers felt numb as they worked on the ropes. He wasn't quite sure how far he'd make it even if he did make it out of his bonds. He'd never made it far before, but this time they seemed distracted. He wasn't sure that he really wanted to know what had caused that distraction though.
A knot slipped and he felt the the rope give enough that he could work his hands free. He sat in the silence and the dark for a moment, waiting to see if someone would notice. He waited just a few second more after that and then reached down to work on the ropes at his feet with his new freed hands. Those came off quicker, and he popped up immediately and started for the stairs.
The door at the top creaked open and Bae winced, waiting for a repeat of every other escape attempt he'd made. No one came, though, and he inched forward. The door that led down into the basement emptied out into a long hallway and the light from it nearly blinded him. He blinked rapidly, trying to adjust even as he started down the hall. His feet were bare on the carpet runner that covered the wooden floor of the hall and for the first time he realized that he was dressed in the same clothes he'd been wearing when he'd died in the forest after Emma had separated he and his father, save his shoes. He hadn't gotten a fancy robe or anything of the sort when he came up from the vault, but he supposed that people sent down there that weren't the Dark One were never supposed to come back up again. Hell, even Dark Ones weren't supposed to come back up again.
Bae let out a long breath as he reached a corner where the hall turned and forked off into two separate ones. There were rooms now, both completely closed off and partially shut in. He could hear voices down one hallway and was ready to choose the other when he recognized one of the voices, and not from his time as the clerics' prisoner. He couldn't be absolutely sure, so he moved silently closer until he was flattened against the wall next to an opening where it sounded as if two people might be taking tea for all the soft clanking that was going on.
"I know what you're doing here and you would have my full support in it, but Belle is an innocent. You said no one would get hurt."
"We understand your concerns, of course, but you and I both know that we can only go so far to protect the innocents in this. His enchantment in the girl goes so deeply that even she believes that she chose to love him. It may never be broken, and in the end our goal must be reached. The Dark One's curse must be wiped from our worlds. You failed to do that three hundred years ago, and now it's our turn once more."
"You're saying this is my fault?"
Bae held his breath. He knew that voice and he was certain now. Caiden was speaking with the Blue Fairy.
"Not only," Caiden answered, "though you did have a rich opportunity."
"He chose power over the boy. Forgive me if I thought perhaps he hadn't fallen that far just yet. If anyone could have saved him it would have been Baelfire." She paused and from the sound if it she stood and set her cup down hard on a table. No one played the offended role better than the Blue Fairy. "Though I fear you'd know nothing of it. It was well before your time and it wasn't as if you made use of the twenty-eight years that you could have snuffed the curse out in."
There was a pause. "We did not make it through during the first curse."
"Of that I am well aware, though I'm not here to discuss the past, only the present. I understand that you've harness dream magic to turn others against him."
"It was necessary."
"I wish to speak to Magnus on his methods."
"Magnus is not taking visitors currently."
"He will see me."
"Forgive me, Reul Ghorm, but he will not."
Bae wasn't breathing. He was afraid if he did they'd know he was there.
"Then you will tell me how he managed such a feat."
There was a pause and when Caiden did answer, his voice was lowered. "We used blood magic to influence the dreams."
"Impossible. Henry is the only living blood relative that the Dark One has, and I saw the boy not an hour ago. You would have to have the person here to be able to perform such a task." There was a moment of silence before a sharp intake of breath. "You didn't."
"The curse must be eradicated at all costs. It is our responsibility. Surely you understand that. We have him now. It's only a matter of time in his weakened state. The Dark One will die and he'll take his terrible curse with him. Perhaps in the end his son really will save his soul, if there's anything left of it."
"Once this is done you must seal that vault forever, do you hear me? Seal it and hope to everything that is good that your own souls are not too tarnished by your actions. Is he here now?"
"Yes. Did you wish to see him?"
"No, I shouldn't think so. Rumplestiltskin and I have a long history, but there is no reason to see him before the end."
Bae heard them shift and he pushed himself away from the wall and moved as quickly as he could down the way without alerting them to his presence. His papa was somewhere in that house and they were planning on killing him. Escape would have to wait. He had to find him first. They'd used him to get to his father and he'd be damned if he let them they succeeded in their goals, no matter who they were or what side they said they fought for.
TBC
Notes: Well, NaNo is slowly moving forward. If anyone else is on this year, feel free to shoot me a PM and I'd be happy to friend you on it and cheer you on :)
Next time - The search continues and Bae finds his Papa.
