Leather & Lace

Chapter Twenty-One

Hours ago within the mines…

As the three heroes approached the tunnel where Rumplestiltskin's prison was at the end of, Robin looked over at Regina again after they had been walking since leaving Granny's Diner to get the hot meal the Queen hoped to bribe the Dark One with in silence and then he asked, "So I thought you were going to go speak with Emma earlier to try to help her again, rather than remain with Jefferson and me while we looked through Gold's books and the shop? Did you have second thoughts?"

Without looking at him, she responded, "I suppose so. It's just that I've tried to help Emma before. For a long time after she closed herself off from everyone. We all have. You know that. She may be able to help us trap Morgana in another crypt… we can keep this witch imprisoned in my vault… But getting Emma to look deep within herself in order tap into her powers again, I can tell you she won't be open to it. She never has been."

"Do you remember when you enlisted me to kidnap Emma and Mary Margaret shortly before your curse was broken?" the hatter asked while he walked behind the others to give them their space. "She wasn't open to believing there was more going on here in Storybrooke than she could logically understand then either and yet she did eventually come around and became the Savior just as she was destined to be. Granted, how I tried to convince her she had magic within her wasn't the best way to do it. I really scared her and her mother. Not to mention that I nearly got myself killed. My point is, we can bring her around again. She's stronger than she's ever known."

"You're annoyingly right," Regina answered sternly, then stopped walking just before they rounded the corner where the Dark One was undoubtedly waiting for them to show themselves to him and continued to whisper. "I'll see if we can talk later when we meet up with them. In the meantime…"

The archer interrupted, "Are you really sure talking with the Dark One is necessary? Do you really believe a warm meal and a few books are going to work?"

All of a sudden, Rumplestiltskin spoke up from his cell as he eerily replied, "How about you come all the way over here and find out. Don't be shy… I know you're there. And not just because you all whisper louder than a laughing hyena."

"Gold," Regina stated coldly as she, Robin, and Jefferson finally stepped out into the open and came face to face with one of their most dangerous enemies. "It's good to see that you haven't gone all crazy like you did the first time you were imprisoned by the Charmings."

"Who says I haven't," he retorted while he stared between those before him until he turned to Regina and smiled. "I've got to say that three visits in one day is quite unusual, but it's been quite enjoyable to have the company."

The Mayor looked at him in confusion as she questioned, "Three visits? We know Emma came down here with the Blue Fairy, but who was your other visitor?

The Dark One reached his hand through the bars of his cage and touched the bag of food in Regina's hands with one of his fingers while he responded, "The answer to that, dearie… will cost you what you brought me for whatever other reason you had for coming down here. At least the food that's in that bag you're carrying."

"Fine…" she said curtly, then reached into the bag and pulled out a styrofoam bowl of mashed potatoes with gravy. "But only Granny's mashed potatoes. If you want her homemade lasagna and her biscuits as well, then you're going to have to tell us about the Dark Realm and who this evil fairy was you once told me is trapped in there. Who else came down here?"

"None other than the man you're speculating it was in your head right now… that mysterious pirate all dressed in leather," Gold answered with a smile, then quickly snatched the potatoes as soon as Regina move her hand in close enough to give them to him.

The Queen's eyes darkened as she then replied, "I knew it. He did come to town to help you to escape."

After he ate a little of the mashed potatoes using his fingers to scoop them up with and to feed himself until Robin pulled out a plastic spoon from the bag to hand to him, Gold snidely responded, "I didn't say that, dearie. Look at me! I'm still here. If he wanted to let me out, I'd be gone and we wouldn't be having this conversation. I even made him an offer that might have ended with me being freed from my gilded cage, but he turned it down. Despite my willingness to help him out against the witch. This pirate is a fool. All he wanted to know was how he was still in existence when he has never been brought into existence. That… and help in restoring what he insanely believes to be reality. If you ask me, he belongs with the rest of the looneys locked away in the asylum."

"And he turned you down?" Jefferson asked in surprise.

"How crazy is that?" Rumplestiltskin answered simply.

The archer looked at the Dark One skeptically as he replied, "You could have lied to us about him plotting with you to break you out of here in order to get us to see him as a bigger threat. He denied you freedom and yet you're not trying to make him pay for it. That isn't like you."

The Dark One continued eating while in between bites using the spoon given to him, he responded, "From what this… Hook told me about this Sorceress, it sounds to me that he's already gotten what he deserves and more."

"That's great," Regina stated again curtly, then pulled out the biscuits next and handed them into him. "Now, what about the Dark Realm?"

"The Dark Realm…" he started to answer until he quickly ate one of the breads whole and chewed until he swallowed. "It is a realm made up of immense dark power, where time runs strangely and yet anything is possible. Only this Black Fairy I spoke of, as Mother Superior has spoken of, has been banished there. However, she has been known to leave of her own freewill to travel out into the world to kidnap children, yet she is eventually forced to return, being unable to escape altogether. If you're looking to banish this witch currently here in Storybrooke, you're going to have an awfully difficult time doing that, dearies. Because to do that… you would need a very special, one of a kind wand and no one knows where it is."

The Mayor finally handed the lasagna through as well and sarcastically replied, "You're just full of good news this evening. Aren't ya? Do you think it's possible to imprison her as Merlin from Camelot did?"

Rumplestiltskin scoffed as he turned to face his enemies again and then responded, "How in the hell am I supposed to know that without meeting this witch? Immortal or not, there's always a way to stop them. As you know from trapping me. Good luck! And let's make this, the last visit we have for a very long time."

"Well that was a total bust!" Regina grumbled angrily after she, Robin, and the hatter finally left Rumplestiltskin behind in his prison, though not before giving him the books Jefferson carried down with them for him, and continued walking back through the tunnels to return to the elevator within the library that was waiting for them. "We learned nothing from that conversation."

"At least he offered us a little encouragement, in his own way," Robin answered. "At the very least, it gave us a stronger reason to want to defeat her. If only to show the Dark One we can, just as we did him."

Before Regina could say something back, Morgan Le Fay in her own appearance suddenly appeared before them as they nearly reached the elevator, then she replied, "I'm afraid that I can't let you three try to stop me. Not when I'm so close to getting my revenge on that pirate. I hate to say it, but he's gotten so much further than I expected he would. But none of you are a match for me. Not even you, Queenie."

The Sorceress turned to face Jefferson as she immediately summoned his top hat from off his head and into her hands before he could try to stop her, then she added, "And you… hatter, I'm very disappointed. You really should have returned to wherever you hid your precious daughter to protect her, and allowed me to come here to do what I came to do. Once I'm through here… and it will be very soon now, I will find Grace and I will kill her."

Regina unleashed her power against the villainess before them until Morgana fought back as she effortlessly snuffed out the fireball Regina projected at her, then raised her hands and eyes to the roof of the tunnel above the heroes' heads, bringing it down around them and blocking their path before vanishing again.

Regina beckoned as much of her strength and power within herself as she could in that moment by raising her own hands to try to keep the rocks from collapsing on Robin and Jefferson, as well as herself. Unfortunately, her efforts weren't enough to keep herself being struck. She lost consciousness when one of the larger stones hit her in the back of her head while both men with her were saved as they struggled to help her, finding themselves trapped within the rubble.