You Are Loved

Chapter Twenty-Five

Meanwhile…

After Gold vanished outside of his shop to get away from the heroes pestering him, the villain reappeared within the tunnels beneath the town, then walked until he came upon a dead end where an individual wearing a large, dark gray cloak that covered the being completely and made him look like the Ghost of Christmas Future standing before him.

Rumpelstiltskin was the first one to talk a he said smugly, "I must admit, I wasn't exactly sure what to expect when I was informed you had arrived here in Storybrooke. Your appearance must be far worse than I imagined it would be if you must walk around your own world dressed like that."

The cloaked being turned away from him as he responded in a cold, deep voice, "You of all people have no right to judge another by what they look like, when in your true form your skin is the color and texture of a reptile of your world."

"You know of Captain Hook's popular moniker for me," Gold answered without surprise by this revelation.

"Crocodile?" the stranger stated haughtily. "Of course I have. While in my exile, I kept a close eye on all those I have found the most fascinating to help pass my time. The rivalry between you and this pirate is truly entertaining, or it was until the pirate changed and gave up his lust for revenge. You changed for the worst too, though you are once the villain you always were, until you become as powerful as all Dark Ones combined. That is why I asked my uncle for help to see if he could grant me an audience with you after you went to him for help to wake your love. And why if there is anyone who can help me, it is you."

The Dark One flicked his wrist as a cloud of red smoke conjured a small vile into his hand and then he replied, "Yes, I can indeed. Yet I fear I have only managed to gather one half of what's needed to restore you to your former glory. I have here the blood of two very powerful sorceresses, but what I need to change your appearance… That is a bit harder to come by. I know where one is, but those in its possession are not exactly prepared to give it up."

The other man finally pulled back the hood of his cloak to reveal terrible burns completely covering his face and neck, making him grotesque. He also pulled back the large sleeves to show that his hands were in the same condition as the rest of him. He glared at Rumpelstiltskin coldly while he simply stared at him for several moments before continuing.

He finally spoke again saying, "I have lived like this for thousands of years, having to listen to the many cries and screams of horror at the sight of me. I exiled myself just to get the screaming to stop. I don't care what you have to do in order to get me what you need to change my appearance so that I can return home again. If you fail, I will tell my uncle and he will put your beloved back to sleep as she was. She may not love you any longer, but I know that you love her, even if the darkness has fully consumed you now."

"Don't you worry, dearie," Gold responded upon reading a text on his phone that just appeared. "There is no longer a need for threats. I believe we may just be in luck. If you will excuse me, I have some business to attend to. Meet me inside my shop if you wish for me to continue to help you. Just be careful to avoid as many people as you can while you make your way through town, if you can. I believe you know the way?"

"I will be there," the being answered quietly as he covered himself back up within his cloak.

Inside Gold's pawnshop…

Upon entering inside the pawnshop after carefully and quickly making his way through the chaos with Ursula's help after Maleficent and Lily flew in and began their attack on the heroes, Eric found that Gold was nowhere in sight. The Prince immediately pulled out his cell phone given to him by David back when he once lived among his friends from Storybrooke and sent off an urgent message to the villain. It was less than a minute later when the shop's owner appeared behind him in his smoke.

Rumple smiled at Eric smugly as he asked, "So, have you and your mermaid changed your minds already?"

Ariel's husband pulled the sea bracelet out from inside his jacket pocket as he looked down at it sadly, then he replied, "We have. But we have a new offer for you, a new deal. If you want this bracelet, we want the Author's book. And we also need your help to find the quill that those sorceresses out there still have."

"That wasn't a part of the deal," Gold retorted coldly. "You do realize that I am being more than generous, don't you? If I wanted, I could simply take your wife's bracelet from you and you would get nothing in return. Yet I am offering you a small chance to save the pirate once again, despite my earlier sentiment when I said I would never again help said pirate."

"I thought you would say as much," the Prince responded in frustration and then also pulled out the gold clasp from his cloak. "I am also prepared to offer you this. Ariel told me you once had this in your possession and therefore would know that it is worth more than the gold that it's made out of. Ursula's here in town because she heard of our predicament. She said you can have this and she'll come to you when you call on her. She'll grant you one request of your choice, but you have to give me what we need to save Hook from Maleficent and Lily. What do you say?"

The Dark One looked at the treasure in the other man's hands, then turned his eyes to look at Eric as he answered, "I've worked with that sea witch once before and she let me down because she had gone soft. However, with that heirloom I may perhaps have a chance to get something that I've wanted from her, or more so her father, for quite some time. Very well, you have yourself a deal, dearie."

When Isaac's copy of Heroes and Villains appeared upon the counter, Eric quickly grabbed it, then handed Gold the clasp and Ariel's bracelet as he responded, "I held up my end of the deal. As you can hear from all the trouble outside, I don't have more time to waste. You gave me the book, but what about Henry's quill?"

"Can you come back when the danger has passed?" Rumple suddenly asked. "I have my own business to attend to, but rest assured… I will help as we agreed. I always keep to my agreements. If you don't trust me, take your clasp back for now if you wish and take the book."

"Fine," the Prince replied sternly. "But I will be back. With your own wife if need be. I may not know much about the Dark One, but I do know you love Belle and that she can convince you to help, whether you want to or not."