"I don't need your help." Zeus gave Gold a scathing look over his shoulder. "It's only a protection spell."
"Sealed with blood magic, by a savior, no less," Gold replied with a smile.
"And how do you propose to get past that?" Zeus asked, folding his arms.
"Miss Swan and I share a common relative - a relative whose blood I happen to have a drop of, put away for a rainy day." He looked up at the cloudless sky. "Or a sunny one. I have no personal preference."
"You happen to have it?" Zeus raised an eyebrow.
"Miss Swan is exceptionally powerful," Gold explained. "And she's growing into those powers more by the day. I've kept it as a sort of...insurance policy."
The ground shook again, and Zeus smiled slightly. "I may not need you at all. If Pandora touches the box, the forces may well tear the spell apart."
"Then by all means, wait it out," Gold said. "But even I can tell that she's getting it under control. And that's what you fear most, isn't it? If she controls it, she's of no use to you."
Zeus's jaw tightened with anger and his eyes flashed back to the cabin. "And in return? Surely you want to make a deal."
"I do, and it speaks again to the matter of that common relative, and how he came to be," Gold said. "You see, Miss Sw-"
He finished the remainder of the word in the center of the church. He blinked, and a moment later his eyes focused on Belle, who was standing a few feet away, holding his dagger.
"Hello Rumple," she said quietly.
"Belle!" He started forward, but she raised the dagger.
"That's far enough," she said firmly, and his feet stopped as though encased in lead.
"You called me to you," he said, unable to stop his smile.
"Because you were with Zeus," she said, and at the look on his face, she frowned. "I'm right, aren't I?"
"Yes, but -"
"Emma called me. She told me your plan. But it won't work, Rumple."
"It could, Belle. The prophecy calls for the return-"
"The return of the lost," Belle finished for him. "Yes, I know. But bringing Neal back won't end the curse."
"Belle..."
"It won't work, Rumple." She gripped the edge of a pew as a tremor shook the ground, slighter now, but still noticeable. "They're getting weaker," she said. "Archie's belief in Dora helps her control it."
"The cricket?"
"He's a man, Rumple, and a good one. He's just what she needs. What any girl would want." She stared at him with a directness that unnerved him. His hand fluttered in a feeble gesture, as he tried to make her understand.
"Belle, if Zeus can return that which was lost - Bae - it could reverse everything, rendering the box inert."
"But you don't know that for sure," Belle pointed out. "You told me yourself that prophecy can be a tricky thing. You're wagering you've picked the right course."
"And I'm known for the strength of my wagers," he pointed out. "We can bring Bae back, and end this curse."
"Because you think he's last hero that we lost," Belle said, shaking her head. "But you're wrong, Rumple. The Snow Queen died saving us all."
Rumple went very still. "From a curse of her own making," he said. "I'm not sure that qualifies her for a hero's afterlife."
"And I'm equally sure that it does," Belle replied. "And I've been reading everything I can get my hands on regarding Pandora's story." She paused a moment. "It's stopped. The tremors."
"For now," Gold replied. "But it's only a matter of time before she loses control again."
"Not if she has the one thing that was left when the box was emptied of troubles," Belle said. "Hope. It's what's reversed the effects of the curse for all of us. Hope is a powerful thing - why do you think Dora named her child for it? She needs hope again - hope for a future, a life...love. And Archie can give her that. We can all give her that. She just have to believe that she deserves it."
"That's not going to stop Zeus," Gold pointed out. "And as long as he's here, he'll be provoking her, reinforcing the need for her to leave before she destroys us all."
"Killian has a plan that might work, but we need something more," she said, chewing her lip.
Gold couldn't help his sneer. "The pirate has a plan?"
"Most of one. If Zeus gets his hands on that box, he'll use it and Dora to come after the dagger. You know that. All he has to do is provoke her enough to bring a tornado or a building collapse to destroy the church, and then you and I are both in a very bad situation."
Gold's hand clenched and he closed his eyes, letting that thought sink in. "I only want you safe, Belle. You and Henry are all that I have."
"Then help us. Show me the man, Rumple, and not the beast. We need to find a way to send Zeus back to where he came from - without a box or a dagger."
"Yes," Gold said, nodding. "Yes, that's it. You need to send me back to my shop. Quickly, Belle."
"You have something to defeat him?"
"We need something Zeus is truly afraid of," he explained. "Send me to the shop, and then call Regina and have her meet me there."
###
Zeus flicked a casual hand over his shoulder, stopping Emma and David in their tracks.
"Another lover?" he asked sardonically.
Emma made a face. "Eww. This is my father."
"Oh. Sorry." He turned back to the cabin, placing a glowing coal on the ground and then waving his hand over it. The coal glowed red, and the protection spell around the cabin began to shimmer.
"It's only a matter of time, you know," he said. "The fire of Olympus will open a portal, even through your spell." He stepped closer to Emma, who stood frozen and unable to move. "I can think of several ways we can pass the time," he said huskily, running his fingers along her cheek.
"Get away from her!" David shouted, struggling impotently against his invisible bonds.
"It's okay, Dad," Emma said, smiling up at Zeus. "I got this one." And then she pulled her arm free and punched him as hard as she could in the face. It was like punching a rock, and she immediately shook out her hand as she stepped free of the Zeus's power hold.
"Touch me again, and you'll get more of that," she promised, still shaking her hand.
"You did more damage to yourself than to me," Zeus replied, pointing down at her bloody knuckles.
"Maybe, but the next one will have some magic behind it," she threatened.
"No matter." Zeus gave a negligent shrug. "You've done me a favor, after all."
"Come again?"
Zeus carefully ran his finger along his own undamaged jaw, and it came up red. "I needed this," he said, putting his finger to the shimmering boundary of the spell, then pushing the rest of his hand through.
"Blood magic. Not terribly effective if you paint your opponent with your own blood." He gave her a smug smile and opened the door to the cabin.
And he was promptly thrown back into the dirt by a pulse from Emma's hands. He looked up at her in surprise.
And a heartbeat later he was behind Emma, wrapping a powerful arm around her and pinning her arms to her sides. She struggled as David shouted again, still frozen in place, and Zeus crooned low in her ear.
"We don't have to be opponents, you know," he murmured. "We could be so much more, you and I. Let me show you-" he was interrupted by a tap on his shoulder, and a moment later a fist connected with his jaw yet again.
He released his hold on Emma with a sigh and a shake of his head as he watched Killian flexing his hand.
"Mortals," he said, with a good deal of scorn. "I thought I'd taken care of you." He waved a negligent hand again and to his surprise, Killian stood unharmed, smiling a devilish grin.
"You'll have to do better than that, mate. Perhaps you're getting rusty?"
Zeus's countenance darkened and the threw his arm out, sending powerful lightening bolts straight at Killian - only to watch them bounce harmlessly off.
"Definitely losing your touch," Killian taunted, walking over to Emma. "And I don't take kindly to anyone trying to poach on my territory."
"Territory?" Emma looked at him incredulously. "Did you really just call me territory?"
"It's just a phrase, love," he said, reaching out to take her hand. She pulled it back.
"I am nobody's territory," she said firmly. Killian gave her an eyeroll and reached for her hand again, holding her firmly this time.
"You can rail at me later, Swan," he said, sliding a wooden cuff around her wrist.
"I would never treat you that way," Zeus said. "I recognized your value from the moment I saw you."
"You can just stow it," Emma answered, with a deadpan face. "I have more important things to do that bathe in testosterone at the moment." She looked over at Killian who'd just drop some kind of pendant over David's head. "What are you doing?"
David stumbled forward and Killian steadied him.
"I'm taking care of a few loose ends," Killian said. "Now...where were we?"
"How did you get me free?" David asked, holding up the pendant. "Is it enchanted?"
"You dabble in enchanted amulets thinking they'll protect you?" Zeus smirked. "I have no time to pull you apart and scatter you on the wind right now. But I will - and soon. Your magic is not powerful enough to stand against me."
He turned and strode into the cabin, and once again, Emma threw a blast that pulled him back. He whirled, reaching out to touch her again only to find his hand blocked just short of his goal. He tried again, but like an invisible wall, he was blocked once more.
Killian held up his wrist. "Sorry mate, but she's off limits - as are the rest of us now. They're made of olive wood."
Zeus sucked in a breath, and his face reddened with anger. Emma looked at Killian quizzically.
"Olive?" she asked.
"It's sacred to Zeus," Killian went on. "Like the church, it's a barrier he can't cross."
"That's brilliant!" David exclaimed, holding his pendant up.
Killian shot him a disgruntled look. "Why the tone of surprise?"
"Zeus." Dora's semi-whisper brought their eyes to the doorway.
"Dora." He strode forward as the ground began to tremble again.
"Don't let him do this," Archie said from behind her. "You can control this."
"No she can't," Zeus replied coldly. "She knows it as well as I do. The box cannot be controlled when she is near it."
"So we send the box away," Emma said. "Not with you, but away. And everything goes back to normal."
"It doesn't work that way," Zeus said, keeping his eyes on Dora. "Now that she's found it again, it's brought the box back to life. You cannot simply shut it down. Remove her, and it only gets worse."
"I don't believe that," Archie said.
"Archie..." Dora shook her head slightly, as if warning him away.
"It doesn't matter what you believe," Zeus said, as the sky began to darken around them and the wind began to bend the trees. "The power of the box - and of Pandora - will not be denied. Or contained. Except by those who command such power themselves."
The ground shook hard, sending everyone staggering, and Dora stood in the doorway, tears streaking down her face. "Archie!" she cried. "You have to go!"
"No!"
"I can't control it!"
"You have to try!" Emma shouted to be heard above the howling of the wind, and she ducked suddenly as pieces of the cabin began to detach, flying off.
"Olive wood won't protect you now," Zeus laughed. "Your bodies are mortal. When the trees begin to fall and the lightening strikes the ground, you will not survive it. And I will have what I seek." He turned back to Dora. "It is time to do the right thing," he said. "Save them all, Pandora. Or destroy them. I'm not really averse to either outcome."
She held the doorframe with her hands, her knuckles turning white with the force of her grip. The cabin shuddered, and part of the roof collapsed behind her, sending Archie tumbling to the ground.
"No!" The scream tore from her throat as thunder clapped loudly, and the wind became a vortex, uprooting trees and sending Killian, Emma and David diving for cover behind a nearby boulder.
"Death for them all, Pandora," Zeus said, as the branches and pieces of cabin bounced harmlessly off his skin. "You can end this. Bring me the box, and come with me."
"Dora, don't listen to him!" David shouted.
But it was too late - Dora turned, walking back into what remained of the cabin, stopping and watching as the floorboards flew apart, revealing the box. She knelt down, wrapping her fingers around it, then she rose to her feet, and walked back out the door toward Zeus, extending the box in her hand.
