Everything I Do, I Do It For You

Chapter Thirty-Five

A short time later…

Upon leaving the Snow Queen's lair, Gold poofed himself inside the sheriff's station in order to break the young thief he had allied himself with days ago out of his prison cell, so Will could help him enter the Sorcerer's mansion one more time. When he appeared, Will was busy trying to escape himself, then jumped and fell back on his butt against the floor when the Dark One suddenly appeared before him. And before the thief could say a word, the villain used his magic to simply open the cell door to set Will free.

The younger man looked up at him suspiciously without rising from the floor and then he asked, "All right… exactly what are ya after now? There's no way yer letting me out of here out of the goodness of your heart. You don't have one."

Gold smiled down at him arrogantly and then he replied, "I need you for the same reasons as before. Help me inside the mansion once more, and you're a free man. Refuse… then I will lock you back inside of this cell of yours and make sure that the sheriffs here learn about a few more crimes you might have committed since you've arrived here in Storybrooke. Perhaps even crimes you haven't committed. What do you say?"

"I say… let's do it then," the thief then responded and finally got back up on his feet as he brushed the dirt from the floor off of his pants. "When do we go?"

"Right now," the Dark One answered, and swiftly poofed them back outside of the mansion without giving Will a chance to object.

Once they arrived, Will struggled to regain his bearings after being magicked away so suddenly, then he glared at the man who brought him there and grumbled, "Don't you ever… do that again. I'm not a fan of magic. At least not your kind."

The villain smiled as he stated, "I don't have time to waste. Now get me inside."

"Sheesh… you're in a mood tonight, ain't ya?" Will replied in frustration, then finally he turned around to walk the rest of the way towards the house and onto the porch with Gold right behind him.

Once Will reached the door and helped the Dark One inside like he had done for him before, he watched curiously as Gold summoned a strange round box into his hand and walked inside the library, then knelt down so he could set it on the floor. When he did so, the older man then pulled out his dagger, but before he did anything more, he turned around to glare up at the thief still with him.

"Are you still here?" he snidely questioned. "Leave now, and close the library's doors behind you. And say nothing about you being here or about me using you to get inside this mansion either time. Because if you do, I will know about it. Is that understood?"

Will raised his hands in understanding as he responded, "I get it. I do. I'll leave. Thanks for letting me out."

And with that said, he turned and left the mansion, snatching a few more trinkets and books he knew could fetch him a pretty sum if he fenced them. Gold on the other hand, finished summoning the Sorcerer's hat from the box with his dagger, then tipped it over so that its opening remained upwards just as Emma walked inside, and carefully stepped away from it so he too wouldn't be pulled inside.

As Emma entered the room just beyond the library, she called out, "Hello? Gold? You here?"

"Gold?" she shouted out again, after she continued to struggle against her powers bursting to break out of her as she squeezed her palms closed, while the electricity all around her crackled and she then turned upon seeing a bright yellow glow suddenly shine through the cracks from within the next room closed off by its doors. "Gold? Gold, you in there?"

"There's no need to shout," the villain answered her when he appeared behind her moments later, then stayed back. "I'm right here. You'll forgive me if I keep my distance. It would appear your powers are growing increasingly out of control."

The Savior looked worried as she replied sternly, "Yeah, it was a rough night. So, what do I need to do?"

Gold kept his eyes on her while he softly responded, "I've already cast the spell inside that room. All you have to do is… step through the door."

"Is something wrong?" he then asked her upon sensing her hesitation.

"Just… I ran into the Snow Queen," Emma answered him.

Not seeming too surprised, Gold questioned, "Did you?"

She struggled to find the right words as she grumbled, "Well… sort of. It was a projection or a hologram, or I don't know what it was."

Emma raised her eyes again to look directly at the man now standing before her, as she searched his face for any signs of deception when she continued worryingly, "She said I shouldn't do this. That you were trying to hurt me."

"All right, so now we know who doesn't want you to do this…" the Dark One deceptively replied. "The villain. Sounds like an argument for it, but maybe that's just me."

"That's what I said," she responded quickly.

"But you still have doubts," he then said again as if he could read her thoughts.

Emma asked him crossly, "Do you blame me?"

Gold shook his head as he answered plainly, "No."

"Is it safe?" the Savior asked him again as she looked firmly into his eyes. "Will I be okay?"

"No magic is without risk, even magic used to take away magic," the Dark One sternly replied to her again and continued. "Look… this is very much your choice. And of course, it was also your idea."

She slowly nodded and then questioned him, "But it's gonna stop me from hurting people?"

He replied, "That much I can promise… yes."

"What would you do?" Emma asked again after she glanced back towards the magic still coming through the other room and turned back around to face him, while she looked down momentarily at her hands as well.

"I wouldn't go in there for anything," the Dark One responded to her in all sincerity.

She stared at him then in surprise as she uttered, "What? Why?"

Gold answered her again honestly, "Because, Emma… I'm not like you. I'm a man who makes wrong decisions. Selfish decisions."

"But you spent all that time looking for Neal," the Savior replied out of confusion by his answer despite the man's past, and not knowing just how much he was deceiving her by offering to help her, as well as with all he's done to the man she didn't yet know she loved. "You sacrificed yourself to save the town. You married Belle."

"And each time, I meticulously undid all the good," he responded, continuing to be completely honest with her. "Neal is still gone, the town is still in danger, and Belle… for better or worse… she knows who I am. And that's the man who always chooses power."

Emma answered, "She believes you can change."

The Dark One replied, "And I love her for that. But I fear she's quite likely wrong. But you, Emma… You don't need to change. Because you do the right thing. Always."

"Gold… Thank you," she then responded to him at last after they had both turned away from one another, until she quickly called back to him in gratitude for being sincere with her before he left.

"Of course," Gold answered, turning back to face her once more. "We have no choice."

At last, Gold walked away and left Emma alone while she turned back towards the library, as she struggled with her decision to lose her powers again for good, this time out of fear even if she was also doing so to protect those she cared about, like she had done to save Hook from drowning at Gold's and Zelena's hands.