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Summary of the Previous Chapter: The others are running out of time as they try to save Killian from Gold's plans.
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Chapter Twenty-Three: DEADLine
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8:00PM -The Clock Tower
The bell rang at the top of the hour when those who were transported arrived at their new location. Belle, Henry and Killian now stood with an unreadable Gold, who looked at them, each with a different emotion—love for his wife; pride for his grandson and hatred for his adversary.
"What are we doing here, Rumple?" Belle demanded, stepping in front of Henry to glare at Gold as well as at the heart in his hand. Sparing a pitiful glance over at Killian, who was stationed beside her husband, she wished she had found the gauntlet an hour ago.
"We need to be ready to leave after the ritual," Gold announced, which made Belle and Henry gasp in confusion. "As you're well aware, the Snow Queen is dead, so...she can't hurt or threaten your lives anymore." Looking away, he then showed a glimmer of remorse. "She did that to get back to me..."
"What did you do?" Belle asked, her eyes flashing.
"I trapped her inside of that urn after several conversations," he replied, his expression once again flat when he looked back up. "But...that's old news now, including the deals we had made along the way..."
Gesturing to the room, he continued. "I'm sure you already know that I plan on ridding myself of the dagger's limitations without giving up my magic. To do that, I'll be using the Sorcerer's Hat," he then magically revealed the object which was now glowing with a celestial design, stars completely covering the top portion.
"Oh my God," Belle breathed. "Rumple, what have you done? How many people have you trapped inside there?!"
"Enough to make sure that this will all work," he answered, glancing down at it. "Once their magic is given to me," he paused then looked at the pair. "We'll be leaving Storybrooke."
"No," she said, shaking her head in horror. "I'm not going anywhere with you. Not after what you've already done!"
"Me too," Henry argued. "You can't expect me to leave the place I've known my entire life because of your selfishness. I won't leave my friends, my moms or the rest of my family."
"I know that you're upset with me," Gold began, his eyes softening. Dropping his hands down, he allowed the hat to float and hover at his side. "But I—"
"Oh, I'm more than upset with you," she replied angrily. "You've ruined everything between us..."
Gold's heart clenched, but he ignored it. She'll understand once it's all over and we're away from this place, he thought hopefully.
"Rumple," Killian managed to say, his chest sore from the abuse. "Listen to your family," he reasoned. "They're trying to save you before it's too late. This isn't worth your relationship with them. They are more important than—"
Gold silenced him with a slight squeeze of his heart.
"Rumple," Belle interjected, her voice and eyes teary. Stepping forward, she tried to pick up where the now wincing Killian left off. "Is your magic worth us? Is it worth our marriage? Harming other people and murdering Killian won't bring us happiness. Please, don't do this...it's not too late..."
Gold's gaze combed over her face before they hardened with resolve. "What I'm doing is for us. It's the right thing to do. This decision will protect us."
Belle shook her head again. "No, it won't..."
While they were talking, Henry had taken a step back, secretly pulling out his cellphone. Turning around when they were deep in conversation, he began preparing a group message to Emma and Regina about the end of Gold's plan:
Belle, Hook and I are in the clocktower.
He's planning on taking us out of Storybrooke when it's over.
HELP us!
Henry tried typing as fast as he could but before he could press send, his hands froze.
"We don't want to ruin the surprise, do we?" Gold said, magically turning his grandson around, revealing his actions. "But just to be safe," he added as he released his hold over Henry to enchant then destroy his cell phone with a snap of his fingers; however, he didn't just do his grandson's. Belle's and Killian's pockets quivered when their devices were subsequently pulled out, doomed to suffer the same fate as the first one.
Crushed beyond recognition, the three mobiles were then flung over the railing, falling down the stairs to the very bottom with a loud thud.
Reaching behind her, Belle suddenly grabbed at Henry's hand and tried to run for the stairs, her adrenaline fueling her need to escape; but they didn't get too far before Gold waved a finger in their direction, paralyzing the two before they could even take a step down.
"I'm sorry," he then said, straightening his posture. "But I've come too far to stop now."
8:05PM
Moving over to the clock, Gold then look up at the moon, a smile creeping onto his face. "It's time," he declared, sparking chills up Killian's body when he held up his heart.
"You told them that it would occur three hours after sunset," he stated pointedly, apprehension and panic raising the hairs on his arms and neck.
Gold looked over his shoulder. "I lied," he admitted easily. "I wanted Ms. Swan and her company to waste their time looking for impossible solutions. I didn't want her to actually try to challenge me."
Shrugging, he walked away from the window and passed a swiveling Killian in order to grab at the wafting object.
Confused, but watchful, Killian paid close attention to the other man's movements.
Magically gliding a discarded barrel directly beneath the skyline of the tower, Gold then set it down and began to prepare for the ritual.
8:05PM -Granny's Diner
Knowing that Killian's phone was dead, she didn't try to call him, but Emma desperately tried the other two, her fingers trembling next to her ear when she waited to hear them pick up. Panicking when they both went straight to voicemail, she hung up and tried not to collapse into one of the booth's seats.
Stepping away from the bustling group, she stared at the farthest wall.
She needed to figure this out.
I know that Gold won't harm Henry or Belle, but Killian, was obviously the exception.
Steeling her nerves, she looked back at her phone and redialed a number, a thought popping into her head.
"Anything?" Regina asked when she picked up, her voice filled with both hope and frustration. She was still at the Pawn Shop, looking for the gauntlet or anything else that could help them. So far, she was finding nothing.
At least, nothing powerful enough to tangle with the Dark One and the Sorcerer's Hat.
"I tried calling them but they didn't answer," Emma said, shaking her head. "You?"
"Nothing. I did the same thing but got their voicemails."
Emma paused for a moment, combing through her hair nervously. "I need you to do me a quick favor."
"What?"
"Teach me how to teleport."
Regina blinked. "You want me to teach you how to do it over the phone?"
"Yes. I don't want to pull you from the shop. Besides," she added with hand gesture. "You're better at multitasking than me."
"It's more complicated than some magical rope, Emma," Regina explained, propping the phone against her shoulder to use both of her hands. She was looking through a box in the backroom. "And we don't have a whole lot of time to do it."
"I have to do something other than waiting here, thinking about Killian!" Emma said with a burst of emotion. "Please, you're a great teacher. I believe in you."
Sighing deeply, Regina stopped what she was doing. "Okay...I'll teach you." Thinking about where she would need to begin, she calmed her tone before she reached into another box. "For the first time teleporting, you need to clear your mind, breathe then focus. Concentrate on where you need to go and put all of that energy into your core. That'll allow your powers to flow through you when you release it. Think of it as moving an object or flinging someone, except the person being flung is you...Try it."
Emma closed her eyes. Clear your mind, she thought, wiping away all of her feelings and its attachments. Breathing deeply, she put the phone against her chest, feeling the rise and fall of it as she concentrated on the rhythm, but she soon found herself getting distracted by the sound of her parent's voices.
"Try it again," Regina said, hearing the huff of irritation when Emma put the phone to her ear again. "Breathe and focus."
Emma squeezed her eyes shut and redid the steps. Now thinking about taking herself to a certain place, she could feel her energy stir in her stomach and shift around her. Sparks emitted from the tips of her fingers and a white swirl swept around her feet when she concentrated hard, but her head immediately began to hurt from the unusual strain and the image evaporated alongside her magic.
"You got this," Regina motivated again. "You can do this."
Digging deeper, Emma dropped her arms down to her sides. Shaking herself loose, she stretched her neck and shook her wrists before resuming her previous posture. Inhaling then slowly exhaling, she once again focused on a destination.
Pushing all of her magic into the core of her stomach, Emma flexed some of her glowing fingers before releasing it, her body disappearing in a white cloud of wispy smoke.
Reopening her eyes, she blinked when a cold brisk wind blew against her cheeks and nose. Seeing the familiar docks, water and ships, Emma smiled happily before bringing the phone up to her ear. "It did it!"
"Good!" Regina said, almost tripping over several boxes. "Now, do it again."
Nodding her head, Emma exhaled, a puff of air trailing away from her mouth. When a few seconds past, she could feel her magic crackling around her before whisking her back to the diner, the cloud dissipating in a downward spiral. "Thanks, Regina," she said, breathlessly.
"You're welcome," she responded. "Keep me informed!"
Emma agreed before hanging up then putting away her dying phone.
"Emma?" David asked, his eyes wide. "Did you just teleport?"
"Yes, thanks to Regina," she answered, moving back over to the stunned group, who had seen her disappear then reappear within a matter of seconds. "It's super exhausting though..." she finished. Looking up at an impressed Elsa, she then asked her a question. "Do you want to come help me search several places?"
"Are you sure you can handle more than one person?" she asked in concern.
Emma shrugged. "We're going to find out."
Moving over to Elsa's side, she put a hand onto her shoulder. "The rest of you stay here. Just incase something turns up." Not waiting for a response, she then waved a hand, magically wrapping the two in a thick layer of sparkling white clouds.
Landing in the middle of the street, Emma fought for her balance by now gripping at Elsa's shoulder. Gasping, she fought against her throbbing temples and her queasy stomach. "I still can't believe I did that," she rasped, closing her eyes and breathing deeply.
"Are you sure you can do this?" Elsa asked with greater concern. Steadying her by gripping her elbow, she shook her head. "You don't look well."
"Don't worry," Emma huffed. Slowly moving away from her, she looked around them. "I feel worse on the inside, but now's not the time for that."
"Where are we going?"
"Still catching her breath, Emma looked at her. "Anywhere suspicious..."
Elsa opened her mouth but Emma waved her hand before she could speak.
She first took them back to the well, figuring that they'd start at an obvious place for a ritual to happen. After thoroughly, but quickly, searching the dark area with her phone's flashlight, she then took them to a place she hadn't been to in a while: Zelena's old farmhouse and cellar. When that yielded nothing, she thought about checking in on Regina, but that had already proved to be a deadend, in her mind.
8:15PM -Mainstreet
Body slowly adjusting to the many teleportations, Emma brought the two back outside of Granny's, both weary from their journey. Pacing and feeling helpless, she tried to calm down her erratically beating heart.
She needed to concentrate on where Gold would go.
Recalling everything she knew, she silently dug for clues. Something as powerful as an ancient device that was known for trapping people would need an adequate amount of space to perform correctly. It would also need to be seen too, given the time of day, as well as be dark enough to conceal one's crimes and to see a galaxy of stars.
"Oh my God," she breathed, her mind piecing it together. "It's been under our noses this entire time."
"What has?" Elsa asked, more than a little confused.
Looking into the direction, Emma repeated her thought process but out loud. The more she reasoned it though, the more she realized where Gold was.
Itching to get there and needing a break from using her magic, she then bolted past Elsa, her spirits higher than before.
"Is it nearby?" Elsa asked, catching up to her after lifting her skirts. "Where are we going?"
Emma's eyes narrowed when it came into view. "The clock tower…"
8:08PM -The Clock Tower
After dropping in the herbs and plants he had collected earlier, giving the hat an extra boost, Gold then magically summoned his real dagger to him.
Waving it over the object, both of the items glowed a bright color before the dagger pulled from his grip and floated above the open space. A purplish light then erupted from the hat and into the air above them, projecting the galaxy onto the ceiling's boards; causing the stars to align perfectly with the ones on the blue material.
Pulsating energy, the collected bodies then emitted a single spotlight onto an anticipating Gold; raining down all of the people's trapped energy into him.
Feeling empowered, he then turned and made direct eye contact with a visibly resigned Killian and smiled at him, menacingly. Taking a step towards him, slightly ignoring his hovering dagger and the hat, he lifted up the man's heart. "Now...this is the part that I've been waiting for and I'm going to enjoy every moment of it."
Gripping it in his hand, he gave it a hard squeeze, relishing in the way Killian gasped then dropped down to his knees, every inch of him contorting in pain.
8:08PM -The Pawn Shop
After talking with Emma, Regina continued to frantically search for the gauntlet, which she wished was easier to find. If she was able to use her magic, she would've summoned it to her and everything would have been solved.
But of course I can't, she thought bitterly as she trudged her way over some boxes and some loose papers. Sighing loudly, she glanced at everything that was stacked in the back room and narrowed her eyes.
"Screw it," she then said, magically knocking down shelves with a swipe of her hands. As everything hurled to the floor, in every direction, but hers, she paid close attention; not wanting to miss anything that could be of use.
Kicking a pathway between the rubble, she turned to her left and immediately...something caught her eye. Zooming in on a bigger, half lidded instrument, she saw something suspiciously glimmer in the lighting. Having a feeling that it could be what they needed, Regina bolted over to it and reached inside.
Her fingers touched something cold and metallic before she heaved it out. Her eyes widened at the weight, but she couldn't help the relieved sigh she released when she tightly gripped what could only be the Gauntlet in her hands.
Quickly putting it on, her fingers trembling inside, she cleared her throat. "Show me where the Dark One's dagger is located."
The Gauntlet then shook itself to life at her words.
Suddenly, a red steady beam then shot out from the top of the armory, pointing at an angle that would lead her out of the shop.
Carefully extracting herself from what she had knocked over, Regina exited the building and began following its directions.
8:13PM -Mainstreet
As the minutes passed by, with the Gauntlet still leading her to where she had to go, Regina then pulled out her phone and dialed Emma's number. Come on, she thought when she didn't answer. Come on.
Turning several corners, she stopped and looked around, trying to guess where it could be. Biting her lip, she looked down at her phone and paused before trying again.
On the fourth ring, somebody finally answered, but it wasn't Emma.
It was Elsa.
"Hello?!" She said, speaking louder than she should have.
"It's Regina," she replied. "I found the Gauntlet. I'm using it now. What are you guys doing? Where's Emma?"
"She tossed me this device so she could find what she needed. Something about this place being too "damn complicated to navigate"...but basically, she had an idea," she answered, sounding out of breath when her tone lowered.
They sound as if they've been running, Regina thought as she minded her own surroundings. Crossing a street, she looked at the beam and noticed that it had started flashing. Raising a brow she lifted the hand wearing it up, but before she could even begin to analyze it, the red beam disappeared entirely. "Am I here?" she asked aloud, gazing at what laid before her.
"Are you still there?" Elsa then asked, pulling Regina's focus.
"Yes. Did you say something else?"
"I said that Emma had an idea," she continued. "She said that the ritual was taking place somewhere in the clock tower…"
Regina's eyes flew open.
The place she was now standing in front of was the clock tower.
Immediately, she waved a hand to teleport inside, where she then sprinted over to the elevator, reasoning that that would be their current location. Nodding her head when she saw them, she quickly made her way over, and just in time.
Seconds later, the rickety doors opened and the three spilled inside, taking the elevator all the way up.
8:19PM -The Clock Tower
Squeezing then releasing then squeezing again, Gold had been messing with a writhing Killian, who was now delirious with pain, for well over six minutes.
"It's almost over, Captain," he taunted as he stopped to watch the man fall to his hand and hook, his face red and his throat raw from unfiltered screaming. "Did you really believe that I wouldn't have my fun before ending your life? It would've been dull of me to do otherwise."
Doing it one more time, he threw his head back and laughed when Killian tried not to cry out, the sound preventing him from hearing the elevator arrive or seeing the women pour out from the shaft.
Hearing Gold, then seeing the crouched form of Killian, adrenaline pumped through Emma, who suddenly ran up the stairs, her hand waving high in the air; completely unaware that he was holding her love's heart in one of his hands.
With remnants of his delight still on his tongue, Gold was flung forward, his body passing over the man he had been torturing and into the frame of a wall, nearly falling through the small balcony and out the clock by inches.
Gripping the organ, Gold's face gave way to surprise then anger when he snapped his attention over to a rapidly approaching Emma, who had just seen the paralyzed forms of Belle and Henry.
Using that to his advantage, he tried to fling her away, but she was expecting it. Diving in-between the frozen individuals, the spell missed her, but almost struck a following Regina, who saw it then ducked.
Focused solely on Emma, Gold watched her move to where he was previously, his eyes flashing when he saw Killian move lethargically out of the way. Harnessing the new energy he had received from the hat, he raised his free hand and unleashed a powerful stream, which she surprisingly countered with a shield.
When the room's colorful lights began to dim, Gold instantly increased the intensity, which made her cry out and fall down to her knees, her expression pained.
Quickly climbing the rest of the stairs, Regina and Elsa tried to sneak up on him, both of their hands poised to fight, but their movements only drew his gaze. Briefly stopping his attack on Emma, he blasted them back with a burst of energy, stunning them before they even had the chance to defend themselves.
Twirling a finger, while airborne, Regina managed to soften their fall but not quickly enough to prevent a rough landing. When she hit the bottom step, the wrist inside of the Gauntlet tweaked painfully, making her cry out and twist in pain.
Elsa groaned when she bounced off of her back and slide, headfirst, into a portion of the wall. Shaken and disoriented, she grabbed at her forehead, trying to ease the ache with her touch.
Returning his attention back to Emma, who was staring at the heart, Gold was desperate to not miss his limited window of opportunity, but his focus was too stretched. Knowing what he had to do, he grudgingly release his hold on Belle and Henry in order to use it all on the blonde.
Nearly falling because of her stance, Belle released a shuddering breath before she turned around, Henry's hand still in hers. Absorbing what was about to happen, her gaze honed in on the hovering dagger. Rushing forward, she reached out and grabbed it, her fingers closing securely on the hilt when she lifted it up.
"I command you to stop!" she yelled, her blazing eyes swinging over to her husband, who had just blasted a hot ball of energy at a ducking Emma.
His body froze then snapped up. His magic dying in seconds.
Gold, who was now fully aware that somebody had his dagger looked over and spotted her, his eyes widening. "Belle…"
The room then flickered.
A roar then swept the ceiling before the lights, the stars and the hat spun rapidly. Twinkling then pulling downward, the enchantment disintegrated in scattered patterns before being sucked into the open void of the hat, which convulsed under the motion.
When it had all faded, the room had darkened considerably, alerting all of the people to one fact:
The deadline hadn't been met.
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