Meanwhile, back at the wishing well, Mr Gold and Belle had begun to converse with each other. To catch up on what had happened to Belle in all those years.
"My darling Belle. You have to tell me what happened to you?" Mr Gold asked, stroking Belle's cheek softly.
"I was abducted," Belle said.
"Regina."
Belle nodded. "She locked me away until her curse, and I've been in the asylum ever since."
"For twenty-eight years?" Mr Gold asked, and Belle nodded again. "All these years... you've been here? Alive?"
"Is that—is that why you did this? Why you wanted magic? For revenge?"
"Oh no—but it might come in handy."
"No... NO." Belle demanded, not wanting Mr Gold to dabble back into magic. Not dark magic, anyway.
"I cannot let this stand, Belle; I will not let this stand!"
"Look..." Belle said, taking his hand, "promise me—promise me you won't give in to your hate. Promise me you will you won't kill her." But Mr Gold looked away from her. "Promise me, and we can be together."
"Oh," he whispered, then he started to caress her face. "Sweetheart... I promise," he said, then kissed Belle deeply before she curled into his chest.
They were interrupted by the Professor collapsing to the ground with a groan. River looked down at him and went over to him. "Professor. Are you alright?" She asked.
The Professor looked up at her. "I don't know..." he began. "It's like … Something's changing within me..."
Mr Gold went over to him, with Belle following. "Is it regeneration?" He asked. "Are you regenerating?"
"Yes … No," the Professor began. He had never regenerated before. He had never experienced one for himself. He took a deep breath and looked at his right hand. Instead of the usual, golden swirls of energy, there was purple. The same colour purple that had engulfed Storybrooke earlier. He looked at his other hand, and the same thing happened. "Well … This is new ..." he muttered as he stood up, the purple energy taking over his body. It burst out of his body for a few seconds before it stopped. The Professor looked at Mr Gold, Belle and River – in shock – before looking at his hands.
"And what was that?" River asked. "You still look the same."
"I don't know. I still feel the same. Nothing's changed ..." the Professor began, flexing his fingers. He let his palm open before a fireball conjured up. He shook it away. "So, that's what happened..."
"What happened?" Belle asked, tilting her head.
"A while back – when you came to the shop - I put a drop of my blood in that true love potion. When magic came to Storybrooke, it must have entwined with me. Fused with my DNA to allow me to use magic," the Professor explained.
River nodded slowly before her vortex manipulator beeped. She looked down at it. "The prison ship is aligned. I should be going now," she told them. "Let's see if I have earned any pardons, hey?" She smiled softly at them all before the prison ship beamed River back up to them.
