Outside the back room, Cora was still working on weakening the protection spell. She glanced at the dagger and noticed that Rumplestiltskin's name was nearly gone. She grew worried that she would never finish her plan. But, it did make her more determined to break it. Which she did, and she entered the back room. But, when she saw the TARDIS surrounded by another protection spell, she sighed. How many obstacles would she have to pass before becoming the Dark One? At this rate, the power would be gone.
She outstretched her arm again and began to break the protection spell. A few seconds in, there was a voice that startled her. One she thought she would never hear again.
"That's never going to work, dearie," it said.
Once she turned around, she looked at the figure. It was Rumplestiltskin. All in his scaly skin and leather outfit. "You're alive."
"I'm alive, yes. But I'm not Rumplestiltskin."
"You must be. You look like him."
"No. I am the TARDIS Voice Visual Interface. I'm programmed to select the image of a person you esteem. This one best meets the criterion out of several billion such images in my databanks."
"If you're the TARDIS, you can let me in."
The hologram of Rumplestiltskin shook its head. "I'm afraid not, dearie. I must protect the people inside."
"Let me in," Cora demanded. "I'm only doing what's best. What's best for my family."
"And, yet … Here you are, on the verge of murder."
Cora was going to say something when the TARDIS phone started to ring. But instead, she turned around to look at it. She then turned back to face the hologram of Rumplestiltskin, but it had vanished.
Back in the Zero Room, everyone had heard the TARDIS phone ring. They all looked around in confusion and puzzlement. Who would be ringing at this time? Who would know the phone number of the TARDIS?
"What the hell?" Emma asked.
"Exactly what I was thinking," the Professor said. "That's not supposed to happen," the Doctor said.
"It could be a trap," Neal said.
"Maybe. Maybe not. I have to go out to check."
"Well, if you do, be safe," the Professor said as the Doctor started to walk out of the room.
Halfway out the door, Mr Gold stopped him. "Take Belle with you," he said.
Belle turned her head back to Mr Gold. "No. I want to stay here with you," she stated.
"No. Go. Please," Mr Gold pleaded. "I don't want you to see me die."
Belle hesitated for a moment before finally deciding to go with the Doctor.
Outside the TARDIS, Cora was pacing back and forth. She didn't know what to do to get inside. She had spent a few minutes trying to break the protection spell, but the phone ringing proved too distracting.
She had returned to trying to break the spell again before the doors opened. But, when the doors did open, the spell did break. Cora looked at it to see who it was. It was the Doctor. And Belle.
"Ah, finally," Cora said, opening the door with her magic. "I can't think with those Bells ringing."
"I'm glad some good came from it then," the Doctor said. He turned his back for a moment to open the phone cupboard. But, as he did, it was enough for Cora to sneak inside the TARDIS. When the Doctor turned back around, she was gone.
As Cora walked inside the TARDIS, she used her magic to guide her to the dying Mr Gold. It was easy enough. Dark Magic always attracted dark magic to each other. As she got to the Zero Room, she saw the Professor, Neal and Emma standing in front of Mr Gold. She waved her hand and made Neal and Emma poof out of her way. But not the Professor.
"Cora. Think about what you're doing," the Professor said.
Cora shook her head. "I already am thinking. Quite clearly," she stated.
"A vision told me about you.," Mr Gold weakly said. "Told me this day would come. But it didn't tell me everything. It didn't tell me what I wanted to know."
Cora knelt beside him. "And what's that?" "Did you ever love me?"
Cora paused. "Why do you think I had to rip out my own heart? You were my weakness. You were the only man I ever truly loved," Cora stated as she began to stroke his hair.
Cora then stood up again, took the dagger in hand and rose it. "Cora, don't," the Professor said, but it was pointless.
But just as Cora was just about to stab Mr Gold, she gasped and dropped the dagger, making it rattle against the floor.
Regina had entered the Zero Room and pushed Cora's heart back inside her body. Cora smiled lovingly at her daughter, for it was the first time she had seen her with a heart.
Regina smiled back and slightly laughed. "Mother."
Cora laughed too, before staggering slightly, while Mr Gold looked at his stab wound, which was now gone. The Professor went over to him and picked up the dagger, which had Rumplestiltskin written back on it again.
"You alright?" He whispered.
"I think so..."
Meanwhile, Cora had collapsed in Regina's arms on the floor. "Mother?" Regina asked. "What's wrong?"
"This would have been enough. You ...You would have been enough," Cora said weakly before she died – closing her eyes for the last time.
"Mother?" Regina asked, fighting back the tears in her eyes. She then looked at both the Professor and Mr Gold, standing over them. "What's going on?" Regina asked, her voice breaking. Mother. Don't leave me, please. What am I going to do?"
"Your mother did you no favours," Mr Gold stated, feeling like his old self again.
Regina looked up at them. "Shut up! You stole her life! You cast some spell."
"It wasn't us, Regina," the Professor said as Mary Margaret and David ran into the room.
"Regina! Stop!" Mary Margaret begged, but both stopped when they saw what had happened.
Regina looked up at Mary Margaret. "You did this," she said to Mary Margaret, giving her a long, hard stare.
