Regina had once told him that his watching was creepy. He could understand that point of view, but he much preferred to think of it as keeping a close eye on his most prized investment. He never left anything to chance, not since becoming the Dark One, and he certainly wasn't about to start where Regina, his curse, and his son were concerned.

At first, he was confused, and angry at the Seer for giving him such a complicated and unnerving gift. The images he saw in his head related to one another, but he couldn't understand the point or the purpose of it. Not as Regina found Maleficent's castle, not as he could barely make out the pair of them talking to one another in her home for Maleficent had apparently been smart enough to cast the same curses on her mirrors that Cora had. No, it wasn't until Regina was stopped on the road and exchanged information with an individual about Aurora's wedding and light sparked behind Regina's eyes and realized what the Seer had been suggesting to him.

He could tell Regina all he liked that it was better to wait, to bide her time, to cultivate her powers and then strike Snow White not against her life but against her heart…but some lessons were better off learned in person and by example. Maleficent had grown tired of life, she hadn't transformed for a number of years thanks to the concoction he'd given her, she'd given up on getting back at King Stefan. But the image in his mind of Princess Aurora falling helplessly into a sleeping curse just before her wedding suddenly sparked recognition in him and he knew. Regina might not have foresight, but she was seeing the same thing in her mind as he was. She was seeing the potential of making Stefan suffer by claiming something important to him. She was going to try and get Maleficent back in action. If Maleficent could claim her happiness after all this time, then so could she.

So…could she?

He concentrated, focused on the images he'd seen before in his head. Concentrating didn't always work, but he was pleased to find that this time it did. More images came. People he hadn't thought of in years filled his mind as he watched the vision play out.

There was what he'd seen before, Maleficent standing before Aurora. She forced the princess to prick her finger on a spindle and fall into a deep sleep. There was Aurora's prince, Philip, the Seer whispered in his head, Maleficent stood before him, and he watched as his shape changed and shifted into a Yaoguai before she cast him out, and he reappeared in a faraway land. Truly separated from the one person who could break his daughter's curse. She'd learned after what happened last time. And then he saw Stefan, face red and contorted, bending over the sleeping form of his daughter while the world around him burned, and the cackle of a dragon echoed in his own mind.

And suddenly the picture changed again. Suddenly it was no longer Maleficent he heard or King Stefan he saw. It was Snow White and Prince James huddled together on the floor of some room, both were older, looking worse for wear. He was bleeding, unconscious it seemed, as sweat glistened over her brow. The room around them was in chaos, filled with smoke and debris. It circled around the pair as Snow White looked on in horror.

"Where are we going?" he heard her ask.

Then, before them, he saw Regina, a much older, far more sinister version of the Queen he knew, with a crazed smile on her face as she beheld her good work. "Someplace horrible," she cackled, that same cackle that Maleficent had had moments ago.

He opened his eyes and smiled. Oh, this could be a good lesson.

But he knew that it was bound to take more than Regina to get the Dragon free from her decade long stupor. In order to succeed he needed Maleficent to succeed and that made this firmly his problem as well. When he'd last encountered her she'd been no more than a lovesick woman, but he knew that before that she'd been clever, cunning, and very talented. He'd taken her ability to transform in giving her the secret to the curse, but now, if Regina could distract her long enough to let it, he knew that rage would have simmered and it would allow her to become what she once was only worse…but with little more persuasion than Regina could provide. Persuasion…he could provide a little bit more than persuasion. He could provide motivation.

He summoned Theseus to him in an instant. It had been a while since he last saw his shapeshifting ally, normally he would prefer to trust Jefferson with a task such as this, but with him spending more and more time with that girl he was bedding, he couldn't waste time finding him. Not to mention he didn't particularly care to see him in whatever state he'd find him. The dove, on the other hand, would be perfect for this job. Theseus seemed at once both surprised and board that he'd been called. Half dressed, he obviously hadn't expected to be summoned and brought about by magic as he had in that moment. But the look in his eyes suggested that even he knew it had been so long it was only a matter of time.

"Fly off to the Realm of King Stefan. I need you to deliver a message."

"King Stefan?" he questioned. "But…I'm already there! Or at least I was. His daughter is about to be married, Mary and I intend to be there."

Well, imagine that. "Which is exactly why you must return!" he ordered. "Inform his royal highness that Maleficent is back and a credible threat to his daughter and their wedding. Inform him that if he wants to protect his daughter, he'll take the dragon and the young girl with her hostage, or else all hope is lost."

"But-"

He didn't wait to hear the dove's question, just sent him back with only the information he'd given him. Sometimes, less could be more, especially when it came to carrying messages like the one he had now. He rather liked where his little bird friend was at the moment, and he had no intention of jeopardizing that. What he planned to do from here was simply to sit back, relax, and watch what played out before him. And every now and then, he closed his eyes and looked back on that picture he'd been given, the gift in his head of Regina before Snow and her prince promising nothing but horror in an unknown world where one day, he knew precisely what he'd find.

So yeah, it's filler, but I couldn't find a way around it. I needed a way to get from the beginning of the episode to the end and I really doubted that after sending Regina to Maleficent Rumple would just go to work spinning on the spinning wheel. I figured he'd watch. And to me it just seemed to perfect that Stefan up and receives a random threat one day before the wedding and goes to see Maleficent. I do love the idea of putting Rumple more in the center of the action even if it's not directly. Plus, it's been a while since we've seen Theseus. Friendly reminder that he's still around and will actually serve a very important role in the next section.

Thank you Grace5231973, Alarda, and Jennifer Baratta for your continued reviews. Sorry to throw a random filler chapter at you, but I did promise they'd be few and far between. The last chapters in this section are certainly not fillers. Peace and Happy Reading!