Darkness is a Funny Thing… It Creeps Up in You
Chapter Eight
Inside the Merry Men's camp within the woods…
After Robin left Regina and the others back in town so he could return to his men, he made his way into the woods as fast as he was able to so that he could warn his friends of the new threat that has arisen. The archer also hoped to be able to help the woman he loved and the others by putting together a search party to go out in order to look for the monster. Not so they could try to destroy it themselves, but so when Regina, Emma, and Hook would hopefully find a way to, he would be able to inform them where the dark winged creature was so they could destroy it quickly before it did any real damage.
When Robin finally reached the camp, Little John saw him approach and quickly came out to greet him, followed quickly by Roland, who immediately ran into his father's arms after he too ran out upon seeing him arrive as well. The leader of the Merry Men held his son close for a few moments, then carefully put him down again so he could run off with a few of the other men, including Will so he could play.
"A new threat's cone to town again, hasn't it?" Little John finally questioned his closest friend, when he turned back to face him again once the boy was well out of earshot.
"I'm afraid so," the archer sternly responded him. "It's a dark winged beast with glowing red eyes, horns, and giant wings. Whatever it is… it's dangerous, and it's certainly not going to be easy to destroy. But Regina, Emma, and Hook are looking for a way to as we speak. We need to help them by seeing if we can find it for them when they find a way. We need to gather together a search party."
The big man standing in front of him let out a sigh in frustration before he answered, "We can put together a search party, but are you sure this is a good idea? I mean… Will and a few of the other men can stay here and look after Roland of course. But what if this winged beast attacks us when it sees that we're looking for it with our weapons drawn? What if this thing is anything like the Wicked Witch's winged monkeys? From your description… it sounds like some kind of demon, or beast from Hell. I would rather not be turned into something unnatural again."
Robin reached out to lay his hand over his friend's shoulder and then replied somberly, "I couldn't agree with you more. But we have to do this to try to help the others. If anything, it will save us time in having to search for this creature later on, if we can even find it. Help me gather the men together. And try not to worry, Little John… Everything's gonna be alright. We're going to find this thing… whatever it is, and then we're going to destroy it before it can hurt anyone. I believe in Regina and Emma."
Back in town…
When she failed to find information on the beast inside the library, Belle walked back to her husband's pawnshop to continue her search. Once the beauty entered inside, she started her task at hand by first putting away some of the books she had collected in her search for the right spell to free the fairies from the hat, so she wouldn't mix up the old books with the new ones in which she hoped to find some new answers in, in order to help save time. And when she finished, she finally began to search the shop again for any books that would hopefully help her to discover what this new threat to their town was, then began to study them. After awhile, Belle finally raised her head from the book she had been reading and let out a sigh in frustration.
"Oh, Rumple…" she then spoke to herself aloud, almost as though she were speaking with her husband like he was in the room standing beside her. "Why did you have to give back into the beast inside of you? I miss you. The part of you who is the man I love. I wish you were still here. At least the part of you who loves me back."
"You won't ever be rid of me, dearie!" the Dark One's voice suddenly sounded, causing her to immediately became startled, especially when an illusion of the monster within her husband appeared behind her until the beauty spun around to face him, only for his apparition to vanish as quickly as it appeared.
The sound of his cruel laugher frighteningly began to linger though the air surrounding her, and yet when Belle covered her ears to try to drown out his voice after she couldn't take it any longer, it finally faded away, then she grumbled to herself once more, "Great. Missing him is one thing, but seeing him like he were a ghost… No. No… Rumple's ghost won't keep me from helping my friends. Come on, Belle… Keep on doing what it is you do best. Research."
Just when the beauty turned back to where the book she had been reading was lying out on top of one of the glass counters, the front door of the shop opened as the jingle of the bell above it sounded, then she turned once Grumpy, Bashful, Doc, and Dopey all walked inside while Grumpy called out to her, "Sister… please tell us that you've found out something about this giant winged monster that just attacked everyone on the street by now?"
"I'm working on it as quickly as I can, Leroy, but you have to be patient like everyone else," she sternly said to him out of frustration, then she looked between each of the dwarfs before she reached out to pick up another of Gold's books she had pulled out from the bookshelves earlier and started to hand it over to the dwarf who had spoken. "You know… this would go a lot faster if I wasn't the only one doing the research here. I don't suppose you boys are here to help?"
"If it will help you find out what that thing out there is faster, then just tell us what you need," Doc assured her with a smile, as he took the book from her before his brother could, while the other two both moved to the counter to pick up a few more books to join in, followed by Grumpy at last.