Darkness is a Funny Thing… It Creeps Up in You

Chapter Eighteen

Before the heroes reached Gold's shop, Henry stopped walking alongside side his mother, grandparents, Robin, and Hook as he quickly told them he wanted to return to the mansion so he could continue his search for the Author and through the blank books he found inside the hidden room, then he ran off after Emma nodded her head to let her son know she was fine with him leaving to do so. Once the teenager was out of sight, the rest of the heroes continued making their way through town until they finally rounded the corner beside the pawnshop, just in time to see Maleficent, Ursula, and Cruella vanish.

They all froze in place upon realizing that the Queens of Darkness must have been inside the shop with Belle moments earlier, as Hook feared they might have done something to hurt their friend. He then pulled away from Emma and the others as he rushed inside the shop so he could make sure Belle was all right, while Emma, Robin, David, and Mary Margaret quickly followed after him.

"Belle!" the pirate Captain worryingly called out to the beauty when he saw she wasn't inside the shop's main room. "Belle!"

"Killian?" Belle then stated once she stepped out from behind the curtain once again after she had returned to the back room when the villainesses left, as she looked at Killian in confusion upon hearing his concern for her in his voice and seeing it on his face. "What's going on? Is everything okay?"

He immediately let out a sigh of relief upon seeing she was okay, while Emma looked at the beauty and asked, "Are you all right? We saw Ursula, Cruella, and Maleficent walking away from the shop just now. Did they threaten you? Or take anything?"

Belle shook her head as she answered assuredly, "They didn't take anything, except for what I gave to Maleficent. They came in here because Maleficent was looking for something that belonged to her, before I suspect Rumple stole it away from her. A broken piece of a baby rattle that belonged to her child. I'm just fine."

"Thank the Gods," Killian softly uttered, then looked to Emma for strength, knowing that it was time to tell their friend that Gold has returned to Storybrooke as powerful as ever.

"Belle… I'm afraid there's another reason why we're here," the Savior then spoke to the beauty for him once she squeezed Killian's hand to offer him the comfort she sensed he sought from her. "Gold's come back. He's here, somewhere in Storybrooke. Although, we don't know where. Cruella and Ursula didn't come here seeking redemption like they claimed. They're here to wage war against us. And they helped Gold get back in so they can all get their revenge against everyone they feel have wronged them. Everyone's in danger. Did any of them say anything about Gold, or let slip anything about their plans here?"

The beauty lowered her head in despair and then she responded quietly, "No. I knew that Cruella and Ursula's intentions for being here were bad the longer I talked to them. I saw the smugness on their faces the longer they kept their eyes on me while Maleficent and I spoke. But Maleficent… I actually thought I might have gotten through to her after I gave her back her child's rattle. She was surprised that I offered it back to her without a price like Rumple would have charged her for it. And for a moment… she actually looked grateful, and happy. They didn't say anything about Rumple, other than that he had described the box containing the rattle to Ursula and Cruella when they spoke in New York so I could find it for them."

Finally, Mary Margaret spoke as she looked at Belle again and said anxiously, "I suppose none of that really matters. We need the dagger back. So we can take control of Gold before he and these Queens of Darkness can make another move against us, and stop them."

"But I… I don't have the dagger anymore," the beauty fretfully replied as she looked between her friends before stopping her eyes on Hook. "I gave it to Killian. Or rather… I gave him a map that led to where I buried it in the sand out on the beach. Killian came to me earlier this morning asking me for it."

"After the lifetimes I spent searching for a way to destroy the Dark One, I'm pretty certain I'd remember holding that dagger in my hand," Hook immediately retorted in his own defense once everyone turned their heads to look at him with suspicion, including Emma. "I haven't seen that cursed blade since you commanded the Crocodile to leave the first time."

Belle struggled to grasp that she had somehow been deceived, as she continued worryingly, "Okay, well… if I didn't give it to you, then who…"

Before she could finish expressing her worries, Emma interrupted, "You gave it to Gold…"

"…Disguised as you," she added once she quickly turned to Killian again as well. "He's back, and so is his power."

"Even when I didn't think he could deceive me anymore…" the beauty sadly answered as she lowered her head once again in shame. "He found a way."

Feeling nothing but rage and hatred once again for the villain who has wronged him more than most, Killian glared darkly at Emma while he responded furiously, "Banishment was too good for that demon. We should have driven that dagger through his heart when we had the chance."

She looked at him with worry as she replied to him sternly, "Then your name would be written across it."

"It's a small price to pay to ensure the Crocodile wouldn't come back again," he answered once again in spite of Emma's first effort to quell his anger.

"I know you're angry, but we defeated him before and we'll do it again," the Savior lovingly whispered when she moved to stand in front of him and took his hand into his own, in trying to comfort him once more.

Mary Margaret then questioned, "Yeah, but the question is… how? We don't even know what he's planning."

David took his wife's hand in his own as well, as he responded, "Like Emma said. These villains will make their plans known at some point. And when they do, we will do whatever we have to in order to stop them. And we'll do it together."

"Together," Mary Margaret replied as she smiled at him.

"We may not know what they're planning, but maybe we can figure out a way to find out where they're hiding, then come up with a plan to separate them and use one of them against the others," Robin Hood then said with confidence.

While Killian clenched his jaw as he listened to everyone talking around him, Emma then thought a moment about the archer's idea and answered, "That's not a bad idea. I doubt it will as simple as all that, but surely Regina could help us come up with something."

Mary Margaret nodded in agreement and stated, "Of course."

"I need to step outside to get some air," Killian finally muttered somberly upon feeling suffocated when he could no longer stand to hear everyone's assurances that they could succeed in defeating the villains threatening them, especially since his hope of freeing the old man and Zelena from the hat was once again put on hold, then he pulled away from Emma like he had before and started towards the door to leave the shop.

"Wait!" the woman who loved him called out to him worryingly once she immediately reached out to take his hand again in order to try to pull him back to her, until Killian pulled his hand back and stepped away from her even further. "Killian… we were going to free those trapped inside the hat. Doing so is still the priority."

Killian shook his head while he responded sternly, "It shouldn't be. It can't be any longer. Don't worry. It's fine, Swan. I'm fine. You all go do what you can to follow through with your ideas. Hopefully, you all can figure out a way. So long as they're free, they have the upper hand. I'm just gonna go for a walk to try to clear my head."

Emma kept her eyes on him as she replied worryingly, "You really shouldn't go out there alone. Each of the villains are out there somewhere."

"If Gold wanted to kill me, he would have rather than simply locking me inside the dwarf's car trunk," the Captain assuredly answered her, even though he didn't really believe what he was saying.

"It isn't really Gold that I'm worried about trying to kill you, Killian," the Savior sadly responded once more. "Ursula is the one I'm more worried about. You said it yourself that she's angry with you for whatever happened between you two years ago. That she is here looking for revenge against you."

In spite of Emma's pleas for him to stay with her, Killian looked at her again and then grumbled in frustration, "I'll be fine. Don't worry about me."

Even though Emma tried to object again, he finally left the shop without another word to her or the others before she could stop him like she had moments ago. She then let out a sigh in worry for Killian, and kept her head downward with her chin against her chest. She knew how much Killian was suffering from the guilt that's been plaguing him.

However, she also knew that he was right about it being more urgent for them to find a way to turn at least one of the villains against the others if doing so was even possible. Even though Belle said that the villainesses hadn't threatened her, Belle sensed from Cruella and Ursula that they were up to something more devious. And with them working with Gold to fulfill whatever plans they had in store for them… each of the heroes all got the same sense that they could no longer wait for the villains to make another move against them.

Robin spoke out of concern for his friend saying, "If it will make you feel better, I can follow Killian to keep my eyes on him for you. And if Ursula or Gold try to attack him, I will protect him."

"It would make me feel a little better, but I'm not so sure he would appreciate you spying on him for me," the Savior sorrowfully replied to the archer, as she reached up to rub the bridge of her nose out of frustration. "If I'm being honest, that's not really the biggest problem right now. I just want Killian to stop blaming himself for things that are beyond his control. He blames himself for Ursula becoming a villain and even if he did hurt her in their past, she chose to become a villain herself. And then there's the problem with the old man and Zelena still being trapped inside the hat. Killian may have chosen to help Gold willingly, but it was only because that monster manipulated him into it all, which resulted in him being able to rip out Killian's heart. But until I can actually help him, I have to put my worries about him aside. We have a job to do. So… let's head out to Regina's vault to meet up with her there. I'll let her know we're coming. Hopefully, we can figure something out with all of her magic, potions, and whatnot."

"You go," Belle then stated to each of her friends as she looked between them. "I'll stay here and continue to see if there's anything from Rumple's things that might help us put a stop to whatever he and these villainesses are planning. Good luck."

Emma smiled at her and then she answered, "Thank you, Belle. And… I'm so sorry. But try not to worry. We will find a way to stop them. Gold too."

The beauty nodded, then responded, "I know."

Elsewhere…

When the Queens of Darkness at last arrived at Gold's cabin deep within the woods after they vanished from outside of the pawnshop, the three women walked inside and became surprised to find that Gold wasn't alone. Unconscious, gagged, and bound to a wooden chair in the center of the room, was Geppetto. And a few feet away from him, lying unconscious as well within the armchair, was Pinocchio still in the form the real boy that the Blue Fairy had turned August back into some time ago when he died trying to warn the heroes about Tamara being a threat to them.

"What are they doing here?" Maleficent asked the Dark One when she turned her head to look at him with suspicion. "Don't tell me this old man is the Author?"

"No, no… of course not," Mr. Gold snidely replied to her with a cruel smile. "This old man is nothing more than a lowly carpenter and handyman. The boy… his son. But before this boy became a boy again through fairy magic, he was once a young man, who learned much in his many travels outside of Storybrooke. Including information about the Author. If anyone in this town knows where we can find him for us, it's this boy. However, the magic that changed him back into this boy corrupted his memories. Young Pinocchio here doesn't remember being the man he was before."

The villainesses all looked at the Dark One in confusion, then Cruella asked, "So, what is the point in questioning him then?"

Gold pulled his dagger from his coat pocket while he said darkly, "You see, we're not gonna ask young Pinocchio here to remember anything… Because he can't. No amount of torture will work on him. But it will succeed on the man he used to be."

Without another word, the Dark One carefully waved the blade over the boy as a soft glow of dark magic suddenly emanated around him, and when the glow faded away, Pinocchio was no longer sitting in the chair, but the young man seven years older than the Savior was, then upon seeing he was successful, Gold sneered cruelly, "Welcome back, August. Now… Shall we begin?"