A/N: Well, here we are. Finally, at the end. For the last time (in this story) I hope you guys enjoy.
Years passed Rumpelstiltskin in the blink of an eye. Days often bled into weeks without the imp ever realizing time had passed. The only change for the old spinner were those that he mourned. He'd failed two young boys and that pain was one of the few things that never faded. It would grow dull for a while until a stray thought or memory would remind him of the sharpness of its edges.
The Dark One passed his time by making deals and creating chaos wherever he could. He took a sick pleasure in knowing that he wasn't the only miserable sod alive in this world. By focusing on the despair of others, the Spinner granted himself some respite from his own constant agony.
"I've been expecting you for some time," Rumpelstiltskin called to the cloaked figure lurked just inside the door to his dinning room. The imp's hand never ceased its work at the spinning wheel, he didn't even turn around to face the intruder. He simply continued working as if no one had entered.
"You know who I am," came the deep voiced reply. Something about the young man's voice rang almost familiar to the imp.
"I do," Rumpelstiltskin supplied easily. Despite the long cloak and hood that obscured the young man's features, the Dark One could tell he tensed at that revelation. "You're the one who's been causing so much trouble in the realm here lately. The latest spawn produced by that ridiculous sect of clerics. I've seen your work."
The cloaked figure took several steady strides into the room before stopping at the long table in its center. "I'm glad to have made such a noticeable impression."
"Yes, yes," the imp tutted as he spun on his heel to face the intruder. "Child's play really. You've slain a few wolf cubs and minor sorcerers and now you think you're ready to face the Dark One." Rumpelstiltskin's hands danced as he spoke, mocking the young man and his purported accomplishments. "Word of advice child leave now while I still allow it."
"You're certainly the darkest creature I've faced," the young man agreed calmly without an ounce of protest in his tone.
"Think you're ready to slay the beast?"
"I'm ready to try."
The young intruder spoke with an easy confidence. As if he knew he could defeat Rumpelstiltskin without a shadow of a doubt. The boy's attitude irked the Dark One and set a chill about the Spinner's spine. There was something about this stranger that the imp simply couldn't place his finger on. Something familiar.
In a flash Rumpelstiltskin disappeared and reappeared right in front of the young man. Teeth bared and power building the Dark One snarled, "last chance boy. This is a fight you really don't want."
Quiet laughter emanated from deep inside the cowl of the stranger's cloak. Hands reached up and swiftly devested the young man of his hood, revealing a face that Rumpelstiltskin knew all too well.
The imp's jaw dropped right in time with his stomach. There wasn't enough self-control in all the realms to keep surprise from displaying itself across Rumpelstiltskin's face. "Ches," he breathed.
"You don't get to call me that anymore," his former apprentice growled.
It had been years since Rumpelstiltskin had last seen the boy and those years obviously hadn't been kind to Cheshire. A gauntness had reappeared in Ches's face and his thin frame suggested he'd missed more than a few meals. However, it was his eyes that drew Rumpelstiltskin's gaze. The bright light that had once shone there was completely gone. Replaced by a dark hunger that snuffed out all trace of the good that had once filled the boy.
Shock filled Rumpelstiltskin and left him drifting. His apprentice had come back, but not at all under the circumstances the imp had imagined. The boy hated him and though Rumpelstiltskin knew he deserved that, it broke his heart to see such disgust in the eyes of someone he cared for.
"I've been waiting for this moment Dark One," Cheshire growled as he circled his former mentor like the predator he most certainly was. "Training for it, waiting patiently, building strength until I was deemed fit to the task. And now here we are."
It took every ounce of his strength and self-control to bring Rumpelstiltskin back on balance. Even then, his emotions swung too quickly from fear to elation and back to terror for the imp to think clearly.
"So here you are," the Spinner repeated in what he hoped was close to his normal voice.
"Scared, are we?" Ches taunted as he found in the wide-eyed stare of the Dark One without flinching.
"Not of you," the imp answered evenly. "For you though."
A manic grin that looked terrifyingly at home on Ches's face, split the boy's features. None of the humor reached his eyes though, those remained cold and unfeeling. "You weren't concerned for me these past four years. Weren't concerned when you tossed me out or prescribed me to a fate far worse than death."
"Ches-"
"YOU DON'T GET TO CALL ME THAT!" the boy bellowed.
Rumpelstiltskin was too surprised to react. The wordsmith's tongue fell loosely between his lips, unable to face the rage displayed in his former apprentice's eyes.
"You betrayed me," the boy continued loudly. Leaning in he dared to close the distance between himself and the Dark One, until they were inches apart. "You sold me out. Chose your long dead son over me. You've made your decisions imp, now you get to deal with the consequences."
Shocked as he was, Rumpelstiltskin's clever mind picked apart Cheshire's words. "Betrayed you?" The imp asked, confusion joining his array of emotions. "Sold you out? Ch-, what are you talking about."
"You handed me over to the same men I saved you from," Cheshire accused. "I helped you, I saved your life, and in return for all of that you stab me in the back."
"I didn't-"
But apparently the young man had no intention of allowing his former mentor to speak. "They were right about you. Everyone who warned me, the fairies, the clerics, all of them. You're a monster, Dark One. An abomination and a stain of darkness in this realm."
Rumpelstiltskin could find no words to counter the young man's charges. Everything Ches had said was true, everything except- "I know you don't believe me," the imp attempted, speaking quickly before Cheshire could interrupt again. "But I've no idea what you're talking about. I didn't hand you over to any clerics, least of all Frollo's sect."
"Keep your lies imp, I've no use for them."
"I'm not lying," Rumpelstiltskin protested. He had earned Cheshire's ire years ago, that much was certain. He deserved the boy's hate, but the spinner couldn't abide by the accusations of betrayal. If Cheshire was going to remain angry at his former mentor, then he should remain angry for the right reasons. Not because he thought Rumpelstiltskin had purposefully harmed him like that.
Yet the Dark One's protests fell on deaf ears. Cheshire had come here with a purpose one that Rumpelstiltskin would now have to face.
"I'm going to end you today, Dark One. The last thing you'll remember of this world is my face. The apprentice who wasn't good enough, defeats his old master. I rather like the irony of it all, don't you?"
The two former companions stood face to face in the place where they'd first met. Knowledge that he wouldn't be able to hurt the boy warred with Rumpelstiltskin nasty habits of self-preservation. "Don't do this kid," the imp warned one final time. "I don't want hurt you."
"It's too late for that."
Cheshire moved so fast that Rumpelstiltskin barely had time to react. A wall of powerful magic came rushing at the imp in an instant. But a flick of his wrist disassembled the spell in less than half a heartbeat. Pure power wouldn't be enough to stop the Dark One, yet the display of magic Ches had just revealed was impressive. Though its roots were steeped in darkness, the end result was the most powerful light magic Rumpelstiltskin had ever seen. His former apprentice was certainly a force to be reckoned with.
Ches's second attack forced the Dark One back a step but was met with equal results. Focused as he was on building strong defenses, Rumpelstiltskin easily ignored his curse's insistence on killing the boy.
A strong wind picked up around Cheshire as the young man moved his hands and focused his mind. The spell that tore out of the boy destroyed Rumpelstiltskin's defenses with ease and left him with gashes along his right side and cheek.
"So, the monster can bleed," Cheshire chuckled darkly as he sent wave after wave of power crashing into his former friend.
Unable to sustain a constant shield, the Dark One took the brunt of one of those waves and it sent him sprawling across the Great Hall. Pushing himself up from the floor, Rumpelstiltskin recognized a dark high laughter emanating from the boy. Whatever Cheshire had faced these last few years, the boy he'd known was gone. All that remained was a broken replica of that innocent kid.
Thinking of his own child, the spinner resolved himself to the task. He wouldn't kill his apprentice, he didn't think he could. But for Baelfire's sake Cheshire could not win today.
Pulling on the vast ocean of his power Rumpelstiltskin began weaving a powerful spell in the back of his mind. This one would take time and focus, so for now he needed a distraction. Channeling the Dark One's rage at being challenged, Rumpelstiltskin sent a nasty spell in Cheshire's direction, giving the boy ample time to deflect it. At the very least the retaliation ended the piercing laughter.
The two continued trading punishing blows back and forth as Rumpelstiltskin continued constructing his final spell in the background. The imp made certain that as few of his spells made contact with Cheshire as possible. The ones that did, weren't powerful enough to do any lasting damage to the boy.
Conversely Ches was delivering each spell with precision and deadly intent. His hatred for the man he faced, became more evident each moment.
Seconds before Rumpelstiltskin could put the final touches on the spell he'd been building, the imp was blindsided by wave of darkness from Ches. The magic crashed into him, sending the imp crashing to his knees. He felt his right kneecap splinter at the contact, but that couldn't compare to the blinding pain spreading thickly from the large gash that appeared in his side. Blood gushed from the wound even as Rumpelstiltskin diverted a small amount of magic there to begin healing.
A second blow left the imp gasping for breath as he fell to the floor of his grand castle. White flashed across his vision as the pain receded, only to be replaced by another onslaught of pain. Rumpelstiltskin could feel fairy magic in the air around him as it burned through him, lashing out at his own brand of darker magic.
Coughs racked Rumpelstiltskin's body as he tried to get back to his feet. He made it to his knees before his former apprentice lashed out again, sending him to the ground once more.
"Looks like you're not a strong as you like to think," Ches taunted, moving to stand over the prone figure. The boy sent a rough kick into the imp's side, punctuating each of his words with a blow. "It's a shame really, I expected this to be difficult."
Pain coursed through the Dark One as Cheshire's boot made contact with his wounded side. Through the stars that threatened to overtake his vision, Rumpelstiltskin saw the final strand of his spell fall into place. It was time.
"I'm sorry, Ches," the spinner apologized, daring to look into the eyes of the boy he'd taught. "I screwed up and I'm sorry."
A brief flicker of light flickered through the young man's dark eyes at Rumpelstiltskin's words. But the Dark One could feel the boy's raw power being shaped into something particularly nasty. The imp shot quickly to his feet catching Cheshire off guard. Using the boy's confusion to his advantage, Rumpelstiltskin allowed his hands to move in a familiar fashion.
As the spell left him and found its target, regret at all that could have been lanced the spinner's heart. A quick snap of his fingers summoned a large looking glass into the hall. But Cheshire never noticed the newest addition.
Dark fur began sprouting all over the boy's body as he let out a howl of pain and frustration. As his former apprentice began to shrink in stature, Rumpelstiltskin looked away.
"What did you do to me," an ethereal voice called out angrily.
Turning, the Dark One got his first look at Cheshire's new state. Dark purple fur shimmered across a small lithe body. Highlights that almost looked pink, stood out in wild contrast to the cat's overall appearance. Bright eyes retaining their original color faced Rumpelstiltskin with bitter loathing shining through them. The cat was larger than normal, but smaller than Cheshire was accustomed to being. The feline stumbled and fell as it caught its bearing.
"I stopped you," Rumpelstiltskin answered resignation lacing his voice with piercing coldness. "I refuse to kill you Cheshire. You've left me no choice."
"You bloody coward," the cat yowled in that same unearthly voice. "You can't do the deed yourself, so you assign me a worse fate?"
"I could've left you as something easily crushed," the imp reasoned. "Trust me this is better."
"How is this better?"
He'd never seen indignation on a cat and despite the horror of the situation his curse was chuckling in the back of his mind. At least someone came out of this ordeal happy.
"You'll remain a cat until you accept who you are Cheshire. Do that and you'll become a young man again."
"And be right back here to finish my job," Cheshire proclaimed.
"Ah, ah, ah," Rumpelstiltskin tutted, keeping his distance from the incensed cat. "Then you won't have accepted who you are." The spinner took pity on his former apprentice and continued his lesson. "Whatever those clerics twisted you into, it isn't you Ches. You're better than them. Better than me. And until you figure that out for yourself, you'll remain as you are."
The cat lunged at the imp in a pure display of anger. But, despite its size, the feline could do little harm to a full-grown man.
"I'm sorry Cheshire, I truly am." Rumpelstiltskin repeated before sending the cat through the looking glass and far away from the Enchanted Forest.
Something within the imp broke as he cast the boy from his castle, into another realm where he surely wouldn't last long. Whatever snapped in that moment left the Dark One on his knees as tears he hadn't given permission to fall, poured down his face without restraint. Rumpelstiltskin had always known that he was a twisted and vile creature. He'd seen his own darkness drown others. He'd known the boy was in danger around him. But he'd hoped for so much more. He'd hoped against hope that he hadn't fully corrupted the young man he'd come to care for so deeply.
In the end though, he'd led Cheshire down this path. In the end, he'd been hurt by yet another person he loved and trusted. In the end, the cries pulled from the imp were all too human.
The End
A/N: Hopefully that fight seen worked for you guys. Those are the hardest for me to write, but they are kind of essential. So that's that. Over and done. I really hope you guys enjoyed reading this story as much as I've enjoyed writing it. It's the first full length story I've ever attempted, and it means so much to see it do well. You guys have been amazing throughout this process and I wouldn't have the motivation or courage to post this without all your support. Thank you to everyone who reviewed and to everyone who's been here for the long haul. I hope it's lived up to expectations and I do hope to see all of you in the sequel "The First Apprentice." I promise a happier ending over there!
So, for the last time here thank you, thank you, thank you for reading and please feel free to let me know what you think. As always, I will see you guys in the next story.
