Once Upon a Midnight: Audrina:
Chapter 05: Imp of the Perverse
A Few Hours Ago in Storybrooke:
Rumplestiltskin scowled as he entered his shop, the pull upon him unmistakable.
'Someone has the dagger.' His scowl deepened as he made his way to the back of his shop, his body tense. His eyes quietly searched the shop, taking in each detail for some sort of clue. Both for who had taken the dagger and why. 'I sealed it with blood magic. How the hell could anyone...'
He was delving through all the possible 'how's when he entered the back room, making his trek as inconspicuous as possible. Exactly as the unknown thief had commanded him.
"Whoever you are, you have no idea..." Rumple growled as he entered the back room, his threat halting in his throat once he saw the one holding his dagger.
"Hee, heh, hee. I have no idea what, dearie? Who I'm dealing with? " Wish-Rumple cackled, holding the dagger seeming carelessly though it didn't fool the other. His dark eyes watched the other, well-dressed man closely and with amusement. "I think I have a pretty good idea. Hee hee. I like the shop by the way. Very useful."
Rumple glowered at the doppelganger, his keen brain shifting through the explanations. It took seconds to alight on the proper one. "...you're from the realm created by the evil queen's wish."
Wish-Rumple tittered and made some grandiose gestures in response, as though to say 'of course' in the most obnoxious way. He seemed to take extreme delight in annoying his other self, it was almost perverse. "You can't really be surprised I'm here. Did you really think I wouldn't find my way out of that - wretched – realm?"
"It did occur to me that you'd try." Rumple blurted, forced to answer the question; his narrowed eyes locked on the dagger his doppelganger held.
"Ah, oh. Sworry." Wish-Rumple muttered and giggled, a large taunting grin on his face as he brandish the dagger with a flourish. "Forgot. This isn't mine. Heh hee."
Rumple glowered, wanting nothing more than to rip the dagger from the other's hands and send him back to whence he came. Perhaps with a few less appendages.
"It has my name though. Eh." He shrugged, his lips grinning widely. "I wasn't sure what would happen, but...well..."
"Well, if your experiment is done, give it back." Rumple demanded, frustrated by his doppelganger. But also wary of why the other Rumplestiltskin was here.
Wish-Rumple tsk-tsked and wagged his finger, his childish attitude drawing an even colder glare from the other.
"I'm gonna hold on to this." He remarked with a titter, then proceeded to gaze around the shop with a smirk and a curious, discerning leer. The fiery, dark glint in his eye as Wish-Rumple searched lazily about while keeping a solid grip on the dagger, held a mix of desperation and determination that Rumple easily caught.
Even if he hadn't been gazing at his doppleganger, he'd recognized the look. It was one he'd seen in those who made deals with him as the Dark One. His lips twitched.
"Perhaps, we could make a de..."
"No. No deals." Wish-Rumple interrupted, cutting through the other's attempt at negotiation. His command coupled with his possession of the dagger effectively silenced the other Rumple. At least for a few moments. He sensed the glower the other gave without needing even a glance. "Not that I'm not intrigued at the idea of making a deal with, well, myself - it would make quite a game of wits, seeing who can out loophole the other. No, dearie, heh heh." Wish-Rumple spoke and sauntered towards a shelf, one that held a framed photo of Belle. "What I want, I'm sure you'd never part with."
Rumple's expression darkened, realizing exactly what Wish-Rumple meant.
"She'll never be yours." Rumple seethed, any iota of sympathy he'd had for his Wish-Realm self evaporating. "She'll see right through you."
"Is that what you think, dearie?" Wish-Rumple hissed, his tone low and menacing. With a snap of his fingers, he magicked a suit identical to the other Rumple's onto himself. A full makeover, so that no one could tell the two apart.
Rumple glared at his doppelganger, the urge to crush the other's throat overwhelming.
"Now, what do you know about my realm? I take it, at least some tidbits of the savior's and the not-evil-queen's trip made it back to you." Wish-Rumple asked, his once sing-songy tone matching the other's quiet, menacing one.
"Yes. And yes, I heard what happened to your Belle." Rumple answered, approaching the shelf Wish-Rumple stood by and taking away the photograph. "You had your chance and you lost it. And while I understand..."
"I didn't lose her. She was taken. Locked up and forgotten about." Wish-Rumple spat, his tone vehement. His eyes livid. "Not one person looked for Belle after the Evil Queen was exiled. Not one."
"N...not even her father?" Rumple asked, surprised and curious since what he'd learned about his father-in-law over the years told him the man wouldn't have given up finding Belle.
"King Maurice died shortly before the Evil Queen's exile." Wish-Rumple admitted after a moment, his eyes widening slightly in curiosity. His lips twitched as he read the other's expression. "I take it that did not happen in your realm."
Rumple shook his head and kept his eyes on the other, crafting various plans for getting back his dagger.
"Curious." Wish-Rumple mumbled, shifting his attention from Rumple to the Dark One dagger. "I wonder what other things happened or didn't here." His eyes lingered on the dagger, his lips twitching at sight of the darkened blade. The next moment he glared back at Rumple, his eyes boring into the other's. "This dagger...the amount of dark magic in it, and you, is astounding. I'm curious how you managed this. So, tell me about what happened after Regina cast her curse and everything about this town."
0
Wish-Realm: Present
"Wait...what?" Prince Neal gaped at the neat yet darkly dressed man before him. He tensed, not knowing how to react. "You...you're the Dark One? But...isn't the Dark One supposed to be an ugly, scaly imp?"
Rumplestiltskin glowered at the younger man, his lips twitching. "Yeah, well I've changed a lot through the last few years. This realm's version of me, however, is still an imp." He paused, leering at the younger man in deep thought. Upon arriving in this realm he'd discovered it cursed and empty, except for the stranger before him. Something that had confused him - this realm was one where Regina failed to cast her curse, so why was it cursed now. He'd decided to question the younger man once he awoke, and so brought him with him to his wish-realm-version's castle. "Now that you know who I am, who are you?"
"I...I'm Prince Neal, son of Queen Snow and King David." Neal replied while quietly pondering Rumple's explanation, especially the tidbits talking about another version of the older man.
Rumple gazed over Prince Neal, surprised by the revelation but not showing it. Though he had gleaned much about Emma's and Regina's trip to this realm, he hadn't heard any mention of the Charmings' second child having a wish realm version of himself.
"What do you mean by 'this realm's version' of you?" Prince Neal asked, not taking his eyes off of the other man. His eyes narrowed when Rumple gave a half smirk but didn't answer and instead turned away. Neal scowled and grabbed the older man's wrist, his heart beating fiercely as he met the other's brown eyes. "...answer me."
"...Interesting. You were nearly quaking in your boots moments ago, now you're demanding I answer you?" Rumple coldly grinned, curiosity gleaming in his dark eyes.
"Answer me, Dark One." The younger man demanded again, his grip tightening around Rumple's wrist.
"Oh, I see." Rumple muttered, the truth occurring to him even before he noticed the enchanted belt Neal wore. His lips twitched as he read the writing embroidered on it - the words 'seven in one blow' were still noticeable, though another word was now obscuring it: Heartless.
"I demand you answer."
"I think not, dearie." Rumple leered at the other while shaking his head, a wry smirk on his lips. "Not until you tell me who I'm really talking to, the one controlling the prince."
"Fascinating." Neal muttered, his words no longer his own. Nor did his controller bother pretending anymore. "You….so it is true. You're not this realm's Dark One. But an imposter."
"I wouldn't say imposter." Rumple countered, his lips pressed into a cold smile. "I take it, whoever you are, you're behind the empty state of this realm."
"You'll be correct." Audrina replied through Neal, using the heart she'd taken from him while he slept. "And if you're not an imposter, are you a doppelganger of sorts? From another realm?"
Rumple didn't reply, just chuckled coldly as he pulled his arm from Neal's grip.
"Do you know the imposter who killed the king and queen?"
"...now, why should I answer you? You, this realm, not my problem." He replied coldly, turning away.
"I have something you'll want." Audrina replied through Neal, her intrigue heard despite it not being her voice saying the words. "A certain dagger I found sealed in that castle."
Rumple stopped, his lips twitching. He turned back towards the prince, his dark glare quiet and calculating. "You have the dagger."
"Yeah." Audrina whispered through Neal. "Come to me. Seems we have much to discuss."