Chapter 5
After the heroes finish their meal at Granny's, the three of them head back to Regina's office to see what progress has been made. When they arrive, Henry is already waiting with Leroy in tow to wake Belle, and Regina has a triumphant look on her face.
"You look like the cat that swallowed the canary, Regina. You must have something," Emma said as greeting when she walks in.
"Oh, I have more than something. I have a plan," Regina says triumphantly. "I don't know what you did at the town line, but apparently it knocked out whatever protection spell Gold was using, so we know where he is and where he's keeping Belle." She looks around her office, finally noticing the new person in the room. "You must be the friend," Regina says by way of introduction, since no one else had.
"Um, yeah, Dean Winchester," Dean extends his hand towards the mayor and she takes it in a firm handshake.
"Regina Mills," she replies. As they shake hands, it's as if a strong static shock radiates between them and they pull their hands away from each other with a start. "Well, I guess Henry is right. You do have magic. And it's pretty potent judging by that jolt."
"You've got to be kidding me," Dean says in disbelief. "That wasn't magic…was it?"
"Dean doesn't believe things he can't see with his own eyes…despite all the incredible things he's already seen," Castiel tries to explain his friend's disbelief.
"That sounds familiar," Henry states, giving Emma a pointed look.
"Well, you saw it, and you better start believing it, because we're going to need your magic to defeat Gold," Regina says.
"So what's the plan?" Emma asks eagerly. She hated being idle. She was ready to take action.
"Well," Regina begins, "You and Henry need to stay as far away from the Dark One as possible. You two should take Leroy to Gold's cabin. That's where he's keeping Belle."
"And he must've had one heck of a protection spell on it, because me and the boys looked for her there a couple of days ago," Leroy interjects.
"Meanwhile, once I help the non-believer over here to get at least some control over his magic, we're going to go to Gold's shop and…" Regina starts before she's interrupted again.
"Kick some ass!" Dean interrupts this time. He too was ready to take some action.
"I wouldn't have put it so…crudely," Regina states regally. She then returns her focus to Emma, who is really the only one in the room she was talking too. "Once you get Belle up and around, send her to the shop. If she can't talk some sense into Gold, then at least she can distract him so we can get the angel and his friend back to where ever they came from."
"Kansas. We came from Kansas," Castiel says matter-of-factly.
"Of course," Regina responds with an eye roll.
Emma, Henry, and Leroy left Regina's office to handle Operation: Save Belle. This left Regina alone with the two newcomers.
Looking over at Dean, Regina announces, "Alright, tough guy, time for you to use your magic," And with that, she poofs the two of them out, leaving Castiel alone in the office.
"I guess I'll just wait here," he says to the empty room.
Dean looks around confused as he and Regina are suddenly in the woods. "What the hell? Where are we? Where's Cas? How did we get here?"
"It's called magic," Regina replies. "We're in the woods to practice it, remember? And Castiel is safe. There's a protection spell around my office that no one can break. And two more heroes standing watch. Don't worry so much, you'll get wrinkles."
An hour later, Regina had been unsuccessfully trying to teach Dean how to produce a fire ball…or at least replicate the spark from her office quite unsuccessfully. She sighed heavily, "This is not working."
"Maybe you were wrong. I don't have magic," Dean replied sullenly.
"I am not wrong," Regina responded forcefully. "I've been practicing magic for a VERY long time. I know it when I feel it. Besides, how else would you explain what happened at the town line?"
"What you felt when we shook hands was static electricity, that's all." Dean tries to explain this logically. "As for the town line…that was Emma. She has magic, right?"
"Yes, she does. But it's not powerful enough to get through a spell she and I cast to be unbreakable. It takes a very special kind of magic to do that," Regina also tried logic. "Now, think, what was going through your mind when you punched through the protection spell? What were you feeling?"
"I don't know. I was just thinking about saving Cas."
"Exactly. Your power is tied to your emotions. Find those emotions again and control them, and you control your power."
"Fine." Dean tried to do as Regina said, but still nothing was happening.
"We don't have time to keep messing around like this." Regina said, almost to herself. Then she had an idea.
Suddenly, there was Castiel in the woods with them; he had arrived in a red cloud of Regina's magic. Only, he was tied to a tree. And he had a firing squad aiming at him…the same one Regina faced all those years ago in the Enchanted Forrest.
"Whoa? What's going on?" Dean asked, panicked. He wanted to rush over to the angel, but found his feet pinned to the ground.
"You have to save him," Regina said matter-of-factly.
"But, I can't move."
"Well, you better figure something out before I give the command to fire."
"But, you wouldn't. You can't. Aren't you supposed to be one of the good guys?" Dean asks, his voice starting to get more panic stricken the more he tries to move, but can't.
"Yes," Regina responds, "But I wasn't always. Back in the Enchanted Forrest, I was known as the Evil Queen. Who do you think created this quaint little town?" She punctuated her statement with her best Evil Queen laugh.
"You're the one who cursed everyone here?" Dean started to realize that maybe there was more than one bad guy in this story. He knew he had to do something; without his grace, Castiel was a sitting duck.
Regina started to give the command to the firing squad. She tried not to smile at herself, because the firing squad was merely and illusion. But Dean didn't need to know that. "Ready….Aim….."
Before she could say, "Fire," Dean lifted his hands towards Cas in a gesture similar to what he did at the town line. Suddenly, Castiel was free of his binds and dropped to the ground. Dean found that he could move again, and ran over to make sure his friend was alright.
"See, I told you that you have magic. You just needed the right motivation to use it," Regina said, almost smugly. "And don't worry; I wasn't going to hurt your friend. The archers were an illusion." With that, she waved her hand and the firing squad disappeared. "But that's the kind of power you are going to have to channel, because the Dark One, he WILL kill your friend. So, hold on to that feeling, because we're about to go in. Emma just texted, they saved Belle, and we can't let her face Gold alone."
When Regina, Dean, and Castiel arrive at Mr. Gold's Pawn Shop, Belle is already waiting for them. Regina takes one look at Belle and decides that she might be better used as leverage than as a buffer…besides, that would be safer for Belle anyway, she reasons. "Alright, new plan. Belle, you're not going in there. It could be dangerous. Besides, it might be better to use you as leverage. Mr. Gold can't turn down a good deal."
"So, what is your new plan?" Belle asks skeptically.
"The plan is, you get somewhere safe. Go to Emma's. I'm going to offer Gold a deal. I'm going to tell him that we figured out how to wake you up from your sleeping curse without your father's help, and that if he wants us to wake you; he needs to return what he took from Castiel." Regina explains.
"That's a good plan. Except for one thing," Belle says. "I'm not going all the way to Emma's. I'll be right down the block at Granny's so I can be nearby in case you need me."
"Ok, fine," Regina agrees. Although she doesn't think the librarian can be much help in what is sure to be a dangerous magical battle.
Dean looks at Castiel. "You should go to Granny's too. Without your mojo, you don't have any way to defend yourself."
"Don't be ridiculous, Dean. I can still fight," Castiel argues.
"Not magically you can't," Dean says, his tone indicating the discussion is over.
Belle looks over at the angel, "Castiel, is it? They're right, we should go. We don't have any magic, so what good could we possibly be to them?" As she says this she rolls her eyes, indicating that she agrees with him that the others are being ridiculous. As they start to walk away from the pawn shop, Belle turns back to Cas, "Don't worry, we're not going to leave them alone. Magic isn't the only thing that can work against Rumplestiltskin. I'm sure we can come up with something."
Once they believe Belle and Castiel to be safe, Regina goes over their plan. "So, I'm going to go in first and try to make a deal with the Dark One. If it works, great. If not, then you come in. We need to get his dagger if we have any hopes of defeating him."
"Dagger? What dagger?" Dean asks.
"The magic of the Dark One is tied to a dagger so that it doesn't get out of control. That dagger can control, or even kill the Dark One. He's actually been trying to untether himself from it forever. That's why he kidnapped Castiel in the first place. Apparently, an angel's grace is one of the ingredients he needs for his spell," Regina explains.
"So, we just have to get this dagger and stab him with it, and poof, he's gone?"
"Not exactly. Whoever kills the Dark One becomes the new Dark One. So we can't kill him. But if we get the dagger, at least we can control him," Regina answers.
"So, what does it look like?"
"About this long," Regina holds her hands apart to indicate the length. "It has a wavy blade and his name etched on it. It won't be easy though. Rumple pretty much keeps that thing glued to him."
"Well, let's get started then," Dean says.
Regina walks confidently into the pawn shop. "Gold."
"Ah, Regina, to what do I owe the pleasure?" Gold responds, acid almost dripping from his words.
"I have a deal to make with you," She starts to say.
"And what could I possibly want from you?"
"I know how to wake Belle. Without her father," Regina says simply.
"Oh, I know," Gold states. He snaps his fingers revealing his prisoners; Belle and Castiel. Belle was lying on an antique sofa, apparently under a sleeping spell again; while Castiel was tied to the same chair the Dark One had him in when he first brought him to Storybrooke. "Imagine my surprise when I saw you and my wife right outside of my shop talking to the angel I thought I had sent away; and some other new comer to town. I suppose you and Ms. Swan found a way around the protection spell after all." Gold then looks toward the door and opens it with his magic, "You may as well come in and join fun, Deary," he says to Dean who is looking into the shop in surprise.
Dean walks in, ready to fight. His confidence waivers slightly as he sees Castiel bound and gagged. He looks to Regina for guidance.
"She can't help you now, Deary." Gold says with confidence, thinking he has everyone right where he wants them. "Now, I have a deal to make with you. I'll let you and your friend leave here alive as long as I get the ingredients I need to cleave myself from this cursed dagger once and for all." He looks towards Regina. "Call Ms. Swan and have her bring Henry here. Once I get their blood, I'll release the fallen angel and you three can be on your way."
"What about Belle?" Regina asks, hoping to stall as she tries to come up with a new plan.
"Oh, this is just some poppy dust. Once it wears off, she'll be fine, and my family will be complete."
"And what if we don't take your deal?" Dean asks boldly.
"Well, then," Mr. Gold holds his dagger tightly against Castiel's neck. "Dead angels don't need their grace."
It's a stalemate. Neither side is willing to give in to the other. Mr. Gold holds the blade tighter against Castiel's neck, causing a small trickle of blood to form. Dean starts to crumble. Regina gives him a stern look, "Dean, you know what to do." She tells him firmly.
"That's right, Dean," Gold says, letting the name play in his mouth for a moment. "You know what to do. Give me what I want and your angel gets to live."
Dean's green eyes flick from Regina, to Gold, to the blood starting to trickle faster down Cas' neck. Then, he remembers Regina's lesson in the woods. He takes a breath and holds a hand out in front of him. Suddenly, the Dark One's dagger is no longer pressed against the angel's neck. It is now in Dean's outstretched hand. His eyes grow wide as he looks to Regina. "I did it! I got the dagger."
"Yes, you did. Now use it," Regina says. "You now have control of the Dark One."
"Oh yeah," Dean says, quickly regaining his composure. He holds the knife out and says, "Dark One, you will let my friend go. You will return what you took from him. And you will release Belle."
Rumplestiltskin looks from Regina to Dean. "How did you do that? No one from that world has that kind of power."
"You'd be surprised what you can do when your main motivation in life is love and not power," Regina says smugly. "Now, I believe you were just given an order." Regina looks over at Dean who is still holding the dagger in front of him. She's hoping it's the real one and not a replica like Rumplestiltskin has used in the past.
As much as he was trying to fight it, because he could not fathom taking orders from this stranger, the Dark One could not fight the control of the dagger for very long. He did what he was asked, and the heroes left the shop.
Dean still had a death grip on the dagger even after they were a block away from the Dark One. "Do you just intend to keep carrying that thing around like that?" Regina asked.
Dean looked down at his hands. "Oh. Yeah. This. I could take it with me and lock it up in the Men of Letters bunker."
"Dean, I don't think that's a good idea," the repowered angel says to him. "If we keep that in the bunker, then there will be nothing here to control the Dark One."
"Oh yeah, right." Dean looks to Regina. "What should I do with it?"
She gingerly takes the dagger from him. "I can put it in a safe place. And don't worry; I won't take advantage of the power." Regina offers it to Belle. "Do you want to hold onto this? It might help keep Gold away from you, if that's what you want."
"No, thank you," Belle says emphatically. "Last time I had that, he still used it to control me. Regina, put it someplace safe. I can trust you."
Regina smiled at Belle. It was nice to have earned the trust of someone she had done some questionable things to while she was the Evil Queen. "Thank you, Belle. That means a lot." She was starting to think that she could put the Evil Queen behind her once and for all.
