"So," Neal said as he and the deliverymen placed Rumple and Belle's new bed at the center of the living room where they had decided it would go because there was nowhere else in the apartment with enough room, "Mother and Zelena saw you buying this? Are you sure?"

"Yes," Belle nodded. "Now, I can't say for sure what it means, but they looked for a very long time, so it can't be anything good."

"Well, what are you gonna do about it then?" Neal asked his father. "Cause I doubt that even without your magic you'll just sit around helplessly and wait for the axe to fall."

"You're damn right I'm not." Rumple agreed. Then he turned to Belle. "Am I correct in guessing that you'd rather I find some way to allow you to help me deal with this instead of just insisting that you go stay with Miss Swan until all this is over?"

"I would prefer that," Belle nodded. "I want to be able to do what I can since we're in this together now. She paused. "But I would not be opposed to doing it from a safe and protected place if that would ease your mind."

"It would," Rumple nodded. "Thank you."

Belle turned to Neal then. "I know you did all this work to bring our new bed to us, but it looks like I won't be able to use it for a while. May I come stay with you and Emma?"

"Of course," Neal nodded. "I think that would be a good idea. We'll get a bed set up for you and it won't take any time at all."

"Good," Rumple nodded and took Belle's hand. "Now that I know you'll be safe, I can focus on confronting the enemy."

"And just how are you planning on doing that without magic?" Belle asked. "I wanna know."

"Well, don't worry," Rumple assured her. "I said I was going to confront the enemy. I didn't say I was going to confront the enemy alone. I'm gonna bring a team with me."

"You better," Belle told him. "I'm going to be worried about you otherwise." She kissed him then and afterward, left with Neal to head for his and Emma's house.

When they arrived, they found Regina and Emma chatting while Henry played a video game nearby.

"Hey, everyone," Neal said. "I brought Belle with me. Apparently, Mother and Zelena have been sniffing around and Papa's worried." Neal looked at Regina. "Do you know anything about that?"

"Not at the moment, but I suppose I could ask," Regina said. "It's been some time since I've talked to either of them."

"Good," Neal nodded. "It'll be good to have someone else besides my father in contact with them. He's got it in his head that he wants to go and finish things once and for all."

"Seriously?" Regina asked as both she and Emma got to their feet. "Has he lost his mind? He's not gonna survive if he goes up against Zelena! He's done some stupid things in his life, but this tops it." She then called for Sydney.

"Yes, my queen?" He asked, popping into the room.

"Well, Sydney, it seems like Rumplestiltskin suddenly has a death wish," she told him. "He's planning on going to fight my sister hand to hand or something equally ridiculous, and unless you help him, he's going to be killed."

Sydney chuckled a little when he heard this. "I don't know how willing he'll be to accept help from me, but I'll certainly try to do what you wish."

"And I'll come help you too," Neal told him. "If anyone knows how stubborn my father can be in cases like this, it's me."

They left then and Regina and Emma looked at Belle. "What are you going to do with yourself now?" Emma asked at last. "It's not like you to just sit around and wait, even if Rumple asks you to."

"I was thinking that next time you go and talk to Zelena and Milah, I would come with you," Belle told Regina. "I'm sure that if I just talked to Zelena at least, I could get her to leave Rumple alone. She's already sucked most of the life out of him. What more could she want?"

Regina chuckled. "A lot more than what she's got," she said. "She won't be happy until she's made him absolutely miserable and his plan is just playing into her hands. I wouldn't go and try to reason with her if I were you. It wouldn't end well."

"Maybe not," Belle said resolutely. "But I still think I should try. Violence is not the answer to everything. If I can get through to Rumple despite how much he was feared, who says I can't do that for others?"

"I do," Regina told her. "But if you want to be so foolish, that's your choice, not mine, isn't it?"

"That's right," Belle nodded. "In fact, I might not even wait until you see them next. I might as well just go now and get it over with." She strode off then, leaving Regina and Emma stunned.

"She's gonna die, isn't she?" Henry asked as he finally looked up from his video game.

"I think she's smart enough that she won't die," Emma told him. "But I definitely think something will happen to her. It always does."

"You wanna tell me why you think you can get away with going after Zelena when you have no magic?" Neal asked Rumple as he and Sydney strode through the door of the shop. "You're gonna be killed!"

"Maybe," Rumple told him. "But after all your mother and Zelena have done to me, I need to show them that I'm stronger than they are. I have to win. I'm not just gonna sit back and let them step all over me anymore."

"Don't get me wrong," Neal told him. "I know where your head is because you've thought this way for years, and I don't blame you for feeling like you need to prove yourself, but is this really the best way to do it? What if you die? What's Belle gonna do then? Do you really just want to leave her alone because you're so desperate to prove a point?"

"No!" Rumple told him and brought his cane down on the table with a loud crack! "No, I don't want to leave Belle alone. Never. Why do people always think that I do?"

"Because with her, you have everything you want, yet it doesn't seem to register with you," Neal pointed out. "We all think you're brave and that you've been through enough. Why isn't that enough to convince you? Why do you always have to do these ridiculous stunts that could end with you being hurt or killed?"

This gave Rumple pause. Then he said, "I need to show it to Milah and Zelena. I need to prove to them that even without my magic, I'm better than they'll ever be."

"They know that!" Neal cried. He was beginning to get a headache. "That's why they show up and always ruin things for you. Because they know you're happier and better than they'll ever be and the only way they can make themselves feel better about that is to make you feel worse."

"Maybe so," Rumple nodded. "And if I make it back here alive, then I promise this'll be it. This'll be the last time I ever try and prove my bravery to anyone."

"Fine," Neal said, heaving a big sigh. "But we're coming with you in case something goes wrong. We're not letting you do something so stupid by yourself."

Rumple looked at Sydney and scowled. "Does he have to come?"

"Yes," Sydney nodded. "The queen specifically requested it. She thinks you're going on a fool's errand and thought I could be of some help."

"Fine," Rumple narrowed his eyes. "Just don't get in my way." He paused. "But first, before we go, I have to get a few things. Wait for me, all right?"

He left then and Sydney and Neal eyed one another. "He just left to kill Zelena without us, didn't he?" Neal asked.

"Yes, I think he did," Sydney agreed. "Let's go stop him before he does something he's going to regret."

"Well, well, well," Zelena chuckled when Rumple showed up at the house where she and Milah had sequestered themselves. "What brings you here? Are you just going to let me kill you now and make things easier on everyone?"

"You're not gonna kill me," Rumple shook his head. "When I'm through with you, you're going to be very dead."

"Oh?" Zelena chuckled. "And just how do you plan to defeat me without any magic?" She began laughing again, over and over, and Rumple took the opportunity to whack her in the head with his cane.

"See?" Rumple asked, baring his teeth as Zelena dropped to the ground, blood dripping from her head. At first she was just stunned, but as she tried to get up again, he just kept hitting her. "This is how I plan to defeat you, and quite obviously, I don't. Need. Any. Magic!"

Then a sharp voice rang out which made him stop pummeling Zelena and turn around.

"And just what do you think you're doing?" Milah asked, striding toward him.

"Committing a murder," Rumple replied brightly, the wild giggle of his escaping his lips. "And would you care to make it two? It really doesn't matter to me whether you end up alive or dead."

"Maybe not," Milah grinned. "But it would matter to your son, wouldn't it? He would just hate you if you killed someone? Are you willing to risk that?"

"Yes!" Rumple nodded and raised his cane to her.

"Stop!" Neal called out, which made Rumple lower his cane and step back.

"Thank you, son," Milah smiled as Neal approached both of them.

"I didn't do it for you," Neal told her firmly. "I did it because my father is finally happy and I don't want him to ruin that just because he wants you and Zelena dead." He then saw Zelena's body on the ground. "Is she dead?" He asked Sydney.

"No," Sydney shook his head. "I think she's just unconscious. We need to take her somewhere she can be looked at."

"Good idea," Neal replied and grabbed his father's arm. "Come on, Papa. Let's go."

"But…" Rumple sighed and glared at both the women. "Oh, all right. Let's go. Sydney, you can put Zelena in the lamp when we get home, and we'll deal with Milah later."

"She's not going in the lamp," Neal told her. "You're going to let her go."

"We'll see about that," Rumple replied.

"She's not going to die," Doctor Whale announced after he finished looking at Zelena. "She's very lucky. One more hit or two and she would have been dead."

Emma hugged Neal and he kissed her hair. "You showed up just in time," she said. "That's a relief."

"Yeah," Neal nodded. "No kidding." He looked at his father. "You're lucky."

"I'm not," Rumple grumbled. "She is."

"Should I still send her into the lamp?" Sydney asked. "Or do you want to give her time to repent?"

"Put her in the lamp!" Rumple ordered. "Do it now!"

"Fine," Sydney replied and zapped her into the lamp just as the phone rang. Regina answered it and couldn't help but chuckle in a wry way. "All right," she said. "I'll tell him."

"What?" Rumple asked.

"That was your lovely wife," Regina said. "She knows what you did with Zelena, so she's keeping Belle with her. She didn't tell me what you need to do to get her back, so good luck with that. You should have learned to control your temper."

"Yeah," Rumple breathed as he stood up and made his way toward the door. "Tell me something I don't know."