7
~ Storm The Lair ~
Though it was risky Emma and Bae agreed that they would have to let at least one more person know their secret and that was Detective Carlyle. The police officer was facing two very dangerous enemies who used dark magic and to fight them he needed magic.
And among them were four of the most powerful practitioners of it.
Rumple was able to summon some of the books he had on skin walkers and soul eaters from his shop and stacked them on the floor for everyone to look through.
Half of them would be doing research on Rasputin, the other half on skinwalkers. Belle also suggested Rumple summon some of the books on Russian history from the Storybrooke library in case there were some clues in them. She knew the history stacks like the back of her hand and was able to give him the exact location of the books.
Regina called Robin and asked him to look in her vault to see if her mother left any of her spell books behind. Regina avoided going through Cora's belongings like the plague after they were turned back into adults again, not wanting to be haunted by painful memories of life with her mother.
Archie decided to put Selene under hypnosis to see if she could remember anything else about Cruella that could help them, little details she may not have noticed before.
Though true love's kiss had unlocked Selene's early childhood memories he still felt there was more she'd been programmed to forget. She was always uneasy when her own therapist conducted the sessions but she trusted Archie and knew he would stop the session if she needed him to.
There was a knock at the door while Rumple, Belle and Regina were looking through some Navajo texts while Henry kept Killian distracted playing a game on the X-Box.
Bae got up to answer it with Pongo and Perdy at his heels ready to bite anyone who would harm the family.
"Detective Carlyle...we were about to call you," Bae said.
"Is something wrong?" the detective inquired worriedly. Perdy growled at him until Pongo started barking at her, assuring her the detective meant no harm.
"Ummm...maybe you'd better sit down," Emma offered. "Guys, make some room!" she ordered Henry and Killian. "And turn the game off. You can play it later."
"Okay, Mom."
Detective Carlyle glanced down at the toddlers on the floor, puzzled when he noticed they were reading books on Navajo customs and…magic? He expected them to be reading fairy tales, not that!
"Umm…isn't that stuff a bit too…advanced for you?" he quizzed Rumple.
"You'll understand soon 'nough, dearie," Rumple assured him. "Henry, tell 'im what we found out 'bout Cruella."
Henry went into his room and brought out the printouts from British newspapers about Cruella De Vil, also known as 'Cruella The Butcher.'
At first the detective thought it was some sort of joke but he kept on reading. He would have to confirm everything with the authorities in England but it wasn't any more bizarre than what he learned from the Russian authorities. Grigori Putin's visa and everything else about him was fake. The names he ran through came back with a match, just not one he was expecting.
Why on Earth would the toy shop owner give personal details matching those of the infamous Rasputin?
He set the articles aside. "It looks like you've been doing some detective work on your own...but what does this have to do with...?"
"Cruella n' Rasputin are workin together!" Rumple exclaimed.
"Rasputin? THE Rasputin?"
"Uh-huh! The creepy toy guy is Rasputin an Cruella De Vil is the real Cruella De Vil but she's worse'n the cartoon one," Regina spoke up. "I should know. I fought her an she got away."
"What?!"
"S'why Mom tole ya you need to sit down 'Tective cause what we havta tell ya is gonna be real hard to believe," Killian piped up.
"I'm already having trouble believing a puppy coat wearing Disney villain is real and you're telling me an early twentieth century mad monk is working with her?"
"You're going to have to believe it, Detective Carlyle because you're going to need our help to beat them," said Emma.
"Oh no. You are not interfering in a police investigation!" he snapped.
"You know how to fight a magical creature?" Rumple quizzed. "No you don't, dearie. But WE do!"
"This little joke of yours has gone far enough!"
"Guess you better show him, Rumple," Belle advised.
"Right." Rumple waved his hand and changed them back into adults. Nick blinked his eyes several times, pondering whether he should get glasses, was in the middle of his worst nightmare or had too much to drink.
"What the hell...?" he gasped.
"Cruella De Vil isn't the only Disney character that's real," Rumple informed him.
"Wait just a minute! Are ye tryin to tell me that...!?"
"I am Rumplestiltskin, the Beast from Beauty and the Beast and the crocodile from Peter Pan though I don't particularly like that bit. Belle is Belle, Regina is the Evil Queen from Snow White and..."
"I usta be Cap'n Hook but I wanted to stay a kid!" Killian said. "An Archie is Jiminy Cricket."
"Either I drank too much last night or I'm going insane!"
"No, you're not going insane, Detective. They're telling the truth," Bae insisted.
"You're telling me you're some crazy imp who can spin straw into gold, she's a fairy tale princess and she poisons people with apples?!"
"Oh come on. I don't do that anymore. I'm reformed!" Regina protested. The others laughed.
"We know this is a lot to take in Detective, but we're telling the truth and you have to believe us. If you try to go up against Cruella and Rasputin alone, they will kill you," Rumple insisted.
"And you think you can beat them? How?"
"Magic," Rumple explained.
"You...you have magic?"
"Yes."
He pinched himself to try to wake himself from a dream but he found himself in the same place looking at three adults who were once children now claiming to be fairy tale characters. He was never touching another bottle of alcohol again.
"Can you make a pot of gold appear?" Nick asked.
Rumple smiled and waved his hand. A small pot of gold appeared in Nick's lap. He picked up one of the coins and tried to bite into it, nearly breaking his tooth.
Unlike most people he wouldn't take advantage of the older man's special gift. He was still having trouble not seeing the little boy in the man who looked to be about his age.
"Does that satisfy your curiosity, dearie?"
"It does. Now what makes you all suspect Grigori Putin is Rasputin aside from his name?"
"We mages can sense things about people and we sensed something was not right about Putin the first day we walked into the toy shop. And we've learned from our reading that Rasputin was known to have some very eccentric interests and finding ways to be immortal would be one of them. Dark magicians usually do this by devouring souls. Childrens' souls are the most sought after."
Nick's face paled. "You think...that's what's been happening to those children..."
"It's not pleasant to think about but unfortunately it may be the truth," Regina spoke up.
"And we may be able to shed some light on those mysterious deaths you're investigating too," said Belle. "Those, we're certain Cruella is responsible for." Belle handed him the other book opened to the texts on skinwalkers. "She has the ability to change forms either from souls she's taken or something from an animal...pelts are the most common."
Pongo and Perdy whined.
"Go on..." The poor detective looked like he was about to vomit.
"Also she uses something called corpse dust and it's exactly what it sounds like...made from human remains, infants being the most sought after. The description you're reading there of how it kills should be matching what your coroner has been finding as the cause of death in your victims."
"She tried attacking me with it while taking the form of a crow but in human form she can blow it in the faces of her victims," Regina explained. "And we won't know until he's finished his hypnosis session with her but Archie may be able to find out from Selene if they spent any time on a Navajo reservation because that is where she would have learned such magic."
"She...attacked you...as a crow?"
"She shifted into crow and leopard form when I fought her. And we all know she could have shifted into the lion stolen from the Animal Kingdom if she had his pelt."
Nick's hands clenched into fists. If what they were saying was true and this woman was responsible for Brian's death, he wanted to tear her limb from limb!
"Now do you see why you need our help, Detective?" Emma asked. "In a fight like this, there's no one better to have your back than Regina and Rumple. They're the two most powerful magic users in our world. Me and Henry...we're still learning."
"Yeah but I don't have magic and Belle don't either but we can still kick butt an take names!" Killian cried.
"You're all staying out of this," Rumple said firmly.
"Papa!" Bae exclaimed.
"Don't 'Papa' me Baelfire Gold! Regina and I have the most experience with dark magic and we are the ones who must face Cruella and Rasputin. And I want my daughter-in-law, my wife and my grandchildren safe."
"Papa, you're going to be kids when you go after him..."
"As long as I have this, I can remember my adult self and change us at will," Rumple held up his pendant. "Them not knowing we are adults under a deaging spell gives us the advantage."
"Grandpa, they don't just want you and Mom, they want all of us," Henry pointed out. "What if they try to divide and conquer?"
Nick's phone rang while he was listening to them talk. he looked down at the display and saw his wife's number. "Hello? WHAT?! I'm on my way! Stay there I AM ON MY WAY!"
The phone fell out of his hand. "My kids...THEY HAVE MY KIDS!" he screamed. "Whatever you want to do...DO IT!"he ordered the group. "Just...help me get my kids back!"
"What's going on out here?" Archie demanded when he and Selene ran into the room.
"Cruella an Rasputin took 'Tective Carlyle's kids!" Killian cried fearfully.
"Oh my God!" Selene moaned.
"Regina, go with him and put wards on his home!" Rumple ordered. "Archie, get my family on the first flight out of here!"
"You are NOT going into that toy shop without me!" Belle shouted.
"Come on, Detective, let's get you home..." Regina said gently.
"I should've been there..." he sobbed. "They...they attacked my wife...she's in the hospital..."
"Then we'll go there first and set up wards. Rumple, you are not going in that toy shop alone. Understand me?"
"The longer we wait..."
"I know. I'll be back as soon as I can."
She put her arm around the detective's shoulders and teleported them out, knowing it would be faster than taking the car.
They reappeared outside the hospital where no one would see them. Nick was shaking when she led him inside. Several of his fellow officers were waiting for him to explain what happened while he waited for his wife to come out of surgery.
Regina used a spell that would allow her to hear conversations at a distance and enchanted her compact mirror so that Rumple could hear it too on the mirror at the hotel.
"Your neighbors described the woman as a petite blond in her early twenties...she...she hit Peri with a crowbar..."
Nick collapsed in a chair and buried his face in his hands. "Bobby...Annie..." he sobbed.
"We're gonna get em back, Nick We're gonna get em back!" vowed one of the officers.
"Rumple, are you hearing this?" Regina whispered.
"She must be using a soul to change human forms..."
"I think it would be best if Detective Carlyle stayed here with his wife," Regina suggested. "I know it's going to be hard but...in his mental state, he could get hurt."
"I agree, dearie. Ward his house and ward the hospital then come back here and we'll get ready."
"I want a piece of those two badly," the former Evil Queen murmured.
"As do I, dearie."
Back at the hotel, a protest was being launched by Rumple's family, Archie, Selene and the dogs.
"We have no idea if this will even work. They could follow us!" Archie argued.
"You heard me, cricket! Get my family out of here!"
"And how the hell am I going to stop them if they decide they'll come back with two of them able to use magic to do so? They're all as stubborn as you are and they are NOT going to go willingly."
"I'll sit on the damn floor and start yelling 'Hell No I Won't Go!'" Belle threatened.
"I'll get Hatter's hat and bring us back here," added Bae.
"Will ye all be reasonable!" Rumple cried.
"WE ARE!" they yelled in unison.
Rumple threw up his hands. "What in HELL is reasonable about you all risking your lives?" he shouted. He pointed to Bae. "Baelfire, you've got two young kids to worry about and your wife's about to give you another! You want them to grow up without you? Damn you, boy, use your head! Magic fights magic, you've known that your whole life. Against a dark practitioner, you're a liability, you can be used against us! And they know it."
"He's right," Archie said.
"Look what happened when my family went up against Cruella," Selene reminded them. "My nanny was killed...and what about the Romanov family? You know what was done to them..."
"Please . . .they know my family is my greatest weakness . . .and if . . .if you're there, I'll be worried about protecting you, and not able to focus the way I need to. I need to be able to fight on their level . . .and I can't if I'm trying to protect you at the same time. If my attention is divided, Rasputin can hurt me badly. I need you to be safe. Then I can fight and make the bastard pay."
"We could go to England...?" Selene suggested.
"Anywhere away from here," Rumple sighed.
Belle burst into tears. "We just don't want to lose you..."
He went and hugged her. "Sweetheart, I don't plan on going anywhere. But as the Master of All Magic I have a duty to stop these rogue mages. I have to do this. But I don't have to watch my family in danger."
"Ahh Rumple n Regina can kick their butts to Hell for Lucifie's stew pot!" Killian said confidently.
"Grandpa, I can help you fight!" Henry spoke up.
"No!" yelled his parents.
"Absolutely not, Henry Mills Gold!" Regina said sternly when she reappeared.
Rumple spun on him. "Not another word! You're an apprentice mage, just what these rogues are looking for. It'd be like giving them a Christmas feast if I let you go in there."
"But . . .you said it yourself . . .it's what they want," he protested. "So we give them what they want . . .only with a sucker punch."
"Are you suggesting you make yourself the bait?! No! I won't have it!" Regina yelled.
"It's like the Trojan horse, Mom!" her son argued. "It worked for Odysseus!"
"That's what WE will be," Regina insisted.
"We're not Greeks, and no way in hell am I letting you go in there!" Bae interrupted. "I'll lock you in your room and tie you to the bed if I have to."
"You're a worrywort, Dad, just like Grandpa," his son said, his chin jutting out.
"Henry, Rumple and Regina need to do this alone. It's like Rumple said...we will only be a disadvantage," Emma insisted.
"But I want to help! I'm not a little kid like Killian. I want to do more than just wait and see what happens."
"Huh? I oughta kick ya in the nuts for that!" Killian said angrily.
"Why? It's true!" his brother snapped.
"Aww that's it...m'gonna sterilize ya, ya jerk!" The little pirate glared at him "An m'not just sittin by an watchin to see what happens cause I KNOW Rumple n Regina can whup their asses cause I seen em whup Pan's ass...so there!"
"Stop it, the pair of you!" Bae ordered sharply. He went and grabbed Killian. "Unless you both want to have a sore butt."
"Ummm...no..." Killian covered his backside.
"And fighting about it isn't helping!" Emma shouted.
"Dad, you wouldn't!" Henry began.
"You're not too old, mister, so don't test me," Bae warned.
"Does this happen a lot?" Selene inquired.
"It does in a family that actually gives a damn about each other," Archie answered.
"Henry, your job will be to protect your mother, your father, your grandmother, your brother and your sister," Regina said. "We have confidence that you can and knowing that we can win this battle."
Henry subsided then. "Okay . . .I can do that."
"Do us proud my little prince."
"I will, Mom. And you go and kick their butts. Cause nobody messes with my mom and grandpa."
Regina hugged him. "I'm going to let the Evil Queen come out and play...one last time."
"I almost feel sorry for them...no I don't," Archie mumbled.
"I take it these two were a bit...scary in your world?" Selene asked.
"Better not, Hopper. Or else I might have to give you a taste of my cane of doom-as Killian calls it," Rumple chuckled. "because those two are going to feel the wrath of the Gold sorcerer-which is a LOT worse than the Dark One."
Archie laughed. "Selene, sweetheart, Rumple and Regina were the most feared beings in our world because they could kick you to hell and back and thank the gods they're on OUR side now."
"We should...be going then...find Detective Carlyle's children, Rumple, and get them home," Belle said softly. She gazed into his eyes. "And remember...you carry all of us with you...love is power."
"I remember, dearie," he assured her. "You are both my greatest strength and my greatest weakness. Which is as it should be."
Killian hugged his knees. "Ya know I'd be there if I could but I'll be there in your head. Clobber those zombies with a really big meatball."
Rumple set his hand on the child's head. "I'll give them one just from you, lad. And you make sure your brother listens and doesn't try anything crazy," he whispered in his grandson's ear. "Or else he's gonna end up over MY knee, and you know how that goes."
"Yeah...I'll keep 'im in line," Killian assured him with a grin.
Emma hugged him...or tried to next.
"That's from Aria and me...I think she's ready to come out soon but I'm gonna try to make her wait till you finish this."
"You do that, dearie . . .but if she decides to make her entrance before I come back . . .I'll say hello when I come home." He hugged her and laid a hand on her belly. "Don't be in a hurry to get here, like your papa."
"You hear that Aria...you wait a bit...okay?"
The baby kicked hard.
"Ooof...well! Someone has an attitude today..." Emma said breathlessly.
"Takes after her father," Rumple snorted.
"And her grandfather!"
"Well, she comes by it honestly." The sorcerer admitted.
Emma moved back to allow her husband and son to say their goodbyes.
She pulled Regina aside to speak to her.
Bae hugged his father. "You know . . .this is one time I really wish I had magic. So I could fight alongside you."
"While I would like that, I'm glad you don't, Bae. Because I'd still be worried about trying to protect you." Rumple said sincerely.
"Papa, I just hate seeing you have to go in fighting...again..."
But his father wasn't the kind of man to stand by and watch innocent children die. It was the reason why he'd marched into the middle of the battlefield and put an end to the Ogre Wars long ago.
"I'm coming back, Bae. Never doubt that."
"Oh, I don't but I worry, that's all...like you always do with me."
Bae hugged his father again. "Let them have it, Papa."
"I will . . .be safe and try not to worry too much. "
"And we'll try not to get in trouble in jolly old England," his son said with a smile.
"You'd better not, Baelfire. If I have to come and bail you out of jail . . ." he mock-growled.
"Ahh you can afford it!"
"What I can't afford is my hair going gray totally!"
"We'll be fine Papa," Bae assured his father and stepped back for Henry to say his goodbyes.
"I still wish I could go with you but I'll keep everybody safe, Grandpa," Henry assured the sorcerer.
"You do that. And don't get any ideas in your head about sneaking out and trying to come with us either. Got me?"
"I won't because you can't be distracted."
"No. You just remember what I taught you . . .and if anything strange or odd starts happening . . .get to a safe place and use this," he pulled a clear pink crystal from his pocket. "It's a ward stone and will place wards about any dwelling you're in."
"I will. Send that pervert and his sidekick to Hell."
"Oh yes I look forward to that, boy," there was a hard glint in the wise eyes now. "God only knows how many little children have died to serve that bastard's lust for souls and innocent flesh." Just thinking about it made his flesh creep-for despite having once been an evil sorcerer-Rumple had not been as dark as they all thought-and he never would have harmed a small child like Rasputin had done. It was anathema to him, cursed or uncursed.
Henry embraced him and went over to where Emma stood with Regina.
Selene and Archie approached him together. "I don't know how to thank you properly," Selene said softly.
"There's no need to thank me, dearie. It was a pleasure to help you," Rumple said sincerely.
"I'll try to keep them in line," Archie joked.
"That may not be easy honey," Selene said softly.
"Not with my family. They're trouble magnets," chuckled Rumple.
"Do me a favor would you...make sure Cruella lives long enough for my mum and dad to get a shot in. They owe her one or two," Selene said.
Pongo and Perdy barked their messages to the sorcerer.
Thank you, dearies, he sent to them.
You better be ready to attend a wedding because these two are getting married or else.
Oh I will . . .and I'm sure you'll make sure they do.
Perdy snorted. Oh yes. But...I think Selene will be a bit cross with me when I tell her I'm...ahhh going to have puppies...
Rumple smirked. Hopefully not two dozen, dearie! Congratulations!
Unlike you humans we don't take forever choosing our mates, do we Perdy?
No, we don't.
It wasn't easy but the Dalmatians did manage to get some time alone.
Rumple wondered if Henry and Killian would end up begging their parents for a puppy once they were born, and thought it likely Bae and Emma might have two new additions to their household instead of one.
Regina embraced her son. "I'm coming back Henry." she vowed. "Those two have NO idea who they trifled with."
"No they don't. Just cause you're a white mage now doesn't mean you can't kick butt and take names."
"And I love the idea of bringing her out to play...one more time."
Henry nodded. "Play hardball, Mom. You and Grandpa both."
"We will. Are you ready Rumple?"
She cast a spell that suddenly made enough seats on a flight for England that day available and their family be the ones holding the tickets.
"You'll have rooms at the first hotel you stop at too," she added.
"I am, dearie," he replied.
"One more thing..." Regina waved her hand and she was now wearing one of her Evil Queen outfits.
She smirked at Rumple. "Feel like a wardrobe change, dearie?"
He gestured and appeared in his crocodile leather outfit with its high collar and form fitting leather pants.
Belle smiled. "You will wear that when I see you again...but not for long."
Her husband tilted his head and smirked. "As you wish, sweetheart." He conjured a rose and held it out to her.
She curtseyed. "Why thank you..."
She took the rose and held it to her breast.
"The rose will change color when I'm done with this mission and coming home to you," he informed her. "It will become purple. And if . . .and only if . . . I'm in peril of my life, the rose's petals will start to fall. Otherwise it will remain fresh and sweet."
"If you need us...we'll find a way to connect to you...just like we did before...in spirit."
"Good. You can probably use the rose as a conduit," her husband said.
Belle ran into his arms and kissed him.
"I will see you again," he murmured before kissing her passionately.
"I know you will."
It was with great reluctance that she released him and followed the others out to the cabs that would take them to the airport.
Rumple looked at Regina. "It's showtime, dearie."
She placed her hand in his. "Let's kick ass!"
"With pleasure!" he responded with a signature giggle. Then he teleported away to the toy shop.
In the basement of the toy shop, two terrified children lay on a table bound and gagged.
"You two will make lovely additions to our little collection," Cruella crooned.
The children whimpered.
She reached out and stroked the girl's cheek. "I think I will have twenty years of beauty with you…"
Anne Carlyle shrank from the woman's touch, shivering in terrified revulsion.
"And this one, Rasputin..." she gestured to the boy. "What do you think? A little appetizer before the main course?"
He reached out a hand and gave the child's bottom a pinch. "So juicy . . .and ripe . . ." his eyes began to shine with an unnatural lust.
Cruella smiled coldly. "Shall we begin?"
"Yes," he hissed.
She always had him begin the ritual since he had more experience.
The two terrified children prayed to God through their tears someone would save them.
Rasputin began to light the blood candles around the table, muttering the chant in Latin to call the dark spirits to witness.
Cruella closed her eyes and chanted with him.
He began to draw the diagram around the table with sorcerer's chalk and the lines left shimmered an ugly viscous green.
"Oh dark ones we summon thee
To grant us immortality!"
Black clouds formed over the toy shop.
Regina and Rumple materialized in front of the toy shop. The former queen glanced up at the sky, frowning. "They've started the ritual! We have to hurry!"
Rumple gestured and the shop door unlocked. "Come on! Hurry!" He could sense the gathering of dark magic and trailed it across the shop.
"Behind that shelf!" Regina exclaimed.
He gestured and the shelf moved and revealed a secret passage. He activated his personal spell shields. "Get ready, Regina."
She activated her own. "I'm ready!"
At the hospital, Nick Carlyle was praying.
"We're in in for one helluva storm...came outta nowhere," said the driver of Bae and Emma's cab.
Bae frowned. He knew that occasionally those using dark magic warped the forces of nature as a side effect and sometimes strange weather occurrences were the result.
In her cab Belle kissed her rose and held Henry tight.
Henry whispered. "We're gonna be okay. And so will they. We just gotta believe."
Selene buried her face in Archie's shoulder and Pongo and Perdy whined in fear.
Killian glared out the window. "Boooy are you gonna get yours, sickos!"
Rain lashed the windows and the wind screeched like a lost soul.
Henry touched the crystal.
It began to glow faintly, surrounding them with a peaceful warm light.
He sent the wards to all of the cars, knowing Rasputin and Cruella would try to harm them if they knew where they were.
It's not a dwelling Grandpa, but I know how you are about loopholes, he thought with a smile.
Rumple walked into the basement of the toy shop and purred, "Did you forget to send us an invitation to join the party, dearie? Or is this a members only kind of thing?"
"It's HER!" Cruella yelled, pointing at Regina.
Regina smirked. "You can call me the Evil Queen, dear."
Rumple gestured. "And I'm the Dark One."
"I'm looking forward to a rematch with you...bitch!" Cruella hissed, glaring at Regina.
Rumple zeroed in on the children on the table. "Fresh meat for you, dearie? You couldn't resist?" he sneered at Rasputin, leaving no doubt as to what he was referring.
"Who are you?" growled Rasputin.
This was no dark spirit.
Cruella eyed him appreciatively. "And aren't you a tasty morsel... bit on the short side...but trifles..."
The skinwalker licked her lips.
Rumple gave her a disgusted glance. "Not interested, dearie. A dog is more appealing."
"You'll be begging like a dog when we finish with you!"
"I'll see you beg first . . .bitch!" he spat. "Because there's more than one way to skin a skinwalker."
"You can try..."
"There is something familiar about you...sorcerer," Rasputin murmured.
Rumple bared his teeth. "Oh, we've met before. But you might not recognize me now. Let those children go."
"Do you think you can stop me?"
"I don't think, dearie. I know."
Cruella opened her hand and blew on it. "A little gift...hope you like it."
Rumple summoned a wind . . .and it blew the dust right back into her face. "Oops! It's a bit drafty in here!" Then he giggled wickedly.
Cruella conjured a shield. "Not anymore, darling..." she cooed.
Regina flicked her wrist and released the children.
"They are coming...you are too late..." Rasputin laughed.
Rumple transported the two children to the hospital and murmured, "Say hello to your papa for me, dearies." before they vanished in a puff of smoke.
The dark spectres flew into the cave and surrounded Rumple and Regina.
"Into the innocent let them transform..."
Rumple lifted up his pendant. "Light of Power repel these spirits of darkness." The pendant began to glow stridently and it blasted the specters with a brilliant fiery light.
Rasputin conjured an energy ball and threw it at Rumple"s hand.
Cruella flicked her wrist and threw Regina against the wall. "Give them just the right cheese and the mice will flock to the trap..."
Rumple vanished, reappearing on the other side of the table altar. "Never stand still-more of a target that way." Then he gestured and a huge dragon made of fire dove at the other sorcerer.
Rasputin threw himself on the ground, a shield springing around him, cursing in Russian. This damned bastard was good!
The dragon breathed . . .and encased Rasputin in a ball of fire.
Regina vanished in a puff of smoke and reappeared behind Cruella. "Just call me Speedy Gonzales..."
She reached through the other woman's back and closed her fingers around Cruella's heart. "One thing my mother taught me...keep an eye on your heart...you can't afford to lose it!"
She ripped the organ out of Curella's chest.
Rumple smirked and called, "Well done, Draconis!" to his fiery dragon construct, recalling the name of Daenerys's dragon on Game of Thrones in brief flicker of whimsy. "A little hot in there isn't it?" he called to Rasputin.
A few more curses in Russian was his answer.
Regina squeezed the heart in her hand. Cruella screamed and fell to her knees in agony.
"How...how can you..."
Rasputin managed to banish the fireball and stood up, brushing soot from his clothes. "What do you Americans say? No more Mr. Nice Guy?" He clapped his hands and his bottle imps flew into the room and attacked Rumple.
"As long as I have this you do what I say," Regina hissed.
"Oh dearie dearie dear!" Rumple giggled. "Imps!" He smirked. Then he cried, "Supper, Draconis!"
The fiery dragon swooped down upon the imps, incinerating some and grabbing others in his fiery talons. The imps, though summoned from one of the circles of hell, found that they were not immune to the dragon's fire, for it was a celestial being, and heavenly fire charred them to ash.
"How! No one has ever defeated my imps before!" Rasputin howled.
"That's because you always had helpless captives and ordinary humans before . . .you;ve never faced someone like me-Master of Light and Dark," Rumple sneered.
"That's impossible!" the other cried, and lashed out with withering curse.
Seizing her opportunity, Cruella cast the curse on Regina. The former queen gasped in horror as she saw her skin aging.
The heart fell to the floor.
"A virgin soul does wonders for the skin..." Cruella teased.
At the airport the petals of the rose started to fall.
"No...NO!" Belle screamed.
Rumple shook his head, his own magic battling Rasputin's curse with everything he had. He had to help Regina . . .but he knew if he let his concentration lapse for a moment . . .he would be food for the worms. He sent a command to his dragon. "Help Regina . . ."
The dragon flew over to the former queen and wrapped her in its wings. It gave her the strength needed to fight off the soul sucking curse . . .but by doing so it also gave its "life".
"Thank you, loyal friend," Regina murmured.
She could feel the curse reversing itself and summoned the heart to her hand again.
At the airport, Rumple's family and friends started picking up the falling rose petals and cradling them in their hands.
Rumple winced as Draconis' "death" weakened him, and he murmured, "Farewell my braw beastie." and sagged against the stone altar, feeling Rasputin's curse clawing at him, trying to get past his shields.
"He needs us...all of us..." Henry cried.
Rasputin laughed hollowly. "Stupid old man! Relying on your pitiful allies to help you fight! Friends are weakness! Family is weakness! And I shall crush you!"
Love is power Rumple...remember...Belle sent.
He pulled a slender throwing knife from his sleeve and flung it at Rumple.
The knife flew through the air and struck the sorcerer in the leg . . .the same leg he'd injured before.
Nevengers forever mate...sent Killian.
Fight it, Papa! urged Bae.
Rumple crumpled to the ground, his face twisted in pain. I cannot hold . . .but I must . . . through the red mist that clouded his mind he heard some familiar voices . . .and he whispered . . . "True Love conquers all . . ." Dizzy, his head drooped forward.
You're not going anywhere Rumple! Aria wants to see her grandpa now FIGHT! yelled Emma.
Rasputin came and kicked Gold viciously in the side, knocking the smaller man to the ground. "Resistance is futile! Surrender!"
We'll hold you Grandpa...together... sent Henry.
Rumple blinked, feeling the strength of his family's love flowing through him.
Rasputin leered and set his hand upon Rumple's chest. Then the necromancer cried, "I know you! You're that little crippled brat! Lost your cane?"
You're Rumplestiltskin...you're the most powerful mage in all the realms..show him! Archie encouraged.
"You're the one who's going to lose!" Regina sneered and locked Cruella in a cage. She had her right where she wanted her. She sent some of her own energy to Rumple.
Rumple shook off the fiery pain in his leg, then grabbed Rasputin's wrist with his own hand. "No. But I don't need it to defeat you, soul-eater. For I have something better . . .something that you cannot take, or steal, or feed off of, you pervert! You want my soul-Rasputin? Then take it!"
And he did something no one had ever done before-he offered his soul-made pure by sacrifice and true love, to the soul eater.
Regina gasped. "Are you INSANE!?"
Rasputin seized it in his hand-and screamed in agony. "The LIGHT! Ahhhh! Burns . . .I . . .can't . . ."
His palm blackened and charred and the soul tumbled from his grasp and was reabsorbed into Rumple's chest.
Rumplestiltskin sat up. He wore his signature smirk. "Forgot to read the fine print, didn't you? If a soul eater attempts to obtain a magical soul of pure light . . .the soul shall be his undoing!"
Rasputin writhed on the floor, as the burned charred flesh spread up his arm. "What . . .what . . .is happening to me?"
"You've been touched by True Love, dearie." Rumple informed him. "True Love heals, yes, but it also reveals . . and it's revealed that you've been living on borrowed time, Rasputin . . .and now that time is up! Tick tock, dearie! Tick tock!"
"Noo! I cannot die! I am immortal!" wailed the other, staring in horrified fascination as his arm began to disintegrate.
"Not anymore..." Regina sang.
His whole body began to crumble into a foul smelling black dust as they watched, as True Love's fire consumed him from the inside out.
Rumple lifted a hand and waved. "Dosvidanya, Mr. Putin! Hope you enjoy roasting in Lucifie's stewpot, as my grandson would say!"
He looked at Regina. "Sometimes, dearie, you can't be afraid to give yourself away."
Then he slumped to the ground again. "Damned daggers! When will I ever be rid of them?"
"Now would be good," his former apprentice said as she tried to heal him.
"Use your magic . . .to take the knife out . . ." he gasped. "But be careful . . .not to cut an artery . . ."
"If I screw up, remember, you trained me," she quipped.
"I don't train screw ups, dearie," he returned. "Why do you think I got rid of Zelena?"
"Point taken, now shut up...breaking my concentration...ahhh...there we are..."
She extracted the dagger carefully and blasted it.
Gold's head lolled to one side as the wound spurted blood all over. He struggled to heal himself.
Regina clasped his hand and shared more of her energy with him.
"Come on Rumple...dammit..."
Together, they mended the gaping wound until only pink skin showed through the tear in his leather pants. He clucked ruefully. "Bastard ruined my good pants."
"You won't be wearing them long anyway..." Regina said with a smirk.
He sighed, "Not if Belle has anything to say about it." He sat up. "Blast! I forgot my cane."
She stood up. "So, what do we do with our little pet here?" She helped Rumple to his feet and summoned his cane.
"You go fu..."
A bar of soap appeared in Cruella's mouth.
Rumple leaned on his cane. "Like I said before, dearie, there's more than one way to skin a skinwalker . ..isn't there, Carla Paddington? or should I say . . ."
They grinned.
"Cruella De Vil
Cruella De Vil
If she doesn't scare you
No evil thing will
To see her is to
Take a sudden chill
Cruella, Cruella De Vil..." they sang.
Cruella cringed and covered her ears . . .but it was too late.
For in the Navajo customs, if one spoke the true name of the skinwalker three times, the skinwalker would die in three days for the crimes it committed.
"Let's bring her in to the police," Rumple said grimly. "She has a few confessions to make."
"Enjoy your stay of execution while you can...Cruella!" Regina hissed.
She handed Cruella's heart to Rumple.
Rumple waved a hand and a facsimile of Rasputin's body appeared. "And we can always say Mr. Putin dropped dead of heart trouble once we found out his unholy secrets."
"I'm not saying ONE word!" Cruella hissed.
He held the heart gently. "Come, darling," he drawled. "We have an appointment to keep. And I'm afraid you'll sing like a canary, dearie. Because the one who holds your heart . . .commands you." His voice sharpened.
She followed them out of the shop, furious that she'd never learned THAT brand of magic.
At the airport, everyone was crying and hugging as the rose turned a beautiful shade of victory purple.
They grabbed their suitcases and raced to the exit to find taxis to take them back to the hotel.
"Just a moment, Regina," Rumple said, and they paused in the entrance to the toy shop. He waved a hand and Cruella now appeared as she had been, which was the description the police had of her.
"Perhaps you'd better give Detective Carlyle a ring too," he told Regina. "Tell him we have someone to see him. He'll know what we mean."
"With pleasure." She summoned her phone. "Detective Carlyle...it's Regina."
"Hello. Did you . . .?" he began.
"Yes. We have HER. And as for him...we'll fill you in when you get here."
"Okay. On my way." He hung up, and shoved his phone into his pocket. Then he looked at his children who were clustered on the bed beside his still sleeping wife. "Annie, Bobby, I need you to come with me, okay? The people that helped you, they have a lady in custody and I need you two to tell me if she's the same one who kidnapped you." He picked up his kids and told one of the officers on duty outside his wife's door where he was going. "I have to check this out, Mike. And I'm taking my kids with me so they can give me an ID. Hopefully this is who we've been after."
He'd told the others that his kids had been dropped off at the hospital by a helpful park official after they'd escaped their captors and told the staff who they were.
"Nail her ass to a wall Nick!" Mike exclaimed.
"I will, bro. See ya!" He took the elevator down to the entrance and hopped in his car after putting the kids in the backseat.
"Daddy...that lady scared me!" cried Bobby.
"I know, son. But she won't be able to hurt you anymore." Nick soothed.
"Cause you're gonna arrest her, right?" Annie asked, holding onto her brother's hand.
"I am . . if you can tell me that she's the same one who took you away," Nick answered. "You remember what she looks like?"
"Uh-huh...and she changed her face too...how she do that?" asked Bobby.
"Maybe it was with some kind of CGI stuff," Nick hedged, not wanting to get into a dicsussion about magic.
"Maybe she had powers like Mystique on X-men," Annie put in.
Bobby cringed. "That guy was gross...he pinched my butt!"
Nick almost hit the car in front of him. "That rotten mother f-" he clamped his mouth shut before he said something he'd regret.
"Daddy, you were gonna swear!"
"Sorry, I just . . .Bobby, he didn't touch you anywhere else did he?" he was horrified at what might have happened to his little boy, who was usually quiet and had been in shock since he'd appeared in the hospital room.
"Nah...that was when the Evil Queen an the Dark One showed up."
Nick let out the breath he'd been holding. "Okay . . .but if he did . . you can tell me, okay?" And then he would personally beat Putin to a bloody pulp.
"He didn't Daddy cause the Evil Queen got us outta there, huh, Annie?"
"Yeah, she made the ropes fall offa us on the table and then the Dark One said he was sending us home and to tell you hi," his daughter said. "Are they superheroes, Daddy?"
"Kind of like that, princess," Nick laughed. "And you have to promise not to tell anyone about them, okay?"
Bobby made a zipping motion across his lips.
"Cause nobody's 'llowed to know a superhero's identity," Annie recited.
"Yeah like that," Nick agreed, parking the car in his familiar space.
The kids were eager to see the superheroes again.
Nick flashed his badge at the security guard at the park entrance and was let through with his kids. He carried them over to the toy shop and entered it to find Rumple and Regina waiting for him, wearing clothes that looked like Game of Thrones costumes. No wonder his kids thought they were superheroes.
"Hello Detective," Regina greeted.
"Hey. Thanks for the assist. These are my kids, Annie and Bobby."
"I gotta question...why you call yourselves the Dark One an the Evil Queen when you're cool?" asked Bobby.
"Code names." Rumple smiled at them. "Hello, dearies. How are you doing? I'm Mr. Gold."
"And I'm Regina."
"Like Mister Gold better'n the Dark One and Regina's a cool name too!"
Both children glared at Cruella.
"That's her Daddy! Take her to jail!"
"You sure?" Nick probed.
Annie nodded. "Yeah. She looks just like that picture you gots in your office on the wall."
"Brats!" Cruella yelled.
"Oh and we saw her with them on the table, gloating, right, dearie?" Rumple asked, and he squeezed her heart in his pocket very gently.
"Should've killed all of you!"
And with that outburst she admitted to four counts of attempted murder.
Nick pulled out his set of cuffs in his back pocket and snapped them on. "Mrs. Paddington, you have the right to remain silent . . ." he began to read her her rights.
Suddenly Annie and Bobby began singing loudly, "They're coming to take you away-hee hee ha ha
To Florida State Pen, twenty years to life,
Where a fat guy named Bubba's gonna make you his wife
If ya don't do as you're told
Ya get chucked into a dark hole
And nobody cares cause you broke the law
And now you're gonna pay—"
"Oh my God!" groaned the detective. "What have I told you about that song?" He covered his face with a hand.
Regina giggled. "They remind me of us..." She had been recording everything on her phone for the others to see.
"Yes, they do, don't they, dearie?" Rumple laughed.
"So take her away!" Bobby finished.
"Hooray!" Annie added.
"Okay, scamps, that's enough," their father laughed. Then he said, "And how about Mr. Putin?"
The two mages looked at each other. "Well...ahhh..."
"Didja beat him up, the perv?" asked Bobby.
"Yes, lad, we did. Let me show you, Detective," Rumple beckoned him into the basement, where he had left Rasputin's "body". "I didn't want to tell you this in front of the children but . . I fear Mr. Putin has gone to his final destination in hell."
The detective gave a grim smile. "You kill him?"
"Let us say . . .he died from natural causes," Rumple replied. It was true.
"Good."
He viewed Putin's body and took photos of the crime scene and then said, "I'm gonna call the coroner and have this place sealed off soon, procedure, you know. But I wanted to thank you for . . .for rescuing my kids. I . . .I would have never been able to live with myself if something happened to them."
"Being parents ourselves...we know the feeling," Regina said.
"Yes, we do. We would do anything for our children, no matter what," Rumple said feelingly.
"If you don't need anything else from us...we'd like to see our family..."
"No, you go right ahead . . .and I'll make sure no one knows of your involvement . . ." The detective assured them.
"Yeah, we'll never tell . . .we can keep a secret!" Annie assured them.
"I'm going to give my outlaw a call...and tell him to come down here." Regina whispered to Rumple.
"Okay, and I need to get back to the hotel and make sure everything's okay with Emma and she's not going to have the baby." Rumple said.
They shook hands with Detective Carlyle and his children again.
Rumple's phone rang.
"Hello?"
"Rumple...our grandchild is on the way!" Belle said happily.
"She's in labor?" he gasped. "You get her to the hospital okay?"
"We did and she said to haul ass because Aria is getting impatient!"
"Okay, dearie. We're on our way." Rumple said. "We'll meet you there."
He hung up. "Regina, we need to leave. My granddaughter's eager to make her grand entrance." He waved a hand and his leather outfit was transformed into his Armani three piece suit. "Don't want then to throw me out of the hospital."
Regina changed into a Chanel suit. "Me either!"
"Cool!" the kids chorused. They waved goodbye as Regina and Rumple disappeared in a cloud of purple smoke.
A/N: So oon Emma will have Aria and also there's a new little one shot called A Little Bottle Mishap if you haven't read it! Thanks for all the reads and reviews, dearies!