A Tangled Web

Chapter Two: Awakenings and Dangers

Gold moaned as he climbed out of bed the next morning. His sleep had been fitful, and he could still hear the echoing cackle of Rumple's laugh in his head. He stumbled into the bathroom, splashing water on his face to wake himself up. He brushed his hair back, and then froze in shock at his reflection in the mirror.

His eyes were gold. He blinked, and they changed back to their normal light brown. Gold shook his head to clear it, and then saw that his hands had a slight gold sheen to them. He gulped, shuddering. What the hell was going on?

"Tomas? Is everything okay?" Ruby's concerned voice outside the door bought him back to reality, and he shut the water off before exiting the bathroom and giving her a reassuring smile.

"Everything's fine, love. Just feeling my age, that's all. The girls still asleep?"

Ruby nodded, and then kissed him hard. "You are not that old, Tomas. You seemed rather youthful last night, when you bought me to orgasm…how many times was it?"

Gold giggled. "Seven, I believe. I still can feel the scratches on my back." Ruby smirked at him, and he kissed her, and then pulled back, staring at her in surprise. "Ruby…you have brown eyes, right?"

Ruby nodded. "Yes, why?"

"No reason. You…you haven't started wearing color contacts, have you?"

Ruby laughed in disbelief. "No, of course not! Why would you ask such an odd question?"

Gold shook himself. "No reason. I thought I saw something, that's all."

"What?"

Gold hemmed. "Well, for a moment, I…I thought you had wolf's eyes. Amber-colored."

Ruby gaped at him before dashing into the bathroom. She returned minutes later, relief on her face. "Nope, still brown. Tomas, are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine, just a bit hungry. I'll go make some breakfast. Maybe that will help clear my head."

He went into the kitchen and leaned against the counter, head swimming. The gold sheen, which had been on the back of his hands earlier, had now crept up to his wrists. He flexed his fingers, and his skin changed back to normal for a brief moment, then the gold came back stronger than ever. He ran his tongue over his teeth, relieved that they were at least still normal human teeth and not the sharp ones he had had as Rumplestiltskin.

He sighed, deciding that it was too early to be worrying about anything. Better to decide what to have for breakfast. He snapped his fingers, trying to think-and the sugar bowl vanished. Gold stood in the middle of the kitchen, eyes and mouth wide open. He would have stood like that until Doomsday if not for Ruby's shout.

"Tomas! Why is the sugar bowl in the crib?"

"Uhh…I…no idea! Maybe Maggie got it. She's got a sweet tooth."

Ruby came into the kitchen and set the bowl back on the counter. "Tomas, Maggie doesn't even have teeth yet, not to mention neither of the girls can walk. Also, I checked on them not ten minutes ago, and there was no sugar bowl in the crib." She stared at him, alert. "And why do you have your hands behind your back?"

Gold gulped, and then bought his hands out from behind his back. "Ruby…I…think Rumple's coming back." Ruby gawped at his hands, which were no longer a human's hands. Instead, they had the gold, slightly reptilian look of the Dark One. "I noticed that my eyes are changing too. The gold is becoming more dominant."

Ruby collapsed onto a stool, eyes wide. "But, how is that possible? I know you remember who you are, but I thought only Regina retained her power."

Gold ran his nails through his hair. "I don't know. I still retained some of my ability to see the future-it's how I knew Emma would become Sheriff-but I never saw this coming."

Ruby thought for a few moments. "Could it be due to the Curse weakening? You created it; did you maybe throw in a few fail safes?"

Gold shook his head. "No, I only made it so I'd remember who I was-and who you were. My powers had been locked away by those blasted fairies by the time the Curse hit." He growled in frustration. "Damn it!"

Ruby came forward, pulling him into a hug. "Tomas, why are you so worried? You were always more powerful than Regina could ever hope to be! If you're regaining your powers that can only be a good thing, right?"

Gold kissed her. "Ruby, you're my wife, and I love you very much, but you can be a very silly and foolish little girl sometimes. Think, love. If Regina finds out that my powers are coming back, what do you think she'll do to you? Or to the girls? What do you think the Queen would do to the children of the Dark One and an alpha werewolf?" Ruby gasped in horror, and Gold nodded, grim faced. "We could be in terrible danger."

Ruby shook her head. "But I'm not changing! I'm still me!"

Gold cocked his head at her. "How did you sleep last night?" Ruby blushed

"Well, I did have this really vivid dream. It was wolfstime, and I….I was….killing soldiers. The Queen's soldiers. And I could see you fighting ogres and laughing. The air seemed to crackle with power, and blood was everywhere-I saw Emma fighting with her mother and father against three ogres, and then I changed back to human, and you were there, and the scent of blood filled my nostrils…it…excitedme…and you took me, right there on the battle field, amidst the screams, and the clash of swords…then Regina was there, and…she had a dagger."

Gold shivered. "What did the dagger look like?"

Ruby chuckled dismally. "It was your dagger. I've seen it before, remember?" Gold nodded, and then indicated for her to continue. "We were resting against a tree, and Regina…she came forward, and then…she…she…plunged the dagger into your back, right up to the hilt. That was when I woke up."

Gold pulled her into his arms, clinging tightly to her as his mind reeled. He did not dare to tell her that he had almost the exact same dream, only his ended with the dagger plunging into his ribs as Ruby screamed in horror and the mad laughter of Regina filled his head.

It had been a very long time since he had ever dreamed so vivid. In point of fact, it had been a very long time since he had dreamed at all.

A loud rumble made him look out the window at the black storm clouds that were slowly gathering in the east, and his spine tingled.

"Storm's coming, Ruby."

And across town in the Sheriff's office, Emma looked out at the black sky and felt a cold shudder run through her. 'A change is coming.'

She poured herself some coffee and sat down, running her hand across her face. She had had the strangest, most vivid dream the night before-Gold was in it, but he looked different, almost reptilian. Ruby too-she had sharp, blood covered teeth and amber eyes. She had been in a field, fighting monsters, and David and Mary Margaret had been next to her. Then, Regina appeared, a strange dagger in her hands, and plunged it into Gold's back. Ruby screamed, then threw herself at Regina, howling in rage and grief-and that was when Emma woke up.

The last thing she had recalled was that, in the dream, she had called Mary Margaret 'Mom.'

She sighed. This town was really starting to get to her.