Potential Solution

"So appearances really are deceiving," Bae said, watching the peasant but listening to the fight and keeping track of who was gaining and losing ground. "What stake do you have in this?"

"You will save us," the wizard replied.

"Us?"

"The spirits of Dark Ones past."

"And you accomplish this by sending me to..."

"Nottinghamshire, eleven eighty-seven, in the land without magic."

"Where Rumpelstiltskin is?"

"He added magic, or he will, since by this land's timeline, he hasn't arrived yet and won't for almost a millennium."

"Right place, wrong time."

"Exactly, but you're closer to your goal than you think, and what happens when you get there will be beyond your imagining."

"I think I'm getting to know that really well."

"The Sheriff is just the beginning. Most don't know this, but this world at this time is plagued with evils. There's a reason Robin Hood becomes so famous for being a hero."

"Robin Hood was kidnapped, never to be seen or heard of again."

"They won't know that."

"You know what? I don't know about the evils of this world, and I don't want to find out. I want to find my father. That's all."

"That's a rough road you have ahead of you."

"Nothing I can't handle."

"Exactly. Otherwise you wouldn't be on this path."

"So I'm being manipulated by the likes of you and whoever else you work with in this world? Do what you need to do by yourself, on your own time. I am going to go to my father. It's been far too long, and I don't intend for it to be longer."

The wizard shrugged. "Suit yourself. Enjoy the trip." Then he disappeared in a puff of smoke, and Bae turned to the fight, arrow drawn.

"Are you quite done?" Morraine asked.

"Done, and angry," he replied. He took a deep breath, and an idea formed in his mind. He drew on the Sheriff's own energy, pulling it toward the shaft of his arrow but keeping it off his hands. Tendrils of black smoke snaked around the arrow, and he fired, striking the Sheriff in the shoulder. He cried out, and Morraine fell back and ducked behind a tree.

The Sheriff wheeled on Bae and launched himself at him. Bae ducked to the side, concentrating on the energy of the arrow and forcing it deeper into the wound. The Sheriff crumpled, clutching his wound, but he still managed to stumble forward. Bae continued to force the energy deeper and then spread it out. The Sheriff's leg gave out beneath him, and he was forced to his knees. Bae turned and dashed into the forest.

Morraine turned from her hiding place and followed him, but she didn't get very far before needing to duck to the side. Bae turned and also ducked, but a black orb nicked him on the shoulder and sent him spinning backward. It was like that witch in the Enchanted Forest all over again, only this time his sensitivity was good for something. He turned to face the Sheriff one more time, and Morraine snapped, "Are you crazy?"

"I don't know," Bae replied. The Sheriff limped toward him, readying another orb for launch. Morraine raised the sword and lunged toward Bae. She turned toward the Sheriff, the blade parallel to the ground. The orb connected with the flat of the blade, and there was a great flash of light originating from that very point. Bae wrapped his arms around Morraine's shoulders and abdomen.

The flash dissipated, and when he peered out from behind the veil of Morraine's hair, Bae found that the Sheriff was standing in front of them. Gingerly, he released Morraine. "So you do love this girl," the Sheriff said with a sneer.

"It wouldn't make any difference to you either way," Bae replied.

"Actually it would. This way, your death would be much more enjoyable."

"Who says I'm going to let you kill me?"

"That's half the fun." Morraine launched herself at the Sheriff, swinging the sword at his neck. He caught the blade in his hand and tried to wrench it away, but the blade pulsed with light. Morraine's eyes widened, but she pulled the sword back and made another attempt. The Sheriff ducked in a desperate attempt to avoid the blade. Bae drew another arrow and called on the Sheriff's energy. It worked once, with favorable results, so it could work again. He could tell right off that he was already weakened, so drawing energy out of him was an effort in and of itself, but somehow he managed it.

The Sheriff's energy flowed into the shaft of the arrow, and Bae took careful aim. Morraine continued to attack him, so he waited until she turned his back to him. Then he loosed the arrow right into the man's chest.

The Sheriff arched backward and sank to his knees, crying out in agony. Help would never come, Bae knew. The demons had all been scared away, possibly by his show of force. The Sheriff called on his power to try to disintegrate the arrow, but the effort instead made him pass out. "I think you may be on to something," Morraine said, lowering the sword.

"Maybe."

OUAT

John turned to Alan, regarding him coolly. "Looks like they can handle themselves," he said at length.

"You mean he figured out a way to take out the Sheriff?" Alan asked. He walked up to where John stood to see this development for himself. The Sheriff lay unconscious, and Bae and Morraine were walking toward Sherwood, hand in hand. "Sensitivity," he whispered, making some degree of sense out of the situation.

"Well, well, well. Looks like that old coot was right after all." John turned and walked back to Sherwood, and Alan trailed behind.