Bane of His Existence
Chapter Twenty-Five
Back in Hyperion Heights…
Regina slowly rose from where she was sitting beside the man she loved, yet without looking back at her sister, she spoke to Zelena as she asked sadly, "So… was there another reason why you came down here, Zel… Kelly? Or was it just so you could pry more into my personal life?"
Zelena looked towards the stairwell to make sure Henry or Tilly weren't nearby upon hearing her sister nearly slip on her name, then she answered, "Actually, I did come down here to tell you that Weaver has asked me to come get you, so you can help him with his plan. I believe he's just called up that witch. But if you need some more time with Rogers…"
"No… no, it's all right," the younger woman responded quietly, then quickly looked down at Rogers again and gently ran her fingers through his hair for a moment before finally walking away from him to follow Zelena upstairs. "Did he say what the plan was?"
"Nope," her sister replied. "Only that he needed your help. Yours… and Tilly's."
Five minutes ago within the main room of Roni's bar…
After he had taken some time to come up with a way to try to defeat the witches and to save his partner, Gold looked between Henry and Tilly who were both sitting together in the booth closest to the bar in the back as they worried about their friend while they waited for any word on a change in his condition.
As he stared instinctively at the teenager within the room, an idea finally came to him and Weaver finally turned to Zelena as he called out, "Kelly… would you mind going down to get your sister. I've got a plan and I'm going to be needing her help, as well as Tilly's here."
The young woman stared at him strangely as she questioned, "You need my help? Are you certain?"
"You said you wanted to help me save him?" the senior detective answered, as he pulled his cell phone out from his pocket, then quickly dialed the number that had shown up on the screen when Eloise had called him earlier with the address where they had found Rogers. "The time's come."
"I'll go get Roni then," Kelly stated, just as the phone line on the other end picked up and Weaver had begun to speak with their enemy.
Gothel wasn't surprised to receive the call from the Dark One as she asked, "Well… what took you so long to make this call? I would have thought you'd have called much sooner. Tell me… how is your partner feeling? It can't be good, I'd imagine."
Weaver turned away from the others still in the room with him and spoke quietly enough so they couldn't hear him as he responded, "You obviously know as well as Regina and I do what the effects of dreamshade are. But I haven't called to banter with you. I would like to set up a meet. A place to exchange what it is you want, for what we want."
"The cure for the dreamshade that's killing Detective Rogers… in exchange for Victoria and Ivy, as well as whatever information you can get your hands on to help us to find our sisters," the witch replied smugly. "You've clearly become desperate if you're willing to make such a deal. But can you really live with yourself knowing that you're condemning the Belfrey women to death even if it is to save Rogers' life? I mean… if you were still the Dark One you used to be, then I know you would have no problem. But heroes like Rogers, Her Majesty, and your lovely wife have made you soft and weak. So… can you really make such a trade?"
"To save the life of a good and innocent man… absolutely," Gold answered darkly. "I don't believe anyone here in Hyperion Heights would mourn the loss of either of the Belfrey women once they're dead at your hands. If I must get mine a little dirty in order to save my partner's life, so be it. When and where would you like to meet?"
The witch pretending to be Eloise Gardener responded snidely, "I'll have one of my men text you the time and place. But just so you know, you're going to have to wait just a little awhile longer. The dreamshade won't kill Rogers too quickly, especially since I'm certain that you're all doing your best to keep him from putting too much strain on his body… that is if he's even been awake at all. Besides, you need the time to put together the files on our sisters. Don't disappoint me, Weaver. Or Rogers will pay for it."
"I know the stakes," he replied crossly, then hung up on her and turned around only to find Regina, Zelena, Henry, and Tilly all standing behind him, and from the dark look on their faces he could tell that they had overheard more of his conversation than he intended for them to.
"You can't be seriously be thinking about handing both Ivy and Victoria over to Eloise so they can be killed?" Henry then said angrily as he glared at the detective in front of him. "I don't… I don't understand. Why would they want to kill them anyways?"
The detective looked between his grandson and the teenager, neither of whom knew who they really were, as he answered, "I'm afraid that what's going on here, is beyond what either of you can really comprehend right now, but know that what you might have heard just now, isn't what it seems. I assure you. I am only doing whatever I can to save my partner's life."
Henry looked over at Roni and Kelly, both of whom looked at each other as they struggled to come up with a better answer he and Tilly might understand, until he turned back to Weaver again and responded, "That's not really good enough for me. Please… try to help me to understand what's going on. I care about Rogers too, but if saving him means letting two other women die, even if one of them is corrupt like Victoria is… I just can't believe you would seriously consider giving them over to people… who would want to kill them. Besides, Ivy is my friend."
"All right," Gold finally relented, after taking a moment to think. "You're going to think I'm crazy, but you should know that there are people in this world, who believe in the occult and practice witchcraft. For whatever reason they do it for. I don't know about that, nor do I really care. I only care about bringing them to justice should they be responsible for hurting anyone for the sake of their beliefs. My point is… Rogers and I have very recently come to believe that Eloise Gardener, as well as a few others including the two women on the hospital surveillance footage whom Rogers has been framed for supposedly kidnapping, have formed a coven for the sake of the occult. Sadly, we learned this too late and before we could do anything to stop them…"
"Rogers was framed and then kidnapped himself," Regina continued for her old friend in an effort to help and defend him. "In case you don't already know this, these so called witches along with a few of their followers and 'protectors', tried to kidnap both Victoria and Ivy once earlier today. Rogers saved them, which is how he wound up getting taken himself. Weaver brought them into custody for their own protection."
Tilly spoke up in disbelief saying, "This is all… crazy. And I thought I was messed up when I'm off of my medication. But witchcraft?"
Gold looked at her and nodded as he replied, "The truth that there are people who believe in the occult and practice witchcraft is crazy and very difficult to believe. But nevertheless… it's true. Rogers saw it for himself firsthand according to Victoria and Ivy, and I'm certain he would confirm it if he could. All that's happened to him… all that I had had mentioned he suffered while in these witches' hands, I believe was partly because of Eloise's practice. They believe in it no matter how ridiculous we may find it to be. However, if we have any hope in saving Rogers now, then I ask that you trust me. I don't intend to allow anything to happen to Victoria, or to Ivy Belfrey."
Henry looked over at Roni with worry until she simply nodded and smiled at him as if to assure her son that he could trust the senior detective. The young man also glanced over at Kelly as well, who did as her sister did in order to confirm her assurance that Weaver was being sincere.
"This is insane, but all right… I trust you," he finally stated when he turned back to face the older detective again.
"And so do I," Tilly added confidently, anxious to help the man she owed for helping her when she needed it. "Tell me what you need me to do, Weaver."
After sundown the next day, back outside of the burned down subway tunnel…
Gold and Regina arrived at the allotted time Gothel set for them to meet, much to the heroes' worries that their friend wouldn't be able to hold out another twenty-four hours as Rogers continued to suffer painfully from the effects of the dreamshade still coursing through his body. Both Zelena and Henry remained behind at the bar to care for him while the others were doing what they needed to do to save him.
When they got out of Weaver's car they drove to the tunnel in, then pulled both Victoria and Ivy from the back seat with the women's arms cuffed behind their backs, they saw that Eloise was standing there along with her two sisters already found, as well as their three bodyguards, just in case the detective attempted something foolish such as arresting them. The witches smiled cruelly at them as they approached.
The leader of the coven was the first to talk as she said darkly, "I didn't actually think you would bring them. I am impressed, detective. Surprised a little, but impressed. You really do care about your partner more than I thought you did."
Both Weaver and Roni glared at the women before them as the senior detective answered, "Let's cut the chit chat down to a minimum and get on with why we're all here. You wanted the Belfrey women here, as well as the files I collected on the women you believe are your sisters within this witch coven you're attempting to reform. Do you have what we've come for, Eloise? I want to see it first. Just so I know you actually have it."
"The antidote for the poison that's killing your partner," Gothel responded as Roni pulled the files from the bag she wore over her shoulders in order to reveal them to the witches and their protectors, while she then pulled out a vial containing a dark liquid from her coat pocket in order to show the heroes that she had brought them what they were seeking as well before replacing it once again until they made the exchange. "I assure you, it's good. Rogers will survive, provided that what's in those files are what I'm looking for."
"First… before we make any exchanges here, tell me… how did you frame him for killing that doctor at the hospital?" Weaver then questioned unexpectedly. "It couldn't have been easy to do. I mean, even one of best computer experts at the station couldn't even detect a flaw in the surveillance footage from the hospital to show that it had been tampered with."
Gothel sighed in frustration as she rolled her eyes, then replied, "That's because Rogers actually did kill him. I may have had to drug him in order to get him to do it, but that was the easy part. All it took was for him to take a few sips of the coffee I gave him when I came into the station the other morning still pretending to be the poor innocent Eloise Gardener. The rest was a bit more difficult, but we managed. Kidnapping Rogers wasn't planned, but it was quite the added pleasure. I told you that I would one day make him mine, Regina. Didn't I? He won't ever be able to get me out of his head now."
The former Queen answered darkly, "You may have raped him and did other unspeakable things to him while you had him, but he's stronger than you think. You underestimate him. And we'll be here to help him get through the pain."
"Gothel… that's enough of this idle chatter," Draya finally whispered after having grown impatient along with their other sister. "Let's finish this and get out of here."
"That's right," Minerva added more curtly, then turned back to those still facing them and called out again to them more demandingly. "Hand the Belfreys over now! Uncuff them and send them over with the information on our sisters. Or I'll smash the antidote and Rogers will die."
She started to move towards Gothel so she could pull the vial from her pocket until all of a sudden, dozens of cops began to surround those they saw were criminals as they flashed the lights of their patrol cars, then called out for the witches and their thugs to raise their hands high in the hand and to get down on their knees. The villains were startled by the sudden invasion as the man recognized to be the security officer from the hospital started to do as they were ordered to do.
However, before he could, Gothel glared angrily at Weaver as she shouted, "We had a deal, Dark One! Our sisters, as well as the other villains here in exchange for the antidote that will be the only thing that will save Rogers' life. You must not care for him as much as you pretend to."
The leader of the witches' coven reached into her pocket so she could smash the vial as Minerva had suggested only to find it was no longer there, and when she turned to Gold and Regina again, it was then that Tilly walked through the crowd from behind Weaver with the small vile in her own hands as she spoke up smugly saying, "You're wrong about that, crazy lady. You must not have seen me just now in all the chaos with all these policemen surrounding you and distracting you with all of their screaming and their lights."
Moments ago…
As soon as the first of the lights from the cop cars and the men began to shout their orders for the criminals to get down, Tilly immediately weaved her way through them while Eloise and the others with her were distracted, then swiftly reached her hand into the leader's pocket where she had seen Eloise pull the vial from earlier when Weaver had encouraged her to reveal where it was, and stole it before quickly disappearing again within the crowds of police before she could be seen by anyone.
Present moment…
"I picked your pocket in order to get the poison's antidote before you could try to smash it," the teenager living on the streets continued while she handed the vial over to Regina, who immediately took it and rushed through the crowd so she could get back to Rogers to save him before the dreamshade stole his life. "Thanks for confessing to trying to kill him."
"She's absolutely right," Weaver then responded after one of the men under him shouted out for the villains to get down again like before when they still remained standing. "And you have also confessed to drugging my partner to get him to kill that doctor in order to frame him for your crime when you broke Diana Levinson here… out of her room at the psych ward. Thanks to you, my partner's name has now been cleared of all wrongdoing."
While her sisters appeared to look as they were preparing to fight against those there to arrest them, Gothel smiled coldly between Gold and Tilly as she replied, "You may have stopped us this time, detective. But I assure you that this is far from over. Especially for your partner. He will be mine once and for all one day and you'll never see him again. Or he will die. Which one is up to you. Tell him that for me, will you? When he's better, of course."
Before the senior detective or the men and women under his command could do anything to stop them, Draya used her power to suddenly summon a heavy cloud of fog to cover everyone in order to make their escape, though those not from the magical worlds couldn't see how what they believed was nothing more than a trick was actually done.
While the three witches were lucky to have gotten away, their protectors weren't as lucky when the officer whom Weaver had trusted back at the precinct with the surveillance footage managed to take down the security officer from the hospital after he shot one of the men who stood in the way of his own escape to try to get away. As for the two Stabbington twins, they were both arrested by a group of officers when they attempted to arrest Eloise until the coven leader roughly shoved her two bodyguards right into the men's arms despite them attempting to protect her, then ran before she could get caught.
After the arrests they could make were made, and the scene was cleared, Weaver turned to Victoria and Ivy Belfrey as he began to uncuff them, while Ivy stated curtly, "I can't believe you trusted that entire plan to your police squad and to this street urchin. We could have been killed."
"But you weren't," Weaver answered smugly. "And while the leaders behind your kidnapping got away, we succeeded in getting the most important thing we came for. The antidote to be able to save Rogers' life. I do believe you were the ones who said you owed him for saving you before."
"We never said that," Victoria retorted coldly. "I never would have agreed to being the bait for a plan as idiotic as this."
Tilly smiled at Weaver and responded, "Just be thankful it worked and that you're not dead."
When she ran off to return to Roni's bar so she could be there after Roni ministered the antidote to their friend, the senior detective smiled at the two women once he finished removing their cuffs and setting them free, then quietly so that none of the other officers could hear him, he replied angrily, "She isn't wrong. Be grateful you're still alive and not once again a human sacrifice. Now get out of here, before I have either of you arrested again for being a part of the hell Rogers has been put through within these last few days. I wouldn't tempt me."
