Now, my little sister said I should mention the fact that there is another Easter egg in this chapter from a very popular old Disney Animated show.
Could someone please end my suffering and mention if they noticed this one. Please.
"What are we doing out here Dad?" Henry asked as Gold and him were walking up to gnome pasture. David was a few feet behind, having come in his own car.
"We need a way to contact your mother, there is a way to do that, but it will be easiest at 8:15 tonight."
"Why."
"The universe is full of energy, yes?"
"Yes."
"All of that energy is flowing in a certain direction, it seem like it's all moving in random ways when you look at any small part, but as a whole, it all flows together. And it just so happens that this world and the Enchanted Forest orbit one another for lack of a better term. Now at 8:15 in the morning, the universal flow on energy is going from the Enchanted Forest, heading straight for here, which is why I brought magic back at that time, the waters from lake Nostos were most connected to this world by the Well."
"And at 8:15 tonight, it will be flowing from here to the Enchanted Forest." Henry said.
"Yes."
"But how dose that help us?" David asked.
"The odds of our wives making it there were rather good considering they fell through the portal close to the right time. Now Madelyn might be able to open a portal to there when it is at the zenith, possibly a minuet before and after."
"And we can get them."
"No, portals aren't two way for solid mater, you can call someone or thing, or go somewhere or send something, only pure energy can go both ways. So unless we know exactly where they will be, and at what time, it would be a failed attempt."
"So then why try?" Henry asked.
"We can send energy, like a cell phone call or something a little better." Gold said holding up his had with his wedding ring. "Twin diamond rings create a mental link between wearers, I spent the whole of our marriage strengthening the bond, we fire a blast of magic through a portal, like a cannon ball, it cracks the wall between the worlds, like the wraith would have done for Emma and Snow, and then I will be able to talk to her, maybe even establish a more permanent link so I can talk to her in our dreams."
"How long will that take?" David asked as Henry went ahead a little.
"No idea, it's different for each person and relies heavily on Emma wanting me to be in her head, and her natural defenses not trying to kick me out." Gold said quitly enough that Henry would not hear.
"Can you ball park it?"
"Considering it is Emma, it could take ten seconds to do it all, or ten years to lay the ground work. And then it all depends on a thousand other factors. Is she in pain, dose she feel safe, is she awake or asleep, how deep is the sleep, night mares or no, did she eat today, is she moving or stationary, and who knows what else, and any of these factors could make my job easier or harder."
"So is there anything you do know?" Davis said loudly enough that Henry might have heard.
"Yes." Gold then waved his hand and Henry froze with a red aura over him. A shocked David looked at Gold. Gold gave him a stern look. "I know that Henry is worried enough as it is, I know that all he needs is one reason right now to freak out and he will; I also know the limits of my patience and acting skills. Right now I am pretending to be in complete control and act like I know everything so Henry will need to worry; I am also managing to do a good enough job to make myself think the same thing. The moment I stop believing the lie I am forcing down my own throat, I will dissolve into a pile of nerves and become worthless. The moment I do that, Henry will follow and unlike me shall be running down the streets, screaming like the world is going to end. In the end he might get hurt or he will do something stupid, both of those scenarios I don't like." He then clamed. "If you have questions, ask Merlin, if you feel insecure in my plan, ask him, if anything happened that you think could ruin any plan you or I have, you tell him, and then if it is a real problem he will tell me. But unless you know it has absolutely nothing to do with getting them back, and you have absolutely no one to talk to for help but me, you don't ask any questions. You are here to show Henry that we are all working and to reduce his worry. So I need you to at least pretend that you know everything, and that you have no worries." Gold then turned as if to keep walking. "Do anything that jeopardizes getting them back or Henry's faith that they will. And I will have to tell Snow when she gets back that you had an unfortunate encounter with the bumper and underside of a car." Gold then started to walk forward. "Several times."
He then started walking forward and unfroze Henry. "It shouldn't be too hard David. Talking to them is easy, it's getting them to get back that will be harder, but it will be much easier now with magic on this side and theirs." He said this loud enough for both Henry and David to hear.
Gnome Pasture.
Gold and Merlin stand in the pasture. David sees Gold take out a wand and Merlin his staff. "This won't be easy old friend, you sure you can handle it?" Gold nodded, but David did notice some sweat on Gold's fore head, and it was a cold morning.
"I'll be fine, don't worry about holding back aginst an old immortal."
"Um, just what are you doing?" David asked.
"The only way to contact your lost family is to open a portal, the only way to get through to them when we do that is to fire energy through the portal to break down the wall and let it flow smoothly. Magic coming from a person is harder to make a smooth flow." Merlin said picking up his staff. "So we are going to throw magic attacks at one another, fully intending to beat the living tar out of one another."
"Um, okay. As fun as that sounds to watch, especially if Gold gets a thrashing." David said smiling. "How does that help?"
Merlin held up a glass orb. "This will collect all the loose magic. The plan is for our attacks to collide, smashing the magic, causing it to become a cloud and causing it to bind. It will go into the orb, and then what was once unstable and chaotic is refined and slightly accelerated, and we can then feed it through the portal evenly and not rip a whole through the universe."
"And if we did rip a whole?" Henry asked.
"We end up with a dimensional shift that will rip the fabric of reality apart and plunge us all into a black whole of pure chaos that will slowly fade from existence." Gold said.
"Oh is that all." David said sarcastically. "So when should we start to run if that happens?"
"Did I forget to mention that the vortex will be the size of the state of Nevada?"
"Oh."
"Well, let's not let a little thing like that stop us." Gold said flicking the wand and sending a blast of energy strait at Merlin. He managed to just deflect it in time.
And then a firework show of magic flew across the field.
David dived out of the way when a stray blast went at him. But a moment after it should have hit, he looked up and saw a shield shimmering a few feet away and above him. "Don't worry Charming." Merlin said, sending another attack at Gold. "I warded the place earlier; it will take a lot more than that to break them."
"You'll forgive me if I move behind a tree or rock for the remainder of your little fight."
David did just that, taking Henry with him.
"Merlin then shielded the area so no one could hear them either. "So, how are things going on the side project."
"I feel like I'm burning up in side, and I'm almost certain I can feel a serrated knife cutting down my middle."
"Is the potion helping as much as we hoped?"
"I'm using a squirt gun on a forest fire, but it makes the knife feel smother."
"Good, any indications as to how far along you are?"
"It's weird, I feel it, the hooks that are attached like normal, but unlike the first time, were it was like a slow hug that became a second skin, I can feel something in between us." Gold said.
"Well if this works, you should be able to all but join or separate completely." They continued trying to beat the snot out of each other. "Have you given any thoughts to control?"
"Yes, I'm going to talk tonight."
"Should be interesting."
The Center of Town, in Front of the Clock Tower.
"Ready?" Merlin said. The clock at 8:10.
"Ready." Madelyn said.
"Ready." Gold said.
"Ready." Henry said holding the orb.
"Now remember Henry, Merlin is going to draw the magic out of the orb, Madelyn will open the portal, and I will send the magic out of the rings to Emma. You are the physical link to both Emma and Snow, you have both of their DNA in you, and you need to focus on keeping you mind clear." Gold said. David then went over and took one of Henry's hands and helped him hold the orb. "David will do the same. So you both just close your eyes, count to a ten, and if you reach ten, just start over. But focus on counting, nothing else, don't even picture the numbers in your mind, just count quietly and don't let your mind wander, I need the path as clear as possible. Understand?"
"Yes." Henry said.
"Yes." David said.
"Good." The clock was at 8:13. "Well, now or never, let's begin."
Madelyn stood in the center, directly in front of Merlin and the clock tower. She began opening a small purple portal, no bigger than a basketball. Merlin's staff then began to glow, and a purple stream of energy the size of his cane came out of the orb, swirling around until it entered the portal.
Gold gave it until a count of ten and then sent a light, thin stream of green energy, only as big as a piece of thread from his ring through the portal, it mixed with the purple energy about three feet away from entering the portal.
He then closed his eyes, and if felt like his soul was leaving his body, slowly slipping away like water down a drain
Gold could feel himself floating down, until he felt like he had settled down and was entering Emma's mind. Almost like he was slowly going under water.
He remained calm, knowing that if he reacted like he was drowning, he could break the connection, with dire consequences.
It only took him a moment to look around. He was in a dessert, not sandy like the Sahara, but more a death valley, with the occasional tree. Emma was unconscious, if she was dreaming he would be in a more active land scape.
He then began, stretching his mind, allowing him to take more control of Emma.
When he did, he began to here and feel things around her.
When he managed to finally get to the surface of her mind, he opened her eyes and found an Asian looking woman in armor looking down at Emma menacingly.
He quickly teleported her over to an area behind the woman, which happened to be in front of a man on a bed like alter thing.
He didn't need to look twice to know that he had had his soul sucked. If the medallion was nearby, he could restore the man. But right now he needed a rock.
But right now he needed a rock or something, but the threat of the woman with the sword was preventing him from doing what he needed to do, as Emma was aware of the threat, if only slightly, but enough that it made her defenses flare. And he could already feel the connection weakening; they must have passed the zenith.
"Mulan I have the... What is she doing!?" That drew Emma/Gold's attention.
He saw the medallion; it was with the girl, who from the dress she was wearing was a princess. He stretched out Emma's hand.
"Give that back!" the girl yelled, but she was clearly too scared to move.
But the warrior was not. But she stopped when he began reversing what the wraith had done.
"Stop that! What are you doing to him?" The warrior said once again charging forward.
But by the time Mulan got within about five feet of Emma, the white light stopped and the man gasped. "Philip?" She said in shock.
"Philip!" the princess said happily.
The young prince, Philip, was looking around in shock, and Gold flicked Emma's wrist, causing him to roll off of his, altar, bed, whatever it was.
The warrior helped steady him, and Gold took the chance to summon a small pebble into Emma's pocket and place a spell on it, but he could already feel himself being ripped back from Emma.
He quickly retreated back into her mind, hating himself for it because he knew Emma would no doubt fall and hurt herself, but he had to get back to her subconscious.
He made it back with just enough time to spare so he could leave a box there on the desert ground, hopefully she would find it that night when she slept.
And then the world crumbled around him.
Gold's Home.
He woke up. Looking at the clock next to him it was apparently 3 AM.
When he got up he could feel the pain in his head. Getting up to look in the bathroom mirror he saw a very painful looking gash in across his head. And it hurt worse then it looked.
"Ok, next time I do that, I am standing on a mattress."
"You got that when you got pulled back. Next time don't spend so long out of your own body and you will be able to return gently. You snapped back so fast you flung yourself all the way back to your wall, even cracked it a little." Gold looked up and saw a black shadow in the corner of the room that shouldn't have been there with the lights on.
"How bad of a crack?"
"Not so bad, but I'd stay away from memory lane for a little while, what could come crashing down out of there is not pleasant." The shadow said laughing.
"Yes, thank you for the warning." Gold said smiling. "I take it you stayed while I left."
"Yes. I must wander how that happened, but then, we haven't been like we once were for a while now, why?" The voice said, sounding confused and hurt.
"I have a proposition."
"Oh now that is interesting."
"A new way of doing things, more independent way."
Gold could more feel then see the shadow's, for lack of a better term, facial expressions. And it was looking at him like he was crazy. "Now why do that, why ruin such a good thing like what we have?"
"Not ruin, improve."
"I doubt that."
"Just hear me out." Gold said, and he could tell after a moment the shadow was, more or less, nodding his head for Gold to continue. "We can exists separate but still together. You could stay here and guard my children, or go out and be my spy, look at the world in ways I cannot, go where I can't."
"And what do I get in return."
"You have an imagination, I know you do, imagine all the things you could do, without being bound the way you have been for so long." Gold could see the shadow was intrigued. "Think of what you were, so long ago before you became what you are now, it could be like that again." Gold could feel him being convinced, so he went for the kill. "Feel the sun on you, the wind flowing past, and the rain as it comes down, without a shell in between."
Gold knew that would get to it, it was why it had done what it did so long ago. "I can't fight my nature."
"I know, but a little management, and if you don't fight the proses, and this could be the start of beautiful new way of life."
The Enchanted Forest.
Emma woke up lying on the bed thing, Mary siting on the ground near by. "Emma." She said jumping up the moment she saw Emma open her eyes.
"Hay, did they get the number of that truck?"
"No, what happened?"
"What do you mean?"
"Well…"
"Is she awake?" Mulan said, leaning against one of the wood polls of the canopy with a hand on her sword. Philip and Aurora coming over as well.
"Awake, maybe. Able to see strait or think clearly, ask me in five minuets."
Philip decided to walk up and held out his hand. "Thank you for what you did."
"You welcome." Emma said going to shake his hand, but he brought it up to his lips to kiss it. She then looked over at Mary. "What did I do?"
"You don't remember."
"I remember pushing Regina out of the way of a wraith, the wraith falling though a portal, and it grabbing me with it's, energy, sucky, thing. And then it's all on big empty black nothingness, and then wakening up on this, thing."
"The wraith you sent here sucked out Philips soul." Mulan said, and not in a nice way."
"Mulan, be nice." Aurora said.
"Mulan really?" Emma said trying not to laugh. "And sorry about that, it wasn't supposed to survive the trip." But then a thought came to Emma. "Wait, if you have no soul, we are you so, not dead like."
"That's what they are thanking you for." Mary said.
"What did I do?"
"You returned my soul to me." Philip said.
"I did?" Emma thought for a moment. "You would think I'd remember something like that."
"Your eyes and wedding ring were glowing." Aurora said.
"Ok, not normal." She then tried to stand up but felt something hard and unpleasant in her pocket. She reached inside and pulled out, a rock. "What is this doing in my pocket."
Then the rock started to glow. "Consider it a going away present." And then the image of Gold's upper half appeared.
"Wow." Emma jumped and dropped the rock.
"Don't drop me dear, it's not nice."
"Sorry." Emma said picking up the rock. "But what?"
"This rock I enchanted to I could tell you some information."
"But how is it in my pocket."
"I used the rings." Gold said holding up his ring. "Twin diamonds, they form a mental link with between to people. We opened a portal to let me communicate with you. But you weren't answering at the time so I took temporary control of your body to find something to do this with. Found a warrior with a sword and a prince without his soul, thought I might fix the problem so they wouldn't try and kill you."
"So you're the one that helped me."
"Yes. It made them owe me a debt, which they can pay by getting you and Mary safely home."
"Well that's great." Emma said. "How are Jonathan, Bella, and Morrian."
"I can't open a portal to you because Madelyn isn't strong enough and we would need you to be at the right place at the right time."
"Wait, what?" Emma asked confused.
"I left something is your sub conscious before I had to leave so we can really talk."
Emma looked at him confused. "No doubt I messed up and didn't answer one or more of your questions by now. This is not live; I made a recording and enchanted the rock to play it for you. I'm sure it will be fun to see how long you thought this was going live, I'm rather curious to see where or when I messed up. It might take a while, but I should be able to get it so we can actually talk in a few days, until then stay safe." He then paused. "And for all the details you are no doubt thinking about. Everyone here is fine, Henry is with me, and we are working from our end, weather or not we can get anywhere is unknown, but good luck and see you soon." And then the image faded.
"Well, that was helpful." Mary said looking at the group. "Shall we be going?"
"Going, going where?" Emma asked.
"These lands are infested with ogres, we need to get to safety." Philip said.
"There is a small tombolo, it's a day or so rides to the north." Mulan said.
"A what?"
"Think of it as a small island with a land bridge connecting it to the main land." Aurora said. Emma looked at her with a look that must have connived her annoyance at not knowing that. "I'm Aurora by the way, and don't worry, I didn't know what it was called until Mulan told me."
"Well then, why not go to an tombolo with sleeping beauty, Snow White, prince Philip and Mulan, while fighting through Ogre infested woods." Emma said, she then had to suppress and 'mad-mans-laugh'. "On my list of sentences I'd never thought I'd say, that didn't even make the possibly in some drug induced nightmare list."
The group from the forest looked at her like she had gone crazy. "She's not really all there after just waking up." Mary said.
Mary's Loft.
There was a knock at the door. David was not having the best of days, so when he opened the door and found Gold standing there with a bottle of whiskey and holding two glasses, he truly wandered if this was a sign saying he needed to check himself into the hospital basement.
"Quite the speech you gave today." Gold said going past the man who was still trying to figure out if Gold was real or not.
"Do come in."
"All though I'm a little disappointed to hear that Henry was almost kidnapped because you failed to show up."
David bowed his head. "Thank Merlin for stopping that will you."
"Already did." Gold said setting the glasses down and pouring a liberal amount in each. "Regina apparently broke into my shop and found her mother's spell book, I have since repossessed said book and moved it to a more secure location."
"Good. Dose this mean she still keeps her magic."
"Yes." Gold said handing him a glass. They each took a sip, and David coughed a little. "29 years out of practice I see."
"I guess."
They just stood there for a minuet, David feeling uncomfortable knowing that Gold was looking at him like he was deciding something, and Gold's decisions never seemed to end well for David. "I want to give you some advice David, my price is you actually use it."
"And if I don't want your advice."
"Then your price will be next time, Merlin might not be there to stop Regina." Gold said plainly. And David motioned for him to continue. "Just because your suffering, doesn't mean the world stops spinning."
"What dose that mean."
"It means you are to important to be focusing only on getting them back, you have responsibilities, and unlike me, you're not magic." He said smiling. "Now it would be nice if the world just stopped and let us grieve every time we suffered, but if it did, the moment I was born the world would have never moved again. So you need to focus on keeping hell from being unleashed. I can worry about past students throwing temper tantrums."
David sat there thinking for a moment. "Yesterday, you said how you needed to lie to yourself, saying everything would be fine, what makes you think that is a lie?"
Gold sighed. "Because I had to make a curse the likes of which had never been seen nor heard of to get here the first time. Just because the magic is here now doesn't mean it will be easier for them."
"So then how do you do it, tell yourself that despite everything it will be fine?" Gold gave him an annoyed look. "I only ask because I could use that right now."
"I've been doing it since I was eight years old. Every morning you wake up, and every evening before you go to bed. You sit there and for five minuets you try and smile, while saying out loud everything will work out." Gold then stood up and took the now empty glass from David. "After the first 150 years or so, I actually started to believe it."
Thank you all. Pray for me right now, it's t-minus 45 minuets until the first final.
To JamieOUAT I'm glad you love violence against Fairies so much dear, in a few chaps I have something I know I'm going to love writing, and I'm sure you will love reading.
PumpkinKitten, power214063, as I said, I have plans, and Bea's are 100% set in stone, an Adamantium stone tablet.
Guest, so you love everything about this story, but me, ouch that hurts.
lozzy035, yup, brought Philip back, and don't worry, they will get back, but how soon I'm not sure.
Grace5231973 thank you as always my dear.
And Twyla Mercedes, all I can say is I have plans, I have plans with in plans, and plans with in them, and plans that shall come out of those plans that I did not know were there.
Obviously Finals are affecting my mental processes, if I never update again, assume I'm in a mental hospital or was hit by a bus because I was to brain dead to look both ways.