Chapter 33
Regina and Coraline continued to stare at each other. They had said so much and so little in the last few hours that they didn't know what else to say. Being back at the house with the fairies, Belle and Red didn't help ease either of their minds. Things had been tense with them since Regina learned who Coraline was, but it just became worse when she found out that she was the Black Queen in the future. She didn't know how to make amends for that. She was just trying to prove to Coraline that she did want her, that she did want to be her mother and that she did love her only to have that entire situation turned on her with one memory.
"You aren't your mother," Red told her.
"I know that," Regina replied.
"Then stop with the self-pity. The future sucks. We know this. What we do now helps us either stop it or be better prepared for it. That is what Coraline wants. That is why you sent her back."
"I know that," Regina said.
"Then stop worrying about how she looks at you. She loves you. She wouldn't be here if she didn't. The five years that you had together when she was a child were enough for her to never give up on you and she didn't. You saw that in her memory. She was willing to take torture in order to protect you," Red explained.
"How do you figure that?"
"She went looking for you, didn't she? She got captured and for sixty days and nights she was silent about whom she really was. She endured every punishment that the Black Queen did to her and for what? Love…she refused to believe that you were dead. She refused to give up on you because she understood your power and your prowess on a base level, Regina. She is your child and she could feel you in some way. She was drawn to you."
"And, that almost got her killed," Regina replied.
"No, it brought her back to her mother. The Black Queen tortured her, yes. But, it was her mother, her precious Regina, that broke free from the confines on the unnatural Blackness, that fought through the pain and suffering she was already dealing with in order to show her true face and not the mask of the Black Queen to her daughter. In that moment, you gave her something fierce. HOPE. You helped her believe that she was making a difference and that she could make a difference. You gave her back the power to stop the Blackness."
"You really did all that with just a few words, Mom," Coraline told her.
Regina didn't know what to do. She was at a loss for words. She understood darkness. She understood pain and suffering. She understood hatred. She couldn't understand the love and the hope that they were trying to share with her. That was Emma's department. When things got rough, she returned to the darkness because it was easy and she knew it. She couldn't understand how she could allow herself to become the manifestation of the Blackness. She couldn't understand how they could be so forgiving of that.
"Yes, the Queen tortured me. Yes, she hurt me. But, you know what she didn't do?"
"What?" Regina asked, turning to face Coraline.
"She never successfully killed my Mom."
Coraline knew that Regina would be upset by the memory. She knew that it would take Regina a while to understand and come to grips with it, but she never imagined that she would take it this hard. She didn't expect the woman that she revered to be almost completely broken by it.
"Mom, you can't let it get to you. You know what it is coming. You know what is going to happen now. You can try and stop it. Do I think that Rumple with find a way to open his damn portal? Yes, I do. Do I think that he is the reason that everyone gets sucked back to the Enchanted Forest? Yes, I do. Do I think that you and Ma can defeat him and the Blackness? I know that you can, because you have always told me that knowledge is power. I am giving you the power before the Blackness comes into power. I am giving you the answers before the questions are even asked. Do I know if it will work? No, I don't. I can only hope that by giving you everything that I can now, here, and you prepare for what is to come that I grow up with both of my mothers, happily, and with the rest of my family. I can only hope that everything works out. I can't sit here, thinking about things that I can't anticipate because honestly, I don't know what I am changing and what I'm not. I can only hope that I am making things better."
"How did you get so smart, Darling?"
"I had four of the best teachers," Coraline told her with a smirk. "It isn't my fault that they are the four biggest bad asses in the kingdoms. I couldn't have asked for a better family, Mom."
"I must have done something right with you," Regina stated as she gathered her into a fierce bodily hug, willing it to be enough for both of them for now, but knowing it wasn't.
Will and Emma came into the house. Emma saw the hugging and joined in. Coraline took it willingly. She knew that Emma wasn't the most affectionate due to her upbringing, but when things hit her, Emma was a fiercely emotional person.
"What's wrong, Kid?"
"Nothing, Ma. Just trying to convince, Mom that everything would work out okay. She seems to lack the confidence in the family," Coraline replied, smiling at them both.
"I know," Emma replied with a smirk. "She seems to always forget that Charmings have a nasty habit of winning. Guess we are just going to have to prove that to her, aren't we?"
"I guess we are, Ma," Coraline stated, smirking just like Emma at Regina.
"Oh, stop it, both of you. I refuse to be a Charming. I end up marrying one and having one, but I refuse to be one," Regina said.
"And, I wouldn't have it any other way," Emma told her before kissing her thoroughly.
"You know, your PDA should bother me, but it doesn't," Coraline added. "It makes me happy. Because when I see you two together like this, I know that we will win. I know that we will find a way to defeat it. Because after everything that I have been through, after everything that I have been taught, one thing always remains the same."
"Yeah, and what's that?" Red asked her already guessing at the answer.
"Love conquers all," Coraline replied with a huge grin.
"Blasted Charming hope," Regina muttered.
"But, you like it," Emma told her.
"I do, but I am tired. We should sleep. I don't think that Rumple with get through the second barrier tonight. We have some time to figure out what he is really up to and what he needs. We should get some sleep."
"I agree. We erected barriers around town. We'll know if something happens," Emma added.
Regina looked at her and then Will. She wasn't surprised about the extra barriers being put up, she was just wondering when they found the time. She knew that Will would protect them all with every available resource that she had.
"I am going to relieve David. He needs to be with Snow tonight. I'll take the patrol. Emma, you stay here with Regina and Coraline. Red, you should take Belle back with you to Granny's. And, tell her not worry about Neal. Snow and David deserve their time alone tonight. Gods know when we will have peace again. Go to bed, all of you. I'll see you in the morning," Will commanded them like she would any of her subjects or subordinates.
Regina smiled at her and nodded in agreement. She pushed Emma towards the stairs. Tonight they were safe and they would celebrate that however they could in this peace of the night, because they had no idea what the morning would bring.
"Don't worry, Emma. I'll make sure that Red and Belle make it back. Now, go upstairs and love your woman. Things are going to get nasty soon and she'll need tonight to hold on. She'll need your light to help her find her way back from the darkness that she'll embrace to protect this family. Take care of her and I will make sure that you are all safe," Will explained to her.
Emma nodded. She smiled at her friend. She could feel the conviction in her words. She knew that she needed to hear it, too. Will would protect them while they slept. Will would protect them period. It took some of the weight off of her shoulders as the Savior, but it didn't take it completely. She thanked Will silently as she ushered Regina upstairs.
Coraline stayed behind for a moment. She wanted to spend as long as she could with Will. They both knew that Regina wouldn't be happy about it, but they couldn't resist each other. The pull was too great and somehow they both knew that Emma knew that too. She was silently cheering them both on, while still supporting Regina's worry about their futures together.
"I don't want you to go," Coraline told her.
"I'll be fine."
"I would rather you stay here."
"I understand that, love, but I have to protect this family. I want to stay with you. Gods, do I want to stay with you, Coraline. But, I owe a debt to your mother and until I pay it, I will not be free of the contract. You need to let me do this. We will be together. I promise. But, for now, let me do this. Let me save your family from Rumple and earn the right to be by your side."
"And, Mom worries about my Charming blood," Coraline said. "I think she needs to check yours. Be careful and come back to me. I've had enough devastation in my life. I don't want to lose you, too. Promise me that you'll come back here in the morning."
"I will be here after breakfast. We will make more plans on how to fight this. I will always come for you, Coraline. I will protect you," Will swore to her.
"Now, go, before I change my mind and drag upstairs," Coraline threatened.
"As you wish, my fair princess," Will replied and bowed in salute to her.
"Just go," Coraline replied before she climbed the stair case.
When she turned around she saw Red and Belle staring at her in awe. She didn't know how long she had been there, but she knew that it had been long enough by the way that Red was eyeing her. It was that look alone that she knew why Regina always kept Red nearby, just in case.
"Shall we go?" Will asked them, opening the front door.
Emma closed the door behind herself. She watched as Regina sat down on the bed and stared off towards the in suite bathroom. She didn't know what to say to her that he hadn't already said. Regina was beautiful, but she was worried. Emma knew that she just needed to be there for her tonight. Tomorrow was going to be a difficult day for everyone. The preparations for a war they weren't sure they were even going to have to fight would start.
"Emma?"
"Yes, Regina."
"Are we doing the right thing?"
"What do you mean?" Emma questioned.
"Should we even be thinking about having a family?" Regina asked her.
"Coraline is proof that we have a family beyond what we have now. Are you saying that you don't want more children? Do you think that if we don't have her that it will stop the Blackness from coming? What are you really asking me, here?"
"I don't know. I feel helpless. I don't like not knowing what we are going to be fighting. I want to have a plan. I want to have a winning strategy. I feel like we are fighting a losing battle."
"We aren't fighting a losing battle. We are fighting to save our family. We know what is coming if we don't do anything to stop it. We don't know what our preparation will do for Coraline's future, but we have to try. We can't just give up. That is what the Blackness wants."
"But, Coraline grows up without us."
"She did, but she may not now. We don't know, Regina. We just don't know. But, I am not willing to bet against us. Are you? Are you willing to give up? Are you will to do nothing?"
"No."
"Then, remember what I tell you every day," Emma instructed her.
"And, what's that?"
"We will defeat this. We will succeed. We will win," Emma told her.
"Thank you."
"I will always remind you, Regina," Emma told her, taking her into her arms.
Regina melted into her. She couldn't help herself. She was thankful, but she would never tell Snow or David, that she was a Charming. Emma kept her grounded and in love.
She leaned further into Emma and kissed her. Emma just smiled into the kiss, knowing that Regina would never admit to anyone that she was happy with Emma's "Charming" side. She felt Regina deepening the kiss, needing the closeness of her, and the love that only Emma could give her. Both of them needed each other and they both knew that this would test not only their relationship but their resolve.
"Regina…"
"What?" she asked slightly annoyed that Emma stopped kissing her.
"We should sleep."
"I don't want to sleep."
"I know you don't, but we need our energy."
"I need to feel you more than I need to be refreshed in the morning," Regina told her, tearing Emma's shirt off and over her head.
"Regina, baby…please," Emma tried to reason with her.
Regina wasn't hearing it. She needed to touch Emma. She needed to feel her. She needed the power that their love could make. She needed the closeness and the intimacy to quell her fears.
Her hands were all over her bare skin. She couldn't help herself. She loved the way her tan hands looked against Emma's alabaster skin. The contrast was so striking sometimes that she could just stare at it for hours and revel in the woman beneath her.
"Regina…" Emma tried again as Regina pushed her down on the bed.
She climbed up onto the bed and straddled Emma's lap. She looked down into her viridian eyes and smiled. That smile broke Emma's resolve to stop her and Regina knew it. Emma's hands were suddenly on her blouse, loosening buttons and pushing it away. Regina marveled in Emma's touch and her want. As her blouse was hitting the floor, Regina bent over to kiss Emma again. When their lips touched, Emma moved just enough to reverse their positions and put Regina on her back.
Regina deepened the kiss. She thrust her tongue into Emma's mouth. Emma welcomed the intrusion and massaged her tongue with her own. Regina moaned into the kiss. She started raising her hands up Emma's side. Suddenly the need to touch Emma's skin overwhelmed her.
"Emma…"
"What, Baby?"
"I need to feel you against me."
Emma didn't need to hear more. She pulled Regina into her. Slowly she undressed her and then herself. She wanted Regina so badly, but she knew that they should just hold each other. She tried to maintain some control of the situation. Regina has other ideas though.
She continued to kiss Emma. She let Emma undress her, but it still wasn't enough. She needed Emma. She needed to be with her. It was the only thing that would calm her tonight. She needed to feel something other than the despair that seeing the future had caused.
"Emma…"
"What, Baby?" Emma asked her.
Regina kissed her neck. She started from just under her ear and started working her way down towards her shoulder. She didn't let up. She nipped and sucked there as she kissed her there.
"Regina…"
"Not now, Emma. I want you and I mean to have you, tonight. So either, you lay back and enjoy it or help me. I know you want this as much as I do," Regina told her, still kissing her.
"Regina…"
"Are you really going to argue with me right now?" Regina asked her working her way further down her neck and her shoulders.
"No…"
"Good Swan," Regina commented as she worked her lips across her clavicles and towards her breasts.
Not to be outdone, Emma came to her senses and decided to join in the fun. She ran her arms down Regina's back and stopped at her ass. She grabbed a cheek with each hand and pulled her closer. Their bodies melded to each other.
Regina didn't stop. She kept kissing Emma only stopping to suckle on her breast. She nipped slightly at the hardened nipple and gently sucked it. After each bite, she would suck and kiss to ease the pain. Emma never complained. She just dug her fingers deeper into Regina's ass.
"Emma?"
"Yes, my love?" Emma replied.
"Do you think that…"
"Do I think that what?"
"Should we…"
"I love you," Emma told her.
It was enough to stop her thoughts. Her body moved against Emma's. She moved back up to her face and kissed her hard. Emma thrust her tongue into Regina's mouth. She needed her to know how much she loved her. She needed to make Regina understand.
She felt Regina's hands moving down her side. They moved from her hips up to her shoulders. She cupped Emma's face as she deepened the kiss some more. Their bodies slid over each other. Emma slowly rolled them over and eased Regina onto her back. Once Regina was on her back, she stared up into Emma's green eyes. She could see Emma's love shining for her. Then she felt it against her. She reached down and touched Emma.
"Emma…"
"Regina…" she breathed out as Emma touched her again.
"Please…"
"Are you sure?"
"It is proof that we are meant to be, Emma. I can't fight the magic between us. You shouldn't either. I love you. You love me," Regina told her.
She dug her hands into Emma's shoulders and brought her closer. Feeling her align with her body, Regina took her. Emma couldn't believe how much she loved Regina, but every time they came together, she knew how much Regina loved her in return. She didn't know what it meant for her to develop such feelings and such magical connection.
"I love you, Regina," Emma said as they came together.
Magic flowed between them. They always had peace when they were together like that. When they were together, in each other's arms, breathing each other's breath, and loving each other completely, they found the missing piece of their soul in each other. Together they were whole.
Coraline dug through her things. She found her old tunic that was buried. She pulled it out to air it out. So many days it had remained buried in that bag, hidden in the back of the cell, torn and mutilated by the Black Queen's hands. She stared at it as it lay on the bed that Regina told her was her own and that she could have as long as she was in Storybrooke. The tunic was the only way that she could keep the memory of them alive once they were dead.
Belle made it for her out of tunics that Red had found while searching for Regina. She didn't know why Red could never give up on her. She didn't understand it until she saw the look in Regina's eyes as she fought for what little bit of control she could take back from the Black Queen. She saw the light in her mother's eyes again. She saw the hope that Emma gave her reborn as she helped her find her way back into the past to help them save themselves.
That tunic meant more to her than she ever realized. It was a piece of her past, literally, but it was also a banner of hope that she could change her future. She could help her family get the destiny it deserved. They would finally all get their happy endings. Coraline would find a way to make sure that she helped them find a way to stay alive and keep the family together. That was her one wish and somehow Regina had given her the power to do it. She wouldn't fail.
Red paced in her apartment. Belle watched her. She knew that her Wolf was itching to get out but she couldn't figure out why she was so riled up. She knew that Rumple had always rankled her, but there was something else behind it. She seemed angrier than normal.
"Will you sit?" Belle asked her.
"I don't know that I can."
"Why not?"
"He's out there. He's doing something and we don't know what. He has pushed us all so much. This time it is too much. This time he has finally gone too far. His power and position can't help him," Ruby told her.
"Red, you can't challenge him. He will destroy you. Let Will deal with it. She is the only one that is strong enough to fight him and survive it. Regina will protect us while Will does what she does. I know that you can't don't want to back down from this fight. I know that you want to be out there leading the charge into the fray like you have in the past. This time you can't. You have to step back and let someone else take charge."
"You don't know what that is like. I am fighter. I always have been. But, now…"
"You feel helpless?"
"Yes, I am an Alpha and I can't protect the pack. I am having to relegate that duty to my Beta. I am having to step back and wait. I don't wait, Belle. You know that. I attacked guards at Regina's castles before Snow ever gave the order. I made ways for us to get in with the least amount of resistance. Snow never asked me to do it. Charming didn't know how to give orders, yet. I was second in command to Snow and I always did my own thing. How can I trust that Will will be able to handle this on her own?" Red asked her.
"Because Regina has asked you to" Belle stated.
"How can she ask that of me?"
"Because she is not only your sister, but you have admitted that since Snow and she have come to grips with their past that she is a queen that you would follow. She's asked you to refrain from attacking him because she cares for you and she needs you to help her protect her family. She needs you to survive for Coraline if for no other reason. She loves that girl and she will do anything for her. You've seen it with Henry and from Coraline has told us we have no reason to doubt that she won't do it again for her," Belle explained.
"Why now? Why wouldn't she have asked me before this? What is so important?"
"Coraline," Belle answered quickly.
"She's changed hasn't she?"
"Who?"
"Regina. She's changed since Coraline has gotten her. She's stopped projecting her anger as much. She's moving forward toward an unknown that she can't control and for what? Her happiness? A bleak future? How can she just give up everything like that?" Red asked.
"She loves us all. She wants what's best for everyone. She knows what is to come and she is doing everything within in her power to get the best outcome."
"And, what is that? Us raising her daughter because everyone else is dead? How is that the best outcome? How can she just sit back and let that happen?" Red asked, fury pouring off of her.
"Ruby…"
"NO! I just don't understand why she is just giving up. She's just letting it all go. We should be out there fighting. We should be doing something."
"We are. We are researching. Regina and Coraline along with the fairies have created magical barriers and traps for Rumple to fall into. I am looking into the portal that you saw. Coraline is trying to remember and give Regina everything that she can about the Blackness. Will is trying to strengthen the militia in preparations for the coming battles. We don't know if it is enough. We may never know that. But, all we can do is hope that we are giving ourselves the best chance in order to survive a future we already know is bleak and horrific."
"I need to be doing something," Ruby argued.
"Then, come sit down beside me."
Ruby looked at her. She couldn't believe that we were just sitting in her apartment doing research. She needed to run. She needed to be free. She needed to let the anger out. She needed to feel something other than the hatred she had for the situation. She needed balance and she didn't have it. She had nothing to hold on to but the want to please a sister and queen while still being the Alpha of a Wolf clan she didn't know much about.
Belle stood up and crossed the room. She took Ruby's hand and let her back to the bed. She knew that they needed to sleep. She knew that Ruby was keyed up and ready to explode. She needed to find a way to calm her down. She just needed to find a way to quieten the Wolf for the night. How could she make Red stop long enough for Ruby to find some comfort tonight?
"Ruby?" she tried again.
Red's hazel eyes flashed yellow for a brief second before finding her piercing blue. Belle took her hands and held them with her own. She needed to ground Ruby into the here and now. She needed Ruby to see her, while Red could fall back for a few hours.
"You need sleep. You need to be calm, even if it is just for a few hours. Come lie with me."
Red's head snapped up. She looked into her eyes. There was the normal comfort that she sought. She tried to ground herself in Belle, but she kept finding herself wanting more from her. She knew that it was wrong. Belle wasn't free. But the words that Coraline said to her in the diner just a few weeks before echoed in her head.
"Okay," Red replied, willing the Wolf to stay at bay.
Ruby thought about what Will had told her, too. Her cousin had told her that Belle loved her. Coraline had confirmed that there was a relationship between them in the future, even if she didn't elaborate what it was completely. She just knew that when she looked into Belle's eyes she found peace, a calm that soothed the Wolf inside and made her want to be a better person. That was something that she had been striving for, for years. To see the peace and love that Belle offered her in her sky blue eyes made Red step back for Ruby, but Ruby didn't know what to do with what she had. She'd never thought that Belle could see her for what she was: lost.
"You don't have to fight alone, Ruby. We all care for you. You don't have to shut us out and think that you have to be strong all the time. We all fail. We all feel," Belle told her.
Ruby lay on the bed and stared at her own ceiling. She felt the bed dip beside her and knew that Belle was there. Her body was tell her to confess, but her mind made her lay there perfectly still, hoping that her Wolf would stay at bay. She needed to be close to Belle, but she didn't want to frighten her away. She was afraid of what she might do if Belle actually rejected her.
Sensing something was wrong with Ruby, Belle shifted in the bed until she was on her side looking down at her friend. Ruby closed her eyes, clenched them tight and hid them from the world. She could see myriad of emotions swimming across Ruby's face. She knew that Ruby was in torment. She could feel it.
For years, she knew that Ruby fought the Wolf for dominance. Now, she was the dominant, but had the Wolf won with her acknowledgement of Alpha status? Belle didn't know. Ruby liked to hide behind her darkness and find ways of repenting that made sense only to her. She stared at the raven haired beauty and wondered what had her so wound up that she would lay in bed and refuse to sleep. They both knew that tomorrow was going to be a rough day and they would eventually have to fight Rumple, but this was something else entirely.
"Talk to me," Belle urged.
Ruby didn't answer. She turned her head so that if her eyes were open she'd be facing the wall. Belle wasn't going to let it go though. She reached out and touched her chin, turning her face back to hers. At the simple touch, Belle's fingers burned and Ruby's eyes flew open. Belle didn't gasp or turn when she that the yellow instead the hazel of her eyes. She didn't move when Ruby's hand reached up to touch her own.
"Belle…" Ruby warned her trying to calm herself and gain control of her body.
"Talk to me," Belle stated again.
"About what?"
"Why are you so nervous?"
Ruby sucked in a breath. Belle had to know. Could she see it in Ruby's eyes? She didn't know. She'd never said anything. She'd hidden like coward and loved her from afar, deciding that it was better to have her friendship than to lose Belle completely.
"Ruby?" she asked, when Ruby didn't answer.
Ruby closed her eyes tight. She willed herself to push the Wolf away. She couldn't give into the temptation just because Belle was in…on her bed. She made her heart calm and made herself relax. She took a deep breath and opened her eyes. Belle saw the hazel there, but there was something more.
Belle looked into her eyes like she was staring into Ruby's soul and suddenly, Ruby felt very naked even though she was still completely clothed. Belle's hand pushed against her chin and made her face her again as she tried to turn away. She held her gently. When she was decided that Ruby wasn't going to turn from her again, she slowly brushed her fingertips down the side of her face. She watched her eyes dilate.
"Belle…"
"What is it, Ruby? What is it that scares you so much that you hide behind your Wolf? What are you so afraid of?" Belle asked her.
"You…" she whispered.
Will had taken the cruiser from David when she sent him home. She had to admit to herself that patrolling wasn't what she wanted to be doing, but she knew that it was the only way she protect them at the moment. They were all on high alert and they needed rest. Will could go days without sleep or food and it wouldn't faze her. She knew that they couldn't. She would take up the nightly patrols until Rumple was found and dealt with. She just hoped that was proving herself to Regina.
She knew that Coraline didn't understand their dynamic but she knew that Coraline respected them both to let them figure it out. It hadn't been an easy conversation, but she'd bought some time before Coraline confronted her mother. She knew that Regina was worried for her. She was, too. She couldn't help but be worried for her.
Driving around the sleepy little hamlet gave her time to think. Red had been right earlier and as much as it pained her, she needed to know why. Coraline didn't know who she was when they first met. She didn't know about Vulcannonians and Regina had maintained her silence thinking that they were all dead. But, Will wasn't dead. She was very much alive and in love with Regina's daughter. But, Will wasn't in Coraline's future. Why?
She turned down Main Street and headed back towards Mifflin on autopilot. She would go patrol some part of town but then she would always head back towards 108. Once she was satisfied that everyone was safe, she would go patrol another part of town. It was going to be a long night. Each time she turned to go back to Mifflin, she hoped that she would see Rumple. She never did. If the imp was out, he was hiding.
She cracked her neck as she turned down towards the wharf. She had to work in the morning if they didn't have any news. No one had told her if Rumple had made it through the last barrier. And, at this point, she was taking that as good news. She hoped that he would tire himself out. It would leave him weak and vulnerable. She could use that to her advantage. She would break him for everything that he had done. She would exact her revenge upon him.
She turned back towards Mifflin. The night had been quiet, a little too quiet for her liking, but she wasn't going to complain. A quiet night would hopefully lead to a quiet day. She drove back to the sheriff's station just at the sun was cresting the trees. It was still early and the failing light was bathing the town. She parked the cruiser and got out. David was already waiting for her at the station. She tossed him the keys and then walked down to Granny's for some coffee.
She'd head back to her cabin at the Major Oak Arms. She tried to wind down and get ready for work. She knew that it was going to be simple, but she couldn't help them with the research. She could only help with the muscle. She could attack or defend. She could help plan, but they weren't ready for all-out war. She would be ready for whatever today would bring. She had no choice. She was Vulcannonian.
She ran a hand through her hair. She needed a shower. She stank.
Near the well, Rumple sat. No one was looking for him. Well, at least, they hadn't come to the woods looking for him. He could see the magic flowing from the well, but he knew that it wasn't his spell. The portal hadn't opened. He hadn't succeeded. He needed to find the ingredient at the Abbey, but he couldn't get through the barrier.
He'd spent much of the evening trying to find a way through, but now at sunrise he had given up for the time being. He would find another way. He would get the dragon's blood.
Then, he remembered. Coraline had fought a dragon that Tink had conjured. He'd overheard Regina, Emma and Belle talking about it at diner. If he could get the fairies to conjure him a dragon, then he could get what he needed. It wasn't a foolproof plan, but it was better than wasting his time on the damn barrier. Now all he had to do was find a way to get Tink away from the rest of the fairies. He knew that he couldn't go into the Abbey, but maybe he could find a way to bring her out.
He stared at the well, again. Something wasn't right. The magic coming out of the well was pulsing. It wasn't like when he used it to bring magic back. It wasn't like when he put the death curse on the well to stop Cora. No, this had a different smell, a different taste. There was magic flowing, but he didn't know why. Concerned he walked over to the well. He looked down into it and saw a nighttime sky. His face scowled. It didn't make sense.
He took a step back and looked around the forest. There was nothing different. It was quiet and wooded. The well was the only thing that was changed. He cocked his head and tried to figure out what was really going on with the well. He walked back to the well and looked down into it. Unfortunately, a large gray hand punched him away from the well.
Rumple flew back and hit a tree. He slumped down in pain as he stared up at the well. Two massive gray hands came out of it. He stared at them for a few seconds before everything went dark. His head hit the dirt and his eyes closed. He never saw what came out of the well.