…Three days ago at the Dark Castle…

"Henry! Don't!" shouted Rumplestiltskin in a groggy voice, but it was too late. Henry had already placed the Sorcerer's hat on his head. Rumple could tell that when Henry opened his eyes that it was no longer his grandson. Arthur looked down at Rumple and smiled mischievously. Arthur waved at his head and the hat suddenly became invisible.

"Come along… grandpa," Arthur joked. "We need to get going. Collect what you need and let's go."

As Arthur slipped the pen and paper back into his coat jacket pocket, Rumple looked around the room that once belonged to him. He suddenly felt disoriented and tried to focus on the task at hand. They were heading back to Storybrooke. Rumple, however, was going back for a different reason; to be back with his family. A family he had left because of his decision to wear the hat. Part of him knew that he would be back to see them again one day, but he didn't realize how much of his life would be sacrificed to time to get to this point. He had spent a lot of time being a slave under the Author's hat, and it was a price that wasn't worth what he had bargained for.

Rumple struggled getting up from off the ground and used the table beside him to hoist himself up. He moved as quickly as he could towards the giant wall and waved his hands over it. Almost instantly a hidden compartment revealed itself before him. He placed his hands over the knob and upon recognizing the hand, the blood magic melted away granting him access to the materials within. He knew exactly what he needed; the Dark One dagger.

As soon as he held the blade in his hands he turned to face Arthur. Arthur looked up at him impatiently and said, "We don't have all day old man."

"Says the man who can manipulate time," murmured Rumple sarcastically under his breath as he tucked away the blade inside his rope belt. "I find it amazing that, even in this circumstance, the prophecy about you still holds true. You will somehow always be my undoing."

"Henry is no longer your primary concern," directed Arthur. "Your top priority now is to make sure your past self gets this hat."

"I understand what I must do."

"Good. Then let's go," said Arthur as he pulled out Cogsworth. "Cogsworth, take us back to Storybrooke."

At the last possible second, Arthur placed a hand on Rumple's shoulder and they disappeared from the castle. When they reappeared they found themselves at the edge of town. As soon as they arrived Arthur immediately let go of his touch. The dawn was breaking and they were alone. They could hear birds in the distance caw as the morning fog rolled in. Arthur broke the serenity by barking orders, "You must not interact with yourself. In fact, you shouldn't interact with anybody. You don't exist in Storybrooke. If you interact with anybody, you risk destroying everyone, including your family in the space time loop."

"You need to be just as careful," warned Rumplestiltskin. "Emma Swan in particular. You may be the Author, but she is still the savior. She isn't a construct of your story, so her actions may not be as predictable as you think. As the savior she will do as her character must to protect and defend everyone in this town."

"Don't you worry about Emma. I can handle her. You leave her to me."

"Likewise… when my family comes back to Storybrooke you leave them to me."

"You will have them when the time is right," Arthur said authoritatively to Rumplestiltskin, neither confirming nor denying his wishes. Arthur chuckled to himself as he marveled, "It appears that you need me as much as I need you."

"So it would seem, but I warn you," said Rumplestiltskin as he pointed a threatening finger looking dead into Arthur's cold eyes, "you harm my daughter and…"

"-and what? You'll hurt me? You can't hurt me."Arthur scoffed blithely over Rumplestiltskin's threat, but then he saw the malicious look on Rumple's face. Arthur could see that Rumplestiltskin wasn't kidding around and wouldn't put it past him to find a loophole to his story. It was, after all, in his character to do so. Arthur coughed nervously to stifle his laughter. "No harm will come to your daughter," promised Arthur quickly changing his tone. "You forget, Rumplestiltskin. We share the same interests. If we work in tandem, you will get your happy ending as promised."

"We shall see," said Rumplestiltskin doubtfully.

With the Author using Henry's body, he magically vanished into thin air leaving an old Rumplestiltskin behind to his own devices. It had been so long since he had control over his own faculties that the act of simply walking was a struggle. All he needed was just a little support. Not that he was unaccustomed to walking disability. Thanks to his being occupied by the Sorcerer's hat, the old war wound to his ankle was gone. Despite the vanished injury, he still had to survive with his present condition. He meandered towards the woods and searched for a decent walking stick. As soon as he found the right stick to lean on he pressed forward, walking down the long road.

As he walked down the road he could feel the dagger at his hip smacking against his leg. Both his legs were still stiff perhaps atrophied from ill-use. He did, after all, just wake up from a couple decades long nap so he had to give himself some credit. As much as walking was good for his body he didn't have the time or power to manipulate time anymore… or did he?

He paused for a moment in his walking and stretched his hands. After a series of crackling and popping in his joints he held his hands out and waved them over his body. He disappeared. When he reappeared, he was still on the road surrounded by forest. He didn't make it all the way into town like he had wanted to. This was both a good and a bad thing. It was good because it meant that he still had residual magic left, but it was bad because it meant that his magic was much, much weaker than it was before. Not only did the hat take away his Dark Curse, it took away his source of power and there was no telling how long he'd have this magic. He decided it best that he would use it sparingly and only when absolutely necessary.

He pressed forward. He needed to exercise his freedom anyways. Not just his ability to move, but his ability to live without magic and without any curses. After so much time, he was no longer cursed. He forgot what he was like before magic. The more he thought about how he was no longer cursed, the more it motivated him and with every step he became more and more at peace with himself. As he walked he wondered what felt different and then suddenly it occurred to him what it was. He no longer felt the need for power anymore. The entire time, it was the Dark One curse that made him thirst for more power. That realization gave way to clarity and what became clear was his mission. He wanted to be with his family.

At first he feared the townsfolk would recognize him, but when he looked down at his figure, there wasn't anything recognizable. He truly looked like an old wizard, beard and all. Perhaps, he figured, he could work this to his advantage. True, no one would suspect his actual identity, but his attire did stand out. He was walking around barefoot. His clothes smelled putrid. His long white hair was mangled and his tattered clothes made of burlap made him uncomfortably itchy. As unrecognizable as he was, he knew he needed to find better clothes because what he was wearing at the moment was not typical of this world. He had fallen pretty far and he chuckled over how unlike he was to his past self. From Armani suits to scratchy burlap, it amazed him how selfish and superficial he once was. He had had it all and now… here he was.

The isolated road soon led past a couple of housing developments. He needed to get out of his clothes as soon as possible. As he passed by a house he noticed a string of abandoned clothes left out to dry along with a pair of sandals lying outside the property's back door. He checked his surroundings. When he saw that the coast was clear he quickly hobbled over to the clothesline and snatched what clothes he could of what he needed along with the sandals. Not realizing what he grabbed he was thankful upon opening up the garments that the clothes were relatively close to his size. He hid behind a shed and in between a fence changed into the white t-shirt and blue jeans he just acquired. The jeans were still wet, but they would have to do for now. He threw out his old clothes and came back out onto the main street looking less conspicuous. He walked along the main road until the Storybrooke's clock tower came into view. As soon as he saw the town's building, memories came flooding back and it gave him pause. He remembered hating this town with a severe passion, but now that he was free from the Sorcerer's hat, he could think of no other place he would rather be in. This was his home. His family was here and he was relieved to be back.

Here we go! Another story within a story, but from Rumplestiltskin's perspective after the hat is gone. What did you guys think? As I wrote this section I found it unique in the sense that it slowed down the pace and changed a little bit of the writing style with significantly less dialogue and more internal thoughts on his end. Personally, I've always wanted to explore what it would be like to think like Rumplestiltskin, even though this is post-mind control of the Sorcerer's hat. I know we all know Rumplestiltskin to be extremely clever and super complex, but I think being a slave to The Author would tame him a little. Remember, he's had to endure countless years of The Author using his body. I think it would be enough to overwhelm anybody's senses to be suddenly in control over your own body again, if not a little disorienting. Anyways, I hope I do him justice with these next few chapters.

Thank you to Grace5231973, Imusicluver23, ladybugsmomma and BreathingintheSun for reading and reviewing last chapter. Shall post again soon, but until then see you next chapter!