The sun began to rise but he waited until it was a little bit lighter to see Lily more clearly through the crystal ball. He went back up to the apartment above the library and grabbed the crystal ball placing it in a drawstring felt sack. He went back downstairs bringing the dagger and ball with him and peaked outside the library doors. While doing his best to remain hidden from sight, he looked around the intersection until he found what it was that he was looking for... David's truck. The truck had just pulled up on the side of the road and he watched as both David and Mary-Margaret ran quickly into the diner.

It was still fairly early in the morning, so the main street was fortunately still barren. As quickly as he could, he left the library. He dashed across the street and approached David's vehicle where a blue tarp held down by bungee cords covered the bed of his truck. Beneath the tarp, he dove into the back of David's truck and hid amongst the menagerie of other items that were there. It wasn't going to be a comfortable ride, but at least he knew it was going to be a short one. With his weak magic, he couldn't travel far and with the day only getting brighter someone was bound to recognize him. He needed to get as close to the hat as possible and he knew that David's truck would eventually get him close enough. He just couldn't afford to be seen prematurely.

He settled in as quickly as he could and laid there tangled next to furniture and other odd ends. As uncomfortable as he was juxtaposed next to fixtures and equipment, he did his best to avoid movement. The last thing he needed was to arouse suspicion. He waited patiently and listened. Just a minute or two later he heard footsteps leave the diner and then quickly run across the street. He waited a few more moments and then he heard the couple enter the vehicle and the truck roared to life, taking off in the direction where they needed to go. When the vehicle parked, he heard the two side doors open and close. While still beneath the tarp he pulled out the crystal ball.

He waved his hand over the viewing orb and gazed into its contents. Lily was no longer asleep. She was walking in the woods with a little boy. He didn't recognize the boy at first but knew who he had to be. He felt the crystal ball and with a gesture of his hand he adjusted the viewing position and was able to see exactly where they were. In the ball he saw through the woods the clock tower and at the end of the town's main street was the edge of the woods.

He pulled the dagger out from his suit jacket and called to it, "Main Street. Edge of town. Forest."

At any moment he knew that Belle and his doppelganger would be arriving. He stuffed the crystal ball back into its sack and got out from the back bed of David's truck. He immediately ducked behind the vehicle to keep out of view as he scanned about his surroundings for other structures to hide behind. Although the other cars in the parking lot guised his presence well, he needed to get closer. Just as Belle and the other Rumplestiltskin arrived to the forest's edge he found a large oak tree nearby which was the perfect spot to hide behind. Not only was the tree large enough, it was positioned with a good viewing spot. In a blink of an eye, he magicked the short distance there and curled himself around the tree. He turned his body around and peeked beyond the tree watching the events as they unfolded before him.

It was incredibly strange watching history repeat itself as he saw his daughter run into her mother's arms. Two more magical clouds appeared and Regina and Emma were suddenly part of the reunion. He could barely make out the conversations that were taking place, but he knew exactly what was happening. He waited some more then suddenly Arthur appeared directly behind everyone. Like on cue, a piercing scream erupted from Lily and although he expected it, the sound still gave him goosebumps. His paternal instinct made him want to go up to the source of his daughter's fear and rip the hat off Arthur himself, however he knew he had to be patient. The hat would be off of him soon.

Arthur began his story-telling. He sighed in frustration and watched as his past self did the exact same thing. Henry's family watched and listened as Arthur rehashed the events that occurred to Henry during the seven missing years leading to the discovery of the hat. His back began to ache as he leaned against the tree waiting for his moment, the one small window of opportunity. One thing was for certain, this author was incredibly long-winded. He seemed to ramble on for eternity until finally he finished his tale. When the other family members began contributing more to the dialogue he knew that his moment would be coming up soon. So he remained vigilant. Everything that was about to happen he knew was going to happen quickly.

From the tree, he watched as Arthur moved about the group. Like a snake in the grass, Arthur walked about his family flaunting his arrogance and it was enough to make his skin want to crawl. He could see from a distance Arthur restoring both his and Belle's hearts as they both fell to the ground. He stood by helplessly next to the tree as he watched the slimy Arthur move in closer to his daughter. Suddenly, the Rumplestiltskin within the group formed a giant fireball in his hands which caused the rest of the members to quiver and shout. He could hear Arthur's shouting, "See Lily?! Didn't I tell you?! The stories are true. Your father is the Beast!"

One moment Lily was clutching her mother's leg, the next she was gone and had disappeared. The family began looking to Arthur for answers and Arthur redirected them to Neal. The family turned to Neal and Neal quickly disappeared as well. Emma and the Charmings immediately left the group to go searching for the boy, which left Belle, Rumplestiltskin and Regina to deal with Arthur.

This was it! This was the moment he was waiting for. Arthur finally raised his hands above his head and removed the hat. As soon as he sat the exposed hat down on the ground before the Rumplestiltskin there, Henry collapsed to the ground and became unconscious, just as he had done at the castle. A worried Regina rushed over to Henry to cradle her son's body, shouting his name. It wasn't until he heard Belle's voice say, "Rumple! Don't!" that he finally stepped out from behind the tree and casted a freezing charm on the few individuals.

He moved in as quickly as he could because he knew that the charm wouldn't last forever. As tempting as it was he didn't have time to gawk at the frozen individuals. He came forward for one thing and one thing only… the hat. He plucked it from the ground and held the powerful object in his hands. Just by feeling the object in his hands he could feel magic surge through his body again and he immediately disappeared from the edge of the woods. When he reappeared he was inside the library again. He was half-expecting to reappear at a shorter distance, but perhaps the hat was so powerful that merely touching it enhanced his own magic. That fact alone was enough to convince him that what he was doing was the right thing. The hat was simply too powerful and dangerous for anybody to have, even himself.

He folded up the hat and placed it inside his coat, when suddenly he heard some scuffling within the library.

"Lily! Pssst! Lily!" a little boy's voice whispered in the library, disrupting Rumple's thoughts. Rumple looked around the library and hid behind a wall of books. Through the gaps of the shelves he looked for the child and listened closely.

"Go away!" commanded Lily to Neal as she sat in a dark nook covering the sides of her face with her hands in shock.

"I know you're scared but… but I'm scared too! But you know what? I know of a secret place. I go to it whenever I'm scared. No one knows about it or ever goes to it but me. It's safe and you can come with me. Do you trust me?" Neal called to his daughter. Lily remained quiet, still very frightened and stunned by what she just witnessed and learned about her own father. "I said, do you trust me?" Neal called again to her.

"I don't even know what this place is! I don't even know how I got here," stated Lily who seemed overall disoriented.

"Well I know what this place is and I know how you got here. That answer is very simple."

"Arthur was right. My father… this whole time. Why have my parents been lying to me? My mother is… my father is a… is truly a…" whimpered Lily incoherently, unable to finish a thought. She couldn't brave finishing her sentence with the word beast.

Her parents were fairy tale characters. Her parents came from a world of magic and a place where fairy tales were born. She was magical! And in a world without magic she found herself in the one small town filled with magic and that place was called Storybrooke. How was this all even possible? Lily couldn't comprehend the truth. It was all still too much for her. She wanted to go home. She wanted to wake up from this dream or nightmare she found herself in and have her parents calm her down. She wanted her parents to tell her it was all a dream. She wanted her mother to hold her and her father to tell her that everything was going to be alright and that she had nothing to fear.

"Let me protect you. I can protect you," said Neal valiantly to his young friend breaking up her train of thought as he extended his hand to her.

"How? How are you going to protect me?" cried Lily.

"Magic."

In the library Rumple heard hesitative silence followed shortly after by some scuffled movements. The young pair left the library and from a short distance Rumple watched as he followed after the children. They hadn't gone too far as he noticed them ascending the stairs to the apartment above the library. He smiled to himself as the door quickly closed in front of him. He hesitated for a moment and stood there in front of the door collecting his thoughts. What would he even say? Should he even interact? Would this affect the timeline at all?

An overpowering urge moved him forward. It was the same compulsion that led him to the unintended interaction of his wife on the front porch. He desperately wanted to see and hold his daughter again. Screw it! If this was going to be his last moments he wanted to at least hold his own daughter one last time. He turned the knob, not knowing what to expect of the interaction. He opened the door and was greeted by two very startled children.

"Papa?!" cried Lily.

"S-s-stop!" said Neal as he stood up and placed himself bravely and protectively between Lily and her father. "I-I-I know wh-who you are and I know of your magic! You don't frighten me!"

Rumplestiltskin said nothing but smiled gently. It was evident by Neal's stutter that he was obviously scared to death, but he held up both his hands anyways to perform whatever magic necessary to protect them both. Rumple couldn't help but admire Neal's outstanding bravery despite how futile and endearing the little boy's efforts were. Rumple slowly closed the door behind him and drew a slow breath to speak.

"I'm sorry," Rumple began slowly, looking over at his frightened daughter who was sitting curled up on the bed, "for frightening you earlier. It was never my intention to do that."

Rumple took a step forward toward Lily but Neal stood before him blocking his path. The little boy's arms trembled, unsure as to how he was going to stop the greatest wizard of all time from frightening his friend.

"Neal… It is Neal, isn't it?" asked Rumple curiously, as he pointed non-threateningly at the frightened boy. The name brought back so many memories and it immediately made him think of his son, Baelfire. He thought of Baelfire's strength in resolve and courage in doing the right thing. He thought of the extreme lengths it took to see him again. He thought of the story that led to this Neal acquiring his son's honorable name. "You know you represent your name very well and are living up to the name quite honorably."

"My… my name?" questioned Neal, baffled by the conversation's unexpected turn.

"Your parents would be very proud of you if they knew of the bravery you're exhibiting right now. I'm not surprised, though. Courage is a common trait your family shares."

Neal never felt brave like any of his family. He always felt overshadowed by their notoriety. Not that he wanted to stand out. He never wanted to make waves and always wanted to do the right thing. To make his parents proud of him was something he only wished for. So it was at Rumplestiltskin's kind words that Neal began to tear up and lower his hands. Neal whimpered, "They would be proud of me?"

"Did your parents ever tell you how you came to be named?" asked Rumplestiltskin to Neal as he took another step into the apartment.

"No," said Neal as he shook his head. "I was only told that I was named after a hero."

"It's true. You were named after a hero, but Neal… he was so much more than that. I'm going to tell you a little story," said Rumplestiltskin as he pulled up a chair from the kitchen table and sat down in it. "…and hopefully it will answer many of the questions I'm sure you have."

From where he sat he could see both Lily and Neal watching his every move listening ever so intently. By sitting down, he wanted to seem approachable and less intimidating. The two children were already scared and Rumple's soft spot for children compelled him to remain calm. He had hoped that by exhibiting his relaxed demeanor he would alleviate the children's anxieties. So he spoke slowly and clearly, being as truthful as possible.

"Once upon a time many, many years ago, in the Enchanted Forest there was a man named, Rumplestiltskin. I was once married to a woman named Milah and we had a son named Baelfire. I went to war, but as soon as I found out about Baelfire I returned home and did so by injuring myself. I was forever brandished as the village coward and that was the price for abandoning the frontlines. That was how I truly injured my ankle sweetheart. But here, with magic, I can heal myself instantly."

"So," interrupted Lily, "I… I have an older brother?"

"You did..." trailed off Rumplestiltskin as he mournfully reflected his son's passing.

Lily came forward a little bit from where she sat on the mattress and sat closer to the edge of the bed. Rumplestiltskin continued, "Milah, Baelfire's mother, left the two us to be with a pirate named Killian Jones."

"Hey… that's, that's Emma's husband!" pointed out Neal, recognizing the name.

"Indeed," Rumple confirmed patiently. "When Baelfire came of age, I was powerless to protect him from enlisting in the ogre's war. So I happened upon information about the Dark One dagger. With the Dark One's power I knew I would be able to stop any war. I needed it so that I could save my son. So I did. I became the Dark One and stopped the war, but Baelfire wasn't happy. Because of my notoriety, he was friendless. He wanted to go and live in a world without magic. So he acquired a rare magical bean from a blue fairy, telling him that it was capable of taking him to any world even… to worlds without magic. Baelfire wanted us to go. I didn't want to go because I was too enamored by the Dark One's power. He used the bean and as I held him over the swirling portal I thought selfishly about my power. And because of my foolishness and cowardice, I let go of my son's hand and he fell through the portal alone. Baelfire was fatherless. Even to this day, I never forgave myself. So it was then that I was determined to find him. He needed to know that I was sorry and that I loved him. As I said, magic beans were hard to come by and even with all my power I still couldn't find him. I went down many, many paths until I came across a curse that would bring me to the land that he had escaped to."

"Here," stated Lily.

"To Storybrooke?" asked Neal.

"Storybrooke is more like… a world within a world. It only exists here because of a curse; a curse that was cast by a woman named Regina."

"Regina is Emma's friend," claimed Neal.

"They weren't always friends," countered Rumplestiltskin. "Regina use to be known as 'The Evil Queen' back in the Enchanted Forest. It was partly my fault that she became that way. I needed her to cast the Dark curse so that I could be reunited with Baelfire again. That's how far I was willing to go to be with my son again. So I trained Regina and taught her magic. Enough so that she could properly cast the Dark Curse herself. So to pass the time, I made deals; many deals. And that was what I was known to do throughout all the realms.

"One of the best deals I made was with a king whose kingdom was overrun by ogres. In exchange for saving his kingdom, I wanted his princess to become my castle's caretaker. The king was reluctant and refused, but then the princess stepped up and volunteered, sacrificing her freedom for the safety of her kingdom and loved ones. The deal had been struck and that princess's name… was Belle."

"Mummy!" exclaimed Lily, making the connection and recognizing the person.

Rumple smiled over the reflection and concurred, "That was your mother… brave and beautiful. A hero. She broke my Dark One curse with our first True Love's kiss, but I was determined to find my son and I needed magic to get back to him. So I forced my curse to remain unbroken and I had sent my true love away… so I could find my first true love… my son."

The story became sad again as Rumplestiltskin continued, "It only motivated me to push Regina harder. I needed Regina to want to cast the curse, but in order to enact it she needed to sacrifice the heart of the thing she loved most. At the time, she was going through a blood feud with your parents," he said looking over at Neal, "Snow White and Prince Charming, who thwarted every move she ever attempted. Regina had even threatened them with the Dark Curse which led your parents to come to me for help. I told your mother, who was pregnant with your sister, that when Emma turned twenty-eight she would be the one to break the curse in this new land.

"The night your older sister was born, Regina enacted the Dark Curse. Your parents sent Emma through a portal to escape it, believing that she would return to save them. That's how Emma became known as the Savior. The Curse did as it was made to be; it brought all of the creatures out of the Enchanted Forest and brought them to the Land Without Magic… here… Storybrooke. And it was here that for the next twenty-eight years time stood still and nobody aged.

"Now Baelfire, he was still a teenager when he fell through the portal. He had lived in this world without magic alone. He came across Peter Pan's shadow which brought him to Neverland. Time stood still for him there as well, surviving centuries that passed in the Enchanted Forest as well as the Land Without Magic. Somehow, Baelfire left Neverland and returned to the Land Without Magic and it was there that Baelfire grew up and renamed himself Neal."

"Baelfire was… Neal? Neal is Baelfire! That's who I'm named after?" asked Neal, finally making the connection.

"Yes," confirmed Rumplestiltskin as he looked over at Lily. It was obvious by her hardened face that she was still grappling with the news. It was a lot to take in.

Despite her own personal feelings over the matter, she still wanted to know more so she encouraged her father to keep going with the tale, "Keep going, Papa. I want to know more."

He nodded to his daughter and continued, "Neal returned to this world and somehow came across Emma's path. Sometime during their correspondence they had fallen in love with each other. When Emma was eighteen, Neal left her not knowing that she was pregnant with Henry. Emma gave up Henry for adoption while Emma was incarcerated thinking at the time that she wouldn't be a suitable mother. Meanwhile, the Dark Curse had been enacted making Storybrooke, Maine the only place where time stood still.

"Part of the Dark Curse involved memory loss. Nobody knew of their pasts from the Enchanted Forest, except for the caster, Regina. But Regina still wasn't satisfied. The Dark Curse left a hole in her heart. It was then that Fate's hand guided Regina to adopt Henry. Ten years later, Henry leaves Storybrooke to find his birth mother, Emma in Boston. Henry convinces her to leave Boston and she finally breaks the curse that had engulfed Storybrooke for twenty-eight years. Not a moment after the curse was broken, I used the power of True Love to bring back magic to Storybrooke. Unfortunately, even magic has its limits and so its boundaries are only limited to that of Storybrooke's borders. That is why magic only exists here.

"With the curse broken, memories restored, and magic back it was time for me to be reunited with my loved ones. I was first reunited with Belle and then I resumed my search for Baelfire. I made the necessary preparations to leave, bringing Emma and Henry along to guide me. When we discovered Baelfire he was no longer the little boy I knew. He was a man named Neal. And it was then during our reunion that we discovered how extended our family tree really was.

"Neal did eventually come back to Storybrooke with Emma, Henry and myself. But nothing was happily ever after. A witch came to Storybrooke and threatened the town, cursing our memories again. Neal sacrificed his life so that we could find out who the witch was. By the time you were born, Neal, my son had already passed away, sacrificing himself so that we could save this town and ourselves."

"So… Baelfire, I mean, Neal was my older brother," reiterated Lily.

"He was."

"Why would you keep that from me?" Lily asked angrily towards her father. "Why not tell me about Storybrooke?"

"Lily… my dear," Rumple said as he got up and sat down next to his daughter on the bed, "because your father is not a very nice man who still makes bad choices. And unfortunately, those choices were often times influenced by magic… Dark Magic. The Dark One curse made me crave for power… for more magic. That's why we left Storybrooke because this place still has magic. So long as I stayed, I would be doomed to make poor choices. I never wanted you to see that side of me… that beastly side. That is why, in your mother's favorite story, I'm portrayed as the Beast."

"My nephew, I mean, Henry… he has the power to take Storybrooke's magic away. Why leave your family?" wondered Neal.

"But you see? I did leave with my family," corrected Rumplestiltskin, looking over at Neal. "Once your mother and I had you," he said redirecting his comment over at Lily, "we knew it to be in the best interest of everyone, this town… our family… that we no longer involved ourselves in the business of magic. It was once Baelfire's wish for us to live in the Land Without Magic and so it felt only right to finally fulfill it."

Lily took a minute to process her father's story, staring at the ground to concentrate.

"So wait…" Neal began, "Neal is… Henry's father, but he is also your son. That's why Henry called you grandfather."

"Correct," nodded Rumplestiltskin.

The news was mind-blowing to Neal as he replied with a stunned, "Woah."

"Papa…," Lily began hesitantly. It grabbed his attention as she continued, "why is Henry calling himself Arthur?"

Rumplestiltskin sighed and calmly replied, "That… is an excellent question, my dear. Henry, found a way back to the Enchanted Forest where he became possessed by a Sorcerer's hat. Once Henry put on the hat, he was no longer himself."

"But Papa, when Arthur held me captive in the cabin, he wasn't bad. He never harmed me."

"And let us hope that you never have to be put in that position again," he said as he gently brushed his daughter's face with the back of his fingers. She looked up into her father's eyes and suddenly hugged him. "I'm so sorry I frightened you earlier, sweetheart," apologized Rumplestiltskin. "It was never in my or your mother's intention for you to find out this way. This was a lot to take in, I know. But you know what? Arthur was right about one thing," he said as he pulled away from his daughter's embrace to look her in the eye, "you are truly special and I would alter the universe for you if I could."

"I know you would, Papa," she said as she buried her face again into his chest.

He closed his eyes as he bent forward, kissing the top of her head. "My girl," he said as he rested his head on hers, "I love you very much."

"I know you do, Papa, and I love you too."

After a moment of reconciliation, Rumplestiltskin pulled away from his daughter and looked over at Neal. "Sir," he said addressing the young boy formally, "if you would be so kind as to watch over my daughter for a little while longer. I have some business to attend to downstairs in the library."

"What's going on downstairs in the library?" Neal asked.

Rumplestiltskin got up from the bed and made his way to exit the small apartment, "I have to go and make a dangerous choice."

He left the children in the small studio apartment by themselves and made his way back down the stairs to the library. He withdrew the Sorcerer's hat from his coat jacket and placed it behind the circulation desk just out of view of the front doors. He lifted the sack that dangled at his side and pulled out the witch's orb. In his left hand he held the orb and waved his right hand over it. As he gazed into the crystal ball he was surprised to see that Belle and the others were still frozen in place. As timing would have it, his magic did wear off and they suddenly started moving again. He saw his doppelganger look confused and watched as Belle rushed up to confront him about it.

He then pulled out the dagger from his coat and called to it, "Go to the edge of town."

He waited. He waited for Belle to come to him as he knew she would. Hopefully she would understand. Hopefully he would understand. He took a deep breath in and slowly exhaled out. The ending was nigh and he could feel it in his bones. As expected, the library doors opened and he was confronted, yet again, by the most beautiful person in the world…

Thus endeth the story within a story of Future Rumplestiltskin's point of view. Next chapter we will be resuming where this story left off five chapters ago, after the two Rumplestiltskins and Belle meet trying to understand what is going on. But in regards to this chapter, let me know what you guys thought about it!

And thank you to Montreat11, Imusicluver23, Grace5231973, NatalieMosherRumbelle and ladybugsmomma for reviewing last chapter! The story isn't over yet. So sit tight. Another twist is about to come!