Rumple took the old, but familiar windy path to the cabin in the woods. Of all the properties he owned he never thought that this would be the place that Henry would choose to practice, but according to Lily's dream journal that's where he'd most likely be. There was only one way to find out. His goal was to find their daughter and for Rumplestiltskin the only way in achieving that would be by bringing magic back. However, Henry controlled this town's magic and something was preventing him from bringing it.

He turned down the dirt road to the old cabin and parked at the end of the drive. He got out of his car and looked around the place nostalgically. As he neared the front porch he could hear muffled noises coming from within. Upon hearing the sound, he quickly ascended the steps to the front porch and opened the door. As soon as he opened the door he saw Henry tied down to a chair with a gag in his mouth. Thinking that he was hallucinating, Henry looked up at his grandfather and said with muffled surprise, "Grandpa?"

"Henry!" called out Gold as he quickly came forward to untie his grandson. He immediately removed his gag and asked, "Are you alright? What happened?"

As soon as the gag was a removed Henry took a deep breath. With a heavy sigh Henry replied, "I'm fine. What are you doing here?"

Henry got up from the chair, but before Mr. Gold answered his question Henry was immediately wrapped up in a hug by his grandfather. While in the embrace, Mr. Gold apologized, "I'm sorry for not having kept in touch all these years."

"It's ok," accepted Henry who was still surprised by the sudden affection. As they pulled away from the hug, Henry continued, "For what it's worth, I think I turned out alright."

"I would certainly say so," said Mr. Gold as he smiled kindly at his grandson, looking admirably at the expensive suit he donned. "Baelfi- Neal, your father would be very proud of you."

Henry smiled in agreement and said, "I know. So, what brings you into town? How were you able to find me?"

"I'm here… because my daughter went missing. For weeks in New York, Lily had been afflicted with visions about Storybrooke and its magic. And these visions were so horrifyingly real that for a while she was afraid to even tell us about them. When she did confront me I made the mistake of dismissing her, telling her that Storybrooke wasn't real. I believe she ran away to Storybrooke so that she could return home with proof of magic. That's why I'm here. I'm here to find my daughter, but I needed to find you first. When you didn't answer any of your phone calls I knew something was wrong. I knew my suspicions were correct when Belle and I were able to cross the town line into Storybrooke without any issues."

"Where is Belle?" wondered Henry as he looked around the cabin expecting to find her close by.

"She's back at town to talk to her father and hopefully find Mary. Since Mary is a deity, and deity magic functions differently than our own, Belle wanted to find her to see if she could magically help us find Lily."

"Wait, Mary Poppins is back in town?" Henry asked excitedly.

"She is."

"And that little girl," began Henry as he tried to put two and two together. "That was Lily?" Henry speculated out loud as he massaged the area around his wrists where he was bound. "No," denied Henry with disbelief, "it couldn't have been. She called herself Morgan."

"And you say that Morgan did this to you?"

"That's how I got tied down. There was this little girl who called herself Morgan, and her magic… her magic is something I've never encountered. I sensed it when she arrived and was suspicious of her presence. So for safe measure, I took away Storybrooke's magic, but she still overpowered me with her magic. That's how I ended up bound to that chair," said Henry as he nodded toward the chair he was recently freed from.

"Morgan…," repeated Mr. Gold as he smirked. As he shook his head he gave out a small chuckle, forgetting the fact that Henry was still in the room. It was obvious to Henry that Mr. Gold had realized something that he didn't. Henry didn't know why laughing was an appropriate response to his unfortunate situation so he inquired, "What's so funny?"

Gold knew of his daughter's story when Belle told it to him in the car on the way over to Storybrooke. What he couldn't help but marvel over was the other striking similarity that was at play. "Let me guess… she uh, kept calling you Arthur. Am I right?"

"Uh… yeah?" Henry hesitantly confirmed. How could he even possibly know that detail without magic? Mr. Gold's question made Henry curious and it begged answers.

"How familiar are you with Arthur and The Sword and the Stone?"

"Only what I've seen in movies. Arthur, Merlin, Excalibur, Knights of the Round Table…"

"You're missing one other important character to that story… Morgan le Fay. Now according to Arthurian Legend, she's not only a powerful sorceress, but a sworn enemy to Arthur." Henry stood there dumbfounded by what he just learned as Mr. Gold sat down in the vacant chair. "And Morgan… is also my daughter," admitted Gold as he gave out an exasperated sigh.

"She is?! How do you know?"

"Morgan is Lily's middle name."

"Woah," said Henry as the gravity of the news suddenly hit him. "Couldn't it… I don't know, be merely just a coincidence?"

"You'll come to find, Henry," he said as he stood back up, "that in the business of magic there is no such thing as 'coincidence'. And speaking of 'magic', if you don't mind…" said Mr. Gold as he trailed off. Without begging or bribing the Truest Believer, Gold gestured the air suggesting for Henry to bring back magic.

After taking the subtle hint, Henry replied with an, "Oh, yeah, of course!" and raised his hands, restoring magic once again in Storybrooke. Gold was the first person to be impacted by Henry's restoration of magic and upon impact was knocked backwards into the chair again. In an instant he was hit with a surge of power and his ability to see into the future was the first to bombard his senses. From Henry's perspective it appeared that Gold was suffering from a minor seizure. Henry cried out in alarm, "Grandpa! Grandpa, are you alright?"

Quick flashes of imagery came into focus and in Rumplestiltskin's mind he saw…

…himself storing his magic and enchanting Zelena's pendant…

…himself hiding the pendant across Storybrooke's town line…

…The Sorcerer's Hat…

And then curiously, a flashback…

…he was sitting at his spinning wheel… staring amorously into Belle's eyes…

…and then they shared their first kiss…

Mr. Gold's eyes flickered open and Henry's face focused into view.

"Grandpa," called Henry again to his grandfather as he supported his head and shoulders during the vision.

"I'm alright, Henry," assured Mr. Gold as he raised his hand for Henry to let go of his support. When he was able to sit up on his own again, he showed his gratitude to him by patting Henry on the arm. In the many years he had had that ability to see into the future, never did his ability make him look into his past. The whole experience was new and a bit alarming and it puzzled him as he tried to make sense of it all.

"Are you sure? I thought you were having a stroke or something."

"No… I uh, it's just… been a little while since I've had to use magic."

"Is there anything I can do to help?" offered Henry.

For a moment, Mr. Gold paused as he thought of what Henry could do. Gold thought of his daughter. He thought about Lily's dream. He thought about his vision and then suddenly a plan came into place. "Actually, there is something you can do."

"What do you need?"

"For starters, now that magic has once again been restored, let us meet back at my shop."

Henry nodded as he understood and in two giant clouds of red and purple smoke, the two men disappeared from the cabin and reappeared inside the Pawn Shop. Henry stared at his grandfather expectantly as he asked, "Ok, what now?"

"Do you have a pen?" asked Mr. Gold as he went around the counter over by the jewelry case. Henry walked behind the counter over by the register to look for one. While Henry wasn't looking, Gold quietly removed Zelena's pendant from the display case and discreetly pocketed the item. Henry shuffled a few papers around until he found a cup filled with writing utensils and pulled out a regular ball-point pen for his grandfather. Gold saw the writing instrument and shook his head dejectedly, "No, no, no. It's a special dipping pen. You might have acquired it unconventionally, perhaps… from a mermaid."

Henry blinked at the request and realized what it was that he was requesting. He knew exactly which pen he was talking about. Slowly and reluctantly, Henry reached into his suit coat pocket and pulled out the pen matching Mr. Gold's description. As Henry looked over the pen one last time, Gold walked over to the bookshelf and pulled out Henry's Once Upon A Time book. Gold placed the book down onto the glass counter and flipped its contents open to the very back of the book.

Gold looked up and saw Henry begin to hand over the unique pen, when something stopped him and he retracted the pen. Henry asked, "What are you going to do with this pen? What does this do?"

After years of running his grandfather's shop, he heard hundreds of countless stories about his grandfather and his treacherous ways. He learned many things about the way he worked and the one thing he knew for certain was that when Rumplestiltskin acquired things it was typically out of deception. Henry needed to know what his grandfather's intentions were before he consented to relinquishing the object over.

"I need it to find my daughter," said Mr. Gold as he gestured an open receptive hand to his grandson. Henry knew better. He knew that his grandfather was also the master and trickster of words.

"You didn't answer any of my questions," said Henry as he brought the pen back and held it closer to his body.

Mr. Gold scoffed and chuckled out loud as he withdrew his open hand and placed it down on the counter before him. He felt a proposition coming and this time, it was between two blood relatives who were both Pawn Shop dealers. Gold smirked playfully and nodded his head as he replied, "Are you sure you want to do this?"

Henry replied back by silently staring at his grandfather with the face of upmost seriousness. "Alright," went ahead Gold, "Let me make you a deal-"

"No," said Henry shaking his head and cutting off his grandfather. "Let me make you a deal."

Gold blithely shrugged his shoulders and calmly rested his clasped hands on the counter. With a carefree smile he stated, "I'm all ears."

"You truthfully and thoroughly answer my three questions and then I'll consider handing over this pen."

Gold was placed in an awkward position. Gold wanted that pen, but he couldn't tell Henry why. It wasn't because he couldn't trust him it was because he knew that Henry was a good person and it was in that inherent goodness that he believed Henry would never hand the pen over. Gold's plan did involve bettering himself, but out of context he knew his plan would be viewed as selfish. If this was Gold's one opportunity for redemption, he had to risk it all to try.

"I answer your three questions, and then you'll consider handing the pen over?" reiterated Mr. Gold.

"Answer them honestly and thoroughly, and yes… I'll consider," clarified Henry.

If Henry was anybody else, he'd never accept the deal. In typical negotiations he'd read the client's body language and pick up on the many verbal cues to manipulate the situation or deal to lean in his favor, but Henry was his grandson. Henry was family and working with family changed the dynamics of his deal-making. Gold glanced over at Henry and saw staring back at him a reflection of his son, Neal. He saw Baelfire. The way Henry looked at him stung as he remembered what happened on his last deal with his son.

Gold was accustomed to deal-making, some more tainted than others, but out of all them this one felt the most taboo. Gold didn't want to see history repeat itself so on this rare occasion, he allowed Henry to make this deal.

"You know, you are my grandson. We're family. I have no reason to want to harm or deceive you," stated Mr. Gold.

"That's true, but that's not a good enough reason to trust you," Henry said coldly.

Gold looked down in shameful regret as he apologized, "Henry… I truly am sorry for not having called or not having been part of your life throughout these past seven years. I promise from now on I'll do everything in my power to support you."

"Do we have a deal or not?" asked Henry unemotionally. Henry was within his rights to make this deal. After all, Gold did leave this shop along with the contents within to Henry. Legally, Henry controlled every item in this shop, including the pen that was still in his hand. In the end, Henry held all the cards and the most power in this deal.

"Alright…" sighed Mr. Gold as he conceded. He never liked making deals with family. Somehow he'd always manage to break them or strain the relationship as a result from it. He didn't want to do that again so reluctantly, Gold folded and agreed, "Deal."

"What is this pen?"

"It's Excalibur."

"This pen… is a sword," acknowledged Henry incredulously.

"It's a long story."

"Elaborate."

"Ah, but the deal was to answer three of your questions," pointed out Gold.

"The deal was to be thorough," corrected Henry.

Gold sighed and then explained. "This pen is the most powerful weapon in all the realms. It's the Author's pen. The same kind of author that wrote all of our stories in this book," Gold said as he pointed down at Henry's Once Upon A Time book. "They were written using this pen and it has the power to alter our fates."

"You do realize that you have a reputation for accruing power and that explanation right there is not helping your case in getting this pen."

"Ye have little faith," said Gold sensing his distrust. "When have I ever lied to you?"

Henry had to admit, his grandfather did have a point. Gold had never lied to him or led him astray. However, it didn't explain why Gold was dodging his questions. Running the shop taught Henry a thing or two about his grandfather. He learned about the kind of person he was when he wasn't around family and how he would siphon the happiness from others. Henry knew.

Finding everyone's happy ending was what Henry had promised to the people of Storybrooke. It was what he had worked so hard for and it was everything he knew his grandfather was against. It was for those reasons that Henry's guard remained up as he replied, "You forget. When you moved away I was still a naïve teenager. At that time, I knew nothing of your past and had accepted you from what I knew about you from Storybrooke. However, that being said, for the past few years running your shop, I've heard countless stories from all the citizens of Storybrooke. I've heard about your treacherous deals… each one more deceptive and more ludicrous than the next. I'm no longer that little boy, grandfather. I have to do what I must to protect Storybrooke."

"Henry…" Gold said feeling hurt. Henry paused for a moment as he quickly thought of his next question, "Why do you want that power?"

"I want to use it to find my daughter."

"You already have magic. You don't need any more."

"Look, you said it so yourself. She was able to overpower you without your magic and if that's the case, then she's more powerful than either one of us. I need this pen so that I can write out her magic and take it away… to alter her fate. She doesn't need magic. You've got to protect Storybrooke, right?"

Henry glanced down at the pen in his hand and then up at his grandfather as he thought of his last question, "Will I be regretting my decision to hand this pen to you?"

Mr. Gold took a beat to respond. While looking into Henry's eyes with an earnest face, "No. You will not."

Henry stared at him for a moment, determining whether or not he was lying to him. He couldn't tell. He had to take a leap of faith and trust his grandfather. He handed the pen over to Mr. Gold who gratefully replied, "Thank you Henry."

"So how are you going to remove your daughter's magic?" Henry asked curiously as he watched Gold lift up one of the blank pages that was at the end of the Once Upon A Time book which was still in front of him.

"I'm sorry," said Gold as he callously ripped the blank page from Henry's special book, "but the deal was to answer three of your questions honestly and thoroughly and I had fulfilled my end of the deal."

"What are you doing? My book!" called out Henry out of shock as he snatched the book away from his grandfather.

"You can have it back. I only needed this from it. Again, I am sorry for not having kept in touch with you all these years and I'm sorry for not telling you my plans. I just don't have the time to explain it, but trust me… when I'm done with this pen, we'll all be better for it. I know that it seems out-of-sorts to be doing this to you in this way, but remember our deal. I was being honest with you. You will not be regretting handing over this pen to me."

'Out-of-Sorts' was one way of putting it as Mr. Gold disappeared from the shop in a cloud of purple smoke, leaving Henry feeling duped and dumbfounded. Henry immediately regretted handing over the pen to his grandfather which meant, that he lied and that he broke their deal.

… …

Mr. Gold appeared by the town line over by the main road leading in and out of Storybrooke but never crossed it. He looked over the border with trepidation as he pulled out Zelena's pendant holding the bulk of it in his hand. As he gazed at the object, he hovered his right hand over the pendant and held it there until the enchantment turned the once emerald stone into a dark amethyst. He smirked at the change in stone color and then looked up over the border. He paced the red line until he found a recognizable tree stump and tossed the necklace. The necklace shimmered as it crossed Storybrooke's boundary and landed on a pile of leaves over by the tree he chose.

From within his coat pocket he pulled out Henry's pen and torn sheet of paper. He took a breath as he prepared himself with what he was about to do and disappeared to the cabin. Once inside he placed the special parchment on the table and wrote:

Rumplestiltskin acquires the Sorcerer's hat and becomes the Author to protect his family's happiness.

The Sorcerer's hat appeared before him, dissolving the paper beneath and he lifted the hat to his head. As he put the hat on, he wished and hoped beyond hope that his plan would work. He closed his eyes as the hat fell on his head. When he opened his eyes he was no longer Rumplestiltskin. He was now Merlin. He was now The Author.

Merlin waved over his head rendering the hat invisible and searched his body for more of the enchanted paper. When he realized that Gold didn't carry any extra he thought about how Gold came across the original sheet to begin with. It was then that he realized that it was by fluke chance that Henry's book even had one sheet left. He needed to get more to travel through time and other realms. There would be more at the Dark Castle. He needed to travel there. He needed Henry's pocket-watch and to find it, he would need to take it from Henry.

Merlin disappeared from the cabin and reappeared inside the Pawn Shop again. He looked around the shop and found it surprisingly abandoned. The Once Upon A Time book was nowhere in sight and Merlin suspected that Henry had probably taken it with him for security. Merlin attempted to magically disappear again when suddenly he couldn't. Why? What had happened? Even if Henry had taken magic away again he would have still had power. What was this reason? Whatever the reason was for the hiccup, one thing was for certain; If magic was gone from Storybrooke then he couldn't use the paper or Henry's pocket-watch to travel. Merlin panicked. He's the Author! Surely his power supersedes the magic of this land, unless… there was external magic at work or someone had found a loophole to his story. Damn that Rumplestiltskin!

In his story, he knew that deities lived in Storybrooke and as the Author to this story he knew that their magic played by different rules. The Author had to think back on what he had already written. Somewhere something was already written, some rule that he had simply overlooked and was now bound to. Rules that were already established before this story took place. In this new mystery he found himself in, he left the Pawn Shop to find Mary Poppins, suspecting that she was the culprit behind Storybrooke's lack of magic. He would get the pocket-watch from Henry later, but for now, he needed to force that deity to bring back magic.

Thank you Imusicluver23, Grace5231973, Jennifer Baratta and ladybugsmomma for your flattering reviews on the last chapter! They were awesome! Gotta run. See you next chapter!