Chapter Seven

He had no idea how long he'd been down there or even where there was. It was dark and cold more times than not, and every time he'd gotten free of his restraints he'd been met before he came close to escaping. This last time he had made it to the top of the stairs, securing the idea he was in some sort of basement, but he'd been set upon by three of the 'brothers' and wrangled back into the chair. They hadn't felt any need to be gentle, but neither had he in return. He'd left one with a black eye to match his own. Maybe a broken nose too. Her certainly hoped so.

Baelfire leaned back as best he could, though he was tied down tightly enough that there wasn't a great deal if moving anything. He closed his eyes and played back the events in his mind, a trick that had helped him get a handle on the passing of time long ago in Neverland.

He'd been dead, of that much he was sure. His papa had delayed the end, but he hadn't found a way around it in time. That had been okay. His family had been safe and he'd had made peace with that. Then there's been the vault. Bae hadn't thought anything could have been worse with it's boiling pits of darkness and battling dead Dark Ones that seemed to be his promised eternity. He'd been alone and certainly hadn't belonged. Somehow he'd managed to survive - or whatever one does after death - with his sanity mostly intact, though he'd always heard the crazy person was the last one to know. Then these people - Magnus and his sons - had pulled him from it. How they managed, he had no idea. He'd been trying to avoid being completely overtaken by the maniacs that had once held his father's curse when he'd found himself being pulled from their grasp. The next thing he'd known he'd been standing in the torch lit basement atop of the deep carvings that accessed the door, and that had been the last he'd known until he woke up bound to the chair.

Magnus hadn't stayed long for his last visit to tell Bae that his papa had killed one of his followers. Perhaps he'd hoped that the younger man would feel a bit of pity for the slain soldier fighting so hard against darkness, but he probably would have gotten a little more sympathy if he hadn't tied him up and threatened his family. Well, the fact that his family was the darkness they were fighting may have had something to do with that. At least his papa was.

The door swung open, allowing a bit of light in at the top, but closed just as quickly. That meant it was only their leader. The blind cleric - because that's what Bae had finally been told they were after what he was certain were weeks of asking - saw with a sort of sixth sense that he gained through magic. Every once and a while Bae caught a glimpse of those milky eyes and it made him cringe. They might have called themselves clerics, but really they were just madmen bent on a cause. They wanted to eradicate the Dark One's Curse. Great. Baelfire was all for it, as long as it didn't kill the man that currently hosted it.

"Our time grows short," Magnus said in his important way and his footsteps moved closer. "Soren's passing is sad indeed, but I shall not allow it to go unavenged. Nor unused. The people of this town do not trust your father."

"Papa's always been a bit difficult to understand," Bae answered flippantly and his fingers were working at the knots. At least they were trying to. They seemed just out of his reach.

"Your father is lost to the Dark One's curse. There is no retrieving his soul from its clutches."

"You know, I thought that once too, but then I spent a few months inside his head. He's not as far gone as I thought."

"Or perhaps you are further gone than you thought," the lead cleric answered and Bae felt his clammy hands take hold on either side of his face. "Do not fight me, Baelfire. In the end, your father will be at peace and I have the power to return you to your family."

"He's part of my family," Bae bit out, doing his best to fight the raging magic that Magnus called to his fingertips. It surged inside of him, filling him up and dragging him under. This wasn't the first time, nor would it be the last if he couldn't find a way to free himself. "I won't let you hurt him."

"You have no choice. We will drive the townspeople to kill him. This is the only land that it can be done in. His magic is weakened due to the stress on his human body. They are questioning him, and we can use that."

"You'll use David and Mary Margaret to kill him?" Bae managed, fighting it. It was his blood they were using, his connection to his father that made it possible for them to filter the spell through him.

"You cannot fight it. Give in."

And in that moment he knew it was true. He couldn't fight it. He couldn't win against a man so skilled in magic. He'd never learned an ounce, but that didn't mean that he wasn't smart enough to start now. There had been one time that he'd given to it and latched onto a thread of magic, holding tight and letting it carry him deep into the nightmare itself. He'd seen his papa there, frightened and cornered with David closing in to kill him yet again. He'd tried to call out to him, to warn him, but he'd been pushed out just as quickly. This time, if he focused, perhaps he could get close enough to do some good.

Belle didn't want to get up the next morning. It had been the first night that they'd slept through since the nightmares had begun and she felt like a weight had been lifted with the confessions between them. Rumple was curled up behind her, pressed against her back with his arm draped over and their feet tangled beneath the sheets. She could feel his breath against her bare shoulder and she didn't even want to shift enough to shut the softly beeping alarm off. If she didn't, it'd only grow louder.

Rumple's arm tightened around her and he made a soft sound. She shifted, trying to look over her shoulder at him and saw his brows drawn close together. So much for a fully nightmare-free night. At least they were at the point of waking up anyway.

"Rumple?" she whispered, moving in his arms. Every muscle was pulled taught and she could see the scar along his neck in the dim light. She hadn't realized before that he had even slept wrapped in the glamour spell, but now he was choosing to trust her even when he wasn't awake. His back arched and he let out a pained, choked sound and she inched forward, pressing the palm of her hand against his cheek and moving to cover his mouth with hers very carefully. He relaxed into the kiss after a moment and his dark eyes fluttered open.

"Hey," he managed as they parted.

"Bad again?"

"It's always bad," he whispered, leaning his forehead against hers. "I saw Bae."

"Again?"

"Mmm. He… He was there. In the crowd. He was reaching for me like he was trying to help, but…."

"But David got to you first?"

"He always does."

Belle nestled closer. "You think that the men that attacked me are causing these?"

"I think that I don't believe in coincidences."

His wife moved and he didn't look any happier than she felt at it. "I need to speak to Emma this morning or they'll continue to think you attacked that man without cause."

"Speaking to them won't help, dear."

"Of course it will," she promised as she kissed the tip of his nose. "You've never done anything without reason."

"They're not overly fond of reason," he groused and pulled her to him again. He didn't seem to want to let her go and it was making it increasingly difficult to remind herself that she needed to. Rumours spread like wildfire in Storybrooke, and if the flames fanned enough - which they would have been overnight - they'd have a mob at their door demanding Rumplestiltskin's head. As much as she would have preferred to have continued to remain under the thick blankets, curled into his arms, sometimes one had to make the difficult choices in life. She leaned up and kissed him before making her own by tossing the covers off and shifting out of the bed. "Are you going into the shop?"

"Well I'm not hiding here, certainly," Rumple answered in a tone that indicated that he was not pleased with the cold air rushing in towards him nor the sudden emptiness on her side of the bed.

A smile tugged at her lips and she started for the shower.

There were times when Emma Swan truly and thoroughly hated being sheriff of Storybrooke. She'd been fool enough to hope the quiet lasted only to be dragged into a murder with the Dark One as their only real suspect. They'd gone to his shop after he'd disappeared to find it locked down tight with no sign of either Gold or Belle. His home had been impossible to breach, even with the Blue Fairy's help. Regina had refused to lend a hand when asked, and had been less than forthcoming as to why. The worst part of it was that Emma couldn't break the nagging feeling that something was wrong with the whole situation. Well, more wrong than a man being suffocated from the inside by dark magic. That was pretty creepy in and of itself.

"It looks like he came over with this last curse, but other than a name and some false information that the curse provided we have nothing. Not even a home address."

"Is that abnormal?" her reluctant fellow researcher asked. It was his own damned fault that he'd told her he was 'surprisingly good at research.' Though now that she'd put him to work she thought he might have over exaggerated his talents.

"No," she admitted softly, flipping through her paperwork. "But it is abnormal that someone shows up in a back alleyway dead."

"Many people end up dead when the Dark One is concerned," Hook said quietly. "Likely he was just a poor bloke that crossed him shortly after a spat with the pretty librarian."

"Belle's the one that we need to talk to. Gold will just twist the situation. At least we can get a straight answer from her."

"If he hasn't killed her too."

"That's taking it a bit far don't you think?"

The pirate shrugged. "He's been known to murder people he claimed to love before. I suppose Neal never told you about his mother, did he?"

Emma frowned. It wasn't hard to catch on to what Hook was insinuating and she thought about the conversation between she and Gold just the morning before. Family. He'd said she had nothing to worry about because she was as good as family. She wondered just how far that went. She glanced over to where Killian was leaning back in his chair. "Have you been having weird nightmares?"

He nearly tilted back all the way with her sudden question and he looked over to her. "No odder than they usually are, I suppose."

She hadn't asked anyone else about it yet, but the dreams just wouldn't stop. They changed in small parts, but every time it was Gold that killed her and every time he blamed her for Neal's death. There was no talk of family in those dreams, or care for how it would affect his grandson. There was just hatred and a need to end her life. Emma had thought about asking David or Mary Margaret about it, but something stopped her every time. She didn't dare say anything to Henry or he'd go running off with it like a mad person. She didn't need him acting any stranger than he had been already.

"You know, Swan," Killian said as he sat forward in the chair. "I think you need a break. What do you say to breakfast at Granny's?"

The blonde sheriff eyed him suspiciously. "Hook, we talked about this…"

"It's just breakfast."

"Yeah, well there's breakfast and then there's breakfast," she grumbled. "But I suppose I should be fair. You manage to make everything sound like an innuendo if it is or not."

"Well, take it as you will," the pirate answered with a grin. When she didn't return it, it slowly faded and he huffed a short sigh. "I know you don't want to hear this, but putting a hold on your life is not going to bring Baelfire back."

Emma really didn't want to have this conversation right now. "I know that, Killian."

"You don't seem to. Neal is gone and he died to save you. Live a little."

"With you?" she snapped and he sat back. They studied each other for a moment, neither giving way until a soft knock caused them both to jump and look at the door.

"I hope I'm not interrupting anything," Belle said softly, looking as if she might have been there for a bit.

"Nothing," Emma answered pointedly.

"Then I'll just see myself out," Hook answered as he stood. He barely offered a nod to Belle as he nearly took her off her feet in his haste to leave the room.

"We've been looking for you."

Belle ducked her head a little at the statement. "I'm sorry. Rumple and I had a bit of a row yesterday and… well, I needed some time to sort through things. It was poorly timed, I admit. I suppose I wasn't thinking very clearly when I assumed that Rumple would stay and sort everything out about what happened."

"Poorly timed may be the understatement of the century. Have a seat. I'm guessing you saw what happened yesterday?"

"I did and that's why I'm here." She took the newly vacated seat. "Rumple and I were supposed to meet at Granny's yesterday for a late lunch. On my way, I was attacked by three men that were looking to steal Rumple's dagger from me. The man that died had a knife to my throat. Rumple saved my life." She pulled the collar of her blouse back to show the thin mark along her neck where a knife might have nicked her.

"Self defence?" Emma asked and she wondered if she was putting faith in Belle a bit hastily. The woman was clever and had always seemed to have a very kind spirit, but she had married the Dark One. Would she lie for him?

"Defence of another, I suppose," Belle answered. "Their leader though - Caiden they called him - seemed to be bent on hurting Rumple."

The sheriff scribbled the name down. "Any idea why?"

"Nothing for certain."

"Listen, Belle-"

Blue eyes locked in on her and Emma's mouth snapped shut. "I know you're doing your job, Emma, but Storybrooke isn't just in the Land Without Magic. I fear not everything here will always be as straightforward as you would like it to be. There are people that hate Rumple for the curse he's under. They don't know the man beneath that." She stopped and it looked as if she were wrestling with herself over how much information to give.

"Listen, Belle, I can't help either of you if you don't tell me what the hell is going on. Right now I've only got a small piece of what sounds like a much bigger picture. If you guys are in trouble, let us help you."

"I've been doing some research," Belle said as she set her purse on the desk and began pulling more books from it than it looked like it should hold. She paused, blue eyes flickering to meet hazel. "Have you been having strange dreams, Emma?"

The younger woman swallowed hard. "Yes." She watched Belle nod as if she'd been expecting that answer. This time it was it was she that leaned forward. "I think it's time that we both put everything out on the table."

"Yes, I think it is."

Rumplestiltskin had made it to his shop without being harassed by either of Storybrooke's sheriffs, so he assumed that Belle had told Emma just enough to let the blonde savior know that she had no case against him for murder. He'd been there nearly an hour when someone began hammering on the front door. It jolted him in his place, tools used for fixing the old music box falling from his fingertips and clattering to the work table. He stood after a moment when the banging continued and moved slowly into the front room, flipping on a light as he went. He could see a shadow outside of the pulled blinds he went and stopped just shy of opening it. "We're closed," he called, ready to turn around and go back to his work.

The banging continue with Charming's voice to accompany it this time. "Open up, Gold."

Rumplestiltskin sighed. Or maybe she hadn't quite convinced them of his innocence yet. He grit his teeth and moved to unlock the door. He might not be able to get through the wards but he could certainly make a racket that the shop owner wasn't ready to deal with.

David pushed his way in like he'd been knocking for a solid fifteen minutes. "You're a real piece of work, you know that?" he growled as Rumplestiltskin locked the door back.

"I've been called worse."

The quip didn't seem to amuse the the already irritated prince. "You murdered a man in broad daylight-"

"In defence of both Belle and myself. We were attacked."

"- and then took off. You do realize that there are rules and laws that you have to obey, right?"

"Interesting. You only obey them when it suits you," the Dark One grumbled and moved behind his counter. He picked up a small trinket and began to polish it as he spoke. "If you'd had a bit more patience this morning, you'd have known that Belle is currently speaking with your darling daughter as to what happened."

"So you're having her lie for you now as well?"

The hostility in his voice caused Rumplestiltskin to look up, his fingers stilling in their work. "I'm not a fool enough to ask Belle to lie for me. She'd never do it."

"She would if you made her."

"What exactly are you insinuating?"

David moved closer and for the first time since he'd entered Rumplestiltskin met his eyes. He'd just wanted him out, not wishing to relive the horror that he saw in his mind every night, but the way that the prince's shoulders were squared and the dark circles under his eyes made the elder man uneasy.

"I'm insinuating that maybe we've looked the other way long enough."

He was dreaming again. It was that or David had completely lost his mind. Rumplestiltskin took a small step back as the prince leaned forward and he tried to crush the sudden feeling of being cornered. "And what?" he demanded, his voice strained as he saw David's hand go to the hilt of his sword. "You'll put me behind bars again? They won't hold me, and I won't be harassed when all I was doing was defending myself and Belle."

"I'm well aware that bars won't hold you and you can drop the act. She never would have attacked either of you."

"She?" Rumplestiltskin echoed.

David looked ready to take his head off. "Emma."

"I'm dreaming again," the shop owner breathed. He had to be. That was the only explanation for the sudden change in conversation and the threats. "You're going to kill me."

"You killed my daughter. What did you think would happen?"

He never would understand what drove him in these nightmares to run. That nasty habit of his seemed to take hold even in dreams. He waited for Charming to lunge before he darted around the counter and towards the back office. The younger man was on his heels as he threw himself out the back door and down the steps. He felt his right ankle twinge when he hit the bottom and he grimaced, pushing through it. It was going to be one of those, apparently.

David shouted behind him and Rumplestiltskin rounded the corner into the Main Street. Avoiding it did no good. He'd tried that before and his blood had just been spilled elsewhere. He wondered, not for the first time, just what good it did to run. He'd be caught eventually and the pain wouldn't be any less just because he'd given it his best to get away.

Rumplestiltskin glanced behind him just in time to see Charming leap forward, tackling the smaller man to the ground and they landed hard against the unforgiving street.

Belle knew Rumple wouldn't be overly happy with the fact that she was telling Storybrooke's savior about the dreams. She was going into details with Emma that she and her husband hadn't found time to discuss just yet, namely the fact that she was hedging closer and closer to her cleric theory they'd both written off so early on. After meeting Caiden and his brothers she couldn't help but think about the various surrounding clerics that had come to her father about this it that when she'd been a little girl. They didn't have to be the clerics of legend to have leached off those particular arts. They just had to uncover just the right spells and knowledge, and if they had any relationship to the dream walkers it would have been a relatively easy feat to do that at least. She'd seen for herself just what people could be capable of when they put their minds to it. The power required didn't need to be born within them if they were willing to sell their souls to achieve it.

"So you think these people are manipulating dreams?" Emma asked from where she was seated in her chair, boots resting against the corner of her desk. To anyone passing by she might appear uninterested in the conversation at hand, but Belle was sure that she had her full attention as soon as she'd mentioned the nightmares.

"That seems the most reasonable explanation I've found so far," the librarian agreed. "I was skeptical that one or two people could harness that much power - as was Rumple - but three men attacked me, and I don't think that they were the only ones behind all of this. I think we're looking for a larger number."

"No offense, but I can get why they'd go after Gold. The Dark One and all of that, but why the rest of us?"

Belle shrugged. "There were many religions in the Enchanted Forest, but one commonality that they often shared was a distaste for darkness. The Dark One's Curse is one of the more potent ones that you could ever find through history. Not even Rumple knows its origins, but from what I've discovered over the years… Well, Rumple is unique in how he's handled it, and I don't say that just because I'm biased."

"Unique how?"

"Don't get me wrong, Rumple has done some terrible things - things that he's not proud of anymore, certainly - but in the end they're often driven by the love that he has for a few people in his life. He wrote the Dark Curse to find Baelfire just as he killed the man yesterday to protect me. As far as I am aware, no Dark One has sacrificed their own life for their family, either."

"So why is he different?"

Belle smiled. "Rumple is stronger than most give him credit for. He's rarely brave for his own sake, but when it comes to those he loves… nothing stands in his way."

"I wonder why these dreams have me at the center of them…. You said Henry and you are the only ones that say he's innocent in the dreams?"

"Yes, that's the way it seems. As far as I can tell it seems to be hitting Henry and Rumple the hardest. It makes me wonder if these men are using some sort of blood magic to spread this." She paused, thinking. "Though I don't know how that would make sense unless they had either Henry or Rumple's blood on hand, and Henry certainly would have told one of us if he'd had a run in with them."

"At least he'll tell you something," Emma groused.

"I don't think he wanted to put his grandfather in danger," Belle tried to explain. "You've all been through so much recently, he's holding onto whatever strand of certainty that he can. Imagine what would happen if he told you and you'd become convinced that Rumple was going to hurt you."

"The thought crossed my mind when the dreams started."

"And now?"

"Now I think we're all in a mess. When this is over, we all need to make sure that the next catastrophe has everyone on the same page."

Belle found herself smiling. While she would have loved to argue that perhaps this was the last they'd see, she knew better. This collection of people in Storybrooke seemed to be a magnet for danger. "Agreed. We're a family and we need to start acting like one."

Emma snorted and reached over as her phone started buzzing. Henry's face lit the screen and blonde brows drew together. "He's supposed to be at Granny's with Regina." She put the phone to her ear. "Hey, kid. What's up?"

Belle couldn't make out the words, but she heard Henry's rushed voice on the other end. She stood as Emma did, shuffling books back into her purse and grabbing for her coat.

"Okay, okay," Emma said as she did the same. "Belle's with me. We'll be right there. Stay inside Granny's until Regina gets there, do you hear me?" She waited for the answer and assured her son they were walking out the door before hanging up.

"What's happened?"

"You think those people can control reality too?"

"Not directly, but nightmares night after night could certainly affect one's view of reality I think. What's happened?"

"Henry says David's trying to kill Gold."

He hit the ground hard and David didn't let up for an instant. Rumplestiltskin squirmed as a hand grabbed at the back of his neck and latched onto his collar, pulled him to his feet, and spun him around. He didn't think he could have teleported if he'd tried as he blow landed hard, snapping his head around and sending him stumbling back. He'd barely caught his balance when the second blow sent him crashing back down to the ground.

"Did you think you'd get away with it?" the familiar words echoed in his ears and Rumplestiltskin cringed as he struggled to his knees. He looked up, dark eyes meeting blue ones, and David was just as angry as he'd been in every previous dream, but there was something different there. It was subtle, so subtle that he almost didn't catch it. He certainly hadn't been looking for it. Why would he inside a dream? But if it was true, if that tiny little strand of magic whisping from the oh-so charming prince was what he thought it was, then that meant this wasn't a dream at all. They'd pushed their spell to the next level and had somehow dug into his subconscious enough to make him truly believe that Rumplestiltskin had killed his daughter. This was real.

That realization changed everything.

His magic was sluggish with the wear that his body was under from night after night of broken sleep, but David's next punch didn't land as he tossed up a quick shield between them. He couldn't hurt him or Henry might never forgive him, but he'd be damned if he would let Charming kill him either. He just had to find a way to break through the enchantment. For that, though, he needed time, and David didn't seem willing to give that. He was a man driven by grief, even if that grief weren't truly justified. He didn't know that, and until he realized it he'd continue swinging away until one dangerous blow connected. Rumplestiltskin had had experience fighting him and he knew that while there were few people that could land a blow anywhere close, David was one of them.

"She's not dead," he bit out, but apparently it was the wrong thing to say. His hastily made and thin shield shattered as the taller man physically broke through it. The enchantment had to have been giving him some sort of extra strength, and while that would have been fascinating any other time, it was only heaping another trouble on top of what was already a growing pile.

Charming slammed into him again and his heel caught the curb of the sidewalk as they went crashing down again, landing in a pile just outside of Granny's patio area. Hands wrapped around Rumplestiltskin's thin neck and he pushed as hard as he could, his magic finally answering his call and it tossed the prince back momentarily. He'd barely made it to standing when he was assaulted again. The blows came fast but were very much controlled. Rumplestiltskin managed to keep them from connecting as hard as they might have otherwise, but the knee to his ribs left him gasping for breath and he thought he heard something snap. David stepped back and when Rumple finally managed to look up he saw tears running down the younger man's face. "Why?" he demanded.

"Why what?" the Dark One managed, feeling the world spinning around him. He used the fence surrounding the patio to stand, leaning heavily against it for support.

"Why did you kill her?"

Rumplestiltskin lifted a hand to his split lip, wiping at the blood there. "I didn't," he said tightly, struggling to keep his voice calm. "David, just listen to me. I have no reason to wish Emma dead."

"Why are still lying?"

The sound of diner door being pulled open caught Rumplestiltskin's attention, but he didn't risk turning until he heard his grandson's voice calling out. "Gramps! Don't!"

He turned back to find David with his sword drawn. He was impressively fast for a mortal man, and even if he hadn't been exhausted, even if he hadn't just taken a beating in the street, Rumplestiltskin might have had trouble clearing the blade without teleporting away. His breath left him entirely in a choked sound as the sword cut straight through just beneath his ribs as it had every night since the nightmares had begun. It took a half a moment for the pain to catch up, but when it did his knees gave way.

David grabbed his collar to keep him from collapsing entirely and pulled him close to speak directly into his ear. "Just tell me why," he begged.

"I didn't. I can.." The words were cut off by a wave of pain, but the proof he'd been about to offer called out from where she was running down the street.

"David!"

Charming spun, releasing his captive as he did and Rumplestiltskin fell. He hit the pavement and couldn't find it in himself to get up. Henry's panicked voice sounded along with Belle's, but they faded as he felt the distinct pull of magic on him. Main Street disappeared from sight and he found himself staring at a collection of books directly in front of him. He struggled to look up and one of the pairs' owner bent down, his milky white eyes nearly glowing in the shadowy room. He wasn't looking at him, per se, but seemed to almost look through him. He stood again, his voice low and gruff as he spoke to his followers. Rumplestiltskin never heard them, though, as the darkness finally claimed him.

TBC

Notes: Well, NaNo has begun. Anyone else taking part? I'm actually working on an original piece for it, but I'm going to attempt to stick with my twice a week updates for this story. We'll see how it goes.

Next time - Emma, Belle, and the others search for Rumple while Bae makes an unsettling discovery about his captors.