Chapter Seventy-Six—"Hope and Despair"

They both felt the magic when it hit, though it changed nothing for the Gold family. Belle and Rumplestiltskin had returned to the shop, where Marie—now Babette, again, Rumplestiltskin supposed—had been watching Gabrielle for them. Dove's lady friend had headed out before the curse broke, probably going to the cabin, but now everything in Storybrooke had changed. Everything except us, Rumplestiltskin thought, looking at where his daughter obliviously flipped through a picture book on the bed in the back of the shop.

"Are you all right?" Belle asked quietly, probably for the tenth time.

"I will be," he answered as honestly as he could. There was no use in hiding the fact that Rumplestiltskin was still shaken from his encounter with the Jabberwocky, not from her. Had Belle not shown up when she did, Rumplestiltskin had no doubt that he would have become a quivering mess of terror at the Jabberwocky's feet. He just wasn't that strong, not without her, and everything the Jabberwocky had said about him was true. Rumplestiltskin was nothing without his power, and he knew that. But Belle…oh, she made him so much stronger. "Are you?"

"I didn't have to face her nearly as long as you did," his wife pointed out.

Rumplestiltskin shrugged. "I went to pieces in less time than you did," he admitted. "You're so much stronger than I am, sweetheart."

"I wasn't the one who just went and put my soul on the line to help someone I don't even like," Belle said, tipping her head back to look him in the eyes. "You're not a coward, Rumple. You only think you are."

"Belle, I…"

"Hush," she said, and kissed him gently. He needed her so badly right now that Rumplestiltskin just let himself melt into her touch, barely bothering to keep a grip on his curse to keep it from slipping away. Even the slightest touch from Belle was enough to help him find peace, to help him find the best version of himself, someone like the man he might have been had he not maimed himself and become the town coward. She truly was the light in his life, and even if she couldn't completely chase the darkness away—because he could not let her, and perhaps magic here would not let her, either—she did so much more than just that.

Rumplestiltskin hadn't realized he was still shaking until the trembling calmed; although he had mostly shaken the Jabberwocky's influence out of his mind, banishing the dregs was hard. He wasn't a strong man, and never had been. Hiding his fears behind magic only made living with them easier, but it did not make them go away. And he had always feared failing those he loved, losing them because he was too weak, just like he'd never been good enough to make his father or Milah stay with him. Life had proven him a coward, even when he'd tried so hard not to be one, and now the Jabberwocky had brought all of that back to the surface.

"Papa okay?" a small voice asked from the doorway to the back room, and both Rumplestiltskin and Belle turned to look at their daughter.

Just seeing her brought a tiny bit of warmth back into his soul, and Rumplestiltskin found a smile. "Of course I am, sweetie," he replied, stepping away from Belle to pick Gabrielle up. "Your mother makes everything all right."

"Mamma's good like that!" their three-year-old declared as he settled her on his hip.

"Yes, yes, she is," Rumplestiltskin agreed, giving Belle a smile.

Blue eyes met his, and even if he couldn't shake the old fears completely, everything was right with the world.

Everything would be perfect if Mom were here, Henry thought as he walked into his house with Emma and his grandmother, looking for his grandfather. Oh, and if Dad—Gramps, now, I suppose—weren't missing his heart. Thinking like that made it hard to be as elated as Henry felt he should be now that the curse was broken. Everything was supposed to be better, but somehow his grandmother was still winning. Breaking the curse was supposed to bring back the happy endings!

"What's wrong, kid?" Emma asked as they entered the front hall.

"I just thought breaking the curse would make things better," he admitted, trying not to sound down but failing more than a little. "Instead, it feels like the battle is just beginning."

Snow stopped cold, turning to look at the two of them. "That's what Rumplestiltskin told us, though. He said that Emma would find us and then the final battle will begin." Her smile was encouraging, and so much stronger than Mary Margaret had ever been as she laid a hand on his shoulder. "You've read our stories, Henry. You know that good has to keep fighting, and we will. It'll be all right in the end. You'll see."

"But…but what if the Evil Queen wins?" Henry couldn't help asking quietly.

"She won't," a new voice answered, and all three turned to see Henry's adopted father standing in the hallway coming in from the kitchen. "We'll make sure of that."

"Dad!" Henry leapt forward to hug his adopted father/grandfather, and then looked up at David curiously. "Should I call you Gramps, now?"

"You can call me whatever you want, Henry," Prince Charming smiled, and his expression seemed more at ease than it ever had in Henry's long memory of being raised by David Nolan.

"Does Grandma still have your heart?" he couldn't help asking.

David grimaced. "Unfortunately. I still don't remember her taking it…but I can remember her having it." He glanced up at Snow. "You'd best not say anything important in front of me."

"Oh, Charming," she whispered, and Henry scooted out of the way to let his grandparents embrace, moving back to Emma's side. She looked a little uncomfortable, which probably came from watching her parents kiss like that, so he tugged on her elbow.

"You see? You did it," he said, trying to scrape up some of his old optimism.

"Partially, anyway," Emma replied, shoving her hands into her pockets and studying the stove while Snow and Charming kissed again. "It seems like we have a lot of work left to do. Starting with finding your mom."

Henry's heart clenched, just thinking of what must have happened to Regina. And what if we can't wake her up? Emma's kiss broke the curse on me, but I don't think that the Evil Queen can love enough to wake her daughter. Can Grandma wake her as her sister, maybe? Or maybe Errol Forrester. He might be able to do it. But he shook himself free of the thoughts' he had to focus if they were going to find Regina and help her. "She might be at Grandma's house."

"Then we'll find her," his birth mom said firmly. "Isn't that what this family does?"

The grin came on so hard and fast that it hurt Henry's face, but that was okay. It was a good hurt. "Yes!"

By then, Snow and Charming had turned to face them, and both of Henry's grandparents were grimly focused. It hit him then that he was really looking at Snow White and Prince Charming for the first time: these two were the heroes who had defeated the Evil Queen the first time, who had ruled justly and fairly, and who had always done the right thing. Theirs was the line of heroes he was descended from, and Emma was, too. Snow was right. They would win in the end. Heroes always did.

Regina dreamt. Or at least she thought they were dreams. Despite being friends with Maleficent, she knew little of sleeping curses. Rumplestiltskin had told her about them a time or two, but she'd been more interested in curses and spells that could help protect Snow. There had been a few moments when she'd thought of cursing her mother with something similarly irrevocable, but in the end, Regina had decided Cora would never give her the chance to administer that sort of curse.

Instead, she found herself under one, courtesy of the sister she had never known she had. At first, she'd drifted in and out, not realizing that she could even be coherent, until finally she'd realized she was in a room full of mirrors. A dark room full of mirrors. There was no one and nothing there; the room was silent and her reflection went on and on into infinity. The only available pastime was to stare at herself…and think.

She'd been so careless. How could she be so foolish? Regina had let her guard down, and let Zelena stick her with a damn needle of some sort. And now Henry was in danger. Her mother could go after Henry and everyone else she loved, all because Regina had dropped her guard. Or she'll send Zelena, Regina thought, staring glumly at one of the thousand mirrors surrounding her. She had no way to know what Cora would do, and no way to interfere at all while it happened, because Regina was under a sleeping curse. She was stuck here, helpless and alone, with no hope of ever being awoken or helping those she had sworn to protect. My True Love is dead, Regina thought brokenly. I let him die, and now I must pay the price.

Part of her had always known she was living on borrowed time. Half of her soul had died when her mother killed Daniel, and now perhaps the rest of Regina would finally follow. Perhaps it was time.

I'm sorry, Henry.

Cora walked out of the cellar, ignoring the way Baelfire panted and sobbed behind her. She had done what needed to be done, and perhaps taken a bit of revenge upon Rumple for helping break her curse. Yet torturing Baelfire had not been done for the simple purpose of vengeance; no, she had a far deeper objective in mind, which was why she now rewound the tape in the recorder. She already had the required vial of blood from Rumplestiltskin's son, and her plan was moving along nicely, and there was only one other piece to put into place. That, of course, was neatly accomplished by teleporting to her other home—the one she still wanted all of Storybrooke to think was her base of operations—and picking up the phone.

"Yes?" Killian Jones answered on the first ring; her smart pirate had clearly guessed that his services would be required. She'd already told him not to bother trying to swing Baelfire to their side; he could do that later, if he wanted, but for now she needed the boy friendless and alone. Hook hadn't taken that too well, but he knew how the game was played. Truth be told, he was more useful than most of her associates, even the ones with magic.

"I need you to deliver a message for me," she replied calmly, fingering the vial.

"Will I survive this delivery, love?" Hook asked astutely.

"Oh, I expect you should without any serious problems."

She heard him snort. "Dare I ask?"

Cora chuckled softly, her eyes still on the vial of bright red blood, a feeling of satisfaction surging within her. "Come by my office and I will explain everything, dear."

"Consider me on my way, Your Majesty."

Click.

Setting the vial down, Cora sat back in her chair. Oh, the heroes would come soon, and they would try something that would be in equal parts heroic and foolish. She would have to kill a few of them, or more than a few—if she was lucky. Yes, things were moving along nicely, even with the curse broken. Zelena would remain at the summer house, and then she would let the heroes think they had driven her out. For now. Their false sense of victory would make them vulnerable, and then she would crush their hopes.

Beginning with a few hearts.

Red crossed her arms, staring the tall man down. She knew him as Dove in Storybrooke, as everyone else did, but she had no idea who he had been back in the Enchanted Forest. She and the other former Basement residents had already re-introduced themselves to one another, but Dove remained a bit of a mystery. She couldn't even guess how he felt about staring down Red, Anastasia, and Tinker Bell. Ariel—a former mermaid, interestingly enough—Aurora, Philip, and Mulan backed them up, but those three had become the ringleaders of their little fraternity of former prisoners.

"Look, either you're going to take us back to town, or I'm going to knock you unconscious and drive the truck myself," she said as reasonably as she could.

Dove frowned at her. "I'm not certain that is a good idea—"

"I don't care if it's a good idea," Tink interjected. "We're going into town. Some of us have families and friends to find now that the curse is broken. So we're going."

"Mr. Gold—"

"Oh, shove Mr. Gold," Red snapped. "Whoever he is, you don't have to stay loyal to him now. You're not cursed anymore!"

That made the tall man blink. "My loyalties have nothing to do with the curse, Miss Lucas."

"Look, can we just go? I need to find my husband before Cora hurts him. Or he does something stupid," Ana interjected.

But it was Aurora who stepped forward, speaking softly and putting a hand on Dove's arm. "Please, Mr. Dove. We appreciate how you've kept us safe, but surely the Evil Queen is defeated now that the curse has been broken, right?"

Those words served to convince Dove, although none of the Basement's former residents had any idea of the firestorm they were walking into.

Maleficent was fortunate to wake up amongst friends. She was not so fortunate to wake up as the madam of an escort establishment, nor to discover that Cora had used her in such a despicable fashion. Of course, knowing Cora, that had been her way of punishing Maleficent for refusing to ally with her back in the Enchanted Forest, but that hardly mattered at the moment. What mattered was Lily…and her daughter was missing.

"Well, it could be much worse," Ursula said, shrugging philosophically as she lounged back on one of the comfortable couches. "We did get what Cruella bargained for."

"And I can hardly argue with the size of my bank account," their white and black haired friend agreed, sipping her second gin and tonic. It was hardly even lunch time, but Maleficent and Ursula both knew that Cruella didn't care. She never had.

"I am not grateful that she put me here," Maleficent finally snarled, unable to hold her anger or her fears back. "And she took my daughter."

"You don't know that for certain, Mal—" Cruella started but she cut her off.

"Who else could have done it?" she snapped. "This is her curse and her revenge. Cora had the power here, no one else. I am not a fool, Cruella. I know who is responsible for my daughter's disappearance. The only question remaining is if magic here is too different for me to turn into a dragon and burn the bitch to death."

"Well, I won't argue your doing that, provided we can set ourselves up as a ruling triumvirate for this miserable little town," was Cruella's immediate answer, again accompanied by a sip of her drink.

"We'd be better than Cora, that's for sure," Ursula pointed out. "Not that that would take much doing."

"I'm not interested in ruling this town. I want to find my daughter!"

"Easy, Mal," Cruella tried to soothe her. "Don't start breathing fire just yet, darling. We'll find her, or we'll make Cora pay."

"Though it's probably a good idea to start somewhere other than by threatening the Evil Queen," said the ever reliable Ursula. "After all, we all know Cora well enough to know that she probably has a Plan B. That's why we made a deal with her in the first place. So, let's see if someone else might know where Lily is, and then let's act."

Listening to her friends offer to help calmed Maleficent's ire somewhat, and when Ursula leaned over to put a hand on her arm, some of the howling emptiness inside her seemed to calm. There was still a great, gaping chasm that marked the loss of her daughter, of the little girl who she had had so little time with. Lily had been her miracle, filling the hole in her heart that the loss of her first love had left, and Maleficent had wanted so badly to be better for her. Love had driven her to darkness once, and she had thought that love would bring her back from the brink, but now Cora had taken her precious little girl away. She would stop at nothing to get Lily back, but perhaps Ursula was right.

Maleficent had never been the type of villain to allow anger to cloud her emotions, had never been the type to act out of fury. No, she would be calculated and intelligent, just as she had always been. She would think before she acted, and find her daughter that way.

"We will start with Regina," she declared, rising calmly from her seat. "Ursula, do tell Mr. Horn to send the girls upstairs home. Our old friend seems to have emptied the Basement for us—and good riddance to that sick little creation of Cora's—but I doubt the girls upstairs want to be here anymore than we want them here. Send them home."

"I'll get right on that," their ever-dependable friend replied, and when she was done, the Queens of Darkness headed out to face a curse-broken Storybrooke.

The first hour or two after the curse broke had been quiet, but Belle knew that wouldn't last. Once Rumple managed to calm his shakes down—which Gabrielle truly helped with—they started making more concrete plans, about the spells he would use to find Baelfire and what they would do when they did find him. Rumple was understandably nervous, but Belle knew that he'd be all right in the end. She believed in him, and she knew how much her husband loved Baelfire. Belle would find a way to help him, if he needed it, and she'd stand by him regardless of what happened.

Besides, she was really looking forward to getting out of Storybrooke. Belle had always wanted to travel, regardless of what world she lived in, and going out into the Land Without Magic sounded like such an adventure.

"It's going to take several weeks for the spells to triangulate his location," Rumple admitted, and Belle cocked her head at him.

"Why didn't you start earlier?"

Her husband shrugged uncomfortably. "I was…afraid to get my hopes up, I suppose."

"Oh, Rumple," she whispered, stepping in close to wrap an arm around his waist. "Everything will work out. You'll see."

"He has every right to hate me, Belle," Rumplestiltskin whispered, and she watched his shoulders slump as his voice filled with self-loathing. "I—I let him go. He was right. I traded him for power, something no father should ever do. I always promised myself that I—never mind," he cut himself off quickly.

"You always promised yourself what?" Belle asked gently, sensing a story she had never heard before.

But Rumplestiltskin just shook his head, and before Belle could press, they both heard the distinctive ring-ring of the bell on the shop door. Sighing, Belle let go of her husband so that he could head out of the back room, and after one last glance at their napping daughter, she followed. By the time she came out, the three women who had once kidnapped her were in the center of the shop, with Maleficent in the lead. Her arrival seemed to make all three draw up short.

"You still have the maid, darling?" Cruella drawled, looking down her long nose at Belle. "She hardly seems worth the trouble."

"He's possessive, remember?" Ursula put in before either of them could reply. "Never gets rid of anything."

They were both looking at Belle like she was a particularly rancid piece of meat, and Belle felt her temper rising. Her husband, however, got in first.

"If you want to insult my wife, dearies, you're welcome to leave," Rumplestiltskin said in that quietly threatening voice he had perfected as Gold. Belle had heard that tone from him very few times back in the Enchanted Forest, but had always sent the recipient running away—or seen them into an early grave.

"Your…your what?" Cruella gaped, and Belle couldn't help smirking.

"I'm sorry. If that's a problem for you, the door's right there," she said as sweetly as she could. She probably shouldn't antagonize someone like Cruella, but Belle had never forgotten the way these three had kidnapped her to try to get that stupid gauntlet from Rumplestiltskin.

Cruella reared back, her eyes wide and her pale face flushed. "Why, you little—"

"Enough," Maleficent cut her off harshly, twisting to glare at her two companions. "We're not here to pick fights."

"Then why are you here?" Rumplestiltskin spoke up from Belle's right, and she could feel his annoyance growing. "If you don't like the life Cora gifted you with the curse, you'll have to take that up with her. I'm afraid she and I are not exactly what you would call allies these days."

"No, I'd call you and she something much more intimate," Cruella smirked, and then gestured dismissively. "Or at least when you were Gold, anyway."

Belle felt the little shiver roll up her spine, the one that told her that Rumple was pulling on magic and was about to lash out. Quickly, she put a hand on his left arm, noticing how his right palm was already beginning to glow and his normally warm eyes had grown colder than ice. Cruella had no idea how close to death she was, no way to know the sensitive subject she had just poked with a very sharp stick.

"Rumple," she whispered quickly, squeezing his elbow until he turned to catch her eye. They both knew that Rumplestiltskin didn't want anyone to know how damaged Cora had left him, or the depths of the shame he felt for the way she had treated him. But if he eviscerated Cruella now, like Belle knew he wanted to do, people would begin to ask questions that he didn't want them to know the answers to.

The magic died down as quickly as it had risen, and Rumplestiltskin gave her a tight nod even as Maleficent snapped at Cruella:

"Stop it. Antagonizing him is not going to help."

"Sorry, darling. You know I can't help myself." Cruella didn't sound particularly apologetic—and the words were aimed at Maleficent, anyway—but at least she shut up.

"The likelihood of any help happening in this shop is rapidly dwindling," Rumplestiltskin told Maleficent, ignoring her fur-clad companion completely. But Belle could still feel the tension radiating from him.

The dragon-sorceress seemed to slump slightly. "Please," she said quietly, turning to look Belle's husband in the face. "I can't find Regina, and you're the only one left who might know what Cora did with my daughter."

"Your daughter," Rumplestiltskin repeated softly, and Belle could see him searching his mind. "No, I don't know where she is. But I can—"

The door of the shop burst open, cutting Rumplestiltskin off, and in strode the four people who Belle really hadn't expected to come in during this conversation: Emma, Snow White, Prince Charming, and Henry. The adults all looked determined while young Henry appeared more than a little worried, but the foursome stopped cold when they saw the Queens of Darkness inside the shop.

"Are we interrupting something?" Snow White spoke up, and Belle really couldn't see Mary Margaret Blanchard in her posture at all. She'd never actually met Snow face to face, not outside her encounters with Mary Margaret, so seeing her this confident and focused was very new.

"I should think that's obvious," Ursula drawled, and Belle saw Charming reach for the sword he wasn't wearing.

Apprehensively, she glanced at Rumple, wondering what kind of bad blood there was between the Charming clan and the Queens of Darkness. He shrugged in response to her unspoken question, clearly unsurprised by the tension but unconcerned.

"Look, we're not here to pick a fight," Emma interjected, eyeing her parents warily and keeping a firm grip on Charming's sword.

"You'd better not be, darling, because you'd wind up as roast Savior," Cruella put in, and Ursula snickered.

"Perhaps we do not need to be enemies," Maleficent cut in, her eyes on Emma and ignoring the Charmings completely. "Regina and I are old friends, and I was looking for her. Do you know where she is?"

"We were actually hoping Gold could help with that," Emma admitted, turning to face Belle's husband as Maleficent blinked. "Cora told Henry that Regina was under a sleeping curse. Where would she keep her?"

"A sleeping curse?" Maleficent spat, looking angry. "She did that to her daughter?"

"You always knew she was a cold blooded bitch, Mal," Ursula piped up, but Rumple ignored her and looked at Emma.

"You're assuming I'd know where Regina is?" Rumplestiltskin asked, and Belle felt the slight growl in his voice. She wasn't sure if it was the imp coming out to play as his curse demanded he not be helpful, or if it was his own deep-seated angers and insecurities; either way, she kept her hand on his arm, hoping to reassure and steady him. He needed that sometimes, Belle knew, even when he wouldn't say it.

"You've always been able to find out what Cora is up to," Snow spoke up. "Name your price, and we'll see if we can pay it."

"My price for what exactly, dear?" he asked, and Belle felt Rumple relaxing slightly now that the conversation entered familiar territory.

"Help against Cora."

Rumplestiltskin chuckled softly. "Oh, you can't pay enough for a carte blanche like that," he said with a slight smile. "I'm far too independent to tie myself to your cause in such a manner."

"You said you were on our side!" Emma snapped.

"In regards to getting the curse broken? Yes, I was. And I have no desire to be your enemy, but I've got my own family to protect. They are my first priority."

"Family—?" Charming started to ask in surprise, and then his head swiveled to look at Belle as he chopped off, looking like a fish out of water for a long moment. "You're who he meant?"

"If you're referring to that 'protection for protection' deal of yours from before the curse, yes," Belle answered before Rumplestiltskin could. She would have said more, but her husband spoke softly:

"Belle."

"What?" she looked up at him, confused, until she read the concern in his face. Cora has David's heart, Belle remembered. It would not do for her to say too much. She nodded quickly. "Right."

"Moving back to the topic at hand," Rumplestiltskin interjected smoothly. "I can help you find Regina, but I'll need something of hers first."

"You can't just do magic?" David asked, and Belle couldn't stop herself from replying:

"Magic has rules. In order to do a locator spell, you need something that belongs to the person you're trying to find," she explained, probably a lot more kindly than her husband would have done. "You can't just will one into existence."

Well, Rumple probably could, given how well he knew Regina, but Belle wasn't going to mention that. It would take more power than he was comfortable using, because she knew her husband collected power the way some girls collected dolls, just far more religiously. She'd never really liked that about him, but if it made him feel safe—

Yet again, the shop door banged open and interrupted a conversation.

"You guys need to come quickly!" Archie Hopper said leaning halfway through the door. "I need your help. Dr. Whale's whipped everyone into a frenzy; they're going to Cora's house; they're gonna kill her!"

"That sounds entertaining," Ursula muttered as Cruella's face lit up. Emma, however, looked at her parents.

"We have to stop them."

"There's magic here," David agreed. "They could be marching into a slaughter." He turned back to look at Belle and Rumple. "Does Cora's magic work?"

"You're asking that when the woman controlled you via your heart?" Rumplestiltskin asked mildly, but Belle still shot him a glare.

"Rumple."

"Right," David shook himself free of what was obviously a painful memory and asked Rumplestiltskin: "We've got to go. Will you help us?"

"Containing lynch mobs is hardly my forte."

Under normal circumstances, Belle would have asked him to help. She even knew that she should ask him to help, but Belle knew what Rumple planned to do to Cora. He wanted to kill her, not to help the heroes, but for revenge for what she had done to him and to keep his family—and himself—safe from her. And while Belle knew that heroes weren't supposed to kill, and weren't supposed to condone someone taking revenge, she was also all too aware of the horrible things Cora had spent twenty-eight years doing to her husband. She had spent too many nights holding Rumple as he shook and cried, caught in nightmares that horrible woman had caused. She'd patched up too many wounds before he'd had magic, and she'd watched him almost die in the hospital because Cora set Belle's own father and Tony Rose up to beat him. So, no, Belle didn't pity Cora. Even though she knew she should.

So, she wouldn't stop him. And she wouldn't ask Rumple to help the heroes now. She knew he preferred to deal with Cora in private, and she wouldn't ask him not to. Not after everything that had happened.

"Right. Whatever." It was Emma who spoke, shrugging away Rumplestiltskin's refusal.

"I'll come," Maleficent volunteered suddenly, making all four Charmings pause when they'd turned to leave. "That bitch has my daughter."

"Your—" Snow cut off, eyes wide, and Maleficent smiled.

"I promise I won't roast her until the mob is clear," she promised sweetly, and suddenly Cruella and Ursula were flanking her as the Charmings stared the Mistress of All Evil down.

"You can turn into a dragon here?" Henry asked excitedly, and somehow that shattered the tension in the shop.

Maleficent smiled. "We'll have to find out."

The seven of them—three heroes, one child, and three Queens of Darkness—left the shop together as Belle and Rumplestiltskin stood behind the counter, clearly unhappy with one another but unwilling to allow the others out of their sight. Archie, the poor man, led the way, and Belle watched through the windows as they hurried down the street towards Cora's home. Belle waited until they were all gone before speaking softly:

"Do you think Maleficent will do kill her?"

Rumplestiltskin shrugged. "I doubt it, but I'll hardly grieve if she manages. Cora still has the best leverage possible over her, though."

"Her daughter," Belle whispered, and had to peek through the curtains to check on Gabrielle, who had somehow slept through that entire exchange.

"Yes."

"You will if she doesn't, won't you?" Belle refused to be a coward and not ask the question, because not knowing would not pardon her for having turned a blind eye. She'd only felt this empty fury once before, when she hadn't stopped Rumple from killing the Cyan Fairy. Cyan had tried to steal Gabrielle away, and Cora had hurt Rumplestiltskin terribly. Did wanting revenge against people who tried to hurt her loved ones make her a bad person? There was a tightness in Belle's chest that would not go away. She had tried so hard to be a good person, to be a hero…but could a hero let her husband do this?

"Yes," he said simply, and then cringed as he turned to look at her. "Belle, I—I have to," Rumplestiltskin said quickly, and Belle could see the fear in his eyes. Fear of losing her? "We'll never be safe if she isn't dead, and—"

Belle cut him off with a gentle finger to his lips. "And she hurt you terribly. I understand, Rumple," she whispered. "Just…promise me that it will stop with her?"

"Oh, sweetheart." Love replaced the fear in his eyes, and she could feel him shake briefly in relief. "That I can promise."

He hadn't wanted to come along when Doctor Whale started riling people up to go kill Cora, but Will found his feet carrying him to the mayor's house, anyway. Bloody Evil Queen still has my heart, he thought angrily, finding himself joining the growing crowd outside of Cora's front door. There were a few others who looked as angry and out of place as he did, all hanging out on the edge of the mob and wishing that they were anywhere else. For a moment, Will thought about striking up conversation with one of his probably-heartless compatriots, but in the end he decided that making friends was a bad idea. Particularly with some other poor bloke who'd lost their heart to Cora. Literally.

But he did take note of who they were, at least for those he knew. One was the school principal, who Will was pretty sure had been a princess back home. Another was that author who was supposedly new in town; he was even more glum looking than the princess, and her miserable expression was really hard to top. He didn't recognize the others, but none of them were shouting as angrily as the good doctor or the dwarves who'd arrived right on his heels.

Yet Cora's front door still remained shut.

"Open up!" Whale shouted, banging on the door. "Open up or we're coming in!"

"Let's break it down!" Whale encouraged the others, but before anyone could agree on what would make a good battering ram—some of the idiots were even contemplating the mailbox, much good that would do them—the door opened.

"Are you looking for me, dear?" the Evil Queen cooed, and Will felt a shiver run down his spine.

Whatever was going to happen, he hoped to hell that Ana was safe and far away from this crazy woman. He could feel power cackling through the air, and Will didn't have to know jack about magic to know this wasn't good. Wait just one minute. If I'm feeling magic, and I am, how is she using it? This is supposed to be the Land Without the Annoying Stuff!

"It's time you were brought to justice for your crimes!" Leroy—hadn't he been a dwarf in his last life?—bellowed.

"Yeah!" most of the crowd agreed, and Will winced again.

"And what crimes might those be?" Cora inquired delicately, looking smug.

"You brought us here!" someone shouted. Will was fairly sure he had been Cora's gardener. Was that King Midas? He'd never been able to keep all the royals straight.

Granny immediately piped up in a snarl—while holding a crossbow, no less: "And tore our families apart!"

"What are you going to do, kill me?" Cora smirked.

"Eventually," Whale said bluntly. "But first, you need to suffer."

"Not at your hands, I'm afraid," the Evil Queen said, waving a hand—and some giant force picked the doctor up and flung him across the front yard. He crashed into a giant topiary—now there was a word that Francis Scadlock had known, because Will Scarlet would never be that erudite—with a sickening crunch, and laid still.

A good half of the crowd flinched and ducked back, because, yeah, that was magic and they were all screwed. Whale, at least, seemed to be breathing still, and the pair of people who were brave enough to crouch next to him only looked mildly worried. But a distinguished older man, the guy who had been Albert Spencer, the District Attorney under the curse, stepped forward.

"You can't kill us all, Cora," he said strongly.

"Oh, and are you here to play king, George?" she laughed at him.

"If I must. Someone has to stand up to you."

The Evil Queen smiled, and then vanished in a cloud of purple smoke. But no sooner had she disappeared than she reappeared, this time inches away from King George's face. "Someone might, but it won't be you," she said, plunging her hand into his chest.

Will knew from personal experience that having your heart ripped out hurt like a mother, but King George took it like man. He only gasped a little, even as some people in the crowd fell all over themselves to get away from this suddenly dangerous mayor/queen. George staggered but didn't fall, snarling defiance back at Cora.

"You won't dare," King George said.

Bad move, buddy, Will thought to himself. Taunting Cora was always a bad idea. But the sudden arrival of a team of heroes changed saved his life, and Emma Swan's voice cut through the now-terrified din.

"What the hell are you doing, Cora?" the sheriff demanded.

"Oh. Our little savior arrives, with her insipid parents in tow," the Evil Queen retorted lightly, holding George's heart up in her hand and studying it idly.

"It's over, Cora," Snow White said strongly, standing straight backed at her daughter's side. Bloody heroes always have to strike a pose, don't they? Will almost snickered aloud before he stopped himself. Yeah, he'd thought he could be one of them, once. Then he'd learned his lesson.

"I'm far from done with you, dear," Cora snarled. "And I'll begin by killing your dear father-in-law."

Snow and Charming leapt forward together. "No!"

But it was far too late. The heart turned to dust in Cora's hand, and King George's dead body dropped like a rock. A wave of magic slammed three dwarves into the Charmings and their daughter, pushing all three back while Cora turned to face the crowd, arms outstretched and radiating power. Cora, however, turned her acid gaze back to Snow White as the threesome picked themselves up.

"Should I continue with your dear nanny, Snow?" she taunted her old enemy, gesturing with one hand. Magic lashed out, dragging an older woman out of the crowd. Isn't that Jane Wells? She does my sewing, Will thought, still feeling strangely detached about everything. Cora, however, continued: "This is Johanna, isn't it?"

"Cora, please, don't do this," Snow pleaded as the old woman looked at Cora with a mixture of resignation and despair.

"Why ever not?"

"Because they're not the ones you should be worried about, Cora," a new voice cut in, and it was definitely not one that Will had ever wanted to hear again. But at least Maleficent wasn't interested in barbequing him at the moment; she looked ready to charbroil the Evil Queen, instead, and he was quite happy to not be the focus of her ire, thank you very much. She was, however, accompanied by two other evil harpies who Will had only heard of, Ursula and Cruella. That threesome looked a hell of a lot more threatening than the heroes, particularly since the other two were backing off to give Maleficent space.

"Maleficent," Cora purred. "I trust you were comfortable during the curse?"

"You took my daughter!" the Mistress of All Evil snarled, and magic was already starting to whip around her. Will backed off immediately, moving as fast as his legs would carry him, because he'd heard plenty of stories about how Maleficent could turn into a dragon, and no way was he getting caught in the crossfire. Most of the rest of the mob seemed to have heard that kind of stuff, too, because they were backing away with him.

"Maleficent, don't do this!" Snow White howled, and it was pretty much one of the dumbest things Will had ever heard anyone say. Why would she want to save Cora's life? "There has to be a better way!"

But there was a dragon where there had been a blonde woman only a moment earlier, breathing a giant burst of fire right over Cora's head. That finally seemed to frighten the Evil Queen, who flinched away from the flames and let the poor old woman go. Johanna was smart enough to run, and Snow grabbed her to pull her clear, but by then Maleficent was already winding up for a second round. Will thought he heard someone cheering the dragon on even as Emma tried to say something about laws and locking Cora away, but he was busy ducking behind the side of the house and hoping that Maleficent didn't take her anger out on the real estate.

But it didn't matter, in the end. Cora vanished in a swirl of power before Maleficent could burn her alive, going who-knew-where and leaving the very frightened crowd to its own devices.

A/N: Too bad Maleficent didn't manage to roast Cora! But now the lines are being drawn, and sides are being chosen.

Next up: Chapter Seventy-Seven—"Before the Storm", where Ana finds Will, Killian runs across Tink (and stumbles across some hope for himself while he is at it), Emma comes back to make a deal with Rumplestiltskin, and Cora pulls out her hole card.