Chapter Eighty-Nine—"Teeth and Ambitions Bared"

David had always done the dishes when it was him, Henry, and Regina. Regina did about half the cooking—he'd been terrible until he'd taken three separate cooking classes—but breakfast had always been his specialty. The fact that he could cook was definitely a blessing in their newly large household; Snow was all right with easy things, but Emma could burn water, which meant David did the cooking.

He didn't mind, though it made him miss Regina. Not in a romantic way, of course. Even if his cursed self had been confused on that front, David was not. There had only ever been one woman for him, but Regina was his friend in addition to being his sister-in-law. She was also Henry's other adopted parent, and although Cora's curse had made David Nolan something of an indifferent father (which he hated), he was determined not to be like that, now. If it was easier for Henry to see him as his grandfather, David would accept that, but no matter what, he would be there for Henry, however Henry needed him to. He'd been distant under the curse and often useless, but that wasn't the man he really was. And I won't be like that now that my family needs me.

That family included Regina, and David was going to do his damnedest to get her back, too. Snow missed her sister, and Henry needed his mother. Emma was doing a good job with him, but David had seen the sadness in Henry's eyes when he handed Henry his hot chocolate that morning. Regina had raised their son, and even when she'd been cursed, Regina had been a good parent. David supposed that he was glad Cora had given her that; if the Evil Queen had had to pick one of them to be a good parent, it should have been Regina. David had a second chance here—both with Emma and to be Henry's grandfather—but Regina had lost so much already. I'm not going to let her lose Henry, too, he thought, drying off the frying pan he'd used to make eggs. Not that I think Henry wants to be lost. Henry was a remarkably resilient kid, but Regina had been under a sleeping curse for over a week, now, and David could see that it was beginning to wear on him.

Soon, he promised his son/grandson silently. He and Robin were going to get together today to talk details about how they were going to wrest the hearts away from Cora, and he had a feeling that Robin also had a plan to rescue Regina. After all, the outlaw had indicated that he knew where Regina was, and David would do whatever it took to get Regina out of Cora's hands. If Robin can't wake her up—and I'm willing to bet he can—Henry will be happy to help, David decided. He almost opened his mouth to tell Henry that, just to give him a little hope, when a knocking came at the door.

"I'll get it!" Henry exclaimed, jumping up and rushing out of the kitchen with the speed only an excited ten-year-old could muster.

Exchanging an amused glance with Snow—Emma had already headed out to the Sheriff's Station—David trailed after Henry at a more sedate pace. Still, he was close enough to hear every word once Henry opened the door.

"Hi, Mr. French," the ten-year-old said, sounding confused. "What are you doing here?"

Out of the mouths of babes, David thought with amusement, but said aloud: "That's not terribly polite, Henry."

Henry turned to give him a shrug as David walked up. "I thought it might be Baelfire. Or maybe Belle. Not her dad."

"Well, why don't you let me talk to him while you go help your grandmother, all right?" he suggested. Snow was sorting through a list of complaints people had left with them—there were so many to choose from!—and Henry's help would actually be invaluable there. Some people signed the complaints with their cursed names and others with their original names; figuring out which was which had been a giant pain until Henry's encyclopedic knowledge of the curse came into play.

"Sure!"

Henry scampered off, leaving David to face the town florist. Belle mentioned that her father was a lord back home, but I don't remember him. He was from some other kingdom…Avonlea, maybe? "Care to come in?" he asked politely, noticing how nervous the older man looked.

"Thank you," Maurice—at least David thought that's what his name had been—said uneasily, and David led him into the living room before saying anything else, gesturing Belle's father into a seat on the couch as he took one of the chairs.

"What can I do for you?" he asked, and watched Maurice fidget.

"I came…I came for help," Maurice said quietly. "It's my daughter. I don't know what to do for her. I'm certain she's been enchanted, and that she can't leave that horrible house. It's not her fault. I know it isn't, but I have to help her."

Listening to that ramble made David blink. "I'm not sure I follow," he said slowly. "Your daughter…you mean Belle Gold, right?"

"Don't give her that monster's name!" Maurice burst out. "It's not her fault she wound up married to him here. Or that he's made her think that…that child is hers. My Belle wouldn't do that of her own free will."

"But we are talking about the same Belle, aren't we?" The same Belle who has apparently been awake since before the curse broke, who helped Emma and Snow both, and who marched in here with her daughter to tell us that no one decided her fate but her? Saying that, however, would not be very diplomatic, so David stopped himself. Snow might have always been better at the diplomacy parts of ruling, but even he knew that much.

"Yes. I've got to get her away from that monster while he's with Cora. You've got to help me, please. I think she's a prisoner in that house. She wouldn't even let me in!"

This was going to be delicate, and David devoutly wished he could call Snow in right now, but she was busy trying to solve other problems. Besides, there wasn't any real way to make this better. All David could do was (hopefully) make it less bad.

"What, uh, makes you think she's enchanted?" he asked.

"She says she's in love with the Dark One," the older man snarled, and David fought back the urge to sigh.

"Has it ever occurred to you that she could be? I know Rumplestiltskin better than most, and despite his odd looks back home, I would certainly say that he's capable of love."

"Not my Belle!"

"Magic can't make someone fall in love," Snow's voice suddenly said, and David twisted to see her framed in the doorway, looking as beautiful as ever. Her eyes met his. "Believe me. We know."

"She's trapped there," Maurice reiterated mulishly.

"Actually, she isn't," David pointed out. "Belle was over here just the other day, and she joined us for our war council, too. She isn't stuck in the house. She just lives there."

"I know this must be difficult for you," Snow picked up where David left off. "But your daughter isn't trapped at all. She's been an enormous help to us so far, and if—when—we defeat Cora, she'll have played an integral part in that."

Maurice blinked owlishly. "I thought that monster…"

"You might want to stop calling your son-in-law that," David said as lightly as he could. "From what I understand, they got married back home…and I certainly am not going to be the one to tell Belle that she's not capable of making her own choices. You have an extraordinarily strong and stubborn daughter."

"She's always been stubborn," the older man said softly, looking like he was wrestling with the facts he'd been given.

"Did she tell you that, too?" Snow asked gently, walking into the room and sitting next to the florist.

"Yes."

"We asked the same questions," she said, putting a hand on Maurice's arm and working the kind of magic only Snow White could—that which made you believe in her like no one else. "But Rumplestiltskin has been working with us since the beginning. Emma never could have broken the curse without his help—or Belle's. I know he's the Dark One, but he's on our side."

"You truly believe she's with him by choice?" Maurice whispered, and for a moment, David felt very sorry for him. How would I feel if my daughter had gone on a date with the Dark One last night? Then again, Emma had gone out with Rumplestiltskin's son, so David could imagine how Maurice felt a little too well.

"We know she is," Snow reassured him.

It took more than that to win Maurice over, of course, but it was a start. At least he stopped ranting and raving and demanding that the heroes 'save' his daughter from the beast. Frankly, David didn't have time for idiot quests, anyway. He had an appointment with an outlaw to rescue his cursed wife/sister-in-law that he wasn't going to miss.

"I'd like to make a deal with you, Hatter," said the man who had just walked into Modern Fashions.

That got Jefferson's attention immediately, and made him drop the sweater he'd been about to hang up. So far, he'd managed to stay under Cora's radar, and he'd been hoping to stay there. He'd never antagonized the Evil Queen in the past, and had even done the odd job or two for her, but apparently now she'd told her friends who and what he was. Who is this guy again? He was Conrad something or another under the curse, a lawyer. But I never saw him back home.

"I'm afraid you have me at a disadvantage," he said slowly, bending to pick up the sweater casually.

"Jafar," the other introduced himself, and well, Jefferson knew that name. Even if Grace hadn't liked the movie—which she did—he'd heard of Jafar back home. He was the sorcerer who wanted to find three genies. And not just any three. He wants the three brother genies, and has been scouring worlds to find them.

"It's a pleasure," Jefferson smiled cautiously, glad that at least Jafar's reputation said that he didn't kill people for doing little things like sneezing in his presence. Still, sounding welcoming never hurt, particularly when one was reasonably sure of living through the next five minutes without being turned into a rat. "What can I do for you?"

"I'm of a mind to do some travelling…perhaps with a companion. What would you be interested in exchanging for guidance on such a trip?"

"I take it that telling you to check out the travel section in the pharmacy probably isn't going to meet your requirements?" he couldn't stop himself from saying.

Surprisingly, Jafar laughed. "I'm afraid I have somewhere far more exotic in mind."

"I figured." Jefferson shrugged. "Well, then, protection from Cora would be a nice thing to start with, assuming you can give it. And from her, uh, crazier daughter."

"I can offer that in part, at any rate," the sorcerer replied, sizing him up. "Cora thinks I'm here to threaten you, after all. I prefer, however, to make a deal that benefits both of us."

Jefferson's heart was now firmly lodged in his throat. "Why does Cora want me threatened?"

"Cora thinks threats will solve everything," Jafar said dryly, rolling his eyes.

"And you don't?"

"No. I prefer to earn trust, particularly from someone who would be more than capable of dumping me off into a useless little world with just a little preparation."

Something about the way he said that made Jefferson's heart stop, and he could only stare at Jafar with wide eyes. After a moment, the sorcerer smiled.

"Ah, yes. I have something to offer in exchange for our first trip: knowledge," Jafar said smoothly. "Cora knows of your friends' plan to use the Hat to take her to Neverland. I would suggest that you…rethink that course of action."

He had to swallow hard several times before he could make his mouth work. "How does she know?"

"She has someone's heart, of course. But don't ask me whose; I don't know."

"Then why are you telling me?" Jefferson asked warily.

"Let's just say that I'm hedging my bets," Jafar replied. "It doesn't take a seer to know that Cora's plans may blow up in her face rather…spectacularly. I've never known a woman who was so determined to antagonize two mythically powered individuals at the same time, and she's managed to make the Dark One and the Jabberwocky both hate her. I'd prefer to be in another world when it all falls to pieces, and if I must make friends with the other side to do just that…I will do so."

"You know…I think we can work together."

So, plan A of getting rid of Cora was out. He'd have to call Belle later—or drop by the house—and let her know. But now they knew that Cora had the heart of someone on the war council, and that counted for a lot. Jafar seemed to be the sort who would keep his deals, at least, which meant a lot to a portal jumper. So, they started discussing details, along with how to not bring Zelena long if Jafar didn't want her to come, and Jefferson even started to enjoy himself.

A little.

"Hey, sister," Grumpy said as Belle greeted him at the door that same morning.

"Grumy," Belle blinked in surprise and then smiled. "What are you doing here?"

"I came by to see if you needed any help," the dwarf replied. "I imagine things are rough now with Gold gone."

"They're not that bad," she replied, letting her friend in. "Baelfire's here, and he helps a lot. Gabi likes having an older brother."

"I bet she does. How is the sprog, anyway?"

"Doing as well as she can with her father away." Biting her lip, Belle tried not to think on what Bae had told her the night before. They'd talked, and her stepson had tried to ask her what had happened between his father and Cora. Belle had finally relented enough to tell him about the fact that Rumple had been in a relationship with Cora before her marriage—only to learn that Emma had told Bae about the curse-caused 'relationship' between Cora and Gold. She'd tried to avoid giving Baelfire any gruesome details, knowing that Rumple wouldn't want his son knowing how badly Cora had hurt him, but she had a bad feeling that Bae had read between the lines.

It's not like he shouldn't know, Belle told herself, leading Grumpy into the kitchen where she'd been making cookies while Gabi read a book. If Bae knows, he can probably help Rumple at least as much as I can, but I know Rumple wouldn't want his beloved boy to know how badly he was hurt.

"You need any help around the house or anything?" Grumpy asked without warning, and Belle threw him an odd look.

"I didn't know you dwarves cleaned. I thought Snow did that for you," she said lightly. Something was off. She couldn't quite tell what, but something…something was off.

She hadn't known Grumpy as long as Snow had, of course, but she had met him right after he'd gotten his heart broken because of the Blue Fairy. She'd tried to reconnect with Leroy after he'd been released from the asylum since Lacey had memories of being friends with him, but they still hadn't been able to talk much. Now, however, her instincts were telling her that something was very wrong with her friend.

"Well, I never said I was good at it," the dwarf offered with a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes.

"Then I thank you doubly for the effort," Belle replied, forcing herself to be friendly and pretend nothing was wrong. "But the maid still comes by, and Dove is able to fix anything that breaks. So, I think we're doing all right."

Grumpy stuck around for another few minutes of small talk, but even when Belle offered him cookies, he was fairly quick to leave after that. Closing the door behind him, Belle paused in the foyer, biting her lip and thinking hard. Was she just paranoid? Their conversation had been stilted, a little forced, even. Was that because they were in the Dark One's house? Being there made most people uncomfortable, but Belle didn't think that was it.

"The key is that she can't keep track of everyone's hearts at once," Robin told him. David had gone out to the Merry Men's camp in the woods, confident that at least he still had his heart in. After all, he remembered all too well the feeling of emptiness, and he hadn't had his heart back for more than a week. David was certain he'd notice if it was gone, since that was a feeling one definitely didn't forget. But as Robin's friend Will had pointed out, there was no knowing who else Cora had victimized.

"So…the plan is to hit her in multiple places at once, then," David nodded, glancing down at the crudely drawn map. "You've got a distraction in mind—I won't ask what—but another won't hurt, right?"

"Unless we somehow manage to get in one another's way, no," the outlaw laughed. "But if you've got something in mind, go for it—particularly if you can distract Zelena instead of Cora. Getting them both out of the way would give me a lot better chance to get to Regina."

"I think we can do that," David agreed. "So…are you sure you don't need any help going after Regina?"

"I'll have the Merry Men for backup, so if you four want to concentrate on breaking into her vault—there are a lot of hearts to carry out, from what Will says—I think we'll be all right," Robin said.

"And, well, if either one of us succeeds, it counts for something, right?"

"Damn right it does. I'll call you when we need to kick off—it'll all depend on if we can coax her out of the house when we want to."

David nodded. "Until then." He turned to go, only to stop when Robin asked:

"One last question—how are you going to get past the protections on Cora's vault?"

"I think that probably best belongs in the category of things best not known," David replied with a smile. They were all paranoid, now, of course. Cora could have almost any of their hearts, and if she happened to be listening…

"True enough. Just tell me you have a way."

"We do," David promised, thanking his lucky stars that Regina had told Henry about the blood magic on her mother's vault. Of course, none of them shared actual blood with Regina, which did complicate things. However, once Henry had volunteered that information, Snow had remembered that Regina had donated blood at the hospital a week before the curse had broken. Emma and Bae should be stealing that right now, David thought, resolutely not thinking about where his daughter and her ex had acquired their lock-breaking and stealing skills.

Despite those thoughts, he left the outlaws' camp in good spirits. Whether their chance came today or tomorrow, they really had a chance to pull this off.

"So, any ideas on how to distract Zelena?" Bae asked the pirate, a little weirded out to be having this conversation at all. But it was simpler than the one that would come later, which had to count for something.

Besides, he had seen Hook's glaring reason for turning to the 'good' side, and selfishness was something Bae could understand, even trust. The petite fairy had left the marina office just as Bae had arrived, and it was obvious from the way Killian's eyes followed her that he was smitten. Once, as a kid, maybe, Bae would have been offended to see Killian looking at a woman like that—but it had been a long time since he'd had to endure a lengthy soliloquy about how much Killian had loved his mother. Three hundred years was certainly long enough to get involved with someone new, even if she was a fairy.

"Whatever would you want to do that for, lad?"

"Can the 'lad' stuff, okay? I'm only twenty years or so younger than you if we count our Neverland time, and if we don't, we're probably about the same age," Bae said.

"Point taken." Shrugging, Killian leaned back in his chair. "My question remains, though, Baelfire. What in the world do you want to distract the Wicked Witch for?"

He grinned. "So we can wreak merry havoc, of course."

"But without telling the new turncoat the details," the pirate observed astutely.

"No offense, man, but, well, we're still new on the 'trusting you' part of this."

"None taken. I do have to warn you, though, that baiting Zelena can be…dangerous to your health. She's as vicious as her mother and twice as unpredictable."

"Yeah, I know," Bae grimaced. She'd come onto him like a freight train, too, apparently oblivious to the fact that being locked in a cage didn't turn most men on. Frankly, Bae had found her more than a little terrifying, which was why he was definitely not going to volunteer for distraction via seduction.

"Well, in that case, then, play on her insecurities. She's always worried that 'Mother Dearest' won't be pleased with her," Killian advised. "So, provide her with something that she knows her mother will want, and she'll zero in on it like a bloodhound. Just don't make it something you can't live without."

"I thought Cora and Zelena got along like gangbusters," he said.

"Oh, they do. But Cora's hardly the loving mother type, mate. She doesn't have a heart, and Zelena's desperate for love." Killian shrugged. "You can use that, if you're careful about it."

Zelena had seemed a little manic about her loyalty to her mother, Bae remembered. "What kind of thing would Cora want, then?"

"Anything that offers her more power."

Cora really wasn't trying to keep many secrets from him these days, Rumplestiltskin reflected. She didn't even bother to put the heart away before she summoned him to her vault, only sliding it into its proper place after he had appeared. Rather typically, her summons put Rumplestiltskin on his knees—Cora wasn't shy about admitting how much she liked him there—but he could still read the name on the box. Unsurprisingly, it was the heart that he'd stolen in the middle of that war council, the one none of the heroes knew Cora had.

"I would ask what you want, but you always have a habit of making that painfully clear," he said by way of greeting. Cora was still trying to beat something more subservient into him, and while she could force him to say and do whatever she wanted, making Rumplestiltskin want to was another matter entirely. He knew he was coming apart at the seams, but he would be damned if he'd turn into her willing slave.

A flick of the dagger sent needles of pain stabbing into his mind, and Rumplestiltskin gasped, rocking back on his ankles and clutching his head desperately. He couldn't even tell if his eyes were shut; his vision had gone black and everything just seemed to stop for some indeterminate amount of time. He couldn't even tell how long it actually lasted; his mind was too worn out, too wasted, but a week of non-stop pain and humiliation. Even the whispers of his curse were becoming painful; they wanted him to utterly give into Cora so that she might give the Dark One free rein.

"Are you finished being impertinent?" Cora demanded when the pain lifted.

"No," he growled, using the last of his courage.

This time the dagger came down harder, and Rumplestiltskin found himself on his hands and knees, shaking under the pressure as his curse tore into his soul, ripping and shredding, leaving him trembling and panting in its wake. Spasms started to shake his slim frame; Rumplestiltskin was literally reaching the point where neither his mind nor body could take any more abuse. Cora had realized early on that she didn't have to touch him to make him suffer, so now she saved leaving marks for more special moments of defiance. This, however, was more than enough. It was starting to drive him mad.

"Well?"

"Yes," Rumplestiltskin whispered, clinging to his sanity by a thread. Choose your battles, he tried to tell himself. Pointless defiance will only get you hurt. Lure her into a false sense of security with compliance, and she'll start to trust you.

It was a solid plan, one that was even worthy of the tricky Dark One. Unfortunately, it had one major drawback: Rumplestiltskin knew himself well enough to know that if he stopped fighting, he might never start again. Fighting kept him sane. Fighting reminded him that he didn't have to be some coward that was unworthy of those he loved. Yes, he was terrified, but he could keep fighting for them. His family was worth fighting for, worth sacrificing everything for.

"Better," Cora said, gesturing with the dagger. The unspoken command to straighten burned into his mind, and Rumplestiltskin found himself back on his knees, sitting on his ankles and looking up at Cora like he was some macabre puppet she could manipulate at her will.

But she can, he thought brokenly, and then pushed the thought aside. It's the curse. It isn't me.

More and more often now, Rumplestiltskin thought about just getting rid of this damn curse, of forgetting his need for power—not that he could forget it; it was all that protected him!—and just kissing Belle. She could free him, he knew, and he wanted terribly to be free. Except he needed the power. Without it, he would never be able to protect his family, and Cora would kill them one by one if he couldn't stop her. I can't let that happen. I can't. The thought of losing his family was the only thing worse than the idea of being Cora's slave for the rest of her life, and Rumplestiltskin had to protect them.

"I've been watching your little wife," Cora spoke into the silence, and that certainly stopped his panicky thoughts cold. "She's inventive, that one. She and your son think they can find a useless little world to abandon me in, thus freeing you."

They're still trying to save me, he realized, and that thought countered the panic from earlier, countered it with warmth and love. He could only stare at Cora, a little impressed by the idea Belle and Bae had come up with—undoubtedly with Jefferson's help—and utterly worried that Cora already knew about it.

"Do you have anything to say about that, Rumple?"

I hope it's somewhere nasty, he managed not to say aloud. Instead, he shrugged. "Obviously, you know about it."

"Of course I do. They were foolish enough to talk about it in their little 'war council', and the heart you stole for me proved very useful in learning about those things."

"I'm so glad to have been of assistance." His tone was too dry to be sarcastic, but Cora still got the hint, and pain slammed into him again. Once Rumplestiltskin had recovered sufficiently—Cora didn't seem to care that his head was spinning sickly or that he was starting to have trouble breathing—she sneered down at him.

"What is it between you two?" Cora demanded. "She's remarkably loyal for a power hungry minor nobleman's daughter."

Something you'll never understand. Again, he managed not to voice the thought, though pressure started rising when he didn't answer immediately, and Rumplestiltskin grimaced, letting out a ragged hiss from between clenched teeth. "It's not about power, dearie," he snapped. "Not everything is."

"Don't be ridiculous."

"I'm not," Rumplestiltskin snarled as his curse started to interpret Cora's dissatisfaction with his answer as a reason to cause pain. "We…understand one another."

"Yes, yes, love and all that," she said impatiently, rolling her eyes. "You and I both know how love works, Rumple. If it doesn't have a foundation in power, it fails."

"No, that's how you work," he retorted. "You tore your heart out to avoid it, to gain more power. For all my faults…that's never something I've been guilty of."

Any other woman would have been insulted; Cora simply shrugged off the reminder that power had always been more important to her than love. Yet he could see from the look in her eyes that she really didn't understand. Rumplestiltskin could explain his love for Belle until he was blue in the face, but Cora would never actually wrap her mind around the concept. Not while her heart is outside her chest, anyway, he thought tiredly. She was looking for the catch, looking for a weakness to exploit…but Cora wasn't going to find one. That thought warmed Rumplestiltskin, armored him a little against the pain and the crushing fear that had become part of his daily existence, and he felt just a tiny bit lighter.

"No, I suppose you haven't," Cora said dismissively. Then she looked right in his eyes. "Why do you love her, this former maid of yours?"

He couldn't lie to her, so Rumplestiltskin chose his words very carefully, skirting around the soul-encompassing totality of their love. "Because she doesn't care about my power," he answered honestly. "She's never feared me…and she loves me for who I truly am."

"I saw your true self," his old lover snapped, sounding offended. "That little chit can't possibly appreciate your darkness the way I did. She could never embrace what you are."

"You saw me at my worst, dearie," Rumplestiltskin snorted. "Belle doesn't care what I am. She cares who I am. There's a difference."

Cora blinked, clearly not understanding what he was saying. "You're the Dark One. Don't try to tell me any differently."

That's all I am to you, isn't it? he thought sadly, barely resisting the urge to cackle madly. If Zoso was here at your feet, you'd want him instead.

"I never would," he said softly, but was relieved when Cora stopped asking questions about Belle and just returned to hurting him. That, at least, he was growing used to.

David had finished planning with Robin Hood, which meant Emma had drawn the short straw of coming up with the other distraction. She and Bae had talked about it a bit—after all, he'd spent a few days locked up in Cora's cellar, which meant he had a really unique view on what made the Mills women tick—and eventually, they'd decided on the perfect person to enlist.

Or conscript. Frankly, I don't care if he volunteers or not, Emma thought, knocking on the door to Geppetto's apartment. They'd tried August's old room at Granny's, only to be told by Ruby that the former puppet had finally moved out.

"You sure he'd go here?" she asked Bae when no one came to the door immediately.

"Well, it's not like he left a forwarding address with Ruby, but unless August was suddenly hit by an urge to become a winged primate, he wouldn't have left town," her ex joked, and Emma rolled her eyes. His sense of humor sure hasn't changed over the years, has it?

"That wasn't as funny as you thought it was," she told him.

"Oh, c'mon. You smiled."

"I did not."

Bae's grin was infectious; Emma had to fight back an answering smile. Then he stuck his tongue out at her. "Did too."

"Did you really just stick your tongue out at me?" she had to ask, but he only shrugged.

"I'm living with a three-year-old," he said. "You'd be amazed at the levels of immaturity that will—"

"Yes?" the door opened, revealing a very nervous looking August, whose blue eyes darted between the pair like he was waiting for Bae to hit him again.

No way, Emma thought. This time it's my turn to punch the puppet if he gets stupid. She hit harder than Bae did, too, and definitely wouldn't regret it for a moment. Unfortunately, she wasn't here to exercise her inner desire to punch idiots in the face; she was here to plan.

"Let's talk," she said, and pushed her way inside before August could stop her. Her movement caught the former puppet flat footed, and Emma managed to get into the small living room before August had so much as turned around.

"Come on in, why don't you," August said dryly, and Bae shot him a cheeky smile.

"Thanks," Henry's father said brightly.

"Don't mention it."

Bae closed the door behind himself, gesturing August into the living room. August came in warily, watching Emma like she might bite him—or let Bae hit him again, which might have amounted to the same level of discomfort. The three stood in silence for a long moment, with August squirming and Bae and Emma perfectly happy to let him. The more Emma learned about August's shenanigans, the less she trusted him. It was bad enough that he'd abandoned her as a kid. She could even sort of manage to forgive the fact that he'd called the cops on her with the watches, because she had been breaking the law, and, well, going to jail had scared her straight. But he'd also stolen the money Bae had tried to get to her, made sure that her son—their son—had grown up without his birth parents, and then he'd gone and betrayed Bae to Cora.

Yeah, those demerits just kept adding up, didn't they? Emma really didn't regret what she was here to do. Not one bit.

"You said you wanted to help," she said just when August looked ready to explode with nerves.

"What—well, yeah. I told you that I only did what I did because Cora had my father—"

"Save it," Bae cut him off, voice hard. "Neither of us has any patience for your excuses, okay? I get it. You did what you felt you had to. Don't expect me to like it."

"Sure," August replied uneasily, glancing back at Emma. She took that as an invitation to continue.

"Do you want to help, or are you just saying that to make yourself feel better?" she asked bluntly. "Because if so, you can. Tomorrow."

"I want to help," August repeated. "I know you don't trust me, and I know I've screwed up. But I want to make up for that."

"Good," she said crisply. "Then you get to come up with something that will distract Zelena and help us pull it off."

August went white. "I said I would help, not that I was crazy!"

"We're all crazy here," Bae put in. "Look, it's simple. If you want to eventually be safe from Cora—because we all know that she doesn't forgive or forget, and I can figure out that that nice non-wooden body of yours doesn't come without a price—you can help us. Or you can just keep being her puppet. What will it be?"

"Fish or cut bait, August," Emma added quietly. "You're the storyteller here, and you've spent more time around her than any of the rest of us. If anyone can figure out a tale to spin that'll distract her, it's you."

A long moment passed in silence, and then August swallowed. Hard.

"I know what to do," the author said quietly. "We need Henry's book."

"I've got to do it, Ana," Will said quietly, and she turned to look at him.

"Of course you do, you idiot," Anastasia told her husband, hoping like hell that Cora wasn't spying on them right now, using Will's beautiful brown eyes to do so. "I don't expect you not to."

He blinked. "You don't?"

"Will Scarlet," Ana said firmly, rising to look him in the eye. "How long have we been married?"

"Not countin' the curse? Three years," he answered.

"And how well do you know me?"

Will smiled slightly. "Better than anyone."

"Then why do you sound so surprised?" Ana demanded. "I love you, Will. All of you, heartless or not. But I want your heart back, too, and if doing something utterly insane is going to help make that happen, I'm in."

"Ana, I can't ask you to—"

"You just try to make me stay behind," she cut him off. "Where you go, I go. Twenty-eight years apart was enough for me. I'm helping."

"Ana…love…"

"Stop arguing. I'm coming."

She kissed him to shut him up. That trick always worked on her husband, or at least for a little while. They'd argue for another hour or so, of course, throwing words and things at one another until they kissed again and made up. Heartless or no, Ana knew that Will loved her and only wanted her to be safe, but she wasn't going to let him take all the risks. They'd been through too much together. Besides, Ana owned Cora a little bit of payback. She'd stolen Will's heart from Ana, and Ana was damn well going to get it back.

Tomorrow was the day everything would change.

A/N: Next up: Chapter Ninety—"Soulmates", in which Will Scarlet riles up a lynch mob, August tells Zelena about the Author, the heroes go to clean out Cora's vault, and Robin goes to rescue Regina.