Chapter Ninety-Nine—"An Ocean of Darkness"

"So, is there anyone else left on the list?" Robin asked as he and Baelfire walked down Main Street side by side. They'd left David at the Sheriff's station with Bo Peep and three of her goons, and both men were rather eager to get the rest of Cora's allies out of the way.

"Seems we got everyone," his new friend answered with a shrug. "Now that Emma said Fagin had been burned to a crisp, Cora seems to be out of non-magical allies."

"That's almost a pity," he snorted, shifting his bow from his left hand to his right as they walked. "Though I'll take it. Not that any of us will know what to do with ourselves if the town turns quiet when this is all over."

Baelfire laughed. "What, are you going to go live in the woods with the Merry Men, just to stick with tradition?" he said teasingly. "Or are you going to move into Regina's big house and just add to that family?"

"I—we never said anything about that," Robin found himself stuttering as his face grew hot. "We're—I mean, Regina and I—we're just figuring things out."

"Hey, I can't say cast any stones, man. I'm trying to get back together with my ex. At least you just have your cursed self for competition, and you woke her up with True Love's Kiss. I've got my own boneheaded mistakes to overcome."

"I'm sure you'll be fine," he reassured the other man. "I've seen how Miss Swan looks at you. I think—"

A green swirl of smoke appeared not ten feet in front of them, and Robin cut off as he stopped cold, backing up a step and grabbing an arrow with his left hand out of habit. He didn't bother trying to change which hand held the bow; Robin was almost as good with his off hand as he was with his right, and worst came to worst, he was shooting a magic bow. Even if that does feel like cheating sometimes.

"There you are," Zelena purred, and Robin felt an uneasy shiver run down his spine. Regina's loony sister was sizing him up like he was a piece of prized meat, and Robin really didn't trust that look.

"I'm afraid I didn't know you were looking for me," he quipped back, exchanging an uneasy look with Baelfire. "If I had, I'm sure I'd have been elsewhere."

"How dare you talk to me like that, you insufferable little worm?" Zelena snarled, goaded immediately into anger.

"Well, last time I saw you I shot you, so I thought I was being nice," Robin retorted, unable to fight back his grin. He'd always taunted enemies, even when the odds were dramatically against him. Rather like when you're facing a pissed off sorceress, come to think of it. Great odds here, Rob. Smashing odds.

Blue eyes narrowed with fury. "I'll make you pay for that!"

Zelena's hands came up, and he could see magic sparking in the air, ever so slightly. Robin wasn't particularly knowledgeable about the magical arts—he'd always thought it was wiser to avoid the business, frankly—but he knew enough to know that things were about to get bad. Baelefire was already backing away, and so was he; they both could see how things were going to go down, and Zelena was clearly operating on something less than a full tank of sanity. There weren't a lot of options, and Robin only had a split second to decide if he was going to run or fight, anyway.

So he shot Zelena again.

Of course, she tried to teleport away, but the wonderful thing about a magical bow was that the arrow really would find its target. So, when Zelena appeared behind them, the arrow simply changed course and zoomed right between Robin and Baelfire, nailing Zelena in the high in the right cheek. Unfortunately, Robin had aimed for her eye this time—a surer and faster kill shot than going for the heart—but he'd shot left handed. His aim had been a little off, she'd been moving, and, well, magic just didn't recognize the importance of a few inches one way or another when it redirected an arrow at a teleporting witch. Still, the arrow buried itself in her cheekbone, and Zelena's howl of pain echoed down the street.

Meanwhile, Robin nocked another arrow on his bow and let that one fly, too, but since he hadn't hit her in the eye, Zelena saw that one coming and disappeared in another swirl of green smoke. The arrow circled where she had been for a moment when she didn't reappear, and then sped northwards, undoubtedly towards Cora's summer home.

"That's going to be a nasty surprise for her in about five minutes," Baelfire commented, watching the arrow fly away.

"Pity we won't be there to see it," Robin grumbled. He had no idea what was wrong with that woman, or what she'd wanted with him, but he had a bad feeling that she was trying to get at Regina.

Sorry, lady, he thought without regret. I might not have magic, but I'm hardly some damsel in distress you can use against your sister. And next time I'll shoot you somewhere you can't survive.

Finding the Jabberwocky was easy; when you knew what to look for—or were as steeped in dark magic as Rumplestiltskin had always been—the creature stood out like a beacon of fear and darkness. She had chosen a cave near the waterfall as her own, probably not wanting to spend any more time around Cora than she had to, and Rumplestiltskin took himself there with a thought.

He was, however, careful to teleport himself outside the cave. His two experiences with the Jabberwocky made him plenty wary of her capabilities, and he had absolutely no desire to repeat those experiences. Just thinking of being at her mercy was enough to make his stomach heave nervously, and pushing his fears aside was hard. I made a deal, he told himself firmly. I will not break it. Besides, at least he had the Vorpal Blade. If the Jabberwocky proved less honest than he expected, Rumplestiltskin could always pin her to the wall down here and no one would be the wiser. With that thought in mind, he glanced around the outside of the cave, deciding that it would be easy enough to wall Jabber in if it came to that. Having a plan always made him more comfortable, so Rumplestiltskin strode inside the cave projecting confidence that he did not have.

"I have a visitor," a familiar voice whispered before he was even three steps inside, and Rumplestiltskin stopped cold, trying not to shiver.

"Indeed you do," he replied, willing his voice not to shake. "I always keep my end of a deal, after all."

"You have it?"

Suddenly, Jabber was in front of him, her eyes wide and excited. She looked strangely human like that, not slinking around in her normal threatening manner. Instead, Jabber seemed almost breathless, unabashed hope in her expression. I know how she feels, Rumplestiltskin thought, feeling an unexpected flash of pity for her. Being in a cage like Cora's wears you down to nothing.

"I do," he answered, lifting the Vorpal Blade slightly to demonstrate.

Jabber skittered back, hope shifting rapidly to wary fear. "And now what will you do?"

"I always keep my end of a deal, dearie. We had an agreement that whichever of us should find the opportunity would free the other. I do not require your assistance, but I believe this belongs to you." Shifting the blade in his hand, Rumplestiltskin offered it to her hilt first.

"You're the Dark One. How can I be sure this isn't a trick?" she whispered.

"If you know anything about me, you know it isn't," Rumplestiltskin replied with a shrug. "Take it. I may be many things, but I have no desire to enslave someone else. Not now."

Quick as a cat, Jabber darted forward and grabbed the blade, her hungry eyes staring at the sole weapon that could trap her like she could not get enough of it. She'd pulled it away so fast that she almost cut Rumplestiltskin's fingers, but he managed to avoid that, and simply waited until Jabber regained enough composure to stare at him.

"Now what?" she asked, sounding saner and happier than he'd expected.

"Well, I also came to ask you if you'd like the first crack at our mutual enemy," he smiled. "I'm going to kill her, but if you'd like to soften her up…?"

Rumplestiltskin knew what kind of terror the Jabberwocky could inflict, and he cheerfully wished that on Cora. For eternity, if I could, but I really do want to kill her sooner than that.

"She has no heart," Jabber protested. "I can't read her."

"Leave that part to me."

Jabber looked down at the blade and then back up again, licking her lips nervously. "Are you making that a condition of our deal?"

Interesting though he found the fact that Jabber seemed determined to keep her end of the bargain—and perhaps to even the scales—Rumplestiltskin shook his head. "It's merely an offer."

"Then no. I just want to leave. I want…to be normal," she whispered.

Normal? That was the last thing Rumplestiltskin wanted, and the idea itself was vaguely disquieting. But then, he didn't have to devour people's fears to survive. Perhaps his curse was more merciful than whatever infected the Jabberwocky, so he just inclined his head to her. "Then I recommend borrowing some of Cora's belongings before you venture out into the world. She won't be needing them."

Cora created the cage within the ruins of the town hall. Rumple would appreciate the irony, she decided, stepping back to survey her handiwork. The little maid stood in the center of the round cage, already shivering wildly. There were two white streaks in her hair and frost forming on her designer clothing; all in all, Cora was quite pleased with how this had turned out. Ingrid was still glaring at her, but given that she still possessed the Snow Queen's heart, that was all Ingrid could do.

"Rumplestiltskin will come for me," the foolish girl said, trying to sound strong despite the way her teeth chattered and her arms were wrapped tightly around her body for warmth.

Cora smiled wolfishly. "Of course he will, dear. I'm counting on that."

Now, where was that annoying daughter of hers?

Robin called Regina, but Bae headed to the pawn shop. He'd only been there once before, and still found the idea of his father owning a pawn shop absolutely ludicrous, but Belle had mentioned that she was going to head there for the afternoon and do some research while Rumplestiltskin did things that were best not mentioned in polite company. So, Bae hurried across the street after Zelena vanished, shaking his head at the sign that read "Mr. Gold". Even if the name was fitting, it was just plain weird, but Bae didn't have time to editorialize on that. Zelena was utterly crazy, and he had a feeling that she'd be back as soon as she managed to heal the wounds both of Robin's arrows caused.

Of course, the fact that he was in a hurry was why he wound up running face-first into the door. The sign read open, but the door seemed stuck. Shaking it hard didn't make the damn thing move, either.

"Belle?" he called, shouting to be heard through the glass. He heard a muffled—and decidedly not feminine—response, and Bae felt something twist inside him. Something's wrong.

Bae vaguely remembered there being another door around back, though, so he jogged into the alleyway quickly. That door was stuck when he tried it, too, but it was a lot less sturdy than the glass one up front, so Bae backed up a few steps, lowered his shoulder, and rammed his way through with a crash.

"That was certainly an interesting entrance," a voice said from above him as Bae rolled over onto his back. Breaking a door down hurt a hell of a lot more than it ever seemed to in movies, and his shoulder felt numb and on fire all at once. Blinking, he found himself staring up at Jefferson.

"Where's Belle?" he asked, sitting up carefully and trying not to put his hands in broken glass.

"Not here. Cora took her."

"Cora what?" Bae found his feet suddenly, staring at the portal jumper and demanding: "Why the hell are you still in here, then?"

"Because I was stuck, that's why. She sealed me in and took my phone, saying that she didn't want to give the game up too early," Jefferson snapped. "She had the chick from the ice cream shop freeze Belle's heart."

For a moment, all Bae could do was stare, his mouth wide open and his brain refusing to work. He could see where this was going, could tell what Cora's grand plan was. That realization made Bae feel cold, frozen to the bone, and he barely got the next words out: "Was Belle…?"

"She was shivering like mad when Cora took her away, but she was still alive. C'mon," Jefferson grabbed his arm, and he never noticed how that made his shoulder ache. "We need to get outside so we can call your father."

Bae let Jefferson haul him through the broken door, his mind whirling too rapidly to even consider the cell phone in his pocket. How stupid was Cora? Did she really think she could win like this? Could she? Bae had a sinking feeling that his father might just be messed up enough to give into Cora's demands if it kept his family safe, but they couldn't let Rumplestiltskin do that. Putting the Dark One's powers back under Cora's control would utterly negate any of the gains they'd made in the last few days—and that didn't even consider what Bae knew the bitch would do to his father.

He had to talk him out of this, but how?

"Rumplestiltskin," Jefferson said once they were outside, saying the name like it meant something even though there was no one around to listen.

"Um, you're talking to yourself…" Bae trailed off expectantly.

"No, I'm not. He can hear you if you summon him with his name—"

"I can, though your timing could have been better, Hatter," his father cut in, barely moments after he appeared in a swirl of maroon smoke. There were still dark circles under his eyes, but he looked more put together than he had that morning. "What do you want—and what did you do to my shop?"

Jefferson hesitated, and Bae knew he had to speak quickly. "Belle's gone. Cora took her after having Ingrid freeze her heart—Jefferson said she was alive when Cora took her, but you know what she's going to want, Papa."

For a moment, he wasn't even sure that Rumplestiltskin had heard him, and then Bae watched all color drain out of his father's face. His eyes went wide and his mouth opened slightly before snapping shut, and Bae saw his father swallow hard. The circles under his eyes seemed even more pronounced now that he was so pale, and Bae hated to be the bearer of bad news, but there was no use sugarcoating this. His papa had to know what had happened.

"Yes," Rumplestiltskin whispered. "Yes, I know."

"You can't—"

"I know," his father cut him off abruptly, and then turned and walked into the pawn shop, his strides purposeful and quick. Exchanging a mystified glance with Jefferson, Bae followed, with the Hatter right on his heels.

"What are you going to do?"

Instead of answering, Rumplestiltskin flung a hand at the shattered glass and broken side door, both of which were immediately enveloped in a cloud of dense black smoke that Bae could practically feel his father's fury and desperation radiating out of. When the smoke cleared, the door seemed as good as new, but the way it slammed shut behind Jefferson threatened to undo the fix immediately. The door rattled ominously in its hinges, but Rumplestiltskin's voice was deathly quiet when he turned to the Hatter.

"Tell me exactly what happened, Jefferson."

Immediately, Bae turned to look at Jefferson, and somehow wasn't surprised by the paleness of the other man's face. Jefferson licked his lips nervously, looking like he'd love to be having any conversation instead of this one, but he had been the one who'd called Rumplestiltskin in the first place. That had to count for something, didn't it? I really hope Papa's not about to turn him into a snail because he was here when Cora decided to drop by. It's not like Jefferson could have stopped her!

"Cora sent the chick from the ice cream place—her real name is Ingrid, or some such—here and was right behind her. She's got the ice lady's heart, and ordered her to freeze Belle slowly," Jefferson answered tensely. "Cora told me to tell you that you could find her where you, uh, 'failed to properly terrorize people'. Whatever that means."

Brown eyes narrowed ominously. "Did she, now."

It wasn't a question, but Jefferson still nodded. "Look, Rumplestiltskin, I—"

"Don't apologize," Bae's father cut him off in a hard voice, making both Jefferson and Bae blink. "Just don't."

Bae could feel his father's pain radiating out of those last words, could see the terrified worry for Belle exuding out of every tense line of his body even as Rumplestiltskin strode into the shop proper, heading for the counter. Several books were stacked up there, about half of them open and in languages that Bae couldn't recognize. But Rumplestiltskin didn't seem to have a problem; he immediately started skimming over the pages Belle had left off on, his gaze intent. If he knew his hands were shaking, he gave no indication; he just finished with one book and shifted to the next, then to the third, and then finally a fourth.

Then Rumplestiltskin smiled, a razor-sharp, cold-blooded expression that sent a shiver down Bae's spine.

"Papa?" he asked quietly. "What will you do?"

Those cold brown eyes met Bae's, and if Bae had been anyone else, he never would have noticed the pain and the worry raging beneath the fury. But his father never blinked.

"I'm going to kill Cora, of course."

Word spread around Storybrooke quickly, and Maurice hurried down to where the town hall had once stood, desperate to find out the truth for himself. What Happy had told him couldn't be true. Belle had to be safe. There was no reason to think that she wasn't. After all, Belle had been fine despite the battles raging all over Storybrooke lately. As far as Maurice knew, she hadn't even been involved in those fights. And yet, Happy had rushed up to Game of Thorns to tell Maurice that Belle was in some giant birdcage where town hall used to be, with no one else around, so he rushed out, despite telling himself that it had to be a lie. I knew that swearing herself to that monster would hurt her in the end! he thought, trying not to panic.

She was his daughter. Maurice might not have understood nor agreed with her choices, but Belle would always be his little girl. And if she was in trouble, he was going to find a way to help her, no matter what it cost him. He'd already abandoned her once, let her make a deal to save all their people. Maurice never should have let her go, never should have let her take on that burden. If Belle was right about Rumplestiltskin, well, maybe that had turned out for the best, but if she was wrong—and if Rumplestiltskin was in any way responsible for the danger Belle was supposedly in—Maurice was going to find a way to stop that beast once and for all.

The tires of his truck screeched as he took the last turn, slamming on the brakes right in front of the ruin that was town hall. It was hard to see from the street, but Maurice thought he could make out a black-barred cage amidst the ruins. That sight made his heart stop, and Maurice stumbled getting out of the truck, hurrying through what used to be the doors to town hall. He almost stopped cold when he saw his little girl inside that cage, but somehow his feet carried him forward.

"Belle!"

"Papa?" Belle whispered, her arms wrapped tightly around her body and shivering wildly. "You can't be here! Please, you have to go."

"Sweetheart, no. I'm not leaving you here," Maurice replied quickly, desperately tugging on the bars. He couldn't find a door, or even a lock; the cage was circular and barely big enough for Belle to turn around in, but there didn't seem to be any way to open it. Grabbing the bars with both hands, Maurice shook them as hard as he could, but nothing budged.

"Papa, you've got to go. Cora will be back anytime, and—" she cut off in a hacking cough, which made Maurice notice how her lips were blue.

"What did that horrible woman do to you?" he demanded.

"Froze me," Belle whispered, her voice coming in short gasps. "It's going towards my heart. But it'll be okay. I know it'll be all right."

Maurice swallowed hard, his mouth opening and closing several times before the words burst out: "How can you say that? How can you be sure?"

"Because her dear husband is going to come rescue her, of course," a new voice answered, giggling maliciously. "Silly girl trusts the Dark One. Still, she probably isn't far off. He'll come."

"What—what are you doing to her?" Maurice whirled to look at a tall, red-headed woman, taking in the falsely sympathetic look on her face—which seemed marred by a huge, puckered up scar running from her cheekbone to the bottom of her jaw on the right side. It looked half healed and nasty, but Maurice didn't have it in him to pity the woman who was holding his daughter. Or the daughter of that woman, he realized. This must be Zelena.

"Oh, it's not me. I can't freeze anyone," Zelena cooed. "And I'm just watching until Mother returns—and enjoying your helpless little show. Not much of a rescuer, are you 'Daddy'?"

"Let her go!" Maurice pleaded. "Belle's a good girl, she's not—"

"She's married to the Dark One, 'dearie'," she cut him off viciously. "Of course she's involved."

"But you can't…" he trailed off, swallowing hard. She could, Maurice knew. Zelena could do whatever she wanted, and he couldn't stop her.

"Papa, go," Belle whispered, and he turned back to see her teeth chattering harder. Belle hugged herself like someone who couldn't get warm, shaking like a leaf. "Please."

"Belle, I can't."

"You can. Please"—she coughed, and the motion made her entire body convulse. "I don't want you caught in the middle of this."

Saying so many words consecutively seemed to exhaust Belle, and she slumped against the side of the cage, panting for air. Maurice just wanted to scoop her up in his arms like he had when she was a little girl, just wanted to hold her tight and warm her up, but the cage was in the way and he could not. And there was a smugly smiling witch behind him, whose blue eyes gleamed with mischief and malice.

"How sweet," Zelena cooed. "And look! Now the other heroes are here, but not their darker friend. Should we put you in a cage, too, Sir Maurice?"

He tried to walk away, but his feet wouldn't move. Maurice could barely even turn to see the other people who had run up, though he caught a glimpse of Snow White and Prince Charming, along with the Sheriff and Cora's other daughter. There was another man with them, too, one with sort hair and a bow in his hands, but Maurice only knew him as the chief firefighter. The others stopped at the edge of the ruins, watching what was happening warily, but none of them approached before a swirl of purple smoke appeared to Maurice's left.

"Do leave the poor florist alone, darling," Cora purred. "Let him go. He's not the one we want."

"Emma will meet us there," Bae said, hanging up the phone. Against his better judgment, Rumplestiltskin had decided to drive to town hall. His son had demanded that Jefferson drive, saying that he didn't trust Rumplestiltskin not to snap, but Bae really shouldn't have been so worried.

"I can handle Cora," he replied, trying like hell not to snarl. The effort was only partially successful. Everything in him—both the curse and Rumplestiltskin's own soul—was screaming for vengeance. She took Belle. The words rolled through his mind over and over again, stoking his fury to a fever pitch. At the moment, the only emotion stronger than his terror was his rage, and Rumplestiltskin felt his hands trying to shake. He wanted to wrap them around Cora's neck and squeeze, or—

"Pop, if your idea of handling her is giving her the dagger—"

"It isn't," Rumplestiltskin cut his son off in a hard voice.

The Hatter, of course, could not stay silent. "Tell me you have a plan, then."

"Oh, I most certainly do," he said softly, focusing on the view out the window.

They were close, now. Close enough that he could see the heroes rushing to the scene, drawn—as always—to the sound of trouble. It was almost time, and Rumplestiltskin closed his eyes, forcing worry for Belle away for a moment as he carefully laid the threads for the beginning of the spell he would need. Not thinking of Belle, not thinking of how she would be freezing and hurting and dying, was almost impossible, but he managed to clear his mind for the necessary moments. He'd done the important bits of the spell in the shop, using the vial of blood Regina had given him that very morning. That conversation of theirs had seemed to be a lifetime earlier, but there were still a few hours before sunset on the 17th of March. They had met with the heroes only that morning, even though the day had seemed to last forever. But that didn't matter. He had what he needed. It was time.

"We're here," Jefferson said quietly, sounding afraid to interrupt his thoughts.

"Good." Gathering magic to himself, Rumplestiltskin opened the passenger door and stepped out of the car, ignoring the looks the heroes gave him. He didn't care what they thought. He was here for one reason, and one reason only.

Belle.

Regina, however, clearly didn't intend to let him do this alone, because she strode up and grabbed his arm before Rumplestiltskin could walk through the rubble that used to be a doorframe.

"She's got Zelena in there with her, and you know Mother has the Snow Bitch's heart nearby," his former student said bluntly. "You're going to need help."

Rumplestiltskin yanked away from her, ignoring the flicker of emotion in his worn-out heart when Regina offered to help him. "If you go in there with me, she'll kill Belle," he retorted, and then forced himself to speak calmly. "So, let me go in first, and once this turns into a fight, then you can charge in to your heart's content."

"You know what she wants."

"Of course I do," Rumplestiltskin snapped, sick and tired of being told the obvious. "My son delights in reminding me of it, and no, I'm not going to give your mother the dagger. I'm going to kill her."

She crossed her arms impatiently. "Then what's the plan, Rumple?"

While they'd argued—wasting precious time—Emma, her parents, and Robin Hood had approached, and none of them looked particularly intimidated by the peevish Dark One in front of them. Jefferson and Bae had joined the group, of course, and being surrounded by so many worried faces made Rumplestiltskin distinctly uncomfortable. Could they truly be concerned for him, for Belle? Of course not. They just wanted to see Cora go down. That was all. None of them gave a damn about him. Except Bae, Rumplestiltskin thought, still a little stunned by the fact that he'd managed to patch up his relationship with his son. He cares. And…perhaps Regina does. Others in that group were family, now, too, and maybe even friends. Those thoughts made an uncomfortable lump rise in Rumplestiltskin's throat, and he scowled to banish it.

"Try to knock Ingrid out of the fight if you can. Ice magic is hard to counter. Or use Miss Swan to do it; our dear Snow Queen won't want to hurt her," he told Regina as dispassionately as he could. "Then you're welcome to wipe the floor with your big sister."

"Be careful," Regina said. "You know you're walking into a trap, right?"

That made him smile darkly. "Have you ever known me to do so without setting one of my own, dear?"

"Yeah. I can think of one." But those words came from his son, and Rumplestiltskin turned to face Bae, swallowing back his nerves and his worry.

"That was different," he said quietly. "She won't make the same deal twice."

"One of these days, Belle and I are going to have a real long talk with you about the stupidity of self-sacrifice, Papa," Bae said with a crooked smile. "But…until then, just try to take care of yourself, okay? And Belle. I kind of like her."

"I'll try," Rumplestiltskin whispered, and when his son squeezed his shoulder, he didn't shrug his hand away until he knew he could wait no longer. It was time.

Belle had never been so cold.

She didn't wantto shiver as Zelena taunted her father, didn't wantto let her teeth chatter so wildly or show how very much the freezing cold hurt. But she couldn't stop herself. Her hair was already frozen at the tips, with ice starting to form all the way up to the roots, and her clothes were covered with a fine layer of ice. Belle could already feel her movements growing sluggish, and she had to lean on the bars of the cage just to stay upright. Her knees wanted to lock and to collapse out from under her at the same time, but Belle refused to crumble like that.

She knew Rumple was coming. Belle knew that with the same certainty as she knew her own name. Rumplestiltskin would come for her, just as she would have come for him. The only question remaining was how long it would take him to arrive, and if she'd be frozen solid, first. Belle almost hoped that she would be, even if that was the cowardly way out. Still, she imagined that being frozen solid would hurt less than the freezing process did, and Belle was very ready for the pain to stop.

"Oh, look," Zelena cooed, wiggling in excitement. "The cavalry is here."

"Indeed they are," Cora replied, her tone as cold as Belle's skin. "But Rumple is the only one that matters."

Don't call him that, Belle wanted to snap, and barely stopped herself in time. He's not your friend, and he sure isn't your pet. Cora, however, had turned emotionless eyes on her.

"The only question now is if he loves you enough to give up the dagger," the Evil Queen mused, and Belle suddenly felt her body temperature plummet.

"I would never want him to," Belle said as strongly as she could, but she knew she wasn't hiding how afraid she was. Please be smarter than that, Rumple, she thought as loudly as she could, turning laboriously away from Cora to watch the people gathering outside. She couldn't see her husband from her angle, but she could see Baelfire, and his body language didn't look happy. I can't let you do that to yourself again. Not for me. Please not for me. Belle wanted to cry, but she was fairly sure her tear ducts were frozen.

"We'll see how long that bravery lasts," Cora snorted, just as Maurice tried to speak up again.

"Belle, sweetie—"

A wave of the Evil Queen's hand sent him sailing towards the crumbled doorway, and Maurice cried out as he hit what remained of a wall.

"Papa!" But the shout came out as a wheeze, and Belle could barely stumble towards the bars. She was so cold. Her hands wouldn't work when she tried to grip the front of the cage, and the sigh of relief she tried to exhale when her father struggled to his feet came out as a frigid cough. She was angry with her father, yes, but that didn't mean she wanted to see him hurt. Fortunately, he wasn't, which let her shift her attention elsewhere.

She could see outside a little better from this angle, and her husband was gone. Don't do it, Belle thought as hard as she could. I love you. Don't sacrifice yourself for me.

Rumplestiltskin teleported himself the last hundred feet, landing right next to Belle's cage. Just looking at her inside a cage made his blood boil, and for once he was in full agreement with his curse. Kill them both, his demon whispered. Make them suffer. Power surged through him, fueled by both his rage and his love, but Rumplestiltskin let it simmer. Those emotions were an oddly potent combination; the man he'd been and the monster he was merged in that moment, and Rumplestiltskin knew he could tear Cora and Zelena to shreds if he so desired. No, he told himself firmly. There is something I must do, first.

"Rumple," Belle whispered his name, and she sounded terrible. Just looking at her pale and ice-crusted face made his heart break, and Rumplestiltskin couldn't stop his hand from snaking between the bars to cradle her freezing cold cheek, no matter what his intentions had been.

"Just hold on, sweetheart. I'll have you out in a moment," he replied softly, not giving a damn if Cora heard the emotion in his voice. She already knew he loved Belle. They wouldn't be here if Cora hadn't.

"I hate to interrupt the heartfelt reunion," Cora interrupted even as Belle gave him a weak smile, "but I think your dear wife is running out of time."

"You would know," Rumplestiltskin said softly, his voice almost a sing-song as he turned to face her without letting go of Belle. Soon enough, he felt icy fingers land on top of his, and he could feel Belle's trust flowing through him.

I just hope this works, he thought desperately, refusing to show his doubts when Cora gave him that smug smile. But her hands were empty. Had she left Ingrid at home? The Snow Queen was nowhere in sight, and that made this much easier. She's overconfident, he realized. She thinks this will work.

"I suspect you already know what I want, dear," she said without preamble. "So, I won't waste time. If you give me the dagger, I will have Ingrid remove the magic busy freezing your little Belle to death. What will it be, Rumple? Your freedom, or your wife?"

"Neither," he growled, wiggling the fingers of his left hand and releasing the first spell he had ready. Rumplestiltskin needed time, and that spell would buy it for him, holding Cora and Zelena back and preventing their magical attacks from getting through. Oh, the shield would only hold for a minute or two under the onslaught those two would manage, but that was all he needed.

Cora blinked. "I'm afraid this isn't a negotiation," she laughed. "Give me the dagger, or watch your wife die. Or do you love her so little?"

"I love her more than you could ever understand," Rumplestiltskin replied, turning towards Belle as he twisted his left hand through the air flippantly. The cage disintegrated around her, making Belle stumble forward. Rumplestiltskin caught her gently.

"That won't do you any good," Zelena protested, sounding confused.

"Your tricks won't save her, Rumple—" Cora started.

Ignoring both, Rumplestiltskin leaned in and kissed Belle.

A/N: And I'm leaving you with another cliffhanger, but hopefully it's a nicer one this time! Thank you to everyone who has continued reviewing and who is still with me after all this time—it means the world to me to know that you're enjoying my 'little' story.

Next up: Chapter One Hundred—"The Most Powerful Magic", in which a kiss does its work and the final battle begins.