Another day, another question. He wasn't a stranger to questions; being the skilled wizard that he was, having questions was often the start of success. Admittedly, the start of a success which was often preluded by many failures, but success in the end. So, questions, he could handle. Failure, he could deal with it. But questions without answers and failure without success…that was a different kind of problem he'd never faced before. And it was ruining his life. Not that he had much of one in a place like this.

The mirror project was going nowhere. He'd tried everything that he could think of, everything that the Dark Ones in his head suggested, but they were just as baffled that a simple thing like this could not be fixed or solved. And as far as researching this world and ways to get out of it, he was starting to think that it hadn't been done before and possibly never would be. No books or locals mentioned anyone ever coming to this realm who wasn't dead and safely escaping. Except for, of course, Orpheus, who appeared to have no idea how to do it himself. So much for Greek Mythos. And then there was what he saw happening in the land of the living…

The mirror wasn't working, but the crystal ball that Gorgon had given him did work. And the images he saw day after day pained him. Henry was a disengaged young man. He didn't know what it was for, but Emma had bought him what appeared to be a video game for some godforsaken reason, and he felt like he was slowly watching his grandson fall prey to drug addiction. He carried that thing everywhere with him. He engaged with Emma, it seemed, he was doing his homework, but the moment Emma left the room, and he rifled through his papers to pull it from where he'd been hiding it, he felt his heart sink. He was becoming more and more withdrawn. He wasn't himself. In truth, he never expected him to be "himself," the boy had been cut off from almost everything and everyone he'd ever known. He had Emma, but his grandparents, Regina, his father, and even magic were all gone. And he felt that loss just as much as Henry showed it.

When he took time to look in on David and Mary Margaret, he could see them in their royal finery, but there was a shadow behind their eyes, something dark and sad. He recognized it from staring into his own eyes after Baelfire had left as a boy. He suspected, though had not yet been able to confirm, that Mary Margaret might be pregnant. He'd seen her get sick on more than a couple of occasions now. And once or twice he'd noticed her hand drift down below her stomach and rest there as if trying to feel for a child herself. If she was, then it would become clear soon, he suspected. And if she was, he knew that both David and Mary Margaret would be thrilled. But a new baby would never replace Emma for them. Just like a new child would never have been able to fill the void Baelfire had left behind in his life.

Regina's life was far simpler than David and Mary Margaret's. There was less for the crystal to report to him on her front, but that said more than enough. Before Storybrooke and during, Regina was always doing something. She thrived on projects and tasks, whether they were plans for good or schemes for evil. That was why she'd nearly lost her mind when she first arrived in Storybrooke and eventually solved that misery by seeking out Henry; she'd turned her son into her project. But now she seemed adrift. She seemed to do what was required of her; she seemed to be helping her stepdaughter and son-in-law where needed, but spent most of her time by herself, sitting in front of a mirror he'd yet to communicate through, or in front of a cauldron working on magic he couldn't identify.

But Belle and Bae, they were the ones that had him scratching his head. They were the only ones who seemed to refuse to settle into the misery this new Curse had brought about for them. It took a while watching them to realize that they were following a plan of some kind. They were not just living together out in the woods, they were traveling. They were camping at night and riding horses during the day, or at least they had been when they both had horses. That was an incident that made his heart jump into his throat. One evening, not long ago, Belle's horse had spooked and thrown her from its back. Bae had acted quickly and gone to her aid. He'd watched as he'd helped her up, checked her over, and Belle would never know it, but Bae had stayed up half the night watching over her. And Bae would never know it, but he'd stayed right up with him, nearly in tears every time his son looked over to check on his Belle.

It seemed that in his absence, the pair had developed what he'd longed for with Bae all his life, a relationship. One that appeared caring to say the least. It was touching. And it didn't make him jealous as he would have thought, but rather hopeful. To think there was a time he'd ever worried they wouldn't accept one another…now he just wanted to get home to them and experience it himself.

Belle was fine after that night, it seemed, but they never recovered the horse. It slowed them down significantly. He never caught a clear sight of the map they appeared to be using, but suddenly as he was watching them, the place they were traveling was beginning to look familiar. If he didn't know any better, they were getting close to his castle. He wanted to believe that was their destination, and day after day, their travels seemed to confirm it. Things were only getting more familiar, not less. They didn't seem to veer from where they'd need to go.

His castle…he wanted to know what they were thinking, what they thought they might find there. And he wanted to know it because he figured that if he could, then maybe he could prepare a plan, and take advantage of it. He had maybe only a few days until they arrived. But what to do…

His options were dwindling. And he didn't like what they were coming down to. He could ask for help. But assistance in this realm, he was coming to believe, would come at a steep price. He had to decide who he was willing to be indebted to and how much help they could offer.

It spoke volumes to his desperation that Hades and Pan were at the top of his list. He hated it, but he figured they were both savvy and knowledgeable. Both, he knew, liked to make deals. Both might have answers. And he couldn't trust either of them. A deal with two devils, one he knew and one he didn't. Which was worse? He knew which one was worse, but given the fact that the other was his father certainly made that competition seem an even one.

He was determined to make a decision before tonight. Now that Baelfire and Belle were in the woods outside of his castle and getting closer, he had no choice. He was going to go to the diner, get what information he could about Hades and where to find him and how, just in case, then he'd spend the night working through a plan for whichever devil he'd chosen to deal with. It chaffed his soul to do this, but he needed-

His heart leaped, and he nearly screamed when he opened his front door and found someone standing on the other side of it. But when he saw who it was...he was certain his heart stopped beating right there.

"You…" he whispered, looking into a familiar pale face marred with stitches for eyes and tangled red hair. The Seer.

"It's a beautiful morning for a reunion, Rumpelstiltskin. Unless, of course, you didn't see me coming."

He had to work to collect his breath, to get his heart started again. It took a lot to scare him. Someone appearing outside of his residence without his magic alerting him to their presence would do it. But the fact that it was her, the girl whose voice lived inside his head...that was probably why the spells hadn't triggered. Her magic was already inside of him. It would have recognized her as him.

"Well," he swallowed, feeling an older persona, one he'd not worn for centuries, suddenly floating to the surface of his skin. "We both know that you weren't the one that saw it coming," he taunted.

"On the contrary," she stated. "I foresaw this day long before you first beheld my face, Rumpelstiltskin." And then she raised her hands, and he remembered all too quickly what he would see there, but the shock of those blue eyes staring at him from her palms once more wasn't something he would never easily get over. "I've come to finally make the deal that will free us both from this prison we've placed ourselves in. The time is now."

"How can you know this? How can you speak this way? I have your gift."

"The information I speak of now came to me before I passed it on to you. In doing so, I'd hoped to avoid this day, avoid all this pain and suffering, avoid my own fate."

"You can't outrun the future."

"Even Seers have our own journeys of discovery. This is where mine has led me. This is where mine will be concluded. What of your journey, Dark One? Where does it go from here? What plans have you made? What path will you take?"

None. He had no plans. And she knew it. The Seer was always right.

"What deal would you have for me?"

"A trade," the girl answered, finally letting the lids of her eyes close and her hands lower back to her side. "When I pass through the fiery pit, I must do it as my complete self. While you still hold the gift I once gave to you, it is impossible. The time has come to return it and let me pass into the next life."

He shook his head in wonder at what he was hearing, at what she was proposing and the immense implications of it. But he wouldn't let an ounce of the shock show on his face, even if she couldn't see it. He wouldn't dare let a bit of uncertainty be heard in his voice.

"Now you see, that doesn't answer my question. What you are suggesting seems more like a deal for you, and not for me. What do I profit from this exchange?"

"This is the answer you seek. The deal you'll make today is neither with Hades nor your father, but with me. For long ago, I had a vision that you would join me on the last day of my journey, that I would deliver a final vision to you in exchange for the return of my gift."

And then again, she raised her hands, and those blue eyes pierced him with their unnerving gaze.

"You are not dead, Rumpelstiltskin, merely in between," the girl stated. "Without a new host, the Dark One has kept you alive, this was merely the place you were summoned to. You can and will return to the Enchanted Forest, you can and will find your family, you can and will be free, you can and will finish your life. But first, as all who enter the Underworld must do, you must finish your unfinished business."

There was a lot in those sentences to process, a lot of potential to unpack and consider, and hell, he'd had this gift long enough to know there was a lot more information in those few sentences that it appeared. He wanted more information! All he wanted to do was go up into his attic and meditate on them now until a vision could come giving him more answers. But if he followed her line of thinking…

No, giving this gift up now was not an option, not at a time like this.

But then…that last part of her prediction…the Seer was always right.

"Sorry, Dearie, but you just said I wasn't dead. Only the dead use unfinished business to be free of this place."

"You are not free from unfinished business, Rumpelstiltskin. Every Dark One arrives in the Underworld with it, save for one."

"Zoso."

"This will not be your last time here, but nor will your next visit be in your last time. You will have business to settle then that will free you, just as you have business now to free you. The fates have spoken it. They demand it for one of their own. In exchange for helping another, they will see your own fate is resolved, and your presence here will no longer be necessary."

"You make it sound like all this was planned."

"Have you not learned, Rumpelstiltskin? Even after all these years? All is written."

He sighed and resisted the urge to rub his forehead. "Speak English," he demanded with a growl, unable to conjure up a bit of flair to pair with the demand. He was beginning to remember this irritation. The irritation that came from feeling like he was getting answers but unable to decode them. It was the same damn irritation he felt when he'd first taken the gift and hadn't known how to use it, the same irritation that he'd felt every time he'd met her, and he just wanted her to speak some fucking sense instead of riddles! He was getting tired of this game.

"You seek answers that will get you back to your family. Come with me, Rumpelstiltskin. Witness my final journey, return that which is mine so I may cross into life anew at last. In return, I will give you the answer you seek. It will point you forward on your own path-the path home."

He stared at the girl before him. It wasn't exactly the clear-cut answer that he wanted, but it was clear enough. She wanted him to go with her. And if he did, then this would be the end of her voice in his head. The end of this road finished with the surrender of his knowledge of the future, the knowledge that had been so invaluable for him in getting his son back and leading him…

Leading him to here. Where he had no answers, no hints. There was only now a jumble of miscellaneous visions, glimpses and snapshots of the future that he had collected over the years. He wanted to understand those visions, wanted to know what each of them meant, who the people he hadn't met yet were. Hell, he longed for that vision of Belle in white. He wanted to know everything that it would take to get there, every evil that was coming for them, and every way to protect his family. For that, he needed his visions.

But his visions would do nothing for him or the ones he loved so long as he was stuck down here.

He sighed again as he stared at the girl in front of him, neither pushing nor prodding, silent and patiently waiting for what she knew was to come. What phrase had she used? "The fates had spoken?" He supposed that was one way of putting it. But as she quietly turned and began to walk away, as his feet automatically followed after her, his mind made up as if he'd ever had a choice in it, he realized that it might very well be the last time he'd give in to his own turn of phrase…the Seer was always right.

The Seer is this chapter's blast from the past! On the one hand, I'm a little surprised that no one realized the Seer was coming. On the other hand, I'm thrilled that my misdirect worked! She's been mentioned in this fiction before now, a couple of times, actually. But because of the Blind Witch, a took a bet and was sure only to ever describe her by her blindness. I was hoping you'd all think it was The Blind Witch instead of the Seer. Her presence here is actually a really important one because, sadly, there is something that we must do while Rumple is here in the Underworld. The thing is, after 3A, we never really saw Rumple use his foresight again, not the way he had up until that point. It was theorized by many people that because the foresight was not a power of the Dark One, but rather the Seer, when Rumple died, the power of the Seer died too. Obviously, in this fiction, the Seer confirms here that Rumple isn't dead, but living, which meant that I had to come up with an entirely different way to get that particular power out of his body. I know it seems like a slight thing, but there is potentially nothing more important to building Rumple's character as we know it for 3B-6 more than the loss of his foresight; at least, that's the way I've planned it. We can see a little bit here towards the end, annoying as he finds it, he relies on it a lot more than he thinks he does. If it's stripped away and suddenly his assurances of a future are gone...that's going to make for one paranoid Rumple.

Thank you, Jennifer Baratta, Rsbeall12, and Grace5231973, for your reviews on the previous chapter! (Grace, good to see you found your way back.) I'm glad that you are all looking forward to diving a little bit more into Orpheus and Eurydice! So am I! But only after we've gone through a little song and dance with the Seer. All you mythology buffs, did you catch the Seer's reference to Orpheus in this chapter, confirming she's the one that was talking to the pair of them. It's there, I promise. Until Thursday, Peace and Happy Reading!