Author's note: Whatever else I hated about season 4, I did love most of the new characters (Ingrid, the Queens of Darkness, Isaac).

Maleficent had been one of the three sorceresses who had once kidnapped Belle as leverage against the Dark One, which was not something that left a positive first impression. Belle had shed no tears on hearing that she was dead. All else being equal, Belle wouldn't have put Maleficent on top of her "To resurrect" list, especially given the presumed cost.

"But wouldn't that require someone to sacrifice their life?" Belle wasn't going to make that mistake again: of course magic demanded a life for a life.

Rumple shook his head. "'Dead' in her case is not as dead as it would be for most people. She's an immortal shapeshifter. The body she wears is, hmm, how should I put it? Cosmetic. It doesn't matter if it's ashes or a raven or a dragon, it still holds her life."

"It's more than cosmetic. If she could have revived herself, she would surely have done it by now!"

"She will if we give her a bit of a nudge. It won't even take much magic, as long as we have the right ingredient." His smirk invited her to ask him.

She tried not to let it annoy her, suspecting that it was his way of coping with his fears. Even if he was helpless to control his fate, at least he could control the flow of information. Even if it was only to one person. "Which is...?"

"Blood from those who wronged her the most."

Belle mentally rolled her eyes and humored him, asking, "And that would be...?"

"Our very own Snow White and her charming prince."

"Wait, what?" Belle had never heard of any especial enmity between the royal couple and Maleficent. Everyone knew of the feud between the so-called Mistress of All Evil and Aurora's family, and of Regina's grudge against her stepdaughter (or at least it was all common knowledge now, what with everyone packed cheek by jowl into a small town). But this? "When did Snow White even meet Maleficent?"

"Yes, the one secret she managed to keep." Rumple smirked. "Even Regina doesn't know."

"How do you know it, then?"

"I was keeping an eye on her, as I did on anyone who might help or hinder the casting of the Dark Curse."

Belle nodded. It was the culmination of centuries of effort. Of course he wouldn't have risked anyone throwing a spanner into the works. "So what did they do to Maleficent?"

"A few months before the curse was cast, Maleficent actually went to our charming couple to try to prevent it." He explained how Snow had found out that she was pregnant, how she had been so determined that her child grow up to be good that she and David had stolen Maleficent's child (still in the shell at that point) and had a sorcerer transfer all of Emma's potential for darkness into the egg. "Three guesses on who the sorcerer was..."

Still shaken by the revelation of what Snow and David had done to a baby, Belle's mind went blank. "I have no idea."

"Our old friend the Apprentice!" Rumple said with a sneer. "Ever the over-achiever, he then opened a portal and dropped the baby into another realm."

Belle gasped. "He did what?"

"Apparently it was to protect them from this evil they had just created." Rumple wiggled his fingers mockingly. "Snow White and David were suitably guilt-stricken afterwards, having promised Maleficent to return the egg."

"Did they ever find the baby?" But Belle knew what the answer must be. "I know they made deals with you before. Did they ask you...?"

Rumple scoffed. "No, they were too busy locking me up, accusing me of trying to steal Cinderella's baby — a baby that she signed away in a deal she begged me for. I believe that's what they call 'projection' in this land."

"Or they were trying to make up for their mistakes by saving other people from theirs," said Belle. She didn't think Rumple had been completely fair, throwing a contract full of fine print at the poor girl, but in the end it had only been a ploy and Ashley had both baby and true love at her side. The Dark One had only once outright stolen a baby that she knew of, and he had arranged for her to return it to its parents the same night. But he had never claimed to be a hero. "Still, they could have tried enlisting your aid, or someone else with magic."

"Ah, well, there weren't many options, as we've already established." He shook his head. "They had the fairies on their side, but even if the blue bug was willing to flutter a wing for a monster's child... what is the saying? 'The cure is worse than the disease.'"

Belle sighed. Perhaps she was wrong about the royal couple, and they simply preferred to have Maleficent's child out of sight, out of mind, as long as they weren't directly to blame. Belle couldn't let it go so easily; she had seen in Rumple the pain of a child's loss, and couldn't wish it on any other parent. If possible, they had to fix this. A glance at Rumple showed that he had anticipated her. He gave her a slight nod, but also held up a hand as if to ward off an objection. That was when the pieces fell into place. "Oh. So that's how you intend to persuade Maleficent to help us."

"We help her, she helps us. She helps us, we help her." He sounded more sober in this land, but the cadence recalled the half-mad rhymes of the caged imp. "It's the foundational principle of society."

It wasn't what a hero would do, thought Belle. But the supposed heroes hadn't even managed that much, had they? She remembered how they had sought the Dark One's help against Zelena, then left him behind once they had the answers they wanted. "Fine. How much blood do we need for this?"

"No more than a thimbleful, nothing fatal."

"Oh, good." Belle smiled, trying to show that she hadn't really been worried. She refused to worry. They would share their hearts, and everything would be fine.

"But first I need to check something."

They made their by-now daily visit to the Sorcerer's mansion. While Rumple stared into his crystal ball, Belle set out food for Mr. Mistoffeles. The eager way he bounded down the stairs, tail in the air as he zeroed in on the plate brought a more genuine smile to her face. It dispelled for the moment the chill of fear that had sunk into her bones ever since Rumple had shown her his blackened heart.

"You know, you're welcome to come to our house if you want," Belle told the cat. She didn't know if the cat understood, but she offered the invitation just in case.

Not long after, Rumple met her in the kitchen. "She's alive. Mal's daughter."

Belle nodded, relieved. "Where is she?"

"Somewhere in this realm. I should have expected it..." He didn't explain himself. Instead, he 'conjured' a treat between his fingers and tossed it for the cat to pounce on.

Watching, Belle mused, "If dragons were the size of cats, no one would be calling them monsters and sending heroes to slay them."

"Alas, it would not protect them from having their children stolen," came Rumple's dark rejoinder. "Or worse."

Knowing what she did about the fate of unwanted kittens in their old realm, Belle glumly agreed. "But at least one dragon's daughter can be reunited with her mother..."

First they needed to resurrect said mother. Rumple enlisted Dr. Whale's help for the blood collection. Belle was surprised he was willing to work with the Dark One. The part of her that was Lacey remembered Rumple knocking the doctor to the ground and demanding that he kiss his boot.

Belle blushed at the memory and stammered an apology to Whale.

Whale waved it away with a chuckle. "It's not the first time Gold recruited me for his micro-theatre antics. Don't worry about it."

"Oh." It had all been staged? That was almost worse. That Lacey had found Gold incredibly attractive in his violence, that he was hurting someone for her... that some part of both of them had enjoyed it?

Rumple cleared his throat. "Yes, well, I had to keep Lacey's interest somehow. I trust we can rely on your discretion?"

Whale held up his hands as Rumple scowled at him. "Hey, nothing wrong with a bit of roleplay, if that's what you like. Though may I suggest taking up martial arts for a more socially acceptable outlet for your violent urges?"

"Better than being a football hooligan, I suppose," muttered Belle, drawing on Lacey's cursed memories.

"Moving on," Rumple said emphatically. "We came to see you for a reason, Doctor." At Whale's nod of acknowledgement, Rumple explained what they wanted from him.

Whale didn't usually collect blood samples personally, but he did know how to do it. The three of them paid a visit to Snow and David's apartment.

They were wary of Rumple's involvement. He was close-mouthed and cryptic as usual. "My wife hopes for your cooperation, because that's what a hero does, apparently. Help people. That's why we're asking you, rather than offering a deal."

"Who exactly would we be helping?" asked David.

"It's to save a life," Belle told them. "Does it matter whose life it is?"

Snow's mouth opened and closed. She deflected with, "But why our blood?"

"You are familiar with the concept of blood types," Rumple said, giving Belle a warning look. Toying with words again. But she had done the same, not naming Maleficent (and, ultimately, Rumple) as the life she wanted to save. Knowing what Snow and David had done and covered up, Belle felt that a secret for a secret was only fair. Soon enough, everything would be revealed. "If not, I'm sure Dr. Whale can enlighten you."

"But this is magic, not science," Snow objected.

"The point is that only your blood is compatible with what magic requires in this case," Rumple explained.

"But you're the Dark One!" David blurted out the root of his distrust. "What if whoever you're trying to heal ends up hurting people?"

Out of the corner of her eye, Belle saw Whale frown, but the doctor kept silent, leaving it to her to make the case along with her husband.

"If you two were so concerned about hurting people—" Belle cut herself off and forced herself to take a deep breath. "Look, people get hurt all the time, despite our best intentions. But does a hero withhold aid out of fear? Emma saved Marian. Regina was hurt and blamed Emma, but was your daughter wrong to save a life?"

"No, of course not," sighed David.

Snow White continued to regard them with suspicion. "Then why the secrecy? Unless you know we wouldn't agree if you told us the truth."

"We know you can be a bit short-sighted when it comes to seeing those outside your circle as 'people'." Belle saw Snow's hurt expression, but it was the truth, just not the truth she had asked for.

"And we are telling the truth," added Rumple. "Without naming names, as other people's health issues are not for me to divulge."

"That is the standard in this realm." Whale stepped in to agree, to Snow's apparent consternation. "You are also under no obligation to make any donation unless you freely choose to do so."

Of course, Maleficent hadn't made any deal with the Dark One to revive her in the first place, so they were on iffy ethical grounds already. Sorcerous debts and obligations were obviously not covered by the laws of the Land Without Magic. But that was between them and Maleficent, and nothing to do with Snow White and David.

"If it's really to help someone..." Snow looked torn.

"I don't know," mumbled David. "That's how Pan convinced Henry to give up his heart!"

"I am not my father," Rumple growled through his teeth, his hands clenching at his sides. "This was a mistake. I'm the Dark One. Do you think I needed to ask? Consent is not required by this magic..."

Belle took hold of his arm before he could surge forward and unleash either magic or his fists on someone. "I'm sure David didn't mean it like that."

Whale cleared his throat. "There's no need for hostility. Gold, don't think your, ah, restraint is unappreciated. That's why I'm here, right? So that everything is open and aboveboard. Despite whatever unsavory history may haunt us, we're all trying to turn a new leaf here..."

"Speaking as the former grave robber to the former evil sorcerer?" Rumple scoffed, but his expression had eased. "So. Snow, Charming? What's it to be?"

Snow and David exchanged a glance. Then both of them nodded. "All right." "Fine."

"It's your funeral," were Whale's parting words as he headed back to the hospital.

Rumple merely rolled his eyes and pocketed the vials of blood. "Thank you for your vote of confidence."

"He does have a point," Belle said in a low voice as they started walking in the other direction. "Can we trust Maleficent? What is your history with her?"

"Long and complicated," Rumple said wryly. He let her loop her arm in his and patted her hand. "Sometimes allies, sometimes antagonists. After a few lifetimes, you learn not to take things too personally. As well as the importance of keeping your word to someone when you're likely to need them again in the future."

"So you dealt with her before that time she kidnapped me?"

He nodded. "I did, and left her hanging, along with her two compatriots. I had every confidence in their escape when I walked away with the prize, but they didn't appreciate being abandoned to face the Chernabog on their own."

She vaguely recognized the name from her reading. The Chernabog of Bald Mountain. A demon of some kind. "Hence their antagonism. Wait, does that mean you broke your deal with them?"

"I promised them what they wanted. I didn't say when."

"It's implied! And it's been, what, over three decades?" Belle stopped in her tracks, forcing Rumple to face her. "Maleficent may be immortal, but what about Ursula and Cruella?"

"Oh, they have their ways, too. When I made the deal, I foresaw that I wouldn't be able to complete it until after I had found my son." He didn't meet her eyes.

Belle sighed. "They aren't in Storybrooke. That's two more people we need to find."

"They're in New York." He glanced at her then. "If that will ease your mind. Walsh came across them there."

"Who's Walsh?"

"The former Wizard of Oz," he explained. "Zelena sent him to New York to spy on Ms. Swan."

Belle nodded. Now that he mentioned it, she did remember hearing something about it. "And what is it they wanted?"

"Nothing I have the power to give them at the moment." At Belle's chiding look, he relented enough to add, "I did complete Maleficent's part of the deal, so there's that."

"Oh?" Belle's curiosity stirred again. "What was it?"

"The same thing our charming couple stole from her." At Belle's gasp, he nodded. "As an immortal, it takes a miracle to be able to conceive a child. That is, true love. And for all her years, she never found it. Oh, she thought she had, once, but, well... it soon turned ugly and the only thing born out of it was a nasty feud."

"But how could you help with that? True love can't be created by magic."

"But it can be bottled."

Belle looked at him sharply. "When the curse broke, you dropped a vial into the wishing well. You said it was..."

"Yes," he said simply. "I lent it to her. Had Prince Charming deliver it for me. Then she kept it safe from Regina when we were all under the curse."

Belle remembered the town gossip about the savior slaying the dragon, and put the pieces together. That was how Rumple had collected his potion from her? "Then you set her up to be killed! Rumple, you know that's not right."

"I know," he admitted. "I owe her a resurrection."

And if Rumple had stayed dead? A child left motherless. Ursula and Cruella forever unable to collect on their ends of the deal. But he hadn't cared. Was it his curse or his obsession that had sapped away so much of his humanity? Or was it time's shadow on his heart? He was the Dark One; she had known that when she fell in love with him. That he returned her love was a miracle. "Let's hope she's willing to make another deal with you."

"She will if it gets her what she wants," Rumple stated with confidence.

Belle let him lead her forward once more. Maleficent's remains were still there in a cave in the underground complex underneath the library. As they descended in the elevator, it struck her as sad and gruesome.

No one bothered to move the ashes or give her any kind of funeral, she thought. They hadn't for Rumple, either. Not even a moment of commemoration. "So that's the fate of a monster: to be forgotten."

"The closest person to her in Storybrooke is Regina," said Rumple. "They were friends, once."

"She knew Maleficent wasn't really dead?"

Rumple snorted. "Regina being Regina, she incorporated her old friend into the security system protecting her fail-safe switch."

Belle blinked. "Her what?"

"A big red self-destruct button for Storybrooke, figuratively speaking." The lift creaked to a halt at the bottom. As Rumple cranked the doors open, he added, "Don't worry, it went away with the first curse."

Belle followed him into the tunnel. She wondered if this was typical of friendship among villains. "Thinking about it, you were hardly any better. You knew and you had the power to save her, but you just left her here."

"Just for a year or two, a blink of an eye to an immortal," he replied lightly. "Call it an extended vacation."

"But her child is out there somewhere without her mother! You of all people should know how much difference a year or two makes to a child!" The accusation rang harshly against the stone walls surrounding them.

He flinched. "I'm sorry, Belle. I was afraid that her presence might stir up trouble that would interfere with my plans to find Bae."

Belle lowered her voice. "Yeah, well, fate did that all on its own. Not to mention Cora and Hook."

"I was selfish."

"What's done is done. Let's just try to put things right as best we can, hmm?" In a way, he was right. After the twenty-eight years of the curse, the child would have grown up. By then, two years did mean less. Belle caught Rumple's hand and squeezed it. "For her, for her child, and for us."

Rumple exhaled slowly. His fingers curled around hers and he squeezed back. "You're right, sweetheart."

The tunnel opened up into a large, round chamber crudely hacked out of the bedrock beneath the town.

"Stay back," Rumple warned, waving her back to the entrance, where she would be able to easily duck out of sight around the corner. "She may be dangerous when she first wakes up."

"And afterwards, too, if this doesn't go well!" But she stayed back. No point in borrowing trouble.

Rumple stepped forward, then crouched down. He held out a hand, palm down, sending magic out to gather up the dust that was all that remained of Maleficent. It made a surprisingly small pile. He gathered up a handful as if to weigh it, then let it rain back down through his fingers. Addressing the dust, he said in a low voice, "Your slumber is nearly over."

He stayed there, unspeaking, taking his time to weave his spell. After a few minutes, he emptied the two vials of blood onto the ashes. Then he was on his feet and retreating to one side.

The ashes sizzled where the blood touched them. A wisp of a breeze became a raging whirlwind, dust rising up into a billowing cloud. A thin wailing shriek filled the air. The cloud solidified, first into a gigantic mummified human shape in a red robe, then shattered and reformed as a dragon with a fiery heart. The dragon screamed and flapped at the top of the cave, tail lashing, and Belle was glad for the cover provided by the tunnel.

Then the dragon dropped to the ground and changed again. Belle recognized the woman with the staff and the horned headdress who had once abducted her. Maleficent.

"It's good to be back." The voice was calm, with an undercurrent that promised pain to someone, soon. Maleficent focused on Rumple. "Dark One, I take it I have you to thank for my return?"

Rumple inclined his head. "Welcome back."

"You brought me back for a reason. You want something," Maleficent guessed, but there was little question in her tone. Her gaze shifted to take in Belle when the latter moved out of the tunnel to stand next to Rumple, but she made no further comment.

"As do you," said Rumple. With a flourish of his hand, he was suddenly holding a small purple orb clamped in a dark twist of metal.

A baby rattle, Belle realized with a start.

Maleficent's eyes narrowed at the sight of the rattle. She nodded. "You know what I want. What is it you want from me? And since when do you bring your maid to your negotiations?"

"My wife," corrected Rumple. He slipped the rattle into a pocket and wrapped his other arm around Belle's waist.

"I see." Maleficent looked Belle up and down, then back at Rumple. "The Dark One is married, now? That is an unexpected twist."

Wary of the dragon's fiery glare, Belle leaned a little more into her husband's side from the left. "He's evolved."

"Don't mistake it for weakness, dearie," Rumple warned. "We're here because all of us want a future where we can be with our families. Belle and I have made our vows, but now we're ready to take the next step, the one where our hearts become as one."

"In the metaphorical sense?"

"In the magical sense." Rumple explained the procedure.

Maleficent nodded slowly. "An interesting proposition. The Dark One may be immortal, but for your wife to have even a chance of survivng this, you two would need to share—"

"True love. I know," said Belle firmly, looking Maleficent in the eye. "We do."

Maleficent chuckled. "She has changed you, my dear. What was it you told us before? The Dark One wins alone? It seems now you do need my help."

"As you need ours. But none of us are the trusting type, so a few guarantees may be in order." Rumple pulled one of his contracts from the air with a flourish.

Maleficent took her time reading it. The contracts were magically binding, enforced by the spirits of the four mortal elements. A sorceress as powerful as Maleficent could fight the binding the way a non-magical human like Ella's Prince Thomas could not, but that would send the backlash against her loved ones instead. In this case, the very child she was so desperate to find.

Maleficent pressed the tip of her index finger to the paper. Her signature appeared, a black line tracing the path of her finger. "We have a deal."

As the ones offering the deal, Rumple and Belle's signatures were already on the contract. He had shown it to her back at the mansion for her to sign. Now came the moment of truth.

Her heart. Belle felt strangely distanced, seeing it there, a red, pulsating gem clutched between her husband's fingers.

He nodded at her, reassuring her with a smile only she could see, before turning back to Maleficent, once more the Dark One. He extracted his own heart next. For a moment he seemed to weigh them in his hands.

Maleficent stepped forward to take their hearts. She, too, paused, a slight smirk playing over her face.

"Get on with it," muttered Rumple.

"Just savoring the moment," said Maleficent. "It's not often one holds the hearts of the Dark One and his true love in one's hands."

"Don't go getting any ideas!" Belle snapped, a muted nervousness chipping away at her patience.

"Brace yourselves." Maleficent tilted her face upwards, eyes closed as she summoned her magic.

Belle had seen the woman shatter herself into thousands of burning fragments and reform from the ashes. Now she did the same with their hearts.

She hadn't realized how much it would hurt. Pure agony shot through her and she fell to her knees, gasping and clawing at her chest at the unreachable chains that seemed to crush her. Her heart had stopped.

She was dying. She was dead. Her vision darkened around the edges. She saw a blur of motion, but her eyes wouldn't focus.

Then there was a pressure inside her ribs. Her heartbeat thudded suddenly in her ears. She sucked in a great lungful of air. The relief of being able to breathe again made her head spin. She had her heart back.

It was impossibly heavy. A sharp stone freezing her from the inside. The energy she had always associated with the Dark One's magic was everywhere, and far stronger than she had ever felt it before. It crawled across all her thoughts like a spiderweb. It mingled with her blood and chilled her veins.

She wasn't... she wasn't herself. She wasn't... she grasped futilely at the person she remembered. The person she had been a few moments before. The person she had been a lifetime ago.

"Belle!" Rumple, kneeling on the ground with her. Rumple, holding her. "Belle, Belle, are you all right?"

Belle. She was Belle. That was who she chose to be.