AN:
Edited:25/12/23
Introducing Chris Evans (Avenger's 2012) as Captain John Smith
Regardless of the former Queen's promise that they would be safe in hidden room in the woman's underground vault from the hero's and their daughter ion the surface. The assassin didn't feel comfortable with simply waiting things out, she never was. So when the redhead told the Queen she needed to leave to try and find some sort of help for them, so she let her go.
The former Queen should've known better then to try and confine the woman somewhere, even if it was with her. Leaving the Queen in the safely of the underground vault, the assassin ventured to the surface to seek out the one person she could trust. At a push.
Arriving at the large home, the Master Assassin let herself in through the front door seeking out the older man that had assisted the Charming family to find the culprits of the murder they did not commit, blinking 'on' her sixth sense, the redhead searched the whole of the 1st floor for any trace of his presence, only to come up with nothing.
There was no trail going up the stairs either, only to look down to see something through the wooden floorboards underneath her boot covered feet more to her interest.
Finding the cellar door to the basement was easy. Stood at the top of the stairs her vision found a figure tied to a chair in the darkness, with a firm tug of string that controlled the only light in the basement, the light flickered out once or twice before illuminating the middle of the room to reveal the portly man with a red knitted hat the covered his balding head. A man that hung around with a leather-clad one-handed pirate back home that owed her money.
Mr. Smee
Taken by surprise by the sudden light, the frightened man awaited another round of questioning from the Dark One, only to be left disappointed when he saw was stood at the top of the stairs that led straight down to him.
He didn't need to see her face to know who it was. He just knew, as his heart started to beat just a little harder than before.
"What do we have here then?" the man heard her voice for the first time as she slowly took her time stepping down the wooden steps, his breath quickening with the beat of his heart taking in the image striking short red hair that matched her darker side. A sickly smirk growing on the woman's lips the closer she stepped toward him.
"Or should I say who?" she corrected herself before crouching down on her hunches her green eyes never wavering from his panicking ones as she removed the gag from his mouth.
"L-lady Amelia" he stammered, fear and apprehension lacing his voice that made the woman smile to herself more. She was enjoying this too much.
"Hello Smee" her tight-lipped smirk grew into a wide one showing her teeth to the kidnapped first mate as she grabbed his knee as felt the tip of of her hidden blades dig into his knee through his pant leg. One wrong move on his end and he would be limping around town just like the Dark One "Tell me, before the curse struck did you and your dear little Captain Hook have the money, he owed me".
"I-I-I-I" he stammered more as the smile dropped from her face. It was the answer she needed. They were nowhere near to having it.
"Aren't you wanted for murder?" a voice interrupted the pair from the entrance said making Smee jump in his seat while Amelia didn't even flinch as the blade slid back into her gauntlet.
Replacing the gag on Smee's mouth and giving the second mate a wink of her eye, telling him to sit tight while she spoke to the man behind her, the assassin stood from the floor to face the older man that was the reason she was even there.
"You would know something about that wouldn't you old man?" she accused him. He was the one to encourage the saviour to use her magic to find out who murderer Dr. Hopper despite it not being true.
"Alas, if I wanted you or the Queen framed for murder. You would be in the Sheriff's station in a cell, not breaking into my home" he said making his way down the wooden steps towards the woman.
Smee jumped in his seat as the redhead grabbed his shoulder in a grip that make any man cry out for their mother as the gag muffled out the groan of pain that did escape his throat.
"I'm willing to wager that the sheriff's will give me some time off jail if I gave them information about poor old Smee being your prisoner. Unless this is a new thing you're trying with Belle?" she teased the man in front of her making him chuckle at the woman's jest with a gentle shake of his head.
"No" he answered her "He's here for a little experiment of mine. Care to join me?" he asked the assassin, knowing she always enjoyed joining him experimenting on different spells despite her lack of talent in magic. He always enjoyed her curious nature. She would've made a good student of his. And by the way her eye's lit-up at the chance of being part of another, he knew she would say yes.
"Always, Rumple".
On the ride out to the town line later that night, Rumple informed her how Mr Smee was the one Moe French hired to kidnap Belle and attempt to send her over the line via the mines. Now she didn't feel so bad if the old man experiment went wrong.
Coming to a stop, short of the red painted town line, the pair of villain's left their sides of the car, rounding to the back of the car, the sorcerer opens the trunk, where Smee lying on his side bound and gagged ready for the older man's experiment to commence.
"This will only take a moment" Gold tells him before the assassin takes a handful of the man's front, using her strength to easily haul him out the trunk and onto the cement road, facing him towards the 'Leaving Storybrooke' sign.
Whipping the gag from his mouth the second mate whirled around still bound by his wrists to see the Dark One and The Black Widow as he was shoved towards the town line, by the sorcerer.
"Don't…push me over!" Smee begged the pair as they advanced towards him, making him shuffle backwards in fear as the two predators continued to stalk towards him nearer to the line "If I cross the line, I'll lose my memory. It's a cruel fate" he continued to plead only for them to fall on deaf ears.
"A fate you were more than willing to bestow upon Belle" Rumplestiltskin retorted as they reached the line, kicking out at the portly man, the second mate fell to the ground as his red knitted hat was snatched from his head by the assassin, beofre it was quickly handed over to the Dark One.
"You've had this rag since the day we met. Why is it so important to you?" Gold asked the man on the ground as he reached into his pocket.
"My grandmother made it for me when I was a boy" Smee tells the Dark One as the assassin watched in intrigue as the old man poured a potion over the hat, causing it to glow with magic "It's always brought me good fortune. What difference does it make?".
"Oh… All the difference in the world" Rumple chuckles out "It's your only chance" he tells the man on the ground throwing the rag back to Smee, who quickly puts it back on his head, sitting up on his knees in front of the pair to do so.
"What do you mean, my only-" before he could finish he felt the bottom of the Widow's heeled boot go into his chest with enough force to send him over the line onto his back as surge of blue magic pulses around his body, before fading away.
"What's your name?" Gold asks the man after a second or two on the ground.
"William Smee" the man answered from the ground.
"And who are we?" Gold motioned with his came between himself and the red head.
"Rumpelstiltskin" he answered correctly again, picking himself up onto his knees "The Dark One" he said to Gold, then looked over to the red head "And Lady Amelia. The Black Widow" he recalled with a smile on his face "I remember everything! How can this be?" he exclaimed in happiness as he stood up from the ground.
"Well, it seems our little experiment was a success" Gold reached over and brought Smee back over the line and brought him threateningly close to the Dark One "Now go" Gold lets the man go and Amelia watches on as Smee flees.
With a devilish smirk playing on his lips the older man looks over to the redhead next him seeing her watch the man run for his life. Feeling his eye's on her the woman couldn't help but to mirror the smirk on his face to see that they had a way to leave Storybrooke without losing their memories.
"We have a trip to plan".
Enchanted Forest
Year's Ago
Sat in a tavern he had been frequenting after a long day of work, laughter and merriment filled it's four walls yet again as he sat at the same table with a full mug of untouched mead in front of him as he carefully went over the drawn lines over again on the formally blank pages that filled the book he had purchased with the first bit of coin he had earned after waking up near the Forbidden Fortress, years prior.
The brown leather book was filled of still images of his dreams of a fair skinned woman with fiery red-hair and a small boy no older than five in her arms. It brought warmth to his heart that would make him smile, knowing he loved both these people in his dreams. But as mind brought him the sweetest of dreams, it would also bring the darkest nightmare.
The nightmare always started the same, with him holding the woman in his arms in bed feeling content before everything shook. Despite his efforts of waking himself up to stop the images from playing out, it would always fail as he would find himself on a deck of a ship in the dead of the night. Blood and screams surrounded him as he watched men fall dead onto the ground or thrown overboard.
Then he saw the faceless man, every time he would try and run after him only to quickly be stopped by a man with a hook for a hand. Forced onto his knees before the faceless man, seeing the flash of long white sharpened fingernails enter his vision and a silver hook held against the soft skin the woman's neck.
He wanted to scream at the faceless men, but no sound came out of his mouth as he was held down by his shoulders. Then he heard the cries. The cries that made him so angry that when the faceless man was distracted, he took his chance to free himself only for a stab of pain in his stomach and the feeling of water rushing into his mouth to wake him up.
The recollection of his dreams were interrupted when he heard the lead of his pencil snap against the page from how hard he had pressed it down, creating a mess, he grumbled a curse trying his best to brush the mess off the page without ruining the picture.
Letting out a frustrated sigh he closed his eyes praying for the image of the woman he loved dearly to come to him. Only to open them again to look across the tavern floor as he heard a voice.
"It's not in his head – it's in his heart. You're in love" the sweet voice came from a young brunette woman in a blue and white dress, she looked sad as she spoke to the shorter men with a beard.
"Well, that's impossible" one of the dwarves in a leather cap argued "Dwarves can't fall in love".
"Trust me. I know love, and you're in it" he watched as the bossy dwarf dismissively waves his hand and goes back to join the others as the other turns in his seat to face the woman.
"What's it like?" he asked the woman.
"It's the most wonderful and amazing thing in the world. Love is hope. It fuels our dreams. And if you're in it, you need to enjoy it. Because love doesn't always last forever" her last sentence made his heart skip a beat.
"But, if love's so great, then why do I feel so bad right now?".
"You need to be with the person you love".
"Yeah, but how do I know she feels the same way? All she talked about was going to see some fireflies – not loving me".
"What… what did she tell you about these fireflies?".
"Uh, that she was going to go see them on the hilltop tonight. That she heard they were the most beautiful sight in all the land" he trailed off caught in the daydream "What?".
"She wasn't telling you about the fireflies. She was inviting you to go be with her" she tells the dwarf.
"You think so?".
"I've had my heart broken enough to know when somebody's reaching out. Now go. Find your love, find your hope, find your dreams".
Hearing the woman's words, he looked down at the woman he had drawn over and over again from his dreams and wondered if what the young woman was talking about was about the woman he was dreaming about was real and feeling that went with them or was she just that. A dream.
Being a fugitive of the law sucked. She had done this hundreds of times before, hiding away somewhere until it was safe enough to come out again, she could put miles between her and those looking for her, but in Storybrooke where there was a dwarf on every street corner looking for her and the former Queen and a hero on speed dial. it seemed like she had been trapped in the back of pawn shop for days and not hours doing anything and everything to pass the time.
Grabbing the first book she found in the man's collection, she quickly found it was written in a completely different language. It was about a creature called a Yaohuai. A mythical creature that was encased with fire, burning everything in its wake. She found translating the passages easy as she waited for Gold to work on two more of the same potions they had tested on Smee the previous night.
One for him. And one for her.
But as she read contently in the back, she was taken out her thoughts as she heard the bell above the door to the shop ring out, announcing someone's arrival. She knew she shouldn't have trusted him, she should've know he'd betray her. Standin up ready for a fight with the Charming's she was surprised when she heard Belle's voice coming from the front of the shop. Overhearing their conversation, she couldn't help but hear the way the man spoke to her friend. He was a step closer to finding his son.
She would be somewhat be happy for him if she wasn't currently a fugitive from the law.
Something she wished she had done a long time ago. Instead she let her vengeance take precedence of her own son. She knew there was no hope for John, but Tom would still be alive somewhere.
If she ever got the chance to find her son again, she would have to do what the old man was doing. Do it on her own. But without another curse, or portal, there was no way back to the Enchanted Forest.
"Have you thought what's talisman you'd use" Gold asked the redheaded assassin who had taken sanctuary in the back of the pawn shop from the hero's looking for her. A small price to pay for her services to find his son in the Land of No Magic.
Interrupting the woman who was deep into a book she had found, he wasn't surprised to see her read it without any difficulty. She had been trained from a young age in the many different languages that lived in the Enchanted Forest, even dabbling in a few dead one's when she started working with him.
One of her greatest strengths was her intellect and her ability to soak in any new information that came her way only for her emotions to let her down time after time.
Closing the book with her finger trapped between the pages, not to lose her place she looked to the man to answer his sudden question.
"Something with sentimental value I assume?" she rebutted with a raised brow. Nodding his head in confirmation the assassin closed the book completely, placing it down on the surface of the table she was sat at, keeping out of the man's way, before sliding off the silver ring that living on her middle finger on her right hand.
Holding it up to the man, he recognised it straight away, every assassin were given one, once they had been initiated in the Brotherhood of Assassin's as a Master Assassin. The dark engraving of the arrowhead like insignia sat in the middle of the piece, symbolised the wearer's enteral devotion to the cause. And if the ring wasn't enough, the small brand that scarred her's and every assassin's wedding finger on their left hand would remind them of that devotion.
"The ring" he stated to the woman as he continued to prepare the potion.
"Romeo gave it to me when I was initiated into the order" she recalled to the man with a sad smile "Never took it off even as I ran for my life".
"Not even when you married your explorer?" he inquired with the Assassin.
"Captain" she corrected the man giving the man a pointed look of annoyance. He knew he was Captain. He just wanted a rise out of her "Especially then. I wanted to give our son something about his grandfather. About my family" remaining quiet at the mention of her family he was saved when his cell rung and answered it.
"Hey Belle" Gold answered the phone which made the Assassin roll her eyes at the way he was so sweet to her friend "Belle? You're.. You're breaking up. Who's in the library?" he said into the phone making the red head forget about her book as she listened on in concern "Belle? Belle? Belle? Hello?" the line cut out.
"Stay here" he ordered the red head as he rushed out of the back room with his cane and coat leaving the Assassin by herself.
Returning to the tavern with his book laid out open in front of him, the lone stranger worked on yet another image that had come back to him. This time the woman was sleeping soundly, with no worry on her face.
With his mug of mead untouched the same as any other night he would spend in the tavern he found himself sitting behind the woman in the blue dress that advised the dwarf of following his heart, he desperately wanted to talk to her ask her questions, only he had found out her name was Belle.
On the page he couldn't quite get her thin lips right, he found himself erasing the lines once again and starting again when a man's voice yelled over the taverns laughter, he looked up from his drawing to watch the man speak to the patrons as another man nailed a sketch of the beat on a wooden post.
"There's a fearsome beast ravaging a faraway kingdom" the man bellowed to the tavern "Its eyes burn with fire. They call it the Yaoguai. No man has been able to kill it, but we will. There's room on our wagon. Now, who's going to join us?".
"Looking for an adventure?" a voice he recognized suddenly spoke to Belle.
"Dreamy, right?" she asked him.
"Yes. I came to thank you" Dreamy said as he sat down opposite her "That advice you gave me last night? It worked. Nova and I are running away together".
"That… That's wonderful" Belle replied letting out a relieved laugh that reminded him of the woman that filled his dreams and book.
"Why don't you sign up?" Dreamy asked the woman referring to the hunting party.
"I, um… I've always dreamt of heroics, but… I think it's safer I stick to my books. They're the only adventures I know that have happy endings".
"Well, maybe this one'll have one, too".
"Well, yeah, I doubt it. Last time I faced a beast, it… It didn't end well".
"What are you talking about?".
"Men, follow me" the man heading the hunting party announced "Yaoguai awaits" He watched the men begin filing out of the tavern.
"Get on that wagon" Dreamy encouraged the woman "Go. Take a chance".
Belle didn't speak as she thought about the thought of helping the hunting party "Thank you" Belle packs up her book and goes to leave, with a giggle in glee only for the dwarf to stop her.
"Wait! Belle, wait" he watched as the dwarf stood from his place and give Belle a small satchel "It's fairy dust. Might come in handy".
"Oh, no… Thank you, I… I've seen what magic does to people" Belle protested.
"You've seen what dark magic does. Fairies use this for good. Now go be a hero".
"Okay" she takes the satchel and runs off to catch up to the group as he watched her leave as his leg shook under the table wanting to take the dwarf's advise for himself.
Following his gut, he stood from his seat, snatching up his sketch-book and satchel to run out of the tavern to find the wagon that would take the hunting party plus Belle to the mythical creature to hunt down.
Under the table his leg shook until her pushed himself from his seat snatching up his sketch book and run out of the tavern. He saw the woman Belle had manged to catch up to the hunting part on their cart.
Catching sight of the hunting party John pushed his feet to move faster as he shoved his book into his satchel and drape over his shoulder
"Hey wait!" he yelled out catching the party leader attention as he turns to see the blonde man as he nears their cart ready to leave.
"You wish to catch the Yaoguai" he said as he approached him holding out his gloved hand "What's your name good man?".
Taking hold of the leader's hand in his, he gave the man a firm shake of his hand as he gave the man the name he woke up remembering.
"Smith" he tells the man "John Smith".
Shortly after the old man had left to find Belle after her odd phone call. The redhead was yet again disturbed from her book as she heard glass shattering from the front room. Quietly standing from the stood she was sat on the Master Assassin blinked on her sixth sense to see a lone figure in red through the wall destroying the shop as glass continued to shatter and object's smashed from the front.
Finding a small handheld mirror the assassin took herself to the open doorway between the back room and the main shop, pushing her back against the wall next to doorway her vision went back to normal as she held up the mirror to see the reflection as the notice continued.
The reflective glass showed her the image of Smee throwing items from the glass cabinets, not sure of the man's motivation behind this act of vandalism. Whatever it was he didn't think she would still be with the sorcerer. She wanted to stop him, but she couldn't chance him running out of the shop and calling for help he knew he would get if the Black Widow came out chasing after him and if he saw her, she would be cornered.
As he continued his destruction of the pawn shop, his movements suddenly halted his movements when the book she haphazardly put down to investigate his break in fell onto the wooden floor with aloud thud.
Snatching her hand with the mirror back to her she moved herself into the nearest corner ready to jump out at him if he chose to come into he back to investigate the noise for himself. Luckily for her, she wouldn't have try and explain another dead body to the sheriff as the man continued his tirade.
The door the door bell ringing out twice gave the assassin the permission she needed to let out of the breath she was holding onto as she stepped out of the back to see the shop in a mess. Glass covered the floor as out of the corner of her eye, she saw the painting behind the counter slightly opened ajar.
"Shit" she cursed as the assassin jumped to check that the safe that held the old man's talisman to leave Storybrooke missing from it's place. Smee had taken it "He's gonna kill me".
Sat in the back of the moving cart, next to Belle who was closely studying a book in her hand, the blonde looked out into the scenery around them as they travelled towards the beast trying to see if he recognised anything that might help him bring back a memory of his old life. But once again he came up with nothing.
Instead he couldn't help but look at the book the young brunette was reading. It was about the beast they were hunting. The Yaoguai. He saw that it wasn't in the common tongue, but surprised himself to realise that he could read it. Maybe he didn't know where he was, but at least he found out something about himself that he didn't before.
Glancing up from the book in her hands, Belle let herself look at the man sat next to her. She seemed to recognise him, but she wasn't sure from where. Short blonde hair that was divided at the side, long enough that he could swept it either side. A little un-kept as few strands of hair hung over his forehead.
Tall and broad shouldered, even under the distressed brown leather jacket she could see he was strong. Underneath the jacket he wore a deep blue tunic that had seen better days', the tunic matched his pants. But it was the deep maroon boots that covered his feet that went up to his knee's which made him stand out from the rest of the men. Despite the wear and tear on the surface they looked like they had been well looked after with a few signs of water damage she could see.
"Can I help you Ma'am" the man suddenly addressed her making her jump having caught her looking at his boot's.
"I-I'm sorry" she quickly tells him "But do I know you?" she asked him narrowing her eyes at him.
"I was in the tavern last night and the night previous. You might have seen me, Ma'am".
"My name is Belle; you don't need to call me Ma'am" she corrected him.
"Sorry, old habits. I'm John" he said offering his hand in greeting, she went to shake it only for one of the men at the front of the cart to come between them.
"What's that?" a man from the party interrupted their conversation from behind them.
"Uh, a book?" Belle answered the man sarcastically "I trust you've seen them before" John had to turn his head to the side as a tight lipped smirk grew on his face trying to suppress the smile that threatened to grow.
"You expect to defeat the fiercest creature in the land with a book?" the man questioned them.
"Maybe she means to bore it to death" Another man joked making the party except from John and Belle laugh.
"It will tell us how to find the Yaoguai" Belle corrects him.
Reaching over the pair of newcomers, the man snatched the book out of Belle's hands to read it for himself.
"These are just scribbles" he tells her.
"It's called another language" John intervened as he snatched the book back from him "And one that we know how to translate" he gestured between the two of them as Belle looked over at the blonde man in surprise.
"What?".
"Oh, I thought it was just scribbles?" Belle retorted as John handed her the book back.
"We're here to protect the land, girl. If that book tells us where to go, you shall share it with us".
"It says we'll find the Yaoguai by the lake" John answered for her.
"The lake, you say?" the man asked the pair.
"Yes" the woman tells him as John nods along with a gentle smile on his face seeing what she had just done.
"You heard him, Claude!" the man says to the driver Claude "We're going to the lake!" he adds pushing Belle off the cart while till in motion The man pushes Belle off the wagon while it's still in motion, making her land in her backside.
"Hey!" John protested as he stood up on the cart but was quickly met with a dagger held to his throat.
"Get off or die Smith" the man told him as John silently stared at the man holding a had gaze at him. Tensing his jaw the blonde man relented as he held up his hand up in surrender before turning to stand at the edge of the moving cart as Belle watched from the ground. Feeling a hard push on his back, John comfortably jumped off the cart on his boot covered feet.
"To the lake!" the man yelled as he landed on the dirt ground "Don't forget your book!" the man adds making the other's laugh throwing the book straight into John's back making him wince in pain as the hardback cover thudded onto the ground being him, only for the blonde man realise that his satchel wasn't around his shoulder's.
Whipping around he saw the object in question with his book full of his drawings of the woman he loved and his son. The only possession he had in this world.
"Hey! Give me my bag!" he demanded out of the hunting party that had indiscriminately kicked him and Belle out of the hunting party. Doing as he was asked the man picked up his bag and threw it off the cart, causing the book and it's pages to spill out onto the dirt road.
"Bastard!" he cursed the man as he left Belle to picked herself up along with her book to run down the road to retrieve what pieces of his old life remained scattered on the ground before they flew away in the wind.
"Enjoy the lake!" Belle yelled at the men as they rose further away, as she saw John on his hands and knee's picking up pages from the ground. Hurrying towards the man the former maid joined the man on the ground to help him pick up whatever those men had thrown off.
"John are you okay?" Belle asks him picking up what looked like sketches "I-'I'm so sorry" she apologised to the man as she tried to get a look at what had been drawn. It was a woman and a small boy that
"I'm fine" he said, snatching the page from her hand a little too harshly making her jump "Sorry".
"It's fine" he breathes out calming himself from his sudden burst of anger "Sorry. I don't wanna lose them" he tells her.
"It's okay John" Belle replies giving the man a sympathetic smile before she helped him gather the last few pages from the ground for the man to safely put back in his bag as they stood back up straight.
Opening the book, Belle finds the passage that would tell them where they would truly find the beat that was terrorising villages.
"The Yaoguai prefers mountain habitats to all others" John reads out perfectly to the young brunette over her shoulder "The Yaoguai hibernates by day, hunts by night" he finishes as she looks up at the taller man in a mix of surprise and confusion.
"H-How do you know this language?".
"Didn't. First time seeing it" he said as he started to walk up the road, leaving Belle to run a ran after him to press him for more answers.
"But you translated it perfectly" she argued in disbelief "You must've known about the Yaoguai all along" It was the only logical explanation to why he knew so much. He was playing the other's too.
Coming to a stop the blonde man et out a frustrates sigh as she easily caught up to him, knowing it would be difficult to get her to understand what had happened to him.
"Look I'll try and explain on the way" he relented "But we're losing light if you're really serious about finding the Yaoguai".
Nodding in agreement the the former maid walked in step with the man towards the mountains as he recalled how he ended up on the trail with her to a Yaoguai.
Finding Belle hidden in the elevator, the sorcerer escorted his love down main street seething at the pirate's gall to attack the librarian as she worked in the library under the clocktower to the safety of his pawn shop, knowing he had someone that could use the cover of night to hunt down the man and put him back in his place if need be.
"Where are you going?" the librarian asked the older man as they moved quicker than she would have been comfortable with as his coat draped over her shoulders.
"The shop" he curtly answered her.
"Why?" she pressed him further.
"Well, let's just say, there are many wonderful things in there, that I could use to make sure that pirate never comes near you ever again".
"Rumple, no" she protested "We… We need to report this to the Sheriff. They'll take care of him. You're so close to finding your son. Please. Please, don't let your hatred for this man get in the way of that" Belle pleaded with the man.
"But he tried to harm you" he tried to argue.
"But why? I mean, what happened between you two?".
"Belle…" "This is really not your concern" he sighed trying to brush her off only for his love to stop and turn on him in the middle of the street to make him answer her questions about Hook and Rumple's past.
"He attacked me" she reminded him "It most definitely is my concern".
Mr. Gold sighed and relented to the woman's request "Many years ago, I was married to a woman named Mila. Until Hook crossed our paths".
"She was Balefire's mother?" she asked seeing the hurt that still remined in his face as he continued his story.
"Yeah. And because of that marauding cur, he grew up without her. He took my wife, he took Bae's mother. So I took his hand" the pain quickly disappeared as he finished his story. Gold continued down the street with Belle following him s they reached the front of the Pawn Shop.
"That's why he came after me" she continued her protest seeing the look of annoyance at her questioning "But, uh, what… What about her? What… What did he do?" Taking his hand in her's the librarian tried her best to try and get the man to open up to her despite his reluctance "Rumple, you can tell me anything".
"She died. That's all that matters" he finally answered unlocking the door to his shop allowing him to step into the shopfloor to see it partly destroyed as Belle closed the door behind her. Looking from the mess Gold found Amelia sat behind a furthest counter flipping the pages of the book in her hands as the room lay in ruins around her as Belle turns to see her wanted friend there.
"Welcome back old man" she greeted the man without looking up from her page.
"Amelia?" Belle almost gasped in shock seeing the red head there, knowing the Sheriff's and the rest of the town had been looking for her and the Evil Queen for the murder of Dr. Hopper.
"What happened?" Gold asked the red head.
"Isn't it obvious, a tornado swept through "she answered turning anther page "You got robbed".
"And you did nothing about it?" he spat at her from the across the room.
"My hands were tied" she argued "Couldn't risk them calling the damn sheriff's" she tells him looking up to see Belle next to him she smiled at her like nothing was wrong "Hey Belle".
Turning to her true love accusingly, the librarian looked at him in disbelief as she tried to understand what was going on "You're harbouring a murderer as well. That's it. I'm calling the sheriff. Now" she accuses him heading for the door as the assassin looks up from her book worried that she really was going to call Emma and David.
"No Belle. Please" he pleads to her stopping her from leaving with a gentle hand on her arm "I need her assistance finding my boy, she has a talent for finding people. She's no use to me in a cell".
"I thought you said you had to do this on your own" she reminds him from their earlier conversation.
"And I do, but where I need to go I'm powerless" Rumple replies as the woman sees the desperation in his eye's at needing the woman at the other end of the shop floor "Amelia here, can help me if we run into any trouble. We have a deal. This is her final contract with me. After this, she owes me nothing".
"It that true?" Belle asks the redhead from the door.
"It is" the assassin confirms for the librarian to nod in acceptance taking her hand off the door seeing how the woman's freedom would benefit her true love's goal of finding his son "And I didn't kill anyone by the way" she quickly added going back to her book "It was Smee who robbed you by the way. If you're interested".
"Hook" he seethed angrily stepping further into the shop, treading over the broken glass that laid on the floor "This is why he attacked you".
"To get you out of the store" Belle realised "What did he want?".
Rushing behind the counter and the assassin the sorcerer found his safe to seeing it was missing his item he needed to cross the town line without losing his memories as the guilt welled up in the assassin's chest for not doing anything more to stop Smee from trapping him in Storybrooke.
Rumple's anger at the deception boiled up and over as the sorcerer began smashing items in his shop with his cane, as Amelia tried her best to clean up the mess she had partly responsible for. She trying her best to stop killing people for no reason. But they sometimes made it more challenging.
One thing she knew for sure was that the next time she saw Captain Hook she'd play hide the hook with him until he begged her to stop.
"Rumple! Rumple!" Belle calls out to the man trying to stop him from destroying his shop further in his fit of anger as Amelia stood by knowing it was best to let the man take his anger out on anything else. She knew better than to get on the wrong end of one of his tantrums. Her heart for one be better for it from the number of times he gripped it from inside her own chest to get her to conform with his plans.
"Stop it! Stop, please" she pleads to him grabbing his arm as the redhead goes to stop her, but she was surprised to see how quickly the man calmed down in his loves arms.
"Belle, you're right" he sighed as she let him go "I'll have to retrieve what's mine" he tells her heading for the door only for the brunette to stop him from going any further towards the exit.
"Let me, Let me help you" she begs him to stop.
"This is my fight!" he yelled in her face.
"And this is my fault!" she retorted loudly back in his face "If Hook had never attacked me, you never would have left the shop".
"How do you propose that we get the shawl back?" he questioned the woman "Have you duelled with a pirate before? How exactly are you going to help me?".
"Send me" Amelia tells the man making him look back at her "I'll bring the shawl and his hook back with me" she says with a knowing upturned smirk on her lips that was mirrored by the man getting on the same wavelength for the first time since the curse had broken.
"No!" Belle yelled at her friend making Rumple look back at his love, getting them the stop thinking like they were "You're not anything like that" she states to the redhead earning an audible scoff and an eye roll from the older woman.
"I'm not just going to sit here and do nothing!" she pointed out to the man "At least let Amelia go with you to get the shawl back" she tried to reason with the man.
"No" he breathes out a calming breath "She can't be seen. If someone calls the sheriff's, I-I can't have them get in the way" he replies as the redhead raises a curious brow behind him over the man's protectiveness over her "She'll be of more use with you" he suggests tot he young brunette.
"Why?".
"You're going to go back to the library, lock the door, and wait for me to dispense with this problem!".
"And, if I don't? You will cast some spell that gives me no choice?" Belle argued.
"No. I trust you'll do as I wish, as you trust me to be a better man" he retorts "Belle, please" he desperately pleads with her "Hook has maybe cost me the chance of finding my son. I don't want to lose you, too" he tells the woman before he walks behind a counter to take out a gun from a drawer, holding it out to his love to take "I want you to take this" Mr. Gold pulls a gun out of one of the drawers and hands it to Belle who hesitantly takes it from him.
"Just in case Hook is stupid enough to come after you again. Point this, pull this trigger, and the gun'll do the rest for you. If not, I know Amelia here will enjoy taking care of the pirate once and for all".
"You know me so well Rumple" Amelia said from her place, knowing the sentence paired with a smirk behid him.
"Yes, I understand" Belle tells him before he tries to leave again, only to be stopped again by his love "W-wait. Promise me that you're going after Hook is just about getting the shawl back" Mr. Gold doesn't respond, and abruptly leaves. Leaving the woman, he loved with the woman he secretly trusted completely to keep the former safe from any harm.
"So let me understand this" Belle replied after listening to John's story as they trudged through the forest in search for the Yaoguai's nest "You woke up on a beach near the Forbidden Fortress with no memory of your past or life. Only that you're searching for a woman with red hair who you think is your wife" she summarized as they trekked through the dense forest, as they looked out for an caves that housed the creature.
"I don't think" he corrects her as they come to a stop "She is my wife"
"Then why can't you remember her name?" the young woman challenges him.
"All I know is that I need to find her and our son. It's hard enough that I only know her face, she could be anywhere or worse" he trailed off pushing those dark thoughts to the back of his minds. There was a chance she wasn't alive at all, but he couldn't let himself believe that. He had to make sure.
Seeing the distress on his face Belle felt sympathy for the man having found his love only to lose it "I'm sorry, you lost them".
"Well sorry isn't gonna bring them back".
"Why are you here then?" she questioned him "Shouldn't you be searching for them?".
"I did the same thing you did in the tavern" he said "Took a chance for an adventure" a sweet smile grew on Belle's lips before the pair continued with their adventure.
Getting Belle to the library is no easy feet when you're a simple phone call from being arrested by the towns two sheriff's, but they managed as the librarian took to the streets with the gun on her person as the Master Assassin followed her from the rooftop's. Meeting at the library's front door, the younger woman let the redhead slip into the building as they saw a group of dwarves walk by, all dressed in black with their head's hung low in the opposite side of the street.
It must've been the funeral today. The knot in her stomach grew tighter as she pushed it aside to concentrate on her task at hand. Protecting Belle from Captain Hook. But, she didn't know how the man made it to this land, none of that mattered until she finished her final contract with the Dark One.
A quick sweep of the library found the place clear of angry pirates before they got on with the task of tidying the place from the mess Belle had created trying to evade the Captain's attacks. The pair stayed in comfortable silence as they worked around the other picking up fallen books from the ground to place in the book trolly as the librarian noticed how quiet the assassin was. Looking over to the assassin she couldn't help but notice the crestfallen look on her face as she silently worked.
"Are you okay?" Belle asks her breaking the silence between them as the assassin knelt on the floor with a pile of books stacked up next to her ready to place in the trolly.
"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" she replies.
"It's just-" the brunette wasn't sure what to say, So she went with the question that had been playing on her mind since arriving at the library "Did you really kill him?" Belle finally asked her the question.
"You do know who you're talking to right?" Amelia retorted with a curios brow risen on her face.
"Archie" she clarified for the red head "Back the shop you said you didn't kill him".
"Did you believe me?" Amelia asked Belle "Because I don't know what to believe anymore if I'm being honest".
"What do you mean?" she pressed the woman as they continued to pick up books from the ground.
"I traded a corrupt Brotherhood, a creed of killers that justified killing people to save the realm, to The Black Widow who justified killing the corrupt Brotherhood to feel like she's brought some kind of justice to her family. Only to make things worse for the person she wants to be seen as" she paused
"Why would I kill the man who saw Amelia for the first time in decades over a temper tantrum?" she questioned herself outload "I was starting to get somewhere with his sessions to see…that The Black Widow's first victim was Amelia Montague. She had to kill her first, to do some of the things she did and be able to sleep with it weighing on her conscience".
"Now I'm back where I started with everyone including myself. I may have been angry at him, but I wouldn't kill him. I swear on my son's life I never touched him. I wanted to, believe me I wanted to ring his neck out but I didn't".
"Why were you angry?".
"I thought- I thought he was telling the other's about our sessions. About what I've told him about my past. About John and Tom. About my upbringing" she gulped "There are thing's I haven't told the people I've loved the most. But I told him everything because I could trust him" she shrugged "I want people to look at me the same way Henry does. He knows more about the Widow than anyone here and now I don't think he'll ever look at me the same or even at all".
The librarian couldn't help but feel her heart ache for the woman. Inside the tough exterior there was someone desperately trying to get people to believe that she wasn't completely evil to the core. A lot like Rumple in like that. She just needed a chance to show people she wasn't the villain as the other's had thought her as.
"I'm so sorry Lia" Belle tells her "If it help's, I believe you didn't kill him".
"Thanks" she whispered, as the pair went back into silence. When Amelia reached for another book, she saw a knotted piece of rope, picking it up to inspect it "The monkey's fist" she whispered recognising the knot as Belle overheard her old friend talking to herself.
"Amelia?" Belle said from behind her as she stood to meet the brunette.
"My father taught me this knot on his ship. What's the bet this came off Captain Hook?" she said holding the rope up.
Belle searched through the shelves of books until she found the one, she was looking for 'A Nautical Guide' she placed it on the surface next to the piece of rope until she found the page that when through how to tie the Monkey's Fist.
"Your right. Hook came here on his ship" Belle told Amelia as the redhead saw the cogs working behind her eyes as an idea formed in her mind.
"Is there any point trying to convince you not to go?" Belle simply shook her head with a tight smile as they both headed for the door to the docks. This would be interesting.
After a short trek further up the mountain the pair finally made it to a cave hidden among the foliage of the forest. Coming to a stop Belle read over the page that John had perfectly translated earlier that day much to the bookworm's surprise.
"The Yaoguai prefers mountain habitats to all others. The Yaoguai hibernates by day, hunts by night. Please be asleep".
"Only one way to find out" John sighed drawing out his sword from the leather sheath around his waist as, she draws a dagger and begins slowly approaching the cave.
However, stepping on a fallen branch making it snap under the former maids weight the pair froze in place as they heard movement coming from inside the dark cave. The beast made it's presence known to the pair as it loudly roared from inside it's cave, grabbing Belle's arm the blonde man pulls her away from the entrance as they made a run for it before the beast charged out of it's cave to confront the pair that had disturbed it unaware of a warrior watching on in the distance as it let loose an arrow from her bow.
The pairs retreat was halted when the former maid tripped and fell over a tree root, making them both fall onto the forest floor at the complete mercy of the enraged beast as it reached it's targets only for an arrow to strike it, making it rethink its choice of prey for the time being before running back into the forest to hide once again.
The pair literally shook on the ground from the fear that coursed through their body at the near miss with the beast as the man tightly shut his eye's closed as he tried to push the feeling away as it overwhelmed his mind like it did whenever he dreamt of the last coherent memory he had before waking up again on the beach. He never wanted to feel that sacred again, but this was a close second. That was too close.
Hearing movement behind them the pair see a masked warrior emerge from the woods, approaching them as they turned to get themselves back on their feet once again. The mystery warrior took pulled out their mask to reveal their feminine features with long black hair holding out a helping hand to the young brunette woman.
"How can we thank you?" John huffed out to the female warrior as he pulled himself back on his feet "You saved our lives" he states to the woman who had saved their lives as she looked at the odd couple of travellers that had found the beast before she had.
"And you ruined my hunt" the woman, Mulan, added much to her chagrin "It took me weeks to track the Yaoguai here".
"Yeah. We found it in a day" Belle points out to the woman picking up the book from the ground as John bent down to pick up his sword from the ground that he had dropped in the fall.
"You had luck on your side" Mulan argued to the pair.
"No, not luck. It was this" Belle insisted holding up the book to the female warrior as the latter eyed the item in Belle's hands "We could, uh… we can help you find it again" John nodded along with the younger woman offer. It was the least he could do after the female warrior had saved his and Belle's life.
"You both done enough damage already" Mulan tells the pair refusing their offer "If you really want to help, stay out of my way" she tells them walking around them almost barging into John's broad shoulder as she ran from them to track the beast down by herself.
Arriving at the docks to the sound of seagulls and bells clanging in the distance, the Master Assassin didn't see or hear anything different about their surroundings, it was just another day at the Storybrooke docks. A pirate ship would stick out like a sore thumb in this realm, but they she had a feeling in her gut that all wasn't all as it seemed. Romeo always told her to trust her gut. And she was going to.
Continuing with her intuition the assassin lead the librarian across the boardwalk as the wood creaked under their feet as they search for the large ship as the blustery sea wind whipped up their short and long hair as the assassin pushed back the memories she had of the sea air from breaking her concentration.
"Where is it?" Belle asked the assassin outload who held the gun comfortably tucked in the back of her jeans, that allowed for the weapon to be concealed from plain view, weary of who might be on their ship, walking down the dock further, Amelia's training told her to look up as she saw seagulls landing on something mid-air as her arm instinctively reached out to stop the brunette next to her stop moving any further.
Wh-?" the brunette started to say but Amelia stopped her putting her finger to her lips to silence the woman before and pointing out the seagulls to the librarian. Blinking on her sixth sense the assassin saw right through the cloaking spell that surrounded the ship that sat in the Stroybrooke waters.
"Found you" she whispered as she blinked her sight back off to see what Belle currently see.
"Found what?" the brunette asked her in confusion. Looking to her right the assassin saw a sand box on the side of the dock that would be useful for the younger woman to see the invisible ship anchored to the dock.
"Grab some sand and throw it over there" Belle looked at the red head a little confused but followed the instructions throwing near the edge of the dock where Amelia was pointing to to see the steps that lead up to the ship appear in the sand.
"Found you" she repeated the redheads words.
With confidence the redhead was the first to climb the step up to the Jolly Roger only to vanish as she stepped into the clocking spell.
"Amelia!" Belle called out in panic not seeing her 'protector' for the day.
At her name being called out a mess of red hair stuck out of the spell as the assassin found the brunette looking straight at her "Are you coming or not? Rumple will kill me if I let you out of my sight for more than a minute".
Smiling at the woman's words the librarian carefully found the wooden steps hidden in the spell to follow the assassin onto the ship, ending up stood next to the waiting assassin as she stood at the edge of the ship overlooking the deck of one of the fastest ships in all the realms.
"What a piece of junk" she sighed jumping from the edge onto the deck before jumping down onto the deck. The Jackdaw was ten times better.
Retreating to the nearest village after their failure to defeat the Yaoguai themselves to re-group and re-think their tactics, John wouldn't let the set back stop them from finding it in the end, he didn't want to give up at the first sign of failure ever at the female warrior's warning to keep out of her way. With the beast in the wind for the time being, the pair stood over a well the blonde man pulled up a pale of fresh water from its depths unaware that the men they had sent to the lake quickly making their way towards the pair.
Feeling a foreign hand on his shoulder the man was taken out of his thoughts as he was forced around to come face to face with the men they had parted ways with not too long ago with his back pressed against the edge of the well as a sharp blade was held against the bottom of his chin and jaw as two of the other's held from from her legs over the well opening as she tried to cling onto the edge to stop her from falling in.
"The Yaoguai wasn't at the lake" the man holding John against the well growled in his face.
"I'm, uh… I'm sorry. I… I m… I must've misread that one" Belle stuttered as the tried to keep herself steady at the mercy of the men keeping her out of the well.
"See, you know what I think happened?" one of the other men started "I think you sent us in the wrong direction on purpose".
"Eat shit" John spat at man that held him. He didn't like bullies, no matter who they were or where they come from. These men were no different.
Suddenly the man that held him was pull off him allowing him to stand back up straight as the man met the ground hard as the attacker emerged from the crowd of villagers to speak to the man that held the pair the had found the beast before her.
"Let them go" the warrior told the man distracting one of the men holding Belle long enough for John to drag him off her before rearing a tight closed fist back before throwing it into his face making him join his comrade on the ground.
"This isn't your fight, solider" the man that held John said from the ground as he recovered from having a sling throw at him.
Dropping Belle back onto her feet the man that held her drew his sword from his waist to face the masked warrior himself. Swiping at the masked warrior the latter easily evaded his attack, kneeing him in the stomach as the man swung his sword high in the air for the warrior to duck under, before socking the man in his face. Grabbing the mans armed hand the warrior as they grappled for dominance for a second or two before the masked warrior twisted them onto the ground, losing her helmet in the process the female solider end up on top of the attacker.
John blinked in wonder at the fight as he found himself lost in the slick moves he seemed to recognise. It reminded him of the wife he had been searching for, like it was something she had done before.
Seeing that it was a woman that had beaten him, the attack gawked up in disbelief at what she had managed to do "Wait. You're a-OW!" he didn't get the finish his sentence when she punches him in the face.
"Yeah, I know" Mulan states to the man before stepping off the man to draw her sword at the three men on the ground that she and John had beaten "Go" she firmly tells the three as two of them stand to their feet to help the third back on his before walking away from the pair that had easily fooled them and the woman that had humiliated them.
"Didn't expect to see you again" John tells the warrior that had helped them again "Thank you"
"I had to put up with brutes like them when I served in the Emperor's army. Fools who think that women have no business holding a sword. I only wish there was someone there to stand up for me" Mulan grimaces in pain and grabs her knee. She's clearly wounded.
"You're, uh… You're bleeding" Belle states seeing the blood on Mulan's gloves.
"I'll survive" Mulan reassures them brushing their concern off "The sun should be setting soon. We need to move out".
"What do you mean, 'we'?".
"You two tracked the Yaoguai in a matter of hours. It took me weeks. You track the beast, and I'll kill it".
Belle looks towards John who give her a small smile in agreement before looking back Mulan "We'd be honoured to help you".
"How do you know where the ship was?" Belle asked the assassin as the redhead easily led her around the ship, knowing the general layout of one from her years of sailing with her father.
"One of the many benefits of being an Assassin. Some have this ability to hear objects, see sound. It's how I find most things. We called it Eagle Vision. The brotherhood trains those with the ability, make it easier to tell friend from foe and highlight your target from a distance" she explains to the younger woman pulling open the hatch that would lead them down to the belly of the ship.
"W-What am I?" she curiously asks the woman.
"Blue. A ally or friend" she answers her friend plainly "It really depends on the situation. It tends to change".
"And an enemy?" the librarian asked as the assassin pulled the pun of the back of the waistband of her jeans
"Red" she answered plainly as she made her way into the hull.
Following the assassin down the steps down, the assassin gripped the gun harder in her hand as they came across a door to their left as the assassin and librarian saw other doors where the missing shawl could be hidden in.
"Shouldn't we split up?" Belle suggested to the woman.
"No, I don't know this ship well enough to do that" she tells the younger woman "Door at a time" she adds blinking her eye's she made the younger woman jump in fright as she saw the woman's eye's change from green to gold in an instant.
Opening the door for them, the assassin was the first to enter the small room with the gun leading her way with Belle behind her, as the ship creaked as it swayed side to side in the water, coming across a seemingly empty bunk room only to see an outline of a blue figure huddled underneath the floor in a tight space with their hand tied up to the ceiling.
She didn't get a chance to call out to the figure to make sure it wasn't a trap as a muffled voice.
"Hello?" a muffled voice came from below them. The women looked at the other in confusion Belle looked at the redhead in confusion who just looked back at her with the same look.
"Uh..H-Hello?" she replied.
"Down here!" the man's voice came from a bench. Dropping the gun to the work bench, the assassin pounced forward recognising the voice to open the grate to see Archie alive and well, tried to the ship as Belle quickly joined her to see the man himself
"Amelia! Belle! Oh, thank God!" he exclaimed in relief to see the pair as the assassin looked at the man in stunned silence to see the man se had been accused of murdering only a day ago.
"Archie! You're… You… You're okay!" Belle exclaimed in relief seeing the man.
"Yes I am" he answers the brunette "Can… Can you, uh…" he asked the pair as Belle took hold of the stunned assassin's arm to make her hidden blade jump out of her gauntlet to slice through the piece of rope that kept the man in place on the Jolly Roger. With his hand free of the binds, the therapist free's his legs to climb out of the hole he had been left in to face the blank faces assassin.
"Archie" she repeated.
"Yes it's me" he confirms, without a beat the Amelia moves forward throwing her arms around his torso engulfed the man in a hug of relief as he reciprocates, as if she were trying to convince herself that this was real. She hadn't hurt the man that had seen through her anger and see the woman that had desperately been trying to free herself from the restraints of the Black Widow's shadow.
Allowing the assassin to have her moment with the therapist, the pair pulled apart to see the tears of relief in the assassin's eye's as she looked at the man in front of her.
"Go" she urges the therapist to find his freedom while he could "Find Mr. Gold. Tell him I'm here. Bring him back to the ship" she instructs him.
"Wait. You're not coming with me?" Archie questioned her as they heard footsteps above them. They weren't alone anymore.
"Go. Go! Go, go!" she pushes the man towards the open door "There's no time to argue" Archie nodded and ran out of the hull onto the deck as the assassin remined knowing her task was to keep Belle safe.
"Amelia go with him, make sure he's okay" Belle pushed the woman to the door.
"Belle-" the redhead tried to argue.
"Please just go. Go prove to the town you're not the Black Widow anymore".
She knew it wasn't a good idea, but she knew the old man wouldn't be long after a quickly phone call from her telling him what had happened. Giving into the younger woman's request the redhead followed the man out of the Jolly Roger to prove to the world and to herself that she was changing.
Night had fallen across the land by the time they had tracked the Yaoguai down again. Standing at a ridge they found it in the field below them burnt in the beasts path. Unfortunately, it wasn't just a field, it was another village that was being left in ruin in the wake of the creatures trail.
"It's just ahead" Belle tells the warrior as they watched the trial of fire grow longer.
"You found it. Your books serve you well" the warrior compliments the young brunette before she cringes in pain due to her injured knee.
"Mulan, your leg's getting worse" John tells the woman.
"No. I have to protect my village" she tells them as she attempts to walk forward only to partially collapse in John's quickly arms, catching her before she fell.
"You can't even walk" John argues to the woman, he seemed to know when he was arguing with a stubborn natured woman, like he had experience with one before "How are you going to kill the Yaoguai?".
"I'm not" she says looking towards Belle "She is".
"Me?" Belle gasps at the warriors statement "I… I'm… I'm… I'm not a soldier" she stutters as the warrior found her balance without the man's assistance.
"You have good instincts. You tracked down that beast faster than I ever could".
"Uh, tracking it and killing it are not the same thing" Belle argues.
"There was once a time when people didn't think that I had what it took, either, but I proved them wrong".
"How?".
"By showing them that I had the warrior spirit. Once I found something worth fighting for, I fought for it with everything that I had. I never gave up. Belle… The fate of my village depends on you" Mulan tells her unbuckling her sword, handing it to the former maid "Don't be afraid".
One of the longest days' the hero's had to go through was finally coming to end as the town said goodbye to their friend that very morning. The day had been particularly rough for the eleven year old boy that sat at his grandmother's table making plans for when his grandparents moved out of the small loft.
With Archie's loyal Dalmatian at his feet the young boy set out plans to defend themselves if Regina or Amelia came after them as he drew out plans to set out an armoury in the small bedroom downstairs once it had been vacated by his grandparents.
Climbing down the stairs the blonde saviour saw her son at the table with his head down in concentration as she saw what he was drawing. The layout of the small apartment.
"You plotting your escape from Shawshank, kid?" she asked him.
"No, there're blueprints" he told his birth mother "I had some ideas for what to do if David and Mary Margaret move out. Look" he says showing his mother what he was planning.
"You want to make Mary Margaret's room an armoury?" she questions him, taken aback by his plans.
"Yeah" he confirms "You know, for weapons and stuff. To protect us. From Regina" he says "and Amelia" he adds with a small wince knowing the woman's' loyalty to the Evil Queen. Hearing this Emma felt her heart ache at Henry's explanation as she crouched down to speak to him. She knew how much the redhead had meant to him, he looked up to her.
"She's not going to hurt you. And neither is Amelia, I'm not going to let them" she tries to reassure him.
"They hurt Archie. What if Regina wants to take me back? Amelia would help her".
"That's not going to happen" she firmly tells him quickly shut her son's thought pattern down as a knock was heard from the door which causes Pongo to bark and whine as he ran to door.
A knock on the door, which causes Pongo to bark and whine as he ran to the door, furrowing her brows at the dog reaction the blonde was left confused why he was acting that way.
"Pongo? What is it?" Emma questions the dog as she leaves Henry to answer the door to discover Archie- alive on the other side with a relieved smile on his face.
"Archie…" she greets him in shock as he steps into the apartment to see Amelia behind him leaning on the stair banister the redheaded assassin they had brought into the Sheriff's Station to question about the former's murder.
"Hi" he replies with a bright grin on his face as he steps into the apartment.
"Hey Swan" she greets the woman with a half smile and a wave of her hand.
"What happened?" she asked the pair as Henry rounded the table to see his friend alive and well again.
"It was Cora" he tells her She kidnapped me" Archie told the blonde as Henry ran to him in happiness.
"Archie?" a small voice called out to his friend as the man chuckled seeing the boy once again before he was engulfed in a warm hug as Amelia watched from the doorway the way he held onto the therapist the same way she did, like he was trying to make himself believe he was really there.
"Henry! Oh! Oh, it's alright" he tells Henry before pulling his smaller frame off him to look him in the eye "I'm fine. I'm fine".
"Look's like she manged to follow you and Snow here on Hooks ship" Amelia told the saviour making her look at the accused assassin leaning her shoulder on the frame of the door while Archie and Henry reunited "I got the full story on the way here from where he was being held on that stupid boat".
"Lia I-" Emma started only for the assassin to interrupt her.
"I think. You own me an apology. I'm thinking, in writing first, then a press conference, then-"she was interrupted when a figure ran into her torso to wrap his arms around her in glee burying his head into her stomach.
"Lia, I knew it!" Henry exclaimed into her stomach, before she gently pried him off her to crouch down in front of him, she couldn't help but to melt for the boy in front of her seeing the happiness in his eye's and face knowing his friend was okay.
"Henry, I am so sorry you thought I hurt him" she tells the boy she cared about "I hope you can believe me when I tell you would never hurt anyone that you cared about. But only if they really deserved it" she adds with a wink of her eye making him laugh.
"I know" he tells her "I'm sorry for not having more faith in you".
"That's okay" she replied through a watery smile "We'll do better next time" nodding his head she allowed the boy to throw his arms around her neck as she held him a tight as she could, before they pull out of the hug for the assassin to stand back up and face the Sheriff as Henry cling to her side.
The sight was a welcoming one to see as the blonde saviour heard the assassin mean every word of her apology to the eleven-year old.
"Lia, we were wrong" Emma starts "You didn't do anything. I'm sorry" the blonde tells her.
"Apology accepted Sheriff".
"Which also means that Regina didn't do it" Emma realized.
"Maybe we should let her know" Henry tells her as Amelia nods along.
"Yeah" his mother agreed "But something tells me, either way, we're going to pay the price".
With only a few hundred feet separating her and John from the fiery beast, the pair stood ready to put an end to the creature's destruction.
"Do you trust me?" she asks him, breaking the silence between them.
"Have so far" John says not taking his eye's off the Yaoguai "Why'd you ask?".
"Because what I'm about to do might kill us" she admits the man.
"We'll walk it off" he says shrugging his shoulders at the thought of being killed "Do it" he tells her.
Taking in a deep breath of the chilled night air, the former maid starts yelling at the creature waving her arms in the air as the blonde man joins her in her calls "OVER HERE! OVER HERE!".
The yell's caught the creatures attention as it whipped it's head round to see them letting out load roar. Hearing the roar, the pair didn't hesitate as they ran towards the village.
Once inside the 'abandoned' village. with the Yaoguai trailing close behind, they ran towards a water wheel, they wait by the above ground water system and draws their swords.
John felt his heart hammer in his chest as he kept himself calm enough to keep his ground against creature. He hadn't felt this scared in a long time as he heard a woman's scream in the distance mixed with the cry of a child in the distance. He knew where he had heard them before, the scream had come from his wife and the infant's cries had come from his own son as he was wretched out of her arms as a name came to the tip of his tongue, his mind urging him to yell it out. Call out to the woman he loved
Shaking the memory out of his head he focused on the fiery creature that was quickly approaching them, when it got close enough they slashed the water pipes with their sword releasing a blast of water from the directed at the creature, pushing it away from them.
The drenched creature struggled to get up from the ground as they slowly approached it seeing that it's writing symbols in the dirt.
"You… You're writing something" Belle says in surprise.
"Jiu wo" John translates for the pair easily once again "Save me. You need help" sheathing their swords Belle takes out the satchel of fairy dust.
"Let's, uh… Let's give this a try, shall we?" She sprinkles the fairy dust over the yaoguai, and in a puff of purple smoke, transforms the beast into a human – Phillip.
"The curse…" the Prince looks up to his saviours "You broke it" John quickly stepped forward to help the man.
"Someone did this to you?" John asked the man as he grasped the man's forearm helping the man back onto his feet.
"Maleficent. An evil sorceress from my kingdom determined to do everything in her power to keep me apart from Aurora, my true love" he explained to the pair "So she exiled me to this land, and turned me into a monster. I tried to warn the villagers, but… No one understood what I really was. Except you two".
"Well, you're not the first beast I've faced" Belle tells him.
"I am forever in your debt. Please, tell me how I might repay you".
"Our friend's hurt. She… She needs a doctor" Belle tells him "As do you. Help me bring her back to the village".
"It would be my honour".
Finding the trek back to where they had left Mulan was easy to find. John had discovered the man they had saved was Prince Phillip. He was somewhat familiar with the royalty in the Enchanted Forest. He also knew about the rivalry between the Evil Queen and Snow White. Ever so weary not to get caught in the middle of the fight. The people who did usually didn't get to see another day. He had also heard rumours of an Assassin that worked for the Evil Queen. The Black Widow. He had never seen the woman herself and he wanted to keep it that way.
"Our… Our friend's over that ridge" Belle tells the Prince as they neared the camp they had left Mulan while they faces the 'beast'
"There she is" John points out as they find her reading the same book they had been using to track 'Prince Philip'.
Hearing movement nearby the warrior looked up from the book to see the return of Belle and John, standing from the ground to greet the pair.
"Belle. John. You're alive" she says taking Belle's hand into hers.
"We, uh… we did it. we defeated the Yaoguai. With a little help" she added looking to the Prince.
"Who are you?" Mulan asks the stranger.
"I was the Yaoguai" the prince simply explained.
"He was cursed. So, I helped him" Belle tells her "Now he's going to help you".
"Wait. You're not coming?" Mulan questions her.
"John is going with you with his quest to find his lost wife and son. I have another beast to face. Goodbye" she tells the female warrior handing her back her sword, while Mulan hands Belle her book.
"Goodbye, Belle" at the warrior's farewell, Belle heads into the forest, with John watching her disappear into the forest a beat later John runs after her calling her name while Phillip remained with Mulan.
"We haven't been properly introduced. My name's Phillip".
"Mulan".
The blonde man quickly catches up to the young brunette, his quick strong steps hit the forest floor as he called out for his new friend "Belle! Wait up!" John calls after the woman who was running after her making her stop and turn around to face him.
"John? What is it?" the young brunette asked him in confusion.
"I just uh.." he seemed lost for words he waned to say to her "I wanted to say thank you, for everything, you've made this adventure something I'll never forget" he tells her "Hopefully" he adds with a small chuckle at his expence.
A light chuckle left her lips at the attempt to lighten the moment "Your Welcome John, I hope you find what you're looking for. I couldn't imagine what your going through, your wife is a very lucky to have someone like you looking for her".
"Thank you" he says giving the woman a charming smile that would make any woman swoon at the sight "I wanted to tell you remembered something while we were facing the Yaoguai"
"You did?!" she said with genuine excitement in her eyes "What did you remember?".
"Her name, it just suddenly came to me and I can't get it out of my head, I need to tell you".
"What's her name?".
"Amelia" he tells her with a relieved smile on his face, just saying it out loud felt like the weight of the world came off his shoulders, tears glistened in his eye's hearing the name roll off his tongue "Amelia".
Stepping forward Belle engulfed the man in a heartfelt embrace, wrapping his arms around her shoulder as he allowed his friend to comfort him before pulling away her hand still on his shoulders as she looked into his blue eye's "You will find her again John, and when you do promise me, you won't let her go again".
"I promise" he tell her "Stay safe" he tells her before letting his friend go.
Heading back to the camp John left the young woman ready to start the next chapter to find his own true love: Amelia Smith.
The Assassin couldn't wait to rub Archie's true fate in the faces of Prince Charming and Snow White but she was needed at the town line, she wanted to finish her final contract for the old man and be done with that part of her life once and for all. She tried to call Regina before she left, but she didn't answer her.
Waiting at the town line for the old man to arrive, her wait ended when she saw a pair of headlights in the distance coming towards her. As the car neared she saw it was in fact Rumple with Belle safely in the passenger seat, unharmed from her altercation from the one handed pirate on the deck of the Jolly Roger.
Greeting the sorcerer with a sharp nod as he left the car, she saw the young brunette round the front of the car greeting the redhead with a warm smile as the pair closed the distance between them to pull their old friend in a warm embrace. Relief washed over the assassin to see her okay.
The old man was angry at first to find out what the assassin had done, leaving his love by herself with Hook around. But the woman was stronger than she let on, if she can bring down the Dark One from a temper tantrum, she could face anything.
Leaning against the old man's bonnet she held back as Gold and Belle approached the town line with the shawl safely in the woman's hand, the sorcerer poured the potion that would allow him to leave town with his true memories, making it glow with magic before fading.
Placing the shawl around her love's neck, the redhead couldn't help but see the love the man held for her friend, it reminded her of the way John used to look down at her with such tenderness, like she was the most precious thing in the entire world. She missed those moments the most.
"Miss Montague?" Gold's voice took her out of her thoughts making her stand from the car to approach the sorcerer "Shall we?".
Holding out the small vial to the assassin, the latter pulled the silver ring from her finger holding it out for the man to pour the liquid onto the piece of jewellery she had worn since she was eighteen years old. The three watched as the ring glowed as magic encased it before fading out.
Replacing the ring onto her middle finger the assassin flexed her fingers into a fist and back again seeing it it felt any different than before. I didn't. Taking her place to Belle's left she stood at the edge of the border ready to step over the line with the man.
"Okay…" Belle stated to the pair either side of her, as she waited to see if the spell would keep two of the most important people in her life the same as they were this side of the line.
"Here we go" Amelia said as she looked to man "If this doesn't work, I just want to say how much I really do hate you" she tells him with a teasing smile that quirked on her lips, making the man chuckle to himself in a tight smile.
"The feeling's mutual Miss Montague" he replied.
Closing her eye's the assassin took a leap of faith with Gold beside her as her foot crossed over the red line dividing the town from the rest of the Land of No Magic. As her foot met the solid ground the other followed suit as it felt like she was falling through the air from the highest point in the world as her cropped hair whipped up in a wind.
Opening her eye's she found herself in the Land of No Magic looking for any hint of her cursed life replacing her own, only to find she was still her. The one and only Amelia Montague.
"Belle…" she hears a voice next to her to see Belle edge closer to the town line and grabs Mr. Gold's hand.
"Miss Montague?" the old man looks towards the woman she had worked for him for so long. To see her fall back into her cursed self would be a shame within it self. Not only he would lose the one person he could find his son for him, but she'd be once again trapped within her own mind.
"It's still me old man" she told him a small smile graced his face seeing that the potion had worked for her.
"It… It worked" Belle spoke up as Amelia stepped over the line again letting out a breath of relief.
"Yes, it did. It did" Gold replied as the assassin stepped back into Storybrooke as she allowed Gold and her friend have a moment to themselves.
"Now you can find your son" Belle tells him.
"Belle, I so wish you were coming with me".
"As do I, but it doesn't matter".
"And why not?" he questions her.
"Because you'll find him. And, when you do, I'll be here waiting for you when you get back" Belle tells her true love as the assassin present feels the hair on her arms string to life, alerting her to the imminent danger nearby. Allowing her mind to take her, her head turned to see Captain Hook dressed in his long leather jacket suddenly emerge from the dark tree line with a gun aimed straight at Belle.
Her feet moved for her as the gun shot went off as the redhead found herself stood in front of her friend taking the bullet into her shoulder, only for the momentum of the small but deadly object to fall back into the young brunette, pushing her over the line into Gold's arms to catch her before she hit the ground.
Mistaking Belle's fall for taking the bullet the Captain stood triumphant seeing as he had felled the infamous Black Widow as well as the Crocodile's love, the assassin's ears rang out as her shoulder flared up in unbearable pain making her yell out in pain as she hit the hard ground.
"I wouldn't count on it" Hook grinned seeing both the crocodiles love on the ground along with the Widow herself.
"Belle?!" Gold calls out to this love in concern gently lowering her to the ground. She looks up at him with confusion taking over her features.
"W-Who's Belle?" the brunette questioned the older man above her.
"Oh, no. No, no! No, no!" the man fretted out seeing that his True Love had lost all her memories in place of the cursed ones.
"Oh, fear not. She'll live. She'll just have no idea who you are" Amelia heard Hooks voice jeer at the older man unaware that she took the bullet starting to push herself off the ground. She may be in pain but there was no way the man was going to get away with hurting her friend.
"What you've done cannot be undone".
"Well, now you finally know how it feels!" the pirate yelled at the man unaware of the redhead that was slowly getting back on her feet "Well, go ahead, crocodile. Do your worst!" he goaded the man.
"I intend to" her voice made the Captain look to where the redhead was on the floor only to see her on her feet and focused on him as Gold steps back within the border's of Storybrooke to conjure a ball of fire in his hand to send towards the pirate.
"You're dead" the Black Widow states lowly to the man as she stood bleeding from her shoulder with her fists either side of her to trigger the hidden blades that sat on each arm. The look of triumph for the pirate suddenly came to an end as the smug look on his bearded face fell off his lips.
Pointing the gun at the assassin, the woman jumped forward at a running sprint, fully intending to make his last moments in the land of the living the most painful of his pathetic life, the pirate wildly shot at the woman again only to miss wide of it's mark. An arm's reach away from the pirate a pair of headlight's suddenly lite up the area as Gold grabs Belle rolling them out of the way as the car hits both Hook and Amelia hard, the pair hitting the windscreen hard enough for the tough crack before rolling onto the hood and back onto the ground.
She didn't know how much time had passed between being hit and pulling herself onto her side to see her ring lying next to her with the Brotherhood's insignia looking straight back at her as she heard the muffles sound of her name being called out as a clap of lightning flashed in the sky.
Reaching out with her right hand, it shook as the assassin used all the strength she had in that moment to pick the ring back up as she fought off the feeling of her body wanting to shutdown after the trauma, but not matter how much she fought it off the darkness the edged her vision, her arm fell limp on the road before her mind finally gave in to the darkness.
Returning to the Palace after capturing the Dark One's little maid on her way back to return to the imp, the Evil Queen's mind was pre-occupied by the piece of information the man Claude had given to her in the form of a sketch that held an uncanny resemblance to her Black Widow. The hunter claimed it belonged to a man calling himself John Smith that had joined him and Rumple's little maid on the hunt for the Yaoguai.
Stood by a roaring fireplace in her chamber's, the Queen stared at the picture of Amelia sat on a bed with a small child perched on her knee. She was smiling like she she didn't have a care in the world. Happy.
Grimacing at the image, the Queen, clenched her hand that held the sketch into a tight angry fist, the image crumpled up as it engulfed in flame ,the image of the happy assassin vanishing leaving behind ash in the Evil Queen's hand, she unclenched her hand she let the last few scorched wisps of paper fall onto the floor, vowing that if she ever came across this John Smith. She would be the last person he ever saw.
AN: Hello there!
Shout-out to xwolvie and RonalynTrese for the follow. Much appreciated!
Another long one. Well Done!
Not so much action as the last and but the next few won't be as long. Yay!
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