He knew Ingrid's plan now. He'd hoped that after visiting her this morning, he'd spend the day figuring out what she intended, but he'd have never guessed that he would have learned it in the way that he had. The issues with Belle were still an open wound, but considering how he'd been burned by partners in the past, it felt like no more than an irritating paper cut, something that hurt so badly he wanted to swear when it was made but now had been reduced to a dull sting. It was something that he could easily put a bandage on, something that he needed to bandage given the fact that if he chose to prioritize that papercut, there could be a much bigger gash coming his way.

The Spell of Shattered Sight. And to think the Blue Fairy thought that the Dark Curse was an abomination when something like that existed in the world. The Spell of Shattered Sight was monstrous. Capable of destroying lives, entire Kingdoms had fallen prey to it in the Dark Ones' time. Now it seemed that Storybrooke was in its sight, and simply put, that was terrifying.

He'd felt the power in that mirror. It was primed and ready to go, at any time, really. Although...he supposed he had lied to Belle about one thing. Shattering the mirror wouldn't break the spell, that was true. But it wouldn't release it either. It would take Dark Magic to meticulously undo what had been done to that particular creation. But it would also take a hell of a lot of magic to release that Dark Magic into the world properly.

Ingrid was powerful, but not that powerful. She couldn't do it, not by herself. With Emma and Elsa, maybe, but there wasn't any scenario where he saw Emma and Elsa using their power to shatter that mirror and unleash terror. At least, not willingly…

His legs pulled him out to the shop where he uncovered the ribbons he'd once collected from Ingrid and her sisters, the ribbons that were infused with a magic all their own that he knew Ingrid would come to him for. If the ribbons were tied around the wrists of all three girls, the magic would connect not only them but their magic as well. Ingrid wouldn't need willingness to use their magic, she'd be able to take it.

So why wasn't she? The mirror was ready to go; all she needed to do was make a deal for the ribbons…so why were they all still here?

He tapped his finger against the glass case as he stared down at the ribbons and replayed the conversation he'd had with Ingrid in his head, then the previous one, then the previous one, and then-

He had it. Or maybe one of the other Dark Ones had whispered it in his ear first. He didn't care. He knew. He understood. The Spell of Shattered Sight hadn't been activated yet because Ingrid was still hoping she wouldn't have to use it.

Emma and Elsa, the potential of having two sisters just like her; that was her motivation. She was desperate but not evil, not in the same way Zelena was. Ingrid was hoping that Elsa and Emma would gravitate to her naturally. That's what she'd been hoping with all of this, that the girls would come to her on their own, and their relationship would flourish. But if it didn't…that was what the Spell was for.

If Emma and Elsa didn't come to her on their own, it would be because of the ties they already felt to their true family: Elsa to Anna, Emma to her parents, and Henry, even Hook. To sever the girl's ties to their loved ones would take a cataclysmic event, one that left them both feeling alone and isolated, wanting the company of someone like Ingrid, who was also alone and isolated because of her magic. It would take an event like the Spell of Shattered Sight being set free.

He'd seen the result of it on Belle hours ago, the way it had taken and distorted every impure thought, true or false, and brought it out in her. It had easily made one of the most passive individuals he knew violent in seconds!

He couldn't speak to what it would be like with Elsa and Anna, although the fact that Elsa had ended up in the urn after Ingrid's last attempt at this certainly spoke volumes. However, he knew that the Charmings loved Emma. He also knew that no matter how much parents loved their children, that love was always going to be imperfect. There would be judgment. Hell, he wouldn't have wanted to be in the same room as Bae or Belle if this spell was cast and he wasn't immune to it. He'd hurt both Bae and Belle all on his own with his words, he didn't want to know what he could do under the influence of a spell that would leave him completely uninhibited.

That was Ingrid's plan, at least as far as he could figure. If the girls didn't come to her naturally, she'd force it. She'd use the ribbons, she'd borrow their power, and make them see how the people who said they loved them really saw them. Likely, because Emma, at least, was a caring person, she would urge Ingrid and Elsa to use their power to stop the spell, but by then, the damage would be done. Ingrid would have her sisters or…

The town would be destroyed.

That was an interesting thought. Of course, now that he knew the plan and it hadn't been enacted yet, total human destruction could be avoided. That magic would only be good within the bounds of Storybrooke. He could melt the ice that Ingrid had set around town with a thought, test the boundary, and see if the memories part of the curse still held. The town could evacuate before the curse happened. He could save them all.

Or he could get what he wanted.

Abandoning the town wouldn't mean that the magic died; it would still be here. And his curse was already bound to him, he'd done that years ago in the castle after Belle, to protect from True Love's Kiss. His dagger would be useless beyond the town line, but that didn't mean he couldn't get sucked back into a magical place where it would be active again. But if the Spell of Shattered Sight was coming and he was immune to it…that would certainly make for a nice way for the fairies to simply disappear. If he could rend himself from the dagger and then get Belle and Henry out of the town in the chaos, the three of them could make a lovely life together.

His magic in use beyond the borders would take some practice, but it was plausible; he'd seen Emma do it in the airport, and his talisman had worked beyond the borders of the town line. Between his fortune and his magic, neither Henry nor Belle would want for anything outside of Storybrooke. The curse would be the reason they fled. He wouldn't even need a memory charm once he had them out of his bounds. Belle knew his devotion to his family; she'd never think twice if he said that all he had time for was her and Henry and that they couldn't return. She wouldn't be happy about it, but she wouldn't doubt it either.

True, Henry wasn't exactly the kind of child that Belle would have expected they'd raise, but…she had a big heart. And Henry was old enough that they'd just need to look after him for a while, it wouldn't be like parenting, he'd merely be saving Bae's son, as he promised. With Henry's desire to be a hero the hardest part of it would be keeping Henry away from Storybrooke after the collapse.

He liked this plan. He liked it very much. It wasn't fully formed just yet, but with every second he thought about it, every second he fantasized over it, the more he could see the end result of it so easily in his head. Freedom from the dagger, magic at his fingertips, with a little practice, of course, Belle by his side, and Henry safe from harm. It wasn't a bad portrait he was painting for himself.

He had a lot to think about. And lot to plan if his thinking concluded the way that he thought it would. But if he wanted to continue to think and plan he needed to address the ticking time bomb sitting in Ingrid's lair. He was immune to it and so if she set it off today, he could make it work for his own plans, but that didn't mean that he necessarily wanted to do that.

Ingrid thought she had leverage on him, but little did she know she didn't. She was, however, very familiar with the Sorcerer's Hat. He hadn't wanted to share with her the knowledge that it was in his possession just yet, but now things had changed. Now, he could most certainly see the benefit of knowing exactly what each of them knew and where they stood. And a warning to leave his family out of her schemes…that would be a welcome threat.

He took himself back to the Snow Queen's lair with only a thought. The sun was down by now. He didn't know how the rest of the day had gone for the others seeking her out, but he didn't care. All that mattered to him was that she was there, lounging on that chaise he'd caught a glimpse of earlier, looking relatively unbothered by the hunting party that had tried to come for her earlier in the day.

"I'm afraid we have a problem, Dearie," he commented menacingly. She didn't even flinch. "I caught a glimpse of your mirror today."

"It's rather impressive, isn't it?" she questioned, rising to her feet. "I had no idea your bride would be so easy to turn."

"Watch it!" he snapped uncharacteristically. She'd caught him off guard. He didn't know how she knew that Belle had been here or been affected by the mirror, but he didn't like it, and he couldn't show it. Love was weakness. He couldn't let his weakness show when he needed to be strong.

"Now I don't know when exactly you intend to use this mirror," he stated, walking over to it and catching a glimpse of that devilish version of himself he refused to give into because he would certainly never be one to "turn" as she'd put it. With that in mind, he focused his eyes not on what he saw in himself but on the beast behind him, the Snow Queen, who was keeping her gaze carefully on him. "But know this…I won't allow you to hurt those I care about."

"And I won't allow you to derail my plans because you've suddenly gotten sentimental."

"You only get one warning."

"Which is more than you get…I can't make any promises over who may or may not survive."

Right…of course she couldn't, at least in her mind. Because he would venture to know that he knew far more about the Curse she was planning to use than she did. He smirked and turned back to face her. "You know, you were wrong before."

"That you needed leverage to get what you want?"

"No, that I didn't have it." That dropped the coy little smile off her face awfully fast. "I do!"

With a summoning charm, he brought the hat to him and held it by the brim in front of her so that she could see the stars, which were so close to aligning to the sky that he could taste his victory. And she…she looked it over timidly, startled for a second, then gathered up her skirts behind her and recoiled, trying to make it seem like it was nothing. As if he couldn't hear her heart.

"Where did you get that?"

"Oh, that's irrelevant." As if she should be so shocked after she'd practically handed the thing to him on a silver platter. Even if it had been where she thought it was, she really hadn't thought he'd succeed? "But now that I know what you are up to, we can have a real talk. You might want to reconsider your position because I doubt you'd enjoy becoming just another embroidery on this hat."

There was that heart skip again. The one he lived for.

"Looks like you've just lost your leverage, dearie. So, here's how it's going to go…" he smiled, circling her with a cunning smile playing at his lips. "You want to make a deal with me, very well, but remember that all magic comes with a price, and the price for your deal will be no different than anyone else's. And until you are ready…you will leave my wife and my grandson out of whatever plan you have for this town. Emma, Elsa, the Charmings…take the rest. But Belle and Henry…" He came to a stop just in front of her and looked up into her eyes. "Not a hair on their head will you harm. Is that clear?"

His growl echoed through the icy cavern. And though Ingrid didn't so much as flinch, her heartbeat betrayed her nerves as she responded simply. "As ice…"

I'm not the biggest fan of this chapter just because it required some leaps. I'd have killed for Rumple not to have had to take those leaps to figure out Ingrid's plan but believe me when I say there was no other way than for him to use some deduction and just solve the mystery that way. I couldn't do anything with the past chapters because it's my opinion that Ingrid didn't know what she was going to do until she arrived in this world, and, now that she's in Storybrooke, she's keeping her cards close to her chest. There was no way I could have Rumple figuring it out unless I used a little luck. Not my favorite way of doing things, but hey...I suppose we all get a little lucky every now and again. Right?

Thank you, Rsbeall12 and Grace5231973, for your reviews on the last chapter. I made sure to write the end of this chapter very carefully. I know that Rumple makes a deal for Henry and Belle with Ingrid later for them, but I also know this sounds a lot like that deal. But there's an excluding factor in this little warning of Rumples that will still make his later deal with Elsa apply. Did you catch it? Peace and Happy Reading!