TWICE CURSED

Previously on Twice Cursed

Now, it wouldn't matter, because Black was going to kill anyone who would rather follow the spinner than him, and make sure that the dagger recognized him as the only one with a claim to the magic.

The name of Jack Frost became known in many areas; and everyone seemed to have a different idea on his personality. He didn't care what they thought of him, because all that mattered was his ability to help others, the way he'd failed to save Rumple.

Henry breathed deeply, before focusing all his energy on the door. He only let himself think about how much he wanted to get inside, to save his mother and everyone else Black was attacking. Then, there was a loud click, and the door simply swung open.

"No, Belle!" Rumple yelled as Black raised his hand, ready to smite Gold's true love.


Henry ran straight to the study, feeling that there might be more magic there, and opened the door. As soon as he saw Black attempting to kill Belle, he put up a protection spell around her. It fizzled out as soon as it was hit; Henry didn't really know how to make his spell stronger, but Belle didn't get hurt. Black turned around, and his eyes narrowed when he saw Henry. "You want to fight, boy? Fine, let's fight." He waved his hands, and disappeared with the lad. All the spells holding the others back dissolved. Zelena took a step back, terrified by the idea of fighting so many people at once. There was no way she could win this.

"Rumple, let them help you," Jack yelled, already bolting for the door. "Someone go turn people onto our side. Regina, don't worry about Henry, I'll help him." Before anyone could argue, he was gone, racing to go help Henry fight Black.

Regina wanted nothing more than to go save her son, but since Rumple could barely cast a fireball, and someone with magic needed to face Zelena, she was needed here. Well, not necessarily here, and since she didn't want her house to get destroyed, she used magic to transport herself, David, and Zelena away. She could really use his help.

"Wait, so, what just happened?" Robin asked. The rest of his Merry Men and Sean were just staring at the room, open-mouthed in shock. Killian started laughing, out of shock.

"Apparently, magic exists," Ruby stated, sounding like she hardly believed it.

"Please, can we not do this for the umpteenth time?" Rumple asked, exasperated. How many times did they have to explain the same story? "Now, I need to go help Henry …"

"There is no way you're going anywhere. Your magic is weak; you'll just get hurt," Belle said. He grunted in frustration, and was about to throw an apple to vent, when one word stopped him.

"Papa?"

"Bae," he whispered, his face instantly softening and tears escaping from his eyes. He hugged his son, not worrying about how he was alive. It only mattered that he was, and that Bae was hugging him right back. He held on tight and didn't let go, Bae doing the same. Then, the sweet moment was interrupted by reality.

"Ruby and I are going to gather supporters, does anyone want to help?" Mary Margaret asked. Practically everyone else went with them, not knowing how else to help, since magic was way beyond their understanding. This left Rumple, Belle, Bae, and Archie, who was only there because walking still hurt his ribs.

Finally, Rumple pulled away from his boy, and looked his true love right in the eyes. "I need to help them, in any way I can."

"But Papa, I don't want you to get hurt."

"I know, Bae," he said, his voice sounding desperate and miserable. "But, I have to stop Black."

"But Jack said …" Belle started.

"I don't care what my brother said! If you want to help me, then go make people join our side, but I am not going to just sit back and let this happen, without trying to stop it!"

"I think it was a riddle," Belle explained, causing Rumple to pause. "Your brother has a knack for being cryptic. I don't think he wanted you to do nothing, but we need to figure out what he wanted us to do."

"I guess that's possible. But why didn't he just tell me!"

"With Zelena right there?" Rumple had to admit, that was a good point. "Alright, so what would help us defeat Black?"

"Papa, who is Black, and why does he want to hurt you?" Rumple sighed, not feeling like explaining things right now, but since it was Bae asking, he obliged.

"Well, Bae, Black is the Dark One, and …"

"Wait, then why don't we just steal the dagger? Remember, the one that old man told you about?"

"I don't think that will work, Bae. The dagger doesn't know who to control, me or him."

"Why would the dagger want to control you?" Rumple sighed, realizing he was going to have to explain his whole past to his boy, if not now then very soon.

"Actually, that's a good idea. If we can get the dagger, we'll have control of the Dark One; whichever of you wins. Zelena won't be able to control you again," Belle pointed out. She didn't add what they were both thinking, that if Gold died at least they'd have control of him, so he'd be unable to hurt anyone.

"Fine, let's go get the dagger." He let go of Bae and headed for the door. If Belle was so certain that he'd lose that she wanted the dagger to feel safer, than who was he to argue? Besides, he was so weak magically at the moment that it would be impossible for him to win.

"Papa, why are you talking about yourself like you're the Dark One?"

He sighed, deciding he'd have to tell his son at least part of the truth before he could go get his dagger. "I took the Dark One's magic to save you from the Ogre Wars," he admitted, leaving Bae shocked. He ignored his son's reaction, walking out the door. However, Bae and Belle quickly followed him.

Rumple was shocked when his son's body collided with his, pulling him back into a hug. "Thanks for saving me, Papa." His heart melted as he embraced his boy.

"Anytime, Bae."

"Now," Belle said, hating that she had to interrupt such a sweet moment. She wouldn't have, had lives not been at stake. "Let's go get that dagger.

Back inside the house, Archie rose to follow them. Yes, his ribs were still in pain, but he didn't want to sit around and do nothing while everyone else was fighting for their lives. He might be able to do something useful.

"Dr. Hopper," a voice said, right as he was about to open the door. He turned around to face the speaker. "They don't need your help. I do."

Henry knew Black was toying with him. He was no match for the dark sorcerer, having just discovered his magic, and that was apparent. He kept struggling, even though he knew he'd soon be overcome by the darkness. Henry had this faint hope that his mother would come and help, or maybe Grandpa Gold, but neither did, and he realized this might be how it ended. He wasn't sure he was ready to die, but if he had to, at least it would be heroically.

Eventually, Black tired of the game, and prepared a final blast of magic to kill the meddlesome but weak boy. He chucked it at the boy, only for it to be blocked at the last second by a wall of ice. "You okay, Henry?"

"I can take care of myself," he said angrily, dodging another spell Black shot. That's when Jack realized the boy still thought he was Pan.

"No, you can't. You need my help, whether you want it or not. Work with me right now, and you can treat me however you want later. Got it?"

"Fine," Henry grudgingly agreed. Out of all the magicians in Storybrooke, why did it have to be the evil one he was receiving help from?

Black started to get frustrated the longer he fought the duo. Any time he tried to bash Henry, an ice wall blocked his path. Any time he attempted to switch it up and attack Jack, an invisible forcefield would protect the teen. He paused, breathing heavily from the almost constant stream of spells he'd just shot, wondering how to get through to them. Jack took that opportunity to talk to Henry. "You need to touch him, and let your magic tumble out of you."

"What? No way, why would I trust you?"

"Because I know a lot about the truest believer." Henry knew that much was true, but he didn't know how his belief would help the situation. "You are the only one who can purge this land of the Dark One for good." Henry highly doubted that, but before Jack could explain further, Black had noticed their distraction. He shot another spell, this one at Jack, and he barely had time to protect himself with an ice wall. "Please Henry!"

"Fine, we'll try it your way," Henry agreed, feeling like he was signing his death warrant.

"Good, because I don't need your help to defeat Black." Suddenly, Jack shot Henry with an ice ball. He'd known Pan only wanted to gain his trust, but now it was too late to follow his instincts. Henry flew backward onto the ground, and lay unmoving as the fight continued around him

Somehow, Mary Margaret had managed to summon the entire town to the meeting hall in about half an hour. The mayor usually had to schedule these things at least a week in advance if she wanted anyone to show. "Alright, everyone, so, I wanted to talk to you today about the fight between Black and Regina," the teacher announced.

"When are they going to stop fighting? I want our lives to go back to normal." Several other townsfolk nodded in agreement.

"Well, I don't really think that will happen," Mary Margaret admitted. With her knew knowledge of magic, she doubted that anything would ever be normal again. "But, we need to decide, what future do we want? Regina has offered to give us a louder voice in the way our city is run, but Black wants to give us less freedom." Okay, so she was making this up a bit, but she was sure Regina wouldn't mind, and Black was definitely going to take away their freedom if he became the Dark One.

"Well, Black has more support," Whale pointed out, and several others shouted their agreement with that assessment.

"He only has more support because you idiots are supporting him," Emma said, grabbing the mike from Mary Margaret. "I mean, think about it. If everyone here decided to support Regina, who would have more support?"

"What my lovely wife meant to say was that we can change that. Black has lost the support of the mayor, the sheriff's office, and countless individuals. His support is continuing to weaken. We don't have to worry about him hurting us, we can have the upper hand against him." Several people started nodding. If the sheriff thought they had a chance, then maybe they did.

"So, what do you say? Will you support Regina, or Black?"

David blinked, confused at his new surroundings. He was up in a tree, looking down at a clearing where Zelena and Regina were dueling. How did he get here? The only explanation he could think of was that Regina wanted him as a surprise weapon. If Zelena got close enough to the tree, he could leap down and defeat her, leaving Regina and him victorious. So, he sat up in the tree, waiting for his moment to strike.

"You don't have to do this!" Regina yelled, sidestepping a giant tree branch her sister had flung at her. "You can join us!"

"Why would I do that, sis? Everyone you are friends with will always like you more than me. They'll always think of me as second fiddle, even though I'm more powerful than you."

"Zelena, this isn't a competition!" Regina yelled.

"Yes it is, and you've won everything! Mother's love, Rumple's training! Well, this time I will win, and take everything back from you!" More spells came at her, in rapid succession, and there was no way Regina could block them all. She flew backward into a tree, David's tree, in fact, and a few leaves tumbled to the ground, having been knocked free by her impact. "If you're dead, Rumple will have no choice but to choose me!" she screamed, before sending a steady stream of green fire at her sister. Regina blocked, with her own stream of red flames, and she started to force the fire closer to Zelena. However, her sister was fighting back.

David watched, fascinated, as the red pushed on green, and then the reverse happened. Back and forth the colors went, as their wielders struggled for dominance over each other. Charming really hoped the red would win.

It didn't take the threesome long to reach the spot where he'd buried the dagger after he'd gotten it back from Zelena. However, as soon as they reached it, they saw someone, or more accurately, something, holding it. Rumple could feel the waves of dark magic radiating off it, and he realized Black had created this monstrosity to make sure he had control of the dagger. He would have to fight it to get the weapon back.

"Belle, protect Bae," he ordered, before stepping out and shooting a ball of black magic at it. The creature absorbed it, and became stronger. Okay, so magic hadn't been the best idea. It shot magic back at him, an electrocution spell. He fell to the ground, twitching from the electricity.

"Papa!" Bae ran up right next to him, and Belle came onto the other side. The monster didn't try to hurt them, or stop them. It just stood, probably realizing the same thing Rumple did; the small bit of magic he had couldn't save him from the deadly blow. He wasn't going to make it.

"Belle, take care of Bae," he whispered weakly.

"But Rumple, you're going to make it," she said, crying as she realized her words were a lie.

"Belle, promise me," he whispered, energy draining fast.

"I promise," she sobbed.

"No, Papa! You can't die!" Bae yelled.

"Shh, Bae. Don't worry, Belle will care for you," he whispered, and then closed his eyes.

Belle was sobbing too hard to speak. "No, Papa," Bae whispered. He couldn't lose him like that. He bent over, to give him one last kiss goodbye on his cheek, as Belle did the same. A final, loving goodbye for a loving father and true love.

Black laughed triumphantly, which Jack thought was a bit presumptuous. The sorcerer hadn't won yet. In fact, if he could just make him move a little to the left …

"He died! The weakling died, and now the magic is ALL MINE!" At the last words, he shot a spell more powerful than he'd been doing before. Jack moved out of the way, but not entirely, and the thing hit him in his right shoulder, making him skid to the left and backward. Black took one step directly toward his fallen enemy, making his deadly mistake. Henry jumped to his feet and touched his hand to Black's forehead. Thank goodness the boy had been smart enough to play along, and fake his death so Black would actually venture close enough for Henry to touch him.

As soon as Henry's fingers touched Black's forehead, their magic met head on; the pure light magic of the Truest Believer, and the sinister dark magic of the cruelest Dark One to ever live. Now was the time for Henry's theory to be put to the test. Did good always defeat evil, or were there some things that it could not overcome?

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