entrancelogs | I got to go because something's on my mind, and I won't get better no matter how hard I try

Who: GOLD AND ANYONE ON THE MIRROR SIDE + Mirror Gold and Regina
Where: Around the Mirror Mansion + eighth floor hallway
When: July 16th
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Gold's out to capture some Mirrors in his magical hat. Meanwhile, Mirror Gold is about to have a very bad time.

The Story:

♚ MIRROR SIDE: OPEN ♚

It takes Gold a few attempts before he arrives on the Mirror Side, armed with the dagger and the hat tucked away in its little gold box. He writes a note to Regina in the notebook in their customary Elvish, warning her that the plan is being put into motion, and that his Mirror is there waiting, and sets out to start gathering what he needs to complete this damned ritual and sever himself from the dagger once and for all.

It would be easier if he had someone to do it for him. For all the Captain is as frustrating as he is foolish, he made a lovely pawn, but if he's going to prove this isn't something dark and horrible, then he has to be willing to risk it, himself. It's a small price to pay to avoid alienating his loved ones and getting everything he wants.

This time, it will actually work.

While everyone else explores and hunts for the Core, Gold walks with a purpose. The Core, while a fascination of his, has no appeal for him today. That is something he will leave to the brave heroes daring enough to get close to it. He'll take what they learn and apply it to his own research- the Resistance is good for gathering that sort of information. Meanwhile, you'd think the bastard belonged here as casually as he moves through the halls, stalking prey he can lure off to fall victim to the hat.

♞ REAL SIDE: CLOSED TO REGINA ♞

Meanwhile, a very perplexed mustached man has found himself in Gold's room on the Real Side, which comes as a great surprise to him. Rumplestiltskin sighs drearily, figuring that, yet again, he'll be protecting the Reals from the antics of some of his brother and sister Mirrors. Really, it's becoming absurd, all this fighting. He's never going to be able to leave war behind.

Grimly, he steps from the room and out into the hallway of the eighth floor, glancing around for any sign of the chaos. It's coming- you don't surprise the Mirrors and not have them throw a few temper tantrums.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Gold doesn't know a thing about Belle's Mirror, but he assumes she'd be someone like Lacey- cold and seductive and cruel, so when his eyes fall upon Belle, he doesn't suspect for a second that it might be the false one. Some part of him, a chiding, paranoid part, warns him of jumping to hope- Belle has been gone for a short time and, for all he knows, she could have come back with any sort of changes to her demeanor and the Mirror could reflect this.

But gods he's too relieved to see her to care. "Belle?" He steps forward. "You're back." He glances around, frowning. If it is her, then why on earth is she here? "What on earth are you doing here?"

"I just got back and there were these tears, people...mirrors were spilling out. I thought I should see what was happening." She said, stumbling on her answer, feeling tongue tied and lost. He looked healthy, strong, despite the cross over the line. How much damage had her actions caused him? Should she blame herself for the state he was left in? She didn't have any idea of what would happen to him, only that she was trying to protect others.

"I knew you'd be here." He was still trying to free himself from the dagger and now that she had these newer memories, it was hard to know what to feel about this.

He swallows a bit, relief crossing his features. It couldn't be her Mirror then- unless her Mirror had been watching him for all this time, and he's careful not to discuss things where they might see.

He nods somberly, once her words process, and he pulls the golden box out of his jacket. He doesn't want to hear about what future she came from, because the idea nearly frightens him. He'd much rather focus on the present. "It's very nearly finished."

She doesn't want to tell him, not when so much of his future is dark and heartbreaking. Matters aren't even fully resolved between them. She's gone from fearing he's dead to seeing him now alive, plotting again just like he used to. It's left her more than a little disoriented. This would need time to process.

"I thought you needed the heart of someone you've known since you became the Dark One?" The fact she knows about that ingredient should indicated she's from further in their timeline. "It's not Hook, is it?" Don't make her do all of that again, Rumpel.

"No, I thought of that as well." He keeps his eyes on the box for a second longer before lifting his gaze to meet hers. "I thought perhaps my Mirror would suffice." It might not work- a Mirror is a facsimile, not a real thing, and he knows what sort of disaster Zelena caused by trying to substitute things, but he's too desperate not to try, and too afraid to consider what happens if he fails.

"After all, no one knows me better than myself." A self-deprecating jibe, one that might cut her as much as it cuts him. His expression softens, sympathetic. "But that's going to change now."

"But can you be in the same place as your mirror to even get the heart?" She asked. She hadn't run into her mirror and had never seen them in the same place at the same time. It left her concluding that it wasn't possible. "How are you going to use it without getting near him?" He had to have someone else involved. Without hearing it from him, she could guess who it was.

"Rumpel, what if this doesn't work?" It was a possibility. "All of these mirrors are being sacrificed for it. What if there are repercussions from the Queen?"

"I have someone taking care of that." And he doesn't say Regina, because for that she's placed him in a bind with her insisting on making a deal, he doesn't feel compelled to put her in a situation that might cause her undue grief- it's more selfish than it is out of kindness, however. The space they occupy is small, and he'd prefer if he and Regina stayed on decent terms.

"She can remake them, Belle. They're only toys to her- pawns." He grimaces. "And she has bigger concerns with the Core, at any rate. She might not even notice they're gone."

Little she knows- little she cares. Why would she? They're disposable foot soldiers and she's utterly mad.

"They may be just her pawns, but she might view it as a personal insult. We're in her realm and what we do might be construed as an attack, whether it's meant that way or not." Didn't the Queen in the books say, 'All ways are my ways?' Everything they were doing made her nervous. The Sorcerer's hat, the spell in general. There was no comfort for her in this.

She didn't know if she could watch it all. She knew she should, just to guarantee that he didn't slip into complete darkness, but it reminded her too much of what had happened before.

"How close are you to finishing?"

"I only need a few more," he responds, somehow glossing over her concerns about the queen. He has no fear of the Queen of Hearts- he never has and he never will. Cora was the only one who had any sway over him and she's long dead and buried.

He glances behind him and then places the hat inside his coat, reaching out to take both her hands in his. "Belle, I made a promise to you- one I intend to keep, but I must finish this first. The consequences if I don't are far too dire."

She hesitates for only a second before taking his hands, giving them a squeeze. This is emotional for her on so many levels. He was passed out on the floor the last she saw him. She didn't know when he'd wake up or how he'd be. Excuse the tears that will start to form in her eyes. She's going to bypass just holding hands and go straight for a hug.

The sad thing is, she isn't sure she trusts him to keep that promise. Not after everything else they just went through. "I've missed you."

He holds her close, surprised by the hug, as he always is on some level, but the embrace is no less strong and meaningful for it. He places a kiss on the side of her head and breathes in the scent of her. "I missed you too. I love you, Belle." He sighs, chest constricting with how little those words have meant over the years. "I hope you never forget that."

She hesitated about that, not sure how to respond. He did love her, she knew that. But now there was that fear that his power meant a bit more to him. There was no going back to that idealism. "I know you love me." That's all she can offer him, even if there was a question mark to how much.

"Do you want me to stay during this?"

"I think it might be safer if you did." He pulls back, hands trailing down her arms to come to rest gripping her hands, as if he's not eager to let the contact end. "The Queen is occupied with something, which goes a long way towards explaining why she hasn't retaliated against me yet."

"Okay, I'll stay." It would also allow her to watch and see what he planned on doing. She loves him, but trust is still needing to be reforged between them. "How close are you to completing the spell?"

I got to go because something's on my mind, and I won't get better no matter how hard I try

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