Chapter Eight: Desperate Souls.

Rumplestiltskin was pulling the string and making them into gold on his famous spinning wheel, it was squeaking softly, his mind on something else entirely. A small boy came running in, out of breath. "Papa! Papa!" he called to Rumplestiltskin. Rumpel looked over at his son quickly worried. "They've come for Morraine!" he said worriedly, they could hear the horse whinnies in the distance.

Rumplestiltskin got up and grabbed his cane, pushing the thick sheet out of the way of the entrance of their home, walking outside and his son following him. "No! No!" said a man when they walked outside. "No! Please! Please!" He begged the guard.

"No! No!" a woman cried out, sobbing into her hands. "No!" she yelled.

"Please!" the man begged.

"No! Don't take her!" cried the woman, trying to hold onto her daughter.

"Please! Please!" said the man again.

"No, you can't take her!" the woman cried out, while one of the guards pushed the girl toward the other guard.

"No! Please!" said the man once again, begging the guards.

"She's my baby. Don't take my baby!" the woman said to the guard that was on the horse while her husband held her back.

"Nonsense. She's a fine, strong girl," said one of the guards that were on the horse. "She'll make a fine soldier."

"It's a mistake! She's turning fourteen! Only fourteen!" said the father to the first guard.

"Orders of the Duke!" the guard yelled. "The Ogre Wars have taken their toll this season. More troops will turn the tide."

"They lowered the age again, Papa," said Bae—Rumpelstiltskin's son.

"I know," Rumplestiltskin whispered to his son.

"Take her," the guard demanded the other guard and the girl screamed. "She'll ride with me." The second pushed her toward the first guard and he came he lifted the girl up on the horse, and the woman started crying. She didn't want to see her daughter go into the Ogre Wars, she was too young.

"No! You can't have her!" said the woman, taking out a blade as she lifted up in the air. As she was about to stab the guard, she and her husband started choking. A person in the fields, they were wearing a heavy-looking cloak and was on a horse, the stranger was holding up their hand—it was into a fist—they kept choking them for a few seconds more. They were both gagging and went on their knees.

The guard looked over at the Dark One and then back at the teenage girl's parents, smirking down at them. "The Dark One seems to think I can," he told the girls' parents, he nodded his head toward The Dark One then he stopped choking the girls' parents, they both gasped as they collapsed on the ground, panting heavily as they watched the guards ride away from their small village, taking their little girl.

"My birthday's in three days. They'll come for me in three days," Bae told his father.

"We'll find a way. We'll find a way." Rumplestiltskin told his son, holding him close. The woman screamed as she sobbed on her knees while her husband wrapped his arms around her.

Mr. Gold was in his shop but he was in the back in a room—it was where he could work on things without getting interrupted—he was working on something important. He heard the familiar bells of his shop and the door opening and closing then he heard a familiar voice.

"Gold?" Emma called out, Gold was smirking when he heard her call for him. Emma walked in further as she looked around the Pawn Shop. "In here?" she asked when he didn't answer.

"Well, it is my shop," Mr. Gold said softly to himself as he continued working on his small project.

Emma walked further into his shop and pushed the sheets aside, walking into the small room that he was in. She sniffed and was taken aback by the strong smell. "Whoa! What is that?" she gagged, holding her nose.

"This is lanolin. Used for waterproofing," he explained as he brushed the lanolin onto his project.

"It smells like livestock," she commented.

"Well, it is the reason why sheep's wool repels water," he commented back.

"It stinks," she retorted. "If there was a reason you called the Sheriff's Department if you want to talk about that quickly, or outside?" Emma said quickly, she couldn't stand the smell.

"I just wanted to express my condolences, really." Mr. Gold got up and walked around his desk, standing in front of Emma. "The Sheriff was a good man." Emma was taken aback by his words, she looked to the side. "You're still wearing the Deputy's badge." She looked down, placing his hand on top of the badge. "Well, he's been gone two weeks, now. And I believe that after two weeks of acting as Sheriff, the job becomes yours." She looked up at Mr. Gold, not saying a single word. "You'll have to wear the real badge."

She looked down once again at the badge that was attached to her belt loop. "Yeah. I guess. I'm just not in a hurry." She looked up at Mr. Gold once again, frowning. "So, thank you for the kind words." Emma slowly walked out of the room and walked toward the door of the pawnshop.

"I have his things," Mr. Gold said, walking out of the room.

"What?" she asked, stopping in her tracks and looking at him.

"The Sheriff. He rented an apartment that I own. Another reason for my call, really, I wanted to offer you a keepsake."

"I don't need anything," she said, shaking her head lightly.

"As you wish," Mr. Gold muttered to her. "I'll give them to Mayor Mills. Seems like she was the closest thing he had to family."

Emma quickly looked over at Mr. Gold, walking toward him. "I'm not sure about that."

"No love lost there, I see." He smiled at her. "Look, I fear that all of his stuff is headed directly for the trash bin. You really should take something." He said, lifting up a lid full of Graham's things. "Look, his jacket." He took his jacket out of the box, showing Emma.

Emma shook her head, "No," she whispered.

"Here, look." He took two walkie-talkies out of the box. "Your boy might like these, don't you think? You could play together." He set the walkie-talkies out on the counter as Emma looked at them.

"I don't—," she started saying, shaking her head.

"No, please. They grow up so fast," he said gently.

"Thanks," she said, taking the walkie-talkies.

"You enjoy these with your boy. Your time together is precious, you know. That's the thing about children. Before you know it," he looked down for a second as he smiled to himself then looked up at Emma. "You lose them."

Emma was walking up to Henry's "castle" that was on the beach with the two walkie-talkies, Henry was looking down at his lap as Emma climbed up the stairs of the wooden castle, handing him one of the walkie-talkies. "Brought you something," she said to him. Henry takes it from her and she sits down next to Henry. "Thought we could use them together for Operation Cobra."

Henry didn't say anything for a good few seconds, looking at the walkie-talkie in his hands. "Thanks," he muttered.

"Oh, come on!" she nudged him gently. "What's up? You've been ducking me for weeks." She looked down at Henry, frowning.

"I think we should stop Cobra stuff for a while," Henry said, sadly. "You don't play with a curse. Look what happened to Graham."

"Henry, I told you, they did an autopsy. It's totally natural causes." She tried to explain to him again.

"Okay. Whatever. You don't believe. Good. That should keep you from messing with it and getting killed."

"You're worried about me?" she asked, shocked.

"She killed Graham because he was good," he said, looking at her. "And you're good."

"Henry—," she whispered.

"Good losses. Good always loses. Because good has to play fair. Evil doesn't. She's evil. This is probably best." He sighed. "We don't want to upset her anymore." He got up, handed her the walkie-talkie into her hand, and walked off the wooden castle. Leaving Emma all by herself with the walkie-talkies, she sighed as she looked out into the ocean.

Emma was now at the police station, the badge was on the desk along with her coffee and her car keys, she slowly picked up the badge off the desk and looked at it with sadness. She smiled sadly, thinking about all of the memories of her and Graham, she was about to put on the badge when Regina came in.

"Oh, I'm sorry, that's not for you," Regina said, bitterly.

"It's been two weeks," Emma turned around, facing Regina. "Promotion is automatic."

"Unless the Mayor appoints someone else within the time period. Which I'm doing today," Regina said while walking closer to Emma.

"So who's it gonna be?" she asked, tilting her slightly.

"After due reflection, Sidney Glass."

"Sidney from the newspaper?" Emma asked in disbelief. "How does that even make sense?"

"Well, he's covered the Sheriff's Office for as long as anyone can remember."

"And he'll do whatever you want him to. You just cannot stand the fact that things have been getting better around here, can you?"

"Better?" Regina asked. "Are you referring to Graham's death as better?"

"No," she said, evenly.

"He was a good man, Miss Swan. He made this town safe," Regina stated as Emma set down the Sheriff's badge on the desk. "And forgive me for saying it, but you have not earned the right to wear his badge."

"Graham picked me to be Deputy," Emma said, trying to defend herself.

"He was wrong," Regina stated firmly.

"No, he knew what he was doing. He freed this office from your leash. You're not getting it back."

"Actually, I just did. Miss Swan, you're fired." Regina smiled, took the badge off the desk, and walked out of the police station.

Rock music was playing in Mary Margaret's and Emma's apartment, Emma had a bottle of some alcoholic beverage, she had poured some into a glass that was half full and she was trying to fix the toaster. Mary Margaret got out her keys and unlocked the door, opening it and looking at Emma with a strange look. Emma had a knife in her hand and tried to use it to open the toaster then she started banging the toaster on the counter to open it. Mary Margaret closed the door, walked to the radio, and turned it off. Emma looked up for a second then went back to fixing the toaster again.

"Toaster broken?" Mary Margaret asked, looking at Emma.

Emma sighed softly. "It wasn't when I started with it. Pretty sure it is now. I just needed to hit something," she admitted to her.

"What's going on?" Mary Margaret asked, setting her bags down on the island.

"Regina fired me so she could put one of her own puppets in as Sheriff," she explained while still fixing the toaster. "That's my job." She looked up at Mary Margret.

"Never heard you so passionate about it before," Mary Margaret commented as she took out a few groceries onto the island, watching Emma mess with the toaster. "What happened?"

"I don't know. I just—" Emma sighed. "I know I want it back."

"There must be a reason," Mary Margaret said softly.

There was knocking on the door, but they both didn't move.

"Maybe I just want to beat her," Emma said, walking toward the door with the toaster in her hand, opening the door and finding Mr. Gold at the door.

"Good evening, Miss Swan," Mr. Gold greeted. "Sorry for the intrusion. There's something I'd like to discuss with you."

Emma looked back at Mary Margaret. "I'll let you two talk," she said, walking out of the kitchen and into her bedroom.

Emma sighed. "Come on in," she said, letting him get into the apartment.

"Thank you," Mr. Gold said with a nod, walking into the apartment. "I heard about what happened. Such an injustice." He said, Emma, closed the door behind him.

"Yeah, well, what's done is done," Emma said bitterly, walking past him and setting the toaster down on the island.

"Spoken like a true fighter," he said.

"I don't know what chance I have. She's Mayor and I'm, well, me," she said, angrily, placing her hands on her hips as she stood in front of Mr. Gold.

"Miss Swan, two people with a common goal can accomplish many things. Two people with a common enemy can accomplish even more. How would you like a benefactor?" Mr. Gold said with a smile.

"A benefactor?" Emma asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

"Do you mind?" he asked, she shook her head as they both sat down at the table. "You know, it really is quite shocking how few people study the town charter." He held up a book, that was black and white, to Emma to show her.

"The town charter?" she asked, confused.

"Well, it's quite comprehensive. And the mayor's authority?" Mr. Gold opened up the book, flipping a few pages. "Well, maybe she's not quite as powerful as she seems." He smirked at her and Emma, he looked down and turned a few more pages in the book.

It was night in the village, and Bae—Rumplestiltskin's son—was in bed, sleeping. Rumpelstiltskin called out to his son. "Bae, Bae." He held up a small lantern in his hand, kneeling down to his level, shaking him gently. "Wake it up, Son. Come on, wake it up, Son!" Bae finally woke up. "We're going now. We're going now, come on, come on." Bae pushed the sheets off of him and out of the bed.

Rumple and Bae were miles from their village, they were trying to stay warm from there. "It feels wrong to run away," Bae said to his father.

"Well, it's worse to die, Son," Rumpel muttered as they walked into the forest. "I'm not having you taken away to that Ogre's war."

"Alms? Alms for the poor, alms for the poor?" said an Alms, holding out a bag toward Bae and Rumplestiltskin.

Rumplestiltskin hesitated for a moment. "Yes," he finally said, getting out a couple of coins.

"Oh, thank you. Thank you. Thank you, thank you." The alms said to him, and they walked away from each other, going their separate ways.

"Are we sure there's no other way?" Bae asked.

"I can't lose you, Bae. You're all I've got left, Son," Rumple said softly, he didn't want to lose another person in his life. "You don't understand what war is like. What they do to you." They heard horses galloping from behind them, Rumpelstiltskin turned his body halfway to look behind them. "Quick, hide! In the ditch, hide! Go, go! Go!" he told his son in a hushed voice, dragging him toward the ditch.

"Stop right there!" yelled a guard, two of the guards had torches in their hands while the rest were following them. Rumple and Bae stood there while the guards surrounded them in a circle. "What are you doing on the King's road?" asked the guard.

"We have some wool to sell at the fair in Longbourne, sir," Rumple lied to the guard.

The guard got off his horse—it was the same guard that took the fourteen-year-old girl from his village—he stood in front of them. "I know you, don't I?" he asked. Rumpel pushed Bae behind him as the guard came closer. "What was your name? Hmm?" he waited for him to answer but he stayed silent. "Spindleshanks?" he guessed, and the other men laughed. "Threadwhistle? Hobblefoot?"

Bae took a step closer to the guard, feeling brave. "His name is Rumplestiltskin!" he said, loud and proud.

"Hush, boy!" Rumpel hissed at his son.

"Rumple—," the guard said, then it clicked for him. "Ah! The man who ran." Rumple looked down ashamed when the guard remembered who he was. Bae looked confused by what the guard meant. "Is this your boy?" he asked. "How old is he? What's your name?" he asked.

"I am Baelfire and I'm thirteen," Bae said with confidence.

"When's your birthday?" asked the guard.

"In two days' time," he answered.

"Hush, boy," Rumple hissed again.

"Did you teach him how to run as well, Rumplestiltskin?" asked the guard, looking over at Rumpel. "Did he tell you?" he asked Bae. "Did he tell you how he ran and the ogres turned the tide of the battle and all the others were killed. And he returned home to a wife who could not bear the sight of him?" he said with bitterness in his voice with a mixture of hurt.

Bae looked confused and shocked when the guard told him all of this. He couldn't believe that his father would do this.

"Please," Rumple whispered, pleading to the guard.

"You see, women do not like to be married to cowards," the guard said, leaning in a bit closer to Bae.

"Please don't speak to my boy like that," Rumple said as he continued to whisper.

Bae looked up at the guard with big innocent eyes, still shocked by the story.

"It's reason to avoid service. Take the boy now," the guard ordered the other guards, turning his back to get on his horse.

"No, no, no, no!" Rumple pleaded with the guards. "What do you want?" he asked, the guard turned to face the two.

"What do I want?" the guard repeated the question with a smirk. "You have no money, no influence, no land, and no title. No power. The truth is, all you really have is fealty," He paused for a moment, looking Rumple dead in the eyes. "Kiss my boot," said the guard, being serious.

Rumple looked at the other guards, looking scared, then he looked down at his son for a moment then looked back up at the guard, leaning against his walker. "I don't understand," he said, shaking his head.

"You asked my price. Kiss my boot," the guard demanded Rumple.

Rumple's lips trembled, eyes closed. He was trying not to cry in front of the guards or his son. "Not in front of my boy—" Rumple tried to make his son watch.

"Kiss my boot!" the guard yelled at Rumple, taking a step forward, and making him flinch. Rumple immediately went down on his knees while Bae watched him, he crawled to the guard's boot as he leaned down, and kissed his boot. The guard watched him while he was doing this then he looked at Bae and started laughing aloud then a few seconds later the rest of the guards laughed with him. The guard suddenly kicked Rumple in the face and he flew back, he grunted painfully, landing on his back on the ground.

"Papa!" cried Bae, he ran to him, bending down to make sure that he was all right. The guard went back to his horse and straddled the horse, Bae and Rumple stayed where they were and looked over at the guards while Bae cradled his injured father on the ground. The guards all rode their horses away from the son and the father, they looked at them for a moment before looking forward.

Rumple sat up slowly, gasping when he saw an older male, he started hyperventilating. "No, no, no. It's okay," the man said gently, holding out his hand while in the other he held a lantern. "Let me help you. Let me help you home." He whispered, helping up Rumple from the ground.

"Thank you, old man," said Baelfire. Rumplestiltskin slowly got up off the dirt ground, grunting in pain, Bae got up along with his father.

"I don't have any money to pay you," Rumple breathed out to the man.

"I can think of another way," said the old man. "You just feed me whatever you can spare, and I'll find a way to be your benefactor," the old man said, helping Rumple walk back to his house, they both looked at each other. "Come." Bae grabbed the lantern and his father's walker.

Click, click.

The cameras started flashing and clinking in front of Regina Mills and Sidney Glass, they were standing in the room of Regina's office, and both of them smiled at the cameras. "Everyone deserves to feel safe in their own homes," Regina said to the small crowd in her office. "That's why Sidney Glass is my choice for the post of Sheriff. This man"—she pointed to Sidney—" has put the needs of Storybrooke above his own for as long as any of us can remember as chief editor of The Storybrooke Daily Mirror. Please welcome your new Sheriff." Regina smiled at the crowd and the cameras, she was about to place the Sheriff's badge onto Sidney's gray suit jacket when a door opened and Emma walked in.

"Hang on a second," Emma said while standing at the entrance of Regina's office, the crowd looked at Emma.

"Oh, Miss Swan this is not appropriate," Regina said, bitterness in her voice, shaking her head.

Emma walked further into the office. "The only thing not appropriate is this ceremony. She does not have the power to appoint him," she said with confidence.

"The town charter clearly states the Mayor shall appoint—" Regina started stating but got interrupted.

"A candidate. You can appoint a candidate," Emma corrected her. "It calls for an election."

"The term 'candidate' is applied loosely," Regina said.

"No, it's not," Emma said, deadpan. "It requires a vote. And guess what, Madam Mayor, I'm running."

"Fine. So is Sidney."

"I am?" Sidney asked surprised, Regina turned around slightly to look at him. "I am."

"With my full support." Regina smiled at her. "I guess we'll learn a little something about the will of the people."

"I guess we will," Emma said, looking into her eyes. She was determined to win and to prove to Regina that she couldn't boss everyone around.

Rumple made some soup for himself and the old man who helped him, he grabbed a wooden spoon, dipped it into the soup, and poured it into a wooden bowl. "Another day gone," Rumple muttered, he gave the man the soup and he took it while Bae was in his bed, fast asleep. "There'll be no fleeing now."

"No," muttered the old man. "You need to find another way," he whispered to him. "You need to choose a different path." He took a bite from the soup.

"Choose?" Rumple asked, confused. "What choice do I have?" he asked, desperately.

"Everyone has a choice," said the man.

"I'm the town coward," said Rumple, patting his chest, frowning. "The only choice I have is which corner to hide in." There was silence, Rumple looked away from the man, and he started tearing up as he spoke. "I'm lame, friendless." He looked over at his son. "The only thing I've got is my boy. And they're gonna take him away from me. If they take him away, I will truly, truly become dust."

"Not if you have power," said the old man, leaning in.

"You may as well say diamonds," Rumple said.

"Get a hold of yourself," said the man, firmly. "Think. Why do you think that someone as powerful as the Dark One would work for a useless fool like the Duke of the Frontlands?"

"Tell me," Rumple demanded.

"The Duke has the Dark One in thrall. He's enslaved him with the power of a mystical dagger. And on the blade is written a name. The true name of the Dark One. If you were to steal the dagger, then you would control the Dark One yourself, and then no one would be able to take your son away from you." The man explained to Rumple how much power a dagger could hold on such a powerful Dark One.

"What?" Rumple asked, he didn't seem to believe in such power. "To keep a man like the Dark One as a slave? No, I can't. I'd be terrified."

"Then perhaps instead of controlling the power, you need to take it."

Mr. Gold was in his shop, he had a wax paper with fire in the middle of a small square wax paper, he was staring into it when he heard the familiar bell. He looked up and blew the small fire out and putting the wax paper, he smiled at the person who came in. "Regina," he called out. "Shall I move some things? Make a bit of space for your rage?" he asked sarcastically while Regina turned over the Open sign to Closed.

"You found that loophole in the town charter," Regina said, walking closer over to Mr. Gold.

"Legal documents. Contracts, if you like. Always been a fascination of mine," Mr. Gold told her, walking around the counter.

"You, you love to trifle with technicalities," she muttered bitterly.

"I like small weapons, you see? The needle, the pen, the fine point of a deal. Subtlety. Not your style, I know." He looked over at her with a smirk, walking away from her.

"You're a bastard," Regina shot at him, nastily.

Mr. Gold laughed at her comment, he looked out the window. "I think your grief is getting the better of you, Regina." He looked at her. "Shame, what happened to Graham."

"Don't you talk about him," she said, firmly. "You know nothing." She walked to where he was and stood in front of him.

"What is there to know? He died."

"Are you really going up against me?"

"Not directly. We are, after all, both invested in the common good. We're just picking different sides."

"Well, I think you picked a really slow horse this time. It's not like you to back a loser."

"She hasn't lost yet."

"She will."

"Never underestimate someone who is acting for their child."

"He's not her child. Not legally."

"Oh! Now, who's trifling with technicalities?"

Regina gave Mr. Gold a death stare, he was playing with fire with her. She did not appreciate Mr. Gold would be on Emma Swan's side and trying to get her to be sheriff of this town. She wanted her people to rule this town and not some outsider.

Henry was in a booth at Granny's Diner while Ruby cleaned up a table. Emma walks into the diner, she looks to her left then she spots Henry in the booth with a newspaper in his hands. Emma plopped down next to him in the booth, looking down at the newspaper as well. "How was school?" she asked.

"Okay," he simply said, not looking at her.

"You're reading that paper pretty hard," she commented, she could feel the coldness from him.

"Sidney wrote it," he said, flipping the paper over in his hands, and giving the newspaper to her. The newspaper said in bold letters: Ex-Jail Bird: Emma Swan Birthed Baby Behind Bars, By Sidney Glass. "Is it a lie?" he asked.

Emma didn't answer right away, she took the newspaper and looked down at it, staring at her own picture. She couldn't believe that he would do this to her, she felt disgusted and wanted to talk some sense into Sidney. "No," she answered honestly.

"I was born in jail?" he asked, looking at her for the first time.

She looked over at him and he looked down. "Yes." She wasn't going to lie to him, how could she? "These records were supposed to be sealed." She said, setting the newspaper down on the table. "Tell me you're not scarred for life."

Henry looked up at her with sad eyes. "I'm not. Well, not by this." He pointed to the newspaper.

"Good. Then let's throw this out." She took the newspaper and crumpled it up in her hands, "and we will get our news from something more reliable." She looked at him with a smile. "Like the Internet."

"This is what I've been trying to tell you. Good can't beat evil because good doesn't do this kind of thing. My mom plays dirty, that's why you can't beat her. Ever."

"I have a new ally. Mr. Gold said he's gonna help."

"Mr. Gold?" he exclaimed, shocked that she went to him of all people to help her. "He's even worse than she is. You already owe him one favor. You don't want to owe him anymore. Don't do this." Emma looked away from him as he spoke those words to her.

Emma walked to the Mayor's office, she came barging into Regina's office looking determined. "This was a juvie record," she said, holding up the newspaper. "This was sealed by court order. I don't know how you got it, but that's abuse of power and illegal." She ranted at her while she stood in front of Regina.

"Oh, I'm sorry. You didn't want people to know you cut his cord with a shiv?" Regina shot at her.

"I don't care what people know. But this hurts Henry," Emma said gently.

"He would've learned eventually. We all lose our heroes at some point," Regina said while grabbing her jacket and purse, walking around her desk, and past Emma.

"He doesn't need to lose anything more," Emma tried pleading with Regina, walking behind her. "He's depressed, Madam Mayor. He doesn't have any hope. Don't you see that?"

"He's fine," Regina commented.

"He's not fine. I mean, think about it," Emma said while Regina turned off the lights in her office. "Watching his adoptive mother throw an illegal smear campaign against his birth mother. You don't think that would be upsetting?" she asked Regina as she stood there letting Emma go in front of her while closing her office door.

"All I did was expose him to the truth. And as for the legality, I did nothing wrong." Both stared at each other for a second. "But you and Sidney will have a chance to get into all that at the debate." She smiled at Emma.

"Debate?" she asked, confused.

"Yes, Miss Swan, there's a debate." Regina smiled and walked away from Emma. Emma rolled her eyes and walked after Regina. "You two can talk about jail time and juvie records and maybe even your new association with Mr. Gold. He's a snake, Ms. Swan, you need to be careful who you get into bed with."

"I'm not getting into bed with anyone. I'm just fighting fire with—" Emma started saying before Regina opened the door of her home a big explosion got the both of them, and they both screamed. A fire was at the entrance of the door, they both looked at it and then at each other, they were coughing because of the smoke. Emma stood up while getting a metal piece off of Regina's legs, she finally got it off of the mayor. "All right, come on. Let's go. We've got to get out of here." She tried to get Regina on her feet but she wouldn't move.

"I can't move!" Regina shouted at Emma. "You have to get me out. Help me." She begged the other." Emma and Regina looked at each other for a good moment.

"Keep that fire good and stoked, Bae. The sheep's fat needs to be liquid. And get that wool good and soaked." Rumple demanded gently to his son. Bae was moving the firewood with a long thick stick while Rumpel rolled up the sheep's wool onto a short stick.

"Why are we doing this, Papa?" Bae asked, looking at his father. "This is good wool we can spin and sell."

"These are our keys to the castle, Son," he said as he kept wrapping the wool around the stick. "And once I'm inside, there's something I have to take."

"What do you need to take?" Bae asked.

"That old beggar, he told me a fine tale about the Dule and his magical dagger."

"What does it do?"

"If I own that dagger, I control the Dark One. If I kill the Dark One with the dagger, I take his powers." Rumple patted Bae on the shoulder as he smiled.

"By God's name!" Bae looked away from his father, shocked.

"Imagine me with those powers!" Rumple said excitedly. "Can you imagine me with those powers, Bae? I could get to redeem myself. I could turn it towards good. I'll save all the children of the Frontlands. Not just you, my boy."

"I would love to see that. But if the law says I'm to fight, I can fight." Bae said gently.

"No, no, the law doesn't want you to fight, Son, the law wants you to die. That's no battle. That's a sacrifice, Son. I mean, look at that red in the sky." Rumple pointed in the direction of the sky was red, and Bae looked at it. "That's not the fires of the battlefields. That's the blood of our people, Son." He paused for a moment and whispered, "That's the blood of children. The blood of children like you." He pointed toward his son. "I mean, what sane person would want to get involved with that?"

"So it's true," Bae said, holding up the stick with the wool on one end of it.

Rumple looked over at Bae. "What?" he asked.

"It's true, it's true you ran," he repeated.

"I had no choice, Son," he simply said.

"And Mother? Did she leave you like the knight said?" He asked, walking halfway around the fire. "You told me she was dead."

Rumple looked down and continued working on the wool that he was doing, he didn't say a word for a good few seconds before whispering. "She is dead."

Bae walked back to the fire as his father went to tie up the wool to the stick, avoiding his son's eyes. He sat down on a stump and looked at the ground, staring off into space and rethinking what his father said and what the knight said. After a few seconds, he looked over at his father. "So, what do we need to do?" he asked.

Rumple sat down next to Bae, giving him the rundown of his plan. "The Duke's castle is made of stone, but the floors and the rafters," he patted the wooden stick, "made of wood."

"Why does that matter?" Bae asked, confused by this information.

"Because wood burns." He smirked at his son and nodded his head.

The fire was still running high, Emma and Regina held hands as Emma looked at the fire. Emma walked down the stairs and was about to walk past Regina when she grabbed her wrist and tugged her toward her. "You're gonna leave me, aren't you?" Regina asked, looking up at her with her eyes wide open with fear. Emma yanked her arm to shield her face from the fire and jumped over it, Regina watched her as she left her behind. She dragged herself up a few stairs before a whooshing sound came from the entrance. Emma came in with a fire extinguisher and sprayed it across the fire. "Oh!" Regina exclaimed while Emma held out her hand for Regina to take, she quickly took it and wrapped her arm around Emma's shoulders. While Regina wobbled, Emma sprayed the fire with the fire extinguisher and she kicked the door down with her foot while they walked out of the building as they both coughed hard. Once they got out into the fresh air, a man with a camera saw them and started clicking his camera as he walked over to them. They stumbled hard onto the ground as Regina fell to the ground. "Oh! Oh! Ow! My ankle!" she cried out while holding her ankle. "Will you set me down gently!" she yelled at Emma, sirens wailing in the distance.

"Seriously? You're complaining about how I saved your life?" Emma asked, trying to catch her breath, pulling away from Regina.

"The firemen are here," Regina said. "It's not like we were really in danger."

"Fine," Emma said while coughing. "Next time, I'll just... I'll just..." she started saying. "No. You know what? Next time, I'd do the same thing. And the time after that because that is what decent human beings do." She started coughing again. "That's what good people do." She walked off, leaving Regina in the middle of the reporters, turning around slowly as she looked at the building.

Henry was standing in front of a firefighter, who was sitting in the firetruck. "Did Emma really rescue my mom?" he asked him. While Emma was talking to Dr. Archie Hopper, Mary Margaret, Ruby, and Granny. Regina was on a gurney, wearing an oxygen tank mask while a paramedic was checking her blood pressure, she yanked the oxygen tank mask off of her face in frustration. "Enough!" Regina said the paramedic pulled back and away from her. "I'm fine!" she told him.

"Regina!" Sidney called out her name, he walked over to her with a camera in his hands. "A nice shot of the victim." He held it up and clinked a picture of Regina.

"Sidney." She jumped from the flash. "What the hell are you doing?" she asked, grabbing his jacket and pulling him close to her. "Are you trying to hand this election to her?"

"But it's news," Sidney simply said.

"She's the competition, you fool." Regina reminded him, pushing him away from her, leaning against the gurney, and pushing her hair out of her eyes while Sidney walked away from her.

"Did you really rescue Regina?" Mary Margaret asked Emma.

"She did!" Henry said quickly before Emma could answer, he ran over to them. "The firemen said it. They saw it!"

"Well—" Emma started saying, looking at Henry with a proud smile on her face, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"You are a hero!" Ruby said to Emma.

"We should see if they have a picture of the rescue," Mary Margaret said.

"We can make campaign posters!" Granny said, excitedly to the small group.

"Ooh, people will love that! It's a great idea." Archie said. "Wait, so, I'll get the photo and then—" The small group walked off and started talking about the campaign while Emma and Henry stood there watching them with smiles on their faces.

"Can you write it up?" Granny asked Archie.

"This is how good wins," Emma said to Henry, getting down to his eye level, with a smile. "You do something good and people see it and then they want to help you."

"Maybe you're right," Henry said, smiling at Emma.

"You see, Henry?" she smiled, placing a hand on his shoulder as she stood up. "We don't have to fight dirty." She looked at the pile of burned items that were near them, she noticed a familiar thing that belonged to a certain someone. She walked over to the pile, tapping her foot against a long, knotted wool towel.

Emma arrived at Mr. Gold's pawnshop while Mr. Gold himself was polishing his nails with a white towel. Emma was angry, furious even.

"Loads of visitors today," Mr. Gold said when Emma walked in, she slammed the door harshly. "I do hope you're not gonna break my little bell."

"You set the fire," Emma stated confidently.

Mr. Gold scoffed at her comment. "I've been right here, Miss Swan," he said with confidence.

"Take a whiff. It smells like you sheep crap oil." She said, walking closer to him while holding the sheep wool in her hand. "Turns out it's flammable."

Rumpel looked down at the sheep wool in her hand. "Well, are you sure?" he asked, looking at her. "There's some construction work going on at City Hall at the moment. There's loads of flammable solvents used in construction," he explained to her.

"Why did you do it?" she asked, not buying into his story.

Mr. Gold set the towel down on the counter. "If I did it." He walked past Emma and walked behind the counter. "If I did it, that would be because you cannot win without something big. Something like, I don't know, being the hero in a fire?" he asked.

"How could you even know I'd be there at the right time?" she asked.

"Maybe Regina's not the only one with eyes and ears in this town. Or maybe I'm just intuitive. Were I involved?"

"I could've run and left her there."

"Not the type," he whispered.

"I can't go along with this," she whispered back.

"You just did," he reminded her. "This is just the price of the election, Miss Swan."

"A price I'm not willing to pay." She tossed the sheep wool onto the counter in front of him. "Find another sucker." She started to turn away from him.

"Okay, go ahead. Expose me." Mr. Gold challenged her. "But if you do... Just think about what you'll be exposing. And what you'd be walking away from." Emma heard enough of this, all of his lies and his betrayal, and she walked away from him. "Oh, yes, and who you might be disappointing." Emma reached the door and the doorbells jingled, she turned to face him and walked out, slamming the door shut once again. Mr. Gold just watched her leave with a smirk on his lips.

Rumple and Bae were outside of the castle, Bae lit up a torch with the lantern that Rumple had in his hand while the other held his walker, Rumple traded Bae's items now he has the torch and Bae has the lantern. Rumpel put the torch into the hay and it started to blaze into a huge fire, they watched it flame up, catching the wall on fire.

Rumple went into the building, it was badly on fire, filled with fire and smoke. He walked around the fire with his stick holding him up, pulling back a red and yellow cloth that was on the wall, there is hide the Dark One's dagger. He looked at it with awe, he slowly took it off the wall and it said a name: Zoso. He got the dagger and walked out of the room that was filling up with fire and smoke.

A red banner with white words and stars was on the banner, saying: Debate Today: Sheriff's Election. Everyone was talking and helping set up the debate in the afternoon, Mary Margaret was setting the campaign for Emma on a board outside of the Mayor's building. After she was done, she went to the other side and stopped short when she saw David setting up Sidney's campaign.

"David! Hi." Mary Margaret breathed out in surprise.

"Mary Margaret. Hi." David turned his head with a smile.

"I was just—" she started saying while putting up Emma's poster on the side and stapling it to the wooden board.

"Yeah, yeah. Me, too." David said, doing the same thing.

"How are things?" she asked.

"Okay. I got a job. I'm working at the animal shelter," he said, proudly.

"Really?" she asked, smiling.

"Yeah," he smiled and nodded. He watched her for a moment before he went back to stapling the posters for Sidney.

"So. Sidney." She pointed her staple guy to his poster, which had only his face and his name underneath his head.

"My wife is friends with Regina, so...," he said slowly.

"Oh, right. How is Kathryn?" she asked.

"Good. She's meeting me here later." He replied.

"That's wonderful," she said, aggressively stapling the poster. "Well, I'm all out of posters. I'm going to get some more." She said quickly before walking off and without giving David a chance to say anything.

"Citizens of Storybrooke, we welcome you to—" Archie was repeating the speech that he had prepared for the city of Storybrooke who will be welcomed to watch and hear what Emma Swan and Sidney Glass have to say. "Welcome, citizens of Storybrooke. Uh—" Archie tried again, he was getting nervous. Emma was starting out into the other side of the room while Sidney was looking into the mirror, getting ready. "We welcome you, citizens of Storybrooke. Welcome—Uh—" Archie started again, Henry spotted Emma and smiled at her.

Mary Margaret stood next to Emma, handing her cards with a speech on them and handing her a bottle of water.

"I'm not going to win," Emma said, doubting herself.

"What are you talking about?" she asked. "Everyone's talking about what you did in the fire."

"No. Henry's right," Emma said, twisting the lid off the bottle of water and taking a sip. "I can't beat Regina at this. Not the way she fights. Watch and see."

Mary Margaret leaned in and whispered. "Is this really just about beating Regina?" she asked.

Emma pulled back the curtain and saw Regina sitting next to Henry. "It's just—" she sighed, Henry smiled at Emma again.

Mary Margaret looked at Henry then back at Emma, raising an eyebrow. "Henry?" she guessed.

"I want to show him that good can actually win." She said to her while looking at Henry.

"That's why you want to win it for him," Mary Margaret guessed again. "But why do you want to win the election for yourself?"

"That is why," Emma answered simply. "I want to show him that a hero can win. And if I'm not... If I'm not a hero and I'm not the savior, then what part do I have in his life?" she asked, Mary Margaret, tilting her head back slightly as her eyes widened. "Okay. There it is." She said with a smile.

"There is it," Mary Margaret repeated.

Emma moved the curtain back once again to look at Henry and he was off looking to the side. Mr. Gold walked in along with his cane, Emma looked at him with disgust on her face. He noticed Emma straight away and looked at her with intense eyes, smirking at her.

Bae was sitting in the forest with the lantern in his hand, waiting for his father to return with the Dark One's dagger. If he ever returns. He heard footsteps close by and he got up, seeing his father with the torch and the dagger in his hands. "Papa! I was so worried for you!" he cried out in worry, he ran to him

"Oh, Bae!" Rumple cried out.

"Are you burned? The castle is...," Bae asked.

"I'm fine, Son. I'm fine," Rumple reassured Bae. "I need you to go home and wait for me there."

"Come with me, please. I have a bad feeling," Bae pleaded with his father.

"Bae, this is something I have to do on my own," Rumple told him. "Go home, Son." He told him in a firm voice. "Go home and wait for me, Bae," he repeated to his son. "I'll be back. You go." Bae didn't say a single word, he just looked at his father and walked back down the path of his home.

Rumple took the dagger of the Dark One out of his belt and held it out above him while he looked at it. "Zoso," he whispered. "Zoso," he said a little louder. "I summon thee," he said through his teeth. He waited for a few seconds to see if it would work, he looked around confused, lowering the dagger to the side. He turned around and jumped when the Dark One appeared behind him. "Oh!" he cried out, dropping the torch to the ground.

"You were asking for me," said the Dark One.

"Submit! O Dark One." Rumple shook the dagger at the Dark One. "I control you," he yelled.

"Yes, you do," said the Dark One calmly. "Wield the power wisely," he said, threatening. "You can wield at any time now," he said, impatiently. "It's almost dawn. That means it's your son's birthday. I bet Hordor and his men are already on their way to your house," he said while walking closer to Rumple.

"No, they can't take him," Rumple said softly.

"You don't control them, you control me. Have you ever wondered, if was he really your child at all?" the Dark One taunted him. "Unlike you, he's not a coward and yearns to fight and die in glory."

"No," Rumple whimpered out, shaking his head.

"What a poor bargain that would be to lay down your soul to save your bastard son. So I ask you, what would you have me do?" he asked.

Rumple thought for a moment, still holding the dagger in his hand. "Die," he said, plugging the dagger into the Dark One's chest. They both fell down to the ground, the dagger still in the Dark One's chest, they both grunted. The Dark One's skin went back to its normal skin color, Rumple gasped out at who the Dark One was. It was that old beggar that helped him get the dagger from the castle. The old beggar looked at Rumple and started laughing in his face, he looked so confused and shocked, that he whispered, "It's you. You're the beggar."

"Looks like you made a deal you didn't understand," the Dark One said with a smile. "I don't think you're gonna do that again." He started laughing once again.

"You told me to kill you?" Rumple asked.

"My life was such a burden. You'll see. Magic always comes with a price. And now it's yours to pay!" he said, coughing.

"Why me? Why me?" Rumple asked.

"I know how to recognize," he panted out, "a desperate soul." He gagged a bit from the blood then he took his last breath and died.

"No," Rumple whispered. "No! Stay!" He cried out. "You have to tell me what to do! Tell me what to do!" He yelled, grabbing at the dead man, and shaking him. He heard a crackling sound coming from his hand. "Oh!" He pulled the dagger out of the ex-Dark One's chest and looked at it. The name on it now said: Rumplestiltskin. He gasped out and looked back at the body.

"Tragedy has brought us here, but we are faced with this decision and now we ask only that you listen with an open mind and to please vote your conscience. So, without further ado, I'd like to introduce you to the candidates. Sidney Glass and Emma Swan." Archie introduced them to the crowd. "Glass-Swan. Sounds like something that a decorator would make you buy," Archie laughed at his own joke but nobody else laughed. "Wow. Crickets. Okay." He cleared his throat. "Mr. Glass, your open statement?" He looked over at him while speaking into the microphone, he backed off as Sidney walked up to the microphone.

"I just want to say that if elected, I want to serve as a reflection of the best qualities of Storybrooke. Honesty, neighborliness, and strength," Sidney said to the crowd while Regina mouthed the words to him. "Thank you." He smiled at the crowd as the crowd applauded him for the opening speech.

Sidney sat down in his seat and Archie walked back up to the microphone while clapping his hands. "And Emma Swan?" Archie called her up.

Emma blinked and then got up and off her seat, walking up to the microphone, and clearing her throat. "You guys all know I have," she paused and rolled her eyes, "what they call a troubled past. But you've been able to overlook it because of the hero thing. But here's the thing." She looked at Henry. "The fire was a set-up." The audience murmurs in shock about Emma's words. "Mr. Gold agreed to support me in this race, but I didn't know that meant he was going to set a fire. I don't have definitive evidence. But I'm sure. And the worst part of all this was...," she paused, it was hard for her. "The worst part of all of this is I let you all think it was real. And I can't win that way." She looked at the audience and then back at Henry. "I'm sorry."

Mr. Gold got up out of his seat and he looked at Emma, Emma was looking at Mr. Gold, and he walked down the aisle while everyone watched him leave. Emma sat back down in her seat, Henry looked at Regina who was grinning from ear to ear.

Emma was at Granny's, she was sitting at the counter, looking down at her drink and downing the rest of her drink.

Ruby came over with a small smile on her lips. "Another?" she asked.

Emma looked up as Ruby took the glass cup. "Oh, hell, yes," she said. The door opened, and Henry walked in with his head down as Emma looked over at him. "Hey, Henry." He sat down next to her, pulled a walkie-talkie out of his book bag, and handed one to Emma. "What's this for?" she asked, looking down at it.

"You stood up to Mr. Gold," Henry simply said. "It was pretty amazing."

"Well, he did something illegal," she said.

"That's what heroes do. Expose stuff like that." Henry said. Ruby set down a cup of hot chocolate and Emma's drink in front of them. He leaned in and put up his hand close to his mouth so no one could see what he was saying. "I shouldn't have given up on Operation Cobra." He smiled and Emma smiled in return.

The door opened up once again, and Regina and Sidney walked in with smiles on their faces. "I thought I might find you here," Regina said to Emma. "With a drink. And my son." She said, bitterly. She stood in between them and looked between them.

"You here to card me, Officer?" Emma asked Sidney.

"Well, not at all. In fact, I think I'll join you," He responded with a smile.

"Here? I don't know. I think they're setting up a back room for the victory party."

"Well, you'll have to tell me what that's like." Sidney nodded his head with a tight smile.

Emma looked shocked that he said that, she was actually the Sheriff of this town. She thought she would have lost to Sidney. Considering Regina could literally pull anything to make her side win. Regina held up the badge in her hand. "Congratulations, Sheriff Swan," she said, setting the badge down between Emma and Henry, not looking at either of them.

"Wait. What?" Henry exclaimed in disbelief, he couldn't believe that Emma won.

"It was a very close vote, but people really seemed to like the idea of a sheriff brave enough to stand up to Mr. Gold," Regina explained.

"Are you joking?" Emma asked.

"She doesn't joke," Sidney said before Regina could answer.

Everyone that came into Granny's, they all smiled at Emma getting the sheriff's status.

"You didn't pick a great friend in Mr. Gold, Ms. Swan. But he does make a superlative enemy." Regina said, smiling at Emma. "Enjoy that." She smiled even wider, she walked away from her as Emma watched her leave.

Back in the village, it was daytime, the guards from the other night that tormented Rumple came to the village where Rumple and Bae lived. Bae was behind the first guard, the other guards pushed him forward. "Everyone's watching from behind their curtains today," he said to the guard who was standing in the middle of the village. The men laughed at his words then a dagger sliced into the man's back and he grunted in pain, Rumple—now the new Dark One—was right behind him, and his body thuds to the ground.

Bae gasped when he saw his father, taking a step back as he shook his head. The first guard kneeled down to the ground and bowed his head. "Dark One," said the guard. The Dark One walked toward the guard and the guard looked up, realizing who the Dark One is. "No," he whispered. "Who are you?" he asked.

"Have you forgotten me already?" the Dark One asked. "What was it you used to call me, again? Spindleshanks?" he thought for a moment, snapping his fingers and pointing his index finger at him. "Hobblefoot?"

"Papa?" Bae asked, watching the whole scene unfold.

The guard shuddered slightly. "Rumplestiltskin," he whispered.

"Wonderful," he muttered with a smile. "And now you shall know me as the new Dark One." Bae gasped audibly. "How about a little fealty?" He stuck out one boot, and the guard looked down at his boot. "Kiss my boot," he said through his teeth. The guard slowly got on his hands then all of a sudden the Dark One's hand was placed on his head, he was gasping in pain then with a quick twist he snapped the guard's neck.

Bae gasped and covered his mouth with his hand. "No, Papa!" he yelled out to him but it was too late, another guard came toward him with his sword while Rumpel got out his dagger once again, he sliced at the second guard's stomach and he fell to the ground and he stabbed another one in the stomach and he fell to the ground as well then he stabbed the last one and he fell to the ground, the horses started whining. "Papa?" he asked hesitantly. "What has happened to you?" he asked.

Rumple panted heavily before he answered his son. "You're safe, Bae." He walked toward his son but he was backing up away from him. "Do you feel safe, Son?" he asked.

"No," he answered. "I'm frightened."

"I'm not. I protected what belonged to me. And I'm not scared of anything," he said while giving his son a sick smile. Bae was backing up and he was afraid of his father. He didn't want to be around him. The Dark One started to laugh like a crazy person.

Emma walked into the sheriff's office with a cup of coffee and a few notebooks on her arm, she sighed as she looked around. She still couldn't believe that she was Sheriff, but she wasn't going to complain. She set the books and her coffee down on the desk. She looked at the sheriff's jacket that was now hanging on a coat hook, she wondered how it got there. The last time she saw it was with Mr. Gold.

"The Sheriff's jacket," Mr. Gold said, he came out of nowhere and made Emma jump. "I thought you might want it after all."

"You do know I'm armed, right?" she said, threatening him.

"That's all part of the act, my dear," he said, walking into the office. "Political theater in an actual theater. I knew no one was going to vote for you unless we gave you some kind of extraordinary quality, and I'm afraid saving old Regina's arse from the fire just wasn't going to do that. We have to give you a higher form of bravery. They had to see you defy me. And they did."

"No way," she couldn't believe what she was hearing. "There's no way you planned that."

"Everyone's afraid of Regina. But they're more afraid of me. By standing up to me, you won them over. It was the only way. "

"You knew I'd agree."

"Oh, yeah. I know how to recognize a desperate soul."

They both stared at each other, Emma still couldn't believe that he did all of this just for her to beat Regina at her own game. She was impressed but she was still furious that he put her life in jeopardy.

"Why did you do this?" she asked.

"We made a deal some time back, Miss Swan. We established that you owed me a favor. I know that can be a bad feeling, owing someone. Now that you're Sheriff, I'm sure we'll find some way for you to pay back what you owe me." He said, walking out of the Sheriff's office. "Congratulations," he whispered to her.

Emma watched Mr. Gold walk out of the office. She still couldn't believe that this was happening, she was happy that she won but it would have been better if she won it fair and square without the help of Mr. Gold almost killing her and Regina. She could have won it without a threat to her and Regina's life.