02x14 - Manhatten
Posted: 02/18/13 21:23
–[Fairy Tale Land - Past]–
(Milah is sewing inside when Rumpelstiltskin’s voice is heard through the door.)
Rumpelstiltskin: Milah?
(Rumpelstiltskin enters with a paper in hand.)
Rumpelstiltskin: Milah.
Milah: I’m nearly finished.
Rumpelstiltskin: Oh, you learn quickly.
Milah: I have a good teacher.
(They kiss.)
Milah: What is it? What brings you home so early?
Rumpelstiltskin: Milah… My weaving days are behind us. I’ve been called to the front.
(He unrolls the piece of paper and holds it in front of Milah. It reads ‘Rumplestiltskin (sic) You have been drafted into the King’s army’.)
Milah: The Ogres w*r.
Rumpelstiltskin: I report for training in the morning.
Milah: No. Rumpel, I’ve heard stories. The front – it’s a brutal place.
Rumpelstiltskin: Oh, Milah… I-I know, I know. I… I can’t say that I… I won’t be frightened. But… But this is the chance I’ve been waiting for…all my life. You know, I’ve lived under the shadow of my father’s actions for too long now.
Milah: Just because your father was a coward, it doesn’t mean you are.
Rumpelstiltskin: Oh, I know that. As do you. But to the world? Fighting in this w*r finally gives me the chance to prove that to everyone else.
Milah: Go. Be brave. Fight honourably.
Rumpelstiltskin: Oh, God, I love you.
Milah: I love you, too. When you return, we can start living the life we’ve always dreamed of.
Rumpelstiltskin: Yeah…
Milah: We can have a family.
Rumpelstiltskin: A family.
–[New York]–
(Emma, Henry, and Mr. Gold arrive at their destination in New York via taxi. They look up at the apartment building in front of them.)
Emma: What’s wrong? This the right place?
Mr. Gold: Yes, it is.
Emma: Let me guess. He’s not expecting you. Well, who doesn’t love a surprise?
–[Storybrooke]–
(At Regina’s house, Cora and Regina are conversing, while Cora attempts to comfort Regina.)
Cora: What is it, sweetie?
Regina: It’s Henry. Emma left town with Gold, and she took him with her.
Cora: And you didn’t stop them?
Regina: I didn’t know until after they had gone.
Cora: I’m sure he’s safe. And, as soon as Gold’s done, Henry will be back.
Regina: But not with me.
Hook: Back? From where? Where’s Rumpelstiltskin gone?
Regina: I don’t know.
Hook: Well, if he’s left town, then he’s powerless. He can be k*lled.
Cora: The moment either of us leave, we lose our magic… And our advantage.
Hook: Your memories?
Regina: None of us were victims of the curse. It’s not about memories – it’s about magic.
Hook: Well, I don’t need magic. I’ll go after him alone.
Regina: Even if you could find him, do you really think you can just walk up to him and s*ab him in the heart with your sword?
Hook: Well, I prefer my hook, but I can’t find that now.
Cora: You’re not going anywhere.
Hook: I deserve my vengeance!
Cora: You’re right. You’re right, you do. And, with The Dark One gone, we can search for the one magical item that can actually k*ll him here… His dagger.
–[New York]–
(The trio has entered the lobby of the apartment building. Henry scans the list of names on the intercom.)
Henry: No ‘Baelfire’.
Emma: Yeah, that probably wouldn’t fly as an alias. Your magic globe didn’t give you an apartment number?
Mr. Gold: It doesn’t work that way.
(Emma and Mr. Gold take a turn at looking at the list.)
Emma: Do any of these names mean anything to you?
Mr. Gold: Well, names are what I traffic in, but sadly, no.
(Emma points to an apartment that is listed only by number.)
Emma: Here’s your boy.
Mr. Gold: Or, it could just be vacant.
Emma: You might traffic in names and magic, but I traffic in finding people who don’t want to be found. And those sort of folks don’t like to advertise their whereabouts.
(Emma buzzes the apartment on the intercom.)
Emma: U.P.S. package for four-oh-seven.
(The person on the other end of the line doesn’t respond, and then hangs up.)
Henry: Maybe you should’ve said FedEx.
(Suddenly, they hear a noise coming from the fire escape outside.)
Emma: He’s running.
(The three of them rush outside, where they see the apartment’s occupant climbing down the fire escape. He reaches the bottom and breaks into a run.)
Mr. Gold: That… That favour you owe me – this is it. Get him to talk to me. I… I can’t run.
Emma: Watch Henry. I’ll be back.
(Emma chases after the unknown man through the streets of New York, stalling traffic along the way. Emma runs around the opposite side of the building and manages to ambush the man as the two meet. She tackles him, and the two of them fall to the ground. When Emma looks up, a stunned look overcomes her face.)
Emma: No… Neal?
Neal: Emma?
Emma: Neal?
(The two of them stand up.)
Neal: I don’t understand. What are you doing here?
Emma: What am I doing here?
Neal: Yeah.
Emma: I’m not answering anything until you tell me the truth. Are you Gold’s son?
Neal: What are you talking about? Who’s Gold?
Emma: You played me. You’re from there. You played me, and he played me, you both played me.
Neal: Whoa, whoa, whoa. Okay.
Emma: You and Gold.
Neal: Emma, slow down. What are you talking about? Who’s Gold?
Emma: Your father. Rumpelstiltskin.
Neal: He’s here?
Emma: Why else would I be in New York?
Neal: You brought him to me? Why would you do that?!
Emma: Hey! I am the only one allowed to be angry here! Did you know who I was, where I was from, the whole time? Was this just some sort of sick, twisted plan? Did… Did you even care about me at all?
Neal: Emma, do not…
Emma: I want to know! I want the truth – all of it!
Neal: Fine! We… We got to get off the street. We can’t do it here. We’re out in the open. I… I spent a lifetime running from that man. I’m not going to let him catch me. There’s a bar down the street. We can talk there.
Emma: I am not drinking with you. Whatever you’re going to tell me, tell me now.
Neal: No, bar’s better. Don’t worry. You can keep yelling at me when we get there.
(Neal begins to walk off. Emma, annoyed, follows him.)
———–
(Meanwhile, Henry and Mr. Gold are still waiting outside of Neal’s apartment building. They’re at a hotdog stand.)
Henry: Don’t worry. Emma’s really good at catching people.
Mr. Gold: Well, my son’s been running away for a long time now. Now I have a feeling he’s equally adept at it.
Henry: Well, at least we found him, right?
Mr. Gold: Indeed.
Henry: Oh, and, uh, thanks, for the hot dog. I forgot.
Mr. Gold: You are quite welcome. And thank you.
Henry: For what?
Mr. Gold: Well, if it wasn’t for you bringing Emma to Storybrooke, none of this would have come to pass. You… Are a remarkable young man.
Henry: You know… I forgave her. Emma – for giving me up. She thought it was the best for me then. That’s why she did it. I’m sure your son will get it, too.
Mr. Gold: Alas, the circumstances surrounding our separation weren’t quite so noble.
Henry: But…you’re here now. And, you want him back, right?
Mr. Gold: More than anything.
Henry: Then, that’s all that matters.
———–
(Neal and Emma are talking at the bar Neal suggested.)
Neal: Well, what do you want to know, Emma? You want the truth? Ask away.
Emma: Did you know who I was when we met?
Neal: If I had, I wouldn’t have gone near you.
Emma: Come on.
Neal: Come on? Come on, what? I was in hiding. I came here to get… A-away from… All that crap.
Emma: So, if you didn’t know, then you were just using me. You just needed someone to take the fall for all the watches that you stole.
Neal: I wasn’t using you. When we met, I didn’t know. I found out.
Emma: How?
Neal: When I went to sell the watches… I ran into a friend of yours. August.
(The scene flashes back to when Neal ran into August in Portland.)
August: When you see what I have in here, you’re going to listen. You’re going to believe every word I say.
Neal: Yeah, right.
(August opens the lid of the box on the back of his motorcycle. Inside, there’s a typewriter loaded with a piece of paper. The sentence ‘I know you’re Baelfire.’ is typed on it.)
(The scene returns to the bar.)
Emma: You left me… And let me go to prison, because Pinocchio told you to?
Neal: Emma…
Emma: I loved you.
Neal: I… I was, um… I was… I was trying to help you.
Emma: By letting me go to jail?
Neal: By getting you home.
Emma: Are you telling me, that us meeting was a coincidence? Because how the hell did that happen? If it wasn’t in your plan, or your father’s?
Neal: Think about it. He wanted you to break the curse. Us meeting – that could have stopped it. Maybe it was fate.
Emma: You believe in that?
Neal: You know, there’s not a ton about my father that I remember that doesn’t suck. But he used to tell me that there are no coincidences. Everything that happens, happens by design, and there’s nothing we can do about it. Forces greater than us conspire to make it happen. Fate, destiny, whatever you want to call it. The point is… Maybe we met for a reason. Maybe something good came from us being together.
Emma: No. Not that I can think of. I just went to jail. That’s it. Doesn’t matter now. I’m over it. And you.
Neal: Why do you wear the, uh, key chain I got you?
(Emma takes off the necklace and places it on the counter in front of Neal.)
Emma: To remind myself never to trust someone again. Come on. I made a deal with your father I’d bring you to him.
Neal: You made a deal with him?
Emma: Yeah. And I’m upholding my end.
Neal: No, Emma, you don’t have to. You know that.
Emma: I know.
Neal: Okay, so this should be really easy for you. Tell him that you lost me. Tell him you can’t find me. You do that, you’ll never have to see me again.
–[Fairy Tale Land - Past]–
(Rumpelstiltskin is at one of the army’s camps set up in the woods. There are several tents set up, along with several armed soldiers walking around. He walks past one of the tents as a soldier is exiting.)
Man: Soldier.
Rumpelstiltskin: Me?
Man: I’m needed at the front. You guard this crate with your life.
(He gestures to a cage covered by a tarp.)
Rumpelstiltskin: W-what’s under there?
Man: A prisoner who could help us turn the tide against the ogres. Careful. It’s a tricky beast.
Rumpelstiltskin: Yes, sir.
(The man leaves. As Rumpelstiltskin draws closer to the crate, a child-like voice calls out to him.)
Seer: Rumpelstiltskin.
(Confused, he pulls back the tarp. Inside the cage, there is a young girl with her eyes sewn shut.)
Rumpelstiltskin: You’re a child.
(She points to a nearby bucket of water.)
Seer: Please. I haven’t had a sip in days.
Rumpelstiltskin: How do you know my name?
Seer: I’m a seer. I see all.
(She holds up her hands, revealing eyes on the palms.)
Rumpelstiltskin: No, no, no. That’s… That’s not possible. You must have overheard someone speak.
Seer: Rumpelstiltskin, the son of a coward. Raised by spinsters. Scared of ending up just like his father. Did I overhear that? I told you. I see all, even what has yet to pass.
Rumpelstiltskin: You mean the future? You can see the future?
Seer: Indeed I can… Including yours.
Rumpelstiltskin: No, no, no. I… I won’t indulge this…dark magic.
Seer: Even if what I see concerns your wife? Milah?
Rumpelstiltskin: Why? Has something happened to her?
Seer: Give me water.
(Rumpelstiltskin acquiesces and gives her a cup of water.)
Rumpelstiltskin: Here. Slake your thirst, witch, and speak of what you know of my wife.
Seer: She is already with child.
Rumpelstiltskin: I’m to be a father?
Seer: Your wife will bear you a son, but your actions on the b*ttlefield tomorrow will leave him fatherless.
Rumpelstiltskin: I’m going to die? No, no, no. You… Y-you must tell me how I can stop that happening.
Seer: You can’t.
Rumpelstiltskin: Then I’m done helping you.
(He grabs the water from her hand.)
Seer: For now. Someday, you’ll help me again.
Rumpelstiltskin: I’ll bet Milah isn’t even pregnant. You just said that so I would give you water, and now you’re trying to trick me into deserting.
Seer: You shall see. Tomorrow, when you see the army ride cows into battle, you will know I speak the truth.
Rumpelstiltskin: Cows? And who’s going to man the catapults? Milk maids? I have had enough with your fiendish lies.
Seer: There is no escaping it. You will have a son, and your actions will leave him fatherless.
(Spooked, Rumpelstiltskin quickly pulls the tarp back over the cage.)
–[Storybrooke]–
(At Mary Margaret’s apartment, Mary Margaret talks to Emma on the phone.)
MMB: Wait. Gold’s son is Henry’s father?
Emma: I know. I know. And the millions of questions you have, I have, too. The problem is, it doesn’t matter right now because I don’t know what to do.
MMB: Please tell me you’re not calling to ask me to tell you to keep it from him.
Emma: Henry thinks his father is dead. I told him that for a reason. I want to protect him.
MMB: No matter what this man did, Henry has a right to know who his father is. The truth about your parents… Emma, you of all people should know how important that is.
Emma: I don’t want Henry to get hurt. I just want to protect him.
MMB: Are you sure this is about protecting Henry, and not yourself?
–[New York]–
(Henry and Mr. Gold are waiting for Emma in the lobby of Neal’s apartment building.)
Henry: Why are you so nervous? When I found my mom, I was excited.
Mr. Gold: Because I have the benefit of a little more…life experience. I know that things don’t always happen the way we want them to.
Henry: Sure, but in my book, it says that you can see the future. Why can’t you just look and see what’s going to happen?
Mr. Gold: Well, that ability is complicated. I didn’t always have it. And then when I did… Well… It’s maybe not the gift one would expect. Seeing the inevitable can be a terrible price.
Henry: But you wouldn’t have to worry about stuff. You’d just know.
Mr. Gold: But that’s the great trap. The future is like a puzzle… With missing pieces. Difficult to read. And never, never what you think.
(Emma enters.)
Emma: Hey.
Mr. Gold: Did you find him?
Emma: Sorry. Your son… Got away.
–[Storybrooke]–
(Belle is lying in bed in her room at the hospital, when Regina enters.)
Belle: Who are you?
Regina: So it is true. You really don’t remember anything.
Belle: Are we friends?
Regina: We spent some time together. But I’m here because I believe you can help me find something that belongs to Rumpelstiltskin.
Belle: W-who?
Regina: Mr. Gold.
Belle: I, uh… I-I don’t know him.
(Regina magically knocks Belle unconscious.)
Regina: Not anymore. But you did.
(Regina magically opens Belle’s purse, causing all of its contents to float through the air. The object of interest is a piece of paper, which Regina levitates towards her. She takes said paper and examines it. It has the number 915.63 written on it.)
———–
(Cora, Regina, and Hook are at the town library. Regina scans the shelves of books for the number on the paper.)
Hook: Shouldn’t we be pillaging his shop or ransacking his home?
Cora: That would be the obvious choice, yes. But Gold wouldn’t risk crossing the town line and losing his memory without entrusting the dagger’s location to someone.
Hook: Belle.
Regina: My guess, is she hid it in one of her beloved books.
Cora: Impressive, Regina.
Regina: Thank you, mother.
Hook: I’ll be impressed when I’m holding the dagger in my hand.
(Regina finds the correct spot, but there is no book, just an empty space.)
Regina: No. It should be here.
Hook: Well, it’s not, is it? May we go now?
Cora: Hold on.
(Cora sticks her hand in the space between the books and finds a folded piece of paper.)
Cora: What’s this?
(She unfolds the paper.)
Hook: Oh, yes. Crude. To the untrained eye, a child’s scribbles, but to a pirate… It’s a map. Gold may not have hidden the dagger here, but I believe he’s left us the next best thing – its location.
Cora: Can you read it?
Hook: Well, lucky for you ladies, I’m quite adept at finding buried treasure.
———–
(Mary Margaret and David are talking in Mary Margaret’s kitchen.)
David: So Rumpelstiltskin is Henry’s grandfather?
MMB: Apparently.
David: But I’m his grandfather.
MMB: You can have more than one.
David: So his…step-grandmother is Regina, the Evil Queen.
MMB: Actually, his step-great-grandmother. And she’s also his adoptive mother.
David: It’s a good thing we don’t have Thanksgiving in our land, cause that dinner would suck.
MMB: Or, maybe this will mellow everyone out.
–[New York]–
(Still in the lobby, Mr. Gold frantically hits all of the buttons on the intercom.)
Emma: Gold, wait. What are you doing?
(Someone responds to the buzzer and unlocks the front door.)
Mr. Gold: I’m finding my son.
Emma: He’s gone.
Mr. Gold: But he lives here. He’ll be back, and I’ll be waiting.
(They arrive at the door of Neal’s apartment. Mr. Gold sets to picking the lock.)
Emma: Stop. You can’t just break in.
Mr. Gold: Yeah, well, actually, that’s something I’m quite adept at.
Emma: He might not come back.
Mr. Gold: Okay. Finding people is what you do, Miss Swan. I’m simply going to assist you. There may be information in here. Who he is, what he does, who he loves.
Emma: No, don’t do this. There are things called laws.
Henry: I’ll be lookout.
Emma: No, I… You could get arrested.
Mr. Gold: Then my son will have to testify against me, and we will be reunited.
(Mr. Gold successfully picks the lock and opens the door.)
–[Fairy Tale Land - Past]–
(At the camp, Rumpelstiltskin and another man watch as a several injured soldiers are carried in on stretchers. Some are yelling in pain.)
Man: Lucky bastards.
Rumpelstiltskin: Oh… I think they’d beg to differ.
Man: They’re not dead, but they can’t fight. Which means, they get sent home. That’s the only way out of here alive. When the ogres rip you limb from limb, pray that they’re quick.
(Another soldier makes an announcement, drawing a small crowd around him.)
Man 2: Fortune favours us! Fresh supplies have arrived from the Duke. Today, we will not be marching into battle. We’ll be riding.
Rumpelstiltskin: Riding? Riding what?
Man 2: What kind of question is that? A horse, of course. Now, grab yourself a cow, and get ready.
Rumpelstiltskin: I’m sorry, sir. W-What did you say?
Man 2: A cow. The saddles we just got in – made from the finest leather. We call ‘em cows. Grab yours, so at least the ride into doom will be a soft one on your backside.
(The crowd dissipates, while Rumpelstiltskin remains frozen in place. The man he was talking to earlier notices.)
Man: Are you alright?
Rumpelstiltskin: Yes. You… You go. I’ll catch up.
(The man leaves.)
Rumpelstiltskin: Oh, no…
(He walks over to the covered cage where the Seer was held.)
Rumpelstiltskin: So, it’s all true. I’m going to have a son. And I’m going to die.
(There is no response.)
Rumpelstiltskin: Answer me!
(Rumpelstiltskin pulls back the tarp, revealing an empty cage. In a fit of anger, he hits the crate several times, until he notices a sledge hammer a few feet away. He picks it up and draws it over his head. Hesitating, he checks that the coast is clear, and then slams the hammer into his leg. With a crunch, his leg breaks, and he falls to the ground screaming in agony.)
–[New York]–
(The trio enter Neal’s apartment after Mr. Gold’s successful break in.)
Emma: Gold. Come on, please. We really shouldn’t be here.
Henry: I don’t think he’s listening.
(Henry joins Mr. Gold to investigate the apartment. Emma spies the dream catcher from her and Neal’s hotel room hanging in the window. She takes it down and stares at it in her hands. Mr. Gold notices her interest.)
Mr. Gold: You find something, dearie?
Emma: Nothing. Uh, it just looks like a dream catcher.
Mr. Gold: Yeah, well, if it’s nothing, why are you still holding it? You’re lying to me.
Emma: Just get back to looking, okay?
Mr. Gold: No, no, no. You saw something. Tell me.
Emma: You don’t know what you’re talk-
Mr. Gold: Tell me!
Emma: Henry, go wait in the bathroom.
Henry: But I can help-
Emma: Henry, go!
(Henry exits, leaving the two of them alone.)
Emma: There’s nothing here. The guy’s a ghost.
Mr. Gold: Well, you think me a fool? You’re holding back. I want to know what, and why.
Emma: I’m not holding back.
Mr. Gold: Did he tell you something?
Emma: Gold-
Mr. Gold: Did he tell you something?!
Emma: Nothing. He didn’t say anything.
Mr. Gold: But you talked to-
Emma: Don’t put words in my mouth-
Mr. Gold: Tell me! You tell me, or I’m going to make you tell me.
Emma: You don’t have magic here.
Mr. Gold: Oh, I don’t need magic.
Emma: You really want to do this?
Mr. Gold: Do not push me.
Emma: Don’t push me.
Mr. Gold: We had a deal! A deal! No one! No one breaks deals with me!
(Neal barges in and interrupts the fight.)
Neal: Hey! Leave her alone.
–[Fairy Tale Land - Past]–
(With his leg in a crude brace, Rumpelstiltskin limps towards his and Milah’s home.)
Rumpelstiltskin: Milah! Milah!
(Rumpelstiltskin arrives home. Inside, Milah is holding an infant wrapped in a blanket. She is confused to see him.)
Rumpelstiltskin: Milah! Milah!
Milah: Rumpel?
Rumpelstiltskin: What’s his name?
Milah: Baelfire.
Rumpelstiltskin: A strong name!
(He collapses into a chair due to the pain in his leg.)
Milah: Something he’ll need if he’s to live with the shame of being your son.
Rumpelstiltskin: What… What are you talking about?
Milah: Rumpel, is it true?
Rumpelstiltskin: Is what true?
Milah: Did you injure yourself… So that you wouldn’t have to fight? So that you would be sent home?
Rumpelstiltskin: Who told you that?
Milah: Everyone! Rumours travel quickly from the front. Rumpel, did you do this to yourself? Did you do it to yourself?!
Rumpelstiltskin: Yes! A seer told me I was going to die in the battle.
Milah: You did this because a seer told you to do it?
Rumpelstiltskin: She was right about everything else. I left the front to be with you. You and… Baelfire.
Milah: You left because you were afraid.
Rumpelstiltskin: No…
Milah: You became what everyone thought you were – a coward.
Rumpelstiltskin: Stop…
Milah: Just like your father!
Rumpelstiltskin: I am nothing like my father! He tried to abandon me. I will never, ever do that to my son. That’s why I did this. For him. All for the boy. To save him from the same fate I suffered – growing up without a father.
Milah: You sentence him to a fate much worse – growing up as your son.
Rumpelstiltskin: What… What… What else could I do?
Milah: You could have fought, Rumpel. You could have d*ed.
Rumpelstiltskin: You don’t mean that. You don’t mean that.
(Milah hands baby Baelfire to Rumpelstiltskin. She then hastily grabs a bucket and exits through the front door.)
Rumpelstiltskin: Oh, it’s alright, Bae. It’s alright. Your Papa’s here. And I promise… I will never, ever leave you.
–[New York]–
(Neal, Emma, and Mr. Gold are still in the living room of Neal’s apartment.)
Mr. Gold: Bae… You came back for me.
Neal: No. I came to make sure you didn’t hurt her. I’ve seen what you do to people who break deals.
Mr. Gold: Please, Bae, just let me talk.
Neal: I have no interest in talking to you. You can go.
Mr. Gold: I’m not going anywhere.
Neal: Get out of my apartment!
Emma: Neal…
Neal: Emma, I got this.
Mr. Gold: You two know each other… You two know each other. How?
Emma: You sent me chasing after him.
Mr. Gold: No, no, no. Stop it! You’re lying. How do you two know each other?!
(Henry, who was still in the bathroom, enters the living room.)
Henry: Mom? W-what’s going on?
Emma: Hey…
Neal: Who’s this?
Emma: My son.
Neal: What?
Henry: Is that Baelfire?
Emma: I need you to stay in the other room for a little while longer, okay? Come on.
(Emma tries to lead Henry out of the room.)
Neal: Wait. H-how old are you?
Emma: Don’t answer him.
Neal: How old are you, kid?!
Henry: Eleven! Now, why is everyone yelling?
Neal: He’s eleven?
Henry: Mom?
Neal: Is this my son?
Henry: No. My dad was a fireman. He… He d*ed. That’s what you told me. You said…
Neal: Is this… My son?
Emma: Yes…
(Neal is shocked. Henry backs away from Emma, and then exits through the window leading to the fire escape. There is a brief pause, then Emma follows Henry.)
Emma: Henry. Henry?
(Emma crawls through the window, leaving Neal and Mr. Gold alone. Neal goes to follow Henry and Emma, but Mr. Gold stops him.)
Mr. Gold: Baelfire…
(Neal shrugs his hand off of his shoulder.)
Mr. Gold: Please, please. All I want is a chance to be heard.
Neal: Get out.
Mr. Gold: Look, you came back to protect Emma. To show that she had lived up to her end of her bargain with me.
Neal: And now she has. You can go.
Mr. Gold: No. Our deal was for her to get you to talk to me. If you truly want her deal to be fulfilled, you have but one choice. You have to talk to me.
Neal: You got three minutes.
–[Storybrooke]–
(At the hospital, Greg is talking to someone on his cell phone. He is no longer bedridden, and is dressed in his normal clothes. He still has a scrape and bruising on his forehead.)
Greg: Hey. N-no, I… I’m… I-I’m okay. Yeah. No, they… They… They said I’m… I’m good to go. But, um… You know, I think I’m going to stay here for little while. Why? Well, take a look at this and see.
(Greg sends a video of Regina using magic in Belle’s room to the person listed as ‘Her’.)
———–
(Regina, Hook, and Cora are still at the library. Hook has finished interpreting the map.)
Hook: I give you the location of the dagger.
Cora: Well done, Hook. We’ll take it from here.
(Cora snatches the map off of the table and she and Regina begin to leave.)
Hook: No. You promised me!
(When Hook tries to confront them, Cora magically blasts Hook back into a bookshelf, knocking him unconscious.)
Cora: The kris dagger’s much too powerful to be wasted on you.
Regina: So… Is… This what it was all about? Getting Rumpel’s dagger so you could obtain his dark powers?
Cora: If we possess the dagger, we control the Dark One. And when he returns to Storybrooke, we can command him to k*ll Snow White, Prince Charming, and Emma. Our enemies will be vanquished, and you, will be blameless in the eyes of the only person who matters.
Regina: Henry.
–[New York]–
(Emma has found Henry at the top of the fire escape. The two of them talk.)
Henry: So, that’s him.
Emma: Yeah.
Henry: Why didn’t you tell me?
Emma: Because I never thought I would see him again. I never wanted to.
Henry: Why not?
Emma: He was a thief, Henry. A liar, a bad guy, and he… He broke my heart.
Henry: I could have taken it, you know. The truth.
Emma: I know. He was just a part of my life I wanted to forget. That’s why I didn’t tell you. I was thinking of me, not you.
Henry: I thought you were different, but you’re just like her. Regina. She always lied to me, too.
Emma: I’m sorry…
Henry: I want to meet my dad.
———–
(Neal and Mr. Gold are having their three minutes.)
Neal: Clock’s ticking.
Mr. Gold: I know I’ve made mistakes, but you must believe me. I want to make up for it. There’s no greater pain than regret.
Neal: Try abandonment.
Mr. Gold: Please. Let me make it up to you.
Neal: How are you going to do that? I grew up alone. I grew up without a father. You can make up for that?
Mr. Gold: Yeah. Yes, I can.
Neal: Two minutes.
Mr. Gold: Come with me to Storybrooke. There’s magic there. I can turn the clock back. Make you fourteen again. We can start over.
Neal: Fourteen? I don’t want to be fourteen, again. Are you… Are you insane?
Mr. Gold: I can’t make up for the lost time, but I can take away the memories. Bae…
Neal: Take away who I am? No, thanks. One minute.
Mr. Gold: Bae… Please… Give me a chance. You once loved me.
Neal: You were once a good man.
Mr. Gold: And I can be that man again. I’ve changed. Look. I came here, to this city, without magic.
Neal: Yeah, yeah, and you’re still trying to use it to make up for your mistakes. Still think that that can make it all better. It won’t. You can’t. You have no idea what I’ve lived with. You’re so worried about you. You know what I’ve dealt with? Every night, for more years than you could know, the last thing I see before sleep, is the image of you… You and me, over that pit. Your hand… Wrapped around mine. And then, you open your grip. And as I fall away, all I can see is your face. Choosing all…this…crap over me. Letting me go. Now, it’s my turn. Now I’m letting you go.
Mr. Gold: I’m sorry-
Neal: I don’t care. I didn’t get closure, so you don’t, either. Got to go.
Mr. Gold: Oh, Bae…
Neal: No. Time’s up.
(Neal exits.)
–[Fairy Tale Land - Past]–
(Rumpelstiltskin enters a clearing in the forest. There is a campfire burning in the middle. The Seer, now an adult, appears from behind a tree.)
Seer: I’ve been expecting you.
Rumpelstiltskin: Then you know exactly why I came here.
Seer: What I foretold during the Ogres w*r has finally come to pass.
Rumpelstiltskin: Well, in a manner of speaking. I, uh, hobbled myself on the b*ttlefield. Was branded a coward. My wife – ran away and left me. Then, my son was called to the front. Oh! Then I became The Dark One. Then, Bae left me. So, yes. My actions on the b*ttlefield left my son fatherless. But… It would’ve been nice to know about all that pesky detail.
Seer: Knowing would not have made a difference. You still would have been powerless to escape your fate.
Rumpelstiltskin: Just…like…you.
(He magically ‘strangles’ her, cutting off her breathing.)
Rumpelstiltskin: Now you know exactly why I came here.
(The Seer manages to croak out a response.)
Seer: You want to find your son.
Rumpelstiltskin: Indeed.
(Rumpelstiltskin releases the magical hold on her throat. Once free, the Seer does a deliberate set of hand movements.)
Seer: You will find him.
Rumpelstiltskin: How? And this time, don’t leave out a single detail.
(She continues the movements.)
Seer: It will not be an easy path. It will take many years… And require a curse. A curse…powerful enough to rip everyone from this land.
Rumpelstiltskin: Yes, yes, there’s more, I know it. Tell me.
Seer: You will not cast the curse… Someone else will. And you will not break the curse… Someone else will.
Rumpelstiltskin: Tell me!
Seer: I don’t know. Even my powers have limits.
Rumpelstiltskin: Ah, ah, ah. Not good enough, dearie.
(Rumpelstiltskin, again, puts her into a magical stranglehold. She croaks out another sentence.)
Seer: If you want to see the path you must take, there is only one way. Take this burden from me.
(The Seer holds out both of her hands palm up.)
Rumpelstiltskin: Mm, gladly.
(Rumpelstiltskin places his hands on top of the Seer’s, emitting a burst of white light. The Seer screams.)
–[New York]–
(Emma crawls back into Neal’s apartment through the window, while Henry waits outside on the fire escape. Neal is waiting.)
Emma: He wants to meet you.
Neal: You weren’t going to tell me about him.
Emma: No, I wasn’t.
Neal: Yeah, well, he’s my kid, too, so you don’t get to make that decision by yourself anymore.
Emma: Great. Go talk to him, then. But… Don’t break his heart.
Neal: Trust me – I’m not going do to him what he did to me.
Emma: Or what you did to me.
Neal: Okay. I get it. We’re all messed up. What do you say we try to avoid that with him? Alright?
Emma: Alright.
(Neal crawls out onto the fire escape to join Henry.)
Henry: So… You’re my dad.
Neal: Yeah.
Henry: I’m Henry.
Neal: It’s nice to meet you, Henry. Sorry I took so long.
Henry: It’s okay. You didn’t know.
(While Henry and Neal talk outside, Mr. Gold walks past the window. He stops and watches them.)
–[Fairy Tale Land - Past]–
(Rumpelstiltskin and the Seer still have their hands joined together. The white light is also still being emitted from the two of them.)
Rumpelstiltskin: I can’t…see…anything. It’s too much. It’s nothing but a jumble.
Seer: The future is a puzzle with many pieces to be sorted. In time, you will learn to separate what can be, from what will be.
(Rumpelstiltskin lets go. The connection breaks, and the Seer falls to the ground.)
Rumpelstiltskin: This is why you wanted to give me your power. To free yourself from this torment.
Seer: In time, you will work it all out.
(Rumpelstiltskin turns to leave, but the Seer calls out to him.)
Seer: Wait. As gratitude, I offer you one piece of the puzzle.
(She raises one of her hands off of the ground and waves it through the air.)
Seer: You will be reunited with your son, and it will come in a most unexpected way.
Rumpelstiltskin: How?
Seer: A boy… A young boy will lead you to him. But beware, Rumpelstiltskin, for that boy is more than he appears. He will lead you…to what you seek. But there will be a price. The boy… Will be your undoing.
(Finally, the Seer’s hand falls to the ground as she dies.)
Rumpelstiltskin: Then I’ll just have to k*ll him.
–[New York]–
(Back in Neal’s apartment, Mr. Gold is still watching Henry and Neal through the window. He turns around with a haunted look on his face.)
–[End]–
(Milah is sewing inside when Rumpelstiltskin’s voice is heard through the door.)
Rumpelstiltskin: Milah?
(Rumpelstiltskin enters with a paper in hand.)
Rumpelstiltskin: Milah.
Milah: I’m nearly finished.
Rumpelstiltskin: Oh, you learn quickly.
Milah: I have a good teacher.
(They kiss.)
Milah: What is it? What brings you home so early?
Rumpelstiltskin: Milah… My weaving days are behind us. I’ve been called to the front.
(He unrolls the piece of paper and holds it in front of Milah. It reads ‘Rumplestiltskin (sic) You have been drafted into the King’s army’.)
Milah: The Ogres w*r.
Rumpelstiltskin: I report for training in the morning.
Milah: No. Rumpel, I’ve heard stories. The front – it’s a brutal place.
Rumpelstiltskin: Oh, Milah… I-I know, I know. I… I can’t say that I… I won’t be frightened. But… But this is the chance I’ve been waiting for…all my life. You know, I’ve lived under the shadow of my father’s actions for too long now.
Milah: Just because your father was a coward, it doesn’t mean you are.
Rumpelstiltskin: Oh, I know that. As do you. But to the world? Fighting in this w*r finally gives me the chance to prove that to everyone else.
Milah: Go. Be brave. Fight honourably.
Rumpelstiltskin: Oh, God, I love you.
Milah: I love you, too. When you return, we can start living the life we’ve always dreamed of.
Rumpelstiltskin: Yeah…
Milah: We can have a family.
Rumpelstiltskin: A family.
–[New York]–
(Emma, Henry, and Mr. Gold arrive at their destination in New York via taxi. They look up at the apartment building in front of them.)
Emma: What’s wrong? This the right place?
Mr. Gold: Yes, it is.
Emma: Let me guess. He’s not expecting you. Well, who doesn’t love a surprise?
–[Storybrooke]–
(At Regina’s house, Cora and Regina are conversing, while Cora attempts to comfort Regina.)
Cora: What is it, sweetie?
Regina: It’s Henry. Emma left town with Gold, and she took him with her.
Cora: And you didn’t stop them?
Regina: I didn’t know until after they had gone.
Cora: I’m sure he’s safe. And, as soon as Gold’s done, Henry will be back.
Regina: But not with me.
Hook: Back? From where? Where’s Rumpelstiltskin gone?
Regina: I don’t know.
Hook: Well, if he’s left town, then he’s powerless. He can be k*lled.
Cora: The moment either of us leave, we lose our magic… And our advantage.
Hook: Your memories?
Regina: None of us were victims of the curse. It’s not about memories – it’s about magic.
Hook: Well, I don’t need magic. I’ll go after him alone.
Regina: Even if you could find him, do you really think you can just walk up to him and s*ab him in the heart with your sword?
Hook: Well, I prefer my hook, but I can’t find that now.
Cora: You’re not going anywhere.
Hook: I deserve my vengeance!
Cora: You’re right. You’re right, you do. And, with The Dark One gone, we can search for the one magical item that can actually k*ll him here… His dagger.
–[New York]–
(The trio has entered the lobby of the apartment building. Henry scans the list of names on the intercom.)
Henry: No ‘Baelfire’.
Emma: Yeah, that probably wouldn’t fly as an alias. Your magic globe didn’t give you an apartment number?
Mr. Gold: It doesn’t work that way.
(Emma and Mr. Gold take a turn at looking at the list.)
Emma: Do any of these names mean anything to you?
Mr. Gold: Well, names are what I traffic in, but sadly, no.
(Emma points to an apartment that is listed only by number.)
Emma: Here’s your boy.
Mr. Gold: Or, it could just be vacant.
Emma: You might traffic in names and magic, but I traffic in finding people who don’t want to be found. And those sort of folks don’t like to advertise their whereabouts.
(Emma buzzes the apartment on the intercom.)
Emma: U.P.S. package for four-oh-seven.
(The person on the other end of the line doesn’t respond, and then hangs up.)
Henry: Maybe you should’ve said FedEx.
(Suddenly, they hear a noise coming from the fire escape outside.)
Emma: He’s running.
(The three of them rush outside, where they see the apartment’s occupant climbing down the fire escape. He reaches the bottom and breaks into a run.)
Mr. Gold: That… That favour you owe me – this is it. Get him to talk to me. I… I can’t run.
Emma: Watch Henry. I’ll be back.
(Emma chases after the unknown man through the streets of New York, stalling traffic along the way. Emma runs around the opposite side of the building and manages to ambush the man as the two meet. She tackles him, and the two of them fall to the ground. When Emma looks up, a stunned look overcomes her face.)
Emma: No… Neal?
Neal: Emma?
Emma: Neal?
(The two of them stand up.)
Neal: I don’t understand. What are you doing here?
Emma: What am I doing here?
Neal: Yeah.
Emma: I’m not answering anything until you tell me the truth. Are you Gold’s son?
Neal: What are you talking about? Who’s Gold?
Emma: You played me. You’re from there. You played me, and he played me, you both played me.
Neal: Whoa, whoa, whoa. Okay.
Emma: You and Gold.
Neal: Emma, slow down. What are you talking about? Who’s Gold?
Emma: Your father. Rumpelstiltskin.
Neal: He’s here?
Emma: Why else would I be in New York?
Neal: You brought him to me? Why would you do that?!
Emma: Hey! I am the only one allowed to be angry here! Did you know who I was, where I was from, the whole time? Was this just some sort of sick, twisted plan? Did… Did you even care about me at all?
Neal: Emma, do not…
Emma: I want to know! I want the truth – all of it!
Neal: Fine! We… We got to get off the street. We can’t do it here. We’re out in the open. I… I spent a lifetime running from that man. I’m not going to let him catch me. There’s a bar down the street. We can talk there.
Emma: I am not drinking with you. Whatever you’re going to tell me, tell me now.
Neal: No, bar’s better. Don’t worry. You can keep yelling at me when we get there.
(Neal begins to walk off. Emma, annoyed, follows him.)
———–
(Meanwhile, Henry and Mr. Gold are still waiting outside of Neal’s apartment building. They’re at a hotdog stand.)
Henry: Don’t worry. Emma’s really good at catching people.
Mr. Gold: Well, my son’s been running away for a long time now. Now I have a feeling he’s equally adept at it.
Henry: Well, at least we found him, right?
Mr. Gold: Indeed.
Henry: Oh, and, uh, thanks, for the hot dog. I forgot.
Mr. Gold: You are quite welcome. And thank you.
Henry: For what?
Mr. Gold: Well, if it wasn’t for you bringing Emma to Storybrooke, none of this would have come to pass. You… Are a remarkable young man.
Henry: You know… I forgave her. Emma – for giving me up. She thought it was the best for me then. That’s why she did it. I’m sure your son will get it, too.
Mr. Gold: Alas, the circumstances surrounding our separation weren’t quite so noble.
Henry: But…you’re here now. And, you want him back, right?
Mr. Gold: More than anything.
Henry: Then, that’s all that matters.
———–
(Neal and Emma are talking at the bar Neal suggested.)
Neal: Well, what do you want to know, Emma? You want the truth? Ask away.
Emma: Did you know who I was when we met?
Neal: If I had, I wouldn’t have gone near you.
Emma: Come on.
Neal: Come on? Come on, what? I was in hiding. I came here to get… A-away from… All that crap.
Emma: So, if you didn’t know, then you were just using me. You just needed someone to take the fall for all the watches that you stole.
Neal: I wasn’t using you. When we met, I didn’t know. I found out.
Emma: How?
Neal: When I went to sell the watches… I ran into a friend of yours. August.
(The scene flashes back to when Neal ran into August in Portland.)
August: When you see what I have in here, you’re going to listen. You’re going to believe every word I say.
Neal: Yeah, right.
(August opens the lid of the box on the back of his motorcycle. Inside, there’s a typewriter loaded with a piece of paper. The sentence ‘I know you’re Baelfire.’ is typed on it.)
(The scene returns to the bar.)
Emma: You left me… And let me go to prison, because Pinocchio told you to?
Neal: Emma…
Emma: I loved you.
Neal: I… I was, um… I was… I was trying to help you.
Emma: By letting me go to jail?
Neal: By getting you home.
Emma: Are you telling me, that us meeting was a coincidence? Because how the hell did that happen? If it wasn’t in your plan, or your father’s?
Neal: Think about it. He wanted you to break the curse. Us meeting – that could have stopped it. Maybe it was fate.
Emma: You believe in that?
Neal: You know, there’s not a ton about my father that I remember that doesn’t suck. But he used to tell me that there are no coincidences. Everything that happens, happens by design, and there’s nothing we can do about it. Forces greater than us conspire to make it happen. Fate, destiny, whatever you want to call it. The point is… Maybe we met for a reason. Maybe something good came from us being together.
Emma: No. Not that I can think of. I just went to jail. That’s it. Doesn’t matter now. I’m over it. And you.
Neal: Why do you wear the, uh, key chain I got you?
(Emma takes off the necklace and places it on the counter in front of Neal.)
Emma: To remind myself never to trust someone again. Come on. I made a deal with your father I’d bring you to him.
Neal: You made a deal with him?
Emma: Yeah. And I’m upholding my end.
Neal: No, Emma, you don’t have to. You know that.
Emma: I know.
Neal: Okay, so this should be really easy for you. Tell him that you lost me. Tell him you can’t find me. You do that, you’ll never have to see me again.
–[Fairy Tale Land - Past]–
(Rumpelstiltskin is at one of the army’s camps set up in the woods. There are several tents set up, along with several armed soldiers walking around. He walks past one of the tents as a soldier is exiting.)
Man: Soldier.
Rumpelstiltskin: Me?
Man: I’m needed at the front. You guard this crate with your life.
(He gestures to a cage covered by a tarp.)
Rumpelstiltskin: W-what’s under there?
Man: A prisoner who could help us turn the tide against the ogres. Careful. It’s a tricky beast.
Rumpelstiltskin: Yes, sir.
(The man leaves. As Rumpelstiltskin draws closer to the crate, a child-like voice calls out to him.)
Seer: Rumpelstiltskin.
(Confused, he pulls back the tarp. Inside the cage, there is a young girl with her eyes sewn shut.)
Rumpelstiltskin: You’re a child.
(She points to a nearby bucket of water.)
Seer: Please. I haven’t had a sip in days.
Rumpelstiltskin: How do you know my name?
Seer: I’m a seer. I see all.
(She holds up her hands, revealing eyes on the palms.)
Rumpelstiltskin: No, no, no. That’s… That’s not possible. You must have overheard someone speak.
Seer: Rumpelstiltskin, the son of a coward. Raised by spinsters. Scared of ending up just like his father. Did I overhear that? I told you. I see all, even what has yet to pass.
Rumpelstiltskin: You mean the future? You can see the future?
Seer: Indeed I can… Including yours.
Rumpelstiltskin: No, no, no. I… I won’t indulge this…dark magic.
Seer: Even if what I see concerns your wife? Milah?
Rumpelstiltskin: Why? Has something happened to her?
Seer: Give me water.
(Rumpelstiltskin acquiesces and gives her a cup of water.)
Rumpelstiltskin: Here. Slake your thirst, witch, and speak of what you know of my wife.
Seer: She is already with child.
Rumpelstiltskin: I’m to be a father?
Seer: Your wife will bear you a son, but your actions on the b*ttlefield tomorrow will leave him fatherless.
Rumpelstiltskin: I’m going to die? No, no, no. You… Y-you must tell me how I can stop that happening.
Seer: You can’t.
Rumpelstiltskin: Then I’m done helping you.
(He grabs the water from her hand.)
Seer: For now. Someday, you’ll help me again.
Rumpelstiltskin: I’ll bet Milah isn’t even pregnant. You just said that so I would give you water, and now you’re trying to trick me into deserting.
Seer: You shall see. Tomorrow, when you see the army ride cows into battle, you will know I speak the truth.
Rumpelstiltskin: Cows? And who’s going to man the catapults? Milk maids? I have had enough with your fiendish lies.
Seer: There is no escaping it. You will have a son, and your actions will leave him fatherless.
(Spooked, Rumpelstiltskin quickly pulls the tarp back over the cage.)
–[Storybrooke]–
(At Mary Margaret’s apartment, Mary Margaret talks to Emma on the phone.)
MMB: Wait. Gold’s son is Henry’s father?
Emma: I know. I know. And the millions of questions you have, I have, too. The problem is, it doesn’t matter right now because I don’t know what to do.
MMB: Please tell me you’re not calling to ask me to tell you to keep it from him.
Emma: Henry thinks his father is dead. I told him that for a reason. I want to protect him.
MMB: No matter what this man did, Henry has a right to know who his father is. The truth about your parents… Emma, you of all people should know how important that is.
Emma: I don’t want Henry to get hurt. I just want to protect him.
MMB: Are you sure this is about protecting Henry, and not yourself?
–[New York]–
(Henry and Mr. Gold are waiting for Emma in the lobby of Neal’s apartment building.)
Henry: Why are you so nervous? When I found my mom, I was excited.
Mr. Gold: Because I have the benefit of a little more…life experience. I know that things don’t always happen the way we want them to.
Henry: Sure, but in my book, it says that you can see the future. Why can’t you just look and see what’s going to happen?
Mr. Gold: Well, that ability is complicated. I didn’t always have it. And then when I did… Well… It’s maybe not the gift one would expect. Seeing the inevitable can be a terrible price.
Henry: But you wouldn’t have to worry about stuff. You’d just know.
Mr. Gold: But that’s the great trap. The future is like a puzzle… With missing pieces. Difficult to read. And never, never what you think.
(Emma enters.)
Emma: Hey.
Mr. Gold: Did you find him?
Emma: Sorry. Your son… Got away.
–[Storybrooke]–
(Belle is lying in bed in her room at the hospital, when Regina enters.)
Belle: Who are you?
Regina: So it is true. You really don’t remember anything.
Belle: Are we friends?
Regina: We spent some time together. But I’m here because I believe you can help me find something that belongs to Rumpelstiltskin.
Belle: W-who?
Regina: Mr. Gold.
Belle: I, uh… I-I don’t know him.
(Regina magically knocks Belle unconscious.)
Regina: Not anymore. But you did.
(Regina magically opens Belle’s purse, causing all of its contents to float through the air. The object of interest is a piece of paper, which Regina levitates towards her. She takes said paper and examines it. It has the number 915.63 written on it.)
———–
(Cora, Regina, and Hook are at the town library. Regina scans the shelves of books for the number on the paper.)
Hook: Shouldn’t we be pillaging his shop or ransacking his home?
Cora: That would be the obvious choice, yes. But Gold wouldn’t risk crossing the town line and losing his memory without entrusting the dagger’s location to someone.
Hook: Belle.
Regina: My guess, is she hid it in one of her beloved books.
Cora: Impressive, Regina.
Regina: Thank you, mother.
Hook: I’ll be impressed when I’m holding the dagger in my hand.
(Regina finds the correct spot, but there is no book, just an empty space.)
Regina: No. It should be here.
Hook: Well, it’s not, is it? May we go now?
Cora: Hold on.
(Cora sticks her hand in the space between the books and finds a folded piece of paper.)
Cora: What’s this?
(She unfolds the paper.)
Hook: Oh, yes. Crude. To the untrained eye, a child’s scribbles, but to a pirate… It’s a map. Gold may not have hidden the dagger here, but I believe he’s left us the next best thing – its location.
Cora: Can you read it?
Hook: Well, lucky for you ladies, I’m quite adept at finding buried treasure.
———–
(Mary Margaret and David are talking in Mary Margaret’s kitchen.)
David: So Rumpelstiltskin is Henry’s grandfather?
MMB: Apparently.
David: But I’m his grandfather.
MMB: You can have more than one.
David: So his…step-grandmother is Regina, the Evil Queen.
MMB: Actually, his step-great-grandmother. And she’s also his adoptive mother.
David: It’s a good thing we don’t have Thanksgiving in our land, cause that dinner would suck.
MMB: Or, maybe this will mellow everyone out.
–[New York]–
(Still in the lobby, Mr. Gold frantically hits all of the buttons on the intercom.)
Emma: Gold, wait. What are you doing?
(Someone responds to the buzzer and unlocks the front door.)
Mr. Gold: I’m finding my son.
Emma: He’s gone.
Mr. Gold: But he lives here. He’ll be back, and I’ll be waiting.
(They arrive at the door of Neal’s apartment. Mr. Gold sets to picking the lock.)
Emma: Stop. You can’t just break in.
Mr. Gold: Yeah, well, actually, that’s something I’m quite adept at.
Emma: He might not come back.
Mr. Gold: Okay. Finding people is what you do, Miss Swan. I’m simply going to assist you. There may be information in here. Who he is, what he does, who he loves.
Emma: No, don’t do this. There are things called laws.
Henry: I’ll be lookout.
Emma: No, I… You could get arrested.
Mr. Gold: Then my son will have to testify against me, and we will be reunited.
(Mr. Gold successfully picks the lock and opens the door.)
–[Fairy Tale Land - Past]–
(At the camp, Rumpelstiltskin and another man watch as a several injured soldiers are carried in on stretchers. Some are yelling in pain.)
Man: Lucky bastards.
Rumpelstiltskin: Oh… I think they’d beg to differ.
Man: They’re not dead, but they can’t fight. Which means, they get sent home. That’s the only way out of here alive. When the ogres rip you limb from limb, pray that they’re quick.
(Another soldier makes an announcement, drawing a small crowd around him.)
Man 2: Fortune favours us! Fresh supplies have arrived from the Duke. Today, we will not be marching into battle. We’ll be riding.
Rumpelstiltskin: Riding? Riding what?
Man 2: What kind of question is that? A horse, of course. Now, grab yourself a cow, and get ready.
Rumpelstiltskin: I’m sorry, sir. W-What did you say?
Man 2: A cow. The saddles we just got in – made from the finest leather. We call ‘em cows. Grab yours, so at least the ride into doom will be a soft one on your backside.
(The crowd dissipates, while Rumpelstiltskin remains frozen in place. The man he was talking to earlier notices.)
Man: Are you alright?
Rumpelstiltskin: Yes. You… You go. I’ll catch up.
(The man leaves.)
Rumpelstiltskin: Oh, no…
(He walks over to the covered cage where the Seer was held.)
Rumpelstiltskin: So, it’s all true. I’m going to have a son. And I’m going to die.
(There is no response.)
Rumpelstiltskin: Answer me!
(Rumpelstiltskin pulls back the tarp, revealing an empty cage. In a fit of anger, he hits the crate several times, until he notices a sledge hammer a few feet away. He picks it up and draws it over his head. Hesitating, he checks that the coast is clear, and then slams the hammer into his leg. With a crunch, his leg breaks, and he falls to the ground screaming in agony.)
–[New York]–
(The trio enter Neal’s apartment after Mr. Gold’s successful break in.)
Emma: Gold. Come on, please. We really shouldn’t be here.
Henry: I don’t think he’s listening.
(Henry joins Mr. Gold to investigate the apartment. Emma spies the dream catcher from her and Neal’s hotel room hanging in the window. She takes it down and stares at it in her hands. Mr. Gold notices her interest.)
Mr. Gold: You find something, dearie?
Emma: Nothing. Uh, it just looks like a dream catcher.
Mr. Gold: Yeah, well, if it’s nothing, why are you still holding it? You’re lying to me.
Emma: Just get back to looking, okay?
Mr. Gold: No, no, no. You saw something. Tell me.
Emma: You don’t know what you’re talk-
Mr. Gold: Tell me!
Emma: Henry, go wait in the bathroom.
Henry: But I can help-
Emma: Henry, go!
(Henry exits, leaving the two of them alone.)
Emma: There’s nothing here. The guy’s a ghost.
Mr. Gold: Well, you think me a fool? You’re holding back. I want to know what, and why.
Emma: I’m not holding back.
Mr. Gold: Did he tell you something?
Emma: Gold-
Mr. Gold: Did he tell you something?!
Emma: Nothing. He didn’t say anything.
Mr. Gold: But you talked to-
Emma: Don’t put words in my mouth-
Mr. Gold: Tell me! You tell me, or I’m going to make you tell me.
Emma: You don’t have magic here.
Mr. Gold: Oh, I don’t need magic.
Emma: You really want to do this?
Mr. Gold: Do not push me.
Emma: Don’t push me.
Mr. Gold: We had a deal! A deal! No one! No one breaks deals with me!
(Neal barges in and interrupts the fight.)
Neal: Hey! Leave her alone.
–[Fairy Tale Land - Past]–
(With his leg in a crude brace, Rumpelstiltskin limps towards his and Milah’s home.)
Rumpelstiltskin: Milah! Milah!
(Rumpelstiltskin arrives home. Inside, Milah is holding an infant wrapped in a blanket. She is confused to see him.)
Rumpelstiltskin: Milah! Milah!
Milah: Rumpel?
Rumpelstiltskin: What’s his name?
Milah: Baelfire.
Rumpelstiltskin: A strong name!
(He collapses into a chair due to the pain in his leg.)
Milah: Something he’ll need if he’s to live with the shame of being your son.
Rumpelstiltskin: What… What are you talking about?
Milah: Rumpel, is it true?
Rumpelstiltskin: Is what true?
Milah: Did you injure yourself… So that you wouldn’t have to fight? So that you would be sent home?
Rumpelstiltskin: Who told you that?
Milah: Everyone! Rumours travel quickly from the front. Rumpel, did you do this to yourself? Did you do it to yourself?!
Rumpelstiltskin: Yes! A seer told me I was going to die in the battle.
Milah: You did this because a seer told you to do it?
Rumpelstiltskin: She was right about everything else. I left the front to be with you. You and… Baelfire.
Milah: You left because you were afraid.
Rumpelstiltskin: No…
Milah: You became what everyone thought you were – a coward.
Rumpelstiltskin: Stop…
Milah: Just like your father!
Rumpelstiltskin: I am nothing like my father! He tried to abandon me. I will never, ever do that to my son. That’s why I did this. For him. All for the boy. To save him from the same fate I suffered – growing up without a father.
Milah: You sentence him to a fate much worse – growing up as your son.
Rumpelstiltskin: What… What… What else could I do?
Milah: You could have fought, Rumpel. You could have d*ed.
Rumpelstiltskin: You don’t mean that. You don’t mean that.
(Milah hands baby Baelfire to Rumpelstiltskin. She then hastily grabs a bucket and exits through the front door.)
Rumpelstiltskin: Oh, it’s alright, Bae. It’s alright. Your Papa’s here. And I promise… I will never, ever leave you.
–[New York]–
(Neal, Emma, and Mr. Gold are still in the living room of Neal’s apartment.)
Mr. Gold: Bae… You came back for me.
Neal: No. I came to make sure you didn’t hurt her. I’ve seen what you do to people who break deals.
Mr. Gold: Please, Bae, just let me talk.
Neal: I have no interest in talking to you. You can go.
Mr. Gold: I’m not going anywhere.
Neal: Get out of my apartment!
Emma: Neal…
Neal: Emma, I got this.
Mr. Gold: You two know each other… You two know each other. How?
Emma: You sent me chasing after him.
Mr. Gold: No, no, no. Stop it! You’re lying. How do you two know each other?!
(Henry, who was still in the bathroom, enters the living room.)
Henry: Mom? W-what’s going on?
Emma: Hey…
Neal: Who’s this?
Emma: My son.
Neal: What?
Henry: Is that Baelfire?
Emma: I need you to stay in the other room for a little while longer, okay? Come on.
(Emma tries to lead Henry out of the room.)
Neal: Wait. H-how old are you?
Emma: Don’t answer him.
Neal: How old are you, kid?!
Henry: Eleven! Now, why is everyone yelling?
Neal: He’s eleven?
Henry: Mom?
Neal: Is this my son?
Henry: No. My dad was a fireman. He… He d*ed. That’s what you told me. You said…
Neal: Is this… My son?
Emma: Yes…
(Neal is shocked. Henry backs away from Emma, and then exits through the window leading to the fire escape. There is a brief pause, then Emma follows Henry.)
Emma: Henry. Henry?
(Emma crawls through the window, leaving Neal and Mr. Gold alone. Neal goes to follow Henry and Emma, but Mr. Gold stops him.)
Mr. Gold: Baelfire…
(Neal shrugs his hand off of his shoulder.)
Mr. Gold: Please, please. All I want is a chance to be heard.
Neal: Get out.
Mr. Gold: Look, you came back to protect Emma. To show that she had lived up to her end of her bargain with me.
Neal: And now she has. You can go.
Mr. Gold: No. Our deal was for her to get you to talk to me. If you truly want her deal to be fulfilled, you have but one choice. You have to talk to me.
Neal: You got three minutes.
–[Storybrooke]–
(At the hospital, Greg is talking to someone on his cell phone. He is no longer bedridden, and is dressed in his normal clothes. He still has a scrape and bruising on his forehead.)
Greg: Hey. N-no, I… I’m… I-I’m okay. Yeah. No, they… They… They said I’m… I’m good to go. But, um… You know, I think I’m going to stay here for little while. Why? Well, take a look at this and see.
(Greg sends a video of Regina using magic in Belle’s room to the person listed as ‘Her’.)
———–
(Regina, Hook, and Cora are still at the library. Hook has finished interpreting the map.)
Hook: I give you the location of the dagger.
Cora: Well done, Hook. We’ll take it from here.
(Cora snatches the map off of the table and she and Regina begin to leave.)
Hook: No. You promised me!
(When Hook tries to confront them, Cora magically blasts Hook back into a bookshelf, knocking him unconscious.)
Cora: The kris dagger’s much too powerful to be wasted on you.
Regina: So… Is… This what it was all about? Getting Rumpel’s dagger so you could obtain his dark powers?
Cora: If we possess the dagger, we control the Dark One. And when he returns to Storybrooke, we can command him to k*ll Snow White, Prince Charming, and Emma. Our enemies will be vanquished, and you, will be blameless in the eyes of the only person who matters.
Regina: Henry.
–[New York]–
(Emma has found Henry at the top of the fire escape. The two of them talk.)
Henry: So, that’s him.
Emma: Yeah.
Henry: Why didn’t you tell me?
Emma: Because I never thought I would see him again. I never wanted to.
Henry: Why not?
Emma: He was a thief, Henry. A liar, a bad guy, and he… He broke my heart.
Henry: I could have taken it, you know. The truth.
Emma: I know. He was just a part of my life I wanted to forget. That’s why I didn’t tell you. I was thinking of me, not you.
Henry: I thought you were different, but you’re just like her. Regina. She always lied to me, too.
Emma: I’m sorry…
Henry: I want to meet my dad.
———–
(Neal and Mr. Gold are having their three minutes.)
Neal: Clock’s ticking.
Mr. Gold: I know I’ve made mistakes, but you must believe me. I want to make up for it. There’s no greater pain than regret.
Neal: Try abandonment.
Mr. Gold: Please. Let me make it up to you.
Neal: How are you going to do that? I grew up alone. I grew up without a father. You can make up for that?
Mr. Gold: Yeah. Yes, I can.
Neal: Two minutes.
Mr. Gold: Come with me to Storybrooke. There’s magic there. I can turn the clock back. Make you fourteen again. We can start over.
Neal: Fourteen? I don’t want to be fourteen, again. Are you… Are you insane?
Mr. Gold: I can’t make up for the lost time, but I can take away the memories. Bae…
Neal: Take away who I am? No, thanks. One minute.
Mr. Gold: Bae… Please… Give me a chance. You once loved me.
Neal: You were once a good man.
Mr. Gold: And I can be that man again. I’ve changed. Look. I came here, to this city, without magic.
Neal: Yeah, yeah, and you’re still trying to use it to make up for your mistakes. Still think that that can make it all better. It won’t. You can’t. You have no idea what I’ve lived with. You’re so worried about you. You know what I’ve dealt with? Every night, for more years than you could know, the last thing I see before sleep, is the image of you… You and me, over that pit. Your hand… Wrapped around mine. And then, you open your grip. And as I fall away, all I can see is your face. Choosing all…this…crap over me. Letting me go. Now, it’s my turn. Now I’m letting you go.
Mr. Gold: I’m sorry-
Neal: I don’t care. I didn’t get closure, so you don’t, either. Got to go.
Mr. Gold: Oh, Bae…
Neal: No. Time’s up.
(Neal exits.)
–[Fairy Tale Land - Past]–
(Rumpelstiltskin enters a clearing in the forest. There is a campfire burning in the middle. The Seer, now an adult, appears from behind a tree.)
Seer: I’ve been expecting you.
Rumpelstiltskin: Then you know exactly why I came here.
Seer: What I foretold during the Ogres w*r has finally come to pass.
Rumpelstiltskin: Well, in a manner of speaking. I, uh, hobbled myself on the b*ttlefield. Was branded a coward. My wife – ran away and left me. Then, my son was called to the front. Oh! Then I became The Dark One. Then, Bae left me. So, yes. My actions on the b*ttlefield left my son fatherless. But… It would’ve been nice to know about all that pesky detail.
Seer: Knowing would not have made a difference. You still would have been powerless to escape your fate.
Rumpelstiltskin: Just…like…you.
(He magically ‘strangles’ her, cutting off her breathing.)
Rumpelstiltskin: Now you know exactly why I came here.
(The Seer manages to croak out a response.)
Seer: You want to find your son.
Rumpelstiltskin: Indeed.
(Rumpelstiltskin releases the magical hold on her throat. Once free, the Seer does a deliberate set of hand movements.)
Seer: You will find him.
Rumpelstiltskin: How? And this time, don’t leave out a single detail.
(She continues the movements.)
Seer: It will not be an easy path. It will take many years… And require a curse. A curse…powerful enough to rip everyone from this land.
Rumpelstiltskin: Yes, yes, there’s more, I know it. Tell me.
Seer: You will not cast the curse… Someone else will. And you will not break the curse… Someone else will.
Rumpelstiltskin: Tell me!
Seer: I don’t know. Even my powers have limits.
Rumpelstiltskin: Ah, ah, ah. Not good enough, dearie.
(Rumpelstiltskin, again, puts her into a magical stranglehold. She croaks out another sentence.)
Seer: If you want to see the path you must take, there is only one way. Take this burden from me.
(The Seer holds out both of her hands palm up.)
Rumpelstiltskin: Mm, gladly.
(Rumpelstiltskin places his hands on top of the Seer’s, emitting a burst of white light. The Seer screams.)
–[New York]–
(Emma crawls back into Neal’s apartment through the window, while Henry waits outside on the fire escape. Neal is waiting.)
Emma: He wants to meet you.
Neal: You weren’t going to tell me about him.
Emma: No, I wasn’t.
Neal: Yeah, well, he’s my kid, too, so you don’t get to make that decision by yourself anymore.
Emma: Great. Go talk to him, then. But… Don’t break his heart.
Neal: Trust me – I’m not going do to him what he did to me.
Emma: Or what you did to me.
Neal: Okay. I get it. We’re all messed up. What do you say we try to avoid that with him? Alright?
Emma: Alright.
(Neal crawls out onto the fire escape to join Henry.)
Henry: So… You’re my dad.
Neal: Yeah.
Henry: I’m Henry.
Neal: It’s nice to meet you, Henry. Sorry I took so long.
Henry: It’s okay. You didn’t know.
(While Henry and Neal talk outside, Mr. Gold walks past the window. He stops and watches them.)
–[Fairy Tale Land - Past]–
(Rumpelstiltskin and the Seer still have their hands joined together. The white light is also still being emitted from the two of them.)
Rumpelstiltskin: I can’t…see…anything. It’s too much. It’s nothing but a jumble.
Seer: The future is a puzzle with many pieces to be sorted. In time, you will learn to separate what can be, from what will be.
(Rumpelstiltskin lets go. The connection breaks, and the Seer falls to the ground.)
Rumpelstiltskin: This is why you wanted to give me your power. To free yourself from this torment.
Seer: In time, you will work it all out.
(Rumpelstiltskin turns to leave, but the Seer calls out to him.)
Seer: Wait. As gratitude, I offer you one piece of the puzzle.
(She raises one of her hands off of the ground and waves it through the air.)
Seer: You will be reunited with your son, and it will come in a most unexpected way.
Rumpelstiltskin: How?
Seer: A boy… A young boy will lead you to him. But beware, Rumpelstiltskin, for that boy is more than he appears. He will lead you…to what you seek. But there will be a price. The boy… Will be your undoing.
(Finally, the Seer’s hand falls to the ground as she dies.)
Rumpelstiltskin: Then I’ll just have to k*ll him.
–[New York]–
(Back in Neal’s apartment, Mr. Gold is still watching Henry and Neal through the window. He turns around with a haunted look on his face.)
–[End]–