Rumplestiltskin

"All magic comes with a price." Rumplestiltskin, also nicknamed Rumple, is one of the main characters of Once Upon a Time. Rumple was once a normal man turned evil by the Dark One's magic. After losing his son, he became obsessed with making deals, and, more so, collecting in on them, most of which aided his ultimate goal of being reunited with Baelfire. In the town of Storybrooke, Maine, after the casting of the Dark Curse, Rumplestiltskin lives as Mr. Gold, the enigmatic owner of the local pawn shop, as well as the town itself. Gold remains aware of his life before the curse and plays a key role in breaking it so that he can leave town and find Bae, with his need to satisfy revenge often getting in his own way and leading to events such as him providing the town with magic, which he views as power. However, unforeseen circumstances lead to Baelfire's death, and Rumple is left at a loss. His thirst for power could be his undoing, threatening dearly the relationship he has with his true love Belle.

Before the Curse
"Run home, Rumple. It's what you're good at."

- Milah

Rumplestiltskin, a young boy, witnesses his father Malcolm get beaten up by a peasant when he attempts to scam him via a card trick, something his lowlife father is adept at. After giving him a straw doll and telling him to name it, Malcolm gets his son a job with a couple of spinsters, where Rumple discovers his talent for spinning at the wheel. They tell him that everyone knows of his father's shady reputation, and the only way he'll be able to escape it is by going to a new land. He is given a magic bean so that he's able to do this, and shows it to his father, asking where he'd like to go. Malcolm speaks fondly of the place he visited in his dreams as a child, and wants to go there, so the bean is dropped, a portal opens, and the two of them make their way to Neverland. Here, you can do anything so long as you can believe it, but Malcolm is disappointed when he's unable to fly, realizing that he'll need pixie dust to do so. Malcolm climbs a high tree in order to collect some dust from the flowers at the top, and whilst he's up there, he makes a deal with the island's only resident: the shadow. Rumple waits at the bottom, scared something terrible has happened to his father, but Malcolm soon returns, telling Rumple that he can't fly because he's not a boy. However, due to the deal he made with the shadow, he will be one soon, and leaving Rumple is the price for that. The shadow then takes Rumple away, causing the boy to drop his straw doll in the process, whilst Malcolm is turned young again by pixie dust, able to stay on Neverland for the rest of his days. Rumple is returned to the spinsters, who proceed to raise him and offer to make him a new doll. However, the child woefully states that Peter Pan (the name he gave his doll, and also the name that his father assumes as a child in Neverland) is gone.

Many years later, Rumplestiltskin arrives home to his wife, Milah, with exciting news - he has been selected to fight in the Ogres War. Milah, however, does not seems to share in his excitement, having heard stories from the front line about how brutal the war has become. Rumple explains that he needs to go in order to prove that he is not a coward like his father, and Milah backs him up. When at war, Rumple encounters a young girl, a seer, who can tell the future. She tells Rumple that he will have a son but that his actions in this war shall make the boy fatherless. Rumple refuses to believe this and later sees a group of soldiers who are being sent home thanks to the extensive injuries that hey received on the front line, meaning that Rumple is re-positioned to there. When one of the seer's minor predictions come true (that he will ride "cows", meaning the saddles on the horses, into battle), Rumple decides that her words were true and that his actions up at the front line shall leave his son fatherless. Fearing this, Rumple takes a mallet to his foot, injuring himself so that he may be sent home, he arrives to Milah holding their new born baby, Baelfire, and she asks if its true that he injured himself to be sent home on purpose. Rumple denies this, wondering who told her, and she states that rumors travel fast on the front line, accusing him of being a coward and saying that she would have preferred to be married to someone who fought and died.

When Baelfire is bitten by a venomous snake, Rumple and Milah take the creature to a magical healer named Fendrake so that he can educate them about their son's condition. He reveals that Bae will be dead within a day, but has a magic potion that should be able to cure him of his ailment. It costs a hundred gold coins, and Rumple and Milah have no way of amounting this kind of money; as such, Milah orders her husband to return to Fendrake later and take the potion. Rumple points out that he'd be killed, but Milah simply tells him to kill Fendrake first, proceeding to spend their final gold coin on a knife. Rumple is terrified of the prospect and Milah begs him to toughen up, flirting with a pirate named Killian Jones behind her husband's back. Rumple eventually attempts going through with the murder, accidentally waking Fendrake in his sleep when he's about to stab him. Unable to go through with murder, Rumple strikes a deal with the healer - in exchange for the ailment, he has to give up his second born, which he agrees to. Bae is healed, but Milah is appalled by what Rumple did, seeing it as him signing away whatever future she may have had. She then heads to the tavern, which becomes a common occurrence.

Rumple returns home one evening to see his son, Baelfire, without his mother. He decides to take his son out looking for her and she is found in a bar, drinking with pirates. Rumple tries to ask her home but she refuses, insulting Rumple as she does so. Bae then emerges and Milah changes her attitude, leaving with her son to protect him. Later that night, Rumple asks his wife if she'd really have liked him to die in the Ogre-Wars, she tells him that she just wishes he would have fought. The next day, Rumple is told that Milah has been kidnapped by pirates and he goes to the ship of Killian Jones to ask for his wife back, however, Jones refuses. He offers Rumple a duel in exchange for his woman but Rumple doesn't rise to the challenge. He is laughed from the ship.

A girl by the name of Morraine is taken from her parents in Rumple's village, he shields his on, Baelfire, from the sight but is warned that soon Bae will be fourteen years old, like Morraine, and therefore carted off to a pointless war. Rumple assures his son that he'll find him a way out. As Rumple is running away with Bae, he is found by Hordor and his son is exposed to the truth from the soldier, that his father ran away from war and that his wife left him in shame, Bae is maddened by this as he believed his mother to be dead. Rumple's only way to be let go is to do something for Hordor - kiss his boot. Rumple obliges and is kicked in the face as all of the soldiers laugh at him. Bae and his father are soon taken in by a hospitable old man by the name of Zoso who assures Rumple of a way to prevent his son from going to war - finding the Dark One's dagger which will give him the power to control said Dark One. Rumplestiltskin breaks into the Duke's castle and steals the Dark One's dagger, he is soon presented to the Dark One himself and kills him, taking his magic. The Dark One is revealed to be Zoso who warns Rumple that all magic comes with a price. When Rumple returns to his village, he is the Dark One, and arrives to see Hordor and other soldiers there to take Bae. Rumple orders Hordor to kiss his boot, and, when the soldier kneels down to do so, Rumple places a hand on the man's head and snaps his neck, killing him. The new Dark One proceeds to kill the rest of the soldiers with complete ease, much to the protest of Baelfire. Rumplestiltskin walks onto the battlefield and leads all of the children home.

Rumple arrives home and gives his son, Baelfire a present: a knife he took from one of the villagers he terrorized for being unable to pay him, but Bae refuses to accept any more gifts that stem from Rumple's fearsome power. Bae then says that he'd like to leave home once in a while in order to make friends and see the world beyond his hovel, but Rumple doesn't allow it as he's hiding his fear that, should Bae leave, he might never come back. When Rumple returns home the next day, he is shocked to discover that his son is gone. He finds the answer in the village of Hamelin where the townspeople tell him that a mysterious Pied Piper led all their children away in the night using music that only the kids could hear, and they believe this to be the same person to took Baelfire. That night, Rumple is able to hear the music also (as he too feels abandoned, like them), and goes along with the children to a large bonfire where all those who have been abducted are dancing. He is shocked to learn that the identity of the piper is Peter Pan (Rumple's father), and Pan offers him a deal: ask Bae to come home, and if he does, Pan will let him, but if Bae declines, he will be taken to Neverland where he will never see Rumple again. However, Rumple simply uses his magic to transport he and Bae home, where he discovers that Baelfire knew of the deal, and he's extremely angry with his father for not asking him to come home, instead of taking him there.

When Bae scrapes his knee due to tripping in front of a donkey cart, Rumple arrives on the scene and turns the donkey cart driver into a snail before stomping on him, killing him, scaring the entire village and displeasing Bae. Inside, Rumple tries to heal Bae's knee with magic, but Baelfire refuses it, asking for normal remedies instead. He tells his father how unhappy he is with magic in his life and asks him if he would be subject to getting rid of it. Rumple takes out his Dark One's knife, saying that the only way to rid him of the power is to kill him with it. Rumple puts it away before Baelfire asks his father if, if he was able to find a safe way to do so, he would give up his powers, Rumple agrees with his son, striking the deal with a hand shake. Bae is shunned by other children who fear his papa but is comforted by Morraine who tells him of Reul Ghorm who will know a way to do what Bae requires and strip his father of his powers. Bae summons the Blue Fairy who gives him a magic bean which will lead to a land without magic, Bae takes it graciously. Rumple is presented the bean by his son and is forced by deal to go through with it. Bae and his father go into the woods and use the bean to open a portal, Bae wants to go through but Rumple cannot. As Baelfire begins to slip in, Rumple grabs him, too scared, however, Bae is let go after calling his father a coward and the portal closes, Rumple immediately regrets his actions. Rumplestiltskin calls upon Reul Ghorm who appears to him, telling him there is no other way to the land except via curse, Rumple vows to make this curse and find his son.

Rumplestiltskin is well earning his reputation as the Dark One and feared by many, he is one day approached by a Mr. Smee in a bar who tells him that if he is granted eternal life, he will get him a magic bean, Rumple tells Smee that he will regress him to a child, however, should he fail, he'd be turned to dust. Smee obliges. Rumple soon sees Killian Jones and his men enter the bar and decides to have some fun, he pretends to be a weak old man outside and then, he reveals himself, startling Jones, he offers him a duel to take place at dawn. Killian arrives for the duel and Rumple throws him a sword, wanting to kill him with his own. The two battle and Rumple gains the upper hand, just as he places his hand into Jones' chest to rip out his heart, Milah arrives to stop him, who Rumple believed to be dead. Milah explains that she fell in love with Killian and offers Rumple the magic bean in exchange for their lives, he agrees. When on the ship, Rumple asks Milah how she could leave Baelfire and she tries to defend herself, however, the argument ends up with her admitting that she never loved Rumple, causing him to rip out her heart and reduce it to dust, killing her. Killian wants to avenge his love and attempts to stab Rumple with a hook, Rumple tells him that it'll take more than that to kill him but Killian assures him that he will get his revenge, after Rumple severs his hand by sword. Soon, Rumple gets back to his potions, wanting to find a way to get Bae back, when he realizes he has no magic bean. He becomes enraged that he was tricked.

Rumplestiltskin has a meeting with the seer that predicted his death in the war when he was a soldier, he tells her that she was right as his actions in war (running away) caused his son to be fatherless (pulled down a portal and accidentally abandoned by Rumple). He now wants to know if and when he and his son shall be reunited. The seer says that he and his son will be reunited but that it will require a curse, one strong enough to rip everyone from the land, and that it will take a large deal of time. Rumple demands to know more, but the seer tells him that even her power has limits, causing Rumple to believe that she is holding out on him. At this, Rumple waves his hand and takes her power from her, now being able to see into the future. He says that it's all a confusing jumble and that it's not a gift at all, and the seer thanks him for taking it away, offering up another piece of the puzzle out of gratitude. She tells the Dark One that when he and his son meet again, there shall be a boy who stands in his way, one that will be Rumple's undoing. He shrugs this off, stating that he'll just have to kill the boy.

Rumple has a standing arrangement with a pair of thieves named Martin and Myrna, who rob goods from people and fence them to him in exchange for golden thread, along with a list of names of the people to whom the goods belong. One day, Rumple is making straw into gold as Jiminy, the thieves' son, is making a delivery. He senses that the young thief is unhappy with his life and Jiminy soon reveals that he hates having to steal at his parents' behest and just wants to be free of them and be able to move on. Rumple can offer him this, soon devising a potion and telling Jiminy to use it on his parents. Jiminy wonders what the price will be for this magic and Rumple reveals that the price will be what his parents become after they drink it. Jiminy indeed uses the potion... but it ends up being drunk by the wrong people, Donna and Stephen. They are turned into dolls as a result, and Rumple comes to collect them, using them to decorate his Dark Castle.

When Cora, the peasant daughter of a miller, gatecrashes the ball of King Xavier, she ends up locked in his tower under threat of death due to a false proclamation that she can spin straw into gold. If morning comes and no gold is produced then she will be executed; she thinks about leaping from the window, but Rumple shows up and points out that she'd die if she did, which is quite counterproductive. He tries offering her a deal, saying that he can spin the straw into gold for her in exchange for her next born child, but that's not what she wants - she doesn't want him to do it for her, she wants him to teach her how to do it herself. As such, he makes it part of their deal and proceed to teach her how to wield magic, allowing her to access her anger and explaining how he himself uses the memory of Hordor telling him to kiss his boot. Cora uses the memory of having to apologize to an obnoxious princess and ends up making the kingdom rich with all the gold she manages to produce under the Dark One's tutelage. She becomes engaged to Prince Henry as a result, although she carries out a torrid affair with Rumple all the while. As her wedding approaches, they talk about the prospect of running away together, and she decides to change the terms of their original deal so that her next born child is in fact his child, which he expresses great interest in. She decides to rip the King's heart out and crush it so that this can occur.

Wanting to have a child with Cora, Rumple returns to Fendrake, with whom he has a deal regarding his second born. Fendrake comments on how much the Dark One has changed and Rumple stipulates that he used to be a moral man who was in a desperate situation; the healer took advantage of that, and he admires him for it, but... he doesn't like carrying debts. Fendrake assures that their contract is binding and that he couldn't change it even if he wanted it to, meaning Rumple owes him. Rumple giggles at this, pointing out that he can't owe a debt to a dead man, and he proceeds to rip out Fendrake's heart. Before crushing it to dust and killing the man to whom he promised his future child, he comments that, while he doesn't like debts, he loves loopholes. And with that, he believes the deal to be null and void.

After killing Fendrake, Rumple meets with Cora hoping to run away with her. He is happy to see that she has a heart in a box, believing it to belong to King Xavier. When the two of them kiss, he senses that something is wrong, and she ends up admitting that while she was able to take the King's heart... she decided not to do so. She apologizes for this, and goes on to say that she won't be running away with the Dark One because she has a wedding to get to - her wedding to Prince Henry. He demands to know whose heart is in the box and she reveals it to be her own; she ripped it out so that her emotions would never get in the way of her getting what she wants ever again, and what she wants is to be royal. Not wanting her to get away with this, he threatens to exploit their contract and take her baby when it's born; however, she reminds him that they changed the contract so that he only gets his own child, and from now on any children that Cora may have won't be Rumple's. The Dark One feels deeply betrayed.

Ingrid, the future Queen of Arendelle, grows up with the power to wield ice and snow magically, and wishes to get rid of it with aid from Rumplestiltskin. She and her sisters, Helga and Gerda, visit him at his Dark Castle in order to make a deal, but he points out how rare her brand of magic is, offering to give her lessons instead. Ingrid refuses, wanting the power gone, and so the Dark One obliges in offering her a pair of gloves that will help to block her magic, so long as she believes they will, as well as a magic urn that will be able to trap her should she go completely out of control. Ingrid accepts his offerings and prepares to leave, but Rumple points out that that's not how deals work, wanting something in return. They wonder what, and he forces them to hand over the ribbons they've had since children, which represent their sisterly bond. Reluctantly, they sacrifice them, and Ingrid walks away with the objects in tow. The parents of James and his brother trade one of their children to Rumplestiltskin in exchange for a farm. Rumple later trades the baby he owns to King George in exchange for an "abidance".

Regina summons Rumplestiltskin in order to escape her wedding day, as her overbearing mother, Cora, is forcing her into a loveless marriage with King Leopold. Rumple offers to teach Regina magic just like, as it's revealed, he taught Cora everything she knows. Regina doesn't want to use any magic and Rumple tries to persuade her otherwise, handing her a book of spells; he also gives her a mysterious looking glass. Later, Cora binds Regina with magic for defying her, and Regina, envisioning Rumple, breaks free with her own magic and sends Cora through the looking glass, leaving her stranded in an "annoying little world". Later, Rumple talks to Regina and asks her how it felt, and she says she never wants to use magic again because she loved it, which scares her. Rumple is gladdened by this and offers to teach her everything he knows, believing she can be a great sorceress.

Rumple's training of Regina begins, but, as it transpires, her magical abilities are quite lacking. One day, Rumple thinks he sees her manage to transport a rock into her hand, but it is in fact Cora's firstborn daughter, Zelena. He is at first wary, but when Zelena introduces herself, he confirms her claims by plucking out a strand of her hair and putting it in a small bottle, which glowed green. She requests that Rumple train her in magic, being very powerful, and he agrees, taking her into the woods where he blindfolds her. He tells her to use her anger to fuel her magic and she does so, using her jealousy of Regina, and manages to find Rumple despite her blindfold during the training exercise. He then tells her to use a happy thought to tame that anger and explains that his own happy thought is of the meat pies made by the two spinsters who raised him because it made him forget what he truly was: a boy who wasn't wanted by his papa. Zelena uses the moment that Rumple agreed to train her, for that was the moment she felt wanted. One day soon, Zelena makes Rumple a meat pie reminiscent of the ones the spinsters used to make him, but he tells her to leave for he has another lesson soon. She is confused, having just had a lesson, and he reveals that he's still training Regina, much to her rage. Rumple warns Zelena not to be so envious because it's starting to show via the green patch of skin growing across her neck. Incredibly jealous, Zelena breaks into her half-sister's dressing room and tries to slit her throat, but she turns out to be Rumple in disguise and he tells her that he failed her test, going on to say that she will not be the one to cast his curse because, to do that, she must sacrifice the thing she loves most, but the thing she loves most is him. According to Rumple, Zelena's love for her master is what makes her dangerous to him and therefore, cannot be entrusted with enacting the Curse. This angers her deeply, but still tried to get on Rumple's good graces by stating that she can give him what he wants most. But the Dark One says unless can somehow create a gateway that will bring him to a Land Without Magic, then it is not possible. Zelena reveals that she has a pair of silver slippers capable of going anywhere, even a land without magic. Rumple senses that she's not lying about the slippers, and so he inquires more about them, even taking back everything he said seconds before. But Zelena was not dissuaded, she states he has to kill her in order to gain access to them. When Rumple tries to steal them, she fends him off with the magic he taught her, using the slippers to return to Oz where she begins plotting her master plan.

In the Enchanted Forest, Regina is meeting with her tutor, Rumplestiltskin, for one of their magic lessons. He makes a fireball in his hand, trying to teach her how to do the same, however, although Regina manages to create one, it does not stay alight for very long, extinguishing almost immediately. It is then revealed that Zelena, completely green with envy, is spying on the two of them using the magic she has access to in Oz. She states to herself that it's not that difficult, making a fireball in her own hand with ease, angry that Regina is still being trained when she is clearly better. She is then visited by Glinda, who works to stop Zelena from feeling envious, but she ultimately returns to her wicked ways and continues her plot of going back in time to claim what is rightfully hers.

Rumplestiltskin is seen watching Dr. Frankenstein and his brother in the land of black and white. He later appears to Frankenstein in his lab as he is clearing up and tells him that he's interested in his work. Frankenstein assures him that he cannot bring back loved ones but Rumple says that that's not why he's there, saying that he merely wants to know how Viktor does what it is he does, before dropping a pile of gold in order to pay him with and disappearing. Viktor goes out to collect a body but is met by soldiers and his brother ends up getting shot. Rumple appears to Frankenstein again and tells him that he will give him a magical heart from his land that, paired with Viktor's procedure, could bring his brother back to life. Frankenstein jumps at this chance but Rumple reveals that there's a price. He tells him that he will introduce him to a master of the hats who will take him to a girl, he asks Viktor to put on a show for her but that when he shows her his work, he must fail, in order to help her move on. Viktor asks the girl's name and Rumple reveals it to be Regina.

During one of their lessons, Rumple asks Queen Regina to remove and crush a unicorn's heart, after immobilizing it, however, she refuses because it's innocent, and so Rumple crushes it himself, killing the creature to show her how. Later, Regina visits Rumple and he asks her why she really wants magic, knowing that it's not for power, and she admits that she wants to be able to bring back the dead so that she may be reunited with Daniel, her true love. Rumple tells her that she is silly to think such magic exists and terminates himself as her teacher. Regina is taken by Jefferson to see Viktor Frankenstein to see if he can restore Daniel's body with a magic heart, however, the procedure fails. Regina returns to Rumple, who is now teaching a new student, and she takes this student's heart from her body and crushes it, killing her. Rumple agrees to continue teaching her, impressed that she's clearly been able to get over her past. It is soon discovered that Rumplestiltskin orchestrated the failure so that Regina would get the delusion of resurrection out of her head. He gives Frankenstein a magic heart in exchange for his abidance on the matter so that he can go on to bring his brother back from the dead.

Regina is sat dining to a feast on her own in her palace. When she pours herself a drink, Rumplestiltskin suddenly appears at the far end of the table, saying he thought she was dead. Regina is startled, but then composes herself and tells Rumple to go away. Ignoring this, he adds that when she didn't turn up for her lesson today, he thought she'd died. "Roast swan," he says, giggling, pointing to a swan that is part of the feast. Regina glares at him, so he tells her she'll get it later, referring to Emma. Regina begins to reconsider her lessons, stating she doesn't want a future that looks like him. Insulted, Rumple asks if she's feeling a bit persecuted. She asks why she shouldn't be and goes onto explain that she's practically a prisoner married to a king who still loves his dead wife and his insipid daughter. She sighs, telling him there's nothing to do and nowhere to go, adding she wants freedom and needs options. Rumple tells her it cannot be done and explains the situation. He tells Regina that she thinks she is the diner at the feast, tasting the options, a bit of love and darkness. When in reality, she is the feast and the darkness has tasted her. Regina tells Rumple that he's vile and demands he leave her home. He continues, saying the darkness likes how she tastes and it doesn't mind the bitter. He tells Regina that she cannot fly away from her fate, just like the roast swan can't. Regina appears saddened. Rumple then says he'll see her tomorrow, asking her to bring her simmering rage as it's all she has. With that, Rumple vanishes, and Regina heads up to her bedroom.

Regina rages about the fact that Snow White has become the best rider in all the land while she is no closer to claiming her revenge, and Rumple catches her hiding Maleficent's spell book, realizing that she wants to wield similar powers to her, such as being able to transform into a dragon. He explains to her that such magic takes time to perfect, but she simply believes him to be a poor teacher, hoping to be able to learn from Maleficent instead. He teleports her away to a tree which still burns from the hot fire Maleficent breathed its way many years ago, and Regina goes on to meet the dragon witch and instill within her the drive she needs to regain her dragon powers and claim her revenge on Briar Rose's daughter, Aurora, on the day of her wedding. When Regina returns to Rumple she is sitting with a sleeping horse, and he quickly realizes that it's in fact under a sleeping curse. She explains that Maleficent helped her realize that she doesn't want to kill Snow White... she wants to make her suffer an eternal fate, far worse than death. Rumple likes the sound of that, and would be happy to teach Regina such methods; she in turn is happy to re-accept him as her teacher.

Cruella De Vil and Ursula are summoned to Maleficent's Forbidden Fortress by Rumplestiltskin, who wants the three villainesses to team up with him in order to steal something that will make it so they can achieve their happy endings - the Dark Curse. Though reluctant at first, they soon agree to work together and make their way to a dark cave. Cruella's magic is first needed to control a horde of poisonous bugs, which she inhabits and forces to deviate, granting them access to what's inside. Maleficent then uses her staff to swallow the fire that surrounds what they're aiming to steal, and Ursula grabs it using one of her tentacles - the scroll which contains the curse, sealed in a glass orb which is then dropped into Rumple's hand. A grand demon named Chernabog then emerges and Rumple leaves the three ladies to deal with it, having planned on betraying them all along, and the trio has to work together in order to escape. Maleficent tackles the beast as the other two get away, and Ursula uses her tentacle to pull her to safety. From then on, they decide to form a tight-knit alliance with one another.

When Robin of Loxley (later Robin Hood), a former thief who now owns a tavern with his new wife Marian, fails to pay his taxes, the Sheriff of Nottingham threatens to shut down his establishment, and so Rumplestiltskin approaches him. He offers the barkeep much gold in exchange for him traveling to the land of Oz and stealing an elixir capable of healing hearts from the Wicked Witch of the West, who Rumple would rather avoid meeting again. Robin is successful in robbing the elixir... but he gives it away to Will Scarlet, who needs it more, and decides to forsake his tavern in favor of robbing from the rich to give to the poor. Marian warns him that Rumplestiltskin would kill him on sight if they ever met again, at which he reveals that he stole the six-leaved clover from Oz, which allows someone to transform into anyone they want. If he should encounter Rumplestiltskin, all he has to do is activate the glamor spell, and the Dark One shall be none-the-wiser.

When Anna, the young princess of Arendelle, travels to the Enchanted Forest on a secret mission to find out what it is her parents died for, she stops at the farm of David and Ruth in order to seek refuge, knowing them to be friendly. She witnesses the two humble shepherds be bullied by vicious warlord Bo Peep and ultimately helps David defeat her by teaching him how to wield a sword. Once all is done, she sets about her way, but not before receiving some advice from Ruth, who tells her of a man who may be able to help. Not wanting to speak his name, Ruth writes it down for the princess, and Anna struggles to read the name "Rumplestiltskin" as she rides off on her horse. From his magic crystal ball, Rumple watches her with a smile.

Rumplestiltskin is visited by Anna of Arendelle who wants to know why her parents came to the Enchanted Forest all those years ago, offering to do whatever it takes for this information. This gladdens Rumple and he makes the princess sign a contract, sending her on her way to poison a sorcerer's apprentice who guards a magic hat. She goes, but cannot poison him, shocked to learn that the "poison" was actually an antidote to the spell Rumple had earlier enacted to turn the kindly old man into a mouse; he explains that he needed her tear to break the enchantment guarding the box containing the hat, which can only be broken by those who've faced their inner-darkness and overcome it. She argues that she never even considered killing the man, so it doesn't count, and so he tells her that her parents came to the Enchanted Forest because they feared their daughter Elsa and goads her into killing him - which she does contemplate, but ultimately can't do - and takes her tear afterwards. He then takes the hat for himself, wanting to use it to collect enough magic to end his dagger's thrall over him, but the apprentice (still in mouse form) soon bites his hand and causes him to drop said dagger, which Anna then picks up and uses to force him to hand over the hatbox and send her back to Arendelle. He begrudgingly obliges.

When Elsa is trapped in a magic urn by her sister, Anna, under the influence of a shattered sight spell cast by Ingrid, Rumplestiltskin shows up in their castle in Arendelle after Ingrid has frozen Anna and her fiancé and is currently stealing memories from the urn's prisoner, having learned the magic of the rock trolls. Rumple points this out, and goes on to mention how much he prefers Anna when she's neither talking nor breathing. He picks up her snowflake necklace from the fireplace and takes it for himself, then wanting to know where the sorcerer's hat is. Ingrid reveals that she's hidden it, and so Rumple takes away her urn, hiding it away in his vault of magical things he doesn't understand. She is told that she will get Elsa back should she recover the hat and say his name three times to summon him, but she ultimately does not due to extenuating circumstances involving a prophecy and her transition to the land without magic.

Rumplestiltskin appears before Sir Maurice, whose kingdom is tormented by the Ogres War. He offers to help Maurice for a price - Belle, his daughter, for her uses as a maid. Maurice and Sir Gaston, the girl's fiance, protest to this, however, Belle takes a stand and agrees to live with Rumple for the kingdom's sake, stating that no one decides her fate but herself.. When Belle arrives at the Dark Castle, she is immediately thrown into a cell, much to her dismay. Later, Belle is being told her list of chores and at, "Skin the children I hunt for their pelts," Belle drops a tea cup. Rumple reveals that it was a quip and Belle becomes very apologetic for chipping the cup, however, he reminds her that it's just a cup.

Rumple appears to Queen Regina after she has just slaughtered an entire village for not giving up the whereabouts of Snow White, after harboring her. He tells her how well she suits power but points out how her subjects will never love her. Regina protests otherwise, saying that once Snow is gone, her kingdom will see her goodness. As a way to kick-start this, Regina asks Rumple to teach her Cora's shape-shifting spell, but he says it takes months to perfect. She then asks for him to cast the spell on her and he turns her into an unrecognizable peasant who will be able to find an unsuspecting Snow White and kill her, in exchange for her bankrupting King George's kingdom. He tells her that she may not be happy to hear what her subjects think of her whilst she's among them, but she doesn't care, so long as Snow dies. Later, Regina returns to Rumple in his Dark Castle, still in her disguised form, and he jokes that he already has a promising maid. Regina demands to be changed back and asks why Rumple didn't appear to her when she called him, as agreed, but he points out he never agreed to show up. She tells him that he was right, her subjects will never love her. Rumple turns Regina back to her normal self and she declares that the queen is dead. Long live the Evil Queen.

Belle cries over her fate in her cell and Rumple begins to grow very annoyed. He gives her a pillow to muffle her cries but when he leaves, Belle follows him upstairs where they discover a thief stealing a magic wand. Rumple manages to capture the thief, despite the latter's possession of a bow that never misses its target, and begins to torture him viciously. Belle is disgusted by this and frees the thief out of sympathy for him, but when Rumplestiltskin discovers this, he is livid. He tells Belle that she fell for deceit as the thief stole the magic wand on his way out and tells her that her punishment is that she has to accompany him on his mission to execute the thief with his own bow and arrow. They come to pass the Sheriff of Nottingham who offers them the thief's name and whereabouts in exchange for a night with Belle. Rumple refuses this and steals the sheriff's tongue, making him give up the information if he wants it back. The sheriff agrees and tells Rumple that the thief is in Sherwood Forest and goes by the name Robin Hood (who's been using the six-leaved clover of Oz to activate a glamour spell in front of the Dark One). Rumple and Belle find Robin as he is using the magic wand to cure his dying, pregnant lover. Belle insists that Rumple must feel sympathy, but he assures her otherwise, before firing the arrow. The arrow misses and Belle takes this to mean that Rumple must have some good in his heart, despite him denying this. When they return to the Dark Castle, Rumple shows Belle a room full of books for her to enjoy, she is very thankful, even though he insists he did it simply for her to have more cleaning to do.

Wanting to summon his mother, the Black Fairy, Rumple comes up with a plan. First of all, he kidnaps a baby from a couple named Jack and Jill, knowing that the Black Fairy has a penchant for stealing them; he proceeds to bring it back to the Dark Castle and give it to Belle to look after, also knowing that she will try everything in her power to rescue this innocent babe from uncertain doom. While she is alone with it, Rumple leaves the tower door unlocked, thus allowing his maid to break in with the baby in tow when she attempts to escape with it. There, she discovers the incantation to summon the Black Fairy, which Rumple has been so far unable to translate. Knowing fairy language, Belle reads it and writes out the translation, at which point Rumple reveals himself and takes the baby from her, now having all that he needs for a confrontation with his mother. He leaves Belle locked in the tower so that she cannot interfere, but the Blue Fairy soon comes to her rescue so that she can save the baby still in Rumple's possession. Rumple indeed uses the baby and the incantation to summon the Black Fairy, then immobilizing her with magical squid ink. This gives them a chance to talk, with him revealing to her that he is in fact her son, and he demands to know why - considering she takes children - he was the only child she abandoned. The only one that was actually hers. She refuses to give him any answers though, taking advantage of the distraction created when Belle moves in to scoop up the baby, and then she escapes as the ink wears off, leaving Rumple highly dissatisfied. Rumple then watches as Belle returns the baby to Jack and Jill, remaining steadfast in his belief that no one understands his pain.

Prince James is promised to slay a fearsome dragon for King Midas, merging the latter's kingdom with King George's. However, James is killed outside of Midas' knowledge and George wants to hush this up so that he may still retain Midas' riches. The king sends out for help which arrives in the form of Rumplestiltskin, who promises to do what George desires. However, the Dark One reveals that he cannot bring James back from the dead. But, what Rumple can do, is replace James with his twin brother. Rumple goes to Charming's farm where the poor shepherd is horrified to discover that he has a twin brother who was given away at birth. The situation is explained to him by his mother and Rumple convinces the boy to pose as Prince James so the dragon may be slayed, persuading him with the idea of being a hero as well as saving his mother and the farm. Charming obliges.

With King Arthur constantly working to try and reunite Excalibur with its other half - the Dark One's dagger - his friend Lancelot and wife Guinevere decide to find it for him so that he'll go back to his old self, and they do this through the use of a magic gauntlet that can detect a person's weakness. Since finding the dagger is Arthur's weakness, the gauntlet allows for Guinevere to discover the Vault of the Dark One which, due to the prophetic symbols she earlier saw on her husband's scribes, she is able to open. A staircase is revealed and she and Lancelot go down it, proceeding to see the dagger wrapped in a warped plant. However, it repels them, and Rumplestiltskin appears. He refuses to give them the dagger and instead offers them the magical Sand of Avalon which will make something broken appear complete again - it will fool Arthur into believing his sword is fixed, and his marriage to Guinevere can return to normal. She takes the sand, but it comes at a price - she first must have over the gauntlet.

Thinking Rumple is away, Belle uses this time to search through his castle instead of cleaning it. He returns home a few days early, however, and discovers this. Belle argues that he has so many items from all over the world that he never talks about, and all she has ever wanted to do was travel the world herself. When trying to get him to open up to her, he transports her outside to do the laundry, something that she isn't too happy about. When talking to herself, something catches her site - a little dalmatian puppy. As she begins following it into the woods, she is suddenly kidnapped by an unknown person. Later, when Rumple goes to check on his maid, he sees she has vanished. A crow flies over the castle, dropping off a magical sand dollar for Rumple, containing a video message of Belle who is being held captive in exchange for the gauntlet from Camelot which is capable of pointing to anyone's weaknesses. Knowing who is behind this, Rumple tracks down the culprit, Maleficent, who is accompanied by none other than Cruella De Vil and the Sea Witch Ursula. Rumple tries choking Maleficent in order to regain his maid, but Ursula uses her tentacles to slowly suffocate Belle until the Dark One gives in, tossing the gauntlet over and freeing Maleficent. He warns them that that was a risky move, but Ursula states it was worth it, as they have spent too long living in a world where villains never win. Cruella points out that the gauntlet will reveal their enemies' weaknesses and they will be the victors. Ursula then shoves Belle over to the Dark One, and she along with her two allies disappear. Belle questions why Rumple would do such a thing, but he states it doesn't matter as they will not be able to harm her. Belle asks why he cares about her, to which Rumple awkwardly pushes her away, claiming he doesn't, but if anyone is going to crush her heart it's going to be him. Later on, Rumple returns to the evil trio, taking back his gauntlet.

Scared of the feelings he's having for Belle, Rumple travels to the realm of Victorian England where a scientist named Dr. Jekyll is working on a serum which should be able to separate one's good half from their evil half. He thinks doing this to himself will allow him to abolish the love that makes him weak, and so he uses his magic to complete Jekyll's serum for him and uses the doctor himself as a test subject. After drinking it, Jekyll transforms into Mr. Hyde, who is very persuasive and manages to gain Jekyll a membership on the board of Dr. Lydgate - who also happens to be the father of the woman he desires, Mary. Rumple points out that one success doesn't prove that the serum is worthwhile, whereas two successes would make it hard to deny, and so he convinces Jekyll to take it again in order to have Hyde woo Mary on his behalf. This backfires, however, when Mary prefers Hyde to Jekyll, and ends up going to bed with him. When Jekyll awakes, realizing what happened, he is enraged and throws Mary out a window, then quickly taking the serum and framing the whole thing on Hyde. Rumple appears to Hyde back at the lab and Hyde defends himself profusely, saying how he could never hurt Mary, and Rumple realizes that Hyde was in love with her, meaning he's still weak and that this entire experiment was pointless. In a rage, he takes Mary's necklace from him and sends him to the Land of Untold Stories, forcing him to live a life still shackled to his undesirable other half.

When Belle goes into town to pick up supplies for Rumple, she finds her old friend Samuel who has just been injured by an enchanted weapon. She brings him back to Rumple's castle to tend to his wound, and he confesses that his true intentions were to rescue her from the Dark One by trapping him in Pandora's Box, claiming that Maurice sent him. However, she soon discovers that he was truly after the Dark One's dagger, and so she leads him out of the castle, and Rumple punishes him by condemning him to a swamp, while keeping Pandora's Box for himself. In his castle's library, Rumple lights a candle for Baelfire's birthday, stating that it's been too many years to count, but he hasn't stopped counting. Belle soon walks in but is told to go away by her master, who snuffs out the candle. She apologizes, not having realized that he was carrying out a remembrance, and Rumple explains that it's his son's birthday. Belle wonders how old he would be now, but Rumple tells her that he's not dead, he's just "lost". She doesn't understand what this means and asks how this came to be, and Rumple tells her that it was due to his cowardice. She assures him that it's not too late for him to redeem himself, but Rumplestiltskin denies this, stating that his ending will not be a happy one.

While trying to pull down his curtains for springtime, Belle wonders why Rumple spins so much, and he explains that it helps him forget. She also wonders why all his mirrors are covered up and concludes that he thinks he's uglier than he is, but thinks he will benefit from letting some light in. However, the curtains soon tear and she falls... into his arms. An awkward yet romantic moment ensues. The maid and her employer grow closer as time goes on and she eventually reveals that she discovered one of Baelfire's shawls while looking around the castle, wondering if he had a son. He admits that he did, allowing her to learn something about him as the same time that he learns something about her: that the reason she agreed to go away with him is because she always dreamed of being a hero, and she saw it as her opportunity. This makes Rumple feel sorry for her as he's depriving her of seeing the world, and at the point that she starts talking about her superficial betrothed Gaston, he shows up at the door in order to defeat the Dark One - only for the Dark One to turn him to a rose with magic and give him to Belle as a present. Finally he agrees to tell her all about his son if she goes to town and fetches him some straw; she wonders if he trusts her to return, and he explains he expects to never see her again, leading her to realize that he's setting her free. However, she returns after a chat with the Evil Queen, now believing that she can break Rumple's curse with a kiss of true love. It almost works and Rumple starts turning back into the man he once was... but then he pulls back, knowing Belle has been tampered with by Regina, and throws her back into her old dungeon room. Later he lets her go, deciding that his power means more to him than she does, but she disagrees. He is devastated when Regina later visits the castle and tells him that she died; although, he is unaware that she is of course lying. Distraught by the news, he puts the chipped cup on a pedestal, treasuring it forevermore.

It's dark as Snow White rows a little boat across misty waters to a small dock. She gets off and then ties her boat to the dock, but she's startled by the voice of a man, asking how much she wants for the boat. She looks onto her boat to see Rumplestiltskin sat in it. Confused to how he got there, she looks around, and then tells him the boat is not for sale. Rumple states it is because nobody comes to see him without a deal in mind. She asks if he is Rumplestiltskin, he confirms this. He gets off the boat and admits he's been looking forward to meeting her, saying she really is the fairest of them all. He asks how he can help, so she tells him she needs a cure. He asks what ales her, so she tells him a broken heart. Rumple recognizes this as the most painful of all afflictions. He tells Snow if he wants her to make someone love her, then he cannot do that, nothing can. Snow explains that's not the problem, stating they can't be together. Rumple tells her he can help with that and he pulls out a small vile, laughing insanely. He puts the vile into the water, filling it up, and then he uses his magical abilities to enchant it, turning it a misty white. Baffled, Snow asks if that will do it. As no true love's are alike, he states it must become more personal and he plucks a few strands of Snow's hair. He puts one into the vile and tells her once she drinks it she won't remember who her true love is anymore. Snow seems saddened that she won't remember him, but Rumple explains that love is the most powerful magic, so the cure must be extreme. Snow is unsure. "Don't doubt yourself now, dearie. Love makes us sick, haunts our dreams, it destroys our days. Love has killed more than any disease." he tells Snow before handing her the vile. She asks his price, so all he admits to wanting is a strand of her hair. Asking if they have a deal, Snow take the vile. He tells "Snow White" to take it in good health before walking away into the fog. Snow is left highly confused and scared, as she never revealed her name.

After taking Rumple's potion, Snow White becomes angry all the time as her love has been extracted. The seven dwarfs hold an intervention for her and request that she go back to the man who sold her the potion - Rumplestiltskin. Snow returns to Rumplestiltskin to ask him for an antidote for the potion her gave her, however, he tells her that no such antidote exists. Snow does not much care and goes on to ask Rumple for something that will help her kill the Queen. Rumple is much too happy to oblige and gives Snow and bow and arrow which never misses. Snow takes these graciously. Later, Rumplestiltskin is visited by Prince Charming who asks the whereabouts of Snow. Rumple refuses to give him any information unless he gets something out of it. Charming asks the Dark One what he wants and Rumple requests Charming's cape, Charming wonders what he wants with his cape, but Rumple refuses to provide a proper answer. Charming gives Rumple his cape and Rumple gives Snow's whereabouts, explaining that if she is successful in her mission to kill the Queen, her heart will become as dark as the woman she kills. Charming quests to stop this from happening. Soon, Rumple is seen extracting hairs from Charming's cape and combining them with Snow's which he collected in exchange for the potion. Magic ensues between the hairs and Rumplestiltskin finally bottles true love - the most powerful magic of all.

Prince Charming is banished to a never-ending forest by the Evil Queen, still on his quest to find Snow White, who's already taken a bite out of the Queen's poisoned apple, sending her under a sleeping curse. Charming, on his venture, runs into Rumplestiltskin and decides to battle him, however, it is no use, as Rumple bests every one of Charming's maneuvers. Rumple steals Charming's mother's ring and enchants it to glow brighter the closer it gets to Snow. Charming wants this desperately but Rumple refuses to give it to him until a certain task if performed. The Dark One gives Charming a golden egg in which a potion consisting of true love is concealed. He asks Charming to hide it with the dragon, Maleficent. Charming defeats the dragon and hides the egg with it before returning to Rumple, retrieving the ring, and finding his true love, awakening her with a kiss.

Rumplestiltskin is annoyed to be visited by Prince Charming, having just helped him find his princess, and Charming asks the Dark One for anything he has that may be able to vanquish the Evil Queen. Rumple has nothing and Charming leaves disappointed, however, he decides to trick Snow into believing that an ordinary sword is in fact Excalibur, the most powerful sword in all the realms, which then gives her the confidence she needs to stand up to Regina. Snow later calls upon Rumplestiltskin and asks him what his price is in exchange for the information he provided Charming, but Rumple reveals that he never told Charming anything, and proves that the sword in Snow's hands is a fake by turning it to dust. Snow realizes what Charming is done and is furious, but before she is able to confront him, Rumple snatches the pearl necklace from around her neck. The princess begs the Dark One to hand them back as they were given to her by her mother, but Rumple tells Snow that everything comes with a price, including wasting his time.

Rumplestiltskin is in attendance of Queen Regina's execution, he stands cloaked in the back, ready to see the Queen killed. However, at the last moment, Snow demands for the execution to end, meaning that the Blue Fairy stops the arrows that are heading for the Queen when they are a mere feet away. Rumple later visits Snow White, telling her that the execution was a disappointment. Snow refuses to apologize for sparing a life, saying that she believes that Regina can be redeemed, Rumple finds this idea laughable. He offers Snow a way to test whether or not Regina can truly be redeemed, but Snow is hesitant, knowing that everything always comes at a price when it comes to Rumple and that he just wants the Queen dead. Rumple tells her not to question his motives, but to seize opportunity. Snow takes the deal. Snow White sets Regina free, giving her a chance to change, however, Regina strangles Snow and stabs her with the knife intended for her. The knife does not affect Snow thanks to Rumple's magic and it is revealed that he took a hair from her blindfold to create a protection spell, meaning that Regina cannot use her magic to attack Snow's kingdom. Later, Rumple visits Regina, telling her of Snow and Charming's wedding. Regina is annoyed as she cannot harm them in that land, however, Rumple points out that he could harm them in another - implying the use of the Dark Curse. He reminds her that he is her friend before vanishing, and Regina decides to crash the wedding.

Wanting to deviate from Rumple's will, Regina decides to go in another direction and hire the Count of Monte Cristo to assassinate Snow and Charming, by having him pose as their wine steward and poison them. Rumple is none too thrilled by this, pointing out that he set everything up for her to use the Dark Curse, but she'd rather do things her own way, which is why she put the same spell on the Count that Rumple put on the royal couple - meaning he can't kill him. As such, Rumple interferes in other ways; he is happy when the Count fails to poison Snow and Charming, because doing so would have meant poisoning their innocent handmaiden Charlotte to whom he's taken a liking. However, Rumple can't be sure that the Count won't try killing the Charmings again, and so he poisons the handmaiden and appears to the Count, explaining that he can stop Charlotte's death by taking her to the Land of Untold Stories and going with her, thereby putting her story on hold. The Count takes this deal and Rumple uses the key to the Land to send them both there, thus ensuring that Snow and Charming will remain alive ad procreating, and that Regina will be forced to use the Dark Curse if she wants her revenge at long last.

Finally, Rumple finds the Fairy Godmother and kills her right as she's about to make all Cinderella's dreams come true, taking back the wand. Ella is horrified, but Rumple ends up offering her a deal, allowing her to go to the ball looking like a princess in exchange for a favor in the future. Desperately wanting this, Ella signs a contract and Rumple transforms her into a princess. Thanks to the deal, she goes on to marry Prince Thomas, but at the wedding, Ella ends up dancing with Rumple, who's in attendance, and he reveals his price for giving her her wish is her first born. Ella is stunned and horrified; she is forced to tell Thomas that it was not her Fairy Godmother that allowed them to meet, but the Dark One, and her prince concocts a plan along with Snow White and Prince Charming: a way to trap Rumplestiltskin for good. They create an enchanted cell in the old mines in order to contain him and Ella plays a crucial roll in creating a rouse. The princess meets with Rumplestiltskin and tells him that she's to be expecting twins, and that she'd like to give him her other baby in exchange for crops for her kingdom. She presents him with a contract and quill, which Rumple admires, and the Dark One signs the deal. However, once he does so, he becomes immobilized thanks the magic in the quills ink, which stuns him long enough for him to be captured. He swears revenge on Ella, however, for double crossing him, and Ella is distraught when she later emerges after Thomas has disappeared; Rumplestiltskin is to blame. He assures Cinderella that in this world or the next, he shall have her baby.

Snow White and Prince Charming visit Rumple in his cell.The Prince starts to announce what their reason for being there, and Rumplestiltskin interrupts them, saying he knows why they're present: they want to know about the Queen's threat. Snow White demands that he tell them what he knows, and he mocks her by saying, "Tense, aren't we?". He then tells her not to fear, as he can ease her mind... but it's gonna cost her something in return. The Prince tells him "No", and tries to warn Snow that this is a waste of time, but she comes toward Rumplestiltskin and asks what he wants. He wants the name of their unborn child, and the Prince tells him absolutely not, but Snow says "Deal. What do you know?". Rumplestiltskin smiles and explains that the Queen plans to enact curse, and goes into full extent of what the curse will do, in short, rob them of happy endings. A desolate Snow asks him what they can do, and is told that they can't do anything. She asks "Who can?", and he tells her "That little thing, growing inside your belly", as he reaches for her stomach. The Prince reaches for his knife and hits Rumplestiltskin's hand with it, warning him that next time he'll cut it off. Rumplestiltskin tells them the infant is their only hope. He then turns to Snow and tells her to get the child to safety, and on its 28th birthday the child will return. The child will find her, and the final battle will begin. He then laughs like a mad man. Snow White is shaken by all that she's been told, and Prince Charming tells her they're leaving, as they've heard enough, and thus the two of them and the guard walk away, but Rumplestiltskin reminds them, furiously so, that they made a deal: he wants her name, the baby's name, he needs it. The Prince tells him it's a boy, and Rumplestiltskin addresses Snow personally, telling her she knows he's right. He then asks again what her name is, and Snow White turns to him and says "Emma. Her name is Emma." She then walks away, and Rumplestiltskin, with a large smile, repeats the name to himself. When in his cell, Rumple writes a scroll repeatedly saying the word "Emma" in his own personal supply of magical, squid ink. The same ink that was used to ensnare him.

The Evil Queen goes to visit Rumplestiltskin in his cell.The Queen is seen holding the curse's script, and tells the dark magician before her that it is not working. Rumple jokes that she is so worried, like Snow and her lovely new husband. Regina asks "What?", and Rumple tells her that the royal couple paid him a visit as well, and they were very anxious about her and the curse. Regina come s up to him and asks him what he told them, and Rumple claims to have told them the truth, that nothing can stop the darkness, and Regina smiles... until he adds "...Except of course their unborn child." The Queen's smile disappears, and Rumplestiltskin tells her that, no matter how powerful, all curses can be broken. "Their child is the key.", he says, with a provocative smile. He then points out that the curse has to be enacted first, and she asks him to tell her what she did wrong. He says that for that there is a price, and she asks him what he wants. Rumple says that it's simple, in the new land, he wants comfort, a good life. The Queen acquiesces, telling him that he'll have an estate and be rich, and he says that he isn't finished, there's more. She tells him there always is with him, and he says that in the new land, should he ever come to her for any reason, she must tend to his every request, and do whatever he says, so long as he says 'please'. The Queen reminds him that if she should succeed, he won't remember any of this, to which he tells her, "Oh, well, then... what's the harm?". She tells him "Deal.", with a smile, and then asks him what she must do to enact the curse. He tells her to sacrifice a heart, and she tells him that she sacrificed her prized steed. He tells her that a horse will not do for such a powerful curse and that she knows what she loves. He instructs her to go and kill it.

As the Dark Curse is taking effect on the Enchanted Forest, Queen Regina magically teleports herself into Rumpelstiltskin's prison in order to gloat. However, he points out that her victory is flawed as she'll have no one to hold it over, and she'll eventually be left with a hole in her heart that revenge just cannot fill. Not liking what he's saying, Regina accuses the malevolent imp of trying to strike a new deal with her, but doesn't bite, but the Dark One refuses, assuring that Queen that when the time comes that she realizes he's right, she will come to him for a solution. Regina continues to refute this, continuing to theorize that Rumple wants to get out of their previous deal and escape the curse, but the Dark One asks her why he'd do that, given that, not only has he been promised a cushy new life in the world he's entering with obliviousness, but he's exactly where he wants to be. This confuses the Evil Queen, who leaves Rumple locked up in his cell so that she may go taunt her sworn enemy before she forgets who Regina is, and the Dark One is soon stripped away from the Enchanted Forest by the Dark Curse, just like he always planned.

Early Life
"Every moment I've spent on this Earth, that's been my name."

After the Dark Curse hits, Rumplestiltskin becomes trapped in the town of Storybrooke, Maine with the new identity of Mr. Gold, the "owner" of the town as well as its local pawnbroker. However, it is as of yet unconfirmed as to whether or not Gold retained his memories from the fairytale land that was during the curse's entire duration. Due to the curse's repetitive nature, everyday as Mayor Regina Mills is walking along the sidewalk, Mr. Gold limps past before she sees Marco fixing the sign above a store. One day, Regina bumps into Mary Margaret, otherwise known as Snow White, who humbly apologizes. Noticing her meekness, Regina realizes that the people of the town she runs aren't obeying her because they want to, but because they have to. At this, she goes to visit Gold at his pawn shop and tells him that this isn't the deal they made as she was meant to be happy within this town. Gold appears to have no idea what she's talking about, apparently having lost his memories, and Regina believes this to be true. Gold then wonders why she isn't happy as she's the most powerful woman in Storybrooke, and Regina begins to vent her new found boredom within her town.

Eighteen years later, Regina again storms into Mr. Gold Pawnbroker & Antiquities Dealer and begs the shopkeeper to give her a baby. Amused, Gold tells the Mayor that he's flattered, but not interested, and she assures him that she didn't mean it like that; she requires that he find a baby for her to adopt and soon, as the waiting lists she's looked into are all at least two years. He promises to do this for her, and a very short time later, he tells the Mayor that it's her lucky day: a baby boy is available for adoption (who just so happens to be the son of the savior, Emma). Regina takes the boy, who she names Henry, but again storms into Gold's shop when she learns he is the grandson of Snow White and Prince Charming. Gold seemingly has no idea what she's talking about, and the dissatisfied Mayor storms out with the announcement that Henry will be returning to Boston - from where she adopted him - the following morning. However, she soon realizes how much she loves the child, and decides to take him home with her, later drinking a homemade potion that forces her to forget her troubles.

Season 1
"When two people both want something the other has, a deal can always be struck."

Emma is then seen making her way to a local resting place, Granny's Bed & Breakfast. When she enters, she overhears Granny herself arguing with her granddaughter, Ruby, about how she was out some night and is now going out again. Ruby tells her grandmother that she should had moved to Boston, and Granny ironically apologizes over her heart attack interfering with her plans to sleep her way through the Eastern seaboard. Ruby is the counterpart of Red Riding Hood, and Granny is Red's grandmother. Emma calls out for their attention, and says she'd like a room. Both women are surprised, and Granny asks Emma what view she'd like. Granny then asks what her name is, and she tells her it's Emma Swan. A male voice behind her then repeats the name "Emma"... she turns around to find the man - the counterpart of Rumplestiltskin. He tells her Emma is a lovely name. She thanks him. Granny then hands him a wad of cash, telling him 'it's all here'. He takes it, thanking her, and then says "Enjoy your stay... Emma." He then leaves. Emma asks who that was, and Ruby says, behind her, that it was Mr. Gold, who 'owns this place'. Emma asks if she means the inn, and Granny tells her he owns the town. Emma is surprised, and Granny then asks how long she'll be staying with them. Emma says "A week. Just a week." Granny then hands her a key, and says "Welcome to Storybrooke." Emma takes the key.

Regina is seen tending to her apple tree, which was earlier sawn apart by Emma, when Mr. Gold shows up and comments on the mess. Regina wonders what he wants and he explains he was just passing by. He points out her high spirits and Regina tells him that it's been a good day. She soon mentions that this is because she drove Emma out of town, however, Gold tells her not to bet on that, annoying her. Gold tells her that if Miss Swan is becoming a nuisance that she cannot rid herself of, he will be more than happy to take care of the problem, for a price. Regina assures him that she's no longer in the business of making deals with him. It is revealed that she is referring to Henry, who Gold procured to her. Regina then questions if Gold wanted Emma in town and states that finding her Henry was no accident. Gold plays dumb and Regina goes on to ask him who Emma really is, he tells her that she knows exactly who she is. Regina demands the truth about Henry's biological mother but Gold requests that she leave him alone, "Please," which unsettles Regina. Before the pawnbroker leaves, he comments on what a lovely name Henry is and asks her how she picked it, it is seen to be the name of her deceased father.

Mr. Gold is robbed by a young pregnant woman, Ashley Boyd, who maces him, knocking him out thanks to the fall, and steals his keys. Gold goes to Emma the next day to help absolve him of his problem by helping him find Ashley and what she has stolen from him. Emma asks Gold why he didn't just go to the police and he explains that he wouldn't want to get Ashley in trouble. Emma agrees to help find Ashley and whatever she's stolen to keep her out of trouble. Emma finds out that Ashley is driving out to Boston and hops in her car to find her, she stops on the side of the road when something catches her attention - Ashley is sitting there, in labor. Emma is horrified to discover that what Gold had wanted her to procure for him was Ashley's baby, which she had promised to him in an obscure deal. The maid pleads that she wants her baby and Emma promises that she will not allow Gold to take it from her. Ashley is taken to the hospital and gives birth. Mr. Gold arrives at the hospital and is immediately confronted by Emma, who is disgusted by the deal he made with Ashley. She wonders why he didn't tell her that his "merchandise" was a baby, he said that the information was irrelevant, however, Emma states that he knew she wouldn't take the deal if she were to find out. Emma negotiates with Gold and comes to the conclusion that Ashley gets to keep her baby, however, in exchange, Emma will have to owe Gold one favor. Emma agrees and the deal is struck.

It is revealed that, thanks to Jiminy, Geppetto's parents were turned into ugly, wooden dolls which Rumplestiltskin had told him he'd collect when Jiminy thought the affliction would be upon his parents. In Storybrooke, over at Mr. Gold Pawnbroker & Antiquities Dealer, we see the pawnbroker walking around his shop in the background. He walks through the shop and past some familiar items - Geppetto's parents (in their doll form). This then shows that Rumplestiltskin collected on his deal and obtained the victims of the potion that he gave to Jiminy.

The moon is shown looking down on David who is following Regina's directions to the Toll Bridge, where he is meant to be meeting Mary Margaret, and comes up to Mr. Gold's pawn shop, he stops, checking for a fork in the road, but sees nothing of the sort. Instead, David decides to walk into the shop and looks out at what's for sale, wondering if anyone else is in there. As he looks around, he is most captivated by a unicorn on a set of wind chimes, as he inspects it, he hears, "Charming," the voice belongs to Mr. Gold who's standing behind the counter. "The mobile. Isn't it charming?", he asks as David approaches him. David asks Mr. Gold if he knows the whereabouts of the Toll Bridge, telling him that the mayor told him to come by the shop but the directions seem to be wrong. "It seems Miss Mills has led you astray," Gold says, David says it's odd that the mayor doesn't know her own town. "Open the door, turn right, two blocks, you'll find a trail," Gold informs David who thanks the pawnbroker before trying to hastily leave his shop, however, something catches his attention: a windmill. Gold asks David if he sees something he likes, David asks him where he got the windmill, "That old thing, that's been gathering dust for... forever," Gold states. David appears captivated by the thing and spins it around with his hand, watching it as it goes around. David says that he thinks it belonged to him, Gold asks him if he's sure, "Yes," David states, staring at the windmill. Gold smiles eerily and David stares at the item in question, he says something, "I remember." This signifies that he has overcome his amnesia.

In Storybrooke's forest, Sheriff Graham is running through it and comes to a sudden stop, seeing a rustling in the bushes, having presumably followed the wolf. The person causing the rustling is soon seen to be none other that Mr. Gold, "Good morning, sheriff. Sorry if I startled you," Gold tells him. "Sorry, I thought you were a wolf," Graham tells him. "Did I forget to shave?" Gold jokes. "What are you doing out here so early?" Graham wonders, Mr. Gold says that he was just doing a spot of gardening and asks Graham the likewise question, "I was looking for a-", "A wolf." Gold nods, "Yeah, I think I'm beginning to catch on. You know, to the best of my knowledge, sheriff, there are no wolves in Storybrooke... not the literal kind, anyway. Why are you looking?" Mr. Gold asks. "You'll think I'm crazy." "Try me," Gold says. "...I saw one in my dreams... and then I saw one for real. Just a couple hours ago. Did you see anything unusual out there?" asks Graham. Gold walks closer to Graham, looking at the shovel in his hand. "I'm afraid not," he tells him, saying that he wishes he could be more helpful. "You know, sheriff... they say that dreams, dreams are memories... memories of another life," Mr. Gold informs him. This deeply confuses Graham and he is wished luck by Mr. Gold, "I do hope you find what you're looking for," Gold says before leaving. Graham continues to trek through the woods.

Emma visits Gold in his shop, wanting to talk about Sheriff Graham, whose death was a mere two weeks previous. Gold realizes that she's still deputy and tries to convince her that she should become sheriff, however, Emma doesn't feel up for the roll. Gold tries to convince her to take something of Graham's as a keepsake, however, Emma refuses to do so. Mr. Gold goes to see Emma at her apartment later, having heard about Emma being fired by Regina, and convinces the blonde to run for sheriff against Sidney Glass, Regina's candidate, after finding a loophole in the Town Charter that states Emma can do so. Regina soon goes to see Gold in his shop, wondering why he found the loophole in the Town Charter, Gold tells her that legal documents have always been a fascination of his. Regina expresses her belief that Sidney is sure to win the election. Later, when Emma is confronting Regina over something, a fire ensues in the latter's home and Emma rescues the mayor, making her a hero in the public eye, winning many votes. When Emma has to give a speech, she tells the town that it was Mr. Gold who started the fire, after having found this out herself, to make her look good. Emma wins the election, much to her surprise, and Gold explains that it is because she stood up to him and he is feared by the town. Emma realizes that Gold wanted her to expose him in order for her to win.

When Emma discovers two young children, Ava and Nicholas Zimmer, are living on their own without parents, she tries to do her best to keep them out of the foster system, which Regina is trying her best to enforce. Emma decides to find the pair's father, however, it is harder than she first thought. Emma believes she has broken ground when she finds an heirloom left to Ava by her father, a compass. Emma goes to Mr. Gold for help, asking him about the origins of said compass. Mr. Gold obliges to help the blonde and refers to his files to see who he sold the compass to. After a quick check, Gold tells Emma that it belonged to one Michael Tillman, and Emma uses this information to find the father and he is soon reunited with his children. However, when Emma leaves, it is discovered that the file Gold referred to is blank.

Emma and Sidney are driving through the woods when they crash due to breaks that have been tampered with by Regina. Soon, Emma storms through the woods with her torch, determined to get revenge on Regina. Sidney tries to stop her, but she states she's going to find Regina as she tried to have her killed. Sidney warns Emma to be cautious and think clear. Emma stops walking and tells him "to hell with caution", ready to find out what Regina's doing and why she's out in the woods. Suddenly, Mr. Gold, who's holding a briefcase, approaches them from deeper into the woods, and explains Regina was meeting him. Emma asks what he was doing out in the woods with Regina, so he tells her "just a little business transaction". Sidney asks what's in the briefcase, so Gold tells him that everything comes at a price; land being no different. Emma asks if that's why he met Regina, so she could buy land. Gold confirms, so Emma asks what she wants it for. Gold states that in business he finds it best not to ask many questions as it "hurts the bottom line". Gold however then asks Emma why she's in the middle of the woods with Mr. Glass. Sidney growls that Gold doesn't know what Regina did to him or Henry. He says they can't just sit idly by. Gold smiles and tells him "course you can". As Gold walks away, he warns the two to be careful as emotional entanglements can lead people down very dangerous paths. Emma and Sidney are left confused.

Mr. Gold repossesses a truck from florist, Moe French, after he was late on payments. Moe protests dramatically, stating that the next day is Valentine's Day which will be big for business. Mr. Gold does not care and the truck is taken. Gold is next talked to by Regina, who saw the event transpire. She tries to talk to Gold about something important, however, the pawnbroker tells her that she will have to wait. Regina is forced to oblige when met with a "Please." Gold arrives at his house to discover that he's been robbed, his house having been completely ransacked. He is soon met by Emma, the sheriff, who has a gun in tow. The blonde explains that she will investigate further on the case and Gold tells her that he believes it to be Moe who robbed him. The next day, Emma presents all the things stolen by Moe to Gold, however, something is missing, and he tells her that, until she finds it, she may as well have found nothing. Gold later runs into David when buying duct tape and rope and sees him buying two Valentine's cards, after commenting on this, he leaves. Mr. Gold is soon seen diving down the road in Moe's van, and Moe is seen tied up and gagged in the back. The gun-toting Gold takes Moe into a cabin in the woods, he compresses his throat with his cane and asks him two questions, where is sacred possession is and who asked him to take it. Moe says that he has no idea what Gold's talking about and it's not long before Mr. Gold begins to repeatedly strike the florist with his cane, exclaiming that it's "his fault", however, he is soon stopped by Emma and taken into custody. Mr. Gold is visited in his cell by Regina who uses Henry to bribe Emma for half an hour alone with the man. She requests to know his real name, he says it's Mr. Gold, however, Regina retrieves a chipped cup from her purse and asks for his real name. Gold reveals his name to be Rumplestiltskin and takes the cup back. Regina now knows for sure that Gold remembers his life pre-curse. Later, it is revealed to be out of Gold's knowledge that Regina is keeping the pawnbroker's true love, Belle, locked in a cell under the hospital, as she has been doing so for over twenty-eight years.

In the Mayor's office, Regina is seen holding a golden ring. She looks sadly at it and then puts it against her lips. "Remembrance of things past," Mr. Gold says, entering the office. Without turning around, Regina asks what he wants, so he explains he needs a favor. Regina scoffs at this, so Gold points out that he has battery charges against him, so someone with Regina's influence could help the D.A. realize he has a flimsy case. "Isn't that right, your majesty?" he adds, picking up an apple from a bowl. She asks what she gets in return, so he offers help with her "Mary Margaret problem", because he's noticed that no matter how hard she tries, she and her "charming friend" keep finding ways to be together. Regina asks what he's suggesting, so he tells the mayor that if she wants to inflict pain... then she must inflict pain. "If something tragic were to happen to David's wife, and if Mary Margaret should take the blame..." Gold suggests before being interrupted by Regina, who says Mary Margaret would be ruined. Gold then adds that the Mayor would have her victory at last. Regina points out that a trial could get messy, but Gold asks who said anything about a trial. He goes on to say that once Miss Blanchard is incarcerated, they can plant a skeleton key in her cell and when she tries to leave Storybrooke... "Well, we all know what happens to people who attempt to leave town." A cautious Regina asks for one good reason why she should trust him, so Gold smiles, stating that he always honors his agreements. He then asks if they have a deal, Regina smiles, tempted.

Leroy tells Astrid, a nun to whom his affections belong, that he sold all of the candles for Miners' Day, money which Astrid needs to pay rent for Mr. Gold. However, it is soon revealed that Leroy was lying and Mary Margaret wonders how he will get out of it, however, he reveals that he has another way to obtain $5000. The town drunk is later seen with Mr. Gold at the docks with the former's boat. Leroy is attempting to sell his boat to Gold for $5000, however, Mr. Gold states that the highest he would be able to buy it for would be $3000. Leroy is disappointed and continues to try and haggle with the pawnbroker, however, it is no use. The scene is soon found by Astrid who is confused as to why Leroy would sell his boat to Mr. Gold, a boat that she thought was important to him. Astrid then discovers the boxes of unsold candles and runs away, maddened.

After Kathryn Nolan disappears and her heart is found in a jewelry box along with Mary Margaret's finger prints, the teacher is taken into custody. After another piece of evidence the hunting knife used to remove said heart, is found in Mary Margaret's apartment, Mr. Gold shows up at the sheriff's station. He offers his services as Mary Margaret's lawyer. They are shocked that he is a lawyer and he tells them that it explains why he is so adept at reading contracts. He assures the ladies of how persuasive he can be but Emma doesn't like the idea, however, the blonde is asked to leave by Mary Margaret who decides to hire Gold. She wonders why he's offering what he is and he replies that he's "invested in her future" (much like Rumplestiltskin told Snow White). Gold is later visited by Emma when in his pawn shop, she tells him that Regina is setting Mary Margaret up and he is not surprised, pointing out she has no evidence that's court-worthy. Emma explains that she needs Gold's help as, even though she doesn't approve of his methods, she approves of his results and remembers that the only time she overcame Regina was when he had helped her in the sheriff's elections. Emma says that she's willing to go as far as it takes.

Mr. Gold and Emma walk into the sheriff's station the next morning to discover that Mary Margaret has escaped, the latter is utterly stunned. Gold tells her that she needs to find Miss Blanchard soon or she will be damned to jail innocent or guilty. Emma leaves to find Mary Margaret and Gold smiles at the empty cell, wickedly, being the one who had planted the skeleton key under her pillow, prompting her to leave. Mary Margaret is returned to her cell soon enough by Emma who rescues her from Jefferson, who had kidnapped her. Regina walks into the sheriff's station, shocked that Mary Margaret is there, and talks to Gold privately. Regina is furious that Gold did not fulfill his side of their deal, the side where Mary Margaret escapes and leave Storybrooke where bad things happen. Gold reminds Regina that Mary Margaret is still on trial for murder, so she may still claim her vengeance.

Gold continues working on Mary Margaret's case while simultaneously working with Regina, per their deal, to destroy her happiness. Emma, Gold and Mary Margaret discuss the upcoming court case and the latter suggests that if they use the elementary teacher's kind nature as a defense, pointing out that such an innocent person could never commit such a heinous act, they could win. During questioning by the D.A., Mary Margaret doesn't help herself when she is irritated by Albert Spencer into admitting that she wanted Kathryn gone because she was a clear obstacle in her relationship with David; this incriminates her greatly. Emma finds proof that Regina is behind framing her, but thanks to the secret intervention of Sidney Glass, she loses it. When it seems that Mary Margaret is doomed, Mr. Gold reminds Emma that there is still time for him to work a little magic. It is then that Ruby is heard screaming, saying that she saw someone in the alley. Emma investigates only to find Kathryn has returned - very much alive.

Henry goes to see Mr. Gold in his pawn shop in order to buy a present for Mary Margaret as she didn't kill Kathryn, Gold helps the boy browse as August W. Booth sneaks through the back door and into Gold's office. Gold finds the writer in there, clearly looking for something, and questions why he's in there. August explains that he thought he had walked through the entrance. Mr. Gold corrects him before making him leave. Regina confronts Gold about Kathryn's reappearance and he makes clear that all evidence leads back to her, she believes he cheated their deal, extremely angry that Kathryn's not dead and Mary Margaret's gone free. Later, at Mary Margaret's homecoming party, Gold talks to Emma, asking her how much she knows about August, she reveals that she doesn't know much but that she trusts him more than she trusts Mr. Gold. The issue of Kathryn's sudden reappearance is brought up and it is hinted that it was Mr. Gold himself who kidnapped her, however, this is not confirmed. After he discovers that August is looking for the Dark One's dagger after snooping through his room, Mr. Gold follows August to Mother Superior and learns that he was talking to her about a reunion with his father, this leads Gold to believe that August is Baelfire. The pawnbroker goes to Archie for therapy and the conscience tells him to just be honest with his son. Gold obliges and finds August, who greets the old man as "Papa." Gold reunites with his son, happy, and leads him to the dagger which he buried in the woods soon after Emma arrived in town. August tries to use the knife to control Gold, confirming to the pawnbroker that August is not Bae. Soon, Gold pins August to a tree with the dagger to his throat, he wonders what August's aims are and why he's not scared. August reveals that he's sick and dying and that he's there to make Emma, the savior, believe in the curse. Gold lets August go (as he's going to die anyway) and tells him to try and make Emma believe again as that could benefit him.

Emma hires Mr. Gold in order to help her gain custody of Henry, he agrees to help her. August calls Gold and tells him that he wants to meet him concerning Emma. Mr. Gold is helping Marco in his shop when August walks in, immediately recognizing Geppetto as his father but not saying anything. After Marco leaves, August tells Gold that Emma is too focused on her custody battle and he needs Gold to push her towards him so that he can get her to believe. Mr. Gold agrees to give Emma a little nudge towards him. Emma goes to see Mr. Gold and he refuses her case, doing what he promised and giving her as nudge towards August so that he may make her believe in the curse.

Regina becomes worried that her apple tree is dying and so goes to Mr. Gold. He explains it by telling her that the curse is weakening, this worries Regina, Gold tells her that if Emma were to die, the curse would be broken. This prompts Regina to use Jefferson and his hat to create a portal to the fairytale land, however, it's only big enough for her to reach through and grab something, she chooses an apple. Regina later goes back to Mr. Gold to gloat that she retrieved a poisoned apple from the fairytale world, Gold reminds her that all magic comes at a price and she tells him that he can pay it. However, once Regina gives Emma the apple in the form of a turnover, her plan backfires when Henry eats it to ensure his mother of the curse's reality.

Henry is dying because of the apple turnover baked with the poisoned apple by Regina, Emma now believes and her and Regina must now team up to save Henry's life, they start by going to the only other person with magic, Mr. Gold, or, Rumplestiltskin. He reveals to them that he dabbed the potion with a drop of true love, made from Snow White and Prince Charming (Emma's parents, hence why she is the savior) which means it contains some of the strongest magic. Gold tells them that he didn't use the whole potion and hid the rest in a golden egg which can be found with the maleficent dragon. Emma faces the dragon and retrieves the potion in the egg. However, when she is going up the lift, it stops, she climbs out of the top to see Mr. Gold, he tells her that Regina tampered with the lift and abandoned her, Emma throws the egg to Gold and climbs up to discover that Gold was lying and has now ran off with the potion, having tied Regina up. Gold gets to his shop and an unexpected visitor shows up: Belle (who was earlier freed by Jefferson). She tells him that she was told to say that Regina locked her up, Mr. Gold promises to protect her, despite her not knowing who he is. The two venture to the well in the woods soon after Emma breaks the curse, they arrive, meaning that Belle remembers Gold/Rumplestiltskin and tells him that she loves him. He pours the love into the well creating a purple mist that spreads over Storybrooke, he says that magic is coming back and Belle asks him why, he tells her that it is because magic is power.

Season 2
"Promise me you won't give into your hate."

- Belle

Rumplestiltskin and Belle are still at the well after the purple mist dissipates and Rumple asks his true love what happened to her, she tells him that she was taken away and locked up by Regina, Rumple says that he cannot and will not let that stand but Belle makes him promise her not to kill her, he does. However, when Rumple and Belle return to the shop and he goes to get her some clothes, he retrieves the wraith's medallion from a box. Later, Rumple visits Regina in prison and, keeping his promise to Belle, does not kill her, instead, he gives her a fate worse than death by pressing her hand up to the medallion, marking her for the wraith. Later still, Gold is visited by Emma, Prince Charming and Snow White who come baring questions, he answers questions with questions, twisting Emma's words, when a sudden earth-tremor is felt, they look out the window to see Storybrooke fallen into despair, they leave to fight it. Belle emerges and learns what Rumple did to Regina, she mentions how he always twists words and angrily leaves, hoping that he had changed. However, Belle returns and forgives him, happy to see that his most cherished item is her chipped cup. He tells her to leave, saying that he's still a monster, despite her wishes, however, Belle refuses, saying that that's exactly why he needs her.

Rumple walks into his shop to find Regina rifling through his books, hoping to find one in particular. Rumple asks her what she's doing and she says that she wants to get her magic back, she notes that it is only her and him that know at that point that fairytale land still exists. Rumple asks her to leave and uses 'please', however, Regina tells him that his pleases have lost their punch, Rumple conjures the book and gives it to her, the same book he gave to her when he trained her in the first place. Rumple is later visited by Prince Charming who wants something to help him find someone, he asks for something similar to the ring Rumple gave him to find Snow, however, Charming refuses to show Gold the item or tell him to whom it belongs, Rumplestiltskin gives the prince a potion, that, when poured said object, will allow it to find its owner. Charming and Rumple make a deal that each will stay out of the others' way. Rumple asks what happens when they leave Storybrooke, Charming tells him that people lose their memories of their magical selves and their Storybrooke selves becomes their only identity. When Charming leaves, enraged by the truth, Rumple begins to smash up his shop with his cane. Later, Gold is seen merely standing at the barrier around the town.

After Belle has a bad dream about Rumple still being the same man he always was, she goes to check on him, she sees him spinning straw into gold for magical purposes. The next morning, Belle confronts him but he refuses to tell her, she accuses him of being a coward and leaves. Rumple goes to Moe French/Sir Maurice with a wanted poster of Belle, he claims to have no idea where she is but makes it clear what a monster he believes Rumple to be. Rumple then goes to Prince Charming, the acting sheriff, and the two of them begin to search Storybrooke for Belle, to little avail. Rumple asks Charming how he makes his relationship with Snow work and he explains that it stems from honesty of the heart, something Rumple rarely gives. They stroke luck with Granny's Diner as Red has seen her, saying that she wanted a job and that she suggested the library. Rec pulls out a sweater that Belle left and asks Gold to return it to her, however, she soon realizes that she can use the thing to sniff Belle out, thanks to her wolf side. Charming, Rumple and Red stop outside of Maurice's florist and Rumple confronts him once more, Maurice tells Rumple that he will make Belle forget she even loved him, at any cost, Rumple realizes that this means he is going to make her cross the wall. Charming wonders how he is planning to do this as each exit is guarded, he soon realizes that Maurice has been down to the mines, so the four of them head there too. Belle is already being carted out of Storybrooke on a mine trail but Rumple uses his magic to pull the cart containing her back. She is grateful but still mad at him, and with her father, she tells them that she never wants to see either of them again. Rumple gives Belle the key to the library which he has now bought for her and he gains sympathy by explaining that he was using magic to try and find a way out of Storybrooke so that he may find his son, Baelfire, Belle understands and is sorry. It is soon revealed that Rumple has kidnapped Mr. Smee and tied him up, he demands to know the whereabouts of Captain Hook, however, Smee is none the wiser.

Dr. Whale visits Mr. Gold with only one arm after it is ripped off of him by Daniel. He asks the pawnbroker if he can restore the arm and Rumple says he can. He asks "Viktor" why he wants his arm back and he says that it's so he can use it again, Gold sees this as obvious and pries further, it is then revealed that Viktor wants to continue work on his brother. Rumple still refuses to restore the arm, telling Viktor that there's a difference between "can" and "will" and that he needs to hear something from him. Viktor admits that he needs magic. Taking this as a victory that magic is better than science, Rumple then returns the doctor's arm to his body in less than a second.

Regina goes to check on Henry in his sleep and has to wake him from a bad dream, however, she is shocked to learn that Henry's hand is burned from the fire within his dream, at this odd occurrence, Regina calls in Mr. Gold. Gold explains that when people are put under a sleeping curse, one that Regina uses, their souls are taken to another world, one that can be revisited via dream even after this person wakes up, such as in Henry's case. Regina requests that Rumple do something to prevent this from happening, however, he can't, instead he pours some potion into a medallion that, when worn by Henry, and Henry alone, will allow him to control his dreams. Regina is hesitant about accepting it, saying that Gold always demands a price, however, he says that since it's for Henry, it's on him.

When Snow and Emma learn that they can communicate with Henry through Aurora due to the sleeping curse, Snow figures that Rumple will have a way to stop Cora. Rumple is having lunch with Belle at Granny's Diner when they're approached by Regina who tells Rumple of Cora's threat to Storybrooke. Rumple, Charming and Regina allow Henry to fall asleep after Rumple tells him that to stop Cora, they will need the ink that resides in Rumple's old cell. Henry tries to tell this to Aurora but she's woken up before he can. Henry is now burned but Rumple soon heals him before they decide to put Charming under a sleeping curse instead so that he can communicate with Snow. Charming is put under the curse by pricking his finger on a spinning wheel and all Rumple and the others an do is wish him good luck.

Rumple points out to Regina that they should probably stop a portal from being opened as Cora could get through, telling the mayor that if all goes wrong when she was trying to help, it would make her look very appealing in the eyes of Henry. They later go down into the Storybrooke mines to collect the magic diamonds, Rumple transfers them into magic using the Fairy Godmother's wand. The two of them concoct a spell over the town well where the portal shall open so that if anyone were to come through, they would surely not survive. Henry and Red head them off, enraged that the fairy dust is missing, Rumple sends Red flying with a wave of his hand where as Henry is restrained by Regina. Eventually, Henry asks Regina to have faith in him and so she absorbs the magic from the well and Emma and Snow get through safely. Charming is woken by Snow and Emma talks to Gold, she has realized that she was prophesied by him, however, he tells her that he merely used her to his advantage, he helps her realize herself that she has magic.

Mr. Gold is in his pawn shop when Belle presents him with a picnic basket filled with bake goods. He thanks her and tells her that everything looks delicious, however, this scene is interrupted when Emma, Mary Margaret and David walk in. Gold comments on how lovely it is to see a family reunited, telling Emma that she has her mother's chin, however, they are not there to small talk and Emma begins to ask him if he's the one who killed Archie and framed Regina, the former's body having been found earlier that day. Belle is stunned that someone is dead and Gold denies having killed him, telling them that they can ask the witness. Emma says that there were no witnesses but Mr. Gold points out that that's not strictly true. Soon, Gold walks into the shop with Pongo, Archie's dalmatian, who saw the event in question, but Emma tells him that unless he speaks dog, Pongo is rather redundant. Gold explains that they will be using magic to extract Pongo's memories, Emma voices that he could as easily just use magic to trick them, but Gold says that he shan't be using magic, Emma will. He takes out a dream catcher and enchants it, passing it to Emma who holds it before Pongo. It glows bright and Gold tells her to "will it" in order to see the memories. Emma does so and in the dream catcher, Regina is seen strangling the life out of Archie, proving that Mr. Gold is innocent and Regina is "guilty".

Rumple takes Mr. Smee to the town line and pours some potion on his hat, a treasured item, he then gives Smee the hat and pushes him over, and the bumbling servant still remembers his fairytale self. The next day, Gold calls Belle over to his shop to tell her that he's created a potion that, when placed on a precious object, shall take a person over the town line with them able to remember who they are. Belle is happy for her love and asks him what his treasured item is, he tells her that it is a shawl that was worn by Baelfire. Later, Belle calls Rumple from the library and appears distressed, Gold rushes to her aid to learn that Captain Hook attacked her, when asked why by Belle, Gold explains that Hook took his wife, so in exchange, he took the pirate's hand. They discover that the shop has been ransacked and that the shawl is missing, and Rumple is distraught. He vows to go and get it back and tells Belle to hide in the library, giving her a gun for protection. When out searching, Gold runs into Mr. Smee who is trying to leave town, and turns him into a rat for taking the shawl. Belle learns from her books that Hook arrived on his ship and finds it herself, however, Hook finds her there too and takes her gun. She manages to overpower him and run up to the deck, but he soon apprehends her, as he advances, Rumple arrives on board. He begins to savagely beat Hook with his cane and Belle begs him to stop, which, after much, much hesitation, Rumple agrees to, hearing the argument that he still has good in him. Belle and Gold go to the town line and the latter pours the potion on Baelfire's shawl, enchanting it, he then steps over the line and remembers who is is, Belle is happy for him as now he can find his son. He says that he wishes she could go with him but she says that she doesn't need to as she will be there when he returns. Suddenly, Hook turns up and shoots Belle, telling her that he wouldn't count on it. Belle is injured superficially, however, she stumbles over the town line and forgets who she is, Rumple is livid. As he is about to attack Hook, a car is seen driving into town, Gold quickly dives to save Belle but Hook is hit directly by the speeding vehicle.

Gold is still at the town line with an injured Belle and he quickly heals her bullet wound with magic, she becomes awfully confused, not knowing him or what magic is. Emma, Mary Margaret and David arrive on the scene and Belle, Hook and the mysterious outsider are taken to the hospital. In the hospital, Gold kisses an unconscious Belle, waking her up, however, he does not get the reaction he expected when she screams and he is asked to leave the hospital. On his way out, he warns the Charmings that the outsider saw him throw some magic before entering town. Gold returns to his shop and Cora walks in, wanting a truce, she gives him a peace offering of a white globe that is meant to help Gold find Baelfire, they seal this deal "like they used to" and kiss. Gold later returns to Belle in the hospital with his chipped cup which he has made into her talisman with magic. He continues to force it on her, trying to get her to remember him, however, Belle becomes annoyed and throws the cup against the wall, smashing it, asking Gold to leave. The pawn broker is devastated. Back at his shop, Gold touches some of his blood to the white globe and it magically reveals Baelfire's location in the world. He soon goes to the Charmings' apartment in order to cash in his favor from Emma. He asks her to find someone with him - his son. He tells her that they must leave that day as every minute is a minute closer to him murdering Hook. He also tells them that if any harm is to bestow upon Belle whilst he's gone, he'll kill all of them.

Gold knocks on the door of Mary Margaret's apartment to be greeted by Emma, who's ready to go, as is Henry. Mr. Gold is confused by this, wondering why Henry is tagging along, but Emma explains that she refuses to leave him behind with Cora lurking around town. The three of them next make their way to the airport by driving across the town line, Emma is worried that Gold's shawl may no longer works but he assures her that it will and is proven right when he still remembers who he is after driving out of Storybrooke. They next arrive at the airport where Gold is confused by the customs, not liking that he has to take off his shoes, as well as his shawl, the latter of which can cause him to lose his memory. He removes it and passes through the airport security gate in a daze before quickly having the shawl returned around his neck, still managing to remember his fairytale self. Henry soon begins asking Gold multiple questions, wondering if he's nervous about meeting his son, at this, Gold excuses himself to go to the bathroom where he repeatedly punches a metal paper-towel dispenser, injuring himself. He goes to heal himself with magic but realizes that he can't, discovering that he's powerless outside of town. The plane is ready to board and Gold takes his place on it along with Emma and Henry, he appears nervous about finding his son and the plane soon takes flight.

Mr. Gold arrives with Emma and Henry to Bae's apartment building in New York. He enters after hesitation and Emma deciphers that the apartment without a name assigned to it is Bae's, pressing the buzzer. At this, running is heard along the fire escape and the three of them go outside to see a man running away. Gold tells Emma that her favor is to get him to talk to him, not being able to run himself, and the blonde chases him through the streets. When she catches up with him, she is shocked to discover that he is in fact Neal Cassidy, her old flame and Henry's father. As Neal delivers Emma some answers, he tells her not to bring him back to his father, having spent his whole life running from that man, and Emma agrees. She returns to Gold, telling him she lost Bae, and he decides to break into his son's apartment, waning to know more about him. Judging Emma's strange behavior, Gold figures that he lied to her about losing Bae and begins to question her, yelling, but as he does this, Neal enters the apartment, ordering Gold to stop. Rumple appears happy to be seeing his boy again, but Neal seems none too interested in a reunion, merely wanting to make sure that Emma was alright. Gold realizes that the two of them know each other and Emma soon reveals that Neal is Henry's father, much to the shock of him, Henry and Gold. As Emma talks to Henry, Gold talks to Bae who gives him three minutes to say what he has to say. Gold apologizes to his son for what happened to him, wanting to make amends for his actions, but Neal shows no interest in this. The three minutes are soon up and the reunion hasn't exactly flown smoothly, Neal next talks to Henry, his son, and Rumple realizes that he is the young boy who is to get in the way of he and his son reuniting, who he vowed to kill long ago when this was prophesied.

Neal and Henry continue to bond as Emma and Gold commiserate over the trouble each of them are having with their respective sons. Gold asks Emma if she could convince Neal to return to Storybrooke with them, suggesting that if she doesn't do so, Henry will leave to find Neal as he once did with Emma. Before the topic can be discussed further, Hook runs into the apartment building and stabs Rumple in the chest with his iconic hook, telling him that he took Milah, his one true love, away from him. Emma knocks Hook out and imprisons him as Gold is taken upstairs by Neal. Emma soon returns to them, revealing that Hook made it to New York on his pirate ship, and Gold tells her that the hook used to stab him was laced with poison and is currently killing him in a city that has no magic. Emma suggests getting a flight back to Storybrooke, which does have magic, but Gold tells her that he'll be dead by the time they get there. At this, Neal reveals that he knows how to sail a ship and will be able to sail his father back to Storybrooke. As preparations are made to accomplish this, Emma receives a text from Mary Margaret, stating that Cora and Regina are after Rumple's dagger. Gold tells Emma, who tells her parents, that his dagger is hidden within the Storybrooke clock tower, however, once Mary Margaret and David retrieve it, they are apprehended by Cora and Regina who take the dagger for themselves.

Mr. Gold is still dying from the poison he received when he was stabbed by Hook and is sailed back to Storybrooke by Neal. They soon arrive at the Storybrooke docks and Gold is soon escorted to his pawn shop by Emma, Bae, Mary Margaret and David, where he is placed in the back room until a cure can be found. Knowing that Regina and Cora are on their way, Gold tells Emma to mark all of the entrances using invisible chalk, once she's done this, he tells her to cast a protection spell, which she succeeds at, causing the chalk lines to form an invisible barrier. As they begin to defend themselves, Gold asks Mary Margaret for an extra blanket, however, when she looks for one, she instead finds the magic candle that was given to her as a little girl, one that when lit, can save one life by taking another. Gold tells the teacher that she must whisper Cora's name over her heart, which is in Regina's vault, and Gold's injuries will be transferred to her. Mary Margaret is hesitant at this idea, but soon sneaks out of the shop to carry out the task. Cora and Regina arrive and break the protection spell with ease, before battling briefly with Emma, Neal and David. The former two seal themselves off in the back room with Gold using the invisible chalk whilst David is outside, unconscious, and Regina goes to her vault to intercept Mary Margaret. As Cora continues to try and break the barrier, Gold asks for his cell phone so that he may call Belle. When on the phone to her, he tells her that he's dying before going on to explain to her who she is, a hero who helped her people and a beautiful woman who loved an ugly man, always able to see the good in others. After this phone call, Neal comments that he didn't know Rumple had it in him, to which the pawnbroker replies that he's sorry for breaking his deal with Bae. Cora soon breaks through and transports Neal and Emma to the woods, she admits that Rumple is the only man she's ever truly loved, and before she can stab him with the dagger, she has her already poisoned heart placed into her by Regina. Gold's affliction is transferred to Cora who dies, meaning he is completely fine. Mary Margaret then runs into the store and sees Regina crying over her mother's body, and the mayor knows that Snow is to blame.

Mr. Gold shows up at Regina's family mausoleum where she is currently burying Cora and the mayor seems insulted that he turned up. He professes that he merely came to pay his respects to her mother before placing a rose on the coffin, and Regina begins to talk about how she plans to kill Mary Margaret for killing her mother. Gold tries to tell her that vengeance will get her nothing, and certainly not Henry, but Regina assures him that she will have everything. Gold goes to the Charmings' apartment to warn them of Regina's upcoming attack and David tells the pawnbroker that he's going to help Mary Margaret as she saved his life, making him in her dept. Gold and David investigate Regina's vault and discover that a curse is missing, one that makes someone think they love another, and they deduce that Regina is planning to use it on Henry. Gold suggests that the only way to end this blood feud is by killing Regina, but Henry doesn't like this one bit, before running off. Still needing to protect Mary Margaret, Gold stays behind at the apartment, and, when Regina turns up, he stands in her way. Regina assures Snow that Rumple can't be her guard dog forever, before leaving. When Regina's curse plan is thwarted, Gold is able to leave, but before he does, Mary Margaret asks him how he is able to live with himself knowing all the evil he's caused, as she's currently going through this herself after murdering Cora. Gold tells her that he tells himself he did the right thing, and eventually, one starts to believe this.

Mr. Gold dreams of murdering Henry, having been told that the boy will be his undoing, but feels guilty about it. The next day, he watches Neal and Henry sword fight in the park and is soon approached by Regina, who is surprised to discover that Rumple's son is Henry's father. Gold then goes and visits Belle in the hospital and promises to help her jog her memories, however, she is later visited by Regina who gives her her memories back - her cursed ones. When Mr. Gold goes looking for Belle, he finds her at a club called The Rabbit Hole, where he discovers she is a woman of loose-morals named Lacey, who has little interest in him. He goes to David to ask him how he managed to fall in love with Mary Margaret when cursed, and David says that Snow and Charming were still within them, just buried. With this, Gold returns to the club and asks Lacey out on a date, and she agrees to go with him. Later, the two of them are seen at Granny's Diner on said date where Lacey is surprised to discover that Gold is so much nicer than the rumors she's heard. He seems excited when Lacey shares a line that Belle once said, but this excitement soon fades when she goes to the bathroom and doesn't return. Gold finds her in the back alley making out with Keith, formerly known as the Sheriff of Nottingham, and gets rid of the latter, very disappointed in Lacey for what she did. She reminds him once more that she isn't the Belle that loved him, before leaving. Later, Gold is approached by Keith who tries to apologize, but Rumple removes the sheriff's tongue and begins beating him with his cane. Lacey strolls and by and sees this, taking pleasure in the fact that Mr. Gold is as dark as people say. Gold assures the girl that he's darker and she continues to watch in delight and he continues to beat Keith presumably to death.

When Tamara and Greg drive a captive Hook into Storybrooke, they keep him tied up in the clock tower, where they ask him to do a job for them. He initially refuses, saying that he's already killed Rumplestiltskin, meaning that his being is sated and his life's purpose has been fulfilled. The two of them then pull his chair up to the transparent clock face and put his telescope to his eye where through it he sees Mr. Gold and Lacey walking out of an establishment, talking happily after a presumable date. Hook is extremely angered to see that Rumplestiltskin is alive and Tamara makes it very clear that he's failed. Greg brings up the matter of the job again, and asks Hook if they have a deal. Later, when Hook and Regina become in cahoots, she reveals a way to completely wipe out Storybrooke and all of its inhabitants. Hook asks if this includes the crocodile, and she assures him that Rumplestiltskin will die. However, she is taken hostage by Greg and Tamara before she can enact this plan.

Gold is seen with his foot over Dr. Whale's face telling him to kiss his boot, with Lacey standing nearby. He accuses Whale of staring at Lacey in a lustful manner, and as he's about to stomp on the doctor's face, Neal restrains his father, and Whale leaves. Bae points out how non-redemptive Gold has been since he arrived, and so he asks his son why he's still there, and Neal states that he's staying for Henry and no one else. Later, Gold is visited at his pawn shop by Mary Margaret and David, who tell him that Regina is missing. Gold is happy to hear this, but David points out that he's still owed a favor, and so the pawnbroker asks Lacey to leave the room as he tends to his business. He takes out a vile of Regina tear from his cabinets and asks for one of Mary Margaret's, to make his spell work. Snow consents and offers a tear, Gold then charms the vile to make a potion that when poured into Mary Margaret's eye, will make her able to see and experience everything Regina can. The Charmings then leave and Lacey appears, having heard everything and being very impressed that Mr. Gold can do magic. The two of them are still talking about it later and Lacey asks if he could keep her young forever so she can be immortal, like him, and he says he could, but that the immortal can still be killed. He tells her that he was told someone would be his undoing, and so Lacey tells him to get rid of him. Gold tells her that it's not that simple, but she reminds him that he's someone who would never let anyone stand in his way.

Rumple is watching Henry play in the park and contemplates using magic to make his swing snap and cause him to go flying into the nearby, sharp rocks, however, he is halted at this when the Charmings approach. As Emma talks to Henry, Mary Margaret and David tell Gold that Neal was shot by Tamara and fell through a portal. They then tell him that Tamara and Greg are in possession of the curse's fail-safe and have the power to destroy the town and kill them all, but Gold doesn't care, blaming himself for Bae's death, and leaves in grief. He arrives at his pawn shop where the dwarfs are raiding his shelves in search of something of Sneezy's, explaining that Mother Superior concocted a potion to return the memories of those who have crossed the town line, if it is drunk from a treasured item. The dwarfs take what they're looking for, but before Grumpy leaves, he gives Rumple some of the potion to be used on Belle. Later, Gold shows Lacey the broken chipped cup and repairs it with magic, before pouring out some potion and serving it to her. Lacey then fades away and Belle returns, hugging Mr. Gold who apologizes, saying that he didn't want to wake her up to die. Soon enough, Emma and Regina stop the fail-safe and the town is turned back to normal, however, Gold and Belle witness Greg and Tamara jump through a portal - with Henry. They plan to use the final bean to find Henry and return him home, but when Belle tries to get on the ship, Gold tells her that he needs her in Storybrooke to cast a protection spell, to stop Greg and Tamara's people from entering town. She assures her love that she will see him again, before he boards the ship, deciding that Henry may be his undoing, but he's still his grandson. Gold then uses the magic globe he used to find Bae to discover that Henry is in Neverland. Hook throws the bean in the sea and sails Gold, Regina, Mary Margaret, David and Emma through it, although Gold warns them of someone they must fear on the other side. ("And Straight on 'Til Morning"/"Dark Hollow")

Season 3
"Oh, but I'm a villain. And villains don't get happy endings."

Rumple, along with Emma, Regina, Snow, Charming and Hook, arrives in Neverland via a magic bean and the Jolly Roger. Whilst aboard, he changes into his Dark One gear and explains to the other passengers that Neverland is fueled by belief, and that they, namely Emma, have to stop needing proof in order to believe something's true. He then disappears in front of their very eyes, leaving his cane behind, and arrives on the main island where he finds an injured Tamara crawling through the sand. He heals the arrow wound in her back and asks her if Henry's alive; she answers positively, saying that she told him to run, and he ran. Gold is happy to hear this and Tamara goes on to apologize for killing Neal, asking the Dark One if he's able to forgive her. He answers negatively, and rips out her heart and crushes it. Later, Rumple sits in a clearing and calls upon one of the Lost Ones - he is met by Felix. Felix tells Gold that if he's there for Henry, he can't have him, and that Pan will have to regard him as an enemy. Gold makes clear that nothing's changed, and Felix comments that the two of them shall be seeing each other again under less friendly circumstances. As Rumple tries to leave, he is thrown a small straw doll by Felix, who says that Pan wanted him to have it. The doll appears to have a large effect on Gold, causing him to break down and cry at the sight of it.

Rumple uses his magical dagger to cut his shadow from his body. He then instructs the shadow to hide the dagger where no one can find it (not even him), and the shadow does as its told. Whilst wandering the Neverland jungle, the straw doll that Felix gave to Rumple is stolen and Gold chases the thief, shocked to discover that it's Belle. She explains that she's back in Storybrooke, safe and sound, but that he conjured her there with his imagination because he needs her for some reason. She notes his outfit and assures him that he doesn't have to resort to being the Dark One in order to defeat Pan, and soon asks him what the doll's significance is. He tells her that it's the last thing his father gave to him before absconding him, and Belle says that the only way to let go of the past is to let go of the doll. She then leads him to the edge of a cliff from which he drops the straw doll, meaning that the conjuring of Belle is now free to wander off into the jungle and dissipate. Rumple is then seen to be again scouring the jungle, but the straw doll drops from the sky, much to his surprise. He tries to use his magic to destroy it but it appears to be immune, and so Rumple pockets the doll and continues searching for Henry.

Rumple applies some face-paint over his eye, leading the vision of Belle to comment on him putting back on the mask of a monster. He explains that he needs to become "the monster" again so that he's able to save Henry, which he has decided to do despite him supposedly being his undoing. When a couple of Lost Boys attack, Rumple knocks them out with a sleeping spell; he is then very shocked to see his son Baelfire emerge from the jungle. Thinking he's another vision, Rumple attacks him, but Neal assures his father that he's real, that when he fell through the portal he ended up in the Enchanted Forest but got healed, and now he's found his way back to Neverland to save Henry. The two of them make it to a beach where Neal uses a conch shell to call upon a magical squid, meaning that Rumple can extract its magical ink and use it to ensnare Pan and take Henry. Rumple casts a sleeping spell over Pan's entire camp, including Henry, but Pan is immune, and so Neal fires an arrow covered in squid ink at the demon child, and a surprised Pan becomes immobilized. Neal then carries his son away from Pan's camp on his shoulder and he and Rumple lay the boy to rest until the sleeping spell wears off. However, having heard from Pan that Rumple wants to murder Henry, Neal asks what this means, and Rumple explains that there was a prophecy stating that Henry would be his undoing. Scared that Gold will kill Henry due to his nasty habit of self-preservation, Bae uses the squid ink on his own father and carries Henry through the jungle on his own. When the ink wears off and Rumple is able to move again, he is again visited by a vision of Belle. She tries to offer him advice but he insists that she go away, and meanwhile, Peter Pan and his Lost Boys corner Neal and take Henry back to their camp.

Rumple is visited by Peter Pan, who tries to convince him to give up his quest to save Henry and go home to his fertile Belle, with whom he can start over with. Gold refuses, and the vision of Belle soon begins a conversation with him. However, at this instance, Regina, who's abandoned the others, shows up and begins choking Belle, much to Rumple's horror. But he soon sees that the vision of Belle isn't Belle at all, nor is it a vision - it's Pan's shadow in disguise. The two then decide that they need to work together to save Henry and take down Pan, as they're the two most powerful practitioners of magic. Rumple claims that he may have something back in Storybrooke that could help them stop Pan, without him having to die, but it'd require them traveling between realms. Regina gets an idea and summons Ariel, a mermaid, using a conch shell, offering her a deal: if she goes to Storybrooke (as mermaids can travel between realms) and gets what they need, then she can have legs and be reunited with her true love Prince Eric. ("Ariel")

Mr. Gold draws a picture of the Storybrooke clock tower in the sand of Neverland's beach, telling Ariel the mermaid that that's where she needs to go, and once she's there, she needs to find an object that will help him defeat Pan. Ariel says that she'll need a bit more to go on than that, but Gold is unable to say anything as Pan could easily be listening. Instead, he enchants a seashell and gives it to her, telling her to give it to a person called Belle, and she'll know what to do. Ariel makes her way to Storybrooke and does just that, and in the shell is a magical message from Gold - he tells Belle that she'll be able to find the object using the power of their strong love. Belle takes this to mean she has to use the chipped cup in some way, and this then leads her to uncover Pandora's Box (legend says it contains the world's darkest evil). Ariel takes the box back to Mr. Gold who thanks her, and the mermaid passes on a message from Belle, saying that Gold has to save a girl named Wendy as her two brothers are back in Storybrooke and waiting for her. Gold promises to do what he can, which surprises Regina, and when she goes on to mention Gold's love for Belle, he asks her if she's jealous of him having someone. Regina doesn't answer.

Rumple is moving through the jungle with Regina, who is shocked to learn that Neal really is alive (her not believing this being the reason she left the others), and the two of them soon come across Emma, Mary Margaret, David, Neal, Hook and Tinker Bell, all of whom have begun trekking to Pan's camp in order to save Henry. Everyone turns on Rumple when Neal tells them of the prophecy and that Gold is there to kill Henry, but Rumple argues against these claims, handing Pandora's Box over to his son and promising not to use magic. He later offers to help cure David of his Dreamshade poisoning back in Storybrooke, believing he's able to do so after having been poisoned himself. When he begins to ask for a price in exchange, Neal tells his father that he will save David because it's the right thing for do, and beg for nothing in return. Rumple is begrudged with this, but agrees, and later takes Hook's sword in order to storm Pan's camp, where Regina knocks out all the Lost Boys. After realizing that Pan and Henry aren't there, they find out from Wendy, Pan's prisoner, that the demon child plans on taking Henry's heart in Skull Rock, killing him, in order to ensure his own immortality. Whilst Hook and Tink stay and guard the unconscious Lost Boys, and Mary Margaret and David begin trekking up Dead Man's Peak in search of the latter's temporary Dreamshade cure, Rumple, Regina, Emma and Neal make their way to Skull Rock. Gold is the only one able to pass Pan's protection spell due to the fact that he doesn't have a shadow like the rest of them, and Neal is forced to reluctantly hand over Pandora's Box so that Rumple can use it to defeat Pan. Mr. Gold then confronts his father, but learns that Pan switched the box in Rumple's hands for a fake, having the real one himself, being able to do so with the power of his belief. He then opens the real box, trapping Rumple inside.

Rumple is freed from Pandora's Box by Neal aboard the Jolly Roger, after the mission to save Henry was a success. Gold is asked by his son why he never told him Pan was his father, and Rumple admits he was ashamed of being the same as him, as they both abandoned their sons. Neal assures his dad that he's not the same as Pan, as at least Rumple returned for his son, and soon enough, the ship begins flying back to Storybrooke thanks to the shadow. Meanwhile, Henry is below deck and approached by a stowaway Pan, who tries to take his shadow, but Rumple, who feels a disturbance, stops his father from doing son by trapping him in Pandora's Box. But as this occurs, Pan uses his magic to switch his consciousness with Henry, meaning he now possesses the young boy's body, whereas Henry, who now possesses Pan's, becomes trapped in the box, to no one's knowledge.

Rumple, along with the others aboard the Jolly Roger, returns to Storybrooke where he reunites with Belle, who is overjoyed that he true love is back. He traps Pan, who's already in Pandora's Box, under a magically-sealed floorboard in his shop, never planning to set his father free. But after he rekindles his romance with Belle and gives David an elixir that permanently cures his Dreamshade problem, he is told by Emma and her parents to let Pan go after Mother Superior is murdered by the shadow, meaning the demon child must be controlling it. Gold and the others take Pandora's Box to the town line where they open it on the other side, meaning Pan is powerless. However, as Emma is about to shoot him in the head, killing him once and for all, Pan begins professing that he's Henry in Pan's body, meaning the Henry that's walking around Storybrooke is actually Pan. Gold is reluctant to believe this at first, but soon accepts it as the truth once the boy proves himself to his mother, Emma. The group then head to Regina's mausoleum, where they find the Mayor unconscious in her vault, having been knocked out by the real Pan. Gold soon realizes that something has been stolen: the Dark Curse. This means that Pan is currently in possession of something that will wipe the minds of the townspeople all over again, and without Snow and Charming's true love woven into the parchment, even Emma will be powerless to stop it.

Still are the Mills' mausoleum, Rumple explains that Pan's curse may be preventable should Regina - the curse's original caster - tear the scroll and send everyone back to their old home in the Enchanted Forest. They know the only way to get the scroll is for Pan and Henry to switch back into their own bodies so the latter will have it and can willingly present it to them, but switching them back will require a powerful spell that can only be cast with the wand of the Black Fairy. Tinker Bell, David, Hook and Neal head to Mother Superior's funeral where they kill the shadow to revive the fallen fairy, which leads her to give them the wand they need; it is then given to Rumple, who's gone back to his shop and placed a mechanic cuff on Henry so that Pan, when he returns to his own body, won't be able to perform any magic. Rumple then uses the Black Fairy's wand to do the spell, and as everyone else leaves to go find the proper Henry, Gold decides to stay behind and talk to his father. Pan soon wakes up, annoyed to be faced with his son, and he soon reveals that the cuff that has been put on him doesn't work, because he himself made it for Greg and Tamara to use, and so he's able to take it off and magic it onto Rumple's wrist. With his magic gone, Gold is beaten up by his father, who heads outside to murder those who his son holds most dear (Neal and Belle, who are with everyone else). Rumple grabs a sword and contemplates cutting his hand off to get rid of the cuff, but ultimately decides against it, eventually stepping out into the street where his father has immobilized everybody, about to murder Bae. Gold approaches Pan, having come to terms with what he must do, but the demon child simply mocks the Dark One when he bids farewell to his frozen loved ones. He then reminds his father that the two of them are similar in one respect: neither of them have a shadow. And with that, Gold's shadow, who bears his magical dagger, is summoned and reattaches itself to its host, thus reuniting Rumple with his powerful weapon. Hugging Pan, Rumple stabs him in the back, and it's not long before the boy turns back into the man he once was. Malcolm begs his son to stop, assuring him that they can still be happy, but Rumple reminds him that he's a villain... and villains don't get happy endings. The dagger further penetrates and causes the wound to glow brightly with magic. When this glow finally dies down, the two men have disappeared, the curse scroll that was taken back by Pan drops to the ground, and Rumplestiltskin is dead.

Before the Second Curse
"You've got your son... but you've lost yourself."

- Zelena

After the original curse is undone by Regina and everyone is sent back to the Enchanted Forest, Belle and Neal believe there to be a possibility that Rumple's alive, heading to his castle together so that they can find some sort of magic to resurrect him. There, they find the enchanted candelabra known as Lumière who gives them a key that will lead them to the Dark One's vault, where the powers of the Dark One first originated; this is where they should be able to bring Rumple back. However, Lumière is in fact under the control of the Wicked Witch, known as Zelena, who has orchestrated the entire event. Belle and Neal learn of this just as the latter is about the open the vault with the key, but Neal decides it's worth the risk because at least his father will be alive. He opens the vault and inky blackness takes the form of the now resurrected Rumplestiltskin... but in order to restore a life, one must lose theirs in return, and Neal collapses, much to the Wicked Witch's delight. Rumple tries his best to save his son, but Zelena tells him that he'll have to choose between Baelfire's life and his dagger, for he cannot have both. He hands over the dagger and uses his magic to absorb Neal, saving him, but two minds in one head drives Rumple to madness, and with Zelena in possession of his dagger, she orders him to kill Belle. He tries to, but Lumière manages to retrain the Wicked Witch with his fire, allowing Belle enough time to run.

The insane Rumple is locked in a cage within his own castle, having been given nothing but a spinning wheel by Zelena, his captor. One day, Snow White, Prince Charming, Queen Regina, Robin Hood and Belle break in so that they may talk to him and learn how to defeat the Wicked Witch, but he is unable to keep up a coherent conversation. Belle tries talking to him, thinking she can get through to her true love, and contact with her allows Rumple to think straight for a moment. He tells Snow and the others that Zelena can be defeated with light magic, which they'll find by meeting Glinda, the Good Witch of the South. They wonder if she's in Oz, but Rumple reveals otherwise, saying that she was banished to the north. Events transpire and Snow White casts a Dark Curse over the Enchanted Forest so that they may return to Emma and use her magic to defeat Zelena, who alters the curse to her own suiting and devises a memory potion to drink once she's in Storybrooke so that she'll remember what she's setting out to do. She offers Rumple a spare vial and he prepares to drink it, however, at that moment, Neal emerges from his body and sends the the potion to Captain Hook via dove, so that he may give it to Emma. Neal then returns to Rumplestiltskin's unconscious body and the Dark One lays there whilst the new curse washes over.

Season 3
"You feed the madness and it feeds on you..."

Zelena, also known as the Wicked Witch of the West, returns to an isolated house in the newly-cursed Storybrooke with a tray of food in tow. She heads down the stairs to the basement and slides the tray beneath a small gap in a large cage. A hand protrudes from the gap and grabs her arm, and an unshaven, unkempt Mr. Gold tells the Wicked Witch that she shouldn't have brought him back. She simply smiles evilly and kicks the tray into the cage, releasing his grip and heading back upstairs after instructing him to eat up, for they have work to do. As he prepares to eat, Rumple repeats the phrase "You feed the madness and it feeds on you", having returned to the high-pitched, manic tone he had before the original curse was cast. He then lets out his signature giggle, and eats.

Rumplestiltskin remains in his cage, spinning at the wheel, when Zelena visits with his magical dagger in tow. She notes how much he's let himself go and begins to shave him with with the knife, explaining that she learned to do so when her father returned home drunk every night but demanded that appearances be kept up. She then notes that that was always an impossibility for the two of them back in the Enchanted Forest, because no matter what they did, their outside appearances always reflected what was rotting on the inside. Rumple claims that she doesn't care about appearances, because if she did, she'd change his shirt. She remains cryptic, and soon leaves, allowing him to continue spinning straw into gold. Later, Emma, Charming, Hook and Regina enter the storm cellar that Gold was being kept in... only now he's escaped. When they find his spinning wheel in his cage, they deduce who must have been in there, and become shocked that he's apparently returned from the dead.

Rumple is running through the woods, having escaped Zelena, whilst she fails to summon him with his dagger. He is later found by Emma and David but manages to get away, complaining about there being no room in his head for all the voices. It is later revealed to Emma and the others the events that transpired when Rumple was resurrected: he and Neal became one in the same body, hence Gold's insanity. Emma manages to use her magic in order to separate them, per Neal's request, and Gold is horrified to be faced by his dying son, who cannot be sustained after having sacrificed his own life to bring back his father. Neal thanks his papa for allowing him to make a true sacrifice, saying that he loves him, before dying. Rumple and Emma are devastated but the latter soon leaves to confront Zelena, who Gold told her is the Wicked Witch. However, Zelena soon emerges, with Rumple's dagger in tow, and with him now being in his right mind, it works properly. She assures him that she will use his beautiful brain to get what he wants, before ordering him to get back in his cage. He does so, leaving Neal's corpse alone in the woods.

As Neal's funeral takes place, Rumple remains in his cage, taunted by Zelena. She asks him if Baelfire was worth all the trouble of casting the curse, and Rumple assures her that he was worth every moment because he's family, something she can never understand. Zelena proceeds to crash Neal's wake where she publicly comes out as Regina's half-sister and challenges the Evil Queen to a fight on Main Street at sundown. In order to give Regina a fighting chance, Emma plots to lure Gold away from Zelena's side, and she does this by allowing Belle into the storm cellar. She tries freeing him but he tells her to leave, worried for her safety. Soon enough, Zelena reveals herself to be in the room, and Belle runs away whilst Rumple is forced to tell the others that if they interfere with the Wicked Witch's chance to destroy Regina again, they will all die. Gold accompanies his jailer to the fight and is made to magically push Emma aside when she attempts to battle Zelena single-handedly. Regina soon shows up, however, and the witch retreats on her broom after discovering that the Evil Queen doesn't have a heart to steal, having hidden it. Back in his cage, Rumple taunts Zelena by saying, if he had to do it all over again, he'd still pick Regina to cast his curse. Zelena then asks if he hasn't realized it yet - they are doing it all over again, and when her plan succeeds, he will choose differently for the Queen will never have been born.

Rumple is forced by Zelena to go into the woods and steal Regina's heart, which is being guarded by Robin Hood. When the Merry Men refuse to reveal its location, Rumple threatens Roland, Robin's son, though he assures the thief that he really doesn't want to harm the child. Robin soon hands over Regina's heart, meaning Roland goes unharmed, and Rumple gives it to the Wicked Witch. That night, Zelena dresses Mr. Gold in a nice suit and prepares a meal, proceeding to dine with him in civility. She tempts him with the prospect of bringing Baelfire back to life, but he believes this to be impossible, leading her to explain her plan of going back in time so that she can claim the life she deserves; she says that she could bring Neal back too. Later, he begins kissing her, attempting to sleep with her, but Zelena is incredibly angered when she realizes it's a ploy to take the Dark One's dagger from her person. She tells Rumple that he just lost the chance of seeing his son again, but Rumple explains that his son died so that Zelena could be defeated, and the only way to honor that sacrifice is by killing her. He promises to murder her one day, but she simply orders him back into his cage, and he obliges.

Zelena approaches Mr. Gold, who's still under the dagger's control, with a rose in her hand, and he comments how lovely it is. She asks him if he's earned it, at which he opens the trunk of his car, revealing Captain Hook to be tied-up and gagged inside. This gladdens Zelena, who presumably ordered Rumple to do this, and she goes on to wonder why Hook, who's had his lips cursed, hasn't kissed Emma and drained all her magic. Rumple stands by and watches as Hook states that he likes to be courted, but Zelena angrily tells him that this isn't a joke, explaining that she needs Emma to be powerless before Snow White's baby is born. She orders Hook to kiss the savior or else she'll have to begin killing people Emma loves, starting with Henry. She says that, should he not do what she requests, then the next rose she bears shall be upon the "little brat's" grave. Gold watches as the trunk is slammed shut, presumably going on to drive the pirate back into town.

Whilst Mary Margaret goes into labor with her son, Rumple spins rapidly at the wheel, producing copious amounts of gold. Zelena takes this gold and points out how he always said spinning cleared his mind, or more specifically, his brain; she transforms the golden thread into a golden brain and adds it to her other ingredients. He accompanies her to the barn in which she plans to enact her time travel spell, helping her to mark the large geometric symbol in the soil as she places each of her ingredients (David's courage, Regina's heart, Rumple's brain) onto dishes, sans the baby. Rumple is forced to hold off Emma and Hook when they try to interfere, going on to drown the pirate, and Emma is forced to drain herself of magic when she performs CPR to revive him. Once Zelena steals Snow's baby, the spell begins to enact, but Emma, David, Regina, Hook and Robin Hood then show up to stop her. Rumple is again forced to hold off these threats, telling them to get the dagger so that he can fight for their side, but they point out that that's easier said than done. However, Regina uses her own light magic to defeat the Wicked Witch, making her drop the Dark One's dagger and stealing the pendant which houses her magic, causing the spell to stop and Zelena to become utterly powerless. Rumple tries to kill her to avenge his son's death, but Regina uses his dagger to stop him, instead wanting to lock her sister up because that's what a hero would do. Gold returns to his shop where he's met by Belle, who returns his dagger to him. However, he wants her to keep it, assuring her of his love and stating that he is forever hers. She wonders what this means, and he asks her to marry him; she accepts his proposal. Against Belle's wishes, however, he goes into the sheriff's station and reveals to the captive Zelena that he gave his new fiancée a fake dagger, meaning he has the real one. He teleports into her cell and she begins begging for her life, but Gold points out that he promised his son that he would avenge his death, and Rumplestiltskin never breaks a deal. He stabs her, turning her to porcelain with magic and making her shatter, but later that night, the magic from her pendant begins to spill across town, causing her time travel spell to enact.

Belle returns to the shop saying that she doesn't feel right carrying the dagger round with her, but Rumple, having just safely stored away the real dagger, assures her that she'll be find and tells her to focus on the wedding. The two of them attend the coronation at Granny's Diner for the naming of Snow White's baby, but everyone is soon distracted when they see that Zelena's time travel portal has opened. They go to the sheriff's station to investigate and Rumple uses his magic to edit the security footage so that it looks like the Wicked Witch killed herself, and they realize this caused the magic in her pendant to open the portal, which Emma and Hook soon fall down. Having ended up in the Enchanted Forest of the past, they call upon Rumplestiltskin to help get them back home. He initially tries to kill Hook, but Emma stops him, explaining who she is and why she's there, and that she accidentally made it so her parents never met. Rumple says he can open a portal to the future using a fairy's wand which he stole, but Emma and Hook must sort out their own mess. He gets them an invitation to King Midas' ball, where Snow and Charming will be, and puts a glamor spell on them so that they won't be recognized.

Emma and Hook manage to set time right again by getting Snow and Charming to fall in love and so they return to Rumplestiltskin, who's making a forgetting potion so that he can forget all he's learned about his future, however, he reveals that the wand he planned to use to get them back to the future will only work for the ones who used the portal - but neither of them have magic. Instead, he locks them up in the room full of magical artifacts he doesn't understand, but Emma manages to re-harness her magical abilities and open a portal. Just as she's about to go through it, Rumple grabs her and demands to know what happens to his son. She reveals that he died, much to his dismay, but assures him that she loved him too and that she must let her go so that Baelfire's sacrifice wasn't in vain. Rumple lets her go and drinks the forgetting potion, not remembering why he's even where he is, and in the present, Mr. Gold witnesses Snow White announce that her baby is named after his son: Prince Neal. Later that night, Gold marries Belle in the woods, and the two of them make sweet vows towards one another before kissing, which seals the union. However, it's soon revealed that a pot from Rumple's room of dark artifacts escaped when Emma and Hook did... one containing the Ice Queen, who walks free amongst Storybrooke.

Season 4
"Once... I saw the man behind the beast. Now... there's only a beast."

- Belle

The newlywed Mr. Gold and Belle head to the local graveyard so that the former can talk to Neal's grave alone. He recounts a story of his son's childhood wherein Bae climbed into bed with him and Rumple felt, for the first time, like an adult because he was able to protect his child... until the Dark One's dagger came along and changed everything. At this point, he admits to having given Belle a fake so that he could avenge Neal's death, revealing that he keeps the real one on his person. He and an oblivious Belle then drive off to a lovely abandoned mansion which she believes would be a nice place to spend their honeymoon. Once they're inside, a guilty Rumple freezes Belle with magic and takes away the fake dagger, leaving her with the real one. The two of them then head to another room where the Dark One uses his magic to dress he and his wife in fairytale attire and play a familiar song on the nearby gramophone; the two of them then share a romantic first dance. That night, Rumple wakes up and approaches a small gold container that he's found in the mansion. He takes the dagger back from Belle and waves it over the box, releasing the Sorcerer's hat.

Elsa, the Ice Queen, decides that no one is leaving town until she finds her sister, Anna, and so she erects an ice wall around the perimeter of Storybrooke in order to stop people from being able to escape. Events transpire and Emma becomes trapped in an ice cave with Elsa, slowly freezing to death. Charming and Hook decide to pay a little visit to Mr. Gold, who's standing behind the counter of his shop with Belle, because they know that this is where Elsa stole Anna's necklace from and they think he might be able to help. They wonder if he would be able to melt the ice wall, but he retorts that he wouldn't be able to do so without killing Emma. When David sees the necklace's inventory photograph, he recognizes it and has the idea visit Bo Peep and steal her magical crook, going on to use it to confirm that Anna is alive after he goads Elsa into melting the ice herself. It soon becomes evident that someone with Elsa's powers is keeping the ice wall up, for Elsa herself is unable to melt it.

Emma, Hook and Elsa visit Mr. Gold at his shop in order to ask him how the Ice Queen and the urn she was in ended up in his magical vault in the first place. However, he doesn't remember, and he claims to have no idea that there was even a person in there. He then suggests that Belle use the dagger on him to prove that he's telling the truth, and she does so despite her reluctance, forcing him to reveal the urn's origins; but still, he doesn't know. Later, Hook visits him again and forces the pawnbroker to help him under the threat that he'll tell Belle about the fake dagger she wields, which the pirate figured out for himself. Rumple decides to give Hook, and Elsa, a way of tracking down the culprit behind a curse that Marian is currently under. He takes a lock of Marian's frozen hair and reduces the magic to its natural form - a group of snowflakes - and explains that all magic is unique, and its fundamental nature compels it to find other magic like itself; as such, it should lead them to the assailant. The two of them follow the snowflakes to the Snow Queen, who Rumple later meets in the woods at the dead of night for a little discussion. He asks the Queen if Emma Swan remembers her, but she assures him that the savior remains oblivious of their past together.

Gold is visited by Hook, who continues blackmailing him by threatening to tell Belle the truth about the dagger and requests that his hand be reattached. The Dark One obliges but warns the pirate that he lost the hand when he was his old self, and that personality may begin to shine through now that it's back. Hook doesn't buy it and accepts his hand anyway, proceeding to his date with Emma, but he soon begins to realize that Rumple was right and asks him to take the hand away. Rumple refuses and Hook tries blackmailing him, but the Dark One insists that he switched the daggers back, which Hook has no way of knowing. As such, he is forced to make a deal and, the next day, the pirate meets Rumple at the town docks. Gold enchants a broom to lead them to the house of the sorcerer's apprentice who guarded the hat and uses said hat to absorb him, wanting to collect enough magic to be able to break free of the dagger's thrall on him. Hook acts as Gold's muscle whilst all this takes place, and Gold takes the pirate's hand out of gratitude, revealing that it actually wasn't affecting Hook's personality - that was just him. Hook, having seen Rumple use his dagger to activate the hat, contemplates telling Belle everything, but Rumple magically alters the security tape from the house to make it look as though Hook acted alone. Later, Henry approaches his grandfather and asks for an after-school job in the shop; Gold accepts the boy's offer, unaware of the fact that he's only doing it in an attempt to find out more about who wrote his book of fairytales.

Belle and Gold are summoned to the sheriff's station with everyone else where they learn that Emma, despite having no memories of such a thing, used to be the Snow Queen's foster daughter. When they all search the woods, Gold meets up with the Snow Queen in secret in order to threaten her into making a deal, but she ultimately doesn't bite, and he returns to his shop only to have Belle beg him to accompany her to the Snow Queen's lair as she believes her to possess a hat that can steal magic from sorcerers - unaware that Rumple himself possesses it. When he refuses, she uses her fake dagger to try and control him, and Gold pretends to be under her thrall as he leads her to the lair and gets told to keep watch outside. Belle is taunted by her own reflection in the Snow Queen's evil mirror and it tells her that the dagger is a fake, which she begins to believe when Rumple comes running inside in spite of her orders. Once he's teleported them both back to the shop, he points out that she told him to keep watch, not stay outside, and explains that he heard the Snow Queen coming, so they had to leave. She apologizes for having doubted him and goes on to admit that she knows Anna and was in fact the reason why the Snow Queen captured her so long ago. As Belle admits this to the others, Gold pays the Snow Queen a visit and reveals that he's in possession of the sorcerer's hat, meaning that he has leverage over her.

Henry begins his apprenticeship with Gold, having to wear a suit, and would like to learn something more magical after sweeping the floor twice; Gold gives him a magic potion that can turn old objects brand new... furniture polish, which a disappointed Henry then begins using in the back room, forbidden to touch anything he's not supposed to. David, Elsa, Hook and Belle then enter the shop, alarmed because Emma is trapped in the sheriff's station with the Snow Queen, and Gold only agrees to help when asked by his wife. Hook lags behind with the Dark One, wondering what his ploy is and theorizing that he has a history with Ingrid the Snow Queen, but Gold remains determined to keep his history his business. When he arrives at the sheriff's station, Emma's magic has gone out of control and she's blown a hole in the wall. She ends up running away and, back in his shop, Gold congratulates the Snow Queen on the number she did on the savior. Ingrid says she's there the strike the deal he offered her earlier, wanting back the ribbons he took from her and her sisters years earlier, which leads Rumple to wonder what she has for him in return. She reveals that she has information he needs if he wants to cleave the dagger's control over him for good and make it so he can leave Storybrooke for good and retain his power and his wife (in short, have what every villain wants: everything), and he gives her the ribbons in exchange for this information... which she whispers. Once she's done so, Rumple smiles and says that he can not only do that, but will do it with great pleasure.

With Emma's powers continuing to spiral out of control, she visits Mr. Gold in the hopes that he can take away her magic and make her safe to be around. He tells her of a spell that can do just that, neglecting to tell her that what he really plans on doing is absorbing her with the sorcerer's hat, and arranges to meet the savior at the abandoned mansion on the outskirts of town where he and Belle had their honeymoon. Knowing that the Snow Queen may wish to stop him, Rumple pays her a visit and, as he does so, spreads a circle around her using the dust of the smashed urn, thus keeping her contained for the meanwhile. At the mansion, he prepares the hat to absorb Emma against her knowing and anticipates the blonde's arrival; when she finally does arrive, she has second thoughts about stepping into the bright light on the other side of the partially-open double doors, having been warned by an apparition of Ingrid not to do so. Gold convinces her that that's exactly why she should go, since the villain doesn't want her to, and Emma agrees, going on to ask the Dark One what he would do. He admits that he would never give up his power, pointing out that everything he's ever done has been in the interest of preserving it and even his selfless deeds such as finding Baelfire, sacrificing himself to save Storybrooke and marrying Belle have been meticulously undone by his scheming. Hook is trying his best to warn Emma of imminent danger, but Rumple soon finds him outside and ties him up with magic. It soon appears that, thanks to Elsa's intervention, Emma doesn't go through with sacrificing her powers and embraces them instead, whilst Mr. Gold removes Hook's heart because, as Ingrid told him as part of their deal, he needs the heart of someone who knew him before he was the Dark One to finally cleave himself of the dagger. With Hook under his control, Rumple orders him to retrieve the hat and use it to collect all the magical power he needs. After another brief chat with Ingrid, Rumple exits her lair and she goes on to cast her notorious spell of Shattered Sight.

Rumple meets Ingrid atop a hill and congratulates her on having won, watching as the spell of Shattered Sight begins to spread over town, ready to go off at sundown and turn the whole of Storybrooke against one another. She wonders why he's there, and he reveals that he'd like to make another deal, wanting to leave town, and points out that he, as the Dark One, is immune to the spell but would like for Belle and Henry to be spared, or else he'll spend the rest of his life figuring out a way to kill her. He asks if they have a deal, and she tells him to enjoy his trip. He later meets Hook at the docks and orders him to use the magic hat on all of the fairies that will be occupying Granny's Diner in an attempt to stop the spell, thus gaining the Dark One the magic he needs, getting rid of the creatures he despises and ruining the town's only hope of escaping its looming and terrible fate. However, Hook cannot do this until Gold has gotten Belle out of the way, and so he heads to the diner himself, much to the dismay of Mother Superior and the others, and only manages to convince Belle to leave with him once the spell appears imminent. Knowing that Henry is safe thanks to Regina, Rumple seals Belle in his shop with magic to keep her out of harm's way. Meanwhile, Hook manages to regretfully absorb all of the fairies, and so the spell of Shattered Sight successfully rains down on everyone.

Hook enters Gold's shop and wonders why the spell of Shattered Sight didn't affect him, to which Gold explains that it's because the pirate's heart wasn't in his chest when the spell hit, and he's still under the Dark One's control. As such, Rumple orders Hook to go and find Henry and bring the boy to him, so that they and Belle can leave Storybrooke for New York where she and Henry will have their memories of the last day erased and simply believe that the town was destroyed and that they're the only survivors. Hook tries collecting Henry, but the boy escapes, and the spell is later broken when Ingrid sacrifices herself. Hook returns to Rumple, who checks on a sleeping Belle, and wonders what the Dark One will do now. Rumple still plans to perform the spell that will allow him to leave without losing his magic, and so Hook begs him not to harm Emma and the rest of Storybrooke as he does so. Gold promises not to, unless they get in his way, but is unable to make the same promise for the rest of the world.

After creating a portal back to Arendelle and ordering Hook to make sure Anna and the others go through, Rumple wakes Belle and reveals that he intends on taking her out of town on a honeymoon to New York, while in reality he plans on leaving the town with her and never returning, giving her the gift she's always wanted - to see the world. Meanwhile, Elsa, Kristoff and Anna prepare to leave, and it isn't until just before she's gone that the latter learns it is none other than the Dark One who has been helping them, and she reveals their history together. Emma, remembering Rumple claiming to have never even heard of the princess, realizes that the sorcerer has been playing them the whole time, and she, along with the others head for the clock tower where they catch Rumple as he is performing the spell to cleave himself from the dagger. Before he can succeed, however, Belle stops him by taking control over the real dagger. After making him return Hook's heart, she commands him to transport them to the town line where they can have a chat alone. There, she confronts him about finding the gauntlet and how it made her realize all the signs she had been seeing were correct - he would never give up power for her, he never has and he never will. Rumple tries to explain himself, but Belle won't hear of it, instead she continues with how he once told her the gauntlet could lead to someone's weaknesses, and that's exactly what it did, leading her to the real dagger. She exclaims that his real true love is his power. Rumple tries to argue this, but Belle won't hear much more of it. She then uses the dagger, commanding him to cross the town line, thus making it impossible for him to ever re-enter Storybrooke, leaving him utterly heartbroken.

Gold heads to New York in order to stay at Neal's apartment, but he is shocked to learn that Robin, Marian and Roland are already there, having left and been given the keys by Regina. Before he can kick them out, he has a sudden heart attack, and so Robin rushes him to hospital. The doctors think that this is a medical problem, but Gold knows it to be moral; all of the dark deeds he's done have finally caught up to him and poisoned his heart. He instructs Robin to go to Walsh's furniture shop and steal from it Zelena's elixir that has the ability to heal hearts. Robin doesn't want to at first, but Gold points out that not doing so would go against his code, and so he steals the potion and Gold drinks it... only it doesn't work. When Robin leaves, Marian walks in and reveals that she switched the vials, before revealing that she's also Zelena in disguise, having followed Emma and Hook through the time portal after faking her death and killed Marian in order to take her guise. She takes pleasure in Gold's suffering, and offers to give him the elixir in exchange for him finding the Author and writing her a happy ending that coincides with his own. He agrees and leaves hospital, convincing Robin to stick with Marian once he's done so to ensure the new plan.

Six weeks after his plot to cleave himself to the dagger fails and he is forced by Belle to leave Storybrooke, Rumplestiltskin is seen to have stayed in New York, where he visits an aquarium. He meets up with a former foe, Ursula, who now has a job feeding the aquarium's fish. Taking in the Dark One's appearance, the sea witch sneers at how little he resembles a man who always wins, which is what he once described himself as. Rumple explains that his situation is temporary, and he goes into the fact villains never win also applies to himself, but also states there's someone who can change that called "The Author". This doesn't impress Ursula much, her thinking such a person sounds pretentious, though Rumple offers to take her to him. Ursula finds it strange he is coming to her for help, and she wonders exactly who they are up against. Unsurprisingly, he states that the heroes are in their way, and then suggests she pack her things for the journey as they still have two more stops to make, referring to Cruella De Vil and Maleficent.

Mr. Gold has been staying in Ursula's apartment and mooching off of her, much to her displeasure, but it isn't long until a plan is set in motion and the two of them garner the help of Cruella De Vil, whose husband and source of income has just been arrested by the FBI. She gives them a ride to Storybrooke in her vintage car, but she and Ursula are surprised to learn that this town Gold tells them of cannot be seen or entered, leading them to believe that he's playing them once more. However, Gold points out that he can't be playing them because so much of his newly-laid plan relies on them; he has to place his trust in the two of them, as opposed to the other way around. After Cruella and Ursula make contact with Regina via Gold's cell phone, they are offered safe passage into Storybrooke because they help defeat Chernabog, an evil demon released from the Sorcerer's hat due to some external measures taken by Rumple. Later that night, Cruella and Ursula allow Rumple into the town as well with the Sorcerer's scroll, and his limp is immediately lifted upon entry. He reveals that he plans to resurrect Maleficent so that their crew is complete, and when Ursula begins to worry about the threat that is Regina, Rumple tells her to worry instead about the threat that is Emma Swan, for the fact that Chernabog was chasing her means that she has the potential for a very dark heart indeed.

Rumple makes his way to the caves beneath the town's library and gathers Maleficent's ashes with his magic so that she may be resurrected for part of his plan. Snow and Charming soon make their own way down to these caves to stop this from happening, but they're quickly subdued by Cruella and Ursula, the latter of which takes a knife and cuts open the Charmings' hand. She then drops their blood onto the ashes - because for the spell to work they need the blood of those who wronged Maleficent most, and the Charmings made it so that she lost her child - and Maleficent rises as a result. Mr. Gold remains out of the way during all of this, not wanting people to know about his return, and he makes sure that neither Snow nor Charming has any idea as to his involvement. When he asks the Queens of Darkness about Belle, they laughingly reveal that she's "moved on", and so Rumple later heads up the the surface in order to spy on her from across the street. However, he soon sees her kissing Will Scarlet, apparently having entered into a relationship with him, and is deeply hurt by the revelation.

While Regina goes undercover with the Queens of Darkness, who are careful not to reveal Rumple's involvement with their plans, he goes undercover himself, disguising himself magically as Captain Hook in order to perform a ruse on Belle. He interrupts her date with Will Scarlet under the pretense that she needs to give the dagger to him so that he can hide it, being a pirate and therefore being able to hide treasure very well. She later meets with him in order to do so but is unsure about letting go of the dagger, seeing it as her only protection against Rumple should he return. "Hook" tells her to use it to make the Dark One face her and, if he's in town, he'll have no choice but to do so. She does exactly this, but since the disguised Rumple is already with her and thusly facing her, it makes no difference. Her mind at ease, she hands the dagger over, and Rumple, still in his guise, later enters his shop and asks Belle a few questions about her budding new relationship. She reveals that she'll never be over Rumple, but for now it's nice to have someone who makes her smile; Rumple is comforted by this, and heads back to the cabin he's staying in where Maleficent, Ursula and Cruella reintroduce Regina to him. She is shocked to find him there, and he proceeds to work his magic over young Pinocchio, who's been kidnapped by the Queens. Because he won't be able to remember anything about the book or its Author as long as he's a boy, Rumple turns him back into the man he once was: August W. Booth.

Some initial torture of August is done, involving a knife and a fireball, but Rumple soon returns to the wood cabin in the woods with a potion stolen from the fairies - one which will temporarily reverse any spell they've cast. He forces it down August's throat and he turns back into wood, before reverting to his human form almost instantly. However, the potion has made it so that his "built-in lie detector" has been activated, meaning that his nose will now grow every time he fails to tell the truth. Rumple grabs him and aims him in front of the fire, learning from him that he tore an illustration of a door from the book, and the Author is trapped behind. Rumple demands to know where this door is, but all August knows is that it's in Storybrooke. Since Regina took August's things, the page is in her possession, or rather, Henry's. She is tasked with retrieving it while Cruella is left with August, but the Charmings quickly storm the place and rescue him while Ursula betrays her associates and leaves town with her father, telling Hook before she does so about Rumple's plan: he wants to fill Emma's heart with darkness so that the savior's presence doesn't interfere with the upcoming shift in happy endings. Everyone begins to digest Gold's return, including Belle, who now realizes her tricked her in the form of Hook, as Regina retrieves the page from Henry, learning from August that the door and the page are one in the same, so the Author isn't sealed away in the Sorcerer's house like Rumple thought - the Author is trapped inside the book.

Regina is "unable" to retrieve the page, and so brings Gold, Maleficent and Cruella a photo of the door instead, taken on her phone. Cruella sees this as useless, pointing out the glare on the picture, but Gold soon realizes that this is no glare: it's magic. He works out that the Author is trapped inside the book, and he employs Maleficent to use her magic to put the whole town to sleep so that they can search for the door. Maleficent wants the Dark One to show her what happened to her child, but he only promises to do so later if certain criteria are met during this mission of theirs. They head to the Blanchard Apartment, where Regina says she last saw it, but it is soon figured out that Henry - who's immune to Maleficent's spell because he's been under a sleeping curse before - has run off with the page to the Sorcerer's mansion, for he knows the villains are after it. Regina goes to collect it from him and Gold sends Maleficent and Cruella after her to make sure she gets the job done. In the meantime, he heads to his shop and finds Belle asleep on the floor. He carries her to somewhere more comfortable and tells her unconscious self that magic always comes at a cost, and he has racked up so much debt that it can never be repaid unless he changes the world. And the hard truth is that something else is changing, so if he's going to change the rules then he has to do so quickly. The Queens of Darkness then return, but Regina brings with her a forgery of the page made by Emma, and Gold figures this out quickly, forcing Maleficent to knock her out. He has her carried to her vault where he says that he has something that will make Regina do his bidding forever. Once she's taken care of, he takes pity on Maleficent and uses her baby rattle to show her what happened to her child - it was a girl, and adopted into a nice family. She is joyous to learn that her baby is alive.

The Author is loose in the woods of Storybrooke, having been set free from the page he was trapped inside by Emma and the Charmings, who are now chasing him. Gold is chasing him too, however, and manages to beat the heroes to the punch, finding the Author as he attempts to carve an enchanted quill from one of the town's non-magical trees. Gold assures him of the futility of his attempt, and offers him a real magic quill if he agrees to do his bidding. The Author is tempted, and soon agrees, allowing himself to be teleported away with the Dark One. Rumple ends up back in Regina's vault where she has been bound by magic-blocking cuffs. He reveals that he found Robin's cell phone number on her person, and she forces him to call her true love. She does, and Marian answers the phone, soon revealing herself to be Zelena under a glamor spell. Regina is shocked beyond belief, and Rumple tells her that if she doesn't help him in his plot to turn Emma's heart dark, then the Wicked Witch will kill Robin. He forces her to make a choice between Emma's heart and Robin's life.

Rumple sets up the Author, Isaac, in his cabin, proceeding to leave when he senses that Belle is summoning him from the well by which they got married. He shows her his heart, which is almost entirely black, and explains that when the process - which only the Author can reverse - is complete, he will suffer a fate worse than death in losing call capacity to love. She seems to understand... but then she insults him, and Regina steps forth with Belle's heart in tow, wanting to go to New York and threatening to crush it should the Dark One reveal to Zelena that she's on her way. Rumple agrees to this, and learns via crystal ball that Cruella has kidnapped Henry, having told Emma and Regina that they must kill Isaac, or else their son dies. He has a very specific plan in mind, and he uses magical conch shells to set up a confrontation between the fur-loving Queen of Darkness and the savior, which ends with the latter killing the former by sending her hurtling off a cliff and to her death with magic. Emma's heart may be darkened as a result, just as Rumple had hoped.

Isaac laments Cruella's death as he and Gold attend her burial, and he questions whether or not she truly had to die in order for the Dark One's plans to unfurl. Later, Rumple sees Belle and Will walking by and says that he has business to attend to, approaching the latter after his wife leaves to babysit Neal and informing him that Belle's heart has been stolen by the Evil Queen and is currently being guarded by Maleficent - it is Will's job to retrieve it from the Mayor's office, around which there's a spell specifically tailored to make sure Rumple can't enter. The Dark One knocks on the door and Maleficent answers, revealing the spell to be intact. He points out that her attempt to hinder his plans by sending Emma and Regina out of Storybrooke to find her daughter Lily is futile, for the savior's in the exact state of being he wants her to be in, no matter her location; in fact, if anything, Lily's presence is more likely to turn Emma dark, since her potential for darkness is so much greater. Maleficent refuses to let him in no matter how much he tries scaring her, but Gold says he doesn't need to come in because he's already gotten Belle's heart back. As he's been talking to Maleficent, Will sneaked in and stole it, and the Dark One proceeds to place it back in his wife's chest. He promises to no longer deceive her, for that will only make his condition worse, and entrusts Will to take care of her heart from now on, since he has proved himself unworthy. He leaves, and Belle looks unfinished with her husband. ("Lily")

Gold is at the diner with Isaac when Hook comes in to announce that Emma is returning and she didn't turn evil after all, which means that the Dark One's plans have failed. Isaac doesn't take too kindly to the news, knowing that his magic ink needs the blood of a darkened savior in order to work in this land, and Rumple teleports them back to his shop. His heart is very weak now; he takes it out and sees that it's almost entirely black, at which point Regina walks in to take the Author for herself, pointing out that it was her idea to use him before Gold stole it. She then sees how dreadful Gold looks and realizes that his heart is catching up with him; however, she refuses to believe that the Dark One could die in such a manner, recalling that all he'd lose is his capacity to love. Mr. Gold confirms that the Dark One can't... but Rumplestiltskin can, and no one wants to face the Dark One when there's "no one else at home". Regina proceeds to leave with Isaac as Mr. Gold collapses onto the floor, but when the former Evil Queen refuses to let the Author write anything new, he returns to the Dark One, using his now-empowered (thanks to Lily's blood) ink to start writing a new story for everyone in town...

Isaac comes close to completing the new book, entitled "Heroes and Villains", but there's one detail he has yet to hash out - the issue of Baelfire. Gold, whose heart is very weak, orders the scribe not to toy with him, because he knows that his son is gone forever. Isaac confirms that no magic can bring back the dead, but offers to make it so that Rumple has no memory of his son, so he won't have to carry around the pain of having lost him. Rumple refuses this offer, instead requesting that the Author make it so he remembers having always done right by Bae, so that he can be proud with the knowledge that he did everything in his power to save him. Isaac makes this so and marks the end of his story, thus trapping the entirety of Storybrooke's residents inside the book. In this new version of the Enchanted Forest, Rumplestiltskin is an honorable knight, known by many as the Ogre Slayer, endowed with the power of being the Light One. When Henry enters the book to rescue his family, Isaac ties him to a turned over wagon, leaving him to a hungry ogre. However, Rumple rides on in from the horizon and uses his magic to repel the monster, soon killing it. All the villagers cheer, and Henry is shocked to see his evil grandfather donning the golden armor of a valiant hero. The Light One, not knowing Henry, encourages him to go home before he rides away, having another village to save.

The Light One rides home to his wife, Belle, and the baby they have together, being met by the cheers of passing children on his way. He is surprised to find Isaac in his happy little home, and when he sends Belle away to fetch him some water, the now former Author warns Rumplestiltskin that his happy ending is threatened by the boy he saved - Henry - and the bandit Regina. He suggests that he kill them in order to secure his future contentment, but Rumple struggles with this, going to Belle as a means of indirect advice. She assures him that he always makes the right choice, and he accidentally drops his teacup, chipping it. He worries, but she assures him that the damage is minimal, and can be fixed. He questions this. When Henry, Regina and the savior Emma try stopping the wedding of Robin Hood and Zelena - which would end the book's narrative and solidify its contents as truth - Rumple arrives to stop them. He does battle with Emma while Regina tries to stop the wedding, but she finds herself unable to when it looks as though the supposed Light One is able to kill Henry. She stands in the way and she is injured instead, leading Rumple to believe his job to be done and disappear. Reality is returned to normal, however, when Henry becomes the new Author and uses Regina's blood to write everybody back home. Rumple is left to die by Isaac, at which point an extremely angry Belle barges in to berate him. Instead, she finds him dying, and employs the Apprentice to use the Sorcerer's hat to suck the darkness from his heart. A preservation spell is cast over him, but it is unsure if he can be saved; meanwhile, the darkness tethers itself to Emma Swan, making her the new Dark One.

Season 5
"You're supposed to be in Storybrooke. You were in a coma..."

- Emma Swan

Gold remains in his coma while the others scramble for a way to follow Emma to whatever realm she's ended up in, and Belle is reluctant to go with them in case her husband slips away while she's gone. Mother Superior conjures up a bell jar with a magical rose in it, explaining that, as the petals drop off, the closer Rumple is to death; therefore, she'll know if it's about to happen. She takes the rose and goes; meanwhile, over in the Enchanted Forest, Emma finds herself forming at the Vault of the Dark One. Rumplestiltskin appears to her as a figment of her subconscious, representing the darkness that now corrupts her. He wants to teach her how to wield her new dark magic, but she is reluctant to learn; he makes it so that she strangles a peddler and later transports herself to a lakeside, while all she wants to do is find Merlin so that he can reverse what's been done to her. Rumple explains that she needs to follow the wisp that flies through the woods, but the warrior princess Merida catches it first. Emma decides not to use magic to fight her, as Rumple suggests, or even fight her at all. Instead, she opts to go with her to the stone circle where the wisp will answer their questions... only it can only respond to one person, so Rumple keeps trying to convince Emma to kill Merida and take the wisp from her. Merida hears Emma talking to "herself" and runs away, fearing her life. Emma transports herself to the stone circle and ends up ripping out Merida's heart. Just as she's about to crush it, her loved ones arrive and convince her not to. She is given the Dark One's dagger by her mother, and she gives it to Regina for safekeeping.

Before the Third Curse
"That's not gonna work. I'm not out here, I'm in there. I am your guide, the voice in your head."

- The Darkness

With Emma and the others being welcomed into Camelot, King Arthur has a ball held in their honor, believing that the one and only savior - whom Regina impersonates to stop Emma from having to use dark magic - will be able to free Merlin from the magic tree he's trapped in. That night, however, with Belle lamenting over the number of petals that have fallen from her magic rose, Sir Percival tries killing Regina with an enchanted sword due a personal vendetta he has against her or, more specifically, the Evil Queen. Robin Hood tackles him to the ground but is injured with the sword, at which point Charming steps in and stabs Percival dead. Robin is dying and Regina can't heal him due to the sword's enchantment, and so she begs Emma to heal him with her dark powers. She is hesitant, not wanting to succumb to evil, and the vision of Rumple reappears, telling her to do it. She assures that she won't turn dark, and he explains to her that a price needs to be paid for the life she's about to save. She decides to pay it herself, but Rumple tells her that since Regina is asking for the magic then she has to pay it. Emma continues to defy him while everyone else wonders who she's talking to, and eventually she heals the thief. Rumple points out afterward that she liked how it felt and she denies it; however, he points out that her skin is changing like his did when he became the Dark One, and she tries to conceal it.

With the darkness continuing to tempt Emma, in the middle of the night, she is guided to the location of the Dark One's dagger that Regina kept locked away in her room. Due to a protection spell though, Emma is unable to get a hold of it, and though the vision of Rumplestiltskin guides her to break it, she resists, especially when Hook finds her, and she accidentally fires magic in his direction. He comforts her, and everyone else is called, all of which worry for the new Dark One's safety. Henry knows of a location for Emma to go so she can be alone, and so he and Hook set out to take her there. This turns out to be the stables of Henry's new friend, Violet, which are owned by her family. When arriving, Henry has Emma and Hook hide when Violet hears them coming, for he does not want his new friend to know they are there. Henry meets with her, however, and the two of them head for horseback riding while Hook is left with Emma. Hook wishes to distract his love though, and gets one of Violet's horses for the two of them to go out with. Emma's remains reluctant, unable to shake the vision of Rumple, or even get the horse to trust her, for it understands what she is. Hook continues to pursue his lover though, insisting she must not listen to the voices in her head, but to trust him. He convinces Emma to get onto the horse, and the two of them ride to a pasture of flowers; Emma realizes that Hook succeeded, and that she no longer sees Rumplestiltskin.

Emma is unable to light the ember of the Flame of Prometheus, and Merlin, upon the revelation that he's now tethered to the broken Excalibur and under Arthur's control, tells her that she won't be able to accomplish this feat until she's fully ready to let go of the darkness; he also reveals that Arthur and Zelena are keeping her family hostage, and tells her to bring the ember and the dagger if she ever wants to see them again. Outside the diner, Emma is trying to light the spark when the vision of Rumplestiltskin appears, reminding her of what Merlin said and suggesting that maybe she's not ready to let go of being dark. She insists that she is, but the darkness says otherwise, saying that if she was then it would be lit by now. It commands her to light it and she exclaims that she's trying, to the notice of Henry. Emma soon realizes that the voice in her head is right and that she doesn't want to let go of the darkness - she needs to use it one last time to save her loved ones. She is successful, but Hook is cut by Excalibur when he takes it from Arthur, and cuts from Excalibur never heal. The wound reopens just as Emma is about to reunite the sword and she chooses instead to use the Promethean spark to tether Hook to the broken weapon instead of Merlin. Merlin's power is therefore transferred into Hook, who becomes a new Dark One, rising from the Vault of the Dark One.

The vision of Rumple is there to greet Hook as soon as he rises from the vault, easily convincing him to accept the darkness so that he can fulfill his deep-seeded need for revenge against Mr. Gold for killing Milah. After a wardrobe change, Hook is found by Emma, who lies in saying that Excalibur disappeared when he did. In actuality, she is hiding it from him, which the vision of Rumple points out when its whispers are heard. Emma then has to use the sword to summon the new Dark One when he abandons her, to his chagrin. She apologizes for controlling him and promises to never do it again, giving him the sword so that he has control over his own actions. However, he still plans on gaining his revenge on Mr. Gold, and so he enacts a Dark Curse by crushing Merlin's heart, for Nimue still lives on inside of him and Merlin is the thing she loves most, as Rumple originally explained to him. Emma uses one of her dreamcatchers to wipe his memories of the last six weeks so that he forgets becoming a Dark One, and wipes everyone else's minds too, adding the memory-wipe feature to the curse itself to make it so that anyone swept up in it forgets the same amount of time. The vision of Rumple cites her as smart, convincing her to isolate herself from the others as she carries out a new plan upon the return to Storybrooke.

Season 5
"I love this dagger, and I also love you. Both are possible. Look, you wanted me to be a better man and you've done that, but if you want me to be a different man... I'm sorry. This is who I am."

Mr. Gold remains in a coma while everyone returns to Storybrooke from Camelot, including Belle, who goes back to being by his side. When everyone doubts that Regina can be the town's new savior, she approaches the comatose pawnbroker and berates him for having turned her into the Evil Queen, blaming him for no one trusting her. She eventually steps up and vanquishes the town's newest threat, a Fury, and later the fully dark Emma is re-approached by the vision of Rumplestiltskin, who appears in her house. She wonders why he's there since she already gave in to the darkness and he points out that she's still being held back by the things that hold back every Dark One - friends, family and love. He opens a locked door and the two of them head down to a cave-like room in the basement, where Excalibur is being kept in its stone. Rumple tells Emma that she could be the first Dark One to snuff out the light in herself completely, but in order to do so she's going to have to make Excalibur whole again, by reattaching the Dark One's dagger to its tip. She tries pulling Excalibur from its stone so that she can do this, but she's unable, and the vision of Rumple is amused by her failed attempt, promising that it's going to take a lot more than that.

Emma steals a dwarf pickaxe from Happy and tries using it against the rock which houses Excalibur; however, it breaks, and the vision of Rumple points out that nothing can break through magic... except maybe a kiss; he jokingly suggests that she kiss it out but she demands that he be serious, leading him to tell her that Excalibur needs a hero to pull it from the stone and they both know it's not going to be her. The real Rumple, meanwhile, remains in his coma as the magic rose wilts away. Belle says that she's close to perfecting a healing potion that should wake him up, but to complete it she needs to include something that touched him before he became the Dark One, which she's unable to find. Later, at Granny's Diner, Belle realizes that the rose's petals are actually going back onto the rose, meaning that he husband is waking up. She rushes to be with him when he does, only to discover that he's not longer resting in the back of the shop. Instead, he is in the lair beneath Emma's house; she uses Hook's old cutlass to heal him and explains that, because his heart has been made into a blank slate, she will mold him into the greatest hero of all and he can remove Excalibur from the stone.

Mr. Gold is tied up in Emma's lair, telling her that he remembers how the darkness feels and that she doesn't have to give into it - she could just let him go. However, she turns to the former Dark One and reminds him that the only one who can pull Excalibur from the stone is him, which he denies, assuring her that he can't be the hero she wants. Emma squares up to him and says that of course he can, proceeding to compare him to a dull knife sitting in a drawer; however, he doesn't have to worry, because she has just the thing to sharpen him up. Gold wonders what this might be, and Emma suggests that he call it her "secret weapon". It is then revealed that she has the warrior princess Merida tied to her car in a tunnel, and she employs the royal redhead to take Mr. Gold in all his cowardliness and make him like her... she needs her to make him brave.

Emma lets Gold go, saying he'll need his strength if he's going to draw Excalibur, but he assures her that that's not going to happen, begging to be let go so that he can see Belle. However, she makes it clear that he's not going anywhere until he gets her the sword, and he wonders why she even wants it. She points out that, when he was the Dark One, he didn't advertise his plans, and he points out in turn that, while his plans were indeed hidden, his reasons were not: every time he used magic he told himself he was doing it for the good of Baelfire, but ultimately he ended up losing him. He warns Emma that if she continues down this path then she too will lose the people she loves, but she refuses to listen and brings out Merida, whom she controls via her heart. She teleports her and Gold out into the woods, where Merida has been instructed to make Gold brave. He tells her that he never can be, and when he refuses to be taught by her, she knocks him out in order to search for the proper motivation to make him fight. She ends up retrieving the chipped cup from his shop and waves it in front of him when he comes to, finally convincing him to get up, pick up a sword and begin fighting her. She assures him that, while this is a start, they have a long way to go before he's no longer a coward.

Praying that Belle will forgive him, Gold smashes the chipped cup so that he can use the shards to cut himself free; he makes his way through the town mines and into the library elevator, where his wife - whom he cites as his reason for being alive after his stint in a coma - discovers him. He deduces that Emma will have sent Merida after her so that he has to be a hero and protect her, and Belle continually assures him that he can rise to the challenge, telling him that his limp isn't a sign of his cowardice but of his bravery because it shows what he went through to make sure Baelfire didn't grow up without a father. They head to the pawn shop where Merida ambushes them, firing arrows at Belle until finally the latter manages to knock the archer out by literally pulling the rug from under her feet. Knowing she won't stay out for long, Gold hastily grabs a magic substance that will allow he and Belle to cross the town line without suffering its effects and, as he drives toward it, he tries convincing Belle that abandoning Storybrooke is their safest bet. However, she calls him out on his lack of heroism and demands that he stop the car, getting out and walking away while he appears to take the coward's way out, admitting that he really crippled himself because he was afraid to fight in the war. Merida catches up to Belle and drinks a potion given to her by the Dark Swan - one which transforms her into a bear - and proceeds to chase the beauty. When the bear is about to kill her though, Rumple throws a rock at its head and faces it himself, eventually throwing the magic substance into its mouth which forces it to transform back into Merida. Belle wonders how her husband knew that would work, and he reveals that he didn't, meaning that it was a true act of bravery. Now a hero, he's able to pull Excalibur from the stone, but only does so on the condition that Emma returns Merida's heart and assures her of her brother's safety. He then warns her that she's made a fatal mistake by turning him into a hero, for now he believes he just might be able to stop her.

The vision of Rumplestiltskin watches as Emma lays out the broken Excalibur and the Dark One's dagger together, commenting upon the promise of the former weapon which was made long ago, and now finally is coming into fruition. He is soon joined by Nimue, the very first Dark One, who encourages along with Rumple Emma to reforge the sword, saying that Rumplestiltskin's eyes are fine to look through most of the time but that she wanted to see this from herself. Emma prepares to use the ember she retrieved in Camelot to weld the two weapons and every single past Dark One appears to congratulate her, with Nimue saying how proud they all are of her. When the sword is complete, Emma goes to grab it... but she hesitates, recalling that Merlin told her when she was a little girl to leave the sword alone. Nimue points out that she's a woman now and convinces her to take the power; all the other Dark Ones then chant for her to do this and, eventually, Emma listens. ("Nimue")

As Hook arrives at the shop in need of Rumple's help, he addresses him as "crocodile", prompting the pawnbroker to point out that he's no longer that man. He then tells Belle that she can come out, at which she reveals herself to have been standing behind the door with a crossbow in tow in case Emma came for her. Hook points out that a crossbow would have done her no good, but Gold argues that it was the best they could manage. He adds that he used to have a supply of squid ink in his safe, stashed away for a rainy day, but the Dark Swan, already raided the place and took it. Hook moves on to state that he needs to know what's going on inside the Dark One's head, for she claims to be doing everything she's doing for him. Rumple reminds him that he was the Dark One for centuries and therefore understands how they think; he explains that it's not what Hook did, but what she did, and if he wants to stop Emma, he must find out what it is she is atoning for, like how he planned to atone once he found his son... but he never did. And, if Emma doesn't want to be found, then the pirate must give her a reason to be. The stolen squid ink is later used to ensnare her, allowing Hook to gain some much-needed answers about the missing six weeks in Camelot.

Rumple and Belle are approached by Hook in the pawn shop, the latter of which has just found out Emma used Excalibur to turn him into a Dark One back in Camelot. Hook wishes to fulfill his revenge against Rumple, and offers him a now whole Excalibur, challenging him to a fair duel on his ship. Belle and Rumple later join the others with Emma, and start working on research for how to remove the darkness from both, but when Rumple goes to prepare for his fight with Hook alone, he and Belle share words in private; Rumple still wishes to uphold his promise of being the man Belle deserves, and so he tells her that if he wins the battle then he will wait at the well where they were married, and if she shows up then they can finally try to make their marriage work. Rumple then goes off to fight Hook - who heals the pawnbroker's limp with magic in order to make it a fair duel - and manages to outsmart him, gaining Excalibur but letting the pirate live anyway. Hook poofs away and Rumple retains the sword. He then makes his way to the well where Belle finds him, and she's happy to see he won; however, their happiness is cut short, for Belle only came to tell Rumple that she has chosen to not be with him. She will always love him, but after all the heartache he's caused her, there's just too much broken trust, and she doesn't know if she wants to make their relationship work. What she does know though, is that in order to figure things out, she must do it alone. She has spent too many years trying to mend his heart, but now she must protect her own. From there, she leaves.

Gold confronts Hook, who's just opened a portal to the Underworld and allowed for every past Dark One to return, and later finds himself marked by one of the resurrected demons. He explains to everyone else who's facing the same fate that they are to be dragged to the Underworld by the Charon when the moon reaches its peak so that the Dark Ones can properly return to the land of the living, then telling them to use the time they have left wisely and say goodbye to one another. He calls Belle, who's managed to stay safe, to his shop, giving her the keys to his car and powder which allows her to cross the town line, telling her to leave Storybrooke and see the world like the always wanted. She wonders if something's wrong but he assures her that everything's fine, wanting her to leave and therefore avoid being marked by a Dark One, a crisis about which she knows nothing. He later watches her leave and hands Excalibur over to Emma when she asks, for the Dark Swan plans on absorbing all the darkness and then cutting herself down so that it's gone forever. She is surprised that he doesn't want anything in return, but her plan ultimately fails when Hook gets his hands on the sword. However, seeing Emma in peril is enough to give him a change of heart, and he absorbs the darkness himself and makes her stab him. This spares everyone going to the Underworld, and Emma is no longer the Dark One... but she still hears the call of the dagger, because it turns out Gold has re-tethered it to himself, having tampered with Excalibur and made it so that the power of all Dark Ones now resides in him. With Belle having returned, realizing that her husband did something selfless by lying to her and that she just wants to be with him, Emma threatens to tell her the truth unless Gold does her a favor.

Rumple meets with Belle at the pawn shop where he tells her that he must accompany Emma and the other heroes to the Underworld in order to rescue Hook (as is the favor he owes Emma). Though being told it's only for a day, Belle continues to question why he must go, and so Rumple states, making sure to leave out the part about re-acquiring his powers, that it is because he is the only one of them who has ever been there before, and his blood is able to summon Charon on the ferryboat. Unlike the past, Belle does not request to accompany Rumple and the heroes on their new journey this time, but instead she simply gives her lover a kiss, telling him to come back to her when he's done. He assures her that he will, just as he always does, and the two look lovingly into each others' eyes. From there, Rumple eventually departs, regretfully leaving his one true love behind.

That night, Rumple meets with Emma, Mary Margaret, David, Regina, Henry and Robin at the pond where the portal to the Underworld is hidden. He stands ominously over the water, having brought the Dark One's dagger with him, and Emma eventually orders him to "do it". This prompts him to use the dagger to carve into the palm of his own hand, slicing it open enough to draw a sufficient amount of blood. This blood then falls into the pond and a shimmer is created across the surface. With Rumple having been to Hell and back, his blood is special, and Charon is soon summoned on his ferryboat, emerging from the heavy amount of mist. Gold wipes the blood from his dagger as he watches the others head towards the boat; first Emma, then her parents, then Regina and Henry, and then Robin. He is the last one to step onto the water and board passage to the Underworld on the mission to find and recover Hook.

Rumple and the others arrive in the Underworld and discover that it's a demented version of Storybrooke; Emma has lots of questions about how this can be so, and Gold tells her that asking is pointless, and all is matters is that they do what they came to do and get out of this place as soon as possible. They decide to split up in order to search for Hook but this gets them nowhere, and so Gold suggests fetching something from the Underworld version his shop that might help them. While there, he sees the chipped cup as well as the straw doll he had as a child. He doesn't find what he's looking for in the wall safe, at which Peter Pan arrives on the scene. He explains how he meant what he said before he died and really does believe he and his son could be happy. He adds that if he were to trade places with a living soul then he could return to the land of the living, suggesting that Rumple make it so that one of his "friends" doesn't make the trip back in favor of his father. Rumple refuses, taking the Ale of Sinead and bringing it to Emma, telling her that it will cause Hook to appear to her when she pours it over his grave. He goes to wait by the boat but Hook still hasn't been found when the others meet him, being in a much worse place. Prince Henry, on the other hand, has finished his unfinished business and ascended Mount Olympus, making the heroes realize that every soul in the Underworld has a chance at salvation. This angers Rumple, who points out that helping everyone was not part of the deal, and he storms off, refusing to be a part of it.

Gold heads back to his shop, which Pan has left to him, and uses some ingredients to make a potion that allows him to see Belle. This shocks him for reasons unknown, and he proceeds to be very gung-ho about saving Hook in the interest of getting home to her. He goes to Emma and implores his late wife Milah to help them pass the threshold to Hades' lair, which she agrees to do because she wants to help her former lover Killian. Rumple learns on the way that his son Baelfire is in a better place, having visited Emma in a dream, and the three of them proceed on a boat Gold has managed to procure across the River of Lost Souls - a boat that will be their way out of the Underworld once they've carried out their mission. As such, Milah agrees to stay behind and guard Rumple while Emma saves Hook, but the two of them are approached by Hades. He freezes Milah and strikes a deal with Rumple, wanting the Dark One to go home so that he can spread more death. He tells him to destroy the boat so that his friends can't escape, but Rumple points out that Milah would see and tell everyone. As such, Rumple pushes her into the River of Lost Souls after burning the boat, pretending that it was Hades. He takes no joy in this, and it later comes back to haunt him. First though, he goes with the heroes and watches them fail at resurrecting Hook, because Emma's name has now been carved on an Underworld headstone which means splitting her heart is no longer an option. Snow and Regina's names are there too, and Rumple mocks them for failing on a whole new level. He then returns to Hades and learns that he's not yet being given passage back to Storybrooke. This is because he's been keeping a secret - earlier, when he was shocked over seeing Belle, it was because the potion he made was meant to allow him to see his child. When it showed him Belle, it forced him to realize that she is now pregnant, and his second born child was promised to Fendrake... and now Hades. At any time, Hades can come and take Rumple's new baby away from him; as such, Rumple now serves him to stop that from happening.

Hades has Rumple create a portal to Storybrooke to bring over Zelena's baby, but it doesn't seem to work. Unbeknownst to them, however, the reason it didn't appear where it was supposed to is because Belle and Zelena got sucked up in it as well. When Rumple ascends the library elevator, he is shocked to see his wife clinging to the Wicked Witch's daughter, though he is relieved to learn that she's not dead. She explains what happened and Rumple realizes the portal's error, leading Belle to confusion as to why he was helping Hades create a portal to steal a baby. He confesses to her that years ago he made a deal signing away his second-born child in order to save Baelfire's life... and now she's pregnant with that child, which is rightfully Hades'. She is distraught, and when he starts talking about his power, she realizes that he is the Dark One again as well. He owns up to this, saying how he loves both her and the dagger and he tries to explain to her that there's nothing wrong with it; how she didn't fall in love with the man behind the beast as she always thought, but rather she fell in love with the man and the beast. They are one in the same, and one can't exist without the other. She refutes this though, further distraught that he wouldn't even give up his power for her and refusing to be with him until he fixes all the wrongs he's committed. She storms off with the baby in tow.

Belle approaches Rumple in his shop and decides that she's willing to let him protect their child, but she refuses to let him use dark magic to do it. She recalls how Merlin once said that there could one day be a Dark One who wields their powers for good, and she wants that to be him, despite him thinking this to be futile. Rumple is soon attacked by Gaston, who's been unleashed upon him by Hades, and he's forced to reveal to Belle that he killed him. She is understandably furious but she refuses to let Rumple harm Gaston by throwing him into the River of Lost Souls; instead, she wants to help him resolve his unfinished business so he can move on. While she waits for him to return to his place of work, she's approached by Hades who offers her a deal - if she lets Rumple throw Gaston into the river or vice versa, he will tear up the contract that allows him to take her baby. She considers this, but ultimately rejects the offer, to Rumple's dismay. He decides that while he does want to be a good Dark One for Belle, today isn't the day to start, and he goes to find Gaston so that he can throw him into the river. Belle finds him and manages to steal the dagger, commanding him to stop, but when Gaston still attacks she reacts without thinking and accidentally pushes him into the river herself. She is of course devastated, but still tries to get Hades to tear up the contract. However, since she dispatched of Gaston herself, he refuses, saying that that wasn't a part of the deal. He proceeds to enjoy the hopelessness brought on by her ex-boyfriend's eternal torment.

Belle continues to lament the fact that she pushed Gaston into the River of Lost Souls and Rumple tells her to stop torturing herself, believing that she did what she had to do to protect him and their child. She agrees that maybe she would be able to live with herself if Hades had torn up the contract as promised, but instead she darkened herself for nothing and she just cannot handle that. She ends up storming out of the shop but returns later with an idea... and a needle-prick capable of administering the sleeping curse. She reminds Rumple of how Emma, as the Dark One, sped up Zelena's pregnancy, meaning that Hades will be able to do the same to her and take her baby whenever he wants it. As such, she's going to use the sleeping curse to put a stop to his ability to do that, for it will freeze her and place her pregnancy in stasis. Rumple sees this as a cheap ploy to get him to be the man she wants; to lighten himself so that his kiss of true love will work and he'll be able to wake her up. However, she declares that her father Maurice will be the one to wake her, and tells Rumple that his job is simply to get her back to Storybrooke as fast as he can. He tries talking her out of it but it's too late - she pricks herself with the needle and falls asleep indefinitely.

Rumple is deeply upset by what Belle has done to herself, wanting desperately to fix things for her, and soon arrives at the conclusion that it was Zelena who gave her the idea to put herself under a sleeping curse. While he can't hurt the Wicked Witch because of a deal he made with her, he can take advantage of another deal he has on the table - the one with Pan. Pan wants to trade places with a living soul in order to return to life, and so Rumple considers allowing him to trade places with Zelena. He confronts her as she waits outside Granny's Diner, about to enter into a date with Hades, and comments that love is blooming, saying it's strange because he thought nothing bloomed in the Underworld. It's then that he starts assigning blame for what happened to Belle and explaining to her about the deal he made with his father... who then shows up. He introduces the two of them, and Pan says that he hears Zelena is wicked - and then he makes clear that he's worse, before drawing a sack over her head and kidnapping her.

Rumple and Pan meet Hades at Granny's Diner with Zelena in tow, offering to give her back if Hades destroys the contract that gives him access to Belle's baby. He does this, and Rumple and Pan are prepared to hand her over... minus her heart, which Pan will need to resurrect himself. However, Emma stops the former ruler of Neverland before he's able to make his move, having a deal with Hades wherein she helps him in exchange for everyone's names being removed from their respective headstones. She points out that Gold already has what he wants - the torn contract - so he can just leave, and he agrees with her, proceeding to abandon his father. Zelena is rescued and Pan is not happy, confronting his son back at the shop and coming to realize just how painful it is to be abandoned, thereby receiving a little taste of his own medicine. He offers to hand over Pandora's Box in exchange for Rumple harvesting a living heart, meaning he'd have a way to keep Belle safe as he brings her home. He earlier tried to wake her with true love's kiss, but it failed. As such, Rumple ambushes Robin Hood and takes his heart, only to end up giving it back. He then disguises some water from the River of Lost Souls in a glamor, making Pan think that he's receiving a real heart when in fact all he's receiving is his doom. Rumple watches happily as is father is finally eradicated, this time for good, and proceeds to use Pandora's Box to contain Belle before heading on through the portal to Storybrooke opened up by Hades.

With Belle safely home, Gold immediately goes to her father's flower shop to explain to him that his daughter's under a sleeping curse and needs a kiss of true love to wake up. Since Rumple's kiss failed, Maurice is happy to hear, Belle needs her father to do it... but Maurice believes that eternal slumber is better for his daughter than a life with the Dark One, and so he refuses to wake her up until Rumple is firmly out of her life forever. Gold is appalled, threatening to beat the florist into submission, but Maurice won't budge, and eventually Emma shows up and tells him to leave. She is there to ask Gold for his help since Hades is also in Storybrooke and needs to be stopped; she wants to know of a way to kill him, but Gold refuses to help her, pointing out that she started this whole mess. He proceeds to call Hades and offer him a deal, agreeing to help him in exchange for a small piece of the Olympian Crystal. However, Hades is't interested in giving up even a tiny bit of his power, and he keeps the only weapon capable of killing Gods all to himself, eventually using it to kill Robin Hood. It's also used against him when Zelena uses it to run him through, and, while the others are at Robin's funeral, Rumple shows up at Regina's office to dig through Hades' ashes. There, he finds part of the crystal, clearly having big plans for it.

Wanting nothing more than to wake Belle, who remains in Pandora's Box, Gold tethers all of Storybrooke's magic to the Olympian Crystal, wanting to accumulate enough power to pull her out of the sleeping curse without the need for true love's kiss. This draws the attention of the town's heroes, who believes that Gold won't stop after waking Belle, while Henry arrives at the decision that magic is the reason for all the bad things that have happened to his family of late... and so he's going to destroy it. He uses his Authorial powers to write the crystal into his possession and heads to New York with it, and Gold reports this theft to Emma and Regina later, convincing them that destroying magic would mean the destruction of Storybrooke itself, so as to motivate them to find their son and keep him in line. He too tries finding Henry, and since the Olympian Crystal is out in the land without magic, he is able to use his powers there. He eventually overhears Emma and Regina talking in Neal's apartment and learns that Henry has gone to the library with Violet; as such, he shows up there and knocks the two pre-teens out, stealing the crystal. He makes it so that Emma and Regina can no longer use their magic while he prepares to wake Belle, but suddenly Pandora's Box is snatched away by a portal opened by Mr. Hyde.

Rumple prepares a ritual to reopen the portal and get Belle back, only to be distracted by Regina, who claims that she's ready to be the Evil Queen again and help him in whatever way he needs. However, he doesn't buy the act for long, and when Emma steals the Olympian Crystal he simply poofs it into his hand and tells the blonde to come and have a drink with them. Since Belle is trapped in the same realm that Snow, David, Hook and Zelena have found themselves in, they all want the same thing, but the process is ruined when Henry bursts in and uses the twin cup to the Holy Grail to suck all the magic out of the crystal. Knowing that there's still some magic left in the land without magic, Gold visits the Dragon along with Regina, and the ancient mystic agrees to help the latter only. He gives Henry some much-needed advice about how magic is all around them if they just believe, and so Henry gives a rousing speech to the people of the city, getting them to contribute their belief in the form of wishes by tossing coins into the fountain. Eventually, enough magic is generated through belief that a portal opens and Snow, David, Hook and Zelena return. Rumple takes this opportunity and crosses over to the Land of Untold Stories, where he meets with Mr. Hyde. He threatens to kill him to get Belle back, but Hyde speaks of a way to wake her, making the Dark One more receptive to the idea of striking a deal.

Desperately wanting the information that Hyde allegedly possesses that will allow him to wake Belle, Rumple listens to the terms of the agreement that the evil warden wants to make, soon finding out that the latter would like to become Storybrooke's new "owner" so that he can take some of his friends from the Land of Untold Stories there and allow their unfinished stories to play out the way they were supposed to... and wreak some havoc. Not really caring about the people who refused to allow him to try and wake his true love, Rumple nonchalantly hands over the proverbial keys to the town, thereby revoking his own often forgotten ownership and making it so that the place officially belongs to Mr. Hyde. With this, Hyde provides the Dark One with a map to the Temple of Morpheus, explaining to him that, inside, there are magical sands that, when sprinkled over a sleeping person, will allow one to enter a dreamer's mind. Gold need simply pour the sand over Belle and enter her dreams, and then, from there, he should be able to pull her out of her sleeping curse. With that, Gold sets out on his quest while Hyde and his friends head on over to Storybrooke to claim it as their own.

Season 6
"Like my other son, I've lost him too. Even before he's born."

Rumple locates the Temple of Morpheus and the magical sands therein, sprinkling it over Belle, after finally freeing her from Pandora's Box, and entering her dreamworld. There, he meets Morpheus, who leads the Dark One through the mind of his true love so that he can try and wake her up, eventually winding up at the Dark Castle where Rumple and Belle fell in love. Because this place terrified Belle so much back when she was a servant, in her dream it is a place of doom and gloom, and Rumple is disappointed to learn that his wife still views him as a beast. Morpheus makes clear that time is of the essence, doubting that true love's kiss will work, but Rumple seems pretty confident that he'll be able to make her love him again. He tries his best to relax Belle, freeing her from her obligations and having her dance with him, thus making it so that the castle becomes less frightening. He even provides her with a beautiful new ball gown and, as they bond, he tells her about his lost son, and further talk even leads the two of them to share a kiss... at which Belle remembers everything. She acknowledges that his love is true, but so are the horrible things she dreamt of, and she can't go back to a life of broken promises. Morpheus is thrilled that Belle isn't falling for Rumple's tricks and reveals himself as her son, with the sands having affected him too in the womb, meaning this is his dreamworld as well as hers and he has simply been playing a part. He warns his mother not to trust his father and kisses her awake, and she decides to listen to this warning and return to Storybrooke alone. Rumple is left heartbroken, having lost Belle and his child before the latter is even born.

Gold eventually returns to Storybrooke and to his shop where he senses the presence of the Evil Queen, who Regina separated herself from and failed to destroy. The pawnbroker comments that when he heard what Regina had done, he thought it was too good to be true, but the Queen tells him not to lie and encourages him to admit that he's happy she's back. However, he is merely interested in her returning the item that she's stolen from his shop, which turns out to be a small good luck charm from David to his father. She realizes that Gold wants a deal in exchange for it, and he says that, whatever she has planned for this town, she is not to harm Belle or his unborn son. The Queen agrees to this, but wonders if there isn't something else he wants in exchange. Gold is confused as to what she means, at which she starts coming on to him and states that the tales of the Land of Untold Stories aren't the only ones that didn't get to play out. The Dark One is far from interested, but the Evil Queen remains sure that when he's tired of waiting around for Belle to love him for who he is then the real fun between the two of them can begin.

David, after having been handed his father's old good luck coin by the Evil Queen along with the revelation that his father's death might not have been an accident after all, goes to Mr. Gold in order to inquire about the whole thing, considering the coin came from his shop. Being a stickler for records, Gold of course has the coin's information on file, meaning he has information about David's father's death that he desperately wants. He won't hand it over without a deal though, pointing out that he'll be able to ask for a pretty large favor in return considering how desperate the prince seems, and so he requests that Charming go to Belle - who's currently staying on the Jolly Roger - and deliver a tape to her. David does as asked, and later Belle listens to the tape, which is a recording by Rumple for their unborn child. It is a favorite poem of his, and Rumple strolls by the Jolly Roger as she listens to it and is happy that it's being played. David, meanwhile, receives his father's info and learns that he was actually murdered, for he was stabbed prior to the cart crash.

Tired of looking at the man in the mirror, Rumple decides to cut his hair, to the approval of the Evil Queen when she enters his shop along with Hyde. Rumple, growing tired of the latter, soon tries to kill him, only to then learn that he's apparently invincible - and, since the deal Rumple made with the Queen prevents her from doing so, he plans on going after Belle. In order to protect her, Rumple puts a protection spell around the Jolly Roger so that Hyde can't get in and, to her utter fury, she can't get out. Since Jekyll is currently remaking the serum that created Hyde and the Queen in the hopes that it will be able to kill them, Rumple goes with Regina to the lab, then betraying them both by stealing the serum for himself and pouring it over the dagger. After all, he can't interfere with the Queen's plans thanks to the aforementioned deal, and so he plans on killing Hyde only. When he stabs Hyde, however, he still fails to die, for the evil warden in fact switched the serum vials which means that the one Gold poured on the dagger was a fake, and the real one is soon destroyed. But, by plucking it from his stab wound, Hyde is now in possession of the dagger, and he uses it to force Rumple to stand by and watch as Belle is attacked by Dr. Jekyll - who apparently still has the capacity for evil and wants revenge against the Dark One. Luckily, Belle is rescued by Hook, who is forced to kill Jekyll, and this causes Hyde to die as well, meaning Rumple gets his dagger back. Belle then confronts him over trapping her on that ship in the first place, pointing out how he keeps finding new ways to ruin lives, and he ends up saying how eventually she'll come back to him because necessity, and the need to protect their child, will force her to love him again.

The Evil Queen is happy to welcome Gold into Zelena's farmhouse, where she's staying, and acts all flirtatious as she comments that it's not everyday Rumplestiltskin makes a house call. Rumple doesn't seem in the mood for flirting though, going on to ask the Queen if she remembers their lessons together and proceeding to remind her of one of the most important lessons of all: never take what's his. He is referring to the Shears of Destiny, which Hook had hidden, and now he knows them to be gone - and he could smell the Queen's magic all over it. She is confused as to why he wants the shears, considering they're designed to cut away a savior's magic which has little to do with him, but he assures that they can do much more than that, leading the Queen to realize that he wishes to use them on Belle and his unborn child; to change his fate and have them no longer despise him. Unfortunately for him, the Queen reveals that, like all the people he's ever loved, the shears are long gone, and he warns her to be careful who she crosses. Later, the Queen approaches him in his shop, another plan having failed, and reaches the epiphany that she's been going about everything all wrong. She shouldn't be trying to tear the Charmings apart, but simply going for what she wants, which is why she then kisses Rumple. She also presents him with the shears, which she managed to recover, and offers to hand them over in exchange for him helping her get something else she's always wanted - Snow White's heart.

On par with their new deal, Gold provides the Queen with some water from the River of Lost Souls, which she threatens to use on the townspeople of Storybrooke lest Snow and David surrender their shared heart. The heroes, naturally, scramble to find a third way out of this mess, and Regina has an idea as to how to distract the town's local villains while they do. She forges a note to Zelena, pretending that it's from the Queen, and has her wicked sister catch Rumple and his new lover while they are in the midst of passionately making out in the backroom of his shop. She grows deeply jealous and enraged, while Gold discovers the forged note and points out that they're being played; this revelation allows the Evil Queen to stop Snow and Charming just in the nick of time, right as they're about to recover a magical sapling which could have been used to imprison her. Instead, she destroys it and goes along with the plan, while Zelena sees fit to sabotage the Queen's burgeoning romance with Gold by telling Belle all about it - as well as the fact that Gold plans on using the Shears of Destiny to tamper with the fate of his unborn son. Belle is furious about this and goes to Rumple to confront him, unable to forgive him for his evil ways because she knows he has the capacity for good and chooses to ignore it. She berates him for being afraid of failure and says that what he is is worse than evil, for he is too weak to be good. Gold's main takeaway from this analytic argument, however, is that Zelena is to blame for spoiling his plans.

Gold closes his shop for a few days in order to work on something magical. The Queen, meanwhile, goes to Gold while disguised as Regina as part of her newest plan for the heroes; she needs the Hammer of Hephaestus from him as part of a test for Henry, and he warns her that if she's trying to get her happy ending with her son then she should remember that villains don't get them, only for her to retort that she's not looking for an ending. She's looking for a beginning. Gold wonders what she has to offer in exchange for the hammer, but she has only the knowledge that the two of them are on the same team. Rumple continues spinning at the wheel, working magic, while Aladdin breaks into his shop to steal the Apprentice's wand. The Dark One tracks it back to Zelena's farmhouse, where Zelena is helping Belle escape Storybrooke with their unborn child, and he takes it back before his wife can leave. Then, to ensure that she can never run away again, he sticks her with the magic he's been working on: a golden bracelet that will make it so he's always able to find her. Belle is distraught and berates him, and, when Zelena chimes in, Gold chokes her, only to then start suffering a heart attack. Zelena reminds him of the deal they made where she healed his heart, meaning he can't hurt her without hurting himself, and so he vows to find a loophole. The Queen, after her test for Henry has failed, returns to Rumple, who ensures they're still a team and asks if she's still interested in that beginning, for he believes the two of them could actually have a shot at a happy ending. First, though, he needs her to do something for him... kill Zelena.

Wanting to send a message via fairy, Rumple chases one down and uses some magic he possesses to turn her elderly, thereby proving to the heroes that he's capable of speeding up the ageing process and thus accelerating Belle's pregnancy. He's still waiting for the Evil Queen to kill Zelena, but she fails, and he is then visited in his shop by Hook. The pirate purposefully provokes him by mentioning Baelfire, only for this to turn out to be a distraction so that Emma can step out and hit the Dark One with some squid ink. While he's immobilized, they search the shop for his dagger, also wanting to find some magic capable of reversing what's been done to the fairy, but with all his new power the squid ink fails to hold Rumple for long and he ends up escaping to the library to confront Belle. Ageing magic in tow, he threatens to use it on her, knowing that he can never be the man that she wants him to be but believing that he can have a second chance with his new son. Belle points out that the price of using this magic on her would be losing her forever, wondering if he's willing to pay it, but he's not, and so he leaves. After rejecting the Evil Queen for her failure, and getting berated by her some for his foolish hopes in regards to Belle, she takes it upon herself to dose the pregnant beauty's tea with the ageing magic and thus make it so that she's sent into early labor. Rumple tracks her down to the fairy convent, but, by the time he breaks through the protection spell, Belle has already given their son to Blue to look after, and she flies far away so that the Dark One can never find them. Belle refuses to even reveal the child's name, believing Rumple to be the one to have magicked her pregnancy, and another confrontation with the Queen sends the Dark One into a violent rage that has him smashing up his shop, all following his vow that he will find his son.

Gallery
Gallery of photographic stills released to promote the character.