Ch.5: Manhattan

        After the incident that had happened with Aurora, everyone in town was concerned. She'd eventually been able to convince them that everything would be okay, though. Although, she wasn't sure. If Aurora could come to town, anyone could. 

        Since Kat and Klaus had taken up Snow and Charming's place, they were there, when they heard a knock on the door. 

        Kat turned around to go open it, but then Rumple let himself in. 

        "Rumple," she stated. 

        "What do you want?" Klaus inquired. 

        Rumple looked at Katherine. 

        "Remember when you said you owed me a favor? I'm cashing it in. I need to find someone, so we're leaving today. Pack your bag."

        It took Kat a moment to figure out who it could possibly be. 

        "Your son? You know where he is?" 

        "Yes, and it has to be today, because every minute I'm here, is a minute closer to me killing Hook. So it's really best if I leave, and you're gonna come with me. Oh, and if any harm comes to Belle while I'm gone, I'm killing everyone," he replied. "I'll see you at noon," he added, before leaving.

        Kat closed the door after him. 

        "I'll go with Rumple alone. You stay here. Keep people from killing each other," she told Klaus. "Think of it like a really small New Orleans. Next to Regina, you're in charge." 

        Klaus agreed to do as she asked, and the next day, Kat left town with Rumple. They then headed to New York. However, while they were gone, Cora figured a way to Storybrooke, setting off a chain of events.

        Kat was in Manhattan, New York with Rumple. It didn't take long to find his son. When they did, he started running off. 

        "Catch up with him. I can't run. Get him to talk to me," Rumple told her. 

        With that, it didn't take long for her to catch up with him, and she magically made him fall to the ground. 

        "Sorry, but I can't let you escape," Kat commented. 

        He got to his feet, but didn't run from her again. 

        "Why?"

        "Because your father is here, waiting for me to come back with you," she informed him.

        "You brought him to me? I spent a lifetime running from that man. I'm not gonna let him catch me." After a moment, he thought of something. "Look, there's a bar around the corner. Let's talk there. You can ask me anything you like there."

        After a few moments, she decided to agree with him. Then they began to speak at the bar, both with a drink, but hers was just a shot glass of Bourbon, just like she'd always had when she'd been a vampire.

        "Look, I came here to get away from all that crap," he informed her.

        "Well, I'm sorry, but I owed him a favor, so I need to bring you to him. But look. I know your father's story. I don't know the details when you got separated from him, but I know he wanted both power and you. He just couldn't have both. And I know about your mother. I remember. The loss of a mother. If you're going to blame him for that, go ahead, but he's still your father. It took me a very long time for me to forgive someone for killing my mother, but I eventually did. We're not that different in that aspect. And I know what it feels like to always be running from someone. The person that killed my mother, I ran from too. I was afraid of him, but I'm not anymore. We buried that hatchet. Please, just give your father a chance."

        "You could just tell him that you lost me. Tell him that you can't find me," he suggested.

        "I can't do that. I can't just walk away. I'm not that person anymore," she told him. "Look, if I could see and talk to my mother one last time, I would, but I can't. You have a chance with your father that I'll never get a chance with my mother. My father and I didn't get along. I hated him, just as I'm sure you hate yours. Just on a different scale. Mine tore away my daughter from me. I lost the chance to raise her, because of him. If he hadn't been killed along with my mother, I would've killed him all those years ago. I'm mentally older than you think. You're not the only one that's lived more than a lifetime. If you knew my world, we wouldn't even be having a conversation. The name Katherine strikes fear and hatred into most people. I don't want to force you to see him, but Rumple has waited for a very long time for this moment. Don't make him lose the opportunity to at least have a chat with you."

        After a few minutes, he finally decided to take her up on her request, as well as his father's. 

        "Let me finish my beer first," he stated. 

        "Okay. Well, meet us at your place when you're done," she replied, getting up. Then she headed back to his apartment, where Rumple was waiting for her. 

        "Did you find him?" he asked her. 

        "Yes. I did. He'll be here soon. He just needs a little time," she assured him. "Until then, I told him to meet us at his place, so let's go." 

        They headed up the stairs to his apartment, where they eventually waited for him to come home, once she'd magically unlocked and opened the door. 

        When he walked in, he closed the door behind himself. 

        "Bae," Rumple greeted. "You came back for me."

        "No," he denied. 

        "Let's just talk," Rumple asked of him. 

        "I have no interest in talking to you. You can go."

        "I'm not going anywhere," Rumple replied. 

        "Get out of my apartment!" he yelled at Rumple. 

        "Baelfire, please. All I want is a chance to be heard." 

        "Get out," he replied. 

        "Look, our deal was for her to get you to talk to me. If you truly want her deal to be fulfilled, you only have one choice. You have to talk to me." 

        After a moment, he told him, "You got three minutes." 

        "I know I've made mistakes, but you must believe me. I wanna make up for it. There's no greater pain than regret," Rumple began. 

        "Try abandonment," his son replied. 

        "Please. Let me make it up to you." 

        "How are you gonna do that? I grew up alone. I grew up without a father. You can make up for that?"

        "Yes, I can," Rumple assured him. 

        "Two minutes."

        "Come with me to Storybrooke. There's magic there. I can turn the clock back. Make you 14 again. We can start over."

        "14? I don't wanna be 14 again. Are you insane?" he replied. 

        "I can't make up for the lost time, but I can take away the memories." 

        "Take away who I am. No, thanks. One minute." 

        "Bae, please. Give me a chance. You once loved me," Rumple pleaded. 

        "You were once a good man."

        "I can be that man again. I've changed. Look, I came here, to this city without magic."

        "Yeah, and you're still trying to use it to make up for your mistakes. Still think that that can make it all better. It won't. You can't. You have no idea what I've lived with. You're so worried about you. You know what I've dealt with? Every night, for more years than you could know, the last thing I see before sleep, is the image of you. You and me over that pit, your hand wrapped around mine. And then you open your grip. And as I fall away, all I can see is your face. Choosing all this crap over me, letting me go. Now it's my turn. I'm letting you go."

        "I'm sorry," Rumple replied. 

        "I don't care. I didn't get closure, so you don't, either. Gotta go. Time's up."

        He walked to the other side of his apartment.

        Kat had been just letting them talk. When he walked away, she followed him. 

        "Come on, just give him a chance. I'm sure he's done a lot of damage, but you know what? So have I. I've broken lots of hearts, broke someone's heart I cared about, broken up lives, and even killed. I lost count after a few centuries, the amount of those I killed. Look, I know forgiveness is hard and all, but perhaps going to Storybrooke would be a good idea. Maybe it'll help the two of you figure out if you can still have some kind of relationship. I have to go back anyway, eventually. I left someone behind, and it wouldn't be a good idea to have him alone there too long. He's changed, but he's still not afraid to kill anyone."

        "Then you should leave. Take my father with you. I don't want him here," he replied. 

        "I think I already figured that out earlier. I get abandonment. I get hatred and loneliness. And I get nightmares. Centuries ago, I had the ability to not feel if I didn't want to, but I still had dreams that haunted me. Finding my mother was devastating. It broke me into a million pieces. I was relieved to find my father, though. It meant that I didn't have to do it myself. I hate so much hatred for him. He didn't just send away my daughter. He banished me from my home. I was all alone, in a place I didn't know. Bulgaria was much different from England. When I met Elijah and Klaus, it was both the best and worst thing for me. Klaus slaughtered everyone, but Elijah and I fell in love. If it weren't for me loving Elijah, I would've killed Klaus, once I figured out a way, and then I wouldn't even be here. As Elijah's always said, nobody hurts his family, and lives. Eventually, I forgave Klaus in the present century here, but I'll always know what he's very much capable of. Klaus and I got a chance, and it paid off. I think your father should get a chance, too. If someone like Klaus can put aside everything for his daughter, then maybe your father can do the same thing for you. Or you for him. He came all this way. He spent centuries looking for you, just as my daughter did. I just didn't know it until we finally met," she replied to him. 

        Rumple was outside the apartment building, waiting for Katherine to put some sense into his son for him, when he got ambushed, ending up with his back against some bars of the gate, Hook's hook in his chest. 

        "You took Milah, my love, my happiness. And for that, I now take your life," Hook told him, as Rumple felt that something was on his hook. He knew it was nothing good. 

        Before Hook could do anything else to him, Kat and Rumple's son came down, and that's when they saw the scene.

        Kat tossed Hook against a wall magically, enough to knock him out, and then went to him. 

        "You okay?" 

        "Papa?" he said, once he found that he was actually injured. 

        "Let's get him upstairs. Then I'll deal with Hook," Kat said. She figured it would be a while before he awoke. That would be enough time to get him upstairs, and to tie up Hook.

        Soon, they had him on the couch, and she'd tied Hook to the bed with rope. She then came back out. 

        "Hook should be secure enough not to get out anytime soon," she commented. 

        "We gotta get him to the ER, fast," he told her. 

        "No. It's pointless," Rumple informed him, realizing what had been on his hook he'd stabbed him with. "It's poison. It's one of Hook's own making. There's no antidote in this world." 

        "Besides, doctor's aren't exactly specialized in magical beings," Kat added. 

        "There's gotta be some way we can save you," he told his father. He hated him, but he didn't exactly want to watch him die.

        "There is," Rumple replied. 

        "Storybrooke. There's magic there now. We need to get him back. I have magic, too. I might be able to heal his wound, but poison isn't exactly my expertise," Kat interceded. 

        "I'll get a car." 

        "We don't have time. We need something faster," Rumple replied. "The Captain's ship. It's the fastest vessel in all the realms."

        "Well, I don't know about you, but I don't know how to sail a ship. And I doubt Hook will want to sail his ship with his enemy onboard."

        "I can do it," his son informed them. 

        "You know how to sail a pirate ship?" Kat questioned, impressed. 

        "I do. This world wasn't my first stop. If it was, I'd be a couple hundred of years old by now."

        "Then I have to find out where his ship is. I'll just go into his memories," Kat stated.

        "We still have to get his a*s to the ship," he replied. 

        "We will, but I'm also not going to leave a pirate on your bed. I'll help your father. If anything goes wrong, I've got magic. You grab Hook. We can put him in the bunker of his ship," she told him. 

        Half an hour later or so, he was sailing the ship to Storybrooke. She'd tied Hook with rope on deck, while she'd gotten Rumple to the bunker of the ship. She was seated on one of the beds, watching Rumple, just in case he needed magical help to survive. She'd just gotten news that Cora was in town, and that Cora and Regina were working together to find his dagger. Katherine knew that that meant two things. Either Cora's plan was to kill him, which technically was already happening to him, or her plan was to control him. Either of those options weren't good. Especially, because with the knowledge she had, she had to assume that that much Dark One magic, it had to go somewhere. So, if Cora was going to kill him, Cora would have to become it herself, and that would be the worst thing imaginable. She knew that Cora was more powerful than Regina. She always had been. 

        Eventually, they got back to Storybrooke. 

        "Let's get him back to his shop. Hook won't be a problem, as long as Rumple's on the verge of dying. After that, we'll figure out what to do with him," she said, and then helped him get Rumple to his shop.

        Soon enough, they got him to the back of his shop. She then put up a protection spell, hoping it would keep Cora and Regina out of there, before going back to the back of the shop, where Rumple was seated on the bed. 

        "There's something in the cabinet that could save me," he stated to her. 

        Kat opened it, pulling out some kind of candle. 

        "I kept it for a rainy day. I'm not getting any better, and there's nothing else that can save me," he informed her. 

        "How do you use it?" Kat questioned. 

        "Cora doesn't have her heart inside her body. Find it. Usually, you'd whisper the victim's name over them with it, but her heart will do. Use the candle, curse the heart, and then put the heart back into her body. When you do, she'll die. I'll live," he instructed her. 

        "There could be another way. I let Klaus kill Cora himself. I find another way to save you."

        "And how are you going to do that?" he questioned. He had faith in her usually, but he didn't think he had time for experimental magic. And he wanted to live. 

        "I have centuries of magical knowledge. Perhaps, I can do something. Klaus has a sister, Freya. Their aunt made a crystal that would keep her from draining her power. Maybe I can create something similar. Put your essence inside a crystal. At least, until I figure out a proper way to save you. If it's inside a crystal, then you technically won't die. Or you can just simply try hybrid blood. Klaus' blood can heal almost anything."

        "Do it, then," he replied, figuring her plan could work. It was Katherine, after all. Her plans usually worked. 

        Klaus had been notified of everything by Katerina, and walked into the back of the shop. 

        She looked to see him. 

        "Go to the front of his shop. I'll join you in a little bit. I have an idea how to help him," she told him, in which he did. Then she did what she said she would, using a crystal to put his essence in, after he layed down on the bed. Then she used a preservation spell, keeping his body from fully dying. Then she put the crystal in a cabinet drawer, putting a protection spell on it. She then went to the front of the shop, putting a protection spell there, too. She made sure that one was as strong as it could be. 

        "What's the plan, luv?" he inquired. 

        "Rumple said that Cora's heart isn't in her body. Regina's vault is in the cemetery. Find the right heart, and then you can do whatever you want with Cora. Crush it and kill her, control her, or whatever else. We'll stay here. Protect Rumple," she told him. 

        He did as he was told, having no problem. Killing witches was his specialty, after all.

        "Katherine," Rumple's son said, leaning against a glass counter. 

        "What?" she inquired. 

        "The name's Neal. When I came to this world, I changed my name."

        "Well, it's nice to get a name from you, other than a fairytale name," she commented. "I'm glad you came, even if it's only to save your father."

        "I may hate him, but running from him is very different from watching him die. He's still my blood," he replied. 

        "I get it," she replied. "Hatred can stem deep, but deep down, one of the people I hurt that I care about, I think would still save me if I needed it. Despite what he's done and tried to do. But we have a complicated relationship, so who knows. We never really know until we try." 

        Cora and Regina stood there, dagger in hand, and broke through the shop's protection spell, which Katherine had created, and walked inside.

        "Regina, think about what you're doing," Katherine tried. 

        "Don't talk to me," Regina replied. Then she brought out a fireball. She was about to throw it at Neal, but Kat tossed her over a glass counter. Then Neal and Cora faced off, resulting in her losing the Dark One dagger. 

        "Choose wisely," Neal told Cora. 

        Regina magically pinned Katherine to a wall, but she broke through, and magically pinned her against a wall, instead. Neither of them wanted to hurt each other, though. 

        Cora went for the dagger, but then dropped it, feeling funny. 

        Kat let Regina go, whom then went over to Cora. 

        "Mother?" 

        "My heart. It's in your vault with your things. Someone's there," Cora informed her.

        Suddenly, Kat knew Klaus' decision, when she saw Cora die in Regina's arms. She wished that it didn't have to happen, but she was just glad she herself hadn't done it. If she could prevent killing a friend's mother, she would, but Cora wasn't exactly someone that listened. She never would've listened to reason. 

        Regina looked at her and Neal.

        "Which one of you did this?" she angrily inquired. 

        "Hey. Neal didn't do this. Neither did I. You're sure you want to know who did this?" Kat replied. Then, from her look, knowing she wanted to know, she told her, "Klaus found her heart. He would've done anything to make sure myself and most others are safe from Cora. Cora would've killed anyone and everyone that got in her way. Klaus did everyone a favor, even if you're angry right now," she replied, and tried to reason with her. 

        Without another word, Regina poofed out of the shop. 

        Klaus came back soon after. 

        "It's done," Kat told him. "Now, we just hope she doesn't turn vengeful. And I find a way to get that poison out of Rumple." 

        After a few weeks or so, Kat found a way, so she saved Rumple. She then put his essence back into his body, and he was perfectly fine. She then caught him up with everything that he'd missed. She knew that he'd want to know that Cora was dead.