Villains

Portal

Rumple walked carelessly through the corridor alone. Now that he had no one slowing him down, he could use the silence surrounding him at his favor and try to prepare himself for what was about to come next. As much as he knew how powerful he was, the Dark One was not sure if he would be able to deal with this particular problem all by himself. Until now, the island had thrown quite ingenious challenges at all of them. So far, he was forced to face his deepest fears. It had been all about mind games. Now, however, he was sure there would be a physical barrier between him and the stone.

It was being guarded by something rather than someone, apparently.

It appears that the beast was a legendary one. Rumple had heard of it before but did not really believe the tales to be true. In old stories, when he was a child, the elder woman who kept an eye on him whenever his disastrous father was out to drink, the guardian was mentioned. The curious thing was that it had always been the villain of the old tales. Now, he was posed as a guardian.

What was Merlin thinking? Was all this really his doing, though?

Either way, Rumple was anxious to find out. Was it simply another one of Merlin's jokes or was it indeed the peril he imagines it to be? Would the Knight of Light Magic toy with such dark demon?

That he would find out soon.

The only thing concerning him at the moment, though, was the beast's real purpose. Rumple did not know if the guardian was indeed as powerful as people believed. Would it be strong enough to kill him and extinguish the Dark One's Curse? Or maybe, instead of killing, it would bring worse fates than death towards the unfortunate soul that challenged it?

Those fates Rumple was not eager to know.

The good thing about all this was that he believed to be the only one with real information concerning the subject. No one else knew about these legends. They are all too ancient for anyone else acknowledge it. The Dark One knew, however, that Regina and Maleficent knew at least the basics about demonology and they were bound to know a few things about its nature. Rumple only hoped he could take advantage of that at the end, because deep down he was sure the guardian's principal target would be him.

It was bound to be this way, and he was ready for the fight of his life.

-- |¥| --

Maleficent closed the door behind her and as she did, it disappeared. No going back now. She was alone in the cold room, in dim lights. Her steps echoed as she moved cautiously, searching for incoming threats. She found herself in a room similar to the previous one, empty.

Intensifying her mage light, she managed to glimpse another door on the opposite side of the room. She breathed out in frustration. Just how many doors she would have to pass through to find the stone? Was it a terrible joke? Those games were starting to irritate her, and her patience had long exhausted itself. The witch was done. She headed straight to the door in front of her, crossing the room angrily in a hurried peace.

Then, something stopped her.

The air became heavier and a grey fog started to creep its way out of the stoned walls. It slowly condensed into a human form, materializing itself in front of her. Maleficent blinked in disbelief at the sight before her.

It was impossible. He could not be there.

The sight of him made her blood boil in anger. "What is the meaning of this?" She inquired with a sharp tone.

"I wanted to clear things out with you before you continued." A male's voice echoed in the room.

"I have nothing to talk to you." Maleficent said automatically. It was true.