Hi everyone! I've had this idea in my head for awhile, so I'm excited to share the beginning chapters of it with you all this week! This fic is a Once Upon a Time and The Magicians crossover, based on Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo. Enjoy, and as always, let me know what you think!

Aurelius Gold limped through the streets of Neverland, determined to arrive at his destination on time. He was known for being precise in all areas of his life, and any lapse in precision led to mistakes that he paid for dearly. He had always believed that everything one wanted came at a price, and he was famous in Neverland for being ruthless in his pursuit of his goals. There were whispers about him, that if you made a deal with Aurelius Gold, you needed to hold up your end of the deal or suffer dire consequences.

And those weren't just rumors. Gold had spent years perfecting his combat skills, and was one of the most feared men in Neverland, despite his physical shortcomings. He also had eyes and ears everywhere, a fact that had aided him immensely on more than one occasion.

It was rumored that the man he was about to meet had a job for him, and Gold was intrigued. As one of Neverland's wealthiest merchants, Mr. Waugh had numerous resources at his disposal, even more than Gold did (though he hated to admit it). What Waugh could possibly want with someone like him, Gold couldn't even begin to imagine.

When he entered the Waugh residence, he was directed to a spacious office that, while elegant, spoke of the owner's inclination towards business. While the desk and chairs were made of the finest wood, they were not comfortable, and any decoration on the walls lent itself only to future prosperity. A degree hung on one wall, a map of their world on the other. The only aspect of the room that spoke of a personal touch were pictures of Waugh himself and a young boy who Gold knew was currently older, around his own age. It made Gold wonder what would have happened if the only people he had ever loved were still alive.

His thoughts were interrupted by the arrival of Waugh himself. While he was short in stature, he was broad, his musculature indicating that while he was part of Neverland's elite merchant class, he did not allow his status in the community to justify a life lived in luxury. Instead, it was clear that like Gold, he was a shrewd businessman. He was a man who knew what he wanted who would stop at nothing to achieve his aims.

His assessment ended when Waugh cleared his throat. "Mr. Gold, you are likely wondering why you are here."

"I was a bit perplexed when I received your note, yes," Gold admitted. The note had been delivered directly to his room in The Fox's Den, embossed with Waugh's signature seal, and while he had his suspicions regarding why the merch wanted him, Gold had been surprised. The merchant class in Neverland was determined to eradicate the city of its gangs, thieves, gambling halls, and brothels, but like the twisting, narrow streets that crisscrossed the city, the less noble of its citizens refused to be chased away. In fact, their numbers and power grew by the day, a fact that was likely an eternal nuisance to the merchants who governed the city.

"As I suspected," Waugh stated briskly, steepling his fingers, his elbows taking a decidedly unbusinesslike stance on the desk before him. "Mr. Gold, you are here because I have a very sensitive, very important task for you. Should you choose to accept, you will be richly rewarded for your efforts. Four million fairlets will be yours for your troubles."

Gold's eyebrows raised. Even when split among his selected crew for the job, that was enough money to do whatever he wanted. With that kind of money, he could live in the lap of luxury for the rest of his life if he wanted to- or leave Neverland behind for good. "You haven't told me what I need to do yet, merch," he pointed out, beginning to become inpatient with Waugh's pomp and circumstance regarding a job that could likely be easily explained in a concise manner.

"Very true, and it's not a what, but a whom," the older man informed him. "Have you heard of the drug nostos potencia?"

"Whispers of it, yes, but it seemed too much of a fairy tale to take it seriously," Gold scoffed. The drug was said to give Grisha, magical people of their world, limitless power. It enhanced their given magical abilities so they could perform miracles hitherto unheard of by all but the imaginings of children.

"Well believe it or not, those rumors are true. Follow me." With that, the councilman led Gold through a maze of hallways to a secluded room at the rear end of the house.

The air of the room they entered was that of a morgue. The silence was eerie, the room itself dark until Waugh flipped a switch.

What the light revealed left Gold in awe. The room was filled with scientists dressed in white lab coats, all of whom seemed to be motionless. As the self-professed criminal circled the room, not a single one of them stirred, not even to blink. Mouths were left open, some eyes were closed and some were wide with shock. But each face was frozen in fear and amazement.

"What… happened here?" he breathed.

Waugh, who had been quiet as he observed the statuesque people, spoke up. "The effects of nostos potencia. While water from Lake Nostos will heal anything, combined with the correct configuration of ingredients, it creates a substance powerful enough to enhance a Grisha's abilities, as I explained previously. Nostos potencia was being tested on an indentured Healer, Mallory. To test her abilities, she was ordered to heal minor cuts on a boy's arms and hands. When the child was asked to cut off his thumb, the Grisha froze everyone in this room except herself and the child. They escaped, and while the boy is with his parents, she was found dead not far from here. The Council was only informed of the incident by one of my servants, who happened to be observing through a crack in the doorway.

"Nostos potencia is not only real, but it allows Grisha to assume limitless power. However, that effect only lasts for a limited time period. Once that time span elapses, the drug almost always leaves its user lifeless. Which is how we knew we would find a compromised Mallory; there were nine others before her, only one of whom didn't die from withdrawal or a second dose."

"Then why use it at all?" Gold inquired. His tone, he hoped, concealed the fact that he was disgusted with the merchs' waste of human life against their will. While he was known for being relentlessly unforgiving and cruel, Gold could honestly say that he had never endangered another's life- or at least, someone he considered an ally- without their consent. The girl he enlisted to gather intelligence for him, Belle, made sure of that with her constant insistence that he could be a good man. While he didn't believe her and never would (his reputation spoke for itself, after all), her hope had at least influenced him enough to draw a line between what he would and wouldn't do in his pursuit of revenge, much to his chagrin.

"There is the possibility of an antidote to the aftereffects the drug's high leaves in its wake," Waugh explained. "The drug's creator, Killian Jones, is currently said to be captive in the Pine Court, working on an antidote to these effects. Your task would be to break into the Pine Court, rescue Killian Jones, and bring him to the Merchant Council."

Gold stared at him, mouth agape, the wheels turning in his mind rapidly. Break into the Pine Court? It was the strongest fortress in the world, a military base in Sherwood Forest that also served as a prison and cultural center to visiting dignitaries. To even attempt to break into it would be impossible, let alone getting out alive. He would need more than the usual crew, six of the most skilled people in the business, to pull this off. And each of them would need to be paid. Which meant...

"Six million fairlets," he bargained. "No more. No less."

"Six-!" Waugh exclaimed, but Gold cut him off.

"You are asking me to break into the most impenetrable fortress in the world, which will require more than my usual crew. And each of them will want to be paid a generous amount for the nearly impossible task you have set us. So I think six million fairlets is more than reasonable, don't you?"

Waugh's eyes bulged, but after a moment of silence, he sighed. "Fine. But I expect this to be accomplished as soon as possible, are we clear?"

The fact that he thought that he was above Gold irked the latter to no end. But he knew that the best strategy would be to be as civil as possible, so he simply held out his hand. "Of course," he replied, holding out his hand for Waugh to shake. "Six million fairlets to rescue Killian Jones from the Pine Court. We have a deal."

"We have a deal," Waugh nodded. And with that, Gold turned to leave. But before he walked out, he turned back. "Any luck finding your son?" The boy had disappeared six months before, and it was said that Waugh was sparing no expense to retrieve him and bring him home.

A strange look crossed the councilman's face. "Not as of yet, but we're doing all we can. But that is none of your concern."

Gold nodded. With those words, he walked out of the merch's office and back to The Fox's Den to solidify the plan forming in his mind and begin to make it a reality.

Regina took a deep, calming breath, then wrapped her kefta around her. She would only be helping one more person tonight, and then she could rest.

When she had been snatched away from the Enchanted Forest after the Ogre Wars had left a divided nation in their wake, she supposed she had been incredibly lucky to find her position. While others of her kind were indentured, little more than slaves, she had the freedom to use her gifts in a way that helped people. Although she hated that often the people who could afford her services were not the people she most wanted to help.

She heard a knock at the door, and opened it to find Gold. What exactly his first name was, she didn't know, and she doubted she would ever find out. He was the ringleader of a gang that had offered her a place within its ranks upon her arrival in Neverland, and while he had buried secrets that she knew she would never be able to crack, she was well aware of the fact that she would be faring much worse if it wasn't for him.

She stepped back and let him in, watching him use his cane, distinguishable by the fox head at its tip, to aid him. How he had come to have a bad leg was a mystery to all but Gold himself, but speculation and rumors abounded. Some said that during a job, a dog had bitten his foot and left a gash bone-deep that he hadn't been able to afford to get fixed. Others claimed that he had contracted a disease that had never been cured.

Another mystery was the gloves he always wore. Speculation within the halls of the Fox's Den abounded, some claiming that Gold had a genetic mutation that helped him pull off the sleight of hand tricks that allowed him to be such a good thief, others that he actually had missing fingers. Regina doubted that the last theory was true; his gloves had always looked full to her.

She watched him now, noting how sitting in one of the two chairs in her room was an effort for him. Once he was settled, she wasted no more time. "What do you want, Gold?"

"Your assistance with a job," Gold told her. As she listened to him explain the terms of the job, she shook her head. "Not happening, Gold. Not even for a million fairlets."

He smirked. "What if I said I could make it worth your while in other ways?"

Her eyebrows rose to her hairline. "Such as?" The less honorable happenings within this building that drew leering men to it were encounters she never wished to have, and he knew that. After all, he had taught her everything he knew and given her a home with the Foxes.

"Don't worry, dearie, nothing like that," Gold assured her with a wave of his hand, clearly anticipating her thoughts. "I believe there's a certain former thief and soldier who could use our help?"

Her eyes widened. Did he really mean what she thought he meant? "Do you mean we're finally going to-?"

Gold nodded curtly with a smug smile. "Yes. We're going to rescue one Robin Locksley from Hellgate."

Well, when he put Robin's freedom on the table, there was no chance she would refuse- and she was sure he knew that. Still, she knew exactly why Gold wanted Robin… but she had also been begging Gold for a year to help her free him, so she couldn't risk passing up this opportunity. So breathing deeply and praying that when he saw her, Robin would forgive her, she told Gold, "I'm in. Now let's go save Robin."