One Last Fight

Prompt: Danns' POV in the future of OP when Rumple passes his power on and returns to being human (does she visit him at the end?)

An epilogue to Original Powers. Belle lived a long life for a human, but in the end, Rumplestiltskin had to let her go. Now, having passed his power on to their daughter, he prepares to follow her—but not without one last encounter with his old foe, the Black Fairy.

She had not believed that would do it. Not truly. The fool had the chance to live forever, to leave his mark upon every generation of humanity, and he gave it all up? He had been a worthy opponent, and they had battled over and over again. Merlin's heir had defeated Zoso, and then Zoso's two successors time and again, ruining Danns' plans several times. She'd been alternately furious and intrigued, feeling an odd kinship with the sole human original power that she knew he would never feel with his daughter. Gabrielle was simply too young.

"I had not believed the stories," she said as she teleported herself into the garden he sat in. For the first time since she'd known him, Rumplestiltskin looked old, sitting with a blanket covering his lap and fatigue defining his every move.

"Which stories?" At least the brown eyes that looked up at her were still alert, even if his hair had gone thin and stark gray in a matter of hours. His face was lined, now, too, disturbingly so for a woman who was so accustomed to her own eternal youth.

"You gave it up. You fool."

The words hurt to speak. Anger boiled up within in, hot and fierce, and had to Danns' force the magic out of her hands. She was the Black Fairy, the most powerful being in all the magical realms, and she would not lose control like some child fae who could not stop themselves. And Rumplestiltskin certainly was no threat to her now.

"I did. It was time." His smile was slight, but Dann's could see it, and the look infuriated her.

"Time?" she echoed. "Time? You're throwing away the vastest power in existence because of love? You fool."

"I would hardly call passing said power onto my daughter 'throwing it away'," Rumplestiltskin replied mildly. "She has prepared for this her entire life. I daresay she'll handle it better than I did."

"All of her life." Danns' snorted. "She is not even a century old. Barely half that! She has no perspective at all."

He shrugged again. "She will learn what she must. We are human, Danns'. Lingering too long, gaining too much 'perspective'…well, that makes us too much like you."

"Is that so terrible, old friend?" Once, she'd called him that when she thought he was Merlin. But now Rumplestiltskin truly was her friend, if also her enemy, and if Danns' was honest with herself, she would have admitted that she was so angry because she could not bear to watch him wither away like this.

My sister is gone. Her replacement is young and fiery, friends already with Gabrielle, who takes far too much after her own mother. Reul Ghorm had become her enemy, yes, but they had been sisters. But she, too, had died, just like Merlin had. Reul had been gone for more than five decades, and yet Danns' would never grow used to having Tinker Bell in her place. I removed Merlin from the game, and Rumplestiltskin removed my sister. She had been angry with him for years because of that, had even sent her Dark One to try to kill his wife and child for that masterful move. But now the memory was bittersweet. Perhaps it is even fitting.

"Not at all. The power was as wonderful and as intoxicating as it has always been."

"Then why let go? Why not live on, why not provide humanity with the guidance you and I know they need? They're short-sighted and—"

"And human." Rumplestiltskin's old twisted smile was in place as he cut her off.

Danns' rolled her eyes. "You say that like it's a good thing.

"Because it is. We're not without fault, Danns', but our flaws define us. Humans, by nature, live in the moment. There are few who truly look long-term at life, and even we are defined by those we love, and what we lose."

"She died a year ago." That was what this was about, wasn't it? The foolish human who had refused her—repeatedly!—was pining over his lost wife. Belle had been a pretty little thing, yes, and smart for a human, but was he really going to give up eternity for her? "Is that what this is about?"

"Of course it is. I always planned to follower her."

"Yes, of course you told her that. It's a silly little romantic notion, designed to give your little wife solace. None of us actually thought you'd do it." Danns' waved an impatient hand. "Now stop this act, take your power back, and find another. Your children will understand."

Rumplestiltskin's smile was sad. "Whatever else I've been, I've always been a man of my word. And after Belle…there is no one else."

"Such a human perspective," she mocked him. "One love. True Love. Even you know that such things are not so singular. Any love can become True Love, yet you will give everything up because of one silly little woman?"

"I don't expect you to understand what was between Belle and I." The wistful smile look that crossed his face was infuriating. Where had the great sorcerer gone, the man who had looked her in the eye and faced her down a hundred times? He'd been replaced by a lovesick fool.

Danns' drew herself up proudly. "I never understand short-sighted foolishness."

"Of course you don't." Rumplestiltskin snorted, leaning back in his chair and looking at the sun. "You would nevermake a fool of yourself for anyone. Has it ever occurred to you that a refusal to take such a chance does not make you strong?"

"No. It does not." And the fact that he thought so made him so disgustingly human.

"I don't expect I'll see you again, Danns', but it was nice of you to drop by." Amusement glittered in his eyes once more. "Even if we never could agree on anything."

She'd wanted him. She wanted him still, even without his power. Danns' felt her breath catch. She could take him, she knew. Stop Rumplestiltskin from wasting himself like this. She could prolong his life, even if he'd already passed that power on—and she knew, better than anyone, that the transferal could be reversed at this early stage. She could have everything she'd ever wanted, and who could stop her?

No.

She would not. Perhaps Danns' had learned a thing or two since she'd turned Merlin into the Dark One, or perhaps Rumplestiltskin had become enough of a friend for her to stay her hand.

"Farewell, then," she said quietly. She would respect his wishes. Just this once.

His smile was thing. "Farewell, old friend."

Danns' a'Bhàis left, and did not look back. That evening, Rumplestiltskin departed the land of the living, joining his wife.

A/N: This little shot is a thank you to all the wonderful people who voted for Original Powers in the 2016 TEAs (the Espenson Awards). Thanks to you, OP won Best Drama, and Danns' a'Bhàis won Best OC!