It’s hard to say at this point whether The Black Fairy is involved because we don’t know much about her or what she wants. Then again this is a wish!World AU so I could literally say anything and that would also be fine.

The main question really is why did The Black Fairy show up when she did? Was it purely for Gideon? Or was it because of something else? I rather like my theory that Neverland is part of The Black Fairy’s domain. Time works differently there, and Rumple never sensed that Bae was there – just like Gideon was beyond reach of his powers while in the Dark Realm.

It was said that The Black Fairy took children but why? What did she do with them? Could she perhaps have looking for something in particular – like Pan searched for Henry – and that when the children disappointed they wound up abandoned on Neverland forming the Lost Boys? Who better than her one-time lover to rule over part of her domain? Maybe they even made a deal.

Anyway, none of this speculation is answering your question sorry 🙂

Time runs differently in The Dark Realm/Neverland and it’s easy, even for The Black Fairy, to lose track of how much time has passed in the rest of the world. When Bae made it back from Neverland Rumple did nothing. Whether it was because he was too scared to face his father, or because Belle talked him out of it, or a little of both I’m not sure. However, Rumple did eventually make the trip because of his daughter Nadia.

Nadia has Belle’s wonder of the world, her innocent belief meant that the shadow came for her one night. In the morning she had fantastic stories of her adventure and Rumple was terrified. The shadow had breached the Dark Castle defenses, it had taken his daughter. So filled with rage Rumple went to Neverland, killed Pan, practically leveled the place and took all The Lost Boys back to the Enchanted Forest. Just like he once brought the children home from the ogre war.

Just over a year later The Black Fairy started roaming the realm again. She’d been awakened by the loss of Neverland’s magic – by the loss of Pan and the loss of the easy access to children that he granted her. My headcanon until the show says otherwise is that The Black Fairy is looking for a “dark heir”, a right-hand, to rule at her side and one day take over her domain. Although I suppose fairies are immortal (though not invulnerable), so maybe it’s more just a powerful sidekick she wants. I don’t know. Anyway, she can either sense the magic, or she decides to check in on the Dark One, or she could tell who had wrecked Neverland and went to see why Rumple had done it etc. No matter what she winds up sensing teenage Gideon’s potential and she tries to snatch him – he could be the one.

Unfortunately a teenager who has had some training from Rumple, is far harder to grab than a baby. Not to mention both Gideon and Nadia were instructed to scream for Rumple the second they were in danger, and so Gideon blasts The Black Fairy back once, summons his dad and then they put the smackdown on her together.

I do quite like the theory that The Black Fairy and the Blue Fairy are the same, sort of a Jekyll and Hyde situation, so whether The Black Fairy can be killed or not depends on whether she was the original. I’m thinking that she probably wouldn’t be, so she can’t die if this theory is real. However, she could be captured, locked up in some magic device – maybe even Pandora’s Box – and no matter what she ceases to trouble them anymore.

This is a verse where Rumple and Belle and their family get a happy ending. Aside Bae’s unfortunate early death 🙁 but he married and loved Emma, and had Henry, so I guess that’s something.