Oooh, but does he need both? Belle, yes, for obvious reasons. But does he actually need the crystal (which he thinks will give him “more power”) to wake Belle? No. What he needs is to let go of the darkness, let go his power, and be a better and different man. He doesn’t actually *need* that crystal for anything, he’s just unwilling to do what actually needs to be done to wake his wife.
Yeah like this is an easy one for me. He doesn’t NEED the crystal. He wants to have his cake and eat it too. To do that, he needs the crystal. But if he just changed to be a better man for Belle, TLK would wake her. In this scene, he pauses and absolutely thinks about what to grab first. I don’t even think he thought he would only have time to grab one of them. It was an instinct for him. He made a very calculated choice. And let’s be honest, he wasn’t even sure if having the crystal and all of storybrooke’s magic tethered to it would bring back Belle. He was simply hoping it would be enough power to make it happen. And in the meantime, he likes the power the crystal gives him.
At what point are the Rumbelle shippers going to stop turning a blind eye to Rumple choosing power over Belle every season. Name one time he chose her over power. The only time that comes to mind is in Season 5a finale, but really he was sacrificing himself for everyone, not just her. The only other time he lost his power was when the apprentice basically forced it out of him to save his life. He had no choice or a real say in the matter.