*~*~*Collaboration between YoshiSkittlez as David Nolan and Rumpelstiltskin, and I as Dr. Heather Jekyll and Evelyn Hyde*~*~*

Faye quickly calmed herself down, and wiped away her tears. She thought about what she should do, and after she did, she nodded to herself in turn. She quickly brought out three empty spare glass cylinders from her lab coat, and filled them with the dirt from the area where the portal was, and from outside of the area (as a control sample). She hoped to do some tests on the soil, and see if the chemical components of the dirt will give her answers.

After she corked the cylinders, she pocketed them in her coat, and she headed for town, where she intended to break the news to David and Ruby. 

When she reached the town she noticed that people were crowding around David for answers, or they were crowding around Frankenstein in preparation to go after Regina. With the crowd that was around David, there was no way she was going to be able to talk to him. Besides, they were more likely to listen to him then they were going to listen to her. 

However...Faye couldn't see Ruby anywhere, so it looked as though talking to David was her only option. She went around the crowd, and she called "Mr. Nolan!" (addressing him as Prince Charming was only going to give her away that she met him before as Hyde). She called "Mr. Nolan! I need to talk to you! It's about Ms. Margaret!"

David caught sight of Faye through the corner of his eye, a slight breath of relief coming over him as he ignored the shouting citizens of Storybrooke for just a couple seconds to give her his attention, either not fully hearing what the doctor had to say or not able to hear her at all over the uproar.

"Dr. Stevenson! There you are! Where did you guys head off to? Where's Snow? She's always been so much better at this...talking thing than I am..."

Faye answered David, her worry for their friends clear in her voice and facial expression, "Henry...Knox...and Ms. Margaret...They-They fell down some kind of hole and they've disappeared! I don't know what happened!" 

She continued honestly and guiltily, "I came too late...I couldn't do anything...I'm so sorry..."

"WHAT?" David exclaimed, not at all in anger but in surprise and confusion. "Where? Show me!" The rioting crowd behind him no longer mattered as his blue eyes focused intently on Faye. Snow always came first, no matter what. And if she were in some sort of danger...

David shuddered, not wanting to think about it.

Faye nodded at him in response to his request, and she answered "Follow me then," She then led him away from the crowd and into the forest, right to where she saw the portal. She was glad that she had eidetic memory, otherwise she wouldn't have been able to retrace her own steps. 

When the both of them reached the area, she said to him, "Here....The portal was here, but it closed after the three of them fell in," 

David looked at the ground carefully, though it didn't take much to spot the area in the earth where it looked as if a child had been busy trying to dig a hole to reach the other side of the world. It made sense now; the first time Faye had said 'hole' but this time, she called it a 'portal' and that's just exactly what it was.

She took out the cylinders of soil, and she said to him, "Hopefully...Hopefully I can perform some tests on the soil samples and get some information that may help...but the chances may be slim..."

David covered his mouth with his hand, rubbing his palm against his lips as he tried to think past the tears that were nearly blinding him as the realization hit him harder than gaining his memories back. Snow was gone, again he had let her fall through his grasp and this time, he didn't even know where.

"We...we have to keep this quiet..." David said at last, feeling his tears receding back. He was a King dammit, he couldn't allow to have anyone see him cry. "If word gets out that Snow is...missing..." He paused, unable to bring himself to use the correct term of 'gone.' "...then we'll have a much bigger problem on our hands than just an angry mob." He let out a tired, anguished sigh and lowered himself to balance on his haunches, his eyes never leaving the hole in the earth where his wife was last seen. He reached his hand out tentatively to touch the soft soil. He wasn't sure why he was surprised when that didn't suddenly bring Snow back to him.

Faye could tell that he was in anguish and was holding back tears, just like she was. Normally she would leave the man to mourn, but there was still another problem. She asked David, "What about Ruby? She...needs to know that Knox is missing. The two of them were close, from what I've noticed..."

Mentioning how Ruby and Knox were close reminded her of her own pain at the fact that Henry was missing. She added under breath, knowing that Ruby may feel the same, "...She would want to know..." Faye herself would've wanted to know if something happened to Henry.

"I..." David shook his head and stood back up, forcing himself to look away from the spot of dirt that very well could have been Snow's, Knox's and Henry's grave. His hands balled up into tight fists until his knuckles turned white. He wanted answers dammit! And just as he had said before, there were only two people here in Storybrooke that would even have a phantom of an idea as to what was going on. "Leave Ruby to me, as her good friend, and not as her King, I owe it to her..." He said before his face shifted slightly, a more determined role of Prince James taking over the uncertainty of David Nolan coming into view.

"We need answers, and I'm afraid that either Regina or Mr. Gold might be the only ones who have them..." He was asking, and not asking at the same time. He had his hands full with trying to keep the people from killing their mayor...Queen...but he wouldn't ever ask anything like going to Rumpelstiltskin on his behalf...not unless he was desperate and he was quickly coming to find out, he was exactly that.

Faye came to realize the situation as well, and she dreaded the fact that she had to go to Mr. Gold, since it is up to David Nolan to make sure the people didn't kill Regina. She sighed through her nose and volunteered for the inevitable, "I'll go and talk to Mr. Gold, and see if I can get any answers from him. Hopefully, you'll be able to get an answer from the Mayor," 

"I'll do what I can." David promised before putting both his hands on her shoulders, meeting her eyes directly. "Don't worry, we'll find them. Snow and I have been in this position before; many times in fact, and I [i]always[/i] find her, this time won't be any different."

Faye looked David in the eyes when he reassured her, and she nodded, slightly admiring his confidence, and commented "I hope for everyone's sake that you're right," She herself wasn't too sure. There was no proof, and she didn't know David Nolan enough to know what he and Snow had been through, except from the fairy tales she read before...

As soon as David's hands were off of her shoulders she walked with him back to the town at a fast pace. When they reached the town, they parted ways rather abruptly, as the crowd that had once gathered around David had completely disappeared, and David only had to guess once as to where they went. Faye easily recalled Gold's medical file and recalled his address. After searching the address on her smart phone, she headed there immediately. As soon as she reached the...absurdly pink house, she rang the doorbell, trying to quell the fear that grew in her heart. 

There was a light shuffling sound from behind the door that grew louder with each moment, turning from a muffled, inaudible sound to the sound of a cane thumping on the hardwood as he neared the door. His silhouette could be made out crudly through the colorful stained glass windows as he reached for the door knob and pulled open one of the beautifully hand-crafted cherry wood twin door.

There was a look of surprise on the Pawnbroker's face for a split second before his thin lips curved into a slight smile, one hand held tightly onto his cane while his other remained behind his back.

"Angry mob of one? You're going to have to do a lot better than that, Dr. Jekyll." He paused to turn and face a small desk that was pressed up against the wall leading down the short hallway from the door way and opened up the drawer, stashing the gun in his opposite hand back inside and closed it back up before turning back to the doctor. "I don't suppose this would be a good time to ask for a refill on my Fentanyl prescription?"

Faye rolled her eyes slightly at his joke about her being an angry mob of one. When he asked about the perscription, she answered with slight sarcasm, "A better time would be after a regular check up. But that's not why I'm here," 

She sighed through her nose and said "I need help from someone who is an...expert to say the least, in magic,"

Mr. Gold's once well-mannered, practiced smile turned...wolfish, his golden tooth catching the light as what sounded like a chuckle came from his throat. 

"Well that's not something I'd planned on hearing today." The Pawnbroker made a quick glance over his shoulder, hearing the faint sound of the pipes running through the walls as an indication that the bath water was still running. He turned back to Heather Jekyll and jerked his head a bit. "Around back, take the stairs down to the basement, we can talk there." He finished, his voice practically in a whisper before shutting the door on Heather's face, the distinct sound of tumblers turning indicating that he had locked the door.

Faye felt a chill roll down her spine when she saw his fake smile turn into a predatory one. When he fell silent, Heather strained her ears and caught the sound of water running through pipes (thanks to Hyde). She listened to his whisper carefully, and after he closed the door, she headed for the back, while Hyde told her that someone else was indeed in his house (as Jekyll suspected), and from the extra scent (something along the lines of vanilla, brown sugar, and peaches) that lingered on Gold, it had to of been a lover.

Faye went down the stairs to find herself in a familiar place; A laboratory. Though hidden with what looked like years and years of random stored pieces of furniture (including a single spinning wheel that seemed to be the center of the entire room) it was clear what the main use of Mr. Gold's basement was intended for. She looked around and noticed the windows that let sunlight in above. She also noticed the chemicals, but she knew better then to let her curiosity make her touch and examine the miscellaneous vials. She stood in the lab, waiting for Rumpelstiltskin to come.

He wasn't too far behind, the sound of his cane on the cement stairs giving him away well before he had opened up the door. He shut it quickly behind him, eying Heather out of the corner of his eye as he walked down the stairs to the main floor of the basement. He stopped a good few feet in front of Heather, somehow knowing the limits of the light being filtered into the underground room as over half of his person was cloaked in nothing but darkness.

"What is it you want dearie?" Mr. Gold asked, a hint of the Imp from The Enchanted Forest tickling at his tone.

Faye answered Mr. Gold in a serious tone, her facial expression betraying no emotion what so ever, "Henry Carlyle, Knox Kowalski, and Mary Margaret fell into some kind of portal and now they're missing. I need to know what happened to them, and if they're still alive, be able to communicate with them, and help them back to Storybrooke," 

"A portal?" Mr. Gold asked, genuine curiosity in his voice as well as a lack of empathy towards the situation. He thought Heather's words over carefully, unable to help but glance at the watch on his left wrist, keeping track of how long he was to be down here. "And...what is it you would be willing to do for [i]me[/i]...should I agree to help?" He breathed out a quick laugh at his own statement and shook his head. "Oh, that's right, you don't have a choice, do you. Not after the deal you made with me back in The Enchanted Forest." He quickly gauged the look on Heather's face before continuing. "The contract still stands dearie, you are bound to me, as my apprentice. I can simply ask anything of you, now can't I?"

Faye clenched her teeth at his comments but she kept herself calm despite the anger she felt towards him. She retorted, "It only stands if you intend to uphold your end of the deal. I couldn't help but notice that you were quite...[i]friendly[/i] to Evelyn Hyde,"

"She peaks my curiosity." Mr. Gold said simply, his wolfish smile returning once again before he pressed on with what was on his mind. "You actually have nothing I want Dr. Jekyll, and aside from a prescription refill Dr. Faye Stevenson is also of very little use to me." He took a moment to inspect the handle of his cane, seeming bored already with the conversation.

Before Faye even realized what was happening, her consciousness was pushed to the back of the mind and everything around the both of them went pitch black dark except for the light that filtered in from the windows above them. Jekyll, who had been standing away from the windows, was now enshrouded in darkness. 

A familiar voice to Gold spoke up with a animalistic and jovial sneer, "And yet, you clearly want something from [i]me[/i], Imp," The light from the light bulb above them flickered back on to show Evelyn Hyde, standing right where Jekyll had been, with a sadistic grin on her face. 

"Indeed I do." Mr. Gold said dropping the bottom of his cane back onto the floor, done 'examining' the handle it seemed as Evelyn Hyde now had his full attention, the wolfish grin never faltering on his face. "Tell me, Ms. Hyde...ever kill anyone?"

Evelyn Hyde's grin seemed to widen, and answered evilly, "Of course...it's like sex only there's a winner,"

The wolfish grin on the Pawnbroker's face only widened at her response. He twisted his cane around in his grip as an airy chuckle left his throat.

"Then Ms. Hyde, I have a proposition for you..."