Collaboration between Ghost Shadow, Ursa Minor, Yoshiskittlez, and Tanderbolt

The sun had sunk well below the horizon by the time the group reached the refugee camp. Thanks to the combined talents of the armored woman who was able to keep them heading in the right direction and Knox taking to the front of the group as he had the best eyes for the darkness in the destroyed forest, the group was immediately welcomed into the well-hidden area with the small lit torches set up around the base.
Nodding her thanks to the man who towered over her, the armored woman gestured towards the fire pit in the center of the small camp where a large cauldron was sitting up above open flames, a watery stew simmering deep inside; an indication for the group to help themselves.
“The Evil Queen’s curse took everyone from The Enchanted Forest and dropped them into a new land.” The woman said to Snow, confirming what her previous Queen had related to her not too long ago. “Except here.” She went on, sitting down on a log bench before the fire, grateful for the warmth of the fire that contradicted the otherwise chilly atmosphere of the forest. “No one knows why we weren’t affected, but we are all that’s left. But as time goes on, more and more of us go missing. That’s why I was out when I found you, looking for a small scouting party that never returned…” She stopped to clear her throat. "The Ogres are picking us off, one by one..."
After taking it all in, Snow said "Do you know anything about the rest of the area? If the castle is still intact, that would be a good place to defend against the Ogres. If that isn't an option, then the only other good solution is leaving the forest for another realm. There aren't nearly enough people here to wage war on the Ogres."
The woman shook her head no with a somber expression.
"That was the first place we looked. Your castle; all castles in the area, including The Evil Queen's...there's nothing left but ruins. I'm sorry."
"Well, there goes my afternoon naps..." The Cat put in carelessly as he seemed to float aimlessly through the air, disappearing in a wispy smoke before appearing again on the ground, taking a few moments to lick his paws clean before looking up at the armored woman curiously - as if trying to read her.
Sharp sounds came from Knox's hands as he cracked his knuckles, gazing upon the camp fire dully, deep in thought. Back again, like waking from a nightmare in which you couldn't let yourself enjoy and be...'happy'...wide awake, and all you want to do is fall back asleep. Letting out a breath, a portion of his dark aura swirled around in the air like thin smoke when it was met with his warm breath, weak. There was a creeping feeling that it had to do with that...
"It's far too late for anything 'afternoon', at this point." Absently answering to the cat's self commentary, if someone would have told Knox a day ago that he's be journeying alongside a floating cat, he'd have insisted at you see some sort of specialist. Thinking on the nocturnal activity standard for real cats, "As well, you'd feel much too energetic to stay asleep."
"I still want to examine it for myself, there's definitely some things that can be salvaged from it. Are you the one in charge of the camp?" Snow asked, ignoring Henry's quiet jape.
Again the woman shook her head no.
"We have no hierarchy here, with everything that's been going on, there hasn't been any need..." She paused to watch the small, round man getting pushed to his knees before the fire (obviously a prisoner or deserter in their small group) before speaking again. "You might try speaking with Lancelot. He's become somewhat of an unspoken leader around here. If your keen on talking to someone 'in charge' it would be him."
"Lancelot's still here? Glad to hear that he is safe, he's the one who married me and Charming. I'll talk to him, and see if we can't get things a little more orderly around here. What was your name again?"
The armored woman nodded once, and though she kept her face firm there was a flash of what could be hurt from the former Queen's words; that she and the others were incapable of keeping things 'orderly.'
"Hua Mulan." The woman said sounding almost bitter. Had times been different, she wouldn't have taken Snow's words so harshly, but one could never be too careful during these times. "He should be in his tent, I'll see if he's available." She said getting up from the log bench and turned to leave.
XXX
Ending her little dance with a rather clumsy pirouette, Jill stumbled through the last bit of trees before jumping out of the bushes rather conspicuously. A large sack was slung over her shoulder, and there were a number of leaves and clods of dirt stuck on her person.
Passing by the campfire area, she skidded to a halt and back stepped to peer over at the newcomers curiously, blinking a few times before also noticing Mulan taking her leave of the group. In the blink of an eye, “Ay!” Followed by a sharp whistle to catch the armoured lady’s attention, Jill made a swift underhanded toss, the sack hitting the woman’s shoulder. “’Eave wa’—” Half way through, sticking an unwashed pinky into her mouth, “—you can’t eat.” With a little salute, Jill jogged on in there.

There was a noble-looking woman in this group of newcomers, so remembering some of her upbringing, and keeping them in mi—“AH!” Wide eyed, and just straight up pointing at the floating colourful furred cat with no pretences to hide the wonder and fear, “Ith ma’hic?!” Reaching into her leathers, Jill whipped out a thin wooden doll-like amulet with feathers badly stuck on it, holding it out to the weird cat, “Ohr…ah ‘ou a god?!”
The Cat appeared slightly confused at first as a...for lack of a better word, strange woman approached the group, not even bothering to say hello before beginning to ramble about magical cat gods.
Feeling quite pleased with himself for appearing so regal to this stranger, the Cat made a special point to slowly start fading away until he was no more than a literal floating head, eyes, mouth, teeth, and all.
"A god, you ask? Why, that's all a matter of perspective. Tell me, my dear, are you mad?" He asked her nonchalantly, his head spinning around slowly as the rest of his body once again appeared, defying gravity as he levitated at her eye-level.
Gasping at the cat's body disappearing, Jill made the mistake of following the head's spinning motion...making herself dizzy. "Mahd? Wah mahd?" This cat being kind of answered like a regular magicker...but there weren't many of those she could compare 'em to.
"Mad is an occupation, I like to think...no, wait, hold that thought, a state of being, yes. You're mad, most like, I'm mad, we're all mad. It's what makes things fun." The Cat replied with an even wider grin as he rambled on about strange philosophies.
Trying to make sense of this all in her head, there was a minute of internal deliberati--"Wai'...am I a god 'oo?!"
"Not that I'm aware of, and a good fortune that is." The Cat responded to her question in a somewhat insulting manner, stating the mildly veiled jape at her intelligence as though it was commonplace banter.
"Tell me, Mad One, do you have a name? Or perhaps two?" He asked, switching topics lightning-quick onto something more productive.
Subconsciously, Jill covered up her neck a bit more and shifted her knee-high boot clad feet a little uneasily, shaking her head like a small child caught doing something wrong, "Uh uh..." Pausing, hesitantly, she stuck her thumb in her mouth, "I'm just Jill." Saying this slowly, her own wide eyes avoided the cat's.
"Well, hello, 'Just Jill'." The Cat greeted in a friendly manner, spinning his whole body upside down as he spoke.
"You can call me the Cat, for simplicity's sake. However, any strange name longer than three syllables should suffice to garner my attention." He added in a half-hearted tone, his pupils shooting down (or up, from his perspective) to Just Jill's boots, which seemed to hold a lingering residual of magic to them...most curious.
This new stranger made Snow wary, she didn't know her background or trust her character. It was best to be cautious around a person under these circumstances. "Henry, we should focus on the most important matters, like developing a plan. Also, it would be helpful if you filled me on what you know of Storybrooke, I haven't seen much outside of the hospital."
The Cat, apparantly quite irritated that his enigmatic mysterium had been ruined at the drop of his Storybrooke name, turned towards Snow, tilting his head to the side.
"Oh come now, Snow, nothing wrong with a little fun now and then, eh? World's already gone to ruin, nothing left to save. Might as well make the best of it!" He said in a strangely jovial tone, as though the Enchanted Forest's destruction had glossed over him, not compreheding in his mind.
"But if you insist...you wish to learn of Storybrooke? Where do you want to start?" He asked, tone becoming serious in nature as he knew Snow would be in no mood for jokes at this time.
"Start with whatever you think might be useful. We need to find a way to depose Regina and install either Charming or myself, I need to know what stands in our way."
"My dear girl, you know the answer to that question well enough. You have the Evil Queen and the Dark One fighting a cold war for power while us little ants scurry off to do our work. If you wish to truly rule Storybrooke with your...charming husband, you need to get rid of the titans, easier said than done." The Cat replied simply, finally landing himself on the ground and sitting back on his haunches, tail swishing from side to side.
"Well, at least they're against each other now. Should be easier than it was back here in The Enchanted Forest." She stopped talking when she saw Lancelot emerge from the tent, quietly followed by Mulan and a man Snow hadn't seen before with a thick head of black hair and pointed features.
"Snow?" A heavily armored Lancelot approached the group with a white smile, contrasting his dark features brilliantly in the flicker of firelight and extended his arms out in a welcoming embrace.
"Lancelot, great to see you. There's a lot to talk about, ranging from what we should do next to what happened to the rest of the Enchanted Forest." She hugged him, happy to see someone else she could trust.
Lancelot took back a respectable step from Snow and let his arms fall back to his side after their quick embrace, his left hand staying on the hilt of his sword, no doubt a habit engrained into him from one-too-many mishaps.
"Mulan told me briefly of what she has spoken to you about, but I'm afraid what she says is true." He vaguely gestured over to Mulan with his free hand, and though the woman had followed Lancelot out of his tent, she was already busying herself about the camp, ensuring that those left in the camp had what they needed. "This is all that's left of the Kingdom." Lancelot continued. "The Ogres have been merciless, and as their numbers increase, ours dwindle down next to nothing."
"Have hope. Even if this area is lost, I know of place that will be much more accomodating, if I can find a portal back. We could use people like you in the land without magic."
"A portal?" Lancelot scoffed, but then straightened up the very moment he realized that it could have been taken offensively. "I'm sure I don't have to tell you that portals in our land are very few and far between. But I trust you Snow, if there's one out there, we'll find it." He gave a curt nod before looking over to Jill who had been busy emptying the gunnysack of whatever it was that she found into the pot of stew. As the breeze picked up, the smell of it's contents wafted into the air causing many noses to scrunch in repulsion, but it was all they had.
From where Knox stood by the fire, motionless, he listened in quietly to the talk as the warm glow cast over him, seeming to highlight his aura and make it parts more sinister than the reality. It was true about all this chaos, as night he could feel the disturbances of the land now under his domain...but the talk of portals interested him more. The one they travelled through hardly sounded like the first, and wouldn't be the last.
"Help yourself." Lancelot addressed the entire group, gesturing towards the pot over the fire. "It's not much, and not too satesfying, but it will fill your belly. Now if you'll excuse me Your Majesty, I must retreat back into my tent for the night, there is still plenty of work I have to do."
As Lancelot walked away, Snow said "Alright, I look forward to seeing you again in the morning."
"Old friend of yours, then, I take it? I never cared much for soldiers; they like drawing their swords too much." The Cat put in nonchalantly once Lancelot was out of earshot.
"Now, thinkers on the other hand, myself included, they are the true paragons. A tongue is just as deadly as a sword to those who know how to wield it." He added in an affable manner.
Jill turned from mixing her foraged pieces into the soup, and gave the magical cat a funny look, before sticking both index fingers into her mouth to speak in a rather half garbled manner...but much less so than normal, "I know aw la'yee 'hoo could sw'woah swo'wds..." Removing both fingers after a moment of consideration, and replacing it with a thumb, "...two on a good day."
Snow ignored the other woman's intteruption and said "Now that we have a moment, I'd like to say how glad I am to see you again, Henry. How were those years for you? Did you fear for your life?"
"Oh, just the same-old same-old, really." The Cat replied in a genuinely warm tone, veiling the fact of how much he had missed her.
"I escaped death numerous times, made more than a few deals with the Dark One, became human again, then got sent back to Wonderland before going to Storybrooke." He summarized quickly, not bothering to go into the minute details of his various adventures.
She smiled at his cheerful demeanor, but changed her expression when he mention the Dark One. "You made deals with him? What kinds of agreements? I need to know this, these could cause serious problems later." She said with an indignant tone
The Cat's grinned twitch slightly, how could she not let these politics go to simply converse with an old friend?
"Personal deals, nothing I can't handle. They're between Rumpelstiltskin and myself. But as long as I'm here and he isn't...then I guess I don't have much to worry about." He added in a nonchalant manner once again, clearly lacking any sense of fear or worry over any 'favors' the Dark One could ask of him.
"You always have to worry about him. Henry, I have some trust in your judgment, but I find it hard to trust you if you hide things like this from me."
"Snow, it was a deal with him that got me turned into a cat in the first place." The Cat finally confessed in a tone harsher than he intended, finally breaking up the illusion that it was the Queen of Heart's doing as he had told Snow the first time they had met.
"I know you mean well, my dear, I really do..." He began, his tone leveling as he spoke, "But I've been self-sufficient for a long time. You have enough to worry about besides silly old me."
"You're not on your own anymore, and I will worry about you just like I worry about everyone else I care about." Snow replied staunchly.
The Cat (for once) held his tongue, instead letting her words run through his mind. "Thank you..." He said sincerely, if not awkwardly, unsure as to whether it was the right thing to say or not. The only people who he could tell genuinely cared about him were Alice, Snow, Heather, and one more...an associate he hadn't spoken to in months...Jefferson.
The Cat appeared to become puzzled as he recalled the former portal-jumper from memory. Though the Cat was too cold to call Jefferson a real friend, the two of them were close.
'I wonder if he managed to escape this madness...' The Cat thought lastly to himself, becoming lost in his own thinking as concern, real concern, struck him.
"Tomorrow we'll be putting your survival skills to good use, we're going back to my castle. I have some documents I want to retrieve from there, they are very important." Snow said, with a resolute tone in her voice.
"Exploration, eh? I can't wait..." The Cat replied, seeming to come out of his thoughtful reverie as an almost mischievous glint entered his bright blue eyes.

*~*~*Collaboration between YoshiSkittlez, Ghost Shadow, and I*~*~*

The Cat started to slink away after his conversation with Snow, deciding, now that he was in a stable location (for the time being) to get answers out of The White Rabbit...

Teleporting in a small poof of wispy smoke once again, the Cat appeared in front of Leveret at the fire, looking up at him with his leery grin. "Hello, Rabbit." He greeted in a voice that was cheery enough, but laced with venom.

"It's a shame that Ogre didn't disembowel you, but I suppose you still have your uses...tell me - why does the Queen want Alice? And don't leave out a single detail...or I'll break your mind even worse than it is now." The Cat threatened, his grin turning into a sneer for a brief moment as he intended to go through fully on his threat. It wasn't difficult to shatter one's sanity with illusions, even if the person in question already *was* quite insane.

Leveret looked up from his bowl of watery stew with a rather annoyed expression of having been interrupted at mealtime but he set the bowl aside and placed his hands back into his lap, drawing out a long, high-toned sigh.

"My Mistress doesn't confide such things with me I'm afraid." He said, sounding almost upset by that small fact. "She pushed me out of the barrier, said to follow you. Gave me a magic bean she did, and said to return home with the girl." He began to rock back and forth, like an amused child as his tone became lighter. "Leveret did as he was told, he did, and my Mistress will be most pleased, she will." Ending with a giggle, Leverett's dark, beady eyes shot to a small ring placed on his pinky finger, and though his smile faultered, he went back to eating as if the fluffy pink and purple cat had never bothered him.

"Quite right...if that's so, I suppose you wouldn't mind 'confiding' to me what that is on your finger, there?" The Cat asked in a sickly sweet tone as he began to close the space between the two of them.

Leveret paused, wooden spoon stuffed deep inside his mouth as once again, his eyes shot back to the ring on his finger. He swallowed hard and pulled the spoon from his mouth to look back at The Cat. His once, somber expression slowly began to twist into a crooked smile as he put a sausage-like finger to his lips, shushing the air around them before saying, in a rather squeaky, eager voice,

"Magic."

"Tell. Me. More." The Cat ordered, his voice seeming to lower octaves in pitch, becoming huskier, more guttural as his fur changed color, becoming black as ebony, matted in places; his eyes turning from a luminescent blue to as red as blood, his teeth becoming sharp, crooked, yellow. A simple illusion, really, one that only the White Rabbit could see in front of him.

Leveret found himself shrinking back at The Cat's sudden change of appearance; although he had lived most of his life in Wonderland and found such illusions to be on the norm, living in Storybrooke for five years had seemed to take a toll on his sensitivity to such things.

"M-my Mistress..." Leveret stammered, now deciding to fidget with the dirt underneath his fingernails; anything to keep from looking at The Cat before him. "...ties me to her it does, a bond that I can not break nor would I want to. No, no separation. I can feel my Mistress when she allows it I can; pull from her powers I can...when she allows it..."

"A leech, hm? Interesting..." The Cat replied thoughtfully, his appearance slowly but surely turning back to normal, as though a veil was being lifted.

"The question is why she would send a bumbling idiot such as yourself instead of someone more...capable. But I suppose I can ask her soon enough, because I'm getting to Wonderland, and you're going to help me. Am I clear?" The Cat hissed coldly, eyes narrowed dangerously at the White Rabbit.

Leveret seemed to ease up a bit now that The Cat was his usual, fluffy-self and let his eyes do a bit of wandering; no where in particular, just something for him to do.

"Oh dear, my Mistress won't like that at all; not one bit! No, Leveret will find himself in much trouble if he helps The Cheshire any more than he already has."

"Well, then, let's look at your options, my dear fellow. You can either wait for your 'Mistress' (a word he spat with as much venom and condescension as possible) to punish you later *or* I can let my friend over there deal with you now." The Cat threatened, turning his head towards Knox for a moment. He had no idea how violent or agressive the security guard shadow-man-thing would be, but he had high hopes...

Leveret's eyes darted over to where the Shadow Man was standing and felt a dry lump forming in his throat, however before he had time to think on The Cat's offer, the ring on Leveret's finger began to grow warm. His beady eyes looked back to his hands, more specifically to the ring on his pinky and gave The Cat a quick, crooked-toothed grin.

"I'm afraid I can't make our tea date, Cheshire..." Leveret said standing up, suddenly sounding refined and a whole hell of a lot more dignified in his speech than he had ever lent onto before. "...for you see-" His speech was cut off by a giggle worthy of Rumpelstiltskin himself before finishing, "-I'm late."

A small cloud of violet smoke began to accumulate at his ankles, slowly snaking up and around Leveret until he was completely encased by the fog and then, with the blow of the wind, he was gone.

The Cat could only stare at the empty space in front of him with utter disbelief. He had him, he had the White Rabbit in his grasp - only for the slippery bastard to slip out of his grasp, and probably waltz and hop his way back to the Queen.

The Cat, at first, showed little reaction; no visible anger, or rage, or irritation - he simply sat there staring, mouth twitching as he struggled to cope with the sudden loss of an asset.

"Irritating bugger, isn't he?"

A cool and calm, yet very cheeky, voice spoke up behind The Cat. A devilishly handsome man who wore simple blacksmith's attire, was leaning against a tree, and looked at The Cat with a knowing look, as though he had been listening in on the whole conversation. He stood up from the tree and started walking towards the cat as he continued "The fat man's probably gone back to her,"

The Cat slowly looked behind him as a voice, sleek and confident, spoke up. Tilting his head to the side slightly, The Cat took his sweet time replying, instead studying the 'blacksmith' carefully, trying to read him, noting him to be the very same man who had followed Lancelot out from his tent earlier.

"You're quite curious for a blacksmith...haven't you got swords to sharpen?" The Cat asked rudely as he turned around to face the man fully, all the while meeting him with a piercing look.

The Blacksmith raised an eyebrow at The Cat's response, and he answered, "I suppose I do. Plus, talking with cats is quite an absurd activity to partake in anyways,"

He looked as though he was ready to leave, but he paused and he added, "However...I couldn't help but overhear that this...Alice girl, is with her...someone special to you I'd assume, judging from your initial reaction of the fat one's departure..."

"....And I may know how to get to her, but you don't seem to be particularly interested,"

He shrugged as he turned his back on The Cat, and he stated as he started walking away "Oh well. C'est la vie,"

"Wait." The Cat's voice called out, piercing the palpable tension as he silently bid the blacksmith's return.

The Blacksmith stopped and he turned to look at The Cat, with a raised eyebrow.

"Tell me more..." He commanded, obviously interested by the temptation of information.

The Blacksmith wryly smiled at The Cat's command, and teased lightly "Now who's the curious one, eh?"

He chuckled before he continued seriously, "I've heard rumor of a portal that will take one to a world called Wonderland, and it lies within the ruins of Snow White's castle,"

"Funny business, portals....more trouble than they're worth." The Cat added nonchalantly, veiling his own excitement, and fear, of returning to Wonderland - returning home.

"How would one...find this portal, then?" The Cat asked curiously, swishing hs tail from side to side as he continued to stare at the blacksmith with those piercing eyes.

The Blacksmith answered, adding a slight joke about The Cat's appearance into his answer, "It shouldn't be too hard, unless you don't know what a mirror is,"

"For the sake of your dignity, Sir, I'll neglect to reveal my true form to you." The Cat returned dryly, confident that his own attractiveness surpassed that of the blacksmith's.

"Now, funny you should mention a mirror..." The Cat began, switching the subject completely, unsure as to if the blacksmith knew more than he was letting on, or if he simply made a coincidental comparison.

"There are, of course, Looking Glasses, mirrors, that lead into Wonderland. I've only seen a handful before, and I'm not sure if many could survive this....chaos." The Cat finished with a narrowing of the eyes. Why could nothing ever go his way anymore?

The Blacksmith answered "Apparently, according to the rumors, there is one Looking Glass that is well hidden in the ruins. Where exactly, I do not know. That you would have to find out for yourself, mate,"

He then added "Besides, Her Highness seemed eager to go to those ruins from what I've noticed. That may be your best chance, mate,"

"Hm...most useful. I suppose you're going to tell me the price of information, now, yes?" The Cat asked in a somewhat fatigued tone, not even bothering to thank the blacksmith for information. His dealings with people of the sort left a sort of prejudice in his mind - money was the universal deal-pleaser.

The Blacksmith seemed to raise an eyebrow at the Cat's statement, and he asked in a genuinely friendly tone, "Price? Seriously, mate?"

He shook his head and he continued in the same benevolent tone, "You already lost The Fat One. I should think that would count as enough of a price don't you think? Besides, as far as I can tell, you have nothing I want,"

"Hm...quite." The Cat answered, thoughtfully, his tone hinting there was much more on his mind beyond a simple 'quite'.

"You've been most useful to me. You have my deepest thanks." The Cat said in what one could 'call' a gracious manner, though an air of condescension remained prevalent, as though he looked down on the blacksmith like he did everyone else.

The Blacksmith retorted in a sarcastic, yet still good-natured joke, "How humbling, mate," He then turned around and started walking away, and he waved as he walked away, heading back to the camp. He said to The Cat, intentionally nicknaming him with a girlish name, "Best of luck to you...Kitty,"

"Oh, I don't need luck, my friend. My wits have sufficed." The Cat replied under his breath, though made no other attempt to hide his words. He watched the blacksmith walk away keenly, keeping a careful eye until growing bored.

Deciding he would take a few moments to learn the camp's schematics before going to bed, The Cat disappeared in a cloud of smoke, for all intents and purposes, gone from the world.

*~*Collaboration between YoshiSkittlez, Ghost Shadow, Tanderbolt, Guardian Angel Haruki, and Major Ursa*~*

Morning came quickly to those used to the harsh life of the refugee camp, and not so quickly for those who had been spending the last five years in a land without magic coupled with the luxuries of soft beds and warm rooms to sleep in. News of Snow White and the other's appearance traveled quickly around the camp, and by the time the sun had peaked over the mountains everyone within the small refugee camp knew just as much as Lancelot and the others did.

Despite it being the early hours of the morning, the camp was quite busy, filled with the dull, bustling sounds of the campers going back and forth between tents, getting breakfast cooked up, ensuring the traps surrounding the camp were still entact and so on.

Killian, the...blacksmith, headed for Lancelot's tent through the chaos of the morning routine. The man knew how to be discreet whenever he headed for the Knight turned Leader's tent, not many noticed him when he went to that particular tent every morning. On the rare occasion that someone did, he gave the excuse that he was called by Lancelot to temper and sharpen his weapons.

He entered the tent and noticing that Lancelot was dealing with another person who lived in the camp, he 'greeted' Lancelot, "Morning Lancelot. I've got your message in regards to your weapons," The man spoke in code, showing that he wished to speak to him about their plan and, as usual, let the other know that everything had progressed accordingly.

Lancelot looked up from his conversation with the trap specialist, and as far as he was concerned the conversation was over. He waved away the man with a strong hand and waited until he had left the tent entirely before speaking.

"You told them of the mirror?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Indeed I have," Killian replied with a grin, remembering how The Cat was especially interested in the mirror. There was no doubt in his mind that The Cat would tell the others about the mirror...eventually if not right away.

Lancelot nodded his head twice, smiling.

"Then see to it that they get there; safely of course. And make sure Puss goes with you, it would be a fresh reprieve to do without her for a few days."

The two exchanged a knowing look before Lancelot waved Killian away so that he might continue with his work in peace.

Killian's grin widened slightly in knowing, and he answered "Very well," As soon as Lancelot waved Killian away, he turned and walked out of the tent to check in on the others. It was only a matter of time before the previous Queen and her small party would be ready to set out for the ruined castle. All he had to do now was offer his services. He just hoped that Snow White wouldn't rely on her gut feelings just for once and not press him on the matter, and that he would be able to get through to Looney Puss in Boots...not like he would understand a word she said anyway...

Having changed forms sometime during the night in his fight for sleep, Edric watched Killian approach from afar, perched nonchlantly atop a tall tree branch, occasionally taking a bite from a bright green apple he most likely stole from the food stores in the camp. His long legs dangled over the side of the branch as he kept his bright blue eyes on the blacksmith with much curiosity. Though there was no way Killian would recognize him outside of his more...fluffy form, he grinned as widely as he possibly could; showing off all his pearly whites, as if trying to make a subtle connection to himself and The Cat.

His eyes darted downwards as he used his free hand to reach into the pocket of his gaudy blue frock coat, procuring a silver pocket watch and meticulously examining the time, a frown tugging at the corner of his lips. Every second wasted was more time Alice was in the infernal hands of the Queen of Hearts. Nevertheless, he hid his slight anxiousness as best as he could. There was no way he'd let anyone try and manipulate his feelings against him.

Killian walked towards the camp, fully intent on finding Snow White and her cat and other companion. However, his eyes soon caught sight an almost paper thin man sitting in a tree and eating an apple, with a familiar wide grin on his face. He immediately caught on to the subtle connection he made to himself and the furball.

He shook his head looking to the direction in front of him again and he said to the man as he just kept walking, "That's your true form mate? You look like bloody hell,"

Edric, at first, didn't respond to, or even seem to acknowledge Killian after his remark, taking a smart bite of his apple before tossing it to the side, a small thud on the ground signaling its landing.

Dusting off his vest and coat, Edric took more than a moment to fix his flat, unstyled hair before dissipating in a small puff of smoke, appearing a split-second later on the ground in front of Killian.

"Lying doesn't suit you, Blacksmith. If you're jealous, just say so, I really don't mind. I can empathize with you, truly. Only having one good hand to clean yourself with...the results are quite glaring." Edric finished with a visible look of feign pity mixed with slight disgust; as though he was staring at a mangy hound that had been living on the streets for a few months.

Killian glared a bit at Edric and he said sharing the same sarcastic pity, "At least I'm not a bloody cat, and we know how they bathe themselves. Honestly, I pity any woman who would become your lover,"

He shook his head and he asked "I don't suppose you know where Her Highness is, mate?"

Edric kept his expression veiled when Killian brought up the subject of any lovers. He reserved the right to tell him of his various 'encounters' for another time. Moving subjects along with the blacksmith, Edric seemed to ponder for a few moments. "Darling Snow? Probably around here somewhere. I've been biding my time eating apples and spying on the refugees here." He said slyly, obviously enjoying his nighttime activities. "Much to be learned behind closed doors, my friend. It is when people feel secure that they open up most. Remember that." Edric advised lastly in a voice that was strangely serious.

Snow was slightly happy to be back in The Enchanted Forest, even in it's current situation. She had spent years on the run, hiding and living off the land, a week in the modern world hadn't erased what she had learned. When she saw Edric, she rolled her eyes a little. Getting used to seeing him as a human was hard enough, and now he couldn't even decide on his style. She waited a moment before saying "I hope you all slept soundly, because we can't waste much time if we want to get this done before night. Anyone got any questions that you want answered sooner rather than later?"

Edric had a slightly presumptuous look on his face as he looked between Snow and Killian. "Well, I believe I know what we're doing...but I think Sir Handson here needs some insight." He finished, pointing nonchalantly in the blacksmith's direction, his eyes kept on the Queen's.

Killian rolled his eyes at the cat-man and he ignored Edric. He spoke to Snow, politely and addressing her as Queen, "Your Highness. My name is Killian Jones. I would like to offer you my assistance. There is no doubt in my mind, that Lancelot will protest to you leaving. Especially considering the ogres. But he wouldn't protest, so long as I travel with you. Will you allow me to travel with you?"

At the offer, Edric visibly scoffed rudely, but otherwise remained silent, awaiting the word of his friend.

She didn't recognize Killian, or know any details about him. "Well, I trust Lancelot's judgment, though I would like to verify before leaving. Henry, I think you could show some more kindness to this man, he's volunteerd to help us. A man who has lost his hand and still lives on isn't likely to make a rash decisions. He knows the risks he is taking, and he still wants to help, not many would do the same."

Running the whetstone (heh, weird name for the useful thing) along her blade, and sharpening all the same, Jill’s eyes strayed to the haphazard pile of blades and such she had spent the early morning sharpening. There was even a pail of spoons that the people of the camp had salvaged, each sharpened to a deadly point, just on a mere whim. Releasing out a breath as she raised her blade to the candle light, very much satisfied with how razor sharp it had become, she finally heard the sound of metal hitting metal. The sound rung out loudly in the dark tent. Perking up, she turned to see the candle with one less nail stuck into the side. It was time.

Sheathing her blade, Jill sprung up onto her boot clad feet, rubbing a dirt scuff on the side of the left one. With a hand reached over to the candle, she pinched the light out, and proceeded to lift the blanket and tent flaps she had used to keep her space dark. The sun was out, but her tent was amongst a cluster of trees, and together she wasn’t struck blind by the light nor even uncomfortable.

Practically skipping through the camp, Jill caught sight of Killianananae, strangers and co. Grin growing on her face, she rushing over to the front of ‘em all and gave them all a playful salute each, crossing her arms over her chest and alternating an expectant stare at each of their face.

Killian looked to Jill when she suddenly came up to them, and gave them a salute before just crossing her arms and looking at them expectantly. He really didn't want Jill to join, but it was necessary. He said to Snow and Edric, "Apparently Jill wants to travel with us as well," He then said to Snow, "You'll have to forgive Jill...but she may not take no for an answer, knowing her,"

"I, for one, believe she should follow!" Edric cut in abruptly, grinning widely. "Every cat-god needs a priest." He added with a curt nod to emphasize.

"If she won't cause any trouble, Jill can come along. We will watch her closely, but it is better to have her where we can watch her than sneaking along behind us. I feel like we should leave fairly soon, before we get even more companions." Snow said, still not entirely trusting either the new members of the party.

"Very well then, gentle people...let's find that castle." Edric said in an almost darkly resolved tone, flashing an unsettling grin before quickly shifting back into cat form and slinking away from the refugee camp towards the dour woods, taking a swift moment to look behind him towards his companions before disappearing into the dark foliage.

"G'aw? Wahh?" There was look of utter disappointment on Jill's face when the man turned into a cat, which pretty much destroyed her idea of him being a god. Gods didn't shapeshift and stuff, that was the trait of a trained magicker, which she wasn't all that partial to.

Killian watched Edric just strut into the forest in his cat form, and he looked to Snow and Jill, and he said politely, gesturing for them to go before him, and he said politely and suavely, "My ladies,"

Killian didn't follow, until Jill and Snow were in front of him.

It was only a few minutes of walking into the forest when the light of the sun seemed more dim than before. Soundlessly, Knox peered down at them from where he stood in the shade of a tall leafy tree's branches. Stepping back, and rising out of Killian's shadow, the darkness of his aura swirled thicker than the previous day's, like a heavy smoke. "From what I remembered of what was discussed the night before, I don't believe I need to ask where you're all headed."

And in a blink, Knox was gone again, this time now stepping out of a tree's shadow a few paces away from The Cheshire Cat. With his presence making the area much darker, light like the sun was about to set all over again...casting a glance back at the group, the shadow man point at Henry, smirking a little at their new trouble his presence was indeed causing, "Follow that cat, he has the most effective eyes out of all of you."

Snow walked along behind Henry but ahead of Killian. It made her nervous that the stranger was hanging back, but there wasn't much she could do about now. She said "I'm not sure he has the most effective brain behind those eyes, who knows what the years have done. But even if he has lost a step, we've all got to stick with him, especially out here." Some of Henry's recent decisions had made her nervous, but he was still a good friend. With a curt nod to the shade, she left it at that and quickened her pace, eager to return back home; whatever remained of it at least.

Collaboration between YoshiSkittlez, Ghost Shadow, Guardian Angel Haruki and Tanderbolt

The Enchanted Forest:

The journey from the refugee camp to Snow's castle was rather uneventful, aside from the wide shadow that Knox Kowalski - apparently more than a sexually-frustrated security guard - was casting over the entire group. Edric's cat form, however, proved efficient enough in guiding the small team through the false dusk.

Though not without conversation, The Cat kept himself quiet and focused for the majority of the journey, as the thoughts of returning to his 'home' (one of several) made him slightly tense. He thought of himself and Snow, how the two of them seemed to have drifted apart since they last saw each other. He was no longer the vulnerable cat, resigned to his fate, and she was no longer the young girl who wished to know the why of things. Though he never spoke these thoughts aloud, he would occasionally look back at her specifically before facing forward once more.

Killian followed behind Snow and he had noticed that the area around them had grown darker ever since that other bloke, the one who told them to follow The Cat, joined them on their journey to the castle. Figuring that there was nothing better to do, he decided to strike up a conversation just to kill time while they walked along. However, he decided not to bring up the shadowy man, because he would rather not have some shadow spike pierce through The Fat Man's foot....at least, not out loud.

He looked to Snow and he asked quietly, "My Lady...who is that man in front? A friend of yours?"

Several years in the hospital had weakened Snow a little, but thankfully the magical coma wasn't as deabilitating as a normal one. She still had the stamina to keep up with the rest of the group on their long journey. She didn't say much to the new companions, only answering when they asked a direct question just as their newest companion just had.

"His name is Knox, and we're not exactly friends. I only met him recently, and he spent the better part of two weeks trying to convince me I was married to him. We just happened to wind up in the forest together, I doubt I'll be spending much time with him when we return home."

Killian raised an eyebrow at Snow's answer and he muttered in a mixture between shock and skepticism, "Really? Didn't he know that you're already married?" For everyone in the Enchanted Forest, it was common knowledge that Snow White was married to Prince Charming. The fact that somoene tried to woo Snow despite that somewhat surprised Killian, and it seemed hard to believe.

Snow ran her fingers through her hair. There was a lot left to explain. "I was in a coma for about five years, but from what I understand everyone's memory got messed up when we left the forest. I think Regina might've been the only one who knew anything, everyone else just acted like they lived there for their whole lives. That new world is a strange place, and I haven't seen beyond the borders of a fraction of it."

Killian commented in reply "Well...that makes much more sense--"

"Have you lived in the forest for a while? I can't remember ever hearing of a man with a hook for a hand, you'd expect that word would get around." Snow said, wanting to know more about Killian.

Killian blinked at her questions, caught off guard by the fact that Snow was interested in learning a bit more about him. He answered Snow, "I have been in The Enchanted Forest for a while. But I was not born here, nor did I lose my hand here. I was a traveller before meeting Lancelot and the others,"

"Did you get here after the curse struck? I haven't seen Lancelot in a while, so I don't know what he's been up to. Is there anyone else you know well?" Snow asked, probing and trying to determine his true loyalty. She trusted her own judgment, and would not trust a stranger without first trying to discern his character.

"I did get here after the curse hit. Unfortunately, other than Lancelot and anyone else in the camp, I don't know anyone else very well," Killian answered Snow's questions. He was quite honest with the Queen, excluding 'Lancelot's' true identity.

His answer didn't say anything that worried her, but it was light on the details. Snow decided to ask one more question. "What did you do for a living before the ogres came? Do you have any noteworthy skills or achievements?"

"I was a blacksmith before the ogres came, and I still am today. Though I do have a bit of sailing knowledge from my travels," Killian answered with ease.

"Did you lose your hand in a blacksmithing accident? I imagine that would make it harder to work."

Killian paused for a moment, before he answered "Aye, I did. Really, the hook makes blacksmithing easier,"
He didn't really like talking about his hand and about the 'crocodile' that took his hand from him in the first place. But he didn't make any sign of it. He instead acted like he normally did, and kept on walking with Snow.

Snow didn't know much about blacksmithing, but she never saw a successful smith missing a hand. She said "Was it your fault? I'm glad it hasn't diminished your skills."

Killian shook his head, keeping his rage at bay, and he answered calmly "No. No, it wasn't anyone's fault,"

"Mistake your hand for a meat slab, then?" The Cat put in suddenly, obviously making light of Killian's situation with insulting humor. Not waiting for the blacksmith to respond, The Cat continued,

"I apologize for my bluntness," he began, lacking sincerity, "but it is the only conceivable thought I could think up if you somehow excised your own hand there, friend." The Cat finished, looking behind him to flash a grin at Killian before looking out in front of him once again.

Killian shot The Cat a glare at the insult, his rage just bubbling and making his blood boil. He sneered "There are other ways of accidentally cutting off a hand, other than simply mistaking it for a simple piece of meat," His glare clearly held the warning that he would make The Cat lose a paw in the same manner if he continued.

"Well, please enlighten me." The Cat said under his breath. He could tell this was a sensitive subject to Killian, and knew that pushing anymore on it could incur the man's wrath. Not that he was worried, as having Killian chase him would be like chasing a ghost. Nevertheless, there were more important matters at hand than bickering with the man.

"I nearly lost my head if it makes you feel any better." The Cat then replied in a louder tone, aparantly switching tactics from goading Killian to attempting to lower the tension. There'd be time for insults later.

Killian lightly scoffed at The Cat's comment, feeling a bit better from the thought, even though he knew exactly who would most likely try and do that. "Why does that not surprise me in the least?" He spoke out loud in slight sarcasm, but in a tone that showed that he was in a better mood then he was when The Cat insulted him.

"My humor is wasted on bureaucrats and sycophants, it seems. They gain more amusement from tax refunds and boring speeches over unsweetened tea. So, after deciding the court was quite dry, I figured getting myself executed would be fun. Rather, escaping execution just as the axe came down would be fun." The Cat finished in an affable tone, his tail sticking straight up as he retold a...somewhat-biased tale of his stint in the Queen of Heart's castle.

Killian raised an eyebrow at The Cat with a skeptical look. He didn't say anything in response to The Cat. He had no idea what happened between him and Cora, but he wasn't going to comment anything about it. Besides, he could tell that The Cat was over-compensating, like a drunken pirate.

"What's the matter, blacksmith? Cat got your tongue?" The Cat asked with a small snicker, apparently quite pleased with himself at the pun. "I do enjoy a good conversation now and again, especially given the nature of our journey. Have my tales of woe and wonder left you speechless?" He asked, looking behind him to catch a glance at Killian for any visible reaction/expression.

Killian merely rolled his eyes at The Cat and he answered "No. In fact, anyone can just simply conjure up a tale like that. I think your tale is just smoke and mirrors,"

"My dear blacksmith...if I were deceiving you, you would not know it." The Cat put in a suddenly serious tone, looking back behind him for longer than a moment as he let the words sink in.

"Wonderland is my home. The Queen's castle was also my home, for a time; though not a very good one at that. My sister and I were....separated from each other there. Events were not in my control as I would have liked. Rather, they were controlled by another - One greater than the Queen. My past is riddled with conjecture and hyperboles, but it is true all the same. Perhaps I'll prove it to you once we make it to Wonderland." The Cat finished the last sentence in a hushed whisper, his tone solemn as to not be overheard by others.

Killian was silent as The Cat spoke about his past. Hearing the story made him think about Milah and how he had lost her. He could easily guess that the Crocodile had something to do with The Cat's time in Wonderland, but he didn't speak his thoughts. He answered quietly in response to The Cat's whisper "Maybe you will...Who knows," He merely shrugged and continued walking.

After this conversation, The Cat kept silent, a rather pensive state coming over him as he became lost in old memories. For the longest time he simply blocked them out, keep the pain locked away. But that was no longer an option.

Sometime during the walk, The Cat believed that levitating was more ideal than walking, and floated aimlessly alongside the group, still keeping in front due to the still darkness that The Night was casting.

Finally breaking the silence, The Cat spoke to the group as a whole, "Any chance we could stop to eat? I'm due for a good meal and would like to collect." He finished casually, stopping in mid-air to stare at the party.

While they were speaking, Snow had been surveying their surrounding and figuring out their distance. She said "We can eat when we get there. It won't be long, if you two can stop arguing and keep up a good pace. We'll have to stick together if we want to do this before nightfall, especially on the return trip."

"No need to be fussy, Snow, just a question." The Cat returned in an almost casual manner. Had the times really changed her so much? Or had they changed him...?

"On the bright side, it will be quite interesting to see the castle again. All the more nooks and crannies for me to find. Maybe I can actually have a nice nap, who knows." He put with a small rolling of his shoulders, signifying a shrug.

True to Snow's word, just as they reached the peak of a particularly steep hill, Snow's castle could be seen in the distance. The curse had taken quite the toll on the structure, as it merely looked like a pile of rocks from where they stood, bringing a tear to the eyes of those who knew the castle in all it's splendor. It was there, and yet it might as well had not been. Mulan had been right, it seemed the entirety of The Enchanted Forest had been destroyed in the wake of Regina's curse, and whatever had been left had been utterly destroyed by Ogres. It would take a few hours yet to reach the ruins, but it at least lit the fire of hope in the weary travellers' chests upon finally being able to see their destination after so many hours of nothing but ruined terrain. Perhaps it was possible to salvage some sort of shelter from the wreckage to keep them safe from the extremities of the night.

Seeing what remained of the castle for what it was, The Cat could only stare at the pile of rubble for a few moments, wordlessly shifting back into human form as he did so, not even spending the time to fix his hair or adjust his cravat as he usually did upon reverting.

"Well...there it is." Edric said quietly, his voice lacking the cheery disposition it usually did, replaced by pained nostalgia.

Snow pulled Henry aside, he was the only one she could trust completely. She said to him "There's a reason I came here. I need to find a letter from before the curse hit, it has some very important information inside. It should still be sealed, keep an eye out for it."

Interrupted from his thoughtful reverie as Snow pulled him aside, Edric looked confused for a few moments as he switched gears, trying to gauge what Snow was talking about.

"A letter you say? Are you sure it survived this carnage? If brick and stone can't, I don't see how parchment can." Edric questioned, though not rudely, sincere skepticism in his tone.

"I'm not certain, but I'd be really surprised if it was destroyed. It would take a lot of effort to get rid of it, and I doubt any of the Ogres were interested in it." She was hiding something from him, but she hoped he wouldn't realize.

"Lot of effort for a letter?" Edric repeated, narrowing his eyes slightly. However, before she could answer he let out a heavy sigh before speaking again. "Do you have any clue where it was before the Curse hit? It looks like most of the wings are badly damaged, if not destroyed...there's a chance your precious letter might be buried under stories tall of rubble." Edric finished, placing both hands in his coat pockets, looking to his side to stare at the ruins once again.

"That's what I'm worried about. I left it in the bedroom, and from what I can see the walls and roof of that portion still stand. I'll help you look when we get there, and it's a natural place to go for shelter, that'll be our excuse for going there." Snow said, trying hint that it was a good idea to hide this from the others.

"As you wish." Edric replied simply, daring to offer a small corner smile towards his young friend. "How long do you anticipate until we'll be there? I think it's starting to get dark even without our umbra over there." He finished, motioning over to where Knox was (possibly) standing.

"We can make it before nightfall, don't worry. I suggest you keep your human form if you want to keep up, we'll have to be a little quicker for this last stretch." Snow said, with confidence in her voice.

"Can do, Your Highness." Edric replied, smiling widely. It would still be a few miles before they finally made it to the castle, but at least they could see it.

Though he shared Snow's confidence, it was for different reasons. She was excited to find this strange...letter (a matter he would have to ponder on more), but his entire focus was on the portal alone. He had to get his sister back, no matter what the cost...even if it meant making the journey alone.

Collaboration between Guardian Angel Haruki and YoshiSkittlez

---

"Again papa! Again!"

A pair of little arms wrapped around his neck, giving cause for the Spinner to chuckle as he was practically forced back down onto his knees at the small child's bedside. His hand moved to remove the tiny hands clasped around him and went to work to try to ease the child into laying back down in her bed.

"Alright, alright Bae. But just once more. You need your sleep if you're to grow into a beautiful woman like your mother."

He could hear a quiet scoff at his back from a woman sitting at the table in the middle of the modest hut, busy mending up a pair of trousers but otherwise uninterested in her husband putting their child to bed.

Ignoring the noise, the Spinner took both of the child's hands in one of his, holding them together across the child's stomach while his opposite hand rested on her forehead, stroking small strands of curly brown hair that somehow always seemed to get in the way of her bright brown eyes; his eyes. He began to hum a tune, a soothing lullaby the child had grown so insistent on being sung every night before she could sleep and only when the child had closed her eyes, on the verge of awake and asleep did he put words to his song.

"Sleep my Baby,
Rest my loved one
Softly slumber
Now with me

Clasped in Papa's
Arms so tender
Warm in Papa's
Love for thee-"

"Pretend all you like, but you will never be a father!"

The scene around him began to melt, like frost on a glass window on a sunny day, until the Spinner found himself shrouded in nothing but darkness, isolated to everything that was once around him, every comfort he ever had gone like an illusion. The words of his wife bounced off the invisible walls that slowly began to close in on him, rendering it impossible to escape.

"BAE!" The Spinner cried out, staggering to his feet and bracing his hands on the walls closing in around him. His own voice echoed in the darkness, replacing the haunting echo of the words of his wife though it was no better. The child never responded, all he heard back was the pitiful cry of a coward that fell upon deaf ears.

"YOU CAN'T TAKE HER FROM ME! I WILL FIND HER!" The Spinner began pounding his fists on the invisible walls that had him now trapped but he kept at it, screaming out though he knew no one could hear him until finally the wall broke and a fracture of white light poured into his confined cage.

"-if she's to have the shame of being your daughter!" His wife's voice slipped in through the crack causing the Spinner to howl in frustration. He continued to chip away at the wall until it began to crumble at his feet where he simply stepped into the new room available to him and looked around.

The Spinner brought up his arm to shield his eyes from the bright light but they quickly adjusted to see that he was now at sea, lined up with half a dozen or so men who didn't seem at all alarmed by his sudden presence. Instead, the men looked straight ahead intently, clearly focused on something he couldn't see.

He willed his legs to move as he stared at the blank expressions on the sailors faces, each seeming like a statue as they paid him no heed and just looked onward. Confused, the Spinner turned his attention in the opposite direction and was forced a couple steps backwards out of surprise as a familiar face smiled back at him. Unlike the sailors, this man who had not been there just seconds before was aware of the Spinner and held out his hand to him.

Confused, the Spinner examined the man's closed fist and upon the sailor opening his hands finger by finger, the Spinner realized that he had been holding onto a human heart.

"W-what is that?" The Spinner asked the man feeling an overwhelming sense of sickness take over his insides.

"Something you don't have mate." The sailor responded, offering the heart in his hand to the spinner. "Go on, take it. She won't love you unless you do."

The Spinner, under some sort of unexplained understanding, took the heart from the sailor and felt it's feeble pulses as he held it in both hands.

"Milah..." The Spinner whispered quietly to himself, looking upon the bright red organ with reverent awe.

"Because I never loved you." Milah's voice entered his ears for a third time, however this time, as the Spinner looked up, he saw that his wife was standing before him now with her arm in the sailor's- no, pirate's.

"No! No I can't!" The Spinner cried out, feeling the heart growing suddenly hot in his hand. "You took Bae! You kept her from me!" He shouted at the woman, unsure of how much longer he could hold the heart in his hands without burning a hole through his hands. Gritting his teeth, the Spinner looked down at the heart in his hands and watched as the organ began to crush itself into dust; he hadn't even had to squeeze. He looked back up at the pirate and his wife in horror, as there was nothing he could to do stop it but Milah remained completely calm.

"You did this!" Was all she said, and the pirate looked upon the Spinner with narrowing black eyes.

"I don't understand!" The Spinner whimpered, his eyes going back and forth between the disintegrating heart and his wife's eyes.

"THIS WAS YOUR FAULT!" Milah shouted before she and the pirate suddenly became transparent; like ghosts only to vanish completely. Where their feet had been, a pile of white rags lay bundling up something small.

"Papa!"

The Spinners eyes darted around the ship. The statuesque sailors remained, but the voice he knew as his child could not be placed until his attention went back to the white rags where his wife had once stood. Hesitatingly, the Spinner approached the bundled up pile and pulled away a few of the strips and shouted out in surprise as a face was uncovered.

The Spinner jumped back in horror, dropping the dust that had once been a heart from his hands and dusted them off on his trousers, trying to cleanse himself of this evil. When nothing happened, the Spinner gathered up his courage and approached the bundle once more, resorting to putting himself back on his knees as he stared upon the pale face of a child.

"Papa!" The child called again, weaker this time. Her brown eyes wide as she looked upon her father's face in horror and attempted to reach a hand out to him. Meeting her halfway, the Spinner attempted to hold the child's hand in his own, but instead the child moved her hand and was now pointing a finger at him accusingly.

"You...never...loved me..." The words died on the child's lips as the body went limp. The dust the Spinner had dropped onto the deck of the ship picked up in a gust of wind and circled around him as he held the child in his lap, tears splashing onto the white sheet of skin that was his daughter's face.

"There was nothing I could do!" He sobbed out to no one as he rocked the child in his lap. "I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry Bae!"

The Spinner forced his eyes shut, though the haunting memory remained of the last image he saw; the dead eyes staring back at him from under the bundled rags. They were his eyes, the eyes of his child; his Baelfire.

"BAE!"

Mr. Gold shot upright immediately, a light sheen of sweat coating his skin and making the collar of his silk pajama shirt ungodly hot and uncomfortable. His heart hammered against his chest, an annoying reminder of just how alive he really was at that moment when all he wanted was to be dead. At least then he would be at peace. He looked around the bedroom, disoriented for a moment as he had no idea where he was, causing his chest to heave dangerously in a frenzied panic.

Belle woke up to the sudden shout, and she sat up as well, looking at Rumpelstiltskin in concern. She asked him, becoming alert and not allowing sleep to try and drag her back into her slumber.

"Rumpel? Rumpel, what's wrong?" She could see that Rumpelstiltskin was covered in a thin layer of sweat, and that he was breathing heavily and rapidly. When she caught on to the fact that he may be confused and scared, she held his hand gently and tried to look him in the eyes, thinking that reminding him of her presence may calm him down.

Alerted by the sudden touch, Mr. Gold ripped his hand away from Belle without even so much as looking at her. The confusion he held in his mind had passed, he knew where he was now and why, but that didn't shake away the vivid images that had been haunting his dreams for centuries now.

Unable to withhold the pain in his chest a second longer he covered his eyes with one of his hands, hiding the hot, blinding tears that streamed from them and tugged at his scalp with his other hand but before Belle had a chance to do anything, he pushed himself up from the bed, stumbling quickly as his leg nearly gave out on him on the first step but managed to catch himself with his hands on the dresser before him, although half the items on the dresser's surface had ended up on the floor next to his feet. He didn't care though as he grasped his hand out blindly for his cane once he had regained his balance and quickly crossed the room to his closet, grabbing the first suit he could get his hands on and ripped it down from the hanger.

Belle was surprised when he just suddenly ripped his hand out of hers. She watched him get up and stumble over to his closet for his cane and suit. She looked at the alarm clock to see that it was three in the morning and she stood up from the bed, never minding the cold she felt despite the blue dress shirt Rumpelstiltskin had lent her to sleep in.

She walked over to Rumpelstiltskin and she said to him,

"Rumpel...it's still late...What's wrong?"

"Go back to bed Belle." He answered right away in a quiet growl, exchanging the silk pajama button-up shirt with a white wife-beater and black button-up dress shirt over the top of it (not bothering with the buttons) and making quick work of changing out of the silk pajama bottoms and into his black dress slacks.

Belle walked over to Rumpelstiltskin and she reminded him again,

"It's three in the morning," She then pleaded to him in worry, "Rumpel... please tell me what's wrong." She really wanted to help him, but how could she when he wouldn't even tell her what was bothering him?

He grabbed his vest and jacket, bunching them together and throwing the tie somewhere into the jumble before slipping on his dress shoes. He shook his head at Belle, keeping his eyes off of her as he grabbed his cellphone from the nightstand and pocketed it, intent on just ignoring her until he had everything he needed to leave.

On nights like these he would usually spend the remaining hours walking about the house or getting in a couple drinks before it was time to open up the shop for the day, but now that he was sharing his bed...his home with Belle, that was no longer an option. Already embarrassed for having woken her up with his sudden outburst, the last thing he wanted to do was explain the events of the one thousand or so years of his life leading up to that day; his reasoning behind everything he ever did. She wouldn't understand, she couldn't.

One day she would wake up and realize just what sort of monster he really was and leave him for good, but he'd be damned if it was by his own hand. He was a selfish man, this he knew for certain, because he would hold onto Belle for as long as he could before the truth was given to her, it wasn't his fault if she chose not to see it, and he certainly wouldn't guide her to it; he had tried that already.

Belle noticed how he just shook his head at her, as if to say that he didn't want to talk about what had happened. She took a step towards him and she asked,

"Rumpel...? Please..."

He turned in the blink of an eye, his free hand gripping onto her upper arm tightly as his cold eyes bore down into hers with a snarl curling on his upper lip. However, as soon as he realized just how tightly his hold on Belle was, he let go of her immediately and took a step back, the anger in his eyes flooding instead with regret.

"Just go back to sleep...please!" He pleaded with his eyes, glancing down at her arm where he was sure the skin was reddening underneath the sleeve of his shirt but the apology got stuck in his throat. Instead, he just shook his head, made sure he had everything to dress himself properly later and hurried out of the room without another word.

Belle winced as he gripped her upper arm tightly and she saw him sneer at her with anger, which caused Belle to feel a little bit of fear. Thankfully that anger seemed to leave as quickly as it came, and she looked at him with concern once again. She could only watched as he gathered his things and left the room. She knitted her brows together in concern as she stood alone. Well, she certainly couldn't go back to sleep now. She changed into her clothes that she wore the day before, and she walked downstairs, wondering if she was going to find Rumpelstiltskin there. And if not...she thought to check the basement again.

As she had thought, Rumpelstiltskin was not downstairs, and she immediately headed outside to check through the basement window again. She never minded the cold night air as she looked into the lab and watched him turn straw into gold. What was he up to? Belle couldn't help but wonder. When he wanted to forget something, he usually just turned the wheel, that she knew. But turning straw into golden thread...she had a sinking feeling that he was going to use magic for his own gain, once again.

Dressed more the part of the pawnbroker, the buttons of his shirt done up coupled with the vest and suit jacket now adorned, Mr. Gold sat at the spinning wheel in the basement illuminated by a single light bulb this time, as the candle had burnt out hours ago. Reaching over to a small table, he picked up a pair of scissors and snipped a strand of gold about four inches in length before moving to stand and approach a small alchemy stand where a liquid in a large glass bowl was already bubbling. He dropped the golden thread inside and watched the liquid simmer down almost immediately, shimmering in a magical, purple glow.

Belle quietly watched as Mr. Gold dropped the strand into some kind of liquid that now glowed purple. She swallowed thickly as she came to realize that her sinking feeling had been confirmed. She braced herself mentally for a moment, before walking into the basement once again. She asked as she walked down the stairs slowly,

"Rumpel?"

Keeping his back to Belle, Mr. Gold sighed outwardly. He really needed a better place to do his business. He said nothing though as she continued down the stairs.

Belle heard his sigh, and she walked closer to him, wary of the magic...liquid, he was dealing with. An awkward silence and a heavy atmosphere hung above the both of them.

"Go back to bed Belle." Mr. Gold said finally breaking the silence, his tone warning and body unmoving, keeping his back to her still as he hunkered over the alchemy table.

Belle protested quietly,

"Rumpel...I can't. I'm really worried." She then asked him, "Why won't you tell me what's wrong?"

"Because this doesn't concern you!" He shouted, whirling around to face her quickly, eyes wild in a quick rage. However as quickly as it came, it soon passed as he forced his body to relax once he was able to fully take in Belle's reaction.

Belle jumped in shock when he suddenly shouted at her, and she couldn't help but take a couple of steps back in reaction. She could see the anger in his eyes for a brief moment before it disappeared. She was speechless for a few moments, before she knitted her eyebrows in stubbornness, and she pressed firmly,

"This most certainly concerns me if you're this distressed!"

"I'm not distressed." He replied blatantly, shifting his attention back to his cane resting against the table and took it in hand, intending to just walk away from the situation.

"You clearly are." She retorted as she watched him take his cane into his hand. She quickly thought about what may be the cause of his distress, until a good idea came to her.

His teeth grit at her blatant response, ready to lash out but stopped when she talked again. She asked in a whisper, as though she had an epiphany,

"This...This is about your family...isn't it...?"

His brows released from their furrowed position, his face letting up gradually until all that was left was the face of a broken man. He kept a tight hold on his cane, as if it provided some sort of comfort and let his eyes fall to his hands, unable to look back into hers any longer.

"Baelfire is her name." He began, counting on Belle's memory of their broken conversations on the particular topic back at The Dark Castle to fill in the blanks. "After she was taken, I dedicated myself to finding her. I went down many, many paths until I found a curse that could take me to the land where she'd been lost."

Belle listened to Rumpelstiltskin as he told her about about Baelfire and that she was the reason that he made sure that the curse was enacted. She looked at Rumpelstiltskin with empathy and said quietly,

"I see..."

"I found myself in this little town with only one thing left to do. Wait for the curse to be broken so that I could leave and find her."

Belle then looked to the concoction he was working on, and she asked,

"And that...is going to help you find Baelfire?" As of now, she sincerely hoped that he would be able to find his daughter.

He sighed once more as the topic of his magic was brought up. He knew how she felt about it, but he had done it anyway.

"Magic has become a crutch that I can't walk without. And even if I could, I know now I can never leave this place." He started to explain. "All magic comes with a price, and the price for bringing magic here, to a land without magic... I can not cross the town line. If I do, I lose the people I love, forget who I am...so when I do finally find her, I won't know her." He paused, lessening his grip on his cane enough to pull away one hand and rest it on the top of hers.

"Belle, I have to break this new curse. That's why I've turned to magic once more. I have lost so much that I loved. I didn't wanna lose you too."

Belle listened to his explanation and she answered him, "You won't lose me, Rumpel." She was now intent on helping Rumpelstiltskin as much as she can, when it comes to finding his daughter. Hopefully, with her help, he may not need magic as much.

He sighed despite her words. She may have believed them to be true, but he knew better. He raised his hand to her cheek, brushing away a lose strand of her brown hair and tucked it behind her ear for her before resting his hand back on the other holding tightly to the head of his cane.

"Now..." He began, shifting the tone in his voice not wanting to have that conversation with her again. That would only get them nowhere very fast. "back to bed then, hmm?"

Belle nodded and answered him, knowing just as well as he did that continuing the conversation wasn't going to get them anywhere, "Alright. Good night, Rumpel..." She gave him a look that silently told him not to stay up too late either. She then started to leave the basement.

Mr. Gold remained unmoving as he watched her go, silently thanking whatever gods were out there that she hadn't pressed the matter, and hadn't asked him to come back to bed with her. A foul taste was left in his mouth however as he attempted to get back to work, keeping his mind far from where it needed to be. With a silent snarl, he fished his cell phone out of his pocket and throwing the fact that it was four in the morning out of his mind, made a quick phone call.

Within Faye's house, the good doctor herself had turned her basement into a lab and she had done work on the soil samples she had gathered earlier that day. After hours of work, the fruit of her labor was in a single test tube. This particular test tube held a shining bright green liquid, the same color of the portal she had seen earlier.
She knew that she had extracted the purines, phytohaemagglutinin, and other chemicals commonly found in beans from the soil samples, but there was something else in there that made the compound shine a bright green light. What it was, she had no idea. It was something, but what was it?! She grew frustrated and knew that she needed magic.

As of now, she had lied her head and arms on the lab table, careful to not spill any chemicals, and she was fast asleep. She moved slightly as she dealt with a nightmare, a nightmare of a room lit in flames...until the ringtone of her cell phone rang. She groaned waking up and she looked at the number on her cell. Knowing who the number belonged to, she groaned and she answered the man on the other side groggily,

"...You do realize what time it is, right?"

"I have a request, Dr. Jekyll." Mr. Gold's voice sounded on the other side of the line, just as awake and alert as if it were the middle of the afternoon.

Faye raised an eyebrow at his statement, and she asked him as she tried to banish the grogginess so that she could think clearly (Goodness knows that she's going to need her intellect when dealing with him).

"What is it?"

"Belle is in need of some new clothes, and seeing as I'm going to be busy throughout the day working on one of your problems, I'd find it fitting that you would be the one to take her out so that I may continue to work." He wasted no time of getting to the point, and he wasted even less time pointing out just why it would be in Heather's best interest to listen to his request.

"After she has what she needs, you may use my basement and see if we can't find a resolution to this little problem you have, hmm?"

Faye lifted her head up at what he wanted, but even more so when he mentioned what Heather would get in return for helping him. It was certainly better then being asked to kill the mayor...and knowing who Belle was, she was sure that there would be nothing wrong with helping her.

"Very well. That's a deal, Rumpelstiltskin. I'll come by in four hours."

Without a tone of surprise in her acceptance, Mr. Gold replied,

"I see to it that she's ready." before hanging up his end rather abruptly.

Faye closed the flip phone and after placing it on the table, she ran her hands through her hair and sighed. Henry wasn't here...She actually missed his smile and his cheer, his wit and intelligence, and the optimism and hope that lived despite the horrible things that happened to him. She felt lonely, guilty, and, dare she even think it, empty?
She was also worried. Was Henry ok? Was he even still alive?! She had no idea and that frustrated her to no end!

She soon shook her head and she realized who she was. She was a scientist! There was no time for her to get sentimental and upset over mistakes! She looked at the shining green liquid in the test tube and remembered her findings. If she could gather that from the soil, then she could help Henry! But letting herself get depressed wasn't going to help.

As soon as she stood up, she felt a stinging pain as the sleeve of her shirt rubbed against her skin. She hissed in pain and she rolled up her sleeve to see that she had a burn on her arm...just like the burn she received in her nightmare. She shook her head in disbelief and she headed out of the room, intent on treating her burn with a cream before getting ready for the day.

XXX

A series of curses that came from the pawnbroker's lips went unheard as the smoke alarm blared into the air. Dropping the frying pan back onto the stove, Mr. Gold pushed himself through the thick smoke filling the kitchen to attempt to disassemble the infernal detector from the wall entirely. As soon as the machine was nothing more than a few wires sticking from the wall, he braved returning to the kitchen to find the slice of what was supposed to be french toast cooking in the frying pan errupt into flames. A cry of surprise passed his lips as he hurried over and quickly waved his hand over the stove, dispelling the fire with magic before anything else could possibly go wrong.

Belle walked into the kitchen, awake from the loud beeping of the smoke detector, and she watched as he tore the device out of the wall and stopped the beeping. She watched as he jumped in surprise at the flames and immediately dispelled the fire. She held a hand to her mouth and she was trying to keep herself from laughing too hard or out loud. However, she seemed to fail, as a few giggles came out.

Hearing the laugh that always pulled him from whatever foul mood he had ever been in, Mr. Gold turned to see Belle standing in the entryway of the kitchen, waving away the smoke that wafted into the air. With a frown, Mr. Gold waved his hand and the smoke slowly began to disappear slowly until nothing remained as if it never happened.

"You should still be sleeping." He observed outloud, not wanting to wake her until he had finished cooking breakfast. His attention turned to the charred bits of bread still clinging to the frying pan and had to wonder if that was even possible now before Faye came over.

"I couldn't sleep. Besides, it is hard to sleep through the noise and smoke." She smiled at him as she lightly teased him. She stated as she started looking through the cabinets to see what she could salvage, "Don't worry, I can make breakfast for us."

Mr. Gold's lips pressed into a thin line, watching Belle take it upon herself to take over the kitchen just as she had back at his castle, only this time he didn't have to scare her into it. He approached her quietly from behind, resting a hand on her back as she tried scrounging up whatever was left in his embarassingly empty cupboards.

"Belle, I-"

A knock suddenly interrupted Mr. Gold, just as the seconds hand on the clock ticked to eight o'clock, and Belle turned towards the sound in confusion. She looked to Mr. Gold and she asked him,

"Were...you expecting anyone, Rumpel?"

His attention went from Belle to the entryway of his home, his pressed frown turning in a fleeting smile.

"As a matter of fact, I was." He nodded for Belle to follow him as he took hold of his cane which had been resting against the breakfast bar and headed to the front room. He waited for Belle to catch up before opening the door and greeted Faye with a practiced false smile.

"Doctor. So nice of you to be on time." Mr. Gold turned to Belle, lightly gesturing towards Faye with a free arm. "Belle, this is-"

"Faye Stevenson. I know, Rumpel." Belle smiled at Mr. Gold, before she looked to the doctor, and she greeted the doctor happily, "It's good to see you again, Faye."

The doctor watched the two speak with each other before she nodded to their greetings and replied politely, but with a kind smile on her face (towards Belle).

"It's good to see you as well, Belle."

Belle asked, curiosity making itself apparent in her voice,

"So...what are you doing here?"

Faye asked in response, "He didn't tell you?"

After Belle answered with the universal gesture for no, shaking her head side to side, Faye simply muttered with slight sarcasm,

"Shocking," as Belle looked to Mr. Gold for the answer.

Mr. Gold cleared his throat loudly to keep the women from conspiring with one another right in front of him. How Belle and Faye had already met one another was beyond him, but he wasn't about to bring his questions to the surface just yet.

"Dr. Stevenson has...offered to take you out today Belle." He began, casting Faye a sideways glance as if daring her to correct him on his choice of words. "You're going to need some new clothes and...well, familiarize youself with the town I suppose as it seems we are stuck here for a while." His narrow shoulders shrugged gently, knowing that she wouldn't need much else as his home was completely furnished for the both of them, though Belle might take it upon herself to dress it up a bit to more her liking.
Mr. Gold then reached into his back pocket, pulling out his black leather wallet and handed over a credit card to Faye.

"Anything she wants, and anything you think she'll need." He told Faye, his tone leaving no room for argument. "Stop by Granny's on the way, breakfast seemed to escape us this morning." There was no way Mr. Gold was going to get into the fact that he had practically burnt his own home down while trying to make Belle breakfast. Any other assumptions to his words were left solely up to the doctor.

Faye set her jaw closed at his sideways glance when he answered Belle, who seemed to be silent and thinking over something. As Mr. Gold handed her the credit card, and told her the limitations (or lack thereof), she nodded as she pocketed the credit card, and answered seriously,

"Of course," She immediately dismissed Hyde's suggestions in the back of her mind of misusing Mr. Gold's credit card as payback, especially considering that Mr. Gold could try and kill her. When he told her to take Belle to Granny's Diner, she nodded and made a mental note to take her there first.

Belle seemed to be thinking over why else Mr. Gold wanted her out of the house, and she recalled what she had learned just hours ago. He was probably going to keep on trying to get to his daughter. In realization of this possibility (and the fact that he couldn't cook breakfast earlier and almost set the house on fire), she asked him,

"Thank you Rumpel...but will you be alright by yourself?"

Mr. Gold fidgeted in the spot, torn between kissing Belle on the forehead for reassurance and remaining the steel-willed pawnbroker that Storybrooke had learned to fear. Faye's current presence was the only reason he settled into nothing more than a small smile towards Belle and a firm nod, unable to show the tenderness he felt in his heart for her in front of an audience.

"I've spent many centuries alone dearie, one afternoon won't be any different." He replied a bit colder than he had intended.

Faye held back the urge to roll her eyes at Mr. Gold when she noticed his fidgeting. She and Hyde knew better about his feelings towards Belle, so the fact that he was hiding those feelings from the both of them amused Hyde to no end.

Belle, on the other hand, could see past his cold exterior, and she said,"

I see," She then kissed his cheek, which earned a wry smile from Faye, and she said to him "I'll see you later, Rumpel." She then started walking away and Faye nodded to Mr. Gold,

"I'll see you later, Mr. Gold." before she followed Belle.

Mr. Gold gave a curt nod to both of the ladies, trying not to let the blush from Belle's kiss on his cheek creep up any further than the collar of his deep purple dress shirt...and did a very poor job. As soon as they were gone, he shut the door behind them and locked it up tight. Going through the kitchen, he waved his hand lazily cleaning up the remainder of the mess he had made earlier and pressed on to the sliding glass door that would lead him back outside. He'd eat later if he ever got around to it, but right now, he needed to find a way to cross the town line without losing his memories, a task that would no doubt consume the rest of his hours today and possibly the next week.

*~*~*Collaboration between YoshiSkittlez and GuardianAngelHaruki*~*~*

Not too long after they left Mr. Gold's house, Belle and Faye entered Granny's Diner and sat at the bar. On the way there, Faye had pointed out the different locations and gave her basic information about Storybrooke. After the both of them placed an order through Granny, Belle said to Faye, "Thank you for showing me around Storybrooke,"

"Don't worry about it. I'm happy to help out," The good doctor answered Belle. She didn't bring up the fact that Gold had asked her to, because she had a feeling that Belle already knew.

It was a good few minutes of light conversation between the two women before Ruby was able to bring them their orders. Dressed as she had been before spending time with Knox, the waitress in red had absolutely no idea who the new girl sitting at the bar with Dr. Stevenson was, and decided to do something about it.

"Hi." She greeted cheerily sliding Belle her order of pancakes, eggs and bacon (ordered by Faye, as Belle had no idea what a majority of the items on the menu like pancakes even were). "I'm Ruby, you must be a friend of Dr. Stevenson's." She observed, keeping her white smile despite the odd fact that there was a stranger in Storybrooke.

Faye looked at Red, clearly confused as to why the waitress seemed like...herself before she actually spent time with Knox. It somewhat concerned Faye, and Belle had a look of recognition cross her face. She realized that the waitress was Red! They both met briefly in The Enchanted Forest...Belle had her cloak as well, left behind in Rumpel's shop when he had her change into something more comfortable. She snapped out of her stupor and said "Oh, I'm Belle. It's nice to meet you Ruby," Why didn't Red recognize her?

Ruby then turned to Faye and gave the doctor a quick nod, handing over the orange juice she had ordered along with the second plate of pancakes, eggs and bacon that the waitress had somehow been able to balance with everything else with just the two hands.

"What brings you to Granny's today Doctor? We don't see you in here very often." Ruby asked, keeping the conversation going.

Faye nodded to Ruby in turn, and she blinked at Ruby's comment in confusion before answering her, "I'm showing Belle around Storybrooke, considering she's not familiar with the town yet" She then asked "Are you alright, Ruby?" She did find it curious and even more concerning that Ruby didn't seem to remember Faye coming into Granny's Diner before today.

"Oh!" Ruby's attention went back to Belle, as if suddenly realizing something. "Did you just move here? Or are you staying? We have a Bed and Breakfast joined with the Diner if you need a place to stay. As far as I know, all the rooms are available...we don't get very many visitors here in Storybrooke."

A deep throat-clearing sounded from the other side of the bar as Leroy sipped at his coffee, having taken notice of the conversation that had transpired with his favorite, not-so-favorite waitress.

"Hey sister, less yappin and more coffee refillin." He barked, getting Ruby's attention before Belle or Faye could answer her. Rolling her eyes noticably, Ruby just shook her head and held up a finger to signal 'just one moment' before tending to Grumpy's cup. While Ruby was busy, Leroy hopped down from his stool and quickly made his way over to the two girls, giving Belle a double-take as he recognized almost immediately as the girl who had insisted that he follow his heart, despite being a dwarf.

"Belle?" He asked in both question and amazement.

Belle looked at the man and she recognized him as the dwarf who was in love, long ago. She remembered how she told him about what love was like. She said to him smiling kindly, greeting him as though he was an old friend, "Hello, Dreamy. It's good to see you again,"

"It's Grumpy now...or Leroy, whichever I suppose."

The Dwarf didn't hesitate to wrap his short arms around Belle in a quick, dwarf-worthy hug before pulling away from her again, an uncharacteristically wide grin splitting his rugged beard.

"I never got a chance to thank you...for that advice you gave me at the tavern." He said, completely forgetting why he had gone over there in the first place.

Belle hugged Leroy back, letting him pull away after a moment. She said to Leroy in return, "There's no need to thank me,"

"You're smiling..." Faye mumbled in slight disbelief, since she only had ever seen Leroy with a scowl or frown. She chuckled good naturedly and she joked lightly "Never thought I'd live to see the day!"

Leroy's smile vanished almost as quickly as it came as his beady eyes happened on Faye. Had his bead not been there, a slight rosy blush would have crept onto his cheeks at being caught in a vulnerable moment.

"Yeah well, world's full of surprises isn't it?" He asked, his demeanor changing back to the grumpy janitor of Storybrooke Hospital.

Faye then asked "So, Leroy, is something bothering you?"

Knowing the janitor, Faye knew that Leroy wouldn't just come up to her, unless something was bothering him.

Leroy fidgeted a bit, his eyes glancing back over to Belle for a moment as if torn between answering Faye and just wanting to talk with Belle more about that night in the Dwarf Tavern. He squared up his broad shoulders and turned to Faye again, his expression annoyed.

"You're damn right something's bothering me!" He grunted. "I'm gonna have the outfits of one particular waitress engrained into my brain for the rest of my life!" He casually jerked his head over towards Ruby who was now busy with a couple who had just sat down for their breakfast.

"I was just starting to like the new Ruby too. Less bitchy." He added on, shaking his head in disappointment.

Faye looked at Ruby after the janitor jerked his head towards her, and Belle asked Leroy, "What happened to Red, Dreamy?"

Leroy raised an eyebrow, clearly vexed as to how Faye and Belle didn't know what was buzzing all over Storybrooke.

"She crossed the town line." He said simply, as if that might jog the doctor's memory. When Faye looked just as lost as ever, he went on to explain, "The gang and I went to the town line as soon as we all got our memories back. There's always been this...force keeping us here in Storybrooke and keeping others out, but we were too cursed to give a real damn about it, so we went to investigate. We wanted to know what happened if we tried to leave. Sneezy was about to cross over the line when Red thought she owed something to Snow and went over herself...it was like a reset button was pressed or something, she doesn't remember anything. Nothing from The Enchanted Forest, nothing about the curse...hell I even tried bringing up Knox a few times just to see if she'd start crying or start hitting me or something and she looked at me as if I sprouted another head. She wanted to know what the Security Guard from Storybrooke Hospital had to do with anything..."

Belle and Faye listened carefully as Leroy explained what had happened. Belle could only answer with a sad "I see..." first. She remembered the cloak, and she asked "I still have her cloak...maybe if she had it, it would help?" Faye remained silent while listening to Belle talk to Leroy.

Leroy looked between the girls as they talked, feeling as though he were watching a tennis match, and just about as interesting before Belle finally addressed him directly.

"Don't worry about it sister, we've already got Mother Superior working on something that might help. It will take a while, but as long as we're still trapped here in Storybrooke then we've got all the time in the world."

Leroy shrugged his broad shoulders and made his way back over to the other side of the bar to quickly drink down his coffee refill before gathering up his coat and passing by Faye and Belle once again.

"Don't be a stranger. You ever need anything, come find me. I owe you one sister." Leroy said compassionately to Belle, another uncharacteristic layer of the grumpy dwarf showing through that only Belle seemed to be able to bring in of him.

Before Belle or Faye could respond, Leroy had left the diner. Faye asked her "I've never seen that side of Leroy before. Impressive. How did you two know each other?" Belle answered "I was in a dwarf tavern, and I told him about love. He was in love with someone and I told him to follow his heart,"

Faye nodded "Interesting..." She then looked to the side and saw that Belle had finished eating. The doctor asked Belle "Are you ready to go?" Belle nodded, and Faye proceeded to pay for the meal (using Gold's credit card), and after that was done, she and Belle left the diner.

XXX

As Faye and Belle walked down the sidewalk, Faye explained to Belle about other important things to keep in mind about Storybrooke, such as where certain locations are, and about certain well-known people (excluding Mr. Gold).

Belle then stopped and as Faye turned to face her in concern, she asked the doctor "Faye? Be honest. Did...Did Mr. Gold ask you to help me?" Faye blinked and she sighed "How perceptive of you. Yes, he did,"

Belle answered, seeming to dread what Faye's answer may be,"I see...what did he offer you in return?" She couldn't help but suspect that Faye may be helping Belle for a selfish and uncaring reason.

"In return, Mr. Gold will help me find Henry, Snow, and Knox, and get them back home,"

Belle was surprised to hear the answer, and she asked "Wh-What?" Belle immediately recalled that Henry was the man who wanted to save his true love. Belle then judged the look in Faye's eyes as an emotion she was familiar with, and she came to the conclusion that Faye was the woman that Henry wanted to save, and therefore, his true love. Before Faye could answer, Belle said "OH!" in complete realization.

She then asked "How...How did they go missing?"

Faye shook her head, knowing that if she talked about it, she would probably go emotional, and she didn't want to cry in public. She answered "I'd really rather not talk about it, Belle. It's...kind of hard for me to do so right now,"

Belle sighed and said "I see..." She then seemed to cheer up a bit and she said to Faye "Don't worry Faye! I'm sure you will find Henry. After all, true love will prevail,"

Faye was thankful for the support, but she was a bit skeptical about true love. Before she could say any of her skeptic thoughts, she noticed movement from the corner of her eye and she looked to see who was approaching them.

Dr. Hopper was being led across the street by a very eager Pongo who seemed very intent on meeting the new stranger in Storybrooke. All Archie could offer was a polite smile as he removed his hat as Pongo took it upon himself to infiltrate his senses with Belle's skirt and legs.

"I-I-I'm so sorry miss. He's as g-gentle as a g-goldfish, but with just about as much c-common c-courtesy." He apologized to Belle, putting his hat back on his mess of curly red hair and attempted to pull on the dog's leash to keep Pongo at bay. It was then that the doctor realized that Faye was with the new stranger, and his smile brightened even more. "G-good morning Doctor Stevenson. A beautiful day today!"

Belle was at first a little startled by Pongo, but she calmed down a bit, and she said to Dr. Hopper "Oh, it's alright," She then knelt down and pet Pongo on the head.

Faye looked to Hopper when he greeted her, and she greeted back in kind, "Good morning, Dr. Hopper. And yes, it is,"

Archie seemed to relax somewhat as the stranger didn't seem too upset with Pongo's actions and instead knelt down to pat him on the head.

"I uh, I don't think we've met before miss." He said extending a somewhat shaky hand to the girl. "Doctor Archibald Hopper." He introduced himself, witholding his name from The Enchanted Forest in case she wasn't aware what their little town of Storybrooke had been through the last five years.

Belle stood back up, and she accepted his hand and shook it as she answered, "It's nice to meet you, Dr. Hopper. My name is Belle,"

"Belle, such a l-lovely name." Archie commented with a smile before turning his attention back to Faye. "I-I've been meaning to ask you, D-doctor, if we were s-still on for our regularly scheduled session the day after tomorrow? I-In light of what, uh, what has, uh, happened, I, uh, I wasn't too sure..."

At the mention of the sessions, Faye muttered "Oh that's right..." before she answered Archie, "I'm afraid I'm going to have to cancel our sessions, Dr. Hopper," She then said with a raised hand, knowing where he may get confused as to why, "And no, it's not because of the...incident last session. It's just simply that my case...is a hopeless one,"

Archie shook his head no right away.

"N-naw, I-I w-wouldn't say hopeless." He tried reassuring her, though more as a friend than a man trying to keep an appointment so he could get paid. "We uh, we were so close to s-something very important last time..." His eyes shifted over to Belle, unsure of how much more he should say in present company. "W-why don't you j-just give me a call when you get h-home tonight? W-we can talk it over t-then." He suggested, looking back to Faye.

Belle looked a little confused, but she was ignored as Faye nodded in agreement to his question, and she said "Sounds reasonable. I shall do so, Dr. Hopper," She and Hyde easily noticed his intention was that of a good friend, and Faye couldn't help but smile a bit at how Dr. Hopper seemed to have learned from last time about Doctor-Patient Confidentiality.

Faye then said politely "Well, Belle and I should carry on. It was good talking to you, Dr. Hopper. I'll call you later,"

Archie nodded once, looking more content with Faye's answer as he tipped his cap to the two ladies.

"Have a splended m-morning!" He called as he eased Pongo away from Belle and back on track of their usual morning walk.

Belle waved Archie goodbye before she continued walking with Faye. She asked Faye, "So how do you know him?"

Faye chuckled and said "He is the town psychologist. I've been going to him for...well, you know," Belle caught onto what Faye was talking about and she answered "O-Oh. Well...he certainly seemed nice,"

Faye nodded in agreement as they kept on walking.

Collaboration between Guardian Angel Haruki and Tanderbolt

Faye and Belle had gone to a clothes shop, and after a couple of hours of Belle's confusion and Faye making fashion suggestions, Belle finally had new clothes, enough to fill an entire closet. They were now headed on their way back to Mr. Gold's house, carrying a full plastic shopping bag in each hand, unaware that they were going to run into a certain sheriff.

Robert enjoyed patrolling, because it meant that he would be harder for Regina to track him down. He intentionally made his route avoid places where she liked to be, like this particular part of town. While walking by he saw Belle and Faye, reminding him of the fact that he still hadn't talked to Belle much since freeing her from the asylum and accidentally shooting her. It was going to be awkward, but he felt the need to warn her about the fact that his curse was back. He walked in front of them and said "Good afternoon, I hope everything is going well today. Belle, I apologize about the incident at the station, and assure that Storybrooke is usually a very safe town."

Belle and Faye stopped when Robert stood in front of them, blocking their path. Belle answered Robert after he finished speaking, knowing that he hadn't intended to harm her during that incident "Oh, it's alright. I never did thank you for getting me out of the...asylum. Thank you,"

Robert thought that she took his appearence surprisingly well. "I've got one more thing I'd like to let you know. My curse has come back, and I am forced to obey Regina's commands. She can't make me do anything against the code of chivalry, but that leaves a lot of gray areas. For your safety, I advise you to stay away from me, I don't know what she will order me to do next. If you need help with something, ask Mr. Gold, ask Charming, even ask Graham, they are more trustworthy than I am."

Belle blinked at Robert's warning. She was speechless and she honestly didn't think that there would be any reason that Robert would actually want to do harm. She didn't want to believe that there was no way that he couldn't disobey Regina.

However, Faye seemed to think otherwise. Listening to Robert served as a wake up call, a reminder of her counterpart, Evelyn Hyde. She couldn't help but feel like her situation was somewhat like Robert's...the main difference being that she puts everyone around her at risk through just her presence alone.

The doctor moved to stand in front of Belle, somewhat protectively, and she asked politely, but wary, "And are you here on Regina's behalf right now?"

Belle looked at Faye and she chastised "Faye! He's just warning us!" Faye told Belle "I realize that, and as much as I appreciate the sentiment, one cannot be too careful,"

Faye could hear Hyde sneer with sinister anticipation and glee in her head "It has been a while since I killed an official of the law!"

Robert thought that both of them were taking this very well. Belle had known him as an enemy for several years now, while Faye barely knew him at all. "I'm not here because Regina sent me, I'm just patrolling. You can trust me, I can't lie because that would violate the code. As far I know, this curse is permanent, and I doubt Rumpelstilskin would let me out of it. I will have to serve Regina as long as she is the legitimate monarch. This curse will stay with me until I die." Robert said, adding a rare bit of emphasis to the end. If things kept going the way they were now, that day would come soon enough.

Faye listened to him carefully, and thanks to Hyde, she could tell that he was telling the truth when he gave his answer and an explanation about his curse. She was not the least bit surprised that Rumpelstiltskin had something to do with the curse, but when he mentioned obeying Regina because of her being a monarch, that caused her to raise an eyebrow.

She asked him "Even in this world where people don't follow a monarchy? Last I checked, this world follows a democracy," She then pointed out again, "Regina is a mayor. Here, she's technically not a Queen,"

Belle looked between Faye and Robert, wondering if Faye had caught on to a loophole that could help Robert or not. Belle remained silent as they waited for Robert's answer.

"She's still alive and she never abdicated the throne, that means she's still Queen, no one else replaced her. I didn't make the rules, but I still have to obey them." Robert said

Faye scratched her chin and she asked him, thinking out loud, "Ah, but if Regina asked you to do something that goes against the laws and rules, would you still have to obey them?" She figured that the answer would be no, but then, she wasn't an expert in law...or chivalry.

"I would not obey that order, but I would still be her under command. She's gotten pretty good at knowing what she can and can't tell me to do."

Faye could only answer with an "I see..." in response to his answer. She couldn't think of any other loopholes for Robert, but before she could say anything else, Belle spoke up

"Have you found your true love yet?"

Faye looked at Belle confused as the other woman continued "I'm sure if you found your true love, your curse will be broken! True love's kiss can break any curse!"

Faye looked ready to protest against such an absurd thought, but then she remembered that that was how Henry freed her from the sleeping curse.

"I thought I did, a long time ago. The girl I loved ended up running off with someone else, and I never really got over it. Even when the kingdom was under attack, I just couldn't bring myself to do anything other than mourn. Rumpelstiltskin offered me a deal, he'd make it so that I would never let my relationships get in the way of duty ever again. I accepted, and that's how I got my curse. It isn't even the forced loyalty that bothers me the most, I can't even connect with people anymore. Everything in my life is consumed by my code, every attempt at friendship or romance just falls apart thanks to this curse." Robert said, with sadness in his voice. It was rarer that he actually got an opportunity to talk about this.

Belle felt horrible and sad when she heard about Robert's plight. She apologized sincerely "Oh, I'm so sorry..." She then said to him, trying to encourage him, "Just don't give up on love or friendship, ok? I'm sure you'll find a way to break your curse,"

Faye looked at her watch and she said to Belle, "We should be going Belle," She then looked to Robert and she politely excused both Belle and herself, "Thank you for taking the time to warn us Sheriff Leland. We'll see you later,"

Robert nodded without a word, and walked off on his patrol route. Now, at least someone else knew his story. He wished he could back to being Robert Leland, even a shellshocked veteran was better than being a knight cursed to serve an evil queen.

*~*~*Collaboration between YoshiSkittlez and GuardianAngelHaruki*~*~*

Faye and Belle were walking past the diner again on their way back to Mr. Gold's house, talking amongst themselves about the previous Miner's Day. Both Faye and Belle were laughing after the good doctor had described Henry, the town, and the dunk tank.

Belle asked as she gasped for air from laughing, "Granny really put up a sign like that?"

Faye answered as she wiped a tear of laughter from her eyes "Yes she did! And quite frankly I couldn't blame her,"

Immediatly catching the attention of a particular doctor through their excessive laughter, Dr. Whale hurriedly gulped down the rest of his coffee (ignoring the dull pain of burning the tip of his tongue), paid the old woman and dashed out of the diner. Craning his neck a bit to make sure he hadn't lost sight of his affections, Dr. Whale made a point to smooth down his hair before calling out to Faye.

"Jekyll! Dr. Jekyll! HEATHER!"

Faye's mirth seemed to fade when she heard Dr. Whale call out to her. Belle looked towards the voice out of curiosity and confusion, and she saw the man in a white coat like Faye's looking towards them.

Faye on the other hand didn't turn to face him. She dreaded speaking with the man, knowing that he may say something offensive and that would mean that she could turn into Hyde if she got too angry with him. As much as she would love to ignore him, she knew that he was the one who told her if something important happened at the hospital.

She told Belle "Can you wait here Belle? I better go see what he wants..." Belle blinked in confusion and she asked "Huh? Why?" Faye only answered her in return "Don't ask," as she turned and walked to him, with a serious and cold look on her face.

She reached him and she asked him, "What is it, Frankenstein?"

Belle seemed to ignore Faye's request, because she jogged up to stand right behind Faye and listen in out of curiosity.

Victor looked more than pleased with himself as he watched Heather turn to heed his call. Stuffing his hands into his lab coat pockets as he waited for her to get closer, his beady eyes continued to bounce between Heather and the other girl he hadn't yet had the pleasure of meeting. Absentmindedly licking his lips watching the beauty follow after Heather, his misguided thoughts were brought back to Heather as she addressed him callously.

"You know, you can just call me Victor. Have we not been through enough together to not be on a first-name basis?" His eyes couldn't help but to wander to the brunette beauty behind her, and took a moment to eye her up and down appreciatively. "I dont think we've met," he observed hiding no shame in his undressing stare. "Those bags look a little heavy darlin', would it be too much to ask if a gentleman such as myself offered to aid you in bringing them home for you?" he asked with an air of romanticism in his voice, all the while stooping down in a graceful bow.

Heather raised an eyebrow while she crossed her arms when he asked his question and beamed as though things were going to go his way. She didn't answer when she saw Frankenstein staring lustfully at someone behind her, and she saw that that person was Belle. Suppressing a groan and chastisement towards Belle, she rolled her eyes at Frankenstein when he tried woo Belle.

Belle who had been caught by surprise, started to stutter out a response, but Faye interrupted with her voice dripping honey-like venom, "Thank you for your offer, Dr. Frankenstein. But I'm sure Mr. Gold and I are capable of helping her carry the extra weight,"

At the mention of Mr. Gold, Dr. Whale came out of his bow with a pompous snort, letting his eyes return to Heather once again. "As if that rat bastard has ever even so much as raised an eyebrow in the direction of someone who needed any help." He remarked bitterly, unafraid to show his true feelings towards the pawnbroker. "You may not want my help Heather, but dont speak for the doe-eyed angel of perfection behind you." His otherwise snappy demeanor changed when he looked back to Belle. "I never did catch your name." He said with a friendly smile.

Heather smirked at the fact that she knew more than Frankenstein did in that moment, and after he snapped at her, she commented "Your funeral!"

Belle glared at Dr. Frankenstein, seeing clearly why Faye didn't like him...or at least partially why. She said to him shortly, "Belle. And thank you, but I must respectfully decline your offer," She said the word respectfully as though to warn Whale that he is on very thin ice with her.

Faye couldn't help but smile with a bit of pride for her, as Belle said no to Frankenstein.

Victor raised an eyebrow in confusion towards Heather's remark. Just what the hell did she mean by that? His confused complexion eased into something more scrutinizing as Belle spoke, unable to grasp what the big deal was. "I'm only offering you help. You would be respectful to allow me to do so." he said through clenched teeth. Not often enough was Dr. Whale turned down, causing his temper to rise just a bit as he reached his hand out to take the bags from her.

Before even Faye knew what she was doing, her hand shot out and grabbed Frankenstein's wrist before he could even grab the bags from her, and her hand squeezed tightly, digging her nails into his skin.

Belle had stepped back when she saw Frankenstein reached his hand out towards her. She was thankful that Faye was there.

Faye raised Frankenstein's hand up to his face, finding great strength from her dark side (and yet not turning into her), and she said to him in an eerily calm voice, "Frankenstein. I highly recommend being a proper gentleman, and obey her request. After all, when a lady says no, she means it. After all, what would Mr. Gold think, and do to you, if he sees you with his lover?"

Belle couldn't help but blush when Faye addressed Belle as Mr. Gold's lover.

Immediately Victor tried wrenching his hand from Heather's grip, not at all afraid of her, he had known her far too long for that. But at the newest revelation, his face drained of all color and felt his jaw going slack, "You're lying... no one would willingly..." he couldnt finish that sentence, and his voice left an air of disbelief of his own words. His eyes moved to Belle again, finally able to get his arm free and said again, though this time to Belle "She's lying..." in hopes that Belle could ease the sickness of fear in his stomach.

Belle seemed to smile a bit and she said "Actually, she's telling the truth,"

Wide eyed in realization of the huge mistake he had just made, Victor nearly tripped on his own two feet as he spun around, while Faye let go of his wrist, to head in the opposite direction. The last thing he needed was the wrath of the most powerful man in Storybrooke and most powerful sorcerer in all the realms on him.

Faye couldn't help but laugh as she watched Victor run and trip over his own two feet, as though he was fleeing for his life. Belle on the other hand, just simply watched him run.

The good doctor didn't stop laughing until Victor was gone, and Belle asked after she calmed down "Who was that guy?" Faye answered "Victor Frankenstein. A male chauvinist, and an enemy of mine. Well, I'm sure he won't be bothering you from this point on," She then started leading the way again, and she said to Belle "Come on," Belle nodded and followed Faye.

Collaboration between Guardian Angel Haruki and YoshiSkittlez

---

Faye and Belle soon arrived back at Mr. Gold's house. Belle once again thanked Faye for helping her with shopping for new clothes and she invited,

"I can brew some tea if you'd like."

The good doctor shook her head and answered Belle,

"No thank you. I better return his credit card before...well, you-know-who decides to do something stupid."

Belle chuckled understandingly and she answered,

"That sounds like a good idea." The both of them entered the house and Belle called, "Rumpel? We're back!" However there was no answer. Belle commented, "He's not here..."

Faye rolled her eyes and said,

"I think I know where he may be." She then walked out of the front door and headed for the basement entrance.

Belle followed after Faye, thinking the same thing as she was in regards to where Rumpelstiltskin could be. She watched as Faye rapped loudly on the closed door. There was a light rustling sound from inside, and only after a very long moment after Faye had knocked on the door did the pawnbroker speak up loudly so as to be heard clearly.

"I'm not dealing today. Come see me at my shop tomorrow."

Faye rolled her eyes at the response and she commented with sarcasm,

"Again...what a surprise," Faye looked to Belle, as said woman called to him,

"Rumpel, it's me. We're back!"

The faint rustling from behind the door only seemed to get a little louder before the two women could hear the audible thump of his cane on the stairs as he reached the door on his side. The knob jiggled a bit, the tumblers clicking in succession as the door was unlocked and then opened to them.

Mr. Gold squinted almost immediately as a bright ray of light filtered into the basement and onto his face. It was clear that he hadn't stopped working since he had gone down at nearly three that morning. Having not shaved or showered, as was in his daily routine and just as important to him as his choice in suits, a full encasement of thick stubble reigned prominant on his features, bringing out the heavy bags underneath his tired eyes.

"Belle!" He tilted his head to the side slightly, confusion replacing his exhausted features. "I didn't think you'd be back until nearly after lunch..." He commented, obviously having lost track of time. His eyes were quick to narrow in acusation as he looked to Faye then, his temper quick to rise.
"You were to take her to the Bed and Breakfast!"

Before Faye could even retort, Belle spoke up,

"She did take me there, Rumpel. And it's one o'clock in the afternoon."

Confused even more, Mr. Gold couldn't help but to look down at the watch on his wrist to confirm the time, his eyes going wide for a split second before looking back to Faye.

Faye suppressed a smile from his confused and shocked looks at the time, before she spoke as she fished out his credit card and handed it back to him,

"I made sure Belle has everything she would need."

He eyed the credit card for a minute, seeming to debate something in his mind before reaching out and snatching his card back, slipping it into his breast pocket of his button up shirt rather than to take the time to put it back into his wallet all the while only grunting out a slight "Hmmm" in response.

"I'll let you and Belle have some time together. I'll be back tonight." She subtly reminded him of what he promised in return before turning around and walking away, while giving Belle a polite goodbye.

Mr. Gold only snorted in response as Faye took her leave before issuing Belle inside, his features now softer towards her than they had been towards the doctor.

"I'm afraid I won't be much for company today." He said as he limped back to the alchemy table, too tired to even realize he had used the same phrase over at least a hundred times to Belle back when they were living at The Dark Castle. Back then, though, it had been used as more of an excuse to keep away from her... to save her from having to be near him...

Belle followed Rumpelstiltskin inside, and she said to him, her voice showing concern for him, considering how he acted and appeared,

"Rumpel...maybe you should go and get some sleep."

He waved a hand dismissively in her direction to her suggestion as he got back behind the table, his eyes already keen on the concoction starting to bubble over the small burner. Sleep? He couldn't sleep, not when there was so much work to be done. Even if he wanted to, the haunting dreams would only come back, making things worse.

Belle didn't take his dismissive wave as an answer, and she walked over to stand by his side, and she gently placed her hand on his shoulder with the stubborn look on her face. She said to him,

"Rumpel, please. What if you accidentally hurt yourself?" She knew what could happen if someone didn't get enough sleep.

His otherwise rigid posture seemed to relax a fraction at her touch, but he kept his eyes on his work as he moved about, uncorking a few glass vials and sprinkling some of the contents into the bubbling liquid.

She then gently laid her hand on his cheek and guided his head, when he wasn't handling anything from the alchemy table, so that he would look at her, in the eyes, and she asked him,

"Please...for me?"

He was reluctant to move his head at first, but her soft touch won him over in the end only to be lost in her bright cerulean eyes staring right back up at him. He felt his resolve quickly starting to chip away. A heavy sigh escaped through his nose, forcing his eyes closed so that he wouldn't get lost in her gaze forever.

"I have to find her..." He replied in a soft whisper, his voice threatening to crack.

Belle reassured him gently,

"And you will find her, but what if you don't recognize her because you haven't slept?"

His eyes flickered open as a gentle smile tugged at the corners of his lips. He put his hand over the top of hers still holding his cheek and ran his thumb over the top of her delicate skin.

"It would hardly matter. Can't imagine I'd even recognize her if you pumped me full of tea before finding her." He said with what almost sounded like humor in his voice before it dropped back down into something much more reverent... sad even. "She was only four when I lost her... I... I don't know what to expect."

Belle smiled at his humorous statement before he revealed his insecurities to her. She said to him,

"I think...that deep down, when you see her, you'll immediately recognize her. All you need to do is just listen to your heart."

A quiet sputtering from the glass vial brought Rumpelstiltskin's attention back to the alchemy table, though only moving his eyes as to not have to move away from Belle's touch. The muscles in his jaw tightened dangerously as the liquid within grew to a luminescent yellow before dying back down to it's transluscent clear color once more. It hadn't worked. He closed his eyes tightly, trying to count to ten, praying for patience. He didn't know what he would have done if Belle hadn't been there, touching him, grounding his anger; though he was pretty sure a replacement alchemy station would have been in order.

Belle noticed that Rumpel seemed to be frustrated with what happened with the potion he was working on. She could feel the muscles in his jaw tense up when he held back his anger. If he ever opened his eyes, he would see Belle giving him a look that clearly showed that that was why he needed to get some sleep.

Belle said to him gently,

"Hopefully you'll have better luck after you've rested."

Opening his eyes only after Belle spoke he turned his head to give her a quick, yet affectionate kiss on her temple before taking both her hands in his, needing the distraction to keep his blood from boiling over.

"I'll only take a quick rest if you promise to use your special blend I've gone five years without." He mused, feeling somewhat better for being able to illicit some sort of deal in his favor.

Belle smiled at his acceptance and his request for her tea. She said to him,

"That's a deal," She then lead him out of the basement and to the kitchen, where she brewed tea for him though by the time she had taken it into the living room to give to him, he had fallen asleep on the couch, snoring lightly. She couldn't help but smile at the sight of him sleeping peacefully, and she set the tea down quietly on the table, careful not to wake him. She silently wished him a good rest, and left a soft kiss on his temple, before she left the room.

*~*Collaboration between Ghost Shadow and Guardian Angel Haruki*~*
Mark's eyes fluttered open groggily, forced to squint as a bright beam of sunlight hit him straight in the face; illuminating the crisp white bedsheets that he was laying on. He felt so warm, so comfortable...surreal. He felt...whole again, as though something that was missing, a part of him, had been returned.

As his eyes adjusted to the bright light, he could see a woman lying just across from him on her side, looking him straight in the face.....Catherine.

"Catherine?" Mark asked in a hushed voice, a mixture of both confusion and happiness apparent both in his tone and expression. His wife merely smiled back at him as she placed a smooth, warm hand on his unshaven cheek. Her skin was perfect alabaster, free of mark or blemish. Her hair was luxurious and rich, her eyes so bright and full of life...so beautiful, so resplendent.

"You need to wake up, Nicholas." She said to him in a tone that was both calm and sad at the same time, her soft eyes looking into his as she spoke.

"Wh-What? Wake up? Catherine, no, I---" Mark began to object, feeling his wife's touch fade away as he desperately tried to cling onto the memory, only to watch it dissipate like sand between his fingers.

With a sharp gasp, Mark shot up from where he was....in the forest? He shook his head violently, trying to recollect himself. He remembered waking up this morning, taking his medicine and realizing that Mason wasn't there....that he had left! Everything after that was a...haze, a blur. But somehow, sometime, he had gone to the woods.

Mark slowly rose to his feet, using a tree trunk to support himself as he stood up, looking around the vast isolation he was in. His mind was heavy with questions, questions about his dream. It seemed so familiar, like an old memory. But it was so surreal, so unreal...perhaps it was his hope, his wish for the past to return. He didn't want to be Mark Dufresne. He wanted to be Nick Chopper, back in Oz, living a simple but happy life.

Mark's thoughtful state was interrupted, however, by the subtle but audible sound of something heavy...clanking. Pistons pumping, gears whirring, the sharp hissing sound of steam, the clockwork-like cranking of movement, the noises seeming to grow louder and louder inside his head.

'No! No, He's not here...He's *just* a memory, he's not here!' Mark inwardly tried convincing himself, but he couldn't run...not from the past. Not while it constantly hounded him.

Taking time to stop and focus, Mark could both feel and hear the sounds slowly dissipating...back into the recessions of his mind. He would face his fears some other day...but not today.

Walking off in some random direction, Mark's only thought at the moment was heading back to town. His eyes staring in front of him, not looking side-to-side, Mark kept at a normal pace until something caught his eye...something...small, lying on the ground, something definitely not natural.

Crouching down to get a better look at the object, Mark almost instantly recognized it as Henry's Walkman, headphones and all. Though obviously battered and in need of a good cleaning, the player looked no worse for wear.

Mark scooped the player up off the ground, looking at it contemplatively before carefully placing it in his jacket pocket and continuing his trek back towards Storybrooke. He had someone to give this to...

Faye was walking down the sidewalk, she figured that the best thing she could do now was either get some sleep so she could stay awake for tonight, or go to the hospital and just do her job. As much as she would love to continue working on the problem, but there was nothing else she could do, and she didn't want to waste the bean extract she got. She was simply in her thoughts as she kept on walking.

Finding the rest of the walk to be simple and uncomplicated, Mark could catch a glimpse of Faye walking down the sidewalk from where he was. Adjusting his pace to a jog while ignoring the practically screaming objections his shoulder was giving him, Mark called out, "Dr. Stevenson! Wait!" In a louder-than-normal, but not frantic tone, hurriedly approaching until he was nearly six feet in front of her.

"I found something...something I think you'll want to see." He told her in a quieter voice, rubbing his shoulder absentmindedly.

Faye snapped out of her own thoughts when she heard a familiar voice call her by her cursed name. She turned to see Mark coming towards her with a quick pace, and she blinked at his statement when he reached her, and she asked out of curiosity "What is it?". She noticed how he rubbed his shoulder, and she asked him, "Are you alright, Mr. Dufresne? Your shoulder..."

"What? Oh, shoulder's fine...just need to take some Aspirin, nothing to worry about. Anyway...Here." Mark said, switching the subject quickly as he procured the cassette player from his coat pocket, holding it out for Faye to take. "I found it in the woods...looks a bit battered, but it should still work fine." He reassured, offering a small half-smile.

Faye raised an eyebrow at the mention that he would take aspirin, and she wanted to ask more about it, but instead it faded as she blinked at the sight of the walkman. It wasn't just any old walkman...she recognized it as Henry's walkman. After a moment of silence, she took the walkman gently (her hand shaking slightly), and she said to him with a small, appreciative, and grateful smile on her face, "Thank you, Mr. Dufresne..." She didn't say anymore and she kept her eyes on the cassette player, in fear that her voice would quiver in front of him and that he would see her blue eyes start to water.

She knew that when Henry would get back, she would give this back to him...

"Don't mention it." Mark replied with a small smile. His expression quickly turned to one of confusion however as he thought more on finding the player. "Henry's almost never seen without that thing. What was it doing in the woods, do you know? Come to think of it...where is Henry? I haven't seen him in awhile, at least not where he normally would be." Mark finished, sounding quite perplexed as the thought just hit him that the young man was nowhere to be seen.

Faye noticed the confused tone in his voice while he asked his questions, and she became conflicted. Should she tell him? Nolan had asked her to keep silent about this. But for what purpose? People who were friends with any of the three that disappeared, like Red, needed to know...

She answered Dufresne, "I don't know where he is. He, Mary Margaret, and Knox just...disappeared,"

"Disappeared? I don't understand--what do you mean, disappeared?" Mark asked, scratching the top of his head in slight confusion. Truth be told even back in Oz, magic was as mysterious and puzzling to him as it is now. Unnatural, and abnormal.

Faye sighed and she answered "They...fell into some kind of portal..." She certainly didn't know how else to describe what she had seen other than the light coming from the hole and how it seemed to act like a black hole.

"It's magic, I'd wager..." Mark said in a tone that was somewhat disgusted. "The last time magic was involved with my life, I lost everything...and now it's here in Storybrooke. We need to gather the town together, work out a solution to what's going on." Mark suggested, his tone becoming more firm.

Faye couldn't help but subtly and slowly wince at his suggestion. She shook her head and she said to him, "I'm already working on this, Mr. Dufresne, and I've informed Mr. Nolan. He wants to keep this quiet,"

"Why on earth would he want to keep this quiet? Over three townspeople are missing!" Mark objected vehemently, sincerely flabbergasted that everyone wanted to keep quiet.

Faye answered, thinking over the possibilities, "I think he may have wanted to keep this quiet so as to not cause a panic...or not let Regina know that Mary Margaret's not here..."

"Why would Mayor Mills not want to know about Mary Margaret...?" Mark asked curiously, unaware of the two's conflict back in The Enchanted Forest.

Faye shrugged and answered "I'm not sure. All I know is that Regina seems to hold some kind of grudge against Mary Margaret...judging from her previous behavior towards her,"

"And she has my son...again." Mark added, letting out a heavy sigh. He didn't ask to come to Storybrooke, he didn't ask to be a part of these complicated events that seemed to occur around him. He just wanted to be back home...back with his family - a lost dream.

Faye blinked at his statement and she asked confusedly, "Wait...What? Mason's your son?"

"Yes...yes, he's my son. Except he doesn't remember it. He was very young when he was kidnapped. Wasn't long after that when I was....changed." Mark explained, albeit vaguely, not wanting to go into the details about his personal life.

Faye listened as he explained vaguely. It seemed as though Mark was going through something similar to her situation with Hyde. She said to him with an understanding look, "I see..." She knew better than to question further. She knew that bad memories can come back to haunt him just from a question.

"Now...I best head home...I'll, uh...give Mason a bit of space. Take care, Doctor." He bid before heading off in the direction of his house, looking back once behind him.

Faye nodded and she bid Mark, "You too, Mr. Dufresne. Take it easy," She watched him leave for a bit, before she too turned around and headed back to her house, holding the cassette player close to her.

*~*~*Collaboration between YoshiSkittlez and GuardianAngelHaruki*~*~*

What seemed like a few minutes later, Faye arrived back at her home and locked her door. She forlornly stared at the walkman for a good moment or two, and she couldn't help but think of him as she mumbled his name quietly, "Henry...Please be alright..."

"Oh don't worry, Jekyll. Survival is kind of his thing. Well...if he dies, you can count on me to kill the ones responsible..."

Faye growled "Shut up, Hyde!" as she marched right to the basement and closed the door behind her. She looked in the mirror to see Hyde staring back at her.

"Awww! Don't be like that!" Hyde moped mockingly. She then laughed and sneered "Especially considering we're talking about my true love here,"

Faye scoffed and answered angrily, "Excuse me! YOUR true love?! Last I checked, he kissed me,"

Hyde laughed "And last I checked, he was much more...intimate with me!" Faye was silenced as the memories of that heated and passionate night with Henry came flooding to the forefront of her mind. Hyde laughed even more, as though she could see Faye's face blanching, and her chest and shoulders rise with every heavy labored breath she took.

"He looked riiiight at me. He didn't see you...He only saw me,"

"Stop it...!"

"You know what that means right?"

"No...! I said stop it!"

"It means that he doesn't love you Jekyll. He only. Loves. ME."

"Shut up!!!"

"Oh don't worry, Jekyll. Complete control of this mind and body will belong to me....very soon. It will be as though you never existed to begin with!"

"I! SAID! SHUT! UUUUUP!!!!"

Faye screamed as she slammed her fist into the mirror's surface, aiming for Hyde's laughing face. The mirror's surface shattered into pieces as Hyde's laugh echoed in Faye's ears. Faye winced as the shards of mirror cut her skin and caused her hand to bleed. As she kneeled down and held her hand, Hyde's laugh seemed to fade away. Faye used a nearby first aid kit to bandage her hand.

After moments of silence, Faye sighed and shook her head at her own reflection in a shard of glass. Just seeing her reflection in a broken shard, made her realize how broken her mind is. It was just as broken as that mirror...and it was broken by her own hands.

She knew what she had to do now.

She fished her cell phone out of her purse and after taking in a few deep breaths and regaining her composure, she speed dialed Dr. Hopper. She waited for him to answer as the dial tone rang in her ear.

The phone rang five times before Archie answered, more than likely just finishing up an appointment with a client as his mind seemed a bit scattered as he answered.

"Uh, y-yes h-hello?"

Faye answered, her voice was serious and seemed to hold a heavy weight of its own, "Hello, Dr. Hopper. I want to cancel all future appointments..."

"Doctor!" Archie said upon recognition from her voice, then processed the words Faye had spoken to him. "I- I don't think I understand. Has, uh, has something happened?"

"No. Not yet anyways,"

Faye closed her eyes and she said to him, "The meetings weren't working...we both know that. And now with my memories back," She chuckled bitterly and with a tone that showed despair, "Well...now I know how hopeless my case truly is,"

"Dr. Stevenson..." Archie tried after a long pause. "Perhaps then, what you need isn't a psychologist, but a friend. Why don't you come stop by tomorrow? It will be all off the record; no notes, no new treatments, just an ear to listen. Whatever it is... whatever this is... I've been seeing you long enough to know that you can't do it alone."

Faye was silent out of surprise from Archie's answer. She certainly hadn't been expecting that kind of response. She soon let out a series of sounds. Whether they were chuckles or sobs, it was hard to tell if Faye was laughing or crying.

Faye covered her mouth as tears fell down her face. She said to him, "Thank you, Dr. Hopper. You are very kind...But I'm afraid I can't," She shook her head and she said to him, trying to stop herself from crying as she spoke, but failing, "I'm afraid...that if I let you in on...'too much information', then she will come after you, and I don't want anyone to lose their lives because of me,"

"She?" Archie responded, and then made a noise of understanding just as soon as the word left his mouth. "Oh, you mean your other persona." He clarified before continuing on, his voice keeping calm and pausing from time to time, allowing Faye to get in her sobs over the phone. "Doctor Ste- Faye... I can understand your fear of the unknown, and I admire that you wish to keep me, and everyone else in Storybrooke safe by not pursuing anything but have you stopped to think that you might be hurting yourself more by keeping it to yourself?" He paused, letting that sink in for a moment. "She may come after me, she may not, but if she does I will gladly stand my ground on the principle that I did nothing more than try to help a friend in need, and if that makes me a target, then so be it."

"My! My! We got a brave one! That makes a hunt so much more interesting!"

Faye ignored Hyde's predatory sneer in her head. She had considered that what she had been doing has been hurting herself, but it was either have her be hurt, or kill people. She widened her eyes at his statement, and she could feel her heart ache. She warned him, "My persona isn't just some sadistic psychopath...She's dangerous. You're saying that you are perfectly ok with being a target to an animalistically minded predator! She's a monster,"

"Well that is one opinion." Archie stated optimistically. "My own personal opinion, however, remains unmoved since I have not yet met this other side of you, nor am I pushing to. Simply, I am offering you an ear and perhaps a shoulder if you should so need it." He paused, then continued. "Just think about it Faye."

Faye warned him, "Trust me...you do not want to meet her," She then said to him "Thank you Dr. Hopper. I will think about it,"
She then said "My name before the curse...was Dr. Heather Jekyll," After giving him her pre-curse name, she hung up on Dr. Hopper, before he could react. She then rubbed her face, and calmed herself down.

She then stood up and headed for the bathroom. She knew that she needed to make sure that she didn't look weak in front of the one person who was evenly matched against Hyde. After she had prepared herself, she grabbed the glowing green phaseolus vulgaris extract in the test tube, corked it, and hid it in her coat, sure that the concoction won't spill. She left the house three hours later, when night had fallen over Storybrooke.

*~*~*

Faye walked to Mr. Gold's house, looking carefully to see if anyone was following her, and she was looking to see if any of the lights in the house were lit. The entire victorian home was lit from the second story down, leaving only the balcony and attic on the third story completely dark. It was a strange sight, as usually only one or two lights would remain on at a time.

Mr. Gold had taken a quick break from poking fun at Belle's culinary skills in the 'new world' and stepped outside on the porch, pulling a cigerette from his inside suit jacket pocket and held it gingerly between his lips while he fished out a lighter from his pants pocket. He'd have to be extra cautious with leaving these lying around with Belle sharing his space now. With practiced precision, he had the end lit and had taken in a few drags before spotting Heather headed towards his home.

Faye saw him smoking from a cigarette, and she shook her head at him, before he caught sight of her. She thought to herself with sarcasm, "Way to take a doctor's diagnosis seriously," When she was close enough, she stopped and greeted Gold with a stoic, cold, and calm "Good evening, Mr. Gold,"

Mr. Gold promptly raised an eyebrow at her, but gave nothing more of a greeting before nudging his head in the direction of the stone pathway that would take them around the house. Without even so much as waiting to see if she followed, Mr. Gold limped down the stairs and onto the path that would take him straight to the basement entrance.

Faye followed Mr. Gold to the basement, not saying a word as she walked down the stairs and into the basement. He allowed her to go first, finishing his cigerette and stomping it out with his shoe before following after her a few moments later. Faye turned on the lightbulb above them so they could see what they were doing. She carefully looked at the chemicals that were on the table and she looked to Mr. Gold.

"Remind me why I'm doing this again, I'm rather busy with another project." He said after a long, uncomfortable silence, his eyes glancing over to the alchemy table where he had started his work that morning.

After the failed attempt earlier that afternoon, he got in a quick nap to keep Belle from fussing over him but twenty minutes and a cup of tea later he was back at work, starting from scratch. The only other break he had taken that day was when Belle had come down to ask what she should prepare for dinner. After a quick argument in the house over the subject matter of Belle no longer being his caretaker, and she of course being stubborn in turn ignored his protests and began to cook dinner anyway. It was then that he had a strong urge to smoke, and quietly slipped outside after kissing Belle tenderly on her forehead as her hands were wrist deep in ground beef.

Faye crossed her arms and she answered his request with a raised eyebrow, "Because you promised to help me in return for helping Belle get acquainted with Storybrooke and helping her get new clothes,"

Mr. Gold snorted, heading over to his alchemy table and muttering something about 'your kind to do it out of being nice' as he ran his hands over two different vials of liquid before plucking one from its stand and using an eye dropper to add two drops of the black liquid to the larger, slowly boiling beaker over the bunsen burner.

She then asked "What other project are you working on?"

After he had applied the drops, he placed the smaller test tube back on its holder before looking up at Heather.

"What is it you need my help in magic for?" He asked, ignoring her question alltogether. "After your other self broke our last deal for this favor, and with how quiet Storybrooke has been lately, I'm not too eager to bring your Henry back."

"Because, one: you promised with the new deal you made with me, which I've kept my end. Two: I'm a scientist, and the only magic I know is what you've taught me before the curse, and they don't include portals. Lastly..." She smiled cleverly at him and she asked "Who's to say what I have, wouldn't be of any help to your...other project?"

"Ah, so it's a portal you want is it? Well I'm sorry to tell you dearie, I spent a dozen lifetimes trying to create one. It can't be done."

"It's not a portal I want. I told you, I want to bring Henry, Mary Margaret, and Knox back if they're alive," Heather corrected him.

"Which would require a portal." Mr. Gold replied acidly.

She then pulled out the test tube and she asked "Did your previous attempts at creating portals include using this?" She showed him the shining green concoction and she explained, "This compound is Phaseolus Vulgaris extract. Bean extract. And I don't think I need to tell you what's causing it to glow, I think you can already tell,"

At the mention of the bean extract, the pawnbroker's attention was piqued slightly. Stepping aside from his alchemy table, he snatched the vial away from her and held the tube up to the light, examining the contents.

"Now where would they have gotten a magic bean?" He asked more out loud to himself than to Heather. He lowered the test tube back down and waved his hand over the top, watching the neon green fade into something more tolerable to look at before holding it back up to the light once more, watching the small, darker specs of matter floating around within the green liquid.

"I'm afraid I've only the one answer for you dearie." He said handing the tube back to her. "As you're not from this world, or mine, I'll indulge you in a little lesson. Magic beans, grown by the giants of The Enchanted Forest... it was rumored that there were none left in my land. Many, many years ago, far before my existance and when the giants were all too common, the humans had learnt about the beans and were quick to turn to greed and wage war, for what could stop a man who could travel to any land he wished so long as he only thought about it? This war... it went on for centuries, but the humans emerged victorious and brought home the beans for themselves. Portal jumping became quite the leisurely activity for the common people, and the existance of the twelve realms came to be but as the multitude of The Enchanted Forest had been spread all across time and space, not one of them realized that once the beans were gone, they were gone for good... they could not come back.

"With the giants now all but gone, and without a single stock growing, the beans have become quite the rarity. It is curious as to how your Henry came by one, it's even more curious that he had decided to use it now and leave you behind." Mr. Gold paused, gauging Heather's reaction before adding in the poison to his comment. "You might want to stop and reconsider your... relationship-"

"You watch what you're saying!" Heather couldn't help but hiss out quietly. She knew what he was insinuating, and she glared at him, while her jaw clenched. Her lips were open in a slight snarl, almost allowing Gold to see her teeth...sharpen? She may have felt sadness and despair when Hyde told her this...but when Gold said it, it seemed to bring out an anger that Heather had attempted to bury for so long.

"Whatever land he has thought of, whatever land he has travelled to... he won't be coming back, not without another bean, and let me tell you dearie, in my many centuries of portal searching, I have only come by two in my lifetime." He quickly gestured towards the vial, unperturbed by Heather's anger towards him. "Well, two and a half."

She snarled lightly, "Well, if that counts as half, I can get more. I certainly know how to get more of that extract, and where if that is the problem," The hand that wasn't holding the vial full of extract, clenched itself into a tight self as an attempt to keep herself from lashing out at Gold.

A smile curled over his lips, finding something in Faye's words amusing.

"That's not how it works dearie. Once a bean has been activated, it can not be reused, no matter how much magic or science you put into it. There isn't enough power in the world to resurrect what you have managed to collect in a bottle. Snow White, is gone. Knox. Is gone. Henry. Is. Gone!" He was snarling now, having lost his patience somewhere along the way while he was speaking through tightly clenched teeth, a glint in his eye alluding that there was more to his words than what he was just saying to the good doctor. "He left you Heather, he abandoned you. And he's not coming back."

Heather was visibly shaking as her anger seemed to grow, and she spoke as he snarled his poisonous words "ShutupshutupshutupshutupSHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUPSHUUUUUUTUUUUUUP!!!"
She then raised her hand to slap him hard across the face, but with the reflexes that were entirely inhuman his hand closed down hard on her wrist, keeping her hand there a few inches from his face.

"Careful... who you upset... dearie. You're not the only one... with an inner demon here..." Mr. Gold whispered out harshly, a menacing warning.

Heather winced at the painful grip Gold had on her wrist, coupled with the stings on the strange burns that appeared on her arm and wrist. However, she kept her glare, and she hissed "You should heed that warning as well, Gold," She then move to tug her wrist out of his grip, before he completely cut off circulation and made her hand numb.

Puzzled, Mr. Gold's expression faded from raging to confused as she winced. He wasn't applying near enough pressure to illicit such a reaction, it was then that he quickly realized that there was more going on here than he knew. Ignoring her warning without regard, he held fast to her wrist when she tried to wrench away and then used his opposite hand (dropping his cane without concern in the process) and pushed up the sleeve of her long-sleeved shirt and doctor's coat, finding her wrist covered in blisters and burns.

Eyes piercing on her marred flesh, his dark brown eyes eased up onto her own brown eyes. Brown... five years he had known Heather and her cursed counterpart Faye, he was sure that her eyes were blue. Names and faces were his trade, so the slight alteration caught him off guard. He released his grip on Faye immediately, staggering backwards forgetting that he had dropped his cane and no longer had the support he had grown accustomed to.

"What aren't you telling me?" He asked quietly, glancing back down at her wrist to ensure she knew what he was talking about as he bought himself time to think. Hyde had brown eyes, of that he was sure since he had conversed with the woman enough to know. It could be that Mr. Gold had just caught Heather on the verge of a change, he had never seen the change take place before, he was sure no one other than herself had ever witnessed it, and the pressing thoughts on his wheeling mind were immediately discarded.

Faye looked at him, calming down somewhat, when his face seemed to lose the rage and have it replaced by confusion. She looked at him in the eyes, and when he staggered back she had her arm fall back to her side. She raised an eyebrow at his quiet question and after he nodded back to her arm, she answered "The burns? They appeared after I had a nightmare. Why are you interested in these burns?"

It didn't make sense to her. Mr. Gold certainly wasn't a man who cared about others' well beings like she did. And she certainly didn't see a connection between her burns and her problem as of now.

"Because they're permeating with dark magic." Mr. Gold replied simply, keeping his voice even and calm despite the roaring turmoil taking place in his chest.

Faye blinked at his answer, and she knew that if someone tried to use dark magic on her, Hyde would've taken over and it would've prevented her from getting hurt...she then recalled that she had been placed under a sleeping curse before she remembered who she was.

She asked Gold with great suspicion in her voice, "Is the nightmare that gave me these burns some kind of after-effect of the sleeping curse?"

A muscle in Mr. Gold's eyebrow twitched before he moved himself past Heather to collect his cane and made his way slowly back over to the alchemy table he had been working on earlier.

"What did you see? In this nightmare?" He asked.

Faye looked at him somewhat like he had just grown a third head, and she answered him, "Some kind of room lit in flames. There were...dark figures, people, beyond the walls of fire,"

A sharp exhale came through his nose, as if he were expecting another answer and disappointed with the one she had given him. He said nothing for a few moments, only letting his hands tinker around the various glass vials on the table in front of him before finally breaking the silence.

"You were put under a sleeping curse, a curse only breakable by true love's kiss. It's uncommon, though not unheard of, for the victim to travel back to the fade where their spirit had gone while under the curse, since they aren't supposed to be able to return." He explained. "It seems, you're suffering quite the side effects... better prescribe yourself something there doctor." Though there was humor in his words, it lacked severely in his tone.

She listened to his explanation, and she rolled her eyes at the humorless joke. After he made the joke, she commented "Right...How long does this 'side effect' last?" She had noticed that he was expecting a different answer and was disappointed with the one she got, but she didn't ask about it...at least not yet.

"I'm afraid I don't have that answer." Mr. Gold replied, sounding rather upset at his lack of knowledge on the subject. "And unfortunately for you, the only other person who might have your answer is with Henry."

Faye sighed and commented "Mary Margaret..." in understanding. She then said "Well, I don't see any more reason to stay. I bid you adieu, Gold," She then started walking up the stairs, and she soon saw Belle there. From Belle's look, Faye could tell that Belle heard and saw a large part of the meeting that took place.

She sighed out loud "Belle...you really got to stop eavesdropping. It's gonna get you into a lot of trouble someday,"
Belle answered "Well, I honestly came to let Rumpel know that dinner's ready..."
Faye answered "Ah...Well, I'll leave you two be,"
Belle started to offer, "But...wouldn't you like to-"
"No! No thank you, Belle. Thank you for the offer though. I'll see you later," Faye rejected quickly, before she walked away and headed home.

Belle looked to Rumpel and said "Rumpel...Dinner's ready,"

Belle's call to him seemed to be far away, only a light buzzing in his ear as he watched Heather leave his basement, a sinking feeling pitting in his stomach.

"I'm not hungry." Mr. Gold replied long enough for Belle to be sure he hadn't heard her. Tearing his eyes from the door, he turned his back to Belle and hunched over the worktable, keeping his eyes on his work and pushing everything and everyone else out.

(Featuring Guardian Angel Haruki's Killian One Hand, Ghost Shadow's Edric the Cat, Major Ursa's Knox and Jill of All Trades, and Tanderbolt-sempai's Snow
Special Guest Appearance by YoshiSkittlez's Rumpelstiltskin's Letter
Special Mentions of Cora, Jefferson and Leveret
Dedicated to the Memory of Alice...R.I.P., Gone but Not Forgotten)

The group continued on their journey shortly after the quick stop, both empowered and slightly saddened upon seeing the castle again. Though tired, hungry, and aching, Edric made no outright complaint, instead filled with renewed vigor to make it closer to his goal.

The castle looked like Snow expected it to. It was disheartening to see it destroyed, but if she was making a list of her most tragic moments, this wouldn't even be in the top 10. She was glad that the group had held together so far, all that remained was to get to the bedroom.

Upon arrival, Edric quickly shifted back into cat form, citing his keener senses and instincts as reasoning.

"Well, we've made it - home...question now is, which way leads to the bedroom? Most of the passageways are destroyed. I'll have a look around..." The Cat essentially conversed with himself before teleporting off in a cloud of smoke. Though he was nowhere to be seen, the thumping sound of paws against the tile floor, and the occasional clang of something crashing showed his location.

"I think I've found a way there. Come!" The Cat suddenly said, appearing in front of Snow as if he had never left. As soon as he figured he got her attention, he scampered off in a random direction, not looking back to see if she'd follow - expecting her to.

Killian looked upon the castle. He remembered seeing the ruins, but certainly not up close like this. He looked to Snow, expecting to see emotion from the Queen, but she seemed to be keeping herself composed, as she was probably expected to by her subjects.

He watched as The Cat shifted back to his feline form, and made himself useful looking for passageways into the castle. He smirked a bit when The Cat made his triumphant statement and he followed after him, certain that Snow would follow.

Snow could see that the bedroom still stood, and breathed a sigh of releif. She followed Henry, walking slower than his quick pace, surverying the area for dangers. She said "If you need help getting around, let me know. Make sure to take care to avoid parts that are structurally unsound, we wouldn't want anyone to get crushed under a ton of rocks"

Jill skipped over ruin debris, here and there, eyes scanning up anything still standing and down along the ground, hoping to find anything of interest. Anything metal she stuck into her leathers, anything valuble was picked up and examined briefly...but as the castle was raided many times over, nothing more that metal glittering like gold or glass fragments shining like diamonds.

Stepping over a slab of broken marble, and hearing some crunch of things broken, the mercenary caught sight of, "...?" Going over to the long piece of wood, she tapped it lightly with the end of her foot, feeling the weight of it, bafore finally picking it up in hand. Examining it closely, feeling the carved grooves and seeing the gold inlay, "...!" This had to be...?!

Hopping up and down, Jill was certain she had found that royal scepter things kings usually wielded to, uh, hit their servants with. Little did she know, the long wooden stick was actually a bedpost from a guest room.

"Much obliged for the concern, but I don't think you'll have to worry about me...I should have, what? Six--seven, maybe eight lives left in me?" He replied with a cheeky grin, airing complete confidence.

"Now then, business to attend to." The Cat declared as he slowly began probing the dusty bedroom, looking in every nook and cranny possible; as well as keeping an eye out for any especially loose boards.

"What exactly are we looking for anyways?" Killian asked as he followed the both of them into the bedroom. Of course, he knew about the mirror already, but figured that playing dumb would earn him favor from the Cat, considering that said companion hadn't said anything about the mirror to Snow, the Shadow Man, or Jill. However, he was certain that Snow was looking for something, but what, he didn't know.

"We're looking for a lot of things. Obviously, supplies are the most immediately useful things, but I also need to find information. Look for any papers you can find, especially letters. I kept a lot of documents here, things like information on the area or about our enemies. Hopefully, something we can use survived." Snow said. She was a natural leader, even if her years of isolation had limited her personal interactions somewhat.

"Hm...not bad." The Cat put in, clearly more interested in critiquing the interior design of the bedroom as opposed to actually looking for the letter, though it was a secondary objective.

"I do say, I quite like where this is going...bit surreal, though, really...and that's coming from me."

As if to emphasize this point, The Cat quickly shifted back into human form to get a closer...rather, taller look at all the knick-knacks, at least those that remained after the near total-destruction of the castle.

"Why can't we have furniture like this in Storybrooke? You'd think someone as fanciful as Regina would give us more to work with than downtown 19th Century, tsk tsk, rushed work, indeed." Edric ranted to himself, apparently not paying attention; or so it seemed.

Killian looked around as Snow gave her answer, and he kept his thoughts on finding papers in this castle to himself. He looked at Henry when he shifted back into his human form and commented on the furniture. He rolled his eyes and he spoke up as he casually searched for anything of use, "Perhaps you could focus more on searching, instead of critiquing,"

"Don't tempt me, Blacksmith, lest I begin hounding you on those rags you call clothing." Edric quickly retorted, apparently finding his brightly colored coat, cravat, and waistcoat more appealing than the simple tunics of a refugee Killian wore.

While they bickered, Snow found the letter exactly where she had left it years ago. For a moment she thought to herself that Henry was right about the inferior quality of the furniture in Storybrooke, if only they had a class of peasents to support the artistocrats in that world, then there would be an ample market for finely crafted furniture and other goods. She picked it up carefully, and tore at one of the edges gently. Now it ripped, meaning that the time had come.

Before Edric could continue to make rude japes at Killian's expense, his blue eyes shifted over to where Snow was, holding a letter in hand; certainly the same letter she had spoken to him about just hours before.

Though not saying anything about the matter to avoid drawing attention, he kept glancing over to her to gauge her reaction, see what made this letter so important.

You continue to let your assumptions take over your mind, dearie, you'll surely find yourself in a lot more trouble than Regina could ever present you with.

My words exactly were as follows:

'that little thing growing inside you'

My dear Snow White... there is no baby. There never was one. You took my words and formed it into something you and the shepherd longed to have, so desperate that you latched onto the words of me, The Dark One. Not your smartest decision, though not your dumbest one either. No, instead (since it seems you lack certain aspects of understanding conversation, that I must be literal in all things) I spoke of your heart. Protect it well Your Majesty, for it will both be your downfall and your salvation.

-Rumplestiltskin

Snow's expression turned to a grumpy frown in an instant. She held the letter by her side and stared at the wall for a few moments, containing her frustration. It had all been a waste, but at least she hadn't suffered any great harm. She made a bargain with Rumpelstiltskin and only suffered a cruel joke, she should count herself lucky. Snow groaned and waited a few more moments before saying "Well, I guess this wasn't as useful as I hoped it would be. Come on, let's keep looking for supplies and get some rest."

"Snow, a word please, alone." Edric said in a solemn tone, now looking more dignified than flamboyant.

Leaving the bedroom entirely down the somehow-still-standing hallway, Edric awaited her arrival before asking, "What was in the letter?" in a grave tone.

"Nothing important, I trusted someone I shouldn't have and they ended up wasting my time. At least we found a safe place to spend the night." Snow said.

Edric's expression could be best described as insulted. Had there been that much trust lost between them in only a few years?

Seeing Edric's shocked face brought her out her frustration. She smiled from his humorous misunderstanding "Not you, the person who wrote the letter."

"No, I know." Edric replied, his own expression softening somewhat "It just seems strange that we'd come all this way for a letter that doesn't even seem to be that important." He added, hiding his own slight irritance that she wouldn't tell him more about the letter.

"Sometimes people let you down, you put a lot of trust in them and they fail you. It's inevitable that some people will mess up, you can't avoid that. What is important is to try and do better, to learn from mistakes and never repeat them." Snow said, still talking in generalities.

Edric's expression soured again, becoming almost dour as he spoke next. "I am not in the mood for this, Snow...you spoke to me in private about searching for a letter, then, when we find said letter, you're not telling me what was in it. Are we together in this, or not?" He demanded in a tone most unlike him, a mixture of both anger and desperation.

"Alright, alright, I'll tell you what it was about. Right before the whole mess with the curse happened, I thought I was pregnant. Rumpelstiltskin told me that I was, and he gave me this letter which he told me would be unsealed at the right time. Here, you can read it." She handed him the letter.

Edric wordlessly took the letter, skimming it over, his mouth twitching the further he read on. "So...all a wild goose chase from The Dark One. I can't say I didn't expect such a thing occurring." He finished before sauntering back into the bedroom, folding the letter neatly in his hand as he did so.

"Perhaps..." he began on a cryptic note, looking at the shelves once again, "Perhaps this trip isn't totally in vain after all." He added, a sly smile picking up on the edge of his lips.

Snow tilted her head to the side and said "Do you have something in mind? Anything we need to do here?"

"No, no...not here...but back home - Wonderland...I have my sister to rescue." Edric replied in a tone filled with an almost frightening confidence, as if he would go to any length to accomplish his mission...no matter the consequences.

Killian meanwhile, had wandered off to look around, and soon enough he found something leaning against the wall. It was taller then he was, and it was covered in a cloth. He went over to it and removed the cloth to reveal that it was the looking glass portal. He smirked and he went off to go and gather the others.

He found Snow and Henry first, and he said to Henry as he approached, "Hey. I found something you might want to see, mate,"

Edric's attention was diverted, however, when Killian spoke up; a wider smile crossing his lips. "Have you found it? The Looking Glass?" He asked hopefully.

Killian looked at Edric and Snow, realizing before answering, "Aye. Follow me," He then turned and led the way to where the mirror was, hearing Snow's and Edric's footsteps behind him as they followed with interest.

Running around like a fool, waving the wooden post around in the air like a little girl with a fake fairy wand, Jill was even doing the light giggly child laugh typical of such behavior...before her ears caught the sound of collective footsteps rung out just down the hall. Kicking an already broken door down and running around in the hall, hearing it's own wood on stone sound ring out, she was about one careful spin away from pitching forward and smacking into them all, nearly breaking the mirror thing with her royal scepter.

Killian immediatly spotted that fool Jill running over to the mirror, ready to smack the mirror and break it into pieces. He ran over and grabbed Jill's wrist (that held the wooden bedpost part) and yanked her backwards and he stated, "Careful lass. Wouldn't want you to hurt yourself by breaking the mirror,"

Eyes wide as she caught sight of the mirror, she looked the reflective thing over with interest. "Ooooo! 'Ow tis 'ing soo'wive 'ive eerz an'--" Taking a moment to stick a finger of her freehand into her mouth, "Many raids?" This thing was either a natural badass, or magic...hoping for the former, though the latter was much more likely.

Stepping out of a shadow cast by one of the more whole walls left in the building, Knox had listened in just enough to know when his presence would be needed. Seeing the whole of the impressive mirror for himself, his down face lightly smudged with a touch of dirt here and there...yet none of the previous exhaustion from before... "How indeed...? Well, nothing hurries things along faster than traps, I suppose." Rubbing his chin with the back of his hand, the shadow man made his way closer to the mirror, before pacing a little bit further away.

Mirrors, especially one like this, just left here when everything was in such a state of disarray...either someone was stupidly careless, or this was a trap. Then again, there would be certainly nothing gained from just standing around...well, this didn't matter. For now till they returned, and he knew they most certainly would aim for such, Knox was just going to follow behind them.

Snow looked around at the others, seeing that they had now gathered in front of the mirror. She took a moment to address them. "Well, I'm glad we're all here. I don't know what this thing is supposed to do, but I trust you guys if you say it is helpful. Can it get us out of here quick, or at least get some help? I don't think we'd be able to bring it back to camp without messing it up."

At Snow's statement, Edric let out a small chuckle that emanated sincere amusement; as though her thoughts of escaping and/or finding help were humorous.

"Oh no, my dear, help is the last thing you're going to get through this mirror." Edric put in a nonchalant manner, examining the Looking Glass closely. "This...this is a portal back home, you see, back to Wonderland. That is where we'll find my sister. Amazing...I've only caught glance of one or two of these in my life, but not up close like this..." As if trying to check its authencity, Edric outstretched a single hand, extending his pointer finger to touch the glass, which seemed to ripple like disturbances in a pool of water before settling once more.

"So..." Edric began, turning to look back at his companions. "Who wants to see where madness comes from?" He asked with an almost manic grin on his face.

Letting out a breath from where he stood, Knox watched the mirror 'ripple' as it liquid trapped behind the thinnest sheet of metal, evidently unimpressed, "Sometimes the most appropriate response to reality itself is to go insane."

"Well...that's one way of putting it, I suppose...bit less fun, though." Edric commented, crossing his arms over his chest.

Hearing this, Knox raised both of his eyebrows and gave 'Edric' a sort of expectant to disappointed look, "Clearly you have this ass backwards. What I said was hilarious."

"Look...I'm not asking for permission, I'm asking for assistance. Wonderland is my home, but I doubt my return will be met with much celebration. I need all the help I can get if I'm going to find Alice and get her back to The Enchanted Forest...and hopefully, back to Storybrooke. So I'll ask again: who wants to come with me?" He asked again, looking between the current party members.

Killian asked "Before we go, mate. What exactly is your plan for getting back The Enchanted Forest or this...Storybrooke of yours...?"

"Hell if I know." Edric replied with a small shrug of his shoulders, his expression suddenly turning from casual to pensive as he tried thinking up a potential solution. Through the sea of various plans and ideas, a single thought poked out amongst the rest; which could be quite plainly seen as his face lit up into one of sheer excitement. "Jefferson." He said simply, unaware that the name would have little-to-no impact on anyone else in the room. Nevertheless, he beamed like a small child at a candy store at the thought of seeing his....friend (Edric had difficulty coming to terms with the word) again.

Snow said "I miss Jefferson, he was a good man. I hate that in the other world everyone thinks of a repugnant man most famous for writing some great insult to a king when you say that name. I swear, filling my head with knowledge of how foolish that other world is one of the more insidious parts of Regina's curse."

"I wouldn't insult the Declaration once we get back to Storybrooke if I were you, Snow...there's a certain fireman who would just love to pound your head full of good old American politics. I speak from experience...now then, we need a plan, basic and simple." Henry paused before continuing on, gauging everyone's reactions beforehand.

"We go to Wonderland, rescue Alice, return to The Enchanted Forest, find Jefferson, have him take us to Storybrooke and then hopefully go longer than two days without a crisis. Sound good?"

Snow disregarded his comment about the fireman. What is a man with an axe compared to a Queen? She said, "That plan's a bit sparse. I think rescuing Alice is a good idea, and so is meeting Jefferson, but I think the order is a bit garbled. Is there any chance we could at least figure out if Jefferson is still around before leaving, or see if there's some way to get from wonderland to Storybrooke?"

"Honestly, I've lost contact with Jefferson since before the Curse hit...I've no idea if he's rightside-down or leftside-up...but for all I know, Cora's torturing my sister...there's no time to waste!" Edric quickly tried switching the situation around to appeal to (what was left) of Snow's empathy.

Snow visibly twitched when she heard the name Cora. "F-funny, I knew someone named Cora. Regina's mom, actually, just as evil as her offspring. She's been dead a while now, so I guess this must be a different one. I will help you rescue your sister, I owe you that much. But if I don't make it back, you will owe Charming and the rest of Storybrooke a debt that is much greater than that."

"I'll call him 'your highness' if it gets him to stop whining." Edric replied in a tone that was harsher than intended.

"Now then...the hour is late. I heartily suggest a meal and a nap is in order!" Edric threw in, switching subjects quickly.

Snow answered simply, ignoring his joke "Agreed"

Knox looked about the surrounding area before finally shrugging and disappearing into the shadow he stood in.

Hook nodded and said "Aye. Sounds like a fine idea," He then started walking away, taking the bed post in his hand from Jill as he strolled by her, and said as he did "I'll go set up a fire then. Don't want to freeze before we go to Wonderland,"

Gawking at the mirror still, it took Jill a moment to realise that...her hands were empty... "'Ey? EY?!" Spinning around to see where it fell or flew or ran off too (whatever these thing'll do under the influence of majickers), she wobbled a bit dizzy before catching sight of Killian leaving with it in hand...hook...combo. Still dizzy, dizzier than she'd like, she wobbled after him, "Thaz 'ay 'wesure~!"

As her magically magic scepter of royalty was tossed into the fire started by Killian in a rather quick fashion, causing some embers to fly, the roar of flame was heard in her ears as the fire engulfing the delicately carved wood reflected in her eyes..."...no..."

*~*~*Collaboration between YoshiSkittlez and GuardianAngelHaruki*~*~*

Faye tossed and turned in her bed as she faced the nightmare again. She had no idea what was going on, and she could feel the flames licking at her arms once again, causing the pain in her arms to light up and cause her to yell in pain.

She cringed as she woke up, but the pain lingered on her arms as she noticed the light flooding into her room. She walked to the freezer and got an ice pack to place on her burnt areas. She swore under her breath. She couldn't help but remember Gold's words about Henry last night. She shook her head trying to forget them, but it was difficult to do so.

She sighed through her nose. She didn't know what else she could do to help Henry and the others. Was there really no way? Was there really nothing else she could do? Had her efforts meant nothing?

She had initally planned on making breakfast here, but...the emptiness of her own home bothered her, so she decided to go to Granny's instead.

She dressed in black pants, a red turtle neck, long sleeved shirt, and her white doctor's coat over it, with her usual tennis shoes for long hours in the hospital. With her purse slung over her shoulder, she left her house and locked the door behind her.

She soon reached Granny's and sat at the bar, ordering coffee and eggs. As she sat in the diner, she noticed that everyone was talking about Henry's, Snow's, and Knox's disappearance. Of course...people were bound to notice at some point...

She thanked the waitress who brought her her coffee, and she sipped at it as she listened to the people around her.

"Is it possible that those three...crossed the town line?"

"No way! There's no way Snow would just leave us! Especially without David,"

"Besides! Henry's car is still in Storybrooke. If they were to leave, they would've used his ride, right?"

A familiar grumpy voice, Leroy, piped up, "From what I heard...Dr. Stevenson was the last to see them..."

Faye could feel some pairs of eyes focused on her, if only for a brief moment, or for a couple minutes as she kept sipping at her coffee. She could hear whispers and murmurs as the people talked about her. They were wondering as to who she was back in The Enchanted Forest. Considering that she only met Rumpelstiltskin...and Red, while her other half met David, many were starting to believe that she could be one of the Evil Queen's minions.

At this point, Faye felt like coming to Granny's Diner may have been a poor decision on her part.

When her coffee cup was empty, she read a small book she kept on her person (considering that she didn't like reading the local tabloid of a newspaper), while she waited for her breakfast that seemed to be taking a long time.

A waitress, Ashley, came up to her and commented with a saccharine smile on her face "Here's your refill. On the house," Faye didn't move her free hand in time to avoid an 'accidental' splash from the hot coffee. She dropped her book, as she hissed through her teeth, and recoiled her burnt hand back, "OWOWOWOWOW!!!"

As she tried to use the iced water nearby to treat her new burn, Ashley smiled sweetly and she said "Oops! Sorry about that," Faye could tell from Ashley's tone that she wasn't really sorry. That splash was intentional.

Everyone in the diner looked ready to gang up on the Doctor, if she were to speak up against Ashley, or even stand up.

A shadow of a man moved past Faye to sit onto the bar stool next to her, a warm, comforting hand going to rest on her shoulder to get her attention.

Faye looked up to see David sitting next to her and she greeted as she rubbed her burnt hand with her other hand, "Good morning, Mr. Nolan,"

The other patrons of the diner seemed to be confused when David moved to sit next to her and placed a hand on her shoulder. Faye could feel their gazes leave her as they moved to mind their own business before they got on David's bad side.

David seemed completely unpreterbed by the looks he was getting within the diner, either he didn't notice (unlikely, even for David) or he didn't care.

"Yeah, uh, David... is just fine..." He replied with a warm, gentle smile after removing his hand from her shoulder. He then nodded his head in the direction of the door. "Walk with me?" He asked, a clear indication that he wanted to talk with her about some things under more private circumstances.

Faye blinked at his correction, and when he asked her to walk with him, she nodded silently as an affirmative response, and she walked out of the diner with him (after picking up her book, Crime and Punishments). Leaving the diner abuzz, wondering what was going on.

Faye walked with David, trying to just even think and word her statements. She knew she was going to have to tell him about her progress when it came to the three's disappearance. However, her mind kept on wandering back to that question that made her sick, the question that Hyde and Gold brought up so cruelly:

Did Henry really love her? Or did he not care and he just up and abandoned her?

"I'm sorry for that little stint Ashley pulled." David said once free from the watchful eyes and ears of Granny's Diner, stuffing his hands into his jeans pockets for something to do. "Ever since she sold her baby to Gold, she hasn't been quite herself..." He shook his head, seeming a bit more upset with Ashley's behavior than someone who had only known her as Ashley from Storybrooke. "Hows your hand?"

Faye snapped out of her daze when David spoke up and apologized for Ashley's actions. After he explained the reason for her behavior, she let out an understanding "Ah..." before she said "It's fine. You don't have to apologize. And my hand's alright...thanks,"

David nodded, pleased to hear that she hadn't been injured too badly, but what he knew of Faye Stevenson, it would take a lot more than just a hot splash of coffee to do any real damage to her.

"Well, you were right about Miss Hyde, she was there at the Sheriff's station for Regina. The cell was banged up pretty bad, but I got Hyde to leave Regina well enough alone, unfortunately with both cell blocks now damaged, I had no choice but to let Regina go. So far though, she hasn't been giving any trouble, though I guess it's only a matter of time."

She nodded when he told her about the incident in the jail. She knew she should tell him about the deal that Hyde struck up with Regina, but she knew that she needed to be careful and do so without giving him the idea that she and Hyde could be one and the same.

She answered "I heard," She shook and she could hear Hyde whisper ideas in her head to help her out.

She told her story to David, "Hyde figured out that I warned you and came to me again...She gloated about the incident, about how she practically destroyed the jail cell, and frightened Regina enough to the point that she made a deal with Hyde; She allowed Regina to keep her life, and in return she had to do whatever either of us told her to,"

She then added, showing confusion and wariness about Hyde "Why she picked us, I have no idea..." She then bitterly added "As though Hyde robbing me for everything I had back home wasn't enough,"

"You and me?" David asked in surprise, wanting the clarification. Clearly, he was just as clueless as Faye was when it came to Hyde's choice. "Not sure how that's going to help us though, Regina's not like Gold when it comes to deals. Although Gold has his own little rules on how he upholds his end of the bargain, he does actually come through with his end. Regina... I'm not so sure she's ever remained true to her word... about anything..." He pointed out, years of experience backing up his tone. "But speaking of Gold, have you gotten anywhere with him and the uh... portal problem?"

Faye sighed sadly as she was reminded of what happened the night before, and of the quandary in her head, as she answered "No...And I thought I actually had something that would help as well..."

She then pulled out the neon green glowing Magic Bean extract in a vial from her doctor's coat, and she held it out for him to see. She said to him, "Purines, Phytohaemagglutinin...every compound commonly found in beans. The glow's caused by magic,"

David stopped walking to look at the vial more closely. He particularly didn't have any experience with portals, and the words coming out of Faye's words might as well have been in a different language as he didn't understand any of it, but there was one thing he did understand.

"This came from the bean that made the portal they went through?" He asked in confirmation.

She nodded, somewhat slightly impressed that he was able to make that inference, "Yes. I managed to extract this from the soil samples that I gathered from the area where the portal disappeared," She then continued gravely "However...according to Gold, there's not enough power in the world, by science or magic, that could allow this to work as a portal," She wanted to be skeptical of the man and not believe his words, but from what she could tell, he was telling the truth...or at least believed that he had been telling her the truth.

David scoffed as the 'helpfulness' of Mr. Gold was revealed and gently took the vial from Faye after a nonverbal confirmation that it was alright.

"Gold's nothing but a greedy, rat-bastard. I thought that he might help us but without anything he wants, I'm afraid he's as useful to us as a wet paper bag." He carefully looked over the contents in the glass vial now that he was holding on to it. "But I'm not done yet, Gold's not the only one in Storybrooke that has magic. I'm going to take this to Mother Superior; she and the other nuns were fairies back in our land, very powerful but they only use their magic for good, unlike Gold and Regina. Maybe she can make sense of something."

Faye allowed David to carefully hold the glass cylinder and she let out a "Ha," at the mention that Gold was a greedy, rat-bastard. No words rang truer than that sentence. She blinked at the mention of Mother Superior and the fact that she and the nuns were fairies back in The Enchanted Forest. Why weren't they mentioned before? She didn't ask out loud, and instead said to him, with a little hope in her voice, "Alright. You'll let me know if they have anything?"

David nodded, putting his free hand back on her shoulder in a comforting gesture, meeting her blue eyes.

"Of course. We're going to do this, we're going to find Snow. Henry and Knox too. There's nothing in this world, and all the other worlds that will keep me from finding them." He flashed her a charming smile as he removed his hand from her shoulder, his short speech over with before it had really began. "You might want to head home for now though, not everyone in Storybrooke is as accepting that you aren't from our world as I am... if Cinderella's actions at the Diner weren't enough to back that up..."

Faye nodded and answered with a sigh at the reminder, "Right..." She noticed that he had said Henry and Knox's names as an afterthought to Snow, but she didn't comment. She then turned around and said as she started to head back to her house, "I'll see you later, David,"

"Stay out of trouble!" David called after her, a playful wink in his eye before he headed to the convent where he would once again have to ask a favor of the nuns. It was just as well though, he hadn't heard of the progress they were making with Ruby's memory potion lately.

Faye smiled sardonically at David's call and she mumbled quietly to herself, and out of David's hearing range, "Too late..."

Most of the time, Regina was less than pleased to have to take Mason to school in the early mornings, mostly with the dealings of having to leave her son to the limits of Henry Carlyle's teaching intellect. But as she dropped Mason off that morning and in overhearing some of the other parents talking amongst themselves, Regina learned that not only was Henry missing, but the security guard from the hospital and Snow were missing too! Rumored to have fallen through a portal and out of Storybrooke forever!

A white smile split Regina's red lips apart, feeling her heart lighter than a feather now with Mason back and the reason for her unquenchable thirst for bloodlust gone. Two birds with one stone so to speak. Now if there were only a way to get rid of Gold for good, then no one would be left to undermine her authority.

Releasing her eyebrows from their furrowed position, Regina drummed her fingertips on the leather steering wheel of her Mercedes as a perplexing thought came to her mind in thinking of Gold. As much as she would have loved for him to be gone as well, she still found that she needed him. Her magic was gone, and in her efforts yesterday of trying to bring it back, the only thing she gained was a concerned adopted son and a headache.
Pulling out of the school, Regina headed to the Pawnshop only to find that it hadn't opened and the pawnbroker's Cadillac was nowhere to be seen.

Either he's dead... or going to be dead very soon. Gold never just decides to not open up his shop...

Turning her car in the other direction, Regina headed to the one place in Storybrooke she went out of her way to avoid on all pretenses... Mr. Gold's home.

Pulling into the driveway, Regina's suspicion was somewhat confirmed as she found his black Cadillac parked in the driveway, though the house looked just as still and lifeless as it's owner. Somewhat vexed that she had to take time out of her morning to hunt the bastard down, she made a point to slam her car door loudly before storming up the stairs and began to pound on the door, feeling the stained glass squares quaking under her wrath.
"GOLD? I KNOW YOU'RE IN THERE! GOLD? RUMPELSTILTSKIN!"

Belle heard the noise outside as she cooked breakfast for both her and Rumpelstiltskin. As she thought about answering the door, she heard the voice and recognized it as Regina's voice. She remembered Robert's warning, but she wasn't going to let the Evil Queen make her cower. She walked to the front door and she opened it, giving Regina a firm, serious look, as she looked Regina in the eyes and she said to her, "Rumpelstiltskin isn't here right now. I highly suggest you come back later,"

Regina looked somewhat taken back when Belle had answered the door, the look on her face gave way that Regina might have actually forgotten of the girl's existence. She cleared her throat, tempering her anger and settling for crossing her arms over her chest.

"So now the little Imp has a guard dog..." Regina eyed Belle up and down for a moment. "...more like a prized poodle..." She muttered under her breath without even so much as trying to keep Belle from hearing her. She let her arms down from their crossed position on her chest and let one of her hands run through her black hair, her other hand resting firmly on her hip. "So here's whats going to happen. You're going to tell that hollow shell of a man that I'm here and you're going to get him to come and talk to me, coward to Queen."

Belle crossed her arms, her blood boiling at her words uttered from the Queen's mouth. She rolled her eyes and she retorted "No. Here is what's going to happen: I close the door on you, and you can leave immediately. Rumpelstiltskin. Is. Not. Here,"

Regina's lips curled up into a snarl over her perfect white teeth, the vein in her forehead pulsing as this stupid little girl proved time and time again to show no amount of respect towards her.

"How. Dare. You!" Regina raised her right arm, her fingers coming together like a claw in heading for Belle's throat, sparks from her fingertips igniting at the first sign of magic Regina had seen since the curse broke.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you...dearie..."

The voice had ice running through her boiling veins just as quickly as Regina was able to turn around, coming eye to eye with the pawnbroker staring right back at her with a cold glare not six inches away, though his posture seemed otherwise relaxed. He held both hands on the cane head, only breaking eye contact with Regina for a moment to look past her shoulder and to Belle, looking for some affirmation that she was alright.
Belle widened her eyes slightly and had a brief look of slight fear on her face when she saw sparks appear between Regina's fingers. However it faded when she heard Rumpelstiltskin's voice and she looked to see him. She smiled at him lightly to show that she was alright.

"Belle, go on inside. The Queen and I have some things to... discuss." Mr. Gold said staring right back at Regina, his voice calm yet laced with only those who knew Mr. Gold well enough as pure rage. Regina in turn only stared back at Mr. Gold, unwilling to give up the struggle for power in their standoff before he did.

Belle answered "Alright..." before she closed the door on Regina.

Only when he was sure that Belle had gone from the door did Mr. Gold smile, putting Regina even more on edge than she was before and making her eyebrows knit together even more furiously.

"I need the book." She said breaking the silence between them, though still refusing to even so much as blink.

"Which book?" He asked, looking genuinely confused before he let out a small chuckle, remembering just what it was Regina seemed to need so desperately. "Oh, so it's come down to that, eh? You need your mommy's help."

Regina's eyes flashed dangerously at the jab to her mother, but kept straight to the point.

"Give me the book." She demanded.

"Do you really need the smell of the written word to get the magic flowing again, love? Maybe if you just relaxed, it would happen."

He was toying with her, and though Regina had learned over the years on how to toy back with him, she wasn't in any mood.

"I don't have time. It worked, there for just a second, I know I can do it again I just... I need a shortcut back."

"Yeah, well, I don't have time either. Leave my porch... please."

Regina instantly stiffened at the word, the one word he had managed to weasel into the curse that forced her to do whatever he wished so long as he used it, but this time... this time she didn't feel compelled to listen, and found, much to her satisfaction, complete control over her body.

"Well... how about that? Your 'pleases' have lost their punch." She responded with a snarky smile.

"Well, the fact remains jump-starting your magic is not in my best interests." Mr. Gold replied, feeling himself losing his ground with Regina. He hadn't counted on that.

"You know what else isn't in your best interest? Having everyone know that The Enchanted Forest still exists. We have a couple of missing patrons from Storybrooke, now isn't it curious that your little curse didn't just... send us all back home? No... you're up to something Gold, and it doesn't involve going home..."

Mr. Gold fidgeted a bit, thinking over Regina's words. She had caught onto him far sooner than he had anticipated, and she was going to make him squirm until she got what she wanted, however, that didn't mean that he had to come out of this empty handed. Letting the gears turn in his head for a moment longer, he licked his lips before responding,

"Tell you what. I'll make you a deal. Your silence, with a key, for the book."

"Key? What the hell are you talking about?" Regina asked, for once completely lost in their dealings.

"There's a library inside the clock tower, a library you had closed off to Storybrooke to hide your little secret... you know, when you had power..." His lips twitched into a smile, watching Regina's smile fade at the jest.

"A library? Why on earth would you want a-" Regina snapped her mouth shut, for the first time tearing her eyes from Mr. Gold to look back at the front door of his home before looking back at him with an expression that was nothing less than awe-struck. "You really are smitten aren't you?" She asked and when he said nothing she added "My sympathies, nothing good will ever come out of it. She's more likely to up and leave you for another man again once she realizes just what sort of man you really are."

A muscle underneath Mr. Gold's eye twitched, but he kept his mouth shut on the matter.

"Alright fine, you can have the stupid library. The key is in my office-"

Mr. Gold made a quick flourish of his right hand before a tiny box no bigger than his palm appeared in his hand, a knowing smile playing at his lips as Regina's eyes widened a bit, jealousy of his ease of magic coloring her cheeks.

"Now give me the book."

Tucking the key box into the breast pocket of his dress shirt hidden underneath his suit jacket, Mr. Gold flicked his wrist and Regina gazed hungrily down at the book he now had in his hand.

"Careful, dearie. These are straight-up spells. Rough on the system." He warned as Regina snatched the book away from him.

"I don't care if they turn me green. I'm going to protect my son" Regina replied, and it took all of Mr. Gold' swill to not choke on the laughter he kept hidden in his chest at the iroy of her words. There was much Regina did not yet know, and yet... he found it to be better that way.

A small chuckle did find it's way out though, a quiet "Oh my" coming from the Pawnbroker as Regina pried open the book to devour the secrets within. Though at his chuckle, Regina was forced to look back at him with a questioning look.

"What?"

"It's just that... you once told me that you looked like your mother, and I didn't see it. Though, holding that... I now do." His lips curled up into a twisted smile as Regina's mouth opened up in a small 'o' in short of a gasp. Swallowing hard, Regina did what she could to straighten her gait as she pushed past him and headed directly to her car where she got in eagerly and left his driveway without another glance.

Still with the smile on his face, Mr. Gold hummed to himself a bit joyfully as he limped his way towards the door and headed inside his home. He had a present to give after all.

*~*~*Collaboration between YoshiSkittlez and GuardianAngelHaruki*~*~*

Belle had finished making breakfast, and as she cooked she kept an eye on what was happening through the window, even though she couldn't hear what they were saying through the glass. When she had finished and heard the front door open and close, she went over to Rumpelstiltskin and she asked in concern "Rumpel...what happened?"

Mr. Gold just gave Belle a genuine smile, crossing the remaining distance to Belle with the aid of his cane and stopped to let his free hand run through her brown curls before letting his hand hold the back of her head rather delicately.

"I can't leave you alone for two minutes without you finding yourself in some sort of trouble, can I?" He teased, dodging her question all together.

Belle smiled at his tease, and she lightly jabbed back "Well, somebody had to answer the door, and I'm not a doormat," She then asked seriously and in concern, "Is everything alright Rumpel? Why was she here?"

Leaning to the left a bit, Mr. Gold let his cane rest up against the wall so he wouldn't have to remove his hand from the back of her head. With his now free hand, he waved it across where the double doors were and slowly, the twin doors and their stained glass windows vanished, leaving nothing more than a solid wall as if it were built that way.

"There, now you don't have to worry about any more pesky solicitors." He said turning his attention back to her, letting his thumb run down her cheek in a loving caress. "Now you'll just have me to be annoyed with, in the confines of this house... forever."

Belle commented with a chuckle "Just like back in The Enchanted Forest,"

He nodded with a light laugh, a twinkle of amusement in his eyes.

"You didn't seem to mind it so much back at The Dark Castle. I could make it genuine and build you a dungeon to sleep in..."

"No, thank you. I can live without the dungeon," Belle responded, considering that she had been in a dungeon for five years in a row, without being able to leave. She then said "Well, breakfast is ready," She hoped that maybe he would tell her what had happened outside over breakfast.

"You say that as if sharing the bed of a beast is the better solution." He remarked quickly before letting his hands down from the curls of his hair before he lost his control entirely with her. He leaned back over to grab his cane, grateful for the extra support for his bad leg once more and walked with Belle to the kitchen.

"And you say that as if sharing a bed with you is a fate worse then death," She retorted back, while giving him a look that clearly said that she didn't think of him as a beast. She then handed him a plate of pancakes that she had successfully made after trying them at Granny's yesterday, and looking up the cookbook that was in Gold's house. All in all, appearance wise, it would be hard for Gold to tell that this was her first attempt at making pancakes.

"It is." Mr. Gold replied immediately, looking somewhat shocked that she hadn't been able to come to that conclusion on her own. "You've only had the two nights in my bed, you have yet to find out what the beast is truly capable of." And with that he picked up the fork and dug into the pancakes, stuffing a rather large amount into his mouth to keep from having to say anything she might reply with.

She gave him the stubborn look again when he made his immediate reply, before she stated "I hope you like them. I thought I'd try making pancakes after trying them at Granny's," She took a bite of her own, and found that with the butter and syrup...the pancakes seemed too sweet. Belle mentally noted that she had used too much sugar. She had a disappointed look on her face when she tried her pancakes.

With a mouth too full with breakfast, all Mr. Gold could do was nod his approval to the meal. Truly he never had a bad word to say when it came to Belle's cooking, despite how obnoxiously picky he had been in The Dark Castle, but that had all been out of spite, trying to irk her. Seeing the disappointement on her face though, he quickly forced himself to swallow what he had left before bending over and brushing her hair out of her face, giving her a kiss on her forehead and leaving a somewhat sticky mess from the syrup left on his lips.

"Sweetheart, they are perfect." He tried to console her, realizing the slight mistake he had made in kissing her forehead and snorted down a light laugh.

Belle couldn't help but smile at his kiss, and his compliment. She couldn't help but chuckle at the small, but adorable, mistake he made. She replied "Thank you, Rumpel. I'm glad you liked them,"

After the both of them finished their breakfast, and Belle had washed the dishes, she headed towards the wall, and she commented, teasing Rumpel again, "It would be nice to have a front door again..."

"What?" Mr. Gold said feigning shock as he followed her back into the entry hall. "And here I thought you enjoyed isolation..." He shook his head and sighed, milking the moment in his false disappointment for everything it was worth. "Well, I suppose I'm going to have to put them back if you're going to show up to work on time..." He let the sentence hang in the air, pretending that Belle wouldn't be the slightest bit confused at his remark, as if she already knew what he was talking about.

Belle blinked at his comment, and she asked tilting her head to the side slightly, her confusion clear as day, "Work?" She didn't remember getting a job...

He bobbed his head up and down, arching an eyebrow, pretending to be confused with her confusion before offering a hand to her.

"Come, I'll drive you." He offered waving his hand to restore the doors back to what they had once been.

Belle, who was still confused, accepted his hand and she walked with him out of the house. He led her down the steps and to his car, opening up her door for her and closing it once she was inside before going to the drivers side and got in himself.

The drive to the clock tower was a quick one, but that didn't keep Mr. Gold from playing up the surprise as much as he could.

"Mayor Mills, as you know, popped by this morning. As she's still Mayor, it is well within her authority to demand a steady workflow of her town. I did what I could, but the woman wouldn't budge, and insisted you get a job to help pull your weight around here. I'd rather not get into the finer details of what was said, but you can imagine it wasn't pleasant. But until I can figure something out for us that doesn't involve you getting sent back to that wretched hospital again, you're stuck with this job."

He parked the car and got out, quickly going to Belle's side to open the door for her before she had a chance and helped her out.

"It's not even a very good job either. I couldn't think of anything more dull. I tried to reason with Regina about letting you help me out in the Pawnshop, but that woman is hellbent on making me miserable by extention making you miserable..." He said leading Belle to the front door. He stopped and pulled out the key box from his breast pocket, pulling out the key making sure the palm of his hand covered up the library tag on it and unlocked the door.

"I really am sorry..." He said at last, giving her a sincere, apologetic look before opening up the door for her to walk through first.

Belle listened to him explain the situation to her and about how she had to have a job, and she ended up getting something miserable. She raised an eyebrow and when he finished, she said optimistically, as he opened the doors, "Well I'm sure I can handle whatever she throws...at...me..."

As she spoke she stepped inside and her demeanor had changed. She was in a library! Her face expression turned from a look expecting a difficult job, to that of a child receiving the best gift she could ever receive on Christmas Day. She covered her open smile with her hands and she said happily, letting a joyous laugh, "Oh Rumpel!"

Watching her reaction from a safe distance, Mr. Gold couldn't help but allow a smile to spread across his lips, feeling his chest fill with the joy she was expressing at the surprise. He'd decided right then and there that he would trade all the straw he had ever spun into gold to keep her this happy for the rest of their lives, never wanting her to come down from this explicit happiness.

"Don't get too upset with Regina, sweetheart. It's only a temporary thing until I can find a job you can truly enjoy." He mused, keeping up the charade though his face had been completely broken of the seriousness he held earlier, unable to not smile given Belle's sheer excitement.

She didn't seem to hear Rumpel's comment about Regina, and after he had spoken, she turned to him and embraced him as she said "Thank you!" She then kissed him on the lips, completely unable to contain her happiness, joy, and love.

He staggered backward a bit, taken by surprise at her throwing herself at him but his selfishness of never wanting to let her go took over quickly and wrapped his arms around her firmly, but with great care as to not hurt her and kissed her back, for once not minding the fact that his vulnerability for her was shining through his armor like a flashing neon sign on a dark night.

"Its... not as... good as... yours... in... The Dark... Castle..." He managed to get out inbetween stolen kisses, somehow the small shred of doubt at her being not as happy with Storybrooke's library in comparison to hers finding its way to his mind.

"I...still...love it!" Belle managed out between the kisses, her honesty and happiness apparent in that statement, trying to get rid of Rumpel's doubts before they grew and festered into something awful. She stated out loud, "It's wonderful...You're wonderful,"

He scoffed at her latter comment, though with a smile before abruptly removing himself from her embrace, afraid that if he held onto her any longer, breathed her scent in for a second longer, he would lose all control and take her right there in the library. No, his Belle didn't deserve that, didn't deserve his beastly impulses, didn't deserve him at all. But as she had been so adamant with staying with him, for gods only knew why, he would treat her with nothing more than the fair amount of respect she did deserve, and do things right by her. So if that meant bringing what small amount of a moment they had going to a halt, then so be it. He cleared his throat, giving his hands occupation by resting them both on the head of his cane to keep them from reaching back out for her.

"I wouldn't think about opening for a while yet, at least not until it's been cleaned up. Why don't I come and pick you up once I'm done at the Pawnshop? Should give you plenty of time to familarize yourself here..." He started. "Oh, and uh... there's a room upstairs for the librarian; you... if you should want it." He added, giving her yet another opportunity to not feel forced to stay with him at his house... his room... his bed... He shuddered slightly, wondering just how much longer he would be able to resist her if she continued to sleep willingly by his side.

Belle blinked when he scoffed and moved away from her. She calmed down from her joy, and she noticed that he still saw himself as a beast, despite their conversation before she left The Dark Castle. After he made the suggestion and let her know that there is a room upstairs for her to sleep in case she needed it. She answered his suggestion "That sounds great," She said to him, "Though, I'm still going to stay with you, you know,"

He exhaled sharply out his nose, his Adam's Apple high in his throat as he found difficulty swallowing as he looked away from her to keep from meeting her eyes. His hands tightened on the cane head a bit, his entire body going tense as his mind and heart debated with one another on feeling relieved she wanted to stay with him, and feeling downright frightened for her wanting to stay with him. After a long, quiet moment, he finally braved looking back to Belle with a sad smile tugging at the corners of his lips, letting an arm extend out to her to let his hand cup her face gently. He took a single step forward, closing the distance between their bodies and let his forehead and nose rest against hers.

"Oh, my Belle..." He said hardly above a whisper. "I don't... I can't... I'll ruin you..." It was a plea, a plea for her to end this before it could begin, but also a warning on his part, once again laying out his insecurities on the table for her to examine closely. Tears were beginning to gather in the corners of his eyes as he closed them tight, unable to look at her as he managed to keep their foreheads and noses together, but the rasp in his voice was a clear indicator that he was close to breaking. "I don't want to ruin you..." He finished.

Belle's joy had gone when he laid out his insecurities, but the love she felt never went away. She listened to him and carefully thought about his insecurities, trying to think from his perspective. She never moved away and instead she spoke softly, ready to comfort and reassure him, "Rumpel--"

Without a moment's notice, unable to bring himself into wanting to hear what she had to say (for he knew it would be nothing more than what she truly felt in her pure heart) he moved his hand to the back of her head and brought her lips back to his in a crushing kiss, unable to tell her how he felt and instead had to simply show her. Just when he felt that his control was slipping through his fingers like sand, he parted with her, unable to resist kissing her cheek softly, followed by her temple and then forehead before forcing himself to take a step back from her.

"I'll pick you up at six." He then said, fishing his credit card back out from his wallet and handing it to her. "Granny's is just a short walk from here, stop by there for lunch and give that to whoever is working; it's like money." He briefly explained before kissing her forehead once more and slipped the key to the library in her hand before turning to leave.

Before Belle could say anything, she found herself in another kiss. She closed her eyes and reciprocated the kiss, before he parted from her and placed a couple more on her temple and forehead. She nodded at his words, and as she accepted the card, she answered, "Alright, I'll be sure to stop by at Granny's. I'll see you later, Rumpel,"

He gave her a sad, lingering smile before nodding and headed out of the library, reluctant to leave her without his protection but knew that he had done this all for her, and wouldn't stop for anything that might hold her happiness back.

After he had left, Belle immediately got to work cleaning up the library. She immediately started with sweeping and she soon came upon the broken shards of glass from the broken window that she had climbed in on that day...she remembered the look in Rumpel's eyes during all of the times when he looked at her, and she couldn't help but remember the same look in Henry's eyes when she met him and showed worry over the woman in the hospital...Faye...

This couldn't wait. Anticipation rolled over Regina's skin time and time again, creating a clenching knot in her stomach that grew tighter and tighter each time the wheels on her car rotated. Home was another five minutes away, she needed her magic now! Pulling over to a small park where she had taken Mason that first day, Regina got out of her Mercedes after grabbing the book and hurried over to the nearest park bench. As the children were still in school it was completely empty, save for the tumble of the fall leaves that got caught up in the small breeze.

The spine of the book creaked as she opened it up to the bookmarked page, and just for a brief moment, Regina let the pads of her fingers trace over the wrinkled paper that kept the place of her mother's progress. Somehow knowing that the last person to have ever read these pages was her own mother gave Regina a sense of familiarity over the foreign text. She hadn't noticed the lump that began to form in her throat until she swallowed, finding great difficulty in the simple task.

Pulling the bookmark from the pages, Regina sat it next to her on the bench and opened up the book wide, scanning her brown eyes over the ancient runes and for a moment, she could almost feel her mother's magic. Inhaling a deep breath, Regina blew her breath over the pages and watched as the ink lifted itself from the parchment in a swirling cloud. She breathed it in quickly through her nose, feeling the magic pulsing through her blood immediately. Her iris' flashed a deep purple color for a brief moment and her entire body shivered. This was the feeling she had been missing, this is what she had been deprived of since Rumpelstiltskin brought magic to Storybrooke.

Slamming the book shut, Regina held the tome tightly to her chest, letting her eyes close as the magic ran its course through her body. She knew she had missed the aspect of being able to use magic ever since casting the curse, but what she hadn't realized until then was just how empty Regina Mills of Storybrooke had been. But no longer. Snapping her eyes open, a twisted smile came across her lips. She was back, The Evil Queen of The Enchanted Forest was back. And with Snow White and the Savior gone, there wasn't anything standing in her way to reclaim the power she had lost after the curse broke.

Standing from the bench, Regina let the magic now fueling her blood take care of the injuries she had been sustaining over the last few days, the last piece of the puzzle of her completion. Still clutching onto the book, Regina walked back to her car, a new air of confidence in the way she stepped. She tossed the book into the passenger side seat and got into her car, closing the door tight before reaching into her dress pants pocket and pulled out her cell phone. First order of business was Mason's protection. There was one man standing in the way of her and her son, and she had every intention of destroying the weed before it could even begin to take root.

Scrolling through the town contacts, she found the name she had been looking for and dialed, waiting for the other end to pick up with a pleasant smile on her face.

*~*Collaboration between Ghost Shadow and YoshiSkittlez*~*
Mark's morning had started out pleasant enough, given the circumstances. He had woken up, taken a few Aspirin, took Grip for a walk, and grabbed a quick spot of breakfast. Currently he was trying to distract himself by working on a rather detailed Civil War battlefield he had set up in his basement. It gave him something to do with his hands and mind, occupying him somehow without distant memories of the past - or of his son.

This pleasant activity, however, was to be interrupted by the slightly irritating vibration of his cell phone in his pocket; accompanied by some old Johnny Cash ringtone that Mark found quite amusing.

Pulling out his phone from his suit pants pocket, Mark had to take only one look at the Caller I.D. for his expression to fall from one of content neutrality to disgust and disdain.

Hitting the 'Answer' button, Mark chose to ignore the formalities and simply asked, "Is he safe?" Certainly referring to Mason.

"You think I would be wasting my time calling you if he wasn't?" Regina answered hotly, already annoyed with how this phone call was going. "I need you to stop by my place sometime this afternoon. I have a few things to discuss with you." She went on, taking the tone of the Mayor of Storybrooke rather than just Regina Mills.

"Unless the things you intend to discuss are how and when I get to see my son, I'm not interested." Mark replied stubbornly, having already denounced Regina as Mayor in his mind.

"Well now, how will you know unless you stop by?" Regina countered, her white smile heard clearly in her voice. "I'll see you in an hour." Her voice dropped completely, done with pleasantries and promptly hung up the phone.

Mark grumbled something under his breath as he pocketed his phone, heaving out a sigh as he stared blankly at his diorama. Frankly he wasn't sure what it was Regina wanted. But he couldn't look weak or cowardly, especially around her.

Heading back upstairs, Mark had enough time to get a quick shower and a fresh change of clothes on.

The time seemed to go by slower the longer he waited. His mind drifted, wondering what it would be like if his life had gone differently. If this Curse never sent him here, to Storybrooke; if the Wicked Witch had never lain eyes on his village and taken everything that was dear to him. Would he still be happy? Living the simple woodsman's life in the forests he loved so much? With the wife and son who he loved and remembered. Now his son was alive, but was little more than a shadow, a fragment. Unable to remember anything of the past, unable to remember anything of the life he had before Storybrooke, before Regina. Yet instead of pain or sorrow, Mark felt only emptiness...a hollowness inside him that seemed to do nothing but make him feel lonely, bare, but still alive.

Maybe spending eternity as The Tin Man was truly his destiny. Working and working until time ran out, unaware of the past, the present, or the future - ignorant and blissful.

Sometime during these musings, Mark inclined his head downwards, closing his eyes as he lost himself in thought.

Opening his eyes after some time, Mark looked down at his watch and grimaced as he realized he would have to get going.

Patting Grip atop the head as a farewell and grabbing his jacket before heading out the door, Mark took a few moments standing just outside his truck, eyes fixed on the window as he saw not his own reflection, but the face of the machine staring back at him; goggle-like eyes devoid of emotion, a permanantly crooked, jagged 'smile' etched into the front of his face to give some semblance of humanity.

Mark shuddered visibly, cold gaze fixated on the Tin Man in front of him, the machine only responding by placing a single hand up against his 'side' of the window.

"Why are you following me? You're not real anymore! Just a nightmare." Mark said aloud through gritted teeth, clenching his fist tightly as he could only wait for the machine to respond.

A distinct ticking sound, not dissimilar to that of a clock became audible as the Tin Man seemed to turn his head from side to side before looking out in front of him.

The Tin Man emitted an unsettling noise, something similar to that of a man exhaling; as though trying to catch his breath, straining underneath the weight of his own body. The Tin Man did not appear to be in any state of pain or anguish, but the sounds from within gave evidence to the contrary...even though it was debatable if the machine could even feel anything at all.

Staring straight back at Mark, the Tin Man took a few moments before replying. "Part of you." He said, the words seeming to emanate from him, as his 'mouth' did not move. His voice was cold, octaves lower than Mark's own, gravelly and resonating...yet underneath the veil, one could detect the slightest bit of humanity inside. Mark's own voice, smothered and distorted by steam and gears.

"What? What do you mean? You're a machine!" Mark retorted, glaring daggers into his own reflection.

"More than that. Part of you...Nicholas." The Tin Man replied coolly, displaying no emotion or motive in tone whatsoever.

Mark shut his eyes tightly, formulating a response in his head. Upon opening his eyes, however, the Tin Man was gone...replaced with Mark's own reflection.

Sighing tiredly, Mark stepped into his truck and turned it on before making the relatively short drive to Regina's, dreading the impending meeting.

By the time Mark reached the front door, he could tell that something was amiss. The left door was slightly ajar (broken off one of the hinges), the splinters where he had reduced the majority of it's center to firewood remained unattended to.

Mark took more than a few moments examining the shattered door, inwardly quite surprised it hadn't simply collapsed to the ground from the damage. Yet he also felt a certain sense of pride, maybe...he knew it was childish, but still...

"Oh good, the fire department has finally arrived." Regina stepped into the front lawn from the side of the house, a basket of freshly picked red apples grasped tenderly between her two hands and holding it out in front of her on her lower abdomen. She released one hand to look at the watch on the underside of her wrist and frowned slightly. "Though it seems if I had called Boston's fire department even after calling you I'd still get a better response time..."

"You're lucky I showed up at all." Mark replied in a voice that was rife with disdain. "Now what do you want?" He asked, planting both hands in his pants pockets.

Regina raised a black eyebrow before vaguely gesturing back to her door.

"You're looking at it. My property has been destroyed, by a city counsel-member no less, and in favor of allowing things to get legal and... well just overall messy- I'm feeling quite generous today so as soon as you fix it, I'll get off your back."

Mark's eyes narrowed in response, clearly not pleased by Regina's 'generosity' and started closing the distance between them. "The only reason you're still alive is because Mr. Nolan allows it. If I were you, Ms. Mills...the last thing I would be doing is making demands." He finished venomously, his mouth curved into a deep frown.

Her eyes narrowed into a venemous glare almost instantly; what had been a rather cheerful demeanor replaced by that of The Evil Queen known throughout The Enchanted Forest.

"And if I were you Mr. Dufresne, I wouldn't be so quick to throw around threats and take a moment to remember your place at the bottom of the food chain like the trash feeder you are."

Mark slowly inclined his head down to look Regina in the eyes, steely resolve still apparent in both his posture and voice, "You don't scare me...you may have been a queen where you come from, but you're nothing but a harlot where I come from. So don't try and intimidate me..." With that said, Mark turned to head back to his truck without even looking back.

His insult didn't even so much as break the skin. Instead, her painted lips spread into a white grin as she watched his back turn to her.

"Oh I don't think so..." She said more outloud to herself. Keeping hold of the basket of apples with one hand with the basket pressing into her hip, Regina raised her right palm and twisted her wrist, feeling the magic flowing through her fingertips just as naturally as if she had been born with it. Vines began to sprout from the ground, growing at an unnaturaly quick pace and before Mark knew what was going on, a single vine grabbed hold of his ankle and hoisted him up into the air while two other vines restrained his wrists.

Now dangling Mark upside down, Regina scoffed while keeping her smile and approached him, the vine lifting him up a head or two higher so that their eyes were on level ground.

"Don't hold yourself up above all the rest Mr. Dufresne. This is still my town, and these are still my rules. Now what kind of message would you be sending Mason by refusing to take responsibility for your actions? Hmm? Or is bad parenting something they encourage in your land."

Mark visibly seemed rattled as he was hoisted up into the air, restrained within seconds. Struggling in vain against his constraints, Mark was forced to look Regina in the eyes as she not-so-subtly taunted him.

Summing up as much courage as he could in the current situation, Mark replied, "Taunt me as you will, Regina...but in the end-" Mark had to pause mid-speech to wince as the vines that restrained his wrists caused his bad shoulder to spasm painfully. "In the end so long as you live...like this, you will never be truly hap--"

Regina grabbed an apple from her basket and while Mark was in mid-speech, forced it's flesh into his mouth like a pig ready for roasting. She had no desire to let him prattle on and on about things she could really care less about, she heard this speech over a hundred or so times (though all different people). Taking a moment to set the basket of apples down by her feet, she straightened herself back up to make eye contact with him, ignoring all it was that he had to say to her.

"My door... it will be fixed within the hour." She twisted her wrist a bit, manipulating a fourth vine to start snaking around his throat, teasing the hold around his windpipe with a small amount of pressure. "Or my son will no longer know what it is to have some estranged, disabled firefighter fighting pathetically for his affections." She paused to tilt her head to the side a bit, the pleasentries coming back to her smile and voice. "Sounds like I'd be doing him a favor..."

Mark kept his hateful glare for as long as he could, wavering as the fourth vine began slowly constricting his neck. Old memories came rushing back to him, he was trapped once again; trapped by magic. He remembered the helplessness, when he watched his entire family fall apart in the village he had called home since birth. Magic corrupts, magic perverts, and in the end, magic kills. He was almost thankful he never could use it. A solid, dependable axe was all he needed. And yet, here he was, hanging upside-down like an animal caught in a trap - all over a damned door.

He'd fight back....but not today. The only thing rebellion would earn him was a swift death. Then what would come of his son? He had to stay alive, if only for awhile.

Unable to speak either in agreement or disagreement, Mark merely kept his gaze on Regina, his expression softening from extreme hatred to bitter disgust.

Regina just let her upper lip curl up into a sneer, moving her head so that her nose was a hairs breadth from his own, sharp eyes upon him like trapped prey. When the firefighter remained still, the fight either gone from him or reserved for another time, Regina took a step back and flicked her wrist. The vines let go of their hold around him and sunk back into the ground, the vine around his left wrist holding on a fraction longer than the others, deliberatly forcing Mark to land on the grass on his bad arm.

"So glad we can come to an understanding." Regina smirked, gathering up her basket of apples once more and headed inside her home, leaving the door open for him to tend to like they had 'agreed' upon.

Landing on the ground with an audible thud, a muffled groan escaped Mark's lips as his whole weight landed on his bad shoulder, the usually dull, relatively bearable pain flaring up into a sharp jab.

Shutting his eyes tightly for a moment as the pain passed, Mark yanked the blood red apple from his mouth, looking at it for a moment before promptly squeezing it in his hand, crushing the fruit into little more than an empty husk as juice dripped from his fingers.

Tossing the carcass of the apple, Mark heaved out a heavy sigh before staring at the broken door, formulating how on earth he was going to repair it in an hour.

Examining the broken door up close, Mark shook his head slowly. This was something a basic repair couldn't fix; he'd have to replace the door entirely. Sighing once again, he pulled his flip phone out of his pocket and sent a quick text to Regina, something along the lines of: 'Picking up tools, won't be long. Need to replace door.'

Inwardly hoping she was as reasonable as she was impatient, Mark went back to his truck and drove off, absentmindedly rubbing the red area around his neck from where the vine had previously strangled him.

The convenience store wasn't terribly far from Regina's mansion, but Mark always enjoyed taking the more scenic route. It reminded him of home, especially since it coincidentally passed by the schoolhouse, letting Mark catch a glimpse of his son if he was lucky enough to.

School had been let out not five minutes prior, and the boys and girls of the elementary began filing out. Boys were busy picking on the girls, while the girls tried to huddle themselves in larger groups to be less of a target. The air around the school was filled with children's laughter, screams of joy for being let out for the day and the dull chatter amongst those who were better suited just talking rather than running about like wild monkeys.

One boy in particular seemed secluded from the entire group, however. Shrugging his backpack strap over his shoulder, Mason walked through the crowded area with little-to-no interest to the boys and girls his age. The groups seemed to split open for him, allowing him passage through as if he carried some kind of disease, the noise of their voices going down to a dull roar when he passed by. He didn't seem to mind, however. Mason kept his head up high and passed through with lack of emotion until he reached the sidewalk. Away from the prying eyes of his school-mates, his shoulder's slumped and his head lowered downwards, beginning the lonely walk that would take him back home to Regina's mansion.

Slowing down somewhat as he saw Mason pass through the schoolyard, Mark constantly glanced over to see his son as he walked by, noting the empty resolve he seemed to carry as the judging eyes of his classmates were on him.

Easing into the brake of his truck, Mark lowered his window as Mason was walking past on the sidewalk, the former woodsman breaking the sullen silence, "Hey there, Pal...everything alright?" He asked, trying to keep both his voice and intent as unthreatening as possible.

Blinking, Mason turned to look at the firefighter before shrugging in response.

"Hey Mr. Dufer- Drefreh, Mr. D." He replied, still having difficulty in pronouncing Mark's last name despite knowing him the last five (cursed) years. He held something in his eyes then, as he looked back at Mark; a sadness that seemed to heighten his age beyond that of the nine-year-old boy he was supposed to be. "Yeah, everything's fine I'guess. No one wants to talk to me anymore now that they know who my mom is..." His brows furrowed as he looked down at the ground between his feet. "Mr. Merriweather won't even let me go out to recess anymore, he's afraid I'm gonna break another kid's nose for calling my mom a witch..." Mason took a moment to kick a pebble at his feet before looking back up to Mark. "You don't think my mom's a witch, do you, Mr. D?"

Mark nodded slowly as Mason retold his troubles, scratching his scruffy chin for a moment before speaking. "No, I don't think your mom's a witch." Mark replied, lying through his teeth. He had no heart to hurt his son's feelings, especially since those feelings revolved around his fake mother. Even in Oz such was the same. Mason loved following Nick Chopper around the village, trying to split a log with his own small hatchet, or caring for the few animals they kept around. But anytime the boy needed comfort, he would always go to his mother. His real mother.

Mark let a few ample moments pass before continuing to speak, "I think people are scared of your mother. You see, people are afraid of what they don't understand. Magic can be pretty scary stuff, and so anyone associated with it makes people afraid. What's best for you to think about is not what others believe, but what you believe. Your mom loves you...and I'm sure you love her. That's all that matters, in the end." Mark finished, his voice slightly wavering as he was (in his mind) denouncing his deceased wife, as if further repressing her in Mason's shattered memories.

Mason looked back at Mark with somewhat of a thoughtful expression on his face before looking back down to his feet.

"Yeah, I guess..."

"Tell you what..." Mark began, a small smile spreading across his lips. "I need to go to the convenience store and then buy a replacement door for your house. How would you like to come along with me?" He offered warmly.

"Oh yeah, cuz you broke it." Mason replied noncholantly as he looked back at the firefighter. He seemed to fidget then, calculating the pros and cons of Mark's proposal in his head as if trying to surmise if he might get into trouble with agreeing to go. "Well, I was supposed to go over to August's today, but Marco won't let me come over anymore so mom won't be expecting me home for a while... so yeah, I guess I can go."

"Excellent!" Mark replied cordially, reaching to his right to open the passenger door (wincing all the while as he stretched his arm out).

"You like building things, don't you Mason? Legos, Lincoln Logs, stuff like that?" Mark asked curiously, intrigued to see what his son's interests were here in Storybrooke. Admittedly, Oz lacked much in the way of entertainment aside from one's own imagination. But here, the opportunities were endless.

Climbing into the truck, tossing his backpack aside, Mason shut the door as he bobbed his head up and down in reply.

"Yeah, I like trains too. Mom got me two sets, one for her office and one for home so I have something to play with when she's working." Ever the observant one, Mason then asked, "Is there something wrong with your arm Mr. D?"

"What? Oh no, I'm fine. Just my shoulder. Tendonitis, probably from overworking it over the years. Nothing to worry about." Mark reassured, keeping out the fact he had been dropped on it from a sufficient height less than twenty minutes ago.

"Oh, okay." Mason turned to let his eyes look out the window. He didn't know what tanditus was or why Mark had it, but he was willing to just let the entire conversation slide, not finding much interest in it to begin with.

Mark remained quiet for most of the drive, seeming to sense from Mason's outward demeanor that he wasn't much in the mood for conversation. He had to think, was it possible for Regina to love someone? Truly love someone? Mark found himself stuck. He was jealous, wanting to take his son back and try to live the life they had before...but that could never happen, not again. For now...if Regina made Mason happy, then Mark had no right to take her away from him. At least until the boy remembered who he was.