tanderbolt

VGHS: Level up

Haven't seen season 2, but I'd be up for making a scheming strategy specialist.

Once Upon a Time...

Collaboration between Major Ursa and Tanderbolt

Surprised was an understatement when Faye heard Knox admit that he was Mary Margaret's, Jane Doe's, husband. After Faye spoke with Knox on the phone, she went to check the records for confirmation, to find that Knox was telling the truth! She then headed for Jane Doe's room. She needed to tell her about what she learned.

Just outside of the hospital, Knox hastily parked into his usual spot and hurried inside. The shirt he wore wasn't properly buttoned, but he didn't even spare a thought on how his hands shook buttoning them as he went over to the car...thoughts of Mary Margaret, HIS Mary filling his mind.

His migraine was gone, that was the only other thing that he thought of, and he trudged through the halls in a hurry...like reward for remembering that which was important. Now, only a small part of him thought of the waitress who he felt all too comfortable with, Knox mentally clawed and scraped as much of that out of his head. This was Mary he had to focus on...Mary, the second person he had almost lost.

The voice at the back of his head shamed him. Told Knox he still lost somebody. Told him he had lost Ruby.

Shaking his head, the security guard almost felt physically ill as he made his way to the former Jane Doe's room...just about nearly bumping into Dr Stevenson. Blinking, Knox crossed his arms uneasily, staring down at the doctor with a worn expression.

"Have you...have you told her yet?"

Dr. Stevenson stopped herself when she almost bumped into Knox, and when she saw who it was, she fell silent before she could utter an apology. When he asked, she shook her head and said "I was just on my way to tell her, Mr. Kowalski,"

She continued walking, leading Knox to Mary Margaret's room. She said to him as she kept on walking, "I'm glad to see your memory has come back to you, Mr. Kowalski,"

Knox kept his head down as he followed behind the doctor, seeming much smaller than his frame would indicate, “I wasn't there for her, this whole time..." Falling silent as he trudged behind her, 'I've hurt Ruby, too...' "I...really let everyone down. If I remembered all this earlier, I could have spare a lot of people this...headache."

Dr. Stevenson told him, "Don't beat yourself up over this Mr. Kowalski. It's not your fault,"

"Don't...just don't, Dr Stevenson. We all know whose to blame for this." As if her reassurances went into one of Knox's ears, and out the other...

Dr. Stevenson interjected seriously, knowing that he wasn't listening, "I'm serious, Mr. Kowalski. I wouldn't be telling you this if I was lying. You had amnesia, nobody could help that,"

There was in visible indication that Knox heard anything the doctor had said, his eyes were dull, like he wasn't all there...or, like he was in an indescribable amount pain. After a moment, the security guard spoke with much conviction in his voice, "It doesn't matter...all that matters is that I stay by her side, as she recovers. I have to be here for her, now, when she needs me most. I will get her to remember me."

Dr. Stevenson advised him as they kept on walking, "Mr. Kowalski, just remember that memory will come back in time. She will remember you, you just have to be patient,"
Soon they reached the room and she stated "Here we are," She knocked on the door before she entered the room.

David looked up from his current position of sitting on the edge of the patient bed once more, this time instead of a crossword between the two of them, two styrofoam bowls of tomato soup from Granny's; lunch as he had promised Jane Doe and nothing solid as he promised Dr. Stevenson.

Faye was glad to see that David heeded her warning, but she didn't say anything on it, and she said to them, "Mr. Nolan, good to see you. Ms. Doe, I have good news! We found information on you," She then proceeded to tell Jane Doe and David Nolan everything they knew thus far. That included Jane Doe's real name and that she was married to Knox Kowalski, who had suffered from a minor case of amnesia as well a while back, explaining thusly how he didn't remember her until now.

Behind the doctor, Knox could only stand around sheepishly...and yet, eventually, he pushed his way inside. Barely keeping himself from launching at the amnesiac wife of his, the security guard managed to instead kneel by her bed, trying hard to keep a reassuring smile on his face...though, his insides twisted, not quite about to cry, but...

"At least you're safe, at least I can give you your name back...the first of many things I have to return to you, if I can..." Tentatively reaching over, he clasped the woman's bone white hand in his. "Mary Margaret, that's your name."

This all seemed too convenient and strange to the doctor, however she kept her mouth shut. These situations needed to be handled delicately, however as David and Mary Margaret exchanged glances, Faye couldn't help but to look outside the room and through the glass, spotting Mayor Mills looking upon the scene with a rather confident look. As Faye looked at the Mayor, she recalled the facts that the Mayor had always come in to check on Jane Doe, was the emergency contact in case anything happened to Mary Margaret, and yet she never bothered to point out who Jane Doe was, and that she was married to Knox Kowalski.

She politely excused herself as Knox spoke with Mary Margaret, and she left the room, and she
headed over to the Mayor, intent on speaking with the woman, and getting answers.

David Nolan cleared his throat awkwardly. Although he was relieved that the woman at least had a name, and someone to claim her, he couldn't submerge the nauseating feeling in his gut that something wasn't quite...right; though he pushed that feeling to the side as some sort of feeling of selfishness.

"Well, Mary Margaret..." David said getting up from the hospital bed. "...you two have a lot to catch up on. Enjoy the soup." He gave a curt nod to both her and Knox before following after Dr. Stevenson. He'd dwell on these feelings later...much, much later.

It had been a strange day, but Mary was happy that someone could give her some more details. By default, she trusted people, although she would like to see some other evidence for something this important. Knox's grip was gentle and warm, it felt pleasant to her. Before talking to knox, she said goodbye to David. After he left, she smiled a little and said "I don't remember much, but Mary Margaret is a much nicer name than Jane Doe. May I ask who you are?"

There was something vulnerable about his wife, it suddenly struck him...something scared him inside, like losing another family member. But Knox desperately kept a brave face on, forced his reassuring smile to stay on, "I...haven't been around, at all, since this situation. I promise, with no more excuses, I'll be right here with you for a full recovery."

Shaking his head, realising he was just going on a bit, he found he couldn't keep his eyes on
hers... "My name is Knox, Knox Kowalski...it may be quite a bit to take in, but I am your husband."

She thought for a moment about what to say, but could not remember anything that might help in this situation. She asked a few basic questions "So, Knox, do you live here? Is there anything that you remember that you think would be good to share sooner rather than later?"

Still unable to keep eye contact, letting out his usual sigh, "I live more than fifteen minutes from the hospital, on the other side of town..." For a moment, the type of person that Knox was demanded that he spoke up about Ruby, confess to getting very close to Ruby...and somehow, the small small part...patting Mary Margaret on the hand, a strange smile curled up on his lips, "If you can come up with any questions, come to me for answers...don't strain yourself."

Knox seemed nervous to her, but it was understandable. She tried to ask a some more simple questions, to ease him in to the conversation a bit "How was our married life? Do you remember how we met each other?"

"It was fine," Realising that a quick answer like that explained nothing, "I recall people alway saying that you made up for what I lacked. Outgoing, sunny disposition..." For a moment, Knox recalled some unbelieving that she'd choose a gloomy guy like him...maybe that's what attracted him to Ruby? The parallels were striking.

Almost, almost wanting to actually shake more of her from his mind, Knox instead tried to focus on Mary's face. Maybe the amnesia made him feel this way, but she seemed so much more different from his memory...once she recovered, he helped her recover...things would fall comfortably into place, right?

Focusing on the second question at hand, "Rabbits." Instantly, the security guard felt sheepish admitting his love of cute animals--not even, just mentioning the cute animal in question, but Knox continued to recall his first returned memory to Mary in as much detail as he could recall.

Mary could tell that Knox wasn't the most sociable person, and she respected him for trying his best. She listened to him for a while, believeing his words. It was hard to catched up on what seemed like years of memories in such a short time. When he had finished the story, she asked "So, Knox, what do we do for a living?"

Without missing a beat, "I work security and surveillance for this hospital facility," And yet hadn't even taken more than a glance at the 'Jane Doe's' room, till his memories returned...so close, and yet so far away. "You were a elementary school teacher. I remember coming to pick you up on your last working day, all the small children were crying for you not to leave. I...after that, we had our fight. You left a week early for Storybrooke, while I stayed to finalize a few more things of importance."

Glancing at her face, Knox could outright tell that none of it had clicked with her, not yet. Thinking back to his home--their home...the packed...the pictures! Turning to look at Mary directly in the eye, feeling a sense of unease at her lack of real recognition towards him, the security guard gently stroked her hand with his thumb, "I have pictures, of us. I can drive back to our place, and return with them as soon as I can."

Rising from where he knelt, this whole time, Knox brushed the dust of his pant legs and felt the minor soreness. Leaning over his wife, more tentatively then tenderly, he took her hands in his and planted a kiss on her brow, "Take care, I'll be back as quickly as I can, alright?" Firmly, "Wait for me." Letting go of her hands, the security guard took a few steps back and waited for her answer, before turning and leaving altogether.

She tilted her head sideways a bit, confused by how suddenly he had left. Mary waved at him as he left, eagerly awaiting the pictures. She hoped they would provide some more answers. It was very strange that he never noticed his wife in a coma when he worked here. While he was out, she'd go through the process of getting cleared to leave the hospital, she was more than ready for it.

Once Upon a Time...

Collaboration between YoshiSkittlez and Tanderbolt

Ruby had quickly been brought up to speed with everything that was going on and was brought downstairs to join up with Robert where the three of them exited the hospital through the same back door the Jane Doe had left, putting them directly into the forest.

"This place is massive! How are we supposed to find one person?" Ruby asked.

"Hey shhh, we might be able to hear her." David answered in a hushed voice, but Ruby wasn't buying it.

David had told her back at the hospital that they needed her because she had managed to find Mason in the mines where they could have easily gotten lost, but in Ruby's opinion, it was luck, not any sort of special skill she posessed. She tried vocalizing her opinion back at the hospital, but David was adament about having her come along. It might have been his charming face, or big puppy-dog eyes, but Ruby eventually agreed, though she doubted she'd be much help.

"It's massive!" Ruby said again, as if the first time she said it had gone unheard.

While they were talking, Robert scanned the ground for any signs that someone had been there recently. He notice a few faint foot shaped impressions in the dirt, obviously belonging to someone who wasn't wearing shoes. There was a good chance these were Jane Doe's, someone who just woke up from a coma and wandered out wouldn't have shoes on hand. Robert cleared his throat loudly, and pointed towards the tracks on the ground.

David followed Robert's gaze and noticed the footprints and then gestured out to them for Ruby to see.

"See? We follow the path with the foot prints, we find Jane Doe." David said putting a hand on her shoulder and gently urged her forward down the narrow, sloped trail.

"I shouldn't be here, I'm just going to screw everything up-"
Ruby stopped suddenly, so suddenly that David didn't even have time to react and collided right behind her with an "oof."

"Wait...I hear her..." Ruby said, unmoving. Her eyes were wide and darting around, looking for the source of the noise she was hearing. It was like finding Mr. Gold all over again, and Mason. Sounds she could hear that no one else could, sounds that she didn't fully comprehend but knew they were there...just out of reach.

"Really?" David asked, looking back to Robert silently asking him if he heard anything.
Robert tried to listen, but couldn't notice anything. "What did you hear?" he asked.

Ruby continued to look around her surroundings, trying to pinpoint the exact location of the noises she was hearing.
"I don't know...I just hear her...or...something" The thought hadn't crossed her mind that she might have been hearing a wild animal until now, thus causing her to doubt herself but only for a second before looking back at Robert, the noises only becoming more and more clear to her. It was definitely human, and definitely female. Without another word, Ruby started off again, veering off of the muddy trail and ducked into the thick foilage of the forest.

Robert scratched his head for a moment, but he was happy to have some sort of lead. He followed behind Ruby, keeping his distance and walking slowly. He'd stop her if she went to deep into the forest, but a little walk couldn't hurt.

"Hey guys!" Ruby called out, and David hurried after Robert into the foilage. Ruby hadn't gone far, but she was bent down on a knee looking at what looked like a hospital arm band stuck in one of the bushes. It read:
Jane Doe
DOB: Unknown
67140404

But that wasn't what had caught David's eye, instead it was the tiny little splash of crimson coloring on the name tag.

"Is that-?" David tried, hearing his voice croak.

"Blood." Ruby confirmed, biting her lip and looking up at the two men.

"Could be from the IV that was in her arm. I hope it's that and not anything else." Robert looked around, trying to see if there was anything else that would help find Jane Doe.
Ruby got back up, clearing her throat to shake away the anxiousness that was now building up inside her.

"I think she's heading to the Toll Bridge."

This snapped David's attention.
"The what?" He asked, thinking she had said 'Troll Bridge;' he would have to blame that on the late night reading he did to Jane Doe, the last chapter he had read to her was about Snow White and Prince Charming's love being created on the Troll Bridge after Snow White had saved Prince Charming's life with a bit of Dark Fairy dust.
"Toll Bridge. It's a little ways into the forest. Not a whole lot of people know about it, that's why it's my place to go when I need to be alone and think." Ruby explained and led the way once more.

"Where is she? Can you see her?" David called out to Ruby, as she was much farther ahead than he was. David eventually cleared the foilage and found a small river that cut through the forest with twenty or so feet of rocks, sand and dirt keeping the trees from growing around it. True to Ruby's word, there was an old iron bridge suspended over the river, a white sign labled 'Toll Bridge' in black and someone wrote in a red 'r' after the 'T' in 'Toll' as a joke who knows how long ago. With his eyes fixated on the coinsidental name of the location, he didn't even see the woman lying halfway into the river, unconsious.
"There!" Ruby called out, making David snap out of it and return his attention to the Jane Doe.

Both relief and horror flooded David as he found his feet rushing towards the woman, hoisting her up and out of the water as gently and quickly as he could, completely tuning our Ruby's repeated 'Oh my god!'

Robert was startled by what he saw, but he had enough presence of mind to call 911. While David attended to the woman, he told the situation to the operator on the phone.
David set Jane Doe back down onto the ground where there was a clearing of just soft dirt and sand, his hands cupping either side of the woman's face searching for any sign of life.

"No, no no no! We found you!" He said softly to her, though Jane Doe was far from responding. It was very likely she could have drowned given the position they had found her in.

"Is she okay? Is she going to be okay?" Ruby called from a good distance away. She wanted to help, but she doubted her stomach would allow her to do so. If Jane Doe was dead...

David put his ear up against Jane Doe's chest, listening for a heartbeat but it was nearly impossible with all the commotion going around and the ringing in his own ears.
"Come back to us!" David called out, then in a hushed whisper before he even knew what he was saying, "Come back to me..."

Removing his head from her chest, he took over by putting his hands together on the center of her torso. He had never performed CPR on a human in his life, but at the vetrinary clinic he had plenty of experience with animals...how much different could it be? He pressed his hands down onto her chest six times, with each push his face eagerly looking on at the still unconcious Jane Doe. He could feel tears pulling at the corners of his eyes as after the sixth one did nothing still.

Throwing caution to the wind, David removed his hands from her chest and opened up her mouth and shut her nose, putting his mouth into hers and filling her with all the air he could spare before being forced back to breath for himself. He kept his head low, his lips merely centimeters still from her's and still the Jane Doe did nothing. The tears began to fall from his eyes, splashing down onto his cheeks and hers until suddenly, Jane Doe coughed up a large amount of water, splashing David's face in the process and gasping for breath. David held her head in his hands, looking down at her with a wide grin on his face as their eyes met.

Jane Doe woke up with a jolt, stunned by the sudden rush of senses. She saw a man staring at her, and noticed that she was cold and wet from the water. It was all very confusing, and the only thing she could recall was being asleep for a very long time. She recoiled away from the man slighlty, and said "W-what happened?" in a trembling voice, too startled to say anything else.

David refused to let her recoil away from him too much, afraid that if he let go, she would somehow slip back into unconsiousness. When she began speaking, however, he eased his hands away, feeling his heart jumping up into his throat. He never really noticed it before, but she was absolutely beautiful; stunning in fact, and her voice, though weak and frightened, sang to him like a sweet lullaby.

"You've been in a coma, but it's okay, you're okay now. We've got you, and we're going to help you." He reassured her. "Can you walk?" He then asked, extending his hand out to her for her to help herself up with. He doubted that the ambulence that Robert had called for would be able to reach them directly.
She recognized the man's voice, although she could not recall ever hearing his name. It sounded friendly, and inviting, and she believed his words. Slowly, she rose to her feet, they felt uninjured but she was still in a haze after waking from her coma. She said "Where am I?" the first of a long list of questions she had.
"The outskirts of Town, Storybrooke." David said putting his hand in hers with his opposite hand on her shoulder, stabalizing her in case she wasn't able to support her full weight yet. "There will be plenty of time for questions later, we need to get you back to the hospital and make sure everything is okay." David looked over to Robert and Ruby, nodding indicating for them to lead the way to where the ambulance was to meet them.

Jane walked with them into the ambulance, hoping to find out something about what had happened. She was glad that these three had helped her, and didn't want to think about what could've happened if they weren't there.

Once Upon a Time...

In a more unruly town, Miner’s day would be the worst day of the year for the police, but in Storybrooke even shoplifting was exceedingly rare. Robert had revised his patrol route for the day, spending most of his time walking around on foot to watch the merchant’s stalls. No one had any problems to report, but he asked around anyway, always telling them to call him if they needed something.

It had been over a week since the visitors first arrived, and the town had returned to its normal sleepy self. Henry was still in town, but Robert believed wouldn’t be sticking around for long, his reputation had been severely tarnished. He still had no idea what he was even doing in town in the first place, he had no friends or family living to visit. There had been no new sightings of the mysterious woman, and even though Dr. Stevenson had been willing to help, she had no information on her. There were several other unresolved cases, which troubled Robert greatly.

He sat down for a moment, in a spot where he had a clear view of the main line of stall, and pulled out his notebook and paper. He looked over the facts of the case of the tax money, Regina had reported the money missing, and he saw it in Henry’s car, but Henry had no prints on it. Every time he asked for more details, Regina blew him off. The fact that he had seen them talking to each other seemingly amicably only raised more questions, why would the mayor befriend someone who she saw steal from her?

He also didn’t like Regina’s refusal to report Mason’s case to Child Protective Service, or how she implied that she had illegally accessed Dr. Hopper’s files. He could never remember Regina as anything except a law abiding and just mayor, these actions were not something he’d expect from her. Even his relationship with her seemed off, he didn’t enjoy being with her and could not understand why he had come over to her house for “wine” so many times in the past. If this change in Regina was permanent, he would definitely regret being the town sheriff.

While he was sitting there, he made a list of all the strange occurrences that had been happening lately. Mason, Henry, Tax money, Mysterious woman, Jail escape, Earthquake, Regina’s changes, Thing underneath h-. Robert stopped in the middle of writing the list, realizing that it was distracting him. Sometime, he’d have to confront Regina about these, but he wanted to be careful. Offending her would mean losing the closest thing he had to a friend, dooming him to more nights of drinking at home and reading Flaubert.

Once Upon a Time...

Collaboration between Yoshiskittlez and Tanderbolt

Two firemen were stationed just outside the mouth of the cave, helping out first Mason (who was immediately rushed to a stretcher where he could be given some oxygen for good measure), the dog, Ruby, Mark and then finally Knox. As soon as the boy made it from the mines though, Regina quickly followed and observed him getting checked over by the paramedics.

She could tell from her own standpoint that the boy was going to be okay, just a little shaken up and scared. She approached the boy and got down onto her knees on his level, giving him a warm white smile.

"Mason, is it?" Regina asked quietly. The boy nodded once, using the palm of his hand to wipe away the dirt-streaking tears from his cheeks.
"It's alright Mason, you're safe now." Regina picked up her head to look around at the crowd that had gathered to watch, wondering when the boy's parents would finally step up to claim their child. She knew that if she were a mother, she would be tearing through that yellow caution tape if her child had just been pulled from the mines...and yet, no one came.

"Who are your parents Mason? I can give you a ride home." Regina offered, looking back to the boy but he made no sound, no utterance of a name or even a slight gesture towards any direction of where he might have lived. Regina sighed, she didn't know if this boy was just naturally stubborn, or if he was still trying to get over whatever it was that he was going through.

"I'll tell you what, why don't we get out of here, and get you some ice cream?" Regina asked the boy, finally earning a wide ear-to-ear grin. Regina smiled and stood up tall once again, extending her arm out for him to grab and waved off the paramedics with her other arm, allowing the boy to come to her. She wrapped her arm around his thin shoulders and hugged him to her in a protective manner as she walked past the group of people she didn't even bother to look at, only stopping when she got to Robert.
"Henry said his name is Mason, I need you to find out who his parents are and then what kind of parents they are. If my kid were missing I'd be going nuts by now." Regina said to Robert, almost like it was his fault that the boy's parents weren't there.

If it hadn't been for the earthquake, school would be in session, and Mason would presumably have been sitting in class. Robert figured that his parents were at work, and didn't know that their son had been in the mine. He nodded, and looked at Mason. He said "Hi, I'm glad your safe. Would you mind telling me your last name, son?" trying to keep his tone of voice friendly and engaging, but interacting with people wasn't exactly his strong suit.
Mason only seemed to cling to Regina even more and buried his shy face into her hip. Regina let out a tired sigh and gave the boy a reassuring squeeze on his shoulder, albeit glaring daggers at Robert for not making any progress.

"We're not getting anywhere sheriff, perhaps if you put your training skills to the test and do what I pay you for-" She cut herself off, closing her eyes in an attempt to not lose her temper, only caring now since the boy seemed to be taking a small shine to her. "Do a bit of detective work, find his parents and-"
"He doesn't have any." A voice from the slowly dissipating crowd came. David Nolan pushed his way through the crowd and crossed the yellow lines, again causing Regina to hold the same shocked face she held when Ruby had crossed the boundaries, but it was clear that David didn't care and didn't stop until he was with Robert, Mason and Regina. "He doesn't have any." David repeated, looking mainly at Regina before looking down at the boy.

"I've been watching him for a while now. Everyday after school he comes to the pet shelter, where I work and plays with the dogs. At first I didn't mind but he started staying later and later. One day I followed him home, it was dark and started to rain. Took me right to a small barn just inside the forest. I've been donating a fraction of my income to the school to make sure he got something to eat and nice clean clothes, but I've never seen any parents." David went on to explain. Regina's eyes narrowed at David, the vein in her forehead becoming prominent in her anger.
"And you didn't think to report this?" She asked him coldly, seeming to hug the boy to her even closer. David shook his head no, looking down at the dirt beneath his feet in shame.

"I didn't know what else to do, I thought that if I did, you might...you might-"
Regina shook her head and held up her hand, dismissing David altogether.
"Robert, escort David back to the animal shelter...where he belongs." Regina said to Robert without even so much as looking at him and shooting an icy gaze towards David. "We're done here, and see to it that this place is completely cemented over immediately!"

Regina then moved with Mason to head away from the mines, stopping at what looked like an actual split in the earth created from the earthquake. Regina looked to her hand that wasn't around Mason and opened up her palm, looking at the crystalized glass shard that she had picked up earlier and dropped it into the narrow chasm where it fell down deep into the mines, landing deep below at last on the remains of a shattered, glass coffin.

Robert motioned for David to come with him, and they walked back to his patrol car. On the way he said "I'll give the school principal a call and have him check out Mason's paperwork, I want to get to the bottom of this." David put a strong hand on Robert's shoulder and looked upon him with sincerity.
"Thank you." He said and walked away from the scene, sparing Robert the trouble of having to give him a ride. With that finished, he got out his phone to make some calls, mostly to the school and to the local cement company.

Once Upon a Time...

Collaboration between Yoshiskittlez, Ursa, Ghost Shadow, and Tanderbolt

While it wasn't as busy as the fire station or the hospital, things were far from relaxed at the sheriff's office. Robert had already gotten the safety cones and caution tape set up for some of the downed power lines on his way into work, and now he began to survey the scene downtown. People were restless and asking a lot of questions, but it seemed like everyone was ok.

Robert grabbed a megaphone from the back of a patrol car and said "Remain calm. There was a minor earthquake related to a collapse in the mine. Personnel from the fire department and the hospital are on the scene to investigate and aid those who were injured. If you need medical attention, the hospital will be able to help as soon as possible. If you require further assistance, please call the emergency number or speak with an emergency responder in person."
The ambulances were sent out as soon as the call was made, and after checking up on his own father in his hospital room, Knox left with them. The paramedics let him sit in the back, this wasn’t usually allowed for a mere hospital security guard, but he had to see what was going on in town…felt compelled to.

Regina, seeming to have completely forgotten about Henry at her heels, ducked underneath the yellow caution tape to approach Robert, her dark red lips pressed into a firm line that could only be interpreted as her being upset about something. "What happened?" Regina asked Robert specifically, pushing his arm down that held the megaphone so that her voice wouldn't carry. Even though he had already said what had happened to the crowd, Regina didn't want to accept that answer. Something else happened here, it just couldn't be coincidence.

Robert lowered the microphone, turned to Regina, and said "Something happened in the mine, I thought everything there had been closed down long ago."
Regina shot Robert a glaring look, obviously annoyed with his obvious observation. "Everyone's fine, Leroy's just making trouble, I can deal with him in a moment."
"How about you do your job Robert? And deal with him now?" Regina snapped harshly at Robert and then just shook her head, walking past him to check out the damage the mines had undergone themselves.

She stopped about ten feet from the mouth of the entrance, a glittering object catching her eye. She gave a quick look around her, ensuring no one was looking and squatted down to pick the object up, holding it securely in her hand where it would be hidden from other eyes. Turning quickly, Regina addressed the crowd using the power of her voice rather than the megaphone that Robert had been using earlier. "Alright everyone, everything is okay. Sheriff Leland, see to it that this entire place is cemented over. This area has become a high-priority danger zone, no one goes near it without my permission."

"WAIT!" Came a shout from the crowd as Mark pushed through. He seemed to tense up slightly as he felt everyone's eyes on him, but he pushed aside his fear for the sake of safety. "We can't cement over it - there's a boy and dog down there." He said, this time somewhat quieter - directed solely at Regina. Without waiting for her reaction, he continued: "I was on my way to work when I saw this boy chasing Pongo down the street. I thought little of it until I saw them run into the mines...I was going to go in there and get them out when the mines collapsed." He finished, absent-mindedly clutching his shoulder, as if in pain. Watching the sights zoom past, taking note of a few damages here and there of many a building, they arrive on the scene quickly. From the amount of people helping around, guiding the ambulance to some stable ground to park and the caution tape being arranged, boundaries being set…the mine collapse must’ve affected a good amount of previously stable land. With the ambulance driver parking and the paramedics getting out and rushing over, Knox stepped out and surveyed the immediate area.

Regina looked from Mark to the blaring ambulance that had just arrived, a growing headache from all the noise and confusion only putting her on edge even more. Well...at least Mr. Gold wasn't around to really push her over. She did a quick look around the crowd just in case, not sure if she could stand his smug face looking back at her, knowing. Mark's words finally seemed to register in Regina, as her rigid face relaxed and in place of her scowl...worry lines. "A boy? Did you say a boy?"
“If there is a child down there, time is of the essence, what further preparations need to be made? Conditions be met?” With his eyebrows knitted in between confusion and frustration, Knox glanced back over at the mine’s entrance, “Time is of the essence.”

Robert said "It's a good idea to wait, we need to make sure everyone is safe before we do anything to seal it off. Besides, it'd take a while for the trucks to arrive." After speaking, he looked at Leroy, and saw that he had calmed down a bit, perhaps because he did not want to get arrested for being drunk in public yet again and seemed to sulk himself into the crowd to avoid any more attention.
"Yes, a boy. I don't know him by name, uh...short, hazel eyes, curly brown hair--"
Henry interrupted before Mark could finish speaking, "That's Mason! One of my students!"
Mark turned sharply to look at the newcomer, cocking his head back to look at Regina. "Someone needs to go down there." He began in a solemn tone, "And I volunteer." He finished, his face set in a solid neutral expression; divulging no emotion.
Ruby pushed herself from the middle of the crowd and ducked underneath the caution tape, ignoring the pressing look she was getting from Regina as she joined in with the small group that had gathered behind the lines and walked past Knox towards Mark.
"Excuse me? What do-" Regina tried but Ruby ignored her and spoke directly to Mark.
"If you're going then so am I." She said fiercely, not about to take 'no' for an answer. "I found M-uh,-" Her eyes slowly drifted to Knox wondering if he had told anyone about Mr. Gold, but then looked back to Mark. "-someone in the streets the other night that needed to be taken to the hospital. Panic attack. I could...hear him. I can't explain it, but...I think I can help."

Stepping towards Ruby, the security guard secured a hand on her shoulder, staring her down, "I don't think so. Let the firefighter do his job." Pausing for a moment, fixing Mark with a firm gaze, "Actually, I may be a better choice to send down for the rescue..." But somehow, Knox couldn't find a voice to mention the increased sensativity of his eyes...how he could practically see in the dark perfectly now.Ruby turned, forcing Knox's hand off of her shoulder and tilted her chin up to look at him, her eyes determined but narrowed. "You don't think I can do anything on my own do you?" She asked with a raised voice. "Stop helping me, and let me do things on my own! I don't need you protecting me all the time Knox, just...stop."

"I don't believe you have the qualifications, the training necessary to undertake such an important rescue. If you aren't part of the solution, you're part of the problem." A pause as the security guard crossed his arms, "We'll be depending on you to keep u--no, this is for the firefighter to decide."
Mark's eyes narrowed as Ruby and Knox went from volunteering to arguing over something completely pointless. "I'm going alone." He said curtly, no friendliness whatsoever in his tone. "If you two can't focus on the task at hand, then you're not worth my time." Regina looked between Ruby and Knox, raising an eyebrow in boredom and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Sheriff Leland, will you kindly escort Mr. Dufresne to the entrance? If he's volunteering on county time then I can not stop him." She looked to Knox and Ruby. "You two on the other hand, back behind the line or I'll have you arrested for tresspassing." Hearing the final decision, Knox flicked his eyes to Ruby, "You've heard the final decision. Let's step back behind that caution tape, then." Mark then looked towards Robert, his expression shifting from annoyance back to neutrality as he nodded at the officer. "Lead the way, Sheriff." He said simply, his tone that of formal courtesy - lacking warmth.

"If you've got everything you need, come right this way. Remember that the radio signal might be spotty underground." Robert walked with Mark to the nearest entrance, making sure to keep an eye on Knox and Ruby, just in case they tried to follow.
Ruby's face went firm, and for a moment looked like she was going to walk back behind the line with Knox but she then quickly turned around and ran past Regina before words could even form on the Mayor's mouth. She ran past Mark and Robert and slipped her small frame into the small hole that led into the mines. She knew she could help, to hell with the others.

Regina's mouth was left agape, looking on at Ruby disappearing into the mines and then to Robert. She used her hands to gesture what her words failed her, as if to say, 'you're not doing your job!' Knox had just about turned when Ruby began walking behind hi—and she took off. It seems he just about missed grabbing her wrist, stumbling on the most random piece of stone, and watching as she sped forth and slipped into the mine. For once, the usually calm and collected man couldn’t hold back his anger, and his seething expression was quite evident as he turned to glare the sheriff, “Do your fucking job!”

With the speed of his trained legs, past morning jogs channelled into an incredible sprint, and he took off towards the mine in seconds…kicking dust behind him. Though Knox may have been tall, larger than Ruby, he tore a rock out of the entrance’s debris, one by one at an alarming pace with his gloved hands, and inside...Knox soon was.
Robert frowned, he had glanced away when Ruby and Knox made their run. It was definitely unsafe to have two untrained civilians inside the mine, but he realized that he also lacked the training to be safe down there. He paused at the entrance, and asked Mark "We need to get them out of there, what do you think is the best way to do it? Do you need me or anyone else to help you?" This week had been full of police mistakes, and he knew Regina wasn't at all happy.

Mark had little time to react before both Knox and Ruby ran into the mines, his face quickly contorting to one of absolute anger. "What I need, Sheriff - is obedient civilians." He said shortly, his voice, though remaining normal in volume, was filled with venom.
He procured a small flashlight from his pants pocket and crawled through the small hole, just barely managing to restrain a grunt of pain as his shoulder bumped into one of the narrow walls. And just like that, he was gone like the rest of them.

Regina sighed as she walked back over to Robert and peered into the dark hole where the three had just disappeared into and then looked back to Robert, a blatent expression on her face and shook her head in disappointment. "Get back to the line sheriff, no one else crosses do you hear me?" Before Regina had even finished speaking, Robert began his walk back to the caution tape. He rubbed his forehead a little bit, looking forward to when he could get a drink after this all was over.

Once Upon a Time...

After the excitement of yesterday, Robert was relieved to have another quiet patrol. He stopped by the local courthouse to pick up a warrant for Henry’s hotel room, the local judiciary had a very friendly relationship with Regina and the Sheriff’s office. He had been killing time driving up and down the main street until the evening, when he got Regina’s message, and knew what he had to do.

Robert pulled up his car in Granny’s parking lot, and gathered up his tools. He had picked up the investigation kit at the start of his shift, just so that he’d be ready if he had to search the room before he had time to make it back to the station. After opening the kit, Robert picked out the items he would need the most, primarily the gloves, the camera, and the fingerprint kit.

He gave the door two hard knocks, and said “This is the Storybrooke Police Department, we have a warrant to search your room. If you do not respond or open the door immediately, we will open it for you.” Robert gave the warning even though he knew Henry was out, it was important to follow procedure, and there was always the possibility that there was someone else inside the room. He gave it about ten seconds before he unlocked the door himself, if there was someone there, they could be attempting to destroy evidence.

The inside of the room was unremarkable, the only things that stood out were an empty suitcase next to the bed, and a thick hardback book on the nightstand. He took the time to photograph everything as it was before moving it at all, even small details might be important. After a cursory search, it became obvious that there was no smoking gun hidden with the room, nothing to implicate Henry in another crime. The clothes were all neatly hung up in the closet, and the bathroom held only toiletries. The drawer of the nightstand had a few personal items like a cell phone charger, but nothing else.

The only item that Robert bothered examine closer was the book on the table, a thick leather-bound volume that was definitely not new. The cover said “Once upon a time”, indicating that it was a book of fables. Robert flipped through it a bit, opening it on the page that was marked bookmark that came from Mr. Gold's. It told the story of the Cheshire Cat, and he read a few words before deciding that it was best to hurry up. He photographed that page, and turned to another page that was particularly dog-earred. This one told about a man named Rumpelstiltskin, who was the sort of person who tricked people into crooked bargains. Robert thought to himself. Today, they call people who exploit optimism to ruin lives army recruiters. Or possibly pawnbrokers

After taking a few more photos, lifting some prints off of one of the plastic cups, and making sure everything was the way it was before, Robert walked back to his car. He sat in the parking lot writing the report for the search, while he reminisced about the past. Between the time his girlfriend left him and arriving in Storybrooke, not much had gone well for him. Storybrooke didn’t solve all of his problems, some issues, like his PTSD and his loneliness had stayed, but at least he had a home and a job now.
Although he like to protect the town and all of its citizens, there were only two people here he had ever felt particularly close to. One was Regina, who he owed a great debt to for helping rebuild his life, and the other was Steve Morris, the former sheriff. Robert had never met a man with more integrity than Steve, and he was honored to take his position when Steve moved out. Shortly after that, Robert received news that Steve had died, gunned down trying to stop a man running from the cops. Oddly enough, that had been the only sad news that Robert remembered hearing his whole time in Storybrooke. Stranger even, that he never even left town to go to the funeral.

Just as Robert finished the report, he heard Graham calling for assistance over the radio. While Graham was out, the mysterious lady had gotten free, and the station didn’t even have a camera to see how. Graham tried to defuse the situation by mentioning that the envelope was still safe in the evidence locker, but Robert was still in a very bad mood. He sent a digital copy of the report and photos to Regina before heading to the station, where he’d investigate and give Graham a stern reprimand.

Once Upon a Time...

Name: Snow White

Appearance:

Age: 28

Affiliation: Good

Magic Capabilities: None

Weapons: A bow and arrow for hunting, an axe for chopping fire wood.

Strengths: Snow always keeps a positive outlook, does not get discouraged easily. She is supremely self-confident, never troubled by self-doubt or past regrets, and people find her charismatic and friendly. Snow is always willing to make hard choices to do what she believes is right. Her years living in the woods have given her skill at living off the land and staying hidden. She is naturally fearless, and works well under pressure.

Weaknesses: Snow has no sympathy or compassion for those who she believes are evil. She sees everything as black and white, does not see subtleties or believe people can be “on the fence” between good and evil She is completely unwilling to compromise her personal ideals for practical reasons and often unaware of her own flaws or mistakes.

Relationships:
Wife of Prince Charming
Friend of Red, and the Cheshire Cat
Despises Regina, Rumpelstiltskin, and Roland

Brief Bio:
As long as anyone can remember, Snow has always been a paragon of virtue, even as a child she never misbehaved. She seemed to be naturally inclined towards good, never feeling a desire to break the rules. People praised her, and Snow’s opinion of herself grew, she never had any major mistakes to look back upon. Her early life was idyllic and free from worry, evil was something that she only heard tales of, she never saw it firsthand. Her first brush with danger was when she almost died riding a horse, but Regina saved her. Over time, she became more friendly with Regina and her mother Cora, even looking forward to having her as step-mother.
Hearing about Regina’s disagreements with Cora was a shock to Snow, who had never encountered familial strife before. Snow thought that she could solve this problem simply by telling Cora about Regina’s real feelings. The fact that Regina wanted it kept quiet did not matter, Snow’s judgment told her to reveal it, and everyone trusted her moral compass. For a while, everything seemed ok, Regina married Leopold and nothing was visibly amiss. When Regina seized power, it caught Snow by complete surprise, and she fled into the woods.
Snow could not comprehend why Regina would do this, her conscience wouldn’t even let her steal, let alone murder people. These acts were so far beyond Snow’s experience that she could only think of one conclusion, that Regina was and always had been evil. She lived in the woods for years, hiding from the queen and existing as a fond but suppressed memory in the minds of the people. These years revealed to Snow that evil was more common than she had suspected, how else would Regina have found so many willing servants? Alone and in a hostile world, Snow became even more confident in herself, because she could rely upon no one else.
Even when Regina killed people to find her, Snow refused to come out, because she would not give in to the demands of evil. It was only when Prince Charming was threatened that she risked her own safety, because her love for him compelled her to. She took the apple that Regina offered her, not to accept her deal, but because she knew it was less likely to be certain death than a blow from a sword.

Welcome to Amenity Entertainment (KPOP-Esque)

Name: Sung-min Choi
Stage Name: N/A
Age: 36
Gender: Male
Appearance: An Asian man approaching middle age, with a large nose and glasses. His eyes are brown, and his facial features are very angular. He keeps his black hair slicked back, and dresses in business clothes even when not at work. He is slightly taller than average, and fairly skinny.
Act: Staff
Position: Artist and Repertoire manager, occasionally studio pianist
Personality: Sung-Min rarely seems happy, although he is never particularly rude. He is disciplined and highly trustworthy, and does not like it when others aren't, and likes to worked methodically. His outlook on life is generally cynical and pessimistic, and places little faith in the promises of people he does not know well.

History: Sung-min's family always had high expectations for him. His father was highly respected in his community, a successful businessman who had emigrated to America with little more than the clothes on his back. When Sung-min displayed talent for playing piano at a young age, his family enrolled him in lessons and encouraged him to practice obsessively. He dealt with the pressures well, becoming an excellent piano player and performing well in school.

Few outside the family knew about their persistent problems. His father struggled with alcoholism, but was able to hide it from the outside world for a long time. Even though Sung-Min loved his father, it became increasingly hard for the family to hold together and maintain their image. During his senior year of high school, his father alcoholism got bad enough that his mother filed for divorce. The stress of the divorce had a severe impact of Sung-Min's academic performance which led to him failing several classes.

Because of his poor performance, Sung-Min was unable to enter college, and ended up working menial jobs for several years after college. During this time, he kept practicing piano and writing his own compositions, hoping to some day make a career in classical music. He also got involved in the local music scene, working as session musician for below market rates. This experience allowed him to build some connections with the local music industry, and get some recognition. Eventually, he found a job with Janus Classical, a small classical record label, helping to find new music and manage the logistics of recording. He loved his work, it allowed him to discover groundbreaking music and help them share it with the world. The label specialized in newer works and young performers, attempting to differentiate themselves from the old industry giants. Sung-Min even got to record some of his own compositions, though they were not commercially successful.

The label's approach was not a runaway success, and the budget was often tight. Eventually, things got so bad that they were forced to close, leaving him jobless again. After searching for a while, he found a job as in Artists and Repertoire at Amenity, thanks to his discipline and eye for musical talent. He doesn't particularly like his job, but it pays the bills. As an A&R manager, he is known for being very punctual, and for emphasizing that it is important for artists to maintain a good public image. He is also frequently cynical but always truthful, he hates to see people swindled.

Welcome to the Record Label (KPOP-Esque)

Sounds good, I'll update his sheet and post it to the new thread in a bit.