A woman walked down an empty road. She knew where she was going, and she knew she was close.
Passing through the boarders of the town, she saw a sign appear beside the road.
"Storybrooke, huh?" She mused.
She continued down the road and into the town. All around were the people of fairy tales, documented in the Author's books. Well, one of the Author's books, anyway.
As she passed, people nodded in greeting, friendly to her despite her never having stepped foot within Storybrooke before. She knew they were cautious about new people entering the town, having had bad experience in the past, and so she made sure their memories told them she belonged. Better not to have any eyes on her before she reached her goal.
She greeted Granny as she got a room to stay in with ease. Room 13, just the way she liked it. Who says 13 is an unlucky number?
Once in her room, she sat upon her bed and then waved her hand. Before her, appeared several papers: maps, documents, notes in all different languages and codes, along with a couple books, big and small. She summoned a pen out of mid-air and then began to work.
If all her research was correct, what she was looking for was somewhere in this town. There were two power-houses here that were distinct targets for investigation. The "Evil Queen," also known as Regina, and "Rumpelstiltskin," or Mr. Gold. How fitting their names were, though she supposed that was the point of this makeshift town.
Taking a clean sheet of paper, she let her hands work on their own. Her pen danced across the page, an image appearing like magic. Though that was what it was, really.
Once she finished, she saw one image of a woman, and one of a man. These were her two targets she was looking for. She shook off her slight wave of fatigue. She was really overworking herself. But she was so close to what she was looking for.
"Don't get anxious just because the finish line draws near," She reminded herself. "Act as if it is still as far away as when you began. Nothing is guaranteed to one. It's not over until it's over."
She capped her pen and waved everything away. Tomorrow she would set out on her search once more, but for now, a night of rest.
The next day, she made for the town. First, of course, she went to the diner for breakfast.
"Hey Granny," She said.
"Usual?" Granny asked with an amused smile as she set a cup of tea in front of her.
"If it's not too much trouble."
"Comin' right up, Fang. Good to see you're still in top form."
"When am I not?"
"I can name a few times," She muttered before leaving to both cook and tend to her other customers.
Fang took a sip of her tea, made just the way she liked it despite never having physically crossed paths with Granny ever before. Everyone in this place would know her as a friend, even though she, in reality, hadn't ever had a past with any of them.
Then, Regina walked into the diner, accompanied by a boy who looked to be in his early teen years. Henry.
"Isaac's been caught and taken in," She reported to someone.
"Isaac, huh?" Fang thought to herself. "So, that sorry excuse for an Author was finally caught?"
She could sense that he'd been messing with things recently. This town was covered in the aftereffects of some kind of Author permutation. He must've tried to re-write reality itself or something. Foolish man. Only a Writer is supposed to have such a skill, only a Writer would be trusted with that task. He didn't see the consequences of his actions, and it was her job in order to punish him. He broke many laws by doing what he did, and so he failed because Fang had made it so.
What? You thought the fact that Henry was unaffected by Isaac's meddling and Emma remembering things was a fluke? Was a bad decision on Isaac's part? A little mistake? As a Writer, Fang has learned that destiny and fate aren't ever left to chance. Every little detail of Henry's journey was laid out and planned from the beginning and beyond. Isaac's defeat was destined from the start, as were all those who oppose the protagonists of this story.
But she had limited time here. The sooner she got out of this story, the better. "Reality can only be bent so far before it snaps," Her master had once told her. "Reality can only be snapped and fixed so many times before the scars left do permanent damage. It is our job to fix the scars and rifts, not to make them worse."
She'd go and reprimand Isaac for his crimes later. Though now that he was no longer an Author, she supposed that he was now out of her jurisdiction, and only the new Author would be under watch. She'd have to ask her master about it later. For now, her task was the most important thing and took first priority.
"Regina," She called.
The woman looked over before smiling and walking to Fang, Henry in tow.
"Fang, I see you're doing well. What are you doing in town?"
"I need to look into your vault, if it's not too much trouble, but I'll need you to help dismantle the wards you have."
"Sure, no problem."
"Who are you?" Henry asked.
"This is Fang, Henry," Regina said. "You know her, right?"
"No. What are you talking about, Mom? Do you mean I knew her when I was too young to remember or something?"
"No, you were old enough. She came over and looked after you all the time while I had work, you know, before the first curse was broken and all."
"Well I don't remember her. I don't know her."
Fang raised an eyebrow.
"You wouldn't happen to be the Author that replaced Isaac, would you? I'd heard that he was…fired, but I have yet to gain information on his successor, as it has happened so recently."
"Yeah, I'm…sort of, the Author."
She studied him, putting her hand to her chin in thought and resting her elbow on her arm across her torso.
"You broke your pen, didn't you?"
He looked down.
"Uh, yeah."
"Interesting. I hope you don't come to regret that decision."
"No one should have the kind of power that pen gives you. Look what happened with Isaac. That power is too tempting for people, and the risk of it falling into the wrong hands in the future is too high. I had to destroy it."
"Wise beyond your years, young man. However, there are laws in place, and people who look out for those that seek to disrupt balance and put their own twisted versions of reality in place, such as what Isaac's actions had wrought. The world still spins, does it not? If you thought there was only one Author in the world, you will be displeased to hear there are many others, many more pens to be passed down along with the title and power of an Author."
"You're an Author?"
"No. I am one of those that look over Authors and keep them in check. Isaac failed in his attempt at re-writing this reality, did he not?"
"That was because of us-"
"Me stopping him," She finished. "There is no such thing as a coincidence in this world. The luck that gave rise to your victory was not chance. I made sure Isaac was brought down, and you were merely the in-between that I used to do so."
Henry's face went through a multitude of emotions, from shock and denial, to consideration and then cautious curiosity.
"What are you then? If not an Author."
"I'm what you'd call a "Writer." Not an original name, however, neither is "Author," so don't be one to judge."
"Are you here to punish Isaac?"
"No, I'm not under orders to do so yet. I'd have to check in about what to do with him, or quite possibly someone else was sent in order to do so instead."
"Then why are you here?"
"I'm looking for something. Which reminds me that I should go soon. Now that Regina is here, I can check her vault for it."
Henry looked to his mom, only to find her frozen in place. He looked around the diner and found that everyone was frozen. No one had witnessed the exchange between the two, ever since Fang had first raised her eyebrow at Henry.
Fang raised her hand for dramatic effect, and then snapped. Suddenly the world burst to life again, voices continuing, conversations uninterrupted, people walking around, eating, milling about their business without a second thought. And most certainly without knowledge of the conversation that had happened between the Author and the Writer.
"Let's get to the vault," Regina said without a care in the world.
"Wait, what are you looking for in Mom's vault?" Henry asked.
"Oh, just a little trinket that was stolen from me," Fang said. She patted his head. "Nothing you need to worry about, sweetheart." She canceled her order from Granny and walked to the door with Regina.
"Wait! Mom, don't just listen to her! She's manipulating you!"
"Henry, what has gotten into you?" Regina scolded. "She's our friend. I'm sorry, Fang. I guess it has been a while since you've been in town. Come on. You two can catch up on the way there."
"Mom, wait!"
But Henry's pleas did nothing to stop Regina and Fang from leaving, and he had no choice but to follow them until he could find a way to convince his mother that Fang wasn't who she said she was.
"Well, if we're starting over, let me introduce myself," Fang said, a smug smile on her face at Henry's useless attempts at fighting her influence. "Rei Fang of the Yun clan from the Village of Paddra, Thirteenth Oracle to the Utakata line. But just call me Fang. Nice to meet you, Henry Mills."
This takes place after everyone was returned to Storybrooke from Isaac's fake world, by the way. Imagine that the whole (spoilers, but if you're reading this, I assume you watch Once Upon a Time, right?) "Emma's the new Dark One" thing doesn't happen yet and Rumple is still in his dying state but has a bit more time.