Hello, everyone! So, this is it. the big, long awaited (probably by only three people, but still, long awaited) sequel to The Girl Who Found Out! As I'm writing, this, it's actually the past, because I want to make a real good start to something that people have waited a long time for. I plan to really work my hardest on this. I hope you all like it!
Now, you definitely need to read the aforementioned prequel before you read this, but for the person who isn't (there's always one) here's an overview: Madison Abernathy, a sixteen year old girl, witnesses the epic showdown at the metal factory in Cry Wolf. She starts digging, and eventually discovers the Fable's existence. However, they know she knows, so they work out a deal- she doesn't tell, she can know. Now, five year time jump (what happened in those five years is contained in the side-story, The Mundy of Fabletown). Madison gets a job sorting papers at the Business office, but, as she's going through old papers, she discovers an invoice from the Puddin' and Pie, which belongs to Bluebeard. On the paper, he is charged extra for abusing staff. Bluebeard sees Madison find the paper and plans to kill her. Bufkin, knowing this, comes to her house with a vial of the infamous Hyde formula (Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde), explaining that it works differently on Mundanes: it will drive her insane, but give her the speed and strength to fend Bluebeard off if he finds her before she gets to the office. As she runs, she trips just in time for Bluebeard to miss with the only bullet he brought, so he takes out a knife. Madison drinks the formula and proceeds to beat Bluebeard within an inch of his life, before being stopped by Bigby. The two fight, until Snow arrives with a pouch of sand that puts Madison to sleep. once she awakens, the Fables inform her that, in order to prevent magical addiction, they must remove her memories of Fabletown. Madison berates Snow for this and goes home, where she writes herself a note and leaves it in a book in her house. The Fables arrive, take her memory, and leave her in her bed, before removing every reminder in her house of the fable's existence. After a brief dream in which madison sees glimpses of the memories she lost, she wakes up, completely forgetful. A month later, she finds her note, and due to the fragile nature of a five-year memory wipe, all her memories come crashing back. She then runs away from New York and goes into hiding, leaving a simple note on snow's desk before she goes: Forgiven, not Forgotten. And that's the sum of it.
As well as that massive wall of text, I'd like to thank some people. The wonderful TheKittenAuthor, for the title of this sequel (you rock!). To LostHero171, for always, and I mean always commenting and spurring me onwards (you also rock!) A thanks to everyone else who commented (be it once or frequently, you all rock as well!) And finally, to Cecilia Green, who inspired me to write The Girl Who Found Out in the first place. You rock out loud, girl.
And last on my to do list, over a year in the making...COMMENT REVIEW TIME!
LostHero171 (obviously): I hope you enjoyed the miquel, mess that it was. Glad you enjoyed the original story. Hope you like this just as much.
Moo Giraffe: I look back at your comment and I realize that I am a heartless monster for making you wait. I am truly sorry *kneels* if you see this, I hope you have it in your heart to forgive me.
TheKittenAuthor: Dang it Kitten, I thought it was a good cliffhanger T-T.
MrMeatbag: Thank you, kind sir!
Andrew 2000: I hope you like this. I can tell the miquel wasn't quite to your taste.
Unknown: Here is the latter.
Nero's Legacy: That is a great idea, but sadly, I had a plan T-T. Glad you liked The Girl Who Found Out!
And lastly, but never, EVER least, Cecilia Green: I am so sorry for the wait. Your kind words fall on an undeserving, but very grateful, writer. I hope you like this!
Now...who's ready to get this show on the road? I know I am!
LET THE STORY...BEGIN!
Snow White still hadn't stood back up.
The instant Bigby had seen the piece of paper, he'd gotten straight to work. He went through the apartment with a stony expression and a fine-toothed comb, searching for anything, and hint of a trace of a clue that could tell him where Madison Abernathy had gone.
However, it appeared that her fading smell was the only giveaway that the woman had lived here at all. The walls were stripped bare, the carpet was clean, every closet was empty, and every piece of furniture that hadn't come with the room was gone. In fact, the whole place was so blank that Bigby felt a sneaking suspicion that magic had been used, although how the Mundane had done so, he had no idea.
When over twenty minutes of searching yielded no result, Bigby was forced to give up. He walked back into the main room, slamming his feet against the hardwood floor with just a little more force than was necessary. He saw Snow near the door, slumped against a wall. Exactly where she had been after she showed him the note. Her face was hidden in her arms, which were folded across the tops of her knees. Her hands were still clenched tight around the note, the note bearing those three simple words. Forgiven, not forgotten.
Bigby clenched his teeth and barely cut off a growl. What the hell did she mean by that?
Bigby knew, though, try as he might to deny it. Snow had been a mess after what they had done to Madison-despite both women thinking he had left, he's heard the argument between the two. His initial reaction had been to bristle at someone disrespecting Snow in such a way, but he had quickly realized that Madison had every right to be angry. Snow knew this as well, which no doubt was why she took...what happened next...so hard. However, it seemed like Madison had regretted causing the Deputy Mayor so much pain. But why send the note? Even if she did want to let Snow know she forgave her, telling us she got her memory back...why would she do something that stupid? She must have known we'd come after her.
Try as he might, he just couldn't come up with an answer.
Snapping back to the matters at hand, Bigby walked over to Snow and crouched down next to her, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Snow?" His tone was soft, but no less gruff than usual.
Snow was quiet for several seconds. Finally, she looked up at him When their eyes met, Bigby nearly recoiled. Snow's normally bright blue eyes were dull and haunted, so full of raw emotion that just looking was like feeling it himself. "Bigby…" she whispered. "We have to find her. We can't let it happen again." For a moment, she looked not at Bigby, but into her own memories. He could almost see the reflections of blood in her eyes.
Bigby nodded, refusing to let his own thoughts wander back to that day. "I know. Believe me."
That seemed to reassure Snow somewhat. Taking a shaky breath, she stood up, stuffing the note in her suit and letting the Sheriff's hand fall from her shoulder. She closed her eyes and took a few more deep breaths. When she opened them again, they had gained some of their luster. She spoke, her voice was a bit more confident, on its way back to the usual businesslike tone Bigby knew so well.
"Our main priority right now is finding Madison. If her memories really have come back, then magical addiction could set in at any time. We need to find her and-" her voice hitched slightly, "-make sure that doesn't happen." She looked at Bigby sharply. "Were there any clues to where she might have gone?"
Bigby shook his head. "The place is clean. Too clean. And she's been gone for a while; two weeks, at least."
A quick, horrified expression flashed across Snow's face. "Two weeks?" she said, voice high with distress. Seeing the concern on Bigby's face, she caught herself, taking a few more calming breaths. "All the more reason to find her quickly. We'll need a witch to track her down in time, and to get a new memory spell. Let's go."
With that, Snow was off like a shot, whirling on her heel and all but running out the door and down the hall. Bigby took off after her. "Snow," he said quickly. "One more thing...How did the note end up in your office?"
Snow clenched her jaw. "I'm not sure. The door was locked, and Bufkin swore he didn't see anyone…" Her gaze hardened. "But the paper smelled like smoke when I picked it up…"
Two weeks prior…
It was an unusually dark and empty night. The street lamps were dimmed down, reducing their once-bright glows to a washed-out yellow flicker. There were almost no cars, and the few that passed the bus stop never stopped. The sky was clouded over, the windows were all dark-someone who didn't know better would say it was a bad omen.
There was a single person at the bus stop, sitting on the bench with their hands folded neatly on their lap and their legs crossed, church-like. When a second person emerged from the shadows behind them, they gave no indication that they heard.
The second figure was revealed as they stepped into the dim streetlight-a strikingly beautiful woman with long, curly platinum blonde hair, a wide set of china-blue eyes, and porcelain skin, carrying a duffle bag at her side. As she approached the bus stop, she grinned evilly, stepping lightly as she got closer and closer. Lifting one slim, pale hand, the woman reached for the person's shoulder-
"Hello, Crystal."
Crystal Thorn blinked, her mischievous smile giving way to shock for a split second before drooping into a frown. "Fuck," she cursed unhappily. "I thought I had you. How'd you know?"
The figure on the bench spoke again, never once turning around. "I was just listening hard, I guess."
Crystal sighed and walked over to the bus stop bench, sliding onto it until she was pressed uncomfortably close to the other person. "Man, I haven't seen you in a while, Mundy Mads," the witch said cheerfully, seemingly unaware of the close proximity. "I mean, I wanted to stop by, but Puppy and Snow made it really clear I had to leave you alone…"
The person gently scooted away so that the two were no longer touching. For the first time, the person on the bench turned, throwing her face into relief as it was bathed in light. The woman sitting next to Crystal was young, with a pale, lightly freckled face framed by long, messy black hair. Her golden eyes were dull and sad, lacking the youthful gleam they once possessed, much older than the rest of her appearance.
"You already know, Crystal," Madison Abernathy said quietly. "I know you do."
Crystal's smile stayed bright, but tightened at the edges. "You got me there. Let me tell you, I really wanted to kill those fuckers for that. But hey, rules are rules." She shrugged.
Madison smiled sadly. "I'd...I'd forgotten how your sense of humor worked." The smile dropped off her face like water. "I missed it."
Crystal refused to let her own joyful expression die. "Man, that sounds like the fucking worst. Not even remembering my jokes." She playful tousled Madison's hair. When she withdrew her hand, the other woman's hair sprung up from static.
"Did you bring everything?" The Mundane said, reaching up and patting her hair back down.
Crystal tutted and reached into her bag. "Of course I did." After rummaging around inside, she withdrew a wrinkled, half-wadded bundle of papers with a flourish. "Ta-da," she sing-songed.
Madison reached for the papers, but Crystal held them just out of arm's reach. "Nope," she said, mock-serious. "Not until you give me the goods. Do you have them or not?"
Madison sighed, reaching into her own pocket and withdrawing a package of cigarettes. Wordlessly, she held them out. Crystal's eyes widened. When she spoke, her tone was hushed, almost reverent. "And...those are his? He actually had them on him?"
She looked at Madison for a split second, staring directly in the center of the woman's forehead with a scrutinizing gaze. After a moment, she broke into a huge grin. "Oh, hell yes." Reaching down, she snatched the cigarettes out of the woman's palm, cramming the papers in the duffle bag and handing it over as she did so.
Madison, looking strangely relieved, took the bag, opened it, and lifted out the top sheet of paper, scanning it over as she did so. "Are you sure this will be enough?" she said.
Crystal nodded, eyes still glued to the cigarettes. "Yep. New name, new birth certificate, the works. That'll be enough to start over. And I even remember all the stuff you wanted me to do after. Aren't I smart?" She wrenched her gaze away from the cigarettes for a moment, looking at Madison with sudden concern. "Are you sure, though? That you want to do this?" Her voice was uncharacteristically somber and quiet.
Madison didn't even hesitate. She nodded. "I'm sure. I can't risk forgetting again. And staying here…" she trailed off, the hollow look in her eyes deepening in the silence.
Crystal frowned. "Hey," she said, lightly smacking Madison's head. "Snap out of it. Just get the hell out of here and live your life, okay?"
Madison looked over, surprised, her eyes brightening slightly. She was silent for a few moments. "Okay," she said, finally.
As if on cue, there was a flash of lights from down the road. Tires screeched against asphalt, and with the reek of exhaust and oil, a near-empty bus slid into place. The doors hissed open.
Madison stood up, slinging the bag over her shoulder, and quickly slipped Crystal a piece of paper. The witch didn't even read it, opting to jam it in her pocket. Madison was silent as she walked up the bus steps, only pausing and turning around when she reached the top. She looked back at Crystal, who was watching with a wide, somewhat forced grin. "Goodbye, Crystal," the Mundane said softly. "It was fun...Hanging out."
Crystal nodded furiously, grinning evilly again. "Don't think you won't see me again, Mundy Mads. One day, you'll think you're safe, and BAM!" She snapped her fingers. "I'll be at your house and stealing your food. Hell, maybe I'll move stuff around, just to fuck with you. Just you wait."
Madison laughed softly. "I look forward to it." Smiling, she wiped something glistening from her eyes and finished entering the bus. The doors slid shut with a whoosh, and the entire vehicle lurched away.
Crystal watched the bus drive away until it was out of sight. Once it was gone, the smile dripped off her face. She looked back at the cigarettes clutched tightly in her hand. She stared at them for a few minutes before shaking her head. "You fucking liar," the witch whispered, smiling sadly.
Standing up abruptly from her seat, Crystal ripped a cigarette from the pack and jammed it between her lips. She tapped the end like she was testing a microphone; it sparked once, twice, before finally flaring to life. Crystal sucked in the smoke with a deep breath, before removing the cigarette from her teeth and blowing. A long, pale stream of smoke issued from her lips and twirled away into the sky.
Crystal waited until the smoke had vanished. Then, she sighed once more and turned on her heel, vanishing in a bright swirl of emerald fire.
Drop me a comment if you liked this; I really appreciate it. My will to write more is fueled by comments, so the more I get, the faster the next chappie comes out...See you next time.
