Lucy kept her eyes shut tightly as the Lifeboat shook more violently than usual. She could feel her stomach churn heavily and her heart pound against her chest. It felt like her usual anxieties when it came to the time machine were multiplied ten-fold. Despite the straps restraining her to her seat, Lucy could feel her entire body push against them with every jarring of the Lifeboat.
The machine started to shake even more, if that was possible. An electric current flowed through, shocking every nerve Lucy had. She couldn't feel anything - not her hands, feet, stomach, anything.
Suddenly, they stopped moving. She slowly opened her eyes and saw that her knuckles were white and tense as she gripped her seat. Lucy looked up and saw Wyatt and Rufus were as shell-shocked as she felt.
They unstrapped from their seats and began to pile out of the Lifeboat. They all tripped and stumbled, as if unsure they could walk. Wyatt looked more sick than he usually did, falling on top of a strange, dark colored rock. He scrambled to his feet, waving off Lucy and Rufus' concerns. When they finally climbed out of the machine and stood on firm ground, they took note of their surroundings.
They were in a forest with impossibly tall trees and fragrant plants. The light shone green and yellow and there was a strange… buzzing in the air, something that shot through them like an electric current. Lucy shivered at the eerie feeling. It was quiet all around, no animals or birds roaming about.
"Where the hell are we?" Wyatt finally asked.
Lucy shook her head, the place wholly unfamiliar to her. They turned to Rufus, who shrugged. "I have no idea when we are, to be honest," he replied. "All I know is that, unfortunately, the circuits are fried and the Lifeboat needs to be recharged."
Wyatt groaned and ran a hand over his face. He started to pace, the wheels in his head clearly turning rapidly as he tried to figure out what to do. "What happened?How did this happen?" he demanded.
"Flynn was taking off when an electric storm hit close to Castle Varlar," Rufus explained. "I was able to find out where he was going just as we got in the Lifeboat, but that same storm hit us and…we landed here…wherever 'here' is."
"Could we be in the past? Like… the Neolithic Age?" Lucy wondered.
Rufus shook his head. "Nothing on the screen says that we're that far back. We're maybe…I don't know…thirty years back from the present?"
"But you just said you have no idea when we are, Rufus!" Wyatt yelled.
Lucy and Rufus jumped in surprise. The situation was less than ideal, but it didn't call for Wyatt to be short with their pilot.
"I know what I said, Wyatt," Rufus said calmly. "But I'm not entirely sure about…well, anything , right now. I only know what the computer told me, and it doesn't have a location. Just the year."
Wyatt pinched the bridge of his nose, clearly trying to contain his anger. Finally, he nodded in understanding. Taking a deep breath, he looked up at the other two apologetically. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap like that," he apologized. "This is all so… weird , even for us. And we deal in time travel!"
Lucy walked towards him and rested a reassuring hand on his arm. Wyatt sighed and reached for her hand, giving it a quick squeeze.
"Come on, let's take a look around." She suggested.
The boys nodded in agreement and they made their way through the forest before them.
After a few hours of walking and finding absolutely nothing, the trio found a quiet clearing and decided to rest for a bit.
Rufus stuck his hands in his pockets and started to rock back and forth on his heels. Lucy sat on the ground, playing with blades of grass as Wyatt constantly switched from leaning against a tree to pacing a trench into the ground. It had been quiet and tense between the trio for hours as they all tried to figure out a way to help Rufus fix and recharge the machine with nothing but sticks and sunlight.
"This is pointless! We're never going to get out of this creepy ass forest!" Wyatt yelled. He was strangely agitated, panicky almost.
Lucy and Rufus exchanged worried glances. Ever since Wyatt had found out about the identity of his wife's killer, he had been...off. But not in the in the broody way one would expect, but in a barely contained coil of energy sort of way. It was like watching a starved, caged predator just waiting to pounce.
Lucy released the grass from her fingers and stood up. She walked over to him to calm him down. "Of course, we're going to get out of here. If we can get out of 1754, we can get out of…wherever or whenever this place is."
She turned to Rufus, hoping he would say something positive and reassuring. He was the pilot after all, and he has gotten them out of worse scrapes before. At least they weren't being chased by French soldiers and Native American warriors.
Rufus sighed and ran a hand over his face. "I wish there was some…magical solution to all our problems," he muttered.
"Well, it just so happens that I deal in such matters."
The three jumped in surprise. Wyatt reached for his gun and pulled it out, while Lucy and Rufus slowly moved behind him.
Before them stood a man. Not really a man per say, but a scaled, golden-green creature that looked like a man. He wore silk and different types of leather, all cut to fit his form. His hair was brown and crimped and reached the base of his neck. His eyes were reptilian that stared at them with calculated glee.
"Who the hell are you?" Wyatt asked authoritatively.
The man giggled. "Now, now, no need to point that... thing at me. Isn't it obvious who I am?"
His gaze moved over each of them, his eerie smile still gracing his lips. "Though, looking closely at the three of you, I suppose you don't know off-hand."
The man then bowed with an exaggerated flourish as he introduced himself. "Rumplestiltskin, at your service." He rolled his R's, which seemed oddly paired with his apparently Scottish accent.
Rufus and Wyatt exchanged a look. Lucy tilted her head, her dark eyebrows crunched quizzically. Her world folklore was a bit rusty, but she could recall that Rumplestiltskin was a German fairytale about an imp who spun straw into gold and didn't give out his name so readily.
"Rumplestiltskin?" she repeated.
"That is my name, dearie. Although, most refer to me as 'The Dark One'," Rumplestiltskin said.
They exchanged confused glances once again. The trio had found themselves in weird situations before, but this one took the cake.
"Obviously, you're not from around here," Rumplestiltskin muttered. "In any event, I'm here to help. For a price, of course."
"And how do you propose to help us? Do you even know what we need help with? " Wyatt asked.
Rumplestiltskin giggled again. "I'm sure whatever assistance you may need, I can offer. Of course, I will need something in return."
"How do you intend on helping us?" Lucy wondered. "And how do you want us to...um, I guess, repay you?"
The Dark One's smile widened. Ever so slowly, he started to encircle the trio. He stilled eerily, seemingly frozen, and then, with a dramatic flourish purple smoke appeared around them. They were ready to protest when the smoke disappeared. Their 40s wardrobe transformed to a mixture of medieval and regency era clothing. The materials were rich and soft, although Lucy felt ridiculous wearing such a large skirt, even more so than when they went to 1865. She looked around and saw Rufus was in a dark colored Regency suit that fit him well, while Wyatt looked like a ridiculous nobleman during the French Revolution as he held his modern gun. She bit her lip to keep from giggling.
"Why, with magic, of course!" Rumplestiltskin said. "You simply need to tell me what you need, and I shall give it to you. Then I shall decide what you three owe me in return."
With a snap of his fingers, the smoke returned and their old clothes returned.
Wyatt finally lowered his weapon. He gestured to Lucy and Rufus closer and they huddled together.
"Do you think this guy is for real?" Rufus whispered. "I mean, I know he just performed magic and stuff, but...do you think we could...sort of trust him?"
They were quiet for a moment as they seriously considered the answer to his question. Lucy shrugged and looked at Wyatt. He looked...strange. More agitated. Sweat was dripping down his face and his skin was a deathly pale veins started to pop up out of his skin, thickly outlined in dark blue. He was shaking like he was extremely cold.
"Wyatt, are you alright?" she asked. She started to reach for him when he jerked back.
"What? I'm fine," he replied. "It's just so damn hot… "
"Wyatt, you don't look fine," Rufus added.
" I said I'm fine! " Wyatt yelled.
"Oh no, dearie, you don't look well at all ," Rumplestiltskin observed. "Tell me...where were the three of you travelling from?"
Lucy decided to trust this weird little man. She pointed to the direction they came from.
"Was there a stone, dark in color? No life all around?" he asked.
Lucy and Rufus nodded.
"Your friend here is very sick, we'll need to go to my castle for a cure."
Before they could say anything, they were engulfed in yet another puff of smoke.