Ok, a few things. First, for this story, I am assuming that Victor and Ruby are in a relationship, but it is still relatively new. They are not the focus, this is not a romance. Mainly because I am terrible at writing romantic stories. This is mainly a Victor story with everyone else thrown in. Second, I want to apologize to anyone who speaks German, I do not and I used Google Translate for a certain word combo. Thirdly this chapter is gigantic, I was going to split it but couldn't figure out where to so I just left it. None of the others will be this long. Lastly, I am 8000% sure is not the direction the show will take the Frozen storyline. Enjoy.

"I don't suppose that whatever is causing this wretched weather will stop before I have to venture back into it?" The pirate shook his head and shoulders, trying to remove the layer of snow that had accumulated there.

"I don't think the sun is going to come out and the snow melt in the next ten minutes." Granny gave the pirate a predatory smile. Victor was just glad that look wasn't directed at him.

Killian froze.

"Ten minutes?"

"Emma called the diner said when you got here to tell you she would need your help at the station around 9. Which, according to that big clock there…"

"Bloody hell. Why didn't she…"

"She also said that if you would just use the cell phone she got for you, there would be no need for her to leave messages at every residence in town, and you wouldn't be so late to everything."

Victor heard Killian mumble something about magical devices and frustrating blondes. The pirate noticed Victor's smirk.

"Something amusing Doctor?"

"No. Not at all. Just enjoying my coffee."

Which was a lie. The coffee was especially terrible today. He was beginning to think that Granny brewed this particular noxious blend for him only. No one else ever seemed to mind it. Of course, neither had Victor until the curse had broken. Then he remembered what coffee from Agrabah had tasted like, and everything else just seemed so inadequate compared to that. He wasn't about to let Granny know that of course.

Killian let out an exaggerated sigh.

"Perhaps then milady, you could see fit to gather me some provisions for the road."

"One breakfast special to go, coming up."

"So no news on the weather then? Are we certain it's magical in nature?" Archie was sitting on the other side of Victor, his morning paper discarded at Killian's arrival.

Victor hadn't noticed the weather at first, like everyone else he had assumed it was just the dying blasts of winter. But now they were firmly into spring and there was little sign of the temperatures changing.

"Regina and the Crocodile seem to believe so. Said there is something 'unnatural' about the way the clouds are moving."

Victor had never paid any attention to meteorology. The skies were too unpredictable, to changeable for his tastes. He preferred the more physical sciences. His only interest in the clouds, had been in the lightning they produced.

"Of course it's magical in nature, it has been almost two weeks since anything came through and tried to kill us. I'd be more surprised if it was just a regular storm."

The pirate gave Victor a smirk.

"Too right mate. Our fair hamlet does attract a certain undesirable element from time to time."

"I'll say." Archie muttered it under his breath. Victor and Killian both turned and raised an eyebrow at the therapist.

"I…I meant Cora and Zelena….Not you Doctor..."

"Oi, but not me? That hurts my feelings cricket." Victor smirked

"Didn't you lock him in the brig of your ship and threaten to torture him?"

Killian almost seemed embarrassed. He opened his mouth to respond but Archie beat him to it.

"Of course I didn't mean the Captain any more. He has proven himself many times since then."

Now Killian was embarrassed. Victor's smirk turned into a full smile.

"Yes, our good Captain is quite the hero isn't he? Doing all the things heroes do."

"Doctor…"

"I'm just saying, you should be commended for all your hard work."

"Why do I get the feeling there is an insult somewhere in your words mate?"

"I would never dream of it. Archie, you've been around the Charming family for longer than me, tell me how does one act in the presence of such a fine upstanding citizen."

"I suppose it would be customary to bow when he arrives."

Victor barked out a laugh. It always amused him when the straight-laced therapist went along with Victor's sarcastic nature.

"But is that enough? I mean, he could be king someday and…"

"Alright, that's enough. I mean it lads."

Killian cast a nervous glance around the diner. Why Killian and Emma thought they could keep their relationship a secret in such a small town was beyond him. Not that Victor knew anything about trying to keep a relationship a secret.

"Of course, of course. Forgive me. I get so flustered around all you hero types."

"Fairly certain you belong in that category too mate."

"The captain is right Doctor. You're one of us."

Victor smirked.

"I've never been so insulted in my life."

The strange camaraderie between the three men was broken by Leroy slamming open the door to the diner.

"They found it! They found the monster that is causing all the snow!"

Killian and Archie rushed over to Leroy. Victor sat and continued to drink his coffee, he had no doubt he would be able to hear the dwarf just fine from here.

"What do you mean, who found it?"

"The Sheriff of Nottingham, he and a couple others were searching through the woods, looking for evidence of magic and BAM there it was. They said it just appeared out of the snow. I saw them bringing it up the lane, tied up in ropes. It's horrific looking."

"Do we know what sort of creature it is?"

"I've never seen anything like it. Must be eight feet tall if it isn't hunching over. It's arms are all shriveled, its skin is brown and slimy. It's face though. I swear I might have nightmares of this thing for the rest of my life. It has these black eyes, soulless, you can just tell. And its mouth, there were teeth layered upon teeth. The teeth encircle the entire mouth, with these sort of sharp tusks jutting up from its chin…"

"You alright Victor?"

Ruby's gentle inquisition pulled Victor away from Leroy's description. He looked up into the brunette's worried eyes. Why was she worried? Victor followed her gaze to his hand. He had crushed the paper coffee cup, the hot liquid had turned his skin slightly pink. He hadn't felt it.

"I know Granny's coffee is bad but you could have just asked for something else." She was trying to make light of it. But there was an undercurrent of nervousness in her voice. She wasn't sure how he would react to her joke. Wasn't sure what had caused him to grip the scalding cup with such force.

He stood abruptly and walked briskly towards Leroy.

"Where is the creature now?"

"Huh? Oh don't worry Doc, nobody got hurt catching it. They've got it all tied up and…"

"Where. Is. It?"

If Victor had been paying attention he might have seen the way everyone shrunk backwards at his tone. The way Leroy's eyes widened, the small step he took back.

"They…umm, they were just bringing it up the main road."

Victor headed out the door without another word. He couldn't speak, couldn't think straight. There was an anger in him he hadn't felt in years. A rage he thought he had left behind.

A rage he could barely control.

The snow had subsided, the sun was making itself known for the first time in almost a week. There was barely any on the ground, but he could see their foot prints clearly. The movement of a group…and the thing they were dragging between them.

He felt his feet move, he was aware that he was moving towards them, towards a course of action that would only end badly for him. But he couldn't stop it. He wouldn't have stopped it, even if he had been thinking clearly.

All he could see was their triumphant faces, all he could hear was their cheers as they poked and prodded and kicked and pushed the creature to the ground. Its withered arms tied tightly. Too tightly. They would pay for every pain they had inflicted. Emma was standing in front of the group that had emerged from the woods. He thought he recognized the man she was talking too, but he couldn't be sure.

"…bring it into town?"

"We wanted everyone to know that we had caught the beast!" The man's name was Richard…or Rick…it was something with an R. Ruby had once said that he had been the Sheriff of Nottingham back in the Enchanted Forest. The group of men around him, the ones circling the creature on the ground, he didn't know any of their names. But he would never forget a single one of their faces.

The idiot was still smiling. Still laughing at his great victory. Victor saw more people start to circle around. Wanting to see the monster that had been causing this new disruption for themselves. David joined Emma and tried to keep everyone back. Victor could feel the change in the crowd. They were on the verge of being more than just a group of curious onlookers. Victor didn't know if anyone had followed him out of the diner. Didn't know if he was on his own. He was only a few steps away now. He could only hope that no one shot him before he could free the defenseless creature.

Emma's back was turned to him, trying to quell the surging crowd. Trying to stop the fear that was spreading through them. There was no time for this. No time to be the kind and caring leaders. In one quick motion, Victor pulled Emma's gun out of her holster and fired a shot into the air.

The look of shock on the faces of the crowd, the curses that Emma was currently sprouting off, it might have distracted him on any other day.

"Whale, what the hell…"

Victor didn't turn. He didn't look at any of them. Not at Emma, or David, or the near mob at his back. He calmly lowered the weapon until it was aimed solely at the Sheriff of Nottingham's head. The look of shock on the man's face only intensified at the sight of a gun now pointed at him with steady hands.

"I am going to give you thirty seconds to untie the ropes and let that creature go. After those thirty seconds are up, I am going to put a bullet through your head." Victor's hand never wavered, but he shifted his eyes to the Sheriff's posse. Several of them carried weapons. He would most likely be able to take out four of the seven men before he too was gunned down.

"Ok…Whale…listen to me. Put the weapon down."

Emma was attempting to move between him and the group.

"Emma if you take another step, I will shoot you in the leg." He said it simply, quietly. But with conviction. She must have heard it in his voice because she stopped abruptly.

"Your time is almost up Sheriff."

Rick seemed to finally recover from his stupor. The man had the audacity to smirk.

"You aren't going to shoot me, Doctor." The man put such an emphasis on the word doctor. As though a doctor was all Victor was. As though he wasn't also a monster. After the events with Daniel, Victor had assumed everyone in town knew who he really was. Especially after Leroy found out. Perhaps he had been wrong in this assumption, perhaps the dwarf had managed to keep that particular knowledge to himself for once.

"You can't hurt me. That would violate your oath…"

"Ok, that's enough of this. Rick, you and your boys give that…thing over to us and we will lock it up." David moved towards the creature. It began to hiss loudly causing David to pull his gun. Dammit. Victor didn't want to have to shoot all of his potential allies in the leg.

"No way. Me and my men captured it. We get to kill it. Maybe I will mount its head on my wall. It would…"

The ringing in Victor's ears was back. This…this man was going to kill it. Going to…

Victor managed to push it down, push down every urge that told him to just kill every single person in sight. That they would all deserve it.

"I am a doctor."

"Yea. We all know that." Rick was still looking smug. Probably too comfortable in the fact that it had been more than thirty seconds and he was still breathing. Emma and David shared a glance. They seemed weary of whatever it was Victor was about to say.

"Look Whale…"

"I mean to say, I actually attended medical school. I didn't receive my knowledge and understanding of human anatomy from the curse. Tell me…Sheriff, how many medical colleges are there in the Enchanted Forest?"

Rick seemed to think on it for a minute. Victor didn't have the patience for the man's simple mind to make the connection.

"None, correct? So what would that tell you about me? Nothing? Perhaps that I am not from the Enchanted Forest. That my land is quite a bit different from this one and from yours. You see, in my realm, the punishment for a man who attacks an Hoffenträumen, is quite severe." Victor felt someone come and stand by his shoulder. He was slightly surprised to see it was Killian. The man had pulled his sword, but wasn't pointing it at Victor. He was pointing it at a member of the Sheriff's posse, a man who had begun to raise his own gun.

"Ah ah ah there mate. I believe the good Doctor here is in the middle of something."

"Killian. You aren't helping." Emma was glaring at the pirate.

"Ah love that's where you're wrong. That miscreant was going to attempt to shoot the Doctor. I'm merely evening the odds so that none of these other fools believe they can do the same. I'm preventing bloodshed darling." The Captain was smiling, but there was something feral in his eyes. A glint when he directed the word bloodshed at the group. It sounded more like a promise than an appeasement.

"Who cares what realm you are from? If this was the Enchanted Forest, I would be well within my rights to kill any creature that threatened the safety of my people." Victor saw several people nodding their heads at the Sheriff's words.

"And if we were in my realm, it would be within my rights punish you as the law clearly states."

"And what's the punishment for killing a slug like this huh?" The Sheriff laughed. Victor would cut out his tongue first.

"First you would be blinded with hot pokers, your eyes thrown to pigs. Then your tongue is cut out. The tongue always goes to the rats. Next, your hands and feet are removed. You don't want to know how. Lets just say that the animal that gets to eat them, does so while they are still attached. All the while, you are carefully monitored. You see, you are not meant to die by this, no. No that would be too easy. You are then allowed to heal in a hospital. Once it is determined that you will survive your injuries, your mouth is wired shut, except for a small hole left open. You are then branded with the mark of the cursed, and thrown to the street. You have to live the rest of your life with the rats in the sewers, hoping that someone will take pity on you and give you enough water or food for you to survive. And make no mistake Sheriff, my people are not the forgiving type."

Victor wondered if the pirate was regretting siding with him. Victor saw the indecision in the Sheriff's eyes. The outright horror in the men with him.

"What kind of Doctor are you?"

"Dr. Victor Frankenstein."

Whatever resolve the men with the Sheriff had, was gone the instant Victor said his name. Rick was taking a few steps back. Although now his grip on his gun was tighter.

Victor's hand was still steady. Still unmoving. He couldn't have cared if the entire town was against him, he had to do this. Hell, the entire town was probably against him by now.

The Sheriff's panicked expression darted toward David and Emma.

"Did you hear what he said? Who he is? Hell, he's probably behind all of this."

"Whale isn't…"

"Oh my god, you knew! You knew who he was and you just let this…this monster walk around town. Let him treat us, our families. He could have been experimenting on us…"

"Enough!" Emma silenced the idiot and the panicking crowd behind them. "Yes, we knew who Whale really was. The same way we know who everyone else here is, and we don't judge them for stories that we may have heard. I want every single person here to disperse now!"

The crowd hesitated.

Emma looked ready to attack them. Sparks flew from her fingers.

"Disperse or I will make you."

Whatever fear they had of him was apparently dwarfed by their fear of the blond Savior. The crowd hurried away. Most of the men with the Sheriff going as well. Victor wondered if he should be afraid of the fact that he had stolen Emma's gun. She most likely wouldn't take kindly to him threatening to kill people with it.

"Alright Whale. Put the gun down."

Victor turned to look at Emma. He lowered the gun a few inches. A foolish mistake, one that only cemented in his mind just how long he had been away from his own realm. Never take your eyes off of your enemy. Not until they are dead and their body burned.

He saw, in the corner of his eye, the Sheriff raise his own gun. The fool was going to shoot him. Victor expected a bullet to slam into his chest. Not the blond woman who had just yelled at him.

Emma pushed him to the ground. They hit the pavement, but still there was no sound of a gun blast. Victor turned his head and finally saw why.

Ruby.

She had tackled the former Sheriff of Nottingham to the ground. He wasn't sure what it was she was saying to the man, but the terror in his eyes was much greater now than it was when Victor had threatened him. He was really going to have to rethink exactly how scary people found the name Frankenstein. It was probably forever marred by Abbott and Costello or Mel Brooks movies.

Killian helped Emma to her feet and then pulled Victor up as well.

"Umm Ruby. I think he's got it." David was trying to keep the werewolf from ripping the man's throat out. Victor saw a glimpse of the gun that had been pointed at him, now crushed and mangled. Ruby stood quickly, her eyes never leaving Rick as he jumped to his feet. The man opened his mouth. David stopped whatever the idiot was going to say with a hand.

"Don't. Just go. Now."

The man all but ran.

With the threat now gone, Victor moved quickly to the creature's side.

"Whale are you sure…"

Victor ignored whatever warning they were going to give and made quick work of the ropes binding the Hoffenträumen. The hissing noise grew louder.

"Mate I don't think it…"

"It can't breathe. That's what that noise is."

Victor thought quickly. Hoffenträumen only lived in cold climates, it couldn't breathe properly here. Even though it was unnaturally cold for this time of year, it still wasn't cold enough.

Victor put a hand to the side of the creature's face. He looked directly in it's eyes. The Hoffenträumen didn't speak any language that had ever been discovered by man. He tried to will the creature into understanding that he wasn't going to hurt him.

That he was going to…

Oh. Granny was never going to forgive him.

"He needs cold. He can't breathe properly in warm temperatures." Victor began to help the creature to its feet.

Ruby seemed to catch on to what Victor was saying very quickly.

"I'll clear everyone out of the diner and try to make some space in the freezer."

She rushed away as Victor kept his hands on the creature, keeping it from falling over. Emma took a few steps forward.

"So…it won't hurt us?"

"No." His voice was clipped. He tried to keep his anger down. They didn't know. It was the mantra in his head. They didn't know. They didn't know.

The diner was empty by they time Victor got inside. Just Granny and Ruby. If Granny was phased by the Hoffenträumen's appearance, she gave no indication.

"Got the freezer down as cold as she'll go."

Victor nodded his thanks. He was aware of the others holding back, staying in the dining area while Victor guided the creature to the freezer. It hesitated at the door, unsure of what Victor was doing. He tried to relay confidence in his gaze. The Hoffenträumen was just like any other patient, he had to be calm, he couldn't show any doubts.

"Don't worry. You'll be safe in here."

Victor hoped his tone conveyed the message. Thankfully the creature moved inside after a few more seconds of indecision. Immediately he could see the change. It's breathing calmed, it began to stretch its fingers, and it stood to its full height. Victor gave it an encouraging smile.

Once he was certain it would remain, he closed the freezer door. He rested his head against the cool metal. He had no idea how he was going to explain this to the others. How he was going to be able to convince them that despite it's appearance, the Hoffenträumen was not a monster.

Best to face the firing squad early. His father had always said that. He didn't know why. There were so many things his father had said he never understood.

He walked back into the main room. Emma, David, Killian, and Archie were huddled toward the front, discussing something in hushed tones. Ruby and Granny were behind the counter again, making coffee for everyone.

And of course Gold had somehow found his way into the diner. That man always insisted on being around when something terrible happened. Usually it was because he was the cause of it.

"Well well well Doctor. Quite the show you put on out there." Gold pointed his cane at Victor. "Can't pretend I'm not a little impressed at your creativity. Especially for a man who is supposed to be a healer. Spend a little time as a torturer too did you?"

Victor's eyes narrowed. Emma and Killian moved forward. But Gold just kept talking.

"So you were going to chop his hands and feet off and then what was it you said? Blind him with hot pokers?"

"That's enough Gold."

"I'm just trying to determine the good Doctor's intentions, that's all. Can't have more monsters running around our fair hamlet now can we?"

Gold's emphasis on the term monster seemed superfluous at best. Everyone knew they weren't talking about the creature in the freezer any more.

"He was just trying to scare them off." Ruby. So supportive. He really didn't deserve someone who would rip out a man's throat with her teeth just for pointing a gun at him. She would have had to kill quite a number of people back in his realm.

"Oh I think the Doctor was quite serious. Tell me Victor, would the Sheriff of Nottingham being locked up in jail been enough of a punishment? You seemed quite attached to that creature out there. One of yours?"

He could feel it in their looks. The silence that followed Gold's words. They were wondering the same thing.

"No." He almost hissed the word through his teeth. He wanted nothing more than to get away from all these people, get away so he could have some time to calm down. To remind himself that he wasn't in his world. That these people could never understand his anger. Could never understand how the punishment he had described could be so…justified.

Emma stepped between the two factions in the diner.

"Ok, why don't we all just calm down. Gold get out, we don't need you…"

"Actually you do, because if, as he so claims, that monster is not responsible for the recent cold spell. Then we still have something out there. But if the Doctor is lying, if he is hiding this thing for some ulterior motive…well you might need me to help take them both out."

Ruby growled. The Captain's hand gripped tighter on his sword. Those were expected. Ruby and Killian knew what it was to be ostracized. To not belong amongst the heroes. But when Archie stepped in front of Victor, when Granny aimed her crossbow at Gold, when David pulled his gun, Victor felt something akin to surprise. He tried to latch on to that emotion, tried to hold it in his head. He needed something other than anger. Any emotion would do.

"That's not happening. If Whale says…"

"Frankenstein. You all still call him Whale. Sure we all fluctuate between our names every now and then, but him…him you all call Whale. I've never once heard any of you call him by his real name. Why is that do you think? Perhaps then if you did, if you said the name Frankenstein, you'd all have to acknowledge that you are putting your lives in the hands of a madman."

Gold paused, letting his words linger in the air. Victor almost rolled his eyes. The man had a flair for the dramatic. Whatever effect Gold was hoping for however, was lost when Emma snorted.

"We put our lives in your hands all the time, why would we have any problem with him. We don't say it for the same reason we don't say Rumpelstiltskin every time. Your names are too damn long. Now go back to your shop and finish working on a way to figure out what is really happening."

Gold stared at Emma, then finally seemed to notice all the weapons aimed at him. He smiled sweetly.

"Of course. Your highness."

Gold gave a short mock bow and then exited the diner. Granny walked around the counter and locked the door behind him. She flipped the sign from OPEN to CLOSED.

"I'll go around the back and lock the back doors. Don't want any of those idiots getting any ideas. Do I need to lock the door to the freezer or will it stay in there."

Victor finally had a handle on the pounding in his ears, the rage that had encompassed him in the street was beginning to settle. Still he would have to be careful not to let it out again. He needed them to leave the Hoffenträumen alone.

"It needs cold temperatures to be able to breathe properly. It won't leave the confines of the freezer."

"Alright."

Granny gave him a pat on the shoulder as he walked by. He couldn't understand where this sudden affection was coming from. Just this morning the woman had been glaring at him as he drank his coffee.

"Well now that the crocodile has left the room, I say we resume with our plans to search the woods for whatever has …"

"Wait just a second Hook, we still need to know about that thing in the freezer."

"Oh come on Dave. The Doctor says it isn't the monster we are looking for, and I for one, believe him. We shouldn't be wasting our time with this."

"Look we just need to be certain…"

"Why? Why are you giving any credence to Rumpelstiltskin's accusations? Because the man's got a funny last name? No offense, mate."

Victor gave a half smile. It was one of the main reasons Victor enjoyed the pirate's company. The man had no idea who Victor really was, had no preconceived notions of what his name meant. Hook just saw him as the Doctor who had tended his wounds after the car crash. A man to share a drink with.

Emma stepped forward and the smile on Victor's face quickly vanished. She would have to know the truth. She would need to understand. The others could write it off as a strange creature from a foreign land. But Emma would need to know more. She needed truth. He had always thought the two of them would probably get along rather well. Maybe he should tell Killian to bring her along one night when they went drinking.

"Look. Just so we are clear. You have never given us a reason to doubt you. In all the time I've been here, all you've ever done is try to save people. So if you say that…creature isn't responsible for whatever is happening, guess what, I believe you. But…but I can't pretend like I know anything about you. I don't know what parts of your story are real and what aren't. I need to know why you threaten to…do those things to the Sheriff of Nottingham. Because I'm not going to lie, the person I saw out there, the man who was so calm about cutting out a man's tongue, is not a person I have ever seen before. I need to know that you aren't going to hunt him down and…"

"As long as he doesn't touch the Hoffenträumen, he will have no problems from me."

David moved to his daughter's back.

"Emma's right. You overreacted out there and…"

Overreacted.

Suddenly the rage in his chest was spreading throughout his limbs. He tried to breathe through it. He tried to push it down.

"Overreacted."

His voice was cold. He could almost see David flinch. Ruby put a hand on his arm. But it wasn't enough this time. He took a step forward.

"You think I overreacted? Is that it? The fact that that man is still breathing is a testament to my self control."

"Easy mate…"

"Let me be very plain David. In my world there is no more base a coward than a man who attacks a Hoffenträumen. To even put your hands on one in a violent manner is a crime punishable by death. That I didn't put a bullet between the eyes of every person in that damned group is…"

"Victor…calm down.

"You can't possibly understand what those creatures mean to the people of my world. You have no idea…"

Emma put her hands up.

"Ok. Ok. So those things are sacred in your world. Ok. We get it."

They didn't. They couldn't.

Victor focused on Ruby's hand on his arm. On Killian's presence at his shoulder. On that fact that no one had pulled a weapon on him during his little tirade.

Victor closed his eyes and rubbed them with his fingers. He was supposed to stay calm. Explain to them why the Hoffenträumen couldn't have done it. Used logic and facts to rule the Hoffenträumen out. Instead he had yelled at them. He had only been moments away from threatening them. He exhaled slowly.

"I know that my…outburst makes it less likely that you will believe me. And does little to sway you from Gold's assertion that I am a mad man but I can…"

"No one thinks that." Victor had almost forgotten that Archie was still in the room. The man had a way of blending into the background, a way of being hidden until the moment he was needed. Must have been a part of the whole conscience thing. Victor's conscience usually remained hidden, if it ever showed itself at all.

"Dr. Whale, if you know it isn't responsible, then we don't have a reason to doubt you. All Emma was trying to say was that, in all the years we have know you, we have never seen you that angry. We just want to know why."

Victor's hands fell to his sides. He suddenly felt exhausted.

"You won't be able to understand." He moved his hand up to stop David from interrupting. "I'm not trying to be condescending. I'm…if you've never been to my land…it will be difficult to comprehend why we value the Hoffenträumen so highly."

"Try us." Ruby's voice was so gentle. So calm. So damned reasonable. He wished he could be angry at her for that. Victor sat down in a chair. The others did the same, spreading themselves out amongst the room. He tried to put it together in his mind. Tried to arrange his thoughts, create a measured and factual argument they could follow.

"Doctor?"

"Hmmm?"

"You going to say something mate?"

"Sorry. I…" How could he explain this to them? They hadn't lived with the darkness their whole lives. They…

"You did it again."

"Did what?"

"Didn't say anything for a few minutes. Can't imagine what's running through that melon of yours…"

"Hook!"

"What? Just trying to get this show on the road. We do still have another creature out there to find."

Right. There was still something out there, still a threat to be stopped. And he was wasting time. Just. Just tell them something. Start somewhere.

"My realm. My realm used to be like every other. Humans carving their existence out among whatever nature designed. People living in small farming communities, wooden shacks, their biggest fear being whether or not the harvest would be good this year. But that…that was over 2,000 years ago. According to the history, one day everything was normal. The sun rose, the people went about their lives, and then the sun set and they went to sleep. Except that the sun didn't rise the next day. Or the next. Or the next. There was nothing but darkness for centuries. It became known as The Long Night. No one knew what caused it. All they knew was that their crops were failing, that everything around them was dying. They prayed to their gods with little effect. Communities turned on each other, everyone blaming one another for the loss of the sun."

"The Long Night lasted 764 years. Entire generations, millions upon millions of people living their entire lives in darkness. And in that darkness, people found new ways to survive. Without their crops, animals were hunted almost to extinction. The most barbaric of those that survived did so by feeding on the flesh of the weak, on the flesh of other humans. There was little in the way of society during the Long Night. Then one day, for as little reason as there was for its disappearance, the sun rose again."

"But it was different somehow. They say that the darkness had reigned for too long. That the sun couldn't penetrate the blackness that had seeped into every living thing. That is why my land remains shrouded in darkness, even when the sun is out. It…lacks color."

"Wait, lacks color? Like…like a black and white movie?"

Victor might have attempted a smile at that, he couldn't be sure. Emma's disbelief was shared by almost everyone in the room.

"Yes. Just like that. People who travel to our realm have named it the Land Without Color. Not particularly creative, but I suppose it gets the point across."

"So Frankenstein comes from a black and white land, that's…ironic."

"Why is that ironic love?"

"I'll explain it to you later Killian. Sorry. Keep going."

Victor looked down at his hands. History was the easy part. That was just things he had read in a book. It wasn't anything he had ever felt. Anything that had ever haunted him.

"After the Long Night ended, it took centuries for humans to finally start to regroup. To realize they could grow crops again, form communities. There were factions that didn't like this. Those that reveled in the killing they had grown so accustomed to. My world was, and continues to be…divided along those lines. Those that thrive in the darkness, and those that want to forget our vicious past. But in our arrogance, we tended to forget that we were not the only things that had to evolve to survive the darkness. "

"Several species remained relatively unchanged, the horse, several breeds of dog, the bats. But there are some creatures that would be completely unrecognizable to you, creatures that were once as common as the sheep or the cow. There is a translucent creature that lives in the trees of the Black Forest. It appears to have been descended from a snake type of animal, but it is so flattened and lightweight that it almost, floats between the trees."

"The Hoffenträumen is of this same evolution. No one had been able to pin down what it could have been descended from. For all we know they may have started out as a group of humans that lived within the mountains and caves of the far North. Clearly though now, it has developed some interesting features in order to adapt."

"Interesting is not how I would describe those teeth."

"They have to be that sharp, to penetrate the rock of the mountains. You see they survive solely on a diet of lichen that grows only within the crevices of…"

"Victor…I think you're getting a little off track."

"Oh. Right." It had been so long since he had spoken about any part of his world. So long since he allowed himself to think about anything related to it. He had forgotten how carried away he could get, discussing the evolution and adaptability of the different creatures that inhabited it.

"Sorry. I…Where was I…right. When the sun and civilization returned, people began to do things they hadn't done in hundreds of years. They began to explore the land. They wanted to see all the things they hadn't been able to before. One man, Gerard Klineman, he started a journey to the mountains of the North. He was waylaid by a snowstorm and would surely have died if the Hoffenträumen hadn't shown him the way into a cave nearby. He…He said that that night when he slept in their cave, he had what he described as 'bright dreams'. Many years later, his journals were found and someone was able to determine that he had dreamt in color."

"You have to understand for almost a thousand years, no one in my realm saw color. During the 700 years of the Long Night, it was so dark that all colors were muted, almost beyond recognition, even with the aid of firelight. And the return of the sun simply swept away any memory of a time when color was commonplace. People began to flock to the mountain, everyone who came close to a Hoffenträumen was able to dream in color. Then…then any children they bore could also dream in color, without ever having to make the trip themselves. It was like…these creatures somehow awakened a memory in our DNA. We couldn't see it…but we could almost remember it in our minds. Eventually, through the generations, every person in my realm was given this gift."

"As time went on, more and more people rushed to the mountains. Then the inevitable occurred. People believed that if one night spent in their presence could return color to their dreams, then having one around permanently could perhaps return it to their lives completely. Men tried to take Hoffenträumen from their homes. Tried to keep them in cages. The problem with evolving in an isolated and unique environment is, you can't survive anywhere else. As soon as they were brought off the mountain, the Hoffenträumen died in the cages. Most never even made it to the cities."

"In the nights that followed, people would exclaim that their dreams were darker. That the colors were muted, graying. The death of a single one of them, rippled throughout our entire world. It didn't matter what region you came from, or what side of a war you were fighting on, everyone was somehow linked to the Hoffenträumen. If they were all killed, then our dreams would go back to being as colorless as our lives. So every group, every kingdom, every band of thieves and murderers all agreed on the same terms. Any one who killed a Hoffenträumen, anyone who removed that small bit of color from our lives, would be subjected to the worst tortures imaginable. Even the vampires agreed to it."

"Ok…going to breeze past the whole vampires thing for the moment, you're saying if one of those things dies then everyone in your realm is affected?"

"Yes. You feel it…in your entire chest, in every bone. There is this…ache and... You…" He didn't know how to say it. How to describe the agony of falling asleep and waking up to realize that another small part of you had been chipped away. Lost forever.

"There is a certain…hope that surrounds our ability to dream in color. In the idea that we might…someday be able to see it for more than a few imagined moments at night. And to remove that…lightness from our lives when all we have during the day is darkness, to take away those treasured moments of…it…It is unforgivable."

He hadn't taken his eyes off of his hands the entire time he had spoken. He couldn't look at their faces, couldn't watch as they failed to grasp how truly depraved such an act was. Victor rubbed his eyes. He wasn't saying this correctly. He was a genius, he should have been able find the words needed to convince them. There were no words to explain how it felt. How you would lie in bed and cry for that loss. Forcing yourself to get up and face a world you knew was darker than it had been the day before. The look in the eyes of every single person as they tried to move through the day like nothing had changed. Tried to pretend they weren't feeling that same unending ache.

To his surprise, it was David that ended the silence.

"Is that Hoffent…thing being here, is that the same as if it had been killed?"

Victor looked up.

"I…I believe so. They…they will know it is gone. They will feel its absence." He almost whispered the last line.

"Well then. We need to split up into teams then. Hook, you, me and Emma will grab Robin and some of his men and head out to look for whatever brought it here. Ruby, you and Archie go find Belle and see if you can't convince her to help you get Gold to find a way to send the Hoffentramen back as soon as possible. Victor, you and Granny stay here and guard the diner in case Rick decides to be his idiotic self and come back. Sound good to everybody?"

"You know me mate, I live to serve." Hook clapped Victor quickly on the shoulder as he stood. Then lowered quickly and whispered in Victor's ear. "Try not to piss off Granny and get yourself shot."

"We can still hear you when you whisper you know." Granny pointed to her ears. "Wolf's hearing."

Hook gave a half-hearted smile and joined David near the door. Emma looked like she wanted to stay. Wanted to ask more questions. Victor was grateful to David for breaking the moment so quickly. For getting Victor the space he needed. Even if it was with a woman he wasn't entirely sure didn't want to slap him constantly. Emma opened and closed her mouth several more times. Eventually she seemed to get whatever message her father and Killian were trying to send her.

"Ok, you guys call us if Gold says anything actually useful. So, while it is highly unlikely there are any other creatures from your realm out there, is there anything else we should be aware of? If I see something that looks like the creature from the Black Lagoon should I fight it or invite it back here for milkshakes?"

Victor did manage a small smile at that.

"When it comes to my realm there is one rule you learn very early on. It is never the ones that look like monsters that you have to fear."

"Right. Helpful and creepy."

"That is basically my entire personality."

Emma shook her head at that and then the three of them left the diner. Archie stood as well.

"I'll try to call Belle, see if she is at the library. Then we can head over to Gold's."

"Ok. I'll be right behind you."

Ruby was still sitting at his side. He wondered how long her hand had been on his arm. Strange that he hadn't noticed it when everyone was still in the room.

"You don't have to make sure I'm alright you know."

"I know."

She smiled and brushed a hair from his forehead. He tried to ignore how comforting her presence was, how used to it he had become. That was the second rule you learned. No amount of happiness could ever last.

"Thank you…for out there. For having my back against that group of idiots in the street. I know the appearance of the Hoffenträumen is…revolting to outsiders. That you automatically took my word that it was not a monster…it…I find that very…you are very…"

Her smile had morphed into a smirk.

"Very what?"

"You're just going to let me keep struggling through this aren't you?"

"You're adorable when you're flustered. Its so unlike the cocky doctor you pretend to be. Besides, you don't have to thank me for that. Of course I believed you." Her smile was replaced with a look of complete honesty.

"I trust you."

He didn't have the words earlier, and he definitely didn't have them now. Not when the way she said trust seemed to imply she meant something more than that. Something much deeper.

She just smiled at his silence and placed a gentle kiss on his forehead.

"Try not to piss off Granny while you're here."

"Why does everyone keep saying that? I'm a perfect gentleman."

That damned smirk again. Words whispered so quietly against his ear he wasn't entirely sure he didn't image them.

"Hopefully not always a gentleman."

When she turned and faced Archie there was no sign of the mischievous look on her face, of the hint of something playful in her eyes that he had witnessed. That she had allowed him to see. Something just between the two of them. His smile was softer now. Genuine.

She gave him a small wave and then she was gone out the door. Granny walked over and locked it behind her. She was giving him a look he didn't have the energy or the social ability to decipher.

"I should check on the Hoffenträumen, make sure it is cold enough in there."

It was running, but the safest way to avoid incurring the wrath of the elder Lucas seemed to be by simply avoiding her. He was only a few steps away when her voice called out to him.

"Alright, you do that. And when you're done come back out here, I got some lasagna still warmed up."

"Of course."

It was an order, not a request. One he had no choice but to comply with.

The Hoffenträumen was huddled in the corner of the walk in freezer. It's breathing was no longer labored. The skin around its eyes and fingertips were returning to their normal darkened tint. Victor didn't know how long he stood there. Seeing something from his realm again after all this time had been a bit of a shock. His reaction even more so. He had thought he had left that part of himself behind, that part that was still tied to the darkness. He hadn't been home in years, the sight of the Hoffenträumen should not have caused such a violent reaction in him.

The creature was curling up, preparing to find a way to sleep. Victor didn't know enough about the anatomy of the creature to be able to tell if anything else was wrong with it. No one had ever been allowed to dissect one. A taboo on his world he had actually respected.

Victor closed the door, hoping that the cold of the freezer would be enough. That there wasn't some other factor he was forgetting.

Granny was standing behind the counter when Victor returned. He sat quietly at one of the stools. He wasn't avoiding eye contact per se, he just happened to find the lunch specials of a particular interest today.

"Never heard you talk about your realm before."

Granny had placed a coffee and a plate of lasagna in front of him. He doubted he would be able to eat any of it. He settled on taking a small sip of the coffee…and nearly choked.

"Is there whiskey in this?"

"Thought you could use it." Granny was staring at him, trying to read something in him. Something he was certain she would find lacking.

"Thank you."

"So, what's your realm really like?"

"It's nothing…"

"You just told us your realm has vampires, that thing that looks like a cross between a Jabba the Hut and the pit monster, and probably hundreds of other creatures I can't even imagine. Doesn't sound like your realm is normal. I don't want your family history or darkest secrets, I was just curious. You never talk about it, makes it seem like you don't really miss it."

He didn't. Not really.

Not all the time.

Almost never. If he didn't think about it.

"Have you ever…woken up in the middle of the night? And you have this thought that you've forgotten to do something. That the reason you woke up was because you forgot to lock the door or turn off the oven? So you get out of bed and there's this chill in the air, and you think about wrapping up in a blanket but you don't because you are only going to be up for a few seconds. So you walk out into the darkness and you…you think you see something out of the corner of your eye. A shadow that isn't supposed to be there. So you have this moment of panic, this moment of absolute certainty that there is someone else in your house, someone that is going to attack you and you have no way of defending yourself. You try to remain calm, you tell yourself you are being foolish, that you would have heard someone break in. So you continue moving forward, but the sensation doesn't leave, it only grows stronger. There is a constant battle in your mind between what you know to be true and what you can feel in the darkest shadows of the room. Finally you reach your destination, the door is still locked, the oven was never on. And now your fear has found a new home. What awoke you, if not these things? Finally you can take the situation no longer, you rush and turn on every light in your house. Moving quickly between the rooms, maybe even grabbing a knife off of the kitchen counter. And when you are done, when you have checked every closet and illuminated crevice of your house, you begin to laugh. Because you knew you were being foolish. You knew there was nothing there that could hurt you. So you go back to bed, content and warm in the safety and security you now have proof of."

"That is what my realm is like. Except there are no light switches. No way of illuminating the darkest corners. The shadows never recede. We never go to bed knowing we are safe. Even during the brightest days, there are always things moving just outside of our vision. Waiting for us to let our guard down. That immediate sense of certainty that you are not alone is a constant state for us."

"Sounds like you guys probably don't attract a lot of tourists."

Victor barked out a laugh at Granny's bluntness.

"No. No we don't."

"Well alright then. I'm going to clean up some of these dishes…"

"Do you want me to help you?"

Granny gave him an appraising look. There might have been a strong undercurrent of doubt in the look as well.

"You don't strike me as the type who ever had to wash many of his own dishes."

That had certainly been true growing up. He hadn't even learned half of the servant's names when he was a boy. There were always so many, and they always seemed to come and go so quickly. But he had become quite adept at taking care of himself later in life.

"I can't guarantee I won't break a few. I just…"

Didn't want to sit and do nothing. Idleness had always been his enemy. Always been his undoing.

"Alright. Might want to take off that nice jacket of yours. I ain't buying you a new one if you get grease all over it."

Victor removed his jacket and rolled up his sleeves. He stood in front of the sink of soapy water and concentrated on the task at hand. He scrubbed a dish, washed it off, inspected it, then washed it again. He was certain he was taking twice as long to do the dishes than if Granny had just done them herself. He had always been a bit of a perfectionist as well. He doubted the dishes here had ever been so clean. He turned to make a comment to Granny about it, only to find her absent.

He wondered when that had happened. He looked to the clock on the wall. Almost an hour had passed since he started washing the dishes. He wondered if she had told him where she was going, had he ignored her? He walked away from sink. He thought about calling out for her, then reconsidered. She was most likely just in the other room. Or in the bathroom. He didn't think he could handle that embarrassment. So he went to check the freezer.

He had only made it a few steps when he heard the noise. The softest squeaking of leather on the porcelain floor. Victor hadn't survived this long without being a little paranoid. He dove quickly to one side. If it was just Granny or one of the others, they would laugh at his reaction and move on. But if it was someone else, someone trying to sneak up on Victor, it could save his life.

The dagger embedded in the wall near where he had been standing confirmed his suspicions. He jumped back up to his feet. His eyes scanned the room, but he couldn't see his attacker. There was no other noise in the diner, no sound of someone moving. Victor had no doubts that there was something there. Victor considered his options and kept his back to the wall. His eyes darting between any place someone could be hiding. His eyes flashed to the dagger, it was unlike any he had ever seen before. The handle was dark, but not black. A strange blue color that seemed to change with the angle of the light reflecting off of it.

Still he could hear nothing of his attacker. Why now? Why not attack him when he had been washing dishes? Clearly he wouldn't have noticed them then. This was the sloppiest assassination anyone had ever attempted on him. Wouldn't even rank in the top twenty.

"Whale? You finally finish those…"

Granny walked in from the back room, she took in his posture and immediately a crossbow was in her hands. He could have sworn she wasn't carrying it a second ago.

"What is it?"

"I don't know. Someone threw that at me, but I haven't seen the assailant."

Victor had made a simple gesture towards the dagger in the wall. Granny looked a little put out.

"I swear I am going to have to raise my prices soon to cover all the damage that is done to this place."

They waited in tense silence a few more moments, each scanning the room for any sign of danger. Eventually, they both relaxed. Apparently whatever had tried to kill Victor had disappeared after their initial failure. Granny scanned the room, looking for any detail, any scent of who had been in the diner with them. Victor walked over to the dagger.

It wasn't just the handle that was the darkest blue, the blade was blue as well. In fact…

"You sure it's smart to touch that thing? Might be cursed for all we know."

Victor's fingers hovered just a few inches from the handle. Even there he could feel the cold radiating off of the weapon.

"It's ice."

"What?"

"The blade is made of ice."

"Ok, so first a creature that lives solely in the coldest mountains of your realm appears and now someone throws a dagger made of ice at you. What does that mean? Are they related somehow? Does it have something to do with how cold it has been the past few weeks?"

"I…I really don't know."