Fatal Fire: Tempest

Disclaimer: I don't own Once Upon a Time.

A/N: This is one hundred percent independent of the Wraith and Love/Neverlander series, though Captain Hook does make an appearance, and Tinker Bell does, too.
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Voyager

He slipped the postcard into his jacket pocket and rummaged about his apartment, filling a duffel bag with clothes and toiletries and managing to find enough money in various places about the apartment to pay for a bus ticket at least as far as Portland. He didn't allow himself to stop to think about the consequences of the situation as he ran into the street and down to the station. "How far can this take me?" he asked, laying the money on the counter in front of the ticket clerk.

"Which direction?" the clerk replied.

"North."

"How far, sir?"

"How far can I go?"

"Sir, you can buy yourself a ticket to just about anywhere."

"I need to get to a place called Storybrooke?"

"That in Maine?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"The closest we can get you is Portland."

"Then I'll get on the next bus to Portland."

"One moment, please, sir."

Several minutes later, he boarded a bus and settled into his seat, his bag at his feet. He rubbed his eyes and sighed, tilting his head back, and he pulled out the card and studied it for a moment before pulling his phone, his last valuable item, out of the same pocket and dialling a number he knew by heart.

"Hello?" his friend asked.

"It's me," he replied.

"Got the message, I see."

"Yeah. Why the pigeon, though?"

"Didn't know if we'd go back or not."

"I see."

"But we didn't."

He nodded and chewed his lip. "Is...is he..."

"He changed this entire world."

"Dammit, I knew he would. He shouldn't have come."

"He had his reasons, absolutely, I know it."

"Yes, revenge. I bet he didn't like being trapped in a magicless world for almost thirty years."

"Don't judge until you listen to him, alright?"

He sighed. "No promises. I don't do that, remember?"

"Yeah, I know."

"So do me a favor and act like it."

He heard his friend sigh on the other end of the line. "Listen, when you get here, you'll kind of have to look for me. I'm not in much of a position to walk the streets right now. It'll look weird, and I don't wanna think about what happens to me."

"Fair."

"I, um, I hope you're ready. Everybody remembers now, and, well, you can imagine the chaos this town is in."

"To be expected."

"Are you ready to see him again?"

"As ready as I'll ever be. Call me if anything changes."

"Will do."

"And, good luck."

"Thanks. You, too."

"Thanks."

He hung up and returned his phone to his pocket along with the postcard.