Prelude to Requiem
A "Dungeons and Dragons Cartoon" / "Once Upon A Time" Fanfiction Crossover.
Summary: The Young Ones must rescue two teenagers from their world who were abducted by Venger. The boy, Henry Mills, is an "Author," and has the power to change the outcome of any story. Can the Young Ones rescue Henry and his friend, Violet, before Henry can be forced to write Venger's victory over Dungeon Master?
Disclaimer: The "Dungeons and Dragons Cartoon Series" is owned by Marvel Productions and TSR Entertainment and Toei Animations. "Once Upon A Time" is owned and created by the team of Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz. I do not own any of the characters depicted in this story. This Fan Fiction Crossover is the work of a hobbyist having fun with some of his favorite characters, and nothing more. I hope that this is a sufficient disclaimer.
Historian's Note: This story takes place after "The Winds of Darkness;" the last episode of Season 3 of the "Dungeons and Dragons Cartoon" and before the unmade series finale, "Requiem." In "Once Upon A Time," the events of this story take place immediately after the last episode of Season 5; "An Untold Story," just after the main characters get back to Storybrooke from New York.
As an episode of "Once Upon A Time," the Title Card will depict the entrance to the Dungeons and Dragons ride in the middle of the Blue Forest Setting.
Chapter 1: The Boy With Two Mothers
Violet Morgan watched the group of six kids from her vantage point behind a large tree. She was close enough to hear them speak clearly, and felt relief that not only could she understand their speech, but that the dialect sounded not too different from the way people in Storybrooke spoke. These must be the "Young Ones" that the evil wizard who had taken her and Henry Mills captive spoke of shortly before Henry bravely rushed their captor and told her to "run for it!" The wizard, who called himself "Venger," spoke of these "Young Ones of Dungeon Master" as being his enemies; and that made them potential allies who could help her rescue Henry.
But Violet stayed hidden because these six kids were not alone. With them was a short man with white hair and a small unicorn. Violet listened as the kids seemed to be arguing with the short man.
". . . want to go home, now!" a dark haired boy about Henry's age was saying. Violet could see that the boy was dressed as a knight and carrying a golden shield depicting the head of a griffon, white, upon a circular field, black. Violet furrowed her brow. Despite her studies in Camelot, she could not place this young knight's Heraldic Device.
Then another boy with long golden hair, who was dressed in Lincoln Green and carrying an unstrung bow, said, "Eric's right, Dungeon Master. We're not going to go looking for this wizard Quinn or anyone else until we get assurance that we will get home!" The other kids all spoke up in agreement with the blond boy, who was clearly their leader. Violet saw that the other four kids consisted of two girls about her age and two boys who were slightly younger.
One of the girls had red hair and wore a short, purple skirt and very high boots under a blue cape. The other girl looked Moorish, (No, thought Violet. If they are from Henry's world, she is African American,) and was dressed in animal skins and carried a quarterstaff. As for the remaining boys, one wore the green robes of a wizard with a conical hat and the other boy was dressed like a barbarian in animal skins with a horned helmet and carried a club.
After several more minutes of bickering, the short man was able to regain the six kids' attention, and said, "Very well, my pupils. If you want proof that you do indeed return home, then it is proof that you shall have. But to obtain this proof, you must rescue the Boy With Two Mothers from Venger, before he can make the boy write him total victory and mastery of The Realm."
"A Boy With Two Mothers?" said the girl with the red hair. "What's that even supposed to mean Dungeon Master?" Violet felt a touch of relief. So this man is The Dungeon Master that Venger spoke of.
"And how can some kid "write" Venger victory, anyway?" said the boy in the wizard's robes. It was then that Violet decided to make her move.
"H-hello . . . ," said Violet, stepping out from behind the tree. "It is true. My friend Henry does have two mothers, and he is being held captive in Venger's castle . . . ." Violet paused as the six kids rounded to her and struck battle poses. The boy in Lincoln Green drew a magical arrow from his bow and the other kids held up their quarterstaff, club and shield, all of them glowing with magical power. It was then that Violet saw that there were only five kids and a unicorn where there had previously been six. Then Violet let out a yelp of pain as she felt her arm twist behind her back. Behind her, the red haired girl threw back her head, slipping out of the hood of her cloak and becoming visible again.
"Please!" Violet said. "I'm not going to hurt you! I need your help! My friend Henry is being held captive by Venger!"
The boy with the bow eased up and the glowing arrow of magic vanished. He motioned the others to do the same, and then said, "Let her go, Sheila. This is what Dungeon Master said we have to do if we are to get home."
"You mean, if we want to see that we'll get home eventually, Hank," said the boy dressed as a knight with a touch of bitterness.
The girl with the quarterstaff lowered her weapon, and went over to Sheila and Violet. "You sound like you are from our world. If we can help you and your friend, we will.
"My name is Diana. That's Sheila behind you." Diana then introduced Hank, Eric, Presto and Bobby, who Diana added was Sheila's little brother.
"I'm very glad to meet you all. My name is Violet Morgan. My friend Henry Mills and I are from Storybrooke, Maine . . . ." Violet bit her lip. She did not know how much she should tell them, or how much they would or would not believe, and her mind raced to compress the relevant details into a short narrative. And then there was the problem of just where to begin. Fortunately, the kids began asking her questions that helped Violet focus her thoughts.
Hank said, "We all came here from Los Angeles, California on an enchanted roller coaster ride. Is that how you and Henry got here?"
"No, not a roller coaster," said Violet. She did not know what a "roller coaster" was, but she sighed with relief by what she learned from the question asked of her.
These kids may be from the Land Without Magic, but apparently they would not dismiss the idea of magic out of hand. Violet struggled to consolidate her thoughts. She and Henry's family had just returned from New York City. Violet had finished saying goodbye to Henry, and started to return home to her father. She was about half way home when she got Henry's text that Mr. Hyde was in Storybrooke, and to meet him and his mother Emma at Mr. Gold's shop where they would try to find something that might be used against Dr. Jekyll's alter ego.
But knowing that she had to keep her answers simple, Violet just said, "There was a . . . a problem in our town, and Henry and I went to his grandfather's store to see if we could find anything there that we could use to help solve the problem.
"One of Henry's moms – Emma – was there with us. She saw us vanish and undoubtedly went to get help from his other mom – Regina – and his grandparents."
"So this Henry really does have two mothers," said Eric. "That's . . . interesting . . ."
"It's complicated," corrected Violet. But I don't have time to explain it all right now."
"Of course not," said Diana reassuringly. "What happened next?"
"Henry found this parchment that had been addressed to someone he said he knew named Isaac, and as Henry read it, a vortex of red, black and grey smoke stated to swirl around him. I ran over and grabbed hold of him, and saw that Emma was coming over to us, also. But we both must have vanished before she got to us.
"We then found ourselves the great hall of a large castle, and this guy who looked like Lord Voldemort from "Harry Potter," or something-"
"W-what's "Harry Potter?" said the boy in the wizard's robes.
"A movie," said Violet shaking her head. She looked at the way the boy introduced as Presto was dressed, and said, "You mean that you've never seen . . . . Never mind, there isn't enough time for this.
"I always thought that Venger reminded me of Darth Vader . . . ." said Eric.
"Anyway, Voldemort – I mean, Venger - has Henry prisoner. He wants Henry to write him Victory over you and Dungeon Master so he may become the ruler of The Realm, and we have to rescue Henry before Venger can force him to do it!"
"Hey!" said Bobby. "Dungeon Master said that the Boy With Two Mothers could help Venger win by writing him victory!"
"But how can anyone just write something and make it happen?" said Sheila.
"Henry was chosen by the Sorcerer's Apprentice to be "The Author," said Violet. "He was entrusted with a magical pen to write down stories as they play out. But the pen also has the power to affect the plot of the stories, as well.
"But Henry didn't want the job. He snapped the pen in two, saying that nobody should have that much power. He said that to Venger and demanded that he release us, or he would tell his moms. Venger just laughed, and conjured a pen for Henry to use, and told him to write exactly what he was told to write, or that he would have his orcs hurt me."
"That's terrible!" said Diana. "How did you escape?"
"Henry threw himself at Venger and told me to run," said Violet with a touch of guilt. "Oh, I didn't want to leave Henry, but I could see his plan for our rescue. Without me there to threaten, Venger has no leverage over Henry, and as long as I can avoid capture, that gives his family time to find us!"
Eric snorted. "And just how are they supposed to do that . . . ?" Diana shot him a hard look, and Eric shrugged an apology for Violet.
"Before we vanished," said Violet. "Henry threw the parchment away from us; probably hoping that doing so would stop the vortex from swallowing us. This means that the parchment is still in his grandfather's shop and Emma has it. It probably won't take Henry's moms too long to use it to come here, themselves."
Again, Eric snorted. "Hopefully they'll bring along a squad of Green Berets with them."
This time, Diana just rolled her eyes. "Then we have to keep Venger from getting Violet until Henry's mom, ah, moms get here . . . ?"
Hank shook his head, and said, "I don't think so, Diana. Dungeon Master said that we have to rescue Henry from Venger." The Ranger sighed, and added, "And to do that, we need to go to Venger's castle! Isn't that right, Dungeon Master?"
But when the children looked around, Dungeon Master was nowhere to be found. Noticing the look of concern on Violet's face, Diana said, "Relax, Violet; he does this all the time . . . ."
Hank nodded, and said, "Let's go."
Eric shrugged. "Lead on, oh, Fearless Leader."
"Oh, thank you all!" said Violet. She then joined Dungeon Master's Young Ones as they made their way through the forest towards the imposing castle of Venger, hoping that Henry's family would come to rescue them soon.
But as they left on their quest, none of them noticed the man-shaped shadow that had also been watching them from a concealed position silently fly ahead of them . . . .
Despite being command to sit at the scribe's lectern that Venger had prepared for him, the boy remained defiant and oddly calm, even though he was in the presence of the Archmage of the Realm of Dungeons and Dragons. Venger scowled and spread his dragon-like wings, again commanding the boy in his stentorian voice to sit at the lectern, take up the pen, and write him final victory over Dungeon Master and the Young Ones who came from the same world as this boy who had the power of the Written Word at his command.
Venger was about to repeat his order when he was interrupted by the Captain of his Orcs. Again, Venger noticed the boy's demeanor as the Orc approached, and was somewhat perplexed by the boy's unnatural calm. As far as this boy was concerned, the fearsome Orc Captain might as well be the castle's gong farmer. And yet, all information that Venger could obtain about The Author had indicated that he was a sniveling coward . . . .
Oh, Venger could tell that the boy was afraid; albeit more so for the sake of his companion - a young girl who managed to escape from his castle shortly after the two children were transported to The Realm by the enchanted parchment - than he was for himself. And because of this, the recapture of the girl was as vital to Venger's plans as the boy was.
Venger turned to the approaching orc. The Archmage's voice reverberated off the walls of the small scriptorium as he spoke. "Well, Orc Captain, what news do you have for me . . . ?"
The Orc Captain executed a respectful bow, and said, "Master, the girl from the land of Dungeon Master's Young Ones still eludes us. The search continues."
"Very well," said Venger neutrally. "Continue the search and inform me the moment the girl has been recaptured. And be sure to not harm her . . . yet." The Orc bowed again, and was gone in moments. Venger then turned to the boy, and said, "Your companion cannot elude my orcs, lizard-men and bullywugs for too much longer, Author. The Realm is my world, boy, and is unfamiliar territory to you and your friend. Her recapture is inevitable . . . ."
The boy, who wore a dark blue peacoat and a red and grey striped scarf, kept his expression neutral. He wanted to quip that his friend, Violet Morgan, had grown up in Camelot; a land not too different from The Realm that they now found themselves in by way of an enchanted parchment from his grandpa's shop.
But Henry Mills also knew that if he talked too much, that he might inadvertently give away something that this evil warlock might be able to use against them. Right now, they were in a standoff situation. Somehow, this warlock who called himself Venger knew that Henry was an "Author," and that he had the power to affect the outcome of stories in the various Realms of Storytelling. And while Venger would not want to harm Henry at this juncture for fear of affecting his ability to write, harming Violet to force Henry to do his bidding was another matter. As long as Violet remained free, Venger could not hold her safety over Henry as a threat. And that was one of two things that kept Henry's morale up.
The other thing was that Henry and Violet were not alone in his grandfather's shop when that parchment teleported them to Venger's Realm. His mom Emma was there too, and she undoubtedly went to tell his other mother Regina and his grandparents David and Mary-Margaret what had happened to them. Now it was only a matter of time before Henry and Violet could expect to be rescued, and the longer that Violet remained free, the longer Henry could defy the warlock and deny this villain his victory until that help could arrive.
Again, Venger's voice filled the room like thunder. "Do not resist me, Isaac Heller! I have gone to great lengths to find out about you, and bring you here to My Realm! I know that you are The Author, and I have need of your abilities to defeat my eternal enemy, The Dungeon Master! Do as I say, and you and the girl will remain unharmed! Resist me any further, and you will both suffer the consequences of your defiance!"
Henry bit his lip to keep from smiling, and thought, This Voldemort Wannabe thinks I'm the previous Author, Isaac Heller. Good. The less he knows about me right now, the better.
Now another being approached Venger that Henry regarded with mild interest: a living shadow, similar to the one who had served his great grandfather in Neverland. Venger said, "Well, Shadow Demon? Have you found the girl?"
"I have, master," said the living shadow triumphantly. Henry struggled to hold his poker face as he braced for the worst.
"And . . . ?"
"M-master," stammered the shadow. "The girl has found Dungeon Master's Young Ones, and they mean to help her!" Venger scowled at that, and the shadow continued, "Shall I inform the Orc Captain of where I last espied her, Master?"
"No, Shadow Demon," replied Venger. "The girl and Dungeon Master's Young Ones will doubtlessly come to us in an attempt to rescue young Isaac Heller. They are playing right into our hands even as we speak." Venger then turned to the boy, and said, "If you take your place at the lectern, and write as I dictate, the girl shall remain unharmed. But if you continue with your insufferable delays, then her safety will be in question upon her arrival at my castle!
"You might as well face the fact that you have lost, boy, and I have won! Soon, my victory over The Realm and Dungeon Master shall be complete!"
Henry allowed himself a thin smile and raised an eyebrow as he addressed Venger. "You sure about that? I have a better idea. Why don't you just forget your plans to force me to write you victory? I should warn you that I expect rescue to come at any moment now. My family is looking for us. And if you stop trying to force me to write for you, I won't tell them that that is why you brought us here and they may decide to leave you in peace when they take us home."
Now Venger smiled through his fanged mouth. "And why should I fear your family, boy . . . ?"
"Because Violet and I are about to be rescued by my mom," said Henry. "Both of them . . . !"