Aoi Dragon: It's just an idea that's been buzzing around my head since a) I've been wondering where the tech came from and b) too many magic users as OUAT villains. So, enjoy and R&R.
M* M* M* M* M* M*
It had been happening for a while, but no one noticed. It was like an absence, something missing. He smiled as he tinkered with the technology that would bring this silly little town to its knees. Hardly a challenge, but it kept him from getting... bored.
M* M* M* M* M* M*
Rumpelstiltskin strode through his shop, examining his inventory and switching out a few objects of interest from the back room. He waved a hand as some objects that had become obsolete in order to make them disappear. Nothing happened. With a frown, the Dark One cast the spell again. Still nothing. His eyes narrowed and he tried to ignite a flame in his hand. No fire, not even a spark. Rumpel tried various other spells with no results. So, as a last resort, he stopped behind the main showcase and stared at the box that contained his dagger. He waved his hand over the top of the box only to realize that without magic he couldn't get to his dagger.
"Rumpel," Belle came from the back room to see the scowl on his face, "Is something wrong?"
He turned to his True Love and gave her a small smile, "It's nothing to worry about, Belle."
She frowned, "Rumpel, you know that I always know when you're hiding something."
The Dark One nodded, "I do, but I assure you that you need not worry about it." He stepped toward her, "A mystery, yes, but nothing I can't handle."
Belle stared at him for a little longer before nodding, "Alright, I believe you. But if you need anything, you know you can come to me."
Rumpel smiled and tucked some of her brown hair behind her ear before stroking his fingers down her jaw line, "I do, and I will." He kissed her temple and gathered her in his arms. She smiled into his shoulder and held him close.
M* M* M* M* M* M*
Regina was out walking on the rocky beach with Roland while Robin did whatever it was he did with the Merry Men in the forest.
"Be careful Roland," She warned as the little boy climbed over some driftwood, "you don't want to fall."
" 'M okay, Geena." The boy smiled at her as he balanced on a log. His arms stretched out as he walked forward on the wood. Roland wobbled a little and Regina took a few steps toward him, her hand outstretched, ready to catch him if he fell. He kept his balance, though, and looked at her with a big grin, "See? I can do it!"
The former Evil Queen smiled at the boy, "Yes you can. You have very good balance."
Roland hopped off the log, "Yup." Then he sprinted down the beach. Regina watched him with an indulgent smile. Suddenly the little boy tripped and fell on the rocks. Before he began wailing, Regina was already next to him, kneeling to examine him. "G-G-Geena," He held his knee.
"It's alright Roland," She rolled up his pant leg, "A skinned knee. I can get this healed in no time." She stretched out her hand and concentrated on her love for the boy. She felt the magic course through her, but nothing happened.
"Geena, it hurts..." The boy whimpered through his tears.
"I know. I'll heal it." She replied softly and tried again, this time thinking of Robin. There was still nothing. Her eyes narrowed and she frowned as Roland sniffed. Regina did her best to not use dark magic anymore, but... She closed her eyes and tried to find her anger. Fire spread through her eagerly, and she again cast the spell. There was still nothing and Regina gnashed her teeth, anger building. Her magic wasn't working! She hadn't felt this helpless since Greg and Tamara had captured her by repressing her magic.
Roland sniffed again and rubbed his nose, "I feel better now, Geena. It don't hurt much anymore."
Regina reigned in her anger and frustration and ran her fingers through the boy's hair, "Are you sure Roland?"
"Uh huh."
She nodded and leaned over to kiss his kneecap just above the scrape, "That should make it feel a lot better."
The boy grinned, "Uh huh!" He rolled down his pant leg and stood, "Thanks Geena! You're the best!" He hopped up and looked around. His grin got even bigger when he spotted someone not too far away, "Papa!" He ran toward Robin, who stood on the grass father up the shore.
Regina was about to call after the boy to be careful, but she knew it was useless. She could only smile as she too approached Robin. Roland practically jumped into his father's arms.
The outlaw gave the former Evil Queen a smile, "Hello Regina. I hope Roland wasn't too much trouble."
She couldn't help but smile, "Never."
Robin leaned toward her and kissed her cheek, "Shall we go have lunch at Granny's?" He inquired to both his son and his love.
"YEAH!" Roland cried.
Regina smiled, "Of course."
As they started walking toward the diner, Regina took on a thoughtful expression. The outlaw frowned at her, "Is something wrong m'lady?"
She glanced to him and decided to tell him, "Roland skinned his knee and I tried to heal it."
"You didn't have to do that, Regina." Robin started, but furrowed his eyebrows at the look on her face, "There's something else, isn't there?"
The former Evil Queen nodded, "I couldn't heal the scrape." Robin's eyebrows rose, a cue for her to continue, "Light or dark magic, not one spell worked."
"What would cause this?"
"There are very few things in this world that can suppress magic." Regina informed them, "Although we've seen it before."
"Oh? When was that?"
"These people, minions of Peter Pan, came to town and brought with them technology that could suppress magic. They believed it came from Pan, but he had magic as well." Regina looked thoughtful, "I don't think he would create something that would be a danger to him. He must have gotten it from someone else."
"And you think that's what's happening right now?"
"Perhaps, but on a much larger scale."
Now Robin looked thoughtful, "Perhaps you should inform Snow and the others. If what you think is correct, then no one, not even the Dark One, can use magic right now."
Regina scowled at his suggestion, "I'm sure Rumpelstiltskin already knows and decided to keep it to himself. The Charmings on the other hand..."
"I know you still don't get along well with Snow and Miss Swan, but you could at least warn them."
The Mayor of Storybrooke sighed, "I suppose you're right. This is my town after all. I need to protect my citizens, even the ones I don't necessarily like."
Robin smiled and kissed her hair, "That'll do, my love."
Roland had been listening to their conversation the entire time, but not really understanding all of the big words. When his father kissed Regina, even if it was on her forehead, he would wrinkle his nose and bury his head in his father's shoulder.
Regina couldn't help but smile at her True Love, her Soul Mate, and his son as they headed to Granny's. In her head, she planned to tell Emma about the magical repression, but only because Robin requested it.
M* M* M* M* M*
Emma's eyes slowly opened to sunshine coming through her window. She stretched like a cat. Everything was perfect. She had her parents; she had her son; she had her pirate. Speaking of which, where was said pirate captain? He wasn't in their room. "Killian?" She called out. There was no answer, so she got out of bed to go look for him. In the hall, she called out again, "Killian?"
"In the kitchen, luv." He called back.
Emma smiled. He was making breakfast again. It had taken him a while to get use to the appliances in the kitchen, but he was apparently a fast learner. She padded into the kitchen and wrapped her arms around his waist, "Good morning."
Captain Hook turned to her with a grin, "Good morning, beautiful." He leaned down and captured her lips.
Once they parted, Emma murmured against his lips, "Making breakfast?"
"Aye." He replied, "I thought I'd make pancakes again."
"Hmmm... Sounds delicious." She leaned up and kissed him again. His hand raked though her hair.
He withdrew a bit later with a small chuckle, "Swan, if we continue like this, I don't believe we will be eating pancakes anytime soon." One of his eyebrows arched suggestively.
There was a knock on the door, and Emma silently groaned at the interruption. She quickly kissed her pirate again before leaving his embrace and heading for the door to her apartment.
Upon opening the door, Regina stood in the hall. Emma blinked, confused, "Regina, hey. What are you doing here?"
"I see you slept in again, Miss Swan." The Mayor said, striding in without an invitation.
"David's taking care of things at the station today." Emma replied as she closed the door, "I think I deserve some days off after everything that happened these past few months."
Regina pursed her lips as she scanned the room, "Where's the pirate?"
"Good morning, your majesty," Killian called from the kitchen.
She arched an eyebrow at Emma, who shrugged, "He's making breakfast."
"How domestic." Regina rolled her eyes slightly.
"Is Henry okay?" Emma asked. He had stayed with Regina so Emma could have a night to herself (and Killian).
"Nothing's wrong with Henry." Regina told her, "He's spending the day with Robin's Merry Men."
"Oh, well, that's good. I bet they're teaching him all kinds of Boy Scout type stuff." Emma shifted uncomfortably in her pjs.
"I think we have another problem."
"Seriously? Again?" The Savior gave an all suffering sigh, "We just finished with the last one! Who is it this time?"
"I don't know, but have you tried casting any spells recently?"
"No." At Regina's expectant look, Emma focused on her magic and flicked her fingers, trying to retrieve Killian's hook from his brace. The hook never appeared, and Emma frowned. She flicked her fingers and wrist, drawing on more power, but still, no hook appeared. "I can feel my magic, but none of the spells are working."
"I experienced the same thing earlier today." Regina explained, "The last time I felt something like this was with the cuff Greg and Tamara put on me."
"That cuff had to have been destroyed when Rumpelstiltskin died."
The former Evil Queen shook her head, "It's not the cuff, though. It feels similar, but it's much more widespread. I can't cast here or anywhere in town. Something is blocking magic throughout Storybrooke."
"Didn't this technology belong to Pan?" Emma questioned, remembering that he had used the cuff on Rumpel and claimed it was his.
"Pan relied on magic too, Miss Swan." Regina refuted, "He knows nothing about science. Greg told me there were nano-probes within the cuff that were working to block my magic. The Enchanted Forest never relied on science."
"Then maybe we need to talk to Doctor Whale. He knows science. I mean, he's Doctor Frankenstein."
"That would be a good place to start." Regina agreed, "I would like to get this resolved as soon as possible."
"I'll have breakfast and then meet you in an hour at the hospital to talk to Doctor Whale." Emma told the former Evil Queen.
"I could just go do this myself. It would save us a lot of time."
"Yeah, I guess you could do that." The Savior considered for a moment before nodding, "Yeah, you know Whale better than I do. See what he knows about this kind of science. I'll meet you outside Granny's in an hour."
"Alright, Miss Swan." Regina gave a curt nod, "I'll see you then."
"Thanks for letting me know about this, Regina." Emma said, opening the door for her son's adoptive mother.
She paused and looked at her son's birthmother, "It's the right thing to do - for Henry."
"Yeah." Emma smiled, "See you in an hour." She closed the door when Regina began walking back down the hallway.
"Everything alright, luv?" Killian asked, coming out of the kitchen, "I couldn't help but overhear. Something's blocking everyone's magic."
Emma heaved a sigh, "Yeah, looks like the next bad guy's rolled into town."
The pirate captain took his love in an embrace, "Aye, but I believe there's still time for breakfast."
"Oh yeah. Always time for breakfast." She gave him a smile and leaned up to kiss him.
M* M* M* M* M* M*
Regina stood in the main lobby of the hospital waiting for Emma to arrive. The Savior - sarcasm echoed in her mental voice - was running late. Ten minutes later, Emma arrived in her bug with her pirate in tow. Although he'd shed his pirate clothes and gone more modern, save the hook.
Regina pursed her red lips, "It's about time, Miss Swan."
Emma blushed a little, "Sorry. I filled Killian in on what's been happening."
"Of course you did." The former Evil Queen answered, as she turned on her heel and marched to the main nurse's station. "I need to speak with Doctor Whale - now."
The nurse, a timid young woman, shrunk back, "Yes, Madame Mayor." She took up the intercom, "Paging Doctor Whale to the hospital lobby. It's very important. Paging Doctor Whale to the hospital lobby." The nurse looked back to Regina, "He'll be here in a moment."
"Fine." The former evil queen turned back to Emma and Hook. The pirate was fiddling with the material of his clothes, obviously not use to the cloth. It was disconcerting seeing him looking like a relatively normal person from the Land Without Magic. He almost looked normal - except the hook.
Moments later, Doctor Whale appeared and he didn't look pleased, "Ah, Madame Mayor. To what do I owe the pleasure?" He asked. Then he noticed Emma and Hook, "Sherriff. Captain." He gave each of them a nod, "What's going on?"
Emma stepped forward, "Someone is blocking magic in Storybrooke."
Whale's eyebrows went up, "And what's that got to do with me?"
"You know science, Doctor," Regina retorted, "I've encountered similar science before. Nanoprobes. I want to know what you know about it."
"Nanoprobes?" Doctor Whale frowned, "Now that's something I haven't heard about in a long time. I never studied them myself. There are interesting theories behind them if the technology is compatible. However, my realm couldn't achieve such things. You might want to ask Jefferson. He's more widely travelled than any of us, save perhaps Rumpelstiltskin."
"Jefferson didn't return with the second curse." Emma told him.
The doctor shrugged, "Well then I guess you're out of luck, unless you want to go to the Pawn Shop and ask Mr. Gold about it. I must get back to work. Good day." He nodded his head before walking back to the main hospital.
"Well, that was a waste of time." Emma grumbled.
"I'm sure the crocodile will be oh so forthcoming with answers." Hook added in a tone of agreement.
"Pan was his father. Maybe he disclosed some clue about where he got the tech from." Emma said.
"Fine. Let's trek to Rumpelstiltskin." Regina scowled on her way out.
M* M* M* M* M* M*
"Have you tried using your magic recently?" Emma asked bluntly as she entered the pawn shop with Regina.
"Most people knock when they enter a building that says 'closed'." The Dark One replied.
Emma took a step back and rapped on the doorframe, "Have you been able to use your magic?" Killian stepped in behind her, trying to hide his amusement.
Rumpel stared at her shrewdly, "I gather you have not, otherwise you wouldn't be here asking stupid questions."
"I'll take that as a yes, and that it didn't work." Emma concluded, "Look, we're just trying to figure out what's going on."
"Whoever is behind this suppression of magic knows it well." Gold agreed, "They can't use magic themselves, so they want us on equal footing."
Emma exchanged a glance with Regina who just gave the Dark One a sour look, "What do you know about it?" The former evil queen asked.
"This person made the technology that Pan gave to Greg and Tamara." Gold explained, "I don't know who or what he is, but he is not from any world I have ever visited. I would remember someone this creative and dangerous."
"And once again we're back to square one." Emma huffed.
"Oh, I wouldn't say that, dearie." Rumpel replied, "Very few realms have this sort of technology. There are only a select few where Pan would've had access that would also have the technology."
"Let me guess - we'd have to ask Jefferson."
"That is, unfortunately correct."
"Well, he didn't come back with the rest of them." Killian scowled at his nemesis, "So what are we supposed to do?"
"Well, you could investigate the disappearances rather than concentrating on the lack of magic." Rumpel sneered at the pirate.
"You seem awfully unconcerned by the loss of your magic." Regina glared.
"We all still have our magic internally," The Dark One told her, "There is just no longer an outlet."
"I'm sure you've found a way around that." Killian muttered.
Rumpel sent him a dark look, "I am sorry I can't help you more. Perhaps the best thing you can do is alert the town to what's happening. Then perhaps the disappearances would cease."
"Disappearances?" Emma questioned. No one had called in a missing person.
"Ah yes, you wouldn't have been alerted." The Dark One smirked, "Some of the insignificant folk have vanished from Storybrooke."
"And how do you know this and we don't?" Regina asked.
"I am observant." He shot back, "I know every face in this town whether they were here during the first curse or joined in the second."
Emma and Regina exchanged a look before the Sherriff looked to the pirate. The Savior sighed, "Fine. A town meeting it is."
M* M* M* M* M* M*
"I know everyone is worried about the people who have disappeared. I am too, but panicking is not going to help us find them. We are investigating and will find every missing person. We're not sure if this is connected to other matters," Emma announced to the crowd, her parents and her pirate stood by her side. "but we do know this is not being caused by a witch or wizard. We will figure this out and we will catch this guy."
Suddenly everyone's cell phone beeped and a very interesting text message appeared. Emma looked at hers:
"Dear me, little swan, things are just about to get interesting. Let the game begin. I look forward to playing. ~M"
"Emma," Snow showed her daughter her text message.
It read:
"Helloooooooo Storybrooke! ~M"
Emma's lips thinned. Whoever this M-guy was, he was going down.
M* M* M* M* M* M*
Aoi Dragon: Your task is to try to guess who "M" is. :D Although with some of the phrases, I think I made it obvious.