PART 1
Deep in his own thoughts, sheriff Bigby Wolf was in his apartment. He stood near the window, looking down to the street, seeing nothing. A cheap cigarette was burning in his hand, and from time to time Bigby inhaled the smoke to calm his nerves. The dark was setting in New York, but Bigby couldn't sleep. He heard a party going on in the main hall of Woodlands, but he didn't join them, even though he was the hero of Fabletown this evening. He ended Crooked Man's reign, he stopped the corruption and terror, the king is down, now all he needs to do is finish all the pawns and tie the remaining loose ends. Not tonight though. Tonight Bigby's mind was occupied with something else. One particular someone.
Nerissa wasn't leaving his mind, no matter what he tried to do. 'What a foolish mistake it was to let her go like that' Bigby was thinking to himself. 'Now how will I figure everything out, she may be gone for good already". Such minds were haunting Bigby as the night sunk in and Bigby's cigarette burned to the end. Wolf shaked to get the numbness off, and went to his office. The party was getting bigger, deciding by the rising shouts and laughing. Bluebeard's gift to the community – hosting a party with his money to celebrate the fall of Crooked Man's empire. 'What a piece of shit, didn't do anything in the process of investigation, only interfered, and now he pretends to be a hero, one of the unmaskers of the whole thing' Bigby thought to himself while unlocking the door to his working place. 'We should be thanking Nerissa for coming to be a witness… Oh crap' Bigby shaked his head in anger. He was just forgetting it and she popped into his mind again…
To take his mind off this topic, Bigby took a file with 'Crooked Man' written on the top of it. After reading a bit, he threw the dossier on the table. 'Maybe I should join the party after all, since this is going nowhere tonight' Bigby thought to himself. He stepped out of the office, locked the door and went to the elevator. As he was waiting for it to arrive, Bigby was thinkin about her. So many questions, so little answers. Besides, he couldn't throw away the thoughts about her red hair, her pure brown eyes, sad smile… Elevator door popped, awaking Bigby from his dreams. Going inside the cabin, he said to himself 'I need to get drunk tonight, no matter the consequences'. After all, the party would continue all night…
In the dark, something was moving. Something shiny, something small. A glass finger. 'How curious' thought an old man, obviously a beggar, who came in this building to look where to spend the night. He approached a moving finger, which was moving in all directions, like pointing at something all over the place. The man got a bit scared, since the finger was all sharp, nothing natural… And that shining…
Beggar took a step behind, and bumped into something. 'Oh now, aren't we very clumsy, huh ?' asked a lazy voice behind him. The man turned around terrified, and what he saw was a woman – black hair, with some of it red, black outfit, crazy look in her eyes. 'Look, Miss, I don't want any trouble. If you let me, I'll just go, didn't know this was occupied already…' the beggar was trying to slowly back off the woman. 'Oh sweety, you're not going anywhere. In fact, you can stay here. I'll soon be gone – duty's calling, you know ? But first…' the woman pointed a hand to the man, however, where her pointer finger should have been was an empty hole. The beggar started to tremble, and then he heard a rustling just behind him. He didn't even have the time to turn around when a glass finger, the one he found earlier, flew straight through his chest, leaving a bloody hole. The finger landed on the woman's hand, right where it's place was. 'Wha-what was th-that' the man stuttered, while falling down on his knees. 'Look, I'd love to stay and chat, but I really have to go now. One particular wolf needs to be domesticated. See ya around, sugar' said the crazy woman, sending an air kiss to the man, bleeding to his death. The last thing he saw was the lady, exiting the building, while whistling a melody, known only to her. And so Bloody Mary returned to Fabletown, with one sole purpose – the hunt of Bigby Wolf.
Bigby was standing near the table, which all filled with food and drinks. However, none of that seemed to matter to Bigby, as he was staring at the Fables having fun – dancing, chatting, drinking, laughing- but none of that reached Bigby's mind. He was clutching a single cup, filled with punch since he came into the party and was met with massive applause. Bigby's plan to get wasted wasn't working - his mind was wandering again – to all the deaths that occurred, all the things he had to go through to achieve what he did. And to her… The amount of strength that he needed to not tear Crooked Man to pieces when he heard what Nerissa had to say about him was terrifying even to Bigby himself. He hadn't felt such rage for a long time, and to contain it… That was extremely difficult, but he was proud he managed to do so. He showed all the Fabletown how much he has changed from his old cruel and ruthless ways – a new, reformed Bigby! Proving his power without having to tear his opponents apart.
Without tilting his head, he felt Snow approaching him from the side. Her company always helped him cool his head, contain his emotions, be more… humane. 'Are you okay, Bigby ? You seem worried' words came out of Snow's mouth. 'Yeah, Snow, I'm alright. I'm just thinking of how much work we have in fron of us.' Bigby replied. 'Yes, but now, with Crane gone and Crooken Man brought down, I think we can really rebuild this place Bigby. Think about it – I know we're both going to try and make the right decision, and with the recent events…' Snow stopped. 'What is it Snow ?' Bigby looked her in the eyes. 'You've earned respect Bigby. Not fear, but respect and love from the community. Everyone has seen how much you've changed since the Homelands. And now, when you sacrificed yourself so much for us all and chose the right path at the end – you're the hero, Bigby! And maybe you didn't notice, but the only thing that was stopping us from being the most efficient was that people were avoiding you. They were scared of you, and they tried to get help from other sources. Now, everything's going to change. I really believe in that.' Bigby considered her words, and felt warmth creeping up his chest. His lips were stretched out by a smile, an expression which rarely crossed his face. 'Thanks ,Snow. I'm starting to believe in it too.' Snow answered Bigby's smile with her own and said shyly 'Maybe you'd like to dance with me, Sheriff ? One dance for the brighter future of Fabletown ?' Bigby was surprised by such proposal to say the least. Luckily, he managed to form an answer 'Miss White, that'd be an hon…'
A powerful kick to the door opened them wide. Fables were taken by surprise, falling back while shouting drunkenly. Bigby and Snow stepped forward to meet… Nerissa, and just behind her, holding her by the hair, Tweedle Dee. The situation wouldn't have been so bad if Dee wouldn't have had a shotgun, pointing at Nerissa'a back. The Little Mermaid was crying silent tears while Dee screamed at the top of his lungs 'WHERE'S THE BIG BAD FUCKING WOLF ?'. 'I'm here, Dee, calm down' answered Bigby, clearly smelling the booze and drugs coming from Dee. Bigby stepped forward, in front of all the Fables, Snow just behind him. 'Calm down and we can talk this over. Just lower the gun, please'. Dee chuckled. 'Wouldn't that be fucking convenient to you, you fucks. Nah, this shotgun is staying the way it is until I get what I want.' 'Mr. Dee, please, nobody needs to get hurt. We can sort this out without violence…' Snow tried to interfere. All it did was make Dee even more mad. 'I said NO! Stay where you are, you damn dog, or this fish is going to Davy Jones' locker!' Dee screamed at Bigby, which was trying to slowly approach Dee. 'You killed my brother, you fuckin' stabbed me, stay away. STAY AWAY or I'll shoot this bitch!' Dee shook Nerissa by the hair violently, causing her to weep more and start shaking. Bigby stopped dead in his tracks and asked Dee calmly 'What is it that you want, Dee ? We have nothing to give you.' 'Oh, but I want you, Bigby. I want to fuckin' shoot you in the chest with this very shotgun. Did I mention it's loaded with silver bullets ? No ? Well now you know, motherfucker. I want you to stand straight and take these bullets into the chest like a dog you are, or I'm putting them into your precious little whore's head.'Bigby felt something awakening inside him, something wild, something furious… Something he thought he put to sleep long time ago, something that only recently, in the trial, raised his head from sleep and sniffed the air… It was the wilderness, the fury Bigby put to sleep. He felt his mouth twitch a little bit, his eyes turning red, his nails growing bit by bit. Dee noticed it aswell, and this time he interpreted the cause of this right. 'Oh, you're mad because of this little bitch ? You want to fuck her, no ? Why not catch some other slut and fuck her, and leave this to me ? I'm sure I'd have a good time with her. After all, there are hundreds whores like her, she's nothing. Nothing. Worthless. Isn't that right, deary ?' he asked Nerissa, while forcing her to her knees. 'Ain't that right, you little mermaid bitch ? Not a very bright princess right now, are we ?' he continued to mock her and Bigby aswell. That wasn't the best decision. Bigby with every word felt more furious, more angry, more wild. He felt the cruelty awaken in Dee was laughing, Bigby straightened his back and let go of all his humanity. 'Dee.' he growled. That caught his attention, since he stopped laughing and looked at Bigby mockingly. 'Let her go. Shoot me.' Snow gasped 'No…' behind Bigby, but he ignored her. 'Let her go, now. Now.' Dee smirked and said 'As you wish, doggie. Here, take the bitch' he pushed Nerissa forward, towards Snow White. Nerissa fell on the ground, crying. Snow crouched and helped her move away from the scene. 'Now it's only me and you, wolfie. And I've got nothing to say to you, shithead. Just rot in hell' Dee pointed the shotgun at Bigby and took aim. 'We'll see' Bigby smiled.
Time seemed to slow down around these two. Bigby got ready, focused… and when Dee pulled the trigger, he lurched to the side, smiling mockingly. "Missed. Care to try again ?" he taunted Dee. Dee, enraged, turned to Bigby and shot another shot, which Bigby dodged quite easily again. 'Third time's the charm they say' Bigby smiled again, and when Dee shot the third time, he didn't just dodge the bullets – he ducked under them and jumped towards Dee, grabbing the gun and pointing it sideways. 'Seems like you've lost your small advantage already' Bigby said to Dee, looking at him from above. Bigby forced the gun out of Dee's hands and tossed it aside. 'Now we're going to have fun' Bigby growled. Dee, suddenly panicking, tried to push Bigby away, but Bigby only smiled and with a good hit knocked out a few of Dee's teeth. The fatman fell on the ground, and instantly felt Bigby on him. 'Let's make this fun, ok ?' the Sheriff was smiling a bloodthirsty smile. 'Is it all because of that whore, Bigby ? Didn't know you were so attached to worthless cunts' Dee smirked with a bloody smile. That was the last drop of Bigby's patience. He stood up, holding Dee by his shirt, and tossed the man to the wall outside of the party hall. Dee crashed with big force, leaving a bit of a crater there. Falling to the ground, he fell Bigby holding him again, this time holding him up against the wall. 'Where's that knife wound, you fat fuck ?' Bigby asked, while growling. Bigby ripped the shirt off Dee and found a wound, covered with rags. Bigby ripped of the rags and put one of his long-nail fingers into the wound, causing Dee to scream like crazy. ' ' . . ?' Bigby asked, with each word thrusting his finger deeper into the wound. 'Sheriff, stop right now! I said, right now!' Snow screamed behind Bigby, but he didn't seem to care. He hardly noticed it at all. 'That's enough, Sheriff' Bluebeard approached Bigby from behind and tried to pull him off Dee. All that earned him a good, hard elbow hit to the chest, causing him to fly off. 'Bigby, what are you doing?..' asked Snow, almost crying. That got Bigby's attention for long enough for him to answer. 'Justice'. With those words, he pulled out the finger out of Dee's wound and slammed him into the ground. Dee, breathing heavily, started to beg – 'Bigby, old boy, come on, please, I've had my share, please, don't…' None of those pleas reached Bigby – he formed his hand into a fist and punched Dee with all his strength, breaking his nose. Another hit – black eye. Another – swollen cheek. But Bigby didn't stop. He punched and punched and punched until Dee's face was only a bloody mash, with him being barely conscious, one eye a bit open. But Big Bad Wolf didn't have enough yet. He raised Dee to his legs, and stabbed him in the abdomen with his claws out. Dee managed to let out a scream, before Bigby found something to hold on to and pull. With one heave, he pulled Dee's intestines out, followed by a lot of blood. 'And now, for the Grand Finale' Bigby muttered. He grabbed Dee by the neck, and started to twist and pull. For the horror of all the other Fables watching the slaughter, Bigby took Dee's head straight off and held it with one hand like a trophy, while Dee's limp body fell to the floor. Bigby smiled a victory smile, but then he suddenly felt all the fury falling back. He realized he was standing in the pool of blood and intestines, with a body near his feet and a head in his hand, in front of half of Fabletown. Everyone was shocked and horrified, looking at Bigby without trying to hide the absolute fear. Some of Fables were crying, others shaking – nobody reacted well to such an act of violence. The Sheriff slowly lowered the head, separated from it's owner, then dropped it altogether. He started walking forward, passing crying Snow White, ignoring all the looks from his neighbours, friends, colleagues. He approached Nerissa, who was still crying from shock. Being in full human form again, Bigby silently asked 'Are you okay ?' Nerissa didn't answer. Then Bigby gently put one of her hands on his shoulders, while raising her to a carrying position. He turned around and just walked out of the hall, through the door, going to the elevator, with Nerissa clutching her arms around his neck tightly. Bigby pressed the button to open the door, entered the elevator, and then pushed another button for the elevator to bring him to his floor. Only then he felt Nerissa relax a bit, yet he said nothing. There'll be enough time for words later…
A dark figure was walking down the street. The lights from streetlamps weren't bright enough to expose her face, but she only liked it. It made her more mysterious, more terrifying. She stopped in front of a house, just looking at it. Without saying a word, Bloody Mary started to dematerialize. Just before disappearing in a puff of smoke, she whispered 'I heard you were calling me, children…'