Next chapter up, I apologize for the wait but my author's note at the bottom will explain. I was simply researching Norse Mythology. ;)
Disclaimer: I think I pretty made that clear already. :)
Chapter 1 Welcome to Storybrooke
Asgard, before the Curse
Thor was supposed to have returned with Loki in custody, as well as the Tesseract, but there was still no sign of either of them having returned to Asgard yet. This was beginning to worry Odin. And it didn't help that Heimdall was currently unable to locate their whereabouts, as well as what realm they were in, and that was how Odin found himself in Heimdall's Observatory for an update of where his sons could possibly have disappeared to.
"Heimdall, have you located their whereabouts yet?" Odin inquired.
"I'm afraid not, Your Majesty," Heimdall regrettably informed him. "It would appear that whatever realm they may have ended up in is not a part of the original nine realms, although I cannot say for sure exactly. But we can only assume that, despite their differences, both your sons are probably looking out for each other, wherever they may be." But little did Heimdall know, his assumption was actually being proven wrong.
"Yes, let us hope so," Odin agreed. And perhaps Loki may also decide to seek redemption for his crimes, at least for Frigga's sake, he silently added to himself, knowing that Frigga had always loved Loki despite his mischievous ways as well as everything that's happened since his treacherous betrayal. "And what of the wolf Fenrir?" he decided to add as an afterthought.
"He has still been missing since Loki's supposed death of falling from the Bifrost," Heimdall replied. "I still have not been able to locate his whereabouts, but I can probably assume he is in this same unknown realm where Thor and Loki have ended up."
"Hmmm...," Odin seemed to ponder this information. "I fear this all has to do with the appearance of that strange man that mysteriously appeared here on Asgard that same day. I am still unable to pronounce his name, but he referred to himself as the Dark One."
"And you think that the Dark One may have taken some sort of special interest in Fenrir?" Heimdall queried. "And that Thor and Loki may be next as well?"
"It's hard to say for sure, but it is a possibility," Odin replied. "I suppose that could explain their disappearance from Midgard as they were returning here to Asgard, as well as why you are unable to see what realm they are in. I must know more about this unknown realm they have ended up in before we can do anything about getting them back. Please continue to keep me updated, Heimdall."
"Of course, Your Majesty," Heimdall replied.
And with that being said, Odin then began to head back to the palace.
Storybrooke, Maine
The moment that Emma Swan had arrived in the small town of Storybrooke, Maine was supposed to be when, according to Henry, things would suddenly begin to change. The boy had been going on about fairytale characters being trapped under a curse by the Evil Queen, and that they had no memories of who they really were, and that Emma was supposed to be the Savior and break the curse and restore the happy endings although she was having a hard time really believing all of it.
She had just finished returning Henry back to the home of his adopted mother, the mayor Regina Mills, and after staying a bit for a drink and a bit of a conversation with the mayor who also thanked Emma for bringing her son back home, she was now back in her yellow bug and headed back to Boston.
Or at least so she thought, until an encounter with a wolf in the middle of the road caused her to suddenly end up swerving off the road and crash right into the 'Welcome to Storybrooke' sign. Which was how she ended up waking up the next morning to find herself in the town jail and still in Storybrooke, and also how Regina found her as she walked into the Sheriff's office when she stated that Henry had gone missing again.
Enchanted Forest, far from where Thor and Loki are
Some distance away from where Thor and Loki had ended up, a black demonic-looking wolf had been roaming around the Enchanted Forest for some time now when he suddenly thought he sensed a powerful yet familiar surge of magic coming from somewhere. And although he was unaware of it, the Tesseract was another source of power that he sensed as well that was somewhat mixed with the familiar magic which made it hard to tell for sure. And there was only one person he knew who had such magic: his father, Prince Loki of Asgard. Yes, this particular wolf just happened to be none other than Fenrir Lokison. But how was that even possible? he thought to himself. The last he remembered hearing of his father was when he had supposedly died after falling off the Bifrost, which had later resulted in his own leaving Asgard after having made a deal with Rumplestiltskin and thus how he had ended up finding himself here in the Enchanted Forest where he was now.
Fenrir smiled to himself as he felt a sense of relief at the thought of his father still being alive this whole time, although it did leave him wondering why he never returned to Asgard if he's still alive. Though considering what Loki's been through due to Odin's favoritism of Thor, and then discovering his Jotun heritage, Fenrir couldn't really blame him. He decided to shift into his Aesir form for a bit, his appearance almost looking as strikingly similar to that of Loki with the exception that Fenrir himself was a bit more wolfish and not so much mischievous and also the fact that his eyes were yellow-gray instead of green. And Fenrir's dark hair was a bit more wild-looking, which was due to his original form as a wolf.
"Well well well, if it isn't Fenrir," Rumplestiltskin suddenly said from behind him, as the Asgardian spun around to face him. "Just the Asgardian I've been looking for."
"And just what is it you want with me, Dark One?" Fenrir queried, although Rumple could sense a bit of distrust in his voice as he spoke.
"Only to collect that favor you still owe me, of course," Rumplestiltskin replied. "There's just one I need you to do for me before our deal is complete." He then went over and ripped Fenrir's heart right out of his chest. "Loki is here somewhere in the Enchanted Forest, and I simply need you to track him down and bring him to me. Use that wolf sense of smell of yours if you have to, but no one makes deals with me without paying a price in return! And that includes the God of Mischief!"
"And to do so you require my heart?! What do you plan to achieve by that?!" Fenrir snarled.
"Well let's just say that answer all depends on whether or not you actually prove cooperative," Rumplestiltskin replied with an impish giggle. "If not, all I have to do is squeeze and-" he demonstrated by squeezing Fenrir's heart, but not so much to actually kill him just yet, though.
Fenrir gasped in pain as he proceeded to clutch at his chest where his heart had been. Only until the squeezing finally stopped could he allow himself relax again.
"And remember, dearie, if you so much as think of trying to escape before our deal is fulfilled-" here Rumple held out Fenrir's heart in a way of mocking him. "So if you wish to keep your life, you will find Loki and bring him to me. Oh, and you're to forget that you just had your heart ripped from your chest," he added that last part while speaking into the heart to ensure that Fenrir understood.
"If you're so keen on my father paying the price for whatever deal he made with you, surely you could just find him yourself, couldn't you?" Fenrir told him.
"I suppose I could," Rumplestiltskin replied. "But then again, this way you won't have to continue to wonder about the favor you owe me," he added slightly mockingly. And with that being said, Rumplestiltskin was now gone leaving Fenrir glaring at the spot where has been standing a moment ago.
If this was to be the price for the deal he made to leave Asgard, Fenrir certainly did not like it. Then again, making a deal with the Dark One was definitely never something to be taken lightly and of course Fenrir knew that. But who said he had to do this right away? Surely Rumplestiltskin wouldn't mind, since it wasn't like he had a certain time to do this by, right? He couldn't resist a slight smirk at the mischievous way he sounded a bit like his father with that thought, although it wasn't that hard to picture Loki finding some way to trick the Dark One out of a deal. He wasn't known as the God of Mischief for nothing, after all.
Fenrir sighed. Well, he supposed there was nothing he could do but to find Loki if he wanted his heart back in his chest, although he knew that was probably selfish thinking on his part despite the fact that Rumplestiltskin didn't really give him much of a choice there. But little did he know that he would also end up running into Thor somewhere here in the Enchanted Forest as well.
Storybrooke, Maine
While Emma and Regina were talking with schoolteacher Mary Margaret Blanchard about where Henry could be; in the downtown part of Storybrooke, a man with raven hair and deep green eyes could be seen entering Mr. Gold's pawnshop followed closely by a black wolf at his heels.
"Lysin, must I continue to remind you to keep that wolf out of my shop?" Mr. Gold told him.
Lysin glanced down at the wolf beside him and then back at Gold. "How unfortunate, and here I thought I was finally able to persuade you that Fenrir is perfectly harmless," he replied smoothly, revealing a mischievous smirk.
"If by 'perfectly harmless' you mean terrorizing anybody who happens to come in here, you might want to think again," Mr. Gold replied. "He is a wolf, Lysin. But if you continue to insist on having him in my shop, he ought to at least be on a leash."
Lysin only scoffed at that. "Yes I am aware of what Fenrir is, so thank you for clearly pointing out the obvious there," he stated sarcastically. "And he does not require being on a leash, if it's all the same to you."
"Then I suggest you keep him out of my shop from now on," Gold said sternly. "Now if you'll excuse me, there's rent that's due today that I must see to. And you and your wolf enjoy the rest of your evening." And just like that, Gold was out the door leaving Lysin and the wolf Fenrir the only ones now inside the shop.
"He does have a name, you know," Lysin muttered, even though Gold was already out the door.
Lysin soon found his gaze drifting towards a certain hammer just sitting on one of the shelves behind the counter. He always thought it looked familiar for some reason, as though it belonged to somebody he knew, but as usual he could never quite recall. Before he could even stop himself, he was running his hand along the handle while the wolf Fenrir was just watching him curiously.
Lysin eventually came out of his little trance, despite being intrigued by the strange hammer, and turned to leave.
Meanwhile
After Emma had found Henry over at his "castle" and once again returned him to Regina, she then makes her way over to Granny's Bed and Breakfast asking for a room and saying she was fine with square view. It was also her first encounter with Mr. Gold as he walked in behind her to collect the rent that was due which Granny handed to him. After he left, Granny and Ruby explained to Emma that Mr. Gold owns the town, though Ruby also went on to add that Emma should also watch out for another man by the name of Lysin Frostling who considered everybody in town -Gold and the Mayor included- to be beneath him which seemed to make Emma already wary of him even without having met him yet as she made a mental note not to run into him during her stay. Granny then hands Emma her room key, welcoming her to Storybrooke.
No sooner had Emma made her decision to stay in town, was when the hands on the clock in the center of town began to move with the first to witness the change being none other than Henry of course. The boy smiled as he watched the clock work for the first time in twenty-eight years, and he knew that things were soon about to change.
Ok so for anyone who doesn't know this, Fenrir is one of Loki's children in the Norse Mythology. He's basically a monstrous wolf, but I just sort of gave him an Aesir form just to make it a bit more interesting and also since wolves can't actually talk. And I don't really know much of Fenrir's personality, so I'm just gonna kinda improvise with him. And I know that Loki's children aren't really mentioned in the Thor movies, but I was just looking up a bit of Norse Mythology on Wikipedia and thought it would be interesting to include Fenrir. Which is also why I took a little longer than I had planned to write this chapter, so I apologize for that. And I also don't know whether or not Loki's children would be considered heroes or villains, but like I said I'm just gonna improvise with Fenrir. Anyway, I just wanted to get this chapter finished before going to bed. I hope you enjoy it. And to Aria Breuer, I actually thought the name you suggest for Loki sounded cool (er, no pun intended to his Jotun form of course ^_^ ). And yes, I felt I should include Odin worrying about how Thor hasn't returned to Asgard with Loki yet. Speaking of which, there will still be flashback scenes of Thor and Loki in the Enchanted Forest before the curse. And more of Fenrir as well. Anywho, I'll just stop talking and wasting time now. Again, hope you enjoy this chapter. And I hope it's not too confusing for y'all. ^_^ And I also kinda like the idea I came up with for Thor's hammer, Mjolnir, ending up in Gold's shop during the curse as well as Loki's cursed self being intrigued by it despite not being able to remember anything about it.
