Woah, this is a long one! Nearly 5000 words! This chapter is very, very important to the story.
IMPORTANT!-Tomorrow, I'm leaving with my CCM group to participate in a music festival in Budapest, Hungary. Updates may be coming a little later than usual, so... yeah!
Chapter 3- The Books
Henry, Gold, Belle, Regina, Snow, Charming, Red, and Killian stood in front of Jack Frost, Sander, Kaitlin, and Sarabella.
"If you want to know more, then we should go to the library. There are a few history books and special books that could tell you some things." Sander stated slowly, almost reluctantly. The group hesitated.
"You said you wanted to know about Em's past, right? Well, if you want to know, the best place to research is the library." Jack chuckled, "That is, if you aren't afraid of being scarred for life. Emma's life was long and hard, and anything but kind." Jack warned darkly. Snow, Charming, Killian, Red, Belle, Regina, Gold, and Henry exchanged a glance.
Sarabella and Kaitlin looked worried, Sander looked mildly annoyed but otherwise indifferent, Adam did look, admittedly, more than a little angry and Jack seemed to be enjoying this far too much.
Jack took our silence and a smile stretched across his handsome features. "Let's get going then. Lead the way, Lady J." There was obvious mockery in his tone as Sander hopped off her stool by the door of the old tech room and surprised everyone by weaving fluidly through the jumble of wires and spilled 'computer guts'. Henry eagerly trotted after Sander, oblivious to her veiled disquiet.
Sander led then up stairs, through narrow passages where something had obvious torn through in a fight from the deep skid marks and finally to a collapsed passage. She walked right up to it and scrambled on top of the rock pile. Jack, Sarabella, and Adam followed closely after, but Kaitlin hung back to say something to the small group.
"This is actually supposed to be here. Emma wanted everyone to be able to reach the library, so she put a waterfall inside the library, an open area in the ceiling, a huge fireplace for the fire elementals, and this rock pile for earth elementals. There's a trapdoor at the top of this pile. Emma gave Sander the key though, so in all honesty, Jack needed Sander to go first. He can't get in without her. Neither can Ivy, for that matter." She smirked almost angrily.
"What do you mean?" Charming asked. Something was off here, and he wanted to know what. But Kaitlin only smiled and shook her head before bounding up to the patiently waiting Sarabella. When the small group had finally pulled themselves into the library, they gasped collectively. The library was beautiful, with stain glass windows that depicted scenes with shining dragons, griffins, unicorns, mermaids and many more creatures that all moved slowly like something Henry had seen in Harry Potter movies.
"When Emma created the Sanctuary, she was thinking of H- a certain person. He loved the library that she made for him back in Ireland so she recreated that one and put a spell on this one so no damage can come to it. She was so guilt-ridden and full of grief that she swore off magic, refusing to do more than create this world, the entry gate, the protection spell over the library, and the shield surrounding it. That's why the rest of the building is so… well, yeah. She wasn't thinking straight. Her promise was strictly no more magic, good or bad, until she saves him and the rest of them because the price is too costly for people like us." Sander said as she walked over and grabbed two books- a big, black one and a big, white one. The black one had white marking and the white one had black marking, both books identical with the swirling patterns. The only difference was the color.
"These are magical books. This is the history of the Fatals," Sander held up the black book then put it on the smooth, wooden table, "and the Vitals," she lifted the white book. "I'd suggest looking through the Vitals' history first. It'll prepare you for the Fatals'." Sander was staring straight at Jack as she said this and he smirked.
"Shoot me. We were a rather angry bunch."
"Were?" Sander muttered under her breath, glaring at Jack.
"We suffered the same as you and we didn't do half the things you had!" Kaitlin shouted. He smiled at her and hooked an arm around her waist and dragged her over to him.
"Will Emma be OK with you showing us this?" Snow asked anxiously. She didn't want to betray her daughter's trust or unintentionally get Sarabella, Sander and Kaitlin in trouble (she didn't really care for Jack though), but… she really wanted to know.
"Miss Swan doesn't seem like one to give out information freely about her past." Regina added helpfully.
"Emma is very powerful; she's already been through the books. Anything concerning her that she doesn't want seen has been ripped out." Sander murmured, 'staring' of into space.
"Alright then. Let's get started. Kaitlin?" Jack prodded, nodding towards the white book. She sighed and grabbed the white book. She pulled out a little necklace she had of a small crystal pair of wings. The held it over the book and it glowed, then opened itself and the pages began turning faster than they could keep up. Then, the pages slowed in their flurried turning and the last page fluttered down to rest.
They stared at the empty page, not understanding. Killian was about to comment sarcastically when a swirl of black ink made a swirl on the page, a curling slash. The ink bled rapidly like a cracking piece of glass. The ink changed colors until it finally created a picture and gave it color. It was a picture of a large house with multiple kids and teens standing in front of it. There was obviously an invisible line, the people on the right side looking a little more crazed and angry, the people on the let side looked much more tired but happy. The only person who had a foot firmly planted on each side was a girl no older than seven. She was thin, alarmingly so actually, yet looked healthy and strong. She had straight blond hair with different shades of brown, ranging from a caramel, to russet, to almost black streaks in her hair. Her most startling feature was her face, however. Lips curved up in a pleased smile, a few freckles here and there- normal.
What wasn't normal was the three whitish lines that resembled a mark you would get if a large cat clawed you across the face. The scars ran vertically from the top left side of her forehead to the right lower side of her face. Her eyes were a greyish green with either rings of shadowy black in the center of the iris or a glowing white.
Kaitlin leaned forward and tapped her, "That's Emma in her neutral form."
Snow blinked, confused. "Neutral form?" she echoed.
"Emma originally looked just like that. The more pained she felt, the darker her streaks got. She never actually succumbed to her darker side until some very unfortunately timed deaths. Then she got three 'forms'- good form, which is the form she is currently in where she has greenish grey eyes and straight blond hair. Her neutral form is the one you see right now, where she's not as conflicted and one eye is dark and the other is light. It's her most pleasant form, because her third form is just goddamn scary and her first form is stiff because she's trying to suppress her forms and not freak out and shift. Then her last form, which none of us really like. She had horrible moods in that and was more likely to kill the problem than negotiate. She was very manipulative and cunning, often times she didn't even need to use her powers to get people to do what she wanted."
The page slowly turned itself and showed a smaller group of kids, all where in the previous picture. They all looked very happy- at least, the ones that didn't have their faces scratched out. "Emma didn't like to think of the past. Her reasoning was that if she didn't think about the past, she'd remember them as friends and not their betrayals. In Emma's mind, their deaths were her fault when in fact in was the Fatals who destroyed my group." Kaitlin said, glaring at Jack.
"You guys should've fought back. Then again, even if you did, since Emma wasn't there to tell us to knock it off we would've won anyways." He said smugly. Kaitlin opened her mouth again but was interrupted by Sander.
"Kaitlin! Do you really think it's wise to fight with the people who killed the rest of us without breaking a sweat? It's not. And Jack," she turned to where she assumed Jack was, "do you really want Emma to shift? Because as much as you lot loved seeing her ruthless, I seem to remember that she bears a certain grudge against you for killing him. What's going to stop her from simply killing you? She doesn't feel guilt or remorse in that form, and he isn't here to stop her from doing the deed. Because it'll make things a hell of a lot easier for her." Sander warned him. Jack looked scared before he covered it with a sneer.
"Whatever, Lady J."
Kaitlin flipped to the next page where it showed an image of two Emma's- one in neutral form and the other in 'good' form. The images where on the same page and there was the two names- 'Emma Swan' next to the familiar, blond Emma and just 'Emma' next to the neutral one. The page next to the images told information about Emma-
Emma/Emma Swan
Real name- unknown.
Status in group- Leader of the Vitals and the Fatals.
Enemies- Unknown
Known abilities-hypnosis. Power drainage. Ability to 'steal' others powers. Inability to be killed. Shape-shifter. Injection of special antidotes to poisons and illnesses through teeth.
Place of origin- U.S.A., Palmyra Atoll (Author's note- Emma was adopted from U.S.A. as an infant of two months, stayed at Palmyra Atoll until age of four, but I wasn't sure whether or not to put both done so I did anyways.)
Home- (Former) Monuriki Island (Current) Unknown
History- adopted as infant of 2 months. Lived on Palmyra Atoll with Jade Tourmaline for nearly 4 years until Ms. Tourmaline was murdered. Taken first to Cane Hill, then multiple other asylums. Only asylum she was sent to multiple times was Monuriki Island, home to the mot dangerous shifters, criminally insane, magicians, witches, etc.
Weaknesses- Henry Green/Timothy- deceased.
Fears- Trusting- believes leads to the death of those she trusts.
Mental Health- Insane
Known Facts- Deep-seated hatred of mermaids and clowns. Irrational fear of magic. Reason- unknown. Multiple trust issues as well as major paranoid, minor avoidant, forced schizoid and forced schizotypal personality disorder, major schizophrenia, PTSD, and many other disorders and mental issues.
Quotes- 'Magic comes with a price, often one too high to pay.' 'Yup, you're so screwed.' 'Karma's a bitch.' 'What the FUCK did I do in my past lives to deserve this?!'
"Why is her weakness in a different language?" Henry inquired.
"Because, her weakness is dead, but she would never scratch him out of a picture. She would just take the picture and hide it away. She didn't like to talk about him after that because it hurt her very much. We're not allowed to tell you much, but this is what we can tell you- he was only six when he was murdered. He was turned to stone and Emma easily could have turned him back, but he asked her not to, along with some other requests."
"What was his name?" Henry asked, ever the curious one.
"His name was Timothy, but everyone called him Henry Green." A voice came from above us. You could faintly see Emma's silhouette outlined in the shadows. The only thing you could see was her feet and lower legs, which hung off the stone dragon she was perched on.
"How long have you been there?" Snow asked in a panicky tone.
"The whole time. I was taking a nap up here." Then, addressing Sander, "Sander, I shifted back today. Think I'll shift back into third form?" she asked, somehow sounding as though she didn't care at all.
"Wait wait wait- back up. This kid, your weakness, was named Henry? You named me after him? Why?" Henry asked, looking surprised. Emma shrugged.
"I never break my promises," she told him vaguely.
"Are all the pages even in this one?" Sarabella nodded to the book. Emma shook her head,
"Nah, I've got the only whole one. Couldn't bring myself to get rid of another. Anyways, my copy would've just regenerated the pages. Waste of time."
She turned the page and it showed a girl with fiery red hair that cascaded down her back, brushing the top of the rock she was sitting daintily on. The girl in question waved at everyone (all the pictures in the books had 'life') and splashed the top of the water with her… mermaid tail. She then shifted and grew to legs, though you could see her fingers and toes where webbed because the picture zoomed in considerably.
"That was Anastasia, though as a joke we called her 'The Little Mermaid' because she reminded us of Ariel. She had her own little cave too. She was murdered in the Last Battle by another girl nicknamed 'The Sea Witch' because- well, Anastasia and Odessa didn't like each other very much." Kaitlin murmured, brushing her fingers over the picture with a heartbroken expression on her face.
"Actually, while we're on this note, every Vital was killed by their 'counterpart' except Genevieve, myself, and Sander. Adam kinda cheats, he died but came but through a time warp so he's eternally stuck as an 18-year-old boy. Jack and Ivy are both Fatals. Emma is a Fatal and a Vital because we're categorized by both strength, ability and morality. Emma was considered both mostly because she was the only one who could control any of us. She usually did what the scientists told her to, but we're not really sure why." Kaitlin stared pointedly at Emma.
"Why'd you listen to the scientists? Aren't they the bad guys?" Henry asked.
Emma shrugged, "Had to do what was best for everyone. And, just to remind you to, I wasn't one of the good guys. More often than not, I'd shift into my, as Sarabella puts it, scary form."
"But you had a reason, right? You didn't just kill for the heck of it?" he pressed anxiously.
"Nah, not really. I mean, I had an excuse, but that's a totally different reason. After some people died, I kinda went insane. It's not that I hadn't been before, I'd also been really unstable, but now I couldn't control any of my powers so a lot of my nightmares came to life and are now trapped on the remnants of the island. After I finally got my powers under control, I lost interest in being leader of anything so I quit and left them on the island. I went to New York, started stealing stuff so the other part of me wouldn't come out to often, and then things snowballed from there." She opened her eyes, not that they could see that.
"Right now, I'm actually in neutral. It's easier to control my forms in neutral." She stated in a monotone.
Henry bounced up and down, "Can we see?" he asked eagerly.
Emma paused, "What the hell. Not like it'll hurt anyone." She nimbly hopped of the dragon and landed just feet away from the table. Everyone went silent as they took her features. Her hair was longer than in the picture and she seemed even more beautiful. It fell to her waist in straight locks of gold and browns. Her eyes had slim threads of gold like spider webs that you couldn't see unless you were up close. Her irises were a brighter green color with s mist of grey draped over them. Her eyes still had the white/black rings in the irises.
The scar was still there, somehow managing to look faded and stand out from her pale skin at the same time. Only now, you could she that the scar still raced on over the curve of her jaw and onto her neck and under her shirt. Emma had clean bandages wrapped around both hands that ended three inches below her elbow on her left arm and went over her elbow on her right arm. Emma saw them staring at it in confusion.
"The bandages cover scars." They looked at her, silently asking for her to elaborate. "Experiment gone wrong involving acid. It ate away most of my skin. They wanted to see if I could heal it if it held multiple types of poisons that usually kill humans on contact. I didn't die, but I couldn't heal it. If I'd been older, I could've, but I was only three, and I was unconscious. On top of that, I'd already had a bunch of fatal experiments done on me that day."
She was not surprised by the stunned silence, nor did the waves of hatred, anger, icy numbness, and even a tiny drop of fear that followed. Unintelligible shouts assailed her sensitive ears and she held up a hand for them to be quiet. Surprising even themselves, the sense of authority that was tangible in the air around them influenced their decision to silence themselves.
"I have some…" Emma chooses her words carefully, contemplating which was cause the least severe of reactions, "-business to attend to. I'll see you all tonight, tomorrow evening at the latest. If you need me, don't." she smirked slightly before fluidly dissolving into an inky cloud of swirling black, white, and grey.
Kaitlin didn't miss a beat and turned the page, watching with apprehension the ink flowed quickly onto the page and a picture of neutral Emma showed up. She was frowning and then her whole body went static-y. "Emma never willingly shifted forms, so her emotions eventually would overflow and cause a shift. At some points, she would be so mentally unstable that just being around different people would determine what form she was in. So, you know what neutral Emma looks like and 'good' Emma looks like, but the other Emma will probably come up in a second."
They waited with baited breath as picture Emma struggled to keep her form, flickering and, rather like a glitch in a computer game, turned into the static and shifted a few feet or so uncontrollably. Finally, she stopped and another girl was revealed.
She had long, dark hair exactly like Snow's, a pale face, thin as usual, but once again her face was one of her scariest features. Her eyes were the darkest and most empty black. Her lashed were also black, as were her eyebrow. Her scar was much worse, not the thin, straight faded scar you see on Emma's neutral body, but more ragged, like three lightning bolts thrown haphazardly across her face. They looked less healed, still bumpy and scabby. It wasn't gross; somehow it made her looked even more powerful and –oddly- beautiful. Her lips were also a black color, but for some reason no one thought for a moment it was lipstick.
"Alright, um, it's got a description too, so just give it a sec…" Sarabella murmured. Finally, the words started to write themselves.
Emma Raven
Real name- unknown.
Status in group- Leader of
Enemies- Unknown.
Known abilities- injection of specific types of fatal poisons through teeth. Can make teeth turn sharp and pointy, resembling shark teeth. Hypnosis. Controlling people's minds and bodies. Power drainage. Stealing bodies and/or shadows. Inability to be injured or killed.
Place of origin-Palmyra Atoll
Home- (Former) Monuriki Island (Current) Unknown
History- this form appeared shortly after death of Henry Green/Timothy.
Weaknesses- Rash behavior makes many enemies. No control over emotions or powers.
Fears- Emotions
Mental Health/History- Insane. Extremely violent and dangerous, no morality.
Known facts- Sociopath, no control over emotions, strange hatred towards mermaids, viscous, shark-like teeth when she wants them, ruthless assassin.
Quotes- 'Probably because I'm a dangerous sociopath with a long history of violence. I don't understand how you keep forgetting that.' 'If I were you, this is the part were I'd be getting on the floor and play dead so I don't kill you to, but hell it's your life, not mine.' 'Screw this, just kill them.'
It was silent for a minute or so until Red leaned forwards to point at something, "What's this?" she was pointing to something on the spine of the book, taking everyone's minds, for the most part, off of the horrible revelation that Emma had been one of the bad guys, and still is in a sense. Kaitlin closed the book with a thump. She lightly ran her finger across the little gems decorating the spine.
"Each gem shows someone's memories, but the memories can only be accessed if the said person if still alive. So, that's zircon, which is Genevieve's, I think it's got something to do with the type of dragon she is. Mine is a rose quartz, Adam's is tiger's eye, and Emma's changes a lot, but I guess today it's a star diopside. Connie, Colin, Emmeline, Lee, Lane, and Sarabella actually have stones in this either because they used to be Vitals, but now they aren't and scientists decided they could be put in any other special asylum, or they are just have very rare powers. Connie has strawberry quartz and Sarabella has a goshenite because she was born in Goshen, Massachusetts. Lee and Lane share a stone, they have sillimanite cat's eye. Emmeline has mystic quartz, and Colin has kyanite."
She reopened the book, "May as well show you everyone…" she said in a low tone to keep the tears out of her voice. After the pictures of Emma and her various descriptions, there was a picture of a Genevieve. There was another picture of Genevieve on the next page and Emma was in it too, her brown-blond hair swinging and she and Genevieve ran along. Suddenly, Genevieve turned into a gorgeous dragon, her scales perfectly mimicking the water so it seemed like she was a moving wave. Emma turned into a cat, possibly a leopard but not likely, judging by the tail longer than the entire body, delicate but powerful frame, silver fur with greyish spots, a scar across her muzzle, and piercing grey-green eyes. Emma/the cat thingy effortlessly lifted herself off the ground and started flying alongside Genevieve with large silver and white wings. From wingtip to wingtip, she was probably 10-15 feet.
Genevieve Dragonflower
'The Dragon Keeper'
Real name- Genevieve VonGrimm
Status in group- Member of Vitals
Enemies- Pleasance family.
Known abilities- shifts into dragon and ability to understand and speak to reptiles and certain water animals. Talent-only known through VonGrimm family.
Place of origin- Quendlinburd, Germany.
Home- (1) Quendlinburd, Germany (2)Sanctuary, unknown.
History- The VonGrimm's were a family of firedrake hunters that lived, isolated, in the mountains. They were cursed by one dragon before it died- the firstborn, if female, will be 'gifted' with the often uncontrollable ability to change into a dragon.
Weaknesses- Shifts controlled by emotions, mostly hatred, vengeance, or anger.
Fears- Abandonment, her scales being seen.
Mental Health/History- Unknown. Most likely sane.
Known facts- One of the rare pacifist dragons, while her shifts were uncontrollable at best, she did not attack any villages while in shifts unless threatened. Doesn't talk much to anyone with the exception of Emma.
Quotes- None.
Sarabella tapped on the page and the ink slid off, then rewrote itself with a new picture. This one was of a boy with untamed dirty blond hair- Adam. He smiled confidently out of his page, absently rubbing his thumb along an hourglass that he held in his left hand. This description was a little different.
Adam Time
'Father Time'
Real name- Adam Norwood.
Status in group- Member of Vitals, second in command.
Enemies- Emma Raven.
Known abilities- can speed up, slow down, time travel, or completely freeze time. Talent- very rare.
Place of origin- Supai, Arizona.
Home- Sanctuary, unknown.
History- Norwood family was killed when their house burnt down. The only survivor was Adam, the eldest son, and he took up the name 'Time' as every male in his family could travel time, their original surname was Time. His great-great-great-(x5)-grandfather was known as Father Time and the name had been passed down, but never used.
Weaknesses- younger brother's undead ghost, who lost his powers and memories of everything before his death.
Fears- large fires.
Mental Health/History- Sane.
Known Facts- skilled in hand-to-hand combat, known to freeze the area surrounding his opponent, usually only one inch off opponents skin, and subdue him/her. Friends with Emma Swan or (neutral) Emma, but enemies with Emma Raven, mostly as a leader vs. leader. Good leadership qualities.
Quotes- 'Lucky for you, you've got Time on your side.' 'The clocks a-ticki- oh wait, no it isn't.' 'If you need something done, do it yourself.'
Deceased- Emma Raven
The ink dripped of the page, drizzled along the pages, then reformed into a new picture and a new person. It showed a girl with fiery red hair, emerald green eyes, skin that was faintly tinted orange, and a short skirt and crop top. Both where lavender with steel bands on her arms and neck (Teen Titans- Starfire). She smiled and waved cheerily, her gaze focused on something in the distance. If you looked closely, you could see a show on the edge of the photo, but that was it.
Starfire
Status in group- member of Vitals
Enemies- Blackfire (sister)
Known abilities- shoots starbeams out of eyes and hands, can create and explosion of light that pushes all enemies away from her. Super-strength. High pain tolerance.
Place of origin- Outer space.
Home- (Former) Monuriki Island
History- Came from a distant planet in another galaxy. Planet is most likely destroyed.
Weaknesses- depends on her alien powers, unable to soot a gun, bow, crossbow, or use any type of knife or sword.
Fears- Fear of being unliked and abandoned.
Mental Health/History- Sane.
Known facts- Came from a distant planet, has a rivalry with her evil older sister Blackfire.
Quotes- 'It has to get worse before it gets better. It it's got getting better, it's not over.'
Deceased- Blackfire
The next one was of a boy with a crooked smirk and short, dark hair.
Real name- Emmett Shoal
Aladdin
Deceased- Jefar (Julius Pettibone)
The next one was a beautiful girl wearing a rosy pink sundress and no shoes. Her mocha colored hair cascaded down her back in curling waves.
Persephone Lux
Deceased- Poison Ivy (Ivy Jones)
Real name- Katrina Coals
Katie Firestone
Deceased- Jack Frost (Jack Winterson)
Real name- Anastasia Jones
The Little Mermaid
Deceased- Sea-Witch (Odessa Calypso Johnson)
"They were murdered." Kaitlin whispered, tears rolling down their cheeks. "They kept us either because we were too weak to fight or powerful enough to want on their side. Genevieve was the powerful one. Sander got off the island. She tried to bring me, but they caught us and I told her to leave."
"Oh." Snow said softly.
"Later, Emma came to the island because we sent out a distress call. There had been a plague that nearly wiped us all out. Because we were too sick to control our powers, there were freak blizzards, tsunamis, hurricanes, tornados, and the Bermuda Triangle was acting up, because Adam got it worst. After that, Emma stayed with us for awhile. Every few months, we get the sickness again because Emma couldn't properly cure us for certain reasons." Jack spoke up for the first time in about 30 minutes.
"Couldn't, or wouldn't?" Gold murmured.
"Emma was pregnant with him," Sander's unseeing gaze turned towards Henry, "when she was healing us. It was either leave us a completely cured but risk giving him the sickness which would kill him, or leave us with a reoccurring sickness that couldn't kill us, just make our lives more hellish than they were before. Ivy and Jack told her that it was OK to not fully heal us."
"When Emma left the island again, Ivy, Sander and I left with her." Jack added.
"I thought Emma was in jail when she was pregnant, how could she have also been on the island?" Charming asked.
"Emma probably teleported, healed us, and got off the island. You can't teleport off the island though. She might've actually frozen time, left, and came back. Emma's pretty loyal if she thinks you deserve it, though she's probably not truly loyal to any of you. She'd need to trust you before she actually is loyal." Jack told them.
"I still don't really understand." Red stated, looking confused. Killian nodded in agreement.
Jack, Sarabella, Kaitlin, and Sander (kind of) exchanged glances. Sander really just glanced in their direction before speaking, as she was obviously leader right now.
"We could show you the memories, if you'd like. Once you start though, you can't stop. You can choose if you want to just watch the memories or if you would like to view them from inside the person, from their eyes. No matter what you choose, you still hear their thoughts and feel their feelings. OK?"
They all nodded.
1. Next chapter is Connie's memories! Do you guys remember Connie? Check the first chapter if you don't!
2. Next chapter you meet some of the Fatals! They're scary people...
3. I'm debating whether or not I want to have Emma date someone from her past, from Storybrooke, or no one at all.
4. If you've got any questions about this chapter or the prior ones, PM me!
Review to prove your Loyalty!
Songbook12
