Crazy well at least that's what Neal would have considered the bearded man with pepper grey hair and green eyes that was behind the wheel of the old pickup truck, if Brandon had pulled this same stick on Neal 11 years ago. But all that had changed when August Booth showed up 11 years ago and reminded Neal of the one thing that he had been trying to forget for 9 long years, his past. For years Neal had drowned himself in the thrill of steeling, conning and escaping capture. Rather than drowning his wows in the other vices and far more dangerous alternatives to one's health that this world had to offer. So when Brandon Grimm told Neal he was also Merlin. Neal wasn't about to suggest that the older man needed to have his eyes examined nor open the door and hurl himself out of the moving vehicle.
No instead the thought that his life was turning much into an altered version of the Disney Movie: the Sorcerer's Apprentice, in which Hollywood Actor Nicholas Cage played Merlin's apprentice Balthazar Blake, surfaced to the for front of his mind. And as strange as it was it sort of made sense, after all Balthazar had been and still was Neal's middle name. No matter what world he was in, it was the one and the only thing Neal had kept and held onto, after leaving his past behind and trying to make a future in the modern world he had found himself in for the first time 21 years ago. The only difference was he felt more like the character of Dave, the reluctant sorcerer's apprentice, than his close name sake.
"Merlin just one question about this truck of yours" Neal asked, "are you sure this thing is you no safe? Because most cars shouldn't I don't know be coughing out smoke."
"Course its safe why do you think I live in it Neal?"
"You live in this thing?" asked Neal turning backwards to see sure enough one duffel bag sitting in the back of the truck atop a mattress.
"Yes. Now that we have both established my precarious living arrangements you may want to hold onto something," said Merlin placing his hand on the roof of the car.
Until know Neal hadn't noticed Merlin's left hand was covered with a mechanical looking glove with the insignia of a dragon on it and the ends that covered the nails reminded one of a pen. As Merlin's hand moved along the cars side Neal noticed he was scratching out strange black ink like marking that appeared instantly on the car's interior. Then all of a sudden the car stopped coughing as it changed from an old broken down truck into a sleek modern sports car and with a flick of Merlin's wrist he moved the throttle forward and the car moved down the highway at an alarming speed. The tree's and houses off to the side going by in a blur. Dodging cars left and right as Merlin moved the vehicle with accuracy and precision. While Neal held onto the door's handle for dear life.
"If you need to exterminate your partially digested food please do it through the window I just waxed the seats this morning!" Merlin shouted over the loud hum of the engine. "At this rate we should be in Storybrooke in a matter of moments, in fact oh their it is," pointing to the sign that said welcome to Storybrooke and then was gone from their sight as they continued to drive down the road past trees.
It was early morning and Gold was opening his shop when from behind him he felt a strange burst of gust almost like magic but yet different in some way. Turning he saw a blur of silver past beyond his vision and then head father up along the road from sight swerving as it turned the corner. The swerving of the car allowed Gold just enough of a glimpse to see that the object in question was a silver sports car with TSITS 1963 written along the car's license plate before it disappeared from sight beyond the bend. The road in question Gold knew led straight up to the old abandoned cabin, the same cabin in which Gold had met up with August and was tricked by him. There was only one person Gold knew who could be possibly heading there and yet the question remained. How had Merlin escaped the curse?
The car slowed to a halt as it reached the end of the road and pulled up alongside the cabin where it stopped. Changing from the sleek new car in had previously been back into an old truck and let out a large puff of smoke from its exhaust pipes as it drew to a halt and the engine was shut off.
Both doors were opened and Merlin came out followed by Neal who gingerly crawled out of the car and emptied his stomach onto the front pooch while trying to fill his lungs with the cool morning air.
Merlin reached into the pocket of his trench coat and pulled out a bottle handing it over to Neal. "Hear take this it will help with the nausea," uncorking the top.
Neal stood up to drown a gulp of the strange green liquid and spit it out instantly, "what is this stuff? It takes like crap."
"I said it would help not that it tastes good come on now drink it up," said Merlin.
Neal reluctantly finished the strange mixture and handed the empty bottle over to his mentor. "Well I have two questions for you one I thought you said you couldn't use magic outside of Storybrooke and two are you insane? Neal shouted his face fuming with anger at being driven cross country faster than what was supposed to be humanly possible.
"I said there were limits on a Grimm's magic outside of Storybrooke Neal I never said it was impossible that's the one difference that we Grimm's have from wizards, sorcerers, magicians and anything else that can use magic. Of course it takes up a lot of strength using it that's why I save it for emergencies like this one. Oh and to answer your other question," he held up his fingers a few inches apart, "yes I may be just a little bit," he smiled a wide Cheshire grin before heading for the cabin. "Be a good and boy and get our bag out of the truck would you Neal?"
"My bag but I left in on theā¦" scrambling to open the truck where there were indeed two bags sitting. The first was Merlin's duffel and the other was his own duffel bag from which out of the top his dream catcher could be seen. "Thank you,"Neal told Merlin before picked up his bag and swinging it over his shoulder.
"You're welcome I figured that piece of Native American culture must be pretty important to you considering by using my seayer's abilities I was able to see that one of your memories with Emma is woven through out that thing, Neal."
"So your abilities allow you to see what, memories?" Asked Neal slightly afraid at what the older Grimm had seen and that Merlin would either be appalled or fearful of Neal's ability to dive in other people's dreams.
"Exactly any object that I touch I can see the memories that surround it, and that Native American dream catcher has quite a few but yours seem to be the most prevalent considered it's been around you for so long and absorbing your dreams. Though the one thing I did notice was that some of the one you seem to be having are not your own Neal. My guess is your ability as a Grimm which you've been having the seeing part any way for quite some time allows you to see other people's dreams, nightmares, and terrors?"
Neal simply nodded his head, "ever since I was fourteen they started happening it's why they used to take me to the psychiatrists because they thought I was crazy when I told people about the things I saw. But I'm not," the tears dripping down his eyes as the memories that he had long kept buried began to resurface.
Merlin wasn't a sentimental man, but something about the way the boy was so upset reminded him of when he had first discovered his own abilities as a Grimm and his father used to hold him in his arms as he cried his heart out. Neal had no father, this Merlin knew as the boy had been abandoned by both of his parents at different stages in the young man's life. Merlin made his way over to the boy and put his hands on his shoulders, "I know you're not. That's why I'm going to help you learn how to control your abilities okay, everything is going to be okay Neal. Come on I don't know about you but I'm starving," picking up his bag and heading for the door.
Neal had almost expected rejection, but instead he was being given accepted for what he was and the offer to learn how to deal with being a Grimm. A Grimm, finally after years of fear and confusion under the tutelage of Merlin Neal felt he would be on his way to understanding who he was. Thus Neal wiped the tears from his eyes glad to find a mentor and at last a friend aside from Emma who understood him. Even if the man was just a tiny bit insane.
