Desperate Stand
"Tell me about your friends," Cora said again.
"What's there to say?" August asked by way of reply. She threw him down the tunnel and approached slowly.
"How about, where they're going, or what they're doing, or, better yet, what they're doing here? Surely you can tell me any of those, at least." She picked him up again.
"You honestly think I'm going to sell any of them out, let alone all of them? That's funny, Cora. That's really funny." Cora tossed him down the road again. August stood. "That's hilarious. You should consider stand-up comedy."
"Shut up."
"Don't stop me now. I think I'm on to something."
"Then you're obviously lying."
"Why, when the truth is more effective?"
"What're you stalling for, anyway?"
August paused, then said, "Guess."
Cora grabbed him by the jaw. "Where are they?" she hissed.
"How the hell should I know? I'm just as lost as you are."
"Where are they going?"
"This is one of the parts where I do my best not to sell them out."
"Oh, I see how this is." She sent him flying down the brick road one more time.
"We can't keep this up much longer," he said to himself. He got to his feet and took off away from Cora.
OUAT
"When they say we're going to Storybrooke, they're not kidding," Emma said, looking around at the deserted buildings in the center of town.
"It was the safest way," D replied.
"They must've evacuated the town," Mulan said, also scanning the buildings. "Why?"
"Well, I can think of several reasons. Want a list?"
"I'd rather not."
Bae looked at the space the trod used to occupy. The vortex appeared, and August stepped out. "She's coming," he said.
"I kind of figured that," Bae replied.
"You're not seriously going to stay here, are you?"
"Not here, here. I might go looking for my dad."
"Okay."
"And you're coming with me."
"What?"
"I'm not letting you stay behind, play hero, and die because of it."
"Ouch."
"I'm serious, August. Now, are you coming or not?"
"Do I have a choice?"
"Yes."
"Sorry I'm late," a dishevelled and bleeding Captain Hook said, screwing on his hook and attracting the attention of everyone present. "Traffic was beastly."
"I can see that," Bae said.
"I see the two lovely ladies have returned, and to the other lovely newcomers, allow me to be the first to welcome you to Storybrooke." He bowed to the group as a whole. "It's not always this way, and I'm sure this isn't the best first impression we can make, but I'm afraid it's the best that can be done under the circumstances."
"We're not tourists," Mulan snapped.
Hook scoffed and said, "Well, then."
"Where's Tinker Bell?" Bae asked.
"Hiding somewhere, laying out some evil plan." Mulan raised her brow. "She's not evil in the traditional sense, but she is a little...mischevious."
"Are we going to stand here all night? Because to me that doesn't sound like a very good idea," Emma said.
"She's right," Bae said. "Who all hasn't left yet?"
"Regina, Rumpelstiltskin, Little Red Riding Hood, her grandmother, the doctor, several others," Hook replied. "And those are the ones that insisted on staying. Why do you ask?"
"Because we won't have time to get them out, and we're going to need to fight. Now, if you'll excuse us," he began, and he led August away.
OUAT
"There you two are," Bae said. Rumpelstiltskin and Regina each turned at the waist toward him.
Regina approached. "What're you doing here."
"Making sure you're not dead."
"That's nonsense," another speaker said. "I have something much worse in store."
"You," Regina snarled at her mother, stepping between Bae and August and approaching her.
"Why are you so angry? All I did was try to give you a good life," Cora said.
"Where have I heard that one before?" Bae asked with a smirk.
"You shut up," she said, glaring at him and keeping her voice low and condescending.
"This is my world," Regina said. "You have no power here, and you're not welcome."
"What're you going to do about it?" August pulled Bae aside. Regina snapped her fingers, and branches from nearby trees reached for Cora. Cora waved her hands behind her, and the trees caught fire.
"August, cover me," Bae whispered. August paused and stared at Bae as he walked over to Rumpelstiltskin and whispered to him. Rumpelstiltskin even seemed to agree on a logical level with whatever Bae was saying, and that made August even more uneasy.
"Think it can be done?" Rumpelstiltskin whispered to his son. Bae nodded, and they stepped up to where Regina stood. She glanced at them, and Rumpelstiltskin nodded. She looked at him, and he nodded again. Finally, at his nonverbal insistence, she turned her gaze back to Cora.
Bae stepped up to Regina's other side, and August stood next to him, at some distance. "How come you people always have to arrange yourselves?" Cora asked.
"This arrangement has a purpose," Rumpelstiltskin said. "It's an old form, so I'm not surprised that you don't recognize it."
"What are you talking about?"
Bae glanced for the briefest moment at his father and said, "This." He called up his power. Rumpelstiltskin and eventually Regina did likewise, and the energy, having nowhere to go but out, burst from whatever boundaries were laid forth. August ducked and stumbled to the side, and Cora flew backward, between the burning trees.
"Oh, you won't get away with that," Cora snarled.
"This is it," Bae said when he saw the energy blast coming. He held up his hands for a block. Again, the energy rushed off harmlessly to parts unknown.
"Are you sure this is a good idea?" August asked.
"Got a better plan?"
"Yeah." August watched another blast from the approaching witch. "Play the hero." He had just positioned himself in front of Bae when the spell came in with enough force to knock all four of them for several feet.
Cora smirked and turned back toward the town.