-Two Years Ago; Woodlands Business Office-
Bigby bought Shadow back to Woodlands safely with Maria and Garry still shaken up by what Shadow had did; about how he had killed the three mundies. After he did that, he managed to get the bodies of the three mundy teens out of the open and made it seem like they died from an accident (Somehow) when morning soon came.
Shadow was still asleep in bed, and Maria, Garry, and Ib were sleeping just on each side. Maria with her arms and head resting on the bed and Garry was sleeping on a wooden chair with Ib on his lap. Bigby had told Snow what happened last night.
"He killed them!?" Snow had exclaimed, "Are you sure he did?"
"Yeah." Bigby told her taking a sip from his beer, "Garry and Maria saw what happened. The three mundy teenagers attacked them, and when one of them punched Maria, I guess he lost it. He just killed them without a second thought, then he ended up turning on them. They tried to snap him out of it but he wasn't listening to them, so I ended up knocking him out."
"Jesus…" Snow said holding her head, "Was he…"
"No." Bigby told her, "He wasn't in full wolf form and thank god for it. But he was slowly changing into one. His claws and his fur was starting to grow."
Snow still couldn't believe what she was hearing. "You know as well as I do that Crane will find out about this." Snow told him, "One way or another he will and he'll throw Shadow down the Witching Well."
"I won't let that happen to him." Bigby said to her.
"I know you won't." Snow said, "But even if you convince Crane to not throw him down the Witching Well he's going to give him a hard time, for something he had no control over. Let alone something he couldn't even remember doing."
"Don't worry about Crane." He said, "When he does find out I'll talk some sense into him." Snow then turned to Shadow's bedroom, "Guess we have a lot to explaining to do to those two, after what they saw tonight." She said.
"It couldn't exactly be prevented. I mean they were bound to find out about this sooner or later." He told her.
"Question is how long before Shadow finds out about him being a wolf? It's already been seven years, and you still haven't told him."
"Until I can figure out why he can change into a wolf without him even realizing it, then I'll tell him."
"If he finds out before than? What will you do than?"
"Than I'll make sure he understands every word of it if he does managed to find out."
They soon heard groaning inside of the room. They saw that Maria and Garry were starting to wake up. Bigby and Snow both turned to each other and nodded their heads. Setting his beer down they went towards the room. Maria let out a yawn as she rubbed her eyes as Garry did the same. "Good morning you two." Snow said to them with a low voice not wanting to wake Shadow and Ib.
"Morning Miss White." Garry said after he let out another yawn.
"Did we fall asleep?" Maria said.
"Yup, you kinda did." Bigby had said. Garry rubbed the back of his neck, wincing in pain a little, "Man you guys are not gonna believe the dream I just had." Garry started to say, "Shades turned into a werewolf, or at least I think he did. Than he straight up murdered three mundy teens that were being assholes. Than he was going to kill me and Maria and-"
Garry saw the look in Bigby and Snow's eyes, and Garry pretty much drew his own conclusion. "Son of a bitch." Garry said, "That actually happened didn't it?"
"Yes it did." Bigby said, before motioning the two out of the room. Garry carefully placed Ib on the bed beside Shadow, and they proceeded out of the room. Bigby and Snow had then explained everything to them. About finding Shadow as a wolf, and about he doesn't even know that he is one.
"...And since then I've been trying to figure out why he can change into a wolf without him even realizing it." Bigby had finished, "So now you know."
Maria and Garry couldn't exactly find the words to say at the moment, since they were both shocked to hear something like this. "Man I've gotta admit that's a whole lot to take in." Garry told him, "Trust me, we're just as surprised as you are." Snow said, "It's just like Bigby said, what happened last night was the first time it happened."
"So you can't tell Shadow about this, can you?" Maria asked.
"No." Bigby told her, "And trust me, I have my own reasons for not telling him, just as Snow and I have our reasons for not saying anything to anyone. Even to the two of you."
"So than you think it's some kind of glamour that Shades has?' Garry had asked.
"Even it was, I'm pretty sure it would've worn off a long time ago." He told him.
"Than maybe it's a curse of some kind." Maria said, "But then again, he would known about the curse."
They started to hear Shadow let out a groan. Bigby had then said, "If he asks about what happened last night, tell him-"
"You scared the mundies off." Maria said, "Right?"
"Exactly." He said to her. Maria and Garry nodded their heads and went over to the room, while Bigby and Snow went to work. They saw Shadow sitting up in the bed rubbing the back of his head. Ib was starting to stir awake as well. "Ow… My head…" Shadow said with his voice all tired like. He soon noticed Maria and Garry standing at both sides of the bed. "Garry? Maria?" Shadow said.
"Hi." Maria said sitting on the side of the bed, "How are you feeling?"
"Uh…" Shadow started to say, "I am in a whole lot of pain. So yeah. I've been better."
"Well, I guess it could be worse right?" Garry told him.
"I guess…" Shadow said, "What happened last night?"
"You mean to say you don't remember?" Maria asked.
"Well…" He replied, "The last thing I remember, those three mundies attacked us. They had me pinned and started kicking me, and the rest is kind of a blur. I must've passed out or something."
Garry and Maria both turned to each other, couldn't believe what they were hearing from him. He really couldn't remember anything, not even the fact that one of them punched Maria. What Bigby told them was true, Shadow really couldn't remember anything once he changed into a wolf.
"They didn't hurt you guys did they?" Shadow had asked with concern.
"No." Maria said hesitantly as she rubbed her left cheek the very same place where the mundy punched her, "Not exactly."
"What happened than?" Shadow had asked.
Garry had replied hesitantly, "You did indeed pass out, but Bigby managed to scare them off."
Shadow gave a quizzical look, "Really? My dad?"
Garry said as he rubbed the back of his neck, "Yeah, in fact he made sure that they wouldn't bother us anymore." Of course Garry and Maria felt bad for lying to him. But Shadow can't know, it was for his own good.
"Of course." Shadow said still rubbing the back of his head, "Dad had to come and save our asses, again. Well on the bright side, we won't be seeing them anytime soon."
"Yeah, right…" Maria said turning head to the ground to just stare at her feet.
Ib who was awake and now rubbing her eyes had asked him, "Are you okay? You've been rubbing the back of your head for a while now."
"Yeah I'm fine." He told her, "It's just that I think I got a bump here, seriously what did they do to me?"
Garry and Maria both turned away awkwardly knowing very well how that bump on the back of his head got there. "Um… How about we just go and have breakfast now?" Maria said quickly changing the subject, "I think Mr. Wolf still has some bacon and eggs left in the fridge."
"Yes! Yes of course!" Garry said as went to the door, "I am pretty much starving hungry enough to eat a horse even, let's go and have breakfast, and just change the subject entirely!"
Shadow was of course confused by this at Garry and Maria's sudden change in mood. "Um… Okay." Shadow had said. He got out of bed and walked towards the kitchen and Ib had followed behind.
-Present; Open Arms Ichabod Crane's Apartment (1 Hour and 55 Minutes Left)-
Shadow, Maria, and Garry stepped out of the elevator onto the 19th floor. They saw just down the hall was three double doors. "Okay, so Crane's Apartment should be… The third door on our right."
"Let's move." Shadow said, "We don't have much time."
They went down the halls and turned to the right. But to their surprise, they saw the door was slightly open. "Oh no, you don't think Mr. Crane came back do you?" Maria had said. "I don't think so." Shadow told her, "Come on, let's head in."
They went inside and saw that the penthouse was of course, huge, since it was a penthouse. The three were amazed by how big the apartment was. "Damn man." Garry said, "I know we're supposed to be hating Crane right now, but man, he knew how to live in style."
"Focus, Garry." Shadow said to him, "We have to find out who the witch's name is remember?"
"Right ." Garry said. Maria looked around the apartment, "But exactly where do we start looking? This place is huge."
"How about we start with the book shelves over there?" Garry suggested.
"Alright." Shadow said, "It's better than just standing here."
They went over to the shelves and checked the shelves. Garry started to skim through the books, "Let's see… Math, science, history, more math, astronomy and-"
Garry stopped at one point when he saw a book that was tilted "The Joy of Love Making". Shadow and Maria's eyes widened and they made a disturbed look, while Garry's jaw dropped. All three of them turned away from the shelf. "Well, I think it's safe to assume that what we're looking for is not there." Garry said awkwardly.
"Yeah." Shadow said, "Let's go look somewhere else."
"Agreed." Maria said, "Let's just pretend we didn't see that."
"I didn't even realize Crane was into that stuff." Garry said.
"Do what Maria said, and don't think about it." Shadow said. They went over to the phone and the desk. Maria picked up what appeared to be a medium sized brown bag. "What is that?" Garry had asked.
"It's a teachers pouch." Maria replied to Garry. She started to look through the bag until she found a bag, what appeared to be a book; a journal of some kind. It had read "Merry Christmas, Mr. Crane. Thanks for all your help this year. Sincerely, Jeremy."
"Umm…" Garry said, "What am I looking at?"
Shadow and Maria's eyes widened in realization. "Oh that's right I forgot." Shadow said, "Dad mentioned that Crane used to be a teacher before he became the Deputy Mayor."
"And people actually appreciated him?" Garry said, "I find that hard to believe."
"You wouldn't be the first to think that." Maria said, as she placed the bag and book back where it was.
Soon enough they noticed a blinking light on the answering machine. "Looks like there's still a message on here." Garry said.
"Let's play it." Maria said, "Maybe it might have a clue to who the witch is."
"My thoughts exactly." Shadow said to her. He then hit the play button on the message. They all stayed silent as the message started to playback the one message that was still on the machine. From the message it appeared to be a woman's voice. The minute they heard her voice, it had sent a shiver down through their spines.
"Crane~
Look, the Crooked Man isn't a happy compondre and as much as I love making a house call, I have better ways to use my time so…
If you can go ahead and pay in by Friday. That would be great. Alright?
Everybody can stay up right?
In the meantime… Leave the light on.
See ya!"
Just like that the message came to an end. Garry couldn't help but shudder, "Man… Just hearing that message I formed goosebumps on my goosebumps." Garry said to the two.
"Who was that woman anyway?" Maria had asked questioningly.
"Don't know." Garry replied, "I never heard her voice before, but I did hear about the Crooked Man. It's strange I was always told that he was a loan shark, so what does Crane have to do with him and whoever that woman was?"
Shadow among the three of them was the only one that had stayed silent the whole time. He mumbled to himself, "Crooked… Man?" All of sudden he cried out in pain and held his head, like it was about to fall off. He fell on his knees and continued to feel the pain.
Than once again he heard the voice of a woman, and this time with it came the voice of the man, but the image was still a bit sketchy but all he could make out was that he was in a lab this time.
"Hmmm… For being the smallest, he's a lot stronger than the rest."
"Told you he would be different."
"Well than I'm sorry I doubted you. Continue with the experiments. Make sure he is under our control."
As quick as the pain came it had come to an end; By the time he was back into reality he saw his friends were trying to get him to make sure was okay. "Are you okay Shadow?" Maria asked with worry.
"Yeah, you just seemed like you were dead." Garry said.
Shadow heaved out deep breaths and eventually he said to them, "The woman… On the message… I heard her… Her voice… in my vision."
Both of their eyes widened in shock, "Are you serious?" Garry had asked him. All the teen did was just nod his head, "And just now, I had another vision. I was in a lab, and the same woman was talking to someone, I don't know who though. They were talking about me again… They said something about controlling me..."
Both Garry and Maria helped their friend up off the floor, "Don't push yourself okay?" Maria said to him.
"What do you guys think it means?" Shadow had asked them, "Do you think my visions could be contacted, to what's going on I mean?"
"I'm going to be honest, I'm not entirely sure." Garry told him, "But I'm sure we'll find out the answers that you're searching for soon."
"Yeah, he's right." Maria said, "Whatever it is you're seeing, we'll be able to find it no matter what."
Shadow looked at his two friends and said with a smile, "Thanks guys. I really appreciate it."
"Hey we're friends till the end man." Garry said, "Besides, if one of us were in the same situation as you, you'd do the same for us."
They continued looking around Crane's apartment. They soon looked started to look in a nearby drawer. It wasn't long until Shadow found what appeared to be a letter and a brown envelope. "Oh god please no more pictures." Garry said.
"I'm pretty sure they're not any pictures in here." Shadow told him, "So don't worry."
Maria noticed something on top of the envelope, "Look a letter!" She said.
Shadow took the letter and read it aloud mumbling at some of the words.
"My dearest Snow, I know you must be aware of my feeling towards you, watching you work. If I am unable to control yourself because I love you?!"
Garry even Maria shuddered a bit at the last part. "Man just listening to that is just so… God!" Garry said before turning to Maria, "I feel really sorry for your mom! Like, I mean the thought about-!" Garry couldn't help but shudder again.
"I thought…" Maria said turning away from them, "I thought I understood him… I thought I did but… I"
Shadow placed his hand on her shoulder, "We all thought we did." He said to her.
Maria turned to him, "Why? Why would he think about such things about mother? What was he hoping for?"
"I don't know." Shadow told her, "Don't worry, we'll find him and get the answers we're looking for."
Garry looked within the envelope that was in the drawer, and was shocked to see what was inside. "Um… Guys…?" Garry said getting their attention.
They both turned to Garry, "What's the matter?" Shadow asked him.
"Well you were right about there not being any more photo's of… You know." Garry said, "Take a look at this."
Him and Maria took a look within the envelope; they both gasped at what they saw. Shadow reached in the envelope and pulled a large stack of money. "Holy hell…" Shadow said, "This is a hell of alot of money."
"What would Crane need this for?" Maria asked.
Garry pulled out what appeared to be another letter within the the envelope. "This might explain it." He said to them, "It's addressed to the Crooked Man."
"The Crooked Man again?" Shadow said.
"Well what does the letter say?" Maria asked.
Garry proceeded to read the letter aloud.
"This is all I could get. I'm afraid Snow will start to notice. I'll have the rest for you by next week.
-Ichabod Crane"
They all took a moment for a slight pause, to have the information they had just discovered to really sink in. Ichabod Crane, owes money for the Crooked Man? It didn't make any sense to them. "Okay." Garry said, "I ask again, what does Crane have to do with the Crooked Man?"
"I don't think that's the question that should be asked Garry." Shadow said to him, "The question should be, where in the hell did Crane get this money?"
"Well the guy is rich." Garry suggested, "I mean how do you think he owns this kind of an apartment?"
"No, I don't think it's that simple." Shadow had told Garry.
"He's right." Maria said, "Even with the kind of money Mr. Crane has there is no way he can get this much."
"Than where could he have gotten this from?" Garry asked, "I doubt that he would go stealing from other Fables let alone Mundies since let's face it we all know he's a coward. I mean the only way he could've gotten the money was if he-"
The three eyes widened in shock when they all thought of the same thing. The only option of how Crane could've gotten the money.
"Hang on…" Garry said, "Are we all thinking the same thing?"
"Yeah…." Maria said, "I think we are."
Shadow placed the money back within the envelope then handed it to Maria, "We've gotta show this to Miss White. She needs to know about this."
Garry said, "Well we may have not found a clue to where the witch, but at least we managed to find something."
Just than they heard something from within the Penthouse which caused them all to freeze up. Shadow motioned his friends to stay quiet and proceeded slowly to where they heard the sound, which was in Crane's bedroom. He proceeded towards the door with his friends following close behind. He reached for the door knob and opened it with ease, revealing the source of the sound. All were in shock when they what or who caused it.
"Jack?!" The three said in unison.
There was Fable Jack who had climbed the largest beanstalk in the world, attempting to climb out the window of the penthouse with a brown duffle bag, but jumped when he heard their voices. He turned awkwardly to them and said, "Oh hey! It's you three! Wow, what an unbelievable coincidence running into you guys, I mean of all places."
The three couldn't help but look at each other which made Jack even feeling more awkward. "So…" He said trying to spark up a conversation, "This weather… Right? A little damp I guess. But you guys know how it is, people like that sort of thing."
"Jack, what are you doing here?" Garry asked.
Jack laughed nervously as he replied, "Well, I'm glad you asked that…. The thing is that whenever Crane is gone he sometimes gets me to water the houseplants. I mean you know now-a-days work is hard to come by, so I gotta take what I can get. You guys know me."
The three looked at each other again giving each "Is he joking?" looks. They turned back to him. "Uh, Jack?" Maria said to him, "Crane doesn't have houseplants. In fact I think he hates having them around in general."
Jack couldn't help but laugh nervously again. Within seconds he started to make his way for the door.
"HEY!" Shadow shouted. He immediately charged at him as did Garry. They managed to tackle him and pin him against the wall. "GOT HIM!" Garry couldn't help but cheer. "OW OKAY OKAY!" Jack had shouted to them as he felt Shadow twist his arm a bit too hard, "YOU GOT ME! JUST TAKE IT EASY!"
"You should know me by now Jack!" Shadow shouted to him, "I really hate being lied too!"
"Okay! Okay!" Jack said, "I get it! Just let me go!"
"Guys!" Maria said to him and Garry.
Shadow and Garry let go of both of his arms, and Jack heaved a sigh after being let go; He brushed himself off. "You're stronger than you look you know that?" Jack had said to Shadow as he rubbed arm, "If you guys must know, word got out that Crane was leaving town. I figured he owed us 'little people' a parting gift. Or well in my case my parting gift."
"Okay seriously?" Garry said, "How do you keep hearing about things like this? Hell this only just happened hours ago!"
"Look, I have my sources alright Garry?" Jack said to him, "And besides you guys have lived here your entire lives so you've seen how he lives. He doesn't need any of this shit to begin with."
"He does have a point." Garry said to Shadow and Maria which earned him a look from the both of him, "What? I'm just saying is all." He said.
"Who exactly did you hear this from?" Shadow couldn't help but ask him.
Jack had replied, "What does that matter? I hear things okay? I mean come on, what else do you want me to say? I got bills to pay. It's not like Crane's gonna use any of this stuff."
Shadow rolled his eyes and let out a sigh; he and his friends walked to the opposite side of the room as did Jack. He said to them, "I mean you guys know as well as I do that this tortured lonely pig eater bit's gonna get old eventually. Don't you three get tired of it? I mean what are you guys even doing here?"
The three looked at each other unsure if they should tell him the reason. "I mean, you guys don't seem like the types to just wander around Crane's apartment." Jack said.
Garry and Maria both turned to him. Shadow saw the look in their eyes and at that point he couldn't help but sigh. He turned and replied to Jack, "We're looking for Crane's witch. According to a phone call Bufkin heard, he's supposed to head there tonight."
"Crane's witch?" Jack had said, "Is that why he ran off? Why would you care about that?"
Garry than added, "We have reason to believe that Crane is the murderer."
Jack couldn't help but say, "Give me a fucking break, Ichabod Crane? I mean, the guy's clenched tighter tighter than a… you know, than a… well, I'm having difficulty coming up with something appropriately tight right now, but get what I'm-"
Shadow had cut him off, "Okay Jack, I'm going to be honest. I don't care if you believe this or not. We've found evidence that places him at the scene of the crime. Which means we're bringing him in."
"Whoa." Jack said, "You're starting to sound like your old man Bigby."
He put his hands together and proceeded to pick up the duffle bag, "Well it's been lovely catching up with you three, I mean that from the bottom of my heart, really I mean it. But if you'll excuse me, I have to get going now!" Jack was about to make his way out of the room, but the three teens stood in his way.
"Um, I believe you're blocking the doorway." Jack pointed out, "You mind if I squeeze through there?"
The three stayed silent, and they didn't move from their spot. Jack couldn't help but say awkwardly, "On second thought it's actually funny that I ran into you three. Maybe I can help you guys out."
The three teens couldn't help but give a quizzical expression. "What do you mean?" Maria couldn't help but ask.
Jack had then replied, "If you guys are looking for Crane's witch… well, I just happen to know who she is. That is if you're interested. You know as well I do, that things come with a price."
Shadow and Garry couldn't help but let out a groan; Maria on the other hand tilted her head in confusion.
"What do you want Jack?" Shadow had asked.
Jack had replied, "I'll tell you about Crane's witch, if you guys forget that you saw me here. One hand washes that other sort of thing."
"Are you kidding me!?" Garry couldn't help but exclaim, "You expect us to-"
"Fine, you got a deal." Shadow said cutting him off.
Both Maria and Garry gave a "What?" look to him; surprised that he would agree to something like that. "Perfect." Jack said, before sticking his hand out to him, "Shake on it?"
Shadow sighed, but shook his hand; he had a strong grip which made Jack groan a little. "Now tell us about the witch." He said while releasing his hand.
Jack shook it a little to get rid of the pain. "Strong grip." He said before telling them, "The witch's name is Auntie Greenleaf. Crane's been trying to keep it under wraps for years. I'm not sure what kind of deal he's made with her, but from what I hear he's in pretty regular contact."
"Auntie Greenleaf huh?" Shadow said.
"Are you sure you have the right name?" Maria asked.
"Absolutely without a doubt." Jack replied.
"Well, do you know where to find her?" Garry asked him.
Jack rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, "Umm… See that's the thing… I don't where you could find her exactly."
The three nearly fell over when he had said that. "ARE FUCKING KIDDING ME!?" Shadow couldn't help but shout at him, "YOU KNOW OF THE WITCH'S NAME BUT YOU DON'T KNOW WHERE SHE IS!?"
"Woah! Calm down Shades!" Jack had exclaimed, before saying, "At least it's better than nothing, I mean come on! That's more than what you guys came in with!"
"He has a good point." Garry couldn't help but say.
"I know I may not look it half the time but I have your back." Jack said, "If I hear anything that you guys or Bigby might be interested in I'll let you know. Now if you'll excuse me…" Jack picked up the duffle bag again and proceeded out the door again. Shadow snatched the duffle bag out of his hand. "Oh come on!" Jack said, "I thought we were past this!"
He placed the bag over on the bed and proceeded to open it. "What is it?" Maria asked him.
Shadow took out what he found in the bag; It was glamour tubes.
"The White Deer." Shadow said to them.
"Just like the one we found on Lily." Garry added.
"What you mean you guys don't know?" Jack had asked, "The witch uses the White Deer on everything. It's her symbol, or trademark I guess. I figured I could sell these at the Lucky Pawn."
"Lucky Pawn?" Shadow said with a raised eyebrow.
"Yeah, you know that Pawn Shop?" Jack replied, "It's one of the Crooked Man's places. I work there sometimes… When I need stability." Before they could ask anymore they heard a voice echo within the penthouse. "Maria! Shadow! Garry! Are you still in here?"
"Mother!" Maria said after realizing who it was.
Shadow turned to Jack, "We're done here." He said to him.
"Fine by me." He said.
Snow soon made her way to the room after realizing they were in Crane's room. "Who're talking to?" Snow asked them. She soon saw that the three weren't the only ones in the room. "What's he doing here?" Snow asked them.
"Evening Miss White." Jack greeted her.
"Good evening." Snow greeted back, she turned to the three, "What's going on here?"
"He's helping us mother." Maria replied, "He had information on Mr. Crane's witch."
"Really?" Snow had said, "What did you three find out?"
Shadow had explained it to Snow, "He said the witch's name is Auntie Greenleaf, but the problem is he doesn't know where he could find her."
"Great." She couldn't help but say. Garry had then said, "That's not all we found Miss White. We found something else."
Snow turned to them, "What do you mean?" Maria gave the envelope to Snow. "We, found this." She said as Snow took the envelope from her, "Within one of the drawers." Snow opened the envelope and saw the amount of money that as inside. Her eyes widened in shock.
"He's been embezzling from Fabletown." Shadow said to her, "The money was supposed to go to someone called the Crooked Man."
"That's another thing to add to his list." Snow said.
"Do you think this is tied to the murders?" Garry couldn't help but ask.
"It's too earlier to make that sort of statement." Snow said to him, "We still have to find him."
"She's right." Shadow said, "We have to find Crane and get some answers from him." Snow gave the envelope back to Maria and said to the three, "Good job at finding this. How about you head back to the Business Office, and see if you can help Bufkin find this Aunty Greenleaf in the records?"
"You got it Miss White." Garry said.
"What about you mom?" Maria asked.
"I have to stay here and talk to Jack." Snow said. Jack stopped midway climbing out the window when he heard his name called. The three teens nodded their heads to Snow and they turned to leave the penthouse.
"Well…" Garry said shutting the door to the penthouse behind him, "That went better than expected."
"At the very least we managed to get the name of the witch." Shadow had said.
"I still can't believe though." Maria said looking at the envelope for a moment, "To think that Mr. Crane has been stealing money from right under our noses." They approached the elevator and Shadow hit the down button. "Something tells me Bigby won't be happy when he hears about this." Garry couldn't help but say.
"Since when is he ever happy about what Crane does, even when we didn't know about his little obsession." Shadow said to him, "I just he's able to find out where Aunty Greenleaf is."
The elevator door opened; they entered and went down to where the Business Office was.