Disclaimer: I do not own Once Upon a Time, only my OC.
Storybrooke
Alator sat in the back room of his shop, late in the evening, going over some paperwork as he thought back on what had occurred over the course of the past few days since Miss Swan had arrived.
Things had certainly been changing in Storybrooke since Miss Swan's arrival, and Regina had been going out of her way to ensure that her stay in Storybrooke was nothing but difficult, likely because she realized that the longer she stayed in town, the more the curse weakened.
Lately, another source of contention between the two women was Henry. he seemed to prefer his birth mother over his adoptive mother, and that likely contributed to the already simmering tensions between the two of them.
Alator shook his head, he felt sorry for Henry, the poor boy was caught between the two women, fighting over him, like two dogs over a bone.
He was signing a few forms, when a large tremor suddenly shook the building, displacing some papers and a lamp on his desk, and undoubtedly, a few of the objects out front as well.
Alator put down his pen and shook his head, "That doesn't bode well, does it?" he remarked ominously to himself.
Alator was able to discover the source of the earthquake when he saw a group of people head over to the area where the old town mines were located. Inwardly, he questioned Regina's sanity in putting 'coal mines' in a town she based in Maine. From what he had gathered since his memories had returned, there wasn't much coal in Maine.
By the time he arrived, Regina had arrived to control the situation. She began to push the crowd back.
"Everyone! Step back, please!"
"Is that a crater?" Ruby asked.
Marco shook his head, "No, there were tunnels, uh, old mines. Something must've collapsed."
Edmund's attention, however, was drawn to Regina when she began to yell again.
"Sheriff, set up a police perimeter. Marco, why don't you help with the fire department?" Regina commanded, coming to an abrupt stop at the sight of Emma and Graham. "Miss Swan, this is now official town business. You're free to go."
Well, actually, I work for the town now." Emma replied, tapping the badge attached to her belt.
"She's my new deputy."
Regina eyed Graham dangerously. "They say the Mayor's always last to know."
"It's in my budget." he offered weakly
"Well, it certainly cannot hurt to have an extra hand enforcing the law around here, can it?" Alator interjected.
"Indeed," said Regina, glaring at him, before turning to Emma with an empty smile, "Deputy, why don't you make yourself useful and help with crowd control?"
She turned and addressed the crowd, "People of Storybrooke, don't be alarmed. We've always known this area was honeycombed with old mining tunnels, but fear not. I'm going to undertake a project to make this area safe, to rehabilitate it into city use. We will bulldoze it, collapse it, pave it."
Alator felt something brush past him before he saw Henry in front of the crowd.
"Pave it? What if there's something down there?" Henry asked.
Regina's face paled before she stepped towards her son. "Henry. What are you doing here?"
"What's down there?"
Regina frowned, her voice low. "Nothing. Now step back. In fact, everyone!" She raised her voice as she stood up. "Please, please step back. Thank you."
Alator watched as Regina leaned down and picked up a piece of glass. As she pocketed the item, Henry quickly stepped forward.
"What was that?" He demanded.
Regina sighed heavily. "Henry, enough. Listen, this is a safety issue now wait in the car. Deputy Swan, Sheriff, cordon off the area."
Alator watched all of this impassively; Of course, Henry didn't stay put very long and was conversing with Emma and Archie, before being accosted again by Regina.
He observed Regina having a heated, one sided conversation with Dr. Hopper, 'Threatening him, most likely,' he mused, 'What's she up to now, I wonder?'
The Enchanted Forest
A young Jiminy snuck through the crowd, picking the pockets of the people watching his parents' puppet show, when he heard a voice behind him, stopping him dead in his tracks.
"Stealing is wrong, you know that, don't you?"
Turning around, the boy was met with the sight of a man in dark blue robes, leaning on a long ebon staff topped with a gleaming blue gem, giving him a disappointed look.
"I-I'm sorry?" the boy stuttered.
The man knelt down to his height, taking the coins from his hand, "I said, stealing is wrong,"
Looking at the boy, he smiled, "What's your name, dear boy?" He asked kindly.
"Jiminy," the boy said.
"Alator," the man replied, his blue eyes twinkling.
Storybrooke
Alator had been in his shop for most of the day, attempting to clean up the mess the earthquake had caused last night, when his phone rang, "The Arcana Cabana, How may I help you?" He answered.
"The Mayor is a heartless bitch." Emma spat over the phone.
"Ah, Miss Swan, pray tell what has Regina done this time, to earn your ire?" He asked calmly, unperturbed that she had used his work number.
"She made Archie tell Henry that he needed to end this whole curse nonsense or else he would have to be locked up like a crazy person if he didn't." Emma explained.
'Regina's getting desperate, isn't she?' Alator inwardly mused, "And Henry hasn't taken this well, I gather?"
"No, he hasn't. Henry's gone down to the mines to look for proof of the curse."
"I see, would you like me to come down there, and help you?" Alator offered.
"Yes, please, I need someone who'll actually help me here."
"As you wish, I'll be there as soon as I can, Miss Swan." Alator promised as he hung up, 'Oh Regina, what have you done?'
As Alator arrived he saw Emma and Archie, calling for Henry, as Pongo sniffed around the entrance of the mine, "I don't think he's here." Emma said.
"Oh, he's here, alright." Alator replied, he poked at a candy bar on the ground with his cane, "Only a ten-year old would take candy bars as food supplies."
Suddenly the ground began to shake again, and the mine began to collapse.
"Henry!" Archie shouted, running towards the mine.
"Archie!" Emma cried.
"Henry, it's not safe!" he shouted as he went into the mine, just as he did, the entrance collapsed.
"Archie?! Henry!" Emma cried.
Alator was calm and unwavering, he laid a hand upon Emma's shoulder, "I suggest you call for some backup, Miss Swan, it's going to take more than the two of us, to get both of them out of there." He said resolutely.
The Enchanted Forest
Jiminy walked through the forest, his hands clutching the potion he had obtained from Rumplestiltskin, when he heard a familiar voice behind him.
"Still haven't learned your lesson, have you, Jiminy?"
Jiminy turned around sharply, to see the man he had met many years ago, standing beneath a tree, leaning on his staff, he hadn't aged a day either. "A-Alator?" he stuttered incredulously.
Alator inclined his head slightly, "The very same, hello again, dear boy."
"What are you doing here?" asked Jiminy, "I thought you—"
"Yes, yes, I know I haven't been around often these past few years." Alator interrupted, "But I've come to warn you. Stop this, before it's too late, and someone gets hurt."
Jiminy sighed, and looked at the vial in his hands, "But my parents—"
"Your parents made their choice," Alator said, as he stood in front of him, "And now it's your turn to make yours. Make the right one, and tell your parents how you feel, and no one gets hurt. Or do this, but remember, magic has a cost, dear boy. Are you prepared to pay it?"
With that, Alator vanished in a cloud of blue smoke.
Storybrooke
Emma had called for backup quickly, the town had once more gathered at the entrance to the mines, Graham, a group of workers, and other townspeople had arrived to help.
"Archie's smart. He will keep the boy safe until we get to them." Marco reassured, as another tremor shook the ground.
"Watch out!" Marco shouted.
"Stop! Stop!" Regina cried as the shaking subsided, "You're making it worse."
"I am trying to save him!" Emma retorted, "You know why he went down there in the first place, don't you? Because you made him feel like he had something to prove."
"And why does he think he has to prove anything? Who's encouraging him?" Regina accused.
"Do not put this on me." Emma warned.
"Oh, please! Lecture me until his oxygen runs out!" Regina shouted.
"Enough," Alator's voice cut through the air. He didn't shout, but both women heard him. He spoke with a kind of gentle firmness that demanded obedience, "All this arguing is getting us nowhere, and it's wasting time, we should be focused on getting Henry and Archie out of there, so both of you, put aside your animosity… please."
He looked pointedly at Regina, her eyes narrowed, but after a moment she nodded.
"What do you want me to do?" Emma asked.
"Help me. We need to find some way to punch through the ground." Regina suggested.
Alator shook his head, "No, there's another way," he explained, "The miners dug out tunnels that lead to the surface for air in case of emergencies like this. If we could find an air shaft or an old elevator, we could send someone down and bring them up."
"How would we find something like that?" Emma asked, "Wait, I have an idea." she said running towards the fire truck and letting Pongo out, "Come on buddy. It's Archie's dog."
Alator nodded, "Excellent idea, Miss Swan. Pongo can sniff out the air flow from the mine." he said, as they followed the dog a little way up the hill.
"He's found something. Look, this must be it." Emma said, as they removed the metal covering, revealing a hole blocked by grating.
"That's an air shaft, alright." said Graham.
The workers had removed the grating over the air shaft, "Alright, we got it." said Emma.
"So, what's next?" asked Regina.
"We need to lower someone straight down, or the line would collapse with the sides of the shaft." Marco explained.
"I've got the harness." said Graham.
"Lower me down." Regina demanded.
"Oh, no way. I'm going." Emma interjected.
"He's my son." Regina argued.
"He's my son too. You've been sitting behind your desk for ten years. I can do this." said Emma firmly.
"Just bring him to me." pleaded Regina.
They all watched as Emma was lowered down.
It had been a close call, at one point, when the elevator that Archie and Henry were trapped in had fallen down the mine shaft, but Archie had saved himself by hooking his umbrella to a carabiner on Emma's belt.
Once Emma, Henry and Archie were out, Regina immediately pulled Henry away, while the rest of the crowd began to celebrate the successful rescue, Archie took Regina aside and spoke to her, informing her that he would continue to treat Henry as his conscience told him, regardless of her threats, before leaving her standing in shock.
Alator nodded, impressed, "Well Jiminy, it looks like you found your conscience again, after all." he murmured.
He watched Regina took the piece of glass from earlier out of her pocket, and threw it down the air shaft.
'She's getting worried.' Alator mused, as he heard a noise, a noise that no one in Storybrooke had heard since they could remember; the chirping of crickets.