Inside the hat was a world of its own. He hadn't expected that. In some part of his mind, he'd always thought that the portal worked like other portals did and would take him right to the door of the Doctor's house like his transportation spells did. Of course, he had no actual experience of his own using Jefferson's hat, only theories, a single experience to Neverland with his father, and a vision in his mind of what Bae had gone through. It wasn't at all like what had happened when he'd jumped through a portal with his father, and somehow he knew that whatever Baelfire had experienced, this wasn't it.

They jumped not into a world, but a room. The room was large and circular, covered in dark colors but with plenty of light that allowed him to see what was all around him: doors. Different doors. Doors of different colors, materials, sizes, shapes, some that couldn't even be called "doors". One was simple gold-trimmed green curtains, the letters "O" and "Z" on either side. Oz. Well, he'd be damned…Zelena's tale was true. Another door was made of bricks but bore no trace of a name. Another door was made of some kind of gray metal. And another seemed to be a mirror, he could look right through it to another path and a land of-

"Oh, careful with that one," Jefferson warned. "Wonderland…you don't want to go there."

"Certainly not."

So that was the land that now held Cora. Odd path, blue sky, funny large plants…there was a strange quality to it. But he had no interest in a reunion and therefore, no interest in Wonderland. He did however have an interest in the door that Jefferson was standing by. It was gray. Actually, it was varying shades of gray. At first, he'd taken it for some kind of metal, but now that he stepped up closer to it he could see that it was actually wooden. Light gray wood with a metal door knocker and handle that were a slightly darker shade of gray.

"The Land Without Color," he assumed, looking it over.

"The Land Without Color," Jefferson confirmed. "Shall we?"

"Mmm…I think, yes, we shall."

Jefferson pushed down on part of the handle, pushed against the door, and a moment later he was pushed through a threshold into…a storm.

The sky was black, he felt rain pour down around him, and he saw Jefferson dashing off across a lawn, the hat held on his head as protection against the wet. When the lightning flashed, his eyes widened at what he saw. There was no blue hue to the world. It was only white light. It made the grass flash silver, the tree trunks resembled the color of iron, the shadows of the leaves were black as ever, but Jefferson's purple coat was still purple.

"Well, I didn't name it the Land Without Color for its rainbows," he recalled Jefferson telling him once when he remarked he had to be careful with this world. "It's without color…black, and white, and gray all over, and I'm…well, not without color."

He looked down at his own sleeve. It stood bright red against the gray of this world. That was a problem. Fascinating, but a problem indeed.

"Hey!"

He glanced up to the spot behind a tree that Jefferson was calling him from. He was motioning wildly for him, but if that boy thought he was about to run across the field…

His magic worked here. He wasn't exactly transported in the blink of an eye like he would have been at home, but it did work. He could feel it in the air, stale and weak, like bread that had been left out and untouched.

"Hey! Don't do that here! You have to be careful! You want to get us caught?! Something happens to us, then we can't get back to our world!" Jefferson exclaimed. Interesting. It was the first time that he'd ever heard Jefferson utter word that was not frivolous or full of sarcasm. He'd never known the boy could take anything seriously in his life, but apparently, he took this work rather seriously.

"Worry not, just…testing the waters as they say."

"Well, magic isn't entirely understood here, so watch what you test where. And be sure to stay hidden. You think these people get confused with magic; you should see what happens when we introduce the color red to them."

"Why don't you just take us to the place the doctor is."

Beside him, Jefferson nodded and looked around. "House isn't too far from here. We'll start there, but if he's at his lab…"

"Let's just get going."

"You're the boss."

Ahead of him, Jefferson led him through the forest, nothing but a maze of black tree trunks and gray mud that clung to his boots as they walked. When the lightning flashed white around him, he could see that the gunk that adhered to his boots stayed brown. Curious. He was nearly sure it would remain colorless when it came in contact with him. Would that mean, if his plan was successful, that the Doctor would turn colors if he came into their world? Certainly, that was a question worth asking. And for a scientist, that might just be something he could take advantage of. He had limited personal experience with the field of science, but a few of the Dark One's whispered in his head that it always started with a question.

Ahead of him, Jefferson took a big step, and he realized that the forest they were in ended against a road. The road curved against a property, and in front of him he saw a house like he'd never seen before. "Mansion" one of the voices told him. White lights shone through windows, a wrought iron gate was in the front surrounded by a fence rose up around it. He wanted one.

Jefferson boldly reached out and pulled him by the sleeve up to run across the open space to hide behind that fence.

"Here," Jefferson muttered breathlessly. "This is where he lives, at least officially, when he's not at the lab. We have to figure out if he's inside or not but-oh!" He grabbed him again as a loud squeak announced the opening of the gate and he noticed a horse carriage pull up at the road. A few seconds later, there were loud cries of "Victor! Victor!" and a man came into view. He was wearing black, and his shoulders were hunched as he walked away from the house.

"Victor! Victor, wait!"

"Victor, that's him," Jefferson muttered beside him as a man in white ran to catch up to him. He was the opposite of Victor. Tall, dressed in white fancy clothes, the man in black stopped to look at him, and he got his first look at the Doctor. Odd little fellow. His face was pale, and he had the feeling it had more to do with lack of proper sun in this place than lack of color. And around his eyes, blackness. But he could tell even from this distance it wasn't natural. It was some kind of paint that made him look a bit scarier than he would have normally. He wanted to know if the strange man was wearing it too.

"Who is the other individual?" he questioned quietly, as he watched the pair of them exchange words he couldn't hear over the rain. Beside him, Jefferson moved just enough to risk a glance before getting back against the wall once more.

"His brother, Gerhart. The favorite of the Frankenstein sons."

Gerhart, Victor, Frankenstein…not exactly names he typically heard in the Enchanted forest and yet not entirely unfamiliar to other Dark Ones. When one lived so long with hundreds of centuries worth of knowledge in their heard identifying names and cultures was easier. The worlds really weren't as cut off as they seemed.

He ducked back as the blonde-haired man, Victor, turned and left his brother standing there in the rain. He watched through the obstruction of the vine as Gerhart turned to leave back into the mansion he was going to dream about, and when it was safe, he peered out at the Doctor getting into the carriage.

"He's probably going to his lab…he spends most of his time there," Jefferson commented as the gate whined shut, and that carriage took off.

"Then, by all means…we should be going there."

Magic, weak as it was in this world, was still an amazing thing. From the sticks and stray branches in the woods and a mouse that he found, he transformed them into a wonderful black and white and gray carriage pulled by a glorious stallion.

"Hey," Jefferson complained. "I tell you to keep things quiet, and this is what you do? What's quiet about this? It's a carriage without a driver!" Idly he picked up a blade of grass from the property, and after blowing on it a bit he set it on the drivers seat. Slowly, it transformed until a body appeared in the driver's seat. A dummy driver, of course, nothing that had a brain or was as malleable as his puppets once had been, but it would get them to where they needed to go without raising the alarms Jefferson worried about so much.

"Shall we?" he questioned. Jefferson hmphed, but got into the carriage and together they followed the dirt road to a place he hadn't expected. There was a city here. More than a town, an actual city. And yet no castle in sight just square building after square building, a bumpy road made of stone instead of dirt, fences, and people with umbrellas and clothes like he'd never imagined. As they rode, he took his time to look about them, to overhear what conversations he could, to use his magic to manipulate his clothes to match their own. He knew he could color himself black and white, but decided against it as the carriage pulled up to a building where the Doctor's carriage had stopped at. He wanted this man to believe he was magical, without that one gift of color he might not believe how powerful he truly was. Especially if his spirits were low, which he was almost certain they would be. Whatever conversation he'd had with his brother, it hadn't looked pleasant.

Outside the building they pulled into there was a carriage, stacked full of boxes and crates and though he was almost certain that the entire building did not belong to the Doctor, he knew it had something to do with him when Jefferson pointed out the window to one of the men carrying the boxes and said "that's Igor, his assistant." So Jefferson had told him right. His offices were being packed up, it seemed. And Victor…he walked like a man who had lost all hope.

"It would seem we've arrived in the nick of time. Wait here for me, and do something to make sure the assistant stays busy."

"Sure but…"

He didn't stay to hear Jefferson's "but", just used his magic to take himself inside the building. He did do as the Realm Jumper requested. Inside he stuck to the shadows, keeping himself out of sight of the men around him who were busy taking boxes up and down stairs. The activity reminded him of an ant's mound. It made the Doctor easy to find. He waited for his moment to come. The assistant was still inside, and while he was planning on sending the Doctor into palpitations, he wasn't planning on making too much of a stir with the assistant, at least not until he met with whatever Jefferson was going to prepare for him. Finally, another crate was packed, and Igor took it. When he was out of the room, he took his opportunity to emerge.

He made himself comfortable in what was possibly one of the most uncomfortable chairs he'd ever sat in and watched as dear Victor packed another box quickly with detachment. Trying not to get too weepy over his experiment gone wrong…he could respect a man of few emotions like that. But not when he had limited time.

"Good evening, Doctor!" he finally greeted cheerfully.

It was impossible not to hear him, and in this backdrop, it was impossible for the Doctor not to see him. He was the only thing that wasn't black or white but rather red all over! Still, Victor didn't seem too shocked by the surprise. The man was hardly speechless as he'd expected.

"How did you get in here? Who are you?" For a doctor, he didn't even ask the right questions.

"Stiltskin. Rumpel Von Stiltskin," he answered with a smile. It was a mock of one of the names he'd heard outside when he was in the carriage. A name like that would have had him blending in if it weren't for his coloring. He wondered…could he even see his color? Was it possible everyone here was colorblind?

"A foreigner," he assumed.

Ah…just when he was starting to doubt. "What tipped you off? My rosy complexion?" But then, perhaps not. He didn't answer yes, but he didn't answer no, either. Just looked at him with confusion as he cocked one eyebrow into the air. Pity he wasn't handsome like his brother, that move would have gotten him a wife by now. Though he supposed he should be grateful for it. He needed his mind more than his looks. "Yes, I've seen nothing of your drab little land yet, but I am interested in your work," he commented, moving on.

"Well, you're a little late," the Doctor muttered, looking around the empty lab. "I've been shut down. And I can't bring back dead loved ones, anyway, if that's what you're after."

He genuinely had to laugh at that, the thought of wanting Milah to be anything but dead, that was a "no" on his end. It was as much a no as he could manage. "I think my deceased are best kept where they are, dearie, thank you very much," he dismissed. "No, no, no. My interest, is in how you do what you do. You see, where I come from, we do things differently. Your land has witchcraft, but it's feeble, neglected stuff. Where I live, it's strong and hearty. But…it cannot restore life. If you can do this, well… I'll want to know more, and I'm willing to pay."

He rose and opened the bag that he'd been carrying with him, then toppled it over. Similar to the trick he'd done when he first met Jefferson, the money spilled out onto the floor, far more of it than could ever have fit in the bag itself and he was pleased to see the Doctor take it in with a wide-eyed almost nervous look. Finally, a normal reaction!

"How did you do that?" he asked, stepping closer.

Just to tease, he allowed himself to disappear and reappear over his shoulder. "You're missing the point!" he proclaimed. "Money…yours." He pointed at each making it as simple as he possibly could. Victor seemed to follow along, but only just.

"Are you a philanthropist?" he asked.

"Well, I've been called worse," he dismissed. Philanthropists gave without taking, he always took. That was the art of deal-making. "There is a cost to you…knowledge. You teach me to wield whatever it is you wield. That is the deal!" he offered. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Igor reappear in the doorway above. If he wanted to keep this quiet and clean, then he was running out of time.

"Then it's a deal," Victor, fortunately, agreed without hesitation.

Before Igor or even Victor could look up, he was gone from the house.


There was a lot of fun things going on in writing this chapter. Obviously, some of the fun of it was "hiding" Jefferson. In this episode, I chose to have Jefferson accompany him to the Land Without Color because how else would he get there? (Remember, I didn't want him to be all-powerful.) But, in the episode, we never actually see Jefferson, so I made a game of sorts out of hiding him. It makes me smile now whenever I see that scene of Rumple glancing around the hedge and I imagine Jefferson is hiding beside him, just off-camera where we can't see him.

Thank you Alarda, Jennifer Baratta, MissAmande, and Grace5231973 for your reviews on the last chapter. I hope the first appearance of the Doctor was a good one. I know it's a bit rushed, but I wanted it to feel a bit rushed since their trip was rushed. But it should be enough that you see the first problem of writing all this storyline. I don't know what the writers were thinking. Rumple approaches him and asks him to succeed so he can teach him, but of course, that never happens. He goes back and forth to this world and his plans change so drastically over time that I had to come up with some way to explain that. How? Well, I suppose you'll have to keep reading! Peace and Happy Reading!