After sending his new creation back to her place at the castle to make her husband's mind boggle at her clothes, he returned to his mountain. But he didn't go home. Instead, he made his way deep into the forest, to the place he'd agreed to meet Jefferson and The Doctor for the final word that they could go. He waited a far distance away for he was certain there was to be a fair amount of whining from the Doctor for his treatment as well as his delayed return home, and he didn't particularly feel like hearing it. All he wanted to do was reflect on Regina, on the masterpiece that she was becoming. He was right, there was still enough hesitation in her that he knew she had a ways to go before she was the ruthless queen he needed her to be. But Snow White was young and James even younger. He had his time. What mattered was that she was on the right path. And as impressive as she was, he had to remember that she was only a masterpiece, but not The Masterpiece. That was to come. One day, when she cast his curse, and it was broken, just as he needed it to be…that would be the true Masterpiece. His Masterpiece. This was only a tiny blip of success, a single stroke of the brush, in the midst of a much larger operation that was nowhere near its completion. But if it got him back to Baelfire, then every one of his successes counted for something, damn the consequences.

"Enough!" he heard the Doctor insist from somewhere nearby. "I need to be taken home. Now! I have work to do, and I believe our deal is done!"

Ah yes…the Good Doctor's work…funny thing about that, when he looked into the future for it he saw what might come of it, he saw a world of black and white, a colorful missing arm, and a very big consequence of the heart he was about to give him. But he'd meant it. Damn all the consequences if it meant he could return to his son.

"The deal isn't done until he says it's done," he heard Jefferson insist, and with that, he moved his body and hand to point him out toward the bottom of the hill. In a flash of mercy for Jefferson who was using his hat as a fan, and kindness, he was certain the Doctor would never appreciate, he made his own way up the hill. He'd made them walk far enough.

"Now, now," he shouted at him as Jefferson sat down to breathe. "Patience, please. Our transaction is, uh, nearly complete."

"And are you satisfied with the results?" Frankenstein inquired.

"She did seem rather…heartbroken."

"She is. She bought my failure!"

"You should've seen her tears," Jefferson added, the hat now sitting upon his head as he so often liked to place it when he was around others; a remarkable tool hiding in plain sight.

"I've seen the aftermath," he commented as the Doctor made his way closer to him and he scuttled away up the hill, but not before stopping to look at Jefferson and pat his shoulder. The boy had done a fair job on his own, and he had to give credit where credit was due. "Impressive," he noted, making the hatter smile as he pulled the box he'd given him out from his bag. That was indeed a thing that the Good Doctor only had eyes for.

"Now…my property," he questioned, looking it over.

"Yeah, here it is!" Jefferson handed him the box, and he took it eagerly, but then readjusted himself on that hill, his gaze flipping between the pair of them. "You'll excuse me if I check…" the Doctor knelt down and opened the box before him, inspecting it as if they were trying to trick him. They exchanged a glance as he did, and he watched as Jefferson rolled his eyes, not quite the master at keeping his thoughts to himself as he was. But they were both focused when he finally looked back up at them. "It's been a pleasure doing business with you."

"Oh, the pleasure was mine," he countered appropriately as the Doctor put the box into his own bag. "Thanks to your efforts, I've made my monster. Now, I do hope you'll be able to make yours."

"I'm not making a monster!" he insisted rising to his feet like some kind of threatened animal.

"Sure you're not." And yet, when he looked into his mind he saw…monsters.

A world of black and white where lightning flashed and Victor Frankenstein insisted, "not magic, but science." A body moved aimlessly from person to person slaughtering innocents with great strength but also embracing the Doctor. But…he also saw another world, one of color, with steel and straight lines, a room with white sheets that looked like nothing from their world. A light that flickered like lightning in broad daylight and…The Shop. Not "a shop". Those were not the words that came to him, but rather "The Shop", like it was important, like it was special and carried weight. It was wooden and dry and dusty, with glass and trinkets and…there was Victor Frankenstein standing before him, some kind of box on the glass table between them. The Doctor looked him in the eye and stated without his accent, "I need magic."

How curious. This was not to be their last meeting then.

"Good luck."

"If these hearts are as strong as you say, I won't need luck."

"No, just magic!" he replied.

"No," Frankenstein said with a smile and shake of his head. "What I'm going to accomplish goes far beyond magic." Ah…magic against science. So this was what it was all born of. He did have to admit that sometimes, whether it was helpful or not, the Seer's gift could be quite entertaining at times. He'd have to let Jefferson know once he returned, it was the kind of thing that he would find humorous as well. Especially given the conversation he was about to force him to have.

"And yet, you need a magical heart to do it," he stated, looking down at Jefferson as he made his point. The boy laughed quietly beside him, but Frankenstein was unwavering.

"So small-minded. I need my powers to transcend the limitations of your magic."

"This must be quite a land you hail from if you think your abilities are more powerful."

"They are."

"Care to wager?" he questioned, stepping forward. The bet was always more fun when he knew the outcome. "I suspect, someday, you'll see it my way."

"I doubt it." Frankenstein didn't bat an eye. There wasn't an ounce of belief or fear in him. He merely motioned to Jefferson with eyes that suggested he was bored of all this. "Now, may we go?"

Jefferson, like faithful servant he was, glanced up at him first, looking for permission. He nodded and gave a small flick of his hand to indicate they may, and the realm jumper rose with a great groan.

"Careful, dearie!" he called as Jefferson tossed his hat at the ground like he'd seen him do a number of times before, opening his portal. "Just remember, whatever it is you traffic in, it comes with a price!"

The portal grew, opening into the usual vortex of purple and blue swirls that made the wind around him blow. Frankenstein paid it, nor him, hardly any heed. "We'll see," he commented, then after a moment of making sure the portal was prepared, both men jumped into it and left him there, smiling at his comment. "We'll see" indeed. Of course, he was at an unfair advantage. He'd already seen.


If I have done my job right then this chapter should now appear to you as a breath of fresh air. First and foremost, the interaction that we see between Jefferson and Rumple in this scene, it should seem normal by now. We can see why Rumple treats him the way he does and why Jefferson is so loyal to him. Second of all, we can see where that bet with Frankenstein originates. The Seer provides a lot of entertainment for those kinds of things. She also just gave us our first real, meaningful vision of The Shop. Fun right.

Thank you to Alarda and Jennifer Baratta for your reviews on the last chapter. I know that one was short, this one isn't too much longer but I hope that it's enough to satisfy in a number of ways. As promised things are really going to start to race headlong into the future now. In fact, only ten chapters left in the Regina section. The next chapter is another seen one, it mentions Regina but it doesn't feature her so that might be a nice break from Regina for some of us! Peace and Happy Reading!