A.N: Hi guys! I hadn't realized that it had been so long since I'd last posted. I apologize. I truly didn't mean to take this long. But I'm here now! With another new chapter! Yay!

I'd love to thank all you lOVELIES who FAVORITED, FOLLOWED and REVIEWED! It will always bring me so much joy knowing there are people out there willing to take time out of their lives to read and respond to my silly little story. I donno if I'll ever get used to the praise. Lord knows I don't deserve it. But it is appreciated more than you know.

And with that, I hope you all enjoy this little Flashback!

(Shoutouts at the end of the chapter as always!)

Chapter 24: Black Diamond Disappears with Mrs. Black's Demise

Even though it happened two years ago… Just like the night he shot Emma, he remembered it like it happened just yesterday and regretted every minute of it.

One year and two months ago-

"Why am I the one helping you do this again?" A younger Jack deadpanned to the slim lady standing in front of him. She had her back facing him and was peering through the edge of the wall at something he couldn't see. The two of them stood outside the only museum in the whole of Burgess.

"Because I needed someone I could trust," She replied with a smooth silky voice; still peering. "And darling Pitch trusts you…" Apparently…

Though why her husband trusted the little brat was just beyond her. What made this child so special to her beloved?

'The boy has so much darkness within,' he had told her when she had asked. 'He has the potential to be one of us'

Well, my darling, let's put him to the test, shall we? She whispered in her mind; an amused smirk played on her lips.

"Pitch Black? Trusts me?" Jack snickered. "And they say you don't have a sense of humor."

"You're here, aren't you?" She finally turned and smiled smugly at him; her dark eyes boring into his pale blue ones.

It sent shivers up his spine. He cleared his throat uneasily and tried to change the topic. "Hope this magic fairy dust of yours works,"

"It's not fairy dust," Gothel snaked as if she'd just been insulted. "And it will work."

She peered behind the wall again and this time she saw her first victim approaching. The night guard was making his usual rounds around the museum and he was right on time too.

It's showtime…

Gothel left Jack and the wall they were hiding behind and made her way towards the guard. She jutted her hips out with each step she took.

The fat guard spotted her instantly. Her long maroon-colored gown swept from side to side and the even darker designs on it were just as mesmerizing as her eyes under the moonlight. A little velvet pouch hung at her waist. The click-clacking of her heels echoed through the night as she walked.

"Ma'am, you can't be here," He told her; absent-mindedly pulling up his gun belt and readjusting his gelatinous belly; a subconscious habit.

She was a beautiful woman; her frizzy pitch-black hair bounced rhythmically on her shoulders. But the guard had a job to do and beautiful or not he could get fired if he wasn't careful. No one could be trusted these days; especially not hot women. "The museum's closed."

And just like that, she was standing right in front of him in the blink of an eye. She tilted her head ever so slightly and pouted at him. "Oh but I came here to see you, Officer," She whispered in a seductive voice as she twirled her perfectly manicured index finger over his heart.

He squirmed under the touch. Then, like a lightning bolt, he realized that the person standing in front of him was none other than Gothel Pitchiner Black! Overwhelming panic and fear gripped his heart. Why was she here? What did she want? What was she going to do to him? He began to sputter uncontrollably but before he could do much else, Gothel brought her other hand up and blew the grey, slightly glittery dust into his face.

He jerked and backed away a few steps; coughing and clawing at his neck. Finally, after a few short moments, his eyes rolled back in his head and he fell backwards; sprawled awkwardly on the tiled floor.

Gothel stood over him smirking just as Jack came to stand beside her. "Are you always this charming or is this just one of those nights…"

He winched when he saw a white foam-like substance escape the man's agape mouth. His name tag read 'S. Barnes' and he almost looked dead. Gothel had told him the effects of the dust. She assured him it was only temporary and that the man would be alright by sunrise. "He's gonna feel that in the morning…"

If only he survives till morning that is, Gothel thought darkly as she grinned. She had lied to the boy who stood beside her. Had she told him the truth, he would never have accepted to help her. Besides, one insignificant life was negligible in the grand scheme of things. Soon the whole town will bow down to her and Pitch and perish soon after. They would be nothing more than puppets made out of flesh and bone for her to toy with. She just had to time it right and wait for the full moon night.

'The Day of Reckoning' she called it.

No one but her and Pitch knew about her plans. The Onyxian was only a small part of it. With it, she would be one step closer to achieving their dream.

Burgess shall PAY!

"I got the keys," The sound of keys jigging broke her reverie. She saw Jack kneeling beside the dead guard and holding up the keys. She nodded and motioned him to move forward onto the next part of their plan.

The museum had two entrances, Jack and Gothel went to the second one. The entrance that the general public usually wasn't allowed through; even during the day. It was away from the main road so no would notice them entering. The boy unlocked the door and pushed it open just enough so he and Gothel could sneak inside.

The witch made a beeline to where she was sure the Onyxian was showcased. Jack went straight for the camera room. He was supposed to turn off all the cameras there and recite a spell that Gothel had taught him. He didn't understand the purpose of the spell but he decided to just do as he was told.

Just as he was opening the door to the room to peer inside, he heard the unmistakable sound of growling coming from his far-right. He slowly turned his head to his right and his eyes widened when he saw a big muscular Rottweiler standing not too far from him. It growled ferociously at him and began charging towards him in full-on attack mode.

"Aw shit!" He cussed and took off at a dead run and ran as fast as his legs could carry him to where he assumed Gothel was. The Rottweiler was gaining on him fast. After all, four legs were better than two. He yelled Gothel's name and ran into the 'Rare artifacts exhibit' and much to his respite she came into view. Though, he had no time to breathe a sigh of relief as the mutt was still close behind him. Sheesh, too close for comfort…

Gothel had just acquired the precious Black Gem from its glass prison. Using one of her nifty black magic tricks, of course; wouldn't want to trip off any alarms, do we? She carefully stepped back with the stone in her hand and muttered softly in triumph, but her victory was very short-lived as she saw Jack and the dog barreling towards her. She cussed and pulled out a hand full of the grey dust from her velvet pouch and blew it right at the canine and Jack.

The dust scattered in the air and sparkled. Jack clamped his nose and mouth shut with his hand; careful not to breathe in any of it and ran past Gothel, who calmly stood rooted to her spot, glaring at the mutt dangerously.

The dog, on the other hand, wasn't as lucky, as the second it took in the power, it began to choke and very soon was met the same demise as Barnes. Once the dust cleared Gothel went over to the fallen animal and nudged it with her foot. It remained unmoving. Her evil smile quickly turned into an angry frown as she faced Jack, who was still breathing heavily; with his hands on his knees "Can't you do anything right?"

"It's not my fault that you forgot to mention we'd be dealing with a freaking hellhound!" Jack scowled; stretching out one of his arms in the dog's direction.

"It matters no more, you'll have more opportunities to prove yourself," Gothel glowered then bought her hand up to reveal the black stone. "I've got what I came for…"

"What's so special about that stone anyway?" Jack asked. Not that he was really interested. But if it's money she was after, there were other priceless artifacts around them to steal. Those would be much easier to steal. So why go through all that trouble for a palm-sized gem?

"More than you know, child." She said, twirling the gem at eye level and lovingly watched it sparkle.

Jack rolled his eyes at her; for a number of reasons. He was about to ask if she was done acquainting herself with the thing so they could leave already but didn't, as alarms began blaring.

"You there! Don't move!"

Oh great… reinforcements… Just peachy.

Gothel and Jack began running in the opposite direction from where they heard the strong male voice.

"Didn't plan this all the way through, did you?" Jack threw over his shoulder.

"Don't take that tone with me, whelp," Gothel half-snarled half-panted as they reached the front door of the museum and evidently it was locked. By the time Jack had found the right key to open it, the other guard had caught up to them. They saw the fire in his eyes; he must've seen his partner and probably the dog too. "Don't try to run! The police will be here any minute now. If you gi-"

Jack had successfully opened one of the doors wide but stopped when the guard suddenly stopped his cop-speech midway. In confusion, he whipped around to see why and realized that Gothel was the one doing something to him. She had her left hand outstretched; open-palmed at the guard and the other hand was holding the Onyxian close to her heart.

The guard was holding his own heart and was gasping uncontrollably. He crashed to his knees and began hacking up blood. Blood began pouring out of his mouth like a river painting the floor crimson red.

"No!" a horrified Jack yelled. Gothel was killing him! He realized and grabbed her outstretched hand and pulled at her. "Stop! Don't kill him!"

Gothel glares at Jack but decides to listen to him, not because he told her to or that she suddenly felt merciful for the guard, no, but because the police were on their way and they needed to get the hell outta dodge. She didn't have time to waste.

She and Jack began running back to their car but suddenly, Jack heard a sharp cry to his left and turned just in time to see Gothel fall heavily on the ground.

The guard who had just stopped hacking up blood, with a keen presence of mind, had pulled out his gun; aimed it at the lady in maroon and fired. Fortunately for her, his aim was a little off and the bullet only hit her calf making her collapse onto the ground. The guard didn't have the strength to do anything else as he slumped to the ground over his own blood and lost consciousness.

Gothel cursed like a sailor as the pain shot up her body. But she couldn't give into it now; she had to get away from here and back to her beloved. She takes Jack's hand and he helps her up. They both make it back to their car; despite the agony she was in and that's when they hear the sirens. The sounds were getting louder and louder by the second.

"Gimme the keys!" Jack asked her in a hurry. He shook his head as she began to protest. "You're in no condition to drive!"

She thinks for less than a second then reluctantly hands him the keys. She scooted to the passenger's side as fast as she could; wincing in pain all the while.

Jack jumps into the driver's seat; starts up the engine then jams the gas pedal with full force and hightails out of there. The sleek indigo car roared to life and revved up from where it was parked and sped onto the road in seconds; kicking up dust and leaving behind a small cloud of smoke.

Only the shrill sounds of police sirens were heard, through the relatively silent night.

"They're right behind us!" Gothel yelled, glancing behind her. "Lose them now!"

"I'm trying, damn it!" Jack yelled back. He wished he could tell her to shut up. It's not like he was an expert at car chases. He was too young to even freaking drive the damn thing in the first place! And her yelling was making him panic, not to mention it was extremely distracting as well.

"If they catch us, so help me-" A sudden speed bump made her jerk and she hissed in pain as it jarred her leg. After that Gothel only concentrated on her breathing; deciding to save the threats for later; much to his relief.

They had made it to the border of the town; pretty soon they would reach the lake, then the highway. Trees rapidly flew past them. Jack spared a momentary glance at his passenger who had become strangely quiet. She had both her hands gripping tightly onto the gem and her head was bowed. She looked as though she was praying, but Jack knew otherwise. People like Gothel never prayed. He saw her lips move but heard no words. A spell maybe?

"Gah!" He gasped in surprise when the cops began firing at them. The sound of bullets hitting metal could be heard all around them and Jack began to go into a full-blown panic mode. This was getting way out of hand! He hadn't signed up for this. He wished he had listened to his uncle and stayed away from Pitch.

This was the last thing he would do for Pitch though. After this, they were so going their separate ways… Sayonara to Pitch and his crazy lover.

Then suddenly, one of the tires burst; no doubt because of a bullet and the car pulls hard to the left; right into a "Welcome to Burgess" monopole Billboard. Jack forcibly twisted the steering wheel to the right and they narrowly miss it. Though, its edge created a screeching noise, leaving a long scar on the side of the car. Huh, what was a scratch in comparison to bullet holes? Too late to feel sorry for the car now—besides, those were the least of their concerns right now.

The roller-coaster-ride-from-hell was just the beginning as the car soon went into an uncontrollable fishtail on the road. There wasn't much else anyone could do. All that the occupants of the car could do, was brace themselves, as the car skidded right and was propelled sideways and began to tumble. The car toppled and rolled right into the forest and descended down a marshy furrow, coming to a stop at the base of a few tree trunks.

Windows shattered, metal dented, blood smears everywhere…

The night was eerie still and silent after the dire accident…

… Except for the approaching sirens.

Aaaaaand with that, we have officially caught up with the prologue. Wow. It's been quite the jounry just getting this far huh...? I mean, how many of you even remember the prologue XD Not me. Hehe.

SHOUTOUT TIME! (My favorite time!)

ShadowLifeHI: Well if you like backstories then you are gonna love this one! (I hope? *fingers crossed*) And yes Mother Gothel (from Tangled) Hehehe. I really liked the whole aspect of Pitch and Gothel teaming up. I think they'd be a force to reckon with. I'd love to see others explore that as well. Thank you so much for the review! (::)(::)(::)

Dreamer: DREAMER! Heey! Truly poetic! If I don't hear or see your name on BEST POET/AUTHOR of our generation in the future, I'm gonna be pissed. You truly have an amazing way with words. And yeah, finally. Life is looking good again. And yeah. Even I had to go re-read some stuff cause lol I had no idea its been so long since I last updated. Good thing I still have my notepad with notes on this story that I'd written long ago or I'd have no clue where I was in the story. Gosh. Hehe. I love the way you theorize as well. It's so fascinating witnessing your mind put pieces together (Sometimes even when they are red herrings… Oops… was that a clue? Or is this just another deception on my part? Who knows?) (::)(::)(::) And cookies as always!

Guest (Rose): C2: No no! Welcome aboard! I have not abandoned this fanfic nor will I ever. Just had life stuff to get out of the way. But that's so sweet of you! Thank you so much for the lovely review and thanks to you I even found the person you talked about on Tumblr. I hadn't even known about it until now. I love this fandom and its people. Ugh! Could give u all a BIIIIIIG HUG!
C3: Hehe. I guess you found your answer to the whole Rapunzel's parents' thing. Eesh. Looking back… I did not make it easy on her. I'm too much of a sadistic writer. *smacks myself for my evil soul*
C4: HICCUP! Yus! Our naïve innocent boy who's far too precious for this world! Especially this world that I wrote. Thankfully Jack has a gun! XD And yeah. I couldn't resist. Badass Jack is a guilty pleasure. I just can't help myself. Lol I'm glad you enjoy it too!
C5: Eeee! Thank you. And yeah. Agreed. Mean kids deserve to be punished but not to this extent… that being said. Zombies don't share the same morals we do. And enter Toothless! Our sweet bae!
C6: Hahhaha! Dude! You got the flamethrower thing before I even wrote about it! Nice catch! Hehe.
C7: HELL YEAH FLAMETHROWER! Limbs in the air who thinks they are badass weapons?! *raises both arms and feet* lol Also yes. Angst incoming. And yeah, you didn't think I'd turn Jack into a zombie so early in the story, did you? XD
C8: ENTER OUR SECOND BADASS of the group MERIDA! She's a natural. I didn't even have to try.
C9: Merida would disagree XD Anything to get out of an arranged marriage (And honestly I agree with her 100%)
C10: Omgosh! IKR! Lol, When's Jack not adorable?! Gosh! And you'll see why Hic is an orphan soon.
C11: Aaand there was your answer. The moment of dread. Honestly one of the hardest chapters I've written. Rapunzel's parents' death was not easy to handle and I can only hope I gave it justice.
C12: She is! Like I said. I don't even have to try to make her a badass. She is a damn natural. Lol. GO MERIDA! KICK SOME ZOMBIE ASS!
C13: Oh shit… Um… I uh… I have to go… *runs away in top speed*
C14: Eeeeaaahhh… I have no excuses. I'm sorry for hurting our babies. *smacks myself again* I deserve hell.
C15: The next chapter probably answered that question. Lol. Hope you liked it? Hehe.
C16: Ah-ah! You mean, Rombies. Lol Who am I kidding? That shit is never gonna catch on. XD
C17: Dude me too. God… I am not even done with him yet. I have something else planned for future chapters… and I can only pray you all don't hate me for it. And also. I would love to hear from you again. I hope you haven't abandoned the story (It's alright if you have too. Lol) Thank you so much for all the awesome Reviews, Rose. Especially since you left them for almost every chapter. It's always a blast getting to see people's reactions as they read the story. It's so much fun and it makes all this hard work worthwhile. A shit ton of cookies to rot your teeth off! Enjoy! And thank you once again! You're awesome! (::)(::)(::)(::)(::)(::)(::)(::)(::)(::)(::)(::)(::)(::)(::) One for each chapter! Love you!

Gabe Elf: Hehehe. Thank you so much! I kinda have a love/hate relationship with Cliffhangers. I think we all do. Lol. That's also what makes them so awful and awesome. I'm so glad you liked the story so far! (::)(::)

Leticianbsilva: C4: Not even gonna deny it. XD But she (as well as the others) are more of HOT messes right now if you ask me. XD Um… I don't speak this language. And even Google translate wasn't much help. I wasn't able to understand much of it so I am unable to give you an appropriate response as well. But I will try nevertheless.
C9: Hahaha. Merida is definitely is the best XD She's the only one who would actively want an apocalypse XD (And me too… I have my reasons XD)
C10: Daryls? This is the part of the review I didn't get. I'm so sorry! I can tell its something about Jack and Merida though.
C11: Jack just gets bad? I'm not even sure if this is a compliment or an insult. Lol I'm sorry! Google sucks! I can only assume you meant Jack is badass? Or he's about to get into some bad shit. So my reply to either of those sentences is…. Yes. Thank you so much for the review! Even if it was in another language. It was a nice little experience getting to read it. Hehe. (::)(::)(::)(::)

And that's it for Shoutout time. Short but very sweet.

I wish I could promise you guys a speedy update, but with my track record. I cant. But what I can promise you is that I will try my best to get it up as fast as possible.

Please do drop a review! There's no greater way to show support and love.
I will also continue putting our babies through hell. Lol

Until next time guys!
Love you!
Take care!
Byeee!

-Yuki