Temperance Tales: I do not own Once Upon a Time in anyway shape or form and I give full credit to the creators. I don't own any fairytales not done in the show either and give credit to respectful owners. So I now have a themed chapter this time: Halloween themed. I will now give credit where credit is due: thank you Bizzarieve for all the help.
Chapter Twenty Three: Sickly Nightmares.
"So have you found it?"
The Mage of Fear was sitting by a large map that encompassed most of the floor. It was made entirely of parchment and glowing orbs hovered above various spots. Oz walked into the room, holding two cups of tea in his hands. Shaking his head, Sage replied, "He hasn't set any of my traps off so no."
"Perhaps inquiring the Mage of Wonderland for aid?"
"No," Sage said, "No we already asked a lot of her recently. I think we should let her patch up things with the Dark One, don't you?"
Oz watched him quietly as he handed him a tea cup. Sage took it and sipped it contemplatively. Oz looked down into his own as he said, "You seem resentful about the decision made by the Council."
"Yep," Sage said.
"However weren't you one of the ones who voted in favor?"
"Just because I voted for something necessary doesn't mean it wasn't a lousy thing to do." Sage said, "He's family to her. Speaking of which, don't you want to be focusing on that little dilemma?"
"We will cross that bridge when we come to it," Oz said, gravely, "There is no need to cause her further pain."
Sage grinned as he said slyly, "It seems I'm not the only one who's resentful."
"As you said, necessity can often involve cruelty."
"Not exactly what I said but to each one's own," Sage said.
Suddenly, one of the orbs glowed bright, shining lights down on a location on the map. Sage's attention went solely back on the map. Grinning a little more sadistically, Sage said, "There he is. Now if you shall excuse me, I have a Boogie Man to catch."
S.C.
"There! I think the last of it!"
Gold smiled as he heard Belle come back to his office in his shop. She was helping him sort through some of the merchandise that needed to be tended to or wrapped for a customer. He looked up from one of his workshop tables to see Belle walking towards him. She was wearing a blue dress that emphasized her figure flatteringly. She scrunched her nose playfully as she said, "Unless you have more boxes hidden that I don't know of."
"Not yet, dearie," Gold said turning towards her, "Not yet."
"You magpie," Belle teased, walking so she was standing right in front of him. He kissed her then, simple and sweet. Belle was having none of it, quickly changing it to passionate and loving. Gold responded, pulling her close. She had missed him far too long, had too many regrets to let him go again. Sliding her arms around his neck, she was content.
"Well isn't this nice to walk in on."
Gold and Belle nearly jumped apart. Autumn stood there leaning in the doorway, looking on with distaste. Getting up from her spot, Autumn said, "I would tell you to get a room but you're already in one."
"Do you know how to knock?" Gold said almost irritated. Belle looked sheepish as Autumn said, "No, but I do know how to know I'm not wanted. So I'll just be on my way then."
"Freeze it, Miss. I haven't said you could leave yet," Gold said, as Autumn paused in the doorway. She looked back, irritation now mixed with the distaste. Gold noticed this as he narrowed his own eyes. Belle looked at Autumn a little bit confused as Gold said, "You can stop giving dirty looks. Last I check kissing wasn't a crime."
"Yet," Autumn said darkly and Gold said, "What's wrong now? Gage bothering you again?"
"Well yes, but that's beside the point," Autumn scowled, "I'm used to harassment."
"Regina bothering you?"
"While she did find it prudent to take me out of class and tell me if Jefferson pulled another stunt like that, it would be my skin she'd be after," Autumn said, recalling Regina fuming at her until the high school music teacher had come to her rescue, "No that is not my problem. My problem is that I woke up with a violent headache this morning and had to walk around feeling like I'm going to explode."
"Autumn-."
"Yeah, by the way, Regina will be by sometime soon to throw her hissy fit," Autumn and the clock struck four. Autumn groaned and said, going to leave, "Great, I have to go. Session with the bloody conscious."
Gold grabbed Autumn, turning her back around. Autumn looked at him as he said, "Calm down, you are running yourself into the ground."
Autumn made a face as he felt her forehead. He sighed and said, "Your rather warm, dearie. Go head home. I'll call and tell the cricket that you're not coming in today."
Autumn opened her mouth to protest only to have Gold tilt her chin up saying, "Go home. This is not negotiable."
Autumn looked between them, giving a hurtful and irritated look. She then walked away saying, "Fine, but only because I don't want to run into Regina."
Autumn left, her air of defeat lingering in the air. Gold sighed and looked back at Belle saying, "I hate when she gets sick."
"Touchy?" Belle asked. Gold then said, "Yes, brings a whole new definition to the word. But it's expected because when she gets sick, she really gets sick."
"Poor thing," Belle said worried, as Gold picked up the phone. He said with a sigh, "Time to warn Kathryn that the little one is on her way home."
"Why doesn't Autumn live with you anymore?" Belle asked and Gold said, dialing the number, "She needs her, she's never had a good female role model in her life. Her own mother was never in the picture. Believe me; she needs Kathryn on a more regular basis."
Belle was quiet, her face unreadable for a few moments. Glancing at the curtain, Belle looked a bit disappointed before shaking her head slightly. Gold didn't seem to notice as he spoke into the phone, "Mrs. Nolan? It is Mr. Gold. Autumn should be coming home shortly, but I think the dear isn't feeling well. Alright, have a good evening."
Gold hung up the phone, turning back to Belle. Pulling her close, he teased, "Now where were we?"
"GOLD!"
Gold gritted his teeth as Belle froze. A look of hatred mingled with grief crossed her face before determination took over. She would not let the Queen frighten her, never again. Gold reluctantly released her and said, "Really? Does anyone understand closed means closed?"
"Autumn did warn you," Belle said with a sigh, "Go. Get rid of the Majesty."
S.C.
"Why?!"
Sidney Glass winced as he saw the woman in front of him snarl. They were in Regina's office where the doors and windows were shut tight. They were alone, which should have made anyone nervous with the rampage she was having. She was quite invading his personal space and shaking his shoulders. Gulping, Sidney tried sounding as calm as he could, "I can't find anything out on this kid, Regina."
"What about a Birth Certificate? Have you found Felicity Doe? Did you try checking in with Boston Orphanages?"
"I did try looking for Felicity Doe," Sidney explained, half exasperated and nervous, "But she is still MIA. As for the orphanage's they never heard of a girl named Autumn with the description that I give. It's like this girl appeared out of thin air!"
"She can't have!" Regina snapped, "No one appears out of thin air, she had to have come from somewhere!"
Regina stormed over to the table where a glass of 'cider' waited for her. Sidney didn't approach but continued to speak, "Why don't you ask that Morgana Smith? She seemed interested in the child."
"Believe me I would if I knew where she was!" Regina said after gulping her drink, "She's gone! Somehow managed to escape jail without so much of a sweat."
"Why is this child so important Regina?" Sidney asked, confused, "I mean, you have enough dirt on Gold for living with a wanted psychiatric patient."
"You know as well as I Sidney why that isn't dirt," Regina snapped, "Even if I did take her away, there are too many suspicious circumstances. I need this mystery about this child to end; it is the only way I can get at him! Especially now that I'm being cornered for framing Mary Margaret!"
"Then maybe we've been looking at this the wrong way," Sidney said hastily; he was downright scared now, "We've been looking so much into the past that we're not paying too much attention to the present."
"Get on with it!" Regina snapped and Sidney said, walking over to her blindly, "Why is it this child is so attached to Gold? Why is it out of Emma, Ruby, Kathryn, or this man you call Jefferson that she chooses to pick Gold as the person she is closest with? Why does she treat him like family?"
Realization dawn on Regina's face as she smirked evilly. Turning around upright, she looked at Sidney. Sidney for some reason didn't feel any better, in fact he felt worse for some reason. She walked over to him, staring him in the face with a power-hungry expression.
"Because she is family."
S.C.
"Well its official," Kathryn said taking the thermometer away, "You are sick."
Autumn sat on the counter, grimacing. They were in the kitchen, the afternoon's sun illuminating the room. Autumn looked paler and tired. Shaking her head, Autumn said, weakly, "A really crummy time to be sick."
"When is it ever a good time to be sick?" Kathryn said with a sigh, "Go on upstairs to bed, I'll bring dinner up there shortly."
"I'm not crippled," Autumn protested but Kathryn said, "No, but sleep will help you feel better. Especially when one has a fever of 102."
Autumn slide off the counter before slowly making her way upstairs. She certainly wasn't feeling any better, that was for sure. Finally making it to her bedroom, Autumn changed into her pajamas. They were nice, the soft fleece comforting her skin. Crawling into bed, Autumn finally let out a huge sigh. It was official; today sucked royally. Gage was being a particular menace. He had gone as far as shouting obscenities across the playground only to be sent off to write lines by one of the teachers. It wasn't as if his insults offended her, she never cared enough to get upset about them. It was just annoying, and then Regina coming and indirectly threatening her didn't help either. Ava and Nicholas tried cheering her up, but Autumn's headache had refused to let up. Henry and Paige hadn't been in school for whatever the reason which was a bummer to Autumn.
Autumn wasn't much of a cuddler, but right now she wouldn't mind one. Burying her face into the pillow, Autumn felt the headache/borderline migraine lessen slightly. Silence filled the room until she heard Kathryn asked, "Autumn? Are you awake?"
Autumn peeked over at Kathryn and said with a muffled, "Yes."
Kathryn walked over with the tray as Autumn rolled over. Propping herself up on her pillows, Autumn watch Kathryn gingerly put the tray down. It was soup with bread. It was simple, but the aroma was heavenly. Sniffling, Autumn took the spoon saying softly, "Thank you…"
"It's not a problem," Kathryn said leaning against the wall. Autumn was eating slowly before saying softly, "Henry and Paige weren't in school today."
"No?" Kathryn asked and Autumn shook her head, "They might have been out sick."
"Maybe," Autumn said taking some sips of the soup. However, Autumn slunk down on the bed the headache getting much worse. As much as she wanted to eat, this headache was making her tired. Noticing her action, Kathryn immediately went next to her. Supporting her while she ate, Kathryn stroked her hair saying, "I got a call that Gage was harassing you again."
"Doesn't he always? He's childish and obnoxious," Autumn said, a little edgy. Kathryn paid no heed to it but said instead, "I heard he's been suspended."
"What?" Autumn looked up at her to see Kathryn nod. Kathryn lightly kissed Autumn's head and said, "His actions are finally catching up to him."
Kathryn was quiet for a few moments while Autumn finished eating. Moving the tray with her as she slid of the bed, Kathryn said, "You look tired."
"I am tired," Autumn admitted. She laid back and Kathryn pulled the covers up. Kissing her forehead, Kathryn whispered, "Get some sleep. I have to go clean up a few things."
"Okay," Autumn said, her eyes already closing. She turned on her side, facing the window. The lights shut off in the room as the pale evening light filled her window. Autumn didn't get very long to appreciate it. Her head was throbbing so much that she couldn't think. Luckily for her, Autumn didn't have to wait very long to fall asleep.
"Gage! Come on, you can't be that mad!"
Gage kicked the can down the empty alley way as his friend walked behind him. Scowling, Gage said, "That little brat got me in a deep load a trouble and she's gotta pay! I just have to think how."
"C'mon, you got off easy!" his friend protested, "You don't have to go to school anymore! You get to do whatever you want."
Gage didn't seem to be listening. Instead he had stopped looking at the back of a house he had just walked towards. The House seemed to be built into the other apartment buildings and looked rather abandoned. His curiosity peeked and he walked towards it saying, "What's this old place?"
"That?" his friend's voice pitched, "That's the old geezers place. It's said that when he died he cursed the place. Anyone that goes in there doesn't come out. We really shouldn't go in there."
"I don't believe in curses," Gage said confidently and shot his friend a look, "And I don't believe in being chicken either. Let's go see what it is!"
"Gage I got a really bad idea about this," his friend protest but Gage was already at the door. It took him a few tries to push it open. His friend timidly followed him as Gage went into the old building. The old room was layer with dust and furniture covered by white sheets. It was dark, the only source of light being the recently opened door and the cracked from the poorly covered windows. Gage didn't seem to care as he walked over to the stairwell. Gage's friend seemed much more terrified as he said, "Gage, c'mon this place is super creepy."
"If you wanna go, go," Gage said stoutly, "I'm going up."
So Gage went up alone. It got progressively darker and the air was thick with something horrible. Swallowing, Gage tried to ignore the bad vibe existing around him. The old stairs creaked as he walked to the top. The room was very much like the one bellow, except the furniture had no sheets. Instead, it looked like something had ripped them apart. The room looked as if something had been in a rage. Walking over to the ripped up couch, Gage reaching to touch the broken leg. There was a loud creak and Gage looked around to see a closet. It was closed tight but it sounded as if something was in there. Anyone else wouldn't have gone over to open it, but wasn't a person to show any fear. Reaching out, Gage opened the closet.
With a loud yell, Gage was blasted backwards. Crashing into the broken couch, Gage scrambled to see what it was that knocked him back. His face showed shock and a little bit of horror as he saw the thing come out of the closet. It was black, almost as if the figure was coated with a black blanket. It had not face, or at least that's what he thought. Then he saw it's pitch black mouth curl back in a grin. Its neck snapped to it side as the form began to take shape. Its whole body began to looks disfigured until it took the shape of something more human looking. Skin appeared as well as other human features. Clothes of brown and green, she had pipes tied to her waist. Gage grabbed the broken off couch leg beside him, looking strangely determined. The woman looked down with a sick expression and she said raising a knife, "Time to die Pan."
The knife came crashing down; Gage reflexively stopped it with the leg. Pushing back as hard as he could, Gage ran. He ran down the stairs and out of the house for once in his life terrified. He had no idea what that thing was but he wasn't going to take the time to find out. But the door way remained open as the thing came out, in its black form once more. It sunk into the shadows of the alley its evil chuckle filling the air. The house collapsed, falling to pieces as if something had been pulled away from underneath. Someone walked up to the house however and gritted his teeth. Sage picked up one of the pieces of wood saying, "Damn it."
S.C.
"So what are we going to do about Autumn?"
Henry, Paige, Ava, and Nicholas were all sitting around Henry's bedroom. Regina was out, at one of her meetings so they were alone. Nightfall had set in and they were eating cookies. Ava was looking at Henry and said, "I don't know why, but she's getting really depressed. I know she wasn't feeling well today, but she's been like this for a while."
"I don't like seeing her this way," Paige said, sadly, "I want her to be happy. I mean, she's with a foster mom that actually cares about her now."
"Autumn's tricky," Henry said, with a sigh, "I honestly think her problem is that she won't admit what happened with Felicity Doe was wrong. I think it's because she's afraid that it means she did something wrong."
"But it's not," Paige protested, "It's not her fault that she got abused."
"But you see," Ava said suddenly, "That's just it. Everyone keeps feeling sorry for her and saying that all of her behaviors are cause by being abused. So in a sense it does feel like she did something wrong because no one's letting go that she got hurt and blaming everything she does on that incident."
Paige gapped and said, almost hurtfully, "No one's meaning to do that, they just want to help."
"I'm not saying that they're doing this on purpose," Ava said quickly, "I think we just need to find a way to get people to move on."
The lights in Henry's room flickered and everyone looked up. Paige looked worried saying, "That's a little creepy."
"That's weird, it's not even storming outside," Nicholas said looking out the window. Ava shrugged and said, "Maybe just a faulty line somewhere."
"I'll go get a flash light just in case," Henry said, getting off his bed. Henry left his room, hurrying down the stairs. He walked through the kitchen and towards a door. Going into the garage, he grabbed the flashlight off the shelf. Walking back, he went back through the kitchen and into the main entry way. He froze when he saw something black standing there, looking rather eerie. It flung at him, sending Henry flying with a yell. He crashed into the dining room chair. Looking up, Henry felt frozen in place as it advanced on him. Footsteps were coming at a rapid pace and Ava was the first to react. Grabbing the vase, she threw it at the head of the figure. It shattered into a million piece but the thing remained standing. Paige and Nicholas were frozen on the stairs as it turned to Ava. In a flash, it had her pinned up against the wall by the neck. A sudden shock of electricity went through Ava, making her scream. Nicholas 's face contorted in anger as he went at the thing. It dropped Ava however and grabbed Nicholas instead. Electricity shot through him as well, making him yell. It dropped Nicholas to the ground. He was out like a light. It turned on Paige almost having a stare down. Ava looked over at Nicholas looking confused and afraid as she said, her voice trembling, "Hansel?"
Henry's stomach lurched, and tried to get up. But it was too late for it had already grabbed Paige and pinned her to the stairs. Electricity shot through her and Paige screamed. She almost fell unconscious as Henry tried to move. But he couldn't, his leg was hurting too much. The electricity stopped and the thing began to take the form of another. The face of Jefferson appeared and Paige looked at him. The hand around her throat tightened and Paige managed to gasp, "Papa-?"
She cough as he pinned her, choked her. Tears escaped down her cheeks and she said, "No-!"
"ENOUGH!"
The thing went to black once more as it let out an unearthly screech. Something bright on a thick chain swung at it, making it let go of Paige. It flew out the window, but the closed window did not break. The chained object flew back with clinking noise as the three conscious children looked at their savior. It was a blonde hair teen, dressed in black holding what looked like an elaborate lantern. But it was shaped as a jack o lantern. His face went from serious to exasperated as he said, rather mellow, "Well that was a bust."
He hoped down from the table, the chained lantern disappearing in a puff of black smoke. He pulled out a vial and poured it on Henry's leg. It burned and Henry gasped. But it soon disappeared and his leg felt better than ever. The boy looked up at the teen who looked friendly. He helped Henry up, who asked, "Who are you?"
"Me?" the teen let him go. He took a step back and bowed with a little flourish. "I am Sage, Mage of the Land of Fear. I'm a friend of Alison's."
"Wha-where-what is going on!"
Henry and Sage looked over to see Ava trying to help Nicholas up. Paige had stood up, tears running down her face. He blinked and looked at Ava saying, "Gretel? What's going on?"
"Oh dear," Sage said, his voice still calm, "It seems the Monster of Fear awakened their memories."
"What-?" Henry started asking but Sage interrupted flawlessly, "Henry go get your book, we'll have to explain things quickly."
Henry didn't move at first but then took off upstairs. Paige went down and stood by Ava. They all looked at him as he said, "Welcome back you three, you've awakened from the Evil Queen's curse."
"The curse," Ava said, memories slowly returning. She looked stricken and said, "The curse! She actually did it, and we-we were separated. It-It was-!"
"Horrible," Sage finished, unperturbed.
Paige looked from Ava and Nicholas, still feeling dazed and hurt. Paige then looked at Sage saying, "What was that thing, Mage of Fear?"
"You can just call me Sage, my dear," Sage said kindly, "And that thing is called The Monster of Fear, or otherwise known in this world as the boogie man."
Paige looked around, walking the main entrance. Ava looked at Sage warily and said, "How can we trust you if you're from the same world as that thing!"
"Because I will not hurt you," Sage said, "It's against our laws to ever attack unless in defense. We Mages don't know why, but the curse stole something from each of our lands; the Monster being from mine. Something's happened to him, I'm not sure what. I've been trying to capture him, but he keeps slipping away and targeting people so I can't hurt him."
Sage chuckled and said, "It's almost as if he is afraid of me."
"And that's funny?" Ava said and Sage said, walking down, "It's more ironic. We have no fears, being the creators of it. Fear has its uses, its necessity. Fear makes people grow, makes people wary. Without it, people would all be hothead and never learn from anything."
Ava still looked a little bit wary and Sage said, "I know it looks bad, but I am on your side I promise. Alison wouldn't want me to harm you."
"And who is this Alison?" Nicholas asked as Henry came down the stairs. They all looked at him and Paige said to him, "You knew? About the curse, about the Evil Queen, who we are…"
Henry stopped, looking at her. Ava and Nicholas looked at him strangely and Henry swallowed saying, "You wouldn't have believed me. No one ever has, except Autumn."
Paige looked upset and Sage intervened, "Look, Henry nor Autumn was not in a position to tell. None of you would have or could have believed. Now let's go sit down, we need to get this over with."
Sage went into the living room and Henry followed his shoulders slumped. The three other children exchanged looks. They all followed, sitting down near each other. Sage sat in the single chair while Henry sat on the love seat. Leaving the book on the table, Henry said, "The Evil Queen has trapped everyone in a curse that has ripped away everyone's happy ending but her own. They have replaced old memories with new ones, making this the queen's little perfect world."
"The Mayors the Evil Queen, isn't she?" Paige said suddenly. Henry looked down guiltily and Ava said, "She's the Evil Queen?! How did you get stuck with her?"
"She adopted me," mumbled Henry, feeling worse by the minute. Ava immediately went to him and said, "We're not blaming you Henry, what she does is not your fault. We just… needed to know."
Henry didn't look up as Ava stayed by him. She understood he was upset; it was hard living with someone who is supposed to love you but is evil. Ava looked at Sage and said, "Did your world get eaten up by the curse too?"
"No," Sage said with a sigh, "Only your world. But someone has taken something precious from our worlds."
"The Evil Queen?" asked Ava and Sage shook his head saying, "No, an Anti-Magic user."
"What's Anti-Magic?" Nicholas asked and Paige answered, "Anti-Magic is the opposite of magic. I heard my Papa talk about it. It's really powerful and can be really dangerous."
"Yes," Sage said, "Dangerous enough to trap everyone here and change the hearts of the things stolen from us."
"That's why the Monster is attacking everyone," Ava said, suddenly, "The Anti-Magic User, whoever he is, harmed him?"
"Something like that," Sage said looking at the ceiling, "We Mages still don't know much. Alison and I have been trying to figure out what to do."
"Who is this Alison?" Paige asked.
"She's is the Mage from Wonderland," Sage said, "The only child Mage to be."
"It's Autumn," Henry said, finally sitting up. He looked less upset as he said, "Autumn is the Mage of Wonderland."
Nicholas and Ava looked in awe as Paige suddenly stood up. She went to leave and Henry asked, "Where are you going?"
"I have to go talk to her," Paige said, tears running down her face, "I need to talk to her."
"Why?" Nicholas asked and Paige said brokenly, "I need my Papa."
Paige left and Ava stood up to stop her. Sage interrupted saying, "Let her go, Gretel. She'll be fine."
Ava looked back as Sage stood up saying, "My lantern was only able to tame Boogie for a while. But he'll be on the move again and I'll need your help. But I need you guys to do something?"
"What is it?" Ava asked and Sage said, "I need you to tell NO ONE that you remember who you are. Not even your father. The last person to remember from your world was killed by Regina."
"Who was that?" Nicholas asked frightened.
"Graham," Henry said, standing up, "She killed Graham."
Ava looked from Henry to Sage and said, upset, "But our father, he's all we have!"
"I know," Sage said sympathetically. He walked over to her and said, "And you'll have him. But you won't if you trying getting him to believe before his time. Regina will do anything to destroy people's happiness. Henry is living proof of that, I'm afraid."
Ava's look of hurt turned to determination and said, "What do we have to do to stop the Monster?"
"We have to confuse him," Sage said, "Confuse him long enough for me to rip out his heart."
Nicholas gulped and said, "That's sounds painful."
"It is," Sage said, "But it's the only way to see what's wrong with Boogie and hopefully tame him."
"How do we confuse him?" Ava asked and Sage looked at his watch. It started to glow red. Sage looked intrigued and said, "Follow me, I'll tell you along the way. He's on the move again."
"Where is he going?" Henry asked, grabbing the book. They followed Sage out of the house and said, "Much to my curiosity, he's going after Alison."
S.C.
"What are you doing here?"
Regina was sitting on the desk, waiting patiently for Emma to come in. Emma crossed her arms as Regina said, "Congratulations, Miss. Swan, there is about to be a big break in your case."
"Oh really?" Emma asked and Regina said, "Yes, in fact it's a confession."
Emma raised her brows and said, "Well, let's hear it."
"Sidney can you come in here please?"
Emma froze, before looked towards one of the door ways. Sidney came out, looking rather perturbed. Emma's gut sank, having a feeling what was about to happen. Regina, oblivious to Emma's discomfort, said, "Tell her what you told me."
Sidney swallowed and said, "It was me, I kidnapped Kathryn and framed Mary Margaret. I doctored the results of the DNA Test and put the Hunting Knife in the apartment."
"And the other thing," Regina said, obviously looking quite victorious. Sidney swallowed and said, "I took one of Regina's skeleton keys and planted it in the cell."
"A personal violation, if I do say so myself," Regina said, mockingly.
"And how do you expect me to just believe you," Emma said, "After all the lies you already told me?"
"I know the location of where I kept her, it has all of the finger prints of bother hers and mine," Sidney say, sound more upset by the minute, "I can even tell you the place where I bought the hunting knife."
"And why would you do this?" Emma fumed, not believe a word he said.
"I wanted to redeem myself, I would kidnap her long enough and then when the time was right I would rescue her. Write the biggest story this town has ever seen," Sidney said, obviously uncomfortable, "Sells books, get a movie deal, I don't know it all sounds crazy now."
"It seems like he has suffered a mental breakdown," Regina said clucking her tongue, "He obviously hasn't been himself in a while."
"Yeah," Emma fumed, "It's like it isn't his words at all."
"So blinded by your own judgment that you don't see the truth anymore?" Regina mocked and Emma whirled around saying, "A word in the hall!"
Emma stormed out and Regina followed lazily. She left Sidney alone, no longer caring about his nervousness. All she cared about was that she was now safe. She was soon alone with Emma in the hall and Emma immediately said, "Well that was the biggest load of crap that I have ever heard."
"I'm pretty sure that's not true," Regina said, leaning forward. Emma said, "Look, I know you've set up the board so nobody else can win. I get that. But now I'm going to be playing an entirely different game."
"Oh really," Regina said mockingly. Emma said, "You have no soul, you just don't care about anyone or anything. INLCUDING Henry."
"Excuse me?" Regina said dangerously, "He's my son."
"You may have changed his diapers, you may have given him house, clothes, whatever," Emma said, courageously, "But you have made his life nothing but miserable by trying to destroy everyone else. You have locked him in a corner, twisted everyone away so his been isolated and shunned."
"I love Henry!" Regina snapped and Emma said, "You love no one but yourself! If you love him, you would have put aside your petty problems and put him first. But you didn't and now you'll pay the consequences. You are going to leave him alone."
Regina smirked evilly saying, "Oh really?"
"Shut up, I'm talking," Emma said, her voice stern, "You will leave him alone and you will leave Autumn alone. You've been harassing her far too long and she doesn't want to see you because she doesn't like you. If I hear again that you've approached her, taken her out of class, anything at all that's not appropriate, I will put a restraining order on you!"
"You have no rights over Autumn," Regina taunted and Emma said, "I've already gotten Gold's okay and Kathryn's okay, so it doesn't matter what I do or do not have. You will leave her alone. And as for Henry…"
Emma stepped forward and said, "I'm taking back my kid."
Emma left Regina then, determined to see this through. Walking back into the office, Emma said, handcuffing Sidney, "You are under arrest for the kidnapping of Kathryn Nolan."
Emma led him to a cell in another room and said, "You should have taken my deal."
Sidney didn't comment, just looked dead. Locking him up, Emma said, sympathetically, "I'll bring you dinner soon."
Sidney nodded and looked at the blank wall. Emma walked back to her office and sat down exhaling. Running her hands through her blonde hair, Emma closed her eyes. This wasn't how it was supposed to go, Regina should have been sitting in the cell.
S.C.
Autumn groaned, waking up to see that the lights were on. Her headache a diminished to nothing but her body was still very tired. Rolling over, Autumn was surprised to see Paige sitting there, looking rather distraught. Autumn almost didn't notice the book that was on her lap: Once Upon a Time.
"Hey, what's up?" Autumn asked her voice still groggy from waking up. Paige stared at her and said, "I remember."
"What?" Autumn asked, a little more sharply and Paige said, "I remember everything. Papa, the Evil Queen…why didn't you tell me? Why didn't you tell me who I was?! Who you were?!"
"To have two realities stuck in your head? To watch it rip you apart like it rips me apart? No, I would never wish that upon you," Autumn said, feelingly.
"I should have been able to make that decision!" Paige said indignantly.
"You're a kid, you don't know what the consequences are to that," Autumn said, heatedly but not meanly.
"So are you!" Paige said, almost angrily, "You're a kid too, so what's the difference-!"
"The difference is that I don't have parents who love me!" Autumn said loudly, "I make that choice because I don't have my father. I make that choice because I'll never had a mother who cared enough to love me. You do. You have Jefferson to love and protect you. I don't. THAT'S THE DIFFERENCE."
Paige looked hurt as she said, "That's only because you won't let anyone else in."
Autumn stared at her friend as she said, "You're right. Your father is gone as is your mum. But you have Kathryn, Gold, and Emma trying really hard to get it so you have someone. But the only one not letting that happen is you, so don't tell me it's because you don't have someone. You don't want to have someone."
Autumn stared with indifference. Paige sniffed, guilt entering her features. Autumn let out a frustrated scoff and said, "I don't have the luxury of keeping someone. Besides, you wouldn't have even believed me. Or are you going to yell at me that you would have believed that your father was from a magical world and you've been cursed in a timeless void for the past twenty-eight years?"
Paige swallowed and said, "Where is he?"
"Jefferson?" Autumn sighed, "I can't tell you."
"Why?" Paige said, her voice cracking from the tears. Autumn pulled Paige to sit on the bed and said, "Because the Evil Queen with kill you if she knows you remember. It needs to be a secret."
Paige began to cry more as she said, "But I want my Papa."
"I know," Autumn said, holding her hand, "And you'll get him back. But if you go now and run looking for him, the queen will know. Don't give away that advantage."
Paige swallowed in attempt to calm down, tears slipping down her cheeks. Autumn wiped them away saying, "I don't want to lose you, you're my best friend…"
Paige swallowed again, wiping away anymore tears. Paige looked at Autumn and the laughed bitterly saying, "I guess this is why you and Henry were always running off, huh?"
"Yeah, that's why," Autumn said, looking around, "Where is Kathryn? I half expected her to have run up with all this crying."
"She had gone out. Her dad had called," Paige said, looking at Autumn. She put the book on the bed, staring at it a little while. Autumn bit her lip, she probably knew a lot now. Not everything but a lot. The lights flickered and both Paige and Autumn looked up. Paige looked alarmed and said, "We have to go!"
"What-Why?" Autumn asked. But Paige went flying into the dresser. Autumn sprung out of bed, shouting, "Paige!"
Autumn felt something grab her by the throat and slam her into the wall. She coughed watched the Monster of Fear's mouth curl back in a grin. Autumn grimaced as she felt her head exploded falling unconscious, Autumn heard Paige scream.
"Hey!"
The monster of fear turned to see Henry in the door way. He glared saying, "Come get me!"
The monster began to change shape when Ava shouted, standing up on the bed, "No! Come get me, I'm not scared of you!"
The monster looked over, the grinning now fading. Nicholas stood over by Paige and said, "No, over here!"
"What are you doing?" Paige asked, stricken. Nicholas didn't answer as the monster looked around frustrated. Growling, it suddenly yelped. The lantern had shot into him and out of him, now surrounded by electricity. The Monster slunk down, almost whining. Sage stared at the black heart, which now laid inside the jack o' lantern. It was fuming, as if it were burning. Sage closed his eyes, obviously quite pained. He looked at the monster and said, "I'm sorry Boogie."
Sage held out his hand where a symbol appeared. Black mist swirled around the monster who cried out. He disappeared, leaving everyone to stare in shock. Ava was the first to speak.
"Where did he go?"
"I sent him to one of Tzila's cages," Sage said, with a heavy sigh.
"Tzila?"
"Mage of the Land of Shadows," Sage said turning around. He picked up Autumn murmuring, "Sorry Ali, didn't make it in time."
Sage put her on the bed, looking rather forlorn. Stroking back her hair, everyone wondered what the relationship was between these two. Suddenly, Sage turned looking rather perky and said, "Well I will take my leave now. It was a pleasure meeting all of you."
The chain disappeared in black smoke and Sage said grinning sadistically, "See you all in your nightmares!"
He clapped his hands, black some and flames bursting up around him. Everyone jumped and screamed. It disappeared quickly and everyone looked terrified. Paige had jumped up to her feet and said, "He's terrifying."
"He's a sadist," Nicholas said horrified.
"He's stupid."
"Autumn!" Henry watched Autumn sit up rubbing her head. Making a face, Autumn said, "So at least we know where the Monster of Fear is now."
Ava, Nicholas, and Paige stood by the bed. Ava sat by Autumn, who looked at her. Ava smiled and said, "We know everything now."
Autumn looked at Henry who nodded. However Autumn didn't look happy about it. In fact she looked exasperated. But the children weren't sure whether it was sickness, displeasure, or fatigue. Autumn then looked at the three others and said, "You can't ever say anything."
"I know," Ava said, "We know. The Queen is evil, evil enough to rip away everything we have ever loved. We have to stop her from doing any more harm."
"We?" Autumn said and Ava said, "We. We are all in this together now. Even if we pretend not to know, we can still do this."
Autumn looked at them and said, impassively, "You can't help me, not with this."
"Autumn? Are you awake?"
Everyone nearly jumped out of their skins. Autumn merely sighed, almost looking rather irritated. Ava looked back at Autumn nervously as did Henry. He wasn't sure how Autumn would deal with them remembering. So far it didn't look promising. He would have to talk to her later about it.
"Yes, I am!" Autumn called down and said, "You guys should go."
Ava bit her lip, but knew better than argue. Right now, Autumn was sick and wasn't well enough to deal with much more. Ava stood up and said, comforting, "We'll see you soon. Get some rest okay."
The children filed out of the room, saying hello/goodbyes to Kathryn as she climbed the stairs. Coming into Autumn's room, Kathryn said with a smile, "You had quite the crowd over while I was gone."
"Where did you go?" Autumn asked, her face looking worried and blank. Kathryn noticed and walked briskly over to the bed. Sitting down, Kathryn leaned forward so her forehead was against Autumn's. Kathryn said softly, "Dad called me. His car broke down on the other side of town. I went to go pick him up."
Autumn nodded and swallowed. Her eyes were slowly going glassy, something which Kathryn never took as a good sign. Reaching to stroke Autumn's hair, Kathryn asked, "Autumn, what's the matter?"
"I'm tired," Autumn's voice began to show signs of weakness, "I'm tired of all these secrets. I don't want them."
Concern was etched on Kathryn's face as she looked intently at Autumn. Autumn breathed in sharply, trying to maintain control. Autumn had a strange look on her face and she said, "My mother didn't want me, she left right after I was born. I never had any family to find after my father died. My Dad didn't have any brother or sisters. His mum was just as bad as mine and his dad he could never get back to. So I was put into the foster system. I was sent to live with a foster family, who had a little boy. He hated me; pulled my hair, hit me, kicked me. Then one night he screamed at his mum to take me back, because he didn't like me. So they did. Since then I was shipped around to foster home, after foster home. Then Felicity came along. She had seen me at the playground near her old work. She would talk to me, play with me. It wasn't long after that she became my foster mom. She knew everything about me, even though at that point I didn't tell her much. She asked me if I had any other family and I told her just a grandfather I had never met. I told her his name…or what my father told me what his name was. A little while after, Felicity became my foster mom and she brought me to her apartment. She had boxes everywhere and said that we were moving away from the city, from the bad memories. So in the car we went and we moved to Storybrooke."
Kathryn was quiet, afraid to interrupt. Luckily Autumn kept going saying with hoarseness, "She had made a deal with a man, to use his cabin property that was behind our house. We just had to keep it clean. So that became my garden, Felicity would help when she wasn't at work and we finally went into town. She took me to a strange part of town and told me to watch the opposite street. I did and that's when I saw it. I saw my grandfather's name on the sign."
Autumn swallowed, tears coming out, "His name was Mr. Gold."
Realization immediately dawned on Kathryn's face looking almost aghast. Autumn paid it little heed and said, "She found him. She told me that when she was working that I should try to get to know him, that it was a new beginning. But that all changed when she met Darren."
Autumn's voice became hateful as she said, "He was a pig. A drunkard, stupid bouncer that the only thing going for him was his strength. Felicity never had good taste in guys and he was the worst. He hated me, he like punishing me. Every time I cried he would push me under water until I stopped. That's why he never let me cut my hair, he wanted a guarantee he would have something to grab. Felicity had tried to stop him but…he hurt her. He started hurting her like he hurt me. As I got older, I spent less and less time at the house and I spent more time in town. I became quick friends with Ruby and Granny; they took care of me a lot. I met Paige and her family… and then I met Gold. Honestly he scared the living crap out of me because he snuck up behind me when I was staying with Ruby for the night. He had come for the rent, seemed curious about me for some reason. And that's how it all started…"
Autumn wiped her eyes and said, "My real name is Alison Kinsleigh, and that's my story."
Kathryn gently touched Autumn's cheek saying, "How cruel…to have to keep that bottled up inside you. How cruel it is to be stuck between a rock and a hard place. You haven't told Gold yet have you?"
"No," Autumn protested, tears falling more readily, "I don't want to tell him, I don't want to!"
Autumn buried her face into Kathryn's crying silently. Kathryn hugged her, tears slipping out of her own eyes. But she sounded firm and steady when she said, "You won't have to. Believe me we'll figure this out, children should not have to make adult decisions."
Kathryn kissed Autumn's hair as the woman whispered tearfully, "I love you."
Coughing, Baelfire sat up looking around. He was on a shore, one that he didn't not recognize. In fact nothing he recognized. The sky was different, the sea was different, the air was different. Fifteen year old Baelfire clenched his fist, obviously quite angry. This was not where he was supposed to go. Not at all, it was supposed to bring him home. Baelfire shut his eyes and gritted his teeth.
"Are you alright?"
Baelfire shot to his feet, pulling out the knife. A boy stood there, his hair tousled and uncombed. It was short though, the bangs just falling into his eyes. He wore green clothes with leaves and a belt with a knife. He was looking curiously at Baelfire, who said bitterly, "No, no I am not alright. I am lost forever."
"That's alright!" the boy said brightly and carelessly, "Many lost people come here. What's your name?"
The boy jumped down, now at level with Baelfire. Baelfire narrowed his eyes and said, "Just call me Bae. Who are you?"
"Peter," the boy said proudly, "My name is Peter."
A glowing little figure appeared by him and Baelfire jumped back shouting, "Get that fairy away from me!"
"It's not a fairy, it's a pixie," Peter informed him, obviously quite protective, "She won't do you harm, unless I command it."
Baelfire looked warily and said, "Sorry, I don't have high thoughts for fairies."
"Its fine," Peter said, "Tink is not a fairy, so there is no need to worry. Now come with me, it won't be safe on shore for long. How did you get here anyway?"
Baelfire clenched his fist saying, "From the world I came from there are rabbit holes. The one I took was to take me where I wanted to go."
"Rabbit Holes? Oh no, those fickle things of the magic less world," Peter said with a laugh, "They'll spin you anywhere, anytime any place but you can't control where they take you. Only Fate will decide that."
"Thanks for telling," Baelfire said bitterly, putting his knife away, "Where am I anyway?"
"Where?" Peter said, as he beckoned Baelfire to follow him. Baelfire did, looking at Peter as they walked to the forest. The sun rose into the sky at last casting a light on the island. Peter looked at Baelfire grinning, "Why you are in Neverland, the Land of Motionless Time. Come now, Day light is upon us and we can't let the pirates find us."
Baelfire wasn't sure about this new world, but there was one thing clear. There was magic, which meant it was one step closer to finding his father.
