A/N: Lilac is owned by my dear friend AnnaleaseTurner.


A dark brown-haired man with green eyes was shown to be in front of the bar. He nodded at the three before they nodded back before they went over to The Rabbit Hole's door. Gold stepped inside The Rabbit Hole with Cherry and Cathleen. The two looked around, though it was mostly a curious case for Cathleen while Cherry readjusted and glanced around. She used to come here for ladies' night with Regina and a couple of other girl friends just to unwind from the workweek and hang out.

"Welcome to The Rabbit Hole." The bartender greeted as he came to meet the three as they sat at the bar.

"Thanks," Cathleen said. "You own this place?"

"You could say that," The bartender replied. "I can tell that you must be new around here."

"Uh... Yeah..." Cathleen shrugged bashfully. "Just visiting though."

"Well, it's always nice to see someone new in Storybrooke City." The bartender replied.

"Hey, Percy," Cherry greeted. "I'll have my usual. Do you remember it?"

"Certainly! Jabberwock Gin?" Percy replied, just to check.

"You remember." Cherry smirked.

"Of course I do," Percy smirked back before looking at Cathleen and Gold. "And how about you two? Scotch for you, Mr. Gold?"

"That would be just fine." Gold approved.

"I guess I'll try a Caterpillar Cocktail." Cathleen added.

"Very well then," Percy nodded. "I just gotta warn you though. The Caterpillar Cocktail is a bit smoky."

"I'll take my chances." Cathleen shrugged.

"Comin' right up!" Percy said before dashing off, quick like a bunny.

"He seems nice." Cathleen commented.

"Yeah, he's pretty cool," Cherry replied. "By the way, you should tell them that it isn't your birthday."

"...Why?" Cathleen asked.

"Cuz you get a special 'un-birthday drink'," Cherry smirked. "They love un-birthdays around here."

"Aye... Wonderland was weird and annoying like that..." Gold shook his head and rolled his eyes slightly with a small smirk on his face.

"Good to know." Cathleen replied.

The three soon took that time to relax and take it easy a bit.

"Cigars? Cigarettes?" A voice asked before it sounded closer to the trio at the table. "Is that Cherry?"

Cherry blinked and looked over before seeing a familiar face. "Lilac?"

"Long time no see, buddy~" A young woman smirked as she winked at the perky goth while serving other people.

"You two know each other?" Cathleen asked. "Then again, I guess I shouldn't be surprised. Cherry seems to know everybody in Storybrooke."

"Well, she did help save us before she disappeared after Aurelia was born." Gold clarified to Cathleen.

"I knew that." Cathleen shrugged innocently.

"You never come out to see us anymore, Cherry~" Lilac pouted a bit. "Don't you miss us?"

"Of course I do... I did... I still do," Cherry defended. "Things just suddenly came up. Man, it's really good to see you, Lilac."

"I definitely missed you most of all~" Lilac pouted innocently.

"I missed you too," Cherry nodded. "Especially on some nights, Percy would let me come in to work as a change of pace."

"Oh... Out with Mr. Gold, I see..." Lilac then said, seeing Cherry's company beside her before looking at Cathleen. "And who's this? This doesn't look like Belle."

"This is Cathleen," Cherry introduced. "She's another friend of mine."

"So I see," Lilac remarked with a small smirk. "Pleased to meet you, Cathleen."

"Uh, pleased to meet you too," Cathleen said. "So you're a Storybrooke native, I'll guess? I definitely don't remember you on Cartoon Network."

"Wonderland native, but yes," Lilac nodded. "I used to be a flower if that makes sense~"

"You mean those mean flowers who made fun of Alice and made her feel bad?" Cathleen glared sharply.

"Easy, wolf girl," Cherry warned her werewolf friend. "Lilac's harmless. Especially around me."

"Well, it helps that you have a very pretty face~" Lilac giggled. "Would you like your cheese sticks tonight?"

"Hmm... Yeah... That sounds good." Cherry nodded.

"All right then~" Lilac beamed as she walked off. "Anything for you, Cathleen or Mr. Gold?" she then asked.

"Eh, I guess I'll just take some pretzels." Cathleen shrugged.

"I'll have some too," Gold added. "The honey ones, please."

"Certainly," Lilac nodded at them before she walked off just as Percy came back with their drinks, smiling at them. "Yo, Chrys! We got a double order of pretzels! One plain, one honey!" she then called out.

"Coming, Lilac!" A voice called back.

"Chrys?" Cherry asked. "Lilac, you have a new worker I don't know about?"

"She said she came from The Meadow of Living Flowers in Wonderland like I did," Lilac replied with a shrug. "I don't recognize her in this form, but hopefully she's friendly to you like I am to you and vice versa."

Out came a young blonde woman with fluffy pigtails and icy blue eyes. She wore a Rabbit Hole waitress uniform like Lilac's. Something about her seemed vaguely familiar, but at the same time it didn't, especially to Cherry and Cathleen.

"So... You're Chrys?" Cherry asked the blonde girl.

"Yeah, short for Chrysanthemum," The waitress nodded. "You must be Cherry. Lilac and Percy have told me some things about you."

"Oh... Go on..." Cherry smiled bashfully.

"I'll get those pretzels, Lilac," Chrys smiled at her fellow waitress. "Eventually, of course."

"All right, Chrys." Lilac nodded.

"Pretty nice evening so far," Cathleen commented to Gold and Cherry. "I can kinda see why you'd hang out around here. It seems pretty interesting."

"Yes, it's good to kick back once in a while over here," Gold replied. "Though I'm not very social around the others in Storybrooke. Most folks often avoided me."

"So you were Rumplestiltskin in The Enchanted Forest?" Cathleen asked. "But you were also dating Belle as in Belle from Beauty and the Beast?"

"Aye... I was also 'The Beast'," Gold nodded before he did his usual hand gesture as Rumplestiltskin. "Also, if you ask Killian Jones, I'm also 'The Crocodile'."

"Why'd he call you that?" Cathleen asked.

"Well... I kinda had scaly and golden skin as Rumplestiltskin after I took The Dark One's powers," Gold explained. "He said I seemed more like a crocodile and less like a man... I even took his hand from him, making him earn his nickname of 'Captain Hook'."

"Really? I thought Peter Pan cut off Captain Hook's hand?" Cathleen asked.

"There's a lot about us that you don't know, dearie," Gold replied softly. "I don't wish to discuss Peter Pan much longer."

"How come?" Cathleen asked.

"Never mind how come," Gold dismissed her, waving his hand and shaking his head. "We'll probably tell you more later or maybe even Cherry can give you the abridged version. Let's just say Peter Pan destroyed my father when I was a lad."

"Um, okay?" Cathleen replied, shrugging in response.

"Just trust me, dearie." Gold advised.


Eventually, the two had their pretzels and began snacking together.

"So, uh, Mr. Gold... Cherry really made a difference in Storybrooke, didn't she?" Cathleen asked. "I didn't even know Ursula and Dr. Facilier were her parents. I mean... I've met her parents and they were nothing like that."

"Those were probably the two who raised her after The Dark Curse separated all of us and took our memories, freezing us in time for 28 years until Emma Swan showed up," Gold said as he began to snack on the pretzels with her. "Like I've said... Our stories are very long and complicated for someone like you to understand."

Cathleen narrowed her eyes suddenly. "What do you mean someone like me? Are you saying I'm dumb?" she then asked firmly.

"No, dearie. I just mean someone who isn't as familiar with Storybrooke as Cherry or Emma are," Gold explained, not feeling scared of her fear in the slightest. "You are a bit ignorant to our world and where we came from. Mostly because Storybrooke didn't exist until Regina cast The Dark Curse as The Evil Queen. I didn't even remember it until I met Emma and she said her name when I happened to show up."

"Really?" Cathleen asked then.

"Indeed," Gold nodded before sipping his drink. "Back when Mary Margaret Blanchard and David Nolan were Snow White and Prince Charming, I demanded to know the name of their future child which I used as my loophole to remember the curse and 'wake up' and no one would know or realize it aside from Regina~"

"That's pretty twisted..." Cathleen remarked. "So... You would like it if Cherry stayed in Storybrooke, wouldn't you?"

"I'd love it, yes," Gold nodded. "But in the end, it's her choice, not mine. Belle, Aurelia, and I would be more than happy to have her stay with us of course."

Cathleen listened before nodding in silence.


The rest of the evening seemed to go alright with nothing bad happening. Gold soon excused himself to visit the restroom, leaving Cherry and Cathleen alone briefly.

"So, did you guys have a good talk?" Cherry asked Cathleen. "Seemed like you two found something interesting to talk about."

"Just more about Storybrooke's history and everything," Cathleen said. "Mr. Gold definitely seems hopeful and excited about you staying behind here."

"Ah, I see..." Cherry remarked.

"So, what do you think?" Cathleen asked. "After this adventure and we're all done, are you gonna stay here forever?"

"Cath, I don't know..." Cherry said with a sigh. "Part of me feels like I should, especially since Aurelia's here, but at the same time, I feel like I should go back home with you in the end. I just don't know what I'm gonna do in the end."

"Well... Being your friend, I think I'll let you do whatever you think is right," Cathleen said after taking a deep breath. "You're my friend, so I'll support you no matter what choice you make in the end."

"Thank you, Cath. That's very mature of you." Cherry said with a small nod before sipping more of her drink.

"I try my best anyway," Cathleen said before smirking. "I'm another year older, aren't I?"

"Hmm... Sometimes I'm not totally sure about that." Cherry smirked back.

The two friends laughed together for a bit.

"Hey, Cherry... You wanna do karaoke tonight?" Lilac asked as she walked by. "I miss your beautiful singing voice."

Cherry blushed and grinned nervously in response.

"Karaoke? Cherry?" Cathleen asked. "That doesn't sound right."

"Oh, yeah!" Lilac giggled a bit. "Cherry used to do karaoke here sometimes if she was 'confident' enough. I think she has a very lovely voice."

"Aw, come on, Lilac... I was barely that good..." Cherry said bashfully as she sunk in her seat a bit.

"I thought you were amazing," Lilac smirked warmly. "Oh, well. I won't force ya."

"Thank you," Cherry sighed in relief. "Maybe another time, okay?"

"Oh, sure thing," Lilac smiled before patting Cherry on the head. "You do you, especially since you're back visiting your home away from home."

"Hm~..." Cherry blushed bashfully in respsonse.

"You two were close too, huh?" Cathleen asked Cherry as Lilac walked away to get back to work.

"Pretty close, yeah," Cherry shrugged a bit. "She usually helped keep pervy men away from me."

"I'd hate to imagine what she'd do if Johnny Bravo did what he did during our old What a Cartoon adventure." Cathleen said in memory.

"Pfft... Let's not imagine that, shall we?" Cherry chuckled.

After a while, Gold had come back, then Cathleen used the restroom next.

"So, is your friend adjusting to Storybrooke okay?" Gold asked Cherry.

"I'm not sure," Cherry shrugged. "She also asked if I'm gonna stay here after the mission or not, but I just don't know what I'm gonna do."

"Well, I can't force you to do what I would want, what's very important is what you would want," Gold replied warmly. "Though I'm sure the answer will be in your heart once you take care of what's going on around here, especially with those Cartoon Network people."

"Believe me, I'd love to get behind what's going on with that," Cherry nodded. "I mean... What do nostalgic cartoon characters have to do with fairy tales?"

"I couldn't tell you." Gold shook his head.


The two then continued to chat until Cathleen would come back. Eventually, Cathleen did come back, then Cherry decided to visit the bathroom next as the evening was winding down and it was about time to go back to bed for the night.

"After she's done, we'll turn in for the night." Gold suggested.

"Are ya tired, Mr. Gold?" Cathleen asked.

"No, but we should call it a night," Gold said with a small smile. "I never really need to sleep, though I usually lie down and drift off during the night. Not even I can escape Morpheus' grasp."

"I see..." Cathleen said. "Well, you should know to be careful around me when the next full moon comes out."

"Yes, I know, because you're a Lycan like Mrs. Lucas and her granddaughter," Gold replied casually. "I helped them in the past and could probably even help you... For a price~" he then added with a smirk.

"A price?" Cathleen asked.

"Yes... Magic always comes with a price," Gold replied like it was obvious. "I helped Ruby with her situation back in The Enchanted Forest and it still works for the most part."

"What did you do?" Cathleen then asked.

"Who do you think gave Little Red Riding Hook her cloak?" Gold smirked. "Her grandmother came to me once Ruby was entering adolescence, so she wears it once a month during the full moon so she doesn't go wolf and go out of control if she doesn't want to."

"Man... This place changes everything I know about storybook characters." Cathleen commented.

"Yeah... Someone should write a book or make a TV show about Storybrooke someday," Gold shrugged. "It would definitely be interesting."


Meanwhile, Cherry was washing her hands in the bathroom before a toilet flushed and Chrys stepped out of the stall she was in, joining Cherry's side at the sinks.

"Oh... Hey, Chrys." Cherry greeted the blonde waitress.

"Hi, Cherry," Chrys smiled innocently. "I sure hope that you're having a good time tonight with your friend and Mr. Gold."

"Oh, I am," Cherry nodded. "It's also nice to meet you... You sure you're from Wonderland? I feel like I might know you from somewhere else." she then said as she glanced at Chrys curiously.

"Oh, sure, I'm definitely from Wonderland," Chrys smiled innocently before murmuring something else under her breath. "As far as you know."

"Huh?" Cherry blinked, thinking that she probably heard something else.

"Oh, nothing~" Chrys smiled innocently. "So... You trust Mr. Gold, huh?"

"Well... Yes, I do," Cherry replied. "I was a bit scared of him the first time I saw him, but eventually I began to feel something for him... Then eventually, he and his wife decided to let me move in with them and we all became a happy family and eventually, we had our daughter, Aurelia."

"Oh... A daughter, how cute!" Chrys cooed.

"Yeah... She's a sweetie..." Cherry blushed bashfully before she took out her phone and showed one of Aurelia's baby pictures with her doll. "This was her a while after we brought her home and that doll that I spelled for her, Milah."

"Interesting..." Chrys smiled and nodded. "Though... I'd watch out around Mr. Gold. He was The Dark One first, what's to stop him from becoming The Dark One again?"

Cherry narrowed her eyes. "He wouldn't do that," she then said defensively. "Sure, he was corrupted by the dagger so long that he forgot the goodness in his heart, but he's officially a clean slate, especially after I showed up. I don't know what you heard or who this Fallen Leader is, but it is definitely not Mr. Gold."

"You never know," Chrys said mysteriously. "He could stab you in the back any minute... Hasn't he betrayed Belle before?"

"...I think this conversation is over, Chrys." Cherry said, her voice suddenly distant.

"Because you know I'm right?" Chrys asked. "He always lied to and manipulated Belle. He might do the same for you and he'll just cry using crocodile tears. He'll hurt you worse than any chance you have of healing him."

"Sure, Chrys... Whatever you say..." Cherry said, stiffening in tone. "You believe what you'll wanna believe and I'll believe in what I wanna believe."

"Suit yourself," Chrys shrugged. "I'm just trying to look out for you."

"You don't know me," Cherry glared darkly. "So I think you should focus on waiting tables and serving drinks while keeping your nose out of my business. Don't ever talk to me about Mr. Gold ever again." she then added before coming out of the bathroom and slamming the door behind her.

Chrys narrowed her eyes, but she allowed Cherry to get going.

"Sheesh... What a real witch with a capital B..." Cherry grumbled to herself. "She might be a friend of Lilac's, but unless she changes her tune, I'm not speaking to her anymore."

Gold soon looked over, noticing that Cherry was mumbling about something. "Problem, dearie?" he then asked her calmly.

"Huh? Oh, uh... Nothing..." Cherry replied. "Are we leaving then?"

"Yes, I suppose we should," Gold nodded. "If you girls are ready to go then?"

"Yeah... I feel tired all of a sudden." Cherry said.

"I'm almost never tired, but I guess if you guys wanna, we could go." Cathleen shrugged.

"We should probably go," Gold suggested, nodding at Cathleen. "You girls have had a long travel and big adventure ever since you agreed to become The Toon Saviors."

"Tell me about it," Cherry replied. "Probably bigger than the adventures I had here in Storybrooke and some of the ones I had before coming here and finding out about a life I never remembered or knew about."

"Oh, I can understand how big and busy adventures can be sometimes," Gold nodded. "Remember when I was in The Ogre Wars?"

"You had yourself be sent home early." Cherry reminded.

"The point is, there's a struggle and you have to know when enough is enough, plus you girls can focus and solve the long-awaited mystery of who combined the old, classic Cartoon Network and Storybrooke," Gold replied. "Come now. Maybe Belle's back home from hanging out with Ruby and Dorothy."

"Yeah... Hopefully." Cherry said with a small smile.

"Belle and Ruby are good friends?" Cathleen asked as they soon went out to the Cadillac and went to ride back to their temporary shelters for the rest of the evening.

"Oh, yes," Gold nodded as he drove them away from The Rabbit Hole. "Especially whenever I gave Cherry one-on-one time or whenever Aurelia had a babysitter. They're practically best friends."

"Well, that does sound interesting." Cathleen remarked.

"They usually help each other out of sticky situations too," Cherry added from memory. "Ruby's cool though."

"I like Ruby a lot too," Cathleen agreed. "She feels like a sister to me sometimes, though she and Granny seem to know more about being a wolf than I do from what I remember my dad telling me."

"Well, Ruby and Mrs. Lucas are just a little bit older than you and you had your memories taken from you like we did before Emma Swan broke our curse," Gold said. "So it probably has something to do with those two key factors."

"Hmm... I guess you're right about that, Mr. Gold." Cathleen then agreed.

"I know quite a lot, dearie~" Gold smirked, almost smugly. "I've been on this Earth much longer than anyone would ever be able to guess, though probably not as much as Merlin."

"As in Merlin the Wizard?" Cathleen guessed.

"Aye," Gold nodded. "He's very wise and has been around the world plenty of times, especially with young King Arthur and his misadventures with Camelot."

Cathleen merely nodded as they continued to ride off, heading for the Bed & Breakfast first.


Back at The Rabbit Hole, Lilac was on her own way back home as Chrys met up with the bouncer outside the door.

"So, uh... Were those the two that The Fallen Leader told us about?" The bouncer asked Chrys.

"Of course they were, you idiot. They were hanging around Mr. Gold," Chrys rolled her eyes like it was obvious. "I didn't expect the darker one to listen through to me, but I did what I could."

"And I'm guessing it didn't work out?" The bouncer asked.

"Not so much in my favor," Chrys replied. "We might need to call in the big guns from our team to maybe get through to her. Also, The Fallen Leader might have plans for The Lycan due to her closeness with the supposed Red Riding Hood and Grandmother Riding Hood."

"Makes sense as they're Lycans as well, though the old lady's too old to turn into a wolf again, but her scent is still as strong as ever and she's even got a freakin' crossbow," The bouncer then said. "Not even Sledgehammer O'Possum can get her down with HIS level of slapstick and zaniness that involves cartoon torture and abuse that would make Tom and Jerry blush."

"We'll worry about the grandmother later," Chrys replied. "Let's just head back to our secret base before anyone unsuspecting sees us. At least the Leader can blend in a bit easier with that spellbook from The Queen of Hearts from Wonderland who had a relationship with Rumplestiltskin. Foolish imp thought that she loved him back when she was a mere miller's daughter."

And at that, they soon ran away from The Rabbit Hole as quickly and carefully as they could before anyone would see them and rat them out.


Eventually, they made it back and were stopped before they could go any further.

"State your names... Your real names and business in Cartoon Network..." The Fallen Leader demanded before they could get too far as two spotlights shined down on the two in the deep darkness of the headquarters.

"Thomas Snider, host of Fridays on Cartoon Network from 2003-2007." The bouncer revealed himself.

"Tara Sands, hostess of Fridays on Cartoon Network from 2005-2007." Chrys added, revealing her true name and self.

"Tommy... Tara... Welcome back," The Fallen Leader chuckled deeply once the room lit up again. "How was your evening going down The Rabbit Hole?"

"Oh, I had a bit of trouble with that so-called perky goth Toon Savior, but I suppose it just goes to show you," Tara shrugged. "You feed the darkness, it feeds on you. She oughta know that since her father is a Shadow Sorcerer and she's all buddy-buddy with Mr. Gold AKA Rumplestiltskin."

"Yes... I have no idea what she sees in that ugly troll," The Fallen Leader scoffed. "We'll probably have to send in Agent Blake after her..."

"Agent Blake?" Tommy and Tara asked.

"Yes... Subject Cherry knows very little about her own past, even after getting her memories back," The Fallen Leader replied. "Luckily there aren't any traces of Facilier or Ursula around right about now, so it might be able to work out."

"Hmm... Hopefully, it does..." Tommy nodded. "You'll have to be careful about that though, uh... Sir... I mean... Cherry isn't as dumb as she might seem to be, not to mention her Lycan friend would probably suspect something, but probably not catch on as quick as she doesn't know a lot about Storybrooke."

"You let me worry about that and you two just do your jobs," The Fallen Leader scoffed. "We'll get them and this whole world will become mine... I'll finally get the recognition I deserve."

"And we'll be better remembered?" Tara asked hopefully.

Tommy and The Fallen Leader both gave her a look then.

"Y-Ya know... Cartoon Cartoon Fridays is more beloved and popular... Even though our Fridays segments got the home video release on DVD?" Tara shrugged, smiling nervously and weakly. "We had much better segments too! Whiskers the Kitten Who Can Name Fruit, Shimmy, Milkman Fred, that weird Spelling Bee..."

"Ah! And don't forget Diner Lady!" Tommy quickly added bashfully. "I-I mean... So much better than that silly old Cartoon Orbit thing where kids could go online and collect cToons or whatever the heck that was. I don't remember a whole lot, to be honest with ya."

"I blame Nickelodeon for that going downhill eventually," Tara then smirked boastfully. "Though it did have that cool game Nicktropolis."

"SILENCE!" The Fallen Leader snapped at them both. "You will get what you want as long as you remember to help me get what I want. Just keep playing along for as long as possible and soon, we will all get our rewards that we all so desire. I'll make it happen, one way or another, even if no one will recognize me once I have those two Saviors exactly where I want them~"

Tommy and Tara nodded, nervously grinning and chuckling.

"I'll ready Agent Blake when the time is right and I'm not talking about Daphne Blake or that annoying little punk Blake Michael who brought us that... Urgh... Experiment of 'Fried Dynamite," The Fallen Leader then said. "You'll see... It'll all be worth it in the end~"

There was soon evil laughter that filled the air. Tommy and Tara then began to laugh along with The Fallen Leader together. The Fallen Leader then stopped laughing, making Tommy and Tara stop laughing. Eventually, the three split up for the rest of the evening and that was that.


Later, Cathleen was soon dropped off at Granny's Inn and she was on her way to bed.

"Hey, Cathleen," Ruby smiled. "Did you have a nice evening with Cherry and Mr. Gold?"

"Yeah... It was interesting," Cathleen nodded. "Probably not a place I'd go to all the time, but yeah... It was pretty interesting."

"Good... I'm glad you had fun," Ruby replied. "Oh, by the way... I don't mean to keep you up much longer, but what are your parents' names?"

"Oh... Well, I didn't find out until later that the woman I thought was my mother was just my step-mother, so my biological mother's name was Luna and my father's name is Patrick." Cathleen informed.

"I see... Patrick Ross, right?" Ruby nodded.

"Yes, that's right," Cathleen confirmed. "Why do you ask?"

"I was just wondering," Ruby smiled innocently. "You have a good night. Okay, Cath?"

"Sure, Rubes," Cathleen smiled back. "Don't stay up too late, okay?"

"I'll try," Ruby chuckled. "Good night, Cathleen."

"Good night, Ruby." Cathleen nodded before she went back up the stairs to go and get some sleep for the rest of the night after a very eventful evening.

"Patrick... Ross..." Ruby whispered to herself as she scribbled the name down on a random note. "All right... I'll be sure to tell Granny about this." she then said before she left the inn and locked the door behind her to go back to her house with Dorothy.