"Agh, careful Deputy!" Jack yelped in pain while I was busy disinfecting his cuts as Bigby and Snow stood by.
"If you quit squirming around, then it wouldn't hurt so damn much now hold still," I lectured as I started bandaging up his cuts and Bigby puffed on his smoke.
"Okay, a group of men dressed in black suits with trench coats approached you, then they attacked you and you were able to fight them off and escape, correct?" Bigby questioned and Jack nodded once I was done as he pointed at the wooden leg that was on the desk.
"Yeah, and as you can see, one of them had a wooden leg so I picked it up in the hopes of being able to beat the bastards to death with it but they got away," Jack confirmed before Bigby hummed and sent him an unimpressed glance.
"So, what your scam this time, Jack?" Bigby asked skeptically while Jack started looking confused.
"What do you mean by that?" Jack questioned with a puzzled look as Bigby scowled.
"Alright, I don't believe you got mugged so you're planning something and I don't have time to deal with your antics," Bigby retorted and Jack's eyes widened in shock.
"Are you fucking kidding me?! I just got the shit kicked out of me and decided to tell the truth for once, but now you don't believe me and think I'm bullshitting you guys?!" Jack exclaimed in outrage as Bigby started examining the wooden leg.
"You're lying now because you always lie," Bigby stated before Jack sputtered in disbelief.
"This is such fucking bullshit because I'm reporting an assault and this is the thanks I get?! I can't believe that I thought coming here was a good idea since you're not even going to arrest the fuckers who did this to me," Jack spat out hotly and I sighed.
"Jack, look at it from our point of view because you are notorious for lying to people and we had to deal with that for centuries so please understand that anything you say, even if it's the truth, doesn't sound believable to anyone anymore," I told him and Jack gritted his teeth while looking like he wanted to explode.
"Alright, my cab's waiting so I have to go," Bigby chimed in as he went to leave and Jack hit the arm of the chair with his fist.
"You guys don't get it because they were Fables, new Fables in Fabletown!" Jack shouted and that got my attention as Bigby stopped and looked back at him.
"How so?" Bigby asked as Jack grimaced in pain.
"Because they wouldn't have been able to walk away from the beating I gave them and hitting those bastards felt like punching a wooden table," Jack huffed irritably as Bigby's eyes narrowed at his tone.
"Sure Jack, you certainly look like you got the better of them," Bigby said before he left and I sent an apologetic look to Jack.
"Sorry about him, we're all on edge because of Charming planning to run for mayor so you can imagine that it's got Sheriff Wolf in a less than pleasant mood," I said sheepishly and Jack sighed.
"Yeah, not surprising so would you please give me the benefit of the doubt for now?" Jack pleaded, causing me to frown thoughtfully until I let out a quiet groan and scratched the back of my head.
"Okay, you reported an assault and it's my job to look into it so I'll investigate but understand that if you are lying again, then you will be in a hell of a lot of trouble for wasting police resources," I warned and Jack nodded.
"I'm not lying, not this time and that's the honest-to-god truth," Jack stated while I stared at him with a stern glare.
"That remains to be seen so you better not be lying, not to mention that the whole Charming going to run for mayor thing is a big enough headache to deal with right now," I admitted just as Jack stood up and left the business office.
"Nate, are you sure that he's telling the truth? He could be lying again," Snow pointed out.
"I know, but I can't just ignore this if he is telling the truth and had been assaulted by a group of people so try to make sure that King Cole doesn't let Red sign the Fabletown charter," I instructed before I went over to the wooden leg and started to examine it for any scent of Jack's potential attackers.
A few days later, I continued my investigation and discovered the alley where Jack had been attacked and oddly picked up the scent of wood among the smell of blood, no person so it shouldn't make sense but experience has taught me that nothing was as it seemed so the fact that Jack was attacked and there were no scents of the group responsible told me that something was off just before I received a call from Snow on my phone telling me to head back to the business office until I went back and met up with her.
"Boy Blue? I haven't seen him in a few days so I assumed that he was taking an extended leave of absence," I answered after Snow asked me where Blue was with Grimble, Pinocchio, Flycatcher, Trusty John, and Buffkin in the room with me and Snow.
"Without coming to me about it first? That doesn't seem like him since he would've asked me first," Snow pointed out and I understood what she meant by that since Blue would lose his job for running off like this without telling anyone.
"Well, he's in love so I'm assuming that he ran off with that ditzy riding hood dame," Pinocchio remarked dryly just as Flycatcher held up Blue's horn to show us.
"Yeah, but for this long and without his horn?" Flycatcher wondered with a puzzled look just as my eyes narrowed at how suspicious all of this was.
"I know Boy Blue and he never goes anywhere without his horn so that definitely doesn't sound like him," I agreed and Pinocchio scoffed as he rolled his eyes.
"Eh, maybe they eloped or something, so I'll bet that they are in one of those sleazy honey-moon hotels at Niagara Falls right now," Pinocchio suggested with a smirk, causing me to send him an unamused look before I regained my attention on Snow.
"With Sheriff Wolf gone, I'm the only one here who can track Blue so let's get some sleep and get ready to find him and Red tomorrow," I pitched in and the others left the office, leaving me and Snow alone while I appeared pensive.
"Deputy, you look tense so are you okay?" Snow asked in concern and I looked at her with a deadly serious expression.
"Something is seriously wrong because Red shows up out of nowhere in the Mundy world when the Canadian gate should be closed, Jack stumbles into the business office badly beaten, and now Blue has been missing for five days? Snow, I've been doing this for a long time to understand that all three of these events are more than just coincidences so I believe it's time to put alpha protocol into effect," I stated grimly, then Snow's eyes widened since alpha protocol had been planned and set up by me centuries ago in the event of a highly worst-case scenario like the Adversary and his troops invading Fabletown.
"Are you serious?" Snow questioned in disbelief.
"Think about it, Jack being assaulted and Blue going missing for five days all happened just after Red shows up even though the Canadian gate had been closed on the other side and when you think about what Bigby and I told you of enemy soldiers being sent to the other side as covert operatives, there's no doubt that the Adversary has finally shown his hand and is most likely sending troops into the Mundy world right now so that they can invade Fabletown and drag us back to the homelands," I explained, my logic reasoning rendering Snow silent and unable to put up an argument until she tensed up.
"But why is the Adversary coming after us now when he had centuries to do it?" Snow questioned and I rested my hands on my duty belt as I pursed my lips thoughtfully.
"He might not have known we were here or he could've been preparing all this time...either way, we could have a lot of hell heading our way so we need to get some sleep and wait for Bigby to contact us tomorrow so that he can confirm my theory," I said grimly, then I said goodnight and left the business office until I arrived back at my apartment and went inside.
"Hey, how did your day go?" Casey inquired as I sat down on the sofa next to her and altered my uniform into casual clothes while my duty belt disappeared.
"Eh, nothing too interesting happened and how are the little ones?" I asked as I gazed at her abdomen, which had swelled up for the past few months to show just how pregnant she was as Casey sighed.
"Honestly, they've been squirming around in there and are really active so I can just tell that they are going to be a handful like that big-mouthed brother of mine," Casey grumbled, just as I reached over and placed my hand on her stomach before I felt the kits moving slightly and they stopped.
"Well, me being around seems to calm them down so maybe they like me more than you," I quipped and Casey glared at me to show how unamused she was by the joke.
"Oh, don't you flipping start because you're not the one who's pregnant and have to deal with these rambunctious little troublemakers kicking you in the gut every twenty seconds, though I pray that Reynard doesn't become a bad influence on them because one trickster fox is enough in my family," Casey stated, causing me to grimace at the thought of my kits becoming just as bad as Reynard because of him.
"Yeah...I don't think we would be able to handle six Reynards at the same time so we can only hope he'll be a good influence on the kits and maybe he'll be the funny uncle since every family has one of them," I commented just as Casey yawned and we spent the rest of the day together until we went to bed.
Later on, I was awoken by my cellphone buzzing on my bedside cabinet as I let out a quiet groan and reached over to get it until I flipped it open and put it against my head.
"Ugh...hello?" I questioned groggily.
"Deputy, it's me and they're all dead," Bigby told me and I sat up while gently rubbing the sleep from my eyes.
"Bigby, slow down because you just woke me up in the middle of the night so who's dead?" I inquired tiredly as Bigby sighed.
"I'm at the north Canadian gate and the entire Fable garrison here is dead, just completely wiped out," Bigby told me, which woke me up fully and alarmed me greatly as I made sure not to wake up Casey while I got out of bed and left the room quietly before gently closing the door as my uniform and duty belt appeared on me.
"Shit, is the gate still secured?" I questioned quietly.
"No, it's open again from the other side and, judging by the tracks in the snow, there's been lots of traffic coming through to the Mundy world while I can also see at least three different trucks backed up to the cave entrance to load whatever it is they've brought in so I need you to execute alpha protocol and gather everyone in Fabletown to the business office," Bigby instructed while I was completely tense.
"I was afraid this would happen, but it looks like the Adversary has finally made his move so I need to notify Snow about this immediately," I whispered while I went to my armory and headed inside to slip on a tactical vest and grab an M4A1 rifle with fresh ammo.
"I already informed her about the situation and she'll be heading to the safe under my desk in the Sheriff's office so she'll meet up with you at the business office, now I need to focus on destroying the gate since they didn't find our backup explosives, which was a sloppy move on their part so I can collapse the cave on my end.
I'll be on my way soon but, until then, make sure to hold out and give those bastards hell while you're at it," Bigby told me and I sighed.
"Don't worry, we'll make them regret attempting to fuck with us so hurry your ass back," I said before I hung up, just as I left the armory and saw that Casey was awake and wearing a robe while the nervous look on her face told me she heard everything.
"Nate, what the bloody hell are we going to do?" Casey inquired as I walked over and rested a hand on her shoulder.
"Listen to me very carefully, get dressed and get the gun that locked in the safe in our bedroom because you are going to need it while Snow and I make some calls to get everyone in Fabletown to the business office," I instructed grimly and quickly headed over to the front door before leaving the apartment.
A few hours later, Snow and I had gathered everyone in Fabletown and they were in the business office looking confused and concerned while we were gazing upon them and they mostly stared at me since I was armed with a rifle and had a police tactical vest on.
"What the hell is going on? I go out of town for a few days and the whole place goes bugfuck crazy," Cinderella commented in slight disbelief and Snow looked at me before motioning her head at the large crowd, causing me to step forward and clear my throat to get everyone's attention.
"Listen up, we have a serious situation developing and, as of this moment, alpha protocol has been put into effect so you all know what that means," I announced and the room went dead silent as every Fable looked at me in shock.
"Wait, you're telling us that an invasion is going to happen and we need to get ready, but what about the Sheriff?" Gren questioned and I looked at him.
"He'll be here as fast as he can but, until he arrives, we're on our own so all the time I spent teaching you all everything I know and had you practice for centuries will be put into effect so get ready because we're going to have a real fight on our hands and all that training will be put to good use.
Now, Deputy Mayor White will be handing out your assignments while I bring you all to my armory to get you armed-up for the fight so that Snow can speak to the witches council on the thirteenth floor, and what's going to happen is that the farm will be notified of the situation while the following Fables will coordinate preparations-" I instructed and was cut off from saying anything else when I heard a gunshot and it alarmed me.
"Oh lord, was that a gunshot?!" King Cole exclaimed just as I rushed over to the door with the others and we left, then we quickly headed down the nearby steps to the lobby when I saw Jack about to scramble up in a panic when he saw us.
"Oh god, they're back and they shot Trusty John!" Jack shouted in horror as I went past him, just before I saw three identical men at the front door that fit Jack's description of his attackers while they were well armed with handguns and a single shotgun before my eyes widened at the sight of John slumped against the wall on the floor while a bullet hole was in his stomach and there was a nude bloody person slung on one of the men's shoulder as I stopped and aimed at them.
"Stay back and lower that weapon because we're not here to cause trouble," the first man announced as the scent of wood came off of him and his friends.
"Not this trip," the second man added.
"We didn't even kill your meathead doorman, as we could have when he tried to impede us," the third man stated as the second one threw the naked person to the ground and my eyes widened in complete horror when I saw it was Boy Blue, who was badly beaten and had gashes all over him that was consistent with torture.
"And this thing is still alive too," the second man stated as everyone gasped and clamored in shock at the horrible sight.
"A generous gift from our benevolent mistress," the third man said.
"Proof of our peaceful intent," the first man assured as Snow ran over to Blue and went to check on him.
"Blue, oh my god! What the hell did you monsters do to him?!" Snow shouted in outrage as she glared up at the men, one of them sneering at her with a look of disgust.
"Don't insult us woman, and you better respect your betters," the first man warned.
"After all, he's just disposable meat that's eventual food for grubs and worms, but enough about that because we're here to deliver a very important message and one you would be wise to listen so stand back and listen with appropriate awe and silence," the second man told us as he holstered one of his revolvers and took out a scroll before opening it.
"To our subjects in Fabletown and throughout the mundane world, greetings from your emperor but like the prodigal's father and while our love for you endures without ceasing and with measureless charity, we long for the day when you're gathered back unto our bosom.
But do not fret that we intend to return you to us through force since our eyes are turned elsewhere for now, to the other distant Fable lands still ignorant of the Empire's manifest blessings so our fervent wish is to leave you peaceful in your self-imposed exile until you awaken to your own folly and rejoin us willingly.
In furtherance thereof, I send you our imperial envoy, a great lady of our court commonly known as Red Riding Hood and, under our protection, she speaks with our voice and will work tirelessly to achieve reconciliation but, in the meantime, we can't let you remain a thorn in our side and a distraction from other matters of concern.
Therefore, in one day, a troop of our imperial agents will arrive to take possession of all magical property illegally removed from our lands so take note that such items are known to us in detail and if you attempt to hide these objects, even in your hearts, there we will rake for them in the fullness of our power and wrath," the second man read from the scroll while I glared at him and his friends until he was done and rolled it back up.
"Is that it?" Snow asked after the second man was finished while I glared at the three assholes that dared to attack us like this.
"Thus the letter ends," the first man confirmed.
"Then hand it over and get the fuck out of here while you're still breathing," I growled as my eyes glowed gold and my teeth were sharp while my face held an expression of hatred.
"Treasure this document because it is a sacred thing," the first man added while the second one closed the scroll and handed it to King Cole, who was standing there in shock by what's happening.
"But there's one other matter not anticipated in our master's letter," the second man stated.
"Who knew he was here among you?" the third man wondered while I was confused by what they were talking about.
"Tomorrow, when we return to collect our emperor's property, we will also be taking the noble Pinocchio with us," the first man added and that made my eyes widen in horror while the person in question looked shocked.
"Why me?" Pinocchio questioned in disbelief and the three men looked at him.
"Because you're the first carved, our eldest brother," the first man replied.
"Beloved to us, even though horribly tainted by your unfortunate transformation to meat but fear not, our emperor's sorcerers can surely undo that curse by making you whole and good and wood again," the second man added as it all finally clicked for me.
'My god, so that's why they didn't smell human because they are wooden puppets animated by magic like Pinocchio used to be and I heard that they existed back when Bigby and I were still in the homelands,' I thought while I noticed that Charming had cautiously headed over to Trusty John to provide pressure on the bullet hole so that the poor man wouldn't bleed out.
"You have the day, brother, to gather your belongings and bid goodbye to this lot while everyone else is to stay inside until we've long departed," the third man instructed as he and his friends started to back out of the lobby and slowly left the building.
"Unless you wish to receive truly promiscuous amounts of gunfire," the second man added as they went out the front door.
"Remember, you have only twenty-four hours!" the first man shouted as I saw him and his friends run away until I quickly slung my rifle and rushed over to Blue so that I could check on his condition as Grimble pulled out his sidearm and moved over to the front doors to keep watch.
"Jesus, all three of them were goddamn wooden dolls like Pinocchio used to be so no wonder I couldn't hurt them!" Jack cried out in disbelief and I sent him a stern look to shut him up before I looked at the others while Charming lifted up Trusty John in his arms as Beast and Flycatcher also headed over to lift up Blue by the arms and legs.
"Flycatcher, Charming, get Blue and John to the hospital ASAP while we let Dr. Swineheart know you're coming, then get back as fast as you can because we need to set up defenses quickly for when those bastards come back with an army," I ordered sharply, then Charming, Flycatcher, and Beast left the building while I sent a nod to Snow and rushed up the stairs to my apartment until I went in and saw Casey looking panicked while she was holding a 38. revolver in one hand.
"Nate, what the bloody hell is going on and was that a gunshot?!" Casey cried out in alarm as I hurried over to pull her into a hug.
"Listen to me, the Adversary is going to send a battalion of wooden soldiers to Fabletown so I need you to stay here and get ready because all hell is going to break loose," I said and Casey's eyes widened in horror.
"Oh god, I want to help so let me go out there to fight," Casey stated and I shook my head.
"Listen, I know you want to help but you're pregnant and it's too much of a risk because you going out there to fight will endanger the kits, so I want you to stay here since you'll do more good with helping Rose and Snow once the farm's residents show up to assist," I instructed and Casey frowned.
"But Nate-" Casey tried to protest and I gently shushed her while I held her in my arms.
"I'm sorry, but this is non-negotiable because I love you and it would destroy me if something were to happen to you and our kits...please, just stay here and keep that gun close since there's a good chance the enemy might get into the building," I insisted before I kissed her for a couple of minutes and backed away.
"Just...stay safe," Casey told me hesitantly and I smiled.
"Don't worry, I'll be fine and I taught everyone in Fabletown everything I know while also having them practice for centuries so everything will turn out okay," I assured until I turned around and left the apartment, getting ready for the battle that would happen soon.
A/N Hey, I want to greatly apologize for not updating in so long since I had to deal with a combination of personal issues and writer's block, but I'm back and I've been planning for the battle of Fabletown against the wooden soldiers to go a bit differently this time around thanks to Nate training the Fables and having them prepare for centuries so that they can stand a chance, which is what alpha protocol is.
So, let me know what you think and stay tuned.