AN: See chapter 1 for story notes and summaries.
Ships: Snowing, Rumbelle, Swan Believer, Swanfire, Daddy Charming, Mama Snow, HadesxPersephone, Mama Persephone, and a delightful Golden Mad Charming BroT3. :)
Please consider leaving a review. Feedback is much appreciated and vital. Reviews have dropped a bit, but any feedback you can give is much appreciated.
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Special note:
Here are the main face claims that we're dealing with right now. For other minor Gods/Goddesses/characters, see previous chapters:
Gal Gadot as Persephone
Robert Downey Jr. as Hades
Ben Affleck as Prince Eli
Rami Malek as Apollo
Drew Barrymore as former Queen Serafina
Note: Three years have now passed since the previous chapter's events.
Thanks for awesome the reviews. Again, please consider leaving feedback. I love writing this story, but a lot of hard work in my free time goes into getting weekly chapters up, so reviews are really gratifying. Unless you're a troll. Troll comments will be deleted.
Here are individual responses:
Saberius Prime: Yep, finally a time skip in this fic. Believe it or not, it was still only 2012 in this story. So we're jumping ahead a bit. There were some stories I wanted to move along a bit that was best served this way. :)
Grace5231973: Yep, the road to their revenge is going to be a long one. This story was due for a time skip since there really hasn't ever been a significant one. I will answer those questions in this chapter. :)
Jennifer Baratta: Thanks, glad you enjoyed it. Yep, Ravenna will lose, but she'll try to cause a whole lot of damage before she does.
Number Ten: Yep, it was definitely time for a time jump. Their revenge will be a slow road that will have built to the climate we'll be picking up three years later. Yeah, I needed to get rid of Pan before the time jump. He was one villain that wouldn't wait around for revenge. Yep, Alexander will be three so he'll be keeping everyone on their toes. Hermes, always the worm in this story. I'm actually going a different direction with Regina. I hope it doesn't disappoint too much, but I decided against OQ in this story.
Guest: Thanks. Yep, Pan is gone. Good riddance. I have a vague outline of the Arthur plot line, but haven't made any firm decisions on which direction I want to go. But it's possible I will do at least something with the Dark One lore. Probably quite a bit different from the show, but I like the idea of the dark power jumping around to different people. We shall see. Yeah, I think if Hans does anything to help the heroes, it will be for self preservation, but he may go that route. Ravenna is the next thing to insane, after all. Yep, to Snowing, they're in their own little world and I love that. :)
Naomi Blue: I'm glad Pan is gone too. Greg and Landon, as well as Ravenna are definitely the next big threats. I think you'll find some interesting developments have happened in the last three years. :)
Beth1980: Yep, Landon and Greg found Kurt's body and sent it off to the FBI lab. If the FBI shows up, it's going to be bad. I love the image of little Xander as a mini version of David. Yep, Pan called them on their ruse, but Hades still managed to be one step ahead. No, Frollo and Ravenna will not be so easy. Neither will Arthur either. Yep, Ravenna can control the Chernabog which is all kinds of bad. Villains do like to monologue a lot, don't they? Yep, Snow is very fortunate that Persephone can heal her. Ha, don't worry, you won't have to wait that long for this update. :)
Dreaming Out Loud
Chapter 115: Only You
Imagine a world where everything you thought to be fiction or myth turned out to be real. Imagine a world, larger than life, where Gods ruled, a simple kiss from a Prince really could wake a Princess, and the lines between good and evil were not as defined as one might think. Imagine that all the stories you think you know so well turned out to be much different than you thought. Imagine if magic was as real as science. Imagine if you didn't have to imagine any of that and it was all true…
"This is what you have so far?" Greg asked, as a barrage of real footage they had collected and images they had captured played on the screen after Landon's voice over ended.
"Yeah...it's great, don't you think?" he asked.
"It looks like a movie trailer. No one is going to think it's anything other than that," Greg complained, as he paced the room.
"I can't believe that three years of work and this is what we have," he growled.
"Hey...this is good. We have some really damning footage of real magic being performed and real life depictions of actual people that are thought to be fictional characters," Landon admonished.
"That no one will believe!" Greg argued.
"After three years...we have nothing! My father's bones are buried in the FBI crime lab, because no one cares about a thirty-three year old crime! And you've just made a fancy movie trailer that I'm sure any Hollywood studio would love to fund, but I have nothing!" Greg raged.
"Calm down...we can take a different approach with the footage. Maybe I got a bit cinematic with the voice over," Landon agreed.
"You think?" Greg snapped. Landon sighed.
"The crime lab is still our in with all of this. I know it's been a long time, but they will get back to us. They'll get a match. They may already have, but opening a cold case will have to go through proper channels. But that's good for us," he continued.
"How?" Greg asked.
"Because if they do match your DNA to the remains and identify him as your missing father...that will attract the attention of some of the higher ups. Opening a cold case that's over thirty years old doesn't happen every day," Landon replied. Greg sighed.
"Fine...just do something about that silly voice over," he said.
"Relax…I'll get rid of the voice over and turn on the regular audio. Maybe if we just go with the bare bones footage, people will see that it's completely unedited," Landon replied, as they watched some of the unedited footage.
"I just want her to pay…" Greg growled.
"I mean...she killed my father, but they allowed her to remain free and move on. All this bull about how she's redeemed herself and even found love! It's ridiculous! She deserves to be in prison!" Greg ranted.
"I agree with you...and maybe we can take a different strategy," Landon said.
"Like what?" Greg asked.
"Well...we've managed to acquire a few beans without them knowing over the years. Hell, they've grown so many that they'd never miss them even if we took a bushel. Maybe it's time to go to the FBI and make them listen. Maybe it's time to find a way to make her confess. We get her outside Storybrooke...there's no magic there to protect any of them," Landon replied.
"How are we going to do that?" Greg asked.
"She has a son...she has someone she loves now. We can use them to get her to do whatever we want," Landon replied.
"We'd have to lure them away from the rest," Greg reminded.
"Not easy...but not impossible either," Landon surmised.
"Okay...let's do it. Let's make her confess and then take her to them," Greg agreed.
"Great...in the meantime, I'll shop this tape around the Internet. No credible documentary company will pay it any mind. But on the dark web...that will be a different story. If we can get people talking about it...then eventually, it will go viral," Landon said.
Snow's emerald eyes opened and she smiled, as she found herself firmly ensconced in her husband's arms.
"Good morning," he said in a husky tone, as they shared a kiss.
"Good morning handsome," she purred back, as he held her close and they heard some babbling coming from the baby monitor.
"Sounds like someone else is awake," she mentioned. He smiled and kissed her cheek.
"I'll get her," he said, as he ventured off to the adjoining nursery. She heard their bedroom door open at that point and smiled at the sound of tiny feet beating it toward the bed. She leaned over and pretended to jump in surprise.
"Boo!" little Xander exclaimed and Snow gasped, as she helped him climb onto their large, King sized bed.
"Good morning sweetheart," she cooed, as she settled him in her lap and kissed his blonde haired head.
"Morning mommy…" he cooed in return, as he was focused on playing with the toys he had brought with him. About that time, David returned with their baby. Ten months ago, Snow had given birth to their third child, a little girl they decided to name Iris. While their son had inherited David's coloring in hair and eyes, their second daughter had very fine raven colored hair like Snow and David's blue eyes as well.
"Daddy!" Xander called, as David sat down on the bed with them and let the baby crawl between them, while his son jumped into his arms.
"What do you have there, little man?" he asked, as he noticed the toy horse in his hand.
"Horsie," he replied, as his baby sister had crawled into Snow's lap. David had changed her, but she was ready to nurse. He helped her settle down in bed and she began to nurse their daughter. These were their typical mornings, spent quietly together, before their daily routine would set in. They ruled together equally. David spent much of his time overseeing the defense side of their Kingdom and Sheriffing all the Realms with Emma, which he greatly enjoyed. Snow handled the day to day tasks on the diplomatic side, though there were many meetings they attended together, especially when military officials visited from other Kingdoms.
During the day, Ruth, Serafina, and Robert happily watched their grandchildren, as did Hades, Persephone, and Eli when their ruling duties allowed it. But Snow and David's children weren't the only ones keeping their six grandparents busy. There had been many changes to their family and it had grown in more ways than one.
"You go ahead and clean up first. And then we can switch," Snow said.
"You sure?" he asked. She nodded and cuddled the baby and their son, who was very occupied with his toys.
"Okay...then I'll get the munchkins dressed while you clean up. Then we'll go get breakfast," he said, as he kissed her tenderly.
"Granny's?" Xander asked. David chuckled.
"Yeah...we'll go to Granny's," he agreed.
"I want pancakes," he announced.
"Mmm...pancakes sound good. With blueberries," Snow said.
"No...chocolate chip, like Emmy has," Xander replied, making them chuckle.
"Okay...chocolate chip it is," Snow agreed, as he smiled at them and went to shower.
James looked out over his Kingdom from the balcony of the King's bed chambers. It was almost mind boggling how much his life had changed in the last three years since he had been miraculously resurrected. He was sure now that if Cronus knew for certain that he couldn't count on James' loyalty, he probably wouldn't have chosen to bring him back. But the God of Time had much bigger problems than him. He didn't know much about Cronus' original plan, except it had involved eliminating Zeus and then claiming the power of the skies. But that power had chosen Persephone as its new champion and had almost guaranteed that Cronus would never rise to power. He had settled into ruling his own Kingdom for the last three years and while they would always be leery of him, he was not the biggest threat out there.
After Leopold unfairly took back his own Kingdom, James had opened his castle to Regina and Henry, giving them a place to stay close. While they could have returned to the mansion in Storybrooke, Regina knew Henry wanted to be close to his biological family and Regina was sincerely working on repairing her relationship with Snow; much to his sister-in-law's delight.
It was a surprising thing to see Regina and Snow become good friends, especially after all the bad blood between them. But Regina had really committed to becoming a better person, for herself and for Henry. He understood her journey better than anyone, so it probably shouldn't have surprised them when they fell in love. But they did and after the shock had worn off, they had entered into a loving relationship, one like he had never had and never expected to have. And one she like she hadn't experienced since Daniel, except for what she found with James became far more powerful. With Daniel, it had been true love, but quite innocent and unburdened. But with James, they both still had darkness in them and would always struggle with it. But among all that, they had found kindred spirits in one another and ultimately a love neither of them expected or was even looking for, or so they thought.
"Why are you up?" Regina complained sleepily, as she put her arms around his waist and rested her head against his back. He smirked and turned so he could put one arm around her.
"Sorry...you know I get this way before we have big diplomatic meetings with the other Kingdoms," he said.
"Yeah...I kind of miss the days where I could just storm in and they would agree to whatever I want," she mused.
"This democracy thing definitely comes with more bickering than I like and having to be in a room with Midas and Leopold for hours makes me want to drink," he agreed. She smirked.
"Well...we still have a while until we have to be ready. I can give you something to think about during the meeting," she purred. He smirked and turned to her, as they engaged in a passionate kiss.
"We're supposed to meet everyone for breakfast," he reminded, as she led him back inside.
"Henry is with Emma and Neal so we can be a little late," she replied, as he eagerly followed her back to bed.
Henry sat in front of the television that morning in their sitting room, playing video games, while his parents shuffled around. The blonde baby girl in Neal's arms fussed a bit, while he dug through her diaper bag.
"Henry...have you seen Tallie's stuffed unicorn?" Neal asked.
"Nope," the teen replied and Neal rolled his eyes.
"Then stop playing the game and help me look. You know how fussy she gets without it," he said. Henry paused the game and started to look around, before finding it behind the sofa.
"Hey...big brother to the rescue," Neal said, as he showed their six-month-old daughter the stuffed toy. She grabbed onto it with chubby hands and calmed down, allowing him to put her in the stroller, as Emma came downstairs.
"Okay...let's go have breakfast and then we'll get you off to school, kid. Do you have your homework?" Emma asked.
"Yep," Henry replied, as he grabbed his backpack and turned the television off.
"Hey sweetheart...are you giving Daddy a rough time?" Emma cooed to their daughter.
"Like her mother," Neal deadpanned.
"Please...you love it," she said, nudging her fiance.
"Yeah...I do. I probably should have my head examined," he joked.
"Wouldn't do any good. No doctor can fix you," she joked back.
"Haha," he mocked sarcastically.
"Are we going or not? I'm starving," Henry complained.
"You're fourteen. You're always starving," Neal quipped, as he pushed the stroller out and they walked through one of Hades insta-portals, as they had come to call them, and arrived in front of Granny's for breakfast.
"Okay sweetie...there all cleaned up," Belle cooed, as she blew a raspberry on her little boy's tummy and he giggled. Rumple smiled from the doorway of the nursery in their castle.
"Everything in order?" he asked.
"Oh yes...we just had a bit of a diaper emergency. I don't think we'll be having anymore strained apricots for dinner anymore," she replied, as she finished dressing him and picked him up.
"You know, I could have cleaned him up with a wave of my hand," he quipped. She shot him a look.
"And I told you I don't want you changing Gideon's diapers with magic," she chided.
"Fine...but can I at least get rid of the dirty one?" he countered.
"Now that would be okay," she agreed, as the dirty diaper disappeared. She looked at him suspiciously.
"Where do all those dirty diapers go when you poof them away?" she asked. He shrugged.
"Who says that I don't just disintegrate them?" he answered with his own question.
"Because the other day, when we were at Snow's and David's, you made one disappear and Hades seemed to think it was funny," she responded. He smirked.
"Do you really want to know?" he asked. She rolled her eyes.
"You're right...it's probably best that I don't," she replied, as she handed their son to him and got his diaper bag. An insta-portal opened and they stepped through, arriving in front of Granny's.
"Ohhh...there they are. Come to Nana…" Persephone gushed, as Snow and David arrived at Granny's with the little ones.
"Nana!" Alexander called, as he rushed to her and she lifted him into her lap.
"Hello my handsome boy," she cooed, while Hades poofed a stuffed three-headed dog for him to play with you.
"You three spoil them rotten," Snow admonished, as she hugged her father.
"That is what Grandparents are for," Eli said, as eagerly took his tiny granddaughter in his arms. Snow shook her head in amusement and sat down beside her husband. Since her father's royal role these days was simply as an adviser, he had been very happy. The stress she had seen upon him while she was growing up, at least in the alternate reality, was gone and for that, she was very happy for him. Surprisingly to some, Hades was happy ruling beside her mother and gladly maintained his supportive role to her. He had naturally worried about his former Throne and who was taking care of the dead. It was very big job and one he took seriously. He regretted the years where he had ruled unjustly, but when they managed to learn that Prometheus had exited Elysian to take up the mantle, that had been a relief to him. Prometheus was a fair man and had always been an ally to mortals, being that he had gone against Zeus long ago when he gave fire to mortals. He had paid for it dearly, but had been rewarded a hero's afterlife in Elysian by Hades, centuries ago, much to Zeus' chagrin.
Persephone had proven equally that her new role as God of the Skies was very well suited to her as well. The last three years in the United Realms had yielded peace and for that, Snow was incredibly grateful. There were still conflicts, crime, and the normal day to day strife that any society faced, but peace had mostly reigned.
"Hey…" Emma called, as they were the next to arrive.
"Hey sweetie," Snow said, as she hugged her parents, while David eagerly lifted Tallie out of her stroller.
"Hey there peanut…" he cooed and patted his grandson on the arm.
"Oh...that reminds me," David said. Snow smiled and dug out some comic books from the pocket on their stroller.
"Wow...thanks Gramps," Henry said, as he accepted the gift.
"And Nana and Papa didn't forget you, sweetie," Snow cooed, as they presented her with a new stuffed sheep.
"You seriously just lectured us about spoiling our grandchildren," Hades mentioned. Snow smiled at him.
"Well, like you said...it's what grandparents do," she mused.
"Grandparents usually don't have kids the same age as their grand kids though," Emma teased.
"You shush and Iris got a new stuffed toy too when we picked out one for Tallie," Snow replied, as Rumple and Belle were next to arrive with Gideon.
"Hey…sorry, we're a bit late. We had to change clothes already this morning," Belle mentioned. Snow winced.
"We've had those mornings too," she replied. Gideon and Iris were only about a month apart. Snow and Belle had gotten pregnant nearly at the same time and being pregnant together had made them even closer friends. It had served to do the same for David and Rumple as well.
"Sorry we're late…" Regina said, as she and James finally arrived and she kissed Henry on his head, as they sat down.
"It's okay...our order is already in," Snow said.
"How do you know what I want?" Regina replied.
"Apple pancakes, mom...you're kind of predictable," Henry teased, making James chuckle in amusement. She nudged him.
"Very funny, you...new comics?" she asked. He smiled and slid one over to her.
"Yep," he answered, as she opened it to read, while they waited on breakfast and conversation flowed effortlessly as usual when they all managed to get together. Robert, Ruth, and Serafina arrived last, completing their family gathering, just as breakfast was delivered.
Ravenna paced in the secluded chamber of her palace, where Claude Frollo had conducted his work and experiments for the past three years. It was painstaking work and she felt no closer to any of her goals. If she didn't hold control over him, then she might think he wasn't doing what she asked. But unfortunately, the particular thing she was asking for was not easily accomplished.
Originally, she had wanted to find a way to curse her former step-daughter. She wanted her to suffer a fate worse than death, but she had quickly learned that there was no curse that existed that true love could not overcome. It became clear that death was the only thing that true love could not save her from. And so the search to find the perfect way to kill Snow White began. She wanted her to suffer and she wanted those around her to suffer losing her. She was so tired of her being the one that all the Kingdoms adored. She had everything. True love with a handsome, loving husband, who thought the sun rose and set with her. Three beautiful children and a large family full of people that would do absolutely anything for her. In addition to that, most of the people in the Kingdoms, particularly her own adored her and still called her the fairest of them all.
Her jealousy had steadily grown and her hatred with it. Hans had implored her to let it go, as he could see nothing good coming of it for their Kingdom. His older brothers agreed as well, but with Arawn still imprisoned for war crimes, Ravenna was next in line and had ruled flippantly. Her own interests were first, while the people did without. She was a very unpopular Queen and their own people constantly discussed how much better the rulers of some of other Kingdoms were. Snow White was always mentioned among them, which only further enraged their sister.
But Ravenna refused to work for her people in favor of fulfilling her own interests. She was always harshly criticized at the United Realm Council meetings and Hans was sure today would be no different.
"We may finally be onto something today," Frollo said.
"You've said that before and it always goes up in smoke," Ravenna retorted.
"And without this cauldron, you may never have gotten this far," he argued.
"Fine...do you have it then?" she asked.
"Not yet...but my research has revealed one crucial ingredient we need for success. Unfortunately, it is not available in our Enchanted Forest," he replied.
"Then where can we get what we need?" she demanded to know.
"Another magical forest...across the ocean," he answered. She had heard of this place and could even see it in the distance from her vantage point. It was still a mysterious place and the only place that had not sent a dignitary to join the United Realms Council. Very little was known about it still and there were even plans to send a group of diplomats there to make contact. No one was certain of why no one from this land had sent their own individuals out, but they had so far respected their obvious desire to remain isolated. If they still planned to send a team, she knew they would never choose to send her. They were always claiming she was too volatile and had an irresponsible rule. But that would not stop her from going there if the ingredient she needed was somewhere in that forest.
"Then we will leave for this new land, in secret, after today's Council meeting," she decided.
"Yes, my Queen," Frollo agreed, though he had little choice. As long as she held the Promethean flame, the very first and famed flame the God Prometheus had given to man, she would be able to control his every move.
Breakfast was finishing up and they paid their checks, while preparing to hand off all the little ones to Ruth, Robert, and Serafina, who were happily watching all of them, while they were attending the monthly Council meeting that morning.
"Okay kid...bus is pulling up outside," Emma said, as she hugged him and Regina did as well, as she kissed him on the head. He and Neal bumped fists, as he headed out to the bus
"Have a good day sweetie," Snow called, as he waved to his family. Just as they prepared to head back to the castle, Emma's phone rang.
"Sheriff," she answered, as she listened to the complaint on the other end.
"All right...we'll be right there," she said, with an eye roll.
"Another active bar fight at the Rabbit Hole," she said, as she put her jacket on.
"I'll give you a hand," David said, as he kissed Snow quickly.
"I'll catch up to you at the meeting," he promised. She nodded.
"Be careful," she called to both of them.
"Need an extra hand?" James asked.
"Couldn't hurt," David agreed, as his twin kissed Regina and followed them out. Snow smiled, as she watched her husband and daughter do what they did best. Helping and protecting people. She kissed her little ones and Ruth smiled at her.
"Off to save the day again, those two," she said fondly.
"As always. Thanks for watching them," Snow said.
"You know we love it," Seraphina replied. To have the three of them to help out was invaluable. Snow was not a fan of hiring a nanny and since her children had so many grandparents to help out, such had not be necessary.
"Well, I guess we better get to the Council meeting," she said, as they left the diner as well. She couldn't say that they ever accomplished a lot in their meetings, but they were still important to get all the leaders together in order to discuss the issues. She always hoped for less arguing and more solutions, which she did not always receive. Thus was the reality of politics. David usually got even more annoyed than her, for her husband was always one for action. But the diplomacy and this process were important and necessary, even if the results were slow to be realized most of the time. But she felt that the future had never been brighter as far as she was concerned and she only hoped that their relative peace continued to reign...