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.
Also, feel free to follow me on Tumblr lilacmoon83.
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
Drew Barrymore as former Queen Serafina
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, the world knows and it won't be an easy genie to put back in its bottle. This may get very messy and very complicated. :)
Grace5231973: I did have a good Thanksgiving, I cooked the whole meal, lol. I hope you had a good one too. Glad you're still enjoying. :)
mrhawkprime: To be honest, I've only ever seen the movie. I usually like doing my own thing with a story so that's what I'll be doing here.
Jennifer Baratta: Glad you're still enjoying and yes, it should all be very interesting.
Number Ten: I know, those poor people. It's about to get worse for them too. I actually don't watch a lot of horror movies. The monster movies actually aren't my thing. Van Helsing was the exception and I actually only went to it, because my friend and brother wanted to go and I didn't really know what it was. I liked it though and Hugh Jackman's portrayal. Never seen Rick and Morty. See, I loved the Twilight books back in the day(I know, I know) and even liked the movies at the time. Now I watch them and I'm like, yeah I get why everyone makes fun of these so I had to throw the glitter reference in there for kicks. And I actually don't really like Bella and Edward. I love and wish we would have gotten more of Carlisle and Esme's story. They seem like they were the "Snowing" of Twilight so that's probably why I gravitate toward them. Anyway, glad you're enjoying. :)
Beth1980: Yeah, she should be a bit worried. She did make a lot of people suffer. I think James is well aware of her past. I just don't think he was prepared for it come back at her quite like this. Yeah, once the Internet has it, that's it. Yes, Van Helsing was making a Twilight reference. I couldn't help myself there. Yep, Dracula is real, cause why not? Lol. Yep, Storybrooke is about to have more unwelcome visitors. Yes, unfortunately, Hyde and Mushu think nothing of using innocent people in their schemes. Yep, Snowing was always in a no win situation. They were criticized no matter what they did. You're welcome on the clarification. :)
Dreaming Out Loud
Chapter 124: Monster
Pain and Panic dragged a flailing and struggling Hermes into the Throne room that formerly belonged to Hades and dropped him at their new master's feet. The five rivers converged in the Throne room and each of them carried a judgement from the man on this Throne. And this new ruler, now sitting upon the Throne of Pluto, glared down on him.
"Well, well...someone finally squished you like the worm you are," Prometheus said, as he gazed down at the quivering former messenger God. He waved his hand over the globe which always showed him the highs and lows of a soul's life, including how they died. It was necessary to evaluate a soul's life to determine the appropriate judgement. He clicked his tongue.
"You have led a sordid life, indeed. You changed sides more times than most can count," he said, as he watched. He had seen most of Hermes' transgressions, especially since he had helped Zeus bind him at one time, until he had been rescued and released by Hercules.
"But these recent deeds are news to me," he said, as he continued to watch.
"Cute...you really did play both sides right up till the end," he commented, as he watched Hades turn him into a literal worm and King Eli step on him. He smirked. As the new King of the Underworld, he rarely betrayed any emotion when determining a judgement. But there were exceptions and this was one of them.
"I do appreciate such a poetic end," he said, as he glared down at the cowering being.
"I'll hear your pleas now," he added.
"I have unfinished business. I beg of you to allow me time to atone," Hermes stammered.
"No...you're begging me to send you above to Underbrooke so you can save your soul from one of the rivers. But I know you...even up there you will scheme and attempt to undermine me. You used to do it to Hades all the time in life, but you will not do it to me in death," he declared.
"Please…" Hermes pleaded.
"Normally, I'd toss you into Acheron and be done with you, but I don't think the river of pain is enough punishment for you," Prometheus said.
"I don't do this often...so consider yourself in a very elite club. I sentence you to the river of fire. You will spend eternity in Phelgethon," he decided. Hermes started to scream and beg, as Pain and Panic dragged his soul toward the burning river and his wailing echoed through the entire chamber, before slowly fading away as the depths of Tartarus swallowed him.
"Master...there seems to be an influx of souls from Transylvania," Pain spoke, as he and his cohort stood by to deal with the incoming souls.
"Damn that bloodsucker," he grumbled, referring to Dracula.
Centuries ago, after he had been freed, he had traveled the realms, helping mankind where he could, much to Zeus' chagrin. Upon arriving in the Land Without Color, he had found the land in a dire state. Dracula had grown as powerful as a God and created his own coven of bloodsuckers that were terrorizing the land. He managed to decimate nearly half the population before Prometheus, with the assistance of Athena, and several other warriors, drove him and his coven out. They had managed to banish them to a barren land that soon became known as Transylvania, but in a moment of sheer savagery, Dracula and his coven had managed to keep the banishing portal open long enough to suck dozens upon dozens of mortals with them. He had been left with no choice and sealed it off from the other realms, effectively damning those unfortunate mortals. But it had saved the rest of the people from the Land Without Color from sheer extinction and rid them of their vampire problem.
Unfortunately, it wasn't uncommon to get a daily influx of souls from Transylvania and today would be no exception...or so he thought.
"Sire...it appears that the influx of souls are not mortals at all," Panic said. His brow furrowed, as he witnessed not souls, but rather demonic entities screech, as they flooded his Throne room. He was not worried, for it was nothing Pain and Panic couldn't handle. He was used to this too. The bloodsucking minions that were part of King of Vampire's coven didn't have souls, but they became demons upon their death, likely at Van Helsing's hands. But today was somehow different. Today, there were far more demonic entities than usual. Van Helsing was very skilled at what he did, but this was far too many at one time, even for him.
"Show me Transylvania…" he requested to his viewing globe and he then saw why.
"What are they doing in Transylvania?" he wondered allowed.
"Sire look!" Pain called, as his viewing globe focused on Persephone's daughter, Snow White and her husband, Prince Charming.
"So...my fire has finally chosen a worthy host," he said, as he saw the Prince and the daughter he shared with Snow White wield it. They didn't seem to yet be aware of its full potential though, but he knew it would come in time. This was uncharted territory, after all.
"What does this mean, Sire? Why now has the Promethean fire finally chosen this family?" Panic questioned.
"It means...the final battle draws near and they will stand on the front lines," Prometheus answered. When the dust settled, the champions would either usher in an era of peace if the light side won out or an era of sheer darkness if evil prevailed. He could only hope that his power would assist in the side of good.
David slashed through the endless minions and his muscles burned in protest, as he and everyone else was beginning to tire at the mindless onslaught, while the vampires remained impervious to fatigue.
"We need to figure something else out...we can't keep up this pace," Emma said.
"You and your father could end all this right now if you knew how to use your new powers properly," Van Helsing commented.
"Don't lay all this on us," Emma protested, as she slashed at one of Dracula's wives, who seemed intent on sinking her teeth into her father.
"Then use that fire to kill these bastards already!" he called.
"Don't you think we would if we could?" David snapped in return.
"Maybe…" Van Helsing said.
"Or maybe you lack the right motivation," he commented. Persephone's eyes widened.
"Don't you dare!" she cried, but it was too late, as he grabbed Snow's arm and tossed her into the middle of the fray, causing the minions to dive on her all at once in a frenzy.
"What the hell is wrong with you?" Emma cried, as her father was already running after her.
"SNOW!" he screamed, as he ran desperately to reach her. His blade lit on fire and he plunged it into the ground. Flames erupted around them and shot into the sky. The dozens of minions that were left screeched in terror as they were vaporized, leaving just Dracula and his wives. The King of vampires was clearly shocked by the power, as he now realized exactly what it was about this man and his daughter that seemed different.
"Promethean fire…" he uttered in fear and his wives fell back behind him.
"Untrained...but Promethean fire nonetheless," he added.
"Untrained or not...are you willing to risk it?" Hades asked, as he glared at the Vampire King.
"For Demi-Goddess blood...I shall take my chances," he hissed, as he bared his fangs and they grew even longer. Snow gasped and David guarded her, while putting a hand on Emma's arm.
"The fire is inside you both, untrained or not, will answer your will," Hades instructed. David had only ever desired to protect his family, so it came as no surprise to the former God of the Underworld when his blade lit on fire. Emma was a little more difficult.
"Whoa...how did you do that, dad?" she asked.
"Think about protecting your mother...think about protecting Henry," he replied. She did so and her own blade lit with fire like his. His wives hissed at the sight of the fire that could end them and Van Helsing glanced at Persephone. She encased them in a bubble, while he moved in to strike. The monster hunter grabbed the brunette one and jabbed a silver spike into her chest. She screeched and hissed, as he pushed her back. If she were to escape, she would heal from his wound, but she would not be escaping today. David took the cue and swiped his blade threw her body, as Van Helsing quite literally tossed her into his fire. She fell to the ground in four pieces and the Promethean fire engulfed her remains and finally her screeching ended, as she became ash.
Dracula's two remaining wives fell back and Emma watched the redhead to take to the air and foolishly dive on them. She raised her fiery blade and motioned to her father.
"Give me a boost...cause she is going down," Emma said. He looked unsure, but then held his hands down for her. She stepped onto his clasped hands and he launched her into the air. The redhead screamed in terror, as Emma's blade passed through her, cutting her in half. Her pieces fell to the ground, with her legs landing far from her head and torso, while burning up completely. Her head, unfortunately, fell right before Snow and David. She screamed up at them, as the flames slowly devoured her and David kicked her away, as she became ash. Emma landed on her feet next to her parents.
"That's two down…" Hades goaded, as he smirked smugly at the King of Vampires. Dracula rarely feared anything so it was nice seeing him petrified for once.
"Sooner or later, all monsters get put down," Van Helsing said, as he loaded a silver arrow in his crossbow. But Dracula grabbed his one remaining wife by the arm and took to the sky at lightning speed, making a quick getaway. But his bleeding stare upon this little family made for a clear message. This was not over. The flames in their swords dissipated and Persephone proceeded to practically bowl the three of them over with hugs. Hades wisely stepped back at that point, knowing what was about to happen.
The Supreme Goddess turned to Van Helsing and fury filled her eyes. He winced and put his hands up, as she stalked toward him. And David joined her.
"You are so screwed," Hades jabbed.
"And you're enjoying this," Van Helsing jabbed back. Hades smirked and a bucket of popcorn appeared in his hand.
"Popcorn for the show?" he asked.
"Papa Hades…" Snow chided.
"I'm game," Emma said, as she started chowing down with him.
"Now Persephone…" Van Helsing pleaded.
"Save it!" she snapped.
"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't send you to the Underworld right now?" she demanded to know.
"Cause Dracula is still alive and these two need training?" he reminded.
"My husband and I can train them just fine. You better keep thinking," she said, as he dodged her fists and then blocked David's blade.
"Whoa...come on! Snow was never in any danger! You know I'd never throw her to the bloodsuckers!" he said.
"You literally did just that! You tossed my wife to them!" David growled, as he dueled the monster hunter.
"Purely for motivation! I knew you'd save her!" he pleaded.
"I will always save her, but you still put her in danger!" David yelled.
"He's right...and if you ever do it again, you'll be the newest resident in Tartarus," Persephone warned. He put his hands up in surrender, as she slowly backed away. But David didn't back down, so Snow sided up to him and put her arms around his waist.
"Baby, I'm fine…" she whispered.
"Believe it or not, he really didn't mean me any harm, I believe that," she added. He glared at the monster hunter, but then sheathed his sword. She smiled and kissed his cheek.
"Can we just have the damn key and get the hell out of this...hell?" David asked him irritably, though he was softening under his wife's wily ways, as she nuzzled his cheek with her nose.
"Ah no...the key remains with me, but since you must need it for the Land of Untold Stories, that must mean you're going after Jekyll and Hyde," he replied. Hades nodded.
"Yeah...apparently, Jekyll is running some sort of operation in the Land Without Magic on the side. He may be a threat to all the realms now and even the fabric of story all together," Hades said.
"I know...I've been hunting him for years. I was wondering if you high and mighty Olympians were ever going to take notice," he said, as he extracted the key and a door appeared.
"Whoa...who says you're coming with us?" Hades asked.
"This is Jekyll and Hyde we're talking about and as much as you hate to admit it...you need me," Van Helsing argued. Hades rolled his eyes and Persephone relented.
"Fine...let's go," she said, as the door opened and the six of them walked through.
"Please...please don't do this…" the woman pleaded. She was just a simple villager from the Emerald City. A normal trip to the market had ended with her being dragged through a portal to a strange land without magic and then to this asylum by an evil man.
"Easy...if everything goes as planned, you have nothing to fear," the bespectacled doctor said, as he used his sophisticated x-ray machine to observe the woman's heart.
His equipment was a science and magic hybrid. It had all the power of an x-ray machine from the Land Without Magic and the magic to show him the internal organs in incredible, colorful detail without having to open the person up.
"Yes...your heart is enchanted and much stronger than a human from the Land Without Magic," Jekyll observed, as he examined her glowing heart.
"Yes...the hearts of people from magical lands are truly extraordinary," he said, as he turned the machine off.
"I find the study of these hearts quite fascinating when comparing them to ordinary hearts," he continued, as she watched him ready a syringe full of a red serum.
"Please...please don't do this…" she pleaded again, but she was ignored and he injected her with the serum. She began to convulse and cry out, as she began to separate.
"Yes…" Jekyll said, as he hoped for victory. Her heart rate monitor beeped wildly, as her heart rate skyrocketed, but he was further than usual. She convulsed violently and started to seize, as the alter inside her struggled to free itself. She foamed at the mouth and her eyes rolled back in her head, as a full on seizure took hold. The restraints snapped, as the seizing became so incredibly violent. But at the last moment, just when he thought he might be successful, her heart failed. The seizing ran its course, the separation ceased, and she collapsed motionless onto the table, as she flat lined. The doctor growled and slammed his fists on the metal table before him.
"Mr. Poole…" he said, as his caretaker came in and covered the body with a sheet, before proceeding to wheel out yet another victim.
"What am I missing?" he wondered aloud to himself, as he perused his notes again and picked up his recorder.
"Another failure, even with a magical heart. This one proceeded much further than any tests before, but seizure ensued and likely complicated the possibility of success. Even with an enchanted heart, results were unsuccessful," he recorded, before removing his lab coat and leaving the lab. There was someone he needed to see.
"You're sure these are the coordinates?" Agent Quinn asked, as they got out of the car.
"Spot on...I knew this was a wild goose chase," Agent O'Bryan replied, as he sighed.
"Who gave this information to you?" Quinn asked.
"This old detective, who I knew had lost his edge a long time ago, but I didn't think he was full on nuts. Guess I was wrong," Zach replied bitterly.
"Hmm...are you sure he's nuts?" she asked, as she scrolled through her phone.
"Obviously...why do you ask?" he questioned and she showed him her phone.
"Because there's this video that has gone viral that he released. He's claiming that all this is real," she said, as she showed it to him. Zach rolled his eyes.
"You're kidding, right? This is obviously fake," he said.
"Except that our technicians haven't been able to debunk it yet," Supervisor Julia Isaac said, as she arrived with Agents Olivia Cade and Mike Mason.
"So what? People can't actually be thinking this is real," Zach said.
"Except they do. The bureau has been flooded with calls all day, the Internet is exploding with this and as we speak, there is probably hoards of tourists on their way here to comb the woods of Maine for fairies and mermaids," Agent Mason replied.
"And trust me...the masses must not find out that this video is in fact real. They will not be able to handle such truths and this will cause nothing but chaos," a new voice said, as the agents drew their weapons. But the old man put his hands up in surrender.
"I am unarmed," he said.
"Who the hell are you?" Agent Isaac questioned.
"I have a given name, but I prefer my more mystical moniker. I am known to most simply as the Dragon," he answered. Zach snorted.
"Great...our first kook," he quipped.
"I assure you, I am no kook and I can promise that you can all know the truth and find a way to keep the truth from getting out...for a price," he offered.
"The FBI doesn't make deals," Agent Isaac refuted. He smirked.
"Even if it means solving a thirty-year-old murder and controlling a world beyond any of your imaginations?" he tempted.
"You can help us solve the Flynn murder?" Zach questioned.
"I can hand the murderer to you...if you do something for me," the Dragon responded.
"What do you want?" Agent Isaac questioned.
"My daughter has been imprisoned. Free her and I can give you many other fish to fry, so to speak," he offered.
"No deals yet...I want to see what all this is about," Agent Isaac said. The Dragon smirked and extracted a curious looking timepiece from his robe. With a magical item in his hand, the veil was lifted and they jumped in fright, as they were now suddenly in the middle of a street in what looked like a town.
"How the hell did you do that?" Zach asked. The Dragon smirked.
"Welcome to Storybrooke...and the United Realms," he said, as they gaped at seeing the various castles in the distance.
"You can thank Lord Cronus later for giving us the means to get in with this enchanted time piece. But for now...Storybrooke awaits," he said, as they followed the mysterious old Mage.
The diner bell rang, as Neal, Eli, and Henry walked in. Thankfully, Annie and her brother were in a booth and they walked up.
"Hi Neal…" she greeted and then nodded to Eli.
"Your Majesty," she added.
"Please...just call me Eli," he requested, as she invited them to sit.
"Thanks...we were hoping to talk to you for a minute," Neal said.
"What about?" she asked.
"Well...this video that's out there now could be really bad," he replied.
"And your family has managed to keep our world a secret from the Land Without Magic for centuries. Has something like this ever happened before?" Neal asked.
"Not quite on a scale like this, but there have been plenty of times when your world has bled into the "real" world, so to speak," Adrian answered.
"He's right, but obviously most mystical things are left out of the history books or equated to legend or called myths," Annie added.
"My guess is that the government will lie to the masses and do something to prove the video is just some elaborate movie trailer," Adrian said.
"And the government...will they let this go?" Neal asked. The siblings exchanged a glance.
"Doubtful," Annie said.
"Then...you think they might come for my Mom?" Henry asked fearfully.
"I'm sorry Henry...but we'll do everything we can to make sure they don't take her if they do," Annie promised.
"Then you better get ready to keep good on that promise," Eli said, as his gaze was fixated out the window.
"Holy hell…" Neal uttered, as they saw five people wearing FBI vests outside the window with the Dragon.
"Bastard...he led them right in," Adrian growled.
"What...what are we going to do?" Henry asked.
"We're not going to panic," Neal replied, as the door opened and they walked in.
Snow wasn't sure what she expected from this new land, but she knew it wasn't what she found before her. She watched a dirigible hover in the sky and she marveled at all the sights around them. She kept her hand hooked on David's arm, as they entered what seemed like a marketplace or trading post. She noticed how it seemed like a melting pot of people and creatures from all the realms, which made her very curious.
"All these people came here to stop their stories?" Snow asked her mother. Persephone nodded.
"When a person doesn't like a trajectory of their life or tragedy befalls them, they can come here. It's the equivalent of pressing pause. People do not age here. People can literally escape all their problems in this place," she explained.
"But how do they get here? I mean...we just had to go to Transyl-freaking-Vania to get a key to come here," Emma said. Hades smirked.
"Very true...but there is another way. The Grimm family has been the family of authors for years now, but like Annie told us, not every author has necessarily been a Grimm," Hades said.
"Yes...there is a former author that has taken up the mantel of key bearer to the Land of Untold Stories, so to speak," Persephone said.
"He helps people escape, even if they don't deserve it and I've had to track many a monster here," Van Helsing added.
"He's not really a bad guy. He just doesn't bother himself with a person's past deeds or ethics," Persephone said.
"An equal opportunity escape guide," Hades agreed.
"And who is this guy?" David asked, as they stopped in front of a tavern in the middle of the marketplace.
"Aesop…" Van Helsing said, as they saw the name on the building...