A portion of this chapter appears in Snapegirlkmf's and my crossover story How The Queen Stole Christmas but this is how it was originally written. You can read the rest of Robert MacNamara's story there.
Everything will slip away
Shattered pieces will remain
When memories fade into emptiness
Only time will tell its tale
If it all has been in vain
I can't feel my senses
I just feel the cold
Frozen...
But what can I do?
Within Temptation - Frozen
Wyatt awoke the next morning to the sound of hoof prints galloping up the path to their home. He jumped out of bed and dressed, pulling back the delicate lace curtain on the window to look out. Sure enough, there they were, a small army of Longcoats. He heard Adora stir in the bed behind him.
"What's going on?" she asked as she dressed herself.
"I want you to lock yourself and Jeb in here and not come out." he said firmly.
"But I..."
"Promise me, Adora!" he growled.
"Wyatt..."
"Adora!"
"All right. I promise," she cried. He grabbed her and kissed her.
"I love you Adora. Never forget it."
"I won't," she croaked.
He walked out of the house. He knew he should have taken at least his gun or his Katana but the gun was stored in a box underneath the house and his Katana was in the bedroom. If they wanted to take him, they would have to fight him like men with fists instead of weapons. They would have to face the dragon's wrath to earn the right to be called masters but he would not allow them to claim their victory.
The executioner has come...
Adora thought, her body frozen with fear as she looked out the window and saw the horses approaching, Gregory Zero at the lead. Wyatt stood on the porch with his arms crossed over his chest.
"I shouldn't be surprised you joined up with the Sorceress," he grumbled. "You'd slit your own mother's throat to get ahead."
"And you are a treacherous bastard!" Zero shouted. "Wyatt Cain, you are guilty of high treason against Azkadellia, Queen of the OZ. The punishment is death."
"The only thing I'm guilty of is trying to help the people free themselves from a tyrant. How long do you think you think it's gonna be before you find yourself on the receiving end of her wrath, Zero? Can't kiss her ass forever but since that's what you do best you'll probably spend the rest of your life being her lapdog."
"Seize him!" Zero ordered two of his soldiers. As they approached the porch, the dragon in Wyatt awoke and he went into attack mode, driving them back with kicks and punches. Zero watched both astounded and angry. Where the hell had that stupid farm boy learned to fight like that?
Inside the house, Adora grabbed her son and ran into the bedroom, opening a trap door in the floor. She placed him inside. "Stay there until your father or I come for you," she whispered. The boy nodded.
Adora lifted the mattress of the bed and grabbed her Katana sword, removing the sheath and tossing it away. Her eyes blazing with anger, she ran outside and slashed at one of the Longcoats Wyatt was fighting. He fell to the ground with a fatal wound in his abdomen. She was no longer Adora Kantrine Cain. She was the Talon apprentice, sworn to protect her master; the dragon protecting her mate.
Angry before, Zero was now in a blind rage as he watched Adora and Wyatt Cain defeating his soldiers, she with sophisticated sword fighting techniques, he with physical attacks. Knowing taking out Cain wouldn't be easy, he'd requested that a second legion follow them to Elba but he couldn't see hide nor hair of them and it was pissing him off. Cain never made anything easy for him.
"Adora, for Ozma's sake get out!" Wyatt cried.
"Not without you," she said firmly. Seeing his opportunity, Zero grabbed her by the hair, the silk ribbon she'd tied around it earlier falling to the ground. She slashed at him with the sword. He raised his foot and kicked her hand, the Katana flying out of her hand into the bushes.
"Bitch," he hissed, pushing her toward two of his soldiers. One of them snaked his arm around her throat. Two more men seized Wyatt by the arms and pushed him down to his knees while a third punched him hard in the face.
Zero picked up the silk ribbon and wrapped it around his hand. A malicious grin on his lips, he stood before Wyatt and delivered a hard punch to his face, staining the silk ribbon with his blood.
In his hiding place, young Jeb Cain could hear his parents' cries and felt their suffering, the sounds reaching into the deepest corners of his heart and awakening the dragonspawn's desire to attack the enemy and defend his kin. He burst out of his hiding place like an animal freed from his cage and as he was about to open the door, the dragonspawn heard his sire's call of unrestrained rage. The child attacked with all the strength that a boy of nine years had yet did not possess the necessary skills to fully channel the dragon's spirit and use it to defeat but the father could.
Zero raised his hand and backhanded the boy. Two Cains giving him trouble was enough. A third was a headache. They had to be destroyed. He was about to strike the boy again when the elder Cain attacked.
Calling to her own inner dragon, Adora broke free from the men restraining her and grabbed her son.
"Adora take Jeb and run!"
Wyatt cried.
"Wyatt, I..."
"Go! Your duty is to your apprentice now, Talon Master!" he ordered fiercely.
Choking back a sob, Adora took her son's hand and tried to pull him away but the boy broke free from his mother's grasp and ran back into the house.
"Jeb, no!" his mother screamed and started after him when she was pulled back by one of the Longcoats. Jeb emerged from the house with his father's Katana in his hands. Wyatt took the sword from his son's hands and raised it, the steel blade clashing with the one Zero now held in his hands. "Adora, take Jeb and run...NOW!" he commanded once she freed herself again. She looked up at him with tear filled eyes and nodded. She would not disobey again. Her duty now was to their son, her apprentice.
"After them!" Zero shouted to his troops. They raced into the woods. "What the hell are you?" Zero asked when he faced Wyatt again.
"I am the Dragon," Wyatt said in a cold voice as he felt the dragon's spirit flow through him. "Face my wrath but you will never earn the right to call yourself a master!"
"We'll see about that!" Zero hissed. "A dragon? Being on the Mystic Man's detail certainly has made you full of yourself." He swung his blade to make a cut on Wyatt's side only to have it blocked. "You'll be begging me to kill you."
"The OZ will freeze over before I beg the likes of you!" Wyatt hissed as he kicked Zero's feet out from underneath him. His opponent fell to the ground. Wyatt pressed the tip of his sword against the other man's throat.
"That may come sooner than you think," Wyatt heard a icy voice say from behind him and felt something strike him in the back. Suddenly he found he could not move his limbs at all. His sword slipped out of his hands and he crashed to the ground.
Zero rose to his feet. "I could've taken him."
The witch scowled. "You didn't appear to be doing a very good job of it."
"What did you hit him with?" Zero asked.
"A very special spell," the witch answered. "He can see and he can hear but his limbs will not move. It is what I call the conscious death. Leave us." Zero wasn't happy about it but he didn't dare disobey his mistress's order.
She kneeled down beside him and pressed her hand to his chest, the power radiating from him unlike any she'd ever encountered before because it was fueled by his love for his family, the land and the people and the spirit of the dragon...the strongest magic of all. She craved it like an addict craved the vapors that sent them into a permanent state of bliss. She weakened the spell enough to allow her mind to communicate with his.
I am giving you one opportunity to earn your freedom.
Oh and what's that bitch?
Where is she?
Where is who?
You cannot fool me. You may have severed your bond and removed your magic along with it so that I cannot track her but you know where the child is, or at least your heart does.
What child?
DG. Where is DG?
Princess DG is dead. You killed her. And what makes you think I have magic? Do you see me doing any magic tricks?
"Zero!" the witch shouted.
"Yes, Sorceress?"
"We're taking him back to the Tower for a reading," she said angrily.
Zero and several of his men tossed Wyatt into the back of a truck, surprised that the Sorceress sat in the back with him. She seemed to be treating him as if he were someone she admired and Zero hated him all the more for it. How could she admire Cain when he was one of her most faithful officers although his ascent in the ranks was not happening as fast as he wanted it to.
This is worse than being dead, Wyatt thought. No matter how hard he tried, he could not move at all yet he could still hear and see everything going on around him and having that sorceress bitch stare down at him made him wish his limbs worked because all he wanted to do was choke the life out of her. Suddenly he felt very tired and within minutes he was asleep.
Azkadellia was on borrowed time. The moment she learned that Wyatt was to be taken for a reading she knew she had to take back control of her body and her magic long enough to to help him in any way she could. The paralysis spell the witch placed on him was too powerful for her to break but there was one spell she could use that the witch couldn't break. She pressed her hand against his heart.
"Any attempts to read you will be rejected
For within this wall your heart's memories will be protected
Until the day her kiss does restore
The bond of light between you forever more."
She felt the witch taking control again. It didn't matter. Her work was done.
The viewer screamed as he felt the shock of the electric prod.
"Heart empty...beating but dead!"
"If it's beating, it's not dead. Try again!" the witch hissed.
"Raw trying!"
"Not hard enough. Focus! Push harder," The witch growled
"Hurts too much!"
"Coward."
"Why don't we just rip it out like we did with Ambrose's brain?" Zero suggested. The witch glared at him.
"You fool! We can't read him if he's dead." She leaned closer to Raw. "Read him again and push harder."
The viewer pressed his hand against Wyatt's chest. He could feel the man's heart beating but there was nothing in it, almost as if it had been completely drained of all of its memories. He pushed harder and could feel a faint light and heard a female's voice speak only to him.
"His heart holds many secrets and this one only you will see
One day your paths will cross again and you must find the courage to lead him back to the one who holds the key
Through her love the lock on his heart will open
And forge a bond that can never be broken
Yet even a strong heart needs a friend
To discover hidden truths on you it will depend."
"Raw see nothing...only emptiness." he murmured.
"Worthless." the witch growled. "Take him back to his cell and bring me Lylo." she ordered her alchemist.
She tried for two weeks using at least eight viewers, killing two of them in the process but her efforts were in vain. The memories in Wyatt Cain's heart had been locked by powerful magic that even she couldn't break.
A tin suit led by a horse drawn wagon bearing the corpse of the resistance's chief commander was led through the roads in all four guilds as a warning to those who dared to oppose the Sorceress's reign. She rode in front of her prize, seeing the people cower in fear acting as balm on the deep wound the Cain family had inflicted on her power when this uprising began. She would send her destroyer to the four realms and tear them apart until every last Cain was found and killed.
Adora awoke in the middle of the night, sharp pains in her abdomen. She threw the covers off and glanced down to see a pool of blood staining the sheets.
"No..." she moaned. "Oh noooooo!"
Her anguished cries brought Marielle and Belle into the her tent. Marielle looked into her eyes, her own eyes filling with tears.
"Oh honey...you were with child? How long?"
"Since the night before...before Zero came," Adora sobbed. "I wanted this baby so much, Mari...his last gift to me...and now its gone.
Gone!"
She looked up at the sky, her eyes red with rage and heartbreak.
"You've taken him away from me! Wasn't it enough? Did you have to take our child too? Will you come for Jeb too? I won't let you have him. Why did you send him to me if your will was to erase all traces of our love? Your will is cruel and I'll serve it no more!"
"Adora, stop!" her grandmother cried as she ran into the tent. "You don't know what you're doing!"
"I don't care anymore, Nana!" she screamed. "This is all her fault. Why couldn't she just leave him alone or at least waited until I'm dead before she bound him to her! I hate her!"
"Alana, she's going mad," Marielle said sadly.
"Adora, my angel, please don't do this to yourself. You still have Jeb and he needs you to be strong for him."
Adora shoved the older woman away from her. Alana seized her granddaughter by her shoulders. "This is going to hurt me more than it hurts you my precious but I cannot let you destroy yourself in grief." She raised her hand and delivered a stinging slap to the side of the younger woman's face.
"N...Nana," she croaked. "Y...You've never hit me before."
"Nor do I want to again," Alana sobbed. "I mourn the loss of your child as much as you do my precious but you cannot abandon Jeb and you dishonor Wyatt's memory by filling your heart with hate for an innocent."
"No, Nana. I can't. Nor can I just sit here and do nothing." She rose from the bed and reached for Wyatt's sword. She'd returned to the cottage the after the raid and found it in the place where it fell. "I have a son to train and a war to fight and I'll honor his memory until the day I die."
The death of Wyatt Cain and attempted defilement of his memory did not have the effect the witch planned. Branded a traitor by the Sorceress's regime, he was hailed as a hero by those who served under him and now those people were in search of a new leader.
Like the phoenix rising from the ashes, Adora Kantrine Cain rose from the ashes of her heartbreak. The simple housewife and mother she'd been all those years was no more and in her place stood a warrior now ready to pick up her fallen husband's sword and continue the fight for the cause he believed in. If she were to die, the torch would be passed to their son, Jeb. Each generation of Cain would fight on until victory was in their grasp for now they were the last of the Talons of the Dragon.
She sat on her horse in the middle of the field staring out at the large Longcoat army marching toward them.
"Load the catapult!" she screamed. A group of men gathered around one of Belle's pots and carried it over to the catapult as Belle watched with pride. This recipe was her finest yet but she would not reveal the name until it was launched. Although the western army now had better weapons thanks to the daring raid Wyatt laid on the fort, they would never stop using Belle's lethal stews knowing how much Wyatt loved them.
"Get ready to launch," Belle said and took out her dinner bell as the first line of Longcoats marched toward them. She held the bell up high and rang it.
"Launch it!" Adora ordered.
"Taste 'Wyatt's Wrath' you sons of bitches!" Belle yelled as an archer fired a burning arrow at the liquid once it doused the troops, engulfing them in flames. "Can't let em go without second helpings. Give em the next course!"
Adora drew Wyatt's sword from its sheath. "Calvary, form up!" Lines of men and women on horseback formed a line behind her. On the other side of the field the longcoat calvary line began riding toward them.
"Charge!" Adora commanded, riding forward, sword in hand.
For centuries her purpose had been to obey the will of her goddess but the moment the man she'd been forbidden to love was taken away from her Adora Katrine Cain decided to choose her own path and it was now a long and painful one. She knew she faced her goddess's wrath once she returned to Paradise but she no loner cared nor would she ever allow the people who once fought by her husband's side to forget him and what they were all fighting for.
The lines Jiminy carved to mark the days of his confinement now covered the north wall of his cell. It had been weeks since he'd last seen his beloved Azkadellia. Every day the monster that possessed her soul and committed countless atrocities with her face and body would come to visit him and pose her question. And every day he gave the same answer.
"Go to Ephesis and rot, bitch!"
Two days later the dungeon population grew when two more prisoners were brought into cells adjacent to the one Jiminy occupied.
"Oh thank, Lurline!" Toto exclaimed. "We thought you were dead."
"Name's Glitch. Sometimes my synapses don't fire right," Ambrose said, attempting to shake Jiminy's hand through the bars of his own cell. Jiminy shook his head, horrified at the former advisor's new appearance. There was a large zipper that ran from the top of his head down to the top of his neck, his old uniform torn and dirty.
"I feel like I am dead," Jiminy said bitterly. "I lost my wife, my child, my country...I should've...kept my distance and allowed her to find her bondmate. He could've stopped all this..."
"Jiminy, you are her bondmate."
"Don't play games with me Toto. I'm in no mood!"
"You are!" Toto insisted. "We knew from the day you arrived in the OZ. Haven't you ever wondered why the travel storm that brought you here chose you instead of your brother?"
"I already know. I was chosen to be Dellia's Guardian...not her lover...but goddess forgive me I do love her and always will."
"You were chosen to be both as Wyatt Cain was chosen to be Dorothia's. You just needed time and a place for your love to grow. We couldn't reach Azkadellia but we had hopes you could."
"I tried," he said sadly. "Dellia and I spent years trying to find a way to break that bitch's hold on her but she wouldn't let her go. And when we lost our child..." He buried his face in his hands and burst into tears. "A part of us died with her."
"Azkadellia bore a child?"
"A daughter. We named her Ambrosia. And she was murdered before our eyes by that bastard Zero!" Jiminy's eyes narrowed to slits. "And mark my words, the day will come when it will by MY hands around HIS throat or I'll rip out his heart and make him watch while I crush it to dust!"
"Jiminy, you cannot give in to darkness."
"It's dark in here...always dark in here," Ambrose muttered."That's life these days in the OZ. Always dark."
Jiminy rose to his feet, feeling the last dose of the squid ink he'd been given wearing off, his hands glowing.
"To the darkness I must be be drawn...for to light she be shown..." he murmured and blasted the bars. He flicked his wrist and the doors to the other two cells opened. "This is the will of the OZ. The darkness will fall in the year of the double eclipse."
The tutor nodded for no one would dare question the word of a Guardian.
"Go west to Elba. Find Adora Cain and tell her the cricket is flying. She'll know what it means."
"What about him?" Toto nodded at Ambrose.
"His memories will come back to him when the time is right. Take him somewhere and hide him. They'll need him when she gets that machine to work."
"So we wait."
"We wait. That is the will of the OZ," Jiminy confessed sadly. "DG and Dellia are the only ones who can defeat Bastinda now and they must do it together on the day of the eclipse."
The trio vanished in a puff of smoke.
"Sorceress, Commander Ozopov has escaped and taken the tutor and the advisor." Zero announced when he entered the throne room. Bastinda rose from her chair and glowered at him. "The squid ink system has broken down. It..."
The soldier froze.
"Looking for me?" they heard a voice ask and the doors swung open. Jiminy walked into the room dressed in the uniform of the Sorceress's army. "I believe you have a question for me, Sorceress."
Bastinda smiled. "And I believe I have my answer."
Zero, now unfrozen, glared at him. "You...you.."
Jiminy gestured and the soldier was lifted off his feet. "YOU will address me as Commander Ozopov!" he snarled.
Bastinda watched the exchange with delight, the Commander's inner darkness far exceeding her expectations. She had no idea what made him come around but she would not question it. Her mistress would be pleased with this latest turn of events. They now had two of the four Guardians under their control as well as their bondmates.
"Y...Y...Yes Commander," Zero sputtered and crashed to the floor.
"Put him with Lannot's brigade. I don't want him in my sight again or I'll kill him. Or I'll just send him to the Fields of the Papay and let them do it for me. Why do you want to keep this piece of scum around? He'd cut your throat while you sleep."
"He can try. Very well. I'll send him to Lannot, He'll make use of him. Our Mistress requests a conference. Come."
She led him down the hall to her sitting room and waved her hand over the mirror. Jiminy could see Rumplestiltskin in his cursed persona of Robert Gold on the other side of the mirror sitting in an easy chair in the living room of the salmon Victorian mansion that was his home in Storybrooke.
"You've made the right choice Commander," Alemedia praised in Rumple's voice. "Now we must deal with Ozmalita. She is now the leader of the resistance army. She must be captured and executed and we must find Lurline's emerald."
"The queen has cloaked her memories."
"Then you must unlock them Bastinda. Or shall I reawaken Nessarose?"
"No! I will find the emerald mistress...even if I have to tear the OZ apart!"
"It must be in your hand the day of the double eclipse."
"It will be."
Rumple's image vanished.
"The double eclipse will not occur until the year 2001 according to the Other Side calendar Sorceress. There's still time," Jiminy said.
"And this rebellion needs put down. Immediately. I am placing you in charge of my forces Commander."
"Yes, Sorceress."
Later that evening two crickets flew out of a window on the fifth floor of the tower.
I've missed you so much Jiminy.
Not as much as I've missed you Dellia.
I've tried so hard to take back control but she is getting stronger.
How?
She's...she's feeding on the life force of others, taking their souls.
Lurline preserve us! The more souls she takes the more difficult it will be to defeat her.
I am so sorry I brought you to this Jiminy.
I brought myself here, Dellia. I will get her out of you...no matter what it takes. I'll fight from the inside out. Ah I've forgotten how much I loved flying at night!
The OZ looks so beautiful from up here...but it's not the OZ I remember anymore.
It hasn't been for a long time. I'm hoping that Adora can rally enough of the people that they can defeat Bastinda's human army.
She still has her magic...and her demons.
Az flew down to the ground near a lake and shifted back to her human form and moments later Jiminy appeared beside her and drew her into his arms. "Keep her away as long as you can," he pleaded. "Give me at least one night..."
"She can't come here," Az whispered and kissed him, pulling him down to the grass with her.
Later they lay in each other's arms by the lake gazing up at the sky as the first moon rose over the trees.
"Jiminy, please be careful. If she thinks you're deceiving her..."
"I know...but I have to do something Dellia. The Resistance needs to know what's going on inside that tower and I'm the only one that can do it."
"Then you're going to need some help." She sat up. "Pallux!" she called out.
Jiminy watched as one of the mobat demon markings above her breasts glowed and flew off her chest, the mobat demon bowing his head and tucking in his wings in submission.
"Mistress?"
"Protect my mate Pallux."
"I will, Mistress."
"You've turned one of her demons! This is excellent Dellia, excellent!" he cried.
"Pallux and his mate Perika are loyal to me but we cannot trust Zora. She's been with Bastinda too long. Pallux, you will take any messages Jiminy gives you to Adora Cain of the Resistance army when he cannot deliver them himself."
"Yes, Mistress."
Az pressed her hand against Jiminy's arm, the flesh beneath her hand glowing with the light of her magic as she placed Pallux's marking on his skin. "Now you can summon him yourself when you need him."
"She's going to wonder where he is."
"No she won't. I'll make certain of that."
"You be careful too Dellia!"
"I will. We should get back...she always takes control before morning."
Their idle time had come to an end.
Bastinda would have no one threaten her position as the undisputed Queen of the OZ including a traveller that resembled the Strogoff descendant now under the control of the dark goddess Alemedia that wandered into the realm through one of her grandfather's portals. Were he freed from Alemedia's Dark One curse, Rumplestiltkin Strogoff had the power to unite his Ozopov and Strogoff kin and restore the balance, sending Bastinda and her mistress back to Ephesis, with no chance to escape and unleash their horror on other realms and worlds. She would not take the chance that this version of him possessed the same abilities and locked him away in the boughs of her tower dungeon.
I should've known there would be no escape, even in another world, Robert MacNamara thought bitterly from inside the iron suit that was a worse prison than any other he'd been in before. This Ozian sorceress was creative with her torture, he had to give her that. The suit was designed to keep him alive but it was sealed with magic meaning only she could open it. She only released him long enough to have him "viewed" by Seers that were half animal and half human with the ability to see the truths one's mind concealed by looking into their hearts. Rumor had it that the Viewer population was becoming extinct because many of them died attempting to read another one of prisoners, a man named Wyatt Cain. Robert didn't want anyone or anything dying for him.
It was after midnight when he heard the door to his cell unlock and a tall, bearded ginger haired man entered the room wearing the gold armor and black leather of the Sorceress's army. The man placed his hand on the front of the iron suit and it opened. Robert sighed. Another mage...and with powers second to those of his mistress. This man had to be the Commander Jiminy Ozopov one of his guards complained about, the sorceress's second in command and lover yet none of them dared cross him in fear that he would kill them without even breaking a sweat. His counterpart in his own world was Jiminy Cricket, a former thief transformed into a cricket by the Blue Fairy to make amends for turning a child's parent into puppets. The cricket would later serve as an advisor to Snow White and this version of him lived a similar life until a travel storm brought him to the OZ the day the Dark Curse was cast. Life in the OZ had hardened the former cricket and being trained in magic made him more terrifying.
"What do you want?" Robert demanded angrily. "Going to have me viewed again?"
"I don't need to. All the answers I need are right there," Jiminy said, pointing to Bobby's chest. "And I could take it out and look at them, if I'm inclined to."
"So do it!" he challenged. "I know all about you. The cricket who lost his conscience the moment he climbed into the sorceress's bed!"
"You know nothing about me!" Jiminy growled. He waved his hand and cast a silencing spell over the cell. "But I know everything about you. You don't belong here."
"That's obvious, dearie but your sorceress seems to like keeping me around. She's wasting her time. I don't have magic. I repel it. She should just let me go and find the version of my brother she wants."
"She already knows where he is."
Robert laughed. "So...you have no idea why she's keeping me here either. Afraid she's gonna replace you with me."
"That will never happen. You're not one of the Guardians of the Balance. I am, at least in this world. But, there is a chance you may be in your own and that is why I have to send you back."
"You're releasing me? This has to be a trick."
"It's no trick Bobby." Jiminy gestured and he tumbled out of the tin suit. "Sorry about that." He reached into his pocket and took out a gold coin. "Take my hand. We don't have much time."
He hesitated.
"Oh for Lurline's sake!" Jiminy grabbed his hand and teleported them into the forest. He pressed the coin into the other man's palm. "Over that hill is a village. Look for the blue smoke coming out the chimney and tell the woman inside Cricket sent you and to give you safe passage out of the OZ."
"You're playing both sides, aren't you?"
"I have to. It's the only chance I have of saving my wife."
"The princess Azkadellia is your wife, isn't she?"
Jiminy nodded sadly. "I can't free her from Bastinda alone. My magic isn't strong enough yet. Nor can I free our Rumplestiltskin from his curse. The Guardians have to be united for that to happen. And it will," he added determinedly.
"I wish you luck. You're gonna need it...Cricket. Maybe I'll see you again when all this is over."
"We can only hope." Jiminy smiled and vanished in a puff of green smoke.
Robert arrived at his destination an hour later, a small cottage at the bottom of the hill. He rapped several times before a woman with silvery blond hair opened the door, an angry teenage boy at her side holding a gun.
"I mean you no harm…."
"I know you don't, Robert McNamara," the woman said softly. "Come inside, quickly. Jeb, lock the door!"
"Who is he, Mother?"
"A lost soul," Adora murmured.
"I was told to tell you that Cricket sent me and to give you this for safe passage out of the OZ." He placed the coin in the woman's palm. "But...how do you know my name?"
"Come outside with me and we'll talk."
Bobby shook his head. This place and these people were stranger by the minute. He followed her outside hoping she would make sense of the strangeness he'd encountered from the moment he arrived in this world.
"Okay, we're outside now how do you know my name? I wasn't even in this realm long before I was captured by the sorceress."
"Because I am more than just a Resistance leader. My true name is Ozmalita."
He'd heard that name mentioned a few times during his confinement. Ozmalita Diosa was the servant angel to their goddess Lurline, punished to live as a mortal for marrying the Guardian Wyatt Cain and having his child though he was meant to marry to the deceased Princess Dorothia, Azkadellia's younger sister. She was now the leader of the Resistance movement against the Sorceress's reign, her many victories bringing many screams of rage within the walls of the tower. She always seemed to be one step ahead of the Sorceress but no one could figure out why. Her attempts to root out the spy within her inner circle proved fruitless.
"That clears up a few things. But how can you get me out of here without your powers?"
"This coin Jiminy gave you will summon a storm that can take you back to your own world." She tossed it into the ground, a large funnel cloud forming in front of them. "Once you're inside think of the place you want to be and you will go there. Quickly...before it fades!" she ordered over the howling winds.
"Commander! Our scouts are reporting travel storm activity near the fields of the Papay!" Jiminy looked up from the book he was reading and scowled. Zero was the last face he wanted to see that evening.
"That's impossible. We've confiscated the machines that create the tokens. You had too much ale at DeMilo's place again or have been overindulging in the Wonderland vapors! And haven't I told you I don't want you in my sight?"
"But…"
"Zero, will you stop wasting my time and GET BACK TO YOUR POST!"
"I know what I heard and I'm going to check it out."
"You'll do no such thing! I'll go and if I found out you've wasted my time you're going to be spending the next three weeks as a guest of the Papay when I put you on guard duty!"
Zero cringed. A Papay runner would tear a man apart in less than thirty seconds if it wanted him for his dinner. All of the guards stationed there wore special charms to protect them from the creatures but he knew Commander Ozopov would conveniently forget to give him one if he sent him there. It was no secret his superior despised him and the feeling was mutual.
"The Sorceress should…"
"I'll make a report to her when I return." Jiminy vanished.
Zero cursed silently when he found himself unable to move or speak.
Figures the bastard would freeze and mute me before he left.
He had no doubt he would have a memory lapse too. Ozopov was notorious for those, especially when he saw anyone as a threat to his position with the Sorceress. He couldn't wait to see the day when the former cricket had his wings clipped and reduced to being a grunt like the rest of them.
The travel storm vanished as Jiminy teleported to Adora's safe house in the woods.
"You were right to send him to me, Jiminy. He needs to get back to his own world and be reunited with his brother but it won't be easy."
"Everyone needs a family." His fingers touched the tear shaped amber around his neck, the memorial to his precious daughter Ambrosia murdered as soon as she was born by the man now immobile in his study.
She patted his shoulder. "She will be returned to you when Azkadellia is freed from Bastinda's control."
"And when she is, the man who killed her will find himself at the end of a rope!" Jiminy growled. "You don't know how many times I've wanted to kill him myself!"
"You cannot darken your heart, Jiminy. Justice will be done...in time."
"Not soon enough for me. I need to be getting back."
"Be careful Jiminy."
"You too Lita."
The Sorceress was waiting for him when he returned.
"There's been an escape."
"An escape? We have no prisoners I'm aware of Sorceress. And I left Zero here….he reported travel storm activity but the storm was gone by the time I arrived."
"Some travel storm tokens were taken from one of our bases near Finaqua," she said angrily. "We must tighten the patrols. The Resistance is seeking allies from other realms."
"I'll order Lannot to get it done right away. But you haven't answered my question. Who was in the dungeon?"
"A Guardian."
"A Guardian? But that's impossible."
"Not one from this world. Jiminy. Another world, and this one is resistant to magic. He would have been the perfect weapon for us."
"Sorceress, we don't need outside assistance. We have the situation under control here."
"Still it never hurts to have an ace in the hole, does it?"
"No, it doesn't."
"No matter. We will find another way to put down this rebellion."
Try all you want bitch. You'll never succeed, he thought as the Sorceress's control weakened and the woman he loved stood in her place.
"Dellia," he murmured and took her into his arms.
"I'll try to keep her away...as long as I can." She laid her head on his chest. "I hope Bobby can find his way back home."
"So do I Della, so do I. Thank the goddess you were able to tell me about him and I could get him out of here before she followed through on turning him into a weapon against us."
"She would have used one of the other two Dark One daggers."
He nodded. "We have to continue our search and find them before she does."
"And neutralize them Jiminy," Az reminded him. "You know what price is required to do so."
He nodded. "To sacrifice themselves to protect those they love. But their hearts have to be divided before they can do that, the portions not tainted by darkness held in the custody of a fellow Guardian. You and I both know Alemedia wants to put those other two daggers in your sister's and Cain's hands. If they cannot overcome the pain from their pasts they'll destroy each other and release her. And we know the hell all the realms will be subjected to if she is freed."
"And ours will be destroyed…"
"If we don't restore the Balance before the final eclipse we'd better pray to Lurline Alemedia is still trapped in a vessel when this world is destroyed because that will be the only way we'll have to defeat her."
"I'm hoping Bobby's world has a much better fate than ours is destined to."
"We can't lose hope Dellia. All we can do is our best to protect everyone we love. And protect the other realms. If Bobby's world has anyone like Alemedia he must be prepared."
Bastinda was furious over the loss of her secret weapon but she still had others at her disposal...if she could find them.
"Sorceress?" Jiminy asked when he entered her chambers after she'd finished a conference with her dark mistress on the other side.
"There are two other items we must search for along with the Emerald of the Eclipse but this information will go no further than this room. Do I make myself clear Jiminy?"
"Yes Sorceress. May I ask which items you are referring to?"
A book appeared on the table before them. "This is one of only two copies of the Book of the Ancients in existence. The other is in the possession of the Goddess's current vessel. What we seek are these." She turned to a page showing three daggers identical to the one Rumplestiltskin was known to wield. "These daggers allow our mistress to walk the mortal realm in the body of a vessel. They must be destroyed before the final eclipse."
"Why?"
"Once we destroy Ephesis the Goddess will walk the mortal realm in her own right. If she is still trapped in a vessel's body when Ephesis is destroyed she will die."
"Sorceress, how will we be able to destroy Ephesis?"
"By destroying the emerald Lurline has tethered her life force to."
"The emerald is hidden and our searches have turned up nothing. You've had the strongest viewers in the realm attempt to read Queen Lavinia and none of them have been able to breach her cloaking spell. You've even had them read Cain and gained nothing but more bodies to bury."
Constructs to bury, Jiminy thought. Along with constructs of people in villages his forces raided, the real people tucked away safely in one of Adora's camps after he'd warned them himself or sent Pallux in his stead. The mobat demon had been true to his word that he would serve his new master faithfully as had his mate who would be the one to bring Jiminy information on plans the Sorceress did not share with him.
"The emerald must be recovered."
"And it needs to be in your possession while you still occupy the body of Princess Azkadellia or it will be useless," he reminded her.
"I am aware of that Jiminy."
"I meant no offense Sorceress."
"I know you didn't. You are the most loyal of my Longcoats which is why I trust you and only you with these plans."
"What would you have me do?"
"Take a company of men and begin your search in the Southern realm beginning with Finaqua."
"General Lannot searched it years ago."
"I believe he was not as thorough as you will be."
"Of course Sorceress. I will do my best."
"I know you will." She smiled. "You can begin in the morning."
"Thank you Sorceress. Good night."
"Jiminy….Jiminy…wake up!" he heard an urgent voice whisper and shake his shoulder later on that night.
"Dellia!" he cried, sitting up and throwing his arms around her.
"I don't have much time…." Az said sadly.
He sighed. "I know. She always breaks through too soon." He kissed her gently. "You know what she wants me to do."
"Jiminy, those daggers do have to be found and neutralized but if Aramon's prophecy comes true and Alemedia is not contained within a vessel before Ephesis is destroyed…"
"There'll be no stopping her," he finished gravely. "But Rumplestiltskin's blade will need to be neutralized as well."
"That will happen only when he is ready to banish her."
"Will he ever be?" Jiminy asked bitterly. "He's kept the curse for centuries."
"Because he needed to as I need to contain Bastinda. My sister…"
"I hope she's matured on the other side or this realm is damned!"
"Jiminy…"
"I am sorry Dellia. I know she was a child but she was far too rebellious and the prophecy of the final eclipse will come to pass."
"If you find the daggers…"
"I'll know what to do. Stay with me tonight."
"I want to...but what if I...what if she breaks through?"
"She won't," he said firmly and laid her down. "Not this time."
She wrapped her arms around him and drew him closer. "I love you Jiminy..."
"You know I love you Dellia, that bitch be damned!"
Az awoke just before dawn watching her husband sleep, wishing she could make time stop as it had on the other side and relive the previous night for the next ten years. They were not able to afford many nights like those as long as Bastinda held a tight grip on her soul. The loss of their child had weakened her resolve slightly but losing Jiminy would destroy it completely.
And send him away was what the OZ was asking her to do.
She leaned over and kissed his cheek. He groaned and opened one eye. It was always difficult for him in the mornings he awoke with her, fearing Bastinda would be in control again.
"Sorceress?" he inquired sleepily.
"It's me," Az whispered and crawled back into bed with him.
"Dellia..."
"Oh I wish we could make time stop like it is on the other side," she moaned.
"I wish we could too...it's hell when she takes over."
"Jiminy...it's time," she said gravely. He tensed.
"No...Dellia, not now...hold her back for a little longer..." he pleaded.
"I don't mean that...it's time for you to go...to the Other Side."
"No...don't do this to me. Not now."
She waved her hand and dressed them before she teleported them into the forest and tossed a travel storm token onto the grass.
"I AM NOT leaving you!" Jiminy shouted over the rising winds.
"You have to," she sobbed. "It's the only way. Rumplestiltskin's heir must be protected and prepared to help his grandfather break the curse and so does his bondmate. And DG has to be brought back. There's no one else that can do this but you."
"YOU need me too! I'm all you have left here! Dellia, please send someone else. My place is here with you! I AM NOT leaving you at her mercy!" he insisted.
"We have no choice. This is the will of the OZ."
"The will of the OZ be damned!"
"You cannot think like that. We've already lost too much for defying her will."
"I know," he croaked, his thoughts turning to their child.
"You will return and we will free me from her…together. And then we'll free the OZ," she vowed and stepped back, reaching into her chest and removing her heart.
"My true mate shall you reveal
Let him see as I see, feel as I feel
Two hearts as one
Not even in death will this bond be undone!" she chanted.
The organ began to glow and divided itself into two pieces, one resting in the palm of her hand, the other hovering above it glowing white. She cupped the floating piece in her other hand and kissed it tenderly. "Jiminy Ozopov," she murmured and released it. The piece floated to where he stood and floated into his chest.
"My true mate shall you reveal
Let her see as I see, feel as I feel
Two hearts as one
Not even in death will this bond be undone!" he chanted as he pulled his own heart out, leaving one piece in his hand, the other hovering above it glowing white. He cupped it in his hand and kissed it. "Azkadellia Ozopov," he said lovingly and released it. It floated over to where she stood and disappeared into her chest. Seconds later the pieces in their palms vanished.
He took her in his arms. "When I go there, I won't remember you or Amber. I'll be the man I was before I became a cricket and I'd rather die than go back to that!"
She shook her head. "But it will be the perfect cover for you to do what you need to do. Your strength will come back when you need it."
"Not soon enough."
"And you won't be alone. Pallux!" she called out. The mobat demon's marking began to glow and he flew off Jiminy's arm. "Take him with you."
"He's a mobat demon from the Ozian hell realm. He can't go to the land without magic looking like that!" Jiminy gestured and a Dalmatian now stood between them. "And you need a new name." He smiled at his bondmate. "I'll call him Pongo."
Az giggled. "How did I know you were going to do that?"
"Because you love that cartoon as much as I do. Someday all of the people in the OZ will experience the wonders of that land as we do…in peace. I'm not giving up on that dream Dellia."
"Neither am I…You have to go….she's fighting to take control again and I can't let her see you're her enemy!"
He took her in his arms and kissed her passionately. "I love you Azkadellia Ozopov. Never forget that. And I WILL find my way back to you once I wake up from this curse."
"I'll be counting the days. I love you Jiminy. Always…"
Jiminy tightened his grip on Pongo's leash as the funnel cloud approached.
"I am Jiminy Ozopov, husband of Azkadellia, father of Ambrosia...I am the Heart of the North Guardian...I am..." he chanted and closed his eyes when the cloud began to pull him in, the construct in Storybrooke that was once Archie Hopper vanishing as if he'd never existed and returning to Oz, transforming into the man it had been created to imitate, asleep near the Fields of the Papay.
Storybrooke, Maine
2001
"You ahh...wanted to see me?" Archie asked when he walked into Regina's home office.
"I did."
"Well, if this is about Pongo's dog license, I believe it's still up to date."
"This has nothing to do with your dog."
"Madam Mayor, are you all right?"
"I'm okay.
"Excuse me for saying so, but you don't seem okay."
"I don't tolerate that sort of bluntness. I'm the Que...the mayor."
"I am a therapist. That's why you asked me here, isn't it? What is bothering you? What are you feeling?"
"Nothing. I'm feeling nothing."
"If I were to guess, I would say you're a driven woman and sometimes that can leave a hole."
"A what?"
"A hole. An emptiness. There's more to life than work. Maybe that's why you feel dissatisfied."
"I am not dissatisfied. I love my life."
"What's the point if you've got no one to share it with?"
"There's that bluntness again."
"Has there ever been a time in your life when you haven't felt this way?"
"When that little boy visited. Owen."
"A child. That can bring so much meaning."
Oz (The Outer Zone)
Ten years prior to the Double Eclipse
Ten years prior to the end of the Dark Curse
"...Sorceress...I regret to tell you that Commander Ozopov is dead." General Lannot informed her when he entered her study.
"What?" Bastinda asked angrily. "Are you certain?"
He motioned and Zero and another guard carried a litter into the study. Bastinda lifted the sheet and gazed down at the body, her eyes red with rage when she saw the bulletholes in his chest.
"Who did this? I'll have their hearts!"
"Resistance fighters Sorceress," Zero lied hoping that his mistress would be unable to tell that he'd done the deed himself and took great pride in it. He found his former superior asleep near the fields of the Papay and wondered how it was possible that luck was on his side this day of all days. Killing the Commander and taking his place at the head of the Sorceress's army had been his dream for years only he knew killing the bastard would not be a simple task. Except on this day it had been simple. One down, one to go and getting rid of Lannot would not be easy either.
"Prepare him for burial," she commanded through gritted teeth. "He is to be buried with all honors."
"Yes, Sorceress," Lannot said and motioned for the men to pick up the litter. As they carried the body out of the room Az's lips curved into a devious smile. Her husband was safe and the witch was none the wiser. Now he would prepare the East Guardian for his destiny.
Storybrooke, Maine
Ten years prior to the breaking of the Dark Curse
Rumple was standing at the counter looking over his ledger, tapping his fingers on the counter when the door to his shop opened and Regina walked in. He knew this wasn't a social call...it never was. She wanted something and he couldn't imagine what it was.
"I need a child Gold, and I need your help."
His eyes widened. Was she insane? He wouldn't touch her even if his life depended on it!
"Well, I'm flattered but uninterested."
"Not like that!" she exclaimed, much to his relief. "I spent all morning talking to adoption agencies. The wait lists are over two years long. But you, Gold, you know how to cut through red tape. And if anyone can work the system and find me a baby, it's you."
"You wish to adopt?"
"Well, don't look so surprised," she said angrily.
"Oh, I'm not. I'm sure you'll make a... well, a mother of some sort."
"Can you help me?"
"Of course I can. But a word of caution. Ask yourself if this is something you're ready for."
"It's something I need."
"Well, that may not be the same thing. I'll get you a child," he promised. "But whether or not that's helping you remains to be seen," he added when she walked toward the door. "When you become a parent, you must put your child first. No matter what."
I'm a good one to talk, he thought bitterly.
"Just find me a baby, Gold," she ordered.
After she left he retreated to his office in the backroom and flipped through the Rolodex on his desk until he found the number he was looking for of a colleague in Boston. They never met in person but Sam Anderson had gotten used to Gold's reclusive behavior and had contacts outside the town that came in handy when Gold needed them...specficially to cut through red tape as Regina had said. Regina had suggested the two of them speak years ago when an issue arose regarding one of Gold's rental properties.
"Hello Sam."
"Been a long time, Gold."
"Yes it has."
"So what crisis does your mayor want you to fix now?" he joked.
"She wants to adopt a baby."
"Are you serious?"
"I'm afraid so."
"From the way you describe her she doesn't sound like the mothering type."
"Perhaps having a child will change her."
Anderson laughed. "Let me know when you wake up from your dellusions of grandeur."
"I do owe her a favor and I always repay my debts," Gold reminded him.
"All right...I'll see what I can find out for you. Has she spoken to any agencies?"
"She said the waiting lists are two years long."
"For some, yes but if she's serious we can move things along."
"Excellent."
Regina stopped in every day to check on his progress, furious when he had nothing new to report and it wore on his nerves. He still didn't understand how she could possibly find time to raise a child when she was so wrapped up in her work? He certainly hadn't and it cost him dearly. He was dead as far as his son was concerned. Finally one of the agencies contacted him with the news that would finally get Regina off his back.
"Madam Mayor...it's Mr. Gold," he said when he called her office. "I'd like you to come over to my shop this afternoon."
"I'll be there!" she said excitedly.
"You have news?" she demanded when she entered the shop later on that day.
"Fate may be on your side. This morning, I, uh, spoke with an agency that had placed a baby boy from Phoenix with a family nearby in Boston."
"With a family? How's that fate?" she asked.
"Because at the last minute, the adoption fell through. It happens." Of course it had taken a bit of money to make it happen but as long as Regina got what she wanted and left him alone, it was worth it.
"So the baby still needs a home?"
"Indeed. As they say, fate appears to be on your side." He handed Regina the folder of information Anderson faxed over to him that morning. "The agency is in Boston," he informed her.
For a while it seemed that Regina was happy with her new baby that she named Henry but then she stormed into his shop on another day with the baby carrier in her hands and a furious expression on her face.
"You knew," she accused.
"Knew what, exactly?" he asked. Now what was she harping on about?
"The child that you located for me in Phoenix... his mother was found in the woods outside of Storybrooke eighteen years ago," she said angrily setting the carrier on the floor.
"What a starling coincidence." And it was.
"Eighteen years ago?!" Regina raged.
"I fear I'm missing the significance. You have to forgive me; my memory is not what it used to be," he said and that was true. There were times when he forgot what day of the week it was.
"Henry's mother was found as a baby on a very significant day. The day this town... this town..."
"This town what?" Nothing significant happened in the town that long ago that he could recall.
"She's important, isn't she? This mother."
"Is she important? I suppose that as much as she gave birth to your son," he pointed out wishing she would either get to the damned point or get the hell out. He wasn't in the mood for her hysterics today.
"You... you built this into this whole thing, didn't you? You made this happen because the mother... she's..."
"She's what, madam mayor? This mother you seem to fear so much."
"Oh, you really know nothing of what I'm talking about."
"Well, I know you're upset, that much is clear." And looking like she was about to have a nervous breakdown. Ah well, it happened to the best of them.
"You told me I'd come to you. That I'd have a hole in my heart. And... you want this to end. This town. What I built. You want to destroy it all by bringing the mother back! That's why you did all this!" she cried.
"Do you know you have dark circles under your eyes? A weary tremble in your voice. Poor thing. Look what motherhood has done to you," he sad a bit tauntingly. If she wanted to play games, so be it. He was beginning to enjoy seeing her come unglued. It was about time.
"Play dumb all you want, you little imp. You should know who you're dealing with by now. I sacrificed everything to build this life! And nothing will tear me away from my revenge! Henry goes back to Boston! Tomorrow! " she yelled when she picked up the baby and walked out.
Gold shook his head. "And you need to check yourself into the hospital," he muttered.
Over in the hospital's basement the girl known as Lacey sat on a cot and looked up at the small window in her cell, asking herself the same question she did every day. Why was she there? She hadn't done anything wrong as far as she remembered and who was the woman who always came to see her. All she would do was open the small door and smile at her, a smile that sent shivers down the girl's spine. And the things she would say...
"He doesn't remember anything...not even you. How does it feel? I can tell you how it feels to me...wonderful!" the woman gloated.
"Who are you? Why do you keep coming here to torment me?" Lacey asked.
"Because I can...and neither of you can do a damned thing about it. You had so much hope that you could save him, that you could break his curse. Didn't quite work out, did it? He tossed you out of his life like trash. He was never going to change, not even for you...and he's more useful to me without you distracting him."
"What are you talking about?" Lacey cried. "Go away!"
The woman laughed. Lacey took off her shoe and threw it at the door.
"She's acting out again!" the woman called out.
"No...NO!" Lacey screamed as several orderies came into the room along with the nurse. She held a syringe in her hands.
"Lacey, how many times do we have to have this discussion?" the nurse asked her. "We don't throw things at visitors."
"Keep her away from me!" she begged.
"Restrain her," the nurse commanded.
The girl screamed as an image flashed before her eyes. She could see herself, although she was dressed in what looked like clothes from the Middle Ages being held down on a wooden table while men dressed in red robes surrounded her, screaming in terror.
"Lurline, our goddess, our mother and Aramon, our father, in your mercy, guide us so that we may cleanse this child of the Dark One's evil taint and show her back to the light."
She could see someone else watching and to her horror it looked like her father.
"Papa, don't let them do this to me...please!"
He ignored her. "It's for the best, my girl."
The last thing she saw before the sedative took effect was a man with gold and grey flecked skin and repillian eyes and herself leaning forward, pressing her lips to his.
Regina left the asylum, Belle's terrified screams music to her ears.
I'll never stop fighting for him!
"You won't be able to fight for someone you can't remember, now can you?" Regina asked no one in particular and laughed again as she drove away.
She took the baby back to the adoption agency the following morning as she'd promised but the agent, suspecting Regina was having second thoughts left her in the room with Henry for a moment.
"Oh, Henry. You deserve better than me. You truly are the only one in all the realms who believes in me."
"Would you like me to hold him so we can get the last written signature?" the agent said when he reentered the room.
"No, that won't be necessary. Henry is my son. The best thing for Henry is to stay with a mother who will never let go of him. Ever again." She grabbed her bags and left the office.
"I'm afraid there's been a hiccup. You'll have to go back on the waiting list. The mother changed her mind. I'm sorry," he said to the two men waiting outside his office. They were John and Michael Darling, two young men from a different place, a different time and pawns in a frightful game.
"We lost him?"
"Yes, but I can put you back on the list..."
"Pan will not be pleased." Michael Darling said to his brother.
"Which is why we don't give up. We will get that child." John Darling said angrily.
Before Regina arrived home she placed a call to Archie, asking him if he would mind stopping over at the house to meet the child.
"Regina, I'm just so pleased. I'll admit I was concerned. And I'm just so... glad the way things worked out." he said when he arrived.
"There's just one problem, Dr. Hopper. I'm afraid, no, I'm... dreading... that Henry's birth mother will wake up one day full of regret over leaving him and come here and take him back."
"Wasn't it a closed adoption? You're both perfectly anonymous to each other, right?"
"Yes, but, I'm worried about something bigger than the laws at play. Fate. Destiny."
"It seems to me you've made your own destiny."
"But there's still someone out there who can destroy it."
"Regina, if you keep worrying about the future, you'll never enjoy the present. This child has brought something to you—love—revel in that. Revel in being a mother. I would if I were a father."
"Perhaps you will be...someday," she said without a trace of malice. Though he was subject to her will like everyone else in the town there was no need to make him miserable...yet.
"Perhaps." the doctor agreed.
The Tower
Oz (The Outer Zone)
Az's fingers traced a pattern on the amber ring she wore on her finger that matched the pendant her husband wore around his neck but would not recall its significance for another ten years. "You did revel in being a father my darling...for the brief time our Ambrosia was with us. But protect Henry, love Henry as if he were your own son and teach him how to anchor his mother to her humanity. Pan will come for him and she may be one of the only people who can stop him."