7:15 AM AU - Things go a bit differently in the cabin during 7:15 AM. With memories returned, how will this change things?
Face Claim for Narcissa: Eileen Davidson
Face Claims for the three good fairies:
Flora: Maggie Smith
Fauna: Linsey Godfrey
Merryweather: Jackee Harry
New Face Claims:
Lucian Blackwater: Graham Greene
Malachi Wolfe: Scott Adkins
Will Rainwater/Billy Truheart: Lou Diamond Phillips
Monica Rainwater: TBD
Sam Rainwater/Mathias Firebird: Zahn McClarnon
Tigerlily: Sara Tomko(same as the show)
Thanks for the amazing response to this story. It's a lot of fun. I'm glad everyone is enjoying the twists and turns. Season 1 can be very fun to play with. Enjoy this latest and keep reviewing! Here are individual responses to reviews:
Ghostwriter: Yep, Henry will be mad and things are heating up. Glad you're enjoying!
Jennifer Baratta: Yep, Regina was not thinking. Glad you're enjoying!
Antimorra: We can hope that Maleficent will take Narcissa out. Yes, poor Henry. He will be very angry when he finds out what Regina is up to. Glad you're enjoying!
Sexystarwarslover: Yep, another cliffhanger. Yep, Regina is having Kathryn unknowingly help with her plot. Regina is definitely not thinking clearly at all. Yep, had to get that line in there. Yes, things happened differently here with Snowing and Maleficent. Cruella is creepy, but her flirting with Charming is funny. Yep, Regina has activated the trigger and it's not good. Glad you're enjoying!
Clarity
Chapter 51: Triggered, Pt 2
"What's happening?" Snow asked, as she held onto her husband and her daughter. Vines and tree branches started emerging from the cracks and wrapping around buildings.
"It's like the forest is swallowing the town!" Neal cried and Gold's eyes widened, as he held onto Belle tightly.
"She wouldn't…" he growled.
"Oh honey...she would," Merryweather said.
"Who wouldn't?" Emma asked.
"Regina…she's done the unspeakable…" he realized, as the others waited for an explanation, but the chaos sent them fleeing into the woods to escape the devastation. As quickly as it started though, the shaking stopped, as did the overgrowth of forest.
"Okay...what the hell was that and what did Regina do?" Emma asked.
"She activated the trigger," Gold replied.
"Trigger?" David questioned.
"It's a failsafe in the curse. If at any time Regina became dissatisfied with the curse, she could activate it and start over, all while destroying the town and its occupants right along with it. In theory," Gold said.
"In theory?" Neal asked. He nodded.
"Regina doesn't and never has understood that magic works very differently in this land, if at all. The lack of magic led to results like this," Gold said, as he carefully walked back toward Main Street and they observed the damage. There were wide cracks in the pavement, major structural damage to many buildings and businesses, and that was just what they could observe from their vantage point.
"You think the town has good insurance?" Emma joked.
"I'm sure, except explaining this as an earthquake will be a hard sell, honey," Merryweather commented.
"She's right…tree's don't usually just spout up in the middle of buildings," Neal said, wincing, as he looked at the tree trunk that was now shooting up out of his father's shop.
"I'm going to kill her," he growled.
"I still don't get what the hell she was thinking. I mean…she could have killed us all, including herself and Henry!" Emma exclaimed.
"Except that she probably planned to be long gone with your boy," Gold realized.
"Crap…" Neal uttered, as he and Emma looked at each other.
"The town line…" she said, as she ran for the bug and he followed her.
"David…" Snow said. He nodded and they hurried to his truck.
"Any ideas what to do with her?" Merryweather asked, as she observed Maleficent perching atop the clocktower.
"Well, she's not attacking, but I have no idea how long that will hold. She has the potion too and without it, there is no magic to fix any of this," he said.
"Not to mention there is no explaining a dragon to those without their memories," Belle said worriedly.
"And another problem…we know there's no barrier. If the shockwaves were felt in other places in the state…we could have serious trouble," Merryweather mentioned, as they all exchanged a worried glance.
Regina had hurried Henry into the car with no explanation, other than they had to get away from the danger. She told him they were going to a safer part of town where his family was waiting, but when she made the turn toward the town line, her son perked up.
"Wait…where are we going?" Henry asked.
"Henry…" she started to say.
"What are you doing?!" he demanded to know. She looked over at him.
"Henry…we have to escape. We're not safe here with Narcissa in power. I had to do it," she cried, as her eyes filled with tears.
"Do what? What did you do?!" Henry exclaimed. She opened her mouth to respond, but she saw a wolf with two different colored eyes in the road. She gasped and swerved the car, sending it careening into a tree.
"Damn her…" Emma growled, as she slammed her palm against the steering wheel.
"Relax…we'll get him back," Neal said.
"How do you know?! What if she's long gone with him?" she asked.
"Then we'll find him," he said pointedly, as they exchanged a glance.
"That's what you do…it's in your blood. But hopefully, we won't have to," he replied, as they noticed the brown truck behind them. Emma was still getting used to such a system of support. Before she could contemplate that further, she nearly choked, as she saw Regina's car wrapped around a tree. She slammed on the brakes and came to a screeching halt, as did David. She jumped out of the bug and ran to the car, but found neither Regina nor Henry in it.
"They're…they're not here!" she cried.
"We have the best tracker right here," David said, as Snow examined the area and saw child sized footprints, heading off in one direction.
"These are small footprints…they go this way into the woods," Snow said, as she pointed.
"Shouldn't there be a second set? I mean…where the hell is Regina?" Neal asked.
"He's right…" Snow said, as they looked around.
"Snow…" David called, as she went with him to the passenger side of the door, which was the only way out, since the driver's side was mashed against the tree. David took the cloth from his long sleeved shirt and covered his hand with it, as he picked something up off the payment.
"Is that a heel?" Emma asked. He nodded.
"Looks like something Regina would have worn," he said, as Snow knelt down and noticed marks on the pavement.
"More tire tracks," she said.
"They could just be from her vehicle," Neal replied.
"Except they're not. They don't match her car and she slid off the road before these," Emma said, as knelt down too.
"Another car?" David wondered.
"Maybe…but Henry comes first and then we'll find Regina. If she's still in one piece, I'll enjoy throwing her ass in jail," Emma growled, as the four of them set off into the woods in the direction of Henry's footsteps.
Jefferson hugged his daughter, who now had her memory back and a few tears slipped down his face.
"Papa…what's the matter?" she asked.
"I'm afraid that I helped someone bad…but it was the only way to get you back," he confessed.
"You're not bad, papa," Grace assured him.
"I used my hat to help someone get something that they intend to use to break the curse," he told her.
"But that sounds good…isn't it?" she asked.
"Yes…that part is. But the way he plans to do it is bad…I just hope the Savior can break the curse, even if it means bringing more trouble," Jefferson replied.
"You think this man is going to bring more trouble?" Grace asked.
"I'm afraid he will…but I have you back now and it's going to be okay," Jefferson promised, as he hugged her again.
Henry trekked through the woods to follow the wolf that had run off, despite Regina's pleas for him to stay. But he was very angry with her and determined to find the wolf, for he knew it was the one from Graham's story. He was confident that if he could find the wolf, it could lead him back toward town. The trouble was that he wasn't fast enough to follow him and he quickly became lost.
"What now?" he wondered, as he decided to follow his footsteps back to the road. He remembered Grandpa David telling him that his Grandma Snow had taught him how to leave trails so as not to get lost when in the woods. But he had forgotten since he was in a hurry and he did still make some footprints in the softer ground near the road. The trouble was it was spring and most of the snow was gone and the ground was hardening. His footprints had dropped off some time ago and he tried to remember. He decided on a direction and headed off, before coming face to face with a man. He recognized him as one of the two men that were working with Narcissa and he stopped cold in his tracks.
"There's no need to fear me, young one," Lucian said..
"Yeah right…you're bad and you're working with Ms. Blake," Henry replied, making him chuckle.
"Yes…but you and I have a common goal. We want the same thing," he claimed. Henry gave him a skeptical look.
"What could we both want?" he questioned. Lucian smirked.
"We both want this infernal curse to be broken," he replied. Henry's eyes widened.
"You want the curse to break? Why?" Henry asked suspiciously.
"My reasons are my own, but we both know that it must happen and I can help you make it happen, young one," he claimed.
"How?" Henry asked curiously. He knew he shouldn't trust this man, but his curiosity got the best of him. Lucian smirked and produced an apple; one which had a bite taken out of it.
"I made a deal with the Mad Hatter and we used one of his hats to retrieve this item from the Enchanted Forest," he said. Henry's eyes widened again.
"You mean this is the apple…" Henry said, as he trailed off.
"Yes…the very apple that Snow White bit into so long ago," he replied.
"But how does a poison apple help us break the curse?" Henry asked. Lucian smirked again.
"Simple, my boy…you take a bite and then your mother, the Savior, awakens you with true love's kiss," he said. Henry looked perplexed.
"True love's kiss…that's all it will take to break the dark curse?" he asked.
"If your mother breaks it, then yes…she is the Savior and true love comes in many forms; not just the romantic kind like your grandparents have," Lucian replied.
"And if I don't…are you going to make me eat it?" Henry questioned. He chuckled.
"Oh no, dear boy…I cannot force you or the spell won't work. Just like your grandmother willingly bit into that apple to save your grandfather's life, you must be willing as well," Lucian replied.
"What if you're lying?" Henry asked. He shrugged.
"Perhaps I am…but you know the stories better than me," Lucian said, as he looked at him pointedly.
"You know this will work," he added. Henry gave him a long gaze and then looked at the apple. He was right…but it was still a risk. But if it worked…the curse would break and everyone would wake up and remember. That meant Narcissa would lose power very quickly and his grandparents could lead the fight against her. He took a deep breath and took a bite of the apple…
Regina struggled, as her captor had her strapped down to a table and she glared up at Greg Mendell. Or was it Owen Flynn?
"It's been a long time…you haven't changed at all," Greg said.
"You have…" she commented.
"You made me this way…" he growled.
"You took my father from me…I was an orphan! People thought I was crazy when I told them about a magical town that appeared out of nowhere! And that the Mayor of the town kidnapped my father!" he hissed.
"I don't have your father…he left shortly after I had the Sheriff release him," she fibbed.
"You're a liar!" Greg growled, as he started putting suction cups on her forehead and a machine whirred to life.
"Tell me what you did to him…and I won't fry your brains out," he threatened. Regina glared at him and clenched her teeth.
"Go to hell…" she growled, as he flipped the machine on and she screamed in agony.
"His footprints are gone…" Emma cried, as they looked around the clearing, which had several directions her son could have taken. Snow knelt down again to examine the dirt.
"The ground is harder at this elevation, because it's colder. We'd have more luck if there was still snow," David mentioned.
"Anything?" Emma asked impatiently and her mother started to stand up, but froze.
"I think I can figure out which way he went…but I won't need to," she said, as they followed her gaze to the wolf that now stood there.
"Whoa…a wolf?" Neal asked.
"Graham…he said he saw a wolf just before he died," Emma recalled.
"The Huntsman had a pet wolf…he was raised by them," Snow said.
"I think he wants us to follow him…maybe he knows where Henry got off to," David replied, as the four of them followed the wolf and he took off deeper into the woods.