See chapter 1 for summary. Thanks for all the amazing reviews! Keep them coming! I'm really glad to be getting more frequent updates on this one too. Here's individual responses:
Grace5231973: Yep, the fight is coming to Regina now. I'm glad they're helping Owen too and I think you're really going to like this chapter. :)
Beth1980: Yay, I'm glad you're reading this one too. Yep, if Regina had left her as a mermaid, she might have succeeded in making her pay, but fortunately, she just couldn't stop looking for Charming, despite thinking they couldn't be together. Glad you liked the inclusion of Nova. I figured that she'd truly give them the happy ending they deserved, while Blue would just want to use them further her own agenda. I like the name Nolan too and hopefully we'll see Mildred again. In this, since David disappeared and Red was basically guarding Ruth, he left it alone. It's very possible that Ruth is alive in this since George didn't attack. Yep, Owen might actually have a fighting chance now. Splitting up would be a bad idea and I'm glad Owen is still young enough to believe here. You may find out how he convinced Regina to cast the curse in this scenario in this chapter. Let's just say, she might be even more dissatisfied and feels a little duped by the Dark One here.
Sexystarwarslover: I know, shirtless Charming makes me fan myself too. Yes, I'm sure she's not happy that Snow isn't being punished by her curse. Glad you like the Little Mermaid mentions. Yep, Owen might have a chance to become a good person here with Snowing's help. :)
Mysterious Fathoms Below
Chapter 5: Welcome to Storybrooke
It was a morning like any other in Storybrooke, Maine and for this town, that was literally true. It was the same thing every morning. Same people. Same routine. Nothing changed. Such was the nature of the curse.
Regina walked along the sidewalk. As usual, she observed Marco on a ladder, fixing the same sign, Archie walking Pongo and greeting her with the same pleasantries, and Mr. Gold hobbling along with his cane. She had an extra cold glare for him today, for this was not exactly what she thought it would be. For she was one thing that was more annoying than angry and enraged. Regina was bored.
This wasn't exactly what the imp had promised if she cast the curse. But he had enticed her by revealing that Snow and her Charming prince had escaped to this very land in their mer-form, for he revealed that mer-people could travel realms without curses, portals, or beans. So she had done it. She cursed Snow's people and friends. If nothing else, she knew the guilt would eat at her and she would eventually come here to try and stand against her. And that's when Regina would crush her and her true love. But it had yet to happen and Regina, with her thirst for revenge going un-quenched, was growing restless. But so far...Snow had not come to try and rescue anyone.
Upon their arrival in this land, she had a small hiccup in the form of a father and son, native to this land, who had been camping too close to the place where the curse had carved the town out of the woods and ended up inside Storybrooke. At first she had wanted them to leave right away and urged Billy at the repair shop to fix Kurt's truck.
But then she had gotten to know them, especially his little boy, Owen, and realized what she might be missing in her life. Unfortunately, Kurt had seen too much and found her attempts to keep them in town excessive, to say the least. So she had no choice but to force them to stay. Except Owen had escaped and she couldn't risk Kurt telling anyone what he had seen. And she had to make sure Owen never led anyone back to their town so when he did return with authorities, a magical barrier kept him and them from seeing anything.
Then there was Kurt. She currently had him locked up, but she wasn't sure keeping it that way was feasible. She knew that meant she had to get rid of him. Permanently. Normally, she wouldn't think twice about eliminating people, let alone one person. But doing so without magic was decidedly more messy. Before, she could rip a heart and crush it, engulf a village with one fireball, or better yet, order her Knights to carry out an execution. But none of those were really options here in Storybrooke.
If she wanted Graham to do it, she'd have to wake him up and getting him back under the curse might not be so easy. Then there the option of a gun and it was definitely the quickest option. Until she read about lethal injection in her research she had been doing about this world. From what she had learned, it was a drug cocktail that was used in the executions of criminals in this world. It was injected and stopped the heart, ceasing all life function in seconds. It was perfect, because all hospitals had the necessary drugs to make it. So that was her goal. She would concoct the lethal injection herself in her vault and then she would recruit Nurse Ratchet to administer it for her. She was one person that wouldn't question what they were doing or bat an eye at the prospect of murdering a patient. Especially since Kurt's raving had led her to keeping him regularly sedated. She had easily fooled hospital administration into believing that Kurt was very disturbed and got the approval to keep him heavily medicated. But it was one loose end that Regina wanted to tie up and she decided that, since she had finished the concoction last night, that today would be the day. Kurt would meet a quick and painless end. Then she would bury him in the woods at the campsite where it was likely he would never be found.
David surfaced, as he towed the boat to the shores of Storybrooke. They knew they were in the right place, because there had been an invisible barrier that he could see in his mer-form. It masked the existence of the town from view, but once he had crossed through the barrier, a town appeared.
"This is it! I recognize that clock tower! I remember, because I asked my Dad why it didn't seem to work," Owen exclaimed.
"I'm afraid it doesn't work, because time doesn't move here," Snow answered him.
"Cause it's a curse?" he asked. She nodded and handed her husband his enchanted necklace. He put it on and returned to his human form, before offering his hand to her and helped her off the boat. He helped Owen too and then grabbed a towel, before drying off and putting his shirt back on.
"What now?" Owen asked.
"Well...we explore this town as quietly as possible and try to discern where Regina might have your father locked up," David replied.
"We'll have to be careful. No one remembers us and in a town this size...it won't take Regina long to hear about "strangers"," Snow reminded. He nodded, as he took her hand and they set off into town.
"So this is it? This is what she wanted?" David asked, not quite understanding.
"Well, she is the Mayor. That means she has a lot of power I guess," Owen deduced.
"I guess so...but I think the point of all this was punishing me," Snow said.
"Which she didn't get to do directly," he said, as he squeezed her hand.
"If she sees you...she'll stop at nothing to make you pay," David said fearfully.
"Which means we need to find Owen's father and leave," Snow replied, as they watched people mill about on the streets. She vaguely recognized some of them, but hadn't seen anyone she had been close to yet.
"They all seem relatively safe," Snow said encouragingly, as she looked around, but wasn't watching where she was going and bumped into someone.
"Oh...I'm so sorry," Snow said, as she started helping the woman pick up her things.
"It's okay...it was my fault. I'm so clumsy," the woman said. Snow looked up and realized that she recognized her.
"Nova?" she asked.
"I'm sorry?" the woman asked.
"Oh...I'm sorry, you just look like someone I used to know," Snow covered.
"That's okay...I'm sister Astrid," she said, as they shook hands.
"Um...Margaret. Margaret Nolan," she said.
"Oh...what a beautiful little girl," Astrid complimented, as she gushed over Emma.
"Thank you...this is my husband David and our...son Owen," she said, surprising the boy, but then it made sense that she would introduce him as such to create a plausible facade.
"And this little one is our daughter, Emma," she added.
"Emma...what a lovely name," another voice said. She turned and saw a man with a cane standing there. She gasped, for she almost didn't recognize him here. Back in their land, his skin had been leathery with a golden sheen, scraggly hair, and eyes bleeding with a craze like she had never seen. But here, he seemed like a perfectly normal man, albeit a disabled one. It was quite the contrast and suddenly, she saw recognition in his eyes.
"What are you doing here?" he growled. David looked at him suspiciously.
"You remember us?" the Prince asked.
"Not until I heard that name…" he replied in a hiss, as he looked at the Savior, who was much too young to do any saving.
"Her name?" David asked and then it dawned on Snow.
"That's why you wanted to know her name," she realized. He nodded curtly.
"The question is...why are you two here 27-years too early?" he questioned in annoyance.
"It's because of me," Owen chimed in fearfully, as he hid behind David.
"I see," Rumple said evenly.
"Look...we came here, because Regina has Owen's father and we couldn't stand by and let her rip another family apart," David replied.
"And you came, despite knowing that she will do everything to rip your family apart. In fact, she'll delight in it and then everything I have worked for could go up in smoke!" he hissed.
"Wait...you want the curse to be broken?" Snow questioned. He sighed.
"That's my business," he snapped.
"No...you do want it broken. That's why you wanted all this," David said, gesturing at the town.
"You wanted to come to this land. I'm don't know why, but you were adamant that Snow and I were together," he recalled.
"Yes...and the only reason I let you two escape when you chose to become mer-people was because I could see your arrival with your grown daughter in the future," Rumple responded.
"You let us escape?" Snow questioned.
"Of course, dearie...I could have easily stopped you had I not seen that things would still work. I almost did when you two chose not to take your human forms permanently again. I thought it would ruin everything, but then sometimes destiny is fated to happen, no matter what the circumstances," Rumple responded.
"And that destiny is Emma being the Savior?" David asked. He nodded.
"And what is she going to save you from exactly?" the prince asked suspiciously.
"That's none of your business," he snapped.
"No, it is my business, because she's my daughter!" he snapped back, as they stared at each other with hard lined expressions.
"All you need to know is that harm to your Emma is not part of it. You need to leave here with her...now," Rumple insisted.
"We can't leave until we've found Owen's father," Snow refuted. Rumple rolled his eyes and sighed in exasperation.
"Your bleeding hearts are what gets you both in so much trouble! If she catches you...you'll both be locked up right alongside this little boy's father and there is no telling what will happen to Emma, but it won't be good. Because Regina knows your child can break her curse," he said.
"Then help us," David replied.
"What?" he asked in confusion.
"Help us find Owen's father and then we disappear again for twenty-seven more years," David offered. Rumple sighed and was seriously missing his magic right now. He had always respected and even admired David for his bravery and heroic nature. But damn if it didn't complicate things at times. It was so much easier to just take the easy road by using magic to do what he wanted and damned who it hurt. But such was a lonely path and it had cost him everyone he loved. Bae...and Belle eventually. That's why they were even here in this land in the first place. So he could find Baelfire someday and use their daughter to do it. Which meant he needed all of them protected at this point and if the only way to get them to leave town until it was time was to free this boy's father...then he would relent.
"Fine...across the street. Get in my shop. We have much to discuss," he hissed, as they followed him to the Pawn Shop.
"You're going to help us?" Owen asked.
"Only because I need them, boy...even if they are nothing but trouble," Gold grumbled. David smirked.
"Of course...after all, we can't have anyone thinking the Dark One has a heart," he quipped.
"I could care less about some boy and his father from this land," he lied. He would never admit that a father and son being separated pulled at the strings of his black heart and hit especially close to home.
"And I have about as much heart as you have tact, Charming," he hissed. But David just shook his head. Though he sometimes seemed thick, he had always known there was much more to the former shepherd beneath his heroics and princely facade. He and David both had humble beginnings and it was almost as if David could see beyond his scary display and prickly bluster. They understood each other, especially since David was a father now. The common ground between them was actually astounding and as much as he would deny it, David was probably the closest thing he would ever have to a friend. He would have to take a memory potion because of all this now. Yes...Charmings were nothing but trouble.