Team Nocturne
Little Hovel - Evening
"Nocturne?" Emma asked as Snorunt and Wigglytuff went back to Treasure Town.
Regina's voice curled with superiority. "It's reflective of the night. It's perfect."
Emma huffed. "It sounds villainy," she pointed out. "And...it's too much Harry Potter..."
"Do you know anything about the classics?" Regina snapped. "A nocturne is a musical composition that evokes feelings of the night. It lends itself more towards romanticism than villainy." She smiled wistfully. "If not Nocturne, I would have chosen Aubade."
Emma tilted her head, "O-bad?" She snorted. "Regina, I don't think I'm letting you name anything else...ever."
"Aubade," she corrected, turning away from the eevee. "Again, it is a musical reference, this time to the dawn. Miss Swan, you really should put some effort towards the classics."
"Well sorry for having to living in the real world for twenty-eight years," she drawled. "Some of us were too busy surviving foster care to learn about classical music."
Regina fell silent, knowing she should at least try to feel regret for her curse. "I'd apologize," she started, "but I'm not sorry." No, she'd never regret her actions. Without everything...without everything, she would have never have found Henry.
And Henry was her world.
Emma blinked. "O-kay?" To be honest, she had no idea why Regina should be sorry...it's not like the Evil Queen had any say in how she was raised. Besides, she was quite happy being herself, thank you very much. The whole princess thing freaked her out. She simply shrugged. "We should probably find a dungeon," she muttered against the silence.
"Fine," Regina agreed snidely, "let's go."
Brine Cave - Dusk
She sneered at the dripping maw of the stupid cave. It was filthy and stank of salty, musty moss. Water dripped from the stalactites with rhythmic purpose, and she did not want to go in.
The last touch of sunlight brushed the horizon, and the hero-princess kept shooting her those sickeningly cute, pleading looks. She had standards, and that cave...Regina refused to go in it. Wasn't one dark, waterlogged cave enough?
"We don't have all day, Regina," her companion huffed.
She opened her mouth to retort, only for a familiar scream to fill the sky.
A hollow chill poured into her soul.
Fear clawed at her heart, sinking its cold teeth into her pounding blood. It crawled beneath her skin and churned. Images skittered across her eyes, echoes of pain seared cooly against her finger tips.
Something brushed against her back and forced her forward.
The chill expanded, and she hated it. This wasn't her. This fear wasn't hers.
But it howled inside her, crawling slowly down her spine. It froze her in place. 'Don't move,' it pleaded. 'If you move, it will find you.'
But something forced her forwards.
Panic rumbled in her ears, as her heart pulsed. She wanted away. She needed it to stop.
A gentle pressure set her forwards, encouraging her kindly. Emma's tail. It gave her strength. Her hand curled around it.
Moments passed, and the panic and fear sloshed about. Another soul wrecking screech flooded her senses. She needed it to stop.
The path swirled around her, and the fear snapped away.
A sharp gasp escaped her lips. Safety and salty air wrapped around her, and she sighed with relief. "The wraith put fear inside me," she whispered, letting go of her co-parent's tail as if the contact burned.
Then realization clicked, and the knowledge incised her with a sharp, crackling fury. "That insolent wraith! No one messes with me and gets away with it," she hissed.
Emma sighed. This was going to be a long night.
Brine Cave - Midnight
While Regina set fire to yet another Pokémon, Emma decided to make camp. They had been awake for nearly two - no three days, and the short nap in Snorunt's home did not count. Sleep was necessary, but sleeping during they day left too few hours for research.
Still, her companion was a picky one, and refused to sleep in a cave...
"How about here?" Emma asked, looking at a welcoming bed of moss. "It's soft and -"
"Really? Miss Swan, have you no dignity?" She sniffed. "I refuse!"
Emma sighed. "Look, either you sleep here or you go explore on your own. I'm tired, and I'd like to be able to go meet people tomorrow."
The ralts shrugged. "Why? How could anyone in that little 'town' possibly be of use?"
"Really?" She padded to the moss and sank into it with a yawn. "They're explorers. They're bound to know something about how to get us home."
Disinterest and distain rolled off the feeling Pokémon in waves. "Fine, rest. I'm going to be productive. I'll find you in the morning." She slapped Emma's forehead with another marker and sauntered off, mumbling little epithets of disgust and anger at both the cave and the wraith.
Rumpelstiltskin's Castle - Early Morning
His laughter eased the mundane tension that followed the camp. The had lived without purpose for twenty-eight years, and the only one who seemed not to notice the passage of time was little Roland.
While the citizens of Storybrooke had the cursed pleasure of losing years and years of their lives to new, hazy memories, those of the Enchanted Forest remembered every moment with tepid, tired anticipation. The adults languished, but the children failed to notice.
Their lack of maturity graced them with a day to day simplicity. Memories blended together, an their importance lost.
But innocence remained, and that was a glorious light that kept the Merry Men alive.
That being said, the perpetual four year old should not have been up this early...what's more, his father should not have to be up this early. At least not to chase his curious imp across the castle.
The boy gasped with cherubic laughter as he rounded corner after corner. His feet had long memorized the twisting, magic corridors. With a sharp, happy shriek, Roland lost his panting father to a time-release passageway. He'd have a whole ten minutes to hide!
Long ago, before he really remembered stuff, Roland had been scared of these walls. Even without being sensitive to magic, Roland could feel the power seeped into each stone that lined the castle. Now, the inert pulse was a comfort.
And the secret halls were his.
Giggling, he entered a study, creeping along the moonlit shadows.
His brown eyes froze in awe as a tall man in a long, black coat appeared before him. The man seemed to shed the shadows as if they were a second skin, his sharp, blue eyes dancing in the starlight.
"Hello there lad," he greeted warmly. "Mind telling me where I am? I seem to be a bit lost."
Roland nodded in sympathy. To be quite honest, strangers showing up happened quite often - apparently Rumpelstiltskin had a propensity to turn people into objects.
"We're in the castle!" Roland smiled. He knew people showed up at random, with most lost and confused, but he really had no idea why...he did try to help though. "Maybe Papa can help."
The man's eyes saddened briefly. "Aye, lad. Let's meet your father." There were only so many choices he could make.
Shooting the man a toothy grin, he grasped the coat and pulled. The man followed him diligently, every step heavier than the last.
Rumplestiltskin's Castle - Dawn
With a happy, chirpy chatter, Roland sat with his new friend in his Papa's quarters. Sure, his Papa was out there looking for him, but he'd come back here eventually, and until then he could learn more about his new friend!
He giggled and showed off his small bow. "I'm really good!" Roland insisted. "I practice every day!"
Hook smiled indulgently as the guilt ebbed away. "That's a good lad," he said appreciatively.
A click and creak shifted his gaze to the door, and the guilt and bitter anticipation flooded back into him forcefully.
Robin Hood tumbled into 'his' office with his tunic askew and his bow teetering off its hold. "Roland? Are you in here?" He asked warily.
"Papa!" The boy greeted happily. "I found another one!"
Robin tensed, his eyes sliding from his son to the pirate leaning against his desk. "I see." His bow was strung and nocked in one swift movement. "What business do you have here?"
"A warning and a proposition," Hook began evenly. "If you would be so inclined to listen." He eyed the bow briefly and gave Robin his most disarming smile.
The boy tugged on his father's sleeve. "Are we going to help him Papa?" He asked with wide eyes. Roland always felt so proud when his Papa helped people.
Robin let his brows furrow and frowned. Slowly, he lowered his weapon, hoping that, since the stranger had not yet killed or threatened his son, he would not be so inclined to kill them anytime soon.
"Well, let's hear it then," he spoke calmly.
Little Hovel - Three Days Later - Afternoon
The only thing Emma could compare Regina's anger to was a volcano. It sloshed and bubbled like the churning magma, constantly in motion, but stable. It lay quiet, lending a peaceful silence grow on the surface.
Until it snapped.
And it would snap and hiss with bursts of excitement, finally erupting with a devastating force.
A devastating, damn-the-consequences type force which left Emma grasping at straws. Finding the way home was supposed to be a team effort...but Regina's adamant need to get revenge led the ralts astray.
And if it weren't for the fact that Regina's fury completely overshadowed her depression over Henry, well Emma probably wouldn't have let it simmer.
She shook her fur and huffed in annoyance. Then, paused as she realized just how comfortable she had become to her four-legged form. "Ha! Barely a week and I've settled into this, this...weirdness," she laughed morosely. "Damn, that curse did a number on me."
Letting her thoughts wander, she headed to their growing library of legends and myths. She only had four hours a day for research...if only Pokémon had computers...
With a small sigh, the eevee returned to a scroll, praying that maybe this time she'd get answers.
Rumplestiltskin's Castle - Morning
The words spiraled loosely, taunting him. A witch wanted him for something. His son would be leverage. The pirate - he was...no he wasn't at fault. Not many could go against a witch, and he brokered for their safety.
But why? What did he have to offer? Why did these creatures always target him?
The pirate had no answer.
And Roland? He was just excited about an adventure.
"And you're sure we can't escape her?" Robin inquired.
"Mate," he patronized, "she can find you anywhere. She bloody sent me to your boy, barely three feet from him." He played with his hook, disgust and guilt shining in his eyes. Obviously he did not want to be here.
"Papa?" Said boy crooned. "We'll help him right?"
Robin bit his cheek. "If we must." His mood turned sour, and he leveled a glare at the pirate. "I don't suppose you have anything specific planned?"
"Not quite yet." Hook's relieved tone did nothing for his nerves.
Storybrooke - Morning
The king and queen - his grandparents - forced themselves to hold a town meeting to explain last night's events. Henry didn't want to be there.
Instead, he locked himself in the cell. The one where both his mothers had (at one time or another) spent the night. Out of every inch in Storybrooke this was the one place he could feel them - and grandma too...though that didn't matter.
It was him, his book, Emma's leather jacket, the hat and the bed that smelled of his mother's perfume. His shoes were thrown against the wall, his socks hung off the bars. His feet pressed firmly into the cold floor, reminding him to feel something.
He traced the pages that detailed his mother's face, hating her for being the villain, yet missing her all the same. Emma - he just wanted her to hold him again. To believe in him, even if she didn't believe in everything else.
It wasn't fair.
Not fair at all.
A sharp click-clack of a cane, and the jubilant limping gait snapped the boy out of his reverie. He shoved the book beneath the blanket and tossed the hat and jacket over it for good measure. He wanted to be alone...to find some comfort.
Henry did not want to see the man who tried to kill his mothers.
"Well now," he began, his brow raised in that false sense of surprise. "What ever are you doing in there?"
"Trying to be alone," Henry snapped.
Rumpelstiltskin grinned. "Are you? My apologies. Now tell me, where is your dear mother? We have things to discuss."
Henry didn't know whether to yell or to cry. "They're gone." The accusation in his tone nearly scorched the sorcerer. "I don't want to see you until they come back!"
Because they would. They had to. Regina and Emma loved him. They would find their way back!
His grip on the hat tightened, drawing the Dark One's attention to the artifact. Henry's anger was a bit of a set back. Truly unexpected. He needed the boy to like him, and if the way he held onto the hat was any sign, the boy's mothers must have fallen into another realm.
Henry wouldn't look at him, a shame really, but no matter. He had things to prepare.
He left without a word, and Henry returned his longing fingers to the book.
He'd have to remember to ask Mary - Snow - uh...Grandma for Emma's phone. Then he could have both of them watching over him.
Spinda's Café - Afternoon
Emma successfully dragged Regina to the Café. Unfortunately, the atmosphere did nothing for her sour mood. Rolling her eyes, she suggested, "Ask someone about the Wraith. Maybe they'll know what it is..."
With a huff, the ralts sauntered off, leaving Emma in the company of a bayleef.
"Your partner's a bit grumpy," she remarked with a blink. "I've never seen a ralts so...surly."
Emma shrugged. "She's just angry that someone tricked her. I'm sure it'll blow over soon." Her tone was unsteady, but hopeful. The bayleef shot the eevee a pitying look.
"Well, I hope you're right," she spoke softly. "I'm Mariposa, by the way."
"Emma," she replied, shaking her head. "Anyways, I was wondering if you happen to have any insight on the current events?"
It was a cheesy icebreaker, but Emma had quickly learned just how much explorers thrived on gossip.
"Well, most of the talk has been about you," the bayleef laughed. "Even Spinda can't help but praise the ingredients you and your friend bring in every morning."
"Regina has a knack for apples," Emma spoke amicably. "And my nose usually stumble across gummis and berries." She shrugged.
"Have you done any requests yet?" Mariposa teased.
Emma laughed. "A few. Mostly just item hunting. We work dark hours, so no escorts just yet."
"Dark hours? I bet you get wonderful views of the stars," she sighed. "I remember when my team spent the night in a dungeon...magical and deadly.
"But," the grass type continued, "how do you just bounce back into town life? Aren't you tired?"
The warm, maternal tone sent a deep longing through Emma's heart. So much like Mary Margret...would everyone remind her of Storybrooke? She hoped not.
"We take naps," Emma insisted. "Sometimes in the dungeons."
Mariposa nodded, her eyes shining with relief. "Good. I'm glad some explorers take good care of themselves." She winked as a particularly dead looking team of poochyena dropped themselves onto the table next to them.
"Mary -"
"Posey -"
They whined. "Can ya heal us?"
The bayleaf huffed, but complied.
A soft aroma tickled her nose, relaxing her and the pups next to them. The scent was subtle, invigorating and suddenly her weariness faded away.
A smug smile graced Mariposa's face. "Aromatherapy mixed with Synthesis," she explained. "Took forever to learn, but very much worth it."
"Mixed? Don't you mean linked?" Emma vaguely remembered the link shop from their tour.
Mariposa inclined her head. "I mean mixed. It's simultaneous, a step up from linking moves."
Interest peaked, the two spent the rest of the day discussing the mechanics of Pokémon power and move sets.
Enchanted Forest - Morning
Her lips curled in smug victory as two men and a boy entered the clearing. "Marvelous," she crooned. "Now then, let's get to work, shall we?"
A/N: Sorry it's so late. Hopefully the wait was worth it.