4
~ Tense Confrontations and Shocking Revelations ~
A/N: Warning-some violent scenes at the end and some implied sick sexual leanings
Early the following morning Detective Carlyle drove out to the park to speak with the owner of the toy shop and then he was going to run his name through the system and see if he was on any of the sex offender lists.
First he stopped by the hotel to speak to Henry and the younger child named Rumple to hear the entire story of what happened in the bathroom the previous day.
Bae called the two out of the room and they sat down in the lounge with some milk and donuts, which made the detective smirk, and Henry said, "Do you wanna question us some more sir?"
"Yes but I'd like your father to stay here too so you're a bit more comfortable."
Bae had Rumple on his lap, the little boy was holding a carton of chocolate milk with a straw in one hand and eating a chocolate donut.
Carlyle smiled at the boy, he reminded him of his own son. "Rumple, can you tell me a bit more about what happened yesterday?"
The child finished his bite of donut before saying, "I went with Henry to go potty and we met the creepy toy man in the bathroom. He kept LOOKING at me . . .like he wanted to . . umm . . .do something nasty to me." The boy's hand clenched on his milk carton. "I didn't like it."
"Did he say anything inappropriate to you?"
The boy shook his head. "Umm . . .no but he was looking at my butt . . like he wanted to see me without my pants on or something. I called him a pervert and he said I had no manners and somebody needed to teach me some."
Carlyle's eyes narrowed to slits. He despised rapists and child molesters more than any other criminals and were he not an officer of the law, the punishments he had in mind for them would be more severe than long prison terms. They would be missing the part of their anatomy they thought with and it wasn't their heads.
Rumple went on without prompting. "He scared me . ..really bad. He made me feel gross . . like there was scum all over me . . ."
"He didn't try to touch you, did he?" the detective inquired gently.
Rumple shook his head. "Woulda kicked his nuts in if he did, but Henry wouldn't let him. He picked me up and told him to cool it, and we were going to find Mom and Dad."
"That's good. You didn't want to stay and get hurt."
"No, sir. He . . .he was evil . . .just like . . ." he bit his lip before he said he was just like his papa, Peter Pan. " . . .like those people who sell little kids to other bad people." he amended.
"Well don't you worry, lad. I'll make sure no one hurts you, okay?" Carlyle ruffled the boy's hair. "You remind me of my boy."
Rumple smiled. "What's his name? Do you got more n'one kid?"
He smiled. "I have a lad and a lass. My boy's name is Robert and my daughter's name is Anne."
"How old are they?" Rumple asked.
"Robert is four and Anne is six."
"That's most as old as me," Rumple said, pleased. "I'm three-and-a-half."
"Going on thirty-three and-a-half" Bae chuckled.
Carlyle chuckled. "No harm in being a wee bit wise for his age."
"Sometimes he's too smart, right, buddy?" Bae said, and hugged Rumple.
"So are all kids and we just have to keep up with them."
"Some days I think they run me over," Bae said ruefully. "And I swear my papa had the patience of a saint with me."
"So did mine. I was a bit wild."
"Me too. Wild and with a smart mouth," Bae admitted, his eyes twinkling.
"I said words I shouldn't have at a young age but I grew up around factory workers who cursed all the time."
Rumple's eyes widened. "I get soap if I say bad words. Like ones from bad video games and stuff."
Carlyle made a face. "I used to get that too."
"It's 'sgusting," Rumple commiserated. "You get Ivory or Dove?"
"Neither. I don't remember the name of it but it tasted awful."
"I know the feeling," Bae said. "My other son has a worse mouth than Rumple."
"And he doesn't mean me," Henry said quickly. "It's my little brother Killian he's talking about."
"Oh? How is that?"
"He repeats EVERYTHING he hears on TV and the radio," Henry sighed. "Sometimes he's really funny but other times . . ."
"I'm about to be driven up a wall." Bae said.
"Or to drink. You said you wanted a drink on the way to the park yesterday," Rumple reminded him.
Carlyle laughed. "Sounds like my kids."
Bae looked like he wanted to die. "See that's what I'm talking about."
Carlyle closed his notepad and tucked it into the pocket of his shirt. "I wish I could stay and chat a while but I need to find out more about this man you encountered at the park. He won't be bothering you again; I can assure you of that."
"Are you gonna arrest him and chuck him in a cell with someone named Bubba?" Rumple queried.
"Oh my God!" Bae groaned.
"Ummm...I'd like to lad."
"Cool!" Rumple looke delighted. he held out a hand for a hi-five.
Carlyle hi fived him back, feeling like he was at home with Robert.
"Bye!" the boy waved as the detective left. Then he said to Bae, "Can I have another chocolate donut?"
"Rumple, you have any more sugar and you're gonna become a chocolate donut," Bae laughed.
Emma shuffled into the room. "I really can't wait to have this kid," she mumbled, pouring herself a glass of orange juice.
"I'm sure the baby can't wait to meet her mama and papa either," Bae remarked, getting himself another cup of coffee.
"She's getting impatient, kicked the hell outta me this morning. I barely got any sleep."
Rumple walked over and put his hand on Emma's tummy. "Hey, babydoll, you gotta learn to hurry up and wait, 'kay?" He looked at Emma. "And you gotta pick out a name for her 'fore she's born and she thinks her name's babydoll."
Emma smiled. "Well, you're the expert on names. What do you suggest?"
"I gotta think 'bout it," he said seriously. "Cause she's gotta live with it, so it can't be somethin' dumb like Candy Apple or somethin'."
"Who the hell names their kid Candy Apple!"
"Some of these big shot pop stars n' actresses," he told her.
Emma scowled. "Idiots. I pity the poor kids having to live with names like that. I'd be changing it once I turned eighteen."
"Me too," Rumple said. "Do you have a preference with what letter it starts with?"
"Not really."
She knew with her father-in-law choosing it, it would have some sort of special meaning.
The little boy sat at the table, his fingers steepled. This would be a special baby and she would need a special name.
"You still have a little time to think on it," Emma assured him with a smile.
"I know." He assured her. And he would be thinking hard all the way to the park this morning.
Belle, Killian and Regina came into the room with Archie and Pongo trailing behind them. Archie poured himself a cup of coffee and set out some food and water for Pongo while the girls munched on doughnuts and drank their chocolate milk.
"What're we gonna do today?" Belle asked.
"I wanna see the Evil Queen," Regina said.
"I wanna go on the Jungle Cruise," Killian said.
"I wanna go on Space Mountain," Henry added.
"I wanna see Ariel cause Belle's a 'sgrace to the Belle name," Belle said bitterly.
Rumple looked up from the table. "I wanna see 'tective Carlyle arrest the creepy toy man and send him up the river with sixty years to life."
"He gonna toss him in a cell with a big guy named Bubba to be his bitch?" Killian asked.
"Killian! Shall I find the Ivory!" Emma cried.
The little pirate clapped his hands over his mouth and shook his head. "Uh-uh!"
Regina conjured a bottle with black liquid in it. "How 'bout this?"
"It's the black goo!" Killian screamed and ran out of the room.
"Regina, didja havta do that!" Belle sighed.
"It was a joke!"
"Now he's prolly hidin' under the bed and not gonna come out cause he thinks the black goo aliens are gonna come an get him. Good job!"
Regina sighed. "Okay . . .hey, Killian, you can come out, I was just kidding!"
"They're gonna get meeeeee!" they heard the toddler yell.
Rumple slid off his chair and called, "No they're not, dearie, cause you got your necklace, 'member?"
"You sure?"
"Course I'm sure! You trust me, don'tcha?"
"Uh-huh cause you don't lie to me."
The little pirate poked his head out from behind their bedroom door.
Rumple held out the necklace.
Killian hung it around his neck and hugged his friend. "Thanks buddy. I don't wanna have no nasty alien babies or one getting in my head makin me do bad stuff."
"I'd never let that happen," Rumple reassured him. "Those aliens can kiss my butt!"
"Ewww...they'd try to eat ya first!"
"You know what I mean." Rumple smirked. "C'mon, let's go have another donut before they're all eaten."
"Uh-huh cause I don't wanna eat nothin but chocolate ones. The others suck."
"I like the chocolate best but the powdered cinnamon are okay too," Rumple said.
Emma and Bae smiled as they watched their son and Rumple together, a sight they would have thought impossible a while ago but now they loved every minute of it.
There was only one chocolate doughnut left in the box. Both boys reached for it.
"You can have it if you want, Rumple," Killian said, pulling his hand back.
"No, we can share it," and Rumple broke it in half and handed one half to his friend.
"Thanks, Rumple!"
"Anytime, dearie!" He bit into his, smiling sweetly.
"Hey Archie, you gonna come with us or do ya have a hot date today?" Regina asked.
"Umm...I said I'd meet Selene for lunch..."
"Ooh! And are you gonna eat oysters?" Rumple asked, giving him a mischievous grin.
"What?"
Archie cast a confused glance in Bae and Emma's direction, wondering just what the little sorcerer was implying.
"Cause oysters are food for lovers," he teased.
"Ummm...she didn't say anything about going to a seafood place..."
"You gonna kiss her this time or are ya gonna wait a hundred years?" Belle demanded.
"Belle, we've only been on one date!" he protested.
"But now that you have, you can move to first base," Rumple pointed out blithely.
"W...What!?"
Henry started laughing so hard he almost had milk coming out of his nose. "Oh . . God! It's Toddler Dating Advice 101!"
"I can see paradise by the dashboard light!" Killian sang.
Emma poked her husband. "Nice going, Bae! You and Meatloaf ought to have a date with the couch!"
"Do I even want to know what that song's about?' Archie asked them.
"Umm...Archie...it's kinda obvious...s'bout tryin to get to home plate in a car," the little pirate replied.
Emma facepalmed herself. "Heaven help me!" Then she hit Bae with a magazine. "Gold, you are in SO much trouble!"
"What kind of man does...never mind!" the therapist grumbled.
"Guess ya didn't hide the Ipod playlist good 'nough Bae," Belle said with a smirk.
"I'm changing my password again," Bae grumbled.
"What, you got a playlist for dirty songs, Bae?" his father accused.
"No, I have a playlist for songs that are for adult ears only and not little kids," his son replied defensively. "I don't listen to stuff with curse words or other things in it like Eminem and a lot of the rap songs. But some of what I listen to is inappropriate for little ears."
"And I'd like to know how you know what these so called bases are?" Archie demanded of Rumple.
His adult self didn't seem like the type.
The attorney squirmed. "Umm . . .it was on a movie I saw."
"An ya need to know what they are," Killian added.
"YOU don't!" Emma groaned. "Because you're gonna get yourself kicked out of preschool and me arrested!"
"I'll have that discussion with your father, Killian."
Killian smirked. "Well ya know you score at home plate."
"Boy is he gonna get it," Regina mumbled to Belle.
"Okay, that's enough, mister!" Bae interjected. "This discussion is OVER. Or would you like a date with a corner and my hand?"
Killian covered his bottom. "But Matt was talking about it...
"What have I told you about other people?"
"Ummm...not to listen to what they say..."
"Then please follow that. Or else!"
"M'sorry Dad...you're not gonna unadopt me are ya?" he asked worriedly.
"Never! I love you, kiddo, even when you make me want to rip out my hair," Bae said, and ruffled Killian's hair.
"Wanna go to the park now!" Belle begged.
"All right, let's get in the car," Emma said. "Before I need to use the bathroom again because the babydoll's doing jumping jacks on my bladder."
"Aria," Rumple corrected.
Emma looked at him. "What?"
"Her name. Aria."
"What's it mean?" she asked, knowing there had to be a reason why he'd chosen it.
"S'got several meanings but the one is 'telligence of an eagle," he explained.
"Or a melody," Belle added.
"Uh-huh an they's 'sposta inspire others to higher causes...ya know like you...a savior."
Emma blushed. "I like that, Rumple." She cupped a hand over her belly. "What do you think?" In answer, the baby kicked her.
Rumple beamed and placed his own hand on Emma's belly. "What'cha think, Aria? You gonna be like your mama an go round savin people n'stuff?"
The baby poked a hand at him.
"Oooo can I feel too, Emma?" Belle gave her a puppy dog look.
"Go ahead. She's awake now so might as well."
The little girl felt something small poking at her hand. "That her foot or her hand, Emma?"
"Umm . . .I think it's her other hand."
"Wow. Does it hurt when she does that?"
"Uh . . sometimes when she pokes me somewhere sensitive, like my bladder or my ribs, but mostly no."
"And makes ya pee a lot?"
Emma nodded. "Yeah because she's squeezing my bladder cause she's getting bigger and putting pressure on it."
"M'gonna have lotsa kids when I get big."
"I'm sure you will . . .and you'll get used this." Emma laughed.
As they did every day, they went to the park before it opened, unaware that Detective Carlyle was already there and about to interrogate Grigori Putin.
Rasputin had opened up his shop for the day, hoping to scout out new candidates.
Carlyle's feelings mirrored those of the little Gold boy the moment he stepped through the door of the toy shop. His inquiries into the man's background were still running through the system but he wasn't going to take the chance of waiting for them to come back before he questioned the man. Not when children were disappearing.
Rasputin looked up as the detective entered his shop. He knew who he was, and he didn't like the smaller man at all, feeling he poked his nose where he had no business. "Can I help you, sir?" he asked with an oily smile.
Carlyle reached into his shirt pocket and displayed his badge. "I'm detective Nicholas Carlyle, Orlando Police Department. I'd like to ask you a few questions Mr. Putin."
"What for? I haven't broken any of your laws," Rasputin said stiffly.
"Then can you explain to me what happened in the restroom yesterday?"
"Nothing!" he snapped. "A little brat was rude to me."
"You deny you were looking at him in an inappropriate way?" the detective asked angrily.
"What way? I was looking at him briefly, that's all."
Carlyle wasn't the kind to beat around the bush. He got right to the point and it was why every case he worked on ended with a conviction. He knew a liar when he saw one and the shop owner was lying through his teeth.
"Where were you looking?"
"Just looking," Rasputin insisted. The man couldn't prove a damn thing. "And the brat called me a rude name and asked if I'd ever been in jail!"
"You haven't answered my question, Mr. Putin. I said WHERE were you looking?"
"At the boy's leg. He used a cane, I was curious about how badly he was crippled."
"That's not what he and his older brother have told me. Try again." the detective challenged.
"They lie!" growled the toy shop owner. "Whatever they told you was a lie!"
"Was it?" A text came through on Carlyle's phone from the station. "Just a few more questions Mr. Putin. You wouldn't happen to have your current visa handy would you?"
"Uh . . .I . . .I'm not sure . . " he hedged.
"You're not sure? Do you HAVE one?"
"Yes, of course!" he said swiftly, and cursed this country's love of identification.
"You might want to locate it before I have to make a few calls."
Gritting his teeth, Rasputin went into his office and located the silly card that Cruella had provided him with, cursing the detective and wishing him eaten alive by demons.
He returned with it and said, "Here. See?"
Nick smiled to himself, relishing the thought of putting the fear of God into the man, making him feel as uncomfortable as he made the little Gold boy feel. He had no doubt the boy spoke the truth. He studied the card, if it was fake, it was a damned good one.
"Just a few more questions...can you tell me how you are able to operate a business here in the park? I've been told people avoid it."
"My business is very exclusive . . .I sell collectors items and rare toys. My clients are special ones . . .and so are their children."
"How special is that?"
"I sell to those who want an original toy that they can purchase nowhere else, not these cheap mass produced things the rest of my competition sells here."
"These shelves look full to me."
"I just restocked them with a new shipment yesterday," Rasputin countered smoothly.
"Oh? You wouldn't happen to have an invoice, would you?"
"Wait here," the toy owner said coldly, then went and printed something off his laptop.
Another message popped up on Nick's phone while he waited for the printout. This one included details from the background checks. Everything seemed to be in order but Nick still wasn't satisfied.
There were still several more inquiries he was waiting on, the one from Interpol would take longer.
He was trying not to rattle the man enough to file a complaint with the department but it was difficult when he couldn't shake the feeling there was more to the Russian immigrant than met the eye.
Rasputin returned with the print out, eyeing the officer with dislike.
Nick folded it up and placed it in his pocket. "Thank you for your time. I may need to speak to you again, Mr. Putin."
Hopefully the next time I'll have a warrant for your arrest, you bastard, he thought angrily.
"You are most welcome, sir. Have a nice day," the shop owner purred, longing to slam the door on the slender man.
He glared icily at the detective and wished he could make the man scream as he ripped out his soul and fed it to his bottle imps.
A crow flew through the open window.
The shades were quickly pulled down and the crow shifted into Cruella. "Well, it looks like someone's had a bad day."
"Shut up! That nosy bastard was snooping around here, asking me questions like the damned KGB!"
"You invite that kind of attention with your behavior. How many times have I told you that?"
"He was put up to it by those little brats I met the other day! How I wish I could have silenced them!
"Dammit, the full moon is in two weeks. Do you think you can practice some self control until then?" she hissed.
He glared at her. "Unlike you, I don't have the luxury of hunting as I please!" He licked his lips. "That one little piece of ass would have satisfied me . . .his aura was ripe for the taking and so was his body."
Cruella rolled her eyes. "Go visit the red light district and for God's sake, use an illusion spell or put a bag over your head."
"I can be discreet-skinwalker!" hissed the old sorcerer angrily.
"So can I. Now I'm having a bit more luck. Selene is having her second date with that idiot she met on the computer...and the family trusts him. All I have to do is play the part of a charming old lady and the children will walk right into my hands."
"You can have the other three-I want the crippled mage for myself!" Rasputin bargained.
Taking that one's soul would keep him young for years, such was the strength of it.
"Of course you would want the most powerful one. Ah well...be my guest. But you need to change your behavior a bit before the full moon or you're going to have to stay in that old body."
"I can wait. And after I eat the young one's soul I shall be as I was in my youth-strong, handsome, and irresistible!"
Cruella snorted. "So much so they poisoned you, shot you and tried to drown you?"
Rasputin was what was known among his dark kin as a Soul Eater, he used the souls of children, since they were the most potent, to extend his life span and grant him extraordinary powers beyond those he already possessed.
"That was a misunderstanding."
"Oh was it? Not according to the Russians."
"They failed to comprehend my greatness . . .and I made them pay for it! Who do you think let Lenin's army into the palace? And assured them the royal family couldn't escape?"
"You had a family of souls you could've taken. Why didn't you? They would have sustained you. Instead you let them be riddled with bullets and tossed in unmarked graves."
She knew the answer but she wanted to hear him say it.
Rasputin thought back to the last days of Czarist Russia, his influence with the royal family dwindling and the people calling for his head.
The Mad Monk they called him. The empress's illicit lover and dozens of other names.
The royal family owed him EVERYTHING! Yet they failed to protect him when the traitors came for him.
They now lay in the ground rotting while he had discovered the path to immortality.
Revenge had never tasted sweeter.
And it would taste even better when he took the souls of the four children, especially the wise ass crippled one, who reminded him a bit of the Tsarevich Alexei.
"Revenge is sweet, isn't it?" Cruella purred. "However, my approach was a bit more...devastating...one that lasts to this day."
Rasputin poured himself a shot of very old Russian vodka and drank it. "Tell me about it, darling."
She smiled. "Poor Anita and Roger...all these years...thinking their precious little girl is dead."
Rasputin smirked. "You play the game well."
She poured herself a glass and tapped it agasint his. "Selene remembers nothing about the first five years of her life due to a spell I used."
For all she knew Carla Paddington was her mother.
She'd tried, oh how she'd tried to make the silly girl be more like her but Selene still behaved more like her foolish birth parents that it was irritating.
She'd taken every precaution to ensure that Selene never discovered her 'mother' was 'Cruella the Butcher' as the papers called her in Suffolk, her home town in England. Anita Dearly, the woman she considered her friend was the one who turned her in to the police.
She escaped five years later with the help of two imbeciles named Horace and Jasper who broke into the Dearly home, killed the girl's nanny and took the child to Cruella. Cruella had already been studying witchcraft and magic and learned several spells, one of them to alter memories.
Cruella travelled the globe to every place she could to enhance her knowledge of the dark arts but her favorite lessons came during a stay on a Navajo reservation twenty years earlier.
"Too bad those idiots you duped will never know the truth," Rasputin sneered. "Be fun to watch them squirm. As it is, that damned Cossack officer is getting too close to us. We need to get him to back off."
Cruella took a cigarette out of a gold case and placed it in her elegant holder. "Leave that to me."
"I'd like to have his balls on a plate!" the other spat. He had always hated policemen.
"And that, dear is why you can't go out in public. Too tempermental. A distraction is what this meddling officer needs."
"What do you plan to do-shag him in his hotel room?" Rasputin snickered.
She snorted. "He's too short. No, one of his friends has been staking out my haunts...it's time we met."
"Ahh . ..it's always so heartbreaking when you lose a best friend suddenly," the other laughed. "I love the way your mind works, Cruella!"
"Like I said...revenge is sweeter when it has a lifetime effect."
"Hmm . . yes, long term is good, though I'm a bit impatient," he admitted. It was one of his worst flaws.
"You need to learn patience...unless you want to join the Romanovs in the ground."
She had a soul in reserve for that night's hunting.
"Never going to happen," he disagreed. "I am almost immortal, a drinker of souls, and once I get these children's, I shall be unstoppable. Especially the little cripple's." He licked his lips. "He's enough to feed me for centuries . . .and perhaps before I suck him dry I'll have a bit of pleasure with him too." For that was his other great weakness.
Cruella scowled. "Surely someone more...experienced would be better for that."
She could think of half a dozen candidates at the clubs she stalked who would do.
'I like them young . . .despoiling innocence is so refreshing!" he rubbed his hands together. "Plus you know what a virgin mage's power can give you. There's nothing like it."
"There's just one little catch..." she said, waving her cigarette holder. "If he IS an adult in child form...you won't have a virgin mage now will you?"
Rasputin cursed in Russian. He had forgotten that little detail. But then he rallied. "No matter. I shall have my pound of flesh and magic."
"See, there are benefits to having me around."
"Yes . . . likewise for having ME around."
He'd been the one to teach her how to mantain her own youthful appearance when she needed it with the souls of the innocent.
And his business supplied innocents on a daily basis-almost-for their needs.
"Now you try to behave and leave our little police problem to me."
"Have a good time," he barked a laugh, thinking his own evening would be spent on certain sites on the internet . . .at least this modern era's technology was useful for something.
Cruella rolled her eyes. Pornography, lowering the IQs of men everywhere, she thought.
Selene was waiting with Perdy in the parking lot when the family drove in.
"Are you ready to meet Archie's friends?" she asked the Dalmatian.
"Woof!"
Thankfully her mother was at her book club meeting.
"Hey lookit Selene has Perdy with her, Rumple!" Belle cried shaking his shoulder.
He didn't tell the others about his discussion with Pongo yet. He wanted to hear Perdy's side of the story first.
She wasn't going to have much time to talk. Selene and Archie had their own plans for the day but he had no idea where they were going.
The kids were out of the car faster than Bae and Emma could blink and ran over to pet Perdy.
The Dalmatian took to the human pups right away especially Rumple. Pongo already told her the little sorcerer could communicate with them and she sensed it the moment she saw him.
Hello. I'm Rumplestiltskin, he sent to her.
Hello little pup ...you don't mind if I call you that do you?
No. I don't mind. You sound nice, he smiled at her as he stroked her fur.
I try to be unless you upset my mistress. Then I can be quite cross. Like that mother of hers, the dog added bitterly.
Is she a bad person? Rumple wanted to know. Pongo didn't like her either.
She makes my mistress unhappy though Selene doesn't show it.
Oh, Rumple sighed. My real papa was like that. He hurt me and made me pretend everything was fine, only it wasn't, and I had ta hide it or else he'd whip me worse. The child's eyes swam with sudden tears at the horrible memories of his past with Peter Pan.
She doesn't hit Selene, it's what she says...that she'll never find a good man because she's too plain, she doesn't have a good job. .things like that.
Rumple scowled. That's like hitting, only with words.
Precisely. And she pokes fun at Pongo's human...calls him a fugitive from the fashion police. The Dalmatian growled. And she tried to smoke around him and Pongo tells me he doesn't want people smoking around him.
Smoking's nasty! Gets you sick with lung cancer, Rumple wrinkled his nose. And you smell like crap.
But...what concerns me the most is the late hours she keeps for someone her age. Selene does not stay out late but her mother does...and it is not going to book club meetings. I want Selene to marry Pongo's human and hope Carla will leave her in peace.
They heard a car horn behind then. Perdy barked angrily. Damn her! Why is she here? You will see for yourself now what I mean, little pup.
Cruella sauntered over to them, blowing smoke rings from her cigarette.
Rumple backed up, coughing. "You shouldn't smoke round kids! It's bad for us!" His eyes were stinging and burning. He rubbed them.
"Oh, I'm sorry sweetie...here Albert... hold this." She handed the cigarette holder to Archie. He coughed.
"Mum! It's Archie!" Selene snapped.
He took the cigarette out and stomped on it.
Emma was coughing too and one hand was on her stomach. She looked rather green.
"Mrs Paddington, do you mind?" he asked angrily.
Bae shot her a Look. "You okay?" he asked his wife softly. He knew Emma's stomach had a low tolerance for certain things-like cigarettes, the smell of greasy food, even broccoli cooking or hardboiled eggs made her throw up.
"Oh, relax Allan, I was going to put it out!"
Belle put her hands on her hips and said, "You shouldn't smoke round women havin' babies, it's bad for the baby an' the mama." Her tone said don't you know ANYTHING?
"I'm terribly sorry. I forget sometimes...old age."
Archie shook his head. Selene was mortified.
Emma moved away, gulping breaths of fresh air and hoping to stave off an attack of nausea.
Bae hovered and watched, concerned, but knowing his wife didn't want to be treated like a china doll, he didn't hug her. "Breathe, hon," he called helpfully.
"Mum, what are you doing here?"
"I'm here for lunch of course!"
See what I mean! Perdy sent to Rumple. Selene wanted to be alone with Archie today!
Rumple winked at the dog. Not for long! He knew he wasn't supposed to use magic, but he also knew the last thing they needed was THIS woman interrupting them and their time together.
Emma had rejoined them, feeling her nausea abate and not wanting to seem like a lily livered vaporish female, when Rumple nudged Aria awake and "encouraged" her to jump up and down on Emma's already abused stomach.
Poor Emma doubled over and threw up . . .all over Carla Paddington and her $1500 crocodile Gucci shoes.
"Ohhhh!" Cruella screamed and backed away, trying to shake the mess off her shoes.
"Sorry . . ." Emma groaned, feeling like her stomach was going to come up out of her throat.
"Eeeww! She's been puke-trified!" Regina howled, holding her nose.
"What did you expect Mum? I've told you before not everyone enjoys that rubbish you expell from your lungs."
Bae had his arm around his wife now, and murmured, "C'mon, Em let's sit down and I'll get you some ginger ale."
"I'll just pop back to the house to change..." Cruella murmured, trying to hold her temper.
"AND take a bath!" Rumple reminded her, looking disgusted. He silently sent a message to Aria, saying-settle down now, babydoll.
He projected an image of her sucking her thumb to lull her back to sleep.
"I am so sorry about all this. My mum...she can be... a bit much.. " Selene said nervously after Cruella left.
"S'okay . . .just . . .can't stand . . .stuff like that now . . ." Poor Emma was mortified, and trying not to show it.
Bae returned with a large cup of ginger ale and handed it to her. He was furious at the older woman because Emma had been feeling fine up till then and he didn't like anyone messing with his wife when she was like this.
"She's not coming with us...is she?" Archie asked hopefully.
"No. Because we're not going where I told her we would."
He breathed a sigh of relief.
"Reminds me of the mean ole witch in the Wizard of Oz!" Regina grumbled.
Rumple came and leaned against Emma's side, his hand coming around to touch her tummy, healing it from it's recent nausea. He felt bad having to do what he'd done, and was trying to fix it the best he could.
"She's lucky I didn't puke on her cause I woulda got her real good!" Killian said with a smirk.
"Yeah, like you did to Dad that time when you ate too much pizza," Henry recalled, laughing.
"Please, don't remind me!" Bae grimaced.
His son had a habit of stuffing himself and then throwing up . . .or suffering with a bloated tummy.
"I feel terrible about all this," Selene moaned.
"It's not your fault," Belle consoled. "You weren't the one who made Mama sick."
She's always having to apologize for Carla's antics and that's when her dates leave, Perdy sent sadly.
Archie won't . Rumple sent back to her. He's not that kind.
Emma ruffled Rumple's hair and murmured, "Thanks, kid," knowing he had healed her. But she continued to sip her ginger ale, just in case. Then she thought of the look on Carla's face and couldn't help cracking up laughing.
Soon Rumple was giggling hysterically, and before long Killian, Henry, Regina, Belle, and Bae had joined in.
"Come on Archie, before she hurries back." Selene said to him.
"Kiss the girl!" Belle sang.
"Next time get her with sketti!" Killian exclaimed.
"Or mud in her eye!" Rumple smirked.
"Have a good time," Bae called to the couple. "Emma, you want to go and lie down?"
"No, I feel okay now," she shook her head. "Why don't I do some of Epcott today with Rumple and Belle while you do the Jungle Cruise with Regina, Henry, and Killian?" She knew that of the four, Belle and Rumple would be most willing to tour the shops and countries there and see the different sights.
"Hope we don't see anymore dummies," Killian complained.
"If you go on It's a Small World you will," Rumple told him.
"Why they got dummies anyway?"
"Cause they can't always have actors playing parts, too expensive," Henry replied. "But at least we'll be cool on that ride." He mopped sweat off his brow. It was getting hot already.
"They gots ones with water like water slides?" asked Regina.
"We'll see," Bae said. "Where shall we meet?" "Let's meet up at the Beauty and the Beast ballroom," Emma said, since they had reservations to eat one night there in the dining room which was designed especially to look like the movie scene down to the snow on the rose stained glass window.
"Ooh hope we get to see the real Belle an the Beast dance!" Belle cried.
"Yeah but if its that crab lady I'm gonna barf." Killian stuck his tongue out.
"Hey!" Bae cuffed him gently on the back of the head. "Stop it, you're gonna make your mama sick again."
"Sorry Mom..."
Emma smiled at him weakly. "It's okay, just . . .don't be so . . .descriptive about stuff like that." She rose. "C'mon, rugrats,. let's go visit China. Maybe we'll see Mushu and Mulan."
"Mulan kicks butt!"
Emma held out her hands and Rumple took one and Belle took the other and they walked off with Belle and Rumple singing, "I'll Make a Man Out of You."
"Ya think we'll ever go see the real China, Rumple?" Belle inquired.
"Maybe. I'd like to when we grow up," he answered as they skipped along the pathway.
"Wanna see the world when I get big."
"Me too," he agreed. Then he pointed to a large kite of a Chinese dragon. "Look! Let's take a picture in front of that." He pulled free of Emma and stood infront of the dragon with Belle.
"How we gonna get all of us in it?"
Emma paused and asked an elderly lady if she would mind using her phone to take a picture with her kids.
Little did she know it was Cruella in a new form.
"Of course honey. Now stand close together and smile!"
Emma put her arms around Rumple and Belle and smiled happily while the dragon kite snapped and swayed in the breeze.
Cruella snapped a picture and handed the phone back to Emma.
"Such lovely children," she said sweetly.
Such bratty children, she thought.
She felt the crippled one use his magic before the woman ruined her shoes.
She would have to be careful around that one.
"Thanks," Emma said, and they continued on into the China country, stopping at a vendor selling little jade statues.
"Can we get one?" asked Belle. "I like the one of the funny man reading a book."
"That's Buddha," Emma said, and then asked Rumple, "How about you?"
"The dragon," Rumple said, pointing to the most powerful and magical of the celestial animals.
Emma bought herself a pendant of ivory and red jade with a protective motif in it that Rumple had shown her-he could sense it was magical and would protect her and the baby.
She bought Bae a gold ring with a jade tiger on it, something else Rumple sensed was magical, but unsure of what it did. It defended the wearer by shooting fire at an enemy.
The ancient looking Chinese man selling the items bowed to her and said, "Very wise purchases, madam. Smart boy there." He winked at Rumple.
Little did they know the old man was also a powerful practitioner of the magical arts . . .one who was here only for a day, and he also recognized Rumple's nascent talent.
"Thank you, they're both smart kids," Emma smiled at him, and tucked her purchases away after putting on her pendant. "We can get the others something else in another country," she told them.
By then, Rumple and Belle were hungry, so she stopped at a vendor selling dumplings and egg rolls and got them some pork dumplings and egg rolls with plum sauce and a sweet melon juice. She got herself a small pint of sweet and sour chicken and brown rice.
"Wanna come back again," Belle said.
"We will," Emma assured her. They moved into Ireland, where they found lovely people selling beautiful Irish lace linens and crocheted blankets and Emma saw a very nice fisherman's knit sweater for Henry she purchased for a Christmas gift. She also bought a set of table linens for Regina with claddaghs embroidered on them in gold thread for a wedding gift. For the child she was now Emma bought a small Irish knotwork ring with a small garnet in it shaped like a heart.
Rumple picked up one of the blankets and held it up to Emma. "Can we get this for Bae?"
Emma looked at it. It was woven of a smoky violet-blue colored wool with interlocking circles and had dogs and mythical seabeasts woven into it. "That's beautiful, Rumple. Of course you can."
She also thought it would make the perfect gift for Rumple too, child and adult, and purchased two of them.
Belle was looking at some woolen berets in different colors. She put a raspberry one on her head. "How's this look?"
Emma smiled. "That looks great honey. Do you want it?"
She nodded. Then she picked up a sky blue one and said, "You'd look good in this one."
"I would?"
"Try it on," the child urged, and Rumple agreed.
"Okay...how do I look now?" Emma asked with a smile as she tried to strike a pose.
"You look gorgeous," Rumple said, imitating a fashion designer.
The blue hat set off her golden hair perfectly.
A sales assistant hurried over and said, "Ma'am, we're having a special on the hats today-buy one and get one half off! And you can also get any of these pewter pins to go on the hat for $5."
She showed Emma a tray with some pretty pewter hat pins-some had claddaghs and some had harps, and some had thistles, and one had a castle.
"Pick out a pin, honey and we'll get it and the hats."
She felt the castle suited Belle more than her. Even now she couldn't wrap her head around being a princess when she wasn't raised one.
Sure enough, Belle pointed to it, then said, "You get the thistle, Rumple, it's the flower of Scotland and you can wear it on your tie if we go somewhere fancy for dinner."
Emma giggled. "Are you going to drive the Power Wheels there, Belle?
"I can. I can drive real good now."
"Long as you watch out for stop signs," Rumple teased.
"I do!"
"Only kidding, dearie," he giggled impishly.
"They're adorable!" the sales assistant said. "Children are a great blessing," she said, eyeing Emma's tummy with a smile.
"They keep me on my toes, don't you?"
Both of them nodded. "And the new baby will too," Rumple informed her.
"Are you having a lad or a lass?" asked the sales assistant.
"A girl."
"How lovely! I'm sure she'll be another treasure for you." She reached into the box on the table and took out a blue crystal pendant. She held it out to Emma.
"What's this?" Emma asked.
"Something for you and the baby. A bit of protection."
"Thank you," Emma said, and took it. With the way things happened around her, it never hurt to be prepared.
"The baby's name is gonna be Aria," Rumple told her.
"A beautiful name. Did you choose it, honey?"
"Uh huh. Cause she's a special baby so she needs a name that fits her," he told her seriously.
"For sure she'll be a lucky lass with a big strong lad like you to protect her."
She hadn't sensed such a strong aura in a child since she was a young lass herself in the old country.
Rumple beamed. "Nothin's gonna hurt her while I'm around."
"Isn't that the truth!" Emma laughed. "Between him and her daddy and she'll be defended like a queen with an army."
"Oh I have no doubt of that, lad."
"Rumple always protects me," Belle put in.
"We always will protect the ones we love at any cost."
"Yes, that's what I believe," Emma agreed.
The lady kneeled down so that she was at eye level with Rumple. "You have a wonderful gift, lad...one that the dark forces in this world will seek out but you will sense them before they sense you," she whispered.
"How do you know? Does your Sight tell you?" he whispered back.
"Yes as will yours in time. For now trust your feelings."
"I will," he assured her. He sensed that here was another practitioner of the Art, like the ancient Chinese man.
She smiled. "A place like this...dedicated to magic yet having none of its own is a safe haven for those of us with the gift."
She gestured to his own pendant. "You have your own protection there...never remove it under any circumstances."
"I don't. Not even in the shower," he assured her. The half-black and half-white star Merlin had given him was always on his person.
"Good lad."
"Be careful," he murmured. "There's something . . .dangerous that's . . .walking around at night . . ."
And one of those was in the toy shop.
"And that man who runs the toy shop is creepy an' scary," he told her.
"If you sense this then you must avoid him."
"Okay," Rumple agreed. He didn't want to come within ten feet of Grigori again.
"Are you guys ready to go?" Emma asked the kids.
"Yeah!" they chorused.
"Where to next?"
"I wanna eat some kaki gori," Belle said, which was Japanese ice.
"Japan it is!"
Once they had paid for everything, and Emma had the blankets sent back to the hotel lobby, but she and Belle wore the hats and Emma her pendant, they went over to Japan.
The line was long at the kaki gori stand, but the kids were patient, since they watched a Japanese mime show in the street while they waited their turn.
"Lookit Rumple...its like magic... He's doing stuff without talking!"
Rumple clapped his hands, his eyes sparkling like the carefree child he now was.
"Maybe you can learn how to do that," Belle suggested.
Rumple raised his eyebrows questioningly and gestured to himself. Who me?
The mime pointed at him and smiled.
"See you can do it!"
The little boy blushed, for as a child back in the Enchanted Forest he had learned to say little yet convey much with a single glance of his eyes or the expression on his face, and usually that would get him some food from a kind person when Malcolm was drunk.
The mime pointed and gestured for him to join in on his next performance.
Rumple nodded, then looked at Emma questioningly.
Emma smiled and nodded back.
Rumple waited until the mime beckoned to him, then he limped over to him.
Emma started recording them on her phone, happy to see Rumple enjoying himself.
The boy and the mime "conversed" about various people, including a grumpy old man going by. The mime pretended to hunch his back and limp along and Rumple copied him and they followed the man a little distance away, imitating him much to the delight of the audience.
"They look great together," a woman said.
"He's a natural," Emma said. "He can imitate anyone at home."
She hoped the others were having a good time too.
By the time Bae and the kids got on the Jungle Cruise, even with their FastPasses, they were hot and sweaty, and Regina and Killian were somewhat cranky.
"Wanna go jump in the water!" Regina grouched.
"We can go in the pool when we get back to the hotel," Bae soothed. "We'll get wet on the ride, kiddo." He was next to Regina and Killian and Henry were in front of them in the boat.
"Hope so...cooking out here!"
"That's Florida," Bae said. "Me, I'd rather be hot than be freezing up in Maine." He hated the cold weather.
"Like the sun just not cookin'" said Regina.
"I'm gonna drink a big cherry slushie when we get off," Killian told Henry. "So's I don't 'hydrate."
"Good idea," Henry agreed.
The ride started and they glided down a chute and into the wide river shaded by tons of palms and other ferns and tropical plants.
Mist rose from the plants and sprayed them with water.
"Now we're gonna cool off!" Killian cried.
"Feels good!" Regina squealed.
A facsimile of a hippo rose up and shot water at them from its mouth.
"We got spit on by a hippo!" Regina giggled.
Bae grinned and pointed out an elephant and cried, "Hey there's Dumbo!"
The elephant filled its trunk with water and squirted Henry right in the head.
"Ha ha he spit on your head!" Regina teased.
Henry shook his head and said, "Least I don't gotta take a shower now!"
The boat sailed on and they heard macaws and monkeys screeching and then Killian yelled, "Ahhh! Crocodile!"
"Where?" Regina looked around.
He pointed to where a Crocodile was swimming and then it opened its jaws and roared right in front of them.
"Rrrawwr!"
Killian jumped in Henry's lap. "It's gonna eat me!"
"Oh no it won't!" Henry assured him. "I'll zap it if it tries."
Killian peeked out from behind his hands. "You sure?"
"I'm sure. I'd be a bad brother if I let a crocodile eat my little brother."
He hoped that would put Killian's mind at ease.
Henry would do anything to protect everyone in his family.
Killian went and sat down next to him and said, "I trust you, Henry. Yee hah! Look it's Kaa!" He pointed to where an animated rock python was slithering along a branch.
"If the real one bites ya can ya die?" Regina inquired fearfully.
"No, rock pythons aren't poisonous. They're constrictors. That means they squeeze their prey to death." Bae told her.
"Oughta make it squeeze that creepy toy guy!"
"Or Selene's mom cause she looks kinda mean."
"You see how she had gator stuff...zat means a gator got killed for it," Killian pointed out.
"Ewww prolly wears fox stuff too like Cruella!" cried Regina.
"Archie an Pongo better look out or the old hag will wanna wear Pongo as a coat."
"Like hell," Bae muttered. He already didn't like Selene's mother because of what she had caused with Emma.
"Or she's a black goo alien."
"Nah jus a hag but she better not mess up our operation or we're gonna go Nevengerevil on her butt!"
"I almost feel sorry for her," Bae snorted. "Almost."
"She'd 'derve it!" Regina pointed out.
"Can't argue with you there," Bae sighed. "But . . . you will be polite to her unless she does something to hurt or insult you."
They sighed. "Okay..."
"Thank you," sighed their father.
"Where to now, Dad?" Henry asked.
"Let's get some Jungle Juice n' funnel cakes!" Killian cried, and pointed to a kiosk selling frozen drinks and fried funnel cakes.
Bae knew he should be the responsible dad and say "after lunch" but he was hungry too and decided for once to just eat dessert first.
After they had all eaten a funnel cake and all gotten souvenir cups of Jungle Juice, which was a tangy fruit juice, Bae found a restaurant that served Disney character lunches-meaning they had food designed for specific Disney characters and Regina begged to go there so she could get the Evil Queen plate.
"Better have apples or m'gonna be really mad!"
"I'm sure it does," Bae reassured her.
They were shown to a table and handed menus and the kids were given crayons and placemats they could color.
Regina found the Evil Queen plate-which consisted of heart-shaped chicken nuggets in a box, and curly fries and an apple pie for dessert upon a mirror plate. The mirror plate was a free gift and the child was allowed to keep it. The apple pie was served with Snow White ice cream-which was vanilla.
Killian found the Captain Hook special-which consisted of hook-shaped pasta in a cheesy sauce and battered cod strips-because Peter calls Hook a codfish-and his dessert was a "crocodile" brownie sundae, which was a brownie shaped like a crocodile with caramel sauce and chocolate and vanilla ice cream.
Bae decided to have the Beast special, which consisted of a rack of slow smoked ribs, a grilled barbecued burger, and coleslaw and beastly beans-baked beans with a bit of hot pepper in them and corn on the cob. For dessert there was chocolate cake on a book plate and a pot of tea in a Chip cup.
Henry picked the Merlin platter-which had pineapple glazed chicken and "magic" garlic mashed potatoes, which had bits of colored garlic in them and they made the potatoes appear sprinkled with magic blue, purple, and pink "dust". And Madam Mim's carrots, which were glazed with cinnamon and honey. For dessert there was a Wart cookie trifle, which was a chocolate cookie crumbled into a "stone" cup with chocolate and vanilla pudding and chocolate fudge and whipped cream layered on it, to be eaten with a sword shaped spoon.
The sword spoon, the Beast's book plate, and Hook's "pirate grog" glass-shaped like a hook and the grog was a root beer float, as well as Regina's mirror plate were all souvenirs that came with the meal.
The little sorceress was already thinking of a way to have her own magic mirror.
Bae was planning on giving his plate to Belle, while Henry was going to give his spoon to Rumple, so each child would have a souvenir to take home.
"We need something for Mom too, " Henry reminded him.
"I know. I'm planning to look in the castle when we go there for dinner, I saw a gift shop by it with some things I thought were pretty," his father said. One of them being a gold bracelet with a crystal swan shaped charm on it. He also bought a set of pajamas for his daughter with little stars on them. He couldn't wait for the day when he would finally hold her in his arms.
And this time I'm staying, he thought.
Selene and Archie were having a wonderful afternoon at Lake Eola Park. She often went there when she needed time alone. Pongo and Perdy had never seen their humans more relaxed. It was still early in their relationship but the Dalmatians knew they belonged together. Now they just had to make sure they stayed together once the vacation was over.
Do you think Selene would go back to Maine? I know it's nice here…
All the beauty of this city can't make her happy Pongo. Archie can do that. If she loves him, she'll go where he goes. He wouldn't leave Maine to move here, would he?
No, because of who he is. Anyone found out he is the real Jiminy Cricket….it would cause too much unwanted attention. He's safe from that in Storybrooke.
"We should have a park like this back home…and the Golds would love a boat ride or feeding the swans," Archie said softly. They were sitting in front of the Linton E. Allen Memorial Fountain eating takeout from the Relax Grill.
"You should see this at night. It's lit up with a music show. There's one tonight if you want to come?" she asked hopefully.
He smiled. "I'd love to!"
The two dogs nodded their heads.
"These two seem to be getting along," Selene murmured, leaning down to scratch Perdy behind her ears. She didn't want to think about how brokenhearted her pet would be when Pongo left….or how she would feel when Archie left.
How is it that a man I've only been with for several days can make me feel like we've spent a lifetime together? That's only possible in the movies, not real life.
How is it that a woman I barely know makes me feel like she's what I've been looking for my whole life? You're a living fairy tale creature but haven't you learned by now real life isn't like the fairy tales?
"Pongo's easy to get along with, aren't you boy?"
"Woof!"
"I wish Mum was," Selene muttered.
"Has she always been so….difficult?"
Selene sighed. "Yes. No one I brought home was ever good enough…too poor, too plain…I don't go for the pretty boy types…probably because they were the ones who bullied me in school."
"I can't say my parents were easy either. They were….con artists," Archie confessed sadly. "I spent my whole life trying to get away from all that by doing the opposite of what my parents did, helping people instead of hurting them."
"I prefer helping animals to humans, that's why I spend so much time at the shelter."
They went to the shelter first before the park and he was able to see for himself Selene's devotion to the animals kept there. Some of them had been badly abused and neglected but they didn't shrink away from her and as soon as she walked in the door, all the dogs started barking happily while Pongo introduced Archie to them. He didn't need to. They all sensed he was a friend to them like their keeper.
"I hope the Golds don't mind you spending so much time with me," Selene said to him after they dropped their pets off at the hotel and she took him back to Disney to meet up with them.
"No, they're fine with it. The kids set us up, remember?"
"I'll have to thank them properly for that one of these days," she said and raised her head. Their eyes met.
I want to kiss him but I don't want him to think I'm being too forward….
I want to kiss her but I don't want her to think I'm rushing things…
Selene looked away first. "I'll pick you up around seven-thirty then?" she asked.
"I'll be waiting."
"Goodbye Archie."
"Goodbye Selene."
"Awww! Why didnja kiss her?" Belle demanded when she ran up to him.
"Belle!" Emma cried.
Oh, I wanted to, he thought.
"Cause he don't wanna rush it Belle," Rumple said wisely.
"Yeah well 'fore we leave here you're gonna kiss her Archie an you're gonna make her toes curl or m'gonna smack your butt with a book!" threatened the little librarian.
Bae facepalmed himself. "I'm sorry, Archie. You never know what comes outta their mouths next."
"Oh, I'm used to it now."
"You gonna have dinner with us at the Ballroom tonight?" Regina asked him.
"Yes…then Selene's taking me to Lake Eola to see one of the fountains being lit up. You should go there before we leave Bae. It's beautiful." The therapist showed them some pictures he'd taken on his phone.
"I'd like to go on a boat ride. Can we go there sometime, Dad?" Henry asked.
"Sure."
"Lookit, Mom. There's swans like you!" Killian cried.
"I see that." Emma ruffled his hair.
"An we gotta see the rest of Disney," the little pirate reminded her.
"Cept that creepy toy guy….hope 'Tective Carlyle puts his sick butt in jail!" Rumple shivered.
Later that night a young attractive woman walked into an Orlando nightclub, causing all male heads to turn in her direction. She smiled when she spotted her target at the bar snacking on a bag of potato chips and struck up a conversation.
Detective Brian Neilson had been working the club stakeouts for two weeks but hadn't had much luck finding the killer. Whoever it was, they perfected the art of blending in. His wife was terrified for him and asked him several times to request a reassignment. She didn't want to become a widow at twenty-eight and leave their young children fatherless and neither did Brian but he and Nick knew this killer had to be apprehended and Brian was one of the best undercovers they had in the department. It was his youthful good looks that made suspects drop their guard around him. Nick no longer worked undercover assignments but he'd taken Brian under his wing when he started with the department and now their families were the best of friends.
Once the bar closed, the woman begged Brian to walk her to her car. She didn't feel safe, she claimed and gentleman that he was, he didn't have the heart to refuse her. Once they got to her car he turned around and saw not a woman but a lion standing in front of him. The beast leaped and knocked him to the ground. Brian screamed in terror and tried to reach for his gun to no avail. The lion had him pinned to the pavement with its huge paws and lowered its head and buried its fangs in his throat. Even after the young officer breathed his last breath, the beast was not yet finished with him, tearing his corpse to pieces.
The next morning a distraught Nick Carlyle stood over the remains of his best friend, his fists clenched in silent rage. The department classified the officer's death as an animal attack and while it looked like one, Nick had his suspicions the killer he was chasing was involved and he didn't consider it a coincidence that his best friend was murdered right after he'd talked to that toy store owner who terrorized the Gold boys.
I'll kill them, he vowed. Whoever it is…I'll find them and I'll kill them!
Back in the toy shop's basement, Cruella and Rasputin celebrated their latest victory over glasses of Russian vodka.