A/N: Okay, folks time for The Stranger! An episode so fraught with emotion and the cuteness of Jakob Davies (come on, he's a pretty cute little kid. Great Pinocchio). Before I continue however, I must get this out in the open of the internet. I realized while watching this episode what is so wrong with our little wooden bundle of joy. I noticed it when Gepetto, his father, sat him into the cabinet, about to take him into our world. That moment was so touching, but there was something that happened, or rather, didn't happened, that I must express. GEPETTO, PINOCCHIO'S OWN FATHER SET HIM OFF INTO THAT WARDROBE AFTER BULLYING PEOPLE TO GET HIM INSIDE...AND THE FREAKING MAN DIDN'T EVEN TELL HIS SON HE LOVED HIM BEFORE HE WAS SENT TO THE SUCKINESS THAT IS OUR WORLD. GEPETTO, WHAT THE CRAP! *cough cough* Anyway, I just had to get that off my chest. I waited forever for him to say that to his son before he was sent to out world, just a simple 'I love you, son' 'I love you too, papa' would be the appropriate response to this situation. This lack of affection from his father permanently scarred this young boy, putting an empty hole in his heart that was never filled until he came back to Storybrooke. This is my opinion and I had to get it out somehow, so thank you readers for reading my rant or just skipping over it to read the story. Now, on to our previously scheduled oneshot.
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the epic characters (and David/Charming) in the television series Once Upon a Time, those belong to the creators, writers, and ABC. these characters were brought to life by the amazing actors that play them (and Josh Dallas; just kidding) :)
Pinocchio had left Emma behind, and the thought cut him to the bone. But what could he do, he was a child that was given a great responsibility he hadn't asked for. So he fled with the others, hoping that Emma would be better off without him.
He and the others escaped and ran for the first bus they could find, piling up on the strange machine and traveling Pinocchio had no idea where.
This world was so confusing, so many stone paths, black roads and towering buildings, he was often frightened by the strangeness of them all, but he knew even at such a young age that he would have to learn to adapt, this was his home now.
"So where are we going?" he asked one of the kids as they got off of the bus onto another similar street then they had left.
The older kid gave a smirk, something not right in his eyes.
"We, are not going anywhere. We are getting out of this city, you are on your own," he said, turning from Pinocchio, running off with the other kids.
Pinocchio began to panic, unsure of what was happening to him. They were leaving him alone? But no one would be that mean...could they?
"Wait!" Pinocchio called, running after them, dodging people in the street as he tried to pursue the other kids.
But his legs were to small, and the kids could weave better through the crowds, probably after years of practice. Soon, Pinocchio was breathing heavily, the kids vanishing a few street signs back.
He walked over to a nearby bench, sinking down and catching his breath. His baggy clothes felt uncomfortable, his face sweaty and his breathing ragged.
The little boy huddled closely to himself, trying not to cry. He was a real boy now, he couldn't cry. He sat there, confusion marring his thoughts.
The other kids were gone, they had left him all alone. That hurt him very much, people were never supposed to be cruel enough to leave people all alone. Why had they even brought him along if they were just going to leave him?
Maybe he could try getting back to the house, going back to Emma and resuming his mission he had so recently given up.
Pinocchio became scared. He had been abandoned, left without any knowledge of this world.
Somehow he knew that the man and woman who had taken him in would know by now the children had left, and the thought of going back filled him with dread. They would yell and scream and punish him, and Pinocchio knew what happened when you were punished in that house, what the man would do.
They would ask him questions about the other kids, they never would leave him alone. the thought of what awaited him back at that house made Pinocchio's blood run cold. No, he couldn't go back, he was on his own now.
And he couldn't live in this world, couldn't survive if he still thought like he was still in his won world, one with magic and love. No, this place was a hard and cruel place, and he would have to toughen up if he was going to survive.
Pinocchio picked himself up from the bench, leaving Emma and his life from before on that bench. He walked until he found a phone. After spending an entire hour asking for change he finally had enough that the phone made sound through the other end.
He remembered some number he had learned in school to call in case of emergencies. He pushed on the button 9 and 1 twice, a ringing comign through to the other side.
"Yes, this is 911, what's your emergency," a woman's voice said.
The boy gulped, but he knew what he had to say. "My name is August Booth and I'm an orphan. I don't know where to go.
As the years went on the newly named August W. Booth made a life for himself, finding himself once again put into a foster home, but this one was far kinder then the other had been. And as the years went on his memories of Fairytale Land and Emma and those first painful months of his life here began to fade away into nothingness, Pinocchio gone from August's mind. If anything he thought that those months had been a strange dream.
When he became older he showed signs of being a very creative writer, writing many short stories in his school and town's paper, eventually getting a scholarship for writing. Booth spent his years after high school going to college and learning so much, his writing intensifying in skill and creativity.
He soon graduated from college and left any remnant of his life back with his foster parents, going anywhere he could. Morocco, Egypt, Spain, there were so many possibilities in the world if you just took the time to look.
As the young Booth began to grow into a man he spent his years traveling, never staying in one city, town, or even country, for very long. He kept writing, unsure of where his inspiration came from, selling and publishing transcripts when he could and absorbing himself in the culture around him.
These great years of travel and freedom didn't last too long though.
It happened one night when he was in a small Mexican town, a seedy motel room his present home.
The pain had come late at night while he was sleeping. Searing, fiery pain lanced through his leg, waking him from his sleep.
Booth shouted, his leg moving around in a jerking motion, tensing up and not releasing. Booth fell out of his bed onto the dirty floor, pulling up his pant leg to see what was wrong with his leg. He got the shock of a lifetime when he saw his leg transform from real, warm flesh into hard wood. then the memories came.
They crashed around him like a tidal wave. Fairytale Land. Gepetto. The Curse. Emma.
August writhed in pain, his leg aching and these long buried memories introducing him to an all new torture he had never even imagined.
Soon his shouts of apin were heard and a young Mexican woman opened the door, concern on her face.
"Senior, is there somethign wrong?" she asked, looking down at August's tense body on the floor.
"What is the date?" he asked, slowly sitting up, careful not to move his leg.
"I don't understand, senior-" the woman began.
"What is the date, woman!" Booth shouted, his voice causing the woman to jump and rush from the room.
Groaning, August pulled himself back onto the bed, his leg now a useless lump of wood. His face was sweaty and he was shaking, fear he had not recognized in a long time resurfacing.
The woman came back saying something about the date, but August didn't listen. He knew what today was. "Thank you," he muttered, limping to the door and shutting it firmly.
He limped back to the bed, staying there until the sun began to poke through his window. Throughout the night he ran through all the memories of before, delving back into the life of Pinocchio. He knew what had happened and he knew what he had to do.
That day he got on his motorcycle and drove, barely ever resting to stop.
He managed to collect information on where he needed to go, where she was, and he took the trip, his quest to redeem himself.
He traveled for days and days, the trip from Mexico to Maine rough at the best of times and practically unbearable at others. The wood around his leg did not lengthen, it seemed to behave for now.
After several months of driving, August found what he was looking for. the cheery words saying Welcome to Storeybrooke were a welcoming sight to the world traveler. He had spent so many years living off of adventure and freedom, but now it was time to face the past he had so cowardly run away from. Now was the time to get the Savior to believe in who she was and get her to take down the Evil Queen, releasing him from the prison he knew his body would soon become.
He drove into the sleepy town, stopping beside a young blonde woman and a small brunette boy.
His instincts told him that this was the baby he had left all those years ago, this woman with fiery determination he could see through his helmet was baby Emma.
Let's see if Pinocchio can redeem himself, August thought, cutting off his bike and dismounting, taking his first steps towards helping to end the curse and redeem himself for his past mistakes.
A/N: Sorry, abrupt ending, but I'm tired and am so close to finishing my oneshots, so I really do apologize for this story, it isn't my best work I admit. I could have gone farther with this but for some reason I just didn't want to. Broadness, the fiend that strikes again. I hate it, but oh well, thanks for reading, just a little more and you'll be finished. Hope despite the crapiness it makes an okay story. R&R please!