Day 6 11:50am An e-mail. Ten days before.

to bostonpolice .gov

from redddraggon

THIS IS A WARNING...WE HAVE BEEN IN THE SHADOWS FAR TOO LONG.

OUR PLANS WILL BE KNOWN SOON.

WE WILL FIRST REVEAL OUR POWER TO ONE OF THREE CITIES...NEW YORK...BOSTON...OR PHILADELPHIA...

IN TEN DAYS WE WILL SHOW OUR POWER. THEN WE WILL MAKE OUR MODEST DEMANDS.

BE READY

THE DRAGON

…...

Day 6 12:21pm

Kathryn Nolan and Mary Margaret "Snow White" Blanchard were seated at the coffee table in the home of Mayor Mills that afternoon. A year ago that exact situation would be laughable. After all, its was Mary Margaret who took Kathryn's David away from her. And it left Kathryn a very broken woman. She felt used by just about everyone she came across. A year ago old habits started to become more tempting. Even more tempting was the urge to finish the job this teacher and her new man started.

Who knew that they would be be the ones to put her back together.

Hug by hug. Word by word. Touch by touch. Kiss by kiss. They repaired her.

A year later, there is a new man in Kathryn's life. And new life. One that does not need to be doting of a well-connected father or even the one friend she had in the beginning, the mayor. Now in her heart, a simple man she now calls her Jiminy Cricket. The mayor, of course, now a bit mellow after her heart became whole, and her two best friends in the world.

One of which sits across from her sipping cinnamon-spiked cocoa, while she is sipping...how do they get Starbuck's into this town anyway?

And they talked. They talk about how Kathryn's doing...her two jobs, insurance salesperson and part-time morning waitress. Snow's teaching career and how she prefers that to being a princess or a queen. Certain attributes of David/John that each found...shall we say, appealing...and the giggles that followed.

And Kathryn talks of how much Snow and David (she still calls him David because, in her mind, David will always be hers and John will always be Snow's) mean to her and how much she loves them. And Snow tells Kathryn how much she means to her and how much she appreciated how she cared for David. And even if many of the things that happened may have been arranged to keep John apart from Snow, She wants to be as good of a wife to him as Kathryn was.

And as she reached over the coffee table to give Snow White a kiss on the lips, Kathryn whispers, "You will..."

Then talk turns to the dream. The dragons. Gold. The destroyed city. Snow reaches for Kathryn's hand across the table and squeezes it. "Don't worry...remember..we're the good guys." Snow's smile eases Kathryn for the moment.

12:57pm

Snow and Kathryn have joined the war council in Regina's study. With the mayor and Emma are John, Ella (her prince was watching the Sheriff's office), Archie Hopper, Judge Frannie (aka Maleficent) , and the editor of the Mirror, Sidney Glass.

Regina: Ok..what ya got?

John: Sidney and I checked the pawn shop. It's been closed for days.

Sidney: Checked my sources...and Gold can't be found anywhere...

Snow: ...which means that he's probably in Boston or on his way.

Emma: well, we've already contacted Boston P. D. Madame Mayor and I have a face to face with their boys in blue in three days...that we'd have to be on the ground ready for anything...who's coming?

John and Snow already have their hands up.

Regina: Arch...?

Archie: How about Henry...?

Regina: Granny's taking care of Henry...besides we need him here...he's got the computer handled.

Archie: Then I'm in...

Kathryn: …..and if Archie's in, so am I.

Emma: Sidney..?

Sidney: I have a newspaper to run. I'm staying.

Regina pauses, then looks at Glass...: Is it because of me...?

Sidney: Strictly business. If I'm not needed...

Glass get out of the chair, heads for the door and leaves. The remaining people in the room give the mayor "that look."

Regina: …...long story.

A moment of I-really-don't-want-to-discuss-it silence filled the room, until the once-and-future King spoke up: We need weapons.

Snow: Already on it honey. I've got Leroy and Marco got to 'The Place' tomorrow to take care of that...

It was clear, though, that the mayor was looking out of sorts after Glass left: "I'm going to get some air.." She soon leaves through the door that goes to the den. Emma follows, concerned. "Talk amongst yourselves guys. I'll be back."

12:53pm

Standing still looking out to her back yard and her beloved apple tree was as close as Regina could ever get to being distraught. But after a couple of years, one gets to know one's lover rather well. Emma walked up to Regina and stood behind her. "OK...what's with you and Sidney?"

The mayor closed her eyes and let out a heavy sigh, then turned and faced her sheriff. "We were...close at one time. It was in the realm, and I was a much different person. Then he lied to me..."

Emma came closer. "And that how he became your...um...mirror man?"

Regina answered. "with a nice little spell that compelled him to tell me the truth. However, it turned out better because he became the one confidante that could tell me the truth AND not take my shit." Then, she added, with a sly smirk, "until you came along."

It doesn't take much to get either one to kiss the other. Emma's kiss was soft and comforting. When the kiss broke, Regina picked up the story,,

"When the curse took hold it released Sidney. So I put him to work as the publisher of the paper. He's done a good job."

Emma responded: "Maybe...then again.. Remember a year ago that flack about $50,000?"

Regina: "The (quotation fingers) 'accounting error' that I fixed a week after you told me about it?

"Yeah...And you know my little penchant for catching people in a lie?"

"Which is why Christmas is no fun with you around.." Regina feigned a pout.

Emma continued. "When Sidney met me in that tunnel that day, I knew he was lying his ass off." "Meaning?" Regina threw back. Emma: "That he was also lying about having the dream. He maybe a plant. Probably for Gold?

"Mutherfu..." Regina mumbled under her breath.

Now, as Emma starts to realize what's going she starts to get agitated as she moves around the room. "We've pretty much given the store away. I don't know what that damned imp knows...I could just..."

The fireplace was going pretty good when Emma's hand swept near the fire. What happened next was frightening and pretty much unbelievable. As her hand swept the flames, her left hand caught the fire and seemed to set the hand ablaze. Emma let out an ungodly scream that sent everyone in the other room almost flying in the den.

Regina was, at first, frozen in horror, they started to notice something familiar with the flame. Something very familiar...

TO BE CONTINUED...

First thank you for all of the accolades for the past 5. #6, I know may not be so great. Somebody asked if there was a second (mumbles name)...well, in THIS AU, implementing the curse has an effect of reversing death. I will not say anything for that would be HS moment #9.

If nothing else, what comes from here on in is actually a cry for a beta reader.

Oh yes, This belongs to ABC, Disney, and anyone else who wants to sue me.