Lost Once Again

"What is this?" Emma demanded as soon as she set eyes on the stranger. "Who're you?"

"I know August," she said at once. "And the Mad Hatter."

"You mean Jefferson?"

"Yeah. Look, I know this looks pretty bad, but I know it could've been worse. That guy over there with one hand just tried to kill that guy," she gestured to Rumpelstiltskin, "and I'm only involved because I stopped him."

"How?"

"I'm gonna be tasting sea salt and rum for the next week."

"I'm so sorry."

"Thanks, but as I said, it could've been worse. Oh, better take care of the guy in the car, or you'll be toting him out in a body bag before too long."

Emma directed the medics accordingly and looked back at the woman. "How do you know these people, Jefferson and August, and the guy in the car?"

"He's a civilian, but she's married to a jumper."

"Jumper?"

"Portal jumper. We just call ourselves jumpers for short."

"And you are..."

"D. D Gale."

"D as in Dorothy?" D nodded. "Damn, what the hell is going on?"

"Don't ask me," Belle said. "All I know is she has a broken leg and that man has a hole in his chest. And she apparently can do magic."

"I'm a sensitive," D corrected. "I don't have any inherent magical ability whatsoever, but I can use the magic around me for nearly anything. You've got something special here," she added. "Something really special. Be careful who knows about it." Emma nodded.

One of the medics helped D into the back of an ambulance, and for a moment before they closed the doors, she watched for August amid the chaos. He was nowhere to be seen.

OUAT

When Bae awoke, he was struck by how strange his new surroundings felt. He almost didn't have a word for it, having grown up around magic and known it with him his whole life. It felt like something was missing, and he knew exactly what it was.

He pushed himself to his feet and spotted the wizard, standing in his robe, in full color, against the grey background. "Where the hell are we now?" he asked.

"Shouldn't it be obvious?" the wizard replied. "A land without magic, and, clearly, color."

"Are we anywhere near Storybrooke?"

"Closer than we were when we faced down those lunatics."

"We're still a world away."

"Yes."

"We're still a world away. I've gone through four realms just to find my father, and you mean to tell me this is the fifth? I may as well be utterly frickin' lost, and I can't believe we trusted you."

"Bae, what are you screaming about?" Morraine asked blearily, and then she, too, gained some awareness of her surroundings. "Where are we?"

"Yet another world where my father isn't," Bae said bitterly, turning away from the wizard. "I'm going to go ask around and try to figure out where we are. You better have a solution by the time I get back." He walked into the grey forest with Morraine and the wizard staring after him.

OUAT

Bae stumbled over the forests and cursed and swore to himself as he made his way over soft ground so that he would be easily tracked in case anything went wrong. So far, he had yet to meet a soul or see any sign of civilization. Finally he stopped on the bank of a river and sank to his knees. Something moved behind him, and he shot to his feet and spun around.

A man in a strange suit that used to be white but was now tattered and filthy stood before him. He couldn't guess the color of the man's skin, but if he had to, he would've said a sickly green with a blend of grey, white, and yellow thrown in. When he walked, he did so with a slight stagger, and when he asked, "Who are you?" he did it with a slight slur, as if he couldn't quite get his mouth to function.

"I..." Then Bae hatched an idea. "I'm Baelfire," he said. "I'm from the Enchanted Forest and I've been traveling from realm to realm in search of my father who dropped me down a hole into the unknown a long time ago. I've been through four other realms now and I'm really getting sick of it and all I want to do is get to Storybrooke, where my father is. I'm sick of the madness and I want it to end. Now, can you please tell me where I am?"

"Somewhere near the German border with the Netherlands," the man said. He swallowed, then added, "Gerhardt Frankenstein."

"Nice to meet you."

Gerhardt nodded. "You...you feel different."

"Different how?"

"You said...Enchanted Forest?"

"Yes."

"Does it always feel like you do?"

"I don't know. I guess I've gotten used to it." Bae paused and asked, "Does it feel like something is missing to you?"

"Missing?"

"Yes."

"I...I know I can feel something, but it's not there. Does...does that make sense?"

"Actually, yes." Bae approached and reached out, and Gerhardt shrank back. "It's okay. I don't want to hurt you." He relaxed a little, and Bae touched his chest. He wasn't surprised to find that Gerhardt was a little cold to the touch, or just slightly sticky and squishy, but he was a little bit surprised to feel the beat of a magical heart under a vertical line of stitches.

His own senses flared to life, and he sensed two distinct presences that he instantly recognized blooming to life in this new world. They'd opened their own door. "Morraine," Bae whispered.

"Ex-excuse me?" Gerhardt asked.

Bae pulled his hand away. "I'm sorry," he said, stepping around Gerhardt and along the path he'd trodden earlier, "but I really need to go." He took off running, and Gerhardt turned and started to follow.