Chapter Fifty-Two: The First Arrival

Storybrooke – 1983

Regina had won. She finally took away the happy ending that belonged to Snow White and her Prince Charming, taking them to someplace "horrible," just like she told them that she would. She woke up that morning in a new home with a new life, new memories, new hair, new clothes, and a new town that she ruled as its mayor. As soon as she got dressed, she just had to step out of her new home and take a look at her creation. According to her new memories, this new town – created from the curse – was known as "Storybrooke." It was a cute name (too cute for her taste) but it was good enough to mock all of the people she had sworn to ruin without them realizing it.

Strolling down the sidewalk, she was amused from the first thing she had seen – Rumplestiltskin in a fancy suit and cane, hobbling down the sidewalk across the street. He was a typical human man whose name was "Gold" from what Regina knew of him in this new world. He walked past Geppetto, whose new Storybrooke identity had become "Marco" (the town's repairman), as he was situated on a ladder and fixing a sign. Along her way down the sidewalk, she crossed a dinky diner; out in front of it were Red and Granny. Although Granny was still "Granny" but with a completely different persona, Red had become a scantily-clad girl with heavy makeup and went by the name "Ruby."

"I cannot believe you put me on the early shift." Ruby yelled to her grandmother as she put out the "open" sign near the diner entrance.

"Not my fault you stayed out all night." Granny criticized her. "When I put 'over easy' on the menu, I was talking about the eggs!"

Regina tried not to laugh as she passed the two, who had become completely dysfunctional in this new world of hers. She was then taken by surprise from the emergence of the man who was once the cricket known as "Jiminy." He walked his new pet Dalmatian, Pongo, down the street corner and looked happily to Regina. "Morning, Madame Mayor."

"Good morning, crick—" Regina stopped herself, realizing that she needed to call him by a more appropriate moniker for his new identity. "Dr. Hopper."

"Archie Hopper" smiled. "Beautiful day, isn't it?"

"Yes. Yes, it is."

Regina beamed with satisfaction. This new town, Storybrooke, was a dream come true for her, while it was a nightmare for every single one of her enemies. There was just one person whose life she had to see for herself – to ensure that this new world was certainly a curse for her to torment again and again. She quickened her pace down the sidewalk, wanting to reach the school as soon as possible. In her haste, she bumped into a couple – a man and a woman – that rounded a corner and walked directly into her.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry," said the man, who spoke with an English accent and was tall with a slim frame, finely boned hands and face, dark brown hair with sideburns, pale skin, and dark brown eyes. He wore a dark brown suit with blue pinstripes and a tie, along with a light brown overcoat and white trainers. "No harm done, eh?"

Regina eyed the tall Englishman with fiery eyes. "Not this time, but the next time perhaps. So I'd suggest you watch where you're going."

"Oi!" The Englishman's companion – a short young English blonde wearing a pink hoodie and blue jeans – spoke up in the defense of her friend. "No need to be rude. He said he was sorry."

"Yes, I heard." Regina snapped. "And I said he needs to be more careful next time…that goes for you as well, young lady."

The young blonde was clearly offended. "Just who the hell are you anyway?"

"I'm the mayor of this town." Regina then looked at the couple strangely. "Come to think of it. I don't believe I've ever seen either of you in Storybrooke before."

"Oh, that's because we just arrived…well, more like stumbled in, actually." The tall Englishman explained. He gestured to his young friend, introducing her. "This is Rose." He then stuck his hand out to Regina, introducing himself. "I'm the Doctor."

Regina's eyes grew wide in shock as she gazed upon the Englishman, who bore the name of the man she had sworn to have ridden herself of back in the land before Storybrooke. He did not look a thing like the Doctor she knew, yet somehow she knew it was the same man. A searing pain suddenly shot through her temples, and she gasped from the discomfort. The Doctor and Rose jumped in surprise upon witnessing her pain.

"Are you alright?" Rose questioned. Even though Regina had given her and the Doctor a hard time just a short moment ago, she still showed concern for the woman as she appeared to be in anguish. "Do you need help?"

"No!" Regina shouted, loud enough for only a few bystanders to hear her and look on in alarm. "Just…Just leave me alone!" She pushed her way past Rose and the Doctor, nearly knocking the both of them off their feet, as she ran down the sidewalk and disappeared around the corner.

Rose watched Regina depart, feeling odd about the whole encounter. "That was the mayor of this town?"

"Seems like she's got a lot on her mind." The Doctor jested.

Rose laughed. "She is so crossed, that one. You'd think she'd have better manners than that, if she's runnin' this town."

"Speaking of 'this town,' where on Earth are we?" The Doctor questioned.

Rose was baffled from his question. "Looks like Earth to me."

"I know, but there's something wrong about it. Don't you sense it?" He saw her shake her head in reply. "It's just me then – it's always just me. Why is that? No one can ever share the same feelings I do. It's aggravating!"

"You're losing focus again, you know."

"Yes. Right. This town. There's something fluctuating – a dimensional shift between time and space. The last time I've ever sensed a shift this heavy was…" The Doctor stopped and stared at the buildings and the people around him, eyeing each and every one of them with incredulity. "My home."

Rose saw how much he stared off into space as if he had flashed back to a period in his long, ancient life. "Doctor?"

"Excuse me." A voice outside their party spoke out – it was enough for the Doctor to snap out of his trance and turn with Rose to see a man and his son approach them. "Uh, sorry to bother, but…uh…maybe you two can tell us where we are. My son and I drove through here yesterday and there was nothing here…just trees and maybe a few lakes – that's it."

Rose was enthralled to hear this. "Nothing at all? You mean this town wasn't even here the day before?"

The man shook his head. "No. It's just like…"

"Someone dropped a town right on top of you?" The Doctor finished the man's statement, having the same idea.

"Yeah." The man seemed relieved to find someone who had the same thought as him, almost thinking he had gone crazy. "You two aren't from here either, are you?"

Rose shook her head. "No. We just showed up here today. Same as you. I'm Rose and this is the Doctor."

"Doctor who?" The man's son asked.

"Just the Doctor – that's all." The Doctor stated.

"But that doesn't make any sense." The boy said with a smile. "You got to be a doctor of something."

The Doctor smiled back at him. "Oh, I'm a doctor of everything. That's why I'm the Doctor." He winked, making the boy giggle. "What's your name?"

"Owen. Owen Flynn."

Owen's father then stepped forward, offering his hand to Rose and the Doctor. "And I'm Kurt, his father."

The Doctor shook Kurt's hand. "Well, Kurt, this might sound weird coming from a fellow tourist, but…" He thought back on the earlier encounter with the mayor, Regina, and reminded himself of the town's name. "Welcome to Storybrooke."