A/N: Let me preface this apology by saying that this was not my intention to make anyone think I may have left this hanging if I came across like that. I have no real excuse to explain why I made the gap so big in updating. But if did in the beginning.

Towards the end of March, a relative of mine passed away. All you need to know is that he was a close relative, and it was a hard time after he passed away, and I stopped writing for a while.

At around the same time, I reached a breaking point with my job. It literally took up all the time I had, and no one at the store I worked at really understood how difficult it was working nights full time. I have just changed jobs to a much more convenient job that lets me work days on a much more convenient schedule.

I have no intention on leaving this story hanging, and even have an awesome future project in store after this one is finished. I admit that my big How I Met Your Mother story was left hanging, but I might return to it one day. I just don't know when. I promise that my next chapter will be coming much sooner, and without further ado, here we go!

Chapter 14: The Tower

That familiar chill hit me hard as I practically slammed myself awake. I was on the muddy beach by the river by the cannery. After slapping most of the wet sand off my hoodie, I headed back towards the inn.

On my best nights I would have woken to the nightmares at the front door of my cabin. The worst nights took me to parts of the Interior forests I didn't even recognize, and took me an entire day to get back to the cabin. The therapists back when I was with the Assassins said it was an extreme case of parasomnia due to PTSD. Idiots.

Jason was waiting for me at the bar when I walked in.

"Where were you?" He asked, getting up.

"Out. Needed some fresh air."

"At four in the morning? Zar said he saw you stumble out the door after he was getting back from a night patrol."

"Not now, Jason." I groaned. "I just woke up."

Jason looked even more confused, but nodded and reached into his pocket. "Follow me." He said.

He led me into the kitchens, the greasy smell of burning bacon filling the air. Take away all I cared for, and I could maybe live. But if someone got rid of bacon, their head would hit the floor before they could reconsider.

Jason walked over to the meat locker. Beside it was a coat hangar hook with a white apron on it. He pulled the hook down, then opened the meat locker. It was a normal one, but a trapdoor was now open in the floor with stairs leading down.

"Surprising that in all of his times Graham investigated the pub, he never once tried here."

"How many times did he check this place?"

"Like I said, he always knew that the arms dealing operation was going on. Regina authorized him at least 3 times a month to investigate. The idea when she cursed us was that it put us in a better position to get arrested. But we're smarter than that."

As I walked down, I realized that they were almost understating when they said "arms dealing". I saw military grade weapons propped against the walls on racks. I couldn't even count how many amounted to one entire rack. AK-47s, M-4s, the entire freaking Marine Corps worth of arsenals.

"What kind of customers do we deal with?" I asked, cautiously.

"As we remembered with our cursed selves, we dealt with organizations like the IRA in Belfast and other contacts with the Assassins including a few motorcycle gangs in the south. Those Irish love their guns."

I wasn't happy to hear this, but as I learned the hard way, our only friends had to be those the Templars made out to be terrorists and criminals, not freedom fighters.

"I would know. Spent two years working on their front lines."

Jason raised an eyebrow as he looked back at me, continuing the decent down into the Bunker. "You're going to tell me everything that happened while you were gone, won't you brother?"

"For sure." I replied. "But not today."

Then it was my turn to ask about someone I was looking forward to taking down aside from Zelena or Ingrid.

"Where's the imp?" I asked, bluntly.

Jason didn't know who I was referring to, until he gave it a second and realized I meant Rumplestiltskin.

"Yeah, I guess that's all that matters to you, now. Killing those who wronged you. He wasn't on the board upstairs because we didn't consider him to be a real target. But all the same, it's a little late for that, Asgeir. Someone beat you to him."

I groaned. "Dead already? He was my kill. No one else's."

"Except it wasn't anyone else who killed him. He apparently sacrificed himself to save the town from Pan when he came here to take us on."

I shook my head. "Bullshit. Rumplestiltskin wouldn't kill himself unless he had something truly worth it to gain out of it."

"Believe what you want, Asgeir. Most of the town say he died a hero."

"And you?"

Jason and I were almost at the large metal door. It bore the Assassin insignia all over it.

"I don't know what to believe out of him. All I know is that it's because of him that most of this shit rained down on us since you and Anna left for the Enchanted Forest."

The Bunker was what I expected out of any Assassin hideout. Much of what we had down there came from our hideouts in Arendelle and the Enchanted Forest. Just as many modern conveniences were present down there, including a shelf of at least a hundred radios charging in their ports. Jason grabbed one, turned the dial to number 7, then handed it to me. He also handed me a piece of paper with the channel guide.

"On the radio you address yourself as Reaper." He said.

"Fitting." I replied.

Jason smirked. "The guide also has most of our own names over the radio. I've been put down as Argon, but we can get to that later."

"What do we have in ordinates?"

"Plenty of ammunition. Before the Curse, these weapons were ones we muled to our contacts. Now we've taken everything the Irish shipped for us, and we use our merchandise ourselves."

"The Charmings made this place out to be one with no contact to the outside world. How did we get in contact with the Irish?"

"There are holes in the fence around the town. We just know where they are, as do our friends out there."

After setting me up with a radio and a more modern weapon in the form of a handgun to go along with my whole set, Jason gave me a quick job.

"I'd stop by the diner next to the bait store before meeting up with Snow White and David."

"Why?"

"Your reputation in the war precedes you, Asgeir." Replied Jason. "Some of your friends are waiting there."

My truck was in the garage hidden across the way from the pub, in a loading bay for the lumber warehouse. I was going to use it, but a quick glance of the map given to me by Matthew showed me that the town was closer knit than it appeared.

The sun was coming up soon enough. From the cannery, I walked down Main Street, passing a shop called Mr. Gold's. Whoever owned it was a very powerful wizard, because I could feel my Sight crackling and sparking up.

I cut across the street and passed by the bait shop just as the sun peeked over the water. I glanced back to see the clock tower. 7:15 AM.

I kept walking, and glanced up at the sign above the door. I smirked at the name: "Granny's". I pulled down my hood as I stomped up the three worn out, wooden steps and opened the door. It was so old, it practically flew open as I stepped inside and closed it. A bell above the door rang loudly as I did so.

"Table for one?" Asked the blonde waitress, not looking up from the bar table. She briefly glanced at me, but then went right back to whatever she was writing down.

I laughed. "Yes, Cindy. I think I will have a table for one."

She looked up, and gasped. "Asgeir!"

I opened my arms and laughed as my friend for such a short time embraced me.

"It's actually Ashley here." She said with pride.

I smirked. "Cinderella in one life, Ashley in another. The irony never stops."

She smiled, then waved over another waitress. "Ruby!"

My older friend suddenly noticed me, and ran over.

"What are you doing here, Asgeir?" She asked. "After the First Curse, we never found you."

"It's because I never was a part of it. I escaped and been exiled ever since."

Ruby and Ashley sat me down at one of the booths as I explained.

"I got a call for help from the Assassins here. I'm to help us track down and get the Wicked Witch."

"That'll be tricky, even for an Assassin." Said Ruby. "Unless you have any suspects lined up?"

I held my hand up. "Not just yet. I'm not sure what relationship you have with my brothers here, but I'm not at liberty to discuss what we do just yet."

"This Curse brought us new memories and lives." Said Ashley. "Here, Granny's and Cormac's were direct competition to each other, considering both of them are inns and bars. Most of the people who hung at Cormac's were considered the delinquents here."

"And now?" I asked.

"You made friends in the war, Asgeir. A lot of us know people like Matthew and the other Assassins through you." Ruby said. "Some people outside the Assassins stop by Cormac's, but this place remains where everyone else goes to."

"Fair enough. Jason told me to stop by here, and I assume you're the reasons why."

"And it is good to see you again, Asgeir." Said Ashley. "From all that's happened, us forgetting a whole year, it's clear that we'll need all the help we can get."

"I'll do what I can." I said, noticing that my phone was buzzing in my hoodie pocket. "Listen, I'll be back later today to see you again, but I'm needed elsewhere right now."

The girls both said their goodbyes as I headed back out the door and out onto the street as I checked my phone.

I had given David and Emma the number off the burner I had. They had both sent me texts requesting my help that I check Regina's office for any evidence left behind by the Witch.

This Witch was the Assassins' problem just as much as it was Storybrooke's. But our secrecy demanded that we kept Zelena's identity as the Witch our own knowledge until we knew what she was after, and then kill her. I'd have rather just cut to the chase and slice her throat open than give her more time to make her plans, but I was on thin ice enough as it was. I wanted my hood back for years. For seven damn years.

"Be there soon." I texted back to both Emma and David as I headed back down the street towards the cannery. The Mayor's office was a sharp right turn after I would pass Mr. Gold's. I crossed the street underneath the awnings of the hardware store and started that way. Just as I was passing Gold's, the door flung open and a red haired woman stepped out.

We both stopped and locked eyes. She smiled at me, and I to her.

"Hello." She said, cheerfully. "Beautiful morning, isn't it?"

"Yes, indeed." I replied. "Although is it good for you?" I said with concern.

The woman looked confused at the question. "I'm not sure I know what you mean."

"I'm quite sure you know exactly what I mean, Zelena." I sneered. "Are you sure you are well? You look a little...well..." I chuckled. "Green."

Zelena's smiled vanished, replaced by that scowl she always seemed to have on her face. Her nose scrunched up angrily, and her eyes narrowed at just the right amount of hate. While she didn't show it, she was afraid of how I remembered who she was. "You here to try and talk some sense into me, Assassin?"

I took a step towards her, threateningly. There was nothing she could do to me to hurt or kill me, and even if she did, it would risk her exposure. I saw a group of three townspeople walk out of the meat store across the street. Plenty of witnesses around if something were to happen.

"I'm not here to try and 'preach' anything for you, Zelena." I said. "I'm done caring for you or even thinking there's hope for you. You're too consumed with getting what was denied to you."

"Yes, I heard this song already. And you were too afraid to show yourself to your sisters, so you hid in the shadows, helping them from afar."

"Plenty was denied to me, too." I shot back. "We're a lot alike, you and me."

Zelena stepped forward so close to me, our noses were about as close as man and wife on their wedding night. Her bright green eyes were burning like Wildfire. "We are nothing alike, Asgeir!"

I nodded. "There's one thing about us that makes that statement plausible. At least I forged a new path for me instead of salting my wounds with envy."

I stepped back, holding up my hands. "I'll stay out of your way as best as I care to do so. But all you have to do is avoid doing something completely stupid or insane."

Zelena bared her teeth. Just as rabid as before. "And I will listen to you?"

"You will." I said, bluntly. "Because I'll kill you if you don't. Slowly. Agonizingly. And then I'll kill the other witch here. And I'll make you both suffer hard and long."

I patted Zelena on the arm and went back to smiling cheerfully. "You have a nice day, now."

Emma, David, Hook and I were sweeping the Mayor's office soon afterwards. I had joined later than them, but hasn't missed much. We couldn't find much until David noticed a scuff on the floor.

"I think I have a partial footprint." He said, kneeling down to it. "You guys see anything?"

"Other than an austere sense of design, nothing."

I stood carefully in the center of the room, watching carefully as I focused my Sight.

"The Witch came in the through the window, walked to this point," I gestured to the footprint, watching Zelena's ghost replay the events before my eyes. "And then vanished as you and Regina came in."

"Nothing we didn't know already." Emma said. "Is that blood?" She looked down at the footprint.

David wiped a part of the red footprint with his thumb, and sniffed it. "It's berry." He replied.

"What, like a fruit berry?" I said.

"No, holly berry." Replied David. "They grow on bushes."

"Are you some sort of botanist in this life, mate?" Hook said, slightly confused.

"I worked in an animal shelter." David replied. "Saw dogs track them all the time. The bushes grow in the woods."

"You know where?" Asked Emma.

"Yeah. The northwest corner. Not far from the toll bridge."

David suddenly looked down as his phone vibrated, and pulled it out of his pocket. He checked it and grimaced.

"Everything okay?" Asked Emma.

"Mary Margret needs me to come back to the loft." He replied. "We're getting a midwife and she wants to meet the both of us."

"That's a bit demanding, isn't it?" I said.

Emma glanced at me.

"I meant the midwife."

David looked uneasily at us, but Emma nodded.

"It's fine. Go." She said.

"No." David said. "We just got on track here, I mean-"

"And I've got it covered." Emma replied. "She needs you. Just meet us when we get done."

David sighed, not sure what to do as he looked at the text.

"We got this, Shepherd." I said. "Don't need to lose your head over it."

David gave in. "Alright." He said, turning and heading off.

As he headed out, Emma, Hook and I followed, taking off in different directions. David got into his truck and headed back towards the loft, while the three of us went off into the woods.

"You'll look for any excuse to use that thing, won't you?" Said Emma.

Hook had just started picking at a nearby bushes branches with his hook as we approached the area we were looking for. A quick reference to the maps back at the Bunker would pinpoint this area somewhere in Sector 5.

"This is the right place." I said. "At least we know that."

"Yeah. So what now?" Said Hook.

"I can track best on my own." I said. "I say I can split off and find what we're looking for better."

"Are you sure?" Said Emma. "What about flying monkeys or this Witch. Or something?"

I raised my hood and drew one of my swords. "You're parents never told you anything about me, Emma. Ignorance may as well be bliss for now." I went off without another word.

Slashing one branch after another, I focused as I heard the whispers guide me towards where I was looking.

Zelena wouldn't have walked through this part of the woods frequently. It was too thick, and I reckoned that she had a better hiding spot than someplace right in the middle of the woods. The best hiding spots were right in plain sight.

"This is Harpy reporting." Came a voice on my radio. "I have a possible ping on Priority Target."

I pulled my radio off my belt. "Reaper here. What's your 20?"

"I'm in the woods near Sector 5." He replied. "Sniper eyes on a clearing near the Northern edge of this sector. Farmhouse near the center. Appears to be empty."

"Copy that." I said. "I'll go check it out. Return to the Bunker for debriefing and grab a beer."

"Yes sir." The Assassin sounded happy at the thought of that.

I turned the dial of my radio until I got to the sheriff's radio frequency. "Emma. I have a possible 20 on the Witch."

"I hear you, Asgeir. Where do we meet?"

"There's a large clearing not too far from here. We can meet there."

I trudged on through the snow towards the edge of the woods. When I reached the large field, I spotted Emma and Hook heading towards my direction. I waved at them, and Hook waved his hook right back at me.

Emma sighed. "A farmhouse." She exclaimed. "You have to appreciate the irony."

Indeed there was a farmhouse in the large field. The three of us walked over to the cottage and onto the porch. I drew my flintlock as I leaned up against the wall beside the window.

"There's definitely someone living here." Emma whispered, peering in through the window. "Looks empty right now, though."

"Why are we whispering?" Hook said.

"The best hideaways always look abandoned, mate." I whispered.

"Asgeir's right." Whispered Emma, the three of us shimmying against the wall, around the porch. "Trust me. I spent a lot of time tracking down people who don't want to be found. I know about hiding out."

Emma glanced around the corner, slowly. There was nothing there except a bicycle with a basket propped against the wall. I see what Zelena did there. Although maybe she didn't herself.

"Storm...cellar." I heard. The whispers of my Sight. I squinted my eyes as I looked out towards the field. The door to the cellar was right there.

"There!" I pointed.

"Storm cellar." Muttered Emma.

Hook and I followed behind as Emma headed towards it, kicking up more snow as we headed through. My feet were freezing, because I hadn't given much thought to the weather. I wasn't wearing a hat, boots, or jacket. Only my hoodie and runners. I guess it ran in the family, almost. Never giving much thought to the cold.

Emma pulled out her gun as we approached the padlocked cellar door, but Hook stopped her.

"Wait, wait." He protested. "It's one thing walking around a deserted farmhouse. It's quite another descending into a one-way cellar with no way out."

"That's why we have tactical and logistical support, Captain." I said, pulling my air rifle. "What else is the grenade launcher for? What are you, scared?"

"Hold on, Asgeir." He said. "Hear me out. There's a difference between fear and strategy." Hook gestured to the locked door. "We know she's got flying monstrosities. Who knows what's down there? If this witch is as powerful as we think, we could use some magical backup. Unless you've been practicing in New York?"

I scoffed. Magical support would only fuck things up even further. But Emma took no notice.

"Okay, I'll call Regina." Emma said, pulling out her phone. "Have her drop Henry off at Granny's. I'd like to see those flying monstrosities get past her crossbow."

I laughed when Hook replied with "and her lunch special."

Emma then noticed a missed call on her phone. "It's David." She said. She played the message as we backtracked.

"*Emma, it's David. I'm at the trail head and I think I found her- the Wicked Witch. I'm going after her.*"

Emma glanced at me with shock. "David's going up against her, alone?!"

I shook my head. "Let's hurry." I said, raising my hood. "I'd favor our chances better against the Wicked Bitch if we get there on the double."

Regina met us on the way there as she clambered into Emma's bug when we reached Granny's. My truck wasn't parked too far away in the lumber yard, and I caught up with them after I headed to where Zar parked it and drove off. I texted Jason while we were approaching the scene.

"Set up a search grid in Sector Three." I texted. "We may have Zelena."

Driving up to the trail's head, I saw David held at the throat by a figure in a torn, hooded cloak. But as soon as I was getting out, the figure fell back from his grip on David and burned up into ashes.

"David!" Emma cried as she rushed over. "You okay?"

David strained as he was recovering, but nodded.

"Well, where is she?" Said Regina.

David got up from the dirt. "It wasn't her." He said.

"Then who was it?" Said Hook. "You look whiter than a fresh sail."

"Myself." David answered.

"Come again?"

"Nightroot!" I exclaimed. "Of course!"

"What's that?" Said Emma.

"It's supposed to grow only in Sherwood Forest." I said. "Ingesting the flesh of Nightroot is said to help one overcome any and all fears they might have. I took some before, a long time ago, and it helped. Somewhat." I turned to David. "You didn't take any, did you mate?"

"No." Said David. "Not that I know of."

Regina understood. "It's the Witch." She said. "She's toying with us."

"Did you guys find where she might be hiding?" David asked.

"A farmhouse." Replied Hook. "And we think it's hers."

"Then let's end this." David said. "And send that Witch back to Oz."

"Is there any particular reason she would drug you with Nightroot?" I asked David as we headed back to the cars.

"No idea." He replied. "It was just there, wearing my face, harping on my deepest fears."

Regina stopped. "It knew your deepest fears?" She asked, concerned.

"Well, that's the point of Nightroot." I said. "The fears of whoever ingested it manifests into a demon that taunts and torments them with their biggest fears and won't stop until they face them. Most of the time the demon looks exactly like the person itself. Most of the time."

I was an exception. I know you can guess what form that demon chose when I took the Nightroot. Hint: I would sacrifice everyone I knew right then and there if it meant I could slash her throat and gouge her eyes out.

"That's exactly it." Said David. "It knew things I never told anyone, not even Mary Margaret. It wasn't until I admitted them that I was able to defeat it by stabbing it with the hilt of my sword."

"W-where is it?" Stuttered Regina. "Your sword?"

"That's the strange part." David replied, confused by what he was recalling. "After I killed it, the hilt it...disappeared."

"So what does this mean?" I asked.

"When we face our deepest fears," explained Regina. "Our true courage comes out. When you used the hilt of your sword to vanquish your fears, your courage transferred into it."

"Then why'd it disappear?" Asked David.

"It didn't disappear." Regina said. "She took it."

Now Emma and I were both confused. But she beat me to asking it. "Hang on, the Wicked Witch stole his courage?"

"Well, a symbol of it, at least." Replied Regina. "And symbols can be powerful totems."

When we returned to the farmhouse, Emma realized something as she saw the lock on the storm cellar door. It was broken.

"The lock!" She said. "It wasn't busted before!"

Hook drew his sword, and Emma her gun, while I extended my blades. Whatever was down there was to be reckoned with.

"Ready?" She said.

David swung open the cellar door as we descended into the pit.

"So far, so good." Said Hook as we entered.

"Everyone stay alert, come on." Emma warned.

"Aye aye, Captain." I muttered.

"There's definitely dark magic down here." Regina said with dread. "Can you feel it?"

Emma shrugged nervously. "I don't know, maybe. Whatever I feel, it's not good."

"Can we just shut up about magic, right now?" I snapped. "The key is there's a threat, and a target. That's all there is to it."

The cellar had a few shelves lining around the edge of the room, but most of it was occupied by a massive cage, with over half of it hidden in the shadows.

"What would a Wicked Witch keep in a cage, monkeys?"

David saw something in the cage that my eyes hadn't yet adjusted enough to see. "No, not monkeys." He said. He pulled the chain above us.

The cage flooded with light, and I groaned at what I saw inside. A large spinning wheel, with small pieces of freshly spun gold littering the floor of the cage. It could only mean one person. One who I was told was dead less than twelve hours ago.

David picked up one of the pieces of gold. "Now how many people do we know, who can spin straw into gold?" He said.

"Rumplestiltskin." Said Emma.

I thought I saw the faintest hint of a smirk on Regina's face as I slammed my fist into the wall beside me.

"Shit!" I yelled out. "Bugger all!"

"Asgeir!" Emma jumped. "Are you okay?"

"No!" I snapped. "I had about enough of that arsehole, and he comes back from the dead. And speaking of, HOW?!"

Returning to the Bunker, I called together a quick meeting for the important Assassins. Matthew, Jason, Zar, Keif, and several high ranking members from the Enchanted Forest branch were all there.

"The Imp's still alive!" I said, angrily.

There were murmurs between the other members as Matthew spoke up.

"You serious?" He said. "What's the proof?"

I tossed the proof onto the table. The gold straw skittered across the floor, making a loud clattering noise.

Jason picked it up and looked close at it. "Asgeir's right." He said. "This is all the proof we need. What say we put out a secondary objective on Gold?"

"Fair enough." Matthew replied. "But we need to make sure we have eyes on Zelena at all times. Set up monitoring that farmhouse within 24 hours, and set up a search grid looking for both Zelena and Gold. Adjourned."