Race Through Time:
This Is Definetly Not The End
The sun was setting down by the time Fidget found the place where Midnight Sparkle had morphed into a more human-like form. Where else in Storybrooke would he find on the grassy soil an eight-pointed star made out of mirror shard? Out of respect for his old foe, he waved his hand and magically created a glass statue of Midnight Sparkle in all her alicorn glory out of the glass shards he had found earlier on the grass.
"Respecting the death of Midnight?"
Fidget turned and saw that Rosie had come. She looked much different than she did before her journey with the Canterbury pilgrims. Instead of wearing the usual school clothing and tied up hair, she wore a grey medieval peasant dress, a modern black jacket with golden hieroglyph patterns, and medieval moccasins. Her black-and-red streaked hair was loose, revealing that they were almost as long as her mother's.
"Why aren't you back home with your parents?" Fidget asked as he watched her pull out a rose from her jacket and put it by the feet of the statue.
"My traveling has changed me and I wasn't the same when I got home," Rosetta said. "I instantly argued with my mom until dad but his foot down and said I needed a demigod hiatus."
"A demigod hiatus?" Fidget frowned as he and Rosetta watched the sunset reflect its last rays on the glass statue.
"It basically means cutting off your family ties for a certain amount of time. In other words, I'm not living with my parents until I feel like I'm ready to come back."
"Are you sure that you'll be able to handle yourself?"
"One of the things that I learned with the pilgrims is that I have to stop letting other people see me as the helpless little girl they see on the outside. I'm still going to school- what kind of cruel person am I?- but I'm just going to be staying away from my parents. It's like running away from home for a holiday and eventually returning."
Fidget whistled in impressment. "You seriously grew up. I will miss you." He hugged her warmly in his arms. "Looks like I'll need to find someone to substitute you for Tea Thursdays."
"Ms. Rogers' a nice lady. She's going to be my teacher for the summer classes I have to take in the next few months," Rosetta suggested.
Right, I forgot she could see things, Fidget thought.
"I heard that," Rosetta said, making Fidget chuckle. "Come one, just go ask her out."
"But do you really think I won't be offending Isabella's memory if I..." Fidget's voice trailed off, unsure to finish his sentence.
"I'm sure she won't mind you being happy." She snapped her fingers and a blue cyan smoke appeared, revealing a cell phone. "There's only one number in there. It doesn't hurt to try," she said in a sing-song voice.
Fidget grinned at her and took the phone. Once he learned the number he needed, he instantly began to dial. "Good thing that today's Sunday."
Meanwhile, at the sheriff's station
"This fell out of Rosetta's pocket when she ran off after the slight accident with Isaac," Bartok said as they gathered in the sheriff's station. "What makes it curious is how in the world she managed to cover a text written in Ancient Batrishan dialect. And about the race through time, to say the least."
"How should I know where..." Tristan suddenly gasped until he slapped his forehead. "Great Scott! Rosetta was exploring one of the houses that we were resting at when Darwin kidnapped some of the other pilgrims back in the Batrishan Sanctuary!"
"Wait, what were you doing there?" Emma asked. Tristan then explained how, during his voyage with Rosetta and the other pilgrims, some of the pilgrims had been kidnapped by the warlock Darwin and held hostage in the ruins of the Batrishan Sanctuary in exchange for the map leading to Canterbury.
"And after Rosetta managed to escape Darwin, who died in the end from a building demolition, she said she had a fogged vision involving you," Tristan told Bartok. "I should have asked her if she found anything else."
"Rosetta's developing her instincts of tricking others," Anubis sighed as he pinched his nose. "The days when I curse myself for being the son of Seth! Deception is definetly a characteristic in his side of the family!"
"Are you sure it's about the race through time, Dad?" Hermia asked as she got a look at the paper. "The prophecy detailing the end of the world?"
"'After three centuries, the sun will darken again'," Bartok quoted from the scroll. "About 300 years ago, before the Genocide occurred, the Evil One raped one of the Batrishan Priestesses and she died while giving birth to his offspring precisely on the day when the eclipse came. Judging by the prophecy, I'd say that the Evil One will make a reappearance on his missing child's 300th birthday, which should be coming somewhere this August. That is, if the child is still alive."
"But how do we know if that child is still alive and going to be on our side?" Killian asked.
"We don't, that's the problem," Tristan admitted. "All the Batrishans who miraculously survived the Evil One's wrath have tried in vain to search every scrap of land they could encounter in the hopes of finding him or her. For all we know, the child could have been killed by wild animals or humans as soon as it was discovered or lived a life of a normal being until death took him or her, whether it left a legacy or not."
"We should still be cautious," Mr. Gold warned. "Demigods are usually creatures with unimaginable power that are born to gods when the latters least expect it. But if an ancient god intended to bring to life a creature as such through careful consideration for evil purposes that will destroy all life, that cannot be a good sign."
"He makes a point." Bartok nodded. "The priestess who died from giving birth to the Evil One's child was none other than Svjetla, a distant cousin of mine. If the Batrishan Priests hadn't been formed to govern the Batrishans after I abdicated and left the throne without a true heir, Svjetla would have been the ruling queen of the Batrishan."
"Which could mean that whoever the Evil One's child is would be the rightful king or queen of the Batrishans," Periwinkle concluded.
"Precisely. But judging by the fact that the prophecy states the reign of the Prince of Darkness once he gets the crown during the events, we can only assume that the Evil One has, or maybe had, a son among the Batrishans."
"And what of the part mentioning a cursed dagger and a dragon?" David asked.
"A dragon is not our priority right now," Anubis said sharply. "The plans of conquest of a god can never be ignored, especially if that god is malevolent and desires destruction. Whoever the Evil One is, he is certainly a god that neither I nor my peers must dare to identify, and if his intentions are as bad as the race through time states, then we'll know where he's going during the eclipse." He put a finger on the illustration that the scroll depicted, the drawing that showed the eclipse shadowing a town. At first, the heroes frowned at the god, not understanding what he was saying, until they had a better look at the drawing and gasped when they saw that the town looked familiar.
Because that town was Storybrooke.
8pm at the Dutchman's Teapot
"Welcome to the Dutchman's Teapot, where we make your day full of sunshine with our special tea and food," Aunt Dalma, the restaurant manager, said in her Creole accent as she welcomed Fidget at the reception.
"Good evening," he said politely. "I have a dinner appointment here with a Ms. Rogers. Do you know if she's made a reservation yet?"
"Usually it's the man who escorts the lady on their date, not the lady who waits for her fellow at the table already." Auntie Dalma pointed towards the large room full of tables and chairs, some of them being occupied by customers, and just three tables away from the restaurant' stage sat Theresa Rogers at a table covered by a blue marlin colored tablecloth and decorated with a lit candle.
"Thank you," Fidget told Auntie Dalma. He took a deep breath and walked through the space made by the tables. The other customers didn't notice him, mostly because he managed to hide his wings under a knee-length purple jacket and black uniform, his peg leg with a pair of black boots, and his ears under a fedora hat. In other words, he looked normal to them.
Fortunately, Theresa saw through his disguise.
"I'm glad you could make it," she said, blushing a bit at the sight of Fidget. "You're very good at suiting up for special occasions."
"So do you," Fidget said as he kissed her hand in a gentlemanly way. It was true that she was a stunning beauty tonight: for such an occasion, she wore a short, strapless black lace dress, black ankle strapped high heeled sandals, and blue diamond jewelry on her ears and neck. Her blonde hair and magenta streak were pulled back in a French braid bun, making her green eyes really stand out.
"Have things worked out with the alicorn?" Theresa asked while handing Fidget the menu as soon as he sat down on the chair facing her.
"It has," he said. "Although I must confess that these past events have really tired me. I'll be able to...catch my breaths for the next few months. You might as well call it a hiatus." His eyes darted at the menu.
"You know, if you need company during your hiatus, my doors will be welcome to you whenever you need it." Theresa smiled.
"And now, ladies and gentlemen, it is time for our usual Sunday poetic lectures," Auntie Dalma said from the stage. "Today's first poem is Pan's Pursuit For Syringa."
"Sounds perfect." Fidget smiled at Theresa. Their hands met one another as they ordered from the menu and listened to Auntie Dalma reciting from Pan's Pursuit For Syringa.
In this grove of mysteries that I travel,
Away from the nearest battle,
I find you, the definition of beauty,
You, Syringa, a nymph who charms me so cruelly.
At the fairies' monastery, Bartok and his family were getting settled in their new quarters. While Hermia was getting ready to go to bed, Periwinkle joined her husband and gave him a reassuring kiss as he watched the starry night with doubts.
Oh, how your skin is as white as my mother's milk!
Your lips are red as wine, just like Bacchus' drink!
In your smile, I see Aphrodite's pearly marbles.
In its voice, I hear the angels' songs of marvels.
Syringa, how I want to pursue and taste thee through a kiss!
How I'd be ready to chase you down the deepest pits,
Above the highest mountains, across the largest seas,
And defy the walls of breezes and trees,
Just so that I can hold you in my arms
And drown in your form.
On the top of the same hill where Fidget once stood when he first arrived in Storybrooke, Rosetta sat on the soft grass in a lotus pose, meditating above the distant lights of the entire town at night while Morpheus' cloak made of night and stars shielded Storybrooke as some of their residents began to go to bed.
But alas, my love! Your heart is harder than thy skin!
All passion is gone from where it should have been!
And now here you stand, you precious flower,
On the grass, like a purple blooms tower
While my heart bleeds with sadness!
How the world kills me with all its malice!
Will I ever find joy, whether it comes from the flute or pan,
Or will I keep crying at lilacs, flowers of my love who ran?
Somewhere in the Underground
"Finally, Storybrooke has three Batrishans representing those vermins' civilization's past, present, and future," the Evil One told the Masked Girl as they observed through a crystal ball the images of the three Batrishans' silhouettes without seeing their actual faces. "One of them must either lead me to the whereabouts of my son should he still be alive or even actually be him." He turned to the Masked Girl. "You have done well, Romana."
The Masked Girl, or should we say Romana, Maleficent's disappeared granddaughter, nodded through her mask. "The pieces are finally coming together, Your Majesty. Soon enough, the ultimate power shall be yours by the time the eclipse arrives." And my own plan will come to fruition, she thought while hiding a sneer under her mask. Soon, I will be getting what I want, you old fool.
"The Batrishan and the wretched Pale Face will be mine!" the Evil One said. "And the universe will fall under the rule of me and my labyrinth!" The god laughed cruelly as he walked out of the room and stood proudly on the balcony of his castle that gave him a perfect view of the maze that surrounded his castle like a fortress.
THE END
Next, on ONCE UPON A TIME. When past meets present...
Odin: Your quest will be to...
Fidget: (to Theresa) I am ready to finally have a peaceful, normal life...with you.
...And dark truths meet destiny...
Lily: Romana might be here in Storybrooke!
Romana: (as she removes her mask) Ensuring the prophecy's fulfillment for my benefit and that my enslaver's blood is shed matters to me more than a pitiful family reunion.
Jareth: You are what I desire.
Killian: Swan, this can't be.
...Things just won't be the same!
Anonymous Batrishan: All hail the new king of the Batrishans!
(Crowd cheering)
Follow the adventure, when ONCE UPON A TIME runs through twists and turns and meets LABYRINTH, in FACING DESTINY, and follow the spin-off series retelling the history of Fidget the Bat in FIDGET, BATRISHAN PRINCE OF DARKNESS.