Cursing Rumplestiltskin under his breath, Jefferson made his way up to the Frankenstein residence: a huge castle, which coincidentally, Jefferson noticed, was not too far from a graveyard. He was really beginning to hate coming to this realm, for the lack of colour was horribly draining and he couldn't fathom why anyone would live in a place without magic.

Still, Rumplestiltskin was hardly the right employer to outright disobey, and the scientist could probably do with being checked up on now and again. He knocked on the door, before leaning on a pillar, observing the isolated countryside around the castle.

'The view could almost be considered scenic,' he thought,'if there were some colour in the endless hills and the sky was blue instead of a permanent grey. '

"Jefferson! Just the person I wanted to see," Victor said, answering the door. His voice sounded suspiciously happy, but also oddly relieved.

Jefferson hoped he wasn't under the illusion that they were friends.

"I'm here on business," he sharply replied, "Rumplestiltskin send me to find out how that little...experiment of yours is going."

Victor's face fell slightly and he murmured lowly: "Not too well I'm afraid."

"Oh?"

Now Victor had caught Jefferson's attention.

"I suppose you should see for yourself."

Victor motioned for him to come inside and Jefferson followed him across the rather grand hallway to a bolted door, although he vaguely recalled the laboratory being down a staircase to the cellars. Instead, they arrived inside what was the castle dungeons. In such a developed and civilised society, they should have been empty, but in the silence Jefferson could hear a growl from behind the bars. Hesitantly, Victor lit the candle above them, filling the room with light. Opposite them sat a man, hunched in the corner of the cell. His clothes, which Jefferson suspected was a uniform, had several rips and tears, and his skin was severely scarred. The prisoner suddenly looked up at them, his face wild with fury.

"That's your experiment? What the hell happened to him?"

"He's my brother. Or he was," Victor sighed, shaking his head. "The heart I chose from that vault must have been from a murderer."

"How do you know that?" Jefferson knew it was pointless asking, but he couldn't think of anything else to say.

"Because as soon as I resurrected my brother, he-" Victor paused, swallowing as he stared straight at the prisoner,"killed our father."

"I'm sorry," Jefferson tried to sound as sympathetic as possible.

Although he knew nothing of what it was to have a family, he knew it must have been pretty horrific for Victor to know his brother murdered his father, all because he'd resurrected him.

"What will you do with him now?" He asked.

"I don't know," Victor admitted, "I tried to shoot him, he even pressed the gun to his forehead for me, but I couldn't bring myself to do it."

Jefferson placed a hand on Victor's shoulder, suspiciously eyeing the monster that was Victor's brother.

"I'm sure you can find a way to truly bring your brother back," He said soothingly, easily slipping into the little acts he put on. With the right tone of voice and a cheeky smile he could persuade anyone to do anything: almost anyone.

Victor didn't reply, frowning at the portal jumper with uncertainty. But Jefferson's job was done- Rumplestiltskin had told him to gather information on Victor's experiment, not console him.

"Well, you know me, places to go, things to steal," Jefferson announced, taking a step back and pushing open the door. Victor nodded and bolted the door shut behind them, before showing Jefferson to the door and outstretched a hand. Jefferson shook, tipping his hat slightly.

"Before you go, could I ask you a favour?" Victor questioned.

"Just as long as it doesn't involve me getting you another heart."

"No, no, nothing of the sort. I was wondering if you could attend a ball my father was going to host. It's too late to cancel and I intend to keep my father's death as covered up as possible for the moment. But they are always a bore and you did say you were the life and soul of every party?"

Jefferson raised his eyebrows, grinning slightly. He couldn't resist any form of celebration, especially when he was gate-crashing.

"Count me in."