Chapter 7: Barrier Breach
"Well, that takes care of the convent," Emma says, closing the door and heading towards the bug, with Crystal trailing behind her.
"Thank you again Emma and welcome back Crystal," Blue says.
"Thanks, Blue, see you soon," Emma calls back.
"Likewise," Crystal adds.
The two magic users climb into the Volkswagon and take a moment to rest and rehydrate. Crystal conjures up two water bottles and hands one to Emma.
"Thanks."
"You really shouldn't be doing this while you're pregnant, magical repair is so draining."
"God, you sound just like Killian," the blonde mutters rolling her eyes. "And my mom, and my dad and hell, even Regina. I'm fine. I'll let anyone know if I become too tired."
"Understood, we just want the baby to be safe that's all. It just sucks that we got stuck with the convent across town because my Dad hates fairies and they still don't fully trust Regina, even after all this time."
"Life as a former villain, unfortunately," Emma says. "And I understand everyone's concern, it's just that women don't become delicate flowers when they're pregnant."
"You make a good point. I mean you are carrying and nurturing another human being. It's like being a superhero and a human at the same time."
"And damn was my mom super, she still did archery practice and went on quests when she was pregnant with me… with Regina being such a threat at the time."
"My Mom spent about ten to twelve years pregnant with me in the madness of Wonderland and by herself. I know Ashley has that record beaten but proves how much moms go through for nine months."
"I know, I have a newfound respect for my mom. But I've been taking care of myself, and God forbid my parents to keep me fed. I've even cut back the hours at the station to be able to put my feet up."
"Is Killian taking over when you go on mat leave?"
"Yeah, and Thomas and my dad will take shifts as deputies."
"Wow, never thought Thomas would want to be in law enforcement."
"Beats working for his dad I guess," Emma says.
Crystal takes a swig from her water bottle and sighs contently.
"What?"
"God, I missed this. Seeing you guys and just talking… hanging out. It's better than constantly being on the run."
"How often did that happen?"
"More than I'd care to admit. While it's fun at first, it becomes pretty tiring, and you want everything to just slow down… I don't think I'll do any more realm hopping for a while… what's next on the list?"
"I think it's the hospital, Regina and Rumple are meeting us there because it's a bigger job."
"It is handy to have magic, which means we won't be spending months doing repairs."
"Plus, the city budget doesn't suffer," Emma says. She grabs her phone and makes a call.
"Emma?" a rough voice says.
"Hey Leroy, I was just wondering if you and Happy can do a town line check. I just want to make sure that no one's trying to get in or anything."
After a long moment. "Sure, we'll do that. We'll have to take his truck because mine got hit pretty bad."
Emma rolls her eyes again, knowing the dwarf is trying to guilt-trip them into coming and repairing it.
"After you make the report, we'll fix it for you," Emma says. "We just have to fix the hospital and then we'll swing by your place."
"All right sister," then the dwarf hangs up.
Both women look at each other before Emma puts the car in gear and speeds up to the hospital.
…
"What do you think we'll find?" Happy asks as he and his brother drive towards the outskirts of town, following the beams of their headlights as they go.
Leroy/Grumpy just grunts and takes a swig of beer from a can before crumpling it and tossing it on the floor.
"Blondie says it was probably nothing and we just need to check."
"Hey, pick that up!" the other dwarf ordered. "Unlike your truck, mine is not a garbage dump."
"You'll have to make me Chuckles," Grumpy bellows and cracks open another beer, letting the foam leak all over.
This makes Happy extremely mad, and he tries to grab the beer, but yanks the wheel along with him, causing their truck to swerve dangerously to the other lane and for Leroy to spill beer all over himself. The once cheerful dwarf tries to get control while the other swears and tries to salvage whatever is left in the can.
"After so many years, you still won't give up the bottle," Happy snarls, once they're in control again.
Leroy doesn't answer as the truck pulls to the side of the road and stops. The grumpy dwarf tries to wring out his beer-soaked shirt, but Happy isn't having any of it.
"Get out and do that! NOW!" he shrieks. "God I can't believe I ever shared a room with you."
"Go thank Queenie for your own apartment then," Leroy says, standing beside the car and wringing his shirt out. "Because it came with the curse."
The beams of the headlights barely reach the border of the enchanted town line, peering out into the forest's darkness like a pair of lifeless yellow eyes. No cars and no people to be seen. That is until there's a sudden flash, just as Happy turns the truck off.
It takes a moment for his eyes to adjust, but Happy sees a person now within the town borders in the gloom. He's frozen in place, worried that this person is some kind of wizard or sorcerer that was able to bypass the barrier, he leans over.
"Grumpy…" he hisses. "Grumpy…!"
"What?" Leroy grunts.
Happy puts a finger to his lips and points to the border at the humanoid shape. Both dwarves gaze at the person, who appears to be male and very skinny.
"Where are the axes?" Leroy whispers.
Happy motions to the back.
Without hesitation, the dwarf reaches into the back and removes one of the axes in case this intruder is a serious threat, plus it makes him look extremely menacing despite his shorter stature.
"I'll keep him there and you call the Charmings."
No fear to be seen, Leroy swings the pickaxe up onto his shoulder and begins charging towards the person, with Happy scrambling for his phone.
"Hey, you! Yeah, you... Who are you and how did you get here?"
The man turns towards the approaching dwarf and takes a step back. The man squints and tries to make out the face, but he notices the sharp weapon and puts his hands up in surrender.
"Please… don't… I don't know where I am," he says, trying to sound brave despite being in shock. The dwarf can tell immediately that this guy is British and pretty young from the looks of it. He's wearing a gray shirt and blue jeans. He looks normal from all appearances, but Grumpy knew that appearances are never as they seem.
"Who are you?" Leroy demands, keeping his pickaxe on his shoulder the entire time to let the guy know he means business.
"I'm… Rory Williams."
"Never heard of you. How did you get here?"
"I… I don't know, I..."
"I highly doubt that" Leroy cuts in with a growl.
"Honestly, one minute I'm in the forest, the next I'm here in… Storybook."
"That's Storybrooke," the dwarf corrects. "But let me tell you something Pal, no one just comes to Storybrooke. Not like that."
"What…? What? I don't understand what you mean," Rory says in confusion.
"Oh, I'll make you understand Buddy."
Just then, there's a flash and another man appears beside the first through the barrier. This guy comes through with much more energy and must have been yelling something before entering because all he says is:
"OOOO!"
He stops yelling and running when he sees the scene. Rory sighs in relief, but Leroy brings his pickaxe in front of himself for protection. This second man is wearing a light brown jacket with elbow patches, a bow tie, a white shirt, suspenders, dark pants, and black, ankle-high boots. He also looks incredibly British and extremely unusual looking.
"So this is where it leads. Energy field for camouflage, absolutely brilliant…" the man says in a loud, British voice. He then turns to the other man "Rory, glad we found you."
"Doctor! Where's Amy?"
"Right behind me," the man being called Doctor answers.
Sure enough, a woman with fiery red hair appears through the barrier too. She's dressed in a plaid shirt, not unlike the one Leroy was wearing, only hers was gray and better fitting to her figure. She wore a leather jacket over her shirt and black leggings with matching boots.
"Rory!" the woman calls.
"Amy!" Rory says and the two embrace.
"Okay, what the hell is going on here!" the dwarf demands. He has no idea who to point his axe at, he's still trying to stand firm. "Who are you, people?"
"We'd ask you the same," Amy says sharply, trying to get caught up. "What exactly are you doing in the middle of the forest in the middle of the night?"
"Middle of the night? Forest? Listen, Sister, I don't know who the hell you think you are, but it's only 8:30 and I live here."
"You live in the forest?" Amy asks.
"No… I live in a house, in a town," the dwarf grunts, annoyed by the inane questions.
Just then, the man with the bowtie removes some kind of glowing metal wand and waves it around, making a very irritating noise. He waves it behind him as if to scan the magical border.
"Drop the weapon!" Leroy shouts.
"It's not a weapon mate, it's a screwdriver," the man answers, without gazing at him.
"That's total B.S., I've been around tools and that is sure as hell, not a screwdriver."
"No need to swear in front of the kids, mate," the man says in a more scolding tone.
"I'm not your mate!"
"And we're not kids," Amy adds.
"Well, whoever you are, how did you get here?" Leroy barks.
"We don't know," Rory repeats. "It's what we're trying to find out and honestly it seems like you should be answering our questions."
The Doctor steps forward, still using his screwdriver to scan everything and either completely oblivious to the sharp weapon being waved around or he is choosing to ignore it. He then scans the man with a quick wave of green over his bearded face. When he reads it, he pauses and frowns in confusion.
"That's odd," he says.
"What is?" Amy asks.
"You're… your… I mean his molecular field and makeup, it's completely different."
"What do you mean?" Rory asks.
"His organs, brain, heart, and the rest function like any other human being's but the core energy and his entire genetic structure are completely different… Modified and filled with…"
The man in the bow tie trails off. He steps closer, pushing the pickaxe aside to look down and meet the man's gaze. The intense hazel eyes and a face that appeared young but was actually centuries-old seem to bore into the dwarf's soul. Leroy is completely speechless and afraid. How could this man tell that he was… different? How did he know that he came from another realm? He can't reveal who he indeed was… then there'd be a never-ending amount of tour buses invading their town to gawk at fairy tale characters.
"What are you?" he says in an extremely calm voice.
Fortunately for the dwarf, he didn't have to answer when a yellow Volkswagen beetle, a black Mercedes and similarly coloured Cadillac and a brown Ford truck pull up, bathing the scene in bright lights.
"Leroy!" a familiar voice calls out.
The dwarf steps back as the real authority are here to deal with the intruders.
A/N: Couldn't leave you in suspense for too long.
Responses to the Reviews.
Akilla Hattori: I hope you hate me a little less now
Kratbroth: Oh yes, let the games begin