Mistressnmoon: I'm still not sure if I'll continue this story or not, but a few people seem interested so I'll keep posting the chapters I already have and decide later if I''ll keep writing it! Lemme know what you think!

Chapter Four

"Henry!" A groan escaped my lips from my spot on the floor. Why had the tunnel suddenly started shaking, and collapsing, when Henry picked up that piece of glass?

"Archie!"

"Henry, it's not safe!" Sometimes I think everyone forgets that I practically live in the wild, and that I would never put Henry in danger if it were avoidable.

"Henry!" I finally made my way to my feet as I heard Emma's yells for her son.

"Henry!" Another groan escaped my lips as I turned towards Henry,

"Hey, munchkin, I don't think it's exactly safe. We should probably go find your mom and Archie." Henry gave me a look, one that shined with betrayal. "Seriously, I know you want to find proof, but your safety is way more important to me, okay?" It took a few seconds, but Henry finally nodded, and no longer looked at me like I had betrayed him, just still mildly upset. I followed Henry around a corner as I heard Archie calling out Henry's name,

"Archie! You're here to help Sage and me!" I noticed the expression on Archie's face, one that clearly said he thought I was stupid for letting Henry in here. It's not like the kid was going to listen to reason, he would have come alone if I hadn't come with him. Why couldn't anyone else see it that way?

"No, Henry, listen. We got to get out of here, okay?"

"So, you're still against me?" Ugh, hadn't I just told Henry it wasn't safe? That his life is more important than any clue or hidden secret of Regina's?

"Henry, there's no time for that. Come on, Henry! Come on!"

"You don't believe me? You'll see. You'll see!" And suddenly Henry was running deeper into the mine.

"Fuck. I just talked him into leaving too…" My feet were moving moments after the curse escaped my mouth, my concern for Henry outweighing anything else. Archie wasn't far behind me and was calling for Henry to come back towards the two of us. When we finally did manage to catch up to Henry, he was peering down a hole with one of the flashlights I had given him.

"Munchkin?" The boy gave a short glance in my direction, before he turned back to the hole.

"Henry? Henry? Henry! You've got to slow down."

"There's something shiny down there." Once more a sigh escaped my lips, as I ran my hand thru my blonde hair. We were in a mine, and it is possible that the quaking had dislodged something. But it wasn't anywhere near the value of Henry's life.

"Henry, this is seriously dangerous. We have got to get out of here."

"It could be something."

"I'm sorry Henry, but no amount of proof is worth your life." Archie and I shared a worried look, when Henry simply ignored both of us.

"Henry, look at me! Look at me! I'm frightened for you, Henry."

"Because you think I'm crazy?" My teeth chewed on my lip, momentarily, knowing that there wasn't anything more I could do to get through to Henry. It was all up to Archie now.

"No! No, because we are trapped underground in an abandoned mine, Henry. And there is no way out."

"There is no way out." My amber eyes glanced away from the locks in front of me, and towards the brunet man standing in front of me.

"Why?"

"Why what, love?" My eyes searched the man in front of me, particularly his green eyes, hoping that I would see some of the humanity and love that he had previously shown me.

"Must I ask?" The silence answered my question, making me feel as though the man in front of me was mocking me. "Why lock me up? I thought you loved me, Peter?"

"If you would just listen to me, then maybe you wouldn't have to be caged like an animal, love." Without even thinking about it, I shook my head, knowing that I could never do what he asked of me, no matter how much he loved me. With an over theatrical sigh Peter turned away from my cage.

"Maybe you'll be more reasonable later, love."

"Sage?" My eyes blinked rapidly, in confusion, before they settled on the two worried faces in front of me. "Are you okay, Sage?" Hesitating for only a moment, I nodded my head.

"Sorry… I just… I guess I spaced out for a moment there." My eyes glanced between the two, catching their concerned looks, before I spoke up again, "Sorry. But shouldn't we be trying to find a way out?" I gave the two a small smile, before starting towards where the old elevator shaft was. I don't know if it works, seeing as I had never needed to use it before, but it was a better plan than nothing. The other two hesitated, only for a moment, before following me. We walked in a bit of an uncomfortable silence; at least we did until we heard the barking of a dog.

"Henry, Sage, do you guys hear that?"

"It's Pongo!"

"We should follow the noise, maybe he can lead us to a way out." As we followed the barking, I noted that we were rapidly approaching the elevator shaft that I had previously been leading us towards.

"It's the loudest over here."

"What's…What's this?" I leaned over and ruffled Henry's hair, a small smile on my face.

"It's an old elevator. The miners use to use it if we're lucky it could be a way out." While I had been talking, Archie had been inspecting the old elevator.

"She's right, they would use it to get in and out. It goes all the way to the top. That's why we were able to hear Pongo."

"Can we actually make it work?"
"I don't see why we can't give it a shot, right Archie?" Archie gave a nod, and soon we were trying to turn the wheel that should move the elevator. It only moved slightly, before Henry tried to help us. It wasn't very long until the three of us were sitting on the floor of the elevator.

"I'm really… Really, really sorry."

"It's alright."

"Agreed munchkin." Henry frowned, not looking at either of us, as he continued to look guilty.

"I just wanted to find proof."

"You know, it's really alright, Henry. And um, um, I'm sorry, too. Look, I… I don't think you're crazy. I-I just… I just think you got a very strong mother, who's got a clear idea of a path that she wants you to be on and when you step off that she… She gets scared. And, you know, it's natural. But it's also natural for you to be able to be free to think the things that you want to think. So, anyway. I… I didn't mean those things I said, and I never should have said them."

"I didn't mean those things I said, and I never should have said them." I could see the hurt on her face, which only served to make me feel even guiltier than I had previously.

"Then why did you?" My sharp teeth chewed on my lip, trying to let some of my worry and guilt out, as I tried to form words to my feelings.

"I… It's just… You and Red are my only friends. My only family. And as you know, I don't exactly trust easily. So, when I heard about him… I reacted. I didn't mean to say any of that. After my own experiences in love, I have trouble accepting love as more than just words. But I know now that he would never harm you or betray your trust, and for that, I apologize. Not every man is like Peter. So, I take back my words about Charming, and anything else I might have said or done that was out of line."

I was snapped back out of whatever that was, as the elevator jerked down slightly. Luckily the other two hadn't seemed to notice my spacing out this time. I wasn't entirely sure what was going on, only that I was having these strange visions, and that they never seemed to make much sense. I should probably talk to Archie about this, but it wasn't something I felt comfortable explaining.

"I think you can be him. I think you can be a good person. I mean, you're Jiminy Cricket."

"Henry. Henry. Jiminy Cricket was a… He was a cricket, okay? And he was a conscience. And… And I hardly think that's me." Always our worst critic, aren't we? I think Archie is seriously underestimating how many people he's helped. Sure, he bends to Regina's whims a bit, but who doesn't in this town?

"But before he was that he was a guy who took a long time to figure out the right thing to do."

"That sounds kind of like me."

"Now it's harder for you because of the curse. To hear the voice inside of you. To be who you want to be." The elevator jerked again, and a short while later, Archie asked Henry,

"Hey, can I ask you again?"

"Ask what?" I nodded slightly; a little curious what Archie was trying to ask Henry.

"Why do you think it's so important that your… your fairy tale theory is true?" Ah, that. It's a bit of a tricky question, isn't it? You don't always know why you believe in something, sometimes you just do.
"I don't know."
"Give it a shot."

"Cause this can't be all there is."

"Cause this can't be all there is!"

"Even after we rescued you from that boy, you still feel the need to challenge me." My eyes glared daggers at the woman in front of me, not pleased in the least that she was trapping me here.

"I've told you, I'm different from the rest of you! I can't continue to stay here, not when I know that there has to be something worth living for out there." The woman in front of me seemed to scoff at the idea, before she mockingly told me,

"Because that worked out so well with the boy." My glare dropped, in fact my eyes dropped entirely to the floor in submission.

"I… I… I just, feel trapped. And that's the one thing I'm not supposed to feel here. I should feel safe, protected, and wanted." It was at this point that I raised my eyes back towards my Alpha, challenging her. "And if I have to leave here to feel that, then I won't hesitate. Just a warning." With that I turned away from my Alpha, prepared to leave the den forever if I had to.

"You mean, you remember?" I gave Henry a startled glance, before I realized that he wasn't talking to me, but rather to Archie.

"No, Henry. I… I don't remember, but I… I do remember the kind of person I want to be. I just have to listen harder." I opened my mouth, ready to let Archie know that I supported him, and that he could become anyone he wanted to, when there was suddenly a light coming through the grate at the top of the elevator.

"What… What's that?" Grinning towards Henry, I told him,

"That? That would be our rescue team!"

"You guys, okay?" I grinned up at Emma, glad that we might finally be able to get out of this elevator.

"Yeah, we're… We're okay." I followed the other two's example; I stood up in the spot I had previously been sitting.

"Hang on, Henry. Okay, that's good. Stop."

"Here you go. Up." I hesitated for a moment, before helping Archie hand Henry off to Emma. Henry's safety was the most important, not to mention that he was probably the easiest to lift up out of the elevator.

"Come on. I got ya. Okay. Okay, I got him."

"You've got him?"
"He's safe, right?" A frown crossed my face when the elevator suddenly started shaking and making what seemed like loud groans.

"Archie? Sage?"

"It's going to fall." Archie made eye contact with me, both of us knowing that we probably weren't going to make it.

"I'm sorry!"

"It's okay." I barely managed to smile at the pair, before the elevator let out a lurch. I barely noticed that Archie's umbrella was hooked to Emma, but once I did I clung to Archie, barely avoiding falling down the shaft.

Once I was pulled out, with the other three, Ruby was giving me a hug. A smile broke out on my face as I hugged the older girl back.

"Sage! I was so worried about you!"

"Please, it'll take more then getting trapped in a tunnel to keep me away. You're stuck with me for life, Red." Ruby pulled back, arms still resting on my shoulders keeping me an arm distance away, with a questioning look on her face.

"Red?"

"Hm?"

"Where'd you come up with that nickname Lu?" I frowned at her, not really sure why I had called her Red, in fact I hadn't even noticed that I'd called her Red. What was with all these strange nicknames I was calling everyone?

"I… I don't know?