Premise: Season 2 AU. Regina and Emma are unable to stop the trigger and it explodes, destroying Storybrooke. However, instead of perishing, most of the citizens of Storybrooke are scattered, ending up with new lives and memories in New York. Except Rumpelstiltskin, who is discovered by the NSA.
After three years in a government facility, the NSA makes a deal with him to help them combat the residual consequences of the trigger's explosion. The others are recruited and awakened. The deal is they form a taskforce and help fight the magical entities that have been unleashed on the world and keep their freedom as a reward.
Thanks for the reviews. Please consider leaving reviews. It seems engagement has really dropped, so if you're reading and you like what you're reading, please review. Feedback is very much appreciated. Here are responses to individual reviews:
Sexystarwarslover: Yes, it will be very exciting. Yeah, Regina has fallen a bit far from her Throne. Yep, Casey is about to see how well they all fight. Yeah, I think we will like their friendship here. Yep, Ruby is here, even though she doesn't have her memories yet. Yeah, Greg and Tamara are the worst and will certainly be trouble. Glad you're enjoying!
Ghostwriter: No, not Zelena. The government has the book for now. Rumple stated they had it locked away. No, Cora is dead. Everything up to the very end of Season 2 happened as it did in the show. Glad you're enjoying it!
Sammii16: You're welcome!
Operation Castle
Chapter 4: Memories of a Good Life
David peered into their kitchen, as he saw Snow busy making coffee and hot chocolate for their guests. He knew her well and could see the conflicting emotions on her face and her pensive stare. Bobby was in the living room, strangely enough, sitting with Killian. The pirate had become a good friend and part of the family the last three years. They had even named him Bobby's Godfather when he was born and despite their memories returning, they didn't want that to change.
Gently, he wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her hair. He felt a bit of the tension leave her body and felt her relax against him. She turned in his arms and looked up at him, thinking about their lives and how wonderful this life had been to them. They were together and led normal, comfortable lives, yet the passion and love had not dulled in the slightest. If anything, it was as true and soul consuming as ever. She slid her arms around his neck and their lips crashed together, as they shared a passionate and soul searing kiss, this time with more heat than before since they were void of an audience finally.
"Charming…" she uttered, as he pressed his forehead against hers once their lips had parted.
"Talk to me, my love…" he whispered.
"She called us Mom and Dad…for the first time," Snow said, as her eyes shimmered with unshed tears.
"But now…it feels like we're back to square one and we're strangers again," she added.
"I know…she just needs a little time though. It seems her life with Henry was good. Ours was too," he reminded her.
"I know…I get the feeling that she would have rather never been awakened and I guess I feel guilty, because I don't blame her. I love Emma and Henry so much…but David, we were sooo happy," she cried.
"We've always been happy and in love…but never without danger or royal duties plaguing us," she added.
"I know…and you have no reason to feel guilty," he replied, as he hugged her gently.
"We'll never be free again…they're not going to let us go. I can feel it," she fretted.
"Me too…but that's why everyone is here. We're going to figure this out, my love," he promised. She wiped her tears and he pressed a kiss to her forehead, as they prepared trays of drinks for everyone.
Bobby giggled, as Killian played with him and he crawled around the room. Emma watched him with fascination, not believing this could be the same pirate that had stolen a bean with the intention of leaving them all behind to die. Obviously, he hadn't made it before the trigger went off and now, he seemed to be a common guest in her parent's home.
"How did they let you on the force with the fake hand?" Emma asked bluntly. He smirked.
"You have as little tact as your father," he retorted.
"But I don't know. It appears that no one noticed and it's not like I actually went to the Academy. The last three years were real, but the past written for us in these lives is a fabrication, it would seem," he added.
"Yeah…guess so. I have memories of…not giving Henry up and raising him on my own," Emma said.
"Which you didn't," Regina commented. Before they could argue, Snow and David came out of the kitchen with coffee and cocoa. Bobby took an interest in Killian's flask, as he spiked his coffee with rum and reached for his cup.
"Aye…I think juice is a bit more your speed, small one," he said, as Snow handed him his sippy cup and he copied him and took a drink, further fascinating Emma.
"Perhaps we should start by discussing the area where the troll appeared," Rumple suggested. Emma googled the location and David emerged from the basement with a cork board.
"What's that?" Belle asked.
"A board from the station. We can keep track of the locations this way," David said, as he placed a pin in their first location and labeled it.
"The question is…how do we get back there to go over the scene when it's been wiped clean by a clean up crew?" Emma asked.
"I'm sure they're cameras everywhere. This is New York, after all," David replied.
"That's all you've got? We put some pins on a board and hope to find something?" Regina asked.
"And what do you suggest? So far, we have only one crime scene. Two if we count where I killed the werewolf, but that was after we chased him all over the city for days," David replied sternly.
"Aye…and we only caught the case after the uniforms couldn't apprehend him," Killian added.
"Bet you they're not sending the bodies to the city morgue either," Emma surmised.
"No doubt…they're probably in a government morgue somewhere," David agreed.
"So we are nowhere," Regina said impatiently.
"We didn't say that, lass…" Killian argued.
"He's right…and I wonder if we could get a look at the place where Storybrooke used to be. Maybe there's something there," David said.
"Something they haven't already found?" Emma asked skeptically.
"It's a long shot…but if they didn't know what they were looking for, they might have missed something," Snow replied, as she looked at her stepmother.
"What?" Regina asked.
"You and Gold knew everything about that town. If anyone would know where to look, it would be you two," David replied.
"Yeah…you had keys to everywhere, even people's houses, which was creepy by the way," Emma mentioned.
"True…but I guarantee they are tracking our every move and I spent three years in a cell. I'm not going back into one," Rumple said. David sighed.
"Fair enough…" he said, as he spied his grandson typing away on his laptop.
"Henry…how good at hacking are you?" he asked. Henry smirked.
"Not very good…I don't have the knack for it," he replied.
"But I might know someone," he added.
"Good enough to hack into government records?" Killian questioned.
"Some of the kids at school are crazy skilled at this stuff…we're talking about the type of people the government will either put in jail or recruit," Henry said.
"And you let him hang out with miscreants like this?" Regina asked with scrutiny, as she looked at Emma.
"They're not miscreants…they're just kids. Really smart kids," Emma replied.
"So this has been a waste of time mostly and we're nowhere," Regina snapped.
"Relax…this is a process. We were never going to figure out everything in one night," David admonished and Regina huffed in annoyance. She hated this. Not only didn't she have a handle on magic yet, she was severely out of her element in this world. She had no power anymore and it was unnerving, to say the least. From a Queen and Mayor to a lowly bar owner was a steep fall for her, while her enemies were happy with a new baby and had her son.
"Once we have more locations, more creatures, and more crime scenes, we might be able to determine similarities in the surroundings," David said.
"And if we can't? If this is all just random?" Regina asked. He sighed.
"I don't know…but as long as there is a problem, they have a use for us. The minute we solve everything is when we have to worry and we'll need an action plan when that happens," David replied.
"Yes…because once we're done, the former residents of Storybrooke will end up in a detention center. At best," Gold said.
"They said they would let us go…" Belle replied.
"There's no reason to believe or trust them, love. I'm afraid we must assume the worst," Killian answered.
"But we're just people…just like any other humans," Snow insisted.
"Perhaps on a genetic level, but we are not exactly the same as humans in this land. Our hearts glow…theirs do not. I am certain they have been studying my DNA these last few years and possibly all of yours too," Gold said.
"For what purpose?" Emma wondered.
"To do what governments do. Find power and weaponize it," Gold answered, as an uneasiness settled in the air.
"I need a drink," Regina said.
"Not a bad idea…but we should disperse for the evening. We cannot let our gathering seem like anything other than social," Gold replied. They agreed and started to get their coats. Henry hugged his grandparents and they looked at him fondly.
"Can I stay over soon?" he asked. David smiled.
"We'd love that, buddy…we have a lot of catching up to do," he said, as their eyes met Emma.
"Yeah…we do," she agreed.
"How about dinner again tomorrow night? Here this time?" Snow suggested. Emma nodded with a smile.
"Sounds great," she said, as they hugged her between them. She stiffened a little, but then relaxed a bit, before leaving with her son. Snow sighed, as they watched them go.
"Give her time, Snow…we'll get back to where we were," he assured her.
"I hope so," she replied, as he closed the door and folded her into his arms.
"These last three years…despite missing Emma and Henry have been everything we've ever wanted," she said wistfully.
"And they still can be," he promised, as he cupped her beautiful face in his hands. Their lips met in a feverish kiss that would have soon had clothes scattered everywhere. But Bobby reminded his very amorous parents of his presence and they shared a sheepish smile.
"Let's get the little man down and then we can pick up where we left off," she said, giving him a sultry look.
"You sure the moment hasn't passed?" he teased, as she plucked their son out of his playpen.
"Oh, I'm sure you'll have no trouble rekindling the moment, Charming. I'm very confident in your abilities, especially in the bedroom," she said, as he put his arm around her waist and turned out the lights, as they headed upstairs.
The metal sliding doors opened to the morgue, as General Shaw entered and approached the autopsy table.
"I hope you have a preliminary report for me, Doctor," he said. The older, bespeckled and gray haired doctor gave him a skeptical look.
"General…I have barely begun and I have no idea what this creature is and believe me, I've been brought my share of weird things in my days as a government coroner," the doctor said.
"I understand that, Doctor…but we need answers. I need to know everything about this creature. I've been told it is a Bridge Troll. I want to know anatomy and every single substance down to the folic of its hair analyzed and identified," the General ordered.
"It will be done, but I need time. A couple days at least," he said.
"You have twelve hours," he said, as he exited the morgue and went to the end of the hall. This area was highly restricted and required an extremely high level clearance to enter. Shaw put his code in and was allowed behind the heavy metal doors.
"Report…" he said, as he looked at the body that had been recovered from the city morgue. It was being preserved in a glass tube that kept the body frozen. A person from there had been murdered, which meant that the NSA officially took possession of the body once the woman was flagged in the system.
"Her heart is missing," the female scientist said.
"That wound in the chest is not indicative of a heart being cut out," he said.
"Clearly and there was almost no blood loss," she answered. He paused and looked at the young, highly intelligent woman.
"How the hell is that possible?" he asked.
"I don't know sir…it's like the heart was just ripped out. But there's no trace of it or any blood matter. That's not even the weirdest part though," she replied, as she motioned him to the microscope and had him look into it.
"It looks like dust. What's so strange about that?" he asked.
"It's not just regular dust…it's diamond dust and I found it around the wound," she replied.
"I compared it to all diamond dust known in this world to see if I could determine what kind of diamonds it came from," she added, as she showed him the analysis on the screen of her computer.
"It doesn't match the dust of any kind of diamond in this world and it likes to glow," she said, as he saw the dust shimmer in the light.
"Like magic," he muttered.
"Collect every speck of this dust and keep it in a specimen jar. This is classified to the highest level. Not even your assistant should have access to it," he ordered.
"Yes Sir…I'll lock all the evidence down. Care to tell me what I might be looking at?" she asked.
"No," he replied, as he walked out, just as his phone rang.
"Shaw," he answered.
"General…I just got a call from the city morgue again. We have another body…from there," Agent Becker said. He stopped in his tracks. Two bodies from there in the space of twenty-four hours could be no coincidence.
"I hope you're there already then, Agent Becker," he said.
"Yes Sir…I have the body and I'm bringing it in," she answered.
"Good…I'll read you in on this situation when you get here. You are to speak to no one of this…not even Agent Casey," he ordered.
"Yes Sir," she replied.
Images played on the computer screen played out from the recording from that day and the viewer watched with rapt attention. He watched these people fight this creature with bows and arrows, swords, and laser blasts. It looked like it should be something out of a movie. But he watched it happen with his own eyes right below his apartment window. He didn't know what the creature was, but it sure as hell wasn't human and these people seemed to be like something out of a comic book. One of them looked like he was definitely a government cop, while the others were obviously skilled fighters of some kind, but didn't seem to mesh with the usual government stooges.
"Okay man, cool video, but that's totally CGI," one of his online friends said, as six avatars popped up in his usual group chat of gamers.
"I'm telling you…this was out my window," he insisted.
"Dude…if you want attention for your editing skills, just say so. You don't need some video and if you want some tips, your characters don't even have cool costumes," another said.
"This isn't superhero stuff…this was real. I'm telling you. I put this video up on three different social media sites already and it was taken down within minutes," he insisted.
"That does scream of government conspiracy stuff," another said, making the others scoff.
"Whatever…are we gaming or not tonight?" another asked. The young man sighed.
"I'm out tonight…" he said, as he exited the chat and pulled the video up again. He really wished his friend Henry was online tonight…he was sure that he would believe him about this.
Casey growled, as he monitored the online chatter that evening in Castle. He hated computer work and had requested a tech be brought in to deal with this type of stuff. So far, NSA analysts had nuked the video of today's battle over a dozen times and people were not letting it go.
"How's it going?" Alivia asked, as she buzzed herself into Castle.
"Not good…I need a nerd. I hate the Internet," Casey growled. She smirked.
"Relax…social media has a very short memory. It will be forgotten soon," she assured him.
"Maybe…until the next battle and we make a spectacle and some of their theories aren't as far off as you'd think. Do you know that people remember feeling that explosion three years ago?" he asked. She smirked.
"Is this your first day on the Internet?" she teased and he grunted in response.
"I don't think this is going away like they want it to," Casey said.
"We better hope it does…or we could have a big problem," Alivia replied.
"You summoned?" Tamara asked, as she and Greg entered their General's war room.
"Are we hunting tonight?" Greg asked eagerly. To him, the more freakish magical blood spilled, the better. The General smirked and pulled up what looked like a map of New York City.
"Actually…with the online discourse and new Intel we have gathered, we have a bit of a new strategy," the rogue General said, as he made a change to the map that made it light up in bright colors.
"What is that?" Tamara asked.
"An infrared map of New York City and this map, was three years ago…before the magical radiation," their boss said, as he showed them that map and they noticed that the blotches of red had mostly disappeared.
"What are we looking at?" Tamara asked.
"Considerable seismic activity. Small, tiny fissures that are continuing to grow ever since that little explosion," the General said.
"Do you…think the NSA knows?" Greg asked.
"Of course they know…and they must think that, for now, their little taskforce is the key to stopping what could result in a cataclysmic event. But when they realize that they can't stop this, because it grows worse with each magical apparition, they will have to do something about all of them. Especially if the public calls for it," he replied.
"But they're keeping their identities and pretty much everything else under wraps," Tamara mentioned.
"That's why we're going to make sure the word gets out. You two have new day jobs as reporters at a very prominent news organization," the General said.
"Are you serious?" Greg asked.
"Why?" Tamara asked.
"To stoke fear and expose the plagues that magic brings to the world. The heads of these networks all answer to the government, though they deny it and this one answers to me. You'll start as beat reporters on the scene and as the fear grows, you'll soon be in front of millions every night as the truth about them comes out. It will force the government's hand and they'll have to detain the people of Storybrooke," he answered.
"This is your way back into power, isn't it? If this plan comes to fruition, you can step in with your knowledge of magic and other worlds," she said.
"You're catching on," he said.
"So we don't get to drop bodies anymore?" Greg asked, disappointed at that.
"Oh no…that part of the plan is still on and when our friends from the Enchanted Forest realize they're being hunted from all sides, they'll become desperate and further prove why they must be detained and studied like lab rats to solve the plights they have brought upon our world," he said.
"Do you think these fissures could become worse?" Tamara asked.
"Oh I know they will…and that's when we enact our revenge," the rogue General said.
"For now, you both need to keep in contact with me when you are out in the field," he said, as he presented phones to them.
"Every call you make is tracked, by the way, so be mindful of what you use it for," he added.
"There's only one contact in it," Tamara said.
"Aza?" Greg questioned.
"I told you…my real name is of no consequence. Aza is an old code name I went by in a mission years ago," he replied simply and offered no further information.
"For now, return to your new accommodations," he said. They nodded and left the war room for the new residence they had been given within the base…