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. Things are quickly spiraling out of control though and though they are the only ones that can save the world, their freedom is in serious jeopardy.
An important note is that in this universe, the dagger and Excalibur have no connection and are separate entities.
Ghostwriter: Thanks, glad you're enjoying it!
Sammii16: You're welcome
Grace5231973: Yeah, it will be interesting to see how August gets himself out of this pickle. Glad you're enjoying!
sweetreader: Yeah, August found more trouble. It will be interesting to see how he gets out of it.
sexystarwarslover: Yep, King Arthur is not very noble. Yeah, it definitely gives you Harry Potter vibes. Yep, Charming will always protect his family with everything he has. Yeah, Killian is protective of Bobby. Yep, off to fight an ogre and the Dragon is now in New York. Yep, August is in big trouble. He needs to get that pen to Henry, but that will be hard to do in jail. Glad you're enjoying!
The Grey Jedi 2020: Yes, I'm referring to Merlin. He is the wizard, but never the apprentice. That's what they would do in this situation. Governments are very good at taking away freedoms. Most just can't see it, because they make the cage comfy. You can't destroy magic, but you can suppress it. People believe in stuff, but few are willing to fight for it. Sorry, they just aren't. Most can't see a problem until it's right in front of their faces and effecting their wallet. Yep, it's probably Henry. Glad you're enjoying it. Thanks
Operation Castle
Chapter 12: An Ogre in Downtown
"Sire…are you sure of this venture?" Knight Gawain questioned skeptically.
"I fear it is a chance we must take; it will certainly be a quest like none other," Arthur answered.
"Camelot needs a King. What if we are unable to return?" Knight Tristan asked.
"This is a broken Kingdom, Tristan…we all know that. The people may not, but it cannot be hidden forever," Arthur said, as he looked at Excalibur. It was a closely guarded secret between the three of them and his trusted squire, Percival, that the Excalibur in his hand was a forgery. A masterful one, but a fake nonetheless. The real one disappeared from his hand when he committed a grievous act and returned to the stone.
Arthur had panicked when it happened and the three of them quickly journeyed to find the legendary weapon again, but he knew he could never touch it again. It had rejected him and when he learned that Merlin was going to reveal everything to the Kingdom, he invoked the help of a witch to trap him in a tree. It came at the cost of allowing the dastardly witch practice her dark arts in a well kept shop in the marketplace. He had to keep her happy so she would continue to keep the secret.
She constantly teased him with the power she had over him and that there was another that could now wield Excalibur and free Merlin. Someone from another land entirely and if they were not eliminated, then they could reveal his treachery.
"Sire…if this person is in another land, perhaps that assures us that they are not a threat," Gawain reasoned. He had considered that, but before he could contemplate further, Percival came running into the private study, out of breath and panicked.
"Percival…what is it?" he questioned.
"Sire…it's Excalibur. It's gone," he whispered in hush tones.
"Gone…what do you mean gone?" Tristan asked urgently.
"The stone and the sword have disappeared entirely…" he said.
"Then we have no choice. We must quest to Lake Nostros and find the sword," Arthur replied.
"Sire…" Tristan started to protest.
"There's more," Percival said.
"More?" Gawain asked.
"Merlin's tree is gone as well," he revealed.
"This is a disaster…if that wizard fool is released, he'll find his new bearer of the sword and return to usurp me. We leave at once," Arthur said.
"What will you tell Guinevere?" Tristan asked.
"I will handle my wife," Arthur snapped, as he left the tower.
Their cars screeched to a halt, as they exited the vehicles among the running and screaming people. The towering ogre was already damaging buildings and stepping on vehicles.
"How the hell do we stop something that big?" Alivia asked.
"Got a bazooka?" Casey joked.
"You sure bullets won't work?" he asked.
"Not unless you can get him in the eye," David replied, as they saw fighter jets scrambling in the sky.
"Oh great…thanks for listening about the loud noises," the prince complained.
"Look Your Highness, this world practices a higher form of warfare than you do with your arrows and swords," Alivia argued
Missiles were fired and seemed to do a bit of damage, but not enough to kill the ogre and only made it more angry, as it smashed into an apartment building.
"Then I hope you have some bigger missiles," David countered.
"He's moving too much…I'll never get a clear shot. Even if I get high enough," Snow said, as she relaxed her bow, but still kept the arrow threaded.
"I think I have an idea…but it's a little crazy," Neal said, as they saw tanks begin to roll in.
"It can't get much crazier than tanks in downtown Manhattan. Whatcha got?" Emma asked.
"I need some grappling cable," Neal replied.
"Wait…you want us to trip him like an AT-AT Walker?" Emma asked. He shrugged.
"Sounds like a Henry idea and its not bad. If we can trip him, we can kill it," Regina replied.
"That's a big if," Emma said. Neal smirked.
"Yeah…I got this one," he said, as Snow gave him one of her grappling arrows and detached the cable from her quiver. But before he could do anything, the tanks began taking pot shots. They hit their target and other surrounding buildings as well, further angering the creature. It was definitely injured now, but not enough to stop it and they witnessed his fury, as he picked up one of the tanks and crushed it. They all scattered, as it charged toward them and crushed several vehicles around them, including the ones they had come in. Snow yelped, as the ogre made a swipe at her and Charming tackled her to the ground. It roared and he rolled them away from his stomping foot.
"Hey ugly!" Emma growled, as she stopped it from crushing her parents with a blast of magic. It was strong though and she fought against it with a stream of her novice magic.
"Moms!" Henry called, as he arrived at the scene, much to their shock and horror.
"Henry…what are you doing here?!" Regina scolded.
"I hitched a ride on a city bus…I wanted to see it," he said.
"It's not safe," Regina snapped, as Neal hauled him up with one arm.
"She's right, kid," he said, as he began moving away, but the ogre flailed free from Emma's magic and charged at them.
"Henry!" Regina cried, as he and Neal were directly under one of the ogre's feet.
"Bae!" Rumple called, as their hands both suddenly began alive with magic. Just as Emma's magic had surfaced to protect her parents, theirs suddenly made a return when their children were in danger. They looked at each other and then blasted the ogre back. Emma took a deep breath and joined them.
"Mom…can you get a shot from here?!" Emma asked, knowing it was a steep angle.
"By myself no…but then I'm not by myself," Snow replied, as she smiled at her husband and drew her arrow back. David tilted her bow up, aiming expertly and used his strength to help her pull the string back as tightly as possible. Taking a breath together, they released the arrow and struck him dead in the eye. The ogre fell dead onto the street, on top of the cars he had crushed and they took a breath of relief.
Tamara smirked, as she and Greg emerged from their cover.
"As you've witnessed here first hand…this strange group of people has used their strange witchcraft and dark magic to kill this creature. But should we be celebrating this? How can we when there are those among us that could turn on humanity at any time and destroy us all!" Tamara said.
"You're a lunatic!" Emma growled, as she started toward her, but Neal held her back.
"Don't prove her right," Neal whispered and she calmed for a moment. He was right…this is what she wanted.
"NSA…cut your feed now!" Casey growled.
"The NSA doesn't control the media, Agent Casey…this is freedom of the press and the people deserve to know that the NSA is running this secret magical taskforce to deal with these strange creatures," Tamara responded, as Greg filmed her.
"But what the NSA hasn't revealed is that these people are the reason for all this strangeness. Our world is being invaded by these witches and their dark magic!" Tamara ranted. Whether people would believe her or not, she would be successful in whipping the population into a frenzy.
"Let's go…" Casey said, as a couple more vehicles arrived for them and they quickly left the scene. But the damage was done this time. Any anonymity they still had was out the window and it felt like their freedom was too…
August sat idly in his cell, looking at what seemed like an ordinary pen. He had been allowed to have it back after he had been processed and locked up since it seemed to just be a pen. A pen he couldn't write with. Thankfully, his cellmate in Riker's was quiet and didn't hassle him. He was careful not to take the pen with him during meals and other necessities, because the crowd in this place was rough, to say the least.
He hadn't used his phone call yet, because he didn't know Emma's number. Since his petty theft didn't come with heavy restrictions, he was going to be allowed some heavily monitored computer time eventually, in which he planned to use to try and find her number. But until then…he was stuck. He had no one to call, no money for an attorney, and his sentencing would likely be swift, even if he did give the public defender a not guilty plea. Nothing mattered though if he didn't get that pen to Emma. Only the next author could fix this mess.
"Booth…" the guard called and he turned to face the bars on his cell.
"You made bail," he announced. Confusion marred August's face. No one even knew him or that he was here.
"How?" he asked. The guard shrugged.
"Some woman in a fancy fur coat paid it," he said, as the cell was unlocked. He was processed for release and instructed not to miss his arraignment next week and released. He looked around and wondered who had purchased his freedom. He didn't know anyone that wore fur coats.
"So…you're the other one that went through the magical wardrobe before the Savior," a woman's voice said. He turned to find a woman in a fur coat, with hair half white on one side and half black on the other.
"Who the hell are you?" August questioned. She chuckled.
"Come now, dahling…I thought that it would be obvious," she said, as she took a drag from her cigarette.
"But I do so love introducing myself. Cruella De Vil," she announced.
"Holy crap…" August muttered.
"How do you even know who I am and why did you bail me out?" he asked.
"I know everything…I was involved with the previous author, after all. I let him think I loved him and he got me out of that wretched forest before the curse and into this lavish lifestyle I enjoy now," she said.
"He told me everything I needed to know about the curse and then I had two brutes dispose of him. They were stupid though and left something I needed behind," she added. August clutched the pen inside his pocket.
"You can't possibly think that you could use the pen," he said. She cackled at that.
"Of course not, dahling…but you're going to help me find the one who can. I need a new story written," Cruella replied.
"Why? Fancy furs and a limo. You seem to be doing well in this land," August said.
"Oh I am…or was, until the wealthy tycoon I married got himself caught embezzling and now the FBI is breathing down my neck too. I'm in danger of losing everything and mummy has certain tastes and standards that require a lot of cash," she said.
"Sorry…can't help you," August said, as he tried to walk past her, but was stopped by two brutes behind him.
"Horace and Jasper…please escort this nice young man to my limo. He'll be our guest until he loosens his tongue and tells us who the next author is," Cruella said, as they dragged him to the luxury car.
"I don't know who it is…the pen chooses, not me," August protested.
"Which is why I'll be keeping a short leash on you, Pinocchio and you'll lead me right to them," she said, as they got in the car and it sped away.
On the way back to Castle, they stopped at the daycare, knowing that they likely couldn't bring Bobby back here again. It was risky as it was and Snow quickly went inside to get their son.
"Margaret…" Ashley uttered, almost fearfully, as the other woman arrived. She saw the television on and clearly the woman had seen everything. If only Ella was awake, this would be a lot easier, but she wasn't and Snow could only be concerned with their baby at the moment.
"I'm here to get my son," she said simply, but from her tone, the other woman could tell that it would be for the final time.
"I…I saw you on TV. You…you killed that thing with an arrow," she said, as Snow brushed past her and Bobby put his toy down and toddled toward her once he saw her. She scooped him up and Ashley stood in the doorway.
"The news…is saying that you're dangerous. How can I just let you take a child into whatever mess you're in?" she asked.
"My child," Snow snapped, as she pushed past her and hurried out to the car, before climbing in next to her husband. He took their son, while she buckled in and Alivia drove away.
"She give you any crap?" the blonde asked.
"Yes…she was definitely questioning my fitness as a mother," Snow replied.
"Which I know Ella will regret when she's awake," David said.
"If she ever wakes up," Snow muttered and sighed.
"Maybe that's better…it's different for them than it is for us. We were missing part of our family when we were cursed, but they're not. Maybe it's okay if they never wake up," she added.
"I used to think that…about breaking the curse," Emma said.
"Like everyone seemed fine and safe for the most part in Storybrooke, so I didn't see why it was so bad that I had to break it," she added.
"But I was wrong…because it brought families back together and people that were meant to be together that had been torn apart by a curse of lies and deception," she continued.
"Like you and Dad…you two are meant to be together more than anyone and even though Ashley has Sean in this world, there might be others that aren't together and everyone of them deserves to know who they really are," Emma said. They smiled at her.
"Yeah…that's not going to happen, Suzie sunshine," Alivia interjected.
"Excuse me?" Snow asked sharply.
"The entire world is about to call for all of you to be controlled or even locked up. Do you really want to subject the rest of your people to that, Princess?" she asked in a condescending tone.
"This isn't the way to Castle," David said.
"We're not going to Castle…it's not safe," Alivia said, as the other car behind them followed with Belle, Gold, Neal, Regina and Henry.
"Then where the bloody hell are we going?" Emma asked.
"Headquarters," she answered and they exchanged looks.
"We just saved the city and you're locking us up?!" David exclaimed.
"It's for your own protection and we're not putting you in jail cells. You'll all have your own little apartments and it will be safe. If you go home right now, you'll be mobbed by people and press," she argued.
"Safe and watched at every moment, right?" Emma huffed.
"I can arrange a prison cell for you, Miss Swan," Alivia snapped.
"How about I just beat your face in instead?" Emma countered.
"Hey!" David interjected and took her hand, giving her an intense look that she recognized by now. He had a plan and she relaxed a little.
"Fine…but what am I supposed to do about my son? He has school," Emma said.
"Not anymore…we have tutors that can give him daily instruction," Alivia replied. She huffed but was quiet until they arrived at the NSA compound. It was just outside the city and looked like an old warehouse.
"Lovely place to raise a baby," Snow commented.
"Don't let looks fool you, Snow White…there will be plenty of room for little Bobby to run around and play," Casey said.
"And the best part is…the whole place employs a magic dampening technology we developed. Out here, you'll use your magic and in there, you won't," Alivia replied.
"Putting us in a gilded cage doesn't change the fact that we're prisoners," Neal countered.
"Freedom didn't work out like we had hoped. Tamara and Greg have blown this wide open, but hopefully, it means we will soon draw out whoever they're working for," Shaw said, as they entered the compound, which was much nicer on the inside.
"So we get punished because those lunatics are allowed to run amuck," Regina said.
"They haven't technically broken any laws yet," Shaw countered.
"That you know of…and they were born here in this world, after all…unlike us, right, mate?" Killian questioned and Shaw was silent for a moment.
"We know this isn't fair…but we are still on the same side and I'll prove it by letting you in what we have just found," Shaw said, as they followed him down the corridor and into a large area that resembled Castle.
"Welcome to Castle 2.0…" he said, as they all took seats at the conference table.
"Fine…what did you find?" Gold asked impatiently. He was livid and already scheming on a way to get out of this place and he had a feeling the Prince was as well, as he showed them a wooded area.
"Maine just had another unprecedented earthquake and in the wake of it…this appeared," he said, as he showed them a tree that seemed to be in the middle of a rural road.
"Where is that?" David asked, as he got closer to the screen.
"I think you know where," Shaw replied.
"Do you know what this tree is?" Alivia asked. David was quiet for a moment. He did…and it was a species of tree that did not grow in this land. An Avalon tree and it grew in only one place he knew. The tree itself was oak, but the sap and herbs from the tree, as well as the water inside, were what was magical. And it only grew in Avalon in the Kingdom of Camelot. He turned and met eyes with Gold, who he could tell knew what it was too.
"No…it appears to be an oak tree, but we should investigate it since it obviously appeared in the middle of the road for a reason," David said.
"Our scientists are investigating. You'll remain here for now," Shaw replied. They all exchanged glances. So that was the goal now. Play nice and find a way to navigate this compound to find out everything that was being kept from them and then escaping to Maine. A tree from Camelot definitely met something…something big and they had to find a way to take control of this whole situation or they would spend the rest of their lives under lock and key…