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anymal28 · 3 years

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Pre-SMP AU by @louisapennyfeather2021

Beginning Notes!

-This is a fan made story. It’s based around possible events that could’ve happened before Tommy joined the SMP. None of this is canon nor has it been confirmed by any of the creators.

-This is written as if it were being viewed through a camera. Almost like an episode from a show or a movie. But it’s also written as an actual story.

Narrative Inspiration from @ace.wing on Tiktok.

"Legends tell of a world. A realm where you have nothing to fear. No worries. No monsters hiding under your bed. A passage way to escape the darkness

*black and white images flash over a black screen quickly, only slow enough to catch a brief glimpse*

"A world where one could start over. Find meaning to a life they no longer know."

*more images flash across the screen*

"But we all know how quickly that story changes."

*images of war, fighting, and death flash across the screen*

"Legends tell of a monster that overtook the realm. One considered a God among mortals."

*yelling, arguing, screaming echos as more images flash*

"A creature so dark that even the brightest souls submitted to his rule. Faceless and merciless, the realm became his stage and the inhabitants his puppets to be controlled."

*images and conversations from the darkest moments echo*

"But there's always a hero, always someone to finally defeat the monster."

*"It was never meant to be" echos in multiple voices in the background as blurred images of hands salute on screen*

"But to understand the pain, the struggle, the happiness and fear-"

*"Remember..." The voice of a young british boy echos as images of a friendship flash on screen*

"We need to look back through the pages. Read back to the beginning again. We need to return..."

*"It's you and me, versus..." The young british boy's voice trails off as images flash rapidly. Voices and conversations get muddled and get louder and louder until it's silent and the screen is black.

"To the beginning."

*The Beginning lights up in the center of the screen for a few seconds before it goes dark

BAM, the screen changes somehow and all goes silent

Suddenly, there's quiet chirping and wind blowing in the background. The black screen starts to brighten to bright green. The camera pans to a grass covered hill full of bees, butterflies, and flowers.

Faint giggling is heard until a little boy in a red shirt comes running up the small hill. A slightly shorter boy in a green shirt comes running after him, clutching a dirty stuffed bee in his hand.

"You can't catch me Tubbo!" The red shirt boy laughs.

"I bet I can!" The green shirt boy calls back and they continue laughing as they run around the hill.

The red shirt boy slows down when light reflects off of something. He jumps over to it and crouches down. He moves grass aside to find the jagged edges of a half circle with purple around the middle and black around the rest of it. He stands as the green shirt boy runs up to him and tags his shoulder.

"I told you I could catch you!" He breathes heavily, trying to catch his breath.

He peaks over the red shirt boy's shoulder to see why he isn't responding, only to see the jagged circle.

"Woah, what's this?!" He asks in amazement. Both boys stare at it, making sure not to get cut on the edges.

"I don't know." The red shirt boy mumbles, in awe at the object.

"Let's go ask Phil!" The green shirt boy takes off down the hill. The red shirt boy follows as they hurry. The camera pans to a wood and stone cottage tucked at the edge of a forest. Fireplace smoke billows out of a chimney, farm animals wander the grassy area. Clothes are drying on the clothesline, firewood is stacked near a back door.

While the little boys are running home, in the barn next to the cottage, two older boys spar with old broom sticks.

One is tall with brown hair and a yellow tunic a few sizes too big for him. The other is a creature known as a piglin. He wears a hood over his head to hide his shaggy pink hair and piglin features. He hates that he looks different from the others.

They spare on hay bales and laugh as they jump around.

"Why are we even doing this, Wilbur? I thought we were going to make maps. I have to be home before sunset and we won't have time!" The piglin sighs, anxiously pulling at his hood.

"Oh, c'mon Techno! We have to spar to be ready! You never know what kind of big bad wars we could fight in one day!" Wilbur dramatically acts out fighting with his broomstick.

"You're crazy." The piglin shakes his head. Although he can't complain, he lives in a society where government belittles the people. He's lucky he has an escape from all of it by sneaking through the portal to see his friend and Phil.

"Only to those who don't know me." Wilbur jokes. The two continue sparing as the camera pans to the two little boys reaching the door to the house. The hurry inside to the kitchen where a man stands at a counter.

"Dad Dad!" The red shirt boy yells.

"Phil! Philza!" The green shirt boy yells at the same time.

They reach the man and he turns, although the camera stays at eye level with the little boys and doesn't reveal the face of the man.

"Look what we found on the hill!" The red shirt boy holds up the jagged circle. The man gently grabs it and holds it.

"What is it?" The green shirt boy asks.

"Oh my, it looks like you boys have found something special." The camera moves up to the face of the man.

"You see, this here is what we call a Disc. Very hard to retrieve, even harder to find." The man breathes a laugh, surprised at the find.

"Wow, really?" The red shirt boy asks in amazement.

"It's special! Just like our friendship, Tommy!" The green shirt boy jumps and hugs the red shirt boy.

"Oh yes, just like your friendship." The man crouches down to eye level with the boys. "You hold on tight to this, boys. And always remember that just like this disc, you boys are so special. Don't ever forget that."

*Screen goes black again*

It's quiet.

Until there's a quiet crackling, almost inaudible.

It grows and grows until it's a loud roar. Orange and yellow light up the edges of the screen until flames engulf the edges.

And it's chaos.

"Tubbo?! Tubbo, where are you?!" Tommy yells, searching around his room in the cottage for his friend.

"Come on, Tommy!" Wilbur appears and grabs Tommy's arm to drag him down the stairs and outside.

"But Tubbo!"

"Techno will find him, let's go!" Wilbur hauls Tommy up and races down the stairs, dodging flames and smoke until they break free outside. Wilbur races as far as he can before he trips, him and Tommy hitting the ground. They both flip around to see their home going up in flames in front of them.

Inside, TechnoBlade races through the cottage for Tubbo. He had gone home only to see chaos raining down. Screams as Ghast destroyed their home. TechnoBlade grabbed what he could and ran back through the portal in fear, only to see the home of his friends on fire.

"Tubbo!" Techno yells, flinching as a beam falls.

"Techno?!" Tubbo's voice is muffled. Techno bolts up the stairs and to the attic. He finds Tubbo clutching a brown satchel and huddling against the far wall.

"Come on, we have to go now!" Techno hurries through the flames and grabs Tubbo, Tubbo clinging to his chest like a koala and hiding his face. Techno rushes through the flames and out of the house just as parts inside begin to cave in. Techno runs to where Wilbur and Tommy stand.

"Tubbo, where were you?! What were you thinking!?" Wilbur crouches down and hugs Tubbo. He may not have ever been their brother, but that didn't mean Wilbur didn't care about him.

"I had to save the disc!" Tubbo cries as he clutches the singed satchel. Him and Tommy had stashed the disc in the attic for safe keeping. "Philza said the disc is special and I didn't want to lose it!"

"Wait, Dad! Wilbur, we have to help dad!" Tommy yells and tries to run to the cottage. Techno stops him and notices the anger on Wilbur's face.

"Dad left, Tommy. He left before the cottage even caught fire." Wilbur tries to keep calm because he knows how bad of a situation this is.

"What?" Tommy asks, heartbroken.

"Come on, we need to set up a place to sleep until morning." Techno avoids the topic. He sees the barn is still intact since it sits far enough away from the cottage. He leads the other three to the barn and they move up to the hay loft to sleep. Wilbur sets up a small nook made out of hay bales and lights a lantern for Tommy and Tubbo before hurrying down to the ground to talk to Techno. Techno grabs objects from the barn and stuffs them in a bag.

"What are you doing?" Wilbur whispers, trying to not alert the boys.

"I'm leaving, I'm finding Phil. He's an ass for leaving us- you guys, but he's all you have. I'm gonna find him." Techno grabs one of Phil's old horse riding cloaks from the barn closet and pulls it around him.

"So what, you're just going to leave us too?" Wilbur scoffs.

"I have nothing left in my home and I'm not letting this one get destroyed too. Not the way mine did, so I'm finding Phil." Techno vows, clipping the satchel over his shoulder.

"Well I'm coming with you." Wilbur starts to look around for another satchel, but Techno stops him.

"Not yet. You can't leave Tommy and Tubbo." Techno shakes his head and thinks. "Take them to the door, the one on our maps. They'll be safe there. Then come find me."

"You better not be lying to keep me from coming after you." Wilbur mutters, but accepts that he needs to help Tommy and Tubbo first.

"I promise." Techno claps a hand on Wilbur's shoulder before backing away and disappearing out the barn doors.

Wilbur hurries back up to the hay loft and finds the boys nearly asleep under another old cloak they found.

"Wilbur, what's gonna happen tomorrow?" Tommy asks, half asleep despite what they all just went through.

"Don't worry about that now, Tommy." Wilbur shushes and lays down next to Tubbo. Tommy stands up and moves to Wilbur's other side so he can hug his big brother.

"Don't worry about that now." Wilbur mumbles as the boys fall asleep. As soon as he closes his eyes, the screen goes black yet again.

Suddenly there's a lush, green forest. The camera takes a few shots of the different flora and fauna before the crunching of leaves and brush is heard. The camera pans to the back of their heads. One tall with brown hair followed by two short boys. One with blonde hair and one with brown.

The little boys follow the older boy through the woods, all carrying satchels or backpacks and wearing cloaks in case they get cold.

Tommy and Tubbo talk quietly to pass time, both tired from the previous night and the morning they've already had. They've already stopped for lunch and Wilbur keeps saying they're almost there.

Suddenly, Wilbur looks up from his map to see a wooden door surrounded by stone and covered in ivy vines. He hurries over to it, the boys right behind him. He pulls vines away until he sees the four letters carved on the door.

‘DSMP’

"This is it." He whispers.

"What, Wilbur?" Tommy asks, confused.

"The place we're looking for." Wilbur sighs, still amazed. The land that has been passed down in legend as the graceland.

The place where anyone could live freely and safely.

Him and Techno found it only once on one of their mapping expeditions. They never dared to enter, because once you enter, you can never leave.

"What is it?" Tubbo asks. It just looks like a door to him. Wilbur turns around and a half smile works on his face.

"I heard there was a sacred place, where we could live freely. This is that place, boys." Wilbur is almost red eyed as he says it.

He reaches and pulls the door open, squinting as bright, yellow light bursts through.

Through the door is a world he never imagined. Full of hope and no worries. He's almost tempted to go inside, but he has another agenda. He guides the boys to the entrance and they turn to face him as he crouches down.

"Okay boys, I need to leave now. I'm going to find Techno and Phil. I'll come back once I find them, okay?" Wilbur offers them a sad smile.

"Do you have to leave?" Tubbo asks, eyes brimming with tears and a pout on his face.

"I'll come back, just you wait." Wilbur stands. The two boys turn around and nervously walk through the portal. Once they do, they turn around to face Wilbur again. He smiles as he stands up and begins to close the door.

"I'll come back, I promise" and that's the last the two boys see of Wilbur as the door shuts.

While they were doing this, Techno returned to his home to see it in ruins. Skeletons litter the grounds, fire rages. It's a wasteland, still burning as if it's Hell itself. He's infuriated at the carnage because he knows. He knows this could've been avoided had their government and society been better. It all could've been better.

He finds a helmet of one of the Capitol soldiers, one modeled after a piglin skull. The camera pans to Techno's back where we see him remove his hood and strap the mask to his face. He pulls his shaggy hair into a small bun until it's long enough to be braided as is tradition in his culture.

He finds a blade sacred to the capitol and steals it for himself. What once was a sacred to the corrupt government will now lead to the downfall of all other governments.

Techno returns to the overworld and begins his search for Phil. He eventually meets up with Wilbur. As they search for Phil, they raid villages and learn the arts and crafting of potions, spell books, and even the reincarnation of ancient monsters known as Withers.

*Fast forward ten years*

*Yet another black screen*

Until loud whooping is heard and suddenly, teenage chaos ensues in what is personally known as Tommy's first day on the Dream SMP…

Written by @louisapennyfeather2021

Edited by anymal28

End Notes!

-Again, this is a fan made story.

Remember that the SMP is just a roleplay. Anything said or done in the roleplay does not correlate with real life events. Any insults or threats issued in the roleplay do not transfer into real life. Please do not start hating on a creator for something they did in the roleplay. That can hurt the creator and honestly makes you look like an idiot.

#dream smp #minecraft roleplay #wilbur soot #tommyinnit #tubbo #mcty fandoms #philza #technoblade #dream team smp #dsmp au #dsmp lore

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dragonfire2lm · 3 years

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Rubies and Sapphires: The Ruby Heart

Chapter 2: Spells and Swords

Beyond the red brick walls lay a formidable castle with towering spires, banners displayed the Clan Crest, a dragon coiled around a top hat, and Red was forced at sword point down the dirt path. The courtyard, with dead or dying plants in the neglected flowerbeds, was empty.

Were it not for the few scattered, top hat wearing people she saw looking at her curiously, warily from with the relative safety of the castle’s front gate, she would assume the place was abandoned. But that was far from the truth, the castle interior a maze of winding halls, within which the members of the infamous clan went about their business.

There was something about the place, an oppressive air that the inhabitants couldn’t shake that made her tail bristle. It set her on edge.

With Reginald in front of her and Wright behind her, sword threateningly pointed at her back, she was escorted through a pair of doors and into a large room.

“Your Majesty, we return with good news.” Reginald said smoothly, with added flourish as the trio halted before a round table.

The table was old, with a large, polished crystal inlaid in the middle of it, and several chairs placed evenly around the circumference. Seated on the black and gold throne at the head of the table, was a man wearing a black top hat with a crown in the shape of a dragon with its wings outspread.

“Good news eh?” he drawled, adjusting his red cape as he sneered at the sight of the Red. “Who’s she?”

“May I introduce The Cadmean Vixen, she assisted us in retrieving the jewels without issue.”

That caught the ruler’s attention, he swiftly rose from his seat, walking over as the two men presented the stolen gems.

“And let me guess? You think she should join the clan…”

“Her skills are indisputable-” Reginald said.

The clan ruler scoffed, snatching the ruby from him. He smirked as he inspected it. “Good job Reggie, and here I thought you were only good for scribe work.”

He eyed the ruby, a crooked grin splitting his face. “Yeah, we can do some real damage with this…”

“King Terrence?” Reginald asked and the other man snapped his gaze over to his subordinate.

The king gave Red a glance, looking her up and down. “You look human…”

“She’s a furhide.” Wright interjected.

“Tch, well Reggie, since you want her in the clan, she’s your responsibility,” Terrence ordered as he pocketed the ruby. “Take the Star Sapphire to the vault and give the furball a run-down of the joint... Oh and due to the shortage of rooms, she’ll be staying in the stables. I’m not wasting space on a stray.”

With his orders given, King Terrence turned on his heel and left the room with purpose, cape swishing behind him.

She heard Wright sheathe his sword.

“Well, it could have gone worse.” Reginald stated.

Wright snorted as Red glanced between the two of them. This, admittedly, was uncharted territory for her. She had spent how knows how long working by herself, living day-to-day, and relishing the few brief moments of having food readily available and a roof over her head, that suddenly being thrust into this group of magic users was daunting.

Wright handed the Star Sapphire over to Reginald. “You head to the vault, I’ll handle the girl.”

The stables were as empty as the courtyard. The building itself was sturdy despite the minor signs of disrepair she could see on her initial inspection. Red had been left to her own devices after Wright had given a no-nonsense, brief tour of the fortress. Nothing more than showing her where the mess hall and baths were located before leading her to the stables.

“Reginald will meet you in the mess hall tomorrow, don’t keep him waiting.” Wright had warned her.

The place felt like a ghost town. Like something stripped of all that grandeur and life, leaving it a hollowed-out husk while the people simply made do.

The best she could manage in the space she had been given was finding a few tattered blankets in a chest and making a rudimentary nest in the loft.

As the first light of dawn peaked through gaps in the roof, she laid down on her makeshift bed, wide awake and alert for any signs of danger. She filled the oppressive silence not with sound, but with thoughts.

Tales of the Toppat Clan, legends, reached even her during her travels. As much as she would like to hope that maybe she had finally found somewhere to call home, the reality of her situation was impossible to ignore.

Another hells damned life under the heel of another master. Bitterly, she mused that maybe that was what she should get for being a bleeding heart and sticking her nose in someone else’s business. She knew she was being dramatic of course, but it mattered little when she had nothing but her own thoughts for company for so long.

She knew it was going to be an uphill battle, but it wasn’t in her nature to just turn tail on people without reason and the Toppats had yet to do something to betray her trust.

So here she was, trying to concoct a scheme to turn her situation into something that would benefit everyone.

*******************************************************************************************

“We’re going to rob Galeforce blind!” Terrence announced to the Toppats that sat around the table. Red herself stood behind Reginald, watching the meeting unfold.

“See we got ourselves the Radiant Ruby,” the king said, showing off the jewel in question. “With this beauty we can ensnare a dragon and with a dragon on our side, no one will be able to stop us!” he grinned, an unnatural, twisted look on his face. “Just picture it, with a dragon at my beck and call we could go anywhere and steal anything. ‘Course, we gotta get one first.”

His words made her stomach drop, disgust rolled in her stomach, and she did her best to keep a straight face as he continued.

“Now, we all know dragons love gold, and we’ll need a small fortune to lure it into the trap. So, we’re going to sweep across the land, bust through every one of Gale’s strongholds, villages, you name it, and take as much as we can carry.”

A tense silence fell around the table.

“We’ll be in sight of our first target in an hour, pick your teammates and party up.” Terrence ordered and the room became a hive of activity as people got up from their seats and left to make their preparations.

She fell in step behind Reginald and Wright.

“We’re going to capture the dragon?” she asked.

“If Terrence wants us to, then that’s what we’ll do,” Reginald replied, resigned. “We have little say in the matter.”

“Once you pass your initiation, you take the oath, and The King casts the Binding Spell that makes you a permanent member of the clan,” Wright explained as they turned down a corridor. “Terrence rewrote it when he became king, an’ there’s nothin’ we can do about it.”

“Almost nothing…” Reginald said quietly. “If I just had the ruby…”

The vixen blinked. She could help him again, a few weeks to memorize the layout of the place, give off the impression that she was harmless, unimportant and build up a reputation in the clan…

Yes, she could steal the ruby in a month if she had the time and resources. She thought about leaving but judging from what little she’d put together from their first conversation, and the revelation of the binding spell, what little morality she had wouldn’t let her stand by and ignore this.

“I can get you the ruby.” She spoke up.

The two men looked back at her in surprise.

“Don’t be ridiculous, Terrence will make an example out of you if you so much as try and that is assuming, he doesn’t just kill you.” Reginald said.

“You’re not under the spell yet girl, why don’ you get off this rock an’ leave this to us?” Wright asked with raised eyebrow. “This is Toppat business.”

She stared back them defiantly. “Because I know what it’s like, you become so used to having no say in anything, to waiting for the next order, for the next chance to be useful, that it becomes normal, acceptable even… To the point that you don’t know what to do with yourself once you finally found freedom.”

“I spent five… six years at The Wall,” she divulged, powering through the well of emotions and hazy memories the admission bought forth. “They keep furhides as guards, treat them no better than actual dogs, I needed the coin and it seemed like a good offer at the time. I only got out six months ago.”

“And since then, you’ve made a name for yourself as a thief.” Reginald summarized, the shock morphing into understanding. He shared a look with Wright.

Something seemed to pass between them, a fire had been lit as the two men moved to walk beside her.

“We’ll meet in the stables tonight after the raid and discuss this further.” Reginald stated.

She nodded and joined them as they headed to the foundry to make their preparations.

*******************************************************************************************

Hours later, Red’s head was spinning, she struggled to fight against the light-headedness as the sounds of combat roared around her. She was in her fox form, hiding in a house. She’d been separated from the Toppats as soon as the fight began, the guards had been organized, a cohesive unit that had the slap-dash tactics of the mages outmatched in minutes. She had taken refuge in the shadows, slinking into houses and storing any valuables she could find in the magical pocket realm in her tail.

She’d been unlucky enough to watch as one of the Toppats, an archer with an enchanted bow, took the sharp end of a blade to the face. Red had been forced to hide in a house because the sight had made her fee like she was going to faint. As she waited for the dizziness to subside, something crashed through the back door.

She stumbled over to hide beneath a table as someone shambled into the room. Wright, unsteady on his feet, walked in with Reginald lobbing balls of fire from his hands behind him to cover their escape.

Wright sat down on the nearest available chair. Reginald locked the door behind him and waited with bated breath.

The fight raged on outside, but no guards appeared to have noticed the two men ducking into the house. Red crept out from her hiding spot, shifting into her human form, and adjusting her robes.

“What happened?” she asked cautiously as she approached them, the worst of her dizziness fading as she focused on the two Toppats.

Reginald glanced back at her, still on edge. “His defensive wards were broken by a shield bash.”

She made a noise in sympathy as she fished around her robes. She pulled out a potion bottle and handed it to Wright. Both men were surprised by the sight of the potion.

Reginald looked at the potion, then up at her. Wright grimaced as he accepted the offered potion, unscrewed the glass lid, and downed its contents.

“Thanks.” Wright grunted already looking more alert.

“If you need more, just ask,” Red said. “I can always make more.”

“You’re an alchemist?” Reginald asked.

“I picked up a few things at The Wall.” She replied.

Reginald was quiet for a moment. “We… could use your talents in the clan, we lost our healers some time ago...”

“We got a job to do, we’ll discuss this later.” Wright said as he got up.

The three of them avoided the frontlines, breaking into houses, stores and took whatever gold and valuables they could carry.

Something exploded.

The three of them moved to an open doorway and peered out to see what was going on. Maniacal laughter could b heard as the dust cleared and Terrence stepped out of the cloud of dust.

His grin was vicious as he held a golden staff. The staff had glowing black runes carved down its length and a black crystal set into the claw shaped top of the magical weapon. The Toppat King loosed a bolt of black energy from his weapon of choice towards the busiest part of the battlefield. Guards and Toppats alike were caught in the blast, Terrence only caring for his immediate victory, and Red heard Reginald suck in a breath in horror at it all.

“His own men are in there!” Red hissed. “The hells is he thinking?”

“We can always recruit more…” Wright quoted bitterly.

“We need to help them, everyone, with me.” Reginald commanded as he led the way.

As their ruler ran rampant, the small band retrieved as many of their wounded as they could, Red’s seemingly endless supply of potions and elixirs proving to be a boon to the clan and saving countless lives.

#fanfic #fantasy AU #henry stickmim collection #reginald copperbottom #right hand man

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closemyeyesforgood · 4 years

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The very first time I dreamt about him, I was at least 7. We were sleeping in opposite beds of the same room. He kept telling me I needed to follow him somewhere. He took out a protractor and drew a circle on the wall.

He pushed the circle open, exposing luscious forest, blue skies, singing birds. I could feel the breeze coming in, cool and fresh. The sunlight was so bright, I walked over and took his hand. We walked through.

Then I woke up.

The next time, and most recurring and we'll remembered, is of us waking down a dirt road. The road is thick with trees and they crowd around the houses. Each porch brimming at the foot of the road flush with the dense foliage.

As we are walking we are talking, getting to know eachother. Always asking eachothers names but always forgetting. All I could remember was that his name was one syllable.

We finally hit a clearing, it is a lake, there is a small round house with a stone path to it, its in the middle of the lake. Water surrounds the house peninsula, and he tells me that is where we are going, it's where he spends time with someone. We go inside, light hits a wooden table with some basic items on it including a wooden spoon and a necklace. The rest of the room is completely shadow. There's someone walking about but I never see her face, only her hands. She appears to be talking, but not to either of us.

I've had this same dream hundreds of times.

Another not so recurring dream involves tree houses. Like an entire world of trees houses, and people who fight on the ground for food or land or supplies. All under the age of 30 I would say. The same boy would show up and take my hand, insisting I come with him to have fun, fighting and running along the trees. Though sometimes I would get very frightened, as I could feel everything, it was all very fast, and I seemed to be younger than this kid, so I felt fairly small. But he was always protecting me, even if he hoped I would be more badass.

I continued to dream about this place once or twice a year, but now he wears a mask. A uniform of some kind, like he doesn’t want to show me all of him anymore.

These dreams began to fade for a few years when some lifestyle changes interfered with my ability to dream. But then when I stepped out of that part of my life, the dreams started coming back, not about the same places, but about that boy again.

There is another place, which I believe is a place we both have created, but heavily by my influence. We are usually walking or driving on the road, surrounded by trees and mountains. We talk, and sometimes we don’t. His face is blurry in these dreams, but he is tall, with dirty blonde hair, and a solid build. He has a soft, but powerful voice, and meaningful words with pain and passion in them. He talks about things that mean something to him, not just things that are interesting.

There are a few houses we go to in this dream realm, these dreams happen every other month. We just walk, and talk, and visit relatives. Some are mine, some are his, but they all seem to live in these large log houses with lofts and beautiful artwork. Sometimes we have our own little parties, and sit by a fire, always talking, or listening.The entire area is beautiful and healthy and green with sunshine and a fresh breeze. I could dream about this place forever. Especially with who I can only describe as my soul mate.

Fast Forward to when I am 27 or 28. I begin dreaming about the the dirt road with the houses again. I can’t remember if I was pregnant or if it was after everything. But the dream was surreal, for the first time I saw him as an adult. He had long hair to his shoulders, he was talking to me about how he has a baby, and that I was always there for him and he wanted to tell me himself. He was so nervous and excited all at once. He said something about his sister, and I kept calling him the wrong name again to which he very aggressively said, “NO, my name is NOT ----, it’s ----” All I remember is that it was a single syllable. We spoke so naturally, he was so familiar. We didn’t go to that stone house, but we walked the dirt road for what felt like hours before I woke up.

I often wonder if he is a part of me, I made him up to help cope with trauma maybe. I am a masculine person, and wished to be a man until I was about 22 years old. Maybe this is the manifestation of my male counterpart. Or maybe this person exists in real life. He makes me feel safe and invincible. He encourages me, and tells me how much I matter to him, and how much my opinion means to him, in each dream. Or he shows me in some way. It sometimes feels romantic, but it is not really a physical relationship, just complete and pure openness and love.

What I would fucking give to have a friend like this in real life.What I would fucking give...

There is only one person in my life that I have dreamed about this frequently, and that has only been in the last 4 years. I don’t really know where this all came from, or if there is anyone out these I can be like this with...

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occasionalfics · 5 years

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worth my while // epilogue

main masterlist | thor masterlist | ko-fi | p. 11

Summary: After being banished from his home, Thor Odinson has stopped at nothing to prove himself worthy of his throne, title, and power.

After losing the love of your life, you turned to a power you didn’t understand.You know you shouldn’t get involved.

But how could you not?

Pairing: Thor x Reader (Hercules au…kind of…)

A/N: I’m like...stunned that this is over? I feel like it happened really fast. REALLY fast. How?

I couldn’t let this go without a REAL fairy tale ending and I’m not sorry about it. Let’s celebrate!

Warnings: Honestly just nostalgia and fluff finally

Words: 2,545

An enthusiastic Thor introduces you to his close friend Heimdall, but doesn’t spend too much time on it. He moves you onward too quickly, insisting on taking you directly to his mother. Immediately.

You laugh at his excitement, but still stop him as he leads you across a glassy rainbow bridge. You take one look at the skyline of Asgard before you, and all the joy falls from your body.

You’re really here. In Asgard. With Thor.

He turns to you, warm hands sliding up your arms to your shoulders. “What is it, min kjærlighet?” he asks.

You don’t have an answer for him. The sudden weight you feel is a pleasant one, but still overwhelming. Because you’ve just left the only planet you’ve ever known - the only life you’ve known - for a kingdom you don’t belong in, for a man you’re not worthy of, for a life you have no place in.

“(Y/N)?” he asks again, some of the light leaving his eyes, too.

“Thor,” you whisper, “I- just. This is a lot. And I have...so many things to tell you, things I didn’t think I was going to get to but I need to say before anything else happens-”

“Nothing is going to happen here,” he tells you. “You can tell me all after you meet my mother. She’s eager to see what I see-”

“I can’t wait, Thor.” You take in a long breath, remembering all of the things you’d wished you’d told him before, when you knew you couldn’t. Memory is a harsh prison, but it’s the one you won’t be free of until he knows everything. “I can’t stay here if I don’t tell you.”

He hesitates, and his brow furrows. “Do you… want to return to Midgard?”

You shake your head. “That’s not what I’m saying. I just- Before we go forward with anything, I have to tell you.”

“Tell me what?” he asks, his tone clearly impatient but curious.

You lick your lips and tell him, “Everything.”

It’s easy to sneak into a room via lofted balcony when simply twirling a hammer enables flight. Thor holds you tightly against his side, wind rushes past you so fast you have to close your eyes, and within seconds, you’re placed on solid marble.

Being lifted off your feet like that twice in less than ten minutes is a lot to deal with, but you manage.

He leads you into his bedroom. This one, the one he’s grown up in, is nothing at all like his Avengers’ Tower bedroom.

This room is golden. Everything has a yellow tint to it - the fire kindling in a fireplace across from the bed certainly helps with that. His bed is huge, like his other is, but this one is covered in silken sheets and long, wide fur blankets. Tables are lined with goblets and trophies of war and revelry.

Here, Thor is truly who he was always meant to be. You’ll have to figure out who that is in time.

He leads you to the bed, sits on the edge of it, and waits for you to join him. When you do, his hands grip yours again. You might only pull away if you didn’t miss him holding you like you do.

Every day for three months, your whole body ached for him. It was just never as apparent as it is right now, with his body excruciatingly close.

“What is it you wanted to tell me?” he asks, patient now.

You try to remember where to start, then decide that an apology is a good place.

“I...am so, so sorry, Thor. For everything. For keeping things from you, for leading you on, for...god, for dragging you into Hades’ mess of a plan. For thinking I’d be able to stop you from fighting with a fucking car-”

“You saved my life that day, (Y/N),” he interrupts.

You squeezes his hand in a plea to let you finish. He nods slowly, conceding.

“I met a guy...almost a decade ago, now. This man, Rick - he was everything I ever thought I wanted. I was sure I was gonna marry him. But we got in a stupid fight one night, and he walked out and...a drunk driver hit him.” The memory of that night rises, stings your throat and eyes and nose. Despite the warmth of the room, a chill settles over you.

“Hades found me a year later. I was...a mess. I thought I’d lost the great love of my life. I was an easy target for someone looking for a glorified assistant. Hades told me he’d bring Rick back, and without thinking, I agreed to whatever terms he laid before me.”

You bite your lip, try not to hold what happened against Rick, and only went on when you felt ready.

“Rick and I didn’t end up working out. Obviously,” you say. “But Hades...he knew what he was doing. I was his servant, and basically nothing else. Not until I met you.”

He smiles, flattered.

You can’t return the gesture.

“I knew I should’ve stayed away. I shouldn’t have gotten involved with you, because Hades always knew. And you...you’re so powerful, God damn it!” You pushed on his arm, taking just a second to joke because that was so much easier.

But you can’t let the break drag on.

“I couldn’t help myself. The more I saw you, the more I wanted to see. You…” You sigh and meet his eyes with certainty in yours. “You made me feel like I was a regular person again. Like I was worthy of your friendship, of your love. The more I felt that, the more I wanted to get out of helping Hades bring you down. But he knew. He always knew. And when I tried to tell him you were unstoppable, he used me against you.”

“And it cost you your life, (Y/N).”

You nod, leaning toward him so you could whisper and he would feel the meaning behind the words: “I’d do it again if I had to. For you, I’d do anything. And I know you’d do it, too.”

“For you,” he agreed, “always.”

As it has every day for the last...four months (you think, time is different on Asgard than it is on Earth), the Asgardian sun warms your skin, breathes new life into parts of you that you’d forgotten all about. Dormant parts. Pieces you haven’t felt in...years.

You sit in the city square and watch the market around you. People mill about, like they always have, hardly noticing the wolf in sheep’s clothing.

Thor told you to stop calling yourself that. You’re not here to harm Asgardians, but to be one of them. And slowly, you’re starting to feel at home. With Thor to help and his mother’s approval (you don’t know how you managed to garner that, but you refuse to question it), you know that, some day, you’ll really feel like you belong here.

You’re adjusting. It makes Thor proud to see you content. It makes you proud to see him happy and whole again.

He comes through the crowd and hands you a light purple flower. It’s petals are soft and dainty, it’s stem strong and stable. It smells unlike anything you know of from Earth. It’s perfect, and yet, Thor’s smile outshines the glory of his gift.

He sits beside you on a stone wall, has no hesitation of pulling you close and holding you against him. You were surprised to learn, upon meeting the King and Queen, that Thor wasn’t already engaged to a Space Princess. Apparently, Earth fairytales don’t really apply to Space monarchies.

“Did you miss me, my heart?” he asks.

Yours always, without fail, skips a beat when he calls you that. You can’t help it. Somehow, in some way, you’ve earned his affection. The name is confirmation enough, and you have one for him that serves the same purpose.

“Of course, my soul.”

Four months of Asgardian living has absolutely affected your vernacular. How could it not? Why wouldn’t you let it, if you planned on staying?

He kisses your cheek as you place the small flower behind one of your ears. “What’s the plan for today?” you ask, knowing his days are normally full of training, both in battle and for the throne.

The fact that he is heir to an intergalactic collection of realms, of course, puts you on edge. You don’t know what it means for you, but you don’t have the heart to ask him. He’s already under enough stress at the thought of having to lead an entire kingdom.

“There are none today,” he tells you. Instantly, you relax against him.

“Really?”

“Well,” he starts, in a tone that automatically makes you roll your eyes, “there are plans, but I’m not seeing them through.”

“Thor-”

“Nope.” He smiles so widely that his eyes nearly close. “I’d like to see someone try to take me away from what I have planned today.” He brings a hand to your waist, squeezes, then chuckles at himself like he’s the cleverest man he’s ever met.

You purse your lips and tell him, “Don’t be cheeky,” but you know he’ll only tell you he can’t help it.

A week ago, the Queen told you she’s never seen Thor so happy. Consistently, that is. You told her you still had a lot to apologize and make amends for, but that her observation was much appreciated.

And now, Thor has no hesitation to show the entire kingdom even a fraction of how happy he is. He leans in and kisses you openly - admittedly, not for the first time. But still, the thought that you had ever tried to hide this, even for his and your own safety? It seems blasphemous.

You spend the day with the people. They love Thor - missed him during his time on Midgard. No one remembers him like you’d thought they might - like the arrogant, insolent, spoiled prince he’d said he was when he was banished. They only know him as he is now - strong and vulnerable, compassionate and still a little intimidating. He’s friendly and bright. Just being in his presence like this is an honor you’re still working to be worthy of.

Thor swears they love you, too. And they are friendly and kind. They ask what living on Midgard for so long was like. They want to know you, so you believe him. You don’t have to tell them about Hades - especially not in the same way you’ve finally told Thor everything. Maybe someday, they’ll know, but for now?

For now, you want to move past it all.

Knowing that Thor brought you back from the dead, that he knew you’d sacrificed your freedom for his safety, that he couldn’t stand the thought of living on while you were dead because of him… it’s enough.

When you return to the palace for the nightly feast, you stick close to Thor. His friends are yours now, too, though Sif is off planet on a diplomatic mission. Fandral, Volstaag, and even Hogun surround you and Thor that night, joking and laughing and living the way a family should.

It’s been so long since you’ve felt this acceptance. So long since Rick walked out. So long since you sold your soul to save a man that was meant to die that night.

Now you understand that. Rick was never supposed to come back. It was his choice to leave that night, not yours to push him away.

You were not meant for such a short life, though. For pain and suffering and growing, yes, but death? Not yet.

You have your own room in the palace - a guest suite, a gift from the Queen - but you hardly ever sleep there. Thor’s chamber feels more like home.

He’s sitting up against the headboard, eyes shut, just resting while you slip into a robe. The fabric is soft against your bare skin; the stone floor is cool beneath your feet. You hold the robe shut as you go over to the bed, sliding over to straddle Thor’s lap.

His eyes draw open, and he pulls you as close to him as he can. Your knees are tucked up against his hips, and you lean your chest against his. As usual, he’s warm and comfortable, and he smells like petrichor and cinnamon.

“You know,” you tell him, “I don’t think I ever thanked you for bringing me here.”

He shrugs. “Of course you have.”

“No,” you say as you shake your head. “I thanked your parents for allowing me to stay. But I’ve never thanked you for...for changing everything.”

His hands come around to your thighs, and once again, he squeezes you. “You don’t have to say it exactly like that to say it at all, (Y/N),” he whispers, that silly contented smile on his face filling you up with all the happiness you could possibly stand.

You crash your lips into his, weave your fingers into his beard. You still can’t believe you have all of this, but here it is. And it’s yours. He is yours - and if anything confirms that, it’s the nudge you feel on the inside of your left thigh the longer you kiss him.

You pull back and tell him, “I am grateful, though. For everything. For all of this.” You look up at the domed ceiling, around at the walls, then back at the absolute masterpiece between your palms.

“Funny,” he sighs. “I’d give it all up for you if I had to.”

He kisses you this time. You lean into him, and one of the shoulders of the robe falls off your arm. His tongue lines your bottom lip, and in one swift move, his arms encircle you so he can turn and lay you down against the softest mattress you’ve ever slept on. One hand unties the knot holding your robe together, the other crawls up the side of your leg. You feel like you’re on fire, covered in gooseflesh, drowning in the sun.

And then, to break it all apart, there’s a knock on the door.

“Go away!” Thor calls, lips still partially pressed to yours.

“There’s news from Midgard, Highness,” a voice says. It could be Fandral, but it could be one of Odin’s guard. “Your...acquaintances require your assistance.”

Your eyes shoot open wide, and you push against Thor to get him to listen. This messenger sounds serious.

“Now?” Thor asks.

“Immediately.”

Thor’s face sags. You giggle and stroke his beard again.

“No need for a face like that, my soul. Our friends need us.”

You swear a bolt of lightning ignites the blue of his eyes. “Us?” he asks. “You want to go with me?”

Thor’s gone off planet since you’ve come to Asgard, and normally, you don’t go with him. But this is Midgard. It’s a planet you know with people you know.

You nod. “Sam probably misses me too much. That’s all this is.” You shrug, and his smile matches yours as you sit up. “Come,” you tell him, reaching for his hand with yours. “Let’s go see what the problem is now.”

FIN.

#thor x reader #thor odinson x reader #thor fic #thor au #hercules au #worth my while fic

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hyenasnake · 5 years

Text

Battle Scars

Happy Father’s Day! TW: Past Abuse, Depression, Self Harm Mention, and Mental Illness.

They say you can take the warrior from the war, but you can never take the war from the warrior.

While Scrooge McDuck was no warrior, he had seen his share of battles in his time on earth. His senses had been heightened from them, which is how he heard the door to the bathroom shut loud enough in the dead of night to wake him and possibly Beakley whilst the other occupants of the mansion slept through it. Normally, he wouldn’t have paid it any mind, as the residents of McDuck Manor tended to wake up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom or get a drink of water. But this time, a gut feeling caused him to rise out of bed and walk to the source of the noise.

He knew as soon as he saw the door to Webby’s room slightly ajar. Whilst Lena had been given her own room with everything she could ever ask for inside, she was nervous about sleeping on her own and preferred instead a sleeping bag on the floor of Webby’s loft. The younger duckling protested greatly about having her friend sleep on the cold floor, but Lena never let up. So often Webbigail would be found curled up next to Lena keeping her warm. He looked in the loft where the girls slept and found Webby asleep next to the old sleeping bag Lena insisted on sleeping in, the latter nowhere to be found. A light from down the hall caught Scrooge's eye. As he followed it, he sighed in exasperation upon realizing it led to the bathroom. “Curse me kilts! Not even two days back from the hospital and she's already tryin' ta wind up back there.” He grumbled under his breath, then mentally chastising himself for getting angry at his newest ward over something she could barely control. He heard soft sobs, hisses, grunts and rummaging as he prepared to knock on the door in case this was just an ordinary midnight restroom break. He gently knocked on the mahogany door, not waiting for an answer before pushing it open.

As expected, Lena was slumped on the floor in her nightshirt looking like a deer in headlights. She had been caught red handed rummaging through the drawers. Her eyes were filled with tears and her forearms still wrapped in bandages. Scrooge sighed and offered her his hand. “Yer not goin’ ta find anythin’ in here to hurt yourself again, lass. C’mon.” Lena took his hand as he helped her off the bathroom floor. She looked down in shame, her feathery hair covering her downcast, tear filled eyes. The pathetic sight of her tugged at the old man’s heartstrings. Scrooge led the teenager downstairs to the kitchen.

This called for an unused teabag was Scrooge’s thought has he handed Lena a mug of tea. Lena took the mug in shaky hands. The old man sat beside the teenager with his own mug. He gave a sigh and put a hand on her shoulder. “Lena, ah know yer strugglin’. Ah know ye feel like yer holdin’ all the sorrows of the world on yer shoulders. Ah wish ah could take all that sufferin’ away from ye, if only teh see ye smile without a care in the universe. Ah know everyone else in this house wishes the same for ye. But part of the healin’ has teh come from ye.” “No you don’t. You don’t know anything about me.” She grumbled. “Ah know that ye act tough and cool in ordah teh get by, ye act like ye could care less about what the world wants from ye. But inside, Lena, ah know yer tired. Yer tired of all the people, all the sadness, all the fear. Yer scared of messin’ up, bein’ a failure, disappointin’ the people in yer life. Ah know ye wish ye could cry yerself teh sleep every night and not bein’ able teh because yer family would hear ye.” Something all too familiar to Scrooge passed behind Lena’s dark eyes. “I don’t have a family.” Lena said in a hushed voice. “You said you’d let me be apart of your family if I helped you get your family back. I didn’t do squat to help. They came to you on their own. None of you ever needed me. The only one who needed me was Magica and once she’d used me she got rid of me.” Scrooge thought for a moment. Lena had been turned back to shadow as soon as Magica was free, not having the chance to help bring the family together again. He quickly snapped out of his thoughts when Lena began to speek again. “I’m just a failure. A burden. A bad influence. A lowlife. A traitor. I’m just some dumb kid. I should have stayed in the shadow realm forever. I deserve it.” Her hands trembled. “Yer only dumb fer thinkin’ all that baloney about yerself.” He lifted her chin to look up at him. “Lena, Magica has always been a basket case who’s done more harm than good. But she did one good thing, and yeh know what? That was ye. Yer the only good thing teh come from that mephistophelian medusa. Ye didn’t ask teh be caught up in all this crazy mess, teh live such a life as a witch’s slave with no love. Ah know ye cannae get used teh all of this so fast. Believe it or not, but we have a lot in common.” Lena’s eyes were blinking back tears. “Really?” “Ah was just like yeh as a lad. Sad, quiet, broodin’, wishin’ ah could go teh sleep and never wake up. Teh tell ye the truth, ah still feel like that sometimes. Ah still have the same battle scars that ye do. It doesn’t go away, but it gets better. Ah promise yeh on my life. But it isn’t goin’ to get better if ye keep wishin’ ye were dead. Ye hafta make it better yerself, carve your own path. Ye hafta write yer own story in the book o’ life.” He cupped her cheek, setting his mug of tea on the counter. “As fer ye not bein’ a part o’ the family, well ah have a few documents that could change that with yer signature.” The teenager’s eyes widened. “You mean-?” “Welcome teh the McDuck family, Lena.” The old man gave her a warm smile. Lena put her mug down, tears rolling down her face. Scrooge engulfed her in a hug which she readily accepted. He held her as she cried as if she were the infant she never had the luxury of being. She sobbed her thanks and apologies as he rubbed her back.

It was over an hour later when Scrooge McDuck was finally tired enough to go back to bed. He had sent Lena up to bed when she got tired and was slightly shocked to find the teenager asleep in his own bed. He recalled her words from earlier; “every time I close my eyes I see her. It won’t stop. She won’t stop hurting me.” She’d confided in him. But now she seemed to be the opposite of restless. Her breathing wasn’t labored and she slept peacefully like a baby, the first time she slept this well in her life. Scrooge tucked her in and fell asleep next to her, giving her most of the room to sleep. She snored softly, lulling him to sleep.

After that night, Lena began to sleep in her own room. She began to make a point of going out more to socialize, remembering to take her medicine, and asking others for help. It was still a bumpy ride full of relapses, nightmares, panic attacks, fights, hospital trips, therapy, and days where she felt so crippled she stayed in her bed all day. But at least now the young girl could feel a little better with her newfound family by her side.

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gwenbrightly · 5 years

Text

Never A Perfect Moment 2

Crossposted from ffnet

Kai blearily peeked out of his hammock, still fully ensconced in the fluffy blankets Lloyd was so taken with. He could just barely make out the sleeping forms of his family on the several hideaway beds, additional hammock, and one air mattress that had been hastily inflated a few nights back when they first arrived at the apartment that Lloyd had taken up residence in while the rest of them were off on their individual missions. None of the others were up yet. Why was he even awake? So early…. Misako and Wu were probably still fast asleep in the loft he was currently dangling from. He snuggled back down, hoping that maybe he'd fall back asleep. He'd take every bit of rest he could get at this point. Everything that had transpired recently was definitely starting to catch up with him. It was hard to believe that several days had already passed since they had all been reunited. Life had been a whirlwind of phone calls, hospital visits, takeout meals, and restoration efforts. So much clean up and repair work… that alone took up countless hours. The busyness was good, he supposed. Kai had less time to worry about Skylor's fragile health when he was distracted by the hundreds of tasks that needed doing in order to return the city to its former glory. Somewhere in all the chaos, however, a small glimmer of light had appeared. Late into the previous evening, they had received word that the master of amber's condition had been updated to stable. Even if she wasn't conscious yet, it was a vast improvement over the puking, seizures and assisted breathing that had initially plagued her. And this fact was enough to give Kai all the hope he needed. The master of fire planned to be present whenever her body decided that it was time to wake up. Part of him wanted to kiss her senseless when it finally happened. But given the… undefined nature of their relationship, he wasn't sure she'd appreciate the gesture. He didn't want to hurt her…And he wasn't quite sure how to go about bringing it up without making the entire situation even more complicated than it already was. The master of fire buried his face beneath a pillow, trying once more to lull himself back to sleep. When it didn't work, he gave a muffled groan. He was going to need a nap later at this rate. Giving up on the idea of sleeping more, Kai quietly slipped from his hammock, navigating his way towards the quaint little kitchen. If he were going to be awake, he might as well do something productive and fix a nice breakfast for them to enjoy before another hectic day began (even if his cooking was nowhere near Zane's level). The master of fire tiptoed past a snoring Cole, then edged around the hideaway that currently housed both Jay and Nya, who were currently cuddling more excessively than he would've preferred. It looked like Jay had graduated from hugging pillows to subconsciously clinging to his girlfriend. But, they had been through an awful lot lately. And he was fairly certain that he'd heard the master of lightning mention something about yin and yang symbols at least once while they'd been in the First Realm. So. He should probably leave them be. In the quiet gloom, master of fire nearly tripped over a sweatshirt that someone (Cole) had left on the floor. He stumbled into the kitchen, catching himself on the island. Kai froze for a moment, concerned that the small thudding noise he'd made would wake someone. When nothing happened, he kept going. His phone was right where he'd left it the night before, plugged in on the counter. The master of fire powered it on and started searching for pancake recipes. He was 100% confident that Lloyd would never have stocked the cupboards with mix under any circumstances. Foods like this simply weren't anywhere near as good when they came from a box, and the blonde knew it. They'd lived off of off brand cereal and cheap multi-purpose mix enough times to recognize the difference. The ingredients weren't hard to find. The milk was perhaps a few days past its best by date, and the flour was a bit clumpy, but he could make do. At least he, unlike some people, had never given anyone food poisoning. Which put the odds in his favor (in his opinion). Kai pulled a griddle off a shelf and began measuring things into various cups and pitchers he'd located while waiting for it to heat to an appropriate temperature. As he poured flour into a cup, he failed to hear the stealthy family member sneak up behind him. Which was surprising, considering everything life had thrown at him lately.

"G'morning, Kai!" Nya whispered drowsily. He dropped a measuring instrument, sending up a cloud of flour.

"Nya, you know you can't do stuff like that. You gave me a heart attack…" He complained, blinking the white powder from his eyes.

"Sorry…" She hissed.

"What're you even doing up?" Kai asked, still in shock. Nya was usually the opposite of a morning person. She shrugged as best she could, careful not to jostle her bad shoulder.

"I… nightmare, I guess?" She informed him with a slight frown. It wasn't like this was anything new. Glancing at the glowing numbers on the microwave, she added

"But it is almost 8:30 in the morning…"

"Already?" He rubbed at his face, trying to remove the rest of the substance that currently coated it. She'd tell him about her nightmare if she needed to.

"Here, you look ridiculous! Please let me help you before you manage to get it everywhere…" Nya requested, reaching for a towel that hung near the sink. She tossed it to him with a practiced air of ease.

"Thanks."

"So. Makin' pancakes?"

"Yep. Wanna help?"

"Sure. It's better than watching Jay snuggle with my pillow…" They glanced over to the boy's prone form. Sure enough, in the absence of the master of water, he'd managed to maneuver her pillow into his arms.

"I bet you wish you knew what he's thinking right now, huh?" Kai said with a smirk. His sister raised an eyebrow.

"What could you possibly know about Jay's innermost thoughts?"

"Psh… don't doubt my abilities. Clearly he's thinking 'Oh Nya, I could hold you in my arms forever and ever. I think of you every second of every day… No! Every millisecond! You're so beautiful and awesome and your hair smells like wild cherries on a Sunday afternoon.'" Nya's cheeks turned bright red.

"He does not sound like that!" She protested, biting back a laugh.

"Oh, really?"

"Really. His lips move about a million times faster than that. Now cut it out before you wake the others. Chocolate chips or no?" The girl busied herself, rummaging through a cupboard Kai had somehow missed.

"Do you even have to ask?" He replied.

"Chocolate chip pancakes it is, then."

"You two really went all put with this place, you know?" The master of fire stated after a few minutes of joint mixing and measuring (during which time several handfuls of chips mysteriously disappeared). Nya sobered.

"Y-yeah… we… we wanted it to feel like home. So."

"I get it. It was hard on both you and Lloyd to be left here while the rest of us were gone." He assured her. The batter was almost ready now.

"Even with all the video calls and stuff. It just… wasn't the same. And then I had to leave too, and then… just when we were all together again…" Nya commented absently, playing with a few pieces of chocolate.

"Hey, let's not go there right now… Things were bad, yeah. But they're getting better. We just gotta keep moving forward."

"You've been spending too much time with Jay lately, haven't you?" She accused in a slightly lighter tone.

"You try being stuck with him after he's suffered a mental breakdown and see if you like it." Asserted Kai.

"No thanks." His sister retorted, a weak smile playing on her lips, "You know what these pancakes need to go with them?"

"Bacon?"

"Bacon." Nya decided, wandering over to the refrigerator. By some stroke of luck, there was a slab that hadn't yet expired.

"Perfect. And we've got whipped cream, too. This is gonna make Lloyd's day."

"Yeah! No one will be able to resist the Smith siblings' world famous pancakes." Kai stated lightly, holding out his hand for a fist bump. The raven-haired girl obliged with an eye roll, but wasn't willing to let Kai off the hook.

"You mean Betty Crocker's world famous pancakes."

"Yeah, sure, that." He agreed dismissively, making an (admittedly weak) attempt to bash her over the head with a spatula. Predictably, she dodged.

"Missed me, dork."

"Only cause you won't hold still, shortie…" The master of fire swiped again. This time Nya grabbed her own weapon.

"I'm taller than you." She reminded, blocking his attempt and returning it with her own.

"Yeah, barely!" The two spatulas met with a soft clang, but the siblings no longer cared whether or not they woke the others (the food was almost done, anyway).

"Porcupine breath!"

"Mistletoe addict!"

"Oh my gosh Kai! That was one year."

"You say that like there's no way it'll happen again this Christmas..." Kai paused to flip the latest batch of pancakes. Nya gave a long-suffering sigh.

"How do you know you won't be the one using it as an excuse to kiss Skylor?"

"I… I haven't even talked to her about things yet. Let's not get ahead of ourselves here... I don't even know if…" He replied in a more serious tone. Her face fell slightly.

"That's... Okay, I understand..."

"Sorry… it's just… you and Jay make all of this look so easy, and…" Kai started. Nya snorted, shaking her head in wonder.

"Easy?! Kai. You know as well as anyone that we've had our fair share of rough patches. Super rough ones. There were days I thought we'd never make it to this point. And sometimes? I'm still scared I'm gonna mess up really bad and hurt him again…" She admitted softly. He put a comforting hand on her shoulder. He'd missed these heart to hearts with his sister. It felt good to be able to be so open with each other again. Even if there were still a few things he was keeping from her – Jay owed him big time.

"You've both come such a long way. I'm so proud of you, sis. And somehow, I don't think that's gonna happen. Something tells me you guys are gonna be just fine."

"Thanks… I think I needed to hear that…" She replied, leaning against him, "You're heading to the hospital as soon as breakfast's over." It wasn't a question.

"Yeah. If… if she wakes up today, I wanna be there for her. Not sure how she'll take the whole coma and being put on oxygen thing." The ninja of fire admitted. She nodded and snuggled against him, enjoying the quiet.

"I smell food," Came Cole's voice from the air mattress he was currently located on, "How soon're we gonna eat?"

"It'll be sooner if you come set the table like the gentleman that you are." Nya called back.

"Hear that, buddy? It's time to get up and make ourselves useful." The master of earth told Lloyd, throwing a perfectly aimed pillow at him. He sat up with a yawn.

"Gah! Fine. I'm up." The blonde stated with a groan, climbing out of his hammock.

"Want me to set out the juice?" Jay offered, also awake now and full of energy.

"Sure."

"And while we do that, can you guys fold up the hideaways? There's no point in having them take up all this extra space." The Green Ninja asked Zane and Pixal.

"Of course." The samurai replied.

"It shouldn't take us very long." Added the master of ice brightly. Like a well-oiled machine, the group set about accomplishing their responsibilities. Within minutes, several people were already in line to start filling their plates.

"So, obviously Kai will be heading to the hospital first, but then what?" Lloyd asked, spraying nearly an entire can of whipped cream on his food. Was he really that predictable? Kai briefly wondered in between attempts to confiscate the delicious topping before Lloyd could make himself sick.

"You gonna join us at the old monastery? Uncle Wu mentioned wanting to look into rebuilding it."

"Uh. Maybe. I was thinking of dropping by Master Chen's and seeing if June needs any help first, though, if that's okay with you guys?" He answered, piling some bacon onto his plate. Nya nodded.

"That poor girl probably does need some support. I can't imagine how chaotic things at the restaurant are right now. Maybe we should meet you there and all head to the monastery together?" She suggested.

"Yeah. That's a good plan. We'll work on helping with rebuilding efforts somewhere nearby and catch you on our way over." Lloyd decided. Kai gave his family a smile.

"Fine by me. I'll text you when I'm done at the hospital."

~-~

Kai was already far too familiar with the route that would take him to Skylor's room. He hurriedly scribbled his name on the check in sheet and turned leave, but was interrupted by Jen, the nurse who happened to be running the visitor's desk.

"I should probably warn you. Miss Chen is finally awake, but she was causing quite the commotion earlier..." She told him. He stared at her, confused. Oh. Now he wished that he'd arrived a bit earlier. Not that he'd pass up a nice breakfast with his family. He knew how much it meant to Lloyd and Nya.

"What do you mean commotion…?"

"Um… We had to give her a bunch of narcotics because her body is still recovering from being so sick, and she was in a lot of pain, and… Well… maybe it's better if you see for yourself…"

"That's… comforting…" Kai said with only a hint of sarcasm.

"I know... I promise it's not as bad as it sounds." She smiled apologetically.

"And I'm sorry for making you more worried. Maybe things have calmed down by now. Have a nice visit!" The nurse waved, watching him head down the hallway.

"Thanks. I-I will." He called back over his shoulder. Wondering what Jen could possibly have meant, he hurried along. He couldn't help but reflect back on all the memories they shared. All the times he'd come to her, looking for advice, or the days they'd bothbeen desperate for an escape and spent hours hiding from their responsibilities… Over the years, they had spent so much time together… Hopefully it wasn't too late for them to build something more…

As he grew closer to the room he knew was hers, he could hear voices carrying on a rather loud conversation.

"Miss Chen, please stop playing with the iv drip. It'll only work if it stays in your arm!" Someone, another nurse, probably, insisted urgently.

"But I can't bend my arm with it in… see?" An additional voice complained in a tone that was just barely audible. A machine beeped loudly. The owner of the first voice sighed heavily.

"Then don't bend your arm so much… keep it like this, okay?" The beeping stopped.

"Okay, okay. But… ammi gonna have any visitors today? This… this is boring. Like. Why izznt Kai here? He's so great. Betcha he'd make everything just… fade away…"

"I aware of that. You've told me already. Five different times, in fact." Hearing himself being discussed, the master of fire knocked softly on the door. There was the sound of footsteps on the other side, then it opened. A haggard looking nurse ushered him inside.

"Heeey, hot stuff!" Skylor called unsteadily. With a bit of color back in her skin and a noticeably less terrifying body temperature, she looked somewhat better than the last time Kai had seen her. But it was obvious that she had yet to fully recover from her ordeal. He wasn't completely sure she was even focusing on him and not some imaginary version of himself.

"I was juussst. Telling my good man Friday, here, all about you!" The nurse shook his head in exasperation.

"That's…. Not my name, but okay. I'm just gonna step out into the hall and let you two talk this out…Let me know if you need anything." The redhead giggled as Kai took a seat in the empty chair next to her bed.

"Oh Kai! I've missed you sooo much…. I'm really glad you're not dead, y'know? That would've been so sucky…"

"Uh... Yeah? I missed you too..." Was the only thing he could think of to say. She stared at him wide eyed, as if this were some mind-blowing piece of information that had rocked her entire world.

"Kai?" Skylor whispered, her perception of the room spinning slightly.

"Y-es?"

"Hazanyone ever tooold you how beautiful your eyelashes are?" She asked. Well, whatever he'd been expecting her to say, it hadn't been that.

"What?"

"They're so…. Long…a-and full… and. And every time I look at them I just! I wannem. Cause they're so lucious and pretty, and it's not fair!" The redhead cried loudly, "S'not fair…. Why'do you getta be the one with the such fabulous eyelashes when I'm stuck with…. These…?" She gestured weakly at her face (her eyelashes weren't unattractive in the slightest, he noted). He struggled to keep a straight face.

"I dunno Sky, I really don't."

"An' don't even get me started on the hair…. It's sooo…. Spiky. Like a porcupine… except cuddlier... I just wanna touchit…." Sniffling slightly, she continued, "But I won't. Cause I know you probably wudd'n wan' me to. So I won't. But I wanna."

"You're allowed to touch my hair if it really means that much to you. You just gotta ask." He told her patiently. Skylor perked up immediately.

"Woah… really?"

"Sure," Leaning forward, he shrugged. She reached out a trembling hand and gently petted his head.

"Oooh…. S'much softer thanni thought it'd be…" The master of amber mused, before growing serious again.

"Why're you always soo nice to me? Like even back when I was… eeeven back on the island. You were so kind…. And I was a big ol liar… M'sorry bout that… You're too pure for me to pull crap like that on you…. I shouldn't've… Oh! An, then, there was that time you asked me to the zoo? An I totally thought you were gonna backout, but ya did'n. I was so happy! Only, it made me fall more in love with you…. Onn'a these days I gotta get you to ask me out for realsies…." A dreamy look crossed her face as she stared into his eyes for a moment, "That'd be amazing… like maybe even the best thing ever… And you know what? I've been doing some thinking, and you know whattineed? A pet peacock!" Had Kai heard her right? Sure they'd gone out together a couple of times (but was it as friends?), and yes, he'd always hoped she was at least interested, but this was different. If Skylor really was in love with him, then…

"Wait. Say that again... Please?" He begged.

"Uh... I wanna peacock?" She replied confusedly.

"No, before that…" But it was already too late; the moment was gone. She scrunched her eyebrows in concentration, then frowned.

"Hm… I-I.… got nothing… Sorry..."

"It's... It's fine." Kai assured her once it had become clear that nothing was going to jog her memory. Skylor yawned, looking deflated. The energy she'd seemed to have when he first arrived was vanishing rapidly.

"These meds... have really got me all messed up, huh?" The master of amber noted sleepily, in a moment of surprising lucidity, sinking back onto her pillows. She didn't even know the half of it…

"I understand… Why don't you try to get some rest now, okay?" He suggested.

"Mmm… fink I will…" She agreed as she snuggled into the thin white sheets, "G'night Kai..."

"Sweet dreams, Sky." As she shut her eyes with a contented smile, the master of fires heart twisted. There was so much he wanted, no needed, to say to her… but he couldn't, not now, and he wondered if there ever would be a perfect moment. Sighing softly, Kai smoothed the sleeping young lady's hair out of her face.

"Goodbye," He whispered, knowing full well that she couldn't hear him.

~-~

"If I ever have to clean out another industrial sized refrigerator full of rotten food, it'll be too soon…" Chad stated dramatically, collapsing into the nearest chair as he exited Master Chen's storeroom. The table in front of him, which happened to be in restaurant's main office, was covered with cleaning supplies, paperwork, and half empty coffee mugs.

"It could've been much worse, and you know it, Mr. I've held literally every job possible at the Ninjago City Mall." June replied, powering on her tablet. She pulled up the checklist they had been valiantly attempting to complete for most of the morning (there was only so much that could be accomplished at once when working with someone possessing Chad's attention span) and made a note next to 'Clean and inventory all supplies currently in storage; remove rotted foodstuffs'. They still had a lot to do if they wanted to have things up and running again before Skylor was released from the hospital. The bespectacled young lady was holding out hope that this would happen sooner, rather than later. She'd nearly flung her phone across the room in panic a few days ago when Kai had texted her to inform her that her friend (and boss) had been rushed to the ER in the aftermath of the battle. Skylor definitely didn't deserve everything the world had thrown at her, especially not being so ill. And she'd do anything she could to lessen the burdens she knew she carried in the meantime.

"Okay, yes. Anything's better than toilet duty…" He allowed, peering over June's shoulder to get a better look at what she was doing. The level of organization on the screen would never cease to impress him. He could barely keep track of his car keys, let alone make sense of the notes he wrote himself during his journalism courses (which had been paused due to an evil warlord taking over the city). How on earth did she manage it all so effortlessly? But that was just the way June was. For as long as Chad could remember, she had always been good at this sort of thing. Being the one to make sure things would turn out okay, no matter what. The quiet, but comforting force, always there to cheer him on. She hadn't always seen her own strength to begin with, but once she'd found her voice, she'd become unstoppable. And he loved her for it.

"You know, the bathrooms are still on the list if you'd like to revisit your glory days…" The manager of Master Chen's Noodle House informed him with an innocent smile. Chad shook his head vigorously.

"I'm good, thanks. My internship at Ninjago Times is definitely a step up from that."

"I know it is." June sighed, slumping in her seat as she ran some calculations in her head, "I just wish we could make it a bit longer without the city being in danger... We've had giant snakes, evil robots, a cult… when will it all stop?"

"It would be nice to graduate on time… but I'm really just glad we're both alive at this point…" The young man told her, planting a kiss on her cheek.

"And besides, think about how different our lives would be without some of the things that have happened over the years. You might not have ended up applying for your assistant manager position, and I know how much you love working here! And I know Skylor's super glad she has you for a friend…"

"That's very true," She agreed, "And you can't deny that those awkward run ins with the ninja contributed to your decision to go into journalism." Chad stood, flashing her a grin.

"Yep, and I couldn't be happier. Life's good; I've got a career I'm passionate about, a wonderful fiancée who puts up with my crazy ideas… Well, most of the time at least!" He pulled her to her feet,

"And… a restaurant in desperate need of some tlc… we should probably get back to work, huh?"

"Yeah, probably. C'mon, let's go see what the others are up to. I'm sure they are wondering why we're not finished with the inventory yet." Decided June. Still holding hands, they wandered back into the main part of the building. The employees that had so graciously volunteered to come in on their spare time and help revitalize the restaurant were hard at work. Several people were scrubbing the conveyer that usually displayed a variety of dishes. Still more wiped furiously to remove smudges from the windows. A pile of broken chairs and a table that was inexplicably missing a leg sat in one corner – a staunch reminder of lawlessness the SOG had lived by during Garmadon's reign of terror. It was a good thing no one had been present when the restaurant had been torn apart in the search for the green ninja and his friends. That wouldn't have ended well, she was certain. The sight had been devastating when they'd first arrived earlier that morning. But things were starting to look up, now. Even if there was definitely going to be some lingering trauma for some of them.

"It's looking better already. We'll have this place up and running again in no time!" Chad cheerfully declared, knowing just how worried June had been.

"Hey you guys. We were starting to worry that you'd gotten eaten by some sort of mutated refrigerator monster or something." Greeted one of the waitresses as she glanced over at the couple.

"We… got a bit sidetracked…" June explained.

"That's okay – as long as you weren't sucking each other's faces off in there." A busboy replied.

"… Did you really just say that, Kyle?" Someone else deadpanned.

"Yeah, have some respect. June's our boss. You oughta know better than that!"

"Okay," June called, stepping in before the discussion could turn into an argument (a relatively common occurrence with this particular set of individuals), "Hey, you know what? Everyone take a break. You've all been working so hard. Go get some food. And water – hydration's very important. I don't want to see any of you back here working for at least half an hour. But seriously, thank you so much for coming today. I know Skylor would really appreciate your dedication if she were here." This seemed to relieve the sense of tension that had been beginning to grow amongst the employees. They scattered in groups and pairs, grateful to be free of productivity for the time being.

"So… what are we gonna do with all this damaged furniture?" Asked one waitress, who happened to be lingering a bit longer than the others. June and Chad walked over to inspect it more closely.

"Hm… Most of it looks salvageable." The young man mused. She nodded thoughtfully.

"Yeah… I don't suppose you know of any good furniture repair businesses, Daisy?"

"Not off the top of my head, but I can ask around, if you want?" Replied the frizzy haired young lady.

"That would be a huge help." June commented, looking relieved.

"Sure thing, boss." Daisy said with a cheerful nod before heading off in search of lunch. The pair looked at each other, smiling tiredly, already missing the chaotic atmosphere and sense of comradery the others had provided.

"Which non bathroom related task shall we tackle next?" Questioned Chad, nudging his fiancée, eager to begin another project. A few more minutes of hard work wouldn't harm anything. They could always retrieve their sandwiches from the refrigerator later.

"Hm... We could-" The sound of the bell above the front door ringing prevented June from answering him.

"I'm sorry, but Master Chen's Noodle House is not open for business at the moment. I'm afraid you'll have to come back later if you want any noodles." She stated absently, a bit surprised that someone would attempt to eat there at a time like this.

"I'm not here for the food. Didn't you get my text?"

"Wait – Kai?" The young woman spun to face their visitor.

"Hey June, Chad." The master of fire greeted sheepishly.

"Oh my gosh. I've had my phone on silent all morning… I must have missed it. I'm so sorry!" June apologized, frantically rushing over to him.

"Eh, it's fine. It uh, looks like you've had your hands full here…" Kai commented, glancing about curiously. He had to admit that he hadn't anticipated seeing the restaurant in quite this bad of shape.

"Yeah. You should've seen the place when we got here. Total disaster!" Chad informed Kai, nodding vehemently.

"What.. What exactly happened, here? Was it the SOG?" He asked, eyes drawn to the broken furniture.

"Uhuh... We weren't here when they arrived... The... Incident with the colossus was broadcast on the news and Skylor sent us all home as soon as she saw it. She was so shaken – didn't want any of us to get hurt due to her relationship with you guys. And of course, she was being her usual caring self and prioritizing everyone else's wellbeing over her own, but it was so difficult to stand by and not be able to offer her any comfort. I've never seen her so upset before..." June frowned, "But anyway, we watched the security footage when we got here, and it was... pretty terrifying... They tore the place apart looking for any sign of the resistance. One of them even suggested burning the place down when they didn't find anything..." She explained. Seeing the all of this play out had obviously been anything but pleasant.

"Oh." Kai said, the realization of how much the disappearance of him and his friends had impacted Ninjago suddenly striking him much harder than it had before. He'd known it'd been tough on Nya and Lloyd, but it was clear that Skylor and her employees were just as affected. He should've checked in on them sooner...

"Yeah, but we'll get through it. I mean, the worst of it is over now that we have all of you back and Garmadon behind bars. You should see how hard everyone's been working. I know we all adore Skylor, because she's an amazing person, but it's so encouraging to see all of them come together to help her like this." June told him, smiling optimistically.

"She is amazing." The master of fire agreed softly, thinking back to his earlier conversation with her.

"Have you been able to visit her?" She inquired.

"I... Yes, every day... And just before I came here, actually." Kai informed her.

"H-how is she?" Came the anxious, but hopeful response. He paused for a moment, not quite sure how to describe her current state.

"She's… Well… She was awake for a little while this morning, so that's a good sign…"

"But?" June finished for him, somehow picking up on his uncertainty.

"Skylor and pain meds are an… interesting combination. She was really out of it and said some stuff that was definitely… unexpected… but do I blame her? No… I mean… She didn't know…" Rambled the master of fire awkwardly. June nodded sagely.

"She told you she was in love with you."

"Uh…? Yeah, she did, and it caught me totally off guard and I'm not sure if- Oh… Why am I even telling you this?" He muttered, massaging his temples.

"Kai, can I ask you something?" She asked, motioning for him to follow her.

"Yeah, sure, I guess?" Kai joined her at one of the booths that was still intact. Chad slipped into the booth as well, obviously curious about whatever it was that June was about to ask.

"When you and Skylor so clearly have feelings for each other, why are you still awkwardly dancing around each other instead of asking her out? I figured you would've started dating a long time ago…"

"I…" He sighed, an unreadable expression crossing his face, "It's complicated..."

"Welcome to Ninjago, Kai. In case you somehow missed it, everything here is complicated." Chad observed, looking at the master of fire like he was a world-class idiot. His fiancée elbowed him gently.

"Everyone has a few hiccups in their lives, sure… but you shouldn't let that prevent you from being with the person you love." June stated wisely.

"It just never felt like the right time, you know?" He told them, not meeting their eyes, "We always had so much on our plates… from the moment she got here, Skylor had to deal with everything that came with suddenly having an entire culinary empire thrust on her and I didn't feel like I could add more to her plate by asking for a relationship… and then Morro happened, and everything else, and I didn't want to hurt her if something happened and my duties interfered with things so I…" June and Chad glanced at each other, then at Kai. The bespectacled young lady chose her words carefully, knowing that someone needed to give him some perspective on this situation.

"Look. As your friend, I'm going to be honest with you, here. I know right now it feels like life will never calm down, like it's just one crazy thing after another, especially for someone like you who has to carry far more responsibility than is really fair… but if there's one thing I've learned over the past couple of years, it's that there's no such thing as a perfect moment, and that if you keep on waiting for one," She eyed him meaningfully as she continued, "You'll come to regret it one day because you'll have missed out on a lot of incredible things."

"I…" The master of fire bit his lip, realization hitting him hard. June was right, and deep down, he had already known that. What had he been thinking?

"Just… talk to her... Skylor loves you, Kai. She has for a long time. She'll understand." She advised encouragingly.

"You're right... I've put this off for long enough. The next time I visit the hospital, I'll tell her everything." Kai determined, doing his best to look confident. It was time for him to do what he should've done a long time ago. Suddenly a future with the girl of his dreams didn't seem like such an unrealistic possibility.

#ninjago #kailor #never a perfect moment 2 #myfics #ninjago fanfiction

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sugarandspace · 5 years

Text

Promise me

AO3

It was dark by the time Magnus came back from his visit to Catarina’s. Cat had offered to create a portal for him but Magnus had politely refused, saying that a walk would do him good. And it had, his mind feeling much clearer after the walk in the crisp night air. Their evening had been filled with heavy conversation. As it turned out, Magnus wasn’t the only one who had hard time getting used to the reality that he was mortal now.

Unwilling to let those thoughts back in his head right now, Magnus took off his shoes and jacket. It was quiet in the loft, so Alexander must have already been asleep. Alec had spent every night at the loft since that night a couple weeks ago, and Magnus was grateful. He didn’t say it but he didn’t really feel like being by himself at the moment. But he didn’t have to, because his boyfriend seemed to understand. Or maybe he just didn’t want to stay away from Magnus. Both worked for Magnus, because it meant that he got to crawl into bed each night and fall asleep next to someone he loved. It gave a sense of normality in the aftermath of such a life changing event.

However, as Magnus walked further into the loft he noticed that Alec hadn't exactly made it into bed that evening. His boyfriend was asleep on an armchair, a book on his lap and several piled onto the table next to him. The light next to the chair was on, giving the otherwise dark loft an orange glow.

Magnus walked closer, carefully taking the book from Alec’s lap. He was putting it into the pile when the cover caught his eye.

It was a book about a dimension of Hell, more precisely, it was a book about Edom. As Magnus looked closer, all the books in Alec’s pile were either about Edom, his father, or the demons that inhabited the realm. There was only one explanation for all this and it filled Magnus with ice-cold dread.

“Alexander,” he said quietly, lifting his hand to Alec’s cheek to coax him awake. He tried to ignore the way his hand shook lightly as he brushed his thumb over the skin under Alec’s eye.

Alec woke up slowly, blinking his eyes open and stretching his undoubtedly sore muscles. His eyes caught Magnus and he smiled, but the smile turned quickly into panic.

“Magnus,” he said, clearing his throat and sitting up straighter, the motion causing Magnus’ hand to fall. “I didn’t hear you come home.”

“I just arrived,” Magnus said but he didn’t have a chance to continue before Alec spoke again.

“We should go to bed,” Alec said, his tone failing to sound casual as he stood up, deliberately standing between Magnus and the books. “It’s late.”

“We can go to bed,” Magnus agreed, his voice surprisingly steady despite the fear coursing in his veins. He reached behind Alec to take a book from the pile and to show it to him. “After you explain to me why you’re doing research about Edom.”

Alec grimaced, obviously caught.

“Magnus-”

“Explain to me,” Magnus demanded, his voice breaking at the end. “And I don’t want to hear lies.”

Defeated, Alec sighed and took one of Magnus’ hands to his, a pained expression on his face as he realised that Magnus was shaking.

“I’ve been doing research to figure out a way to get your magic back,” Alec admitted, his expression apologetic. “I didn't want to tell you because I didn’t want to give you false hope, if I ended up finding nothing.”

Magnus closed his eyes at the admission, drawing in a shaky breath. It was what he had been fearing, but a tiny part of him had hoped that the reason wasn’t linked to him, that it was just some new case Alec was working on at the Institute.

“You can’t do that,” he said, looking Alec in the eyes to show him how serious he was with his words.”It’s too dangerous.”

“You gave up so much to help us,” Alec said, the need to help Magnus, to fix the situation, so evident in his eyes. “You took that risk. Let me take a risk for you.”

“No,” Magnus said, his word surprisingly stern as he held Alec’s hands in both of his. “I refuse to put you in danger. My magic, it was important to me, I’m not denying that. And I haven’t quite figured out what I am without it, yet. But you Alexander, are infinitely more important to me. I can survive without my magic, but I can't survive without you.”

“But what if I find a way?” Alec asked. “A way with minimal risks. Are you telling me those risks aren’t worth taking?”

“That’s exactly what I’m telling you, Alexander.” Magnus said. “It’s my father we’re talking about, there isn’t going to be a solution with minimal risks. You need to promise me that you let this go. I don’t want to come home one evening to realise that you’re not here, to find out that you’re off to do something reckless to get my powers back. I don’t want to live with that fear.”

“Magnus-”

“I need you to promise me,” Magnus said, squeezing Alec’s hands for emphasis, his eyes never leaving Alec’s conflicted ones.

“I can’t promise you that I’ll let this go completely,” Alec said eventually. “And I think you know it. But I can promise to you that I’m not going to do anything without talking to you first. You don’t need to worry about that.”

And Magnus did know. It wasn’t in Alexander’s nature to give up when it came to finishing a mission, or defending those he loved. And Magnus wasn’t sure if he could have even believed him if he promised to give up. He knew this was the best he was going to get, and he was going to accept it.

“Okay,” he said quietly, letting go of Alec’s hands to wrap his arms around Alec’s shoulders. “I just don’t want to lose you too.”

“You won’t,” Alec said, hugging back just as tightly.

And when they eventually made it to bed and Magnus’ hold on Alec was just a bit tighter than it normally was, Alec didn’t mention it. All he needed to do was return the embrace and bury his nose into Magnus’ soft mop of hair. He wasn’t going anywhere, and he was going to make sure Magnus knew it.

#shadowhunters #malec #alec lightwood #magnus bane #shfanficnexus #my writing #god how i love communication

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lilacmoon83 · 6 years

Text

Dreaming Out Loud

Also on Fanfiction.net and A03

Chapter 59: Bad Blood

Persephone smiled, as she checked on her sleeping grandson and then went back downstairs. She kept checking her phone, waiting for an update of what was going on and was thankful when it rang. The caller ID showed that it was David and she answered.

"David…" she answered.

"Snow's missing…" were the first words out of his mouth and she frowned.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"We were handling this situation and Snow went down to the cafeteria to get us coffee. And then I got this terrible feeling...I can't find her anywhere," he replied frantically. Panic crept up inside her as well.

"All right, as soon as I get someone to come watch Henry, I'll be right there," Persephone said, as she hung up the phone. She didn't have Neal's number and decided Henry would be fine for just a few minutes, so she poofed herself to the Inn and knocked on his door frantically. She heard stumbling around, as he answered it.

"What the hell…" he growled and then he saw it was her. His eyes widened and the rest of his cursing died on his lips.

"I'm sorry to wake you, but Snow is missing. I need you to come back to the loft with me to watch Henry," she stated. He nodded and quickly put his clothes on.

"What do you mean missing?" Neal asked tiredly, as they appeared in Snow's loft.

"David and Emma were dealing with the situation at the hospital. Snow went to get them coffee and now she's missing," Persephone responded, as she grabbed one of Snow's scarves and then poofed a large case onto the table.

"What is that?" Neal asked curiously.

"My store of potions and concoctions," she replied.

"I should have known…" Neal said.

"I know you're not a fan of magic and that's understandable. But a locator potion may be the only way to find my daughter quickly," she replied.

"You do know it's probably why Snow went missing too, right?" he questioned. She stopped for a moment and then looked at him.

"Sorry...that was out of line," he apologized.

"No...you're right. In many ways, my presence in Snow's life might only increase the danger to her. But I assure you that without me, she would also be in danger as well," Persephone said, as she got the potion.

"Thank you for watching Henry," she said. He nodded.

"Of course...I just hope you find her. Emma and David are probably going crazy," he mentioned. She nodded and disappeared in a puff of lavender smoke. They weren't the only ones.

~*~

Snow screamed, as they appeared in a dark cavern and she instantly recognized her surroundings. They were beneath the library. Regina used a fireball to give them light, as Snow kneed Hermes between his legs. Even a God was not impervious to this attack and she tore away from him, as she began to run through the cavern. But she suddenly felt her ankles become tied together, thanks to magic and tripped, falling to the ground.

"Regina please...you don't want to do this," Snow cried, as her wrists were then magically bound too. Snow looked at them fearfully, as Hermes dragged her back to the mouth of the cavern.

"Get it over with already," Regina said. Snow's breathing came in ragged gasps and she cried out, as he brandished a knife. He smirked.

"You really think I'm going to kill you, don't you Princess?" he hissed, as he let the cold blade touch the sensitive skin on her neck. She swallowed thickly.

"You aren't?" she squeaked, as she looked to Regina.

"No...there's someone else that wants that honor, as much as both of us would like to," Hermes responded.

"And if I did kill you...I wouldn't be choosing a knife to do it," Regina added, as a fireball appeared in her palm.

"Then what do you want with me?" she questioned, but then she cried out, as he used the blade to slice her palm. She whimpered and struggled, as he let her blood drip into a small vial.

"What are you doing?" Snow questioned.

"Your blood...it will allow Hades passage into this realm," Hermes revealed. Her eyes widened.

"Hades…" she uttered and then looked at her step-mother.

"Why would you help bring Hades here? How could you? Think of Henry," Snow admonished.

"I am thinking of my son, unlike you," Regina hissed.

"Because of your mother, one way or another, Hades is going to find a way here. Her presence here in this town will doom everyone, so I'm doing what I have to in order to protect Henry," she reasoned.

"You really think Hades will see you as some kind of ally if you help him?" Snow questioned. She smirked.

"Oh, I'm under no delusions about how dangerous your step-father is," she mentioned, enjoying twisting that particular knife.

"But yes...in desperate times like these, alliances must be made and let's keep in mind again that none of this would be necessary without your mother's presence here," Regina reminded.

"Fine...you have my blood. Now let me go," Snow demanded. Regina smirked and gently caressed her cheek.

"Oh no...no you don't get off that easily, dear. My mother is dead, because of you," Regina reminded.

"Your mother was evil…" Snow spat and then choked, as Regina wrapped a hand around her neck.

"No...you're the evil one. You told her about Daniel...you're the reason he's dead. You're the reason Persephone killed my mother!" Regina shouted, as tears gathered in her eyes.

"I never meant to hurt you...she preyed on me. I was just a little girl...I'm sorry," Snow pleaded.

"I don't care...you need to pay and now you will with what's coming," Regina said.

"And once Hades has swept away all my enemies for me...then Henry will be mine again. And he'll love me again, because I'll be all he has," Regina said tearfully. Snow shook her head.

"It doesn't have to be this way. If you do the right thing, it will show Henry that you really are trying to change. I know the woman you used to be...the one that saved my life. I know she's still in there. We can be a family again," Snow pleaded.

"Oh, your naivete isn't at all endearing anymore, dear. In fact, it's pathetic. We've had this conversation before and nothing has changed. My biggest regret is still that I wasn't able to kill you. But soon that will be rectified. Perhaps not by my hand...but justice will be done," Regina said, as she waved her hand and the dusty lid of her casket was lifted. Snow's eyes widened, as Hermes grabbed her arm and started to force her into the casket.

"No...please don't do this," Snow begged, as he made her lay down in it and she screamed, as he sealed the dusty coffin lid. Snow sobbed almost uncontrollably and pounded on the coffin lid. It was like being buried alive and like something out of a nightmare.

"There...back where she belongs. In her glass coffin, only she's awake this time to experience the horror," Hermes said deviously.

"Unfortunately, it probably won't take her Prince long to find her. It never does," Regina replied bitterly.

"Well...then let's make him work for it a bit," Hermes suggested, as his staff, the Caduceus, appeared in his hand. He jammed the staff into the ground before the coffin and it glowed, as it sent his summons to the intended creatures. Regina jumped, as she heard a screeching sound.

"What was that?" she questioned.

"I have summoned the Furies to help guard her. He'll find her, but he'll have to go through them first," Hermes said, as three frightening creatures emerged seemingly from beneath the ground and Regina took a step back. The dark, wraith-like billowy figures had snakes for hair and blood dripped from their eyes. In addition, they had bat like wings and their screeches were bone-chilling.

"She is my prisoner...guard her well," Hermes ordered, as he gestured to Snow in the coffin.

"Let's go...My Lord has been waiting long enough to enact his vengeance," Hermes said and as they disappeared, Regina heard Snow's scream and tried to ignore the spark of regret inside her blackened heart.

~*~

Jefferson convened back in the lobby with the others and he instantly felt badly for his friends, for David and Emma both looked panicked.

"Any luck?" Emma asked. He shook his head.

"I don't think she's here," he mentioned regrettably, as Persephone appeared.

"Neal is watching Henry and I have one of Snow's scarves," Persephone said, as Gold offered a locator potion. She took it from him.

"I brought one too, but thank you," she said, accepting his gift and poured it over the scarf. It floated before them, just as Whale came into the lobby.

"He made it," Whale announced, as they all acted like they didn't hear him.

"Hello...the stranger is alive, thanks to my gifted hands. Isn't that what you wanted?" he asked irritably.

"Uh yeah...there's just more going on now. Thanks," Emma offered.

"Is he awake?" she asked.

"Yes...you can talk to him if you need to," Whale replied, as he left.

"Emma…" David started to say.

"Dad...you can't be seriously asking me to stay behind on this one," she said.

"I don't want to, but we also need to make sure our guest knows that he should be on his way so to speak as soon as possible. And it only makes sense for the Sheriff or Deputy to talk to him. I can text you our location when you're done," he said. She nodded, knowing he was right, and she hugged him tightly.

"I'll find her...I promise," he said. She nodded and walked back toward the patient's recovery room.

"Rumple and I will go to the loft and make sure everything is okay with Henry. He'll be upset when Neal tells him, I'm sure," Belle offered. David nodded gratefully.

"Especially if Regina is behind this," Gold added bitterly.

"Let's keep that little detail under wraps until we know for sure," David requested and Gold agreed with a curt nod. With that, David and Persephone exited the hospital, as they followed the scarf.

"You up for one more?" Jefferson asked, as he tagged along.

"We are if you are," David answered, as the Hatter joined them.

~*~

Tamara packed her things and spared a glance at her prisoner, who she had handcuffed to the bed in the room.

"You know, I've been tied to a few beds before, but this is definitely not in a good way," Hook commented.

"Sorry to disappoint you, but we'll be moving along now. It's time to go to Storybrooke," she replied.

"Yes...and what are your plans when you get there? You must realize that there is magic there. Your pistol may not get you as far there as it does out in this world," he warned. She smirked.

"Oh, but I'm Neal's fiance. They'll have no reason to suspect me of any malfeasance...until it's much too late," Tamara replied.

"And what do you plan to do with me, lass? I have no stakes in your plot, whatever that may be," Hook reminded. She smirked.

"Are you sure?" she questioned, as she put her bag by the door.

"You see...my goal and the goal of my associate is to destroy magic," she stated. He looked bewildered by that.

"Destroy magic?" he questioned. She nodded.

"And how pray tell do you plan to do that? I've been around magic in my considerably long life and I've never encountered such a way to do so. That is why I wanted to come to this land, for the absence of magic is the only way to skin my crocodile," he responded.

"I may not know exactly how to destroy magic completely yet, but my superiors do. I also have ways of nullifying magical attacks. They don't seem to hold up well to my world's technology," she mentioned, as she held a black device in her hand and pressed the trigger, showing him the electric charge in her high powered taser.

"And what will your fiance think when he finds out the real reason you're coming to town?" Hook questioned.

"Neal is a good man...but will be unfortunately collateral damage," Tamara replied. He frowned and she laughed.

"You don't think I actually love him, do you?" she questioned.

"You're engaged...I assumed. Silly me, I suppose," he replied bitterly.

"Don't worry...I'm not going to kill him, as long as he doesn't get in my way. You should be happy though. An alliance with me can get you exactly what you want," she said, as she looked at him.

"Your Crocodile," she tempted.

"I've hunted this beast for longer than you've been alive...longer than your great grandparents were alive. The Dark One can only be killed in a place with magic with one object," Hook warned.

"Yes...the dagger," she replied. He looked surprised that she knew that.

"I told you that my superiors know everything about that little town and its inhabitants," she reminded.

"Yes...you keep mentioning your superiors, but you offer no names," he leered.

"We just call them the Home Office and their goal is the same of ours. That is to remove magic from this world. It's unnatural...it's a disease," she spat.

"Dark magic is...I agree. But there is light magic. I have seen light magic do good in my time as well, albeit much less often," he challenged. She smirked.

"All magic is evil...even the supposed true love kind. There is always a price, even for true love, and it is always paid in blood," she said. He smirked.

"I sense there is a story behind that," he mentioned.

"No story...I just hate magic," she countered. He smirked.

"Right…" he snorted derisively.

"Cheer up Captain...stick with me and I can guarantee that you can skin that Croc," she tempted.

"You propose an interesting proposition, lass. But I've been around long enough to know that you'll want something from me if you manage the task of incapacitating the Dark One. Captain Hook is no fool," he hissed. She smirked.

"You're right...how are you at creating distractions and being a general nuisance?" she asked. He smirked.

"Oh...I would say I excel quite nicely at it. Who do you want distracted?" he questioned.

"Emma Swan and her family, of course. Distractions will be needed if we're going to be able to do what we want," she responded. He smirked.

"Aye...I can provide some distractions, indeed. But I warn you, love...I am not a person you want to double cross," he warned.

"Neither am I, Captain...but I assure you that an alliance between us will give us both what we want," she assured.

"Then I believe we have an accord," Hook agreed.

~*~

Emma took a deep breath and entered with Greg Mendell's personal effects.

"The nurse was just in here," he commented.

"Not nurse...Sheriff Swan," she said with a slight edge in her voice.

"Oh…" he uttered.

"Here's your personal effects back. How are you feeling, Mr. Mendell?" she asked.

"Pretty good, considering. They told me it was touch and go there for a while," he replied. She nodded.

"Uh...did I hit someone in the accident? Is that why you're here?" he asked nervously.

"No...you were the only injured party," she replied and he sighed in relief.

"However...your tox screen came back and you had alcohol in your system. Not enough to be legally drunk, but you were definitely driving under the influence. Want to tell me about that?" she asked. He looked down shamefully.

"Yeah...so I'm kind of on a trip. My girlfriend and I are taking a break. We had another fight on the phone and I had a drink or two with dinner. I knew it was a mistake, but I figured I'd be okay driving up to Portland. I was wrong," he replied. Emma gazed at him with scrutiny. She wanted to believe him...she really wanted to believe him. But he was not passing her inner lie detector. Part of her was so distracted with everything else going on that she might have missed it, but her desire to protect her son and her parents overruled her worry about everything else. This guy was definitely not being completely truthful. The problem was that she didn't know exactly what he was lying about.

"Am I under arrest?" he asked bluntly. She gave him a steely stare.

"I'd be well within my right to charge you with a DUI..but I'm going to let you off with a warning," she replied. He sighed in relief.

"Thank you," he said gratefully.

"Drinking and driving isn't a good idea, but this is your lucky day. Rest up, Mr. Mendell and you can be on your way to Portland," she replied sternly, as she turned and left the room. Once she was gone, Greg smirked deviously.

"Yeah...you're not getting rid of me that easily. Not until this town is burning…" he hissed beneath his breath.

~*~

The scarf floated just before the doors to the library and it should have come as no surprise to them. As they went inside, the scarf slowly floated toward the elevator and then hovered there.

"That's a bit predictable, isn't it?" Jefferson questioned.

"Unless there's a fight waiting for us down there," David replied. Persephone nodded.

"We need someone to operate the elevator," she said to the Hatter. Jefferson nodded. Clearly, if there was a fight down there, he would only be in the way. But he could do this and it would help.

"Whatever you need," he agreed, as they boarded the elevator. Jefferson operated the hand crank and slowly lowered them into the cavern. Persephone watched him clench his fist and put her hand on his arm.

"She's down here and we'll save her," she assured her.

"I know...but whoever took her had her for a while," he said, as he clenched his teeth.

"If they've hurt her…" he growled.

"Then they will pay, but Snow will be okay, we will see to that," Persephone responded, as the elevator docked at the bottom and they opened the door.

As they entered the dark cavern, they heard a scream and David took off in a sprint.

"Snow!" he called frantically, as he rushed headlong into the blackness.

"David wait!" Persephone cried, as she heard an inhuman screeching echo through the cavern. She ran to catch up with him and raised her hands, creating a couple of standing torches, filling the cavern with some light. She saw her son-in-law swipe his sword at the three creatures that circled about menacingly.

"Furies…" she uttered.

"What?" he questioned.

"Furies...minions of my husband's from the Underworld," Persephone clarified, as it was then that she saw the large Caduceus staff planted in the ground and her blood ran cold.

"That staff...I know who did this…" she uttered, as magic erupted from her fingertips and she battled the furies with him. He glanced at her, as he swiped at the creature.

"Who?" he asked.

"That staff belongs to none other than Hermes...he's behind this," she replied, as they battled the furies.

"Why would Hermes want to hurt Snow?" he asked, as he ducked to evade the sharp claws of the fury.

"To hurt me...but it's much worse than that, I fear," she lamented.

"We'll deal with it, whatever it is. First, we have to kill these things and since I'm guessing they're not actually alive, my sword is probably not going to cut it," he said.

"No...only fire can kill them," she said. With that, Charming grabbed one of the torches she had created and began to duel with the angry one that seemed intent on trying to sink its fangs into him. It screeched angrily at him and swiped it's claws, catching his shirt and tearing it open. He hissed, as he noticed the lacerations on his skin and the blood drawn. He growled and thrust the flame part of the torch into the creature's eyes. It screamed and the echo shuddered through the entire cave. He kept pressing it into the creature, until the fire began to eat away at the essence of the fury, until it burned up completely.

Persephone dodged the angry clawing and her magic morphed from lavender energy into fire. It wasn't often that she strayed from her organic type magic to elemental power, but she would do anything for her little Snow without hesitation. She engulfed the second fury with twin fireballs and it wailed in agony as it was destroyed. David batted the last one away from the coffin where his terrified wife was trapped. Persephone hit it with a fireball to draw it away, as David used his sword to pry the sealed glass lid off.

"Charming…" Snow sobbed, as he cut her bonds and then lifted her into his arms. She buried her face in his chest, as he kissed her hair and rubbed a soothing hand on her back. She looked up just in time to see Hermes' staff glow behind them and she cried out, as the snakes on it came alive. They grew gigantic and towered above them. David put her on her feet, but continued to hold her close, as they stared up at the new problem before them. Persephone destroyed the last fury and fired a magical attack at one of the snakes. It hissed angrily and turned its head to her, before snapping its powerful jaws at her. She dodged and saw that her attack had no effect.

"It's impervious to magic...damn Hermes," she cursed, as she willed a sword into her hand and a bow and quiver appeared for Snow.

"Guess we'll have to do this the old fashioned way," David said, as he poised his sword and charged at one of the snakes, while Snow fired an arrow at the other. It screeched angrily at her, as the arrow struck it in the neck. Persephone grabbed her arm and they dodged the snake's snapping jaws. Meanwhile, David had climbed up onto one of the rocky outcroppings and prepared to slay one of them. But he knew it had to be just right.

"Distract it!" he called. Persephone created a fireball and it hissed angrily, as it focused on her, while David jumped and landed on the snake's giant head. He roared and snapped its jaws, but had no time to do anything, as David drove his sword into its brain, dropping it dead to the ground instantly. It was a bloody mess that made all their stomachs churn in disgust. The other one hissed angrily and slithered toward David, but Snow was not having it.

"Get away from my husband!" she called, as she fired an arrow into its neck. It turned its attention to her again, which was exactly what she wanted and she fired an arrow directly into its eye. It made a terrible shrieking noise, which died promptly, as Persephone swiped her sword through its neck, decapitating it in another sickening mess. They all breathed in relief and he rushed to Snow, scooping her into his arms.

"Charming…" she cried, as their lips met in a series of continual, passionate kisses.

"Oh Snow…" he breathed, as he held her close and continued kissing her for a few moments. Persephone smiled gently at them, as she stood quietly by.

"Did he hurt you?" David asked, as he cupped her face in his hands. She shook her head.

"No...but they took blood," Snow said, as she looked at her mother and showed them her hand.

"They? Then Regina is involved in this?" he growled. Snow nodded sadly.

"She's just angry…" Snow said, as she noticed her mother looked very pale.

"Why would he take Snow's blood?" David asked, as he looked to her. Snow looked at her tearfully.

"He's using my blood to bring Hades here," she told him. His brow furrowed.

"I don't understand...how would your blood bring Hades here?" David asked.

"Because the only way for Hades to come to this realm is if you summon Charon to bring him. And the only way to do that is with the blood of someone who has both been to the land of the living and the world of the dead," Persephone replied.

"But that would be your blood…" he said, as he trailed off and thought about it for a moment.

"And Snow's because she was born there," he finished with a sigh. Snow looked at them tearfully.

"Hades is coming…" she said fearfully. Persephone closed the distance between them and took their hands.

"He may be, but I will never let him hurt this family," she insisted, trying to push down her panic.

"I need to get to the lake," she said, as she started toward the elevator.

"We're coming with you," Snow said, as they followed.

"Absolutely not…" Persephone protested.

"That was a statement, not a request. I'm not letting you face him alone," Snow said. Persephone squeezed her hands and knew there was no use in arguing. Sooner or later, they would come face to face with Hades, no matter what she did. It was better if she was there with them when they did.

"Jefferson…bring us up!" David called, as they boarded the elevator and slowly ascended to the surface. As they arrived on the main level, Emma came bursting into the library and took a relieved breath, as she saw that her mother was okay.

"Mom…" she called, as she hurried over and David prodded his wife into their daughter's arms.

"I'm fine sweetie," Snow promised.

"Who the hell put you down there?" Emma asked.

"It was Hermes...and Regina," Snow replied.

"So Regina did do this," Emma growled.

"She's angry and she's grieving. Cora's death just made her want revenge. I don't think she's thinking straight," Snow reasoned.

"Snow...I love you, but Regina helped abduct you and then let Hermes release hell furies to guard you. Not to mention the giant snakes," David admonished and Snow looked sad and shuddered, remembering how frightened she had been.

"He has a point. I know you still care about her, but she doesn't deserve it," Jefferson reminded.

"I know…" she said.

"That seems like a pretty elaborate way to kill someone. Why the theatrics?" Emma asked.

"Because Hermes' goal was to get a sample of Snow's blood. Hades is coming," Persephone stated gravely.

"Do you know where?" Emma asked.

"He will come aboard Charon's boat. The lake if I had to guess," Persephone replied.

"Then I guess we're going to the lake," Emma said, as the five of them hurried out.

~*~

"Dad?" Henry said sleepily that morning, as he came down the stairs.

"Hey buddy," he called.

"What are you doing here so early?" Henry asked curiously.

"Your grandmother had a bit of an emergency and asked me to come over to stay with you," Neal replied.

"What kind of an emergency?" Neal asked, as there was a knock at the loft door. Neal opened it and let his father and Belle in.

"Hey...any news?" he asked. Belle nodded.

"David just texted me. They found her...but there is bigger problems," Belle responded, as she looked at Rumple.

"Papa?" he asked.

"It's Hades...he's coming here," Rumple answered.

"Hades...the Hades? Like Persephone's husband that she escaped?" he asked. Rumple nodded.

"Yes...Snow White's kidnapping was solely for the purpose of obtaining her blood. Hermes has betrayed Zeus and sided with the God of the Underworld," Rumple stated.

"I don't understand...how does Snow's blood bring Hades here?" Neal asked.

"The blood of one that has both been to the land of the living and the world of the dead can allow Hades passage to this realm. Only Snow and Persephone fit that description. I need to join the others at the lake," Rumple replied. Neal nodded and grabbed his coat.

"Can you stay with him? I need to go too," he replied.

"Bae…" Rumple started to protest.

"I can stay," she agreed.

"Let's go," Neal said, not allowing Rumple to argue with him and the Dark One acquiesced. With a final glance at Belle, he followed his son down the stairs.

#Snowing #SnowxCharming #Charming family #Swanfire #Rumbelle #Persephone #greek mythology meets farytales #Hades #Greg and Tamara #Captain Hook #romance #adventure #Regina Mills #Hermes

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manallion · 3 years

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Amazon Home: Coolest finds under $100

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(CNN) —

Amazon simply has it all. From pantry essentials to cleaning supplies to clothes and accessories, we trust that we can find that one thing we’re looking for. But when we think about home essentials, Amazon might not be the first place we’d look.

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Mydethun Moon Lamp

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Source link

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(CNN) —

Amazon

Luxu Glass Coffee Mugs, Set of 4

We’re loving the look of these glass coffee mugs that give a classic, modern touch to your morning brew or bedtime tea.

Amazon

Nearly Natural Faux Sansevieria With Black Planter

Amazon

Joseph Joseph Kitchen Drawer Organizer

You don’t often see innovation within the realm of kitchen drawer organizers, but this design has seriously changed the game by using stacked compartments that help you save drawer space.

Amazon

Rivet Asher Round Upholstered Storage Ottoman

Available in five stylish colors, this ottoman can serve as additional storage, extra seating or just a hint of decor.

Amazon

Modfamily Silicone Stretch Lids

These silicone stretch lids make food storage easy because they fit directly on bowls of various sizes. Keep these around and you won’t ever hunt for the matching container lid again.

Amazon

Hydroluxe Dual 2-in-1 Shower Head System

Amazon

Danjor 4-Piece Hotel Premium Bedsheets

Eager for your next vacation? Get yourself a set of these premium bedsheets for a slumber that rivals the experience of your favorite hotel.

Amazon

Yamazaki Home Tower Ladle Holder Lid Stand

Amazon

Home Hero Chef Knife 7-Piece Set

What sets this knife set apart is the included acrylic stand that properly displays each knife — a modern departure from the traditional knife block that’s likely in your kitchen.

Amazon

Benevolence LA Matte Black Eucalyptus & Chamomile Candle

Relax after a long day with this candle that smells of eucalyptus and chamomile, and will look nice displayed on your counter too.

Amazon

Coop Home Goods Adjustable Loft Pillow

Amazon

Kitchen Gizmo Snap N Strain Strainer

If you struggle to properly strain your food, give this Snap N’ Strain strainer a try. It uses clips to fit nearly all pots, pans and bowls to strain without excess spillage.

Amazon

Kimdio Face Design Ceramic Vase

Contrast your favorite bouquet with a patterned vase like this white ceramic one that’s hand-painted with a black-outlined abstract face design.

Amazon

Cuisinart Frozen Yogurt Ice Cream & Sorbet Maker

Amazon

Lomao Sherpa Fleece Blanket

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bussanbaby · 7 years

Text

one phone call away

The loft doors click shut and Alec sags back against them, sighing deeply. It’s only around six in the evening, but it feels much, much later. The world is stuck in that liminal space between sunset and darkness, leaving just enough light to make Alec wonder whether he should turn on the lamps. Everything is bathed in sepia tones falling through the windows, washed-out and almost soothing, if only it didn’t make the flat feel more empty.

He rubs at his face, tendrils of pulsing pain climbing up the back of his neck and into his temples. The objective silence of the loft makes it worse - cars keep driving on the road below, someone is playing loud music, but up here everything is too quiet, devoid of Magnus’ usual familiar presence. It doesn’t feel like a home without him, instead only like a space to inhabit, one with a bed too big and too many coffee cups for one person.

Alec toes off his boots and sets his bow down in its usual spot, before making his way through the living room and towards the kitchen. While passing by the couch, he shrugs off his suit jacket and tosses it carelessly onto it, shoulders rolling to try and diffuse the tension in his muscles.

Feet dragging over soft carpets and eyes half closed, Alec dodges the sharp corner of the dining table and peeks into the fridge, the sound of the Inquisitor’s voice still buzzing in his ears from the meeting earlier. Today has been more busy than his entire past two weeks and in moments like these, he wishes time would stop for a minute and let him breathe.

Usually, Alec would come home to Magnus already there, lounging in one of his favorite armchairs or lost in his work, fingers flickering over bottles aged with time. Sometimes he’d be the first one there, but it would never feel this lifeless, because Magnus coming back was always something to look forward to. Right now, Alec can only see a mess - there are dishes to be done in the sink and the whole flat begs for a thorough cleaning before Magnus gets back from his business trip.

It’s been five days since they’ve seen each other in person. Usually, when Magnus was out of town for work, he would portal back home for the night or for at least a couple of hours, but not this time. The high-rank warlock council that Magnus is currently attending is being held in a pocket realm, which requires using more energy than normal portal-hopping across the globe. Hence, they’ve both come to the conclusion that it’s better to save the hassle and just suffer through it.

Alec fills the kettle with water and puts it on the stove, before pulling out his cell from his pocket. Ignoring the text message from the OPS centre and the check up e-mail from Idris’ Weapons Department, he taps in Magnus’ number, all of the digits stitched into the back of his mind so boldly that it’s quicker to type it all in than pick it from the list.

Thanking whatever gods are there for cell reception in magical realms, Alec traps the phone between his ear and his shoulder as it rings a couple of times before there’s a click and Magnus’ voice filters through.

“Alexander.” He says for a greeting and Alec closes his eyes against the smooth sound, the longing in his heart both heavier and lighter at once. For the past two days Alec was away in Idris and his free pockets of time never lined up with Magnus’; it’s been too long since they’ve talked and it’s almost funny how much Alec missed hearing his name said with such affection.

“Magnus,” Alec replies in the same manner, lips curving up into a smile he doesn’t think about. He pushes away from the counter, picks the first clean mug he finds and starts rifling through the contents of the shelf devoted specifically to teas and herbs. “You sound tired. Is this a bad moment?”

“No, darling. I’m just worn out by all of the discussions.” There’s the distinct sound of shuffling paper and the clink of a pen being set down. It’s easy to imagine Magnus sitting at a desk, sipping on a glass of whiskey while paging through the notes he made during the long and tedious meetings filled with colorful personalities.

Alec hums in sympathy, tongue darting out across his lower lip.

“How are those going?” He asks, careful not to drop his cellphone as he putters around, pulling out three tins labeled with Magnus’ tilted handwriting. One small teaspoon of each ingredient finds its way into the strainer - california poppy for a headache cure, valerian root and chamomile for calming down. Since they’ve began living together, Magnus has been teaching Alec various things, including the basics of herbology, now coming in especially handy.

“There’s progress, but the High Warlock of Berlin is being quite troublesome.”

“What is he doing?”

There’s more noise over the line and Magnus huffs in annoyance, a chair squeaking before he gets up and starts pacing, the tapping of his shoes echoing against the walls.

“He keeps turning up not only late but also half-drunk and he’s always yelling at us for starting without him. Are we supposed to sit for two hours and twiddle our thumbs until he decides to grace us with his presence?”

Alec listens to the rhythm of Magnus’ steps, lets the timbre of his voice wash over him like a cooling breeze in summer. Leaning with his lower back against the kitchen counter while he waits for the water to boil, Alec smiles, even though Magnus can’t see.

“You should turn his pillow into frogs, I’m sure that would wake him up pronto.”

Magnus chuckles and it sounds almost like he’s right there with Alec, with their shoulders pressed together like they often do, just orbiting in each other’s space while dinner is cooking on the stove or they’re doing the dishes afterwards.

“I’ll try that if everything else fails, it will be another day or two, though. How are things on your side?”

Alec can survive one or two days more without Magnus, that’s doable. Not a perfect scenario, but definitely doable. His gaze wanders around the room, snagging on a take-out pamphlet held up on the fridge by an arrow-shaped magnet, as his mind works over everything that has happened, all of the events blurring together into one big blob of stress.

“It’s been kind of hectic here with grandma Herondale constantly on my ass. I’d rather take on a Greater Demon than have another meeting with her.” He reaches up to pinch the bridge of his nose and closes his eyes, because even mentioning Imogen makes his irritation grow.

“I’ll turn her into a frog when I get back.”

It’s Alec’s turn to laugh and Magnus joins him. For a moment everything in the world feels okay as Alec listens to his fiance snicker over god knows how many thousands of miles.

“Please do, she’s driving me insane.”

There’s a hum on the other side, followed by a soft sigh, some species of magical bird chirping in the background. Alec listens to Magnus breathe, both of them settled in comfortable silence. The kettle gurgles, announcing the water is close to boiling as Alec reaches out to take the pamphlet and glance over the menu. Yet, something else catches his attention - a thin strip of photographs, similar to the ones they’ve taken in Japan, hanging under another magnet. In three out of four pictures they’re smiling wide, in the fourth one, they’re mid-kiss, with Magnus’ palm over Alec’s cheek and a golden band settled on his fourth finger.

“I miss you, Magnus.” He says and it’s not a declaration, but instead a tender reminder.

“I miss you too, mon chou.”

Alec looks down at his own hand, turns the ring with his thumb while picturing Magnus’ face on the other side of the call, with lips curved into a fond smile and eyes crinkled at the corners.

Magnus’ voice brings him back to reality, curious and playful at once. “Speaking of missing, do you by chance know what happened to my claw necklace?”

Alec reaches up and under his shirt, fingertips dragging again slick curved bone and engraved silver. It’s one of Magnus’ most worn necklaces and when Magnus didn’t pack it before leaving, Alec decided to wear it. He’s not one for a lot of jewelry, afraid of it getting in the way during fights and whatnot, but this piece was easy to hide beneath his shirt. It sits right over his sternum and it feels good to reach up, touch it through the fabric and be reminded of Magnus, even if he’s far away.

“The dark one with silver detailing and hanging on a thin leather strap? No, I haven’t seen it at all. I don’t know what you’re talking about, Magnus.” Alec teases in a lofty tone, his soft smile growing into a full-blown grin

“Keep it warm and safe for me, okay?”

“I’ll give it back to you when you come home.”

“You better. But I wanna see you wear it first.”

The kettle starts whistling loudly and Alec goes through the motions of preparing his cup of tea, half of his mind stuck on Magnus’ flirtatious words, but before he can reply there’s a faint knocking noise on the other side. Alec picks up on someone speaking to Magnus, but the words all blur together. The warlock hums, but anything past that is muted as if Magnus pressed his phone against his chest.

“Alec, I’m sorry to cut this short, but it seems I’m needed for something.” After a moment, Magnus speaks again, sounding apologetic. Their conversation is brief and Alec’s longing comes back like a wave, but they’ll have time to talk when Magnus is home again.

“It’s fine, go save the world. I love you.”

“I love you too. I’ll call tomorrow, stay safe.”

When Magnus hangs up, it’s all too quiet again, but it’s better. After all, love is just one phone call away.

#shadowhunters #malec #posibanesquad #blushyalec #moonylady #catarinasmagnus #hufflebee #willjtudor #thank you to ceci for being a sweet beta <3 #this is for my main squeeze and my wife meral :' )#for my one and only spicy mayo #my fics

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freechoicedreamer · 4 years

Text

Body and Soul (Ch. 2)

AO3

A side note: a potential plea against the 'canon-compliant' claim - a fundamental premise set out to both stories of this alternate Final Season series - may come from the background seen on the thematic illustration of this chapter. It is a screenshot of the United Realms, as portrayed in one of the final scenes of OUAT series finale. Despite the clear visual evidence, I refuted the idea of all realms being this closely gathered around Storybrooke, seemingly as if they were mere aggregated parts of one single town. I based my assumption on the likelihood that practical production/logistics issues were more prevalent than the need to craft more carefully a setup that would not imply on geopolitical garbage and storytelling nonsense. To be honest, that came with no surprise, even for OUAT typical narrative patterns, well known for not going beyond a superficial and only apparent coherence; after all the series finale condition loosened the need of establishing a minimum continuity level. As a matter of fact, the image appears to be just an iconic concept instead of an accurate representation of a real (and reliable) geographic distribution of the united realms. Actually, it looks - more likely - as a random collage of castles and kingdoms (taken from some OUAT-CGI database) quickly assembled for just one single and short scene. In other words, one may argue that this conclusion is open to interpretation but I may counter argue that the concept all realms physically gathered like all-stuck-together has not been consolidated-by-a-solid-narrative enough to acquire the 'canon' status. In summary, in any feasible configuration, even taking into account the innumerable storytelling possibilities opened by the 'magic' combined with 'mixed fairy tales' formula, the realms should be, at least, a little bit more physically spread, say... throughout the territory of Maine, for instance. That would assure to each kingdom a minimum space to breathe without culturally suffocating their neighborhood neither being suffocated in reverse, thus preserving their original identity. That is the premise I chose to assume, as proposed by the thematic illustration on the previous chapter.

Opening theme

There are people who paint it as the absolute absence of heat; there are those who imagine it as the infinite absence of cold. Neither cold nor heat, neither ice nor fire, there are souls who know it as the absolute absence of love, the pinnacle of hopelessness, the utter void of hatred, the utmost devastation of war, the despair of hunger and thirst, the desolation of loneliness, the consummation of envy, the slavery of the ego, and the corrosion of jealousy. For as far as these souls know, more than the absence of the breath of Life, more than Death itself, Hell is the lack of Significance.

Storybrooke, Sweet-Jones home

Emma and Emm are spending the afternoon together, one more afternoon in a recent row of three afternoons together at Hope's insistent requests, always justified as being “very important, Mommy”. Visiting Luna, Missy, Aunt Em, and the Belly Babies is the recurring excuse. Usually, Emma does not like to fulfill all requests for not spoiling her daughter too much but, given the current exceptional circumstances, she has found it best to give in to the girl’s wishes. And for her it is also nice, she loves talking to her sister. Each day the two realize how deeply bonded, by mysterious ties that transcend any purely familiar connection, they are. And so, here they are, sitting by the kitchen counter for a little snack while Hope runs around the house playing with the two pets. If times were different, Hope would be at Storybrooke’s Kindergarten so that Emma could work half term, but because of the exceptionalism of the moment, she took a leave of her Sheriff duties thus freeing herself to observe– and to protect - her daughter more closely.

“It's amazing how the loft became the exact expression of you and Key, Emm. I never imagined that you two would be able so soon to superimpose your personality on the legacy of who was once known as 'Mary Margaret'. The aggregated details are just a few pieces and touches here and there, such as the paintings on the walls, new curtains, a new rug, other quilt covers on the beds, but all the little details make up a whole that adds to the atmosphere in an incredibly harmonious way, not to mention the musical instruments on the mezzanine - where once was my room, creating a magical atmosphere. Your music is really magic, you know that, don’t you? It lights up the house."

"Thanks, Emma, coming from you the compliment has a special significance to me. While Mary Margaret lived here under a curse that prevented her of being close to her daughter, in a parallel reality, my mother was fulfilling the dream that was denied to yours: the dream of seeing her kid growing up, of being able to raise her daughter together with her Prince Charming. Therefore, it is a deep honor for me to live in this space, you know, it is with reverence that Key and I add such 'little details' to the vintage decor. You see…” she then starts to pointing to the objects, “these nautical-motivated paintings are all Key’s, except that canvas that we both painted ‘magically’ during the Sweet Suite adventure. There are also those oceanic-motivated frames and the big starfish, which is a magic connection with Alice - her and Robyn’s gifts to us, something like our ‘wedding gift’, and those two landscape paintings near the sofa, which are my Henry's gift. Other than that, the curtains, the bedspreads and the rug were manually woven on Hearty Island, one of my hobbies there. Now, about the magic music, I think you and I have it in our heart – and I know that not because I watched your ‘music in the heart’ story through the magic mirror, but because I feel it. Music is as much of your essence as it is of mine. Our stories may have shaped us differently: I may not have developed the warrior side towards being a bad-ass - as you use to say. Nor may you have not developed the domestic docility side, but in essence, our magic has the same origin, our essence has the same substance, our strength will always show itself – on its own style - when necessary."

“I agree with you, I also feel this connection with Music, even though I have not had a formal music education, I feel this force so deeply, like an explosion of feelings. You know, it is really impressive how mysterious this empathy between wish and non-wish versions is. For example, in my turn, I understand and deeply feel the loss of your parents and I know - I feel - that you understand on a deep level the difficulties I had in childhood mainly, to cope with the abandonment of my parents, unaware that through Music in my heart I was always connected to them. This degree of empathy doesn't just happen between us, look at our husbands, or even see how my parents feel connected to you and, I believe, to their deceased wish counterparts. This is an incredible mesh of love and union entwined after an evil wish of Split Regina - it’s really incredible..."

"Yes, it is a Mystery, one more in the Book of Mysteries: Split Regina... Back in Hearty Island, I used to hate her. I’m not very proud of that feeling, but it is the truth, I simply could not accept what she did. But… ironically, it was this wish, driven by dark feelings, that originated, in a distant past spread to the present, the duplication of worlds thus creating the wish and non-wish versions. She changed our lives with only one wish against you – and me. And then, I also hated the Good Queen because of her cruel method to bring your memories back – at least that’s how I used to think based on what I had watched. You know the story, thanks to the gods’ intervention, who kept me in touch with my parents’ souls, I could finally understand, accept, and forgive her. And thanks to all of that, Key and I could find each other, could live on its plenitude our true love. And then… there is also Wish Regina, the Evil Queen I grew up fearing and hearing about, now a reformed sorcerer in charge of the Social Assistance Ministry of the United Realms. Too many turns and plot twists with too many Reginas, don’t you think?” she asks playfully while watching Luna in Hope’s lap, both surrounded by a watchful Missy.

“Too many, I agree. I have had my own dose of struggle to deal with them, that is, rigorously speaking, with the first two of them, but I also have learned to cope, to accept and to forgive them… About their names, Killian told me that Captain Nemo suggested a numbering system to simplify their identification but they are still reluctant to accept that. Particularly, I think this may be a good ID system. Differently from the multiple wish/non-wish people, who come in pairs, in their case there are 3 of them!!" Emma chuckles.

Thoughtfully, Emm caresses her belly, "yeah, coming in pairs..."

“Confirmed then?” Emma asks tenderly.

"Twins, indeed…" Emm nods. “We have to concede this one more credit to our little Pythoness’ account!”

“Yeah…” sighs little Prophetic Priestess’ mother, “get ready for a daily renewed surprise brought by your little products of squared True Love! Wait for squared surprises, in your case!” Emma grins reticently, noting in awe the tiny points of light Hope is creating in the air to entertain Luna and Missy, and then completes her question: “How are you feeling about that? How are you and Key dealing with the idea?”

“I’m feeling truly happy and scared at the same time. You see, it is intense in two extremes: extremely amazing but also really scary given the present uncertain context and then… things are changing so quickly that Killian and I… oh, rephrasing, Key and I, had no option rather than adjust ourselves really fast to the news. Perhaps, if the circumstances were different we would have more time to freak out about the prospect of being parents of twins. But given the scenario, we both went into ‘protecting offspring at any cost’ mode and then we calibrated our momentum in that direction.”

…

As the afternoon falls and the sisters’ conversation continues, Hope and the two pets eventually join them for a snack. Emm mentions that she and Key were positively surprised and became very fond of Dr. Stephen Maturin, not only because of their personal rapport with him but, also, for his patience to explain in details all medical procedures they will follow along the pregnancy. She confesses that, despite having had a good preparation about the modern world, it was not enough to provide all the knowledge related to what she would deal with. In this sense, Dr. Maturin’s empathy is natural since he experienced the same learning stages when he came from the Land of Untold Stories less than 10 years ago. In terms of adaptation, strictly speaking, Dr. Whale's entire medical team has been updating their skills because the 21st century medicine was recently introduced to them with the arrival of those who lived in Hyperion Heights.

…

“Mommy, why Daddy and Uncle Key did not come for a snack with us yet? They are hungry too and I miss them."

"They won't be long, Sweetie, first they had to meet with Grandpa David. They learned that two other kids of Storybrooke also had sad visions that same day you had a sad vision and, as it happened with you, they didn't like it at all."

"Aye, I did not like it, Mommy, too scary... Want to know why?"

“I do, only if you want to talk about it, Honey. If you are okay with that, tell Mommy and Aunt Emm, please, why nobody liked the vision…”

“Because.... it was dark, it had a green river... Hmmn, what more… it had other colored rivers… it had Mommy, Daddy, Hope, Uncle Key, Aunt Emm, Belly Babies, everyone and… all scared… and it had empty bodies and empty souls. Luna and Missy saw everything too, they told me what ‘body and soul’ is; I did not know before, but now I do.”

Exchanging glances with Emma and changing the subject of the conversation, Emm intervenes: "Speaking of emptiness, I'm seeing two empty bowls and one empty glass of juice, so... Who will want more rations with water and more juice with chocolate cake? Raise your hand, who has a hand, and wag the tail, who has a tail!!”

…

In the late afternoon, Killian and Key arrived and joined them at the snack table. Hope asked to bathe in Aunt Emm's tub and is now in the bathroom playing the game of ‘sailing the pirate ship’ while the two couples continue to talk. Emma comments about the girl's revelations and the brothers, in turn, tell them that Storybrooke's other two children also spoke about the world of the dead. Gradually the pieces of a huge puzzle begin to fall into place and some shapes and contours begin to unfold. In this way they already know that there is indeed a threat coming from the Underworld.

Embracing Key, head resting on his shoulders, Emm mutters under her breath: “It would be so good if my parents could talk to us now, as it happened on Hearty Island through the magic mirror...” Turning to Emma and Killian she explains: “even though it has been installed on the mezzanine next to the same musical instruments as before, the mirror never turned into a magic screen again. Maybe it was the case of going upstairs tonight and trying to contact them; I could sit at the piano, meditate, concentrate and then, if I am fortunate to be inspired, play a heart-dictated song… I really wish I could talk to them again, if only the gods gave them permission...”

Elysium, Islands of the Blessed, Wish White-Nolan’s home

Sitting on the lakefront pergola at Wish Charmings' home, Rumple, Belle, W. Snow and W. David silently watch the parade of images reflected by the calm water mirror. As if watching the scene, the whole landscape of the garden - birds, leaves of the trees, flower bushes… everything is quietly still. The only movement comes from the black and white images transmitted by the retinas of Luna and Missy in their dreamy state on Earth.

"Fascinating and disturbing," Rumple breaks the silence to comment. "So .... Every time Luna and Missy sleep on Earth they broadcast images, like journalists reporting to you the latest news?"

"Not always," Snow replies. "In general, they do not communicate at all, that is, if there is no transmission, we infer that there are no problems and we are released to our eternal rest in peace, even though there are times that they dream happy dreams and we can watch our Emma with the other Snow and David, or with her twin sister, their respective husbands, and Hope. Luna and Missy simply love the sweet little girl, a special child indeed, as far as we could observe..." she sighs, turning to the lake, worried with the sequence of projected images showing the scary visions shared by Luna, Missy, Hope and the other seer children.

"I have one question. Well, actually, I have several questions, but I will start with this one," Belle chuckles trying to lighten up their mood before continuing, "exactly, do you know who Luna and Missy are?"

David shrugs before saying, "to such a straightforward question, Belle, an equally straightforward answer: exactly, we don't know. Now, by inference, we know that they are beings of Light most likely sent by the gods to the Heart-shaped Island as a company to our daughter, to look after her. I believe the time will come when we will know the exact answer to your question but until then, the inaccuracies and doubts are many..."

Snapping her fingers, as if remembering useful information, Snow goes on. "We also have a mirror in our living room that has functioned as a magical screen transmitting colorful images from Earth; actually, it used to function as a screen when Emma was in the Heart-shaped Island, it never worked that way since Emma moved to Storybrooke," Snow remembers. "It was through this mirror that we were able to talk to her, you must remember when we told you the story."

"Yeah, we do remember," Belle confirms, "… and now that you mentioned it, you see, there is a mirror in our living room as well, but it has never worked as a window between worlds. So far it has been just a mirror..."

"We should confess something," Rumple interrupts Belle. "It’s about what brought us here. It all started with a philosophical talk about rules of incarnation, a curiosity that led us to wanting to talk to the gods about the subject and that, by its turn, ended up on us missing our son and triggering our memory about the story of your communication with your daughter. We know that it happened thanks to a divine intervention so, because of this sequence or reasoning, we decided to visit you. What happened during our teleportation to your house, on the light of these transmitted images, adds more relevance to the case: Belle felt an inexplicable concern, an intuition about a metaphoric storm getting close to Gideon, which should be enough to increase our initial need to meet the gods. Now, seeing these premonitory images clearly indicating a real threat originating from the Underworld hovering over the Earth – I assure you that the need has just become an urgency."

“Well, what I can tell you is that they found us…” David explains, thoughtfully searching his own words for clues on how they should act in the present situation. “To be precise, the gods found us. Actually, Zeus found us; he came to us and told about an intense outburst, from our Emma, addressed to the Sea gods from the sands of the Island. He said it was a completely justifiable outburst that deeply touched them to the point where he came to meet us in our house and allowed us to talk to her. The rest is history but I have no idea how we could try to contact the gods...”

“There is no need, they have already contacted us…” says a voice coming from the backyard, approaching the group. They all turn to the voice direction and meet a smiling Merlin, accompanied by his loyal Apprentice, Jack.

…

After everyone exchanged greetings, Merlin revealed the reason for his and Jack’s visit. He told them that Jack was meditating in the tower, where they live, when a mirror on the wall began to display the image of a cocoon opening and morphing into a transparent-winged butterfly. Almost in a trance, he called Merlin and they both witnessed the butterfly turning into a woman of extraordinary beauty.

She introduced herself as Psyche, the goddess of the Soul and the wife of Eros, the god of Love, and told them that she was, once, a mortal princess that became immortal because she drank the gods’ nectar of ambrosia. She then explained to Merlin that the origin of his full name, Merlin Ambrosius, dates back to the desert oasis where he was born. The first trees whose fruits came to be known as ambrosia were original from that oasis although, initially, they had no magical property. Only later, when planted in the orchards of Mount Olympus and irrigated with waters of the Holy Fountains, did the fruits acquire special properties, among them to confer immortality on those who drank the nectar produced from them. Psyche then reveals to Merlin that it was this nectar, drank in the Holy Grail, which made him an immortal Wizard. Or rather quasi-immortal, since immortality is not synonymous with invulnerability - and Merlin, better than anyone, knows this Truth.

"And why did you come to me to reveal this story?" Merlin asked.

"Because the Ambrosia trees from the Olympus Orchard are drying up, as well as the waters of the Holy Fountains. Some gods - my husband included, believe that the source of the problem lies in the Underworld Rivers, and we will need the help of the Elysium souls as well as some souls in the Underworld, under the command of Persephone, to locate and neutralize this source. If the problem spreads, everyone may be affected, especially the mortals, on Earth."

…

The visitors are already gone and W. David and W. Snow are now in their living room. Sit in front of the mirror - functioning again as a magic screen, they watch their daughter playing a piano piece she has dedicated to them. The harmonious notes cross the spaces until pulsating in sync with the two monarchs’ ethereal hearts and, although not seen by her, they feel that she feels their presence. Resigning themselves to what they are allowed, the two send to their Emma - and to the two little points of light shining in her womb - the blessings of their eternal love.

“And they say rest in peace for all eternity…” David mutters.

“Yeah,” Snow chuckles, “they never mention the stormy weather in between two lulls.”

“What can we do, Snow? Psyche didn't explain much beyond what she briefly told Merlin. According to him, she only warned that we will be – her words – ‘activated’ when the right time comes. Until then ... what can we do, Snow?"

"We can listen to the music our daughter is dedicating to us, David; we can send our beloved ones all our best energy. We can keep in tune with the other Snow and David. In practice, they are our representatives on Earth and worship our daughter as their own. In addition to looking after our loved ones, we can keep the flame of Hope alight - theirs and ours...”

On Earth, sensing the presence of her parents, Emma raises her head and looks at the mirror. In a flash, she sees their smiling faces mouthing ‘I love you’ while their image dissipates.

Enchanted Countryside, White-Nolan’s home

“Neal!”

From the porch of the ranch headquarters Snow shouts for her son, whom she hasn't seen since early in the morning, at the breakfast table.

Looking around, she sighs. The Charming Farm is the fulfillment of an old dream of David combined with more room for the vibrant energy of a preteen practicing light magic and within easy reach for Snow on her way to work. They were well adapted to the routine of a country life close to an urban life but since David accepted Regina's invitation to the Ministry of Defense the farm has not been so carefully taken care of. Snow would not say it has been neglected; on the contrary, it would not be fair to belittle Anton's good work as a farm administrator, but the lack of David's almost magical touches everywhere - in the stable, in the pastures, in the corral - is remarkable. Exception, of course, for the magic bean plantation, always over zealously cared for by Anton. Although magic beans are no longer needed to open portals between realms, as they are now unified into the same time-space dimension, the delicious feijoada prepared with them by Snow for special occasions, an adaptation of the classic Brazilian feijoada - became famous. In fact, its fame crossed the borders of Storybrooke and for the Summer School closing dinner, in Camelot, in response to everyone's insistent requests, she prepared a cauldron of feijoada that deserved the highest praise. The ceremony just couldn't be as triumphant and joyful as Snow would have liked because of the worrying news that began to come from various parts of the United Realms…

PUFFF!!!!

Lost in thought, Snow jumps in fright at Neal's sudden appearance on the porch, surrounded by a pale blue cloud.

“Did you call, mom?”

“Neal, how many times do I have to ask you not to scare me like this? Yes, I called you, my boy. Although we are discussing in the Ministry about setting up a school recess while dealing with the current crisis, classes have not yet been suspended. Are you ready to go?”

“I do but… look, there comes Dad; he seems in a hurry - as always, recently.”

“Snow! I just got a call from Killian warning that Nemo is about to land on the northeast coast. He reported an anomaly in the Enchanted Sea on the same day as the premonitions. It seems that, with the exception of humans and humanoids, all other inhabitants of the oceans exhibited, during a few hours, a completely chaotic behavior as if in a collective trance, an underwater hysteria that only ended with Poseidon's intervention - neither Triton nor Ursula could contain the sea fauna fury - the seas have been very rough, it seems. If that happened with the creatures of the Ocean, now I’m worried about the inland creatures. I’ll call W. Robin, Merida and Kristoff asking for a report on the Enchanted Forest, the Enchanted Highlands’ and the Enchanted Mountains’ wildlife; maybe it’s the case for increasing the vigilance in these areas to protect the animals.”

“Dad, you are thinking Wish Cruella may be behind all of it, isn’t it?

“Yeah… I'm suspecting she may be behind the erratic behavior of the sea creatures, indeed.”

“Then, Dad, I'm telling you what I am thinking. I think I should work on the protection spell that Gideon taught me so that Wilby won't be left defenseless. And I think we should leave him indoors, is that okay?”

“Agree about protecting Wilby, good idea, son. If you feel safe preparing the magic, go ahead, maybe we should ask Anton to help you in extending the spell to the other animals. Do you think you can manage that? You will be late today for school but it will be worth.”

“Sure Dad, be back in a minute!!” Neal answers already puffing himself into the house to get the ingredients he will need.

“David,” Snow says, “I do not want to increase the overall worry or to generate another panic wave but, is that a case to sanction a general school break?”

“Maybe, but we’ll have to talk to Regina and some ministers first. We will deal with that in Storybrooke, after Neal works in the protection spell, okay?”

…

On their way to Storybrooke, Snow and David talk about what they are working with and what they would love to do. David knows he is much needed in the present crisis but he wishes he could go back to his farm activities, he misses the country life. Snow is happy in her dreamy work, being able to promote a real revolution on Education…. They keep talking and end up commenting on the good partnership the two Killians are developing at Storybrooke’s PD, despite Emma’s temporary license, and that reminds them how the two Emmas are becoming as close as two close sisters. To be quite honest, they have to admit that not only the two Emmas are tightening their emotional bond, they feel that the ‘girls’ are more and more becoming their very dear twin daughters...

“David, because of the fuzz yesterday night caused by Hope’s description of her vision, I forgot to mention that Emm had called me earlier with good news: they are indeed having twins!”

“That’s great news, Honey,” David smiles at his wife and sighs, “at least one really, really good news.”

“Yeah… two more babies for us to love,” Snow completes, looking at the countryside landscape through the car window.

“Mom,” Neal cut them from the back seat, “isn’t that Zelena’s farmhouse entrance? Look, there is a car getting into there!”

“It’s Robyn’s,” David explains, “she and Alice are temporarily living there while deciding where to move for good, to finally settle down – I guess they are tired of being on the roads. They have traveled a lot in the Land without Magic since they got married.”

“Oh, that reminds me of another novelty, Charming. Did you know that Zelena and Chad are our neighbors now, I mean, sort of?” Snow asks.

“Really? How come? What about Chad, doesn’t he have relatives that will want to visit him?” David asks, impersonating his Defense Minister mode.

“Split-Regina didn’t enter into little details, we talked just a bit, while waiting for Neal and Coralline at the school door, but what I know is that Zelena and Chad moved to Portland, Maine, a couple of weeks ago. It seems that he got a transfer to the East Coast in a scheme that appears to be safe, David, no need to worry. Living in Portland will allow Chad’s relatives - as well as the couple’s friends from San Francisco - to visit them without any suspicion. Regina told me that their house is near Storybrooke’s town line, it looks like Zelena has created an amulet for Chad so that he may cross it whenever he needs regardless of whether she is with him, so they both have free access to the United Realms."

“This is so cool…” Neal smiles dreamily, “I would love to have a strategic base for horseback ridings and explorations outside the Realms…”

“You can get your little horse out of the rain for now, young man. As long as the current crisis is not abated, the only strategic base you are allowed to have is our home, next to your parents," David warns him playfully..

Portland, Maine, Zelena and Chad’s new home

“You were right, the view from the room at the tower top is really beautiful, Zelena: a panoramic view of the city and the sea. A view of Paradise, with this blue sky; and I can imagine how incredible it might be during starry nights, I’m sure they will love it!”

“I agree, it’s perfect for them. It’s not a hexagonal room with a balcony, like ours on the floor below, but it has the exact breadth of sight they asked for. It was really fortunate that we found this house in such particular coordinates and with such an architecture that satisfies Robyn's poetic request, and I quote: an architecture that reminds towers but, at the same time, invokes free space, liberation; a tribute not only to Alice's experience of breaking free from her prison in the tower but also my passing ritual of giving up magic in favor of becoming an archer, thus embracing the dream of honoring my father’s memory: a tower symbolizing a springboard for us to fly freely.”

"Poetic… Robyn was quite inspired when specified her dreamy room in our home if we were to buy a house. Listening to this quoted description leave me with no doubt, they will love their towered room. The house is beautiful. To be honest, it’s a bit too much for just the two of us but it’s fitting to be always full of life and visitors. Besides Robyn and Alice, I hope to get more guests occupying our 4 bedroom house,” he turns to Zelena.

"They will come, from the Realms and from the West Coast, I’m sure. I will love to welcome your parents and our friends from San Francisco. This is a fresh start for us, Chad, but it is also continuity. I am happy to be here, near my family and friends from the Realms and, at the same time, to keep the door open for the world we built to ourselves in the Land without Magic."

All of a sudden, interrupting Zelena's words, a feminine voice echoes off the hexagonal tower walls: "the doors of this house are also open to the worlds below and the worlds above, Zelena!"

Petrified by fright, Chad can only move his eyes toward the woman's form materializing before him and his wife. "What the hell!?" he mutters.

"Technically, not necessarily a 'hell', Chad." Smiling, the beautiful woman walks slowly towards the couple and continues, "please, do not be scared, nor fear, I come in peace. Oh! What a bad behavior on my part... I did not knock neither introduce myself. Forgive my bad manners… So, I ask permission to come in. I’m Persephone," she bows extending both hands to them, “nice to meet you”.

“Persephone, as in…. the goddess? I mean, Greek Mythology? Really?” he asks incredulously taking one of her hands.

“Says the Wicked Witch’s husband!” Persephone replies with a small chuckle and immediately corrects herself, “actually, ex-Wicked Witch, nowadays, a respectable sorceress. It’s an honor to finally meet you, Zelena.”

“Yeah, sure, ah… permission granted, I guess, and, thanks… my pleasure too, Persephone.” Zelena and Persephone shake hands. “I’ve wondered so many times about you and your whereabouts, you have no idea. Hades once spoke to me about you. Despite the hardships you couldn't quite solve, he said you were determined and firm…” Zelena returns the compliment and invites her to the living room on the first floor.

…

“You must be curious about my visit," Persephone explains, "it is natural to be so. I'm not planning to go around in circles, because time to lose is something we no longer have, but... I believe it is necessary for me to explain the context of my visit to you. As a start, I think it is important to make it clear that, in the time count, Hades and I broke up for over a thousand years. While in a marital life, our marriage arrangement was described in the literature with reasonable accuracy. I did in fact alternate - and still do - my stay on Earth and Underworld with a periodicity of six months, although the part that associates this alternation with the creation of the seasons has been very romanticized and mythicized. In other words, there are truths and there are myths related to that. Truths refer to the majority of storylines dealing with my relationships in a more personal level, the mythicized part, to the creation of the seasons. You see, I’m not affirming that there is no relation between the cycles of my stay and the seasons; I’m just saying that everything is much more complex and intricate than a metaphoric legend, or myth, describing something that is real but too complex for the rational mind to absorb completely… there are Mysteries and Secrecies that are so named for a reason; for decoding them one needs to combine wisely all sciences, all areas of human knowledge, so to speak...” she smiles reticently.

“But resuming this not so short ‘introduction’, in general Greek myths are about an early world; usually, they explore themes of parental treachery alternating with tales of filial betrayal, love and loyalty - all the essentials of good plot-lines linking birth and cosmic creation. Seen today, they have become ancient stories and part of the ancient mythological worldview. But, believe me, gods and goddesses, existed then and still exist now. We may be known only for the ancient part of our existence, but we are still ‘around’. This way, to contextualize, Demeter is in fact my mother and Zeus, her brother, is, indeed, my father. Athena, Aphrodite, Ares, Apollo, Artemis, Dionysus, Hermes, and Hephaestus are indeed my brothers and sisters. And Hestia, Hera, Demeter, Poseidon, Hades and Zeus are, indeed, brothers and sisters…”

“The moral code of your family is, indeed, quite different from ours,” Zelena mutters with high dose of sarcasm.

“Indeed,” Persephone agrees, with a wink, “but you must remember that we are talking about early human civilization. I understand that incest is a taboo now, but it was considered ‘normal’ and most prevalent in families of royal lineage to keep the bloodlines ‘clean and pure’. Non-royalty rarely participated in incest. Maybe that is the origin of all the drama in my family, that and our immortality, but, looking cautiously, even in many religions and traditions of nowadays, the myths of creation start with the narrative of incest…”

“You are right, when we really think about we see that most of them do start this way,” Chad concedes.

“Of course they do. The key is to never be too judgmental and keep in mind all historical and cultural context. We are talking about metaphoric stories explaining complex transcendental science. These stories usually use hyperbolic language to exaggerate some colors, or to emphasize some attributes. Take Hades, for instance. He was not as bad as they usually say, at least until the Olympian Crystal incident. As the god of death and the Underworld, he suffered a bit from a bad image. He is often treated like the Greek version of devil, but that’s a bit of a stretch. To start, Hades never chose the Underworld as his domain. He and his brothers, Zeus and Poseidon, drew straws to see who would be lord of what realm. Zeus drew the Heavens and the Upper world, Poseidon drew the Seas, and Hades drew the Underworld. As the Underworld rulers go, during the time we were married he was a pretty decent king. When Orpheus descended into the Underworld to retrieve his bride, Hades was moved by his pleas and agreed to let the woman go, on the condition that, when leaving, Orpheus wouldn’t look back. You know, he did, of course, and lost her – but that was not Hade’s fault. Today, when I think about it, I see how Hades started to downgrade into darkness because of that passage, which led him to cut the Ambrosia tree in the Underworld. That used to be the only tree of my garden - in that quadrant - that wasn't dry… But it is important to note that he was not responsible for the condemnation or redemption of souls. Those who died were subject to the judgment of demigods, not Hades. As for me, although he did in fact, tricked me to stay in the Underworld - he kidnapped me - after a deal with my father he became a respectful and good husband. Differently from most gods and goddesses, we were both faithful to each other – and quite possessive, I must confess. There was a time that he fell in love with a nymph and I turned her into a mint plant so that my husband wouldn’t be able to have her as a lover. That is not my most glamorous story, I know, but, as far as a marriage between gods goes, those were good times for us,” she sights reminiscent.

After a pause, while Zelena and Chad exchanged discreet glances but didn’t say a word, Persephone continues. “Anyway, things deteriorated fast between us because of that ancient crystal, shaped like a crude lightning bolt, the Olympian Crystal. Because of an old sibling rivalry, the crystal, which belonged to my father, was stolen by Hades. My father, by his turn, cursed Hades' heart and, since then, Hades changed radically. He could not love, he could not feel. You know the story, Zelena. For us, that's when we parted and he became the cruel, vengeful god without noble feelings. Only you, Zelena, was strong enough – and I admire you for that – to penetrate his petrified heart and break the curse with a true love kiss. You were able to see his remaining good, but even that was not enough to lead him into a redemption path. On the contrary, with his distorted mind he deceived you, he schemed against you and your sister, and he caused suffering and losses. Eventually, he ended up losing his immortality. Not even his soul could be saved and, sadly, disintegrated. The irony is that he ceased to exist because of the illegitimate power he wanted to possess. That was the end of Hades but that was not the end of Evil, and that is the reason of my visit today.”

“Are you implying that you came because you didn’t like me not only killing Hades but also disintegrating his soul and your father’s Crystal? Well, I’m sorry and not sorry at the same time. In my defense, I had no option, he was going to disintegrate my sister in the same way he tried to do with Robin right in front of us. You see, I did love Hades, but not to the point of living with the burden of Regina’s death. At the end of the day, after all struggles, many curses and turns of the world, here I am. I met a man who loves me as much as I love him and we built up a healthy and happy life together. Even Regina, despite not being allowed to live side by side with the love of her life, came out of all that victorious. She was able to save his soul by opening her heart to host his soul; in other words, their love was so strong that they could overcome the soul disintegration power of the Olympian Crystal, did you know that? ” Zelena vents, holding tight to her husband's hand.

“Yes, I did, they were impressively brave. And let’s be clear, I’m not here because of Hades or of what happened to him and the Crystal. As I told you, Hades and I rarely spoke or saw each other for over a thousand year. You see, the Underworld is big enough to ‘accommodate’ its King and its Queen in such a way that I always managed to keep my distance from him, mainly because I didn't approve his evil behavior. Only after his death I went back to where you and your friends have been, that place he called Underbrooke - a section of the Underworld he built to please you. There, I helped Arthur to reorganize the broken kingdom, as Arthur used to call it. Thanks to my intervention, Arthur was able to rescue and to retrieve the essence of some lost souls who had accidentally fallen or been thrown into the Lost Souls river before being judged and without deserving such a sad fate. Actually, to be extremely honest, my coming here is indirectly connected with Hades. Going straight to the point, I came because of Hades’ legacy, the evilness he planted in a land that cannot be called fertile unless the sowing is dry, hard, and… cruel. For Evil, the ground is fertile, and that is what Hades sowed. Unfortunately, it seems, the harvest has just began. In fact, the process started a few months ago, a period of great light and love for people from the United Realms thanks to the harmonious waves of the Sweet Suite. Meanwhile, the counterpart was being unfolded downstairs, so to speak, as reported to me by Arthur, when he noticed the first anomalies in the smoke coming from Tartarus.”

“Anomalies?” Chad, increasingly frightened and uncomfortable, interrupts to ask. “What kind of anomalies do you refer to? Could you be more specific?”

“Of course,” Persephone concedes, “I’ll get there. Continuing, I was talking about Arthur. Although he and I have taken every precaution in our bailouts, some lost souls not supposed to get free and to recover their evil ego managed to escape without our help, probably they were helped by the one who took over the Underbrooke’s City Hall and became a stumbling block in Arthur's path: Cruella Deville. Apparently obsessed with the idea of returning to Earth and taking revenge on Emma Swan, who killed her to save her son's life, after freeing some lost souls Cruella stole from the library of Hades one of the ‘Mysteries & Secrecies’ books accessible only to the gods and a few humans who get permission – in this case, granted by me to Arthur."

Taking a sip of tea, Persephone inhales and exhales deeply before continuing. "Here, a parenthesis is needed, since you and others have already been in the Underworld and may wonder about what I'm about to reveal. Despite having similar buildings, as you must know Storybrooke and Underbrooke do not share exactly the same layout - quite the contrary, actually. Particularly, downstairs, the public library - where Wish Belle, a soul with unfinished business, works - is adjacent to Hades's forbidden sector. Belle isn't allowed to get in there but she has been given permission to borrow some books from there. To read and decipher their ancient texts she uses a magical translator, a gift of mine, an appreciation for her good behavior and impressive achievements as a researcher. Now, closing the parenthesis and going back on track, Arthur and I found out that Cruella not only had stolen Belle's translator but had also broken the magic lock to the forbidden library. We managed to prevent her from stealing all banned books but one of them she hid and, especially with the help of two other souls, Pan, whom she rescued from the river of Lost Souls, and Wish Rumple, she managed to read - and learn - the content of a very specific Mystery & Secrecy tome: ‘How to clone human bodies’.”

“Is that a Mystery, or a Secrecy, really?” Zelena interrupts Persephone with a nervous chuckle. “I mean, not that I don’t believe the seriousness of what you are telling us, but I’ve seen so many wish and non-wished versions of people, or split versions, of whatever that it’s really doubtful this is such a mysterious secret…”

“There's a big difference between what you have seen and what I’m referring to: you have seen body-and-soul alternate versions of people, duplication even triplication of people in a so-called quantum process of magic involving the concept of infinite possibilities. I am referring to cloned bodies, you can think about them as empty bodies, ready to host deceased souls in a process that does not involve reincarnation as we know it. It does not involve a restart, a reset with forgetfulness and detachment of the past life, with the loss of ego for starting all over again aiming at a spiritual evolution. In short, their plan is to clone bodies – your bodies, before killing you so that in a fraction of seconds they will magically switch places with your souls which will force your souls to descend to the Underworld. This way, by taking your place, they will enter your clones. They also plan to clone all gods’ bodies, after drying our source of immortality. The process of this kind of cloning involves a hibernation state of the cloned body until the new soul enters the empty ‘vehicle’.”

“Bloody hell…” Chad interjects.

“You have no idea how bloody this hell is,” Persephone acquiesces. “The anomalies refer, as I said, to a kind of smoke that may change Nature's behavior across all kingdoms - including the Underworld. They precede, as an alarm, the main and final cloning magic, which involves the use of a special fruit cultivated in the Olympus associated with water from a special fountain there. With them we have indications that our enemies are on their way, unfortunately. Although we managed to send Pan, Cruella, Gaston and James Nolan to Tartarus, attempting to avoid the problem, now we think that sending them may have increased the likelihood that it will occur. Wish Rumple hasn’t been judged yet and remains in Underbrooke, Arthur and I will see what we will do with him, but I guess sending him to Tartarus will not be a good idea…”

After a prolonged silence, during which Zelena and Chad processed the huge amount of information, Persephone concludes: “There are some facts that we don’t know yet, for example, it seems that they have a connection on the Upperworld, some sort of help coming from the United Realms, and we really fear that, led by Pan and Cruella’s souls, the condemned souls may be plotting from Tartarus. As I said, there are lots of things we still don’t know but we do know that the situation goes beyond what our power alone can handle. We need you, humans from Earth and souls from Elysium, to help us. There is a major disaster with proportions that I would not like to think about being forged and we need to prevent that. So, there you have it, the reason of this unexpected visit of mine. I came to ask for your help.”

Enchanted Seashore, Wish Regina and Roland’s home

“Roland, where have you been? After my sister Queen announced, this morning, the suspension of classes, I didn't see you anymore; I was starting to worry and thinking about using a location spell... I waited but you took so long that I decided to have lunch first. Now… let's go to the kitchen, my dear, to warm up your food.” Wish Regina tells the 15-year-old as he begins to climb the back porch staircase.

"No need for worry, Gina, I won’t go too far from here, promise. I was in my other room, at the tree house and didn’t hear you calling because I was chatting with Lucy, Neal and Coralline. Neal and Aline are staying at Lucy's house while their parents are in a meeting with the Queen and the others, at the City Hall."

"I see… Well, as you know, I attended this meeting via Web, as well as a few other ministers who did not travel to Storybrooke, but in my case I only needed to be present for 2 hours. We decided that, at the moment, the activities of my Social Assistance Ministry will remain in a standby mode, waiting for more information regarding the mysteries behind the children visions and the ocean ‘turbulence’. By the way, one of the absent ministers, Nemo, warned us that he is about to land near our house and I have, since then, been waiting for the Nautilus, cooking a few dishes, a couple of apple pies… I guess they shouldn't be long. Now, about you: seriously? 6 hours of chat?" she asks playfully. “Thankfully, the power consumption of the equipment developed by Nemo and the Dragon is 100% self-sustainable, otherwise people with magic in all United Realms, working in sync, would not be able to energize all transponders that the young people use!" she quips.

“I see no problem in talking too much. Adults can spend a whole day in conversations and meetings – which is accepted as normal. What about us? This is our world too, what happens now affects our future. The current crisis seems to be so serious that the four of us needed to get together to discuss our positions, nothing that won’t be coordinated with what you will decide, don’t worry. Adults are in charge - and we know that, but we needed to align our claims and we can help. Neal and Coralline have magic, Lucy is a True Believer and I am a champion Archer, not to mention our cunning intelligence! And do not forget: as the senior of the group, I’m kind of their leader!” Roland responds proudly, already devouring a heated lasagna.

“We will see about that, young ‘senior’…" Regina’s reply would be longer but, fortunately for Roland, the conversation was interrupted by the arrival of Nemo, Liam Jr, Wish Brennan and Liam Senior, together with Ursula and W. Ariel, who traveled swimming by the Nautilus' side, “just for the fun of it!”

…

"Like Lieutenants Martin & Harris who, by the way, opted to have lunch and stay nested aboard, those four out there are becoming inseparable couples, if you know what I mean..." Brennan smiles muttering under his breath to be heard only by Liam Senior and Regina, the three sat on the oceanfront balcony. He refers to the couples walking arm in arm along the shore with the excuse of digesting Regina's hearty meal but, in fact, looking for an alone time. That is especially valid - it seems - to Liam Jr and W. Ariel, moving away as if in search of a more private corner.

“You prepared a real feast for us, Regina, everything was delicious,” L. Senior says, between sips of an herbal tea.

“Thanks, Liam. Knowing that six people were coming was an ideal excuse for me to try and forget about the problems. Unfortunately I didn’t have time to prepare anything special, I hope you stay long enough to enjoy something more elaborate. Oh yeah… something that doesn't involve seafood, out of respect for Ursula and W.Ariel. Maybe a cheese soufflé with a good red wine...” she plans dreamily. “You know, cooking for me is a therapy, especially when I'm just like now, really worried. There was a time when I used to vent going to the 'witch's cauldron', instead!!” Regina and L. Senior have a good laugh at that, and she goes on, “but now that my witchcraft times are past, my hobby is cooking, I love to try new recipes, combine new seasonings and condiments ... Sometimes I resent from not having a taste keeper more open to novelties, you know, since Roland is not that much given to spices - especially seafood, I must confess. Well, I love the sea, no wonder I chose to live in front of it taking care, obviously, to find a seaside location close to the Enchanted Forest, which is Roland's natural habitat.”

“Well,” Liam Sr. replies bluntly, “if registration for tasting your cuisine is open, I'll be the first in line to appreciate the Chef's production!”

Rubbing his beard thoughtfully, Brennan interrupts the flirtation to ask about Roland, and Regina goes on to explain how the two eventually got closer, and today share a bond resembling the one between a son and a mother.

…

Approaching the balcony, Ursula, accompanied by Nemo, asks:

"Regina, do you know why we came to your house before going to Storybrooke?"

“No, I don’t. Although I feel much honored by your visit, I must confess that I was curious about it,” Regina replies.

“The reason is simple and complicated at the same time, but I'll try to summarize it,” Ursula explains. “The location of your home is special. In fact, Nemo and I found out that some homes in the United Realms are very specially located. I do not know whether by the architects’ intuition or knowledge of occult sciences, or both, but many houses are located at points of telluric energy chakras and they are very useful as a communication channel for the members of my family. You probably know my family tree from literature – so you might know that I'm the daughter of Poseidon's union with Amphitrite and I'm Triton's sister. You might also know, I imagine, that I have many uncles, aunts, and cousins, including my cousin Persephone, daughter of Zeus and Demeter. So… yesterday, Persephone telepathically contacted me to let me know that she was going to visit your half-sister, Zelena, at her new home in Maine. Although it is located outside the borders of the United Realms, Zelena chose a house positioned at one of these energetic crossing points to which I referred, and that opened Persephone's passage to the Earth plane coming from the Underworld. I don't know exactly the subject of their talk, but I do know that my cousin asked me to be at one of these energy points because she needed to talk to me too - with urgency - and the conversation would be lengthy, thus more complicated to sustain, via telepathy, if I were outside of them. In face of that, Nemo and I searched in his maps to locate the nearest point in relation to where we were – in other words, your home was the answer. And this is, my dear friend, the original reason that brought us to your welcoming house. The extra bonus, that is, our great time here and the opportunity to strengthen the emotional ties that bind us, might be a result of one of Cousin Eros’ romps,” Ursula mumbles and Nemo giggles.

“I see, interesting…” Regina replies, pensive. “Well, while Persephone doesn’t contact you, I invite the two of you to join us in our tea time and, then, if possible, I would like to know more about these energy lines and points, that is, if you or Nemo, or both, could teach us about them. If I got the idea roughly right, they may be useful for us to deal with what is coming even though we don’t know yet what it is.”

“I will tell what I can for now,” Nemo addresses the small audience, soon joined by Roland, Liam Jr, and W. Ariel, while Ursula quietly retreats to the living room, “so that Ursula may be free to relax and meditate. Well… let’s start from a scientific fact: there are straight fault lines in the earth’s tectonic plates, to many people known as ley-lines. It’s also scientifically known that through these cracks the magnetic energies released are very powerful. Our ancestors have known about these lines for thousands of years: each culture on the planet has known about them yet with different names. Native Indians of this same region where we are right now, for example, used to call them spirit lines because their electro-magnetic energy helped their Shamans to contact the spirits. The druids called them mystical lines. In Wales, as in eastern countries, they were called dragon lines. For the aboriginal people of Australia these lines were known as dream lines. Throughout history all megalithic structures have been strategically built on top of these so called ley lines. These electro-magnetic lines may be seen as veins that receive energy from the sun, thus connecting and affecting every living thing on this planet. The atoms of our bodies, because they are surrounded by electrons, are connected to the earth’s electro-magnetic fields and our heart, as a battery, may be charged by them. Right now, Ursula is in the living room, meditating on one of these crossing points, or megalithic centers, to elevate her electrical aura, intellect, and connection to her higher self, which will activate her energy centers (or chakras).”

“Wow...” Roland exclaims softly.

“Of course there are dark forces that are knowledgeable of these lines and concentrate effort to manipulate these fields and to control or influence the geo-electrical grid. For this reason the access to this knowledge is not allowed to every mortal and few cultures have it completely mapped - the maps in my possession are a rare treasure, among the few out there with the complete grid involving all alternate and superimposed realms – such as the United Realms, which is superimposed to Maine, the Upper world, the Underworld and the Olympus. Around the world, multiple alternate realms, aligned to multiple cultures and traditions, are superimposed, which explains how Henry Mills, our Author, ended up in a realm with another Rapunzel, another Cinderella – which is made possible due to a magic quantum process of infinite possibilities.”

“I have a question, Sir!” Roland raises his hand.

“Go ahead, young man,” Nemo replies in a benevolent tone.

“How is it possible to converge, to the same time and space, characters and stories, known through literature for hundreds of years, which were, according to their origins, mismatched in time and in space? And how come that they all speak the same language - English, in our case?"

"Wow, I'm positively impressed with the complexity of your question... what's your name again, my boy?"

"Roland, sir."

"Very well. So, Roland, the ley lines - which I usually refer to as Earth’s meridians of energy, in an analogy with the millennial Chinese medicine, allow connections that mix time and space and activate, on those that are transported through them, the necessary adjustment of language skill and, sometimes, cultural adaptation. In other words, they equalize the inner communication channel of the person crossing a portal. This means that you need portals, like those opened by magic beans, like the ones I used to open, for the Nautilus, with kraken blood fuel - thanks to Ursula, this is a method I no longer use - or any other magical means to open portals between realms and dimensions. They translate different temporal and spatial planes to converge into the same plane. Before you ask – yeah, I’m seeing your eyes shining while your mind is processing the information - let me tell you one thing. Time travel in the same realm is far more complicated than that between planes of different realms and often requires dark magic. So, back to the convergence of characters originated from different times in History into a common space-time, you’ve got to remember that they are characters like all of us, right here and right now. We obviously know that these characters and stories are absolutely real – we are real!" Everyone laughs at that, before Nemo resumes, "the fact that we are known in the Land without Magic literature is also explained by the Earth’s meridian theory: during their dreams, writers, supposed to be our creators, travel through the dream lines and visit our original and very much real realms, they get to know real people that they turn into fiction characters, and by doing it the way they do, they frequently translate their dreams into mixed distortions of our real stories, you know the rest. In summary…” he sighs and pauses for a little while, “there you have it. Are you happy with my answer, Roland? "

"Very, Sir, thank you very much," the boy responds with a distant, dreamy look, sailing the waves of imagination fueled by Nemo's response.

Concluding his explanation, Nemo takes another sip of his tea and finally states, “to conclude, the Grid, with capital letter - that is how I call my maps, establishes higher levels of consciousness in a scale of 7 keys, but this is something to talk about in another day. Let’s hope Ursula will help us in understanding what is going on in our present situation and, also, in knowing what we should do to prevent chaos or to fight potential enemies.”

Underworld, Underbrooke

The air is dry, reddened by the pollution caused by a high dose of toxic gas spewing from chimneys spread along the sidewalks. However, for those who inhabit the decaying town, the existence of the permanent anomaly does not affect them yet: they do not properly breathe with lungs; though through their semi-densified souls, molded in the shape of the body they had on earth, runs a viscous liquid which - under the effect of torture, in Hades' time, gushed and bled.

The streets are empty; most of Underbrooke’s inhabitants are gathered in an assembly promoted by Arthur and Persephone, at the City Hall. The subject of the meeting may be or may be not new to everyone except for the two beings walking down Main Street: Wish Belle and Wish Rumple discussing and, in vain, trying to seek an understanding, a convergence of viewpoints.

…

"Rumple, no matter how hard you try to justify it, the fact is that you lied about not acting dominated by your Dark One persona. Dark Ones trick, Dark Ones lie! When Baelfire came back from Neverland, you tricked him and lied to me!"

Tousling his hair with his hands in exasperation, Rumple continues to argue. "Belle, we were a happy family until Regina killed Baelfire and you. We lived years of peace, harmony and love. What difference does a harmless lie make?"

"Harmless? Really? It's the cornerstone of everything that went wrong later, Rumple. It's the first domino, the first lie followed by a string of more lies. It means that all our happiness was grounded in lies. Our harmony was false, and I no longer know if your love was false too. Your love of power has corrupted your noblest feelings, Rumple.”

“How dare you?! Of course I loved you! I love you. Everything I did was because I loved you and Bael more than anything!” Rumple cuts her.

“Rumple, you know that I've always been able to see beyond the Beast, to see your primary light source despite your Dark One persona. The fact that you can't understand a truth as basic as this: our happiness was built on a lie, makes me wonder. It makes me think that you continue, even after you are dead, trying to delude yourself and, as a byproduct, to fool me too!"

"I lost everything Belle, I lost you, I lost my son, differently from the other Rumple I was left with nothing. My only option was to give up. I know I am worse now than I was when you died but ... I had no choice but to surrender to darkness. I lost Hope."

"Don't you see the pattern? Everything and everyone to blame but you! You're victimizing yourself again and we're going around in circles. I know it got harder for you after Bael and I died. But it was hard for me too! After dying we arrived here but he quickly moved on to the Islands of the Blessed. Meanwhile, with this hellish unresolved business called Rumplestiltskin, I've been here for almost 12 years now, always in a library, reading, studying the human psyche, and waiting for my unresolved, unfinished business to come in. Then you arrived, a soul completely darkened but … still, I still hoped, I still do, Rumple. I have not given up on you or on us. I wait because I'm your Hope. Can't you see, Rumple? You haven't lost Hope."

“Nah… you are the one not seeing, Belle. I know that I had lied to you and to Bael but I had good reasons. I did that so that I would be able to trick Regina and Hook by making them believe that she would cast the dark curse and he would follow me in a world where I would be vulnerable. I made them believe that I needed to go the Land without Magic to find my son when, in reality, I had already found him and we were secretly living in peace. All I wanted was Hook to cross the realms and be trapped there, staying there for the rest of his life. And why should I care in betraying Regina? She was Evil, she was a villain. So, I plotted with the fairies to capture her and to steal her magic – in one way or another, the result would be positive: the Enchanted Forest would get rid of two villains. What happened was not exactly what I envisioned, but it worked well, for a while at least. Hook moved to the other Enchanted Forest, to raise his daughter, and we neutralized the Evil Queen’s power - all realms benefited from that. I was convinced, and still am, that the end justifies the means - and the end was noble: to live in peace with you and my son, being a family of nobles with noble attitudes: charitable, generous, fair … Bael became a knight and married a Princess! We lived a happy life, we did!”

“Until we did not,” Belle sighs, and continues, “I don’t know what else I could do or say to make you see, Rumple. I don't know how far you still have in your soul traces of the connection with the Dark Ones lineage, or if it's all just you. I do not know how far you have not understood that lying is like non-consensual, abusive, sex; it is the absence of resonance, of transparency, of respect. There is no nobility where there is a lie. Nobility is, above all, a state of honesty, of sincerity. I’m not saying you did no good to a lot of people, I’m saying you did no good to yourself, mainly. Once I read a text, written by a man called Carl Gustav Jung, in his ‘Memories, Dreams and Reflections’, stating something like: You may feed the hungry, you may forgive an insult, and you may love your enemy…these are undoubtedly great virtues… But what if you should discover that the poorest of beggar and the most impudent of offenders are all within you, and that you stand in need of your own kindness; that you are the enemy who must be loved? What then?”

“Are you implying that I should love myself? Well, dearie, that would be the opposite of what you have always said when you accused me of being selfish, don’t you think?”

“Absolutely not, these are two different things and there you are again, trying to locate a loophole in my reasoning. I’m saying that you are your own enemy. Don’t trick me with your word playing, Rumple. You know what I meant. We are both too old and too dead for this kind of game.”

“One more reason for us to go back to Earth, to inhabit healthier and younger bodies, Belle...”

“Please, Rumple, not this nonsense again. I asked Arthur to come for a walk because he knows how and why I know the news he and Persephone are, right now, communicating to everyone and trying to find out who else, besides you, is behind the plan. He knows I’m aware of you being behind the sad news…”

“I still don’t see the sad aspect of it. You are neglecting a unique opportunity to keep your memories as Belle intact and be given the experience of a new life without repeating the same mistakes of the previous life. Look at my dark soul, I could evolve towards the light, don’t you see? I would be able to learn what still needs to be taught to me. Just imagine, you and I together, no dark magic this time, no magic at all, no tricks, and no lies: a new beginning – a reincarnation without forgetfulness. The prospect is fabulous: a new life in young bodies ready to express physically the pleasures of loving and being loved. Would you do that, Belle? For us, would you build with me a new life? Would you go back with me, if you knew that the cloning plan would work as it is supposed to work?”

Sighing, despite not breathing, just out of habit, Belle responds. “I love you, Rumple, I honestly do, I know – I sense – that underneath your darkness there are resilient seeds of goodness. But I could never go ahead with you in this craziness. And … you know what? I’m so tired; I need to evolve, I need to rest in peace.” Slowly, head down, Belle walks away from him, leaving Rumple completely alone.

…

"Fate behaves irrationally, and the energy of life inconveniently demands a gradient agreeable to itself; otherwise it simple gets dammed up and turns destructive. It regresses to former situations. […] Psychic energy is a very fastidious thing which insists on fulfillment of its own conditions. However much energy may be present, we cannot make it serviceable until we have succeeded in finding the right gradient. […] Life can flow forward only along the path of the gradient. But there is no energy unless there is a tension of opposites; hence it is necessary to discover the opposite to the attitude of the conscious mind. It is interesting to see how this compensation by opposites also plays its part in the historical theories of neurosis. Freud’s theory espoused Eros; Adler’s the will to power. Logically, the opposite of love is hate, and of Eros, Phobos (fear): but psychologically it is the will to power. Where love reigns, there is no will to power; and where the will to power is paramount, love is lacking. The one is but the shadow of the other: the man who adopts the standpoint of Eros finds his compensatory opposite in the will to power, and that of the man who puts the accent on power is Eros. Seen from the one-sided point of view of the conscious attitude, the shadow is an inferior component of the personality and is consequently repressed through intensive resistance. […] The conscious mind is on top, the shadow underneath, and just as high always longs for low and hot for cold, so all consciousness, perhaps without being aware of it, seeks its unconscious opposite, lacking which it is doomed to stagnation, congestion, and ossification. Life is born only of the spark of opposites…" (Carl G. Jung, Two Essays on Analytical Psychology)

#Body and Soul #Ch 3

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cianmars · 6 years

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12 Days of Charming Family Christmas.

Day 1: Advent Calendars.

AO3

Emma had been stabbed with the sword by Gideon, light had filled Main Street, and time had stopped. David and Snow thought that they would never breathe again, they didn't even know what they were feeling, they felt nothing. It did not seem real.

They saw Emma's dead body lying on the road. Snow had just kept thinking they would have to move her, Emma hated the cold, they needed to get her somewhere warm. Emma was not dead, her heart had battled with what she had just seen, there was no reality or realm where she would watch her daughter die, or outlive her.

David's heart stopped beating. He took one shaky breath, he could hear his heart beating again:

Once.

Twice.

Then he ran towards his daughter.

Henry had reached Emma first, then David and Snow, Killian and Regina reaching her only a few seconds later. David crouched down at the same time as Henry, his wife fell upon her knees next to their daughter.

Henry shook his head in disbelief, willing her to get up, she did not.

David took hold of Emma's hand, it was cold but no more so than it had been when her heart had still beaten, she was just cold from the autumn air. She never wore gloves, he remembered, despite Snow always telling her to.

Snow's hand shook as it made its way to cup her cheek. Her eyes were shut, she might have been sleeping.

Snow's hand touched Emma's cheek at the same time that David kissed her hand and Henry kissed her forehead.

A wall of light so bright that they had to shield their eyes hit them.

When the light died they looked back at Emma. But the woman they had known had gone. She was replaced with a child, who had just turned four, draped in Emma's t-shirt. She rubbed her eyes with her fists as she woke up.

She looked up at her shocked looking parents.

"Mommy? Daddy?"

A lot had changed since the faceoff between Emma and Gideon had left them both deaged. David and Snow were now raising two toddlers, Emma and Neal being four and one and a half respectively, and both perfect mixes of their parents.

Snow had been planning on returning to teaching before their lives had completely changed, but that had been put on hold a little while, Emma's memories weren't of being raised by them, but instead having been in foster care until going to be fostered (and breaking the curse) in Storybrooke by David and Snow. In Emma's fake memories David and Snow had been married during the curse, and with baby Neal, they knew that they had something missing but didn't know they had a daughter. That had been one of the hardest things they had to do over the past couple of months, to have Emma wiped of some of the good memories they had all had together, and had made it hard for her to realise she could rely on them.

Within a month they had packed up the loft and had moved to a house Henry had helped them choose, it was not the farm they had been looking at purchasing before Emma had died and then come back, but Snow and David had both agreed that two toddlers was more than enough to be getting on with for the time being.

Another thing which had changed was for the first time ever the town was without curses, villains, or drama.

For the first time the town would be celebrating Christmas.

David and Snow had grown up with having two very different Christmases, or Yuletide celebrations as they were known, in the Enchanted Forest, but it had been one of the many things they had discussed before Emma was born, so knew how they would have celebrated it in the Enchanted Forest. But they were not in the Enchanted Forest, so they were feeling rather unprepared.

This would be the first Christmas their family had, and they wanted it to be perfect.

One evening, after Snow and David had settled their babies down in their beds, Snow and David were relaxing on the couch. The living room was lit with candles on the mantle of the fireplace, a burning fire, and the light from the television. On the screen played a romantic comedy which Snow had insisted upon her and her husband watching.

David had had other ideas, and had quickly managed to distract her from the movie, soon enough she was straddling him as they made out. One of David's hands rested upon her hip, while the other trailed up her body, brushing over various scars, ones he had kissed a hundred times over the years. Soon his hands were undoing her bra and trying to pull her sweater off as she left a love bite on his neck.

"Shit." David suddenly breathed out.

"What? What's wrong?" Snow asked alarmed that her husband was hurt, that she might have hurt him.

David threw his head back cursing at himself his hands returned to his wife's hips as he sighed. "The advent calendars."

"The advent calendars?" Snow frowned confused. Her eyes suddenly went wide. "Shit." She breathed out just how David had. "The advent calendars."

They had been out shopping in the nearest town to Storybrooke one day when Emma had spotted the advent calendars which filled part of one of the Christmas aisles. They were simple calendars, only a couple of dollars, chocolate behind each of the cardboard doors which had a picture of the dogs from the cartoon Paw Patrol printed upon it. They had smiled at it, and shown Emma the wooden advent calendars which were also on sale and explained that she could pick any candy to put in the doors, but Emma loved the cartoon and loved the much cheaper advent calendar. David and Snow had smiled and decided to get it, and the Mickey Mouse one Neal fell in love with, the next time that the kids weren't with one of them, wanting the kids to wake up with a surprise.

But the kids had always been with them.

"We forgot the calendars." David looked at his watch, the date on the watch face read the 30th of November, and it had already gone seven.

"We could…." Snow tried to think of a way to make it better. "We could get them tomorrow? We could take Em and Neal with us, make it into a trip."

David bit his lip, it was a little tender from where his wife was nibbling it mere minutes before, though he certainly did not regret that. "We told Emma that you get to eat the chocolate as soon as you wake up… She'll be disappointed… I guess we could make a day of it, tell her that it could start the next day."

Snow could see he was trying to make himself okay with that idea, but she could see the disappointment he felt in himself in his eyes, she understood because she felt it too. They wanted everything to be perfect for their first Christmas. She leant down and drew him into a long kiss. She felt him kissing her back and the rest of his body reacting to the kiss, his warm hands making their way back over her cold skin. She drew back and smiled as he made a noise of complaint. "Go." She told him, he looked confused for a half second, then he just looked surprised.

"Are you sure?" He asked, but he knew that if she said no and he stayed, he would be thinking about it all night.

"Go." She repeated firmly. "Go before the stores close, then you can come back, and I'll be here… if you bring me back one too I'll give you a reward." She started to move off of his lap but his hands went to her back and he flipped them around. She was suddenly led on her back on the couch, David leaning over her, grinning at having surprised her.

"I will see you soon." He kissed her lips. "With calendars in hand." He kissed her again. And again… and again….

David eventually managed to pull himself away from his wife and drove to the store in Storybrooke where he had last seen the calendars. He grabbed a basket on his way into the Dark Star Pharmacy and quickly walked over to the advent calendars. There were exactly three types of calendars left. He walked around the store past the groceries and down the aisles where loads of Christmas stuff was piled up. There was no sign of any more calendars, he returned to the three calendars. He looked over at Tom Clarke, Sneezy, at the counter. "You don't have any more advent calendars?"

"Just what you see there, they sold out fast, you should have gotten them earlier."

"Fuck." David muttered under his breath but clearly Tom heard him.

"I hope you aren't using that sort of language in front of my niece and nephew."

David just rolled his eyes, he had known all of the dwarfs a long time, and he always seemed to be having to gain their approval, they were very protective of Snow and the kids, kind of like shorter, magic-less, and much more masculine versions of Regina.

Tom raise his eyebrow and his eyes narrowed on David. "You didn't forget to get my niece her one, did you? She's been on about them since she saw them."

David paused for a half second. He knew that if he told Tom the truth he would never hear the end of it from his surrogate brothers-in-law. "No," he said breezily, "I forgot mine, but if I don't have one then the kids might feel bad for me, I don't want that."

"Ah." Tom nodded understandably. "You could try the store outside of town." He offered, not wanting his niece and nephew to feel bad.

David nodded his head and dashed towards the door. "Thanks Tom." He called over his shoulder, though the dwarf had been little help, as he left to drive as fast as he legally could to the other store before it shut.

David got to the store outside of Storybrooke, the next town over, in record time. He snatched up a basket as he raced in, then he raced towards the Christmas aisle, wanting to get out of the store soon so the employees could close up and go home.

The shelves had depleted since he had last been in there but he soon spotted the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse calendar his son had been besotted with. He grinned as he placed it into his basket, he was certain this was going to be easy. He glanced around looking for the Paw Patrol advent calendar, but he could not see it. He saw a calendar his wife would not mind, but he knew it wasn't her favourite. He glanced at his watch and knew he'd have to hurry. He spotted a shop assistant and hurried over to him.

"Excuse me," he said politely capturing the attention of the young man's attention, he wondered if it officially made him old to think of people in their early twenties as young, "do you have any more of the Paw Patrol calendars?"

The young man glanced up at the handsome prince, though he did not know that he was a prince particularly one from a fairy tale there was something fundamentally powerful and different about the man, he managed to tear his eyes away from David and scan the shelves. He looked back at David. "Sorry, I think we'll be getting more of them in tomorrow."

"No worries." David smiled gratefully. "I should have remembered earlier." He picked up one for himself and placed it beside Neal's in the basket. As he looked back at the shelf he saw that the advent calendar which had been behind his own was his wife's. David beamed as he picked up the calendar full of strawberry and white chocolate chocolates and placed it into his basket. He knew that Snow wasn't expecting one, but that she would love it, she was going to be so happy.

His smile faltered, the only one without an advent calendar was Emma, he would have felt bad if it was Neal he couldn't find the Mickey Mouse one for, but Neal was much younger and would have been just as happy with a different one. He could get Emma some other one, but there was nothing she loved as much as she loved that show, she kept telling David that she was going to puppies just like them who would all have special jobs like them.

He thought for a moment before coming up with an idea. He quickly took the calendars to the checkout and paid before driving back to Storybrooke.

"I need a favour." David said when Regina opened the door of her house.

"Some people start with a "Hello" or an "Excuse me."" She pointed out. "Anyway, do I look like Gold?"

David tried his hardest not to roll his eyes and only because he wanted, needed, something. "I need a favour." He repeated. "It's for Emma." He added when she looked like she was about to slam the door, he knew that Regina had a soft spot for Emma, as soon as Emma knew that Regina was her step-grandmother she started to call her 'Grandma' and was putty in Emma's hand from that moment on.

"Are you going to tell me what you need or am I going to die of old age first?"

"Snow and I found this advent calendar Emma fell in love with." He started.

"The dog one, right?" She interrupted. "Emma showed it me at the pharmacy- wait, did you not get it for her? She loved it!"

David tried not to sigh at how little Snow's weird family (or as close to a family she had) trusted him. "I know! And Snow and I were going to get it for her, but we wanted it to be a surprise so she woke up tomorrow and it was there, but there hasn't been a moment that we haven't all been together… it's been hard trying to get her to fully trust us again, that one of us or both aren't going to leave her… and then we forgot."

Regina sighed, for once not at him, but because she remembered how hard it had been to do things to surprise a toddler Henry. She waved her hand and the exact Paw Patrol calendar, which had been on Emma's mind since she saw it, appeared in David's hands.

"Thank you, Regina." David said wholeheartedly. "This will mean the world to her."

Regina nodded, but for once she gave him a genuine and sympathetic smile to go along with it. "It's okay. I know that other things get in the way… Just ask Henry to teach you how to order things online to be delivered here next time." She told him getting rid of the mood which was turning too close to feelings than either were comfortable with unless it was a moment of life and death. "And tell Snow White that not everyone needs to see what you two get up to when your children are sleeping."

He felt her eyes on his neck and remembered that Snow had been leaving her mark there before his little shopping trip. "I'll tell her to leave them in places where only she sees." He shot back, he turned around and called goodbye back over his shoulder when it looked like she was about to throw a fire ball at his head.

The next morning David smiled as he helped Emma down the stairs and into the kitchen of their new house, Snow carried Neal behind them.

"Daddy!" Emma shouted in surprise as she saw the Paw Patrol calendar stood up beside her parents' and little brother's on the kitchen table. She ran over to it with a beaming smile before she looked back at her parents who were grinning at her. "Is that one for me?"

David knew that she was still getting used to receiving things so he walked over to her and lifted her into his arms so she could see it better. "Yep. This one is just for my Emmy."

Emma grinned at him and watched as he picked it up. "Can I open it?"

"You can open door number one now." He told her over Neal shouting 'Mickey' repeatedly. "And then you can have number two tomorrow when you wake up."

Emma was helped by David to find the number one and when she opened she pulled out her first chocolate. "It's a present!" She told them happily, holding it up in the air. "Mommy, mommy, look! I have a present."

"That's very good sweetie!" Snow grinned she wasn't looking at the present but at her daughter who seemed to be overjoyed by the simple small chocolate just because it was a special shape. She also noticed how the small blonde kept glancing at the picture on the calendar with love, she hadn't stopping grinning from the moment she had seen it. "You can eat it now baby."

Emma wasted no time in doing what she had been told.

Snow leant down and kissed him, he had told her the story of trying to find the calendar the night before, as well as Regina's response to the hickey. She had then given him many more leading from his jawline down, and down, and down… He would be wearing turtleneck sweaters around Snow's family, he decided, though he certainly didn't mind.

"Can I have another now?" Emma asked making her parents break apart.

David chuckled, he had a feeling she would be asking that every morning for the next twenty four days. "Sorry, princess, you have to wait for tomorrow."

"Aww." Emma pouted before suddenly smiling again. "Can I help you find your one?"

"Of course you can." David grinned. Their life was a little mad at times, and he missed the adult version of his daughter just as much as the one sat on his lap starting to sing a song she had made up about Christmas, but he was truly happy, and so were his family, and that was all that mattered.

#charmingfamilychristmas #charming family christmas #12daysofcharmingchristmas #12 days of charming christmas #the charming family #12 days of christmas #writing challenge #the charmings #daddy charming #mama snow #Neal Nolan #Emma swan #David Nolan #Snow White #Snowing

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