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lilacmoon83 · 7 days

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Operation Castle

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Chapter 13: Visitors From Camelot

Arthur and his two Knights arrived at Lake Nostros and marveled once again at the swirling sand, with green undertones.

"Sire…are you sure? There is a good chance we might never see Camelot again if we go through with this," Tristan warned.

"And if we do not…Merlin could return and Camelot will be lost to us all. I must make sure he is silenced," Arthur said.

"Then let us commence in the quest of all quests," Gawain declared. They dismounted their horses and approached the portal. Arthur went first and disappeared into the sand. Tristan and Gawain followed their King loyally and they were gone without a trace…

~*~

Snow stared out the window in the new apartment and saw nothing but tall, privacy fencing. No trees or grass, or even a pond with ducks, so naturally, there was no playground equipment either. Just dreary, gray privacy fencing and concrete. At least with a magical dampening forcefield inside the building, they didn't have to worry about Bobby showing them his abilities. In listening to Shaw and the other agents, they had learned that a small section outside the fenced compound allowed magic, but it was heavily guarded and likely just so they could train and display their abilities for the new overlords. She felt her husband slip his arms around her waist and press a kiss to her hair, which she relished.

"I'm so sorry, my love…" he whispered. She knew that this was the last place they would ever want to raise their son, but choice had been stolen from them by warring government factions that were treating them like aliens instead of human beings. She turned in his arms and surprised him when she slipped her arms around his neck and kissed him passionately.

"None of this is your fault," she assured him once their lips parted and he pressed his forehead against hers.

"That tree…what is it really?" she asked and he wasn't surprised that she knew he wasn't being truthful with the General.

"The tree really is an oak, but it's the sap, herbs, and water inside it that are magical. It grows in Camelot…known as the Avalon oak," he explained.

"Then it is magical…" she realized. He nodded.

"If they figure it out and harness the Avalon mist and the legends about it are real…they could control an entire population," David said. She blew out a breath and then her eyes widened.

"A magic tree…" she said.

"What are you thinking?" he asked.

"Geppetto built the wardrobe from a magical tree…what if it's a portal like that was?" she asked.

"It's definitely possible…and potentially doesn't have a limit on how many people can use it. Even if we could get to it though, there's no way of knowing if we could keep them from following us. But at least we'd be on our own turf again," David replied. She bit her bottom lip and looked down, but he raised her chin.

"Hey…we'll figure this out. We always do," he promised. She smiled and leaned into his touch.

"Together," she agreed, as their lips met again and they went to check on their son.

~*~

"Nice digs," August commented, as he arrived at Cruella's mansion and she immediately went for the liquor cart in the sitting room. She poured herself some gin and downed the liquid.

"Only the best for mummy, dahling," she said.

"So…what exactly is your plan?" August questioned. She smirked.

"I have an inside person…and they just informed me that our heroes have been detained inside an NSA facility to keep tabs on them, at least when they're not fighting off grizzly ogres," she explained.

"So prisoners?" he asked.

"Yes…which means the Dark One will already be plotting their escape, as will chisel chin," she said, pausing for a moment to snicker.

"Prince Charming and the Dark One working together…a tale that no one saw coming," she mentioned. He shrugged.

"David and Rumpelstiltskin aren't all that different if you know the latter's history. They'll do anything for the people they love. They just have different methods, but they'll drop bodies to do it if they have to," August said.

"Oooh…I knew Charmz had a dark side…" she purred and he rolled his eyes.

"Anyway…they'll do anything to escape. Even trust someone like me to help them," Cruella said.

"That's your plan? You help them get out? What's in that for you?" he asked. She smirked.

"Oh dahling…you know those goody goody Charmings will lead me to whoever that pen will accept as its author and then they will write us all a new story," she replied.

"That plan is half baked at best…but if it means getting Emma and her family out of that situation, then I'm in," August said.

"Don't get cocky…if you try double crossing me, I may not be able to kill yet, but I have plenty of hired hands that can," she warned. He visibly gulped and then nodded.

"Now…let's check in with my mole," she said, as she picked up her cell phone.

~*~

Snow and David fell back onto the bed, after a rather vigorous bout of amorous morning lovemaking. They smiled and came together again, exchanging soft kisses and cuddling together in the afterglow. It didn't matter what they were going through, happy or sad times, their love always overcame it all.

"At least some things never change…and that's us," she mentioned. He smiled and caressed her cheek.

"And they never will," he replied, as they heard their son on the baby monitor and smiled.

"I'll feed the little man and you can have the shower first," he said, as he got up and she watched him put his sweat pants on, before going to get their son. She sighed and swooned for a moment, before getting up and heading for the bathroom.

"What are your findings?" General Shaw questioned, as he face-timed with his agents in Maine.

"The tree is giving off the same residual energy, much like this entire place where the town was," one scientist reported.

"We think we're close to a breakthrough," the other scientist said.

"Explain," Shaw demanded.

"The tree's roots are still at a surface level and the tree has not grown roots yet. We need to act quickly, but moving it is possible right now without killing it," the first scientist said.

"Yes…and the dark matter concentration in the tree is even higher than the scattered amounts here in Maine. We think it's enough to do what we want," the second scientist informed.

"Then proceed with this plan and bring the tree here," Shaw ordered, as the screen went dark.

David smiled at his son, as he played with his toys in his playpen. Breakfast was over and David was getting a quick workout in with pushups and lifting hand weights. As he was doing some curls, the apartment doorbell rang and he put the weights down, before grabbing his towel and going to answer the door. He was expecting their daughter and grandson, but behind the door was Agent Becker and another female agent that he didn't recognize.

"What do you want?" David asked, as the two female agents, especially the younger one, were gaping at his shirtless, glistening torso.

"Uh…good morning to you too," Alivia said.

"This is agent Megan Spencer. She's shadowing me and has been read in on our operation," she said. He shrugged.

"And I'm supposed to care…why?" he asked, as he went to the kitchen for some water.

"Wow…you really don't hide your disdain for us," she replied.

"I've been told subtlety and tact aren't my strengths," he answered, as he plucked his son from his playpen.

"Well, there's been a development with the…tree. I thought you'd want in on it, so maybe get dressed and report to Castle," she ordered.

"Fine…Snow and I'll be there soon," he replied.

"Well, you can't bring the kid so someone has to stay behind with him," Alivia said. He snorted.

"Yeah…that's not how we work. We'll be there together, with our son, and you'll just have to deal with it," David argued. She huffed.

"Fine…" Alivia said, as she stormed out and pulled the staring junior agent with her.

"What was that all about?" Snow asked, as she came out from the bedroom, showered and dressed.

"Just Agent Becker trying to bark orders at us. We're supposed to report to Castle soon. There's development with the tree," he said.

"Do you think they've figured out it's magic?" she asked worriedly.

"I don't know…but possibly. It's not going to take them long to figure it out, I'm afraid," he replied, as she took their toddler and he went to clean up as well.

~*~

"Sire…what do you think they're doing with the tree?" Tristan whispered, as the three Knights watched the people they had encountered upon arrival, uprooting the tree and loading into a strange and very large carriage of some type.

"I'm not sure…but they seem to know of its importance," Arthur said.

"We must stop them then and burn the tree," Gawain replied. Arthur nodded and drew his sword. While it was a fake Excalibur, it was still a well crafted weapon.

"Follow my lead," he said, as they emerged from the trees.

"Halt…that tree is property of Camelot!" he announced, as men in black suits swarmed around the scientists in white coats.

"Don't know who you are, pal, but this isn't a renaissance fair. Stand down or we shoot," one agent warned, referring to the chainmail armor they were wearing. The three Knights were very confused by this and advanced anyway. But they were all stopped short, as three agents fired their tasers and collapsed them to the ground.

"We'll transport them back to base with us. The General will be very interested in this development," the lead agent said, as the three men were dragged to one of the trucks.

~*~

"Hey…" Emma greeted her parents, as they arrived at Castle later that morning and she waved at her baby brother, who reached for her. Emma smiled and gladly took him from her mother.

"Hey big guy…" she cooed.

"Nice of you to finally join us…we have hired a nanny to watch him," Alivia said.

"No thanks…we're not leaving him with a stranger and it's non-negotiable," David replied, as they stared each other down and she finally relented, which infuriated her. She wasn't used to losing a battle of wills.

"Fine…" she growled, as she sat down at the situation table.

"Good morning…we've had significant developments with the tree," Shaw said.

"Follow us," he added, as they got up and followed him and Casey outside into the back of the facility. They were in awe when they saw the tree on a flatbed truck, being unloaded.

"Bloody hell…" Killian uttered.

"You moved the tree?" David asked.

"We did…it hadn't taken root yet and we seized the opportunity. We believe it has magical properties, just like the town," Shaw answered. They exchanged subtle, nervous glances.

"But that's not all we found," he said, as three men were led out from one of the trucks. Their handcuffs had been removed, but it was clear that weapons were trained on them and they were stunned again. They didn't know who they were, but the way they were dressed clearly demonstrated that they were likely Knights from their realm.

"Tell us your names," Shaw demanded to know. The dark haired one in the middle clenched his teeth.

"I am a King…I take orders from no one, least of all some lowly peasant like you," he hissed.

"You're King Arthur," David guessed, as all eyes went to him. The King looked surprised.

"How do you know me?" he questioned sharply.

"I…I don't, it's just that this tree is an Avalon Oak and you're probably from Camelot and if you're King, that makes you King Arthur. We've heard of you…and we're from Misthaven," David answered. Arthur narrowed his gaze.

"Misthaven…the rumors were that land and its people were swept up by a Dark Curse by an Evil Queen," he recalled. Regina rolled her eyes.

"Yes…we were brought to this land and once the curse was broken, we found ourselves left to the devices of this world, to make a very long story short," Killian added.

"How did you get to this land?" Shaw demanded to know. Arthur thought for a moment and then looked at the strangers in his midst.

"I'll tell you what you need to know…if you destroy this tree right now," Arthur said.

"Why do you want to destroy a tree?" Emma asked.

"I don't have to explain myself to you, peasant," he snapped.

"Excuse me…but she's my daughter and a Princess," Snow interjected, which surprised Emma.

"You're not the only royalty here, Your Majesty," she added.

"Then to whom am I speaking?" he questioned.

"Snow White…had the Dark Curse not occurred, I would have been Queen of my Kingdom, my husband would have been King and our daughter a Princess. I never throw my royal weight around, but you will at least show some respect," Snow said. David smirked proudly, but the King seemed unfazed.

"You may be Queen of your Kingdom in Misthaven, Your Majesty, but that tree is property of Camelot and I have the authority to do with it as I please," Arthur said.

"We will not be destroying anything, until we know what it is. Now…you'll tell us how you got to this land," Shaw interjected.

"Never," he hissed, as he moved swiftly and grabbed agent Becker, before putting his blade to her neck.

"One nick from Excalibur…and she is dead," he warned, as the agents started to move toward him, but David stalled them.

"He's right…" the Prince said, as he drew his own sword and slowly approached.

"Be careful…" Snow whispered to him, as Emma took her hands.

"Stand down…you seem to know what this blade can do," Arthur said.

"I do…that's why I implore you to let her go and duel me. You win…I'll light that tree on fire myself," David replied. Arthur smirked and shoved the agent away.

"I am a Knight of the Roundtable…do you even need to offer a losing gesture?" he said arrogantly.

"Probably not…but if by some miracle that you do lose, you'll stand down and work with us. We want the same thing…and that's freedom from the controllers of this land," David replied. His Knights scoffed smugly.

"Deal," Arthur said, as he came at David with a downward strike in a very aggressive style. David parried his blade and showed his agility, by weaving around the other seasoned warrior and leaving him shadowboxing. Arthur was surprised. He did not encounter someone outside the Roundtable that could stand two minutes against him, let alone give him a challenge. They shuffled along the full expanse of the courtyard, in an exchange of furious strikes and blocks. Arthur grew frustrated and elbowed David in the gut, taking him down to one knee, but the Prince proved his agility by hand springing back to his feet in time to block another vicious strike.

"Wow…I knew Dad was good, but I mean this is King Arthur. Isn't he supposed to be a Legend?" Emma asked.

"Supposed to be, but this one is clearly only a Legend in his own mind," Neal replied.

"Yeah…he's kind of a douche. So much for honor and all that crap," Emma commented. Killian smirked.

"His hubris will allow your father a well deserved win," Killian mentioned, as Rumple watched with a narrowed gaze.

"What do you see?" Belle asked.

"David is clearly the better swordsman, but with Excalibur, that shouldn't matter as much. It's supposed to give an edge, no matter how skilled the opponent is," Rumple answered.

"Which means?" Belle asked quietly.

"It means either Arthur is a horrible swordsman…or something is not right with his weapon. Perhaps both," Rumple answered.

Arthur's frustration showed, as he continued to shadowbox and let out a battle cry, slashing furiously at David, who managed to keep up with his parries. The King backed David toward the building, hoping to corner him and David blocked a strike, meant for his throat. The King's desperation was clear in his eyes and he had lost all pretenses of a challenging duel and wanted to either kill or humiliate David at this point. The Prince's head was still clear though and he turned Arthur's blade aside. The King's eyes widened, as David kneed him in the stomach and then rolled over his back, as he bent over. He didn't stop there and flicked his wrist, using the hilt of his blade to check the King's wrist, causing him to drop his sword, while bringing the tip of his blade to the King's throat.

"Yield…" David said. Arthur clenched his teeth, but relented to the victor and David stepped back, before sheathing his sword. Snow couldn't contain her pride and rushed to him, before throwing her arms around him and kissing his cheek. He smiled and kissed her soundly on the lips.

"Well…Your Majesty, it seems that King Arthur in all his lore was no match for Prince Charming," Shaw commented.

"Now…it would be wise for you to tell us what the significance of this tree is and why you would want to destroy it. It would also be in your best interest to tell us how you go here," he added.

"I will tell you nothing…and you will release me and my Knights now! I am a King!" he said hotly.

"We made a deal," David said, bur Arthur ignored him and seethed at being humiliated by the Prince.

"You're not King in this land and your land has caused quite the number of calamities in our land. Creatures and magic from your land have seeped into this one. That's why I have formed this taskforce of people from your land to help vanquish these threats, led by the victor of your little duel," Shaw replied.

"If you join, the perks of some freedoms can be allotted to you," he added.

"And if we don't join you?" Arthur asked.

"Then I'm afraid you'll be sequestered in our compound until you cooperate," Shaw answered.

"Tell me how you knew some of those moves. Your style is a mix like I haven't seen, but some of those executions are only taught to Knights of the Roundtable," Arthur said, as he looked at David.

"Our friend Lancelot gave me a few lessons and spars," David answered. Arthur and his Knights sneered.

"If you are friends with Lancelot…then you're our enemy!" Arthur said, as he lunged toward them. Snow yelped, as David pulled her away and Emma reacted naturally, as a burst of pure white magic immobilized the three Knights.

"Get away from my parents," she growled, as the King's face showed surprise. She released them and they were cuffed again.

"You…you have magic," he uttered, with a tremor in his voice, as they were led away into the compound.

"So…any ideas why he would want to destroy this tree?" Casey asked. David shrugged and looked at Rumple.

"No idea, dearie…" he answered. The tree was clearly magic, but Rumple was reluctant to elaborate on that.

"For now…our team of scientists will continue to analyze the tree. The rest of you may proceed back to your residences," Shaw said, as they went back inside.

"Family dinner?" Henry asked. They smiled and nodded. If Henry asked, it was less likely to seem suspicious for them to gather in one apartment.

"How about lasagna in my apartment?" she asked. They agreed and headed there.

#Snowing #SnowxCharming #Charming family #Season 2 AU #romance #adventure #family #Rumbelle #Killian Jones #Neal Cassidy #Regina Mills #Operation Castle

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lilacmoon83 · 2 months

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Operation Castle

Also on Fanfiction.net and A03

Chapter 12: An Ogre in Downtown

"Sire…are you sure of this venture?" Knight Gawain questioned skeptically.

"I fear it is a chance we must take; it will certainly be a quest like none other," Arthur answered.

"Camelot needs a King. What if we are unable to return?" Knight Tristan asked.

"This is a broken Kingdom, Tristan…we all know that. The people may not, but it cannot be hidden forever," Arthur said, as he looked at Excalibur. It was a closely guarded secret between the three of them and his trusted squire, Percival, that the Excalibur in his hand was a forgery. A masterful one, but a fake nonetheless. The real one disappeared from his hand when he committed a grievous act and returned to the stone.

Arthur had panicked when it happened and the three of them quickly journeyed to find the legendary weapon again, but he knew he could never touch it again. It had rejected him and when he learned that Merlin was going to reveal everything to the Kingdom, he invoked the help of a witch to trap him in a tree. It came at the cost of allowing the dastardly witch practice her dark arts in a well kept shop in the marketplace. He had to keep her happy so she would continue to keep the secret.

She constantly teased him with the power she had over him and that there was another that could now wield Excalibur and free Merlin. Someone from another land entirely and if they were not eliminated, then they could reveal his treachery.

"Sire…if this person is in another land, perhaps that assures us that they are not a threat," Gawain reasoned. He had considered that, but before he could contemplate further, Percival came running into the private study, out of breath and panicked.

"Percival…what is it?" he questioned.

"Sire…it's Excalibur. It's gone," he whispered in hush tones.

"Gone…what do you mean gone?" Tristan asked urgently.

"The stone and the sword have disappeared entirely…" he said.

"Then we have no choice. We must quest to Lake Nostros and find the sword," Arthur replied.

"Sire…" Tristan started to protest.

"There's more," Percival said.

"More?" Gawain asked.

"Merlin's tree is gone as well," he revealed.

"This is a disaster…if that wizard fool is released, he'll find his new bearer of the sword and return to usurp me. We leave at once," Arthur said.

"What will you tell Guinevere?" Tristan asked.

"I will handle my wife," Arthur snapped, as he left the tower.

~*~

Their cars screeched to a halt, as they exited the vehicles among the running and screaming people. The towering ogre was already damaging buildings and stepping on vehicles.

"How the hell do we stop something that big?" Alivia asked.

"Got a bazooka?" Casey joked.

"You sure bullets won't work?" he asked.

"Not unless you can get him in the eye," David replied, as they saw fighter jets scrambling in the sky.

"Oh great…thanks for listening about the loud noises," the prince complained.

"Look Your Highness, this world practices a higher form of warfare than you do with your arrows and swords," Alivia argued

Missiles were fired and seemed to do a bit of damage, but not enough to kill the ogre and only made it more angry, as it smashed into an apartment building.

"Then I hope you have some bigger missiles," David countered.

"He's moving too much…I'll never get a clear shot. Even if I get high enough," Snow said, as she relaxed her bow, but still kept the arrow threaded.

"I think I have an idea…but it's a little crazy," Neal said, as they saw tanks begin to roll in.

"It can't get much crazier than tanks in downtown Manhattan. Whatcha got?" Emma asked.

"I need some grappling cable," Neal replied.

"Wait…you want us to trip him like an AT-AT Walker?" Emma asked. He shrugged.

"Sounds like a Henry idea and its not bad. If we can trip him, we can kill it," Regina replied.

"That's a big if," Emma said. Neal smirked.

"Yeah…I got this one," he said, as Snow gave him one of her grappling arrows and detached the cable from her quiver. But before he could do anything, the tanks began taking pot shots. They hit their target and other surrounding buildings as well, further angering the creature. It was definitely injured now, but not enough to stop it and they witnessed his fury, as he picked up one of the tanks and crushed it. They all scattered, as it charged toward them and crushed several vehicles around them, including the ones they had come in. Snow yelped, as the ogre made a swipe at her and Charming tackled her to the ground. It roared and he rolled them away from his stomping foot.

"Hey ugly!" Emma growled, as she stopped it from crushing her parents with a blast of magic. It was strong though and she fought against it with a stream of her novice magic.

"Moms!" Henry called, as he arrived at the scene, much to their shock and horror.

"Henry…what are you doing here?!" Regina scolded.

"I hitched a ride on a city bus…I wanted to see it," he said.

"It's not safe," Regina snapped, as Neal hauled him up with one arm.

"She's right, kid," he said, as he began moving away, but the ogre flailed free from Emma's magic and charged at them.

"Henry!" Regina cried, as he and Neal were directly under one of the ogre's feet.

"Bae!" Rumple called, as their hands both suddenly began alive with magic. Just as Emma's magic had surfaced to protect her parents, theirs suddenly made a return when their children were in danger. They looked at each other and then blasted the ogre back. Emma took a deep breath and joined them.

"Mom…can you get a shot from here?!" Emma asked, knowing it was a steep angle.

"By myself no…but then I'm not by myself," Snow replied, as she smiled at her husband and drew her arrow back. David tilted her bow up, aiming expertly and used his strength to help her pull the string back as tightly as possible. Taking a breath together, they released the arrow and struck him dead in the eye. The ogre fell dead onto the street, on top of the cars he had crushed and they took a breath of relief.

Tamara smirked, as she and Greg emerged from their cover.

"As you've witnessed here first hand…this strange group of people has used their strange witchcraft and dark magic to kill this creature. But should we be celebrating this? How can we when there are those among us that could turn on humanity at any time and destroy us all!" Tamara said.

"You're a lunatic!" Emma growled, as she started toward her, but Neal held her back.

"Don't prove her right," Neal whispered and she calmed for a moment. He was right…this is what she wanted.

"NSA…cut your feed now!" Casey growled.

"The NSA doesn't control the media, Agent Casey…this is freedom of the press and the people deserve to know that the NSA is running this secret magical taskforce to deal with these strange creatures," Tamara responded, as Greg filmed her.

"But what the NSA hasn't revealed is that these people are the reason for all this strangeness. Our world is being invaded by these witches and their dark magic!" Tamara ranted. Whether people would believe her or not, she would be successful in whipping the population into a frenzy.

"Let's go…" Casey said, as a couple more vehicles arrived for them and they quickly left the scene. But the damage was done this time. Any anonymity they still had was out the window and it felt like their freedom was too…

~*~

August sat idly in his cell, looking at what seemed like an ordinary pen. He had been allowed to have it back after he had been processed and locked up since it seemed to just be a pen. A pen he couldn't write with. Thankfully, his cellmate in Riker's was quiet and didn't hassle him. He was careful not to take the pen with him during meals and other necessities, because the crowd in this place was rough, to say the least.

He hadn't used his phone call yet, because he didn't know Emma's number. Since his petty theft didn't come with heavy restrictions, he was going to be allowed some heavily monitored computer time eventually, in which he planned to use to try and find her number. But until then…he was stuck. He had no one to call, no money for an attorney, and his sentencing would likely be swift, even if he did give the public defender a not guilty plea. Nothing mattered though if he didn't get that pen to Emma. Only the next author could fix this mess.

"Booth…" the guard called and he turned to face the bars on his cell.

"You made bail," he announced. Confusion marred August's face. No one even knew him or that he was here.

"How?" he asked. The guard shrugged.

"Some woman in a fancy fur coat paid it," he said, as the cell was unlocked. He was processed for release and instructed not to miss his arraignment next week and released. He looked around and wondered who had purchased his freedom. He didn't know anyone that wore fur coats.

"So…you're the other one that went through the magical wardrobe before the Savior," a woman's voice said. He turned to find a woman in a fur coat, with hair half white on one side and half black on the other.

"Who the hell are you?" August questioned. She chuckled.

"Come now, dahling…I thought that it would be obvious," she said, as she took a drag from her cigarette.

"But I do so love introducing myself. Cruella De Vil," she announced.

"Holy crap…" August muttered.

"How do you even know who I am and why did you bail me out?" he asked.

"I know everything…I was involved with the previous author, after all. I let him think I loved him and he got me out of that wretched forest before the curse and into this lavish lifestyle I enjoy now," she said.

"He told me everything I needed to know about the curse and then I had two brutes dispose of him. They were stupid though and left something I needed behind," she added. August clutched the pen inside his pocket.

"You can't possibly think that you could use the pen," he said. She cackled at that.

"Of course not, dahling…but you're going to help me find the one who can. I need a new story written," Cruella replied.

"Why? Fancy furs and a limo. You seem to be doing well in this land," August said.

"Oh I am…or was, until the wealthy tycoon I married got himself caught embezzling and now the FBI is breathing down my neck too. I'm in danger of losing everything and mummy has certain tastes and standards that require a lot of cash," she said.

"Sorry…can't help you," August said, as he tried to walk past her, but was stopped by two brutes behind him.

"Horace and Jasper…please escort this nice young man to my limo. He'll be our guest until he loosens his tongue and tells us who the next author is," Cruella said, as they dragged him to the luxury car.

"I don't know who it is…the pen chooses, not me," August protested.

"Which is why I'll be keeping a short leash on you, Pinocchio and you'll lead me right to them," she said, as they got in the car and it sped away.

~*~

On the way back to Castle, they stopped at the daycare, knowing that they likely couldn't bring Bobby back here again. It was risky as it was and Snow quickly went inside to get their son.

"Margaret…" Ashley uttered, almost fearfully, as the other woman arrived. She saw the television on and clearly the woman had seen everything. If only Ella was awake, this would be a lot easier, but she wasn't and Snow could only be concerned with their baby at the moment.

"I'm here to get my son," she said simply, but from her tone, the other woman could tell that it would be for the final time.

"I…I saw you on TV. You…you killed that thing with an arrow," she said, as Snow brushed past her and Bobby put his toy down and toddled toward her once he saw her. She scooped him up and Ashley stood in the doorway.

"The news…is saying that you're dangerous. How can I just let you take a child into whatever mess you're in?" she asked.

"My child," Snow snapped, as she pushed past her and hurried out to the car, before climbing in next to her husband. He took their son, while she buckled in and Alivia drove away.

"She give you any crap?" the blonde asked.

"Yes…she was definitely questioning my fitness as a mother," Snow replied.

"Which I know Ella will regret when she's awake," David said.

"If she ever wakes up," Snow muttered and sighed.

"Maybe that's better…it's different for them than it is for us. We were missing part of our family when we were cursed, but they're not. Maybe it's okay if they never wake up," she added.

"I used to think that…about breaking the curse," Emma said.

"Like everyone seemed fine and safe for the most part in Storybrooke, so I didn't see why it was so bad that I had to break it," she added.

"But I was wrong…because it brought families back together and people that were meant to be together that had been torn apart by a curse of lies and deception," she continued.

"Like you and Dad…you two are meant to be together more than anyone and even though Ashley has Sean in this world, there might be others that aren't together and everyone of them deserves to know who they really are," Emma said. They smiled at her.

"Yeah…that's not going to happen, Suzie sunshine," Alivia interjected.

"Excuse me?" Snow asked sharply.

"The entire world is about to call for all of you to be controlled or even locked up. Do you really want to subject the rest of your people to that, Princess?" she asked in a condescending tone.

"This isn't the way to Castle," David said.

"We're not going to Castle…it's not safe," Alivia said, as the other car behind them followed with Belle, Gold, Neal, Regina and Henry.

"Then where the bloody hell are we going?" Emma asked.

"Headquarters," she answered and they exchanged looks.

"We just saved the city and you're locking us up?!" David exclaimed.

"It's for your own protection and we're not putting you in jail cells. You'll all have your own little apartments and it will be safe. If you go home right now, you'll be mobbed by people and press," she argued.

"Safe and watched at every moment, right?" Emma huffed.

"I can arrange a prison cell for you, Miss Swan," Alivia snapped.

"How about I just beat your face in instead?" Emma countered.

"Hey!" David interjected and took her hand, giving her an intense look that she recognized by now. He had a plan and she relaxed a little.

"Fine…but what am I supposed to do about my son? He has school," Emma said.

"Not anymore…we have tutors that can give him daily instruction," Alivia replied. She huffed but was quiet until they arrived at the NSA compound. It was just outside the city and looked like an old warehouse.

"Lovely place to raise a baby," Snow commented.

"Don't let looks fool you, Snow White…there will be plenty of room for little Bobby to run around and play," Casey said.

"And the best part is…the whole place employs a magic dampening technology we developed. Out here, you'll use your magic and in there, you won't," Alivia replied.

"Putting us in a gilded cage doesn't change the fact that we're prisoners," Neal countered.

"Freedom didn't work out like we had hoped. Tamara and Greg have blown this wide open, but hopefully, it means we will soon draw out whoever they're working for," Shaw said, as they entered the compound, which was much nicer on the inside.

"So we get punished because those lunatics are allowed to run amuck," Regina said.

"They haven't technically broken any laws yet," Shaw countered.

"That you know of…and they were born here in this world, after all…unlike us, right, mate?" Killian questioned and Shaw was silent for a moment.

"We know this isn't fair…but we are still on the same side and I'll prove it by letting you in what we have just found," Shaw said, as they followed him down the corridor and into a large area that resembled Castle.

"Welcome to Castle 2.0…" he said, as they all took seats at the conference table.

"Fine…what did you find?" Gold asked impatiently. He was livid and already scheming on a way to get out of this place and he had a feeling the Prince was as well, as he showed them a wooded area.

"Maine just had another unprecedented earthquake and in the wake of it…this appeared," he said, as he showed them a tree that seemed to be in the middle of a rural road.

"Where is that?" David asked, as he got closer to the screen.

"I think you know where," Shaw replied.

"Do you know what this tree is?" Alivia asked. David was quiet for a moment. He did…and it was a species of tree that did not grow in this land. An Avalon tree and it grew in only one place he knew. The tree itself was oak, but the sap and herbs from the tree, as well as the water inside, were what was magical. And it only grew in Avalon in the Kingdom of Camelot. He turned and met eyes with Gold, who he could tell knew what it was too.

"No…it appears to be an oak tree, but we should investigate it since it obviously appeared in the middle of the road for a reason," David said.

"Our scientists are investigating. You'll remain here for now," Shaw replied. They all exchanged glances. So that was the goal now. Play nice and find a way to navigate this compound to find out everything that was being kept from them and then escaping to Maine. A tree from Camelot definitely met something…something big and they had to find a way to take control of this whole situation or they would spend the rest of their lives under lock and key…

#Snowing #SnowxCharming #Charming family #Emma Swan #Henry Mills #Regina Mills #Neal Cassidy #Mr. Gold #Belle #romance #adventure #family #Season 2 AU #Operation Castle

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lilacmoon83 · 3 months

Text

Lightning in a Bottle

Also on Fanfiction.net and A03

Chapter 86: Water Landing

The bag over Killian's head was removed and he found himself in some kind of interrogation room at an unknown location. He had been investigating the case regarding Fiona Black and wound up being forced into an unmarked van. So he wasn't surprised in the least when Vance walked through the interrogation room. He smirked.

"Should have known this was you," he mentioned.

"The Fiona Black case is closed and a matter of national security. You're going to drop this investigation," Vance stated.

"Her daughter deserves answers about her mother," Killian argued.

"Her mother tortured 828 passengers on the government dime. Do you really want to sully a daughter's memory of her mother?" Vance countered. Killian was silent for a moment.

"Regardless…she deserves to know her mother is dead," he reasoned.

"Fine…we'll put this to rest once and for all," Vance said.

"Fiona Black was murdered and found submerged in a bog down in New Orleans, several months ago. We suspect it was a hit by a foreign asset and I'm only telling you this because your continued investigation threatens to expose a host of classified materials," Vance explained. It was a lie, but he needed Killian to drop it. If he found out that Regina was responsible, then he'd carry the case all the way to the end with the arrest of Regina and exposure that an 828 passenger had murdered a government official. The consequences to all the passengers if it got out would result in things that Vance didn't want to think about.

"It's time to stand down and let it go. You can reveal what I told you to her daughter if you think it will help give her closure, but if you want to protect the passengers of 828, you'll drop this," Vance said, with a meaningful stare. Killian relented. He normally wasn't one to let anything go…but if he was really implying that getting to the truth about the Major's death could endanger the passengers, particularly Emma and her family, then he could do it. After all, he recalled what the Major had done to some of the passengers. They were still in a vegetative state from the experiments that had been done on them.

"All right then…to protect the passengers, I'll appease the Major's daughter with this story," Killian agreed.

"Good…I'll have my agent take you back to the precinct," Vance said.

"You gonna blindfold me again?" Killian asked.

"Are you going to breathe a word about this place?" Vance questioned in return.

"If it means protecting the Nolans…then no," he agreed, as he was led out. Vance sighed, as he left the room too and ran into Regina.

"Did you tell him?" she asked. He rolled his eyes.

"What? That you killed the Major and I helped cover it up? Of course not," he snapped.

"Maybe you should…maybe I need to confess," Regina lamented.

"No," he stated.

"If the truth comes out, then we're both taken out of here and we both know that without us, we'll never figure out what happened to the plane and the passengers will be doomed to the Death date," he reasoned. She sighed.

"If the Major was still running things, I'd still be shut out and the passengers would be her lab rats. You said it yourself. She knew there was something special about Henry among the passengers," he reminded her. She nodded.

"You're right…Henry would still be in danger from her," Regina realized, as some of her regret slipped away. She loved that little boy like her own and his family. They had welcomed her in too and considered her one of them.

"Did you finally just have a breakthrough?" he asked. She blew out a breath she had been holding.

"I guess all you had to do was remind me that the bitch was going to go after my family," she replied. He smirked.

"Good…the self loathing was getting old. It's not like you," he said. She nodded.

"Let's get back to work," she said. He smiled and followed her.

~*~

Leopold entered the local diner that was near his new home and picked up the food they had ordered.

"Here you go…hope you and your family enjoy," the woman behind the counter said, as he gave her a generous tip.

"Thank you…it's been a joy having my daughter and grandson with me these past few weeks," he said.

"Children and grandchildren are a joy," she agreed.

"Yes…I wish I had learned that sooner," he said, with a genuine note of regret in his voice.

"It's never too late to make things right," she said. He nodded.

"Yes…and lucky for me, I have a very loving, forgiving daughter," he said, as he took the food and left. Out in this small town, no one had really recognized him as the Wall Street Tycoon he once was. But on this day, a reporter for the New York Times happened to be doing another story in the area and was eating at the counter in the diner.

~*~

The reporter smirked, simply not believing his luck. Leopold Blanchard had all but disappeared into obscurity these past few months since the scandal with his wife and murder of the family's former nanny. Cora Blanchard had gone to prison for the crime and Leopold had disappeared. But now it seemed he had been located, but that was only part of the story. If his daughter and grandson were visiting him, that meant there was an 828 passenger in the area and it was big news…

~*~

Pete had given up the location of a trap house where Jace was known to crash from time to time and a task force approached, being led by Emma and Ruby. They rushed the door and smashed through it, before pouring into the dilapidated duplex.

"NYPD!" Emma called, as they flooded into the rooms.

"Clear!" she heard officers begin to call.

"Clear…he's not here!" another called.

"Emma…you need to see this," Ruby called, as she followed her voice into one of the bedrooms.

"Holy crap…" Emma uttered, as she looked at what appeared to be a shrine to her. A violent one. There were pictures and newspaper clippings. Her eyes were scratched out in all of the photos and some even had her family, also with their eyes scratched out.

"He's coming for me…for us," Emma realized.

"Maybe he's coming back here," Ruby suggested.

"No…he's got a day left. He's on a mission," Emma said.

"He's obsessed…this is more than you're letting on," Ruby replied, But Emma sidestepped this question and kept digging through the things in the room. She found something else peculiar. It looked like it had been torn from a history book. It was an ancient Egyptian God called Maat. She definitely needed Olive to see this, so she pocketed the clipping and turned back to Ruby, who was still waiting for answers.

"There are some dried foot tracks outside. Ballpark, I'd say he's been gone 24 to 48 hours," one of the officers said. Ruby nodded.

"Hey, you okay?" she asked, as Emma almost doubled over. It was a Calling. Jace was screaming and she could clearly see the lake where they had gone three months ago, only to emerge alive three months later. She came out of it and took a deep breath.

"Hey! What the hell was that?" Ruby asked.

"I... I can't explain, I'm sorry," Emma apologized.

"Yes, you can. You just don't want to," Ruby snapped, as she followed her out of the house.

"I know you saw something back there. What was it?" Ruby insisted.

"Please, please, do not do this right now," Emma pleaded. Ruby huffed.

"I think I've done a pretty good job of turning the other way, but honestly, I don't know if I can be your partner anymore if you're not gonna be straight with me. So it's time.

The truth. Right now," she demanded.

"Okay, and what if the truth is impossible to believe?" Emma asked.

"You came back from the dead. I dare you to try to top that," Ruby responded.

"We see things. Visions. We hear things," Emma confessed.

"Who? The passengers? Those junkies?" Ruby asked.

"All of us. We get... these messages. These callings that we're supposed to follow," the blonde explained.

"From who?" Ruby asked.

"From God... I think," Emma answered.

"So those hunches...all those cases you magically solved, you're telling me you got tipped off from…" Ruby said, trying to understand.

"Look, I'm sorry, okay? Someday, I will sit you down and I will...I will buy you beers and I will answer any question that you have. But right now, I need help. I need a friend,"

Emma pleaded.

"Okay. Yeah, what can I do?" Ruby asked.

"Look for Jace. I need to go find David," Emma replied. Ruby nodded.

"I've got your back," she promised.

~*~

Angelina and Pete held hands through the bars, as she visited him that afternoon.

"Jace was all I had for so long," he confessed.

"And now…we're both gonna die alone," he said sadly.

"You're not going to die," Angelia insisted.

"It's supposed to happen tomorrow," Pete reminded her.

"You heard Emma…if you follow the Callings, you can live. Yours is coming…it has to," she insisted.

"What if the Calling is something I shouldn't do?" he asked.

"No, Pete. We get the callings for a reason. Just like we were brought together for a reason. This is all God's plan," Angelina promised.

"I don't know if it is," Pete replied.

"You can't think like that. All things work together for good. You need to focus on the good. On us, together," she said. He smiled.

"Now tell me what's the first thing you wanna do when you get out," she said.

"I want to see the sunrise...with you. I want to hold you," he said, as the guard came.

"Pete Baylor? You're being relocated. Stand up and place your hands behind your back," the guard ordered.

"What? No. No, I need to be here. No!" Pete protested.

"I said stand up, sir," the guard snapped, as he was forcibly cuffed.

"I need to be here with her," Pete pleaded.

"Pete! No...where are you taking him?" Angelina asked. But she received no answer.

"Pete!" she called.

"Angelina!" he called back.

"Pete! I'll find you," she promised, as she called Olive. Maybe Olive's dad could help.

~*~

Emma arrived at the house, where David and Olive were working on the latest scans of the Egyptian parchments that TJ had sent them, so she started by giving Olive what she had found among Jace's things and Olive worked with it, while she and David talked.

"It felt like all three of them were there. And then he came off the wall like he wanted to attack me. David, I think that Jace is coming for me," Emma said.

"Okay. Okay. He's got one day left. You just need to hide out and you'll be safe," David replied.

"You don't understand. In the calling, he was on a rampage. I have to stop him. I can feel it," Emma lamented.

"Em…" he protested.

"Jace Baylor is not fading away, David. The last time he tried to get me, he took Henry.

What do you think he's gonna do this time?" Emma asked. David sighed. He missed his wife and son, but was glad they were tucked away somewhere safe.

"We don't even know where this guy is," David said.

"So we find him. We draw him out," Emma suggested. David was about to try and reason with her on that, but Olive interrupted.

"Guys, this painting…I think these symbols were in the research Angelina and I found while looking into Ma'at. The drawing…it was Jace's calling," Olive said. The depiction

was of violence and killing.

"Murderous rage…that fits Jace Baylor," David said.

"David…that doesn't make sense. We've never had a violent calling before," Emma reasoned.

"I don't know. Maybe it was just his interpretation of it. But if Jace had it, Kory and Pete must've as well," he said, pausing for a moment.

"I mean, think about it. They've been sharing callings ever since they came out of that lake. If you're supposed to stop Jace, Kory and Pete have to be where we start," David suggested.

"It's a good thing they're in lock up," Emma said.

"Not anymore," Olive said, as she read her texts.

"Angelina said some guys with FBI badges pulled Pete out of Rikers," she said.

"What do the feds want with him?" Emma asked. David sighed.

"Damn it. I told Vance about the Meth Heads coming back," he said in exasperation.

"I'll go to Eureka to see if they got him," David said, as he put his jacket on.

"Okay, I'll go to the hospital, see if Kory's still there," Emma replied.

"Go to Grandpa Robert's. Stay by your phone," David told his daughter, as he kissed her forehead.

"No way. I'm going to campus to check out these symbols," she protested.

"Olive, I'm not gonna argue about it. Jace Baylor is a killer. You gotta be somewhere I know you're safe," David pleaded. Olive nodded in agreement, as they both left. Olive waited a moment and grabbed her bag, before leaving as well.

~*~

"I told you, I don't know where he is!" Kory snapped, as Emma and Neal visited him in his hospital room.

"It's no use protecting him, Kory," Emma said and he glared at her.

"He shot me. I wanted to be done with Coach Hannity, but Jace wouldn't let it go.

I wouldn't protect that son of a bitch if my life depended on it," Kory insisted. Neal reached out and felt what he was feeling.

"I believe him. I'm getting that same connected sense I got when we were with Pete.

He's scared," Neal whispered to his wife.

"He knows he's dying," he added. Kory glared at him too.

"Who the hell are you?" he asked.

"I was there at the lake. Remember?" Neal asked.

"Something changed when you came out of that lake. You're hearing things. Having visions, right?" Neal asked. Kory nodded reluctantly.

"And Jace is in them? Do you recognize this?" Emma asked, as she showed him some of the clippings from Jace's wall. But Kory looked away.

"No, Kory. We... we need to know what it means," Emma insisted.

"It was like a dream. Jace was angry. He knew we were dying. And you were there," Kory confessed.

"We were where?" Emma asked and he shied away again.

"Come on, man. We need to know what Jace is planning," Neal said impatiently.

"There were trees. I think we were hiding. But where? I can almost see...I...he's going to kill you. You need to hide," Kory revealed.

~*~

Pete was brought into Eureka, resisting the guards, but to no avail.

"Mr. Baylor, we just want to run some tests to find out why your body seems to be breaking down," Dr. Gupta said.

"I already said no! I don't want to be here!" Pete cried, as Whale started to hook him up to the machines to run his vitals.

"What the hell are you doing?" David demanded to know, as he burst into the room. Vance sighed.

"You told us he had returned. You had to know we'd investigate," Vance answered.

"You're okay with this?" David asked.

"What would you want me to do? Take on the NSA?" Vance questioned.

"Look, Vance, I gotta talk to him," David insisted.

"Get in line. You can't just charge in here...and demand to…" Vance said, but David cut him off.

"Emma had a calling. Jace wants to kill her and Pete might be the key to stop him," David said.

"We were in the middle of what might prove to be…" Vance said, but he was cut off again.

"I don't give a damn what you're in the middle of if it endangers Emma!" David hissed.

"I told you! I'm not helping with anything. Just take me back, please!" Pete pleaded.

"This has got to stop," David said, as he burst into the exam room.

"David!" Vance called in exasperation.

"All right, enough! Leave him alone!" David said, as he gently shoved Whale away.

"Mr. Nolan!" Dr. Gupta scolded, but he ignored her.

"Pete, I need your help!" David pleaded.

"Mr. Nolan…you will go now or I will have you forcibly removed from the premises!" Dr. Gupta said.

"You don't understand. His brother is trying to kill my sister. He might be the only way I can know where Jace is and what he's planning!" David replied.

"Mr. Nolan, we don't have time for this. We are already behind," Dr. Gupta admonished.

"Behind what? That man's body is deteriorating. Every moment we waste is a missed opportunity to understand an inexplicable phenomenon!" Dr. Gupta exclaimed.

"Will you listen to yourself? We are not some kind of science project," David refuted.

"David, I understand. You're concerned about Emma…" Regina said, trying to calm him down.

"Concerned? Yeah. Yeah, I'm concerned. A killer is hunting her, Vance, and you're more interested in progress. I swear if he hurts her or anybody else,

there's gonna be blood on your hands," David said, as he pointed at Dr. Gupta.

"I am a scientist, Mr. Nolan, always in search of the greater good. The fact is that Pete Baylor is a unicorn, and unicorns need to be studied for the greater good.

"Can I speak to the two of you?" David asked, as he pulled Vance and Regina aside.

"Excuse us, Doctor," Vance said.

"Are we still on the same side here?" David asked.

"You really have to ask that?" Vance asked.

"Yeah, I do. Because as strange as it sounds, after my family, there's no one else in the world I feel closer to than the two of you. So, yeah, I'm asking. Are we on the same side?" David asked.

"Yes, of course we are," Regina replied.

"Then you'll take me seriously when I tell you this. That woman is bad news. Neither of you can see it because you're too close," David said.

"David, she's a scientist doing her…" Regina admonished.

"How is this any different than what the Major was doing?" he asked.

"Because no one is getting hurt," Regina replied.

I know you think the callings are the only way, but we're so close to understanding the Death Date. Studying Pete could actually teach us how to survive it. This has a chance

to help all passengers, including your family. Assuming we can get him to cooperate," Regina said.

"Let me talk to him. Listen. You need Pete to submit to testing. I need Pete to help find Jace. If I convince him to help you, will you let him help me?" David asked. Vance looked at the man and back at David.

"Fine…" Vance said. Dr. Gupta looked upset when Vance allowed David back in to talk to Pete.

"Listen Pete, I need you to go along with what these people are asking. It's the only way they're gonna let you help me," David said.

"Why would you want my help? You just want to get back at me for what we did to your son," Pete replied.

"No. No, no. Henry said you saved him," David said.

"I did?" he questioned, but then thought about it for a moment.

"Well, I... I guess I did. At least, I tried to," Pete said.

"We know you did. And, Pete, we are so, so grateful. But now I need you to help me save Emma. She's in danger, Pete. Maybe you already know that. Maybe you saw it...in a calling?" David asked. Pete nodded.

"Your Death Date's tomorrow, Pete. You know that, right?" David asked.

"I don't wanna die. But the calling... it wants us to hurt her," Pete replied.

"I don't know what you're calling is, Pete, but...that can't be what it means.

Angelina...Angelina says you're a good person. And I believe her.

Why would a calling want you to do something bad?" David asked.

"I don't know," he replied.

"Help me," David pleaded. He nodded.

"All right, I'm going to, okay?" Pete asked. David nodded.

"I need you to help me save my sister from Jace, and to do that, Pete, these doctors...I need you to let them do their tests," David replied. He nodded.

"All I want is to be with Angelina. I want to live," he confessed.

"Then let's make that happen," David replied.

~*~

"You know, maybe Kory was right. Maybe we should just hang back and keep low until tomorrow," Neal said, as she drove them up to the lake where it had all happened.

"No…he's on a rampage. We need to find him and stop him from leaving a trail of bodies in his wake while he's looking for me," Emma replied, as her phone rang and she answered it.

"Hey…bad news. He's struck again. We found a woman in your old apartment and she's been stabbed. I think he thought it was you," Ruby said. Emma sighed.

"You're sure?" Emma asked.

"Yeah, the security cam got a good shot. She's alive, but unconscious and on her way to the hospital," Ruby replied.

"Thanks Rubes," Emma said.

"Let me guess…bad news?" he asked.

"Yeah…laying low isn't an option. He's looking for me and leaving bodies in his wake," she replied, as she continued to drive, while making a call to David.

~*~

Once the tests were done and with a lot more prodding, Pete agreed to help, especially after David told him about Jace's latest rampage. With the accompaniment of an

agent, they set off in a car. First, they had to pick up Angelina.

Margaret watched her son play basketball from the porch and sipped at her cocoa. Strangely, a car drove by their house very slowly and the driver's eyes were clearly on her son. It made the hairs on the back of her neck stand up and she called out to her son.

"Henry!" she called, as he came to the porch and saw the car slowly drive away.

"What's wrong, Mom?" he asked.

"I…I think we've been recognized. Inside now," she said, as she prodded him into the house and proceeded to lock all the doors and windows.

"How could they even know he's here?" Leopold wondered.

"I don't know…but we can't take any chances," Margaret replied, as she texted her husband.

~*~

Despite her father's instructions, Olive had not gone to her grandfather's house and back to campus to work on the papyrus that TJ had sent them from Cairo. And now she was looking at what seemed to be a complete story. Of what though, she didn't completely understand yet.

"Okay, what am I looking at here?" she asked.

"I'm pretty sure this is a version of the famous etching called The Last Trial," Levi replied.

"Okay," Olive said, waiting for further explanation.

"The last trial depicts the story of three prisoners who were given a second chance to correct the mistakes they made in life. The first prisoner used his chance to find love and was rewarded with a

companion," Levi explained.

"Pete," Olive muttered.

"The second prisoner put past grievances to rest and was rewarded with peace," he added.

"Kory," she whispered.

"But the third prisoner chose vengeance, and a river of blood was shed. Pretty gruesome, huh?" he asked.

"Jace…" she uttered.

"Oh, my God. This is what's happening," Olive exclaimed.

"Happening? Happening to whom?" Levi asked.

"How does this end? How do they stop it?" Olive questioned.

"Stop it? No. Olive, it's an allegory. It's a lesson about redemption," Levi replied.

"How is a river of blood a story of redemption?" Olive asked.

"Because it was called "The Last Trial" for a reason. It was a test. If the last man had chosen to forgive his enemies instead of taking revenge, then he would have been rewarded," Levi explained.

"But...he didn't, so...he died," Olive said, realizing the connection, before hurrying out.

"Thanks Levi!" she called, leaving quickly and leaving him confused.

"Dad…I figured something out," she said, as she dialed her father.

"Olive, please tell me you're not on campus," David replied.

"Dad, I'm sorry. All right? I couldn't just…" Olive said.

"It's not okay, I explicitly told you not to go to campus," David scolded.

"Fine. All right? I'm grounded, for life. But please, just listen to me. The calling isn't telling Jace to kill Aunt Emma," Olive said.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"He's being tested. It's a lesson about free will, about making the right decision," Olive said, as she proceeded to explain the concept of the Last Trial from the papyrus.

~*~

David hung up the phone, as they picked up Angelina at the house, much to the agent's chagrin, but David had insisted on driving and hadn't let the agent bully him.

"Pete…" he said.

"Do we have to keep talking about the Calling…I don't want to think about it," he protested.

"Pete, my daughter found something. Your calling isn't about Jace killing Emma.

It's about him choosing not to," David explained.

"I don't understand," Pete said.

"I don't have time to explain, but right now we have a chance. We have a chance to save both Emma and Jace to save your own life so you can have a future with Angelina. Where was Jace in that vision?" David asked.

"Please, Pete, have faith," Angelina said.

"Up by the lake. Where we came back," he answered. This was it…they were all on a collision course with Jace Baylor. Little did they know, that course was about to change…

#Snowing #SnowxCharming #Charming family #Emma #Henry #Regina Mills #AU #Manifest #with a Once twist #romance #adventure #mystery #Lightning in a Bottle

0 notes

lilacmoon83 · 3 months

Text

Operation Castle

Also on Fanfiction.net and A03

Chapter 11: The Library

"It's just a bunch of books about other lands and fairy tales," Alivia said in a condescending tone.

"This one is all about Oz…and this one is about Camelot, except King Arthur is not exactly as noble as we thought," she said, as she put the books on the General's desk.

"And then there's a whole row of these that are completely blank," she added.

"And your point?" General Shaw asked. She looked at him incredulously, like the answer was obvious.

"It means all this is pointless. I don't know what any of it means," Alivia exclaimed.

"But they do…and the blank ones may be more valuable than you think," the General responded. She threw up her hands.

"How?" she asked.

"Because all the ones that are written have been written with a single pen. A pen that chooses only someone deemed worthy of recording the history of these other places," he replied. She rolled her eyes.

"A pen chose someone to write these?" she deadpanned.

"Obviously there is someone behind the pen, but essentially yes. I know where the pen is…and soon it's going to lead us to someone worthy," he replied.

"If you know where it is…then why not just take it?" she asked, but then realized the answer.

"You don't think it will choose you?" she asked, with a bit of smugness.

"Of course not," he snapped.

"And the person that has it can't use it either, no matter how much he wishes he could. His situation doesn't change for the better unless he finds someone that can use it and he'll do whatever he has to in order to find that person and beg them to improve his situation," the General said.

"And that's when we step in," she surmised.

"Exactly. And we still have leverage over our team. When they discover how this magic works in this land, we can make them fix our problem. Once things are back to normal, they can live out their lives in a compound with maximum security," he explained.

"So freedom was never really on the table?" she asked. He shook his head.

"It's too risky. We have to let them use their magic to prevent the total destruction of this world and then we have to lock them away in a magic dampening facility so they can't turn on us in the end," he replied. She blew out a breath.

"I know they're not like us…but they're still people and most of them haven't done anything wrong," she pointed out. He smirked.

"Read the book. Some of them have done plenty. As for the ones they haven't, it is unfortunate, but for the greater good," he said. She sighed and picked up the book, before walking out.

~*~

"Wait…so there's a library here in New York with a book like Henry's?" Emma asked.

"Not exactly like Henry's as far as content, but they look like his. They're all stories of other places in our realm and other realms," Neal replied.

"And you think this can help us?" Snow asked. He shrugged.

"I don't know…last time I was there, I was looking for something specific and didn't pay much attention beyond the subject I wanted to know more about," Neal replied.

"And what subject was that, mate?" Killian interjected, as their eyes met. He sighed.

"It was after August told me about the curse. I was looking for a way to destroy magic…or keep you from finding me," Neal admitted, as he looked at his father with clear regret.

"You had every reason to react like that," Rumple confirmed.

"It's worth taking a look," David suggested.

"I'd really like to see this collection," Belle said.

"I can bring some of it to you and Dad tomorrow. There's lore about the Dark One there that I never really could make sense of," Neal replied.

"We can cover at Castle," David agreed.

"I just wish there was a way to wake everyone up," Snow lamented, as he squeezed her hip gently.

"Me too…I just don't think this is a curse this time," David said.

"And even if it was…this one doesn't have the failsafe that I added to the first one," Rumple said.

"Your true love. I'm not sure there is a Savior this time," he added.

"Then we have to save ourselves," Emma interjected. They nodded and decided to disperse for the evening.

Together, they put Bobby down for the night and stood over his crib, arms around each other, just watching him in silence for a while. He kissed her hair and she finally turned in his arms. She slipped her arms around his neck and rested her head on his shoulder. He pressed another kiss to her hair and then led her out of the baby's room, grabbing the monitor on the way. He watched her closely, as she sat down at her vanity and brushed her hair, which now reached just past her shoulders. He was often fascinated by her and loved watching her, but he could see the barely hidden terror behind her green eyes. Gently, he put his hands on her shoulders and as always, she leaned into his touch. He knelt down beside her and pressed his lips to her cheek and then her neck lovingly. A single tear slipped down her cheek and he immediately swept it away with his thumb on instinct.

"I wish I could promise you that they won't find out about his powers…but I can't," he whispered. She nodded.

"I know…" she answered.

"But I can promise you that I'll die before I let them touch our son…our daughter…our grandson…or you," he promised. Another tear slipped down her other cheek and she turned to face him.

"That's what I'm afraid of," she confessed.

"I know the lengths you'll go for us…and they could take you away. I might never see you again," she lamented.

"You'd find me…just as I've always found you," he insisted. She sniffed.

"Maybe in our World…but this one is so different, Charming. We found each other and were together against all odds. True love prevailed…at least for a little while," she said.

"It prevailed in the end…which was in this world," he reminded her.

"Maybe…but Storybrooke was still different than it is out here. We were still isolated, for the most part and it was when Greg and Tamara came along that things really spiraled out of control," she said.

"No one believes in anything in this world…let alone true love!" she exclaimed, as she got up and paced a bit.

"Do you know how many of my teaching colleagues had happy marriages? How many were either divorced or married, but cheating on their spouse?" she asked. He sighed.

"Probably about as many of my fellow cops," he confessed sadly.

"I stuck out like a sore thumb among them and I know you did among yours, save for Killian. Even his former ways probably pale in comparison to some," she added. He snorted.

"Yeah…I can think of a few names. But not even this world can dull our love. That's not possible," he said, as he cupped her cheek with his hand and she again leaned into his touch.

"I know our love will never fade. But if we're separated…breaking you out of a prison in this land will be even harder than breaking you out of the Evil Queen's prison," she said. He smiled slightly.

"I know…and I'm going to play by their rules as long as possible so we can stay together. But magic adds a new level to this. With Emma figuring it out, it won't be long until Regina and Gold do too. Then maybe we can set all this right," he suggested.

"I miss Storybrooke…" she said. He kissed her forehead.

"Me too," he replied, as he swayed with her. She smiled, as they danced, even with no music. They had never really needed music anyway and were very good at making their own.

"Trying to distract me by romancing me, Prince Charming?" she teased. He smirked.

"Is it working?" he asked. She smiled.

"It always works with you," she replied, as their lips met in a passionate kiss. He gently swept her into his arms and carried her toward the bed.

"Have faith…our love can beat all the odds, break curses, and change the world," he assured her and she melted into him with those words…

~*~

The next morning, Emma and Neal stood in front of the large, very old library that Neal had spoken of the night before. Henry had tagged along, since he was so curious and they didn't anticipate any danger in this mission.

"So…how do stories about our land and other lands end up in a library in the Land Without Magic?" Emma asked.

"No idea really…though some of the texts speak of an author. No idea who it is, but if they're here…maybe he or she is from here too," he suggested.

"So an author that writes all the stories?" she asked.

"History," Henry chimed in. Neal smiled.

"He's right…the author is recording history and some other authors in this land must know of the history. Enough have made their own version of many of the stories in the book," he said. She snorted.

"Yeah…with my Mom singing to birds and being completely unable to defend herself," Emma said.

"Well…yeah, they got that one way wrong. I think your parents' official story is better," he replied.

"Way better," Henry agreed, as they went inside. Slipping past the one employee was easy. She looked overworked and the place was clearly understaffed and they arrived at the room.

"Wow…" Henry said in awe, as he picked a book and began to leaf through it.

"It's about King Arthur," he said.

"Yeah…Camelot. It's in our realm, but you have to cross the Caspian sea, manage to make it through Nottingham and across the Avalon River to get there. It's weeks to get to the Caspian sea and months on horseback after that," Neal explained, as Emma picked a book.

"Whoa…it's Oz," she said.

"Now that one is not in our realm," he replied.

"It's real too…" she uttered and he gave her a look. She rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, yeah, daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming. I get it," she said, making him smile in amusement.

"Hey…what are these?" Henry asked.

"I've never been sure," Neal replied, as they took out some dusty scrolls from the bottom shelf.

"What language is this?" Emma asked.

"No language known in this realm…but if one person might have an idea, it would be my Dad," Neal replied.

"You think we can smuggle these out of here?" she asked.

"Shouldn't be too hard," Neal said, as he grabbed Henry's backpack and put a few of the scrolls in it.

"No one suspects a kid," he said, as he ruffled his son's hair. Henry smiled and put his backpack on, just as Emma's phone rang.

"Dad?" she asked, as she answered it. Neal smiled at how natural that seemed for her now.

"Crap…okay, we're on our way," she said, as she hung up.

"Problem?" he asked.

"Yeah…a really big one in Central Park," Emma replied, as they hurried out.

~*~

Killian dueled in a practice spar with David that morning in one of the training rooms in Castle. He found himself on his back for the third time and sighed. David was in rare form this morning and playing for keeps.

"You do know this is training, yeah mate?" he asked, as the blonde helped him up.

"Sorry…" David said, sighing, as he took a drink from his water bottle.

"It's just…it feels like a house of cards. They find out about…you know and all this changes really quickly. Snow is terrified," he whispered, but Killian could hear the fear behind his voice as well.

"Mate…the tiny one is very important to us all, especially me. I may have memories of my previous life, but it doesn't erase the last three years. They won't have an easy time getting to him," Killian promised. David smiled.

"Thanks," he said, as they heard the alert coming from the main war room and hurried out to see what was going on.

"What is it?" Killian asked.

"It's coming from Central Park," Casey said, as he put the visual on screen.

"Bloody hell…" Killian uttered.

"What the hell is that?" Casey asked.

"A giant?" Alivia asked.

"Worse," Snow replied.

"Much worse…that's an ogre," Rumple said.

"What's the difference?" Alivia asked in annoyance.

"Giants are just giant. Ogres are true monsters and blind as bats. But their hearing is ten times that of a human and with all the people and screaming, sneaking up on it won't be possible," David answered.

"This is really bad…ogres hate humans. People are going to get hurt," Snow said.

"Let's go…" Casey said, as he cocked his gun.

"No guns…it's too loud. It will just piss it off," David said. Casey growled and grabbed a sword with a bit of uncertainty. The rest of them grabbed their weapons, as David called Emma on their way out…

~*~

August sighed, as he walked with purpose toward his destination. The guilt of what he had just done ate at him, almost ravenously. But he needed answers and when he ran across a peculiar shop earlier in the day, he knew he had to inquire about his answers from there. It was the same man; he was certain. The Dragon from Hong Kong, now operating a shop in lower Manhattan, filled with herbs and trinkets alike, claiming he could offer holistic cures and alternatives to modern medicine. Usually someone like him would be regarded as a kook and his methods as pure hocum, but August had seen the fruits of his labor. He was the real deal, albeit a crook that profited off those needing magic where medicine had failed.

It was absolutely abhorrent, but he had knocked off a local bodega with relative ease during the lunch rush. The owner wouldn't have discovered the theft until he was long gone with the bank bag he had not hidden well enough behind the counter. He only hoped his deplorable actions would lead to a way to save him and his people.

He entered the shop and eyed the old man behind the counter.

"Well, well…long time no see," the Dragon said, without turning to face him. August was surprised, but probably shouldn't have been. He had no clue who this old mage was back in their land, but clearly he had been a powerful Sorcerer.

"I need answers," he demanded. The Dragon smirked and opened his arms.

"Answers I have…but there is always a price for my wisdom," he said.

"Your wisdom could help people and yet you fleece good people of all their money," August replied.

"I am just a man trying to make a living in this world…and I hardly think you are one to judge, Pinocchio," he countered.

"I have money…but first, you're going to give me answers," August said, as he took something from his pocket.

"About this," he said. The Dragon's eyes immediately filled with greed at the item and he made a move to hold the pen. But August was quick and pulled it away.

"You get money, not the pen and I get answers," he said, as he opened the bank bag and showed him the stack of cash. The Dragon smirked.

"Ill gotten gains and you dare to judge me?" he chided.

"Look, you and I both know that whatever that trigger did, it's probably going to slowly destroy this world, so unless you want to die with the rest of us, you need to tell me what you know and how I find the person that can use this thing," August said. The Dragon smirked.

"Ah…then the pen has rejected you and I'm sure it would reject me as well. Neither of us can use it and the last lost the right by betraying his duties," the Dragon said.

"So the man I found that night…" he uttered. The old mage nodded.

"The disgraced author cast back to this land after he tried to write his own story and destroy the most valiant of heroes. He failed though and they remained on the path of light," the Dragon explained.

"He would have faced the Sorcerer and been stripped of the pen and his freedom…but he became a victim of the vicious streets of this world," he added.

"So…that was the author I took this from and now the Sorcerer can't find the pen?" he asked. The Dragon nodded and smirked.

"Oh he will find you…or rather his Apprentice will eventually. You had better find a worthy host for that pen before he finds you," the old man warned.

"Then help me!" August pleaded.

"Even I don't know who the next author could be…they must be someone that will always do the right thing. A true believer…which is quite scarce in this world," he said. That struck August for a moment and he looked at him.

"A true believer?" he asked, as the Dragon smirked and nodded.

"I see you have someone in mind," he said, as he extended his hand. August tossed the bank bag at him and ran out of the shop.

"Just the truest believer there is," he said, as he rounded the corner and heard some sirens. Cops flew out of the car and he pocketed the pen, as he put his hands up. If he couldn't get the pen to the next author…then they were all doomed.

"You're under arrest," the officer said, as he was placed in handcuffs and hauled into the police car.

#Snowing #SnowxCharming #Charming family #Emma Swan #Henry Mills #Mr. Gold #Belle #Neal Cassidy #Killian Jones #Regina Mills #romance #adventure #family #AU #Operation Castle

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lilacmoon83 · 4 months

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Lightning in a Bottle

Also on Fanfiction.net and A03

Chapter 85: Tailspin, Pt 2

"That seemed like a waste," Ruby said, as they finished talking to the officer from that night. The Officer didn't remember much about the truck, except that it was a little suspicious to be in the area on off hours. The sanitation worker had given him some line about a sick kid putting him behind, but Killian didn't buy that at all. The Officer had given him a warning to move on and he did, so he had let it go. They had a description of the man, but there wasn't much to go on.

"There has to be more to it…this guy was up to something and might be the missing link in finding Fiona Black," he said.

"Maybe…but if she was military, then don't you think they know or are covering up for their own reasons? I mean…classified is classified," Ruby warned.

"No…her daughter deserves answers. I don't care what her mother might have been into," he insisted. She sighed.

"Okay…what now, lead detective?" she asked.

"We have the truck number now. Time to track it down," he replied.

~*~

"That's not a connection our researchers have made yet," Vance said, as Regina looked very nervous. They had to tell David soon about the Major's death and how it also

occurred on that night.

"What's the working theory on how it teleported itself and aged seven years?" David asked.

"Everyone under this roof has a theory; none they can agree on," Vance replied.

"It has to do with my calling of the plane exploding that things are somehow going back to how they're supposed to be?" David asked.

"It crossed my mind. But why on that date? What does it really have to do with your friend Neal living and those meth dealers dying?" Vance asked. David winced.

"Maybe because they returned too…eighty four days after they went into the water," David replied. Vance looked at him incredulously.

"There's another group of returnees and you didn't think to tell me?" he asked. Regina gave him a look and he softened his stance. It wasn't like they had told David about the

Major yet.

"You haven't exactly been easy to get in touch with," David pointed out.

"In any event, this can't be a coincidence. What do you think, Regina?" he asked, but she was lost in her thoughts.

"Regina?" he asked again.

"Hmm?" she asked. He raised an eyebrow.

"You okay?" he asked

"Yeah. Yeah, it's just a lot to process," she replied, as another person in a white lab coat walked in. A doctor they all recognized.

"Whale?" Regina asked in disbelief.

"Ah…Dr. Mills, nice to see you again," he said.

"You're working for the NSA now?" she asked, side-eyeing Vance, who shrugged.

"He was already here when I came in," he offered.

"Yep, I was recruited…and not exactly in a way that gave me much choice," he replied.

"What are you working on?" she questioned.

"It's classified, but since you're here, it's in line with your DNA mutation study, but 828 focused," he answered. She huffed.

"They used you to replicate my work!" she said, clearly infuriated.

"It wasn't my idea. I was literally abducted. They didn't even want me to know where I was until I'd been cleared. Glad you're here though. I could use some help," he replied,

as David pulled Vance aside.

"I need to see the tailfin…and I'd rather not have an audience in case the same thing happens like it did in Cuba. I'll be in a lab with that guy poking at me," David said,

irritably and referring to Whale.

"That won't happen," Vance assured him. David sighed.

"Besides…lightning rarely strikes twice. Even for you," he assured him, as he approached the tailfin. He looked at his hand and slowly touched the tailfin. This time…nothing.

No glow, no surge of electricity, no being flung back. Nothing. He looked a bit puzzled at that. He was sure that was what the Calling was telling him to do.

"Why were you so convinced you had to touch the tailfin again?" Vance questioned.

"I'm not sure anymore," David answered. He really wished Margaret was there right now.

~*~

The events that happened for Neal and Emma following their meeting with the coach and rebuttal with Pete were like a whirlwind. Pete continuously denied that he had sold drugs to his teammate and in an interesting twist, he made the accusations that it was the coach who was making him deal. He wanted out after his teammate died, but the coach beat him to a bloody pulp and threatened to kill him. Emma was skeptical, but Neal's newfound abilities were telling him that Pete was telling the truth.

Emma begged Pete to tell them where Kory and Jace were, but he refused.

"You felt what he was feeling, didn't you?" Emma asked, as they exited the station.

"Yeah…it was so raw. The coach is dirty, Em…I can feel it," Neal replied.

"Yeah…I think this isn't about guilt. The Callings want a drug dealer off the streets," Emma said, as her eyes widened.

"What is it?" he asked.

"If Pete is having the Callings about the clock, then what do you think the chances are that Jace and Kory are having the same one?" she asked. He sighed, as they started

walking fast for the car.

"From what I know about the Callings…pretty damn good. You think Jace is going after the coach?" he asked.

~*~

"If Jace makes the connection…yeah, the dude has no restraint," she replied, as she put the car in gear and they sped off, after she radioed Ruby to meet them there.

"You're seeing the clock too?" Kory asked, as he and Jace showed up at the coach's house at the same time.

"Yeah, I felt like I needed to come here," Jace said, as he seethed angrily.

"Bastard's run out of time. He's gotta pay," he added.

"Jace, man. We need to stop rolling like that," Kory protested.

"Why are you even here, then?" Jace shot back.

"I don't know what happened to us, but I feel like I'm drowning. I'm literally puking water.

I keep seeing things, hearing voices and I don't think doing bad things is going to help us," Kory said, but he was ignored, as Jace went toward the house, with Kory following

reluctantly.

~*~

By the time they arrived at the coach's house, they found Kory with a wound in his leg and the coach unharmed and Ruby met them there.

"What the hell happened?" Emma questioned.

"It was Jace…he came in here screaming like a total psychopath and then shot his friend!" the coach claimed.

"Jace shot you?" Ruby asked.

"Some friend you have, Kory," the coach replied.

"I was trying to stop him and got in the way," Kory said, through the pain, as Ruby wrapped his jacket around his wound.

"Where's Jace?" Emma questioned.

"He took off…he's a lunatic! They're both high as a kite…talking nonsense about some clock and how my time is up!" the coach exclaimed. Emma blew out a shaky breath.

"Sir, do you have any drugs or weapons on the premises?" she asked.

"They broke into my home, and now you're treating me like I'm the criminal?" he shouted.

"Answer the question," Ruby said sternly.

"Check the vent," Kory said in a pained response, as she did so.

"This is ridiculous. Hey! I'm the victim here," he insisted, as she recovered some small bags of white powder from the vent.

"None of those are mine. I got no idea…" he yelled.

"Yeah, I got an idea. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you…" Ruby

said, as Emma turned her attention to Kory.

"Kory, you know where Jace went?" she asked.

I'd be happy to rat him out if I knew," he said, as the ambulance arrived.

~*~

"David…what is it?" Regina asked, as she pulled him aside while Vance went to get his phone back so he could leave.

"I don't know…just a feeling. There's something they're hiding and not telling us. It's more than the plane or tailfin," he insisted.

"David…we can trust Vance," she insisted.

"Look around, Regina…this is bigger than Vance. We are just puzzle pieces to them, just like the parts of the plane. They literally want to poke and prod us like experiments. I can feel it," David insisted. She sighed.

"There's something here…something I'm supposed to see," he added, as he noticed a door.

"Cover for me," he said, as he took off, which exasperated his sister-in-law.

"David!" she hissed, but he had already slipped through the door and into a secure area where he wasn't supposed to be.

~*~

"Olive, look at this. According to the Egyptians, souls journeyed through Osiris' underworld and faced a series of challenges," Angelina explained, from the book she was reading.

"Sort of like the callings," Olive surmised.

"Who's Osiris?" Angelina asked.

"Lord of the underworld. But before the gods gave him the job, his brother killed him," Olive explained.

"Savage," Angelina commented.

"It gets better. Osiris' wife, Isis, she basically moved heaven and earth to bring him back to life, and then had his baby," Olive continued.

"That's so romantic," Angelina said.

"Osiris survived...even though his brother was a homicidal maniac," Olive added.

"Like Pete and Jace," Angelina said quietly, as Olive's phone chimed.

"It's my Aunt Mick. They solved Pete's calling," she said. Angelina looked hopeful at that.

"It looks like he's already on his way to save himself," Olive said.

"He will. I never thought I'd find a way to save myself, and then I met all of you," Angelina replied.

"Do you have plans tonight?" Olive asked. She snorted.

"Do I look like I have plans tonight?" she joked. Olive smiled.

"Come on. Let's go," Olive said.

~*~

Vance walked back into the lab and was surprised to see that Regina was still there.

"I thought you two left," he said.

"It's my fault. The tailfin reappeared at the bottom of the ocean because I killed her," Regina said.

"That is a huge leap to make, especially when we don't…" he said, but she interrupted him.

"You saw the time stamp. The fin disappeared the moment she died," Regina insisted.

"Regina, you're a scientist. You can't mistake correlation for causation. Many impossible things happened that night," he reasoned. But she shook her head.

"Neal wasn't on 828. Neither were the criminals who kidnapped Henry. I was. I was connected to the plane. I am connected to the plane," she said.

~*~

Meanwhile, David moved about the corridors. He didn't know where he was going, but something inside him was leading him. The Callings were at work again.

"Excuse me. Sir. Sir, you can't be here," a guard that spotted him called and he quickly hurried through another door, as he raised his radio to his mouth.

"I need assistance on corridor D," he said urgently.

~*~

"You feel guilty about what happened…" Vance said.

"This isn't about my feelings, Vance. I've come to terms with the fact that I have ruined my chances of surviving the Death Date. But what if there are further ramifications?" she questioned.

"You cannot jump to conclusions when there's so much we don't understand yet. Let it go. I need my team laser-focused," Vance said.

"Team?" she asked.

"These people are flying blind. We need some fresh eyes," Vance admitted.

"What about the clinic?" Regina asked.

"You have more important work to do here. Don't you want answers?" he asked, but he was interrupted before she could answer.

"Director Vance, we have a situation," a guard said. He said eyed Regina.

"Where's David?" he asked, but didn't wait for an answer and followed the guard.

~*~

"Sir! Mr Nolan, stop! Mr. Nolan!" the guard called, as he chased him into a room that was restricted access. Once he entered the room, the lights automatically went up and

what he saw inside shocked him to his core. His eyes widened, as he stood before a capsule containing the frozen body of Tisbe Taylor, the woman that had been murdered

by her own sister, Clorinda just a few days after they had returned.

"What the hell…" he uttered, as the guard and Vance caught up to him, as well as Regina, who was now also seeing what else they were hiding.

~*~

Olive looked at herself in the mirror, as she looked at the short, silver prom dress she was wearing. She wished her Mom was here, but she knew why she couldn't be.

"This is so…" she started to say.

"Normal?" Angelina asked.

"Normal…that it's weird. Does that sound crazy?" Olive asked. Angelina smiled.

"It's exactly what you need. And a extra little accessory...from your dad," she added, as she put the corsage on Olive's wrist. She smiled.

"It's beautiful," Olive said.

"Phone, please," Angelina said, as Olive handed her the phone and she proceeded to take pictures.

"Your mom will kill me if I don't send pics," she said.

"What about you? Come on, let's take a selfie," Olive urged.

"No, this wasn't a good idea. It's your prom, it's your friends. You go have fun," Angelina said.

"What? No. You're coming with me," Olive insisted. But she shook her head.

"Going to yours won't bring my prom back. It's okay. Go have a blast for me. Okay?" Angelina asked. Olive smiled and nodded.

"It's a promise," she answered.

~*~

"Hannity will never ever again use anyone the way that he used you, Jace and Kory," Emma told Pete through the cell bars.

"Is Kory okay?" Pete asked.

"Your brother shot him in the leg. He lost a lot of blood, and if we hadn't gotten there in time, he might not be. But we did and he should make a full recovery," Ruby answered.

"Now what?" Pete asked.

"That's up to you. But there are four days till your Death Date," Emma replied. He thought for a moment and then looked at her.

"I think I know how you can find Jace," he said.

~*~

"So, when were you gonna tell us you had a passenger's corpse on ice?" David questioned.

"The truth we're all after…may well hover above the edge of traditional science. Doctor, explain the results of Ms. Taylor's postmortem," he said, as an Indian woman in a white lab coat entered with Dr.

Whale.

"I'm Dr. Aria Gupta," she said. Whale smirked.

"The boss behind it all," he said, earning a look from the other doctor that made him clam up.

"You're aware that Tisbe Taylor died of a gunshot wound to the head?" she asked.

"Of course. A year and a half ago," David replied.

"However, any medical examiner who studied her corpse now would tell you that her Injuries are consistent with those sustained in an airplane's midair explosion," Dr. Gupta said, shocking both David and

Regina.

"There's more. The subject's tissues recently produced traces of a tropical algae strain unique to the Caribbean. A strain that's a genetic match with the algae on the recovered Tailfin," she continued.

"So, the tailfin and her body are somehow reverting to being back at the bottom of the ocean. But why?" Regina questioned, clearly fascinated by these new developments. But Vance did not let the

conversation continue.

"That'll be all, Doctor. You've scientifically proven what...the calling of the exploding plane was trying to tell me. That we died on that plane. We were resurrected," David realized.

"You're seriously not implying divine intervention, David," Vance said skeptically.

"I don't see another explanation. Do you?" David countered. Vance put his hands up.

All right, all right. All my cards are on the table. Now it's your turn," he said. David gave him an incredulous look.

"Your cards are on the table only because I found them myself," David said.

"I let you in here, didn't I? After you lied your way in," Vance accused.

"I was protecting myself. Like you taught me. It's only a matter of time before those lab coats out there figure out whose handprint was glowing on that tailfin," David said.

"They'll want to study you," Regina said.

"Not an option," David refuted.

"It's time you ask yourself the same question I faced back in Cuba. How much are you willing to sacrifice to get to the truth?" Vance asked, as he stepped away to take a call.

"Vance," he answered, once he was out of earshot.

"We've got a problem…Rogers is getting too close to the truth," Emmett, his associate, said.

"I'll handle it," Vance said, as he hung up.

#Snowing #SnowxCharming #Charming family #Emma #Henry #Regina Mills #Mr. Gold #Neal Cassidy #AU #Manifest #with a Once twist #romance #adventure #mystery #family #Lightning in a Bottle

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lilacmoon83 · 5 months

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Operation Castle

Also on Fanfiction.net and A03

Chapter 10: Shocking Surprises, Pt

"Neal?" Emma squeaked.

"Emma…" he said. Clearly she had so many questions, but was also nearly speechless so she could only manage one word that they all wanted an answer to.

"How?" she asked, as the furie screeched bloody murder.

"Yeah…that's a long story. We probably should take care of this thing first. I have some questions myself," he replied, as Snow threaded an arrow and put one into the hellish creature's torso, which only made it scream more.

"I think I just made it madder," the raven haired beauty said.

"Well, it's a furie. It's probably here for them," David said, as he referred to Tamara and Greg, which was received with glares.

"He's not wrong," Neal agreed.

"Bae…" Rumple uttered, hardly able to keep the quiver from his voice, as he hobbled up to him. Neal smiled.

"Papa…it's really good to see you," he said. Rumple could only offer a watery smile.

"Any ideas?" he asked.

"I'm inclined to agree with the Prince. Let it have these two," Rumple answered.

"Rumple…" Belle chided softly.

"She's right…we can't," Snow agreed.

"I don't know Mom…I think Dad has it right," Emma agreed. Neal was really surprised at that. He didn't expect Emma to be calling her parents Mom and Dad.

"Here we go with the rainbow kisses and unicorn stickers," Regina muttered. Snow bristled at her comment and gave her a side eye.

"What? It's a hell furie…it's not human and we don't even know how to kill it without letting it have what it came for," Regina said.

"I hate to say it…but she's right," David responded.

"Excuse me? Hello? We're right here…and you're talking about us like you're fine sacrificing us to this thing!" Tamara shouted.

"They're here for a blood penance! You two wanted to kill an entire town!" David said.

"What about her!? Maybe it's here for her. She activated the trigger!" Greg argued, as he pointed at Regina. The former Queen glared at him.

"We're not sacrificing anyone…there has to be another way," Snow suggested.

"Magic is the only other way…" Rumple offered, as he looked at his former student.

"I don't know what you're looking at me for…I don't have this figured out anymore than you do," Regina said, as they dodged the furie again.

"Emma!" David cried, as he headed right for her. Neal took a swipe at it with a thin metal rod he had found near the dumpster, but it knocked him away and dive bombed toward Emma.

"HEY!" David called, as he got its attention and Snow screamed, when the furie grasped her husband by the shirt with its sharp claws. It shrieked at him and he held his hands to his ears at the ear piercing, deafening cry.

"Charming!" Snow cried in fear. Greg smirked.

"Looks like it has someone to drag back to hell," he said, as she ran to attempt to rescue her husband.

"We have to do something!" Neal cried.

"Without magic…there's no releasing him. It will suck the life out of him and take him back to where it came from…the Underworld," Gold responded, which stunned Emma. She had found her parents and finally accepted them into those roles in her life and now she was going to lose her father? The same man that had been saving her life since the moment she had drawn breath. She felt something swelling in her; a determination and a love she was only beginning to discover. The ground cracked beneath her, glowing underneath her feet. Her arms felt very hot and the sensation moved to her hands.

"Emma…" Neal whispered and she looked at him.

"Look down," he said. She did and saw her hands glowing with bright white magic. On instinct, she let it go, pressing it toward the furie. She hit it and it screamed, as it was disintegrated by light magic. Her father fell to the ground and Snow was quick to pull him into her lap.

"Charming…wake up…" she pleaded, as she shook his shoulders and a few tears slipped down her cheeks.

"Don't you dare do this to me again…" she sobbed, as she did the only thing she knew might have a chance and kissed him passionately. His eyes opened widely and then closed again, as he kissed her back. She smiled and their lips parted, as he gazed up at her.

"What happened?" he asked, as she helped him sit up.

"Emma saved you…with magic," she answered, as she looked at their daughter with happy tears and pride in her eyes. Emma sank to her knees beside them and hugged them both.

"I just got you…I'm not losing you now," she said, stunning him and he looked at her.

"You figured it out…" he said. She shrugged.

"Sort of I think…" she replied, as she looked at her hands with uncertainty. Greg and Tamara looked at the whole scene with disdain. They couldn't wait to strike back by dropping another body.

"Not to interrupt, but we need to get off the streets," Casey said.

"Who's this?" Neal asked.

"Long story…tell you the whole thing back at Castle," Emma replied.

"Castle?" he asked.

"Part of the story," she replied.

"Wait…he can't come back to Castle," Casey objected.

"He's one of us…and he can," David argued, as he exchanged a glance with Gold.

"He's right…he's my son," Gold said. Casey looked at him for a moment and then nodded curtly. People had started to gather at the scene and they hurried to escape, as Greg and Tamara began reporting about the whole spectacle, intent on spinning this negatively toward them.

~*~

The three Knights in chainmail dismounted their horses, as they arrived at the mysterious Lake Nostros. They removed their helmets and approached the dry and seemingly swirling sand.

"So…this is the peculiar anomaly," the dark haired man said.

"Yes, Your Majesty," one of the other Knights by his side responded.

"What should we do?" the other Knight asked.

"I'm not sure yet…but if the answers we seek are not in this land, perhaps they are in another," the King said.

"For now, we return to Camelot and attempt to gather more intel about this. If it is a portal, then we must know if there is a way back. It does us no good if it is a one way trip," the King added.

"Yes Sire," one Knight said, as they put their helmets back on and mounted their horses.

~*~

Neal looked around, as they brought him down into Castle and a voice, barely above a whisper, uttered one word that he had been longing to hear.

"Dad…" Henry said. Neal's eyes watered, as he knelt down and scooped his son into a tight hug. Emma smiled, glad to see her son so happy and tears slipped down Snow's cheeks. David put his arm around her and kissed her hair, as she plucked their son up from the playpen they had set up.

"How?" Henry asked, as he sniffed.

"Long story…but we'll get to that," Neal replied, as more hugs were exchanged.

"Yes…if the story we've been told is true, then you fell through a portal and were presumed dead," Alivia said sternly.

"And you are?" Neal asked.

"Agent Alivia Becker and this is Agent Alex Casey. We're their NSA handlers," she replied.

"NSA?" he asked. Emma nodded.

"Not by choice…so I better start from the beginning," she said, as they sat down so they could tell him all that had happened since he fell through that portal three years ago…

~*~

August wandered the city and found his way to the inevitable library where he knew had a special room that housed particular books of stories about all the realms. It was the chosen spot in this realm to store them and the workers were only told a vague story about the texts being ancient historical documents. It should have been a guarded room, but understaffing and lack of knowledge about what was really housed there led to it only being protected by a lock and passcode. Neal cracked it long ago and had done intensive research there. But August had an inkling that he wouldn't need the passcode, for he had found something else in his travels years ago. The General hadn't even taken it away from him in captivity, because the item looked like nothing more than a benign pen and he had been allowed paper and pen in his cell.

But he knew it was more than that somehow and though he hadn't been able to make the pen work in the way he wanted, he was right about it when the keypad glowed in the presence of the pen and the door opened for him. He looked around to make sure no one saw him and slipped inside. He raised the lights and knew the NSA probably had someone in here trying to make sense of what was here. But they were careful not to put a guard on the room to raise public suspicion.

He approached the shelf and selected one book. It looked exactly like Henry's, but when he opened to the first page, it showed very different stories of other lands. He shelved one and pulled from the second shelf. He found this one to be blank and he looked at the pen in his hand. It glowed briefly and he put it to the paper, but the glow quickly faded and refused to write anything on this particular parchment. His heart sank a bit. The pen had not chosen him to be an author; an entity that few knew about. He had deemed from his research that there was one and the pen was passed along to those chosen with the task to record the history of the different realms. Chosen by who, he had no idea and he had found the pen, abandoned in a dark alleyway years ago, in Portland, Oregon of all places.

He had been very low at that time. He was an angry man and became frustrated when it seemed Emma had met someone. The pain was getting really bad and now he was uncertain if she would ever find her way to her parents. And thus, he would soon turn back to wood and that would be the end of him. The pain had been so intense on that night that he had wandered to a dark alleyway in hopes of purchasing something to ease the pain. He knew it was wrong, but at that point, he was certain that it didn't matter. If it was the end for him, then he wanted something to help numb the pain.

Instead of getting what he wanted, the dealer decided to mug him instead and assault him. As he fell to the dirty alleyway that night, with intense pain in his leg and a black eye, he wondered why the mugger hadn't just stabbed him and finished the job. It would have been mercy for him at that point. A blue glint caught his eye that wasn't swollen though and he felt a spark of hope. He crawled from his spot against one wall and scrambled to the other side. He grasped the pen in his hand and felt something else sticky on his hand. Blood…he determined by the metallic smell. He felt determination spark in him. It was a sign. He had to find out what this pen meant and more importantly, he had to find a way to get Emma back on track.

August's attention went back to the pen, as he came around from his little trip down memory lane. Once he learned the true significance of the pen, years of research later, it only raised more questions. There had been blood on it that night. Had the author been murdered? And if so, why hadn't the person taken the pen? Or was it just a random act and the assailant had no idea the pen had such significance? Either way, he had the author's pen and if it had chosen him, he could have fixed everything. Or perhaps not only fixed everything, but made everything better, especially in his favor. He sighed. His selfish ways was probably one reason the pen rejected and continued to reject him. The only way to fix anything was to find someone the author deemed worthy. It was a big variable. Whoever became the author could fix things for the better or make them far worse. He snorted. Perhaps he didn't want the responsibility, after all…

~*~

"Wow…so that's what happened to Storybrooke," Neal said, as they finished telling him everything. He kept smiling at the baby in Snow's arms too. A lot had changed and apparently the only reason any of them were awake and his father wasn't imprisoned was because the NSA had use for them. He didn't like that one bit and he could tell it made everyone else uneasy too. But there was no concealing himself from them either, because he refused to be away from his family any longer.

"So you were there? Where Storybrooke used to be?" Emma asked anxiously. He looked at the two agents.

"You might as well start explaining. You will either do it here or at NSA Headquarters and that won't be voluntary," Alivia said. Neal smirked.

"No need for the threats…and yes, I was where the town used to be. It's where I came thru," he replied.

"Thru? Like a portal?" Snow asked. He looked at all of them and Emma recognized that look. He was about to tell a lie, which meant he didn't want them to know something.

"Uh yeah…it took three years, but I managed to find a bean. After I fell through the portal, Mulan and Philip rescued me and nursed me back to health. They managed to get the bullet out and thankfully, it didn't nick an artery or any organs. It was just a flesh wound, so they were able to patch me up and make sure it didn't get infected," he explained. Rumple's eyes narrowed, as did Emma's. There were no beans left in the Enchanted Forest. Storybrooke was gone and who knew where Anton had ended up in New York.

"I thought beans were rare?" Alivia questioned.

"They are…Phillip is a King though. He has resources," Neal answered without missing a beat and she seemed to buy it.

"Question for you though…those woods are still crawling with agents after three years. Looking for something?" he questioned.

"That's classified," she retorted and he smirked again.

"So you've just been waiting around for three years to get back here?" Casey asked suspiciously.

"Do you have kids, Agent Casey?" Neal asked. The other man shifted in his seat.

"No," he answered.

"Then you wouldn't know this…but most parents, especially the ones in this room, would do anything to protect them and find them," Neal said, bringing soft smiles to all of them.

"I guess you're part of the team now…hope you can fight as well as they do," Casey said with a grunt.

"Who says I want to work for you?" Neal challenged and the other clenched his teeth.

"Who says you have a choice?" he challenged back.

"Fine…I guess if monsters are running around then you need us, but mind telling me why the hell Greg and Tamara are walking free?" Neal asked.

"Apparently they're working for a rogue agent of theirs," Emma answered.

"Oh…so you don't have as much control as it seems," Neal replied.

"We have enough…I've read your file, Mr. Cassidy. You never faced justice for your crimes. Grand Larceny…evading arrest…it sure would put a damper on this family reunion," Alivia threatened. He looked at her and smirked again.

"Fine…we'll play your game," he relented, as David rose from his seat.

"If there's nothing else today…then we'll be going," he said, as Bobby started to fuss. Casey nodded.

"The General wants a debrief first thing in the morning. The press is running wild with this," he said. They agreed and started out the back way.

"So…is there somewhere we can talk without them?" Neal asked. Emma smirked.

"My parents' house," she replied. A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth.

"Parents?" he mused. She rolled her eyes.

"Yeah…yeah, don't give me crap. Henry is giving me enough of it," she said. His smile widened into a grin.

"As he should," he agreed and she rolled her eyes again.

"Glad you're not dead…even if you're being annoying," she said. He smirked.

"Good to see you too," he replied, as they made the drive to Snow and David's house.

~*~

"The Internet is on fire with this latest, especially since there was a fissure left behind where Emma Swan was standing when she used her unholy magic," Tamara reported to their boss.

"Yes…and that fissure will soon become a problem. Stay on that story and make sure you blame her magic," Aza ordered.

"But she figured out magic…isn't that bad for us?" Greg asked.

"She has not figured it out. She barely knows how to use it and even less what to do with it," Aza answered.

"Then we better make a significant move before she figures it out or worse…the Queen does. She'll kill us all!" Greg ranted. Aza was silent for a moment, wondering if Mendel was more a liability than a useful tool. He handed a file to Mendel and he opened it, finding photos in it.

"Put your bloodlust to use then, Mr. Mendel," he said. Greg smirked and left to complete the task. One he would inevitably enjoy.

"And me?" Tamara asked.

"Mendel is a loose cannon, but useful for doing some dirty work. You on the other hand should know what magic is really about to do," Aza said.

"I knew it…I knew it was unholy. Emma made that fissure, didn't she?" Tamara replied.

"Oh yes…magic is only accelerating what the Queen started," he said.

"What she started?" Tamara questioned.

"The trigger…it's not a reset button and never was. Even the Dark One was sold this lie," Aza replied.

"If it's not a reset button…then what is it?" Tamara asked. He smirked in the darkness.

"It's a doomsday bringer," he answered. Her eyes widened.

"You mean like…the end of the world?" she asked.

"Exactly that. It brings the end and only the worthy will survive. You can be one of them. That trigger is bringing about an end and those who control it will get to control a new beginning. A new world…a utopia that we can build from the ash," Aza replied. That gave Tamara a chill. Somehow, a utopia created by this man could only ever be a dystopian nightmare. But if she was one of his Generals, she could be one of the fortunate architects in building herself a favorable future.

"And what about the magic infecting this world?" she asked.

"Once it destroys the world…it will be destroyed too and the world will be reborn into something pure and void of its evil," he answered. She smirked.

"That is something I'm very interested in being a part of," she said.

~*~

Once they were situated in Snow and David's living room, Emma looked at him intently.

"Okay…so the bean was a load of crap?" Emma asked. He smirked.

"How do you know I was lying?" he asked.

"Because I know you…what's going on?" she replied. He sighed.

"You're right…there's no bean. I didn't need one and came through the well," Neal revealed.

"How?" Snow asked.

"I'm not sure exactly…but it's still there," Neal replied.

"What do you mean it's still there? The portal?" David asked.

"Just that…Lake Nostros has become what seems like a permanent portal. I don't know how and I don't know why, but that's how I did it," Neal replied.

"Rumple…do you think the trigger did this?" Belle asked.

"There's no other explanation…we've seen many side effects from it already," he answered.

"Then…there's a way home. A way out of this," David said, as he looked at Snow with hopeful eyes.

"Except that the portal doesn't close, Dad. They could follow us," Emma reminded him.

"But would they? Would they with the full advantage of magic back in our land?" he asked, as he looked at Regina and Gold.

"He's right…we'd vanquish them if we could," she agreed.

"And we could ascertain why the portal is staying open and possibly remedy it," Rumple added.

"I get that we're eager to get away from the NSA…but do we really want to go back to the Enchanted Forest? This world has a lot of advantages," Neal said. At that moment, they heard Bobby giggle and a few of his toys started floating. Snow sighed.

"Oh…" Neal said, as he suddenly got it.

"We're afraid if they find out…they'll take him away from us," Snow said, as she picked him up and cuddled him, as David was by her side.

"Then the challenge is getting there. Lots of weird stuff is going on up there and they've got military and scientists all over the place," Neal said.

"Not to mention that most have no memories and even if they did, there's no way we can get everyone there without being stopped," Emma replied, as she saw her mother's shoulders sink.

"But maybe we can get you guys there with the baby," she added. But they seemed horrified by that.

"Without you?" David asked. She winced.

"We have to protect the baby," she replied.

"And we will…but we're not being separated from you or Henry again," Snow refuted. Emma smiled softly at that. They needed to protect the baby, but it was nice to know that they wouldn't sacrifice her to do it.

"There has to be another way…we always consulted my library in times like this," Belle said. That struck him and he looked at them.

"Library…that could be it," Neal said.

"A library?" Emma said skeptically.

"Not just any library…there's one here in New York and there's a room that houses a very interesting type of book…" he said, as he started telling them what else he knew.

#Snowing #snowxcharming #charming family #Emma Swan #regina mills #Henry Mills #Neal Cassidy #Rumbelle #romance #adventure #family #au #Operation Castle

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lilacmoon83 · 5 months

Text

Lightning in a Bottle

Also on Fanfiction.net and A03

Chapter 84: Tailspin, Pt 1

Nine weeks. Nine long weeks away from Margaret, Henry, and Eden and he was just about at his wits end. The separation was wearing on his wife too. She was getting along with her father and they truly seemed to be mending their broken relationship, but they missed each other terribly. He still had Margaret supporting him and grounding him, but it wasn't quite the same as her being here and he could have used her gentle understanding at this moment, as he looked at his glowing hand again.

"Everything okay?" Emma asked.

"It's happening again…lighting up like a Christmas tree," David replied, as he showed her his hand.

"What do you think it means?" she asked. He shook his head.

"I don't know…it sounds insane, but I can feel the tailfin. It's like it's calling to me," he explained.

"What aren't you telling me?" she asked. He sighed.

"I called Vance and he's sending a car for me," David replied. Her eyes widened.

"Nine weeks of radio silence and he's suddenly sending you a car?" she asked.

"I told him about my hand," he confessed.

"David! He's working for the NSA again. They see this and you're a lab rat!" she exclaimed.

"He endangered his life to save mine. He's not going to let that happen," David insisted.

"David…" she started to protest.

"No matter who he works for…I trust him," David replied.

"And I trust you…that's why I told you where I'll be. Just in case," he said. She nodded.

"Be careful…MM expects you to be in one piece when she gets home," Emma replied. He smiled and kissed her forehead, before getting ready to leave.

~*~

"Hi, Mom," Olive said, as she answered her phone.

"Hi, honey. Excited for prom? Which dress did you settle on?" Margaret asked.

"I'm actually gonna skip it," Olive replied. Margaret frowned.

"What? Are you sure?" she asked.

"I doubt I'm missing much," Olive answered.

"I know you bought those tickets for you and TJ, but you might regret not going. It is prom," Margaret urged.

"I barely see those people anymore," Olive said.

"Yeah, but that's the point. One last rager," Margaret replied.

"Rager?" Olive questioned. Margaret winced.

"Not still a thing?" she asked.

"No, nobody says that," Olive replied, as she saw a car pull up from the window.

"Dad, your badass carriage awaits," she called. David grabbed his things.

"All right. Wish me luck," he said, as he left and Olive went back to talking to her Mom.

~*~

David got into the car and noticed that it was Vince, the man that had accompanied them to Cuba and then made sure he got out.

"Have you seen him?" he asked, as Vince drove and there was no answer.

"I'm assuming he's all right," David said and still nothing. He rolled his eyes.

"All right, how about this one. Where exactly are you taking me?" he asked. Nothing again, but his question was answered, as they pulled up to a plain looking building that

looked like an old factory or warehouse.

"You really think the tailfin is here? Just hiding in plain sight?" Vince asked, as he looked at the building. Vance came out of the building just as another car pulled up to drop

Regina off.

"Unmarked buildings, inconspicuous heavy security. Sounds about right," David said.

"What, you don't call, you don't write…" David said to Vance's stoic face.

"Regina, why don't you head inside? Mary at the security desk will take your phone and ID," Vance said. She did so, leaving Vance and David alone.

"All you had to do is sit tight and trust that I had things handled," Vance hissed.

"I couldn't let you rot in a Cuban prison," David insisted.

"You can't imagine the things I've answered for. So thanks for the favor, but I didn't need it. Anything you see, anything you learn is highly classified, never to be shared

beyond these walls," Vance warned.

"Is the tailfin here?" David asked. He nodded.

"Along with a confluence of top scientific minds convened to study the phenomenon," Vance replied.

"This is it? This is the entire 828 investigation? Wait, you're part of it again?" David asked.

"I'm in charge of it," Vance corrected.

"I guess my contacting the NSA didn't turn out so bad for you after all," David replied.

"Well, I was about to negotiate my own release until you swooped in, caused a massive international incident and almost landed me in federal prison.

"Are we going in?" David asked. He nodded.

"Welcome to Eureka," Vance answered.

~*~

"Morning," Neal said, as he stood at the stove, making eggs for their first breakfast in their new home.

"Morning," Emma replied, greeting him with a kiss, before sipping at some orange juice he had put on the table for her.

"Still weird that this house is ours now," she mentioned. He smiled.

"Believe me, I know…it's the nicest place I've ever lived in," he replied, as he delivered their plates to the table and they sat down to eat.

"Something on your mind?" she asked, noticing his pensiveness.

"Yeah…I'm just not sure how to describe it," Neal replied.

"Did you have a Calling?" she asked anxiously. He hadn't had one since his miraculous resurrection at the lake.

"No…this is different. I think I can feel what other people are feeling. Pretty intensely," he said.

"Wait…like mind reading?" Emma asked.

"Not exactly…it's more that I can feel exactly what someone is feeling. Like you're feeling anxious about your family being apart," Neal replied.

"That's not a huge stretch to know that," Emma pointed out. He nodded.

"Fair. But it was how I knew you needed my help to distract Angelina's parents in Costa Rica. I felt exactly what you were feeling to the point that I could see it," he explained.

"This…this is new," she said, not sure what to make of it.

"You're also worried about David being anywhere near the tailfin and the NSA again," he said. She nodded.

"Yeah…he's desperate for answers and if they find out about his glowing hand, they're going to want to run tests on him. These people aren't above using us like lab rats," she

replied.

"I know…he'll do anything to keep his family safe," Neal said.

"That's what worries me," Emma replied, as they finished breakfast.

"So…what's on your agenda today?" she asked.

"I think I'll visit Dad and then get back to job hunting," he replied, as they shared a kiss.

"Good luck," she said.

"Thanks…with my background, I'll need it," he replied.

~*~

"So no phone or credit card activity after December 28th?" Killian asked. Bella shook her head.

"No, this is when I last spoke with her," she said, as he scanned the phone records.

"And this is you right here at 9:37 p.m.?" he asked, pointing to the call on the paper. She nodded.

"My mom told me she was getting off the ferry and headed home. But she never made it," Bella explained.

"I'm combing through all the police calls from that night. Still nothing," he said.

"There has to be something, I know it," she insisted.

"I'm gonna keep looking. We'll find your mother," Killian promised.

"Thank you for being so thorough. I'm really grateful," Bella said.

"Just doing my job. Listen, if you happen to remember anything else, please let me know. Okay?" he insisted. She nodded.

"You know, sometimes when she's had a hard day at work, she takes the long way home. Strolls through some park. Says it helps her leave work at the door," Bella

mentioned.

"I'm guessing she didn't say which park," Killian said.

"Sorry, she didn't and I never asked. I wish I had," Bella replied.

"It's okay. Looks like I got some homework to do. I'll let you know if I find anything out," he promised.

~*~

"Pete. Pete. Are you okay?" Angelina asked, as she stood outside his cell.

"You have to tell me. I'm trying to help you before it's too late," she added.

"You've been so nice. Coming here all the time. I don't deserve this," he insisted.

"Of course you do," she admonished.

"Why are you wasting your time with me?" he asked skeptically.

"How many times do I need to say it? I choose to be here with you. I was chosen to be with you," Angelina insisted.

"Whatever you're seeing, you don't need to be afraid. The callings saved me and they can save you," she said.

"No. I think I'm way past that," Pete insisted.

"No. No, you're not. Look, you drowned in that lake, but now you're back, breathing air. But this second chance has an expiration date. You have less than one week until your

Death Date," she warned.

"Even if everything you're saying is true... there's nothing I can do about it in here," Pete said, as he turned away from her. But she persisted by staying.

~*~

David looked around, as they were led into a room that was definitely a state of the art room designed for research and had everything imaginable.

"It's quite a step up from the clinic backroom. I miss the lollipops but we have a few more toys here" Vance said.

"What exactly are you researching?" David asked.

"We've undertaken a broad spectrum of projects surrounding 828," Vance replied, as Regina stepped up to one of the computers, completely enthralled by what she was

seeing. It was far more advanced than her tiny lab.

"Careful," a woman said, as she approached.

"We have everything from aeronautic engineering, to meteorology, neurology, biology," the woman, clearly a doctor of some kind, said.

"You're surveilling private homes?" David asked in disbelief.

"The inquiry's scope is necessarily all-encompassing," the woman answered.

"David Nolan and Regina Mills, meet Dr. Gupta, Director of Research," Vance said, as she regarded them.

"I still think it's a mistake to bring passengers in here. Not to mention they don't have clearance," she said sternly.

"You've made your point, Dr. Gupta, but they're with me.

"At the very least, we should be running full diagnostics on them," she insisted.

"Thank you, Doctor," Vance said, as he led them on through the facility.

"She's a very committed researcher, but after two years of doing things a certain way, new approaches can be challenging," Vance explained.

"What about the Major? What if she resurfaces?" David asked. Regina and Vance shared an uncomfortable glance.

"She won't," Vance insisted.

"You can't guarantee that. What happened to not trusting the government?" he asked.

"I demanded full oversight. And as you can see, I got it, thanks to the tailfin discovery," Vance answered.

"A discovery we made together," David insisted.

"Exactly. Which is why I let you come in here. Speaking of, what's this mystery development you called me about?" Vance questioned.

"I just...needed to see the tailfin. When can I see it up close?" David asked.

"Soon enough. I need to show you something first, Vance replied cryptically.

~*~

Emma came home later that afternoon and found that a lot of unpacking had been done.

"Wow…you've been busy," she said, as he greeted her with a tender kiss.

"Yeah…Dad and Belle wanted to see the new digs and came by for lunch. Then Belle insisted on helping do a little unpacking and I didn't turn down the help," he replied.

"I'm glad you and your father have mended things," she said.

"All part of staying sober," he replied.

"Yeah…I think it's a little more than that with family," she said. He smiled.

"Guess so…having a family definitely changes things," he replied, as there was a knock at the door and they saw that it was Angelina.

"I'm sorry. I didn't know where to go. You said if I ever needed anything…" she said.

"Of course. Come in," Neal said.

"Pete needs your help," Angelina replied.

"Did he say something about Jace? Where he might be?" Emma asked.

"No. Pete had a calling. I was there, I saw it. You said it's important to follow the callings if we want to survive. Pete's not like his brother. He can still be saved," she insisted.

"Maybe, but he has to work for it," Emma said.

"And he would. But how can he follow the calling if he's in jail?" Angelina asked. Emma sighed.

"Maybe we can follow it for him. And along the way, maybe get a lead on Jace," Neal suggested, making Angelina's eyes light up.

"Yeah, but Pete's gotta want to talk to me," Emma insisted.

"I'll come with, give Pete living proof the callings can save him. Please. He's almost out of time," Neal replied.

~*~

Ruby smirked, as she approached Killian's desk and saw him laboring over that same disappearance case and then sat back and sighed in frustration.

"You know, my dad always said that stubbornness in the face of an impossible obstacle is a waste of time," Killian said. She smirked again.

"I'm guessing you didn't listen," Ruby replied.

"Oh, I'm persistent, not stubborn," he corrected.

"Seriously, though, why so drilled down on finding this Fitz woman if she's such a Monster?" Ruby asked, as he looked at the file. Being that the woman was involved in

the military and intelligence and there was a lot of classified stuff, it was pretty clear that she was involved in some questionable things.

"Bella drew the short straw when it comes to moms, but she still deserves answers," Killian insisted.

"All right, we getting any closer?" Ruby asked.

"I'm trying. I literally pulled every 911 and nuisance call between the ferry and Fiona Black's apartment that night," he said, handing her the pages.

"Okay. Domestic dispute, drunk and disorderly…" Ruby said, as she reviewed the information.

"Most promising is a noise complaint in the park nearby. Bella said her mom used to walk through it," he said, as he played more of the video footage from the park.

"This seems like it might be something," Killian said.

"A Sanitation truck idles off-hours in a residential area? It's kind of weird," she agreed.

"What's even weirder, there's not another noise complaint in that area for the rest of the night," he said.

"Affluent areas pull a high volume of nuisance calls. Off-hours garbage truck? I mean, a bunch of entitled neighbors would've called that in. Makes you wonder whether the

truck wasn't on the job," he said, as they spotted a cop car in the video drive by. She smiled.

"I mean, at the very least, maybe a cop saw something suspicious," she replied. He smirked.

"Guess I'm not the only persistent one," Killian said.

~*~

Pete was led from his cell into the visiting area, but immediately turned back when he saw Emma.

"No, no, no. Wait, wait, wait! Pete, please. Angelina really wants us to help you. She cares about you a lot, okay?" Emma asked, as he noticed Neal and recognized him

from that night at the lake.

"You?" he asked.

"My name is Neal," he offered.

"You're the one. The one Angelina told me about. The one who survived," Pete said.

"Neal followed a calling and saved Henry's life and his own that night," Emma replied.

"Why are you telling me all this?" Pete asked.

"Because you have less than one week before your Death Date, Pete. Please tell us about the calling. Maybe we can help," Emma insisted.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Pete refuted.

"Weeks before my Death Date, frostbite started setting in. I was dying. It's started happening to you, too, hasn't it? You feel water in your lungs. Your time is running out,

Pete, but we're here to help you," Neal said. Pete looked surprised by that.

"How?" he asked, but then sighed.

"Okay...I was in some dark place and I ran and got nowhere, and everywhere I turned, there was this huge...clock. Counting down," he explained.

"Have you seen it before?" Emma asked.

"Our high school football field. Mom would work late so we would stay after practice and keep throwing around till night," Pete revealed.

"Who's we? You and Jace?" Neal asked. He nodded.

"And Kory and a couple others...till we got booted off the team. After that, life sort of went south," he replied.

"Who kicked you off?" Emma asked.

"Coach Hannity," Pete replied.

"Why? Why would he do that?" Emma asked.

"'Cause he could," Pete recalled bitterly.

~*~

Angelina peeked into Olive's room to see her getting a dress out of the closet.

"Tonight's your prom?" Angelina asked.

"Yeah, but I'm not going," Olive replied.

"I skipped mine, too. My parents thought prom was some high school version of Sodom and Gomorrah," Angelina said.

"I'm really sorry," Olive offered.

"What's your excuse?" Angelina asked.

"Well, I was supposed to go with TJ, but he's halfway around the world," Olive replied glumly.

"Maybe he wants to make sure he survives his Death Date so you guys have more time Together," Angelina suggested. Olive looked thoughtful at that.

"A few months apart now in exchange for happily ever after," she mused.

"I didn't peg you for such a romantic. You really think we can survive?" Angelina asked.

"Neal did. And I'm not going to stop trying until I make sure that my family, TJ and you do, too. So that's why I'm spending my prom day digging into some Egyptian

mythology," Olive said.

"Mind if I help?" Angelina asked. Olive smiled.

"Sure," she answered.

~*~

Neal and Emma arrived at the High School football field and spotted a coach on the sidelines.

"That must be him," Emma said.

"Think this will lead to finding Jace?" Neal asked.

"All I know is that while he and Kory are out there, Henry's in danger. This is the most Pete's talked in two months," Emma replied.

"So if we can solve this calling…maybe he turns on his brother," Neal said, finishing her thought, as they approached.

"Hi. Can I help you?" the coach asked. Emma flashed her badge.

"Terry Hannity, I'm Detective Nolan," she said.

"Well, what can I do for you, Detective?" he asked.

"I'm hoping you could recall a player from a ways back, Pete Baylor," Emma replied.

"The Baylor boys. Darkest moment of my career. Still haunts me," the coach recalled.

"How so?" Emma questioned.

"I never had kids of my own. These boys, they're all I have. When I found Derek dead in the locker room…" he said, trailing off.

"I'm sorry. Who's Derek? What happened?" Emma asked.

"Overdose. We searched the lockers, questioned the kids. Come to find out Pete sold Derek the drugs," the coach replied.

"You never suspected anything?" Emma asked.

"Well, I always knew his brother and that other kid they ran around with were trouble," the coach said.

"Jace and Kory," Emma replied.

"Yeah, exactly. But Pete denied he was selling for them. Insisted it was him alone. Ended up in juvie. I kicked those other two off my team. I couldn't risk it. Four young

lives ruined," he lamented.

Thank you for your help, Mr. Hannity," Emma said, as they walked away.

"Pretty big omission from Pete," Emma said to him.

"You didn't know?" Neal asked.

"No. His records as a minor are sealed. I think the callings want Pete to reckon with this teammate's death. You know, come to terms with his grief, his guilt. Sounds like the

three of us are a bit more alike than we realized," she answered.

~*~

Vance led David and Regina into the room where Flight 828 was now housed, complete with the tailfin once again.

"The hull of the Montego 828 plane that landed in New York has been housed here for study since it blew up on the tarmac, under the tightest security," Vance explained.

"So how does a piece end up in Cuba?" David asked.

"It's the first question I asked when I was reinstated," Vance replied, as he led them to a monitor.

"And then I saw this. Are you ready?" he asked. They nodded and watched the recording of the tailfin vanishing into the thin air.

"It vanished?" David asked.

"That's impossible," Regina replied.

"As a colleague of mine told me the day you landed, I think we've taken impossible off the table," Vance reminded her.

"So, the tailfin disappears from here and our Cuban friends happen to fish one out of the Ocean?" David asked. Vance nodded.

"Are you sure it wasn't stolen? The footage wasn't altered?" Regina asked.

"I'm certain, David, you were right. The Cuban tailfin is the real one," Vance replied.

"I'm glad you finally believe me," David said.

"There's more. Unlike the rest of the plane, the corrosion on the recovered tailfin is consistent with having spent seven years in saltwater," Vance said.

"The time elapsed since 828's original disappearance," David asked, as he saw the timestamp.

"Wait. The tailfin disappeared on the same night that Neal survived his Death Date and the Meth Heads drowned in that lake," he realized, making a connection that Vance's

colleagues had not yet…

#snowing #snowxcharming #charming family #au #romance #adventure #mystery #Manifest #with a once twist #Neal Cassidy #Rumbelle #Lightning in a Bottle

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lilacmoon83 · 6 months

Text

Operation Castle

Also on Fanfiction.net and A03

The door to the detention block buzzed, as General Shaw swiped his badge and allowed the eye scanner to authenticate his identity. He walked down the dark hallway, his shoes being the only noise in the prison block. He approached his first destination and peered in on a blonde woman inside.

"Good afternoon, General Shaw," she said.

"Ingrid," he greeted in response.

"I trust that my information has garnered my freedom?" she asked.

"If your information on the location where you hid the scroll you used to slip into this world pans out…then yes, a discussion about your freedom may be on the table," he replied. She hissed and came into the light, wrapping her hands around the bars.

"You told me that I was free to go and be with Emma if I gave you the location of that scroll," she growled.

"And we'll discuss that further when I get the scroll and see if it is of any use to us," Shaw said.

"Besides, Ms. Swan has her parents now. I doubt she has any room in her life for you," he added, as he moved onto the next cell.

"Your information was limited to a land that was not part of the Dark Curse. All our real information has come from our wooden friend here," Shaw said, as a figure hobbled up the bars, revealing a completely wooden and adult August W. Booth.

"Without the book, we could have never come to know everything that we do about the other realms. Rumpelstiltskin was never very forthcoming and his tongue was much harder to loosen. But you have been singing like a bird, my puppet friend," Shaw said.

"Because you promised me the cure," August rasped.

"I have given you all the information you've asked for from the book that I can remember. You promised me one of the Dragon's cures," he pleaded.

"Yes…and we still don't know why the trigger reversed the magic that the Blue Fairy used to turn you back into a human child. It's more evidence that the trigger somehow punishes the liars and villains," he mused.

"Yet you jumped at the chance to help a likely enemy of your people for the chance to help yourself again," he added, as he produced a glowing potion from his jacket pocket.

"It would seem you have learned nothing, but the cure is all yours," he said, as he gave it to him. August scrambled for it and popped the cork, before downing the liquid. Shaw watched, as wood turned to flesh and August breathed a sigh of relief. The General opened the cell and let him out. August watched him wearily.

"And just so you know…I have learned. What's the catch for this magic?" he asked. The General smirked.

"You'll need another elixir every two weeks and if you want it, you'll work for me," he said. August sighed. He knew something like that was coming, but he was so desperate to be human again that he was ready to do just about anything.

"I'll be in touch. If you make contact with anyone from your land until I say it is okay, the deal is off and you'll end up in a wood chipper somewhere," Shaw warned, as he handed him a burner phone. August nodded and took the phone, before being led out by security.

"Let me out of here!" Ingrid demanded.

"Sorry…you told me of your powers and I can't risk you figuring out magic and plunging the world into an eternal winter," Shaw said.

~*~

After picking up the baby, they arrived home with everyone following. Emma opted to grab some takeout after getting Henry and soon, they were all gathered in the Charming living room, eating dinner and discussing the harrowing events of the day.

"We have to figure out what they're hiding. They know more than they're telling us," David insisted.

"We agree, mate…but you and I both know we'd never make it past that kind of security," Killian replied.

"He's right…I was their captive for three years. We must consider the possibility that there may be others," Rumple interjected.

"You think so?" Belle asked. He nodded curtly.

"I told them nothing during my time in their captivity, despite promises of freedom. I knew a lie when I heard it. Only when the magical anomalies began occurring did they reveal others had survived. Until I had that piece of information, I never considered cooperating," Rumple said.

"And others might not have that strength of will, especially if they're promised the right thing," David said.

"If we can figure magic out…then nothing they do matters. We can take down any security team and foil any of their attacks," Regina said.

"Magic worked fine in Storybrooke once you learned how to use it," Snow replied.

"What's your point?" she asked.

"She means that it didn't for you at first. What did you do to suddenly get it to work for you?" David asked.

"I…I went to my darkest place with the help of my mother's spell book. That's no longer an option," Regina replied.

"Maybe a magical object is the answer to activating it," Emma suggested.

"Which is great, except that if anything survived, they probably have it under lock and key," Regina replied. Emma deflated a bit at that. She was right…who knew if anything had survived at all and if anything did, they had no way to get to it.

"When you created the trigger, you should have warned me it could do this," Regina hissed.

"Except that I didn't create the trigger, dearie…nor the curse," he revealed.

"What?" she asked in surprise.

"We thought you wrote the curse?" David asked.

"No…it was written by a very dark being, who intended to use it much in the same way that Regina did. I am able to tell you everything about the curse, but the trigger is something of a mystery to me. I didn't pay it much mind, because I never thought you'd be foolish enough to use it," he said sternly to his old apprentice. She huffed at that. She was getting tired of being blamed for their predicament, even though she was the reason for it.

"Did you know this dark being?" Snow asked. He gave her a look and there was a long pause.

"Yes…she was called the Black Fairy," he said, offering nothing else at the moment.

"What happened to her?" Henry asked curiously.

"When she became a dark fairy, in pursuit of creating the dark curse, she was banished to a nether realm by the Blue Fairy. Only she knows of her motivations and how she came to be corrupted. Despite my attempts, the blue gnat has never loosened her foul tongue," he answered. He hated fairies and it was for a far deeper reason than they knew, but he wasn't revealing that to anyone anytime soon. He was being truthful about knowing very little about why she had done what she had.

"This is great…once again, we're nowhere," Regina said in frustration, as she watched Henry play with the baby and actually allowed herself a smile. Her son was helping him build a castle with his blocks.

"Yeah…this is a lot like the castle your Mom and Dad lived in," Henry cooed, as Bobby held up a block for him. Henry took it and put it on top. Unfortunately, the blocks toppled and fell to the floor.

"Uh oh…" Bobby said.

"It's okay…we can rebuild it, buddy," he said, as he started gathering the blocks again. With what happened next, time seemed to stand still for those few moments. Bobby giggled and clapped his hands, as several of the colorful blocks floated into the air around him.

"Oh my God…" Regina uttered.

"He…he can't be doing that," David said, equally stunned.

"He is the product of true love, dearie…if anyone has a natural aptitude for magic, it would be your children," Rumple said.

"Then how come Mom can't do it?" Henry asked.

"Theoretically, she can…we all can. Her natural ability gives her far more potential than us. But it may be that our minds and awareness are blocking our ability to harness it. The baby has no such hindrance. He's pure and innocent," Rumpe answered.

"They…they can't find out," Snow fretted, as she quickly swept him up into her arms and the fear in her eyes was palpable.

"If they find out…they'll take him away," she said, as she was almost panicking at this point. David was quick to pull them both close and kissed her hair.

"No…we won't let that happen," he said, as he looked at the others. The worry was palpable in his eyes too.

"We gotta figure out magic and soon," Emma said.

"You can't risk taking him to daycare anymore," Regina said. Snow nodded.

"Well…I don't have a job, so that won't be a problem until we have another creature or calamity pop up," she said.

"Yeah…we can't take the kid with us, but who can we trust?" Emma wondered.

"I can watch him," Henry said.

"I don't know kid…" Emma replied.

"We don't have much choice…" Rumple said. She sighed.

"You think you can handle it, kid?" she asked. He nodded.

"Bobby and I'll be fine," he assured them. They were satisfied with that for now, but Bobby figuring out magic before anyone else was causing serious anxiety. No one wanted to see some clandestine agency rip the baby away from his parents and turn him into a lab rat. But for that night, they agreed to disperse to their own homes and hope tomorrow would yield a solution to them being trapped in a world that soon might hate them.

~*~

"And you saw this?" the Knight asked the squire.

"Yes…I'm sure of it. I overheard them talking and saying that the lake was not quicksand and rather a portal. A portal that is staying open," the squire said.

"That's nonsense," one of the Knights spat, but the other one, who clearly outranked him, held his hand up.

"We do not know that for certain and no man, sane or otherwise, would jump into quicksand unless that's not what it was at all," the Knight reasoned.

"But if it is a portal…of what use would that be?" the other Knight asked.

"I don't know…but it is something that our Lord should be informed of either way," he said, as they mounted their horses and left to see Lake Nostros for themselves.

~*~

Neal had found a dive motel to stay at the night before and first thing that morning, he set out to find the place that Emma supposedly was working. He went inside the small shop on the block that was lined with many other small shops and looked around.

"Can I help you?" the receptionist asked.

"Yes…I'm looking for someone that works here," he said.

"Oh…do you need a bond for someone?" she asked.

"No actually…she's just an old friend. Emma Swan," he replied.

"Oh…I'm sorry, Emma no longer works here. She left for a new job a week or so ago," the woman said. He frowned and nodded.

"Thanks anyway," he said, as he turned to leave, when he caught the news on the television. He saw Tamara and Greg on screen, making some report from Time Square and he clenched his fist. He would find Emma…but first, he was going to make those two tell him what they had done, for he was sure they had something to do with all of this.

~*~

David peered into their son's room and sided up next to his wife, as she watched him play. He slid his arms around her waist and kissed her hair.

"Has he been floating any toys around?" he asked. She hummed.

"No…so far, it was just that once that we saw. But we know it's going to happen again," she replied.

"And we will protect our son. I know I promised you that after we got married that we'd never have to run again, but if it comes down to it…we will to save him," he said. She squeezed his hand.

"I know…" she replied.

"I don't want to leave you here alone…maybe you and the baby should come to Castle," he said. But she shook her head.

"No…as much as I want to stay close to you, it's too risky. It will look suspicious if we bring him to Castle and not to daycare and if he has another display of magic, then there will be no hiding it from them," she reasoned. He nodded and kissed her tenderly.

"Call me if you feel that something's wrong or even a little uneasy," he pleaded. She nodded and kissed him again.

"I will," she said, as she saw him off and then went back to Bobby's room.

~*~

"Where is that Principal?" Tamara asked impatiently, as they waited on their guest. They planned on interviewing the Principal from the school Mary Margaret Nolan had worked at and expose her identity first, which would easily lead to exposing her husband's identity as well. By the end of it, she'd have the public eating out her hand and turn them against those she would portray as dangerous.

"Are you sure the NSA released him this morning?" Greg asked.

"Yes…he called and said he was being released, because they have nothing to hold him on, unless they want it to go public that the NSA is involved in a cover up operation," Tamara answered.

"Yeah…he's fifteen late. Maybe he made a run for it," Greg suggested. She huffed and dialed his number and immediately got a message that the number was no longer in service.

"Dammit…he's ghosting us," Tamara cursed.

"Are you surprised? The NSA may have let him go, but probably also suggested that he steer clear of any high profile promotions or interviews. They can find someone just by pinging a cell phone. I'm sure he's more scared of them than us. He's probably in another state by now," Greg reasoned.

"What do we do now? We're on the air in five minutes!" she said hotly.

"I don't know…neither of us are real reporters. I liked it better when we were just stalking and eliminating those freaks from that damn town. And he still won't let me at that bitch that killed my father!" he exclaimed back.

"You know why…we're back in prison or worse if we step out of line. Now…we need a story or we're going back there!" she argued.

"You're the one that suggested we do some big story in Time Square! That's kind of the thing you should have a backup for!" he shouted.

"Don't blame this all on me. I'm the one that pulled you off the street and helped you find that damn town. You'd be nowhere closer to getting answers about your father if not for me," she growled.

"And yet…we're both still pawns. First for the Home Office and now for this…psychopath!" Greg said.

"Working for a psychopath…guess that shouldn't surprise me now," a voice said. Tamara froze and her eyes widened, as they turned to find Neal Cassidy standing before the.

"N…Neal?" she stammered. He smirked.

"Yeah…bet you think you're seeing a ghost, you know since you shot me and I fell through a portal," he said, as he came closer.

"How…how did you survive?" Greg questioned. Neal glared at him.

"Some friends found me and I spent the last three years trying to find my way back to my family, no thanks to you two crazy morons," he said.

"Neal…you and I both know how dangerous magic was and if you're back, you now know what it is doing to this world," she pleaded.

"Just shut up…you tried to kill my whole family and steal my son! And you're going to tell me where they are," he growled. She swallowed thickly and knew she had just moments before she was supposed to go on the air with some huge story that she didn't have.

"Wait…if you're here, then you had to come back through a portal. Where was that portal?" she asked. He scoffed.

"Like I'd tell you two anything," he replied. Before she could say more, there was a sudden tremor beneath their feet.

"What was that?" Greg asked, as they felt it again and it was stronger this time. Their eyes widened, as the concrete a few feet away cracked and a horrible shrieking was heard. They watched in disbelief, as a creature emerged from beneath the Earth.

"What is that thing?" Greg shouted, as they dodged the winged thing swooped down on them. It had snakes for hair, bat-like wings, and bleeding red eyes, with sharp fangs and claws as well.

"I think it's a Erinyes!" Neal cried, as he ducked the creature again. It screamed again and they held their ears in pain.

"What the hell is an Erinyes?!" Tamara shouted.

"More commonly known as a furie! They usually come to punish people for crimes and sometimes, even drag them to the Underworld!" he called back.

"What crime is it here to punish!?" Greg cried.

"You really want me to answer that with you two?" Neal cried back, as they ducked it again. Neal rolled away and looked around for something to use as a weapon. He found a discarded two x four near a dumpster and stood up, before swiping at it when it went by. It screeched, as he made contact and sent it flying into a building. It angrily bounced back and pursued them again. "Start filming!" Tamara said, as Greg got the camera and took cover behind a parked car, just as two black SUV's pulled up and screeched to a halt. Several people poured out of it and time seemed to stop for a moment, as shock came to them all.

"Neal?" Emma squeaked.

"Emma…"

#Snowing #snowxcharming #charming family #romance #adventure #family #regina mills #emma swan #rumbelle #Henry Mills #Neal Cassidy #Season 2 AU #Operation Castle

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lilacmoon83 · 7 months

Text

Operation Castle

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Chapter 8: Exposed, Pt 2

Idly, Emma watched the spar between her father and Hook in one of the training rooms in Castle. She remembered last night and finally let her walls down for her parents. It felt good and had made them all happy, including Henry. He had gone to school with a beaming smile. They finally felt like a family and were starting to pick up where they had started to get to before the trigger. She was still keeping a watchful eye on Hook though. He claimed he had changed and she was inclined to believe him for now, mostly because they all now had a common enemy.

"You're not bad for a royal," Hook said, as he parried David's blade.

"Not a real royal. Born a shepherd, taught by a friend, and then became a Knight. I'm only a Prince by marriage," David corrected, as he parried again and sidestepped Killian's footwork.

"Plus…you have been doing this a lot longer. I mean…a lot longer," the prince said. Killian looked at him in surprise.

"Oh…old jokes. Really?" he asked. David smirked, as they exchanged several strikes.

"You wanted to open that door about origins," he countered. Killian rolled his eyes.

"Fair enough…but you know, I haven't always been a pirate. I was once a military man," he boasted.

"You?" Emma asked in surprise from the sidelines. He smirked.

"Aye love…it's a long, sordid story, but my brother and I sailed the seas retrieving whatever our greedy King wanted," he replied.

"Which King?" David asked, as he parried another strike.

"His name was George, but he was well before your time," Killian replied.

"Probably a great, great Grandfather to the asshole that raised my brother," David said.

"Entirely plausible," Killian agreed.

"So…why did you leave the military to become a pirate?" Emma asked.

"Ah…well, our exploits for the King ended up getting my brother killed. He was our leader. I rebelled and the crew with me. We turned against the King and became pirates in revenge against the crown," he explained.

"Didn't know you had a brother," Emma mentioned.

"Aye…losing him started me down a dark path," Killian said.

"There's a lot that's not in the book," Emma mentioned.

"It seems that the book only covers certain parts of Misthaven's history," David said.

"Misthaven?" Emma asked.

"It's what a lot of the other Kingdoms called the Enchanted Forest," he clarified.

"There are more Kingdoms than what's in the book?" she asked, though she supposed that made sense. She just had never thought about it.

"Sure…I have a couple friends that hail from Arendelle. It's even further north than the Kingdom that Snow's mother came from. Then there was the Maritime Kingdom, Camelot, Nottingham, Briar Forest, the Southern Isles, Prydain, even Atlantica," David said.

"Wait…like the little Mermaid?" Emma asked. He smirked.

"Your mother and Ariel were actually good friends," he said.

"Where is that story?" Emma asked, as her interest was piqued.

"I'm sure she would be happy to tell you all about it," David replied.

"Don't forget Neverland, though I've bloody tried," Killian said.

"So Peter Pan…you met him?" Emma asked.

"Aye…that bloody little demon makes the Crocodile look tame," he replied.

"Mind your tongue, pirate," Rumple warned from the sidelines.

"Hold on…I thought Pan was the good guy," Emma said. Both Killian and Rumple looked at her like she had three heads.

"Who the bloody hell told you that?" Killian asked.

"Disney?" she offered, which received eye rolls.

"Sorry lass…he is evil incarnate, I assure you," Killian replied.

"Thankfully, I never had to meet him, but the stories of him stealing children by luring them from their beds with his pipe were well known legends," David said. Emma was reeling from information overload at that point, but she found herself craving it all now.

"So…do you think there are more books?" she asked curiously. David stopped for a minute.

"I've never thought about it…but maybe. We don't even know where this one came from," David said, as he looked at Gold.

"Don't look at me. Not even I know where the book came from," he replied.

"Did Regina understand anything about the curse when she cast it?" Emma asked.

"Excuse me…I did," Regina interjected, as she came down into Castle from the bar above. Emma raised an eyebrow.

"Sure about that?" the blonde asked.

"I was told it would give me my happy ending and that it would take away that of my enemies," Regina replied.

"Yeah…I'm seeing why they gave you the evil title," Emma commented. Regina's nostrils flared and she marched up to the blonde.

"You don't know anything about what my life was like!" she said, pointing her finger at her, but Emma glared right back.

"I know enough. Your life sucked so you made sure everyone else's lives sucked too," she countered.

"You have no idea what I went through!" she hissed.

"And you have no idea what I went through either!" Emma shouted back.

"Enough!" Casey interjected, as he looked at them.

"This is training…not a time to air your grievances," he snapped. Before he could go on, David's phone rang and he smiled, as he answered it.

"Hey…" he said.

"David…" Snow said and he could instantly detect that something was wrong.

"Snow…what's wrong?" he asked.

"The students and staff seem to recognize me from Greg and Tamara's fun little broadcasts. I never even made it to my classroom this morning. The teachers cornered me in the teacher's lounge, demanding answers," she replied, as he had her on speaker.

"The Principal is one of ours…he should be at least providing cover for you," Alivia said.

"Well he's not!" Snow snapped.

"He no longer seems like he's one of yours…he's in here too. They said they can't let a vigilante teach students and they've called the NYPD," she said, obviously starting to panic.

"I'm on my way," David said, as he and Emma were already running for the exit, followed quickly by Killian and the others.

~*~

As Snow arrived that morning at work, she instantly knew something was definitely off. She got stares from students and teachers alike, as she made her way through the hallways and to the teacher's lounge. A bad feeling settled in her gut even further, as she walked in and found several teachers and the principal waiting on her there.

"What's going on?" she asked her colleagues.

"You tell us…this went viral this morning," one of them answered snidely. It was the old, crusty English teacher that taught across from her classroom. Ms. Parsons had never liked her and Snow had never given her a reason not to. But she was one of those people that seemed to despise other women, especially young, successful and happily married ones. Snow watched the video of them luring one of the Banshee's into a trash can fire, with very clear video of their faces.

"That was quite a spectacle, but who are these mysterious people?" Tamara asked, as the camera panned to her.

"They appear as Saviors here to rescue the city from some sort of paranormal activity. But are they really? Or are they perpetuating these hoaxes to make a name for themselves as some kind of heroes?" Greg asked.

"What exactly are you involved in, Mrs. Nolan?" another teacher asked.

"What I do outside school is really none of your business," Snow replied, without missing a beat.

"The students are very distracted by these strange occurrences and we think having you trying to teach would be too disruptive," the Principal stated.

"Well…then I guess this little display is your way of asking me to leave. Guess I'll send for my things later," she said, but the door was then blocked by two of the gym teachers.

"Sorry…we can't let you leave. The reporters on the broadcast said that the people involved with this are of interest to the Police. They'll be here soon," the Principal replied. Yesterday, the man had supposedly been read in on her status as an NSA asset and now he had a completely different attitude. She immediately pulled out her phone and dialed her husband.

David slammed the car door, as they arrived at the elementary school.

"You can't just go barreling in there!" Alivia warned.

"I thought you said she'd be safe to continue teaching!" David snapped.

"We were wrong," Casey said.

"Obviously…" Emma commented.

"You said that the Principal was aware of her status as an asset," Killian recalled.

"He is…something's definitely wrong," Casey said, as they saw NYPD cars pulling up to the school.

"I'll handle this…" Casey said, as he marched toward the entrance, with David and Emma following him.

"Excuse me Sir…we have a situation inside and cannot allow you to enter," one of the uniform cops said. Casey flashed his badge.

"And my authority supersedes the NYPD. Agent Casey, NSA and these are my colleagues, Agent Nolan and Agent Swan," Casey said sternly, as they easily bypassed the uniformed offers and they entered the building. Students milled about in the hallways and no one went to class as the bell rang, for they had realized one of the teachers they had seen on the news was cornered in the teacher's lounge.

The door swung open and Snow prepared to make some kind of drastic move to avoid being arrested by the NYPD, but she was incredibly relieved to see her husband and daughter there with Agent Casey. She rushed to him and he hugged her tightly.

"We were told she was going to be brought in by the NYPD," the Principal said.

"You were told wrong," Casey said, as he approached, with his menacing gaze.

"You were on board and the school was compensated to be discreet about Mrs. Nolan's status as an NSA asset," he said. The Principal smirked.

"Guess I got a better offer," he replied. In turn, Casey grabbed him by his shirt and lifted him off the floor, causing the other teachers to gasp.

"Who are you working for?" Casey demanded to know.

"Sorry…I'm more afraid of them than I am of you," he choked out, as Casey let him down and then cuffed him.

"We'll see about that," he growled, as he led him out of the school. Once they were outside, David stopped for a moment and cupped her face in his hands.

"Are you okay?" he asked. She nodded and breathed another sigh of relief, as he hugged her briefly and then swept her away toward the car when he saw the press running toward them.

"Guess my teaching career is over," Snow said sadly.

"I'm sorry, my love," David replied, as he kissed her forehead.

"Me too, Mom," Emma offered. Snow smiled at her and squeezed her hand, as they returned to Castle to deal with this latest fallout.

~*~

Neal hopped off the bus in Augusta and went into the bus station and up to the window. Thankfully, when he fell through the portal, he still had his wallet on him and enough cash to get by for a day or so.

"Hi…I need a ticket for the next bus to Manhattan," he requested. The attendant printed a ticket for him and he paid, before going and sitting down on a bench to wait. He saw on the ticket that he had two hours and then went up to the attendant again.

"Is there a library nearby?" he asked.

"Yeah…it's about two blocks east," she said. He smiled and thanked her, before walking out and heading there. If he knew one thing about most libraries, he would be able to read copies of large newspapers and magazines from years past. He entered and approached the librarian at the desk.

"Hi…I'm doing research for a paper and I'd like to find some major newspaper articles from Maine and New York from about three years ago," he said.

"We don't keep physical copies of anything that old anymore, but find a computer and you should be able to search our digitized collection of most publications," she replied. He smiled again and thanked her, before finding an unoccupied computer and sitting down.

"Okay…I did miss the Internet," he said, as he started his search. After about ten minutes, he found an article from a local newspaper, talking about a short lived, but mysterious seismic event. It was the very day that he had fallen through the portal. Experts had been baffled, for Maine was not known to have seismic activity. But there wasn't much else in the official records. He supposed that made sense with the government suits he saw yesterday. They had likely and quickly covered it up, because he knew whatever seismic event had taken place probably had a magical and supernatural element involved. He knew that there probably was unofficial chatter about that day in certain communities, but he didn't have time to do a dark web dive on it, so he decided that real answers would only come.

"Okay Emma…if you're still a bail bonds person, maybe you'll pop up on Google," he muttered to himself. He put in a search for bail bondsman, plus New York, plus Emma Swan. He smiled, as the search results returned instantly with an answer.

"Express Bail Bonds," he said and he scribbled down the address of the place that Emma seemed to be working now. It was a great starting place. He put the piece of paper in his pocket and left for the bus station. New York and his family awaited him.

~*~

When they arrived back at Castle, they gathered at the situation table and David had a hard stare for the General when he appeared on screen.

"It appears that the game has changed quite drastically and we underestimated what we believe is a rogue agent," Shaw said.

"Gee…ya think?" Emma quipped sarcastically.

"Greg and Tamara are extremely dangerous. We should arrest them next time they're doing one of their fear-mongering broadcasts," David said.

"Agreed," Rumple said.

"I'm afraid it's not that simple," Shaw said.

"Why the hell not?" Hook asked sharply.

"Those two are responsible for my son's death," Rumple growled and Belle put a hand on his shoulder.

"We have reason to believe that this rogue agent has his other agents running this network. If the NSA goes and arrests Journalists, it will not play well with the public at all and put us all under even more scrutiny. We'll never smoke out the person at the top of this if we take that path," Shaw reasoned.

"The General is right. Most of the public believes whatever their idiot boxes tell them to. They'll see it as us trying to undermine the freedom of the press," Alivia offered.

"Politics suck," Casey added, as it was clear he agreed with David and Rumple.

"So what now? I can't go back to my teaching job and Regina won't be able to even run the bar upstairs," Snow said.

"Yes, we have agents that will take over the daily operations of the bar," he said.

"And what am I supposed to do?" Regina asked.

"For now, you should all go home and lay low until there is another anomaly. Your identities haven't been revealed yet and we'll have agents posted nearby each residence," Shaw replied. They got up from the table and started to make their way out.

"So much for a meeting at Ruby's," Emma said.

"We'll just have to meet at our house and hope it's not bugged," David replied, as they agreed and headed there.

~*~

Tamara smirked, as she watched the spectacle outside the school. They hadn't revealed the identities of Storybrooke's residents yet, but their identities would soon be outed.

They just needed the perfect situation to truly expose them.

"That seems like a high concentration of radiation in Midtown Manhattan," Greg mentioned to his boss, as they looked at the map of New York City.

"Yes…if I had to guess, I am willing to bet the next anomaly may appear in this area and very soon…maybe as soon as tomorrow," Aza said.

"We'll be ready. Midtown Manhattan is the perfect place to truly expose them. Time Square might as well be broadcasting to the entire world," Tamara replied.

"Be ready…this could be big," Aza said.

~*~

Shaw sat at his desk and Alivia entered his office, having been summoned from Castle.

"Thank you for coming, Agent Becker," he said.

"Of course, Sir…I assume we are putting together a task force to track this rogue agent?" she asked.

"Yes…but I believe we already know who he is and drawing him out won't be easy," Shaw said.

"Who is he?" Alivia asked.

"That's not important for now. What is important is finding out the secret to these objects," Shaw said, as he pulled a painting out and it swung out, revealing a safe in the wall. Shaw opened it and she peered inside.

"What exactly are these objects?" she asked.

"Just a few artifacts we recovered at the site of the explosion three years ago. It's imperative we find out what they do and if they hold any power," Shaw replied.

"Why not just ask our assets?" she questioned.

"They must not know we have anything from their town. I suspect they're already searching for a way out and we're not done with them. If they can harness magic…then we

want to be the ones in control of the ones with such power," he said.

"What do you want me to do?" she asked.

"I believe Mr. Gold suspects that we have the story book that details all their history, but it was never recovered," Shaw replied.

"Then how do we know it survived and how do we know so much about them without it?" Alivia questioned. She had heard them talk about Henry's book and always assumed the NSA had it.

"We have a source from years ago. We suspected the existence of the town for almost thirty years, but could never find it or gain access. That source has been persuaded finally to loosen their tongue," he said, pausing for a moment.

"She told us about a certain collection of books at the largest library in the city and I want you to investigate," he said, as he handed her a piece of paper with the exact

location.

"I'll go right away," Alivia said, as she left. Shaw stared at the objects in his safe and then closed it. He hoped to soon know what power they held.

#Snowing #SnowxCharming #charming family #romance #adventure #family #au #regina mills #emma swan #rumbelle #Henry Mills #Season 2 AU

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lilacmoon83 · 7 months

Text

Operation Castle

Also on Fanfiction.net and A03

Chapter 7: Exposed, Pt 1

"Oof…definitely need to work on my landings," he joked, though no one was around to hear him. He looked around, trying to figure out where he was, but he instantly saw something he recognized. He smiled and saw the well, before he hurried through the woods and when he emerged from the edge of the woods, expecting to see the familiar site of the clocktower, his smile quickly faded to a frown. He found there was a small clearing, but then more woods where Storybrooke should have been.

"What the hell happened?" he wondered, as fear gripped him. Storybrooke was gone…and so was his family. A million things ran through his mind, as he wondered how an entire town could just disappear like it never existed. Before he could completely freak out though, he heard a vehicle coming along what was once Main Street, but now just the highway and dodged behind a tree. It was a black SUV and it came to a stop in the center of the road. He looked around the tree to see three people get out and they all looked like Feds, except one. Typical black clothes and sunglasses. The other wore a white lab coat and Neal deduced he was probably a scientist or doctor employed by the Feds. He watched them carefully trek along the road and to a spot up a little further and it was right about where he estimated the clocktower used to be. Quietly, he hopped behind a few more trees and then crept into the brush, straining to hear what they were saying. He saw the man in the white lab coat using some kind of device and heard it making a static-type noise.

"Well?" one of the agents asked.

"It's the same as it is each month we check. Since the trigger implosion, the radiation has only increased the rift here," the man in the white coat said.

"And there's nothing you can do to stop it?" the female agent asked. He sighed.

"We're talking about magical radiation that has created a rift, which means volcanic activity. Nothing can stop it. By my estimates and calculations, a full fledged rift of volcanic activity will emerge right here in the middle of Maine within the next six months," he said.

"And the other hot spots?" another agent asked.

"Since they're not at ground zero, it may take more time, but the rifts will soon happen at those as well," the scientist answered.

"We better report back. This is not what the Director will want to hear," the one that seemed like the lead agent said, as they got back in the vehicle and sped away in the other direction. Neal crept toward the spot where they just were and knelt down. The concrete in the place they had been examining was cracked and the pavement was starting to protrude upward. He placed a hand on it and recoiled in shock. It was very warm; almost hot to the touch and with it being late fall in Maine, that was definitely not normal.

"Trigger implosion?" Neal wondered, having no idea what they meant or what it had to do with the disappearance of the town and its people, including his family.

If the town was somehow destroyed…then did that mean his family was too?

"No…Emma would have gotten everyone out somehow. There were no beans though, so there was no way out of this realm if something had destroyed the town.

"The library in New York…" he said. Years ago, he had discovered a very old collection of books in one of the oldest public libraries in New York that had information about people of other lands. It was exactly like Henry's book, but he might find clues there.

"It's a start," Neal said. He had no idea how long he would have to walk to find a bus station, but he knew he had better get started and so he began walking west of where Storybrooke used to be.

~*~

"Looks like they survived too," Snow said.

"Yeah…but since when are they reporters?" Emma asked, as they listened to them breakdown the entire incident that had just happened and they had obviously been watching, because they now had close up footage of them.

"I thought you said we wouldn't have to worry about being identified by the public and your clean up crews would make this all go away," David said. Casey clenched his teeth.

"Looks like things have changed," he said.

"We have no confirmation yet, but we believe these two are definitely working for our rogue agent," Shaw said.

"That makes sense…these two hate magic and us by association," Regina replied.

"I say we bring them in and see what they know," Killian suggested.

"No…we are not to engage yet," Shaw said.

"Why the hell not?" David questioned.

"If we let them operate for now, they will slip up and eventually lead us to whoever is behind this," Shaw said.

"In the meantime, more of our people might be killed," Snow said. He looked at her and paused for a moment.

"I'm afraid that there is always collateral damage in a war," he said.

"So now my people are collateral damage!?" Snow cried, as David gently put his hands on her shoulders.

"Your orders are clear, Mrs. Nolan…" Shaw said sternly, as the transmission winked out.

"I hate this…" Snow sniffed, she turned in his arms and he hugged her tightly, tucking her head beneath his chin.

"Come on…let's go pick up Bobby and go home," he whispered to her, as he kissed her hair and they started toward the stairs.

~*~

"Hey Henry," a voice said, as he shut his locker and he looked at his three friends that he hung out with the most. He had been in such a fog since he woke up that he had almost forgotten that Paige, Nick, and Ava were really Grace, Hansel, and Gretel. Somehow, even in a big place like New York City, they had ended up in the same school. If he recalled, Nick and Ava lived with their single dad, who worked and made good money at a local mechanic shop. Paige also spoke of her quirky, yet loving single dad, who she lived with. Henry assumed it was Jefferson, based on the fact that her father owned a small haberdashery, which sold men's accessories, including hats.

"Hey guys," he said numbly. They all were happy and had good lives here, so he felt a little guilty that he wanted them to be awake like him.

"Dude…I have to talk to you about something I saw the other night," Nick said urgently. Ava rolled her eyes.

"The superhero thing again, Nick? That was just a hoax…the news said so," Ava complained.

"The news is full of shit, Ava," he snapped back, as he pulled Henry along to the lunchroom to show him something on his laptop. Ava sighed and Paige smiled.

"Boys," she said, with a shrug, as they followed.

"Everyone else said this is CGI or a hoax, but I'm telling you, Swan…this was real. I watched it out my bedroom window," he said. Henry's eyes widened, as he showed him the battle with the Troll. He looked at his friends and then back at the screen.

"Well?" he asked.

"Yeah…definitely not a hoax," he replied. Nick hadn't met his Mom yet actually or surely he would have identified Emma right away.

"See…I told you it was real. Henry knows," Nick declared.

"Henry…you can't be serious," Ava replied.

"I am…and I think you guys might be able to help," Henry said.

"Help how?" Paige asked, clearly intrigued.

"Nick…how would you feel about doing some serious hacking?" Henry asked. The other boy's face lit up.

"Are you kidding? Where do I sign?" he asked. Henry smiled.

"And Paige, do you remember a few weeks ago when you were saying that you were following a bunch of podcasts about that weird explosion that was felt in Maine a few years ago?" he asked.

"Of course…I'm still following them. The research is crazy and they're totally burying it, because there's been fissures happening all over the place. But according to the guy I listen to…when the government shows up, everything goes dark and people just stop talking about it," she said. Ava sighed.

"I need new friends," she complained.

"They probably pay them to go away…or else, if you get my drift," Nick said. Henry wondered if Grandpa Gold figured out magic if he could awaken his friends without the General or their handlers knowing about it. That was a later conversation though. He would never get them into Castle undetected, but a couple high powered laptops might be enough to dig.

"Okay…come over to my house tonight. My Mom will be fine with it and I'll tell you more," he said, as the bell rang and they returned to their classes.

~*~

Snow's heart fluttered, as they peered into their son's crib and she got chills, as she always did, as she listened to her husband gently serenade their little boy until he was fast asleep. She tucked the blanket around him tightly and gently caressed his tiny face.

"Good night sweetheart," she whispered, as her husband held her from behind. He gently pressed a kiss to her hair and she turned in his arms, so she could give him a smoldering kiss. She slipped her arms around his neck and he pulled her flush against his hard body. She pulled her lips from his, but only long enough to lead them next door to their bedroom. Once the door was closed, their lips crashed together again and hands roamed. She began quickly unbuttoning his shirt and he shrugged out it. Her hands were busied with his belt and he slipped his hands beneath her blouse. He was about to remove it when the doorbell rang. Their lips parted and their breathing was ragged, as they attempted to cool things between them.

"I...I'll go see who that is," he said, as he started buttoning his shirt and took a breath. She smiled.

"I'll see who it is and give you a minute to calm down," she said, with a sly smile and a kiss to his cheek. The doorbell rang again and she hurried to answer it. She was pleasantly surprised to see that it was Emma and Henry.

"Hey…sorry it's kind of late. I hope you guys weren't in bed," the blonde said, as she let them in.

"No…we just put the baby down," Snow said, as Henry hugged her and she smiled, as she returned the hug, just as David came down the stairs. He had a smile for them both and returned his grandson's hug.

"We were going to wait, but this one is too excited to tell you what he found," Emma replied.

"I think I found someone to help us dig for information online," he said.

"Really?" David asked, as they sat down.

"I didn't even think about it earlier, but my three closest friends just happen to be from Storybrooke too," he revealed.

"That's lucky," Snow said.

"That's what I said. For New York, it doesn't seem like we were scattered too far," Emma replied.

"Paige is Grace and I met her dad once. It was definitely Jefferson. Anyway, she's really into science and loves geology. She's always collecting rocks and following people that track seismic activity," Henry said.

"Seismic activity? This part of the country doesn't have a lot of earthquakes," Snow mentioned.

"No…but if you remember we had one in Storybrooke. It just happened to be a mine collapse," Emma reminded her.

"Are you saying there's seismic activity and it's being caused by the trigger? Even three years later?" David asked. The boy nodded.

"Yeah…Paige is obsessed with the original anomaly that happened three years ago…in Maine. Since then, there's been all kinds of weird geologic activity," Henry explained.

"She can explain it better I think. It was all a bit Greek to me too," Emma mentioned.

"Does she really think the trigger is causing seismic activity?" Snow asked. He nodded.

"She seems to think so…" Henry replied, as David noticed the pensive look on her face.

"What is it?" he asked. She looked up at him.

"Probably just my overactive imagination…but the trigger was supposed to destroy Storybrooke," Snow replied.

"Which it seemed like it did or so they told us," Emma replied.

"What if…what if it's destroying more than that?" Snow asked, as they all looked at her and then each other for a long pause.

"I know…it sounds stupid," Snow said.

"Actually it doesn't…" Emma replied.

"She's right…obviously that trigger did more damage than Regina thought it would. It swallowed Storybrooke whole if the town really was destroyed as they're saying," David said.

"You think it might be swallowing the world?" Emma asked, as Henry showed them one of Grace's maps on his laptop.

"Grace…or Paige says that the people she follows on this stuff said it's not like regular seismic activity. It's just in pockets beneath the earth's crust," Henry said.

"Wait…so the radiation is in the ground?" Snow asked.

"That's what it seems like," Henry replied.

"Magical radiation…" Emma muttered.

"It's underground…the magic is underground," David realized, as he caught her train of thought.

"Then if we find one of these pockets…" Snow said.

"Regina, Gold, and…you might be able to access magic. That's why it's not everywhere," David replied, as he looked at their daughter.

"Wait…if the magic is underground and it's causing these anomalies, that still doesn't explain how creatures are popping up from it," Emma said. They exchanged a glance and were silent again.

"It doesn't…but if we found one of these pockets, then we might be able to figure out why and how the creatures are manifesting," David said. Emma nodded, as she watched him pull out his phone.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"Well…I was going to text Killian and Gold and tell them we should meet here before going to Castle in the morning, but I bet they have our phones bugged," David replied.

"Probably…we can't take that chance. We better hope they haven't bugged our houses too," Emma said. Snow started to look around, suddenly uneasy that there was a possibility they were listening.

"Ruby's…we can meet for dinner there. If we're late in the morning to Castle, it will be more suspicious," Emma suggested. He nodded and made the calls.

"Dammit…" Emma cursed, as she turned away and Snow approached, seeing that Henry was occupied.

"Are you okay?" she asked. Emma turned to her.

"I'm sorry…" the blonde said.

"For what honey?" Snow asked.

"I've blamed you guys for so long…I didn't get it. I didn't get what she was like and why you gave me up. I thought that even if I was cursed with you that at least we would have been together," Emma replied. Snow recalled that hurtful moment after the curse had broken where Emma had suggested that, which led to Snow questioning every decision she had ever made.

"No…you had a point. Maybe it would have been okay. I mean you would have been in Storybrooke at least," Snow said.

"You don't have to do that…don't sugar coat it. I didn't get it then…but I do now," Emma replied.

"I'm not sure what you mean," Snow said.

"She would have killed me. You…you and Dad knew that. That's why you made him put me in the wardrobe. She set off a trigger that swallowed an entire town and was intended to kill us all. I didn't see it before…but I do now," Emma replied.

"There is good in her…" Snow offered, as they looked at Henry.

"Maybe…" Emma replied.

"But I was unfair to you…Mom," she confessed. A few tears slipped down her cheeks, as they hugged. David shared a smile with his grandson and put his hand on the boy's shoulder.

"We're meeting at Ruby's for dinner after Castle tomorrow," he said. Emma nodded.

"Okay kid…we better get home and get to bed," she told him, as he packed up his laptop. Emma paused for a moment and surprised David with a hug.

"Goodnight Dad," she said, as the two of them watched them go in awe.

"Did…did that just happen?" he asked. Snow sniffed and nodded, as more tears came.

"She called me Mom again," she replied, as they embraced in a tight, joyful hug.

"You were right…she just needed time," Snow said. He smiled at her with tears in his eyes, as he held her face in his hands and they shared a passionate kiss.

~*~

Neal had been walking for what felt like forever and as dusk set in, he finally came upon a structure. It looked like a small diner and he remembered August's story about coming through the wardrobe. This small diner matched his description and he approached, hoping he could get some information. He wasn't prepared for what he saw on the television though and he stood there, mouth agape, as he listened to the broadcast.

"These seemingly supernatural occurrences have been followed by the appearance of several individuals, who show up to handle the problem, before absconding with little explanation and quite a mess in their wake," Tamara said.

"There is much speculation that this small group of people may actually be perpetuating these hoaxes and showing up to deal with them. Others of a conspiratorial nature suggest that the appearance of these monsters, such as this one, are authentic, but they are considered on the fringe," Greg added, as the footage was shown.

"A bridge troll…" Neal uttered, as he saw Emma, her parents, Regina, Belle, Hook, and finally his father on the screen.

"What the hell is going on?" he wondered.

"Can I get you anything?" the waitress asked.

"Uh…yeah, some water would be great," he replied. She smiled and nodded.

"Crazy huh? I mean, I knew New York was a crazy place, but monsters are a little nuts even for it," the waitress said.

"New York…" he uttered.

"Listen, I'm kind of stranded and I actually need to get to New York. Is there a bus station nearby?" he asked.

"We're pretty out of the way up here, but there is a bus that stops here every morning. There's not a lot of jobs in this small spot, so most commute to Augusta. It's about forty miles. You can catch a bus to New York from there I think," she said. He nodded.

"Thanks," he said, as he accepted the water. It wasn't ideal, but he could sleep in the woods for the night and then catch a bus in the morning. He had to get to New York as soon as possible…

#snowing #snowxcharming #charming family #au #emma swan #regina mills #rumbelle #Henry Mills #romance #adventure #family #season 2 au #Operation Castle

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lilacmoon83 · 8 months

Text

Operation Castle

Also on Fanfiction.net and A03

Chapter 6: The Banshee's Cry

"What do you mean, ripped out? Cause this doesn't look like it was done with a knife. There's no knife wounds," Emma reasoned.

"Because it wasn't," Casey said.

"Wait…are you accusing someone of ripping a heart with magic?" David asked.

"It's possible…but we're not sure. The only two people we know about that can do something like that were accounted for at the time of death," Casey replied.

"Yes…they were with us at dinner last night," Killian agreed, referring to Gold and Regina.

"Which means we have someone that has either figured out magic or a way to use science to replicate a heart rip, as I understand it's called," Alivia said.

"That means it's someone from our land…or someone from your ranks and since you've assured us no one else is awake…that means it's the latter," Gold replied. There was a pregnant pause between them.

"We're aware that this could be the case, but the General isn't ruling out the possibility that this could be another magical creature that's popped up as another anomaly," Casey said. David raised an eyebrow.

"And they just got lucky and happened to choose someone from our land to kill?" he asked.

"Dave is right…what the bloody hell are you hiding? Is someone from your damn government hunting us?" Killian accused. Emma noticed the slight widening of Alivia's eyes, like she was surprised that he had made that conclusion so quickly. So they were hiding something.

"I'd watch your tone…Captain," Casey warned.

"I'm more than three hundred years old, mate. I've seen more bloody carnage and just pain bonkers stuff than you can imagine. The only thing I know about government or royals…" he said, as he paused for a moment.

"Save a few in my company…is that they can't be trusted," he growled.

"You have no power here…and you know it. We have told you what we're authorized to tell," Alivia said sternly.

"That wasn't a no," Emma said.

"Indeed," Gold agreed.

"Look…finding who did this is top priority. Regardless of who it was…someone has been killed with magic," Casey said.

"Or what looks like magic," Gold replied, as examined the autopsy photos.

"When I rip a heart…my hand passes cleanly into the chest. These are burn marks, if I'm not mistaken," he added.

"So someone did come up with a synthetic way to do it," David said.

"Enough," General Shaw bellowed, as he appeared on screen.

"Tell us the truth then. Are we being hunted?" Killian replied. There was another long pause.

"It appears so…we have another body, from your land," he revealed, as a picture of the body, post mortem, appeared on screen.

"Do you recognize him?" Emma asked.

"Not this one…which begs the question on how exactly you know he's from Storybrooke," David replied.

"That's classified," Shaw responded. He snorted in response.

"Of course it is," he replied, as there was an alert.

"Guess you're saved by the proverbial monster…for now," Emma said, as the image came in from the NSA main office, where they were monitoring all paranormal activity.

"What the hell is that thing?" Emma asked, as she watched an wispy, astral-like apparition float around what seemed to be a four block radius. Then they were all covering their ears, as it screeched an unholy sound.

"A Banshee…" Killian said.

"Yep, definitely, which is kind of new, but not all that surprising, considering our current situation," David replied.

"What do you mean?" Alivia asked.

"He means that a Banshee, at least in our land, heralds the death of someone. Usually it's a family member, but in the grand scheme of things, one of us is dead," Rumple reasoned.

"Wait…are you saying that the banshee has appeared, because someone from your land is dead?" Casey asked.

"There's no way to prove such…but it's a reasonable theory," Rumple replied.

"What kills a banshee? It looks like it's transparent," Alivia said, clearly freaking out a bit.

"It looks transparent…but she can be banished. They hate iron and steel. The reflections from our blades will eventually get her to flee, but the bright light of magic works even better," David said, as they armed themselves.

"Which we haven't figured out yet," Regina argued.

"No time like the present…" he said.

"It's not that easy!" Regina argued hotly.

"Then we'll have to figure it out…because right now, there's hundreds of cameras on this thing and this one won't be so easily explained away," Alivia said, as they hurried out to the cars.

~*~

Snow looked up from the papers she was grading. This was her free period, but she was covering a seventh grade study hall for an ill teacher that period. She noticed a couple boys on their phones, whispering about something, while occasionally casting looks at her.

"Is there something I can help you boys with?" she asked, calling them out. Others around them snickered and they clammed up pretty quickly.

"This is study hall and I'm sure you have homework to do," she said sternly. She was sure the boys would have needed further reprimanding, but fortunately for them, the period ended and she proceeded to the teacher's lounge to grab her lunch. She noticed a couple of the other teachers gathered at the table, watching something on one of their phones. Oddly, they looked up at her and back down at their phones, almost in disbelief. She didn't have time to ponder this though, as she turned when someone tapped her on the shoulder.

"Mrs. Nolan…I'm Dana Bishop, your new student teacher," she said, introducing herself with a meaningful look.

"Of…of course, I'll show you to my classroom," she replied, as they stepped out into the hallway.

"What's going on? I assume you're really from the NSA?" Snow asked. The woman nodded.

"There's another attack…your husband and the others are enroute already. There is a car waiting out front for you," she said. Snow sighed. It's not that she didn't want to go, but she had a feeling that people were already noticing something was off with her.

"How exactly are my absences being explained?" Snow asked.

"The Principal was informed that you are an asset and nothing more. No questions will be asked," Dana replied. Somehow, Snow doubted that, but walked away toward the front entrance of the school. She wanted to be there to watch the backs of the people she loved, after all.

~*~

Neal and Robin arrived at Lake Nostros a few hours later, but whatever Neal was expecting to see when they got there…it was anything but this.

"I guess we now know why the locals think it's quick sand," Robin mentioned, as they saw the dried up lake was nothing but sand again. But in the center, the sand was moving continuously.

"Except quicksand doesn't actually look like that. Usually you don't know you're in quicksand until it happens. It certainly doesn't move like that," Neal replied, as he cautiously moved closer. He knelt down at the edge of the moving sand and touched it. He saw it turn green at his touch and then he moved more sand around, again seeing green, just like the portal he had fallen through.

"What is it?" Robin asked.

"Call me crazy…but I think this is a portal," Neal replied.

"But how can that be? Portals don't stay open," Robin reasoned.

"You're right…that we know of. I've never known of a continuous portal opening. If the wrong people knew there was an open portal to other realms…" Neal realized.

"What are you going to do?" Robin asked. He grabbed his pack and shouldered it.

"I'm going to take a really big chance…and jump through it," Neal said.

"Are you crazy? You have no idea where that thing goes," Robin replied. Neal looked at him.

"I know…but this might be my only chance to find Henry and Emma," he said, as their eyes met and Robin understood. Neal would do anything for his son, just as Robin would for his.

"This…this isn't normal and it means something. If there is even a chance that Henry and my family are in danger of some kind…I have to take it," Neal said.

"You think Storybrooke is in trouble?" Robin asked. Neal snorted.

"Wouldn't be the first time. Who knows what Tamara and Greg did after I fell through the portal," he said. Robin nodded. He was familiar with them from the story that Neal told.

"I'll travel back and tell Mulan about this. It is likely that Phillip will want to send a rotation of guards here now to keep watch on this portal," Robin said. Neal nodded.

"It's a good idea. Trust me, Storybrooke doesn't need anymore crazies," he replied, as he took a deep breath.

"Good luck, my friend," he said, as they shook hands.

"Thanks…something tells me I'm going to need it," Neal said, as he took another deep breath and jumped into the moving sand. It flashed green briefly as he did and then returned to the moving sand. Robin sighed and took Roland's hand.

"Come along Roland…we need to go visit Mulan," he said.

~*~

They arrived at the scene where people ran screaming through the two block radius that the Banshee was terrorizing.

"Level with me…is this about where the body was found?" David asked.

"Yes…this is the neighborhood that the victim lived in," Casey confirmed.

"Mate…in my three-hundred years, I've never seen a Banshee act like this. It wails and shrieks, but flees once the victim is either properly buried or avenged or both," Killian mentioned. David clenched his jaw.

"But the body is probably in a morgue right now, being dissected. She's angry," Rumple said.

"That's standard procedure," Alivia said.

"Your procedure created this one!" David snapped.

"No…we didn't create this! This doesn't happen in our world!" Alivia shot back.

"Well, it does now…so how do we get rid of her?" Emma asked.

"Not sure…we've never seen one that wasn't able to go away on their own or one that turned violent," David replied.

"But it's an apparition…it can't really hurt anyone," Casey said. As he said that, an electrical box exploded above one apartment building, sending downed electrical phone lines into the streets and people scurrying to keep from being electrocuted.

"No…but she can cause a lot of damage that could," David said, as they rushed into the street to confront the being. A car arrived moments later and Snow and Belle got out, rushing to join them.

"A Banshee…" Snow realized.

"Yeah…I'll fill you in later, but we could use a magical solution right now," David said.

"I'm trying…I can almost feel it in the air, but it's not answering my call," Regina replied, as she held her hands up.

"She's right…it does not flow in the air like it did back home," Rumple agreed, as they saw his hand spark red momentarily, before fizzling out.

"There may be another way…" Snow said.

"Really?" David asked. She nodded.

"I saw the villagers deal with them a lot…you know, after many people were slaughtered by…" Snow said, as she looked at Regina, who shook her head in annoyance. Emma ignored the Queen though.

"How'd they do it without magic?" the blonde asked.

"A bonfire…which the Banshee's hated and would flee from, except they weren't able to, because of the rattling," Snow said.

"Rattling?" Killian asked.

"The villagers would rattle tin cups or whatever metal they could against another metal object to create a rattling noise. The Banshees can't stand it and they plunge themselves right into the fire," Snow recalled from her memories.

"This is absurd! You want us to build a bonfire in the middle of Brooklyn?" she asked. David spotted some trash cans in an alleyway.

"We don't need a bonfire for one," he said, as he dragged one that was only half full into the street. Casey rummaged through the glove box in the SUV and tossed a pack of matches to the Prince. David tossed a lit one in the can and a fire was soon roaring.

"Now for the rattling," Killian said, as he pulled something from his belt, revealing his old hook and grabbed a trash can lid. He started banging the metal hook on the tin trash lid and the Banshee shrieked and covered her ears in agony.

"That's it…more!" he called.

"This is insane…" Alivia growled, as she picked one up and started banging on it with a piece of discarded scaffolding from the alley. Emma grabbed a tire iron from the trunk and started banging on another trash can lid. This was enough to drive the one Banshee insane and it dove head first into the fire, burning up and dissipating. They all breathed a sigh of relief. And there was no way to hide this one, as they looked up at the dozens of apartment windows where people were filming with their camera phones.

"This is bad…" Emma said.

"The NSA will handle it," Alivia argued.

"There's no handling this! We're exposed like a vein! Believe me…I know what this world does to you when they think you're a freak!" Emma shouted.

"Enough…back to Castle," Casey ordered. Snow and David joined hands, as they walked toward the SUV.

"David…why was there a Banshee? They only occur under certain circumstances," Snow said. He looked over at her.

"I'll explain everything on the way back," he promised, as he kissed her cheek.

~*~

"Well…that wasn't inconspicuous at all," Tamara said, as they watched the spectacle taking place in Brooklyn now.

"Yes…there will be no keeping this under wraps now," General Aza replied.

"Guess it's time for our first broadcast, live from Brooklyn," Greg said, as his phone chimed. Tamara smirked.

"I'm going to enjoy this. Do you want us to reveal their identities?" she asked.

"Not yet…but dangle the reality that you will soon know who they are. They'll regret not masking their identities. Let the public do the rest," Aza said.

"Fine…as long as the Queen eventually pays," Greg said.

"She's already paying in a way…she doesn't have her son," Tamara reminded him.

"Not good enough…she killed my father and I want the whole world to know. I want her locked up at the very least," he said.

"And that time will come…if we do this right," Aza said, as he gave him a steely look.

"Do not think for a second about going rogue, Mr. Mendell. It will not end well for you if you do," he warned, as they were dismissed to do their first broadcast. They would be introduced as rookie beat reporters, but the subject of their reports would quickly see to it that they became very well known.

~*~

Unfortunately, on the way back to Castle, they discovered that there was a second Banshee and they had gone to deal with it too, much in the same way as the first one. Now it was clear. Two deaths of people from Storybrooke. The mood was somber, as they made their way into Castle for debriefing and General Shaw was waiting on the line.

"Who is hunting us?" David asked bluntly, as he stood at the head of the table, leaning against it with his hands firmly gripping the edges. Snow had seen this stance many times before, back in their land, in the castle war room.

"At ease, Agent Nolan," Shaw warned, but David didn't soften his stance or his glare.

"We don't know…but we fear we have a rogue operative. It is the only way someone could even know about your kind," Shaw said.

"Uh…our kind? We're human, just like you," Emma protested.

"You are…except your hearts are not like ours and it shows up as an extra marker in your DNA," he revealed.

"Bloody hell…" Killian said.

"So I was right…you've cataloged us all in your little database," Rumple said. Shaw gave them a stern gaze.

"As far as we know, your lot is the reason for all this insanity we're facing," he said.

"You can't know that…" Snow protested.

"I'm afraid we can and we do. The magical radiation from the trigger has so far had untold consequences for this country and possibly the entire world. The only reason you are walking free is we think you can help stop it," Shaw said.

"Then we need to know everything…but you're hiding half the picture from us," Emma replied.

"You'll know what you need to know. For now, you'll stand down," Shaw said, as his image blinked out.

"Stand down? He's got to be kidding! We're just supposed to stand by while one of our people could be the next victim?" David shouted.

"We've got more problems than that…" Casey said, as he unmuted the television, which was broadcasting a special report.

"Oh my God…" Regina uttered.

"Is that…" Snow also uttered.

"Bloody hell…these wankers," Killian said.

"They survived too…" David said.

"Greg and Tamara…" Emma said in shock.

~*~

Neal felt himself deposited unceremoniously on the hard ground.

"What the hell happened?" he wondered, as fear gripped him. Storybrooke was gone…and so was his family.

#snowing #snowxcharming #charming family #romance #adventure #family #season 2 au #emma swan #regina mills #rumbelle #captain hook #Operation Castle

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lilacmoon83 · 8 months

Note

So power rangers news!!

Both Billy and Zedd are coming back in the 30th season of PR - Cosmic Fury!!!

I heard and it’s really exciting! I haven’t really watched since Dino Charge, but this will definitely be worth watching just for Billy and Zedd.

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lilacmoon83 · 8 months

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Operation Castle

Also on Fanfiction.net and A03

Chapter 5: Walls

Snow gently rested her head against his chest and he pressed a kiss to her head, as they lay in bed together that evening.

"Penny for your thoughts?" he asked, noticing her pensiveness. Just moments earlier, they had been once again lost in each other. Lovemaking for them, cursed or not, was always nothing less than soul searing and filled with the unbridled and insatiable passion they always had for each other.

"I was just thinking that…for a curse, this one was pretty amazing," she mentioned. He pressed another kiss to her head, as she looked up at him.

"I know what you mean. Maybe I was wrong all those years ago," he mentioned back. Her brow furrowed.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"Well…there was a time back in our land that Regina made that offer to let us walk away into a quiet life. You wanted to, but I knew what an incredible Queen you would be to your people. Maybe I was wrong to push us to continue the fight," he replied. She shook her head.

"No…you were right and Regina would have never really left us alone. She had nothing but her revenge at that point. Once she knew we were off living a happy life somewhere on a farm or in another Kingdom, she would have eventually come after us. And maybe even caught us off guard," she reasoned.

"Yeah…I guess so. The life we've had for the last three years is the one I've always wanted to give you and I'm going to fight to make sure we hold onto everything we have and everything we just got back," he promised. She kissed him tenderly at that and he pressed her close. Gently, he caressed her face and cupped her cheek in his hand. She leaned into his touch and pressed her forehead against his.

"I love you…so much," he said, as he pressed a kiss to her forehead and then to her lips.

"I love you too…I'm just grateful there was no need to find each other this time," she mused.

"Never again…no more separations, Snow," he promised, hoping he could keep that promise, as they fell asleep in each other's arms.

~*~

The apartment was quiet and Henry had gone to bed, leaving Emma to her own devices. She poured herself another small amount of scotch and took another drink. Usually, she didn't get out the hard stuff these days, but after today, she needed it.

When she woke up this morning, she was a single mother with an almost teenaged son and a good job as a bail bondsperson that supported them well. It was a good life, not much success in the dating realm, but she had made peace with it. Henry was more than enough and they had a good life. She was still an orphan and Henry's father had left her too, but most of those wounds had healed with the joys of raising her son.

But now…the memories were all back. She had parents, who had been forced to give her up and had not willingly abandoned her. She had actually given her son up and he was adopted by the Evil Queen. The man that had fathered her child had actually left her, not because he didn't love her, but because Pinocchio had told he had to so she could break the curse.

"I hope your curse life sucks, August," she muttered, as she took another drink. She didn't really mean that. Last she checked, August got a second chance and was a little boy again, so he was probably somewhere with Marco, oblivious to any of this. They had never really been able to process and deal with Geppetto and the Blue Fairy's lies about the wardrobe. Some friends her parents supposedly had.

"Now…her normal life was over and she was back to saving again. This time though, it wasn't just Storybrooke. It was a city full of millions of people and possibly even the whole world. She had never asked for any of this and now she knew her parents never really had either. She had seen that. They just wanted to be together and have a family. They had that now with a baby…a baby that could have been her if they hadn't had an Evil Queen bent on destroying everything.

Then there was Hook and Regina. The thought of her father and Hook being partners, let alone friends, was mind boggling on its own. But the fact that he was her baby brother's Godfather was almost laughable. She had seen the changes in him though. While Regina was inclined to immediately revert to her old self, Hook had seemed to retain his cursed persona. Killian Rogers. Detective, friend, and almost family to the Nolans.

Then there was Regina. She was alone and childless, much like she had once cursed her mother to be. If she didn't know any better, she might have thought the trigger had sought to punish her. She wondered if Regina had ever really understood how magic worked. She wielded it with a vengeance at times; she had seen it. But she remembered Gold chiding her on more than one occasion that she was often messing with magic she didn't understand. The whole thing was mind blowing and she would have to remember to ask Gold how he had ended up captured, rather than escaping into new lives like the rest of them. Did the trigger have consequences for him too? She contemplated that, as she took a final sip and knew she had better stop there. She wanted more though, because now she remembered what really happened to Neal.

She flashed back to that moment where he sacrificed himself by letting go and falling through a portal so that Henry wouldn't be without both of them. She shook her thoughts of that and put her glass in the sink. Her son now had those memories too and with all the excitement, they hadn't sat down yet to talk about that. She would have to remedy that in the morning.

For now, she made her way to her bedroom, deep in her thoughts. She had finally accepted her parents when she thought they were all going to die, but now that they hadn't, her instincts were to keep pushing them away or at least keep them at arm's length. After all, they were biologically related and while she loved them, they were the same age. They had a baby to raise now and impart wisdom to. Emma was grown and hardened by the world. What wisdom or insight could they even offer? They couldn't relate to her experiences and that's why she had always rejected or objected to any advice from them. They meant well…but they didn't grow up in this world.

Nevermind that she actually had ever asked them about how they grew up. She assumed she knew what she needed to know from the book, but she knew she was being unfair in that respect. Maybe part of her didn't want to know. It was easier to see them as these characters in a book. It allowed her to keep them at arms length without the guilt. But if she learned about their lives and not what was just on paper, it humanized them and that came with a whole new set of problems for Emma Swan.

That meant dealing with her feelings and letting people besides Henry inside her walls and that was terrifying.

"Damn fairy tales…" she muttered, as she noticed all her case files piled on her desk. She guessed there was no need for these anymore, since she had been forced from her job into this new one. She sighed and put her glass in the sink, before finally going to bed for the night.

~*~

The General looked at the latest body once they had it in autopsy.

"Another elderly victim…" he said.

"Easy targets…they're picking off the elderly first," Agent Becker said.

"Are we sure this one was from there?" she asked.

"We're certain…the glowing heart is part of it, but the reason we were able to tag them all in the database is because that glowing heart translates to a DNA marker that we don't have," he explained.

"And you learned this from subject zero, I assume?" she asked. He nodded.

"Yes…from Mr. Gold. It wasn't easy, but most everyone has a job, goes to the doctor and the ones that don't inevitably apply for government assistance or pop up in soup kitchens," he continued.

"Why hasn't Agent Casey been read in on any of this?" she inquired.

"Casey is a military man at heart…he will follow orders and he belongs in the field. You're the politician and better suited for the bureaucracy required for this job," he said. She nodded.

"But we are going to tell them that their kind is being hunted?" she asked.

"For now, we introduce them into the investigation. If someone is hunting them, we'll know soon enough, because this won't be the last body," he replied.

"Who else besides someone on the inside could even know about them?" she asked.

"That's what we must find out," he answered.

"General…what happens if they fix things and these paranormal anomalies cease? Do you really plan to let them go back to their lives?" she asked.

"That's above your paygrade, Agent Becker," he answered, as he walked out.

~*~

The next morning felt odd to say the least. Apparently, she was going to work like normal, while David would be reporting to Castle for new assignments as a Detective that now worked for the NSA instead of the NYPD. She would only be called in if another magical entity popped up. David said they were being treated like government assets, which further added to their suspicion and theory that they would never really be free again to live their lives as they wanted. It went without saying that they all missed Storybrooke now.

"Okay sweetie…" she cooed, as she cleaned his face after his breakfast and he fussed a bit.

"Let's get you dressed to go see Ashley," she said, as she paused for a moment.

"You okay?" David asked, as he filled his travel mug with coffee. She nodded.

"I just realized that Ashley is Ella…and she might never remember," she said. He sighed.

"I know…I hate it too. But at least we know she and Thomas are together," he said. She nodded and he pressed a gentle kiss to her lips, before she headed for the stairs, just as Killian peered in.

"Good morning," Snow said. He smiled.

"Morning…" he said, as Bobby waved at him.

"Morning little mate," he said, as she went upstairs to get him dressed, as he looked around awkwardly.

"Something wrong?" David asked, as he topped off his partner's coffee.

"No…I guess it's just that I wasn't sure if you and Margaret…Snow would still want me around now. I know we weren't exactly on good terms back in Storybrooke," he said.

"No…but we also can't erase the last three years and for three years, you were my partner and practically part of the family. You were there when Bobby was born, you

babysit him at least once a week, and have dinner here at least three times a week," David replied.

"Snow and I talked…and unless you plan to revert and go all Hook on us again, we don't want anything to change. Bobby loves you…and you've grown on us too, I guess," he

added. Killian allowed himself a small smile.

"No reverting mate…revenge is a fool's errand. I…I like this life," he admitted.

"Trust me, we do too and we can still have it. It's even better now, because we get to add Emma and Henry to the mix," David said.

"They're never letting us go," Killian reminded him.

"I know…all the more reason for you and I to work together and figure out an exit out of this for all of us," David said.

"Which probably means working with the bloody crocodile," Killian replied with disdain.

"I know you two have had issues, but we're all working toward the same goal," David admonished.

"Aye…" he agreed, as Snow returned with the baby. David followed her out to the car and kissed her goodbye. They waved at her, before he got into Killian's car and he drove

them to Roni's.

"Do you miss it?" David asked, gesturing toward his wooden hand.

"The hook?" he asked. Killian shrugged.

"Perhaps a bit…but it's hardly practical for this world, nor the tiny mate," he replied, referring to David's son. David smiled at that and they soon arrived at Roni's bar.

It was morning, but unsurprisingly, the bar had a few regulars there drowning their sorrows. Agent Casey was behind the bar, washing glassware, while Agent Becker was

sitting in one of the booths.

"I really hope we're not expected to be barkeeps now. We may not be super government agents, but we're good detectives," Killian mentioned.

"He's right…I was a Sheriff before all this. Emma too. She has a lot of experience," he said, as she came in as well.

"Think you're up for real police work?" Casey questioned.

"We've been doing real police work for the last three years. Our backgrounds on paper may be curse stuff, but we can give you a list of real criminals we've locked up," David

said shortly.

"There's no need for you or Rogers to prove yourselves, Detective Nolan. The NSA wouldn't have hired you from your other jobs if we didn't recognize your value. Casey just

likes to haze newcomers," Alivia replied. Casey smirked.

"She's right…I appreciate your abilities. Most in the Academy these days make an old school marine like me want to be sick," he said.

"We have a murder to investigate," Agent Becker said, as she led the three of them down into Castle, each of them using the eye scanner to gain access.

Casey picked up the remote for the big screen and showed them the body.

"She's one of yours," he said. Emma looked at him.

"What do you mean?" Emma asked.

"He means from the Enchanted Forest," David replied.

"Do you know her?" Alivia asked.

"I know of her. I recognize her from one villages back in our land. She was a seamstress. Snow and I actually bought some…some toys from the vendor next to her shop

once," he mentioned.

"Toys?" Emma asked, wondering why, until he looked at her.

"It was for your nursery," he replied, as she remembered visiting that nursery. It had been like something that was stuck in time. A nursery filled with toys and baby furniture;

a place where a baby would have slept, grown, and played. A nursery never used.

"That's a hell of a memory you have. You remember all the peasants from your Kingdom?" Alivia asked. He bristled a bit.

"Not all of them…but I know many faces and I happened to be one of those lowly peasants once," David replied shortly.

"My brother was raised as a Prince…I only replaced him and then married a Princess. But I grew up dirt poor, while James had a silver spoon in his mouth. I had a loving mother though, so I still got the better deal," he explained, making Emma thoughtful for a moment. There was that stuff about the past she wanted to ignore. She could hear the pain, darkness, and a touch of bitterness in his voice. He had his mother at least…but it didn't sound like much else. How could they be from two worlds, yet so similar? The more humanized she saw them…the harder it was going to be to keep them at arm's length.

"Any idea on the motive?" Killian asked.

"No…that's where it gets even weirder," Casey said.

"I'd say so…there's a hole in her chest," David replied.

"That's because someone ripped her heart out," Alivia said, stunning them all…

~*~

He opened his eyes that morning, just after sunrise, to another day, just as he had for three years. He sat up and got up out of bed, before going through his morning routine. Not a day had passed where he hadn't missed the conveniences of on demand hot water and modern plumbing, but he had gotten used to life in the Enchanted Forest again.

For three years, he had been a guest in Phillip's Kingdom. Somehow, he had survived the fall through the portal and found himself in the land from which he once hailed. Then…nothing. He had been searching for a way to find a portal for three years and he still wondered if Emma was looking for him too. He doubted it though. She probably thought he didn't survive. He knew Tiny had been trying to grow beans, but there was no guarantee he had been able to grow more after they were sabotaged.

He had been everywhere, often traveling east with Mulan or to Nottingham with Robin Hood, but no one had answers. It was like there was another curse or something and an impenetrable barrier was up between all the realms again. He only hoped that wasn't the case and that Emma and Henry were okay. He had fallen through the portal, leaving them to face Greg and Tamara, who had been hell bent on destroying Storybrooke. But he had not been able to bring himself to think about that possibility. He had to believe they were okay to keep going.

After breakfast, he headed out into the woods again. There were rumors that there was a witch in Dunbroch that might be able to help, but Mulan had warned expressly against it, for she was known to be untrustworthy. He was getting desperate though and decided to head to one of the markets for more information and necessary supplies for such a journey.

"Neal!" Roland called. He smiled at the boy, who was just a couple years younger than Henry.

"Hi Roland…are you here with your Papa?" he asked.

"He is indeed…we were hoping to run into you today," Robin said, as they shook hands.

"Why is that?" he asked.

"There's a rumor of suspicious activity near Lake Nostros," Robin informed him.

"Lake Nostros…that's where Emma and Snow went through the portal. It was dried up then, but I thought it was a lake again, thanks to Cora," Neal said.

"It is…or was. It's dried up again and some of the locals say it's like quicksand now," Robin replied. Neal's brow furrowed.

"Quicksand?" he asked.

"Yes…apparently the local children of the villages near there have taken to tossing objects into it for fun," Robin replied.

"Let me guess…you don't think it's quicksand?" Neal asked. He shrugged.

"I'm definitely skeptical that a vat of quicksand just pops up in what used to be a lake…a lake known for magic and portals," Robin replied.

"Yes…it's water from that lake that cured Henry's grandmother of an infertility curse put on her by King George. It broke a curse on Princess Abigail's true love too," Neal said, as he thought for a moment.

"But…if it's a portal, why is it staying open?" he wondered.

"I don't know, but I thought you might like to investigate and Roland and I would be happy to accompany you," Robin said. Neal smiled and nodded.

"I would and thanks," he said, as they started off to the mystical Lake Nostros and hopefully the answers he had been seeking for three years…

#snowing #snowxcharming #charming family #Emma Swan #Henry Mills #regina mills #rumbelle #AU #captain hook #romance #adventure #family #Operation Castle

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lilacmoon83 · 8 months

Text

Lightning in a Bottle

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Chapter 83: Wingman

Vance sat in an interrogation room. After the reveal of the tailfin, the US government had swept in, confiscated the mysterious piece of Flight 828 and Vance was released into the custody of the NSA and they wanted answers.

"How did you find out about the Montego Air Flight 828 tailfin?" Director Zimmer asked.

"Boy drew me a picture," Vance answered vaguely.

"This boy sneak you into Cuba, too?" she asked.

"No, that was my NSA training," Vance answered.

"Where were you before that?" Zimmer questioned.

"New York, mostly," he replied.

"You went undetected for 18 months in the busiest city in the world?" she asked skeptically.

"I ordered in a lot," he joked.

"Do you think this is a joke, Mr. Vance?" she asked sharply.

"Forget the PR nightmare, the return of a dead division head would wreak havoc on the NSA. The Attorney General is contemplating charging you with faking your own death,"

she warned.

"Technically not a crime. Are we done yet? Wife's expecting me for supper," he said nonchalantly.

"Let me explain to you what is a crime. Fraud. Violating embargo set forth by the United States government. Treason. You may think you're going home tonight, but I'm

questioning whether you ever get to go home," she said sternly.

~*~

Eight-four days. That's how long they had to keep Henry safe and hidden. Eighty-four days until the death date for the three Meth heads would occur. It really wasn't that

long, but with the unpredictability of these three and now the possibility that they may get Callings too, eighty-four days was a long time for untold damage to be done.

"Fiona Black is the Major?" David asked, as Emma filled him in on what she had learned from Killian.

"And her vanishing could mean that she's coming after 828ers again. Her daughter showed up at the precinct looking for you. That can't be a coincidence," he said. She

nodded.

"I'll contact the Department of Defense. Are there any other passengers that know anything?" she asked.

"Yeah. Regina. The Major posed as her therapist They met together for months," David replied.

"We've got to give Regina a heads up if the Major's planning something," she added.

"Yeah, I'll go on my way to campus. Regina should hear this in person," he said.

"No, I'll go. I wanna talk to her anyways. I'll keep you guys posted," Emma replied.

"Thanks," David said. She knew he was overwhelmed and being apart from Margaret was already beginning to weigh heavily on him.

"You know you don't have to be a hero and take everything on," Emma said.

"What's that supposed to mean?" David asked. She sighed.

"It means you're really focused on everyone else and you never take care of yourself, which usually isn't a problem, because Margaret is here to take care of you. But she's

not right now. Did you show Regina your hand?" Emma asked.

"Actually I have, but that's the least of my worries right now," David replied. She sighed.

"I know," she agreed.

"My family is in hiding. The Meth Heads are still out there. Listen, I've got to go to campus with Olive. TJ sent some artifacts from Egypt. Maybe we'll find a mythological clue that can help," he said.

"Yeah, I think that's a long shot, David," Emma replied skeptically.

"Well, right now I need any shot. Eden's not even gonna remember who I am in three months," he said worriedly.

"MM would never let her forget you," she reasoned.

"David, I think you need to be laying low…" Emma said, but he cut her off.

"Listen, I can't just sit still. We are doing everything we can. If the Meth Heads are like us, who knows what they're capable of seeing or doing?" he wondered.

"I will find them. Okay? Whatever it takes," Emma said, as she made her way out, while David looked at the photo that had fallen off his board earlier.

"Eagan Tehrani. We've got a busy day, Eagan. Why'd you fall off my board?" he murmured to himself.

~*~

Later that day

Emma sighed, as she sat across from Pete in the interrogation room.

"Pete, you could have run and you didn't. So come on, talk to me. Give me a name, an address, anything," Emma pleaded. But he was silent.

"Okay, look. Forget the fact that I'm a cop. You came out of that lake for a reason. This is your chance at redemption. You and I, we were supposed to find each other again.

Do you believe in fate?" Emma asked. That got his attention and he looked at her.

"The girl from the King Kone," he said.

"What about her?" Emma asked.

"It's fate. She knew where I was, how to find me. She just stared at me," Pete replied.

"Yeah, she was scared," Emma said. But he shook his head.

"No, she wasn't afraid of me. She was brave," he insisted.

"Okay, Pete, I'm gonna need you to focus. I need your help finding Jace and Kory.

Where are…" Emma said, but he cut her off.

"Take me back to my cell," he said to the uniform guard, who granted his request, leaving Emma no answers and with a surprising Calling.

"No luck, huh?" Ruby asked.

"No…not with him," Emma replied.

"Uh oh…let me guess, another Calling?" Killian asked.

"Actually an old one. It's Lily's heart. I think I need to go see Mal," she replied, as they watched her go.

~*~

"Eagan?" David asked, as he arrived at the chess park and the person he was looking for.

"I'm David Nolan, I was on Flight 828…" he explained.

"David Nolan, huh?" the other man asked, as he made a move on the chess board.

"So you saw it, too," Eagan replied.

"So you know about the callings?" David asked.

"Don't we all by now?" he deadpanned.

"Callings, it's kind of a creepy way to explain what's happening to us, don't you think, Professor?" Eagan asked.

"How'd you know my job?" David questioned, as the man motioned to the badge on his bag.

"I was a courier in my past life. I made a lot of deliveries to campus. Ever do that? Think about how life used to be before?" he asked.

"All the time," David replied.

"How was your life when you got back?" he asked curiously.

"My job, my rent stabilized apartment, my girlfriend, all gone," Eagan replied.

"Sorry to hear that," David said.

"Losing my apartment hurt the most. Now I just play chess for cash, follow the callings whenever they come poking, live off the grid," Eagan replied.

"Explains why I couldn't get in touch with you," David said.

"Don't take it personally. I just didn't feel like bonding over bizarre visions in my head," Eagan said.

"Speaking of, the kid we saw, he looked passed out. He could be in danger," David said, referring to the Calling they had together.

"What kid? All I saw was a bunch of art stuff crashing to the ground," he replied.

"Eagan, could we talk privately?" David requested.

"I think this kid's life could be at stake," he added, as Eagan made his final move on the chess board.

"Checkmate," he said, before moving to another board.

"Checkmate," he said, before moving to a third board.

"And checkmate," he said, before collecting his winnings.

"Let's go," he said, as David followed him.

~*~

Emma knocked on Lily's parents door and Mal answered, before gesturing her in.

"I was hoping you'd come by soon. I was going to call you if you didn't," Mal said.

"Is everything okay?" Emma asked.

"No…I'm afraid that Zoran passed away a few days ago," she said.

"Mal…I'm so sorry. I would have come sooner if…" Emma said, but Mal put her hand up.

"I know…I just needed a few days. I wanted to bury him myself in a private ceremony and then I needed to decide what was next for me," Mal replied, as she looked at a

family photo.

"You know, before Zoran…I never put down any roots. I traveled the world…I always loved flying, you know," she mentioned.

"Yeah…can't say it's my favorite thing anymore," Emma said. The other woman smiled.

"No…I suppose not," she said.

"But then Zoran and I settled down and had Lily and putting down roots didn't seem so bad," she added.

"But now…I can't stay here. Zoran was all that was keeping me here and I can hardly bear to stay here another moment," Mal said.

"That's understandable. Are you going to sell the house? I can help with packing if you'd like when the time comes," Emma offered.

"That's sweet of you dear…but no, I'm not selling it. I'm giving it to you," Mal said. Emma's eyes widened.

"Me?" she asked. Mal nodded.

"Zoran's life insurance is more money that I know what to do with and I need to find peace. It's not here…so perhaps it is up in the sky somewhere. I'd like to see the world

again and find that peace," she replied.

"I get that…but why do you want me to have your house? I mean…that's a gift that's too much," Emma said. Mal smiled.

"No…Lily would have liked for you to have it and share it with your new husband," Mal said, as she wheeled her suitcase toward the door.

"The deed is in your name and all the paperwork is taken care of by my attorney. I have everything I need in here with me so the rest is yours to keep or change however you

like," she said, referring to the contents of the house.

"Mal…" Emma started to protest again.

"Please Emma…this is what I want. I can't be here…but I also can't have this house going to some stranger. It should be with you now," Mal pleaded. Emma closed her mouth

and nodded.

"Thank you…and good luck. I hope you find peace," Emma said. Mal nodded and quietly left and with it, Emma's repeat Calling of Lily's heartbeat was gone once again.

~*~

"Thanks, Doctor," the woman said, as she exited the exam room.

"Next customer?" Regina called and was surprised to see that it was Killian.

"Hey, Killian. Are you feeling okay?" she asked.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine. Actually, I came here to talk to you. Do you have a minute?" he asked. She nodded.

"Sure," she replied, as she saw him pull up something on his phone and show it to her.

"Uh...I think you know Major General Fiona Black. Apparently, she's gone missing," he said.

David and Emma filled me in on your history with her, so I figured you'd want to hear the news in person," he added.

"Uh... Missing?" Regina asked.

"Yeah. I was hoping you can...I don't know, give me some information about your sessions with her. I know it's hard to talk about this. We just want to keep you safe," he

explained. Regina nodded, trying to keep calm.

"Has she ever shared any personal information with you? Anything about friends, family, children?" he asked.

"I didn't know she had any kids," Regina replied. That was the truth.

"Yeah, a daughter. She's actually who came looking for her," Killian said, as his phone rang.

"It's work. I need to handle this. Feel free to call me if you remember anything, okay?" he asked. She swallowed and nodded.

"Okay," she replied. She knew Vance had been very diligent in covering up what she had done, but she couldn't help but wonder if her secret would be a secret with Killian investigating.

~*~

It had been a hell of a day for David, after meeting the enigmatic, somewhat seemingly callous Egan Tehrani. He learned that they supposedly had different angles of the Calling, but that Egan had a photographic memory, which made his chess prowess make sense, and he was able to recall all the objects in the Calling. It had led to a museum and they found the objects in a storage room.

David and Egan managed to get in through a crawl space, deducing that the teenager David had seen in the Calling had probably crawled in to keep warm. But the danger of the fire in the Calling was quickly realized and now David was navigating his way out of the burning museum, with the unconscious teen on his back. Egan said he was going for help, but disappeared. Thankfully though, David made his way out and while he did not find Egan anywhere in sight, paramedics had arrived. He was awake now and being treated.

"Looks like a gas leak in the building…you saved his life," one paramedic said. David nodded.

"Just glad I found him. Is he okay?" David asked.

"Yes…he just needs a little oxygen, but he's otherwise unharmed. He can go home after this," the paramedic answered.

"I can drive him home," David offered and the teen looked grateful.

~*~

"Hey…I got your message," Neal said, as she opened the door to Mal's house and he walked in.

"Thanks, because it's been a day," she replied, as he immediately hugged her and kissed her forehead.

"What's going on?" he asked.

"Mal called me this morning. Zoran died a few days ago," she replied.

"Oh my God…why didn't she call sooner?" he asked.

"She just wanted a private ceremony and I get that. She says that she can't stay here without him and Lily, so she's left to travel for a bit," she replied.

"I get that…probably a lot of memories here. Memories of what she lost," he said.

"Yeah…and she sort of gave us the house," Emma replied. His eyes widened.

"What?" he asked.

"Yeah…she wanted us to have it. I refused at first, because it's too much and she could sell it. But she doesn't want that. She wants it to stay with someone she knows…

someone connected to Lily," Emma replied.

"Wow…that's amazing and really generous. So I guess we're moving?" he asked. She nodded.

"Guess so…our first house," she said, as they shared a hug.

~*~

"Hey," Bella said, as Killian returned to the station.

"Ms. Green," he greeted.

"You found something? Please. Is she alive?" Bella asked.

"That, I don't know. But what I found is, um...it's complicated. Honestly, I'm not sure you want to hear this," Killian said.

"I'm her daughter, adopted or not. It's not a choice for me," she replied.

"Bella, your mother is a high-level government operative tasked with studying Flight 828. She often engaged in…extralegal activities," Killian explained.

"English, please," she requested.

"Torture, abduction. It could have something to do with her disappearance," he suggested.

"So where is she now?" Bella asked.

"I wish I knew," he replied.

"Whatever she did, she's still my mom. Help me find her, please," she requested. He was reluctant, but then nodded.

"I'll do what I can,"

~*~

Director Zimmer returned to the interrogation room, where Vance had been for hours now.

"In light of your actions, we've decided not to pursue charges. Effective immediately, you are hereby reinstated. Welcome back to the NSA, sir," she said.

"Save it. I'm not coming back," Vance snapped.

"Excuse me?" she asked with an edge in her voice.

"You must be out of your damn minds. Want to talk about treason? Every move I made working for the NSA was shadowed by your operative, Fiona Black. She tried to kill

me. Almost did. I'm not about to get in her crosshairs again," Vance said, knowing full well that the Major was dead. But he wanted to know what they knew and if they would

offer up the information.

"Major Black was found dead in New Orleans months ago. Her covert op was shut down. You come back, 828 is yours. Just tell me what you need," Zimmer said.

"I don't need anything. It's you who needs me. But like I said, I'm out.," Vance said.

"Bob, I know you said nothing would change your mind, but what if I show you something I know will?" she asked. He was intrigued by that and agreed to see what she wanted to show him.

~*~

David arrived at the house that the boy, Caleb, had given him directions to and pulled into the driveway. A woman immediately came out onto the porch.

"Hey, Mom," the teen said, as she hugged him fiercely.

"Caleb!" she said in relief.

"I'm sorry I ran away. It was stupid. And I didn't know if you'd want me to come back home," he admitted.

"I will always love you. No matter what," she replied, as her son pointed to the man behind him.

"This is David. He saved my life," he said. The woman smiled.

"Thank you," she said.

"I'm glad he's safe. Take care, Caleb," David said, as he got back in his car and drove home, while they went inside.

"The Lord has blessed me twice over. Look who's here," she said. Caleb gasped, as he saw his older brother in the shadows.

"It's safe. It's just a man dropping off your brother," the mother said. Kory came into the light and hugged his baby brother fiercely.

"Hey…" David said, as he answered the phone.

"Hey…" Margaret replied.

"I miss you so much…I am so off without you," he admitted.

"Me too…I hate this separation," she said.

"Me too, my love," he replied.

"Tell me about your day? Did you solve that Calling?" she asked.

"I did…it saved a young man. I met another peculiar passenger too that had the Calling with me, but he doesn't seem as enthusiastic to solve Callings as us," David replied.

"Well…not every man is as amazing as you, my love. I'm sure whatever danger you were in today would make me cringe, but I know you'd never let anyone be hurt if you could help it. That's why you're a hero," she said.

"I think you might be biased…but I'll spare you the details about gas leaks and fire," he replied.

"Yes…I think that would be good. Our day wasn't as exciting, but Henry had a Calling too. It was the peacock again. He saw one outside, while he was playing basketball," she said.

"Yeah…it keeps coming up. It's depicted all over the artifacts that TJ sent back to the University. Olive and Angelina were able to get a look at it. There was a peacock, but something new too. Olive said there was a Jackal-like God and a set of scales. TJ told her that it's Anubis, the Egyptian God of Thoth. According to Mythology, he would weigh a person's heart to determine whether they went onto a good afterlife or to the Underworld," he explained.

"That's a new one," she mentioned.

"Yeah…we're not sure how it connects yet, except that it fits with the theme of death and resurrection," he said.

"Olive seems to think that maybe the appearance of Anubis in the Al-Zuras mystery means that perhaps our hearts will be weighed and those worthy will survive, like Neal did," David said.

"That makes sense. Like Judgement Day," Margaret replied.

"Anyway…it's a working theory for now. We figure if we keep solving the Callings that we'll be deemed worthy in the end," David said.

"I know you are worthy. So is Emma and our baby boy. If that's what this is…then I have no worry that you'll all pass the test. Regina too," Margaret replied. He smiled.

"With you in our corner…there's no way we will fail. I love you so much," David said.

"I love you too…I can't wait until we're all together again," she replied.

"Me too…sweet dreams, my darling," he said.

"They'll be of you, so of course they'll be sweet," she replied, as they hung up for the night.

~*~

"I don't know what you think you can show me to get me to stay…because there is nothing that can do that," Vance said, as Zimmer led him through the compound.

"Hold that thought," she said, as she scanned her badge and was allowed access to the restricted room. He followed her in and was stunned to speechlessness. Inside the

large room was the plane itself. Flight 828. It was back, just like the tailfin.

"So? Does this change things?" Zimmer asked. It definitely did and he hated it, but he was going to be sucked right back in.

"Fine…you got me. Tell me everything," he requested.

#Snowing #snowxcharming #charming family #AU #romance #adventure #family #mystery #Manifest with a Once twist #Swanfire #Regina Mills #Rumbelle #Lightning in a Bottle

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lilacmoon83 · 9 months

Text

Operation Castle

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Chapter 4: Memories of a Good Life

David peered into their kitchen, as he saw Snow busy making coffee and hot chocolate for their guests. He knew her well and could see the conflicting emotions on her face and her pensive stare. Bobby was in the living room, strangely enough, sitting with Killian. The pirate had become a good friend and part of the family the last three years. They had even named him Bobby's Godfather when he was born and despite their memories returning, they didn't want that to change.

Gently, he wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her hair. He felt a bit of the tension leave her body and felt her relax against him. She turned in his arms and looked up at him, thinking about their lives and how wonderful this life had been to them. They were together and led normal, comfortable lives, yet the passion and love had not dulled in the slightest. If anything, it was as true and soul consuming as ever. She slid her arms around his neck and their lips crashed together, as they shared a passionate and soul searing kiss, this time with more heat than before since they were void of an audience finally.

"Charming…" she uttered, as he pressed his forehead against hers once their lips had parted.

"Talk to me, my love…" he whispered.

"She called us Mom and Dad…for the first time," Snow said, as her eyes shimmered with unshed tears.

"But now…it feels like we're back to square one and we're strangers again," she added.

"I know…she just needs a little time though. It seems her life with Henry was good. Ours was too," he reminded her.

"I know…I get the feeling that she would have rather never been awakened and I guess I feel guilty, because I don't blame her. I love Emma and Henry so much…but David, we were sooo happy," she cried.

"We've always been happy and in love…but never without danger or royal duties plaguing us," she added.

"I know…and you have no reason to feel guilty," he replied, as he hugged her gently.

"We'll never be free again…they're not going to let us go. I can feel it," she fretted.

"Me too…but that's why everyone is here. We're going to figure this out, my love," he promised. She wiped her tears and he pressed a kiss to her forehead, as they prepared trays of drinks for everyone.

~*~

Bobby giggled, as Killian played with him and he crawled around the room. Emma watched him with fascination, not believing this could be the same pirate that had stolen a bean with the intention of leaving them all behind to die. Obviously, he hadn't made it before the trigger went off and now, he seemed to be a common guest in her parent's home.

"How did they let you on the force with the fake hand?" Emma asked bluntly. He smirked.

"You have as little tact as your father," he retorted.

"But I don't know. It appears that no one noticed and it's not like I actually went to the Academy. The last three years were real, but the past written for us in these lives is a fabrication, it would seem," he added.

"Yeah…guess so. I have memories of…not giving Henry up and raising him on my own," Emma said.

"Which you didn't," Regina commented. Before they could argue, Snow and David came out of the kitchen with coffee and cocoa. Bobby took an interest in Killian's flask, as he spiked his coffee with rum and reached for his cup.

"Aye…I think juice is a bit more your speed, small one," he said, as Snow handed him his sippy cup and he copied him and took a drink, further fascinating Emma.

"Perhaps we should start by discussing the area where the troll appeared," Rumple suggested. Emma googled the location and David emerged from the basement with a cork board.

"What's that?" Belle asked.

"A board from the station. We can keep track of the locations this way," David said, as he placed a pin in their first location and labeled it.

"The question is…how do we get back there to go over the scene when it's been wiped clean by a clean up crew?" Emma asked.

"I'm sure they're cameras everywhere. This is New York, after all," David replied.

"That's all you've got? We put some pins on a board and hope to find something?" Regina asked.

"And what do you suggest? So far, we have only one crime scene. Two if we count where I killed the werewolf, but that was after we chased him all over the city for days," David replied sternly.

"Aye…and we only caught the case after the uniforms couldn't apprehend him," Killian added.

"Bet you they're not sending the bodies to the city morgue either," Emma surmised.

"No doubt…they're probably in a government morgue somewhere," David agreed.

"So we are nowhere," Regina said impatiently.

"We didn't say that, lass…" Killian argued.

"He's right…and I wonder if we could get a look at the place where Storybrooke used to be. Maybe there's something there," David said.

"Something they haven't already found?" Emma asked skeptically.

"It's a long shot…but if they didn't know what they were looking for, they might have missed something," Snow replied, as she looked at her stepmother.

"What?" Regina asked.

"You and Gold knew everything about that town. If anyone would know where to look, it would be you two," David replied.

"Yeah…you had keys to everywhere, even people's houses, which was creepy by the way," Emma mentioned.

"True…but I guarantee they are tracking our every move and I spent three years in a cell. I'm not going back into one," Rumple said. David sighed.

"Fair enough…" he said, as he spied his grandson typing away on his laptop.

"Henry…how good at hacking are you?" he asked. Henry smirked.

"Not very good…I don't have the knack for it," he replied.

"But I might know someone," he added.

"Good enough to hack into government records?" Killian questioned.

"Some of the kids at school are crazy skilled at this stuff…we're talking about the type of people the government will either put in jail or recruit," Henry said.

"And you let him hang out with miscreants like this?" Regina asked with scrutiny, as she looked at Emma.

"They're not miscreants…they're just kids. Really smart kids," Emma replied.

"So this has been a waste of time mostly and we're nowhere," Regina snapped.

"Relax…this is a process. We were never going to figure out everything in one night," David admonished and Regina huffed in annoyance. She hated this. Not only didn't she have a handle on magic yet, she was severely out of her element in this world. She had no power anymore and it was unnerving, to say the least. From a Queen and Mayor to a lowly bar owner was a steep fall for her, while her enemies were happy with a new baby and had her son.

"Once we have more locations, more creatures, and more crime scenes, we might be able to determine similarities in the surroundings," David said.

"And if we can't? If this is all just random?" Regina asked. He sighed.

"I don't know…but as long as there is a problem, they have a use for us. The minute we solve everything is when we have to worry and we'll need an action plan when that happens," David replied.

"Yes…because once we're done, the former residents of Storybrooke will end up in a detention center. At best," Gold said.

"They said they would let us go…" Belle replied.

"There's no reason to believe or trust them, love. I'm afraid we must assume the worst," Killian answered.

"But we're just people…just like any other humans," Snow insisted.

"Perhaps on a genetic level, but we are not exactly the same as humans in this land. Our hearts glow…theirs do not. I am certain they have been studying my DNA these last few years and possibly all of yours too," Gold said.

"For what purpose?" Emma wondered.

"To do what governments do. Find power and weaponize it," Gold answered, as an uneasiness settled in the air.

"I need a drink," Regina said.

"Not a bad idea…but we should disperse for the evening. We cannot let our gathering seem like anything other than social," Gold replied. They agreed and started to get their coats. Henry hugged his grandparents and they looked at him fondly.

"Can I stay over soon?" he asked. David smiled.

"We'd love that, buddy…we have a lot of catching up to do," he said, as their eyes met Emma.

"Yeah…we do," she agreed.

"How about dinner again tomorrow night? Here this time?" Snow suggested. Emma nodded with a smile.

"Sounds great," she said, as they hugged her between them. She stiffened a little, but then relaxed a bit, before leaving with her son. Snow sighed, as they watched them go.

"Give her time, Snow…we'll get back to where we were," he assured her.

"I hope so," she replied, as he closed the door and folded her into his arms.

"These last three years…despite missing Emma and Henry have been everything we've ever wanted," she said wistfully.

"And they still can be," he promised, as he cupped her beautiful face in his hands. Their lips met in a feverish kiss that would have soon had clothes scattered everywhere. But Bobby reminded his very amorous parents of his presence and they shared a sheepish smile.

"Let's get the little man down and then we can pick up where we left off," she said, giving him a sultry look.

"You sure the moment hasn't passed?" he teased, as she plucked their son out of his playpen.

"Oh, I'm sure you'll have no trouble rekindling the moment, Charming. I'm very confident in your abilities, especially in the bedroom," she said, as he put his arm around her waist and turned out the lights, as they headed upstairs.

~*~

The metal sliding doors opened to the morgue, as General Shaw entered and approached the autopsy table.

"I hope you have a preliminary report for me, Doctor," he said. The older, bespeckled and gray haired doctor gave him a skeptical look.

"General…I have barely begun and I have no idea what this creature is and believe me, I've been brought my share of weird things in my days as a government coroner," the doctor said.

"I understand that, Doctor…but we need answers. I need to know everything about this creature. I've been told it is a Bridge Troll. I want to know anatomy and every single substance down to the folic of its hair analyzed and identified," the General ordered.

"It will be done, but I need time. A couple days at least," he said.

"You have twelve hours," he said, as he exited the morgue and went to the end of the hall. This area was highly restricted and required an extremely high level clearance to enter. Shaw put his code in and was allowed behind the heavy metal doors.

"Report…" he said, as he looked at the body that had been recovered from the city morgue. It was being preserved in a glass tube that kept the body frozen. A person from there had been murdered, which meant that the NSA officially took possession of the body once the woman was flagged in the system.

"Her heart is missing," the female scientist said.

"That wound in the chest is not indicative of a heart being cut out," he said.

"Clearly and there was almost no blood loss," she answered. He paused and looked at the young, highly intelligent woman.

"How the hell is that possible?" he asked.

"I don't know sir…it's like the heart was just ripped out. But there's no trace of it or any blood matter. That's not even the weirdest part though," she replied, as she motioned him to the microscope and had him look into it.

"It looks like dust. What's so strange about that?" he asked.

"It's not just regular dust…it's diamond dust and I found it around the wound," she replied.

"I compared it to all diamond dust known in this world to see if I could determine what kind of diamonds it came from," she added, as she showed him the analysis on the screen of her computer.

"It doesn't match the dust of any kind of diamond in this world and it likes to glow," she said, as he saw the dust shimmer in the light.

"Like magic," he muttered.

"Collect every speck of this dust and keep it in a specimen jar. This is classified to the highest level. Not even your assistant should have access to it," he ordered.

"Yes Sir…I'll lock all the evidence down. Care to tell me what I might be looking at?" she asked.

"No," he replied, as he walked out, just as his phone rang.

"Shaw," he answered.

"General…I just got a call from the city morgue again. We have another body…from there," Agent Becker said. He stopped in his tracks. Two bodies from there in the space of twenty-four hours could be no coincidence.

"I hope you're there already then, Agent Becker," he said.

"Yes Sir…I have the body and I'm bringing it in," she answered.

"Good…I'll read you in on this situation when you get here. You are to speak to no one of this…not even Agent Casey," he ordered.

"Yes Sir," she replied.

~*~

Images played on the computer screen played out from the recording from that day and the viewer watched with rapt attention. He watched these people fight this creature with bows and arrows, swords, and laser blasts. It looked like it should be something out of a movie. But he watched it happen with his own eyes right below his apartment window. He didn't know what the creature was, but it sure as hell wasn't human and these people seemed to be like something out of a comic book. One of them looked like he was definitely a government cop, while the others were obviously skilled fighters of some kind, but didn't seem to mesh with the usual government stooges.

"Okay man, cool video, but that's totally CGI," one of his online friends said, as six avatars popped up in his usual group chat of gamers.

"I'm telling you…this was out my window," he insisted.

"Dude…if you want attention for your editing skills, just say so. You don't need some video and if you want some tips, your characters don't even have cool costumes," another said.

"This isn't superhero stuff…this was real. I'm telling you. I put this video up on three different social media sites already and it was taken down within minutes," he insisted.

"That does scream of government conspiracy stuff," another said, making the others scoff.

"Whatever…are we gaming or not tonight?" another asked. The young man sighed.

"I'm out tonight…" he said, as he exited the chat and pulled the video up again. He really wished his friend Henry was online tonight…he was sure that he would believe him about this.

~*~

Casey growled, as he monitored the online chatter that evening in Castle. He hated computer work and had requested a tech be brought in to deal with this type of stuff. So far, NSA analysts had nuked the video of today's battle over a dozen times and people were not letting it go.

"How's it going?" Alivia asked, as she buzzed herself into Castle.

"Not good…I need a nerd. I hate the Internet," Casey growled. She smirked.

"Relax…social media has a very short memory. It will be forgotten soon," she assured him.

"Maybe…until the next battle and we make a spectacle and some of their theories aren't as far off as you'd think. Do you know that people remember feeling that explosion three years ago?" he asked. She smirked.

"Is this your first day on the Internet?" she teased and he grunted in response.

"I don't think this is going away like they want it to," Casey said.

"We better hope it does…or we could have a big problem," Alivia replied.

~*~

"You summoned?" Tamara asked, as she and Greg entered their General's war room.

"Are we hunting tonight?" Greg asked eagerly. To him, the more freakish magical blood spilled, the better. The General smirked and pulled up what looked like a map of New York City.

"Actually…with the online discourse and new Intel we have gathered, we have a bit of a new strategy," the rogue General said, as he made a change to the map that made it light up in bright colors.

"What is that?" Tamara asked.

"An infrared map of New York City and this map, was three years ago…before the magical radiation," their boss said, as he showed them that map and they noticed that the blotches of red had mostly disappeared.

"What are we looking at?" Tamara asked.

"Considerable seismic activity. Small, tiny fissures that are continuing to grow ever since that little explosion," the General said.

"Do you…think the NSA knows?" Greg asked.

"Of course they know…and they must think that, for now, their little taskforce is the key to stopping what could result in a cataclysmic event. But when they realize that they can't stop this, because it grows worse with each magical apparition, they will have to do something about all of them. Especially if the public calls for it," he replied.

"But they're keeping their identities and pretty much everything else under wraps," Tamara mentioned.

"That's why we're going to make sure the word gets out. You two have new day jobs as reporters at a very prominent news organization," the General said.

"Are you serious?" Greg asked.

"Why?" Tamara asked.

"To stoke fear and expose the plagues that magic brings to the world. The heads of these networks all answer to the government, though they deny it and this one answers to me. You'll start as beat reporters on the scene and as the fear grows, you'll soon be in front of millions every night as the truth about them comes out. It will force the government's hand and they'll have to detain the people of Storybrooke," he answered.

"This is your way back into power, isn't it? If this plan comes to fruition, you can step in with your knowledge of magic and other worlds," she said.

"You're catching on," he said.

"So we don't get to drop bodies anymore?" Greg asked, disappointed at that.

"Oh no…that part of the plan is still on and when our friends from the Enchanted Forest realize they're being hunted from all sides, they'll become desperate and further prove why they must be detained and studied like lab rats to solve the plights they have brought upon our world," he said.

"Do you think these fissures could become worse?" Tamara asked.

"Oh I know they will…and that's when we enact our revenge," the rogue General said.

"For now, you both need to keep in contact with me when you are out in the field," he said, as he presented phones to them.

"Every call you make is tracked, by the way, so be mindful of what you use it for," he added.

"There's only one contact in it," Tamara said.

"Aza?" Greg questioned.

"I told you…my real name is of no consequence. Aza is an old code name I went by in a mission years ago," he replied simply and offered no further information.

"For now, return to your new accommodations," he said. They nodded and left the war room for the new residence they had been given within the base…

#snowing #snowxcharming #charming family #season 2 au #romance #family #adventure #regina mills #emma swan #rumbelle #captain hook #Operation Castle

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