:Les:

Les giggled as a sudden wave hit him. Sure his clothes were soaked though, but he loved water. It was always so refreshing. The only reason Les slightly disliked winter was because the lakes would freeze into a huge block of ice. He loved swimming a lot so he was always excited for spring. He didn't even care if the water was ice cold, he loved it! The wave was like a refreshment too. Sometimes it would get really hot and a splash of water was all he needed. Smiling, he glanced back at princess Ariel and waved a quick thank you. He really liked the sea princess for the most part. They would swim together a lot of the times and each could play in the water forever. He considered Ariel to be a nice friend to have. Of course, no one could beat Reta, but he considered her to be in second place.

As Beast took Red's hand, her eyes began to lighten, slowly losing their current shade of crimson and drifting back to their normal grey color. Red was still furious with Aurora. She was spoiled and wanted everything. And when someone showed interest in something Aurora didn't necessarily want at first, she showed even more interest in it just because someone else wanted it. It was the same with Jack. Aurora knew Red had a sort of.. feeling for Jack. Due to a mix of her hatred towards Red, and wanting everything to be hers, Aurora felt she had to flirt with him. Just to make Red angry. Oh, if I ever get the chance, I'll slit her pretty little throat in her sleep!

Red gasped when the wave hit her, that only made it worse. When she had gasped, Red took in more water, causing her to choke. She breathed hard, trying to take in as much air as possible. When she had finally recovered --at least partially anyway-- Red looked around for the culprit of the wave. Ariel! Red didn't necessarily have bad feelings towards Ariel, she just didn't like her at that moment. Ariel was actually pretty nice. And if need be, she could be ferocious. Maybe her an Red were similar in some ways?

Just as Jack was to reply to Aurora and also apologize for causing a problem a huge wave crashed into him. Poor Jack ended up swallowing a fair amount of water and was left coughing. The water was refreshing and the beanstalk could really use it, but this was too much. What the hell Ariel? I just about drowned is what he was thinking, but he said nothing. Once he stopped coughing he looked over at the very unhappy and noisy Henrietta. Henrietta was squawking and clucking like mad flapping her dripping wet wings. The hen had been washed over to the wall by the wave it seemed and was none too happy about that or being wet. It seemed the hen had a feather or two to pick with Ariel. Before Henrietta could get too far Jack grabbed her and placed her in his lap. “Shush, you’re ok so calm down.” Henrietta wanted none of this, kicking and flapping like mad in Jack’s arms. She even pecked at him for trying to stop her. He dealt with her struggling, getting a little cut up in the process. After a few minutes, the hen settled down and started to clean her feathers.

--------------------

Reta’s thoughts about how great the trap Les and she made where interrupted by the wave of water. This was fun. She wanted to shout at Ariel to do it again. She liked the water, but not as much as her brother. He loved it and he didn’t care if anyone else thought it was too cold to be swimming. Reta liked Ariel, she could be a lot of fun. Her excitement was cut short by Lucie finally starting the meeting. She pouted a little since it seemed that Ariel’s wave had disabled the trap they had set for Lucie.

"There has been a disturbance to the south," The Mayor continued.

"Story portals have been randomly popping up all over the southern forests. The Mountain Trolls to the east are having problems hunting during the night because of the bright lights they produce. My mystics tell me that they are doorways leading to both high and low points in our life threads. If we don't work together to close these portals it will mean a war with the Mountain Trolls. Or Worse, the tapestry of our story-time could be unwoven.

Tiamat, the gentle mother of all dragons brought this to my attention. Seems the trolls have been hiding from the lights the portals create in her den. She didn't appreciate the noise or the smell. It disturbed her 100 year nap. Luckily I was able to talk her down. While war with the mountain trolls is unfavorable a cranky sleep deprived dragon could prove worse.

I'll allow you all to use your best judgement on how to deal with this situation. If you choose work together or separate makes no matter. "

With that he rolled up the scroll and folded his eye glasses. "Meeting adjured. If any of you have any concerns, please don't hesitate to ask in private. I promise to behave myself." He said as he smiled and winked at Aka just to get under her skin.

Alice, usually giggly and insane, was now completely quiet as she watched the mayor, Lucifer, enter the Town Hall. She fidgeted a bit as he spoke, but for the most part she kept as quiet as possible.When Lucifer had finished speaking, Alice stayed put. Unlike many of the others.

Tiny specks of dirt trickled onto Alice's lap, dirtying her blue dress even further. Alice smiled and blew at the suspended particles of dirt, watching as they floated across the room. Then more and more dirt began falling. Not only on Alice, but everywhere in the Town Hall. Alice gasped as she looked up. The huge tree was shaking. It looked like it was about to collapse!

One of the walls of the tree began to collapse, then the roof began to cave in. Alice screamed as she was covered in bark and rubble. The rest of the old tree fell around Alice. To her it felt as if it was all in slow motion. If Alice could have ran she would have, but her feet felt like they were glued to the floor. Alice watched as the huge mass came tumbling down. She heard an earth shattering thud and then all she saw was darkness.



__________________________________________________ _____




Red listened intently to everything the Lucifer had to say. Portals into their pasts, huh? Red wanted to close those portals more than anything if that was the case. She didn't care much for the trolls or the dragon, but she did care about her past being exposed. She had just managed to cover it up. Red couldn't bare to think what would happen if everyone in Never After knew her secrets. That's it, she would have to help with closing the portals. For her own well being.

Sighing, Red flicked her hood back over her head and stood. It was still light out, but by now she was too awake to manage sleep. Grumbling to herself, Red pushed through the huge doors of the old hollowed out tree they utilized as the Town Hall, and made her way over to the woods. It may still be light out but at least here it was slightly darker. And now Red would be able to hunt like how she had wanted. That would get her mind off things.

Red had just made it to the outer edge of the forest when the ground under her began to shake fiercely. Red's attention was ripped away from the shaking ground as she hear a scream. Alice. "Alice! No! Alice!" Red ran as fast as she could. The Town Hall had concaved and it looked like Alice was stuck inside. "Alice!" Red pulled out her axe and began swinging at the wood before her in an attempt to cut through to Alice. But it all felt like blind guessing. There was no way to tell for sure where Alice was.

:Les:

Les prepared for utter boredom as he listened to the mayor. The news he got was not boring for once. A shocked expression crossed his face. Adventure to other worlds sounded so tempting. Les stared at the mayor in worry. Was the man sick? He was always so much more... boring. Since when was a meeting exciting? Les snapped out of his thoughts as he heard Alice scream.

Before he knew it, the old tree was falling. Les gasped as it fell down towards Reta. Without hesitating Les grabbed Reta and protected her. As heavy wood slapped down on Les, he coughed out blood. He wouldn't let himself pass out yet. He protected his sister, taking the wounds he received. He didn't care how much it hurt, he had to protect Reta.

Listening to what the mayor had to say, Peter cocked his head. The story portals opening? Fucking. awesome. The male thought as his mouth gaped a bit. He could go back and see the rest of the Lost Boys, talk to Ariel's sisters, and even go see Tiger Lily! The male's gaped mouth slowly turned into a big grin as the message went on, then stopped. Where was he going to start? Of course he'd help! It was an adventure he couldn't pass up! Hopping up out of his chair, he gave a nod to Tink, a familiar gleam in his eye. Peter was so excited, as soon as the meeting was adjourned, he ran out of the hollowed tree, knowing Tink was not too far behind him. Just to think! Going back to Neverland, flying around with Tink... Man, was that the life. However, Peter did have a secret that he had to keep hidden.

The male bit his lip, feeling others come out with him. He began to fly once again deep in thought. He barely even heard the building collapse, but once he heard a familiar voice scream and another one at that, Peter snapped back into reality. Who was in there? "Holy! What happened?!" he shouted, trying to help Red with removing some of the broken bits of wood. There was way too much for just two people. Who else was in there? Peter tried to remember who he saw leave and didn't. The kids! Alice! "Hold on guys, we'll be right there!" Peter shouted, piling up wood in his arms and throwing it aside. Despite the splinters, he ignored it and tried his best to clear some of the wood. Who was near by? Who? A.., T.., "Aurora! Tink!" Peter called out with both his hands cupping his mouth before continuing to shovel wood with his hands.

--------------------------------

Aurora listened to Lucifer, but almost paid no attention, combing out her perfect luxurious, almost gold like hair with her fingers. That was until the word "story portals" came out of the mayors mouth. Aurora was terror stricken. Portals? Meaning anyone could go in and find out her deathly secret. The woman went wide eyed, shaking her head. No, no, no! She thought, immediately standing and walking out of the town hall. This couldn't happen! If they knew her secret... all of the.. Aurora squeezed her eyes tight, picturing the blood everywhere. The one that she had to... bathe in.. The princess held her head in her hands and shook her head, gasping. She had tried so many times to repress that. To cover up her secret. Now it could all be uncovered! The woman took a deep breath and began to head back towards the forest. She needed to calm down and the animals always did help her.

As she was heading towards the forest, she heard a familiar voice call out her name. Aurora turned her head casually and saw that the building she had just stepped out of not even a minute ago was collapsed. What happened? Peter? Red? The woman, hesitant at first, ran over to the scene of the action, "Whose in there?!" She screamed, having Peter shush her. Aurora wasn't very strong, but she knew a few of her friends who were. Aurora sang a loud, yet soft and sweet tune towards the forest, waiting to hear a response. As if the ground began to shake again, in the distance was a response of many birds and critters, running to the rescue and beginning to chew through the bark or take from the pile piece by piece as Aurora continued to sing and hum, determined to get whoever was stuck in there out. I hope we aren't too late.

Piper grumbled under his breath as he moved the feather that was now plastered to his face due to the wave of water. He glanced over at Odessa who was also soaked. The poor girl’s white dress looked like nothing more than a transparent sheet covering her doll like body. This scene caused the man to blush. With a sigh he removed his blue jacket and wrapped it around his precious puppet’s shoulders.

The young man had been prepared for a very dull meeting, as most of them usually were. Today wasn’t to be that way. It seemed that the mayor, Lucifer, had troubling news for them all. He knew of the trolls, nasty creatures they were. No better than the rodents he had rid various towns across Europe of during his youth. What was worse was the fact that tears that led to their stories, their past were opening up at random. No sooner had Lucifer finished the meeting the man was on his feet, taking Odessa’s hand. He had no plans of letting any of the others go into his past story. Hell he didn’t even want to go back to that place. This can’t really be happening. I swear if Lucifer is tricking us I will kill him myself.

The pair hadn’t gotten too far out of the town hall when it came crashing down. The girl jumped at the sound, a shock expression on her face. Looking down at his doll Piper was surprised. She rarely showed emotion other than when he was playing music. Odessa pulled on his sleeve and whispered to him. “Help them.” He grunted at her. It wasn’t his place to help. Why should he help those who hated him? Once the doll started moving towards the pile of rubble the man gave in. “Alright I’ll help them if you stay here were it is safe. I can’t, I won’t lose you again my dear.” Reluctantly the silver blue haired male walked over and started to dig at the rubble.

---------------

Reta was filled with excitement at the news that Lucie had given them. Going on adventures to other worlds sounds awesome. She had always wondered what Neverland really looked like. Lucie wasn’t just pulling their legs right? He was serious and this was going to be a grand adventure that she could go on with her dear brother. Her thoughts of adventure were soon broken by a scream, the sound of breaking timber and being pushed over by Les.

Reta couldn’t hear her own scream over the sound of the old tree falling down around them. A rather large piece of the tree had slapped her brother in the back causing him to cough out blood that splattered on her face and dress. “Les,” she screamed out, clinging to him. “Why did you do that, stupid?” There were tears in her eyes as she looked up at him even though she was trying so hard not to let the fear she felt show in her eyes or on her face. In her mind she was cursing at herself. Why didn’t I see this happening so that Les wouldn’t have gotten hurt? Why can’t I control when I have visions and what time the visions are of?

Beast was listening quietly to the Mayor, Lucifer's, speech, wondering what the portals really meant, of all of them he knew his secret was probably minor, but it was something he didn't want to remember. As he looked around he smiled, everyone seemed excited for an adventure and that made him wonder if they wanted to end it for the realm or for themselves. He looked smirking as Lucifer finished and he nodded stretching in his seat as people started to run out towards the woods and street making him feel like he was being slow, just before he heard the first crack from above.

Looking up he raised an eyebrow as a few pieces of dirt fell down around him, he made a quick scan and noticed a few people still inside. Before he could say a word the Crack got louder and the top started to cave, beasts instincts kicked in and made him act. With his strength he pushed off the floor still in his chair and back into the wall, it was already weakened from the old wood and caving top when he pushed through it cracking the wood before he burst out tumbling on to the ground behind him. It took a minute for him to regain his head, as it was foggy with the image of Alice's face and scream with the others who were trapped. He could hear other running to the tree, but he took a long while to move, his head was swimming when he stood and looked over at the tree seeing people pulling at the rubble, barely making a dent as the big pieces lay in their way. He stumbled over behind them and took a knee slightly behind them, with a deep breath he closed his eyes and thought about what he saw.

In his mind he called the animal and it responded in a roar of fury and anger, as it clawed through his conscious and to the forefront of his mind. He stood up, no longer in control of his physical body as the animal started to come forward more, "Move away!" He said, his voice lower and booming as he spoke to those in front of him who were tearing at the rubble, "NOW!" the animal roared, his voice becoming deeper and a constant growl behind every breath and word he spoke. Beast opened his eyes, now back as the night as the animal took control of everything, his muscles rippled as tendrils seemed to worm under his skin. The muscles popped and snapped as his body grew in size and weight, his skull cracked and moved as horns grew, painfully from beneath the skin, piercing threw as blood flowed from the wound. Quickly though it was covered up as hair sprouted from all over, and his face cracked into the animals, fangs and malice spewing from it. Foam came from his mouth as he roared at those near him and his eyes focused on each, nothing behind them, no soul, no forgiveness, no love, nothing but hate and spite, before he started forward.

The animal stepped forward each step had meaning and anger in it, when his foot hit the ground dust puffed out and the foot print he left behind could easily fit two people feet inside. His large clawed hand reached down, growling at those around him and the wood he had to move grasping on to a piece of wood and clinching shattering it before he through the splinters to the side. The animal grabbed a large piece of wood and growled as he strained lifting it up and throwing it forward out of the tree making it 'thud' on the ground as it his making a dent in the bushes near by. He pulled at the wood over and over removing wood, though he felt like he wasn't really making a dent, even though he couldn't even notice some one in this state unless Beast really focused his mind to take his body back.

:Aka:

Aka listened to the mayor speak even though she hated it. He thought he was so wonderful. She wanted to scream out everything wrong with him just to prove how disgusting he was. Speaking of disgusting, that was how Aka felt after being soaked over by sea salt water. It made her clothes cling to her skin and itch like crazy. As soon as the meeting was over the first thing she would do is go home and get a shower. Aka listened and her mind slipped from her thoughts as she heard about her past.

Aka's eyes widened as she listened. "No.... not this!" Aka's mind screamed. She didn't want to go back there. She didn't want anyone to see it. After Aka lost what she thought to be her only friend, things got so much worse. She couldn't let the mayor find what had happened to her. If he knew he would use it against her. The mocking would never end and there would no longer be a way to stand up. But could she really handle going back to protect it? She wasn't sure. Once the meeting was over she spoke to Cheshire before dashing out of the Town Hall. "I'm sorry Cheshire but it seems we will have to wait." Aka hadn't ran far before she heard screams and witness the Town Hall fall as she glanced back.

:Les:

Les looked at his sister weakly before more wood fell down. This time he was just too weak. "Reta!" Les screamed. Then his body fell to the floor. The next thing he knew he was surrounded by darkness. It was like he had slipped totally from reality. Something felt wrong, horribly wrong. He had to get out of here. Les struggled to find a way to escape, but it was useless. That was when Les knew he was dreaming.

The darkness began to shift, taking on a form. At first it was but a shadow but it grew much larger. Before long the darkness had transformed themselves into monsters. Their skin was coal black and their skin was ripping apart in different areas. Within the wounds of the monster were thousands of small blood red eyes staring endlessly right at Les. The boy was frozen in place, his body refusing his wish to run. The monsters closed in on him... Was he going to die?

Jack listened intently to the mayor, Lucifer, as he talked about the trolls, dragon and adventure. There was a wide grin on his face at the thought of adventure and treasures. This was the best news the mayor had ever given them. Of course Jack as always the type to be attracted to adventure, magic and treasure. He also didn’t really have anything to hide about his past. Well that was other than the hidden locations of his treasures. Oh, it probably wouldn’t be good if they found out about that other thing, he thought as he exited the hall with Henrietta. The chicken had finally calmed down to her normal lovable self.

Henrietta walked alongside Jack as they headed off towards the pond. He was a little glad to be away from Aurora, now he could get his thoughts straight and decided what he would need for this grand new adventure. The sounds of cracking timber and breaking boards caused Henrietta to fly up and land on Jack’s head. “What the?” The young man jerked around to look. He stood there in shook at the sight of the town hall being nothing more than a pile of rubble. “Squawk squawk bok cluck bok bok bok cluck squawk!” The hen frantically told Jack about there being three or four people trapped within the rubble. She was sure that two of them were Alice and Gretel.

The brown haired male lifted the hen off of his head then placed her on the ground. “Understood Henrietta.” He grabbed his ax as he ran to the fallen old tree. He went to the opposite side to stay out of Beast’s way. Jack took precise wings with his ax, slowly breaking up the larger pieces of wood so they could be removed easily.

----------------------------------

Upon hearing Beast’s roar Piper quickly side stepped out of the way. Pieces of wood flew at him as the Beast dug. Piper managed to dodge the debris, making it look easy. Once he was able to the man moved to the other side of the pile and began to help Jack by removing the piece of wood as he cut. He had to give the younger man credit. His approach to this situation was much more safe and level headed than the one that Beast was taking.

The removal of the debris was slow, but they seemed to be getting somewhere. At least Piper thought they were. It looked like they were uncovering the stage area. So if they two kids had still been at the front when the tree collapsed they should be nearby. “We found the stage,” the man called to the others that were helping.

------------------------

The boards around them seemed to be giving way even more. “Stupid Les,” Reta whispered to her brave brother just as he lost consciousness. The girl wiggled forward to an area that was little more open. Worry shone in her icy blue eyes as she looked back where her brother laid. There was just enough room for her to turn around and pull her dear Les into the open area before the space they had been in finished collapsing.

Reta looked at her brother, she was so proud of him for protecting her, but also angry at him for putting himself in such danger. She could hear banging and cracking sounds coming from different directions. A loud snap caused her to kneel over Les to protect him if more boards started to give way.

The bows of the tree cracked and popped. Something wasn't right. Lucifer made a hasty exit of the tree after his speech. The feeling in his gut told him that the denizens of his world would have to face their inner selves soon. Every thing happened so quickly. A new portal opened right over town hall. The mayor stepped back and looked over the new ruins of the meeting tree. Branches and rubble was strung across the forests floor.

Lucifer started to look for anyone in need of help.

Red frantically chopped st the wood before her. She had to get to Alice and the others. Red would never admit that she cared for anyone other than herself, but she supposed this sudden display of selflessness proved otherwise. At the moment she couldn't care less. All of her thoughts were trained on her axe, swinging blindly at the wood. As Red managed to get deeper she realized the wood was damp near the bottom. How strange..

Snapped out of her thoughts by Beast's roar and the sound of his cracking bones and splitting flesh, Red turned her attention to him for just a moment. She wished his other side would allow him to think for himself and not that monster inside him. Red felt like it wasn't this form that was the monster, it was the voice inside telling the form what to do. Red would like to believe that was the case, but she knew it probably wasn't. In a moment Red was thrown to the side by Beat's huge clawed paw. "Oof!" Red landed on her face, leaving a few scratches. Her axe was knocked into her arm and she now had a huge gash. Red shook it off. She had to help.

Ripping the bloodied axe out of her arm, Red ran to Beast's side and began chopping at the wood again. She didn't care that Beast might hurt her again. Red knew it would take a while for her to get to the other side of the debris and that was precious time she couldn't waste.

Despite her oozing gash, Red continued to cut away at the wood in front of her. Adrenaline pulsed through her, empowering her to go on, not even realizing her wounds.




((Alice will post soon))

:Les:

Les breathed heavily as the nightmare shocked his body. He could feel the pain of reality slowly pulling him back. Why did it hurt so much? Then he recalled what had happened moments later as he heard a hacking noise of an axe and the snapping of wood. But then he remembered the red eyes as he awoke. There was nothing but black. It was so... "ugly." Les muttered. Then he was gone, a new side coming out.

Les cracked a grin, tilting his head to the side. He pressed his hands on the wood and laughed coldly. "Oh look, I'm gonna be cooked. What shall I turn into, I wonder? Perhaps a pie? Oh how I do love pie! Or maybe that ugly witch will make me into a cake! Cakes with blood! Blood and glass! Oh how shiny it would be! Shiny... Shiny knifes.. Kitchen knifes couldn't cut me very well now, would they? Oh cookies! Cupcakes! Or maybe red velvet! Oh red velvet it the best of them all! Candies of all flavors! Candies made from children! Out comes the guts and make it into... A Valentine! Valentine isn't much of a good day for anything but hearts though... Ah! Now Holloween! Holloween would be perfect!"

“Ugly?” At first Reta was a little confused by what her brother’s muttering meant. When Les started talking out of his head she knew all too well what it was about. If it was someone else, anyone else, she would just laugh at them and maybe have some fun, but when it was Les it wasn’t funny at all. She growled at Les, tempted to draw one of her daggers and threaten him, but that wouldn’t do any good. Since it was pitch black it hard to tell where exactly her brother’s head was, but she had a pretty good idea. Even though there was little room she pulled her hand back as far as she could and slapped him. “Snap out of it, Hansel!”

Reta didn’t even wait to see if Les would say anything before she started to yell at him in an angry tone. “Do you have a death wise or something? Because I swear that if you don’t snap out of it right now I’ll slice you up so they can serve you for dinner.” She hated when her brother got like this and in some ways it scared her as well. When he was like this it felt like she was going to lose him. “Hansel, please come back to me. You know I don’t really want to hurt you,” this time her tone was gentler and her voice wavered slightly.

:Les:

Les chuckled as he looked around even though he couldn't see a thing. He was more than sure that any moment now a fire would start. He was going to be cooked into a sweet. All around him were the remains on useless or over cooked bits. He could feel the souls of lost children whispering to him. They called for him and welcomed him. "Join us..." The children whispered. Then their faces came only to disappear.

Before Les knewn it, Reta was there. The ghosts were gone and replaced by his dear sister. He didn't even notice the pain. Les sunk onto his knees, looking up at his sister while shaking. Very slowly he reached outand sought her comfort. His body trembled and he probably looked pathetic, but at the moment he could care less. He was alive and so was Reta. He reminded himself that they had burned the witch. Yet did did the woman still haunt him? Every nightmare was a reminder of the witch that had done such horrific things. It made Les shudder and every single time he lost himself. "Reta... I'm sorry..." Les spoke gently so she would know he was back.

Reta felt relief when Les finally spoke, saying sorry. Even though it was pitch black the girl shook her head and hugged her dear brother tightly. “There is nothing for you be sorry for. It’s not your fault. It’s that witch’s fault. You’re back here with me and everything is going to be alright.” A couple of tears streamed down her face. She had been so mean when she spoke to him while he was in that state and even hit him. Every time this happened she regretted it, but sometimes there was no other way to bring Les back to his senses.

Reta let go of Les and backed away a little. She looked down even though Les couldn’t see her face, knowing the look on it was one of shame. “Les, I’m sorry…I didn’t mean to say those mean things to you,” her voice trailed off. Reta couldn’t find the words to express what she wanted to. She wouldn’t promise him that it wouldn’t happen again, because it was bound to when that other side of her brother appeared. “You can slap me back if you want. You also don’t have to forgive me if you don’t want to. I’ll understand.” Her body trembled a little as she spoke, but she kept her voice gentle and light. Les telling her that he didn’t forgive her wouldn’t change how much she loved and cared about him, nothing could ever change that, but it didn’t mean it was less scary.

:Les:

Now that Les was back he took care to keep a hold on Reta. If he thought he was alone he would slip back. He hated when this happened to him. He would lose himself and always seemed to get Reta hurt. He cursed himself for the trauma that constantly threatened him in the darkness. It was as if the witch was waiting for him along with the corpses of children lifelessly staring directly at Les. They waited for Les to look back and then they would force him into insanity.

Les frowned as he pulled his sister into a hug. He didn't hate her at all, didn't she get that? He sighed and gently moved his hand up her neck and onto her cheek. He could feel her tears and gently wiped them away. "Reta..." Les moved closer as he spoke softly. The pain had save him and he wanted to express how thankful he was somehow. "I could never hate you Reta. You have saved me from myself so many times. Without you I would be lost forever. Reta I need you. No, not only that but I... I love you."

Reta smiled a bit. “I’m glad to hear that and I’ve always known. It’s just…it’s my fault that you’re like this. If only I had been stronger back then and killed that damn witch sooner. Maybe then you wouldn’t have such nightmares and lose yourself.” She hugged Les back. At this moment she could see the way her dear brother truly felt. They weren’t as different as she thought. Les needed her to keep him sane and she needed Les to protect her from herself. He knew well the darkness that was inside of her because of what they had gone through. “I need you too Les.”

As the two of them were hugging Reta’s vision began to fog. It was like there was a mist within the darkness around them. “Do you see that,” she asked before being sucked into a vision. No, not now. I don’t want this, stop.She screamed these words in her mind. Meanwhile her body had tensed before going somewhat limp. Reta woke to find herself in the past.

Looking around Reta could see the wicked witch’s cottage. She then seen herself fetching water from the well as ordered to do by the witch. Tears were streaming down her little face. The witch making her hurry along and do as she was told. Reta growled, if only she could really pull out her daggers kill the damn witch here and now. Save both Les and herself from all the torment that the woman had caused them. The vision blurred and shifted through time to what had just happened only moments before, the building collapse and Les losing himself temporarily. This was strange usually she only seen one point in time not multiple. Once again the vision blurred, this time shifting to the some time in the future. She had no clue how far it was. They were older and there was a boy they didn’t know there. That boy and Les seemed to be getting into a fight over something. The words being exchanged were jumbled and she couldn’t make sense of them. When the boys pulled out weapons everything faded to black. She was alone in the darkness.

:Les:

Les held his sister tightly as he regained his senses. First he needed to focus. He had to forget about the past and focus on his sister. Speaking of Reta, she suddenly slipped away. Les gasped as she lost herself just as he had done not even moments ago. He knew he was the only thing that could save her but each time it got worse. He had to struggle to reach his dear sister. Would he make it in time? Les wasn't sure but he knew he had no time to waste.

"Calm down and think, Les." Les thought to himself as he studied his sister. He gulped slightly, still feeling nervous. He reached down to Reta and stroked her cheek. How far would he have to go to wake her up? Usually he always had a loud item near by but he had dropped it somewhere as the tree fell down. Cursing himself as he realized his pockets were empty, Les glanced around. "Reta!" He yelled in hope. Nothing. "Darn..." He muttered. He looked at his sister and leaned down close. He hoped this would work. If it didn't then he didn't know if he could do it. Even if it saved Reta, would he be capable of it? He got as close as he could and closed his eyes before pulling Reta to him so they were only inches away. Then he closed the distance with a kiss.

Beasts huge paws clawed at the wood removing larger pieces as the smaller ones slipped through his hand as he tried to pull more and more off the ground. Beast hadn't even registered that he had throw Red away as he was tearing wood away from its self. He was lost in his own mind as he tore away at the wood, whenever the animal was in control beast had to fight every second to maintain that control. He was tearing away until he noticed a rather large piece of wood below a few of the other pieces he was tearing at, making him roar loudly almost in triumph as he reached down and grabbed the piece trying to lift it. He tried lifting it at first and struggled, it only cracking and crunching under his hands as he tried moving it. The animal could smell something underneath so it pushed harder, tearing Beast from the fight as his muscles bulged and both him and the animal worked together a second and the large piece of wood started to move slowly as he struggled shifting it smaller pieces of wood falling away from it as he Roared once more in struggle and it came free allowing him to pull it off and away from what was under it.

Even though Reta knew Les was there she could barely since him. Due to the vision the lines of reality had blurred for her and she now thought that Les was in danger. In the darkness of her mind she took out one of her daggers, her body unconsciously moving and doing the same. The witch was laughing at her, mocking her. She would protect herself and her brother. Truthfully it was rare that Reta got extremely violent when in this state, but there were times it was quite dangerous. That was why her brother usually awoke her by making a loud noise.

In her mind she was running towards the laughing of the witch. Anger and fear driving her to do what it took to save her brother and kill the witch once and for all. Reta heard Les calling her. “Where are you,” she mumbled right before he kissed her. The feel of the kiss surprised her, causing her to jerk awake. Still filled with the emotions from the vision and dream the girl’s body moved quickly to defend itself. This caused the two of them to roll in what little room they had. Reta pinned the person that had awaken not knowing it was her brother, holding the dagger in her hand against the person’s throat.

Reta’s eyes were wide and her breathing erratic, as she stared down at the person. She pressed the dagger a little firmer against Les’s throat. “This time you will die of that I'm sure, witch,” the girl said in a very dark voice. The look in her eyes was one of a killer and the grin she wore matched the look within her eyes. A dark laugh came from her as she sat upon her prey debating whether or not to play with it a little.

Rapunzel:

As the mayor delivered his message, Rochelle's mind began to spin in circles while she appeared completely calm on the outside. They aren't going to my portal. I refuse to let them in there. They will not learn my secrets. What if they decided to sneak in and they learned? Well... I'd have to kill them of course, hide them with the... WAIT! Why am I thinking about this? They are NOT going in there. I'll go by myself, yeah. I mean how hard can it be? Then I won't have to kill any of my lovely neighbors. She hadn't noticed herself leaving after the meeting, her feet just taking her outside just before the tree collapsed in. The blonde turned around, her eyes focused on the rubble, for just a brief moment before she turned away. Those poor kids. Rochelle thought as she moved to a further, much safer distance. It wasn't that she didn't care, she just knew she wouldn't be much help and would in fact probably be more trouble. So she watched. Les and Reta were always playing tricks, even catching her sometimes. Of course it made her mad at the time, but in reality she actually enjoyed their antics. Rochelle even liked Alice with all of her crazy quirks, and Alice was actually a decent human being when you could get her focused long enough. Oh those poor souls. She thought one last thought before heading back to her house.

Upon reaching her house she saw all of her beautiful flowers were dead, but she didn't get angry. She knew Russ was just getting his revenge for her dumping him into the floor, and giving him a reaction would only fuel his fire. So Rochelle continued into her house to the top of her tower where her music room was. The room was large and filled with nearly every instrument you could imagine, although Rochelle only played a few of them, but in the center was the masterpiece. In the center sat a golden piano with pink ivory accents and intricate designs, even the keys were unique in their design being made of crystal with pink diamonds embedded in the center of the crystals. Rochelle smiled as she ran her rose pink eyes over her most prized possession. Tenderly her fingers ran over the keys, caressing them as if they were her true love, a soft and relaxed smile crossing her lips as she sat down and began to play.

---

Rumpelstiltskin:

PORTALS!!!!!! I LOVE PORTALS!! They mean away from here and away from that lady! Heck yeah! Sign me up! Time to go fight evil and shit. Maybe Russ was a little too excited about the news they had all received, but he liked adventure. He didn't really show it, and you wouldn't guess it the way he stayed home all the time, but alas the yearning for new experiences was always there. Even traveling through these portals seemed like fun, regardless of how everyone else felt about their past. Russ didn't run from his past, didn't hide it. He didn't need to. Nearly everyone knew his story, and had since even before he had moved to Never After. They knew the REAL tale, not the ones told to the little kiddies to help them sleep at night. They knew he had been a somewhat sinister deal maker, offering you your deepest wishes for a price. Of course there was always the fine print that no one ever read. Russ had been well out of the tree by the time it collapsed, but he still ran back to help those that were trapped. Although he did make it a point to stay as far away from Beast as possible. It wasn't that he didn't like Beast, he just didn't trust the guy when he was like this.

Alice knew her eyes were open, but she couldn't see anything. Where am I? Everything smelt like damp dirt and rotting wood. It was like the rabbit hole all over again. Well if I'm in a hole all I need to do is climb out! Alice tried to move her arms and legs but they felt glued into place. It was almost like she had no control over them.

Alice could hear the others in the distance calling her name frantically. What had happened? All she could remember was the mayor mentioning something about portals. Then nothing. Everything had gone black, and for the most part still was. The worried voices of the others grew louder, so close it was as if they were right on top of her. It almost hurt her ears. Why were they do loud?

Attempt to call out to the others, Alice just wound up making a series of pitiful whimpers. Hello? Help! I'm right here! Why couldn't they hear here? She was right there!

Light shone through, momentarily blinding Alice. Wha.. Then, the too bright light was squired by a huge figure. Who is that? I know him!

Beast! Alice tried to move forward, towards him, but she failed. Her mussels refused to listen to her pleas.

Shin let out a faint growl. Portals huh? This could either be a good thing or quite possibly a horrible turn of events. He shook his head and began to get up when the floor started to shake from under his feet. Reacting with pure instinct, he hurled himself out of the hall just before everything collapsed. Shifting into his human form, Shin ran back towards the wreckage to see if anyone had gotten hurt.

The blood drained from his face when he realized that poor mad Alice was buried under all of that. He had never admitted this to anyone other than himself, but he cared deeply for the girl and the thought of anything happening to her....it made his blood run cold. Quickly he shifted back into his wolf form and frantically started to dig, wisely getting out of Beast's way when he joined in. When he noticed Red had joined in as well, he moved over to where she was moving wood so that he would be able to help.

So the portals were open to everyone now? They had been there all along but only a few, like Cheshire, could move freely between them usually. This was just a a bit concerning. Cheshire knew secrets about the rest of the fairy tale folk that should never be uttered or even thought of in their presence. He frowned and walked out of the hall, lost in his thoughts.

The sound of the hall collapsing startled him out of his private thoughts and he spun around, mouth dropping in shock. He knew the place wasn't that stable because of the hidden portal under the floor but he would never have imagined that something like this would happen! He glanced towards Aka as she hurriedly passed him and nodded once at her comment. Vanishing he reappeared right above where Alice was buried. "Here! She's right under all this!" He began to shift heavy loads of wood, using his vanishing ability. It came in handy that he was able to move large amounts of just about anything as long as he touched it first and then vanished.

It seemed the more they moved, the more there was. Chesh was just about to give up hope when they pale white arm of Alice appeared right under the last bit of wood he had moved. "I found her!! Help me!!"