Post by Fonos on Jan 21, 2014 1:21:54 GMT -5
"Stand back!" The swirling mist began to fill the room as The Hat expanded exponentially. The World Hopper swallowed the small golf ball down that had started to choke him up - no matter what he said, to Regina, to his daughter, to himself, he missed this, and he missed it bad - and took the Evil Queen's hand.
A crack of lightning brought Jefferson back to his surroundings. He could feel the numbness throughout him, from waking up before sleep paralysis faded; beads of sweat dripped down his back, leaving the Hatter shivering in his bed.
He could almost hear his daughter calling for him in the background, to see if he was okay.
"Daddy?"
Just imagining her voice loosened his tensed muscles, and he managed to crawl out of bed. Flicking the light on, Jefferson walked over to the sewing room, feet gliding gracefully. The patterns of the walls seemed to mock him as he passed, the shapes eerily reminding him of Wonderland in light of his memory, but he forced it all to the side.
Leaning down into the telescope, Jefferson looked towards the house of the Grace family. As usual, he saw his daughter there, resting peacefully.
"Moments like these really do make a man feel mad," he mumbled under his breath, tone filled with every ounce of self loathing he'd splattered on over the years.
Why did I let her stay with them?
The Hatter knew why, of course: because he loved her too much. Grace did stay with him, generally, but after decades living with the Grace's, (for Jefferson had never deemed it worth his while to find out their Wonderland counterparts) she felt it appropriate to stay with them sometimes. Something about 'missing them.'
Those were the magic words.
"I understand, honey, but you're always welcome here! Don't forget me."
The voice had been light-hearted, but only because he had struggled to keep it from shattering.
Grace used to come by every day, but then it became every other day, and then once a week maybe, if she wasn't busy. It had been a few weeks since she'd last spoken to him, and that left a burning hole of insecurity and rejection in the 'mad' man. Jefferson knew deep down that if he could get her to come back with him to the Enchanted Forest, she would. Then, everything would go back to normal, and he wouldn't have to sit here alone in this house, hoping his daughter remembers he exist.
To do that, though, he would need The Hat. Something just seemed to say, though, that Regina wouldn't be giving it to him any time soon.
"Regina…"
Shaking off the irresistible rise of hate, Jefferson grabbed his trench coat; slipping it on purposefully (and grabbing his car keys from the desk), he made for the door, decision made.
The Savior could do whatever she wanted in her little world - have her friends, her family, her naive portrayal of how the Realms worked - but she would learn about magic, damn it, and she would make it work.
The moon shone decently bright in this side of town, he noted with a calculating interest.
Turning his car off, Jefferson leaned over into the glove compartment and pulled out his pistol: he didn't expect to need it to convince Emma, but cased on previous encounters, she could lean towards needing more motivation than most.
Fighting back tears at what he had come to just in an attempt to bring his family together, he placed the gun in his back pocket (hidden by the coat of course) and went inside.
"You don't have to do this, Daddy, I'll come with you!"
Jefferson turned on his heels, eyes flashing with fear - but there was nobody there.
After a moment, he decided he'd imagined it, and did a 180.
"If you do this, I'll never love you."
The voice of his daughter had returned, with a biting edge to it. Once again, Jefferson spun, this time reaching for the gun in his back pocket.
"Who's out there?"
The terse whisper was met only with the creaks of a house that was naturally aging.
"Damn my nerves," Jefferson muttered, his hands shaking visibly.
For a third time, a voice spoke to him, though this time it didn't sound anything like his daughter.
"If you kill the Savior, I give you The Hat. You get your daughter, I get my son - we both win, mmm?"
"Leave me alone, Regina!"
The despair in his voice was self evident, but still not one person replied to him.
A moment of dark clarity fell upon him, and without any further acknowledgement of whatever voices may come, began knocking on the door that led to the Swan residence. The sooner he left Storybrooke, the better.
A crack of lightning brought Jefferson back to his surroundings. He could feel the numbness throughout him, from waking up before sleep paralysis faded; beads of sweat dripped down his back, leaving the Hatter shivering in his bed.
He could almost hear his daughter calling for him in the background, to see if he was okay.
"Daddy?"
Just imagining her voice loosened his tensed muscles, and he managed to crawl out of bed. Flicking the light on, Jefferson walked over to the sewing room, feet gliding gracefully. The patterns of the walls seemed to mock him as he passed, the shapes eerily reminding him of Wonderland in light of his memory, but he forced it all to the side.
Leaning down into the telescope, Jefferson looked towards the house of the Grace family. As usual, he saw his daughter there, resting peacefully.
"Moments like these really do make a man feel mad," he mumbled under his breath, tone filled with every ounce of self loathing he'd splattered on over the years.
Why did I let her stay with them?
The Hatter knew why, of course: because he loved her too much. Grace did stay with him, generally, but after decades living with the Grace's, (for Jefferson had never deemed it worth his while to find out their Wonderland counterparts) she felt it appropriate to stay with them sometimes. Something about 'missing them.'
Those were the magic words.
"I understand, honey, but you're always welcome here! Don't forget me."
The voice had been light-hearted, but only because he had struggled to keep it from shattering.
Grace used to come by every day, but then it became every other day, and then once a week maybe, if she wasn't busy. It had been a few weeks since she'd last spoken to him, and that left a burning hole of insecurity and rejection in the 'mad' man. Jefferson knew deep down that if he could get her to come back with him to the Enchanted Forest, she would. Then, everything would go back to normal, and he wouldn't have to sit here alone in this house, hoping his daughter remembers he exist.
To do that, though, he would need The Hat. Something just seemed to say, though, that Regina wouldn't be giving it to him any time soon.
"Regina…"
Shaking off the irresistible rise of hate, Jefferson grabbed his trench coat; slipping it on purposefully (and grabbing his car keys from the desk), he made for the door, decision made.
The Savior could do whatever she wanted in her little world - have her friends, her family, her naive portrayal of how the Realms worked - but she would learn about magic, damn it, and she would make it work.
The moon shone decently bright in this side of town, he noted with a calculating interest.
Turning his car off, Jefferson leaned over into the glove compartment and pulled out his pistol: he didn't expect to need it to convince Emma, but cased on previous encounters, she could lean towards needing more motivation than most.
Fighting back tears at what he had come to just in an attempt to bring his family together, he placed the gun in his back pocket (hidden by the coat of course) and went inside.
"You don't have to do this, Daddy, I'll come with you!"
Jefferson turned on his heels, eyes flashing with fear - but there was nobody there.
After a moment, he decided he'd imagined it, and did a 180.
"If you do this, I'll never love you."
The voice of his daughter had returned, with a biting edge to it. Once again, Jefferson spun, this time reaching for the gun in his back pocket.
"Who's out there?"
The terse whisper was met only with the creaks of a house that was naturally aging.
"Damn my nerves," Jefferson muttered, his hands shaking visibly.
For a third time, a voice spoke to him, though this time it didn't sound anything like his daughter.
"If you kill the Savior, I give you The Hat. You get your daughter, I get my son - we both win, mmm?"
"Leave me alone, Regina!"
The despair in his voice was self evident, but still not one person replied to him.
A moment of dark clarity fell upon him, and without any further acknowledgement of whatever voices may come, began knocking on the door that led to the Swan residence. The sooner he left Storybrooke, the better.