《{ enchanted forest }》21. { second star to the right }
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While Tamara was out for a morning run, Neal thinks about going to his dad's house. He was curious about this sister that Emma told him about. What she looks like, how old she is, what she's like (though he has to ask his father that, as the cursed girl wouldn't be able to speak). While on his way, he notices the doctor laying on the road with his father and some strange girl standing above the defenseless man. Rumplestiltskin's foot was hanging above the man's head and orders to kiss it.
He was about to stomp on the man's head when Baelfire decides to step in and pull his father back. Whale scurries off, finding safety from the crazy man. His father asks for his girlfriend, apparently called 'Lacey' to go back to his shop while they talk.
Neal tells him how he hasn't talked properly to his father since he's come to town while he claimed to be searching for him for so long. He also mentioned his disappointment for him not even bothering to meet his fianceé. His dad responds that it wasn't of any use as it won't last while he still has feelings for Emma. He couldn't believe the audacity that his dad his and tells him that he hasn't changed one bit, despite what he claims.
Before his son could walk off, Rumplestiltskin states that he was still here, even though his father wasn't really talking to him. The reason for that, Neal explains, is his own son. He tells his dad to stay away from the both of them, a fact that was seemingly finally getting to him.
At the same time, father and daughter Charming invade Regina's office to find either her or the magic beans she has taken before burning down the whole field, ruining every chance of getting home to the Enchanted Forest. She was nowhere to be found and Mary Margaret and Henry slowly step inside after Emma yells at them that she wasn't there.
Snow comments on how strange it was to leave the office unlocked, especially when she keeps the bean plant inside it. Though harvested, it could still be useful and it was evidence against her, which Emma knows Regina would never leave behind. Not unless she wants to. Henry suggests that something bad happened to her, a suspicion that seems quite reasonable when you see that someone used an override code to get in, which is strange as it's Regina's own alarm.
Mary Margaret knows only one person powerful enough to overthrow Regina, which is Rumplestiltskin. Emma quickly dismisses the idea as he was too busy with Lacey / Belle. She brings her suspicions about Tamara up once again, but her parents don't seem to share that same doubt. They agree for the husband and wife team to go to Gold for a spell that can track down the Evil Queen while Emma will go back to Tamara's room.
In the harbor, Tamara goes inside an old building called 'Storybrooke Cannery Co.' Through the glass window in the wooden wall she can see the pirate standing over the still Evil Queen, who was strapped down on a table. Greg appears from behind her and asks if she succeeded in her mission, which was to get into Regina's office. Tamara shows him the magic beans she found and they both know what this means: they could travel through realms with these.
Greg gives her the diamond, which was inside the decorated pouch that Regina had on her from their trip down below the library. They didn't realise how powerful this thing was or what it could do. They agree to send it back to the home office, which brings Tamara to a new subject. "Have you found that girl yet that the home office was talking about?"
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Greg shakes his head. "Her description fits no one I've seen so far in town. Almost as if.. she's invisible," he sighs. He knows that this girl plays a gigantic part in their mission, but he wasn't exactly sure what for. "Can it be that she's no longer here," the brunette asks, a little afraid their mission might fail if they don't find the girl on time. Her partner shakes his head furiously. "No, she has to be here. The home office was very clear about that. Find some clever way to ask Neal about her and where she is hiding. I still have one more thing to do."
Tamara reminds him to be quick as they will get instructions soon. He promises it won't take long. Greg pushes his computer inside the other room, just missing Regina trying to sow doubt into Hook. He connects elektrodes on Regina's skin while explaining it was not about his mission, but his father. Greg then looks at the captain and asks for a hand, obviously trying to crack a joke. Hook wasn't in for it and leaves, announcing that he would like to be called when it was time to kill the Dark One.
The man connects wires to the elektrodes after turning on the machine. Regina didn't realise it, but he would torture the truth out of her with elektricity. When the Queen didn't reply to his question about where his father is, he gave her a taste of being elektrocuded.
Emma goes back go Granny's, this time for an extensive searching of Neal and Tamara's room. He asks her what she was accusing his fianceé of this time, to which the blonde responds quite frankly that Regina had gone missing. She finds sand in the closet where her shoes are, which proves that she lied about going for a run in the woods. Her ex was quite simple about it, but once you distrust a situation like Emma did, you won't go back on it so easily.
David and Mary Margaret on the other hand go to Mr Gold's shop where they find him and Lacey drinking and talking. He still tries to send them away, but David decides to cash in on the favor that he owes him for helping with Belle's new persona. Gold asks Lacey to leave and you can see at everything that she doesn't like it.
He helps them with a potion, consisting of Mary Margaret's tear and one of Regina's. Mr Gold explains that once she drips it into her eye, she will be connected to Regina. Whatever she sees, she sees. Whatever she feels, Mary Margaret will feel. This way they could find Regina, which is, in Rumplestiltskin's eye, his end of the deal and so he sends them off.
Lacey comes back inside and reveals she's overheard everything. Mr Gold doesn't responds but tells her to get another drink. Deep inside his heart, he knows that something is wrong. Back in their condo, David helps with dripping the potion into his wife's eye. Almost immediately she feels the shocks of elektricity running through her body, scorching her from inside. She can see only faint flashes of where Regina can be before the pain takes over too much.
Neal and Emma walk over the beach, trying to find Tamara. Just when they were about to fight about their past, again, the woman in question turns up. She asks what they are doing there and Emma just explains that Regina is missing. She can't really say she suspects her of kidnapping, that's crazy and above all, very stupid. When Tamara runs along and Emma was walking away, Neal just had to continue the conversation. He apologizes for everything that has happened between them and Emma says sorry too. She walks off after, leaving her ex standing on the beach and watching her leave.
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Tamara goes back to her boyfriend and his prisoner and ensures that Emma and Neal are off their backs. She asks him how his interrogation is going. He had just put the voltage higher and tells her that the Queen wasn't really cooperating. Regina got shocked again and is obviously pissed. She calls them fools who run around and steal magic, to which they laugh and explains that they are there to destroy magic, as magic doesn't belong in their world.
"May I ask our Queen some questions too, Greg?" He just nods his head, mutters 'sure' and leaves her to it. Tamara leans in by the woman's face. "We are here to destroy magic and for that we need one important person. See.. our mission is like a game of chess, and she is the queen. Now, tell us where we can find a girl, around sixteen years old, with hair like molten chocolate and eyes like quicksilver. Where is she hiding?"
The Queen bites her tongue and stares with hard eyes back, but Tamara has seen what she needs to see. "She knows where to find the girl.. I might not have to ask Neal after all. Greg?" "Yes," he asks, his hand on the machine that was torturing the queen. Tamara grins evilly. "Torture the answer out of her mouth, love."
The Evil Queen begins to chuckle at the idea of two humans with no special power, trying to destroy magic. But she wasn't laughing anymore when she knows that there were more like them. She tells them it won't work, but Greg and Tamara were sure that they could stop it, just like people had done before them. Greg then activates the machine again, trying to torture answers out of her.
That shock of pain was the one that Mary Margaret had felt when the spell on her was activated. She tells how Regina was powerless, tied down and no way to fight back. Snow tells him how it was cold and smelled like fish, like sardines. David hugs her and calls his daughter. He tells her everything that Mary Margaret found out, but Emma sees a canning factury from where she stands in the harbor. It would be cold there, smelling like fish.. they must be there!
"Get down to the docks right now." She and Neal run up to the building, where Regina was just broken by torture. "Where is my father," Greg screams at her. "Tell us the girl's name," Tamara yells into Regina's face. The pain was unimaginable, the aftershocks still searing through her body. She knows that they won't forgive her for this, but she can no longer stand it.
"Her bloody name is Winter," she snaps. Tamara freezes when realization downs on her. "Winter?" She turns to her accomplice. "Neal has mentioned something about a Winter. She's.. come on, what was it?" She grabs at her hair, trying to remember. It came back to her and she smiles triumphantly. "Winter is Neal's adopted half-sister, the girl that Rumplestiltskin adopted. She's in a Sleeping Curse, thats what he told me."
"That explains why we've never seen her before.." Greg smiles at Tamara, but then they see people on the camera.
Back at Mr Gold's shop, he shows Lacey some magic. She was confused to why he didn't tell her sooner. He explains that it comes with a price, a price that sends most people he loves away. Lacey comments that he has been around the wrong people. When she asks what else he could do, he summons a necklace from thin air and hangs it around her neck. Mr Gold tells her how being the Dark One has perks, to which Lacey asks if those include keeping her young forever.
Mr Gold tells her about the prophecy, but the obnoxious Lacey was simple: don't let people get in your way. And the darkness inside of him agrees wholeheartedly.
Emma and Neal sneak inside the building and the blonde draws her gun. There they find David, who was armed with a gun as well, and Mary Margaret. They divide places to search, but they don't know that Tamara was warned and tries to take Greg with her too before the whole mission is blown, but Greg just wanted to find his father and for that he needs Regina. Tamara leaves and they promise to meet at the rendezvous place.
Greg decides to move faster and highers the voltage. He gives her a chance to speak, but when she didn't react he was about to give her a shock. It wasn't needed as Regina, completely torn down by the multiple electric shocks, gives in. She tells him that his father was dead, murdered by him. Regina tells him exactly where he was buried and taunts him, but in his anger and frustration Greg slams the 'activate' button.
The scream of Regina echoes through the building. He gives her so much shocks that they send her unconscious, but when he was about to give the last, murderous blow, David enters and shoots at the machine. Greg escapes and David was about to get after him, but Mary Margaret tells him that they can't leave Regina. They make her loose and David warns his daughter over the walky talkie about Greg and to block the exits.
A few seconds after Neal told Emma that it wasn't his fianceé after all, the blonde was hit by a pipe on the back of her head. Tamara takes Emma's gun and points it at him. She tells him that everything is a lie. When Neal walks up to her, she shoots him. Before she can finish him, Emma knocks the weapon out of her hand.
The two women fight while Neal was laying on the ground in pain. After a short battle, fist to fist, Emma can get her gun and points it at Tamara, but she had another trick up her sleeve. She throws a magic bean between them, giving her the time to escape. Emma almost falls into the portal, but Neal catches her. Unfortunately, he stumbles and almost falls into the portal. Only Emma's grip on the edge keeps them connected to Storybrooke.
Neal tells her to drop him, but Emma was certain: letting him go is a death sentence for Baelfire. He tells her that Henry needs her, but now they are at the brink of his death Emma can show him her heart: she needs him, she loves him. He tells her that he loves her too and let's go, disappearing through the portal.
To summarize the later events shortly would be like this: Greg finds the remains of his father in the woods, Mother Superior heals Regina with her wand while David and Mary Margaret watch, Emma reveals the death of Neal to her parents and the two partners in crime find each other again and discover what the diamond is for, which moves them to the next phase in their plan: destroying Storybrooke.
Regina lays in bed at the Charmings and explains her two big mistakes: that she no longer own the trigger and..
"They are after Winter."
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Starchild
“It’s life’s illusions I recall. I really don’t know life at all.” from the song, Both Sides Now, by Joni Mitchell Starchild is an adventure novel set within an understanding of reality that is rooted in Eastern spiritual traditions.It takes as its starting point experiments in remote viewing that were genuinely undertaken by the American military in the nineteen-nineties under the name of the Stargate Project. It then imagines how a more advanced attempt to weaponise the capabilities of consciousness might have been developed in the present day.The story then explores how Ultimate Reality might respond to such a threat.Deep, elemental forces thus bring together Samantha Martin and Sahadeva Varma, old colleagues from the Stargate Project, to avert the apocalyptic consequences of this military attempt to weaponise consciousness. This fast-paced story spans genres including romance, action, adventure, science fiction and more. Although this story is based on concepts drawn from established spiritual traditions, these have sometimes been extrapolated to the point of very extreme speculation for the needs of an adventure story.Much of the underlying philosophy, however, as explained in the dharma talks given by Samantha Martin, is paraphrased from the guidance of respected spiritual teachers. Scheduling: Starchild is a previously unpublished novel of one hundred thousand words which was serialised in weekly instalments over twenty-five weeks from 15th November 2021 to the 29th April 2022. Each instalment contains five chapters – an average of approximately four thousand words in each instalment. Acknowledgements: All the mandala images, with one exception, were drawn by Brian Huggett using the Spirality mandala drawing application. The mandala associated with chapter 82 and which occupies the centre of the front cover of Starchild is attributed to Jgmoxness, CC BY-SA 3.0 , via Wikimedia Commons. The comet image is derived from a photograph by Marco Milanesi downloaded from Pexels. The cover image was assembled from these images by Brian Huggett.
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