. . . . . ╰──╮✰ ✰ ✰ ╭──╯ . . . . .

‎‧₊˚✧ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ꜱᴇᴠᴇɴᴛᴇᴇɴ✧˚₊‧

‎‧₊˚✧ʜᴀᴛ ᴛʀɪᴄᴋ✧˚₊‧

______

"Seeing Is No Longer Believing

The Very Notion Of Truth Has Been Put Into Crisis

In A World Bloated With Images, We Are Finally Learning

That Photographs Do Indeed Lie."

______

Henry was waiting for Angie and Emma as they arrived with Mr. Gold at the station to see Mary Margaret. They wanted to have another meeting to discuss what would happen once the D.A. arrived.

"Henry?" Emma questioned her son. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to congratulate you," Henry said with a smile as he put the book he was reading back into his backpack.

"For what kiddo?" Angie questioned.

"Your genius plan."

"And what plan's that, Henry?" Mr. Gold questioned. Henry lowered his eyes to the ground, clearly not wanting to talk to him. "Right." Mr. Gold remarked before he headed into the room to speak with Mary Margaret.

Henry watched carefully as Mr. Gold left before speaking again. "Sorry. I thought Mr. Gold was in on it now that he's Miss Blanchard's lawyer."

Emma and Angie were still confused. "In on what?" Emma inquired.

"The escape plan."

"What?" was the only thing Angie could think to say.

Mere seconds later, Mr. Gold called them from the other room. "Sheriff, Deputy, could you join me, please?" Angie and Emma shared a look with Henry before the trio headed into the other room to find a disturbing sight. Mary Margaret's cell. Empty. "She's gone," Mr. Gold stated.

"Thanks, Captain Obvious," Angie muttered.

Emma instantly turned to the child. "Henry, what did you do?"

"Nothing," Henry said immediately. "She was gone when I got here."

Mr. Gold grimaced. "Her arraignment's tomorrow. If she's not there–"

"She's a fugitive. Doesn't matter if she's convicted for Kathryn or not, she's screwed," Emma realized.

Angie sighed. "We have to go find her before someone notices that she's missing."

"Oh, you mean Regina," Mr. Gold realized with a nod.

Emma agreed instantly. "The arraignment is at 8:00 A.M. I'm sure she'll be here bright and early to celebrate her victory."

"Well, you have until 8:00 A.M. then."

"What about me, how can I help?" Henry asked, eager to help.

"Go home," was the only order that Emma gave him.

Henry protested as Emma started to usher him towards the door. "Emma, if she leaves Storybrooke–"

"Not now, Henry. Come on."

Mr. Gold turned to Angie. "I know that time is of the essence, but if Miss Blanchard doesn't return, her future's in jeopardy. And if you two are caught helping her, so are yours."

"I don't care," Angie told him, already halfway to the door. "Mary Margaret's my friend. If I get fired, oh well."

–

Angie and Emma were speeding down the highway, searching for Mary Margaret. Even though Angie had previously told Emma that she didn't want her driving anymore, she had to admit that Emma went faster than she did. If they didn't find Mary Margaret in time, all three of them would be in trouble. Angie couldn't even figure out how Mary Margaret had gotten out of the cell. The only key was Emma's, which she had in her desk at all times. The search party was distracted looking, so Emma nearly ran over a guy walking in the forest.

Emma instantly hit the breaks and skidded to a halt. Eager to get out of the car, Angie opened the car door and rushed to help the guy up. "Are you okay? My friend thinks she's a Nascar driver sometimes."

"I think so," the guy told her as he managed to get up with Angie's help.

"Are you sure?" Emma asked, coming over. "I'm so sorry about that."

"I'm fine," the guy assured them with a dashing smile. "I'm not used to sharing the road with cars so late. You're the Sheriff, aren't you? And you're the Deputy?" He finally met Angie's brown eyes with his bright blue ones. Like August, he had short, dark brown hair, yet his was slightly lighter and longer. He was quite attractive, but not Angie's type. Not that she had one, but if she did, he wouldn't be included on her mental checklist.

"Yeah," Emma said, answering for both of them.

"What brings you ladies out here in the middle of the night?"

"Nothing terribly important," Angie told him. "Just looking for a lost dog."

"Well, I hope you find it," the guy stated as he began to walk off. However, he had a very clear limp that he hadn't told the girls about, stopping him briefly in his walk.

"Oh, you are hurt!" Emma exclaimed.

"No, I just twisted my ankle, I think. I live just a mile down the road, I'll make it okay."

Emma grabbed his arm. "No, let me drive you. I insist."

Angie gently slapped Emma's arm away. "Last time you drove you almost hit him. I'm driving."

The guy smiled at them. "Thank you. I'm Jefferson."

"Angie. And the Tokyo Drift star is Emma."

–

Jefferson placed some teacups in front of the girls a few minutes after they had entered his house. "Here we go. Thought you might want to warm up for your search. It's cold out there."

Emma declined politely. "That's very kind, but-Angie!"

Angie lowered the teacup from her mouth. "I was thirsty!"

Emma rolled her eyes and took her own teacup. "I was going to say that we are in a bit of a time crunch."

"I know. That's why I brought this," Jefferson told them as he unrolled a map in front of them. "I'm a bit of an amateur cartographer. Mapping the area is a hobby. Maybe this will help you track down your dog."

"Wow," Emma said as she and Angie took a look at the map.

"What's his name?" Jefferson asked. "The dog."

Angie told him the only name she could think of. "Spot."

"Cute," Jefferson said with a small smile.

Emma took a sip from her tea. "Well, Route 6 runs the boundary of the forest, so if we just follow that we should... be able to..." Emma cut herself off and brought her hand to her head.

"You alright?" Angie asked her friend.

Emma dropped her cup to the ground. "I'm just, uh, feeling a little..."

Jefferson rushed over. "Oh. Let me help you." He helped Emma over to the couch as Angie bent down next to her to check her forehead.

"Dizzy," Emma remarked.

Jefferson gently laid Emma across the couch. "Let's just lie down here. There you go. Let me get you some air." He started to walk away from her as Emma dozed off. Angie looked over at Jefferson and noticed something strange about Jefferson. He was walking normally.

"Your limp."

"Oh. That. I guess you caught me," Jefferson said with a chuckle. "I'm surprised it hasn't knocked you out yet."

Angie lifted up Emma's teacup and sniffed it. She recognized the scent all too well. She addressed Jefferson while getting up to pour the contents into a small plant. "I have a higher tolerance than she does. It's going to take more than tea spiked with NyQuill and red wine to knock me out."

"Perhaps you're right," she heard Jefferson say right before an object hit Angie in the back of the head, turning the world black.

–

Angie came to on the couch. Emma and Jefferson were gone. Angie tried to move, but her arms and legs were tied with duct tape. "Amatuer," Angie barely let the sound out of her mouth as she complained. Rope would be much better, but Angie wasn't about to tell her kidnapper that.

Angie kicked off one of her combat boots and used her teeth to tear the buckle off. She sawed the buckle against her bonds, freeing her hands. She then quietly ripped her leg bonds off. She put her boot back on and stuck the buckle into her pocket, sure it would be useful later.

She quietly crept over to the windows and attempted to pry one open. However, the window was sealed tight. There was a telescope pointed out the window. Curious, Angie peered out to see that the telescope was pointed at the window of the sheriff's station. He'd been watching them.

Angie silently headed towards the door and pushed the door open. She peered across the hall, where Jefferson was in another room. There was a scraping sound as Jefferson sharpened a pair of scissors. Angie cringed at the noise as she pushed the door shut and headed down the hallway. She spotted another door and carefully turned the handle. She almost gasped when she saw who was tied up inside: Emma and Mary Margaret.

"What is going on in this mad manor?" Angie asked as she pulled the gags out of her friends' mouths. She spotted her coat and purse sitting on another chair in the corner.

"Angie, thank God," Mary Margaret remarked as Angie used her broken belt buckle to slice her bonds.

Emma asked a good question as she watched Angie slice the bonds. "What are you doing here, Mary Margaret?"

"I was in the woods, trying to get away. This man appeared out of nowhere and grabbed me. Why are you two here?"

Angie sliced through Mary Margaret's bonds and moved on to Emma. "Looking for you! Duh. How did you even get out?"

"There was a key... In my cell, under my pillow. Someone put it there."

"Who?" Emma asked as Angie finished slicing through her bonds.

"I don't know. I'd like to know just as much as you." Angie grabbed her stuff and the trio exited the room into the hallway. Angie was about to reach into her purse to get her gun when the sound of a different gun cocking scared them.

"I see you found 'Spot'!" Jefferson said as he held them at gunpoint.

Emma attempted to gain control over the situation. "I've already called for backup. They'll be here any second."

"You haven't called anybody for the same reason you didn't tell me about your friend. You don't want anybody to know you're here, which means nobody does," he stated. He turned his gun on Angie. "Tie them back up and toss me your things."

Angie didn't have a choice, so she tossed her purse to Jefferson. He led the three of them back into the other room, where Angie tied the other two back up and replaced their gags.

"It's gonna be okay," she assured her friends before getting up to address Jefferson. "You've been watching us. Why?"

"I've been watching you. I need to tell you something."

–

Jefferson led Angie into a different room stacked with different types of hats. Angie took the opportunity to threaten him. "If anything happens to either of my friends, I will kill you."

Jefferson chuckled. "I believe the blonde one has been through worse. And I'm saving the other one's life. We both know what happens when people try to leave Storybrooke." He sat her down in a chair behind a desk.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Angie asked, starting to lose patience.

"The curse."

"What curse?"

"The one keeping us all trapped," Jefferson said as he twirled his gun. "All except your friend in the other room."

Angie scoffed. "Did you read Henry's book?"

Jefferson raised his eyebrows. "Henry? You mean the Queen's father?"

"Henry, the Mayor's adopted kid," Angie told Jefferson, not knowing any other Henry.

"Oh, Henry. Your Henry, and his book of stories, the ones that you and everyone else choose to ignore. Maybe if you knew what I know, you wouldn't."

"Why have you been spying on me?" Angie questioned, putting her feet on the table. "Are you obsessed with me or something?"

"For the last 28 years, I've been stuck in this house, day after day, always the same. Until one night, that woman and her little yellow bug roll into town, and the clock ticks and things start to change. She brought something I think you're quite familiar with back to Storybrooke. Magic. I've been watching you because I think you are one that needs to remember."

"You're insane!"

"Because I speak the truth?"

"Because you're talking about magic like it's real."

Jefferson leaned down in front of her. He was so close that she could feel his hot breath on her face. "I'm talking about what I've seen, little one. Perhaps you're the one that's mad. What's crazier than seeing and not believing? Because that's exactly what you've been doing. Open your eyes. Look around. Wake up. Isn't it about time?"

Angie leaned back away from him. He was speaking what her thoughts had told her since Henry had told her what he knew about her visions. But this man was insane. There was no way that she was a fairy tale character. But this man clearly thought that he was. She looked around the room and put the pieces together. "The hats, the tea... your psychotic behavior... You think you're the Mad Hatter."

"My name's Jefferson," Jefferson said as he took a seat in front of her.

"Jefferson. They're just stories," Angie told him, standing up. "The Mad Hatter is in a book."

"You know what the issue is with this world? Everyone wants some magical solution to their problem, and everyone refuses to believe in magic."

"I am not," Angie stressed her last syllable in order to tattoo her words into his mind. "A fairytale character."

Jefferson hesitated briefly before getting up. "Of course you're not. You're Lilith."

Lilith. The word repeated itself inside of Angie's mind. Over and over and over again like the clangs of a cuckoo clock. Lilith. That one singular word somehow brought everything that she had been wondering and worrying about together. Angie gripped onto the table as she felt her memories double. More flashbacks graced her mind. Her life as a thief. Going with David to the farm. Getting rejected. Being Rumplestiltskin's apprentice. Becoming Lilith. Even her life before her thieving times. A life that she hadn't remembered before. One that explained the scar along her spine, which burned with recognition and familiarity. Lilith. She traced her hand up her side and to the mysterious tattoo which now made sense along with everything else.

Angie slowly sank into the chair. Sitting down did nothing to calm the raging sea of memories and the tempest that caused it. Everything that she had thought was a lie. Everything. Everything Henry had told her was true. Everything Jefferson was saying was true. She was a fairytale character. But not just any fairytale character. She was Lilith. The demon queen. One of the most hated beings in creation. That wasn't an easy burden to remind a person of.

"Yes," Jefferson cooed as Angie attempted to collect her thoughts. "Normally I wouldn't curse anyone else with remembering, but you deserve to know. Would you like some aspirin to help your head? Perhaps something to dr-"

"No," Angie held out a finger to shut him up. "I'm not drinking anything else you give me, you psycho." As she looked at Jefferson, her eyes traveled to the shelves of hats. Something was out of place. Something that she had overlooked easily earlier. Angie got out of the chair and grabbed what she had spotted: a steel wrist bangle with four symbols carved into it. She held it up and turned to Jefferson. "How the hell did you get this?"

Jefferson simply smirked. "Doesn't matter how I got it. You have it now. Isn't that what matters? It seems like you're informed enough. Now that you know your story, why don't I show you mine?"

He gently grabbed Angie's hand, which was shaking. Angie let her other hand, which was holding the bangle, drop to her side. Reluctantly, she let Jefferson lead her over to another telescope. "Take a look." Angie peered through the telescope. She saw a girl who seemed to be about Henry's age who was sitting with her family, smiling. "Her name is Grace," Jefferson told her. "Here it's Paige. But it's Grace. My Grace. Do you have any idea what it's like to watch her day in and day out, happy, with a new family? With a new father?"

Angie looked up from the telescope. "She's your daughter?"

"Yes. She doesn't remember. I know. I remember. She has no idea who I am. Our life together, where we come from. I do. That's my curse. What good is this house, these things, if I can't share them with her? I can't even tell her. It would destroy her reality. I'm trapped by knowledge. How cruel do you think I am? You think I'd inflict that awareness on my daughter? It's hard enough to live in a land where you don't belong, but knowing it, holding conflicting realities in your head...will drive you mad."

"You had no problem breaking my fantasy."

"You needed to know. She..she doesn't."

Angie took another look out the telescope. "I know what it's like to be separated from someone you care about." She gently placed a finger over her tattoo on her side. One that she finally knew the purpose of.

Jefferson sighed thoughtfully. "Yeah, you do, don't you?" Jefferson perked up a little. "Does that mean you will help me?"

"I can try," Angie told him. Jefferson turned around and picked up a hat from the table. Angie made sure he wasn't looking before she lifted the telescope off the stand and struck Jefferson on the back of the head. Jefferson went flying to the ground. Angie chucked the telescope off to the side and took the gun from Jefferson's hand. She ran down the hall to the other room and threw the door open. She didn't let either of the women ask any questions, wanting to get out of there as fast as possible. She untied Emma's bonds first and then they tag teamed Mary Margaret's.

Suddenly, Mary Margaret yelled, "Look out!"

Jefferson ran into the room and tackled Emma into Mary Margaret, sending the three to the floor. Angie drew her gun, but Jefferson kicked it out of her hand, sending her tumbling to the ground. Jefferson grabbed the gun, cocked it and pointed it at Emma, who was the closest person to him.

"Off with his head," he remarked with a smile. Mary Margaret took the opportunity to hit Jefferson over the head with a croquet mallet. Jefferson stumbled back, giving Angie the opportunity to administer a high kick to his stomach, sending him out the window.

Angie and Mary Margaret took a second to breathe before high fiving at their combined effort. Emma breathed heavily and massaged her neck. "Angie, did you take kickboxing sometime in the last five minutes?"

Angie chuckled. They helped Emma up and the trio looked out the window. Among the shards of glass was Jefferson's hat, but no sign of Jefferson himself.

–

The trio made it back to the station just in time and put Mary Margaret in the cell before Regina arrived. After Regina had returned to the station, Mr. Gold had taken her downstairs to talk. Mr. Gold emerged from the stairs, giving Angie an opportunity to head down to talk to Regina.

Regina looked annoyed already. Angie was pleased to be able to add to it. Regina turned as she heard Angie's footsteps. She sighed. "What do you want, Miss Frost?"

"Oh, I just thought we'd have a rousing discussion about truth, honor, patriotism. God bless America, you know?" Angie said as she started to walk up to Regina.

"What's your point?"

Angie had reached Regina by this time. She stopped and looked her in the eyes. "Oh, my point is this." She grabbed Regina and smashed her back first against the lockers that stood against the wall.

Regina gasped but Angie placed a finger against her lips. "Quiet. The adult is talking. It's funny. I always knew that you were a psycho. But casting a curse to wipe the memories of an entire civilization just so you could be happy...well. That's low even for you, Your Majesty."

Regina's mouth dropped open. She attempted to escape from Angie's grasp, but Angie brought her right arm over Regina's neck, preventing her from moving again.

"Still talking. It's been 28 years since you've seen what I'm capable of, but I'm going to remind you. I'm not just some little girl you get to mess with. I'm Lilith, remember? Thanks to you, me and hundreds of others have been trapped in this stupid town. They don't realize it because you wiped their memories, but they're miserable. Just like you are going to be soon. You're going to regret ever meeting me, you crazy bitch."

Angie released Regina and watched briefly as she heaved before heading up the stairs with an all too familiar smirk on her face. She reached into her pocket and produced the steel bangle. She knew it wouldn't work, due to the absence of magic in their world. Yet she still clasped the bangle around her right wrist. Now, her head was still spinning from her encounter with Jefferson, but she could have sworn that the symbols curtly pulsed with light.