| regrets collect like old friends.. | |ursano|

[Regina Mills]

On an otherwise sunny, serene, and perfectly lovely afternoon, Storybrooke's mayor practically cast a stormcloud above her head as she briskly and angrily strode out of her home (well, mansion was probably a better word - one of the luxuries the curse could award its caster). "Henry!" As she called her ten-year-old son's name, her words were sharp, furious - and perhaps even a tad panicked. Henry had chosen that morning to run away. Again. She couldn't even remember what it was they had been fighting about last night, but it didn't seem to matter much now...because he was gone. And Regina could sure as hell guess where he'd run off to.

Gritting her teeth in a barely restrained snarl, the former queen whipped her phone out of her purse. She wasted no time in quickly searching out a contact in her phone and making a call. A call that, after a few rings, went straight to voicemail.

'Hey, this is Emma Swan, please leave a--'

Without even bothering to hear the recording out, Regina ended the call promptly. What sort of town sheriff never answered her goddamned cell phone? Her blood boiled at the very thought of Henry having run off with her, his supposed 'real mother'. Since when did giving birth to a child make you their real mother? It had been Regina who'd taken him in. Regina who'd changed every diaper, soothed every skinned knee, chased away every nightmare - except the ones involving her, she supposed. Still, Henry repeatedly running away, calling her evil, choosing Emma over her...it hurt. Even for a cold, sadistic witch, it hurt. Which meant that it was just one more weakness for someone to potentially exploit, and weakness...was not acceptable.

Phone still clutched tightly in her hand, Regina stormed over to to her Mercedes, swung open the door rather violently, and slid into the driver's seat. She'd find her son, if it was the last thing she did. But...where to begin looking first? Placing one gloved hand on the steering wheel and gripping it tightly, the mayor narrowed her eyes in frustration. If Henry had indeed intentionally run off, he wouldn't be in any of his usual haunts - too obvious. Clenching her jaw slightly, her honey-brown eyes narrowed in frustration, Regina sat back and just...allowed herself a moment to feel. Only a moment - and even that amount of time was dangerous, when it came to emotion. Her eyes closed as she ever so briefly ceased trying to fight off the pain that stabbed her, ceased trying to deny that it existed.

But when her eyes opened again, her expression had hardened. She was going to find Henry. And whoever got in her way would experience the full wrath of the infamous Evil Queen.

[gravedigger]

People talk about contact with alien lifeforms all the time. They talk of encounters, of abductions but few people stop and think that maybe the source of communication with an alien race is closer they they think. Maybe it's in your pant's pocket, in your purse, or even in your hand as you angrily drive your very expensive car in pursuit of your son who has run away again. The holder of the phone was about to enter in communication with a race whose empire is beyond human comprehension... or so they would say if more then just a few were even aware that humans exist.

The phone began to beep and a black and red smiley face with horns began to appear on the phone and then it slowly faded revealing the words.

Trollian Install complete. Tremble ye puny mortal and despair

KryptKeeper [KK] began trolling MirrorMirror [MM] at 13:04

KK: (8= my granDmoTher spenDs all her Time oUT in The garDen -- becaUse ThaT's where we bUrieD her.

For a while there was a pause, no further messages no nothing as the person far far away looked at his keyboard and wondered if that was the best joke he could have chosen off the human internet. He had found it funny he hoped the human female on the other side did as well. He scratched his face poking a finger under his bandages and then placing his hands back on the keyboard and ignoring the bloodstains resumed typing.

KK: (8= now fair female (i must aDmiT i am jUsT going off whaT i know of YoUr species iDeal of beaUTY i will aDmiT i am noT aware if i have The DeTails righT buT YoU appear aDeqUaTelY aTTracTive To me so i believe i am jUsT in calling YoU fair) i am not cUrrenTly in possession of UndersTanding of yoUr people so I have DeciDed To ask yoU a few qUesTions if i maY. sTarTing wiTh whY are Driving YoUr primaTive explosion powered vehicle so qUicklY. Does This have something To Do wiTh YoUr people's oDD aDDicTion To Those ThaT share The same blooD line?

KK: (8= or has This To Do wiTh a baTTle wiTh YoUr kismesis? oh waiT i was Told YoUr people Do noT perTake of The love ThaT comes from The blackesT of haTes is ThaT really True? The feeling of dark rage ThaT coUrses ThroUgh Your veins does noT bred The Urge for inTimaTe momenTs beTween baTTles and bloodshed?

Ursano scratched his head. Aliens were weird. He had picked this alien more or less at random to monitor. He had back tracked a bit to get to see what the outer alien who she shared a hive with was... at least the one she seemed to respect... and it perplexed him.

[Regina Mills]

She'd been about to start the car, about to take off in search of her son - but the moment her phone began to beep, Regina reached down and immediately snatched up the device, half-hoping it was Emma calling her back - or, as much of a long shot as it was, even Henry. Instead, what she found was...puzzling, to say the least. ..When exactly had she authorized a 'Trollian Install'? What exactly was that? She barely had time to feel even a prickle of irritation before a message appeared on the screen...a message from someone calling themselves 'KryptKeeper'. Who seemed to actually be making some sort of joke. ..Did he have the wrong number? Because anyone who knew Storybrooke's mayor knew that her sense of humor was usually...less than present, in contrast to her more darkly playful days as the Evil Queen. She stared blankly at the screen for a moment longer. ...Yes. Surely whoever this was had the wrong number. And she had more important things to attend to.

She'd been just about to put her phone down again when another message appeared - a longer one this time. This time, it seemed much more direct. Apparently whoever was sending these messages could see her? Bristling slightly and not at all liking the idea of being toyed with, she cast a suspicious look through the windows of the car. But no one was in sight - well, no one except for Ruby's grandmother, and lively as she was for an old woman, Regina rather doubted that she partook in the misadventure that was texting. Let alone stalking people. Hoping to discontinue this nonsense, she snorted faintly and texted a brief reply.

MM: I have a question for you, actually. Are you insane?

Though...perhaps ignoring all of this would have just been the better option. The way this person was talking, he was either a lunatic - or he was trying to rattle her. Perhaps both. He was talking about her 'species', making up words - even going on about something to do with love and hate and...Regina really did not have the patience for this right now. Never the less, she found herself venting her frustration.

MM: I've experienced hate coming from love, but never love coming from hate. That's ridiculous.

...Then, as an afterthought...

MM: Who are you, and how did you get this number?

[gravedigger]

Ursano actually gave the first question some thought as he went on. Sure there were some who would be happy to say 'yes you are insane and should be charged with' and go on against his obvious deviant nature and what he called a 'unique' outlook on life and death. At least amongst trolls... but as he read more of the humans histories, their culture he found so so very many ways to dispose of a body in an appropriate manner. There were even laws against messing with the bodies! What a wonderful world that he could only gaze on.

KK: (8= insaniTY is seeing The worlD differenTlY Then Those aroUnD You is iT noT? woulD YoU noT be consiDereD insane bY YoUr own people? YoUr own... whaT is ThaT hUman worD... kepT coming across iT as I scoUreD YoUr inTerneTs... familY Yes ThaT is The worD. familY. oDD worD anD meaning.

He thought back to his own memories. He had vague knowledge of what the 'family' unit was about. Protecting genes it seemed quite familiar to his own peoples Lusus but.. different because it involved the species the child originated from. It was odd... and utterly bizarre.

KK: (8= as for who i am, i am the safegUarD of mY people's fallen, The lasT chance for final piece, The DUTifUl proTecTor of The DeaD. i am The firsT graveDigger, Ursano sevarg anD so help me YoUr merciful gob mY DUTY is noT finisheD... jusT.... sTalleD... as for YoUr number I believe iT is calleD fragranT cheaTing.

He looked away from the screen and looked into the distance. Yes.. this was the best way to describe it.

[Regina Mills]

Well...he wasn't denying that he was insane, exactly. So that was one thing established. Though Regina couldn't help but bristle a little at the insinuation that she herself was insane as well - there were a lot of people who would call her crazy for all the things she had done. But did fighting so hard for something you so desperately wanted really make you insane? No - Snow had ruined her life. She deserved everything Regina had done to her - everything that Regina had sacrificed to make her suffer. And...she blinked, shaking her head. Now was most certainly not the time to get into that whole mess. She needed to focus on sorting this little phone issue out, so that she could then focus on finding her son.

MM: You don't know what a family is? Well, I can assure you there are many things my own would say about me - but 'insane' isn't one of them.

'Evil', perhaps, would be closer to the mark. Heartless. Dangerous. Deranged. ...Well, perhaps insane really wasn't so far off after all, but she was hardly going to tell him that. Instead, Regina all but glared at the next message that appeared on her screen, in which whoever was writing to her introduced himself as 'Ursano sevarg'. A...gravedigger. Well. That sounded entirely not normal. And for the first time since the conversation had began, Regina felt a flicker of doubt. What if he...truly wasn't human? The idea of - well, anything contacting her from another world was distinctly unnerving. Did he know her secret? Did he know what Storybrooke truly was? Her grip tightening slightly on the phone, she replied.

MM: Your 'people'...who would they be? And why, may I ask, have you taken time away from your so terribly important job to speak to me, of all people?

The words were dripping with sarcasm, but unlike her usually biting tone, it didn't translate quite so well over text. Still, Regina had to wonder. Why was Ursano attempting to contact her? Suspicion darkened her expression at a sudden thought.

MM: Do you know where my son is?

[gravedigger]

Ursano looked at the gray walls of this hive not much was there besides a couple of movie posters and a life sized cardboard cut out of the Shoveler played by Troll William H. Macy. He looked past them to the window of set within cracked walls and past the leaking drips splashing into containers of every shape and size as rain came down in... well... he coughed to himself... buckets. Flushing slightly he thrust himself from the thoughts and looked back to the laptop before him. It was large to the size that it required a handle to carry around, the size of a large suitcase and it had a slide out panel for the full sized mouse attached to it just below the crank he had to wind to get the thing started. Reaching up above the screen in sudden decision he unfolded the camera from behind the screen and then paused and reached up and traced his hands across his face, feeling the scars, the exposed teeth from his pulled apart lips, the massive one going down his face and looked at the picture of the fair woman as she drove her car glaring at her phone screen... it wasn't fair that he could see her and she could see him and the only fair thing in the universe was death... death and his profession. He pushed a button while leaning over the screen.

Leaning back he ignored the next message as he looked at his picture and then thrusting out his jaw he pushed the 'send' button to import it to her. The picture showed a tall figure in a tattered and obviously homemade gray coat and matching hat leaning over a camera, the screen casting a harsh light upon a face that might have once been fairly appealing even pretty but the bags under his eyes and slightly sunken in checks, the scar going down his gray skin from where it sank into his right horn down over his gray dead eye and down his check as well as the claw marks that had ripped open his mouth exposing a row of razor shark like teeth looked into the camera. Yellow eyes gleaming with black pupils with the barest hint of blue on them. The figure within the coat was unhealthily thin, almost skeleton

KK Attempting to share picture, Accept? <Yes/No>

Not waiting to see if it was accepted or not he explained.

KK: (8= i am a Troll from The planeT alTernia. so far awaY in The voiD of space The nUmber for how far awaY is fairly meaningless YoUr people have YeT To even encoUnTer mine. as for whY i am noT working iT is poUring oUT anD TrUe mY DUTY is more imporTenT then mY freeTime and safeTY iT is a baD iDea To be in a six fooT Deep hole when iT is raining ouT. TrusT me on ThiS. mY... acqUainUances are bUsY so i ThoUghT i would TrY This program oUT."

He paused at the next question and rubbed his chin in thought before responding.

KK: (8= YoUr son?... ThaT is whaT YoU call a male DesenDenT righT? leT me Take I look aroUnD see if I can finD him.

[Regina Mills]

There was a moment of hesitation in which Regina frowned at the screen, studying the request to share a picture as if suspecting it of being some kind of trick. Then, slowly, she selected 'yes' - and only the fact that she'd already closed the car door kept her from toppling right out of her seat. It was a very good thing the car wasn't moving - the last thing she needed was that sort of publicity; 'Town mayor crashes into telephone pole, may have been inebriated'. She would have snorted at the thought had she not been so distracted by the picture. Well, one thing was for certain: Ursano most certainly wasn't human. And it was that, more than the scars and the teeth, that had been cause for such alarm...especially when she read the message that came next. A troll. He was...a troll. Her first immediate, alarmed thought was that he'd somehow gotten here, and managed to retain his true form in the meantime, from her world. Because certainly, Regina knew trolls. Had known them. Whatever.

But the trolls from the fairytale realms were noticeably different from this one. They were less...humanoid. Less intellectual. And less evidently civilized - Regina certainly couldn't imagine any of them ever working technology. So she stopped bristling, at least somewhat, upon deciding that there was no way Ursano could be an escapee from her world - instead, if he was telling the truth, he was from a different planet entirely. She blinked several times as she took this in. This...was most definitely the strangest day she'd had in a very long time.

MM: ...I'm not even sure what to say.

She wrote to him frankly after a moment of uncharacteristic uncertainty.

MM: This doesn't...usually happen to me..

Was this the sort of thing that typically happened in this world, outside of Storybrooke? Being contacted by alien trolls? Regina very much doubted it, somehow. And what sort of 'program' allowed contact between planets - planets that were apparently very, very far away from each other? The whole thing still made Regina suspicious, and for a moment she wondered whether it was a good idea to continue this conversation at all - and then she read his next message, and did a double-take.

MM: You could find him for me?

Regina was more used to people trying to take her son away from her than trying to bring him back - in fact, she really wasn't all that used to strangers offering her help period. She didn't even bother correcting his definition of son as a male descendant. Henry wasn't related to her, he was adopted...but he was still her son. Yet she got the feeling that this sort of thing might be just a tad complicated to explain in this particular situation, so she let it go. Instead, the former Queen focused on wondering just what he'd expect from her in return for his assistance.

People, no matter what planet they came from, didn't do things purely out of the kindness of their heart. That sort of thing really was a fairytale.

[gravedigger]

KK: (8= finD him... To search for The male DesenDenT of a hUman like being... i sUppose i Do noT have anY thing beTTer to accomplish UnTil The Trice becUrseD rain sTops. i musT warn YoU i am noT verY familiar wiTh This inTerface YeT jUsT sTarTeD ToYing wiTh iT... iT was kinD of pUre chance i am able To Talk To YoU aT This Time. maYbe if i hiT mY compUTer wiTh mY shovel again.


Ursano looked at the interface and the smiling troll symbol. He never liked that symbol, too cheerful, too helpful looking. Like it was plotting to replace your blood with hot lead while you were sleeping. He glared at it for a moment before trying to open up another window. All he did was bring up the a duplicate of the same window. He frowned and started clicking things trying various things. The picture started going random locations, to random people. Some of the things were boring, some... education... but he kept going. Finally when he ended up starring at a sign that said "Hollywood" he closed the second window and blinked for a moment at the woman as she sat in her car and looked outside. The rain was beginning to slack off and this was silly. All he had to do was close out the browser and get back to work, she would never be able to find him again. It was the logical thing to do, the least time wasting thing to do.

Instead he opened up a new window again and frowning at it rewound the time line. He pulled her back through her morning, to her night, back to when she last saw her male descendent and smiled. It took a bit of typing, a bit of clicking... and smacking the laptop with the shovel again but he got the second window to lock onto the alien. He didn't scream, didn't yell, didn't even pump and arm just a serious nod of a job well done as he was successful. With that he started fast forward, watched as the human larva in time packed up a sack and placed objects in it. He frowned at that wondering why a woman of such wealth had not purchased him a fetch modus of some sort and watched as he snuck out window. He furrowed his eyes as in the middle of the night the larva left the mansion and went out into the world. He was about to comment on this, about to mention it to her when he watched a large white motorized vehicle pull up to the male so fast the tires screeched and two men popped out, one leveled a weapon and fired and a dart hit the stunned... child... in the chest. The child started to run and then fell to the ground. Ursano watched curiously as the child was picked up and his wrist tied together as we his ankles and he was put in the back of the van. Ursano watched all this and then decided he had to know.
KK: (8= Tell me. is iT normal on YoUr planeT for sTrange men To shooT darTs aT children, pUT Them in The back of vans anD Tie Them up? becaUse mY blue blooD pUmping ThroUgh mY veins saYs iT musT noT be so.

[Regina Mills]

It was probably only a few moments in which the communication between them dropped as Ursano did what he could to locate Henry - but to Regina, it felt like hours. In the meantime she sat, completely rigid and still, in the driver's seat and ran through a rather extensive series of emotions. Anger at Henry for running off - anger at herself for pushing him to that point. Frustration at what the relationship between her and her son had become. Overwhelming worry for where he might be or what he was going through now - but that too was mostly replaced by anger eventually, because no doubt he was with Emma again. She tensed slightly as her phone buzzed again with another message, and looked sharply down to it in expectancy to have her suspicions confirmed.

What she got was...a lot more.

She had to read Ursano's message over twice, blinking rapidly, to make sure she wasn't seeing things. The mayor froze in place, her knuckles whitening from the ferocity she was suddenly gripping the phone with. Her blood ran cold at his words, and for an instant all she felt was fear. Icy, sickening fear. The fear of something happening to Henry, of her losing him, was one of the sharpest and most overwhelming emotions Regina had felt in some time - perhaps since the curse was cast twenty-eight years ago. Her helplessness against it didn't last long, however. Jolting herself out of her horrified trance, she resisted the urge to speed off frantically in some wild, senseless search for her son and instead turned her attention back to her phone.

MM: What did the people who took him look like? Can you see where they were going?

It was all she typed in response, and yet the words somehow almost radiated grim determination. In an instant, the brunette had gone from panicked to calculating. Storybrooke had a relatively low crime rate - in fact, before the curse had begun to slip, a kidnapping such as this would have literally been unheard of. Regina narrowed her eyes, trying to think just who would do this. Not Emma, certainly. As problematic as her adversary was, Regina knew she'd never do anything to harm Henry. Could this be the work of Mr. Gold, perhaps? Some attempt to gain power over her? Or Jefferson, the mad hatter, finally gaining the courage to seek revenge against her for the things she'd done (trapping him in Wonderland being one of them)?...Or...maybe, with new people seeming to weasel their way into Storybrooke all the time these days, these were actually run-of-the-mill kidnappers she was dealing with here.

No matter which it turned out to be, Regina decided with frigid resolve, they would pay. No matter what their motives were, no matter how powerful or dangerous they thought themselves to be, they'd made the mistake of laying a hand on her child. And they would suffer. Painfully. If they wanted to play this game, Regina would be more than willing to show them just how the Evil Queen had earned her title.

[gravedigger]

Looking at the messenger's view Ursano took a moment to look at the woman he had been communicating with, he watched fear become a calm cool rage. He saw this and nodded a moment in admiration before going back to the other viewer he paused, rewound, and viewed it again and began to type what he saw.

KK: (8= large men, aboUT hold on leT me look Up YoUr UniTs of measUremenTs again. whY Do YoU people have so manY? aboUT six foot five The shorTesT mUscleD and Two of Them are peach like YoU while anoTher is brown. TheY will be easY to iDentifY wiTh black masks TheY are wearing with holes for Their eYes and facial venTs.

He played with the software for a while seeing if he could locate where the kid was but without reference points... he saw where the kid was but the data meant little. He was in a small room with only a light above. He watched tears streak down the child's face. Clear tears... but from the cut on his cheek he had red blood... aliens were weird. He looked around the room looking for some info, some idea and then he saw it in the corner laying their... it's silver surface gleaming in the light. For a moment he sat stunned and then closed his eyes and then opened them. It was still there. His face went grayer as the blood drained out of his face... their was a bucket in the child's room. A BUCKET! He gagged a little and then furrowed his brows again as he rewound the viewer to when the kid left the mansion.

KK: (8= The chilD is alive bUT YoU have to hUrrY. Those sick... DisgusTing... YoU have To move! i will go forwarD and Tell YoU whaT Turns To make... are YoU armed?

[Regina Mills]

Regina's expression hardened further at Ursano's description of the men. They could have been anyone - she was leaning toward the random kidnapper theory at this point - and they clearly had no idea who they were dealing with. But she'd waste no more time here. According to her informant, Henry was alive and mostly unscathed for the moment...but there was no telling what could happen to him in the near future. She swore, if they harmed one hair on his head, she'd make the rest of their short lives unimaginably painful. Poor Henry must've been so frightened - but she knew how brave he was. She knew that he'd fight this with everything he had. But that still didn't make it any easier not to worry about him terribly. Her expression stone-cold now, the mayor started up the car and glanced briefly down at her phone again. Had she been in a less deadly chilly mood, she might've smirked when he inquired as to whether or not she was armed.


MM: You could say that, yes.


If she'd had full access to her old magic, it really would have been a simple matter of walking into the kidnappers' base and throwing a couple fireballs. Or turning them to stone. Or perhaps into slugs. Regrettably, none of these things were an option as of now (the lack of magic in this world really was disheartening) but...she did have bits of her magic left. Enough to cast a protection spell over herself, for instance. And Henry was more than worth spending it on. And with herself physically protected, well...it'd be a simple matter of using her mother's very special technique to deal with whatever vile vermin had made the mistake of laying their hands on her son. A dark chuckle that wouldn't have been out of place in that Disney animated 'retelling' of Snow White she so despised escaped her lips.


MM: I do very much appreciate your help, incidentally. Please, lead the way.

And after typing that last message, she turned the car out of her driveway and set off - keeping her phone in her peripherals. Normally, texting while driving wasn't something Regina'd really approve of - but these were...special circumstances.

[gravedigger]

Ursano reached into his Fetchmodus and summoned a pair of dark wrap around sunglasses and wordlessly put them on his face. The situation might be one in which he couldn't do much besides play GPS but he would at least look that part and add to the dramatic tension of the moment. Course he didn't think of it in such terms, more like 'it's sunglasses time' and about thirty seconds letter he concluded the dark glasses made it harder to see the controls and slipped them back in his inventory so he could actually see what he was doing. He did his part watching into the past.

KK: (8= paY heeD anD i shall DirecT Thee To Thine DesTinaTion. Thine foes laY DUe easTwarD from ThY locaTion! pUrsUe for greaT jUsTice!

Truthfully he was getting to involve in this, too emotionally invested and his language was running away with him but he could help it. Couldn't stop as with each stop~

KK: (8= sUnward anD onwarD!

He got more poetic and more invested till at last the path leading well out of town stopped at at an old saw mill. Ursano looked at the creaking wood structure, the peeling pain and rusting metal and peeled back the remains of his lips farther from his teeth. Narrowing his eyes he fingered the picture of the place on screen and after working with the program for a bit and counting vechicles he reported.

KK: (8= YoUr son lies Deep wiThin, YoU will wanT To Take care becaUse There seems To be Three... no... foUr enemies. Three large, one smaller anD seems To be The brains of The oUTfiT. cheap Ugly sUit. i coUlD sTiTch a beTTer one anD when i have Time i will. be carefUl ThroUgh. There is a shovel in The Shed oUTsiDe. YoU shoUlD grab iT. shovel solves everYThing.

[Regina Mills]

As soon as she received direction from her new 'friend', she made the according turn and sped off - probably breaking the Storybrooke speed limit, an act which would have appalled her any other day. But today, her child was in danger. Screw the goddamn rules, even the ones she'd put into place herself. She accelerated and followed the winding road outside of the main town, into the woods that surrounded it and toward Storybrooke's outer limits. The path leading off to the saw mill made surprisingly good time - and narrowed her eyes as she drove up and parked a little ways off. Regina recognized this place. She ought to, she reflected - she'd constructed the old town. This was where the woodcutter from Red Riding Hood's village - or his Storybrooke equivalent, at least - worked. Or at least, had worked. Rumor had it he'd run off after a wolf he'd been hunting, crossed Storybrooke's borders, and - like so many of the curse's victims who made this same mistake - was never seen again. The saw mill had been abandoned ever since. So who was here now?

She'd waste no more time wondering about it. Stepping out of the car and shutting the door behind her as quietly as she could, she glanced down at her phone again. A shovel. Right. An idea sprung to her mind and she slipped towards the shed and inside, immediately spotting the shovel that was propped up against the wall. There was a good length of rope hanging on a hook nearby as well - perfect. Snatching both of these things up, Regina only then paused to send Ursano a quick text back.


MM: I assure you, they are the ones who need to be concerned for their safety. I'm not sure if you've heard this before, but here on earth? There are very few things as dangerous as a mother whose child has been threatened.

Before exiting the shed, she paused for a moment, closed her eyes, and murmured the familiar words of the chant that would serve as a simple protection charm. Enough to protect her from a few bullets should things get messy, at any rate. But she was once again reminded of the lack of magic in this world when even a spell as simple as this sapped at her energy a bit, and knew better than to try anything more powerful. She glanced down a her phone again.


MM: By the way. Thank you.

And with that she was off towards the mill, quickly and silently making her way through the door and glancing around. At least one of the men was bound to be posted near the entrance...ah, there. She spotted his hulking frame a little ways down the hall, his back turned to her - honestly. It wasn't difficult to see that she wasn't exactly dealing with a genius here, given the way he'd currently chosen to neglect his guard duties to dig into a hot pocket. From what she could make out of him from here, Regina suspected that he might have been an ogre or giant of some sort from her own world - now turned human by the curse, but his bulk and stupidity evidently hadn't changed much at all. The mayor slunk up behind him slowly, and...once she was close enough...swung the shovel, hard, at the back of his head.

The man, completely taken by surprise, fell in a slump. His lack of response to the slight kick she gave him told her he was out cold - or perhaps dead. Didn't really matter much to her. But she did need one scapegoat for all of this, one man left relatively unscathed who she could pin all of this on when the police arrived - because she had no intention of the authorities seeing what she was going to do to the others. So as much as she would've liked to tear this man limb from limb, she showed some level of restraint in dragging him a few feet over to a nearby wooden pillar and using the rope she'd taken to tie him to it. Drawing back, Regina eyed him coldly for a moment before glancing around - and then down at her phone again.


MM: Do you know which room my son is in?

[gravedigger]

Ursano watched the 'show' with interest reaching over his head and snagging a drink as it flew out of his fetch modus. Monster energy drink, a surprisingly universal standard, yeah somethings just pop up everywhere in the universe, like Faygo. It was just about the only thing Ursano drank because it helped keep him going till he was at a stopping point and could afford to pass out in the safety of his hive. He didn't bother to open it as he shoved it hard into his mouth and bit down. Sucking on the contents so he could drink and type he pointed the way.

KK: (8= YoUr son is DownsTairs Two flighTs ThirD Door on The righT now be aware of The grave siTuaTion anD ThaT while ThaT lasT foe Did not sTanD a GhosT of his chance as You lefT YoUr marker on his skUll The oThers seem... noT iDioTic. one is aT The boTTom of The sTairs anD fairlY aware anD one is outsiDe The boY's room.

KK: (8= as for The man in The suiT he seems burieD in his work in an office on The Third floor... also shifT The grip of YoUr lefT hanD Down Two anD a half hanD spans. That is The balance poinT of The shovel. remember a shovel can also be useD as an axe and people selDom expecT ThaT or iT To be useD as a spear. lean inTo The blow more as well iT will geT YoU in closer so if YoU miss YoU are better in posiTiTion for The nexT blow... gooD lUck.

[Regina Mills]

Three men left, according to Ursano. Regina's eyes flashed dangerously - she'd have no reason to keep these ones alive. And she certainly didn't intend to. There would be no mercy for those who had dared harm her child. Despite Ursano's warning, the mayor's confidence did not waver. For, although she had not yet made her intentions clear, a shovel was not the only weapon she had to use against these men. A cold, remorseless smirk crossed her features at the thought of what fate awaited the kidnappers, and, assured that the remaining men's positions were nowhere near her currently, she paused a moment longer to acknowledge what Ursano had said.

MM: You need not worry, I have...a few more tricks up my sleeve. Though if you're the squeamish type, I might suggest that you look away.

And she'd leave it at that - although she was going to take his advice about holding the shovel. Regina...wasn't sure she wanted to know how he'd come to have so many pointers on weaponizing a shovel, but right now it certainly worked to her advantage. Adjusting her grip, she took a steadying breath and headed for the stairs. Considering that there was a flight of steps between her and the next man, and that Ursano had said he seemed fairly alert, Regina didn't think she had much of a chance at sneaking up on him. Charging him head-on, however, would only work assuming he didn't have a long range weapon on him. Which was a somewhat stupid thing to assume. So, drawing closer to corner that rounded to the stairs, she paused for a moment...and then slammed her shovel hard against the wall.

An instant later, she'd flattened back to the same wall, drawing herself as far out of sight from anyone coming up the stairs as she could. A long, silent pause followed - and then, sure enough, Regina heard the pounding of footsteps as the man made his way up the stairs to investigate the noise. As he reached the top, his footsteps slowed almost uncertainly - so he wasn't going to charge into this blindly, she supposed. Well. No matter. She braced herself, shovel at the ready, for the moment he stepped into her line of sight.

Seconds later, the man rounded the corner rather sharply, the gun in his hand pointed forward. But Regina was already swinging forward with the shovel before he was even fully in sight, feeling a satisfied crunch as it connected with his face. A gunshot rang out as he fired instinctively, and Regina could feel the bullet go flying past her - but the adrenaline made it very difficult to care. As he stumbled back, one hand pressed to the wound on his forehead, her next blow was to take the edge of the shovel to his left shoulder. Predictably, he grip on the gun slackened and as it dropped to the floor, Regina quickly kicked it away. She swung again, leaning into the blow...but this time, the man managed to catch the handle of the shovel. Snarling in pain and rage, he attempted to rip it from her grip - and Regina had to admit that, physically at least, he was probably stronger than she was. She couldn't let this go on long. So, her gaze cold, she locked eyes with him over their struggle.

"Do you know who I am?" she hissed, wondering if this thug was even aware enough to know the face of his town's own mayor. He didn't answer her. After another fleeting second, unexpectedly, Regina let the shovel go - and the man stumbled backward in surprise. Before he could raise it against her, however, she was on him again - summoning up her knowledge of her mother's dark technique and plunging her hand straight into his chest.

Ripping a man's heart out by magical means was...a strange process. Especially in this world. Astoundingly, there was very little blood actually involved - mostly because what you were removing, truly, was their essence rather than the organ itself. The man's eyes widened in shock, his mouth open wordlessly as he met her furious gaze. Regina leaned in close and snarled, "I'm his mother." before tearing his heart straight out of his chest - the glowing, pulsing essence that was a individual person's very own - and wasting no time in crushing it to dust in her hands. The same way she had with the huntsman's, and countless others. The same way her mother had done with Daniel's. Not so much as a flicker of remorse crossed her features as she stepped away in disgust, turning away from the kidnapper who was now slumped on the ground. Her eyes traveled, instead, to the abandoned gun. He'd shot it off once - and it was too much to hope that the sound hadn't echoed through the entire building.

Picking up the shovel, she took out her phone again and texted another brief message. Not a word about what had just transpired - no explanation, no 'sorry you had to see that'. Not even an acknowledgment that it had happened. Just -

MM: Have the others been alerted?