Beyond - Legends Darkness and Light–Light and Darkness (Crossover AU)

Okay, so this is a random mad thought that came to me and I just had to write it. Hope you all enjoy it–oh, and you have to have seen at least an episode or two of Once Upon a Time to understand...

* * *

Luke stood, looking out over the desert world below him. His guts churned with fear, and he quickly used the Force to dispel it. He couldn't afford to feel that–not here. Not now. To do so would be to stand on the precipice...and jump into it. His fists clenched and he began to turn away from the view below him.

He was on the Sith world, Korriban. Just hours ago, Luke had led a strike team of Jedi Knights here to stop a group of cultists called the Disciples of Ragnos from reviving the ancient Sith Lord for whom their cult was named. Jedi had died in the attempt...not many, but still. Luke's Order was still in the dozens rather than hundreds, and even small losses hurt them. But more than that, it hurt them emotionally.

Luke had gone to stop Tavion himself, to make sure she could not revive Ragnos. But a young Jedi Knight named Mander Zuma had sent out a panicked call for help in the Force, and Luke had been the only one who could come to help. He'd found Mander, frightened and alone, attempting to fight off five lightsaber-wielding cultists on his own.

Luke had leapt in, his green lightsaber a blur. Together, Luke and Mander had killed the cultists. Luke saw potential in Mander–he had decided to promote him to Jedi Master upon their return to Yavin IV. Among all of Luke's students, only Kyle Katarn, Kam Solusar, Corran Horn, and Tionne had achieved the rank of Master, and Luke needed as many teachers as he could get.

But by the time Mander had been saved, the battle had been over–young Jedi Jaden Korr had killed Tavion and destroyed the Scepter of Ragnos. With the threat ended, the Jedi had returned to Yavin IV. All but Luke.

He stood at the top of a mountain, looking down on the valley where the brunt of the fighting had taken place. He could still feel the echoes of the deaths of so many Force-sensitives, both cultists and Jedi. Combined with the darkness that already seeped Korriban to its very core, it was a dismal feel. It made Luke shudder.

He was about to turn and walk away when he sensed a presence behind him. It was a strange presence; murky, muddled. Luke pressed his hand to his lightsaber, but did not remove it from his belt. He turned.

Behind him stood a tall man with long, graying hair and dark, haunted eyes that had seen too much. His skin was an odd leathery texture that suggested he might not be entirely human. He was clad in dark clothes. When he saw that Luke had noticed him, he gave him a patently false–but oddly cheery–smile, and took a step forward. This, in turn, caused Luke to take a step back, and the heel of his boot hovered nearly on the edge of the mountain.

"Who are you?" Luke asked softly.

"I am known by many names," the man said. His voice was lively, energetic. "None you would recognize, I'm afraid. For the purposes of this conversation, just call me Mister Gold."

"Mr. Gold," Luke replied. "And what are you doing here?"

"Why, dearie, I came to talk to you," Gold replied, and then he chuckled as if he'd told some great joke.

Dearie? Luke frowned. Gold seemed to notice his discomfort and chuckled again, harder.

"I call everybody that," he said. "It's sort of a trademark."

"Ah." Luke pressed his lips together. "You said you came here to talk...to me?"

"Yes. I've traveled a long way, you see. A lot farther than you'd probably believe."

"Well, Korriban's a distant world from...everywhere, really. I can believe it."

"It's not necessarily distance that I've traveled...not distance that you could measure in your standards, anyway. Hee-hee."

Luke was starting to feel very confused. But he did not sense that Gold intended him any harm, so he slowly lowered his hand away from his lightsaber and stepped toward the man. Gold smiled, and this smile seemed a little more genuine.

"Anyhow, you seem distressed, Master Skywalker."

"How do you know my name?"

"Oh, it'd be hard not to, dearie. You're quite well known. Here and...everywhere, really."

Luke supposed that was true, though he really wished it wasn't. He'd never wished for fame. It had just sort of...happened. That's what happened when you singlehandedly reformed the Jedi Order from scratch, though.

"And you're changing the subject," Gold added. "I said, you seem distressed."

Luke nodded. "Some of my students died today. Maybe it wouldn't have been so hard for Yoda...he had an order of thousands, even ten thousands. He couldn't have possibly known them all personally. But I did...and every death cuts deeply."

"I'm sure it does. But that's what I've come to talk to you about. You see...one of the other names I go by is the Dark One."

Luke pulled his lightsaber off his belt and had it ignited and pointed at Gold's throat in an instant. The man merely giggled and held up his hands in a gesture of surrender. Luke's blade didn't waver a single micrometer.

"What do you want?" Luke demanded.

"I know your Order's platitudes," Gold said. "Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate..."

"Hate leads to suffering," Luke finished with a nod. "Yes."

"You're feeling an awful lot of fear, Master Skywalker. Maybe even anger. Anger at the deaths of your students. You should probably be more careful with that."

"No one knows that more keenly than I do," Luke said stiffly.

"Ah, yes, your 'brush' with the dark side, when you were apprenticed to the Emperor's clone." Gold shrugged. "Yes, but it's never been more dangerous than now. Then, Master Skywalker, you had yourself to worry about. You became the Emperor's apprentice to destroy him from within. Now, though, now...you have an entire Order to worry about. One little stumble...and the entire Jedi Order follows you into darkness."

"And you're here because you want that to happen, right? The Dark One would take pleasure in nothing more than having an entire cadre of fallen Jedi at his side."

Gold gave Luke a sad shake of his head. "Not quite, Master Skywalker. You see, I'm sort of...well, I'm sort of what you'd call a coward."

"A coward?"

"Yeah...and, well, the thing is, I've foreseen that if Luke Skywalker were to turn to the dark side–truly, fully turn to the dark side–it'd be my destruction. Because there can be only one Dark One. And you, dearie, would be the most powerful Dark One the universe had ever seen."

"So you came to...what? Kill me, ensure that doesn't happen?"

"Still not quite right." Gold gave one of his maniacal giggles again. "No, I've actually come to make sure that doesn't happen."

"You mean," Luke said sardonically, "the 'Dark One' is here to make sure that I stay on the path to the light?"

Gold nodded. "Precisely. Hee-hee!"

"Well, you don't have to worry. I'm not going to turn to the dark side."

"Oh, but everyone has their breaking point, I'm afraid." Gold frowned. "There's something coming, very soon. A curse of sorts, you see. It'll affect everyone across every realm."

"Realm?"

"Ah, yes. A bit hard to explain." Gold shrugged. "In short, your entire galaxy will be in big trouble. But that's not why I'm here. I'm here because, when this curse happens, those closest to its 'ground zero' will be transported to another realm, and forget who they are. Those who live farther from the 'ground zero,' such as you, may be affected differently, but you'll be affected nonetheless."

"So you're telling me this so I can prepare?"

"No one can prepare, I'm afraid, dearie. It wouldn't do any good." Gold pointed a finger at the blade of Luke's lightsaber. "Could you perhaps put that away? It's getting a bit perturbing."

Luke slowly lowered his lightsaber and deactivated it, but he didn't return it to his belt.

"So, please, Mr. Gold, explain why you're here."

"I told you. I'm here to make sure you don't fall to the dark side."

"And I told you, that won't happen."

"But it could. Tell me, Master Skywalker, what would you do to protect your family? Your sister, your brother-in-law, your dear nephews and niece." Luke started to raise his lightsaber again. "Easy, easy! I'm not threatening them. But you didn't let me finish. How about your wife...your child?"

"I'm not married," Luke said. "And I'm pretty sure I don't have a child."

Gold giggled. "We'll see. But answer my question. What...would...you do?"

Luke inhaled, exhaled. "Almost anything."

"Exactly!" Gold said, pointing a finger furiously at Luke's chest. "And therein lies the problem. Let me change my wording, then. What wouldn't you do to protect them?"

Luke could find no words.

"Again, my point is made. You'd better watch that, Master Skywalker. It could be dangerous. What if your family is threatened, and the only way to protect them is by using the dark side? Would you?"

Luke closed his eyes. "I..."

"You'd like to say no, yes? But in the end, we all know we'd do anything to protect those we care about. But know this: by using the dark side to protect them, you'd only make them grow to hate you. You must never let it happen."

Luke's mouth tightened grimly. "You're right, of course. It's how my father fell. He was unwilling to let go...so he took the power that he thought would allow him to keep what he wanted. No, Mr. Gold, I won't make the same mistake."

"Be sure you don't," Gold replied. He pulled a long, gold chain from his pocket and held it up. There was some kind of timepiece on the end. "Ah. It appears I must be going. I am, as a very annoying creature is in the habit of saying, late for a very important date."

He turned and started to walk away. But a few steps later, he paused and turned back to Luke.

"Remember, dearie," he said. "There is a curse coming. You can't prepare for it...but you must be ready all the same."

"Wait!" Luke said. "You said you go by many names. So what is your most common name?"

Gold giggled. "Why, they call my Rumplestiltskin, dearie."

"Rumplestiltskin?"

Gold gestured with his hands dramatically. "At your service. Or, in this case, not."

And then, suddenly, Gold disappeared in a cloud of purple smoke. Luke stood, dumbfounded, staring at the spot where the strange man had been standing only second before. He turned back to the valley. Had this all been some strange Force vision? Had Gold been a real man, or an apparition? A figment of Luke's imagination? He didn't know.

But he did know one thing. The strange little leather-skinned man was right. Luke had to know his limits. He clipped his lightsaber to his belt and headed back down the mountain. He didn't know what he'd do to protect his family–but he did know one thing. Without falling to the dark side, he would do everything in his power to ensure that this curse, whatever it was, would not harm them.

 

Ahhhh, c'mon, is this really a one-shot, Rev? Really? You tease.

 

Well...I might consider continuing it. I'm just not sure how I could tie Star Wars into the overall Once Upon a Time plot. It could work, though. Let me think...

 

Well, per @ThreadSketch's request, I've been working on this–note: it will parallel and even intersect with the main Once Upon a Time plot, but I've included enough information that anyone should be able to read it and understand (for example, the first scene in this chapter is directly from the show). So I hope you all enjoy!


Chapter 1



15 years later

The Enchanted Forest



The curse was coming, and there was nothing anybody could do to stop it. The Queen stood in the center of Snow White’s castle, looking down at the woman on the ground before her, the woman she had spent her whole life trying to defeat, the woman who had caused her to cast this curse in the first place–so she could win.

Her place was settled. In the new land they would go to, she would be Regina, the mayor, and Snow White, the princess who had ruined Regina’s life, would be Mary Margaret Blanchard, a mere schoolteacher. Fitting, really.

The Queen thought she should’ve been thrilled–she should’ve been elated that her victory was before her, and that there was nothing anyone could do to stop her. Snow White was on the ground before her, cradling the body of her “Prince Charming,” whose side had been pierced with the sword of the Queen’s guard. Snow’s hopes should’ve been crushed.

But the young woman merely smiled. Gently. Joyfully.

And she said, “You’re going to lose.”

As the purple clouds of the curse began to swirl around them, Regina could not see how the silly girl could possibly believe that.



A galaxy far, far away

Same time



Luke had forgotten.

He had forgotten the meeting on Korriban with the strange little man. He had forgotten their conversation about the dark side, about his family. Most importantly, he had forgotten what the man had said about a curse.

And now, it was too late.

A purple cloud had appeared in space around Yavin IV, almost like a nebula. The students of the Jedi academy had been cautious, but intrigued. It really had been beautiful. But to Luke, it was something else.

Ominous.

The cloud had descended on Yavin IV, and it had begun to take. The Jedi in the forest, out on scouting missions, had disappeared first. Now, the only part of the moon not engulfed in purple was the academy itself.

And Luke knew that Gold had been wrong. He’d said that the galaxy was too far from the curse’s ‘ground zero’ to be directly affected. But they were being affected. No doubt those who had disappeared had been taken to this other ‘realm’ that Gold had mentioned. Luke knew it was too late to leave Yavin IV; the cloud was even above the academy.

Luke stood in his quarters, looking at Mara. Oh, how he wished there had been more time with her. He loved her, and looking at her now–he nearly sobbed. The idea that he might forget her…that she might forget him…it was too much to bear.

She looked back at him, and concern lined her face. And he knew that she didn’t care about herself, or even about Luke. She was worried about Ben, dear Ben. The ten-year-old boy was about to be cast forth to somewhere he didn’t know, and he would forget himself and his loved ones…and they would forget him. How would he survive, without a family?

“It’ll be all right, love,” Luke said softly, embracing his wife.

He didn’t really believe it. But he had to say it; had to encourage her. He even had to believe the lie he was telling, because if he didn’t, despair would overtake him. He had to have hope–that one day, somehow, this curse would be broken.

“This isn’t over, Luke,” Mara replied. “We will survive this.”

“I don’t doubt that.”

“And we will be together again,” she said, just as firmly.

That, he thought grimly, I do doubt.

Purple mist began to seep under the door to their quarters, and then through the windows. Luke closed his eyes and held his wife close to him, and they waited in silence. And then, in just seconds, it was over.

 

YAAAAAAAASSSSSSS.




But seriously, thanks for continuing this! Just for moi? D'awwww.

I don't own a TV, lol, but I'm vaguely aware of the show's premise, so I should be fine comprehension-wise. I'm stoked to see where you take it!

 

Well, I wanted to continue it anyways, but wasn't sure where I wanted to take it–your probing convinced me to think about it deeply enough that I've got a general storyline worked out.

 

Glad to see I'm useful for something.

 

ThreadSketch, and anyone else reading, bonus if you can figure out which Storybrooke characters are their Star Wars counterparts. Some are obvious–like those you'll see in this chapter–some might be a little more difficult. Good luck.


Chapter 2



Storybrooke, Maine

10 years later



Ten-year-old Benjamin Lucas walked down the sidewalk, backpack slung over his shoulder, and cast a glance back and forth across the street. Cautiously, he stepped into the schoolyard and tried to keep his head down.

Benjamin didn’t like interacting with the other children. They were different than he was, in more ways than one. Most of them had two parents, for one thing–Benjamin had only his dad. All the other kids were content with their way of life; they went to school, did their work, and played. But Benjamin, somehow, thought he was meant for more.

He entered the school and ascended to his classroom, and took his seat behind Henry Mills. Henry was the mayor’s son, and nobody liked to play with him because his mother was very protective. She never let him have friends over, and she never let him go to other kids’ houses. Ben liked Henry well enough compared to the other kids, but he was too unapproachable.

“Morning, Ben,” Henry said.

“Morning,” Benjamin replied.

He placed his backpack on the floor under his seat and settled into place as the bell rang. Their teacher, Mary Margaret Blanchard, a pretty woman with short black hair and shining blue eyes, entered the room and stood behind her desk.

“Good morning, class,” she said.

“Good morning, Miss Blanchard,” the class replied in unison.

“We’re going to do something different today,” Miss Blanchard said. “We’re going to take a field trip to the beach.”

The children clapped their hands happily and began to gather their belongings. Their teacher shepherded them out to the school bus and they all got aboard. As Benjamin climbed in, Henry patted his shoulder.

“Hey, Ben, guess what?” he whispered softly.

“What?” Ben replied.

“My mother is in town. My birth mother.”

Benjamin frowned. “I didn’t know you were adopted. You look a lot like Mayor Mills.”

Henry seemed offended. “Well, I am adopted. And my birth mother’s here!”

“Really? How’d she find you?”

“I found her,” Henry said.

“How?”

“I went to her apartment in Boston.”

“You left Storybrooke?” Benjamin hissed. “By yourself?”

“Yep,” Henry replied proudly. “And now she’s here. And she’s going to help us.”

“Help us? How?”

“She’s going to make the town better.”

Benjamin frowned. “How?” He was saying that a lot.

“You’ll see,” Henry promised. “You’ll see.”

* * *​

After class, Benjamin walked home. He lived in one of the nicer parts of Storybrooke, not far from the school. He entered the house and hung his backpack from the railing. Henry being adopted had been a shock for Benjamin–mostly because he was adopted, too. Sort of.

“Dad, I’m home!” he called.

“Great,” a silky voice replied.

Dark-skinned, with curly hair and a neatly-trimmed mustache, Orlando Williams stepped into the living room and grinned down at his son. Benjamin’s mother–his birth mother–had married Orlando shortly after Benjamin had been born. He didn’t know who his birth father was, but it was certainly not Orlando; Benjamin was light-skinned with fiery red hair and blue eyes.

“How was school?” Orlando asked.

“Pretty good,” Benjamin replied. “We had a field trip to the beach. Hey, did you know Henry Mills was adopted?”

“The mayor’s kid?” Orlando nodded. “Yeah, I remember Archie told me that she had adopted about ten years ago. What, you didn’t know that?”

Benjamin shook his head. “Nah, he told me today. Actually, he told me he’d found his birth mother, and she was here in Storybrooke.”

Orlando’s jaw dropped. “I can’t imagine Mayor Mills is too happy about that.”

Benjamin shrugged. “I don’t know, but Henry’s happy.”

“Well, that’s good.”

Benjamin walked upstairs to his room and put his backpack away. He looked at his calendar. One more day to mark off. He pulled out his red marker and scratched out that day’s date. He flipped to the next month, looking at the circled date. It was only a few more weeks…

Only a few more weeks before his mother would be released from jail.

* * *​

​

Doctor Luke Hamill finished his checklist and put down his clipboard. He’d checked on all of his patients for the day; he was about done. There was just one more person he needed to visit, even though he wasn’t technically Luke’s patient; he was Doctor Whale’s.

The John Doe had been found on the side of the road leading into Storybrooke, injured and in a coma. The blond-haired man, about Luke’s age, had recently awakened but had not yet left the hospital. Luke had checked on the John Doe even before he’d awakened, and he’d become friends with him since.

They had learned, recently, that the man’s name was David Nolan. He had a wife, here in town. He would be going home to her soon. Luke wanted to say goodbye to him before he left; there was something about the man that Luke thought was very unusual.

When he reached Nolan’s room, however, he found that the man was not alone. Mary Margaret Blanchard was in there, talking to him. Mary Margaret, a local teacher, had visited Nolan every day even before he’d awakened; she paid every patient a visit and she’d taken a shine to Nolan. Luke wondered what she thought about him being a married man.

Luke knocked on the door. Nolan looked up and motioned for Luke to enter.

“So, Mr. Nolan,” Luke said, “are you ready to go home?”

David nodded. “I am. Thank you, Doctor Hamill, for taking the time to talk to me. It’s good to have friends, even without my memory.”

Mary Margaret beamed. Luke smiled at her, and then at David. Finally, he extended his hand, and David clasped it. They shook firmly.

“Don’t be a stranger, David,” Luke said. “We should do a double-date sometime.”

“Sounds like a plan,” David replied, a bit of uncertainty in his voice.

Of course. He could barely remember his own name; going on a date with his wife would seem odd if he couldn’t even remember her. And Mary Margeret…her reaction had been one of mixed disappointment and happiness. Of course–she cared for David, so she would want the best for him, but she would also be disappointed that he was married.

“Well, I’m off,” Luke said. “Good night, you two.”

“Good night,” David and Mary Margaret said in unison.

Luke exited the room and, after changing from his scrubs and gown to a predominantly-black outfit–the pants, boots, belt, and leather jacket were all black, with a white shirt underneath–he left the hospital and got into his car. As he started the engine up, he looked in the rearview mirror and saw Kathryn Nolan, David’s wife, entering the hospital.

Here’s hoping everything works out there, he thought quietly.

He drove the short distance from the hospital to his house and exited his car, locking the door. Night had long set, and though this was one of the nicer parts of Storybrooke, he’d learned his lesson when, almost ten years ago, his car had nearly been stolen by a woman desperate for a quick payday.

He entered his house, locking the door behind him, and crept up the stairs to his bedroom. He wondered if his wife were asleep yet…

She wasn’t. She was in bed, but awake, reading a book. She looked up as he entered and beamed at him. Luke leaned down and kissed her on the cheek, running a hand through her dark brown hair and looking in her beautiful gray eyes.

“Luke,” she said happily. “You’re back. About time.”

“Sorry, Kate,” he replied. “You know how work is.”

Caitlyn smiled at him. “I do. Go shower; you smell of antiseptic and surgical equipment.”

Luke chuckled. “All right. See you in a few minutes.”

After his shower, he settled into bed beside her. She put down her book and kissed him on the lips. Luke kissed back, heatedly. After a moment, they separated.

“You haven’t kissed me like that in a while,” Caitlyn said.

“David Nolan’s situation got me thinking,” Luke replied. “About how lucky I am. I think Mary Margaret Blanchard had eyes for David; now she found out he’s married and she’s crushed. That situation isn’t going to turn out well, I think. David and Mary Margaret had been bonding for quite some time when he found out he was married. If he feels for her the way she does for him, and doesn’t remember his wife…”

“Mm, it’s a divorce in the makings.”

“So, I’m just glad I’m happily married, and don’t have feelings for any other woman,” he said.

“You’d better not. I’d skin her alive.”

Luke grinned. “Before you skinned me alive, right?”

“Exactly, love. Exactly.”

 

*dies*



I won't say anything in case others are lurking, but...LOLZ. Hilarious. And awkward. *gigglesnort*

 

Umm...

Spoiler

Now I'm not sure what you're thinking and I hope you're not thinking what I think you're thinking. It is awkward, but not for reasons that I'm afraid you're thinking!

 

We can be mutually dubious.

 

ThreadSketch


Chapter 3



A galaxy far, far away

12 years earlier



Eight-year-old Ben Skywalker looked up at his cousin, Anakin Solo, as the teenager balanced on one hand. Ben couldn’t believe that Anakin could so easily stand on his hand without falling; the older boy was one of the most skilled Jedi that Ben had met.

Finally, Anakin dropped down onto his feet, sweat dripping from his forehead. Ben handed him a towel. Anakin accepted it gratefully and wiped his face.

“You’re amazing,” Ben said. “I want to do that!”

Anakin grinned. “You will, Ben. It’ll come with time. When I was your age, I couldn’t do that, either. It takes practice and discipline.”

“I’ll do it before I’m your age,” Ben insisted determinedly. “I’m going to be just like you, Anakin.”

Anakin patted Ben on the head, his ice-blue eyes shining. “You just be yourself, Ben. Don’t be me.”



Storybrooke, Maine

Present day



Seventeen-year-old Kevin Ford walked through the halls of Storybrooke’s high school, trying to keep a rascally grin from his face. He was sick of this town…this school…all the rules. It would not be long before he was an adult, and he could get out of here.

“Ahem,” a voice said behind him.

Kevin turned. “Oh. Uh, Jason. Hi.”

Jason Ford, Kevin’s older brother, stood behind him with arms crossed. Kevin offered a grin that was part sheepish, part sly.

“Where are you going, Kevin?”

“I, uh…”

“Don’t lie, Kevin.”

“Fine. I was going to sneak out and go to Mr. Gold’s shop with Tammy.”

“Mr. Gold’s shop, Kevin? He sells antiques; what could you possibly want there?”

“Who said we were going to buy anything…or even go inside?”

Jason scowled. “You were going to vandalize his store? Kevin, you know how mean that man is. If he caught you, you’d be dead!”

“So? Regina and Gold run this town with an iron fist and I’m sick of it!”

“Yeah, but vandalizing isn’t the way to fix it!”

“So what would you do, Jason?”

Jason heaved a deep sigh. “I’m almost done with school, Kevin. I’ll run for office.”

“You’ll fail. Regina will bribe, threaten, coerce…you’ll never beat her out.”

“Kevin! Nobody’s ever run against her. And you know how much trouble you’d be in if any of her loyalists heard you say that.”

Kevin snarled. “Do you not realize what you just said, Jason? You just proved my point. She is a tyrant. You can’t beat a tyrant by ‘running against them.’ You have to make a show of force, and let the rest of the town rise up against her.”

“What makes you think they’d side with you?”

“Look, Jason…are you going to rat me out?”

Jason shrugged. “Nah. You’re seventeen. You can make your own decisions. But don’t expect me to be there to bail you out when Gold has you thrown in jail.”

He turned and walked away. Kevin started to call out after him…but finally, he shook his head in disgust and stormed away. If nobody else could see it except for him, fine. Kevin wasn’t going to let some tyrant rule Storybrooke. He might not be living in this town forever, but he could at least make it a better place for those who did stay.

And anyways, he had Tammy on his side. The two of them together could accomplish anything.

Kevin’s ice-blue eyes glinted as he darted from the school doors towards the town square.

* * *

Luke heaved a sigh as he entered the operating room. This man, Rob Anderson, had been on a hunting trip in Storybrooke’s woods when he’d fallen on an old tent stake that hadn’t been pulled from the ground all the way. He’d impaled himself in the gut.

“We’ll have to work fast to save him,” Luke said.

Normally, this would be Doctor Whale’s area of expertise, but he was off today, so Luke had to take care of Mr. Anderson. He stepped up to the table and immediately got to work sewing up the wound. Luckily, Mr. Anderson was young, so he was in a better position to survive than a man ten years older would’ve been.

“His heart rate’s accelerating,” one of the nurses said.

Luke gave the proper orders and continued with the surgery. Minutes later, he finished. By all appearances, Mr. Anderson should survive. Luke pulled off his gloves, left the room, and cleaned up. With his shift over, he left the hospital and decided to take a walk.

Luke was nearing town square when he bumped into a young man. The boy, red-haired with bright blue eyes, looked up at him.

“Oh. Sorry,” the boy said.

“That’s all right, son,” Luke replied. “It was my fault.” He frowned. “I don’t think I’ve seen you around in a while. What’s your name?”

“I’m Benjamin,” the boy said. “Benjamin Lucas.”

Luke extended his hand. “I’m Doctor Luke Hamill.”

Benjamin shook Luke’s hand. “Nice to meet you, Doctor.”

“Where are you headed, Benjamin?”

“Uh, the sheriff’s office, actually,” Benjamin replied.

“Why?” Luke grinned. “Are you in trouble?”

“No…” Benjamin said, looking strangely dejected. “No, I’m not.”

“Well, good.” Luke wondered why the boy seemed upset. “So what are you doing, going to that place?”

“Visiting a prisoner.”

“Oh? Someone you know, or is it some kind of school project?”

Benjamin’s eyes shifted. “Uh…school project.”

Luke knew, somehow, that Benjamin was lying. But he guessed he understood why. It must have been hard on the boy to have somebody he knew in jail. For someone that age, it’d be easier to lie about it than admit it. Luke didn’t let it slip that he’d caught on.

“Well, have fun, son.”

“Thanks, Doctor Hamill,” Benjamin replied.

He headed off, leaving Luke to stand there, looking after him. Finally, Luke kept walking. As he rounded the corner to town square, he saw several people gathered around Mr. Gold’s shop. Luke’s jaw tightened at the thought of Gold. Something about the man…Regina might be the mayor, but Gold ruled the town as much as she did, Luke thought.

Luke approached the shop. One of the windows had been broken in. Gold stood outside, his jaw clenched, looking at the window. He caught sight of Luke and frowned.

“Mister Hamill,” he said. “What are you doing here?”

“I was out for a walk,” Luke said, “and I saw what was going on here. What happened?”

“Somebody broke into my shop,” Gold said through gritted teeth.

“Did they take anything?”

“She,” Gold corrected. “And yes…she took my key. The key to my safe.”

Luke nodded. “I’m sorry, Mr. Gold.”

Gold shrugged. “I have somebody looking into it.”

“That’s good. Any leads?”

“Oh, I know exactly who she was.”

There was an uncomfortable silence, and Luke shoved his hands in his jacket pockets. Gold tapped his cane impatiently on the ground.

“Good day, Mr. Hamill,” he said.

“Oh. Good day, Mr. Gold.”

Luke turned and strode off quickly. He was half a block away from Gold’s shop when he saw a pair of teenagers quickly ducking into an alley. Frowning, Luke entered the alley. The pair, a brown-haired boy with icy eyes and a blond-haired girl with darker blue eyes, looked up at him and ducked farther down the alley.

“Wait!” Luke called. “Stop!”

The boy glanced at the girl, and then back at Luke. Finally, sighing, he approached the man. Luke stood with his hands on his hips.

“Are you two responsible for what happened at Mr. Gold’s shop?” he asked.

“No,” the boy said. “We were going to vandalize the shop…”

“…but then we saw that somebody else had already done it!” the girl added.

“I see. And why were you going to vandalize the shop?”

“We’re sick of Gold’s grip on the town!” the girl said fiercely.

“We just wanted to teach him a lesson,” the boy agreed.

Luke frowned at them. There was something about these two…they were definitely not the average delinquent teenagers. They had a certain charm about them. It was almost charismatic. He found that he liked them.

“You’re not going to turn us in, are you?” the boy asked.

“No,” Luke replied. “I’m Luke Hamill, by the way.”

“Kevin Ford,” the boy said.

“Tammy Vales,” the girl added.

“It’s nice to meet you both,” Luke said. “If you ever need anything, you can call me.”

The teens nodded and quickly left the alley, leaving Luke to wonder just exactly why he’d said that, and why he liked the teens so much.

 

It's fun watching you craft the characters' names as little hints to their true identity (not necessarily that my suspicions are right, though). In this installment, I know the eye color is a dead giveaway, but the names throughout the whole story are an interesting little game.

 

ThreadSketch


Chapter 4



A galaxy far, far away

12 years earlier



Anakin swept his lightsaber in a diagonal crosscut at Jacen’s throat. His older brother moved aside and brought his blade up to catch Anakin’s. Purple and green light collided. Anakin took a step back, grinned at his brother, and lunged again. Jacen spun, blocking the flurry of blows that Anakin unleashed.

Anakin pulled the last blow back at the last second, spinning around and slashing lower than Jacen’s blade. Still moving to block Anakin’s higher strike, Jacen couldn’t maneuver his saber to block the blow in time, and so had to settle for jumping up and back to avoid having his leg cut off.

They stood there, staring at each other, breathing deeply. Their blades hummed in the thick night air of Yavin IV’s jungle. They shouldn’t be out this late, Anakin knew, and Uncle Luke would be furious if he caught them. But Anakin had been feeling uneasy and he couldn’t sleep. So he’d asked Jacen to train with him.

“All right, spill it,” Jacen said. “What’s this really about?”

“Don’t know what you mean,” Anakin replied.

At the last word, he lunged. He brought his saber up toward Jacen’s groin. Jacen brought his blade parallel to the ground and caught the blow before it landed. Anakin pulled his blade back and stabbed at Jacen’s shoulder. Jacen parried and brought his blade around to slash at his brother’s neck.

The disengaged again and stood in the same positions they’d been in before. Finally, Anakin laughed and lowered his lightsaber, deactivating it. Jacen shut off his own blade and clipped it to his belt.

“Okay,” Anakin said. “It’s about Tahiri.”

“What about her?”

“I…I think I’m in love with her.”

Jacen laughed. “You think? Anakin, you must be the last one to know.”

“What?”

“Come on, Anakin, it’s obvious.”

“Really? I…I don’t want thinks to be awkward between us; we’ve been best friends for years. If I say anything to her…”

Jacen shrugged. “I’m pretty sure she loves you too, Anakin. Just talk to her. Remember what Master Ikrit always said. Together, the two of you can accomplish anything.

Storybrooke, Maine

Present day



Kevin quietly opened the door to his house and crept inside, tossing his backpack on the chair beside the door. His parents might not be home from work yet, and if they weren’t–

“Ahem,” a gruff voice said.

Kevin looked into the living room. Jason stood with his arms crossed, eyes narrowed, looking at Kevin with an expression that suggested his was extremely disappointed. Kevin sighed and walked into the living room, casting a glance around. No, there was no sign of his parents. He plopped down on the couch, looking up at Jason.

“I heard about Mr. Gold’s shop,” he said.

“Well, you can skip the lecture,” Kevin said. “Tammy and I didn’t do it. When we got there, the shop had already been broken into. Didn’t seem like a good idea to test Gold’s anger any further.”

“You’re lucky, Kevin.” Jason sat down in the chair across from Kevin. “Mr. Gold caught the thief last night. He’d probably have caught you too. Only you wouldn’t have escaped.”

Kevin rolled his eyes. “I’d like to see what he’d have done.”

“Take this seriously, Kevin, okay? I’m glad to see that you’re trying to change Storybrooke, but going after Mr. Gold isn’t the way to do it. There are other people messing up the town, too, you know.”

“Yeah, like Regina.”

“More,” Jason said. “How about Rupert Mohr, the director of the hospital? He’s as corrupt as they come.”

Kevin frowned. “Wait…did you just give me a target?”

“No! Kevin, like I said, we should try to change things legally. Anything you would do would only get you in trouble or egg on the people you’re harassing.”

“Thanks for the advice, Jason.” Kevin stood and left the room. “But I know what I’m doing.”

He went down the hall to his bedroom and shut the door. Rupert Mohr, huh? He hadn’t heard much about Mohr’s doings. He wondered how Jason knew the man was corrupt. Maybe Kevin had underestimated his brother. He pulled out his phone and texted Tammy to dig up what she could on Mohr.

If Mohr was an easier target than Gold, but just as corrupt–then Kevin was willing to make an example of him. He thought back briefly to Doctor Hamill, the guy who’d found them in the alley. He seemed like a decent enough fellow; he didn’t deserve to be working under a corrupt boss. Kevin was sure that Hamill would only thank them for exposing Mohr’s corruption.

It looked like he and Tammy were going to break into the hospital.

* * *

​

The next morning, Luke came in for his shift a bit early. He quickly changed into his scrubs and white coat. As he left the changing room, one of his nurses, a young woman named Kim, handed him a clipboard. Luke looked over the agenda and nodded to himself. Looked like it was a good idea to come in early–there was a lot to do.

He made his rounds, checking on each patient in turn. Anderson, the man he’d performed surgery on, appeared to be recovering well. The young man was eager to get out of the hospital and back to his life, and Luke assured him that he would be released soon.

“Doctor Hamill to Doctor Mohr’s office,” a voice said over the intercom.

Luke looked up and sighed in vague annoyance. Mohr was the head of the hospital, but he rarely interacted with the doctors or patients. When he did, it was usually at inconvenient times. He walked over to the elevator and quickly pressed the button for the third floor, where Mohr’s office was. Luke thought that Mohr liked to be on the highest floor because it meant he got to look down on everybody else.

In the elevator were a young blond woman and a dark-haired boy. Luke recognized the boy as Henry Mills, Mayor Mills’ son, but the blond woman he’d never seen. He turned to face them.

“I’m Doctor Luke Hamill,” he said. “I don’t think I’ve met you before.”

“Emma Swan,” the woman said.

“This is my biological mother,” Henry said.

Luke’s eyes widened slightly. “Ah, I see. A pleasure to meet you, ma’am.”

Personally, he couldn’t believe that the woman would have the audacity to come here. Mayor Mills was not the kind of woman you messed with, and Luke thought that having her adopted son’s biological mother suddenly appear would throw her into quite a mood.

“What brings you to the hospital?” he asked.

“A…friend of mine is having a baby,” Emma said. “Doctor Whale assisting the delivery.”

“Ah, I see.” The elevator chimed. “Well, good luck to her, then.”

Luke stepped out of the elevator and headed down the hall. He hoped Henry and Swan would be all right–it was rarely a good idea to cross Regina; he hoped that Swan didn’t end up hurt. If she did, he’d probably just end up having to operate on her, anyways.

He knocked on the door to Mohr’s office. An impatient voice told him to enter. Luke opened the door and stepped inside. Mohr, a tall, completely bald man, looked up from his computer as Luke entered.

“Doctor Hamill,” he said. “Please sit down.”

Luke sat.

“You performed surgery on Mr. Anderson, correct?”

Luke nodded. “I did, sir. He seems to be making a quick recovery.”

“And are you aware that Anderson’s insurance did not cover such a surgery? More, the man is nothing more than a fisherman. He’ll never be able to pay off his hospital bill.”

Luke’s brow furrowed. “I was more concerned with his life, Doctor Mohr. We can worry about his payment later.”

Mohr steepled his fingers and sat back in his chair, giving Luke that you’re a complete and utter moron look that he did so well. Luke’s gaze didn’t flinch.

“If he cannot pay his bills,” Mohr said, “we will have to take measures.”

“Measures?”

Mohr shrugged. “We can start small; maybe take his car. But if he still can’t pay then we’ll be forced to take his home as well, eventually.”

Luke slammed a fist down on Mohr’s desk. “You can’t do that!”

“Oh, Doctor Hamill, I can. Mayor Mills and Mr. Gold are not the only people with power in this town. I will have my payment.”

“Is that all, sir?” Luke asked, steel in his voice.

“Yes, of course,” Mohr replied. “You may leave.”

Luke stormed from Mohr’s office, fists clenched. Something had to be done about this. Soon. As he turned a corner, he nearly slammed into a short, bald fellow. He jerked back just in time to stop from knocking the man over.

“Whoa, watch it!” the man growled. “Oh…sorry, Doctor Hamill.”

“That’s quite all right,” Luke replied. “It was my fault.”

Luke recognized the short man, now; he was the hospital’s maintenance man. He wore blue coveralls, and had shining blue eyes. His tool belt seemed a mess of objects that apparently had some use, though Luke could’ve never guessed.

“It’s Raymond, right?” he asked.

“Yes,” the man said. “Raymond Reyes.”

“Sorry for bumping into you, Mr. Reyes,” he said. “I was a bit distracted.”

“No problem,” Reyes replied. “Is there anything I can help you with?”

“I’m afraid not,” Luke said. “Not unless you can give a poor fisherman fifty thousand dollars or more.”

Reyes chuckled. “Afraid not.”

“Didn’t think so. Take care, Mr. Reyes.”

 

ThreadSketch


Chapter 5



A galaxy far, far away

15 years ago



Jacen paced worriedly outside the medical ward, his hands clenching guiltily. He cast glances down reluctantly at his belt, where his lightsaber hung. He never should’ve tried the maneuver, he knew. It had been foolish–incredibly so.

Jaina sat in a chair beside the door, her hands clasped. She alternated between looking at them and staring at Jacen. She didn’t need to say anything; he knew what she’d say and she knew it. But he didn’t want to hear it. Not now.

Anakin walked in hurriedly. “Jacen, I just heard–”

“Not now, Anakin,” Jaina interrupted softly.

“Is she all right?” Anakin pressed.

Jacen halted his pacing and stared at his brother. He and Anakin hadn’t always seen eye to eye, but they’d always been there for each other. Anakin’s presence here now encouraged him–but he still felt miserable.

“I don’t know,” he murmured.

Anakin patted Jacen on the shoulder and then sat down beside Jaina. They exchanged worried glances that they probably thought Jacen missed, but he didn’t. He ignored them. How could he go back to the way things were after–after what he’d done? They couldn’t.

The medbay door slid open and Luke walked out, his expression one of mixed concern and relief. Jaina and Anakin jumped to their feet; Jacen stopped pacing and looked at his uncle nervously.

“She’ll be all right,” Luke said. “But she’s refusing a prosthetic.”

Jacen felt sick in his stomach. Refusing a prosthetic?

“She’s going to go home for a while,” Luke added. “You’d best go in and say goodbye; I’m not sure when she’ll be back.”

Jaina and Anakin shuffled into the medbay. Luke glanced back over his shoulder at Jacen and frowned.

“Coming?”

Jacen shook his head. “I–I can’t.”

“Jacen–”

“I just can’t!” Jacen insisted as he rushed out of the waiting room.



Storybrooke, Maine

Present day



Jason slid into his seat and clasped his hands. He spared a glance at his watch; as always he was right on time. A moment later, Terra sat down beside him. He smiled at her, but his eyes dropped inadvertently, as they always did, to the stump that was her left arm. He cringed inwardly, knowing she’d notice.

“Hey,” she said. “Eyes up here.”

Jason forced a laugh. “Sorry, Terra.”

Terra had lost her arm in a car accident when she was sixteen; Jason had been there with her. It had been horrible. He felt guilty that he’d escaped with nothing but a few scrapes and bruises; he always had. Whenever she was around, he found it difficult to keep from looking at her arm.

Before Jason could say anything, the chemistry teacher walked in. Evan Taylor, a tall man with ginger hair and a neatly-trimmed beard, sat down behind his desk and smiled at the class. He was always in a good mood, it seemed, and always eager to teach. Jason liked the man.

“Good morning, class,” Mr. Taylor said. “If you would put on your goggles and gloves, today we are going to…”

“I’m worried about Kevin,” Jason said softly. “He’s been more eager to make trouble than usual for the last couple weeks.”

“It’s just the age,” Terra replied softly. “It’ll be okay.”

“But I think he’s targeting Rupert Mohr,” Jason pressed. “And it might be my fault.”

“Mohr’s got more power than anyone except Mayor Mills and Mr. Gold,” Terra whispered. “If Kevin gets caught, he’ll be in serious trouble. But…”

“But what?”

“But Mohr does deserve anything he gets. He’s scum, Jason.”

“…and take out your beakers,” Mr. Taylor finished.

Jason and Terra quickly got to work following Mr. Taylor’s instructions. The teacher walked between the rows of students and examined their work; he nodded pleasantly to Jason and Terra and then continued on. Jason leaned over to Terra.

“But it’s not a seventeen-year-old boy’s job to do that kind of thing, Terra,” he said.

“But if he doesn’t, who will?” Terra replied firmly.

Jason didn’t have an answer for that.

After school, he and Terra walked out the doors of the school together. Jason looked over at her.

“Want to get a bite to eat at Granny’s?” he asked.

Terra nodded. “Sure.”

They walked down the road to the town square, where Granny’s Diner was located. Jason ordered two burgers from the waitress, Ruby–who was, as usual, dressed in a rather risqué fashion–and sat down beside Terra. Terra glared at him. Jason’s eyes dropped guiltily to the tabletop.

“Not my fault Ruby dresses like that,” he said.

“No, but you don’t have to look,” Terra replied.

Jason grinned wryly and nodded. She was right, of course. When Ruby brought them their burgers, he made a show of looking her in the eyes when he thanked her and then dropping his gaze immediately down to his plate. Terra giggled.

“Satisfied?” Jason asked.

“Very,” Terra said with a firm nod.

“So,” Jason said. “About Kevin. What should I do?”

“You should tell your parents,” Terra said. “They can handle it.”

Jason shrugged. “I’m not so sure. Kevin doesn’t respect Dad–the man’s a freelance mechanic in a town that has an auto shop, so how can he? And Mom is hardly ever home; she’s usually pulling double-shifts at work to make up for Dad’s lack of income.”

“Your parents are doing the best they can, Jason.”

“I know, it’s just…Mom would make a much better mayor than Regina Mills. But she wastes her time working for minimum wage at a grocery store because Dad can’t keep a job!”

Terra looked around. “Keep your voice down, Jason.”

“Sorry. Sorry. It’s just…”

“I know. You love your parents, but you’re frustrated by their lack of success.”

“Basically, yeah.”

“Don’t worry, Jason. Your parents love you. That’s all that matters.”

Jason nodded. “Yeah…I hope you’re right.”

* * *

Weeks passed. A young woman named Ashley Boyd–actually the very girl who’d robbed Mr. Gold’s shop–gave birth to a baby girl. Emma Swan took a position as deputy at the police station. Things seemed to be getting back to normal.

Then a mine collapsed, trapping Archie Hopper. After several long, harrowing hours, he was freed. Mary Margaret quit her volunteer work at the hospital; likely due to issues with David and Kathryn Nolan. David left his wife, and it was suspected around town that he and Mary Margaret were having an affair.

Worst of all, Sheriff Graham–a good, moral man by anyone’s standards–died mysteriously. An election was being held for a new sheriff, and Emma Swan looked to be the prime candidate, but things were heating up quickly between her and Sidney, Mayor Mills’ candidate. Finally, Swn won out, though.

And through it all, Luke Hamill tried desperately to find a way to keep Rob Anderson from losing everything he owned because of Dr. Mohr.

“It’s time for me to be released, Doctor,” Anderson said.

“I know,” Luke said. “But…Mr. Anderson…I’m afraid that Dr. Mohr is insistent on payment. I’ve done everything I can.”

“I don’t have that kind of money,” Anderson said.

Luke nodded. “Mohr’s going to start repossessing your property, I’m afraid.”

Anderson’s face paled. “He can’t do that! It’s not my fault I fell and almost killed myself!”

“I’m sorry, Mr. Anderson. I’m trying to help. I’ll tell you what. You can stay with my wife and I for as long as you need to.”

“I don’t need your charity, doctor,” Anderson growled.

He rose from his bed and began dressing. Luke frowned.

“What are you doing, Mr. Anderson?” he asked.

“Leaving. I’ll find a way to pay Mohr back. He can’t take my things! I won’t let him!”

“Mr. Anderson, you can’t–”

“I’d like to see you try to stop me,” Anderson replied.

And then he stormed out of the room. Luke stood watching him go, his jaw set grimly. He’d tried, he told himself. He’d tried to help Anderson. If the young man didn’t want help…still, Luke couldn’t help but feel guilty. Mohr’s corruption was a blight on all of the hospital staff.

He needed to do something about it.

* * *

Kevin and Tammy sat outside the hospital, their faces hidden behind newspapers, and watched. Kevin didn’t really know what they were doing; he just knew that they needed to be here. Mohr would come out sooner or later, and then maybe they could tail him and dig up some dirt.

As it turned out, that was unnecessary. Moments later, a man in his mid-twenties stormed from the hospital, a look of rage on his face. Kevin and Tammy exchanged glances and nodded. They quickly ran after the man.

“Excuse me, sir!” Tammy said. “Sir!”

The man whirled. “What?”

“Sir, we can’t help but notice you seem pretty upset,” she said. “Would this have to do with Rupert Mohr?”

“Oh, would it,” the man growled. “That man’s the worst kind of scum. He’s the kind of man that thrives on the suffering of others.”

“We’re looking to expose Mohr’s corruption,” Kevin said. “We’d be glad to help you.”

“Expose corruption, huh?” The man grinned. “Then have I got a story for you…I’m Anderson. Rob Anderson.”

“Kevin Ford, and this is Tammy Vales.”

“Good to meet you both.” Anderson gestured down the street. “Follow me. I’ll give you all the details, and together we can tear Mohr’s reputation to the ground.”

 

Thanks for the tag alerts! I can't really think of much commentary to make for now, other than "the plot thickens..."

 

I'm a huge OUAT fan - this is such fun! Awesome job on the characters and the crossover into Storybrooke. Really, really excellent!