The Saviors Of The Three Worlds

Burnt Edges (2)

THE ENCHANTED FOREST: PRESENT DAY

It had worked.

Their plan to use Aurora as a human payphone had allowed the group to take their first step forward in getting home. Aurora had been able to make contact with Henry which meant now that their message had been sent.
All they had to do was wait.
Wait for Henry to do his part.
Their whole journey now relied on the acts of an 11-year-old kid in another realm.

Impatient and overwhelmed by worry Emma was antsy as they continued trekking through the seemingly endless woods, her mind just kept drifting off to Henry being trapped all alone in that horrifying room "How close are we? " She asks for what felt like the third time "Henry could already be waiting in that Netherworld. "

"No. " Aurora tells her trying to reassure the worrying mother "We planned to meet back there in two hours."

Unlike the others who were conversing over their next plan, Buffy lagged behind the group her mind spinning with what felt like a zillion thoughts. She just couldn't stop thinking about that damn photo.
The photo of Henry that Emma had shown Aurora had sent waves of Deja-vu through Buffy's veins. She didn't know what it was about the kid but the second she had seen those brown locks of hair, that sweet smile, and those dimples.

It was like looking at a mirror image of Dawn.

Honestly, it sent waves of conflicting emotions through Buffy, she hadn't seen a photo of Dawn or anyone she loved in three years. Yet Henry looked so much like her sister. It really had wigged out the blonde to the point where she had been quietly swinging her scythe back and forth trying to focus her mind back onto the mission of the day.

Luckily for her, a much-needed distraction from her own thoughts came in the form of Emma tapping her shoulder in an attempt to draw her attention.

"Hey."  The elder blonde breathes as she eyes her younger sister in worry, Buffy had this weird far-off look in her eyes, it was like she wasn't even present in her body anymore "You good?"

Swallowing down any emotions that were settling uncomfortably in her gut, Buffy plasters a fake smile on her face before twirling the scythe in her grasp "Just itching for a fight." She teases jokingly before turning her gaze to Mary Margaret who was calling out to the group "There" She announces pointing out a clearing just over a mile or two away from them "That looks relatively safe high ground. We will make our camp there. Aurora, you'll settle in and find Henry, get the information we need from Rumpelstiltskin. We do this fast, in and out. It's still dangerous out here."

Buffy had to agree with Mary Margaret on that.

She had a bad feeling in her gut and the further they went into the woods the worse that feeling got. Allowing her eyes to scan over the surrounding woods Buffy felt her spidey sense going haywire, she didn't know what but something was out there.

She could feel it, something dark was coming.

It was definitely dangerous out here, more than the eye could see.

***

THE DEMONIC WORLD: NICE, FRANCE
THREE YEARS AGO

Standing in boxer shorts and a sports bra in the middle of her run-down motel bathroom, Buffy couldn't help but wince at the sight of her reflection. Between the large cut on her forehead; knife wound on her collar bone and the bruises along her clearly broken ribs, she looked like a bruised peach.