Heads Will Roll | A Wolf Among Us Story

Root of the Problem (.16)

Okay, so bit of a different TW for this chapter: There's a bit where Sunny has a lot of internalised self-blame and a bit of self-deprecation. As in, she's blaming herself for stuff that is out of her control.

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"What the hell happened to you?!"

"I know this looks bad," Sunny raised her hands in defence but lowered them when she spotted her own bloody hands.

"Is this what you've been doing all day?" Snow questioned.

"I was there for thirty minutes," Sunny said as she looked away awkwardly. "It's just... the traffic is really bad today."

It was the truth. A trip that should have taken about a quarter of an hour somehow became tripled on an average day in New York. Sunny wondered for a second what the cab driver must have thought of the state of her... but then again, maybe they weren't paid enough to care.

Snow let out yet another frustrated sigh. "Okay, we'll... discuss that later."

"I do need to talk to you... later, I mean," Sunny told Snow as the other woman walked away.

"What happened?" Bigby asked curiously.

Sunny let out a sigh. "I got myself stuck in the middle of a brawl between your old friend, Woody, and that Jersey guy Beauty mentioned."

The two continued talking as Sunny tried to ignore Toad and Bluebeard, arguing with Snow over by her desk. She didn't know what they were doing in the office, but given her past interactions with Bluebeard, it couldn't have been anything good.

"You look like hell," Bigby told her.

"Well, at least you're honest," Sunny tried to joke. "What did you find at the butcher shop?"

"Well, the good news is I found the shard. Bulfkin is putting it back in the mirror now," Bigby guested over to the winged monkey.

"That's great," Sunny nodded. "I found out from Jersey that Crane used the mirror to find out where the Crooked Man's door is. Said it moves around a lot."

Bigby made a noise of acknowledgement but then frowned. "The bad news is that nearly everyone in Fabletown seems to be under the Crooked Man's thumb," Bigby explained. "There was this storage room out the back. It had been made into some kind of glamour sweatshop. Had a board with all these names and debts."

"Oh god," Sunny said in disbelief.

"This whole thing is a lot worse than I thought," Bigby said in frustration.

"Just how far down does all this go?" Sunny worried, but before Bigby could answer Bufkin called over to them.

"Sheriff, Ms Fei, can I borrow you for a moment?" Bufkin asked as they approached him.

"I don't understand...this piece just doesn't want to join the rest. Do you have any idea why?"

"You got me," Bigby shrugged.

"Well, where did you find it? What has it gone through since being separated from the rest?" Bufkin wondered softly. "Shattering is a very traumatic experience, you know."

"I found it in Crane's coat. The last person I saw with Crane, or his coat, was that psycho Bloody Mary. Maybe she had some-"

"Ah, yes. Miss White was asking about her. That explains it! You-know-who and the Mirror have a very...unhappy history with each other. How would you like it if she tried to use you as a doorway?"

"I trust me. I sympathise," Sunny winced.

"Well, I think I know how to proceed now. It will just take a little extra...coaxing. That's all. Thank you for your help." Bufkin nodded. "It could be a while, Sheriff. I'll find you when it's ready. Besides which...he might not want to come out with you watching."