"So why are we here again?" Snow asked as they walked through the door of her office.

Bigby had taken a slight lead over Snow and was the first to the door. Opening it with urgency and force he made his way inside followed very closely by Ms. White. As they stepped into the office a small flying Monkey descended upon the two before they could reach Snow's desk.

"A good evening to you Sheriff" Bufkin offered a greeting.

"Finally sober enough to fly?" Bigby disregarded the greeting with almost a cold intent.

"I'm never too drunk to fly" Bufkin retorted with a small laugh which Bigby ignored.

"Bigby" Snow stopped short of her desk and stared into the back of his head "What are we doing here?" Snow wanted an answer and she wanted it now.

"We need information before we go up against…Whatever the hell we are up against" Bigby then turned his attention to Bufkin full well realizing he had not fully answered Snows question.

"Bufkin I need any and all books that tell of some unknown Fable. I don't have specifics so anything that might be tucked away far in back would be the best start" Bigby ordered.

"Right away Sheriff" Bufkin saluted ironically and took off.

"And how exactly are we supposed to find any information to go off of when we have no idea what we are looking for?" Snow crossed her arms waiting for the great sheriff to explain his reasoning that somehow eluded her.

"We won't find anything in the books" Bigby popped a cigarette into his mouth and went in search of his lighter through what was left of his pants.

"I hope you don't plan on lighting that thing in the business office" Snow's face had contorted into a small snarl.

Bigby glanced at her through the corner of his eye and just smiled. Something about her making that face almost made the craving for a cigarette worth it. But he was also smiling due to the fact Snow seemed undisturbed by his comment about not finding anything.

"So, why did you send Bufkin for those books?" Snow's curiosity finally overpowered her urge to wait and see if Bigby would just spill it himself.

"I didn't need him interfering in what is about to happen" Bigby stared straight past her at the closed door as if something was about to burst through the doors and kill everything is sight.

"Interfering?" Snow's train of thought was cut short as the doors burst open and Bigby only grew more agitated, Snow could see it in his face.

"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON AROUND HERE" Bluebeard basically hollered as he approached the two hoping they'd have an answer before he got to where they were standing.

"What's going on is none of your business" Bigby leaned against the desk to take a casual stance at the unwanted, but expected, intruder.

"Shut up you filthy wolf" Bluebeard snarled at Bigby.

"HEY!" Snow intervened "This is official Fable town Business and as of right now Bluebeard, you are not in any official position to put yourself into any ongoing investigations" Snow's matter of fact and by the books response made Bigby laugh.

"Yeah so why don't you go back to your little home and we will let you know if you can be of any help whatsoever" Bigby was still smiling.

"You….YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND. This isn't...I mean we…you can't just" Bluebeard was stuttering to Bigby's amusement.

"Bluebeard what do you want? And keep in mind we are not going to discuss anything about the current situation" Bigby finally had enough as Bluebeard had yet to put together a legible sentence.

"The Sheriff has been all but killed and you insist on playing house with all these politics. We need action and a strong leader" Bluebeard finally found his voice.

"And you think you can handle it?" Bigby humored him.

"I know I can Sheriff. With my financial aid I can help you apprehend and bring to justice the ones who did this to you" Bluebeard was appealing to Bigby on another level. But it wasn't working.

"Sorry But I just don't buy it. You hate me Bluebeard and now you're concerned with my health? And better yet you try to appeal to my sense of justice" Bigby laughed at that last part.

"Besides we already know who did this" Snow again squeezed into the conversation.

"YOU DO!" Bluebeards' outburst caused a look of concern to pass between Bigby and Snow.

"Yes…Why? Why do you care who did this?" Snow was puzzled.

"I'm just…overjoyed that we can bring these scum bags to justice for the great crimes they have committed today. Tell me their names and we can go arrest them" Bluebeard was not at all trying to hide the urgency in his voice or the look of pure excitement on his face.

"I will make the arrest…You will stay…" Bigby stopped midsentence and looked into thin air.

"Bigby? What is it?" Snow asked concerned over the look he had portrayed on his face.

"Someone's coming…I don't recognise his scent though" Bigby took a few more sniffs in the air as he tried to place it. "It's familiar yet altogether different" Bigby kept wondering what was going on. Normally he could place any Fable within miles of wherever he was just by focusing on their scent…yet this scent was old and somehow new. It made no sense whatsoever.

Snow White and Bluebeard didn't have time to ask any more questions as the doors to the business office opened and a figure stepped in.

"Hello, is this the Fable town Business office with acting Mayor Ms. White and Sheriff Bigby Wolf?"

Nobody knew what to make of this young looking man who had stepped through the door and who now stood before them. And who had an uncanny ability to cause the previous tension in the room to be overpowered by pure energy.

The young men stood about six feet tall if not more and wore a tailored suit as spotless and crease free as if it had just been taken out of the store only moments ago. The black suit hid his more physical features and all eyes were instantly drawn to his face. A wide grin from ear to ear as he patiently waited for them to finish their analysis of him. His grin however was not the only distinguished feature he had as his eyes held a distinct feature not commonly seen in the mundi world let alone Fable town.

"What's wrong with his eyes?" Snow spoke softly as she watched the phenomenon before her.

"They're changing colors?" Blue beard seemed almost entranced by the display that was happening before him.

"So…What. What do…You need" Snow tried to speak but found each word almost a struggle. She felt as if she had not yet learned to speak and was trying to make her first sentence. Bigby quickly picked up on this and averted his eyes.

"Don't fret Sheriff" The tall man smiled "These eyes won't affect you"

"How can I be so sure?" Bigby was cautious because he had no idea what this…Thing before him was.

"Because it was not designed to interfere with any of your senses" The tall man continued to smile.

"Then all I have to do is kill you and they will be released from whatever back alley spell you are using?" Bigby took a cautious step forward but his head averted.

"Yes that is correct" It became eerie how this man could stand so still and smiles even after signing his own death warrant. Bigby knew there must be more then what he is being told but if he wasn't going to say anything then he would have to act quickly to save snow.

"Then that's what I'll do" Bigby turned and took an aggressive stance, or as aggressive as he could with his unhealed wounds

"Sheriff the spell does not affect you because I need you level headed when you answer the question I was sent to ask" This time the man's mouth furrowed into a frown as if insulted by Bigby's recent actions.

"A question? You came here and put these two under a spell to ask me a question?" Bigby was perplexed by what this person was willing to go through in order for a simple question. It must have been important.

"Not just these two Sheriff…Everyone who has seen me today is now under my spell. When I cancel it the effects will wear off and they will be good as new, assort from the memory lose to prevent them from remembering me or what I did to them" The man smiled again.

"So what's your name then?" Bigby took a more laid back stance as he realised Sow would be fine. He didn't know why he trusted this creep but something in the way he spoke told Bigby that he was telling the truth.

"I beg your pardon?" The man seemed almost confused at the question. As if her had never been asked that before in his life.

"Your name…What should I call you?" Bigby repeated.

"Call me B." The tall man replied.

"Well "B"" Bigby said sarcastically "What is this question you want to ask me?" Bigby was tired of dancing around it and just wanted to get it out.

"Well Sheriff as you may know there are some problems on the streets these days for the Fables of this community. To be more specific these dealings with the one they call "The Crooked man" seems to have left you in pretty bad shape. In recent days it has come to the attention of my employer that his name has been circling through the Crooked man's network, and Sheriff that just cannot happen" The man was then interrupted.

"Please Sheriff do not interrupt me again" The man's right eye almost glazed over as he spoke to Bigby now. "Now my employer is a very wealthy man and has worked hard to keep his personal life and lucrative wealth out of the hands of anyone but him. This Crooked man has somehow figured out the identity of my employer and well to say he is angry would be like saying you are still a mere wolf pup" the man's eyes returned to alternating color as he finished the sentence.

Bigby was perplexed….this man was someone very powerful yet Bigby could see when he got angry he let himself slip. And when the man's eyes glazed over Bigby knew for sure. He was being glamoured.

"So what's the question?" Bigby failed to notice any sort of question in the small story he was told.

"Would you please accompany me?" Was all the man said

"That's your question? Will I go with you? You put everyone at risk for that purpose? You must be one dumb son of a Bit…" Bigby was cut short.

Snow and Bluebeard had collapsed on the floor and Bigby's ears could detect each of them were struggling for breath.

"WHAT'S WRONG WITH THEM?" Bigby rushed to Snow's side.

"I'm afraid this little spell is not perfect. The effects are different for whoever falls under this spell but the end result is the same" The man's smile now scared Bigby because he finally saw the dark heart of a creature that had no remorse for what he was doing.

"THEN BREAK THE SPELL YOU ASSHO…."

"I would refrain from completing that sentence" The man began to frown again "Furthermore unless you agree to come with me I will have no choice but to let all the people under my spell die before I cancel its effects. The choice is yours sheriff…Please hurry" The man never smiled again after that moment.

Bigby turned to snow and with his sensitive hearing he could hear her breathing. Shallow, raspy breaths. She was barely filling her lungs with enough oxygen to stay conscious and she was fading fast. Bluebeard wasn't fairing any better. Even though Bigby hated the man he still couldn't kill him for being an ass.

Bigby looked back at the man who was now glaring at him and back to Snow whose eyes had receded into the back of her skull and her faint breaths echoed in his ears.

"WHAT WILL IT BE SHERIFF?" This man was no longer calm…He was…Mad.

(Author Note)

Sorry this took so long. A bunch has been happening in my life as of late and I have not had as much free time as I would like. I will try to update more often than not and please review as each review helps me grow. Thank you.

A shout out to anyone looking for a character, or help in designing a character or back story, A man by the name Shotgun Steve helped polish up my main villain, who will make an appearance next chapter. He did a wonderful job and I fully recommend him to anyone needing help in any aspect of the character creation process.

3rdGeneration