Chapter Text
“I’ve always been a fan of you, I have to admit.” Audrey’s voice sounded from above.
“When I was alone I would always sing your song when working.” Gretel continued.
“Isolation in the woods, part of me had hoped you would have arrived, that’s how desperate I was.” Briar said.
“You were a nice story I always used to tell my Lost Boys, around a hundred years ago,” Peter spoke.
“Who. Are. you?” The Headless Horseman questioned.
“We want you to release the F7!” Goldie yelled, making it all too familiar to the boys who they were.
“Goldie, remember when we said we were going to let them do the talking?” Snow gently hushed her.
“Right, sorry!”
The Headless Horseman huffed, “You want them? Then come get them,” he unsheathed his sword that, admittedly made everyone in the room quiver in fear.
“Alright then, Briar, shall we?”
“Let’s go!” Briar and Audrey dropped down from the ceiling platform. Briar devilishly smiled as the horse revved its motor with its hoof.
“I’ll let you get started first, meet you in a bit.” Audrey told her.
“Got it!”
Audrey quickly disappeared as the horse charged at the pair.
Briar hastily drew her sword and clashed with the Horseman. She was able to jump on the horse's head as she fought him. The horse had reared up in panic, causing the Horseman to fall down. “Audrey!”
The latter quickly dashed forward and gashed deep slits at the Horseman’s body with her sharp water swords. He tried to reach for his sword but it was quickly grabbed by Briar who pointed it at him. He grunted in frustration as his head came to attack Audrey with its flames, however it was quickly put out as she blasted gallons of water on it.
“Your turn!” she yelled as the Headless Horseman started to make a quick recovery.
Briar and Audrey jumped back up to the ceiling only for three more individuals to drop down. “Peter, why don’t you take the first one, distract him for us.” Gretel said and Goldie smiled as she twisted her axe on her fingers.
“Yes, ma’am.”
Peter flew to his direction and picked his head up, throwing it up and treating it like a volleyball. “You’ve got some major anger management issues, my guy.”
“Put me down, boy!” he yelled.
Peter looked sideways for a bit and smiled, “If you say so,” he let his head drop and as soon as it reached the ground, the Horseman heard a voice soon after from above. He looked above and saw Goldie yelling a battle cry as she had her axe ready to smash his head. To his luck he rolled away and her axe hit the floor.
Stuck on the ground for a brief moment, Goldie grunted, “Urgh…” her eyes were dark as she freed her axe and said the following words, “You’re making me work!” and successfully swung his head to the wall.
They were too preoccupied with the head that he didn’t notice that his body was being planted with bombs by Gretel. “We’re out of here, give it thirty seconds! Snow, Gwen, finish it!” she yelled as they jumped back up.
The mentioned fell down, “Ready?” Snow asked Gwen who nodded and turned into her Werewolf form.
The Headless Horseman saw the transformation and frowned, “Oh, it’s you. You know the original Werewolf would’ve loved this.”
Snow grabbed the head and immediately crushed it with her bare hands before he mumbled something soon after. Gwen gashed the body with her claws as much as she could and threw it to the side, far from the F7 as she reverted back to human.
The rest of the group jumped down once more. Audrey moved her hands forward and created a wall of water around the body. Once she did she nodded at Gretel who pressed a button on her remote, and a violent explosion shook the walls. The Headless Horseman was no more.
Audrey removed the wall only to see ash left on the floor. The Fearless Seven were finally able to breathe again, as their backs hurt from all the tension and nervousness they felt. Their partners immediately tried to free them.
“Merlin!” Snow broke his chains with her hands.
“Snow-ohwoh-I wasshk, and i ashuf.” Merlin started rambling gibberish as Snow comforted him.
“Are you alright?” Audrey whispered as Jack hugged her,
“Thank heavens you’re here..” he mumbled gratefully.
“Told you my tracker was useful,” Gretel told Pino as she freed him.
“Yeah, you’re right.” he forced a chuckle, still shaken up.
“Did you see me?! I missed at first but then I hit him like I scored a home run-”
“Yeah, yeah, I saw…” Noki collapsed on Goldie’s shoulder out of exhaustion.
Kio was oddly quiet as Peter freed him, which made him feel awkward “Hey..so..are you like, okay? Or-” and Kio threw his arms around him as he lightly sobbed. Just lightly though.
“You think I should keep this?” Briar referred to the Horseman’s sword as she cut Hans loose with it.
“No, could be cursed.” he laughed, although like Pino, slightly forced.
“You alright? You had no trouble transforming?” Arthur worriedly asked Gwen.
“I’m fine! It was easy.” she grinned.
As the group made their way back home, the F7 was still oddly quiet.
“Geez, you guys are still that shaken up about it?” Peter frowned.
“You weren’t there when he first appeared! It was terrifying, like the stories but much worse!” Arthur explained,
“Yeah have you ever had his head up close to you?” Noki exclaimed.
“I literally just knocked his head out like he was a golf ball like, thirty minutes ago.” Goldie said.
“Well, on the bright side, we’re passing by a beautiful sunset now.” Gretel smiled as she looked to her left.
They were passing by a road that overlooked the sea, to their right was a large field that would’ve been perfect to have a picnic. Gwen made a mental note in her mind that she wanted to come back here.
“Well, it is beautiful indeed,” Hans noted as he looked at the reflecting ocean.
“Pretty if we had a camera,” Kio said.
Briar raised her eyebrows, “Hey, what time is it?”
“4:13, why?” Pino told her.
“It’s just, why are the clouds so dark and gloomy? And it’s getting pretty cold..” she shook her arms.
“Would this be Frost again?” Snow White asked.
Jack shook his head, “He’s in the North Pole with the other Guardians helping for Christmas, right Audrey?
But Audrey had her head down and didn’t respond as she stood perfectly still.
“Mon amour?” Jack went up to her and tucked her hair behind her ears. As soon as he did he almost immediately flinched back as he saw the pupils of her eyes were no more. It was as if she went blind again.
“Audrey?! Can you hear me?” he tried shaking her but she would budge.
“Merlin!” Jack turned around as Snow yelled. He too was in the same state as her.
“What’s happening to them?!” Briar looked in panic.
“This is almost scary..” Gwen scrunched her face in worry.
The clouds became darker and bright light flashed for a second before a loud boom in the sky was heard. After the thunder, rain began pouring down, softy at first, but then the droplets became bigger, and it almost hurt their skin, like needles were falling down from the sky.
Merlin and Audrey then began to walk in sync, out of the road and into the big field. “What are they doing?” Arthur yelled out through the raging winds.
Merlin took his spells out, and lighting all the way from the clouds reached his hands. Audrey lifted her right arm to the ocean, and gallons of violent water came to her side.
“No way…are they gonna fight?!” Peter exclaimed.
Snow suddenly then gasped, she heard the Headless Horseman mumble something just before she crushed his head:
“At the sixteenth hour and thirteenth minute, one of you shall join me in my doom. I will not perish alone.”
“The Horseman..he cursed them, just before he died. Merlin and Audrey won’t stop fighting until one of them dies.” Snow said fearfully.
“We have to stop them!” Jack yelled.
Immediately after he did, Audrey and Merlin disappeared for a moment, before reappearing again and caused the biggest explosion of water with electricity running through it. Trees were burnt and drowned at the same time, and the group had managed to take cover on a slope.
“How the hell are they this powerful?” Hans grunted as he put his wok out as a shield.
Merlin and Audrey kept throwing their elements at each other, not stopping as destruction of the ground was far from their minds. Audrey restrained Merlin’s limbs with water chains before he generated electricity, making it run across the water forcing Audrey to drop him. It was at this moment where Snow hit her head against Merlin’s, and Jack punched Audrey’s head with his ring, knocking the two out as their elements died down.
The storm was clearing up and the group used this as an opportunity to head back to the White Palace, in fear of any other curses that might take place.
Merlin’s eyes shot open as he sat up on his bed. “What happened-”
“Merlin!” Snow and Arthur rushed to his side.
“God, if there’s one thing I know now, it’s to never upset you and Audrey at the same time.”
“Me and…what happened? We were just at the sunset- “
“It’s alright, we’ll tell you everything later.” Snow assured him.
On the opposite room, Audrey slowly woke up as well.
Isabella gasped, “Your highness, she’s awake!” she called out.
Jack hastily came out of the bathroom and ran to his wife and her maid. “Are you alright? Who am I? Who is she?” He quickly asked her.
“What…Jack..and Isabella…what are you talking about?”
Jack sighed in relief, “Good, I didn’t hit you too hard.”
Everyone else was in the parlor, eating dinner as it was quiet all around. “Are we really sure he’s gone?” Goldie asked.
“Snow made sure of it, he could’ve only brought out one curse by the time she killed him.” Kio nodded.
“It’s already past the deadline for that curse, so they’ll be a hundred percent okay.” Noki followed up.
Gretel looked at her brother, “You don’t think there are other old Nightmares that are still out there, are there?”
Hans shook his head, “We’ll deal with them when we will, if ever.”
Though all of them hoped there would never be an ‘if ever’.