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    "NO."

    "Kaelyn–"

    "No."

    Emma looked at the girl like how a mother regarded a stubborn child, and Kaelyn wondered if Henry had received that look before. They were currently in the Diner, Kaelyn enjoying her morning drink and breakfast, ignoring some of the wary looks she was receiving from usual customers who had witnessed the previous day. Emma stood above her, a hand resting on the table as she looked down at the brunette girl who was warming her hands on her drink.

    "I need your help," Emma repeated.

    As much as Kaelyn loved that Emma needed something from her, she was growing bored of the pestering. "No. It's my day off, I just want to drink my tea and go scare that guy who threw his drink on me," Kaelyn said, sipping her tea and arching an eyebrow at Emma.

    "A guy threw a drink on you?" was all that Emma could ask.

    She raised both eyebrows at the blonde woman. "Really?" she said. "That's what you got from that?"

    Emma blinked, before returning to why she had originally decided to bother the immortal girl yet another day in a row. Kaelyn had almost accepted the routine. Almost. "Okay, okay. Regina's missing," Emma told her, sliding into the seat opposite her. It wasn't a booth today, which put the two annoyingly close together.

    Kaelyn shrugged. "And?"

    "So are the beans," Emma said. Kaelyn was still uninterested, and took another sip of her tea and looked at Emma over the rim of the cup. "I think it's Tamara," she finally admitted.

    Kaelyn placed her drink down and leaned forward. "How do you think she did it?" she asked, in a saturated voice. Emma either didn't realise she was being mocked or didn't care as she continued, believing to have piqued Kaelyn's interest.

    "I don't know," the blonde said. "But it has to be her," she added as Kaelyn gave her a look.

    "Yeah, because if you're wrong, you'll look like a fucking idiot," Kaelyn scoffed, finding amusement in the situation. Emma stared her down until Kaelyn sighed. "Fine, okay, I hate her, too."

    Emma rolled her eyes. "You hate everyone."

    "Not a total lie," Kaelyn said, unbothered. Emma looked a little surprised that she hadn't taken offence, but didn't say anything. "So, what do you actually want?" Kaelyn asked, injecting a hint of irritation into her voice.

    Emma sighed out her nose. "Can you watch Henry while we take care of everything?"

    Kaelyn paused in bringing her tea to her lips. After a few seconds of deliberating that yes, Emma had come to the second – if not the first – most feared member in town to look after her son, Kaelyn leaned back in her seat. "Great," she said, passively. "So, now I'm the immortal teenage babysitter."

    She nearly laughed at the almost-panicked expression on Emma's face at the thought of offending her. "No, it's not that–"

    Kaelyn actually did laugh this time, cutting off whatever excuse the blonde could come up with. "Relax. I don't care," she dismissed. Emma looked at her, cautiously. "Regina's missing? Cool, doesn't affect me. Beans missing? Great, they weren't doing anything for me anyway. Henry needs a babysitter? Sweet, I've been doing it for ten years already and he's one of two people I like," she explained, casually, like she was discussing the weather and not, potentially, the fate of people's lives.

    Emma was quiet for a few moments, studying the blasé girl in front of her, who only looked back, knowing she had all the time in the world to waste. "Is this really how you live your life?" Emma finally asked.

    "What do you mean?" Kaelyn asked, innocently, tilting her head to the side.

    "Not getting involved, not caring, unless something directly affects you," Emma told her. Kaelyn scoffed and ran her tongue over her teeth, Emma watching her carefully.

    "Well, when you've lived as long as I have and seen the shit I have, self-preservation becomes first nature," Kaelyn told her, but her voice now had an edge, one that was only sharpened by years of survival and experience. The kind that only someone who had seen too much, lived too long, could possess.

    Kaelyn saw Emma's face shift at the change of tone, looking briefly caught off guard by her sudden seriousness. "You sound like Gold."

    The brunette scoffed, the darkness gone from her voice as she turned her mask back into childish offence. "You wish," she mused, sipping the last of her tea for the morning, and preparing for a day of child-sitting.

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    HANGING OUT with Henry was nowhere near as much fun as it usually was, and that was saying something given that Kaelyn had developed a distaste for children since she had regained her memories. Henry was the exception to that rule, but today he was about as entertaining as Kaelyn arguing with one of the dwarves.

    She had taken him to the playground originally, a usual favourite of his, but he had appeared low on energy and almost sulked around. Knowing the kid liked books, she then dragged him to the library. She would never tell him she'd used her magic to get in, since who knew where Belle was these days? But again, he had only seemed to be half-there. Kaelyn pretended not to be bothered by it, at first. Or bothered by the fate of Regina or the beans. It had piqued her curiosity, but if someone had come to kill Regina then Kaelyn herself was fine.

    The realisation dawned on her then, as she sat in a small patch of sunlight, Henry to her left skimming the bookshelves idly. In the light, Kaelyn's dark eyes were illuminated, the indigo tinge that was usually hard to catch when she wasn't straining herself almost gleaming. "It's Regina, isn't it?" she asked, her voice easily cutting through the silence. Henry stopped, his finger still pressed against the rows of books, and turned to her. "That's why you're so down. You're worried."

    Henry looked at her evenly, and was probably the only person who wouldn't question her even knowing what worry was, since so many people believed her to be careless and above everything and everyone. Sure, maybe she was, but Kaelyn knew she'd turn into a raging storm if Henry or Neal were in danger and she wasn't doing anything to help. Everyone else would just be in her way.

    "Well, what if they don't find her?" Henry finally said, moving away from the shelves to get closer to Kaelyn so they weren't yelling across the room. Not that they needed to, anyway, the silence was easy to break. "And– and they wanted to get her in trouble even before they realised she already was," Henry continued, and Kaelyn arched an eyebrow, not knowing what he meant by that.

    She didn't question it. Knowing Regina, and their few similarities, she'd probably done something for herself and Emma and her righteous group had tried to stop her, before finding out the evil queen was already in trouble.

    Kaelyn scanned Henry's face, cautiously. "Kid, it's Emma," she reassured, knowing Henry idolised his biological mother. And that, however annoying Kaelyn found her, the blonde woman was completely capable of figuring out what the hell was happening.

    "I know but... but Regina's my family, too," Henry insisted, before looking away, almost bashful. Kaelyn gnawed on her bottom lip, imagining what would happen if Regina wasn't found, or if her body was found, and how it would hit Henry. The happy-go-lucky kid who had never treated her with any hint of fear or wariness, before and after the curse was lifted, who had vouched for her coming back to the Enchanted Forest with them when everyone else would've rather cut her out. One of two people that the immortal teenager actually gave a shit about.

    "Okay, we're going to the Diner," Kaelyn said, abruptly, getting to her feet. Henry looked at her in surprise, having to jog after her as she was already heading for the door to leave the library.

    "What? Why?" he questioned as they reached the door. Kaelyn twisted the locking mechanism with her magic and looked down at the brunette boy.

    "Food," she said, the door swinging open without her touching it, "duh."

    The walk to the Diner only took a few minutes, the cold, grey day nipping at Kaelyn's nose. She pushed the door open, the familiar bell chiming as the brunette pair entered. Ruby looked up from the counter, giving Kaelyn a small, polite smile. Instead of going to sit at a table for lunch like she usually would on her day off, Kaelyn ushered Henry over to the counter.

    "Ruby, hey," she greeted.

    "Hey, Kaelyn," she replied, looking between the pair. "What can I do for you?"

    "Think you could entertain Henry for a while?" Kaelyn asked, looking down at the boy who just looked confused by the shift in babysitters. Ruby looked confused, too, her bright eyes flicking between the pair.

    "Sure," she agreed, sounding a little uncertain. Kaelyn just nodded once and made to leave but Henry caught her wrist. If it was anyone else, she probably would've twisted out of their grip roughly, but Kaelyn calmly turned around to look at the young boy.

    "Where're you going?" Henry asked, his curiosity almost hiding his distress.

    "Is it about the guy from yesterday?" Ruby chimed in, looking a little nervous. Henry furrowed his brows at the comment but Kaelyn rolled with it.

    "Yeah. Of course," she answered. Ruby looked disappointed but not surprised. "Have you seen Neal?" Kaelyn questioned, suddenly wondering why Emma hadn't had Henry's own father look after him for the day.

    "I think he left with Emma. It looked serious," Ruby told her. Kaelyn rolled her eyes.

    "Son of a bitch," she breathed, knowing Emma had probably dragged him into the Regina search party.

    "You shouldn't say bitch," Henry said, meekly. Kaelyn looked down at him, almost fondly.

    "Oh, you are too pure for this world," she mused, ruffling his flat hair. "Don't have too much fun without me, kid," she teased as she left, trying not to waste anymore time, the familiar bell chiming on her way out.

    Moving across town was easy for her, as no one stopped to talk to her or perhaps they didn't dare to. 'The guy from yesterday' was hardly on her mind as Kaelyn arrived at Regina's house, which was more like a mansion. Kaelyn imagined her room at the Diner – which was all she needed – that was probably the same size as one of Regina's bathrooms.

    But Kaelyn didn't care about the interior of the building. She needed Regina's mark, something personal and attributed to her. She reached the door after climbing the steps, and brushed a finger over the door handle, feeling the buzz as she found what she was looking for. Fingerprints. Hoping that the most dominant prints she could identify were in fact Regina's, she focused on them, where they had come from, and where their owner now was. Kaelyn's eyes rolled back as she performed the spell, her abilities locking onto Regina's location like a tracking signal.

    Kaelyn came to with a sharp breath, her hand falling from the door handle as she slumped against the wall of the house, her energy significantly drained from the tracking spell. She dreaded how long it would take to regain the energy she had wasted. Or lost. She raised a shaking hand to wipe at the thin trail of blood leaking from her nose, and scowled at the red on her fingertips. She hardly ever pushed herself enough for her body to give a visible sign of exhaustion but attaching herself to someone else's energy signature was a significant move.

    "This better be worth it," Kaelyn muttered to herself as she headed off in the direction her magic pulled her, thinking only of Henry as she went. Again, no one bothered her, though maybe that was because her lack of energy had caused her permanent scowl to look even more prominent, with hooded eyes and an almost unsteady walk.

    The tracking spell brought Kaelyn to the Storybrooke Cannery and Co. and the smell of fish in the air was almost overwhelming. There was no one around except for the loud seagulls, and Kaelyn went for the first door she saw. She clicked her fingers and the door unlocked with a click, and a pain stabbed her head. She cringed at her choice to use the tracking magic now as she consciously pushed the door inward and headed inside.

    It was almost completely dark, the only light from the high-rise windows, but it was still shrouded in shadow. And completely silent. Kaelyn snuck forward, through what appeared to be a storage room filled with boxes and shelves. The dim light filtered through, showing dust particles in the air, as she reached the back of the room and another door. Kaelyn winced as she had to mentally unlock it again and pushed forward, coming to find herself in a bleak hallway.

    She continued forward, slowly yet silently, sticking to the general direction of where the tracking spell was leading her. She briefly wondered what Regina was doing here, but decided she didn't care. Kaelyn just needed to find the woman and go home. Kaelyn tensed as she heard something, faint footsteps. She swallowed thickly, twitching her fingers, and leapt around the corner. She slammed the first body she could detect to the wall, raising a shield around herself just as a gun went off.

    "Okay, ow." She winced; the bullet had ricocheted off her shoulder. Usually her shields would be strong enough to deem her impervious to something like a bullet, but her reserves were still down and the charged piece of metal had managed to bruise her.

    "Kaelyn?" David asked from where he was held against the wall. Kaelyn finally glanced up and registered that it was him.

    "Yes. That's my name," she responded.

    "What're you doing here?" Mary Margaret now appeared, eyes wide as she saw Kaelyn still holding David against the wall, her pale hand shaking with the effort. She sighed and released him, not for any other reason than the fact she couldn't waste magic on suspending someone who wasn't going to harm her. Yet.

    "I care about Henry, Henry cares about what happens to Regina, I have the power to help her so...here I am," Kaelyn admitted. Mary Margaret and David looked almost shocked, then maybe a little proud, but didn't say anything of the sort.

    "How'd you find this place?" David asked, instead.

    "You guys underestimate me way too much," she told them, casually spinning on her heel. For a moment, she looked like an actual teenager without a care in the world, filled with innocence and just possessing a sharp mouth. But then her eyes would harden, or glint in the way only someone who had seen too much could have.

    Kaelyn was tempted to ask how they had found where Regina was, but frankly didn't care enough. They were here now, weren't they? "Sorry for shooting you," David finally said after some moments of silence, eyeing the shoulder he'd struck. It showed no physical mark that it had been shot at, but it hurt like a bitch. Kaelyn just shrugged, choosing not to dwell. David brought a walkie talkie to his lips. "Emma, Neal, we've got Kaelyn."

    "Kaelyn?" Neal questioned, his voice grainy through the machine, at the same time Kaelyn said, "Neal?"

    "Where's Henry?" Emma chimed in, a hint of panic in her voice.

    Kaelyn rolled her eyes. "He's fine, mum." She could imagine Emma's expression, the one she had developed especially for looking at Kaelyn. Before Emma could ask more questions, Kaelyn felt an internal tug and her head snapped up to look down the hall. Her sudden alertness caught Mary Margaret's attention, and she looked at her warily.

    The tracking spell was fading, and that only happened if the person it was attached to was fading. Without a warning Kaelyn sprinted off, ignoring David calling her name, the sound soon replaced by him and Mary Margaret running after her. Within a few dozen strides and three turns, the sound of screaming could be heard, and then the hum of electricity. Kaelyn skidded to a halt at an open door.

    "Hospital guy?" Kaelyn asked before she could stop herself. Greg Mendell turned to her in alarm, looking like a deer caught in the headlights. He was headed for a machine, which had wires attached to a body lying on a metal table. Regina.

    "Don't move!" David shouted as he arrived a moment later, firing several shots at the machine. Mendell looked between the two, a man with a raised gun and a girl with terrifying power at her fingertips, before he knocked the equipment forward with a clatter and made a run for it. David and Kaelyn pursued in an instant, Mendell turning the corner out the back door.

    "We can't leave her!" Mary Margaret cried, stopping David in his tracks. Kaelyn wasn't so easily swayed. "Kaelyn, please! She'll die if we don't get her help!" The brunette clenched her jaw, the seconds in which she could catch up with Mendell slipping through her fingertips.

    "Fine," she growled, stalking back over. Mary Margaret looked like she'd just achieved something amazing, and Kaelyn sent her a harsh look. "Only because I wouldn't have enough energy to catch up with Mendell by now, and I did only come for Regina." The bright look faded from Mary Margaret's face as Kaelyn felt Regina's pulse. It was faint.

    "Emma?" David said into the walkie talkie as he came to Kaelyn's side. "You gotta block the exists."

    "Already on it. You guys all right?" Emma replied.

    "Besides the point," Kaelyn snapped, knowing the question wasn't directed to her anyway. "Mendell's coming your way."

    A beat passed. "Greg Mendell," Emma said.

    "Creepy hospital guy if you need another identification," Kaelyn responded, lightly, before the signal cut off. Kaelyn looked up to find David and Mary Margaret both looking at her. "What?"

    "You helped save someone today," Mary Margaret said, sounding almost fond. Kaelyn raised her eyebrows, and looked to David to see he seemed to agree with the statement.

    "Oh, god," Kaelyn scoffed. Mary Margaret furrowed her brows at the reaction. "I didn't do shit," Kaelyn told her. "I performed a tracking spell which drained half my energy, you guys were already here and he didn't even put up a fight so, really, I wasn't needed and lost some of my magic reserves for nothing. Where's the fun in that?" Kaelyn shrugged, nonchalantly to conclude.

    "So, you're saying it was all a waste?" Mary Margaret asked in disbelief.

    "That's exactly what I'm saying," Kaelyn responded. The former Snow White looked halfway between horrified and disgusted. Kaelyn snorted. "Don't look so surprised Miss I-wear-my-moral-compass-on-my-sleeve. Some of us just know better."

    David intervened between the unfeeling girl and his partner who looked as close to angered as Kaelyn could imagine. "Let's just get her back to Mother Superior. Okay?"

    "Okay."

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    KAELYN WATCHED as Regina had a magic wand waved over her, Mother Superior looking solemn as she turned to them. David and Mary Margaret stood anxiously, while Kaelyn looked bored as she stood in the kitchen, a steaming cup of coffee in her hand. Her energy had slowly replenished from the drink, but she planned to go to the Diner and get herself a full course meal to properly recover before she'd been held back to make sure Regina was okay.

    "Now that the cuff is off, she's gonna be okay. Given time and rest, her magic will return," Mother Superior informed, just as the door to the apartment opened. Kaelyn turned to see Emma, who was alone and looking completely detached from reality. David was on his feet in an instant.

    "What happened?" he asked as he approached her. He stopped when he saw her face, which Kaelyn now recognised as grief. "What is it?" David said, more cautiously this time.

    Kaelyn spoke up. "Where's Neal?" Emma's eyes shifted to the brunette, who looked terrifying in the moment, standing tensely and eyes boring into her. A strange feeling had twisted itself in Kaelyn's stomach.

    There was a beat of silence, before Emma managed to find her voice. "He's gone. She killed him."

    Any silence that would've followed the announcement was shattered by the sound of breaking china. Eyes snapped to Kaelyn, whose hands were empty now, as broken shards of a coffee cup and hot liquid surrounded her feet. The brunette had gone stiff, and couldn't help her eyes from widening or remove the burning sensation behind them. You can cry later, you can cry later, she chanted to herself, but her emotional response had already been seen.

    David pulled Emma towards him and sat her down. "Emma, I'm so sorry."

    Mary Margaret meanwhile, looked at Kaelyn cautiously. She had barely moved since the announcement that her friend was dead. Gone. Their final moments had been spent in tense silence, dealing blows at each other. And she didn't have to ask who she was. Tamara had done it. Kaelyn felt anger flush her system, and her stunned face rearranged itself into calm. Too calm. The kind of calm that could only be hiding a storm beneath it.

    She knew her eyes were still watery, but the look on her face was anything but grief-stricken, as she gave Mary Margaret a warning look. Kaelyn stepped over the remains of her coffee and left the kitchen, and then the house, throwing herself into the cool night air. Her eyes burned as her unshed tears were hit by a breeze, and she clenched her fists at her side.

    Kaelyn did not make herself a meal when she returned to the Diner. In fact, she walked right past where Henry – who had yet to know what had happened and wouldn't hear it from Kaelyn – and Ruby were and straight up to her room, her eyes raking across the door that was once Neal's room. Referring to him in past tense made it worse, but she wasn't about to go into denial.

    With the door shut, the girl slammed her fist into her mirror, a crack spreading out from where she struck it. She pulled away, blooding trickling from her knuckles, as she stared up at her cracked reflection. No tears fell from her darkening eyes, and the pain shooting up her knuckles and arm kept her grounded.

    She thought of all the times Tamara had been right in front of her, and felt the familiar pulse of anger inside her. The thirst for revenge, to make someone hurt the way they had hurt her. She's dead, alright? She would make do on that promise. Getting a drink thrown on her was one thing, being challenged by loss was another. No one would get away with killing someone she liked.

    Kaelyn had played the calm, but now she was going to become the storm.

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hell hath no fury like a pissed off kaelyn

but hi wow i've been a gone while but y'all requested that i update this first so here we are

so yeah there's the angst because of course kaelyn has to lose like one of three people she cares about just after they were reunited

also feedback on kaelyn's character is really appreciated because i don't know how well i'm representing her and would love some feedback! xo