So this is Swan Fire but it's also turning into a some sort of 'Romeo and Juliet' but not in the familial aspect. Maybe a good analogy would be how a vampire and human can't be together without compromises and lots of difficulties. Btw, I am also laughing at how this writing is having a life of its own. There were instances wherein I play with some concepts and then when I watch the episode (I mean, I haven't seen this ep in a year) and I hear the exact lines, somehow it all fits. I do have a plan on how it's gonna go and I hope it works. Ok bye. Hope you enjoy!
Cru - Emma
Urs - Neal
Cassandra - Henry
Poseidon - Rumple
Based on "Manhattan"
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Panting. Panic. Ache in the limbs. Worry. Grasping for breath. Excitement. Burning feet. Regret.
She can't stop. Not now.
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No one ever looks for her. She made sure of that. Besides, her intuition; most of the time, it's right. It has been proven right. Perks of being a half-octopus, animal instinct. If that sounds crazy, perhaps being a former half-octopus is crazier. Perhaps being a former mermaid is the craziest of them all.
Intuition. Someone rang at her apartment. Could be a delivery. Could be any of the people she's seeing. Could be some business stuff. But something tells her, danger is coming. Adrenaline. Animal instinct.
So out of this possible nonsensical urge, she jumped onto the window. Almost breaking the glass into pieces like in those action movies this realm is so fond of. If only the people here have seen real, vile things. Perhaps it is the same in all realms, evil. She admits this realm is as abusive as any other. And this realm, in any of its historical periods is always evil.
But it proved to be sensible after all. Jumping to the window as fast as she can led to her climbing down the exit stairs as fast as she can. And then what. She saw two people at the entrance of the building acting mysteriously. She didn't see their faces. Only one of them was wearing a hat. As soon as she landed in the ground, the one in a hat started chasing her.
Ursula bolted. She could be winning a marathon now with the use of her tentacles, but no, inconveniently, this is a land that does not allow for her magic, or any magic to work. How she envies Dr. Octopus now, or Spider-man seems to be the better bet. And so she needed to rely on her human arms and legs to get away. Get away from someone she's not even sure is chasing her. But could everything be so coincidental, and that she's only paranoid?
Panting. Panic. Ache in the limbs. Worry. Grasping for breath. Excitement. Burning feet. Regret.
She can't stop. Not now. Just to be sure, no stopping.
Sprinting for blocks now, and she's sure that the one in a hat was totally following her. That determination of that person to race the streets of New York with her, explained it all. She suddenly was taken back to a memory of a woman who was so determined to follow her. To even steal boring watches for her.
"Because let's face it, if we are going to be high risk thieves, why watches and not blood diamonds, darling?"
"Because at that point, only watches were available to steal. Don't worry, I'll buy you real fur once we got ourselves the cash."
That memory didn't distract her from the running she's doing. In fact, it might had been a good luck charm, even if she doesn't believe in that. There's no such thing as luck, though she actually lost the one pursuing her.
She kept running until boom! She was tackled; out of nowhere someone attacked her and they both fell on the nice pavement in between buildings.
She had the right to be paranoid because there's no such thing as coincidence. There's only fate. Fucking fate. And once again, there's no such thing as luck. And that memory actually distracted her after all. A distraction that she didn't know would prepare her for this moment. But really nothing could ever prepare her for this. Not for what's to come. All three revelations at once. Maybe more.
There's only a little ache all over her body. She's used to cleaning in the aquariums so she knows physical energy. She effortlessly lifted her head up, but she then immediately wished she took more time because she can't fathom what was in front of her. Slowly, she saw a woman whose hat fell into the ground, now revealing a split black and white hair, that she was once very fond of.
"No. Ursula?"
"Cruella?"
After a moment of shock, Ursula needed to speak. Somebody had to. But it wasn't pure shock though, there was also some form of relief and glee in seeing this woman again as she softly spoke, "I don't understand. What are you doing here?"
But Cruella answered in a harsh tone. "What am I doing here?"
"Yeah."
"I'm not answering anything until you tell me the truth! Are you Hippios' daughter?"
As much as seeing Cruella again was confusing, Ursula was getting more confused and a little bit pissed. "What are you talking about? Who's Hippios?"
"You played me. You're from there too. You... played me. Off course, you did darling. That's what everybody does. The kids at the playground, Ingrid, and then you. Why would you be an exception?"
"What? Slow down, Cru."
"You played me. You and Hippios. You all just want to use me! Well, that's about to change, darlings. Just you wait and see."
"What are you talking about? Who's Hippios? A ghastly name, to be honest."
"Your father." Cruella snapped. Ursula was surprised but in no way believing what she's hearing. It's too impossible.
"Poseidon." Cruella spoke again.
Neverland wasn't a place of secrets so everyone there knew, but in this realm, Ursula have kept the secret of her identity the whole time. Not even Cruella knew about this. Unless she played her too?
"He's here?"
"Why else would I be in New York?"
For some reason, Ursula felt that Cruella's telling the truth. She still knows when this two toned hair woman is lying or not. Realizing this, she raised her voice, "You brought him to me?! Why would you fucking do that?!"
"Darling! I am the only one allowed to be angry here!"
Ursula was getting impatient with all that was happening. Though it was true, Cruella had every right to be mad at her, but something tells her, there was more to that statement.
Cruella raised her voice even more, "Did you know who I was, where I was from, the whole time? Did you know the truth about me? The truth I didn't even know?!"
"Cru... uhh.. wait."
"Was it just some sort of sick, twisted plan? Did ... did you even care about me, at all?! I wanna know! I want the bloody truth, all of it! And darling, trust me, I will make you tell me!"
"Fine! We...we gotta get off the street. We can't do it here. We're out in the open. I... I spent a lifetime running from that man. I'm not gonna let him catch me."
Cruella was still tensed. Ursula even more. The secret life she carefully built was now crumbling down all at once.
But somehow, Ursula was able to speak calmly. "There's a bar down the street that I know for sure is serving gin. We can talk there."
"I will get myself some gin later. I need it more than ever. But I'm not drinking with you! I need answers! Tell me now, here."
"No, bar's better. Don't worry. You can... keep yelling at me, causing a scene like you always loved to do, when we get there."
Ursula started walking and Cruella can't do anything but follow. Both of them seem to have a pattern of following each other. And as always, this has proved to be destructive for both.
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Sitting now at the bar, they're both tensed but Ursula, as she's the more balanced headed between the two, was able to speak in a more low key manner.
"Well, what do you wanna know, Cru? You want the truth. Ask away. "
"Did you know who I was when we met?"
"If I had, I wouldn't have gone near you." Ursula answered but still tugging away some information.
"Really, darling?"
"Really, darling, what? I was in hiding. I came here to get... get away from... all that crap."
"So if you didn't know, then you were just using me. You just needed someone to take the fall for all the watches you stole." Cruella felt a pang of disgust as she realized that as much as she's tough, snarky and manipulative of everyone, there were three times in her life when she easily let other people take advantage of her. She had embraced the magical side of her when she had the chance but circumstances prevented her to continue.
"I wasn't using you. When we met, I didn't know. I found out. And you were more than a threat to me than I to you so I fled. Well, there's more to that but..."
"How did you find out? And by the way, you were also hiding a lot of things from me."
"When I went to sell the watches, I ran into this magical... well this sorcerer named Rumplestiltskin. He told me about what you are and I got scared."
"So you just left me, and let me go to prison because you got scared?"
"Cru..."
"I loved you." Tears began to form in Cruella's eyes when she dared speak those words. But what can she do; it's not about being bold, but honesty flowing naturally when you're hurt.
Ursula looked down before answering, "I was trying to help you be who you are supposed to be. Even if it means, we can't be together."
"Are you telling me that us meeting was a coincidence? Because how the hell did that happen? If it wasn't in your plan?"
"I don't know. Maybe it was fate."
"You believe in that? I don't even know who the Ursula I knew before!"
"You know, there's not a ton about my father that I remember that doesn't suck. But he used to tell me that there are no coincidences. Everything that happens, happens by design, and there's nothing we can do about it. Forces greater than us conspire to make it happen. Fate, destiny, whatever you wanna call it. The point is, maybe we met for a reason."
Cruella twitched her lips. Ursula continued, "Maybe something good came from us being together."
Cruella, still mad, confused, with some tears flowing in her cheeks, formed a mocking smile on her face before speaking, "Darling, no. Not that I can think of. I just went to jail. For you. Doesn't matter now. I'm over it. And you."
Cruella drank the remaining gin in her glass, and stood up, accidentally revealing something in her neck that Ursula easily saw.
"Why do you wear the, uh, key chain I got you ?" The situation was tensed but Ursula can't help but form a slight smile in her face when she asked for that information. At least there's some sliver of hope in all this?
Cruella felt like an idiot even more. Can this day be as devilish more? Off all the days she could have forgotten to wear this necklace key chain, why today she didn't? When this object only reminds her of her dork days with Ursula. Really, a key chain with a puppy engraving on one side and an octopus on the other?
But she needed to reply. She can't escape this when it's literally in front of them. "To remind myself never to trust someone again" as she grabbed the necklace and handed it to Ursula.
"Come on. I made a deal with your father. I'd bring you to him."
"You... you made a deal with him?" Ursula tensed again.
"Yes. And I am upholding my end."
"You do know you don't have to actually do this?"
"I know, darling."
"Then it would be easy for you. Tell him that you lost me. Tell him you can't find me. You do that, you'll never have to see me again."
That's an offer very hard to resist.
Cruella remained standing, thinking for a moment, then gave Ursula a last look before leaving the bar.
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She went back to Poseidon and when she told him of her failure, he stubbornly broke the apartment door. He's not giving up just yet. With all the insanity of the day, the good thing about this is Cassandra, her daughter, tagged along in this trip. She hugged her tightly; she needed some comfort. A comfort she never thought can come from caring for a child. After all, she always knew she wasn't mother material that's why she gave up this child years ago. But power has a way of reuniting people so that this very potential of power can continue, and thrive. This daughter of hers is so much like her that caring for her is not at all tedious. But she wants to keep Cassandra all to herself.
She wanted to leave but Poseidon is determined to stay and wait in the apartment. She can't run away because she made a deal with this guy. What she can do is to trick him into leaving. It didn't work. This man is brilliant than she ever thought. And has a temper. He started yelling at her for wanting to give up on this journey. All he wants is to see and make amends with his daughter before it's too late. With all the yelling of Poseidon, and Cruella, confused and mad about everything, all she wanted to do was to curse at him and curse at this fucking life. But she can't. Her daughter was just in the other room. Suddenly, as if to save Cruella from her misery, the apartment door burst open.
"Leave her alone."
Poseidon was surprised and he softened his facial expression. He was taken aback by how this dream of his is now a reality, that he literally, involuntarily, stepped back.
"Ursula." He only dreamed of speaking that name while actually seeing his daughter. And now it's a reality.
She looked at him with disdain, but softly, keeping her cool.
"You came back for me." Poseidon proudly spoke with a hint of relief in his voice.
"No. I came to make sure you didn't hurt her." Ursula worryingly looked at Cruella. Poseidon looked from Ursula to Cruella with a sort of confused thought that he quickly brushed off. Ursula continued speaking, "I've seen what you do to people who have wronged you."
"Please, Ursula, let me talk."
"I have no interest in talking to you. You can go."
"I'm not going anywhere."
"Get out of my apartment!"
Cruella slowly moved forward to ease the situation and spoke softly, "Ursula..."
"Cruella, I got this, okay."
A beat.
"You two know each other. You to know each other. How?" Poseidon's voice changed from calm to alarmed.
"Well you sent me chasing after her, darling."
"No, no, stop. Stop it! You're lying. How do you two know each other?!"
As if things can't get worse, Cassandra emerged from the other room walking towards them all.
"Mom, what's going on?"
Poseidon surprised and yet beginning to understand all of this.
Ursula still has no clue. Emotions taking over her. This day will go into the disastrous days list.
She needed to speak because no one is, "Who's this?"
Cruella quickly glanced at Ursula then focused back on Cassandra as she muttered, "My daughter."
"What?" Ursula can't believe what she's hearing, and what she's seeing. Cruella, a mother. As if someone put her on a dare. Though some flashes of memory are coming back to Ursula but she's too confused, angry, shocked at everything, she can't think straight.
"Is that Ursula? Mr. Poseidon's daughter?" Cassandra spoke with a caring voice yet with a combination of sass. How can she do that?
Cruella didn't answer that query but instead cupped her daughter's face and said, "Darling, I need you to stay in the other room for a little while longer, okay? Come on, Cassandra."
With the odd feeling of seeing Cruella, actually acting to care for a child, Ursula felt some uneasiness, and needed to ask, "Wait. H... How old are you?"
Cruella carefully dragging Cass to the other room, whispered to her ear, "Don't answer her."
"How old are you, kid?!"
"11! Now why is everyone yelling?"
Ursula can't believe what she's hearing, "She's 11?"
Cass, inheriting the smarts, the determination, the sass of her parents, slowly realized what's unfolding in front of her but she turned to Cruella and politely asked, "Mom?" But Cruella stood silently looking only at her daughter.
"Is she my daughter too?" Ursula finally asked. Cruella turned her gaze towards Ursula, still not speaking but wearing a face of defeat.
"Is she... my daughter?" Ursula once again asked as Cruella turned away to touch Cassandra's hair and look at her daughter's eyes intently and finally saying, "Yes."
Cassandra's instinct was proven right. Even if she had an inkling moments ago, all this is still shocking. Being a daughter of two villains, her first thought was to run, escape, and devise a plan of having a little revenge on being lied to. But she's only getting to know Cruella as they found each other a couple months ago. And really having another mom sounds thrilling to her that she might just forgive these two for whatever fuckery they have done. And so, she just jumped onto the window and climbed upstairs to the rooftop. Cruella followed her.
Ursula wanted to follow them but she was stopped by her father. "Ursula... please. Please. All I want is a chance to be heard." She refused but her ever manipulative dad was able to trick her to to talking. He explained that the deal with Cruella was for her not to only reunite them but for them to talk about things. With an ever growing disdain, Ursula sternly replied, "Okay, you've got three minutes."
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"So that's her, huh?" Cassandra asked her mom with a cool manner of speaking. Her shock was slowly wearing off.
"Yes."
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"Darling, it's because I never thought I would see her again. I never wanted to."
"Why not?"
"She was a liar, a manipulative girl. She... broke my heart."
"I could have taken it, you know. The truth."
"I know, darling. I know. She was just a part of my life I... wanted to forget. That's why I didn't tell you. I was thinking of me, not you."
"I want to meet my other mom."
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"Clock's ticking." Ursula uttered those words as she shot a piercing look towards her dad.
"I know I've made mistakes. But you must believe me. I wanna make up for it. There's no greater pain than regret."
"Try being manipulated, being forced to do things you don't want to do. And yet, here we are in the same situation, right daddy?"
"Please. Let me make it up for you."
"How are you gonna do that?"
"You can come back with me to the sea. You can have your reign. We can be father and daughter again."
"I love the sea but I can't go back now. Apparently, I have a daughter. And I want a chance to be a good parent. One that would do exactly the opposite of how you treated me."
"I do understand. We can bring her. Get her from Cruella."
Laughingly, Ursula replied, "Are you... are you insane? Here you are again with your manipulations."
"No, Ursula. You have known for a while now what she's capable of doing; Cruella can-"
"Cannot hurt anybody here in the Land Without Magic. Or if she can, do you honestly believe she would hurt her own daughter?"
"How are you sure it's hers? That her blood flows through that little girl? You've stayed in this land for too long. You know how this "scientific" processes that these humans call can very much fail. We're not even sure if she's yours too."
"I am not listening to this, father! You cannot control me. Again. I won't let you. "
"Ursula..."
"No. Just go. I don't want you in my life again. I don't want you near Cruella and my daughter."
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"Oh hey, darling. She wants to meet you."
Ursula casually, with no anger, but more in a mocking tone, told Cruella, "You weren't gonna tell me about her."
"No, I wasn't."
"Yeah, well she's my kid too. I mean, is she really? Because I want her to be."
"I know how much you wanted to have a child. And so..."
"Yeah how did that happen? I left you to rot in prison, remember?" After the conversation with her dad, Ursula's becoming feisty.
"Yes. You did. I very much remember. I was drilling that event to your head in the bar just a few hours ago, darling."
"You didn't have to. I know. I was the one who did it. Now, how the fuck did this happen?"
"Well, I... we... or you used to talk about having a child back in our thieving days. I didn't want to. But if it's with you and if it would make you happy, maybe it can make me happy too."
"Go on."
"So I got ourselves into a lab and had our egg cells extracted and kept for preservation. That's very costly but I'm Cruella de Vil so I managed that and-"
"What? How come I don't remember any of this?"
"Because I made you drunk, darling."
"Wow, so you think I am the liar, I am manipulative when you are more cruelly wicked than me."
"Am I, really? Don't be flabbergasted, darling. It was meant to be a surprise. I got myself inseminated, even if I didn't want to because of the pain and the hassle of bearing a child, but because..."
"Because what?"
"Because I was foolish enough to love you that I went with it, and wanted to surprise you and tell you after we got the watches and move to Tallahassee."
"Wow, you did all that for me?" Ursula was sincerely amazed, and felt loved by Cruella with that revelation.
"Yes. And what did you do again to me?"
"I'm sorry. We clearly have to talk about a lot of things between us. We have to fix a lot of things."
"So there's an us now? One more thing, darling. You never told me why you can't bear a child. You just said you can't. But seeing there's this whole Poseidon and the sea thing, I mean I'm now understanding why you are so fond of octopus and the sea-"
"And you apparently can control animals so are you now suddenly interested in learning about the sea and what, controlling me for your every whim? You did make me drunk to extract my freakin' egg cells. I bet you would have preferred magic so everything would be easy, huh?"
"Hey you knew about my ability and you didn't tell me after you discovered, you just ran. And this is a Land Without Magic. Not only that, you actually knew about this murderous urge that I'm destined for, which I didn't have any idea previously, and guess what, you ran away instead of helping me deal with this."
"I know saying I got scared is a lame excuse. Cru, we need to talk about all these. Settle our issues but for now, can I just see my daughter?"
"Right. She wants to know you too, so go talk to her."
Ursula started walking forward but Cruella stopped her and said, "But darling, don't break her heart."
"Trust me, I'm not gonna do to her what my father did to me."
"And what you did to me."
"Okay, I get it. We're all messed up. What do you say, we try to avoid that with her? All right?"
Ursula walked towards the window and climbed upstairs to the rooftop. As much as she's confused, angry and tired, she's also thrilled, nervous and feeling some good energy or good vibes in meeting her daughter.
"So... you're my other mom."
"Yeah."
"I'm Cassandra."
"It's a beautiful name. It's nice to meet you, Cassandra. Can I call you 'Cass' ?"
"You want to be in nicknames basis already?"
"I'm sorry if you don't want to, I-"
"Relax. That is my nickname actually. And I would love it if you call me that."
"Sorry I took so long."
"It's okay. You didn't know."
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A/N: I know the insemination situation probably sounds crazy! Maybe it can be a bit compared to the insanity of the Zelenarian thing? But that conversation between Cru & Urs, was so fun to write. So yeah. And tbh, I can't think of any explanation as to how they have a biological daughter. I might expound on this in the future, about the sperm donor, maybe. I mean, Cru would be very choosy, wouldn't she? And this whole thing was a surprise, is this romantic or creepy? I think of all people, it's Cru who can truly pull off romantic and creepy simultaneously.