A/N: Hi there! I'm so sorry for the delay on this I've had serious writers block and school has been hectic but I'm back and with tons of fresh ideas for this fic. For those who haven't seen Oz: The Great and Powerful, you may want to hold off reading this till you've seen it. Hehe that's the catch, I'm obsessed/in love with that movie and it sorta helped me get over my writer's block so... I kinda crossed it over a bit. Hehe? I hope you guys enjoy the chapter though. :) It's a long one!
"Where are they?" Charming stormed to Regina; he got right in her face, tears were streaming down his face. His families had just been with him and then were stolen from him, because of magic.
"I don't know." Regina yelled. "I don't know." She said in a softer tone the second time.
Sophia, having been thrown by the winds and ruckus cause by the wraith, picked herself off the floor just in time to watch Regina being caught by Henry as she magically held Charming against the wall in now 3D vines from the wallpaper. She stayed back; she needed to wait till Regina was the last one in the room, other than her. Once the room cleared, Sophia walked to her friend, "Regina."
She turned around, rage in her eyes, they softened only slightly when she realized was there. Within seconds Regina's hand raised and flung Sophia across the room and against the wall. She saw her fall with a thud and pick herself back up.
"Regina, knocking me down isn't going to do anything. Please, stop using magic for once and just listen to me. We can get Henry back, the right way. Just stop using magic please."
"NO! Enough, Sophia, your naïve teenage advice does not work in the adult world!" She screamed, "I just want my son. I don't care the stakes. I want to be happy and having Henry back will make me happy!" And then, she broke. Regina fell to a crumpled heap on the ground and Sophia rushed to her, she wrapped her arms around her and rested her head on top of Regina's.
Sophia remembered the last time she held her like this, no, she couldn't think of that night. Now was not the time. She rocked Regina back and forth and rubbed her back, letting her cry it all out.
David had called Sophia while she was at lunch, telling her it was probably a good idea for them to work things out. She agreed and met him at the station after school. She walked in and threw her backpack in an empty chair and crossed her arms over her chest, "yes?"
"Sophia." David said and clasped his hands together, "I know you and Regina are friends… but your magic is powerful, and good. We need that right now. Especially with Snow and Emma gone." David sighed, "we don't know what Regina could do in order to get Henry back or what Rumplestilskin may do to double cross us."
"So I'm like your spy or something?" She asked, her brow furrowed into a look of disapproval.
David shook his head, "no not at all. Just, maybe with Regina having someone, she may not actually try anything too dangerous to get Henry back."
"Or, you know, since she has legal claim to him, you could you know, stop kidnapping him and let him go back to living with her."
"That, we both is not going to happen." David grimaced; her stare was a bit threatening. Maybe he should resolve this and now. "I know that in our world, we never quite accepted you as wanting to help in the fight to do something about the curse, because of your association with Regina but now, now maybe you could use that to our advantage."
"I'm not using my friendship with Regina to make sure your precious order is kept. I'll do what I can to help her redeem herself. I know the girl that's deep down inside her. You all are the one that made her who she is." Sophia said with conviction. "You'll need to find another puppet, Charming." Sophia began to turn to leave.
"Sophia, wait!" He yelled, "Wait."
"What?" She asked, turning back around.
"Organize a town meeting with me."
"On one condition."
"What?" He asked, afraid of the answer.
"You let Regina see Henry."
"No." He said, waving his hand in a motion of disapproval.
"I'll supervise the visit." She tried to compromise with the man, but who knew what he could be thinking.
David contemplated for a minute, he would have to take it into more consideration and of course consult Henry on it but it did sound like a fair deal. And, it was better than making a deal with Rumplestilskin. "Deal." He held out his hand for her to shake.
"Deal." She shook his hand in return, a small smirk formed on her lips.
Two months ago:
"You don't have a choir teacher?" Mary Margaret asked as she walked down the hallways with Sophia. Mary Margaret had come to the high school wing of Storybrooke Academy to have a meeting with an administrator, getting all her post-jailing things sorted out. She was just coming out of the meeting when she ran into the red headed teenager, literally.
They had picked up their own things respectively and both women apologized to the other profusely and laughed it off later. As they had walked down the hallway, Sophia brought up how basically, their fourth period had turned into a study hall, and they had never had a teacher really be in there. For some reason, their teacher quit, and no one ever replaced them.
"Hmm…" Mary Margaret thought out loud, "let me talk to some people, see if I can get them to find someone. You all need guidance and structure in that class, or else a good percentage of you probably won't learn anything." She placed hand on Sophia's arm gently and smiled, "leave it to me."
Present Day:
Ty waited patiently for his girlfriend, no wife, no girlfriend, what was she exactly? Yes, they were in fact legally married back in their world, they both had found their rings, but were they husband and wife here as well? Or were they still boyfriend and girlfriend? He had hoped that maybe, they were husband and wife so her parents didn't exactly frown upon him sleeping over, even when they did just that, sleep.
Sophia walked out of the classroom and turned to see her boyfriend standing there, "oh hey, you waited for me?"
"You're my wife, of course I did." He leaned down and pecked her lips, "everything go okay?" He asked.
Sophia sighed, "Yeah, Ms. Pastors I guess has just been edgy since the curse broke. I don't know why. Maybe, she's looking for someone and can't find them."
"Maybe we should ask Prince James to help her out. He seems to have no problem in finding someone." Ty laughed.
"Oh haha, that's cute. Besides, he's only good at finding his wife which should mean and quick and speedy return to Storybrooke for Snow and Emma!" Sophia said with glee. She giggled and pecked his lips once more before grabbing his hand and dragging him to her next class.
Two Months Ago:
"Why would you have her get us a teacher? We were doing just fine without one!" A girl said.
"Yeah! I was good with having this class to do the homework I didn't do last night." A guy said.
"Guys, guys, guys! Will you calm down? I'm sure that should Ms. Blanchard find a teacher, he or she is probably well qualified for it!" She claimed, "just calm down, alright? I think it's a good thing we may actually learn stuff in here."
"You're only saying that because you have the best voice in the class." The same girl from earlier said and crossed her arms.
"Actually I don't, I can't sing very high, I can just hit really long notes really well. I'm well into an alto range, I can't go above a high A at all." Sophia replied, countering her.
"Well that's good to know for when I organize you by range." A voice said from behind them. Sophia turned around to see a woman, much similarly dressed as Ms. Blanchard with a short, blonde pixie cut with two bags on her shoulders, one that was her purse and the other assumingly had teaching materials in it.
Mary Margaret stood next to the woman, encouragingly pushing her into the room slowly. "This is Annie Pastors, your new choral director." Mary Margaret said.
The woman waved sheepishly to the students and Sophia took her seat and looked at the woman, she only hoped she could do the job. They had been without guidance for so long that maybe this wasn't even a choir anymore.
Sophia wrapped her arms around her middle and cocked her head to the side, this woman could pull them back together as a choir, couldn't she?
Present Day:
"Sophia I'm not going to have a man that was a parent for all of five minutes dictate when he thinks it's best I see my son." Regina shook her head and pressed her hands into the counter.
They were in Regina's kitchen; Sophia had come over to tell of her deal she made with David and Regina was having nothing of it.
"Regina, I suggested the days." This softened Regina's hard features and she nodded slowly, finally agreeing.
"Alright, but you have to promise me that he won't take back this deal." Her lips pressed firmly together in a tight line.
"I swear. I'll make sure of it." Sophia said with confidence. Sophia went around the center and hugged her friend. "I know we're trying to get back to what our friendship was and I'm so sorry about all that's happened Regina." She pulled back slightly to look at her.
"I know." She said simply, her voice was hoarse, "and I'm glad I have someone to help me be better, for Henry." Regina pulled Sophia close once more and rubbed her back comfortingly. A smile formed on Regina's lips and she felt good inside, "you should get back, I hope you don't mind if I skip the town meeting, I don't think many people there will be too fond of my presence."
Sophia nodded, she understood Regina's apprehension to go, "I'll bring Henry by for your time with him afterwards though, if that's alright with you." She told her.
"Yes, that's alright." She nodded and broke the hug, "I will see you this evening then?"
Sophia confirmed, "You will." With that she left and made her way to town hall for the meeting.
Practically everyone was there. Her parents, her sister, Henry, David, Red, Granny, the dwarves. Everyone except Emma, Regina, and Snow from what she could see and they all had decently valid reasons for their lack of attendance, two in another world, the other one hated by most of the people in there.
Ty walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her. He rested his head on her shoulder and kissed her cheek, "are you ready to do this?" He asked. He knew about how when Henry dreamed, he met a girl, Aurora, who had told them about Cora's hunt for Regina and her determination to make it to Storybrooke. He knew it made his wife very worried and he didn't like seeing her like this.
Sophia bit her lip and merely nodded. She could do this, she was a queen in another realm for goodness sake. She commanded a kingdom, so why couldn't she command the attention of a hundred or so people. She also had David's help, which put her mind at ease in some way. He was more authoritative that she was. He could grab their attention, should she lose it.
David stood up on the small stage no higher than two feet off the ground and yelled for everyone to settle down. They did and Sophia stood up next to him on the stage. She was nervous, more than anything she just wanted things sorted, Snow and Emma home, and things back to normal. School was even weird, all her teachers and classmates were on edge about finding their families despite efforts by the townspeople, Red, David, herself and others, that were made to help find family members and get them back together.
She looked at David, he motioned to her, telling her she had the floor and she cleared her throat. "For those of you, who do not know, namely those who weren't residents of Wonderland, the Queen of Hearts, Cora, Regina's mother, is trying to find her way to Storybrooke after being trapped, by the curse, in what's left of our land.
While most of our land was destroyed, a small part stayed intact, freezing in time, just as we were throughout the 28 years of the curse. This is where Cora remained till the curse was broken and now that it is, she's going to do everything to see her daughter. She is a vicious witch, evil beyond even Regina. If you think she's bad, her mother makes her look moral.
I do not wish to frighten you, but I do wish to forewarn you. We have many possibilities of making sure Cora does not come to Storybrooke. They are preliminary and are being worked on as we speak. Also, I am working very hard with Regina, to ensure, should her mother come, she does not fall into her clutches. We don't need another evil witch reeking havoc on us. One evil against two good, Cora versus Regina and I should be fair game because Cora is a very powerful witch, I will give her that, and so it's far better than..."
"How can we trust Regina just isn't manipulating you? And how can we trust your magic is good!?" Someone shouted from the crowd.
Sophia sighed and refocused, "Regina isn't manipulating me, I've seen sides of her, true and good sides, that she hopes will shine through. She's trying to change for her son, for the time being please give her the benefit of the doubt. As for me, my motives are good, it's your own opinion whether you trust me or not. But there is such a thing as good magic, the dwarves make it, the fairies use it, and some witches have it as well. It's not whether or not you were born dark or light but it is how you use the magical abilities given. I have chosen light and I'm not changing my alignment."
David stepped in, "and if we have Regina on our side, that just means the more protection we have from Cora." He sighed, "it also means we may get Snow and Emma back quicker, given her knowledge of magic." David hoped that he was right but he could never be too sure, especially with Regina.
A man slowly stood up from the audience, "I don't think Cora is the only evil witch you're going to have to worry about."
His comment made the hair stand up on the back of Sophia's neck, what did he mean by that? "Excuse me, sir, but what do you mean by that?" She took an involuntary half step back.
"I mean that there are two powerful witches that could possibly be plotting together as we speak, especially with magic returning, it restored them and their powers." He pushed his hands into his pockets and sighed heavily.
"And how would you know this?" She asked, still very confused. Her eyes were full of concern and her mouth was twisted into a slight O.
"Because I know them. I fought to keep them out of my city a very long time ago. They were banished to the outskirts of Oz but now I'm assuming they're working to enact their revenge."
Sophia eyebrows rose and her jaw dropped, "But that would mean you're the..."
"He's the Wizard of Oz!" Henry said from his seat. He jumped up with excitement, "he's the Wizard of Oz, Sophia. The witches he's talking about are..."
"The Wicked Witch of the West and her sister, yeah, kid I kinda figured." She cocked her head to the side and slowly made her way down to the floor, she walked towards the wizard and looked at him, "would you help us? You're the wizard after all..." She needed help, the more the merrier, especially with two more witches possibly wanting to destroy anything in their path.
"I'm not a real wizard, I think we both know that." He shook his head, "here, and back there I'm simply Oscar Diggs, carnival magician turned figurehead of the Wizard of Oz, quite literally. I don't have magic here and I didn't have magic there." Oscar sighed, "I was glad I could do what I did for the people of Oz but I honestly couldn't be much help to you other than creating maybe diversions should battle break out."
"We'll keep you in mind," Sophia smiled sweetly; she was partially disappointed he couldn't be of much help but maybe he could when push came to shove. She began to turn around when he spoke again.
"But I do know of someone who could help you. She's a witch as well."
Sophia whipped back around, her curls bouncing insanely with her, "who?"
"My wife, Glinda. She and I were completely separated by the curse I haven't been able to find her. But she was the Good Witch of the South, before the curse. She and I had been married in secret, me supposed to be dead and all. But she's a very good and powerful witch who may be willing to help you." Oscar explained, he had a sad look on his face, like he wanted to help them, but bringing up his wife only made him want to crawl into bed and sleep till a new curse hit.
Sophia frowned, she couldn't believe that he still hadn't found his wife. "I will help you find your wife, regardless if she'll help us." Sophia placed a hand on his arm, "I promise."