Disney's Tinker Bell in Storybrooke
A Disney Fairies / Once Upon A Time Crossover
Season 1, Episode 7, Chapter 8

PIXIE HOLLOW, NEVER LAND (The Late Restoration Period on the Mainland)

In a matter of weeks Swift and Festus were brought before the queen and the fairy council to answer for their charges of attempted insurrection. Several of their former comrades turned state's evidence in exchange for leniency. Vidia, on the hand was cleared of all charges largely because she had been so badly manipulated. It had never been her intent to commit insurrection.

Fairy Morrison pleaded to the queen on Vidia's behalf.

"She is still so very young, Your Highness," he told her. "Most of what she learned about right and wrong she got from Swift and Festus. They corrupted her with so many lies and so much emotional abuse."

"Yes, and whose fault is that?" Clarion responded.

Indeed, Fairy Morrison was at fault for not being more active in her training. Though he argued that he was unaware of the underground movement headed by those two. Kelly, who had been approached by them early on was acting as a double agent for the queen. He was the first to break the news to Morrison. That information lead to the confrontation in the fast flyer's private tavern.

"I'll be taking her on as my own personal student," Morrison added. "She'll get the best training and strongest moral compass I can give her."

"I trust you will," Clarion replied.

Today, though, Vidia, who felt utterly betrayed and mortified at being led along so easily, offered testimony to the queen and the council. She relayed everything that had happened to her. From the fake tests, the pigeon feathers and even the contradictory statements about when new flyers were told about the plumage. She even testified to how she was manipulated.

"I was led to believe that Festus loved me. And I loved him in return. He intended for me to convince the queen of Fairy Morrison's lack of competence so he would be retired. Then I was to be installed as the new overseer, ahead of Kelly who has been in training for the job."

It was believed that by proving Fairy Morrison's mental incompetence that the queen might be persuaded to allow someone other than Kelly be overseer on the grounds that his training was at the hands of a senile old man. Kelly would not be the best candidate because he would be steeped in foolish notions handed to him by someone the queen could no longer trust.

Festus and Swift couldn't believe their ears when Vidia took the stand as a witness for the prosecution. They were certain she was on their side. She acted the part so well. Festus almost felt a surge of pride in how effectively she had played them, extracting information from them during these last few weeks for this trial. That pride, though, was quickly tempered by his own powerful sense of betrayal.

Swift, on the other hand, wanted nothing more than vengeance. His movement to force the queen to declare the Fast Flyers the superior talent guild and make inferior guilds like the Tinkers and Animal talents into servants was crashing down around them. Vidia was at the center of that maelstrom. So much testimony was given by her and Kelly that it would be impossible for either of them to receive leniency.

Yet, Queen Clarion always believed in second chances. She was quite motherly that way. Their guilt was assured. They were both certain their sentences would be permanent banishment. That was how Swift thought. Uprisings should be punished most severely. His thinking like a merciless insurrectionist and couldn't fathom the compassion of a kind and loving queen like Clarion.

Clarion announced that that Swift and Festus were to be sentenced to ten years banishment from Pixie Hollow and Never Land. Her hope was that their time away would prove to them just how much the Fast Flyers were neither superior, nor inferior, to any of the other guilds in Pixie Hollow. "After that time, if you can persuade me that you have been humbled, this queen will gladly embrace your return to our fair kingdom."

Many on the council were stunned by this. They had wanted permanent banishment, a wrathful punishment for the attempt to improperly influence the queen. Clarion, though, would have none of it. She insisted that both be given a chance to prove themselves worthy of returning to their civilization. "If they cannot convince me, then they will not be allowed to return," she assured them. This seemed to soothe their anger and reservations about the queen's leniency.

~O~

For his part, Fairy Morrison had already declared that Festus and Swift were no longer welcome in the Fast Flying Talent Guild and would remain outcasts even if the queen allowed for their return. This declaration could only be overruled by the Fast Flyer Guild Master or the queen herself. Fairy Morrison certainly had no intention of allowing either back into his guild so long as he was in charge. Everyone knew that. He didn't have to say anything. It was as clear as the nose on his face how much he despised those two. His loyalty to the queen and fairy law was absolute.

The two sparrow men, now found guilty, were excommunicated from Pixie Hollow. Swift and Festus, while under guard, were allowed back into their homes to collect a few personal belongings. Then they were escorted down a long pathway. Each side was lined with thousands of fairies and sparrow men who had come to watch them leave.

As both prisoners made their way down towards the exit gates, the honor guard, who were stationed along the pathway, crossed their arms and turned around, showing their backs to them. At the end of the walk, Queen Clarion and her four ministers all did the same, turning their backs to them just as both were set to exit Pixie Hollow for the last time.

During the entire sequence, not a sound could be heard except for the occasional breeze or rustling of leaves. No one spoke as the entire "ceremony" was a solemn and dark occasion. Rarely was a fairy or sparrow man ever expelled from Pixie Hollow. Expulsion was reserved only for those who had committed a high and grievous crime against queen and hollow. Something both Swift and Festus had done.

STORYBOOKE, MAINE

Valerie sped towards Kyle's house. When she checked her mirrors, though, she noticed Claire's work truck hot on her tail. Stopping at Kyle's place would mean another confrontation. Claire would blame Kyle for all of this. It was a confrontation that could easily get out of hand and one that Valerie didn't want. Her plans might be revealed and Claire would become even more furious. Val didn't need to justify herself to Claire. It all ended tonight. She would leave and neither her mother nor her perfect little sister would hear from her ever again.

Another glimpse into her rearview mirrors showed the truck further and further away. She was outpacing them. As she watched the truck's headlights continue to recede, Valerie was struck by a raw emotion. One she had not expected. Pain of heartbreak. She thought that she had built up enough anger towards her mother. She had always believed that Claire didn't want her, then those very words were actually uttered by her. It hurt Valerie so badly and in a way she could not anticipate. She thought she would be happy to hear that news. Instead she was devastated by it.

How could her own mother not want her? Not love her? Her heart broke into a million pieces. Valerie felt so terribly betrayed…, and by her own mother. Tears began to fall from her eyes and blurred her vision. Valerie had to slow her motorcycle while she cleared away the water from her eyes. It allowed Claire to catch up to her. Valerie sped up again trying to outrun her mother, yet she kept sobbing. She drove right past Kyle's home and towards the center of town. She had changed her plans, now she wanted to leave Storybrooke this instant. She would contact Kyle later and have him meet her in Boston or some other city along the way.

~O~

Claire tried desperately to keep up. "What's wrong with her tonight?" she asked herself. "Why is she leaving me?"

"Us, Mom," Tina corrected. "She is leaving both of us."

"What? Oh yes, of course, sweetheart."

The truck tried to keep up with the motorcycle, but the old work horse just wasn't built for speed or acceleration. Then, suddenly, Val's motorcycle apparently slowed down. It gave Claire the opportunity she needed to catch up. "What is she doing?"

Moments later it sped up again, outdistancing Claire. Mrs. Kensington pushed the accelerator down to the floor to get as much speed as she could. The engine roared, sounding like a giant vacuum. The motorcycle continued to disappear from view. Soon, only the glow of the taillights were visible.

~O~

Valerie accelerated as hard she could. Her intention was to leave Claire and Tina behind and unable to follow her. Her motorcycle blasted down Main Street in the center of town, the din of her machine filling the air wherever it went.

~O~

Emma Swan was sitting in her police cruiser trying to enjoy a cup of coffee. Nothing tasted good today in the wake of Graham's sudden death. The day had been uneventful except for all the passersby offering condolences and asking questions. Her shift was coming to an end soon and she hoped to go home and get some much needed sleep. She had spent a good portion of last night at Graham's side while his body was at the hospital and later the morgue. The deputy, now suddenly in charge of the entire town's policing duties, was operating on less than four hours of sleep. Coffee was all she had to keep her awake.

She looked at her watch. "Just another half hour or so." It was a little hard to tell. Emma was getting bleary eyed from her long night and day. The extra stress from the last forty eight hours only added to her exhaustion.

She took another sip. It still had no taste. Seconds later a motorcycle blew right past her. The radar gun showed a ludicrous 95 mph. "What the hell?"

Emma started up her cruiser, lit up her police lights, sounded the siren and began pursuit. A mist in the air had slicked the streets, causing her wheels to spin out. It was good for her as she was nearly broadsided by another vehicle. A work truck going nearly seventy five miles per hour. She recognized this vehicle. It belonged to that single mother with two girls. Claire Kensington. The motorcycle must have been her daughter, then. Valerie, the one with the attitude.

Deputy Swan engaged pursuit of both vehicles. The mist in the night air revealed her high beams as they pierced the darkness. It also had the negative effect of slightly obscuring the two vehicles in front of her. Moments later Emma and her two targets were out of Storybrooke's business center and into a residential neighborhood. She recognized it as the road leading out of town.

What was it that Henry always told her? Bad things happen to anyone who tries to leave Storybrooke? Something definitely happened to the young maid who wanted to keep her baby. Ashley went into labor just inside the city limits. Emma remembered that conversation between Ruby and her grandmother during her second day in town. The one about how Granny's heart attack prevented Ruby from "whoring her way up down the East Coast."

And then there was that wolf. The one that caused her to swerve off the road on her first night here. She crashed her VW Bug into the town's historic sign, severely damaging. It had to be replaced by a traditional green road sign. Emma didn't believe Henry's theory, but the unusual coincidences were piling up.

The mist gave Deputy Swan a unique view of the motorcycle. She could see the glow from its headlamp and taillights at each curve and turn. They were now out of town and heading into the forested area inside the city limits. Her speed, and the speed of the truck in front of her, was now at a more reasonable 50 miles per hour. All three vehicles had to slow down to take the curves in the road. The streets were too slick and dangerous now to go any faster and still hold the turns. This allowed Emma the opportunity to overtake the truck and pursue the motorcycle directly. Her cruiser had more acceleration than Claire's old, beat up work vehicle.

~O~

Claire watched as the sheriff's police cruiser passed her up, getting between her own vehicle and Valerie's motorcycle. "No, get out of the way. GET OUT OF THE WAY!" she yelled.

The motorcycle raced across the old toll bridge, heading for the city limits. After the bridge was mostly a dark road surrounded by towering trees, huge boulders and rocky terrain defined by numerous drop offs reaching down six feet or more.

Tina kept watch on the dim glow of Valerie's taillight while Claire kept her eye on the road in front of her. They both heard Deputy Swan through the loudspeaker in the car. "Pull over!" The sound echoed through the forest. "Stop and pull over now."

The light beam of the motorcycle's headlamp suddenly disappeared. Then it arched from left to right, aiming up through the tall trees.

"She went off the road!" Tina shrieked.

"My baby," her mother whimpered.

The police cruiser come to a fast stop, the truck pulled in right behind it. Claire leapt out of her vehicle, grabbed a flashlight and started running down into the gulch.

"Stay in the truck," she ordered Tina. Another light lanced the darkness ahead of her. "Deputy? Deputy Swan? Is that you?"

"Watch your step!" she yelled back. Swan's flashlight swiveled around and illuminated a huge drop. Claire was standing at its very edge. "Stay there."

"No, that's my baby girl, I'm coming with you," Claire protested. She now kept her own flashlight beam aimed at the ground. Claire carefully made her way further and further down. "Valerie! Valerie, can you hear me, baby? Say something."

Both women stepped carefully. The same mist that had slicked the streets also made moving through the forest perilous. The ground and boulders were just as slippery. Moss grew everywhere in the forest and made the search that much more perilous.

"Where is she?" Claire yelled. "Valerie! It's Mom, answer me!"

Nothing could be heard but the reverberation of her own voice. The two women descended further into the treacherous woods, slipping and sliding, but always keeping their balance. Finally one of them saw the glow of the headlamp.

"There!" Emma shouted. She pointed her flashlight in the direction.

Claire spotted the luminous glowing and made for it. "Valerie?" Claire wailed, "Sweetie, Momma's coming."

Emma was the first to come upon the half shattered motorcycle. It was twisted and broken in so many places. It looked almost beyond repair. The deputy shown her flashlight in arcs from left to right looking for the girl. The wail of an approaching ambulance began to fill the air. Emma must have called it in when the Valerie went off the road, Claire reasoned. Thank God for small favors.

The beams of light kept piercing the night, illuminating one spot and then another. This would be so much easier if it were daylight, Claire told herself. Then she caught herself and remembered why she was here.

"Right in front of you," Deputy Swan yelled. Her flashlight pointed at something less than twenty feet away. Claire shown her own light on it. It was only a fallen branch. The two kept looking. The ambulance pulled up and the two EMT's shouted down. "Deputy, where do we go?"

"We're still looking," Emma Swan shouted back. "But she is down here somewhere."

Claire shrieked, "VALERIE! NO!" Emma swung her light around and spotted the prostrate and motionless body of the girl.

"Oh please not another one," she said. Ms. Swan meant not another lost life. Claire moved in, bounding over rocks. "She is over there," Deputy Swan yelled back to the EMT's. Her flashlight marking the spot.

"Don't move her," one of the medical technicians yelled. Emma replied that she understood.

"Claire?" she called out to the distraught mother. "Claire? Did you hear that? Don't move her body."

"She's not dead!" Mrs. Kensington yelled back.

"You could kill her," Emma yelled in reply. This caught Claire's attention, who was now only five feet away from Valerie's motionless form. "She could have a broken back or neck. If you move her, that could sever the spinal cord and leave her paralyzed or end her life. So don't move her. Period."

Mrs. Kensington didn't respond. Instead she reached her little girl and cried. "Oh please don't be dead. Valerie, Mommy's here. Can you hear me? Mommy's here."

Tears streamed down Claire's cheeks like rivers. She took hold of Valerie's hand in her own, not moving or touching her girl in any other way.

~O~

"Claire, stop!" Emma said. She reached the distraught mother and her injured girl. Deputy Swan put a hand to Valerie's nose. She felt the warm breath. "She's still alive."

This caused Mrs. Kensington to break down almost entirely. She mumbled something, but Emma could not understand it. Swan took it to mean relief on the part of the mother. Emma could sympathize with this terrified woman. "She'll be alright, the EMT's are coming." Emma Swan then took Claire's hand in hers.

"Thank you," Claire could barely say. The horrified mother then leaned over and gingerly gave her girl a kiss on the forehead.

"What was that?" Deputy Swan said. Claire gave her a strange look. "I thought I saw…, never mind. It must be my mind playing tricks on me."

What Emma saw, or thought she saw, was a faint flash of colored light wash over Valerie's body the instant Claire give the girl a kiss. She was still holding the crying mother's hand when it happened. No one else seemed to notice it. Even Emma was not certain it happened.

Another siren approached. Another ambulance. They were probably called in to help carry Valerie back up to street level.

The four EMT's made their way down to the scene of the accident. They brought with them a hard, plastic stretcher to place Valerie's body on. They had to immobilize her first to prevent any possible damage to her spine or neck. It took close to an hour of slowly ascending the moss covered ledges and rocky terrain before the injured girl could even be put inside an ambulance. Her vitals were checked, oxygen was given and Claire had to be coaxed to offer needed information.

Finally, the emergency vehicles returned to Storybrooke General Hospital. Claire rode in one of them, accompanying Valerie. Tina drove the truck and followed them back. Deputy Swan, exhausted as she was, also returned to the hospital. From there the girl was admitted into an emergency room. Claire and Tina were forced to sit in the waiting room. Each agonizing minute felt like an hour. The worried mother did her best to calm and comfort her youngest girl. But it seemed an impossible task. Both knew what could happen.

They hoped for the best, but braced for the worst.

I hope everyone found this chapter interesting and thrilling. This marks the first part of a huge change in the status quo. A real game changer that I hope everyone can get behind. It will also mean a little more interaction between the Disney Fairy characters and the characters from the TV show.

Thanks to all of my devoted readers. I would love to hear from you in the reviews section or through a PM.

Oncer's, what do you think so far? Enjoying this crossover? Please let me know.