Disney's Tinker Bell in Storybrooke
A Disney Fairies / Once Upon a Time Crossover
Season 1, between episodes 7 and 8

STORYBROOKE, MAINE

Vidia watched the films play with a twisted stomach. Her one notable reaction came when the pocket watch sprang open and crushed the moonstone. "HEY! She never told us it was an accident!" she said, shocked by the events depicted. The judge had to gavel her silent.

~O~

Lydia found the mild outburst to be in her favor. Although it did not gain any sympathy with the judge, she hoped it would be another natural act that would reveal how much Valerie had changed from her previous self. By contrast, Spencer merely grunted his disbelief.

At the end of the third movie the judge called a recess for lunch. When Ms. Van Buren turned to look at Dr. Hopper to confer she noticed that one of the two men who had accompanied Mr. Gold was no longer at his side. Her eyes swept the room looking for him, but he was nowhere to be found. She briefly asked herself where he had gone, but put it aside to speak with Dr. Hopper before he left for the lunch break.

~O~

At Granny's Diner, Valerie had barely touched her food. Everyone could see how shaken up she was. Her body shivered with terror. The grilled cheese sandwich she had ordered had only two bites taken from it and she drank three glasses of iced tea.

When asked by Lydia what she thought about the movies seen in the court house she responded by asking how any human could know so much about Pixie Hollow and the fairies that lived there. She did, however, note a few minor inconsistencies.

"Winter fairies were never at Tinker Bell's arrival ceremony," she said. "They couldn't cross the border until many seasons later." Valerie also noted that Tink, Bobble and Clank could not have flown into the Winter Woods and seen the winter fairies returning from the mainland. Also missing was her contributions to the Autumn Revelry that was presented in the second film. She and other flyers were responsible for cleaning the open air gallery where the audience watched and also to assist with some of the decorations. "All those bails of wheat you saw tied up, I did that."

Tina looked up at her mother. She wanted to say something snarky to her older sibling, but the pained look on Claire's face was more than enough to convince her to remain silent.

"I just don't understand," Valerie mumbled. "How could they know? And with so much detail?"

Valerie then stared at Tina and grimaced. "And why did you let everyone think that breaking the moonstone was your bright idea, Tinker Bell, when it was just an accident?"

"Hey, don't look at me," Tina responded, somewhat confused. "I'm still in high school, remember?"

"Don't worry," Lydia told Valerie. "Once I can start cross examining you we'll take this hearing in a whole different direction."

~O~

Despite the terror in her heart, Vidia felt strange having to explain events that everyone at this table had experienced firsthand. She had to remind herself that some strange force had robbed every one of their memories, but that could not change her perception that this was a most surreal experience.

PIXIE HOLLOW, NEVER LAND (The Mid-Georgian Period on the Mainland)

Vidia finally worked up the courage to visit Wisp in the hospital. She had been feeling very sorry for herself when she thought this was entirely her fault. Queen Clarion had been helpful in putting some of this in perspective. Wisp WAS reckless and overly competitive, a very bad combination. Yet even with this knowledge Vidia still held herself partly responsible. After all, even someone like Wisp needed a trigger to set her on this trajectory and Vidia had provided it.

The queen had told her that it was only a matter of time before this happened and that anyone could have been involved. But was that really true? After all, no one else in Pixie Hollow could have challenged Wisp like she could. Of all the fast flyers only Wisp and Vidia were in a league of their own. Clarion was right that it was only a matter of time, but she was wrong that it could have been anyone. It could only have been her. Vidia, Daughter of the Wind.

Humph, Stepdaughter of the Wind was more like it.

~O~

At the door to Wisp's room Vidia froze. Her guilt kept replaying these self-defeating thoughts in her mind. She wanted to run away, go back home and hide again. Vidia had come this far, she forced herself to keep going. Inside Wisp was lying face down in a specially made bed crafted by the tinker fairies. Vidia had to lie down and slip underneath to talk to her guild mate.

"Wisp?" she gently greeted, bitter bile seeming to rush from her stomach to the back of her throat.

The blonde flyer opened her eyes. Her lips curled up into a smile. "You're here," she barely managed, but with clear enthusiasm. "I was wondering when you would show up."

"I'm sorry, Wisp. This is all my fault," Vidia confessed. "I should never have..."

"Don't feel sorry, Vidia," Wisp broke in. "I'm the only one who is at fault. You pushed me, but what I did was of my own doing. You told me not to be so cavalier and I didn't listen. Now I'm paying for it."

Wisp motioned with her eyes and head for Vidia to look to the side. "I'm getting better. See? I can move my fingers, my toes and I can twitch my wings if I try hard enough. The doctors think I'll be able to fly again in a few seasons. Isn't that great news?"

"Yeah, it is wonderful news," Vidia replied with a weak smile. She didn't know how Wisp could be so upbeat in this condition. Then again, there were worse outcomes. Maybe this incident scared her straight. Maybe her cavalier attitude was exactly what was needed right now.

"Good, because when I get better I look forward to more great races between us," Wisp said with a gleeful smile.

"Uh…"

"Oh don't worry, Vids, I won't do anything stupid next time. But that doesn't mean I won't keep trying to outfly you."

"Oh really?!" Vidia responded with a smile. "Well bring it on, blondie, because I'm going to kick your wings in." She cringed the instant those words came from her mouth. "Sorry."

"Don't be, I want you to try your hardest, because I always will."

STORYBROOKE, MAINE

When court reconvened Lydia began cross examining Valerie. She asked her about the movies she had seen and asked for her thought on their accuracy. The raven haired girl replied that the movies seemed like condensed versions of what really happened. She also noted that the depiction of Winter Fairies at Tinker Bell's arrival was inaccurate.

"Why is that?" Van Buren asked.

"Winter Fairies couldn't cross the border," Valerie answered.

"What border?"

Winter Fairies could not cross into the warm seasons because their wings would shrivel and break. Warm fairies could not enter the Winter Woods because their wings would freeze and snap. Meeting at the border was the only option. Friendships were formed there, members of the same guild would share information and new ideas were exchanged.

"Oh well now that sounds awfully convenient," Spencer groaned, trying to undercut Valerie's testimony. "How did this Pixie Hollow place manage to divide its population?"

"Your Honor, the prosecution has had its turn to pose questions," Lydia said addressing the judge.

"Indeed. Please contain yourself, Mr. Spencer, this is not a free for all."

"Thank you." Out of turn or not, the question had been asked and was left hanging. Lydia decided to address it by asking Valerie to provide clarification.

"No one is entirely certain," she replied. "Some believe that Pixie Hollow began this way, while others believe it started as a whole but was split into two parts at some point in our past. Some think that a bitter love triangle and black magic caused our world to be divided in this way."

"Why are there no records?"

"All of this occurred before fairies had developed a written language," was her response. "Our history was passed down through an oral tradition. But stories change as each new storyteller embellishes or alters facts for dramatic effect. A great deal of our own past is lost forever."

"Very well, please go one about this border," Lydia instructed.

One day, a then young Queen Clarion and Lord Milori met at the border and soon became utterly enchanted. They pursued a romantic relationship and met every sunset at the boundary between Spring and Winter. Their love deepened and each wanted to explore the other's world. Clarion resisted the siren song of the Winter Woods, but Milori defied the risk and crossed into the warm seasons. He stayed too long and broke a wing rendering him flightless.

"Couldn't someone just fix the broken wing?" Van Buren asked.

"A broken wing cannot be fixed," Valerie stated. "Pixie Hollow has no medicine or magic that can repair two halves of a damaged wing."

When Lord Milori lost his wing Queen Clarion feared that others might suffer the same fate. She declared from that day onward no fairy or sparrow man from either side could cross the border. Believing that temptation would eventually get the better of someone, just as it had with Milori, she also closed all the borders and forbade any further face to face interactions. This effectively isolated the Winter Woods from the warm seasons. All communications were done through formal channels and were restricted to mission critical purposes only. Friendships were lost, guilds were torn apart and Queen Clarion and Lord Milori had to say goodbye to each other forever.

Or so they thought.

"What does that mean, exactly?" Lydia asked.

Valerie detailed how Tinker Bell learned she had a fraternal twin sister in the Winter Woods. She went on to explained how Tink broke the rules to visit her, the particulars of the snow making machine, how it nearly froze all of Pixie Hollow and the discovery that frost could insulate a warm fairies wings against the cold of the Winter Woods thus opening up the border for first time in centuries. She also spoke of how Tinker Bell put her own well-being aside to restore the balance to the seasons by flying into the Winter Woods where her wing froze and cracked.

"Tinker Bell is the first and only fairy who was able to restore a broken wing," Valerie said. "She and her sister share a special bond that allowed Periwinkle to repair Tink's damaged wing."

"No one else can repair a wing this way?" Lydia asked, seeking clarification.

"No, no one else," Valerie answered.

Of equal importance was that Queen Clarion and Lord Milori were able to resume their relationship. Although she has never been very demonstrative everyone could see that the queen was very happy with this development.

"Was any of that in the three movies you watched?" Lydia asked.

"No," Valerie replied.

Lydia made sure to call attention to the amount of consistent detail in Valerie's statement. Liars tend to be vague to avoid being caught in their deception. Spencer though harrumphed and said that Valerie could afford to add detail because there was no way to verify her statements.

"Perhaps, but it does poke holes in Mr. Spencer's argument that Ms. Kensington has fashioned her memories entirely from three movies," Lydia said in rebuttal. She then asked Valerie to point out other persons on Storybrooke whom she recognized from Pixie Hollow.

Valerie instantly identified Hartley Winter as Lord Milori, the Queen's beau. Desiree was Rosetta the garden talent. Workers for hire Paul and Ben were the two sparrow man tinkers Bobble and Clank. "You are Lyria, a performing talent," Valerie said directly to Lydia Van Buren. Then she said that Penny, the little girl hired to break the computers was Tinker Bell's sister, Periwinkle.

"You mean recover the lost data on the hospital computers?"

"Yeah, I guess so," Valerie replied. "I have no idea what any of that stuff does."

"Is there anyone else you recognize?"

Valerie looked up again into the gallery, or what remained of it. "Yes. Although one of them is not here right now."

"Who is it?"

Valerie pointed to a man seated next to Mr. Gold. "He and another person who was here earlier are Swift and Festus. Two fast flyers who led a movement to try and overthrow the queen." She gave the details of how Swift and Festus acted as mentors to make her into one of their acolytes in their attempt to overthrow Queen Clarion and take control of Pixie Hollow.

"Why?" Lydia asked her

Valerie paused and seemed visibly upset when she began to speak, as if recalling painful memories that she had hoped to keep buried forever.

"They… they believed that Fast Flyers were naturally superior," she summarized. "Swift and Festus had intended to revoke all the rights and freedoms of the other guilds and establish a new government under the rule of the Fast Flyers." The young woman gave detailed accounts of what happened including how she was led to believe that Festus loved her and she loved him in return. When their true intentions were made known to her, including how they plotted for her to become the guild overseer under their control, she felt fully betrayed.

~O~

Upon hearing this, Mr. Gold turned his gaze to the young man seated next to him. He gave the man a trusting smile as if saying he believed none of the young girl's testimony, though deep down Mr. Gold was indeed quite concerned.

~O~

Valerie continued and identified the previous judge as Fairy Kelly. When the insurrection was found out, Queen Clarion banished Swift and Festus for ten years. She had hoped that their time away would humble them and that they would be able to reintegrate into fairy society. Upon returning ten years later they claimed to have had a change of heart.

When Fairy Morrison, the guild overseer at the time was killed saving her, Kelly took over as the head of the talent guild. It turned out he was a plant to ensure that when Swift and Festus did return they could resume their plotting against the crown. "They were found out and all three were banished from Pixie Hollow forever along with some of their more dedicated followers."

"Sounds like a traumatic experience," Lydia commented.

"It was," she replied. "I burned with resentment and anger and could not put my trust or faith in anyone for many decades."

Ms. Van Buren then posed a few more questions about Never Land and Pixie Hollow to reveal Valerie's depth and detail of her memories. Valerie delivered her words with a conviction that normally comes when someone lives their entire life in such an environment. She knew that world better than some in Storybrooke knew their own town.

Lydia felt assured that this impressed the judge and may have swayed his thinking in her direction. However, when Valerie stepped down, Spencer called another witness: Valerie's mother.

Claire Kensington was to be Lydia's witness testifying to the change in Valerie's personality, however Spencer beat her to it and called up Mrs. Kensington as a hostile witness. Once sworn in he spent no time in zeroing in on a single, direct question. "Why did Valerie run away?"

Claire tried to obfuscate her answer but Spencer would have none of it. He pressed her on the matter, "What was the reason you gave for Valerie disliking you so much that she felt she had to escape?"

He had chosen that word carefully. Escape had a very strong punch that implied more than just the words running away. Claire once again tried to avoid the question, but Spencer had the judge force Claire to provide a direct answer.

With no other choice Claire admitted what she had said to Valerie the other night. Her husband Charlie had wanted children sooner than she felt comfortable. When they could not have a child on their own he looked into adoption. Claire could have asked him to wait, but instead went along with it. Raising a child interfered with her life's ambition, to become an acclaimed and professional musician. She had wanted to play on the biggest stages, but found that raising a child prevented that.

In truth she was mad at herself for not asking Charlie to wait while she pursued her dreams. She took out her frustrations on Valerie, subconsciously treating her as the impediment to her goals and making her feel unloved and unwanted. While giving her testimony, Claire broke down as she had done in Valerie's bedroom. She began to tear up and her voice cracked and wavered while she spoke of her regret. "I did this to her. It was my fault and now I wish I had her back so I could make it up to my little girl."

Lydia wasn't sure if this new information was going to work for her or against her. If the judge decided that Valerie was faking this as retribution then her case was defeated. Now she would need Dr. Hopper's psychological profile of Valerie more than ever. Van Buren needed to prove that when Valerie learned she was unwanted by her own mother, it had a shattering effect on her psyche. Deciding not to cross examine the mother, Lydia called Dr. Hopper as her next witness. Before the good doctor could make his way to the witness stand, Spencer employed one of his little tricks.

"Your Honor, a proper psychological profile takes at minimum four months to conduct," the District Attorney said. "Dr. Hopper has only had one face to face meeting with Ms. Kensington since the accident and his conclusions would hardly constitute a proper evaluation. I ask that Dr. Hopper's psychological profile and subsequent testimony regarding Valerie Kensington based on that profile be disallowed on the grounds that it is incomplete and unreliable."

"What?!" Lydia screeched in disbelief. "Your Honor, this court was convened with great haste, Dr. Hopper has not had the time to perform such an evaluation. I ask that his profile be admitted as it stands."

"Counselor, the D.A. is correct that a proper evaluation takes months, not days," the judge replied. "I cannot allow an incomplete psychological profile into evidence."

That is when Lydia moved for the court hearing be postponed until such time as Dr. Hopper could properly evaluate Valerie Kensington.

"With all due respect, counselor, you've had plenty of time to file such a motion," the judge responded rather nastily.

"I have, multiple times and each was denied by this court." Lydia glared knowingly at Mayor Mills who was concealing a pleased smile.

"I'm sorry, counselor, motion to disallow Dr. Hopper's psychological profile is upheld. This court will continue as planned."

Lydia was furious. One of her strongest weapons had just been taken from her. Without his profile Van Buren's entire case now hinged on only one thing: the MRI images. However, she wondered when or if they would ever come walking through that courtroom door.

Whew, sorry it is taking so much time for me to get these chapters up lately. I have many new distractions at home, including the unexpected death of one of my beloved pets this past week. A six year old Border Collie that died from what the vet believed was either a stroke or brain tumor. Hopefully, the next chapter will be ready sooner.

Thank you for reading.