Disney's Tinker Bell in Storybrooke
A Disney Fairies / Once Upon A Time Crossover
Season 1, Episode 8, Chapter 6
STORYBROOKE, MAINE
Claire was busy getting her two girls ready for the day. The fire at Town Hall last night left her job in limbo. A cause had not yet been determined, however, as soon the city was ready she wanted to be prepared to go back to work. Then a knock came at the front door.
Mayor Mills was standing in the doorway with a grin on her face when greeted by Claire. "The fire department has issued a preliminary report on the cause of that fire in Town Hall last night," the mayor said. "They seem to think that flammable solvents were left improperly sealed and stored, Mrs. Kensington."
"No, I checked and double checked those cans and drums myself last night," Claire said in her defense. "Every single one was correctly sealed and properly stored.
"Yes, well, while it is still a preliminary report I have little doubt the final report will be any different," the mayor replied. "Your contract with the city is terminated, and yes I have the authority to do so. Furthermore, you and your little company will no longer be allowed to submit bids for city contracts. At least not as long as I'm mayor. I told you not to hire Paul and Ben, they have caused you nothing but trouble. Good day, Mrs. Kensington."
Claire closed the front door slowly. The shock of the news she had just received left her reeling.
"Mom?" Tina quietly asked.
She didn't even bother to turn around. "I'm sorry, my darlings. There won't be any work today." It was a pitiful reply, but it was all she could manage. In her head she imagined the worst case scenario. Being forced out of their home at the end of the month when Mr. Gold would foreclose on their property for non-payment. A "Merry" Christmas, indeed.
~O~
"You set that fire," Emma accused Mr. Gold. She had gone to his shop with the evidence in hand, the bound wool that smelled of lanolin, the same substance Gold was applying to something the day he offered her the walkie-talkies.
"What?" he replied trying to feign ignorance, but not too hard. "There is some work being done at the Town Hall, all those solvents lying around."
Emma knew better. She pressed him further asking why he did it. The pawn broker replied that IF he did, which he didn't, but IF he did it was so Emma could appear the hero and earn the respect of the citizens of Storybrooke. The only way she could win this election was if something dramatic happened to gain the sympathies of the people.
"How did you even know I would be there?" she asked.
"Regina isn't the only person with eyes all over town," he said, revealing the extent to which he would manipulate people and situations to his favor.
Henry was right. Mr. Gold was far too dangerous to have as an ally.
THE ENCHANTED FOREST
Rumpelstiltskin was petrified of this creature. He wanted this power, but didn't know what do with it. Zoso, the Dark One, kept asking that same question. "You hold the dagger. Wield that power wisely. Now, what would you have me do?"
When Rumpel could provide no response Zoso answered for him. "The sun is rising. That mean it's your son's birthday. Hordor and his men are likely on their way to your home right now," the dark wizard told Rumpelstiltskin. "This is what you wanted, to save your son."
Rumpel could not make up his mind of what to do. Zoso began to insinuate that perhaps Baelfire wasn't really his son. Bae wasn't the coward that his father was, he had the fire in his belly for battle. This infuriated the otherwise humble spinner, who knew full well that Bae was his flesh and blood. Zoso then wanted to know if Rumpel had any intention of saving his bastard son.
"So I ask again, what would you have me do?"
"Die," Rumpelstiltskin said, plunging the dagger into the heart of The Dark One. Zoso fell to the ground. Rumpel held the dagger deep in the mage's chest to ensure death. Then the veil of dark magic that concealed Zoso's face was lifted and Rumpelstiltskin got his first clear look at who this man really was.
"You? The old beggar. But why?"
"My life has been such a burden," Zoso told him. His voice was no longer like death, but of the dying.
The dark magic began to leech out of Zoso's body and into Rumpelstiltskin. "What's happening to me?"
"It looks like you made a deal you didn't fully understand," Zoso told him with his last few breaths. "You'll never do that again. Magic always comes with a price and now it's yours to pay."
"You wanted me to kill you," Rumpel asked, frightened. "Why choose me?"
"Because I know how to recognize a desperate soul." Zoso laughed before drawing his last breath, grateful to be rid of this terrible curse.
When Rumpelstiltskin withdrew the dagger from the dead man's body he noticed that it had changed. No longer was the name Zoso engraved upon it. Now the dagger had written on it his own name.
Rumpelstiltskin.
Now he was The Dark One, and all the good or ill that came with it.
STORYBROOKE, MAINE
At a bulletin board just outside Town Hall, Mary Margaret was posting campaign posters for Emma Swan. The debate and subsequent vote were upcoming and she wanted Emma's face to be everywhere. It was there that she ran into David Nolan, the man she loved but could not have.
"I've got a job now," he told her.
"That's great, where?"
"At the animal shelter."
David was stapling up posters for Sydney Glass. His wife, Kathryn, was a friend of Regina so they both put their support behind the mayor's candidate. The awkwardness of this situation gave Mary Margaret pause. She pulled a thin excuse out of thin air so she could leave. Being around David was just too painful for her.
~O~
Claire stopped by Mr. Gold's shop to ask for more time in making her monthly payment. He refused, the contract she signed was ironclad and he was going to hold her to it.
She tried pleading with him. "Please, the fire at the Town Hall…"
"While most tragic doesn't change the fact that you still owe me my money."
"But I don't have a job."
"And how is that my problem?"
Claire sighed. "What if we struck a deal?"
"I doubt you have anything I would want, dearie." She could hear the dismissive tone in his voice.
"I have a few things of value I might be able to pawn, or offer in exchange for this month's payment," Claire replied.
"Such as?"
Claire told him about the piano she had in her living room. It was what she had used to offer music lessons while Charlie was still alive. The pawn broker wasn't terribly interested. Not enough to offset her bill this month.
"Alright, alright. What about this?" She choked up. Claire didn't want to part with these items, but her home was more important. On their fifth anniversary Charlie bought for her three signed and authenticated Boston Celtic jerseys once belonging to Robert Parish, Kevin McHale and Larry Bird. The most devastating front court the Boston Celtics ever had. Claire, like Charlie, was a rabid sports fan and these collectible jerseys were like a dream come true for her. She remembered watching the Celtics win three NBA Championships during the 1980's as they engaged in epic battles in the NBA Finals against the "Showtime" Lakers which featured James Worthy, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and point guard Magic Johnson.
"Well now, that might be worth my time," he said. "I'll see you this afternoon, say at one-thirty."
Claire got to keep her house for one more month, but at a terrible cost. She couldn't believe her bad luck. Her life had been difficult since Charlie passed away, but lately it seemed just that much more impossible. And today was the day for bad news to pile on. Claire received a telephone call from the insurance company telling her that the claim for Valerie's hospital stay was denied. Her injuries stemmed from an accident which occurred during the commission of a crime. This was in violation of her policy.
She pleaded with the representative over the phone, but the women Claire spoke to would not budge. The cost of Valerie's hospital stay was going to be enormous. She called up the hospital immediately to ask what could be done. The hospital would forgive some of the cost if Claire agreed to a payment plan. She agreed, though there was no more steady income to speak of.
"This is all I need, another bill to pay. As if I don't already have enough."
~O~
That afternoon, on schedule, Mr. Gold and two of his men arrived to meet with Claire. She showed him the three autographed jerseys. They had been carefully displayed in frames and were sealed against outside forces. He was impressed. The pawn broker carefully examined them. They were all in excellent condition. The authentication slips were from a well-respected company. He offered to take all three to forgive one month's payment.
"One month's? These are valuable enough for more than that," she told him.
"True, but one must consider that I have to display them in my shop and wait for the right buyers," he told her. "These do me no good if I can't sell them and recover the money you owe me."
She tried to negotiate a better price, but he refused. "This isn't Pawn Stars, dearie. You're dealing with me."
I would rather be dealing with the Pawn Stars, she thought. At least Rick could appreciate these items far better than Mr. Gold ever could. Though with her luck she might end up with that dimwit Chumlee.
She sighed. "Okay, it's a deal." Mr. Gold's Pawn Shop was the only such establishment in all of Storybrooke. Claire didn't have much of a choice other than to try and sell them on her own. But that would take time and she needed to make her monthly payment before the end of the month. With no steady income in the foreseeable future she willingly sacrificed these prized possessions to ensure at least one more month of living in this comfortable house. If she couldn't find work before then, then she and her two girls would be out on the street on the first of February.
Gold called in his two men who carefully removed the valuable jerseys to his van. Vidia watched the whole thing and was once again amazed at how easily Mr. Gold was able to order around the two men she had once known as Swift and Festus. The traitors of Pixie Hollow. She was angry, though, because they were taking something that Claire found to be of great personal value. It was as if they were taking their revenge for being banished. Vidia understood that her queen was becoming desperate. She tried to console Claire, but the older woman only retreated to her room where she preferred to remain alone.
~O~
That evening at the Town Hall auditorium the two candidates were set to have their debate. Emma was very worried about how she would perform. She wanted to prove to Henry that good guys can win without playing dirty.
Claire arrived with Vidia and Tina. This would be a new experience for Vidia. She had never participated in an election. Pixie Hollow was a monarchy. Every position of authority was either filled by virtue of a talent glow or was selected by the queen. The concept of a popular vote, while not alien to the fast flyer, was one which she had only observed from a distance. Now she would "have a voice" and Vidia would vote for Emma Swan if only to spite that sadistic mayor Regina Mills, and her lackey Sydney Glass who smeared Queen Clarion's good name with his trashy articles.
The three women tried to sit in the back row. Word had gotten around through the local television news that the suspected cause of the fire were the solvents which were supposedly stored improperly. The couple sitting next to them recognized who they were. "These are taken," the woman said with a glare. With no other options, Claire and both girls stood along the back wall. No one dared stand close to them.
Moments later the lights dimmed over the crowd that had gathered. Dr. Hopper introduced the candidates before turning the dais over to Sydney Glass for his opening statement. His lines, fed to him by Regina, were well rehearsed and little more than political speak.
When Emma Swan got up to deliver her opening address, she shocked everyone. They all knew of her "troubled past" thanks to the newspaper, but were willing to let it go because of what happened the other day with the fire. She revealed to everyone that the fire was staged, set by Mr. Gold. He had been supporting her campaign, but promised everyone she had no idea he would do such a thing.
Though she had no definitive proof of his involvement, she was quite certain of her instincts. As she spoke Mr. Gold stood up and angrily walked out of the auditorium, all but incriminating himself in the process. Emma said she wanted to win, but not in this way. She looked directly at Henry who smiled in return. She could see now just how much her integrity meant to him. Emma left the stage effectively conceding the debate and the election to Sydney Glass.
PIXIE HOLLOW, NEVER LAND (The Early Edwardian Period)
When Terence was called into Fairy Gary's office he fully expected to hear that he had been promoted from assistant trainee to full time assistant. His work thus far had been exemplary and his dedication could not be questioned.
Instead he was relieved of his duties.
"I know you've worked very hard to be my new assistant, Terence," Fairy Gary said as a way of apologizing, "and you've put aside everything else to be the very best assistant you can."
"Yeah, so why am I relieved of my duties?"
"Because I had not expected you to put aside your relationship with Tinker Bell."
"Tinker Bell? What did she say?" He was very accusing in his tone.
"She didn't say anything, Terence. We can all see it."
"See what?" the boy asked, confounded.
"You two used to be in love, now all you do is fight."
"Is that all? Fairy Gary, Tink is being unreasonable."
"Is she?" Gary responded. "Do you remember the accident that brought you two together? How depressed she was afterwards thinking she was a complete failure as a tinker fairy?"
"Yeah, I was there."
"Yes, you stayed by her side on your off time to lift her spirits, and something you said brought the girl around. Now what was it?"
~O~
Terence was with Tinker Bell for the fifth straight day after the accident. She had sunk into such a deep depression that the little blonde tinker wouldn't even report to work. Not even a visit by her sister, Periwinkle, could snap Tink out of her misery.
Tinker Bell had been working on another version of the Pixie Dust Express. She could never get the darn thing to work right no matter what alterations she made to it. Then Tink had a grand idea that she hoped would solve all of her problems. Instead, it sent the hydrofoil careening through the forest and into a log where it smashed spectacularly into a million pieces. She was injured and it left her unconscious for two days.
Her recovery was complete, but it hurt her in other ways. Despite all of her other successes, her inability to make the Pixie Dust Express work made her believe she was a failure as a tinker fairy.
"How can I be the greatest talent in Pixie Hollow if I can't even make a simple boat work?" was her constant refrain.
She refused to work on anything afterwards. Terence couldn't stand to see her this way and tried his best to cheer the girl up. When she asked him why he even bothered he told her.
"Because I love you, Tink."
"I love you, too, Terence. You're my best friend."
"No, Tink. I mean I love you."
"Why? I'm nothing but a failure."
"Now why would I want to be in love with a failure?" He picked her up in his arms and kissed her ever so lovingly. "I know you, Tinker Bell, you are not a failure. You are a truly rare talent and you are very special to me."
~O~
"Yeah, I remember," Terence said to his supervisor. "She was so giddy afterwards. We both were."
"That's right. We all need someone to boost or morale once in a while," Gary told him. "Tink, being a great talent, is more volatile than most and she needs someone like you around to keep an even keel."
"And I haven't been around to help her, have I?"
"No, you haven't. She's been disheartened that so many of her inventions have been rejected by the talent guilds lately and she is despairing again, just like before."
"What a fool I've been," Terence said, cupping his hands to the sides of his head.
"Aye, but the fault is not all yours, my boy," Gary said. "I asked you to become a full time assistant when I should have made you part time instead."
"That may be so, but I put my job ahead of everything else in my life. Poor Tink, she must hate me right now. I have to apologize. Thanks, Fairy Gary."
Terence flew out of the dust depot like a fast flyer. He came across Viola the queen's summoner and asked her to find Tinker Bell for him. She reminded him that her responsibility is to the queen. "Misuse of the Queen's summoner is a crime punishable by loss of one day's dust rations."
"But I have to find Tink. I need to apologize."
"Then you will be reconciling?" she asked.
"If she'll have me."
"Then I will locate her immediately."
"Great. Thanks. Tell her to meet me at my place. But don't tell her why, I want to surprise her."
Terence returned to the housing district of the dust keepers, seeking out Zarina. He wanted to let her know that he needed to spend some quality time with Tinker Bell and couldn't be her teaching assistant for a while.
Viola found Tinker Bell in the first place she looked, Tinker's Nook. The little pixie had confined herself to her tea kettle home. She informed Tinker Bell that Terence wanted to speak with her regarding something of great importance.
Tink wasn't very agreeable to the request, but Viola said it would change their relationship considerably.
"Did he say how it would change?" Tink asked Voila.
"No, only that he wanted it to be a surprise."
Tinker Bell sighed. "Okay, I'll go meet him at the depot."
~O~
Terence had explained to Zarina that he needed time to reconcile and reconnect with Tinker Bell. "Once our relationship is repaired, then I can help out in your class again. Probably when she is with her friends or visiting Periwinkle in the Winter Woods."
"You're doing the right thing, Terence," Zarina told him. "She helped me out when I thought no one cared about me. Now she needs to know that you care. That we all care about her."
The boy turned his head briefly scanning the skies looking for Tinker Bell hoping that Viola had found her quickly. As an act of friendly affection Zarina leaned over the give Terence a peck on the cheek. Terence, however, turned at just the wrong moment and her lips met his. The two looked at each other, petrified with surprise and shock. When they stepped away from each other the two laughed at the little accident.
"Well that was unexpected," she said, giggling.
"Yeah, glad Tinker Bell didn't see that," Terence said. "She might get the wrong idea."
Unfortunately, she had and in her disconsolate state of mind assumed that Terence had intended to break up with her and reveal his new relationship with Zarina. It sent the little tinker fairy spiraling deeper into her self-defeating thoughts and she flittered back to her home feeling humiliated and betrayed.
STORYBROOKE, MAINE
Emma had retreated to the comfort of a stiff drink at Granny's Diner.
"Another?" Ruby asked.
"Oh, yes!"
The door chime rang, Henry entered and joined Emma at the counter, a smile on his face. He handed his birth mother a walkie-talkie, which he had kept. She looked confused.
"You stood up to Mr. Gold, that was pretty amazing," he told her.
"He did something illegal."
"That's what heroes do." Henry then confided in her that he should never have given up on Operation Cobra.
The door opened again and in walked Regina with Sydney right behind. Emma was certain that both had come for his victory party. Instead Ms. Swan learned that she had been elected sheriff, although by a very narrow margin of victory.
Regina rather unhappily presenting the sheriff's badge to Ms. Swan, telling her that the people of Storybrooke seemed to like the idea of a sheriff who had the courage to stand up to Mr. Gold.
As the two women spoke residents of the town began filling the diner. First Mary Margaret, then Dr. Hopper and Claire with her two girls followed by many others. These were all supporters who were happy not just because their candidate won, but because she had done so with honor and integrity. These were qualities they valued.
"You didn't choose a good friend in Mr. Gold, but he makes for a superlative enemy," Regina said almost as a warming. Then she smiled and added. "Enjoy that."
This left Emma wondering if she had gotten into something deeper than she realized.
Whew, covered a great deal of territory in this chapter. Lots of changes going on in Storybrooke. Next chapter should wrap up Episode 8.
Thanks for reading. Your feedback is always appreciated.