Cora's Big Happy Family, Chapter 12: Storybrooke Saved Again
Extended Author's Note: Once again, I am so delighted to be diving back into this story. Chapter 11 (set during 4x20, "Mother") was a big chapter with big implications for the future. Thanks to some rational thought and magical collaboration between Cora, the Blue Fairy, Rumplestiltskin, and Mick (aka the Apprentice), Rumple is still the Dark One, Isaac was never able to create his alternate "Heroes and Villains" reality, and the Darkness did not break free from the dagger and attach itself to Emma Swan. If this story took place in the MCU, Tom Hiddleston and Owen Wilson would have to show up, because we've disrupted the "sacred timeline" of Once Upon a Time (as if I didn't already do that eleven years ago when I wrote, "Cora Is Still Company").
This will be the final chapter of Cora's Scrapbook/Cora's Big Happy Family, and it will conclude the events of Season 4 of Once Upon a Time. "But what," you may be asking, "about the Camelot arc and Hades and the Land of Untold Stories and the Black Fairy and Seattle?" My response: I hope that you will stick around and wait, because I have answers to those questions. If you liked "Cora's Storybrooke" and "Cora's Family Reunion," which largely had separate-but-parallel plots that tied into the events of seasons 3A and 3B respectively, what I have in mind will be similar in nature.
If any of you happened to be reading who were part of my original "Cora Chronicles" core readership, I'm sorry that you were without an update for so long, and I hope that what I posted was worthwhile.
Alas, I have droned on far too long, and I will get on with the story. We are still in "Mother/Operation Mongoose." Thank you for reading!
Granny of Granny's Diner knew how to anticipate. Maybe it was the heightened senses she retained from her time as a werewolf. Maybe it was twenty-eight plus years of owning a restaurant and bed-and-breakfast. Maybe she was just that good.
She knew when Leroy was coming and how he rotated the main courses he liked with his signature side of bacon. She knew that Marco and Archie always had lunch together on Tuesdays and would make fresh marinara sauce the night before, as both were fond of spaghetti. She knew that she usually wasn't going to like her granddaughter's outfit (before Ruby returned to the Enchanted Forest in search of more of their kind), so she mentally prepared a barb. She quite missed her banter with Ruby.
Granny also knew that whenever something big was going down in Storybrooke, the inevitable triumph of the Charmings and their extended family and friends (as one of which she was proud to be considered) would culminate in a celebration at her establishment. Therefore, when Maleficent's daughter Lily had transformed into a raging dragon outside of the pharmacy and stormed out of town, the first thing she did was enter her walk-in freezer and remove three large, aluminum trays of lasagna that she had cooked previously and began to thaw them out.
When Emma Swan had called her to let her know that the family would be coming for dinner that night, (which Granny graciously thanked her for doing) her ovens were already preheated to a low temperature to slowly bring the heavily-laden trays to the appropriate heat for serving.
Even in a town where so many unpredictable things kept happening, Granny was always on top of things.
Now it was close to 6:30, and David and Mary Margaret and the baby were situated at the end of a long table that Granny had organized two hours earlier. Emma, Henry, and the man who had singlehandedly caused Granny to have to find an additional rum supplier showed up not long afterwards.
Granny was pleased to see that Emma was cheerfully interacting with her parents once again, having been disappointed by her standoffishness towards them for the past several weeks. Whatever had transpired between them had clearly had a positive resolution.
The door swung open as Maleficent and her daughter (whose name Granny could not remember) entered the diner. Granny was relieved that they both appeared to be calm and in human form.
"So glad you made it!" Emma said, giving the unknown woman a hug. Then, they turned politely towards the bar, and Emma explained, "This is Lily, my best friend from when I was a kid."
"You were in here earlier today, weren't you?" Granny asked, prompting Lily to nod. "Hope you're having a better day than you were this afternoon."
Lily looked down, slightly embarrassed, and Granny instantly felt bad.
"Don't sweat it, honey," she slid a free lemonade across the counter. "You should have seen me during a full moon when I was your age. We've all been there."
Lily took the lemonade, and Maleficent mouthed a, "thank you," over her shoulder.
The next to arrive was Regina, with Robin in tow.
"So, how's the sister?" Granny asked nervously. Now that Zelena had returned to Storybrooke, she was not eager for the siblings to start throwing fireballs at each other across her dining room.
Regina gave a sigh, perceiving Granny's worry. "She's tucked out of the way for now. I promise she won't cause you or your customers any trouble."
"Any updates on this business with the Author?" Granny asked.
"Mother called me earlier to say that the problem is solved and that she would explain the rest at dinner," Regina explained.
"So you all get dinner and a show?"
Snow, who had been listening nearby, stepped closer, holding baby Neal close to her chest. "Cora has always had a flare for the dramatic."
"Do I now?" came Cora's voice from the entrance. Everyone turned to see Regina's mother striding into the center of the room. "I hope I'm not too late." She was dressed just as she had been when she attended Neal's christening, though she had eschewed the tiara for this less formal occasion.
"Nonsense," David said. "You're right on time!"
Cora faced Maleficent and Lily first.
"It has been a long time, Maleficent," Cora said politely.
"So it has," Maleficent responded flatly. "Your daughter was kind enough to return the spellbook you took from me all those years ago."
Cora shrugged. "She's a better person than I am. And speaking of daughters," she extended her hand to Lily to shake. "Cora Mills, Regina's mother. Welcome to Storybrooke."
"Lily," she said, gently shaking her hand. Cora noticed that she was wearing a bandage.
"I saw you in dragon form this afternoon," Cora said. "Most impressive. You take after your mother, clearly."
Lily gave a small smile for the first time since she had entered Granny's, and Maleficent gave Cora an approving look. The theft of her spellbook back in the Enchanted Forest was quite forgiven.
"Well, are we all going to stand around, or are we going to eat?" Hook asked impatiently.
"I'm sure we've all worked up an appetite today," Cora nodded.
Granny rolled a cart with the warm trays of lasagna from the kitchen, using her oven mitts to place them on three large trivets on the table.
Cora took her seat at the end of the table with Regina on her left and Henry on her right.
"So, are you going to tell us what happened with the Author, Grandma Cora?" Henry asked. Everyone paused their discussions to hear what she had to say.
Cora took a deep breath. "Well, for one thing, we can stop calling him the Author. Mick deemed him unworthy of the powers of the Author, so now he's just plain Isaac."
"Are we going to lock him up?" David asked.
"No, we're going to put him to work," Cora replied. "The Daily Mirror needs a new editor, doesn't it?"
"It does," Regina said, frowning. She wondered what had become of Sidney after he betrayed her to Ingrid. "Are you sure he'll be satisfied with that?"
Cora took a sip of her lemonade before responding. "He'll have to be. And besides, I am Storybrooke's Chief Police Investigator, am I not, Emma?"
"You are," Emma nodded, thinking she knew where Cora was going with this.
"I may need a field agent from time to time. He's not unintelligent, and he is cunning. We could turn him into an asset for this town."
"We'll see if the budget stretches to accommodate it," David said.
Cora looked sharply at Regina, who put her hands up and said, "It will."
"Thank you, dear," Cora said.
"Do you think there will be a new Author?" Henry asked.
"I'm sure when the time is right, a new Author will be selected. So the Isaac is dealt with, and none of you need worry about Rumplestiltskin either."
"Is he dead?" Maleficent asked.
Cora laughed and shook her head. "He's alive and well and still the Dark One. We found a way to manage his little 'heart condition.'"
Henry shook his head in amazement. "You really are the Queen of Hearts, aren't you?"
"Oh, wait, really?" Lily asked.
"Yes, dear," Cora said patiently.
Lily began pointing back and forth between the people at the table. "So the Queen of Hearts is the Evil Queen's mom, the Evil Queen and the Wicked Witch of the West are sisters, and Snow White's daughter is dating Captain Hook. This town is weird."
"Says the Dragon Lady," Emma chuckled, elbowing her old friend in the ribs.
"So, how are you keeping the darkness from overtaking him?" Regina asked.
"At the present time, we are using a number of magical items to store portions of the Darkness that we siphoned from his heart. The Sorcerer's Hat, Pandora's Box, and an enchanted urn from Arendelle."
Mary Margaret frowned. "Wouldn't it have been better for everyone if we removed all of the darkness from him and stopped him from doing evil ever again?"
"First of all, no magical item that we are aware of is strong enough to store all of the Darkness without it being at serious risk of breaking free. If we untethered the Darkness from Rumple, it could very well have attached itself to someone else."
"That would not be good," Emma said.
"Precisely," Cora said. "The devil we know is better than the devil we don't. Rumple's name has been on the dagger longer than anyone. He knows that power and he knows how to control it. And sweet Snow, even if we had still removed all of the Darkness from his heart, he would still be capable of committing evil deeds."
"Yeah, mom, didn't we just have a whole situation between us because of that sort of thinking?" Emma asked as Maleficent gave an indignant humph.
"Sorry," Snow lowered her head. Charming rubbed her arm supportively.
"I see another potential problem," Hook interjected.
"Suddenly you're a magic expert?" Regina snapped.
"Let him speak, dear," Cora insisted. "Let's not forget that Kilian here hunted Rumple for a long time. He knows a thing or two about the Dark One."
"Thank you, Cora," Hook continued, feeling vindicated. "Aren't you concerned that you are creating three large repositories of dark magic that could easily be stolen and exploited?"
Cora had not thought of that, but she quickly determined a solution. "There were three of us who worked to come up with this solution besides Rumple and Belle. Myself, Blue, and Mick."
"Who is Mick?" Robin asked.
"The Sorcerer's Apprentice," Cora explained.
"Wait, his name has been Mick the whole time?" David asked. "That's kind of…"
"Lame," Henry said.
Cora nodded and sighed. "As a rule, I have found that major practitioners of light magic tend to have really stupid names. That's why they all give themselves mysterious titles to hide behind."
"So, if the Sorcerer's Apprentice is named Mick, what is the Sorcerer's name?" Regina asked.
"Merlin," Cora said. "I'm surprised that Rumple didn't teach you that dear."
"Does the Blue Fairy have a name?" Henry asked.
"Reul Ghorm," Mary Margaret said.
"Doesn't exactly roll off the tongue, does it?" Granny called from the bar.
"Come to think of it," Emma pondered, "What is your first name, Granny?"
Granny felt very put on the spot. She wasn't sure if it was the effects of the Dark Curse or some device of the nefarious Author, but she could not remember her first name, so she just shrugged.
"Anyway," Cora said, cutting across the persiflage, "Mick and Ghorm and I will each be guardians over the receptacles we use to moderate Rumple's heart. I will discuss that with them later, but for our purposes, I am claiming Pandora's Box, which is the most dignified of those three objects."
Henry shuddered slightly, remembering being trapped in the same box while in Pan's form.
"So what do we do now?" Emma asked. "Gold doesn't have a reason to terrorize us, the Darkness is contained, and Mick took away Isaac's power."
"We live our lives," Cora said. "We try to find some normalcy and stability in this town."
"Hallelujah!" Granny held her lemonade up before draining her glass in celebration.
"I for one would enjoy not having to deal with a new existential threat every few weeks," Emma said, gripping Kilian's hook with her right hand.
"Now, it doesn't mean there will never be an existential threat again," Cora said, "But we need to enjoy the time we have together. Snow and David, you don't want to miss another child growing up. I mean, give it another month, and Henry will be taller than all of us!"
"Watch out, Anton!" Henry said to general laughter.
"What about Zelena?" Robin asked.
Cora frowned and reached across Regina's place at the table to take Robin's hand. "I just want to say that I am so sorry for what you have gone through because of Zelena. It must be so difficult, and I apologize on her behalf."
Robin squeezed Cora's hand appreciatively.
"As to what we are going to do about her," Cora said, "I don't know yet. It's a complicated situation, and I think that we are going to need to have an evolving approach depending on what transpires."
"For now, she's locked up," Regina said. "Out of sight, out of mind, right, Mother?"
Cora nodded to appease her. Zelena was out of sight for now, but she wasn't out of mind.
It was dark in Zelena's cell. The small overhead lights had turned off automatically around 9 PM, and only a sliver of moonlight illuminated the padded room.
Zelena was not pleased to be here, but she had to admit that she had slept in worse places in her life. She had a comfortably firm bed and soft clothes (the magic-blocking cuff on her wrist notwithstanding).
She laid awake in her bed staring at the ceiling, hands on her growing baby bump.
"I suppose things could be worse," she said aloud.
"Oh, things could always be worse," came a strangely familiar voice, a low growl just above a whisper, from a dark corner of the cell.
Zelena sat bolt upright, instinctively extending her hand to conjure a green fireball before remembering she couldn't use magic. "Who's there?"
"I have to admit, I'm a little brokenhearted that you don't remember me," came the voice. "After all the good times we had together."
"It can't be," Zelena gasped. "Hades?"
The Lord of the Underworld stepped out of the shadowy corner and towards where Zelena was seated on the bed.
"Hello, Zelena. It's been a long time."
"It has," she said, squaring her shoulders and trying to recover some of her cool.
"Look what they've done to you," Hades frowned, gesturing to their surroundings and the cuff on her wrist. "I've been watching you for a long time, and I just couldn't stay away any longer."
Zelena furrowed her brow. She knew Hades had always been infatuated with her, but she wasn't sure she was ready to open her heart to anyone yet. Still, she was locked away, cut off from her powers, and had no other allies willing to help her.
"It's so wonderful to see you again," she batted her eyes. "Are you here to free me?"
Hades sat down on the bed next to Zelena, placing his arm around her. She dutifully put her head on his shoulder. "I want to see you out of here more than anything in all the worlds."
"Well, then," Zelena held out her cuffed arm.
"You and I both know that if I bust you out of here tonight, your mother and sister will hunt you down until they catch you, and since they're best pals with the 'good guys' now, they have no shortage of allies. Even the two of us together wouldn't stand a chance."
Zelena ceased her flirting, realizing it would not help her to escape any faster. She resumed a more businesslike tone and stood up, beginning to pace. "I am so tired of Regina always getting everything! And Mom has not even bothered to come and see me. She's too busy palling around with the Blue Fairy and pretending her friendship with Belle isn't weird."
"I've been watching Cora too," Hades grinned from the bed. "Your mother thinks that she just won a great victory, but you and I will live to see it turn to despair. Not only that, but she will soon realize that she was the architect of her own destruction."
Zelena stopped pacing and gazed at her would-be-lover. "How are you going to do that?"
Hades rose to his feet, meeting her where she stood and kissing her hand. "For the time being, you need to stay in here. Do the work. Show them you can reform yourself just like Regina and Cora think they did. I'll be in touch."
With a flash of blue flame, Hades departed out of the cell, leaving Zelena alone in the dark once again.
To Be Continued in the upcoming SIXTH installment of the Cora Chronicles: Cora and Her Daughters