Defying Gravity: 9/??
Title: Defying Gravity
Fandom: Once Upon A Time/Once Upon A Time In Wonderland
Characters: Rumplestiltskin, Cora, Jafar, Zelena and Captain Hook in this chapter, more to follow but no spoilers here, dearies.
Rating: PG
Warnings: Spoilers for all of OUATIW and OUAT up to S4 but goes AU for S5.
Notes: For eternal_moonie - I couldn't have done this one without you. Chapter titles are all Defying Gravity lyrics.
Summary: What happened when Jafar's lamp was brought to Storybrooke in the curse, ended up in Gold's shop and Zelena accidentally let him out? In this chapter, Zelena's second wish has an unexpected outcome for Jafar.
Chapter 1 is here: I'm Through With Playing By The Rules Of Someone Else's Game
Chapter 2 is here: Dreams, The Way We Planned'em, If We Work In Tandem
Chapter 3 is here: I Really Hope You Get It, And You Don't Live To Regret It
Chapter 4 is here: You Can Still Be With The Wizard, What You've Worked And Waited For
Chapter 5 is here: No Wizard That There Is Or Was Is Ever Gonna Bring Me Down
Chapter 6 is here: No One Mourns The Wicked, So We've Got to Bring Her Down
Chapter 7 is here: Too Long I've Been Afraid Of Losing Love I Guess I've Lost
Chapter 8 is here: To Those Who'd Ground Me, Take a Message Back From Me
“You’re improving, Cora,” Rumplestiltskin began, “but you’re not there yet. You’re not strong enough for the kind of magic I need to cast my curse.” He could see the frustration on her face as he said this, and had to turn away to hide his smile. “I remember when we first met, how quickly you managed to turn the straw to gold. You need to be back there, you need the determination, the fire, the emotion you felt back then. The memory of the day when King Xavier broke off your betrothal to his son, it doesn’t seem to have been strong enough to produce the results I need.”
“I’m trying as hard as I can, Rumple,” Cora snapped. “What more do you want me to do?”
“I want you to think back, to put yourself where you were back then,” Rumple replied, wondering how long it would take to occur to Cora exactly what was missing. “What was different back then, what was missing?”
“This!” came a new voice. Rumplestiltskin hid his smile at the sight of Zelena and Jafar making their way towards them, Zelena holding Cora’s heart in her hands. So Jafar had succeeded after all, and Zelena was about to return Cora’s heart.
“She’s right, dearie,” Rumplestiltskin replied. “It was your heart that was missing. Now that you have it, you can regain the emotion, the passion, that you need to use your magic to the best of your ability.”
But Cora wasn’t even listening to him. As Zelena had thrust her heart back into her body, she had embraced her only daughter, looking at her with loving eyes for the first time.
*****
“Such a touching scene,” Rumplestiltskin rolled his eyes at Jafar. “Such a shame it’s going to come to an end, dearie.”
“You’re absolutely sure that your plan will work?” Jafar asked. “You’re sure that Cora will make the decision to cast your curse over rebuilding her relationship with Zelena?” He gestured towards where Cora and Zelena sat talking, Zelena’s face lighting up as she looked at her mother and saw the love in her eyes that she had never seen before. “Because from here, it looks like she might not make that choice.”
“You don’t know Cora like I do,” Rumplestiltskin smirked. “When the time comes to make the choice, I’m sure she will make the right choice. She’ll want to cast my curse, she’ll want the power for herself.”
“How can you be so sure that she will make that choice?” Jafar asked.
“Dearie...I can be sure, because she chose power over a life with me,” Rumplestiltskin replied.
*****
Jafar had been right. It would have been a mistake to have wasted a wish on rebuilding her relationship with Cora when she had achieved her goal so easily by replacing Cora’s heart in her body. Now Zelena had the relationship with her mother that she had dreamed of ever since she had found out she was adopted. She finally believed that her mother loved her, had her best interests at heart, and that there was hope for a future with them.
Really, she didn’t need any more wishes. She had achieved what she wanted now - Regina had never existed, she was close to Cora now. As for Robin Hood, well, she had turned her back on that bore without a backward glance. Jafar had been right to say she should have been clearer in her wish, maybe then she would never have ended up with Robin. But things had worked out despite her initial mistake, and Zelena was now in the position she had always dreamed of being; close to her mother, and on course to be the one to cast Rumplestiltskin’s curse.
She imagined what she could do with the curse, ways in which she could improve on that which Regina had cast. Firstly, she had no intention of allowing Rumplestiltskin to have the same level of power he had held in Regina’s Storybrooke, no, not in Zelena’s world would he own half the town. That honour would go to Zelena herself, a Zelena who would be even more powerful than Regina, Madam Mayor had been.
“You look deep in thought, dearie,” Rumplestiltskin said as he approached her.
“Just planning what I shall do with your curse, dearie,” Zelena smirked.
“Ah, but I’m afraid it won’t be as simple as that,” Rumplestiltskin let out his irritating giggle again. “You’re not powerful enough yet, but there is someone who is. Your mother, dearie.”
“But she wouldn’t do that,” Zelena began. “She has her heart back now, she wouldn’t -“
“Even if she didn’t, the point is rather academic,” Rumplestiltskin grinned, a grin that made Zelena long to slap his face. “If you cast the curse in her place instead, you won’t get your happy ending. The curse requires the heart of the one you love the most. And since you never loved the outlaw, and have no other family to speak of, the one you love the most now is your mother. And if she were to perform the curse, the one she loves most is you. So one of you has to rip out the heart of the other if this curse is to work. There is no other way.”
*****
“There has to be another way,” Zelena raged at Jafar. “If I wished that the curse didn’t require the heart...”
“Why so squeamish, Zelena?” Jafar asked. “Regina ripped out the heart of her beloved father without a qualm when she cast the curse. And this was a man who had raised her for her entire life. Would you really find it so hard? From all I have heard of Cora, I am sure she would feel able to rip your heart out if it meant the difference between her having the power attached to casting the curse and not.”
“Regina...” Jafar watched the expression on Zelena’s face and he knew it was starting to dawn on her.
“If your sister was still here, then your mother would have two choices; you or Regina. And Regina was the daughter she chose to keep; if Regina was here, would Cora not choose to sacrifice her to cast the curse?”
“Fine.” Zelena spat. “Then I wish my bloody sister back into existence!”
*****
Jafar struggled to his feet. He looked around him to realise he was back in the same pawn shop where he had found himself when Zelena had released him from the lamp, and from the look of things, not much if any time had passed since Will had run from the store and Zelena had made her wish. Zelena lay sprawled on the floor, appearing unconscious. So Rumple’s plan had worked, and yet Jafar was back where he started, with no hope of getting what he wanted.
Where was Rumplestiltskin? Jafar intended to seek him out, to find out just how exactly he intended to honour his promise to work with him to change the laws of magic. “Rumple?” he yelled. “Dark One?” He stuck his head around the door, trying to see if he could find Rumplestiltskin somewhere in the back of the store premises.
“You called?”
Jafar spun around in the direction of the voice. The man stood before him had all the appearance of a Dark One, yet he was not the face Jafar had expected to see. This man appeared younger than Rumplestiltskin, with dark hair. One of his hands was missing, replaced by a hook.
Jafar stared at him. “Who the hell are you? I was looking for Rumplestiltskin, the Dark One.”
The stranger laughed. “You’re a bit behind the times, mate.” He held out his one good hand. “Killian Jones. Although some know me as Captain Hook. And I’m guessing you made a deal with Rumplestiltskin?”
Jafar nodded.
“Well, I’m the Dark One now. And any deals that you had with him, they’ve now passed to me.”
To be continued...
Fandom: Once Upon A Time/Once Upon A Time In Wonderland
Characters: Rumplestiltskin, Cora, Jafar, Zelena and Captain Hook in this chapter, more to follow but no spoilers here, dearies.
Rating: PG
Warnings: Spoilers for all of OUATIW and OUAT up to S4 but goes AU for S5.
Notes: For eternal_moonie - I couldn't have done this one without you. Chapter titles are all Defying Gravity lyrics.
Summary: What happened when Jafar's lamp was brought to Storybrooke in the curse, ended up in Gold's shop and Zelena accidentally let him out? In this chapter, Zelena's second wish has an unexpected outcome for Jafar.
Chapter 1 is here: I'm Through With Playing By The Rules Of Someone Else's Game
Chapter 2 is here: Dreams, The Way We Planned'em, If We Work In Tandem
Chapter 3 is here: I Really Hope You Get It, And You Don't Live To Regret It
Chapter 4 is here: You Can Still Be With The Wizard, What You've Worked And Waited For
Chapter 5 is here: No Wizard That There Is Or Was Is Ever Gonna Bring Me Down
Chapter 6 is here: No One Mourns The Wicked, So We've Got to Bring Her Down
Chapter 7 is here: Too Long I've Been Afraid Of Losing Love I Guess I've Lost
Chapter 8 is here: To Those Who'd Ground Me, Take a Message Back From Me
“You’re improving, Cora,” Rumplestiltskin began, “but you’re not there yet. You’re not strong enough for the kind of magic I need to cast my curse.” He could see the frustration on her face as he said this, and had to turn away to hide his smile. “I remember when we first met, how quickly you managed to turn the straw to gold. You need to be back there, you need the determination, the fire, the emotion you felt back then. The memory of the day when King Xavier broke off your betrothal to his son, it doesn’t seem to have been strong enough to produce the results I need.”
“I’m trying as hard as I can, Rumple,” Cora snapped. “What more do you want me to do?”
“I want you to think back, to put yourself where you were back then,” Rumple replied, wondering how long it would take to occur to Cora exactly what was missing. “What was different back then, what was missing?”
“This!” came a new voice. Rumplestiltskin hid his smile at the sight of Zelena and Jafar making their way towards them, Zelena holding Cora’s heart in her hands. So Jafar had succeeded after all, and Zelena was about to return Cora’s heart.
“She’s right, dearie,” Rumplestiltskin replied. “It was your heart that was missing. Now that you have it, you can regain the emotion, the passion, that you need to use your magic to the best of your ability.”
But Cora wasn’t even listening to him. As Zelena had thrust her heart back into her body, she had embraced her only daughter, looking at her with loving eyes for the first time.
*****
“Such a touching scene,” Rumplestiltskin rolled his eyes at Jafar. “Such a shame it’s going to come to an end, dearie.”
“You’re absolutely sure that your plan will work?” Jafar asked. “You’re sure that Cora will make the decision to cast your curse over rebuilding her relationship with Zelena?” He gestured towards where Cora and Zelena sat talking, Zelena’s face lighting up as she looked at her mother and saw the love in her eyes that she had never seen before. “Because from here, it looks like she might not make that choice.”
“You don’t know Cora like I do,” Rumplestiltskin smirked. “When the time comes to make the choice, I’m sure she will make the right choice. She’ll want to cast my curse, she’ll want the power for herself.”
“How can you be so sure that she will make that choice?” Jafar asked.
“Dearie...I can be sure, because she chose power over a life with me,” Rumplestiltskin replied.
*****
Jafar had been right. It would have been a mistake to have wasted a wish on rebuilding her relationship with Cora when she had achieved her goal so easily by replacing Cora’s heart in her body. Now Zelena had the relationship with her mother that she had dreamed of ever since she had found out she was adopted. She finally believed that her mother loved her, had her best interests at heart, and that there was hope for a future with them.
Really, she didn’t need any more wishes. She had achieved what she wanted now - Regina had never existed, she was close to Cora now. As for Robin Hood, well, she had turned her back on that bore without a backward glance. Jafar had been right to say she should have been clearer in her wish, maybe then she would never have ended up with Robin. But things had worked out despite her initial mistake, and Zelena was now in the position she had always dreamed of being; close to her mother, and on course to be the one to cast Rumplestiltskin’s curse.
She imagined what she could do with the curse, ways in which she could improve on that which Regina had cast. Firstly, she had no intention of allowing Rumplestiltskin to have the same level of power he had held in Regina’s Storybrooke, no, not in Zelena’s world would he own half the town. That honour would go to Zelena herself, a Zelena who would be even more powerful than Regina, Madam Mayor had been.
“You look deep in thought, dearie,” Rumplestiltskin said as he approached her.
“Just planning what I shall do with your curse, dearie,” Zelena smirked.
“Ah, but I’m afraid it won’t be as simple as that,” Rumplestiltskin let out his irritating giggle again. “You’re not powerful enough yet, but there is someone who is. Your mother, dearie.”
“But she wouldn’t do that,” Zelena began. “She has her heart back now, she wouldn’t -“
“Even if she didn’t, the point is rather academic,” Rumplestiltskin grinned, a grin that made Zelena long to slap his face. “If you cast the curse in her place instead, you won’t get your happy ending. The curse requires the heart of the one you love the most. And since you never loved the outlaw, and have no other family to speak of, the one you love the most now is your mother. And if she were to perform the curse, the one she loves most is you. So one of you has to rip out the heart of the other if this curse is to work. There is no other way.”
*****
“There has to be another way,” Zelena raged at Jafar. “If I wished that the curse didn’t require the heart...”
“Why so squeamish, Zelena?” Jafar asked. “Regina ripped out the heart of her beloved father without a qualm when she cast the curse. And this was a man who had raised her for her entire life. Would you really find it so hard? From all I have heard of Cora, I am sure she would feel able to rip your heart out if it meant the difference between her having the power attached to casting the curse and not.”
“Regina...” Jafar watched the expression on Zelena’s face and he knew it was starting to dawn on her.
“If your sister was still here, then your mother would have two choices; you or Regina. And Regina was the daughter she chose to keep; if Regina was here, would Cora not choose to sacrifice her to cast the curse?”
“Fine.” Zelena spat. “Then I wish my bloody sister back into existence!”
*****
Jafar struggled to his feet. He looked around him to realise he was back in the same pawn shop where he had found himself when Zelena had released him from the lamp, and from the look of things, not much if any time had passed since Will had run from the store and Zelena had made her wish. Zelena lay sprawled on the floor, appearing unconscious. So Rumple’s plan had worked, and yet Jafar was back where he started, with no hope of getting what he wanted.
Where was Rumplestiltskin? Jafar intended to seek him out, to find out just how exactly he intended to honour his promise to work with him to change the laws of magic. “Rumple?” he yelled. “Dark One?” He stuck his head around the door, trying to see if he could find Rumplestiltskin somewhere in the back of the store premises.
“You called?”
Jafar spun around in the direction of the voice. The man stood before him had all the appearance of a Dark One, yet he was not the face Jafar had expected to see. This man appeared younger than Rumplestiltskin, with dark hair. One of his hands was missing, replaced by a hook.
Jafar stared at him. “Who the hell are you? I was looking for Rumplestiltskin, the Dark One.”
The stranger laughed. “You’re a bit behind the times, mate.” He held out his one good hand. “Killian Jones. Although some know me as Captain Hook. And I’m guessing you made a deal with Rumplestiltskin?”
Jafar nodded.
“Well, I’m the Dark One now. And any deals that you had with him, they’ve now passed to me.”
To be continued...