Defying Gravity: 11/12
Title: Defying Gravity
Fandom: Once Upon A Time/Once Upon A Time In Wonderland
Characters: Zelena, Emma, Mary Margaret, David, Will, Regina, Robin 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, as the heroes search for Henry, Zelena makes a surprising alliance as she plans to defeat Hook, Jafar and Rumple once and for all.
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
Chapter 9 is here: Well, If That's Love, It Comes At Much Too High A Cost
Chapter 10 is here: Something Has Changed Within Me, Something Is Not The Same
This was not where Zelena had ever imagined she would have ended up. The future she had imagined for herself, where her mother had loved her, where Regina had never existed, hadn’t been anything like she had thought it would be. Could things have been different without Rumplestiltskin and his curse? If Cora had her heart back, if there had been no question of anyone needing to cast a curse at all and Cora not needing to sacrifice the thing she loved most, would Cora and Zelena ever have been able to form the bond that had been just beginning when Rumple had insisted that one of them cast his curse? And even after what had happened with King Leopold, would Cora have found some other way to ensure that she would become queen of some other realm?
Zelena would never know the answers to these questions. Maybe Jafar had been right, and she should have been more careful with her wording when she made her wish. But she could not pin all her troubles on that; with Rumple and Jafar working against her at every turn, Zelena was never going to get what she wanted.
If it hadn’t been for Rumple and Jafar depriving her of her opportunity to cast the curse, playing her and Cora off against each other in order to achieve the result he wanted, then Zelena would had had the opportunity to find out how life would have been if she had been Cora’s only child, the one who was kept.
After having wasted two of her wishes, Zelena had one wish left, and she had to think very carefully about how she was going to use it. Not again would she make a wish without thinking through the potential consequences, not when there was so much at stake. All those hopes and dreams she had had for a future where she was Cora’s beloved daughter, living the life Regina had had, and where was she now? Stuck in the town created by her sister’s curse and stuck playing nursemaid to Regina’s adopted brat, the old cuff back on her wrist once more, while Hook and Jafar planned how to defeat light magic once and for all, without her. She was the one with the wishes. Zelena could land Jafar right back in the lamp before he had time to do anything for Hook. What could Hook do, after all, when she was the one who still held the power over Jafar? As long as she held the wish, nothing at all. But squandering a wish, just to put a spoke in their plans, wasn’t the way. No, she had to come up with something better than that.
She knew what she had to do now, just not how. Rumplestiltskin and Jafar between them had ensured that she would not get her happy ending from her wish. Therefore Zelena had to do something to ensure that neither of them would get theirs either. Jafar would be easy - once the final wish was made, he would be back in his lamp until the next fool came along and set him free. Unless, of course, Zelena carried out the threat she had made to him after he had saved the young Snow White from the runaway horse, and dropped the lamp into the sea where no one else would ever find it, meaning Jafar would never again be unleashed on the world.
But Hook and Rumple? Not as easy. Zelena knew she had to defeat them both, and in such a way they could never come back from it. Then with them out of the picture, and Zelena holding all the power, maybe then she would be able to think again about the spell to change the past, to see how things could be different without any of them around to interfere. Or maybe there was another way. Maybe that could be her final wish, made very carefully, to ensure that nothing went wrong for her this time. But that meant she had to find another way to screw Jafar and Rumple just as they had screwed her.
Not that long ago, Zelena would never have imagined herself taking this course of action. But now it might be the only way open to her.
It was unthinkable. She may have to form an alliance with dear old sis.
“Okay, so he’s not at our place,” Emma said, “and he’s not answering his phone.”
“He wasn’t at ours either,” Regina said.
“I just tried Jefferson and Michael, and he isn’t with Hansel, Gretel or Grace,” Mary Margaret joined in.
“Damn it, they have him!” Emma cursed.
“Okay, let’s think about this,” Mary Margaret began. “Will, you know Jafar, what do you think he would do?”
“With Ana, he managed to make her believe that he was the one she loved and not me.” Will began, but Regina interrupted “But we’re not dealing with Jafar now, we’re dealing with my sister and with Hook. Jafar’s just got to go by what Zelena or Hook wishes for. And we don’t know how many of the three wishes she already used. She could still have all three left.”
“You’re right. So what we should be thinking about now is what would Hook or Zelena do,” David pointed out.
“Which, knowing my sister, is probably the same thing.” Regina sighed. “Emma, you know Hook better than any of us. What do you think he might do?”
But before Emma had a chance to answer her, Robin grabbed Regina by the arm. “Look, she’s over there.” Regina followed the direction in which he was pointing, to see Zelena walking towards them, carrying something Regina couldn’t identify.
“What the hell - Where’s Henry?” Emma demanded, looking as though she were about to leap forward and attack Zelena, but David and Mary Margaret grabbed hold of an arm each, holding her back.
“He’s at your old place, Emma, with Hook and Jafar. They’ve put a protection spell on it, so that only Hook or anyone he chooses to let in can get in or out. But I have a way to get you in.” Zelena held out what she had been carrying, which Regina now realised was a severed hand. “Ever since that time when he wanted his hand reattaching and then changed his mind, Rumple kept hold of it in his store, and I’ve just been in there to steal it. It’ll work for the purposes of the protection spell. It’ll get you in.”
“Same as the one I used so that only Henry could get into my house,” Emma realised.
“Yes, that’s where he got the bloody idea. Now come on, take it, rescue your brat.”
“Why are you telling us this, Zelena?” Regina asked.
“A better question might be, why should we believe a word you say?” Robin continued. “Give me one good reason why Regina shouldn’t just send you back to your cell right now.”
“Because I want to get in some bonding time with my sis.” Zelena snorted. “Not bloody likely. I don’t give a damn about him, or any of you. But we want the same thing here. Hook, and Jafar, and Rumple, they all screwed me over, and we all want to bring them down. So that means we have to work together. You can trust me and get Henry back. Or you can lock me up again and let them wreak their havoc on Storybrooke. The choice is yours.”
Emma and Regina looked at each other.
To be continued....
Fandom: Once Upon A Time/Once Upon A Time In Wonderland
Characters: Zelena, Emma, Mary Margaret, David, Will, Regina, Robin 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, as the heroes search for Henry, Zelena makes a surprising alliance as she plans to defeat Hook, Jafar and Rumple once and for all.
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
Chapter 9 is here: Well, If That's Love, It Comes At Much Too High A Cost
Chapter 10 is here: Something Has Changed Within Me, Something Is Not The Same
This was not where Zelena had ever imagined she would have ended up. The future she had imagined for herself, where her mother had loved her, where Regina had never existed, hadn’t been anything like she had thought it would be. Could things have been different without Rumplestiltskin and his curse? If Cora had her heart back, if there had been no question of anyone needing to cast a curse at all and Cora not needing to sacrifice the thing she loved most, would Cora and Zelena ever have been able to form the bond that had been just beginning when Rumple had insisted that one of them cast his curse? And even after what had happened with King Leopold, would Cora have found some other way to ensure that she would become queen of some other realm?
Zelena would never know the answers to these questions. Maybe Jafar had been right, and she should have been more careful with her wording when she made her wish. But she could not pin all her troubles on that; with Rumple and Jafar working against her at every turn, Zelena was never going to get what she wanted.
If it hadn’t been for Rumple and Jafar depriving her of her opportunity to cast the curse, playing her and Cora off against each other in order to achieve the result he wanted, then Zelena would had had the opportunity to find out how life would have been if she had been Cora’s only child, the one who was kept.
After having wasted two of her wishes, Zelena had one wish left, and she had to think very carefully about how she was going to use it. Not again would she make a wish without thinking through the potential consequences, not when there was so much at stake. All those hopes and dreams she had had for a future where she was Cora’s beloved daughter, living the life Regina had had, and where was she now? Stuck in the town created by her sister’s curse and stuck playing nursemaid to Regina’s adopted brat, the old cuff back on her wrist once more, while Hook and Jafar planned how to defeat light magic once and for all, without her. She was the one with the wishes. Zelena could land Jafar right back in the lamp before he had time to do anything for Hook. What could Hook do, after all, when she was the one who still held the power over Jafar? As long as she held the wish, nothing at all. But squandering a wish, just to put a spoke in their plans, wasn’t the way. No, she had to come up with something better than that.
She knew what she had to do now, just not how. Rumplestiltskin and Jafar between them had ensured that she would not get her happy ending from her wish. Therefore Zelena had to do something to ensure that neither of them would get theirs either. Jafar would be easy - once the final wish was made, he would be back in his lamp until the next fool came along and set him free. Unless, of course, Zelena carried out the threat she had made to him after he had saved the young Snow White from the runaway horse, and dropped the lamp into the sea where no one else would ever find it, meaning Jafar would never again be unleashed on the world.
But Hook and Rumple? Not as easy. Zelena knew she had to defeat them both, and in such a way they could never come back from it. Then with them out of the picture, and Zelena holding all the power, maybe then she would be able to think again about the spell to change the past, to see how things could be different without any of them around to interfere. Or maybe there was another way. Maybe that could be her final wish, made very carefully, to ensure that nothing went wrong for her this time. But that meant she had to find another way to screw Jafar and Rumple just as they had screwed her.
Not that long ago, Zelena would never have imagined herself taking this course of action. But now it might be the only way open to her.
It was unthinkable. She may have to form an alliance with dear old sis.
“Okay, so he’s not at our place,” Emma said, “and he’s not answering his phone.”
“He wasn’t at ours either,” Regina said.
“I just tried Jefferson and Michael, and he isn’t with Hansel, Gretel or Grace,” Mary Margaret joined in.
“Damn it, they have him!” Emma cursed.
“Okay, let’s think about this,” Mary Margaret began. “Will, you know Jafar, what do you think he would do?”
“With Ana, he managed to make her believe that he was the one she loved and not me.” Will began, but Regina interrupted “But we’re not dealing with Jafar now, we’re dealing with my sister and with Hook. Jafar’s just got to go by what Zelena or Hook wishes for. And we don’t know how many of the three wishes she already used. She could still have all three left.”
“You’re right. So what we should be thinking about now is what would Hook or Zelena do,” David pointed out.
“Which, knowing my sister, is probably the same thing.” Regina sighed. “Emma, you know Hook better than any of us. What do you think he might do?”
But before Emma had a chance to answer her, Robin grabbed Regina by the arm. “Look, she’s over there.” Regina followed the direction in which he was pointing, to see Zelena walking towards them, carrying something Regina couldn’t identify.
“What the hell - Where’s Henry?” Emma demanded, looking as though she were about to leap forward and attack Zelena, but David and Mary Margaret grabbed hold of an arm each, holding her back.
“He’s at your old place, Emma, with Hook and Jafar. They’ve put a protection spell on it, so that only Hook or anyone he chooses to let in can get in or out. But I have a way to get you in.” Zelena held out what she had been carrying, which Regina now realised was a severed hand. “Ever since that time when he wanted his hand reattaching and then changed his mind, Rumple kept hold of it in his store, and I’ve just been in there to steal it. It’ll work for the purposes of the protection spell. It’ll get you in.”
“Same as the one I used so that only Henry could get into my house,” Emma realised.
“Yes, that’s where he got the bloody idea. Now come on, take it, rescue your brat.”
“Why are you telling us this, Zelena?” Regina asked.
“A better question might be, why should we believe a word you say?” Robin continued. “Give me one good reason why Regina shouldn’t just send you back to your cell right now.”
“Because I want to get in some bonding time with my sis.” Zelena snorted. “Not bloody likely. I don’t give a damn about him, or any of you. But we want the same thing here. Hook, and Jafar, and Rumple, they all screwed me over, and we all want to bring them down. So that means we have to work together. You can trust me and get Henry back. Or you can lock me up again and let them wreak their havoc on Storybrooke. The choice is yours.”
Emma and Regina looked at each other.
To be continued....