Dreaming Out Loud

Good Morning Storybrooke

Chapter 80: Good Morning Storybrooke

"Good morning Storybrooke! It's April 15th and the sun is shining. It's a brisk morning and currently thirty-six degrees. According to all the scientific data available, it will be a beautiful day, with a high of fifty-three. But this is Storybrooke, after all. If Persephone's mood holds out, we might see those fifties, but even if we don't, we survived another day. And that's saying something, considering yesterday was like the zombie apocalypse, am I right? A big shout out to Storybrooke's newest residents, fresh from the Underworld. And thank you from all of us normal citizens for not killing us all!"

"Why the hell do I feel like I'm in the Goddamn Twilight Zone?" Derek muttered, as he switched off the television in his room at Granny's Inn.

He still wasn't sure he could quite get his head around it all. Despite the proof of video in front of him, believing that magic was real was a hard pill to swallow. And even harder to swallow was the rest of it. Fairy Tale characters living our real lives in this world and the Gods of Olympus joining them. He looked out the window and observed the town below. He saw seven short men with pick axes in hand making their way toward the diner and shook his head. The seven dwarves and the Mayor of this whole thing was Snow White herself. Who also happened to be the woman that gave birth and subsequently abandoned baby Emma almost thirty years ago. It was pure insanity and he had to resist the urge to run far from this place. But if that video was anything to go by, then it really could change the world. He wasn't even sure where to start, but figured if this town was as weird as it seemed, then he'd start by taking video of his own.

No reputable news agency would take him seriously and they would likely call any fantastic video he managed to make as fake. After all, with technology as advanced as it was, it was easy to make such videos with all sorts of effects and enhancements. No, he had to go about this a bit differently and fortunately for him, that was the beauty of the Internet.

"All right Storybrooke...let's see what other secrets you have," he said, as he grabbed his small, hand held camera, his phone, and made his way down to the diner.

Belle quietly made her way down to the basement with a tray and peered at Rumple, who was engrossed in his work. He was surrounded by spell books and beakers boiled with potions and concoctions in them. He had been down there all night and though she knew he really didn't need sleep, she missed having him next to her. But she knew what he was doing was very important for her safety, as well as everyone else's. This was the kind of magic she could get behind. When he used his gifts for the sake of protecting them, it made her proud. Having friends and people he actually let himself care about was very good for him, even if he insisted that it complicated everything. In a way, maybe it did, but then doing the right thing was never easy. He probably knew she was there the whole time, but chose that moment to look up and acknowledge her.

"Good morning," she greeted, as she set the tray down. She had brought coffee and made him an omelet with mushrooms and fresh vegetables, along with toast and fresh fruit.

"Thank you..." he said, as he eagerly took a sip of the coffee.

"Any progress?" she asked tentatively.

"We'll know in a minute," he responded, as he dropped a tiny bit of a bluish potion into the concoction he had created. There was a puff of smoke and the liquid started to turn purple, which was what he wanted, but then it turned yellow with a puff of dark smoke. His shoulders slumped in disappointment.

"It didn't work?" she asked.

"No...and I need to figure out why. We need to get a barrier up around town," he lamented.

"At least eat something and then I'll help you research. We can make more progress if we do this together," she suggested. He sighed and then nodded. He wasn't used to having help, but he was grateful to have it now and accepted.