Fables #40

Boy Blue wakes up in a cage, with the severed wooden head of the Emperor lying nearby. He's locked up in the middle of a woodcarver's workshop. Working over the head, an old man seems pleased that he's finally awake. He gives Blue some water, explaining that it took a week for his best sorcerers to find a way to change him back from the bird form he adopted and then to separate his body from the cloak.

The old man introduces himself as Pinocchio's father, Geppetto. As Blue suspected, he confirms he is also the one they call the Adversary. He knows that Blue was a friend of his son, and that Pinocchio was killed in the battle against Fabletown. Geppetto assures him that he believes Baba Yaga went too far, he planned on punishing her for it as soon as Blue's people returned her, along with the wooden soldiers, to him.

The Empire is still mostly run by the Kings and Lords of their own lands, so long as they remain loyal and pay their taxes. It was easier to maintain the illusion of autonomy in a large empire when the locals can see a familiar face. But Geppetto admits that he is the real power behind the throne. Hundreds of thrones, in fact.

Even though he wasn't real, Boy Blue chopping the head off the Emperor in public did a lot more damage than perhaps he realized. They couldn't have anyone see their immortal leader suddenly die and find out he was made of wood! Except for the Snow Queen, all who had directly witnessed Boy Blue's action needed to be executed on the spot. Which consisted mostly of the noble class and the elite rank soldiers. Even so, word will get out, and decades will be spent quelling the rumors. Geppetto does thank Blue for the clean cut his blade left, so it'd be easier to repair the Emperor and send him back out among the public. Still, months of spell weaving would be needed to set up new protection spells around the Emperor's body, which the Vorpal Blade sliced through like they weren't even there. Geppetto asks Blue where the sword went after he used it? Boy Blue told him it was beyond his reach inside the witching cloak.

Boy Blue lays down some ground rules. The magic garment couldn't release anything that he didn't want it to, including the body of Pinocchio. Blue also tells Geppetto that the cloak is triggered by a magical word that only he knows, that if uttered, will cause the cloak to destroy itself and anything held within it, along with most of the surrounding countryside. He then says another trigger word "Satchmo", which activated a timer that will destroy the cloak if he doesn't say a certain word every day. Geppetto admits that he's got him at a temporary disadvantage. But Boy Blue only has two demands, and one request. Geppetto guesses the first demand was his safety and freedom, but Blue tells him no. He accepted his final fate the minute he came back to the Homelands. The first demand was that Red Riding Hood, the real one, be set free and sent to where they are now, alive and unharmed. The second is that Blue wants to hear Geppetto's story. Why he did all this. The request was simple; when he restore Pinocchio, he gives Blue a moment to talk to his friend and say goodbye.
Since it will take a while for Red Riding Hood to get here, Geppetto grants the second demand first; he tells Boy Blue how it all happened.

The story of how Geppetto carved Pinocchio out of wood from an enchanted grove was already known. After his first journey, Pinocchio kept craving more. He'd leave, off to find new adventures, sometimes for years at a time. Geppetto was always left behind, heartbroken and alone in his cottage. Eventually, he took more enchanted wood from the grove and carved more sons, and even daughters, to keep him company. The Blue Fairy would visit sometimes on a fancy whim and choose her favorite wooden boy or girl to bring to life. She told Geppetto that the spell she uses is now altered, as Pinocchio broke her heart too, and the real children would have much more loyalty and honor towards him than his first son ever did.
One day, Geppetto was visited by some of the town fathers, who came to him with a proposition. The count of their land had fallen ill and was acting increasingly erratic, drawing up new edicts. One day he raises taxes, and the next he demands payment in exotic beasts from far-off lands. If they could maybe replace the count, perhaps with one carved from wood, then the new count can do as they ask, and everyone would be happy again. Geppetto questioned it at first, replacing the count surely could only be done through murder, but the more they talked, the more it intrigued him. The Blue Fairy was amused by the plan and lent her aid in making the wooden replacement count flesh, and loyal to its creator. Eventually, the fake count's son began to behave in a not so kind manner as well, so the locals had Geppetto replace him too. After a few more, it just became habitual. Every ruling official across a hundred miles was now a puppet loyal to Geppetto. The Blue Fairy did grow tired of the game they played and refused to participate anymore. So Geppetto tracked her down and hit her over the head, knocking her out.
Blue watches Geppetto open up the large cupboard standing by the wall, where inside was the shriveled body of the Blue Fairy, kept barely alive, as her magic is extracted from her with siphoning needles and mixed into elixir's he prepares.
Red Riding Hood is awoken by loud knocking on her door. Captain Hinterfox and his goblin troopers tell her to walk with them; she is wanted at an old woodcarver's cottage.

Pinocchio's beheaded body lies on a worktable. Geppetto thanks Boy Blue for returning his son to him, as he begins working on repairing the body. He finishes his story; being part of a conspiracy involving so many parties was dangerous, as someone is bound to tell all. To prevent this, Geppetto murdered all his fellow conspirators one by one, replacing them with copies. He alone was the only one remaining who knew he was the true power.
He grabs some magic drops from the Blue Fairy and pours the elixir into Pinocchio's mouth. A flash of blue light engulfs the wooden body. Then, he sits up, a real boy once more! Pinocchio was alive, but very confused. Did they win the battle? Why was Boy Blue in a cage? Where were they? And why was he naked?