The Apprentice
Piper smiled fondly at Gold as they sat in the backroom of his shop, two hot beverages before them, a small meal from Granny's between them to share. She had been on her way to meet her cousin, to try and 'help' them find Elsa's missing sister Anna, when she had decided that, before likely spending the day locked in a room with a woman she was still cross about endangering her niece and a man that would no doubt irritate her or make sly remarks about her torrid past, as he seemed wont to do whenever a villain so much as came within ten feet of him and remained there for more than ten minutes, she wanted to at least have some sort of relaxation and ease for the day ahead. So she had decided to surprise Gold with a warm meal from Granny's for them to share before she had to go to Mary Margaret's apartment.
It was a…tricky situation she was in at the moment, two sides of her life and heart trying to balance each other without hurting the other side. On one hand, there was her true love, the Dark One himself, who was relying on her to help him find a way to free him from the control of his Dagger. And she wanted to, desperately, she had been the one to encourage him to start looking for a way to do it again. If she had a choice, over the entire mess that had become Storybrooke, she would choose helping him to be her sole focus. She didn't care if Maid Marian ever unfroze, so long as it meant the price of magic and the unbalance Emma had caused was resolved, if that was magic's way of righting itself, then she would not touch that woman's frozen form with a twenty foot pole.
But Mary Margaret thought she was working to find a way to reverse it while also keeping magic from trying to take anyone else's life.
It might have been suspicious that, with all the resources at the Dark One's disposal that they hadn't found a cure yet. It might have been suspicious…if Regina, who was searching for the same thing, but in earnest, hadn't found anything either. Regina was struggling, as far as she knew, to find a way to save Marian as well so no one thought anything off about the lack of information or theories coming from her or Gold at the moment.
She wanted to be there, to help Gold find a way to free himself, she did.
At the same time, Mary Margaret was relying on her to help them deal with this Snow Queen business, and that also involved helping them find Elsa's sister. That…was more difficult a problem to brush aside. Because it appeared the Snow Queen DID pose a threat to Emma and she would NOT have that…
But she was also useful to Gold.
For the moment, the Snow Queen appeared to be neutral territory to her, in terms of either side of her heart. She could not touch the woman for fear of causing Gold to lose something he was clearly seeking from the woman (though she had his blessing to end her if she truly harmed Emma). But at the same time she had to keep a watch out and protect Emma from the woman and show an interest in stopping her. So, for now, unless the Snow Queen outright plotted against Emma, she would do nothing about the woman.
She…wasn't sure if the Snow Queen actually WOULD harm Emma though. She had the chance, Emma had been standing right before her, without her or David beside her, and the Snow Queen could have easily attacked her with her magic…yet she chose to attack Hook. Which was just as well in her book, she would rather Hook be a target than Emma, but…it gave her the sense that the Snow Queen wouldn't harm Emma in that way.
And then there was Anna and the search for her. She wanted no part of Elsa or her quest, not after Emma nearly froze to death at Elsa's hand…but Mary Margaret had begged her help even though she had told her cousin she could not find a person's song if she had never met that person to hear their song. It had been enough of a reason for Mary Margaret not to think to ask her to search out the Snow Queen. Emma had attested that she'd been too far away when the woman attacked Hook in the woods, she had only reached them once the Snow Queen was gone, so how could she possibly have heard the woman's song?
Even if she had, even if she had when she'd gone with Gold to the woods at night and seen and heard her. But no one but Gold knew that detail. So she wasn't quite lying to her family on that.
It was almost…useful, though, to be involved in the search for Anna. She and Gold needed it, they desperately needed everyone else, all the heroes, to be distracted enough to not question what they were really researching in their spare time. She needed them to be so busy running around after the Snow Queen or following trails to Anna that she and Gold would be free to research in peace. So going there, seeing how the search was going would help her prepare, would help her nudge them in one direction that would lead to a cold trail, or give Gold the opportunity to place false evidence, just…anything to give them more time.
A part of her didn't like it, keeping this from her cousin, what she was planning, not being fully truthful about her intentions with the Snow Queen or Anna or Elsa or trying to save Marian. A part of her wanted her cousin to know the truth…but another part of her knew, the second anyone found out what the Dark One was trying to do…there would be all sorts of hell on the uprising and plans to try and stop him or hinder him or destroy any information anyone might have on how to do it. She didn't want any more complications to come about than there already were.
And there were plenty.
The smile that had made its way onto her face when Gold offered her the last bite of a small slice of cake that came with the meal fell mid-chew when the bell to the shop jingled.
"Did you not put up the sign?" she inquired, her hand in front of her mouth as she spoke.
"I did," he muttered, thinking of the 'back in 15 minutes' sign he'd put up, "It seems someone doesn't know how to read," he huffed, getting up and walking back into the shop, offering her a quiet, "I'll only be a moment," before he disappeared into the main shop. His eyes narrowed as he saw Hook standing there, "Making yourself at home, are we?"
"I'm here to make another deal," Hook stated.
"Not interested," he gestured to the door.
"Oh, you will be," Hook narrowed his eyes, "Unless you want me to reveal to Emma that your precious Pip has been working against her."
Gold scoffed at that, "And how do you figure THAT one?"
"I was there, mate," Hook glared, "I was standing right there as Emma and David ran over to help stop the Snow Queen skewering me, yet your Pip," he said her name as though it were some vile curse, "Was nowhere to be seen…until, of course, the Snow Queen had vanished. Exactly when the Snow Queen vanished. She clearly wanted me dead, she held back so as to let that vile creature murder me without getting the blood on her own hands."
"And have you forgotten, mate," Gold mocked, "Or were you not there, when Pip used nearly all her energy to break down an ice wall to get Emma back? Energy like that doesn't just restore itself over night. Would you be able to run as fast after a battle?" he shook his head, "If you were any sort of intelligent, you would tread carefully when you speak of Pip to me, when you threaten to use her as leverage against me. I might just take your other hand or worse."
"It's funny you say that cause my hand is exactly what I'm here about."
Gold smirked, "This one?" he waved his hand and a jar appeared beside him in a swirl of red, full of liquid, a severed hand floating in it, pristinely preserved.
"You kept it all of these years?" Hook stared at it.
"Only to remind myself I should have finished the job when I had the chance."
"Can you reattach it?"
"Indeed," he eyed Hook, "But the question is, why?"
"I've got a date with Emma. Should things go well and she wants me to hold her, I want to use both hands."
Gold smirked at that, "You're right," he remarked, "Pip does want you dead, not quite so badly as I do. So what makes you think either of us would ever do anything that would benefit you?"
"Because what benefits me, makes Emma happy," this time Hook smirked, as though he'd found a loophole, a trap that Gold had walked right into, "EMMA asked me on this date, she wants to be with me, I, apparently, make her quite happy. And that's all your precious Piper wants, isn't it?" he mocked, "For her family to be happy? Unless, of course, you want Emma to be miserable, I'm sure that would make the Piper undeniably happy for her family to suffer."
Gold looked at Hook for a very long while, wondering if the pirate might be drunk or if he'd had so much rum in his life he'd killed off a few braincells if he thought that Piper would want the man on a date with Emma just because it 'made her happy' when she had made it quite clear she was very much against them being together because she felt he wasn't worthy of her and would only hurt her in the end...before he gave a smirk, "Oh, I see blackmail brings out the romantic in you. But this hand may bring out the worst."
"What the devil does that mean?" Hook's eyes narrowed though he got the sense that he'd just won, the Dark One wouldn't speak like that if he wasn't agreeable to returning his hand.
"This hand belonged to the man you used to be," he reminded the pirate, "Cunning, selfish, murderous pirate. If I reunite this with your body, there's no telling what influence it could have on you."
Hook scoffed at that, laughing incredulously, "Sorry, Dark One. I'm not gonna fall for your tricks today. Nothing can change me back. Now give me my hand. Or betray your Piper in working against the efforts of someone trying to make her family happy."
"Very well," Gold waved his hand, his gaze drifting down to the hand now back in place on Hook's arm, "Don't say I didn't warn you," he told the man seriously, before gesturing to the door.
He waited until Hook had left, shaking his head at how the man had accepted all of that without realizing how 'easily' he'd given in and found nothing suspicious about it. He waited till Hook had walked past the windows and disappeared to return to the back room.
"What did the pirate want?" Piper glanced up at him, finishing up her drink.
"Apparently Miss Swan has requested his presence for a date."
Piper actually started to choke on her drink, coughing as it went down wrong at what he'd just said. She winced, rubbing her chest at that, and gave him a disbelieving look, "You jest."
"Sadly, no," he sighed, sitting down, "He 'politely requested' that I reattach his hand, so as to properly woo her."
"Tell me you did not."
Gold looked at her, "I did," he held up a hand quickly to stop her outraged response, "As a gift, for you Pip."
"How is giving that pirate two hands with which to have all over my niece in anyway a gift to me?"
He smirked, "I haven't quite lost my way with words, Pip, nor the ability to get into someone's head," he leaned over and took her hand, pleased that she was merely watching him, letting him speak instead of storming out of there as, he admitted, he was a little fearful she might do, "I told the pirate, warned him really, to be wary of the hand," he widened his eyes a bit for emphasis, "To take care, for the hand belonged to a cunning, selfish, murderous pirate, and…who knows what sort of influence it would have on him once it was reattached? He claimed nothing could 'change him back.' And I think you know what that means."
Piper looked at him a long moment, her eyes slightly narrow, her head tilted minutely as she considered his words, before her lips curled up in a dark grin, "Psychological warfare," she murmured, sliding off her chair to kneel next to his, her hand shifting to hold his, lacing their fingers together, "You know just the way to a girl's heart, Rumpelstiltskin."
And he very much did. She knew that to take on something new to a person, something that belonged to another, there was no magical effect from it. She had been living with the Dark One's heart in her chest for 30 years now, and he with hers. He showed no signs of having any Siren-like traits, nor did she share any of his. The hand would have no impact on Hook at all, it wouldn't control him, or possess him, or anything like that…
But Hook would think it did.
And because Hook thought the hand would make him do evil things, he would do them himself. It wasn't the hand at all, it would just be HIM, entirely HIM. He had given her the gift of watching Hook's true colors shine through beneath all his talk about redemption and wanting to be a better man.
Just as the Dark One had become who he was in 300 years, something that could not be changed overnight, so was Hook the same pirate he had been and become in 300 years. All his attempts to make it seem like he'd changed and changed so suddenly would be blown to shreds now that he'd essentially been given an excuse to do whatever he wanted so long as he could blame it on his hand.
They would see who he truly was.
It would prove if he was truly worthy of Emma.
And Gold had known he wouldn't be, known he would fall for the trap, he had given her a means to prove the point she had been making since Hook first appeared, that he was only changing for Emma and not because he was truly a good person at heart. If 'nothing could change him back' and he really had changed into a 'good man' or a hero, then the hand would have no effect. If he acted, even for a moment, like the pirate he had been, then it meant nothing had really changed at all in him save that he was freed of his act for the time being.
"No," Gold shook his head as she leaned in slowly, "Just yours Pip, just your heart."
She moved in and pressed her lips to his…and if she was more than a little late in meeting Mary Margaret at her apartment, well…so be it.
~8~
Piper wasn't sure, at first, whether she should have been cross that she'd missed Emma setting off on her date with Hook or not. It appeared Hook had some level of intelligence as he'd come to the shop only the shortest time before he was to escort Emma to dinner, stopping only to change clothes as, according to Mary Margaret, he was wearing more modern clothing while Emma had a lovely white dress on. She had hurried to her cousin's apartment when she'd finally pulled away from Gold long enough to realize the time…and found Mary Margaret, David, and Elsa the only ones there, Neal sitting in a small cot just beside his mother, going through binders of information on the citizens of Storybrooke. Emma and Hook had already left and Mary Margaret had forbidden her from going after them to spy on their date.
Though, for once, she and David seemed to be of like mind about something as he had been banned from leaving the apartment till Emma returned so as not to spy on his daughter either.
She had been rather irritated by it, by Snow White ordering her about while SHE was now the elder of the two, had been immensely irritated when Mary Margaret had merely rolled her eyes and asked if she spied on HER in the Enchanted Forest with her Shepherd.
To which she'd replied yes.
Which had startled Mary Margaret a bit, though she'd recovered quickly enough to emphasize 'every moment?' And then, when she'd given no response as she hadn't understood what she meant, the woman had gone on to talk about the honeymoons and what may or may not have led to Emma being conceived.
She'd cut Mary Margaret off quickly at that, utterly disgusted, and fervently denying that she'd watched them THAT closely. No, she checked in from time to time, kept tabs on them to see how the trials they felt the need to turn to the Dark One for had played out, or when she heard whispers of something involving her cousin, but for the most part…she tried to let Snow White live her own life. As hard as it was to stay away from her cousin for her safety, it WAS equally as hard to watch her living and being happy with her new friends and family. She WAS happy, truly she was, that her cousin was content and safe and had people to be there for her when she couldn't be. But it did still hurt that SHE wasn't the one there, but she'd made her choice and it had played out for the better in the end.
Mary Margaret had tried to keep her in the apartment even after they'd finished sorting through the binders that had been gathered. There had been a good amount of them, all the information in one binder combining a certain number of letters to organize the citizens. A-E, F-L, M-S, T-Z, which was just enough for the four of them to sort through. Mary Margaret had tried to trick her into staying for coffee and pie and snacks or a movie, had even tried to bribe her with holding Neal…which might have worked had the boy not been conked out dead asleep and David convinced his wife, of the love of god, not to wake the baby when he was actually quiet.
So she'd had no reason to stay, not that she didn't enjoy visiting her cousin…but she didn't think she could quite be around Elsa without making some sort of comment much longer. She'd promised Mary Margaret to try and be calm and civil through the course of the search, but it had been trying. She knew little of the woman, didn't care to learn more about her, and didn't care to be around her for too long. She knew Mary Margaret was just concerned that she would try and track down Emma when she left to see how the 'date' was going with the two-handed pirate. She knew Mary Margaret was concerned, because she had pleaded with her not to do it, had actually made her promise, to swear to her, that she wouldn't go sneaking around to find Emma or spy on her and Hook.
At that point, she'd just wanted to get out of the apartment so badly that she'd agreed.
Which was why she wasn't sure if she should be cross that she'd been late getting to Mary Margaret's or not.
At first.
Because now, standing in Gold's shop, she was quite certain that no, she was NOT cross, not at all…
For right outside the doors of the shop, literally right across the street, was Hook…beating Will Scarlet to the ground just outside the library.
From what she had seen, Will had been about to break in when Hook stumbled by. Something had been said and he reached out to Will, who pushed his hand away, and then one thing led to another…and Hook was viciously beating the man with his fists.
And as terrible as every other person in town would think it was, Piper merely smirked as she watched it happen.
Hook seemed to realize what he was doing soon enough and stopped, which made her scoff and shake her head, the fact that it had happened at all was enough.
"See anything interesting, Pip?" Gold called from the counter.
She turned on her heel and grinned at him, slowly sauntering over to him and placing her hands flat on the counter, Gold reaching out to rest his on top of hers, "I am fairly certain I saw a cunning, selfish, and quite murderous pirate captain just now, rather a strange sight when, according to a certain seafaring man, there should be no pirate captain in existence."
Gold smirked at that, lifting one of her hands to his lips, "Then I take it you enjoy your gift then?"
"I should not have doubted you," she tilted her head, "You have always given me the best ones."
"And I endeavor to continue to do so."
She narrowed her eyes playfully, "Oh?"
"Indeed."
"And what shall your next gift be?"
"I think you know, dearie."
Her eyes widened slightly, "You have decided upon the first step towards freeing yourself?"
He nodded, "I believe I have."
She opened her mouth to ask him what the first step would be as he was being very careful about how to go about this attempt to free him, not wanting to risk any obstacles coming up or any delays occurring, when the jingling of the door made her turn around to see Hook storming in.
"You were right," Hook glared at him as he headed for them, though he kept quite the distance from Piper, almost ignored her completely as he looked at Gold.
"Get out," was all the Dark One said, seeing Hook standing before him near Piper only served to remind him of what the man had said and implied about her earlier, and he was in no mood.
"I don't want this infernal hand anymore," Hook lifted it, "It's taken possession of me!"
"Has it?" Piper lifted an eyebrow, "You seem rather in control of yourself at the moment."
"You should have heeded my warning when I offered it," Gold shrugged, pulling the glare Hook was sending to Piper over to himself.
"I can't control it," Hook nearly spat through clenched teeth, "Remove the damned thing before it makes me do something you'll regret!"
"And how, exactly, would YOUR actions be something I would regret?"
"This hand…" Hook glared at it, "It came from a time before I ever thought I could love again after Milah," he looked at Gold, keeping Piper in the corner of his eye, hoping that it would garner some sort of reaction to mention the woman's name, but there was nothing, "It won't care for Emma. It could hurt HER, and then you would both regret not helping me rid myself of it."
"And here I thought you were a changed man," Piper tsked.
"Yes," Gold nodded, "I do believe your exact words were 'nothing can change me back,'" he gave Hook a look, "If you changed, wouldn't your hand be ineffective? If you've changed, Emma should be safe."
"Is that a risk you're willing to take?" Hook challenged, though this time he looked more at Piper than Gold, knowing he could get to HER with a threat to Emma more so than the Dark One.
Piper's eyes narrowed at that, looking at him long and hard, before she turned to Gold, "What say you, Rummy?" she inquired, though her eyes never left his, something sparkling within them as she spoke to him, "You knew him best as the sniveling bilge rat he was. Would my niece be safe?"
Gold appeared to consider it a moment, before he turned to Hook, "You want to part ways with that hand and get this back," he held up his hand, magically summoning Hook's hook, "There's only one way I'll help."
"Damn" Hook muttered, "What do you want?"
"All in due time."
"And you think I'm daft enough to agree to that without knowing the terms?" he scoffed, "I'll find another way to rid myself of this damned hand."
"I'm afraid that's easier said than done," Gold mockingly shrugged, "You see, my magic put that hand on, and only my magic can take it off."
Before Gold could even blink, a high pitched whistle rang through the shop, driving Hook to his knees in pain mid-lunge towards Gold, his hand only having just gripped the hook, about to plunge it into the man's chest, when Piper had opened her mouth to stop him.
"You'd think you'd have learned the first time you buried that hook in me it wouldn't have stuck anyway," Gold tsked, "Though, lucky for you you chose ME as your target," he peered down his nose at the panting Hook, "Had you tried that trick with her," he nodded at Piper who was glaring at the fallen pirate, "You would be dead before you could touch her never mind what the Savior would think."
"That…wasn't me," Hook gasped, "That was…that was the hand…"
"You're losing control, dearie," Gold sighed, "Next time, you might do something to someone who can't be so easily fixed."
"Emma," Hook closed his eyes in pain, realizing that he very easily COULD have harmed Emma.
He had been using it as bait before, as leverage, as a threat to get the hand off. He never ever planned to harm Emma, felt he could never bring himself to do such a thing…but to hear the Dark One give into Piper's question, to hear him agree to remove the hand…it HAD to mean that Emma would be in real and true danger, from HIM. And now, all he could think about was that he very well could hurt her, badly, because she trusted him enough to let him closer to her and be alone with him where no one could stop him…
"You have a deal," he swallowed hard, "I'll do whatever it takes."
Gold grinned, "Oh, I do love it when they say that."
"I agree," Piper smirked at that, "The desperate ones are always so much fun."
Though...there was something bothering her about it. Emma. At the first mention that he could harm others, Hook's thoughts turned to Emma. And while it should be a delight that someone cared about her niece...Emma was not the only member of her family. Hook didn't even pause to consider the equal danger he posed to Mary Margaret, or Henry, or even baby Neal. It made it sound like he could harm any other person in the town and not care so long as it wasn't Emma, ignoring the fact that four of those townspeople were her mother, father, son, and brother. Hook only seemed to have fear of harming Emma and only her. And it was disturbing to her. Oh she herself had no qualms about harming anyone else in the town so long as it wasn't her family, those important to her, no issue with it at all...but she never claimed herself to be a hero or reforming or anything of the sort. If Hook truly wanted Emma to think he wasn't that pirate or villain anymore but a good man...wouldn't BEING one mean he would be alarmed and fearful of harming Emma's son or brother or anyone that would upset Emma, which would be the town? If the only person he cared about harming was Emma, as he made it seem, he really and truly had not changed at all...and that put HER family in danger from the man, that put Henry and Neal on the bottom of Hook's totem pole of caring, and that was not something she would accept.
"Meet us at the docks tomorrow morning, captain," Gold told him, "We have work to do."
Hook nearly growled at them as he shoved himself to his feet and stormed out of the shop.
Piper shook her head as the door slammed shut, "If he truly thinks he could harm Emma, then he truly has not changed."
She had sensed it off him, a desperation, and the perfect way to truly force him to realize that his efforts to 'change' were ineffective and lacked any true desire. She had fed on his fear, played along with his dread, and in asking Gold if HE thought Hook would harm Emma…she'd tried to tell him with her eyes to go along with it, to help feed into it as well. And he had, he always understood her like that, when it mattered he knew. He had made Hook react more with his words, driven home the point even more, that Emma would be in danger with him, with his attempts to play the hero without actually BEING the hero.
And when he realized the truth about that hand…perhaps then he would actually WANT to be better, for himself before Emma. It wasn't healthy to bury parts of yourself under lies, to push impulses to the back and have them roar to life later.
She knew that from experience, what it meant to hide who you truly were, she understood that only through accepting all of yourself, the light and the dark, could you truly understand who you were and find someone that loved you for all of it. It wasn't right nor was it healthy, in her opinion, what Hook was attempting with her niece. He was acting a part, a 'reformed villain,' a would-be hero, but he had no true desire to BE one if Emma didn't want him to be. He was not being true to himself and, in doing so, Emma could never truly love and accept him.
She doubted Emma knew even a fraction of what Hook had done nor had the man truly attempted to TELL her what he'd been. You couldn't love someone if you didn't understand who they were and who they are and accept the journey that made them that, accept everything about them.
He was playing a role, pretending to be someone he thought Emma would want, instead of letting her love him for everything he was. And it would only serve to hurt them both, hurt Emma the most, in the end.
And for that reason alone, she doubted she would ever accept Hook as the 'right one' for her niece, because he would only hurt her, she was certain of it.
~8~
Piper walked beside Gold, her hand tucked into his arm, along the dock the next morning. It was a chilly day, quite early, the sea breeze making it feel colder, yet despite that she didn't bother to button up her jacket, allowing it to hang open, revealing her deep red, long sleeved dress, with a V-neckline, a thick black belt around the middle, and black stockings to go with her black boots, both hiding the Dagger and her pipe as always, the boots making a faint thudding noise as they walked along, coming upon Hook sprawled out on a bench by a table, sleeping. At first she had been curious what job Gold had in mind for the pirate. Originally she had just wanted him to startle Hook with thoughts that he could be capable of harming Emma...but he'd done one better, he truly had and now they were about to put another plan into action that she was rather intrigued to see how it would go.
Her true love was a genius, an evil genius.
She loved it.
"Good morning, captain," Gold greeted almost cheerfully, well, he was cheerful to see the man in such a degraded state, "Well I trust you're ready."
Hook groaned as he rolled himself up into a sitting position, "I'm ready to pay the price and get this over with."
"Good," he held out a hand and Piper handed him a simple, yet well cared for broom that she'd brought with them.
"What are we gonna do with that?" Hook eyed it.
"This is gonna help me find an old friend," Gold grinned, tossing the broom to the side, only for it to start shaking in midair. The bottom half split in two, like small thick legs, the wood of the handle splintering into two small arms, the broom marching on down the dock, "After you," he gestured Hook on to follow the broom.
"To whom is our bristled guide leading us?" Hook hesitated to follow.
"Someone who wronged me long ago," was all Gold said, "And today, he's going to pay the price," he gestured Hook on once more, a more firm look in his eye that had the pirate moving this time.
"Ooh, rude," Piper nudged him teasingly, "What of 'women first?'"
"If I trusted him not to attempt anything underhanded," Gold murmured to her as they followed him, "I would maintain my sense of manners. In this case, Pip, I fear I must defer to my sense of preservation," he glanced at her, "He would have killed me last night were I not what I am and you were not there. I will not risk him attempting the same to you."
Piper smiled at that, squeezing his arm more firmly at his care for her, allowing them to fall into a gentle silence as they followed the broom on, towards the edge of town relatively close to the docks. It walked and walked, till it came to a rather old house, small, looking a little worse for the wear, and stopped, resting itself right beside the door.
"Is this it?" Piper breathed, staring at the small home.
"I do believe it is," Gold grinned.
Piper felt her smile grow, she could almost feel the relief and excitement radiating off of him as they walked down the path to the front door.
Gold rapped four times on the door, the three of them waiting only a moment before the door was opening, an older man, slightly bald on the top, with longer graying hair around the edge, in baggy clothing gaped at them, "Hello, old friend," Gold smirked, "Captain, please see our host a seat."
Hook gave Gold a glare but shoved his way into the house, grabbing the man by the arm and forcing him back, driving him into his own home to the nearest chair set up in the dining room, moving behind him to place his hands on the man's shoulders, holding him down.
Gold moved to stand before the man, "Pip, if you would?" he held out a hand to her.
She reached into her pocket and pulled out the small metal-bucket that he'd found in the mansion in the woods, handing it to him. Gold knelt down on the ground, placing the object before the man and held a hand up to Piper. She looked over at the man who seemed to be pleading with her with his eyes not to do something, but she just pulled his dagger from her boot and promptly passed it to him. Gold chuckled at the fear in the man's eyes as he waved the dagger over the object, causing the same dusting and smoke to rise out of it as the blue-galaxied hat rose out of it just like before.
"You have it…" the man breathed, his voice shaking.
"Don't tell me you doubted me," Gold glanced up at him, though it wouldn't surprise him, there had been all of…one person in his life that had never doubted him in the slightest, one person he had worked inordinately hard to gain the trust of, one person he had swore never to lose the trust of either.
"Every Dark One tries," the man stuck his chin up, trying to be defiant, though they could see the fear still sparkling in his eyes, "Every one fails."
"Do they?" Piper breathed in deeply, eyeing the man closely, trying to see this 'Apprentice' to a powerful sorcerer that Gold had told her the man, trying to see any sort of power in him yet he just sat there making no effort to protect himself, but she smirked, realizing it wasn't a choice not to act, but shock keeping him too disoriented to do it, he clearly had NO idea the Dark One would manage, despite his words, he had never believed this possible and it had shaken him, "It does appear that HE has succeeded though," she gestured at Gold.
But the man shook his head, defiant still, "He may have the hat," he glanced at Gold, "But we both know you will never collect enough power to do what you want."
"Oh, I will," he reassured the man, "But, alas, you won't be there to see it."
And, with that, he reached out and ever so gently, tilted the hat back so it was resting with the opening facing the man on the chair. Almost instantly a light appeared within it, expanding and growing stronger, a vortex of golden light starting to swirl out of it and encompass the man, making him scream.
Hook jumped back as the man was pulled from his grip, the light surrounding him…and sucking him right into the hat.
"Where the hell did he go?!" Hook gasped.
Gold grinned as Piper reached out and tilted the hat back so it was sitting on the floor instead of lying there, "Exactly where I need him."
Piper smiled and took his hand, squeezing it firmly, knowing how much it meant that his had worked, that the first step towards freeing him was now behind them. He had been waiting for this moment for…so long, she was so happy for him that it was happening, and very…touched…that it got to happen with her there to witness it.
~8~
Piper was genuinely surprised that Hook had managed not to speak until they'd returned to the pawnshop, but, then again, after what he'd seen with the hat, he had likely not wanted to risk being trapped in it either and waited till they'd reappeared in the shop for Gold to put the hat away.
"Ok," Hook grit his teeth, "We're done. I've fulfilled our deal. Now take it off!" he held up his hand.
Gold rolled his eyes but waved his hand, causing the hand to reappear in the jar sitting on the counter, putting the hook back in place on the stump of Hook's arm. He waited till Hook had just turned to stalk off, to call out, "Our deal actually isn't complete."
Hook tensed and spun around, "I say it is. You can no longer control me, mate," he smirked as though he'd gotten the upper hand of something.
"Is that so?" Piper eyed him, inordinately pleased that Gold's plan and trap had worked, that Hook had walked right into the temptation to give into his villainous ways in just the right way with just the right person. And the best thing was, they had killed two birds with one stone. They had taken step one of freeing Gold from the Dagger while, at the same time, managing to get the leverage they needed for Hook to keep his silence about it.
It really was true genius.
"I just saw the two of you suck someone into a hat," Hook reminded them, "You're clearly up to something, something that, I'd wager, has nothing at all to do with saving Robin Hood's wife. I…I have everything I need to expose you both, YOU have got nothing on ME."
Gold looked as though he'd just been waiting for Hook to make that remarked as he reached into his suit jacket and pulled out a small VHS tape, "Security tape from the house we just left," he placed it on the counter, "How do you think Miss Swan is gonna react when she finds out what you did to that kindly old man?"
"I know how that device works," Hook shook his head, "And if I'm on there, so are you."
Gold chuckled, waving his hand over the tape, making a ripple of magic drift over it, "And now we're not. But you are."
"I only did what you asked so I could rid myself of that cursed hand!" Hook shouted, taking a few steps towards them, "So I could become a better man. Emma will understand that."
"She may," Piper conceded, almost smirking at how it all looped back around to Emma and her understanding of events, it was…exactly what they needed to hear, "But will she understand the truth behind it?"
"What truth?" Hook nearly spat.
"That hand you were so keen to have back, and so desperate to be rid of," Piper gave an amused chuckle, "Is not cursed in the slightest."
"No," Hook shook his head, "HE said…" he pointed his hook at Gold.
"You were right," Gold shrugged simply, "Dark One lies. Dark One tricks. This hand is nothing but a lump of flesh," he waved his hand, making the jar and hand disappear, "The only thing it did was give you permission, permission to be the man you really are," he eyed Hook, "Not some…puppy dog chasing after the object of his affection…"
"But a ruthless, dangerous, villainous pirate that would stop at nothing to get what he wants," Piper finished, "A man willing to hold a poor old man down and let him be faced with the Dark One jus so that he could get a hand chopped off instead of find some way to save him or stand strong in the face of temptation and ease, like a 'hero' would have."
"I did you a favor. I helped you remember the darkness that lies beneath."
Hook glared at them, more at Piper, "Then you know that that darkness will have no problem telling your beloved Snow White what dark and evil deeds her cousin has been getting up to," he tried to threaten.
"You so much as attempt to breathe a word of this to Snow or Emma or any of my family," Piper began, "You will find yourself unable to breathe ever again."
"Oh, better yet," Gold mused, "You do anything to jeopardize the woman I love…and I will make sure you lose the woman you love," he waved the video before putting it back in his pocket, "You come in here, demanding my services, you threaten my true love, you try to use her family, the woman you claim to love so much, as nothing more than leverage against her, you attack her you attack ME. And for that, you will owe me as long as you live."
"What if I'm willing to take you both down with me?" Hook demanded.
"I think I know you better than you know yourself, dearie," Gold told him simply.
"You say a word of this…and Emma learns the truth about you and your so-called 'redemption,'" Piper eyed him, "About how you have not changed at all, merely put on the airs of a hero. You are so fixated on what you think she wants of you, so obsessed with what she thinks of you and how she sees you. What do you think that would be after she learns the truth?"
"So here we are, Captain," Gold placed a hand on Piper's back, "Still in business together. I think we're gonna have some fun."
Hook glowered at them, but they could tell just from that…they had won.
A/N: I liked the aspect of the episode with Hook that it was really more psychological than magical that affected him :) It's like we see the Dark One rely on deals and magic and things like that so much that it was nice to remember that he's also very clever and cunning and able to get into someone's head with just words to :) I also wanted to show how Gold and Piper work sometimes, how one starts a plan and the other finds a way to add to it and expand it, almost going back and forth in how to set a trap. Like Gold started it with giving Hook his hand and planting the seeds of doubt about what the hand could make him do, Piper followed up with taking his 'threat' about harming Emma and turning it on him to really make him question if he WOULD hurt her, which Gold adapted his response of confirming the 'legitimate' fear into luring Hook into proving just how much he'd lied to himself and Emma while also getting blackmail against Hook, that Piper drove home with bringing up what Emma would think of him for his actions in how he gave in and did a horrible thing just because they were tempting him instead of fighting and coming clean to Emma first, he chose a villain's path in the end which proved his 'heroics' weren't quite as real and legitimate as he'd want others to believe. They sort of play off each other :)
Little bit longer part here but it gives more of a look into Piper's thoughts on love and why she sort of 'targeted' Hook in this chapter...
I feel like Piper's take on love colors how she feels about others and their relationships. To her, Hook isn't being true to himself and because of that Emma will never truly know WHO and what Hook is on the inside, who he really and truly is, because he's trying so hard to be someone she would love and not be someone that she could come to love by getting to know him, nitty-gritty details included. And she thinks that it will only cause Emma pain later...when Hook gets tired of Emma and goes back to his pirate/villainous ways and ends up pitting him and Emma on opposite sides forcing her niece to fight the one she loved, or when Emma isn't there and Hook goes down the wrong path because that's the path he would take naturally if Emma wasn't there to judge his actions, or other things. She feels Emma can't truly accept everything about him because he hasn't expressed it or let her see it and Emma also hasn't tried to learn more. It's a two-way street, to her, to really have true love with someone, and both Hook and Emma are going about it in the wrong way, to her. As Snow said in a prior chapter, 'you can't truly love someone without accepting ALL of them' and Piper believes that and she's fully convinced that Emma will never know all of Hook enough to accept all of him, that she'll do what Belle did and like the idea of a reformed villain, love the idea that someone was willing to change everything just for her (and not see how unhealthy that can be) or fall in love with who she thinks Hook is, with the image she has of him in her mind, instead of who he REALLY is and it'll cause her pain :(
I think Piper wouldn't have as much a problem with Hook being with Emma if he was being 100% true to himself, because she has no right to say anything being in love with a villain herself (but even then, she and Gold are open about what they've done and accept their pasts as well as future together). If he was his villainous self and Emma got to know it and saw it for what it was and accepted it and loved him despite that or even for it or whatever, Piper would think it was healthier and safer because Emma would know what she was in for going into it and there would be less deception. She feels more like Hook is trying to trick Emma into loving him than really being someone Emma would genuinely love without all the effort and just being who he is, and she doesn't like that feeling of Emma being deceived into a relationship with someone holding a false-persona. If Hook was really wanting to change and those changes stuck even when Emma wasn't there or Emma wasn't a factor in it, Piper would also be more content to let it happen, because she'd see someone trying to be a better person in general and be a good fit for Emma. To her, Hook's obsession with changing for Emma is what's really setting her off, one one hand it's a sweet notion to want to change for someone...but it hasn't evolved from that, it's become an almost obsessive thing, to her, what Hook's doing, basing his entire life on what Emma wants and what Emma thinks and what Emma would want him to do or expect of him or think of him for doing. She's seen a more-true redemption happening in Regina, the Evil Queen of all people, in her opinion, than with a simple Pirate. To her, Regina started off wanting to be a better person/mother for her son, and it evolved to wanting to be a better person for Snow, for Robin, for the town, for herself. Even when those people aren't a factor or aren't around to judge her or even know about her choices, even when it doesn't benefit her in the long run, Regina still chooses the right thing in the end. Like...here, Regina is trying to save Marian, despite knowing that her soulmate will go right back to his wife and leave her yet again, because it is genuinely the right thing to do, not because she gets anything from it, she doesn't change Robin's view of her into a better one, it hurts her and it's challenging, but she's trying to do the right thing and be a real hero worthy of white magic and having a happy ending. Hook, at the same time as Regina's doing this, is taking the Dark One up on an offer to get his hand off, so that he doesn't 'become' a dreaded pirate around Emma, or do something Emma wouldn't like, or do something that would taint Emma's view of him. He isn't fighting, he isn't coming clean or talking to Emma about it, he's taking the quickest route to get what he wants and lying about it to try and keep himself a good man in Emma's eyes, he's doing what benefits him the fastest all because of Emma's view of him, he's going to do the wrong thing to keep Emma with him, whereas a villain on a real path of redemption would do the right thing even if it means losing the person they love. To Piper, Hook isn't doing anything a really reformed villain or someone that is a hero would do. It's always about what Emma wants and it's not going to be healthy for either in the long run. If it reached a point where, if Emma wasn't in the picture and Hook still remained trying to do good and be better, it would be one thing. But she's seen it happen before where Emma wasn't there and Hook went right back to his ways. She wants to be reassured that Hook will be a healthy choice and a good choice for Emma, and she's not seeing it just yet :(
Some notes on reviews...
Piper's been keeping tabs in bits and pieces so she doesn't know everything Snow's done since her father died, but she knows quite a bit of it ;) She watched more to check in from time to time, or when she heard whispers about something happening with Snow, or if Snow came to make a deal with the Dark One to help her out. Sometimes she misses things because she's in the middle of a deal or another situation, so she hasn't seen everything, which will actually be a rather big thing for her to find out some things her cousin did in the past ;)
It was touched on in chapter 20 of the first story, when Rumple gives Piper his dagger and they kiss for the first time :) She tells him that magic operates on intent. So long as she kisses him without the intent to break his curse, the curse is safe :) I sort of take it as, we don't see that rainbow wave of magic every time Snow and Charming kiss and I feel like, in the episode where Snow was given the infertility potion, Charming had to have kissed her between her taking it and before she drank the waters of Lake Nostos yet it didn't break that curse, which I felt might be because Charming didn't know she was cursed and his kisses, while that of true love, had no intent to break a curse behind it :) Piper can hum a tune and, if she doesn't intend for her magic to come through in it, it's just a regular old song :) Lol, I actually thought Scarlet Beauty (if that's what it's called) was a little cute :) In the sense that they both went through true loves that sort of turned on them and hurt them and lies and trust issues and all, it was nice to see them be in a relationship where the other person understood what they went through and would be honest with them, someone they don't have to worry would betray them because they'd been betrayed themselves and wouldn't do that to someone else, sort of thing. I don't think Will could quite handle Piper though so she's safe, nor would Gold turn to Belle given how annoyed he usually is with here in the story ;)
Lol, Piper's pet peeve is the stories don't get her 100% correct :) Whenever someone bring up the children as a reason not to trust her or throw her past in her face, she always says that she 'gave the children back!' lol :) She takes them, but hasn't ever kept one. I feel like August doesn't count as it was outside the Enchanted Forest and he was already 'abandoned' :( They wouldn't really care if anyone came at them with pitchforks lol, it's more that, at that point, the time of the Curse is drawing near (as Snow's already pregnant) and they just don't want to deal with it, they're finally together and happy and they just don't want anymore trouble because they both know a bigger 'trouble' is coming :) I think it would depend on the child in question that was taken ;) Like...if the Curse came later and Rumple really did manage to take Cinderella's child, I could see them sending an army to get the child back despite it having been a 'legal deal' with the Dark One that Cinderella 'agreed' to, the villagers that live in fear of the Piper or Dark One taking their children would probably join in under the belief that, if they help and can do it, then their children would be safe from the 'evils' of the Enchanted Forest ;) So it would depend on the child :) It was more Piper sort of trying to make light of the fact that, in the Enchanted Forest, they can't have children :( Piper will definitely become much darker as the story goes, especially with the tensions between the Villains and Heroes increasing. She's not quite deluded about her ability to balance, she's been managing that well enough for a few years now, it's more she's aware that it's on the other parties at times and won't be something she can control. Like on a personal level she knows what she can and can't do to not betray either side and she doesn't want to betray either, she's very careful to not let anything happen with Gold that would truly put her family in a jeopardy she can't help them out of or that they wouldn't be ok at the end of, at the same time she's very careful to try and keep her family from doing anything that would harm Gold too. But beyond that, it's out of her hands if Gold or her family makes a conscious choice to harm the other (which would harm her and likely harden her to them). The choice might be taken out of her hands }:) Lol, I might be taking some lessons from him in being vague ;) There'll definitely be a big deal over the dagger, I can say that };)
