The Outsider

Mr. Gold drove his car up to the town line, stilling it but leaving it running, leaving the lights on as he looked at Piper in the passenger's seat, "Ready dearie?" he smiled at her.

"For this?" she mock-considered it a moment, "Very."

He grinned widely at that and reached out to take her hand, kissing it briefly before he stood and got out of the car, moving around to her side to allow her out, ever the gentleman when it came to his love. She smiled and bowed her head demurely as he offered her his hand to help her out, the two of them walking to the back where she popped the trunk to reveal Mr. Smee, Hook's first mate, was bound and gagged within it. Gold leaned in and pulled the gag off of Smee's mouth, before he reached down to grab the man, hauling him to his feet and out of the trunk.

"This will only take a moment," he told the man before leading him towards the town line.

"Don't…push me over!" Smee cried, starting to struggle, "If I cross the line, I'll lose my memory. It's a cruel fate!"

"Ooh Mr. Smee," Piper tsked, "You should know, we are two of the three people you should never speak to about cruelty. It will earn you no sympathy from us."

"It is, I believe, a fate you were more than willing to help me bestow upon Belle," Gold added.

Piper smirked at that, quite pleased to hear, when she'd returned, that Belle was not going to be an issue for them. Both Gold and Moe French were keeping quiet about the fact that they'd sent Belle over the town line so that only Isabelle remained. Isabelle stayed mostly at her father's side, glaring at Gold and her, or in the Library so it wasn't as though other people would realize that she wasn't acting like her normal self. Moe seemed keen to keep her away from any town meetings where anything fairytale was to be discussed so she was none the wiser either.

She was slightly sad that she wouldn't be able to confront the woman herself. But she was quite touched to find that Gold had felt the need to reassure her and make her return a happier one by taking care of Belle so their relationship would have no troubles from her. Besides, any revenge she would wish upon Belle might one day come about if the Fairies finished their memory restoring potion that they were testing on Sneezy. And anyway, the irritation she'd felt for a moment at finding out that Belle was no longer a problem (she would be lying to say she wasn't slightly hoping that the girl would try something that she would be able to use her new boosted magic on) when she found out what had become of King George. She'd seen him in town the next morning after she'd returned, his face terribly scarred, slouched over as he walked with a terrible limp, his arm bound to his chest in a sling.

Apparently Gold had decided that, for ever lash she'd received, it was only fitting that George receive 50 himself wherever the whip should fall…and had made sure to cauterize the wounds with his fire balls so that the wounds wouldn't heal without scarring.

She had been very, very touched at that and she was quite sure Gold had never received a better (or more tiring) thank you in his life that night.

Gold just kicked Smee to the ground, pulling her from her thoughts as he grabbed the red hat off of Smee's head, "You've had this rag since the day we met. Why is it so important to you?"

"My grandmother made it for me when I was a boy," Smee stuttered, "It's always brought me good fortune. What difference does it make?"

Gold handed it to Piper who held it up for him as he pulled a small potion bottle from his pocket, "Well, when I pour this potion onto the object one holds most dear, that object should become a talisman," he poured it over the hat, making it glow with magic.

"What…what kind of talisman?" Smee frowned.

"Oh…" he smiled, seeing that, "The one that is your only chance."

Piper turned and tossed the hat to him, the man standing as he quickly put it on with a frown, "What do you mean, my only…"

Gold lunged forward and shoved Smee over the town line, the two of them watching as a surge of blue magic began to pulse over him, making him shake before it suddenly stopped.

"Tell us," Piper called as he spun to face them, "What is your name?"

"William Smee," he breathed, his eyes wide with frightened tears though also relieved tears in that he was still in possession of his memories.

"And who are we?" she gestured between her and Gold.

"The…the Pied Piper and Rumpelstiltskin," he stated, "The Dark One," he swallowed hard, "I remember everything! How can this be?"

"Well," Gold grinned and looked at Piper, "It seems our little experiment was a success," he glanced at Smee to see him still standing there, "Now go!" Smee turned and fled before Gold could even finish speaking, "I did it," he breathed, turning to Piper with a wide smile and tears in his eyes at what this meant, "I can leave."

Piper stepped over to him and hugged him tightly, "I am so happy for you Rummy."

He held her just as tight, nearly crushing her to him in his joy, before he pulled away, "I can go find my boy," he whispered, still so stunned that it had actually worked, "I'll be able to remember who I am and who I'm looking for."

"Which token will you use the potion on?" she asked.

"Well, it won't work on a person," he looked at her intently, making her smile, "But…I have Bae's shawl in my safe," he told her quietly, "It's all I have left of my Baelfire…it's my most treasured possession of his."

"Then we had best return to your shop," she took his hand and led him back to the car, "You have another batch of potion to make. And then WE," she gave him a pointed look, telling him he would NOT be going out there alone after Bae, "Will find your son. Our families will be safe."

That was the only downside to the potion, it was so delicate and precise that it was only for one use, meaning one batch at a time. He hadn't seen the need to make two incase the first didn't work, but now that he knew it would…he would finally be able to get his boy back. And then, maybe, just maybe, he and Piper could work on their own family as they'd promised each other so long ago.

~8~

Piper was in Gold's house, packing a small bag for him, knowing that he would want to leave to find his son the MOMENT that the potion was ready to go. The good thing was that the shawl of Baelfire's would also act as a part of a locator spell so that they'd be taken right to Bae over time. It would complicate things slightly, that they'd have to follow the tug of the cloak, not knowing where they were heading, if they'd need a simple car ride or a plane ticket or anything like that. She smirked thinking about introducing Rumpelstiltskin to planes, he'd probably have a heart attack at it, but it would be amusing. Still, she was prepared to take as long as it needed for him to find his son. She was, however, thinking that she might ask Emma for help as the woman had experience finding people and tracking people down due to her bailbonds-person history.

She paused a moment in her packing, her hand gripping around the edge of a second cane for Gold before she spun around with a grunt and slammed the end of the cane into the head of the person trying to sneak up behind her. She let out a huff, blowing a piece of her hair that had fallen in front of her face from the sudden spin out of it and stared down at Hook as he laid crumpled on the floor of hers and Gold's bedroom.

She sighed, "You could not possibly have thought you could sneak up on a Siren, could you?" she asked his immobile body, reaching out with her foot to push him onto his back, shaking her head, "Or perhaps you thought my magic dimmed here?" she shrugged, she'd find out soon enough…she just had to find some rope.

So, with that thought in mind, she stepped over his immobile form and went to get some.

~8~

"That sea are has rattled your brain has it?" Piper's voice cut through the darkness of Hook's mind as he slowly found himself waking, "Or perhaps the rum has done it?"

He blinked rapidly as he fully woke before straining to try and move only to realize he was held down on a chair by some gray sort of flat rope around his wrists and legs and chest, "What have you done!?" he demanded, struggling, realizing not even his hook was in place, "What sorcery is this?"

"It is a little wonder of this realm, called duct tape," she answered, sitting across from him, for once without her feet up on something, but this was far too serious and, if Hook had any sort of trick up his sleeve, it was better for her to be prepared and ready to get to her feet than anything.

"Release me," he spat.

"No," she smirked, "You see, in this world, breaking and entering is a crime. Intent is also quite important and I do believe the intent to kill makes this a very serious crime in progress."

"Who says I was going to kill you?" he countered.

"Perhaps the fact that your hook was raised as opposed to your fist?" she smiled, "You could tell me the truth or I could just pull your heart out of your chest again. We ARE in the realm that holds Rumpelstiltskin, he would be most eager to be given that as a gift."

Hook glared at her, "Yes," he sneered, "I was going to kill you just like he killed Milah."

"Well that would be rather hard as you do not possess the skill or magic to rip my heart out," she scoffed, seeming more amused by all this than alarmed, which was NOT his goal at all, "Try again."

Hook grit his teeth at that, straining against the…duck tape was it? He didn't care what it was called it was bloody infuriating. This wasn't what was supposed to happen, he wasn't even going to kill the girl, just…spook her. He was going to sneak in and knock her out and then call up Gold wherever he was and taunt he man with having her in his possession. Use her as a hostage, he didn't care, so long as the Dark One left his precious shop. Smee had reported back to him the moment he'd made his presence known to be in Storybrooke, seeing the scamp out and goading him into joining his crew again.

Smee had reported to him that the Dark One had devised a way to leave Storybrooke and he knew he had to act fast, not just to keep the man there so he couldn't escape, but also to get his revenge. He'd had Smee watch them, to listen in, to follow them and had learned that the man had a shawl of his son's in a safe in his shop. He just needed Gold to leave it and Smee was ready and waiting to break in. For as incompetent the man was as a pirate, Smee was a dab hand at picking locks and safe breaking apparently.

For one moment, when he'd spotted Princess Belle in the library as he'd been lurking about at night, he'd considered using HER as bait. His sources in the Enchanted Forest had told him that the Dark One had had an affection for the woman. He'd tracked her down to the Evil Queen's dungeons and tried to free her, thinking that, because of his apparent affection, the Dark One would have told her how to defeat him or let something slip about a weakness…but Belle was useless, the girl was smitten with the Dark One and refused to help him. She had even told him that she'd been replaced, he hadn't thought it was literal, that she'd been replaced in the Dark One's affections as well, but looking back he doubted Belle even knew that either. All that quest had gotten him was captured by the Queen and sent on a quest to kill her mother in Wonderland…that was how he'd met Cora in the first place. She'd nearly killed him and he'd tricked Regina into thinking that he had brought back her mother's body instead, Cora was still alive though and she had decided, instead of killing her daughter, she would try to reconcile (though he doubted her sincerity) with in the land without magic after the curse was broken. She had frozen a part of the Enchanted Forest as a result to protect them from the curse. He hadn't cared one way or the other what her reasons for want to get to her daughter were so long as she helped him kill Rumpelstiltskin.

And now there he was, sitting before the Dark One's true love, tied up, unable to get the man to leave his shop for Smee to do his work.

Wonderful.

"Well?" Piper crossed her arms and lifted her eyebrow, but still Hook was silent, "I tortured my own cousin's husband, twice," she spoke, "And batted not an eyelash to it. I have no qualms with doing the same to you. You are hardly someone I fear with my true love being the Dark One. So talk."

Hook let out a huff of air, "You weren't supposed to hear me."

"Occupational hazard of being a siren," she shrugged, "I heard your song the moment you entered the house," she gestured at the bed, "Or did you think that Rummy needed a second walking stick?"

Hook glared at the bed where the cane was sitting, a second one, one that looked less worn than one that would have been used for 28 years would be.

"So you came in here, to attack me," she began, "I am assuming that it was to lure Rummy here or use me as bait of some sort?" Hook glanced at her a hint of surprise in his eyes, "Why do you think I let my cousin think me dead even after the Queen was banished?" she scoffed, "I am well aware what others would do to me should they catch me unawares. I have been caught by others when I was not paying mind and I have learned from my mistakes. It will take more than a sneaky pirate to catch me off guard. So…" she took a breath, "If you wished to use me as bait, you wanted Rummy somewhere."

"I needed him out of that shop," Hook spat, not seeing the reason to keep that hidden any longer. Gold wouldn't leave his shop till he had finished his potion and he'd take the shawl with him. HE was the one at someone's mercy now.

"Why?" she narrowed her eyes.

Hook just pursed his lips, there might be a chance, he was starting to see, that she'd call Gold there and he'd leave the shop, or she'd warn him someone was going to break into it and he'd just lock it up more securely, but that wouldn't be anything Smee and Cora couldn't take care of.

Piper let out a long breath before she fixed her eyes on him and started humming softly under her breath. The more he listened to it, the more Hook found himself wanting tot talk to tend the noise, to just…talk, to hear anything but the melody, knowing she would be trying to influence him…and realizing she was influencing him right at that moment.

"Stop it," he snarled at her, jerking in the chair as though he'd be able to leap forward at her and stop her but the duct tape held him down.

"Tell me what I want to know and I shall stop," she smirked, "You want something in his shop, and I would be willing to wager that Mr. Smee is just as much a scurvy rat as he has always been and gone running to you with news of Rummy's potion," she eyed him, spotting a tell in the clenching of his hand that told her that was exactly what happened, "You want Baelfire's shawl. I am afraid you will not be getting it, it is, as I am sure Mr. Smee told you, what he requires to find his son."

"And what makes you think his son wants to be found?" Hook countered, "Hmm? I'm doing that boy a favor."

"And why should you care?" Piper shrugged, "You wish to steal the shawl to hurt him?"

"You really have to ask that?" he scoffed, "I want the crocodile dead!"

"Why?"

He stared at her, "He killed the woman I loved!"

"And you stole the woman HE loved," Piper countered, "You made him think she was dead. You took a woman from her husband and her child and made an adulterer out of her. In our realm, adultery can be met with death if the husband so demands it," she tilted her head, "So tell me again why you should feel you deserve retribution when it was your own actions that led to the death of your beloved? Had he brought it to a trial, she would have been sentenced to that anyway."

"Is it really adultery or theft if a woman comes to you and begs you to take her away?" he sneered, "Let me tell you something about your precious Dark One, he was a coward."

"I am well aware," she said dryly, as though this were old news to her, "I believe Rummy used those exact words when we spoke of his life before he was the Dark One. That may be who he was, but that is not who he is now."

That was one of the reasons they worked, they both saw each other for who they were now, not who they had been. She was just the Piper to him, not Rose Red as he was the Dark One and not 'Hobblefoot' as he had once been called as a mortal.

"You're defending that monster," he shook his head at her, ignoring the fact that she was very much right. Their world was far less…progressive as this one was, if the Dark One had brought a cry up against his wife for what she'd done in running away with him, Milah would have died regardless, "I admire your loyalty. But helping Rumpelstiltskin? Defending him? Loving him? I'm afraid you're fighting a lost cause."

"And what cause would that be?" she crossed her legs, seeming curious.

He frowned, "You think he could truly love you? He will do anything, anything, to hold on to his power. Why do you think anyone who's ever gotten close to him has either run away or been killed? Now, what makes you think you're any different? Tell me something, darling. Why would you want to fight for a man like that?"

"Because I love him," she replied simply, "Darkness and all, and I will continue to love him until the day I die," she stood from the chair and turned away from him.

"So what are you going to do?" he called as she headed for the door, "Call your true love and have him remove the shawl?"

"Oh no," Piper laughed, "Rummy should focus on his potion and if I tell him about this little disagreement he would be distracted," she smirked, "I am going to take a peek in your ship and see what else you are trying to hide from me."

"There's nothing there!" Hook shouted, "You'll find nothing!"

She shook her head at him, "For a pirate, you know nothing about what a siren can read off a person."

And with that, she shut the door and turned to leave, leaving Hook trapped there.

~8~

Piper made her way to the docks, coming to a slow stop as she looked around. She knew Hook from the tales Gold had told her, the man would never depart his beloved Jolly Rodger and that had to mean that it was there somewhere, the fact that he hadn't denied there was a ship before she'd left him meant that the ship was certainly there. She could guess how he had made it to Storybrooke, he had that dried up bean and the waters of Lake Nostos were restorative. She should have thought of that before, warned Regina and Gold to try and create some way to block the sea from them as she doubted a ship would make it out of that well. But she'd been a little preoccupied with being back and then the whole mess with Archie had come up and she hadn't thought of it.

She frowned though when she eyed the ships that were there to see the Jolly Rodger wasn't among them. She closed her eyes and listened though she knew it might be for nothing if there was no one on the ship. There was nothing there so she opened her eyes and looked, using her eyes to see that there were seagulls circling over one specific area, before landing on something that was clearly a perch of some sort that didn't exist to the naked eye.

"Found you," she muttered, heading for the docks and walking along one till she got close enough to hear a sort of splashing noise, one that came about when a ship was rocking in the waters. She moved over to a barrel of sawdust and threw it in the direction of the ship, spotting a plank that led up to it.

She made her way up the plank quickly, stepping up to what appeared to be stairs and moved down them, crossing whatever ward there was that blocked the ship from sight. She looked around, finding herself on its deck and stopped hearing a familiar song in her mind. She turned to the side and headed below deck, the song getting louder, but it wasn't the only thing that was.

She could hear someone yelling and frowned as she recognized the voice.

"Archie?" she moved over to a grate in the floor.

"Hello!?" Archie cried, hearing his name, "Down here!"

"Yes, I got that thanks," she muttered, pulling the grate up to see Archie tied up below.

"Piper!?" he gaped, "I mean, um, Princess Rose Red, I…"

"Piper," she cut in, hopping down into the holding cell, "I prefer Piper."

"Oh, um, well, what are you doing here?"

"Investigating," she shrugged, "And apparently finding someone who should be dead."

"What?!" Archie gaped at her, though his eyes widened even more when she pulled out the Dark One's dagger from her boot and sliced through the ropes around his wrists.

She put a finger to her lips as she slipped the dagger back, "Our secret," she told him.

He nodded and quickly got to untying his legs as she hopped back out, reaching down to offer him her hand to help him up as well.

"People think I'm dead?" Archie stared at her.

"Yes," she nodded, "They believe Regina killed you. I suppose I should return you quickly before Hook returns…"

"And Cora," Archie added as they headed up deck again, "Cora's here too."

"Wonderful," Piper remarked.

Archie frowned at that, "Is…is it?" her tone hadn't sounded at all like she was displeased with that.

"Oh yes," Piper nodded, "It is hard to take revenge on someone for murdering your parents when their parents are dead, is it not?"

"Um…" Archie just shook his head, really having no idea what to say to that or if she was serious or what she was planning, right now he just wanted to get off that ship.

~8~

"Busy day Pip?" Gold asked as she walked up behind him as he stood before the town line, Baelfire's shawl in his hands. He'd finished the potion a short while ago and wanted to test it out instantly, he had assumed, when she hadn't returned to the shop and he'd stopped home to see them all packed to go, that she had gone to see Mary Margaret. He'd been correct when he'd called the apartment and requested Piper to meet him. She had known exactly where to go.

She shrugged, "Brought someone back from the dead, plotted revenge, knocked out a pirate," she nodded, "Fairly usual."

He started to nod as well, when her words reached him, "Pirate?"

"It appears both Hook and Cora have followed Snow, Emma, and I," she sighed, "He was attempting to capture me for bait to lure you out of your shop so Smee could steal the shawl."

"And you knocked him out?"

"He tried to sneak up on a Siren," she defended, "It was within my right to defend myself," she smiled a little, knowing what one cause of his alarm was, "If it helps, it was one of YOUR canes that knocked him out."

"You should have contacted me Pip," he frowned, "Hook is dangerous and…"

"And he is not about to get anywhere near me to harm me," she reassured him, "I shall always hear him coming and I would rather see the man dead than run off with him," she patted his arm, "You have nothing to fear Rummy."

He sighed, he really would have to speak to her about that, but right then something else hit him, "Brought back the dead?"

The plotting revenge was the only normal part of her statement.

"Apparently Archie is still alive," she remarked, "Cora used a spell to appear as though she were Regina and staged it all. I brought him to Emma and Henry, I know it devastated him to lose Archie, but he is well now. They are attempting to try and find Regina to warn her."

He nodded and let out a long breath, before glancing down at the shawl, thinking on her words, "This would have been lost if it wasn't for you," he murmured, before turning to her, "I would have been lost if I had lost you as well," he looked at her intently, "After everything you know about me, Pip, after everything I've done, why haven't you left me yet?"

She knew where it was coming from so she wasn't offended, it appeared as though every woman he had cared for, every PERSON he had cared for, had a way of abandoning him or being unhappy with him and choosing another life over one with him. Milah had chosen Hook, Cora had chosen a prince, Baelfire had chosen a realm without magic, no one had picked HIM.

"The same reason, I should hope, that you have not left me either," she said simply.

He nodded, neither of them needing to voice their love to know that was what kept them together.

"You call me your greatest treasure Rummy," she continued, "But I dare say you are also mine. The greatest song I have ever heard"

He smiled softly at that, reaching out to take her hand as they approached the town line together. He handed her the shawl to hold as he poured the potion on it, watching as it flashed with magic just like Smee's hat had. She smiled and looped it over his neck.

"Here we go," he let out a breath and took a step over the line. He winced as a surge of magic went up his body before he turned to face her, standing on opposite sides of the line, "Piper."

"It worked," she beamed.

"Yes," he started to laugh, happy, "It did. It did!

"And now we can find your son," she nodded, stepping closer to the line as he stepped closer as well, "Hook is in the woods," she whispered to him as they hugged.

A moment later a shot rang out and Piper stumbled forward, into Gold's shocked arms. He'd tried to call up a magical shield to protect them, but nothing had happened. Of all the times to find out that his magic wouldn't continue to work on that side of the line it had to be when a crazed pirate had shot at his true love.

"I wouldn't count on it!" Hook sneered as he stepped out from the line of trees, his pistol aimed.

"Pip?" Gold looked at her as she groaned in pain, before lowering her to the ground, her hand going to her shoulder as she winced, pressing her hand to it as it started to bleed.

"You shot me!" she nearly growled as she twisted to glare at Hook.

"Aye," he grinned, "And now that you're on THAT side, you're powerless."

"You think so?" she grit her teeth before letting out a shrill whistle that had Hook wincing and covering his ears, stumbling back, "My magic may not be as strong here as in Storybrooke, but it is very much there, and music CARRIES!"

Gold stood, moving in front of her and bringing up his hand, a ball of fire in it as he glared at Hook.

"Go ahead, crocodile," Hook baited, "Do your worst!"

"Oh, I intend to," Gold muttered, moving to throw the fireball at him only for the sound of an engine to reach them. He turned and spotted a car racing towards them and quickly grabbed Piper just as she got to her feet and pulled her to the side, avoiding it…allowing the car to hit Hook instead.

Well, that wasn't quite as good as beating him to death with his cane or burning him alive with his magic…but it would have to do for now.

However the two soon realized they had something far bigger to worry about when they saw that the car, with a license plate for Pennsylvania, had crossed INTO the town line.

A/N: I sort of wanted a little independent Piper chapter :) And I wanted someone to just smack Hook for a second and get the upper hand on him. Piper will have a very BIG issue with Hook and how he interacts with Emma at times }:)

I was trying to get this chapter up earlier, to make it a Father's Day surprise, but it's after midnight now (for me) and I missed it :( My father decided, instead of family day at home, we would all be helping him work on a truck (he's a mechanic) that he needed to get finished today. We literally just got home about 1 hour ago and I really just wanted to get this chapter up. I gave it the quickest edit of my life lol, so I'll be going through it tomorrow to try and see if I missed anything. Unfortunately, that means that tomorrow's chapters might be delayed as well since these were so late :(

But still, Happy (belated) Father's Day! :)

Some notes on reviews...

There'll definitely be more bonding going on yup ;) Oh I can't wait for Bae too ^-^

Nope, Piper was protected from the curse due to Rumple's interference and her own mind magic, she can cross the town line whenever she wants :) So she'll definitely be going to find Bae and she'll have quite a surprising revelation ;)

That's ok :) I'm glad you're enjoying the stories (both this and Merlin) :) That was one thing that bothered me, once you realize how much Rumple made Regina what she was and all the consequences after it, it sort of keeps fueling one of my future OUAT OCs and making her go 'I need to be there! Write me!' Lol :) I think Snow has some doubts, she's just focusing on the fact that Piper can't hear the song now instead of Piper feeling like the song didn't end just disappeared. Piper didn't tell Snow mostly because she's not entirely sure. I think that Cora chose to stay with the Jolly Rodger because the sea and the sounds of the ocean and the masking of the ship is making it harder for Piper to hear, the docks might be too far away for her to hear Cora specifically till she's closer and she hasn't come that close till now :) Once she's heard a song it sort of fades away so she doesn't really notice it and the distance and magic and ocean noises don't help her much :( But now they know ;) Piper and Neal haven't met, nope, but August and Neal have. Oh Neal will have no idea what to do with Piper lol :) That was a big thing I wanted for Piper and Gold, I always felt like Belle kept denying his darkness, but Piper embraces it and they own it ;)