Quiet Minds
Piper had retired early, had gone back to hers and Gold's home upon discovering he really WAS alive. It was one thing to know, to feel it inside her, but to have proof in front of her, proof that let everyone else who would deny it or look at her with pity realize he WAS still there, that was another thing entirely. She was just…exhausted. She hadn't realized just how tired she truly was from the last few days and trying to find proof Gold was alive, and find evidence he was in Storybrooke or hoping to find that. For all she knew he could have been left in the Enchanted Forest, but he was there. He was really there!
And even though she knew there was a chance that the witch had released him just to toy with them all, give them false hope that he'd escaped…just this one time she'd take the hope over the cynical realism of the situation. Gold was clever, he would find some way to escape, she knew it, he was out there and she just had to find him. But she had been so emotionally exhausted that she'd nearly collapsed to her knees upon getting out of that storm cellar. David and Emma had insisted she go home while they recounted what was going on to their group the next morning at Granny's, telling Regina and Mary Margaret about what was happening and giving her time in private to recuperate and pull herself together.
Now though, it was a new day, she had rested if a bit uneasily, but she was recuperated enough to get out there and find her true love. Knowing he wasn't being held in a cage was giving her hope that he'd find his way to her. So that had been another reason to return to their home, but he hadn't come. She hoped it was that he thought the witch would look there first and not that he was injured or harmed and struggling to move. THAT thought had caused her to toss and turn and guilt to swell inside her. She should have been out there, looking for him, the moment they discovered he might have escaped, but she'd just been so tired…
She was ready though, she was ready, and she knew exactly where to go to help her find him. IF the Wicked Witch had truly been able to hide his song from her like she had with the monkeys, then she'd need something else to assist her. She couldn't be sure that her music would be able to help track her to Gold if she was unable to hear his song, so she just…wanted to be extra prepared, be ready to use something else to find him if necessary.
So she stepped into Gold's shop bright and early, the sun just barely starting to peek into the sky and warm the streets. His shop was filled with so many relics and magical items she knew there had to be something there that could help. She knew he kept a slew of already-prepared potions in a locked drawer, one of them was a locator potion. She would have used it before, used it to try and locate him earlier. But she couldn't be sure that wherever the Witch was keeping him would be warded against such attempts. Now though, now that there was a chance he was free, he'd be easier to find. The shop was filled with other small knickknacks of his that belonged to him, ones she could use to find him. She just needed that potion and…
"Hello Emma," she called out as the bell above the door jingled, signaling someone was entering, hearing a faint song that was only Emma's.
"I thought you'd come here," Emma remarked as she stepped in, Hook following behind her like a puppy, though David and Mary Margaret had also joined them which was reassuring to her to know Emma hadn't been alone with the pirate.
"Oh Rose," Mary Margaret moved right over to her cousin, pulling her into a hug that no one else in the room besides her was expecting Piper to return, so it did in fact shock David, Emma, and Hook a bit to see her hug Mary Margaret back, if a lighter hug than the Princess had pulled her into, "I'm so sorry I didn't believe you," Mary Margaret pulled back, looking at her cousin, "But he's alive!" she beamed, quite possibly the only other person in town that was actually happy that the Dark One was alive, though it was more for her cousin's happiness she smiled than the fact that Rumpelstiltskin was alive, "Gold's alive Rose!"
"He is," Piper smiled at that, so…relieved that others knew it to be a fact now. She wouldn't have to constantly defend herself and her reasons for believing he lived now.
"How though?" Mary Margaret shook her head, "We saw him just…vanish, him and the dagger," she carefully supplied 'vanished' instead of died.
"I…am not certain what happened exactly," Piper offered, "I only know that only the Dagger can kill him, and not by his own hand. I knew he would live from trying to do so, but…" she sighed, "I have not a clue where he is or the state he is in or…or what might have happened to him between then and now. I…I do not even know if I discovered him in the Missing Year. I have no knowledge of how long he has been under the Witch's command and…"
"Shh," Mary Margaret hugged her again, though this time Piper didn't return it, just allowed the embrace, "We'll figure it out."
"We were hoping you might be able to tell us," Emma added with a sigh, "But you helped clear up some key points. I mean, you know him and the shop better than anyone. If he's in Storybrooke, there has to be a clue in here about how he got back and how we can find him, now that he is."
"I have already procured a locator potion," she held up the small vial she'd just managed to find before the bell had jingled, "I merely require an item of his and this will lead me right to him…"
"But?" Mary Margaret eyed her cousin, knowing there was more to it than that.
"This is the last potion of his," she admitted, "I would rather try to track him myself first, see if the Witch too blocked his song before attempting to use this potion. It is only enough for one attempt and…if the Witch has tried to trick us, make us use our resources to find Rummy, I would not waste this bottle till I can be certain he is truly out of her grasp for now."
"Makes sense," David offered, it would be foolish to waste the locator potion if they might still be able to track the man in another way, especially if they might need the potion later for him.
"If the lass is set to track the Dark One," Hook cut in, "Who will try to determine how he returned?"
The group looked at each other a moment at that, as though realizing if Piper were out in the town trying to find Gold than the shop and the clues that might be there would be just…sitting there, undiscovered.
"Mary Margaret," David looked at her, "You could stay here and…"
"Me?" Mary Margaret scoffed, "But I'm the best tracker here. I should be helping my cousin."
"You would be helping me more being here, Snow," Piper agreed with David, for all their differences they both cared for the woman a great deal and both knew that trapezing through the woods was NOT the best thing for her to do being so heavily pregnant as she was.
"Remember what the midwife said?" David nodded, "You need to rest."
"I wouldn't know the first place to start," Mary Margaret added.
"Think of it as tracking," Emma offered, "Track down clues from in here."
Mary Margaret rolled her eyes but sighed and nodded, gesturing them towards the doors in a signal to go and that she would stay, she could only hope that they'd be able to find Gold before the Witch.
~8~
Unfortunately, the small group of trackers had only been in the woods all of fifteen minutes before they had gotten a phone call from Mary Margaret that they had to get to the hospital as soon as possible. David had flown into a near panic, first thinking something had happened to his wife (and been reassured she was fine and, no, the baby was NOT coming just yet), and then thinking something had happened to Emma, who had stopped in quickly at their rented room to give Henry a small breakfast, and been reassured again that Emma was fine as well.
As it turned out, of all people that had ended up in the hospital, it was NEAL.
Apparently, while Mary Margaret had been sifting through the items and logs in Gold's shop, being very careful not to touch things with her bare hands in case there were enchantments or magic on it, someone had started to pound at the door and force their way in. For a moment she had thought it was Gold himself returned, only for Neal to collapse to the ground after he broke in. She'd called an ambulance and gotten to the hospital with him, but she'd immediately called…well…Piper really, though she'd called through her husband. They'd been together such a short time in this realm that she hadn't memorized her cousin's cell phone number just yet, but she knew her husband's.
Even though Emma had been Neal's beau at one point, was the mother of the man's child, Henry didn't remember him, and Emma wasn't married to him, so really, the closest of kin they could work out was Piper with Gold missing. It had struck Mary Margaret that she had no idea if her cousin had ever married the man or gotten engaged to Gold at any point in this realm or the Enchanted Forest. She would have to ask but, given the fact the Dark One had trusted her with his Dagger, it had to say something about their commitment and…well, it WOULD be the sort of 'engagement' token someone like Gold would give.
"Neal!" Emma shouted as the small group of four ran into the hospital room to see Neal sitting up on the bed, awake and talking, Mary Margaret at his side, she'd only JUST gotten there from checking on Henry and ran into the others at the entrance, "You're here."
"Bae," Piper let out a breath of relief. She tried not to let on about her worry for the boy, knowing Emma was worried enough for the both of them, leaving her to worry about Gold while Emma focused on his son, but she was deeply fearful for the boy, hoping he was ok, but not sure. If something had happened to Neal, she didn't know what she'd be able to say to Gold about it, "What happened? Where were you?"
They had searched everywhere for him, had people on the lookout, feared he was a Flying Monkey, and there he was, human as ever, and just fine.
She would have boxed him round the ears for frightening her like that if she'd been able to get closer, but Emma was now on his other side, leaving her at the foot of the bed.
"I don't know," Neal admitted, "I…I remember seeing the yellow bug cross the town line, and next thing I know, I'm running around a forest back in Storybrooke, where, apparently, there's been a whole lot going on," he gave a vague nod at Mary Margaret who had seemed to fill him in on the mess and threat against them now.
Hook glanced at Emma and Piper a moment before speaking, "Are you gonna tell him, or shall I?"
Neal frowned, "Tell me what?"
"Bae," Piper started to smile, "Rummy is alive."
"What?" he breathed.
She nodded, "He is here, in Storybrooke."
"But…but I just watched him die! "
"Take it easy," Emma tried to calm him as Neal started to get worked up, grabbing his hand to reassure him…only for something to catch her gaze, "What the hell is that?!"
There, on his palm, was a triangle with odd words around the three edges, almost like it had been burned into the skin of his palm.
"No idea," Neal sighed, leaning back on his inclined bed, "It was there when I woke up."
Piper frowned and moved over to look at it, taking his hand gently in her own as Emma stepped back, letting her get a closer glimpse at it. She tilted his hand this way and that, eyeing the markings, her frown increasing.
"Recognize it?" Emma asked her after a moment.
"I…" she let out a frustrated breath, "I feel like it is familiar to me. But I cannot place it," it was more like a niggling in her mind, an inkling that she'd seen it or been shown it, but that it had been information cast aside as unimportant for some reason she couldn't place.
Emma nodded and pulled out her phone, snapping a picture of it with the camera, "I'm…" she glanced at Piper and let out a breath, hoping the siren wouldn't kill her for this, "I'm going to send this to Belle," she informed the woman, wincing internally when Piper stiffened, "She's set up in the library, she might be able to recognize the symbol or find it in one of the books."
"And what if it is a magical symbol and not in the books of this world?" Piper straightened up, letting go of Neal's hand to cross her arms.
"Send it to me too," Mary Margaret offered, "I can see if there are any symbols like that in Gold's," she offered, knowing that the very LAST place that Piper would want Belle was in Gold's shop. The two women seemed to have a bit of a grudge against each other and, while she knew that Piper was more amused to toy with Belle in the grudge, right now with Gold missing, her cousin was in no mood to deal with another woman that had been vying for Gold's attentions.
"Many thanks Snow," Piper gave her cousin a small smile, earning a wide beam in return.
"Hey, guys," Neal glanced at the group around him, "Can we can we have a minute?" he nodded at Emma, making it clear he wanted a word with HER.
"Yeah, of course," David nodded, sounding a bit too eager for that moment.
Though the look he'd cast Hook afterwards made it only too clear why he would rather Neal alone with his daughter, anyone was better than the Pirate. Piper could agree with that sentiment, though the fact it was Neal, Gold's son, Henry's father, made him even worthier than Hook. She cast Neal a look for a moment, lingering to be the last one out. He gave her a brief nod in return, as though silently promising he would talk to her soon as well, alone, before she stepped out of the room to leave the two alone.
~8~
Piper was standing just around the corner from Neal's room at the hospital, waiting, telling the others to go ahead and scout the forest for signs that Gold might be truly free, and that she'd catch up to them in a moment. Hook had been ordered to remain behind though the pirate liked to claim that he had offered to do so, to help keep Emma's mind at ease that Neal was resting and protected. But she knew better, she knew that there was always another reason for Hook's agreement to do things.
And, just as she suspected, her thoughts on BOTH men were correct when, only a minute later, Neal nearly came barreling around the corner.
"Piper!" he gasped, a hand flying to his heart as though it were racing, as though he'd been scared to see her just standing there…and, when he spotted the two cups of hot chocolate, sprinkled with cinnamon he'd bet, in her hand, he knew she'd been expecting him.
She would have rolled her eyes at the situation if it weren't so serious. Neal was truly his father's son.
"I see that the Pirate has neglected his duties," she remarked, taking a sip of her hot chocolate and handed him the other.
She expected Neal to try to escape, not about to abandon his father when he was one of the few that would be able to help them stop the Witch. She had also expected Hook to let him go. Oh the man could claim that Neal slipped past him, that he'd missed the man leaving. He could even try to convince himself he was doing it because he cared about the boy Neal used to be, that he wanted to let the man find his father, because he 'cared.' She couldn't help but think there was something more sinister about Hook letting him go. In his condition, Neal would likely collapse at some point, or get attacked being alone. If Neal happened to die…well, Emma would need comfort wouldn't she? And one rather large part of a problem would be removed.
She was NOT about to let that happen.
"Um…thanks?" Neal hesitated in taking it, pulling the lid off to see that there was whip cream and cinnamon on it like he thought, though he sniffed it a bit, not about to put it past her to try and slip him something to knock him out.
"Shall we?" she nodded towards the end of the hall, over her shoulder, towards one of the stairs with an 'Exit' sign over it.
He blinked at that, "You're…not gonna stop me?"
"As I do with your father, I would rather not stop you so long as I am permitted to go with you."
Neal stared at her a moment for that, "I can see why dad loves you," he muttered, his mind going slightly dark at the thought of that. Piper didn't strike him as the sort to try and stop the Dark One when he wanted to have 'fun' but more partake in the delights with him. His father would want someone with him that wouldn't tell him not to do something but encourage him to do more.
His mother had done enough of the opposite from what he could remember.
"And you are as good as my son, Bae," she added, "You have been hurt and exhausted. If you insist on leaving, to find Rummy, then I shall accompany you. For I too wish to find him, rather desperately. Him and the one that has taken his Dagger."
Neal winced at that, Emma had mentioned it while they'd talked, on top of her essentially admitting that she didn't want Henry to regain his memories of them all, she'd also explained why they were trying to find his father. He wasn't sure if he was wincing more at the thought of what could happen if someone controlled his father like that…or what Piper would do to the one that had it.
"So, shall we?" she nodded towards the exit once more.
Neal hesitated only a moment before a determined look came to his face and he nodded, the two of them turning and heading out.
~8~
Running through the woods after Neal was NOT how Piper thought their quest for Gold would go. But there she was, running through the woods, trying to find Neal. They'd walked in silence, heading to the woods to try and catch up with Emma and David, see what they might have discovered, when Neal had fallen to his knees and started screaming and muttering something about voices…before he took off into the trees. Piper hadn't been expecting it, had been a bit startled and, in those few seconds of shock, Neal had gotten enough of a head start that she soon lost him and was left rushing about in random directions trying to catch a hint of his song. She had been able to hear it, she was trying to clear her mind and calm down enough to use her music to find him.
She'd just stopped in a small clearing, closed her eyes and began to hum the tune she heard coming from him…when someone, a man, screamed in the distance, sounding like he was in a crippling amount of pain.
Worse yet, she recognized that voice.
"Bae!" she gasped, spinning around and taking off in that direction, "Emma?" she called as she reached where Neal was, the man collapsed to his knees on the ground, Emma falling before him, trying to help him as he screamed, looking frightened and lost about what was happening to Neal. There was no outward sign that something was wrong, the doctors had reassured them that, besides his burned hand, he was fine. So what had happened?!
"Emma," she hurried over to her niece and dropped to her knees, "What happened?"
"I don't know!" Emma said quickly, "I was…Belle called, mom dropped off some of Gold's books at the library when she had to get home, Belle found out that his burn was from some sort of key that opens the vault of the Dark One."
Piper's eyes widened, not at the mention of Belle but at the mention of the key. THAT was what it had been from! Rumpelstiltskin had shown her his vault, had mentioned a key to it, had shown her it…but he'd also reassured her that she would never need for that key, that he had keyed the wards and spells around his vault to recognize her, to allow her in without need of a key. She'd cast it from her mind because, if she hadn't needed it, why remember it?
Stupid, stupid her.
"She thinks he used it to bring Gold back in the Enchanted Forest. But the key, the vault could only restore the Dark One in exchange for another life."
"But if Bae used the key…" she shook her head.
Emma nodded solemnly, "He should be dead," she looked back at Neal as he hunched over with a groan of pain, clutching his middle, "Neal? Neal! I think I think Gold is inside you," she told the boy, "I think that's how you're still alive."
"I heard my father's voice in my head," he nodded, grunting as Piper put her hand on his back, the pain seeming to ease just slightly though he knew, he could feel, it was his father reacting to her presence, even inside him he still knew Piper was there, "He's in there. He's in me."
"He said there was no room," Emma murmured, "He meant you."
"You saw him?" Piper's head snapped to Emma at that remark. She had seen Gold?
Emma nodded, "He was mumbling something about voices in his head and it being too much, too crowded. He ran off and I was trying to find him when I found Neal."
"Oh Bae," Piper looked at the boy, "What have you done?"
What had SHE done? Why hadn't she stopped him? Surely she had to have BEEN there when he tried to go find his father in the Enchanted Forest…so why hadn't she stopped him?! He was Gold's son for god's sake, she should have protected him!
"I need you to help me, Emma," Neal gasped, looking up at Emma, his attention flickering between them, "I need you both to help me."
"To do what?" Emma swallowed, not sure she wanted to know.
"Use your magic," he focused on her, "Separate me and my father."
"Are you kidding? You'll die!"
"I know," he winced, "But you need my dad more than me, to stop the witch, to save the town. You need to do this. And you…" he reached out blindly for Piper's hand, "You need to stop him killing Emma for doing this," he squeezed her hand tightly, "He'll be mad…he'll need you."
Piper swallowed hard, "There must be another way, Bae."
"There isn't," he shook his head, letting go of her hand and reaching out for Emma, "Emma, please!"
"I've never done anything like that before, not that big," Emma whispered, sounding scared.
"Do it to save you and Henry," he pleaded, holding his hands out to her, "Do it. Please."
Emma took a shaky breath, her eyes filling with tears as she looked at Neal, before slowly reaching out to take his hands, closing her eyes tightly and concentrating her magic, trying her best to ignore how Neal started screaming in pain.
Piper watched in horror as Neal's face started to shift, appearing as though it were Gold's for a moment and morphing back, becoming more and more rapid as Emma focused more. Until finally Gold was sitting before her, Neal slumping to the side, the two of them separating.
"Rummy!" Piper gasped, reaching out to hug him tightly as Emma scrambled to Neal's side, knowing that he would need this, her arms around him, to ground him and not lash out at Emma for the state his son was in.
"Neal!" Emma pulled him into her arms, cradling her to him, "Neal, are you ok?"
"What have you done?" Gold looked over at the two of them, his hands up and locked on Piper's arms around him, not making a move to force her away or move from her, but staring at his son in a stunned sort of horror.
Neal just smiled weakly at him, "It's ok, papa. I told her to."
"But why?!"
"So you can defeat her," Neal breathed, "The Wicked Witch."
"Zelena," Gold corrected, his hands tightening their hold on Piper.
"What?" Emma looked up at him sharply at that name.
"Zelena."
Emma's heart stopped, recognizing the name from her parents mentioning it, "She's the witch?"
Piper turned to her with a frown, "You know her?"
"She's Mary Margaret's midwife!" Emma nearly shouted.
Piper's eyes widened at that bit of information, feeling like something had just slammed into her gut, causing her to lose her breath. Oh she had been SO stupid! So, SO stupid! She had assumed that Zelena wouldn't use the same appearance as before, as the others seemed inclined to agree with. She had also assumed that the woman couldn't possibly be stupid enough to use her real name either, so she hadn't bothered to GIVE it. What was WRONG with her!?
And the midwife!
She should have insisted on meeting the woman who would be delivering her next niece or nephew. She WOULD have insisted, if her thoughts hadn't been so consumed with trying to find Gold. Her cousin had been only an arm's length away from the Wicked Witch all that time and she hadn't even realized it! Her cousin had been in danger all because she'd been so focused on Gold and not on getting to know a complete stranger that would be helping her cousin deal with a baby!
She was a terrible, terrible cousin and a horrible excuse for a Siren if she let someone she didn't know get so close to her family without looking into them.
"What does she want?" Emma shook her head.
"What she doesn't have," Gold answered.
"She was impersonating a midwife, Emma," Piper reminded her, the only reason she'd do that was to be close to a BABY.
Whatever Emma was about to say to the danger her sibling was in was cut off by Neal letting out a pained groan, pulling her attention back to him as he grew paler and paler in her arms, "There has to be some way you can save him, right?" she looked at Gold pleadingly, her eyes flickering between him and Piper, there had to be some sort of magic to help!
Neal, though, shook his head, "It's too late, Emma."
"Just hang in there, please," she begged, her voice breaking as tears filled her eyes, "You never even had a chance to see Henry for him to remember you."
"It's ok," he managed a weak smile no matter the pain they could all see in it, the man fighting to keep up strength enough to say goodbye, "He doesn't need to. He just needs to know that, in the end, I was a good father. I saved this for you," he struggled to move his hand to his pocket, as though the motion alone was taking too much out of him, "To give to you again," he held up her necklace, one Piper hadn't even realized Emma had stopped wearing…one she hadn't worn since they'd found Neal in New York now that she thought about it, her swan necklace, "Take it. Go find Tallahassee. Even if it's without me."
"Neal…" Emma shook her head, trying not to cry but the tears escaped her.
Piper tightened her hold on Gold, feeling him shaking in her arms, the man shaking his head, not wanting this to be real, not wanting his son to be saying goodbye.
"Hey," Neal tried to smile, tried to touch her hand, to squeeze it in reassurance, "I'll be watching over you guys from somewhere. Promise me, just prom…" his breathing stuttered, "Promise me you'll both be happy."
Emma nodded, her lips drawn in a thin line as she struggled to hold in her sorrow, rocking back and forth slightly, "I promise. I promise."
"No," Gold shook his head, his grip on Piper nearly turning white, "No, no, no. I can fix this…"
"No, you can't," Neal tried to look at his father but couldn't even managed to lift his head, so Piper helped Gold stand and move over to his son's other side, the two dropping to their knees beside him, "You can't," he smiled as Gold reached out and took his hand, "Thank you, papa, for showing me what it is to make a true sacrifice. It's about saving the ones that you love."
"No…"
"It's my turn now."
"No!" Gold shook his head, tears in his eyes as he looked at his son, his baby boy, the one he had fought so hard to get back to, "I don't want to let you go," he squeezed his son's hand tightly, Piper's one arm winding around his shoulders as she pressed her head against the side of his, trying to offer him strength.
"I need you to," Neal told him weakly, his voice growing softer, "Please. Let go."
Gold closed his eyes tightly, not wanting to, not wanting this to be over, to be the end. He opened his eyes when he felt another hand rest over his and Neal's to see Piper's pale hand touching both of theirs. He looked at his son, taking just a moment longer to memorize every detail about him, "I love you, son."
Neal smiled at that, "I…I love you, papa," he breathed the last word out, the smile still on his face as his breathing stilled, leaving him staring at them all.
Gold bowed his head, clutching his son's hand to his chest as he rocked slightly. Piper reached across Neal's body and gently closed his eyes, knowing none of them needed to bear that empty gaze, she knew her heart couldn't.
Gold lifted his son's hand to his mouth and gave his boy one last kiss on the back of it, a solemn and all too final goodbye.
~8~
Piper and Gold were still in the woods, long after Emma had left to find her father and go after Zelena. Mary Margaret had, apparently, gone back home when she began to fret about the baby, that had been the reason she'd left some books with Belle, and called the midwife to come check on her. Emma and David were not about to let Mary Margaret be alone with Zelena longer than necessary and rushed off.
Piper had remained with Gold, if there were two people she trusted to ensure the safety of her cousin when she couldn't, it was Emma and David. Right now…her cousin was safe enough, Zelena would do nothing that could jeopardize the baby she clearly wanted, but Gold needed her. So they sat there, Neal's body lying more presentably before them, as comfortable as they could make the boy while they waited for Emma and David to secure Mary Margaret before coming back with a truck to help get his body where it was meant to be.
Her arm was looped through Gold's, her head resting on his shoulder as the man stared at his son. All he had ever wanted was his boy to forgive him and love him again…and now he'd gotten both, for Neal wouldn't have done whatever it was he had to save him and bring him back if he hadn't loved his father and forgiven him.
He regretted it, he would take distance and hatred and anger from his son for the rest of his life if it meant his boy had gotten to live.
He stiffened not a moment later, his head lifting from where it had been slightly resting against the top of Piper's, sensing something, "You need to go," he turned to her suddenly, "You have to hide, now."
"Rummy, I am not leaving you," she gave him a hard look, she had only just gotten him back, he had JUST lost his son, and he was sending her away?
"Zelena's coming," he warned her, standing quickly, pulling her up with him, "I can sense the Dagger, she's on her way here," Neal, his son had been able to help him withstand the summons of the Dagger, had been an external force inside him not ruled by its command, had helped him resist…but Neal was gone and it was just him and the Dagger again, he would have to obey. But that didn't mean he couldn't make sure Piper was safe too.
"Rummy…"
"Rose," he cut in, using her name, telling her this was FAR too serious to argue, that she HAD to listen, begging her to listen, "I cannot lose you too," he told her, taking her head in his hands, staring into her eyes, "I can…I can block you from her, for a short while," he flicked his wrist and a swirl of red smoke drifted over her, "She won't be able to sense you, but you must hide now. Please," he stroked her cheeks, seeing the fight still in her eyes, "I have lost my son, I cannot lose my Pip."
Her lips pursed, not liking this, not liking it at all, but she knew this was dangerous, Zelena was dangerous and none of them were ready to face her just yet, "I can take her," she said, despite that, "I can use my music and I can get the Dagger back and…"
"I may yet be able to stop her," he shook his head, "I can find out what she's planning," he glanced at his son and swallowed hard, "It is time to try being a hero, for him," he nodded and looked at her, "He died to stop her, I will not let that be in vain," he swore it, "I will find out her plan, and…I WILL find some way to warn you about it. But you must return to the others, protect Snow White till we find a way to truly defeat Zelena."
She swallowed hard but nodded, leaning in quickly to kiss him, a kiss that was their first in so long, a kiss that was far too short, a kiss she was praying wouldn't be their last, "Be safe," she whispered, before she hurried off behind the trees.
Gold quickly sat down on the log again, forcing his gaze off the trees she'd disappeared behind, knowing she was merely hiding behind it and not making a run for it. If Zelena was as close as he'd given the impression she was, running would not be advantageous. She'd be spotted or heard, it was best to hide and pray his magic could last long enough for Zelena to leave with him.
"That was rather ill-timed," Zelena's voice rang out behind him a moment later, the leaves and wood crunching under her feet as she moved to walk past him, towards Neal's body, "Your son coming to the surface and staging that little escape," she stepped around him to his other side, chuckling as she turned to face the feared Dark One, "I can see he'll no longer be a problem."
"My son may be gone," he glared at her, "But he gave his life so my mind could be free, Zelena, so I could stop you," he stood slowly, his gaze locked on her, "It's only a matter of time before the others find you and kill you. Unless, of course, I manage it first!" he tried to lunge at her…
But Zelena whipped out his dagger, causing his to freeze in place, "Please," she scoffed, "You can't hurt me," she wiggled the dagger before her with a smirk, "But you're more than welcome to try. I do so enjoy watching futility wreck a man's will," she shoved the dagger forward slightly, forcing him to step back, "There. Much better. Now that your head is no longer cluttered, everything's working properly. And it's so much more entertaining!"
Gold glowered at her, "You may control me, but it's over, Zelena. They know who you are. ALL of them. You'll never get close to Snow White's baby, especially not with the family she has," he would not mention Piper specifically, not to Zelena, though he knew the woman was well aware of who the Siren was to him, he was not going to make her a specific target, but the message was clear, Piper would die before she let the woman near that baby, "You'll never accomplish whatever your unholy desires are."
Zelena, though, seemed unperturbed, "They may know who I am now, but it no longer matters, not when I have you, Rumpelstiltskin," she stepped closer to him, lifting the dagger and placing the blade flat against his cheek, the tip touching his hair, "Not when I have your beautiful brain. So be a good little Dark One and get back in your cage."
From behind the tree, Piper closed her eyes, hearing the crunching of the ground as Gold was forced to walk away, his gait unmistakable to her, followed by another set of footsteps. Her hands curled into fists, sheer force of will keeping her rooted to the spot and not leaping out to attack the woman as she left. She took quite a few silent but deep breaths, her eyes snapping open into a furious glare at nothing in particular.
Zelena would pay.
A/N: I have to start by apologizing profusely, I am so, so, so, so, SO (times infinity) sorry :'( My dad's 'trip' took longer than he thought, he overestimated how long we could drive for and the day we were supposed to be back by was the day we actually GOT there :( And, on top of that, we spent Thanksgiving at a relative's house and drove straight there from our trip...and, while there, I ended up smacking my hand on a side-view mirror of a car and somehow hit it so hard that it managed to break my knuckles on my left hand, it hurt SO MUCH :( I still don't know how I managed it, I'm not THAT strong :( But after the break was confirmed and splinted my parents decided that, for my own well-being, I shouldn't have access to a computer where I'd undoubtedly try to keep writing even with a broken hand and, I'm sad to admit, they were probably right in doing that. For once I could actually understand them taking my computer because I really would have tried to write through the pain and probably made it all worse. We agreed though that I'd get the computer back when the doctor (one of my mom's friends) confirmed my break was healed, which, sadly, took about 4 weeks on top of that :( I only just got the confirmation late on Friday but my parents had another trick up their sleeve too :( Because my dad's trip took longer than planned, I ended up losing my job for missing too much work, so my parents agreed they'd give me my computer back under 1 condition, I had to spend the weekend looking for and applying to jobs first and Monday going out to local businesses and leaving applications there too, and THEN I could do what I wanted (which I understand, there's only so many jobs listed in a local paper). So I sucked it up, and did that, but now I'm back! ^-^
I really am SO sorry that there was such a delay between updates and that I wasn't able to get word to you all that I was still alive and let you know what was going on :'( But I'm ok now, and I'm back and, hopefully, nothing like this will happen again. Not fun starting the new year with a partially broken hand :(
There's actually a few things I have to say here though, some small announcements (#5 is a bit of an important one for this story):
1. This story will be updated about 6-7 hours after I post my DW stories, so a little earlier than today (I had to run errands that took longer than I expected today) every day :)
2. I'll be posting 'sneak peeks' for upcoming stories for this year on tumblr starting today, 2 a day, which were meant to be my December holiday gifts like I did last year. (I'll be on tumblr soon to try and sort through my inbox there.)
3. I'll be resuming the tumblr takeover days where you can talk to the OCs, but next week (for Kona (Thor), Leena (Sherlock), Angel (Doctor Who), and Marayna (Merlin), which I missed in being cut off from the internet) so that I have time to sort through everything and make announcements so that people are aware of the days.
4. I'll be posting an outline of upcoming stories for this year on my tumblr, including the dates and length and number of stories that new ones will be posted. This includes Star Wars, Once Upon a Time (Hook/OC), Lord of the Rings, Big Bang Theory, Dracula Untold, Forever, Captain America (Steve/OC), Scorpion, Star Trek (Bones/OC), Firefly/Serenity, The Sorcerer's Apprentice, Doctor Who TL5/TL6/TL4.5, continuing Evy/Angel/Mac/Judge for DW, Athena for Thor, and Once Upon a Time also, and even 2 AUs (Rewritten-Doctor Who and Merlin's modern-reincarnation story). AND! 2 possible special treats (one for Thor and one for the Hobbit, maybe).
5. Every other day we will get TWO chapters of this story! There's a lot of editing for my Doctor Who stories, ones where I post 1-chapter per episode, and I'm going to be spacing those two series out as 'every other day' so, on the days I don't post DW, I'll be making up for it by posting TWO of this story till it's finished, and then two of my Star Wars story :) With all the other stories and writing projects I've got planned for this year, it'll help me be less stressed :)
I think that's about it for announcements lol :)
As for this chapter, I can't say 100% what Hook's intentions in letting Neal go were, whether he really was being genuine in his care for Bae or if he might, as Piper suspects, have done it to try and let Neal get killed. Piper, here, believes the latter. It's almost ironic how she sees the worst in Hook and hates it, but sees the worst in Gold and loves it lol.
I hope everyone had a lovely set of Holidays and that all your New Years are starting off well :)
Some notes on reviews...
I'm glad you're enjoying the Gold/OC :) We'll be getting a few flashbacks from the Missing Year mostly for the last half of this story, but we'll resume with other flashbacks to pre-curse times in the next story ;) More Dark Rose goodness to come :) True, she's probably not EVIL evil, definitely dark, she can be evil at times if she wants to be, but I think everyone has the capability of being truly evil at some point, but definitely dark. I think, as long as she has that spark of family to lighten her, she won't go over the edge to true evilness :)
Neal still died for his father yup :'( We have yet to see HOW that happened though, because I can say...Piper was very much there when it happened }:)
Piper hears Regina and Robin louder because they are soul mates, not just true love. True love was meant (or I took it to be meant to be) rare but that soul mates are rarer. With True Love, the song's don't really merge together into a new one when they're together, they harmonize nicely and balance each other, but they don't form almost a new song :) It's like how Henry has True Love with both his mothers, so your own individual song can harmonize with other people, multiple people even, in different ways. Soulmates, however, are like two missing pieces of a musical puzzle. It's like...imagine 2 pieces of sheet music, where one is written in red ink and the other is in blue ink. They're both completely separate and complete songs. But if you put on 3D glasses, both songs end up merging so perfectly that it makes a new song. They're complete in their own right, but combined it makes an even more complete song. If that makes sense, lol. Piper hears Robin/Regina louder because they're soul mates :) Charming did know the Siren was faking, but he DID fall for the allure of it being Snow, even if he managed to stop it in the end. In this story, had Robin faced a Siren (or faced one in the future) he wouldn't struggle with it, he wouldn't fall prey to it at all, because he would know in his soul and not just his heart that this is NOT Regina, it would be like he's immune to the Siren's trick if they used the allure in that way ;) We'll probably have flashbacks from the Missing Year for the rest of this story, some original ones not based on the episode flashbacks too, but the next story, in place of Frozen, we'll get back to older flashbacks yup ;) The trip was...much longer than expected. I've finally found out where I get my severe overestimation from though lol, my dad overestimated how much we could both drive for and the day we were meant to get back was the day we GOT there :( I love cookies :) I actually can't remember my grandmother ever making cookies except once for Christmas, but she made the best pudding. It's funny, I don't like pudding, but I LOVED my grandmother's pudding :)
We'll have to wait and see if Piper gets sent to the past and meets herself }:) It would be interesting to see it happen, especially for Emma, because the two Pipers are at very different places in their lives :)
We'll definitely see Regina and Piper bonding in a flashback, but I won't say which }:)
Piper's reaction to Marian...well...she's going to get a shock from it, but I can't say exactly how. All I can say is...it'll make her reevaluate something }:) I CAN however, give a tiny tease that Piper will be in the vault with Regina when she might possibly be planning to take out Marian and, well, Piper's moral compass doesn't exactly point north (if it points north at all lol), just imagine what she'll have to say about the situation };)
Thank you! I went back and fixed Belle :)
The Seer was a tricky woman lol. She kept saying his true love and his wife, Rumple interpreted it to be the same woman till he became the Dark One. The Seer said his wife would give him a son, but his true love would give him an even more powerful child ;) I can't say when we'll see it though, Piper and Snow would want their children close in age, but they were both 2 years apart from each other so...could be very soon, or could be (at most) 2 years from this point in the story. But, then again, with how the show likes to jump time and skip years, for all we know we could see it sooner than you think ;)
Your English was wonderful! :) I'm very glad you're enjoying the stories so far! ^-^ I can say we'll see a tiny bit of August and Piper in a Missing Year flashback that's a bit painful, but gives a bit more closure for Piper :)
Past Piper will recognize a specific part of Emma's song yup :) And we might get some Hook-pain too, Piper's not very fond of strange men barging into the Dark Castle lol :)
I can't say when the Dark Rose Baby might be coming, the Missing Year made it hard for them to be together, but there's always hope for Season 4, I mean, Snow and Piper would probably want their kids around the same age. But, then again, they were 2 years apart so...we'll have to wait and see }:)
Oh Piper would probably support anything so long as it would irritate Blue ;)
The LotR story is still coming ;) I'll actually be posting 3 sneak peeks of it on tumblr in a few days, 100-word drabbles as a sort of late-holiday gift and a schedule of when to expect stories for 2015. If all goes to plan, it should be up near the beginning of April. I was debating between Star Wars or LotR to be the first new series of this year and Star Wars worked out better to start :)
I sort of had a love/hate relationship with Hook lol. It's sort of like with Thor or Loki too, at one time I love them, at another I hate them, so I'm really excited for my next OUAT series because, while this story is more the hate-Hook POV of Piper, the next one will be a very love-Hook POV for that OC :) I can say that something will happen to Piper in S4 that will very, VERY much shake her loyalties, but her loyalties to whom (her hero family or her villain love) I can't say }:)
I'm ok! I'm sorry to worry you! I ended up with a broken hand for the last few weeks and no computer around to get internet with :( But I'm back now! :)
Hey! I'm ok yup, had a bit of an incident with breaking my knuckles and my parents confiscated my computer to keep me from doing more damage to my hand in trying to write through the pain :( But I'm back! :)
