A/N: Top o' the mornin' to ya! :D Happy St. Patrick's Day! How lucky are you all, lol, because we're getting an EXTRA chapter for Piper today! :D I'm being a bit bad and posting this while I'm at work, something I don't usually do but it's too tempting to post extra today lol ;) We'll still be getting the usual chapter posted later today, so we'll have 2 total ;) Slàinte Mhaith! :D
~8~
Sisters
Piper genuinely wasn't sure whether she should be surprised or unsurprised by the information Regina had just shared with them as they gathered in the Underbrooke apartment after she returned from speaking to Zelena once more.
"Zelena is in love?" Emma repeated, condensing the information to a mere four words.
"And not thinking rationally, which for her is a big problem," Regina nodded.
Piper sighed, leaning more on Gold as she sat beside him, shaking her head as she pressed it to his shoulder. On one hand, every villain in that room was proof that villains could love, that they weren't just heartless and could feel things for others. Hell, a number of villains became what they were due to love lost. It wasn't surprising that Zelena was in love and, in the grand scale of things, it wasn't even surprising that Hades apparently loved her in return. Because, on the other hand, she and Gold had proven that one didn't have to be a hero to BE loved by someone else. It wasn't unheard of for two villains to love each other, they were all the example anyone needed.
When a villain loved, it seemed it either went one of two ways. Their love was a hero who would either change them into a better person or else be unable to love them. Or their love was a villain, who would enable them or eventually betray them. Hook and Regina were the first, she and Gold the second, though without all the betrayal nonsense.
Apparently, Regina said, Zelena loved Hades and he claimed to love her too and needed her to give him True Love's Kiss to restart his un-beating heart so he could leave the Underworld. At least it told them that there was likely no attack on Storybrooke at the moment, if he could not leave his domain physically, there wasn't much he could do. And if they could keep Zelena from doing so, he'd be trapped there even longer.
"Clearly," Piper mused dryly, earning a glare from Regina, "If she was, in any way, thinking rationally, she would have found the one very large flaw in Hades' claim of love."
"Which is?" Regina crossed her arms, sounding like she was half daring her to explain how Hades couldn't love her sister and half desperate to know just that.
Piper sighed, "I am quite tired of having to explain everything to so-called villains," she closed her eyes, they really should know better, especially Regina given her past with hearts, "You do it, Rummy."
Gold chuckled at that, knowing she was truly just tired, right now. Neither of them had gotten much rest, not with the threat of Hades being able to apprehend them at any moment until he'd gotten hold of the charms he'd distributed to them all. She needed her sleep but with her family in danger, as Hades had other means of attack, she would not be getting much of it. He dropped a kiss to her hair and looked at them, "An un-beating heart is as good as one that does not exist," he explained, "I'm sure you can attest to how much love a person can feel when they have no heart, can't you, Regina?"
Regina's lips pursed, "None," she answered, knowing full well from her mother's methods.
"Exactly," Gold nodded, "If it does not beat then it does not work. Hades may claim to love Zelena but…"
"If he doesn't have a heart, he can't love her truly," Emma sighed, rubbing her forehead. If Hades loved Zelena before all of this happened to his heart then that might be different, but she got the impression from what Regina said that his heart had been like that for a long time.
"But True Love's Kiss…" Hook began.
"Does not need to be reciprocated to work," Gold reminded them.
Henry nodded, "Mom kissed me and broke the Second Curse," he recalled, "But I had no idea who she was so I couldn't love her back yet. It still worked, because SHE loved ME."
"Which means as long as Zelena loves him, she can still do it," Regina huffed, "Great. She's going to get her heart broken when she finds out."
"She won't believe you if you tell her," Emma pointed out, "She may even go kiss him just to prove you wrong."
"And while we wait he woos her more," Gold remarked.
"We have to stop her," Hook cut in, looking around, before frowning at Regina, "And if you can't because she's your blood, then allow me to…"
"What?" she scoffed, "Kill her?"
"Well, it's a step in the right direction."
"Hmm, how villainous a thought," Piper remarked, cracking an eye open and straightening, not very rejuvenated from her minute of rest, but knowing she couldn't risk more.
"YOU were the one who said we needed to think more like villains to do this," Hook glared at her.
Or, she had said something to that implication when the Charmings departed.
"I would happily volunteer to do the deed," Piper turned to Regina, "So as to save all of you your precious 'improvements.'"
Regina shook her head, "Taking action against Zelena, in any form, will get messy. We need to find a way to keep them apart without killing anyone."
"So, what's the plan?" Emma sighed.
"Well, there's only one person we can trust to destroy the love blooming between Hades and my sister," Regina remarked, "Our mother."
"And if she fails?" Piper asked, "She died with her heart in her chest. She may not be as eager this time."
"We won't know till we find her."
Gold scoffed, "I think we've all learned from the heroes that hope can only get us so far. We need a plan in case this one fails."
"One that either gets us what we want or proves to Zelena Hades is using her," Piper agreed.
"Well, what would you have us do?" Regina glared.
Gold merely smirked, "I was hoping you'd ask that."
~8~
The way that Piper instantly tensed a moment before the door to the Underbrooke apartment opened, well...Emma had spent enough time one on one with her aunt to know that it wasn't a 'someone's coming' tense, but a 'my family is about to be in danger and I won't have it' tense. Seeing the door open and DAVID walk in also tipped her off that something was very wrong.
Because David had left with Snow White to go back to Storybrooke, he shouldn't be there and he shouldn't be holding a bag of groceries that Hook was picking up for them. Gold and Henry had gone back to his shop to get things together for their backup plan while Regina went with Hook to find Cora. Hook hadn't planned to stick around and witness the reunion between mother and daughter. He was the only one truly 'dead' and able to get to places where other souls were. He would get Cora out and bring her to Regina and then come back to the apartment after stopping by a store to pick up some items they would need.
She and Hook were going to deliver the package to Robin Hood while the others were all busy, really a way for her to just get everyone out of the apartment so Piper could nap, knowing how much her aunt hated to appear vulnerable. Once she and Hook left, she was going to contact Henry and Gold to call them back.
Seeing David there with Hook's package…something had happened and she wouldn't need Piper's tensing to notice it.
"Emma," the man smiled as he entered.
"Dad," she began with a frown, getting up, "What are you doing here? Did something happen in Storybrooke?"
"No," he offered, setting the bag down, "No, everything's fine. It was decided I should come back, Ruby dropped me off," he said, clearly aware of what happened with the slippers.
"But the whole point was so you and mom could get out," Emma frowned at that.
"She'll be just fine," he assured her, "She's got the whole town on her side to help her. You don't. You need me more."
"Ok…" Emma said slowly, glancing over at Piper when the woman stood and came to stand beside her, eyeing David, the both of them noticing how his jaw tensed at the sight of her, "But where's Hook?" she asked, gesturing at the bags, "He was…"
"I ran into him on the street," the man cut in, "Offered to bring this back to you as a surprise. Hook is trying to track down Cruella."
"Cruella?" Emma repeated, "Why?"
"He wanted to see if she might know any other phone booths that she might have left and hidden from Hades, so we can pass messages to Snow."
It was eerie how plausible all that was and Emma was sure, if Piper hadn't been right beside her, frowning, equally sensing the lies in all of what had been said, she might have been tempted to believe him, to think her superpower going off was just shock of seeing her father back there after he'd just escaped. Whatever was going on, whatever reason he had for lying about this…something was up.
"I have to say," David chuckled, "I was a little worried time passed differently here," he dug into the bag, pulling out two items from it, "Baby wipes and a new blanket?"
Emma rolled her eyes, "It's for Robin," she told him, "Hook and I were going to bring him some supplies."
"Oh, well, don't let me stop you," David placed the items back, "I'll go with you."
"You sure?" Emma hesitated, "Regina said the rendezvous point with Robin is a half day's walk into the woods."
"I'm not tired," he assured her, "Too much nervous energy I think, from all the…realm hopping."
"Right…" Emma said slowly, eyeing him, "You sure you're ok?"
"Fine."
"Well then, we had best get on," Piper spoke, a hand on the back of Emma's back telling the other woman not to say a word in disagreement.
"You're coming too?" David eyed her.
Piper nodded, "I am. Problem?"
"No, of course not," he offered, smiling easily, though he didn't seem to realize his hands were curled into fists at his sides.
"Emma, if you would, I think there were a few baby clothes in the closet upstairs. Do you have a moment to help me dig for them?"
"Sure," Emma nodded, "We'll be back in a minute," she offered, waiting only till they had gotten upstairs to one of the bedrooms and shut the door, Piper listening closely to ensure the man hadn't followed before whispering to her, "What's wrong?"
"An interesting fact of magic," Piper began, "While twins may have identical faces, they possess different souls, and therefore different songs."
Now it was Emma's turn to tense, "That's not David, is it?" she realized, "It's James."
"A plausible story," she nodded, David's twin brother appeared a bit more clever in death, but not so much that she wouldn't recognize him, not after having heard his song before too, "But it is not the Shepherd."
Emma let out a long breath, "Great. Now what?"
"Now, we go."
"You're kidding me aren't you? We cant go into the middle of the woods with James!"
"I am curious as to what his plan is," Piper shrugged, too easily.
Emma gave her a look, "You just want to get him far enough away that no one can hear him scream, don't you?"
"I would not be opposed to that, should the plan take that turn."
Emma rolled her eyes, considering their options. If they didn't go back down and continue on with the plan she'd let slip, he'd know something was wrong. And she'd rather be in an area where there were more areas and opportunities to run than in the house with one door. If she could keep it together till they found Robin, James would be very outnumbered and, worst case scenario, Piper had her music.
James was doing this for a reason, maybe to escape the Underworld, maybe to spy on them, but whatever it was they wouldn't be able to figure out what he was hiding away. They'd need to let this play out and see what they could gleam from him.
"Fine," she huffed, trying to ignore the pleased smirk on Piper's face, "But no killing him, ok? We might be able to get some sort of information from him and we can't do that if he's dead. Deader than he is now."
"I make no promises other than to do my best to refrain."
Emma sighed, that was probably as good as she could hope for from her aunt, especially knowing the history Piper had with James, the scars she'd earned while his prisoner. That she hadn't outright killed him the moment he walked through the door was something.
~8~
It was odd, to Emma, how at ease she felt walking through the woods with Piper and who she knew now to be James, her father's twin brother. Despite the danger that the man posed, not knowing what he would do or planned to do, she wasn't worried. She had magic, Piper had magic, Piper's baby she was pretty sure had magic too, they were aware of who he was and he didn't know that fact. He was still trying to act the role of David, offering to carry their bag through the woods, but there were little things he did that David would never do.
Walking beside Emma instead of slightly ahead to keep guard if anything happened. Acting as at ease as he was when David would have been tense and on alert. Even talking the way he did was a red flag that it wasn't him, because he had complained about things the entire time, which David wouldn't have.
"How much further?" the man asked, just one more complaint.
"No further," Emma answered, "This is where Regina said Robin would meet us."
"Great. So what do we do now? Rob from the rich and hope he shows up?"
Piper snorted, perhaps she should have let James live all those years ago, he was at least a little more entertaining than David was. But she had taken a great deal of delight in ending him, not just for his treatment of herself but for the potential his death would bring for her cousin to meet her true love. It had been worth it then and she was sure it would be worth it a second time...because if she knew James and his ego, he would say or do something to provoke her and he would not like the consequences that would follow.
"Uh, no," Emma defended, "Robin will just find us."
"In the middle of the woods?" he scoffed.
"I could hear you a mile away," Piper remarked, "I am certain he could as well."
If she was being honest though, she hadn't fully understood Robin's insistence to hide away in the woods with the baby. Hades knew where everyone in his realm was and likely what they were up to. He had the ability to conjure any of them to his side before Gold had made the charms to protect them. How the baby would be safe, off alone, with one person who had no magic to protect it, she didn't know. She was somewhat assured that Hades was after Zelena more than her child and he seemed to know going after the baby would only enrage Zelena, but still...the plan made no sense to her. No one would have heeded her words anyway, trusting a hero like Robin's promised experience to her villainous perspective.
"Indeed," Robin's voice spoke from behind them, and they turned to see him appear from behind a set of trees, his bow and arrow on his back, Zelena's child nestled and content in a baby carrier in his hand, "Not everyone needs magic to be stealthy," he set the baby down and reached out to take the bag from the man, "Thanks," before he looked around a little disheartened to see someone missing, "Where's Regina?"
"Uh, condensed version?" Emma huffed, "Zelena and Hades are on the verge of being the world's worst power couple."
"Regina feels she has it handled," Piper added, as Emma rolled her eyes at the woman's remark, knowing it would set Robin Hood off. She may or may not have phrased it exactly like that to sway Robin Hood into leaving the child with them and rushing to Regina's supposed aid…which would mean it was just them and James and there truly would be no one there to hear him scream.
"I should go," Robin instantly took the bait, turning to hurry away, much to Piper's delight, "She's gonna need my help..."
"No," Emma called out, shooting Piper a look for her efforts, "No," she reassured him, "It's ok. Right now we need to make sure Zelena's daughter is safe. Regina can handle her sister."
While they hadn't been expecting James to make a move against them while he was now outnumbered, the man proved exactly how stupid he was by doing just that, lunging forward, when Emma reached out to Robin, to slap a magic suppressing cuff on her wrist, "Siblings. They can be a real pain, can't they?" he sneered at them. Emma turned and gave him a look but his sneer merely morphed into a smirk, "Cruella gave me some advice...never face the Savior without one of those."
Piper scoffed, "Did she also fail to remind you you would be better off facing the Savior alone than when she has backup?"
"Who says I don't have backup of my own?" he taunted, hearing a horn honking behind him as Cruella drove up in her car.
"Where's Hook?" Emma demanded, more concerned about that than being held up. If James handed Hook back over to Hades…
"Oh, he's locked up in the Sheriff's station," James said easily, "I've been trailing you all for some time. Figured when Snow and my brother blew this joint, well, that was my chance."
"Why is everything in the woods with you people?" Cruella huffed as she stumbled out of the car and struggled to walk over to them in the uneven terrain, though her spirits lifted quickly when she saw James, "Hello, darling. Fabulous job," she leaned in closer to him, "Mummy's very proud of you. And I will show you how much later on. First I need to do something," she turned her gaze to Emma and strode forward, her hand raising as though to strike her.
When Piper reached out a deft hand and grabbed her by the wrist, pulling her arm back so suddenly that Cruella stumbled and twisted to face her, "Lay a hand on my niece…"
"And you'll what?" Cruella scoffed, "Kill me again? I can't die darling."
Before Piper could even respond something was wrapped around her from behind, wedging its way into her mouth and yanking her back, away from Cruella.
"Hey!" Emma snapped as James gagged Piper, tying the cloth he'd shoved against her behind her head, she lunged forward as though to help her aunt, but James had pushed Piper to Cruella so he could raise his gun at them while the woman handcuffed Piper's hands behind her back.
James chuckled, "I've been waiting for this for a long time," he said, turning a glare to Piper as Cruella pushed her towards the other three, aiming the gun at them, more at Piper than the others. She was dear to Emma which kept the Savior from interfering, and Robin Hood was as much a hero as any of them and would not want any woman to be threatened so and he would stand down too. That, and he had another reason to take aim at the Siren, for himself and Cruella both.
That had been a hell of a bonding moment for them, reminiscing how they both died, how Piper had a hand in both. They had been waiting for this moment for far too long.
Emma held up her hands, "What do you want?"
"What we want is out of this dreadful place," Cruella spoke, "And if the Author won't do it for us, I have to think of another way. And there is only one man who can do that for us."
"Hades," Emma realized, glancing from Piper who was glaring at them and back, "Why would Hades help you?"
"Oh, he wouldn't," Cruella agreed, "Unless I had the right leverage, say, like the child of the woman he loves. Though God knows why. They're terrible things."
"Now," James turned the gun on Robin, but kept the other two in his sight, "Hand her over."
"Not gonna happen, mate," Robin defended Regina's niece, pulling out an arrow and firing it at James, lodging it right into his chest.
But James was unaffected, the arrow had done nothing. He just laughed and pulled the arrow out, dropping it, "Arrows...they can't hurt me. But one pull of this trigger," he lifted the gun up, moving it between the three of them, "Well, you're not just a visitor in the Underworld."
Emma shifted on her feet, clearly uneasy, though it was not because of the gun, as James and Cruella thought, but because Piper had gone eerily calm and still…much like the calm sea before a storm...and that was not a good thing for their enemies.
~8~
Despite being so far into the woods and how much Cruella complained about it, the woman had opted, instead of driving them to wherever it was she and James planned to send them, to walk them there instead. They trekked through the woods, James with his gun aimed at them the entire way, until they came out to a path leading to the docks. It wasn't actually all that far, Storybrooke wasn't that large a place, and all too soon they found themselves on a platform near the waves.
It was all too clear why they were there when they saw the eerie green glow of the water, all of the liquid there seemed to be connected to the major rivers that Hades controlled. If they fell in, or were pushed in, their souls would be trapped there even more than Emma or Piper's were given the tombstones.
James had forced Robin to set the carrier off to the side, leaving Zelena's child too far away to protect while the two villains crowded them to the edge of the platform, clearly intent to force them over the side so they couldn't stop the kidnapping about to occur.
Piper, not for the first time, wondered just how stupid some villains could be and how they gave such terrible names to villains in general by being so. Cruella and James thought that bringing Zelena's child to Hades would gain them passage out of the Underworld? In what world would that work? Hades had made it very clear he did not want any of his domain to escape, he would never agree to their request and he was far more powerful than either of them would be to try and defend themselves or stop him. He would take the child, perhaps try to 'make a deal' but not go through with it, perhaps even make them think they were leaving the world only to end up passing on to the 'worse place.'
They also had made the rather unfortunate mistake of underestimating her as well.
"You know, killing us is not gonna help you get out of here, Cruella," Emma tried to reason with the woman as they were ushered nearer and nearer to the edge.
"Oh, you're right," Cruella agreed, "But sending you to eternal torment? That's just a juicy bonus."
"I really I wish I could say this was gonna be quick and painless, but..." James grinned.
"You do realize we're family, right?" Emma tried to play that card, glaring when James snorted, "I'm your brother's child. I'm your niece…I can help you move on. And I can help you find some peace."
James shook his head, "Your father took everything from me," he glared, "All that glory should have been MINE. So now, I'm going to take everything from him, starting with you."
"Ehdhndwrsthsng," Piper spoke, stopping him from stepping closer to Emma to force her even closer to the edge.
"What?" James looked over at her, glaring, before he snorted, his expression morphing into a smirk, "What was that?" he taunted, "Begging for your life?" he shook his head, "It won't work. I know YOU were the reason I died. I know all about the deal you made with the Dark One to help Snow White find her true love," he stepped away from Emma and closer to Piper, "Like I said, I've been waiting for this for a long time."
Piper's expression didn't change, "Ehdhndwrsthsng," she repeated.
Her tone, though, HAD changed, something almost threatening in it, something taunting in return, that had James frowning at her.
Piper tilted her head before turning it to look meaningfully at Emma, and back, "Bgmstk," she added…
Before she took a heaving breath, filling her lungs as much as she could, and it was in that split instant, that single movement, that Emma's eyes widened and her hands shot up to her ears, Robin quickly following suit…because Piper began to sing.
The gag across her mouth kept her from forming words, it was true, but her voice hadn't been impacted, the sound still escaped, they could still hear it, and her magic was powerful as ever. It took Cruella a moment longer than Emma or Robin to realize what had happened and rush to cover her ears as well.
Her shout of, "James!" was lost on him though, for she couldn't risk lowering her hands to cover his ears…
And he was already caught by the music.
They could only watch as Piper sang and James staggered, stumbling as he swayed a bit, his expression blanking, the gun falling from his hand as he lowered his arm, lost to the magic. Piper turned, continuing her song and James stepped forward to her hands, uncuffing her as quickly as possible. Piper stepped back, tossing the handcuffs aside and rubbing her wrists, not moving for the gag just yet as she seemed to hold a note with the last bit of air in her lungs and breathed through her nose at the same time to refill them, not risking letting the song halt even for a moment.
They could only watch as James moved away from them, walking right for the edge of the platform, stepping up onto it right as Piper jerked her head up in half a nod. While they couldn't hear the song in its full effect, they could hear the muffled part of it grow louder, the note higher. And they could hear when the note suddenly dropped down the scale right as James let himself fall off the platform and into the waters below.
Piper moved to the edge, watching as he hit the water and let the song stop, Emma having run forward as well while Robin ran for the baby. She nonchalantly reached up to tug the gag off her mouth, "I said," she began, down to the man whose soul was now being swarmed by other spirits and pulled further under, "I do not need words to sing."
Emma let out a breath and a whistle, "Remind me never to piss you off."
"This was not 'pissed off,'" Piper argued lightly, "This was mildly annoyed," she glanced at Emma, "If I was 'pissed off' he would have thrown himself into a fire, not water."
Emma grimaced, "Done that before?"
"A time or two."
Robin hurried back over to them just then with the baby in his arms, "She ok?" Emma asked.
"Yeah," he nodded, "Yes, she's fine. Cruella escaped though," he pointed out.
They looked over their shoulders to see that, while they had been watching James, Cruella had scampered off, without her bodyguard or the baby.
"She's in a worse position now than before," Emma waved it off, "She knows we're never going to help her and that we know her plan now. She's going to be trapped here forever, sometimes people just cannot ever move on."
"I would much prefer to ensure that," Piper said, tossing the gag into the water, "Than to leave it to fate. I am not a fan of being gagged."
Emma nodded, "Be my guest."
"There you are!" a voice called behind them, and they turned to see Hook and Regina rushing towards them, "What the hell happened?" the woman asked.
"You alright, love?" Hook moved to Emma's side.
"We're fine," Emma nodded, "Piper took out James."
"What?" Regina looked at the Siren. She had been walking back from the cavern where her mother had moved on to a (surprisingly) better place after reconciling with both her and Zelena, and seen Hook bursting out of the sheriff's station frantic that Emma was in danger. He'd blurted out that James had gotten the drop on him, locked him up, and was going after Emma...who had been going to see Robin. That had set them both off to find them. She'd luckily had something of Robin's on her so she could track him and the spell brought them right there.
Piper nodded and looked over at the waters, subtly telling them what happened.
Regina turned to Robin, "You're ok?" she asked, "The baby?"
"We're fine," he repeated what Emma had, "They wanted the baby, him and Cruella, but they didn't get her."
"How did it go with Zelena?" Emma turned to Regina, since that was the more serious question right now. THEY were fine, but everything would depend on what Zelena did next.
Regina sighed and looked at them, before turning to Piper, "Tell Gold we have to move to Plan B."
Piper grinned, "I was so hoping it would come to this."
~8~
Gold stepped out of the shadows where he'd been waiting just outside of Granny's the moment he saw Zelena approaching, doing his best to keep the grin off his face. While the others had not been completely onboard with this plan, that they agreed to it, even reluctantly, told him he had their approval. Piper, well, she was most willing to see this one play out. Both of them had bones to pick with Zelena that would not easily go away.
"It would appear love is blooming," he remarked, approaching her before she could get any nearer and alert Hades, who was just inside preparing for a 'romantic dinner,' of her presence, "And here was me thinking nothing bloomed in the Underworld."
"What do you want?" Zelena sighed.
"Came to see a woman about a bargain," he shrugged easily, "You see, you used my love for Pip against me, got me to agree to a pesky little deal…"
"And what?" Zelena cut in, "You want to go back on it? Want me to let you off?"
"You saw an opportunity, and you took advantage, much like I'm doing now."
She smirked, "You can't hurt me. We made a deal, remember? And I'm not about to let you out of it."
"Oh, I do," he agreed, far too easily, "Funny thing is, I have another deal on the table, one I hadn't considered taking until now."
Zelena frowned...when someone stepped out of the shadows and to Gold's side, a young boy, one she knew was not Henry and didn't recognize from anywhere in Storybrooke, "Who's this?"
Gold smirked, "Well, he's what I like to call a loophole. I may not be able to hurt you," he agreed, "But HE made no such deal," neither had Piper, but that wasn't part of this plan. If he was right about this, it would let them kill two birds with one stone, allowing him to deal with his father once and for all when everything was said and done. For the plan to work, Piper had to be separate from his actions in this, "Zelena, meet my father...Peter Pan."
Pan eyed her up and down, "I hear you're wicked. Well, I'm much worse."
Before she could even react a bag was thrown over her head and they disappeared in a swirl of smoke just as Hades turned to look out the windows...
A/N: Hope you liked the surprise, an extra chapter :D
The second Piper realized it was James, I could not see her just letting Emma wander off with him no matter how tired she is. Both to protect her niece and also because she really does hate the man and has probably been dreaming about killing him herself since he died the first time lol. But, then again, James has probably been wanting the same, revenge, for a while, so I felt like he'd almost want Piper to go just so he could gag her. He would think that was enough, he's that arrogant. He seemed to forget that her magic is her voice, is music, not JUST the words she can sing };)
But we're starting to get into a bit of the plan for Hades now }:) And with Zelena in Gold's clutches, Hades might need some leverage of his own... }:)
Some notes on reviews...
It's definitely a little sad it's taken David so long to realize he's been unfair to Piper given his treatment and support of Red :( It's actually going to be an important thing for him later on, how long it took to get to this point. I feel like David sometimes takes a while, but once he 'gets it' it sticks with him in a subtle sort of way. He still has much more to think about and learn and realize, but he'll get there ;) But lol, Snow seems to have a growing pile of conversations to be had, whether she gets to them or mucks it up too badly we'll have to wait and see ;) At some point it will be said out loud to Snow, her acceptance of Red vs. Piper, but I won't say if it's in this story or the next ;) I don't think Snow is truly ready to be a mother either. I think she was on too much of a hero kick to be ready to settle down. Had she been Queen, without Regina, without needing to go on all her quests and make so many plans to counter the Evil Queen I think she would have been at a good place to have a child, but it was all too chaotic right to the end and I don't think she's had a chance to just BE instead of DO things :/ It's actually going to be a very big thing to Emma in the AU, seeing how Piper handles things given she's been Emma's mother for 20 plus years vs. Snow who wants to be a mother but has no idea how to sort of put her kid over her kingdom and her own heroism :( I can't say whether we'll get Emma calling Piper 'mom' in this series, it's a definite for the AU, but I can say she might have a different slip for another family relation before this story is over ;)