Last Rites
It was both difficult and understandable when Piper and Gold departed the portal only for everyone to go their separate ways. Emma and Henry intended to go to the apartment to check in with the Charmings while Regina and Robin went off to check on Roland. She wanted to go with her niece, Emma was so upset about the loss of Hook, but she and Snow had a tentative and minor truce at the moment. Given that they were likely with Neal, and with how Snow had reacted to her and Gold last time they were around her child, she thought she should keep away for now and not tempt fate. Emma would be with her mother soon enough, she would have comfort with that part of her family. She did give Emma a tight hug before she left, a murmur that they would be at the shop if she needed her.
She was sure Emma didn't think anything of it, that she took it as just a consoling relative offering support. And while it was, there was more to it. There were some things coming, Piper knew. Just in how her cousin was, how her husband was, how things had been for far too long and knowing how long it could take to change and have it stick. She wouldn't want Emma to face those things alone, but Emma also didn't need to hear it right now. Because there was a slim chance that Snow might have learned from everything that happened, with the Dark Swan and in the Underworld, and maybe what she feared would be coming might not actually happen and telling Emma in that situation would just make her defensive and feel like she had to keep her walls up, hide things, when she should be allowed her grief.
Emma had been Dark, THE Dark One, and she had been very clear she'd done it on purpose, to balance her magic yet, but that she LET the Darkness infect her. Even though Emma was now 'the Savior' again, she doubted it would last long, not among the heroes. She just hoped it would last long enough for Emma to mourn and begin to heal.
As much as she wanted to believe otherwise, she'd known heroes too long to feel like she couldn't not worry about Emma. There was a very large chance that the heroes would be wary of Emma for a time, not knowing how the Darkness affected her, to what extent, what lingering effects there might be. Any hero, when they lost someone they loved, would not worry about that person seeking vengeance, because they were too good. A villain though, any hero would instantly think that any action taken after was for just that, vengeance.
Never mind that Hades was loose in the town with Zelena protecting him and on his side, never mind that there was a clear and present danger around them that had to be stopped. If EMMA was the one to suggest going after Hades, many of the heroes would think it was for revenge, that it was her loss of Hook influencing her. And yet if any other hero, any other person really, suggested it, it would be a rallying cry and supported on all ends, because it WAS a danger and Hades HAD to be stopped and heroes should aim to do that.
She hoped it would be Henry that brought up stopping Hades, or even Regina, literally anyone but Emma. Because Emma didn't need to deal with that distrust so soon after suffering a loss the way she had. She hoped that Snow and Charming would understand the balance better after all they had done to show the two that they should never have condemned the dark the way heroes always did. She hoped they would know their daughter well enough to know she wouldn't go after Hades for vengeance but the threat he posed everyone.
And she hoped, after everything, that they would know, if Emma DID want to take revenge on Hades, that SHE would do it for the girl, to keep her doing something that she would regret, that would truly harm her later.
"Shall we?" Gold spoke, offering Piper his arm as she watched Emma and Henry walking off, Henry holding Emma's hand tightly in comfort.
She looped her arm through it, looking at him, "To August first," she spoke, though it was a request as it would be his magic to take them to her son.
"Of course," he smiled gently at her, knowing she would want to check in with the man and likely apologize for going off on another adventure without him. It was different, than how Snow and Charming had left Neal in that August was a grown man, an adult, capable of taking care of himself and able to think for and defend himself where Neal was a baby who could barely understand what was going on or why his parents were gone. And so they disappeared in a swirl of magical smoke, off to tell the former puppet that his mother was fine.
And then?
Well, they had a god to murder and an entire realm to burn to the ground.
~8~
It didn't take much to work out what had likely happened, before Emma even spoke, when she stormed into the pawnshop late the next day, irritation and exasperation and resignation clear on her face though the irritation was the most prevalent.
"Tell me you don't think I'm clear headed," Emma demanded of Piper as she was sifting through a small box of potions typically used like a modern bomb, Gold a few feet away, going through a pile of books of very destructive spells.
"Hello to you too, Emma," Piper remarked, not even looking away from the last two vials as she examined them to see if they were potentially useful for their future endeavors, it wasn't just about destroying the Underworld but also finding useful potions and spells to use against Hades. She set them down and looked up at the woman, "What did Snow do this time?"
"That easy to read, huh?" Emma huffed, some of the anger and indignation bleeding out of her for that, knowing it wasn't just her if Piper could guess that.
"I was…concerned something might happen," Piper admitted, "I am not certain it is the same as what did happen…" she trailed off, an invitation for Emma to elaborate on her anger.
"I just…" Emma took a breath, glancing over when Gold, of all people, set a cup of tea in front of her, only noticing now the small pot and cups on a platter off to the side, a cup before him and by Piper's hand too, "Henry and I went back to the apartment," she began, "And I got the usual 'we're so sorry you lost someone' spiel from my parents and…" she fell silent, "I just thought…and then David said…and it's not the same!"
"Emma, drink," Piper nodded at the tea, "And breathe," she reached across the counter to touch Emma's hand that wasn't lifting the teacup to drain its contents in one go, "Now, from the beginning, because I am not certain that was English."
Emma pointedly ignored Gold's snort as he disappeared to the back room to give them some privacy.
Emma took another deep breath, not pulling her hand away, feeling grounded by Piper's presence, which helped her get her thoughts in order, "I feel like my parents expect me to just be ok with losing Hook," she admitted, "Mary Margaret, she said she was sorry and then she just…she went on about how 'at least WE made it back' and how 'at least I got to see Hook' and 'we helped so many other people.' And it's just…we didn't help Hook," she looked at Piper imploringly, hoping she would understand because if she had to spell it out to anyone she was going to scream.
Piper though, nodded, "Pleasantries like that mean nothing when you are hurting," she spoke and Emma let out that breath, relieved.
"Yeah."
"And it feels like she is taking away from your right to grieve by saying you should not be as upset because you did other good things."
"Exactly," Emma nodded, and that really was exactly it. Hearing her mother talking about all that right after she nearly broke down crying about losing someone she loved it just…it upset her so much. Because she knew her mother was trying to make her feel better, but she would have taken a hug and some hot chocolate and just laying down with her family there for her than those words.
Because Piper was right, it felt, in that moment, like her mother was trying to make her pain seem like less than it was because so many other things went right. Like Hook and losing him was minor in comparison. She knew it likely wasn't how Snow meant it to come across, but that's how it felt.
"You have every right to grieve, Emma," Piper told her, her voice quiet and thoughtful.
It hadn't really occurred to her till now that...had she ever really heard any sympathies from Snow regarding her losses? Snow lost her mother, and SHE had been there for her. Snow's father died and SHE had been with her. And yes, she lost her kingdom and she let Snow think she was dead, but she had continued to protect her and watch out for her. And when they reunited? She couldn't remember if Snow had ever offered sympathies for when her father had been murdered, her mother died, her kingdom burned, or if it had been a general 'I'm sorry for what happened, now let's find a way out of the Enchanted Forest.'
When she lost everything, she'd had to hold in her grief, she couldn't afford to show her weaknesses. There had only been one time she could recall, both in the Forest and out, that she had broken down and expressed her sorrow for her own loss. Rumpelstiltskin had researched Sirens and had been telling her everything he'd learned in the hopes that it could help her understand more about herself, and she'd been hit with the grief of knowing her mother was gone and she could never speak to HER about the things she'd never thought to ask as a child. He'd been there for her, allowed her a safe space to break.
And when August had been doing a school report on his family tree and she'd needed to work out ways to translate what her parents were in the Forest to the Land Without Magic. She'd told him stories of her family and she may have shed a tear or two in memory of them, which had prompted him to speak of his father. They had bonded over that loss of family, but the knowledge that they had found a new one in each other.
It was why she wanted Emma to have the time and space to mourn freely, without fear of others putting assumptions on it. And to know that Snow had pushed it in such a way, it was upsetting for HER to hear she could only imagine what Emma had said and thought as it was happening. Snow had had that support when she lost those she loved, she would have thought her cousin more willing to give that support as well. Or, perhaps, Snow felt the loss wasn't as bad because she'd had that support and so it hadn't felt as powerful or isolating for her and so she did not remember it as painfully as Emma was now. She could not say.
"That's what David said," Emma huffed, "Little John found King Arthur dead in the woods and 'called the sheriff' so David and I headed out to look at him and I know that it was Hades who did it."
"You can rest assured it was not Rummy or I, as much as I would have loved the opportunity to end him myself," Piper remarked, not to defend themselves for Emma wasn't accusing or prying about their whereabouts, more she was just trying to confirm that it was likely Hades because no one else in the town of heroes would want to kill the man BUT them, "But it makes sense it would be Hades."
"Why?" Emma asked, desperate for someone to have thought the same and not just assumed it was her targeting Hades.
"Arthur's people are still under his command, all of them loyal to him, they would defend him not end him," Piper explained, "Not many in Storybrooke know of his treachery outside of your parents and Regina, and those who did would sooner lock him up and wait for their rulers to decide his fate, not kill him. A villain would not care and would run him through if he was in their way or learned their plots, and there are only 4 villains in town presently. One possibly rehabilitating to a hero if Regina is to be believed, Rummy and I went right to August and then here and I would not lie to you about this Emma. That leaves only Hades. Did he have a wound on him?"
"No," Emma shook her head, "His neck was broken and he was just laying there. Nothing for him to have broken it on except with magic. I just…I knew it was Hades."
"Your magic probably sensed the vague trace of him then," Piper said simply, "The way the others could not tell the Dark One's Dagger from the false one, because it held such a trace of the Darkness to it."
"Yes," Emma nodded, it made sense in that context, how she'd just known because she HAD. She'd been so sure and it wasn't her pinning it on Hades she just…she hadn't known how to explain HOW she knew, "David didn't believe me."
"I did not think he would," Piper sighed, "He is rather hesitant about magic."
"I said we needed to stop Hades, to kill him and send him back where he came from, and David freaked."
"It is quite 'villainous' talk," Piper shrugged, "Killing."
"Like heroes don't?" Emma scoffed, though she knew Piper wasn't saying SHE was a villain, only identifying why David might have reacted as he had, "How many men did my father kill to get me to the wardrobe?" she asked, though it was rhetorical for Piper had already asked the same thing before, "Snow White was ready to kill Cora, heroes kill. They just claim it was for the greater good."
"I have taught you well," Piper smiled at her, joking, "I am glad you see the hypocrisy of it."
"Yeah," Emma huffed, taking a breath, "He tried to pin this on me, on how I'm in pain and it had to be affecting me when I'm just trying to protect Storybrooke. He had the nerve to tell me I'm not seeing clearly and I need to deal with death the way normal people do by grieving.
"And yet his wife was the one to try and downplay your grief."
"Yeah," Emma repeated herself, deflating again, "I just…Regina didn't help anything either. We found out Hades and Zelena are holed up in the Mayor's office and she wouldn't let me help them because I'm 'too emotional' and 'not thinking straight.' It pissed me off and I just…I wanted someone…"
"To say you were being perfectly reasonable?" Piper offered when Emma struggled to get the words out.
"That."
Piper nodded, "I feel you are," she offered, "You have suffered loss before, Emma, in many ways, and you have pushed past it to focus on the threat and stopping it, then mourning later. I do not see why this would be different. Hades IS a threat, he MUST be stopped,"
"Thank you."
"So what is the plan?" Piper asked, "Rummy and I would offer our assistance if you wish it. It would, after all, coincide with our own intentions to rid the realms of him."
Emma cleared her throat at that request for a plan, "I was just...sort of...going to bust in and throw my magic at him?"
Piper gave her a look, "After all the effort I have put in, do not start thinking like a hero now, Emma."
That sent Emma laughing for the first time since all this started, "No, no, I know," she took a few breaths to calm down, "I may have thrown it back at them that maybe I'M not the one not thinking clearly and they're the ones just thinking too much like heroes. That we need a villain's perspective on this," she flushed and glanced away, "I sort of stormed off and…"
"And?"
"When David asked where I was going, I may have said to my Aunt and Uncle."
The two women looked over at the backroom when a sort of crashing noise sounded at the fact that Emma had called Mr. Gold, Rumpelstiltskin, the Dark One…her uncle.
"I mean," Emma cleared her throat again, trying to ignore the fact that Gold likely heard that and definitely had a reaction to it, "He's your mate and you're my aunt and that's my cousin there," she nodded down at Piper's now-rounded stomach, hidden behind the counter and so the glamor was not needed yet, "I just…it slipped out. I think more to annoy David than anything."
"I am sure Rummy will appreciate the sentiment, on both fronts," Piper offered, a small smile of her own growing on her face at the fact that, for Emma to say it, given how long it took her to call Snow or David 'mom' and 'dad,' for her to call Gold her 'uncle' it meant she accepted him as family.
They fell silent for a moment, Emma shifting where she stood before asking something that was niggling at her, "Was it what you thought it was?"
"Hmm?"
"The thing you said you thought might happen," Emma remarked, "The thing you were worried about before. Was it that?"
"Near enough," Piper sighed, "You must understand, Emma, you could be a villain for a day and the heroes would never again see you as a full hero, at least not right after. You were the Dark One, as far as they knew, for weeks, they will not think that darkness just vanished. Especially not after you told them you intentionally wanted it to infect you no matter if it was to balance your magic more. I was concerned they would assume you would seek vengeance on Hades and try to stop you."
Emma nodded, while her mother and father hadn't said it outright, their actions and words were enough to tell her that was likely where their thoughts were heading if she kept up on her focus on Hades. Much of their plan to teach the heroes a lesson had been not to assume the dark was evil or that villains always had dark intentions. She couldn't tell if it was a sign that it worked or backfired that the heroes were now assuming things of other 'heroes' and trying to keep them from going 'dark.'
"I knew you would target him," Piper continued, "Because of the threat he posed not just Storybrooke but your family. Revenge might be a small part of it, but not all of it."
"It…might be," Emma admitted, feeling like she actually could say that to Piper and not have her freak out and assume she was going to be the next big bad the town faced, that she wouldn't assume the worst just because a small part of her did want to take Hades out for revenge.
"If it becomes a larger part," Piper caught her eye, giving her a meaningful look, "Tell me. I would gladly do the deed for you if you do not wish your heart darkened more. In fact, after all Hades has done and tried to do, I would delight in it."
Emma looked at her a moment, "Fendrake?" she guessed, because she had noticed Piper's reaction to the contract Hades tried to hang over her head, she'd been ready to commit murder right then and there and the ONLY thing she could think of that would still her hand was the baby.
"He was a man Rummy once made a deal with," Piper offered, much more open to sharing the tale with her blood-family than Hook or Regina, "To save Bae's life when he was but a boy, he signed away his second born child. Then went back as the Dark One and killed him to void the contract."
"So when Hades brought it out...HE had the contract, which meant he'd have had claim to your kid," Emma realized. She let out a breath, "He's lucky you didn't tear him limb from limb."
"Hmm," Piper hummed, "Rummy and I have come up with a much more suitable end for him."
"Do I want to know?" Emma hesitated to ask when she caught sight of the gleam in her eye.
"Let us just say we have found a rather interesting fact about the Underworld and how it ties to Hades' magic," Piper smirked, "As it turns out, the Underbrooke, Limbo, is where Hades draws his power, it is a realm HE created and one he holds power over. He cannot touch or change heaven or hell, but all else...well," her smirk turned dark, "We cannot just kill him and send him back, we must utterly destroy him. Destroy him and all he created is destroyed with him."
"Two birds with one stone," Emma murmured. A part of her though, felt a large part of why Piper and likely Gold were going this route, instead of banishing Hades back where he came from or trapping him somewhere was because of the baby. He had threatened their family and their child, neither of them would take kindly to that. They WOULD want to cause the most devastation to Hades as thoroughly as possible.
Piper nodded, "Souls will either go up or down with no in between," she grinned thinking about Cruella and the Blind Witch and all the other 'villains' down there who would be sent to a very bad place when their entire goal was go stay in Limbo, "Everything Hades created, decimated along with the man himself."
Emma nodded, "Then we just need to find a way to destroy him permanently."
It was, perhaps, a good thing it was just the three of them in the room, had any hero heard their Savior plotting to utterly destroy another being they would have fainted.
"I may be able to help with that," Gold spoke as he pushed the curtain aside and stepped into the room with a grin and a book in his hand.
~8~
Emma wasn't sure what she expected when she found her family at the library after Henry texted that that was where they were. Given it was the library, she should have expected them to be surrounded by books, trying to find a way to stop Hades and that was exactly what they were doing when she stepped in. Her mother at a desk with piles of books around her, Henry off to the side, David carrying more over to the desk. It should have been expected and yet...she'd foolishly thought she'd walk in to find them having some sort of war room with the other Storybrooke citizens and coming up with a plan to take down Hades.
When she saw them there, a part of her wanted to blurt out what she had learned from Gold, the way they could kill Hades so they could get to the plan making.
But…another part of her kept thinking about Piper's words, her concerns, what she feared the heroes would do or think about her quest to go after Hades even after the lessons she'd tried to teach them about not assuming things...and so she held her tongue. She wanted to know too, whether their lesson had stuck or if they'd need another one.
"Oh," Snow looked up, "Emma, where have you been?"
"It doesn't matter," Emma glanced to the side, seeing Henry was going through the storybook with a magnifying glass, before turning her attention back to them, "It was a dead-end. You guys find anything?"
"Not yet," David sighed, "But there's got to be something in here about Hades, but we just started, so..."
"Oh, we could really use your help," Snow smiled up at her.
"I'm sorry," Emma sighed, making a choice, much like she had in the Forest when she'd sensed her family coming moments before Piper could crush Merida's heart, and turning, "I don't have time to go through a bunch of books. I should've gone after Hades when I had the chance," she headed for the door when David called out.
"Emma, wait," he huffed when she turned to them, speaking what was on all their minds, "We know you're hurting. But getting revenge on Hades is not gonna bring Hook back."
Emma's jaw clenched, Piper's concerns now proven true, it wasn't JUST about her being emotional or not thinking straight, those were the soft words her family was using to cover up how they really felt apparently, "This is not about revenge. "
"Then what is it about, Emma?" Snow sighed, sounding like she was exasperated and didn't believe her for a moment.
Emma's eyes narrowed at her for that quick distrust. She was starting to understand why villains went with what they did, what was the point when the heroes wouldn't believe you anyway? Why not just go after Hades for revenge if that was what everyone thought she was doing? But she had worked too hard to subvert their expectations, to teach them to STOP doing this, to go back on it now. At least they were fixated on HER and 'preventing' her from doing something rash than assuming she actually would. She truly hoped this was them giving her the benefit of the doubt in that they were just talking and not physically trying to stop her, it had to mean they didn't truly believe she'd go after Hades for revenge, just that they wanted to make sure of it.
She took a breath, "I cannot grieve Hook's death because I know he's still trapped in the Underworld," she told them, "I know he's still in pain, and the last thing I told him was that he needed to move on."
"You're right," David said, but the words sounded hollow to Emma, "We have to help Hook."
"So why don't you sit down and help us find a way to defeat Hades?" Snow spoke her voice too soothing, like she was trying to calm down a toddler throwing a tantrum, "For Hook?"
Emma stared at them both for a long while, trying to keep the anger off her face. They both sounded like they were just agreeing and saying what they were to placate her, to keep her there where they could keep an eye on her, to make sure she wouldn't run off on a revenge spree. They didn't sound like she was right, they didn't sound like they were helping Hook, just saying what they could to sway her into doing what they wanted and agreeing to the plan they had in mind…but they didn't have a plan.
And when they finally did, she didn't doubt it would be to take Hades prisoner and not stop him.
Emma let out a small scoff, "Funny."
"What is?" Snow frowned.
"Someone killed your parents, someone you loved," she began, "And no one assumed," she emphasized the word, "You were going to take revenge. We ALL agree Hades is a threat that has to be stopped, so why do you look at me like when I say it, it's solely for revenge? I'm saying exactly what YOU are, but somehow I'M the bad guy?"
"Emma that's not what we're saying," David tried to argue, though the expression on his face gave her pause.
He actually looked unsure, and very uncomfortable for being so.
"It doesn't matter," she waved it off, "I think I may have found a way," she turned quickly to Henry before they could speak, "Henry, can you come with me? Bring the book."
The second she and Henry were out the doors, she transported them in a swirl of magic before Snow or David could join her, bringing him back to the pawnshop.
"How do we stop Hades?" Henry asked the second he got his bearings.
"It's called the Olympian Crystal," Gold spoke, turning the book he'd found in the back towards them for them to see a sketch of what it looked like, "It's the only thing that can not only kill a God but end them. No death, no trip to the Underworld, completely destroys their existence."
"We have no way to track it though," Piper added.
Gold had told her that one of the spells he'd cast, a monitoring charm, had tripped when they got out of the portal, that an object of great power had been brought to Storybrooke and, given it was only Hades and Zelena that entered before them, it was an object of Olympian make. Looking through his books, he'd found tell of the Crystal and he knew, as a villain, that you kept the thing that could kill you close at hand, so no one else could get to it or you hid it well. They couldn't risk Hades knowing that they knew about the Crystal or that they had a suspicion where it was, if they went poking around the wrong thing it could tip him off.
They needed the storybook to learn how to use the Crystal, and they needed Henry to see if he could write where it was.
Henry seemed to work that out as well and turned to his grandfather, "Got a pen?"
"Actually," Emma spoke, having put the storybook on the counter and opened it to the last page to give Henry room to write, "I don't think we need one."
The others moved over, looking at where a new story was written, a new image had formed.
"I didn't do that," Henry frowned at it.
"No," Emma agreed, looking at the page, a jagged, clear crystal clutched in someone's hand, and the story with it, about Hades, about the crystal, what it could do, "I think someone else sent this to me," she looked up at them, "I think Hook found this out, he's still trying to help."
~8~
Emma stood before townhall, a few handfuls of the storybook's pages clenched in her hand as she eyed the building, the shimmering wall that represented the magical barrier keeping her out, "Who needs a plan when you got blind luck on your side?" she muttered to herself, before calling her magic to her and pushing against it, trying to shatter Zelena's spell the way she had other ones.
"Good luck with that," a voice called out, and Emma jerked back to see Zelena had appeared and was striding towards her.
"Zelena," she held up her hands in caution, "I don't want to hurt you…"
"No," Zelena agreed, "You want to hurt Hades, and that's the same thing," she threw out her arms, sending Emma flying back across the ground as she stalked after her, glaring, murderous, "But guess what? There's no way to defeat a god."
"But there are ways to defeat a witch," Golds voice rang out in the night and Zelena found herself frozen in place and hovering inches above the ground in a swirl of dark magic, Gold and Piper stepping out of the shadows they had been waiting and watching in.
When Emma had ripped the pages and hurried for the door, they had gone with her, to keep her safe in case she was attacked, casting the glamor on Piper's stomach to hide the swell once more. Everyone knew a good barrier spell would have failsafes in it to alert the caster when someone was trying to cross it or break it. Zelena would be after Emma in a second and if she tried to harm the girl, they would be there to stop her.
"Make a single move against my niece," Piper approached, "And I shall make you bleed so much your skin will never be green again."
Zelena glared at her but it was Emma who spoke, picking herself up off the ground, "It's ok, Aunt P. She doesn't know."
"I don't know what?" Zelena spat at her, trying every trick she could think of to escape, but Gold's power was too strong.
"Even gods have weaknesses," Emma spoke, "I know he has the crystal, and I know what he can do with it," she held the pages up for Zelena to see, the image and the story of Hades' plan, how he'd tried to trap them in the Underworld, how he wanted to use the Olympian Crystal to destroy Storybrooke and everyone in it, how he wanted to make a new kingdom on Earth like the one in the Underworld...
It only made her glare more, not bothering to read the words, just to assume the worst, "So it's true. You are trying to kill the man I love. Did my sister agree to this?!"
"She doesn't even know I'm here," Emma told her.
"I won't let you hurt him," Zelena spat.
Piper stepped up then, coming face to face with the frozen woman, "Regina believes you have changed," she began, "There is only one way I can think to prove if she is correct or not."
"I'M not killing him!" Zelena raged.
"Quiet!" Piper hissed at her, her voice taking on that odd inflection when her magic was infused with it, silencing Zelena with a mere word, "There now," she smirked at the woman, "You have a daughter…" she nearly rolled her eyes at how frantic Zelena appeared to get at the mention of her child, as though she would harm her, "As a mother, you wish her safe from all that would harm her. You wished for Regina to guard her for just that reason, you were a danger to her. Blink if you understand me."
Zelena swallowed hard and blinked.
Piper tilted her head, "I wonder if you realize how much of a danger you are to that child?" Zelena glared at her, "You were so keen to seek vengeance against Emma, that you unleashed the Dark One in Hook, did you not? Blink again if that is yes," she waited till Zelena did so, "Your actions allowed him to summon all the past Dark Ones to Storybrooke, though they needed life to stay here," she held out a hand to Emma for the papers, turning them so Zelena could see another story involving the Underworld, an image of a handful of heroes standing at a lakeside, a baby among them, a brand on the child's hand. Piper smirked seeing the way Zelena's eyes widened in horror at the sight, "Oh yes," she nodded, "Your daughter, nearly taken to the Underworld as a spirit, because of your blind anger and selfishness. She would belong to Hades now if it were not for US."
Tears filled Zelena's eyes as she stared at the story, as she was forced to see how much danger she had put her daughter in without realizing it.
"Now," she continued, "Now you wish to be a mother? NOW you wish to keep her safe?" she scoffed, "Now is your chance to prove who you love more, your child or the man who is now even more a danger to your daughter than you ever were. Hmm? Shall we find out? Or shall I command you to kill him?" she tilted her head at Zelena, "What shall the witch choose?"
~8~
It was only the knowledge that Hades would, undoubtedly, be unable to maintain his ruse with Zelena if she asked the right questions that allowed Piper to have Gold transport Zelena back into the mayor's office with the torn pages of the storybook instead of asking him to break the barrier and allow them all inside to do the man in themselves. Oh the two villains mourned the loss of opportunity to be the ones to kill a God, but there was something so much more darkly satisfying, something much more exquisite a form of revenge, to have Hades be killed by the woman he loved. Even more it served two purposes for Zelena in that, perhaps in honor of the truce held with Regina, it provided Zelena a chance to prove herself redeemable if she sacrificed so much for her child. And also...it would haunt the green woman for the rest of her life to know that she had killed her own true love, it would torment her to know it was her hand that had slain her love.
And Piper and Gold were intent to revel in that torture for the rest of Zelena's life, reminding her at each turn, what she had done.
There was no physical or magical torture in the world worse than knowing you had murdered the only man you'd ever loved, and that was the only reason they had not ended Hades themselves. The end was the same even if the means were different. The Underworld had been destroyed with Hades' own destruction, the God had been ended at the hands of his lover, and Zelena would suffer endlessly for what she'd had to do and what she'd learned about the danger she'd put her daughter in.
All was well that ended well, for Piper and Gold a least.
It had all worked out as they thought. A villain like Hades would never keep quiet long, he would have attacked Regina and Robin who Gold had sensed inside the building. Zelena would undoubtedly come across the middle of the attack and accusations would fly, questions raised, answers given. To protect Zelena's child, they knew Regina would do anything and, perhaps, that sisterly bond she seemed to think had formed would be enough to jolt Zelena to her side.
It proved right, in the end, though Robin Hood had died for it. He had refused to let Regina sneak in to get Zelena's baby away from Hades alone and had taken an attack meant for her. But Zelena had done as they suspected and killed Hades with the Olympian Crystal in his possession instead of killing Regina as he had been goading her to do, according to Regina.
Piper and Gold attended Robin Hood's funeral if only for Emma and Henry's sake, Emma for it was too soon after losing Hook for her mind not to be on her loss of love and Henry for the man was near enough his step-father had things gone differently. They remained nearer the back, the town not as fond of having any villains there than were necessary, but Emma had told them that she and Gold had a hand in convincing Zelena to stop Hades so they were given a pass for this one occasion. They doubted they would be welcome at the reception after but they cared little for that. This would be the more emotional part of the day for Piper's family.
They did not take part in the last rites the town performed, all those who considered Robin a friend stepped up and placed an arrow on top of his coffin in honor of him, before they dispersed, allowing only his nearest friends and family to remain. They stood under an umbrella Gold held, both dressed in their typical black, until the crowd thinned and they could step closer to Emma and Henry. Zelena and Regina had gone off together to town, to the Diner where the food would be served for all those who attended.
"I hope we never again have a day like today," Snow White was saying as they stepped by the coffin so Henry could say his final goodbyes.
"Me too," Emma murmured, glancing at Henry as he and David stepped away, his hand on her son's shoulder in comfort.
"I know what you're thinking, and this is not your fault," Snow continued.
Emma sighed, "I just want to say goodbye alone if that's ok," she looked at her mother, "See you at Granny's?"
"Ok," Snow nodded, sniffling as she walked off to join David and Henry, though she gave Piper a small nod of the head as she passed.
"Do you still think it?" Emma asked, sensing Piper beside her, not leaving her alone till she asked them to go too.
"That he shall find a way back to you?" Piper asked.
"Yeah."
Piper hummed a moment, "I do," she offered, "As much as Regina is transitioning, she is still partly a villain. It will take a while longer before the darkness in her is balanced into goodness. Heroes are never denied their happy endings for long."
"He told me once, that I was his happy ending," Emma remarked, "I didn't want to be. Because it was too much, to put that on just one person, to tie that to them. But he didn't mean it like that, I get it now, he meant me, my love, the future we could have together," she glanced at Piper, "I think he could have been my happy ending too," it had been why she'd gone to the Underworld in the first place, to get him back, to find out if they could have that ending.
Piper smiled and reached out to take her hand, "Then your happy ending will come back, one way or the other. It will not be denied you."
Emma gave a wet laugh, "How? Are you planning to go to what's left of the Underworld without me and steal him back?"
Piper sighed, "If I could, Emma, I would."
Emma stared at her, startled, "I thought you hated him?"
"I do," she said easily, "But I would do anything for my family," she reminded her, "To not see them in pain," she fell quiet a moment, looked at the coffin before turning back to Emma, "Being in the Underworld, seeing my parents, it reminded me of something I had forgotten."
"What?"
"It is not my right to tell you who to love or who you should love, whether they are good enough for you in my account or not," Piper spoke, thinking of her father, her mother, all the discussions that had been had about who she would one day marry and how she had to be very careful with her heart but how her parents had never implied they would reject anyone she chose to love, "All I should care about is that he loves you and accepts you and, while he struggled with it for a time," she took a breath, "He does," she decided, "I will never like him," she warned, "And I cannot promise not to speak my thoughts on it, but, so long as you are happy with someone, Emma, I will do my best to accept your choice for it is yours to make."
Emma gave her a small smile, sniffling, "Thanks Aunt P," she offered, taking a breath and nodding, "I think I…I just need to be alone for a moment," she offered.
"Of course," Piper nodded, "Rummy and I will be at the shop, if you need us."
"Thanks," Emma offered, glancing past her and back to Gold as Piper went to stand beside him, nodding her head in thanks to him as well for giving her and Piper privacy.
Piper gave her a small wave before they disappeared in a swirl of smoke, appearing in the middle of the mayor's office.
"A funeral, tragic as it is," Gold smirked, "Offers quite the distraction, don't you think, Pip?"
"Quite," she agreed, knowing they would be stopping there quickly while the others were at the diner.
Gold pressed a kiss to the side of her head before stepping over to kneel by the pile of dust that was Hades' remains, internally scoffing at how the heroes had just LEFT the ashes of a GOD lying around, and brushed some of it aside, plucking the Olympian Crystal from within the middle of the ashes.
And to think, none of the heroes bothered or thought to look for the crystal, something this powerful couldn't be destroyed that easily, and a potential weapon of exceptional might...just left there...for anyone to take…well, he supposed it was a good thing HE got to it first...
A/N: What's this? Piper might actually accept Hook? O.O Nah. She said she'd TRY to accept it, not that she'd actually succeed ;) She more means that she hasn't actually been trying to find any good points with him or even give him any sort of chance (not that she feels he deserves one). Seeing her parents reminded her of how they trusted her to know her own heart and to only allow someone who truly deserved her love into it, and in that situation THEY would accept her love because she loved them. Piper is more thinking of it like that, that she owes it to Emma to TRY to accept someone she loves, because she has to trust that Emma knows herself and her own heart. Whether she thinks Emma actually DOES know her own heart is another story lol ;)
So she's not instantly going to adopt Hook into her family, she might just try to be a bit more tactful of how she expresses her distaste for Hook and might bite back a comment or two. Doesn't mean she won't be thinking it ;) And if Emma asks her opinion, she will very much give it ;)
I agonized over who should actually end Hades, whether Piper, Gold, Emma, or leave it with Zelena. All had good reasons to do it, Piper, Gold, and Emma, since Hades threatened their child and then tricked Emma about Hook's chances of leaving and so on. But in the end, I felt like Piper and Gold would have the ability, after all they've been through, to look to the long term when it comes to revenge and getting the most out of it. The instinct hasn't taken Piper over, because she is actively plotting the revenge and way to protect her family so she's more clearheaded. With the time to consider it, I felt like they would both realize that the sweetest revenge would punish Zelena as well as utterly destroy Hades AND the Underworld at the same time (idk if they ever said that's how it could happen in the show, but I feel like they put an emphasis on Hades wanting to keep people in Limbo for a reason, and with the 'better place' being Olympus and other places it seemed like Hades didn't have control over them, so took some liberties there ;)). It would create an everlasting revenge to have Zelena be the one to end Hades, because she'll have to live with the knowledge of killing her true love for the rest of her life }:)
That way Piper and Gold get their revenge, as does Emma, without them having to get their hands dirty or have the town point fingers at them :)
And even if it means Zelena MIGHT be seen as a tiny bit of a hero to be the one to take out Hades, it'll be overshadowed by her grief so it's not even a win for her in any way ;)
I hope the conversation between Emma and Piper fit well, I didn't want to just write out the whole episode in the parts Emma was in without Piper or Gold because it would more just be her angry and frustrated the entire time and I thought it would fit better to have her recount her annoyances to Piper, because she does trust her to listen and not jump to conclusions. And if anyone was going to understand wanting to protect the family and what revenge actually is, or hear her out about possibly wanting it (but not going through with it) without thinking she was becoming the Dark Swan again it would be Piper. Emma had a lot of anger and frustration in the episode with how the other heroes basically just assume she's going to be out for revenge that I wanted to give her a healthy way to vent it out and someone to listen to her :)
I hope you also liked the bit of confrontation Emma had with her parents in the library, she's going to be much more vocal and ready to call them out when they need a lesson refresher about assuming the worst or jumping to conclusions ;)
Lol, Emma called Gold her 'uncle' :D
Some notes on reviews...
I don't think it's bad :) I think Piper and Gold have the sort of relationship we all want, just in a very dark way, someone who loves you very much and wants to make sure you're safe and that you know they will always be on your side :) They just take it down a bit of a twisted path ;)
Snow will definitely have a long road to walk and some mistakes, big and small, will be had along the way. She's never really been on any sort of 'redemption' type road before so while she knows she messed up, part of her is sort of going 'why haven't you forgiven me yet, I said I'm sorry?' which is a little ironic because of the wringer Regina was put through on her own redemption quest. Sorry doesn't always cut it and Snow is going to learn a lot about working for something in that regard. As a child, I think, Rose Red loved her cousin so much she'd forgive her anything if she just said she was sorry, so Snow has been having a rude awakening that things are not that easy any longer, and Piper now has more people on her side willing to watch out for her to make sure Piper isn't giving in too easy or letting things go too fast ;) When the news of the baby eventually gets out, that will be a VERY big deal and a very big thing for Snow and a lot of people to overcome in their views of the dark. In that sense, Regina and Zelena might be a bit more leaning towards Piper's side, because they were both villains who were mothers too so they might have a unique perspective on how others view it to offer ;) We'll have to wait and see what happens }:)
Lol, that sounds like an awesome end to the Blue Fairy :)
Oh Gold is very much biding his time for just the right moment to let slip exactly how dark Blue can be }:) And we might just find out what she did to August and her intentions with that, but it may not be in this story ;) I've seen a few videos like that, I lol when I saw a few from the Big Bang Theory set :) But I'll have to check out those channels thank you! :)