Only You

Piper and Gold stood in the clocktower of Storybrooke, the Olympian Crystal in his hand, the Dark One's Dagger in hers, the glamour covering Piper's stomach removed for the moment.

Piper rested her free hand on her stomach, lightly rubbing it, "I hope this works," she murmured absently.

Gold chuckled, "Doubting me, Pip?"

She looked over at him, "Never," she told him, firm and sure, in a way that brought a soft smile to his face, "I am just...tired of hiding," she added, all the exhaustion and weariness she'd been feeling since Camelot in her voice.

"I know," he murmured, stepping closer to press a kiss to the top of her head.

This was hard for her, in a way he was sure no other pregnant woman in the town could quite comprehend.

When she had been in the Forest, she had known one day she would wed and be expected to produce an heir. Snow's people, her kingdom, would never stand for Snow sending any child of hers to Rose Red for rearing, to act as ward to her, heir to her kingdom. They'd never trust that she wouldn't corrupt the child with her own darkness. So the heir would have to be her own. She knew there would be a time she would be with child, with only the hope that her people would see it as more human than herself as a reason why it would be safe. She was but half-Siren, her child, if her husband was human, would make it three quarters human.

There was always the fear though, that a time might come where her people would demand an heir, whether she had found a husband to let into her heart or not, that they would find ways to convince her to wed even if she did not truly love her husband. She had no doubts they would use Snow to do it, have her cousin visit and talk to her, convince her of duty to their people or her tears at not wanting her cousin to be alone or what have you. There was the fear that if her husband did not truly love and accept her that, once the child was born, she could be deposed, perhaps even killed, with her husband acting as regent till the child could take the throne. If it was not raised with a half-Siren for a mother then perhaps it would stand a chance to be more human, perhaps Snow would even raise it in honor of her cousin.

She knew she would have to be cautious and careful, for there COULD be some of her people who feared her offspring, fear what SHE might become if she was protective of her child. She knew her pregnancy would be tense and difficult to endure.

But she had never thought she would need to HIDE it.

She had never, ever thought that she would fear what her own family would do to the point where she could not share news so joyous as a child conceived with her true love and mate.

Here she was, though. Pregnant, with only 4 people who knew the truth alive. Her cousin ignorant, the distant members of her 'family' equally as unaware, the town in the dark. Every moment was lived with the fear that the heroes would discover her pregnancy and…

She didn't know what.

She wanted to hope Snow would never stand with them against her while she was pregnant. Once upon a time she would have believed with all her heart and soul that Snow would do all she could to protect her from any wayward heroes who wanted to 'prevent' some sort of evil. She would have envisioned her and Snow bonding over pregnancy, her cousin singing to her stomach or trying to feel the baby kick.

Now she just pictured her mate being forced over the townline, that hospital room in New York, how she'd nearly lost her child because of her cousin, how Snow had ripped the darkness out of her own unborn child...

She knew, with all that she had, that Henry, Emma, and August would stand with her and Gold…but she could not say with any certainty what Snow White would do when she found out.

It was why they were here, with the crystal, with a new plan that would hopefully give them an advantage. Storybrooke was…a home…but it was not THEIR home. They had each other, it was enough, but this was not the Forest where magic was in the very air they breathed, nor was Gold's house or his shop the Dark Castle and the Vault, heavily protected by ancient magic. They were at a disadvantage here, and only when they felt they had plans in place to keep their child safe would they reveal the truth of its existence.

"It will work," Gold promised her, about to step forward and begin the ritual he'd planned, when Piper reached out to grab his arm.

"We have other things to see to first," she gave him a pointed look, her expression telling him she would NOT wait for any other excuse to do these 'other things' now.

He chuckled, shaking his head at her impatience, but knowing he himself was just as eager and…they may not have another moment alone. All the others were distracted by Robin Hood's funeral, Hook's memorial, the gathering at Granny's, and once this occurred…there was a chance 'all hell would break loose' and they'd be the first suspects on the heroes' radar. Best to do this now while they were alone and had the chance.

He reached into his chest, pulling the blackened red-hued organ out, watching as Piper did the same, only to blink when she frowned, tugging at her heart but it refused to come out.

He let out a breath when he saw a swirl of black where her hand was in her chest, as though a wisp of black smoke was keeping her hand from moving. He reached out to touch her hand, stilling her attempts lest they cause her more discomfort, "It appears our child is very protective of its mother," he murmured.

Without her heart, she would be vulnerable, even if it was in her hand.

Their child wanted her safe.

He moved onto a knee, his leg still healed from Hook's duel, and reached out to touch her stomach now, "It'll be alright," he murmured, leaning forward to rest his forehead to her stomach, "I will never let anything happen to her, or to you. If you let her give me her heart, I will always keep it safe," he pulled away, his thumb lightly stroking her stomach, "I don't break my deals."

Piper inhaled sharply when the smoke dissipated and she was able to tug her heart out, holding the grey lump in her hand as Gold moved back to his feet, "Our child trusts you," she smiled up at him, knowing how much it meant for him to hear that, to know that, after everything that happened with Bae, to have that implicit trust from his child…

"I will make sure they never lose it," he promised her, moving to place his heart at her chest, slowly pushing it in as she did the same with her own at his chest, "I will do anything to protect you both."

Both of them took a deep breath as the other's heart settled in their chest.

"I do not doubt that," she murmured, looking up at him. Her hand moved back to her chest, resting over her new heart as she closed her eyes, taking a moment to revel in the familiarity of having his heart beating within her once more.

"And now?" Gold asked when her eyes fluttered open.

Piper let out a sigh, reluctant enough that he couldn't help but chuckle even as she lifted his Dagger, his name engraved in it once more, up in front of her, holding it parallel to the floor.

"Dark One," she began…

"You have to MEAN it, Pip," he reminded her, knowing she absolutely loathed to do this.

But this was a special circumstance, one she knew was necessary to test something he desperately needed to know.

She nodded, "Dark One, I command you…do that which you most desire to do at this very moment."

Gold instantly stepped forward and pulled her into a deep kiss, one that left her breathless when he pulled back nearly a minute later.

"It did not work…" she breathed, looking up at him, so sorry, so let down that the Dagger had worked, her command had forced his hand and…

"I always want to kiss you, Pip," he cut in, grinning darkly, far too widely and excitedly for someone who had just learned he was once again tethered to the Dagger's control, "Make it something I'd want to fight."

Piper blinked, taking a moment to work out what he was implying…that perhaps he had CHOSEN to kiss her and not been FORCED to do so, and her mind went to the first thing she could think of that he would never ever WANT to do, "Dark One, I command you to proclaim Hook your true love."

"Not on your life," he said with a scoff.

They both froze, blinked, and stared at each other for a long moment, before grins bloomed across their faces and Piper all but threw herself into his arms, "It worked!" she gasped as they clutched at each other.

"I hoped it would," he breathed into her neck, squeezing her even tighter at the sheer relief he felt.

He was FREE.

He was free of the Dagger's control, the ritual they had done before all this mess began had held true. He had hoped it would, for he had not died, his life had not ended and while the Darkness had been ripped from him, it had not completely destroyed his connection to it, just transferred it. By it coming back, it had done nothing. It had not reset the Dagger's control, only picked up where it left off.

They hadn't had a chance to try this before, the Dagger had been with Piper since he became the Dark One again, and she had never used it against him. So they hadn't known if he was slave to the Dagger again or free and it was too dangerous to test that while in the Underworld. And now they knew, he could not be controlled by the Dagger, he truly was free.

Exchanging their hearts had originally been a way to ensure the other was alive, to act as control, a failsafe, if anything went wrong, if his Dagger ended up in someone else's control, but now…now it was just an act of love and trust, a connection. Because he was free!

And now that he was? He could do his absolute worst to any who would dare harm himself or Piper, their child, or any of their family, without fear of the heroes being able to stop him.

He took a breath and pulled back, "Shall we see if another hope works out?" he grinned.

"Third time IS the charm," she murmured, squeezing his hand before she stepped back.

He looked down at the Olympian Crystal in his other hand, before moving to the center of the room and holding it above his head, ready to begin the ritual that would tether all the magic in Storybrooke to the crystal...

Once they had that, there would be no stopping them.

~8~

Piper looked up from a book Gold was showing her in the shop of the next step in their plan, when the door slammed open and Emma ran in, "We've got a problem," were the first, and not unexpected, words out of Emma's mouth.

Piper sighed, glancing at Gold, both of them knowing what that 'problem' likely was. They hadn't been expecting the surge of magic that occurred when the ritual to transfer the town's magic to the Olympian Crystal had finished. They had been hoping to do it in secret, with no one the wiser about it.

Well, that wasn't entirely true, August knew, they had discussed their plan with him in the hopes of getting a less biased opinion on the plan than Emma or Henry would provide. Henry idealized the Forest, but this was the only world he knew. Emma had bad memories of this world but didn't have the greatest experiences in the Forest either. August was the only one who had known and lived in both, experienced good and bad things in both and, being older, with the knowledge he had of the stories and magic, he was the only one they could turn to for the beginning part of the plan they had in mind.

It wasn't that they would keep it from Emma or Henry, they would tell them, but they were hoping to do so as something of a surprise for the two once the plan was complete.

They could both guess that the blast of magic had tipped off all the other magic users in town and that they would end up with heroes coming after them and assuming the worst of their plans for the Crystal. Hoped they might have learned enough by now to at least ask questions first, but they weren't blindly optimistic about it.

"I assure you, Emma," Piper began, "We have nothing nefarious planned with the Crystal…"

"No, I don't care about that," Emma shook her head, "I mean, I DO, because the others think you're planning to destroy Storybrooke or something or turn Gold into some sort of god which," she shook her head again, giving Piper a look that clearly said how ridiculous she thought their reaching was. They'd all run to the clocktower when they felt that surge, found evidence of Gold's magic and a distinct lack of magic in the town that made Regina and the others fear he had stolen it for some purpose, "But after everything, I trust you both enough that you wouldn't do that, especially not with me and Henry and August in town. I'll handle the others, and you'll tell me about it later. That's not the problem."

And it wasn't, because Gold was right there, whatever he did was for a reason, he wasn't doing anything right now, he wasn't using the Crystal they'd admitted to taking the magic with, the town wasn't in danger...but it could be very soon.

"Then what is it?" Gold asked, slightly startled with how easily Emma had brushed off the fact that they'd used the Olympian Crystal for something and wasn't bothered to ask them what. But it was…nice…to have someone in the…family…actually trust him beyond Henry.

THIS was what he and Piper had been trying to get through the Charmings' thick skulls for ages, he was not a threat to the town so long as the town didn't threaten Piper or his family. Because, back then, Snow White was important to his mate and therefore he would protect Snow White, and the kingdom was important to Snow White so, by extension, he wouldn't protect them but he wouldn't hurt them either. To know that someone had finally grasped that, and trusted that they had a reason for doing what they had with the crystal was…different.

Emma grew serious, "Arthur is dead," she began.

"Yes," Piper eyed her, "You told us this already."

"Arthur is dead, but the magic he cast on his kingdom, on Guinevere, isn't," Emma elaborated, "Violet came running to Henry just as we were leaving the clocktower," she gave them a pointed look that they WOULD be telling her what they were doing there soon, "She overheard Guinevere issuing her father a quest. Apparently he's from Connecticut, he knows the Land Without Magic, and he's left the town to find a way to destroy magic."

"What makes her think there's a way to destroy magic in a world where it doesn't exist?" Gold frowned, suspicious it might be a trap on the Queen's part to lure the strongest defenders of the town out of it on a fool's errand.

He didn't doubt the woman would do such a thing, search high and low for a way to destroy magic. She was still under the curse of the Sands of Avalon, because it wasn't Arthur's own magic that had been cast over Camelot, but the sands with his intent behind it. His death would not kill the sand nor the magic it possessed, Guinevere would continue on as though she were deeply in love with her husband and, a woman in such a state when he died so suddenly, would be sure to seek revenge.

But the method she chose was odd.

Emma hesitated to answer, before sighing, "Neal," she told them, "Baelfire," she added, realizing her brother was also a Neal and not wanting the confusion, "He left Henry some journals when he…when he passed. One of them had notes, he was trying to find the same thing and…it looks like he got pretty damn close to it. Henry told us about the journals. Apparently Guinevere sent some of her men to search the loft for things they could use against us and they figured Henry, being the Author, would have more information than anyone."

"It appears they found it then," Piper mused.

"Yeah," Emma rubbed her head, "Henry noticed that the journal was gone, but he thought he'd just misplaced it. He was going to look for it once we dealt with Hades but now…"

"Now it appears the Queen stole it," Gold finished ,"And gave it to her knight to aid him on his quest."

"That's the problem," Emma looked at them, "IF Neal was right, if he found a way or…or left enough breadcrumbs, then Sir Morgan could find a way to destroy all of us. He could find a way to get rid of all our magic and we'd be defenseless."

Piper nodded, "Then we had better stop him."

Emma smiled, nearly sagging, "Thanks, I could use your help."

"Will the heroes be objecting to this?" Gold wondered as they began to head for the door, absently waving his hand to conjure the glamour around Piper's middle once more.

"I really don't care if they do. We need all hands on deck with this one. Heroes and Villains, magic on both sides is at stake."

~8~

Hook was alive.

It had not shocked Piper perhaps as much as it should have, considering her words to Emma earlier. Her niece, for her brief stint as a villain, was too good at heart to be denied her happy ending and if she felt it could be with Hook...then it truly didn't surprise her when she stepped into the Charmings' apartment to see the pirate in the flesh, returned to the world of the living. Emma had given her a quick summary that he'd just appeared in the cemetery, Zeus's doing, but she'd waved it off. Emma was happy for his return, past that she truly cared little more, instead focusing on getting to work to find Sir Morgan and silently cursing herself for not keeping his heart as collateral when she had the chance.

Emma huffed as she looked at a map of the town with the others, Piper before her, Gold at the townline to inspect if anyone had left and who before he came back. The heroes had been searching the town by foot for Sir Morgan, hoping to get to him before he left, and hadn't thought to just check the lines, so Gold was doing that while they reviewed what they knew so far. It wouldn't do for them to cross the line to search for him if this was all a ruse and he never actually left the town.

"So far, no sign of Morgan," Emma spoke, "Which means we might need to expand our search perimeter to include the woods..."

"Or farther," Gold spoke as he appeared in a swirl of smoke, "Very far."

"Why, what happened?" Emma frowned at him, dread filling her at the thought that it was all real and Morgan really was on a quest to destroy magic.

Before he could answer, Regina stormed into the room, demanding, "Where is he?" before she tried to look up the stairs to the upper level.

"We haven't found Morgan yet," Emma told her, "But we will."

"Not Morgan," Regina turned to them, "Henry."

"Not in Storybrooke," Gold spoke.

"What?" Piper frowned at him, "He went across the line as well?" for that could be the only way Morgan had gone 'farther' than the heroes had looked.

"With the young Violet," Gold nodded, "Sir Morgan, too, long before them."

Regina pulled out her cellphone, quickly reading out a text from Henry, "'Mom, I know you don't think I can do this. But I can. Violet and I are…'"

"'…going to find her father and stop him,'" Emma continued, reading her own text, having pulled out her phone when Regina began reading, "'We know what to do and where he's going. Trust us.' I got the same text."

"I can't believe he left the town again," Snow murmured, startled.

Piper rubbed her head, she should have expected this. Emma had told them, on the way to the apartment, that she had almost asked Regina to sit this one out before she realized it would be hypocritical to ask her that, because she was emotional and suffered a loss and not thinking straight, when she hated them doing it to her. Henry had wanted to go with them to find Sir Morgan, but she had sent the boy home, to keep him safe, not knowing what the man might do to see his quest through. Her own parents had been willing to turn on her and sell her out to Arthur while under the enchantment, Sir Morgan could actually hurt her son and she couldn't risk that. She should have known Henry would do this to prove himself, she had just hoped he would have come to her for assistance.

Perhaps this was his own way of trying to 'protect' her though, not dragging his pregnant Aunt who knew where to face who knew what when magic wasn't at her disposal.

"Oh, it's much worse than that, dearie," Gold added, "The Olympian Crystal and all the magic tethered to it? It would appear my grandson has outsmarted us all, used his Authorial power to steal the crystal right out from under my nose."

He had gone back to the shop, where he'd stored it under numerous protections, intent to use it to find Morgan and stop him, only to find a letter in its place, from Henry, apologizing but saying that he needed to use the Crystal to help them find Morgan. The boy had apparently read up on the Crystal after they learned about it, all the properties it had, and ways it could be used.

Piper closed her eyes, "And if Morgan finds what he is after, and if Henry confronts him…all he need do is obtain the Crystal and he could destroy all the magic in Storybrooke."

"What happens if he does?" Regina tensed.

"Considering this town was built with magic, what do you think will happen?" Gold gave her a look.

Piper turned to the others, "We need to find Henry and Violet before they find Morgan."

"Right," Emma nodded, "Ok. Me, Regina, Piper, and Gold, we'll go after Henry," she turned to the others, speaking before her parents or Hook or Zelena could object, "You need to stay here and keep an eye on the Camelot people, keep the town safe, try to stop Guinevere doing anything else."

That and she was NOT about to let her parents run off, AGAIN, and leave Neal alone and unattended.

"Swan…" Hook tried.

"Look, Regina and I are his mothers…"

"And them?" David nodded at Piper and Gold, though it was a shock to the both of them that David didn't sound accusing or suspicious but genuinely unsure of why they were being allowed when he wasn't.

"Aunt P knows the world without magic and Gold knows more about the Crystal than we do."

They fell silent at that, it was true, even Zelena didn't know all of that.

"What were you doing with the crystal anyway?" Snow asked, eyeing Gold and trying not to eye Piper the same way, she was trying to temper the suspicion that wanted to rise up, to keep it more a cautious curiosity than accusation.

"That's not important right now," Emma cut in, "We don't even have the Crystal, we need to find Henry first, ok? We'll deal with that later," she turned to Piper, Gold, and Regina, "Let's go," and headed out the door.

Gold waved his hand the moment they were on the street, conjuring his car to them for the only other one there was Emma's bug and it was too small. The heroes might be suspicious of his help, but Henry was his grandson, and he was in danger for he didn't know how far Morgan would go to get what he wanted. And if the man destroyed the crystal or found a way to destroy magic…it would not be well for him or Piper.

"So how are we going to find him?" Regina asked as she got in the back with Emma, Piper taking the passenger's seat while Gold drove.

Emma scoffed, "You think after all those times he ran away, I wouldn't put a GPS app on his phone?" she held up her own, showing the program already running.

"Where's he headed?"

"Boston."

~8~

Gold and Piper stood off to the side as Regina confronted a bus driver, holding up her phone with an image of Henry on it, asking if he'd been seen but it appeared to be negative, "He wasn't on the bus?" Regina scoffed.

"Lady, I don't know what to tell you," the man sighed, "Everyone got off."

"Then why does the GPS tracker still say he's on it?"

"Because Henry hid his phone under one of the seats," Emma called, coming off the bus where she'd been looking for him, holding up Henry's phone, "He wanted us to think he came to Boston."

"Ladies, if you don't mind, it's my lunch," the driver gave them a nod before turning to head off.

"Got any more bright ideas?" Regina huffed at Emma.

"A few," Gold answered instead, holding up a hand and, to Emma and Regina's shock, conjuring Henry's phone to his hand in a small puff of smoke.

He'd had that suspicion since they crossed the townline and the glamor on Piper's stomach had held. They had been prepared to have to tell Regina what was going on, for the sake if finding Henry, intent to obtain a magical oath the second they were back in Storybrooke or play on her feelings as a mother to keep her quiet about it. It had been an odd stroke of luck to see the glamour still in place in a land where it shouldn't have held up. Now he'd tested a theory and found it true.

"What the hell…" Emma gaped at him.

"How's that even possible?" Regina frowned, "We're in the land without magic."

"As is Henry," Piper reminded them, "With the Olympian Crystal and all of the magic from Storybrooke, magic brought to this world."

"Our magic works out here?" Emma blinked.

Regina glanced around, making sure no one was looking and no cameras were nearby, before throwing a fireball at a nearby garbage, igniting it, "It appears so."

"Which means we have a number of ways to track the boy," Gold remarked, leading them to his car and opening the glove compartment to pull out a map, "Pip?" he looked at her, she glanced around, before leaning over to pull his Dagger from her boot, holding the tip up to him to press his finger to it before she returned it. In a Land typically Without Magic, he was more vulnerable, as had been proven when Hook stabbed him with his poisoned hook. Even if magic had been brought to it from Storybrooke, it would not be at the higher level it was IN Storybrooke, he was still vulnerable. He let a drop of blood fall onto the map, before waving his hand over it, the magic infusing the droplet to travel down the length of the map, tracking his grandson, his blood, right to…

"Of course," Emma breathed as it came to a stop, "New York."

"Let's go," Regina declared.

~8~

It didn't take much to work out just where in New York Henry and Violet had gone, Neal had only been in one apartment, or at least had all his belongings in one apartment, which Robin Hood had been using and which had been paid for quite in advance so there was no fear of the items being thrown away. Even without the ability to use magic to find Henry, they would have stopped their first before trying that magic again. It was good that they had, for it was clear that Henry had been there, for certain things had been turned on while all others had been locked up and unplugged upon Robin Hood leaving, like the computer.

"Looks like Henry was here," Emma confirmed, "And Violet's still with him," she determined, seeing something playing on a stereo, "This is, uh, Henry and Violet's song."

"They have a song?" Regina glanced over from where Piper and Gold had begun sifting through things.

"He is quite taken with her," Piper remarked.

"She's a nice girl," Emma agreed.

Regina scoffed, "You're just saying that because you feel bad about ripping her heart out in Camelot."

"All part of the plan," Piper called over, moving to the bookshelf for any potential clues, "Henry was well aware of what would happen, he agreed to it."

"He what?" Regina gaped, not aware he'd known THAT much of their plan in Camelot.

Emma coughed, "I think I might be able to figure out where they went," she tried to break the tension, moving over to the computer, one of the objects left on, and sorting through it, "Yes. He has definitely been here. He tried to wipe the search history clean. Luckily, I can get it back."

"I can find the boy easy, Emma," Gold reminded her, making and effort to use her name and not her surname, "I just need a more detailed map of the city."

"Yeah," Emma nodded, "But if he and Violet split up, we need to know. Just…give me five minutes and if we don't have more by then, go ahead."

Gold huffed, but nodded, moving over to Piper as she drifted over to a small pile of maps in the corner of the room, Bae had certainly moved around quite a lot over his life.

"Maybe there's something else in here that can tell us where they've gone," Regina agreed, moving to a desk and stopping when she saw something out of place, hesitating to pick it up.

"Did you find something?" Emma asked, noticing the way she was staring at the book in her hand.

"One of Robin's books," Regina chuckled lightly, "He must have brought it with him from Storybrooke when he came here. I know because I gave it to him. It's a collection of this world's legends about Robin Hood. He used to laugh at everything they got wrong."

"As did I," Piper spoke, "August used to tease me about how many stories portrayed me as a man."

"My father probably didn't help that," Gold mused, "It goes without saying though, Pip, I'm glad you're a woman."

Piper shook her head at him with a small smile, though Emma's attention was on how pale Regina had gotten when she opened the book, "What is it? Are you ok?"

"It's a letter from Robin to me," Regina murmured, picking up a folded piece of paper that had been pressed in the middle of the pages.

"He must have written it when he was trying to make things work with Marian."

"You mean her sister?" Piper quipped, ignoring the narrow-eyed look Emma shot her for it.

Regina looked up at them, "So what do I do?"

"Read it," Gold suggested blandly, his tone so clearly saying he was on the verge of rolling his eyes at her.

Regina swallowed hard but quickly opened the letter, skimming the page as she silently read what he'd written, before turning away, tears in her eyes.

"Regina?" Emma called when she nearly left the room, "You ok? What did it say?"

"Please, Emma, if you're gonna try to make me feel better, don't," Regina scoffed, her voice thick with tears.

"No, I know that I can't, and I won't."

"Well," Piper mused, leaning back against Gold, "At least you did not rip your sister's heart out and crush it for the death of your second love in an effort to make yourself feel better."

"Aunt P…" Emma sighed, shaking her head.

"It is remarkable growth, truly," Piper continued dryly, half-sarcastic, "If it is sincere."

"How dare you…" Regina glared at her.

"It took you years before you enacted your revenge against Snow White," Piper reminded her, "You let your anger and grief and hate simmer until the opportune moment. For all anyone knows, you could be doing the same."

SHE didn't believe Regina was, nor did she think anyone else had, but it did need to be said. Regina, at times, had a habit of overlooking certain emotions, of not seeing that she was doing something or had done something. She wanted to make sure Regina was aware of how it had occurred the first time around, so she would not make the same mistake and endanger Henry the second time around.

"I'm not," Regina insisted, "Because I'm not hiding it, am I?" she continued, "You're right. The Evil Queen is inside me. Always trying to get out. No one here can understand that."

It was clear she meant Piper and Gold especially, because they were both dark and had that darkness in them and did nothing to fight it, or at least Piper hadn't for too many years for it to matter any longer.

"Well, I fought the darkness," Emma spoke, "You know I do understand."

Regina scoffed, "All due respect, but...you don't. You went up to the precipice. But you got pulled back at each turn by someone else before it consumed you," she glanced at Piper, aware of their dealings during the Dark Swan incident. She understood Emma had accepted the Darkness, she hadn't fought it the way SHE did every day, but she still hadn't gone as dark as the Dark One could go, because that hadn't been their plan, "I was consumed. And I have to live with it every day."

"I cannot imagine how that feels," Piper mused with a light hum, and she realized it was true. She really didn't know how it felt. So much of her life was her trying to hold back the darkness in her, and deny it, to not let it out in its smallest amount, or to be fully consumed by it and not regret it at all or hide it or deny it or fight it ever again. She really hadn't been so fully dark and then had to pull it back and live that way and she had no intention to do so. There had been no in-between for her, it was one way or the other. And releasing it, allowing it, embracing it, was far more freeing than stifling herself.

"Nor me," Gold agreed.

Regina huffed, "It's exhausting," she told them all, "I'm constantly at war with my instincts. Like with Hook. My first impulse, was to rip his throat out. Because it's not fair that he survives and Robin doesn't."

"You could have," Piper remarked, ignoring Emma rolling her eyes at that.

"But I didn't," Regina pointed out, "Because now I know that's wrong."

She supposed that was the point, Regina had dark instincts as a result of decades stewing in darkness and plotting. Whereas SHE had dark instincts from birth, Regina COULD pull back, SHE couldn't. The instinct didn't consume Regina the way it did HER. But to say that there was an additional knowledge Regina had gained about those instincts? THAT was ludicrous.

"NOW?" Piper scoffed this time, "You knew it was wrong before, you just did not care."

"That's true," Regina forced herself to admit it, she couldn't claim ignorance, not with something so basic as right or wrong, "Much as I want to give in to evil, I don't. So I do good...and hate every moment of it."

Emma frowned at her, "You hate doing good?"

"Yes," she answered, before sighing, "It's complicated. I know it's right, but it always leads to loss for me. Yet I keep doing it now and I keep suffering. But I know the Evil Queen can't return, so...that's how it has to be. I'll never be at peace with myself."

"It's all about balance, dearie," Gold spoke, "There are ways to be dark without being evil, we're proof of that," he gesture to Piper and himself. Oh he wasn't doing this to comfort Regina, he cared little for how she felt or if she suffered, but he wanted to plant that seed. The more people who believed darkness wasn't automatically evil, the better for their child.

"You fell in love with Robin and you were happy," Emma pointed out as well.

"Yeah, and look what happened," Regina sat down on the couch with a huff, "I am what I am. I did what I did. Many years ago, I had a choice. Snow White told a secret. And I could have chosen to forgive her. Instead, I did terrible things. Unspeakable things. That will always hang over me. I've tried to be the hero..."

"And you have been."

"Well it doesn't matter. There's no redemption for me. There's only suffering. Because now I have a curse. The curse of knowing the difference between good and evil and I'm caught between them. If I revert, I lose everyone I love. Henry...my friends...everyone. And if I go forward trying to be good, I have to live with my past darkness and all its well-deserved consequences."

"I don't believe that," Emma shook her head, "I believe in you."

"That's because...you are good. But for me, it's a simple choice, really. I'd rather suffer than see that pain on the people I care about. This is my fate. I'm trapped."

"Then do not revert completely," Piper said simply, "Embrace your darkness, but know your boundaries. Stop trying to be fully and only good, be yourself as you are now. Know how far you can go before it becomes unforgivable, and live that. It is better than suffering between the two."

Before Regina could say anything more, the computer beeped, drawing Emma's attention back, "He's at the Midtown Library."

Regina took a breath, ready to get back to work and focus on her son, "What are they doing there?"

"I suppose we'll find out," Gold remarked.

~8~

There was something to say about being able to magically transport yourself to where you needed to go. Especially when it was in a world that shouldn't have had magic in the first place, in a place you weren't used to being able to do so, to go from Neal's apartment to the Library was a great thing. They hoped they could get there before Henry and Violet did, but it only took one look at Piper's face when they entered the building after appearing in a side alley to tell them they were too late.

"I can hear Henry's song," she told them, it was easier for her to hear songs when it was her family. Even with so many people in the library right that moment she would be able to pick out Henry's as though he were standing right beside her, "He is still here."

"Lead the way," Emma gestured Piper on and she quickly led them to a stairwell, taking them down two floors and through a hall. All the signs on the walls indicated they were heading for the Rare Books section of the library.

It didn't take long at all for them to reach the room, and nearly slam the door open to get inside when they saw Henry and Violet both on the floor, unconscious, the room looking ransacked.

"Henry!" Regina cried at the same time as Emma, though she added, "Are you ok?" when she reached him, Gold joining her and waving his hand over Henry to ensure he was alright. Piper and Emma, seeing him starting to wake, focused on seeing if Violet was alright otherwise Henry would be so upset.

"Mom?" Henry murmured, frowning and squinting at them, "Grandpa? Where's Violet?"

"I'm right here," Violet called as she sat up, Henry hurrying to his feet to help her up the whole way, "I'm alright."

"What happened to you?" Emma looked between them, "To...to both of you?"

"Was it Sir Morgan?" Piper asked, noting how Violet flinched and looked near tears at the mention of her father, "Has he harmed you?"

Henry sighed, knowing what would be going through Piper's head and how he had to be very careful to not take Violet's father from her too. He was sure that the man was a good person, it was just…the Sands of Avalon had affected everyone in Arthur's kingdom, making them loyal to him and Camelot. It wasn't Morgan's fault. He was starting to think Violet was lucky she'd been out riding in the woods when Arthur cast his spell and came back after the fact.

"He didn't hurt us," Henry assured them, "He just…he knocked us out."

"Knocking out implies hurting you."

"Aunt P, don't hurt him," Henry nearly begged, "It's not his fault, he's under the same spell as the people in Camelot are."

"My father would never harm anyone," Violet added, shifting closer to Henry, aware of who Piper was and what she was capable of.

"Henry," Regina cut in, "What happened?"

Henry sighed, "I know Sir Morgan had dad's journals, but I remembered all of it, so we came here to follow his clues and…and we did find out how to destroy magic. But Sir Morgan followed us, he was going to pull Violet away and I tried to stop him. He shoved her and she fell and hit her head and I…" he hesitated, "I got mad and I used the Olympian Crystal."

"What?" Emma gaped at him at the same time Piper offered a, "Well done."

"It just reacted!" he defended, "It fired a magic bolt at him and he ducked, it didn't hit him, but he saw the Crystal and tried to grab it and…" he sighed, "He did. He shoved me too and, the next thing I knew, you guys were here."

"Henry, what were you thinking?" Regina shook her head, "Coming here alone?"

"Do you really have to ask me that?" Henry scoffed, "I told you I could do this. He was trying to find a way to destroy my family and I had to stop him. I wanted to be the hero this time, to prove I'm more than just the Author."

"Of course you're more than just the Author," Emma frowned at him, "Henry you're incredible."

"It is not easy though," Piper mused, nodding at Henry's words, "To be two things and not know how to balance them. To be the Author and also a descendant of heroes. Both calling to you."

"Yeah," Henry sighed, knowing her own experience was a fair bit darker than that but the sentiment was the same, "Look, I'm sorry I snuck away, but I DID it," he reminded them, "Violet and I found out everything. There's this thing called the Dark Grail, it can be used to destroy magic."

"Did you find the actual grail?" Gold asked, a deep frown on his face.

Henry and Violet exchanged a look before he sighed, knowing better than to lie to Emma and Piper, not just because of their superpower but the trust they had all built up, and turned to them, "We did," he said, grim, "Sir Morgan took it, too."

"Damn it," Emma breathed.

"He must have gone somewhere else to use it," Regina looked around, knowing that the magical backlash from something like destroying that crystal would be enormous. Morgan must have realized that as well. That or he knew they would be close on his trail and coming after the children.

"Then we find him," Piper said, "His daughter is there, his blood, we can find him the same way we found Henry."

Regina turned to Violet as Emma dug a map of New York out of her pocket, "Give me your hand."

"What are you going to do?" Violet hesitated.

"It's ok," Henry assured her, knowing she wasn't very comfortable around the Evil Queen, but he could work out what his mother was planning, "Trust me, they're going to prick your finger and use it to find your dad."

Violet looked at him for a long while, before sighing and nodding, holding out her hand to Regina to prick with a small pin, turning to squeeze a drop of the blood onto the map Emma laid out on a table.

"This will tell us if he's still in New York," Regina spoke, before waving her hand over the map, all of them watching as the red trailed down it to another location in New York.

"Good," Emma nodded, "He's still here. We need to plan out how to confront him now that he has the Crystal and…"

Whatever she was about to say was cut off when the room began to shake and jolt.

"What's happening?" Henry shouted out above the rattling and banging noise the shelves were making.

"Earthquake?" Regina looked at Emma.

"Not in New York," she shook her head.

"Portal!" Gold called out in warning, sensing the magic rising.

"A portal to where?" Piper tried to ask…only for her question to be cut off when it opened right under her feet.

"No!" Gold reacted quickly, nightmare upon nightmare of reliving his son disappearing through a portal he couldn't stop rising within him, making him fast, making him react.

A swirl of smoke engulfed Piper right as she nearly fell into the portal, pulling her away, into his arms at the same moment both Regina and Emma cast protective spells over it, stopping anyone else being pulled in.

It lasted a mere moment before it vanished, closing up, but it was enough that all their hearts were racing at the near loss.

"Pip," Gold breathed, clutching Piper tighter as he tried to catch his breath, slow his heart.

"I am here," she murmured back to him, reminding him, "You saved me."

"Always," he nodded, unable to help the way his voice shook, memories of Bae replaying over and over. He'd been too slow to save his boy then...but it had made him fast enough to save her now.

"What just happened?" Henry asked, "That was a portal?"

"Indeed," Gold took a breath, pulling away only enough to wind his arm around Piper's waist, keeping her close where he could protect her.

"Where to?" Regina frowned.

"It doesn't matter," Emma cut in, "We need to get out of here and find Sir Morgan."

The others nodded, quickly heading for the doors.

Piper paused just before they stepped out, turning to Gold and looking at him, her eyes roving over his face, searching for something in his expression, before she grinned, "You had best let me watch," she warned him.

He grinned, a dark laughter edging into his voice as he leaned in to press a kiss to her forehead, struck with the sudden warmth at just how well she knew him, and how well matched they were.

He may not know where the portal would lead but...wherever it went, whoever had just tried to take Piper from him...he would take a great deal of pleasure ripping them limb from limb in the slowest, most excruciating way possible.

A/N: I honestly couldn't see this episode playing out like in the show, where Gold steals the magic to free Belle and Henry goes out to try and destroy magic. For one, Emma and Henry both trust Gold and Piper, so there would be no suspicion or 'we need to get there before Gold!' because Emma wouldn't jump to the worst conclusion about it. Henry hasn't had as bad of an experience with Magic as he did in the show, because he was in on the plans from the start so he wouldn't be trying to destroy it. And, given how the heroes were acting for a while and his new 'cousin' on the way I couldn't see him destroying the very thing his aunt, grandpa, and mother would be using to keep Piper and the child safe. And Gold wouldn't be doing what he did in the episode either because Piper isn't under a sleeping curse he can't break with TLK or in any danger.

There IS a reason why they took the Crystal and why they sucked up the magic in Storybrooke, which we'll find out in the next chapter ;)

It did bring up the question of...what would happen then? And the more I thought about it, about Henry and Violet's trip, the more I thought about Violet's father, Sir Morgan, and about the people of Camelot and I realized...

I don't think we ever actually saw anyone free of the spell Arthur cast on them with the Sands of Avalon.

Merlin TALKED about how he could free the kingdom, but very soon after he ended up on a quest with Emma and then made to do Arthur's bidding, WHILE Arthur still had the loyalty of his knights and likely his Queen. So I don't think they were actually freed before the next Dark Curse was cast.

With how Guinevere was so on Arthur's side, even against Lancelot, I figured, she'd 'flip the F out' if he died and she would want revenge for her husband and want to destroy this kingdom like 'they destroyed ours.' I saw the Sands as being more the object of magic, not Arthur, so if he died the magic might still live on afterwards since it wasn't him using his own magic or his own energy to enchant people, it would last after HE was gone. With Morgan being (confirmed in the next episode) the Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, he would be the only one Guinevere would trust to travel into the Land Without Magic and with him being a loyal Knight he'd do it without question. I figure Guinevere would have people go digging around Henry's things for ways to stop them, since Violet probably told her father about Henry and his talents, to try and find the heroes' weaknesses, and find Neal's journals instead :)

I hope it made sense that Morgan would be the one venturing out to destroy magic at Guinevere's order and he'd be the one they need to stop :)

I sort of feel like a little bit of Henry going out there to 'save magic' instead of destroy it is tied to Piper and her pregnancy, in a small way. He wants to know HE can help keep the baby safe, that he's a 'hero' but in the sense that he's capable and resourceful and brave. If he can save Magic then he can save Piper :)

I hope you also liked the part at the beginning, with the heart exchange and the testing the Dagger :) I feel like this was the first time they were really alone after Gold became the Dark One again where they weren't dealing with the threat of Hades :) But yay! Their hearts are in each others' chests and Gold is STILL free of the Dagger! :D I figure, since he didn't die and the Darkness was sort of just temporarily transferred, the ritual to cleave him from it would still be in place :)

I felt so bad for Piper though :( Can you imagine? Being in the Forest, being Piper, and hearing your cousin gushing about love and marriage and a family, meanwhile, in the back of your head is a tiny voice warning you that your husband might very well try to have you killed for being half-Siren once you give birth? :( Even if it wasn't Piper's main concern, because she was VERY careful with her heart and would NOT give it to a man like that who might hurt her or couldn't accept her...it's still A concern. Because she might never have found her true love if Regina never attacked, she might never have had need to ask the Dark One for help. Her people might have forced her hand to marry someone to give an heir, a political marriage and her life very much could have been in danger :( My heart broke for her, that Snow could go on with all this optimism and hope and belief in love and security in that she'd be safe with her husband...and somewhere in Rose Red's head is the very real possibility she might never have that :'( Thank god she found Rumpelstiltskin :')

I have to say, I lol-ed a bit when Regina was going on after reading Robin's letter, because Piper's just like not letting her brush anything under the rug or excuse things away. On one hand, she's kind of a tiny bit like a frenemy to Regina, and she's not going to let her get away with excusing some of the terrible things she's done as a villain, she'll call her out on it (like NOT knowing good from bad? Please). But on the other hand...it's dangerous 'hero territory' too, to make excuses for why you did it, like not knowing better, or what have you. Own what you did wrong, own that you KNEW it was wrong, otherwise the next thing you know you're doing it 'for the greater good' and all that :/ I think Piper might try to get some people to be more gray than light or dark, like Regina. In her own strange way she's kind of trying to help her, talking about balance. Don't be one or the other if either side is going to hurt you, find a compromise in the middle. Like Piper :)

I was sorely tempted to have Piper fall through the portal the way Belle was taken in the episode. But ultimately, with Gold not having the Crystal with him, and with Piper being the most important person in the room to him, I feel like he'd be more aware and quicker to act than in the episode. He doesn't have a choice to make (the Crystal or Piper) so he reacted fast. I imagine, after she fell through a portal to the Forest with Snow and Emma and then again with Bae he'd be very, very quick about preventing it another time lol :) Like he's probably had terrible memories of losing Bae, and then after those events with Piper probably had even more thoughts and imaginings of losing Piper the same way and he would NOT allow that to happen on his watch ;)

And, also, there may be something in the next story that would require Piper to not meet certain people in certain ways till later }:)

Speaking of the next story...OMG, there's only ONE chapter left of THIS story! I can't believe it! O.O Time flies :)

Some notes on reviews...

I like to think that August sort of hams it up when Piper ends up on a Quest, like a giant sigh and then a 'sure, sure, I see how it is, just run off and leave little old me here to wallow and wait, but it's fine, it's fine' and Piper's like 'I raised you.' So she knows :) I also like to think that when Piper does end up on a Quest, August sort of maybe uses it as an excuse to spend non-guilty time with his father :) Like when both of them are in one place he has to divide his time, but when Piper gets sucked into a portal he can spend more time catching up with his papa without feeling guilty (even though Piper and Geppetto would NEVER intentionally make him or want him to feel guilty) :) Oh Emma wanted to throttle people I'm sure in that moment :) I'm very glad you and your mother are both able to apologize and work things out :') My family has the unfortunate habit of ignoring what was said, brushing it under the rug, and pretending nothing happened, so that I'm usually the only one who wants to talk about it after so we can really work things out and then I get the sermon of 'why are do you constantly bring it up again? why do you keep harping on it?' :/ Oh when Emma called Gold her Uncle, I imagine Henry sort of grinning because it means Emma has fully accepted his 'grandpa' :) David probably blanched like 'WTH did she just say?!' while Snow just stared at her, and Hook I think probably just rubbed his head and shook it a bit like 'great, great, now I really can't kill him one day' :) August would have been sort of smirking with his arms crossed and trying very hard not to laugh :) I can say Snow might just get slapped before the series is over };) I think Henry was very proud of Emma in the Library. It's one thing to confront the heroes when you're playing up the role of Dark One or when you have support around you, it's another to do it solo and I think he was really pleased to see her making the arguments and not taking excuses :) I feel like Snow was worse of the two of them. Zelena's actions unintentionally led to her baby being targeted, out of an entire town of people it wasn't her choice to have a Dark One target her child. Whereas with Snow she intentionally stole someone's child, and even if she didn't know about the banishment, she knew that the darkness would be ripped out of her child and put into someone else's effectively cursing them and (realistically) she should have known any magic done on a baby, which is not as strong as an adult, would be dangerous :( Yup, they just left the crystal right there. Like even in the most rushed situation, I can't see Robin's funeral taking place till the next day if they super super rushed it, which means a pile of god-ashes were just sitting on the rug for HOURS possibly a day or two, and NO ONE thought that they should maybe dispose of them? I can get that they might assume the crystal was destroyed...but the ashes? Snow should have known, given how Cora used the ashes of the wardrobe in a spell, that the ashes could potentially be dangerous too and no one thought to clean them up? :/ I picture Piper being very young, perhaps about 4 or 5 in the last chapter ;) Blue will get quite a punishment before the series is over };)