A/N: Huzzah! Welcome to the fifth story, Black Roses, of my Once Upon a Time Series Bedtime Stories :) This took so much longer than I planned it would to get up, I'm sorry about that :( Life and all :/ But better late than never right? :)

For any new readers, I would recommend reading the first four stories (All That Glitters, Every Rose Has Its Thorns, Phantom Melodies, and The Golden Rule) to understand my OC, Piper (AKA Rose Red) and her relationship to Gold/Rumpelstiltskin, her connection to August as her adoptive son, as well as her ties to Snow White. This will be a Gold/OC story, the pairing name officially Dark Rose, and will be around 40 chapters long ;) I will be updating this story a little slower than I have in the past for this series, we will (so far) get a chapter 3x a week, likely Monday/Wednesday/Friday, but at least 3 times a week. This MAY change as the story goes, I've learned a lot that life can sometimes get in the way or things may come up or I may just not be able to keep up 3 times a week. I will aim for it though and keep my fingers crossed ;) IF anything changes, I will be sure to let you know in a note and on tumblr ;)

This story will follow the episodes more in terms of what's happening with the OC or Gold in one chapter and then will have an Enchanted Forest flashback/backstory chapter afterwards :) Which means! This first chapter is largely going to follow characters in Storybrooke and will NOT feature any events that happened in the Forest. We WILL see Emma and Piper at the end of the chapter, as they are back in Storybrooke at that point. The NEXT chapter though, as it will focus on the Forest, will feature them more and fill in some blanks from the end of this chapter. I would normally follow Gold while he goes about business when Piper isn't there, but as Gold is down for the count at the moment, this chapter will follow Henry, Snow White, and a little bit of August and Regina. A lot of the story's future will be set up and laid out by using this time to see how they react to the events from the end of the last story ;)

Also, 2 quick notes, this story will NOT include the episode 'The Bear King' because it is so character-lite and doesn't feature nearly anyone but Merida, Belle, Arthur, and Zelena. And, since this season has one more episode than normal, removing it would sort of put the sequence of things back on track ;) And this series will only go through Season 6 of the show, I won't be doing season 7 because I just could not get into the whole soft-reboot season, by then the whole Dark Curse thing had just been done so many times and with most of the main cast gone it just didn't feel like OUAT any more :/

A short physical description of Piper is that she's a tall, blonde woman, with forest green eyes (like Snow's). She tends to wear boots that she keeps her playing pipe in one, and the Dagger of the Dark One in the other. She likes to wear somewhat dark colors, though Gold (or as she calls him, Rummy) prefers her in black ;) She also has a necklace of a small purple powder from the Enchanted Forest given to her by Gold. She appears to be about 40ish years old, though she is actually much older due to aging at half the rate of a normal human when the Dark Curse cast her into the real world, but still with some magical protections. For a reference, an actress I see as being similar to her is Sophia Myles ;) She's also pregnant! :D As of the end of the last story at least }:) Only a few weeks along though ;)

~8~ is a scene break.

Disclaimer: I do not own Once Upon a Time...or we would have gotten much more Dark Swan than we did :)

~8~

The Dark Swan

Honestly, Henry was starting to think the adults didn't know him at all. Piper had at least tried to signal to August to keep him held back in Gold's shop where the Apprentice was resting, everyone else just ran off after telling him to stay put. Heroes didn't stand around and do nothing while there was danger out there, they helped! HIS family was in danger, his moms, his grandparents, his Aunt, he wasn't going to sit there and wait. So he'd ripped himself out of August's hold and dashed out the door.

He'd been too late to do anything anyway. Though he'd been just in time to see it all happen.

He'd seen the Darkness swirling around his mom, Regina, then fly to Piper when she called to it using the Dagger, before his other mother, Emma, fought her way through the blackness to save Piper…and now the two women were gone and the only thing left was the Dark One's Dagger…which now said 'Emma Swan' on it.

"…was going to kill you," he could hear Mary Margaret shouting at Regina as he approached, his eyes on the dagger, "She saved your life!"

"Don't you think I know that?" Regina huffed.

"It wasn't just mom," Henry reminded them, "Aunt P lured it off first," he looked at the adults, "She was going to sacrifice herself to save Emma," because he knew Piper wouldn't have reacted like that to the thought of Regina being in danger. It was clear Emma was going to do anything to keep everyone else safe, Piper had done what she had to keep Emma from having to, "Mom just wouldn't let her," he looked at the dagger, "And now she's the Dark One."

"Now she's a problem for all of us," Regina corrected.

"She's still good!" Mary Margaret insisted.

Henry knelt down, not wanting to look at any of the adults right now, feeling anger prickle at him for what his grandmother was saying. Emma had become the Dark One, and Mary Margaret was insisting she was still good without any proof it was true (not that he wanted to believe his mother was fully 'evil')…yet this same woman condemned Gold as being evil and banished him over the townline, all for being the Dark One cleaved of his Dagger. It was…it was disgusting, really, it made his stomach roll in anger. Even worse when he considered Piper was a dark creature, born the way she was, not something that invaded her, and Mary Margaret claimed she was evil, too, when Piper didn't have a choice in what she was.

What was wrong with heroes?

…and why had it taken him so long to realize there was something wrong with them and their views?

"I hope so," Regina stated, "It's not like she rode off on a unicorn. She got sucked up by a vortex of evil."

"Where is she?" Robin Hood looked around, up at the sky as though he might see Emma flying somewhere, "Where's she gone?"

"Doesn't bloody matter," Hook moved to grab the dagger.

"Mate, don't…" Robin tried to stop him, stepping forward and blocking the sight of Henry about to do the same, the boy wanting to stop Hook as well.

After all the time that Dagger had been in Piper's possession, to Henry, anyone else wielding it was just...wrong.

But Hook shoved Robin aside, "You get out of my way," Hook brandished his hooked hand at the man, before crouching down and scooping up the dagger, "We can't find her, but I can damn well bring her to me," he took a breath and held up the dagger, "Dark One! With this Dagger I command thee, return!"

Nothing happened.

"Dark One, appear!" he tried again, but still...nothing.

"Put that thing down before you hurt yourself," Regina rolled her eyes, "I thought you knew the Dagger's rules?"

"With it I can summon the Dark One from any corner of the world."

"Well, there's your answer. She's not in this world."

"Then where is she?" Henry wondered, worried for his mother…and hoping his aunt was with her.

~8~

August looked up from where he was sitting beside Gold, keeping watch over the man while Mother Superior, the Blue Fairy, tended to the Apprentice. Apparently the woman had felt the flux in magic and hurried to where it originated, finding him there with the two fallen men. She seemed to sense the preservation spell on Gold, that he was fine for now, and turned to check on the Apprentice, though he kept a wary eye on her. For all that Blue had helped him become a real boy, he would never trust the woman again, not after he heard she did to his mother as a child, not after how she'd brought him back as a boy himself with no memory of his mother. The second one COULD have been the only way to save him, but the woman was too shady for him to give the benefit of the doubt to any longer.

Hook, Mary Margaret, David, and Regina had burst into the room only moments ago with Henry, the boy moving to make sure his grandfather was still alright while the adults focused on the weak and barely conscious Apprentice. Clearly something had happened, but he wasn't desperate enough to ask the others about it, he trusted his partner in Operation Bluebird would clue him in when he could. IF the others didn't blurt out everything now that is.

"Apprentice, the monstrosity took Emma!" Hook announced, and August shot Henry a look as though to ask if the man was serious, Henry's expression was answer enough, "Where did they go?"

"She is now…" the Apprentice wheezed, "Where all darkness is born...in your realm."

"Then take us there!"

August barely contained his snort, the man could barely talk and they expected him to be able to cast that powerful of magic? At least now he had an idea of what happened outside. The Dark One's darkness had gotten to Emma…the fact that Piper wasn't there with the others or returned to Gold and Henry wasn't a wreck of mourning, it could only mean one thing to him...that she had been taken away along with Emma. Part of him wanted to chuckle at that thought, because he knew, as her son, he should be hoping she was alright, but really, had anyone MET his mother? It would be wiser to hope the people she might encounter were alright more than her. God forbid she and Emma were separated somehow? His mother would burn anything and slaughter anyone in her way to get to her niece. There was probably no one on the planet who would keep Emma safer than Piper would fight to do.

"I am too weak now," the Apprentice looked at them sadly, "But, this…" he held up his left hand, conjuring a wand to it, "Will help. It is a gift from the sorcerer, from Merlin," he chuckled under his breath, "On the day I became his apprentice. In it is all the light magic."

"It can take us to our daughter?" Mary Margaret gasped.

August shook his head at the dark look Henry shot the woman, no mention of Piper. If he were to give the heroes the benefit of the doubt, he would have said it was understandable that Snow White would be more concerned about her daughter becoming the Dark One than her cousin vanishing with her. But he wasn't feeling that charitable and couldn't help but mutter, "Unbelievable," under his breath.

"Not on its own," the Apprentice warned, "In order to cross realms, it must be wielded as it was forged. It's both sides of the coin: the light…and...the dark..." the Apprentice struggled to remain conscious, but the stress of events was too much and he collapsed, the wand falling to the ground with a dramatic flourish.

August cast a glance over at the Apprentice, concerned for a moment that the man might have actually died, but none of the heroes were in shock nor did they appear worried, nor was Blue making any move to cover the body, so he assumed the man was merely unconscious. He hoped it was just that.

"This must be my cue," Regina spoke, leaning over to pick up the wand, lifting it above her head to summon a portal…but nothing happened. She tried it again, flicking it to the ceiling, but still...nothing.

"Enough!" Hook snapped, "You're gonna embarrass yourself and waste our time!"

"Watch it!" Regina snarled, "I know what I'm doing."

"Well, that's not enough! You heard the man, it needs darkness! You've gotten soft."

August caught Henry's eye, his gaze flickering to Gold and then to Henry, the boy nodding, catching on to what he meant as neither wanted to draw the heroes' attention over to them. If they were talking darkness and magic being all that was needed...then the heroes really should have been more concerned Piper wasn't there. The woman was a dark creature, possessed her own magic, there was literally no way she could go soft due to her biology, and having an ingrained instinct to protect her family (and being pregnant on top of that to truly double that instinct) she would have gotten them to the Enchanted Forest in the snap of a finger if she'd been there. But the heroes were too focused on using their 'dark' hero in Regina to help them.

"You wanna see soft?" Regina turned on Hook, "Why don't I use that hook to show you your intestines?"

Well, as far as threats went that was…basic, wasn't it? August couldn't help but think. Once, when he was a kid, a bully had targeted him, some high schooler who got a twisted delight on tormenting those younger than him.

…when his mother found out about it?

He'd honestly never seen anyone wet themselves outside of the movies before, but his mother had threatened that guy so creatively he hadn't been surprised when the bully just disappeared. It was hard to live it down when a small blonde woman made you crap your pants with just words.

His mother was vicious.

"Well, you've got the fire, love but, not the blackness," Hook snorted, "Not anymore," he eyed her a moment, "How's this for irony? You've done too much good. No, we need someone wicked!"

"No!" Regina glared at him for the suggestion, "No, no. Not my sister! That witch is more than wicked, she's deranged."

Hook frowned when Regina turned back to the wand, "For Emma, it's worth the risk! She sacrifices herself for you, Your Majesty, because she believed that an evil queen could be good. Don't you think you owe it to her to repay the favor?"

Henry observed Hook, considering his words and wondering…would the man be this keen to go and help someone if it hadn't been Emma? He had heard Piper remark enough times about Hook's supposed transition to being a hero to wonder about his reasons and intentions. He made it seem like Regina owed Emma help instead of appealing to how a hero would just help because it was the right thing to do. Was that how Hook saw it? He should help others because they helped him and not because they just needed help?

If it had been Piper consumed by the darkness and not Emma…would that group before him be working this hard to save her? Or would they think it was deserving?

He really didn't want to know the answer.

~8~

August sighed as he rubbed his head, still in the backroom of Gold's shop where the man was being kept for the time being. Henry had gone to the Diner to get him some food, which was kind of the boy. He was the only one that seemed to have realized what August was doing. He was keeping watch, making sure no one came to try and harm Gold while he was vulnerable. The shop was packed with magic items and spells that could help, but with the heroes coming in and out at all hours, mostly because Henry joined him, he knew the second he erected something they'd cry foul and think he was conducting some sort of nefarious plot against them or something. For now, all he could do was sit there and wait...with a handful of magical objects all within reach should someone try to attack.

This man was his mother's true love, he would not allow him to be harmed.

So far, it seemed no one was planning it, likely due to Gold being Henry's grandfather, and upsetting Henry would mean upsetting the Savior-turned-Dark-One. No one wanted that. Right now, it was more standing vigil for however long it took for Piper to return with Gold's darkness. Hell, while he was there he might as well read up on a few books Gold had, see if there wasn't a spell to protect the man's heart while the others were so focused on finding Emma.

"Pinocchio," a gentle voice called as the Blue Fairy appeared in the doorway, with what he was sure was meant to be a gentle smile and kind eyes, "You should go and help them with Emma. I understand you've researched many forms of magic in this world, you might be able to give them more insight and…"

August snorted, "Nice try. But no. I'm not leaving his side, Blue. I know what you did to my mother, I know the hand you had in Baelfire's life. There's no way I'm trusting you around him alone."

Blue's lips pursed at the implication and accusation in his voice, "I was merely suggesting you could help them."

"I'm not really inclined to help the heroes right now," August shook his head, crossing his arms in defiance, "They haven't exactly been all that heroic lately, if they ever were."

"I'm disappointed to hear you say that, Pinocchio," Blue sighed, trying the guilt angle.

August just shrugged and stared her down till she left, before letting out a breath. The only two people he cared about disappointing were Piper and his father. Let Blue think what she wanted, be as disappointed as she could be, if he kept Gold safe and alive, he really couldn't care less. The heroes might need help to get to Emma, but if he was being honest...he wasn't all that worried about Emma, not even about her becoming the Dark One. His mother's true love was the last Dark One, it put the whole idea of being one in a different perspective. He was sure the heroes were frantic and fearful and flailing about it, to him...it was just another side of human nature, it was just another side of magic's spectrum. Gold wasn't evil, he wasn't a monster, even being dark, he doubted Emma would become that.

He doubted Piper would let that happen.

~8~

Henry glanced over when he heard Hook call out to him while he waited for his to-go order at the Diner, a book in hand, one he'd nicked from Gold's shop to help August research ways to protect Gold's heart when they got Emma and Piper back. He wanted to find his mother badly, yes, but he knew in his heart that Piper was with her wherever she was and his mother would be safe with her. The others were all working on a way to get to her and he knew they'd work it out because heroes always had luck like that. While they worked to help Emma, he would work to help Gold because he was another member of his family who needed help and right now, Gold's life was in more danger than Emma's magic was.

"Here!" Hook moved over to his side, holding out the storybook to him, "You can fix this, you're the Author now. Use that pen to write the darkness out of Emma, bring her back."

"You really think I didn't think about that?" Henry deadpanned, remembering only a handful of people knew what happened to the pen, "If I could, I would have already."

"Then why didn't you?"

"The Apprentice, he broke the magic pen," Henry sighed, "I was going to use it to help grandpa with his darkness, so it never would have needed to be pulled out of him in the first place. The Apprentice didn't agree and he snapped it in half."

Hook let out a long breath, running a hand through his hair as his mind raced to come up with another plan, "What if there was a way, a dangerous way. To help your mother, something your other mother wouldn't like."

"What way is that?" Henry asked after a moment of consideration.

Part of him wanted to jump at it, nab any chance he could get to help his mother. Another part of him, a part that had been aware of Piper and Gold's plan this entire time, a part that had observed those two members of his family and learned from them, warned him now to be cautious. It was the pitfall of all things, desperation. He'd seen how desperation had made Snow White curse another person's child, how it made her banish her cousin's true love without thought. He'd even seen it with Piper and Gold, with the stories he heard of Piper's instinct and desperation to find Gold after Pan had been destroyed and how it led to Bae's demise, of his grandfather's desperation to fix his darkness, the mad scramble that led him to trust Isaac even slightly to help them.

He wouldn't rush into this without knowing what Hook wanted him to do.

Hook looked around, noting that the Diner was largely empty, Granny was in the back room, and sighed, "I'm going to break out the Wicked Witch," Hook told him, "We need dark magic to activate the wand and Regina's gone too light. Zelena's the only one powerful enough in dark magic to help us, but she's locked away with her magic repressed. She's our only chance at finding Emma."

Henry frowned at that plan and shook his head, "No."

"No?" Hook scoffed, "What do you mean no?"

"Zelena's locked up for a good reason," Henry argued, "Both my moms, and Aunt P, thought it was the right thing to do. She's not like you or my mom or Aunt P, she's not a villain who cares about anyone or anything. She's going to betray you the second she's free. I trust my mom, she'll find out a way to get to Emma."

"It may be too late by then!" Hook only barely refrained from snapping at the boy when Granny walked through the back door with a white bag of food.

Henry shook his head, taking it from Granny as he got up, "I trust Aunt P, too. Wherever my mom went, she's there too, and she won't let anything happen to Emma."

Henry ignored Hook's scoff and how he slammed his fist down on the counter of the diner as he walked out.

He wasn't an idiot. Hook hadn't come to him for help rescuing his mother, to partner up and be heroes. Hook had chosen him because he was the only one Regina wouldn't be furious with for trying to break Zelena out. And he was the only one who might know the codes and how to get past things Regina put in place. Hook was using him as a way to get to Emma, not genuinely wanting to work with him or be a hero. He'd had enough of the man using him and getting close to him to learn about Emma and how to get in her good book.

If it was a good plan, Hook wouldn't need HIS help to do it. Yes, he had disobeyed his mother and others in the past, but when they were wrong or doing something wrong or there was no other choice but to do so to keep everyone else safe. This wasn't that. There wasn't only ONE choice to be made.

Everyone kept treating him like a stupid little kid, they kept missing that he was growing up and that he was learning from both the heroes AND the villains as he went.

~8~

Henry liked to think of himself as a smart boy. The second he said no to Hook, he'd been 99 percent sure the man would take matters into his own hand. The only part he wasn't sure of was what route Hook would take, whether he'd go the route of a hero and be honest with others, confront Zelena as a unified front, with a plan in place to ensure no one else could be hurt. Or he'd be a villain and go free Zelena and risk the entire town's lives. A villain would do what they wanted, do anything they had to do to get what they wanted, whether it would hurt or threaten or endanger others or not. A hero would do all they could to be safe and cautious, make sure their choices didn't hurt anyone else. Hook kept claiming he wanted to change, and be a hero, yet he'd gone and done something that had endangered the entire town.

It wasn't like with Gold and cleaving him from the dagger, because he wasn't a danger to the town, not fully, he wouldn't go on a rampage or anything. Snow White had just assumed that. Zelena…she was a different story, she hated Regina, she wanted to destroy everything Regina had, and this town was one thing Regina created.

It was also different when Gold and Piper went after people, they never lied or claimed to be something they weren't. You could expect a villain to do what they wanted, for Hook to keep saying he wanted to be a hero and resort to villainous ways to get what he wanted, it didn't really bode well towards actually changing.

If Hook wanted to be with Emma as a hero, he had to prove he was actually changing even when Emma wasn't there to see it.

August had been in agreement when Henry brought up the topic while they'd eaten during their vigil. He'd had enough conversations with his mother to know she, too, feared Hook was only changing to win points with Emma and not a genuine change. That he appeared to act the hero when Emma was there to see him act that way, but that he'd resort to his old ways when Emma wouldn't find out. Piper wouldn't care one way or the other who Emma chose to love, a villain or a hero, so long as they were honest about who they were and what they'd done or did and Hook, more often than not, wasn't.

He had proven it now when he'd broken into the hospital with a plan to release Zelena. From what they discovered of Regina calling Henry to ensure he was somewhere safe where Zelena couldn't get to him, Hook had at least planned to take Zelena's heart to ensure she wouldn't betray them, only he hadn't accounted for potential protections Zelena had cast on her heart years ago to prevent it. She'd stolen a knife from Hook, cut off her hand, pulled off the magic suppressing band they'd forced on her before, and used magic to reattach her hand.

Now she was free and running around the town.

Regina had come to the shop, to get him, not about to risk leaving him alone where she couldn't protect him, Mary Margaret, David, and Hook had been with her. Apparently, it wasn't just him in danger, it was Robin Hood too. Regina had guessed that was who Zelena would go after, especially given the fact that he was the father of Zelena's child, he would be someone Zelena would use as leverage more than Henry, if just to hurt Regina more. With a quick word from August that he'd watch over Gold, Henry was out and running through town with the others to where Regina thought Zelena would go for a battle...the clocktower where their first fight had taken place.

Zelena was waiting for them right in the middle of the road, Robin Hood in her possession, using her magic to hold him captive by the throat. It didn't take long for Zelena to name her terms, the Apprentice's wand for Robin Hood, she wanted to go back to Oz with her child, where she was feared but in control and the one in charge. Henry watched his mother carefully to see what she would do with the choice Zelena was forcing on her.

Save Emma or save Robin Hood?

"Regina, please!" Mary Margaret begged, drawing Henry's attention over to her, the sound of her words told him she was pleading with Regina not to hand over the wand instead of to save Robin.

He had to wonder, if heroes had always been like that? Do what was right for everyone...unless it came to your own family in which case choose family over anyone else. A real hero would want to save Robin Hood, if not because it was the right thing to do and no one should die to save someone else, but also because Emma would never want that. She wouldn't want Robin Hood to die just to save herself...yet Mary Margaret seemed set on that path to save her daughter.

At least Piper would have killed Robin Hood and been done with it, as terrible as it was to say, but she never claimed to be a hero or do anything for the greater good or for anyone else outside her family.

Regina looked over at them, and back at Robin as he was strangled before her eyes, and swallowed hard, "I have to," she told the Charmings, before holding out the wand to Zelena, stepping closer to Robin.

"Lovely," Zelena smirked, grabbing it from her and releasing Robin into her hold, having no need for him any longer, "Now, all it needs is a little direction," she picked up a necklace from Oz from her pocket, "A trinket from home. Now see me do what you weren't powerful enough to do yourself…" she waved the wand around the necklace and turned, flicking the wand towards the edge of town, conjuring a storm, a twister appearing in the distance, with green lightning storming outside it.

Zelena had just started to smile, when it seemed like some sort of backlash attacked her, a bright burst of light at the end of the wand causing Zelena to cry out and hunch over. Regina wasted no time in using Zelena's distraction against her, rushing forward to snap the suppressing cuff back on and yank the wand out of Zelena's hand.

"No!" Zelena cried out.

"What the hell happened?" Hook demanded.

Regina smirked, "What happened is I'm not stupid," she looked down at Zelena as David ran forward to grab her and restrain her, "I knew you could open that portal, but I also knew it would weaken you," she spat at her sister, "See, there's one thing our family does well, sis, and that's exploit pain. Now we're gonna take your portal, but we're not taking it to Oz," she looked over her shoulder at the others, "We're taking it to Emma."

~8~

Henry had just hung up the phone in Granny's diner, where a number of people had gathered to take refuge from the looming twister. He'd called August to warn him about what was happening. He would stay with Regina and the others for now, while August kept with Gold. If something happened with the twister, one of them needed to stay with the man, for Piper. And August was already there, he didn't want Henry running across the town with the twister so close.

"Floyd, shut down the fryers, secure the condiments!" Granny was barking orders as she hurried through the diner, trying to keep the damage to a minimum.

"Don't move," Robin ordered Zelena as David helped tie her to a chair in the corner.

"I'm not sure my insurance covers this place going airborne…"

"We'll be fine," Regina insisted, glancing over at Henry to make sure he was alright.

"Well, Your Majesty, it's coming," Hook warned from his position by the door, watching for the twister, "How do you suggest we get this cyclone to take us to Emma and not to Oz?"

"By using this," Regina answered, pulling out a small white blanket from her bag.

"Emma's baby blanket," Mary Margaret gasped, seeing it as she stood behind Regina, bobbing Neal in her arms.

"I, uh, couldn't very well carry her yellow bug," she offered Mary Margaret a smile, "Ready?" when the woman nodded, Regina took a breath and began to wave the wand over the blanket, drawing its connection to Emma, the traces of her and her magic, to guide the twister.

Henry reached out for Roland, Robin Hood's son, and pulled the boy close. If things had gone differently with their parents, they might have been brothers by now, he felt the need to look out for the boy. And, it was a little to do with Piper. She had told him stories of the year they'd forgotten, once they remembered, how Roland had been one of the few children not frightened of her and allowed near her. Despite her name and reputation, she had a soft spot for children. It was even more of a reason to keep Roland close and safe.

Regina took a breath and tapped the blanket, causing it to glow. She smiled at the sight, knowing the magic had taken root.

"Twister!" Leroy shouted as he threw open the door and ran into the diner, hoping to warn them all while they were just 'standing around.'

"Leroy!" Mary Margaret gasped, "It's ok. We summoned it."

"You did?"

"It's taking us to Emma."

"Out, dwarves," Regina ordered, "Adults only."

Leroy scoffed, "No."

"No?" Happy, one of his brother dwarves, asked.

"We're staying!" Leroy declared.

"We are?"

He nodded, turning to Mary Margaret, "We've been on the sidelines too long, sister, missed too many adventures. Now it's embarrassing. How do you think it feels when everyone asks you how the adventure was, and you got to say that no one asked you to go along? That you weren't needed? We're not turning our back on you again, not even in the face of certain death."

Mary Margaret smiled at their loyalty, "Thank you."

"…certain?" Happy had to ask, sounding quite frightened.

No one could answer, for the room began to shake even worse than before, the twister had reached them.

"Hold on tight, everyone!" Granny shouted in warning, the diner starting to be picked up by the force of the winds.

Everyone braced themselves against the counter and walls as best they could. Regina hurried to Henry and Roland, keeping them safe while Robin stayed with Zelena if only for the sake of his child. Mary Margaret and David huddled over Neal, doing what they could to protect him from the force of the diner shaking and twisting, the objects falling over, lights exploding around them. The room bucked, spinning in circles with the force of the winds…

Until, finally, it felt like it had been dropped out of the sky and to the ground, sending them all falling to the floor.

Henry was the first to recover, making sure Roland and Regina were fine, before he ran to the window and looked out at the bright sunlight shining through…at the Forest beyond the glass.

He spun around, beaming at his mom, "You did it!"

Mary Margaret let out a relieved breath, "Let's find Emma."

As quick as they could, the group headed for the diner's door...

~8~

Six weeks later…

A group of very startled people woke up on the floor of Granny's diner, unsure how they'd gotten there or why they'd been knocked out. They had been in the Enchanted Forest, walking through the borders of Camelot after finding Emma and the Pied Piper…and they had not been wearing their Forest clothing like they were now. The group, all those who had gone with Mary Margaret to rescue Emma, slowly began to pick themselves up off the floor of the darkened, partially destroyed diner, looking around to make sure they were all ok.

Unnoticed, off to the side, hidden in a cloak of black shadow, Piper stood, watching, observing, her gaze fixed on Henry to ensure the boy was alright as he began to stand.

The door to the diner flew open and Sneezy the dwarf entered, wearing Emma's red jacket, "What are you guys doing here?" he demanded.

"What happened?" Mary Margaret gasped, clutching baby Neal to her as David helped her stand.

"We're back," David looked around, seeing Storybrooke outside the windows of the diner.

"Bloody hell," Hook cursed.

Piper tilted her head, watching him closely, her eyes narrowed, looking at his presence, how he held himself, his appearance...and smirked.

It worked.

"This doesn't make any sense," Regina looked to the others for answers, "We were just walking into Camelot."

Piper's smirk grew as she wondered when her niece might make an appearance.

"What the hell are we wearing?" Leroy asked, looking down at himself, even he was wearing Forest attire, "Sneezy, what happened? How long were we gone?"

"Six weeks," Sneezy answered.

"What?" Regina gaped.

"Our memories...they're gone," Charming realized.

"Again!" Mary Margaret groaned.

"Where's Emma?" Hook spun around, trying to find the woman they had gone to save.

"Relax," Emma's voice called out, "I'm right here."

And there, in the doorway of the diner, was Emma…a very different Emma. Her hair was paler, as was her skin, her hair tied back into a tight bun, dressed in a black dress with a high neckline, and high heels. It was clear to everyone that something was very wrong.

"Mom?" Henry stepped closer, confused, "What happened to you?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Emma asked, stepping into the room, towards her parents, "You went to Camelot to get the darkness out of me," she reached out to touch her mother's cheek, "And you failed," she told them, pulling her hand away with a snap when one of the Dwarves sneezed, "What the hell are you supposed to be?" Emma demanded, before flicking her hand up, turning the dwarf to stone. Emma smirked at the sight of the statue, "There's no savior in this town anymore."

"Emma, stop," Regina stepped forward, ready to go toe-to-toe with the Dark Savior if she had to, "That's enough."

Emma turned to her, amused now, "Or what?"

Regina straightened, "Or I'll do exactly what you asked me to," she threatened, reaching her hand to the Dark One's Dagger which should have been at her side...but it was gone.

Piper, who had seen Regina's intent, leaned over slightly to grab something in her boot, and sighed, "I wish I could say this was a surprise," she remarked, drawing the attention of the others to her as she pulled her hood down so it was easier to notice her, the Dark One's Dagger in her hand, "It hardly is."

Even if her memories had been wiped like the others, she would have found this to be expected. Luckily, it appeared either Emma had trusted her enough to retain her memories or her magic had protected her once more from this latest Dark Curse.

She remembered everything.

Oh, this will be a delight.

Emma smirked, moving to stand next to her aunt, their likeness now quite disturbing to behold, "As though I would ever trust any of you with the only thing that could stop me," she taunted those present, hoping silently that Henry would forgive her that.

"We're your family!" Mary Margaret shouted, tears in her eyes at not just what Emma said about not trusting them, but at the fact that the woman trusted Piper more than her own mother.

"So is she," Emma shot right back, before throwing out her hand and sending Leroy flying into the wall when he made a move to try and lunge for Piper, for the dagger, "No one," Emma snapped, her voice near a hiss, "Is going to touch this dagger but Piper," she warned each and every one of them. Her eyes, however, lingered on her parents, "And now? For what you did to me..." she smirked, "You're about to be punished."

It did not go unnoticed by any how Piper smirked at the word, appearing both proud and amused by this turn of events.

"Emma," Hook tried to get through to her, "Why are you doing this?"

"Is it not obvious?" Piper asked, reaching out to touch Emma's hair, brushing a lock behind her ears in a motherly fashion before looking at the others, "She is the Dark One now."

Emma threw up her arm, magically transporting herself and Piper out of the diner in a swirl of black smoke...though no one noticed, with the hoopla that followed, a bit of paper that appeared in Henry's hand in the smallest puff of blackness, a single line, a mere two words that made him smile.

'Operation Bluebird.'

A/N: Woo! I'm both glad to be back to Piper, and also going 'urg why couldn't she have been in Storybrooke!' because it was so Piper-lite :/ BUT I can say the next chapter more than makes up for that, or at least I hope it will ;) We'll see more of the 'Camelot' arc in the 'flashback' chapters, so we'll see everything from Emma appearing in the Forest to them reaching Camelot in the next chapter ;)

I feel like I should warn...part of the first half of this story will be a bit strained, in the sense that Gold won't be there for some of it, because Piper's in Camelot and he's in Storybrooke and in a coma of sorts. So a portion of the first half is going to be Gold-lite and Piper-focused as she's conscious and the only one there :( But Gold will always be heavy in her thoughts and present on her mind so hopefully that makes up for it ;)

This chapter does bring up a question though, doesn't it? Henry and August were both so sure nothing would happen to Emma with Piper there, and yet she comes back as full on Dark One...and Piper seems to be OK with that? Hmmm...wonder how that happened? }:) I suppose we'll find out };D

For anyone interested in my game plan for 2021, check out my tumblr's 'Upcoming Stories' page where I list the stories (and tentative dates) I plan to post this year ;)

Lastly, just putting this here because I've promised my sister I would always put it in at least one chapter, I made a page called ko-fi, where people can show support of a person by contributing a 'cup of coffee' to them. It's not a real cup of coffee, it's a donation that is roughly the cost of a cup of coffee, or about 3 dollars. The link is up on my profile or on my tumblr's LINKS page if anyone is interested. There's no obligation, requirement, or commitment, it just sort of feels to me like a little 'let's talk about your work over a cup of coffee' ;) They should really make one for tea though, I love tea :)

Some notes on reviews...(from the end of The Golden Rule)...

Just want to start by saying I'm SO sorry this took so long to get back up :( I feel like I'm the meme of the old Titanic lady going 'It's been 84 years...' lol (omg, I really can't believe it's been 4 years since I posted The Golden Rule O.O). I apologize if I worried anyone with my lack of updates and with how the show is now over and the stories weren't updated :( Life just kept getting in the way, and when I got to a good place to start up again it would knock me back down :/ But I have a steady job now, which I'm very thankful for given everything happening, I've been able to get into a routine, and my updating so far has kept steady so I'm very excited to get back to Piper's story. Thank you to everyone for your concern and well wishes and check ins, it meant the world to me to see and I hope you'll enjoy what's coming for Piper and Gold :)

I know this is a very delayed response, lol, sorry! But I just updated Angel's story for Series 8 a few months ago so that story is up ;) And I'll be trying to get the spin-offs and AUs going again this year, very slowly, likely 2 stories a month to start, but we'll at least get some hint of Angel this year too ;) I will be updating Mac this year and introducing another OC Time Lady also if all goes well ;)

Piper and her aging will be something that will be hinted at in this story, and explored more in the next story ;) But I can say I do have something in mind for her ;) Emma will definitely be quite protective of Piper, both because she's got Rummy's presence in her head responding to her but also because she's family and pregnant and a villain among heroes ;) It may not be Emma's siren traits we need to watch out for when certain events happen }:) But I can say that Piper has learned from her past with Gold that there are some things that need to happen to move a plan along, but not everything has to be done in complete secrecy, we'll have to wait and see how she balances her Siren side with some pain that might come to her family ;)

The Apprentice promises Piper to restore Gold's power for a few reasons, some being Piper is a bit feral at that moment and likely would rip his throat out if he doesn't agree and he may not be able to 'attack' her or defend himself with Emma right there and on her Aunt's side, he's powerful, yes, but Emma is young and the Savior. Another part is that he's 'good' and a 'hero' and he doesn't want to hurt anyone or cause harm, he's seeing a woman deeply upset and wanting her true love to survive and not lose part of himself, so he's sort of falling into that trap heroes sometimes do, where they do something to make a villain feel better even when it may backfire on them ;) Piper is aware of Merlin because Gold has shared some stories with her about the history of the Dark Ones, I felt like that would be a bit more believable than some sort of wiki-book of darkness no one mentioned till then lol, Gold tells her stories of Bae and his life before being Dark One, he tells her some things he's done as Dark One, I figure at some point she would ask how the Dark One even came to be and how/why the Dagger controls him the way it does and he'd share it with her :) Hook and Red hurt Emma a little because she's sort of still holding out hope that they can make it work, she does care for him and she knows he cares for her and he's trying 'hard' to 'change' (just maybe not doing it quite right), so seeing a version of him with someone else hurts :( And, in that world, he's a hero, he's a good person, the man he always wanted to be, and instead of being with HER as a hero, he's with someone else so it's sort of a taste of 'what could be' with a sour twist on it :( For the story, the idea of balance is mostly just that for light and dark. It came mostly from Isaac in the episode, how his version of making the villains win was turning them into heroes and the heroes into villains, and it made me think of how nothing really changed, roles were just reversed, but things were still balanced. That if there can be a Light One instead of a Dark One, then maybe it was another form of balance, and 'the light one' was then 'evil.' If Isaac had all that power and even he couldn't destroy something, only change it, maybe it's because it couldn't be destroyed. And it just made me think of light and dark in general, you can't really have one without the other and when you only have one it's an extreme. Like Yin and Yang, everything existing in balance, good and evil, light and dark, and if you destroy one you've tipped the balance too far :) To Piper, the same way Light would never want to be extinguished and only Dark to be there, Dark shouldn't be extinguished with only Light around. When Piper thinks of destroying the Dark One, she's more thinking of 'if you do this, you've tipped the balance to the light' and it gives more power to destroy more dark things, because if they can destroy the Darkness, then they can destroy all dark things, and there goes balance. I think, later in the season, it becomes more than just the Dark One, but using Excalibur to destroy ALL Light or all Dark.

Emma and Henry are going to be very interesting to watch when it comes to Emma as the Dark One because of their growing understanding of good vs evil yup ;) Emma and the Darkness compared to her being nothing but the Savior up to that point will have something coming ;) I got the jist of it yup ;) Being too much of one thing is never good, we all need balance in our lives. And for Emma it's even worse because she never had that opportunity to find that balance, half of her being was ripped out of her leaving her nothing but light which probably throws off quite a lot. I can't say when I'll get to the AU exactly, I can say it won't be till this series with Piper is complete, so likely after Season 6's story is finished ;) I know! I'm so sorry about the responses sometimes, I ramble or I try to get my thoughts out clearly by being too detailed and it ends up just blocks of text :(

Very delayed response, sorry! The Hook/OC's first story is now complete :) I'll be aiming to get the next story of it up likely by the end of this year ;) And I'll be aiming to get Athena and Thor completed this year too ;)

I am SO sorry this is such a late response! :( But I would definitely say go ahead with the theory about Robin's heart :) I feel like that's a theory that a few people had when all of that was happening because it was just so OOC of Robin given what we came to know of him ;)

Piper will have some...things to say to Emma about the Dark One, but we'll have to wait and see what it is. The Piper we see here and how she reacts to Emma as the Dark One is not her first reaction to her ;) There may be some changes to Emma's methods in Camelot for a very specific reason we'll find out soon ;) As for the pregnancy...we'll have to wait and see }:) Oh Milah, I have some plans for her. I was grinning a bit evilly when I wrote those parts with Milah and Piper ;) But Neal...that will likely be a weight off of Piper and Gold to find out he's happy :')

I honestly have no idea who's watching Neal lol. Shame on them! I would hope it was Granny or one of the Dwarves though :)

We'll have to wait and see how many Dark Ones there may be and who };)

I haven't heard that! I'd be very interested to see a movie about Rose Red :) Though I agree, I'd probably be going 'that's not Piper!' the entire time lol :)

Gold and his darkness are a complicated thing, I think :) I feel like one peeve I had with Belle was her constantly fixating on 'the man' he used to be or the 'human' side of him and her not realizing, or not even considering, that after 300 years of being like this, that THIS might be who that man is NOW. I feel like, after 300 years, it's not just the darkness in him, but things he's learned, done, chosen, that shape him into a man who is ok with the darkness and who sees it as every bit a part of him. If it was just the curse, I don't think it would have affected his heart the way it did in the show, it was partly him too. So him with out his darkness is going to be something for him and Piper to look at and go from there. She's accepted him, darkness and all, so it wouldn't matter to her if he gets the darkness back, in fact she'd probably fight for that because she knows he views it as who he is now and part of him. If he'd chosen to part with it, decided on that, she'd support him, but he didn't have a choice in this and this wasn't what he wanted so she'll do everything she can to help him restore it ;) As for Piper and the baby...they're only in Camelot 6 weeks, so he may see the baby yet...but we don't know what happened in those 6 weeks or why Emma's now the Dark One completely, if anything happened to drive her to that. We'll have to wait and see what becomes of Piper and Emma }:)

We'll definitely see some emotionally hurt Snow as this story goes on, Emma is going to make decisions and choices without Snow there and with other people that will really hit Snow in the gut to learn about, because this is Emma, her daughter, choosing to trust someone who isn't her mother :( I can say that in the AU I have planned we'll see MUCH more of something like that. Because Snow sends Emma through a wardrobe and doesn't really 'sign over her rights' in a sense, but Emma still gets officially adopted by Piper, and grows up with Piper as her mother, and is going to be so incredibly close with the woman that Snow is going to have a hell of a time trying to become 'mother' to her with Piper right there and Emma feeling she already has a 'mom' and doesn't need Snow to be one too };)

I can say Piper's baby is safe...from Emma at least }:) If anything, Emma will be very protective of Piper because she carries that part of the darkness in her, but also because she's family ;)

It isn't bad at all to want Piper to face that betrayal ;) I've had that planned for...a very long time lol. I particularly wanted to build up this villain, who puts family above everything else, whose family are heroes, because of how heroes in the show are. How they jump to conclusions and are rash in their judgements. I wanted this character who is a villain, and ultimately is betrayed by the family she fought so hard and so long to keep safe, all the sacrifices she made and things she did for this family, and she's a VILLAIN, so come hell or high water she will have her revenge };) I can say there won't be any major forgiveness for quite some time. There may be a point where patchwork is attempted, and maybe things look up, but heroes don't seem to ever learn the way villains do. Things always just 'go their way' and so they do things and expect to be forgiven whereas villains struggle and struggle just to earn some sort of trust. And some mistakes heroes make...may be unforgivable one day...and backfire spectacularly }:D

Thank you for the video suggestion! I loved it! :D

I was a little put off by the short hair, mostly because I was so used to his long hair lol :) I can say that Piper will have some thoughts on it, and perhaps a very pointed remark/action might tempt Gold to magically regrow his hair somehow ;) ;)

Oh super cute and absolutely deadly, them with a baby }:) There's so much I want to say about attempts made on their offspring, but I have to say 'wait and see' for now, only because I really don't want to spoil anything ;) I'm glad you like Piper though! :D I feel like having her there, with her similar villain mindset helps him really think like a villain instead of trying to hide some things or tweak another to appease Belle or give him a loophole with her. There's less mistakes to make when half your thoughts aren't on how to cover things up at the same time ;) That's one thing I enjoy about Piper and the relationship she builds with Emma, she's spent time earning Emma's trust to the point where Emma LISTENS and gives her time to explain instead of jumping the gun the way heroes do sometimes. By explaining a villain perspective to Emma, she not only helps Emma learn how villains think, but also to consider things differently, broaden her horizons and understandings :) But Snow...oh Snow, slippery slope from there }:)

Piper definitely understands the power of words and she will have a few choice ones for Snow oh yes ;) Another part of her also knows how villains make their mistakes, in revealing too much, so she's going to be careful for now with how much she says and what she says so she can keep her plans and plots going as long as possible ;) Actions, too, will speak much louder than words and there are ways to hurt heroes that don't involve direct attacks ;) But I can say, there will be a very specific moment in either this story or the next, where Snow and Charming realize very, very clearly how badly they have screwed everything up };)