The Brothers Jones
Piper half leaned against Gold as they stood in the Underbrooke apartment, watching as David brought down a wooden box to the kitchen and set it on the table in front of Snow White. Gold had his hand behind her back, lightly kneading along her spine. Just because they were in the underworld didn't mean her pregnancy had paused or frozen. It had been weeks of Emma running around Storybrooke trying to free the sword from the stone and toying with the heroes before it all went down, she was 22 weeks along now, nearly 6 months. Between the gowns in Camelot and Emma's glamor to make her stomach less noticeable, none of the others, save Emma and Henry, knew she was even carrying a child. It hadn't been difficult hiding it in Camelot or Storybrooke, most left her alone, she took great care to wear roomier tunics, darker ones, that would not draw the eye to her stomach area which, according to August, had been flatter than a normal human's would be for as far along as she was. She was almost glad for her feud with Snow, for the Dark Swan's appearance, it had meant less heroes around and less chance to take notice anyway. As it were, being in the Underworld where the souls of people she had likely had a hand in ending, like Cruella, were around, she was not about to make it known to anyone that small fact either.
And, if she was being honest...she did not fully trust Snow White with the knowledge just yet.
Still, her back did ache and Gold was doing all he could to help ease her discomfort without drawing attention to them. If Snow was genuine about wanting to repair things, she could imagine her cousin would begin fretting if she discovered his ministrations were because of any sort of twinge or pain and the woman would only grow more suspicious the more she tried to brush it off.
A short while ago Emma and Hook had burst in, the pirate looking much better after Emma clearly healed him, with another man, Hook's brother Liam, prattling on about a storybook that might help them take down Hades or at least give them enough leverage to use against him and get them passage out of there. It did make sense, after Emma explained it, how the storybook in Storybrooke had held all their tales and weaknesses, so the Underbrooke version must hold the same for Hades and other departed souls. Which had prompted Snow to dig through her closet for the box now before her.
"In the world above, this is where I found the storybook," Snow explained to them, "So..." she took a breath and opened it, digging through, but there was nothing, "Sorry."
"Yes," Piper spoke dryly, "Because Hades would leave the thing that could give us a way to destroy him in your closet."
Snow frowned at her, "If you didn't think it would be in there, why not say something?"
"Would you have listened?"
Snow had to nod at that, conceding, she probably would have still checked the box anyway, ever the eternal hopeful optimist.
"That book is the embodiment of hope," Regina added, "And there's not a lot of that here in the Underworld."
"Well it has to be here somewhere," Snow argued.
"Let's keep looking," David offered.
~8~
The search for the book did not go well, each of them taking different rooms to try and find it, despite Piper and Gold, and even Regina, reiterating that Hades would not just leave the book where they could easily find it like in the apartment.
"You alright?" Hook asked as Emma and Liam returned from the upper floor, drawing Piper and Gold's gaze over to where Emma seemed rather solemn. The two of them had a map of the Underbrooke open and were circling locations most likely to have the book there, like the Sorcerer's Mansion, the Library, the clocktower, Regina's vault, his shop…but that all paused when they caught sight of Emma's expression.
"Yeah," Emma answered, clearing her throat and sending Piper a small shake of her head when she opened her mouth to reveal she was lying, "Fine. Let's keep looking," she added a pleading look to the end of that, not wanting to talk about it now.
Piper pursed her lips, displeased, but before she could even respond or come up with a reason for her and Emma to check somewhere else, the door opened and Henry walked in, eyeing them all, "Hey. What's...going on?"
"Oh, looking for the storybook, you know," Snow shrugged, "'Underworld Edition.'"
"Really?" Henry smiled, "Well, I think I might know exactly where it is."
David frowned, "How would you know that?"
"The Apprentice. I saw him at...at Granny's. He said the Sorcerer's Mansion is down here and there's a bunch of his stuff inside, like the storybook."
No one noticed Piper and Gold exchanging a look at that answer.
"Finally, some good news," Regina smiled.
"Well, sort of," Henry warned, "The house is locked with magic, and the sheriff...James...has the key."
Hook glanced over at David, recognizing the name and the reason why Henry looked over at the man just then, "Your evil twin is sheriff? Hades has panache, I'll give him that."
"I will happily volunteer to...persuade...him to relinquish the key," Piper offered, the smirk on her face telling them that her version of persuasion might end in his death.
"I think you are forgetting something, Pip," Gold reminded her, "You took Milah, I think I should have the pleasure of ending the princeling."
Piper considered it a moment, having to nod, "I did end him the first time, much like you did Milah. I suppose I can step aside in this one instance."
"Excellent," he grinned, "I've been waiting for a chance to make him suffer."
"Um...why?" Henry looked between the two, "I mean...I know Aunt P had a hand in James's...accident, so that Snow White could meet Prince Charming but..."
"I was a prisoner of his kingdom for a time," Piper spoke, trying to be tactful for Henry's sake, "He and his father were not the...most considerate hosts."
"I do not take kindly to any who harm those I love," Gold nodded.
Snow winced at the reminder of what happened to Piper while she had been stuck with James and his father. She'd found out shortly after the first Curse broke and Emma and Piper had gone up the beanstalk with Hook. They'd been closer then, Piper had been more open about the things that harmed her. She'd told David about it, once they reunited, because she thought...maybe part of why her cousin didn't seem to favor her husband was that he looked like the man responsible for causing her so much pain.
Turned out his face had nothing to do with it, Piper just didn't like him, but now they all knew how horrible a person James had been.
"I get that," David spoke, in a rare show of empathy and compassion for the 'villains,' looking over at Gold, "But he's MY brother," he shook his head, taking a breath, "He's my responsibility. And it's time we had an overdue chat."
"Well, you won't be alone," Snow moved to his side, "I still owe him a punch in his pretty mouth for kissing me."
David turned to her, "He kissed you? When was this?!"
"In the Diner, when we were looking for Hook, before we all regrouped," Snow winced, "I thought it was you!" she defended.
"Is that really important right now?" Gold deadpanned.
"Right," David cleared his throat, heading for the door with his wife, "Let's go."
"In the meanwhile," Liam looked around, "We should all go about our usual business. Hades has eyes everywhere. We can't have him learning what we're up to."
"Fine plan," Hook readily agreed, "Can't wait to see the look on his face when he learns a valuable lesson...one should never mess with the Brothers Jones."
Gold snorted, turning to Piper as Hook led his brother out, "Do they truly think Hades doesn't know by now what we're up to?" he had to ask.
She sighed, "We can at least take comfort in the fact that Hades does not have the book yet either."
He nodded.
"Henry," Piper called, gesturing the boy over with the premise of examining the map with them, "Care to tell me the true story?" she asked, deciding that confronting Henry would come easier than speaking with Emma about what was bothering her, whatever Liam had said to make her so anxious and hurt. She would hold it in till she had processed it, Henry was a little more open.
Henry glanced at her, "I almost forgot mom gets that superpower from you."
Piper smirked, "I take it the Apprentice did tell you, but it was not at Granny's."
Henry sighed, looking back over his shoulder to make sure the others were occupied, before looking down at the map and speaking, "Cruella cornered me…" he reached out and grabbed Piper's arm when she nearly turned to go hunt the woman down herself, "She didn't hurt me, Aunt P, she wanted to make a deal," he rolled his eyes.
"What sort of deal?" Gold asked, tense himself, ready to work out any loophole needed if the boy had made one with her.
"She said that, as the Author, if I find the magic pen, I can write her alive again," he told them.
"Which means you could write all of us back to Storybrooke," Gold realized.
"Yeah," Henry nodded, "I'm not gonna write her alive, don't worry about that, but she was trying to 'help' me find the pen and I thought I saw something in the woods. It was the Apprentice. He warned me not to resurrect Cruella."
Piper rolled her eyes at that, which made Henry smile, she clearly knew he'd never do that yet the Apprentice had thought him in danger of that decision enough to warn against it.
"He kept going on about how I shouldn't write the stories the way I want but just record and…" he huffed, frustrated, "It's not like I actually would unless it was a last resort."
He was sure, had things been different, he would have been motivated by much more than just wanting to help people for a temptation to actually change the stories. He had told the Apprentice that he was sick of sitting on the sidelines, of not being able to do anything, that he wanted to help. The last part was true. The other parts, well...his aunt and his mother had both made him part of things, given him a role to play, things to do, ways to help. He just…he wanted to have the power to do more IF it was needed. His family was pretty clever and resourceful in their own right, so there wouldn't be much temptation in that area.
"He told me the pen was in the Sorcerer's Mansion, where all his great works of light magic are. And that it was protected by a powerful spell that the sheriff had the key for. He also said the only way that he could move on was if I make the right choice."
"Always count on a hero to lay on the guilt," Gold muttered at that last part. Oh Villains could as well, but they did it with intention and purpose, heroes would do it because they genuinely believed their way was the right way or that, by doing so, they'd keep people on the right path. Manipulation was manipulation.
It was clear to them both why Henry hadn't told the others what really happened. First, Cruella, her deal, and how they'd jump to the conclusion that he might actually go through with it. Then there was the Apprentice's warning, how his moving on was reliant on Henry's choice, they would find a way to convince Henry to do one thing or the other instead of trusting him to know better and make his own choices. He was telling THEM because they would just accept it, understand, not expect anything out of him, that they would guide him if needed but not push him.
They wouldn't react like he was in danger of doing something wrong when he hadn't done anything yet.
"Well then," Piper offered, "Find the pen we shall."
"You'll help me?" Henry looked at her.
"The book has 7 people searching for it, the pen but 1. We should even that out a little more."
Henry smiled, "Thanks Aunt P, grandpa."
~8~
It hadn't taken long for David and Snow to get the key from the sheriff's station and pass it on to Henry, Snow staying behind as David had gotten cornered by Cruella and she didn't want to leave him alone with that villain. That left the rest of them with the task of finding the book in the Sorcerer's mansion.
"The mansion is here," Hook remarked, somewhat surprised as they came upon the building, the Underworld version of it at least, "I guess old White Beard was telling the truth."
"Do we have the key?" Liam asked as they approached the door.
"We have it. But there's a protection spell on the door. Could be dangerous to open it."
Liam just smiled at that, looking around at the others, "Oh, well, I suppose I should do the honors. I've been dead the longest. I'd say I have the least to lose."
Hook chuckled and handed him the key from Henry, "You always were the noble one, weren't you?"
Liam gave him a wink and turned to the door, taking a breath and setting the key into the lock to push the door open, the group following him into the main foyer. It was…utterly abandoned, covered in dust and sheets and cobwebs. It was an odd thing, to Piper, to see the house still there. For if it was meant for Merlin and Merlin clearly was not in the Underworld, why keep the house?
"Wonderful," Hook wiped his hook off on his hip, having torn down a spiderweb, "I love what they've done with the place."
Liam looked up a giant staircase at the sheer size of the building, "We should split up...move fast."
"Uh, yeah," Emma nodded, though she was clearly uncomfortable with the idea of them all being apart, "I guess. Henry, uh, you got to stay here."
Henry frowned, "But this was my idea. I'm not gonna stand behind and do nothing."
"You're not doing nothing. You're the lookout."
He scoffed, "Lookout?"
"Don't argue with your mother," Regina quipped.
"But..."
"Or your mother," she added when he turned to try and get her agreement. She pressed a kiss to the top of his head as she passed, her and Liam going in different directions, while Hook and Emma went in another.
Henry huffed, "Why are they always leaving me behind?" he grumbled. He was a little surprised Emma had, but he'd also noticed she'd seemed a little sad and distracted before, she hadn't even noticed he'd lied about meeting the Apprentice at Granny's so he let that slide for now. But the others? That bothered him. He'd more than proven himself.
Gold chuckled as his petulance, so like Bae when he'd been a child, "Go on," he offered, nodding at Henry and Piper, "I'll keep watch and guard the door, you two find the pen."
"Really?" Henry turned to him, wide-eyed, beaming when Gold nodded, "Thanks, grandpa!" he cheered, lunging forward to hug Gold quickly before taking Piper's hand and dragging her out of the room.
It wasn't till they'd gotten halfway down another hall that Piper tugged him to a stop, waiting till he turned to her to give him a tight hug, "Many thanks, Henry."
"For what?" he asked, hugging her back, never one to refuse a hug, but pulling back slightly when it was over so he could look at her.
"Trusting him."
It was then that Henry realized what she meant. He hadn't questioned Gold, hadn't hesitated, hadn't contemplated what ulterior motive he 'must' have to keep watch for them. He'd just accepted the offer and gone along with it, fully aware and fully sure, absolutely certain, that Gold was truly just keeping watch, without any nefarious undertone or reason behind it. He trusted the man to do as he said in this instance.
He knew there were times when Gold might do that, wave the others off or make an offer so he could get something out of it. But he liked to think that he knew his grandfather well enough by now that he would be able to tell when that was happening and it wasn't this. And Piper was there, Gold was not happy being in the underworld, with Piper there too, he'd barely seen the man leave her side since they got there. For Gold to let Piper walk through this house with him, it meant he was keeping watch to keep her safe…but it also meant that Gold trusted HIM to look out for Piper as well.
He smiled, "No problem, Aunt P. He's grandpa."
The smile Piper gave him in return had him beaming, he knew not many people trusted Gold, he knew that it was a concern of his family whether or not the man had been 're-bound' to the Dagger and had to do its bidding or if he was still cleaved from it as before. But no one asked, because no one wanted to know right now, not with everything going on. He knew that there were only a handful of people who genuinely trusted Gold, the way Piper did, without fail and with complete faith in him.
He was really happy to count himself among that number, and he was happy that Piper was so pleased by it. She had been the only one to trust Gold this much in…probably ever, it meant a lot to her to know HE did too.
"Come on," he reached out to take her hand, turning back down the hall and taking a breath, "Alright, pen. If you're in here, give me a sign."
~8~
Piper stood at a window of the mansion, watching as Emma spoke with Liam down by a well, Hook joining them for only a minute before Emma was storming off. She couldn't hear what they were saying from that distance, even if Henry wasn't making some rather loud noises as he looked for the infamous pen. She remained there for a moment longer, her eyebrow lifting as she saw a swarm of men come out from the bushes and surround the two brothers before dragging them off. She was less inclined to inform anyone of that as it was very obvious to her that, when Emma waked off, she was very upset by something that had been said. As Hook did not immediately go after her, she would not immediately inform anyone to go after him, it was only fair.
"It's not here!" Henry huffed behind her, and she turned to see him plop down on a couch pushed against a wall with a pout.
She sighed gently, more in nostalgia of when August would throw his little tantrums of disappointment whenever he hit writer's block, and made her way over to him, sitting beside him, "We shall find it, Henry."
"How?" he asked, "I've been looking through this room for two hours and there's nothing here."
"Why this room?" Piper asked, because he was right, he had been through it...for two hours...which was excessively long to spend in just one room but he'd made no move to leave it nor indicated he thought it could be anywhere else.
"What?"
"Why this room?'
He shrugged, "I don't know," he answered, honestly not sure why he'd come to this room and only this room and spent so much time looking through it, "I just…I had a feeling about it."
"Hmm," she hummed, "Well then we need only explore that more. Clearly you sense the pen being here, we must hone it."
"How?" he looked at her.
"Close your eyes," she offered, "When I was first starting to learn my own magic…" she trailed off, thinking about her magic, "I had always heard the songs of others, for as long as I can recall. But it does make things hard when you are searching for but one in a crowded room. I had to learn how to sense and sort through it all so I could find the one thing I was searching for."
"How'd you do it?" Henry asked, his eyes closed, just listening to her.
"You have a unique magic all your own, Henry. No one else would be able to feel the pen as you do, it is connected to you as you are it. You came to this room for a reason, it is here, but you are trying to find it with your eyes and your touch. Try to feel it with your own brand of magic."
His face scrunched, "I've never used magic like that before."
"Calm yourself," she instructed, her voice gentle, steady, "Allow yourself to relax. Do not focus so much on finding the pen as feeling its magic. Picture it in your mind, recall how it felt to hold it before, the sense you had of it," she smiled a bit at a thought, "It was always easier for me to find a person's song that I was familiar with. Like my mother or my father's, I could almost feel their song as well as hear it. I could always find them no matter how many were in the room," she looked at Henry, "There are many magical objects in this house, likely in this room as well, but only one is the pen, and only one will feel to you how the pen did, only one will be calling to you as much as you wish to seek it. Let yourself feel it, Henry."
Henry took a deep breath as he listened to her speak, listened to her story and advice. He tried to picture it how she described, to recall that feeling he'd had when he'd first picked up the pen, when he'd held it in his hand. It was what drew him to this room but he'd gotten so caught up in thinking he should be able to instantly find it that the more he didn't the more he grew frustrated about it. He could feel himself relax as she talked, and the more he thought about that feeling, the pen, the more he saw it in his mind, the more he…
His eyes snapped open and he stood up, looking around, until his gaze fell on a lamp in the corner of the room. He hurried over to it, reaching underneath the shade…and pulled out the pen and a bottle of ink. He spun in a circle, a wide grin on his face as he held them up to Piper.
"Well done," Piper smiled in return.
~8~
Emma was starting to think she'd made a mistake in asking Henry to be the look out when they arrived back at the Underbrooke apartment and he headed straight for his room, leaving them to look over the book they'd found in the mansion, Gold remaining with them incase any magical or Dark One assistance was required. Both Emma and Regina had tried to go up and talk to the boy, but he refused, so clearly he was trying to show how NOT been happy he was with any of them. Piper had gone up near twenty minutes ago and had not come down and so they took it as a sign that he had accepted her company.
"There's nothing in this entire book about Hades," Snow frowned as she went through the book with David.
Hook sighed, "Liam ripped out every page. On behalf of my brother, I'm sorry."
Apparently that had been what Piper had seen Emma arguing with the brothers about. She had been suspicious of Liam, of how Hook believed and trusted in every word the man said and how he just so happened to appear with information about the book and right at the time when they found clues to obtain it. Hook hadn't believed her misgivings about the man, until it was too late. Liam had torn out any and all pages from the book that could relate to Hades and his weaknesses, as per Hades' instructions.
The two men had gotten themselves captured and, eventually, Liam had moved on to a better place, convincing Hook to stay in Limbo with Emma, to not move on with him but stay for love, fight for love, and be a better man than HE had actually been.
But now they were in a worse place, for they had the book, but nothing in it could help them.
"Maybe there's something else in here that can help us," Emma offered, "Our storybook had all kinds of secrets in it."
"Which the boy discovered," Gold reminded them.
"Yeah, Henry IS kind of the expert on storybooks," David looked around, he and Snow having arrived shortly after Piper went up, "Where is he?"
"He's upstairs going full emo teenager," Emma stated.
"And doesn't want to talk to anyone right now," Regina added.
Gold smirked, "Except Pip," which earned him a glare from Regina for the reminder.
"You're…ok with that?" David asked cautiously when that was ALL Regina did.
"At least he's talking to someone," Regina replied, it was the entire reason she'd gotten him the sessions with Archie before Emma even appeared, because he'd stopped talking to her and she hadn't wanted him to keep things bottled up. Archie was a good man, but it was his job to be Henry's therapist, he got paid for it. Piper...she was his family and she loved him, and Regina knew that the fish would do anything to help him, to make him happy and feel safe and secure. She genuinely cared and wouldn't do anything that could harm him, so...she barely grinned and bore it for the sake of her son.
"And it's Aunt P," Emma shrugged, "Why wouldn't I be ok with it?"
David glanced around, opening his mouth to say something that had Snow shaking her head at him, warning him not to say it. He sighed, nodding to her, she was trying to make amends with Piper and him saying 'she's a villain' wouldn't help. And...if he was being honest with himself, even HE could admit her being a Siren, in this one case, was a benefit to them, because she loved Henry and she'd protect him. She'd never do anything to hurt him so...if there was one person outside of the 'hero' scope that he would trust Henry with...it would be Piper.
Still, the grandfather in him worried for his grandson, that maybe it was something he might need a man's perspective on, "I'm going to go check on him, them," he spoke, "We really need to start working on the book."
"No need," Piper's voice cut in, the woman coming down the stairs with Henry before her, "Shepherd," she greeted with only a slightly-narrow-eyed look, clearly having heard what he'd said and wasn't sure whether he was coming to check out of distrust or genuine concern but...appeared to be trying to give the benefit of the doubt.
"Henry," Emma looked over at him, "Everything ok?"
Henry glanced at Piper who nodded, before he smiled at his moms, "I need to show you something."
~8~
Henry hadn't actually required any talking to or emotional speeches or anything of the sort, the heroes learned. He hadn't gone up there to ignore his mothers, he hadn't gone there to brood or sulk about being left behind. He had gone there to test the ink and pen he'd found, to make sure it would work before he told anyone else about it. He didn't want to show his family it and have them get excited only for it to fail. Emma had nearly caught him, then Regina had interrupted, and he just…he didn't want them to be there and see it in case it didn't work. Piper, she at least knew more about the magic pen, through Gold, than his mothers did and he knew she wouldn't get overly excited for it, she had seen him find it in the first place. She had merely been there to help him if it didn't work, to make sure HE wouldn't take it too hard. His mothers, he knew they'd do the same, but he knew they'd also get hopeful first and he'd have to see that break apart and then they'd try to help him and he'd rather avoid that.
It had worked though!
And now he just had to show his family.
"The Author's pen?" Regina blinked at him, "I thought the Apprentice destroyed it."
"He did," Henry nodded, "But that just brought it here. The Apprentice told me where it was. I thought if I used its power, I could be a hero."
Regina frowned at that, "Henry, what made you think you needed to do this?"
"At first, it was Cruella," he admitted, "She wanted me to use it to bring her back to life."
"Why would you help her?" David asked.
"I wasn't," Henry told them, giving David a pointed look for the assumption he jumped to, "She wanted me to help her. I never said I would, she assumed," he shrugged and sent a smirk to Gold, "I learned a lot about how to make deals lately," he joked, reminding them of Rumpelstiltskin and the Pied Piper, "I also learned that, sometimes, 'villain' tricks can be used for good, by heroes."
"Ok," Snow said slowly, knowing she would have no right to criticize the methods used here after what she and David had done to Emma and Lily. She was trying very hard to look at it in terms of something Piper had taught him, that helped him, than a trick from a villain he'd adapted as his own. Because being sneaky wasn't always a bad thing, and using tricks were common place, not just something villains did. Tricks were like traps, and she and David had laid enough of them through their lives to know they weren't good or bad themselves, it was the intent behind the trap, "Why would Cruella think you're helping her?" she asked instead, "What did she say to you?"
Henry rolled his eyes as he recalled the way Cruella tried to manipulate him, "She tried to say that mom, Emma, would be weighed down by guilt over her dying."
"Why would I…" Emma began, confused, "I wasn't the one who killed her."
"I know," Henry looked at her, "But she knows Aunt P did it to keep us safe, to stop you doing it. She said that you would feel guilty that someone was killed for you."
"She's never met a real mother before has she?" Emma muttered to herself.
"It's sort of a good thing she said it though," Henry looked around, "Because is she came to ME for help, then she thought I could do it. And that's when I realized I have all this power and I ignore it. I just live in everyone's shadow. I want to be someone who takes action, not someone who has to be rescued all the time."
"I understand that," Emma offered.
"But that's not the way to do it," David spoke, nodding at the pen.
"I know," Henry huffed, crossing his arms, getting frustrated now, "And that's why I wasn't going to tell you at first. Because you all just assume," he gestured at David and Snow, "Heroes always assume they know everything and they don't. I'm your grandson, but you don't know all of me. Don't assume you know what I'll do or won't do. Ok?"
"Henry…" Snow frowned.
"It has to be said," Henry cut in, "You assumed grandpa would attack the town when he was free of the Dagger. He didn't, he wasn't. You assumed that Aunt P would just let Emma turn evil, she never would. And just now grandpa," he nodded at David, "Assumed I'd help Cruella or use the pen for my own purposes, when I wouldn't," he sighed, "It's not just you though…I assumed things too," he looked over at Regina, "I assumed that you were just evil for no reason, and I was wrong. Because there was Cora and grandpa and losing Daniel that pushed you there. No one is just born evil," not even Piper was born evil, dark, yes, but not evil, "I'm sorry I ever called you that, mom."
"To be fair," Regina remarked when he stepped over to hug her, "It was in the name."
Henry chuckled, and pulled back, looking at them, "I finally understand what the Apprentice meant. Because I shouldn't assume a story is going to play out one way or another, or assume you guys or anyone else is going to do something or not. I shouldn't force them to do something that isn't their choice just because I think they should. So," he held up the pen, "I'm gonna write the stories as they are, and I'll only ever interfere when it's really, really a last resort, and to save people, not hurt them. Right now I can help without needing to change anything. If I write the stories, maybe I can start with Hades and use the pen to re-create his story. So we can find out what secret he's keeping."
"Very clever plan, Henry," Piper remarked with a smile.
He was such a smart little boy. Not only had he broken past a very large flaw in the heroic personalities, in assuming not just the worst in villains but that they and they alone knew best about what was right. But he had made it a point to the heroes as well, he had made them realize what they'd done just then, in assuming he'd help Cruella, in assuming he'd change the stories just because he could. He'd forced them to see how they acted, by making it a point that HE would not do so going forward. That he had learned from THEIR mistakes how to be a better person. Being the Author and changing the stories would make him no better than a hero guilting someone or punishing someone because they thought they were right and everyone else was wrong. It wasn't HIS choice to make and he shouldn't assume that, just because a story was going one way, the 'characters' wouldn't go in a different direction, or learn, or surprise him.
"Well done, boy," Gold offered. He knew hew as guilty of forcing an Author to change the story, but as Henry said, it had only been a truly last resort and to save lives, to keep Piper and those they both cared about safe from the Darkness taking full possession of him. He had had 300 years as the Dark One, and he had never hunted down any of the Authors and forced them to change his story or write him a better ending.
Snow began to smile, even if it was bittersweet. Henry...he was right, she and David...they HAD acted like that, far too many times. She'd assumed the worst about Gold, then about Piper, then her own daughter, and just now she HAD been worried Henry had promised Cruella something, made some sort of deal, instead of trusting him. It had to stop happening, and if this young boy was so determined to change his ways, be better, more patient and understanding and trusting...she would too.
Her grandson was an inspiration to them all.
"Hades went to a lot of trouble to keep us from learning his story," Snow remarked after a moment of thought on Henry's plan.
"Which means we're onto something,' Regina agreed.
"Question is, what is Hades trying to hide from us?" David asked.
"I guess we'll find out," Emma looked over at Henry, "Good job, kid."
Henry nodded, looking around at his family.
He...hadn't been completely honest with them.
It was more like 97 percent honest, enough that, he hoped, Emma and Piper wouldn't notice the 3 percent fib. It wasn't that he lied, he just...didn't add EVERYTHING to what he said. He was going to use the pen and write the stories as they'd happened, and yes, he would start with Hades…but it wasn't just Hades he wanted to know about. And it wasn't just the stories that had already happened that he cared about knowing...it was the stories happening right now, stories, he hoped, might edge a bit more into the future too.
He wouldn't lie and say he wasn't still very worried for his aunt and grandfather. His aunt was pregnant, her child would be a quarter Siren, and while that wasn't bad...he was sure the heroes would have accepted it far more than they'd ever accepted Piper given that it would be 'less' dark creature than she was...it was just that the child wouldn't be three quarters human either as a result, it would only be a quarter human.
And half Dark One.
He had seen it, he remembered, he'd seen Piper's child using dark magic from the womb. A power like that? With the Dark One as its father?
He could recall the hesitation and suspicion his own father had been met with in town when people realized who he was. To be the Dark One's son, even born when the man was still mortal and human, had meant countless looks, never ending distrust, people on edge around him. He could only imagine the chaos and the fear and the hatred Piper's child would endure being born half-Dark One. Maleficent's child had been selected because she was the child of a villain, she was part dragon, and therefore part dark creature and not fully human and would never be 'light.' So the heroes had used her, cursed her, hadn't cared about the child's innocence.
He wanted so badly to say the heroes wouldn't hurt Piper's child , that Snow White had learned her lesson…but their own actions with other children had proven otherwise and he couldn't take that risk.
He wanted to write the stories, he wanted to write specific stories, because then, maybe, he would be able to write Piper's. Maybe he could write the stories still to come, he didn't know exactly how this power worked after all. He just…he wanted to know what was in store for Piper's child, whether it would be safe or if it was in danger.
Because if it was in danger?
He'd do everything he could to keep his cousin safe.
A/N: Aww, little bit of protective Henry here :D LOVE him :)
When it got to the part of the show where Henry was left behind as lookout, I was like 'oh Piper's not gonna let that happen' lol :) I feel like, of all the magic users there, Piper might have a better sense of a magic no one else has, that's more instinctual than learned or taught, and she might be better to connect with Henry and help guide him in finding his own unique power :) Like she's always heard people's songs, that's not something she was taught, she just had to learn how to differentiate and separate it :)
I didn't much care for Liam :/ Piper was a bit relieved to not have to spend time with the man, she can only handle one Jones for so long before wanting to end him, having two would probably drive her to murder lol. But she's not happy with whatever he said to Emma that upset her, and she will find out soon what that is ;)
It was funny, when I initially outlined this chapter, I thought it would go more towards a Emma-Piper bonding chapter, but as I wrote it out it veered more towards a Henry-Piper bond with sprinkles of Gold bonding too :) Henry and Piper working together is never bad in my book ;)
Emma's lesson for the heroes didn't have a lot of time to sink in or be discussed when everything was being revealed after Hook 'awakened' as the Dark One in Storybrooke. But I mentioned she, Henry, and Piper would be bringing up parts of that lesson to really make pointed reminders to the heroes about things they'd done. This was one example for Henry, he was using what they do wrong to not only make them aware they're doing it all the time but to show them that HE is going to be different and he is going to change and stop assuming things. A sort of lead by example :) Hopefully, if they see him actively working not to do it, they'll be more aware when they do it too ;) He'll write the stories and not assume he knows what should happen in them ;)
Though David might have more trouble coming around to that, he's a little thick ;)
Some notes on reviews...
I can say the contact for the second-born does still exist, but whether Hades will utilize it we'll have to wait and see ;) It wasn't why Gold or Piper went to the Underworld though, nope. At that point they weren't thinking about the deal still being somewhere, to Gold the man who made the contract was dead for a very long time and he wasn't thinking that it could be transferred to Hades. He and Piper also don't know if Hades even knows a second child exists so they aren't thinking of that when they head on down ;) Gold's was a bit of trying to see if Bae was alright, and to protect Piper. Piper's reason...we'll find out soon ;)
Lol, Piper very much agrees with you and deeply regrets her loss of control when it comes to not punishing Milah more ;)
I didn't understand Milah either :/ If it was such a big deal to her that he was now a 'coward' in the eyes of her village...move to a new village where no one knows Rumpelstiltskin and get over it :/ I also didn't get her reaction to the way Gold saved Bae, because her actions from the moment he returned injured from the war to that point where he made the deal to save Bae...she did not act at all like a woman who even wanted a second child with him, so it would make sense to me for him to offer that up because with how she was acting it would never happen anyway. And then she got mad that he took that choice from her, when literally she could have slept with anyone, had a second child, and it wouldn't be HIS second child if it was that important to her :/ Ooh the Black Fairy...Piper is going to have a time with that one }:)
I can say, thankfully, Thomas won't be in the underworld as a child or teenager ;) I can say he's somewhere in Storybrooke, and the heroes might meet him again one day for a short moment ;) Blue's actions will come to light more in the next story ;) And we'll find out in a few more chapters what's happening in Storybrooke as well as if Zelena found out about how close she came to losing her daughter ;) I can say if she didn't find out in Storybrooke, she will find out before the end of this story what happened ;)
I'm almost curious what Milah's life would have been like if she hadn't met Hook when she did, if she had killed Fendrake and healed Bae instead of pushing Rumple to be brave. I feel like she could have used that as a liberating experience, proof that SHE can do it, SHE can keep her son safe, she doesn't need her husband, and she could have taken Bae and left Rumple alone, because she'd know he couldn't stop her if he couldn't stop Fendrake and she could. Possible she missed an opportunity there to get most of what she wanted, her son with her and escaping her husband and marriage, perhaps even getting passage on Hook's ship and meeting him that way. I suppose we'll never really know though :)
I'm really glad the small ways Piper and Snow influenced each other came across :) Snow's belief in Piper's human side were what kept her from fully just completely giving over to being a Siren, because she loved her cousin and that love allowed her to find it in more places, so when she eventually had that cut off, she didn't just revert to a 'Siren' she still had others to keep her half-human. And she's learned to accept others because she had that guide of her cousin accepting her, even if it was a bit more heavily focused on her human half, once she did embrace it, it allowed her to see that there can be beauty even in the darkness of people, good to be found even in the bad :) I like to think that, eventually, it'll come full circle into this version of Piper helping this version of Snow to reach that same level of love and acceptance :)
We might see a bit more of Gold reacting first to things as the story goes on. I think having his 'mate' pregnant and not many others knowing is going to put him very on edge about things. But he's a largely intellectual person, I think, and he prides himself on being sly and cunning and tricky, making plans and traps and loopholes and being two steps ahead. So we'll get something of a protective reaction to him when Piper really needs it or the stress is high, but mostly he'll delight in thinking things through to create the maximum amount of pain and torture and revenge. Sort of like how Piper regretted killing Milah so quickly, because the instinct made her do it, she wishes she had the capacity to really drag things out and not just snap at times :)