Siege Perilous
August blinked when Emma appeared before him and Piper in the basement of her house in a swirl of black smoke…and holding a Dwarf's pickaxe.
"Well, that's one way to go," he mused. When Emma said she was going to get something that would help them remove Excalibur from the stone it was wedged in, he hadn't quite thought it would be that. Dynamite would be higher up on his list.
Granted, of all the things to come over with the curse, he hadn't expected to find THE Sword in the Stone hidden in Emma's basement either. Finding out from Piper what they planned to do with it once it was free, well, THAT he had at least somewhat thought possible. Now it was just about how to get it OUT of the stone that was the problem. They had options, there was a very obvious way to get it out, given how it was pulled last time, but the person who would have that pressure on them...they were trying to avoid THAT.
The less people who knew the sword was there, the better. The less people caught in the crossfire, the better.
Ok, so that last one was partly a lie. There was really only one person in the entire town who could end up truly caught in the crossfire and NONE of them wanted that to happen if they could help it.
Emma rolled her eyes, "They thought I was there for the dust, you'd think they'd be happy I took this instead."
"When are the dwarves ever happy?" Piper remarked dryly from where she stood beside August, having filled him in on the plan while Emma went to gather what was needed.
"The dwarves were there?" August gathered, Emma nodded, "Which means they've probably gone running to the others by now," he pointed out.
Emma smirked, "Good."
She couldn't help but think about all the times when it had been her they ran to. Everyone in town always running to her to fix it or solve it or stop it or break it. Regina wanted to be the savior? Let HER deal with the never ending complaints. Let her deal with every sneaking suspicion. Let her have to be the one to tell other heroes what was going on and have her be doubted, like she'd been with Tamara. The more chaos and fear she could create among the heroes the better. And the fact that she had once been a hero meant she knew the right places to pop in, the right things to set off, to cause the most fear and anger.
"Another distraction never hurts," Piper remarked.
August had to nod, realizing it had been the hoped for goal if not the intentional goal of Emma stealing the axe. She could have easily magicked the axe to them instead of gone to retrieve it. It was all a part of the plan to sow discord and build animosity in the heroes. It wasn't a coincidence that Emma had taken down two of the seven dwarves and stolen one of their axes in broad daylight. They were already on edge, she'd already 'killed' two of their brothers, they were always Snow White's firmest believers and supporters. And Leroy, especially, was always the hotheaded one, the one more willing to lash out and attack first. Emma was trying to goad them into trying to attack her so she could have another excuse to take more of them out.
Mostly for Henry's sake, that she wouldn't attack first now that she'd revealed herself, but 'defend' herself if the others came after her.
It was all a part of the plan, which he was very thankful to have been brought into. Emma needed them all to see that she was the Dark One, she needed the others to see their beloved heroes failing to stop her, she wanted dissent and division among them, she wanted others to question their leaders. Appearing and stealing an axe and not giving any indication what it was for was just another way to do it. They would wonder and fret and speculate, and, as heroes, jump to some conclusions as well. And the more sure they felt that they were right, likely the father from the real plan they'd be.
He was having a lot of fun helping them work out ways to mess with the heroes.
"I'm sorry I couldn't save him," he offered to the women, his own thoughts reminding him of a significant event that had 'messed' with their initial plans as well.
"If the fairies could not, I doubt you could have," Piper reached out to touch his arm.
The Sorcerer's Apprentice had died.
Piper had seen him weakened by the magic he had used to draw the Darkness out of Gold, a brief mention of him from Henry in Camelot had indicated that the man had collapsed after telling them how to get to Camelot. Apparently the heroes were unaware, at that moment, that the man had died shortly after in all the chaos that followed trying to follow Emma. The magic he used, the attack from the Darkness, it had been too much and he had passed from this world.
And so went their original plans for the man and his magic. All of this would have been so much simpler with the man in their clutches.
They hadn't planned to use Excalibur, they had meant to hide it, so that the heroes couldn't use it, destroy it even if they could. It had been a plan they had learned of in Camelot, the heroic intention to reforge the sword with the Dark One's Dagger, which had been created from the tip of Excalibur, and create a weapon capable of destroying all darkness once and for all.
Heroes, always trying to upset the balance.
As soon as they learned of this, it became imperative to find a way to get the sword and hide it away from King Arthur and the other heroes, so it would be impossible to do such a thing.
But, upon learning of the Apprentice's fate, they had only one option left, because the Sorcerer's wand might be powerful, but the sword was far more. Now they needed to work on freeing the sword so they could use its power instead of the Apprentice's, when the time was right. There was a catch to it though, because now that they needed to use the sword, it would only be a matter of time before the heroes discovered it. And it would only be a matter of time before they thought they knew what the plan for it was. If the light wanted to use it to destroy the dark...what would the dark do with it but the same in reverse? There would be no stopping the heroes trying to obtain the sword, so they had to be sure they had the sword, whole, in their possession, to keep the heroes from getting it.
And for that they HAD to get it free.
Their main problem now was that Excalibur was stuck back in the stone and only a true hero could pull it out. Nome of them standing before it now were true heroes. August had already admitted to his own shortcomings as an adult, he wasn't of a heroic disposition. Emma, being so infected with the Darkness, would not be recognized as pure enough of heart. And Piper? A Siren was an inherently dark creature, she wouldn't be able to pull the sword either.
They had one single option, but they absolutely refused to use it unless it was necessary.
Henry.
The boy with the heart of the truest believe, the Author, the son of the light and dark, a hero in his own right, would very likely be able to pull the sword for them.
But it would be an enormous burden to bear for him.
To do so would mean appearing to stand against the heroes, appearing to help the Dark. Even after all was said and done, the plan complete, the heroes would not approve of anything they had in mind. They would see Henry's actions as a betrayal, and while Snow White and Charming might be able to push past it, they feared the town would be of a mob mentality, they would treat Henry as though he were as good as a villain.
They would not ask the boy to do such a thing, to endure such criticism, if they could help it.
And so they were doing all they could to prevent that happening, any and all options they could think of to free the sword would come first.
The axe was but one of them.
"Well," Emma cut into their thoughts, "Let's try this baby out," she remarked, moving to the stone and hefting it above her head.
"A dwarf axe?" the apparition of Rumpelstiltskin appeared beside the stone, "Now, that's a creative path to failure."
"Dwarf axes cut through everything," Emma muttered.
August glanced at Piper when she spoke, a curious look on his face, to which she nodded. She had explained how the Darkness existed to help guide the newest Dark One, not wanting him to worry for Emma's sanity among other things. He nodded himself, understanding and watching.
"Nothing cuts through magic," the apparition warned, "Except maybe a kiss. Have you thought about kissing it out?"
Emma grit her teeth and swung the axe down…only for it to break on the stone instead of the other way around.
The apparition giggled, "You're running out of options, dearie. You see, we want you to, uh, snuff out the light. So, we need a hero to pull Excalibur from the stone. Now...and let's face facts, that's not gonna be you. So, why don't you stop messing around and go get the hero we need? Oh, and, uh, you and I both know who that is."
Emma's jaw clenched at its words. All too aware that while the apparition was of Rumpelstiltskin's face, the entity speaking through him was certainly NOT him. She was very well versed in when the oldest Dark One, the original, was trying to trick her. She'd learned a lot about Gold and his relationship with Piper, how it influenced the apparition she saw that no one else could. There were times he spoke, things he said, and she knew it was the most recent Dark One talking to her, a reflection of the memories and things he had learned while being Rumpelstiltskin.
She supposed it was too bad for the Darkness that she had someone at her side who also knew which was which when suggestions were made, what Rumpelstiltskin would suggest as opposed to the true Darkness buried inside her.
"Shall we move to Plan B then?" Piper offered in the disappointing silence that followed, not wanting Emma to forget that; while this may have failed, they were not out of options.
Emma sighed and turned around, tossing the remnants of the axe to the side, "Yeah."
"Actually," August began, "I found something I think you'll both want to see," he pulled the book he'd had tucked under his arm out and began to flip through some pages. He'd come there initially to speak to Piper about it, show her, but he'd found Emma down in the basement with Piper and seen the sword and stone and had to be clued in on the entirety of the plan first. Then Emma had appeared before he could offer him another part he knew they'd want to hear about, "After the Apprentice died, I started poking around the shop, looking for something that could help…" he glanced at Piper, "Because when the source of the magic dies…"
"So do their spells," she murmured, nodding, it had been something she had been very alarmed about upon learning of the Apprentice's death.
If the man who cast the preservation spell on Gold died…the magic keeping Gold safe would fade as well, and all the promises he and the heroes made about him being safe and protected and having time to heal would be for nothing.
The Apprentice might have pulled the Dark One's Darkness out of Gold, but once his heart had been returned to his body, all it would do was allow the remnants of his own personal darkness to weaken his heart. The preservation spell was meant to keep everything frozen until they could protect his heart. He had been the Dark One for 300 years, and part of what he'd done had been that Darkness, but other things had been Rumpelstiltskin himself choosing to do so and utilizing the Dark One's power to see it through.
"And Gold's in trouble," Emma followed along, having come to that conclusion herself, "What have you got?" she asked, more than willing to pause their quest to free the sword because it wouldn't help anyone if Gold died, especially Piper, she'd be devastated.
"I found a healing spell in one of his old books," August showed them, turning the book to face them.
Piper eyed it critically, reading through it. There HAD been a handful of spells that could protect Gold's heart when they'd cleaved him from the Dagger. The one they chose was the most convenient one they could do, requiring little but providing immense protection. And by the time they'd returned to Storybrooke, it had been too late to use the other ones, his heart was in too poor condition for it to be effective. Now though, now this one appeared as though it might stand a chance to help.
She glanced up at August, "Do you have..."
"I managed to scrounge up everything it needs," he nodded, putting his one hand on the strap of the messenger bag he'd slung over his chest, "But there's one thing I don't have."
"What's that?" Emma squinted through the spell and ingredients.
"An object that touched him when he was still a man, before he became the Dark One."
Piper let out a breath, "The only thing he had was Bae's shawl, and he touched it more than it him…and he has touched it numerous times since becoming the Dark One."
"I looked through the whole shop," August agreed, "And it's not like I can go back to the Forest 300 years ago to find anything…"
Emma straightened at that mention of something 300 years old, "You may not have to," she considered, "I think I know a guy who may have something that can help…" she looked at them, nodding her head, determined and eager to do this. Piper had done so much for her, in Camelot, and now in Storybrooke, the least she could do was get something to help keep her true love safe. And the sooner Piper wasn't half worrying about Gold, the sooner they could focus on their plan in full, "You two get everything ready, leave that part to me."
Piper nodded as Emma disappeared in a swirl of black, "Hook," she realized, "He is the only one alive that knew Rummy while he was a man, besides Blue," she nearly scowled at the name of the Fairy, "As much as it pains me to admit, the pirate would be more likely to help than a fairy now."
August chuckled, and slung his arm around her shoulders, "Come on, mama," he led her to the stairs, "This shouldn't take long."
~8~
Emma wasn't fully sure how she felt about the fact that Hook took her up on her offer to meet, when she put an order in at Granny's for takeout with a message that he meet at the Jolly Roger. He had walked out on her a short while ago, seeming like he wanted nothing to do with her as the Dark One, yet he was coming to meet her? What did it mean? Had he not given up on her? Or was this a ploy to try and use another way to 'break the curse' on her?
She waited till he'd walked into the cabin of the ship to appear behind him, not in a swirl of black, but just appear…he didn't appear pleased with it.
"That's not funny, appearing like that."
"Sorry," she offered, though she didn't feel very sorry, observing him closely. It was just magical transportation, light magic could accomplish it just as easily as dark. Would he still complain if she'd appeared in a swirl or flash of white smoke? She apologized, but that wasn't a promise not to continue to appear and travel by magic. If she'd learned one thing from Piper it was to embrace your magic, whether light or dark, accept it, use it, because the more comfortable she was with her magic, the more comfortable and sure she would be using it.
"What's going on?"
"I know this has all been really confusing," she began, "And I have not made it any easier. I wanted to apologize for overreacting last time. I know you're just trying to help. So, I thought...we could just talk and have lunch, like old times."
Hook gave her a small smile at that, "I'd like nothing more. But this is hardly like old times."
Emma did her best not to react to his words with the irritation she was feeling growing in her. He kept bringing up her change as though she wasn't aware of it. He kept talking like he couldn't accept the change in her yet expected her to accept the change in him? The double standard grated her. But she tried to look at it from his point of view, that becoming good was 'better' than becoming bad. She looked down when he set the takeout bag on the table nearby and waved her hand to transform it into a literal banquet, complete with a checkered table cloth.
For good measure, and a bit out of spite, she gestured to herself and magically conjured the pale pink dress she'd worn on their first actual date to her, her hair now up in a ponytail, the hair itself even appearing blonde again and not white, "Better?" she asked, just an edge of hardness in her voice.
Her fears that he only liked the good version of her and not HER kept coming back to her. Would she constantly have to keep pretending to be someone she wasn't anymore around him? Was he just pretending with her? Pretending to be the hero instead of actually changing?
She shook her head, she couldn't be distracted or angry right now, too much was relying on loosening Hook up and leading the conversation. Piper was counting on her, she had to do what she could to get him to open up even a little, to let his guard down enough to get what she needed.
"Come on," she moved to sit down, "You know you can trust me."
Hook eyed her a moment, before he moved to join her, Emma starting to fill her plate, leading him to do the same, though once it was filled, he set his fork aside, "I have questions…"
Emma cut him off, guessing what it would be, "You want to know if I'm still the same Emma."
"I imagine that's not a simple answer," he mused, "So let's start easy. Your new house. What's behind that locked door?"
Emma tilted her head, "A basement."
"And what's in the basement?"
"How is that any of your business what people keep in their basements?"
"You know I want to trust you, Emma. Why don't you help me?"
Emma's jaw clenched for a moment at the revelation he didn't trust her, when she'd really done nothing so far to earn that distrust. Yes, she'd erased everyone's memories, but it wasn't fully her fault, clearly (as far as they knew) THEY all failed her not the other way around. And if Regina had lied or kept the truth from the others then they would think SHE had summoned the Fury, but that wouldn't be on HER for the fib but Regina. Really, what HAD she done to them other than be the Dark One and suddenly that trust was gone? SHE had given him the benefit of the doubt each time he screwed up and fell back to his villainous ways, but he couldn't extend the same to her? It was annoying her now.
"So trust me," she countered, "With my powers, I could hide anything from your prying eyes, anyway."
"Well, you've answered my first question, too," Hook glared at her, "You're not the same Emma. She didn't play games."
"Yes," she answered, "I'm different. And I've learned a lot of things in the last few weeks. Honestly, I think I'm better now than I've ever been."
"As the Dark One."
She huffed, "My parents cursed another child to remove my darkness," she told him flat out, "My magic was unbalanced. I was the Savior of the Light, now, being the Dark One, yes, I am better, because maybe my magic can finally realign. Balance."
Hook shook his head, "I'm sure that's what the fish told you…"
Emma rolled her eyes, "I used to be scarred and judgmental and closed off. Took me forever to see the magic in this place. And now I...I see things clearly. I'm not scared anymore. Honestly, I'm an open book, if you're willing to take that trust step."
"Are you really suggesting that we move forward in a real relationship?" Hook scoffed.
"Piper and Gold love each other," Emma said simply, grateful for the lead in.
Hook shook his head, "I don't think you should use the Crocodile as your example. Nor the fish. They are both villains. Something I no longer aspire to be."
A part of Emma was a little…relieved to hear that, but also cautious of it, too. Relieved because it meant, on some level, Hook did actually WANT to change, want to be better, want to be a hero. But another part of her was cautious, because she couldn't help but think if he said that just so she'd appreciate it if she could eventually be 'saved' and a hero again too. Did he want to be a hero so he could save HER or because he wanted to be a hero and save others?
Emma shook her head, focusing, now having just the right way to get him emotional enough to reveal what she wanted, "He wasn't always. He was born a coward. He didn't find true love until he was the Dark One. You told me how the man he was groveled and cried on the deck of this ship. He changed for the better, too."
"You're wrong," Hook argued, getting to his feet, "I was the villain in that little drama, Swan. He was a good man trying to keep his family together. I took this cutlass," he pulled out a sword from his belt and held it flat before him, "And put it to his head and taunted him. I was the only one there who's changed for the better. He became an evil, manipulative killer."
Emma nodded, slowly standing and reaching out to touch the sword, running her finger down the length of the blade before taking it from him to examine it, "Do you remember when we were in the Storybook and I taught you how to swordplay?"
"More games," Hook scoffed, "Enough, Swan!" he stepped back from her, needing distance between them, "All I wanted was your honesty. But I'm done...humoring you. Answer me. And start by why you brought me here. It wasn't because this is what we used to do, because that you isn't here. You need something, Dark One. Tell me what it is."
Emma's eyes narrowed at that, so she was the Dark One then? Not Emma, not Swan, not someone he loved, just the Dark One?
"All I need is your trust. I promise."
"I liked you the way you were. I liked your walls. I liked being the one to break them down."
"The way I was wasn't me either," she pointed out, "I don't know who I am, because my parents took that choice away from me," she took a breath, still very raw about that key part of her life, "I have a question for you for once," she stepped forward, using the move to lower the sword she was still holding and move it behind her, "Do you love me? ME? Or the girl you thought I was? If you tell me you don't love me, I will let you go."
Hook eyed her a long while, "I loved you," he admitted, "I guess I'm either steering home or swimming home. Tell me which."
On some level, she expected that.
"The ship's yours," Emma told him, her voice rough, even if she expected it, it still hurt to hear. She took a breath, giving him a nod and disappearing in a swirl of black smoke, back to her house, to the living room where her magic picked up on Piper as it always seemed able to do recently, the small part of the Dark One she carried within her acting like a lighthouse in the dark, a blip on the radar.
It took Piper all of a single glance to know what had happened, just in the expression on Emma's face. She got up and moved over to her niece as Emma looked at the ground, a swirl of black moving around her to transform her back to her darker self, "It is not easy to love a Dark One," she told Emma, placing her hands on either side of Emma's face and lifting it to look at her, "For most," her eyes searched Emma's, "But it reveals the depth and type of love to be shared when it is found."
"Yeah," Emma let out a breath, closing her eyes when Piper hugged her, needing that.
Piper had warned her, in Camelot, warned her that Hook may come to despise her, unable to separate the Dark One from the person who acted as Host. That he may come to loath her for being the Dark One instead of love her despite it. He hated the Dark One for killing his Milah, but in other cases hated Gold and not the Dark One. She had warned, when the situation suited him, Hook might do the same, when he could no longer see EMMA he may come to view her as the Dark One only.
She had been so sure Hook would see her, love her, who she was, light or dark.
Only to be proven wrong.
He couldn't see past the Darkness in her, yet expected her to see past his own. He couldn't trust her when she kept things from him, but expected her to trust him when he wouldn't share his past.
Apparently becoming Dark was all it took for a pirate to think you weren't worth it.
She took a deep breath, Piper's words echoing in her mind, it certainly did reveal the depth and type of love. Belle, she knew, had once thought herself in love with Gold, but she loved the thought of saving him, of turning him human, breaking his curse. Hook couldn't even try to love her as she was now, or get to know her, or want to be around her.
If it was the Dark One he blamed for Milah, she could understand his hardship, but he was so intent on GOLD suffering, it was the man not the curse he blamed.
"Is that it?" August asked when they pulled away, nodding at the cutlass in Emma's hand.
She took a breath and nodded, the sooner they did this, the sooner they protected Gold, the sooner they could work on getting the plan in motion. When all was said and done, then she'd have to decide if Hook was worth it.
"Yeah," she cleared her throat, handing August the sword to examine, "Good?"
He nodded, beaming at her, "Perfect."
"So how do we do this?" Emma moved over to the couch where Gold was now lying, August kneeling on the floor by the coffee table, with the book and a bowl of ingredients already combined within it.
"You dip the end of the sword in the potion, and then touch Gold's heart with it," August explained, "It'll protect his heart."
Piper sighed, "It shall also wake him."
Emma frowned, "I thought we were going to keep him asleep till we could give him the Darkness back?" she turned to Piper, knowing that had been a very big point for her when the Apprentice stepped in, that Gold should not have to endure being something he wasn't any longer for any length of time.
"It can't be helped," August frowned, apologetic, "The spell protects him from magic that would impact him from the inside, from his heart outward or from outward to his heart. So the Darkness won't touch him, but the preservation spell…"
"Would lose complete effect," Emma realized, still looking at Piper, "Are you ok with this?"
"Not at all," Piper answered, "But the preservation spell will wear off regardless of our efforts, with the Apprentice's magic gone. I would rather wake him now than watch it slowly fade."
Emma looked at August for that, "It doesn't happen often," he explained, understanding the question in her gaze, "But when a preservation spell begins to weaken, it's like…like dying from the inside out, slowly, if you were injured and it was meant to give you time. Or…or waking up from anesthesia in the middle of a surgery if it was just meant to prolong something. He might become conscious and unable to move or speak until it wears off more and more."
Emma nodded, yeah, that did not sound good at all.
"And," August added, reaching out to take Piper's hand to reassure her, "He might want to be awake for this," he offered, "He might have some more ideas what we could do to get the sword out. Or he might know other things in the shop or town that could help."
Piper took a deep breath, nodding, "He would not wish to be so helpless," she agreed.
It had been different when they had thought they would be able to heal him quickly after the Apprentice put him into preservation. She had thought they would find a spell, resolve it, and that she and Emma would be there to protect him from others trying to hinder their efforts. And then the Darkness had escaped, and Camelot had happened, neither of them had been there to keep watch over him and the preservation spell was starting to weaken. It would not do well to cast a second one on top of the first, especially when it was cast by another person. And if they healed his heart, the main cause for the spell would no longer be needed and there would be no need for the spell in the first place, he would wake.
"Ok," Emma nodded, "Let's do this then."
August stood up and handed Emma the cutlass once more, letting the woman with the most magic do her work as he stepped aside.
"Aunt P?" Emma turned to her.
Piper took a breath and nodded, knowing what Emma was asking and very grateful for it. After the fiasco with Zelena and the aftermath of New York, she and Gold were very protective of their hearts. She appreciated that Emma wanted HER to be the one to pull Gold's heart out and wasn't going to do it herself. It was allowing her to be a part of this and to be gentle.
She moved over to the couch, sitting on the side of it and reaching out a moment to touch Gold's face, just skimming her fingers down his cheek, to his neck, to his chest. She rested her hand over his heart and allowed her hand to sink into his chest, gently pulling his heart out of it.
It was clear to all of them that they were making the right choice when they saw the state of it. While it had glowed a brilliant white when the Apprentice was at work, it had been from imbuing it with light magic enough to force the Darkness out of it. But part of the darkness was his own.
The Dark One's darkness did give power to an individual, did try to influence them, but the intent behind an action, the desire, wasn't all the Darkness. It was the person. Gold had done a few things in his long life that were his and not because of the Darkness. Removing the Darkness kept that part from infecting his heart, but it was still no white chamber in Piper's hand, but red with black patches, just like when Piper had first held his heart so many years ago.
Putting the Darkness back into him would have killed him without some sort of protection in place, they were sure of it now. But, equally, the darkness already in his heart would have killed him one day too. This spell would keep the heart strong and protected as it went forward. His heart would had been preserved just by virtue of the magic of the Dark One freezing its host, the immortality and invulnerability it granted. But Gold had cleaved himself of the Dagger, which took away some of that protection and would allow the darkness to seep back in without that added protection if ever he dabbled in dark magic again.
Emma turned, lifting the cutlass and dipping it into the potion, glancing at August when it sizzled and began to smoke, to check if this was normal, to which he nodded.
She turned to Piper who held up the heart to her, lightly and very carefully tapping it with the cutlass, careful not to nick it or cut it at all.
There was a brief flash of gold, a hue that encircled the organ before seeping into it.
"It's done," August assured them.
Piper turned and, with such care, pressed the heart back into Gold's chest, resting her hand on top of it as he breathed deeply and slowly began to wake.
He blinked a handful of times before his gaze focused on Piper, "Pip…" he breathed, moving his hand to rest on top of hers.
"Rummy," she smiled at him.
He moved to sit up on the couch, his attention so fixed on her that he didn't seem to notice Emma and August standing there a few feet away. His eyes trailed over her face and down to her stomach, his eyebrows moving up slightly in a realization that it was not a mere blink of an eye as it felt to him, but clearly a number of weeks for her stomach was bigger than last he saw it.
"Just about 7 weeks now," she said by way of explanation.
He lifted his hand to touch her stomach, a soft smile on his face, a relief in his eyes to know his child was safe, his love was safe. But there was something else he felt, a hollow within him, as though a part of himself were missing. Though there was a prickling just under his skin that had him turning to see Emma and August, Emma very clearly now consumed by the Dark One.
"You are the Dark One," Gold observed her.
"For now," Emma stated, seeming to surprise him as he eyed her critically.
"A lot's happened," August spoke up, drawing his attention, "We need your help."
Gold considered them, before turning to Piper. The Siren was smirking beside him, that dangerous smile he loved so much that told him a great game was afoot, a plan put in action, a dark twist that would have the heroes suffering…and he felt himself grin to see it.
"Well then," he turned to the new Dark One, "How can I be of assistance?"
A/N: This chapter was SO hard to write! There were so many points where I wanted to just reveal their full plan but I had to hold off because that's what we get in the next chapter ;) We'll finally learn what's going on, what sparked all the moving parts for a majority of their plan and I can go a bit more in detail with the main chapters after :) Very relieved about that :)
I know there were more things that happened in the episode than here, but with Piper being there, Belle not being involved, and other changes, it just couldn't play out the same way. I figured August would do the same as Belle, if he's just sort of trapped in the shop to keep an eye on Gold, he'd use his time to try and find a way to help the man's heart. Emma and Piper would also be less concerned with what's going on with the heroes just yet. So far the heroes don't know about the sword, the Dwarves might try to stir some trouble, but there's that 'she's our daughter!' mentality the Charmings have that might make them hesitant to do anything just yet. Emma, also, doesn't have that secondary goal of waking up Gold on her own, she's doing it for Piper, so there was another layer to her tricking Hook into meeting, more focus, more awareness. Hope the changes made sense :)
I wanted to explore a bit more of Emma in this chapter, her take on being the Dark One, her willingness to use the magic when she was hesitant before about it in general. Her outlook on Hook and how he reacts to her. He DOES have a small point in treating her with hesitation and suspicion, because she IS trying to manipulate him and get something out of him. But Emma just keeps thinking about the roles being reversed and all the times she put her faith in him and trusted him even when he was still partly a villain. And she hasn't even really DONE anything to him personally and he's just distrusting her on principle of the Dark One being her now :/ She's going to be thinking a lot about the concept of hero and villain and how each side treats each other, the expectations and assumptions on either side as the story goes ;)
I'm very much looking forward to the next chapter though, we're going to get a lot of the important details, scenes, and conversations to really set the story going ;)
Some notes on reviews...
Oh if you think you're hating the Charmings now? Just wait, I guarantee before the series is over you may REALLY hate them }:) But at least, at that point, they will finally learn something about how they've acted for too long ;)
Those are some strong points that Emma will be faced with as the story/series goes, definitely ;) Henry would probably be more of the 'I don't really like him a lot but I'll try because you seem to like him and I want you to be happy' but he wouldn't be as content as if it were Neal or even maybe August. And Piper is going to do something that's going to make Emma consider how Hook actually fits and whether he's good for her in the long run, but in a sort of subtle way where that wasn't actually her intention but a happy accident lol :) We may get to a point where Emma just sort of goes, 'we tried, but I don't see it really going any further and I think we both need to find our happy endings for ourselves' but you never know, Hook might do something to completely turn that on its head. We'll have to see ;)
2020 was definitely terrible and 2021 is letting me down big time too :( I literally had a massive A/N at the beginning of the 3rd chapter just basically to the effect of 'what the absolute hell is wrong with some Americans?' and ranting for a good while, before I took a breath and erased it :( But I'm very happy that the story was able to be a bit of a bright spot :) I understand that completely, it's how I've come to feel about Doctor Who. I really, really struggle to get back into it, to keep interest in it, but it just keeps going down and begins to feel more like a chore to watch the show than a joy :/ Granted I'm still stuck on Bill's season, I've fallen so behind, but that's probably why I struggle so much, I'm just in that much of a funk, so I fully get it. I hope the story will give a fresh take on the last 2 seasons I'll be writing and can spin up some renewed interest :) I hope it lives up to expectations. And I hope you are being very safe as well!
The Underworld arc is going to be quite an important series of events for Piper, so I'm glad you're excited for it :) It felt a bit flat to me as well, too many old characters coming back when there were more things that I think they could have done to really make the underworld the underworld :/ But I'll do my best to put my spin on it and maybe add some changes to shake things up ;) Lol, that actually reminds me of the AU for Lyssa's story I have in mind. It would be a 'what if' Hook and Lyssa came along in the first Curse, and I'm just picturing him being deputy and like SO flustered when Lyssa stops by the station to visit or bring goodies and just the adorableness of him trying to 'court' her in his cursed self and the contrast to his real self and them trying to navigate that change :) For an Emma/OC, it depends, I'm always open to OCs popping up, but they more do just that, pop up in my head when I'm not expecting them lol :) Rarely are they ever planned out, they just sort of appear. So if an OC for Emma jumped out at me, I'd definitely be open to it, but so far none have waved their hand at me :)
Oh much more to the plan ;) We'll find out how much, or at least a good portion, in the next chapter }:) That part really got to me in the show, how she just kept letting Regina have the Dagger even after she basically instantly abused the power of it :/ I feel like, with Piper having had it, and the entire thing of freeing Gold from it, Emma would be more aware of just how much that control meant and feel that much more angry and offended when Regina used it the way she did ;) That was something I thought of as well, that Regina was just so used to control through hearts that this was just a residual habit or left over reaction from her to just use another means of control like the Dagger. But if she was really trying to change, she would have regretted it more doing that to Emma than been as amused as she was :/
Salut! Je vais bien, j'espère que vous aussi. Nous espérons que cette histoire soulèvera de nombreux points à remettre en question avec les héros et les méchants. J'espère que tu apprécies! (I used Google Translate to try and say: Hello! I am well, I hope you are too. This story will hopefully bring up a lot of points to question with the heroes and villans. I hope you enjoy!)
Hello! If all goes to plan, the final Athena story should be up around mid-May :) I'm glad you're excited for it! :D