The Beginnings of a Plan

While gardens were not her first choice to wander through, they were, Piper discovered, about the only place in Camelot Emma seemed allowed to go without others breathing down her neck about it, something Emma had picked up on as well.

It had been barely a week since the ill fated ball, and in that time it became far too clear how the others viewed Emma.

It seemed as though, no matter where she went or why was there or what for, the heroes would question what she was doing there. From the armory to Merlin's tower, it was as though half of them expected her to have a nefarious plan up her sleeves. Even going to the kitchens for a snack seemed to garner a Dwarf 'surreptitiously' following her. And god forbid she stop by Piper's room just to say hi, not that she had risked being anywhere 'private' with her aunt for just that reason. The gardens, though, it seemed to be the only place that the others couldn't find some sort of ulterior motive to be wandering through. They seemed to think the flowers, and the sun, and the life around her would be a good thing to be around.

So she had taken to walking through them with Emma, every day, to give the girl a reprieve from constantly being watched by nearly everyone else, no one more than Hook.

Emma rubbed her head, as she recounted something that had upset her earlier that day, before her father had gone off on a quest with Arthur for some magical object or another that would help communicate with Merlin. Her mother and Regina, and even Belle who had had the misfortune of being in the diner when it was flown to Camelot, had been going over Merlin's notes, trying to work out a way to get the man out of the tree, and she'd offered to just 'wiggle her nose' and do it.

And it was back to the 'no, Emma' and 'your magic is dark now' and 'Regina's right, Emma.'

Funny how when it was something they really wanted and were desperate about, it was 'Emma please use your magic'...even though it might condemn other people to death.

But now, when Regina had the chance to 'be the hero' and be the Savior, it was all, 'no, I'LL do it.'

She felt so used.

And it felt like Piper was the only one she could really talk to about it, be frustrated, be angry, be upset with, without them thinking it was the Darkness rearing its head or trying to take her over. It was like she wasn't allowed to feel any NORMAL darker emotion or else it was a sign of her doom. People got sad, people got angry, people felt frustrated, even heroes. No one was constantly happen all the time, yet now she felt like she HAD to be, she had to give that impression or the others freaked out.

Piper let out a breath, considering her ire at being prohibited from doing magic, from even joking about using it, "Your magic may be saturated with the Darkness, but that does not mean it is dark."

"What?" Emma looked at her.

"You have not yet bonded fully with the Darkness," Piper remarked, that had been a stipulation after Emma had dropped that rather large bombshell on her a week ago, that she not accept the Darkness for the moment, requesting a week, just one week, for each of them to consider all things, "As such, your magic should still be there. It may even be separate, merging but still separate."

"So I still do have some light magic in me?" Emma frowned, "Why the hell wouldn't they let me use that magic then!?"

Her first reaction was to think of Regina, and how quick she was to declare herself the Savior, wishful thinking perhaps?

"I assume they have not considered it," Piper glanced at her, "It may shock you to learn that not many heroes take time to actually learn about anything 'dark.'

"Yeah, I'm getting that," Emma muttered, sighing.

"And I cannot be completely sure if that IS the case, Emma. We would need to test it and, with how new the Dark magic is, it may take time to sort it."

Emma considered it, "So if I can work out a way to separate the magic in me, what triggers light magic and what triggers the dark magic…I could still use it without everyone else throwing a hissy fit about it?"

"It is possible," Piper agreed, "Much, I think, the way Regina tapped into her light magic to stop Zelena."

"So it is possible to be both," Emma murmured to herself, "Huh. I'm gonna have to practice that…"

They fell silent a moment, before Emma closed her eyes and felt around her with her magic, making sure they were well and truly alone before she spoke again, "Have you given any consideration to what I said?"

It had been a week now, exactly what Piper had asked for. At first she'd been a little exasperated, that Piper had to have thought she was just angry and not SURE about what she was doing. But Piper had told her she fully believed Emma's intentions, that it was a thought out desire and not a whim of the moment. But it was an enormous thing to consider, and if Emma was concerned she would think it was done in anger, then perhaps it was best to wait just a few more days till they were both sure Emma was calm and clear-headed before discussing it again. Emma could very well have been angry, or if she thought about it more she might have second thoughts.

"About becoming the Dark One?" Piper glanced at her, feeling more prepared to discuss it in full with Emma than before. She may have sat there blinking at Emma for a good number of seconds, honestly not having expected that to be what Emma wanted to talk about. Emma had gone into a tangent to defend herself and she wasn't sure she'd truly absorbed any of it given the war going on in her own mind and heart over the implications.

"Yeah."

"It is…" she let out a breath, "A path I am reluctant to give blessing to," she admitted, "You are my blood family, Emma, and everything in me screams out to protect you, to keep your heart pure and uncorrupted. It is a reaction, for me, an instinct," she looked at the girl, "It is why I have told you in the past that I could only stand by when you have truly thought a plan through and accept the consequences of it. I would not needlessly allow you to darken your heart when I could take that burden from you," she squeezed the arm Emma had linked through her own, "I need to know you are ready and sure, and not making a mistake you shall regret."

"So you gave me the week to really think about it," Emma surmised.

"And," Piper took a breath, "I might have needed time myself to consider the idea, to be sure I could hear you out in full without automatically wanting to stop you," she moved over to a small stone bench, ironically surrounded by red and white roses, Emma coming to sit with her, "I think I am ready to hear you."

Emma nodded, taking a moment to gather her thoughts, knowing this may be her only chance to really convince Piper of what she was thinking of, "Originally, I was thinking about my magic. It's unbalanced, I know it is. It's too light when it should be both or at least have a hint of both. And now it feels like I've got nothing but darkness in me and…it's bound to leave a lasting effect right? So I started to think maybe…maybe becoming the Dark One completely will, sort of, reset my magic," she turned to Piper, taking both her hands in her own, "And I'd give it back," she promised, feeling like that HAD to be said before anything else did, "As soon as my magic was realigned, I'd transfer it to Gold again. I don't want to keep it, Aunt P, it belongs to Gold."

Piper looked at her a long while, "Originally."

"What?" Emma blinked.

"You said originally, that was what you were thinking of. It may be what started you on the thought, but that is not truly why you wish it now," Piper mused.

"Damn, you really did raise Pinocchio," Emma muttered.

Piper snorted, "You get your superpower from my blood, Emma," she reminded her, "You were telling the truth, but not all of it. What has changed?"

"Honestly?" Emma sighed, "The heroes. Everything that happened with Regina and the Dagger, and Robin and Percival, even with Merida..." she took a breath, trying to not grow angry all over again, "Heroes get away with a lot of shit they shouldn't. My parents shouldn't be the rule for goodness. What they did to me, to Lily?" she shook her head, "No way in hell do they get a get out of jail free card and not face any real consequences of it. It's not right. Because if a villain took a child and cursed it, there would be hell to pay. There HAS been, villains have been hunted down and shunned for it. They didn't want me to be dark at all? Then let me be nothing but dark. Let them face down their worst fears and know that THEY caused this."

Emma took a breath, not realizing how truly angry she WAS about all of it, about the hypocrisy of the heroes getting away with terrible things while the villains were the only ones called out on it and suffering because of it.

She squeezed Piper's hands, calmer now, "Let me be the Dark One, let me show them how bad I can be," she looked into Piper's eyes, wanting her to know she was serious, truly serious, "Let them think they've lost their daughter to darkness, the same way Snow White thought she'd lost you to it. Let them think I'm willing to rip someone's heart out and crush it to get what I want. Snow White deserves it."

It was then Piper realized, it wasn't just Emma's own frustrations the girl was talking about, it wasn't a plan meant just to push the heroes or reset her magic…

It was for HER too.

Snow White had betrayed her, cast out her true love over a darkness he possessed, nearly led to her losing her unborn child, and only revenge against the woman would soften her heart enough to allow a possible reconciliation.

THIS could be a way to do it, more than just revealing what Snow White had done to Maleficent. Forcing the woman to face her worst fears about darkness, have her face the Darkness consuming her own daughter, and have her daughter side with the Pied Piper over the heroes? That would be a far greater revenge than the haphazard one thrown together when she and Gold learned about what happened, though they had been more concerned with his heart than revenge at the moment.

She heard enough in Emma's words now, that she didn't intend to truly go as dark or evil as the Darkness could lead her, she merely wanted the heroes to believe they had completely lost her to darkness. She could play up the Darkness without truly succumbing to it, they could work together and make it appear that Emma had gone far darker than she was. And that was something of a reassurance to her, and likely something Emma had anticipated given her protective instincts. She wouldn't want Emma to be so completely lost to something that wasn't fully Emma's own choice or freewill, without the influence of the Dark One's Darkness in her. If it had been a choice Emma made, long before what happened in Storybrooke, that she decided to become the Dark One and sought him out with the intent to take the power, that would be one thing. This had been done to Emma and she was using it to her advantage to seek revenge on a number of levels.

Her niece would be safe from any true danger, from any real corruption.

Heroes were notorious for thinking the worst to begin with, it wouldn't take much to have them assume the right things.

Have Emma stand before someone on the ground with their heart in her hand, and they all thought she was about to crush it, when she was literally just standing there.

It could work, it could be safe, EMMA could be safe from that temptation…if she had someone on her side to guide her along that fine line and keep her from falling too far, someone she trusted to keep her good…like HER.

"Well?" Emma asked, because…she trusted this woman, more than her parents right now. If Piper didn't think it was a plan work doing, she wouldn't. It was just…this seemed to be the best way to punish the heroes and to help her aunt one day work out her issues with her cousin.

Snow White nearly caused Piper to lose her child.

Let Snow White think she'd lost her child in return.

Piper looked at her, and studied her face, gauging her seriousness, her drive, how dedicated she might be to seeing this through for it would not be easy, but Emma looked half worried and half sure. She'd had long enough to consider everything it would mean.

"Let the games begin," Piper declared.

Emma seemed to sag where she was sitting, "Seriously? You're onboard?"

Piper nodded, "Your heart shall not blacken, not the way it would if you yourself chose to commit a dark deed. The Darkness protects it in that sense, being bound to the Dagger. It is why Rummy and I searched for a way to protect his heart once that bond was severed and the Darkness truly became him, fusing with him, but not infecting his heart. I do worry that if you consciously decide to do something now, before the Darkness merges with you, THEN it will touch your heart, because it is not the Darkness but you. We would need to monitor that."

"You really think that could happen?" Emma asked.

"I cannot say," Piper sighed, "Emma, this truly has never happened before."

Emma fell silent, giving it some thought, "It's a chance I have to take," she decided, "My heart is too pure and not because I chose to make the right choices, but because of what my parents did to me. How will I know who I really am if I don't see what the dark is about and choose to resist it later," she snorted, realizing she should probably add something else to soothe Piper's instincts, "Besides, a black spot on my heart isn't going to corrupt me, just look at Mary Margaret."

It was true, a bad deed here or there would not corrupt a person, Piper could admit. While she had prevented Snow from doing a horrific deed to Regina and Cora, she hadn't been there to stop her cursing Maleficent's child, yet Snow was still seen as a paragon of good and seemed to wish to DO good, perhaps even more firmly than she had before now that her sins were known.

Emma turned to her, "I'm not talking about being the Dark One forever, I wouldn't do that to you or to Gold," she promised, that was a main thing for her, that Piper know NOW that she did NOT want it to be permanent, so if...IF she did completely lose herself to the Darkness, Piper would know to do anything she had to to get her back, "I don't plan to be that long enough to be so corrupt. I just…" she let out a breath, "I just want the heroes to learn their lesson and…and maybe to stop with this ridiculous hero/villain divide. Stop treating every villain like they're some great evil when they wouldn't treat another hero the same even if they made the same choices as a villain," she looked at Piper a long while, "Will you let me?"

Because getting Piper's agreement that the plan was sound was very different then Piper actually LETTING her become the Dark One and she wanted that explicit confirmation.

"You do not need my permission, Emma," Piper told her, "It is your life and your heart."

"I know I don't need it, but I want it," Emma was firm, "I want your help, you're the only one I trust to let me walk this path but not let me fall off of it."

Piper laughed a little at that, "Imagine if the others heard you speak so. Trusting a villain, a dark creature, to keep you going dark, and not the heroes to keep you light."

"They wouldn't trust me," Emma countered, "They'd think it's the Darkness influencing me or me going evil," she rolled her eyes, "They'd prevent me doing anything and watch me even more. They wouldn't hear me out and…" she let out a breath, "They haven't been in the dark long enough, if at all, to tell me what's grey and what's truly black."

"Regina or the pirate…"

Emma shook her head, "Regina would try to stop me, to make things up to my parents and to 'be the Savior' and Hook…" she sighed, "I have my own test for him."

"Do you?"

Emma snorted, "How did I know that would be of interest to you?"

Piper shrugged, smirking, "I am an open book."

"Yeah, right," Emma laughed this time, cracking a smiled, "I know you think I don't listen to your concerns about Hook. I do. I have my own. I just…I care about him, I really do, he's trying so hard to change, and...I want to give him the benefit of the doubt that he wants to change as much as Regina does. It wouldn't be fair to keep giving Regina a chance and support and not Hook. It's why we let Ursula and Cruella back into Storybrooke, you can't pick and choose who you rehabilitate."

"But…" Piper trailed, sensing more to it.

"But this whole thing with Lily, it really got to me," Emma admitted, "I questioned everything about myself and my life when I finally believed I was Snow White and Prince Charming's daughter. And I thought I'd worked out who I was, what I was."

"And then Lily," Piper nodded.

"Yeah, and then we find out about Lily and what they did and…now I don't know if I'm really like this, if this is really me, or a side effect of the spell. What if I wasn't so light?" she asked, "What if I had some darkness in me? What if I wasn't the Savior or 100 percent good? Would…" she took a breath, "Would Hook still love me if I wasn't this perfect person he thinks I am?"

"I wish I could say yes," Piper said after a moment, knowing Emma hadn't actually wanted an answer but feeling that she had to speak her mind for fear of her niece's heart, "But you know my doubts on his change and the cause of it."

"He acts like a hero around me, because he wants me to want him," Emma recited, though more resigned than mocking or irritated, "But when given the chance to be a villain, when given the freedom to do something bad and have an excuse for it, he resorts to it. Not a real change. And I shouldn't be the thing he changes for, he should change because HE wants to be good."

"It is a lot of pressure to put on someone to be the focal point of a change."

"I mean, Regina started to change for Henry, she wanted him to love her. But I feel like that changed pretty quick to wanting to change to be a better mother for him, to be a person who deserved to have his love, and to…to be seen as someone he could be trusted with. And the more she did, I think the more she wanted to be good in her own right. Hook…I feel like he should have moved past changing just for me by now if he really meant it."

"So you wish to test him," Piper nodded, understanding now what test Emma had in mind for the pirate, "Would he love YOU or would he see only the Dark One?"

"Yeah," Emma let out a breath, her grip on Piper's hands tensing a little at the thought, it was probably the most risky test in her plan to become the Dark One, "The way he talks about Gold…" she shook her head, "Half the time I think he hates Gold, the person, and the other half I feel like he hates the Dark One."

"Rummy IS the Dark One," Piper pointed out.

"You know what I mean," Emma waved it off, "Sometimes I feel like he can separate the fact that Gold, as a human, is different than Gold as the Dark One and he hates the actual Dark One instead. If…if I become the Dark One, would that make me equal to the person who killed Milah or would I just be me, cursed?" she looked at Piper, "Would Gold have killed Milah if he hadn't been the Dark One?"

Piper was silent, thinking of that, of the stories Gold had told her about his life as a human, his cowardice, his desperation to keep Bae safe, Milah's treatment and disinterest and threats.

"He killed the previous Dark One," Piper began, "To keep Bae safe. Stood against the most powerful wielder of Dark Magic there was, for Bae. Whatever the cause behind it or the power he thought he might gain in order to protect his son…he killed a man to do it," she looked at Emma, "Never underestimate the power and lengths a parent will go to protect their child."

"Yeah," Emma nodded, thinking about Lily again.

"I think, if Milah had returned, if she had come back for Bae while he was human…he would have tried to, yes," Piper finished, "He would not want to lose his son to a pirate as well, just as he did not wish to lose him to the Ogre Wars. Milah would have been able to defend herself more, would have fought more, would have harmed him more, having learned from pirates, but I do think, if he had the chance, he would have gone for the same end," she looked at Emma, "I cannot say how your pirate views Rummy or the Darkness…but he is very keen to get it out of you."

"Yeah," Emma repeated, rubbing her head, "And it's…isn't it a little hypocritical though? He's so driven to remove the Darkness, everyone is, but he seems really desperate to do it. And…I don't force that on him," she considered it, "I accepted he was a villain trying to change, that he had a darkness in him but…he can't accept it in me?"

"Not to defend the pirate," Piper seemed physically pained to say it, "He may view the Dark One's Darkness as not being yours but someone else's."

"Maybe," Emma sighed, "It just makes me wonder what he would do if I went dark? Would he accept me like I did him? Would he try and get answers out of me when I never made him talk about his past? Would he think the worst of me when I gave him chance after chance? If he really loves ME, then it shouldn't matter if I'm the Savior or the Dark One, he should just love Emma."

"I agree with that," Piper nodded, "It is the same for Rummy and I. I love him, darkness and all. I loved him human in Storybrooke, when he had no magic, and in the Forest, where he was most powerful. I would love him human or immortal, as he loves me, Siren or half or Piper or Princess. We do not try to change each other, but accept each other."

"That's what I want to have," Emma told her, "And that's why I need your help with this Aunt P. I want to accept the Darkness…but I don't want to BE dark, not fully. Because the more I do, the harder it'll be to give it back to Gold later. I want everyone else to think I'm their greatest villain, I want to see what they do, if they defend me and not other villains or if they turn on me and don't trust my reasons. I want Snow White to 'lose her child' to darkness the way you almost lost yours because of her actions. I want Charming to see his daughter as the villain and know their plan to have me pure was for nothing, that they should have left Lily alone. I want them to learn their lesson…" she took a breath, "And I want Gold to be the Dark One again when it's over. I don't want his Darkness, it's HIS. If I ever go dark, I want it to be my own choice, IF it happens," she added when Piper opened her mouth to counter that, "I need everyone else to think I'm lost to them and you're the only one I trust to tell me how to make it seem worse to them. You are dark, you can teach me how to act it without fully becoming it."

It really would be a fine, FINE line to walk.

"One condition," Piper spoke up.

"Name it."

"We tell Henry," she held up a hand when Emma tried to argue, "He is a clever boy and he deserves to know the truth. If this is a ploy to wound Snow…Henry ought to know, for Operation Bluebird."

Emma blinked, "You know about that?"

Piper smirked, "The walls of Rummy's cabin are not particularly thick."

Emma snorted, but nodded, "We tell Henry. I'll go get him..."

"There is an easier way," Piper reached out to touch Emma's arm when she moved to get up, truly very eager to start the plan, "You can magic a message to him," she reminded Emma, "Merely conjure paper and a quill or bit of charcoal, tell him to meet us in the garden and magically send the paper to him."

"I can do that?" Emma blinked, before holding out her hands and concentrating, picturing paper and charcoal in her hands and opening them quickly when she felt something settle on her hands. She grinned and quickly got to work sending Henry the message, "Ok," she nodded when the paper disappeared in a puff of black smoke, which frustrated her as she'd been aiming for her light magic, but it worked at least, "Henry should be on his way."

Piper nodded, "Hopefully he shall be discreet."

They sat back and waited, just taking a moment to enjoy the peace and quiet, the judging and suspicious eyes not on them.

"Thanks Aunt P," Emma murmured in the quiet.

Piper just reached out and took Emma's hand, holding it, until a wide smile came across her face, "How were the stables?" she called out to Henry, who flushed crimson as he approached.

Emma bit her lip to keep from smirking, she hadn't missed the glances Henry tried to sneak of a certain girl at the ball before, a girl who, from what she'd sussed out, worked with her father in the stables. Henry might think they spied on him with magic, but when he was near enough, Emma reached out to pluck a piece of hay from the shoulder of his jerkin, all the clue they needed.

"Everything ok?" he looked between the two.

"Fine," Emma reassured him, "We just…" she took a breath, "Wow, this is hard."

"Mom?" Henry frowned t her, reaching out to take her other hand, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong," she promised, "And nothing will go wrong. There's just something I want to tell you, about Operation Bluebird."

"Have you thought of a way to help Aunt P?" Henry perked up at that, assuming Emma must have told the woman about it for her to be sitting right there as they talked.

Operation Bluebird, as he and Gold had come to call it, as August and Emma joined on with, was their plan to help Piper take (a cautious) revenge on Snow White. It wouldn't be terrible, none of them would let Piper hurt the woman badly enough to completely destroy any chance they had of reconciling, they wouldn't let her hurt Snow to the point where, after her heart softened for the woman, she'd be upset and angry with herself for her actions. But they were intent to help her enact enough vengeance to be able to heal, as was a Siren's way. And, all of them were of agreement that, maybe this time the heroes deserved a little retribution for their actions.

"I think I have, kid, and…and I'm going to need your help to make it work," Emma looked from him to Piper and back, "Both of your help."

"What is it?" Henry asked, crouching down and giving Emma his full attention.

Emma took a breath, trying to find the best way to explain it to Henry, squeezing Piper's hand in thanks for letting HER be the one to talk to Henry about it, because it was her choice and he was her son and it was time she was fully honest with him.

"Snow White hurt Aunt P, by banishing Gold and trying to separate her from her true love and…and by what happened in New York," Emma began, and Henry nodded along, serious, "Piper almost lost her child because of Snow White's actions and…and I think I have a way for Snow White to experience the same thing, in a way."

"Mom, you're not going to hurt yourself are you?" Henry asked, concerned.

"No!" Emma's eyes widened, "No, nothing bad is going to happen to me or…or to Neal."

"I would never allow it, Henry," Piper promised him.

"Then what is it?"

Emma swallowed hard, "I know you guys came here to stop me becoming the Dark One, to get the Darkness out of me but…I think…I think we should let it take me."

Henry stared at her a moment, "You…want to become the Dark One?"

"Temporarily," Emma affirmed with a nod, "Just long enough for…"

"For Snow White to think she lost her child to the Darkness," Henry followed, his face scrunched in consideration, catching on quickly. But, then again, he was the Author, it was his job to work out how a story was going.

"They did a lot of bad things, Henry," Emma continued, "The biggest was cursing Lily with my darkness. They didn't want me dark, so let them face me as dark as it gets. Let them think that I'm there to destroy their happy endings instead of save them," she fell silent a moment, pulling her hands back from their hold to fidget with her fingers, "It wouldn't be entirely real," she promised, "Whatever I do, Aunt P would have to sign off on," she decided, adding that to the beginnings of the plan...she really had no idea what to do AS the Dark One, but her main focus had been getting Piper to agree to letting her become it first, "She'd watch out for me, make sure I don't actually go off-the-deep-end dark. I just…you saw how they reacted when they thought I was about to crush Merida's heart."

Henry looked at her, nodding slowly, "I didn't think you were actually doing that," he told her, feeling like she needed to know that HE had caught onto something being off about it, "Aunt P wouldn't have just stood there and let you do that, she'd have done it for you."

Piper chuckled, "Very clever boy, Henry. I was, in fact, about to do just that…when Emma demanded the heart moments before you all arrived."

Emma nodded, "Part of it was I didn't want them to go after Aunt P, I've honestly had enough of the condescension. Another part was…I wanted to know what they would do, what they'd say or think if they really thought it was me."

"Mary Margaret was about to use the Dagger," Henry frowned.

Emma nodded, "And then they claimed to trust me, that they wanted to give me a chance. They didn't do that for Gold, and it wasn't fair," she looked at Piper, "I think that was when I first started to wonder about becoming the Dark One. What would they do if I actually WAS that?"

"But it wouldn't be real?" Henry repeated.

Emma nodded, "I would have to embrace the Darkness eventually, but I only want to do or say enough for them to really think I was lost."

Henry fell silent, moving to sit back on the ground, crossing his legs, the two women allowing him all the time he needed to think about the plan. It meant a lot to him that they were trusting him with the knowledge, that they were being honest with him and not keeping him in the dark or treating him like a little kid. They were including him, making him part of it, taking his words to heart.

"There's only two problems I can see," Henry spoke up, a small smile on his face when Emma started to grin, taking his words as acceptance and a thumbs up on that part of the Operation.

"What's that?" Emma asked.

"You can't become the Dark One yet," Henry pointed out, "Right now everyone thinks you're fighting it, if you suddenly become the Dark One, they'll know you chose to do it. And I get that that's the point, for them to face you as the Dark One, but it might be a bit too suspicious to them if it happens too soon."

Emma considered that, "True," she agreed, not having thought of that, "But when?" she looked between them, "Should I give it a few weeks? Should I slowly start acting more dark every day or something?"

"It may push them to work harder if they see you changing," Piper mused, "They may keep more of a watch on you, take more extreme measures if they anticipate it coming."

"But if they see me losing the fight," Emma argued, "It might make the change more believable."

"Perhaps…" Piper began, considering her words, "Perhaps waiting until they feel they have a way to save you would be the most opportune moment."

"What do you mean?"

Piper turned to her, "If they come up with some solution to 'save you' and build up all that hope, and it fails…their attempts might be what triggers the transformation. And, to be faced with a failure to save you, to know that was what drove the change, may create a sweeter punishment."

Emma looked down, thinking on that. It made sense, in a way, it would hit the heroes more if their efforts were actually what caused her to fully become the Dark One. They'd have no one to blame but themselves, it would be a more convenient moment.

"Ok," Emma nodded, "We wait till they try to 'save me,' till they have a plan, and we make sure it doesn't work," she looked at the two of them and they nodded.

"Maybe we could even come up with a fake spell or note or something," Henry suggested, "Hide it in Merlin's Tower for mom to find. A false trail."

"Good idea," Emma smiled, feeling more confident about that now that they had an end point and the timing worked out. Now they just needed to plan what she'd actually DO as the Dark One to make them fearful.

"What was your second concern, Henry?" Piper brought up, not forgetting he had said there were two things wrong.

"Mom, Regina, has the Dagger," Henry reminded them, "So even if you tried to do something as the Dark One, she could stop you."

"Yeah," Emma winced, she'd regretted her decision the second that Dagger was in Regina's hands and had only hated it more the more the woman took advantage of its power over her, "We'd have to get it back somehow so Aunt P can hold onto it," she looked at Henry, "It's not that I wouldn't trust you with it, Henry," she assured him, "It's just Piper has a really long history keeping it safe."

"And you would be a target," Piper added, "The moment anyone learns you hold the Dagger, there is no stopping some from trying to take it from you. I would not see you hurt in its defense."

Henry nodded, understanding, Piper had a magic all her own that made her more than capable of protecting herself and the Dagger.

"But if we steal it from mom…won't you be the first person they look for to see if you have it?" Henry frowned at Piper, her words making him consider that.

"I would," Piper nodded, with a sly smirk, "But it would not be the first time someone tried to find the Dagger in my possession and failed. I have a few other ways to keep it safe and close."

Emma could only imagine what those ways were…and she wasn't even sure she wanted to know half of them.

"You need not fear for me or the suspicions of the heroes," Piper added, "I am quite adept at thwarting them."

Especially since she knew her cousin and her husband well enough to anticipate the tactics they would take to try to 'find her out' or some other rubbish.

"Ok, so we have to get the Dagger, somehow," Emma began.

"It should not be too hard," Piper remarked, "I would not be surprised if Regina merely keeps it hidden in a box somewhere. So long as she thinks the only ones who know of it are the loyal few from Storybrooke, she would not think to hide it more."

"Maybe we could swap it with a fake one," Henry added, "Like you said grandpa did," he looked at Piper, "That way they wouldn't even need to search the rooms and you wouldn't have to keep it hidden too much."

"That should suffice," Piper nodded, "You would only need to be aware, Emma, should Regina summon you with it before it is revealed to be false to heed her call and commands for the time being."

"Until I'm fully 'the Dark One,'" Emma agreed, "Then we can find a way to make them think I got the Dagger after or something, or just reveal it was a fake all along. I do some 'Dark One' things, they think I'm a villain, and once the lesson sinks in, we transfer the Darkness back to Gold," she snorted, "We just have to figure out a way back to Storybrooke and how to get the Darkness back to Gold."

"If they used Merlin's wand to come here," Piper mused, "I suppose they could use it to return the same way. They only remain for Merlin anyway. His Apprentice pulled it from Rummy, perhaps he could do so once more."

"So we're agreed?" Emma looked at them.

"Sounds like a plan," Henry smiled, "We should start thinking about some things the 'Dark One' would do to spook the heroes."

He probably shouldn't have sounded as excited as he was to one up the heroes, given how much he had worshiped and wanted to be them what felt like such a short while ago. But this…if he was going to be the Author, he needed to understand both sides of a story. He was determined about that. He didn't want to just write down the story the winners told, he wanted to know what drove the 'losers.' His mother was a villain and a hero, his other mother was a hero becoming a 'villain,' and he wanted to share both their stories one day. He wanted both sides to stand out, balanced, light and dark and...

He'd been a hero too long, perhaps now, with his mother and aunt watching out, it would be the right time to dabble in some villainous thinking.

Emma let out a relieved breath and looked between the two, her aunt and her son, "Thank you guys," she spoke to them, "I…you don't know how much it means to me that you support me with this."

"You are family, Emma," Piper reached out to touch her shoulder, "I would do anything for my family."

Emma reached up and touched her hand, "So would I," she said, and it was a promise too.

Everyone was so concerned about HER right now, their entire focus on HER…but Piper was pregnant and her stomach was somewhat swollen now, enough that it could still be hidden under the gowns there, but…it would be more noticeable soon. And as soon as the others realized she was carrying the Dark One's child…

She understood Piper's fear for its life.

She would do anything for her family too, she would keep that baby safe even if she had to truly go full dark to do it.

A/N: Keep in mind, this is just the BEGINNING of their plan. This is just what they intended when they started off. We have yet to see them develop the plan for Storybrooke, to see how Emma feels after fully embracing the Darkness to become the Dark One, and what else might happen between ;)

Here, Emma planned to 'pretend' to be the Dark One, to just make the others think she's turned villain. There are still more layers of the plan to come, some ways they had to change and adapt in pretty big ways. But some key takeaways, this IS about revenge, about teaching the heroes a lesson. Long before anything happens with Hook or Merlin, Emma was planning to really ram home a lesson with the heroes. And from the start she's NOT planning to stay the Dark One. I know it may seem like a let down that the Emma we see in Storybrooke isn't intending to remain the Dark One, but there was just no way I could make it work in this story. As tempting as it would be to keep all that power, Piper has grown to be too important to Emma and Henry for her to ever consider keeping the power when, to her, it belongs to Gold.

So she fully does plan to give the Darkness back to Gold at some point. It's just about when that point is and how they do it. They learn weeks after this chapter that the Apprentice is dead, he can't transfer the power now, so they've had to adapt the plan and you might be able to figure out their new angle lol ;)

This is just the tip of the iceberg, because, as Emma says, she is not even thinking about what her plan AS the Dark One would be. She really wanted to get Piper onboard first. She needed Piper's approval and support and that was her main focus here. The more she uses the Dark Magic, the more the Darkness sinks into her and she wants to be very careful that, once she becomes the Dark One, there will still be some way to remove it to give it to Gold, and she trusts Piper to know what the heroes would do and what villains would do and to let her know if any plans might tempt her into too much darkness that makes the transfer harder later ;)

But now that she's got Piper's sign of approval, it'll be time to start looking at what shenanigans the new Dark Swan should get up to };) Or if some of the plans grow darker than she first imagined when she accepts the Darkness };)

I will admit that Piper DOES have a point about the heroes, in some areas of their plan. Some of it will be a psychological warfare type of thing. Give the heroes a small thing, and let them blow it up, let them assume, let them jump to conclusions, let them fear the worst without any proof it's actually what they think it is. It's going to be a very important point for Emma later, a key issue she sees with the heroes, that instant believing the worst and being suspicious. In order for them to learn to step back and think about how they react and act and think, they need to fall into that trap of acting on that fear first ;)

As for Henry, I hope you liked him joining into the plot. I've really tried to work up that Piper doesn't lie to Henry, even when he was younger she tried to be as honest with him as she could be. He's older now, he's more determined to know and to help, and he understands more about villains than he ever has in the show. If Emma is going to do this, Piper would make it a requirement for her involvement that Henry be told the truth about it all. She knows that he and Gold started Operation Bluebird for her, he was looking out for her, wanting to help her, and this is her sort of paying it back and doing this for him :)

If Emma had truly been going villain, full out lost to the dark and intent to destroy everything and everyone in Storybrooke, I don't think Henry would sit by or agree to help. But that's not the plan, so far, and he is ok with this level of the plan, with the intention behind it. And he likes to think that, with him being around, knowing Emma loves him, that can also help keep her 'light enough' to not be completely consumed.

We'll have to wait and see what the rest of their plans are and how they might change ;)

Some notes on reviews...

I'm definitely going to be examining the man Gold has become after 300 years of gaining knowledge ;) I didn't understand that part of the series either, that just because he has no magic he's suddenly a coward. Part of me wants to think it was some sort of ploy, act like a coward who can't do anything and eventually Emma would give up on him or something :/ But I couldn't really see the man who had been the Dark One for centuries just cowering like that, even for a ploy :/ He was perfectly capable outside of Storybrooke without magic, and in Storybrooke during the Curse, so it did seem odd to me he changed so drastically :/ Here he'll have more of a support system and a person he trusts enough to be vulnerable around, he has people still treating him like he is the Dark One and I think that will help reflect who he's become. Piper being pregnant also would probably trigger some instinct in him to keep a brave and strong front, even without his magic, because the child needs him and he won't fail it like he did Bae ;)

We'll have to wait and see if Piper might see her parents in the Underworld, though being killed the way they did might have left them with some unfinished business I'd imagine ;)

My initial reaction to Descendants was 'they couldn't come up with more original names?' Mal for Maleficent's daughter? :/ For a Disney movie about villain kids though, I did enjoy it overall :) The second movie felt a bit out of place to me, there's some issues Mal goes through that just sort of felt like 'ok, WHY is she making it that much of a big thing when literally no one is putting this pressure on her for it?' but Descendants 3 picked up well :) Merida irritated me to, I can say there are going to be quite a few changes so she'll likely play a more minimal role than she did in the show. I think Piper would probably end up killing her with her attitude and so on, which I probably shouldn't lol about but still lol :) I think they kept the brothers alive because technically one of them would be king after Merida was dealt with, and maybe they planned to lure her to them and take her out and then install one of the brothers as the king...but then they probably realized at the end that once that happened they'd end up having war declared on them for murdering the king's sister so...yeah, I didn't get their plan at all :/ I liked that she wanted to prove herself as a capable Queen, but I also understand that part of being a good Queen is honoring and respecting the traditions of your people. There may be some you want to change, but do it slowly, don't just stomp on them or you have angry people :/ I felt for Merida's mother in the movie, she really was trying to show Merida how to be a diplomat instead of trying to strong arm people or resort to threat to get what you want :/

Yeah, it's almost silly how often they have parties for every 'victory' they have :/ Like, you saved Robin, great, but you still have THE DARK ONE out there and no guarantee the Fury won't come back at some point or something :/ I guess they wanted to sort of boost moral, like 'We defeated the creature the Dark Sawn sent, and if we can do that we can stop anything, we're safe!' Or maybe to be a show of 'Look, Regina can be the Savior and handle Emma, she saved us!' sort of thing? Given how Snow and Charming reacted to a lot of things in Camelot and the lead up to it, you would have thought they'd have had everyone in Storybrooke researching the Dark One and how to save Emma instead of partying :/

Captain Swan will be tricky. Emma wants to make it work, because she's never really had someone trying so hard to win her and fight for her. So that strikes her on some level, that level of 'devotion' and care. And part of her wants to give Hook a few second chances because Snow gave Regina multiple chances and eventually she did become a hero. But the more she comes to learn about villains and darkness and Hook himself, the more she may realize that you can love someone and care about them but not be right for them in the long run. We'll have to wait and see if it goes in that direction or if Hook maybe actually starts to really change. You never know, dying and being dragged back to life, being given that genuine second chance, might be what he needs to actually make a true effort to be better ;)

Lol, I think part of Gold was definitely thinking that. Like 'Hmm...how do I get my magic back now that it's in HER?' and then he sees Piper smirking and he's like 'ooh, I'm going to like this' :)