Freedom

Emma let out a breath as she stood before Merlin's tree, holding a dreamcatcher before it, staring in shock as what could only be the man's memory played out within the circle of the catcher, "It worked…" she gaped at Piper, who stood beside her.

Piper smirked, watching the last bits of the memory fade away, "I thought it might. Dreamcatchers do not merely catch dreams or steal memories, it can display them as well. Such as when you used it to replicate Pongo's memories."

She had stumbled upon Emma working away on the dreamcatchers, needing something to occupy her time with while others slept, the girl making them mostly because it was the only thing she had access to that others would let her touch, wood and string, instead of a sword or animals or magic. It had sparked a thought in her, how they might learn more about Merlin. For she recalled how Baelfire had had one in his home, how Emma herself had used one to capture memories from a dog to investigate who had, at one time, 'killed' the cricket, Jiminy. If Merlin lived within the tree, then his mind was still there and perhaps they could gleam something from him that would help.

Emma hadn't thought it would, but it very much had.

The catcher had revealed Merlin, confronting the First Dark One many years ago, angry with the entity for killing the woman he loved but even with that anger burning, he could not bring himself to kill the Dark One. And so the First Dark One used the Dagger to capture a tear from Merlin, using it to turn him into a tree, where he stood to this day.

After Snow and Charming had fallen under Arthur's spell, it had forced them to adapt their plans for the time being. They had been all set to place a false spell to banish the Darkness into his books in the tower, but with the Charmings now on Arthur's side, they wouldn't be likely to go along with any rituals that would free her. They would be more focused on convincing Regina to give them the Dagger to give to Arthur, under the belief he could 'help Emma' when Piper knew it was because of his sword. The man had been foolish enough to reveal to the Charmings why he needed the Dagger, that Excalibur was broken and the Dagger was the missing piece.

She didn't know enough magic to break the spell of the Sands of Avalon, she doubted Regina would either since it had been a trade with the last Dark One and likely a very powerful magic. Emma, her power as the Dark One could likely break the spell, but Emma was in no rush to assist her parents when they had gotten themselves into this situation in the first place.

And so it left them with little choice but to try and free Merlin and have the man 'free' the Charmings from the effects of the spell. Merlin, they were quite sure, was probably the only person Arthur would fear or have some trouble facing down. Merlin would know how to handle the man, and Arthur could prove a useful distraction for Merlin when they reached the point in their plans where Emma would become the Dark One.

In a way, it was more fitting to free Merlin. If HE couldn't 'save' Emma from the Darkness, then the heroes would truly feel as though they failed.

Still, they had to be quick about this, for it had only been yesterday that Arthur used the Sands, the man wanting to give it a day so as not to arouse suspicions if Charming came back from a quest with the king suddenly demanding the Dagger. But it would only be a matter of time before they confronted Regina for its location.

"What do we do?" Emma turned to her, the two of them alone in the courtyard for it was barely dawn.

"I do not know enough magic to reverse this," Piper had to admit, eyeing the tree.

Emma looked to the side where the apparition of Rumpelstiltskin was standing, the man giving a mocking shrug, "If the dark imprisoned him…" he offered.

"Then the light can release him," Emma finished for him, huffing, "I'm not sure I can get a handle on my light magic enough to try…" she looked at Piper, reluctant, "I think we need Regina."

She was the only one capable of using light magic without fear of the dark butting into it at the moment. While she knew she might be able to separate her magics, and HAD been practicing at it, it would take too much time and concentration and she just…she wanted their plan to really start. She hated having to hold part of herself back the way she was, the impulses that came with the Darkness that she had to rein in after her outburst in the halls before. She was feeling antsy with all that potential crawling under her skin, the anticipation of finally starting. The sooner she could embrace the Darkness and force her parents to face it the better.

Piper had come to her and Henry with a truly brilliant plan for what she could do as the Dark One, and the best thing was it wouldn't require her to go fully Dark to do it, it would still give her that leeway to keep it from attaching to her completely so she could give it back to Gold. But it would play right into the weaknesses of the heroes, their assumptions, their double standards, forcing it all to the surface, forcing them to come face to face with how THEY created this.

Literally.

Because they would orchestrate the smallest ways to misdirect the heroes, and let them draw their worst conclusions...to believe she was going to find a way to destroy all light magic everywhere, that she was THAT consumed by the Darkness.

Their own paranoia would make the situation worse than it was. They would see the worst, assume the worst, think the worst...of HER. And when the truth came out?

Well, Emma was looking forward to shoving it in their faces that this was THEIR creation.

They just had to GET to that point.

~8~

Walking in on Regina arguing with Snow White and Charming had not been what Emma expected, Piper was sure, when they moved on to Regina's rooms. She had told Emma and Henry about the Sands of Avalon, the magic Arthur had tried to use on her, and successfully used on the girl's parents. Emma had taken that to mean they would trust Arthur, but, knowing the blind faith and righteousness of heroes, Piper had been more of the belief that they would become his most devoted and vocal supporters, going along with any and everything the man said, to the point where it would probably become obvious to others who truly knew them that something was wrong.

Hearing them arguing with Regina over how they should give the man the Dagger was exactly what she expected would happen.

"…really think giving the Dagger to Arthur is the best way to help Emma?" Regina was saying as they approached.

"We trust him," Snow affirmed.

"Implicitly," Charming agreed.

Emma paused before she could knock on the door to turn to her, giving her a look as though to ask 'were they serious?' Because that was just…beyond obvious they weren't in their right minds. Neither of them were willing to trust even Regina with the Dagger and yet they somehow trusted Arthur after only knowing him a handful of weeks?

Piper could only gesture a 'this is what I mean' to her.

"Did you learn those big words at shepherd school?" Regina continued, at least she sounded suspicious, "How do you know you can trust him?"

Piper held up a finger for a moment and pointed at the door right as Charming answered with, "Because we're good judges of character."

Emma dropped her head into her palm and shook it, honestly starting to question how her parents had ever managed to run an entire kingdom with brains like that. She knew Piper had once offered to make the hard choices for her cousin, execute those Snow White couldn't bear to, enforce the laws Snow White didn't think she could. She really was wondering what the hell SHE would be like if she'd been raised by these two.

Probably a simpering weakling afraid of her own shadow, she was sure.

"And we would never act against Emma's best interest," Charming continued.

"What just happened?" Emma's eyes widened when she heard a whoosh from the room.

"It sounds as though Regina took them to 'the Dagger,'" Piper remarked, actually using quotey fingers. Emma had double checked the 'Dagger' was still in Regina's next hiding spot somewhere in the forest, having kept tabs on where she'd thought to hide the fake Dagger they'd made next. It seemed Regina had made another fake that Snow had used in the Vault, one that Snow and Charming, once enchanted, had admitted to Arthur was fake but that they knew how to obtain the 'real one.'

If only they knew THAT one was fake as well.

"Great," Emma rolled her eyes, reaching out to take Piper's arm and throwing her hand up, causing them to disappear in a swirl of black smoke, following the trace of magic she could feel lingering in the room to lead them to Regina…in the middle of the woods, standing in front of a tree trunk. She shot Piper a look from where they were hidden by a bush a few feet away, mouthing 'seriously?' THIS was the person she had given the Dagger to? Someone who's cleverest thought of how to protect and hide it was in a tree trunk?

"Is the Dagger in there?" Snow asked, watching Regina move to the tree stump.

"Are you sure handing the one thing that can control your daughter over to Arthur is the right thing to do?" Regina asked one final time as she pulled the Dagger out of it.

"Have you lost the power of comprehension?" Snow nearly snapped, "Hand over the Da..."

Emma couldn't take it anymore, holding out a hand and freezing her parents with her magic, giving Piper a look to wait before she reappeared behind them in the woods, across from Regina.

"What are you doing?" Regina demanded, seeing her, "When did you get so liberal with dark magic?"

Emma nearly cursed for revealing that she had also been practicing her dark magic too, but waved it off, "No choice. Arthur has them under some kind of spell. He wants them to bring him the Dagger. He wants to reunite it with Excalibur."

"Unite it?" Regina shook her head.

"It was once one blade. It was broken in half a long, long time ago."

"What happens when they're together?"

"He wants to kill Merlin with it. I don't have to tell you how bad that would be for all of us."

"How do you know this? How do I know this isn't the Darkness in you rearing its head?"

"How else do you think?" Piper taunted, stepping past the bush to join Emma, "I was there, I heard it, just as they did. I was even there when Arthur used the Sands of Avalon to enchant them."

"Why them and not you?" Regina eyed her suspiciously.

"He did try," Piper smirked, "But my skull is quite thick and my mind very resistant to magic, as I am sure you recall. I could remember it, and so I went to Emma to warn her of the…danger to her parents."

"I thought you hate Snow White now?" Regina's eyes narrowed.

"Emma does not," Piper explained so easily Emma very nearly missed the lie, "SHE is important to me and, as it pertained to her Dagger, I thought it best to warn her of the threat against it."

Regina fell silent a moment, "Why were you there?"

"They went to Rummy's Vault," Piper said, her voice nearly making Emma laugh at the growl in it. After she'd told her and Henry about the Sands, she'd spent nearly an hour pacing the room and raging about the insult of it all, that they would 'desecrate' that space for a mere trap and how impolite (in much harsher words) it was to just think they could enter it whenever they wished. She was quite protective of the Vault apparently, "I was not about to leave them to their devices within, I followed," she tweaked the tale, "The queen and the knights surrounded us before I could escape and I was brought before Arthur just as them."

"Look," Emma cut in, "We don't have a lot of time. Arthur's expecting them soon."

"He's the king," Regina stated, "You want to take on all of Camelot?"

"I very easily could, you know," Piper reminded her, "My magic is stronger here and I have a rather strong motivation to return to Storybrooke with Emma free of the Darkness," it was not a lie, not fully, but it would be enough to cast doubts in Regina if Emma did become dark that she had any role in it, "However, I know how Emma and Henry would feel about me slaughtering the lot of them, so I have refrained. But if you wish to test me…"

Emma wasn't sure just then, if it was the Siren side of her or the pregnancy, but Piper seemed a little more bloodthirsty since they arrived in Camelot...

"We just want to free Merlin first," Emma reassured Regina, "Then I can help my parents and stop Arthur."

"That's a great plan, but we have no idea how to get him out of the tree," Regina deadpanned.

"You already said it...dark magic."

"No. You can't keep using it."

"It's a risk I'm willing to take."

"Careful, Emma. I've been on that slippery slope. You know where it got me."

"All due respect," Emma scoffed, "I'm not you. You had someone pushing you to darkness, I have people trying to pull me out," she half-gestured to Piper, half took her arm as they disappeared in a swirl of black smoke.

~8~

Piper nearly smirked when Regina stumbled in shock, having not known Emma could transport others with her when she disappeared, returning them all to Merlin's Tower.

Emma got right down to business, "First, we need to know how the potion you've been working on will react to my dark magic. Bring me the vial."

"I'm not doing a damn thing until you tell me how you knew I was working on a potion," Regina crossed her arms.

"We don't have time for this."

"Snow White and Prince Charming are standing frozen in the middle of the woods," Piper remarked easily, moving to sit on a stool, tempted to put her feet up on the nearby desk but knowing that, if she did, her stomach would be far more visible even with her attire, "Someone will notice."

Regina shot her a glare before turning to Emma, "Make time."

Emma rolled her eyes, but magically conjured a dreamcatcher, "I saw it in this."

Regina stiffened, "Emma, this is dark magic."

"What other sort of magic could it be?" Piper taunted, "You are so convinced she only possesses dark magic now. Any magic she uses would be dark."

Regina ignored her, continuing to speak to Emma eve as she snatched the dreamcatcher out of her hands, "These things catch more than dreams."

"Yeah," Emma huffed, "I know. Aunt P told me."

"You were helping her with this?!" this time Regina DID turn to Piper, frowning at her. For all her talk of wanting to free Emma from the Darkness she was allowing her to use quite a lot of its magic.

"I doubt any of you would, or even thought to," Piper said simply, "I have been helping her focus on controlling her magic. I am sure you understand that if someone were to attack her," she said the last two words with a pointed look at Regina, reminding her of the ball, "And her magic reacted, it could be disastrous. None of you have bothered to help her gain at least that much control of herself as to not react."

"And that somehow translated to you teaching her how to harness dreamcatchers?" Regina demanded, crossing her arms.

"She cannot sleep," Piper stood to her full height, being careful as she placed her hands on her hips so that the loose quality of her gown would hide her stomach from Regina's notice, "A fact I am certain none of you bothered to learn about Dark Ones seeing how little time you actually sent around them. She needed something to occupy her time and keep the Darkness from whispering to her. I found her making the dreamcatchers and explained more about how they can be used in the Forest. I though it best for her to know how others might view it in the happenstance that you or the others stumbled upon her and thought her up to some nefarious plot with a bit of string and some wood!"

Emma just barely refrained from laughing as Piper went toe-to-toe with the Evil Queen and actually appeared to chastise her for Regina flinched at the revelations Piper laid out for her.

She glanced over at Emma, "You…you were struggling?"

"Not much," Emma shrugged, "Aunt P was there, and she knows more than anyone about Dark Ones. She's helped me keep a hold on it."

The 'unlike you' wasn't lost on them. Regina and the other heroes had been so consumed with trying to get the Darkness out of her that they hadn't bothered to think about what she was enduring while it was still IN her. They hadn't even made the connection to how she'd reacted with the Snow Queen and her magic to now having Dark Magic in her. They just told her to ignore it and not use it but that didn't mean it went away. Even Hook hadn't helped much despite his intentions with the date he'd taken her on. He wanted her to trust him, to share her burden with him, and believed that focusing on positives would dull the temptation of the Darkness. But it was still there and no one seemed to think about preparing her so she could keep a lid on it all or help her work out how not to use it instead of just ignoring it.

They told her not to use it, but didn't bother to help her figure out HOW to do that.

Another thought struck her just then, her own words coming back to her. Piper really DID know more about Dark Ones than anyone else, likely even Hook. He had spent 300 years trying to find its weaknesses and plan his revenge, learning about how the power was transferred so he could avoid that fate when he 'killed' Rumpelstiltskin...but he didn't really know about the other things that came with it, the nuances, the quirks. Piper did. Piper had been there, had talked to the last Dark One, enough to know about the sleeping, about the voice in her head, the apparition that appeared, and more. She knew the far more intimate sides of the Dark One and the Darkness in general whereas Hook only knew the basics. Even when he tried to help her, Hook didn't understand the way Piper did.

And, in a way, it went beyond just understanding the Dark One, it was on another level there too. Piper knew what it was like to have something in you you didn't choose, a darkness no one around you understood. She knew what it was like to be seen as a monster before you even DID anything to warrant it. Piper had been born with her darkness, SHE was stuck with this 'parasite' of one, but they were both in them, and they were both not something they had WANTED but it was just there.

HERS could be removed one day, Piper's could never.

She felt a wave of empathy for her Aunt, a new resolve settle in her to truly ram home the lessons she had in mind for the heroes, make the punishments stick. She would never, ever let someone treat her aunt like a villain just because of WHAT she was. What she DID was another story, but just for what she WAS, that would not stand.

"I'm sorry," Regina offered, pulling Emma back to the present, though she saw Regina glanced to Piper as well, likely in apology for her accusations.

"It's fine," Emma waved it off, taking the dreamcatcher back.

"How were you able to get close enough to me to see me working on the potion?" Regina asked, getting back to the point, "You have to wave it over someone to capture a memory."

"Mere sorceresses perhaps," Piper smirked.

Emma rolled her eyes at Piper's dig at Regina's power level, "This dark magic is stronger, more unpredictable than any magic I've ever used. The image just appeared. It showed me you working on the potion and talking to Robin Hood about it," Regina shifted, uncomfortable with that revelation, "Look, it's gonna be ok. The dreamcatcher also showed me a memory that's going to help us. Merlin's. I saw him. Merlin wept for the loss of the only woman he ever loved moments before the Dark One trapped him in the tree...using one of his tears."

"Emma, that's it!" Regina's eyes widened, "Sometimes, spells are like snakebites. You can make the antivenom with the venom. If a tear of lost love trapped Merlin...then another one might be able to get him out."

"Let's go get ourselves a tear," Emma declared.

"Should we not take care of those frozen in the woods?" Piper reminded them, "I care not if they remain there for eternity, but if you do not wish me to slaughter the castle when someone inevitably notices their disappearance and blames someone for it..."

"Right," Emma winced, "Yeah, should probably..." she waved her hand and they disappeared in a swirl of black.

~8~

Even as Emma attempted to return them to the location she had left Snow White and Charming, her magic, it appeared, had reacted to another of her family that was in need of her and they appeared a short distance away from where Henry was swinging a sword, quite badly and looking like he was libel to take his own head off than any invisible enemy's.

"Henry!" Regina gasped out a shout, "Careful!"

"Hey…" Henry winced, caught, turning to see the three women there, "Moms, Aunt P. I was, uh…getting in the Camelot spirit. You know, trying to understand this world."

Emma gave him an amused look that spoke of not believing a word he said, "By sword fighting?"

"Well," he glanced away, shrugging, "Sir Morgan, Violet's father, had a little advice for me to fit in. That's all. Trouble is, I'm not sure if I'm ever gonna be good at this knight stuff."

"Well, if you're not, you're not, but…changing so someone likes you never works," Emma advised, "I mean, I…I liked your dad because he was always himself."

"But…but maybe, if I try, I could be something better than I am," he glanced over at Regina, "If you didn't change for the better, you wouldn't be with Robin."

"...true," Regina had to admit.

"Change is not always for the better," Piper remarked wisely, "It must be a choice you make for the right reason, not pressure from others. Believe me, Henry, I know."

Henry looked at her, nodding slowly, recalling some of the stories he'd come to learn about his Aunt, about the childhood she'd had. She had tried, many times, over her life, to be more like Snow White, because she wanted others to like her, because she didn't want them to be frightened of her, because she wanted to be accepted. But it wasn't her choice, not truly, she hadn't done it because SHE wanted to be a different way, but because she thought it was what others wanted. It only served to make her miserable and very unhappy.

"You should find someone who loves you for you," Piper added, a soft smile on her face as she thought about her mate, "Acceptance is what a strong love is built on."

"Being different isn't a bad thing," Regina surprised them by agreeing, "Do you really think a girl from Camelot would be interested in someone who's just like every other boy around here? Remember when I told you about Daniel?"

"Yeah," he nodded, "Your first love."

"It wasn't because he tried to impress me by being like the others. It was because he was so different...so unique."

"Henry," Emma spoke, "In Camelot, you're a mysterious stranger from an exotic land. That's a good thing."

Henry began to smile as he thought on that, "I think I can work with that. Thanks. I have to go make a few arrangements."

"Henry!" Piper called, causing him to pause, "If this Sir Morgan becomes an issue…" she smirked, "I am VERY good at handling bullies."

Henry actually snorted at that, clearly August had been sharing stories with the boy he shouldn't have, "I'll keep that in mind, thanks Aunt P!" before he hurried off.

"What are you gonna do to him?" Emma glanced at Piper, noting the way she was still smirking thoughtfully, "Rip his heart out and make him give Henry his blessing to date his daughter? Music him into a puppet?"

Piper glanced over at her, "It would not be genuine," she shook her head, "I was thinking either torture or terror to…persuade him."

"I'm almost glad you didn't raise me," Emma joked, "I'd never have had a boyfriend if they had to get through you to date me. No Henry."

"More important things here, people," Regina cut in, "I think I might know where to get our missing ingredient to free Merlin. From me."

~8~

The only thing Regina had requested was it be done in privacy, somewhere she could retreat to if her plan did not work, so, a few hours later, for she had asked that she have some time to prepare herself for what she was going to allow to happen, Piper and Emma gathered in Regina's rooms at Camelot. The woman had taken nearly 3 hours to get herself mentally prepped enough to feel she could relive the death of Daniel without spiraling or breaking down completely. They had respected her need for time and went to check on Henry, helping him set up and decorate a small surprise for the girl he liked, Violet, before Regina had 'summoned' the Dark One, ready. They arrived to see Regina sitting on the edge of her bed, ready, if tense and reluctant.

It was a simple plan, she'd explained earlier, use a dreamcatcher to bring up the memory of losing Daniel, her first love, and use the tear that would inevitably fall to free Merlin.

"Alright, Regina," Emma began, holding a dreamcatcher in her hand, knowing better than to have argued with her up to this point, "This is going to be intense. Last chance to back out."

Regina clasped her hands together tightly, "I can take it."

Emma glanced at Piper who nodded and so she turned back to the woman, "Look into the circle."

Regina took a breath and did so…and it was almost like she was right back there when Daniel's heart was crushed in front of her eyes.

Little did she know that Piper and Emma could see the memory playing out within the dreamcatcher, too. They could see the stables, Cora standing before a young Regina and a man Piper recognized as Daniel, they could hear Cora asking if this was what Regina wanted to be happy, giving her blessing, and approaching Daniel, her speaking of doing what was best for the children…before ripping his heart out and crushing it as Regina sobbed and screamed…

Regina gasped and pulled away, bowing her head as she broke down in tears.

"I'm sorry," Emma lowered the dreamcatcher, completely horrified by what she'd seen.

"It was like it was happening all over again," Regina tried to control herself.

Piper merely stepped forward, a small vial in hand, and caught the tears that fell from her face, unfazed. It was difficult to feel empathy for someone crying over the loss of their love when that same person was the one who had ripped your father's heart out and killed not only him but your mother as well, "There we go," she held up the vial, making sure there was enough.

"Thank you," Emma offered Regina weakly, not knowing what else she could say, "I didn't know how things were for you. I…I didn't know…"

Regina tensed, "You could see it, too!?"

Emma winced and nodded, "I'm so sorry. I don't understand how a mother could do something like that."

Regina scoffed and moved to brush her tears away now that the tears had been gathered, "She thought it was for the best," she took a deep breath and stood, "Come on, we have a potion to finish," and sent them off in a swirl of magical smoke.

~8~

They had to be quick, gathered before Merlin's tree, even at night, it was far too easy to spot them and to alert others that something was happening…especially with the set of potion ingredients set up on a low wall.

"Go on, Emma," Regina encouraged, nodding to the ingredients as Piper held up a small lantern for her to see what she was doing, "Do it."

"Arthur could be here any second," Piper agreed, though she was keeping her ears out for the man's approaching song even as they spoke.

Emma nodded and quickly added three vials in succession, hesitating on the last one.

"And now for the final ingredient...the tear," Regina held the vial out to her, the three of them watching as she added it, a puff of smoke rising into the air, swirling, before it sunk right back into the small cauldron, "It should've worked!" Regina frowned at it, "It should have worked!"

"Perhaps your heartbreak was merely not strong enough," Piper suggested.

"What?!" Regina demanded, glaring at her.

"No, no," Emma rushed to assuage her, though she agreed with Piper, "We know it was real. But there's Robin now. You've moved on. You've healed."

The implication that they would need a fresh tear, one too-new, was left unspoken.

"Hey," Henry called as he jogged over, having gotten their note to meet at the tree, his voice wobbling and tearful, "Sorry I'm late."

Emma and Regina were instantly focused on him for the sound of the hurt and pain in his voice, "Henry, are you ok?"

"Yeah," he sniffled, "I'm...I'm fine."

"No, you're not," Regina frowned, "What happened?"

Henry just looked away and so Piper moved to his side, resting a hand on his shoulder, "Henry?"

"I don't want to talk about it," he muttered.

"You can tell us anything," Emma assured him.

He sighed, "I tried doing what you said. I tried acting like myself," his face scrunched, his voice breaking, "But she didn't want anything to do with me."

"Oh, Henry…" Piper frowned.

"Violet's right. In this world, I'll never be a hero."

Something glittered in the lamplight, catching Regina's attention as she reached out with a handkerchief, "You may not be a hero in her world..." and lightly wiped the tear that fell from his eye, "But you will be in ours," she turned to Emma, "This'll work. This tear," she looked back at her son, "Your tear, Henry."

Henry blinked, sniffling again as something occurred to him, a vague memory, "It can free Merlin?" he looked, instead, to Emma and Piper.

Emma nodded, "You can save me, kid."

Henry nodded slowly.

"We must be quick," Piper stiffened, "Arthur."

Not a moment later the man shouted out, "Stop!" as he approached with four knight's behind him, "Stay away from the tree. I won't ask twice," he glared at them as the three woman moved forward, blocking Henry from him, "You and your people have done nothing but lie to me ever since you got here. You're no Savior," he accused, pointing at Regina, "You're a fraud."

"Go ahead," Regina threatened, her voice low, "Call me a fraud again. I dare you."

"This is about to get quite fun," Piper murmured, smirking as she set the lantern down, subtly pulling her pipe from her boot as she stood.

"We welcomed you!" Arthur continued, "Celebrated you. And in return, you bring the Dark One into the heart of my kingdom," he glared at Emma, "Endangering all who live here. Give me the Dagger!"

"You want it?" Regina moved her hand, creating a fireball within it, "Come and get it," before throwing her other hand back, handing the handkerchief back to Emma, "Now, Emma!"

Emma ran back to the cauldron, dropping the fabric into it, sending puffs of white and black smoke into the air that quickly surrounded her, "It's working!"

"Charge!" Arthur shouted, lunging forward with his men even as Regina threw a fireball at them.

"Ears!" Piper warned those behind her, Regina and Henry quickly turning and covering their ears with their hands as she lifted the pipe to her mouth and sent out a piercing note that sent the attacking men to their knees.

Emma, behind her, gathered the light and dark magic into her hands and threw it at the tree, gritting her teeth at the song Piper began to play, while it wasn't directed at her, it was still very powerful and the screams of Arthur and his men as they were outright tortured by the music was distracting enough, she couldn't use her hands to cover her ears and instead focused on directing the magic at the tree.

Piper smirked as she stepped nearer to the knights, watching as they twitched and seized under the force of her magic, pausing it only when she felt a flutter within her, from her stomach and moved a hand to it, lowering her pipe with the other. There was a faint...pulsing, just under her hand, it didn't feel distressed or painful, not a cramp or contraction, but more…like it was reacting to her magic, reaching out to it. She hadn't been able to use her magic to this extent in a while. She smiled, something in her telling her that this was a welcomed and harmonized moment.

She looked down her nose at Arthur, the man dazed and weak from the bout against her magic, "Stay down," she ordered him, turning somewhat to look at where Emma was sending a final blast at the tree, a bright light forcing all to look away before it disappeared and a figure in a dark gold cloak was kneeling there, the hood up.

Slowly the figure rose, looking over at them, at the fallen knights, to Regina and Henry, and then to Emma, before he lifted his hands and lowered his hood, a man, roughly around Emma's age, with somewhat dark skin, smiled, "I've been waiting for you...Emma," he gave her a nod of thanks, before his gaze moved over to the fallen knights again. He tilted his head, an eyebrow quirked almost in curiosity before he moved over to them, coming beside Piper as he looked down at Arthur, the man somewhat more coherent now, the knights around him starting to pick themselves up while he remained down, "And you...the boy who would be king. My great hope. How you've disappointed me."

That seemed to get through for Arthur began scrambling to his knees, glaring furiously at Merlin, "I disappointed you? You gave me false prophecies. Sent me on an impossible quest! You ruined my life!"

Merlin rolled his eyes when Arthur struggled to his feet and began to pull Excalibur from its sheath, "Put it away, Arthur. We both know that broken sword can't hurt me."

Arthur pointed a warning finger at him, "This is not finished!" he threatened.

Piper rolled her eyes this time, looking at Merlin, "May I have the pleasure?"

Merlin eyed her, not quite sure what she meant, but he gestured her on.

She turned to the man and lifted her pipe once more, the man's eyes widening as he turned to flee with his men. She pouted, turning back to Emma and Henry, "He has spoiled my fun."

Emma chuckled, moving to put an arm around her shoulders, "I'm sure you'll have another chance to get him to 'soil himself,' Aunt P."

~8~

Come dawn, all those from Storybrooke had gathered back in Granny's Diner, the old wolf and the handful of Dwarves that had come with them standing outside to keep watch, not wanting to be taken by surprise the way it had happened twice before. Merlin had found Snow White and Charming in the woods, despite Emma's cloaking spell, and transported them there, wanting them to be somewhere safe when he freed them from the magic of the Sands of Avalon. He had been somewhat surprised when Piper had told him what had enchanted them and how she knew it. In his very long life he had not met a half-Siren so it was a novelty to find someone so unaffected by mind magic as hers, to be able to withstand that enchantment. He said not much after that about her creature status, much, she was sure, to the chagrin of the other heroes who had likely hoped to have someone as light-based as Merlin condemn her.

He focused, instead, on obtaining Snow and Charming, and was now working on breaking the enchantment upon them, smiling when the faint purple magic settled around them and they both startled out of their frozen states, "There," he grinned, "That should do it."

"Emma," Snow moved to hug her daughter the second she saw her standing there, "We're so sorry."

"If we would have known how bad Arthur was we never would have confronted him on our own," Charming added.

"It's ok," Emma gave Snow a tentative hug before pulling away quickly, moving closer to where Henry and Piper were sitting on the barstools, Hook behind her, "I'm just glad Merlin could help."

Charming and Snow looked over at the man standing off to the side and openly gaped at him, "Merlin?" Charming repeated, "YOU'RE Merlin?"

"Expecting someone..." Merlin teased.

"Older," he finished.

"Yes," he sighed, "Well, let's just say that being a tree? Good for your skin."

"Well, now that the Great Sorcerer is among us, maybe he'll tell us," Hook spoke up, "Can you do what your apprentice said? Can you free Emma from the Darkness?"

Merlin blinked, startled it was a pirate who asked it and not Emma herself, "Sure," he said slowly, before his gaze lingered on her, observing her closely, "But with a caveat," he added, stepping closer to her, "Darkness like this takes a hold of a person, find its way deep inside, where nobody else can see. So if I am to free you from its grasp, I must know one thing. Emma...is your heart truly ready to be free? Because it is as much up to you as me."

Emma looked him in the eye, assured by his words, that not even HE could see if the Darkness had taken hold of her, and nodded, "Of course."

~8~

While Merlin spoke with Snow White, Charming, Regina, and Emma, wanting to know how the Darkness had gotten to her in the first place without her having killed the prior Dark One, Henry joined Piper in her rooms as she had asked him to walk with her, a show for Regina that she was going to keep him company after his heartbreak while his mothers were occupied. He was getting a distinct feeling it wasn't about that, that odd niggle in his head when they had talked about his tear freeing Merlin striking him again.

Piper moved over to the edge of her bed where a dream catcher was innocently hanging from a nail in the post, and reached up to take it down, turning to hand it to Henry, "This will explain everything," she told him

He frowned but looked down at it, a simple brown hoop with some string intercrossed, a few black splotches that looked like ink dotted along certain cross sections.

A moment later the magic activated, a memory playing across it, and his eyes widened as he realized it was HIS memory…

Emma and Piper stood across from him in Granny's, he was halfway through setting up his surprise for Violet when they had said they needed to talk to him, about Operation Bluebird.

"What is it?" he frowned, serious now.

"We may have found a way to free Merlin," Emma told him, "But there's one ingredient we need that…that we can't come by easy."

"Regina has a thought," Piper added, "But it is not likely to work."

"Why not?" he asked.

"It is a tear of a lost first love," Piper explained, "She means to use the memory of Daniel to bring one about…"

"But neither of us think it'll work because she has Robin now," Emma added, "She's healed, that first loss isn't as powerful. Which is good, I'm happy she's happy now."

"But it makes it difficult to find such a tear before Arthur is able to accomplish his plan," Piper reached out to take his hand, "We have a plan, though, and it is…difficult."

"What is it?" he looked between them.

"You really like Violet, don't you?" Emma asked, sounding reluctant and truly, truly regretful to even speak of it.

"You're not…" Henry tensed

"No!" Emma's eyes widened, "No, no, we…we're NOT going to hurt her Henry, never."

"Well…" Piper began.

Emma shot her a look, repeating, "We are not going to hurt her."

"IF she were to hurt Henry of her own free will one day, I would very much like to return the favor," Piper spoke, the protectiveness of Sirens in her voice.

Henry couldn't help the small quirk of his lips at that, his aunt was super protective, "If you're not going to hurt her…what's the plan?" he pulled their attention back to him, "Just tell me."

Emma sighed, "We…" she winced, before blurting it out, "We want to get her to break your heart. Not for real!" she added quickly, "Just…just enough to get a tear, just ONE tear, Henry, and then we can...we can erase her memory and…and she'll never know she did it and Merlin will be free and I won't ever interfere in anything involving your love life ever again, I swear it. It's just…we're desperate Henry. We have to get Merlin out of the tree before Arthur does anything."

Henry eyed her with a deep frown, "You want her to...to reject me, so you can get a tear of a lost first love…and then erase it so that we can have a do-over, just us, for real?"

"Yes," Piper nodded, "Believe you me, Henry, neither of us are happy about even suggesting this. We would do absolutely anything else, but so long as Arthur controls your grandparents, you and Emma will be in danger."

Everyone would be in danger, but everyone was not her concern.

Henry looked down, really thinking about it, before he glanced back at them, "You won't hurt her?"

"Never," Emma promised, "As soon as it's over, we can erase her memory of it and…and yours if you want, so you can have this really special date and…and see how it goes for real. I promise."

"I'll do it," he told them, "I…I may not be a knight, but I AM a hero," he decided, "And heroes make sacrifices to help people. We need Merlin free to stop Arthur and if I can help, I'll do it, mom."

"You are the coolest kid ever," Emma told him, hugging him tightly as he laughed and patted her back.

"But wait," he pulled away, thinking of something, "If you're telling me NOW, I'm going to know her rejecting me is a trick."

Emma magically conjured a dreamcatcher to her hands, a simple brown circle with bits of black flecked on the white string that made up the center, "I can use this to temporarily take the memory of this conversation from you," she told him, "We'll give it back as soon as Merlin's free so you know the truth, Henry, I swear, no more secrets. But this was the only way I could think to make sure you were ok with this before it happened because I never, ever want to hurt you or lie to you again, Henry."

"I know," Henry nodded, before taking a breath, "Do it."

Emma glanced at Piper a moment, making sure the Siren in her was quieted at the knowledge that this would inevitably hurt Henry deeply to have happen and not wanting to be attacked for it. Piper took a breath and nodded, it was bearable when she knew that her family would be alright in the end, that there was a plan in place to make them stronger and happier when it was over.

And so Emma turned to Henry, his eyes closed, as she waved the catcher over his head, pulling the memory of their talk from him.

He blinked a few times as he came back around, "Mom?" he frowned, "Aunt P, what are you doing? We have to get everything ready for Violet!"

Henry looked up at Piper, standing before him, her face grim, as the magic of the dreamcatcher faded, "Violet?" he asked, concerned for the girl.

Last night had been terrible, though necessary he saw now. He wasn't mad it happened, he'd agreed to it, he remembered now. But he was worried about Violet, he was sure they had spoken to HIM about all this and gotten his permission, but a part of him felt like they wouldn't have done the same for her.

"She cares for you a great deal," Piper told him with a gentle smile, "Emma asked her to break your heart to help them free Merlin, she refused. So I…"

He huffed, "What did you do, Aunt P?"

"I may have allowed Emma to rip her heart out?" she offered, wincing at the expression on his face, "Only until she understood she had to refuse your advances, to break your heart, and that was all. I ensured that Emma returned it immediately after, the command still there that she not tell you either. While Merlin was getting your grandparents, Emma went back to the stables and erased her memory of last night, as we promised. You can try again, Henry, both of you, truly this time," she reached out to touch his arm, "I think you have a very strong chance with her, she cares for you quite a lot," her smile was a little proud as she added, "After all, she stood up to the Dark One and the Pied Piper to protect you."

Henry smiled at the thought, feeling like that had won Violet some serious 'acceptance' points with Piper as well, "She's ok, though?"

"Perfectly fine," Piper promised, "And now…Merlin is free, because of you, you are both…heroes."

Henry let out a booming laugh at the way she scrunched up her face at the last word, as though she had sucked a lemon, "Yeah, I am."

And he'd done it by being a bit villainous, too.

A/N: I could NOT see Piper or Emma doing what happened in the show to Violet without first speaking to Henry about it, at least not in this story. They have spent too long building up the trust between them, offering that trust to Henry with their plans, and noticing how he's grown up, to risk losing all of it now. With the dreamcatchers in play, they could have very easily spoken to him first, warned him, gotten his permission, then erased it to show him after the fact. In the show, maybe Emma would do it, because of the Darkness's influence and the quick way to get to Merlin. But here she's not alone, she has someone helping her through it, someone she can talk to without them worrying she's going to turn instantly dark or that she feels she has to hide her struggles from. She's had that outlet and that voice countering the Darkness, or at last tempering it, so it's not fully in control of her, she has more freedom to think and plan. She has someone who would stop her doing it the way it happened in the show.

With Piper's protectiveness over her family, anything that could harm or upset them would be something she would do her best to prevent. Emma has already made it clear that she would seek out Piper's opinion and advice about things she wants to do before doing them. And if Piper was told that they needed to break Henry's heart to free Merlin, she'd be more likely to burn Merlin's tree to the ground than allow that heartbreak for Henry. UNLESS Henry agreed to it, unless HE was ok with it, unless he accepted it and gave them permission to. But she would certainly want to ensure that, afterwards, he would be ok, that he wouldn't be upset, and that he would have that chance at his love once more. As we saw with Gold and the first Dark Curse, she is NOT a person to stand by when others threaten or harm her family, unless it is assured to her and promised to her that her family will be alright in the end, stronger, happier, ok.

I just really felt like, with the loophole of the dreamcatchers, it would be possible and make more sense to talk to Henry first, bring him in on the plan, and then just erase it to return later. Neither Piper nor Emma (with Piper having been around so long and influencing her view of the world and family), in this story, would hurt Henry just to get Merlin out. They would do all they could to ensure he'd be ok and not hurting afterwards.

I sort of felt a little irritated with Regina in the show, and it'll come up soon in a chapter, that Henry was clearly devastated and Regina zeroed in on the tear to use it. I know that it was needed for the potion, but she saw her son hurting, and instead of putting him first as a mother, she used the tear to free Merlin. I suppose the argument could be made that she was thinking of Henry because if they didn't free Merlin then he'd be in danger. But idk, it just rubbed me the wrong way a little. Like she saw 'he's hurting because his crush rejected him and there's a tear and...Merlin!' and not more of a 'I don't care if the wizard stays stuck in the tree another 100 years, my son is hurting and needs me' :/

I also sort of wanted Piper to bring up a sort of elephant in the room with Regina and the heroes' perception of the magic, their shortcomings in actually 'saving' Emma. They assume ANY magic she uses would be dark instead of trying to see if there's any light magic. Then they say 'don't use it!' without realizing that sometimes it happens on instinct (like with the Snow Queen) and so they don't bother to help her practice at least enough of it that she can control it from reacting. They don't seem to notice her making the dreamcatchers, which implies they don't know she's stuck awake all night with no sleep, so what ARE they actually noticing about this? What time are they actually spending around Emma to make her feel not alone or isolated or abandoned? They're all so focused on getting the Darkness out of her that it's sort of like they're starting to not see her as Emma but 'the Darkness's host' or something :/ I wanted Piper to bring up that it's an INTERNAL struggle for Emma as well, that telling her 'don't do this' doesn't help when you don't give WAYS for her not to use it. They haven't actually done much for EMMA or with EMMA, they're all cooped up in the Tower or laying traps for Arthur, and even Hook only seems to do it when he has an ulterior motive of 'focus on the light' because he just hates the Darkness that much. They haven't really BEEN there for Emma much on a personal level, I felt, so I wanted Piper to sort of point that out :/

As for Merlin though, I felt like that would be in character of him, when he learns of what Piper is, to just sort of be like 'interesting' and move on whereas everyone else is expecting him to be like 'burn the fish!' or something lol :) Like, he was so against revenge or harming others even if they harmed people, pre-tree, that I felt like he'd just sort of be like 'to each his own' and maybe be ready to stop her hurting people, but not automatically condemn her without more knowledge. He's aware of Sirens and how they are, so he's sort of like 'I wonder what human qualities she has' which is more than the heroes who only notice her siren-qualities at the moment. I thought it would also be a sort of sticking point with the heroes, a small one, maybe one that should tip them off but it just sort of goes over their head that he doesn't have an issue with Piper as she is and neither should they, they just sort of miss it :/

Lol, I hope you liked the little moment where Emma was like 'I could help free my parents...but I'm not gonna, let them suffer a little bit longer' :) Idk if she actually could have freed them in the show herself, but if Merlin could and the Dark One is sort of equal in power to him, I figured Emma might have too.

Some notes on reviews...

I could definitely see Gold going full Dark One if anyone, ANYONE, tried to kill Piper and the baby...except MAYBE Henry? But even then, being Bae's boy might not be enough if Piper was genuinely close to death and the baby was in danger :'( I think maybe it was more the action of Gold being that protective of Piper that could make someone happy, even if it meant him attacking a favored character, to know and sort of see the proof of just how much he loves Piper and how far he'd go for her :)

I'm glad you liked the end part :) I agree, Henry has seen and learned too much since season 1 to just go 'that's not my mother' instead of wondering why or asking questions or getting the full story :( But lol for August :) I feel like he so rarely got to be like 'try it' on people outside of Storybrooke because none of them know how truly dangerous Piper can be and it's not like he could tell them his mother was the Pied Piper, but here he's just like 'do it, I would LOVE to see the aftermath for you' :)

That's awesome! Congrats! You're only a few hours away :D Oh I have wanted to kick my brother for many things over his life, this is probably second to him getting married to his ex-wife who hated us all (and I'm waiting till it's not as touchy a subject to say 'I told you so') but still high on the list :/ I'm hoping his work makes it mandatory for all employees so he can't avoid it :/ Things are going...well, it has its ups and downs. I'm still currently living home, but hoping to move out this year so my parents have their good days with the 'she can't leave or we'll be empty nesters!' and then they hit rough patches of 'how dare you report a restaurant we go to twice a year for letting us eat inside when the executive orders in place (at the time) prohibit that, get out of this house by the end of the month!' and then flipping back to 'no, we weren't serious about that...' :/ They've eased up on me being an accountant, but I've still ended up with a job in a financial branch of a transportation company, though more budgeting than accounting and with everything going on I can't afford to quit and if I want to move out I'm sort of stuck there till I can be sure I'm getting another job that's not likely to close down and pays the same. It's ok for now though, I have a routine and reports I know how to do, it's more tedious than complex so it's not so bad and I know I'm very lucky to even have a job right now. About 4 years ago things got tough at my one job and I had to leave for my own mental health. I'm pretty sure when you're having a breakdown in a walk-in freezer over how the soup is organized and need your mother to come sit with you through your lunch break so you can just make it the next 4 hours it's time to take a step back :( So I was between jobs for a while as I worked to get better, then I got a few part time jobs, and one transitioned into my current fulltime one. So, all in all, things are at least steady and stable. I hope things are going well with you! Sadly in my other OC story, Gold IS with Belle, but the Hook/OC story follows mainly the OC, Hook, or Regina (maybe Emma or Bae at times) so we only see Belle if she's part of the scene with them or mentioned so not as much as in the show ;) And the future Graham/OC story would be much the same, following those two and maybe Emma, so there would be less emphasis on Gold or Belle, but they would still be there and together :/ I can say Emma didn't use blood magic on her protections, a little bit out of a combination of 'they wouldn't be that stupid to break into the Dark One's house' and 'my parents still want to give me the benefit of the doubt for now so they wouldn't allow it' which she may have to reconsider lol. We'll have to see how it all goes ;)

Ouch! I hope your surgery went well! I remember when I got my wisdom teeth pulled, apparently on the way out of the facility I kept telling my parents 'I'm in a wheelchair' and then asking 'was I in a wheelchair?' and then having to drink milkshakes even though I hate them :/ I would have to cut my hamburgers and other food up into teeny weeny bits to get them in my mouth and drink yogurt and soup through a straw :/ Word of advice, even when you think you're healed, give it another week or two and don't celebrate with a movie and popcorn lol. That's what I did, my mom and I went to see Enchanted and then a kernel got caught and I was back to chipmunk cheeks again due to a minor infection :/ I hope you have a very speedy recovery and very minimal discomfort/pain!

You really would think after what 'Mary Margaret' went through with David and Katherine she'd have been a little more like 'let's take a step back' :/ But that's awesome they've worked out distribution, I hope your mom can get vaccinated quickly too, you as well! I wish you both luck and I'll keep my fingers crossed for you :) And thank you, I hope they maybe just mistook my page for someone else's or something :/ I've actually been debating back and forth about posting elsewhere for a few months now. One recent plagiarizer posted my entire Merlin series on their wattpad page because 'well it's not posted here and I like it so I'll do you a favor and post it here for other people to enjoy' but didn't really make it clear it wasn't their work :/ It made me wonder if I'd be better off posting the whole stories on other sites, like wattpad or quotev, to avoid that happening again, or just stick with FF and my testing out of AO3. The more it's on other sites the more people can copy it, but clearly they can already copy it on FF. But, if it's on other sites then more people might see it and let me know if people are plagiarizing me. Idk, still tossing that around :)