Birth

Emma was unnaturally silent after she returned to the house from having poofed away to save Hook's life from Arthur. Apparently the heroes had finally realized he wasn't as good as he proclaimed himself to be and went to apprehend him. The man had fought them off and tried to flee and run right into Hook, the two had dueled and he had nearly gotten Hook with his sword before Emma had appeared, knowing he was in danger and trying to save him.

It was a very…precarious position they had found themselves in.

Their initial plans for Emma being the Dark One had changed at the last moment, but they were confident that the memory charm, the new Dark Curse, would give them the time they needed to accomplish that plan. It all hinged on the others not remembering anything that happened in Camelot though.

Especially Hook, the less he knew, the better for all parties involved.

Piper moved over to where the blonde woman was sitting at the kitchen table, nursing a cup of hot chocolate, August and Henry out at their homes, likely sleeping for it was the dead of night. Even Gold was sleeping now, still unused to being human and actually needing rest, he'd run himself a bit thin the last few days and crashed. August and Henry had taken the news of a second Dark One well, or at least better than Emma feared Henry would. They had explained why they hadn't said all of what happened in Camelot earlier. They hadn't had the sword, they weren't THIS close to the end of their plans, and they had to make sure that no one acted any differently around others if they could help it. Without anyone remembering what happened, they could ensure certain things remained hidden, for the safety of the family (and others, Emma had added). If either of them, Henry especially, began to act shifty or suspicious or cautious when he otherwise wouldn't, it could clue the heroes in on something they couldn't know yet. Henry had understood, he hadn't been happy to be kept in the dark about it, but August had reminded him that he had all the power to ask any question he'd wanted and hadn't asked for every detail of Camelot. Henry had grumbled, but begrudgingly accepted that truth. With such little time left before the plan would end, he should be able to avoid revealing anything till then.

Emma, though, was sitting there as though she alone had screwed everything up, which had Piper concerned. She had heard Emma's song return to the house, unable to rest till she knew Emma was safe. The heroes had, in the past, worked out how to contain a Dark One and each time Emma left without her she feared the woman was going to be captured by the heroes.

She kept quiet, nodding her head in thanks when Emma conjured a cup for her as well when she sat, waiting till Emma was ready to disclose what was wrong, what had happened, on her own. She would not pry or question her, she had found Emma would often volunteer information more when she didn't feel pressured to give it.

"I didn't really get it," Emma began, glancing at Piper, "Snow White, how she could go back and forth between seeing you as her cousin and a villain."

Because she had, at times, before it all fell apart and the woman seemed to view Piper as nothing but villain. She would treat Piper like her beloved cousin, but then, at other times, not trust her because of her villainous tendencies. She could trust Piper to save her newborn child, but then not feel safe letting the woman babysit him. She could see Piper as a hero for freeing the town from the Snow Queen's control, but then view her as a villain for freeing Gold from the Dagger's control. Back and forth, back and forth. The heroes always made it seem so black and white at first, villains were villains, heroes were heroes. Then when villains wanted to change, they would give a hesitant trust and chance to them.

Hook…he was making it more obvious.

"I take it the pirate said something?" Piper guessed, reading her expression.

Emma let out a long breath, "I saved him from Arthur," she told, "He knows Excalibur is whole, it was the only thing I could think to use to throw Arthur off and 'let slip' to the others that we're at the next phase of the plan."

Piper eyed her a moment, somewhat confused by why she seemed regretful. They had planned to do it, reveal the complete Excalibur to the heroes, make them aware they had an advantage now. Once they saw it, they would leap into action, likely go ahead without a complete plan, probably try to attack first and work things out later. But they had all the pieces in place NOW, they were ready. The heroes wouldn't be. It was part of the plan, so why did Emma seem to think she'd ruined it?

"He wanted to apologize, after. For what he said on the ship."

"For refusing to accept you or saying he did not love you?" Piper asked, pushing her other question to the side for now, and keeping quiet the remark about how 'of course he apologizes after you did something heroically savior-like and saved him' that wanted to come out.

Emma snorted, "I asked the same thing," and that was what was bothering her, how he'd gone back and forth. He wanted to 'help' her, then rejects her, then apologizes, then what? What was next? He tries to make it work and then breaks it off again? She sighed, "I told him it didn't matter because I'm still the Dark One and he said…he said I'm still me, Emma."

"You always have been," Piper frowned, "Is he just realizing this now?"

Emma cracked a smile, "I think so," she offered, her smile falling a bit, "I told him I was still me, before, but that he refused to try and see it. He kept denying it, he wouldn't even LOOK for me in here. What, just because I saved him he suddenly thinks I'm me? That's not how it works. That's not how it should work. He should have tried to see me before, he should have TRIED."

Piper reached out to take Emma's hand, "No one ever truly tries to see the person, when they are labeled a villain."

"I did for him," Emma muttered, "And yeah, I get I treated him like a villain at first too, but we were together. I...I really think I loved him, he said he loved me, and I got to know the man he was. If he loves me, shouldn't he have tried more?" she looked at Piper, "You know, you were the only one who told me, no matter what happened, you would love me and accept me as a hero or a villain."

"I have experience loving both hero and villain," Piper said simply, though there was a flash of pain on her face that Emma could identify easily.

A long time ago they would have both said that Snow White had the same experience, but her own actions had led Piper to believe Snow had never actually loved or accepted her at all, not truly.

"He said he 'wants to help me,'" Emma murmured, "And all I could hear was he wanted to change me, is that wrong?" she looked at Piper, "I never wanted to make him feel like he had to change, I never told him he had to change to be with me, did I? If he wanted to change, I'd help him, and he did. But I don't want to change, and he can't accept that."

She realized, in that moment, how true her statement was. It wasn't being the Dark One, she didn't want to keep THAT, she still felt that that power belonged to Gold, so that wasn't the thing she didn't want to change. It was just...everything she had learned and become through this entire experience. She had a new understanding for villains she never would have had, she found a place in herself that didn't cling to all things light and didn't just blindly follow the heroes or the greater good. She found an apathy in some things, a willingness to go farther than she would have as a hero, an acceptance in needing to take certain actions to keep others safe.

A lot of things she'd done as the Dark One, she realized, she likely could have brought herself to do as herself if she had just been less afraid of the backlash or how her parents would view her, how Henry would see her. She had lumped things into 'heroes' and 'villains' too, but it wasn't that clear cut, something Henry seemed to have realized before her, but her kid was smarter than her in so many ways. There was a freedom she found now, in that she COULD do some things and not need to apologize for it, not feel guilty for it, she didn't want to go back to how she'd been. Not completely.

So how much of who she'd become would Hook see as HER or as some lingering affect of the Dark One?

Piper was silent, she had warned her of such difficulties and questions many times before, Emma didn't need to hear it again. And she knew Emma was likely venting her frustrations with the pirate than actually looking for answers or responses.

"Anyway," Emma sighed, rubbing her head with her other hand, "He was asking about Nimue and destroying the Darkness and I told him it would be over tomorrow."

Piper eyed her a moment when she fell silent, because that had been another part of the plan, to make the heroes think they truly did NOT have time to spare with making an actual plan, "And?"

"I was angry," Emma admitted, "I may have...told him I was doing all of this for him."

Piper blinked, that...had NOT been part of the plan, "That will only spark his suspicion."

"I know," Emma winced, she'd regretted it the second she'd said it, she hadn't meant to let it slip, but Hook had been shouting at her and accusing her and she just…it came out. She had a moment of weakness, that part of her that had grown smaller and smaller over the weeks but was still stubbornly there, the part that wanted to just scream about their assumptions. She wanted it to just stop, to stop thinking the worst. She knew she had cultivated that perception, that she WANTED them to treat her like the greatest villain they had ever faced, it was the entire point, she had acted this way for a reason.

Piper had been right, it was HARD. A normal villain wouldn't care, because they likely WERE doing foul deeds and plotting nefarious plots. She wasn't, not in the way the heroes thought, and so it was harder for her, to play the part.

She had slipped.

At least she could take comfort in the knowledge that it had taken her to near the very end before she'd cracked that much.

"The heroes will think it a mere manipulation, a misdirection to distract them," Piper tried to assure her, and it was a possibility. They would assume she'd done it to distract Hook, to draw his attention away from her 'plot' and weaken their numbers. They would know Hook would go off on his own the second it became either about him or unlike what he thought it was. And that was their next challenge, "I doubt the pirate will let it go."

"No, he won't," Emma confirmed, turning to her for an answer, for what they should do to fix it.

Piper looked down a moment, considering their options and how well certain parts would fit into their plan. Now that Hook was suspicious it would be much more dangerous to wait, "We will have to hurry our plans along then."

They could not give the heroes too long to think about Emma's reasons, they needed to believe her ultimate plan was to destroy the light, not something for Hook.

~8~

"Is it really this easy?" Emma asked as Piper moved to a book in the middle of a stack in the part of the forest where the residents of Camelot had made camp. Emma had frozen them all before they'd arrived in a swirl of black smoke to plant a false clue for the heroes, just like Henry's initial idea in Camelot for how to sabotage the 'ritual' to 'free' her of the Darkness.

There was absolutely no way Hook wouldn't tell the heroes that Emma's plan involved doing something 'for him.' Partly because something in him would likely be preening that this was all about him, the peacock, but also because he would need their help to figure out what. Emma's flub would actually play right into their plans, in a way they hadn't realized at first but, upon speaking with Gold earlier that morning, really did fit.

Hook would tell them what she said, and the heroes would assume it as manipulation on her part, Piper had been right about that. He would also likely tell them about Excalibur being whole once more, which would set the heroes on edge, to know Emma had that sort of power at her disposal. Their fear that she was going to destroy the light would grow exponentially.

…but there was also no way for them to know how long she'd had the completed sword, Gold had pointed out. Emma's slip would have them questioning everything, because it was a 'distraction' and how could they then be sure that other things they had seen or thought they knew weren't also distractions? Like Excalibur. The heroes wouldn't know how long Excalibur had been whole for. They wouldn't know if the image Regina had taken from August's head had come from when they first woke up in Storybrooke or after. And if she'd had it for a while, why hadn't she used it yet? What was her plan? HOW was she going to destroy the light?

Regina would go for that line of thinking, Gold had assured them, knowing the woman better than they did, having taught her himself. She would immediately think there was something missing, something Emma didn't have yet that was holding her back. And then it would be a matter of them discovering what that missing part was.

All they had to do was plant a false clue for the heroes to find, an ingredient or a piece that she 'didn't have' that they could scramble to protect. Misdirection at its finest, let them think she wanted one thing so she could go after or accomplish another thing. If they planned to attack the woods, convince the heroes that she was going to storm the library or something like that.

"You would be surprised," Piper remarked, holding the book open to Emma with a false page Gold had helped create for her to fuse into it with magic, before she set it back down among those they recognized as Merlin's, some of his journals from the reliquary that came over with the curse. The heroes would think to look through Merlin's items again, and they would find a book, the false spell in it, the ingredient they 'needed' that would create the false lead, "Especially after you activate the spell on Zelena."

Emma nodded, shifting, "I'm not sure how I feel about it."

"We can find another way…"

"I mean about their reactions," Emma cleared up, she had no second thoughts about their plans for Zelena, but she appreciated how ready Piper was to alter it if she had, "I know what they're going to assume, especially with that," she nodded at the book, "But the fact that they'll believe I'd go that far?"

"It will mean they truly believe you have become the Dark One," Piper mused, brushing off her hands as she headed over to her.

"Still," Emma sighed, before she turned to Piper, "Thanks, Aunt P."

"For what?"

Emma shrugged, "Helping me understand? Looking at things a new way? Understanding villains and the darkness better? Everything."

Piper smiled, reaching out to take her hand, "Anything for my family, Emma."

Emma took a breath and waved her hand, causing them to disappear in a swirl of smoke.

They would wait until the others found the book…and then trigger the spell on Zelena, that should be enough of a red flag for the others to rally around.

~8~

Zelena was nearly ready to give birth.

The woman who had been pregnant only shortly before leaving New York and returning to Storybrooke, was now very much at the end of her pregnancy, the child within her now grown months in mere hours.

One should never accept food from the Dark One if one was not an ally of said Dark One...and even then they should be cautious.

Zelena never should have eaten those onion rings.

That, coupled with the 'last ingredient' being the cries of a new born baby, and the heroes would flock to Zelena's side to protect the baby from the Dark One.

They were in the middle of preparing everything else for the ritual they would be conducting after, when Emma had sensed something and disappeared in a flash of black magic smoke clearly being summoned by someone saying her name three times, and there was only one person who would do it. Hook. Henry knew how to contact her, and Henry, thanks to a message through August, knew about the plan for Zelena, the truth behind it. He had no need to call her to him now.

And indeed it was Hook, for she appeared just before the Library in time to see Hook jumping off the roof. With a quick wave her hand she'd caught him and magically placed him on the ground, "You were sure I'd save you?" she knew without a doubt he hadn't been about to kill himself, there were easier was to do do it, he'd done it for her attention.

"Well, I'm either optimistic or desperate or both," Hook stated, straightening out, "I need to know what happened between us in Camelot. Just tell me."

Emma's jaw clenched, of course he went from apologizing for what he said to using her own feelings for him against her, and now to demand answers? She huffed, "It's not that easy."

"It can be. Whatever you did, whatever you are trying to atone for, I already forgive you."

Emma's eyes narrowed at that phrasing, "I don't need forgiveness."

And, perhaps, it was also that, after all the garbage he'd spewed at her since they woke up back in Storybrooke, he had the audacity to say he forgave her? He had gone back and forth so many times she wouldn't be surprised if he revoked that forgiveness the same way he went back on his 'feelings' for her. He'd walked out on her at the first test in their relationship post-Dark Swan and NOW he claimed to offer forgiveness?

And, another small voice in her head that sounded so much like Piper, reminded her...if he really knew what happened, he wouldn't offer forgiveness. If she even tried to remind him, after the fact, after he one day remembered, that 'he'd already forgiven her' he'd take it back, he'd never hold to it. He shouldn't make offers like that if he wasn't prepared to keep it to the bitter end, 'whatever she did.'

"Then come clean. I assure you, you've done no worse than I. I was a pirate for hundreds of years."

"And you think it's the same?" she didn't know where he was going with this. He looked at her like he could never forgive her becoming the Dark One, like he could never love her, and now suddenly was trying to say he did and he was worse and to give her a chance NOW? Where was this then? Where was this understanding weeks ago?

It set her on edge, perhaps she was finally starting to really think like a villain, but…she just kept feeling that this was a ploy, a manipulation, something he was only saying to get answers and not what he really meant.

Hook shook his head and looked down at the rings he wore on his one hand, holding it up to show her, "You see this? Belonged to a man named Barnaby. Called me 'One Hand Jones.' I killed him in front of his wife, took his ring. This one, Edgar. Fine sailor. I caught him drinking the captain's wine. I drowned him. Every ring is a sad story."

Emma held up a ring on a chain around her neck, one he had given her in Camelot, "What about this one?"

"You have it," Hook breathed, relieved, "I thought I lost it in Camelot."

"You gave it to me to keep safe."

"It's the saddest story of all. Belonged to a better man than I. My brother, Liam."

"You can have it back now," Emma held it out to him.

He shook his head, "Keep it," he told her, "You know, I used to wear these rings as trophies. But all that changed when I met you."

"What are they now?" Emma asked carefully, because she didn't understand. He kept going back and forth, he couldn't trust her, but he could trust her with a ring of great importance to him. He couldn't love her but he could forgive her what she'd done. He couldn't be with her yet he kept calling her to him.

Piper's voice was back again, murmuring this was what heroes did, they reached out to the dark only when they had need of it, otherwise they cast it aside.

"A reminder," Hook spoke, pulling her from her thoughts, "That all sins can be forgiven when someone loves you. And I was absolutely wrong before. I love you, Emma Swan, no matter what you've done."

Emma eyed him a moment, not willing to let herself fall for this again, but seeing an opening to help reach the next step in the ritual that would fix all this, "So, you really want to know the truth no matter how awful?"

"I do," he nodded.

"Then there's something I need to show you," she reached out to grab his arm, waving the other one to transport them back to her house.

"I've already seen your home, Swan," Hook remarked, looking around, though when he glanced at Emma she was pulling her gaze from the door to her basement. He didn't know if she knew that they were aware what was down there, but he would play the part of not knowing if it meant he got answers, "Why are we here? You promised me the truth, not a bloody tour."

"The truth is tricky," Emma remarked cryptically, buying time and working to distract him. She knew those in the basement would hear the new arrival, she had to make sure he wouldn't notice them though, not till it was too late, "You have to look for it."

Hook sighed, "Alright. I'll play your game," he walked around the room, glancing at a window with a telescope in it and moved to look through at the image of the sea, "Oh. I guess being the Dark One has its perks. That is a stunning view of the sea. There's no sight like a full moon on the waves."

"Back in Camelot, you said the ocean calmed you," Emma moved over to him, keeping her face neutral as the softest of music began to flit up to them, a calming note, a soothing melody, one she hoped Hook wouldn't notice as he gazed out at the sea and felt naturally calmed by it to begin with, "I thought you might like to see it."

"You picked yourself a fine home. I give you that."

"I didn't pick it. You did," Emma spoke, holding out a newspaper ad section to him, one that Henry had given her in Camelot after she'd had her 'date' with Hook once they got the Dagger back from Regina. He'd been happy to be able to go back to Storybrooke, and had mentioned Hook had been looking at homes in the hopes that Emma would move out of Mary Margaret's and in with him, Henry being welcome always. There was little room in the tiny apartment for all of them now.

She had her hesitation about it, doubts and hopes of Hook waring in her head. When the Curse happened, she'd picked this house not just as a base of operation away from the heroes but...a reminder of hope. A lot of couples would move in together to test the waters, see if they were even compatible or would kill each other once in close quarters. Maybe, she'd thought then, what she needed was time alone with Hook, peace, time to just be them without some villain plaguing them or some threat on the horizon. She hadn't gotten to that point yet, couldn't until this was all over.

"That's my handwriting," Hook noticed some scribbles around the house they were standing in, smiling softly at it.

Emma watched his expression carefully, noting the way it eased, "You said this was our future together. Everything I've done has been to keep that future alive."

"Well, then I guess this is the moment that you tell me the truth," he looked at her, blinking a bit more than normal.

Emma didn't look away from his eyes even as he swayed ever so slightly on his feet, "Almost there," she murmured, both to herself and him, "Almost. I can't tell you everything that happened between us until it's all over."

Hook frowned and something in Emma told her he was starting to notice something was very off, "Why not?" his words began to slur, which began to alarm him.

"Because if you knew what I was really after, you'd do everything in your power to stop me."

Emma moved forward when the melody playing began to lighten and dip suddenly, Hook sinking to the ground as though all his energy had been sapped out of him with the way the song lowered, catching him before he hit the ground. She looked over at the basement door as it opened and Piper appeared, lowering her pipe with a smirk.

"Well done," Emma offered her, having hoped she'd catch onto her plan and lull him to sleep instead of attacking.

Now that Hook was out, they could get him situated and ready for the ritual before getting the final piece of the puzzle.

~8~

There was no need to watch the happenings at the hospital on a magic mirror to know what the heroes would be doing, it was so glaringly expected. Zelena was giving birth, and the heroes would be there to protect the baby, for they had discovered by now that the 'spell to destroy light magic' would require the cries of a newborn child. They would be so focused on the child, they would never consider the real target of the attack.

They waited till just the right moment, till the baby had been swaddled and placed into the arms of her father, before Emma magiced herself and Piper into the delivery room, Zelena lying on the bed, the heroes near the door where Robin Hood stood.

"Regina," Robin Hood was saying, "I have a daughter."

"That's wonderful," Regina offered him a smile.

"Look who's green with envy now?" Zelena taunted, just as they appeared.

"Look who's glowing," Emma commented, eyeing Zelena, "Congrats."

Piper however, was frowning at the small bundle of pink held tightly in Robin Hood's arms as the man declared, "I will not let you take this baby!"

"Not without a fight," Regina agreed, conjuring a fireball.

Piper looked over at Zelena, not seeming to notice or care about the 'attack positions' the heroes were adopting, "I am almost impressed," she remarked.

Which seemed to startle all in the room, Emma included.

But Piper continued, "To fool them into thinking him the father. Theatrical, but poignant."

"What?" Robin Hood demanded, his word more breathy than anything.

Piper looked over at him, then to the baby, "It is not your child," she stated, "I hear the song of souls. Hers, and yours, do not make a melody like that," she gestured at the child, "It is not your daughter."

"Lying about the paternity won't make us less willing to protect it," Regina glared at her, more for the utter devastation on Robin Hood's face for such a proclamation.

Piper was unimpressed, "Request a paternity test then if you doubt me. But regardless of lineage, you will not be able to protect the one we want from us."

"Try us," David challenged, lifting his sword.

Emma shook her head, "It's not the baby I was after," she said, grabbing Zelena's arm and disappearing with her and Piper back to the house, leaving the heroes stunned.

~8~

Having just given birth coupled with the magic suppressing band on her arm made it easy for Piper, Emma, and Gold to subdue Zelena and chain her up in the basement along with Hook, neither would be able to free themselves from the chains without magic and neither of them had access to that as far as they knew.

"Casting a spell to steal my magic?" Zelena glared as Piper and Emma made their way down to the basement once more to check that all was well, Gold above to wait till all was ready.

Henry and August had been told to remain away from the house, being without magic they didn't want to risk them being harmed if anything went wrong. And they also didn't want to implicate them should the heroes come barging in and see them there.

Emma glanced over at Hook, still out for the count, heavily influenced by Piper's song, he wouldn't wake any time soon.

"I'm not taking your magic, Zelena" Emma stated, "You're going to take the Darkness, and put it back in Gold."

Zelena scoffed, "And why would I do that?"

It required someone of powerful magic to do, to direct Excalibur to pull the magic and transfer it. And Zelena was the only option. Emma couldn't cut the magic out of herself and live, Piper didn't have the right magic, Regina and any other magic user would refuse to help them in this, wanting the Darkness destroyed not transferred, and involving Hook or anyone else would be dangerous. Zelena was the only viable option...the child, its innocence, was the only thing standing in the way.

Piper smirked, "You are with child no longer," she told the woman," There is no innocent to worry for harming."

Zelena tensed, noticing the pipe in Piper's hand, "That's why you needed my baby out," she realized.

If she didn't cooperate, there was all manner of things that could be done to her to make her comply. Torture would be highest on the list, and they couldn't risk harming the baby, the innocent, by doing so. Yet now they could.

"I don't want anyone to get hurt who doesn't have to," Emma sated, "There are limits."

"Mine are fairly low," Piper remarked, "But I do not want to upset my niece."

Zelena turned a bit green at the thought that Piper likely would have commenced such things while she had been pregnant if not for Emma, if she were that desperate to get the magic back to Gold. And if she was willing to do so to a pregnant woman…there was no telling the methods and extremes she would use against her now.

"You wouldn't," Zelena looked at Emma, genuinely frightened for what Piper could do to her, what Emma could also do if she was so inclined, but knowing Piper was the ready and willing one, "You wouldn't let her hurt me!"

"You killed Neal and Marian," Emma reminded her, "You used my aunt's life to manipulate her mate. You have no idea what I'd let her do. What I'd help her do to you."

"You think you have felt pain?" Piper stepped closer to Zelena, delighting in how she stumbled back, "You think you have felt torture?" she shook her head, tilting it, "I can do so much worse than you would ever imagine. I can make that night in the cell seem like child's play to you," she added, reminding the woman of the night she'd 'died' after they saved baby Neal, the torment she and Gold had inflicted as punishment before killing her.

"You could just make me do it," Zelena remarked, "I've heard about your songs, what you can make people do."

Piper's smirk turned positively deadly, "Why would I waste the opportunity to torment you just to make you complacent?" she eyed her, "I have done so once, it was not nearly so fun as this shall be…" she lifted the pipe to her lips.

"Stop!" Zelena shouted, panting, truly and utterly terrified, "I'll do it. I will. I'll…I'll do it."

Emma smirked this time, though she knew part of Piper had been hoping to get to use her magic. Both of them had been reasonably sure Zelena would cave before she could actually do it. The woman was well acquainted with Piper's unique brand of persuasion. It wouldn't have taken long, couldn't have, they didn't have the time, but allowing Zelena to think they'd take as long as needed to get her agreement worked in their favor, "You really are a delicate thing without magic," she remarked, "But you know the interesting thing about that cuff?" she nodded at it, "It suppresses magic but doesn't erase it. Any magical oaths sworn while wearing it are still in effect when it's removed."

Zelena swallowed hard, holding up the cuff, "I swear on my life and magic that I will use Excalibur to cut the Darkness out and transfer it to Rumpelstiltskin."

Emma nodded, already thinking of ways to ensure she kept that promise and didn't cheat her way out of it, "Thanks."

"Hey!" Zelena called when they turned to go, "What about the cuff!" she shouted, "I can't do it with the cuff on!"

Emma glanced back at her as Piper went up the stairs, "You think we'd let you have magic NOW?" she just shook her head and left as well, leaving Zelena pouting.

"Rummy?" Piper asked as they reached the main level to see him frowning at the window, "What is it?"

"We have company," he remarked, nodding to the glass as they came over to see David, Regina, and Mary Margaret approaching.

Even from the distance they could hear what the others were arguing, David and Mary Margaret appearing to be trying to stop Regina.

"Regina, she's still our daughter," David was saying.

"We can't go to war with her," Mary Margaret agreed.

Emma scoffed, "But she could go to war against her own sister?" she muttered, thinking of how close Snow White and Rose Red had been, like sisters more than cousins.

"I don't think they realized it would lead to war," Gold remarked, "Or they may have reconsidered."

"If you don't have the stomach for this..." Regina let the ultimatum hang in the air.

Mary Margaret shook her head, "I'm not going to hurt her."

"This is exactly why she gave me the Dagger. She knew I'm the only one who could do what has to be done. Now, stand back, or I'll make you stand back."

Mary Margaret glanced at David and stood beside him, "No, we are coming with you. And not only will we stop her, we will save her."

Emma let out a huff, "You know what," she decided, "No more kid gloves. They didn't want me dark, they're going to face the Dark One."

Piper watched as Emma moved to the door and knew she had to do this part alone. This would be the culmination of all their plans, for Snow White to see her child lost to the Darkness. Snow had no memories of being around Emma as the Dark One, and beyond their initial confrontation in the diner when they returned to Storybrooke, Snow had not been face-to-face with Emma, with her dark daughter. Now, the woman finally would.

Emma strode out of the house, Excalibur magically conjured to her hand as she went, "I don't need saving," Emma told them, "I never did, not as a baby, and not now."

"Emma…" Mary Margaret flinched.

"YOU did this," she reminded them, resting the point of Excalibur at her feet and bracing her hands on its hilt, "YOU were the ones who couldn't abide by me being dark, and now I am. How does it feel, mom?" the last word was said so condescendingly that the woman had to look away, "You should have left me and Lily alone. You should have left everything alone."

"We were trying to protect you…" David tried.

"By cursing another child?" Emma tilted her head at them, "You can go ahead and curse one, but yet you wouldn't let me take Zelena's for just the 'cries of a newborn?'" she scoffed, "You heroes are all hypocrites. You spout goodness and light, but you turn to the dark when your light gets you nothing. Then you condemn us for the magics we have that you need. You claim to love someone in spite of their darkness," her gaze turned back to Mary Margaret, her eyes filling with tears as she looked at her daughter, "But betray them in the next breath, for what? 'To protect your kingdom?' Stop making excuses for the terrible things you do and own them."

"You're one to talk," Regina glared at her, "You ripped a girl's heart out of her chest and used her to break Henry's heart!"

"And you were only all to willing and happy to use his tear to free Merlin, despite the pain he was in," Emma shot back at her, "Our son was crying in front of us, and instead of hugging him, you went for the tear so don't you dare throw that back in my face! I did what you would have done if you'd thought to do it."

Regina stepped back as though she'd been slapped and, for all she cared, she had been. She had no memory of Camelot, she didn't remember the aftermath of Henry's heartbreak, the tear, how they used it to free Merlin, so to hear how she'd ignored her son's pain to see her 'mission' through alarmed her.

Emma heaved in a deep breath, glaring at the three of them but focusing more on her parents, "The only person who has loved me and accepted me, light or dark, good or evil, savior or Dark One, is Aunt P. A Siren. A half-creature has more acceptance in her heart than the paragons of good. What does that say about you?" she sneered at them, hamming up the darkness.

"She led you to this…" David breathed, as though just realizing something.

Emma waved a hand and his mouth clicked together, binding in a way where he couldn't speak, "YOU led me to this. You unbalanced my magic, you made me a target for the Darkness. You made me the biggest target for it to latch onto. And instead of helping me, understanding me, being there for me, you used me, all of you," she looked between them, "Aunt P didn't lead me to this, but I wish she had. I'm more like her than I've ever been and you know what? I'd rather be a villain if you are examples of what heroes should be."

Mary Margaret burst into sobs, as though her entire world had crumbled with those words, all the sacrifices and lengths they had gone to to ensure Emma would be ok broken and shattered before them, it was all for nothing, they'd failed.

"You ripped the darkness out of me," Emma continued, "You made me vulnerable to it. All I am now is because of you and your mistakes," she knew it was harsh to say it, could see how much it hurt her parents in how Mary Margaret turned into David, his arms around her, tears in his own eyes, but it had to be said, it had been building in her for too long, "Mistakes you never faced any consequences for, until now. Until me. Because now? I'm going to destroy the light you so firmly stand in. Try being heroes then."

"Emma," Regina held up her hands, trying to placate her, "I know you feel angry, and hurt and betrayed…"

"Me?" Emma nearly laughed, "Or are you talking about Aunt P? After all the bullshit you all put her through? No, I don't feel any of that. Right now I just feel free."

And she did, she never would have been able to stand against them or say what she had without this whole experience.

"Darkness isn't freedom, it's a trap," Regina warned, "It's…"

"Mine to wield," Emma cut in, moving to grip Excalibur more, "And when I'm done with it, done with Zelena, even you will be thanking me, Regina."

Regina fumbled at that, thrown, "And why would I thank you?"

"We all know you'll be happier when Zelena is gone," Emma smirked, watching their faces.

They thought she was going to use Zelena to destroy the light and destroy Zelena in the process.

It was only half true.

Zelena would pull the Darkness out of the Dark One and put it back into Gold...but look what happened to the Apprentice when he tried it on just ONE Dark One. He didn't survive. Maybe he was old. Maybe he wasn't as powerful as he thought he was. Maybe it was because Gold had cleaved himself from the Dagger. She couldn't say, all she knew was if Zelena perished in the attempt, she wouldn't weep for it.

One villain down, after all, the heroes would have been celebrated for defeating her.

But because SHE was a villain now too, she could already see them calling her a murderer.

And that was IF Zelena even perished. For all she knew the woman might just be weakened if she was supposedly so powerful. And it wasn't like she wouldn't cast a preservation spell on her at the last moment, give the heroes a fair shot at 'rescuing her' or 'saving her,' for Henry's sake she could offer Zelena a chance at survival.

She wouldn't go out of her way to save her if the spell proved to be too much, she was Regina's responsibility not hers.

"Gone?" Regina tensed, not sure what Emma had planned now that it wasn't the baby she'd been after, but it didn't sound good, "This is not the way, Miss Swan, and you know it."

Emma seemed amused at that, "We're back to 'Miss Swan?'"

"Well, start acting like Emma again and we'll talk."

"I AM Emma," she glared, lifting Excalibur and stabbing it down into the sidewalk, creating a magical barrier around the house, effectively freezing the trio where they stood as they got caught in it. Emma stood, taking a breath and nodding, heading back to the house. She paused as she stepped in and looked to the left, to where Piper and Gold had been watching, "Ok?" she asked.

Piper only stepped forward and hugged her tightly.

She could feel, for the briefest moment, her heart softening as she watched Snow White break down at the onslaught delivered by her daughter. But with it came the knowledge that...her heart may have softened somewhat towards Snow White, but it was not healed, it was not repaired, their bond was not fixed. That would take work on Snow White's part, but she might be open to the effort if the woman made any.

She merely needed Emma to know how much she valued and appreciated her effort in getting to this point.

But it was only a few seconds before Piper stiffened in Emma's arms and pulled away, her gaze on the door to the basement.

"What?" Emma asked, turning to face it, too.

"Hook and Zelena are free," Piper warned, able to hear their songs coming closer to the door which should not have been possible if they were still chained up.

"Shit," Emma muttered, quickly waving her hand to send Piper and Gold away to the back room of his shop and conjuring a protection spell to keep them away from what might happen next. For the only reason that they could have gotten free is through magic, which meant Zelena had gotten out of the cuff and she wouldn't risk Zelena seeing them.

"Really?" she spoke when the door opened and Hook tried to sneak out only to come face-to-face with her, Zelena nowhere to be seen, which set her on edge for it meant she was gone somewhere and could attack at any moment, "I was trying to help you!"

"Swan," Hook stiffened, "Regina was right. You are a villain now, and now you're gonna tell me exactly what happened in Camelot to make you that way."

Emma moved and crossed her arms, "How are you going to make me do that?"

"I've got some ideas," Zelena appeared in a poof of green smoke, throwing a bottle at Emma's feet, squid ink she'd found in Gold's shop and used to paralyze her.

"Squid ink," Emma glared.

"Zelena, why the hell did you come back?" Hook eyed the woman oddly.

"I thought about how you said you couldn't run until you got some answers," Zelena shrugged, "And I realized I couldn't run either. Not without making the Dark One pay."

"Whatever you think you're doing..." Emma began, when Zelena suddenly turned and stabbed Hook right in the chest, "No! No!"

But instead of dying, Hook was fine when the blade was pulled out, not even a wound to be seen, which made Zelena laugh, "I bet you didn't see that coming, did you?" she asked the pirate as he patted his chest, frowning in confusion at the lack of blood, "Of course that's nothing compared to the surprise that you're feeling right now. You're saying to yourself, 'I just got stabbed in the chest. Why shouldn't it hurt more? Why am I not dead?'"

"What the hell is happening?" Hook gasped, glaring at her, "Answer me, Witch!"

"Well, you could take my word, or you could return the memories that the Dark One stole," she smirked, "See for yourself," and held up a dreamcatcher that had Emma's eyes widening in fear at the small shells sewn into it, "I found this outside."

"Don't trust her," Emma called out, struggling against the squid ink and wishing she hadn't locked the others in the back room, "I can explain everything, Killian…"

Hook gave her a look, hesitating for a moment, before deciding he'd heard too many lies and turned to Zelena for the truth of what had happened, "Do it."

A/N: I know there's more to the episode than ending here, but given that what Hook witnesses in the dreamcatcher are the events of the next chapter, I felt it would be better to cut it off on a mini-cliffhanger and resume the end of this episode at the beginning of the next one ;)

The confrontation between Emma and Snow has been a long time coming, but it's not the end. Emma HAS been hurt by her parents' actions, yes, but I might argue that Piper has even more, and we have yet to really see HER shove things in their faces. I have it written out, and I think that will be the moment where Snow finally breaks and fully, completely, 100 percent realizes how far she's fallen and the pretty villainous path she has skirted along for a while now. Emma has cracked Snow, she's laid the groundwork, and soon enough her lesson for the heroes will come to fruition as well, but it will be this specific confrontation between Piper and Snow that will fully break through, I think. In a way where Snow cannot and won't be able to go back or take her usual step forward two back habit. If it doesn't happen in this story, it will in the next, but it will happen }:)

As for Zelena, Emma is very dedicated to making the heroes think the worst in her and testing Hook's acceptance of her. She has no direct plans to kill Zelena, but she knows that the spell she wants Zelena to cast could very well kill her. The Apprentice didn't survive removing the Darkness from ONE Dark One, and she's going to expect Zelena to pull it out of two. It's sort of like Emma has to be careful who she picks, because they do have to be powerful and skilled enough to handle that magic, but also the big possibility of them being overwhelmed and dying from it. She would never put Piper or even Regina in that situation, because family and Henry. SHE can't because while she could pull it out of the second Dark One, she'd still need it pulled out of her, or she'd need someone to kill her to do so, or kill the second Dark One and she wants to avoid that. And she would never do that to Zelena when it could affect the baby either.

Speaking of the baby. I don't think they actually ever denied it in the show, Robin Hood NOT being the father, it's been pretty much assumed he is. But...there IS a possibility he isn't and it was a little twist I wanted to try out. I mean, did no one actually think to try a paternity test or doubt Zelena's word? 'Marian' was 'at the store,' it's not like she was in the apartment all day every day and I doubt Robin was either, they needed food and money and work. And you can't tell me that Zelena could go along playing happy family for weeks on end without needing to be somewhere else as herself.

So I just thought, what if?

Ok, Robin thinks the kid is his which means, at some point, he had slept with her thinking she was Marian. At least ONCE he did it. And, thinking it was Marian, he would probably trust her when she says 'we're pregnant, it's yours' because why would Marian cheat on him? Zelena would, I think she very much would. I could see her going out and having some fun with some random person and coming back and realizing she's pregnant and seducing Robin to pass it off as his and just going along with the ruse to spite Regina and cause her the most pain. Here, Piper can hear songs, she knows how melodies blend and if she doesn't hear Robin's song in any form in that child, it's not his biological daughter, it's Zelena and another person's. Piper being there in New York with Gold that one time, I think, may change the time line in some way. Like...what if seeing another woman in danger and not Gold, Robin ended up thinking of Regina more, and as a result maybe he held off 'making it work' longer than he did in the show, maybe it was just one time after Zelena was already pregnant. Either way, here, in this story, the baby is not Robin's biological daughter. Though, in a way, still part of Robin's family as it would be the niece of his soulmate.

Also, another thought for Zelena, when Hook wakes up, I couldn't see her just going 'oh, btw, your girlfriend doesn't actually want to be the Dark One so I'm going to pull it out of her and give it back to Gold' :/ She's desperate to get out of there, both because she doesn't want Piper to torture her, and she's probably realized by then that she very well could die trying to do this ritual and wants out. She needs Hook's help to get out, telling him Emma wants to give up the Darkness with the ritual isn't going to make Hook eager to help her escape. He'd be all for it. He'd probably be as ok as Piper with the idea of Zelena dying as a result if it means freeing Emma. Zelena most likely fed him some story about how Emma's gone off the deep end and wants to use Zelena for a dark ritual and destroy the light and you have to help me escape so she can't use me and we ruin her plans and keep her from going evil, and so on.

I know the end sort of gives away the 'twist' from the show. And there may be a question about 'how was there sleeping when Dark Ones don't sleep' :/ My logic is, the Dark Swan could not have happened over the span of just a few days, it had to be longer. Anyone who was a second Dark One would have noticed 'gee, I haven't slept in two weeks...' because it's not normal and they'd realize something was wrong. So I took it as, if one doesn't know they are a Dark One then the quirks that come with it don't come to mind, and the mind is a powerful thing. So sleeping had to be involved, which meant Piper's powers or any sort of sleeping potion or spell or anything would likely affect the person too ;)

Some notes on reviews...

Thank you for the suggestion! I should probably set up something like that to just look around. I would usually put a part of a story in google or a couple other search sites that have been suggested over time, but having over 90 stories makes it a little hard to do that frequently :( That's a good idea, and I'll definitely look into it :)

That is going to be a point Emma brings up to Hook at one point in the story, yup. It's possible to love a villain and just love them, not need them to change or be a hero to love them. I can say, given the end of this chapter, we have a good idea who the second Dark One is ;) But I can say it is definitely a test. Some circumstances might have sort of forced the decision, but it does shape up to be a test on multiple levels. How would he accept Emma? HAS he really changed? Would be be a Dark One the heroes should be afraid of in comparison to Gold? Many tests and lessons to learn ;)

I can say in either this story or the AU we'll see Piper's parents, and they will not be happy with Snow ;) The heroes weren't especially bright in that episode, I agree :)

Salut! Je vais bien, j'espère que vous aussi. Je pense que si Piper surprenait jamais Belle en train de contrôler Gold avec le Dague ... eh bien, Belle ne vivrait pas pour voir un autre jour. Peut-être que Piper pourrait être critiqué, si c'était quelqu'un d'autre, mais étant donné l'histoire de Belle avec Gold et ses tentatives pour briser sa malédiction, Piper attaquerait en premier et ne se soucierait pas de questions plus tard. -câlins!- (I used google translate to try and say: Hello! I am well, I hope you are too. I think if Piper ever caught Belle trying to control Gold with the Dagger...well, Belle would not live to see another day. Perhaps Piper might be talked down, if it was anyone else, but given Belle's history with Gold and her attempts to break his curse, Piper would attack first and not bother with questions later. -hugs!-)