A/N: Surprise! Happy Valentine's Day and/or Single's Awareness Day :) As a special treat, I thought I'd give a 'Valentine' from me to you all, enjoy this extra chapter of Black Roses :) We'll still be getting 3 more chapters this week as normal, starting tomorrow, this is just an extra little 'gift' ;)

~8~

Souls of the Departed

It was no surprise to Piper when Emma basically passed out as the boat ride to the underworld dragged on. After the emotional turmoil of the last 24 hours alone, anyone would need rest and so she said nothing as the girl drifted off with her head resting on her shoulder. She could already imagine Henry trying to bite back a smile at the sight. He and Gold were behind her, facing her back, while she and Emma faced towards the center of the boat. Mary Margaret and David sat awkwardly across from her, facing the center as well, which meant they were facing her and Emma and had a clear view of their daughter dozing off beside her, comfortable enough with her to use her shoulder as a pillow. Behind them she could see Regina and Robin Hood, both trying to see anything through the fog Charon rowed them through. Every so often she would catch Mary Margaret's gaze moving past Emma to where she knew Henry sat.

The fact that Henry had chosen to sit by Gold of all people, beyond his heroic grandparents or his adoptive mother, spoke volumes to them about how much their actions had upset not just Emma but Henry too. To know that he'd had a 'secret operation' of his own going on with them all this time, an operation meant to punish the heroes? He wasn't happy with Regina either, how she handled having Emma's Dagger and also how she'd gone along with Mary Margaret and David trying to keep the truth from Emma about what they did to Lily. Maleficent, while a villain, had been Regina's friend, or so she claimed, and she'd turned her back on the woman and her missing baby to help the heroes and that didn't sit right with him either.

While Henry fought a smile, Gold though, was looking at her with a fondly soft expression on his face. It was a combination of how he had come to some sort of acceptance of Emma into his close family circle, and that near-fatherhood had softened him somewhat, a thought of picturing Piper and their child in the future in a similar position.

Piper tilted her head when Mary Margaret shifted for what felt like the hundredth time, her gaze flickering between her and Emma before looking away, "Shall I take a guess?" she offered in the silence that had fallen over them.

"At what?" Mary Margaret asked.

Piper hummed, "You cannot stand that your daughter feels comfort and safety around me, more so than you."

"Can you blame us?" David barely refrained from snapping, "You killed the man she loved. Plan or not, you stabbed him in front of her. And she still..." he cut himself off, Emma still sided with Piper.

"Beyond the fact that the only way to stop a Dark One is to kill them with their own blade," Piper reminded him, "A fact Emma has been intimately aware of since Camelot, you miss a fairly large thing of import. Two of them, really."

"And what's that?"

"First, yes, I ran him through, but that was ALL I did," she smirked a bit, "Had I the choice, the freedom, I would have caused him far more agony and torment before ending him."

"And that makes it better?" David frowned, shaking his head, disgusted.

"It does," Piper nodded simply, "For my niece, I gave him a quick and painless end."

"She did it for Emma," Gold cut in, seeing David about to argue, completely missing the point Piper was trying to make, "Emma knows Pip's nature, her darkness, her instinct, that she fought against all of it, to fulfill a request by her niece...it speaks of the love and care she has for Emma," he glanced at Mary Margaret, "Something you knew once upon a time."

Mary Margaret had to look away, knowing what he meant. She was all too aware of a Siren's nature, their callousness, their selfishness, the darkest parts of their nature. But equally she knew of their importance put on family, their protectiveness, their instinct to put themselves in the way of any harm that might fall upon those they loved. She got it, she did. Because torturing Hook would have hurt Emma, and so Piper had put that aside, fought through it, to make it as painless for not just the man himself, but Emma too.

It had been Piper's own unique brand of an act of love.

It was how Piper, as a half-Siren, expressed her care and love, it was never going to be the same way as others, as full-humans. Even though it was different and dark, it was still an act of love. The amount of times she had heard her cousin declare she would tear apart anyone who dared harm HER when they had been younger...it was disturbing to know she was serious, but it had once meant something to HER, because it was Rose Red's way of telling her how important she was to her.

"And second," her gaze grew serious, "Better I should do it than Emma," she looked between them as they stiffened, as though just realizing it very easily could have been Emma who had been forced to end Hook instead of her, "I would not put that burden on her," she looked over at Mary Margaret, "Just as I did not for you, when it was your Charming Prince's heart that needed to be crushed."

That truth had Mary Margaret letting out a gasp, reminded of that terrible time and how she couldn't bring herself to kill the man she loved. Piper had stepped in, had done it when she couldn't, made the hard decisions and took the difficult actions just so her family wouldn't have to. She had stepped in to protect her cousin, so long ago, and she had done the same now to protect her niece.

Even David seemed affected by the realization that, had Piper not done what she had, EMMA would have been forced to do it herself, and that would have crushed his daughter.

As though sensing they were talking about her, Emma woke with a gasp before David could respond.

"Emma?" Piper turned to her, the woman scooting back a bit and panting.

"Emma, are you ok?" Mary Margaret was quick to try and reach out to daughter.

"Yeah, you passed out," David added.

"She has not slept in weeks," Piper reminded them, "Any would be tired."

"I'm fine," Emma reassured them, relaxing when she saw she was with them all.

"Good," Gold spoke, glancing over his shoulder as he felt the boat slowing down, "Because we're here."

He stood as the boat drifted up to a sort of dock, a boardwalk disappearing into a haze of fog, burnt orange in color. As soon as they were beside the wood, he moved to step out onto it, turning and holding a hand back to help Piper out after him, Henry hurrying to do the same for Emma, and soon the rest had followed. The heroes glanced at each other, though Gold merely kept hold of Piper's hand and began to walk towards the fog, leaving them little choice but to join them.

It was hard to see anything, the smoke was so thick, and it felt like they had been walking aimlessly, left to trust Gold to guide them, but eventually the fog began to clear and they came upon a most unusual sight. It was Storybrooke, bathed in that same burnt orange hue, looking more a ghost town than anything, but the town none the less. And there were people there too, wandering about at a sluggish pace, shuffling here and there, almost zombie-like in manner.

They walked down main street, looking around, past the broken clocktower, to the boarded up stores, debris scattered around. If ever there was some sort of apocalypse, the town would likely look like this.

"I don't think we're in Maine anymore," Regina remarked.

"How is this possible?" Emma looked around, "How does the Underworld look like Storybrooke?"

"Does it truly matter?" Piper wondered, no bite in her voice as she walked on, but more inquiring if they really needed to know.

"All that matters is, all these people in this Underworld are dead and trapped because they have unfinished business," Gold spoke, agreeing with her sentiment that it wasn't important.

They paused, hearing a car in the distance to see Cruella de Vil's drive across the street a few blocks away, "Cruella," Emma realized.

"That's right."

"I was so hoping she would be here," Piper began to smirk, while Cruella wasn't the reason she had thought to propose a trip to the Underworld, she would not look a gift horse in the mouth with the opportunity this presented, "I made her death far too quick."

The Charmings faltered behind them, stopping in the middle of the road, "You?" David blinked rapidly, still not moving, causing the others to turn to them, "YOU were the one who killed her?"

"I was."

"But Emma…" Mary Margaret breathed, a hand curling around the front of her shirt, as though her heart couldn't take that revelation.

"I never touched her," Emma told them, finally giving them the truth about that entire event. She hadn't planned to ever reveal to them that Piper had taken Cruella out instead of herself, but Piper was clearly far too pleased to find Cruella there to keep that quiet any longer, "Aunt P took care of that for me."

"As I promised to do," Piper reminded them, "A Siren protects their family, and she threatened my niece and nephew."

Mary Margaret looked over at Piper, her eyes wide, stunned and shocked that, even then, even when she had been allied with the Queens of Darkness and seeking revenge against HER, Piper had turned on one of her 'allies' to keep Emma safe, to keep her from darkening her heart.

"I let you think it was me," Emma told them, "Aunt P was going to tell you, but I didn't want her to."

"Why?" Mary Margaret's voice shook, "Why would you do that?"

She couldn't understand why Emma would. She knew Emma had been angry, but she had to know how terrified they had been about her going dark and she let them think she'd taken that step down that path. She let them think she'd committed murder. It had killed her to think she'd failed her daughter to the point where she'd do that to someone. And it had been a lie? Emma hadn't done it, Piper had. If felt like she couldn't wrap her head around that, no matter how much it made sense looking back on it. Her daughter, no matter how angry, wouldn't do something like that, and Piper had been there, PIPER very much would do that. She hadn't even questioned it, back then, she'd taken Emma at her word, at her implication, had thought Piper hadn't stopped her out of spite...

She hadn't trusted them.

Either of them.

She had thought such horrible things, said such terrible things, things she could never take back.

"I wanted to know what you'd do," Emma looked between her and David, another nail in the coffin of how they'd failed, "How you'd treat me."

To their credit, both Mary Margaret and David flinched at how they had fallen right into the trick, how they had looked at her, treated her, thought of her, just because of how things had looked and things Emma had implied happened. They made assumption and hadn't had trust...just like when she'd been the Dark One.

"Cruella's here because of Pip," Gold spoke, "As, I imagine, many are here because of all of us. Let's not lollygag."

"Split up," Emma looked around, "We'll cover more ground."

"Agreed," Regina nodded, moving ahead with Robin when she saw Henry move to Gold's side to join him, already dragging him off before he could protest, Piper amused and seeming to take that as an indication to join Emma, "The sooner we get out of here, the better."

"Meet at Granny's in a half hour!" Mary Margaret called to the others as they all scattered.

~8~

"Just because he was not at the docks, does not mean he is not here," Piper remarked, somewhat reluctantly, as she and Emma made their way back across town from the docks where Emma had been hoping to see the Jolly Roger and Hook. While the ship was there, the man was not. She was perfectly content if they never found the pirate, but as he was the catalyst to this adventure down below, and Emma's reason for being there, she felt she should say something to cheer her niece up.

"I know," Emma sighed, "I just…I actually thought this would be easy. After everything that happened, I thought this would be the easy quest."

"It is the Underworld, Emma," Piper remarked with a gentle smile, "In all the legends and tales of it, do any souls easily depart?"

Emma sighed, "No."

"The easy part was incorrect," Piper reached out to touch her arm, "But just because something is hard, does not mean it is impossible. After all, the tales do tell us of others who escaped."

Emma gave her a small smile, knowing she hated Hook, but that she was saying this for her benefit, "Thanks Aunt P."

Piper nodded as they reached the door to Granny's and pulled it open to see the Blind Witch from Hansel and Gretel's tale behind the counter, Mary Margaret looking shaken and David a bit concerned.

"You find anything?" Emma called to them as she entered.

"Uh...there's no sign of him at the park or the town hall," Mary Margaret told her.

"Nor the docks," Piper added.

Emma hesitated a moment before asking, "What if he has no unfinished business?"

"He died a Dark One, Miss Swan," Gold spoke as he entered through the back door with Henry, both men looking disappointed, "Trust me, he's here."

"He wasn't at the rooms," Henry offered, clutching a key in his hands, it was clear where he and Gold had been.

Emma reached out and picked up the one "Room eight. That was your dad's. You're looking for him?"

"I wanted to let him know I was ok," Henry spoke, Gold not needing to say anything for why he'd ultimately allowed Henry to pull him away from his mate for those 30 minutes, anyone would look for their fallen child if they had the chance. And...he trusted Emma to keep her safe just this one time.

"He knows, kid. He knows."

"How can you be sure?"

"I just am," Emma spoke, her voice breaking as she looked to Gold as well, "He's in a better place, I promise."

Gold cleared his throat and took a breath, "I may have something at my shop down here that can help us," he told them, before moving to the door with Piper.

~8~

"You lot had best stay out here," Gold remarked as they neared his pawn shop, or the version of it that existed in the underworld. He could see the sign broken and, given the Blind Witch had taken over Granny's, he could guess that someone had taken over his shop.

When he looked over, Piper was giving him a narrow-eyed look that made him chuckle, "Not you, Pip," he reassured her, "Never you."

He wasn't thrilled that they were both there, in the Underworld while she was pregnant, he would have rather she be the one to stay in Storybrooke if one of them had to go with Emma, which one would as Piper would have refused to let Emma go there alone. There was a very large problem with that beyond Piper not wanting her niece and her mate to go on any sort of dangerous quest without her there to help them. Given how the town was set up, Piper would have been left alone in the middle of a town of heroes, half of whom, MOST of whom, likely thought she was the reason their Savior had gone dark since only a handful of people had their memories restored. He would never leave her alone to face the wolves by herself, but that would mean Emma being alone, and so they were all together now. He'd rather her beside him in all things anyway, no matter how dangerous. She had more than proven herself brave and capable of protecting herself. If someone had taken his shop well…he imagined their combined magic would be a greater asset. Her song alone could create so many different opportunities and she would also refuse to leave his side for this, not knowing who he would confront within.

Though, if he was being honest, he had an inkling of who of his many enemies might take over his magic shop.

Piper nodded her head and he held the door open for her to enter, close behind her so she would not be exposed to any sort of attack. They stepped in to see that many artifacts from his own history were scattered about, not at all how he'd left his true shop. The spinning wheel he would work his magic on was spinning rapidly in the corner, one of Piper's old pipes was resting on the counter in a display box…and on a shelf behind the counter was an old doll he had made when he was but a boy. He ignored it, stepping behind the counter and starting to look for the potion they would need, hoping this shop would be enough like his above ground to replicate even that.

"Pan," Piper greeted, keeping watch for anyone while he searched, behind the counter with him, her arms crossed and resting on the case as she watched the boy step out from the back room, fiddling with her pipe in her hands, having heard his song before he even entered the room.

Pan didn't seem surprised to see them, only remarking, "Looking for something?"

"I certainly wasn't looking for you," Gold muttered under his breath as he kept on, barely hiding a smirk as he saw Piper idly running her finger along the holes of her pipe, a song clearly in mind. She had been…very irate…to learn there was another who had once claimed themselves to be the 'pied piper' in the Enchanted Forest, and she would love any opportunity to truly fight for that title. Even if her opponent was already dead.

"Oh, come on, son," Pan rolled his eyes, "Don't be like that. Aren't you glad to see your dear old father?" he moved as though he were going to join them behind the counter, only for Piper to bark out an order.

"Stop," she hissed at him, the tone and inflection of her voice taking on the magical quality that her power came from, the order settling into his mind, even dead, preventing him from moving, "Stay," she added, ensuring he couldn't step away from that spot either.

Pan shot her a nasty glare for how the magic affected even him.

Gold did smirk this time, glancing back at the man as he turned away from the counter and to another box in the back, "Just because you, uh, sired me, that doesn't make you my father."

"Keep looking for as long as you like," Pan taunted, "But down here, this is my shop. And you won't find anything unless I want you to."

Gold closed the box and turned to him, "Be careful with your threats."

"Or what?" Pan snorted, "You'll kill me again?"

"If he does not, rest assured I will," Piper warned him, "I can kill you with a word, Pan. And with your soul, I am certain you shall end up in a far worse place than this."

Pan was silent for a long moment, before attempting a smirk at his son, "Maybe it's time to put the past behind us," he suggested, "That is what you're looking for, right?" he nodded his head to where the doll was on the shelf, a series of vials beside it, "Go on. Take it."

Gold merely crossed his arms, "How generous. How many strings are attached?"

"No strings," the boy said, "Though I would appreciate if you call your shark to heel."

"Not a chance," Gold remarked, "If anything, I'd happily set her on you."

Piper smirked, unperturbed by such talk, knowing full well neither man could control her in such a manner. But that was the beauty of her relationship with Gold, they were so often on the same page in terms of what they wanted and how far they would go to get it. She loathed Pan as much as he did and would happily end the man if he asked her assistance in doing so.

"Rumple, I meant what I said before I died," Pan tried again, "I...I do want to start over."

Gold snorted, "Never gonna happen. I sent you here for a reason."

"I miss the world above, the tastes, the smells."

Piper rolled her eyes, something Gold caught and nodded to, of course that would be the real reason he wanted to 'reconcile,' a way to escape the Underworld and the likely hell he'd be condemned to once he passed out of this limbo.

"Sorry," Gold said dryly, "You can't go back."

"Not unless I trade places with a living soul," Pan reminded them, "And those people you came down with...they are not your friends. And they are living...for now. Maybe one of them doesn't make the trip back, but your dear old dad does."

"Not interested," Gold replied, for even though Pan wasn't wrong that the ones outside, a majority of them were not his 'friends,' but one was his grandson and the other Piper's beloved niece, he would not allow those two to come to harm. The others…would be more loss by association, given two were the other grandparents of his grandson, and the other his grandson's adoptive mother and near adoptive father. If not for Henry alone, he would have allowed the others to be used.

"Not yet," Pan smirked, "But...this one's on the house for today," he nodded at the vials again, "A gesture of goodwill...from a father to his son."

Gold rolled his eyes this time but took the vial nonetheless, turning to lead Piper back to the door, his hand resting on the small of her back, trusting her magic to hold and keep Pan from retaliating in its power.

They stepped out into Storybrooke to see the others gathered around Regina and Robin, who had finally returned from their own search, all of them seeming very disturbed over something Regina was telling them.

"She'll really do that?" Mary Margaret was asking, "She'll throw your father, her husband, into the fire?"

Well, that answered part of the unease about the others. Apparently Regina had run into her mother, and learned her father was also trapped in limbo, and that the woman was threatening to send him to hell if Regina didn't do...something or another.

"Of course she will," Regina huffed, "She thinks she's giving me my best chance. I can't let my father suffer because of me."

"Regina, it's alright…" Robin Hood tried to reassure her.

"No, it's not!" she nearly snapped, "He's here because I killed him. The only way I've been able to deal with that is by imaging he went to a better place, but...he didn't," she sighed and rubbed her head, "Maybe I should get on that boat."

"Yes, you should," Emma agreed, looking at the people around her, "All of you."

"Absolutely not," David shook his head, "We're not leaving until we find Hook together."

"It's dangerous here."

"Which is why we're not leaving you alone," Mary Margaret nodded.

"I wouldn't be alone," Emma argued, "Aunt P and Gold would…"

Piper almost smirked when Emma cut herself off at the flinch and devastation on the Charmings' faces for the implication that they would leave but Emma would ask her and Gold to remain with her. That she had chosen them, yet again, over her parents. Good. They deserved to experience others not choosing them or standing with them for a change.

"Speaking of Pip and I," Gold called as they reached the group, "Perhaps I can cut through this little family squabble," he held up the potion vial.

"What the hell is that?" Robin eyed it, not trusting anything to be found in the underworld.

"This is the way to find your deceased pirate. The Ale of Seonaidh from the land of DunBroch."

"That's a mouthful," Regina muttered.

"It allows one to communicate with the dead," Piper explained, familiar with the potion, for he had procured it for her once upon a time.

He had been very sweet about it, obtaining it so that she could have one last conversation with her father and mother. The only issue that had come up, that he hadn't considered while getting it, was that the potion had to be scattered over their grave and, with the chaos of Regina's attack…her kingdom had burned and it had been too many years. Her parents had not been buried, they had died and their bodies were lost in the fire that followed, their ashes…scattered everywhere by then. It was a gruesome thing to consider, the remains of her parents, how she couldn't even lay them to rest…it had been a sweet thought though, to be able to truly say goodbye.

Instead, he had taken her to where her kingdom had been, and he had used his magic to gather every piece of ash that was in the area, even that which had been mixed with dirt and wood, every spec that still remained he had summoned to him and given to her to choose where to scatter it. It wasn't much, barely a pouchful remained after so many years, with rain and wind and travelers and animals dispersing it, but the sentiment had brought tears to her eyes. She had gone to a cliff that overlooked the place her father and mother had first met and scattered it into the sea. Her mother was of the sea, her father had loved her, loved the sea in her, and they would be together there. Even if it wasn't their ashes she held, it was all that was left of her kingdom, of them, and she had never before been so touched.

"Pour this over Hook's grave," Gold instructed, handing the vial to Emma, "And we can stop guessing where he is and simply ask him."

"You're saying Hook has a grave here in the Underworld?" David gave him an odd look.

"Everyone down here has a grave. The cemetery would be right where you remember it."

"Well, if this works, we could find Hook before the boat leaves," Mary Margaret perked up, shaking what Emma had said moments ago away to focus on this, "We could all get out of here together."

"So there's a boat that's leaving soon," Gold remarked, the two of them now fully understanding what was going on.

"My mother arranged it,' Regina huffed, "She wants me, Robin, and Henry gone."

"But now we have a chance to all make it," Mary Margaret repeated, "If there's even a chance that will work, we have to risk it."

~8~

The small group gathered around the grave of Killian Jones in Storybrooke's cemetery, Emma standing closest to the plot while the others gave her some space. There were…a number of graves but, it appeared, unlike the real Storybrooke where plots were preselected if someone wanted one, or decided later, this was organized that the newest additions were nearest the gate, for the grief would be too fresh and new.

"Alright," Emma took a breath, "Let's do this," she looked down at the grave, at the stone marker for the man she loved.

There was something so final about seeing it there that she hesitated. What if he wasn't there? What if Gold was wrong? Hook had died a Dark One, yes, but he'd died for love, for saving people, to be a hero like he'd first wanted when he initially began his life at sea. Wouldn't that earn him a place in heaven not limbo? He had been content to die the first time, he'd made peace with it, the only unfinished business he'd have had was their lost future, but he wanted her to HAVE one and he'd gotten it.

"You ok?" Mary Margaret asked, shaking her out of her thoughts.

Emma nodded, "I just hope he is," she muttered, it was something she hadn't considered before, when she had been the Dark Swan. She hadn't thought what the Underworld would be like, not truly, she couldn't begin to imagine it would be like this, an alternate Storybrooke. The longer she was there, the more she began to realize that these trapped souls were solid. And if they were solid, they could be hurt.

Hook may have wanted to be a hero, and had died as one in the end, but he had still been a Dark One, and that was a villain, and what if he was being tortured or hurt? And even if he wasn't being tortured...it was like Gold had said, many of these people had unfinished business either because of a villain or a hero, and there could be people there that had unfinished business with Hook.

There was only one way to find out, so before she could hesitate again, she uncorked the vial and tipping some of the potion onto the grave.

For a few moments nothing happened, but then suddenly Hook appeared before her, flashing in and out, like hologram almost, a projection. But it was long enough for them all to get a good look at him, enough for Regina and Robin to hurriedly cover Henry's sight. For Hook was bloody and bruised, his clothing burned, some of his skin singed, clearly battered and tired and struggling against something.

"Killian," Emma breathed, before called out, "Killian, we're here to help you. We just can't find you. Where are you?"

But Hook gave no indication that he could see her or even hear her, the image just flickering more, without Hook turning or reacting to her.

"Emma...the spell's not steady," Regina warned, "He can't hear you."

"Just tell us where you are?" Emma tried again, trying to remain calm. He had once said he was skilled at surviving, and he had, clearly, he'd endured something and was still fighting. She had to believe he'd keep going, she just had to know where to find him.

"Something's happening," Robin Hood called as the image began to break down.

"It's not holding," Regina realized.

"Talk to us," Emma continued to try and get his attention, "Talk to me."

But the image shattered, Hook fading away, the image sinking into the ground, Emma reached for it like she could try and grab it and keep it from disappearing, "Killian!"

"What the hell was that?" David turned to Gold, furious, "Why didn't it work?!"

"It did," Gold defended, though even he was frowning at the grave, "It's meant to allow communication, but if he is in a state where he cannot communicate…" he sighed, "He was in no state to do it. It was too turbulent for him to be reached."

"If he couldn't be reached, then he doesn't know we came for him," Emma realized, "We...he doesn't know we're here. He doesn't know that I came."

"He does, Emma," Piper reassured her, moving to her one side, keeping a wide space between her and Mary Margaret who had moved to do the same on Emma's other side, "He knows. You made him a Dark One because you cared too much to lose him. If he has any sort of intelligence, he would know you well enough to know you are too stubborn to allow something like the Underworld to cause that same loss."

"And, Emma," Mary Margaret hesitated, unsure if Emma would allow it, before reaching out to touch her shoulder, "We WILL find him."

"Will we?" Emma frowned, looking at this gravestone, "What will we find when we do? He's in pain. He's suffering. That image gave us no clues where to find him and this place is huge. We won't find him in half an hour..."

"Emma," Piper spoke, hearing the thought in Emma's voice at the end.

Emma looked at her, seeing the raise of her eyebrow and nodded, "YOU have half an hour," she turned to the others, the heroes and Henry, "Cora has a boat coming. You have to take it, or we might all be stuck here."

"If she can arrange a way out, so can we," David declared, firm, not about to let his daughter send them off and stay there with just Piper and Gold as she seemed to be implying. They had done this, he knew, he and Mary Margaret had done this, broken what trust they had built with Emma. It was their fault she turned to the villains and not her parents, and he would not let it stand. He would do anything he could to gain back her trust, to earn her forgiveness for what he'd done, and he was sure Mary Margaret would too, "After we find Hook. We are not giving up on you."

They wouldn't make the same mistake they had when they thought she'd truly become the Dark One.

Emma gave them a nod and looked at Regina, "Regina, they're staying, but you should go."

"No," she shook her head, "I…I…"

"Take Robin and Henry...because if you don't, whatever your father is going to face..."

"It probably looks a lot like what Hook is facing," Regina cut in.

"So, it's settled. Get them out of here. Get yourself out of here."

"Or just save him," Piper spoke, drawing all eyes to her. She rolled her own at the incredulous looks she was receiving for speaking of how Regina should 'save' another instead of let him die, "You possess magic," Piper reminded her, speaking those three words slowly, as though to an idiot, "As does Cora, but you have the advantage of light and dark magic. If she tries to condemn him, stop her."

Regina was silent a moment, a lifetime of not being able to stand up to her mother bubbling to the surface.

"I would have given anything to save my father, my mother," Piper reminded her of her own hand in their demise, "If you would not...then you do not deserve your father's love."

~8~

The small group stood at the base of the broken clocktower, waiting for Regina and Henry to return from the confrontation with Cora. There had been some argument as to whether Henry should go with her, but the boy would not be moved. Regina would need someone there to believe she could do it, to remind her of why she was fighting Cora for his namesake. And…he had never seen his grandfather before, he deserved that chance, and he deserved the chance to see his mother save her father than kill him. Gold was not pleased with the idea of the others not taking the boat back to the land of the living, the less heroes there who were important to his grandson, the less he'd have to protect.

"Tell me your father's ok," Mary Margaret spoke, drawing their attention over to where Regina and Henry were approaching, both with smiles on their faces.

"He's better than ok," Regina nodded, leaning into Robin as he moved an arm around her.

"He's in a better place now," Henry agreed, sending Emma a look, now understanding what she meant before about his father. Neal may not be there in Limbo, and that would just mean he was ok in heaven. He…may have asked his grandfather to let his father know he was ok though, just to be sure.

"Wait," Mary Margaret stiffened, a thought striking her, "That means everyone here..."

"Can be saved," David finished thinking the same thing, starting to smile at the thought that they could help.

Regina let out a breath, "Every soul in this town has unfinished business. And chances are, for a lot of them, we're that business."

"Not all those with unfinished business deserve to be saved," Piper reminded them, "Cruella, Cora..."

"You've all deluded yourself if you think these people are worth your time," Gold remarked dryly, agreeing with Piper, "They're not the dearly departed. They are dead, wretched souls, many of them are likely villains you killed for a reason."

"Hmm," Piper hummed in thought, "If we kill them here…do they move on or merely return to Limbo?" she mused, "And if they do move on, do we get to choose where they go?"

Gold began to smirk, "Thinking of some to hunt down?"

"Oh, quite a few," Piper nodded, "Milah would be the top of the list."

Gold blinked and began to smile darkly at that, "Now that would be quite enjoyable a sight to behold."

Just imagining Milah encountering Piper…for his ex-wife to see the woman he was bonded to now? No life of piracy would ever make Milah as dark and desirable to him as Piper was. He would love for her to bear witness to the fact she had been replaced in his heart so thoroughly by someone so much better suited to him than her.

"Our agreement was to find your pirate," Gold looked to Emma, "I don't see why we can't…do a little sight seeing along the way."

Emma rolled her eyes at that, knowing Gold had been against this plan from the start but gone along with it for Piper's sake and her request, but now he seemed more agreeable to spending some more time there if it would mean being able to destroy certain enemies a second time. She really didn't care, so long as he stuck around, with his knowledge of the Underworld and his magic to help keep her son and Piper safe.

"So..." Henry looked around at them all, "Who's ready for 'Operation Firebird?'"

"Is that what we're calling it?" Regina sked with a laugh.

"You referring to the mythological bird or the muscle car?" Emma moved to wrap an arm around Henry's shoulder as they began to make their way further into town, the broken clocktower letting out a pitiful tick as they passed it.

"Perhaps Operation Phoenix," Piper remarked, linking her arm with Gold's.

He smirked, hearing a bit of a distracted tone in her voice and leaned over to press a kiss to her temple, knowing her thoughts, much like his own, had drifted to exactly what they'd do if they came across some of their fallen foes.

He was much looking forward to it.

A/N: Man, those heroes, they just keep digging in and speaking before they think :/ But at least they are taking a pause after it to think about what they just said and the response they got instead of just brushing it off :(

I don't think that was something the Charmings realized with what Piper did, that she 'killed' Hook. Because she would have made it much worse, but out of love for Emma went quick and painless, her way of expressing her care for her niece. But also, if not Piper than Emma. She did it, so Emma wouldn't have to. I think Snow really needed to see that playing out in front of her, instead of just hearing talk of it or finding out later, to be reminded that that was what Piper had always promised and always done, to sort of remind her of that bond they had and how Piper expresses herself as a half-Siren :(

I know it might have been a bit off for Gold to go with Henry and not Piper to search for those 30 minutes, but I feel like he has come to trust Emma and her care for Piper, he knows Emma will protect her to the death and Piper isn't some damsel that needs to be rescued, even pregnant. He's not happy to be split up away from her, but with Emma beside her, he feels like he can take those 30 minutes to help Henry because clearly Henry chose HIM as his partner for a reason. And it was because of Baelfire, them both wanting to find him.

I can say Milah isn't Piper's reason for wanting to suggest they go to the Underworld for Hook, she's sort of a happy accident, as is Cruella, and any other enemy she made and dispatched to the Underworld ;) Like Pan, too. There are going to be some test and trials to come, some more hard truths and confrontations, so we'll have to wait and see how it goes down ;)

I also wanted to have a teeny tiny bit of Piper like kicking Regina, metaphorically, in that was no one else remembering Regina HAS MAGIC? She's standing there freaking out about her father and what Cora will do and Piper's just like 'dude, just send a fireball at her' lol :) But of all of them, I feel like Piper understands not being able to save her parents more than even Snow or Charming. With Snow, Eva was slowly dying and praised her at the end, and Snow didn't know her father was in any danger till after he'd died. Charming's mother was also sort of dying but there was nothing they could really actively do to save her, neither of them had magic to use. Piper did, and she witnessed her parents dying in an attack and in a way where she COULD have saved them if things had been different :(

Some notes on reviews...

I don't think it's petty at all :) I sort of feel like there should be a line of people who just go slapping Blue :)

I was very tempted to bring Bae back, but he's sort of already moved on to a place Emma can't get to :( He died knowing his father loved him and would be ok with Piper, that he had a mother-figure who loved him and would fight for him, that the woman he loved loved him and their son is safe and will be ok with her, and died a hero saving his father :( As sad as his death was, he was in a better place to move on :( There will actually be a moment where Snow's father is discussed about whether he, dying of poison the way he did, would have unfinished business or not, that will sort of connect to Bae :( In this story, Bae is sort of a block in the foundation of Emma's life that helps lead her towards overcoming her relationship fears. But I can say, I do have a twist where we might see Bae again, I just can't say what it is yet ;) I don't think the child is going to be Hades', only because Zelena still had her magical knowledge, and her smarts, and I think she'd figure out if the man she ended up spending a night with was Hades and she doesn't seem keen on him at first ;) The Academic Series and Lunar Cycle may be a while yet, since I'm rotating between the DW stories. I'll have to get through Mac and the Judge first, but I am aiming to get Mac done this year and Judge done next year, so they should probably resume 2023 for Proffy and 2024 for Evy. Tentatively, it might pick up and be earlier if I keep up the updating schedule ;) I'm glad you're excited for Evy though, I have SO many plans for her and J and Clara :)

It may be a while before anyone else learns about the pregnancy, Piper won't want it to come out in 'hell' with some of her dead-enemies around :)

Piper is very curious if Bae is down there, she sees him as one of her own, her son because he's her mate's son. But I think she also knew that's where Gold would look first and so she wanted to give him that privacy with Henry to check first :( I think, if Bae hadn't moved on, she'd be willing to find a way to get him out of the Underworld, if he wanted to leave, but sadly he moved on :( But she will definitely meet Milah and Milah will not be expecting her ex-husband or his mate or how they are together }:)

Bonjour! Je vais bien, j'espère que vous aussi. Et c'est génial! Je vous souhaite le meilleur avec votre histoire! :) En ce qui concerne la grossesse, ce que j'essaie de faire, c'est de l'étaler sur la longueur d'une histoire ou d'une saison. Mettez en place quelques étapes clés en cours de route pour aider les lecteurs à savoir à quel stade de la grossesse ils se trouvent. Parfois, j'ajoute des symptômes de grossesse avant qu'ils ne se rendent compte qu'ils sont enceintes pour s'accumuler, comme sentir plus les choses ou être malade ou avoir un goût étrange. Ensuite, j'essaie de garder le cap, quelle est la taille de leur ventre? Quand devraient-ils ressentir un coup de pied de bébé? Quand est-ce perceptible pour les autres? Ajouter leurs pensées internes, leurs craintes ou leurs inquiétudes au sujet du bébé au fur et à mesure de l'histoire, ou leurs projets et leurs rêves peuvent également le rendre plus réel :) J'espère que cela a aidé! -câlins!- (I used google translate to try and say: Hello! I am fine, I hope you are too. And that's awesome! I wish you the best with your story! :) When it comes to pregnancy, what I try to do is spread it out over the length of a story or season. Put in some key milestones along the way to help readers keep up on what point in the pregnancy they are at. Sometimes I add in pregnancy symptoms before they realize they are pregnant to build up to it, like smelling things more or being sick or odd tastes. Then I try to keep it on track, how big is their belly? When should they feel a baby kick? When is it noticeable to others? Adding in their internal thoughts or fears or concerns about the baby as the story goes, or their plans and dreams for it can also make it more real :) Hope that helped! -hugs!-)