Her Handsome Hero

Piper stood in the library of the Underbrooke, Hook near the door, keeping a lookout down the road, while Emma nodded off on a chair at a nearby desk. None of them made a sound as she slept on, all too aware that, of all of them, she had gotten the least amount of sleep since Camelot. Piper was looking at the books absently when one caught her eye. The Odyssey. She almost smiled at the sight of it, recalling, from a project August had done in school, that it contained mention of Sirens. That had been an interesting time, August had dove into the subject, looking up every fact about Sirens he could to compare with what Piper herself knew of the version which existed in the Enchanted Forest. He'd delighted in teasing her about how the people of this world thought they were like birds with the heads of human women, like in the Odyssey, or similar to some mermaid-like creature in other tales. She would get so frustrated with those depictions, it was even worse when he came home with an A+ for his research and dedication to the subject and she'd had to glower that he'd gotten high mark for incredibly inaccurate information and that the true information would have gotten him an F.

Before she could so much as reach for the book, Emma gasped behind her, panting and looking around wildly, clearly awoken from a nightmare.

"Alright, Emma?" Piper called over to her.

"Bad dream?" Hook guessed.

"Yeah," Emma cleared her throat and got up, "It was nothing. Sorry I fell asleep," she looked around at them.

"No need," Piper assured her, "You are allowed rest, Emma."

"Do you realize this is the first time you've slept since you rescued me?" Hook continued, oddly agreeing with Piper for the moment.

Emma scoffed, "I will sleep for weeks as soon as we defeat Hades, I promise."

They glanced up when the lights above them began to flash, "It appears they are ready," Piper remarked, for it was the signal the others were going to send when they were ready.

"Yeah," Emma agreed, "Let's go," she turned and led them through the library to the back where the elevator was to see Regina, Gold, Snow White, David, and Henry gathered there, Gold and Regina using their magic on it.

"Good, you're here," Regina called when she noticed them, "Emma, we could use a little help."

Gold rolled his eyes, catching Piper's gaze as he continued to work on feeding his magic into the barrier around the elevator, not that he thought this would help. It wasn't the same sort of protection spell that Hades had up before that would require one of the dead to help them, but it was tricky to break through, even for him as the Dark One, even with Regina assisting. He hadn't thought this would work, had told them in no uncertain terms that Hades would not make it this easy to enter his domain as a ride down the elevator. It was either a trap or a distraction, not something they should be focusing this much energy on. As Dark One, there had been many times someone had broken into his castle one way, only for him to use magic and make sure it could not be entered again that same way. Now that they knew his base was in the old caves and the elevator led down to it, Hades would be sure to either block the way or lay a trap.

"So this is what you've been working on all night?" Hook frowned as Emma stepped up and used her newly-balanced magic to help, the barrier wavered with a bunch of moving lines travelling across it, "This is our new plan to defeat Hades and go home...a bunch of squiggly lines?"

Regina scoffed, "Hades put one hell of a protection spell on his elevator, and these 'squiggly lines' are the only way to crack it open."

"Then hopefully that elevator will take us straight to him," Snow agreed.

"Maybe, with surprise on our side, we can get a shot at him," David added optimistically.

"That's a lot of 'maybe's and 'hopefully's," Hook pointed out.

"It's all we have right now," Emma muttered, before stepping away when the barrier shattered, "Ok, let's do this."

Regina reached out with her magic, prying the elevator door open…only to see a solid wall behind it, the elevator gone.

"So much for surprising him," David sighed.

"We'll think of something else," Snow insisted, "We always do."

"I've actually got an idea about that," Henry spoke up, earning all their attention though he turned to Hook, "You said that when your brother moved on it affected Hades somehow. That it weakened him. So by helping people move on, maybe that's how we defeat Hades. If enough people move on then he's lost them and maybe he loses power with each person. If we can get him weak enough..."

"I don't know," Snow sighed, "There are a lot of…villains…" she offered, actually sending an apologetic look at Piper and Gold for the use of the word, "Here."

"If they 'move on' to a worse place, would that make him stronger?" David asked, because as far as they could tell, the 'better place' appeared to be something out of Hades realm, but they didn't know about the other place yet.

"Then we find the good guys," Henry argued, "Find people like…like Hercules and Meg or normal people who just got caught in things and help THEM first."

"It's going to take a while to find them," Regina remarked, not disregarding his idea.

"And their unfinished business may be revenge against quite a few of us," Hook pointed out, looking from Regina to Gold and Piper though he included himself in that assessment.

"Perhaps not," Piper spoke, "I may know of two who could move on with little bloodshed."

"Who?" Gold turned to her, his head tilted, he knew many people whose lives she'd ended, but he couldn't recall two tied to her that had unfinished business not in that vengeful situation.

"I…do not wish to say," she looked at him, "Not until I am sure if they are even here."

Emma sighed, "Fine, Aunt P and I will go look and…"

"No," Piper shook her head, "I believe I must do this on my own."

And if that didn't just make everyone else shift in unease about who she could possibly need to confront alone or what she might do to them to 'convince' them to move on.

~8~

Piper took a deep breath as she moved up to the highest peak of the Underbrooke, the only concession she'd allowed the others was Gold to magically transport her near the top already so she wouldn't need to climb very far. Gold had, understandably, not been pleased that she wished to see to this alone, likely thinking of the last time he'd gone off alone and been captured by Hades. It was the compromise to allow it, him getting her close enough to the destination she had in mind, and her agreement that, if it was not going well, she would call out his name and be magically transported back to his side. She didn't know if this would actually work and so she'd agreed to the terms. She only had her memories of certain habits and preferred places and for all she knew she could have gotten it terribly wrong, but there was hope in her heart for once in her life and she felt in her bones that she was more likely to find the ones she sought here than anywhere else.

She nearly stumbled when she heard something in the distance, a faint melody, two of them, blending and merging into a beautiful duet…one she had not heard in over 30 years.

She found herself moving faster than she should have if she intended to not startle the ones she sought, but there was too much at stake and she was too shaken to pull herself back. She nearly stumbled, her vision somewhat hazy from the tears she didn't normally allow to gather but this was not a normal situation.

The nearer she got to the songs the more she could hear two people speaking as well, a man and a woman, the timbre of his voice and the lilt of her words sending an ache into her chest. She picked up the pace, reaching the edge of a brush where she knew the others would be on the other side of…and stepped on a twig, as cliché as it was, snapping it and sending the two into silence

"Who's there?" the man demanded.

"Show yourself," the woman ordered, but where many would expect to hear a near hiss in her words at a perceived threat, the words were more breathy and desperate, as though she knew exactly who was there and praying it was true.

Piper could almost picture it in her mind, the man having taken a step before the woman only for her to push herself beside him, the two shoulder to shoulder, ready to face anything together…

She stepped past the brush to see it was as she had hoped, and she lost her breath at the sight.

As soon as the two saw her, it took but a moment for them to know her, for she was a great deal older than when they last saw her at the bitter age of seventeen, she had changed much in that time. But they knew her, of course they did.

"Rose," the man breathed, his forest-green eyes widening as he gaped at her.

"My sweet girl," the woman shuddered, rushing forward an pulling her into her arms, startling the man out of his stupor as he rushed forward to do the same, encompassing them all in his arms…

And that was when Piper allowed herself to break and sink to her knees in their hold.

"Mother," she breathed, "Father..."

~8~

Because it was the Underbrooke and not the Enchanted Forest, her parents did not look entirely like they had in her last memory of them. Her father, Ethan, did not have a crown on his head nor a sword at his side, her mother, Ilayda, was not in a gown with a string of jewels on her head or around her neck. They were wearing what she might call camping clothes or hiking clothes. There was a tent set up off to the side, a small ring of stones with the beginnings of a fire about to be set. They were in jeans and sweaters, her father with a vest on and a knit cap over his salt and pepper hair, her mother's hair in a braid.

She knew she'd find them there.

It was the only place in the Underbrooke that was as close to their secret spot as it could get, the secret spot only she knew about, not even their top guards had known where her parents would secret away for time alone in the Forest. She hadn't even been there, it was that special to her parents, but she knew of it. Her mother could never bear to be near the sea and be so cut off from it, but there were times where the crowds and the people and the bustle and noise of the court grew to be too much. Her father would spirit her away, they told her, to the highest point in the kingdom, where it was quiet and vast and so like the sea but merely without water.

She had hoped she'd find them there.

That was one very large reason, besides Emma, that she had wanted to join this quest into the Underworld despite the dangers they would undoubtedly face. The way her parents had died, in the middle of a siege, not knowing where she was or if she was safe, knowing Leopold had been murdered but without the culprit caught...it was a recipe for unfinished business. Gold had told her, after they finished with Zelena and he was free of her hold, how he had 'died' when he killed Pan, and briefly passed through the Underworld, that it was Limbo, where those with unfinished business went. Since then, it had been in the back of her mind, Limbo, how her parents were killed, the possibility that they were there. And then to be given the opportunity to venture into it? To see for herself if her parents were there? Where she might have the chance for one more moment with them?

How could she turn that down?

She was not going to let anyone keep her from seeing if it was possible. And, it turned out, it was, for they were there, with her once more.

"Rose," her father breathed as he pulled away, looking at her nearly horrified, "What are you doing here?"

"She lives yet, my love," Ilayda assured him, her hand on his wrist, her other hand on the base of her daughter's neck, feeling the pulse in her child where it was not in her mate.

"Rose?" her father repeated.

"Snow wed," she told them, "A shepherd named David, and they had a child, Emma. Many years passed and Emma had a child, Henry. Emma's proclaimed love, a pirate named Hook, died amidst a plot devised to stop a threat to the kingdom. I came, with the others, to assist her rescue of him. Hades is not making it easy to return to the land above. He is trying to trap Snow, Emma, and Regina down here."

"Regina?" Ilayda repeated, her voice growing hard, her expression cold, "The Queen is here?"

"Mother…"

"Where is she?" Ilayda nearly hissed.

In that moment it became very clear to Piper what Ilayda's unfinished business was. For Regina had killed the woman's mate, had cut short his life and therefore hers as well. Any Siren out there would not stop until they had sought vengeance for their loss.

"I can bring her to you," Piper offered easily, "For we are trying to weaken Hades by helping those we can to move on from this place. If killing her would allow this for you, I will bring her straight here."

Her parents fell silent at that, her mother studying her expression closely for her words, "You have grown more Siren," she noted.

Piper's lips pursed as she took a breath, "I have."

It would be clearest to them, she supposed, similar to how Snow had come to learn of her changes. When last they saw her, she was but a girl, a young lady, one trying (less and less hard each day) to be more human like her cousin. The girl she had been would have tried to speak of ways around the instinct, perhaps appealed to her father for aid, asked that they talk her through the reasons behind it, citing how they could not go to war with another kingdom. For her to so willingly offer them Regina's life...it was a stark contrast to the girl they last encountered.

And though she knew they loved her dearly...she could not help but think back to Snow as well, how she had had that shock of the Siren her cousin had become...and how all that love seemed to pale in comparison to the heroic image Snow felt she had to maintain.

"What has happened?" Ethan asked, and though there was concern on his face, there was no judgement in his tone or eyes. This was not the young girl they left behind in their demise. She was…distant and sometimes cold, but nothing like this, not so callous and nonchalant about murder. But it was not unfamiliar to him, for he saw similar qualities in his wife and it was nothing he had not encountered before.

"Many things, father, many things," Piper sighed.

"Tell us," he requested, "You are our daughter, Rose, and we failed to protect you from these 'many things.'"

And there she discovered her father's unfinished business as well.

He had always worried for her, for what his people would do with her as Queen, what sort of man she would wed, who she would rule beside, the queen she'd be, and the dual nature of her being. He always did his best to protect her from anything that would harm her, whether it was her own demons or that of others casting theirs upon her. She had not yet been crowned when he passed, he likely had not even known if she had lived on or perhaps died without unfinished business. To know he failed to protect his family and being unaware of his only child's fate…that would certainly keep her father here.

And so she told them, everything. From Regina's attack to her escape, her travels and Regina's hunt for Snow, all she endured and evaded, all the damage and carnage she had caused. She told them of her quest to find Rumpelstiltskin, to make a deal with the Dark One for protection, to keep Snow safe. She spoke of their bond and partnership, how it grew to something more than they ever imagined it could be, to his love for her and her for him. The hearts they had once swapped, the Dagger she still possessed as a show of trust and love, to the child she carried within her.

She told them more, of Emma and the Curse, her quest to find the girl and only finding a small boy. Her time as mother, her aid in breaking the Curse, her nephew Henry, the Author, the boy with the Heart of the Truest Believer. Of Emma, the Savior and the former Dark One, her niece. Of Baelfire and Zelena and Regina and the entire mess.

And she told them of Snow, of the doubts the woman had, the lengths she had gone to fight against darkness, how she refused to accept it in any form. How she had cast out her true love from the town, separating a Siren from her mate, what she had done to Emma, and what her actions had nearly done to HER and her child. She spoke of the revenge she had taken, the near loss of a child she had forced upon Snow due to her own near loss. And finished with their travels here, to save Hook, a pirate she did not approve of but that her niece loved.

She had not realized just how much she had kept inside her, how much she had not even told Snow in the times they'd been reunited. All the pain and fear and hurt and betrayal and anger…it all came pouring out as she spoke to her parents for, for the first time in so long, she could be completely honest without fear of judgment from her blood-family. She had held back, at times, with Emma and Henry, not sure how much they would want to know, selecting her words carefully so as not to alarm them or turn their opinion of others against them, at least before Snow's betrayal. Even with Gold she had, at times, kept her tongue, not said what she thought, at first, in the beginnings of their relationship and partnership.

After losing Snow the way she had...it felt like she had to be careful of how she acted and what she did so as not to push away any more of her family.

She didn't have to now, she could let it all pour out of her and know that this part of her blood-family would not look at her as a monster, that no matter what trust and care and love they had for her it would not vanish for her words. For the first time she truly understood what Rumpelstiltskin had told her once, that love meant acceptance, of everything you were. It had been so long since she had seen that genuinely in her blood-family, in her parents, that she felt herself breaking just from their gaze. Her parents had always accepted her and any version of her she could become, light or dark, human or Siren, she could speak so freely with them that it just bled out of her.

It was not to her mother she looked when she finished though. Ilayda would understand, being the Siren she was, she would think all her feelings right and just, all her decisions well made, all her lack of care normal. It was her father she turned to, it was he she watched to see his thoughts. He loved a Siren as his true love, he loved his half-Siren daughter, that he could accept her after all of this would mean the world to her.

"Father?"

He merely looked at her, his face…not blank, but firm and pressed, "I should like to speak to Rumpelstiltskin."

Piper released the breath she had been holding, finding herself laughing for that was the last thing she thought he would fixate on and yet there could be nothing else he would find more important than ensuring the man she loved was good enough. He didn't care, he didn't look at her differently, all she had said was not anything he would fault her for and the relief that surged through her from how none of it warranted further remark...she could not stop the laughter, not even when it turned to tears and her parents held her once more in their arms.

~8~

"So?" David asked as Piper entered the Underbrooke apartment, "Did you find who you were looking for?"

"Did you help them move on?" Snow asked, hopeful.

"I found them," Piper answered, "But I did not help them move on, it is not in my power. Though I know of how to do it."

"How?" Emma frowned.

"It appears my parents have unfinished business I shall need Regina and Rummy's assistance to handle."

"Your parents are here!?" Snow blurted out at the same time Regina asked, "Why me?"

Before Piper could answer, two people walked through the door into the apartment, "Because you murdered my mate," Ilayda hissed, glaring daggers at Regina. It looked as though the woman would have lunged for her had Ethan not kept a calming hand on her arm.

"Uncle?" Snow breathed as she stood from the couch, staring at her family in shock, "Aunt Ilayda?"

The glare Ilayda turned on Snow was venomous.

"Snow," Ethan greeted, but his voice was hard, his face full of such disappointment that Snow swallowed hard, knowing Piper had told them everything.

Regina took a breath and approached the fallen Queen, "I'm sorry," she began, but Ilayda hissed at her.

"Sorry?" she nearly spat, "You ripped my mate's heart from his chest and crushed it! You stole my daughter's parents from her, burned her kingdom, murdered her people. You took her life from her!"

"I know," Regina breathed, quiet.

"I should hunt down your mate," Ilayda spat at her, "Tear him limb from limb and have you watch."

"Please, don't," Regina pleased, "I'm not that woman anymore."

"You will always be her," Ilayda sneered, "You may feel differently now, but you committed her sins, it was YOUR hand that crushed his heart," she managed to reach out and snatch Regina's hand, holding it before her face, "It was YOUR magic that caused such devastation."

"Your daughter isn't exactly innocent of that herself," David spoke, seeing tears in Regina's face to be confronted so brutally with her past.

"Snow," Ethan spoke, "THIS is the man you chose?" he shook his head at her, before focusing on David, "You listen here, boy, my wife had to watch her husband die, then died herself, leaving our child alone and in danger, because of this woman. She is entitled to as much rage and hurt as she would like. And that you would defend her yet condemn my daughter…"

"Regina changed," David spoke up, though it was not unnoticed how he'd taken a step back when Ethan turned his attention to him, "For the better. Your daughter for the worse. She became more like a Siren and..."

"And what would you become if you had lived her life?" Ethan countered, "That woman," he pointed at Regina, "CHOSE to become what she is. My daughter was born to this. You have no idea the struggle she endured all her life to be more human, to deny half of who she is because of men like you," he shook his head at David, "Men who could never understand the nature of things."

"You would not condemn a wolf attacking when backed into a corner," Ilayda agreed.

"A wolf is an animal, she is a person," David tried to fight back.

"You cannot call her a creature, a Siren, in one breath, and then a human in another," Ethan challenged, "I know how men like you think of my daughter, you hear 'Siren' you think 'creature,' yet you never try to understand what that means for who she is and how she is. You call her a creature, yet condemn her for the instincts that gives her. But when you have need of her talents, that falls away and she is a human you expect or guilt to help you."

"My daughter was born this way," Illadya remarked, "THIS one," she glared at Regina, shoving her arm back, sending the woman stumbling a few paces, "Made her choices. And they were her own, all human and she did more cruel things, harmed more people than my daughter could as a creature. Think on that."

David fell silent at that, because…it was true. Regina, as a full-blooded human, had made terrible choices and killed so many, destroyed so much, blackened her heart terribly, and SHE had decided to do it. Whether she was influenced by Gold or Cora or whatever, she made her choices.

Piper…she was only half-human, she would struggle more with their qualities. And even then, she had not caused as much wretchedness as Regina had.

The human had caused worse than the creature.

"I should kill your mate," Ilayda repeated, "I do not, for my daughter."

Regina looked at Piper sharply for that, clearly not having expected Piper to vouch for her in any way.

"We have a truce," was all Piper said, "You are Henry's mother."

It didn't mean protection, not fully. It didn't mean Piper saw her as family, she would never go out of her way to assist Regina or keep her safe, she would never go to such extremes to help her as she would Henry or Emma, but it was enough leeway that she could ask her mother not to kill her or Robin, for Henry's sake.

"I want you to know you live and you possess your mate ONLY because of my daughter," Ilayda added, looking into Regina's eyes, "Choose carefully, next time you have opportunity to side against her who you truly owe your life to."

Regina glanced over at the Charmings for that and back to Ilayda, giving her a short nod. She had never...really looked at it like that before. What had the Charmings actually done for her that she felt this debt to them? She knew it was residual guilt for all she'd done to them, but guilt should be different than loyalty, than siding with them when they did things she didn't agree with. A large part of it, she knew, was them being heroes, feeling that they knew best how to BE one and that she had to follow their lead to become one herself.

...but did that include siding with them against Maleficent? When THEY had been the one to steal, curse, and banish her daughter?

...did it include helping them find a way to destroy the Dark One's Darkness, when a part of her knew that it would be dangerous to an unparalleled degree to throw off the balance of magic to such an extent?

...did it include protecting the town from Gold after he'd been banished, when he hadn't done half the terrible things she'd done to Snow's kingdom?

Why did she keep joining them and siding with them?

She didn't feel like she owed Piper as much loyalty, she'd killed Cora but...she'd also protected Henry, she'd become someone he trusted, she'd been an almost kindred spirit in the Enchanted Forest after Pan's curse separated her from Henry, and she'd just now gotten her mother to spare her life.

Snow had spared her life too, numerous times though.

She had much to think about but she could at least promise Ilayda that she would choose carefully in the future. She promised herself she would speak up about her own instincts, her own thoughts and suggestions, she wouldn't just blindly follow the heroes...not when some of their choices had been questionable lately.

"Very carefully," Ethan agreed, casting Snow another disappointed look that had her turning away.

"And, I understand, my daughter avenged us herself," Ilayda smiled at Piper, reaching out a hand to brush some of her hair from her face, before her gaze travelled to Gold as he stood beside her, "You are her mate?"

It was telling to Emma that the woman didn't sneer at Gold or find him lacking. She hadn't asked him with the tone of incredulousness, 'YOU are her mate?' like she couldn't believe such a man would be selected by her child. It was more literal, she was genuinely asking if this was the man they would focus on next.

"I am," Gold nodded, standing straighter at his place beside Piper when Ethan stepped up.

Ethan eyed him for a long while, "Dark One," he greeted with a nod of his head.

"King Ethan."

"We meet again."

"We do."

"You've…met before?" Emma glanced between the two of them.

"Briefly," Ethan answered, "I was concerned about Ilayda's pregnancy," he added, "I went to the Dark One to ensure she and the child would be well."

It wasn't to force it, he asked for no potions or spells to make it so, knowing the price of magic if one was meant to die, the balance that could be affected. But more to request a look into the future for it was said the Dark One possessed that ability.

"What did he ask from you?" Snow asked, concerned.

"A strand of Ilayda's hair."

"Freely given," Ilayda added, "The hair of a Siren."

"A rarity," Gold nodded, "Not many survive encounters with Sirens."

"You love my daughter," Ethan got back on track, reminded of that.

"I do," Gold replied.

"I wasn't asking a question," Ethan corrected, "My daughter would not give her love if it was not returned, she could not."

It was why Sirens hearts were so hard. They were incapable of giving love to those who did not love them back, it made it too dangerous and their sense of self-preservation was too strong. Unity, reciprocity, was how they survived, it was too encoded into them to be different. It was why the heart hardened upon betrayal, it was a cutting of ties. If someone could betray you, then they did not love you, and therefore you could no longer love them.

It was why she had told Snow that they were not alright, they were not back to how they were, and they may never be. Snow would have to prove her love and earn her love in return for them to even begin to work to being true cousins, like sisters, again. She would not easily believe her cousin loved her as she once claimed after what had happened.

Ethan eyed him again, "You love my daughter. How much? What would you do for her? How far would you go?"

Gold smirked, almost pleased with the question, "More than anything, and I trust her more than anything, or I would not have given her my Dagger. What would I do for her? Whatever she asked for, whatever needed to be done, no matter the cost. She wanted my heart, I gave it to her, quite literally. As for how far I would go for her…to any extreme, to the ends of the earth, to any land I need to. I would kill you if you dared harm her or keep her from me."

David and Snow stiffened, thinking Ethan would be irate at such a thing, that he would see the threat against him and refuse the man before him, that the dark words he spoke were not fit for his daughter.

Instead, Ethan smirked in return, "Good."

"Uncle?" Snow frowned, shaking her head as though she didn't understand. If David had said that to her father in the Forest, he would have had the man locked away for threatening the king, SHE would have been horrified to hear someone say that too. But...she had to remind herself, Ethan was different than her father, his choice of wife was proof enough, and he'd spent many more years beside a Siren than her father had, she was getting the feeling there was something more here that she just wasn't grasping.

Ethan ignored her for a moment, continuing to speak to Gold, "My greatest wish was for Rose to be happy, loved, and accepted. You would not be willing nor ready to do so much if you did not love all of her. Her human side and her Siren side, her light as well as her dark."

"She has loved my Darkness, and my light," Gold replied, "I could do no less," his gaze flickered over to her, "And she's beautiful."

Piper snorted at his answer, but smiled, as did her mother.

"He just threatened to kill you and you're ok with it?" David had to ask, more thrown by that than anything else.

Ethan huffed in annoyance and turned to David, "My wife is a Siren, I am her mate. I have had ample time to understand their ways, customs, and instincts," he shot David a glare, as though silently telling him he should do well to do the same, "She would kill anyone she needed to to keep me safe. I needed to know that this man who holds my daughter's heart would go just as far. That he would match her instincts with his own."

THAT had been why Gold had phrased it as he had. Piper would kill the person she loved the most to keep her family safe, as her instinct would demand. Ethan wanted to know he would go just as far. That he would kill whoever he had to to keep her safe and to stay with her. That he would allow no one and nothing to part them. Not even her father.

It was a Siren trait.

It proved how well he knew Piper, how well he loved her, to resort to speaking like a Siren and promising what a Siren would for love. It proved how much he accepted her, that he saw nothing wrong with such a threat.

Not many people understood Sirens the way he did, the way Ethan saw that Gold did. And not many could love them as they needed to be loved. He loved his wife and he had learned over the years how to express it in ways she would connect with for she was not human but Siren, he had to adapt the things he said and promised to resonate with her and connect with her own feelings for him. To see Gold do the same for his daughter, he knew his daughter found a mate that completed her.

Ethan took a breath and nodded, "You may be the first man who has come close to deserving my daughter."

Gold nodded, "I work at it every day."

"As you should," Ethan agreed.

Ilayda stepped up beside her husband, eyeing Gold herself with her keen, dark eyes, "You are a good match for my sweet girl," she informed him, humming to herself, "Your songs blend in a way I have not heard before."

"Mother?" Piper moved between her parents. It appeared, in death, her mother had been able to connect to her Siren side more.

Ilayda merely smiled at her, "You are mates," she agreed, in a way that only those familiar with Sirens would understand. They were mates, it wasn't just a word any longer, it wasn't just another way to say 'partner,' not now. Now it meant their songs blended, and, if Piper was right in her suspicions, for she had only come across one other pairing where the songs had merged in a way SHE had not heard before, they may be soulmates as well, "I will trust you with her," she turned to Gold, a firm, daring look in her eye.

"I will live up to that," Gold promised.

"You had better," she threatened with a small hiss to her tone, before she turned to her daughter, "I am glad," she told her, "I worried for you, for what would become of you. I am proud of the woman you are, and the family you have created. You chose well."

"Many thanks," Piper murmured.

Ethan took a deep breath, feeling a sort of lightness weigh off him, as though a warm breeze had gone through him, "I think it's time," he told them, "I think we are ready," he took Ilayda's hand, "To move on now."

"Yes," Ilayda nodded, reaching out to cup Piper's face in her own, "You are safe and well and loved. That is all we needed to know."

That Regina had suffered, that she HAD technically lost a mate even if years ago, that Piper had killed the woman's mother, that was enough revenge for her. Her main concern had always been her daughter. She was content now that her child had a strong mate, with a darkness that could not allow for him to condemn her own, who loved her and accepted her and could protect her and the child growing within her.

"There is a cavern," Gold spoke, "That shall allow you to cross over."

"We shall take you there now," Piper declared, moving for the door with her mother, Gold holding it open for them.

"Uncle," Snow called as he moved to follow, the man nodding the others on to the hall before he turned to face her, "I…I'm sorry…"

"I never thought I would have to worry for my daughter," Ethan began, cutting into her words, "Not so long as she had you, Snow. I truly thought you loved her as I did, light and dark."

"I…I did," Snow tried to speak, tried not to sniffle as she did so, "I DO."

But Ethan shook his head, "You only loved her light, when she played at human. She is more like her mother now than she has ever been. I love them both, human and Siren. If you cannot accept her, Snow, then cease this path of re-forging your bond, of earning forgiveness. If you are only going to harm her further…"

"I never wanted to hurt her in the first place," Snow finally got in.

"But you did," Ethan reminded her, "Because you could not accept the Dark. Whether you approve of it or not, it cannot be unaccepted. The world cannot exist in just light, nor could it in just dark."

"Balance," Emma murmured, looking at her parents, having wanted to give Piper as much time with her parents as she could, to not detract from that, "It's why my plan as Dark One was never to destroy the light or let you destroy the dark. You can't have just one."

Snow and David looked at each other for that. A part of them might have been able to argue it was a lie, when it was happening, something Piper had said just to ensure the dark could continue to thrive. But the more they thought about it, the more it made sense, and to hear it now from someone who had passed on and had nothing to do with any of it. To hear from a member of Snow White's own family? It was like that sentiment was finally sinking in, that Emma hadn't been trying to destroy the light, that no one could or should, and that it really was about balance.

Not just in the world, not just in Emma's magic...but in every person as well.

Ethan nodded, speaking words that resonated with them even though he couldn't know that was where their thoughts had gone, "Light and dark cannot exist without the other," he looked between Snow and David before settling on Snow, "My brother, god rest him, was a good man, but he was blinded by light and good, so much so that he refused to see the dark in anyone. Eva did not help matters," he had to add. He knew of Eva's curse, the illness that ate at her, and what she had to do to combat it, to live on. She had to focus on the good, on the light, and with Eva's life hanging in the balance he was afraid his brother had gone a bit too far, entrenched himself in the same to help prolong her time with him. To them, in some ways, the dark, the bad thoughts, the negatives, were a threat to Eva, and so they must be something of a threat to everyone else. But he knew it was nothing of the sort, "Do not make that mistake, Snow, everyone has light and dark within them. Even you. No one is fully good, and no one is fully evil. To think you are only one is a detriment to yourself and to others," he took a breath, "Do not hurt my daughter more than you already have, Snow, this I will ask of you."

He didn't let Snow speak, merely turned and walked out the doors after his family, now feeling truly content and ready to move on.

~8~

Ethan was correct when he said he thought they might be ready to move on, for as soon as they set foot in the cavern, a gentle white glow began in the middle of the room, a bridge appearing leading up to it much like it had for Meg and Hercules.

Ethan and Ilayda paused though, turning to face Piper, looking at their daughter one final time, at the man beside her, his hand on the small of her back in support. Ethan looked at Gold, "Take care of my daughter," he told the man.

Gold smirked, "She doesn't need it," he remarked, "But I will anyway. As she does me. Always."

Ethan nodded and turned to his daughter, stepping close to hug her tightly, pulling away to touch her face, "I am proud of you, Rose," he told her, "So very proud."

"Even of the woman I have become?" she asked. It was one thing for her mother to approve, but for her father, a human, to do so…after everything with Snow, it would mean more to her.

She had forgotten, how good it felt to have her parents behind her, to have them speak up and defend her. It felt so often like no one would hear her, listen to her, when she tried to explain her instincts or her Siren nature, they would just see it as an excuse. Even when Gold tried to explain, or Emma and Henry and August, the heroes would brush it off as trying to cast blame elsewhere when truly it was just trying to help them understand WHY things happened. She owned what she did and chose to do, she had come to terms with the way things happened when the instinct arose, she would never excuse it or blame 'the instinct' because most of it did arise from her own desire to harm.

Perhaps hearing it from a Siren herself and from the fully-human-man who loved her and understood her would be what finally got through to the heroes about HOW and WHAT she was. That it wasn't just her, but a fact, a biological compulsion she could not tramp down. Maybe this would lead to a change, to them seeing her as BOTH, human and Siren.

"Especially of that," he smiled, "I never wanted you to feel as though you had to pick between being Siren or being Human. You are both. I am glad to see you have embraced both parts of yourself. And found those who accept it, too."

That he said 'found others' meant he knew Snow had faltered in her acceptance, but a reminder that there were more people who hadn't. Her mate, her son, her niece and nephew. More than she had ever had after she had lost her parents. Perhaps Snow would come back one day, it would never be the same, but she didn't need Snow any longer, not just Snow, she had others.

"As am I," Ilayda agreed, moving to hug her daughter, before she reached down to touch Piper's stomach, "Your child will be even better for it. You will know them as no other could."

Piper inhaled sharply at the reminder. Her child would be more mixed than she was, less human than her as well, but to know her mother had gone through this and come out better, she would be able to guide her child in a way her own mother had not.

"We will be watching over you both," Ethan promised as Ilayda stepped back, taking her hand, "We will find a way."

"I will miss you," Piper told them, grateful she had this opportunity to finally say goodbye, something she had not had the chance to do for decades.

In part, that was half of why she hadn't sought them out right when they arrived. It would be goodbye, she was sure, whether they moved on or she and the others succeeded in the quest to get Hook and had to leave. She would have to say goodbye and it would be final. And the other half...fear. Snow betraying her had truly torn something apart within her and as much as she knew her parents loved her, she thought Snow had too. She had been terrified that she would find them and they would be disgusted with her. It was a ridiculous notion, but she'd needed time to push past it, to find the strength and, perhaps, the excuse to find them. Her talk with Snow, the way the woman seemed to want to try and mend things had given her hope and reassurance that not all would be lost and when Henry had his idea to help others move on...she had decided it was time to face her fears.

If her parents were in Limbo...they deserved peace.

"As we will you," Ilayda told her, pressing a kiss to Piper's forehead before she turned with Ethan and they walked towards the bridge.

Gold took Piper's hand as she held her breath without realizing it, watching her mother more than her father as they neared the 'better place.'

It wasn't till they stopped and gave one final wave before crossing over that she released her breath.

"Do you see that, Pip?" Gold murmured beside her.

She nodded, "Sirens can go to a better place."

Sirens, dark creatures, labeled villainous by all…could go to a better place and were not automatically condemned to a worse place.

Dark did not equate evil as she had said, and dark did not equate hell either.

~8~

Appearing in the middle of the woods, because that was where Gold's magic had taken them after they returned to the apartment to find that Snow, Emma, Regina, and Hook had gone to try and burn the names off the tombstones, was somewhat unexpected. They had gone to the graveyard, not seen them, and then magicked to where Gold could sense magic being used. There was a second thing they had discovered when Ethan and Ilayda had crossed over that they had to speak to the others about. Hades had done nothing. He would have known what they were planning...and yet he hadn't tried to stop them, which meant he was not concerned with losing people in his realm in such a manner. The man would not risk it weakening him and for him not to stop it happening, it meant it wouldn't actually do anything to him. They needed another plan and so it was unexpected that everyone was just in the middle of the woods.

Even more unexpected was the giant wolf that leapt at them, ready to attack, only for Gold's magic to flare and force it to the ground. Piper quickly hummed a soft lullaby, sending the wolf off to sleep for it did not look like any hell-beast Hades could have sent…and there was a tell-tale red cloak with a hood on the ground mere feet away. No sooner had the beast fallen abed, they heard Snow shouting in the distance.

"It's close!" she was calling.

They could just make out when the others appeared around a handful of trees, Emma catching sight of them first, "Aunt P!" Emma yelled, running for her, "Watch out there's a…"

"Wolf?" Piper supplied.

"Yes," Gold added dryly, "With a familiar red riding hood just there."

The others caught up and Snow gasped at the sight, "Emma, I think your dream was a vision," the woman spoke, hurrying for the cloak, "But it wasn't about saving me. It was about finding her!" she put the cloak on top of the wolf, its form shimmering moments later into a woman lying on the ground. Snow hurried to her side, "Red. Red? Piper?" she turned to the woman, question in her eyes when Ruby failed to awaken.

"Yes," Piper sighed, "She'll be out for a few minutes at least."

Snow sighed, but made no accusation or assumption about what happened, knowing all they could do was wait.

A/N: I wanted to still have that sort of theme of 'helping someone move on' that the Belle arc of the episode had, but with a little twist for Piper ;)

But yay! We got her parents! :D I know that Leopold and Eva might have had a reason to be in Limbo, considering Eva likely died of some sort of curse thing and Leopold by poison...but when I looked at the general scope of their lives I felt like they might have been in a stable enough place to move on to a 'better place' right off the bat. Like Eva knew she was dying, she had time to come to terms with it and she knew it could happen any day, so I feel like she would have done what she had to to feel like she was content. Leopold (I think), as far as he knew, thought Snow would be safe with her step-mother, and she was ready to be queen, that his kingdom would be safe with Snow as Queen and that he had created a stable kingdom and done all he needed to do with his life, he wasn't a spring chicken after all and I think he would have felt any time he left was the right time because he'd get to be with Eva again.

Ethan and Ilayda though, died in the middle of a siege, with their kingdom in turmoil, their daughter missing, not knowing what was going on or if she was ok. Then Ethan dies, fretting about Rose, and Ilayda passes without being able to take revenge on Regina for killing Ethan and worried for her daughter...I felt like they'd have more unfinished business :(

Poor Piper though, Snow did a number on her with her betrayal, to the point where she was genuinely worried her parents would do the same to her. Snow hadn't seen her as the Piper, as a Siren, till the Curse broke and the shock of it wasn't something she could overcome, would it be the same for her parents? :( I'm very glad it wasn't :)

I hope you liked Ethan and Ilayda meeting the others. As much as I wanted to write out their entire reunion in detail...I felt like it would be them speaking to Regina, Gold, and Snow/David that would really be more meaningful to Piper. She got to see her mother chew out Regina (and I can say Piper's thoughts on whether it was 'the Evil Queen' or 'Regina' who was responsible are very close to her mother's) and witness her mother's love and her own protective Siren instinct for her daughter. She got to have Ethan and Ilayda meet her mate and approve of him, which meant the world to her. And she got to see some of Ethan chastise Snow for her lack of faith and distrust. With the heroes being what they are and the system around them, all of Snow's actions against Piper could have been praised by her allies, so for Piper to see her father, a non-Siren, a human, a hero, Snow's family, lay it out there as a flat out betrayal and hypocrisy, I think was something Piper needed to have out in the open and not from her.

I think David too will have a lot to think about just from the brief words Ethan had with him, pointing out the creature instinct vs. human instinct, how they go back and forth between putting Piper down for her Siren half but seeking her out for help when her magic is useful and sort of treating her like a human they expect to help. And to see a human man defend her, to get his perspective on it, to get a glimpse of the love he has for Ilayda and Piper, I think it will maybe be the first ground work to him starting to reconsider things. He still has a bigger revelation/kick to come though ;)

And, thinking about David considering Piper's instincts, it makes me think of the last chapter, I sort of feel worse for Piper of the past and very proud of the current Piper. Because, like, she's seen the Dark One do some terrible and gory things, and she, not once, thought to leave him or look at him differently, she accepted him. And it's sort of ironic that she was afraid HE would see her differently after the Frontlands, because it's probably small compared to the things he's done over 300 years. If she could accept all the dark parts of him, I couldn't see him doing any less for her. And I think his acceptance and reassurance, how he just keeps looking at her the same way, is what helps her finally and fully embrace all of her and be the person she should have always been. In a way, I think, in the back of her mind, if she ever lost Snow because of her Siren Side, she'd still be ok because she'd have Gold :') And this chapter sort of reaffirmed it, seeing Ethan and Ilayda accept her and not look at her differently and really realizing that she has her own family outside of Snow and that she'd actually be ok without that bond to Snow, we'll have to wait and see what might come of that ;)

Some notes on reviews...

Lol, no worries! I'm so sorry you had some bad migraines, I hope you're feeling better! :) I was very sad about Cerberus too, my family are big dog people (we had 5 dogs living with us at one point when my brother had to move back in and my sister was away on vacation), and I felt so bad because it's probably not his fault he's like that, if Hades can torture humans I imagine he did something to the animals to make them so vicious :( Yeah, that was weird to me too, like why would you have someone who not only failed to stop the dog but failed so badly he DIED be the one to face the dog and thing anything different would happen? :/ I'm glad you enjoyed the Milah vs. Piper part :) I feel like Gold and Piper HAD point out the additional connections between Hook and Emma's family, some food for thought for her lol :) Milah is one of those tricky characters that makes me glad I'm doing multiple OC stories, because I get to explore her from different POVs for each. Here Piper is just like 'I will kill you for what you've done' and in other OC series we might get them trying to understand or assuming different things about her so it'll be interesting to explore. I'm closer to Piper's POV on it, Milah was not a character I liked at all :/ Oh I don't think Milah would have even managed to get a single 'hello' out before Piper mauled her if she'd taken Bae from Gold when he was a child, she'd be out for blood ;)

I haven't thought of putting them in a separate story no, but I was thinking, at the end of the series, I would put an additional chapter where all the FB chapters are listed in the order they occur in the timeline in as a reference, but I might put it up for a poll sometime during the last story to see if other people would rather read them all in one separate story and do it that way ;) I know there was a timeline for OUAT but I think it only went up to the end of the Underworld or something like that :/ And thank you, it means so much to me that it brightened up your day :) I'm very glad to be back and I hoe you'll enjoy the rest of the story :D For all the OUAT series I'll be doing, I'm not going to do Season 7, just through season 6. I really hated the last season, like I couldn't even get past a few episodes before I was like 'no, this is ridiculous, not happening' and I have a few ideas for each series that might make Season 7 sort of impossible to happen the way it does anyway so all the stories will end with season 6 ;)

I feel a little evil to say that I'm kind of happy it made you tear up }:) I felt like that chapter was a good one to have before this one because of the themes and parallels here, that idea of acceptance, and how we get to see literally the two sides of Piper with her Siren-mother and Human-father, and how they both accept her, how Gold accepts her, and a sort of lesson to Snow that if she can't accept her then own it and be honest about it instead of push it and end up making it worse :( I haven't read that story no, I have a sort of rule where I don't read stories in a fandom I am or will be writing in so that I'm not influenced by them and I can say that all the ideas or plots or twists that happen in my stories are 100 percent from my own head :) I still have a 2-shot Kili/Tauriel story I plan to get done so I probably won't be dipping into reading any LOTR-universe stories till that one is finished and posted ;)