Fall

It had happened, the Spell of Shattered Sight had been initiated, and all of Storybrooke was in jeopardy of it falling on them, in mere…hours. They could see it, from every part of the town it was visible, a dark purple cloud in the sky, bits of mirror shards in it reflecting off the lingering light that hadn't been blocked by the spell. It was there, the mirror of the Snow Queen had shattered, and it was coming.

"Belle was right," Elsa sighed as she handed the binoculars she'd been looking at the curse through to Mary Margaret, a small group of them gathered in the clock tower, looking out at the dark clouds approaching in the distance, "My aunt it actually doing this."

"The Spell of Shattered Sight," Mary Margaret whispered, slowly lowering the binoculars, handing them to Emma to look out, glancing at Piper who was looking out with a guarded expression on her face. She wanted to reach out to her cousin, to take her and as she was holding David's, but Piper was too far away, standing beside Henry, Regina and Hook on the other side of herself with Emma and Elsa before her. She'd tried to talk to her cousin, to apologize for what she'd said earlier, but Piper wasn't ready to talk and then the ribbons had blocked Emma and Elsa's magic, and they'd seen the curse and it was all a mess.

"We open the mines and the vault," David decided, "We take shelter there."

Piper scoffed, "Magic of this sort can as easily pass through walls as sound can."

Regina reached out and took the binoculars as Emma handed them to her, "It's started," she confirmed.

"How long?" Hook called, making Piper glance at him, barely holding back her smirk as she heard his song…missing a single note, and knew what that meant.

"By sundown," Regina answered, lowering the binoculars, "By sundown, everyone in this town will start tearing each other apart."

Piper would have smirked at that, would have likely commented that it was HER kind of town, that there had been a town or two to do the same due to her music, but kept silent for the look of fear on Mary Margaret's face, for how Henry tensed beside her.

"Ok," Emma murmured, "The answer is simple. Let's not be in town," she glanced at the others, "Come on, we need to check the ice wall again."

"I shall speak with Rummy, Emma," Piper offered, "See if he might have anything that would assist."

"Thanks," Emma nodded, turning to hurry off with her family, making sure to grab her mother's arm to tug her along so she wouldn't try to corner Piper as they left.

Piper watched them go, waiting a moment before she turned to look out the window, reaching out to pick up the binoculars, lifting them to her eyes to look out at the curse. Her grip on it tightened as she brought them down, her lips pursed, her expression grim for what might be coming. She shook her head, taking a breath and turned to go, she had a few things to discuss with the Dark One.

~8~

Gold looked up from where he was closing a small box to see Piper enter the shop, "Pip," he smiled at her.

"It appears someone has taken the bilge rat's heart," she remarked, making her way towards the counter, resting her hands on it as she looked at him.

"Did they?" he couldn't have kept the smirk off his face if he tried when he saw how her eyes sparkled at the fact.

"Oh yes," she nodded, "And he's utterly miserable about it," it was easy to tell if you looked, if you knew what to look for, and she had seen it, the exact same looks on his face when she'd ripped his heart out in the Enchanted Forest, "You would not happen to know to whom I should extend my deepest thanks?"

"I HAD hoped for this to be more of a surprise," Gold turned the box in his hands around to face her, opening the lid to reveal Hook's heart lying there.

"It is difficult to hide the missing of a heart from someone who can hear when it is not there," Piper mused, reaching out to pick it up, shaking her head as she eyed it, "I desire very much to crush it to dust," she murmured, yet she made no move to do it, "Though I assume you took it for a reason?"

He nodded, "The Snow Queen came to me, as I predicted she would," Piper nodded along at that, he had told her as much, that there was some sort of deal to be made with the woman that would help him in his quest with the dagger, she had wanted something from him and he had wanted information about that hat as, apparently, the Snow Queen had possessed it for some time before he had gotten it. It appeared the woman had given him exactly the information he needed, "We made a deal, and her end of the bargain was the revelation that, to cleave myself from the dagger, I would require the heart of someone that knew me before I became the Dark One."

"Hook," she set down the heart, understanding.

"Exactly."

"And what was your end of the bargain?"

"The return of three magical ribbons," he told her, reaching out to place his hands on hers on the counter, looking into her eyes, holding contact with them as he spoke, wanting her to know he was not lying at all in what he was about to say, "Ribbons that would both tie Emma and Elsa's magic to hers, but also make them immune to the Shattered Sight."

Piper inhaled deeply at that, processing what he'd said, her hands curling into fists under his hands but she made no move to pull away, "And?"

He let out a gentle breath at that, at her trust in him, at how she was letting him explain and truly trusting that he had another reason for doing it, for letting that happen, "I knew that if she intended to enact her curse, Emma and Elsa would be the only two in the town capable of ending it. They would be the only two that could confront the Snow Queen without fear of her harming them, truly harming them. And they would not give up until they defeated the spell and saved the town."

Piper's lips pursed, "She would not have cast the curse until she had the ribbons."

"No," he told her truthfully, "She would not give me knowledge of the hat without the ribbons."

Piper looked down a moment, "You gave her the insurance she needed to cast this curse, Emma is protected but…"

"Your family will be safe as well," he squeezed her hands, "I have sworn to you Pip, I would not do anything that would ever truly harm your family. Emma will not allow anything, any harm, to befall her parents, brother or son, I will allow no harm to befall you. And this town?" he shook his head, "The chances of any of the people deciding to target them is minute, they are the beloved rulers, the greatest of heroes, parents of the Savior," he rolled his eyes, "Their darkness is nothing compared to Regina's and we both know, with Henry here, she would take extreme precautions to keep herself from those she might harm."

Piper looked up at him again, "You considered all this first?"

"Always," he nodded, letting her know he'd thought it through to the last detail, "I have faith that Miss Swan will end this curse, as this time she shall be fighting not just for her son but her entire family."

Piper nodded slowly, "I have faith in Emma as well," she admitted, "With or without her magic, she is a formidable opponent to those that would not harm her."

She knew that better than most, her mother knew it better than most, Sirens trusted hardly anyone, save family or the rare few they allowed into their hearts. It kept them protected from other harms, but…it could be truly devastating. Because they trusted their families so deeply, they would not think to harm them. To turn on them, the family would have to betray them first. An individual Siren hardly ever saw it coming, they would not dare harm their family, they would not fight at first, would hardly understand what was happening till it was over and by then the harm had already been done to THEM.

But the point was she could understand, the Snow Queen would not harm Emma, which would give Emma the freedom to attack the Snow Queen first and stop her.

"There is something else that troubles you though," Gold gently rubbed her curled hands, relaxing them so he could lock his fingers with hers, "What is it?"

Piper looked at him, allowing him to see a true…fear…in her eyes.

"Pip…"

"The spell," she began, not one to admit something like this easily, no matter if it was to her true love, "I did not think it would affect me. I thought it merely affected the mind and that my magic would protect me. But I was wrong…it affects so much more and it DOES affect me as well. If my eyes were any indication…I would assume that, under the full effects of the spell…"

"It would make you as though a full-blooded Siren," Gold finished for her, understanding her concern and alarm, "Yes."

She closed her eyes at the confirmation, not quite wincing, but near enough that Gold released one of her hands, making her look up at him once more but he merely placed a small bottle on the counter.

She frowned at it, but reached out to take it, "This is…"

"A sleeping potion," he answered, "Not a sleeping curse, but a potent potion," he explained, "Take this before the curse hits and you should sleep through all of it, I would stand guard over you, of course," he squeezed the hand he was still holding, "I wanted to be prepared, if the curse occurred, find some way to keep it from affecting you."

Piper's gaze flicked back to him, "Many thanks," she murmured, slipping it into the pocket of her jacket, the same one she had worn to the docks when they'd gotten Hook to help assimilate the Sorcerer's Apprentice into the hat.

Gold lifted her hand to his lips, "I promise you Pip, the Snow Queen will fail."

She nodded at that, hoping the same, but swallowed hard at the thought of what would happen. She had never been affected by a curse as powerful as this one, had never had to fear for herself due to her magic often protecting her. But this? A full-blooded Siren running around a town full of people she would rather see gone on a good, non-cursed day? And having no control over herself or what she said or did? And with what Mary Margaret had said to her only days ago, with how hurt she felt over it all...what would the curse drive her to do to her family? What would it drive them to do to her? They would not hold back in attacking her, for many things, for letting the Dark Curse happen, for not informing her cousin she was alive, for becoming what she was, for loving the Dark One...there were SO many things they would look at her with hatred for and if she was like a full-blooded Siren then, she would lash out right back and far more powerfully...

Her family could be in danger because of her.

She curled her fingers around the bottle in her pocket, shaking her head at that thought, forcing herself to remember Gold had understood her fears, had known without her saying what she was frightened of, and had prepared a way to keep her safe from others and them safe from her. She just hoped that the curse could be stopped before then, spending the time trapped in the Burning Room was not what she'd rather be doing while her family was still out there and affected by the curse.

~8~

Gold grinned as he sat on the docks, looking out at the sea where the Snow Queens curse had reached and created a barrier even there, waiting for Hook as he'd summoned the man there to go over their next step in his plan.

"No fleeing by boat then," Hook muttered as he looked out at the sea.

"This Snow Queen is good, isn't she?" Gold mused, even if he wanted the woman to fail, even he could admit she was thorough. He glanced up at Hook and patted the bench next to him, "Sit, lad. Don't forget where your heart lies," he added when Hook hesitated, but finally moved to do it, "Now I have a job for you. You remember how this works," he placed the small metal bucket sculpture on the bench between them.

"The hat?!" Hook gasped, "Not Emma…"

"No, no," Gold grinned, "Not her. I have a different target in mind. Granny's Diner is being converted into a temporary hive for the vilest of creatures, the pious little fleas."

"Pious?" Hook frowned a moment, "The fairies?"

And indeed it was, he and Piper had been going over what they should do, some other plans and failsafes that would ensure that Mary Margaret, Emma, their family were safe if the curse were to hit, when they'd been informed that Belle had found something in the library, a way to create a countercurse to the Shattered Sight. Which had been a relief to Piper to know one even existed. She had gone there to assist her cousin while he went to get the next step in his dagger plot. The fairies had been called in by Emma to help Belle in creating the countercurse, all of them gathered in Grannies at that very moment, which was convenient for him, as that was JUST what he needed next.

Power for the hat.

And, whether the curse happened or not, there would be so much chaos no one would notice if they disappeared for the time being.

"Just like any flying pests," Gold sneered, truly disliking them, "If you wanna eliminate the infestation, it's important to get them all. Doing so will infuse this hat," he turned and pulled his dagger out that Piper had given him for the moment to conjure the hat with, he waved it over the metal structure, pulling the hat out of it to rest between them. He snapped his fingers and the dagger disappeared, to return to Piper's boot, "With enough power to allow me to cleave myself from the dagger. I would be free of its control, able to do what I wished," he grinned, "Even leave this town with my powers intact. Now will you assist me?"

Hook glared at him, "You have my heart. You know I can't refuse."

"Indeed," Gold chuckled, he just loved to hear the man say it, say he had no choice, that HE had the power, "But here's the rub, dearie, the hat will only take in those that possess magic, which means, if Belle is still within Grannies, she will see you and run to tell the others."

"And what do you want me to do about that?" Hook huffed, "Kill her first? Bloody hell mate, the fairies are working to stop the spell. You seize them you'll be killing the cure. You do this, you condemn the entire town, your own grandson, even your precious fish, to whatever happens!"

Gold seemed bored by his accusations, "As much as I would love for the bookworm to be ended, she has the knowledge of the countercurse. I have no intention of stopping them from creating it."

And he truly didn't. He had hoped that there would be a way to get his information out of the Snow Queen before the curse had been cast and then to kill her and prevent it. She had been a bit more cunning, more eager to see it done than he'd realized, had bided her time to the perfect moment and caught him in a trap of not being able to truly stop her attempts with the mirror. A mistake he would never make again, for now it was putting Piper in danger, the spell was putting her and their families in danger and he was not going to interfere with a way to prevent it. The mirror was being cast in dark magic, it would take light to defeat it, something he would not be able to help with even though he wished to.

"So I need you to stand by and wait to see what becomes of it. If it works, Belle will undoubtedly be the one to distribute it, if it does not, she will have to leave to find cover regardless. You wait till she leaves, and then capture those gnats in that hat," he glanced at Hook to see the man glare at him, his lips pursed, jaw tight, "You can clench your jaw and flash your eyes all you wish, because it doesn't change the fact that we're in this together."

And with that he stood, Hook rising with him, tucking the hat under his arm to follow the Dark One away like a good little puppet.

~8~

Piper rubbed her head as she stood in the back of the library with Mary Margaret, David, Emma, and Regina, all of them speaking quietly about the latest developments. She'd arrived only moments ago to find that Belle and the fairies had no need of Anna, Elsa's sister, any longer, there was no need to use her necklace that Elsa had found again to locate her as Emma had mentioned she and Elsa were trying to do. The necklace itself possessed small bits of mirror dust in it, small shards that, if extracted, could create the countercurse instead of needing Anna, which was lucky as Emma and Elsa had proven useless in finding the woman to begin with.

But apparently, to extract it would mean to destroy the necklace…and Elsa was reluctant to do it.

And now, instead of just taking the necklace and saving the town, they were all debating what to do or not as time ticked away. She was trying though, to understand it in Elsa's terms. If it had been Mary Margaret lost to her, and the only thing she had to find her cousin with was…that ring she wore from David, she would fight tooth and nail to find her cousin first, damn the town. But this was different, if it was Mary Margaret taken, it wouldn't just be her or the town, it would be her or the rest of her family, it would be Emma and Henry and…even David, that would be in danger if she didn't give up the ring.

But that was the thing, she wouldn't give up the ring, because she wouldn't physically be able to, not being what she was, not having the ties to Mary Margaret that she did, ties that, despite the woman's words, were not yet broken. And she was a villain, she would be selfish and choose the life of her cousin over an entire town, if Emma and Henry hadn't been a part of said town. Elsa was trying to be a hero, was calling herself one and on the side of good and all that rubbish and she was making the selfish choice for her sister over saving a town…quite unheroic in her opinion.

"This shouldn't even be a conversation!" Regina hissed to them all quietly, getting as frustrated as Piper felt with this argument, "If we don't get the necklace to the fairies right now, we and all our loved ones will be hit by this vicious spell. It's one woman's life versus a whole town!"

Emma shook her head, "Maybe we just haven't found an option where we don't have to lose anyone."

Mary Margaret smiled at her daughter, "Mmm, you're talking like a hero."

"And you are thinking like one, Snow," Piper cut in, really starting to get frustrated with this, it wasn't even about heroes or villains, it was about welfare, and all she could think of was kingdoms. If this had been happening in the Enchanted Forest, it would fall to the king and queen to decide what to do…and their top priority had to be their people, "This is exactly why I would tell you in the past you were not fit to rule Snow White. Like it or not, you are a princess, a queen first and above a hero. And that requires you to make the difficult decisions for the good of your kingdom, or in this case the town. What would you do if this were your kingdom, as mayor it is as good as. You have a curse bearing down on you, an imminent threat that will most certainly cause unparalleled death and destruction to everyone around you, it is coming, and it will happen if you do not make a choice. How would you explain this to all the people depending on you to survive and protect them as their Queen?"

Emma let out a whistle at that, "Whoa…"

She was thanking every deity she knew that she hadn't been raised to have to think like that, because clearly that lecture had come from years of princess training or something.

"You're right," Mary Margaret whispered, swallowing hard, "You're right. It's…it's not a good choice, and it's difficult, and it's terrible but…we need to do what's best for the most people. We need to give this town its best chance."

David nodded, "I'm so sorry," he told Emma, "But we have to let the fairies destroy that necklace."

Emma sighed but nodded, moving to step past them to speak to Elsa quietly about what the decision was.

"This can't be easy," David murmured.

"Being the one to make the decisions other will hate you for never is," Piper told them.

Mary Margaret glanced at her, "Rose…" she began, but Emma was already back.

"I got it," she nodded, holding up the small pouch that Emma had been holding the necklace she had found at the ice wall in, "Let's go."

The small group hurried out of the library, dashing down the road to Grannies and bursting in, Emma hurrying towards where the Blue Fairy and Belle were going over the countercurse.

"The necklace!" Belle gasped, spotting them, "Do you have it?"

"It's right here," Emma held out the pouch.

The Blue Fairy quickly took the pouch and turned it over, frowning when something other than a necklace fell out of it, "It's pebbles from the mine."

"What?!"

"Where is it?" Mary Margaret shook her head.

"She tricked us so she can use it," Regina realized, "To keep tracking down her damn sister! I should know better than to trust blondes by now."

"I always uphold my end of a bargain," Piper spoke, starting to feel defensive.

"We should go back and get it," Emma turned to go do just htat.

"No," Belle called out, shaking her head solemnly, "It's too late."

"Too late?" Mary Margaret gaped, "Already?!"

"By the time you get back here, yes. Without Anna being here physically, there's no way to make a counterspell in time."

Regina scoffed at that, "Time for a hope speech? Virtues of blind faith?"

"Well, it seems Elsa's blind faith is exactly what's screwing us right now!" Mary Margaret huffed, actually seeming to realize how screwed over they actually were.

"Coming from you, that's just terrifying," Regina muttered.

"Well, I'm not giving up," Emma determined, "I know she's down in the mines looking for Anna. I'm gonna go help Elsa find her."

David sighed, "Well, then go, because right now that's our only shot."

"David," Mary Margaret turned to her husband, "Neal…"

He nodded, "We need to go," he looked at Regina and Piper, at the fairies, "If this…if Emma can't find Anna or get here in time, we need to take precautions."

"Agreed," Regina nodded, hurrying out after them, Mary Margaret glancing back at Piper regretfully, having wanted to speak to her, but Piper nodded her on.

Piper let out a small breath, looking around at the fairies frantically working, and to the door, shifting a moment before she inhaled and strode out, there was a precaution she needed to see to as well.

~8~

"Piper!" a small, ginger boy cheered as he opened the door to the workshop his father owned, "Papa, Piper is here!" he called.

Piper looked up, nodding at the old man that entered the room from the back, "Gepetto."

"Princess," he smiled at her, though it was tense, as though sensing she wouldn't be there if it wasn't serious, "Pinocchio, my boy, why don't you fetch the Princess what you were working on for her."

Piper blinked at that, "Something for me?"

"Yes," Gepetto chuckled, gesturing her inside the shop, "He has been looking forward to his 'fairy godmother' coming to see him so that he could give her a gift."

"You did not have to tell him I was any such thing, you know."

"I know," he nodded, "But you cared for my son for 28 years when I could not. I will never be able to repay you for that. And if I can make sure my boy understands you are important in his life, that will be a small step towards it."

"My thanks," she swallowed hard, forcing a smile when Aug…Pinocchio ran back.

"Here it is!" the boy grinned widely, Piper crouching down to see what he had for her, it was a small box, simple, but with a rose carved onto the top of it.

"It is beautiful," she told the boy.

"Open it!" he was nearly bouncing on his toes, "Open it!"

"Manners, my boy," Gepetto scolded lightly, but Piper was already opening it.

Her breath caught when a gentle little song began to play out of it, it was a music box, simple, but it wasn't that that brought a tear to her eye…but the song playing, "The tune…"

It was the lullaby she used to hum to August when he couldn't fall asleep, the lullaby she would hum when he was in pain from the wood trying to consume him.

"He hums it sometimes," Gepetto offered, "I hear him. I tried to recreate it for him, but he insisted this be for you."

"I love it, Pinocchio, thank you, truly," she blinked, looking at the little boy grinning up at her, trying to hold back her tears, she could not be distracted, not now, not when time might be of the essence, "And I thank you, Gepetto," she added, standing, "It is a lovely piece, I shall treasure it always. But I am afraid that is not why I came…"

"Yes," Gepetto reached out, putting his hand on Pinocchio's shoulder, tugging him closer, "The curse…the one in the sky, the one that sparkles…"

"It is called the Shattered Sight Spell," she explained, "It is a dark curse that infections a person's soul, causes them to become their darkest self, to see and think and do the worst things."

"Is there no way to stop it?" he breathed.

"Emma is attempting to at the moment, but…it appears it may hit before she has accomplished her task of preventing it," she was honest, not wanting to scare them, but knowing they needed to know, "She may yet break it once it has settled, but it seems the town shall be affected by it," she took a breath, "Which is why I have come," she pulled a small bottle out of her pocket, "This is a sleeping potion, not a sleeping curse," she added, mimicking Gold's words, "It will put you and Pinocchio to sleep for the duration of the curse. If you find somewhere safe to hide, you will be able to sleep through its effects without disruption or memory of exposure," she looked around, "Your shop is small and you are well liked. I see no reason for anyone to seek you out, you should be safe if you remain inside, and you shall remain safe from each other if you sleep."

Gepetto reached out and took the potion, looking at her with tears in his eyes, "Thank you, Princess."

She looked down when she felt Pinocchio run to her and hug her legs, "Thank you princess."

"You need never call me 'princess,' Pinocchio," Piper allowed herself to brush her hand through his hair once before she looked at Gepetto and nodded, turning to step out of the shop.

She closed the door behind her and rested against it, closing her eyes a moment as she inhaled deeply. There were two parts to her giving Gepetto the potion for him and A…Pinocchio. The first was her own fear…Gepetto, for many reasons, could likely seek her out, hating her for keeping his son away from him (in his eyes), for leading to the boy's death, for corrupting him as he grew, for so many other things. And if he found her awake, she would likely fight back and not care if she harmed him. If he found her asleep, he would be facing down the Dark One in order to get to her and she didn't doubt Gold would kill anyone who dared try that.

The other part though was love, she loved Pinocchio, as much as it hurt to look at him and see him, see her son, but have him look at her with no memory of the life they had…as much as that hurt, she still cared for him, she still wanted him safe. He was still her son in her heart and so long as he remained there he would always be safe…

Her eyes snapped open as a thought hit her, a thought that left her inwardly cursing for being so foolish as to not have realized it before.

With that thought in mind she took off down the road, she had to find Gold.

~8~

Gold stood outside the diner, across the street as he watched the lights inside the facility flickering as the hat in Hook's possession sucked every single fairy into it, storing their magic away. He smirked as he watched, through the windows, as Hook sucked up the Blue Fairy herself, chuckling darkly to himself as it happened. It was too late to create the countercurse, the spell was upon them, in the next few minutes it would be raining down on them all.

Even if Emma and Elsa managed to find Anna and get her to the fairies in the next few seconds it still wouldn't be enough time. Belle had realized that only a few minutes ago and hurried out of the diner to find sanctuary, much like the other residents of the town were doing at that very moment, save himself. He was going to get the hat back and return to the shop where he and Piper had agreed to meet so she could take the potion and he could protect her while Emma saw to the town.

He stepped across the street, approaching the diner, not caring to look before he crossed as no one was on the road with the curse so near, reaching it just as Hook strode out of it, the hat firmly clutched in his hands.

"Is it done?"

Hook glared, "You should know, you were watching," he shoved the hat into Gold's possession, "Now that it's settled, are we done?"

"No, no," he shook his head, "I'm not gonna give up control of you just yet, not until I have everything I need."

"What's left?"

He smirked, "Besides letting Pip have a go at this?" he gestured at Hook before patting his heart, "That's my concern, not yours. But by morning, all should be complete, including your life. Now run along, dearie, and enjoy your last day in this or any land."

He grinned, watching as Hook strode away, knowing the man was heading for the sheriff's station where, if whispers were to be believed, the Charmings were barricading themselves with their daughter on guard if all else failed.

He looked up the road, seeing Emma and Elsa bursting out of the library, and waved his hand, causing him to disappear in a swirl of red smoke, back to his shop.

~8~

"Snow!" Piper shouted as she ran into the sheriff's station, hearing her cousin's song from within. She had been on her way to Gold's shop, but heard Snow and just…had to see her one more time.

"Rose!" Mary Margaret gasped, turning from where she and David were quietly talking in front of the jail cells, and plowing into her cousin, hugging her tightly whether Piper wanted to or not, "Rose, I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry for what I said, I didn't mean it. I mean…I thought I did, and I guess I did, but Rose," she pulled away, tears in her eyes, "I don't mean it now. I won't ever mean it again. Because I do trust you, I do, and…and I trust Gold with our family. If you trust him, then I do, for as long as you do I will, I promise and…"

"Snow," Piper cut in, reaching up to touch her cousin's cheek, "My thanks," she whispered, "But you shall forgive me if I request we speak later and you say this again AFTER the imminent curse has been broken?"

Mary Margaret laughed at that sniffling, "It means you're willing to talk to me after, then yes, of course," she took Piper's hand, "If we're…if we're both…"

"We shall live, Snow," Piper promised her, "We shall see the end of the curse, whole and hale."

"I hope so."

"I know we shall."

But Mary Margaret shook her head, "Rose…this curse…it's going to be bad, worse than…than even Regina's. What it'll turn us into…"

"I know," she cut in gently, "And that is the very reason I think we shall be safe."

Mary Margaret frowned at that, "I don't understand. It's not a good thing."

"Perhaps not for a hero," Piper mused, before shaking her head, "Do you trust me Snow, truly?"

"Yes," she answered without hesitation, "I do."

"Then trust me that this curse will be trivial in the end," she glanced out the window as the lights began to flicker, "I must away…"

"Yes, yes, go!" Mary Margaret urged her on, "I do trust you, Rose, and I love you, you're my sister in every way that counts, but I don't want you near me when this curse hits. I don't…I don't want to hurt you again," she blinked back her tears.

"I know," Piper repeated, "And I do not want you hurt either."

Mary Margaret could only frown as she saw her cousin smile at that before she gave a nod and disappeared out the door, moments before Emma came running in with Elsa and two others…

~8~

"Pip!" Gold exclaimed as she burst into the shop, "We need to be quick," he moved towards her, "The spell will be here in moments and…"

"I gave the potion to Pinocchio," she cut in.

"What?" he gaped at her, "Piper that was meant to protect you. I only made enough for…"

"I know," Piper nearly laughed, feeling like she was a broken record with how often she was saying those two words, "I was wrong."

"About what?" he shook his head, not understanding.

She just stepped closer to him, "I was wrong about this curse, about…about what it would turn me into."

"We know what it would do to you, Pip," he countered, "It will release every bit of Siren in you. It would be as though you weren't human at all but just a Siren."

"Yes," she nodded, "Do you not see? Perhaps that is exactly what needs to happen."

"Pip…"

"Rummy," she reached up to touch his cheek, silencing him with that mere touch, "How do you think a Siren would react to this curse?"

Gold frowned at that a moment, before his eyes widened, his expression morphing quickly to concern as he shook his head, "You don't need to do this Piper."

"I rather think I do," she tried to smile, tried to put on the brave face she had with her cousin, but the fear was still there, evident in how her voice cracked in the last word. Because as much as she could think one thing would happen…another just as easily could. This would be…one of the most extreme gambles she would ever take, to release every single dark part of her hardened heart, to allow the siren she always pushed down to rise to the surface, to consume her thoughts and mind and magic…she was truly scared of what it would mean…but, as much as she tried to stamp it down, there was a hope that her suspicions would be correct.

"If you wish to…be the hero in this Piper, I will stand beside you, always," he took her hand, pressing a kiss to it, "Light or dark, it matters not to me I would love you still. But I know what this will mean for you," he reached out to touch her cheek as well, "Do not put yourself through this nightmare to prove anything to anyone else, you owe them nothing more than what you have already done."

She nodded, "I am not," she reassured him, "I do this for the same reason I have done everything in the past."

He let out a long breath at that, looking up as the lights flickered to see the clouds above Storybrooke seeming to flash with lightning, knowing it would be mere seconds before the curse truly descended.

"I love you, Piper," he told her.

"And I love you, Rumpelstiltskin," she leaned in and kissed him deeply, feeling a tear escape her eye that he quickly brushed off.

"You are certain about this? I'm immune, as the Dark One, I can still stop you if you wish."

"No," she shook her head, "This…this is something I must do."

"As you wish," he murmured.

She took a deep breath and nodded, turning and leading him out of the shop by the hand she was still holding, stepping out onto the side walk as thunder rumbled out of the clouds above them before opening.

Piper looked up at the sky as the tiniest shards of glass began to rain down, giving Gold's hand one final squeeze before she slowly let it go, taking a single step forward, standing on her own against what was coming. She barely flinched as she felt the shards enter her eyes, though she closed them moments later, bowing her head, feeling it...shifting and twisting inside her, feeling the dark magic spreading, feeling it consuming her, feeling it feed into the Siren within...

She took a deep breath, lifting her head, tilting it to the side as the rippling darkness settled inside her very soul.

"Pip?"

She gently let out her breath and opened her eyes, looking at Gold now standing before her, able to see in his eyes that her own had turned as dark as a true Siren's.

"Rummy," was all she said, her voice sounding a note deeper, richer before she began to lean to the side, reaching for her boot.

He reached out, stopping her gently, "Allow me," he offered, grinning as he realized, in the single word she'd spoken to him, her suspicions were proving correct, reaching into his inner jacket pocket and pulling out the pipe he had crafted for her, the one that Henry had polished for her, holding it up for her to take.

She tilted her head, reaching out and curling her fingers around it, bringing it to her and tracing a finger along the design of it before her gaze flickered up to him, her lips curling into a dark smirk, "Let the fun and anarchy begin."

A/N: AHHH! ^-^ I'm SO excited for what's coming! I wonder what Piper's plan is...hmmm... }:D

Though, I have to say something in this chapter will come back to bite someone at another point }:)

Some notes on reviews...

Lol, that would be quite a romantic way to go ;) Though with the curse upon them there was probably not enough time to really surprise Piper like that :) If you ever want to write it out though that's cool with me ;) I'm usually very good about allowing people to use my characters or write something from my stories if they mention where it came from ;)

Thank you :) Oh it's going to be rough yup }:) I agree, that was one of my biggest things with the 'going dark' plot, like Neal has the exact same potential as Emma, unless maybe they thought because Zelena was able to use him that he was too pure? But all babies are like that so it doesn't really make sense :/ It could be that they knew Emma would have magic, as the Savior, and Neal doesn't...but I don't think they found that last part out till Rumple told them in his cell when he demanded the child's name from Snow so even then it doesn't make much sense :/ Snow definitely feels guilty and will have to really talk to her cousin when this is all over but she's definitely guilty and feeling it for many things :) Henry will get a few discussions with people yup ;)