Darkness at the Edge of Town
Mary Margaret sat, despondent, in her apartment, a cold cup of hot chocolate in her hands, just…staring at nothing. David sighed as he put Neal down for a nap and made his way over to his wife, "Mary Margaret…" he began.
But Mary Margaret cut him off, "I tried to call him," she murmured, nodding to her cell phone lying before her, "He won't answer. Henry won't even speak to me David," she looked at her husband with tears in his eyes, "And Emma?" she shook her head, "She tries to pretend she's not angry with me, but I know she is. She's been avoiding me and she won't stay in the same room with me for more than five minutes and…" she took a breath, "Do you think I did the right thing?"
"In banishing Gold?" David let out a breath, knowing that was the only thing she could be talking about.
It had been six weeks so far, since the ice wall had come down, since his wife had essentially banished the Dark One from the town…and driven her cousin to go with the man. And in that time…things hadn't been well for the family in general. Henry had been so…stunned and upset when Emma had told him what happened. Neither he nor Mary Margaret had been there when she'd told him, which meant…Emma had told him the entire truth, from her perspective, about what happened. He and Mary Margaret would have been more delicate.
He didn't want to think they'd lie to him or try to twist the truth to make it seem like Mary Margaret was completely in the right…but they would have let him down more gently than it seemed Emma had. Henry had stormed up to his grandmother in the middle of Granny's diner the next morning shouting about how could she do that? How could she drive his Aunt P away? After everything the woman and even Gold had done for them! They were supposed to be the heroes!
Mary Margaret had tried to explain it to him, amidst the whispers that had started when the town heard Henry's shouts, that Gold and Piper had been working to free the Dark One from his dagger, that she HAD to cast the man out to protect her people. THAT had been one of the reasons why the town seemed to almost celebrate her actions. The moment they heard that the two had been trying to let the Dark One have free reign of his power to do with as he wished, they had started to shout and yell and remark about how, of course it was a good thing! Of course their Princess would do what had to be done to keep them safe from that imp. Of course they should never have thought Piper to be a hero if she was willing to unleash the Dark One on them without a way to really stop him.
It had NOT been the best thing to say to Henry while he'd been outraged already.
Henry had brought up the single most important point that was truly eating away at Mary Margaret's belief that what she did was right.
Piper had had that dagger, the one that used to control him, since before the first curse had been cast. She had sworn to NEVER use the dagger, ever…so Gold already had free reign to do whatever he wanted to the town. But he hadn't. So long as his plans wouldn't hurt Piper's or his family he could have done anything and Piper would have been right there beside him, letting it happen. Gold had already had that freedom she had feared so much, he could have done anything to the town already but he hadn't.
On top of that, Henry had rammed home the point that Piper still had Gold's heart inside her, though that added reminder had been said in the privacy of their apartment as they had tried to take the boy back there to talk. Piper HAD a way to control the Dark One, even without the dagger, she had his heart inside her, she could use it to stop him if the worst came to it.
There WERE precautions and failsafes in place…but Mary Margaret had still thrown him out.
Henry had looked at his grandmother with such disappointment that Mary Margaret had burst into tears to be reminded of all that. Henry was…right. If you looked at it from the boy's innocent point of view, he was right, but he couldn't bear to see his wife so distraught by the anger of her grandson that he'd tried to reassure her she'd done the right thing regardless. That Gold, now that he had no need to fear someone else taking the Dagger or getting hold of it to control him, WOULD be a danger. He reminded her that Piper's relationship with her was already a little shaky, and if something had happened that drove them apart before that, then nothing would be keeping them safe at all.
Henry had not been happy with that answer either, and just…left. He stayed with Regina from then on, ignored Mary Margaret's attempts to call him, requested to be transferred out of his grandmother's classes at the school, and refused to speak to her when they were in the same room. They weren't sure why the boy was so angry but they had a suspicion there was more going on than Henry was willing to tell them.
Emma…she had surprised them in her not-outright disagreement with her mother's decision. She had been horrified at what her mother had done, had been shocked and startled and couldn't believe a hero would do that to her own cousin. That the woman that gave the EVIL Queen second chance after second chance to prove herself wouldn't have extended the same courtesy to her cousin's true love, whether he was the Dark One or not. THAT had been a knife in Mary Margaret's heart to be reminded of how she'd let her step-mother make up for her past as a villain and prove herself when the ONLY thing that seemed to have started Regina on her path of redemption was Henry, whereas Piper had ties to Henry, Emma, Neal, and herself, whereas Gold had ties to Henry and even Emma, where he had more than just one reason to not go on a rampage through the town. It had been a knife that the woman would give more of a chance and faith to someone that was just a step-mother to her instead of believing in her cousin that had been there since she was only a few years old and done nothing but protect the family.
Emma had been quieter and more subtle in her disagreement than Henry had been. But it still came about in how she acted around them. She was hardly in the apartment, when she was around Mary Margaret she barely kept on a conversation for more than 5 minutes before finding a reason to leave, SHE wanted to keep the dagger instead of letting Mary Margaret or Regina do so. She'd even managed to secure a key to Gold and Piper's house and gave it to Henry so he could protect it while she protected their house and even the pawn shop with a protection spell.
She'd started calling Mary Margaret by her name instead of mom again.
Mary Margaret wasn't used to someone actually disagreeing with her actions. Oh the town celebrated her defense and protection of them, were so honored that she cared for them so much she would disregard her cousin just for their sake. Her husband supported her as her husband…but that her child and grandson were so against what she'd done…it had shaken her faith and belief in herself. The town was biased against Piper, her child and Henry biased for her, but still…she had never been in a real position where her 'ruling' had been seen with such opposition when it came to 'doing the right thing.' There had been an outcry when she'd chosen to halt Regina's execution, because at that point Regina was a threat to the kingdom. This time…her own children were against her decision to protect the kingdom from the threat against it.
"What else?" Mary Margaret shook her head.
David could only shrug, "You know that I support you, Mary Margaret."
"But do you think it's RIGHT?" she insisted, turning more to him, "Do you think what I did was right?"
"What's right and what's easy are never the same," David told her wisely, "That was…the hardest thing you've ever had to do, besides sending Emma through the wardrobe. You did what you had to to keep the town safe from Gold. One…wrong move, one slight against him and he might not refrain from attacking as much as he had. Before, all someone had to do was manage to get closer to Piper, to knock her out or something, and take the dagger and he'd be their puppet. He couldn't risk getting the wrong people too angry at him. Now?" he shook his head, "If he was here, there would be nothing keeping him from holding back…"
"But Henry said…"
"I know," he reached out to put his hands on her shoulders, "I know Henry thinks that Piper would have let Gold do things, but that's not the point. Snow," he sighed, "He had to be careful, even around Piper, because she had the dagger. Even then he was careful not to upset her or do something she wouldn't agree with. He doesn't have that holding him down now. He would have been free to do anything at all to anyone in the town, despite her having had the dagger and letting him do it or not. She wouldn't have been able to use it to STOP him now."
"Her heart…"
"Is also in Gold's chest, just like his is in hers, I know," he nodded, "She can't use his heart against him if he can do the exact same to her. She's in no position to use his heart against him. He's really got complete freedom to do ANYTHING. And we can't risk it. You couldn't, not as a ruler," he lifted her chin, "We have to make the difficult and hard decisions where someone loses, and we need to keep our entire kingdom in consideration and do what's best for them."
"I just keep thinking…if it had been you, if Rose had sent you over the line…" tears filled her eyes, "I banished her true love."
"You banished the Dark One," he shook his head, "You can't look at it like that, it'll tear you apart. You have to be strong in this, Snow, you made a decision, you have to stand by it. But know that I'll stand by you no matter what."
Mary Margaret gave him a watery smile, leaning in to hug him as he held her tight.
He would never ever tell her, because she was under so much stress and guilt already, but…there was a small part of him that DID think she'd done the wrong thing. He understood Piper's words in the library, the curse was a very real and imminent threat that was literally looming over them and getting closer, it WAS going to hit and it WAS going to hurt them…
Gold hadn't even been given a chance to prove if he would or wouldn't. He wasn't that imminent of a threat, there was no saying that the man was definitely, with 100 percent certainty going to attack anyone or harm them…
He shook his head, HE couldn't think like that either, he had to stand by his wife, and he had to consider not the what-ifs but the threat. The Dark One off his leash was a certain and viable threat.
~8~
Hook nearly growled as he swiped at the papers hanging on a cork board in the Library, Belle behind him, going through book after book for anything that might help them. He winced at the sudden move, at the anger coursing through him, and stumbled back, his good hand reaching up for his chest, clenching in the fabric over his heart.
"Hey, hey," Belle hurried over to his side, helping him move to sit on a chair, "Be careful," she murmured, "You're not supposed to get yourself worked up."
"I'm not an invalid," he spat.
"No," she agreed, "You're just a man with a bleeding heart. Literally."
He grimaced at that term, at the knowledge that he really WAS. And all thanks to the bloody Dark One. The man had slashed at his heart, using the blood from it to coat his dagger as the final steps to free himself. It was truly luck that Gold had dropped the heart in the end, allowing him to catch it in time. But there had been something wrong with it, it hadn't stopped bleeding from the slash. It caused him enormous pain whenever a more negative emotion passed through him, like jealousy, or anger, or hate…which were fairly common emotions for him. He tried to keep it from Emma, play it off, but he knew she was suspicious.
"Six weeks and nothing," he grunted, "They're still trapped inside that bloody hat!"
"We just have to keep at it, ok?" Belle tried to calm him, "We will find a spell to release the fairies," she gestured back at a stack of books, "I mean, these translations are difficult, but I've reached out to some of the finest minds in the world, and one of them will get back to us. I know it."
"If we're reduced to those magic boxes, then I'd say hope is in short supply," he muttered, rubbing his chest.
They had to get the fairies out of the hat. Regina had examined his heart before Emma had put it back in his chest, had explained what the bleeding was. And told them that she wouldn't be able to heal it. It would take strong light magic, but PRACTICED light magic, extreme focus, to heal a heart like his. Emma would need to study for quite a few years to manage the ability to heal it as hearts were enormously tricky. Emma hadn't wanted to risk taking a chance healing his heart and accidently crushing it and asked if there was anything at all that could be done. Regina had remarked that the fairies would be able to do it, the Blue Fairy in particular, but they were gone. And he'd been forced to explain all that the Dark One and Piper had requested of him.
He had been…surprised, how little Emma had to say about Piper and Gold's deeds. He had expected her to be more outraged than she was, but she'd just muttered that he hadn't really done anything TOO bad while under it. Trapped a few people, sure, but they could find some way to get them back, something locked had to have a key they just had to find it. He'd learned later that Emma had just witnessed her mother sending Gold over the townline, had seen Piper join him and he could assume her lack of reaction was due to her shock, to her sorrow over losing her aunt. He didn't really care, he just wanted his heart fixed so the bloody pain would stop hitting him every ten seconds.
"They, uh call it the Internet," Belle tried to lighten the mood, "And it can help us. And once we get the fairies out of the hat, they can help us release everyone else, including that poor old man that you put in there."
"All because I left myself be tricked by that Crocodile," he grumbled, "How could I have been so weak?"
"You were just…blinded by love for Emma," Belle reassured him, "As terrible as it is to say, love can be as great a weapon as any sort of magic, especially when it comes to getting people to do what you want."
Hook nodded mutely at that, sighing and rubbing his face, "Let's get back to work."
~8~
"Hello dearie."
Ursula, former witch of the sea, gasped as she entered her small apartment in the middle of New York at the sound of a voice within the room, sitting on her couch in the dark, smirking at her, a blonde woman standing behind him, her hands resting on his shoulders.
"The hell did you get in here!?" Ursula demanded, her hand on her heart a moment before she glared at the two before her.
She had found a life in New York after she'd ended up in a realm without magic…as a fish feeder at an aquarium. Hardly glamorous, but it paid the bills for her small apartment. She'd been in the middle of yelling at the fish only a few short days ago, when she'd been approached by none other than the Dark One and the Pied Piper with a proposition to change the outcome of their fates, to make it so that the villains would, finally, have one up over the heroes. She didn't know what their real purpose was for recruiting her, they had tempted her plenty with talk of getting her her happy ending…but they hadn't said anything about what was in it for them.
Still, she didn't really care what they wanted so long as she would FINALLY get a chance at happiness.
It surprised her a little that the girl, Piper, had agreed to seek her out with Rumpelstiltskin, or as he liked to call himself in this world, Mr. Gold. Their last encounter with the girl had not been pleasant for either side and she knew enough of the girl to know that she was half-Siren, they did not forgive others easily. It was a true testament to how desperate they really were to get back to a realm with magic that SHE was coming to her for help.
"Locks are easy to pick," Piper stated, "Even without magic."
Ursula let out a huff at that, "You know," she shoved her way into her apartment, going about her business, trying to ignore them but keeping them in her peripheral vision as she did so, "I'm beginning to think you're a lot of talk, a lot of empty promises about happy endings, when all you do is break into my apartment to scare me to death."
"There are much easier ways to kill you than scaring you," Piper deadpanned, turning to lean against the back of the couch.
Ursula shot her a look at that, "I'm aware," she nearly hissed at Piper, but the blonde only smirked.
"Patience is a virtue, dearie," Gold moved to stand, taking a pained step around the couch with his cane to rest beside Piper, "We ARE gonna fix all your problems."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah," she rolled her eyes, pulling out some fish food to feed the ones in a small tank before her, "I know you well enough to know you don't care about me."
"No, I don't," Gold agreed, "I care about us," he gestured between himself and Piper, "You're lucky our problems just so happen to align. Now," he pulled out a mobile phone, "We've taken the first steps back. But we need to visit an old friend first. I hope you packed those bags I mentioned. We need to leave rather quickly."
Ursula held his gaze for a long moment before letting out a huff and going to grab her bags.
Gold waited till she'd stepped into a small bedroom in the back before turning to Piper, resting his forehead to hers as she turned to lean against him more, "Just a little longer, Pip," he murmured to her, lifting his head to press a kiss to her forehead, "Just a little longer."
~8~
Piper stood beside Gold, her arm linked through his, her grip on his arm tighter than it should have been as they walked up towards the large black and white mansion in Long Island, watching as police officers led a random man away from the building, a woman that could only be Cruella de Vil chasing after him, her hair black and white, her make up rather heavy as the police confiscated her possessions as well.
"So this is where she lives?" Ursula muttered, "I guess some of us are doing better than others."
"Look at this," Cruella cried crocodile tears, "This is too awful. Darling, do we need all these theatrics?" she wept to a policeman that ignored her.
"We're doing better," Gold remarked, resting his hand on Piper's and squeezing it.
"Sorry, lady," one of the cops tried to walk past with a rack of fur coats.
Cruella quickly snatched one off a hanger, glaring at the officer as he tried to take it back, "This was mine before!" she hissed.
Gold shook his head and started to walk forward, "Cruella de Vil," he called as the cops walked off towards the front of the house.
Cruella tensed, her back to them, "No one calls me that here."
"Well, I'm sorry, dearie," he smirked as Cruella straightened at that word, "But Cruella Feinberg doesn't have quite the same ring."
Slowly the black-and-white haired woman turned, "What in hell are you doing here?" she sneered as she observed them, the Dark One, the Pied Piper, and Ursula standing before her.
"Looking to regain our greater glory," Gold remarked, "A glory I can soon return to you both," he glanced between her and Ursula, "If you join Pip and me."
"I'm not going anywhere with you," Cruella nearly snarled.
"Perhaps you should reconsider that," Piper narrowed her eyes at the woman.
Gold patted her hand to calm her, knowing that things would be tense between the women and Piper given their last run in and some other newer developments making her temper shorter, but he was quite sure he would need the women if they were going to be able to get into Storybrooke and do what they needed to do without too much fuss, a distraction was always best to keep heroes busy after all.
"Things have changed," he offered Cruella, placing a mocking hand on his chest as he added, "Mea Culpa. Our last time together was less than ideal. But now?" he smirked, "Now all our interests align once more. You've lost all you have, and so have we," he gestured between himself and Piper, and Ursula, "And we don't want to lose anything else," he added, hint of an edge in his words that had Piper squeezing his hand to calm him this time, "That's why we're here, to put an end to you having everything taken away."
"Oh, not everything," Cruella grinned, turning and pressing a button to open her garage door, revealing a black and white, vintage car.
"And where are you gonna go with these paltry material possessions?" Gold taunted.
"To get myself some less paltry possessions."
"An empty pursuit," he waved it off, "You're gonna end up right back where you started."
"I will never go back to where I started," Cruella glared.
"We can get back everything you've lost and more," Gold tempted.
"You know, you talk a good game, Dark One, but can you deliver in a world with no magic where apparently walking is a challenge?" she eyed his cane clutched in his other hand, the one not linked with Piper's.
"It is called money," Piper smirked, "Something neither of us want for in this realm and it can do many things."
And it was true, she still had her accounts from when the first Dark Curse had struck, the life she'd had outside Storybrooke. They hadn't wanted for anything, for shelter or food or clothing...which had been in short supply given they'd left Storybrooke with nothing but the clothes on their backs essentially. But she still had her money saved, they had been able to purchase all they needed for the time being.
"But there is true magic in this world," Gold added, "You just have to know where to look. I know you don't trust me. But the good news is, if you follow me, you won't have to," he eyed the woman, "Aren't you tired of feeling ordinary?"
Cruella huffed after a moment, nodding at the car, "Get in. Now then, darling, where are we going?"
"A quaint little town called Storybrooke," he answered, leading Piper over to the car and helping her in before sliding into the backseat with her, Ursula taking the front with Cruella, who barely waited till the doors had shut before she revved the engine and took off.
~8~
Piper leaned against Gold as they sat in the back of Cruella's car, her head resting on his shoulder, waiting for the line the car was in to move, just trying to keep awake and breathe.
"So why should I think this new plan will work when all the others have failed?" Cruella called back to them.
"Our failures in the past have been for one reason the odds were stacked against us," Gold stated, "Now we're gonna change the odds."
"With this author you keep babbling on about?" Ursula inquired.
"His book harnesses a great power, one that exceeds anything you've ever experienced, giving villains and heroes what he deems 'just desserts.' Our collective frustrations? They're because of his will, not our missteps."
Piper closed her eyes at how he was baiting them, falling silent, just letting him work his magic with his words. She could do the same, if she pleased, but right now she was more focused on letting him handle the situation. She was not in the best of moods, the two 'Queens of Darkness' as they had delighted to call themselves in the Enchanted Forest grating her nerves, and he had had prior experience with them, with getting them to do as he wished. He had told her of that when they first arrived in New York, when they had been in the aquarium and seen Ursula there.
It had sparked a plan in his mind, realizing Ursula was in the realm without magic, to use her, perhaps track down Cruella who had mysteriously disappeared from the Enchanted Forest as well, and see if they might still be of some use. They would prove useful in distracting the heroes while they worked behind the scenes. But to do it, they needed the women to agree.
"Well, I suppose that's better than blaming bad judgment and gin," Cruella muttered.
"Welcome to Mr. Cluck's!" a voice called through a speaker as they reached the order mark of the fastfood station they'd stopped at, "What can I get you?"
"One double cluck combo."
"Make it two," Ursula called, before glancing back at Gold and Piper, "Rumple?"
"No, thanks," he grimaced at the thought, "I'd like to survive for my happy ending. Pip?" he turned to her.
She shook her head, "Nothing for me."
"You need to eat," he reminded her, she'd only had a light breakfast and with how she was feeling, on top of how the land without magic was affecting her this time…she needed to keep up her energy.
"No," she gave him a firm look, "The thought of this…rubbish they call food makes me want to vomit."
"Don't you dare in my car," Cruella threatened as the car moved up, instructed to by the order taker.
"If I have yet to at Ursula's fish smell I do believe your precious car is safe," Piper spat back.
"Please hurry up," Gold gave Cruella a look, "I'm fairly certain this author's in Storybrooke. And if we want to enlist his help, we have to get there before the heroes do."
Piper sighed and settled back against Gold again, closing her eyes and trying to sleep now. It was better than dealing with Cruella's comments and Ursula's rather terrible smell.
~8~
Gold squinted through the front window of Cruella's car, keeping his eyes trained on the trees lining the deserted road they were currently travelling down, searching for one thing in particular…
"Stop the car!" he cried suddenly, spotting it. Cruella jammed on the brakes, the tires screeching as the car nearly skid to a halt. Gold squeezed Piper's hand and helped her out of the car, limping a bit as he hurried to a tree and snagged a tie dangling off it, "We're here," he looked back at his love.
Piper slowly made her way to his side, taking the tie and looking down at it before turning to gaze up the street, taking a few steps away from him to see the road better.
"What the hell are you talking about?" Ursula demanded, "Where is this Storybrooke?"
"Look, I confess, things aren't quite as I said…" Gold began.
"For a man who's preaching trust, you are getting off on the wrong foot," Cruella glared.
"But I…if I was completely untrustworthy, would I be telling you the truth now?" he began to explain, "The town line is 100 yards up that road," he gestured to where Piper was looking.
"I don't see any town," Ursula crossed her arms.
"Because it is under a cloaking protection spell," Piper turned to them, "One which makes it impossible to see or enter."
"A town you can't see or enter?"
"It's the truth," Gold defended, "The night I was banished, we attached this tie to that tree so we'd be able to find our way back."
Ursula scoffed at that, "Ok, let's say you are telling the truth. How are we supposed to cross that line without any magic?!"
Piper's eyes narrowed as Cruella pulled a gun, cocking it at Gold, "No more encores, Rumple. We're finished with your hazy instructions and your empty promises."
"Please put the gun down," Gold held up his hands, shifting to the side to block the woman's aim from Piper, "You're overreact…"
Piper nearly hissed as Ursula lashed out, knocking his cane away from him and causing him to stumble to the ground. She moved over to his side, reaching out with one hand to steady him, while her other curled around the end of his fallen cane.
"No more tricks!" Cruella demanded, "If we're about to walk into a trap, tell us now, darling, because out here, you're nothing more than a cripple, a coward with a real world ability to die."
Piper's jaw clenched at that and she turned, swinging the cane out and slamming it into Cruella's hand, knocking the gun out of it as she stood, "You are in NO position to make demands of US," Piper reminded her, "Try that again and it shall be your skull instead of your hand. Just because we are in a land without magic, does NOT mean we are helpless."
She had had enough of being helpless the last 6 weeks, she had never been helpless around the Queens of Darkness before, she was not going to start now just because of the circumstances.
Gold smirked at that, at how Cruella was gripping her hand as though it might be broken, before he stood, limping to Piper's side as she placed the cane on the ground, letting him take it, "Now, shall we talk about this more reasonably?"
Ursula and Cruella exchanged a glare, seeing that their extra threat had been lost in the bushes and nodded.
"You say you're banished," Cruella began, "Who banished you and why?"
"My cousin," Piper nearly spat the word, "Snow White, because we tried to free him of his Dagger's control."
There was NO reason for the women to know that Gold was truly free of the Dagger, it could prove a useful secret to keep later if they tried to one-up him by gaining possession of it.
The two women's eyes widened at that, both of them taking a step back, "Why would you do that?" Cruella gasped.
Ursula, however, was focused on something else, "Snow White is your cousin? You're family?" now THAT was something hard to believe, that the Pied Piper and Snow White were cousins.
Piper shook her head, "She is no family of mine," Piper defended, her hand gripping Gold's in a sign of just who she considered her family now.
Well, that wasn't entirely true. Emma and Henry, little Neal…they had done nothing to harm her. No, it had all been Snow White, and Snow White was the one she would blame for what had happened.
"Hmm," Ursula hummed, a slight smirk on her face, "Do we have a story for you."
Piper narrowed her eyes at that, curious.
"Familial ties are not what we're here to discuss," Gold cut in, "But our reasons for getting into the town. We're here for the same reason you are. Our happy ending," he would have rolled his eyes at that, it really was too easy to bait people when you knew what they wanted most, "And that is the truth. And what that is? Well that's our business, just like your reasons are yours. All of what we seek is just beyond that line," he gestured behind him, "So please, if you think you can find your way in this town, and face all that light magic without our help," he shrugged, seeming like he didn't care at all, "Then be my guest. But if you can just trust me, you won't just get inside Storybrooke, you'll be invited."
"Uh huh," Ursula scoffed, "Like the people of Storybrooke are gonna invite us in with you by our side. If Snow White could banish her own cousin, there's no chance in hell she'll let the girl back in."
Piper barely refrained from smirking, they didn't need to know that Mary Margaret hadn't banished her but she'd left on her own. They could have called the woman up, used a sob story to get her to let her back into the town, played on her guilt over what she'd done to find a way for HER to return. But that would have put them on the alert to look for Gold, that would have had them keeping an eye on her to make sure she wouldn't let the man back in.
No…they needed to get into the town first before anyone realized they were there.
"Yes, they will, dearie," Gold nodded, "Cos we won't be on your side."
Cruella eyed them a moment, "Alright. Start talking."
~8~
"The number's all cued up," Gold informed Ursula as he handed the woman his cellphone, "All you have to do is press the 'call' button."
"I know a phone works," she huffed, seizing the phone from him, glaring at the man and woman before her, "I just don't know if I can trust the man whose phone it is."
"Well then good thing you do not," Piper replied, "Because that is MY phone, and I always uphold my end of a bargain. Surely you have heard that much about me before you disappeared from the Forest."
Ursula's lips pursed at that, but she nodded.
"There's no reason not to trust either of us," Gold gestured between himself and Piper, "You have our phone, my entire plan. And tonight, if you decide not to come back for us and stay in Storybrooke and abandon us, abandon ME, I couldn't blame you."
They didn't need to know that they had a backup plan either. Ooh they had one person in the town that would try anything to get them back inside. But their contact wasn't exactly the most subtle, they would be found out and have to explain why they were investigating the townline. There was a reasonable excuse though, as they were not the only people to have left Storybrooke that day 6 weeks ago, but they would rather not force that person into a lie or a half-truth, they didn't want to manipulate him like that or get him involved…which was why it was important to make the two Queens of Darkness think they had all the power at the moment.
"That's why this time is different," Gold continued, "Because this time, our entire salvation depends not on you trusting me, but on me trusting you. Now are we in this together?"
"I guess you'll find out tonight, won't you?" Ursula smirked, pressing call and lifting the phone to her ear, Cruella leaning over to listen in though the phone was on speaker, allowing Gold and Piper to hear it as well, "Regina," she greeted as the line picked up.
"The sea bitch," was Regina's greeting.
"I've missed you, too. How are you?"
"Mostly wondering how a plate of undercooked calamari ended up with the Pied Piper's cell phone."
"I stole it from her."
"You?" Regina scoffed, before falling silent, they could almost hear a shuffling on the other side, Regina wasn't alone, "And where is she now? Shouldn't she be with the Dark One too?"
"Oh of course," Ursula replied, "She wouldn't leave his side for anything. Which means they're both still back at the dive bar where Cruella and I drugged him."
"Cruella?"
"Yes, we're back together. Rumple and his little maid found us in New York, said he needed some old friends. Told us a tearful tale about how they had been living in a quaint town until he ruined everything for his beloved 'Pip.' But he said it was a special place where villains could find redemption. Regina, Rumpelstiltskin told us how you've changed, and we've changed, too. We've learned our lessons, and we'd like a chance to prove it to you. Please. Let us in."
"Sorry, dear, but we have enough problems without inviting two…"
Her words were cut off by a deep, glutteral roaring in the distance.
Ursula had to smirk at that, glancing back at Gold who nodded, telling her that that part of the trick was working, "Is one of those problems a hell-bat with beady eyes and devil horns?"
"…how did you know that?"
"Because that's the exact same sound it made before it tried to kill me."
"Oh, so you've faced this creature before?"
"Yes, and I can tell you exactly what it wants."
"How convenient," there was silence for a moment, "Fine. Tell us what it wants."
"And then you'll let us in?"
"Even if I wanted to, I couldn't," Regina scoffed.
Ursula let out a mock sigh, "Well, then I guess you're on your own."
She frowned a moment later, Piper stiffening as they could hear another voice, Emma's voice, whispering on the other line, something about a scroll…but then Regina was back.
"Alright, squid," the former Queen huffed, "If your information pans out, we'll consider letting you in. Those are my terms."
"You've got a deal," Ursula smiled, "The Chernabog," she began, knowing that was the same creature the Dark One had lured her, Cruella, and Maleficent to facing ages ago, "What it wants is simple."
"And what IS it?"
"To devour the heart with the darkest potential," she smirked, "Have fun," and with that, she ended the call, turning to look at Gold as she tossed Piper back her phone.
"You better hope this worked, Dark One," Cruella glared.
"Oh, I assure you, it will," he grinned.
"Now," Piper began, "About this…story you wish to tell about Snow White," she eyed them, "Do tell."
~8~
Mary Margaret nearly jumped when her phone rang on the counter of her kitchen area in her apartment, quickly picking it up when she saw it was Emma calling, "Emma?" she blinked, frowning as she listened to her daughter talk, "What?" she breathed, shaking her head, before forcing herself to swallow and calmly add, "Ok. Be careful," before Emma ended the call. She took a breath and looked at David who was watching her with concern, "They found a way to stop the beast."
"Great," David beamed…though it fell quickly at the look on his wife's face, "Why aren't you smiling?"
"Because Cruella and Ursula…they're here."
David's entire countenance grew tense and alarmed at just those six words.
That was…not good, at all.
~8~
Mary Margaret nearly jumped out of David's car before it could even stop at the edge of town, seeing Emma and Regina, the Chernabog nowhere in sight which had to mean that they'd defeated it…but there were far more pressing matters to see to now that they could also see Ursula and Cruella standing just on the other side of the line.
"Emma!" Mary Margaret called, running over to her daughter, David close behind.
"Are you alright?" David looked her over.
"Yes," Emma said quickly, shifting slightly as she moved to focus on Regina, "So Cruella and Ursula were telling the truth."
"It would appear so," Regina sighed.
Emma nodded, pulling the Snow Queen's scroll out of her pocket, something she'd thought might help get people across the town line, much like how the Snow Queen had used it to find Storybrooke in the first pace as the magic around the town was the woman's doing as well.
"No, wait," Mary Margaret stepped up, "Emma, I…I think this is a bad idea," she glanced at David, who nodded, and back to her daughter, "Look, they may have told the truth this time. That doesn't mean they can be trusted."
Emma frowned at that, "Mom, this doesn't sound like you. You always believe the best in everyone. Well, almost everyone."
Mary Margaret flinched at that last remark even though Emma had said it under her breath, "I'm also a realist."
Emma could have sworn she heard her aunt scoffing and snorting in her head at her mother's words, Snow White? A realist? Mary Margaret didn't even come close to that definition either.
"Emma, she's right," David agreed, "Things were just starting to get back to normal in Storybrooke…"
"You, too?" Emma shook her head at them, not sure where this was coming from but getting a sinking feeling in her gut that something else was going on here.
"Look, we don't know anything about these two," Mary Margaret stated, Emma eyeing her a moment her words, almost…almost sure that that had been a lie, but…but it was ridiculous, her parents had no reason to lie to her nor would it be a smart thing to do after what happened with Piper, "They could be looking for redemption, but they also could be as evil as Mr. Gold or Zelena or worse."
"Well we won't know about Gold," Emma reminded her mother, this time not feeling the guilt she'd felt before as her mother flinched at the words, "You didn't give him a chance to prove if he was evil or just dark," she could hear the echo of Piper's words in her own, their talk on the docks coming back to her, remembering the woman that looked at her without care if she was going to hurt her with her magic or if she was some horrible monster if she did it, "But those two out there," she gestured at the townline, "They just helped us, and we made a deal."
"Doesn't matter," Mary Margaret shook her head, "It's a bad idea. They're villains."
Emma opened her mouth to tell her that it DID matter, that the deal meant honoring her word, and to ask the woman if she was going to make the exact same mistake that had driven her cousin away and put a wedge between their family…
When Regina seemed to sense what she was about to say and cut in, "You're right," she told Mary Margaret, "They are. They're horrible. But not as horrible as I was once. And if I deserve a second chance, so do they," the reminder that Mary Margaret hadn't give that chance to Gold and the consequences of it went unspoken, "How can I sit here, looking for my happiness, and deny two others a chance at theirs?"
"I'm with Regina," Emma nodded, "We let them in."
And, with that, she turned and tossed the scroll over the line, watching as the two women picked it up and got into Cruella's car. A moment later the engine revved and the car was moving, crossing the line and pausing just beside them.
"Welcome to Storybrooke," Regina greeted the women, her voice business only.
"Thank you, Regina," Cruella smiled at her, "You won't regret it."
Regina's own grin grew threatening, "I better not."
Cruella gave a small wave before she pushed her car on, driving her and Ursula into town as the heroes watched, not having any idea what was coming to them.
~8~
Night had fallen as Gold and Piper sat back near the tree they'd tied his tie to, keeping the road in view, but not daring to get closer to it as they spoke quietly. They couldn't see if Cruella or Ursula were there, they didn't want to risk their particular conversation being overheard.
"What do you think Pip?"
She let out a breath, squeezing the hand that was firmly clenched in her own, "I know not what to think," she muttered, "I find their tale…"
"Unbelievable?" he supplied, nodding, "To imagine the beloved and pure Snow White doing such a thing…it IS unbelievable."
"And yet, if it is true…"
Gold eyed her, squeezing her hand so she would look at him, "What if it is Pip?" he searched her eyes, "This may be what you need to…"
"I do not want to forgive her," she nearly hissed, "And when I step across that line, when my heart returns to a magical area, it WILL harden. I will not want to forgive her then either."
"It will cause strife," he reminded her, "Between you and the family you DO still have," and had had ample experience with that, with how much it could hurt and wound you, with the tension it could cause, with how it could drive away the rest of her family if she wasn't careful.
"I have but four I care for in that town," Piper shook her head, "And two are either too young to do anything or has no memory of why they should care."
"But the other two DO," he countered, "I am not saying to forgive her, I am merely suggesting that actions be put into play that would allow it to be possible, if you change your mind down the road."
"I doubt that will happen."
"But it could," he reached out to touch her face, "I made many mistakes with my boy, with my family, I won't let you make the same."
"You have no idea what I shall become when we cross that line," she warned him.
"Whatever it is, I am sure I'll enjoy it though," he grinned darkly, "I love you dark and dangerous," he stroked her cheek, but grew serious, "But I think it is best to decide now, so I might be able to help you remember that it is possible forgiveness may be desired later. Tell me now, Pip, do you want it to be possible?"
Piper was silent a long while, considering his words. She did not want to forgive Mary Margaret for what she'd done, no…she wanted to take David by the throat and throw him over the line, make her cousin suffer the same fate she had.
But even then she knew what Mary Margaret put her through in sending her true love over the line, the events and consequences that followed, would never amount to the pain of just shoving one man over the line. It would require more than that, but she couldn't bring herself to harm her other family members through a vendetta against her cousin.
She knew, if she did not come to a decision now, have Gold looking over her and helping to nudge events, she might end up at a point where her Siren instincts drove her to do something SHE would regret, much like it had happened with Baelfire. And she wanted to avoid that more than anything.
"Keep in mind," Gold added after a moment, "In order for the possibility of forgiveness to arise…revenge must first be taken," he leaned in, "A Siren's heart cannot soften against a betrayal unless retribution is dealt."
Piper smirked at that, "And if Cruella and Ursula are to be believed…" she nodded, "What a fine retribution that would be."
He leaned in, about to kiss her…when there was a clatter to the side of them, on the road. They looked over to see a scroll rolling down the road from where it had been tossed, much like when they had been watching from the shadows of the trees when Ursula and Cruella had been allowed into the town. They struggled to their feet, walking over to it. Gold leaned down and picked it up, rolling it open for them to see the strange symbols on it, before lowering it…the two of them now able to see Cruella and Ursula standing just on the other side of the line, waiting for them.
"We're back, darling," Cruella smirked.
"You didn't think we abandoned you, did you?" Ursula taunted.
"Of course not," Gold grinned, glancing at Piper, "We're a team," he held out his hand to her, squeezing it as they walked towards the town, his limp easing to the point of nonexistence as they crossed, though he felt Piper's grip tighten. He slowed, glancing at her, waiting as she opened her eyes from where they had squeeze shut, waiting till she started breathing again, till her body relaxed, "Pip?"
She took a breath and nodded to herself, looking up at him, "Rummy."
He nodded, lifting her hand to kiss it before they started to walk towards the town, Ursula and Cruella flanking them on either side, though he was careful to keep himself between Piper and Ursula. It had been one thing to force civility while in the land without magic…now that they both had their magic restored…it was safer for all parties to keep them away from each other.
"Now what do we do?" Cruella asked.
"Now we begin our task," Gold stated, "It's simple, really. Continue to repent your wicked ways. Make friends. Build relationships."
"And just what will you be doing?"
"We'll continue our work behind the scenes, of course."
It was a half-truth really. They needed to be behind the scenes just for the moment, just the next moment where they could be alone without Ursula or Cruella watching them. There was something he had to do with Piper, that he did not want anyone else to see or witness. Something he knew Piper would fight him tooth and nail not to do, but if it was just them, he knew he could talk her into it.
There was more at stake than just the two of them if she refused after all.
"Sounds like we're doing everything, again," Ursula commented bitterly.
Gold stopped and turned to face her, "How do you think we got in here? And how do you think that Chernabog was released?"
"How do you think we KNEW it would be released?" Piper agreed, "We were the ones to set it loose in the first place."
"It was me," Gold nodded, "I'M the Oxford professor who translated the spell for Belle, the spell that released the fairies and also just happened to unleash that monstrosity?" he scoffed.
Piper had not been pleased to learn that the spell Belle had sent him would release the fairies from the hat. If it were up to her, they ought to stay there, especially Blue. But he had explained that there was a creature in it, a Chernabog, one that would be able to be defeated by the heroes of the town…but also one that Ursula and Cruella had experience fighting. They needed something inside the town that only those outside it had knowledge of, so that they could bargain for entrance. Information on what the creature wanted for passage to the town.
"So I ask you," he continued, "Consider what I was able to do on the outside, at my lowest point, without magic. And then consider what I'm able to do in here. So maybe we should stop bickering and get on with it. So our team is one member short. It's time to reunite the band."
"You don't mean…" Cruella gasped.
"Maleficent," Ursula frowned.
"But she's dead!"
"Not entirely," Gold shook his head, walking faster as he felt Piper grow more tense beside him, he really needed to find a bit of privacy…
"Well, just what does that mean?" Cruella huffed.
"It means we have our work cut out, much to prepare."
"I don't like it," Ursula shook her head, "Dead or alive, we got a bigger problem. Regina."
"Regina is hardly a problem," Piper muttered.
"That beast was unable to defeat her!" Ursula pointed out, "As bad as Maleficent is, Regina's dark heart is far worse."
"You are so filled with assumptions," Gold nearly spat, starting to get annoyed with the questions now, "Regina is not the one we have to worry about."
"What?"
"That beast did seek out the heart with the greatest potential for darkness, yes," he agreed, "But it wasn't going after Regina."
"It wanted Emma," Piper stated.
She hadn't liked that tidbit, but she had faith that Regina's darkness, that the power of the savior and the entire town would keep her safe. And it wasn't actually a BAD thing that she'd been targeted, it wasn't that Emma was a threat to turn dark, no…after what Ursula and Cruella had told her about her dear, dear cousin, it made sense why Emma would have the greatest potential.
And after the story she'd been told, if it was true, well…she could only imagine what would be going through Snow White's head about it all now.
~8~
Emma smiled sadly as she watched Henry looking over his storybook in Granny's with a magnifying glass, ever since the Blue Fairy, after she had taken a break in Granny's from healing Hook's heart, had told them that the Author of the book left clues in his words, that was all Henry had been doing, going over every page with a fine-toothed comb.
"What do you suppose the boy is up to now?" Hook asked as he sat beside her.
"Being Henry," she murmured, watching her son, "If anyone's gonna get that author out of the book, it's him."
"Hmm," he eyed her, "You've become quite the optimist, Swan."
"No," she shook her head, "I just want him to be happy, to succeed. He really wants to, to find a way to help. He's been devastated since Aunt P and Gold left."
Hook tensed at the mention of them, "Still calling the fish, Aunt P then? Despite what she's done?"
Emma shot him a narrow-eyed look, "'Despite what she's done?'" she half raised an eyebrow at that, "Excuse me, Captain Hook, do YOU want to share all your past indiscretions with me? Maybe the ones that happened behind my back while you were claiming you were changing?"
"Sorry, love," he looked away.
Emma sighed, "Look, Piper is my aunt. I trust her, and I trust that she wouldn't do anything to hurt me or Henry. And yeah, call me crazy, but I was thinking if the EVIL Queen should be given a chance to prove she's not a danger to the town, so should the DARK One. So yes, I do still call her Aunt P. And if you have a problem with that, keep it to yourself. I get enough from my parents trying to talk me around to thinking what Mary Margaret did was right and 'for the greater good' and all that crap, I don't want to hear it from you too."
Hook held up his hands in surrender, though he slowly lowered them after a moment's thought, "Speaking of the Princess…aren't they supposed to be here?" he nodded to the other side of Emma where Neal was sitting in his little mobile cot, sound asleep.
"Honestly," Emma let out a breath, "I don't really care what they're doing right now. They'll get here when they get here."
She was trying, hard, not to be angry with her parents over what happened with Piper. Yes, what Piper had been planning, how it had all happened behind everyone's back was bad…but really? What did her parents expect the girl to do? If she had told anyone whose silence they couldn't keep with assurity about their plans…the entire town would be after them to stop them. And she could get it, why Gold wanted to be free of the dagger. Zelena had gotten a hold of it and Gold had been forced to terrorize and hurt people he didn't want to hurt. She could understand wanting him to have his freewill back. She could understand why they took the precaution of not telling anyone what they were doing.
She just couldn't get behind what her mother had done in sending Gold over the line. She agreed with Henry 100 percent with his reasons why it had been pointless and only caused Piper hurt. She was trying to understand them, trying to look at it from a 'ruler' standpoint, but even then it just…she couldn't make it stick. Maybe she was just…closer to Piper than she realized, their talks about what made a monster, how far the woman had gone to protect her, she just couldn't see her aunt as being that much of a threat and, by association, Gold too.
She was trying not to be angry, but it was hard. And their reaction to Ursula and Cruella coming to Storybrooke hadn't helped settler her feelings about them.
It just felt like they were hiding something from her.
~8~
Mary Margaret looked at David as they pulled up near the edge of town, the rain pouring around them making it hard to see anything in the night, but they knew they weren't alone. They had made the call, after all, to meet with the ones hiding in the darkness just outside their car. They nodded, grabbing their umbrellas and getting out of the car, moving to stand in front of the headlights, walking a few steps…
When headlights of Cruella's car blared to life ahead of them, causing them to flinch back, squinting their eyes a moment till they adjusted to the blinding light. They frowned seeing someone walking towards them, just one person. It was fine though, they just needed Cruella or Ursula, which ever was fine and…
"Hello Snow White," a voice spoke before the person walking towards them became visible in the lights.
"Rose," Mary Margaret gasped, her eyes widening as she saw her cousin walking towards her in the rain, a dark blue umbrella keeping her safe from the water, her hair pulled back, her clothing dark, making her skin seem paler than normal, the glare of the lights keeping them from seeing much about her beyond her exposed face and hands.
"But…Cruella and Ursula…" David shook his head.
"Told me a rather interesting story," Piper cut in, smirking as she looked at them, Mary Margaret swallowing hard, trying to hold in her tears at how…unaffected Piper was to look at them, how little emotion she had in her eyes besides a coldness and an almost dark glee, "About a prince and a princess and a dragon egg."
"No," Mary Margaret reached out for David's arm, seeming physically startled by what Piper was saying.
"Oh yes," Piper tilted her head to eye them, as though calculating something in her mind.
It was true, the story that Ursula and Cruella had told her. At first she hadn't thought to believe it, it was so...not Snow White. But seeing the reaction no the woman's face, on the Shepherd's face...it was confirmation enough that the tale had been true. Which did mean one very important thing.
The plans had changed, and greatly so.
She would need to speak to Gold about what to do next, but it appeared the Queens of Darkness posed another purpose now...or they would if she had her way, which she likely would. Her true love had yet to deny her anything.
"I know all about your past indiscretions in the Enchanted Forest," she continued, "I know what you did to Maleficent, to Emma," her eyes narrowed at that, "I could even guess why."
Mary Margaret flinched at how hard Piper's voice grew in those last five words, "Rose…"
"I am the Piper to you," Piper cut in, her tone cold, "Your sins have now come to light, Snow White. And now you must reap the fruits of what you have sown," she looked between them, "Your actions, their consequences, extend further and to more people than even you could imagine. And now?" she shook her head, "Now it is war. Heroes against Villains. And I shall protect you from them no longer."
She gave them one more smirk before she turned to walk back towards the car.
"I'm sorry!" Mary Margaret called out, making her stop, "I am. I'm so sorry Rose."
Piper paused a single moment, then turned to face her, her expression blank yet hard, "Oh I rather think you shall be," she told them, and continued on her way, leaving Mary Margaret and David standing in the rain, in the darkness, their hearts heavy at her words.
It was war now, it truly was, and this time they would be on opposing sides.
A/N: I got a few asks about Emma and Henry in relation to Piper's heart hardening against Snow, so I just want to answer it here first before talking about the chapter :) Emma and Henry (and Neal) are safe. Piper's half-human side allows her just the smallest bit of control over her instinctive reactions to betrayal. She can see that it was ONLY Snow that had done the deed. She can see that Emma was equally as horrified and wasn't even considering doing the same thing to Gold. Given that Henry was wanting to bring both her and Gold into his Operation with Regina, she knows Henry wasn't the one that wanted her and Gold out of town. They are safe...Snow though...well, as Piper said here, this means war }:)
I can say that the bonds between Piper, Emma, and Henry will actually grow much stronger in this half of the story but we'll have to wait and see how ;)
Some notes on reviews...
Hook is alive, his heart was cut but not crushed, which was sort of touched on in this chapter the result of that ;)
I definitely think that Snow missed that part about Piper letting him have free reign because, so long as he didn't hurt her family, she really didn't care. I think a part of Snow was still thinking of her in terms of Rose Red, that she would care a little about the people, that she wouldn't let it go THAT far, and then the fact she put the town to sleep instead of killing them (despite what Piper told her about her reasons why), a part of Snow thinks that Piper would care a little about the town and maybe that was why Gold hadn't attacked before. But Henry definitely reasoned the flaw in that reasoning too ;)
Emma and Snow have the dagger :( Gold dropped it and Hook's heart when he was finally freed of it, the dagger clattered down to where the others were and Snow grabbed it, she tried to command the Dark One and it didn't work (because he was free), she handed it to Emma at the townline so she could hug/push Gold over it :( Piper, in her devastation and feelings of betrayal, left without the dagger...which is something they're going to try and get back }:)
I don't think Robin would abort the child either, I meant it in a general/modern sense that I don't think anyone could or should look down on a woman for choosing to abort an unwanted-pregnancy conceived through rape, not that Robin would :( I do very much hate that plot twist, but I'm not going to ignore it in the stories, no, I do have a few twists in mind that, to me, would make watching the season play out more bearable if the writers don't have some way to change a few things. So the whole thing wouldn't be erased, but there would be some twists that would allow me to stomach it more in the stories even if I can't in the actual show ;) Ursula, from what I took of her in the show, isn't the sea goddess but named after her, so she's more a sea witch at this point, she and Piper have a small history together that we'll see in the next chapter ;) But they do NOT get on at all. The only reason they were civil before was their lack of powers and magic, now that they're back, and with Gold on Piper's side, there'll be more butting heads coming from them ;)
I can understand the frustration :) Things take time to change and there's things on both sides, for both sexes that they both did wrong over the years that have to change. I feel like women, for the most part, joined the work force because there really isn't much to do at home and a lack of stimulation can be really bad for your mental and physical health. Like, after the kids go to school, there's only so much cleaning you can do and laundry you can do in a day if you've been doing it every single day. Your house is already clean, there's 3 shirts for laundry and not worth wasting product on, there's 0 things to do after that but sit there and wait for the kids to come home. So I can understand women wanting to branch out, to be able to sustain themselves, in the event their spouse possibly dies or leaves them, and stimulate their minds with work outside the home :) So in a general sense of mental and physical health, getting a job was probably very important for women to be happy and be able to keep their homes happy and healthy too :) It's definitely both sides that have to work on things, sexism in the workplace is bad, but so is female rape of male victims. One of my male law professors in college had actually mentioned the women not getting charged as much for crimes and the reason for it is that most people, for so long, genuinely and truly thought women as being lesser and weaker and less capable of doing anything at all, not just crimes, they were mostly a joke so when someone said some woman did a crime, they laughed it off because people genuinely and actually thought women were too stupid to be able to accomplish it, too weak to be able to force a man to do anything. Both thoughts are very wrong, to think that or to do the crimes in general :( I don't think men can be fired for a one time offense of staring at someone's shirt thought, I think they might just get asked not to do it or to be polite, because even in general public, in a less professional setting, it's still not polite to stare at a woman's chest openly. It's actually a little ironic about the courts though, because in the ancient and even medieval world, the courts were very much biased against women, the men had all the right to everything in a woman's life, her land, her money, her titles, even the woman's body, the woman herself (there are contracts out there that literally call women property instead of human beings). It's changed recently and I agree the law should be blind to gender or race or wealth or anything, but that rarely happens across all boards and it's something that needs to change :(
I can say we'll see a moment of Piper's birth in a chapter yup ;)
Lol, I can say that we'll find out before the story is over if Piper is pregnant or not ;)
I have no idea what the final battle is :( That confused me too. Like I was expecting the curse breaks and there's this huge, epic showdown between Emma and Regina or something...and then we had nothing :/ It would have been something if the magic returned while the curse was still in place, lol, I'm imagining what Regina or Gold would have done to the town if the people still had no idea what was going on...which is probably a little evil of me lol :) I've definitely got a lot planned for Emma's darkness and Henry in the next half of the story, I'm very excited to get to it :)
Hook will always have a hard time proving he loves Emma to Piper, she's got it set in her head that he's too focused on Emma and it's not healthy for either of them. If he ever manages to change or do something that has nothing to do with what Emma would think of it, and keep with it, she might start to ease up ;) Maybe in Season 5 lol :)
David's sort of in a hard place. Like he wants to support his wife, because she's devastated and having yet another family member say she was wrong would just crush her and he doesn't want to hurt her. But at the same time, even HE feels like what she did was too rash, but also he feels like they couldn't just sit there and wait to see if Gold would attack the town and risk someone getting hurt just to see if he changed :/ She's starting to see it was wrong, but she's clinging to it needing to be right so that she doesn't completely breakdown over betraying her cousin like that :( I can say Pinocchio is safe too, Piper counts him more 'her son' than 'Snow's people' :) I like to think Swanfire could have been a lovely thing if some things were different, or if we'd gotten to see more of Neal and his inner thoughts about things. I plan for them to be more present in my Lyssa story than here ;) Lol, I think a few people might join you with some torches and their pitchforks too ;)