Unforgiven
Emma strolled down the streets of Storybrooke, her hands in her pockets as it was still a bit chilly, Hook walking beside her as they headed for Granny's Diner, about to meet her parents for lunch. She slowed, however, when they reached the entrance to the path that led to the establishment, seeing Cruella and Ursula walking towards them from the diner. Ursula looked up, catching eyes with Hook and gave him a cold greeting as she passed, "Hook."
Emma frowned, seeing Hook tense at the single word, refusing to look back as Ursula and Cruella walked down the street towards the de Vil car, "You know her?"
She should have guessed that, sea witch, sea captain, but she would have thought he'd mention that to her last night when she'd told him about the two new residents in town. But he'd said nothing at all.
"Aye, love," Hook sighed, "I encountered many a vile creature on my voyages."
She opened her mouth to ask what sort of encounter he'd had with the woman when she heard her father calling out to her, "Emma!" before he too rushed out of the diner and towards her, "I'm glad you're here. We have to go."
"What?" she blinked, "Now? We just came to meet you for lunch. I've been dying for a grilled cheese all day…"
David shook his head, cutting in, "It'll have to wait. You're aware we have two new friends in town. They're up to something. If we hurry, we can pick up the trail."
Emma gave him an odd look for that, it had barely been 12 hours and she highly doubted that the two were 'up to something' already, and even if they were, how would the man know? But she sighed, giving him the benefit of the doubt, "Looks like duty calls," she mumbled to Hook before she turned and walked towards the sheriff's car David had driven to the diner, getting in the passenger's seat as David practically ran to the driver's side, sliding into the seat and nearly speeding off down the street after Cruella's fading trail, not stopping or slowing till the car was in sight once more…and pulling up right outside Gold's shop.
~8~
Piper looked up as she stood in the middle of Gold's shop, her hand rubbing her chest as she concentrated on taking deep breaths, her other hand resting on the counter for balance. She straightened, her face, which had been scrunched in pain, flattening to a blank mask when she heard the bells above the door ring. She turned to see Ursula and Cruella stepping into the shop, just as planned.
She and Gold had discussed the best way to continue their plans, their new plans that had been adapted now that she knew the tale behind Maleficent and Snow White was in fact truth. She had had a fair hand in hammering out the smaller details.
She knew her cousin's mind better than anyone. For as SHE had changed in the years of separation from Snow White, Snow had truly not changed at all. She could still guess what went on in the woman's mind. She could predict what Snow would do, what she'd think, how she'd react. She knew exactly what her cousin would do with the right triggers and threats and open ended guesses to work with.
Which was why she was there, waiting for the two women to pick up the first step in this part of their mission. She had come to the shop early, too early for others to be around and see her. She doubted, actually, that Mary Margaret or David had told Emma or Henry that she was back in town. If she knew the secret they'd been keeping from Emma, there was no way they would tell Emma she was there. Because Emma would, undoubtedly seek her out, and who knew what might slip out of her mouth about why she was back and why she was working with the Queens of Darkness instead of reconciling with her dear cousin.
She would reach out to Emma eventually, she promised herself that. She wanted to see though just how much Mary Margaret would tell Emma first, if she would tell her anything at all.
"Did you find it?" Ursula got right to point.
Piper took a deep breath, fighting to keep from making a remark to the sea witch, but knowing that she had to play nice…for now. She wasn't in a good state at the moment to spark a battle with the woman, and Ursula's tentacles would harm her more at the moment, her body being weaker than it should be due to Mary Margaret's actions. It would not do well at all to have Ursula or anyone else attack her at that moment.
She reached out and picked up a small box off the counter, turning and holding it in her hands, "You mean this?" she held it up, wiggling it a bit so the object inside clanked.
"Well give it here darling," Cruella stepped forward, holding out a hand to her, "Best get on with our business, before the heroes get too suspicious," she laughed at that last part.
Their entire plan rested entirely on the Charming couple being suspicious of the two Queens before her.
"Then get yourself gone," Piper handed it over, "And be quick about it. The sooner Maleficent is restored, the closer you are to your happy endings."
She stood tall, watching as the two women nodded at each other and turned to leave, staying tall…till they were out of the door, before she let out the breath she'd been holding, nearly sagging back against the counter, her hand coming up to her chest, rubbing it more firmly than before.
She was quite certain that her anger at Mary Margaret, the desire to see them shaken, to let them know exactly what they'd done to her, had been the only reason she'd been able to confront them last night without collapsing. Being back in Storybrooke…it wasn't good, for her or Gold, but it had to be done, this was the only place they would be able to find what they needed.
She looked over at the window, hearing an engine rev and pushed her way towards it, peering out through the blinds to see Cruella drive off with Ursula…and David following close behind in the sheriff's car.
She smirked at that, perfect, and pulled out her cellphone, quickly sending a text to Gold to let him know step one had been successful, waiting a moment longer, waiting to make sure David was truly gone before she stepped out of the shop and made her way across the street to the not-yet-open library, intent to join Gold down below.
~8~
Gold stood at the edge of the cavern at the base of the library's elevator shaft, looking out at the darkness that Maleficent had been held in for 28 years. He pulled out his phone, seeing a text from Piper that had a smirk appearing across his face. He stepped out, looking at the ground, seeing the palest of grey flecks scattered along, mixed in with the dirt.
Well, that wouldn't do.
"Won't be long now, Maleficent, my dear," he grinned, holding out his hand, waving it gently before him, causing a breeze of air to ripple along the dirt, sifting out the grey specks and gathering them right at his feet in a neat little pile.
A pile that would be so neat and conveniently placed the heroes would likely not even consider something was amiss about it.
The fools.
He crouched down, taking a handful of the ashes in his hand, letting it fall through his fingers, "Your slumber is nearly over."
"And ours should just begin," Piper's voice spoke from behind him, the elevator moving silently down due to his magic, "I am exhausted Rummy and we shall have quite a while to wait before Snow White decides on her next course of action."
He stood, brushing off his hands and turned to face her, "We can't leave just yet Pip."
"Oh?" she tilted her head, glancing at the pile of ashes and back to him, "Our part is now done, is it not?"
"For THIS mission, yes," he agreed, "But there is another matter to settle, one that I refuse to leave this spot till we have dealt with."
Her lips pursed at that, already knowing what he was getting at, "I will not," she told him, sounding more like she was repeating something she'd said far too many times.
"You have to Pip."
"No," she shook her head, her eyes narrowing, "You gave me your heart, you cannot have it back."
"It's killing you Piper," he argued, before scoffing, holding his arms out, "It's killing the both of us now that we're here in Storybrooke once more."
And it was, now that they were in a magical area, the magic of the hearts they'd swapped was working as it should. More than it should. What was happening to his heart was too powerful to not affect her as well and his heart was in her chest, even so it was still connected to him, to his magic, to his lifeforce…and his heart was failing.
All because of Snow White.
But that was another matter he would seek personal revenge against the woman for.
Right now, right now he needed to get Piper to give his heart back, so he might return hers as well. The heart inside her was affecting her, she had spent so many years with it inside her, it was failing to sustain her just as much as it was physically affecting him. They were both feeling the effects of the strain on it, and it would make the process that was wearing at it happen that much faster if it was working to affect two people instead of just the one person it was meant for.
"Rummy…" Piper shook her head slowly.
He stepped forward, taking her hand, "Piper, we HAVE to do this," he reached up, touching her face with his other hand, "If you keep my heart in your chest, all that's going to happen is it fails quicker, and it takes us both down with it," it likely wouldn't kill her in the end, not now, but it would affect her, "It will weaken us both, it already is," he squeezed her hand, recalling how tightly she'd gripped him last night, how pale she had been, how she stumbled and swayed more than she ever had just that morning alone, "We cannot afford the two of us to be weakened, our enemies WILL use it against us."
Piper took a sharp breath at that, it had been one reason she had not breathed a word of it to the Charming couple last night. The last thing she wanted was for Snow White or her prince to see a weakness to exploit and she did not doubt that Charming would leap at the chance to do so.
"If we do this," she began, "YOU will weaken."
"I know," he nodded slowly, understanding that she was trying to protect him, that she was fully aware of how much he loathed to be weak, "And I will bear that, if it means you are safe," he leaned in, pressing a kiss to her lips before resting his forehead to hers, "It is not just us Pip," he murmured, "We are not in this alone. We cannot afford anyone to see us both weakened. If one of us must be, let it be me."
"I am not exactly at my strongest right now," she argued weakly.
He smiled at that, pulling away, "You will be," he promised her, lifting his hand holding hers to her chest, pressing her hand just over her heart, "Please."
Piper looked into his eyes, not wanting to do this, not wanting to force him to endure the weakness he had always tried to fight against…but he was right. Leaving his heart in her chest would only cause them both to be affected. This way…this way she could at least protect him still.
She sighed, nodding slightly and pushed her hand into her chest, pulling out his small, blackened heart. She took a deep breath as she saw it for the first time in many weeks, it was darker than she remembered it. She swallowed hard, watching as he pulled out her heart and handed it to her. She quickly pushed it back into her chest, closing her eyes as she felt her emotions return so much more powerfully, she gave herself only a moment to adapt to the sensation of having her heart in her chest after 30 years without it. She opened her eyes and looked up at Gold, tugging his heart back when he reached for it.
"Let me?"
He nodded, lowering his hand and waiting.
She reached up, placing one hand just beside his heart, on the center of his chest, holding the other up right before the spot it belonged in. She glanced up at him, "It is…ironic," she murmured.
"What is?"
"For so many years, it was you who were stronger, you who protected me," she looked back down at his heart, "Now it is my turn."
It was a vow as well as a mere observation, one she swore on everything still important in her life that she would see through to the end as she pushed his heart back into his chest, and sunk down to her knees with him as he crumbled from the pain…
~8~
Mary Margaret and David were deadly silent as they walked through the mines under the town searching for the cavern under the library where Maleficent had been slain. They had been careful not to go through the library entrance, it would cause too many questions so it had been through the mines they'd had to go. They felt terrible for lying to Emma about what they were doing, telling her they were going on a hike, but it had to be done. David and Emma had followed the two Queens of Darkness from Gold's, searched their car for anything they might have stolen from the abandoned shop, and found a small bauble of Maleficent's, like a bird's talon holding onto a small dark crystal ball. It had been one of the woman's most prized possessions, enormously important to her...and it was then they realized that Ursula and Cruella were planning to enact a resurrection spell and bring Maleficent back. They had been so afraid the two women would come for the bauble or find another possession to use instead and that left one option...find Maleficent's ashes and take them and...and dump them in the harbor or something, anything to ensure that the two women couldn't bring the dragon back.
"David!" Snow gasped, pointing with her flashlight to a small pile of gray ashes lying in the middle of the cavern, "There it is!"
"Maleficent's ashes," he nodded as they hurried over to it.
"We did it," she breathed a sigh of relief, "We stopped them!"
She had only just started to smile when another voice spoke behind them.
"Not exactly," Ursula smirked at them, before lashing out her tentacles and sending them flying back, knocking them out, sprawled on the ground.
"Well done," Piper murmured as she and Gold stepped out from the shadows to look down at the fallen prince and princess. She knew she should care, she should have turned on Ursula, attacked her for daring to harm her cousin…
But she found she genuinely didn't care.
What an odd sensation to feel against one's own family…
"I trust they don't suspect our hand in all this?" Gold mused, eyeing the duo.
"They had no reason to," Ursula shrugged.
"They didn't see you speaking to Pip in the shop?" he started to smirk imagining the shock on their faces.
"Not at all darling," Cruella smirked.
"Then shall we begin?" he pulled a small compact knife from his pocket, handing it to Cruella after opening it, winding his arm around Piper's waist to watch though she knew it was more for extra support. He did rather enjoy having her within reach than his cane at times.
"With pleasure," Cruella took the knife and strode forward, slashing at Mary Margaret's hand, causing the woman to gasp awake from the pain, before doing the same to David, stepping back before they could react.
"What the hell did you do?" Mary Margaret looked at her, wide eyed, not seeing Piper or Gold standing behind her.
"The dark magic we're using to raise Maleficent doesn't require some silly little trinket from Gold's shop," Cruella spat, taking delight in the moment they realized it was a trap, "No, that was just a ruse to get you down here."
"You couldn't have known we'd…"
"I could," Piper's voice spoke behind them, making Mary Margaret tense and look over her shoulder, seeing Piper among the two Queens, apparently having been part of this plot, "You heroes are truly so easy to predict."
"You…you're helping them?" Mary Margaret gasped.
"Tell me truly, Snow White," Piper's eyes narrowed, "Have you EVER seen me as a Siren? Ever tried to understand that side of me?" she tsked mockingly, "You should know how we can be when we are dealt betrayal, especially by family!" Mary Margaret flinched at that, "What did you expect would happen when you banished my true love?" she nearly spat, Gold winding his arm around her more and squeezing her lightly to calm her, knowing that having her heart in her chest was making her more on edge about this.
"She was ever so helpful, darling," Cruella laughed, "And now, we have all we need to raise the dragon once more."
"Blood of those who wronged her most," Piper smirked.
Mary Margaret and David turned just in time to see Cruella flick the knife at the pile of ashes, the moment each of their blood hit it, the pile began to hiss, the wind in the room rushing past, surrounding the ashes and causing them to rise into the air, clumping together, starting to form bigger pieces.
"We're too late!" Mary Margaret gasped as she and David scrambled to their feet, clutching each other as they watched the pieces stick together and grow, turning red and black as a screaming growl ripped through the air, a form of a dragon appearing before them before it slammed down at the ground in a swirl of purple/black smoke…
And out from it stepped Maleficent, dressed in her black garb, her horned headpiece, and staff.
"It's good to be back," she grinned at the two Queens of Darkness, lifting an eyebrow when she saw Gold and Piper standing on the opposite side of the cavern.
"Whatever it is you think we did, you don't know the whole story!" Mary Margaret rushed towards Maleficent with David, pleading with her.
"I know enough," Maleficent spat, her smile gone.
"Patience, Mal," Cruella called, "We have a plan."
"You wanna hurt someone?" Mary Margaret baited, "Well, hurt me. Leave David alone."
"Look at you, Snow White," Piper mused darkly, "Rising to the defense of your true love. Ooh, I suppose that is only a noble thing to do when one is considered a hero."
Mary Margaret flinched at that.
But Maleficent chuckled, seeming pleased with how Piper was taunting her, "Now why would I hurt you? No," she shook her head, "That would be far too easy."
"Revenge is sweetest when it is ripe," Piper agreed. Mary Margaret frowned at Piper for that, "Oh do not look so surprised, Snow White, you, of all people, know what Sirens do in coping with betrayal."
Mary Margaret's eyes widened at that, looking between the two women, "You're going to tell everyone what we did…"
"Oh not everyone," Piper taunted, "I do have a select few in mind that deserve to know..."
"Rose don't…"
"PIPER," Piper hissed at her, Gold chuckling behind her as he tugged her closer, winding his other arm around her, swaying her gently to soothe her, knowing he should likely get the woman out of there fairly soon before she lost control.
"Let her tell who she wants," Maleficent shrugged, "I don't care about your secret. You can try to get her to keep it as long as you like. I only care about one thing…" she stepped closer to the Charming couple, "Your pain," she eyed Mary Margaret with an suspicious expression when the woman's gaze quickly turned to Piper, as though expecting her to do something, to…stop her…but Piper just leaned back into the Dark One's arms, smirking in return, "And that it be as long and terrible and unyielding as my own," she continued, drawing their attention back to herself, "The pain you caused."
"I forgot how much I missed her," Ursula remarked.
"It's going to be entertaining," Cruella agreed.
Almost as entertaining as watching two cousins duke it out too.
"I'm gonna revel in every torturous moment," Maleficent told them, "And you? You're gonna watch your world crumble. See you soon, dears."
And, with that, the Queens of Darkness disappeared in swirls of black smoke.
Mary Margaret spun to face her cousin, a pleading look in her eyes, but Piper merely gave a mocking wave before Gold had them disappearing in a swirl of red, making her realize she was well and truly alone in this, Piper was NOT going to protect her from the threats against her any longer.
"This is all our fault," Mary Margaret breathed, "If we hadn't been so determined to keep our secret. If we'd just asked for help…"
David nodded, "You're right. We can't keep lying," he looked at his wife, solemn, "We have to tell Emma everything."
~8~
Emma frowned as she sat in the sheriff's station, thinking about how off and weird today was, namely how off and weird her parents and even Hook had been. David had taken her on a car chase after Cruella, insisting that they search her car incase she stole anything from Gold's, because there was no one there to manage the shop, no one that wanted to, not even the fairies, and they HAD to have taken something from it. He'd pulled them over, forced them out of the car, and searched it…just to tell her that there was nothing there.
And that was a lie, she was sure of it.
She'd tried to say that they should go to the sheriff's station then, check on the security footage of Gold's shop, see if there was any evidence that they took something or what.
He'd brushed her off to check in on Mary Margaret and Neal. Which wasn't odd…but he'd been so gung-ho that there was something going on and that the two women HAD to have taken something that he just…gave up too easily. And when she'd asked if he was ok, he'd said yes.
And that was a lie.
Then Hook had tried to give her a grilled cheese from Granny's which was admittedly thoughtful, but had grown very tense when she'd asked him how he knew Ursula. He'd gotten defensive. Told her that she was one of many sea monsters he came across on his trips…and then added that he actually didn't recall much of their meeting.
Another lie.
She'd been so frustrated that she'd gone on a walk, deciding to go check on Neal and also tell David that her search of the shop's security HAD turned up something. Well, two somethings. Apparently, the night she and Hook had had their first official date he'd beaten Will Scarlet outside the library, the footage just barely able to pick it up in the periphery of the screen. She tried not to get angry about it, that he'd kept that from her, because that date fell within the time that he said the Dark One had cursed his hand to turn him into the pirate he'd been. She tried to file it away as just one of the things the hand made him do.
But then she'd fast forward to the footage of just that day and seen Ursula and Cruella walking out with a box in their hand, a small wooden box. So they HAD taken something. She wanted to tell David, as deputy, so they could really go investigate the two women, maybe bring them in for questioning…and came upon her parents putting rope and other supplies into the trunk of his car. She'd told them about the footage, about how they should go pick up the two women for questioning…
And David had completely brushed it off, telling her that she was jumping the gun, that they couldn't be sure they stole anything or that there as anything in the box or not. She'd been stunned, because two hours before that he'd been so hell bent on them being up to something that he'd made her miss lunch. Then her mother had said that they were going on a hike.
One more lie to add to the pile.
One more lie that made it so that three of the most important people to her had lied to her face.
She had never wanted her aunt there more than in that moment. Piper would never have let them get away with it. She would have called them out, demanded an answer, or, better yet, told her the truth, flat out, blunt as can be. But she would have told her what the others were hiding from her.
It just didn't make sense! Even if they WERE going hiking, did they actually expect it to be the right thing to do? They'd been raging that there was a crisis and something bad going on, and suddenly, two hours later, they were saying that it was just their prejudice and that they had to step back and give the two women an actual chance instead of treating them like villains just because that was how they knew them in the Enchanted Forest.
She had been SO tempted to ask them where that sentiment was with Piper and Gold.
She wouldn't have been able to regardless, neither of her parents had let her get a word in. Going on and on about how they saw the worst in the two women and that they couldn't begin to redeem themselves if everyone expected the worst in them, that they had to see the best.
And she had never been more angry at them going on about that, because Piper! Gold! Really WHERE was that sentiment when her mother was shoving her cousin's true love over the town line? Where was that thought that they needed to see the best in the villains?
She had been so angry that she'd been shaking, glaring at them, before she turned to storm away before she said something she would regret.
They'd called after her, sounding concerned but she was just too angry to listen to them or their excuses of how 'oh but Ursula and Cruella didn't do nearly as much evil as Rumpelstiltskin or the Pied Piper.' Or 'oh but there's a way to stop them!' Or even 'oh but they're not as powerful, not as much a threat.' She just did not want to hear their excuses and left before her anger could get the best of her.
But she was just…even now she was still fuming at them. Hook was lying, her parents were lying, they were becoming the biggest hypocrites she had ever met and she just didn't understand why no one was telling her the truth.
She really wished her aunt was there.
Because who else could she talk to? Every other person in the town was a hero, one that would go running back to her parents at the barest hint that she thought they weren't being real heroes. The fairies were on her parents' side and so righteous that she almost couldn't stomach them. August was a kid (and don't even get her started on how Regina had conned her into trying to jog August's memories and then went off on the boy). And Henry was working nonstop on Operation Mongoose, she didn't want to burden him and Regina well…she wasn't exactly calm or rational at the moment.
Her aunt would have listened, no matter what was going on, she would have found time to sit down and listen to her.
She looked up, cut out from her thoughts, when she heard the door to the station open and Hook enter, "Well, Swan, why did you summon me?"
"Because I know there's something about your past with Ursula you're not telling me," she began, getting right to the point, "And I don't like that."
"Well I'm sorry," he huffed, "But it's MY past. And I'll share it when I like."
"And see that's the problem," Emma pointed at him, "You ask me about my past, anything at all, and I'll tell you what you want to know. I ask you one simple thing, how do you know Ursula, and I get lie after lie. That you just encountered her in passing, that you had some sort of issue with her, that you can't even remember how you know her," she shook her head, "We all have a past Hook, and yeah, yours is a little farther reaching and darker than mine, but I want to know YOU. I don't…I don't want this front you keep putting on around me, I don't want this act. I don't want you to try pretending to be some man you think I'd want instead of who you are."
She had spent a lot of the last six weeks thinking about things Piper had said, reviewing everything she knew of Hook, thinking back to all their past interactions, considering the things he'd said and she'd realized…Piper had been right. So much of the things Hook had done had been for her, about her, with her in mind.
This last incident had really hit it home for her. She asked him about one past adventure, one that clearly hadn't ended well. And he brushed it off, clammed up, refused to talk. Refused to tell her what he'd done in his past that wasn't a 'heroic' thing. He wasn't telling her what he'd really been like, he wasn't telling her any of the bad and she knew there had to be a lot of it. She didn't want that, she didn't want some show.
She'd gotten enough of that from Walsh, now she was getting it from Hook.
It seemed like the only one that didn't put on a show was Neal, and that was mostly because he hadn't known she was the Savior or Snow White's daughter. And she could accept him not speaking of his father or childhood in completely truthful tones. She would have had him committed for saying his father was Rumpelstiltskin, but he WAS truthful. He did tell her things, he just substituted things at time. He would talk about how his father was addicted to power, to other things, let her think it was drugs and magic, she supposed, could be like that, especially dark magic. He told her about being a lonely child, about being abandoned, about his mother leaving him, and it was all true. He just never specified how or when, but it was true in spirit.
Hook was flat out lying to her, had been for a while if Piper was to be believed from the start. She didn't want the show, she wanted to know the real man, the pirate behind everything. And she hated that he didn't tell her anything that let her get to know HIM instead of the him he pretended to be when she was around.
She understood some of his actions when he came clean about Gold taking his heart and their date, but other parts she could almost hear Piper in her head pointing out the negatives. Hook had tried to blackmail the Dark One to get what he wanted. He'd lied to her because he thought she wouldn't like what he'd done. Not because he was ashamed, not because he was being forced, but he thought it would affect the image she had of him in her mind. There was just so much she was starting to realize about him, so much he kept from her, and if this was going to work out, this…relationship or whatever it was, she needed Hook to be honest with her.
And she needed to sit down with Henry and talk about why he didn't like Hook. Kids were perceptive, maybe he'd been able to tell when she hadn't that the man had been lying to her from the start. Whatever it was she'd resolved to talk to him first, she wanted Henry's blessing for whatever this might be.
If Snow White's cousin could love the Dark One, darkness and all, if her mother could find love for the Evil Queen, why couldn't she love Captain Hook?
But she needed him to start being open and honest with her.
She need to know the pirate in order to love him.
"If you want there to even be a possibility of an us," she gestured between them, "I need you to not lie to me. You want to wait to tell me, fine, but don't lie to me now about it. Just say you'll tell me soon, when you're ready to talk. That's all I need to hear."
"I'll tell you soon," Hook echoed, "When I'm ready to talk."
Emma pursed her lips at that, though she knew she shouldn't have been surprised he'd gone for that tactic and taken that out.
"Fine," she huffed, rubbing her head, "Look, I'm sorry for giving you an ultimatum, but I've had it up to here," she put her hand by her neck, "With people lying to me today. You, my parents…"
"Your parents?" Hook frowned.
"They said they were going on a hike," she turned and moved to sit on a small couch, Hook taking a rolling stool instead of sitting beside her, which she was grateful for.
"Were they?"
"I don't think so," Emma shook her head, "My superpower has been going crazy all day…" she rubbed her eyes, "I just want to know why."
"We didn't want you to get hurt," Mary Margaret's voice spoke from across the room, making Emma look up at her, "We did lie," she frowned at that, "And we're so sorry Emma, but we didn't want to risk you getting hurt…"
"What did you do?" Emma sat up, tense.
"We followed Cruella and Ursula," David admitted, "And they WERE up to something."
"They resurrected Maleficent," Mary Margaret said bluntly, though keeping out their own involvement in it.
Emma blinked at that, "The dragon that I slayed under the clock tower?"
"Dragon?" Hook glanced between the three of them, "I thought she was some sort of mummified beast."
"Well, whatever she was, she's back to her old self now," David sighed.
"And as long as she's in town, no one is safe," Mary Margaret agreed.
"I don't get it," Emma tried to work it out, "Why are these witches waging war against us?"
Mary Margaret and David looked at each other a moment, catching each other's gaze before David sighed.
"Because…" Mary Margaret began, before chickening out, "Because they're villains," she stated, "And we're heroes."
She could only hope Emma would forgive them for yet another lie.
~8~
Regina frowned as she stood in the rain, a wide umbrella above her, waiting for Mary Margaret as she got out of her car and walked over, "What's with all the cloak-and-dagger?" she called, curious about the mysterious summons she'd received to meet the woman at the edge of town, to make sure she came alone and that no one saw her.
"Maleficent's back," Mary Margaret got right to it.
Regina let out a huff of air, "I should've known fish sticks and pound puppy were here for more than a second chance."
"They wanna destroy our happy endings. All of them."
"How do they hope to do that?"
"That's where you come in," Mary Margaret straightened, "We need to find out what they're planning. We need to get someone close to them, someone they believe to be a villain. We want you to go undercover with them and help us stop their plans."
Regina blinked at that, at the list of…not requests but demands that had just been issued to her. It was…a lot to ask of her, almost too much given all the effort she'd put into being a hero and changing for the better, to ask her to go back to that even for a cover? It had to be much worse than just another threat to their happy endings. There had been PLENTY of them, and she'd never seen the woman react like this or go this far in her demands.
"And you think they're just going to welcome me into their coven with open arms?" she inquired.
"Regina, you used to be one of them…"
"They think I'm a hero now," she cut in, "They'll never believe I want in."
"So find a way to make them believe!"
Regina frowned at that, seeing an almost desperation in Mary Margaret's eyes, "What makes you so sure they're dead set on destroying us?"
Mary Margaret was silent a moment, before speaking very quietly, "Because Rose has joined them," she told the woman, "Because Sirens…they take revenge when they've been betrayed. You remember that."
Regina's grip on her umbrella tightened at that, remembering Piper's revenge against her, how she had killed Cora in front of her eyes to exact it, "Yes."
Mary Margaret nodded, looking away, "I banished Gold over the townline…and Rose went with him, because of what I did. I betrayed my cousin," she winced, thinking about everything she and David had said to Emma that morning.
Even though most of it had been a lie, it had made her think about everything she'd said. They had claimed they wanted to see the best in the new villains, not treat them like villains, and that was exactly what she'd not done to Gold. She had treated him like a villain and not her cousin's true love, she hadn't thought about the Dagger Piper had had the entire time as Henry mentioned, she hadn't given a second chance to a person that had a stronger tie to her family than Regina did…and now her cousin, her half-siren cousin, she was left with only one course of action, revenge.
Against her.
"Well that's a revenge against you," Regina pointed out, "She would take that just on you, no one else. She wouldn't dare harm Henry or Emma, not Neal either and their happy endings would be included in the 'all,'" she frowned, "So why would you think that the others want to take revenge on all the other happy endings?"
Mary Margaret closed her eyes, knowing she shouldn't have hoped that Regina would take it as just Piper wanting the revenge, it seemed like one thing had still stuck with the town despite their now happiness that Piper had been 'banished' along with Gold for freeing the man from the Dagger…that she did love her family, more than anything, there was no one that doubted that any longer, "Because of something David and I did a long time ago. Regina, you once asked me to…" she cut off, her emotions getting the best of her as she tried not to cry, "Regina, you once asked me to keep a secret. And I couldn't. But I'm gonna ask you to keep one for me. One Emma can never learn."
"What is it?" she tried to ask it gently.
Mary Margaret took a deep breath, "Emma was born with the potential for great darkness."
Regina raised an eyebrow at that, it sounded ridiculous, "She's the savior. A hero. Her magic's as light as it gets."
"Because David and I went to extraordinary lengths to make sure it was."
"If you ensured her goodness, why can't you tell her?"
"The same reason you don't want Henry to hear about all the terrible things you did in your past," Mary Margaret explained, "You wanna protect him so he doesn't lose faith in the person you've become, the person he always believed you could be. That's why Emma can never find out what I'm about to tell you. She's finally starting to open up her heart. And if she learns the truth, if we let her down, she'll lose faith in us, and it could send her tumbling down a dark path…" her voice broke at that, more than just her thoughts and feelings on what she'd done to Emma hitting her, "Because when you betray the people you love, when you make them see the worst parts of you…what you've done changes everything. There's no going back. You've shattered the bonds you worked so hard to forge. And the stronger those bonds once were…" she shook her head, tears in her eyes, "The more difficult they are to put back together," she scoffed lightly, "If they can be repaired at all."
Regina eyed her a long moment, "Are we still talking about Emma?" she hesitated, "Or are we speaking about your cousin too?"
"Both," Mary Margaret sniffled, trying to keep it together, trying to be strong, even though the thought of just how badly she'd broken the bonds between herself and Piper killed her to admit, "What we did to Emma…what I did to Emma…I did because of Rose. Because I saw what she was becoming, I saw what…what her darkness was doing to her. And I couldn't," her voice cracked entirely at that, the tears starting to fall, "I couldn't bear that for Emma too. And I knew…I knew there was a chance, a stronger chance than David thought, that Emma would take after Rose," she held up her palm, showing Regina the scar across it, "We became blood sisters when we were young, and I couldn't shake the feeling that, what hadn't affected me would affect my child. I had to watch as my cousin, my sweet, innocent cousin, grew darker every time I saw her. I saw the life she was forced to live, the turmoil it caused, the strife, the fear, the pain, the tears…" she shook her head, barely stifling a sob, "I didn't want that for Emma too. I thought…I thought we could save her from that fate, I thought we could save her from the darkness that had gotten Rose. I thought it would just keep Emma from becoming a villain. Maleficent got caught in the middle and she suffered greatly, because of us."
"I don't understand," Regina shook her head, "What exactly did you do to Maleficent?"
Mary Margaret looked at Regina for a long while, before admitting, so quietly it almost couldn't be heard over the storm around them, "Because of us Maleficent lost her child."
~8~
In a cabin in the woods, Piper stood before a small desk, a small crystal ball the size of her palm in her hand, enchanted to show her whatever she wanted of Storybrooke, whoever she wished to observe. She watched, she listened, as Mary Margaret spoke to Regina of her plans to infiltrate the Queens of Darkness, the three women off somewhere else to catch Maleficent up while she and Gold remained in the cabin. She watched and listened her grip growing tighter and tighter on the glass as she heard Mary Margaret speak her reasons for doing what she had done to Emma.
She closed her eyes and slammed the crystal ball down onto the table hard enough to crack it, taking a deep breath to try and still her nerves. It shouldn't surprise her, it shouldn't still hurt, to hear what the woman had said, why the woman had feared for Emma so terribly as to do what she had done. It shouldn't surprise her, she'd already guessed why Snow White would have done such a thing. But it did still hurt, to hear it come from Snow White's own mouth, because it was nothing more than confirmation of something she had feared for much of her life, it was an affirmation of doubts she'd had about her dear cousin, it was proof that Snow White had lied to her all those years.
Snow White hadn't wanted her daughter to become like HER.
So what did that mean for what Snow White truly thought of her all those years?
What did it mean for all those times Snow had promised that she loved her and accepted her, darkness and all, if she was so against her daughter having even a spark of darkness in her?
She felt Gold step up behind her, resting his hands on her shoulders and squeezing, trying to comfort her, "I'm sorry Pip."
But Piper just shook her head, her hand tightening on the glass ball, hunching a bit more as she cursed her human half for even now, even with her heart hardened against Snow White...it was still breaking in her chest at what Snow had just revealed.
~8~
Henry sat in the Mayor's office, looking over the storybook…or seeming to, really he was just staring blankly at a random page, the Swan Princess, lost in thought. His mother had been…harsh to Pinocchio earlier that day. He had told her that August had managed to add his story and a little of Piper's to the book a while ago, and she had thought that it meant he HAD to know more about the book, that he had to have some extra knowledge about it.
He honestly wasn't sure how much he believed that what August had done was all that remarkable. It was a book. HE could work out how to take apart the binding and stitch in new pages too. It wasn't that hard or extraordinary.
But his mother had been so hopeful that it meant something he hadn't had the heart to tell her his thoughts.
She'd gone and requested Gepetto bring Pinocchio there to look at the book, to see if he might be able to remember anything about it. He hadn't. So she'd called Emma there in an effort to get her to jog August's memory in the boy. That hadn't worked either and his mother had gotten really worked up. She'd started shouting at the boy, scaring him, insulting him…her voice had been cracking and he really wasn't sure why she'd gotten so angry or upset, it had been a longshot to start with and they all knew Pinocchio had no memory of being August, so why had she thought the book would change that?
Still, she'd gone to apologize to Gepetto for yelling at his son, all on her own, without him needing to remark on it, which was huge for his mom. She'd come back, even more upset though. Gepetto had mentioned to her that his son had had some belongings he'd brought with him from the land without magic, that maybe he had more information there that might help…but that all August's belongings he'd given to Piper, to help her cope with the loss of the son she had raised. He had his boy back, he had never needed to know August, he was getting to raise his son once more. But Piper had lost all of that, so he'd offered her his belongings to keep.
His mother had gone to Gold's house, the one he shared with Piper to see if she could find the possessions…but there was nothing. She'd found nothing, and she'd felt like she'd missed an opportunity for another clue and was blaming herself.
He didn't like that, and he knew August had other pages of the book, ones he hadn't added yet, scraps he'd said when he asked about it once. He just…needed to find it.
He turned the page, blinking as he saw a picture of a blonde woman leading a line of children out of a town and smiled.
He didn't know where the other pages were…but he might know someone that did.
A/N: Poor Piper :'( I wanted to establish early on why Mary Margaret was SO scared of the 'potential' darkness in Emma. It made no sense at all to me that Snowing would freak out so much over the possibility that Emma could have maybe possibly grown up to be a villain decades down the road because, as a baby, they WOULD have the potential to be good or evil as good and evil are not born they are made...and babies aren't anything yet. Snow had the potential as a baby, Charming had the potential, Glinda the Good, the Blue Fairy, Cora all had the potential. A baby hasn't lived or learned or had experiences yet, so why would they freak out so much that Emma might not be a hero one day? Why take it to such an extreme? I can understand if the Author created the means to deal with Emma's darkness, but I can't quite get behind that he made the choice for them, just offered them the option and watched. It didn't seem like they would doubt their parental abilities that much and they had no knowledge that their baby would be needed for the curse at that point, so I thought...maybe Show, knowing about the blood magic she and Piper used as children, would see that as a reason to really fear that the child would actually have more of a chance at becoming dark, that they would have a preference towards the dark because of that little bit of Piper in her :(
And in that sense, Snow White had to see her cousin growing up and growing darker and darker and it scared her. In the deepest parts of her mind and heart, it scared her to see her cousin becoming that from the sweet and mostly innocent little girl she grew up with, not just because it made Piper more siren-like, but because of how everyone else treated her, how that affected her cousin, the lengths she was willing to go for things, just an overall sense of seeing someone consumed by darkness day after day, year after year, and how much it both hurt and scared her cousin, how much stress and fear and tears it caused her, before she eventually just let it happen. She did not want that for her daughter, she didn't want Emma to suffer what her cousin had.
And while Snow might see it as that, that she just wanted to avoid hurt for Emma later...all it's doing is hurting Piper in the now, as it's coming across like it's Piper's fault she did what she did, that if Piper had just been normal Snow White would never have feared for her daughter or gone as far as she did. Piper's taking it as Snow was THAT against the darkness, against what made Piper who she was, that she would go that far to ensure her daughter never ever came close to being like her cousin. And it hurts Piper that much more that her cousin seems to have hated what she was that much after years of saying she loved her and accepted her :'( And now that we see a few traits in Emma that belong to Piper, she could have possibly been a little right to fear it...and that hurts all the more, because it really means, to Piper, that Snow did not want her daughter to be like HER, that she didn't want that darkness in even her cousin at all, that she could not accept it as completely as she claimed if she felt the need to destroy all chance of it in Emma :'(
I feel like it's a little different, how Piper tried to protect her family from darkness infecting their hearts, compared to Snow. For Piper, what she's doing affects only her, it darkens/hardens her own heart so that the same action won't harm her family. She's the one that takes the full brunt of doing something dark or evil. What Snow did involved babies and destroying possibilities, ripping out darkness, and affected the babies in question and didn't really affect Snow in her actions the way it's affected Piper in her own actions :( What Piper does to protect Snow or Emma affects herself, not them. What Snow did to 'protect' Emma affected Emma and another baby, not Snow :(
Also, was anyone a little curious why Emma didn't ask her parents how they knew that Cruella and Ursula brought Maleficent back in the show? Like she was JUST talking about how they said they were going on a hike and she doubted them...and then they come in talking about three women that were likely not ever going to be anywhere they'd be hiking or out in the open where anyone could see them...and yet Emma didn't question that? Or wonder where they'd hiked that they knew? Or asked why they lied about hiking? It seemed weird to me she'd be talking about them not lying to her and then be confronted with very real proof that they HAD lied to her (how else would they know about Maleficent) and didn't even blink or react. So I wanted to touch on it here. Emma spent the whole episode getting more and more suspicious and then just brushed it all off? It just didn't seem to fit even with her excuse of how her past was affecting her thoughts on people.
Some notes on reviews...
Yup :) I've seen the clips for OUAT, DW, and Sherlock :) I'm SO excited for them! ^-^
The timelines on OUAT are so confusing sometimes lol :) I really hope, when the show is over, they do an actual timeline of when certain flashbacks happened, similar to how they made a timeline to explain River Song in Doctor Who :) I can say the events of New York will have a rather big factor in Piper's revenge, Snow has no idea just how much happened in the city or the consequences of her actions }:) Gold would very much hold it against Snow if something happened to Piper because of the banishment. I can say there'll be an explanation coming of just why the timing for Snow throwing him over the line makes a lot of what happens after Snow's fault ;)
Emma and Henry will definitely show more and more loyalty to Piper and Gold, especially when some other truths come out }:) I hope Gold doesn't revert to his 'cowardly' self in Season 5, he's had 300 years of gaining knowledge so I hope the writers take that into consideration that he is still very cunning and crafty and intelligent and a threat even without his magic (not sure if he still has magic or not after the finale), and don't just make him this little weak thing. He has a shop full of magic objects, years of magical knowledge, and he knows psychologically how to break people down, he's not weak and I hope they don't make him so :) I'm glad you're enjoying Emma :) I wanted to sort of show how, if she had someone just a little more openly suspicious of Hook and pointing out some things about him, eventually she would start to be a little more careful and observant too :)
Lol, is it bad I'm sort of happy you're doubting Hook a little? :) I'm sort of on the fence about him, like I like him but I also don't really care too deeply about him, so it's fun to explore the two sides of that in stories. Here Hook's less than heroic actions are brought more to light and brought to the surface and he's looked at suspiciously, whereas in my other OUAT series, Hook's heroics are taken more at face value and as a genuine attempt lol :)
Piper does have a level of sympathy for animals, but it's more that she can control them easier and sway them faster, they're simple creatures that can be controlled to her. She's seen so many strange creatures wandering near the Dark One's castle she probably just thought the puppy was another one lol :) And thank you! I fixed them :) Snow will definitely not expect people to be angry because 'it was for the greater good! ...and I suffered too!' but some of what she did was rash and a little selfish and I can say Emma won't be as forgiving in this story, especially if she too learns exactly WHY her mother feared her darkness so much }:) I think it's not so much Charming would physically attack her, but he'd be the one pushing to use their weakness as an opportunity to find out what's going on, capture them, or stop them, like they have to do it NOW before they get stronger or recover. Emma and Henry will talk quite soon about Hook and Henry will reveal some things that put him on edge about the man that Emma should have guessed Hook would do but didn't quite think of, she'll be more aware of how Hook acts and why he does certain things from here on out ;) No more blind faith that he's changing because he wants to be the hero but more suspicion of 'is he changing for ME and my reaction again?' :) I'm actually kinda happy that a few people have related to Piper :) She's so different from other OCs I've done that I was afraid no one would really care for her because they couldn't really connect or relate to her, so I'm very relieved to know that people have felt that for her, she's a very strong and loyal character for the most part and in a world like the fairytales, someone has to be willing to do what needs to be done to actually get things done instead of talk about it and hope for the best lol :)