Lily
Emma was sitting at the bar of Granny's, nursing a hot chocolate as she tried to keep her temper at her parents even as they sat, silently, in a booth behind her with Hook and Regina. Henry was off with Piper, wanting to check in on Gold and his condition after how the woman had rescued him and really, she wanted him to be as far away from Snow White and Prince Charming as possible right now. If SHE could have just gone off with them too she would have, but she knew how it would look to Mary Margaret if she let with Piper so she'd had to stay and deal with her not-so-charming parents. What Mary Margaret had said about Piper had set not just Piper herself, but Emma and Henry, on edge. Henry was currently not speaking to either grandparent, but speaking to Gold. And she was here, trying to think about what she actually felt on the entire situation and her parents' thoughts on her. She felt fine, when she thought of Cruella at least, she knew what she would have done, what she'd be willing to do, it was a mother's instinct when their child was in legitimate danger. If she had killed Cruella, she wouldn't have lost sleep over it. Felt guilty later, probably, but she wouldn't have felt dark.
Her parents though, how they instantly thought that SHE had been the one to do Cruella in? That was not something she could get over. After all this time, after how much they knew her, they thought she'd done it? Even with Piper standing right there? Well, it made some sort of sick sense, in a way, they were convinced that Piper and Gold were trying to turn her dark, why would Piper have stopped her if they were doing that? Still, it sickened her how hypocritical her parents were, they did something monumentally dark and instantly wanted forgiveness for it and for people to see it as a good and right act, but refused to offer it to others? They broke her trust and wanted it back, but refused to trust Piper who had done nothing but protect her family?
She didn't know what was wrong with her parents now.
Was it actually being parents this time, actually having an infant to raise and care for? Would they have been like this if she were still a baby? Would they have treated Piper like this if she'd been around in the Enchanted Forest at her birth?
"THIS is the infamous war council that defeated so many villains?"
Everyone in the building looked up to see Maleficent striding in, dressed like some sort of mob mistress from the 50s.
"What do you want?" Emma asked, not feeling the desire to beat around the bush any longer.
Maleficent eyed her a moment, before smirking, "It now appears we have a common foe, Rumpelstiltskin."
Emma only barely refrained from rolling her eyes at that, of course Maleficent would assume that Gold was her enemy now too. Piper hadn't been lying when she'd said that villains tend to assume things, Maleficent clearly thought that Gold was telling the truth in planning to turn her dark.
"He resurrected you," David shook his head, slowly standing to block Maleficent's view of Mary Margaret.
"To help himself, not me," Maleficent seemed just barely willing to acknowledge him, "Cruella's death only confirmed that."
"Now you want to turn on him before he turns on you?" Hook guessed, having been silently watching Emma from his place near her parents, wanting to give her space before he approached her.
"I knew Gold couldn't keep the dragon on her leash for long," Regina smirked.
"What do you want?" Mary Margaret sighed.
"Nothing from you," Maleficent spoke, blunt as ever, "But your daughter, I hear, has a talent for finding people."
"Yeah, I do," Emma nodded, hesitating before playing along, as though Piper hadn't already told her why they'd really brought Maleficent back, "Who do you want found?"
"My daughter."
"She's alive?" Mary Margaret gasped, Emma genuinely wasn't sure if she sounded relieved or horrified by that fact.
"Yes," Maleficent grinned darkly, "She survived the journey to this land, the journey you sent her on. You want to prevent Rumpelstiltskin from achieving whatever he wants?" she turned her attention back to Emma, "What better way than leaving this town and helping me?"
Emma shifted at that, the last thing she wanted to do was leave the town, not when Piper was pregnant and Gold's heart was failing and Henry and August were the only ones there that would be willing to help them. But she knew that Maleficent's daughter possessed the dark potential of the Savior, she would be needed to help Gold get better…and she doubted that anyone else in the town would know how to navigate the world beyond Storybrooke besides Henry, and she wasn't sending him out there. Piper and August would, but August was still pretty weak, and with everything Piper had been through and the stress she was under and would be under, she wouldn't want Piper to have to go alone. Not only that, but she wasn't sure if the town, when they inevitably found out what was going on, because Mary Margaret was terrible at secret keeping when it didn't benefit her and Grumpy was the town gossip, would be so keen to welcome back not just the Pied Piper but Maleficent's daughter too.
She would HAVE to go.
"Do you have any information about her?" Emma asked, she knew that Gold's globe could tell them WHERE the girl was, but if she didn't know what she looked like or her name things could get tricky.
"Just what the Dark One showed me," Maleficent sighed, though she was pleased to hear Emma considering it, "That she was banished to this world 30 years ago, to a place called Minnesota, where she was adopted by a couple. And they named her Lilith."
Emma's heart stopped at that name, "No…"
"Emma?" Hook frowned, standing, seeing a shift in her posture, "What is it?"
But Emma just shook her head and ran out of the diner, it couldn't be…could it?
Maleficent's daughter couldn't be Lily, one of her few friends (if she could still call the girl that after abandoning her) she had made as a child?
No, no it couldn't be.
~8~
As it turned out, it very much could.
Maleficent's Lilith was in fact her old friend Lily. She had rushed from the diner to the library, going through records and newspaper clippings for the country to see an adoption announcement of a baby in Minnesota named Lilith…a little baby that had a distinct star shaped birthmark on her wrist, exactly like Lily had.
She had immediately called Piper and gotten ahold of the globe, bringing it to Maleficent to prick her finger, seeing a red spot appearing in Lowell, Massachusetts, which was just another slap to the face. That was less than 30 miles away from Boston, where she had lived for many years. All that time Lily had been nearby and she hadn't even realized it. It had to be fate, it just had to be, that the girl that had come into her life and been her friend, that she had encountered a second time, and that had lived so close, was the daughter of Maleficent and possessed her potential for darkness.
It made her stomach churn uneasily to think about that. Lily had tried to tell her once, the second time they met, that she felt like her life was cursed, like everything she did was just the wrong choice, no matter how hard she tried things in life just kept going dark…and the only time things seemed to balance out was when Emma was around. She'd pushed the girl away, blaming her for the foster family she had been with not wanting her any longer, but Lily had been telling the truth. She had been cursed, by Snow White and Prince Charming, to a life of darkness and misery and pain…and she'd walked away from her.
She wasn't going to make that mistake this time.
And even if she wanted to…she couldn't, because Regina had confronted her about the possibility of pairing up on their trips out of Storybrooke. She had made a point, a reasonable one, that Regina had not been very far out of Storybrooke, having only ventured out once, to adopt Henry, and nothing after that, which meant her trying to find Robin Hood in New York with Zelena aware that she might be coming (because, really, would Zelena expect Regina NOT to come after that phone call? It was a matter of WHEN), would make it nearly impossible. If Regina went with her, also, she would make sure that, no matter what Lily might say or how she might fight her about the truth in being Maleficent's daughter, Lily WOULD be coming back to Storybrooke. Two heads were better than one after all.
But there was still something bothering her about all of this with Regina coming with her. She trusted the woman, to an extent, and while she didn't blame her for keeping her parents' secret when she'd been told, she wasn't sure how she felt about the fact that Regina knew and didn't tell her. It was almost as bad. She understood that Snow White had told a secret that had dire consequences for Regina and that Regina, as a result, likely would never tell someone's secret. But still, Regina seemed to be on her parents' side for the most part, and she needed someone that was on HER side to feel fully comfortable and confident in this mission. For all she knew, Regina was going along with and had suggested the trips in the first place to babysit her for her parents, to watch out for 'the darkness' getting her. Regardless of how she felt, the trips HAD to happen.
Which was why Emma was now standing before her yellow bug, throwing in a duffle bag of clothing into the trunk, attempting to ignore her parents as best she could while they stood back with Hook and Henry.
"Be good, kid," Emma called to Henry before he walked over to hug her, "I'll see you when I get back."
"Be careful, Swan," Hook spoke up, joining the boy before Emma, "As someone who started on the side of good and went dark, take my advice…vengeance is tempting. The darkness always is. Resist it."
"Why couldn't you?" Emma asked, a tone in her voice suggesting that she was finally aware that he STILL wasn't resisting it well, not for the right reasons either. She understood now, what Piper was getting at, how Hook only changed around her or for her. There were still things that tempted him, when she wasn't there.
"I didn't have anything to live for," Hook answered, mistaking her question for being based in the past, "You have your parents, Henry…"
"You?" Emma gave a small, almost ironic smile.
"Aye, me," he nodded, "And I, you. That's what's kept me on my path now. Use whatever it takes to stay on yours."
Emma shook her head lightly at that, it hadn't really 'kept him on his path' had it? Still, it kept him on it more than other reasons would, she supposed. And maybe, when he got far enough down it, he would find other things besides her that kept him going. Like Regina had started to change for Henry then kept changing even after she lost him, she found other reasons for why she genuinely wanted to be good along the way.
"Emma…" Mary Margaret called.
But Emma stepped back, "Take care of Henry."
David sighed, putting his arm around his wife, seeing Emma closing off again, "Of course."
"I'll be fine, mom," Henry offered his mother a smile, "Aunt P's still here and…"
"Actually, I won't be," a voice spoke to the side, drawing all their attention as Piper walked up to them, no Gold in sight, a small bag in hand.
"What?" Emma blinked.
"Rummy and I discussed, at length, the next course of action," Piper explained, looking more at Emma than the others, "We agreed one of us should go with you," she spared a single look at Mary Margaret and David, "I doubted anyone wanted it to be Rummy more than I."
Discussed was probably a light word for their talk. They had argued. Gold had, surprisingly, been the one pushing for her to go. She had wanted to stay with him, his heart was getting worse and she didn't want to risk leaving him alone. She trusted Emma to handle herself in New York, a place she had been to numerous times, and she trusted, to a degree, Regina being the lapdog of Snow White and keeping Emma from any darkness. But Gold had made good points, she trusted Regina to a degree, no one would be more keen to see Emma untainted by the darkness that would truly poison her too-pure heart than SHE would herself. And August, the little traitor, had offered to be there with Gold, take care of him while she was gone. It wasn't like she'd be taking a vacation for weeks on end and doing nothing while he suffered, she would be back quickly too. And, Gold admitted, he trusted HER to bring Lily back, because she knew what was at stake better than anyone, and he knew she would be the push that everyone would need to keep on track and not get distracted. They couldn't afford distractions.
It was with a heavy heart that she had reluctantly agreed.
Emma shook her head, "You can't…" she glanced at her parents before stepping closer to Piper, speaking quietly so they couldn't hear, "Gold…"
"Rummy shall be well if we are quick," Piper cut in, equally as quiet, "August has agreed to stay with him…"
"I will too," Henry agreed, having moved closer to Piper with Emma, anything that would get the woman going with his mother. He really wanted someone else to go with both his mothers really, to make sure that both women didn't fight and end up with one dead on the way back, make sure that his mother didn't go dark.
It wasn't that he didn't trust his mother, Regina, it was just…like Hook said, darkness was tempting and with Regina trying to be a hero now, she might be less inclined to stop Emma in her normal ways, she might even be tempted to let it happen because darkness spoke to darkness. But Piper, if she went, he knew that Emma would be safe, Piper would never let anything happen to Emma.
"I don't like this," Emma told her, her voice normal volume.
"I did not think you would," Piper gave her a small smirk.
"But I'm…glad," Emma could admit, "I want someone to come that I trust."
If she noticed her parents flinching at the implication, well, they deserved it.
"Thank you, Ms. Swan," Regina deadpanned.
"Apple turnover," Emma reminded her, that wasn't something you fully forgot, "I trust you, but not entirely."
"And you trust HER?" Regina gestured at Piper as she set her small bag in the back of the bug.
"Yes," Emma stated firmly.
Regina just rolled her eyes and shook her head, turning to get into the bug without another word, not wanting to waste more time.
"If anything happens to Rummy, Henry," Piper looked at the boy, whispering in his ear as he hugged her, "You know my number, yes?"
He nodded, "He'll be fine, Aunt P," he promised quietly with a smile, giving her a wave as she got into the bug as well, watching the car take off into the distance. He sighed, looking at his grandparents and Hook, "I'm going to go see Grandpa."
"Henry…" Mary Margaret began, a frown on her face at how his first words to them were about his other grandfather, at how he seemed to want to be around the Dark One more than them.
"Don't," Henry rounded on them, his own frown growing, "Yes, I'm on Aunt P's side this time. I think you deserve it for what you did and what you said, it's not fair that villains get punished all the time for doing bad things but heroes don't. So don't bother trying to guilt me or get anything out of me. Heroes should be able to think for themselves and make their own opinions about right and wrong."
And, with that, Henry turned and walked off, leaving a pair of startled Charmings and a frowning Hook, it would be just like the bloody crocodile to manipulate his grandson onto his side…
~8~
"Are you SURE this is the place?" Regina asked a few hours later when they had reached Massachusetts, looking around at the rather grimy and rundown apartment building they'd entered.
Piper put her hands in the pocket of her jacket, keeping a firm hold on the Snow Queen's scroll that Emma had given her to hold onto for their return to Storybrooke, the globe had been able to detect Lily in this town, but after that point it had gotten skewed and blurry. It was almost like there was more magic to obscure the results than there should have been, which did make sense. In the Land Without Magic, it was as the name said, magic shouldn't exist, but those that possessed it could tap into it in a subtle way. Lily had not only dragon magic within her but the savior's dark magic, along with, perhaps, magic from her father if he possessed it. With double the magic she should have, it was no wonder that the globe had been skewed.
Luckily Emma had gotten in touch with an old contact of hers that gave them the address for this apartment complex, though it was from five years ago. Still, it was a place to start.
"Why did I go through the trouble of creating Storybrooke when I could have cursed everyone to live here?" Regina grumbled to herself when no one answered.
Piper could only shrug, she had asked herself that as well. She would have thought that it would have been more Regina's style to create a medieval themed world where she was the unopposed queen, much like the Enchanted Forest but with her in full control of everyone and their magic. It wasn't quite as bad a curse as it could have been when it ended up improving the lives of everyone involved in it through education and sanitation and other modern conveniences. And really, not EVERYONE in the Enchanted Forest had family or true loves so the separations from friends with new memories didn't really set unhappy endings as the default ending here. It made a handful suffer, but the majority were hardly actually affected negatively.
Emma just strode over to a door, knocking on it, blinking when a rather tubby, older man with a grimy beard and greasy hair answered, "Yeah?" he demanded impatiently.
"Sorry to disturb you," Emma shook herself out of her shock, "We're just looking for Lilith Page. Is she around?"
"No, she ain't around. Not for years."
"You know where she moved?"
"Lady, she ain't moving nowhere. She's dead."
"What?" Piper frowned at that, that couldn't be possible. The globe would have given them this location ONLY if Lily was still alive. Once she was dead it would have remained blank. Lily had to be alive somewhere in this town.
"Car wreck a couple years back," the man shrugged, unconcerned, "Pretty sure she was drunk. Not that anyone missed her. I mean, she was a weird one. Kept to herself. Course, she had one of those personalities that you wanted to stay far away from. A real loser."
That snapped something in Emma as she reached out and grabbed the man by his throat, shoving him into the wall just inside his apartment with a cry of, "She was my friend!" pulling her fist back to punch the man out.
"Emma!" Regina leapt forward to stop her as Piper just blinked at the reaction, "Emma!" she tried to grab Emma's arm, "Emma. It's not worth it."
"If you are going to attack," Piper added, earning a glare from Regina before she could even finish, but not sounding overly concerned, her tone coming out more dry than anything, "Be sure it is in self-defense. Guilt always gets to you hero-types if you hurt someone that was not trying to hurt you first."
Emma took a deep breath at that, remembering herself at Piper's words of being a hero-type, and realizing she WOULD feel terrible if she lashed out in anger now. She pulled back slowly, turning and striding away from the still-scared man as Regina hurried after her, Piper following at a leisurely pace yet still keeping up. She would have enjoyed seeing Emma punch the man, he deserved it, and truly a punch to the face wouldn't have been a catalyst to turning her dark, but she did know Emma and she WOULD have felt guilty for harming the man in anger later. Best save her the feeling before it happened.
"Hey…" Regina began slowly, "You ok?"
"I'm fine," Emma muttered darkly, "I'm absolutely fine."
"Lily IS still alive, Emma," Piper reassured her as they reached the street, moving to get into the bug, "The globe would not have worked if she were dead."
"Good," Emma got into the driver's side, starting the car, "We need to find her. Now."
Regina was quiet only a minute as they sped off, "Want to talk about what happened back there?"
"No."
"You nearly put that guy through a wall!"
"Says the woman that burned an entire kingdom to the ground because a child told a secret," Piper remarked, leaning against the backs of the seats to smirk at Regina, "At least Emma was reacting instantly to a missive of death instead of a decade later in a calculated move. I think you can agree, dark deeds are bred more from decisive actions, not reactions."
"What happened back there wasn't me turning dark," Emma agreed, "It was mourning a friend who may not even be dead," she would have said that the man was lying, but she could tell, as far as he knew, he was telling the truth about Lily, or what he believed was the truth, "Can you understand that? Even if she's not dead, people still think she is for a reason. She was still in that accident…"
"Emma, you know you're not responsible for that," Regina tried to reassure her.
"You sure?" Emma scoffed, starting to drive faster out of anger, "You heard what that guy said. Her life wasn't pretty. It was dark. That darkness was meant for me. Or could have been or…"
"Emma!" Regina gasped, spotting a wolf standing in the middle of the street just before the sign to exit the town.
Emma quickly jerked the car to the side, avoiding it, going off the side of the road before it came to a screeching halt. She stared out the windshield at the wolf before it disappeared into the woods, quickly getting out of the car to try and keep it in sight, "This has happened before, the wolf in the road and an accident the first time I tried to leave Storybrooke!"
"Stop overthinking," Regina rolled her eyes, "It's not fate. It's just…" she huffed, spotting the wheel on her side of the car, "A flat. We need a new tire. Unless fate wants you to go to the coffee mug diner for help," she gestured at the small roadside diner across the street, "I'd chalk it up to 'accidents will happen.' I'll get a tire. You get some coffee."
Emma looked over at Regina a moment, her gaze drifting to Piper as the woman slowly got out of the car, staring at the diner, and her eyes widened, "Oh my god," she half-ran to Piper's side, realizing just how BAD that could have been for the pregnant woman, "Are you ok? I'm so sorry, I didn't see it and…"
"Emma," Piper cut in gently, "All is well, however…" she tilted her head, her face scrunching in concentration, "I DO actually think fate wants you to go to that diner."
Emma frowned, glancing at it and back to Piper, "What?"
"There is a song in there," Piper murmured, just barely hearing something, "Faint from here, but…familiar…"
There was a song, weak though it was, that reminded her of the song she heard from Maleficent. She couldn't say with certainty if the person within was her daughter however, as far as she knew she hadn't heard the father's melody, she wouldn't know what a song for Maleficent's child would sound like once blended between her and the girl's father. But what she did know of Maleficent's tune, there was something inside there that had touches of a similar melody. It could very well be Lily.
"Maleficent's?" Emma asked, getting the same idea.
"Possibly."
Emma glanced at the diner again, before heading for it, Piper with her. She entered, looking around for anyone her age that might look familiar or possibly be Lily.
"Hello, what can I get for you?" a voice spoke and Emma turned to see a woman about her age, tanned skin, dark brown hair, brown eyes…familiar. Very familiar…she might very well be Lily…but her name tag said 'Starla' and, well, people can change a lot from when they're teens to adults. She couldn't be 100 percent sure it was her, even Piper didn't seem entirely sure that the song was even part of Maleficent's…
"Two cups of coffee, one cup of decaf, and a pack of Advil," Emma glanced at Piper and decided to leave it at one pack.
"Tough day?" the woman smiled understandingly, moving to get the pots of coffee and the cups.
"You don't know the half of it," Emma sighed.
"I'll leave the pot here, then," she placed it on the counter of the diner, "I'll be right back with your Advil."
Emma nodded and glanced at an oddly silent Piper, "Anything?"
"It is her song that I heard," she murmured, when Regina walked in.
"Car's being towed in," she sat down at one of the chairs, frowning when she noticed the two blondes watching the waitress, "What's wrong? See another wolf?"
And that was when Emma saw it, when 'Starla' grabbed the Advil, a birthmark on her right wrist, a star...
"It's…it's her," Emma breathed, "It's Lily!"
~8~
"Excellent technique," Piper remarked, ignoring Regina's shouts for Emma to stop as the blonde woman practically broke down Lily's front door, managing to get into the small apartment.
She and Regina had stood back, upon Emma's request, as the woman went to confront Starla/Lily about her identity. It hadn't gone well at all, Lily either didn't believe Emma or had been too angry with her to even listen. They had seen her walk off with a little girl as a school bus dropped her off, Emma claiming that Lily had said the girl was her daughter, that she was married and happy now despite her dark past.
Emma hadn't believed her at all and, as a result, swiped Lily's timecard from the diner to find her real address and do more investigation. She didn't believe the girl Lily walked off with was her actual daughter, she could tell Lily was lying to her and now wanted to prove it on top of wanting to know WHY Lily had lied, to help her if something was wrong.
Emma ignored Piper's remark and just strode in, looking around at the adult quarters, not a child's toy in sight, not even an extra room for a kid to sleep in, no sugary cereals in the kitchen, no drawings hanging on the fridge, "No kid's stuff," she stated, "No sign of a husband either," she looked around for the tell-tale male presence, but came up with nothing, no male smell, no men's boots or coats, nothing. So she rounded on Regina, "Ok?"
Regina rolled her eyes at that, she HAD been the one trying to defend Lily before, "Well, if you want me to admit you were right, you were right."
"Can't blame her for running off," Emma sighed, starting to make her way through the house, Piper ahead of her, peering into closed rooms, "I was about to tell her she was Maleficent's daughter."
"Yeah, that might have been tough to swallow," Regina scoffed.
"It did take you quite a while to believe Snow White was your mother," even Piper agreed with that, "And you were actually IN Storybrooke and witnessing dragons and magic."
"Yeah," Emma huffed, "For Lily, it's not gonna be simple."
Piper paused when she pushed open the door at the end of the hall, "I doubt that, actually."
"What?" Emma frowned.
"It appears…Lily already knew."
"What?" Emma repeated, pushing her way into the room to see what Piper had…a wall, more like a collage, of different news clippings and pictures of Emma, a giant map with string lines and notes. One particular giveaway was the 'Storybrooke' and Maine being circled.
It seemed Lily had been doing her research, keeping tabs on Emma, and had been trying to find Storybrooke on her own for years now.
"And she was looking for you," Regina added, spotting various pictures of Emma growing up.
"No," Emma realized, SHE wasn't the one Lily would be looking for, "My parents. She knew everything. She wants revenge."
Just then the sound of a car starting rose up, sending Emma running for the window and looking out at where Lily had broken into her just-repaired yellow bug and was starting it up, "Really!?" she shouted, banging on the window, "Lily!"
But the woman just threw her a glare before flooring the pedal and taking off.
"The map to Storybrooke is in the car," Regina gasped, realizing that. The only way to find Storybrooke was to leave the town and trace a map back to that point.
"Damn it!" Emma cried, turning to try and run out of the house, "She wanted a way into Storybrooke. Now she's got one."
"Hardly," Piper followed, pulling the Snow Queen's scroll out of her pocket, "She would need this."
"I doubt that'll stop her finding another way in or Maleficent finding a way to let her in," Emma looked around, before she spotted another car and grabbed a rock, smashing it through the driver's window.
"What are you doing?!" Regina demanded, shocked.
But Emma just yanked the door open, unlocking the car and getting in, reaching under the steering wheel to pull wires out, Piper not even questioning it as she got into the back of the car, leaving Regina little option but to take the passenger's seat, "That girl destroyed my life with one family. I'm not letting her do it again," she hissed in success as she hotwired the car to start and took off after Lily, "She's doing it again. Every time I let Lily in, she rips apart my life. Now she's going after my parents. I have to stop her."
"You will," Regina held on for dear life, frantically trying to buckle up as Emma sped faster, "But you can't go in with a head of steam. You'll end up doing something you regret."
"Really?" Emma scoffed, "Tell me, your majesty, what are your plans for Zelena? A nice chat over tea?"
"That's different," Regina defended weakly.
"How?" Piper lifted an eyebrow at that, "If Zelena so much as touches your precious thief or his son, you would burn her to death, would you not?"
"Yes," Regina muttered, sounding as though it almost pained her to have to admit she would do that.
"So I'll do the same thing to Lily," Emma muttered.
"Careful, Emma," Regina looked at her, "You're starting to sound like…"
"A villain?" Piper challenged her in defense of Emma.
"A Siren," Regina shot Piper a hard look, this had nothing to do with right and wrong, but protecting family, reacting THAT instantly and extremely, that was exactly how a siren sounded, exactly how Piper had sounded the times she'd heard the woman threaten others against harming Mary Margaret or the others.
"Well I did get some Siren perks," Emma muttered, thinking about the protection around her heart, "Maybe this is just another one."
"We ALL sound like that when protecting family, being a Siren has nothing to do with it," Piper pointed out.
"This is the real world," Emma shook her head, trying to look at it realistically too, not just in terms of magic and villains and Sirens, but average people like Piper just mentioned, "There are no heroes and villains, just real people with real problems. So if you're gonna try to stop me, you can find your own way back to New York."
"There," Piper pointed forward, breaking up the moment, "The bug!"
Emma nodded, spotting it just ahead and floored it…to pass Lily up on the empty road and swerve the car right in front of her, blocking the entire road and forcing Lily to stop or crash into them.
"Hey!" Emma was already out of the car, her sheriff's gun in her hand as she pointed it at Lily who was slowly getting out of the bug, glaring at Emma, "Hey! You know. You know everything. Did you know when we were kids?"
"Of course not," Lily scoffed, not even looking at Piper and Regina getting out of the car, Regina moving slowly behind Emma, creeping closer, while Piper just rested against the side of the car, watching.
"But now?"
"Yeah," Lily nodded, "I learned it all."
"How?"
"Does it really matter?" Lily shook her head, "It doesn't change anything. You screwed me over before we were even born!"
"Technically," Piper offered, "Snow White and Prince Charming screwed you over. Just as much as they screwed over their own daughter."
"Yes, thank you Aunt P," Emma ground out, irritated, but looking at Lily, agreeing with just one point, "I had no more say in what happened than you did."
"And like she said," Lily jerked her head at Piper, "Your parents did. And the minute I get to Storybrooke…"
"You lay a hand on them, I end you!" Emma threatened as Piper's eyebrows rose, almost seeming impressed with how much Emma sounded like a Siren, even if she fully doubted Emma would be able to go through with the threat like a Siren would.
"Emma, stop!" Regina shouted.
But Lily wasn't done baiting her, "Yeah? And how are you gonna do that without your magic, Savior? Your parents are monsters, Emma. They banished me and threw you in a wardrobe. And now here you are, ready to die for them, because you're so perfect. The savior," she sneered, "Well, they deserve to be punished."
"I do not believe any of us are arguing that last point," Piper pointed out, "We are merely debating the method of punishment."
"Yeah right," Lily scoffed.
"Your method would, undoubtedly, be far too lenient…"
"I'm going to kill them!" Lily defended.
"Yes, and how would they be punished?" Piper didn't even bat an eye now at the mention of someone trying to kill her cousin where she knew, before, she would have been ready to murder the threatener herself, "How would they suffer if you end their existence before they can feel the pain you have?" Piper tilted her head, "They deserve punishment from you, not death."
"Piper," Emma snapped at that, she wasn't helping the situation.
Piper just pushed off the car and moved to stand next to Emma, "You kill her before she has even done anything, Emma, and it will be just like that man. She has not earned her death...yet," she reminded Emma.
"I'm just trying to stop her from doing something she'll regret," Emma defended.
"As am I," Piper stated, "For YOU. Make no mistake Emma, you kill her, fine, I care not so long as we bring her body back to Storybrooke," she didn't need Lily alive to get her blood, "But then you shall have a rather irate dragon on the loose and your heart WILL darken. I know not how that will affect you after what Snow White did to you. I care not for Lily or her fate, but I DO care about you. If you WANT your heart to be dark, if you have thought this through," she looked Emma in the eye, "If you choose to do this, because you have thought about it, you understand the consequences of it, and you accept them, rationally and level-headedly, then I will not stand in your way. My purpose is to ensure you do not darken it heedlessly or without intention. If you choose a dark act after giving it much thought, because you WANT to, in your deepest level of your heart and mind and soul, I would even endeavor to help you see it through," and by 'see it through' she meant end the deed for Emma when she undoubtedly couldn't do it, because she KNEW Emma, she knew her heart as it was not, and she doubted it would be able to get her brain and body to go through with a dark deed, "But this? A reaction from anger and fear, that I will not abide. You have a choice, Emma, as does Lily…"
"No I don't," Lily said, her voice sounding nearly choked and broken, "Thanks to her parents, I'm hardwired for bad decisions. So just let her, let her put me out of my misery," her gaze flickered to Emma, "You know the truth. We both know my life isn't worth saving," she scoffed, "And if you let me go, I will destroy everything. It's what I do. So come on, be the hero and end this right here before it even starts," she shifted, seeing Emma hesitate, "Come on, Emma!"
But Emma just shook her head, "No," she lowered the gun, "Your life is worth something to your mother. And she deserves her daughter back."
Piper gave Emma a small nod at that, taking the gun when Emma handed it to her, though she couldn't help but notice Regina behind her, giving her an odd look, a confused look. It was almost like she wasn't sure why Piper had done that, talked Emma down from murder.
That was the point, wasn't it? To turn the savior dark? Murder would do that…so why stop her if it went against the plan?
~8~
The ride to New York, after all the excitement and tension from earlier, had been eerily quiet as the four women sat in the bug till they reached Neal's old apartment, making their way up together, not about to leave Lily alone in the car again nor let Regina confront her sister alone. Less powerful she might be here, but she was by no means powerless.
Regina, the moment the door came into view, ran to it and began to quickly knock, "Robin?" she called through it, "Robin, open up!"
The door suddenly opened and they were relieved to see Robin there, no 'Marian' in sight, "Regina? What are you doing here?" he quickly stepped out and hugged her tightly.
"I missed you."
"And I you…"
"The point, Regina?" Piper called, knowing that there was likely little time that they had to get Robin and Roland and get them out before they could confront Zelena.
"What's going on?" Robin frowned, pulling away, as though just noticing the other women, "Why are you here?"
"I can explain everything," Regina moved into the apartment, looking around, "But first, where's Marian?"
"She's at the store. Why?"
"Good," Regina sighed, "Then there's time. But we have to act fast."
"What's this about?" Robin shook his head.
"Marian, we have to leave before she gets back. She is not who she says she is."
"What?"
"Oh for god's sake," Piper grumbled over Regina not just getting to the point already as they followed them in, "Zelena is alive, killed Marian in the past, and has been impersonating her all this time."
"What!?" Robin gaped
"Yes, thank you," Regina shot her a glare, before softening as she turned to Robin, "It's true, I'm sorry. She tricked us all, she survived and, somehow, she went back, and she killed Marian. She took her place to get back at me."
"No," Robin shook his head, "This is madness!"
"Robin," a voice called behind them, making them stiffen to see 'Marian' in the doorway, holding a brown grocery bag, "What's going on?" her expression hardened when she saw not just Regina but Piper there, "And what is she doing here?"
Piper's eyes narrowed as 'Marian' entered the room, making her way to Robin, knowing she was also asking why SHE was there, when Gold had made the deal not to interfere.
"Well, I never made any deal with you, Zelena," Piper stated as though speaking to an idiot, "Rummy may have, but I did not."
"Who's Zelena?" 'Marian' played along.
"Look," Robin shook his head, stepping in front of 'Marian, "You're scaring Marian…"
"Good," Regina glared, trying to step towards the woman, but Robin was in the way, "Where's the magic? You must have brought something to make this glamour work. Where is it, Zelena? Show me, or I will rip you apart until I find it!"
"Regina, that's enough!" Robin actually snapped, not seeing 'Marian' starting to smirk behind him at the shocked look on Regina's face, "Look, I know that this is hard for all of us. But this is the new reality. I'm with her. I'm with Marian."
"Really?" Piper scoffed, "THAT quickly?"
"Oh I know," 'Marian' sighed, her inflection shifting just subtly enough that Robin stiffened at the difference, "That 'true love' talk really doesn't hold up in a world without magic, does it?"
"What…" Robin turned around.
'Marian' just smirked, "Hello, dear husband," she touched a necklace around her neck and her appearance shifted in a flash of light, revealing Zelena standing there in Marian's clothing.
"No," Robin gaped.
"What the hell was that?" Lily whispered to Emma.
"That was magic," Emma told her.
"Come on, Robin," Regina reached out to touch Robin's arm, "We have to get you and Roland out of here," but he didn't move, "Robin," she tried to shake him, "Get Roland and let's go!"
"I think he still wants to stay," Zelena taunted
"Robin, what are you doing?" Regina tightened her grip on his arm, "Get your son and let's go!"
"I…" Robin turned to her, looking for all the world as though his own world had fallen apart, "I can't."
"Yes, you can," Regina tried to speak calmly, assuming his reaction was from shock, "Just come with me. Come on. Let's go…"
"I'm sorry," Robin swallowed hard, "I can't leave her here."
"What?!"
"Do you want to tell her?" Zelena smirked wickedly, "Or should I?"
"Tell me what?" Regina demanded, looking at Robin, "Robin?"
Robin swallowed hard, "She's pregnant."
It shouldn't have surprised anyone, though everyone did jump, when Piper just started laughing.
A/N: Oh Piper, I honestly couldn't picture any other reaction from her but to just start laughing at the insane situation. After my initial reaction, disgust at what happened, had passed (as much as it could), I just felt like laughing bitterly at the situation. More of a 'You have GOT to be kidding me' thing :(
I hope that what Piper said to Emma about support her doing dark deeds made sense. Piper would do as much as she could to keep Emma from actually going through with it, but she also knows that there's relative safety in her statement. She knows Emma as a person, got to know her, and Emma is like Snow White in a sense that, for the most part, as much as she says she'll do something dark, she won't actually go through with it. Especially now that all the potential for darkness was sucked out of her, sort of makes her like Cruella in that she can't physically do it as she currently is. Emma also has a much better sense of what is right and wrong and, now that she's been made aware of how close she came to falling into the self-righteous hero trap with her actions regarding Marian, she's more aware not to do something just because she thinks it is good or just but consider it from all sides. Emma is more talk than action when it comes to darkness, she may say she'll do it, may plan it and get to the very end, but never pull the trigger, she doesn't have it in her, Snow made sure of that. Piper would be there to take the gun and do the final deed herself. She would be there to watch out for Emma, to subtly try to guide her away from the darkness as well, like she did here with her remarks.
If Emma really and truly WANTED to do a dark deed, thought it out, considered it at length, talked to Piper about it, she would still try to do the final part herself, but she would understand that Emma is an adult and, if she was absolutely sure Emma was NOT making the decision lightly but had agonized over it and thought long and hard about it and they were both sure it wouldn't have twice as bad a result on her heart after what Snow did to it, she might MIGHT consider letting Emma do it. But, then again, she honestly doubts Emma would go through with it. She would say whatever she needs to to be the one standing beside Emma as she goes on a quest of darkness in order to influence her against it as they go or take on more of the dark deeds Emma may not even realize are put upon her.
It's almost psychological how Piper handles Emma compared to Snow and Charming, she knows they and other heroes would forbid Emma to do a dark deed, do everything they could to hinder her, fight with her and threaten her and more, they would just end up pushing Emma towards doing it that way. Like when you tell someone not to do something and it makes them want to do it more, forbidding something makes it more a desired action. Piper actually raised a child and knows that, so she would go along with it all the while knowing it would never actually happen. Humor Emma and be there to be the one that actually accomplishes the deed. She also knows that, in being open to Emma about possible dark deeds, Emma would come to her to TALK about it, that Emma would trust her with keeping it on the down low, where as she would NEVER talk to her parents about even contemplating a dark deed because heroes wouldn't understand or listen and would just jump to conclusions. Piper is making sure, in telling Emma she would be there for her during dark deeds, that Emma comes to someone first before going off on her own to see it through, giving her a way to nudge her off the dark path.
She doesn't want Emma going dark for the wrong reasons, she wouldn't do anything to push Emma to it, because she knows darkness would harm Emma's heart more now without her darkness in her than before. But she knows there is a better way than a hero's way or Snow's way to prevent Emma doing something dark than to outright forbid it or fight her on it. There are subtler ways to make someone consider another option than arguing the point to death like Snow or a hero would.
Some notes on reviews...
I'm very flattered you think I'd be a good writer for the show :') I agree, I feel that they are just too focused on the plots and twists and characters they're bringing in instead of making sure that the show makes sense and that the characters they already have and have built up are reacting realistically :/ I hate that the potential they had in the show just got lost and no matter how they try to fix it, there's just way too much to be fixed at this point :( And no worries, it makes me angry too. I'm glad you're enjoying the story though :)
That's awesome! I'm glad they went well :) I'm not sure if I write quite that fast, I mostly pre-write a series in its entirety before I actually post it. It's just the editing can take almost as long as writing the chapter lol :)
I'll have to try the spaces too, thanks :) Oh I can say we'll see a flashback of pregnant Ilayda, but not till Season 5 ;)
Oh not mean at all, I am SO looking forward to Snow's reaction also }:) I was debating having his parents back off a little when he revealed that bombshell, but they reminded me a little of my own grandparents in what they choose to believe. My grandmother grew up in Germany and even though she was a very accepting person and understood the Holocaust was terrible, she would defend Hitler no matter what. She thought he was a great man, he did horrible things, but he was overall a great man. I am disgusted by that and can see it for what it was, in my opinion. It reminded me of Ethan's parents, they are being confronted with someone they have always thought to be an evil species and find they did something truly good, but it's so ingrained in them that 'Sirens are evil' they just can't accept that their son had tried to do what he did. They would rather believe Ilayda somehow had a hand in that too or that it was all a trick to manipulate and get power over a king than that their son would go that far :( They just can't accept a Siren could be good the same way my grandmother, despite all the evidence, couldn't accept Hitler was a monster :( I'm glad you liked the Eva-Ilayda moment :)
It'll depend on if Piper is around when the darkness descends as to whether it'll get Emma or not }:) She might be incapacitated or too far away to get to Emma or she may have some sort of suffering as a result of Gold's heart and the ritual to save it or she might be trying to lure the darkness to her but it goes for Emma instead or it refuses to latch onto Piper because it might endanger the life that carries its own darkness in it or Emma uses her magic to freeze Piper so she CAN'T interfere or many other things ;) We'll have to wait and see what happens }:) I can say I have pictured a Dark One Piper though, and I plan for her to appear in some way/shape/form one day }:)
I could see an image of Belle being in the UW to taunt and torment Gold, but then again I could also see her reuniting with him as he finds some way to return from the UW too :) I will really find it unfair if Neal can't come back from being dead but Hook can for some likely plotholed reason :( I can say we may see Eva and Leopold's reaction to Snow, it could be possible. I can't say for sure just yet but...if they're going to the Underworld, and Eva wasn't all that heroic and Leopold had his dark/questionable moments too...they might be there for a run in with Snow ;) But, then again, that might be wishful thinking that the writers would actually delve into showing who people think are heroes aren't always heroes and don't always go to heaven to show the current heroes they need to stop being so self-righteous.
I've found, as the show goes on, that I get really frustrated by their lack of reasons and I try to work out what they could have possibly been to try and make sense in my writing. Though I can say Piper might surprise you with her reaction to Hook as the Dark One. There may be more 'I told you so'ing going on than denouncements ;) But there will definitely be more of a look into reasonings and trying to find some semblance of realism in the rather poor story the writers gave us for the show lately.
I'm glad you're looking forward to the AU :) I have considered Neal, but we'll have to wait till he's actually old enough to display Siren-traits to see if he has any. I can say Snow has thought of it too, but she's in deep denial about it and forcing herself not to think about it. At some point I do plan for Male Sirens to be discussed and brought up, so we'll learn more about them too ;) I can't say if I'll be changing much of Season 5 just yet, but I can say that I will be trying to give more reasons and psychology to the events of it. Some characters may be cut out from certain scenes and more background and development will happen, or I hope it will be seen as background and development ;) So there will be some changes, but I don't want to give away too much about what they are ;)
I'm glad you enjoyed Ethan and Ilayda :) It makes me very excited for a future flashback chapter of when Ilayda is pregnant, seeing the two of them dealing with that and how they both handle it ;) Eva and Ilayda made me happy to write, after all the wariness Ilayda got from just about everyone, I wanted at least one other person to accept her, and Eva fit the bill :) I don't think the curse from Cora put darkness in Snow's heart, I feel like Eva would make sure her child was protected from her curse and Cora's determination to turn Snow's heart dark seemed to imply it was pure at the moment. I'm glad you liked the chapter :) I agree, I think the writers are trying to cram too much into just half a season instead of taking time to really flesh out what could be excellent villain arcs and plots and character development into a whole season. It makes everything feel too rushed :( I hate when they just leave off with characters too. Will was amazing and I can say we'll see A LOT more of him in Lyssa's story as well as Maleficent and Lily there too ;) I thought the year passing was from the Missing Year or that he had a birthday during the show but it was just glossed over :/ I can't quite see Cora and Hook hanging out for a year with no action in Storybrooke :/ The show really needs like a calendar in the background of every episode so that people know what's going on lol. That's awesome, I'd love to see it :)