Mother

Piper sat on the couch of Neal's apartment, her feet up on the small coffee table, her eyes trained on Zelena as she puttered around, a smirk on her wicked face, while Emma just observed what was still left of Neal's old life now that Robin had moved in and made a home there. Lily was beside her, her arms crossed, not seeming to know what to do with herself.

"Can't believe this survived all that time," Emma murmured, looking at a dream catcher, the same one she had spotted when they'd found Neal in New York the first time, now resting in a cardboard box with what seemed like all the belongings Neal had left.

"This place that belonged to your…" Lily began, guessing where Emma's mind had gone. There had been a brief mention, on the way there, that the apartment belonged to a Neal, a man who wasn't there any longer, a man that was important to Emma judging by how quiet Emma had gotten in the car at the mention of him. They may not be friends anymore, but she could still read Emma as well as she could as a child.

"His name was Neal," Emma cut in, "He was a lot of things to me."

"First love," Piper ticked off absently, her eyes narrowing on Zelena who had gone from smirking to evilly grinning in delight, "Father of her son."

"You have a kid?" Lily blinked, staring at Emma, her research and keeping tabs on the woman hadn't revealed that fact.

"Yeah," was all Emma gave her.

"Neal was as good as my child," Piper remarked, trying to get Lily's attention off Emma, give her niece a reprieve from the painful memories, even if it meant bringing up something equally as painful to her. Her expression, however, hardened as she observed Zelena longer.

Lily eyed her for that remark, "How'd that work?"

"He was Rumpelstiltskin's son," Piper stated easily, not caring how Lily would react to the mention of even more fairy tale characters, she had gone there with Snow White's daughter, the Evil Queen, and the Pied Piper, to track down Robin Hood and the Wicked Witch of the West…she doubted anything would surprise the girl now, "Rumpelstiltskin is my true love."

She didn't dare bring up the fact that she was pregnant around Zelena. As far as the woman knew, Gold's heart was failing and that was the only drama going on in their lives, she was not going to give the woman any more ammunition or leverage to hold over Gold, that she had 'saved' not just her life but their child's. On top of that, she wasn't entirely certain Zelena was even really pregnant, nor that it was truly Robin's. She DID have a magic charm that made her look like other people after all.

"The Dark One?" Lily gave Piper an incredulous look, familiar with the idea of the Dark One, and nowhere in the name did it say the 'Loving' Dark One, "The Dark One is your true love," she turned to Emma, "And she's your Aunt?"

Emma nodded, "Most messed up family tree in history. Snow White and the Pied Piper are cousins, my son's father is the Dark One's son, the Dark One's true love is the Pied Piper, the Evil Queen is my son's adoptive mother and his step-great grandmother…" she rubbed her head, "Gives me a headache just thinking about it."

"And he's dead," Lily tried to get it all straight, "Um, this Neal guy…"

"Ooh very," Zelena felt the need to taunt, "And at the hands of his beloved step-mother too," she mock-cooed at Piper.

Piper sent her a glare that very likely could have killed her had they been in Storybrooke, "I accept my actions led to his death," Piper nearly spat, "But I also acknowledge it was YOUR keeping Rummy from me that led to those actions."

"Rummy?" Lily blinked at that, but no one was paying attention to her nearly scoffing at the thought of the Dark One being called 'Rummy.'

Zelena just rolled her eyes before smiling, "He did make ever the fond little pet…"

Piper was on her feet in an instant and, in the very next one, Zelena was pinned to the wall, Piper's right arm across her throat, her other hand tight on Zelena's arm, holding her there, actually seeming to have startled the woman with her action, "It seems you forget…I was not the one to make a deal with you. I could kill you this very instant and not shed a tear."

"Ooh," Zelena gasped, putting her free hand on her stomach, "I think I just felt it kick," she dared Piper with a look, "You wouldn't want to rattle an expectant mother now, would you?"

Piper just smirked darkly, "Modern medicine is quite something," she said, confusing Zelena for a moment, "A mother does not even have to be conscious or even truly alive to give birth, they could be a vegetable for all that science cares. They have machines that can keep your heart beating, your lungs breathing, tubes to give you nutrients, all to keep your body alive till the birth," she pressed on Zelena's throat, delighting in how Zelena's eyes widened as she felt her air being cut off, "The only reason you live…is that you would make quite the fond little gift for Rummy to end himself," she mocked, "After that?" she shrugged, enjoying Zelena's gasps for air, the actual fear growing in her eyes as not even her other hand could seem to shove her back, "I could shatter your mind as easily as glass with machines to sustain your body. You do not need to be mentally present to give birth any longer. You are nothing more than an incubator, Zelena, do not think yourself so important that you need to be 'living' for a baby to remain alive."

She shoved hard against Zelena and stepped back, watching as the woman coughed and nearly sank to her knees, gasping for air.

"Damn," Lily breathed, "That was epic."

Piper looked over at the two girls standing before her and gave a jesting bow, making Lily smirk and Emma shake her head, though the blonde said not a word against what she'd done or threatened Zelena with. Zelena clearly forgot that Emma had suffered with Neal's passing just as much as she and Gold had, she would not be the hero in this case, she would want to see Zelena nothing more than a vegetable.

"Is my mother as badass as her?" Lily asked Emma.

But before she could respond, the door was shoved open, Regina walking in, "Everyone, pack up," Regina called, leading Robin in from where the two had gone to get a drink and talk about their options before it was time to pick up Roland from school, "You too," she managed to not sneer at her sister, "We're going back to Storybrooke. Tonight."

~8~

There was a very noticeable divide when Emma's yellow bug drove into town and up to Granny's where a visible gathering had come for their return. Mary Margaret and David stood on one side of the road, just in front of Granny's, waiting for them with Hook, focused more on the yellow bug than the car behind it containing Robin, Regina, Roland, and Lily. Zelena had been left in the care of Emma and Piper for the return trip, Robin not wanting the redhead anywhere near his son, but not knowing how to drive the car either and needing Regina's help. Despite settling some of their differences, Lily was still very bitter to Emma and had requested being in Regina's car as well, away from the blonde. Needless to say, Zelena had been forcefully unconscious for the better part of the drive, lest either blonde be tempted to kill her on the way.

Further down the road, at the corner, was Maleficent, staring at the cars with tears in her eyes, but not wanting to stand closer to the heroes and the ones that had taken her daughter either.

On the other side of the road was Gold, leaning a little more heavily on his cane, with Henry and August on either side of him, though no one across the street seemed to notice him, and why would they? He might be weakening, but he still had his magic, and he had made sure that he was invisible to the view of the heroes and Maleficent for this outing. To them, it appeared that August and Henry were standing there, apart from them, in silent support of Piper, when really they were standing there with him, waiting for her.

He honestly wouldn't have cared whether the heroes could see him or not, but it had been a condition threatened to him by both August and Henry so that he could be 'let out' of the cabin to greet Piper. It was almost humorous, in a way, the two men threatening the Dark One as though their threats held any weight to him. But it was the reason behind the threats that had gotten him to agree to their conditions. They cared about him, they were trying to take care of him, keep him well, look out for him, both for him and for Piper. They didn't want to risk a confrontation with the heroes or for Maleficent to notice him and realize he'd known Piper had gone with Emma to reclaim her daughter. As far as the dragon knew, Emma had worked out the globe herself and gone with Regina. They doubted she'd care very much at the moment that Piper was getting out of a car with Emma, when her daughter was RIGHT there. But she certainly would have noticed HIM standing there had he not used magic to cover himself up. He was too weak to face her in a magical battle at the moment, he was likely too weak to face even the Charmings without them having magic really.

The moment Piper had gone over the town line, he'd gotten worse.

He had not been entirely happy with the decision that she should go with Emma, but he had been the one to suggest it and insist upon it, because he knew how important her family was to her, how much she would regret and blame herself if anything happened to Emma because she wasn't there to watch over the girl. Henry and August had kept their promise, had come to see him and help him and the Author work on their plans while they waited, trying to hammer out exactly what needed to be written and what was needed for the writing to take effect. All the while they helped care for him too, fetching things and bringing him food so he wouldn't have to exert himself. But he insisted on being there to see Piper back and in one piece.

He had to admit, he was rather cross that Zelena appeared to be alive, despite the woman being powerless now that he could make out the black wrist band to cancel magic on her wrist. He knew why she was alive though, she was supposedly pregnant with Robin Hood's child. The moment there was an innocent involved, he knew that the heroes would band together to protect the woman, despite what she'd done to them, for the child's sake. It seemed Zelena, when she'd made the deal with him to find a way back to her happy ending, which would, in her mind, undoubtedly lead her back to Storybrooke, had taken precautions to ensure she'd be left alive till she got what she wanted. How though, he wasn't sure. The last he heard, Robin had been in love with Regina, he had even gone so far as to encourage the man to return to Regina.

And they called HIM the Dark One, they called HIM the villain, when the man had gone off and impregnated another woman despite claiming to have a soulmate in Regina. The only reason he had ever even attempted to seduce Zelena was to get the dagger off her, and when it failed, he stopped instantly and he'd cringed during the entire event. Never let it be said that villains couldn't be loyal. These heroes, with their flights of fancy. Prince Charming had slept with Princess Abigail, Snow White with Dr. Frankenstein, Robin Hood with the Wicked Witch, Red Riding Hood with who knew how many men, all of them heroes in their own right…yet couldn't manage to resist temptation when their hearts belonged to someone else? Even cursed, David and Mary Margaret had felt love for each other...yet slept with other people.

HE had always been loyal to Piper, and her to him.

He felt himself smile as Piper got out of the bug and headed over to him, leaving Regina to deal with Zelena and Emma to reintroduce Lily to her mother.

"She is here," she whispered to him, even as she leaned in to hug Henry, seeming to sense in how the others hadn't even looked his way, that he'd hidden himself in magic, not wanting to risk exposing him despite how badly she wanted to hug him, "Lily, full of the savior's dark impulses, magic, and potential."

"We'll have our ink yet," Gold agreed, letting out a breath of relief at having her back with him, whole and healthy, her and their baby and knowing he would get to hold her in just a short while. For now, just seeing her there, hearing her talk, was enough.

"And then we get to fix grandpa?" Henry asked as Piper pulled away.

"So long as the Author is still alive?" Piper glanced at August for that.

He chuckled, hugging her as well when Henry let her go to rush across the street and hug his mothers too, "So far so good," he nodded, "A few close calls," he admitted, "The guy's more than a little irritating."

Piper shook her head at that, hearing a subtle hint in August's voice that it wasn't just Gold that had been tempted to end the man's existence. She looked over her shoulder at the reunion going on behind her, unable to help the pleased smirk on her face when she saw Emma ignore Mary Margaret's attempt to welcome her back in favor of leading Lily to Maleficent.

It served the woman right.

~8~

"And this is everything?" Piper eyed the meager stack of books on the counter of Gold's shop, Isaac standing before her as Gold rested on a chair nearby, Henry was with Emma and Regina while August had gone with Gepetto, Piper insisting she could care for Gold in the meantime. The heroes would be too caught up in Emma's return and watching Lily and Maleficent in case they plotted revenge to worry about them.

"Everything on blood magic, yes," Isaac nodded, "We've gone through it all already," he added, "There's nothing in here that says anything about how the blood needs to be taken."

Piper nodded, that had been something concerning Gold when she had left with Emma, if there had to be any special way to extract Lily's blood or if there had to be a ritual to ensure a sample of it was seeped in the dark potential of the savior. It should be automatic, they reasoned, but they had never dealt with a dragon, another inherently dark creature, that also possessed the darkness of a savior. They had to ensure that the blood would contain Emma's potential, that it wouldn't be influenced by the darkness already in Lily from being a dragon.

It didn't appear that there was anything of the sort though, the magic had infused with Lily, which meant every and any part of her at any time contained Emma's dark potential.

"And, can I just say," Isaac began to smile, "It's very ingenious, how you two worked out to use Lily instead of Emma."

It nearly irritated her that Isaac had been told their plan instead of allowing him to continue under the assumption that their plan had been to corrupt Emma all along. The less people that knew their true purpose, the less people there would be to influence Mary Margaret. The less people that knew, the less people there would be guarding Lily when the time came for a sample of her blood. While she was not thrilled with people thinking she would actually harm her niece, it DID keep the focus on Emma instead of their true target.

"Rummy?" she called instead, having looked up to see him hunching over on his chair, panting. He had kept a good front around Henry and August, not allowing them to see how he was struggling, not wanting to...to worry them, but with her, in private, he wasn't so, because he knew she could and would tell, she knew him that deeply that he didn't doubt she could tell the differences in how he was feeling just from the different sounds he made when he breathed. She quickly made her way to his side, kneeling before him, her hand on his shoulder, "What is it?"

Gold just winced and reached into his chest, pulling his heart out with a grunt. It was blacker than she remembered, the faintest of red was darkening.

He closed his eyes at the sight, "I'm sorry Pip," he murmured, "We don't have much time."

She reached up to touch his face, making him open his eyes to look at her, "All shall be well," she reassured him, she wasn't one to hope, that was Snow White's forte, but she was smart and she knew that when the two of them planned something out, it often worked, "I know you, Rummy, whether your heart is black as night or glowing brighter than the sun, I love you and you love me."

He tried to smile at that, "We don't know what will happen."

That was his biggest concern. When his heart was entirely consumed by the darkness the Dagger had protected it from, would he truly die? Or would he be taken over by the full essence of the Darkness? If he died, would Piper die with him? If he lived on but possessed by the Dark, what would happen to her?

"My darkness…"

"Loves me too," Piper stated, with such certainty that Gold nearly believed her though he knew it was impossible a thing to know that surely, "Darkness calls to darkness," she reminded him, "Your darkness will sense the same in me," she moved her other hand to his free one, taking it and placing it on her stomach, "It will sense itself…"

"And after?" he shook his head, even if his darkness wouldn't harm her for the sake of the child that carried the same darkness inside her, it said nothing for after, "If we fail, after the child comes, will you still be safe?"

Piper was silent only a moment, unable to answer that. They had no idea how the darkness in him would truly react to her without him and his feelings there to filter it. Would it see her as too human? Would it accept her as its mate as she had Gold? There was no telling.

"Your darkness has always made me feel safe," was all she could offer, "Not just the darkness in Rumpelstiltskin, but that of the Dark One itself. I do not fear it would harm me."

He let out a breath at that, nodding his head, clinging to that hope. If he knew, with absolute certainty, that his heart's poisoning and blackening would not kill Piper in the end, he would almost be ok with dying, if it meant she lived, if it meant she was protected.

"But it would harm everyone else," he had to remind the both of them.

That was another reason, beyond them not wanting him to die period, to try and save his heart. The darkness in him, it might accept Piper, their child, but it would never anyone else. And anyone that dared threaten her, whether they were family or not, would feel its wrath and power and devastation. There would be no controlling it, it would be primal and instinctual, he knew that much. There was nothing that would keep Henry or Emma or August or little Neal safe from the true Dark One.

And his greatest fear would be Piper's instinct to protect them, to fight for them. If she put herself in the way of the darkness, if she attacked it, it WOULD fight her back, no matter what.

They needed to cure his heart, and they needed to do it soon. They had lost more time than they anticipated with her trip.

He hadn't anticipated what his reaction would be to her leaving with Emma. He had been fairly well before she'd gone, well enough at least. But once she crossed the line…it was like his soul had torn in half. His heart, which had been in her chest for so long, seemed to sense that she had departed where it couldn't connect to her, the strain of it had weakened him even more. He had refused to tell her that was the cause when she returned to find him worse off, but she had pried it out of August instead. The boy, for how much of a liar he was to everyone else, couldn't manage even the tiniest fib against his mother, let alone ask him to keep something like THAT from her.

"We will reverse this, Rummy," she promised him, "We have the Author, we have the quill…"

"We just need the ink," Isaac agreed, having listened to their entire conversation, not that he could help it, they were only 5 feet away from him.

"We just need Lily."

"Lily?"

So focused had Piper been on Gold, that she truly hadn't realized or heard the song that had joined them, hadn't heard the jingling of the bell above the shop door, as Regina entered.

"What are you doing here?" Isaac gasped, jumping back with his hand over his heart, not seeming to have heard either.

"What do you want?" Gold strained, pushing his heart back into his chest, but it was too late, Regina had seen it.

"I want the Author," she stated, "Finding him was my idea before you stole it. And what's wrong with your heart?" she took a step closer, but Piper stood and moved into her way, crossing her arms as if challenging her to dare come closer, "Ooh…" Regina started to grin, "It's finally happening!"

"No need to sound so pleased," Piper sneered at her, "Or have you forgotten the dark deeds YOU have done?" Regina glared at her, "Your heart will meet its end one day too from the poison of your past."

"Says the Siren," Regina mirrored her, crossing her own arms, "Tell me, how many people have YOU murdered in your life? Should we start count with my mother?"

"Ooh, but my dear, dear Queen," Piper smirked, "Darkness feeds my heart, the more blood on my hands the more content the creature in me is," she taunted, "My largest regret was that you killed your father before I could. Though I do applaud you for finding your bite again, I had thought it gone when you took up the mantle of Snow White's little lapdog."

Regina glared at her for that, "I am not her..." she cut herself off, knowing, just KNOWING, if she opened that can of worms she'd be there forever arguing with the woman, and she didn't have time for that. She dropped her arms in a huff of anger, instead choosing to focus back on the matter at hand, "You said Lily," she repeated, "Not Emma. But Ursula said…"

"You as well as anyone should know villains lie to get what they want," Piper rolled her eyes, dropping her arms and moving her hands behind her, feeling Gold touch her back, so that he might take her hand in his own for strength, "Tell me, Regina, despite what you know of villains, despite the sense that appears to have left you in becoming Snow's apprentice in the realm of heroism, what is the one thing I, as a Siren, could never do to my family?"

"Harm them," Regina stated nearly instantly, her eyes widening as the words caught up with her, "You were never going to turn Emma dark, were you?"

"Rather slow for a queen," Piper remarked dryly, "But, then again, you have been spending ample time with Snow White. Did you not realize that when I stopped her putting a bullet in Lily's head?"

"But the ink," Regina shook her head, "You need the savior…dark," she made an expression at the last word as though she had been a complete and utter idiot for not realizing something sooner, she really HAD started to think like a hero and just assume the worst of Piper than think like a villain and see the ulterior motive behind her acts, "Lily has the darkness of the savior in her veins."

"And in her blood," Gold agreed, using Piper's hand as leverage to stand though the move surprised her and made her stumble slightly, turning to help steady him in turn, "Which is why we needed to ensure she returned to Storybrooke. My heart…" he winced, "It's dying, and so will my ability to love. And that is bad news for everyone. You don't wanna face the Dark One when there's no one else at home. Not even your beloved Savior could save you from that," he gave Regina a glare, "So I suggest you don't antagonize me."

"I don't really care what you'll be up to," Regina waved it off, "So long as Emma is off the table, for Henry's sake, I don't care what you do or who you need to step on to get to it."

Piper gave a light chuckle at that, "There is the infamous Evil Queen risen from the dead."

Regina just ignored her, "I want that ink too. I need it for my happy ending. There's a…typo that I need to erase, and I need the Author and the ink to do it."

"Zelena," Piper observed, Regina nodded at that. She glanced at Gold a moment and back, "I think there may be a deal to be struck that would benefit both of us."

Regina straightened, "I'm listening."

Piper just smirked.

~8~

It had been far, far too easy to manipulate Regina into getting them what they wanted, in the end. It truly was the mark of a desperate soul to not care about anyone or anything else so long as they got what they desired, and Regina's desire to be rid of her wicked sister was quite strong. A little word here or there and before they knew it, Regina had agreed to get the ink from Lily herself.

The deal was quite simple, really, Regina would be the one to confront Lily and obtain the blood. As a friend of the girl's mother, she would be able to get closer than anyone else even in spite of how she'd essentially double crossed the Queens of Darkness in favor of the heroes. And, if anything negative happened afterwards...Regina would be the one they focused on as the catalyst instead of them. Which was lucky for, as it turned out, Lily could turn into a dragon just as her mother could, and it happened due to the pain of an extremity being sliced open with a knife. Truly, Regina was not the most subtle when she was on a time crunch.

After that, all they had to do was 'loan' the Author to her to deal with Zelena and he would be returned to them, WITH the ink, to accomplish what THEY wanted.

Of course, they did take into account that Regina had turned over a disgusting new leaf in terms of wanting to be a hero. They couldn't be entirely sure that she would actually go through with the part of giving Isaac back, nor even that she'd find it in her to truly erase her sister, such was the hesitation of a hero, so they had instructed him while Regina had been busy hunting down Lily, that he should use the ink to return to them if it appeared Regina was going to turn back on her end of the bargain.

Which she had, the Evil Queen had truly died hadn't she? One brief and shining moment of resurrection...and then nothing.

Regina changed her mind, deciding against erasing Zelena from history, and so Isaac had made his escape with the ink in hand, appearing in the shop once more to inform them of all that had transpired, holding up the small inkwell for the two of the to see as they sat on the floor, Gold leaning against Piper as he struggled to breathe.

"Good," Gold breathed, "Go, write."

"Write on what?" Isaac moved to the counter, the nearest empty spot to work on.

Gold grunted and snapped his finger, making a large book the size and shape of Henry's storybook appear on the counter, but in black leather with white lettering, 'Heroes and Villains' inscribed across the front, Isaac immediately getting to work with the quill and ink.

"Now then," he panted, looking at Piper as she smirked at him, "It's time."

She nodded, "The villains will finally win something."

It truly would be the lesser of two evils, for Gold to have his heart fixed up and protected. No one would want to face the Dark One wandering about in Gold's body. The heroes especially would make an utter mess of it all. They would either attack him as a threat, or try to 'save' him and end up dead by not killing him…as though they'd be able to kill the Darkness. There was only one thing in all the worlds that could effectively destroy that darkness, and no one would have access to it in Storybrooke, it was something she would never breathe a word of to another after Rumpelstiltskin had told her of just how the Dark One's Dagger came to be. She was not going to risk his life or body, especially not after they'd broken the hold the Dagger had on him. If the heroes found out there was something else out there that could hurt him, worse than the Dagger, it would be chaos.

But even so, fixing his heart would mean the Dark One would be back, in all his glory, his heart protected from even more foul and loathsome deeds to come. It would mean that Gold would be powerful and strong once more, and she highly doubted he would be as reserved and contained as he had been in the past when it came to making dark choices and using dark magic, because this time…this time he was going to be a father once more.

And there was nothing more deadly and dangerous than someone protecting their true love and child.

Even the Charmings had proven that, in their willingness to put the lives of numerous people on the line to save each other, to turn to dark magic to protect their child…and THEY were the heroes.

Imagine that drive in the hands of a villain?

Either way, the heroes would not come out victorious, and that…was quite a win for the villains.

~8~

Unfortunately, the joy of upcoming victory was quickly threatened by none other than the heroes, of course.

"They are attempting to free the Apprentice?" Piper asked as she looked up at Emma and August as they stood before her and Gold in the shop, Isaac at work still behind the counter.

The two had come there shortly after the dragon that was Lily had been dealt with.

Well, Emma had stormed in while August had tried to calm her down.

As it turned out the heroes and the villains that were desperate to be them, had set Emma off once more, they truly just didn't know when to STOP did they? According to Emma, she had been at the docks, thinking about Lily and herself, what her parents had done, when Hook found her. He'd tried to talk to her, on behalf of her parents or in support of them, to get her to understand their motives and forgive them, to go help them face down Lily as a dragon. Whatever reaction he'd been hoping for in his words, Emma snapping at him for pushing that and storming off hadn't been one of them.

For god's sake, Emma had railed when she got the entire event off her chest, she'd only found out about her parents betrayal barely a week ago! Not even! Just mere days and they expected her to be able to forgive something of that magnitude in four goddamned days?!

Emma had been livid. She'd been rather irate at the expectation of instant forgiveness for something so dark and heinous as what she felt her parents had done had been. Literally they had told her early one night, then she freed the Author that night. The next day was dealing with Regina's revelation about Zelena as Marian and stopping Cruella hurting Henry, the day after that discovering that Lily was Maleficent's daughter and readying to go find her, and by the day after that they'd gotten Lily and brought her back. How the hell did anyone, hero or not, expect someone to forgive what Snow White and Charming had done in mere days?! The absolute expectation her parents had that they should have been forgiven already, coupled with Hook pushing her to do the same, without regard to her needing to process it had disgusted her. She couldn't deal with hearing it from Hook and stormed off, refusing to help her parents deal with the mess THEY had created. It was too like her own situation, someone with magic being unable to practice or even experience it till decades later and having to cope with it when they just came blasting out due to heightened emotions. Her parents created that mess in trying to muzzle a dragon baby in a world without magic, let them deal with the dragon and its mother this time.

August had run into her on his way to the shop. He'd been keeping tabs on the dragon situation, on Lily really, to make sure that the blood had been taken and see whether Lily might direct attention to Regina instead of Piper and Gold. He had been coming to tell them that Lily was back to normal, but that they also knew Regina had gotten the blood to make the Author use it on Zelena...that now they probably knew, through Regina herself, that he'd now disappeared back to them and was likely writing away whatever changes he was going to make. He'd tried his best to calm Emma down about the situation on the way, not daring to tell her Hook was right to ask her to forgive her parents, because he didn't think they deserved it either. But Emma had been too worked up to listen.

It hadn't been till Henry had texted her and she'd read his message that her anger at her parents had gone out the window in order to focus on the events now unfolding.

"Yeah," Emma nodded, her arms crossed as she shifted back and forth on her feet, thinking of the message. Henry had gone with the heroes as they attempted to find a way to stop Isaac by looking for clues in the Sorcerer's mansion, as the resident expert on said mansion, though he was acting more as a spy than anything. She was sure her parents were just LOVING that Henry had 'seen the light' and 'made the right choice' to help them.

He had informed them that the others had gathered, trying to look for clues in the blank books stored in the mansion about what Isaac might write, but had stopped when they came across a book of sketches for the different fairytale characters. One was of the Apprentice, a man that Hook recognized and informed them of his whereabouts, trapped in the Sorcerer's Hat. He had quickly texted his other mother about it, warning her that the heroes had gone to the Blue Fairy to try and release the Apprentice to help them stop Isaac.

She had immediately passed on the message, not even making a move to leave the shop and help the heroes in their new quest either. She actually wanted to see Gold healed as much as Piper did.

"And it looks like they might succeed," August warned.

"Are you, uh, close?" Gold called to the Author, knowing that the man should be finishing up their agreed upon changes soon.

"Hang in there, Dark One," he nodded, not ceasing to write, "Don't let that heart turn to coal just yet. You'll be fine. Better than ever."

"Why help me?" Gold had to ask, wincing as he tried to sit up more, clutching his chest as even that took enormous effort and energy, "You have the quill now. You don't need me or Pip anymore."

Isaac glanced up to see the others looking at him too, shrugging as he focused back on the book, not about to say that, even with Gold in crippling pain, Piper was still an enormous threat...as was the added fact that two other people were there that could clearly take him out as well. Piper was, admittedly, more focused on Gold the weaker he got, and he knew Emma and August would HAVE to leave soon or else risk being spotted by other townspeople 'helping' the villains, but still, for now, he could at least give another excuse, "We're a lot alike. We've both struggled mightily for happiness all our lives, you and Piper have," he mused, "Two peas in a pod. You got power, embraced it, to become the Dark One and the Pied Piper, but you've never been the content ones," he knew that much, both of them had always had something else they wanted too. The Dark One wanted his son back, the Piper had wanted her cousin safe and back in her life, neither had gotten what they wanted till it was too late, and even when they got it, it still wasn't right, "I know what that's like," he sighed, "To always have dissatisfaction gnawing at you, watching other people's happiness bloom. It's time for a new world where villains can have happy endings."

"Not at the risk of the heroes though, right?" Emma wanted to make sure, giving Gold another chance at his heart healing would be one thing, but reversing everything to make the heroes miserable wasn't what she signed up for.

"Some will change if certain events are different," Isaac stated diplomatically, not hiding the fact that he did intend to change somethings, the Dark One had a lot of darkness to sort through and try to fix, somethings were too deeply rooted in his heart to not change the story about, "It's in the nature of a ripple effect," he glanced at her, "But I can say that most won't be drastically altered."

Emma nodded slowly at that, feeling like he was more trying to reassure that HER past and her family wouldn't change…which did make sense, he was there to help Gold and Piper too. But still, something felt off about this just a little...

"And uh, what does YOUR ending look like?" August eyed the man, suspicious, he could tell Isaac wasn't telling the whole truth, "Being king of the castle somewhere? Being rich and famous?"

"Bingo," Isaac pointed the quill at him a moment and kept writing, "I'd rather avoid the dysentery and 40-year life expectancy. Room service and indoor plumbing is more my style. You all enjoy your happy ending in your land, I'll take one in mine. And we'll all get what we want in just a moment."

"Hold on, 'in your land?'" Emma frowned, "You're sending us back to the Enchanted Forest?"

Isaac sighed, "It's where the story began," he explained, "It's where the magic is strongest. I can only do so much in this little pocket town even with a magic quill. You'll need to be somewhere that's more connected to the Dark One and magic than here."

Emma glanced at Piper for that, the woman giving her a resigned look as though she hadn't been happy about that either, but it had to be done. It did make sense though, Storybrooke was unique, but it was just created by magic, a place where it could exist, it wasn't originally magical at all so it stood to reason that the Forest would be needed to make the magic actually work and work well.

Piper gave Gold a gentle squeeze on the arm before she stood, "Come on," she gestured to Emma and August, "You two need to be far from here when the book is finished," she warned, "The last thing you shall want is other heroes seeing you associating with and helping the villains before a plot unfolds. Savior or not, they will turn on you instantly."

Emma nearly chuckled at that, but managed a wry smile, "Still trying to protect me."

"Always," Piper nodded, "The both of you," she added to August, "Now go. Find somewhere stable to wait it out."

Gold glanced over, watching as Piper stepped out of the doors to finish speaking to Emma and August, before he turned to Isaac, "Any particular reason you've stopped writing?" he demanded weakly, having seen the man pause the moment the door closed.

Isaac flushed, "Um, there's uh, just two more small details," he glanced at Gold, "Your son, Baelfire…"

Gold shook his head, "Don't toy with me, scribe. Magic can't bring back the dead."

"No, it can't," he agreed, "This quill and ink can only change a past it has created, which is why I must write your new story from this moment forward and into the future. But, in your new life, I can make you forget him."

"No, never. I want my memories of him," he glanced out the window, seeing Piper hugging August, the man smiling at her and his heart pinged painfully at the look of love in the young man's eyes for his mother, something he could rarely recall with his own son, "But, maybe with a…slight adjustment. I would like a world where I remember doing right by my boy. Where he may be gone, but I can live with that loss. Where Bae sees me as a hero right at the end."

Isaac smiled, "I think I can do that," he agreed, "And the last detail," he glanced at the window quickly, "Piper…Snow White and…and that whole mess. Should I carry that over or…"

"I want Pip to be as happy as possible," was all Gold could get out before the pain in his chest tripled, causing him to start wheezing.

It was almost as though Piper could sense it, for she entered only a moment later, hurrying to his side, "Isaac!" she snapped.

"Right," he shook himself, quickly writing in the last details, "Time to finish," he muttered, writing faster as he heard Gold starting to gasp for air, "And…The End!"

Piper looked over at the words, seeing Isaac grinning proudly at the book just as a blue light blasted out of it, smoke rippling from it as the room began to shake, the light filling everywhere till it was too bright to look at any longer, consuming them and the town together…

A/N: Small warning for the next chapter, since the majority of the next episode takes place in the Enchanted Forest as a sort of AU 'flashback,' there won't be another flashback chapter. Instead, the next one will be the last of the story, featuring Operation Mongoose in its entirety ;) I can say, you may be surprised with the Piper we see next }:) But I can say there was a tiny foreshadowing of what might come earlier in the story, I won't say where though till after the next chapter's posted ;)

This chapter though, imagining this episode with Piper's influence, it made me really excited for the AU where she raises Emma...for a reason I can't say without spoiling it, and it's killing me lol :)

Also for this chapter, I hope you liked that Emma hasn't forgiven Snow yet. Unlike in the episode, I couldn't see Emma, here, forgiving her that easily and just from a few words from Hook :/ I feel like, with how the show portrays time, how quickly events seem to move, lots of them happening in the same day, it couldn't be more than a week that Emma's known about what Snowing did to Lily, and it doesn't seem like something you can really forgive someone for in such a short amount of time. The fact that Emma hasn't forgiven them will be very important in later parts of the story though ;)

Some notes on reviews...

Oh Piper can hold a grudge worse than Regina }:) She will not be forgiving her cousin any time soon, and even if she gets revenge against her for the pain, that doesn't mean instant forgiveness from her either ;)

I'm not quite sure Piper would go so far as killing Snow and Charming in the AU world, only because of what she said to Lily, they wouldn't suffer nearly as much as they should if they were just killed ;) I can say there will be a TLK in the AU, and some sort of magic will break, but I can't say whose kiss it is or what magic is broken from it ;) But that's ok, babble away! I love that the stories give people ideas and theories about what's coming :')

I hope the week gets better for you! I definitely understand things just continuously coming up and bringing you down so I hope it gets better! :)

Aww thanks! :) I'm really glad you enjoyed the last chapter :') I really tried to touch on the different subjects and keep the perspective of Rose as a younger her, not knowing what lies ahead or how her POV would change as things went on :') I can say in the AU, Piper will be much more a mediator role, having raised two children, she'll be an expert at resolving conflict and knowing exactly what words to say or even looks to give to get them to stop or change their minds. Lol, now I'm picturing Emma with her arms crossed and glaring at Piper and she just gives Emma that look that mothers give like 'Go ahead, try that attitude me, I dare you' and Emma just huffs like 'Fine!' and gives in lol :) I would have been very ok with that sort of backstory for Pongo and his old owners, but then again, I'm a sucker for puppies too lol :) I think that's a very interesting pairing, I love Hiccup and HTTYD, though now I'm more picturing Maleficent and Lily's reaction to people that might want to ride them like a horse and then Hiccup's reaction to dragons that can turn into people...and now I'm picturing Toothless as a person :) I think they'd be a little wary of people that can 'control' dragons, but Hiccup is such a lovable guy I think he'd get them to warm up to him :) I got the picture and I thought it was lovely :) I think Henry would definitely incorporate some sort of red for his mothers and maybe a greyish color since one mother is dark and one is light and that sort of makes him almost grey and the in-between also in being the son of the Savior and the Dark One's son too :)