. . . . . ╰──╮✰ ✰ ✰ ╭──╯ . . . . .

‎‧₊˚✧ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ᴛʜɪʀᴛᴇᴇɴ✧˚₊‧

‎‧₊˚✧ꜱɪʀᴇɴ ꜱᴏɴɢ✧˚₊‧

______

"Here's To You

'Cause Forgiveness Is A Nice thing To Do

Hahahahahaha

I Can't Even Say It With A Straight Face."

______

Angie and Mary Margaret observed from the window as the stranger walked up to Emma outside the diner. While Angie had never, and probably would never, have a relationship of her own, she frequently got invested in the relationships of others. She could tell that there was something going on between Emma and the stranger. Whether he had a crush on her or was just being creepy, Angie didn't know. But Mary Margaret had seen it too, and they were intent to find out what was going on. The two took sips of their coffees as the stranger spoke.

"I've been meaning to bump into you. Matter of fact, I was hoping we might grab that drink you promised."

"Are you asking me out?" Emma questioned him.

"Well, if putting a label on it makes you feel more comfortable, sure. Let's call it a date."

Angie raised her eyebrows. Had she actually gotten Emma a date? Mary Margaret noticed Angie about to say something and held a finger to her lips. Emma was answering the stranger's suggestion.

"I thought you came here to write, find inspiration."

The stranger smiled and leaned back slightly. "Well, I'm optimistic about our date."

Emma didn't seem charmed in the slightest. "See, I have a policy. I won't go out with guys who won't tell me their names. Find it weeds out the ones who keep secrets, like they're already married or store body parts in their freezer. It was nice talking to you."

"It's August. August W. Booth."

"Really?" Emma questioned with a chuckle. "With the middle initial?"

Emma moved to enter the diner, so Mary Margaret and Angie switched tables to make it seem like they weren't listening. Emma came in a few minutes later and plopped herself down next to them. "We weren't listening," Angie assured Emma, causing Mary Margaret to give her a look. She shrugged and took another sip of coffee.

"Who was that?" Mary Margaret asked Emma.

Emma sighed. "I don't know yet. It's nothing."

Angie gave Emma a look. "We wouldn't be talking about it if it was nothing." Mary Margaret nodded in agreement.

"I thought you called us here to talk about you," Emma asked, looking at Mary Margaret.

She sighed. "Yeah, but talking about you is easier right now."

"What's wrong?"

Mary Margaret leaned in and whispered. "Remember when you two told me to stay away from David and I agreed?"

Angie knew where this was going. "Yes," she whispered back.

Mary Margaret shrugged her shoulders sheepishly. "I didn't."

Emma and Angie shared a look. Emma leaned in closer. "We know."

Mary Margaret was shocked. "You do? How?"

Emma lowered her voice a little more. "Because we're the police, and you are a lovesick school teacher."

"May, covering your tracks isn't exactly your best skill," Angie said as she took another sip of coffee.

"I've been discreet!" Mary Margaret said loudly before quickly lowering her voice.

Emma laid the facts on the table. "Two teacups in the sink, new perfume, late nights, plunging necklines."

"Sneaking out early in the morning, wearing that pearl necklace lower than you usually do, flowers in the trash can," Angie continued. "Plus you have a picture of him under your mattress."

Mary Margaret instantly looked at her neckline. "Plunging?"

"You were a top-button kind of girl until a few weeks ago," Angie told her.

Mary Margaret was still a little shook. She looked at Angie. "How'd you even know about the picture thing?"

"The one chore you gave me was changing the sheets."

"'Cause you did everything else wrong!" Mary Margaret complained before she addressed both girls. "Why didn't you say anything?"

Emma shrugged. "I'm not your mother."

"No. According to Henry, I'm yours." Mary Margaret sighed.

Angie smiled softly at her. "We just figured that you would let us know when it was time."

"He's telling Kathryn," Mary Margaret admitted.

Emma leaned in closer. "Everything?"

"Everything."

–

Lilith leaned back in Rumplestiltskin's chair. It was incredibly comfortable, with a leather seat and gold designs. She pressed her right hand on the arm of the chair as she held her scepter with her left. Over the past few days she had changed the castle to a black color, just like her soul. As for Rumplestiltskin...

"HMMPH."

Lilith looked over towards the dining room chair that she had tied Rumplestiltskin to with red ribbons. There was a ribbon tied around his mouth, preventing him from speaking in coherent sentences.

"What's wrong, Rumpy?" Lilith asked him. "Cat got your tongue?" She cackled and flicked her hand, lowering the ribbon away from Rumplestiltskin's mouth. "I suppose you can't do what I want if you are gagged."

"I will never do anything for you," Rumplestiltskin spat.

Lilith chuckled. "Oh, you don't have a choice, dearie. You know why?" She reached into thin air and produced a silver sword. She flipped it over so her captive could see what the inscription on the other side said: Rumplestiltskin.

Rumplestiltskin sucked in a breath. "How did you get that? How did you know I was the Dark One?"

"I'm gonna be honest with you. Everyone knows you are the Dark One. As for the sword, I found it on the fireplace mantle. Bad place to hide something. Now, if I am understanding the rules of your power correctly, the second you took this power, your life force chained itself to this sword. Whoever wields it, wields you. And if someone kills you with it, they take your power."

Rumplestiltskin started to struggle against his bonds. Lilith's scepter glowed. An image appeared above it, showing David headed towards a lake in the woods. She sucked in a breath. She knew she had to deal with the heinous bastard sooner or later, but she had been hoping that it would be later.

She turned to Rumplestiltskin. "As I am in a bit of a time crunch, I'll be willing to make a special little deal with you. I have no interest in your power. So, I'll just.." She closed her hand tightly around the sword, causing it to vanish.

"My deal is as follows. I'll loosen your bonds slightly. You can go out into the world and find your precious sword. But you are not allowed to harm me or use magic against me. And every day it takes you to find the sword, you owe me a favor."

"Deal!" Rumplestiltskin said instantly, his brain still foggy from the poison she used on him. Lilith smiled and blew pink dust in his face. He coughed and started to sway. "Wha-"

"I said you couldn't use magic. I didn't say anything about me. Your time starts now. Let's see if you even wake up to get out of that chair."

Rumplestiltskin was asleep within the next minute. Lilith had used him as her first test subject for her Sleeping Curse. She examined the image of David again. It was time for her to make another deal.

–

Lilith appeared on the shore of Lake Nostos. The waters of the lake had been sought for by many and all had failed, as they could return what was lost. They were guarded by a beast that led people to their death. Normally, Lilith avoided the lake, but she had to get there before David did.

She gently touched the surface of the lake, sending ripples to summon the beast. The ripples spread from her touch outward. A glow raised itself from the lake and a siren emerged. She had long blonde hair and was bathed in jewels. The siren smiled.

"What's your name? I can tell you mine. I can be anyone you want me to be."

Lilith lowered her eyes to the floor in order to avoid the allure of the siren. "Listen, fishy. You can't drag me down like the others. I have a job for you."

A male voice came from the siren. "It's always a job, isn't it Lili?"

Lilith made the mistake of glancing up. The siren had taken the form of a young man with wavy ash blonde hair and black eyes. The man had red wings with white tips that flapped as he approached her. Lilith sucked in a small breath. "Enough games, fishy."

"The only game is the one you're playing, Lili." The man approached her and gently placed a hand on her side. "How you try to avoid me. Yet you have my name tattooed on your side. Waiting for the day we reunite." He lifted his other hand to touch her face but Lilith administered a hefty slap to his arm.

"Lili-" the man tried again, but Lilith's next slap was across his face. The man stumbled back towards the lake. He wiped blood from his upper lip and smirked. "Lili. Father would be so disappointed with you for ignoring family."

Lilith spun her scepter and pointed it at the man, sending a crystal blade against his neck. "You're not my family. I have a proposition for you. There is a man coming to take water from your waters. I want you to kill him. If you do this, I'll spare you from my curse. Do we have a deal?"

The siren reverted back to her original form. "I suppose."

"And one more thing," Lilith told her. "If he doesn't die, you do instead."

–

Angie headed out to her car and started to brush some leaves off the hood. She ensured to push them into the road and not onto the sidewalk. Just as she was brushing the top layer off, she noticed Mary Margaret running into Granny. Mary Margaret instantly apologized, but Granny shook her head at Mary Margaret, ashamed. Mary Margaret ran off. Angie assumed that things hadn't gone well when David told Katheryn.

Angie was about to follow Mary Margaret when she almost tripped over a wooden box. She glanced down at the box, which was similar in style to the one that August had his typewriter in. Angie glanced around to see if anyone had left the box, but there was no one around. She lifted the box up and placed it on the hood of her car. She lifted the small golden latch to reveal Henry's missing Once Upon A Time book.

Henry's school was only a few minutes walk, so Angie decided to walk over there. By the time she reached the school, Henry was seated on a bench playing with a video game console. Angie sat down next to him and glanced at the console.

"Wow! I love that game. 'Space Paranoids', right?"

"Yeah," Henry responded in a monotone voice. "My mom got it for me. She's picking me up in like five minutes."

Angie smiled. "Okay, I'll be quick then. I've just got something I'd like to give you." She removed the book from her coat.

Henry's mood improved instantly. "You found it! Where'd you get it?"

"I found it in the gutter by my car. Must have fallen off the dump truck on the way to the junkyard and got tossed around in the rain."

"Wow," Henry remarked, taking the book. "That's crazy. Maybe it means our luck is changing. Operation Cobra is back on. It's a sign, things are gonna be better."

Angie ruffled his hair. "I hope you're right, kiddo. I gotta go."

Angie and Emma arrived back at the apartment at the same time, likely with the same purpose. As they headed inside, they heard light sobs coming from Mary Margaret's bedroom. Angie gently opened the door to see Mary Margaret crying on her bed.

Emma spoke up. "You want to talk about it yet?"

"No."

"Do you want to be alone?" Angie asked.

There was a slight pause. "No."

Emma and Angie exchanged a look before climbing onto the bed with Mary Margaret. Angie wrapped her arms around Mary Margaret and Emma leaned against the two of them. Maybe things were changing in Storybrooke. And maybe some of them were bad. But one thing was for the better. Mary Margaret would always have the two of them to hold her together.

–

Lilith watched from her scepter as the siren approached David. "What's your name? Would you like to know mine? Because I can be anyone you want me to be."

Unfortunately, David was too smart for the siren. "Stop. I know what you are. You're a siren. Your deceitful words are a spell meant to lure me to my death."

The siren resorted to flirting. "I would never hurt such a brave, powerful man like yourself. Not when there are so many other things we could do."

The siren moved closer to David, who called out, "I said stop!" He pushed the siren away. "I will not fall prey to your deceptions."

"Really? You're immune to me." She poured water from the lake on her face, transforming her face into that of Snow White. "Like me more now, Charming?"

David took in a breath, but was still unconvinced. "No. You're not really her. It's an illusion. I know it's not real."

"Sometimes illusions are better than truth. Everything you want that you can't have- I can give it to you. All you have to do is kiss me. I know you want to, I can feel it."

She gave him a kiss. David dropped his sword into the lake in shock. Lilith watched in delight as the siren brought him farther towards the center of the lake. David was oblivious. "Snow..." he whispered out.

"Oh, that's right. It's me," the siren said as she pressed another kiss against his lips. "I love you."

David suddenly pulled away. "No. No. It's not you. This is not real love. I've felt it, and this isn't it. I know the difference."

The siren sighed angrily. "Congratulations, Prince Charming. You're the first."

The siren pushed David into the depths of the lake and dragged him down to the bottom. She gestured for him to follow her. He looked and saw the skeletons of other fallen warriors at the bottom of the lake. Lilith watched as he tried to swim to the surface, but a strand of seaweed grabbed his leg and pulled him down. The siren swam over to him and pulled him into one final kiss before he stabbed her with a dagger, causing her face to transform back to its original state. Lilith screamed in rage as he swam back to the surface.

"No! The blonde bimbo had one job!"

She smashed her scepter into the ground, causing her to appear in front of David. David jumped and Lilith pushed her scepter forward. A blast sent David into a tree. Vines wrapped around him, tying him tight.

"No!" Lilith yelled out. "You don't get to be happy after what you did to me! This is my story! My happy ending! Not yours!"

David struggled to talk as vines crawled up his neck. "Who..are...you..?"

"Really?" Lilith said with a smirk. "You don't recognize me, Sheep Whisperer?"

David coughed in realization. "Angelica?"

"Lilith now, but yes."

"Who..who did..did this to you?"

Lilith cackled. "Can't even recognize his own work. I was always a villain, you said so yourself. I just needed you to realize that. And the whole kingdom will pay for your mistake."

She flicked her hand and two cotton nose plugs headed into his nose. Lilith then raised her scepter into the air, pink smoke rising from the gem. She fanned her hand upward, spreading the smoke outward. It headed into the forest and the sky, spreading across the kingdom. Anyone and everyone who breathed in the smoke fell victim to its effects, falling asleep. As the smoke started to clear from the forest, Lilith removed David's nose plugs.

"Sleeping is too good for you." She told him before he asked. She stabbed her scepter into the ground and the vines grew tighter and tighter around David. Finally, he was trapped, entirely encased in flora. Lilith took a deep breath in and placed her hand on her upper right breast line, where the name Luc was tattooed. The siren was wrong. She'd never ignore her family. Ever.