A/N: Let's pretend that I may know how the season will end, will you? Because there are few things that I came to love about the show... and Outlaw Queen is one of them. And Lily and the Author are two of them. So, yeah, here it is. My first Once Upon A Time fic...

There was a time, when The Author had believed himself to be a God, and had abused the gift he had been given; what should have been a story-telling, had turned into a manipulation of the events, and now that he was blocked in this strange realm- in Storybrooke – he finally understood the weight of his actions, and how much pain and grief he had caused anyone. For centuries, trapped inside the book, he had cursed the Apprentice, thought of a way to get his revenge on the old way as he walked from page to page, but now he felt he deserved his punishment, for he had toyed with the lives of too many…

Lily, raised alone, far away from her mother, feeling cursed from the day she was born…

Maleficent, who had lost the chance at getting her heart back, and had been engulfed by darkness once more because of her loss….

Prince Charming and his beloved wife, feeling for years the weight of an something they hadn't been able to prevent just because of a whim of his…

Emma, who had been robbed of her chance at free will, and was risking becoming the darkest of them all as a result of his machinations…

Regina and Robin, who he had "forced" to part ways even before their paths could fully cross…

… and then, then there were so many others, because touching the life of one meant touching the life of many, of everyone who turned out to be touched and influenced by his "toys" in return.

And now, what was he about to do? Playing Gold's game would be his downfall, he knew that doing as Rumple wanted would meant walking his old path all over again, a demonstration that imprisonment had taught him nothing but revenge- in short, nothing.

But… but… maybe… if it was going to be done with an heart filled with love… and to prize the heroes… then, maybe, just maybe…

"No!" he screamed at the top of his lugs, sweat running down his whole body. Without giving himself the chance of rethinking his plane of action, he grabbed from Gold's hands the magic nib, and run in the forest as fast as he could, clenching the book to his chest; after what seemed an eternity, he finally found an alcove, and he decided to get started on his newest, and maybe last, piece of writing, for he knew he wouldn't have long before Gold and the Zelena found him.

"You should have thought twice before crossing us, dearie…" Gold and the Wicked Witch appeared right before him, standing tall in all their evil glory. Gold was as cold as usual, and was shaking his head, while Zelena was giggling like she was a little girl, but he had written about her enough to be aware that her heart was as black as Gold's one, if not more.

The Author didn't answer, he just gulped down a mouthful of saliva. He knew it was the end for him, for he hadn't written but a few words of what he had intended to. Gold took a big breath, sighing like he had to deal with a nuisance, then, he snapped his fingers, and the magic nib was back in his possession.

"Oh, you poor little one. What are going to do now that Rumple has the nib back? Guess that maybe we'll not need you any longer, after all…."

"Oh, I don't know, my dear… he could still be useful. Besides, I think he would enjoy being trapped into the book again for another few centuries…"

"Or maybe I could turn him into one of my pets… he would be such a charming little flying monkey… I think I could have him write in blood…"

The Author had to admit that none of the options he was presented with were fascinating him- and neither was death, for what mattered, and yet it was a destiny he was ready to face, if it meant truly pay for his faults. Even if he wasn't done yet- he had to finish his masterwork, after all.

But how could he, when the nib wasn't in his possession any longer?

Unless…

Unless, the magic wasn't in the object as he had always assumed, but running through his whole being; after all, Gold had mentioned that August had confessed the existence of many other Authors through the centuries, and yet, he was almost positive that many of them didn't possess his artifacts, and yet their story-telling had been as magical and as successful as his own.

"You're wrong. It's not over yet." He said, his words a mere whisper in the wind. He closed his eyes and took a big breath, and then he worked his magic- the magic of his mind, of his imagination, of his heart- and the words started to appear on the white pages of the Story Book on their own.

"What do you think you are doing, you little…", "How dare you to defy the Dark one, you miserable…" Zelena and Gold started to say at the same time, but as soon as the words left their lips, a small smile graced the Author's features, and he felt as happy and free as he had never felt before.

"Too late…." He simply said, and a white light engulfed the three of them, and when they vanished, the book fell on the ground with a thund, while Zelena's monkeys turned back into who they had used to be, and suddenly everyone who had been under The Dark One's control was free once again.

"What the…" Emma wondered as the battle suddenly stopped, her hands still lifted in the air, ready to strike her opponents.

"Uhm… looks like the worm finally got some spine…" Regina chuckled as she helped Robin stand- Zelena's latest whim had been turning the Prince of Thieves into her pet, and sending him against her hatred half-sister.

"Regina, I'm so sorry…" he looked into her eyes, cupping her cheeks as guilt engulfed him; he would be forever linked to Zelena, unable to part with her, now that she was pregnant with his child, and yet, he owed Regina at least his heart. That, the Wicked Witch, would never possess, ever.

"It's ok Robin, it's not your fault. If there's someone we are supposed to blame it's Zelena… and me." She admitted shaking her head, her eyes closed as fresh tears burned them. "I was the one who started this foolish crusade, and gave Gold the idea of looking for the Author to get our Happily Ever After. I should have known better than a villain doesn't deserve happiness."

"What? No! It's not fair, Regina!" Swan shook her head, her hart filled with sympathy for the woman who was once her nemesis. "You've changed so much since we've met, and you've done your best to be worthy Henry's love and our trust and respect. You deserve your Happy Ending!"

"Yeah, well, Henry's comic books teach me that heroes don't get to be happy either, so I guess that's it." she chuckled, darkly, cynical, moving as far away from Robin as possible, to no avail, as the man grabbed her for her right wrist and engulfed the former Evil Queen in a tight hug, crushing their chests together. As soon as he did, she suddenly felt out of breath, and for a fraction of second, the world went black all around her as she felt heat and light filling her.

"Regina?" Both Robin and Emma called out for her.

"I don't know, I feel so… strange, I guess? Maybe it's because of all the magic in the air?" Besides, who knew what kind of spell Zelena had casted to get back at her for the mere fault of existing…

Emma was reaching the former couple, ready to try to cast a spell to see what was wrong with her "frenemy", when suddenly the Story Book appeared like from thin air, and fell on the ground, right before Lily's foots. "Yeah, well, I'd bet that book has something to do with it…"

"It looks like Regina was right. The worm decided indeed who truly deserved to survive this fight." Hook looked at the book, still on the ground, like all the others were; they now knew the power it held, and they were scared... overwhelmed by its intensity; it wasn't a book any longer- it could be a weapon in the wrong hands.

"Do you hear it too?" Lily asked as she kneed on the ground, her fingers gazing the leather of the old manuscript. "Do you hear this song, mother? It's… it's coming from the book… like a siren's call… singing my name?" Lily grabbed the book and lifted it from the ground, and when she opened it, a beautiful fountain pen with gold and diamonds appeared in her hand; she smiled, suddenly feeling accepted, alive and truly happy, a part of something bigger , in peace with herself and the whole universe for the first time since she could actually remember.

"Oh. My. God." Regina said, quite astonished, as she crossed her arms; the next author had been chosen- and apparently, she had been right when telling Emma that fate was guiding their actions, because the child who had been lost because of the previous Author had now passed the torch to that same child, a child who was intimately connected to Emma herself, had been since long before they were both born.

"Lily, I know that it's going to be tempting to rewrite…." Emma started, but the brunette shook her head, stopping her long-time friend from continuing.

"Emma, if there's anything that being here had taught me, is that there are forces way too big for me to play with. I think that I'll get back to do what the Author was supposed to do since the start- I'll tell brand new stories, and I'll pass on the chronicles of the lives of the people of the Enchanted Forest. Besides…" She smiled of an enigmatic smile, and showed them the book, the pages rolling in her hands like an endless river, quickly.

And yet, they all could catch on the images, the pictures that had magically appeared in the manuscript on that very day, images that hadn't been there the last time they had seen it.

"…Besides, I think that my predecessor did indeed switch sides… and decided to give the heroes the happily ever after they deserve."

…And so, she stopped on a beautiful page, one where a beautiful and heavily pregnant Regina was as radiant as never before, surrounded by all the people who cared about and loved her, as she kissed her soul-mate on their wedding day.