A/N: The last chapter didn't have any Emma in it, so here's the next one which is exclusively from her point of view. I hope you enjoy it, and thanks for reading!

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Emma hurried back to the tree, a small slab of some kind of dried meat she didn't recognize resting in one hand and a small piece of bread in the other. She hadn't meant to be gone for so long. She had found a town, but it had been much farther along than she had originally hoped for. And then it had taken her way more time than she had anticipated to haggle for some food. Apparently the cash in her pocket wasn't acceptable currency to most people on this side of the Brooke.

By the time she left the town, the sun was already setting and now it was almost completely dark. The light of the moon and the stars made it so that she could see somewhat, but she still found herself tripping on logs and tree roots every now and then.

"Seriously?!" she wondered aloud to no one in particular the fifth time it happened. It wasn't so much the tripping that was frustrating her — although that was certainly a factor — but the fact that she was worried about Killian. She was no survivalist, but she was pretty sure that leaving someone tied to a tree in the forest at night was not a good idea. And as much as Killian grated on her nerves, she didn't want anything to happen to him.

Finally she caught sight of the tree in the distance. She couldn't make out Killian, but that wasn't surprising given how dark it was, she reminded herself. But as she got closer and closer, she realized that he wasn't there.

"Dammit!" she exclaimed, running up to the tree and checking for any signs of struggle. She didn't see any, which meant that Killian had probably found a way to free himself. While she wasn't happy about him escaping, she couldn't help but heave a sigh of relief at the fact that he wasn't dead or injured. Most likely.

With the excitement of the moment gone and her adrenaline fading, Emma felt exhaustion setting into her bones. She plopped to the ground, her back resting against the tree. She set the food beside her and stared off into the distance, contemplating her next move. She tilted her head back and let her eyes fall shut. She would just rest them for a minute. Then she would get up and figure out what she should do next…

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Emma couldn't tell where she was. Everywhere she looked she seemed to be surrounded by bright, white light. Looking down at her clothing, she found that she was dressed in a long white dress, which was also white.

"What the hell?" she asked, raising one of her arms up to inspect one of the sleeves, which fell all the way to the floor.

"Sorry about that," someone said, making Emma pop her head up. Standing before her was a boy who looked to be just a couple years younger than her. He had short brown hair and was smiling kindly at her. But what was really striking were his eyes. She had the strangest feeling she had seen those eyes somewhere before.

"Who are you?" she asked. "Where am I?"

"Technically you're still sitting by that tree in the forest," he answered. "But right now your consciousness is in the dream realm. I'm simply visiting you."

"How is that even possible?"

"I'd love to get into the semantics of dream realms, but right now Killian is in grave danger, and you're the only one who can help him."

"What do you mean grave danger? And how do you even know him? You would have to be a—"

"Star?" he asked, smirking at her, which she returned with an eye roll. "Yes, that's exactly what I am. And as such I how much danger Killian is in right now," he continued, his voice rising slightly. "People from the side of the Brooke that you're on now are always looking to find stars. Do you know why?"

Emma shook her head.

"It's because if you cut out the heart of a star and consume it, you'll live forever."

"You mean…" Emma gestured toward her mouth, unable to actually say the words.

The boy hung his head.

"Yes," he said, looking back up at her with a small sheen of tears glistening in his eyes. "Many years ago, another star — a star I'm named for, in fact — fell to your planet. But instead of someone like you, he was found by three evil sorcerers. They tricked him, made him feel like they wanted to help him. They brought him back to their lair and while he was sleeping they killed him."

"That's awful," Emma said quietly. "But Killian looks just like a normal person and I don't think anyone—"

"He's already being tracked by one of them: a terrible creature who goes by the name of Rumplestiltskin," he said, cutting her off yet again. "But he's in disguise. Killian won't be able to recognize him. You need to find him before that beast does."

"I want to help, really I do. But just a couple of days ago, I didn't even know that this whole world existed. I don't know the first thing about protecting him."

"You're more powerful than you know, Emma Swan."

"What's that supposed to mean? Look, I really think you've picked the wrong person, I—"

"Please," he said softly, staring her down with his sad blue eyes. "He's my brother. And right now you're my best option."

Looking into his eyes — which she realized were also Killian's eyes — Emma felt her resistance crumble.

"Alright," she said. "I'll do my best."

"Thank you," he said. He waved his hand and everything started to go blurry.

"What's happening?" Emma asked, panic lacing her voice.

"You're waking up," he replied. "I know it's disorienting, but you're going to be fine," he said as he turned and began to walk off in the opposite direction.

"Wait!" she called out. "I never got to ask you your name!"

He briefly stopped walking and turned his head just ever so slightly to look back at her.

"It's Liam."

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Emma gasped as her eyes fluttered open. While the dream was not the craziest thing that had happened to her over the last couple of days, it was certainly up there.

But she didn't have any time to waste. Killian was in danger, and even though she still felt woefully unequipped to save him even in spite of Liam's cryptic reassurances, she was still going to do her best to try.