Title: No Sunlight
Pairing: Snow/Charming
Rating: T
Warnings: Torture scenes/abuse, all out Evil Queen-ness
Summary: After the curse breaks, Regina must first regain control over her magic before getting her revenge against Emma and Snow. Dark. Canon until midway through 2x01.
Spoilers: Through Season 1 Finale/first half of 2x01.
Disclaimer: Don't own, etc. etc.
Timeline: This story takes place after the townspeople go to confront Regina in 2x01, when Regina tries to use her magic against them. Regina's magic is back but inconsistent. The townspeople did go to confront Regina and Emma stops them from doing anything permanently, placing Regina under house arrest. The story picks up when Emma goes to check on her "prisoner."
A/N: Here we go…please let me know whatcha think!
Chapter 12: Angels & Airwaves
Emma spared a glance at Snow. Her heart beat faster, her face harsh. "If Regina had me," she spoke slowly, "It makes sense that she would have Henry. Above everything else, our constant fight has always surrounded him." Emma said, conviction in every line of her body, her features sharp with anger. "He's here. And I'm going to find him."
Standing between her parents, Emma's head lifted suddenly, her eyes narrowing. The same light that had filled her eyes while she was casting the spell on Regina was present again in their depths for a moment and then faded. She froze and inhaled deeply, readying herself for the stairs.
"I think…I know where he is," Emma said slowly. She stood, wobbling once from exhaustion, and moved unsteadily towards the dungeon's stairs. The stairs had once signaled pain; now, they represented reunion and freedom. The wooden steps were only slightly warmer than the dungeon's ground on her bare feet, Emma noted as she moved up them, clutching the wall for support. She barely felt the dampness on the slimy walls as she dragged her hand along it. She emerged into the mansion's modern kitchen. Dim light filtered in from the window in front of the sink, casting the kitchen in an eerie light. The gleaming countertop and appliances sparkled forlornly. Briefly, Emma glanced at the window. Was the sun rising or setting?
It didn't matter; only finding and freeing Henry mattered. With each step she took, Emma felt more and more certain of his location. Emma was only vaguely aware of James and Snow. They, to their credit, didn't try to stop or question her; they simply followed their daughter on her quest to locate their grandson.
Emma moved through the kitchen, towards the hallway that lead to the rest of the mansion. She spared a glance at the entryway and saw her crumpled leather jacket on the floor. Images of her time in Regina's hands surfaced, slamming into her. She paused, panting slightly, and gripped the doorframe of the kitchen. Snow reached for her but James grabbed his wife, shaking his head silently.
For a moment, Emma was lost. Then, a frown crossed the blonde's face as she surveyed the area. From where her jacket lay, a fine sheen of dust covered the floor, mostly undisturbed, except for the footprints that tracked from the kitchen to the back door of the mansion. The footprints appeared to be made by heels; they were the same type that Regina had favored.
Determined again, the blonde stalked towards the backdoor. She halted in front of the door, grabbed the knob and twisted, throwing the door wide. Ignoring her weakened state, she bounded down to the garden area in the back yard. The back yard, just as with the front yard, was overgrown. The difference was that everything was dead or dying. The grass was yellowed and the blades hung over to touch the ground. The leaves from the shrubs crunched dryly underneath her feet as Emma fought her way through the overgrown, dead grass and weeds. She stopped in front of the small gardening shed. She stood with her hands on her hips, contemplating the locked door when she heard Snow and James arrive behind her. Eyes still narrowed, the blonde glanced at the Prince, the man who claimed to be her father.
"Open it," she threw over her shoulder at him, her voice cold and commanding.
Eyebrows raised, James spared a quick glance at his wife. She looked just as worried and bewildered as he. Snow was torn, not understanding her daughter's sudden change in behavior. She wanted to reprimand her daughter for speaking to Charming, her father, in such a disrespectful way. She was uncertain, thrown by the forceful nature Emma displayed. There was no sense of love or family in the look Emma sent her way. Emma was behaving like a woman possessed.
Snow carefully scrutinized the blonde and saw that Emma moved as though she hadn't been tortured and locked in a dungeon-like basement for three weeks. The magic had healed her physical body, but Emma moved unnaturally, with a grace she didn't normally possess. Snow tilted her head, focusing on the matter before them. There would be time, later, to deal with Emma, and whatever was going on with her.
Charming stepped forward as Emma moved aside. He reared back and kicked the door to the shed, twice. It splintered around the lock and hung forlornly from its hinge. Emma moved quickly forward, sidestepping her father. She saw his concerned, bewildered expression and told herself, later. Later, she would explain... if she cared.
Snow watched her daughter skirt a wooden work bench and walk down the rows of gardening tools. Satisfaction crossed Emma's face as she bent to retrieve an orange and black chainsaw. She turned towards Snow and James. They watched her warily as she approached them with the instrument in hand. She ignored them and walked out of the shed, her eyes focused on one thing: Regina Mill's precious apple tree.
The apple tree stood tall and healthy in the back yard, in contrast to the dying grounds. When Regina hadn't been torturing her, she must've been caring for the tree, Emma thought bitterly. Apparently, no lasting damage had occurred to it when Emma had taken a chainsaw to it all those months ago. She smiled slightly to herself as she saw the stump of the limb she had cut off to prove a point. The thought was crazy…there was no way way…and yet, Regina had imprisoned and tortured her, why wouldn't she take away the person Emma loved most?
Hatred spread from Emma's gut as she considered the apple tree in front of her. Its fruit hung scattered throughout the tree, gleaming in a way that was wrong, sinister in its health, while all around it, the grounds were dying. It was a representation of what Regina had done to her; used Emma's health and magic to survive, to feed, making a meal of the pain the Evil Queen had caused the blonde.
Emma felt Charming's and Snow's gaze on her back. They practically radiated concern, and perhaps, fear. Both the Prince and the Princess jumped when the chainsaw roared to life in Emma's capable hands. She stooped and carefully maneuvered the chainsaw to cut as low to the ground as she was able. The sound of the machine in action filled the air, as its engine revved against the tree's resistance. Slowly, Emma made progress, until the apple tree fell to the dead ground with a crash. Its fruit rained around her, landing and dissolving with a hiss.
"Don't touch the apples," Emma yelled over her shoulder, unnecessarily. Both Charming and Snow had shrunk, making themselves smaller targets from the falling poisoned apples, which fell around the trio like deadly bombs.
Emma hit the safety on the chainsaw, stopping the chain and set it on top of the apple tree's stump. She carefully stepped around the burnt ground as the apples hissed as they settled, their poison puddling, creating acidic landmines near her bare feet.
She considered the downed tree. Her face was passive, an alabaster mask, giving away none of her thoughts.
Emma kicked the tree suddenly, anger distorting her features. "Why won't you open, dammit!" she yelled at the trunk. She didn't even feel the pain from her foot.
"Henry's in there?" Snow asked, understanding coloring her words, as she spoke from Emma's side. Emma turned, her fists clenched, and nodded sharply at her mother…her mother.
"Snow…Mom…help me," she pleaded, unwanted tears filling her eyes. Her anger at her mother pushed against the certainty that Snow would know what to do.
"I don't know what to do…" Emma murmured, defeated.
Snow felt her stomach clench. She wanted so badly to help her daughter, but didn't know how.
"I thought if I destroyed the tree, Henry would appear," Emma said, her voice thick. She shook her head. "The idea was so obvious…so… possessive. Please," she pleaded, her eyes back on the tree. "What do I do?"
Snow had suppressed a shudder at the darkness she felt when Emma had said "possessive." Her daughter had moved and acted like a woman possessed. Perhaps that could explain her odd behavior toward her and James?
"What if…" James said slowly, "What if…Henry's inside the tree?"
"Inside…," Snow breathed, as her daughter looked at her, a mixture of hope and confusion on her features.
Behind Emma, Charming's eyes locked with Snow's. "We need a carpenter," he said, determined. "We need Gepetto."
A/N: Mwahaha! Another cliff-hanger! I don't know why, but BAM, I'm back! Writer's block is gone (at least temporarily) and I have more planned…
Please REVIEW!
I didn't like the name "the adventure" for this chapter so I went with the band's name instead…
Music: The Adventure-Angels & Airwaves
"I wanna have the same last dream again,
The one where I wake up and I'm alive.
Just as the four walls close me within,
My eyes are opened up with pure sunlight.
I'm the first to know,
My dearest friends,
Even if your hope has burned with time,
Anything that's dead shall be re-grown,
And your vicious pain, your warning sign,
You will be fine.
Hello, here I am,
And here we go, life's waiting to begin..."
