Chapter Eight

The Tunnel of Darkness

Emma hears the stone wall close behind her. Not wanting to stall she takes three steps forward then halts her movement. She looks to her left and to her right but she see's nothing. With the closing of the cave they stand in pitch darkness. Not a flash of grey, nor a gleam of light. She waves her right hand in front of her face but still nothing. Not even the wind from the force of her waving hand.

"Emma." A concerned Regina draws near.

"I'm here." Emma reaches out into the void with her left arm and pulls her near.

"Emma I can't see anything."

"Neither can I...Gold?"

"Present."

It occurs to Emma to form a flame. Like a faulty lighter it dissipates as quickly as it forms. "Regina you try..." She slightly turns to where she senses Regina is standing.

"I got it." Regina magics a fire ball that also disappears before there eyes. "Great!" She huffs out in frustration.

"I think this is useless." Gold sounds pessimistic as ever.

"Why don't you try? You are the dark one again perhaps it'll work." Regina demands.

Rumple tries but a colorless flame ignites and goes out just like the others.

"Fantastic. What the hell are we supposed to do?" Regina must be frightened Emma thinks. She always hides her concern with anger. Emma was petrified but she couldn't think of a way out of this other than pressing forward. Standing around made her nervous.

"I don't know but I say we move."

"Move? Where?" Regina asks her.

"I don't know Regina but I don't feel like hanging around in the dark waiting for who knows what...do you?"

'I was never one for waiting,' Regina considers, "Walking it is."

Emma takes a tentative first step and sighs in relief. "Ok so far solid ground." She chuckles nervously.

Regina stretches her left foot in front of her as if testing the floor before she takes a step. As she's about to take another Gold bumps into her and knocks her forward pushing Emma.

"Shit!"

"Sorry ladies. I can't exactly see where I'm going."

"Well neither can we yet somehow we manage to keep to our own space."

"You know what Regina? We're not exactly in the most ideal situation right now."

"No of course not! Any situation where you are not in control is never ideal for you."

"Well.. look who's talking?"

As Rumple and Regina fight back and forth Emma feels her skin crawling with warmth and an all too familiar childhood fear of the dark trying to take over her better senses. Their arguing was only making her feel worse.

"Ok guys how about we hold on to one another? That way no more bumping in." The truth was that Emma welcomed a little hand holding right now. She closed her eyes breathing in and out trying to control her impending panic. Even as an adult she never fully got over her fear of the dark. And this darkness was taking it to a different level. She was beginning to feel so hot now. It was getting harder to take a deep breath as if the air itself grew denser.

"You two can hold hands. I will walk ahead so that I stay away from your ample space...Regina." Rumple pushed past Regina and was blindly heading forward. If anyone could see right now they'd see Regina rolling her eyes at him. She truly despised him sometimes. She knew arguing in this situation was ridiculous but it felt so good to fight with him. She wanted to take him down for so many years that even though she had been behaving civil lately for Henry's sake right now she just didn't care.

She presses on... "Try not to fall into a pit of flames Gold." Regina walks angrily for a few moments and suddenly realizes she doesn't hear anyone near her anymore. She turns around not too sure of where Emma is.

"Miss Swan?"

No answer.

While lost in her anger she lost sight of why they were here to begin with. Now concerned, "Miss Swan are you alright?"

Emma can vaguely hear her but she doesn't answer. She feels incapable of speaking. She's gone into a full panic now as she feels the darkness closing in on her and she just can't breathe.

When Emma doesn't answer Regina's immediately alarmed. "Emma!" She begins to run in all directions. After going in circles she's getting nowhere so she decides to stop and listen. After a few seconds she hears Emma's heavy breathing.

"Emma I need you to say something so that I can find you."

No answer. Regina closes her eyes and continues to focus on what she hopes is Emma's loud breathing.

"I'm here." Emma finally gets out.

Regina bolts in the direction of the sound. "Where? Emma talk to me!" 'How did we separate so much?' She wonders.

"Here." Regina hears the sound coming from beneath her too late as she trips over Emma hitting her in the face. Regina is sprawled on the floor with her legs pinning a panting Emma. She recovers and finds her way to grab ahold of Emma's shoulders.

"Emma!"

-PANT, PANT, GASPS, PANT-

"Emma." Regina quiets her voice. "Emma talk to me. Are you hurt?"

-GASP, GASP, PANT- Emma nods her head no which Regina can't see in the dark. However, she feels Emma move. So she reaches to cup her cheek and asks her question again.

"Are you hurt?" This time she feels as Emma shakes her head from side to side.

"Ca...ah...ah...n't. Bre...rea...the."

"Yes you can. If I can... you can!"

'Great!" Regina thinks. 'How am I supposed to get her out of this if I can't control my magic and produce a flame?'

Regina feels Emma's sweaty hands through her hold. She's hyperventilating so much Regina's afraid she may pass out. She lets go of Emma to try to produce a brown paper bag but Emma reaches forward taking her forearms by a death grip.

"No! Don't... le..let... go!"

"I'm not I just need to make you a bag."

Emma's hyperventilating is worsening.

"No!"

"Ok! Ok." Regina Remembers to calm herself and not lose her patience right now even though she wants to panic herself. She reaches around Emma pulling her into a hug knowing Emma may feel more claustrophobic but she needs a free hand to try and produce a bag.

"Can't breathe!"

"I know Emma just try and breathe with me." Regina exaggerates her breathing.

Emma is desperately trying to follow.

"Just like this. In and out." Regina continues to breath deeply as she closes her eyes and puts all her focus into her magic. Emma is now slowing her breathing and when Regina opens her eyes she realizes she failed in producing a paper bag but instead she created fire!

"Emma look."

"No...can't...Breathe."

"It's ok. Open your eyes." Regina pushes Emma's arm up and out of the way as she brings the flame forward.

"Light," says a weary and red-eyed looking Emma.

Regina laughs in relief and smiles sitting back, "Yes light!" She looks at Emma noticing a busted red lip. She's about to reach out to examine it and suddenly the flame goes out.

"Wait...no!" She hears Emma starting to pant again. "What the hell?"

Rumple who had briefly noticed the light was headed in their direction. Regina was beyond flustered when he arrived panting.

"What did you do different Regina?" He asks.

"I don't know. I had a flame and now it's gone again! Emma breathe." She reminds her.

"What were you thinking or doing when you made it?"

Regina searches her mind frantically and then it hits her, "Touching Emma. Like the hat. It's our magic!"

She holds Emma's hand and closes her eyes attempting the fire again.

Gold leans down. "Emma... yours and Regina's magic works better together. Try and calm yourself. Think of the flame."

Emma closes her eyes again and remembers the comfort of the light. She tries to focus on her right hand holding onto Regina's. She thinks of their magic making it's way through them. She opens her eyes and there it is. A white flame stronger than the previous bit of fire.

"And there you go." Gold proudly stands.

"And what did you do?" Regina looks up at him.

"Just don't break the contact dearie. Or we may all be in the dark again."

Regina helps Emma up briefly noticing blood on her lip. She decides to ignore Emma's bleeding lip for now as they need to gather their bearings and find a way out of wherever they are. She feels guilty as she imagines she caused the injury when she tripped over Emma. In her left hand she holds a bright beautiful white light that will shine the way; in her right hand she strongly holds Emma's soft shaky hand. "Are you alright dear?"

Emma nods her head yes as she takes a deep breath and allows Regina to lead in front of her.

Regina looks all around her as they walk and she gathers they are in a tunnel of some sort. When she shines the light closer to the perimeter all she sees is slick, black curved walls. There are no turns nor changes in scenery. Only an open dark tunnel seemingly headed in one direction. The question that kept her mind busy was 'where? Where was this tunnel leading them? To what pit of hell were they headed towards? And why this dark tunnel?'

After what feels like they've been walking for over a mile Regina becomes all too aware of Emma's hand linked to hers. The silence between them is deafening and their palms are as sweaty as two teenagers on a first date. Even though at first Regina was blaming it on both their nerves given the frightful situation; now after walking for a while with the steady light she was no longer sure why she felt her palm so sweaty; someone was definite cranking up the heat.

A calmer Emma turns to Regina, "I don't know what came over me back there. I'm sorry about my immature behavior and thank you."

Regina looks at her puzzled, "You don't need to apologize or thank me. For once it was my turn to save you from the dark."

Emma looks at Regina somewhat surprised her former nemesis didn't have a quick remark about her weakness. Instead Regina looks happy to have saved her. Regina gives her a beaming smile that Emma can't help but return. Emma gives her hand a squeeze as they continue to walk; Regina looks down almost shyly.

They walk in awkward silence for another five minutes. Nothing different appears nor changes.

'Why am I so uncomfortable?' Regina thinks. "How's your lip?"

"Oh that." Emma reaches up and harshly wipes it with the back of her hand. "Ouch."

Regina stops to look at her, "What are you ten? "Hold onto my wrist so we don't break contact and lose the light."

Emma does so as she follows Regina's hand up to her mouth. Regina begins to lightly rub over her abrasion with her thumb in a touch that feels too intimate. Emma feels the heat pooling underneath Regina's thumb as her healing spell feels more like a soft caress on her lip. She sees sparkles of light floating up from where she makes contact. When Regina finishes for only a few seconds her thumb lingers on Emma's healed lip. Emma feels her breath quicken and she doesn't know if this new frenzy is caused by the tunnel or Regina's burning gaze.

The moment is interrupted by an unknown female voice, "I didn't know there could be light in the tunnel of darkness."

Regina pulls her hand back and Emma lets go of her. The light goes out just as the two women caught sight of the Raven speaking and turning into a most beautiful woman.