Morning's Golden Light

Part Three

A/N 1: A song fic that seemed to spring fully formed (But sure as hell not fully written!) from my mind as I listened to an Enya song today…while I was busy working on a completely different, Mirandy, fanfic. It grabbed me, wouldn't let go and demanded to be written. You can listen to the song here: watch?v=GJgbzEGAvzc

A/N 2: Oops! I thought this story was only going to have two parts and then three, but it still seems to keep writing itself, so it will definitely be in four parts now, but I promise on the hotness of Lana that it will definitely be only four. Sheeesh! My Bad.

Emma hefted the small hatchet in her hand raising it to inspect the leather guard that covered the blade completely from edge to shaft where it snugly folded over and secured itself in place with two snaps. Examining the small blade she looked up at Ruby and raised a sceptical eyebrow at the grinning brunette.

"You said they were saplings Emma, the hatchet should get you through them." She snorted before taking a step back and throwing a final bit of advice to the blonde. "Just remember to use the blade end and to take off the leather guard before you start chopping."

Emma glared at her as she mumbled a less than sincere thanks for the advice and turned to make her way back to her car. A few blocks away from her apartment she glanced over at the small edged tool resting on the passenger seat where she'd tossed it when she got in the Bug. An idea flitted through her mind and she took the next left heading away from her apartment and toward the woods at the edge of town.

Thirty minutes later Emma surveyed her handiwork as she wiped a thin film of sweat from her brow. At her feet lay the fallen trunk and stump of a birch sapling about seven inches in diameter. It had taken her nearly twenty minutes to successfully chop down the small tree with the hatchet. Trying hard to visualise the trees from her dreams, she calculated it would probably take well over an hour to chop through the two young trees in her dream forest, but at least having this practice run had boosted her confidence and added a little spring to her step as she headed back to the car.

The now familiar scream jerked her upright and awake as on so many nights before, but this time she almost lost her balance, stumbling forward when the hatchet, attached to her wrist by a leather belt, swung round her thigh and tangled between her legs. She carefully extricated the tool and pulled it firmly into her grasp before heading at a brisk trot toward the clearing. She made her way round the ring of trees until she came to the two 'saplings', noting their girth, she gulped a little and realised that perhaps sapling had been a bit of a misnomer for the two young trees. They were infinitely smaller in diameter than the giants either side of them, but they themselves were each at least a foot or more in diameter. With a small growl of frustration, the blonde carefully pulled off the leather guard and shoved it into the pocket of her jeans. Emma hadn't been willing to play lumberjack in just her tank, sweats and bare feet, instead she'd dressed the part, retiring to bed in flannel shirt, jeans and work boots and as on all the previous nights, her wardrobe had come with her into the dream world.

Before she started she looked through the small gap noting that Regina was writhing and whimpering in her bed, throwing up her arms to ward off some invisible foe as she turned her head away. As it had done every night for more than a week, Emma's heart went out to the tormented woman just beyond her reach. Stepping back Emma sized up the trunks in front of her, she chose the larger of the two hoping that she might be able to squeeze through the gap it would leave. She decided not to try to chop as close to the base of the trunk as she had with the practice tree earlier instead she placed the hatchet blade against the trunk just about level with her waist and pulled her arm back before muttering under her breath.

"Okay, here goes nothing." Before she brought her hand forward again she looked into the clearing and whispered. "Hold on Regina, I'm coming for you."

Emma swung the small axe one handed, the small haft not really long enough to wield it with two hands and watched as wood chips dropped from the trunk. Swapping hands to use her less coordinated left hand when blisters formed and then burst on her right hand, she worked without pause or rest, determined to get through this annoying barrier. She grinned when she felt the tree sway with her latest strike, pausing, Emma embedded the hatchet into the second tree and began to push the trunk with her shoulder and hands, ignoring the sting of her broken skin. Fully engrossed in her task, Emma did not notice the unearthly howl that came from a spiked mass of grey fog that swirled and dipped as it moved from around Regina and the bed and swept over the floor of the clearing headed in her direction.

With a cry of victory the blonde heaved and the trunk crashed forward into the clearing causing her to stumble backward ending bent over with her hands on her knees. She took a moment to catch her breath and shake out the pain in her damaged hand before straightening to survey her work. She smiled triumphantly when she saw that the gap would indeed be large enough for her to squeeze through and she wouldn't need to bother with the second tree. Emma moved forward to climb over the stump, heeding her gut feeling to reach out and grab the hatchet as she passed it. Using the trees either side for leverage she climbed up and jumped into the clearing, her focus remained steady on the bed some 30 feet in front of her where Regina lay curled into a foetal position.

The minute her feet touched the grass inside the clearing, the swirling grey forms either side of the new gap coalesced into recognisable human forms from the waist up at least, and circled Emma all screeching the same phrase.

"Evil must suffer! She is ours! Ours! Ours!"

Emma backed up against the stump with a look of horror etched on her face as she recognised some faces in the large crowd of screaming demons who pressed closer round her preventing her from moving any further into the clearing. The larger mass continued to chant their ownership of Regina and that she needed to suffer as they had done, but the faces that Emma recognised came closer and taunted her with more detailed claims.

A young man swooped forward his face a mixture of rage and pain.

"I only loved her and it killed me. She killed me. I died for loving her. I died for loving evil. She must suffer for my death! She is mine!"

The figure swept its arm out and struck Emma across the cheek before she could raise an arm to stop it. She raised her hand to her face and her fingers came away bloody.

A figure looking like Graham came forward and merely howled a single word.

"Mine!"

He said it again and again in her face before slipping away.

Next there was Gold, or more accurately Rumplestilskin, his skin golden and calloused like the crocodile Hook believed him to be, he pranced forward and his howl came out in a sing song tone.

"Magic comes with a price dearie and its Regina's price to pay, again and again and again." He cackled maniacally and continued with a chant of, "Mine! Mine! Mine! Pay! Pay! Pay!" before lunging forward and striking Emma in the gut causing her to double over from the pain.

When she could breathe again Emma used the trunks of the trees behind her to pull herself upright before clutching her stomach. When she finally raised her head the sight of her son's face made her reach out a hand that was viciously batted away by the Henry faced demon who shouted in Henry's piping voice.

"She's not my mom! She's the Evil Queen! The Evil Queen! Why haven't you destroyed her!? She's Evil! She's Evil! Evil has to loose! Villains don't get happy endings! Destroy her Emma! "

Emma's attention was pulled away from the angry face of her son to Regina on the bed who was thrashing and moaning, "No Henry! Please! I love you! I'm sorry! So sorry!"

The older woman's distress caught at Emma's heartstrings and she tried to reason with the image of their son.

"No Henry! She's your mom and she loves you! Do you hear me? Regina loves you! Everyone deserves a second chance Henry!"

She stumbled back again as the small demon raged forward landing blows all over her torso, while the range of his punches reflected his small size, the impact was more like that of a prize fighter and Emma doubled over to protect herself from his onslaught. When she managed to look up next she instinctively tried to push backward despite the barrier of trees in order to get away from the next demon. Larger than all the other's the smirking, cruel face of Cora Mills towered over the blonde.

"Idiot girl! Regina is mine! Wretched, useless, ungrateful, but mine! Even in death I must correct her foolish behaviour!" The demon swooped in and plunged it's hand into Emma's chest as it hissed. "Love IS weakness! Love IS Weakness!"

Emma felt her heart constrict in the demon's grasp, but just as had happened in the Enchanted Forest, when Cora tried to pull it through her chest, the Saviour's steadfast heart wouldn't budge. A surge of strength ran through the blonde as she grasped the demons arm and growled at the image of true evil before her.

"Love is strength! Strength to sacrifice! Strength to forgive! Strength to…"

Movement beyond the demon's shoulder caught her eye and she glanced over at Regina who was sitting up in the bed watching her mother and Emma with a look of such pain, sorrow and anguish that it nearly took Emma's breath away. Emma refocused on Cora and squeezed the demon's arm viciously immediately feeling it release her heart.

"Strength to claim! Strength to Save! Regina is MINE!"

With her final shout that laid claim to the tormented mother of her son, Emma gave a mighty tug of the arm in her grasp pulling it forcefully from her body. As the demon's fingers left the centre of her chest, Emma seemed to remember the weapon in her other hand and made a mighty sweep, burying the hatchet in Cora's chest, relishing the surge of satisfaction the action provided her for only a moment before all hell broke loose.

Cora looked down at the axe sticking from her chest, she reached up and pulled it out even as she raised her head and let forth a howl of rage. The howl brought the other demons in to swarm the blonde as they swung and scratched and pushed the blonde back toward the gap in the trees. Emma swung out at the demons as best she could while trying to protect her face and head from the multiple blows that rained down on her from all sides. Even as she fought she tried to call out to Regina that she was coming for her, she would save her.

For a split second there was a gap in the attack and Emma looked over to the bed locking eyes with Regina silently trying to reassure her that Emma wasn't going to give up on her. The demons redoubled their attack and before she realised it the back of her legs hit the stump and she was being pushed over it and out of the clearing.

As she fell she heard the demons howling their triumph to the black starless sky above and behind that she heard Regina's distressed voice in the distance crying out, "Noooooooo!"

Emma responded to that wail of anguish, calling out the brunette's name until her back hit the ground while her head hit a rock tumbling her into oblivion.