Part twenty one, or how to survive meeting a person you once knew

Hook stood at the reilling of the Jolly Roger watching the sea.

His plans were defeated again. Emma had fooled him and there was not even a little hint on where those keys were now. He had hoped he could sneak into Rumplestiltskin's house without leaving even a single trace of his appearience, but now he would have to simply break in like he had had into Emma's flat just this morning.

He closed his eyes for a moment and listened to the sounds of the ocean in front of him. That was the only thing that was equal to his home. Sometimes he even found himself missing the ocean he had burried Milah.

He tourned around and checked the deck of his ship. Usually someone was suddenly showing up if he was thinking of such things lately. He was relieved to notice that there was nobody.

Hook slowly passed the deck and entered his cabin again. His gaze met the frame with the drawn picture of Milah again. What her ghost had told him the night before was still hunting him. It was hurting very deep and at the same time it put him in rage.

He got the clothes out from under his desk again, where he had tried to hide them of Smee and Emma and stumbled over one of the jacket's arms when he noticed the card of the tunnels on his desk again.

Emma had placed her back there before. She had even emptied it on it. Oh…she was good! She had done it on purpose to finally be able to take a look on it since he had stopped her the night before.

He couldn't help but be impressed by this. She had done it again. He was feeling like an idiot now again! He had even noticed that she had been staring on her bag for a moment believing she was focusing her bag and not his card underneath it! He was sure this wouldn't have worked if he wouldn't have been troubled with this whole ghost stuff happening to him right now. It wouldn't have worked if his head wouldn't have been so full with things that had happened and were happening right now and on top of that his troubled feelings for Milah.

"It's not just your head."

Hook winced and turned to face the person in his back. He frowned: "Who are you?"

"Have you already forgotten me?", the woman in front of him said. Her brown hair was falling over her right shoulder and she was dressed in something like a suit just with a skirt instead of pants. She was somehow familiar to him.

He pressed his eyes together and focused on her face through the slit of his eyes. He had even seen her in this town if he was thinking closely about it.

She seemed disappointed: "And that after we have went to Neverland together!"

"Nova?", he stared at her. Was that really the fairy who had suddenly appeared on his ship one night crying like the world was about to end just because of a dwarf who had been stupid enough to leave her?

"Oh, you finally remember.", she smiled.

Of course he did. She had left him behind in Neverland because she hadn't liked what he had wanted to do with Arielle and had teamed up with the Pan boy instead. In the end she had told him of Belle. It had been his prize for leaving Neverland again. She had sent him back to the enchanted forest with his crew and his beloved Jolly Roger.

"What are you doing here?", he kept staring at her. A fairy never showed up without having something in her mind.

"You actually should be used to it right now.", she said smiling at him like she was sorry for him: "I'm number four."

He needed a moment to understand this: "So you are going to show me the future?"

"No.", she said giving him scolding glance: "We've decided that you are a special case. Because you are that stubborn I've needed to come here to show you more of the present."

"I'm not stubborn."

She stepped closer and pushed a finger into his chest: "But you are! You don't care about the others like you don't care for yourself. All you have in mind and in your heart right now is your stupid revenge that won't help anyone. You burry everything else underneath it. That's why it takes longer to finally wake you up again."

Hook sighed and looked at his desk.

"What?"

"I'm actually a little disappointed since I wanted to see the future so badly."

Nove kicked him: "Come on. We don't have time for this!"

She took his arm and pulled him to the door. She shrinked and flew through a little hole in the door he had never noticed before with the wings that had grown out of her back.

Hook stared down to it untill she suddenly pushed her head through the hole again: "What's wrong? Why aren't you coming?"

He reached for the door but his hand went right through it.

"Oh. I've forgotten.", she came back and rose again: "Since I was a fairy in the enchanted forest I'll travel like this now either but you won't always be able to understand me like this.", she reached into one of her pockets and blew something into his face: "So we have to shrink you as well!"

Hook caughed badly until he was able to breath again. He opened his eyes and looked at a wall where just a moment before had been the door. He looked a long the wall and found a huge tunnel. But there was no tunnel on his ship!

He frowned and turned on his heels. The desk, his desk, was as huge as a mountain. The picture of Milah was even out of his sight.

"Are you ready?"

He tourned around again and stared at Nova who was flying in front of him in disbelieve: "Are you insane? What have you done to me?"

"Calm down."

"But I don't want to calm down! I'm as small as a mouse! A bloody mouse!"

Nove sighed and rolled her eyes waiting for him to stop complaining in cursing everything that had to do with her and her try to change him. When he didn't stop even after a moment, she simply kicked him through the hole: "You are so annoying! The faster we get through this and you see and understand what you have to, the faster you are back to your normal size again. So stop shouting and follow me!"

"And where are we going now?", he asked still mumbeling.

She grabbed his vest in his neck and took him along flying over the sea to Storybrook: "To Emma."

"Again?", he rolled his eyes. But than an idea popped up in his head. Maybe he would be able to find out where she was hiding the keys in the end.

"You need to see the peoble you are in touch with ans she is the one you have to do with the most in this town. And on top of that she is not your enemy!"

"I'd prefer Rumplestiltskin.", he sighed while hanging down from her hands like a piece of package: "That would be better."

"Forget it. We won't help you getting your revenge on him!", she let him fall.

Hook couldn't help but scream. There was nothing to stop him from falling. All he could see was the ground coming nearer in a high speed.

Something suddenly grabbed him in his back and took him up again: "Ups. I slipped."

He needed a moment to breath normally again. This stupid fairy! He should have known it. She had never been able to carry something while flying after all she had told him while their journey to Neverland.

She sat him down. Hook opened his eyes and found himself standing on Emma's shoulder. He frowned and looked around searching for Nova.

"I'm up here.", she sounded amused while flying above him: "See you inside."

He watched her disappearing through the wall in front of him.