Chapter 33: A Drop in the Ocean

Emma sat in the wooden chair next to a cot, staring at the out cold occupant. Killian Jones was not the kind of man she had expected him to be...given that he was the notorious Captain Hook. He was much more emotionally expressive and open with his thoughts.

When she had found him with his head dunked into a bucket of water, she had kind of freaked out. Then watching him drink a small lake's worth of water had just blown her mind. When she and Rem had explained what happened at the encampment and that he was the reason why Artz had been able to save everyone … the look on his face… like he couldn't believe it.

Then came the water powers and him being a Child of the Sea. He had started out calm, more curious than anything else, but then Rem dropped one hell of a bombshell and he lost control of his emotions and like with her and Artz, his power expressed what he felt inside… confusion, fear, desperation, chaos.

He passed out and she had immediately called for help, demanding a tub of water. They brought it and they placed him in the tub and just as she thought, his body soaked up the water like a sponge and the pain on his face faded away, his body relaxing. They placed him back on the cot and she chose to stay with him.

Snow had tried to get her to come out of the tent and eat but she refused. The blonde savior had recently been informed that Artz was, in fact, missing and they only just discovered it because some kind of illusion had been put in place and when Killian lost control, his power disrupted the illusion, causing it to break.

She needed him to get back on his feet because her gut was telling her that he would either be able to find her or knew where she would be going. In fact, Emma was pretty damn sure that Artz had left under her own power. Why...Rem. The Celtic woman was not at all surprised when they discovered that the Crimson Savior was missing.

Rem didn't say a word about the ginger and just told her to look after the captain. She doubted that the woman would be so nonchalant if she thought her Madame Red was in any kind of danger...or at least any kind of danger that was too much for the red head to handle. The Celtic woman genuinely cared for both Killian and Artz and she wanted so badly to ask why and how and just get some damn answers!

"You might want to relax, love, or your face will freeze that way." Killian spoke softly interrupting her thought process.

She immediately helped him into a sitting position and offered him a cup of water, making him smile. At least he could actually hold the cup himself, meaning that he wasnt in too bad of shape.

"About before…" He started hesitating a moment.

"It's okay. Considering how badly I reacted to the whole magic powers thing, i can't really blame you for freaking out." She interrupted giving him an understanding smile.

Emma would admit that she had been rather fascinated by his ability to control water. She was even more curious as to why he chose the shape of the trident to test his control over the water.

The reasoning had to do with a story that Artz had told her...more like word vomited. Man, oh man, did she word vomit! It was a story that spanned the ages and that each character had their own stand alone origin story. She called it The Star Chronicles.

The mark of the trident had something to do a with specific origin story called Starsea. She kind of wished that she had paid a bit more attention when the ginger was gushing about it because she didn't remember much of the details, mainly just the trident, a kraken, a lot of boundaries being pushed and possibly a tragedy.

The blonde gave up trying to think of it, so she refocused her attention on Artz's Captain.

"Not my finest moment, I'll admit." He replied downing the cup of water.

She refilled it almost automatically, causing a rather cheeky grin to form on his face and she just shook her head in fond exasperation. This guy...she couldn't tell if he was being goofy or being charming… probably both, the smug bastard.

"So water to power the water powers. Makes sense...so…" he commented before his face became serious, "I'll just skip to the part where I tell you where to find Artz."

"Wait...how did you…" she started surprised.

What the hell? Okay...she had not seen that coming. How the heck did he know? He's practically been out cold the whole time and hasn't left the tent at all.

"Know that Artz was missing? Because you're here." He explained downing the second cup and her refilling it.

"How does me being here equal to Artz missing?" She asked wondering how he had derived that conclusion.

"Because you're looking after me and not her...and with a rather trigger happy princess about, there's no way you would leave her unprotected...and no, you would not allow Mulan or Phillip or anyone else for that matter to look after her for an extended period of time...not after everything that has happened." He answered the water continuing to disappear and reappear.

She hated to admit it but he was right. So much has happened in the last two days that she would definitely be super protective of Artz, overcompensating for how she had treated her friend in Storybrooke. A random thought passed through her head.

"Physical activity." She stated simply, frowning slightly.

He looked at her in confusion, his head tilting slightly. Aww...did he have to be adorable right now? Still...cute!

"When we first met, you said you could use some entertainment after so much physical activity. What exactly were you doing that was so strenuous?" She asked watching his expression closely.

Instead of answering, he just continued drinking from the cup...and fighting the urge to grin. She kept looking at him and he started chuckling. The blonde continued to stare him down until he finally relented.

"Don't suppose you know what Nubbins are, by any chance?" He inquired making her eyes widen slightly.

What the...Artz! What the fuck?!

"What? Seriously? In less than a day?!" She replied in astonishment.

Oh she knew what Nubbins were alright...cute, little fluff balls that were very reproductive. Imagine a Kuriboh, use the multiply spell card, and add in the bunny population from Zootopia and that was the Nubbins in a nut shell...a nut shell that gave off pheromones that made people want to shag like rabbits.

"Oh...so you have heard of them then. Well there's your answer, Swan." He stated downing the rest of the cup.

She refilled it almost robotically as her brain was trying to implode.

The blonde savior was overwhelmed by the fact that in under twenty four… hell under twelve hours… Artz had gone from being the picky virgin that loathed almost all forms of physical contact unless she initiated said contact… to jumping the bones of this random handsome pirate and actually having sex… outdoors ...whoa ...click.

"When?" She asked suddenly.

He looked up at her, his blue eyes curious.

"Yesterday afternoon...about four and a half hours I'd say, but that was only round one. Round two lasted about two hours and you lot showed up shortly after day break. Why?" He answered honestly.

There was no way that could be a coincidence. Yesterday afternoon, four and a half hours...that would put her sudden shift shortly after their Nubbins session.

"Because it was yesterday afternoon when the spell, curse, or whatever it was that was effecting me was broken." She replied surprising him.

"And that's when you realized that you didn't hate Artz?" He asked.

She could see the cog wheels beginning to grind in his eyes, the gears jumping from track to track...he was smart and quick to catch on. He was going to need that if he wanted to keep up with Artz.

"Yeah...i wondered what happened. What caused it to make everything just...shift. You two shagging like a pair of Nubbins would definitely count as an event." She answered sassily.

He smirked, his eyes alight with humor.

"An event? More like a marathon. Bloody hell...for a virgin...she was definitely not what I expected." He admitted swallowing more water from the cup.

"I'm almost afraid to ask." Emma commented but it didnt stop her from wanting to know.

And she was going to because this whole thing sounded almost nothing like the Artz she knew yet at the same time, she wasn't really surprised by it either.

"But that's not gonna stop you, now is it?" He countered a knowing look in his eyes.

"Just how exactly did it get to that point? Artz may be a very sassy and sarcastic badass but when it comes to anything remotely physical in the romance department…" She started trailing off seeing that he got the idea.

"Well quite frankly...its a rather humiliating series of events." He replied vaguely.

"She played you, didn't she?" Emma asked hitting the nail on the head quite soundly.

Wouldn't be the first time that the ginger had done that. If it would produce the desired result...she was not above manipulation especially if she was trying to help someone and they were being too stubborn...her, Graham, Regina...hell even Gold!

"My star enlisted the aid of a rather fiery Celtic woman with a bad habit of kicking people in the rib cage." He answered.

"Rem...did she beat the hell out of you or something?" She asked kinda figuring that the curly ginger had been involved somehow.

"She almost killed me." He answered simply.

"Beaten up by a girl half your size...yeah, i dont think your ego survived." She commented refilling his cup before he even asked.

"No...she actually almost killed me." He countered his voice and tone completely serious.

No way...there was no possible way that curly twig could do enough damage to actually kill him!

"What? You cannot be serious?" Emma refuted...did Rem have super strength or something?!

"I am actually. I had broken one of my ribs a few months ago and according to my star, it hadn't fully healed. So when Rem kicked me in my rib cage a few times, it rebroke my rib and shoved it straight into my lung...i nearly drowned on dry land.

The scourge of the Sea brought down by a wee lass from the old sod...definitely ridiculous. Artz healed me and then made me believe that she was killing Rem by using her magic to make her feel how it felt to drown in your own blood. The whole accidentally almost killing me was not part of the ruse but everything else was a setup." He informed her.

Bloody hell...great now she was sounding like him. Still he was lucky to be alive and even luckier that her sister fancied him. He was the one she spoke of, the one she was searching for...she had a strange feeling that if the red head hadnt been a part of their lives then it would be highly probable that she and Killian...she stopped that thought very quickly...her brain jumping to a specific conclusion.

"Holy shit." Emma breathed commenting more on her train of thoughts than what he had just told her.