Little bit of a shorter chapter this one lads, but my twitter friends told me to post. So enjoy and once again thank you to Sofia for betaing for meeeeee.

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The Cricket Game

With the cover of night, the Jolly Roger slips unseen into the strange looking docks of Storybrooke, the anchor settled on the ocean floor. Hook stands beneath the crow's nest, his hook curved around a rope on the mast, his eyes scouring the shining lights of the town for any signs of movement.

Nothing moves. Nothing sounds. Silence surrounds him, the only noise being the wind rushing in his ears and the soft sound of waves lapping against the side of his ship. Perfect. Grabbing the rope, Hook swings down from the boom with practised ease, his boots landing with a thump on the steps leading down from the ship.

Footsteps approach and somehow Cora must have sensed it was time for them to get exactly what it is that each of them came here for. Hook turns, seeing her walking towards him with a bloody parasol... It's hardly even raining.

"Well, my dear Cora, this is where we shall part ways. Thank you for everything. It's time for me to skin my crocodile." He says after helping her off of the ship, stepping onto the dry floor of this new land for the first time. He turns to leave, but Cora reappears in front of him in a cloud of smoke.

"You might want to rethink this." She says, blocking his path. No. He won't rethink a single bloody thing. He's gotten this far for his revenge, there is no way in hell that he's going to let some witch with a few magic tricks up her sleeve stop him now.

"We had a deal. Get out of my way." He's done with the games, the tricks, the deception. He's sick and tired of being played, of being used and pushed aside. Well, not anymore. He's where he wants to be now. He no longer needs assistance from the witch. His future lies solely with him, and him alone. He doesn't care if Cora still needs him. The deal is done, the pact has ended.

"Believe it or not, I'm doing you a favour." Not bloody likely...

"By preventing my vengeance?" He practically growls. Hook can tell his eyes are blazing, the blue boring into Cora's brown eyes as he stares at her, enraged. He won't let a witch, a magic user just like Rumplestiltskin, get the best of him. Never again.

"Ask yourself how I'm doing that."

And the penny drops. Magic.

"By using your dark magic."

"Exactly. Magic is here. And that makes matters a bit more complicated. If you go off half-cocked after an empowered Rumplestiltskin, do you know what'll happen?" She evidently sees the understanding in his eyes, the realisation that if he tries to go after the crocodile, he will be the one ending up dead. "So, you do. Good."

"Hey. You folks need anything?" They are interrupted by some kind of fisherman dressed in similar attire to Emma Swan and Snow White. We definitely aren't in the Enchanted Forest anymore... "Tackle shop don't open until morning. But, if you want to go out and try and snare some of New England's finest pescatarian creatures, I'd be happy to open early for ya."

"No, thank you. We're fine." Hook is too preoccupied with the thought of the fact that he and Emma Swan once again share the same air to consider paying the stranger too much attention. He can't be bothered by a man trying to be friendly at a time like this, not when his mind is swirling with the newfound realisation that not only is he in a new land, but is in a land with magic, not without.

"It's a fine vessel you got there." Well, at least this fellow knows a bloody beautiful ship when he sees one. "When'd you get in?"

"What vessel?" Cora says, which appears at first to be a ridiculous attempt to con the man into believing he's insane, due to the fact that the Jolly Roger is quite literally looming over the three of them.

"W-Why that one right…" The man trails off when Cora waves her hand and the ship fucking disappears. The bloody witch bloody vanished my bloody ship...

"Hey, that's a neat trick." The guy says, looking up at the now fucking invisible ship. "You some kind of magician back in our land?"

Apparently the man's 'oh-so-chipper' attitude irritates Cora as much he does Hook, as the witch waves her hand once again, the strange fisherman suddenly looking much less like a man and much more like a fish. Hook couldn't care less about the fish now flopping around on the docks, kicking it into the water as he turns to confront Cora.

"What did you do with my ship?"

"I hid it from prying eyes." Oh. "For what we both want to do, we need the element of surprise. Now you ready to listen to me?"

This bloody woman and her bloody cheek. He's been listening to her since day one. It's she who doesn't care to listen to him, acting without consulting him and using her bloody fucking magic to make his whole ship disappear. But sure, fine, whatever. He'll continue to play her game, as long as it gets him what he wants.

"Go on, Your Majesty. What now?"

"Let's go have a little look at this Storybrooke, shall we?"

Together they turn from the ocean, heading deeper into the night towards the town. Hook looks back instinctively to check on his ship, forgetting momentarily that it is now invisible. He is surprised when his eyes don't fall on the blackness of the sea at night, instead his gaze being drawn to a white bird swimming alongside the invisible ship. And not just any bird. A swan.

~K&E~

Hook's stomach drops. He and Cora stand perched on a rooftop, overlooking some form of tavern as they watch and wait. He sees Cora's daughter leave, something he was expecting. My my my, the Queen sure does look a tad different without the formal dresses and slick hairdos…

What he isn't expecting is the sight of Emma Swan heading out of the tavern door after the queen, looking much cleaner and less guarded than the last time her figure crossed his gaze. Hook can't help the pang that hits his heart, one that is from either heartache or anger. He prays it's the latter.

The two women appear civil until apparently Swan says something that upsets the Queen and suddenly the brunette starts yelling. Hatred and anger bubbles up inside him, wanting to sink his hook into the Evil Queen's chest for being so rude to Swan. But he doesn't, partially because he is stood next to the woman's mother, and also because he needs to stay hidden to get his revenge, feelings aside.

Emma turns to walk away, apparently not up for taking any abuse or criticism from Cora's daughter. Good on her. But, the queen stops her and the discussion begins again, the civility returning. It appears to end on some form of good terms, with Swan heading back into the tavern and the queen walking away. Alone.

"Well, is she broken?" He asks Cora, lowering the telescope from his eye and turning to look at the witch.

"Not yet."

~K&E~

It's a full day before Hook sees Cora again. He's done a little scoping of the area, managing to not draw too many curious eyes as he explored the town. He will admit, it's probably the strangest place he has ever visited.

Places aren't lit with flames or gas lanterns but with a harsh white light unlike any he has ever experienced. Loud contraptions that are similar to carriages but have no horses cart people through the streets, travelling at immense speeds. There's noise everywhere, strange and unnatural sounds that are such a contrast to life in the Enchanted Forest.

But Hook has adjusted to the conditions of hundreds if not thousands of environments over his long life, this is no different. It will take some getting used to of course, but there is no doubt in his mind that he will manage just fine.

Once the sky darkens, night starts to draw in, Hook grows impatient. He's run out of things to do. His original plan was to get here, find Rumplestiltskin and kill him. But of course, now he can't do that without Cora's aid. Once again he's stuck, stuck waiting for other people. Gods… When did his life start to revolve around waiting for the needs of women to be met?

He takes to sitting on the docks by his invisible, hidden by a shroud of darkness. Only Cora will find him here. He lets the time fly by sharpening his hook, sitting and imagining all of the way the point can sink deep into the Crocodile's flesh.

And not too long later, Cora approaches him. Finally. Finally she has assumedly succeeded in her task of ruining her daughter's life.

"You're back. So, did you get what you wanted?" He says, still sharpening his hook as she draws nearer.

"Yes. My daughter's lost everything now."

"Ah. Well, aren't you mum of the year?" Hook grins up at the witch, a mocking look on his face. What kind of mother wants her daughter to lose everything? The kind who only cares for herself… Much like my father...

"I did what was needed."

"What about what I need?" Here it comes. He has spent nearly three hundred years hunting for this, plotting and planning his revenge. If his sensing of the air is right, then Cora should be ready to start aiding him now. "You promised you'd help me get my revenge on Rumplestiltskin."

"And I've already started." Really? "Or didn't you notice the little gift I left you in the hold of your ship?"

Well of course I bloody didn't… The bloody ship is invisible…

"A gift? What is it?" He asks, standing up from his perch on netting and ropes at the end of the docks and looking at her curiously.

"Not what. Who." She beckons him, and Hook is curious enough to follow her, the two of them climbing onto the invisible ship. Cora leads him into the crew's cabin, a place he knows all too well for being a grand hiding spot for stowaways. Of course, he also has a knack for dealing with stowaways. A knack that often ends with his hook buried in a person's chest.

Cora opens a storage grate by one of the bunks, and Hook peers inside. A flame-haired man with glasses is gagged and bound inside, evidently terrified and struggling. Hook can't say he has ever seen the man before, so is more than a little confused as to why in the hell Cora has brought him onto his ship.

"Who's that?" He asks, not beating around the bush.

"Someone privy to Storybrooke's deepest secrets, including Rumplestiltskin's." Cora responds, which peaks Hook's interest. "Someone who can help us determine his weaknesses here. Can't you, Dr. Hopper?"

"If that's him, then who did you kill?" Hook asks, having heard enough when exploring the town during the day to learn that a 'Dr Hopper' had been murdered in the night. He had guessed that it as to do with Cora, and apparently his assumption was correct.

"How do I know? It's my first day in town."

"You disguised the body to look like him. If death wasn't punishment enough… Marvelous work." He has to hand it to her, it is a very clever plan. If the man is assumed dead, then no one will come looking for him. And he will have all of the time he needs to work on getting every ounce of information about the Crocodile without the looming threat of the heroes finding him.

"Thank you. Now you'll have all the knowledge you'll need. It may take some work, but this cricket will chirp."

"Aye. That he will." Hook grins down at Hopper, who looks back at him with fear in his eyes. This is perfect. A practically fail-safe plan that will allow him access to the Crocodile's deepest and darkest secrets. Secrets that will lead Hook to where he keeps his heart, no matter how black and shrivelled it may be. And when he finds it well… Hook is going to break it. Destroy it. And finally, finally, get his revenge.