Emma

They walk the fields of the backyard of Aurora's kingdom. When she found out that the fallen kingdom they were supposed to arrive to was Aurora's palace, she had searched the castle to see if Mulan or Aurora were anywhere to be seen but she hadn't found them. When they arrived at the pedestal where she assumed Aurora's body had been when she was "asleep", they found nothing but a few empty canteens and pouches.

As the dead grass crunches underneath her feet, she searches the ground for any sign. Dean is about twenty feet away, searching the ground also. They've been scouring the field for almost an hour and they're running out of land to search. As she's sure that she ran out of land to search, she sighs, turning around and seeing that Dean is already walking back to the back of the palace, turning to look at her and signaling her to join him. She sighs, giving up and going back to him. There was nothing further of the field except the forest of thick pines that gives her the creeps.

As she jogs to catch up to Dean, who is already at the stone steps of the palace that leads to the door that they went through to get to the field. As she approaches him, he sighs, crossing his arms and shrugging.

"Nothing. Maybe we're at the wrong kingdom or something?" he suggests.

Emma shrugs, opening her mouth to say something but a voice that she hasn't wanted to hear in at least a millennia interrupts her.

"Well, if you're searching for a toad, a giant one in particular, you're in the right place but you're not searching the right way."

Emma spins on her heel to see a pirate clad in leather, polishing his hook with a handkerchief. Her hand instinctively goes for the hilt of her sword and Dean steps forward to her side, his hand reaching for an arrow.

Hook chuckles. "Calm down, mate. I'm not here to stir up trouble, though it would be a bit more of an entertaining experience."

"What the hell do you want, Hook?" she hisses, anger seeping into her words.

He smirks, pushing himself off the wall and taking a step toward them. "Well, I simply wish to assist two traveler who obviously have no idea who they're doing."

"How the hell would you help us?" Dean suddenly decides to speak up and suddenly Emma feels like pushing him away into a separate room. He doesn't know Hook like she does. He might make the fatal mistake of allowing Hook to help them. She doesn't trust the man.

Hook smirks at Dean's choice to speak up.

"Well, I would probably assist in helping you know a little trick to make the entrance to the Netherworld where the toad lives. It's also the only way to make that certain entrance appear and if you just go searching for the entrance like you blokes did right now, there would be no entrance to be found," Hook explains.

It stays silent between the two as Emma watches exchange. Her heart races, knowing that Dean might be considering letting the pirate in on their little adventure of sorts.

"Another question. Why would you help us? Doesn't seem like the two of you have a good history," Dean says, gesturing to her. Emma bites her lip.

Hook's eyes flicker to her, the blue ocean's making her look away, her face burning. She just can't let the man in on this. They can't trust him.

"It has nothing to do with her. This is a personal matter," the man says.

"I'm not gonna accept any shitty excuses. You're gonna tell me why you're gonna help. I'd rather not be surprised with a knife on my back anytime soon," Dean snaps.

"It's probably for his revenge on Rumplestiltskin," she says before she could help herself. Dean's head immediately snaps to her. His eyes demand more explanation. "It's the only thing that motivates him. It's practically the reason he breathes."

Hook narrows his eyes at her. "Well, yes. I need to fulfil that but, I need to get Cora back for abandoning me."

"Cora?" Dean questions, clearly confused.

"You're too late," Emma says bitterly. "She's dead."

Hook smirks, a knowing one like if he knows something that they don't. "Oh, I beg to differ."

Emma furrows her brows. No, she can't be alive. She saw it. Her heart was poisoned and then put back into her body. She saw her fall to the floor. She was there when they checked her pulse and brain activity. She's dead.

"Alright, enough of the agenda searching. Do we have an agreement?" Hook asks, looking at Dean and Emma.

Emma looks at Dean to see him looking down at her in question. She shakes her head. No. No. Hell to the no!

He looks away, contemplating this and clenching his jaw. He seriously couldn't be considering this!

"Dean!" she snaps.

Dean looks back at her, his brows furrowed. She glances back at a smug looking Hook. He gives her a wink. She rolls her eyes. Grabbing Dean by his arm, she drags him off to the side. As soon as they're at the appropriate distance, Dean yanks his arm out of her grasp, glaring at her.

"I don't appreciate being dragged around," he snaps.

"I don't think this is a good idea," Emma begins. Dean shifts his weight from one foot to the other. He tilts his head to the side.

"And that is because?" he presses.

"Well, first of all, he's Captain fucking Hook. He literally sleep with a weapon. Besides, he was in league with Cora when we met. He was able to take Aurora's heart from her chest, Dean," she tells him.

"Being six feet away from me doesn't mean that I can't hear you, love," Hook comments, standing off to the side annoyed.

"Hey, man, fuck off please?" Dean snaps sarcastically.

Hook glares at him. "You really think that you two are my first choice to do this? No, mate, I'm afraid not." Hook takes a step closer to them. "Listen, to enter the Netherworld, one must have magic to enter. And since I'm a little short on that, I thought that it was a lost cause. But then you showed up again," he gestures to Emma with his Hook.

Emma glares at him. "Tough luck, pal. I don't have magic."

Hook laughs at this. "Oh, love. I thought I already told you. You're an open book. So is this mate, here," he says, gesturing to Dean. "It's a gift, you could say. But this assumption is based more on witnessing. You really think that Cora would not have been able to take your heart without magic?"

Emma tenses up, remembering the sensation of a cold hand gripping her heart tightly. It sends shivers up and down her spine but she refuses to show any signs of it happening. Instead, she glares at Hook.

"Look, I'm not asking for partnership and trust. I'm asking for cooperation," he says, looking at the two.

Dean makes eye contact with her and she returns the gaze, her jaw locked. They both knew that they didn't trust the pirate. How could they? She didn't trust anyone. Dean was probably on the same boat. It was hard to buy her trust. And she was one thousand and one percent that Hook would betray her. Especially since she abandoned him at beanstalk.

"This cooperation last for how long?" Dean asks from beside her. She clenches her jaw.

"As long as it takes to get it done," Hook replies.

Dean looks down at her and she looks from him to Hook.

She doesn't trust him. She doesn't trust him one bit…

…but trust wasn't ever a requirement to work together for her.

"Then let's hope we get this done quickly," she mutters darkly. Dean nods, accepting her decision. He turns to Hook, stretching out a hand to shake. His cautious aura doesn't fade despite the new partnership.

"Dean Winchester," Dean introduces himself. "Pull any dick moves, you're dead, alright?"

Hook smirks. "Wouldn't doubt it."