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Chapter Text

It didn’t happen like it was supposed to.

When Ben and Evie promised to bring every Isle child over to Auradon to give them a chance to choose between good or evil, they never realized it was a promise that they wouldn’t be able to keep. For there were villain kids who were too prideful to accept help from the people who were the cause of their misery in the first place, and then there some who were considered too dangerous and too far gone to be pardoned.

As it turns out, Ursula’s soon to be seventeen year old daughter, was one of the kids who is considered to be far too dangerous to even set foot on Auradon, due to the events that had happened in cotillion a couple months prior.

It seemed that the council wasn’t as forgiving as the young king was. King Ben had managed to convince them to allow some of the ruthless villain kids a chance to redeem themselves, but Uma was one that they would not allow, given that she had kidnapped, spelled the king, and even threatened to feed him to the sharks. Not to mention that she had also put the lives of many in danger when she transformed into a giant octopus that night during cotillion.

In the eyes of the council, Ursula’s daughter was unpardonable. And there was nothing that the king or anyone could do about it.

-----------------

Life on the Isle hadn’t changed much ever since Uma’s return from her failed mission at Auradon. Her mother was still forcing her to work triple shifts, her and the crew remained in control, and to her surprise, nobody treated her differently after her failure.

As a matter of fact, they seemed to have loved her even more, given the fact that she returned to them instead of remaining in Auradon. That small action proved to them, that they could always count on their captain.

There were whispers in the Isle though. Whispers about what the King’s next move would be. They had heard when he announced that he was working on trying to bring more kids from the Isle over to Auradon. That shocked them, mostly because they had assumed that after what had happened with Uma’s attempt invasion, that they wouldn’t want any more kids from the Isle to move there.

Hardly anyone ever dared to say it out loud, but many of them secretly hoped that they would be chosen to move to Auradon. Uma was one of these people, she didn’t know it at first, but after having a conversation with Gil, she realized that she was willing to put her pride and jealousy aside if it meant that her and her crew would be freed from this prison.

“I really hope we get picked to go!” Gil had exclaimed when the King had announced his plans, causing for the teel-braided girl to turn her attention towards him.

“You really think they’re going to invite us over after we kidnapped the king?” she scoffed. Uma didn’t really intend to crush her friend’s spirits, she just wanted him to be realistic. Even though Gil got on her nerves ninety-nine percent of the time, she did have a soft spot for the blonde boy, and didn’t want him to set himself up for disappointment. They already faced too much of that on the Isle.

“Well, sure!” he shrugged. “The King said so. He believes in second chances! Besides, I’m dying to try some of those pastries that they always show on TV, imagine how delicious they taste!”

“Sounds rather boring to me.” Harry Hook intervened as jumped over the counter, standing next to Uma, as he normally was.

“There has to be something special about that place.” Gil wondered out loud, ignoring his friend’s negative comments. “Something that made Mal, Evie, Jay, and Carlos want to stay there, was it freedom? Don’t you ever wonder how it feels like? Freedom.”

Uma didn’t say anything in response and just stared at blonde boy who sat right across from her. She had never realized how different the boy was compared to the rest of them, sure she noticed that he was a lot slower and less ruthless than the majority of the people here, but she never realized that Gil genuinely didn’t deserve to be here. He wasn’t evil, not like here at least. If anyone deserved off the Isle, it was definitely him.

“If anyone of us get chosen to go to Auradon, will you let us?” Gil had then asked Uma. He seemed to really care about what she had to say.

The young sea witch noticed that her whole pirate crew had stopped what they were doing and had their eyes on her, anticipating her answer. She thought about it for a moment. Getting them and herself off the Isle had always been her goal, if the opportunity to get off this dump would present itself, would be willing to push her pride aside and take it?

Yes.

Yes she would.

“Our goal has always been to get off this dump, hasn’t it?” she reminds them all, causing for the crew to erupt in cheers and praise towards her.

“Really?!” Gil beamed, clearly surprised by her answer. “Wow, you’re the best Shrim- I mean Captain!”

Uma rolled her eyes at her friends constant mistake and turned to face Harry, who was looking at her with concern and confusion. “Are you sure that’s a good idea captain?” he questioned. “I don’t think I could ever force myself to turn into one of those annoying preppy kids.”

It’s not that Harry didn’t want to leave the Isle, it’s that he didn’t know how life would be without the Isle. It’s all he had ever known, he was comfortable here, and he had a feeling that he wouldn’t get on too well in a place like Auradon. He was too much for them.

“How are we supposed to sail and rule the sea, if we’re still stuck here?” Uma responds as she arches an eyebrow.

“You’re still up for that?” he smirked, all of sudden not feeling too against the idea of moving to Auradon.

“Only if you are.”

“ Nothing would bring me more pleasure.”

-----------------

Once again, Uma had grown hopeful. She never learns her lesson, does she?

A couple of weeks after that day, literally every single member of their pirate crew had walked into Ursula’s Fish & Chips, with a huge smile and an invitation to Auradon within their hand.

Even Harry was surprised, not only at the fact that he had received an invitation, but at the fact that he was feeling excited about receiving one.

That glee and excitement though, quickly vanished once they figured out their captain had yet to receive an invitation for herself.

“Maybe it’s just late?” Gil suggests, trying to remain positive.

“Yeah, maybe.” Uma agreed as she attempted to smile. But the young sea witch knew better, she knew that there was no way that they’d ever allow her in Auradon, not after all the mess she had made that night during cotillion.

“I swear, if you don’t get yer invitation soon, I might have to force those guards to make one for you right now.” Harry said as he waved his hook around, implying that he was planning to take care of things with violence.

That resulted in Uma smacking him behind the head with her hand, “Don’t be ridiculous Hook.” she told him before wrapping an arm around his shoulder. “Of course I’m getting an invitation, I guarantee it.” She tried her best to give him a confident smile, and she wasn’t sure if she pulled it off or not.

Harry wasn’t too convinced by her words, “And if you don’t?” he asked as he looked at her, his face portraying a very serious expression.

“I will.” she said again, this time sounding a lot more convincing than the first time. Deep down though, she had a feeling that what she was saying wasn’t true. “And together we will all rule the sea!”

Her crew all cheered at her confidence, and chanted her name. For the first time however, the sound of her name being chanted didn’t bring any boost to her ego like it normally did.

-----------------

“I’m telling you, we’re not going anywhere without you!” Harry slammed his hand hard against the table, as he was growing frustrated over the fact that Uma had yet to say anything about receiving an invitation. “ I’m not going anywhere without you, Uma.”

Despite the fact that the crew all nodded in agreement, she knew that’s not what they wanted. She knew that they all deserved better than the Isle. She couldn’t take that opportunity away from them, not when their freedom was something that she promised them a long time ago. A respectful captain wouldn’t do that to her crew.

“It’s okay Uma, I didn’t even want to go to Auradon anyways.” Gil added sadly. The boy was such a terrible liar. She looked at her pirate crew and then back and forth between her two closest friends, also known as the people she cared about the most.

No, she couldn’t take this opportunity away from them. At that moment, she knew what she needed to do.

“Would you two stop being so dramatic?” she said as she rolled her eyes. “Didn’t I mention earlier that I already received my invitation?”

“You did?!” both Harry and Gil ask at the same time.

“Of course I did you kelp brains!” she exclaimed, with a fake triumphant smile plastered on her face.

“Well, what are you waiting for? Show us!”

“It’s somewhere up in my room and I don’t have time to go look for it.” Uma lied. It wasn’t hard to do so, it’s something that was always done on the Isle. “My mom wants me to finish cleaning the shop, and I really don’t want to hear her yell at me.”

The rest of the crew let out a sigh in relief as they continued to celebrate their freedom that would soon be granted upon them. Uma tried her best to seem enthusiastic as she walked around the shop, collecting dirty dishes, with Harry right behind her.

He didn’t say anything until they walked into the kitchen though.

“We’re going to Auradon?” he asked in disbelief. “Who would’ve thought.”

“You’re going to be alright. You all are.” Uma tells him as she squeezed his shoulder in reassurance, causing the young Hook boy to smile in response.

“As long as I have you by my side, I know I will be alright.”

“Right.”

-----------------

Unfortunately, Uma’s thoughts were proven correct when the day finally came and she had not received any invitation. That’s what she gets for getting her hopes up.

The pang of sadness didn’t completely hit her though, not until she was standing in front of a handful of limousines, that were there to pick up her crew and other villain kids.

She made no effort to move from her spot, as she watched everyone board the massive vehicles. Maybe if she didn’t say anything, nobody would notice.

To her misfortune, nothing really ever got past her first mate, who grabbed her hand and started pulling her towards the vehicle.

“C’mon Captain.” he says, with a hint of joy in his voice. “Our new turf awaits.”

Still, she didn’t move. And that made his heart drop a bit, when he turned to look at her and saw how much her face had hardened. No, Harry was not good at math or any school subject, but he wasn’t an idiot.

It didn’t take him long to piece the puzzle together. “You didn’t get an invitation, did you?”

Uma shifts her gaze from the limousines towards him and gives him a weak smile. “You should get in,” she tells him. “Heard they got delicious sweets in there.”

“You lied to me.” Harry couldn’t hide the hurt in his tone. He wasn’t sure what hurt the most, the fact that Uma lied to him or the fact that she wasn’t going.

“Get in Harry.” she says again, this time more sternly.

“You really are insane if you think I’m going anywhere without you.” He replies, unable to restrain his anger from showing.

“Hey guys, what’s going on?” Gil asks as he walks over to his friends, he could sense that there was something wrong. “The limos are waiting. Get in.”

“We’re not going.” Harry quickly replies bitterly.

“Harry.” Uma threatens in a low voice.

“What, why?!” Gil feels his heart drop as soon as he heard Harry’s words.

“She lied. She didn’t get any invitation, she’s not going, which means I’m not going.”

“Harry get in the damn car.” It was growing very difficult for Uma to keep herself together, not when her first mate was acting like this.

“Uma-” her anger suddenly vanishes when she hears Gil call out to her softly, “Y-You’re not going?”

She turns to face the blonde boy and gives him a tender smile, something that she rarely did. “You’re going to be fine without me, Gil.” she tells him. “You’re going to love Auradon, nobody deserves to be there more than you do.”

“What about Harry?”

“He’s going.”

“I told you I’m not!”

Uma does something that she never really does, she pulls her blonde friend into a quick, tight hug. “Get in the limo, Gil.” she says as soon as she releases him from her embrace. “Harry will be right behind you.”

Gil nods slowly and does what he’s told. He looks back at his friends, before going into the limousine.

“I told you I’m not going anywhere without you, and that’s final!” he sternly says, as soon as she turns back to face him.

“I don’t care what you say Harry,” Uma replies as calmly as she can. “I am still your captain, and you will do what I say.”

He scoffs as he crossed his arms, “You’re not being fair right now Uma.”

“Life ain’t fair.”

“Uma.”

“Harry.”

“I’m not leaving you, damn it!” he exclaims in frustration. The thought of life without her was already driving him insane. He couldn’t bare it.

“Are you going to disobey your captain?” Uma is taken aback, Harry’s never been one to protest against her wishes. Ever.

“I don’t care.” he insists. “Uma, we’re a team. You said we would rule Auradon together!”

“And we will!” she snaps. “Just not right now.”

He walks closer to her and looks her dead in the eye, “I’m not leaving you.”

“Don’t make me do something I’ll regret Harry-”

“Nothing you do will change my mind.” he stood his ground.

For a while, neither of them say anything and just continue to glare at each other. Uma would never admit it out loud, but she was also scared of life without her crew, without Gil, without Harry. But she had to get them out of here, she had to do what was best for them.

“If you don’t leave right now Harry, then you might as well then be dead to me.” Uma responds, making her voice as intimidating as it could be. “If you don’t get in that stinken limousine right now, then you’ll no longer exist to me.”

Harry looks at her in disbelief, “You wouldn’t.” he breathes out. Unable to believe what she was saying. He didn’t know what was worse, life without Uma or life where Uma would hate him for the rest of his life.

“Try me.” she threatens. “I’ll make you wish you would’ve gone to Auradon.”

He grabs her by the shoulders and startles her by pulling her into a tight embrace. “You can’t make me do this.” he whispers. “You can’t make me leave you.”

Uma closes her eyes for a moment and breathes out, before removing herself from his embrace. “I’m going to count to three Harry, and if you’re not in that limo, you’re dead to me.”

“What?” he wasn’t so certain how much time he had, mostly because he wasn’t too good at keeping time.

“One.”

“Uma, you can’t-”

“Two.”

“I’m not leaving you I said!”

“Three.”

With that, she was about to walk away, but not before he could grab her hand, and pulled her towards him, crashing his lips on hers.

She stiffened immediately, mostly because she had never been kissed before, she didn’t know what to do or what to feel, so she just allowed him to carry on.

She didn’t know how to describe the feeling inside of her. It wasn’t disgust but it wasn’t pleasure either.

He then pulls away and caresses her face with his hand. “Uma.” he whispers.

“Go.”

“At least promise that you’ll find your way back to me?” he pleads.

“You’re not seriously asking me that?” Promises were never something that were kept here on the isle. It made her a bit sad to see that Harry had come to this.

“Just do it.”

“Only if you promise to go into that limousine right now, and try your very best to live up to be a ‘civilized citizen’.” she challenges. “That’s the only way we’ll ever be allowed to set sail. One day.”

He pulls her into another longing kiss, this time Uma even attempts to kiss back. “You have to find us. You have to find me.”

Uma sighs and nods. “I will.” she tells him. “I promise.”

She felt chills run up her spine as she said those forbidden words, but she did it for Harry and for his own good.

He hesitates, but he eventually lets go and slowly makes his way towards the limousine. He goes in, but not before giving her another look. His final look, for now.

Uma feels a huge weight lift off her shoulders as she watches as the vehicles began to drive away. She did it. She did what she said she would do as captain, she got her crew to Auradon.

She didn’t cry. She refuses to cry. No matter how much it stung. She refused to be weak.

She couldn’t help the sadness that she felt though. That’s what she gets for hoping. It’s like Mal had once told her, hope is for the weak.

Let this be the last time, she ever hopes for something.

Chapter Text

Never did she imagine that she would ever find herself feeling any type of sympathy towards the sea witch. Not after everything that’s happened between them.

Ever since their fallout back when they were kids, there had been a mutual hatred that blossomed between them.

That hatred wasn’t always there though, that hatred, was once a friendship. A very dangerous friendship that is.

Mal didn’t want to humiliate Uma by dumping a bucket of shrimp over head, she didn’t want to do that to someone that she considered a friend. But she did, just to make her mother proud. That’s why she always did those nasty things, to make Maleficent proud.

When she heard from Ben and Evie, that Uma wouldn’t be one of the villains that would brought over to Auradon to be given a second chance, she wasn’t as relieved as she thought she would be. As a matter of fact, she almost felt sad to hear that.

One would think that given their rough past, that Mal would be the first to celebrate at the fact that Ursula’s daughter, her archenemy, wouldn’t be joining them in free land. She didn’t celebrate though.

She didn’t understand why she didn’t feel relief at the news. Maybe it was because she saw herself in Uma that night during cotillion. Before jumping into the water and turning into a giant octopus, the girl had been cornered, and she was certain that if Ben and her had not stopped the guards, they probably would’ve hurt the sea witch. She genuinely wanted to help her, she wanted to give Uma the same chance that her and her friends were given. She was able to realize that, because of Ben.

Mal looks up at her boyfriend, who was standing right beside her, as they awaited the arrival of the new citizens of Auradon, along with Evie and Fairy Godmother. Ben turned to look at her as well, and gave her a warm smile as he reached out to grab her hand.

The girl with wavy, purple hair returns the smile and gives his hand a small squeeze. She could feel his hand sweating a bit. “Nervous?” she asks him with a small chuckle. Her boyfriend really was such a sweetheart. Auradon couldn’t have a better King than the young beast boy.

“Is it that obvious?” Ben laughs as he looks forward and sees the limousines approaching from the Isle. “Heard they had trouble getting someone onto the limo. Sounds like we’re up for a challenge.”

“It’s not like you’re forcing them to come.” Mal replies, as she tries to think of an explanation as to why anyone would have to be forced to come to Auradon. Could one of the villains be forcing their child to carry out a hidden agenda in order to free them? That wouldn’t be the first time that’s happened. “Did they say who it was?”

Ben shrugs, “They didn’t say exactly who it was, but they did mention that he was wearing a weapon on his left hand. Sound familiar?”

It didn’t take long for Mal to realize who he was talking about. “Harry Hook.” she says in disbelief. She had assumed that at least, most of Uma’s crew would take the offer to move to Auradon, but she had never imagined that Harry Hook would ever leave Ursula’s daughter’s side.

Did that mean that her former best friend, was going to be left all alone in the Isle full of many dangerous criminals? Mal knew that Uma was fully capable of taking care of herself, that wasn’t what was slowly starting to concern her. It was the fact that her ex friend was outnumbered, without a crew by her side to fight with her, it wouldn’t take long for the young sea witch to get taken down.

Mal didn’t want to acknowledge these feelings, but she found herself growing more and more worried about the well-being of Ursula’s daughter, as the limousines continued to get closer. She could only hope that her former friend, would be alright.

-----------------

It was strange.

The feelings that the young sea witch was currently undergoing.

It had only been a couple of hours since her crew left, since Gil left, since Harry left. It had only been a couple of hours since he kissed her. Twice.

What was that even about?

What does that even mean?

She kept wondering what the intentions behind the two kisses were.

Was it his way of saying goodbye? Wasn’t a hug good enough? Did he really have to take it to the next level and confuse her? She doesn’t even know what to feel.

It shouldn’t signify anything, right? She has seen people making out and doing much more than just kissing here on the Isle, it’s not something that was uncommon, there just really wasn’t much love involved those interactions.

Love?

It couldn’t mean love, right? No. Harry knew better. She knew better.  

Uma slaps  herself across the face several times for even thinking that. There’s no such thing as true love, and even if there just so happen to be a few people who get to experience that feeling, she knew that it wasn’t permanent.

The mutual friendship and love that she felt for Mal is proof of that. Uma loved the green-eyed girl that she once considered her best friend, a lot, and look how things turned out for her. She got a bucket of old, smelly, shrimp dumped on her as a result of that love. She was weak and betrayed because of love.

She doesn’t want that to happen with Harry, she doesn’t want that to be the end of their partnership. Although, it does seem like that relationship that she has with him will be coming to an end, but not because of love , but because deep down, she knows that the chances of ever seeing her first mate again, are very slim.

It hadn’t really hit her yet, not until now.

Her crew is gone. Gil is gone. Harry is gone. She’s all alone now.

There’s an uncomfortable feeling in her heart that she refuses to act upon. She will not cry. She will not allow herself to be weak.

Weak people don’t survive on the Isle, and now with her crew gone, something tells her that life on the Isle was about to get much more difficult than she was used to.

-----------------

He was miserable.

Not only was he forced to give up his most prized possession, but they were forcing him to go to school and expecting him to actually be good at it.

He hates this place. He hates the people here.

Yesterday, when they had arrived and were getting a tour of the place, he felt everyone’s judgemental eyes on them. He couldn’t stand it, usually whenever people had their eyes on him, they would convey fear and uncomfort, not judgment.

They reminded him of his father, Captain Hook. That’s all he ever saw in his father’s eyes when he looked in his direction.

Judgement, because according to him, Harry wasn’t bad or wild enough, not like his sisters at least. Now, they were the children that Captain Hook always praised when talking to his crew. He would always go on and on about how mortified he was that his only son didn’t have ‘ any balls like his sisters’.

Speaking of his sisters, he had yet to see them. He was planning to yesterday, but they were literally all over the place, that he didn’t get the chance to. It also seems like he wasn’t placed in the same Remedial Goodness 101 class, so he’s probably going to have to look for them later.

There were five of them in the classroom, seems like they didn’t want to give Fairy Godmother more kids than she could handle.

From right to left, it was Jonas, Bonny, Desiree, Gil, and him. It appeared that some of the people here were still required to take this class, even if they were already 18 and considered adults.

Harry found himself sitting in silence as Gil and the rest of the crew were talking about their first nights in Auradon.

“The soap here smells amazing!” he hears his blonde friend exclaim. “Who would’ve known that I could smell this good.”

Harry had to admit, the soaps and shampoos did smell good. A lot better than they did on the Isle. But he couldn’t even bring himself to at least pretend to be impressed with what Gil was saying, and eventually allowed his eyes to wander towards the nearest window, which just so happened to have a very clear view of the Isle.

The first person to come to mind upon seeing that hideous place was his captain: Uma. The more time he spent in Auradon, the more he regretted listening to her.

He should have stayed.

All of this is surprisingly pleasant, but it’s just not good enough. Without her here, nothing was good enough.

He should have stayed.

Harry would do anything to be with her at the moment, he can only imagine how lonely it must over on the Isle.

Would Uma find someone to keep her company? Would she start a new pirate crew? Would she find a new first mate?

Will she forget about him?

The thought of someone else taking his place by her side really rubbed him the wrong way that he let his head drop hard against the desk that he shared with Gil.

The room suddenly grows quiet for a moment, as they all turned their attention towards him.

Gil starts to feel a bit uneasy about the sight of one of his best friends, looking so unlike himself. He wants him to feel better, how can he make him feel better?

“I miss her too you know.” the blonde boy then breaks the silence, as he looks out the window, towards the Isle. “I know it’s only been a day, but it’s weird not having her around.”

Harry slowly turns his head to look at him, without lifting it from the desk. He doesn’t say anything in response.

“I miss her yelling at me for calling her Shrimpy.” Gil starts laughing at the memories.

Harry gives his friend a puzzled expression, “Out of everything you can miss from her, you choose to miss her yelling at you for calling her that stupid name?” he questions, as he slightly lifts his head from their desk.

“Sure!” he replies with a shrug and a smile.

“I thought you hate it when people yell at you?”

Gil’s smile drops. “I do.” he says slowly. “I don’t like it when people who don’t care about me, like Gaston, yell at me. But because I know that Uma loves me, I didn’t mind that she yelled at me constantly.”

“Woah there!” Harry instantly interjects as his head jumped up in surprise at his friend’s use of the infamous ‘L Word’.’

“What?” Gil questions. “We’re not on the Isle anymore, Harry. I can say the word ‘love’, without you having to get so uncomfortable.”

“We’ve only been here for a day. Don’t push things.” Harry tells him, as he returns his attention back to the Isle.

Love, huh?

What makes the blonde boy think that Uma loves him, or any of them? As far as he can remember, Uma once told him that the one person that she ever loved was Mal, before she betrayed her. Uma told him that she would never allow herself to ever love anyone again, because of that. Does Gil have any idea what he’s saying?

“What makes you think she loves you?” Harry couldn’t help but ask. “It’s Uma you’re talking about. She detests that word.”

Gil shrugs again. “I just know.” he replies simply.

That answer wasn’t good enough for the young Hook boy though. “But how?” he asks again, trying not to sound so desperate.

“Because she let us come to Auradon.” Gil tells him. “She gave us our freedom. She wants what’s good for us, which has to mean that she loves us.”

Harry doesn’t say anything in response and thinks about what his blonde friend just said. He’s not sure if he should take what Gil had just said seriously. How can he, when he doesn’t even know what love is in the first place?

He was also a bit shocked though, it sounded as if Gil had just said something actually not so dense. Maybe Auradon is already rubbing off on the young boy.

He doesn’t know what to say, so he doesn’t say anything at all.

“As soon as I learn how to write, I think I’m going to keep a diary where I’ll write about all my fun adventures in Auradon!,” Gil took his friend’s silence as a signal to keep talking. “That way when we see Uma again, I can show her! Isn’t that a good idea?!”

Harry couldn’t help but laugh, “A diary, you say?” Now that sounded a lot more like the Gil he knew.

Before either of them could say anything else, a very chirpy Fairy Godmother walked in, and started the class.

Harry hoped that he wouldn’t hate the class as much as he was expecting to.

-----------------

That uncomfortable feeling that Uma felt within her heart, only grew more as the day continued. Everything felt off. Despite the fact that Ursula’s Fish & Chips was still getting a decent amount of customers, she couldn’t push away the lonesome feeling that entrapped her.

It just wasn’t the same without the constant banter and ruckus from her crew. It wasn’t the same without Gil annoying the crap out of her by calling her ‘Shrimpy’ for the tenth time in a day. It wasn’t the same without Harry by her side.

Nothing felt right.

Uma felt lost. Not even the pain on her arms that was caused by her mother, who had whipped her with a tentacle for the fifth time today because she kept zoning out, was enough to distract her.

She can’t help but wonder: Will it always be like this?

And if it is, then will she ever get used to it? Will she ever get used to life with her crew, without Gil and Harry?

Her thoughts are once again interrupted, not by her mother this time, but by the sound of the front doors being pushed open, with an extra amount of force.

She looks up and watched as a group of tall and thin boys walked in, they seemed to be huddled over someone.

Aside from Maleficent, the only other people on this isle who traveled with goons everywhere they went were- oh no.

It was the twins. Scarlett and Scott.

The goons all moved to the side, allowing for two teenagers with very dark, black hair and tan skin, make their way towards the counter.

Scarlett smiled smugly at her, “Hey Shrimpy, where’s your pirate crew?” the girl asks, acting as if she didn’t already know the answer. “Oh, I forgot. They left you.” she fake pouts.

Uma forced a laugh as she pulls a menu from the side and slams it hard onto the girl’s hand. “What will it be?” she asks half heartedly.

Despite the pain that the black-haired girl felt, she laughs through it, almost as if seeing Uma pissed off, amused her. “You were right.” she tells her twin brother. “She is aggressive. I like it.”

“And very charming too.” Scott adds, joining his sister and laughing along. “We could use her.”

Uma rolls her eyes, they were talking about her as if she wasn’t standing a couple of feet away from them. “You know what I could use? A break! But we don’t all get what we want.” she spat as she grabbed her pen and notepad. “Now, are you going to order or not.”

“She has an attitude too!” Scarlett continues to praise. “Our dad would really like you.”

Uma let out a humorless laugh, “Gee, I’m flattered!” she exclaims sarcastically. “But unfortunately, I’m not interested in old, smelly lions.”

Technically, Scar wasn’t a lion anymore. Not after King Adam had turned him and all of his followers into humans, because apparently lions and hyenas were far too extreme to be on the Isle.

Uma doesn’t know much about them, given that they lived on the other side of the Isle, but one thing she did know was that Scar was definitely not happy over the fact that the King had turned him into a 'filthy' human.

“Great sense of humor, as well!” Scarlett points out, before turning to look at Uma. “That does it, you’re in!”

The young sea witch gives them a confused expression, “In?” she questions.

“In our gang.” Scott explains.

Uma bursts out laughing. Yeah. Right. Like that was happening. “Listen, if you’re not going to order anything, then I suggest you get out.” she tells them as soon as she stops laughing. “I’m a very busy girl and I haven’t got all day.”

“We have a plan Uma.” Scarlett tells her, her voice sounded dead serious. “A plan to take over Auradon, that we want you to be a part of.”

The teel-braided girl scoffs, “You clearly didn’t see how my last attempt to invade Auradon went.”

“We want you in our gang because we saw that.” Scott says, his glare was almost intimidating. Almost. “We need brave and powerful villains with us! We want you because you have those powers, Uma. The more of us there is, the higher the chances are for us to successfully invade Auradon!”

“And why would I want to team up with you two in the first place?” Uma was already growing bored of this conversation. Yes, a part of her still did want to invade Auradon, but not without her crew by her side. Not without Harry or Gil by her side either.

Scarlett smiles in response. “Look around you, Uma.” she gestures towards the entire building. “Your crew is gone. You have no one left, and don’t tell me you plan to spend the rest of your life being mommy’s little servant , while your crew live their lives in Auradon and completely forget about you.”

The young sea witch knew better than to let the lion twins get to her, they were known for saying very manipulative things. But of course, she lost her cool and swung her sword over the counter, gently pressing it against the lioness’ throat.

“Get the hell out of my restaurant.” Uma threatens in a low voice, before screaming, “Now!”

This caused the twins to burst into a roar of laughters as they stood up. “Alright Shrimpy, we’ll get out your hair for now.” Scarlett responds.

“But, be sure to think about our offer very carefully.” Scott adds. “You never know, you might find yourself growing fond of it eventually. Until next time, Uma.”

The girl couldn’t stand the anger, she grabbed the first thing that she saw, a glass cup, and squeezed it until it shattered in her hand.

She paid no mind to the stinging sensation or the blood that was currently streaming down her hand. It was a lot more bearable than the thoughts that she was having because of those wicked twin.

She was in pain and pissed. She wanted to break more things, she wanted to destroy and wreck things.

Uma couldn’t bring herself to calm down, it has only been a day and she’s already a mess. Maybe the twins were right, maybe Harry and her crew will forget about her. Maybe they will grow on to experience greater things and forget her name. All while she remains on the this dump, living as her mother’s slave for the rest of her life.

Those thoughts suddenly made Scarlett and Scott’s proposal not sound too bad.

-----------------

“I’m sorry your highness.” she heard the doctor tell her parents. “But the King’s condition seems to not be improving.”

She watched as her mother breaks down crying into her father’s arms. She felt her eyes grow heavy at the sight. This couldn’t be happening.

“Eric, there’s got to be something we can do!” her mother says in between sobs. “Can’t we ask Fairy Godmother if she could heal him with her magic wand?”

The doctor and her father exchange a knowing look, “Honey, I don’t know if we can.” he responds, sadness was evident in his tone. “Magic hasn’t been allowed to use for the cure of patient in years.”

“We can’t just let my dad die!” her mom pleads, which only caused her heart to ache even more.

“I’ll put in a request with King Adam and Queen Belle.” the doctor tells them. “But I can’t guarantee that we’ll hear back from them quickly. They’re always so busy, it usually takes weeks for them to respond.”

“Please do so.” Her father tells him. With that, the doctor excuses himself, leaving her parents in to talk in private, or so they thought.

She wasn’t supposed to be here, she was supposed to be in class right now. But she couldn’t just sit there, not after hearing that her grandpa had been rushed to the hospital.

“Eric, how am I supposed to wait weeks for them to confirm or deny our request?” her mother weeps. “My dad’s lying in a bed unconscious, he could leave us any minute! We need to save him now!”

He gently brushes his wife’s red locks with his hand, “I won’t let that happen Ariel.” he promises. “I’ll find a way for them to give us the wand, even if we have to travel all the way to his castle!”

“What if they don’t let us use the wand Eric, what then?!”

“I- I don’t know.” he confesses, the guilt was evident on her dad’s face. “But we’ll think of something.”

“You know, I hate to even say this out loud.” her mother says with a humorless chuckle. “But all of my thoughts keep leading back to Ursula-”

“No!” he instantly cuts her off, not even letting her finish what he was saying. “We are not going to ask the sea witch for help! Her and her family have brought too much chaos into our lives, and not the good kind.”

“I’m not saying we have to ask Ursula for help,” she corrects herself. “I’m saying, she most likely has a potion that could cure my dad. What if we have some guards go down there and bring it to us?”

“Absolutely not!” Her dad clearly wasn’t having it. “We will not be accepting help from them or their dark magic, and that is final!”

“What about my dad then? Am I just supposed to let him die?”

Eric grabs his wife’s face and gently caresses it. “I won’t let that happen.” he tells her. “We will find a way to convince the King and Queen to let us use the magic wand. I promise.”

She saw the uncertainty in her father’s face and she instantly knew that he might not be able to keep his promise. For they have laws against using magic for almost anything now.

She knew she had to do something. She had to find a way to save her grandpa. She could steal the wand from the museum or she could find a way to get her hands on those potions that her mother spoke of.

They were both very risky. One of them could get her killed and one of them could get her and her parents locked up in a dungeon for breaking the law.

At that moment, Melody knew what she had to do.

Chapter Text

He wasn't sure what he was expecting would happen when he met up with his sisters, but he sure as hell wasn't expecting them to be so thrilled about their arrival at Auradon.

Maybe, a part of him had hoped that he would find at least someone who he could share his feelings with. He didn't like being here, he didn't want to be here. Not without her by his side.

He felt as if he couldn't find his place here. Sure it had only been a week, but it appeared as if everyone else were slowly starting to find where they belonged here in Auradon.

Jonas and Desiree decided that they wanted to become professional sword fighters, they actually plan to start training once they pass their goodness class.

Bonny has also seemed to taken an interest in video games, she's had her eyes glued onto this device that she supposedly borrowed from a freshman at Auradon Prep, a couple days ago.

His sisters appeared to have also found some interest in sports. CJ said that she probably wants to try out for swimming team, while Harriet wants to give basketball and volleyball a try. Why? Well, she said that she really enjoys hitting things.

Even Gil has been finding himself growing very intrigued with creative arts and cooking. He's been going on and on about all these tutorials he found online that he's dying to try out.

Of course, none of them will really be allowed to do anything until they pass Remedial Goodness 101. So that gave almost everyone he knew from the Isle a motive to try their best in this class.

As for Harry, he had yet to find any motivation to try. He just couldn't see the point.

Auradon just didn't seem to be the place where he belonged.

Gil started to notice his friends discouraged behavior, and it stressed him out that he couldn't do anything to cheer him up.

He was really enjoying his time in Auradon and it saddened him that his best friend wasn't feeling the same way. He couldn’t help but wonder how he could make him feel better.

Things would be much easier if Uma were here. Everything would be easier.

They were having their first exam this upcoming week, and based on his friend’s behavior this past week, he wasn't sure how much of an effort Harry was putting into passing this exam.

Gil had managed to get vocabulary flashcards with pictures in order so he could study, he even tried to offer them to his friend, but the young Hook boy would only deny and walk right past him, straight into his dorm.

That's where Harry would spend most of his time anyways. While Gil was out there exploring this new place that he can now call home, his friend would do nothing more that go straight to their room and maybe watch some very strange videos to get his mind off of things.

Instead of studying and preparing for their first exam, he'd just spend hours on the internet, hoping to find some sort of distraction from the emptiness that he was currently feeling inside.

Gil knew he had to do something, there had to be a way for them to be able to somehow see their captain again.

He knew that it might be the only way Harry might find some motivation to try his best here in Auradon.

-----------------

It felt strange having the new villain kids around, roaming Auradon, but at the same time, it also felt a bit familiar.

At least that was the case for Mal, Evie, Jay, and Carlos.

Everyday during lunch break, the Rotten Four sometimes find themselves observing the new arrivals. It was hard to believe that they were currently sitting under the same roof as the same people who they would spend their time scheming against, only about a year ago.

Back in the Isle, typically if there were ever more than one set of gangs under the same roof, there would be a lot of fighting and arguing involved.

“I think they're doing just fine here in Auradon!” Evie claims pridefully, as they observed the tables in front of them that consisted of a numerous amount of VKs who were currently trying their best to read and write.

“I have to say, I didn't think they'd start adapting this fast.” Jay admits in a surprised tone. It's not that he doubted that Evie and Ben could make this work, it’s that he doubted that villains that they were bringing over.

Jay obviously knew what it was like to be from such a malicious place where being violent and evil was considered the norm and the standard to survival. He also knew what it was like to be suddenly stripped away from such a lifestyle and then to suddenly be forced to act like the complete opposite.

“They have the choice to be good now.” Evie replies. “Back on the Isle, they didn't have any choice. We didn't have any choice.”

“I think it's awesome what you're doing Evie.” Carlos then speaks up, sounding very serious. “Some of these kids were probably raised by abusive parents, and the fact that you were capable of rescuing them from such harsh conditions is incredible. You really do have such a pure heart.”

Evie smiles fondly towards one of her best friends, for she knew that he meant every word he said, given that he was very much aware of how it felt like to have an abusive parent.

Cruella De Vil was just awful towards her son. She treated him more like a pet than a son; always having him do things for her. And if he even dared to attempt to protest her commands, there were times where she would just lock him in her closet and leave him there four hours, maybe days. To make matters worse, she would sometimes make barking noises from outside the closet to really intimidate her son.

She also yelled. A lot. And it was ugly whenever she did. There were times that Carlos would wish that he was dead, if that meant that he would never have to hear her scream at him again.

“Well, seems like everyone but one person is enjoying their time here in Auradon.” Mal then says as she gestures towards a messy haired boy that she loathed so much.

Yes, loathed.

Meaning in the past, back when they were on the Isle. Meaning that her intense dislike towards that boy is no longer there. At least, that's what she keeps telling herself.

“Harry Hook.” Evie laughs to herself before she sighs in disbelief. “I think we were all expecting him to be quite a challenge. But he’ll grow to love it here! Some villains just need a little more time.”

They all turned to watch Harry and Gil who seemed to be sitting with another boy from Uma’s pirate crew that they couldn't recognize. Two of the friends were really focused on their food, while the other one just sat there with his shoulders slouched, staring off into space.

“He looks miserable.” Jay points out.

“That doesn't look like the rowdy Harry from the Isle.” Carlos agrees. He also never had the most nicest feelings towards Captain Hook’s son.

He was actually really terrified of him back when they were kids. That was most likely because Harry seemed to enjoy chasing him through dark alleyways as he barked like a dog from behind.

“It's not like he had to come.” Mal scoffs as she leaned back into her chair and glared at the boy.

She never knew when exactly was the moment that her detestment towards him blossomed.

She had seen him around when they were much younger, but never really acknowledged his existence, that wasn't until she heard that he had befriended her former best friend, Uma.

From that point on, Mal had tried her best to break up his friendship with Uma. At first, she thought it was because she wanted to bully her ex friend and make her life a total nightmare.

It had never occurred to her that maybe it was because a part of her was a bit envious over the fact that Uma had managed to find herself a new friend so quickly after she dumped a bucket of shrimp on her head.

A part of her hated the fact that someone else was by her former best friend’s side. It was a bit hypocritical, given that she was the one who did what she did to Uma and found a new group to hang with, in order to please her mother. But at the time, Maleficent’s daughter thought that her hatred towards him were justified.

Of course, her hatred towards him only grew as they matured. The back and forth evil pranks between Uma and her only made things worse, given that he was usually the one that did the dirty work for the young sea witch.

She never really had thoughts about actually hurting him physically though, not until she saw how he had Ben completely tied up and almost pushed him into shark infested waters. That's what sealed her negative feelings towards Hook’s boy.

“According to the guards it does seem like he was forced into the limousine-” Evie reminds her best friend. “-By Uma, that's why I was actually a bit concerned about his arrival at first. I thought she sent him here to perform some evil scheme of hers, but the more I look at him-that doesn't really seem to be the case.”

“Why do you think she forced him to come then if it wasn't for him to find some way to break the barrier?” Jay then asks.

“Yeah, I'm actually starting to grow a bit concerned over that now that you've mentioned it.” Carlos adds.

“Maybe she cares about him so much that she wanted a better life for him?” Evie suggests with a shrug.

“Are you serious?” Jay snorts. “This is the same Uma who tried to kill us that night during cotillion. I just don't see that possible.”

“Why not?” Evie questions her friends thoughts. “We’re all human Jay, I'm pretty sure that just like us, she's capable of having feelings too.”

“Well technically she is part octopus-” Jay trails off his response.

“I don't know.” Mal interjects. “Uma can be a very passionate person.” She should know from experience.

“See!” Evie exclaims, happy over the fact that Mal was backing up her argument. “Thanks Mal-.”

“But at the same time,” Mal cuts in again. “I always assumed it was Harry the one who was really passionate, especially when it came to Uma. Which is why I have to say, I never expected him to be the type to leave her behind under no circumstances. Guess that just means that he must not care about her as much as I thought.”

What she was saying was true, she never expected him to ever leave her behind. The fact that he did is kind of disappointing.

“Then why does he look so miserable?” Evie wonders out loud.

“Maybe he just needs some help adjusting?” Carlos guesses.

“Or maybe he just feels lost without having a team and a captain?” Jay suggests with a shrug. “Maybe if he tries out for a sport, it can help him feel complete again?”

“Yes!” Evie chirps out loud, excitingly. “That's exactly what he needs, he needs to find where he fits in here. Maybe if he does, he won't go down that self destructive road that I foresee.”

“So problem solved?” Jay questions as he attempts to get up and leave, but is suddenly stopped by his blue haired friend pulling him back to his seat.

“Not quite yet-” she smirks subtly causing everyone to give her a questioning look. “Not until you go over there to befriend Harry and convince him to try out for a sport!”

“What?!” Jay exclaims in disbelief. “Why me?”

“Well you are the one who came up with the idea.” Carlos points out.

Mal and Evie nod in agreement. “Plus, you're sporty.” The young, half fairy adds. “You would probably sound more convincing than Evie.”

“Not to mention that he hates Ben and Mal, and Carlos is afraid of him-”

“Woah, woah!” Carlos cuts her off. “Correction I was afraid of him.”

“Great!” Jay replies with fake enthusiasm. “Let Carlos talk to him then.”

“We already agreed that you were going to talk to him though.” Carlos quickly tells him.

“No we didn't.” Jay responds defensively.

“Yes we did.”

Jay then manages to wrap his arm around Carlos’ head and brings his other hand up to his hair and starts to completely mess it up as the two boys continued to banter and fight like they were six years old.

“You guys focus!” Evie then almost snaps at them. She was really grousing frustrated with this whole situation. She was supposed to be helping the new VKs adjust to their new lives here in Auradon and she was doing a terrible job with Harry Hook. “Jay, can you please just try to talk to him.”

The long haired boy rolls his eyes before sighing in defeat, “I guess I could try .” He mumbled bitterly. He really didn't want to do this at all.

“Yay!” Evie cheered as she turned to face Jafar’s son, “Remember, don't try to piss him off. We don't need any problems, and I don't want you getting in trouble.”

He rolls his eyes in response, “Well, I'm not making any promises but I guess I'll try.”

-----------------

“And I want this shop spotless by the time I get back!” Ursula hisses as she was already halfway out the door. “If not, you and I are going to have so problems missy.”

“Alright, Alright.” Uma replies with an eye roll. Maybe the fact that her mother would be gone for the next week or so, wouldn't be so bad. She was on her way to visit her sister, Uma’s Aunt Morgana, who lived on the other side of the Isle.

Ursula loved to visit Morgana, she always loved to brag about how much more successful her fish & chip shop was compared to her sister’s fish diner.

“Also don't even think about closing the shop early or taking a day off!” She warns as she slithered out the door. “If I find out I'll be sure to sink that precious pirate boat that you love so much.”

“I won't.” The young sea witch breathed out, trying her best not to sound so irritated, she didn't want her mom to whip her with a tentacle again.

Within seconds, her mother was gone and she was left alone in the shop, at night.

Uma then walked up to the door and locked the shop, before starting to clean.

It's not like she was scared, she just knew that with an injured hand, that she was most likely an easy target for now, and she couldn't risk that.

She starts off by sweeping the place, these customers sure can be such messy eaters.

For a while, she just focuses on sweeping.

Left. Right. Left Right.

Until her eyes meet the abandoned swords that were left in the Sword Check . That uncomfortable tugging in her heart suddenly returns, resulting in her shivering at the feeling.

What was it called?

Loneliness?

She had to admit, there were times when she did feel a hint of loneliness within her, but it was never this strong.

Uma couldn't deny that this past week has been difficult without her crew. It only got worse after she shattered that glass in her hand, which she now believe is most likely infected given that it had yet to heal.

Not that she or anyone could tell. There are no doctors here in the Isle, if they ever found themselves sick or injured, they had to find some way to deal with it.

In her case, she just wrapped it around some cloth to ease the pain whenever she would hold something with that specific hand.

She sighs as she walked closer towards the Sword Check. She missed them. She missed Gil. She missed Harry. She missed all of them.

The girl never seemed to have realized how much she had grown fond of them. How much she craved their presence.

For the past week, she found herself stuck working at the shop from sunrise to sunset. She might as well, she didn't have anyone to hang out with anymore, and believe it or not, any type of presence is better than being completely lonely.

“Well, well, well, it appears as if the magnificent sea witch has closed the shop early today. What a pity.” Uma couldn't refrain herself from rolling her eyes at the sound of the voice from behind her.

She craved any presence except his or his sisters.

She turns around and comes face to face with Scott. One of the last people that she wanted to see. She eyes his hand, he was holding onto a dented fork which he obviously used to pick the lock.

“I'm surprised to see that you came alone.” Uma points out as she reached out to grab a sword. “You usually travel with your sister or your goons shielding you, I was starting to think that you were afraid of the Isle.”

“Ah, yes it's always a pleasure seeing you too Uma.” He responds, ignoring what she had previously said. “Although I have to say, given this messy condition, it's never really a pleasure to be here.” Scott wanders around the empty shop, which was still an evident mess.

“What are you doing here?” Uma asks, already growing bored of his presence.

“I came to see you.”

“Well, you've seen me.” She tells him, sounding very impatient. “Now get the hell out of my shop!”

He laughs slightly at her response, “You really are funny, you know that?” He questions before continuing. “I came to see if you've changed your mind about our offer?”

“I already told you.” She huffs. “I'm not interested. Now get out.”

“You don't sound so certain about that.” Scott points out, as he approached her from behind,

“Think about it Uma,” he whispers, several inches away from her ear. “Just think about how powerful all of us could be, together .”

She instantly turns around and points her Sword at him, “I'm not going to ask you again. Leave.” She growls.

Scott just laughs in response as he walked away from the sword, “We have a plan Uma.” He says, a confident smile plastered on his face. “With this plan, there's no way we could lose!”

“Why do you even want me to be a part of this?” She breathes out tiredly, “I'm really not interested in any of your so called schemes.” She turns around and walks towards the counter, planning to ignore him until he gave up and would decide to go away.

“Look, I know you Uma.” He continues to insist. “And for as long as I could remember, you've always wanted to take over Auradon. Well, here's your chance to do so. What's stopping you?”

She grabs a rag nearby and begins to dust off any crumbs left on the counter, not paying any attention to the dark haired boy behind her.

“Could it be that you are no longer interested in ruling because you're scared of hurting your little boyfriend?” Scott asks, adding a devious and taunting tone to his voice.

Uma’s eyes narrowed as she instantly turned around, “Boyfriend?” She scoffs. “There's nothing going on between Harry and I. Never was and there never will be, and that applies to anyone else as well.”

“I never said anything about Harry.” He smirks in response.

She rolls her eyes, not paying much attention to his taunting. She obviously assumed he was speaking of Harry because many other people have also assumed that they were dating, but of course that wasn't true.

Harry was her first mate, he was someone who was completely loyal to her, and he was someone who she might even consider a friend on this place.

“You implied it.” She defends herself.

“I could've been talking about anyone from your pirate crew. Funny how Harry Hook was the first one that came to your mind when I said that.”  Scott challenges.

Uma takes a deep breath to calm herself down, she really didn't want to start something that she had a chance of losing at. “Listen to me.” She says in a serious tone. “I am not dating Harry, nor do I have feelings for him or anybody else!”

“I hope you're being sincere Uma.” He sneers as he walked closer towards her, wrapping his finger around one of her teel colored braids, “Because you and I both know what happens to people on the Isle who start to feel things, right?”

The young sea witch harshly pulls away from his touch, “Well good thing that I'm not starting to feel things.”

“Prove it then.”

“What?” Uma gives him a puzzled look.

“I said prove it.” Scott rephrases.

“How?”

“Tomorrow around noon, I'll stop by to take you to our cave. There, you will learn in full detail about our master plan and we will form an alliance. Simple.” He explains.

This time, it was Uma who couldn't hold back from laughing. “Look who's the funny one now.” She says. “And what makes you think I'll do such a thing? I already told you I was not interested, and there's nothing you can do to make me change my mind.”

She watches as the young half lion boy sighs, “You're right.” He replies sadly. “I guess there is nothing I can do except allow for Hayden to spread the word that he saw you and Hook’s boy kiss last week. Twice.”

“He what?” Uma’s eyes narrowed as she raises her voice slightly.

“Imagine what the people of the Isle would do to you after they hear the news? Imagine what you're mother would do to you after hearing that her only daughter has tainted and humiliated the family bloodline by falling in love-”

“I'm not in love with anybody!” Uma cuts him off by shouting. “You can't seriously believe that I am?!”

“It doesn't matter what I believe Uma.” Scott tells her. “After Hayden spreads the word, the damage will already be done and your reputation will be ruined.”

“You're bluffing.” Uma then points out, not believing that he would actually do what he claims he'll do.

“Not really. Hayden’s been dying to tell others what he saw that day, he's Han’s boy after all, they're both very ambitious.” He explains. “If I hadn't stopped him, you would've been done for.”

“So what, you just want me to show up to your stupid cave tomorrow in order for you not to let your mermaid haired friend blab?” Uma huffs angrily as she pushes past him.

She can’t believe that she's actually considering doing this. She just didn't want to be ridiculed by the whole Isle, not again.

She feels as Scott stands right besides her, she looks up and is met by a triumphant grin. “I'm glad you're seeing things my way.”

“I never agreed-”

“You didn't. But you and I both know you have no choice.” He cuts her off, before she could come up with an excuse. “I'll see you soon.”

With that, he walks out of the shop, leaving Uma behind to just stand there in shock, with her mouth slightly open.

This- he really got to her. She had allowed for Scar’s manipulative son to get to her again.

She was infuriated. With him. With herself. With life.

She couldn't stop herself from screaming in anger, at the top of her lungs.

She wanted to break some things, throw some things. She wanted to do nothing more than to find a release for her anger.

-----------------

That night, Mal couldn't manage to fall asleep. There was something that was keeping her up.

More like, there was a feeling stirring up inside of her that was keeping her up, she didn't know exactly how to describe it.

Was it shame? No, there had to be a better word to use to describe it.

She felt anxious. She felt as if she was responsible for something.

Could it be guilt?

Yeah, she's been feeling a lot of that lately. She doesn't know why. It's so unlike her to feel this way. What has suddenly brought these thoughts and feelings back to her?

Could it be because-

Mal suddenly lifts her head from her bed as a knock on her door interrupts her thoughts. She looks over at the clock sitting on her dresser.

Two in the morning.

Who in their right state of mind would be knocking on her door at two in the morning?

She waits for a moment, wondering if she had maybe imagined the sound, given that Evie didn't seem to be awaken by it, and that's because her best friend was a very light sleeper.

Mal hears nothing and begins to rest her head back again on her pillow when once again, she hears the knocking on her door.

Okay, now this had to be someone who probably got up to eat a snack or something and is now probably confusing her room with theirs.

Maybe if she gives them a second they'll go away.

But it didn't, they knocked again.

The young half fairy wonders: Could there be an emergency? Or maybe it's Ben paying her a past midnight visit because he missed her too much?

Mal knew there was only one way to find out, she rolls out of bed and quietly heads towards the door, hoping to not wake up her blue-haired best friend.

She slowly unlocks the door and gently swings the door open, expecting to see her boyfriend’s face on the other side.

Only that she doesn't.

A wave of confusion hits her as she sees the person on the other side of the door,

“Princess Melody?”

-----------------

“I don't understand why you think it's necessary to drag me out of my room at eleven in the morning, on a Saturday!” Harry fumed as the blonde boy dragged him out of his room.

“It's important!” Was all Gil kept saying in order to justify his actions. But truth be told, no matter how it important this thing was, Harry just couldn't care less.

“I don't care!”

“But I do!”

“Why don't you just tell me what it is, you ain't got to show me?” Harry questions, still a bit drowsy, given that he had only been forced out of bed ten minutes ago. His friend didn't even give him time to get dressed!

“Because it's something that will make you very happy!” Gil exclaims with excitement. “It might even help you pass the exam on Monday.”

Harry rolls his eyes, “For the last time Gil, nothing that you do or say will convince me to give a single crap about the exam, the school, or anyone here in Auradon!”

“Well this might!” The blonde boy remained optimistic. Ever since he had gone to speak with King Ben yesterday about Harry’s situation, they both came up with a appropriate solution.

They both came to a stop outside of Ben’s office. Harry gave his friend a blank look. “Gil, what is this?”

“It's the King’s office, silly!”

“No. I mean why are we here ? ” Harry asks. The last person he wanted to see had to be the King of Auradon. It's because of him that Uma wasn't allowed the opportunity that she's been wanting for so long:

A chance to live in Auradon.

Because for some reason that's what she's always wanted to do.

“Oh right!” Gil laughs sweetly as he pushes the doors open, without knocking. “Hey Ben I brought him!”

A few seconds later, Ben appears at the front door where Harry had been waiting at. He refused to go in.

The king gives his a welcoming smile, “Right this way Harry.” He gestures towards his office.

The young Hook boy scoffs, “Why should I do what you say?”

This time, Ben’s smile turns into a smirk. “Because I am the king.” He replies as he wraps an arm around Harry and gently forces him into his office.

Once inside, Harry immediately shrugs off the king’s arm. He looks around and sees a big tv screen standing in the middle of the room, with one guard on each side, and he sees Gil giving him a smile full of glee and excitement.

He gives them a puzzled expression, “What's going on?” He questions suspiciously.

“This is your surprise!” Ben exclaims with so much enthusiasm that it's beginning to make Harry a bit uncomfortable. “ Well you technically won't see it until it gets a little closer to noon, say in about twenty minutes?”

“What?” The young Hook boy was still not understanding what was going on. He had just woken up and he was now inside of the King’s office in his pajamas.

“Harry.” Gil calls him, getting the messy haired boys attention. “ We’re going to see Uma again.”

Chapter Text

“We’re going to see Uma again.” The blonde boy’s words rung in his head. He wasn’t sure if he had heard correctly or if he was imagining things.

“What?” he asks doubtfully. He couldn’t have heard correctly. Last he had heard was that Uma was considered “too dangerous” for Auradon and unless King Beasty Boy was planning to do something to change that, there really was no way that he’d ever see his closest friend ever again.

“We’re going to see her Harry!” Gil exclaims, unable to contain his excitement. Back on the Isle, they were always together, this was probably the longest they had ever been separated.“Isn’t that great?!”

So he did hear correctly the first time. He couldn’t deny the fact that he had started to grow a bit excited at the news, but he was still skeptical about this. How were they planning to make this work? Were they going to bring his teel-haired friend over to Auradon for a little while or were they taking them back to the Isle for a visit?

If they were going back to the Isle, Harry has decided that there was no way that he was coming back to this place. Not without her. He’ll stay if he has to, this whole experience has just been too much.

“How?” he asks, clearly unaware of how the whole process was going to play out.

Gil blinks in response, before turning to face the king, signaling for him to explain what he had planned.

“Oh right,” Ben suddenly gets what Gil was implying for him to do. He turns to face the huge tv and gestures towards it. “I have sent some of my royal guards back to the Isle, to set up a laptop for Uma. Once everything is set, you’ll be able to video chat with her with this.”

Harry raises an eyebrow in suspicion as he tilts his head to the side, “Video chat?” he questions, evidently confused by everything that the king had just said. He had heard of texting, calling people via cell phone, and all, but he hadn’t heard about video chatting. What was that?

“When you video chat someone, you’ll be able to see them through a sceen and they’ll be able to see you through their screen as well.” Ben then explains as he gives the young boy a friendly smile. “Which in this case will be the TV screen and the laptop screen.”

The young Hook boy tries not to scowl at the king’s smile as he slowly nodded in response. He hates him. A lot. He hates how good he is. He hates that he’s out here doing things for him, when Harry doesn’t want a single thing from this person.

As a matter of fact, the only reason Harry hadn’t stormed out yet was because he was told that he would be seeing his oldest friend, Uma, and that was something he really wanted to do. Had it been anything else though, he wouldn’t have accepted it and would’ve told him to go to hell already.

“Isn’t that great, Harry?” Gil beams in response to the king’s explanation, causing for Harry to discretely roll his eyes.

“Hmph.” the young pirate hummed. “I’ll believe it when I see it.”

Yes, he couldn’t deny that was feeling a hint of excitement growing inside of him, but that didn’t mean he had to give the King the satisfaction of knowing that.

“I really hope you’ll let this gift serve as motivation for you, Harry.” Ben then says, with a genuine smile plastered on his face. “We want you to be able to excel and to be the very best that you can be. Someone who has the chance of finding their happiness here, in Auradon.”

“Happiness, huh.” he scoffs.

If he were to be honest, Harry had never really given that word much thought. Did he have a happy life?

No, living with his father was completely horrible. The old man never really treated him like a son. All ever did was complain about how he, the once most feared pirate on the sea, was now completely useless, all because of King’s banishment of the Villains.

Captain Hook, just like many other villains on the Isle, he was angry, and usually when people are angry, they tend to take out on the people around them. Hook was one of those people.

It was hardly ever physical though, Harry learned how to avoid that. He never did learn how to avoid his father’s verbal and mental abuse, though. He always went on and on about how ashamed he was about Harry being his son, and how the young boy would never come close to being the courageous and powerful man that he was.

Somehow, that made Harry go insane. It made him want to be exactly like his father. It got to the point where he soon wanted to lose his hand like his father, he also seemed to adopted some of his father’s characteristics, his intense anger problems was one of them.

Ben nods in response, “Yeah, happiness.” he repeats. “Haven’t you ever felt that?”

He wasn’t sure how to answer that.

Yeah, there were times that he did experience some happiness, for instance:

He was happy whenever he found himself vandalizing and destroying things with Uma and Gil, or that time when he and the whole crew had finished repairing their ship and seeing his captain’s bright smile really brought a hint of glee towards him. There’s also the times when Uma would give the crew an inspirational pep talk, he always felt very joyful after hearing her speak.

It hadn’t taken Harry long for him to realize that there seemed to be one important essential to his happiness: Uma.

Maybe that’s why he had been feeling so gloomy for this past week, here in Auradon. Because life without his friend, had no happiness in it.

Before he could reply though, the guards speak up, “Your majesty. We’ve just received word that everything has been set. You can make your call now.”

He turned to face Gil who was clearly radiating in joy. Even Harry couldn't hide the small smile that had begun to creep up his face upon hearing the news.

Ben gives the two boys a smile and for once Harry doesn't feel the urge to wipe it off his face, not while his thoughts were too occupied with the thought of someone as important as his captain.

“Alright then.” Ben announces as he turns to face his guards. “Make the call.”

The guards do exactly what they're told, and the next thing the two boys noticed was that the tv screen had started making some sort of ringing noises that lasted about four seconds each.

With each second that passed by, Harry grew more impatient and anxious. He just wanted to see her already. It had been too long.

Of course, all of his worries and panic soon vanish once the blank screen was replaced by the visual image of his captain.

“Uma-” he whispers with a mixture of awe and shock. He never realized how much peace was brought to him just by looking at her.

“Uma!” Gil shouts in excitement.

Ben feels his heart warm at the sight of the almost reunited friends and signals towards his guards to step back, outside his office, so they could let the three talk.

Uma’s eyes shift between her two former partners as a smile grows on her face. “Harry. Gil.” She acknowledges them, feeling relief take over her at the sight of them. “How’s everything going?”

“Things are alright Shrimp- I-I mean Uma.” Gil stammers, catching his mistake and quickly correcting himself. Uma can’t even bring herself to be angry with him, she was feeling too happy at the moment.

Gil continues to go on about how much he was enjoying his time in Auradon, meanwhile Harry found peace within himself just by looking at her.

The way she glowed as she smiled down at their blonde friend, evidently interested in everything he was saying. He watched as she would chuckle to herself every time Gil said something that wasn’t too bright and how she her eyes would widen in surprise whenever he did say something not so dumb. Gil had slowly started making some improvements within himself, and that had instantly caught her attention.

It also brought him an odd, warm feeling to his heart when he noticed that she had started to sneak glances towards him. He couldn’t help but grin the first time he caught her looking at him, to which Uma responded with a smirk.

He missed this. A lot.

“I hope that I can get Remedial Goodness 101 over with quickly!” He hears Gil say, “I really want to be able to do cool things like take cooking classes, or maybe even join the wrestling team or the cheerleading squad. I heard they were looking for someone strong, that could be me!”

“Well, you always did like throwing things in the air.” Uma replies with a genuine smile, she couldn't be angry with him for suddenly growing an interest in Auradon. Truth be told, she doesn't know why though.

Why is it that she couldn't bring herself to be angry with the fact that her crew is now living in Auradon, the place that she always dreamed about ruling?

Why is it that she isn't feeling that same anger she felt when Mal and her friends were the first to be chosen nearly a year ago?

Could it be because the feeling of loneliness is much too strong for her to even be angry?

“What about you you, Harry?” Uma then turns to face her first mate, whom had barely said a word ever since the video chat had begun.

Harry keeps a blank expression and shrugs, “What about me? ” He questions.

“ You hanging in there, right?”

“Barely.” He mutters bitterly. The bitterness in his tone wasn't directed towards her though, he would never , it was directed more towards himself.

He was feeling bitter towards himself for leaving the Isle and coming to a place where he just doesn't seem to belong.

“What's that supposed to mean?”

“It means that I should've never left the Isle.” In this case, Isle was the word that he used to substitute you. I should've never left you.

But of course, he wasn't going to say that outloud. Recently, Harry has noticed that he hasn't been his courageous and cunning self, and that kind of worried him.

He was becoming weak. This whole that has appeared in his life ever since he left the Isle, ever since he left her, has made him become weak. And he couldn't stand it.

“Don't be foolish. You're in Auradon now.” She tells him, with a strict tone. “This has been our dream for ages.”

“No. We dreamed to rule it, not live in it.” Harry reminds her. “Now there's not even a we in this-”

“It wasn't an easy choice. I had to do what was best for my crew.”

“ This place is not what's best for me.” He says, growing frustrated as he recalls their situation. “What's best for me was staying on the Isle. With you.”

Uma’s face softens for a brief second. Just a brief, before quickly hardening again. “I had to give you your best shot.”

“This place isn't my best shot.”

The young sea witch crossed her arms and gave her friend a look in disbelief, “Are you really going to stand here and tell me that the Isle is a much better place then?”

“Yes!” Harry exclaims. “Because there, I had my freedom, I my hook, I had you. We were supposed to rule this place, rule the sea. All of us, but now-”

“How?” Uma feels herself growing just as frustrated as well. “How were we supposed to rule anything, Harry? In case you've forgotten. We were trapped. I am trapped!”

“We could've figured out a way!”

“This is the only way.”

Harry looks at her in disbelief, he couldn't believe it. Is she even listening to what he has to say? “Do you even care about what I have to say about this?” He asks. “I don't want to be here.”

Uma glances between the brunette and the blonde, who appeared to be very startled by the argument that she and her first mate were having. Her face softens as she looks at them.

“Harry, you and Gil and the whole crew have been the closest thing that I ever had to this thing that they call family.” She admits, not even caring about the fact that the two guards standing by the kitchen door were most likely eavesdropping. “Of course I care about what you have to say. But your well being is also important to me, which is why I allowed you all to go there. So you could all have a better life- because trust me, the Isle isn't the place where either of you will reach your full potentials.”

Gil finds his worries disappearing as a small smile crept on his face. He looked over at his friend who was staring at their captain longingly. He knew that Uma’s words had gotten to him.

“It just doesn't feel right being here.” Harry continues to insist. “I can’t live here.”

Uma turns to look at him, their eyes meeting again causing Harry to feel as if someone had just ripped his heart out. She was looking at him with such a saddened expression, that it pained him.

“Then live for me.” She tells him. “If you can't live for yourself, then do it for me. Make them remember my name.”

“How am I supposed to do that?”

“Find your place in Auradon, by seeing the place through my eyes.” She explains. “If me not being there by your side isn't good enough then just pretend that I am.”

He scoffs, “It's not the same.”

He watches as she gave him a shrug in response, “Sometimes you just have to learn how to live with it.”

For a moment, Harry found that himself close to agreeing. The intensity of her stare and eyes had hypnotized him to the point that he was about to give in.

Just for a moment though.

That trance he was in was soon broken by the sight of the kitchen doors behind Uma, swinging open, revealing a familiar face that Harry loathed to see.

He watched as the black haired boy put his arms up in defense as the guards pointed their swords at him, resulting in Uma to turn away from Harry.

“Relax. I come in peace.” He heard Scott say in a chuckle.

What was he doing there?

Harry gives Uma a doubtful look, as he watched as she nods at the guards, telling them to let the boy in.

Scott approaches the camera with a sneer on his face, “Would you look at that,” he begins as he runs his hands through the camera lens, before turning to face Uma. “They surely have such splendid magic over there, don’t they dearie?”

Uma rolls her eyes at him, “What are you doing here?”

“I told you I would come to pick you up at noon.” He snaps as he turns to look at the two boys in the screen. “But seeing as you're in the middle of a conversation, I'll let you say your goodbyes-”

“ What is he talking about?” Harry asks, when he finally manages to speak through his shock and disappointment upon seeing the boy. “Where are you going Uma?”

“Didn't you hear dear?” Scott puts his whole face in front of the camera. “I'm taking her somewhere.”

Harry’s eyes narrow. He wasn't too fond of the boy’s tone, he felt himself growing more irritated with his presence. “Uma?” He questions his captain, asking for confirmation.

Uma tore her gaze from her first mate and faced the young half lion twin, who was giving her a warning look. She hated to do it, but she knew that if she didn't cut this call short, he was going to let Hayden tell the whole Isle what he saw that day that Harry and the crew set off for Auradon.

She didn't need that. She didn't need the whole Isle ridiculing her. Not again.

She broke eye contact with Scott and turned back to look at her two favorite people. “I have to go.” She gives them a soft smile. “How about we talk another time?”

“Okay Uma, bye-”

“Where are you going?” Harry cuts Gil’s farewell off. His anger was very evident at this point.

He didn't like this. He didn't like him. What was Uma even doing running around with him?

Could it be-

No.

She wouldn't replace them. Not Uma.

“I have some business to deal with.” She replies, trying not to give too much away given that there were royal guards in the room.

“What kind of business could you possibly have to deal with him?” Harry growls.

“Alright, Hook boy is kind of growing on my last nerves.” Scott tells Uma. “Just turn off the stupid thing and let's go!”

“Wait!” Uma exclaims quickly, not even stopping to think as she grabbed him with her injured hand. She feels a sting of pain once her hand comes is overwhelmed with pressure, but she doesn't remove her hand. “Let me say goodbye.”

Harry’s eyes widen in anger upon seeing his captain’s injured hand, “What did you do to her?!” He rages, as he gravitated closer to the camera.

He was furious. He had only been gone for a week and Uma was already injured! And he was pretty certain that Scott had something to do with her injury.

Why else would he suddenly be so interested in taking her somewhere ?

Scott scoffs, “I didn't do shit.” He tells him as he grabs the girl's wrist and starts pulling her, trying to get her to leave with him. “Uma let's go.”

“Uma.” Harry breathes out, silently begging her not to go with him. He didn't know Scott or his sister well, but they were trouble. They were always looking for a way to start a fight, and right now Uma didn't have anyone to fight alongside her. “Don't.”

“Can you give me a minute?” Uma yanks herself free from his grasp before walking closer towards the camera.

“I have to go.” She says again.

“Who did that to you?” He demands. Whoever had dared to lay a finger on her was going to pay. He was going to make sure that they would regret ever hurting his captain.

“It wasn't Scott who did this if that's what you want to know.” She tells him. She wasn't lying, yes the two lion twins might have been the cause of her anger, but they didn't do anything physically towards her. “I did. It was an accident.”

“There are no accidents on the Isle. Something or someone must've riled you up” Harry was now growing impatient. He felt completely helpless. Someone had hurt her and he couldn't do anything about it.

“Well this time it was an accident.” She snaps, she didn't like to feel interrogated. She was perfectly capable of taking care of herself, why couldn't he believe in her?

“Don't lie.”

“I'm not lying. Just- just don't worry about it Harry.” Uma says, already growing tired of this whole situation. She didn't like it when they fought either.

“How am I not supposed to worry when you won't tell me what happened!” He huffs as his anger continued to increase by the second. “I need to be sure that you're okay.”

At that moment, Harry couldn't give a damn that Scott es standing only a few feet away from Uma or if he heard him express his worry towards her. All he cared about was her well being.

“I won't be fine unless I know that you are.” She admits, seeming to forget that the manipulative boy was in the same room as her. She was going to regret this later. “Enjoy your time in Auradon Harry. All of you. I have to go now.”

“Uma.” Harry shakes his head, mentally telling her not to go. He didn't trust Scott. He didn't trust anyone on the Isle. He just wanted her to stay safe.

“Goodbye Harry. Gil.” She says.

Gil gives her a sad smile and slowly waves while Harry continues to call her name, trying to convince her not to go.

Within the next few seconds, she shuts off the camera, leaving the two boys to stare at nothing but a blank screen.

This sends Harry on a rampage.

He was having that feeling again. He had the urge to hook something. Someone.

What made things worse was that no one, she wasn't, here to stop him. Only she could get him to calm down, yet she wasn't here.

That painful reminder only enraged him more, causing him to kick a chair out of the way and to storm out of the king’s office.

He had to find a way to release all of this anger he was feeling.

Gil slowly walked out of the King’s office, and was welcomed with the startled expressions of Ben, Mal, and another girl’s who he didn't seem to be familiar of.

“Well, that didn't go as well as expected.” He says sadly.

-----------------

Mal was completely taken by surprise when a very desperate and hysterical girl appeared at her dorm last night.

It was Princess Melody.

Yes, the girl was probably around two years older than her, but that didn't change the fact that she looked so weak and innocent, that Mal couldn't help but feel the need to help the girl.

That was until, she mentioned what exactly she needed help with.

The young princess wanted Mal to help her find a way to get to the Isle in order to find a rare potion that could help restore King Triton’s health.

Of course, upon hearing Melody’s idea, Mal instantly denied. The Isle was too dangerous, especially for royalty like her and Ben. If anyone found out that the young princess was on the Isle, it would all end in a complete disaster.

That, however, didn't stop Mal from trying to find a way to help the princess. Which is why they both found themselves outside of Ben’s office.

One thing that the young witch was certain of, was that her boyfriend could help Melody. They were friends after all.

“I don't think this is a good idea.” Melody said as soon as they arrived. “My dad said that the King and Queen would never allow for anyone to use Fairy Godmother’s Magic Wand for healing purposes. It's against the law!”

“Well, they do have a point.” Mal admits. “But Ben is also king now, and I'm sure he could think of something that would help you.”

“Won't that be such a long process?”

“That depends-”

“Wouldn't it just be much faster for me to get ahold of those rare healing potions over at the Isle?” Melody replies with a sigh, she really wasn't in a mood for debates. She just wanted her grandpa to get better.

“We've already been over this. It's too dangerous for either us to be on the Isle. If we’re captured then who knows what they'll do to us in order to regain power.” Mal tells her.

“I thought you weren't afraid of anything?” Melody scoffs, trying to find a way to tempt the purple haired girl to take her to the Isle. She didn't care what dangers lie ahead, she just needed to make sure her grandpa would get better. “Aren't you supposed to be the baddest of our generation?”

“Supposed to. But that's not who I am.” Mal says.

Was she afraid of the Isle? No. She knew that she could handle herself there.

Was she afraid of Ben finding out about her sudden disappearance and going after her, resulting in him getting captured again? Yes.

Just because they were lucky last time, didn't mean that they would be for a second time.

“We’re here.” Mal then speaks up once they arrived outside Ben’s office.

But before Melody could respond, the door swung open, revealing the King and two royal guards behind him.

Ben’s eyes slightly widen at the unexpected company. “Mal.” He greets his girlfriend by grabbing her hands and with a kiss on the cheek. Not yet noticing that Mal wasn't alone. “What are you doing here?”

His girlfriend gestures towards Melody, he gives them a surprised expression as he quickly bowed down to show respect. “Princess Melody. What brings you here?”

Melody copies his actions with less enthusiasm, “King Ben- I need your help.” She tells him, unable to hide the sadness in her tone.

Ben then turns to his guards, “Leave us alone.” He dismisses them before returning his attention to the two girls in front of him. “My office is currently occupied, we could talk out here if you don't mind.”

Melody shakes her head, her grandfather was lying sick on a hospital bed, she didn't have the energy to care about where they spoke.

“What's the problem?” Ben asks, sincerely feeling concerned for the girl in front of him.

“My grandfather-” Melody chokes out. “I-I don't think he has much time left.”

“Oh God Melody, I'm so sorry. I do hope he gets better.” Ben shares his best wishes. “Is there anything that I could do that might help you or your parents feel better?”

“Actually, there is.” Melody nods as she started to explain to him why she was here for. She wanted to know if they would allow her family to use the magic wand to help her grandpa heal.

The king listened carefully to her plea, and he immediately found himself wanting to help the young princess.

“Maybe if we ask the council for permission, they'll allow us to break this law just this once?” Mal suggests, trying to help Melody out.

“I think it's a great idea that could work actually.” Ben responds genuinely. “The problem wouldn't be the council though, the problem would be my parents.”

“Can’t you talk to them? You are the king too.” Mal reminds him.

Ben nods, “I will, but I can’t guarantee that they'll agree right away.”

“Right away?” Melody questions in disbelief, she can’t believe she's right back where she started. “How long do you think it'll take for them to decide?”

He shrugs, “I can’t say for certain.” He replies honestly. “It does take a long time and process to nullify a law.”

“I don't have time, Ben.” The young princess says, beginning to feel more desperate with every rejection. “What if time kills him? I can’t wait much more time!”

“Melody- I'm sorry. I know this must be hard for you, but please try to understand. We’re royalty, we must respect the law at all times.”

“I don't care about the law, I care about my grandfather!” She had just met him a couple of years ago, she couldn't already be losing him. Not yet.

“I'll do my best.” Ben assures her.

The young princess closes her eyes, feeling just as helpless as ever. She knew that she should feel grateful over the fact that they were even considering to allow her to use the wand. But it wasn't enough, not while Triton was close to death.

She was about to reply, when she suddenly heard shouting coming from the king’s office.

“Who’s in your office?” Mal asks, taken aback by the loud noise.

Within the next few seconds, the doors swung open, revealing a very familiar face for the King and Mal, but unfamiliar towards Melody.

He was then followed by a blonde boy, who seemed rather melancholy. Finally someone who understands her.

“Well, that didn't go as well as expected.” She heard him say.

Mal gave her boyfriend a puzzled expression, “You left Harry Hook in your office? Alone and unsupervised?” She couldn't believe how trusting he could be at times. Bless his kind heart.

“They were video chatting someone from the Isle.” Ben replied truthfully. “I let them make the call in my office.” He then turns to face Gil, “What happened?”

Gil shrugs slightly. “We were all fine until Scott shows up and demands for Uma to come with him.”

“Scott?” Mal questions, feeling disgusted just by saying his name. “Why would Uma start hanging out with him?”

She hated him and his annoying twin sister. Back on the Isle, they always tried to start a fight with the Rotten Four.

“I don't know.” Gil responds honestly.

Mal scoffs. What kind of trouble was Uma getting herself into? “Well, next time you speak to Uma, tell her to stay away from him.” She tells the blonde boy. “He and Scarlett are just too much for one to handle on their own.”

While Ben found himself staring curiously at the two teenagers from the Isle, Melody found herself staring in the direction that this Harry Hook guy went.

Seems like she found her way to get to the Isle.

-----------------

Harry wanted to destroy things. And so he did, or was about to.

He started kicking the great statue of the King Beast, so viciously that people had started to freak out.

Hey, at least he wasn't hurting any human being, like he normally would back on the Isle.

He was actually considering doing so again, when a random Auradon boy approached him and demanded him to stop attacking their historical statue.

Harry found himself cornering the shorter boy and would've probably done something that would get him sent back to the Isle, had someone not pulled him back.

“Hey, cut it out man!” He heard the familiar voice tell him. “We’re not on the Isle anymore, you can't just go around threatening people as you wish!”

It was Jay.

One of the last people that Harry was interested in seeing.

He removes his arm from the strong boy’s grasp, “What's it to ya?” Harry responds, feeling just as irritated, or maybe even more than before.

“You have a lot of anger within you.” Jay points out, as he observed the boy in front of him.

“Yeah, no shit captain obvious!” Harry snaps as he pushes past him. If he couldn't take his anger out on that Auradon boy, then he might as well continue doing so on this statue.

“Seriously man, you need to find a better way to deal with all of than anger.”

“And what do you suggest I do?” Harry laughs bitterly. “Become like you? No thank you. I'm fine just the way I am.”

“Yeah, clearly.” Jay says sarcastically. “Would you stop kicking the King’s statue now?”

“It's either the statute or that boy. Your choice.”

Jay shakes his head disapprovingly. He had really forgotten how irritable Harry Hook was. Not to mention stubborn.

Dealing with him was going to be a lot harder than he thought.

Unless if he-

“I have a better idea.” Jay then suggests as he pulls him away from the statute. “Come with me.”

Once again, Harry yanks his arm free from Jafar’s son. “Why should I?” He scoffs.

Jay shrugs, “I'll let you wreck something if you do?” He tries to persuade him.

Harry considers his offer. He really was in a destructive mood. “Will I feel satisfied after doing so?”

“Maybe.” Jay says as he begins to once again, drag the boy beside him towards the gym. “It all depends on you though.”

He doesn't know why, but for some reason, Harry allows himself to follow him.

Hopefully this won't be so bad.

Chapter Text

“You need to be more careful Uma.” She hears him say, once they've exited the chip shop. “You know what happens to people who have those types feelings here on the Isle.”

“What exactly are you implying?” She questions, becoming utterly tired of being accused of having “feelings”, by the boy.

“That little interaction that I just witnessed between you and Hook’s boy, wasn't platonic.” Scott tells her, in an almost taunting way. “You feel things for him. And you know what happens to people who start to feel things for each other.”

Uma stops in her tracks and looks him dead in the eye, “You don't know what you're talking about.” she tells him. She was not in the mood to deal with his false assumptions and she definitely wasn't in the mood to think about these supposed feelings that she has for Harry.

“So you're going to deny that what I just saw wasn't something?” He scoffs, unable to believe how stubborn she was.

“Yes I am.” She responds, turning away to continue walking. It's not like she was in any hurry to go over to their side of the Isle, but she figured that the sooner they got there, the sooner she could leave.

“I hope you're right Uma,” he says as he walks up to her, glaring at her in a way that would intimidate anyone else. She wasn't anyone else though, she was Uma. She feared no one. Not anymore at least. “You wouldn't want to become that girl that everyone used to ridicule again, now do you?”

No, she wasn't intimidated by Scott or his sister, but god did he know how to get on her nerves.

“Are you done?” She snaps, if only her hand wasn't swollen, then maybe she could've taken him down. “Because last I check, I agreed that I would let you take me somewhere. I didn't say anything about letting you talk to me the entire way there, though.”

Scott smirks in response, he knew he had gotten to her again and he was satisfied by that. “Fair enough.” He says, finally bringing an end to their conversation. “Shall we?”

----------------

Harry would never admit this out loud, but he was sort of feeling grateful towards Jay for what he had done earlier. Who would've thought that beating the crap out of a punching bag would've made him feel a whole lot better at the moment.

Yes, at the moment. While it felt extremely great for a while, as soon as he returned to his dorm, he had been hit by the same misery that he's been overwhelmed with ever since he got here.

He still missed her a lot. That's something that punching any old bag, can't fix for him.

Fortunately though, he can find a way to occupy his mind from drifting off towards her and that mutt that she left with.

After taking out all of his anger on the punching bag, Jay had actually said something that piqued his interest and made him question himself.

“You're in really good shape, you know.” Jafar’s son had said, once Harry had almost destroyed the entire punching bag. “I'm sure that once you're done with your Remedial Goodness classes, that many coaches are going to want you on their teams.”

Harry could only scoff in response. Him a part of a team? With any of these Auradon princes? No thanks!

“I'm serious man.” Jay insisted. “Here at Auradon Prep, all the coaches want the fittest students on their teams. It's actually a lot of fun, running through the fields or the gyms, while people chant your name. It's an awesome feeling, you know.”

“Yeah thanks, but no thanks.” The young pirate responded as he patted the boy on the shoulder, it was his own way of thanking him for bringing him here to release his anger. He really needed that. “I already have my own team and no one can top them.”

“The pirate crew?”

“They're all I need.”

“You know you can be a part of more than one team, right?”

“Well I'm loyal to one team and one captain.” Harry says, not wanting this conversation to go on any further, the long haired boy wasn't finished yet though.

“Things are different here at Auradon, y’know. You can show appreciation and feelings towards other people and things without being criticized. Why don't you give it a shot?” Jay continued to persist.

He had promised Evie that he would help her get Harry Hook to settle down. So, he figured he’d do it the same way that it had happened for him. Through sports and being a part of a team.

In a way, being a part of a team, made him realize that he could be so much more than just that theif from the Isle.

And maybe, being a part of a team could help Harry realize the same thing.

“Why should I? It's not like anyone would be willing to work with me.” He laughed in response. “They're all too scared of me. Not that I mind, it actually boosts my ego.”

“Could it be that you're the one that's too scared to?” Jay asks, quirking an eyebrow up in suspicion.

Harry is taken aback by such an accusation. “Me? Scared of those weaklings,” he scoffed. “If I had my hook with me, I could take them out within seconds! Heck, even without my hook I still can!”

“You know that's not what I meant.”

“Then what did you mean? Gotta speak more clearly Jay, we aren't all smart, preppy, Auradon boys like you.”

Jay rolled his eyes, ignoring his taunts and proceeds to speak, “You're scared of change. You're scared of becoming one of those smart, preppy, Auradon boys too. You're scared of becoming those exact same people that you, Uma, and your whole Crew used to make fun of, aren't you?”

Harry bursted out laughing, “Are ya insane mate? Me scared?” He choked out in between laughs. “You're right about one thing though, I don't want to become like you or any of these bratty, weak, kids. Not because I'm scared to, but because people like you all, irritate the hell out of me!”

This time, it's Jay’s turn to scoff. “Spoken like a true coward.”

Harry slowly gravitated towards him, feeling the sudden need to prove him wrong. “You really want to start something, don't you Jay?”

“Yes.” He replied as he kept his cool. He wasn't going to let Harry get to him. Not when he had a point to prove. “I want you to start opening your eyes dude! Haven't you seen what your negative attitude is doing to the people around you? Your friend Gil, he was so happy on his first day here, I saw it with my own eyes. But now, he doesn't even seem to be too focused on his own happiness here because he's too busy worrying about you!”

Harry gives him a puzzled expression, “What are you talking about? Gil loves it here, all he’s ever done since we got here is smile?”

“Yeah in front of you. You haven't seen him when he’s alone though. Just yesterday I bumped into him, and I don't think I’ve ever seen him look that stressed and tired. When I asked him what was wrong, he said he was trying to come up with ways to cheer you up.”

The young pirate didn't say anything in response. He knew that his blonde friend was trying his best to help him feel more comfortable in their new home, but he didn't know he was trying that hard.

“After a couple of hours, he was finally able to come up with a way to cheer you up. He found me again and asked me to take him to Ben, so he could ask for permission to see her. But it seems like you couldn't even be grateful for that.”

Harry blinked. Normally, he’d find himself incapable of feeling any remorse towards other people. But Gil was his friend, a friend who irritated him a lot back in the Isle, but still his friend nonetheless. He would do anything to protect that egghead.

And now it seems, like he’s the one who Gil needs to be protected of. He’s ruining his blonde friend’s time here. If Uma were to find out, she’d be so disappointed.

He watched as Jay walked up to his side and gave his shoulder a comforting squeeze. “You can do this man,” he heard the boy tell him. “You can overcome whatever it is that you’re scared of and find your place here, in Auradon. You just need to give yourself a chance.”

And with that, Harry was left to think about that for the rest of the day. Even now, as he lied in the comfort of his bed, he couldn’t help but allow his mind drift back to Jay’s words.

Coward.

Give yourself a chance.

Your ruining Gil’s time here.

Find your place here in Auradon.

Back and forth his mind went, unable to decide what his next  move should be. Should he stay or should he find a way to leave.

He turns around to face his sleeping roommate and friend, Gil. He wondered, has he really been causing the blonde boy that much stress?

He was so happy upon arriving here, had he really taken all of that away from him due to his inability to fit in?

Harry closes his eyes and sighs. He promised Uma that he would try his best here, but maybe him being here isn’t what is best for himself or Gil.

Maybe, just maybe, everything that’s happened this past week has been a sign. A sign that’s been trying to tell him that Auradon just isn’t the place for him.

He doesn’t belong here. And maybe it’s time for him to finally return to where he belongs. Maybe it’s time for him to start breaking the rules again.

----------------

It was dim and murky. It smelled like a lion’s nest. Literally.

“Nice place you got here.” She compliments sarcastically. The deeper they walked into the cave, the closer they got to a bright fire that illuminated the place. There, a throne stood high and tall, surrounded by two tall, and well built guards.

There were also statues of Scar on each side. Someone was narcissistic.

“You're here.” She hears a feminine voice from behind. Scarlett.

“Yeah. I'm here.” Uma replies once they were standing by the fire, the heavy heat was slowly starting to hit her. “What now?”

The twins exchanged a knowing look, before turning to face the young sea witch. “We have a plan.”

“I'm sorry, we?”

“ Yes, we.” Another person says as he appeared from the shadows, behind the twins. Hayden.

“What is he doing here?” Uma’s eyes narrowed at the sight of Hans’ boy. Before, she had no problem with him. However, after learning that he had witnessed that private moment between her and Harry, he had suddenly become someone she wouldn't hesitate to kill.

“Didn't you know?” Scarlett questions with a smirk. “He’s apart of the plan too. Of course he’d be here.”

Uma couldn't help but roll her eyes, all this talk about a supposed plan yet no one was exactly telling her what this plan was. “Right. Well, can someone explain why the hell I’m here then?”

“We need you.”

“Why?”

“In order for our plan to work.”

“What plan!” She exclaims, already growing impatient. If she hears them say the word plan one more time, she's throwing each of them into the fire pit beside them.

“Be prepared Uma.” She hears Scott say, as he approached the fire and allowed his fingers play with the flames. Pushing him in wouldn't be so hard. “For the chance of a lifetime.”

“Our chance to rule is near.” Scarlett continues as started adding fuel to the fire, making it grow twice as big as it was. “That's why you're here.”

Uma gives her a blank expression. “Are you stupid? How exactly are you planning to rule when we’re trapped in here?”

Scarlett grabs a piece of wood that held fire from the other end, and pointed at the girl in front of her, threatening to burn her. “Don't you think I haven’t thought of that? Why else do you think you're here, Shrimpy?”

The young sea witch feels her jaw clench at the sound of that horrible name, she wanted nothing more but the rip the black-haired girl’s mouth off. She decided otherwise though, once she eyed the flaming fire that was a bit too close to her.

“You want me to break the barrier?” Uma scoffs in response. Have they gone insane? Everyone knows that without magic, that barrier is unbreakable. And last time she checked, there was no magic on this damn Isle! “You can't be serious?”

“But we are.” She responds with a devious smile. “We may not have magic but we have you.”

“And what am I supposed to do?” Uma crossed her arms, not yet understanding what they were trying to get at. “In case you don't remember, last time I tried to break the stupid barrier, it clearly didn't work out so well. Why would it this time?”

“Swim.” Hayden whispers from behind, startling her.

“What?” She gives them a puzzled look.

“You couldn't break the barrier last time because you didn't use your strongest power: swimming.” He explains.

“Swimming?” She echoes. Yes, that was one of her many strengths, but what would swimming accomplish. “If you're implying for me to swim deep into the ocean, in hopes of finding out that there's entrance somewhere through there, then forget it. I've already tried that. The barrier reaches all the way to the bottom of the sea.

“Perhaps you're right Uma.” Scott then takes over, as he walks towards her, stopping at a comfortable distance. “But perhaps, if we can't go through it, then we’ll just have to find another way around it.”

“I already told you. It's not possible.”

“Nothings impossible.” He replies.

“Not when you're the daughter of one of the most powerful sea witches that have ever existed.” Hayden adds.

She gives them a questioning look, yeah she is? So what? “Our powers are useless here on the Isle, in case you forgot.”

Scarlett bursts into a fit of laughters, “Who’s the stupid one now?”

Before Uma could even react to the lioness’ remarks, Scott had already started talking again. “Your powers come from the sea. Maybe, just maybe if you're able to swim deep down enough, you’ll be able to have some access to your magic.”

Her mind toys with that idea for a while. She can’t really say if her involvement in their plan was idiotic or not. She's never really tried to activate her powers here, the first time that had ever happened was that night at cotillion, when she transformed into a giant octopus. She had no idea she could do that, all she knew was that her mother’s necklace had started glowing, and it’s as if the sea had begun to call for her.

“And you think that’ll work because…?”

“Everything has a weakness Uma.” Hayden’s voice from her side, catches her off guard again. That boy really was sneaky. “Even magic.”

“He’s right.” Scarlett proceeds. “There has to be a glitch somewhere on this barrier. Even the smallest of glitches is enough to help us weaken it a bit. If we can do that,” then we’ll be able to have some access to our powers, and with that, we’ll be able to overcome this stupid barrier once and for all!”

Yes, there had to be a glitch, but even if she did find it, how would she be able to weaken it all by herself? Either way, this was a stupid idea. Yes, it could work, but at the same time, she doesn't want it to work. There's no other people that she wants to rule with except for her two closest friends and her pirate crew. No one else is good enough for her, not after meeting them.

“Alright. So you make a fair point.” Uma then speaks up, trying to find a way to exclude herself from this plan. “But, what makes you think I could be trusted?” She asks with an eyebrow quirked. “What makes you think I won't just run off and escape the barrier myself?”

“Because you need us.” Scott replies simply, almost as if he knew that she would ask that.

“I don't need anybody!” Uma snaps in response.

“You need us if you want to stay alive.” Scarlett laughs lightly. “Because trust me honey, as soon as they catch sight of you, a considered dangerous person, out from the Isle, you'll be dead within seconds. You need someone there, to help you conquer the empire. And that someone will be us.”

Uma shakes her head rapidly in response, “I won't need you. Not when I have my pirate crew over there willing to protect you.”

This causes for the three villain kids to all burst out laughing, “How cute, she still trusts that crew of hers even after they’ve all left her to turn into preppy Auradon citizens. Pathetic.”

“Why don't you mind your own business?” Uma snaps again at the teen lioness.

“Why don't you open your eyes and see the power of the future!” She snaps back. “The descendants of Ursula, Scar, and Hans teaming up to overthrow the kingdom? Tell me that doesn't sound hot?”

“Be prepared for the chance of a lifetime.” Scott then repeats, his voice sounding dead serious. “Be  prepared for the fortune and fame that we could have!”

“Be prepared for vengeance against all of those who have done us wrong.” Hayden’s fists clench tightly as ugly memories of Queen Elsa and Princess Anna emerge his memory. Banishing his father to the Isle, has only resulted in his own misery.

For the twins, images of destruction towards Simba played through their heads. Bringing torture towards the man who ended their father’s life once, didn't sound so bad. Not to mention that punishing the King for locking them up in a prison, when the only crime they had committed at the time was being born to villains.

As for Uma, the idea of ruining Mal’s life didn't sound so bad either. Maybe, just maybe, she would finally be able to beat that spoiled witch once and for all.

No.

She can't do that to her crew, she can't come and destroy their newly found home, right?

“Be prepared for our kingdom to rise.”

“Our?” She scoffs.

“Every King needs a Queen, just like every Queen needs a King, don't they?” Scott mentions with a shrug.

“What about her?” Uma gestures towards Scarlett.

“The four of us, will create 4 empires.” Scarlett explains as she climbs up onto her father’s throne. “But I  will take over King Adam’s and Queen Belle’s palace. I will also find a way to be the one who gets the chance to behead them. And once they're gone, Auradon will be under my control!”

Her wicked laugh fills the ears of the other three VKs before Hayden clears his throat and corrects her by saying, “our control.”

“Yeah. Right, our control.” Scarlett waved them off before turning her attention back to Uma. “Come on, Uma . Don't tell me you don't want to have a taste of that power? All of us, we could take over Auradon. We can make them pay for everything they've done to us.”

The young sea witch doesn't say anything in response, not yet at least. She would have never thought that she would find herself in such a tempting position.

A part of her wants to agree. But an even bigger part of her is too loyal to her crew to do so. She’s too loyal to Harry and Gil to even think about doing that.

At least, that's what she hopes.

“Don't you want to prove them wrong?” Scott’s voice then catches her attention. “Mal and everyone who called you Shrimpy. Don't you want to prove to the whole Isle that you're not that pathetic little girl, that Mal painted you out to be? Don't you want everyone to see that you are actually better at something than Mal? That you're not just that kid that she abandoned for a better gang?”

Okay. Now those words stung. And if his intentions were to piss her off, then it worked. Because before she knew it, she had grabbed him by the collar with her strong hand, threatening to push him into the fire pit.

“I was not abandoned!” She snarls. He was making it sound as if she was a weak, useless puppy that had been thrown away.

“What do you call what she did to you then?” He challenges, seemingly unfazed by the heat that was blowing on his face.”She made a fool out of you once, and she did it again recently, don't you want to get her back? Make her suffer the same way she made you suffer all these years?”

“He's right, you know.” Scarlett quickly comes and pulls her brother out of Uma’s grasp. “Because of Mal, you were the pathetic girl that everyone loved to pick on. Don't you think it's about time she got a taste of her own medicine?”

She hated how difficult they were making this for her. She knew what they were doing, but at the same time she didn't care. All she knew was that all of that anger that she felt towards the purple-haired girl, was coming back. And this time, she didn't have anyone around who could calm her down.

“So, what do you say?”

----------------

So he didn’t pass the first exam. Surprise, Surprise.

He didn’t mind though, he was planning on finding a way to return to the Isle anyways. It would’ve been much easier escaping if only Jay wouldn’t keep following him everywhere. He can’t remember if Jafar’s son had always been that annoying.

For now though, he was forced to attend this evening gathering that was taking place at Auradon Prep. Students were required to come, given that the King Beast and Belle were to be speaking over who knows what. All he knew was that Jay and Gil forced him to dress nice and forced him to attend.

It had been around five days since he last spoken to Uma as well, he wondered if he would get to call her again before making his way back to the Isle.

Would she be angry with him for returning? Or would she be happy to see him? He really hoped that she wasn’t too mad at him at least.

“Man, I can’t remember what Gaston told me to tell Ben’s parents if I ever saw them!” Gil pouts as he rested his head back against the chair, seemingly stressed.

“Hey, don’t ask me, I try to forget anything that comes out of that man’s mouth.” Harry tells him. They were both awaiting for the beginning of the so called gathering. “No offence.”

“What a bummer!” the blonde boy sighs. “Why can’t I remember what Gaston said? I thought that I was becoming smarter! At least that’s what Fairy Godmother said when we got our exam scores.”

Gil had done a remotely excellent job for his first exam. He scored a C. At first, he wasn’t sure what to feel about that, but when Fairy Godmother explained to him that it was a good grade, he had gotten so happy.

However, that happiness had quickly vanished when he found out that Harry had scored an F. It made the young pirate feel a bit guilty, as Jay’s words from earlier that week had replayed in his head.

He really was ruining his friend’s happiness.

“Just forget it.” Harry suggests. “Whatever it was, I’m sure it’s no longer important.” Nothing that Gaston said was ever important really.

Gil just sighed in defeat and neither of them said anything for a while. They just sat side by side, in the middle of the school’s auditorium, as the sound of people’s chatters drowned out their silence.

Harry took the opportunity to take in his surroundings. He hadn’t noticed how divided they were, it’s as if almost every Auradon kid had decided to sit on one side of the auditorium, while all of the newly arrived villains sat together in one specific area. Seems like they were still afraid of them.

To his left, he hears the sound of his two sisters bickering over who knows what, while to his right, sat someone who he had noticed had been staring intensely at them for the last few minutes.

At first, he didn’t pay much mind to her stares. He was a VK living in Auradon, he was used to it by now. It wasn’t until he had started to take notice over the fact that she was staring at them longer than usual, that’s what had slowly started to irk him.

The only reason he hasn’t told her off yet was because she was an Auradon girl, and god forbid if he hurt someone from here. The royal guards would kill him within seconds, and he couldn’t die just yet. He had to get back to Uma first.

He turned to look at her, and she allowed for her eyes to shift towards the door. What was she implying?

Harry sent her a questioning look and once again she gestured towards the door. Did she want to talk to him? Couldn’t it wait until after all of this was done? Or maybe even never?

He didn’t even know this girl, what could she possibly want?

“Do you know who she is?” he asks.

Gil follows his friend’s gaze, he squints a bit. “I think I’ve seen her before-” he says as he scratches his head. “Yeah- I think I saw her with Mal and Ben the other day, but I don’t know who she is.”

So, this girl had associations with Mal and Ben, that suddenly made her less approachable. Harry noticed as she held a bag up. Was she suggesting that she had something to offer him? Or did she want something from him?

He watched as she got up and walked towards the door. He didn’t know if he should follow her or not. A part of him, really didn’t want to. If what Gil said was right, then she might just be someone who the King hired to “help” him. But then again, what if she wasn’t?

He was determined to find out. “Hey, I’ll be back in a second.”

“Where are you going?” the blonde boy questions curiously.

“Bathroom.” he lies, leaving without another word.

When he made his way out the door, he found her standing at the end of the hallway. The girl seemed to have put a black hoodie on over her head. Did she not want to be seen with him? She saw him and signalled for him to come closer.

“You followed me.” she points out, sounding almost relieved.

Harry gives her a puzzled expression. “Isn’t that what you wanted me to do?” he questions. Had his eyes deceived him? “Why?”

“You’re- Captain Hook’s son, right?” the girl asks suspiciously, almost as if she wasn’t so sure if to believe it or not.

Harry instantly took offense to that, “I prefer to be called Harry.” he responds with an eyeroll. He hated it when people narrowed him down to just ‘Captain Hook’s Son’. He was much more than just the son of a pirate, he himself was a pirate as well! He hated how some people couldn’t see that!

“I found you!” the girl’s serious face breaks into a smile.

“What?”

“You’re the one who keeps having a hard time here in Auradon!” she exclaims cheerfully.

“What a nice way to put it.” Harry replies sarcastically. This girl was already weirding him out. How did she know so much about him?

“Sorry- Sorry!” the dark haired girl quickly apologizes. “I’m just so relieved that I got the right thing!”

“Huh?”

The girl pulls up a plastic bag from behind and shows it to him. “The hook. It’s yours, isn’t it?”

Harry’s mood suddenly became serious as he tensed up at the mention of his hook. “You have it?” he asks in disbelief. “How- Why? Who are you?”

He slowly begins to reach for the bag, maybe now, running away from this place wouldn’t be so difficult. He didn’t have to leave his hook behind!

“Who I am or how I got your hook is not important.” she says, as she snatches the bag out of his reach. “What’s important is what you’re willing to do to get it back.”

Harry observed her for a moment, he couldn’t help but laugh at her failed attempt at being ‘intimidating’. “Don’t make me laugh, is this the Auradon way of making ‘illegal trades’?” he tells her. She was right, he didn’t care about who she was or how she got ahold of his hook. All he cared about getting his hook back and getting the hell out of here. “And I don’t need to do much, taking that hook away from a weak Auradon girl like you, is no effort on my part.”

His words seem to have ticked her off a bit, given that her face had instantly hardened. “You know all it takes for me is to scream once and you’re dead, right?”

“I’m a fast runner.” Harry challenges. He didn’t want to die yet, not like this anyways.

“So are the royal guards.”

Harry scoffs, even her comebacks were weak.

“What do you want then?”

“What makes you think I want something?”

“Why else would you have my hook, then?”

“So, you’re going to help me?” she asks hopefully. There seemed to be a lot of that around here. Hope.

“I don’t even know what you want?!” he exclaims tiredly. He didn’t really care what he had to do at this point, he just wanted his hook back.

“I want- no- I need you to take me somewhere.” she responds, sounding a bit desperate.

“I’m not a taxi driver.” Harry quickly states. The last thing he needed was to become the chauffeur for a preppy, teenage girl from Auradon.

“What? No! I don’t want a taxi driver!” she immediately protests.

“Then what do you want!” Harry didn’t care at this point. If he wasn’t so interested in staying alive for at least until he reunites with his captain and the Isle, then he would’ve most likely strangled her until she gave up his hook.

How did she even get his hook in the first place? Last he checked, Fairy Godmother had possessed his precious hook. Harry wasn’t really focused on what the girl wanted, he was only interested in getting his hook back, and if kissing up to the teenage girl would do the trick, then so be it.

Out of the many things that she could ask, he wasn’t expecting to be completely taken by surprise by her request.

“Take me to the Isle.”

Chapter Text

She didn’t give them a definitive answer, instead giving a rather ambiguous one.

She didn’t necessarily say that she agreed to be a part of their evil scheme, but she also didn’t disagree to being part of it. That was enough for the twins. For now, at least.

Her absence from the chip shop didn’t go unnoticed by Ursula either. Turns out, there are people on the Isle who work as spies for her mother, and apparently ratted her out.

To say that her mother was upset was an understatement, “Time is money, you stupid girl!” Ursula had fumed. “You can’t go around wasting it!” For the next couple of days, Uma found herself being stuck in the Chip Shop, working from morning to late in the night.    

Because of that, she wasn’t able to actually speak with the maniacal twins for a couple of days. Not that she was complaining, she really hated those two. Plus, she hoped that occupying herself at the Chip shop would prevent her involvement in their supposed brilliant plan.

Once again, it is proved how useless it is to hope because the black-haired boy shows up at her mother’s shop, four days later and he did not look too pleased.

“You’re not holding your end of the deal.” he says as he approached the front counter that she was currently wiping with a dirty rag.

“Can’t talk.” Uma replies with an eye roll. “Working.”

“I’ve been nice enough to keep your secret while you’ve made no progress at all.” Scott whispers, feeling evidently impatient with the sea witch’s lack of action. “Don’t make me regret it, when will you get to work?”

Uma slams the rag hard onto the counter, “In case you hadn’t noticed, I’ve been stuck working in this stupid shop from dawn to night, thanks to you!” she snaps, clearly not in the mood to deal with whatever he had to say. “Does it look like I’ve had time to make any progress?”

“My generosity will only last for so long.” he warns.

“I really can’t right now, Scott.” she tells him, not seeming to be focused on this conversation, but rather at the door that led to her mother’s chambers. She didn’t want the older sea witch to catch her slacking off work again. “My mom-”

“Your mom won’t mean anything once we’ve successfully executed this plan.” he cuts her off by leaning in closer, trying to avoid Ursula from hearing him. “If you don’t start living up to our deal, then I’m afraid that you are soon to become the Isle’s favorite person to ridicule once again.”

Uma lets out a deep breath, she knew that’s not what she wanted. She didn’t think she could bear another second of such humiliation. Not after what happened last time. The name Shrimpy still causes trauma to the young girl “Fine.” she gives in. “But believe me when I say that I really can’t right now.”

“Then let’s do it tonight.”

“Excuse me?”

“Tonight.” he repeats. “Let’s meet at the docks and there you will swim all the way to the bottom to due what you were instructed to do.”

Oh right. Their brilliant plan to take over the world. He makes it seem as if it were that simple, and based on her experience, whenever something is believed to be simple, it usually never is.

“Yeah about that-” Uma speaks up as she sprayed the counter once more, before continuing to wipe it. “How are you so sure that this plan of yours won’t just result in me turning into fried octopus?”

Scott had to laugh at her previous remark. She really was a funny one. “Don’t be ridiculous, Uma.” he says. “As long as you keep in mind that you have the ability to control the sea, then you should be good.”

She scoffs, “Control the sea? I barely discovered that my powers come from them, let’s not get too ahead of ourselves.” she responds, with a hint of disappointment within her tone. She could’ve been so powerful if she had been given the chance to live out there. Maybe, she might have even used her powers for good if only they had given her a chance. They all could have been good, if they were all just given the chance to be.

It was too late for that though, for she had grown up on the Isle. Because of that, she is a villain.

“You’ll just have to try then,”

“I’m really going to do this?” Uma asks out loud, more to herself rather than Scott. She wasn’t sure if she was ready to make such a move. She wasn’t sure if she really wanted to do that to her friends, who as their captain, promised that they would find their happy endings in Auradon. Was she really about to take that opportunity away from them, for her own selfish reasons?

“Well, unless you want me to share some interesting information with the entire Isle, then I’d suggest you should.”

She doesn’t say anything in response. She wasn’t really sure what to say actually. How could she do that to the people she cared about most? Harry, Gil, and the rest of her pirate crew, were all like the closest thing she had to what they call a family.

“Don’t think about those that you call loved ones,” Scott’s voice interrupt her thoughts. “Remember what loving someone did to you last time.”

She does. She remembers her close friendship with Mal. And how she cared deeply for the girl, even dived into to save her once, only to be rewarded with a bucket of shrimp over her head and a terrible nickname that has stuck with her even til now!

“Love is weakness, Uma.” he reminds her, his voice sounding as sternly as ever. “While you remain here moping over them, they’ll be living their lives, without giving you a single thought. Now is that the way you want to spend the rest of your life? Living a pathetic life without reason? Where you’re the one who’ll get left behind with a broken heart and never ending tauntings?”

“Shut up.” she barks.

“You know I have a point though, right?”

“Doesn’t mean I want to hear it.”

“It’s better to hear it than to experience it. You should know that better than anyone.” he says. “The choice is yours.”

Uma lets out a sigh in defeat. Maybe he was right. Maybe, it’s time for her to start accepting reality. Her friends will forget about her. It’s only a matter of time before they all do. “I don’t want that pathetic life.” she looks up at him as she watches the small, demonical smirk that has just taken over his face.

“Then meet us tonight at the docks, and prove it.” Scott replies sternly as he slips away from the counter, but not before turning back to face the pirate behind him. “I’ll be expecting you.”

Upon hearing those words, Uma begins to wonder if maybe she had made the right choice in the end. Maybe it’s time to start pushing these emotions away and start focusing on something that actually does matter.

Her pride.

With one final response, her decision is made. “There, I will be.”

-----------------

Melody wasn’t the kind of person who gave up easily. Harry had to learn that the hard way.

Seems like having declined to help the young princess because for one, he doesn't help people, wasn't enough to get her to leave him alone.

Literally, for the past few days she had been following him around like a lost puppy, basically pleading for him to help her. She clearly wasn't going to take no for an answer, not when her grandfather’s life was on the line and her parents had yet to receive any word from the king and queen.

She didn't stop and Harry was quickly growing annoyed by her. Even if he did try to ignore her at first, the girl had instantly grown annoying with her long, boring inspirational speeches about how it's important to help others.

Between Melody and Jay constantly breathing down his neck, Harry was going insane.

She tried to tempt him with his hook. And it almost worked. Almost.

As it turns out, the girl didn't really have the guts to actually steal his hook. She had a hook. But it wasn't his hook. He knew his hook better than anyone else, the girl really was an idiot to think that he wouldn't notice.

So instead, she just kept pleading and insisting. It was annoying.

He managed to keep it together for a couple more days, until he just couldn't bare to hear another one of her stupid speeches.

“Can you just leave me alone!” He snaps, he had yet another horrible day in Remedial class and he really didn't want to spend his afternoon being bothered by an Auradon Princess.

“Why are you so resistant to help me?” Melody asks as she crossed her arms. “It's good to help people, besides you don't seem like you're having a blast in Auradon, so why take this as an opportunity to leave this place?”

He was sitting alone at a table in the courtyard, trying his hardest to focus on the little device on his hands that one could play games on. They called it a video game here. It was actually a nice distraction that he needed from time to time.

Unfortunately, even this device couldn’t distract him from the whiny princess that stood right across from him.

“For one, I don’t help people.” he replies bluntly. “It’s just not my thing, y’know. You’re right about one thing though, I hate it here.”

“See, maybe if you helped me then you would be able to leave Auradon!” Melody exclaims hopefully. “It’s a win-win situation here, how can you not see that?!”

Harry rolls his eyes again, royal people can be so annoying. “ If I do end up leaving this place, it’s going to be alone.” he states clearly. “I don’t want to babysit some princess while I’m over there.”

“You don’t have to take care of me, I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself!” The young girl scoffs, sounding very offended by the doubt that he showed towards her. “All I need is someone to take me there, and then we can go our separate ways!”

Harry couldn’t help but burst out laughing at the girl’s naivety. She really wasn’t thinking things through. “Ya see mate, in case you’ve forgotten, there’s a barrier around the island. Getting in won’t be a problem, it’s finding a way out that you need to worry about.”

“Then we’ll take one of the limos.” she shrugs.

“You mean steal?” he quirks an eyebrow. “You know that’s not going to end well for you.”

“It’s not really stealing technically. I’m going to bring it back.”

“ If you survive.”

Once again, the young princess finds herself feeling offended by the boy’s words. “Of course I’ll survive!” she defends. “I hope you’re not just saying that because I’m a girl-”

“I say it because you’re royalty.” Harry responds with an eyeroll. “Unlike here, back in the Isle it doesn’t matter if you’re a boy or a girl, what matters is strength if you want to survive. And no offence princess, but it doesn’t seem like you or any of your royal friends have any of that.”

Melody shrugs again. At this moment, none of potential dangers that lie ahead worry her. All she cares about right now is getting her hands on those healing potions. “I guess that won’t be your problem then.” she tells him. “I don’t need you to guard me down there Harry, all I need is for someone to help me take one of the limousines from the Castle’s garage.”

“And you do all of this by yourself because?”

The dark haired girl clears her throat in response, clearly not wanting to admit that reason out loud.

Harry instantly notices her sudden shift and furrows his eyebrows, “What?” he questions suspiciously.

“Well- it’s like you said Harry. I’m a princess.” she replies awkwardly.

“And?”

“Well you know, princesses aren’t supposed to break the rules- if I get caught stealing from the Royal Palace then I’m sure to get severely punished-”

Harry couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Was this girl serious? “You’re unbelievable.” he points out, sounding a bit surprised. “That’s not really something I’d expect from a princess.”

“What?!”

“You just want me to go with you so that when you return you have someone to blame for stealing the stupid limo and for crossing the barrier illegally!” Harry accuses. He may not know how to do math and tell time, but he was not an idiot. And that’s what this princess was trying to do this whole time, make an idiot of him.

“That’s not true!” Melody is quick to protest. Harry gives her a look in response. “Okay fine, it’s true but not entirely.”

“Entirely?”

The young mermaid dramatically sits down across from him, “Okay listen. Originally I wanted someone to guide towards wherever the sea witch lives, but since it appears you have no interest in doing that, I’m fine with you just helping me get to the Isle. I can handle it from there.” she explains.

The sea witch?

Could she be talking about Uma’s mother, Ursula? Or her aunt, Morgana? Last time he checked, they were the only two sea witch’s on the Isle, aside from his captain. But she wouldn’t be talking about Uma right? Their paths couldn’t have crossed.

“So you’ll help me?”

This time it’s Harry’s turn to shrug. “Meh, you really haven’t given me a good reason to help you mate.”

“I thought you wanted to go back to the Isle?”

“Yeah, but that’s my business. Just like this is yours.”

Melody sighs, “Please?”

“Like I said princess, give me a good reason why I should help you and maybe I will.” With that being said, Harry turns his attention back to his video game. He doubts that she’ll find any way to convince him to change his mind, so why waste time staring off into space.

The half mermaid doesn’t say anything for a while as she tries to concentrate. She needs a reason. Something to convince Captain Hook’s son to have a change of heart.

Heart.

Love.

That’s it!

Love!

It can make people do the unthinkable. Besides, everyone has someone they love, right? She figures if maybe she could get him to relate to her situation, then maybe he’ll be willing to help her.

“Don’t you have someone you care about?” Melody suddenly blurts out, causing the young pirate to look up from his game.

He doesn’t say anything in response though. Mostly because he really isn’t sure if he wants to admit out loud that he does in fact care about someone. Because when you say it out loud, then that makes it true. And that’s what’s terrifying.

“You do, don’t you? Back on the Isle?” she takes his silence and evident uncomfort as confirmation. “Don’t you want to know how they’re doing?”

“I never said that there was someone I cared about-” Harry says defensively.

“You didn’t have to. Your face says it all.”

“You don’t know anything.”

He didn’t like the fact that she was able to easily read his expressions. Was he really that obvious?

“You’re right I don’t.” Melody admits with a small smile. She could sense his discomfort and didn’t want to push him too far, or she might lose her ride to the Isle. “What I do know though, is that you’re probably dying to know if they’re okay. To know that they’re not getting themselves into danger, right?”

Seriously, how was this girl reading right through him.

Yes, it’s true that ever since Uma had left the shop with Scott, Harry has been dying to know what she’s been up to. He’s also been extremely worried over the safety of his captain. After having seen her hand injury, he knew that it would be difficult for her to fend for herself.

That’s what scared him the most.

What if the lion twins took advantage of her current vulnerable state and try to start a fight with her? What if she lost the fight?

The young sea witch would be clearly outnumbered, making her an easy target.

“I’m right, aren’t I?” Melody’s voice interrupt his thoughts.

He lets out a frustrated sigh, “It doesn’t matter if you are.” he tells her as he places his video game console on the table. “It’s not like I have any way of seeing her again for a while at least.”

“Uh hello!” she exclaims in a duh isn’t it obvious tone. “Yes you do! As a matter of fact, you can see this person by tonight. All you have to do is come with me.”

“I already told you-”

“Just let go of your pride already and say yes!” Melody almost yells. She wished the boy didn’t have to be so dramatic. “You clearly want to see this person, so let’s go. If we sneak out by tonight, then it’s only a matter of hours before you see them!”

Harry stops and thinks.

The princess does have a point. Why is he being so hesitant to just go when he knows damn well that he really wants to?

“Okay.” he whispers.

Hope suddenly finds its way towards Melody again as a huge smile spread across her face. Maybe she was going to be able to save her grandfather after all. Maybe everything would turn out to be just fine.

Harry on the other hand, felt thrilled. Though, he didn’t want to admit it, he wasn’t very good at hiding his emotions. He was finally leaving this stupid place. He no longer had to live another miserable day here in Auradon.

He was really going to do this. He was really going to leave Auradon, and there was nothing that no one could do or say that could stop him now.

“You’re leaving?” he hears his blonde friend’s voice from behind.

Except for that.

-----------------

“I just don’t understand.” Gil tries to wrap his head around his friend’s plans later on that night as he packed away his clothing. “Auradon is such a fun place, don't you love it here.”

Harry sighs as he quickly threw all of his belongings into the bag, he didn't want to carry too much but at the same time he didn't want to leave anything of his behind.

Unfortunately, his hook was one of the things that he wouldn't be taking back with him- unless if he could convince Melody to stop by the museum real quick before leaving.

Would it disrupt the plan that they had come up with earlier today?

“Auradon- was just not the place for me mate.” He responds truthfully.

“But why not?” Gil wonders out loud.

“There was just something missing.” Someone rather than something actually. “It just didn't feel right for me.” Life didn't feel right without her.

“So you're really leaving?” He can hear the sadness in his friend's voice.

“I'm afraid so.”

Neither of the boys say anything for a while as Harry continued to gather all of his things.

After several moments of silence, Harry hears something being thrown onto his friend’s bed. He turns around and his eyes widen in surprise upon seeing Gil also starting to pack his things. “What are you doing?”

“If you're leaving, then so am I.” Gil replies simply.

“What?” Harry asks in disbelief. “You can't do that, Uma will kill me if I let you do that.”

“But-”

“No Gil,” the dark haired boy cuts him off. “You even said it yourself, you love it here in Auradon! Not to mention that you look happier than a pirate who has found their treasure, does! You can't just leave your happiness behind like that for me?”

Gil shakes his head, “You and Uma are my family.” He says with a small smile. “And I'll be happy as long as I'm with my family.”

With that, he continues packing, leaving Harry to feel a bit guilty and very selfish.

“You sure about this, mate?” The Scottish boy questions. “You might never get the chance to come back here again, you know?”

Gil gives his friend a warm smile, “If my friends are going to be on the Isle, then so am I.” He tells him. “I'm going too.”

-----------------

Midnight fell when Harry and Gil found themselves waiting behind the bushes for Melody to appear. She had told them that she had something urgent to take care of first and to give her thirty minutes.

Now, they didn't know exactly how to keep count but it has felt like a while has passed by, so it shouldn't be long before she shows up.

So they kept absolutely quiet and absolutely still for the remaining of the time. Melody had said that there would be guards patrolling the streets of the palace, so they had to be extra quiet.

Several moments later, a rustling from the bushes is heard and out pops Melody, dressed in all black from head to toe.

“What the hell took you so long?” Harry snarls quietly, standing outside of the palace in the middle of the night had caused him to grow a bit anxious.

“I had to get a few things before we left.”

Harry eyes the bag in her hands and raises an eyebrow up, suddenly becoming curious. “Like?” He questions.

Melody gives him a guilty look, “I can't believe I just did that.” She says in disbelief, more to herself than to him.

“What?”

She slowly hands the bag to him and sighs, “Had to make sure I kept my part of the deal.” She tells him. “Sorry I tried to trick you the other day.”

Harry quickly digs into the bag, and finds himself to be pleasantly surprised to find his hook in the bag. If they weren't doing something illegal right now, he would yell with joy. “My hook!” He exclaimed in a low voice. “How?”

The young mermaid sighs, “Let’s just say that trying to read the ingredients for Maleficent’s sleeping spell through a thick glass, is a lot harder than it seems.”

Melody then moves her gaze from Harry towards Gil, who was silently standing behind him. Her eyes widened slightly, “You brought a guest?”

“Turns out he wanted to come along.”

Melody looks at him and sighs, “That would've been nice to know earlier. I only brought two masks with me, Hook.”

“Masks?”

“We’re about to break into the Palace’s garage. I'm not getting caught that easily.” She says, her tone was as serious as ever. “Not when I have a chance to save my grandfather.”

“It's okay!” Gil quickly chimes in. “I-I'll just use this bag to cover my face if we get caught!”

Melody gives him a puzzled look, “I don't think you'll be able to see if- you know what, we don't have time for this, let's just go and hope for the best.”

With that, the three teenagers silently crept up to the walls of the palace. There didn't appear to be anyone on the streets, so they took the opportunity to dash towards the location of the garage. It was odd, the fact that there didn't seem to be anyone on guard.

However, they were aware that just because the streets seemed to empty, didn't mean that it was true.

A car with bright headlights suddenly appeared on the streets, it was driving at a slow pace, so it wasn't hard to guess that there were most likely security guards in the car.

After the car passed, Melody pulled out a flashlight and directed it towards the lock of the garage.

“Remind me again how exactly you're planning to hack into the system to unlock the door?” Harry whispers as soon as he noticed that the door required a PIN number to be unlocked.

“I don't need to hack anything.” She replies. “Ben and I have known each other for years. He's a big romance boy, so I'm pretty sure his PIN number would have to something related to Lady Mal- like her birthday!”

Harry had to refrain himself from rolling his eyes at her useage of the title Lady Mal as Melody typed in the pin.

A red X appeared in the screen followed by the words Please try again .

“Damn it!” She cursed.

“What now Ms. Know it All?”

“Sh! I'm trying to concentrate.”

“Have you tried his parent’s anniversary?” Gil suggests from behind.

She shrugs, “I guess it wouldn't hurt to-”

Once again a red X appears on the screen, only this time the words One more attempt left appeared right after it.

“Well, we’re screwed!” Harry mumbles as he turns away in annoyance. “This is why you should come prepared.”

Melody sighs, as she slowly started to panic, “I'm telling you- it has to be something related to Mal. Ben loves her so much, I was almost certain it was her birthday!”

“Well you were wrong, and now we’re about to get caught if you insert the wrong PIN number again.” Harry says before turning to face Gil, “I'd say we get ready to run, mate-”

“I got this!” She whispers loudly. “Just give me time to think!”

What else could it be?

Its a 4 digit pin. It's not her birthday. It's not his parents’ anniversary date either.

Anniversary.

Anniversary!

That's it! The day that Ben met Mal for the first time, it has to be it!

It was not only the day he met his true love, but also the day he passed his first proclamation as king! There's no way she was wrong.

A confident smile crept on her face as she typed the date. She felt her heart explode in excitement as the big green, check mark appeared on the screen followed by the words Access Granted!

“I told you I knew what I was doing.” She gloats as she pushes the door open.

Harry and Gil give each other a look before following her in, closing the door behind them.

She shines the light towards the wall, where several keys were hanging under a number label.

“I'm assuming that neither of you two know how to drive?” Melody questions as she grabs a pair of keys.

“Kinda hard to when we have limited sources.” Harry responds a bit bitterly.

“I guess that means I'm taking the wheel.” She tells them as she heads towards another door that leads to where several limousines were parked. “Better buckle up, I doubt this is going to be a smooth trip.”

-----------------

The full moon made the sea sparkle much brighter than it normally does.

Uma appreciated the view from the docks, as she awaited for the arrival of one of the twins or both of them, depending on how unlucky she was.

She managed to sneak past her mom a bit early today, mostly due to the fact that Urusla’s favorite soap opera was on tonight, and she tends to pay less attention whenever it's on.

Not that Uma was complaining, she was grateful to have some sort of break. Working at the Chip Shop was very tiring.

“You look so beautiful standing next to the sea,” she hears a familiar voice say from behind. Uma turns her head slightly and sees Scarlett standing only a few meters away, with her brother right behind. “Now imagine how much more beautiful you’d be if you learned how to contain your powers from the sea?”

Uma rolls her eyes, “I already told your brother. It's hopeless.” She says tiredly. “There's no magic here on the Isle.”

“There's always a flaw within everything.” Scarlett replies sweetly. “Even magic. And I'm determined to find that flaw if it is the last thing I do.”

The young sea witch shrugs, “Well this might be the last thing any of us ever do if something goes wrong.” She points out. “Everyone knows how unpredictable the barrier is.”

Usually whenever one touches the barrier, they would get zapped back or some sort of stinging sensation as a result. It was painful, but bearable.

Tonight, however, they came in search of a weakness of the barrier, and Uma has a gut feeling that this might not go well.

“Then you better hope you learn how to control it.” Scott says once he reaches the two girls on the docks. “Remember Uma, you're the descendant of a goddess of the sea. The sea has to listen to you-

“Alright now this is just getting ridiculous!” Uma snaps in annoyance. “If my mother couldn't do it, then what makes you think I can?”

“Well, for one, your mother, along with every villain had their powers drained by the barrier when the Isle was first created.” Scarlett tells her. “You, however, still have them.”

“Yeah- but they're completely useless here!”

“Just give it a chance.”

The young sea witch let out a deep breath, before taking her hat and jacket off and diving into the ocean.

She wasn't sure what exactly they expected her to do, hell, she doubts they even know what they want her to do.

What else can she do besides try at this point?

After a couple of minutes, she finds the waters growing a bit darker, she can't even see where she's going, this is ridiculous.

Not to mention that she's pretty sure a shark fin just bumped into her toe. She would've been frightened had she not had experience with dealing with sharks before.

Lord knows how many times she had to save Gil from them every time he would trip and fall overboard.

She swims besides the barrier, being careful not to bump into it just yet, when suddenly it starts to glow a bit.

Uma’s eyes widen in shock at the sight. Did she do that?

No.

This looks familiar. She has seen this happen before-

However, before she can recognize the other time she's seen this happen before, she hears her name being called from above.

Rolling her eyes once again at the sound of the twin’s voices, she heads towards the surface.

When she reaches the docks, she slowly gets up and walks towards the twins who were facing the barrier that was still glowing.

“What is it?”

“Change of plans.” She heard Scarlett say.

“We just found a new way to get off this Isle.” Scott adds as he turns to face Uma, with a smirk on his face.

“What?”

“It appears as if someone from Auradon is paying us a visit.” He points ahead, and Uma’s eyes follow. She gasps slightly at the sight of a  limousine that was currently making its way across the sea.

Someone was coming.

Chapter Text

“Where are you going?” Uma demands as she struggled to keep up with the fast-pacing twins, due to her extremely damp state.

“Off to give our visitors a very warm welcome, dear.” Scott answers as he and his sister rushed to arrive at the place where the limousine seemed to have headed towards.

“Did you two not just see how far that thing was?” She scoffs, causing for the two to stop in their tracks and face her. Scarlett raises an eyebrow at her, not feeling too amused by the young sea witch’s interruptions. “That thing was at least ten miles away, they probably won’t even be there by the time you arrive.”

“Are you always this bossy?” Scarlett wonders out loud, giving her an annoyed expression.

Uma gives her a pompous look, “You seem to forget that I was once captain of my own crew.”

“Right, well it appears as if now I’m the captain.” She snaps back. “Don’t you forget that you’re working for me.”

“Us.” Scott quickly corrects his sister with an eyeroll.

“Right. Us.” The young lioness reluctantly corrects herself. “And if we say we’re doing something, then we’re doing it, without your input.”

Uma scoffs once again, unable to really believe what she was hearing- actually she was fully capable of believing it, seeing that it was Scarlett she was talking to- either way though, she didn’t like to be talked to in such a way.

She was so accustomed to her crew’s constant respect and admiration. So used to some of them, Harry specifically, basically worshipping the ground she walked on. She wasn’t used to these wild teens and their arrogance.

“Fine.” She tells her, crossing her arms along the way. “You two can spend the rest of the night searching for vehicle that will most likely be surrounded by royal guards. Wonder how they’d react to seeing a bunch of hooligans trying to break into their royal property.”

“You’re not coming with us?” Scott quirked an eyebrow and eyed her suspiciously. He wasn’t sure what the girl was up to.

“I don’t know about you two, but I don’t wanna end up getting shot on sight by one of those maniacs.” Uma replied with a simple shrug.

“That was not a part of our deal, Uma.” Scott growls as he came to understand what the teel-braided girl was trying to imply.

This time, the young sea witch couldn’t help but give them a taunting smirk. She was really going to enjoy saying these next words out loud.

“Well, since there does seem to appear to be a change of plans , then it appears as if our deal is off!” She tells them in response.

“Seems like you’ve been thinking too much.”

“I’m not going.”

“Coward?”

“You call it cowardness, I call it wanting to avoid getting shot on sight by one of those guards.” Uma shrugs as she gives them a smug look, “I’d say that’s rather smart of me.”

Scarlett rolls her eyes before turning to look at her twin brother, it’s as if they were arguing with each other through their minds, because soon the female lioness let out a heavy sigh.

“I suppose she doesn’t have to come.” She says, looking quite irritated. She then turns to face Ursula’s daughter and gives her a sneer, “I guess we’re done with you for now, Shrimpy.”

“Keywords: For Now.” Scott quickly adds. “You shouldn’t forget about our partnership too quickly, darling.”

The sea witch looks at them in disbelief, “I didn’t know this partnership was supposed to last forever-”

“See, that’s the thing Uma,” he cuts her off, while glaring at her. “This alliance will be over, when we say it’s over. For now though, why don’t you just run along and attend to your mother’s fish shop. Seems to be the only thing you’re up to these days.”

With that he turns around and proceeds to walk away. Scarlett taunts the girl with a smirk, before turning around as well, to follow her brother.

Uma tightly squeezed her hands into a fist, if they ever do find a way to break the barrier, the first thing she’s going to do is crush their bones with one of her tentacles. She’s had enough of them already.

She lets out an ear-piercing scream, in hopes of getting rid of some of that anger that had been building up inside of her the whole night. She really needs to learn how to not let these manipulative twins get to her.

After a few seconds, she lets out a deep breath and decided to make her way back to her place, as she silently wished that Scott and Scarlett would drop dead. She really didn’t want to deal with them any longer.

-----------------

He saw the ocean. The big, blue, sparkling ocean all around him. He felt the wind on his face, and he heard as it crashed with their huge, white flag.

They did it. They had left the misery that had been Auradon and the Isle, and they found their happiness. They found the sea.

He observed as their crew found themselves occupied with their tasks. Gil and Jonas were practicing their sword fighting. Desiree and Bonny were reading the maps. Gonzo stood upon the edge, searching for any sign of land.

It all felt great.

He then looks to his left and sees her. Their captain. Uma.

She was taking the wheel, her braids were dancing in the air. The sight was beautiful. It all felt too real.

He watched as his captain slowly turned to face him. A small smile crept up on her face once their eyes met. It made him feel warm inside.

They did it. He doesn’t know how, but they made it. They were free.

They were-

“He’s waking up!” he heard a familiar voice interrupt his moment, as he suddenly felt a cool substance beginning to drip down his face.

“No he’s not!” he heard another familiar voice, only this time it was feminine, “Get another bucket of water, the sun’s almost rising and we need to get going!”

He was confused. What was happening? One moment, he sees his crew and his captain, sailing the seas, the next he sees pitch black, and hears two very familiar voices in the background, and now he hears nothing.

It wasn’t until a few moments later, when he felt another cool liquid come in contact with his face, that he realized what was going on.

“What in the bloody hell?” Harry exclaims, as he jumps up due to the freezing sensation that had come upon him. He looks around and sees Melody and Gil, both looking very relieved. “Why’d you throw a bucket of water on me?”

Melody gives him a guilty expression, “It appears as if I drove a bit too fast into the barrier.” she admits with a sigh. “I assume it must’ve pushed me off the trail, causing me to crash into that brick wall.”

She gestures towards the left and Harry follows her movements. There he finds a very much damaged limousine. “It seems as if the force was too much for us, and we passed out for a while.” she adds. “I don’t know how I’m supposed to get back now.”

Harry doesn’t say anything in response and just observes the scene in front of him. He tries to process everything that’s going on.

It didn’t take him long to face reality though. Within a few moments, he had come to realization that the image of him and the crew being at sea, was nothing but a dream. It wasn’t real. He had made it all up in his head, and for a moment, that brought him into a gloomy mood.

It wasn’t until he felt the early sun hitting his face, that he realized what was going on. “The sun is rising.” he grumbles. “We have to move.”

Melody gives him a puzzled expression, “Move?” she questions. “Move where? To the sea witch’s lair?”

“We’ve got to avoid being noticed before we head to Ursula’s.” Harry says as he moves towards the trunk of the car. “Gil, help me cover this stupid thing, won’t you mate? The last thing we need is to draw attention towards ourselves.”

Gil does what he’s told as Melody continues to wear a puzzled expression, “What do you mean you don’t want to draw attention? Didn’t you want to come back in the first place?”

“Aye,” He replies as he and Gil covered the car with an old blanket, “But the thing is, we can’t just walk around the island with a princess by our side. ‘Sides, Gil and I aren’t exactly everyone’s favorite pirates. We have a lot of enemies who wouldn’t hesitate to start a fight with us now that we’re unarmed.”

She scoffs upon hearing this, “So what you’re saying is that we have to wait until night falls before we head towards the Sea Witch’s Lair?” she asks in disbelief. “Don’t you understand, time is my biggest enemy right now! The more time I waste, the worse my grandfather’s condition gets!”

Harry’s eyes darken in anger at Melody’s tone, “Listen here princess, if I remember correctly, our deal was for me to escort you to the Isle, you should be thankful that I’m even considering taking you to Ursula’s personally!” he spat bitterly. “Gil and I could just abandon you right now, you know, so I suggest you shut your mouth and work with us.”

“Can’t you just say things nicely for once in your life?”

“How am I supposed to be nice when I have a snobby princess pissing me off!”

“At least I’m not a ruthless pirate who can’t ever be pleased!”

“Was that supposed to be an insult?” he snorts in response.

“You little-”

“Stop fighting!” Gil exclaims in panic. The sound of people yelling always made him anxious. “We’re supposed to be helping each other here, not fighting.”

“Helping?” Harry scoffs at his friend. “The only one helping this princess is me, she would’ve been dead by now if I hadn’t stopped her from walking in the open.”

“That’s not true.” Gil replies as he looks at his friend. “Melody helped bring us here. And she helped you get your hook back. Now it’s our turn to help her.”

“I’d rather die than spend the next couple of hours with her and that mouth of hers that won’t shut up.”

“You’re one to talk.” Melody mutters quietly, earning a growl from Harry.

“It’s just not worth it mate.”

“But it’s the right thing to do.” Gil continues to insist.

“In case if you haven’t noticed mate,” Harry says casually as he grips his friend’s shoulder. “We’re no longer in Auradon, we’re back at the Isle, and here, we don’t do the right thing.”

The blonde boy simply blinks and shrugs, “I didn’t come back to the Isle to be a villain and do the wrong thing,” he tells his friend. “I came back to the Isle to be with my family.”

Harry finds himself speechless at his friend’s words. He also finds himself feeling a bit guilty. Gil clearly didn’t want to leave Auradon, but he did, so that he could be with Uma and him. He chose them over his happiness in Auradon, and because of that, Harry suddenly felt as if he owed this to his friend.

He couldn’t believe what he was about to do.

“I suppose we could help each other..” he mumbles reluctantly. “But, only if she promises to keep her voice down. The last thing I want is to get caught helping a princess-”

“Princess, you say?” An unfamiliar voice comes from the side.

Gil shudders and Harry curses under his breath once they’ve recognized who the voice belonged to.

“Well, well, well it appears as if we’ve stumbled upon a Welcome Home Party,”

“It appears as if we have, brother dear.”

The three kids all turn around and come face to face with the dark haired and dark eyed twins. Harry feels himself tense up just by seeing them.

“Harry. Gil. It’s always a pleasure to see you dirty pirates,” Scarlett says as she walked closer towards them. “Though, I must admit, we are a bit surprised to see you back so soon, what a shame that you come back around the time that your beloved captain has decided to join us. Seems like your ‘pirate crew’ has to start looking for a new captain.”

He Felt as his fist clenched tightly upon hearing the girl mention Uma. “What did you do to her?!” he accuses.

“Did you not hear my sister?” Scott responds with a sneer. “Uma’s with us now, so if you were hoping to reignite your alliance with her, then I’m afraid you’re too late. She doesn’t need you anymore.”

Harry was only seconds away from attacking the two annoying twins, when Gil’s voice interrupted him. “That’s not true.” His blonde friend says, with a determined look on his face. “She’s our friend. Our family.”

Upon hearing his words, the two twins broke into a fit of laughter. “God you really are as brainless as your father.” Scott says.

“Don’t you know? Shrimpy doesn’t do friends.” Scarlett adds.

“Her name is Uma!” Harry snaps at the girl upon hearing that horrendous nickname.

“How adorable, they genuinely believe that Shrimpy actually cares about them as much as they do.”

Harry growls again as that stupid nickname escaped the lioness’s mouth. If she said that name one more time, there was nothing that anyone could do to stop him from ripping her throat out with his hook.

“She does care for us!” Gil insists, refusing to believe anything the manipulative twins have to say.

“Please,” Scott scoffs. “Don’t Be pathetic. How can she care about a useless pirate and Gaston’s idiot of a son? All you two were doing was holding her back from getting what she truly wanted. Revenge. With us though, she’ll be able to achieve that and more!”

“It’s time to face reality Hook.” Scarlett continues. “You both are completely useless to her now.” She slowly allows for her eyes to travel to the side, where she instantly takes notice of the limousine that was poorly hidden under a blanket.

A smirk creeps up on her face upon seeing it, “ But I’m sure she’lol greatly appreciate the gift you’ve brought for us.”

“You have three seconds to get out of my face before I slice yours in half with my hook.” Harry threatens in a low voice.

This causes for Scarlett to chuckle, “Don’t Be pathetic Hook.” She tells him. “Believe me when I say you don’t stand a chance.”

“One.”

“Wait, did pirate boy actually learn how to count? My, my, seems like someone has been a good boy in Auradon.”

“Two.”

“Hand over the keys Hook.” Scott says, seemingly unbothered by Harry’s threat.

“Three!” Harry was just about to launch himself towards Scott’s face when he felt himself getting pulled back.

“Stop!” Melody exclaims in panic, speaking for the first time since the twins have shown up.

“What are you doing?” Harry snaps in annoyance. He could’ve had them! He could’ve made things much easier for them!

“I’m not going to just let you kill them!” Melody protests, clearly startled by the harsh interactions that have just taken place. “They’re people too!”

Scarlett’s eyes light up, it appears as if she had just realized what they had meant by saying princess earlier.

“Listen to the princess, Hook.” Scott taunts as he approached them. “Wouldn’t want to disappoint her royal majesty.”

“You would look really great as an accessory in our new ride, by the way!” Scarlett tells her with a smirk. “I’ve always wanted a princess’ corpse to keep as a trophy!”

“I’m not going to let you kill us either!” Melody continued to hold her ground. She wasn’t about to let these two misbehaved children ruin her plans.

The twins laughed again, for what seemed like the tenth time already. Their faces went completely dark after a few seconds, their looks sent a chill down the young mermaid’s spine.

“Get them.” Scarlett says out of nowhere, and suddenly their goons start appearing from behind the walls, rocks, and decayed trees.

Harry and Gil position themselves to fight, before they realize just how many goons then twins had.

“We’re outnumbered!” Gil exclaims as they closed in on them. “We have to go!”

“Are you crazy? I ain’t no coward!” Harry replies as he launches forward to punch one of the goons with his hook-free hand.

Gil had no choice but to help his friend, he knew it was pointless, but if Harry was going to fight then so was he. He jumped and punched several of the goons, managing to knock most of them out.

Meanwhile, the princess was currently being backed into a corner by the twins.

“Hand over the keys or you’ll be fish bait!” Scott demands as he pulled out a dagger from his pocket.

Melody clutches tightly to the keys as she watched as Harry and Gil were both knocked to the floor by their minions.

“Let them go!” She begged, as she trembled in fear. She attempted to push past them but that only made Scott push his dagger closer towards her.

She heard her breath hitch as she felt the cold, blade being pressed against her cheek. He stood so close to her, she could smell his nasty scent.

“Don’t make this difficult and Hand over the keys, won’t you dear?” he tells her as he grabbed her hand, and forced the keys out of her clenched fist.

Once he grabbed what he wanted, he threw Melody to the ground, next to Harry and Gil, who were already had their arms tied behind their backs.

Scott smirked as he played with the keys in his hands, he looks back at the princess and then at his goons. “Tie her up too, we’ve got a long walk home.”

This couldn’t be happening. Melody felt as if her heart was about to combust. She had to find that potion and get back to her grandfather, she didn’t have time to lose.

She had completely lost hope and her strength as she and the boys were being hauled up, and forced to walk. The twins walked ahead, leaving Melody, Gil, and Harry to walk in between five of their goons.

After walking for a while, an idea suddenly came to the young pirate. He knew how they could get out of this. He began to slow his pace, allowing for there to be distance between them and the twins.

Once he was satisfied with the distance he let himself fall onto of Gil and Melody. They both had let out a groan in pain, as Harry tried his best to cut on of their ropes with his hook.

“What the hell are you doing?” He heard one of the boys speak. “Get up!”

Harry ignored them as he continued to attempt to cut through one of their ropes.

“He said get up!” The young pirate felt as they started to pull him up. Before they could though, Harry managed to hear the rip of one of the ropes as Melody let out a painful screech.

He looks at her hands, and sees that they’re no longer tied up, but he also sees blood streaming down her arm.

“Run!” He tells her. “We’ll be right behind you.”

She hesitates for a moment, seeming to be paying more attention to the blood on her arm than to what was going on.

“Go!” Harry yelled again, and this time, she listened. She dashed away, before the twins noticed that she was liberated.

She didn’t know where she was going, but she kept running, and she didn’t dare look back, knowing that it might only slow her down.

After what felt like forever, she found herself falling into a thorny bush, not that she cared; her legs were aching and her heart and head were throbbing. She was out of breath and tired, yet relieved at the same time.

They had gotten away.

They .

Oh no.

She quickly forces herself up when she realizes that Harry and Gil were not behind her. She felt her stomach drop upon reaching this realization.

She had gotten away, but they hadn’t.

-----------------

Uma had to admit, she was surprised that she hadn’t heard back from the two idiot twins yet. It was about to be 24 hours since she last saw them, surely they must’ve already made it back by now.

She wonders if their trip was actually resourceful or not. Did they find what they need? Did they manage to steal something that would help them break the barrier?

The barrier.

The stupid fish-bowl like barrier that kept her away from the only few people that she cared about.

The only people that didn’t make her believe that she was alone.

She sighs quietly as she wiped the counter. Was this how her life was always going to be? Working in this stupid job for her mother?

Did she really have a choice?

What else was she supposed to do? What purpose did she have now?

Sure she was a captain, but what’s a captain without a crew?

Nothing.

She was part octopus, but she couldn’t have any access to her powers all because of this stupid barrier.

A loud crash from the back closer, interrupted her thoughts.

How odd. Last time she checked, her mother was taking a nap upstairs. How could she have slithered past her, and she hadn’t noticed, unless-

Unless if someone had broken in!

Uma feels anger starting to build up within her, how dare someone ever think about stealing from her property?

She reached forward to grab a sword, and quietly headed towards her mother’s private room.

Whoever was in there right now, was about to get a few slashing.

Before she kicked the door open, Uma counted to three. She let the Sword fly in as she heard a scream come inside.

“P-Please don’t hurt me!” The intruder begged and Uma felt a thriving sensation forming inside of her. It had been such a long while since she’s had any fun.

-----------------

Mal had been waiting inside her boyfriend’s office for the past hour, waiting for him to finish his meeting. They were supposed to meet for dinner, but it appears as of Ben’s busy schedule had extended.

She was getting lost in her own thoughts when suddenly, a very panicked Evie burst through doors, “Mal!” She exclaims as she ran inside towards her.

The purple-haired girl instantly stood up, upon seeing her best friend so upset. “Evie, are you okay?” She asks worryingly. “What’s wrong?”

“I-I lost them!”

“What?” Mal questions, with a puzzled expression.

“Gil. Harry.” Evie breathes out. “No one’s seen them since yesterday night.”

“Maybe they’ve been in their dorm all day?”

The blue-haired girl shakes her head, “I already checked and no one's there!”

“Evie..”

“What am I supposed to do? Where could they have gone? I was supposed to be responsible for them! Oh no- what if they got hurt?”

“Maybe they ran away?”

Evie let herself fall onto the couch that Mal was sitting on, “I don’t know.” She sighs. To say that she was freaking out was an understatement. “What am I supposed to do?”

“Didn’t you ask Jay to keep an eye on Harry?” Mal recalls. “Maybe he knows something?”

As if right on cue, Jay walks through those doors as well, “We have a major problem.” He says as he approaches the girls.

“Another one?” The purple-haired girl groans.

“One of the limousines is missing.”

This causes for Evie to almost choke, “What?” She looks horrified. “Don’t tell me that Hook and Gil stole it to bring villains into Auradon? Oh god, what have I done?”

“Big problem!” Carlos then appears too, “Where’s Ben?” He questions once he realizes the king wasn’t present.

“In a meeting.” Mal replies. “Why? What’s wrong?”

“Prince Eric just called Fairy Godmother. They haven’t seen the princess in days, and he’s freaking out!”

“Princess Ariel?” Evie questions. She couldn’t believe that so much was happening all at once.

“Not Princess Ariel.” Carlos replies.

Upon hearing her friend’s response, realization soon hits Mal. “Oh no.” She whispered in a panic tone, causing for her three friends to turn their attention towards her.

“What?” Jay asks.

“Mal?”

“What’s wrong?”

“I can’t believe it.”

“Believe what?”

“I think I know where the Princess, the missing limousine, and Gil and Harry are.”

“M?” Evie questions again.

“They couldn’t have.” Jay finally pieces it together.

“I don’t understand? Couldn’t have what?” Carlos asks, still not getting it. “Where did they go?”

Mal, Evie, and Jay all look out the window that faces the sea and their former home. Carlos follows their eyes, and silently gasps in realization.

“You think-“

“They’ve gone to the Isle.”

Chapter Text

Melody was unsure of how she ended up in the exact place that she just so happened to be looking for. Was luck really on her side today?

She had walked for what felt like hours, doing her best to remain unnoticed. If people on this place were anything like the last two people she had encountered, then it definitely would be best if she remained under the radar.

Of course, she looked like a complete fool traveling around the very hot and the very humid island, wearing a black cloak that covered her head and face, just enough so no one could recognize her. Yet, the people didn’t seem to mind, they all either seemed too busy engaging in gang fights, stealing, or trying not to get any property of theirs stolen. It seemed as long as she stayed out of people’s way, then they would stay out of hers.

Unfortunately, due to circumstances she couldn’t stay out of their way much longer. When she surprisingly found herself nearly dying of hunger and thirst by the docks, she had no choice but to ask someone for directions to a nearby restaurant.

Her entire mood had completely lit up when the stranger had informed her that the only restaurant around the corner was Ursula’s Fish & Chips.

Ursula.

The sea witch.

She had made it!

Turns out that she didn’t need Harry and Gil’s help after all-

Suddenly memories of what had happened to the two boys and what could have happened to her, had the pirate not saved her, replayed in her head. She closed her eyes and sighed, she knew she was going to have to do something to help the captured boys escape.

She could leave them to fend for themselves, but she knew that she wasn’t capable of doing such a thing. It’s not what heros, “the good guys”, do. If there’s one thing she learned while living in Auradon, it’s that good people always do the right thing.

Which is why she knew that she had no choice but to. Despite the fact that Captain Hook’s son was very irritating, she wasn’t going to leave him or Gil, who had been nothing but nice to her, at the mercy of those two very frightening kids.

Looks like she had one more stop to make later, but for now, all that she was focused on was finding a way into Ursula’s lair.

-----------------

Sneaking in wasn’t hard, during her early adolescent years she had spend time sneaking into the ocean behind her mother and father’s backs. Needless to say, she was actually quite good at this.

Not to mention that there was hardly any staff attending the dining area, besides from a young girl with aqua dyed braids, who appeared to be rather zoned out as she leaned forward against the counter. Sneaking past her wasn’t such a difficult task for Melody either.

When she had walked into the isolated door on the right, she was disappointed to see that she had simply just stumbled upon a room with a huge couch and small tv.

“So much for an evil sea witch,” Melody mutters under her breath as she allowed for herself to take a quick tour of the area.

Could Ursula’s lair be elsewhere? She did she a staircase located to the left of where the kitchen door was. Maybe- she just needs to find a way to get there.

She could just hide out here until the night, when the restaurant empties and Ursula is, hopefully, asleep by that time.

If what she had heard was true, then Ursula had giant tentacles, and the last thing she needed was to get her bones crushed by them if she were to be caught. She’s sure that this villainous woman wouldn’t hesitate to kill her, especially not if she knew that she was Ariel and Eric’s daughter.

What if Morgana is here as well? Now that’s someone who would definitely recognize her instantly, and if that happens, then she’s sure gone for.

Melody had been completely focused on coming up with a plan, that she didn’t even feel herself bump into the table behind her, which unfortunately was holding a huge bottle of what appeared to be alcohol. She felt herself cringe as a loud sound of shattering glass came to be heard.

She held her breath as she awaited for the worst. She was shocked, she didn’t know what to do. Should she hide or make a run for it?

Before she could even decide what to do, the door swung open, revealing a huge sword blade being pointed towards her, causing her to let out a terrified scream.

Her eyes widen as she saw a very angry young girl standing within a good distance of 2 meters.

“P-Please don’t hurt me!” The young princess pleads, the fear was evidently noted in her voice.

She watched as the girl in front of her slowly smirked, sending a chill down Melody’s spine as a result.

“Hurt you?” The stranger taunts, unable to hide her maniacal grin. “Oh dear, after this little stunt that you just pulled, believe me: I’m going to do a lot worse than just hurt you.”

The dark haired girl’s breath quickened in fear, just how was she supposed to get out of this mess?

“P-Please.” She continues to insist. “I-I didn’t meant to-“

“Didn’t mean to what?” The girl with the bright blue braids, cuts her off. “Didn’t mean to be snooping around my mother’s stuff?” She scoffs, as she looked at Melody as if she were the most pathetically stupid person she’s ever met. “If you’re going to lie, at least try to make it reasonable.”

The princess however, didn’t hear anything the girl had said after the word ‘mother’. This only made her tremble a bit more, “Y-You’re m-mother?” She questions out loud.

“Don’t be an imbecile and try to act as if you don’t know from who you were just planning to steal from!” Ursula’s daughter spat. “Even if you couldn’t read the sign out front, you should’ve at least noticed my mother’s picture right next to it!”

Melody could only blink in response, still stunned about this girl’s revelation. If she were to figure out that she was her mother’s enemies’ child, then she’s certain that  sword would’ve been lunged deep into her chest.

“Now, I’m going to ask you again and I want you to expose your reasons for being here, if not you better get used to the idea of having only one leg pretty soon.”

“I- got lost.” Melody gulps in response. It wasn’t technically  a lie, given that she was in fact last prior to being caught.

“Do you take me for a fool?”

“It would’ve been helpful if you were..” she shrugs in response.

The princess watched as the girl’s face darkened, clearly provoked by the intruder’s words. Melody feared the worse as the girl started to slowly back her into a corner, eventually pressing  the sword she held against her neck. Fortunately though, Ursula’s daughter wasn’t pressing it as hard as the boy had pressed his dagger against her earlier.

“P-Please don’t kill me… I really didn’t mean to overstep my boundaries.”

The young sea witch gave her a sneer, “Don’t worry, I have something much more fun planned- well fun for me at least.” With that being said, she kicks the black-haired in the shins, causing for her to tumble over.

Before she could force the intruder on her feet, and make her walk the plank, a ear-piercing scream startled them both.

“Uma!” they hear from the outside, before the door is once again forced open, only this time instead of a sword, there were several slithering tentacles that appeared.

Uma huffs in annoyance, “What do you want mom,” she groans upon her mother’s arrival. Her mother always loved to ruin her fun.

“I could ask you the same thing dear,” the older woman’s low voice sends a chill down Melody’s spine, as she peeks from behind. This was the woman that had almost succeeded in ruining her parents’ lives. She didn’t seem to be as ugly as the history books had made her out to be, on the contrary, she’s a lot prettier than the statue at the local museum makes her out to be. However, she definitely looks a lot more fearsome than pretty. “What the hell are you doing in my work room?”

Before Uma could respond, Ursula slams a tentacle hard against the table once she noticed the shattered glass on the floor. If Melody had thought that this woman was angry when she walked in, well then, she was definitely much angrier now.

“You stupid girl!” Ursula harshly grabbed Uma and pulled her closer, seemingly unaware of the girl on the floor, behind her daughter. “Do you know how hard it is to get such rich alcohol on this damn place?! I had just bought this damn bottle and you already shattered it? How useless can you be!”

“I didn’t shatter your stupid bottle!” the younger girl growls in response, as she struggles to escape her mother’s grip. “And it wouldn’t be so hard if only you weren’t so damn lazy all the time!”

“What did you just call me?!” Ursula’s voice darkened. “We really need to do something about that tongue of yours, all it does is give me a headache. Here’s an idea, why don’t you clean this whole thing up before I feed your tongue to the piranhas!” She roughly releases her daughter as she threw her the broom. “And I expect a new bottle of wine waiting for me before my soap operas begin in an hour.”

“Just where exactly do you expect me to get a new wine bottle from?” Uma exclaims, feeling a sudden outrage towards her mother’s demands. “Yzma’s Potions and Liquor? That’ll take me at least 2 hours!”

“Well then I’d suggest you better get moving!”

Ursula storms out of the room, leaving her very angry daughter behind. As soon as the door closes behind the older sea witch, Melody watches in trepidation as the younger girl slowly turns to face her. Needless to say, the younger sea witch did not look too happy.

“You.” she accuses as she forces the princess onto her feet. “You did this, now you’re going to fix it!!”

“I’m s-sorry.” Melody stammers.

Uma sneers in response, “Believe me,” she says as she throws the broom at the girl in front of her. “ That you will be.”

-----------------

“What do you mean we’re not going to tell Ben?!” Evie exclaims. “Of course we have to tell him, he’s the king, he has the the right to know!”

“We can’t do that.” Mal responds as she hurriedly forces stuff into her backpack. She had a plan, well an idea , on how to handle this whole Harry-Gil-Melody situation. “He’s under too much stress right now and if we tell him, he might do something irrational like going to the Isle himself, and we all know how that turned out for him last time he was there.”

“So what are we supposed to do about the princess?” Jay questions as he leans back against one of the desks in the girls’ dorm. “Are we supposed to just wait to see if her supposed mission is a success? I think we all know that poor girl doesn’t stand a chance on her own.”

“Well technically she’s not on her own.” Carlos points out. “She’s got Harry Hook and Gil with her.”

“Do you honestly expect them to be much help?” Mal scoffs as she finishes zipping up her bag. “People from the Isle, they- we don’t help unless if there’s something in return for us.”

“Don’t underestimate us too much.” the blue haired girl responds as she gives her best friend a warm smile. “If that were true, you wouldn’t be willing to help Melody out. We all are.”

“Forgive me for not being so trusting towards the two boys who threatened to make Ben shark bait only a few months ago.”

“It doesn’t hurt to have a little faith in people.” Evie adds with a shrug.

The four friends found themselves in Mal and Evie’s room, around the time that everyone would be having dinner. They had decided to skip dinner in order to plot ways to retrieve the princess back from the dangerous land that they once called home. They knew it was only a matter of time before someone from there would recognize Melody as royalty and do who knows what to her.

She thought about her friend’s words. She knew that what she had said was right, but at the same time, Mal had doubts. If it’s not Harry who takes advantage of this whole Melody situation, then it will definitely be someone else, and she was not about to let that happen.

“So- when are we heading off?” Carlos asks, interrupting her thoughts.

Mal gives him a puzzled look, “What?”

“You weren’t expecting to go alone, were you?”

“I- well, I was actually expecting to only be accompanied by one of you. Jay, if I’m going to be exact.”

“What?”

“What about us?”

Mal sighs as she offers both Carlos and Evie a sympathetic look, “Can you imagine how nuts this place will be when they realize that a princess and six VKs are missing? Plus, I need someone to keep Ben from noticing that I’m missing before he decides to follow us back onto the Isle.”

“And just what exactly am I supposed to tell him?” Evie wonders out loud. “He’s your boyfriend M, there’s no way that he isn’t going to notice your absence.”

“Then tell him I’ve caught a very contagious disease or something? I don’t know! The point is that we can’t let him set foot on that Isle- not after what happened last time.”

“If you’re worried about Uma getting her hands on Ben again, then I’m sure you have nothing to worry about.” Carlos tells her. “She’s kind of without a crew now.”

“C’mon you and I both know that Uma’s a very troubled, misbehaved girl, and she is in fact very intimidating, but she’s not the most dangerous person on that place. No matter how murderous she tries to act, she would never kill someone just for her own pleasure. I can’t say the same for other people on that place, though.”

Jay snorts, “You’re forgetting that she almost fed your boyfriend to the sharks.”

“I never said that she wasn’t capable of killing, I just said that she wouldn’t kill just for the sake of killing.”

“You’re saying this as if you knew her well.” Carlos questions as he raises his eyebrows curiously.

“I did.” Mal smiles softly to herself. “Once upon a time.”

“Well Uma’s not the point here.” Evie curves the conversation, “The point is that there’s no way Ben will not want to see you, even if you are sick. He cares about you too much.”

“Then keep our door locked. Tell him I don’t want him to see me in such a horrible state and keep him busy.”

“Why Jay though?” Carlos couldn’t help but ask.

Jay looks at his shorter friend and puts his hand over his heart as if he were offended by his words. “Why not Jay?” he challenges.

“I need Evie to keep Ben from noticing our absence and Carlos, well I need you to keep an eye on Prince Eric and Princess Ariel.” Mal responds as if it’s the most obvious answer ever. “I mean, you seem to know them pretty well.”

“Right.”

“So, when do we head out?” Jay then asks.

“As soon as possible.”

“Which is?”

“Tonight.” Mal replies. “We’re taking one of the limousines and heading out around midnight.”

“What?!” Evie exclaims as she crosses her arms. “You can’t honestly be planning to steal another limousine the day after one was reported missing? You’re crazy if you think they won’t triple the security after that.”

“Relax E, I’ve got this all under control.”

She didn’t really actually, she was just planning to do what she assumes Melody, Harry, and Gil did: hack the system and wish for the best.

“Why don’t we just use one your mother’s spells on one of the school security guard's golf carts instead?” Jay suggests with a shrug. “Pretty sure it’ll be much easier to steal that compared to a limousine. Not to mention that it’ll be easier to hide once we’re there.”

“The problem is that magic won’t work once we’re inside the barrier.” Mal reminds him. “How are we supposed to come back if my magic won’t work?”

“I can get us one of those little devices that can open and close the barrier, from the engineer guys that work there.” Jay says.

“Can you do that?”

“Sure. I can be a pretty subtle thief in case you didn’t notice.” He tells her. “Besides, those guys love me.”

The purple haired girl feels a huge weight being lifted off her shoulders, “Then it’s settled. You get the device, ’ll get the golf cart, and we’ll meet out on the beach at midnight.”

“Sounds like a plan to me.”

With that being said, the two boys walked out of their friends’ dorm, leaving the two girls behind.

“M-”

“Evie, it’s fine.” Mal tells her as if she had read her memory. “I can take care of myself. Jay can take care of himself too. We’ll be okay.”

Evie gives her best friend a sad smile as she pulls her into a hug. “Just- be careful, okay?”

“I will.” she breathes out. “I promise.”

-----------------

“Keep walking.” Uma urged the unknown girl in front of her.  

They had been walking for about half an hour and the dark haired girl was already starting to whine. “Can’t we just take a five minute break?”

Uma’s eyes remained straight ahead as she continued to angrily walk towards their destination. “No.” she simply replies, not sparing the girl a glance.

“Three minute break?”

“No.”

“One minute?”

“Shut up.”

“Thirty seconds?!”

The young sea witch lets out a loud sigh and turns around, giving the taller girl an intimidating glare, “Do you ever not talk? Because believe me that can be arranged.”

Melody pouts, “Well excuse me for being tired, I’ve been walking all day!”

Uma turns back around with an eye roll and continues walking “That sounds like a personal problem.” she mutters.

“Are you always this mean?”

Uma couldn’t contain her laughter upon hearing the stranger’s words. “If I were really as mean as you claim, you would’ve already been the sharks’ dinner.”

Neither one of them spoke for a while and they continued to walk towards Yzma’s Potions and Liquor. The sun had already started wishing the sky a farewell and the full moon started to make her appearance known.

They weren’t far from their destination, regardless though, Uma knew that they wouldn’t make it in time if they took a break, which is why she maintained her speed and continued to force her captive forward.

Hell knows how pissed her mother would be if they really don’t make it back in time. She’d probably hand her from her feet, with her tentacles over the ocean of hungry sharks until she decided to get over her anger. She’d actually prefer that over being forced into a tank of piranhas honestly.

“You really would kill me?” a soft voice interrupts her thoughts.

“Yup.”

They’re silent again for a few more moments. The wind started to blow Melody’s cloak slightly, revealing her face to the entire Isle. Thankfully though, since the sun was going down, she doubted that anyone would be able to recognize her now.

“Can I be honest with you?” the princess speaks up a few moments later.

“I guess.”

“I don’t think you’re going to kill me.” Melody confesses, bringing the young sea witch to a halt. She knew she was playing with fire right now, but she genuinely doesn’t believe that this girl was going to kill her. Maybe it’s the blind hope that Auradon kids tend to have towards others, or maybe it was just her hoping that Ursula’s daughter would just show her mercy.

“You’re too naive.” Uma scoffs before she proceeds to continue forward.

“It’s just a feeling that I have when it comes to people.” The dark haired girl elaborates, “And what I feel right now, is that you have no intention to kill me.”

Uma laughs in response, “Well, I’ll be glad to prove your feeling  wrong in a couple of hours.” She couldn’t believe how irrational this girl was, she was tempted to slap some sense into this poor girl.

“You know what I think?” Melody insists, turns out she was just as stubborn as her mother.

Uma shakes her head without looking back at the girl, “No, and I’m not particularly interested either.”

“I don’t think you’re evil at all.” she continues, not letting the girl’s harsh words stop her. “I think you just act this way because of your mom.”

Now this really makes Uma break into a fit of laughter, “Stupid girl.” she says as she turns to give her a look of pity. “I think you’re confusing me with Mal, and believe me when I say I’m nothing like that snooty-little, witch.”

“You know Mal?” Melody’s eyes widen slightly. Maybe she should stop talking before she blows her cover.

“Unfortunately, I’ve had the displeasure to.” she replies with an eyeroll, before arching an eyebrow and looking at the girl in front of her suspiciously. “Wait, how do you know that traitor? All offence, but you don’t look like her type. She only ever hung out with that posse of wannabe villains.”

There was bitterness in the sea witch’s voice upon talking about Mal, but she didn’t want to approach another evidently sensitive topic when she wasn’t even done talking about the first. “I mean, I’ve heard of her.” She was such a horrible liar when feeling stressed, and she hoped that Ursula’s daughter wouldn’t notice.

Uma continues on the paved pathway, “Consider yourself lucky then.” she mumbles in response.

“You know I’m right though.” Melody shifts the conversation back to Ursula and her daughter. “I do believe you’re like this because of her.”

“You’re delusional girl.” she huffs but decides to not look back at her. “Unlike Mal, I’ve never made a single attempt to impress my mother. I couldn’t give a damn about what that woman thinks of me anyway.”

“You might not be trying to impress her, but you don’t want her to know that she gets to you, right?”

“I told you, I don’t care what that woman thinks of me. She’s never bothered to care for me, so I don’t either.”

“I saw you know.” Melody holds her ground. She knew that she was probably going to regret doing so, but she was stubborn, she couldn’t help it. “You can try to hide it by intimidating me or by looking unfazed, but I saw that look in your eyes once your mother left the room. They were hurt.”

“Shut up!” Uma finally snaps, turning her attention towards the stupid girl who had definitely pulled the last straw. “You’ve known me for an hour and you think you know shit about my life?!”

Melody’s eyes widen in fear, “Y-You wouldn’t be so defensive if what I said didn’t hold some truth to it!”

“You don’t know anything.” Uma growls as she pushed the princess a bit too harshly. “Now I’d suggest you keep your mouth shut until we arrive, before I decide to end your useless life here and now.”

The look on her eyes told Melody that she wasn’t kidding when she said that, so she did what was best for her and kept quiet.

-----------------

They arrived at Yzma’s Potions and Liquor around half an hour later. By that time, the sun had completely gone down. Neither of the girls had spoken a word since their last conversation, and it was probably for the best, given that it might had gave the younger girl some time to cool off.

“Okay listen up, because I don’t like repeating myself.” Uma starts as soon as they’ve come to rest behind several bushes. “You’re gonna go in there and distract that cranky old lady, while I slip as many bottles of wine into my bag. Got it?”

“W-What do I say?” Melody stammers, suddenly feeling anxious. It’s not like she hasn’t stolen before, the whole reason she’s here is due to stolen property! Still, the idea of stealing from a well established villain, doesn’t rub her the right way.

“Just do the only thing you appear to be good at: talking.”

-----------------

“Lovely day, isn’t it?” Melody exclaims as cheerfully as she could as she approached the counter, while Uma looked around the aisles.

The woman looked up from the book she had been reading called, ‘ How to Destroy your Enemies without any Magic.’ She was covered in purple fur and had freakishly long eyelashes, that Melody couldn’t tell if they were fake or not. “It’s the night.” the woman responds, looking unamused.

The princess nods awkwardly in response. For someone who was apparently so good at talking, she sure was struggling to maintain a conversation with this woman right now. “So, is that a good book?”

Yzma looks down at her book and shrugs. “Surprisingly.” she says rather bitterly. “Pretty resourceful information. If only that good-for-nothing octopus, Morgana, had written this sooner, I would’ve been Empress of the empire!”

The younger girl however, didn’t seem to hear anything past ‘Morgana.’ Her eyes narrowed at the mention of that name. “M-Morgana?” she questions.

“You know what’s not fair? Everyone always loves to call ME bitter, as if I’m the one who dedicated an entire chapter about my loathe for Kuzco.” Yzma slurs as she slammed a her shot glass hard against the counter. “That sea wench literally wrote a whole chapter about a 12 year old girl, yet I’m the bitter one! Here let me show you!”

Before Melody could stop her, the woman had flipped to that specific chapter and started pointing at the words.

“Would you look at that!” Yzma exclaims. “That bitter, old wench even included a picture of that insipid girl. It’s-It’s” her eyes darkened as she looked up at the younger girl standing there nervously. “It’s you! You’re that princess!”

Everyone in the store turned their attention towards them, looking rather puzzled. In response, Melody pulled the cloak over head.

“That princess in this book is in my shop!” Yzma yells as if it’s the best thing that’s ever happened. She picks up the corded phone and begins to dial numbers. “Wait til I tell Morgana that her precious princess is in my shop!”

Before Melody could react, a stone was thrown towards Yzma’s hand knocking the phone out of her hand, and she feels herself being pulled out of the shop.

“I asked you to do one thing and you couldn’t even do that correctly!” Uma yells angrily as she shoves the older girl harshly. “I almost got caught by that idiot Kronk, he could’ve snapped me in half if he saw I was stealing from his beloved shop!”

“S-She was drunk.” Melody tries to justify herself, still feeling quite anxious over the fact that someone had recognized her. She only hoped that Ursula’s daughter hadn’t heard what the woman had shouted.

Uma sighs in response, “Well at least I got what I came for.” she says as she swings the now-heavy bag over her shoulder. “What nonsense was that cranky old lady spitting out anyways? I heard her mention something about a princess and my Aunt Morgana?”

The older girl gives the sea witch a shrug, “I don’t know.” she lies. “She was telling me about the book your aunt wrote and just started screaming about the princess who banished her to this land.”

“I knew she was cranky and bitter, but I guess ‘crazy’ is another word to add to that list.” Uma says as she shoves Melody forward, as if telling her to start walking. “Now let’s go, you better keep quiet, I still have an hour to decide what I’m gonna do with you once we get back.”

Melody didn’t need to be told twice, due to what had just happened, she was too terrified to even think about talking at the moment.

-----------------

They arrived with a minute to spare, meaning that Ursula wouldn’t be feeding Uma’s tongue to the piranhas today.

She hadn’t decided what she was going to do with this thief just yet and didn’t have much time to either way, because as soon as she returned, her mother put her on cleaning duty.

Meanwhile, the older girl sat quietly against the front counter. It actually startled Uma how quiet the girl had become, she had grown used to her constant yapping. She would ask what’s wrong but the thing is, she doesn’t really care.

She was used to the silence anyways, ever since her crew had left for Auradon, that’s all she’s been surrounded by: silence. It’s not like she had actually liked having someone to talk to. No, of course not, this girl was nothing but irritating and really, really stupid.

She was curious about why she wore that hideous cloak though, it wasn’t even cold. This girl really was weird.

Her attention was torn from the intruder when the doors of her shop were harshly pushed open. She rolled her eyes upon seeing who it was and the older girl jumped out of her seat immediately upon seeing them, “I’m going to use the bathroom.” she quickly excused herself as she gripped her cloak tighter and ran.

Before Uma could even question what all of that was about, she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned around and saw one of the two people that she hates the most.

“I had hope you two had died somewhere along your trip.” she mutters as she pushes Scarlett’s hand off her shoulder.

“Sorry to crush your dreams love,” Scarlett smiles in response. “But like we said last time, you’ll only be able to get rid of us when we’re done with you.”

“Lucky me!” Uma exclaims, the sarcasm was dripping from her voice. “Now, unless if you’re going to help me clean this place, then get the hell out of my restaurant.”  

“Now, now dear.” Scott begins as he takes a seat on the same stool where Melody had been previously sitting, “As it turns out, we discovered some information that might pique your interest.”

“I doubt that.” she scoffs.

“I’m so glad you asked.” Scott continues as if nothing. “That limousine that showed up yesterday night, carried a messenger and a princess.”

The young sea witch didn’t deny that her interest didn’t spark just a little at the mention of a princess being within the Isle, but she didn’t show.

“We also found something that we think belongs to you.” Scarlett adds as she pulls two open envelopes from her leather jacket. “It’s from your friends back in Auradon.”

“You opened my letters?” Uma asks as she suspiciously eyes the two envelopes. Did they really think she was that dumb?

“We were curious.” Scott replies as he takes the envelopes from his sister and hands them to Uma. “You could read those later though, we’ve got more important issues to discuss.”

Uma read the two names written on the envelopes, her heart dropped upon doing so. “What the hell is the meaning of this?!” she accuses as she points at the names ‘Harry’ and ‘Gil’ written on the white paper. “Do you really to fall for this? For one, Gil doesn’t know how to read, much less write!”

The twins look at each other and shrug. “Well, they have been in Auradon for almost three weeks now.” she points out. “They weren’t bound to remain idiots forever.”

“My sister’s right.” he adds. “Besides, that’s not even our handwriting.”

Uma looks down at the writing again, she looks at the way Harry’s name was written and smiles to herself. Gil might not have known how to write, but Harry kind of did. During class hours when they were younger, they would exchange notes while the teacher would be teaching, talking about who in their class they would force to walk the plank. The y in his name was curled, just the way he always had. It was their handwriting, so does this mean that these letters really are from them?

“You can be disgustingly soft over these letters later, we’ve got greater issues here Shrimpy.”

The young sea witch tensed at the mention of that name, “What the hell do you want?!” she snaps.

“Did you not just hear my brother?” Scarlett growls. “There’s a damn princess on the loose. Here.”

“In case you didn’t know, my days of kidnapping royalty are over.” Uma says as she pushes past them, she couldn’t wait to see what her friends had written for her.

“Don’t you see? This princess could be our key to success!” Scott expresses himself my slamming his hands onto the counter. “We need to get to her before someone else does, or worse, before they notice she’s missing.”

“I’m much too occupied to go princess hunting.”

“Maybe you’ll change your mind once you realize which princess we’re talking about.”

“I wouldn’t bet my life on it if I were you.”

The twins give each other a knowing look, before Scott pulls out a folded flyer from his pocket, and places it on the counter.

“Princess Melody.” Scarlett sneers in disdain.

“Daughter of Prince Eric and Princess Ariel.”  Scott finishes for his sister. “Daughter of the people responsible for why you’re here in the first place and your Aunt Morgana’s worst enemy.”

Once again, Uma won’t admit that her interest was piqued upon hearing who it was. She slowly walks towards the counter and looks at the flyer.

Her eyes darken once she recognizes the face of the girl. Her eyes then dart towards the restrooms and back to the flyer.

That insipid girl that she had been hanging out with all day, was the daughter of her mother’s enemies, she was the girl that her Aunt Morgana hates so much, and worst of all, her parents are the reason why she was cursed to live on this damn Isle in the first place.

Because of that girl’s parents she suffered and now, oh how tempted was she to inflict that same pain on them.

Chapter Text

They were taken to their musty caverns and were forced into cells made out of what appeared to be animal bones. At least for Gil’s sake, he hoped that they were animal bones.

The twins were still very much furious with him for helping that imbecile of a princess escape. He really hopes that if she makes it to Ursula’s after all, that she might mention them to Uma, and in return, she will come to their rescue if they aren’t able to escape.

He smiles slightly at the thought of his oldest friend. Finally, after several weeks, he is within reach of her and yet he is still unable to get to her because of these idiotic twins.

He fumes at the reminder and throws one of the rocks in his cell, at the wall.

“Throwing a tantrum is useless.” he hears a feminine voice come from his right. He turns to find Scarlett smirking tauntingly at him, and if it weren’t for these stupid chains and stupid cells holding him back, he would’ve easily wiped that smirk off her face with his hook. “You should know by now, Hook. When it comes to us, the only way you’ll be able to get out of our control is when we find no use in you. And right now, you are surprisingly quite useful to us.”

The girl’s words cause Harry to scoff, “You and the rest of your kitty litter could torture me all you want, you won’t be able to make a pawn out of me.” he growls.

She seems to feed off his anger, given the huge triumphant smile that suddenly crept up her face. “See, I knew you would say that.” she tells him as she unlocks his cell and slowly walks towards him, kneeling right besides him.

He eyes her carefully and then looks at the dagger that was tucked inside one of her boots. He had a feeling of what would come next, but that didn’t mean that he was going to give her the satisfaction of seeing him suffer.

Scarlett then wraps her hand around his left wrist tightly and pulls his hook off his hand, quickly standing back once doing so. “Which is why I’ve decided to take matters into my own hands.” she chuckles at her selection of words.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?!” Harry shouts as he viciously struggled against the chains to reach for his hook. He hates it when other people touch his hook. It’s his and his only, they have no right to touch something that is his, especially not someone like Scarlett.

“I don’t think that’s gonna happen dear,” she snickers as she waves his possession over him as if he were a dog being offered a bone. “You see, you’re going to do what we tell you. Unless, of course, you wouldn’t want for your beloved Uma to get slashed to death with your hook.”

Despite his many failed attempts, he continues to struggle against the chains, ultimately failing to free himself every time, though. “You must be a fool to think that you’ll be able to overcome someone like Uma.”

Scarlett bursts out laughing again, “See here’s another thing dear, there’s only one of her, and plenty of us.” she says, unable to hide the delight from her face upon seeing the boy chained up in front of her, squirm in anger. “Your beloved captain won’t stand a chance against us.”

Harry knew that the girl made a valid point. Uma may be one the strongest, fearless, people he knows, but that doesn’t change the fact that alone, she wouldn’t survive against these lunatics. “Just what game are you and your brother playing here?”

“A very fun one, actually.” Oh, how he really dreads not being able to knock that smile off her face.

“What the hell do you want?”

Her smile only widens upon his response, “Ah, now we’re talking!” she exclaims cheerfully. “See Hook, my brother and I have a little task for you. Your idiot of a friend already agreed to it. How naive that boy is, it almost makes me feel bad for manipulating him. Almost, but not quite.”

“What the hell do you want?” Harry asks again, growing impatient at all of the girl’s yapping. He thought the princess was bad, but clearly this girl was much worse. “I don’t like repeating myself.”

“What a coincidence, neither do I, so listen up you smelly pirate.” Scarlett replies as she continues to toy with his hook, knowing well that it will only piss him off more. “I want you to write a letter. A farewell letter, to be precise.”

The anger portrayed on his face was suddenly replaced with confusion. “What?” he blinks.

“I told you I didn’t like repeating myself pirate!” she grabs his shirt with his hook and pulls him up slightly.

“I heard what you said.” he sneers, feeling uncomfortable with her proximity. This girl literally smelled like death. “I just don’t get why you would want a letter from me? I don’t even know how to write that well either.”

She releases him harshly, causing him to bump his back against the wall. “I didn’t ask for a perfect piece of literature. I asked for a farewell letter from you .”

“Now, why on earth would you want a farewell letter from me?”

“Oh, the letter isn’t for me darling.” she tells him as she paces back and forth between his prison cell. “It’s for your beloved captain, Shrimpy.”

Harry’s face darkens once he is able to piece together what they were planning to do. “No.” he growls.

“Yes.” she replies with a smirk as she kneels down beside him again, and begins to caress his face with the cold, metal part of his hook. “You’re going to write our dear Uma a letter, where you tell her how grateful you are that she sent you to Auradon. How you’ve finally found your happiness there, and how you’ve started talking to one of those Auradon princesses or princes, whichever you prefer, I honestly don’t care. All you’ve got to do, is tell her how glad you are to have left this place.”

“You’re a crazy one if you really think I would ever do such a thing, lass.” his jaw tightens just at the thought of hurting Uma. No, he won’t do that. “I refuse to do that!”

“But you shall do it!” Scarlett’s icy glare sends and an unpleasant chill down his spine. Her glare then softens to a smile, “If you refuse, then you know what fate lies ahead for our precious Uma. Your move, Hook.”

“If you dare lay a finger on her I will hurt you. Badly.”

“You still don’t get it, do you pirate?” she scoffs in disbelief. “I always get what I want. And what I want, is for you to break Uma’s heart. Just the same way Mal did.”

-----------------

Melody jumps upon hearing the restroom door being kicked open. Her breath gets shaky once she sees the murderous look that had possessed Ursula’s daughter.

Before she even has the opportunity to open her mouth, she is being pinned against the wall, with a sword pressed onto her neck. Seriously , this was the third time this happened to her in one day!

“You lied to me!” the shorter girl snarls. “What a pitiful mistake on your part.”

“W-What are you talking about?” the princess trembles.

“You said you didn’t know Mal, you lied to me!” Uma pressed the blade slightly harder against the girl’s skin. Not hard enough to cut through her flesh, but hard enough to cause her breath to quicken. “I really hate liars, you know.”

“I-I-” the older girl stammers as she tries her best to think clearly under such a terrifying situation. “How did you know?”

“What? How did I know that you lied?” she questions furiously. “Or how did I know that you are the daughter of my mother’s worst enemies, Princess Melody?”

Melody closes her eyes in defeat, she knew this was bound to happen, she had just hoped it would happen once she had gotten a hold of the healing potion, though. “Uma- I-I’m sorry.” she whispers, breathlessly.

“Sorry? For what? For lying to me? Or for thinking that I was too stupid to not find out who you really were, Princess Melody?” she growls, feeling as if she were about to release all of the bottled up anger and resentment that she felt towards the people of Auradon, onto the girl in front of her. “Or do you prefer, your majesty? Which is it, your majesty?”

“P-Please.” the princess begs as she felt as her eyes were beginning to grow heavy. “Don’t do this.”

“Don’t do what? Avenge all of the suffering and misery that your parents caused me by reviving my mother and banishing her to this hell? Avenge all the misery that your people have inflicted on mine?”

Melody couldn’t hold back her tears anymore, “Uma p-please- I have to get back to my grandpa. I-I need to save him.”

“Ah, Triton, of course.” Uma spits. “The same man who banished my mother from his kingdom early on. Remind me again why I should help you?”

“I-I have to get back to him. H-He’s dying. I need to help him.” the dark haired girl continues to beg. “Please.”

“Then tell me princess.” the young sea witch sneers. "Tell me why I should let you go? Give me one good reason why I shouldn't just kill you right now? Your mother is the reason my mother became the way she is, why should I show you mercy when yours didn’t show mine? They couldn’t let her just rest peacefully in death, no, they had to go and bring her back to life! They had to let her conceive me! My whole life, I’ve been living miserably, all because of your mother and everyone who decided to bring the deceased villains back to life! So I ask again princess, give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill you right now?"

"Because I'm not my mother.” Melody breathes out. “And you are not your mother either. They’ve made their own fate, and now we make ours."

“Fate?” Uma scoffs. “My fate was already made for me the minute I was born. I was only a couple of seconds old and I was already classified as a villain because of where I was born and who my mother was! Your people left us to a rotting land with hardly any food, full of dangerous people. I was only five and I had to learn how to defend myself because it wasn’t safe. You on the other hand? I doubt you would ever understand when you’ve spent your entire life being pampered by everyone around you!”

The older girl’s face softens a bit, “Uma- I’m sorry, I-I had no idea what it was like-“

“Of course you didn’t, no one ever bothered to pay attention to us. No one ever bothered to do something about us rotting in this terrible island!” The younger girl feels angrier at the thought, “Tell me your Majesty, what made you Auradon kids any better than us Isle kids? Why weren’t we worthy of the Kingdom’s luxuries and pampering, huh?”

The young princess closes her eyes and sighs, she can still feel the blade slightly pressed against her skin, so she makes no effort to move. She opens her eyes again and comes in contact with the sea witch’s angry eyes, however, behind all of the anger, she could see that a part of this girl, was hurt.

“Please don’t do this.” the brunette breathes out.

Uma lets out a bitter laugh, “You still haven’t given me a good reason not to.” She says.

“I know that there’s no way I could ever relate to what you’ve been through,” Melody starts, in an almost desperate tone, “But things are not all just black and white, it’s much more complicated than that. I spent more than half my life trapped behind the walls of my castle and I was miserable. Yes, I may have been ‘pampered’ and I may have had almost everything a person would want, but I wasn’t happy. My parents- they were always more concerned over keeping the truth from me than they were of me- not to mention that I was always so lonely, it has always been difficult for me to make friends- real friends, people who like me for me, not because I’m a-“

“Princess. Yes, everyone knows what you are. Who you are. And that’s what makes this a lot more irritating!” The young sea witch growls as she shoves the older girl to the ground and slams her sword against the bathroom wall.

Melody falls on her knees, her eyes wide in surprise, she was not expecting that. She looks back up at the young captain, the puzzlement was evident in her expression, “What?” She breathes out.

“I could take you to my mom, you know.” Uma mutters bitterly. “Hell, I could even kill you myself, but you’re making it really hard to!”

“I-I beg your pardon?”

The younger girl huffs, there’s a part of her that’s encouraging her to kill this insipid princess. It would be the perfect revenge against the utterly annoying Princess Ariel and Prince Eric, who her mother never stops complaining about. There’s this other part of her that’s telling her to keep the princess alive, given that she could turn out to be useful. However, there’s also this tiny part of her that just doesn’t want to kill the only person on this damn Isle that’s actually provided her with something that she hadn’t realized she was missing.

Company.

Before, she had been surrounded by people who were loyal to her, people who cared about her to a certain degree.

Before, she had Harry and she had Gil. She had her pirate crew as well.

Before, she had people to hang out with, people who she could wreck things with, steal things with, people who she could have fun with.

And although she’d never admit this outloud, having someone around for a whole day, even if it was someone as annoying as this insipid girl, she did enjoy the company to some degree.

She enjoyed just having someone be there. There’s no one who’s just there for her anymore.

Uma looks back at the trembling girl besides her and lets out a heavy sigh.

She’s not sure what she’s going to do with her just yet, but one thing that she definitely wasn’t going to do, was kill her.

Not yet, at least.

-----------------

They had made it.

They had successfully gotten ahold of what they needed, crossed the barrier, and were now standing in an empty alleyway, in the middle of the night.

The night brought the chilly air and the dark sky, which made Mal wish that could pull out her cellphone as a light source. She didn’t bring it though, it wouldn’t work here anyways.

“So, what now?” Jay asks as soon as he finished covering the golf cart that they had managed to temporarily borrow.

“First things first.” Mal says as she hands him the device that can open and close the barrier. “I need you to keep this safe. If someone else gets ahold of it, then I don’t even want to imagine how terrible things will be.”

He grabs the device from his friend’s hand and nods, “Got it.” he tells her. “I’m guessing that our next step will be to find Melody?”

“Our next step is to not get noticed.” she corrects him, “These are no longer our turfs, we are seen as traitors in this isle, if we thought Uma was angry, just imagine how much angrier other people will be, our parents for instance.”

She frowns slightly at the idea of her mom. She hadn’t realized that she had left her behind the last time she was here, in her lizard form. She had been in such a rush to escape that she didn’t remember until after all the Cotillion drama was taken care of. She wonders if she ever managed to escape? Or if the spell that she had put on her had finally worn off? That possibility might exist, given that magic doesn’t function at all on this Isle. It was then that she realized that maybe Cruella, Jafar, and the Evil Queen might not be the only ones she needs to worry about.

“So what do you suggest then?”

“We search for the rest of the night, the only people out right now should be the pirates and gamblers, who are probably drunk off their asses by now. I doubt they would recognize us.” Mal responds as she walks forward, looking in both directions, trying to figure out which part of the Isle they had landed in. “Where the hell are we by the way? This area doesn’t look familiar.”

Jay scoffs to himself, “Must be our luck.” he tells her as he points at a statue of Scar. “Seems like we’ve landed in the kitty litter.”

The purple-haired girl groans silently, “That’s like a whole day away from our destination!”

“Wait- what exactly is our destination?” he questions, suddenly aware that he hadn’t been quite informed about this part of their plan. Well, now that he thought about it they really didn’t have an exact plan anyways.

“Melody mentioned something about retrieving a rare potion from the Isle. First people who come to mind when I think about potion are Ursula, Morgana, and Yzma. But I doubt she’ll be dumb enough to face the women who almost killed her parents, so that just leaves Yzma.”

“Yeah, there’s no way we’ll make it to Yzma’s before the sun rises. We’re bound to get noticed.” he tells her.

“Then we’ll just have to sneak around, I don’t know!” Mal exclaims silently. “All I know is that we have to hurry before people start to realize that a princess is on this damn Isle, and that we’re here with a way out, to bring her back. We have no time to waste.”

With that being said, Jay nods in agreement and they both start heading towards the west cove, where Yzma’s shop stands. The two teenagers walk off, completely unaware of a very secretive Hayden, who had just so happened to hear everything that he needed to hear.

An eerie smile appeared on his face, he couldn’t wait to tell the twins about just how much their luck had suddenly improved.

-----------------

“Good morning sunshine!” Scarlett exclaims with as much sarcastic enthusiasm as she could produce, while she slided a plate of food into the blonde boy’s cell. “Eat up, wouldn’t want you to starve to death. Or actually you could, I could care less!” she couldn’t help but slightly laugh with pride.

Gil struggled against the chains that restrained him, “C-Can you take these off? They really hurt.” he asks, feeling very intimidated by the girl’s presence. He then looks at the food on the tray and slightly smiled when he recognized the food. It was from Ursula’s shop- Uma!

He suddenly remembered the promise the girl had made, “Hey! You told me I would get to see Shrimp- uh- Uma if I wrote that letter you asked me too.” he reminds her. “Can we go now, I really miss her!”

The lioness couldn’t help but want to laugh at the boy’s stupidity, he really ate her promise up. However, she contains her laughter and plasters a frown on her face. “Oh, Gil.” she tells him. “Didn’t you hear? I thought my brother had told you last night but I guess he didn’t.”

The blonde boy gives her a puzzled expression, “Tell me what?”

“About our beloved Shrimpy, Uma. We went to go see her last night, you know.”

“Really? W-Why didn’t you take me? You promised you would let me see her!”

Scarlett sighs, “We actually went to go talk to her about that.” she tells him as she she made her way inside his cell and kneeled down beside him. “We told her that you and Harry were here, that you two wanted to see her, but-”

“But what!?”

“She didn’t want to see you.” she feigns a sad expression. “As a matter of fact, she said that she didn’t want to see you ever again.”

The boy’s eyebrows furrow. That couldn’t be right? “What?” he questions, unable to hide the heartbreak from his facial expression.

“She’s very, very angry with you Gil.” Scarlett continues. “She said she had told you that she didn’t want you two to comeback, and yet you did regardless. You disobeyed your captain and now she wants nothing to do with you.”

The blonde boy shakes his head, unable to refrain the tears that were forming in his eyes. “No.” he chokes. Uma didn’t want to see him anymore. She didn’t love him anymore. No, that can’t be. “S-She would never do that- she’s my friend.”

The dark haired girl only nodded, “I’m afraid you’re wrong, Gil.” she tells him, her voice becoming slightly harsher. “In case you forgot, Uma doesn’t have friends. Seems like you were just as useless to her as you were to your own father, huh?”

He shakes his head again, refusing to believe her. “That’s not true!” he exclaims. “Uma loves me! She loves all of us, we- we’re a family-”

“Oh, but it is true.” she responds as she wipes the tears that were continuously streaming down his face. “Shrimpy doesn’t care for you. But don’t worry! I’ll make sure that your time here will be ever so delightful!”

Scarlett stands up and walks out of his cell, not sparing him a second look. She can’t help but laugh as she was locking it. She truly is the brains of this whole operation, her father will be proud when he finds out what she’s been up to.

-----------------

So she hadn’t killed her after all, in fact she had actually let her go. She’s not sure why- but she just couldn’t kill her. Maybe it’s the history and connection that exists between their families.

Or perhaps it’s the fact that the princess’ words had actually left an impact on her.

“ Because I’m not my mother and you are not your mother either.. They’ve made their own fate and now we make ours.”

She will admit that at the time Melody’s words had angered her, but the more she thought about it, the more it made her feel something.

Hope.

Her whole life she had always been just “Ursula’s daughter”, she was expected to be as cruel, as powerful, and as unapologetic as her mother was. So that’s what she strived for. From the moment she was born, she was already classified as a villain, so that’s what she became. And as it just so happens to be in every damn story, villains don’t get their happy endings, they don’t get any good fate.

Yet hearing those words, the idea that a chance for her to find happiness might be possible, brought a tiny bit of hope back to her. Maybe, she can be in control of her fate.

Uma shakes those thoughts off as she sits in her room, she didn’t want to think about that anymore. Hoping is for the weak anyways. At least that’s what she tries to remind herself in that moment.

What she does want to think about though, are the letters that were supposedly written for her by Harry and Gil. When she recognized her first mate’s handwriting, she couldn’t help but feel eager to read what her boys had written.

The first one she opens is Gil’s:

Hi Uma. I was told to write a letter so I am writing to u. I am

Having so much fun here in my new home. There are a lot of nice people and I have made some new frends. They are so cool. Thank u for letting me come here. It is so much better here than back there. I feel happy here and I do not feel stupid here too.

Oh I have to go, times up. Bye.

She puts the letter down and she tries, she really tries to feel happy for her friend, no- she is happy for Gil! That was the whole reason why she sent him over there in the first place.

For his happiness. Because he deserved better than this filth- he deserved a better life- a better friend. He’s happy, so she’s happy.

Still though, there’s a stinging sensation that she feels inside. It wasn’t the same stinging sensation that she had felt when Ben hadn’t chosen her, when he brought Mal, Evie, Jay, and Carlos to Auradon, no this was different. She felt a void. She felt as if something had just been taken from her- a friend.

Uma shakes that feeling off. She’s happy. Happy. Happy!

She ignore the feeling and picks up Harry’s letter, she couldn’t help but smile upon seeing the way he curled the y in his name. Auradon really hasn’t changed him at all. She pulls his letter out and begins to read:

Hey Uma… I don’t really know what to write, I guess you could say I didn’t really

Expect for things to turn out this way. Shockingly, I’ve noticed that I am having a

Lovely time here in Auradon. I never imagined that I would grow to love this

Place. You were right, my happiness wasn’t over there in that shitty place, it’s here.

Uma, you really were right wow. Coming her was the best thing I ever did. I’m

So glad to be here. I finally realized that there never really was anything there for me in the Isle.

I have everything that I need here in Auradon.

New friends, new hobbies, and new interests.

Classes are boring though. I mean I

Already know how to write so I don’t really see the point in me taking English. I am

Very excited to try out for some sports. I’m really looking forward to doing that honestly, I am

Especially excited to try out for fencing. Seems like I’m pretty good at that.

Well I guess I shouldn’t make this too long, I have to go. So sad that you can’t be here to see how much better life is for me, for us, here. Bye.

She wasn’t sure for how long she remained without making a single movement. She just stared at the paper in her hands, unwilling to allow for the emotions that she was feeling to play out.

It wasn’t until she felt a warm tear land on her thigh, that she was snapped back to reality. She hadn’t realized that she had allowed for a few tears escape, but instead of feeling angry with herself, she only felt that void that she described earlier, grow.

Gil’s happy. Harry’s happy too. They’re both happy. She should be happy.

No, she is happy.

At least she’s trying to convince herself that she is happy.

No, she doesn’t need to do that. She is happy.

Happy. Happy. Happy.

That’s what they are.

Happy.

The two people that she cares about most are happy. They’re happy. Happier without her.

That’s what she wanted. She wanted for them to find their happiness there. She wanted this for them because it’s what they deserved. They deserved better than this place- better than her, because in the end, she could never give them the happiness that she had promised, she failed to do that when she returned back to the Isle after the whole Cotillion mess.

No, she couldn’t offer them the happiness that Auradon could. And it seems like they’ve finally realized that too.

Despite the ache that she’s feeling inside, she smiles, as she tries to ignore the haunting thoughts the were clouding her mind, reminding her that she really is alone after all.

-----------------

Chapter Text

She could’ve left.

In fact, it probably would’ve been a smart move on her part, if she had actually left. Fortunately though, Melody has always been told that she really isn’t the brightest when it comes to these situations.

So she came back.

She had to.

She couldn’t leave, not until she found the potion that could heal her grandfather, the potion that could save her grandfather’s life.

This time though, she had to do things properly. She had been lucky and pleasantly surprised, when Uma had let her go, but that still didn’t change the fact that the young sea witch could instantly change her mind. She couldn’t risk being caught again.

This time, she will wait outside. She will wait until Ursula and Uma are asleep, and she will search for what she needs. She still isn’t sure where she’s supposed to look but at least she now knows where to not look.

The young princess can only hope that she will be successful this time. She’s already wasted enough time. It wouldn’t be long before people would take notice of her absence, if they hadn’t already, and she didn’t need for her parents to stop her from taking what could possibly save her grandfather’s life.

Not to mention that she’s sort of promised herself to go back and save Harry and Gil before she goes, so she really doesn’t have much time to waste. For all she knew, the two boys could be in real, great danger and she couldn’t just leave them, not after everything they’ve done to help her.

Melody looks up at the sun that was starting to appear larger in size, meaning that it would be setting soon. It wouldn’t be long before evening, and she had to be prepared.

She couldn’t mess this up. Not when too much was at stake.

-----------------

Word spread pretty fast around the Isle. So when people started talking about the supposed princess that Yzma had seen in her shop yesterday, one of the first people to show to interrogate her about it were obviously the twins.

When Mal and Jay had arrived at Yzma’s Potions and Liquor shop, they expected to find at least a few hungover street rats passed out on the floor, what they didn’t expect to see was the whole place completely trashed.

“Not that I expected better, but this place really is a dump.” Jay points out as they walked through the main entrance.

Before Mal could have the opportunity to respond, they both instantly noticed the chaos that was taking place across the room. The two teenagers ducked behind one of the shelves to avoid being seen by those who were responsible for the chaos.

“I’m not going to ask you again.” they hear an all too-familiar feminine voice demand from across the room. “Where the hell did the princess go?”

They watched as the older woman scoffed, “What makes you think I know of such information?” she says as she occupied herself by neatly organizing the purple and pink bottles of potions among one of the shelves. “As you can see, I’m much too busy to be on the lookout for your make believe princesses.”

Scarlett looks over at her brother as they appeared to be communicating with their eyes. She gives her brother a nod of approval and watches as the boy harshly pins the older woman against the shelf.

“Listen here you old hag,” Scott sneers as he wraps one of his hands around Yzma’s neck. “We don’t like being lied to. So, you’re either going to tell us what you saw or I could just snap your neck instead. Your choice.”

“We can’t let him kill her.” Mal whispers to her friend, from across the room where they hid from the other three isle residents. “If Yzma saw Melody, then maybe she could lead us to her.”

“For all we know she could have Melody captured.” Jay responds quietly. “How do we know she isn’t just pulling off one of her charades. Remember who we’re dealing with here.”

Mal turns back to look at the scene taking place across from them. She watches as Scott appears to tighten his grasp around the older woman’s neck. “That may be.” she admits while watching as Yzma struggles to breathe. “But we can’t let them kill her.”

Before Jay could even process what was going on, Mal had already reached out for one of the bottles, slammed it against the shelf, and had it pointed it at the twins.

At the sound of glass shattering, everyone’s attention was now on Mal. “I’m back.” she smirks at the shocked expressions that Scott and Scarlett were wearing.

“Indeed you are.” This time it was Scarlett who smirked upon seeing Maleficent’s daughter back on the Isle. “Would you look at that Scott, the witch is back.”

Scott shoves Yzma to the ground before completely turning to face the purple-haired girl. He takes in her appearance and laughs, “If I hadn’t recognized her annoying, high-pitched voice, I would have never had guessed that this was the same girl that the Isle once feared. What did they use to call her again? The Baddest of them All?” he scoffs. “Hardly.”

“Are you done talking?” Mal snaps, “Because I’m done listening.” she walks towards to them, gripping tightly onto the sharp bottle. “These aren’t your territories and if you know what’s good for you, then I’d suggest you to move along and go back to your kitty litter.”

“These aren’t your territories either, they haven’t been for a long time actually.” Scott points out. “You have no right to threaten anyone here.”

“Not to mention that your so-called threats aren’t as intimidating as they once were.” Scarlett adds, as she began to circle the girl across from her. “Seems like you’ve lost your touch, Mal.”

Mal feigns a pout, “Well, I guess we’ll just have to let my fist be the judge of that.” she says as she lunges towards Scarlett with her free hand.

Instead of feeling her fist come in contact with the dark haired girl’s jaw, she feels a hand wrapping around her fist, that was only millimeters away from Scarlett’s face.

The young lioness wore a triumphant smile on her face, “Seems like you’ve forgotten how to throw a proper punch dear,” she mocks. “How about I remind you?”

Before she even had the chance to attack Mal though, Jay had grabbed her shoulder and pulled her back. “Don’t even think about it.” he tells her before roughly pushing her to the side.

“Jay.” Scarlett acknowledges his presence with a maniacal smile. “Thought I had smelled arrogance nearby.”

“You’re one to talk.” he jeers.

“Seems like we’ve been getting a lot of interesting visitors lately, haven’t we Scarlett?” Scott says as he moved to stand besides his sister. “Fortunately for you, we have no interest in hurting you traitors. Not now, at least. So why don’t we all just avoid wasting each other’s times and go about with our business.”

“See, we might have complied with that suggestion had we not overheard your earlier conversation.” Mal replies.

“Is that so?” Scarlett raises an eyebrow. “And what exactly did you overhear, Lady Mal?”

Mal’s expression suddenly turns dark as she takes a step closer, slightly invading the taller girl’s personal space. She holds the broken glass bottle up, pressing it faintly against her neck. Scarlett doesn’t even flinch. “I think you know what I’m talking about.” she whispers while glaring at the lioness. “If you so much as think about laying a finger on her, then you’re going to find out just how intimidating I can be.”

Scarlett chuckles as she wraps her hand around the glass bottle that was pressed against her skin, and crushes it. Mal’s eyes slightly widen as she watches the blood trickles down the brunettes’ hand, who appears to be unfazed by it. “Seems like your time away has affected your memory.” she murmurs. “I thrive off a challenge, just as much as I thrive off pain. Your threats don’t scare me.”

“You’re insane.” Mal breathes out in disbelief.

“Where’s the fun in being sane, darling?”

“Just stay the hell away from Melody.” the shorter girl demands.

“No. It’s you who’ll be staying away from her.” Scarlett declares. She turns to look at Scott and nods.

“Get them.” he says.

Mal gives them a puzzled expression before she hears Jay’s groan in pain mixed with the sound of a taser. She turns and watches as her friend collapse to the ground. She looks up and sees the unfamiliar person who just attacked Jay, begin to approach her.

“Who the hell are you?” she questions as she backs up, slightly bumping into Scarlett who was blocking her from moving backwards. She then looks down at the taser in his hand and furrows her brows. “And how the hell did you get ahold of something like that?”

“Shouldn’t have left your ride unattended.” the boy taunts while smiling at her. “Found some pretty interesting stuff in there. Including this.”

Mal looks back at the twins, now she was angry. “You set us up?” she asks as realization begins to hit her. “You knew we were here all along, you knew that we would be coming here!?”

“Well you see, when Hayden here overheard that you two were coming here to retrieve the princess, we couldn’t just let that happen.” Scott explains. “No, we weren’t going to lose something so valuable. We weren’t going to make the same mistake that our beloved Shrimpy had. So, we’ve decided to eliminate you both from this game.”

“Now, if what Hayden heard was correct, our dear Princess should be headed towards Ursula’s as we speak to steal whatever potion that you two were talking about. Meaning that she’s bound to run into Uma, whom I doubt will show the daughter of her mother’s worst enemies, any mercy.” Scarlett rationalizes to herself. She then turns to face her brother. “We should get going, just in case if Uma decides to go too hard on our princess. We need her alive.”

Scott nods before looking back at Hayden, then at Mal, then back at Hayden. “Get her.” he orders.

Mal turns back and sees the red-haired boy begin to lunge himself towards her. Out of instinct, she jumps to the side and flees, which results in Hayden accidently attacking Scarlett instead, who lets out an angry scream. “You idiot!” she yells which causes him to instantly drop the weapon out of fear.

He starts to apologize, but is quickly cut off by Scott shouting, “She’s getting away! After her!”

Mal didn’t look back though, she wanted to though, she wanted to turn around and go back for Jay, but she didn’t. She knew that if she stopped running, that they would ultimately overpower her. And she couldn’t risk that. She’ll have to come back for him later.

-----------------

Midnight had arrived.

It was time. She was ready.

She used an unraveled coat hanger to pick the locks and managed to sneak in. Unfortunately for her, the shop was dark and she didn’t have a flashlight. Her only source of light was the moonlight that peaked through the windows. She waits a few seconds and allows for her eyes to adjust to the darkness, before creeping towards the stairs.

Last time she tried this, she didn’t find anything on the first floor, so she assumes that if Ursula still had a lair of potions, then it must be in the second floor.

Melody silently climbs the stairs and arrives upon a long hallway, which contained four doors. If her suspicions were correct, two of them must be bedrooms, one of them possibly a restroom, and another one could be the alleged lair.

She quietly walks up to the first door and presses her ear against the door, maybe if she heard snoring coming from the rooms, then she’d know which doors to avoid. She did that until she arrived at the third door, where she heard nothing but silence.

She moves her hand towards the door knob and attempts to open it, however, as luck would have it, it’s locked.

Of course, she could easily open it with the coathangers that she has, but due to the lack of light, it’ll probably take her a while before she can find the keyhole.

Melody closes her eyes and lets out a quiet sigh, well if I made it this far, might as well go all the way, she thinks, before she turns all of her attention on trying to unlock the door.

Minutes later, she hears a clink and she smiles victoriously. She did it!

When inside the room, she closes the door lightly and reaches out to find a lightswitch. When she turns on the lights, she is greeted by a dusty, old, room full of cabinets and shelves of books.  

She couldn’t help but feel hopeful. Maybe she could save her grandfather after all.

She takes her time to explore what she assumes is Ursula’s lair, or at least, what was of it. It looks as if no one’s touched any of this in ages.

In the room, she finds many things: seashells and seaweed in glass bottles, a variety of body parts that belonged to some sea creatures, several bottles that contained unidentified liquids, and books, lots and lots of books.

Melody wasn’t exactly sure what the name of the said potion, that she overheard her mother talking about, was. Now that she thought about it, she hadn’t exactly elaborated much about what she would do once she arrived at the Isle. To be frank, she hadn’t expected to make it this far. She had assumed that someone would have caught her before she could even think of leaving Auradon.

Yet no one had, and she’s not sure if she should be grateful for that or not. Maybe if someone had stopped her, then she would’ve had the opportunity to learn more about whatever potion she was supposed to be looking for now. Because right now, she didn’t really know what exactly she was searching for.

It didn’t make things any easier that many of the potions that were in the cabinets didn’t have any labels, what if one of them had the ability to heal and she didn’t know it.

She freezes when she hears the door opening behind her. She didn’t have the guts to turn around, she wasn’t sure if she wanted to find out exactly who had opened the door.

She hears a sigh and the sound of sword being put away, “You really seem to like putting yourself in dangerous positions.” she hears a familiar voice say.

Melody lets out a sigh in relief when she recognizes the voice and turns around, though she’s not sure if she should feel too relieved upon seeing the annoyed expression that the younger girl was wearing. “Uma.” she acknowledges her, not really sure how to explain her intrusion at this late in the night.

“I have to admit,” Uma starts as she closes the door behind her and walks a bit closer towards her, before stopping a few feet away and crossing her arms. “I didn’t expect for a princess to have any knowledge on breaking into other’s property. That’s not really a princess-y thing to do, you know.”

“I-”

“What the hell are you doing here?” she finally asks. “I don’t think you’re that stupid to come back to a place where you’d be in danger, for obvious reasons, unless if you wanted something.”

Melody clears her throat, she hadn’t realized how dry it had become, “I-I am. I mean, I do want something- need it actually.” she admits. “That’s why I came back.”

Uma hums in response, “And whatever this thing that you need is, you thought you could just steal it and get away without anyone noticing?”

The older girl shrugs in response, “I had hoped to at least. I had hoped that everyone would be asleep.”

“You’re an idiot.”

“So I’ve been told.”

Uma rolls her eyes and walks past her, to take a look at what she was doing. “No one’s been in this room in years honestly.” she tells her as she runs her fingers across the dusty tables. “So whatever it is that you’re looking for, it’s probably either too old or too moldy for you to use.”

Melody gives a puzzled expression, “So, you’re like- not going to try and stop me from stealing from your mother?”

The younger girl shrugs, “See, I was thinking about doing that earlier, but then I realized, my mom’s a bitch.” she tells her. “So, please be my guest take whatever you like, maybe that’ll get her to lay off me for a bit, while she searches for the thief.”

The princess blinks in response before turning her attention back to the potions behind the young sea witch, “So,” she begins. “You said that most of this stuff was old?”

Uma scoffs, “It’s not like any of this stuff would work here, the worst it could do is probably get some people high, but that’s it.” she says as she grabs the glass tube that contained a green liquid, “If I were to drink this potion, which is supposed to transform someone into a polyp, nothing will happen. I guess it’s both a curse and a blessing that no magic is allowed in this damn place, or I’m pretty sure my mom would’ve turned everyone into one of these for her ‘ garden’.”

“So you do know what these potions are?” Melody questions, feeling a bit hopeful upon realizing this. “Do you know if any of these could be a healing potion, perhaps?”

“In case if you hadn’t realized.” Uma gestures towards all of the body parts of the dead sea creatures, “My mom causes misery on the living, she doesn’t heal them.”

Melody furrows her eyebrows, “But I heard my parents talking about a healing potion that your mom has- or at least had once.” she says out loud, more to herself rather than to Uma.

“Then you must’ve heard wrong. My mom isn’t capable of light magic- or anything light for that matter.” the sea witch mutters the last part with a hint of sadness in her voice. It’s not like she was lying, she can’t remember a moment in her life when her mother had shown her any type of affection. “Everything about her is dark. Her magic, her attitude, even her heart.”

“Everyone is capable of being good, some just choose not to.” Melody says as she stares at all of the books that the older sea witch possessed. “She may not have had a healing potion, but that doesn’t mean that she didn’t know how to make one.” with that being said, she heads towards the bookshelf and gets a hold of several. She had come all this way for a healing potion, and she wasn’t leaving without one.

“Why exactly do you need a healing potion for?” Uma couldn’t help but feel a bit nosy, “You live in Auradon, I’m pretty sure there’s enough magic there that could cure anyone.”

“Magic isn’t really something most of us have access to over there, and someone that I love is dying because they refused to use magic to heal him. Not that they care anyway, if he dies, then that’ll leave an opening for them to appoint someone of their choosing into power.” She takes notice of the fact that she tends to rant a lot when she’s feeling distressed, and that’s exactly what she’s doing.

Uma scowls, “I don’t understand, isn’t Auradon supposed to be this place full of good people?”

“Yeah. That’s why it startled me when I realized that they weren’t planning to use magic to heal him.” Melody sighs as she opens the first spell book. “Seems like people will never change, they will always be driven by their greed and hunger for power.” she pauses for a moment as she continues to flip through page after page, in hopes of finding something about a healing potion.

“Hm, doesn’t seem that different from some of the people they call villains, here. Only difference is that they have fancy castles- or whatever, and fancy suits, while we have- this dump.” Uma ponders out loud as she walks towards the table where Melody had placed the books. “You do know that searching for one specific potion out of the hundreds that are in these books, is going to take a long time. Not to mention that my mom could wake up at any moment.”

Melody glances up at her, “I thought you didn’t mind if I took some of her things?” she questions.

“Well yeah, but if she catches me in here helping the thief, who do you think she’s going to be angrier with? You saw how she reacted to me invading her “work room”.”

“Oh, sorry about that by the way.” Melody bows her head a bit in embarrassment, “Your mom- she uh- seems-”

“Like a pain in the ass who hates everyone but herself? Except maybe Flotsam and Jetsam?” Uma interjects. “Because that’s exactly what she is.”

“Well, I was going to say mean, but I suppose that’s a more descriptive way of putting it.” Melody responds, giving her a smile as well.

Oddly enough, Uma finds herself returning that smile as well. It wasn’t a big as the princess’ obviously, but it’s the first time that she finds herself genuinely smiling after the departure of Harry, Gil, and her entire pirate crew.

It was nice to have someone else around who she could at least talk to without making her want to go into a rampage, like Scott, Scarlett, and everyone else on this Isle.

-----------------

After what felt like two or maybe three hours, the young princess had passed out while reading her fourth book, as she attempted to find this so called healing potion.

Uma had then decided to help her aunt’s most loathed enemy and the daughter of her mother’s enemies, because she knew there was no way she wouldn’t be able to find the recipe or any information for this potion, before Ursula woke up.

She tried to shake Melody awake at first, but it was obvious that the older girl hadn’t gotten any proper sleep in days, so it was a wasted attempt.

The young sea witch herself had gone through a handful of books, before she was certain that she found the said healing potion.

According to the book, it was called Medicus et Curare. “Hey, princess.” Uma lightly smacks the sleeping girl besides her, “I think I found what you’re looking for.”

After shaking her a bit more aggressively, Melody ends up falling to the floor, which ultimately wakes her up. She groans in pain as her face came in contact with the cold floor.

“Will you shut up before you wake my mom and come look at what I found.” Uma says sounding slightly belligerent.

Not that Melody seemed to mind her harsh tone, because upon hearing that the younger girl had found something, she had jolted up and sat back down beside her.

She furrows her brows in confusion, “This recipe is in Latin?” she questions, as if she wasn’t sure what language it was. She turns to look at her, “You speak Latin?”

Uma shakes her head, “Not really, but a few years ago, my mom chant some words in Latin, while she made some of the potions in the cabinets, which obviously didn’t end up working. I learned a few words while watching her do so.”

“So, can you read what the ingredients are?” the princess asks hopefully.

Again, Uma shakes her head, “I just said that I merely understood the language,” she tells her with an eyeroll.

“Then this is completely useless to me if I can’t read it.” Melody mutters as she slouches gloomily.

She feels the younger girl’s eyes on her, so she turns and finds her glaring at her. “What?”

“Are you really that dense or is it because of your lack of sleep?” the young sea witch asks, unable to hide the judgement from her voice.

“What?” Melody asks again, still not really getting what she was implying.

“Oh my god,” Uma breathes out as she shakes her head, and rips out the page that contained the recipe for the potion. “Just take the damn paper and have someone over at Auradon translate if for you!”

Melody nods before pausing and giving her a puzzled expression, “What if I don’t have the ingredients necessary for this potion? What must I do then?” she questions.

“I mean, I doubt you’ll have trouble finding them.” the younger girl tells her. “My mom would use her environment for ingredients, so I think you’ll be alright.”

Melody smiles at her again and attempts to pull her into a hug to show her gratitude, but Uma instantly backs away. “Yeah, I know that hugging is a thing you people probably do a lot of in Auradon,” she says. “But here on the Isle we don’t so.. we’re not doing this.”

“Well, I suppose I don’t have to hug you to show how thankful I am for you helping me, Uma.” she smiles again. “Really I appreciate it.”

Uma just nods in response, not really sure how to respond. She’s aware that people tend to say things like ‘you’re welcome’ or ‘no problem’, when being thanked, but no one ever really did on the Isle. “Well, get out.” she says bluntly. “We both need to get out actually, before my mom wakes up and decides to feed us to her piranhas.”

With that being said, they both do manage to leave the room, not really bothering to put anything back, because like Uma had said, she wouldn’t mind the idea of her mom’s attention being elsewhere.

Maybe if Ursula were to be more focused on searching for a thief, then she wouldn’t constantly be on her daughter’s back.

They had made it down stairs to the chip shop, when the front doors suddenly flew open, “I’m telling you Morgana, I haven’t seen any princess around so why don’t you quit bugging me and go back home!”

The two girls froze as the lights turned on and her mother and aunt walked in through the front doors. Melody instantly turned around to hide her face upon seeing the woman who had manipulated her when she was twelve years old.

The two older women stared blankly at the girls in front of them, “What the hell are you up to?” Ursula asks her daughter, as she takes notices of her suspicious behavior. “And who the hell is that?”

“Mom. Aunt Morgana.” Uma acknowledges, “What are you doing here?”

“I’m here to visit my dear family.” Morgana chirps as she rolls her eyes, “What does it look like I’m doing, I’m here because of the rumors that have been circulating the Isle, about the presence an old friend of mine. Which by the way, have you-”

“Would you shut up?” Ursula cuts her sister off, before turning her attention back to her daughter, “Now, I asked you a question Uma, two actually, are you going to give me some answers or should I force them out of you?”

Uma crosses her arms, “We’re going out, there’s a gang fight taking place at the docks.” she tells her as she nudges the princess besides her, who was still facing the other way. “Let’s go.” She attempts to walk around her mother and aunt, only to be blocked by her again.

“Mom!” she whines in annoyance, “It’s not like you’ve cared before where I’m off to, why now?”

Ursula ignores her daughter and points at the brunette behind her, “Who is she?” she asks suspiciously.

“You never cared for any of my previous acquaintances before either.” Uma reminds her as she attempts to walk past her again. “We’re going.”

They were so busy arguing between each other that they hadn’t noticed that Morgana had slithered a bit closer to the stranger, who she had suddenly become intrigued with. “Say, you look familiar?” she notices as Melody turns around again. “Are you from across the Isle, as well?”

Melody could only shake her head, not daring to mutter a word.

Morgana though, is certain that she knows the young girl from somewhere, she can feel it, so she continues to interrogate. “You sure? Because I could’ve sworn I’ve seen you before.” she tells her. “Let me look at you again.”

This time, before Melody could react, she grabs her by the shoulder and turns her around. Upon being swung around, the princess covers her face with her hands.

The older sea witch’s eyes turn dark in realization, as she looks over at her niece and sister, “It’s her, isn’t it? You thought you could keep her to yourself, huh?”

Ursula gives her puzzled expression, “What on earth are you babbling about now woman?” she snarls.

In response, Morgana tears the princess’ hand off her face and turns her around to face her sister. “It’s her!” she exclaims eagerly. “Princess Ariel and Prince Eric’s precious daughter!”

Before her mother could even react, Uma ends up flipping over one of the shop’s tables, which startles the two older women for a bit. “Run.” she tells Melody, which seems to snap her out her daze, because soon enough, they were both dashing right out the doors, with the two older sea witches right behind them.

“Uma!” she heard her mom scream from behind, loud enough to wake up the entire isle, but she continued to run, knowing that her mother wouldn’t hesitate to hurt her way worse than she ever had, if she got caught.

She knew that it would only be a matter of time before they would outrun them, given that the two older women had eight tentacles that would slow them down. For once, Uma was grateful that she had feet instead.

Soon enough, they did manage to avoid experiencing Ursula’s wrath. They had escaped the two evil sorceress, for now, at least.

-----------------

“I can’t believe you let her escape!” Scarlett exclaims as she throws a still-passed-out Jay into a cell right next to Harry’s, who had been asleep, until he heard all of the commotion. “Enjoy your new neighbor, pirate.” she hisses at him before turning her attention back to Hans’ son.

“Me? You two were literally inches away from her, it was evident that she would run after seeing what we did to him, didn’t it occur to you to at least hold her down while I zapped her?” the red-haired boy huffs in annoyance. The whole trip back, they hadn’t shut up about how he was to blame for Mal’s escape.

“Just shut the hell up!” Scarlett snaps at him as she throws the keys to the cell, onto a nearby table. “We can’t let her get to the princess before us, ugh that bratty girl always ruins everything!”

Scott nods in agreement, “Not to mention that if she happens to come across Uma, then she’ll know that they’re here to.” he whispers as he glances over at Harry who was now looking back and forth between the three of them and the passed out boy in the cell right next to his. “There’s no way that she won’t come for them once she finds out.”

“Well, given that Mal and Uma are not exactly on the best terms, I doubt they’ll even want to cross each other’s paths, so that’s not one of my biggest concerns.”

Hayden clears his throat to get their attention and gestures towards the dark-haired boy, who was trying to listen to what his captors were discussing.

Scarlett snarls at him, “Mind your own business pirate!” she says as she throws a rock at his cell.

“Oh, I’m sorry.” Harry growls in response, “It’s not like I could go anywhere else to give you three your privacy now, can I?”

Scott rolls his eyes as he leads them towards a more secluded area in their caverns. “I’m going to enjoy killing him when the time comes.”

“Well, why the hold up?” Hayden questions. “Why not do it now, before Shrimpy realizes that we have her pets all chained up?”

“I told you to shut up, I don’t want to hear your voice right now!” Scarlett says nastily at him, before turning her attention towards her brother.

“He does have a point though.” Scott crosses his arms, “Why waste anymore time with keeping them alive? It’s not like they’re no longer useful to us? We got them to do what we wanted.”

The black-haired girl hums as she looks back and forth between the cells that held Harry and Gil. “Because we aren’t going to kill them.” she tells them.

The two boys look at her as if she has just lost her mind, “What?” Hayden questions.

“What the hell are we going to do then?” Scott disputes. “Let them go? Scarlett, you can’t be serious?!”

She smacks him in the arm in response, “Don’t be ridiculous, over my dead body those two go free again.”

They both give her a puzzled look, “What are you planning to do with them, then?” her twin brother asks.

“Like I said, we aren’t going to kill Harry or Gil.” Scarlett responds with a maniacal smirk forming on her lips, “We aren’t going to be the ones to kill them because Uma is.”

Chapter Text

There comes a point in time when one eventually has had enough.

That’s the point, that Harry finds himself in that night. There was clearly something off about everything at the moment.

For instance, it’s been over a day since he heard that the twins had delivered the letters that they were forced to write, to Uma. Had she not gotten his message? Had she really believed that he was really happier in that place? Could she really believe that he would be happier in a place without her?

Or did she not care enough to look through his letter properly? What if she really was working with Scott and Scarlett, and she knew they were trapped here the whole time, yet did nothing to rescue them?

He shakes his head at that thought.

No, Uma wasn’t like that. She wouldn’t just abandon them like that, not after everything they’ve been through. They were a team. They were, like Gil had said, family.

Something was wrong.

Something about whatever the twins and their puppets’ were planning just didn’t rub him the right way.

Harry had gotten that feeling while they were whispering, clearly pissed off, earlier that night. He hadn’t heard much of what they said, but clearly they were arguing.

He had also caught them glancing up at him several times as they spoke and he thinks he has a pretty good idea of what they were talking about.

They’re planning to get rid of them, whether if it’s to let them go or kill them, the point was that they were no longer useful to their plot. And he highly doubts that the twins were the type of people to just let him go unharmed, no, they were planning to literally get rid of them.

It was then, that Harry decided that they had to escape, they couldn’t stay here any longer and wait for their death date to arrive. No, he had to leave, he had to get to Uma and warn her about the people that she’s supposedly working with. They can’t be trusted, she has to know that.

Harry picked up a few rocks that were in his cell, and started tossing them at him. It had been a few hours since he brought into his cell, unconscious, he should be waking up sooner or later. He hopes it soon rather than later, because he doesn’t want to risk not being able to talk to him, in case if one of the twins or Hayden decided to move him to another cell once he woke up.

No, he had to speak with him. If he was going to escape, he couldn’t do it alone. He needed help. If he had Gil nearby, then maybe they could’ve escaped earlier, but of course, things didn’t turn out that way.

He’s not even sure where his friend is actually. He assumes that they shouldn’t be too far away, given that every morning he hears Scott getting annoyed with the blonde boy whenever he hands him breakfast that Gil clearly doesn’t like.

He continues to throw a variation of rocks over at the passed out boy, until finally one of the larger rocks hits him on his stomach, which ultimately causes him to groan in response. “What the hell,” he mutters as he clutches the same spot where he had just been hit.

“Keep your voice down, would ya mate?” Harry sneers at him in a low, yet audible voice.

Jay slowly begins to sit up, as the memories from earlier instantly kick in. “Mal?” he almost shouts in realization, “Hayden. Scarlett and Scott. Did they get her too?”

Harry looks around and shrugs, “Well given that I haven’t heard any annoying, high-pitched, screams, I’d say the lass managed to get away.” he tells him.

It’s as if at that moment, Jay seems to realize who he was talking to, “Harry?” he questions. “What the hell are you doing here? Where’s the princess? Is she in here-”

“Relax mate,” Harry cuts him off. Clearly, being tazed has left the long-haired boy, in quite a puzzled state. “She’s not here, she got away before the two kittens could get her. I’d say she’s doing a good job at hiding as well, it has been about four days since we’ve arrived and they’ve yet to find her.” he pauses and lets out a chuckle, “Those two would’ve never been fit to be pirates, let me tell you that.”

“That or maybe someone else has gotten a hold of her?” he wonders out loud.

Harry shrugs, “Doubt it.” he responds. “If it had been like that, then I’m pretty sure they would’ve used her already to blackmail the royals from Auradon.”

“Well, what if they don’t recognize her and hurt her instead? She isn’t the brightest when it comes to handling people.”

“She’s a princess from Auradon.” the short-haired brunette, reminds him. “Believe me mate, she’s pretty recognizable.”

Jay sighs as he runs a hand through his hair, “Why did you bring her here, man?” he asks in disbelief. “This isn’t a place for people like her, you should know better.”

“Woah, woah there!” Harry interrupts him. “I didn’t bring the lady here, it was her who sought us to accompany her here! This was all her plan.”

“Still, you should’ve come to us and told us what she was planning.”

“Well, this might come off as a surprise for you,” The young pirate starts off sarcastically, “but I couldn’t care less about what kind of trouble she was getting into. If she was going to walk into her own death trap, then who am I to stop her.” He stops speaking for a moment as he tossed another pebble towards the other boy’s cell. “Besides, she offered me a way out of that place, so once again, who am I to refuse such an offer?”

Jay huffs, “If you wanted to leave Auradon so badly, then believe me, we would’ve sent you back in a heartbeat, you didn’t have to help her steal property and basically help her walk into her own ‘death trap’.”

Harry scoffs, “Please, do you honestly believe they would’ve sent me back after knowing where my loyalties are?” he says. “They probably would’ve thought that I was there to gather information to help the villains break out of the Isle or something like that.”

“Well, I suppose none of that matters now anyway.” Jay sighs as he stands up, lucky for him, neither Scott or Scarlett had thought to chain him to the wall, they literally just pushed him in and locked the cage. “What’s done is done and now we’re being held captive by two maniacs.”

Harry snaps his fingers as he remembers the reason why he woke Jafar’s son in the first place, “See now that’s what I wanted to talk to you about before you started blaming me for the princess’ bizarre actions.”  he whispers as he looks around to make sure that none of goons that worked for Scott and Scarlett, were around. “We need to escape. I don’t think they plan to keep us alive for much longer.”

Jay looks around as well, as he walks closer towards Harry’s cell. He furrowed his eyebrows as he thinks about what Captain Hook’s son just said. “Wait, so you said you’ve been here for four days and you’re just now thinking about escaping?” he questions as he shakes his head. “I’m disappointed in you Hook, you weren’t one to let a couple of chains hold you back before.”

Harry rolls his eyes, “Right, well you see.” he gestures towards the corner of his cell, that was right besides Jay’s. There in that corner, was his Hook, where Scarlett had thrown it after removing it from his hand the last time she paid him a visit. It really was a torture for him to not be within reach of his possession. “If I could, I would’ve picked the locks with my hook and be out by now, but they’re kind of out of my reach!” he says bitterly.

The long haired boy attempts to reach for the young pirate’s hook, as he stuck his hand through the bars. He can barely reach it. “I can’t reach it.” he tells him as he tries to further stretch his arm. Ultimately, the hook was just too far.

Harry groans in response, “So much for that.” he mutters, angrily.

Jay eventually stops trying and sits down, with his back against the wall. He watches as the boy across from him, continues to angrily throw rocks of different sizes across the his cell.

For a moment, neither of the boys said anything, as they continued to think of ways to break out of this place. Not only wasn’t it the most comfortable of places, but they had people that they cared about out there, who could be in danger right now. They needed to get to them.

The only sound that there was, was of the rocks and pebbles that Harry found himself throwing with more and more force. It wasn’t until he ended up hitting one of the bars, which caused a really loud sound, that an idea came to Jay.

“That’s it.” he says to himself as he stands up again and heads for the hook again. “Hey Harry!” he loudly whispers, to get the boys’ attention. When Harry looks up at him, he continues speaking. “The rocks. Try throwing them at your hook, see if you can push it closer to me a bit.”

Harry raises an eyebrow in response, he doesn’t quite trust that this would work, given that the rocks aren’t that big, but he does so anyways. He doesn’t reply back, but instead, he begins to shoot the rocks towards his hook, hoping he could at least get it to move.

-----------------

Uma had led them to one of the caves by the shore where they would hide out for the rest of the night, she wasn’t exactly planning to go back tonight at least. Her mother and aunt would most likely kill her for helping the ‘enemy’.

No.

Melody’s not her enemy.

She isn’t her mother or her Aunt Morgana, she’s Uma. What happened between her mom and Melody’s parents, is between them. Not between her and the princess.

“So, when do you plan on heading back?” Uma asks as soon as she finishes starting a small fire for them to keep them warm for the remainder of the night. “To Auradon, I mean.”

Melody looks up from the crumpled paper in her hands and shrugs, “I don’t know.” she answers truthfully. “I still have some business to take care of before I head back home.” She wasn’t sure if she should mention that she was going to try and help Harry and Gil escape from wherever Scott and Scarlett were keeping them. It’s not because she didn’t trust the young sea witch, but because she isn’t sure if Uma was friends with the twins or working with them at least, given that she had seen them walk into her shop about a day ago.

The younger girl gives her a puzzled look, “What kind of business could you need to take care of?” she scoffs. “You said you’ve been here for a few days, you couldn’t have possibly made some enemies by now?”

Melody shrugs, “Apparently I did.” she responds. “I just hope that I can take care of it before I head back. I would hate to feel guilty if I didn’t do something about it.”

“Do you want me to take care of that business for you?” Uma offers. “My hand’s about healed already and I’m pretty good with a sword.”

Melody gives her a smile, “No thank you.” she tells her. If she was working or friends with the twins, then she’d probably not be interested in helping her. “I’ve troubled you enough already. Besides, it’s my fault so I should be the one to deal with it.”

Uma nods in response, before turning her attention at the fire in front of them. She heard that people in Auradon would make fires like these for fun, when they would go camping. Here on the Isle though, most people made these fires to survive the cold, blanket-less nights, they made fires to cook their meals, because most of them couldn’t afford to pay for electricity. There were other much more dangerous reasons that fires were made as well, but they were never really done for fun. She wonders what that must be like.

“How are things over there?” the young sea witch finds herself asking. “In Auradon?”

Melody seems a bit taken by surprise by her question before smiling a bit. “It’s a happy place I suppose,” she tells her. “But that doesn’t mean that everything there is perfect. There can be some very nice people there, yes, but there can also be some really mean people. Seems like for me, I’ve had the misfortune to deal with a lot of mean people.”

“So being a princess doesn’t come with it’s special privileges, I would assume?”

The older girl shrugs, “I suppose it could, but it’s like I hardly have any say in my life.” she replies. “It’s as if everything’s already planned out for me. I have responsibilities, I have to act a certain way, dress a certain way, doing things that ‘royals’ do, I guess.” She pauses for a moment and sighs. “Before the person that I care about was hospitalized, my parents were already trying to help me find my ‘true love’. They say it’s the most beautiful thing that one could experience, but I-I don’t think I’m ready for that.”

Uma lets out a small laugh in response, “What about making your own fate?” she reminds her. “You don’t have to find your Prince Charming yet, you know.”

“I don’t know.” Melody breathes out. “Every girl in my class is constantly talking about scoring dates with some of the princes’, but to be honest, I don’t think a prince is my happy ending.”

Uma nods, “I take it that princes’ aren’t your type?” she reasons. “Do you prefer the average boy, then?”

“That’s the thing,” the young princess says as she begins to fondle with her hands nervously, “I’m not sure if it’s boys that I prefer at all.”

“Oh. That’s cool.” Uma nods, finally understanding what the older girl was trying to say. “I mean, I don’t blame you. Boys are a mess and really complicated.” she says as she throws a chip of wood into the fire, a bit too harshly.

Melody gives her a puzzled look, “Why do you say that?” she asks curiously.  

The young sea witch laughs in response, “It’s quite ridiculous, to be honest.” she tells her. “You’ll probably laugh when I tell you.”

“I won’t.” the princess tells her sternly. She wasn’t one to laugh at other peoples’ misery. Only when they deserved it maybe.

“It’s just-” Uma starts, not really sure how to put everything that she’s been thinking and feeling into words. She really wasn’t one to talk about her feelings either. In fact, if this would have been any other time, then she would have most likely smacked herself several times, for even thinking about doing such a soft thing.

Huh, is this what happens when you hang out with an Auradon Princess for too long, she wonders to herself.

She looks up at the dark-haired girl, who was looking at her attentively. She was clearly waiting for her to elaborate.

She sighs in defeat, what the hell! It’s not like she was opening up to someone from the Isle, she won’t mock her for sharing what’s been bothering her. In fact, she’s certain that Melody would probably applaud her for doing so.

“There’s this someone, who before he left the Isle to live in Auradon.” Uma begins again. “He did something, that has left me feeling confused for- well, ever since he left.”

“Oh?”

“He kissed me.” She admits as she closes her eyes, as if it were painful to say those words out loud. “Twice. And now, I don’t know what to do, because recently I got a letter from him, and he talks about how much better his life is over there in Auradon, and about how there was nothing here in the Isle worth coming back for. That’s what makes everything a whole lot more confusing for me. Because if there’s nothing here for him to come back for, then why did he kiss me in the first place? Or did I mean something to him once, but now I don’t?”

Melody’s eyes widen a bit at the revelation, she was planning on offering the younger girl some advice, but she just realized that she doesn’t really have much of a clue about what goes on in the mind of a teenage boy either.

She analyzes what she had just been told, in her head. “You said he wrote you a letter?” She questions. “How odd, I didn’t know the council allowed for people in the Isle and Auradon have this kind of private communication. Usually whenever people communicate from here and there, it’s via FaceTime.”

Uma shrugs in response, “Yeah, we video chatted once about two weeks ago, but they never called me again and then I got the letters.” She tells her. “I guess he didn’t have the courage to face me after everything that’s happened. I mean, I wouldn’t either to be honest.” She pauses and lets out a sigh. “I don’t know, this is just all so complicated. I miss when things didn’t use to be like this, I missed us just having fun, not really having to worry much about feelings.”

Melody gives her a sympathetic smile, “Love is inevitable, Uma.” She replies. “It can’t be avoided, no matter how hard you try to. It’s like-“

“Woah, woah!” The younger girl immediately cuts her off upon the hearing the mention of the word of ‘love’, “I am not in love with him! No. That’s something that’s not for me, believe me.”

“Everyone needs a little love in their lives.” The young princess points out.

Uma scoffs and shakes her head, “I don’t even know what love is,” She says. “So I think I’ll be pretty good without it. Besides, someone once told me that love is weakness, and honestly after experiencing all of this, I don’t think I even want to know what it is.”

Of course, the person who told her that was Mal, and she’s clearly not following that rule herself. She’s left that mindset behind and is currently probably enjoying her ‘happy ending’ with King Beast Jr.

“So you’re just going to ignore your feelings then?” Melody asks as she furrows her brows in response.

“What does it matter? It’s not like I’ll ever see him again.” She breathes out. “Maybe, that’s what’s best.”

Melody hums quietly, as if an idea had just occurred to her, “You know, why don’t you just come back to Auradon with me?” She suggests. “Maybe if you did, you would be able to confront whatever it is that you’re feeling?”

Uma couldn’t help but laugh upon hearing that suggestion, “Auradon is not a place for me.” She tells her.

“Well, why not?” Melody questions. “It’s not like you’d be the first VK to arrive there?”

“Because I’m too dangerous.” The young sea witch replied flatly, as she recalls the wave of emotions that she had felt when literally every single member of her pirate crew had gotten an invitation except her. It’s true, she was too dangerous according to them. She had been the one in charge of kidnapping their beloved king, not to mention that she also spelled him to make him fall in love with her, and almost sunk the entire cotillion ship.

The young princess stares at her for a moment before turning her attention back to the fire. “I don’t believe that.” She tells her. “If that were true, you wouldn’t have helped me the way that you did. If there’s one thing I’ve learned while being on this Isle is that yes, there are in fact a lot of dangerous people here, but there are also people here, who in desperate times are forced to settle for the fate that has been given to them.”

Uma smiles slightly in response as she shakes her head slowly, “Still,” she objects. “It has been made clear to me that Auradon simply isn’t a place where I would fit in, this is my home.”

“Well, I’ll still be here in town for another day or so, hopefully, if you decide to change your mind, then come look for me.” Melody tells her with a warm smile.

The younger girl only nods in response, but she doubts it’s something she’ll actually do.

They both stay silent for another few minutes, before Uma notices that the older girl’s eyes were beginning to grow a bit heavy.

“You should sleep.” She tells her. “I can tell you haven’t gotten much of that since you’ve arrived.”

Melody nods, “I will.” She says as she prepares herself for a much needed rest. Before she closes her eyes though, she looks up at Uma one last time and tells her, “Thank You.” And they both knew that there was a lot more to that ‘thank you’, than one would think.

-----------------

When Mal arrived at Ursula’s Fish & Chips the next morning, she found the whole place in total chaos.

Ursula was literally screaming at anyone who decided to walk within four feet from her, demanding to know where her daughter “The traitor” was.

Meanwhile Morgana, Ursula’s sister, was slithering from civilian to civilian, asking them in a rather harsh way, if whether or not they had seen the young princess, who was selfishly taken by her traitor niece, as she claims.

Upon hearing what was going on, Mal finds herself going into panic mode.

If Uma had Melody, then that must mean that she knows who she was, which could mean that the princess might actually be in danger!

Immediately, Mal sprints away to the only place that she can think of, where the young sea witch would keep captive a royal.

That so called pirate ship of hers might be the place where she could be holding Princess Melody hostage, it had been the place where she once held Ben captive, so who’s to say this won’t be the exact same place where she’s keeping the young princess?

As she was dashing to the now mildly busy streets, many people were starting to take notice of who she was. She heard whispers surround her as she ran through.

She must’ve ran for a couple of minutes straight, because she soon found herself growing a bit dizzy, that she hadn’t paid much attention to her surroundings; because the next thing she knew, she bumped into someone else, causing for her to topple that person to the ground.

“Sorry, I-“ Mal starts to apologize, before a familiar voice interrupts her.

“What the hell?” She hears the girl who fell right beside her exclaim, “Watch where you’re going you- no.”

Mal finally looks over to the side and scoffs once she realizes who she had just crashed into. “Unbelievable.” She mutters in disbelief.

“What the hell are you doing here, witch?” She hears the girl ask angrily.

Uma.

Of course.

Mal sighs, “Well, ain’t fate a bitch?” she says, before standing up, prepared to face whatever was in store for her next.

-----------------

“That’s insane!” Hayden exclaims for what seems to be the millionth time already. Scott nods in agreement. He had to admit that out of their plans, this one seems to be the most unrealistic one that his sister has come up with.

Scarlett resists the urge to roll her eyes at how slow the two boys were. “Believe me, it’s really not. I’ve had this well planned out for a good while now.”

“Well, mind clueing us in on it, sis?” Scott asks, feeling a bit irritated at the thought that his sister and partner, was out there making plans on her own, without consulting him about them. “How exactly do you plan on convincing Uma to turn against those two?”

“Simple.” The dark-haired girl says as a wicked smile appears on her face. “With magic.”

The two boys give each other a glance before turning their attention back on the maniacal twin, “Uh, there might be a bit of a problem there.” Hayden points out, unsure if whether or not he should continue speaking upon seeing the darkening eyes of the girl in front of them. They were in Uma’s ship, awaiting for her arrival, given that they hadn’t seen her when they went to Ursula’s shop earlier that morning. They figured she was probably hiding out from her pyscho mother out here, but that clearly wasn’t the case at the moment. “We don’t even have magic. Not here or in Auradon!”

The red-haired boy feels himself let out a breath in relief when he watches as the girl’s eyes suddenly soften, as she chuckles lightly upon hearing what he had just said. “Trust me dear, that won’t be a problem.” she tells him as she leans back against the ship. “Not when you can enact a curse on an entire kingdom, where Uma will be once she helps invade Auradon with us.”

“A curse?” Scott questions as he raises an eyebrow up suspiciously. “Please elaborate a bit further? How exactly is a curse going to help your plan?”

“Make no mistake boys,” she begins as she pulls out a folded paper from her back pocket and shows it to them. “This isn’t your basic Maleficent and Evil Queen’s curse that was created to put their enemies into a death-like sleep for all eternity. No, this is something much more entertaining. This is an ancient curse that I read about a while back, The Curse of Shattered Perception.”

“The Curse of Shattered Perception.” Hayden repeats the words and takes a moment to thing, before shaking his head and continuing, “Nope, never heard of it.”

This time, Scarlett couldn’t resist the urge to roll her eyes at his stupidity. “Of course you haven’t, you idiot.” she scoffs. “This is something only people with brains can handle.”

“So, what exactly does this curse do?” Scott then questions, ignoring the his sister’s judgmental comments.

The dark-haired girl clears her throat before proceeding with her explanation, “Once the Curse of Shattered Perception is enacted, it will literally shatter the perception of those that are affected by this curse. The people that they love and care about the most, will become the people they loathe the most.” She couldn’t help but smile as the chaotic image played in her head. “They will become the biggest threat to the people they care about the most.”

Her brother smiles deviously as well, as soon as realization begins to hit him. “So if Uma is one of those people affected by the Curse of Shattered Perception, then she will have nothing but desire to kill that pirate.” he concludes. “She’ll have no choice but to kill him.”

“Now you’re getting it, brother.” she smirks in response before glancing between the two boys. “The way to completely darken our beloved Shrimpy’s soul for good, is to get her to kill those she cares about.”

Scott’s smile only grows wider, “And when she does that, her soul will become completely dark, meaning that she will seek more destruction and more power.” he says, his eyes widening at the pleasant thoughts.

“And with her power on our side, we’ll be unstoppable.”

Chapter Text

People in the streets started to take notice of the scene that was unfolding in front of them.

Their eyes were glued on the newly-reformed VK and the maniacal VK, who was ‘ too bad’ to be offered a chance for redemption, as they awaited for what they hoped to be a face-off.

“Didn’t expect to see you back so soon, Mal!” Uma refrains from sneering at the girl in front of her. “What’s the matter? The life of a princess is too much for you?”

“So nothing’s changed.” Mal ignores her previous questions as she rolls her eyes. “Always meddling in other people’s business.”

The young sea witch feigns a hurtful expression, “But I was only asking?” she replies with an innocent shrug.

Mal scoffs and shakes her head, “Well, if you must know, I’m here looking for someone.”

It doesn’t take long for Uma to realize who she was talking about. Uma hums slightly as she nods, “Huh, well good luck with that.” She says before walking past her. Last time she had seen Melody, she said that she had some unfinished business here, and if the purple-haired girl was here to take her back, then she wouldn’t have time to deal with whatever it is she so desperately wanted to do.

Mal eyes Uma suspiciously before turning around to follow her, “That’s it?” She asks in disbelief. “ Good luck with that ? You’re not going to like- keep interrogating me? Or try to get in my way like you usually do?”

“Now why would I do that?”

“Because you’re Uma!” She exclaims as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. “You love to pull these stupid pranks on me and we love to compete with each other to see who’s the superior one, not to mention that you never miss an opportunity to challenge me in any way!”

Uma scoffs, “Things have changed, Mal.” She tells her as she attempts to walk away again, but is once again stopped by the girl’s hand pulling her back. “What do you want?”

“The truth.” Mal says as she gripped Uma’s arm to ensure that she wouldn’t escape. “I think you know why I’m here, or more specifically who I’m here for, so why don’t you just spit it out already?!”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Uma tries again. “Now get your hands off me.” She snarls as she tries to yank herself free from the purple-haired girl.

“Stop lying, I know you have Melody.” Mal tightened her grip around the girl’s arm. “Now I want to know where you’re keeping her hostage.”

This time, Uma succeeds in yanking her arm free from the shorter girl, “Why don’t you mind your own business and let me be? I have places to be.” She sneers.

Before Uma could walk away again, Mal reaches out once again and pulls her down, causing for the young sea witch to fall on her back. Mal is quick to put her foot on Uma’s stomach and presses slightly. “I’m not going to ask you again, where the hell is she?” She growls.

Uma couldn’t help but let out a laugh as she fell on the ground, “Is that all you got?” She breathes out. “I told you, I don’t know where the princess is!”

Mal adds more weight to her foot, “Stop lying. I literally just saw Morgana and Ursula interrogating people, asking where ‘her traitor niece’ who ran off with the princess, was.”

“So what? That doesn’t mean I know where she’s at!” Uma exclaims.

The shorter teen’s eyes narrow as she studies the girl beneath her suspiciously. They were both too caught up with glaring at each other, that they hadn’t noticed the people in the distance, who had stopped doing their daily activities and were now focused on them only.

“And for the record.” Uma begins as she reaches out for the girl’s hand, and forcefully pulls her down, causing her to let out a small yelp as her shoulder landed on the hard concrete, right besides the Uma. She instantly sits up and wraps her hand around Mal’s neck, forcing her to look up at her. “Just because I don’t have my sword with me, doesn’t mean I can’t throw a good punch either. Now leave me alone Mal, and believe me, this will be the last time I ever let you step all over me.”

Mal understood the double meaning behind her last few words, she knew what her former nemesis was referring to.

Her face softens a bit as she recalls her mother’s cruel words to her, back when they were younger, back when they were friends.

“How are you supposed to rule the world with that fish girl by your side?”

“S-She's my-”

“She's useless that's what she is! Just like her mother and her aunt, she'll probably end up getting defeated by a bunch of mer-people. How humiliating is that!” The Mistress of Evil fumed. Her daughter was questioning her, and she didn't like that one bit.

“But mom-”

“But nothing!” The woman snapped. “Listen here daughter of mine,” she leaned down and grabbed her chin, forcing the young girl to look at her. “If you want to succeed, then you have to drop that useless sea witch and ally yourself with kids who actually do stand a chance."

“Like who?”

“Don't worry about that my little nasty,” Maleficent smiled as she gently started to pat her daughter’s head. “You just focus on putting that smelly octopus’ daughter in her place. I’ll take care of the rest.

Mal blinks away the memory and sighs, she never did explain to her former friend why she suddenly turned on her. “Uma,” she pauses. She wasn’t sure if explaining any of that would matter now. They’ve hurt each other too much, both physically and mentally, to ever go back to the friendship that they once shared as kids. “I never wanted to hurt you.”

Uma couldn't help but let out a bitter laugh, “Right. I forgot that you live in Auradon now. Heard apologizing was a thing over there.”

“I don’t know what you want me to say.” Mal breathes out. “If you don’t want me to apologize, then what do you expect me to say. Nothing?”

“That’s the thing, Mal.” Uma’s voice goes quiet for a moment. “You never said anything . After what you did to me, not only did you completely destroy my pride and dignity, you destroyed me. I’ve been full of nothing but bitterness and resentment, ever since you dumped that bucket of shrimp on me. I’ve had nothing but anger inside of me, and I’m just so used to it now that I don’t think I’m capable of feeling nothing else but it.”

Mal closes her eyes as she recalls that exact moment.

“Rule number one about being a villain Uma, you never rescue others from danger. You either let them suffer or fight for themselves.” Mal had sneered as soon as the smaller girl had rescued her from ‘drowning’. “Guess you really aren’t bad enough to be a part of my group. Not to mention that you’re no where near big enough either. You’re not good enough to help me take over the world, maybe you should just stick to something a little more fitting for you.” Mal caught eye of an empty sandbox, and pointed. “Like that sandbox over there, you already have a bucket to go with it! Oh, and don’t worry you could keep the shrimp too.”

Uma felt her heart drop as the girl stood up and dangled a shrimp right in front of her face. “You failed Uma, or should I say Shrimpy?” the girl laughed out loud at the sight of the vulnerable girl. “Suits you much better, doesn’t it Shrimpy?”

“I didn’t want to do that to you. I really didn’t.” The green-eyed girl insists. “But- my mother did and I couldn’t disobey her. I was too scared to.”

Uma scoffs as she finally releases the girl’s neck. She looks at her for a moment before shaking her head, “So you were willing to stand up to your mother for Ben and Auradon, when you had just met them, but not for me, who you’ve known for years?”

“I was a kid, you can’t seriously be angry at me for the mentality I had at that time, that’s not fair-“

“What’s not fair is that you and your stupid friends always got everything I wanted!” Uma snaps, her face remained hard. She refused to cry, she wouldn’t do that in front of her ever again.

“What is it then?” Mal asks in disbelief. “What could you possibly want so badly that it’s kept you so angry for all these years?”

Uma blinks, a bit startled by that question. What exactly did she want? Well, to be honest, she wasn’t sure if she knew the answer to that just yet. “I don’t know.” She admits. “I’m just tired.”

She was tired of everything honestly.

She was tired of everyone still calling her Shrimpy .

She was tired of being angry all the time.

She was tired of that stupid incident continuously replaying in her dreams.

She was tired of still hearing the laughter of the kids who mocked her for what had happened to her.

She was tired of her mother.

She was just tired.

“I hate you.” Uma sighs.

“I know.” Mal nods. “The feeling was once mutual.”

“You were my friend.” Uma says in amazement, as if it were so hard to believe that such a thing was possible.

Mal nods again. “And you were mine.” She tells her. “But I guess none of that matters anymore. I have Evie, Jay, and Carlos and you have Gil and Harry.”

Uma gives her an odd look, “What the hell are you talking about?” She questions. “Harry and Gil moved to Auradon weeks ago.”

“Yeah, but then they-“ Mal stops talking as the realization hits her. “You don’t know?”

“Know what?”

“Uma, Harry and Gil escaped back to the Isle with Melody, days ago.” The shorter girl tells her.

The sea witch furrows her eyebrows in confusion, “But when Scarlett and Scott went to go investigate they said that the princess had arrived with a messenger-“ as soon as the words leave her mouth, she wants to smack herself across the face. “Son of a bitch.” She mutters as she begins to realize that the twins had made a fool out of her.

“The twins?” Mal asks in disbelief. “So it’s true? You really are working with them?”

But Uma was no longer listening to her, instead she was searching through her various pockets, for the letters that she had received from Harry and Gil.

“Answer me!” The purple-haired girl demands.

“I don’t understand.” Uma ignores her again as she scans through Gil’s letter first, before scanning through Harry’s. “If what you’re saying is true, then why-“

She freezes as soon as she catches what her best friend was trying to tell her.

Hey Uma… I don’t really know what to write, I guess you could say I didn’t really

Expect for things to turn out this way. Shockingly, I’ve noticed that I am having a

Lovely time here in Auradon. I never imagined that I would grow to love this

Place. You were right, my happiness wasn’t over there in that shitty place, it’s here.

Uma, you really were right wow. Coming her was the best thing I ever did. I’m

So glad to be here. I finally realized that there never really was anything there for me in the Isle.



I have everything that I need here in Auradon.

New friends, new hobbies, and new interests.

Classes are boring though. I mean I

Already know how to write so I don’t really see the point in me taking English. I am

Very excited to try out for some sports. I’m really looking forward to doing that honestly, I am

Especially excited to try out for fencing. Seems like I’m pretty good at that.



Well I guess I shouldn’t make this too long, I have to go. So sad that you can’t be here to see how much better life is for me, for us, here. Bye.

H E L P  U S  I N  C A V E

She chokes out a breath as realization dawns on her. Harry and Gil are here. That means that the twins must have them captured or something.

And if Melody had come to the Isle with them, then that means that they were her unfinished business.

Then that would mean that Harry and Gil really were in trouble and Melody was really stupid enough to go and try and save them herself.

“I’m going to kill them!” Uma exclaims as she forces herself on her feet, clearly pissed off. “What the hell are you all looking at?” She snaps at the people who had been watching them. “Move it!”

“Hey!” She hears Mal call out from behind her. She quickly stands up and follows the storming girl. “What the hell do you think you’re doing? You can’t just march up there and face them?”

“Watch me.”

“You’re insane if you really think you stand a chance against them.” She continues to pry. “I’ve watched you make a fool of yourself plenty of times, I don’t need to see it again!”

Uma stands her ground, “If they’re in trouble, then I’m going to help them. Unlike you, I don’t turn my back on my… on my friends.”

“Neither do I, but you have to think this through.”

“Oh you don’t?” Uma spits as she  glances at her. “What was I then? A special case?”

Mal attempts to keep up with her, “I was a kid, a victim of my mother’s manipulation- I already tried apologizing, but you won’t accept it! What more do you want me to do?!”

“I want you to get the hell out of my way so I can walk, thank you.”

Mal sighs, “Look, I get it! You want to help your friends, believe me, I do too.” She tells her. “They took Jay too and there’s nothing that I want to do more than to go help him, but I can’t right now, because I have to find Melody. It’s too dangerous for her to be on her own, especially in a place like this!”

“Don’t you get it?!” Uma finally snaps. “That stupid princess is about to walk into her own trap if you don’t shut up and keep walking!”

“What are you talking about?!”

“You said that she came to the Isle with Gil and Harry and the last time I saw her, she told me she had some unfinished business to deal with before she left back to Auradon.” Uma tries to explain as calmly as she could. “What ever could that unfinished business be?!”

Mal feels the blood drain from her face.

No.

This couldn’t be happening. This can’t urn out that easy for the twins!

“Wait, but you said you hadn’t seen her!” Mal accuses.

Uma rolls her eyes, “ Surprise, surprise! ” She exclaims sarcastically. “I lied. Now would you hurry? Before I decide to do this all on my own!”

-----------------

Finally, after what had seemed like a long time, Harry managed to throw a rock that was capable of pushing his a bit closer for Jay to grasp.

“Nice one.” He complimented. “It only took about three hundred tries, but hey, you did it.”

Harry rolls his eyes, “Would ya stop yapping and unlock our cages already!” He perhaps could’ve said that in a less harsh tone, but could one honestly blame it? He’s been trapped for days and he was irritated.

Jay shakes his head and scoffs as his arms go in between the bars, and begin to pick the lock.

Before he could have the chance to unlock it though, they heard muttering in the distance.

“Hide it!” Harry demanded quietly, to which, Jay quickly obliged to.

The muttering grew louder and before they knew it, Hayden appears from the shadows, carrying two small trays of moldy food.

“You’d think because I’m third-in-command, they’d let me stick around to witness all the fun, but no! I have to come here and feed you three fools!” The red-haired boy complains as he roughly shoves the trays into their cells.

He then turns to look at Jay, as if he were just realizing that the young boy was now completely awake. He smirks at him, “Thanks for the cart, by the way!” He taunts. “Makes traveling a whole lot quicker.”

Hans’ son reaches for his pocket and pulls out something that leaves Jay feeling like a complete idiot.

“No.” He says in realization.

“You know, for a thief, you’re not really good at hiding valuable objects.” He continues to mock. “Leaving something as valuable as this in the waistband of your pants is purely pathetic thief, even for you.”

Jay grips onto the bars tightly, feeling overwhelmed with worry and anger.

“What in the bloody hell is that?” Harry’s voice interrupts the tension between them.

Hayden raises his eyebrows in surprise, “Why, you don’t know?” He chuckles. “Well, you see this pirate?” He shakes the remote in his hands. “This here, is something that you and your terrible-Excuse of a captain, failed to get. The key to Auradon.”

Harry turns his attention towards Jay, “I thought those things only worked on the limousines?” He questions.

Jay shrugs, “Not really. I took that from one of the limousines and it worked fine on the cart we stole.” He explains.

He scoffs, “That was clearly a stupid idea.” He mumbles before they both turned their attention back to Hayden.

“So you have the device.” Jay acknowledges with a nod. “What are you waiting for then? Aren’t you planning on using it?”

“Of course we are, idiot.” He replies in a ‘duh’ tone. “We’re simply waiting for the right time to do so.”

“Waiting for what?”

“Why, for us to capture the princess, what else!” Hayden says. “Just imagine how much power we would have over these people once they’ve realized that we hold hostage one of their own. Oh, and there’s also the whole Uma thing.”

Now this definitely catches Harry’s attention, “What Uma thing? ” He questions.

“Well as you can see neither of the twins are present here at the moment, and that is because they’re probably currently discussing the transportation plan with Uma, as we speak.” He elaborates.

“So she’s in on this too?” Jay asks in disbelief. “Unbelievable.”

“No- she’s not!” Harry is quick to correct him. “He’s just saying that she is because she’s trying to toy with our brains”

“Oh, is that so?” Hayden laughs as he walks over to the young pirate’s cell. “Are You sure about that, Hook? Or is this your way of being in denial?”

Harry glares at him, “She wouldn’t turn her back on us.” He insists.

Hayden shrugs, “See I would argue with you there, but I have a voyage to pack for.”

The red-haired boy was unable to hide his smile as he witnessed Harry’s face drop.

“Why the long face, Hook?” He questions, feigning innocence. “Does it bother you that the first voyage your captain will have, will be with us instead of you?”

He laughs when Harry’s only response to him is a glare, “Don’t worry pirate.” He tells him. “We’ll take good care of your dear captain.”

-----------------

“Remind me again why we agreed to stop by your ship before heading towards the caverns?” Mal asks as they arrived at the docks.

“Look who’s the fool now.” Uma mutters before turning to face Mal. “Because if it’s just going to be the two of us fighting against them, then we need weapons. Like you said, there’s no way we’ll stand a chance.”

Mal hums, “Well technically I said that you wouldn’t stand a chance,” she reminds her. “I, on the other hand, am a pretty excellent fighter. There’s no way I’m letting myself get beaten by a bunch of cats.”

Uma side-eyes her and scoffs, “Please, you couldn’t even handle a sword properly when we were battling, what makes you think you’ll be any good this time?”

“I appreciate the support.” The green-eyed girl remarks sarcastically.

Uma clicks her tongue, “If you wanted support then you should’ve brought along one of your little leech-friends.” She says.

“People don’t need to be friends to show support for one another.” Mal points out. “A team, which it appears we are, does require support. How else do we expect to win?”

The young sea witch eyes her warily. “That doesn’t sound much like you.”

“It wasn’t.” She replies truthfully. “I just kept hearing Jay’s voice in my head, reminding me the importance of a team.”

“Hmm, well not everyone loves to hear Jay speak, so next time do me a favor and keep his thoughts in your head, please.”

“Whatever.”

They walked for a few more minutes before they arrived at the ship.

When they arrived, they heard voices coming from the ship, Mal gave Uma a puzzled look.

“Did you rent out the place or what?” She questions.

“No.” The young sea witch replies. “I bet some of the street rats decided to crash here!” She only assumed that due to the fact that hardly anyone has been onboard the ship aside from her, ever since her crew left.

She marches up the ramp, “Time to close down this motel.” She mutters. As soon as she reaches the top though, she stops in her tracks as she suddenly begins to recognize who the voices belong to.

“Why’d you stop?” Mal asks as soon as she catches up to her. Her eyes follow the taller girl’s gaze, and they widen slightly as she notices what- or rather who, her former friend had been staring at.

“It’s them.” Uma growls as she attempts to lunge forward, towards the clueless twins who were both facing the sea.

Her attempts to lung forward are put to a stop by the green-eyed girl, as she grabs her arm and pulls her back.

“What the hell Do you think you’re doing?!” She quietly snaps.

“I was about to put those two in their place, until you had to butt in… AGAIN!”

Mal scoffs, “Yeah I had to butt in to save your ass from making a fool out of yourself!”

“Please, it’s just the two of them on their own right now.” Uma points out. “I can handle them.” She adds before attempting to march back up the ramp.

The shorter girl grabs her arm again, “Wait.” She calls. Uma turns back, glances down at the hand on her arm, then back at Mal, raising a questioning eyebrow along the process. “What?”

“Maybe we could use this to our advantage?” Mal wonders out loud.

She looks back up at the ship and basically drags the dark-haired teen further away from it, before continuing. “Maybe, that way they won’t suspect that we’re planning to help our friends escape from wherever they’re containing them?”

Uma admits that it isn’t such a bad idea, but she isn’t sure if she’ll be able to stop herself from attacking the twins if she tries to act civilized around them.

“I make no promises.” She answers truthfully.

“Think about it.” Mal persists. “They think they’ve got us all wrapped around their little fingers, they think that because of that, they’ll succeed in whatever it is that they’re planning to do. To them, this is their game and we’re the chess pieces, they think they’ve got us all under control. But, what if we take the chess pieces and throw them in their faces?”

“You mean, take them by surprise?”

“Exactly.”

Uma huffs, “it’s going to be real hard to not kill them.” She says before walking right back up the ramp.

-----------------

“Well, it’s about time you show up!” She’s greeted by Scarlett’s irritating voice.

Uma eyes them both, acting as if she were surprised to see them there. “I don’t recall ever agreeing to meet either of you.” she says as she stops a couple of feet away from them. “So are you going to tell me why you’re trespassing on my property?”

She smiles sweetly at her, “Just thought we should become familiarized with the ship,” she replies as she looks around.

“Familiarize?” Uma questions, wearing a puzzled expression.

“Right.” Scott answers, as he shifts his gaze from Uma towards his sister. “We haven’t told her the full plan just yet.”

Uma crosses her arms and raises an eyebrow, “I’m listening.” she says.

Scott turns his attention back towards her, “We’re using your ship.” he simply states, not really asking for permission to do so, because like they had previously said, they always manage to get what they want.

“Excuse me?” The young sea witch feels outraged upon hearing what she just heard and she wants nothing more than to rip their throats a part.

“I don’t believe my brother stuttered.” This time, it’s Scarlett who speaks, as she takes a step forward, trying to inflict fear to the shorter girl in front of them. “We’re using your ship.” she repeats in a slower pace.

Uma scoffs, “And what right do you have to do such a thing? It’s mine.” she reminds them.

“Oh, Uma.” Scarlett gives her a tight smile as she forcefully grabs her chin and lifts her head slightly, “It seems like you’ve forgotten who you’re working for.” She looks at her as if she were the most pitiful thing, and that only makes Uma’s blood boil.

Uma wraps her hand around the girl’s wrist and pulls it away from her face, “Right. We’re still going to pretend that I agreed to that.” she laughs. “What use is my ship to you anyways? Last I remember, you thought the pirate life was ‘filthy’?”

“Well, now that we, literally, have the key to Auradon, I’d say that it’s time for us to make our invasion.” Scott says as he turns to look at the visible castle, across the sea. “And to invade such a kingdom, we need to bring our strongest fighters there, with your ship that is.”

Uma furrows her eyebrows, “You found a way to take down the barrier?” she couldn’t help ask. “But- without magic, that’s impossible.”

Scarlett smirks in response, “Nothing’s impossible when it comes to us.”

Scott studies her evidently surprised expression, “What’s wrong, dear?” he asks as a maniacal smile begins to form on his face. “Has this alliance finally piqued your interest?”

Uma sighs in disbelief, “This is actually happening?” she wonders out loud. She couldn’t believe it.

She couldn’t help but feel bitter upon hearing this.

It wasn’t fair.

How could people like them achieve something that she’s worked so hard for, in only in a matter of weeks?

Honestly, now that she knows that neither Harry or Gil are in Auradon, she’s suddenly not so against stopping these two from invading the place. No, she suddenly has the urge to find her friends and steal this so called key and take it for themselves.

No.

She can’t do that either. It’s- she knows it isn’t the “right thing to do”.

But then again, since when has she ever cared about doing the right thing? Every time she always did the “right thing”, it always came back to bite her.

When she saved Mal from drowning when they were kids, she ended up with a bucket of shrimp being dumped on her head.

When she let Ben convince her to not hurt anyone during Cotillion, she swam back to the Isle and was completely humiliated.

When she told Harry and Gil to go to Auradon to find their happiness, it resulted in her own misery and loneliness.

If she does the right thing again, then who’s to say it won’t turn out like it always does? Her getting hurt as a result?

“It is.” Scarlett says as she turns Uma’s face towards the peaceful kingdom of Auradon. “Just look at that, Uma. Look at what could yours. Ours. If you just stop fighting it.”

Power can be very alluring.

The darkness can be very tempting as well.

It urges her. Just do it. She is a villain after all. Just like her aunt. Just like her mother. Just like everyone else on this damn Isle.

But at the same time, she hears Melody’s annoying voice echo in her head. They’ve made their own fate, and now we make ours.

“Don’t fight it, Uma.” Scarlett encourages. “It’s who we are. We’re villains, our happiness doesn’t simply get handed to us like it does to those princesses and princes. No, if we want happiness, then we have to take it. And power, that’s our happiness.”

No. She can’t join them. Not after discovering that they’ve been playing her this whole time. They’ve kept her friends from her. She can’t join them.

“You have until tomorrow night to make your decision.” Scott’s voice snaps her back to reality. “You either join us and be rewarded with the great power that lies ahead for us, or you can stay here, and conform with being what you are right now: a useless, weak, pathetic, nobody.”

Uma clenches her fists tightly as they both chuckle, as they begin to walk away. She hates how weak they make her feel, it’s as if they were daring her to join them, it was tempting.

“You know where to find us,” Scarlett says causing Uma to turn to face them. She gives her a nod, before saying, “Caring for someone is weakness, Uma. If you continue down that route, then you will only prove what Mal said about you that day she dumped shrimp on you. You’re not good enough.”

Uma wants nothing more than to cut her tongue off so she could stop talking. “Are you done?” she asks, clearly over this conversation.

The dark-haired girl nods, “Tomorrow night.” she reminds her. “Choose wisely, or I’ll make sure you’ll regret it.”

And then she was gone, leaving Uma behind to deal with her uncertainty and doubt.

Chapter Text

“So what’s the plan then?” The long haired boy questions in a quiet voice, in hopes to not awake a sleeping Hayden, sitting merely a couple yards away from their cells. “I mean, he clearly has no intention to leave any time soon.”

Harry huffs in annoyance, eyeing the passed out red haired boy, before looking back at Jay. “Well isn’t it obvious, mate? We sneak out very quietly or we’ll have to deal with prince-boy over here.” he says as if it were the most evident thing in the world. “If he happens to awake, then we could easily destroy him.”

“Then what are we waiting for?!” Jay exclaims quietly, “Let’s get the hell out of here.”

“It’s not him that I’m worried about-” That part was true, a scrawny boy like Hayden was no threat to the two of them, they could easily handle him on their own and unarmed.

“Then what’s the problem? What are you so worried about?” he asks curiously. “Getting caught by the twins?”

No, that wasn’t what worried the young pirate. In fact, he wasn’t even sure if he could pinpoint exactly what it was that was making him hesitate. It’s not like he still wanted to be held prisoner by these pairs of idiots. And he most definitely had no desires to ever hear or see those creepy, maniacal twins ever again, unless if it involved them at his mercy, as he makes them pay for holding him and Gil hostage.

There was something else that was making him reluctant to leave. Something, that he’s not even sure he’s ready to admit out loud just yet.

What’s next?

That’s what has him second guessing himself at the moment.

It’s the fact that he doesn’t know what to do next, after he escapes. Originally, the first thing on his mind was for them to go back to Uma, so that they could once again be the unstoppable trio that they once were, but now, he’s not so sure of that.

And it is not because he doesn’t want that, on the contrary, he couldn’t imagine his life any other way. He’d do anything to make things like they once were. Sure, the Isle wasn’t the best of places to call home. It really wasn’t much of a home anyways.

But it was his crew, Gil, Uma, being her first mate, finally feeling like he was apart of something, connected to something, is what made him content. It wasn’t the harmless crimes, like destroying other people’s property that made him content. It wasn’t hurting people that made him content either.

It was them. It was her. It was their ship that they planned to sail one day. God forbid that he’ll ever admit this ever again, but it was hope. He had hope that one day they would escape that miserable island and all be together, ruling the seas.

And now, he’s not even sure if that’s what Uma wants anymore. Throughout these past few days that he’s been trapped in here, he’s wondered if maybe what Scarlett and Scott have been telling him, might hold some truth to it. What if they were right. What if Uma really didn’t want anything to do with them anymore, because she found something better. Because she now has Scarlett and Scott, those two irritating twins who actually have a shot of achieving something they never could together; something he knows that Uma’s been craving ever since she was a little girl: to dominate the kingdom of Auradon.

Maybe that is what’s stopping him, the idea that she might see them- him as useless, just like his father had, is what drives him insane. It’s as if history were to repeat itself and he wasn’t ready for that.

Harry didn’t want to believe what those two psycho twins were saying either, because deep down he knew that they were just trying to mess with his head. Yet, a small part of him is actually starting to believe their words.

The fact that he had managed to send a message to Uma about where they were and he has yet to hear from her, doesn’t help much either. He knows it’s been only two and a half days since she’s most-likely received his letter, but still. That was plenty of time for her to scheme up a way to help break them out, but nothing has happened since then.

And maybe, he is starting to believe that Uma might have actually moved on after all. Maybe, she doesn’t really need them anymore. Not, when she has Scott and Scarlett and their supposed master plan.

“Of course not!” Harry scoffs. “This all just seems a bit too easy, if you’d ask me. What if this is all a set up and we walk into a trap?!”

Jay looks around the murky cave and shrugs, “I doubt that.” he reasons, “I mean, as far as we know, the twins and their goons are probably out there looking for Mal and Princess Melody. If they really were that concerned about us, I’d doubt they would’ve allowed for Hans’ weak-little son, to keep an eye on us.”

They both turn their heads in unison to face the still-pretty-much passed out boy. He was asleep with his head hanging to the side and his mouth wide open as he kept choking out his obnoxious snores. It was pretty much needless to say that the boy was no threat to them. So maybe, he did have a point.

“Well, I don’t know about you then.” Jay starts once again, as he walks towards the entrance of his cell, puts his arms through the bars and begins to pick the lock with Harry’s hook. “But I’m getting the hell out of here to help my friends.”

Upon hearing those words, Harry knew that this might be his only chance to escape these prison cells. Not to mention that he hates being chained up, preventing him from getting much comfort or to do anything honestly.

He agrees, he’s still unsure of what to do next, but nonetheless, he agrees. He wants to get out.

“So, what’s next?” Jay asks as soon as he’s removed the chains from the young pirate’s hands. He stands up and instantly rubs the sore skin on his wrists.

What’s next.

Isn’t that an answer he’d like to know as well. He sighs tiredly and looks from a sleeping Hayden, to across the cave, where he knows that his friend is still kept hostage at.

Maybe, he does know one thing to do next. “Now, we go get Gil.” he tells him.

-----------------

She crept through the narrow spaces between the buildings, doing her best to avoid being seen. She’s almost certain that by now, the whole Isle is now aware of her presence, thanks to Ursula and Morgana.

The smart thing would’ve been to leave, anyone with common sense would know that.

But she couldn’t. Not when there were people out there suffering because of her, paying a price so she would manage to escape their wrath.

It wasn’t the right thing to do. She knew that.

She wasn’t sure how she was going to help them, but one thing was for certain, she wasn’t just going to abandon them to fend for themselves against the terrifying twins.

She made it to the taverns, she wasn’t sure how, given that she was never that good at following directions. Desperate measures really must bring out the best in her.

She has no time to waste, she’s going to help the two boys escape from wherever they were being held, and then rush off to help her grandfather.

Now that she’s got the ingredients for the healing potion, she was going to do everything in her might to get that potion to her grandfather.

Melody wasn’t sure how heavily secured the twins’ alleged home would be, or if it would even be guarded at all. She could just walk in and either be greeted with nothing but murky air and humidity or her immediate doom.

She decided that she wasn’t going to risk that and instead got on her hands and knees, starting to crawl behind the tall rocks, towards the inside.

The young princess didn’t hear much as she crawled, aside from the water droplets that were crashing onto the ground, everything else was surprisingly quiet.

Maybe she was at the wrong cavern? She never really the best at following or remembering directions.

Or maybe no one was home, meaning that circumstances were at her advantage.

Maybe.

She continued to crawl against the rocky ground, her hands and knees were probably going to be sore at the end of this.

Other than that, nothing was really too hard. That was until she arrived at an intersection. She wasn’t sure which way would lead her to the imprisoned boys, if she even was at the correct cavern for that matter.

She sighs. Maybe this was going to be a lot more harder than she thought.

Not knowing what else to do, she remains quiet and just listens. Maybe if a sound were to come from one specific direction, then she would follow it and see where it leads here.

At first, she heard nothing but silence mixed with the falling water droplets.

Silence.

Melody waits patiently for a few more seconds. Still nothing.

It wasn’t until she heard what appeared to sound like a faint rattling in the distance. She wasn’t sure if whether she was hearing correctly or if she was so desperate to find a solution to this problem that she started imagining things.

She knew that she would accomplish nothing by simply standing there, so she gathered up all of her courage, and followed the faint rattling sound.

As she continued to walk further down the pathway, the rattling sound became louder and she starts to take notice of other sounds as well. She hears what sounds like a conversation in the distance and becomes a bit hesitant to follow.

The young princess does though, she has no time to be a coward, she has to save the two boys and make her way back home, so she could save here grandfather.

She makes a turn once she reached the dead end of the cave, and comes across a dimly-lit room. Melody enters the room and takes notice of the metal bars surrounding each side of the room.

Her eyes widen as she realizes that those metal bars were a part of what looked like prison cells. So far, all of these cells that she’s walked by were empty. That part alone, brought relief to her, but still the idea of having people kept against their will for evil purposes, made her stomach sick.

It wasn’t until she reached the end of the room, where she saw someone lying with their back faced to her, in one of the cells.

When she notices the blonde hair, she instantly runs towards his side, and tries to wake him up.

“Gil.” she whispers, trying not to draw attention towards herself, in case if anyone was nearby.

The blonde boy opens one eye and instantly stiffens upon being awaken. He had overheard the twins talking about possibly killing them sometime soon and ever since then he’s been paranoid. However, when he turns around and sees that it isn’t either one of the twins, but rather the young princess from Auradon, he feels himself relax. “Melody?!” he questions in disbelief. “What are you doing here?”

“I’m here to help you out of here.” she tells him with a small smile, as she pulls out a hair pin from her long, black hair. “Hang on.”

Gil gives her a puzzled expression, “But what about your grandpa? Don’t you have to find a healing potion to help him?” he asks, evidently confused.

Melody nods, “Don’t worry. I found it- well sort of. ” she says as she picks the lock that restrained the door from opening. When she sees that her explanation only furthered confused the younger boy, she simply shakes her head. “Nevermind, I’ll explain later. First, let’s get you out of here.”

After messing with the lock for a while longer, it finally made a click sound, indicating that it had been opened. She smiles triumphantly, as the door swings open, and heads towards him to unlock the chains that were restraining the young boy, as well.

Relief seems to wash over the boy as soon as the chains came off, he smiles brightly at her. “Thank you.” he says. “They really hurt.”

The older girl offers him a sympathetic smile, before saying. “We have to get out of here quick. Who knows when anyone could just appear and take us by surprise, where’s Harry?”

Before Gil has the opportunity to tell her that he didn’t know where his friend was, two breathless boys appear from across the room.

“Harry!” Gil beams as soon as he recognizes his friend.

The young pirate swallows his breath, they had clearly been running. “We saw the gate open, and thought- we thought those useless pests had come here to kill you.” he explains.

Upon hearing the word we, Melody removes her eyes from the two friends to face the other boy. Her face instantly brightens and feels a sense of security upon recognizing him. “Jay!” she exclaims. “What are you doing here?”

“Well we had a runaway princess.” he tells her. “We couldn’t just let her do something completely stupid, on her own.”

The princess frowns a bit, “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to cause this much trouble.” she says, feeling guilty upon realizing how much of a burden she must have been to these people. “I just wanted to help my grandfather. I couldn’t just sit back and watch him die!”

Jay notices the tears that were already streaming down her face and sighs, “I get it.” he replies as he puts his hand on her back as a sort of comfort. “But still, you shouldn’t have come here. The Isle is a dangerous place, especially for a princess like you.”

Melody could only nod in response as she wiped her tears away. “I’m sorry.” she breathes out. They all grew silent for a moment, as if they were recalling all of the previous events that had happened that led them to their current circumstances.

“Speaking of dangerous.” Harry then speaks up, suddenly realizing where they were at. “I’d say we better get moving before that weakling wakes from his slumber.”

-----------------

“Would you quit throwing rocks around?!” Mal requests in a not-so nice way. “In case if you forgot, we’re trying to remain unnoticed here.”

Uma rolls her eyes as she throws one final rock, hard against the pavement. “I’m not an idiot!” she snaps back. “I’m just imagining their faces on the pavement and throwing rocks at them surprisingly makes me feel less angry.” she pauses for a moment, before adding. “Huh, great therapy.”

Mal shakes her head, “As much as I appreciate you using therapeutic exercises to release your anger on, instead of me, I think it’s better for you to save that anger for tomorrow night and actually take it out on them.”

The sun was almost completely gone, people were either already locking their doors, preparing to sleep or they were going out, ready to cause more destruction on their already destroyed home.

The two girls had decided to stop at an abandoned shop, where they would rest for at least a few hours, before making their way towards the Caverns. Originally, Uma had just wanted to spend the whole night on their trip towards where they believed the twins were keeping their friends captive, but Mal had insisted that if they were going to go up against them, then they needed to at least have some rest. So they planned to leave hours before sunrise, in order to catch whoever was guarding their prison cells, while they were asleep.

“I don’t know what to do.” Uma speaks up after moments of silence surrounding them. She was sitting with her back against the wall, with the purple-haired girl sitting only a few inches beside her. They were both facing the entrance of the abandoned building, with their swords on their sides, just in case if anyone thought about occupying the building.

Mal turns to face her, confusion was written all over her face, “What do you mean?” she asks.

“Tomorrow night.” Uma answers instantly. “They have a way to get through the barrier and they want me to help them carry out their plan.”

To say that she hadn’t been thinking about the offer the two twins had proposed for her is a lie. Of course she’s thought of it, she’s been thinking about it since she last saw them. It’s not so much the fact of working together with Scott and Scarlett that has intrigued her, it’s the fact that they’ve managed to get so close to accomplishing everything she’s ever wanted for a long time, in such a short while without putting in the same effort as her. It’s almost as if everything had been handed to them.

“Don’t tell me you’re seriously considering joining them?” Mal questions, sitting up straight. “Because if you are, then I think you and I both know what happens next.” she grips the sword beside her, but she doesn’t raise it.

Uma scoffs. “Joining them?” she couldn’t help but let out a humorless chuckle. “Please, I would never turn my back on my friends. Not willingly.” There’s a hint of bitterness in her voice that the girl besides her takes notice of, but decides to not comment on.

“Then what’s the problem?”

“Temptation.”

Mal furrows her eyebrows, still not quite understanding what her former friend was trying to imply. “Temptation? Temptation to what?”

The young sea witch tears her gaze away from the girl besides her and stares at the broken door in front of them. “The darkness.” she answers quietly. “To evil.”

Mal continues to observe her for a moment, before also turning to face the door in front of them. “I get it, you know.” she starts off quietly. “Evil can be very alluring. Trust me, it was hard enough having to resist the urge to fall servant to the darkness, when we first arrived in Auradon. The kids there, the people, they treated us as if we were monsters, and believe me I was so tempted to show them how much of a monster I could be. But I didn’t, I mean I might have used some magic to ruin some of the girls’ hair, but I didn’t violently harm anyone. Because being evil and hurting people is wrong. But it’s also a choice, you can choose to not be evil, you can choose to not give into the darkness.”

Uma lets out a deep breath and laughs humorlessly again. “It’s not the same. Not for me, at least.” she tells her. “I can’t see myself, daughter of Ursula, the most evil witch of the sea, being good. It’s as if no matter how hard I try, I’m destined to get myself screwed over. It’s as if I was wired to make bad choices that only end up coming back to bite me in the butt.”

“But that’s not what being good is about.” Mal replies. “One thing I’ve learned from living a whole year in Auradon, is that being good isn’t something that has to be rewarded. It shouldn’t be done with the intention of getting something in return. It should be done because it’s the right thing to do.”