A/N: Hey guys! So before I begin I'd like to give a big, warm shout out to: Avril Lambert, Suzerenma, and my best friend Demi Brackensick for reviewing! You guys are the best and I have no idea where the story would be without you guys! I also want to thank my wonderful readers for taking the time to read my story! You guys just make my day – I swear! I also want to apologize for taking so long, I've literally been drowning in my school work and I've had little to no time for anything lately besides school. I hope you guys can forgive me, and I'm really sorry that I made you guys wait so long! Now, without any further ado – enjoy chapter 10…

"Foolish little mermaid," Ursula taunted as she gripped on to Ariel's wrist "did you honestly believe it would be this easy? Did you really think you could just take me down, without even trying?"

Ariel was trying her best to pull away; her fiery-red hair was flowing everywhere as she pulled back with all her force. She spoke through clenched teeth with a determined look in her eyes, she didn't dare show fear "You don't scare me Ursula! You were born out of darkness, and eventually you'll die in darkness!"

"You always were a nuisance," the sea-witch muttered as she continued to drag Ariel towards the now black and purpled colored castle "perhaps this time I'll get rid of you, once and for all?"

The young princess felt her jaw drop when she saw her former home. It looked so different, and it almost brought tears to her eyes. The determination in her eyes vanished for a second, her heart shattered and her voice was suddenly filled with desperation "What did you do to it? My home! My castle! Where's my father? What did you do to my sisters? Why did you do this?"

Ursula glared down at the girl, she let go of the princess – just so she could wrap one of her tentacles around Ariel's slender waist, "You know very well why I did this! If your dear old daddy hadn't banished me all those years ago, then perhaps this wouldn't have happened! You have no one to blame but him!"

Ariel blinked back a few tears, looking away from the sea-witch. She wasn't about to let the monster see her cry, "Where is everyone?"

"All of your father's subjects ran away," the she-devil explained as she started, making her way towards the palace "even your two sidekicks managed to get away as well. They all just vanished, everyone except your father and your sisters managed to get away."

The sixteen-year-old studied her surroundings carefully. From what she remembered, the waters around her home used to practically glisten. Atlantica used to be full of life, and love. There used to be music as well but all of that was gone now.

The waters around her home were shaded a dull-gray, there wasn't any sight of life for miles, and the only love which was being shown was Ursula's love for power. This only made her frown and a few tears escaped her eyes but she didn't let her enemy see.

Ursula carefully approached the front gates, snapping her fingers which made the black, colored gates – instantly fly open. She entered the castle with ease, Ariel was still tight in her tentacle's grasp and she couldn't help but smirk, "You really should stop fighting princess. You might be safe on land but under here, I am Queen – I am the bigger fish! And you are just a useless, pathetic piece of-"

Without any hesitation Ariel managed to slap Ursula across the face, making sure her nails left a deep mark on the sea-witch's cheek. Then before the monster had a chance to react, the princess forcefully squirmed out of the octopus's grip – practically flying through the dark waters.

The sixteen-year-old wanted nothing more but to turn around. She wanted to go free her sister's and father but right now wasn't the moment. Ariel was suddenly hit with a pang of guilt, this was all her fault. If only she had stayed behind perhaps things would've turned out differently…

"You can run my dear princess but you cannot hide! I will find you, I will always find you!"

OoooooooooooooooooooooooO

John's baby-blue colored eyes instantly fluttered open; the first thing he saw was an unfamiliar ceiling. He gasped for breath, his body automatically sitting up as he gradually started remembering things "Giselle!"

Jasmine (who had been sitting on the edge of the bed, the whole time) flinched when John not only unexpectedly woke up but started screaming out of the blue. The young brunette calmly scooted closer, placing both of her hands on his shoulders "John – John it's, okay! Please don't' scream? Giselle is perfectly safe; you have nothing to worry about."

"J-Jasmine," he hated stuttering but he was trembling and before he knew it, he felt an extremely painful stab in his chest. He placed his hand over the wound and was surprised to see that it was covered in medical gauze. John groaned in pain as he reluctantly lied back down.

She carefully ran her fingers through his blonde-hair, trying her best to keep calm and collective "Do you remember what happened? What you were doing before everything went black?"

John nodded his head as he continued to put pressure on his covered injury, "Giselle and I had been on our way home, and t-then this man tried to attack her. I-I put up a decent fight but it wasn't good enough. He pulled out a knife, and before I knew it I was out cold."

"Well Giselle went back home to tell your sister that you'd be home late, and I had Aladdin escort her in case any shady characters try to approach her. You on the other hand," the brunette sighed as she caringly placed her hand on his forehead "are burning up with a fever."

He frowned at her thoughts, not particularly liking the thought of being on bed rest or having a fever for that matter "Jasmine I appreciate your concern but I'll be fine. Believe me, I've been through worse."

"I know," Jasmine sighed as she rested her head on his chest, trying her best not to put too much pressure on his recently injured body "but you can't blame me for caring. You're a dear friend John, and last time I checked dear friend's look out for one another."

John chuckled and when he felt her place her head on his chest, he stiffened a bit. He hated receiving mix singles but he had a feeling he was just overreacting. However in response he wrapped his arm around her body, pulling her to a warm hug "I promise you that I'll be out of your hair in a bit."

"Believe me John it's no problem at all," Jasmine laughed as she shook her head playfully "you're actually – you're helping me get things off my mind. My sister I mean, she left with her boyfriend the other day and hasn't been back since."

"I'm sure they'll be back soon," he told her comfortingly with a faint reassuring smile on his face "believe me Jasmine – they'll be back before you know it. I'm sure they're just enjoying some together, and decided to make the trip a little longer than expected."

She nodded her head, trying her best to take comfort in his words even though she surprisingly took more comfort in the sound of his voice. She looked up to study his features and she was immediately drawn to his crystal-blue eyes, "Your eyes are beautiful John…"

John blushed as he leaned in a bit closer to Jasmine, his wound immediately started hurting again but at the moment none of that mattered. All he could see was her face, all he could hear was her voice, and all he wanted was her. He knew it was wrong, he knew she had a boyfriend but he didn't frankly care "You're gorgeous Jasmine, you're one of the most stunning girl's I've ever seen…"

Without any hesitation, Jasmine wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him into a tender kiss. It wasn't passionate or steamy – it was just slow and soft, and she was about to pull back. She knew that what she was doing couldn't have been more unfaithful, and guilt was starting to creep inside of her. But then John kissed her back, and she forgot about everyone and everything.

Once realization dawned on them both, they simultaneously pulled away with confused expressions. There were tears in Jasmine's eyes, and the first thing she did was turn around and haste fully dart down the staircase.

John tried following her but his wound got the best of him, and all he could do was frown in defeat as he lied back down with an angered expression.

"Dammit…"

OoooooooooooooooooooooooO

Meg was currently sitting high on the tree branch, watching as the beast carefully encircled the tree. She knew that it could smell her; she knew that it could probably hear her as well. But what scared her the most was the fact that it could probably smell her.

"Please Adam…I need you to fight this thing. I don't want to spend the rest of my life in a tree. I'm sorry I rejected you it's just that," she didn't know how to describe the sudden mix of anger and guilt which had taken root within her "I have someone else. He's the best guy a girl could have, and now because of you I may never get to apologize."

Her violet eyes carefully scanned her environment, and that's when she spotted a beehive which was loosely hanging from an adjacent branch. Getting it down would be the easy part, however not getting stung in the process was a challenge "There's got to be some way?"

Meg silently scooted over to the tip of the branch, and when she heard the wolf growl at the smallest sound – she bit down on her bottom lip to suppress a scream. She gradually took off one of her sandals, and then threw it towards the bee hive.

The young woman only watched as the beehive fell off the branch, and on to the ground. The sound of furious bee's buzzing made her feel uncomfortable but when she heard the monster howl in pain, that's when she felt the guilt really begin to settle in.

"I am so sorry Adam," she grimaced as she watched the wolf begin to whimper, and before she knew it she was watching the bees chase the beast away "I hope we cross paths again sometime soon."

Once she was sure he was gone, Meg skillfully jumped off the branch and faintly smirked when she landed on her feet. She immediately turned around, and started running towards what she hoped would be home.

She wasn't' quite sure where civilization was for the forest itself had meshed in her head overnight. Everything looked the same, and home couldn't have felt farther away. So all Meg could do was run as she continued to hope for the best.

"I need to get home," Meg told herself as she managed to stay as silent as possible. She knew that even the slightest snap of a branch could set the wolf off, and she wasn't even sure how far he was anyways.

She just kept on striding through the forest, her heart thumping against her chest as she felt the adrenaline pump through her veins. She began to wonder whether or not the beat of her heart was echoing through the forest as she continued to soundlessly run.

Meg hadn't even been paying attention when she accidently bumped into someone, instantly falling to the ground with a frown on her face. She looked up with an angered expression, and when she realized who it was – her jaw dropped from the shock "Oh my God! H-Herc, please t-tell me that's you?"

At first Hercules couldn't have looked more annoyed but when he saw the fear in his eyes, his features softened. He knelt down beside her, carefully helping her up to get back on her feet "Are you okay Meg? What the hell happened to you?"

She opened her mouth to speak but nothing came out at all. Tears were forming in her eyes, and the only thing she could do was drape her arms around him in a tight hug. When he hugged her back, more tears continued to spill from her eyelids.

Eventually she pulled back, and she tried her best to choke out an explanation "Let's just say there's a wolf chasing me but I managed to outsmart it. But Herc it's still out there and I have no idea how to get home from here."

"Don't worry," Hercules whispered as he picked her up bridal style "I know exactly how to get home from here. You don't have to be scared anymore Meg, I'm right here. I am always going to be here for you…"

"I know," Meg muttered in response as she placed a tender kiss on his cheek "I'm so sorry for fighting with you before. I-I'd love you to run away with you Herc. Nothing would make me happier; I want to spend the rest of my life with you."

His jaw slightly dropped at her answer, he wasn't quite sure if he believed her "That's great news Meg but why the sudden change?"

"Well if there's anything I've realized through of all of us," she let out a sigh of relief as the guilt slowly began to fade away "I don't want to live the rest of my life, regretting that I let you become the one who got away. I want to be with you Herc – I really do want to spend the rest of my life with you."

"Even, if it means losing your sister in the process?"

Meg looked away from him as she progressively pondered the question. She could still hear her mother's voice, no matter how hard she tried to forget it – the voice just didn't leave her. But if Adam's sudden revival had taught her anything, it's that she wanted the past to be just that – the past. She didn't want it, holding her back or trying to teach her things she already knew.

She snuggled up against his chest, nodding her with a faint smile "Yes, even if it means losing my sister in the process. Just…just promise me one thing?"

"Anything," he grinned as he continued to carry her through the woods.

Meg contently sighed as she spoke up in a hushed tone, "Promise me that we won't move too far from Jasmine and Aladdin. That we'll always be near them? I can't just lose her Hercules, she's my sister and I love her more than anything."

"I know," Hercules sighed as he nodded, a bright smile forming on his face "and I promise you that we'll always stay close. Never too far – never too close, it'll be perfect."

"I hope so," Was all she could think because before Megara knew it, she was fast asleep in his arms. And for once, she couldn't have felt safer.

OoooooooooooooooooooooooO

"But Gaston you can't leave," Vanessa frowned as she watched her husband head towards the door "dinner will be ready soon and by the time you're back – it'll be cold."

"Don't worry," Gaston muttered as he opened the door, allowing a cool breeze to enter the house "I'm just going to go see an old friend – I'll be back before you know it."

The brunette opened her mouth to speak but she knew arguing with be fruitless so she quickly closed it. She had just been about to walk over to her husband to kiss him goodbye but before she knew it, the door was slammed shut.

"For Heaven's sake…" Vanessa sighed as she quickly went back to tending to the soup she was cooking. In all honesty the soup was far from being done but her husband rarely left the house and so when he did, it scared her.

But there was nothing she could do. At the end of the day she was just his wife. She wasn't allowed to speak unless spoken to, and her only job was to bear him children. She was powerless, she was weak, and she didn't have a say in anything. And it was like society told her: he was husband and she was wife.

OoooooooooooooooooooooooO

Gaston rushed down the staircase and the second he got the chance to turn the corner, he did. He didn't make any eye contact with familiar faces or people who knew him; he just remained silent whilst walking.

What was only a few minutes felt like hours and eventually he froze in place. His eyes carefully looked around, making sure no one was around and when he noticed he was alone – he smirked.

Gaston immediately turned to the side and started walking into an alley which was all too familiar to him. It was a poorly, taken care of alley but with the day light up ahead, he could see it all clearly. It was obvious that this part of town was scarcely ever visited and apart from the corner, the alley looked quite dirty.

As he continued walking down the passage way, the sound of women moaning was unmistakable. He could hear men screaming and cursing aloud as if there were no tomorrow. Once again, these sounds couldn't have been familiar.

Then as he got closer to his destination (which was only a door at the end of the alleyway, which was obviously the entrance to a rather large but beat-down building) the smell of liquor and burnt paper and a bit of tobacco impregnated the air.

Once Gaston reached the door, he knocked on it a few times and waited for it to open. Once the door did open, he shot his old friend a charismatic grin "Clayton, well aren't you a sight for sore eyes?"

"Gaston," In Clayton's mouth was a cigarette but he was smiling nonetheless "I'm actually surprised you came. You haven't come in months."

John Clayton was slender and rather muscular as well. He had brown hair with gray sideburns, and he wore a yellow hunter's uniform. He also had a rather unattractive mustache which made him look much older than he actually was. And if it hadn't been any more obvious, Clayton was one of Gaston's hunting buddies.

The dark-haired men shrugged it off as he forced his way into the building, "I've been busy. Where are the others?"

Clayton nodded his head as he casually walked over to the staircase. He then jerked his thumb over to the staircase, "They're upstairs smoking. Everyone's here except Phoebus, he's at home screwing his new wife."

The room they were in at the moment (which was the first floor of the building) was rather large however it was also very dirty. There were various drunken men and naked woman, scrambled across the floor. The room was filled with cushioned sofas and cushioned loveseats as well. There was much smoke in the air which was much like fog, considering how many people were smoking.

Gaston ignored all this however as he made his way up the stairs, and then started striding down the hallway. He looked behind his shoulder, glad that Clayton was following him. If he was going to get their help, he wanted all of them to be there.

"Phoebus is an exception," he thought to himself as he approached the wooden door "technically he's not even one of us. We only pretend to be his friends, besides he's hardly ever around anymore. Only when he needs things does he come around."

When Gaston entered the room, the first thing he heard was the sound of drunken men laughing. The first thing he saw however was a circular table with three men sitting around it. He obviously recognized the men they were his closest friends and drinking buddies.

First there was Sinbad: he was a pirate who joined their group a few weeks after docking in Corona. He had decided he was done with a life of piracy, and had decided that there were other things he wanted to do. He wanted to try a life of crime and then decided once he was done with that, he'd find something else to do.

Next there was Kocoum: he was well-built, with black mow hawked hair which had a white feather on the back of his head. He had tan skin, and a pair of bear prints on his chest. He had been a Native American which Sinbad had managed to kidnap on one of his journeys. The only reason they kept him around was because he was a killer. He was lethal and deadly, and in return for freedom he promised Sinbad that he'd kill whoever and whenever he wanted. Therefore Kocoum had sworn to the group that he'd help kill whoever they wanted him to kill.

After that there was Shang: he (much like all the other members of the group) was muscular, with black hair, natural dark-brown eyes, and tan colored skin. The only reason he stuck with the group was because he was in dire need of the money. His wife and he were struggling financially – she was a waitress at some Inn, and he worked for the group. His wife never asked any questions, and he was grateful because he really didn't have any answers.

Sinbad was the first to look up when he noticed Gaston entering. He gently patted one of the seats next to him, signaling for the hunter to sit down "And you've come why?"

"My daughter's gone missing," Gaston started as he quickly sat down next to Sinbad, he eyed the group of men with caution "and my wife keeps on worrying about her. She's pregnant, and the last thing our unborn son needs is her nerves getting the best of her. Vanessa wouldn't be the first woman to lose a baby from the stress, and she most certainly won't be the last."

"So you want us to what? Find the brat?" Shang inquired, he usually wasn't mean or rude but he knew that if he didn't wear a mask, the other men would smoke him out easily. Although he was physically strong, he did have a heart – he was much kinder than Gaston and much more loyal than Sinbad.

The hunter frowned at the man. Even though he didn't much care for Melody, she was his blood and he wasn't about to have anyone talk poorly of his property "First of all she's my daughter. And second of all, I think I already know where she is. She probably ran off with her dumbass of a boyfriend, he's the kid who works with her mother at the local Inn."

Clayton's ears instantly perked up at the mention of a boyfriend as he sat down next to Kocoum, "So you want us to, what? Kill the kid?"

"Well we aren't going to set the Inn on fire if that's what you want;" Shang interrupted with a gravely serious expression "my wife works at that Inn and if it weren't for that Inn – my wife and I would be living on the streets."

"Calm down Shang, the Inn has nothing to do with this. What I want you guys to do is beat the brat, and then bring him to me," Gaston explained as he licked his lips in thought.

Eventually Clayton, Shang, Sinbad, and even Kocoum shared worried glances. They all understood what this meant. They'd be kidnapping a minor only later to have him killed. That being said they knew that Gaston would pay well and he'd also make it look like a mistake.

They all simultaneously nodded their heads, and then in unison they all whispered:

"Deal…"

A/N: And that is what I call a wrap! Once again I apologize for the long delay but while writing this chapter I had to take a break because I ran out of inspiration. I hoped you guys enjoyed reading this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it. Until next chapter everyone…