Ooh, here we go. I've been waiting for this moment since Long Live Evil. Enjoy.
Leave a review after reading, please. Feedback is always appreciated.
I'd like to thank the following users for reviewing the previous chapters: DragonEmperor999, EroSlackerMicha, Mustang52, Quartz Rider, xez2003, CarvieCamfia
Evie, Jay, and Carlos wake up early in the morning only to be summoned to Beast Castle by Mal and Ben. They were escorted to the living room where Mal and Ben currently are, including a big surprise. Harry Hook. Lying down on a couch, tied up and asleep. The sight of this made the three VKs confused and a little unsettled. They even noticed the scar on Harry's cheek.
"Okay, three questions. It would be four, but I already know the mark on Harry's face is your work, Mal," said Evie. "One, what did you two do? Two, why is this flag-waving marauder here? Three, why does he have whipped cream on his coat?"
"Oh, that would be me," said Carlos. "But I didn't know what she was gonna use the whipped cream bomb for, I swear. She just asked for it."
"Well, it worked," Mal informed him. "And as for your questions, Evie... one, Ben and I were called to a private meeting in the woods by none other than our tentacle-braided enchantress..."
"What?!" Evie, Jay, and Carlos shouted, now feeling very confused.
"You guys saw Arabella earlier, right? Well, Uma kidnapped her, planned to use her as her puppet to execute Operation: Grant Theft Trident," said Mal.
"Honestly, not so surprising. She did steal the trident one time," Jay replied.
"Moving on," Mal growled through her teeth. "Thanks to Carlos' whipped cream bomb, I saved Arabella and took a prisoner for good measure. And two, this flag-waving marauder, as you so put it, is here because I need him to do something for me."
"More information on Uma's plan?" Jay guessed.
"Yes, but that's not all," Mal responded. "There's... something I want to show you all."
Mal reaches into her jacket and takes out a tiny box. She puts it on the floor and removes the spells she cast on it. The tiny box grew larger. It was a coffin, and inside the coffin was CJ Hook. Sleeping and breathing.
Ben, Evie, Jay, and Carlos were beyond shocked by what they are seeing.
"Did you know about this?" Jay asked the king.
"No," Ben answered honestly.
"I didn't leave CJ to die in the Sea of Storms. I shrunk her and buried her," Mal explained.
"But why?" asked Evie. "I mean, I'm sorta glad you didn't leave her to die, but... why?"
"Because I've been saving her for this special occasion," said Mal.
Mal takes out a small strip of scented paper and uses it to wake Harry up. His vision was a little blurry when his eyes opened. He could barely see Mal's face, but his mind was a little scrambled upon awakening.
"Beautiful," Harry mumbled senselessly.
Mal slaps Harry in the face, which helped clear his head and vision, allowing him to see who he called beautiful.
"Where am I? Where have you taken me?" Harry demanded answers.
"You're in the castle," Mal answered.
"Uma will come for me. You know she will," said Harry.
"Oh, we know," said Mal. "But first, I need you for something."
"I will never assist you, not after what you've taken away from me," Harry said angrily. "You can torture me in any way you wish, but you can never force me to betray my captain."
"To think, he used to be attracted to Mal," Jay whispered to Carlos.
"I'm surprised he never hit on Evie," Carlos whispered.
"Well, I'm kinda glad for that," Evie whispered, telling the boys that she could hear them.
"I'm not asking you to betray Uma," Mal said to the young pirate.
Mal uses Harry's hook to cut the chains wrapped around the pirate's wrists and legs. Harry tried to swipe his hook back, but Mal kept it away from him. Harry would've tried again if he hadn't caught a sight in the corner of his eye.
His younger sister, CJ, sleeping inside a coffin.
He stood there, frozen, struggling to process what he is seeing. Am I dreaming, he asked himself. He wiped his eyes and, yet, he could still see her. He walks up to her coffin and touches the glass, desperate to be near her. The son of Captain Hook is feeling all kinds of messy emotions right now. But one thing is for sure, a part of him is glad to see that his sister is not resting in Davy Jones' Locker.
"Why did you lie to me, Mal? Why?" Harry asked. "I was destroyed. Broken. Almost lost my way."
"It doesn't matter what I've done. What matters now is waking her up," said Mal.
"Then get on with it," Harry insisted, desperate to see his sister open her eyes.
"I can't," said Mal. "I cast a sleeping spell on her. She can only be woken up by true love's kiss."
"Well, in that case, CJ's a goner," Jay said casually.
"But no one loves her," Harry said sadly to the purple-haired sorceress.
"Harry, you love her," said Mal. "You're the only person in this world who does. She's your sister and the time you two spent together during the war last year strengthened your bond. I was part of your crew, remember? I've seen how close you two are. I watched her patch that wound I gave you and saw how grateful you looked. You love her, Harry, because she's your family."
"Are you sure of that?" Harry asked, looking like he felt offended.
"Harry, love isn't just about romance. Love can apply to family and friendship," said Mal.
Mal smiled at Evie, Jay, and Carlos, who smiled back at her. They knew how much Mal treasured them in her life. It made the three of them feel proud to be there for her.
"Just kiss her, Harry," said Mal.
"Uh, Mal, she's Harry's sister," Jay pointed out.
"Not on the lips, Bean Bag," Mal said as she smacked Jay across the arm. "The cheek or the forehead would work just as well."
Mal uses magic to open the coffin. The first thing Harry did was hold his sister's hand. He looked at her sleeping face. He noticed a scar on her left cheek. Considering Mal is the last person to see her alive, it's obvious it was Mal's work. Harry touched the scar on his own cheek, laughing at the thought that their scars help identify them as siblings. He was, however, worried that a kiss won't work. If it doesn't, not only will she not wake up but also prove to Harry that he does not love his sister. He hesitated for an awfully long time. But if there was any chance he can wake her up, he had to go for it.
Harry slowly leans down and kisses CJ on the forehead. It seemed, however, that it didn't work. CJ was still asleep.
Just as Harry was about to let go of his sister's hand, a hand prevented him from doing so. That hand was CJ's other hand.
"A-A-Ahoy," she mumbled.
That word triggered a flashback in Harry's mind. That word was the exact same word that CJ uttered when she swung into Ursula's Fish and Chips to recruit him to her evil cause. That was the beginning of the evolution of their brother-sister relationship.
CJ's eyes open as she yawns. The first thing she sees is the face of her brother. She was still holding his hand, like he was holding hers. Harry cracked a smile, feeling happy to see her finally awake. Evie, Jay, Carlos, and Ben took a step back as they readied themselves for a fight. Evie had her sleeping perfume. Jay has his fists. Carlos has a mini-bomb he keeps in his person at all times. Ben has his sword.
Suddenly, CJ punches Harry in the face, much to the shock of everyone... except for Mal, who looked nonchalant.
"Traitor!" CJ shouted.
CJ kicks Harry in the stomach and then pushes him to the wall. Noticing she doesn't have a sword, she steals Ben's and hits him in the head with the butt end of it. She approaches Harry with an angry look on her face.
"So much for a family reunion," Jay remarked casually.
"CJ! Stop!" Mal shouted.
Mal grabs CJ's arm, disarms her, and then pushes her towards the couch. Ben and Evie held her back to prevent her from hurting her brother.
"I'm gonna make you both pay!" CJ shouted, looking at both Mal and Harry.
"CJ, calm down," Ben pleaded. "You're safe. You're okay. Just calm down. Please."
"Carlos, my perfume," said Evie.
Carlos takes Evie's sleeping perfume and uses it on CJ, putting her to sleep. Evie and Ben gently lay her down on the couch.
"What has gotten into her?" Harry wondered.
"Uh, the last thing she remembers is being betrayed by her own brother, duh?" Mal replied.
"Oh, right," Harry remembered.
Mal magically cuffs Harry again and forces him down on a couch separate from his slumbering sister.
"Mal, can we talk for a minute?" Evie asked.
"I have a prisoner to interrogate here," said Mal.
Evie grabs Mal's arm and drags her out of the room, followed by Jay and Carlos. This leaves Ben alone in the living room with the two Hook siblings. Harry stared non-stop at his sister, still trying to convince himself completely that she is right there, alive and well.
"I can't believe she is alive," said Harry.
"So do I," said Ben.
"So, Mal kept my sister's survival a secret from you?" Harry guessed. "Interesting."
"Mal is who she is," said Ben. "I don't condone her actions all the time, but I know she has her reasons."
"Maybe you should consider fighting for the beauty queen's heart again, because your chances with Mal are as slim as a piece of a sewing string," Harry mocked.
Ben just ignored Harry as he waited for the other VKs to return.
~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ ROTTEN TO THE CORE ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~
Evie takes Mal outside the castle so no one can hear them talk. Mal knew this was coming, but she wasn't expecting to be dragged somewhere else to discuss the matter at hand. Evie, Jay, and Carlos were both confused and miffed, she could tell.
"What are you thinking, Mal?" Evie questioned.
"Do you know what you just brought back to this kingdom?" Carlos questioned.
"I think I prefer CJ sleeping forever," said Jay.
"Believe me, so do I," said Mal. "But I need her."
"For what?" asked Evie.
"Remember last year with Uma?" Mal replied.
Evie, Jay, and Carlos immediately guess what Mal meant. Unfortunately, it still didn't stop them from feeling disappointed in her.
"Are you serious, Mal?" Evie questioned her again. "I understand getting Uma's help to fight CJ, but using CJ in our war against Uma... I can't even begin to explain how wrong this is."
"You saw how she attacked Harry for betraying her, right? Doesn't that raise a red flag the size of a mountain?" Jay said.
"CJ is dangerous and that's what we need," said Mal.
"CJ is ten different kinds of crazy," said Evie.
"Oh, and I'm not?" Mal replied.
"No, that's... you're... you're not... I mean..." Evie juggled her words pathetically.
"You know what I'm capable of. You know that I'm dangerous. You know how dangerous I am," Mal emphasized. "Yet, here I am with you guys because you trust me to fight for the side of good."
"You're different, Mal. You have goodness in your heart," said Evie.
"And CJ has a heart full of evil and a brain full of nuts. The kind that make her, well, nuts," said Jay, doing the cuckoo gesture to emphasize how messed up CJ is.
"She may have been the playful kind of crazy before, but you and Harry really drove her to the edge," said Carlos.
"And need I remind you that Uma betrayed you last year?" Evie reminded.
"Guys, I know this is one of the riskiest decisions I've ever made, but I have to give this a shot," said Mal. "I let her live for a reason. This is it."
"In case Uma would still plan something big to take over Auradon, you would need an ace in the hole," Evie guessed.
"And mine is CJ," said Mal. "One person can change everything."
"Well, we did almost lose the war with you on the wrong side," said Jay.
Mal, Evie, and Carlos glare at Jay like he's an insensitive moron who isn't careful with his words. Jay just shrugs his shoulders and goes back inside the castle.
"Okay, fine, we'll go through this, but CJ is your responsibility, Mal," said Evie.
"This entire war is my responsibility," said Mal.
"You don't have to take on all your responsibilities by yourself, Mal," said Carlos. "And not everything is your responsibility."
Evie and Carlos follow Jay back inside the castle. Mal stayed outside for a while to ponder about what she has done and how it will affect the tides of the war moving forward.
At Auradon Prep, Arabella was in her old dorm with her roommate Eleanor, who also stayed behind to keep an eye on Ben during the war. Arabella's wound has been healed, but she needs a lot of rest. She's still emotionally troubled from the kidnapping and suffering.
"I made you some hot soup," said Eleanor, giving her roommate a bowl of soup.
"I have a cut on my face, not a fever, Eleanor," said Arabella. "But thanks."
Arabella accepted the soup.
"So, they were really gonna use you to steal your grandfather's trident... again?" asked Eleanor.
"Believe me, that only made me wish even more that I never stole it the first time," said Arabella.
"I'm pretty sure she would've used you anyway," said Eleanor. "You're the youngest of King Triton's granddaughters."
"You don't need to remind me," said Arabella. "What about you? Are you sure you want to stay here just to take care of Ben? He's fighting a war and you're on a wheelchair. I mean, it's not like Carlos built self-defense mechanisms in that chair."
"Ben is like family to me. Of course, I'm gonna stay," said Eleanor. "Besides, I have my mother's necklace. She'll protect me."
"That sounds nice," said Arabella.
"Wait here. I'm gonna go get some chocolate from Carlos," said Eleanor.
"Are you sure that's the only sweet stuff you want from him?" Arabella teased.
Eleanor giggled, embarrassed, and said, "I know about that rumor, Arabella. I'm just being a supportive friend. That cheek kiss at Cotillion was just a friendly act."
"Sure. Whatever you say," Arabella said, still teasing her friend.
Eleanor ignored Arabella and left the room. Instead of going to Carlos' dorm for chocolate like said, the "paraplegic" teenage girl headed outside and hid somewhere she can't be seen. Holding her necklace in her hand, Eleanor closes her eyes as she uses her magic to see what is happening up at Beast Castle. She can see the living room and in the living room are Mal, Evie, Jay, Carlos, Ben, Harry (still chained), and, much Eleanor's horror, the dangerous and unpredictable pirate villainess, CJ Hook.
The revelation that the youngest child of Captain Hook has been alive all this time is more than shocking, that's for sure.
Unfortunately, Eleanor had to stop using her Omni-Sight because it drains her magically every time she uses it. But her temporary state of weakness could not make her forget how shocked she was by her latest discovery.
"Mal, what have you done?" Eleanor wondered with fear.
This may be a little short, but don't worry. More of CJ in the next chapter, I promise. But now you know why Mal needed Harry. So, what do you think? Do you like it that CJ's back?
Note:
- To avoid confusion, the Cotillion that Eleanor mentioned is the one in my previous story, "Ways To Be Wicked". (And I left the same reminder in the last chapter, because someone mistook what Cotillion was being mentioned)