Chapter 21: You're Our One Last Hope
Well looky here, the author's finally updating again! If you can believe it, this chapter, like the last one and all the lesson chapters, was hard to write and here's why. When writing such a classic character (Shang, Phil or any of the Disney characters) you have to be cautious of how you write them. Shang may be hard headed, but I personally don't see him as being sexist, but just following the norms of his culture. He's more of a unprejudiced discriminator, if you will (my summer course in sociology is making me look at things in the bigger picture sense.) It's the same with Phil, though he's a bit more outspoken than Shang about it. But that's why I changed the song from "I'll make a man out of you, to "I'll make a fighter out of you." (Though the song still in no way belong to me) Besides, Shang is much better than he was in the first movie. ( I actually really like Mulan 2, as Disney sequels go) Now, with that wordy A/N done, I'd like to move onto the reviews.
Julia: FINALLY!
Me: Quiet you, or I'll tell Shang and Phil you've been harassing me, and I can't control what they might deem appropriate for an apology. Up to you
Julia: Fine, but let it be known that I'm too sore to argue with you, and you know I'd win.
Me: Fair enough. Ok, I only got three reviews this time, so a big thank you to LadyOfSlytherin101, Fangirling37 and TheDisnerd. Your support are the sole motivators for me to continue to post this story!
LadyOfSlytherin101: Thank you for keeping me on track. And again for all the help you give me, be it editing or the sharing of ideas. I know I say it a lot, but this story wouldn't be as good without your support.
Fangirling37: Brilliant? I like that! I promise it won't go to my head. Hopefully. Your comments always make me smile :). They will be coming up, don't you worry, and they are worried, don't get me wrong.
TheDisnerd: I'm glad you liked it! Julia and Ashley are always very highly wound, especially now, and I'm afraid they might be influencing April a bit, though it's not always a bad thing. Phil, honestly in my top ten characters, because Hercules is my favorite Disney movie. The origins of the line is from Family Guy, where Brian and Stewie create the Big Bang and go to Italy to fix time. No one got it, so I don't dislike you for it. I watch too much Family Guy, but I'm not complaining. Hope you like this chapter too!
Once again thank you for the ones of you that reviewed, and for the ones that didn't, I still hope you like this chapter! Disney music fans, feel free to go to YouTube and sing along with this chapter. Enjoy!
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Ivy's P.O.V.
"Kim you ok?" I asked, seeing Kim as she walked up next to me, her eyes having a bit of a far off look to them, and a sad one at that.
"Fine, just lost in thought," she said, and though I knew she wasn't exactly telling the truth, the smile she was giving me looked genuine. I wrapped an arm around her shoulders and hugged her, she responding with a small chuckle.
"Just let me know ok? If you need to talk," I said and she nodded, putting her head on my shoulder. By now, we had walked through the second portal, this one spitting us out on what I quickly saw as Phil's Island. I breathed in the ocean air, the cooling breeze playing with my braid. Though I knew I should be wary, as I was in another realm that was home to a particularly powerful Disney villain, Hades, I immediately felt at home. Hercules had been one of my favorite movies growing up, with Aladdin being a very close second, and having visited both worlds left me nearly speechless.
"So, the lovely protectors have finally arrived." came a gruff voice, and I grinned when I saw the famous trainer of heroes, and hopefully soon to be heroines, himself. Philoctetes. He walked over, his hooves clopping on the ground, and looked up at us.
"So Mickey thought I'd be the one to give you hero lessons huh? Well I'm sorry to burst his bubble, but I can't teach yah," he said, all of us looking at one another before shouting a collective outburst. "WHAT!?"
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Carly's P.O.V.
I couldn't believe it. We were being denied training!
"And why, may I ask, can't you teach us?" asked Ashley, Phil looking at her with …. was that a pained expression?
"I can't teach you, because it's suicide! These villains are the real deal, and they're getting stronger, much stronger than when you faced them last time," he said. Julia putting her hands on her hips angrily.
Julia put her hands on her hips angrily. "In case you haven't noticed, we've faced them twice before and thoroughly beaten them. We can beat them again," said Julia, and the satyr shook his head.
"So you killed a couple of them off, big deal. Villains have a nasty habit of coming back, cause if they didn't you wouldn't be here. And what about Hades hmm? In case you haven't noticed, he's a god, and can't exactly die," he said.
I shook my head. "We don't want to kill anyone. We're better than that. We just want to defeat them, once and for all," April said, and the others nodded.
Mori and Syrena moved closer to one another, and I instantly knew they were thinking back to that horrible night in the Underworld, where they had put an end to Judge Frollo. He was a nasty piece of work, but even though he was the one that died, Mori and Syrena had to suffer.
"Phil, we just want a chance. To show you what we're capable off. We can do this," said Zoey, her dark blue eyes pleading with the Satyr.
"No, I'm too old to be mixed up with all of this," he said, and I ran after him, placing a hand on his shoulder.
"But it's the truth!" I said, startled as he abruptly turned around.
"Pu-lease!" he said, putting emphasis on the word. I raised an eyebrow, all of this sounding familiar. A moment later, my suspicions were confirmed. Ivy smile stretched all the way across her face, while the rest of us either smirked or rolled our eyes. Here we go again.
So you wanna be true heroes, girls
Well whoop-dee-doo
I have been around the block before
With blockheads just like you
"Easy," I heard Carmen say to Julia, who along with the rest of us, didn't really like being referred to as blockheads. Guess he had something in common with Charlie Brown now, oddly enough.
Each and everyone a disappointment
Pain, for which there ain't no ointment
So much for excuses
Won't suffer no abuses
Asking me to jump into the fray
My answer is two words!
I thought it would end right there, with him saying something like "am-scray" or something along those lines, when a rather large and convenient shot bolt of lightning came down from the sky and struck Phil, turning him into a blackened and slightly smoking version of himself. "Ok" he wheezed and we all laughed.
"You win," he said, as he walked towards the field that Hercules had once trained on. "Oh gods," he said, April and Ivy waving up at the clouds.
"Thank you gods!" they chorused, which made all of us burst out laughing, and Phil to rub his head in annoyance.
"Oy vay." This would be an interesting lesson.
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Syrena's P.O.V.
I'd given up hope that someone would come along
A fighter who'd ring the bell for once
Not the gong
The kind who win trophies
Won't settle for low fees
At least semi-pro fees
But no-I get the greenhorns
Phil glared as a tree fell over, the leaves landing on him and temporarily turning his horns green due to the olives stuck on them. I looked over at Julia, who had an innocent look on her face, but I could clearly see the sword poking out from behind her back, the blade covered in wood chippings.
"Sneaky pirate. Did Jack teach you that?" I asked, and she laughed.
"Nope, that's Julia Style 101. Jack has much to learn from me," she said, knowing Clopin would find it funny as well. The pirate and gypsy hung out sometimes, which was strange in and of itself, but Clopin always came back from these times laughing, so maybe not so strange. I looked back at Phil, who has led us to the field. Time to get down to business, as Shang would say.
I've been to pasture girls, my ambition gone
Content to spend lazy days and to graze my lawn
But you need an advisor
A satyr, but wiser
A good merchandiser
And whoa! There goes my ulcer!
We started to see what we could lift weights, and let's just say it wasn't as great as I planned, nor as Phil hoped it would it be. What, we were all still sore from Shang's training! And it was just the first day!
I'm down to one last hope and I hope it's you
Though girls, you're not exactly a dream come true
I've trained enough turkeys
Who never came through
You're our one last hope so you'll have to do
Yea, pushups and tightrope walking. With eggs on top of it. Though it was funny when the egg started to cook on Phil's head, when Carly dropped it. This was the easy stuff. Great.
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Julia's P.O.V.
"Rule Number 8, if it was easy, everyone would be doing it, so lets move!" yelled Phil, all of us moving over to the next station. We had moved onto knife throwing, always fun. It was hard, to say the least, as each of the targets were constantly moving. Syrena and Ashley were pretty good at it, unsurprisingly, but Phil was starting to yell more. And lets just say it was getting on my nerves. We may have been a bit more agile than your average teenage girls, but we were not Hercules. I looked over at the sidelines, seeing Carmen and Hercules sparring, as Phil wouldn't let her do what we were doing. Lucky girl. I was jolted out of my thoughts when Chloe, who had managed to hit the edge of one of the targets, handed me a knife.
"Rule Number 95, kid, concentrate!" yelled Phil, and it annoyed me, so much, that I whipped it around and threw it at a nearby tree, which Phil was standing next to, and it sunk into the trunk, around 6 inches from his head.
"Rule number 96! Aim!" he yelled at me. The other girls could only stare while I crossed my arms, a smirk worthy of one of Jack's on my face.
"Rule number 52, expect the unexpected," I said, the other girls laughing as Phil grumbled. I knew those rules could work to my advantage. They just needed the right occasion.
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Carmen's P.O.V.
"Nice Carmen, you're doing great!" said Hercules.
I nodded, trying to get my breath back while wiping the sweat off my brow. I was a little jealous that I again couldn't train as hard as the others, but I had to think of the baby first and foremost. And though sparring with Hercules wasn't what I'd call easy, I'm glad I was getting in some exercise, as exercise in small amount was good for both the baby and me. Peter would disagree, and I knew he worried, but while I wouldn't do anything too strenuous, I wasn't going to leave myself completely defenseless. My sword, while magical and important, couldn't be my only defense, as I didn't fully agree with Phil's lesson, Rule 16, A Hero is only as good as their weapon.
"All right, let's take a breather, you look beat," he said, and offered me a hand to help me sit down on a nearby boulder.
"Phil and the girls seem to be working well together, I think," I said, right before Julia started yelling at the satyr, Hercules and I laughing.
"Phil's a good guy, just has a couple of rough edges here and there," said Hercules, and I laughed again.
"Julia does too. She's stubborn, but definitely someone you want on your side in a fight, so rough sort of fits her" I said, Hercules nodding before he looked back over at me. I didn't see this as I was looking at my stomach.
"Carmen, are you alright?" he asked. I looked up at him. I was worried. Being in Greece was wonderful, don't get me wrong, with its beautiful green hills and ocean views, but I worried just the same. We were so close to the Underworld, a place where at the time, I thought would be where we'd all die. The Villains still scared me, but the ones who terrified me were Hades and Maleficent, and being so close to Hades lair made me feel uneasy, and all the more willing to train in anyway I could. So I wouldn't be scared anymore.
"Let's go again," I said, starting to get up, when Hercules made me sit back down.
"No Carmen. You've done enough for today. Now what's wrong? You look like you're expecting something to jump out at you," he said and I looked up at him. Hercules was such a nice Disney character, someone who had become somewhat of an older brother to us, that I found myself telling him my worries.
"I'm nervous to be here Herc, if you want me to be honest," I said, the hero raising an eyebrow. "Herc, I'm jumpy because I'm afraid Hades is going to show up and drag us down to the Underworld again. And I just feel so useless, a liability. Hercules, I've literally become a classic DID, Damsel in Distress! But I can't do more, or I'll hurt the baby. I'm supposed to be the leader, and I'm scared. What am I supposed to do?" I said, clutching my necklace tightly. I felt Hercules put his hands on my shoulders, and I looked up to see him gently smiling.
"First, you need to take a deep breath and calm down," he said and I tried, breathing in through my nose and out through my mouth, until my shoulders stopped shaking.
"That's better. Now Carmen, you girls are some of the most important people in the Disney Kingdom, do you think Mickey wouldn't constantly be thinking about your safety? Phil's Island has been covered with a magic shield, which repels all evil from entering, no matter how powerful. Neither Hades nor the other villains will be able to touch you," he said, and I felt slightly better. Slightly.
"But I still feel like a walking target!" I began but Hercules shushed me again.
"You Carmen Kendall Pevensie, are not a target, nor are you a Damsel in Distress. You are one of the strongest people I know," he said and I rolled my eyes.
"Says the guy with demi god strength who's strong enough to throw a car," I said and waited for him to laugh, but instead saw he was serious.
"Strength isn't measured in muscle Carmen. I learned that the hard way," he said, before looking me straight in the eye. "A true hero is not measured by the size of their strength," he said, before lightly tapping me on the upper left part of my chest, "but by the strength of their heart," he said, and I found myself smiling, thinking of Zeus and Hera, another wonderful Disney couple, who I had gotten to know well.
"Your baby will be so loved, and probably the most protected, in all Disney history," he said and I had to nod.
"Thanks Hercules. You always know the right things to say," I said, and he smiled, when a loud yell caught our attention.
"Rule number 96! Aim!" yelled Phil, and I saw Julia with her hands on her hips, a smirk on her face, cheekily responding with another rule, something about expecting the unexpected.
"Tell Phil I wish him luck, he'll need it when working with us, especially Ashley, Julia and April," I said, and Hercules laughed. Though his talk had made me feel better, I still looked over my shoulder. You could never be too careful.
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Emily's P.O.V.
Demigods have faced the odds
And ended up a mockery
Don't believe the stories that
You read on all the crockery
Ok, swinging on a rope across a wide canyon was downright scary. Sure there were nets, which Hercules (bless him) had set up to catch us if we fell, but it was still terrifying none the less. We had moved onto knife throwing at targets, moving ones, and lets just say I was less than stellar at it. This was the second time we tried it, and I still hadn't hit one!
To be a true hero, girls,
Is a dying art
All the others had gotten their knives in, and I was the last to go. Phil was trying to help me, trying to show me the wrist movement.
Like painting a masterpiece
I took a deep breath and threw, closing my eyes, when a heard a thunk, and looked up to see the knife sticking out of the center target, right on the bull's-eye.
It's a work of heart!
Phil grinned at me and thumped me over the heart, my face flushing in surprise and amazement. I saw Carmen cheering for me, from her place over by the sidelines with Hercules. The others cheered too, and even Phil looked proud. Today had gone better than I had anticipated.
It takes more than sinew
Comes down to what's in you
You have to continue to grow
Now that's more like it!
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Desmoira P.O.V.
I felt my heart racing, sweat covering my body. We were on the last challenge of the day, and it was the big one. Though it was a tamer version than the one from the movie, the task was still daunting. There were no sharks, no crushing boulders or slicing blades. (Phil told me he had taken those out, but would put them back in when we had more training under our belts. Great. John was going to have a field day and freak out. He still thought I was this delicate blossom that needed to be protected.)
We had to swing across the water, hit a trampoline, jump through an enormous ring of fire and take down the training dummies at the end. And the hardest part, we had to do it together. I felt Syrena grasp my hand, and say her smiling at me reassuringly.
"You ok?" she asked and I nodded, remembering another one of Phil's hero rules.
"Rule 35, a hero who won't be beaten, can't be beaten," I said, and Syrena laughed.
"That's right," she said, right as Phil blew his whistle.
"Go!"
I'm down to one last shot
And my last high note
Before that blasted underworld
Gets my goat
We all sprinted forward and grasped the ropes, and I was amazed at how in sync we looked, like we were in an action movie. And in a sense, we were.
Our dreams are on you girls
Go make 'em come true
We hit the trampoline, and were launched through the air, all of us amazingly sailing through the fiery ring, and landing on the ground.
Climb that uphill slope
Keep pushing that envelope
The dummies popped up, spring loaded crossbows pointed at us. "What do we do?" yelled April, all of us circled in the center, back to back. That's when I got an idea.
"Sword and Knife Boomerangs!" I yelled, and somehow bent my sword and threw it. I didn't question it, Disney magic at work most likely, and the girls copied me, the swords blades glinting in the sunlight.
You're our one last hope
And girls it's up to you!
10 swords and Syrena's knife went whipping around, the loud thunk of each of the dummies head as it fell of it's body filling the air. All of us cheered, Phil looking like he was about to jump for joy. My sword came flying back and I caught it, the blade instantly straightening out.
"I love magical swords!" yelled Ivy and I had to laugh. Magic, something that had become as natural as breathing. And I wouldn't have it any other way.
Yeah!
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Zoey's P.O.V.
I flopped onto my bed, my exhaustion catching up to me all at once. It was 9:30, and though our schedule said lights out at 10, some of us were already gone. Mickey had been nice as usual, and had sent up dinner to our room, but some of us, like Emily and Syrena, had collapsed almost instantly. Carmen, Julia, Ivy and Carly were out, talking with their significant other no doubt. Ashley and Desmoira were sitting on Ashley's bed, Ashley holding a sleeping Anna while Desmoira stroked Anika's hair as she nodded off. They had just come back from visiting John. Chloe and Kim were still in shower and bath, and April was sitting out on the balcony, her feet dangling in the air. I was about to go to sleep, when Julia walked in and stole my pillow out from under my head.
"Zoe, you have a visitor," she said and I sat up, grabbing my pillow, about to tell her off, when I looked at the door and saw Ed, smiling at me as he motioned for me to come out.
"Thanks my orange haired alarm clock," I said, Julia making a face at me. I quickly made my way out of the room and out the door, where Edmund surprised me, picking me up from the ground and swinging me around, my dark blue nightgown swirling around my ankles. He set me down, and then kissed me, and action that could still make me go weak in the knees. We walked out onto the main balcony, the cool night breeze playing with my hair.
"How are you feeling, you look exhausted," he said, and I shrugged.
"Tired. Every part of my body is sore," I said, Edmund suddenly looking concerned. Gently he moved back the fabric covering my shoulder, to reveal a large, greenish-purple bruise.
"Wow, guess I worked a little too hard," I said, and Edmund pulled me close.
"This is crazy, you guys shouldn't be working this hard so fast. Phil and Shang are great teachers, but you're not Disney characters and can't bounce back so quickly," he said, but I put a finger to his lips, silencing his protests.
"We're fine Ed. You don't have to worry," I said, and lay my head on his chest, smiling when he chuckled.
"Well I'm sure I'm not the only guy here who misses their girlfriend when they're gone. I might just have to steal you away at some point," he murmured, and suddenly dipped me back, my heart racing in surprise as he kissed my neck.
"Well, my birthday is coming up soon, and I don't have any plans yet," I said, and Edmund grinned, as he let me back onto my feet.
"July 4th, which if I remember correctly, falls on a full moon. Will you allow me to take you out my lady?" he asked. I pretended to think about it, before grinning up at him.
"Yes, dear sir, but only because you asked so nicely and I'm so enamored with you," I said, humming in contentment as he wrapped his arms around me, my head nestled under his chin, as we looked up at the stars.
Yes, my 18th birthday, the second our groups summer birthday's, and while I had heard rumors concerning a large birthday ball, just spending the day with Edmund and not having to train so much sounded like pure bliss. I was bone tired, utterly exhausted, but with Edmund's arms around me, and the cool night air whispered around us, I felt like I could look at the stars forever, millions of tiny light studded across the sky. Glittering like diamonds.
Thank goodness that chapter is over. There will be more training and lessons chapters scattered throughout the story, but these were the introductory ones, so the others will be less detailed. Oh for those of you Disney fanatics out there, the few hero rules in this chapter are real, and completely owned by Disney, as is the song, One Last Hope from the movie Hercules, and merely used her for entertainment purposes. The next chapter, as previously stated, will look at some of the love our girls share with their guys, so expect some Disney style love fluff and for those romantic's out there, the next chapters will be for you. See you guys next time, and keep giving me your feedback!
~Rainlily216 Out!~