Sorry it took me so long to update! My procrastinating side came back and I kept putting it off as long as possible. Thanks for all the great reviews so far!

I sure hope y'all like this chapter! I had a lot of fun writing it!

Chapter 25: Go On the Offense

Two Days Later

"Oh come on Terry! You must have some crazy stories about those years as a pirate!"

Terry rolled his eyes. Charlene had been at this for some time now. For some weird reason she wanted him to tell her all about the three years he was a pirate. But that was the last thing he wanted to do.

"I don't think so Charlie. You don't want to hear those stories. They're all stupid. Like I already told you…"

"Oh please. Pirate stories are always full of adventure! I haven't heard a good story in a long time. And the best part about yours," she nudged him, "is that it'll be true!"

"Fine!" He got up from the dining table to refill his glass. An idea came to him. Oh, this is going to be too good. "But don't bother waking me up when you can't sleep at night." He sat back down and took a sip of his water.

"I don't get scared, Terry. Tell me the scariest story you've got!" She leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms. Her whole demeanor was challenging him. He wanted to blow her challenge out of the water—and if he scared her, that would just be a bonus. If there was one thing that was still the same about him from his three years at sea, it was that he never backs down from a challenge.

"Alright. We were on the open ocean one time—not too far away from Florida, now that I think of it—and something hit the boat from behind in the middle of the night."

"What was it?"

"I'm getting there!" He took another sip of water. "Now at first, we figured we might have hit a reef or something, but land wasn't anywhere nearby. Then it happened again, this time the boat shook so much, a few of our crew members got knocked off. They were in the water for only a few seconds before they disappeared. Even though it was night, you could still see the ocean turn red around them."

"Oh my gosh! What was it?" Her hands gripped the arms of the chair and her eyes went wide.

"I'm getting there!" He let out a little smile. He had already won the challenge. "After the few crew members went overboard, there was complete silence for a few minutes. Nobody knew what had hit us. But then, the ship was hit again so hard that it broke a hole in the ship's haul. The next thirty minutes or so everybody kept falling overboard and the ship shook as it sank down to Davy Jones' locker."

"What's Davy Jones' locker?"

"It's the bottom of the ocean."

"Oh. So did anyone make it out alive?" She was completely wrapped up in the story. Now for the good part.

"I was the only one. After everybody had either drowned or been eaten by whatever that thing was, the ship was completely torn to pieces. I was hanging on to a small plank and I swear I saw a giant shark fin disappear into the water. Nobody ever believes me though, since I was the only survivor, but I'll keep swearing that's what happened 'til the day I die!"

"You're saying a giant shark did that to you and your ship? And you just happened to be the only survivor?" Charlene's grip on the chair's arms loosened. "That doesn't make any sense."

He put his right leg on top of the table and pulled his pant leg up, revealing a scar five inches in length on his ankle. "What do you think gave me this?"

Charlene stared at the scar in awe. "No way!" A hand covered her mouth. "You're saying this is all true?"

He nodded, trying to keep a smile off his face. This is just too easy.

After a few seconds of watching her, he came to the conclusion he had had enough fun. He burst out into laughter.

"What's so funny?"

"I got that scar from a bar fight back a year ago. There's no such thing as a giant man-eating shark in the ocean." He kept laughing. "You should have seen your face! You were so scared!"

Charlene smacked his arm and then crossed her arms, glaring at him. "That's not funny! I honestly believed you!"

"I told you that you didn't want to hear my stories! I decided to have a little fun with you." He winked at her.

"You're a jerk!" She stood up and walked out of the room. He got up and followed her.

"You asked for it." He whispered to her when he got to her side. She wrapped her arm in his and continued walking.

"So that really didn't happen?"

"Nope. It's an old legend that's been told by pirates for who knows how long! There might be some truth to it, but I've never even seen a baby shark—much less a giant one!"

Before Charlene could reply to that, a guard ran up to her and bowed.

"Your majesty, there is a someone in the grand hall that is asking for a private audience with you and the captain."

"Who is it?"

"I do not know. But he says its urgent."

Charlene and Terry shared a look of confusion before following the guard into the grand hall.

"When are we going to get to California? This trip is taking forever!" Jess asked Finn. They were both standing against the railing at the bow of the ship. It was late afternoon on their second day of the journey. The sun was going to set in a few hours, giving the sky a beautiful orange glow.

Finn shrugged. "Probably tomorrow."

"Then what?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well we can't just waltz in there and say you're the king. Maleficent's probably still got a lot of her soldiers there."

"Then what do you suggest?"

"I could sneak you into the castle and have you talk to Wanda. I'm sure she's got a plan."

Finn turned to face her. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. Wait a second. She's been in the castle this entire time?"

"Yeah? Where else would she be?"

"I don't know…somewhere not in Maleficent's castle! Where could she have possibly stayed without getting caught?"

"You know the secret passage underneath the throne room?"

Finn's eyes went wide. He remembered the exact place Jess was talking about. His dad had shown it to him the day before he was killed. He nodded.

"Well that's where she's been all this time."

"You're telling me that my aunt's been underneath Maleficent this whole time but didn't say or do anything?"

"She didn't say or do anything Finn because she was waiting on you. You're the one that had to overthrow Maleficent."

"And how come it had to be me? Why couldn't it have been her?"

"Wanda was never queen and you know that. She was simply keeping things in order until you got old enough. The throne wasn't hers to take."

"What about this mysterious sister of mine? The one that my dad told me about? Is she still alive?"

Jess thought about it. "I think she's still alive. Wanda acted like she was when she told me."

"Do you know her name? All I know is that she's seventeen months younger than me and that my dad gave her away."

Jess shook her head. Finn glanced off into the distance and thought he saw something on the horizon. He squinted and realized he wasn't just seeing things.

On the horizon in the direction they were headed was a black shadow.

"Jess, do you see that?" Finn pointed to the shadow.

"What is that?"

"I don't know."

Jess squinted, trying to get a better look. "It kind of looks like a ship."

Finn squinted and saw a black and green flag flying high on the mast. Maleficent. "Didn't Captain Maybeck say Maleficent's ship was the one that bombed Charlene's castle?"

Jess' eyes went wide. "Is that the ship?"

"Yeah. And we're headed straight for it."

Finn turned around to the crew doing various jobs around the ship. He started walking across the top deck toward the steering wheel.

"ALL HANDS ON DECK! PREPARE THE CANNONS!"

Finn pointed to one of the sailors nearest to him. "Make this ship go as fast as possible!" He pointed to the ship on the horizon. "We need to catch up to that ship before nightfall!"

"Yes sir!" The sailor ran off.

"RAISE THE SAILS!" Finn yelled as he raced up the stairs to the steering wheel.

Amanda and Philby came up to the top deck and came over to Finn.

"What's going on?" Philby asked Finn. "Why are we picking up speed and preparing the cannons?"

"See that ship on the horizon?" Finn asked as he turned the giant wooden steering wheel with both hands.

"Yes, but what does that have to do with us?"

"It's the one that bombed the castle."

"How do you know?"

"It has Maleficent's flag on it."

"What?" Amanda blurted out. "Finn, we can't fight them! Look what they did to Charlene's castle! We'll all die! Can't we just sail around it?"

"We can't sail around it. It's the open ocean, Amanda. They'll see us no matter where we go. We have to be prepared for a fight."

"What if they sink the boat? How are we going to get to California then?"

"They won't sink us. We're ready for them this time."

Willa sat on her bed with the journal open in front of her. For the past two days, every free moment had been spent studying it. So far she had been able to decipher some of the pages using a code that she had found stuffed into one of the pages.

The page in front of her was all about ancient legends of the sea. She was captivated by the legends: giant octopuses swallowing ships whole, mermaids and underwater caves.

The one that caught her attention was the legend of a pirate ship being attacked by an unknown creature. The sole survivor of the attack was spared by the creature and floated away on a small wooden plank. The pirate claimed that he saw a giant shark fin swim away at the end of the attack.

Willa couldn't help but wonder if it was true. Of course deep down she knew it wasn't real, but something about this tale was screaming truth.

She heard people rushing by the door and closed the journal. She got up, placed the journal under his pillow and walked out of her cabin. Every person on the ship was running past her, trying to get up to the top deck. She made it up to the top deck to see the crew preparing the ship for battle. She searched the ship for her friends and saw the four of them congregated at the steering wheel in the stern of the ship.

"What's going on? Are we under attack?" Willa asked Finn, who seemed to be taking charge of the situation—ordering sailors to do things every few seconds.

"No, Finn's bringing us straight into one." Jess rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. "He's going to be the death of us, I swear."

"Why are we picking a fight? Who's out there?"

"The ship that Maleficent sent to bomb Charlene's castle is in front of us. We can't avoid conflict with them." Finn said without taking his eyes off of the horizon.

"Finn's taken it upon himself to go on the offense and attack them." Amanda added. Her tone of voice suggested that she wasn't very happy about this decision either—or it was one of her mood swings. She'd been having more of those the past few days.

"That's actually smart." Willa said. "It's better to sink them before they can sink us."

"It's about time somebody agreed with me." Finn said as he turned the wheel slightly. "Where have you been all this time anyway Willa?"

Willa shrugged. "I was reading the journal."

"Anything interesting?" Philby asked her. His arms were crossed too. He hadn't said a word during this whole conversation. Willa tried studying him, but she couldn't tell what he was thinking.

"Just a bunch of ancient legends of sea monsters. That's all."

"It didn't happen to mention anything about sinking a ship, now did it?" Jess spat out sarcastically. "That would be useful right about now."

Finn let out a quick laugh. "Yeah, if one of those things could be summoned, we wouldn't have to worry."

"There was nothing about summoning them." Willa said in a quiet voice. "It was just old stories. They aren't real. So who cares?"

Nobody said anything. Willa felt Philby studying her, but she studied Finn. He seemed determined. She knew that once he had set his mind to something, there was no stopping it.

"So, Finn, what can I do to help?"

Charlene, Terry and the civilian were sitting in the throne room. Charlene sat down on her throne, while Terry sat down in the other.

"Does that mean the captain here's going to be king someday?" The civilian said with a laugh. "Or did I miss something here?" He pointed between the two.

"That's none of your concern." Charlene leaned back. "What did you have to tell us, mister—?"

"Greg Luowski, your majesty." He did a small bow. Terry could tell he was mocking her and he didn't like it. Something about him seemed all too familiar.

"Yes, Mr. Luowski. What do you have to tell us?"

"I have news of a threat to your ship, captain. Or is it king now?"

"It's captain to you, Greg." Terry fired back. "My ship left two days ago, what news do you have of a threat?"

"The admiral that fired cannons at your castle is planning on sinking the ship. You were supposed to be on board, but you're obviously not."

"What?" Terry stood up. "Are you saying my ship's going to sink?"

"All the way down to Davy Jones' locker." Greg smirked.

Terry walked over to him and slapped him across the face.

"Terry!" Charlene yelled, but the captain ignored her.

"You better not be telling the truth!" Terry said to Greg.

Greg laughed some more. "Or what? There's nothing you can do now!"

"Then why bother telling us if we can't stop it?" Charlene said as she walked toward the two. She stood a few steps behind Terry, just in case.

"Because I want you to know that your whole mission to get Prince Finnegan back on the throne failed. That you risked your lives for the wrong cause."

Charlene and Terry shared a look. He could tell she was worried about their friends. He was too, but he didn't know whether or not to trust this Greg guy.

"Guards!" Terry yelled. "Take this man to the dungeon. I'll decide what to do with him later."

As the two guards grabbed Greg and pulled him away, Greg smiled and laughed some more.

"It's funny how they listen to you. You're no king! You're not even the rightful captain of your own ship!"

Terry froze. How does he know about that?

His uncertainty must have been written all over his face. The guards continued to pull Greg out of the throne room, but that didn't keep him from yelling at Terry.

"Didn't think anybody knew, did you? You don't recognize me, don't you? I didn't think you would!" Greg's gaze turned to Charlene. "I would be scared if I were you! He's power hungry! He's using you! He probably told you he loves you! Didn't he? He wants your throne! That's—"

The door slammed shut and Greg's voice was cut off. An eerie silence hovered over Charlene and Terry for a few seconds before he stormed off.

He didn't want to talk about the past. He had just gotten over that. He had found his second chance and he was taking it. He had found closure, a group of friends and true love.

And he wasn't going to let Greg take that away form him.

Hmm...what's going to happen? I guess we'll see next chapter! I'll do my best to update faster this time!

And please keep those reviews coming! I absolutely love reading them! Be honest, tell me what you thought of this chapter! I love hearing y'all's opinions!