Hey Descendants,
Sorry for getting this out late today.
We hope you're ready for this. The investigation cleared them of any involvement... So guess where the VKs are heading...
And guess whats still going on...
Enjoy
-Dark-
Mal frowns as she hops out of the rocket ship. When Hiro offered to take them back to school she'd been excited to check it out. But now?
Now she wished their return hadn't been so obvious. No one was missing the stupid space ship. Reporters were already gathering, lights flashing as they took pictures.
What a fucking mess. She should have ridden with Ben. Stupid shiny rocket.
Why couldn't they have just come back tomorrow?
It wasn't just reporters though. There were a lot of adults. It was Sunday for fuck's sake, shouldn't the parents have started leaving by now?
Damn it. Why hadn't the investigation taken longer? She was okay with people thinking she was bad, didn't care if they thought she was evil. Her friends though? Her pack. Their image was what she cared about.
Weird how quickly that perspective had flipped.
She bites her lip before she sighs and steps out of everyone's way to lean against the side of the ship.
"Wow, David has gotten slow in his old age." Hiro chuckles as he walks out with Lilo and Carlos.
"I think we might have had a tiny bit of an advantage." Lilo grins as she pats the side of the ship.
"Tch," Hiro scoffs, "I could've beaten this boat here." He kicks the ship in emphasis as Jay and Evie walk down the ramp.
Carlos's eye twitches as he stares at the place Hiro kicked, "I don't even know how it works yet man, don't break it."
Mal chuckles as she watches Hiro affectionately ruffle his hair.
"This ship can handle so much more than a kick, chibi-chan."
Evie takes a deep breath as she looks out over the curious crowd. She holds the garment bag in her arms close to her chest, as if afraid that at any moment someone would try to take it from her.
Mal groans as she follows Evie's gaze. Damn it. They should have just driven back with Ben. None of them had the foresight that the stupid space ship would draw so much attention. Or in Carlos' case, probably didn't care until now.
"Let's just get back to the room, we probably have a mess to clean up," Jay grumbles as he stares at the crowd uneasily.
"Oh speaking of," Hiro takes a weird small cube out of his pocket, "Catch, chibi-chan." He calls in warning before he tosses it.
Carlos' hands immediately clap around the small cube as his eyes widen, "Se- Seriously? We can borrow it?"
"Yeah, your rooms were wrecked. And as you can tell, me and Lilo-" He wraps an arm around her shoulders, "here don't utilize it." He chuckles, "'Sides, I wanna see what mods you can come up with for it." he winks, "Consider it a challenge."
"Okay." Carlos nods emphatically before he wipes at his face with his shoulder, "Thanks, Hiro." He clears his throat before he carefully packs the cube away in his bag.
"No prob." Hiro shrugs before he turns to Jay who was readjusting the giant box in his arms. He reaches over depressing a panel before it slides out with the hiss. "Here Jay, let an assistabot carry it."
"I've got it." Jay waves the concern off before he rebalances, "See, all good."
Hiro glares before he turns to the panel, "I require assistance."
A small metallic tube slides out of the ship and tumbles once in the air, but before it hits the ground it sprouts arms and legs. "How may I be of assistance?" It asks.
"Please take the box-" He points to Jay, "And follow me."
"Of course Hiro." The robot turns to Jay, "Allow me." It holds its arms out.
With a huff, Jay passes the box of treasure to the spindly robot. "If it breaks it ain't my fault."
Mal grins as she adjusts the bags on her shoulders also full of their spoils of the week.
Hiro found their weakness, and easily exploited it. Jumped in on their gambles, and she suspected he lost the majority of them on purpose, especially the gambles from last night. Still, she was pretty sure he was the coolest adult she'd ever met.
Which slightly disturbed her because if she were being honest, he also reminded her of T.
Still the coolest adult, even in a family full of awesome. David and Nani were so wickedly cool. Lilo too. The woman's art was disturbingly beautiful. She couldn't wait to take her up on her offer of having art days. She'd even agreed to Lilo's shoot, by proxy signing up the rest of her pack too.
It was weird. She never would have expected a month ago that she would respect so many OG Heroes. But the whole family just kicked ass.
"If it breaks carrying that puny box I'll keep you guys supplied in candy for the next ten years." Hiro grins as he hits another button on the ship, locking it before the six of them start for the school.
"Is that Hiro Hamada? With the villain kids?"
"What are they doing back here?"
"I want to ride in a spaceship."
"Holy snickerdoodles! That's Hiro Hamada!"
It was odd that the reporters in the crowd were keeping their distance instead of rushing them like they usually did when she was with Ben. The rest certainly weren't trying to keep their voices down.
Carlos' shoulders bow as he gravitates closer to Mal, "This sucks." He whispers as his grip on his bag's straps tighten.
"Yeah, no shit." She snaps before she reaches over and pulls him closer by the shoulder. "Just wait till you're out with me and Ben- It's a complete shit show."
"I can't go out with you and Ben." Carlos rolls his eyes, "Those are real dates."
Mal rolls her eyes, "I meant for like ice cream or something, you little weirdo."
"I feel like getting ice cream is a real date now." He smiles boldly up at her, "But feel free to bring it back for me."
"Not a chance." Mal snorts, "If I have to work for it, you do too."
"But I'm not dating Ben." Carlos pouts.
"Rule still stands. No peanut butter and chocolate ice cream for you I guess..."
Dude barks.
"Look, even Dude knows that rule blows." Carlos pats his thigh in summons before he holds his arms open.
Mal's eyes drop to the dog, "I guess I can bring the mutt back a doggy treat if he cares that much."
"Imma pup, does that mean I get a treat too?" Carlos's brow furrows as he looks down at Dude in confusion.
"Oh? So you're finally owning it?" Mal brings up her hand to rest in Carlos' curls teasingly. A frown tugs at her lips when she realizes Dude still wasn't jumping into Carlos's arms. Her eyes follow the dog's attention suspiciously.
She tilts her head slightly when she finds an older woman in pink walking in their direction. An older woman flanked by Audrey, Jane, one of the idiot twins, and Chad. "Fan-fucking-tastic." She huffs. What now?
"Well now, I see you weren't exaggerating Chadwick." The older woman slowly shakes her head as she looks them over, crossing her arms disapprovingly, "I suppose you all think yourselves above the law now. With your spells and potions and thievery."
"Um," Hiro snaps obnoxiously, drawing the attention of Mal's entire gang, "Excuse me? Wanna try that again, lady?"
"Lady?" The woman's nose twitches in disgust, "I am a Queen and will be addressed as befitting my station."
"Well good for you, lady." Hiro waves her off, "But unless you start acting like one, I ain't buying it."
Audrey tilts her head to the side as a frown mars her delicate features, "You can't talk to my grammy like that." She says as if her simple explanation would clear up any confusion.
Oh no. Mal's eyes widen. Of course it had to be this queen. The queen her mother had cursed for her disrespect. She moves Carlos behind her as she squares her shoulders. This was going to go fucking horrible.
And as if it being Queen Leah wasn't bad enough, Hiro was the worst adult she could have voiced her thoughts to. This man was going to give the old queen a heart attack.
Hiro turns, sweeping his eyes over the girl with a raised brow before he turns back to the Queen. "Need kids to defend you while you attack other kids Queenie?" He shoves his hands in his pockets, looking for all the world unimpressed.
Oh mother. She knew it was too good to be true. At that moment, she vows that if anyone ever reminded her of T again, she was going to pull a Deez and fucking run the fuck away. T was clearly short for Trouble, and Hiro was inviting nothing but trouble right now.
"You will address me as Queen Leah or you will remove yourself from my presence."
Mal steps up to Hiro as he smirks. Oh that look. She grabs his arm with her slightly shaking hand, "Please don't."
Hiro glances down at her, eyes bold with mischief, and something she couldn't name, "No worries Mal, I've got this." He gives her a shit-eating grin that makes her groan.
"Do you though?" Mal whispers through clenched teeth. Unholy fucking Diablo, he even had the same grin! He was about to do something so fucking stupid she could feel it in her bones. How? How did more than one of them exist? And why did they think doing crazy stupid shit was ever a good idea?
Hiro winks at her before he turns back to Queen Leah. "Last I checked it was trash that got removed, not people."
Mal's stomach sinks as her grip on the man's wrist tighter. DamnitDamnitDamnit.
Lilo coughs behind her and she jumps at the sudden pressure on her shoulder. Though she doesn't turn around she could swear the woman was snickering. Was she entertained by Hiro's T like behavior, or just used to it at this point?
"Such disrespect." Queen Leah shakes her head before she looks down at Mal's hand on his arm, and then turns her eyes on her. The older woman's eyes widen, "You're the daughter of Maleficent." One hand dramatically flutters to her chest, "Oh, you look just like her. Just like the fairy that stole my daughter from me."
Mal furrows her brow as she drops her hand from Hiro's arm and takes a step back, forgetting for a moment that Lilo had moved until her back collides into her.
She blinks in confusion as Lilo holds her steady. That wasn't what her mother told her, not that her mother was a reputable source of history. But she wasn't about to argue with a woman who was so visibly upset.
"And? What's your point? She's not the one who forced you to hide away your daughter for sixteen years when you could have raised her and dealt with the curse when it's time came. You had options, you chose the dumb one." He turns to Jay, "So glad I got to read your history book." He turns back to the Queen.
Mal glances towards her second, who looked torn between amused and exasperated. Good.
She wasn't the only one making the comparison between the two reckless idiots who, at different times, had bombarded their way into their lives with all the dignity and grace of a blind and drunken cave troll.
"You have no idea what we went through, do not stand there and judge me-"
"Oh, like you're not judging this girl who wasn't even there?"
"Ya know man," Chad glares as he steps forward, "it's rude to interrupt a queen."
"Excuse me, Chadwick, but I was in the middle of something important."
Queen Leah daintily folds her arms over her chest as she turns to shout over her shoulder at the milling crowd, "Look at what they are capable of-"
"What? Putting up with bigots like you?" Hiro rolls his eyes and waves a hand, "I know they're so tolerant."
"You insolent commoner! I can have you thrown out of our kingdoms for such disrespect."
"I would love, absolutely love, like it would warm my heart to see you try." Hiro's eyes flash with a challenge as his grin grows toothier.
At the shift at her side, she looks over to find Carlos passing her. She blinks in surprise as he darts to Hiro's side.
"Hiro-" Carlos whispers as he reaches out and tugs on Hiro's sleeve, "Hiro, please. It's not worth it. Please-" His lip quivers as he stares up at him, his eyes begging him to walk away.
Hiro's eyes soften as he looks down at Carlos before he shakes his head. "No Chibi-chan, you're wrong." He grins as he ruffles his curls, "This is totally worth it."
"No, we're not." Carlos grabs him tighter, pulling his entire arm to his chest as he shakes his head, "Please, don't get thrown out."
"Yes, you are." Hiro disagrees firmly as he rests a hand on Carlos's head, "And I know what I'm doing. Trust me."
"Do you though?" Mal arcs an eyebrow, "Cause you're reminding me of one of the biggest, dickest, jackass I know right now." She huffs as she hugs herself tightly to hide the tremble, though she was embarrassed to realize there was no hiding it in her voice. Lilo reaches around her and gently pulls her back in a hug.
"Grammy?" Audrey frowns as she looks them over, "Maybe we should just-"
Queen Leah raises a hand to silence her.
Audrey closes her eyes, but nods and stands up straighter.
Hiro lifts his brow, "Now that was just rude." He observes. "She's just trying to save you the embarrassment of continuing this unbecoming conduct."
Queen Leah holds her hand up between them, "You're clearly a very intelligent boy, but I fear you've fallen for an enchantment the way our prince has." She turns her back on him and addresses the crowd again, "That's what we've welcomed back into our kingdom. Spells, potions, enchantments, curses, poison apples."
Hiro blinks as he attempts to step forward, only to find himself held firmly in place by Carlos. The boy was deceptively strong.
Chad steps up next to her. "These are bad kids, bad people. Do you really want to be in school with these villains?"
Evie blinks as she steps closer to Lilo and Mal, "We- we've done nothing wrong."
Chad turns on his heels to face Evie, "Don't act innocent you gold digger." He snorts before turning back to the camera, "That one-"
"Is going to be one of the most influential fashionistas of this nation in about five years so I'd watch how you continue, Chadwick." Hiro interrupts him as if daring him to continue.
"Do not interrupt me, I am a prince!" Chad snaps as he glares back at the group over his shoulder.
"Again? Is being royalty some kind of excuse here for being an open bigot? You two are about as important as white crayons as far as I'm concerned, and barely half as sharp as marbles if you think I don't see what you're doing. You fear mongers."
Mal lets out a sigh of relief as Jay steps in front of C and Hiro. This wasn't his first time stepping up to rescue the hapless idiot they found themselves with. The only difference was he wasn't defending him from her. Her smile softens as her eyes stayed glued to Jay's cool facade. If any one could diffuse these idiots, and the ticking time bomb that was Hiro, it was her second. Clearly, just like with the real T, her attempts were being swept to the side.
"Oh," Chad waves Hiro off as he points to the box being carried by the twiggy robot, "You got away with your other thefts so now you-
"Dude, I'd watch what you're about to say," Hiro warns as he slowly looks around at the gathered attack force with narrowed eyes, "and think about it really hard before you go tossing accusations around, because I can be pretty petty."
"Are you seriously going to defend that monster?" Chad rolls his eyes.
Hiro looks around in confusion for a moment, before his eyes settle on Queen Leah.
Oh fucking mother help her. It was getting worse.
Jay shakes his head as he turns his back on the group to face Hiro, "This is stupid man." He points to the man's side as he lowers his voice to a whisper, "And we're freaking the pup out."
Hiro takes a deep breath before letting it out, "Jay. Carlos. I need you to understand that it's not stupid to stand up to what's wrong. It's wrong to not stand up for what's right." He explains evenly as his eyes bounce from the boys to Queen Leah and her group of attack kids, "They can't treat you guys like this."
"I don't want you to get thrown out." Carlos shakes his head, still unable to look up.
"They can't throw me out."
"Oh yes, I can." Queen Leah glares, "Just like we should be forcing the king to send these kids back where they belong."
"Hey-O'-Whoop, there it is." Hiro claps his free hand to the one in Carlos's tight grip. "I'll be seeing you later Queenie," He nods at her. "But I think these kids have been unfairly harassed long enough." He stiffly mock bows, "This has been enlightening, I had no idea that some of the royalty here were so painfully ignorant. Ja ne busu obaasan."
Queen Leah frowns before she turns back to the crowd and camera, "We don't need an outsider who has taken to these villains telling us what is right or wrong. We lived the horror. We lived under the threats and the fear their parents wielded. And it's starting up once more. Even if these children had nothing to do, this time, with the problems around the school. Though I, personally, have misgivings about the validity of their clearance. They have corrupted fellow classmates, many attempted to take credit for the wrongdoings. Even they believed their perceived friends to be guilty. Why else would they falsely confess? And the threats against the students here. It's not just about the children of villains anymore. My own granddaughter's life is in danger simply because she attends a school that is allowing these children admittance. Once again, my family is in danger because of Maleficent."
"I am not my mother." Mal glares, her eyes flashing neon green as she stares at the crowd.
Audrey screams and backs away, "Her eyes!" She stutters out as her grandmother puts a hand over her heart in offense.
"You see? Like mother like daughter. Did you see her just try to enchant my granddaughter? Are we really going to let these deviants corrupt and put our children in danger."
Mal blinks before she looks away. Oh no! What the fuck had she done? Damn it.
"Oh, this situation looks lolo." Nani bites her lip as David pulls up to park beside Hiro's ship, "How far ahead of us were they?"
David sighs as they exit the car, "I should have made them look over the engine before we drove again." He rolls his eyes, "That's the last time I let Hiro take my car apart. We're lucky I knew the bolt was supposed to be tighter."
Ben steps out of his car, his eyes glued to the gathered crowd and his expression just as worried as theirs.
"I'm starting to wish we'd sent you on ahead brah." David shakes his head, "Kia only knows how much Hiro has needled- whatever this is."
The three push their way through the crowd.
"Howzit everyone?" David greets as he rushes up to Hiro, "Having a great Family Weekend?" What the hell had they just walked into? He looks around in confusion.
He frowns as Jay's eyes dart away from him.
"And who is this now?" Queen Leah demands as she stares him down.
Jay shakes his head as he steps in front of David and Hiro, "You don't need to worry about them, we're leaving." He holds his hands up defenselessly, "Sorry for the interruption your Highness."
David places his hand on Jay's shoulder and squeezes. Your highness? He takes a deep breath. So, this was a queen of one of the kingdoms, was it? Huh. Seriously, what had they missed? And why was this woman, this queen, so vehemently against them?
"Queen Leah," Ben greets with a forced smile as he rounds the group, "If you have any problems with my decree, I'd be happy to speak to you in a more appropriate venue. Where we can have a public discussion not filmed by my peers."
"Prince Ben. This is obviously a discussion that needs to be very public. You forced your decree on us, and look what it's done. The children attending this school are in danger."
"So far all it's confirmed for me is that Auradon is not the Utopia we've claimed it to be. It has flaws. Hatred, fear, and past grudges run deeper beneath the surface than I ever anticipated. The fact that someone would set these kids up in the hopes of getting them shipped back-" Ben shakes his head, "It's despicable. We have so much here, so many resources. And these kids never asked to be born to villains. They deserve the right to be here in Auradon just as much as any of us born after the barrier's erection." He states with deceptive calm. "And I assure you, as Prince and future king, we are doing everything possible to keep the students here at Auradon Prep safe. And I can assure everyone that we're still looking for the perpetrators of this hate crime. New safety measures are going to be put into place to better ensure the safety and wellbeing of the students."
"We've never had to put safety measures into place before. But now our children and grandchildren are facing the very real threat of guns being used to defend our way of life. Guns that can potentially hurt them, even kill them."
David looks up at the clouds dancing deceptively peacefully above them as he takes a deep breath. This woman, this queen was throwing everything out into the open in a way that made it look to the uninformed masses like it was the fault of these kids.
"And it's disgraceful that there are those so jaded by what the Villains did twenty years or more in the past that they can't see that these kids are not their parents. But it's clear-"
"Jaded? Ben, you are young and you do not know what life was like before we separated the evil from the good-"
"Excuse me!" Hiro snaps, "I thought you said it was rude to interrupt royalty. Last I checked the future king of the United Kingdoms of Auradon outranks has been Queens." He pulls Carlos protectively to his side. "So maybe you should let the prince finish talking before you prove yourself not only ignorant but a hypocrite as well."
Queen Leah's eyes narrow as she stares down Hiro, her face aghast.
"Do we know for sure they aren't loyal to their parents though?" Someone in the crowd calls out over the noise.
Queen Leah opens her hands as she frowns, "An excellent question," She turns back to Ben, "And one I feel should be fully investigated. On these four and any other child you deem to give a chance to ruin everything we've worked these past twenty years for."
Mal's eyes widen as she walks up to Ben and takes his hand to squeeze it. Her shoulders squared and back stiff.
"Ah yes," Leah folds her arms over her chest, "I've heard the rumors that you were dating the Daughter of Maleficent. I had hoped they were just that, rumors."
"Well, let me confirm for you. Mal and I are a couple, and I have complete faith in her. She, Carlos, Evie, and Jay are not here on their parent's behest, but thank you for bringing it up."
David stands taller, proud of the way Ben was handling the situation.
Ben turns with Mal, the two striking a regal silhouette, "As of tomorrow I will begin publishing letters about why Mal, her friends, and many of the children on the isle shouldn't be there. Letters written by the isle's resident journalist."
One girl's eyes brighten behind her camera, "Care to comment on the identity of the journalist?" She flicks her purple streaked ponytail back over her shoulder.
"Her name is Deez, daughter of Hades."
A low buzz travels through the crowd.
"He had a kid?" Megara snorts before she crosses her arms over her chest with a strange half-grin on her lips, "And she survived?"
"There's a demi-god on the isle?"
A deafening crash of literal thunder rolls through the crowd, effectively silencing everyone as they cower and cover their ears, leaving only four people standing.
"What have I told you about that?" Megara hits her daughter upside her head.
"Sorry," Mallora half apologizes, but looks to Ben in excitement "We have a cousin? When is she coming over?"
Ben sighs as he fights the urge to press against his ears, knowing it never helped them clear anyway, "Yes, and sorry that's still being debated."
"Bringing an untrained demigod over is yet another on a long list of bad ideas." Queen Leah shakes her head.
"Oh shut it," Megara juts her hips to the side, "My kids have been terrorizing this school for years while learning to control themselves. Time to pick a new damn argument."
"No one has made threats against your children, as undisciplined as they are."
"Not yet, but this is a witch hunt." Someone calls out. "You say one vk is bad. One demi-god is dangerous. Suddenly-" The woman claps her hands together above her head, "They all become dangerous! And it only snowballs from there. I know how these things work. I've been an outcast just for my heritage. You aren't even letting these kids prove themselves one way or another." The woman steps to just outside Queen Leah's circle of children, leveling her brilliant green eyes at the woman before she continues, "Where's the justice in that?"
Queen Leah furrows her brow for a moment, "This is not a witch hunt. Much as you would love another cause to shout for, Esmeralda. I am stating facts that every Auradon commoner and royal should be aware of. The crown can not continue to sweep dangerous matters under a rug to deal with at a later time."
"This is exactly how witch hunts start!"
"By putting the truth into the hands of the people?"
"No, by twisting the truth to suit the facts you're fabricating."
Queen Leah daintily chuckles, "My god Esmeralda, how can the truth and facts be twisted, they simply are. And I'm simply stating them. As a concerned grandmother, I am adding my concerns, but this is something everyone should be aware of. We don't know what was happening here at the school, or why it was happening, but we do know that there is evidence of guns being involved. This is a much bigger matter than the crown is making it out to be, and all of this is happening because of one change. One."
"Yeah, one change that scared some members of Auradon to set up sixteen-year-old kids! How is it their fault people on this side of the barrier can't accept change!" Esmeralda calls out as she starts making her way to the middle of the crowd, standing between their group and the group with the queen.
"It's not their fault at all." Queen Leah shakes her head before she turns to look at them with sad eyes, "But they can do something about it."
David grimaces. This woman was cold and calculating and willing to do what it took to drag these kids under and send them away, no matter what it took. It was cruel and ruthless to prey on their guilt like that.
Which meant she knew on a level these kids weren't evil. Or maybe she was just testing all options. What a bitch.
Jay sighs, dropping his chin to his chest before he steps back.
David quickly grabs his arms to steady him when he walks into him, frowning at the way he tensed up.
"So you expect this kingdom to succumb to terrorism? You would rather sacrifice children, banish them to hell, and give in to this tyranny? I get your scared and bitter, Queen Leah, but where's your patriotism!? Where's your pride?" Esmeralda huffs as she puts a hand on her hip and lifts her brow.
Queen Leah steps forward, clearly ignoring the other woman. "There is an obvious solution to this problem, and I am disappointed in you, Ben. The safety and welfare of our combined kingdoms should have more weight in your decisions."
"I am not sending them back. Nor am I segregating them. They are not the ones in the wrong here. The perpetrators are. And I, too, am disappointed." Ben shakes his head as he holds Mal closer to his side, "Disappointed that this is how some would welcome these kids to Auradon." He looks around at the crowd, at the cameras and recorders, "We're supposed to be the heroes. The good guys. Those who defeat evil. Not those, to paraphrase Esmeralda, who would bow to evil."
Queen Lean gestures to Ben and Mal, "Your stance is clear Ben, let evil into Auradon, and then let them take over. You are far too naive to remain impartial on this subject if you're already dating one of them and will not even stop for a moment to consider that this could be a plot against us."
"Are you deaf or just dense? I find at your age it could be either." Hiro snaps. "These kids haven't done anything wrong. I investigated the scene myself with the latest technology. Stop acting like this is their fault. Stop condemning them for a crime they didn't commit. Science doesn't lie! Agenda's do."
"According to you, they haven't done anything wrong. Fine, I'll accept that nothing can be proven yet. But villains are notorious for not getting caught until it's almost too late. There is too much uncertainty surrounding this, and you're asking me to risk my Audrey's life over your judgment." Leah shakes her head before she turns to Ben, "Over your blind faith. If you ever cared for her, you'd understand why I can't just take you at your word."
"If you're so worried about her, pull her out of the damn school!" Esmeralda snaps. "And let the real heroes of this school overcome this challenge."
Queen Leah shakes her head before she looks pointedly at Ben, "You promised that this pet project of yours would be handled fairly and with the discretion of the council. You've had time to prove your points, but we've heard nothing solid that supports your claims that there is good inside the children of villains. That they are worth the investment to give them a chance. Instead, we've been plagued with nothing but problems from the moment you first announced your plan."
"You want an investment? Support? I'll adopt this kid right now." Hiro snaps as he puts both arms around Carlos protectively. "I'm not letting his brain get wasted in your trash heap of bigoted slander and fear."
David sighs. Of course Hiro would drop their big plans out in the open for scrutiny before they'd even gotten a chance to run it by the royals in charge. Or more importantly, the kids whose lives would be affected.
"I'll adopt a kid!" Megara and Esmeralda's hands shoot up.
Mal furrows her brow as she looks over her shoulder before looking up at Ben, but he was too busy looking between the three adults offering their homes in disbelief.
Queen Leah shakes her head, "We'll see how this works out then." She gives them a small smile before she turns to Audrey, "Shall we go salvage what little time we have left of this weekend in peace?"
David raises a brow at the pointed remark.
"This isn't over Lady!" Hiro reaches around Carlos's hold on him to pull out a stack of cards and tosses them in the air. "Me. You. Debate. Good versus evil. Anytime, Anyplace."
Several of the girls rush from the crowd to grab one of his cards.
"Oh... Maybe should have thought that through a little more," Hiro chuckles lightly before he directs Carlos towards the entryway. "Come on chibi-chan."
Jay stares at them for a moment before he looks back to Ben and Mal and then over to Evie, who at some point had transferred her death grip off of Lilo and onto Nani. His eyes eventually look to David before dropping to the ground again, "Weird right." He states as he rubs the back of his neck.
"Yeah brah." David nods before he puts a hand on his shoulder and starts guiding him to the school while Nani guided Evie. "Let's get somewhere we can talk about it, eh."
"Nothing to talk about." Jay shrugs, though he doesn't look back up.
"I respect that's your opinion." That woman was going to drive these kids, this kid, back to the isle if he wasn't careful.
"But it ain't mine," Nani adds with a stern glare at Jay. "You four didn't need to hear that ignorant rhetoric." She breathes out a litany of curses.
"We've heard worse." Jay sighs before he looks around, "Ben and Mal stay out there?"
"Yeah," Lilo nods, "Just another perk of being future rulers." She sticks out her tongue and fake gags. "Next time I'm bringing Stitch. He would have shown those royals a good time."
Jay sighs as he turns to look back toward the door.
"They need to learn how to handle this together," David points out as his hand tightens around Jay's shoulder, "and Carlos and Evie need you after that."
"I can go back if it would make you feel better Jay." Lilo offers.
"No!" Carlos shouts as Jay shakes his head.
Lilo holds up her hands, "Or-" the word lengthens in uncertainty until she smiles, "I can help you guys clean up your rooms."
"And not get sent away. Or threatened, or hurt, or threatened." Carlos shakes his head against Hiro's side.
Hiro chuckles and cups Carlos's face, pushing his cheeks together as he leans closer. "Aw, yes, so evil. So terrifying. So intimidating. Whatever will Auradon do with you on the loose ya shinamonrÅru?"
Evie sniffs before she lets out a chuckle, "They couldn't find a single mean thing to say about you." She points out as she rests a hand on his back, "They can't possibly think you're bad."
"But what he said about you and Jay isn't fair or true. You guys didn't enjoy being that way. You had to be." Carlos pouts.
Jay shakes his head, "You're right, but that doesn't stop the fact that they have every right to think that, because I did act like that until-"
"My. Office." David redirects them firmly. They weren't going to be able to talk about this in their room until it was clean, and he wasn't sure he'd have the patience for that right now.
"Ah." Lilo turns to Carlos, "Can I borrow the cube?" She holds out her hand.
"Bag." Carlos sighs, stopping in the middle of the hallway as he lets go of Hiro with one hand. He shoves it into his bag and instantly pulls it out before he grabs Hiro again.
"Arigato, chibi-chan." Lilo swipes the cube. "C'mon Evie. Nani. Let's get that dress put up before Evie has a heart attack over it, we'll clean and then meet up with the boys after."
Evie blinks as she looks from Jay and Carlos to Lilo and Nani, "Yes. I'd feel better if I wasn't wrinkling it."
Oh fucking Leah.
She knows how to make an entrance, doesn't she?
These kids were seriously underprepared for this kind of attack. How can you defend yourself when you're already looked at as a threat? Talk about having your hands tied.
That back and forth though yo, it got intense.
Hiro and Leah clearly have very strong opinions on very opposing sides of the board.
And Leah is too old to know who Hiro is, and what he does for their country. Which is a lot, since he's the world's leading tech manufacturer and Auradon's moving away from magic, which is in that direction. But as Hiro exclaimed, Science doesn't lie, agenda's do.
Speaking of agenda's how did you like the cameo's this chapter? Megara, her daughter Mellora, and Esmeralda. Who didn't see those two speaking up for the broken and downtrodden? Sassy ass bitches.
What about Hiro playing fifty-two card pick up with his business cards?
And that huge fucking claim. "I'll adopt this one right now."
And then Esmeralda and Megara's reactions?
Beautiful amIright?
Much love and appreciation
-Twisted