Chapter Thirty
A/N: I do not own anything other than my OCs when they come out to play. Everything else belongs to Disney.
Holy cats you guys, I can't believe we've made it to thirty chapters! Is there an end in sight? Hopefully! Is it soon? I can say safely nope.
*blows horn in celebration* guys we're now over 700 reviews and we just bumped past Choosing Love to make The Last Bridge my third most reviewed story! Thank you guys so much! I almost want to see if we can beat Watch and Learn now.
Katie2001: Thank you so much!
billyandkimfan1994: Thank you!
Hufflepuff24: Oh thank you so much! And I'm going to say I did not plan that but I just realized it myself! 'Home, Love, Family.' Just in opposite order! But I'm going to disagree on the whole pineapple on pizza thing!
Tracie Adams: Thank you so much, glad you liked the chapter!
AmethystDragon14: Yay! They really are sweet aren't they? And yeah, I'm sure every guy's the same! Thank you so much—I hope it goes smoothly too1
AnniexLove: Thank you! I'm so glad you're liking the story and all the pairings!
quil . theimperial: That they really do, and I eat pineapple and ground beef on my pizza so I get you!
TomiOcampo: Agreed!
OceanBlueSeaEyes: I've never had the experience so I'll take your word for it!
Pterodactyl1993: Oh thank you! Gil really was just a side character for me so I kinda like giving him more development—like Audrey in a way. I agree with the whole pineapple on pizza thing but I know there are others who don't care for it. Like my parents.
danifan3000: It would be interesting to see, that's for certain.
Guest: Oh thank you—and I think it's safe to say whatever Macaria was going to tell Gaston is not family friendly!
Maybelle Rose: Oh thank you!
Anonymous Reader: I have to agree! And thank you!
Kaybugg1: Thank you so much!
Ayakitten83: Thank you so much! As for the Moors, Mal's just holding on to that title for if/when she has kids. But she isn't ruling it right now.
shortanamx: Hmm, a triple date with the Godlings and their boyfriends…that'd be fun to write actually!
Guest: Aww, that's really pretty! I've never seen the new Ducktails but now I think I should—once I get the theme song out of my head!
Katt Kiki: It really is!
catdoghorselover123: I'm glad you like Gil and Macaria, and yep I borrowed the names from Greek mythology but I used Disney's usage of the Roman name Hercules rather than use the Greek Heracles.
smc-smfan1: Glad you liked the chapter!
Guest: Ah, gotcha! I'll just go back to bouncing aimlessly until we get a date!
Urmimala Hazra: Glad you liked the chapter! Since I don't know when the Bal wedding will be premiering, I can't say when the chapter will publish.
twilightgirl587: I think you'll like this chapter then! Ah that's a good point but the most there's been has been six for the Fiztherberts—Gaston had twelve kids. Very true about the names! I love pineapple on pizza too!
Guest: Oh I'll have to go check it out! That sounds like an interesting premise!
Shelleymh: It really is interesting though they're going to latch onto the kids from the Isle for a while before branching out to the AKs.
Balfan: Aww, that would be an adorable chapter! I can definitely see about getting that written!
61394:I'm right there with you!
Guest: Oh thank you so much!
TR Lara Croft: I'm so glad you're continuing to enjoy the story! Glad you liked the chapter!
Michiemh: *shrugs* I like them both! :D
LOST MUSES: Oh thank you! And YES PINEAPPLE BELONGS ON PIZZA! I'd like to think their kingdoms would join considering Akiho and Elle are both heirs to their thrones. However if we go by history, it'd be more like the kingdoms would be allies but Akiho and Elle would be the rulers of their respective kingdoms.
Hope you all like the chapter! Let me know what you think! :D
Ryan sighed as he kicked a rock down the path ahead of him. He was finally old enough to go on scouting missions by himself but all he could think about was the fact that CJ wasn't there with him.
She would have been a great scouting partner, especially since Henry insisted that everyone go in pairs. Which he hadn't done when he left for his scouting run. Ryan could only hope that nothing would happen on this run, especially since there wasn't really anyone he wanted to partner up with other than CJ.
He wouldn't begrudge her the invite to Auradon, especially since Harry and Harriet had gone there as well. Plus Sammy was going to be with her brothers. It was almost as if all of her siblings were going to Auradon.
Still though, there was a part of Ryan that wanted nothing more than to be with CJ. She was his best friend, his partner in crime. If she was the captain, he'd be the first mate.
He'd do anything for her, and he'd do anything to make sure she was safe. Besides he was a pirate. He belonged on the Isle, not rubbing elbows with prissy princesses and pansy princes as CJ would say.
"Well, well, man cub," a familiar voice broke into Ryan's thoughts and he kicked himself for not paying attention to his surroundings. "I must say it's been a while since I've seen a man cub willingly enter my hunting grounds."
"Shere Khan," Ryan stated, happy to note that the nervousness in his voice didn't seem to be audible, at least not to him. Though that didn't mean that it wasn't audible to the tiger that stood before the teen.
Shere Khan was probably as imposing as he always was, though if there was a way for a bengal tiger to not be imposing Ryan didn't know. The dried blood around his mouth only added to the imposing and intimidating factor.
It didn't help that the tiger only liked Evie. To this day, no one really knew why that was but he did and Ryan could only hope that the tiger would spare him…or at least make his death a quick one.
"I'm just passing through," Ryan added, his fingers brushing over his flair gun. Mal and Uma had sent them from Auradon; designed by Carlos of course. Even the pirates and the Warf Rats knew how much of a tech guru the son of Cruella was. The flair gun allowed them to shoot off different colored flairs depending on what they needed.
Blue meant they were lost, yellow meant they needed medical assistance, purple was all clear and red meant help. Like we need guards, swords, call it what you will. If you can provide it, do so.
Believe it or not, blue wasn't necessarily used as much as the others.
"Stay your hand, man cub, I'm not going to eat you," Shere Khan scoffed.
"You're…you're not?" Ryan asked, raising an eyebrow.
The tiger chuckled. "As hard as it is to believe, I've already eaten. A tiger's belly does fill up, especially when that belly is full of Auradonian. The meat on their bones is so much juicer than that of the Isle dwellers."
"…where's Audrey?" Ryan demanded, drawing his flair gun and pointing it in Shere Khan's face. "Tell me Shere Khan and maybe you won't get a face full of fire!"
"Now, now, did I say anything about the former royal?" Shere Khan scoffed though Ryan could see a glimmer of fear in the tiger's eyes from when he mentioned fire. "No I was referring to the older one. The one who up until recently was a permanent resident with us."
"…you ate…you ate Leah?"
"Are you upset with that?"
Ryan opened and then closed his mouth. He couldn't honestly say that he was upset with Shere Khan doing what tigers did best and honestly as long as he wasn't eating him or CJ, or really any of the crew which now included Audrey at least to him, the brunett didn't care.
Plus no one could say that Leah didn't have it coming from what they heard. The scene in the soup kitchen alone would have earned her spot in Shere Khan's belly.
Still…there was something that was bothering him. After all, there had been two Auradonians sent to the Isle.
"What about Natalie?"
"Who?"
"Leah's assistant, the one who was sent here with her. Blonde hair, general annoyance?"
Shere Khan nodded. "We ate her weeks ago. She and the older woman had tried to run and the younger one tripped. Well, more like the older one showed cunning I didn't think possible for man and shoved her compatriot to the ground."
Gods I hate the fact that I'm impressed. Still you know what they say, you don't have to be the fastest. You just have to be faster than whoever you're with. Ryan thought as he slowly put his flair gun back onto his belt.
"So…just to clarify, you're not going to eat me?"
"No. I'm not," Shere Khan said. "I'm giving you this one chance to get out of my hunting grounds unscathed, man cub. Be thankful that the one you call Leah was filling enough and sustained me, my mate, and my cub."
Ryan nodded, not wanting to comment on the fact that Shere Khan had a cub—something that was almost impossible to wrap his head around no matter how many times he heard it—and made his way back to the ship.
Oh sure, he should have probably went to the soup kitchen but the ship was closer and wouldn't involve going deeper into Shere Khan's hunting zone. Careful not to turn his back on the tiger, Ryan waited until he turned a corner before sprinting back to the ship. This was information Henry would need to have.
"Where were you?" Dustin asked as Ryan ran up the gangplank.
"Never…mind…where's Henry?" Ryan asked, resting his hands on his thighs as he panted heavily.
"Whoa, Ry, what's wrong?" Henry asked as he came walking up, one of the other crew members having gone and gotten him. "Bonny, can you get him some water?"
"On it Henry!"
"Don't…need…it," Ryan panted as he straightened up. "Henry…Leah's…dead…Shere Khan…ate her."
You could have heard a pin drop on the deck as everyone who was up there turned to look at the youngest crew member.
"You're sure?" Henry asked.
Ryan nodded. "He told me…himself," he said, thankfully getting enough of his breath back so that there were only a few pauses. "Plus I saw…the blood on his…fur."
"Someone's got to tell Uma," Robert said.
"No, someone's got to tell Mal," Nick said, shaking his head.
"Hell, someone's got to tell Audrey," Jade pointed out. "The old bat was her grandmother wasn't she? At least that's what she would always go on about the few times we stopped her from going into the soup kitchen before…well before that scene."
Henry nodded. "Okay, I need paper and a pen—I need to get this to Uma and I need to get it now. She can tell Mal, who can tell Audrey. Or at least Mal can let Audrey's parents know and they can tell her. Either way, Audrey deserves to know and she deserves to know when she's not working."
"They're in your quarters, cap'n," their Derek said, walking up and running a hand through his dark hair. Henry really had to wonder why Auradon had assigned a guy named Derek on their end but he didn't really worry about it.
Derek was a common enough name, they probably didn't think that a villain would name their kid Derek.
"And we need to talk about why you were out there on your own," Derek told Ryan, who sighed as Henry nodded and walked over to his quarters to write the letter. Well technically they were Uma's quarters but since she was in Auradon with Harry, someone needed to be acting Captain.
"I was careful," Ryan muttered, crossing his arms over his chest.
"Doesn't matter," Derek told him. "How would you be able to help Audrey, Liam, Harriet, or Jacobi if you got hurt or killed by Shere Khan or one of the other big cats?"
"If CJ was here, I wouldn't have been alone! You know I always partner with her!"
Derek sighed and looked at the rest of the crew, who were still milling around on the deck to see the confrontation. "Don't you lot have anything better to do?"
"Not really, no," Dustin shook his head.
"Well find something," Derek told him and watched as the rest of the crew dispersed. As much as he knew they had a right to know what was going on, Ryan didn't deserve to be lectured in front of them.
Ryan sighed. "Look Derek, am I ever going to be treated as an equal part of the crew? I'm over fifteen now, yet I'm treated like I'm five."
"You know perfectly well I'd be having this talk with Dustin or Nick or Jake if they went on a patrol without a partner."
"No you wouldn't. You'd tease them or give them a hard time but this is more of an official lecture. What, are you going to send me to my room? Going to ground me?"
Derek sighed and shook his head. "I get you miss CJ, Ry, but that's no reason for you to act out like this. Especially since Henry's offered to ask Uma to get you off the Isle and you've refused. Multiple times."
"Of course I did! I'm a pirate aren't I? Same as you, same as Henry!"
So that's what it is, Derek thought. Ry, you don't have to try to be me or try to be Henry. You just be you and you'll be fine. Trust me, I know the Isle's not the best when it comes to feelings and whatnot but with the changes that have come…I mean let's be honest here, this isn't the same Isle we grew up on.
Ryan sighed as Derek continued to stare at him in silence. "I'm taking that silence of yours as a no by the way."
"You shouldn't," Derek told him. "You are a pirate but Ry, whether you're here on the ship or safely in Auradon with CJ, you'd always be a pirate. You think Uma stopped being a pirate just because she went across the bridge?"
"No…"
"Exactly." Derek said, nodding his head. "And hey, what about Harry and Harriet? They're in Auradon, did they stop being pirates?"
"Probably not, knowing them."
"Sammy, Squeaky, Squirmy?"
"No…"
"And CJ? You think she's not a pirate?"
Ryan shook his head. "Of course not! CJ's a Hook. They're pirate royalty for Gods' sake! Only one better would be Elizabeth Turner since she's the head of the Brethren Court—though how they got to stay in Auradon while we wound up on the Isle I'll never know."
"It's because Beckett was their villain," Derek reminded him. "Besides, Beast couldn't exactly put the likes of Jack Sparrow on the Isle. Not after everything he did before he turned human. You know, the whole kidnapping and holding a woman hostage thing."
"Good point. Plus Captain Jack did sacrifice his life to kill the Kracken," Ryan added.
"Exactly," Derek nodded. "You know, I bet King Benny would put you with Captain Turner. You know, if you really wanted to go to Auradon."
Ryan sighed. "You're not just trying to lure me into going so I won't be a target for Freddy or the other Angels' daggers are you?"
"Of course not!"
"Then I'll think about it Derek. But that's all I'll do."
"It's more than we got the last fifty times we've made the offer," Derek said. "Now come on, let's work on your footwork. At least that way Henry knows you've been punished somehow."
"You know to him, working on ones footwork is a reward right?"
"Yeah well Henry's not exactly the best example of what a normal human would react to," Derek said as they walked off. Meanwhile, back in the captain's quarters, Henry had just finished up penning a letter to Uma.
Captain Uma,
I know I normally send my report in a couple of days but this is information I feel that you should know now. Or more importantly information that Mal should have as future Queen of Auradon. Leah's dead.
Now that I'm sure the barrage of questions from Harry and Gil are over and done with, I can tell you that Ryan confirmed it. Well actually he did more than that considering Shere Khan told him that he had eaten Leah.
And before you start going on an hour long rant about how I let an under fifteen year old go out on their own, Ry's over fifteen. I don't necessarily like that fact but I can't deny the fact that he is.
Anyway, before I get completely off topic, I wanted to let you know so you could let Audrey know before her shift at the soup kitchen. She may not have been close to Leah but we all can understand family. Besides, she's been a good ally for the VKs here and I doubt anyone would want to see her blindsided by that news. Well…maybe Freddy would but then again he'd…I don't need to tell you about Freddy actually.
Nothing else to report, the Casters still stay in their Spell Palace and hopefully there should be more kids coming your way soon. Audrey said something about Cassandra stopping by the Isle for a few days.
Let us know if you need us.
We ride with the tide.
-Henry Kersey
Acting Captain of the Lost Revenge
He nodded to himself as he put the note in an envelope to be posted to the Goblins. Henry could only hope that Uma would get the note before Audrey's shift.
If she didn't, though, he could always work with Jacobi aka their Derek and make it so that Audrey could be more back of house that day.
She had done so much for the Isle, and VKs paid their debts. No matter what.