Not more than a week later, Ben was standing with the other war leaders on a cliffside, staring down at an amassed army of soldiers. They were camped in a deep, dark ravine, and he could hear laughing and jeering. Behind Ben was their army; a mix of Auradonians and Upperlanders who were whispering and trying to figure out what the distraction was.
The Overland was much more varied that Auradon was. Thousands of cliffs and canyons with deep rivers cutting in between them. Jagged mountains towered and cast shadows everywhere and large, deep cracks had opened in the earth. Near the edges of the continents were trees and plant life, but everything in the center of the continent had died off due to the dark clouds that existed above everything. Several scraggly, grey trees existed, but not much else. That made the air harder to breathe here. And that fact was, of course, amplified by the sheer amount of dust everywhere. Fine little black particles like ash that Ben had choked on for a few hours before he learned how to breathe through his teeth. Even now, his mouth tasted like smoke smelled.
"So, what's the plan?" Ben asked as he examined the army below him. It was a little strange to think that the last time he'd been rushing into battle, it had been at Mal's side, at her lead, knowing that if all went wrong, he'd die with his true love at his side. Now, he was alone, and alone was a scary place to be.
"Eh, we could leave 'em alone, but they'd come after us later," Bunny shook his head mournfully. "Take 'em out now and make sure we're safe, but it's a bit sorry to snuff 'em out like that." Ben nodded. He didn't want to take the first shot. If Mal were here, maybe she could erect some sort of barrier to keep the soldiers from being able to leave the canyon.
Jack elbowed him. "What are you thinking about?" He asked.
Ben took in the sight of the army; big, sprawling and broad. He chewed his cheek as he considered what to reply. "I'm thinking about my wife and how quickly we could obliterate this army if she were fighting with me."
Bunny wrinkled his nose. "A noblewoman, fighting in a war?" He questioned.
Jack let out a breathy laugh. "The Queen of Auradon isn't much of a noblewoman," He gasped incredulously. "She dresses in combat boot and can track pranksters from miles away." Ben snorted in agreement and the two rolled their eyes.
"I hope you ver not getting into trouble, Jack?" North frowned, looking down the line of people to examine the guardian of childhood fun.
"Oh, not me," Jack shook his head in denial. "The Princess of Arendelle."
"Yeah, don't underestimate Mal," Ben agreed, drifting off into dreamland a little as he pictured her. "She was an imprisoned Island warrior who ruled an entire generation of children and some adults under the iron grip of fear before my family brought her to Auradon and I made her a queen."
Bunny raised one brow. "What kind of women are you attracted to?" He demanded.
"Strong ones," Ben replied with a little laugh while he straightened his gloves. "And while we're on the subject, if you ever happen to meet Mal, thank her for letting me come here because she's pissed that she has to take care of Auradon while I'm here."
"Yeah, we've got to get you back before she demands our heads," Jack chuckled, fingering his neck nervously as if he could picture Mal making heads roll. Ben laughed.
"So, Bunny began shortly. "Shall we start a different type of war?"
"What's your plan?" Ben repeated his earlier question.
Bunny smirked. "How good are you with a sword?" He asked.
Ben paused, and then a wide grin spread across his face. Maybe he could make this a little fun after all... even if Mal was gone. "I'm decent enough," He shrugged.
"Hold on," Astrid spoke up. She crouched down on the ground, pushing her blonde hair out of the way, and then held a pair of binoculars to her eyes. "Let's see what we're up against," She suggested.
Hiccup crouched down beside her, putting a hand on the small of her back as he looked for an odd sort of collapsible binoculars that Ben had seen him pull out twice. They looked like a bunch of wooden circles and bolts but apparently worked quite well. Hiccup had created them. He held them to his eyes, glanced around down under them, and pointed something out to Astrid. "There," He told her.
Astrid nodded. "See anything else?" She asked.
"No," Hiccup shook his head. "No monsters or anything we don't already know about."
Astrid exhaled in relief. "Thank goodness," She mumbled. "I don't feel like being a Troy victim today."
"Troy?" Ben repeated, leaning over the ridge to examine the crowds. Astrid and Hiccup both seized his sleeves and pulled him down.
"Troy is… some sort of monster," Astrid furrowed her brow. "It's been attacking us for the last five years or so, and we can't figure out what it is. Some monster, a mist, a poison…" She trailed off, biting her lip.
"What does it do?" Ben asked Hiccup, turning to examine the middle-aged man as he folded his binoculars back up with a sigh.
"We're not sure of that either," Hiccup shook his head. "We don't know what it is, what it looks like, or what it does. We only know that it leaves behind the bones of the victims, stripped clean and with the word 'Troy' carved on all of them. We've found villages, lost soldiers… friends…" He bowed his head and exhaled.
"Tai Lung is down there," Astrid announced. "You can see where Hiccup shot him. He's better now, but not perfect."
"Tai Lung is a kung fu master," Hiccup explained. "He's kept us on our toes because he can fight dozens at once and no one can hold a candle to him. The last person who was able to stop him was Po."
"Po?" Ben questioned. "Where is he? They?"
"He," Hiccup confirmed, reaching for his side for a flask of water. He took a long drink as he gathered his thoughts. "Troy," He finished simply with a shrug. "One of the first people we lost."
"Whatever that thing is, it's picking off people far too quickly," Jack Frost shook his head, drifting down by Ben's head. "We were evenly matched for the longest time, and then that atrocity joined their side."
"They have some siege weapons," Astrid announced. "Maybe it'd be best if we snuck down and took those out before-" She leaned forward on her hands and then almost fell as the edge of the ridge fell away and about two square feet fell away and went tumbling towards the ground. Bunny cursed as Hiccup and Ben both grabbed Astrid to keep her from falling forward. The rocks hit the bottom of the canyon fall, far below with a clatter and the camp fell silent. Ben pulled Astrid back from the edge and then backed away himself. Astrid was breathing heavy and her face was white. "Sorry!" she gasped.
"They'll be sending scouts up, now," Hiccup sighed. He put his mechanical leg underneath him and got to a standing position. "Let's have our armies spread out. Our goal is to destroy their supplies and take out whoever is necessary. And don't draw out any suffering. We have people whose lives are depending on us."
"Could we use your snowglobes to get down?" Ben asked, furrowing his brow. "Or the tunnels? The dragons?"
"No more snowglobes," Bunny shook his head. "And I can't travel anywhere up here, mate. They mine the ground just for me. As for the dragons-"
"Excuse me," A loud, bigos voice declared from behind everyone. They all turned, making dramatic shushing motions, and Ben narrowed his eyes at Chad Charming, whose hair was messy and combed back. "I can take a squad down to the far west," Chad lowered his voice and continued talking. He pointed down to his right, where the slopes of the hills were smoother and the cliffs significantly shorter in height. "And we can see if we can find a way down into the valley."
"We should send someone to the east too," Astrid nodded, pointing the opposite direction as she brushed her blonde hair out of her face. "They have to know the area better than we do and they have to know how to get up here the fastest. If we send people both ways, we have a better chance of finding a quick route to get down."
"Once we get to the bottom, we can take out the siege weapons and use the dragons to destroy everything else," Hiccup nodded. "But if we try and fly down with the dragons, then they'll shoot us."
"We should have dragon riders stay up here then," North finally spoke up. He put one of his hands of Hiccup's shoulder and the other on Astrid's. "Dis young man may lead some west, and King Ben can take the east."
"I don't want Chad going alone," Ben cut in, narrowing his eyes at his old Swords and Shields teammate. "Bunny, can you tag along with him?"
Bunny nodded and took two long strides to stand beside Chad. No one seemed to think Ben's reaction had been odd. After all, Chad didn't have much experience yet. "Okay," North turned around. Ben crossed his arms and exhaled, tuning out North talking to section leaders and deciding who was going and staying as he examined Chad set his jaw and avoid looking at him pointedly.
He didn't deserve to be a leader. More importantly, he was too prideful and cocky to be a good one. Ben tried to take deep breaths and clear his mind – hopefully not too many people would be hurt because of him. If so, he'd make sure Chad never got to lead anyone again.
Several sections moved out in formation to the east, and Ben took that as his cue to give a brief nod to the other leaders and then move to take control of his group. It wasn't necessarily large – built more for stealth than for defense. Most of the army would be staying on the cliff – after all, the ravine could only hold so many people, and it was easier for the enemy to find large groups.
The cliff they were standing upon was at a high point that sloped up and jutted out. The ground was hard and flat without many places that hid sinkholes or steep drops, but it was hard to transverse the land without being spotted or without slipping off the cliffs. Due to the lack of vegetation, the ground was all slick rock with occasional mosses.
Ben led his group away from the others down into a tiny area like a valley which descended gradually until it opened up onto a ledge about twenty feet below where Hiccup, Astrid, North, and the army remained. Jack Frost had, it seemed, taken up the role of a scout, darting among the shadows and flitting out of sight for long periods as he tried to watch the camp below for enemy scouts. They plunged forward into the darkness and had to move slower as the shadows grew more intense. Ben couldn't even see the sword sheathed at his side, much less any enemy scouts or the cliffsides they were supposed to be avoiding. Slowly, his vision came around to assist him, and then he could vaguely see the grooves in the cliff walls as they passed.
The ravines were narrow and with mostly smooth walls, as if someone had cut them out rather than the earth splitting apart. Like some gigantic creature with long nails had clawed through the earth back when it had been soft and left these behind. Ben led his crew down a narrow ledge and then silently gestured to a different incline that had risen enough underneath them to be swung down to. Carefully, one by one, the squad, which was about fifty in number besides him, jumped down. The ledge they landed on was much wider and about halfway down from the high point and the bottom of the ravine. They continued on.
About an hour later, they hit the bottom. It was mostly covered with some sort of creeping moss that lined the walls and edges of the ravine but only ascended upwards a few feet. A soft squelching sound could be heard as a couple of the older soldiers stepped on it. Ben examined the area and looked up. He couldn't see anyone up above him but knew they must be there. To call for even more silence than there already was, Ben raised a hand into the air. Everyone stilled. He listened carefully, but there was nothing. Not even a wind. Carefully, he took a step forward.
"Ben!" Someone whisper-called from above him. Ben almost jumped out of his skin as he whirled around, gasping, and stared at Jack Frost, who had decided to hover above him.
"Oh, don't scare me like that!" Ben demanded in a low tone, holding a hand to his throat as he tried to keep from gasping for breath.
"That's my specialty," Jack chuckled, laughing. His voice, too, was low. The canyon didn't seem to echo, but that didn't mean they wanted their voices to carry. "I'm sorry, Ben. I've been out scouting. It looks like they sent scouts towards Chad's side, but not to yours. He's already going around them."
Ben frowned. He might not have been involved with war plans for very long now, but he was pretty sure that wasn't how things were supposed to work. "Why would they assume one side is safe but not the other?" He asked.
Jack shrugged. "I think they think this side is naturally impenetrable," He decided. "But, uh, you should still be careful. We don't want to attract any more attention."
Ben stared at him. Sure, climbing down hadn't exactly been like taking a walk around the palace with Mal, but it hadn't been that hard. Could it be that they thought it was naturally impenetrable because they hadn't been here long and hadn't investigated properly? But then why would they risk not searching this side? "Something has to be up," He whispered. "Thank you for telling me, Jack." Jack Frost nodded and took to the sky again, quickly disappearing.
Ben turned back to his group. "Come closer," he invited, gesturing them all forward. "Apparently they haven't sent scouts this way. Something about that doesn't sit right with me. You all can branch out as we move but stay where you can see at least one other person. I don't want any accidents with any of you." People nodded in agreement. Most of them were northerners who had lived through the war, but some were the still-fresh Auradonians.
As they spread out, they came across several tall stone structures that looked like stalagmites without any ceiling to speak of. Ben glared at them. They were about twice as tall as he and half as thick but angle them right and they could likely hide something or someone behind them. He turned over his shoulder and whispered: "Go slowly," to the men over his shoulder.
Slowly, they all crept in. That stupid loose silt that seemed to be everywhere coated about two inches of the ground here. As they walked, it filtered up into the air like a mist that stuck to literally everything. Ben put a hand on his sword hilt as they tread through the figures quietly. A warning was burning into his fingertips.
Some of the soldiers started to creep ahead of him as he stopped to squint at the seemingly magnetic silt that was coating his legs. How could this stuff be everywhere all at once? In the air, in the water… what was it? And even more curious, something about it almost seemed… familiar.
He stepped forward into a mostly clear area and paused, watching everyone continue to slide forward without a sound. He squinted. Things were… too quiet. He turned and look all around, and then watched one of the soldiers continue moving forward. Ben saw a shadow jump horizontally out of the corner of his eye and the man disappeared. "There!" He shouted, cold blood rushing through his ears as he unsheathed his sword with a grinding of metal. Around him, all the other soldiers unsheathed their weapons as the yells of the attacked soldier echoed off the canyon walls. Then all fell silent, and Ben watched an abnormally tall figure appear out of the dusty haze.
He stood tall, about three feet higher than Ben, and he was older. Black cloth pants and a metal-studded leather belt and a bare chest with many old wounds and scars covering him. On his shoulder was a white bandage, clearly covering a slightly more recent wound. This didn't do much to set Ben at ease, however, as the creature seemed to move without much problem at all. It was… an animal. An animal with long, devilish teeth and a slatted cat-like gaze and long claws protruding from only four fingers on either paw. Several soldiers took gasps and he saw fear cross over their faces. "Tai Lung…" One trembled.
Ben held his sword aloft and carefully braced his body into his accustomed stance. The bandage had given away who the opponent was, but he had no idea what this monster's fighting style was. If he had to guess, it would be bloody, brutal, and cold-hearted.
So, this was why no scouts had gone out. They'd sent the monster himself.
A growl arose from Tai Lung's throat and Ben pinched his lips together. "Everyone," he commanded, "I want you to get behind me."
The growl in Tai Lung's throat stopped and restarted like a laugh without any change of breath. Ben readied his sword behind his shoulder.
Tai Lung attacked. He pounced forward, shifting all his weight to his hands and crashed down on Ben as he did. Ben was knocked to the ground and his head slammed into the rock. Blood filled his mouth. He could hear a voice that sounded suspiciously like Mal's chanting "Don't drop your sword, don't drop your sword." He kicked upwards and it was like kicking a rock – his knee to Tai Lung's iron stomach did nothing to deter the fighting machine. He seized a fistful of Tai Lung's hair and rolled, but Tai Lung kept up the roll and slammed him back into the ground, this time on the arm that wasn't still holding his sword. A terrible feeling like pins and needles ran up his arm. He faked slamming the cutting edge of his blade into the monster and Tai Lung leaped back a little, allowing Ben to push his feet underneath him and jump to a standing position. Tai Lung didn't let him stay there though. His foot spun out in a roundhouse kick that sent Ben soaring into one of the stone structures. His side took the blow with a sickening crunch. Tai Lung followed him. Ben watched his hands secure at his side before the monster took another kick and Ben barely had the good sense to duck before Tai Lung's foot smashed into the rock and the structure cracked.
He attacked with his foot. How fascinating. He preferred to kick over anything else.
Forget backstabbing – Ben was going to shove his sword through the creature's foot.
He ducked under Tai Lung's next kick and then maneuvered around his back. Tai Lung jumped vertically and dragged his claws across Ben's arm. Only three out of the four claws got him. They left long gashes in his armor and scratches in his skin. Ben jumped back and watched Tai Lung continue to advance. He attacked more with his right foot than his left. A very subtle dominance.
Once, long ago, his father had criticized him for doing the very same thing in his own fighting style. "Don't always swing towards the left, Ben," He'd admonished. "Someone is going to watch your blow pass them and then attack before you can draw back." Now, he was about to do the same thing to Tai Lung.
Tai Lung kicked him in the chest and sent him flying back into another rock, which Ben ducked around and circled to the back, despite the fact his chest felt like an elephant had stomped on it. Come to think of it, hadn't he almost been stomped on by Aziz's elephant when he was sparring with the Agrabahan Prince once? Tai Lung punched the rock and Ben watched it crumble to the ground. How was this creature so strong?
Tai Lung advanced evenly, took a left swing, balanced back on his left foot for half of a nanosecond, and then raised his right leg to swing. In that same instance, Ben raised his sword, and the sharp blade sliced a deep gash into Tai Lung's leg. Tai Lung yowled and pulled his foot back, giving Ben plenty of clearance to raise his blade and plunge it toward Tai Lung's foot. The tip of the blade entered his ankle and kept going, appearing out of his heel instead. Tai Lung howled.
Ben kicked him back and watched him stumble a little. Despite the fact that both feet were wounded, he continued standing, though his face twisted up in pain.
As Tai Lung hissed at both his injuries and at Ben, Ben quickly assessed his own injuries. Blood was leaking through his hair, presumably from where he'd been slammed into the ground, and one of his arms still felt a little numb and dead. He couldn't straighten out his side, but he could walk.
"Here, kitty, kitty," Ben mumbled under his breath. Tai Lung hissed. Ben raised his blade again. The monster flew forward, not jumping around as much but with unbridled fury. Ben began deflecting the leopard's swipes with his sword. Tai Lung was able to defend his swipes with his claws, which might as well have been made of steel. With every collision, sparks flew. Ben started making his swipes wider, to force Tai Lung to block more of himself, and began forcing him to move backward. It had the unfortunate effect of making his movements a little slower, but Tai Lung was slowly tiring, and being forced to move back on his hurt foot was dissolving his confidence even more.
Tai Lung raised his hand back and Ben swung his sword. A horrible scratch filled his eardrums before he heard a sound like the snap of metal. He looked up in horror at his sword, but it was fine. Instead, Tai Lung howled as he yanked his hand back to himself. The claw had snapped clean off and blood was trickling from the small yet painful wound. Tai Lung was suffering the pains of a broken nail. A nail Ben had sliced off.
Ben kicked him down and raised his sword above his head. Then, he paused. He'd never killed anyone before. He didn't think he'd even killed any thing before. He was the boy who winced in sympathy when kids like Chad burned ants with magnifying glasses. He was the child who had to sit in the classroom for dissections because he felt so bad for the small animals. Could he really kill Tai Lung?
Tai Lung growled and, with his good hand, swiped at Ben's leg. Ben gasped and jumped back, barely getting away with a few return scratches of his own, and then a blast of ice came from above. Jack Frost landed with his expression grey and panicked as he quickly encased Tai Lung in thick ice sheets. "Oh, man in the moon!" He exclaimed. "Are you okay? How did – how did you fight him off?"
Ben slumped against one of the rock structures, clutching his leg as he took a long, deep breath. His head was spinning. "Ugh," He groaned. "He… liked to attack with his right leg."
"Dude…" One of the Overlanders exhaled, staring at him with wide eyes. "Where'd you learn to do that? Does everyone in Auradon fight like that?"
Ben shook his head, which made things worse, and then continued gasping for breath. "No," He denied. "I just like swords. You should see… my wife." He leaned his head back against the rock and closed his eyes.
"Water?" A voice asked, stepping through the dust, which became much less floaty and sticky in the presence of ice. It was Lonnie, who Ben hadn't even known had been in his group. She was offering a canteen with Mushu, her mom's guardian, pictured on the side.
"Here," Jack offered, outstretching his hand. "I can chill it so that it does more."
Lonnie passed the canteen to Jack, who passed it back to Ben. As Ben's fingers wrapped around the chilled metal, he noted how the condensation almost made the stupid silt feel… normal. He frowned. "Lonnie," he rasped. "Can you take over leading everyone? I can keep up, but it'll be better to have someone who is more alert and you are a general."
Lonnie nodded eagerly. "Yeah," she agreed. "By the way, that was awesome. You're even better than you were back in High School."
"Yeah, you took out Tai Lung," Jack exhaled, staring at the frozen leopard. "I've never seen anything like it."
"I didn't take him out," Ben shook his head. "I couldn't kill him."
Jack shook his head. "I can't ever either," He whispered. "I get too guilty. Almost none of us can. It's one of the reasons we started losing. All of us are fighters, but none of us are killers."
They needed a solution. Somewhere they could keep their enemies easily contained so they wouldn't have to kill them but also so they couldn't get out.
Ben took a swig from the canteen and then slowly got to his feet. Lonnie and Jack both hissed cautiously as he put weight on his leg, noting that the bleeding had mostly stopped. He shook his hand at them. "It's not as bad as it looks," He assured them. "My head will need to be looked at when we get back, but that's it."
"I don't know if you should be fighting," Jack shook his head. "You just took down one of the most dangerous villains we have with a sword, quick thinking, and a lot of endurance."
"Well, that's okay," Lonnie said with a bright smile. "Look!" She pointed above their heads and everyone followed her gesture. Everyone could see Astrid's bright blue dragon diving down, followed by Hiccups dark shadow of a beast. The dragons were soaring down. Chad's army must have made it to the siege weapons.
Lonnie rested a hand on Ben's leg. "You stay here," She directed. "I was trained by my parents to lead people in battle anyway, and I'm your general. I'll take over and I'll make sure everyone comes back safe. You rest up so we can make sure you can get home in one fairly undamaged piece."
Ben considered her words and nodded. "Alright," He agreed, and then his gaze flicked over to where Tai Lung had first appeared from. "Can someone look at that soldier who fell? He might still be alive…"
Lonnie's expression twisted in doubt. She turned around and nodded to one of the other soldiers, who moved out of formation and went to search for the body of the fallen man. When he found him, he looked back over with a disheartened look and shook his head. Ben bowed his head in shame.
"It's not your fault, Ben," Lonnie whispered, setting a hand on his shoulder. "Remember, there were people Mal couldn't save either."
It didn't help. It didn't ease the pain that someone had died under his watch. He squeezed his eyes closed. "Auradon or Overlander?" He asked.
"Overlander," the soldier who had walked over called. "He's probably with the rest of his family now. May his soul find his rest."
The other Overlanders repeated the wish: "May his soul find his rest." Ben got the feeling it was the Northern equivalent of 'Rest in Peace'.
"Let's move out," Lonnie decided, raising her hand above her head. "Everyone, follow me!" The remaining soldiers fell into formation and then followed Lonnie away, marching in synchrony. Ben watched them go without a word. Jack hovered close to Ben's head, careful not to touch the open wound.
"Mal is going to kill us," He whispered.
Ben snorted. "Nah. She'll just ask why I waited to use the sword." He examined the blade, still clutched in his grasp, and then slowly bid his fingers loosen so he could sheath the blade back. "She's not going to expect you to watch over me."
"I just… know from experience that women with magic are scary when they're mad." Jack winced. "And Mal… I've heard the rumors about that Isle battle you had. Didn't she turn into a dragon?"
"No, that was her mom," Ben shook his head. "I don't think Mal can turn into a dragon." He took another drink and then pressed his hands to his eyes. Jack's hair was making his head hammer. Jack pressed on his shoulder and pushed him back to the ground.
"Sit down," he whispered. "I'll call a dragon to take you up."
"Ben is calling," Sophia told Mal the moment she got off the phone with Evelyn from the Isle. They'd just gotten cell service to work. Mal had scarcely put her phone down when the words jumped out of Sophia's mouth.
Mal perked up. "Really?" she asked as she shuffled financial reports off her desk and scanned a letter from an Auradon girl into her computer. "You're not just saying that to get me worked up, are you?"
"Belle and Adam are already up in your room," Sophia assured her with a smile. "You'd better hurry. It is your anniversary, after all."
It was. And it had been the longest, loneliest day of Mal's life. She'd woken up, alone. Gone to the Isle for a few hours and come back, still alone. Now here she was, stuck in her office, fooling herself that every person who walked past was Ben, and she was still so, so alone. Mal jumped up out of her chair and sprinted to the door. She paused to give Sophia a giant hug before she raced out of her office and down the corridor.
It'd been almost two weeks since Ben had left. He'd called twice using the giant stone basin Mal had gifted him over Christmas. Mal had shrunk it down for him so it was more portable and lighter to hold, so he'd taken it with him as an alternative to long-distance letters that Bunny or Jack would periodically carry back for all the soldiers.
Mal dashed into her bedroom, out of breath, and hurried into the bathroom. King Adam and Queen Belle were looking down into the sink, where a small image of Ben, about the size of a hand with the fingers spread wide, stared up at them. The moment Ben saw Mal, his face broke into a smile. "There's my girl." He said. "I miss you."
"Miss you too," Mal said through a smile as Belle and Adam made room for her to stand in front of the basin. Belle's hand rested on her daughter-in-law's back. "Happy anniversary!"
"Happy anniversary," Ben returned. His eyes were bright and emanated happiness, even through the water.
Adam pulled Mal under his large, heavy arm. "How is it going up there?" He asked.
"We're still not seeing a large change." Ben shrugged. "Small ones, for sure, but not the giant movement we're hoping for. I did manage to get one of their big hitters. Pitch Black has this army of dark stallions and Eris has gigantic monsters, like the sea monster we saw, that she sends at us from all over. We have a battle planned for tonight at an area they called Bergen Town before it was overrun by the villains." Ben grimaced. "Chad is leading this one since it was kind of his idea. We'll see how it goes."
"Have you been hurt at all?" Belle asked.
"Just bruises and scrapes," Ben assured her. "Tai Lung banged me up a little and I got cut on my knee when I fell last battle but that's been the worst of it."
"How many battles have you been in?" Mal studied Ben's face. He had dirt smudged all along his hairline. He looked almost like a villain kid, except he was smiling and happy.
"Two," Ben answered. "And I led part of one. We're on the West side of the continent, and everything here is just rock and cliffs and this stupid sticky dust that is in the air everywhere."
Belle tapped Adam's shoulder. "We can talk to him later." She told him. "It's their anniversary and he's away. Let's let them talk."
The two stood up and embraced Mal. Adam squeezed her shoulder with a smile. Belle kissed her cheek. "Goodbye Ben!" Belle waved to her son.
"Bye, mom!" Ben waved back, though it momentarily covered his face from view. Adam closed the door behind him and Belle and Mal pulled up a wooden stool that had been left in the bathroom for this purpose.
"You look nice," Ben told her. Mal smiled and brushed her straightened hair behind her ear. Now that the days were growing shorter and darker, it was starting to go dark again. And some streaks even had blue growing in, which was weird since she'd never had blue hair before. "Are you seeing anyone tonight?" He asked.
"Sorta," Mal answered. "I'm expecting a call from this ruggedly handsome man, who's away serving at war for his country."
Ben smirked. "Sounds like a catch." He told her.
Mal nodded. "You should see the way his eyes light up when he smiles." She sighed.
Ben laughed and smiled so wide Mal could see all of his front teeth for a few seconds. "I hope you have a nice time with him." He laughed.
"I always do." Mal smiled and shrugged, running her fingers around the perimeter of the bowl. "Wish he was here with me, though."
"I wish that too," Ben whispered into the water. He ran his fingers through his hair, which was a little greasy. Mal could tell he'd tried to wash off most of the grime for this call though, and she appreciated the gesture more than she could express, even if she herself was more of a mud and dirt person. She reached out and brushed the water with her fingertips. Ben's image rippled but did not fade. It only faded when she threw earth into the image. Ben cleared his throat and drew her attention back to him. "How are you feeling? It's still too early for you to be sick, right?"
Mal frowned and drew an arm around her stomach. Of course he'd want to talk about the baby. She still wasn't sure what to think about it. "I'm not sick." She told him. "But I've mostly been ignoring it. I don't want to think too much about it."
Ben stared at her silently. She could see a million and one thoughts cross his mind and could guess only a few. 'She's upset', 'I need to be there', and 'Is she okay' were the thoughts she could guess him thinking right off the bat. She swallowed. "I'm proud of you." She told him honestly. "I miss you, but I'm glad you're up there helping everyone." The tips of Mal's fingers were tingling with magic she desperately wanted to use.
Ben looked away and shook his head. "What are your plans for tonight?" He asked.
"I've been looking forward to you calling all day," Mal admitted. "I'm not worried about much else, now. Auradon released a couple of news stories reflecting over our first year that I want to read. But there's nothing else to look forward to now. I guess I'll finish work and eat dinner alone." Ben winced and looked sad. "And watch Big Hero Six without you here." Mal continued to tease.
Ben's mouth dropped open. "But that's my favorite movie!" He declared. "You're going to watch it without me?"
"Personally, I like the Incredibles 2." Mal shrugged. "Especially the part where she's reaching up the backside of the door and undoing the locks? It's awesome!"
"Baymax can fly." Ben insisted stubbornly.
"So can I. And Elastigirl." Mal rolled her eyes.
"Baymax heals everyone and acts drunk when his battery is low." Ben pursed his lips.
Mal shook her head. "Elastigirl knows where her son's shoes are when she was in a new house for one night tops and caused an entire political movement."
Ben rolled his eyes. "Okay, okay, anyways. Remember how I said I had a thing for our anniversary?"
"I remember." Mal nodded. "I have a thing too, but it's stuck here with me. Can I wait to show you?" She, Evie, and Carlos had made him a collection of accessories she knew he used regularly - a watch, cuff links, tie-pins, and a couple of other things - but they were all themed around him and her. Little pictures, a beast and a dragon, and other little things she knew only he would notice.
"That's fine, but I want to give you mine right now." Ben disappeared from view for a few seconds.
Mal stuck her finger in the water and drew small circles on the surface. "Unless it's a surprise home-coming or a long-distance kiss, I'll still be a little sad, hun," She mumbled.
"You say that now, but I think you'll like it." Ben laughed. He set the basin down at his feet. Mal looked down and saw he was sitting on a log with the strap of a wooden guitar over his shoulder. Mal's mouth dropped open.
"You play guitar?" She asked incredulously. She couldn't believe she hadn't known this.
"Mal, it's Auradon." Ben rolled his eyes. "Every kid plays at least one instrument, and I chose the guitar when I was a teen." He plucked a few chords and tuned it before he looked back down at her and smiled. Mal was immediately touched.
"You're going to play me a song?" She asked with a smile.
"-that I wrote," Ben added. He winked at her and then looked down at the chords on the guitar. Mal touched a hand to her heart and smiled.
Ben strummed a few chords to test it and then looked back up at her with a smile. He started out strumming a few chords before he started singing.
"Did I mention… that I'm in love with you? And did I mention… there's nothing I can't do? And did I happen to say… I dream of you every day? But let me shout it out loud if that's okay... if that's okay." He smiled down and up at her with a goofy smile. Mal smiled and set her chin on her fists as she listened to him.
"I met this girl that rocked my world like it's never been rocked. Now I'm living just for her and I won't ever stop. I never thought that it could happen to a guy like me, but now look at what you've done; you've got me down on my knees." Mal raised a skeptical brow at the 'I never thought that it could happen to me' line but chuckled at his giddy tune. He continued with a growing smile. "Because my love for you is ridiculous. I never knew… that it could be like this. My love for you is ridiculous. My love is R-I-D-I-C-U-L-O-U-S. It's… just… ridiculous and I would give my whole kingdom for just one kiss."
Mal's eyebrows shot an inch up her face as she gave Ben a stern look. Ben smiled and continued singing. "But did I mention that I'm in love with you? And did I mention… there's nothing I can't do. But did I happen to say I dream of you every day? But let me shout it out loud if that's okay. I've got to know which way to go, come on give me a sign. You've got to show me that you're only ever gonna be mine. Don't want to go another minute with or without you, cause if your heart just isn't in it, I don't know what I'll do."
Mal listened to Ben sing and smiled as she considered his words. She didn't agree with everything, like that 'kingdom for a kiss' line, but it was still a nice touch. She folded her arms and laid her chin on the counter as she continued to smile at her war-bound husband.
Ben finished his song with a smile and pulled the guitar strap over his head. He set the instrument aside and picked up the stone basin again. "Did you like it?" He asked with a nervous smile.
"You're not allowed to give away your kingdom for a kiss," Mal told him. "I forbid it."
Ben laughed. "Noted." He agreed. "Anything else?"
"What do you mean you never thought it could happen to a guy like you?" Mal asked, furrowing her brow. "You sing, you're the ruler of Auradon, you're super nice and caring, and you know how to make snowflakes. What girl wouldn't want you?"
Ben's smile faded and he looked past the basin at the ground. "Well, I know that people – girls – like me, but I kind of figured, growing up, that the age of true love was over, and I wouldn't find someone I would truly – you know, love."
Mal sat up and frowned at him. "I thought you believed in happy endings?" She asked.
"Oh, I do." Ben nodded in affirmation. "I just didn't think mine would involve anything more than being dutiful to my kingdom and faithful to whoever I eventually ended up with. Not a life of love, just one of purpose."
Mal blanched. "You'd have been so… stifled." She dropped off, wrinkling her nose at the frankly disheartening images coming to mind.
Ben chuckled and nodded. "Yeah, I would have been." He agreed. "I'm glad I get the chance to know you."
Mal cocked her head at an angle and thought for a few seconds. "My life would suck without you." She said after a few seconds. Ben burst into laughter. "I'm serious!" Mal said. "I mean, I wouldn't be married, wouldn't live in the palace, wouldn't go to the moors every month, wouldn't be the queen of anything, wouldn't be in Auradon, wouldn't know Belle, Sophia, Stewart, Adam, or Audrey. I probably would still live with mom and I might not have a little sister since Mom probably had her to replace me anyway."
"Hey, I didn't say anything." Ben held up his hands in defense. "My life would suck without you too. It'd be pretty… ridiculous." Mal rolled her eyes as Ben chortled. "How is Auradon and the Isle? Are they doing okay?"
"Uh, yeah." Mal nodded. "Belle and Adam and I are jointly running the kingdom, we got cell service to the Isle and people are placing private orders for phones now, and we've paid Auradon back 25% in the first two months of repayment."
Ben's eyebrows shot up. "Wow." He said. "I knew you'd pay Auradon back, but I didn't think it'd be this quickly."
"Just you watch," Mal said seriously. "One day, Auradon will be in debt to the Isle. We're harder workers than you are."
Ben snorted. "Sure, okay Mal." He scoffed, clearly not believing her. "And you're sure you're okay?"
Mal hesitated and swallowed. "Yeah," She agreed. "I'm okay." Underneath the counter, she squeezed a hand to her stomach like she was going to be sick. She suddenly felt like she was spiraling into a black hole.
Ben nodded. "Okay." He nodded. Someone called his name in the distance. Ben looked away and sighed. "We're starting drills. Talk to you later?" He asked.
"Be safe." Mal nodded. She blew him a kiss, and he pretended to catch it, which made her smile. Then he winked and vanished out of sight. The moment his image faded, Mal slumped forward against the counter. "Oh!" She gasped for breath, clawing a little at her midsection and leaning her forehead against the cool countertop in a blind panic. The door to the living area opened and a woman with black hair slipped inside and put her hands on Mal's shoulders as Mal's eyes filled with tears that she didn't understand where they were coming from. "Oh, Sophia!" She gasped, wiping at her eyes with one hand while digging the knuckles of her other one underneath her ribcage. "Sophia, what do I do? What should I have said?"
Sophia wrapped her arms around Mal and carefully pulled her hands away. "It's gonna be okay." She murmured. "Give it time, it won't hurt anymore."
It was all Mal could do as she choked back her sobs and let the silent tears stream down her face. She leaned into Sophia's grasp and shook her head. "I don't want this." She admitted, finally. "I don't think I can do this. I'm just not ready."
Sophia began to rub little circle into Mal's shoulder blades and turned her around so Mal could bury her face in her shoulder. And in the quiet, there were only two more words exchanged. The whisper: "I know," fell on open ears, tear spots and tiled floors.
"That Mal?" Jack Frost asked as Ben dumped the water out of the basin and into the dirt. The contact with anything earthly made the connection fizzle.
"Yeah." Ben nodded as he carefully stowed the basin in his jacket, in a pocket underneath the seam that made it look like he had an orange stuffed into his coat. "It's our anniversary."
"Oh." Jack frowned. "I'm sorry."
"It's fine." Ben shrugged. "You do what you have to do. I mean, you probably know that better than anyone." He shoved his hands into his pockets and scuffed the ground with his shoes.
Jack flinched and quickly glanced about the area. Soldiers stood around, but no one was obviously eavesdropping. "Yeah," Jack whispered. "I guess I do."
Ben stood up and began to follow Jack away. He took the guitar, which had been loaned to him by one of the Vikings from the town of Berk, hoping to find its owner along the way. "What's going on?" He asked Jack.
"We're going to meet with Queen Poppy and King Branch," Jack explained. "They lived outside of Bergen Town and performed a type of… undercover raid about twenty years ago."
"Okay." Ben nodded. "Are we flying?"
Jack pointed to himself. "I am flying. You are taking the Easter tunnels. Sorry, your highness, but you're too heavy for me."
Ben laughed. "Not a problem." He shrugged. "But… aren't they mined?"
"The area we're going to has never fallen into enemy hands. Unless something awful happened without our knowledge, you'll be perfectly safe, your majesty." Jack stuffed his hands into his hoodie and didn't say anything else. Ben bit his cheek.
"When was the last time you spoke to Elsa?" He whispered.
"One of the meetings before we left." Jack sighed.
Ben pulled a face. "Do you mean when you said: 'with all due respect your highness, I think it best if-'"
"Yeah," Jack said shortly, scuffing his feet against the ground.
Ben blinked. "Oh." He breathed. "You must miss her."
"Miss who?" Someone with a gruff Australian accent asked. Ben looked up and found the six-foot-tall Easter rabbit standing directly in his path. His mouth dropped open for a second as he considered his response.
"My sister," Jack replied without hesitation. "Ben was asking how you become a spirit." He glanced sharply to Ben to make sure the king had gotten the message
Bunny immediately winced and shook his head. "Not fun," He admitted then shook his head. "Ready to go?" He asked Ben.
Ben shrugged and nodded. He braced himself as Bunny tapped the ground twice. A hole opened underneath his feet and Ben accidentally bit his tongue as he tried to stifle a shout. He tasted blood and then was falling through the earth like he was being suctioned through a vacuum tube. Ben was suddenly thrown into the air as the tunnel came to an abrupt end. He landed on his back, breathing hard as he tried to come to his senses. Someone laughed, and another someone grumbled. "Very kingly." They muttered.
A pale hand appeared in his face. "Come on, get up." Jack rolled his eyes, already there. "I don't like the tunnels much either." He whispered.
The ground to Ben's left sprang open as he got to his feet with Jack's help. Bunnymund leaped straight into the air, and the ground rematerialized underneath his feet. A poppy rested in the ground directly underneath his feet. Ben stared skeptically as Bunny landed on his feet. "Showoff." He sighed.
"I'm sure it's not as easy as he makes it look." A female's voice said. Ben looked to the ground and saw two personages a few feet from his left foot. One was bright pink, and the other was bright blue. They were both about the length of Ben's wrist to his forearm, like a huggable toy. They had long, poofy hair atop their heads that stood straight up and bright, sparkly eyes and cheeks. The blue one folded his arms imposingly, but the pink one smiled as she examined the newcomers. "Welcome to the troll tree!" She exclaimed.
The only reason the trolls had survived thus far was because of their superhuman capability to be insanely happy all the time, Ben soon discovered. They were not a war-faring community and only the blue troll, whose name was Branch, knew anything about combat. Pitch Black and Eris, who headed the villains, had a hard time sneaking their fear and chaos into the Troll Paradise since Branch kept everything so orderly and Queen Poppy kept everything so exciting all the time. Not to mention the natural impenetrability of the area and the large defenses Branch had somehow managed to rig around the insanely happy community. Just being near the trolls helped cheer Ben up about his situation as a whole. Mal was holding down the kingdom, he wouldn't be away forever, and things would work out just fine.
King Branch and Queen Poppy had seven children together, all of varying colors and shades. None were above the age of eight. Troll children grew in pods on the troll tree that were covered with bits of their parent's hair. Ben wasn't entirely sure how their forever-extendable hair was possible, but as far as he could tell it grew out to be five feet longer than their bodies and could be retracted back at will.
King Branch went straight to work explaining the logistics of Bergen Town, their larger, next-door companions which Eris and Pitch had seized months ago. The blue troll was the least randomly happy of all the trolls. He was serious and smart, but still pleasant to work with. Ben related to him most of all. Meanwhile, he got a kick out of imagining Mal and Queen Poppy trying to get along. His own colorful-haired bride would have found everything too bright and annoying.
"Eris is rarely present in Bergen Town, and Pitch Black is on the other side of the country." Branch explained as he stood atop a map three times his size. "She usually takes up a garrison in Syracuse, right down here." Branch tapped a section of the map about five inches from where Poppy was doodling on the troll tree with sparkly green and pink markers. Ben could see rainbow stickers and glitter if he craned his neck. "That's where Eris's original story starts. Sinbad, her old nemesis, has been patrolling down by the sea of monsters to keep them away from Auradon, but his partner Proteus, who is a decent swordsman himself, has been fighting against her and trying to take his kingdom back."
"We'll open portals directly into the square here. There're prisoners there. Cavemen, some of the senior Vikings who still remember the dragon fighting days, basically a brunt-force army there." Branch explained as he pulled a smaller, much more detailed map of a small city over the larger one. "We don't need to take Bergen Town, but we need to seize the Book of Peace, which is being kept in the old castle. If we can seize that, it'll weaken Eris's power in Syracuse and we might be able to drive her off the west coast."
"Might," Ben whispered.
Bunny looked at the young king. "Aye, no offense mate, but your troops are completely fresh. Most of them are just barely learning to hold rank."
"Let's go freestyle," Jack suggested. "Eris already has. We'll be sitting ducks if we hold rank."
"They'll be more used to going on their own." Ben agreed. "They've been taught all their lives they have to make their own story."
"Aye, bloody bunch of idiots." Bunny rolled his eyes. "Don't they know war takes no prisoners?"
Ben shrugged. Bunny turned and suddenly jabbed him in the shoulder. "Good on you for not being like them." He told Ben. "You got a head on your shoulders. Good thing you're king."
"Okay," Jack called everyone to attention. "Let's get down to business." Ben didn't say anything as they turned back to their plans. They turned back to the map and began to pour over it, devising a battle strategy that was unlike any Ben had ever heard of in any history class.
Late that night, Ben strapped on his Auradon-manufactured armor and carefully covered most of his face with black paint. One thing he didn't know, as a ruler and as a war general, is that no plan is executed perfectly. Something outside the variables you've considered always happens. It wouldn't be long before he learned.
They fell into ranks of twelve and fifty. Ben, being King, had been placed at the head of a battalion of fifty, as had Chad Charming. The other leaders had caught on to the fact Ben wasn't very impressed with Chad, but he had successfully managed to lead his last squad to disarm the siege weapons while Ben had fought Tai Lung, so they allowed Chad a small leadership role. Bunny had a smaller squad of his own, and North headed the third battalion. Other people, including Astrid and Lonnie, who were the only female leaders, headed the smaller squads. The Tooth Fairy commonly sent the tiny versions of herself to aid in battle but was too jittery to be of much help herself.
Ben managed to, by sheer volume and luck, gather all the troops in to give them a last-minute pep talk speech and run them through a few small drills. Since they'd first arrived, they'd improved by leaps and bounds, but they were still young, inexperienced, and new to war. Just like Ben. All were under the age of twenty-eight and had never seen war in their lives. They'd never known more than the history classes they'd ignored anyways.
North appeared, lumbering over with a tight expression as he fished for something in his bag. He pulled out a large, round, spherical ball of glass. "The last one," He grumbled, and then stopped in front of Ben's group. Ben nodded slowly with a sigh. North shook the globe. "Bergan Town, square three," He announced. Ben watched the scene inside go from a Christmas tree and a warm hearth to a dark and dank mist of fog. North hurled the globe to the ground, and a portal appeared. With a deep breath, Ben began leading everyone forward. As he passed, North clapped him on the shoulder, almost hard enough to make Ben collapse to the ground. "Good luck," North said.
The portal felt like thousands of snowflakes stabbing him all over his body. It felt like he was stuck in a vacuum chamber with tiny icicles flying every direction. Then suddenly he was being forced forward. He stumbled a few feet and kept moving as the battalion followed him out. When all fifty had made it out, Ben began to move.
It had been Bunny's job to infiltrate the palace for the book of peace and everyone else's to collect the prisoners. As other people appeared on the square amid shouts and the occasional awkward war cry, Ben lead his group down the street.
Bergen town had once been populated by what was described as the saddest, most miserable creatures that had ever lived. Their only source of happiness had been to eat the trolls of what was now King Branch's and Queen Poppy's kingdom. Obviously, this made for bad relationships until the trolls had left. Twenty years later, some had been captured, and Queen Poppy and King Branch had traveled back to rescue them in what Ben guessed was their fairy tale. They'd managed to cure the Bergens of the generational sadness and it had remained that way until Eris had snuck in with the shadows. The Bergens had feared becoming sad again, and so they were easy targets for Pitch Black. As Eris caused their community the crumble from the top down by murdering Former King Gristle and Queen Bridget, the Bergens had quickly fallen slaves to despair.
Now, most of the Bergens were gone. For some, the fear and chaos had crept into their heads until they'd ended their lives themselves. For others, they'd disappeared one by one for their bones to be discovered by others. On almost of the bones was written the word: 'Troy'.
It was odd that such a name was being left behind, Ben thought. In Auradon, there was a legend from Olympus about a place called Troy. Troy had been a city with immensely impressive walls at war with someone else. The other army left a giant horse outside as a sacrifice to a god and told them: Don't take this. It's not for you. The Trojans were like: Screw you. They took it into the city, unaware the other team's army was hiding inside. The army waited until everyone was asleep and massacred everyone and burnt the city to the ground.
A warning hiding in plain sight. A sneak attack. Troy.
Ben's division crept down the street. Everything was deserted. Estimates stated that a small fraction of the original population may have been allowed to stay behind, but if they were, Ben couldn't tell.
Ben lead his group to the back entrance of the prison. The place was eerie. It was too dark to see anything. Even if the sun had been out, thick mists covered the deserted city and blocked out all the light. The palace was topped with the occasional partially-melted iron sculpture. Rolls of barbed wire were lying there and there as Ben took his sword and jammed it at an angle under the doorway. With a little bit of prodding and shoving, the handle popped clean off. Ben severed the inside mechanisms and the door swung open. He crept inside with everyone following.
The hallways inside were so dark Ben couldn't see where he was going. But somehow, in the back of his mind, he knew. He put his hand up against the walls to feel his way forward, knowing there would be a turn up ahead, and felt something fall off the wall. It was more of that stupid silty stuff. He examined it crossly with his fingertips. It made his fingers itch and his mind sped up with adrenaline. It was an odd sensation. What was this stuff
An answer finally came to mind – Mal, back when she'd filled his father's office with dust and the only light in the room had been her glowing eyes. Somehow, that explained it all.
"Magic," He whispered aloud to the soldiers behind him. "Magic sand."
Someone else scratched some off the wall. "Feels normal to me." They whispered.
Ben shook his head. Now that he knew, there wasn't a single doubt in his head. "It's definitely magical. It feels like…" He trailed off.
"Like what?" The soldier prompted.
"Like my wife," Ben answered honestly. He'd never really realized it like this before, but Mal brought a certain presence to the room wherever she went. It wasn't just even her. It was… her magic. The same thing existed in the moors. The same thing existed here. Someone had brought magic through the area.
"Cute," The soldier murmured. Ben turned in his direction with a straight-mouthed expression but said nothing on the matter.
"Down the hall, the corridor turns left and right. We want to go left. I don't know what's down the right, but it's nothing pleasant. The left will eventually take a sharp right, and that'll lead us straight into the heart of the building." Ben announced to those behind him. The ranks filled with whispers for a few seconds as the soldiers passed the message to those outside.
"How do you know?" The same soldier asked Ben.
Ben smirked, though no one could see it in the dark. "Magic," He replied snarkily.
The battalion surged past him into the corridor, and Ben quickly became last as he counted all who slid past to make sure no one had slipped away. They continued ahead of him as he hung back and examined the sand at closer length. The longer he held it, the more it seemed to… react to him.
Mal's magic didn't react to him like this…. Mal's magic was comfortable and almost seemed to have the same personality as her – sarcastic and sweet. This almost seemed more like her mother, Maleficent.
And that's when it occurred to him. Maleficent's curse. It still existed on him in a loose, detached form. It had been unraveled and scattered. While the magic types between Auradon and the Overland were different, they must be similar enough to mix just as magic mixed one with each other in Auradon. Like how Mal had mixed her magic with the Fairy Godmother's after taking down the barrier.
Ben dropped the sand and started to stalk down the corridor towards his battalion. They had all gone as instructed and turned left. Ben hurried and at the end of the left corridor saw their silhouettes outlined in deep, scary yellow. It reminded him of an educational movie he'd seen at Auradon Prep on the villains, where Maleficent had first appeared onscreen with a fiery green background and a terrifying scream. Not the most fun way to wake up from a mid-class nap.
Ben dodged through the crowd and clamped his mouth shut as a torrent of senses assaulted him from every side. The corridor had opened up into a circular room, which dropped straight into the ground by several stories. Prison cells were on every single level in groups of five per floor. From each cell arose either deathly silence or weeping, wailing, and the sounds of gnashing teeth. At the bottom of the pit was a collection of bodies, assumedly the prisoners who had died in their cells. A horrible smell arose from down below, like mildew and rot. Ben gagged as he looked down below.
Across the cavern on the same floor, Chad's battalion appeared with the blonde prince at its front. "Chad!" Ben called across the cavern. "The walls have magic sand in them. Be careful!" Chad withdrew his sword with a nod and walked to the first cell. He cut the lock clean off by stabbing through the keyhole. His squad quickly spread out to do the same, but Ben was smarter. He turned to his men. "Help us carry everyone out." He said as Chad's men began to move quickly, swinging down to lower floors to slice locks as quickly as they could. "The more we get out, the better."
Ben swung down to the next level by grabbing the floor and pushing off of it. He swung far out above the pit and then used his momentum to swing directly onto the next floor. As Chad's men began to work on the locks, he walked into the first open cell he could find and discovered an abnormally tall woman with white hair.
"Hello?" He asked.
She blinked her large blue eyes at him and whispered: "Hello."
"We're taking everyone out of prison," Ben told her. "Can you walk?"
She examined the open doors on her cage as if she thought he was lying. "Maybe." She said. "Are you sure? You're not playing tricks on me, are you?"
"Jack Frost is waiting up front," Ben told her. "He's agreed to hold off Eris as long as he can if she comes. We have to hurry."
The woman knelt down and began to crawl towards the exit. Ben moved out of the way as she wriggled out through the open door and stood. He was amazed. This woman was about fifty feet tall. She examined the roof of the building carefully and then pushed it up. The roof detached completely from the building. She dropped it in the street outside.
"Susan!" Jack called excitedly as he zipped down from the sky to see her. Susan smiled. "Hello, Jack." She smiled.
"How come you didn't just break out before?" Ben asked, looking in amazement at how easy it had been for her to bring the roof down.
"The walls are sealed with magic sand," Susan explained. "They cannot be broken, and they weaken those around them. You'd better get the rest of your friends out before they grow weak as well."
Weakness. Ben's eyes grew wide. And how long had he spent touching that stuff? He was suddenly very worried, but he turned to the task at hand.
Citizens of every type were led out of the prison as Jack flew above them, helping where he could. Ben saw Vikings, cavemen, talking animals the likes of which they didn't have in Auradon and dozens of more creatures. Meanwhile, the magical difference grew more and more obvious to Ben until he wondered how he was just now noticing it. He suddenly realized what Mal had meant by Jack's magic being different. He had a feeling if he got the entire Frost-Elsa family to stand side-by-side, he'd be able to see the differences from person to person plain as day as well.
They'd almost succeeded when an unearthly shriek rose up from the castle up the hill. Jack Frost looked horrified. "That would be the villain known as Chef." He announced to the people down below. "We've got to hurry."
He flew down and began helping prisoners fly from the bottom floor to the top. Ben looked all around and quickly began climbing down to the bottom. The smell grew worse as he went. When he finally got to the bottom, he discovered only two cells occupied. Both locks were still sealed on. One person, a male Bergen, was dead inside his cell. The other was a male caveman with a forlorn, sickly sloth in his lap.
Ben slashed the lock open. "We don't have much time." He rasped. He took the man's hand and pulled him towards the door. Then, he boosted him on his shoulders, and they began to ascend the stone cavern. Ben slashed as many locks as he could find and hoisted prisoners up left and right. As more of his own battalion returned and descended, the prisoners began to disappear from their cells.
Finally, there were only three more floors to go. Ben helped up a woman with black hair who looked exhausted and turned to make sure everyone was off the floor. Something caught his ankle and made him trip. What looked like a long, silken cord had fastened itself around his ankle and was now pulling him towards an open cell. Ben immediately panicked. "Jack!" He yelled.
Soldiers in his battalion looked down and sent up the call. "Something's got the king! Something's got the king!"
Ben followed the chord with his eyes and discovered a purple troll with blue and green hair was determinedly dragging him into the shadows of a cell. He reached for his sword and chopped down on the little lad's hair. A long lock fell limp. Only a few sinews of hair remained tied around Ben's ankle, but more were beginning to grow as the little guy growled determinedly.
Ben yanked his foot away. As Jack zoomed down from the skies to check on him, he got to his feet and discovered a pair of dead eyes staring at him from beside a cell.
His heart did flip-flops inside his chest.
"So, it's you who have stolen our book?" An ugly woman with purple skin and light blue hair asked. She looked like a Bergen. She wore a dirtied chef's outfit with a ragged fanny pack around her middle. Ben got the sudden impression that this was the villain named: "Chef."
"Sorry." Ben shrugged. "Need it, gotta borrow it, anyways, see you later." He tried to jump vertically to the next floor as Jack zoomed down and seized his arm. Chef leaped and seized his ankle. The small purple troll tried to help her, but it was immediately clear they were fighting a losing battle.
Chef hissed at Ben. "When I next see you, don't expect me to be pleasantly anything." She threatened.
Ben smiled weakly. "Let's not let there be a next time, then?" He offered before he kicked out. Chef let go. The troll carried on for a half a second more but let go when he saw Ben was about to be carried up over the pit. He landed on Chef's shoulder with an angry shout.
The prison was quickly being abandoned. Auradonian troops rushed into the portals, pulling former prisoners along with them as Chef screamed blasphemies from the pit below. Goosebumps had risen on Ben's forearms, and he was shaking like a leaf. "You alright?" Jack asked.
"Yeah." Ben nodded. "I'll be fine." He looked down and saw that he was covered in the black sand. He brushed it off his shirt and into his hand while Jack carried him up and out of the building. "I do have a few questions about this stuff, though." Ben decided as he rolled it in his hand and observed the way it looked like sliced jewels but stuck to him like flour. "Something is not right about this stuff."