Chapter 6:
"Come on, I'll order some pizzas and we can talk about my meeting with Fairy Godmother. Let me give Mal a quick call so she can round up everyone else," Ben said, bumping his shoulder against Jay's.
Jay grunted, tearing his eyes away from the limo as he reluctantly followed Ben back into the dorm building. He knew Carlos was perfectly capable of taking care of himself and it wasn't like Jane was very threatening, but all Jay could think of was the complete look of loss that had come over Carlos' face when he'd teased him the other night about not keeping the girls' attention. He sincerely hoped Jane didn't botch this date, Jay didn't think he could handle seeing Carlos that hurt again.
"So get to it already, is Fairy Godmother gonna make it or do we prepare for war when the barrier comes down?" Jay snarked, plopping down on the floor near Mal's bed.
Everyone looked at Jay, surprised by his snarky attitude, but Ben just nodded. "Fairy Godmother should get better after tomorrow, she has to perform a ceremony to transfer her powers to Jane. As her daughter, when she became sixteen she was supposed to inherit her mother's abilities and start her training, but it hasn't happened in hundreds of years because fairies usually don't have children."
"But the spells Fairy Godmother cast, will they need to be re-cast by Jane?" Mal asked.
"We're hoping not, she won't be able to control all of the magic at first because she doesn't know how. But if Fairy Godmother doesn't transfer her power, it'll fade away and she'll die," Ben replied.
"Oh no, that's terrible. What did Jane think about all this?" Evie asked.
"She's scared, she knows how important her mother's magic is to Auradon, how it keeps us all safe and understandably she's worried she won't be able to keep the spells going," Ben said.
"Great, so our fate is in the hands of a pushover who's too scared to even stand up to Audrey. We might as well hand ourselves over to our parents now, maybe they'll have mercy on us," Jay said sarcastically.
"Jay, what is your damage? Since when do you have a thing against Jane?" Mal asked.
"Maybe he's jealous because Jane is out on a date with Carlos and Audrey didn't even call him after the coronation," Lonnie joked.
"She only danced with me because Ben blew her off for Mal, I was the rebound dude. I couldn't care less about Audrey, she's a total harpy," Jay argued.
Mal and Evie exchanged worried glances, unused to seeing Jay so clearly pissed off.
"Okay while I completely agree with Jay's assessment of Audrey, Ben was there anything else you wanted to tell us?" Mal interrupted, hoping to redirect the conversation.
"I do have one more thing to tell you guys, but you've all got to promise me that you won't overreact and give me a chance to explain," Ben said, looking around the room at everyone's expressions.
Everyone nodded their consent, Jay rolling his eyes and muttering a "whatever". "Like we feared, the barrier has weakened slightly. Enough in fact that one the island's residents got through, although the cost was quite high and they are currently undergoing severe burn treatments in the medical building. So clearly they are no threat to us, and I have their promise that they mean us no harm, they just wanted a better life."
"Who?" Lonnie asked impatiently.
"Uma, Ursula's daughter," Ben replied.
Mal looked confused her eyebrows narrowing together. "She broke through the barrier and nearly got burned to death because she wanted to be here in Auradon?"
"I know it sounds crazy, she wasn't exactly our biggest fan at the Cotillion but she was telling the truth when she told me she wanted what you guys had been given; a second chance, a better life," Ben said.
"So the little squid is laid up like a plate of calamari, why do we care?" Jay asked.
Ben sighed, hoping Jay's bad mood didn't spread to the rest of the group. "Because unless she chooses to go back to the island she'll become an Auradon Prep student and I was hoping that you guys would help me make her welcome. Not to mention if the barrier should come down, we're going to need all the help we can get."
"Well if we really are going to need more help, what about bringing more kids over from the island?" Doug asked, earning a squeal of excitement from Evie.
"I nominate Dizzy, Lady Tremaine's grand-daughter!" Evie cheered.
Mal smirked, "Then I nominate Freddie, Dr. Facilier's daughter."
"Okay, I see I'm going to need a list then. Evie, I know you had asked before at the Cotillion about bringing other kids over, I guess now is your chance, so I'm going to put you in charge of helping me organize this. Remember, try to think about kids who would really see this as an opportunity for a new life," Ben said.
Mal and Evie exchanged looks before Evie grabbed up a pen and paper and the two girls launched into a deep discussion about all the kids on the island they knew. Ben started doling out slices of pizzas and settled down in a chair backward, settling his chin on the backrest.
"So, you wanna talk about it?" Ben asked, nudging Jay's boot with his shoe.
Jay stuffed the end of his slice into his mouth, "Dunno what you're talking about."
Ben lowered his voice, "Are you really mad at Jane?"
Jay dropped his eyes to the carpet, he knew it wasn't fair to Jane, the poor girl had never had a boyfriend before and everyone knew how busy she always was; so it wasn't really fair to think she'd drop everything and run to Carlos every time he called. "I just don't want her to hurt Carlos."
"He's never had a girlfriend before, has he?" Ben guessed.
Jay shook his head, "He's always been too shy to make a move, he hates confrontations, especially with women; something his mother beat into him."
"Then it was pretty brave of him to ask Jane out, good for him. You know Jane doesn't exactly have a lot of experience with guys either, so this will probably be good for both of them," Ben said.
"How do you figure?" Jay asked.
"Mal told me you guys didn't really date on the island, it was more like gang activities which tells me that none of you are too familiar with dating and falling in love. If Carlos is ever really going to come out of his shell, then he needs to be confident in himself and know that there are other people who can and will love him," Ben explained.
The pizza seemed to turn to stone in Jay's stomach, Ben was right, Carlos had looked ecstatic when Jane had said yes to him, he'd smiled so much Jay was almost sure his face had frozen like that. The boy had been more animated and outgoing in everything he did afterward, he'd even raced Jay to Tourney practice, practically shouting with joy over a sport he'd sworn many times before he hated. It was the slowly dimming light in those bright eyes after every one of Jane's rejected dates that grated on Jay's nerves. "What if it doesn't work out and Carlos is even worse?"
Ben paused for a moment at the sudden question, Jay almost looked scared and he realized how bad the results could be for Carlos. "Breakups are never easy, but if the couple isn't making each other truly happy then it's really not worth dragging it out; it'll only hurt them both more in the end. No matter what happens Jay, we're all going to be there for him."
Jay still looked doubtful, but this was one of life's lessons that they all had to go through, it made him wonder if Jay had ever been in love.
Across the school, Harry was being escorted from the limo to the medical building. Everything was so much larger than he'd ever imagined that his neck was getting a kink and he felt completely overwhelmed. There weren't too many students out since night had fallen but looking around made him very self-conscious, he stuck out like a sore thumb here.
Following a nurse, Harry was led across a room lined on both sides by beds with privacy screens separating them. Most of the beds were empty, and any that were occupied were closed off, which piqued Harry's curiosity until the nurse stopped abruptly at a random screen.
"She's had a very long day and is probably quite tired, so please let her rest as much as possible. If there is anything I can get you, feel free to ask," the nurse curtsied and quietly walked away.
Harry stood staring blankly at the screen for a moment, before peeking around the edge. White gauze covered Uma from the tips of her tentacles all the way up to her throat, not a particularly good look for someone he was used to seeing in various shades of blues and greens. As silently as he could, Harry sat down in the empty chair beside Uma's bed, relieved to finally know she was okay while worried that she'd gotten so hurt.
"You should never have gone out there," Harry whispered.
Uma turned her head towards the deep baritone, "Never have to serve another fish stick as long as I live."
Harry chuckled and gently picked up Uma's hand, giving it a careful squeeze. "Now you just look like one. How are you going to set sail with me around the world looking for your perfect island if you can't even walk?"
"You'll just have to carry me on a big 'ol throne, encrusted with pearls and seashells," Uma replied, a smirk on her face.
"I suppose you'll be wanting a crown to go with that throne then?" Harry joked.
"Perhaps, I'll just stick in on my captain's hat," Uma teased.
"Your captain's hat? If we're sailing my ship, there's only going to be one captain," Harry said.
"Exactly, me!" Uma grinned.
The two continued on like that for a few minutes more until a nurse poked her head around the curtain. "Excuse me Miss Uma, you have visitors. Are you feeling up to more company?"
Uma glanced at Harry but he just shrugged having no clue who she was referring to. "Ya, send them on in."
"Good evening Uma, I'm sorry to drop by so late but I wanted to make sure Harry got here alright and you had mentioned wanting to speak to me before I had to leave," Ben said, coming around the curtain to stand at the foot of Uma's bed.
Uma blinked in surprise at seeing not only Ben but Jay, Mal, and Evie trailing behind him. "What are they doing here?"
"We're here to welcome you to Auradon Prep," Mal said, trying to seem sincere without biting her tongue off. Jay and Evie managed weak smiles and an even weaker wave of hello.
"Uh-huh, well I'm positively overwhelmed by your enthusiasm," Uma said sarcastically.
"Listen Uma, we've already promised to be on our best behavior and if you're really serious about starting over then I don't see why it can't start with us," Mal said, reaching out a hand.
"Seriously? You mean it? And not just because your boyfriend the king is standing right there?" Uma asked suspiciously, her hand raised halfway.
"Yes, seriously, I mean it. Things on the island were different, we weren't supposed to make friends. I'd really like that to change here, there are a lot of really good people in Auradon, people who make every day worth it," Mal replied, giving a genuine smile and glancing over at Ben who grinned back with pride.
"Alright then, here's to new beginnings," Uma nodded, reaching out and shaking Mal's hand.
The tension lessened considerably after that and everyone either settled on a nearby bed or grabbed a chair.
"Uma would you like to start us off by telling us how you found out the barrier was weakening?" Ben asked.
"Believe it or not, it was a fisherman who swore half his boat went through it and was making such a ruckus about it we had to threaten him before he'd shut up. We figured it was only a matter of time before he blabbed to someone else so I decided to swim out and see for myself. This, of course, is the result," Uma said, waving a hand across her body.
"As long as it doesn't get any weaker, I don't think anyone is going to push it that far, the fear of the barrier is pretty set in people's minds," Harry added.
"Maybe for the fishermen, but if any of our parents hear that it's weakened they're going to do everything in their power to break it completely," Mal said, shaking her head.
"Is it going to weaken more? Cause if that's the case then we're going to be in serious trouble," Uma asked.
"It shouldn't, we're pretty sure we've got it under control now, but if the worst happens having a backup plan probably isn't a bad idea," Ben said.
"I still say Carlos' idea is the best," Jay interrupted.
"I never got a chance to ask Fairy Godmother if the artifacts could be destroyed," Ben said, his shoulders slumping at the reminder.
"I'll text Carlos, maybe he's still with Jane," Mal suggested, pulling out her phone.
"Excuse me, but what are we talking about?" Uma asked, feeling completely out of the loop.
"After the villains got rounded up and Auradon was declared villain-free, some of the most powerful weapons and magical items were put into a museum here in Auradon. Jafar's staff, my mother's magic mirror, Triton's trident and even some poisoned apples. If our parents came here and got a hold of them..." Evie explained.
Uma's eyes widened, "They'd destroy everything, my mom's told me stories about that trident since I was a baby, it can control all the oceans, the weather and transform people into sea slugs. She'd sell her soul to get her hands on it again."
"Which is why Carlos suggested they all be destroyed," Mal said.
"Can you even do that? Why not use them yourselves?" Harry asked.
"I'd never considered it, it would put the power on our side," Ben said, looking at Mal.
"No, no way. I got plenty of use from my mother's old spell book, nothing good came of it. And even if I did use it, I don't have the kind of experience that our parents do, I'm not strong enough," Mal protested, crossing her arms stubbornly.
"My mother's magic mirror can show where things and people are but otherwise it's not very powerful and I'm not nearly as good at potions as she was," Evie added.
"Well don't look at me, I'm not touching my father's snake staff, Aladdin broke it once for good reason and I want it to stay that way," Jay said firmly.
Uma scowled, "They're right, I haven't practiced the dark arts like my mother has, I wouldn't have a clue how to work the Trident."
"Then we need reinforcements, Evie do you have that list of kids?" Ben asked. The blue haired girl smiled and handed him a long sheet of paper. "That's a lot of names, can you tell me who their parents are and what the question marks next to some of them are for?"
"I know, it's as many kids as Mal and I could think of, some of them we're sure would love it here but a few we don't know really well so they're question marks," Evie replied.
"Okay, what about Maverick?" Ben asked.
"No!" Uma exclaimed suddenly.
Harry started chuckling madly while Uma whacked him on the arm.
"Oh come on Uma, little Mav would be a great addition to our team," Harry said, wiping away tears of mirth.
"Absolutely not, if my aunt hadn't found us I would have dragged that urchin to the bottom of the sea and left him tied to a rock!" Uma growled.
"So I'm gonna guess that Maverick is your cousin?" Ben asked.
"Yes, my aunt Morgana's son, he's about three years younger than me and has done nothing but pester me non stop since he was born," Uma replied with an irritated huff.
"Funny thing though, Morgana is totally off her rocker but Maverick is about as sweet as a seal pup," Harry said, getting Ben to put a check mark next to his name.
"Alright, next we have Aliya?" Ben asked, getting blank stares from everyone but Mal and a groan of misery from Jay.
"You put her name down Mal? Are you trying to kill me?" Jay asked.
Mal snickered and shook her head. "Aliya is Abis Mal's daughter, he was one of Aladdin's rivals and always looked up to Jafar. Aliya isn't exactly evil, but she picked up the nasty habit of constantly laying traps and tricks for people from her father. Her favorite target has always been Jay."
"Oh no, she's definitely evil! The little brat has been torturing me since she could crawl, she'd purposefully get right behind me and trip me while I was walking. She'd pour oil all over the road for me to slip in, she'd throw rotten fish through my bedroom window while I was sleeping and pretend to be hurt in the middle of the marketplace so all the vendors would gang up on me," Jay complained.
"Well, she sounds like a hand full but she could be useful if we're fighting the villains," Ben said, trying to ignore Jay's agitated scowl. "Dizzy, is already a given, so then we're on to Hector?"
Everyone gave shrugs and shakes of their head.
"I know he's the Queen of Heart's son, but I've only met him once before when my mother was invited for tea," Evie said.
"Maggie?"
"Mags? She's Madame Medusa's daughter, she and Carlos were friends, think their mothers knew each other or something," Jay said.
"Okay, I'll ask Carlos about her later then. What about Roxanne?" Ben asked.
"No way!" Both Jay and Evie yelped, earning looks of surprise from everyone else.
"Oh come on, nobody has a more devious mind than that girl, she's even put me to shame a few times," Mal said.
"She's completely psychotic, she makes Audrey look like Fairy Godmother," Jay shuddered.
"She found out Jay and I were friends and deliberately tried to sabotage me. She dumped buckets of mud and dirty water on me from windows, she stole my notebooks with all my designs and set them on fire and shoved me off the dock into a pile of rotten fish," Evie cried, her lower lip trembling as her eyes watered.
"You're right Evie, I'd totally forgotten about all that stuff. I just remember how big of a crush she had on Jay and I think she was a little jealous of how good you looked all the time," Mal said, handing Evie a tissue and patting her thigh.
"I doubt she'd be much help anyway, she's Governor Ratcliffe's baby girl, they're pretty tight," Jay said, prompting Ben to cross her name off.
"Our final three are Shun, Coleton, and Hannah?"
"Shun's cool, a little older though, think he's almost twenty. He's Shan Yu's son, we used to dare each other to do crazy stunts back on the island to see who was the strongest and fastest," Jay said, smiling fondly.
"Aw, Jay's first man-crush," Mal cooed.
"I remember him; you, Gil and Shun used to have weightlifting competitions; he always won," Evie giggled, earning a gentle smack from Jay.
"Well strong and fast is good, but is he someone who would help us? His father Shan Yu managed to cause an entire war with China," Ben asked, pen hovering over the boy's name.
"Definitely, his father's pretty much a recluse nowadays and won't even talk about when he used to run the Huns so Shun has grown up pretty normal for an isle kid," Jay replied.
Ben put a check mark by his name, "Coleton and Hannah?"
"You really don't want Coleton, his father has completely warped his mind," Mal said.
"I always thought he was kind of handsome," Evie said, a dreamy look in her eyes.
"Yeah if you don't mind his obsession with killing all living creatures to take home to his father Clayton, to stuff and hang on a wall," Mal grimaced.
"I've seen Hannah around a time or two, kinda shy and weird. Her father is Hans, last in line to the throne and near murderer of Queen Elsa's sister Anna. If you think a mouse is meek, then you haven't met Hannah, that girl won't speak, won't make eye contact and won't stay in one place for more than five seconds. She's not a fighter, she's a hider," Uma said, shaking her head.
"Well then, that's the end of our list. We're left with Maverick, Aliya, Dizzy, Maggie, Shun, and Freddie," Ben said.
"Don't forget Gil, he may not be terribly bright but he'll fight if you ask him to and he's as loyal as a dog," Uma added.
"It's not that many names, is it?" Mal asked, looking at the list over Ben's shoulder.
"It doesn't have to be, with these extra kids on our side it makes us that much more powerful," Ben said confidently.
"You are the most optimistic person I have ever met," Uma laughed.
"You have no idea, the words quit and fail are not in his vocabulary," Mal snickered.
"Well good, cos they're not in ours either, unless it's in reference to the enemy," Harry said.
"I couldn't agree more Harry, we're going to protect Auradon with everything we have, down to our last man," Ben cheered, his infectious grin spreading around the group. He was relieved that this part of the plan was coming along, and hopefully, in the end, they'd wind up with more allies and not have to fight anyone.