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Enjoy!


Chapter 16: Dread

The walk over to the meeting place was done almost completely in silence. Ben trudged firmly ahead of the group, with his father trailing closely on his right. Behind them, Mal, Evie, Jay and Carlos formed a tight cluster. A little further back, their small fellowship was completed by Lancelot, Lonnie, CJ and two more soldiers carrying Auradon banners.

Everyone was clad in armor and had one hand firmly placed on the hilt of their sheathed swords. Ben hadn't really slept since before the disastrous battle of Auradon City, and his fatigue was only amplified by a pounding headache. His face and hair were both covered with dirt and mud, making him look less 'kingly' than had ever been the case. He didn't stand out among his entourage though, as all his allies appeared pale, dirty and tired.

It was barely an hour after Harry Hook had approached the Auradon camp with the message that Solomon wanted to propose yet another meeting. After a quick deliberation, Ben and his allies agreed to see what was going on. While no one had any actual faith that Solomon would now be pining for a peaceful resolution, a meeting like this could still work to their advantage in some ways. For one, it would buy some time, and every hour could be crucial during this stage of the war. Furthermore, Lancelot saw this as an opportunity to maybe see and learn more about Archer and the spell that was cast upon him. All in all, there was relatively little for the Auradonians to lose by attending this meeting.

The proposed meeting spot was in no man's land, the space in between the army encampments of the two opposing sides. In this case, no man's land meant a clearing within a forest that had already been ravaged by the fighting.

"Son, up ahead…" Adam hissed, nudging Ben's arm.

Ben looked further ahead, and could just about make out some moving shapes and the silhouette of a tent in between the trees. He resolutely stepped on, not so much eager to see Solomon and the other villains again, but more to show that he still possessed some resilience.

As he stepped onto the clearing, followed by his allies, he was noticed by the enemy. There were about a dozen people spread about the place, all of them alive. Ben recognized two of them, one carrying a shotgun and the other a smug expression, from the fight in the woods. Solomon, Uma, Harry Hook or the revived Archer were not yet anywhere to be seen.

All the villains he did see started hollering and laughing as soon as they saw Ben and the others. They got closer, whistling mockingly and shouting obscenities, with most of those directed at Mal and the other VK's.

Ben paid this pesky welcome committee no mind, and approached the tent. Behind him, Jay had to be forcefully held back by both Carlos and Lonnie before he could physically confront their teasing onlookers.

Two pirates opened the flaps of the tent and allowed Ben to enter. The tent was about the same size as the commander's tent back in the Auradon camp, only there was no large table covered with maps in the center. Instead, what Ben found were three people sitting in comfortable chairs on the other side of the tent.

Solomon naturally sat in the middle, with his legs lazily hanging over the left armrest of his chair. He sported an almost maniacally amused grin, and his eyes twinkled when Ben and his group entered. Uma sat to Solomon's right in an equally comfortable seat, eating from a bowl of grapes with Harry Hook leaning on the back of her chair. To Solomon's left sat a woman Ben did not recognize, though he could guess who she was from the red leather coat alone. This had to be Harriet Hook, the older sister of Harry and CJ. She was the only one of the three who wasn't smiling, and instead simply looked at Ben with an annoyed and uncaring scowl.

"Welcome!" Solomon bellowed as he swung his legs down and planted his heavy boots on the ground.

The tent slowly filled up as everyone of Ben's group but the two bannermen entered the tent. Adam, who had never directly met up with one of their enemies other than the time Uma disrupted cotillion, looked stern and irritated as he took his place beside Ben.

Tensions increased even more when Mal stepped up, joining Ben on his other side. Uma's expression notably darkened, and she handed her bowl of grapes over to Harry before giving Mal her undivided attention. Finally, Harriet Hook actually scoffed when she spotted CJ, who was the last to enter the tent.

"Long time no see… Too long if you ask me…" Solomon began, not showing an ounce of fear or unease. Instead, he seemed totally unfazed by their situation and even somewhat jovial at the prospect of continued violence.

"Say what you have to say, then we'll be out of your hair." Ben replied. He was tired, and he had no will or energy left to play along with Solomon's macabre games.

"Hmm, I thought it would be nice to catch up…" Solomon pondered as he climbed to his feet and took a few steps in Ben's direction. "There's lots of stuff that has happened… Lots of people we have lost…" He added, his black eyes gleaming as they rested on CJ.

Ben balled his fists, trying his best not to be provoked by Solomon's comments. He knew that Solomon wanted and expected some sort of reaction from him or other members of his group, but he really did not want to give him the satisfaction.

"We don't want to waste anyone's…" Was as far as Ben got, before Solomon interrupted him.

"Just a minute, Beastie Boy, I want to hear from dear old CJ…" He hissed, actually raising his finger to shush Ben.

"Yeah, let's hear from the traitor…" Harriet Hook added as she leaned forward. There was not a trace of any possibly morbid joy present on her face. No, Harriet stared at CJ with nothing but disgust. "What does she think of the latest addition to our army, hmm? I heard the two of you were quite close…"

CJ tried to lunge forward with a cry of anger, but both Evie and Lancelot grabbed her by her arms and held her back before she could even reach for her sword.

"Hit a nerve, have we?" Solomon grinned as he challengingly stepped even closer to CJ. "I thought you'd be grateful to have gotten to see him again…"

"You heartless bastard…" Adam muttered, taking a step in Solomon's direction. "Have you no shame at all?"

Ben joined his father, so that he now stood less than a foot away from Solomon, who had raised his eyebrows in apparent surprise. Solomon was tall, but not as tall as either Ben or his father. He furthermore did not possess the brawny physique of either the father or son. Still, he showed no fear.

"Beast, I presume…" Solomon hissed, turning to Adam. "The cowardly king who banished his enemies to an unhospitable wasteland…"

"And you are the gutless villain who hurts the lives of countless innocent people… Women and children…" Adam countered, his face contorted into a furious grimace.

"And what about the hundreds of innocent people you sent to live out their lives on that rotten island!?" Solomon snapped. "Not to mention their children!? Whose only crime was to be born unlucky!"

"You are going to act like you care about people!? Now!? After all the destruction you caused!?" Ben snapped.

"Don't bother putting up any act, Solomon! We know what you are!" Mal joined in, standing firmly beside Ben.

For a second, it looked as though Solomon was going to burst a blood vessel, but then he let out a deep breath, almost like a hissing snake. "Oh, I wouldn't dare to proclaim myself the 'good guy'… No, I take pride in my villain heritage, unlike some of us…" He added, leering at Mal. "But I won't have all of you standing there, feeling all superior, when you have all performed despicable actions worthy of notoriety as well…"

Both Ben and Adam did not reply right away. Ben of course knew that he himself wasn't a total saint, but his past actions could and should never be compared to what Solomon had done.

"You don't like us, we get that…" Ben began, his jaw clenched. "And you have already proven that you are not willing to agree to any meaningful cooperation…"

"Here he goes again, trying to take the moral high ground…" Uma spoke up from further back. "Stop blaming us for everything and stop acting like we're all too stupid to understand all those big words you're saying!"

Ben took another deep breath. "I-I wasn't trying to provoke or…" He said before being interrupted again.

"Haha, look at him!" Uma cackled. "Boy, you really gotta work on that spine of yours Beastie Boy… Don't let everyone just walk all over you…"

"Shut up, Shrimpy!" Mal spat from beside Ben as she took a step forward and stared at Uma with unbridled hatred.

Uma's expression soured instantly, and she too got up out of her chair. "Such talk from a prissy princess…" She practically whispered, letting her fingers dance along the hilt of her sword. "Even when her back's up against the wall…"

"Grab your sword… Do it…" Mal retorted, stepping forward until she and Uma were almost standing nose to nose.

"Mal…" Ben hissed, grabbing her by the arm. "Come on…"

"Yes, Uma, please… This is a negotiation of some sort…" Solomon added, waving his hands sarcastically.

Mal and Uma looked each other over one more time before they both retreated. Ben was slightly relieved. Mal's injuries had still not healed completely, and he didn't know how much more she could take before she would suffer permanent damage. Other than that, he realized that Mal and Uma locking horns could hardly be a good development for this meeting.

"You say this is a negotiation…" Ben addressed Solomon. "We are willing to offer terms to arrange for the end of our altercation…"

Solomon looked back at Ben with clear amusement. "T-Terms? Terms to end our altercation!? Hahaha! Oh lord, oh, this must be good…" He laughed as he walked back to his chair, tapping Uma on her shoulder to indicate she should join him on the way.

"Ehm, yes… Would you be willing to at least hear out these terms?" Ben went on, feeling less confident and more agitated with every passing second.

Solomon let himself fall back down on his comfortable chair before spreading his arms and gesturing sarcastically at Ben. "Sure… Why not? Let us have it…" He smirked.

Ben chose to ignore this brazen disinterest and pressed on. "We are willing to offer you land. Land for you and all the people that remained on the isle of the lost to move into and make your own."

Both Uma and Harriet seemed at least slightly perplexed and even slightly interested by Ben's proposal, but Solomon's expression didn't change one bit.

"Go on." He said, lazily waving his finger about.

"Well, ehm…" Ben went on. "We are prepared to offer you this land in exchange for you and your allies seizing all hostilities against Auradon and its people. A complete stop to the war and all fighting, that is what we ask…"

Solomon bit his lip, seemingly pondering a few issues. "What land are we talking about?" He eventually asked.

Ben actually felt a twinge of hope. "That is yet to be determined. We would need more time for propositions and negotiations."

Solomon squinted at Ben. "And what if, say, we come to this agreement… You give us land, we move in and 'make it our own', and I then decide I would actually like a little more land… And a little more… And a little more… Would you stop me? Would you stop me from taking more land?"

Ben felt himself get angrier. "Yes. If you're not willing to cooperate, then we will stop you."

"How? If you can't stop me now? What would you do to stop me in the future, when my abilities and my army will have only grown more powerful?" Solomon sneered.

Ben gulped. He was momentarily lost for words.

"The way I see it…" Solomon began, nudging his head. "is that I have you cornered and helpless. Your army is almost completely eradicated, and you have, what, thousands of helpless civilians caught in the crossfire? Your last ditch efforts to combat me have all failed, and there is not a single person on your side able to go toe to toe with me… Face it, you have lost. There's nothing standing in the way between me and my inevitable victory, and my best bet will be to simply continue what I'm doing, crush your puny force, and take whatever I want from your cold, dead hands…"

Ben was silent, and so were all his associates. He could put up a brave face, and tell Solomon that he would soon regret those words on the battlefield, but he realizes those would be hollow threats. In all fairness, Solomon was absolutely right… He and his forces had suffered terrible losses and were on full retreat. Frankly, it was a miracle that they hadn't been completely wiped out already… If he wanted to, Solomon could simply order his full army to overrun the Auradon defenses at any given moment and kill every civilian that they had tried so hard to save, and there would be nothing that Ben or anyone could do to stop him…

"So, you see my predicament." Solomon went on, not paying the despair he had caused any mind. "There isn't really anything you can offer me that is not already mine to take… It is just so much easier for me to just wipe you all out. Who knows, I might even add you all to my army afterwards…"

"Just stop!" Ben spat, quite literally bursting with anger. "Stop wasting everyone's time with your threats and just tell us what we are all doing here! You said yourself that there is nothing we can offer you, so why invite us over to talk in the first place!? It can't be just for your amusement, it just can't be…"

Solomon exhaled loudly. "Well, Beastie Boy, that was an impressive rant… And, truth be told, I did actually invite you all here with a request… See, you have made your offer, and now you can hear mine…"

"Y-You have an offer?" Ben asked, both surprised and apprehensive.

"Yes." Solomon answered. "Will you listen to what I have to say?"

Ben looked to both Mal and his father, both of whom nodded. "Very well, what is it?"

Solomon grinned evilly. "You say you are willing to offer us land for ourselves, right? Away from all you pesky Auradonians?"

"Yes." Ben replied with gritted teeth.

"Not good enough." Solomon snapped. "You all need to learn some humility, so, instead of having us tucked away like unwanted vermin, we will be living among all of you. However, every isle inhabitant will be given a castle, or a villa, or whatever else you have over here, while all you pesky Auradonians will live in crappy cottages as our servants… You will do all the work for once, and you will spend your entire meaningless lives breaking your backs doing whatever we want of you…"

Ben was incensed. "How dare you ask that!?"

"What?" Solomon pulled up his eyebrows, smirking. "I am being reasonable..."

"Preposterous!" Adam snapped.

"You insolent, egotistical maniac!" Mal spat, walking around Ben and taking a stand right in front of Solomon. "Where do you get off acting all high and mighty like that!? We admit it, alright!? We can't beat you… But what makes you think we're just gonna roll over!? You know nothing! You are still the same sad, vain arrogant prick you were all those years ago! You wanna know why no one wanted to hang out with you when we were kids? You think it's because everyone was afraid of you? Hell no! It was because everyone knew you were an untrustworthy, cowardly rat! And guess what!? You haven't changed one bit! You're not scary or intimidating! You're just sad! Sad and lonely!"

Ben really wanted to either add on to Mal's insults, or compliment her for said insults, but really he was just too busy awaiting Solomon's reaction.

Solomon just stared at Mal for several long, unnerving seconds. His black eyes met her green ones, and neither combatant was seemingly planning on being the first one to look away.

"New proposal." Solomon eventually grunted, his eyes still unmoving. "You give us Mal. You give us Mal, and we will spare the lives of everyone else. We will still conquer your lands, and you will all pay the price for your past insolence, but you will be spared. For now, I will be content with having you sacrifice Mal."

"Ooh, spicy…" Uma purred, eagerly looking over in Ben's direction.

Everyone gasped, with Evie being the loudest. Then it got silent for a minute. Ben's mind was raging. He couldn't sacrifice Mal… Of course he couldn't let that happen… No matter what would happen, he wouldn't lose Mal…

"Just fuck off, will you!?" Jay spat from further back.

"Eat shit and die, you rotten bastard!" Carlos added.

More insults and slurs were being hurled at Solomon from behind Ben, but both he and Mal had not yet said a word.

"You are insane." Adam also joined in, taking a firm stance beside both Ben and Mal. "We do not trade lives! You may go on to defeat us and take whatever you want, but we will stand together until the very end! We may have nothing to offer you, but you have nothing to threaten us with that will make us give up on each other!"

Ben felt a surge of pride as he stood shoulder to shoulder with his father. He looked back at Solomon to see what he thought of this.

Solomon tore his eyes away from Mal and examined Adam from head to toe. His mouth curled up in a devilish smile. "I will enjoy watching you die soon, old man."

The turmoil was immediate, as the people behind Ben started shouting increasingly more vulgar obscenities at Solomon. Before long, Uma, Harriet and Harry had joined in as well, shouting at the Auradon side. Only Ben and Solomon remained silent during this exchange, as they looked closely at one another.

"Stop!" Solomon sneered as he snapped his fingers. This made a sound as loud as a cannon shot, and successfully silenced all shouting parties. "So…" Solomon hissed, barely audible after the chaos of just a second ago. "You're refusing my offer then? You can save your kingdom and your people, but only if you give me Mal… Otherwise, you'll lose everything…"

Ben felt his blood boil. He looked to his left, where Mal met his gaze. He saw resilience, compassion and strength in her eyes, and she didn't have to say anything in order for Ben to know what she was thinking about. Mal was all too ready to sacrifice herself for the good of the people and the kingdom… She knew the risks, and accepted them…

However, Ben was not at all ready to simply hand Mal over! Not now! Not ever! He would not leave her to what would undoubtedly be a horrific fate, no matter how much was at stake!

"No." Ben said with all the strength he could muster. He was still looking right into Mal's astonishingly green eyes. "No, you will not get Mal… You will never get Mal…" He added, turning to Solomon with a furious grimace. "I will make sure of it…"

Solomon carefully studied Ben for several seconds. He did not seem surprised or amused by Ben's declaration, nor did he appear to be too agitated that he had refused his offer.

"I bet that's what you thought about dear old Archer…" Solomon eventually replied, his voice barely louder than a whisper.

Ben stayed silent, and he tried his best not to let his anger and grief come to the forefront.

"Speaking of…" Solomon went on, not waiting for Ben's response as he stood up and walked to the right side of the tent. "Care to say hello?" He added, opening one of the tent flaps and gesturing for someone to enter.

Ben felt his breath get caught in his throat as Archer slowly stumbled into the tent. He had not seen him up close yet in this state, and what he saw was very distressing. This revived Archer appeared to be barely aware of his surroundings, with his pitch black eyes looking mindlessly ahead. His skin was pale, almost grey, with dark veins, cuts and bruises all becoming more evident because of it. He was clad in simple Auradon armor, though large parts of it were scorched and bludgeoned as the result of past battles. He furthermore carried a normal sword, which paled in comparison to Excalibur. The only thing about him that wasn't entirely different was his jet-black hair, which was just about as messy as it had been when he was still alive.

"Archer…" Both Ben and CJ spoke up.

Ben made no attempt to get closer to Archer, even when he took his place next to Solomon barely two feet in front of him. CJ, however, again had to be held back by Evie and Lancelot.

"Look at all your friends…" Solomon said to Archer, placing a hand on his shoulder. "They all came to see you, isn't that nice?"

Archer did not move an inch.

"Archer!" CJ shouted, her voice turning shrill as the first tears started pouring down her cheeks. "Archer, snap out of it!"

"Do you know who that is?" Solomon asked Archer, grabbing him by his hair and nudging him in CJ's direction. "Do you remember her? I don't know all the dirty details, but I can tell from her hysterics that she was very fond of you…"

Archer stared straight at CJ for several agonizing seconds. He did not move a muscle other than blinking a few times before averting his gaze again, not truly acknowledging CJ in any shape, way or form.

"Archer! Come on! Please!" CJ kept on pleading, with Jay now also stepping in to help hold her back.

"He's gone!" Solomon spat, stepping closer to CJ. "Your little boy toy is my fucking puppet! I know that this is all difficult for your tiny mind to grasp, but there's nothing you can do!"

"And this is a mercy compared to what we have planned for you, dear sister…" Harriet hissed from the back of the tent as she rose from her chair and went to stand beside Solomon. "You think you're hurting now? Your suffering hasn't truly began yet…"

"So dark…" Uma chirped in, joining her associates. "Though the little bitch does have it coming…"

"I'll kill you! I'll kill all of you!" CJ shrieked, kicking and lashing out against the friends trying to hold her back.

"Please get her out." Ben begged of Evie, Jay and Lancelot. They obeyed, and pulled CJ away as gently as they could, while she kept on screaming and struggling.

"Jeez, keep your own under control, beastie boy…" Solomon sneered, his eyes gleaming in amusement.

Ben was still in a bit of a state of shock after witnessing that heartbreaking interaction between CJ and the revived Archer. Speaking of, Archer's expression had not changed whatsoever.

"You will pay for what you've done…" Mal spoke up from beside Ben. "Maybe not soon and maybe not by our hand, but you will pay…"

Solomon smiled condescendingly. "Looking forward to it… Now, any other meaningless threats you want to throw my way, or would you rather return to your camp to spend whatever time you have left with your doomed troops?"

Ben felt his father's hand on his shoulder. "Let's go. There's nothing for us here." He murmured.

"You'll all pay…" Mal sneered at their adversaries as she stepped back out of the tent, with the remainder of their entourage following her.

Ben was the last one out, as he took a few more seconds to look at Archer, who still did not show even the remotest hint of any trace of emotion left within him.

"No holding back from now on!" Solomon called out after them. "When you see me next, I will rain down on your people with all my forces! You won't live to see another sunrise!"

Biting his tongue, Ben had to refrain himself from replying with an insult as he walked on. On his way past the clearing, Solomon's people again hurled insults at him, but he paid these no mind.

The way back to the Auradon camp was even more silent than their journey towards it, even though no one had said a word back then. Everyone appeared equally shocked by what they had seen. CJ was the only one who looked more alive than they had been an hour ago, but that was mostly due to the fact that she was shaking with anger.

When they reached the outskirts of the Auradon camp, Ben stepped up to Lancelot to discuss a few things. "Well?" He began. "Did you see anything?"

"Nothing unexpected." Lancelot replied, biting his lip. "It all pretty much looked like how the curse was described in the old tomes. I don't know about you, but I did not see a hint of the real Archer in there…"

"No…" Ben shook his head. "He just seemed so… So… So empty… So hollow…"

"Because that's what he is." Lancelot acknowledged. "He's nothing more than a vessel kept alive by Solomon's curse. It can move and fight like Archer did because of muscle memory, but Archer himself has no control and no real way of fighting back…"

"And if we take out Solomon?" Ben opted, fearing the worst.

"Archer would die." Lancelot nodded. "But I would call that a mercy… I mean, being kept alive like this, like Solomon's puppet, is not what Archer would have wanted."

"Of that we are all certain." Ben sighed. "But that does not really make what we have to do any easier."

"That's what Solomon wants…" Lancelot muttered. "To bring us off our game even more…"

They stayed silent for a few seconds, with Ben's exhausted and panicked thoughts moving through his head like a whirlwind. If they could beat Solomon, and that was a big 'if', then they would lose Archer, that much was pretty much certain. Still, this wasn't really Archer anymore, no matter how much this revived monstrosity still resembled him on the outside. As hard as it was to accept, Archer's definitive demise would come as a result of them winning this war.

"We need to tell everyone that there's no way of bringing him back." Ben eventually stated. "We need everyone at their full strength for the next battle. We can't afford any distractions."

"They'll not take it easily." Lancelot pondered. "Especially CJ…"

Ben scratched his head. "CJ will be hit the hardest by this, yes… But I also have faith that she'll turn that sorrow into unbridled rage and do whatever it takes to defeat Solomon…"

"That will get her killed." Lancelot sighed. "Don't tell me that you are actually encouraging her on that path of vengeance."

"I'm afraid that's out of anyone's hands. Frankly, I don't know if I could stop CJ, even if I wanted to… Even in a frenzied state she'd be an asset to us…" Ben said with a bit of hesitance.

Lancelot visibly struggled with all these moral quandaries. "There have been times during the past couple of days where I started wondering how it all came to this… I think of all the ways we could have stopped this… I think of all the little worries we used to have in our lives… All of it seems so meaningless…"

Ben didn't answer, but he perfectly understood Lancelot's ponderings. He looked over the Auradon camp. At the dozens of soldiers carrying weapons and materials from here to there. At Jay and Lonnie, who had already resumed dueling practice with a few Auradon warriors. At his father, who was being joined by Carlos and a few Auradon officials before heading to the commander's tent. And at Mal, who stood beside Evie and a clearly distressed Freddie in front of CJ's tent. Ben could barely remember how they all used to barely have a care in the world… What they were doing right now carried so much more meaning and importance, but along with that came misery and hopelessness. Ben knew that, if they won this war, if would be remembered until the end of times. And yet, he would have gladly exchanged his current predicaments for a life of good old boring prosperity.

"Could you break the news about Archer to everyone?" Ben eventually asked. "I need to make some final preparations… Just… Just try to make sure that everyone is prepared as best as they can be, okay? If we want even the slightest chance of survival, then everyone needs to do their absolute best…"

Lancelot nodded, though Ben could still see the doubt behind his eyes, and then walked off towards the camp.

'Soon…' Ben thought to himself. 'Soon this will all be over… One way or another…'