Hey Descendants!

We're back to writing today, but we couldn't start until we got a chapter out for you. We hope you enjoy.

-Dark


A few hours later...

T bumps James fist with his own once they finish nailing the last plank into place.

"This is looking pretty sweet mate." James nods as he stepped back to admire their handy work.

T grins as he starts cleaning up the spare nails. "Agreed. Can't wait to actually see her sail."

"You and me both." James chuckles, "The captain's gonna flip when she hears the main work is finished, all that's left is a good coat of tar and our lady is seaworthy."

"I'll hit up the next barge. I've missed the last couple, but now that we're this close-." T shrugs, "I want it finished." He stands to his feet, with a fist full of nails.

"You know where to find me." James holds his fist out again.

T grins as he bumps the older kid's fist. "Thanks again, man."

James nods, "Imma go rack out before my guard shift." he gathers up his few tools and turns towards the stairs.

"Luck with that." T lazily salutes him, before he walks over to the box he kept for nails and dumps empties his hand.

"Captain." T hears James greet before his stomps continue up the stairs.

"Night James," Uma calls out over her shoulder before she continues down the stairs. When she walks through the archway the beam from her flashlight falls on the brand new patch. "Wow, you guys got a lot done." She whistles in appreciation.

"James really helped speed shit along." T shrugs, as he turns to lean against the wall he'd been standing by.

"You could have just said that you prefer to work with him you know." Uma chuckles and leans one hip against the wall, "Deez obviously enjoyed getting attention from Harry tonight."

T shrugs, "Didn't care who I worked with as long as it got finished." He crosses his arms. "Glad you like it."

"I do. You've become quite the handyman." She teases, "Between your time at the shop and here, won't be long before I shanghai you and force you to be my permanent shipwright."

"Pirates like their titles."

Uma chuckles, "That one just means a person that builds ships, but ya ain't wrong."

"Gotcha." T shifts in discomfort. "Deez ready to go or something?"

"I ain't ready for her to go," Uma sighs, "but I figured the silence down here might mean you were."

"As long as he gets her back before dawn, Gil could take her." T offers.

"And how exactly did you get her here without being seen?" Uma asks though she was almost certain she already knew the answer. She'd seen it dawn on Gil earlier as well, but neither of them had wanted to worry Hyades with the news.

T looks away, "I swiped your dingy late last night."

Uma nods, "Ya knocked her out didn't ya."

"Fuck yeah I did," T states, clearly unashamed.

"Is this going to become a habit?"

T lifts his brow, "Deez, or knocking people out?"

"Both?" Uma snorts in amusement.

"Dunno." T shrugs. "But kinda a moot point."

Uma slowly nods, "I keep getting the feeling you're trying to say good-bye."

"Goodbyes don't have to be permanent."

"Which is why I'm confused over it." Uma sighs and holds up a hand, "Hear me out before you freak or bolt, please?"

T stands up straighter as he turns back to her. His hood obscuring everything but his mouth.

"Look, I know I caught you in the middle of something big the other day, and no," Uma shakes her head at T's opening mouth, "I'm not trying to get you to talk about it. I just… All cards on the table… You're important to our family. Part of it. I know it makes you uncomfortable, and I meant it when I said you'll get over it eventually. At least I hope you will. But my point is those aren't just words. They mean something. If you want them, but even if you don't right now." She sighs as she crosses her arms over her chest, "Look, I'm grateful for everything you've done. The things you know and all the things I don't think you do. And I want you to know I would do anything for you. All of us would. That's what being in our family means. Being there when you're needed, for whatever it is. You don't like how we treat Deez or want to be treated like that. Heard man. We'll back off the feels or whatever. But we are here for you. You do know that much, right?"

T shifts in discomfort. "I made a deal with Maleficent."

"I know." Uma nods before she flicks her hand at the wrist, "And I know it has something to do with my baby girl." She snorts, "Ballsy, but what else can I expect from you at this point?"

"The truth?" T grumbles.

"I expect you'll tell me when you're ready." Uma shrugs, "That's how everyone is. I ain't gonna force shit out of you, doesn't mean a damn thing until you're ready to talk."

T falls silent, and if the hair raising on the back of her neck meant anything, she was pretty sure he was studying her, summing her up.

"That's..." T rubs his upper arm through his hoodie. "Thank you."

Uma nods, "That's all I wanted, so thank you for listening." She chuckles, "Maybe from now on I should challenge you to a duel or something every time I want a conversation. Seems like you're more comfortable that way."

"You're not wrong." T's lips pull into a weak smile.

"I'm just waiting on my book club sword, then you'll be my first combatant." Uma smiles as she holds out her hand, "Deal?"

T goes to shake her hand before he drops it.

"If you're saying no, or something about me being a girl," Uma roughly re extends her hand, "Gil's punches will look like child's play."

T snorts, "More like it would be selfish."

"How ya figure that?"

"Don't know how often I'll be able to make it out here, once the deal is done."

"You joining Mal?"

T looks away before he nods.

"Then I'll just challenge you publicly." Uma shrugs before she once again forces her hand out.

T snorts as he reaches out and connects their hands. "Deal."

"With Mal or not, you'll always be family, and I'll never shirk a visit." Uma gestures towards the captain's quarters, "I obviously trust you to be discreet."

T can't help his sigh of relief. "Thank you." He breathes out quietly.

"I don't own you, T, I wouldn't want to. You gotta do what you gotta do, just like the rest of us. I ain't never taken freedom from anyone, and I ain't gonna change now. I just," Uma scuffs her foot awkwardly against the floor, "I don't want you ta walk away thinking you betrayed me or something, or that you can't come back. Or that your personal shit is too much for us."

"It has nothing to do with that," T grumbles as he runs his fingers through his hair, knocking down his hood.

"I know," Uma holds her hands up quickly, "I just- I'm your friend T. I'm also a leader, so I get the perk of keeping secrets. So if you ever do need to just spill, I want you to know your secrets are safe with me. And if you ever have questions about anything you've seen or whatever, you can ask."

T doesn't blink for several silent moments, his knuckles turning white with how tight his grip was on his arm. "Do… Do you recognize your reflection?"

"Most of the time." Uma frowns as she thinks. Out of all the questions she'd anticipated, she hadn't seen that one coming, "Like I always recognize my hair or something. But sometimes, when I haven't looked in a mirror for a long time, I get startled. And when I'm tired I'm too afraid to look in a mirror."

"Huh." T swallows as he looks away, "Heard."

"Just so you know," Uma sighs, wondering if she was doing any good or just talking to a wall right now, "all I want is to help you. Nothing more, nothing with extra intentions or anything."

T looks at her in surprise. "But you've already done so much for me. Fuck all of you have helped me so fucking much… I'm still trying to make up for it. I know I'm a fucking freak. But you guys…" He swallows as he looks away. "I don't think I'd still be here if…" He brings up his hand to run through his hair. "Just, you guys have helped. More than I ever anticipated. Probably more than you'll ever understand... I just- Even if this wasn't something I had to do, I don't think I could ask for more than what you guys have already given to me. Even if it just started as some weird debt, you fucking helped me so much by just letting me chill with you guys." He shifts facing away from her to stare at a different wall. "So even if-" He takes a deep breath, "Even if shit doesn't play out the way I'm expecting it too. I just want you to at least know that…" His eyes focus on the floor.

"Huh." Uma smiles, "I guess I feel a little better knowing that I've at least done something. But chilling with you was as much for me as it was for you. I like you T. You're funny, you're caring and protective. And so what if you're a freak? We all are in our own way. But, we're freaks together, and I think that means something. So just, we're good man. You think you're in debt to me, I think I'm in debt to you… why not just call us even then?"

"Because it's not-"

Uma holds up her hand, "Here's the thing. I can accept that I don't understand exactly what I've done for you, but I need you to understand that you don't know everything you've done for me. So since we're at this awkward impasse, let's settle for being even and moving forward."

"Noted." T pushes off the wall. "Look, I'm going to be on the lookout for tar so we can get this work done, but it's probably going to be a while before I can get everything Maleficent wants from Shan Yu. I'm still trying to figure out what the fuck he's planning. And after that, I'm dealing with our father. So ya know, when you guys get wind Mal booted her, just be sure Gil can get to her beach. I'll stash some of my sleep shit in the dingy for him to use on her. Win-win, right?"

"I'm not going to complain, as long as it's what you want too." Uma slides back to give T room to pass, "We've already covered the rest of the important shit."

"Eh." T shrugs, "Never thought I'd have the balls to join a gang before this month. So never really gave it much thought. It just made more sense that if I wanted to join a gang, it would be fucked for me to come over if I could manage to get her kicked out of The Rotten Core… Kinda really kicked Mal in the cunt over this one. But I know there will be way less tension with shit reversed. You won't care if she visits them and Evie's life stops being a carrot."

"Sounds like you've thought it all out."

T shrugs, "Doubt that. Honestly, I'm surprised it got as far as it has." He turns to rummage through his bag till he pulls out a vial. "Think you guys can manage getting Deez back?" He asks as he holds it out.

"Aye." Uma's finger wrap around the vial.

"She burns through that shit. It worked for about two hours tops." T explains before he steps away. "Tell Harry thanks again for the hair cut for me?"

Uma nods, "Sure. I can do that."

"Later." T throws up his hand over his shoulder, already halfway out the door.

Uma slides down to the floor and pulls her knees to her chest the moment she's sure T was gone. She stares blindly in the dark as she grips the sleep vial in her hand.

T, true to form, hadn't said much, but it was the silences and strangeness of his questions that told her everything she needed to know. Something truly evil had happened to him at the hands of Frollo, something that haunted him and made him question everything about himself. Even made him hate his own reflection. His silence on the subject of his father told her he hadn't faced him yet, not that she thought T was in any real danger. Frollo was an old man with few allies, few reliable allies anyways. And T was… T. The deal with Maleficent and him sneaking around in Shan Yu's territory was much more terrifying. But, nothing she could do about it. And part of her, a part she hated, wanted T to succeed. She wanted her cousin back. She wanted Deez safe on the ship with her boys. And T was offering it to her with no strings attached.

She sighs as she lets her head fall back to thud against the hull behind her. She felt much older than her fifteen years, and yet somehow like a child all at the same time. She was being selfish, letting T go like this. Telling herself that she'd done everything she could. Had tried everything to reach him. But she hadn't. She hadn't told him what she knew, or suspected. She hadn't cornered him. She'd been upfront. She'd told him she wasn't going to trap him here. She'd given him an out before she even started.

She wasn't lying about not taking choices away. She'd never taken the option to leave away from her boys; she'd simply not mentioned it, and they never asked. She blocked them when they tried to leave, but if they hadn't stopped, she would have moved.

Why had she sabotaged herself with T? Was it because, deep down, she'd understood what T was saying from the beginning? Had she known that he was going to get Deez back for her?

Yeah. She'd known. She'd felt it in his certainty once he'd stopped talking about his father and started talking about his plans to make things right.

This wasn't right though. She was gambling with T's life for her own selfish ends.


Anyone else excited that Uma's ship is close to being seaworthy? T really doesn't like to leave things unfinished. Like a dog with a bone.

So…

We know this was a short chapter but…

What did you think of Uma's introspection? Did it hurt?

What about T's response that they all had helped him in a monumental way?

T's making a lot of deals right now. Think any of them are going to fall through?

And do you guys like James and T dynamics?

Were you guys surprised by Uma's reaction to T drugging Deez? Do you think it's going to become a common place thing?

Thanks for all of your support!

Much love and appreciation,

-Dark and Twisted