Twelve Months Before The Barrier Breaks
"Hey 'Los" Carlos froze. That voice. He hadn't heard that voice in three years.
"'Lota." He turned and she was there, Lota, black and white hair spilling over her black jacket.
"It's… it's been a while." She admitted. Carlos raised an eyebrow.
"That, is entirely your fault." 'Lota laughed. He hadn't realised how much he'd missed that sound. Hadn't realised how much he'd missed his sister, he'd been missing her for a long time, long before she'd jumped out the window in the middle of the night.
"Yeah. It was. I- I had to get out though. Staying would have destroyed me."
"Wasn't exactly a walk in the park for me either." Carlos pointed out. 'Lota scuffed her shoe against the floor. "What are you here for anyway?"
"Do I need a reason to visit my brother?"
"Carlota De Vil, you spent three years away with the pirates. Literally. That night you jumped out the window you told me you had no intention of coming back. The only reason you've shown your face around here is because you want something. I'm not stupid."
"No. You're not. You never were. You're the smartest person I know, smart enough to build a way off this island."
"So, that's what you're after. Did Uma send you?"
"Nobody sent me 'Los. I'm here because I want to talk with you, because I want to help." Carlos stared down at the plans spread out over the floor, at the 'Los & 'Lota in the top corner of the oldest.
"If anyone finds out we're working together we're both good as dead." he warned. "Mal ordered me to make this and as far as most people are concerned, you work for Uma."
"They hate each other. I know 'Los." They sat there for a while and, for a little bit, it felt like it used to, like it was the two of them against the world.
"Where… where did we go wrong? We used to be so close, and now- now we're not."
"'Los 'n' 'Lota against the world." She replied, a small smile on her face. "Life had other plans I guess. I- I don't regret it though. I can't regret it. I wouldn't be the person I am if I'd stayed with you."
"But- where did it start?" 'Lota was quiet for a long time, staring at the clouds above their heads
"The closet." She answered eventually "With the furs. And the traps. You refused to go in there again unless you absolutely had to and I went back in the next day. I wanted to know how they worked. I needed to know how they worked. I thought- I thought that if I could just figure out how they worked she couldn't use them against us anymore."
"You always did have a fondness for danger." Fondness might have been an understatement. 'Lota always preferred the dangerous ideas, the machines with a bigger chance of blowing up, she was always one to try and push the limits of what was possible, the potential barrier-breaking machine was her idea after all.
"Just a bit." She admitted, twirling a knife between her fingers. They'd been six the first time he'd seen her do that. He knew she'd slashed Jasper's eye out with it, that it was the start of Charlie Devil. He also knew it was the one weapon she always had on her. She'd had it since they were six and he was pretty sure she'd named it.
"You already know what this thing could do if it got built." He warned. Because she did. Breaking the barrier would mean the end of the life they were used to.
"And you know that we're gonna build it anyway" he did. 'Lota was always going to find a way out. that's what she did. When someone used someth9ing against her, she took it apart and figured out how to use it to her own advantage. The barrier had been used against them their whole lives. She was always going to take it apart sooner or later.
Jaz watched as Lottie laughed, the firelight cast shadows around them, illuminating her face, and, for the first time, Jaz saw her eyes. Dark brown, like sunlight through a bottle of whiskey, flecked with gold and green. Lottie looked at her, a smile on her lips as a few strands of black and white hair fell in her face, and Jaz was breathless. For that moment, Lottie was the most beautiful person she'd ever seen.
Seeing Carlos again had been good for her, even if it marked the start of the end. Change was coming. All they could do was wait and prepare.
Lottie may not believe in magic, but Jaz did.
Eleven Months Before The Barrier Breaks
"Hey, 'Los, pass me the thingamabob." Mal had been surprised to see Charlie Devil in Hell Hall when she arrived to see how Carlos was getting on with her machine. Carlos tossed her something and Charlie frowned, "'Los, that's the thingamajig."
"Oops, it's over by the whatsit then." Carlos replied, not looking up from the bit he was working on. Neither of them had noticed her.
"Carlos." They both froze "I thought I told you to keep this mission to yourself."
"With all due respect," Charlie Devil stated, which was probably none coming from her, "I'm the one that came up with the idea in the first place. Besides, we work better together."
"'Lota!" Carlos sounded scared. Good.
"Relax 'Los. It's not like anybody aside from Jaz even knows I came here and I haven't even told her what we're working on."
"Do you have an estimation of when it'll be done then?" She demanded, glaring at the twins. Carlos pulled back, but Charlie didn't even blink.
"Take best part of a year. We've gotta build quiet a few of the bits from scratch." Charlie stated calmly, knife in her hand.
"And if I could get you those bits?" Mal really didn't want to help them, but if it got her off the isle faster she was willing to bend the rules a bit.
"You can't. The only place you'll find those pieces is inside my head. All my inventions rely on bits only I know how to make." The Charlie Devil staring her down was very different to the one Jay reported a little over a month ago. There was no insanity in her eyes, just cold hard intelligence.
"You have a year." Mal stated, staring her down. The other girl didn't so much as blink "Or I'll kill you both."
"You can try." Charlie Devil spat, knife twirling between her finger "but I don't believe in magic. And I don't believe in you."
"You lied to Mal" Carlos stated as the other girl left.
"I have no idea what you're talking about" 'Lots replied, grabbing a screwdriver.
"You said it'd take us the best part of a year to finish. We both know it won't."
"Yeah, but she doesn't. Besides, I wanna have time to rework shit if it backfires."
"You think this won't work."
"No. I know it'll work, I just think it'll take us more than one shot to get it right." Carlos stared at his sister's back. She'd lied to Mal and now she was lying to him.
Ten Months Before The Barrier Breaks
Evie's eyes went wide as she noticed Maleficent's daughter coming out of Hell Hall. What was Maleficent's daughter doing at Hell Hall? Only Cruella De Vil and her son lived there anymore, though her daughter had been around a lot more lately. Even living in isolation, Evie had heard of Cruella's Psycho Daughter. She didn't look like a psycho.
"Any particular reason you're watching our house?" Evie turned to see the De Vil twins stood behind her. The boy was the one who had spoken, the girl not even looking at her. "Who are you anyway?"
"Evil Queen's Daughter" Cruella De Vil's daughter commented. There was a knife in her hand, crossed swords on the back of her glove. A pirate symbol.
"My name's Evie." Evie stated. The other girl was strange. What was the daughter of Cruella De Vil doing wearing a pirate symbol?
"Charlie. Charlie Devil." The girl introduced herself. Oh. Evie had heard of her. Well, she'd thought Charlie Devil was a boy at first, but the girl in front of her was clearly a girl. Though she didn't look insane.
"Carlos." The boy stated. "'Lota, shouldn't you be going?" Lota? Interesting nickname for someone who introduced herself as Charlie.
"Point. I'll see you tomorrow 'Los." Charlie smirked before vanishing into the shadows.
"So. Why are you watching my house?" Carlos demanded.
"Lottie!" Uma shut the door to her cabin as her second mate greeted the De Vil girl. The last thing she needed was those two to burst in out of nowhere.
"You were right captain. They're building something in Hell Hall." Jonas reported.
"Still not sure what a thingamabob is though" Bonnie stated. Uma ignored her comment, Bonnie always had some strange comment on things.
"I know that, but what are they building?"
"A machine to break the barrier." Lottie. The girl was stood in the doorway, Gil nowhere in sight. "Mal asked 'Los to, that's why she wanted him. I'm helping so we'll get it done quicker. The sooner it's finished, the sooner we can get off this stupid rock."
"And you didn't report it for two months?"
"With all due respect Uma, I don't actually answer to you. Jaz has known from day one what's going on. It's not my fault if she didn't say anything."
"Jonas, Bonnie, get lost." The two pirates saluted and left the cabin. "Charlotte De Vil, you spend more time on my ship than your own turf and you say you don't answer to me?"
"Yep."
"As much as you like to go around saying you don't answer to anyone except Jaz Hook, people still associate you with me. People come to me when they have a problem with you. So, next time you do something like this, you will tell me. I should not have to send my crew to spy on someone considered to be part of it. Is that understood?"
"Yes Uma."
Nine Months Before The Barrier Breaks
"I already told you this before Jaz, I don't believe in magic." It was just the two of them, in their base in the woods. Not even Harriet knew where they were.
"Why not?" Jaz looked at her best friend, her Lottie, and asked a question she'd asked so many times before. She wasn't expecting an answer, she never got one.
"'Los says I've always had a fondness for danger." That was an understatement if Jaz had ever heard one. Lottie less had a fondness for danger and more threw herself into it head fist simply because she could. "He's wrong. I don't."
"You have a fondness for weapons" Jaz stated, gesturing to the ones lying around their hideout.
"If things hurt me, I take them apart. I figure out how they work so I can use them myself. I can't do that with magic."
"So you deny it exists."
"I know it exists, but my rep isn't like Uma's or Harriet's or even Mal's. I don't have a group to back me up."
"You've got me."
"Yeah. I do. But I've got Charlie Devil too, Cruella's Psycho Daughter, who so insane she doesn't even believe in the thing that keeps us trapped here." Lottie paused for a moment, staring at the knife in her hands. "Jaz, I looked Mal in the eye and said I didn't believe in her."
"You what?"
"I told Mal I didn't believe in her." Lottie was laughing, the kind of laughter that came when there was nothing left to do but laugh. "I don't believe in gods. I don't believe in magic. I don't believe in the self-proclaimed Queen of the Isle."
"Then what do you believe in?"
"In you. I believe in you, and in 'Los. I believe in science and human ingenuity and pure fucking stubbornness. I believe that we'll get off this fucking rock because yeah, we're young, but we're fucking furious. And I believe that one day Auradon is going to look at the mess they've created and beg us to fix it, and I'll get to look King Beast himself in the eyes and say no." And Jaz could see it. Could see her Lottie standing over the king of Auradon and saying no. Could see her turning her back and could see them all destroying their parents, not because Auradon begged them to, but because they wanted revenge.
"If you aren't careful, you'll bring the world crashing down around our heads" Jaz warned. She wanted to see Lottie, her Lottie, tear Auradon apart but she didn't want her dead in the attempt.
"Oh Jaz, that was always the plan." For a moment, a split second, it wasn't Lottie sat next to her. It wasn't her Lottie with soft smiles and quiet laughter. No, the person sat next to her was Charlie Devil, who laughed like the lunatic she was. Then, the moment was gone and her Lottie was back. Most people wouldn't have been able to tell the difference, but Jaz always knew whether it was Charlie or Lottie she was facing. She had to, else her best friend would lose herself. Lottie needed an anchor to stay Lottie, the same way Harry needed Uma to keep him steady.
"I think we're ready to test it!" It was the middle of the night and 'Lota was stood on the window ledge. What is it with her and dramatic entrances? He'd say the pirates had corrupted her, but she'd always been one for drama.
"Couldn't this have waited until morning 'Lota? I don't really want to get eaten by lions." 'Lota laughed at him. 'Lota—Little Miss Jump-Out-The-Window-In-The-Middle-Of-The-Night, 'Lota I-Have-No-Self-Preservation-Skills De Vil—laughed at him.
"You won't. Jazzy's setting up an alliance with Seff as we speak." Carlos scowled at her as he climbed out of bed. She wouldn't go away until he helped her test the machine and the longer they stayed inside, the more chance there was of Cruella catching them.
"Why is Jaz negotiating with Scar's son? I thought that stuff would fall more on Harriet and Uma."
"Normally, it would, but Jaz an' I are the ones with territory that borders on theirs. That's why she's the one that's gonna talk to the Huns too." He'd ask why it was Jaz and not 'Lota doing the talking, but he already 'Lota had no diplomatic skills whatsoever. 'Lota was outright threats and blackmail. She was intimidation tactics, people don't negotiate with bombs after all. And 'Lota was a ticking time bomb when she wanted to be.
It didn't work. Lottie stared down at the busted machine in her hands, it was smoking and sparking and there would probably be permanent damage to her hands if she kept holding it, but she didn't care.
"We failed." 'Los had trusted her with this, had trusted that her ideas would work, even though they both knew he was the smarter one, that Lottie's inventions tended to blow up in her face multiple times before she got them right, if she ever did. She rarely got the big ones right.
"Then, we try again." 'Los pulled the ruined machine out of her hands. "We go back to the drawing board and we have another go."
"It'll fail again." Why couldn't he see that? She messed up everything she touched. It always backfired or fell to pieces if it didn't immediately blow up in her face. There was a reason nobody trusted her to do diplomatic stuff.
"Then we'll try again." 'Los stated, grabbing the scattered plans. "We figure out where we went wrong and we have another go."
"You'll have far better luck without me-"
"Nope. 'Lota, this whole thing was your idea. It would have taken me years to come up with this on my own, if I ever did."
"I don't believe in magic." He scoffed
"You never have. Maleficent herself could turn into a dragon in front of you and you'd still doubt that magic exists." He dropped the old plans into her arms "And that's why this is going to work. Because the barrier is magic, and you don't believe in that. You don't believe in the barrier. And, the first step to breaking things like that is to believe that it can't stop you."
"'Los-" He wasn't listening. It would blow up in their faces like it always did, they'd never get off this stupid isle-
"'Lota." 'Los interrupted her train of thought "What's stopping you from walking off the isle right now?" Well, that was a stupid question. The thing stopping her was the same thing that kept everybody on the isle.
"The barrier-"
"I thought you didn't believe in magic." he interrupted her again.
"I don't." He knew that. 'Los was the first person she said that to.
"Then, what's stopping you?" Lottie laughed, finally seeing where he was going. If the barrier was magic, and magic didn't exist then-
"Absolutely nothing."