Two Months Before The Barrier Breaks
"You're serious about going, aren't you?" Ben smiled as he turned to see his mother in the doorway holding a stack of papers.
"I need to know Mum, I can't just sit around and do nothing." his mother sighed
"I know dear, which is why I've brought you these. Yen Sid's reports on the Isle children. They should tell you who to avoid and who you can turn to if you have to."
Most of the files had some sort of warning label stamped on them, some even had multiple. The majority were marked with Violent some even had Insane on them, some kids had lists of injures and scars, some had lists of what they'd done to others, some—and these ones always made Ben pause—even had a kill count.
It was the ones marked as Deceased that broke his heart though. Some were clearly murdered—those were the ones that were stabbed and beaten—some looked like accidents—they drowned or fell from a height—and some were deaths that were fully preventable in Auradon—starvation, illness, dehydration.
It took him days to get through them all, to know every child's story.
They were all horrific.
He'd thought even villains loved their kids, but abuse ran rampant. Children were bought and sold like cattle, running away and taking their chances in the night than live another day in hell.
Every single one was a tragedy.
Every single Isle Kid would have laughed in his face. Tragedy didn't exist on the Isle. There was no time to mourn, no time to contemplate. There was no point in calling life unfair because it wouldn't change anything. This was their world, the life they lived. They were not stories for Auradon to cry over and then forget. Tragedy was for those who knew love, who knew safety, for those who could turn their backs on suffering. Tragedy was for those who never had to know it for themselves.
Besides, tragedy implied the tale was over. They're still alive.
"Remember, you have one month." Ben nodded, looking at his friends. Chad, Audrey, Jane, Doug, Lonnie and Aziz were coming with him. It had taken a lot of convincing to get all of them to come with him, but he'd managed it.
"When you get there, head to Dragon Hall, Yen Sid has agreed to help you."
"Directional Capacitor is finished" Carlos announced.
"Working-working?" 'Lota asked, not looking up from the soldering she was working on.
"Working-working" He confirmed, attaching the last wires for 'Lota to solder together.
"We telling people it's finished? Or asking for one last month?" 'Lota put down the soldering iron, finally turning to face him.
"One last month" Carlos replied, looking over their work. It was a mismatched mess, but it would work. Hopefully. "Give us some time to check everything one last time."
"Okay. I think I'm gonna ask Yen Sid if it's possible to build a Particle Accelerator next." She'd been doing it for months, mixing the things they actually needed for their machine in with things that they didn't. He'd listened to her go from asking about the Quantum Stabiliser to asking about making an Ice Cream Maker.
"Why a Particle Accelerator?"
"CJ said it was impossible. Jaz had the audacity to back her up."
"You know you two don't have to agree on everything, right?" 'Lota laughed
"I know."
Twenty Nine Days Before The Barrier Breaks
"Where the fuck did you lot come from?" Ben jumped and turned to see a blonde girl leaning against the wall, there was a baby in her arms and a toddler clinging to her leg. "Cuz I've certainly never seen you before and I know every kid on this damned rock." Lonnie stepped forwards, her hands in the air
"We just got banished, from Auradon." she explained. The girl raised an eyebrow, pushing away from the wall to stand up properly.
"For what?" She asked, circling around them, the child trailing behind her.
"Stealing." Aziz stated, turning to watch her as she moved.
"That all?" She scoffed "You guys really are soft."
"I'm sorry, who are you?" Chad demanded
"Name's Toni. Unofficial Isle Kid Babysitter. And you are?"
"I- Uh-" Ben panicked. They didn't have fake names!
"Toni!" A blond boy quite literally jumped off the roof to land next to Toni.
"What is it now Gil?" The girl demanded without even turning around.
"Dad's fighting Hook again." The boy—apparently called Gil—stated.
"I thought they had an alliance?"
"So did I! But Uma told me to come get you because Harriet refuses to deal with this on her own." Toni sighed, shoving the baby into the toddler's arms.
"Phoebe, take Tom back." the child nodded and ran off. "Gil, where are they fighting?"
"Dad's shop."
"Why are they fighting?"
"Who knows. But CJ's taking bets." Gil replied as they vanished
"CJ is always taking bets. Especially when her siblings are involved." Toni stated, voices fading.
"We should probably move before they come back" Lonnie stated. "Yen Sid's expecting us at Dragon Hall."
"Yanno, I heard there were some kids on the Isle that Toni Legume didn't recognise, but I thought it was just a rumour, but whaddaya know. It's true." There were two girls perched on the archway. One—with long black hair and a red coat—was stood on top of it, the other—with braided black and white hair—was sat on it, swinging her legs.
"And you are?" Lonnie asked, raising an eyebrow.
"I'm Jaz Hook," The one stood up stated "this is my partner, Charlie Devil." Charlie saluted, smirking. "And you are?"
"Lian" Lonnie stated, using her real name and praying to god that the girls didn't know it.
"Lian what?" Oh, that felt… right. Hearing someone use her real name again instead of the nickname she'd been given when she first arrived in Auradon.
"Does it matter? We're clearly not the kids of anyone important." Charlie started laughing.
"You're one to watch." She jumped down from the arch, wandering over, a knife twirling between her fingers like a cheerleader's baton. "Hu Lian" Lian took a step back at the sight of the knife.
"Are you calling me reckless?" She asked, Charlie laughed again, tossing the knife to Lian.
"Wild." She replied, turning away "Take it as a compliment." she called over her shoulder, vanishing into the shadows. When they looked back up to the arch, Jaz Hook was gone.
"Let's move and hope we don't run into anyone else."
"You're late." Yen Sid announced as they reached the school. "You were supposed to be here hours ago."
"Sorry, we had a run in with some of the locals." The man sighed.
"Which ones?" He asked, pulling some paper out of a drawer.
"Toni Legume." Ben replied
"Ah, Gastonique. Incredible young lady, one of the more peaceful ones and the reason most of the Isle children are still alive. Third child out of six, though there's only five of them now. Who else?"
"Uh, Toni had two kids with her and a boy called Gil showed up briefly-"
"Toni's younger brother, Gil, he's peaceful too. Unless ordered otherwise. Anyone else?"
"Jaz-"
"Hook and Charlie Devil?" Ben nodded. "Quite the pair. Very resourceful, both of them, incredibly loyal to each other too. Deadly though, if you cross them. Especially Charlotte. They don't call her Devil for nothing. Though she's nowhere near as mad as she likes to pretend she is."
"She pulled a knife on us." Audrey stated "She threw it at Lonnie."
"To me Audrey. If she was throwing it at me I'd probably be dead."
"Be glad it was her that pulled the knife and not Toni Legume. That girl is one of the most dangerous people on the Isle."
"You never mentioned that in your report. What is it that makes her specifically so dangerous rather than, say Mal."
"Because Maleficent beat something out of Mal that people like Toni Legume and Harriet Hook got to keep. A heart."
"Why does a heart make them so dangerous."
"Because they care. And they will go to great lengths to protect what they care about. Toni used to have two little sisters, now she has one. Ella Legume was killed by a man that wouldn't take no for an answer. The only reason they knew it was his body was because Toni Legume strung him up as an example of what happens to people who mess with those under her protection."
"That's horrific."
"That's life here. But it worked. Nobody has touched a child under the age of thirteen since then."
"What happens when they turn thirteen?"
"They get left to fend for themselves, they join a gang. If they're lucky, they have formidable parents or a known older sibling and lesser Isle folk are scared to touch them. If they're really lucky they're like Charlie Devil or Harry Hook and have a reputation already."
"I think I want to go home." Chad whimpered.
"Oh no. You're here now. You have to wait a month for the barges to come back. I won't be able to speak to you privately after today, so if you have any questions, ask them now."
"Why won't you be able to talk to us after today?"
"People will ask questions, want to know why. This meeting is being explained as me setting up your files in the school. Next question."
"Who can we trust?"
"Nobody outside this room. Not even my assistant. Every single person out there is looking for an excuse to stab you in the back. Aside from Sophie, but Sophie likes to talk."
"Anyone in particular we should try to avoid?"
"Mal Sheach, Maleficent's daughter. Anything she knows, Maleficent knows. Uma Strand, Ursula's daughter. Captain of the Lost Revenge. Very ruthless young lady. Leader of the second biggest gang on the Isle, which includes Harry Hook. Speaking of, avoid him too. he'll do anything and everything Uma asks him to without question. The Gaston twins are also people you'll want to steer clear of. I'd say Jaz Hook and Charlie Devil, but if Charlotte gave you a knife that means she's going to come back. Avoiding her will be impossible. But, most of all, avoid Harriet Hook." The man stated. They waited, but no explanation came.
"Harriet Hook?"
"Harriet Hook. Quite possibly the most dangerous person on the Isle. Including Maleficent."
"I'm sorry, what?"
"How is a girl the most dangerous person on the Isle?"
"Daughter of Captain Hook, first girl born on the Isle. Captain of the Forgotten Treasure, leader of the biggest gang and the reason most Isle children thirteen or over are still alive. She is the driving force behind the current alliance between the bigger gangs and the only Isle child to have challenged their own parent and not only survive, but win. She's the eldest of four. Her brother—Harry Hook—is the second in command of the second largest gang on the Isle, one younger sister—CJ Hook—is partnered with the Facilier sisters, meaning she has access to the one type of magic that can more or less still work properly on the Isle. The other—Jaz Hook—is partnered with Charlie Devil, the smartest girl on the Isle. If that barrier breaks, Harriet Hook has roughly ninety five percent of the Isle teenagers in her debt. And you think that woman isn't dangerous? She'd eat you all alive." He shook his head at their shocked faces. "I wouldn't worry too much though, as long as you don't cross her she's fairly peaceful."
"I thought you said she was dangerous?" Chad scoffed "Now you're calling her peaceful?"
"You're mixing up harmless and peaceful my boy. You cannot call yourself peaceful unless you have the ability to destroy the world and chose not to."
"But, we're peaceful."
"No. You're harmless. You wouldn't know how to kill someone if your life depended on it. The children born on this Isle? Every single day is a fight for survival. The most you can hope for from an Isle dweller is for them to be peaceful. If you're really lucky they'll stop bringing weapons when they talk to you. But every single child here could kill you with their bare hands."
"Most of the people you said to avoid are female."
"Yes, that is an accurate observation."