Descendants – Better Together

Chapter Four: Everything Is Different

Emily let out a deep breath as she took a seat on the ground of the forest in Corona. Beauty was drinking out of the nearby stream, as Emily pulled out her Spy-Pod. She sighed. "No signal, Beaut," she said, before looking around at the trees. "Weird, I'm not sure these trees are thick enough to block signal… If Rose was here, she'd probably know for real."

"Rap?" asked Beauty, looking at Emily. "'dash?"

"It's nothing, Beaut," said Emily, with a small smile as she stood up. Putting the Spy-Pod away and replacing it with two Poke Balls. "Come on out, Shinobi, Robin." She pressed the buttons on both of them and in flashes of red light, a Decidueye and a shiny Greninja appeared.

"Decid?" asked the Decidueye, Robin, at the same time as the Greninja, Shinobi, said "Gren?"

"I need you both to scout for something," said Emily, looking at the two Pokemon. "There's a tower somewhere in this forest, I need you to find it for me." They nodded, before disappearing into the forest. Emily smiled to herself, before sighing and looking at Beauty again. "Am I doing the right thing, Beauty? Bringing Rapunzel home? Or am I just hiding from everything by keeping myself busy?"

"Hiding from what?" came a voice, from behind her. She turned to see Rose stepping out of the forest, leading Capilet, who had Bella and Mel on his back. Her Gumshoos was next to her. "What did your mother do this time?"

"Just hid that my grandfather is Odin," said Emily, looking at her girlfriend with a small smile. "I'd ask how you found me but Nancy there is a real Nancy Drew." She watched Capilet join Beauty at the stream while the Gumshoos, Nancy, began looking around the clearing. Bella immediately jumped onto Emily's shoulder, as Rose took Mel in her arms. "Thor's apparently my father."

"Really? Damn…" said Rose, taking a deep breath. "That would explain why Odin was there." She looked at Emily. "Are you alright?"

"I'm about to derail a princess's actual Happy Ever After," said Emily, with a small smile. "There's no telling what will happen here… Hades, I'm pretty sure it's a bad idea…"

"It's a terrible idea," said Rose, looking at her girlfriend. "Rapunzel is going to get her Happily Ever After, we know that. Why don't we go into town? Ben, Mal and Evie are coming, and bringing Lupa and Cerberus."

"And you're OK with that?" asked Emily, looking at her. "Because it's just gonna be the five of us."

"I wasn't exactly thinking straight," said Rose, shaking her head. "You had just run away and I was worried. Heck, I think they were as well. Didn't have much time to think straight, much like you're not doing being here."

"There's also something wrong with the signal around here," said Emily, changing the subject. "I very much doubt the trees are blocking it… They don't seem thick enough for that."

Rose rolled her eyes before saying "I know what you're doing, Chase. And we both know that Mother Gothel probably has a signal jammer at the tower, to keep her docile enough."

"And who's this Mother Gothel?" came a female voice from behind them. They both turned to see Mal stepping out of the forest. "And what's this about a tower?"

Rose and Emily shared a look before Emily said "Mother Gothel is the person who kidnapped the princess of Corona almost sixteen years ago."

"We're going to rescue her, right?" asked Mal, looking at them. "We know where she is, we should rescue her."

Emily shot Rose a smug smile, before turning to Mal and saying "Of course we are. I've got a few of my Pokemon scouting for the tower, since this place is unmappable from in here… Times like this I wish we had universal roaming or something like that…"

"Universal roaming?" asked Mal, frowning as she looked at both of them. "What's that?"

"Something from a show Em and I like," said Rose, with a small smile. "Completely not real."

That didn't seem to make Mal any less confused, but she nodded and said "OK, so we just have to wait for Emily's creatures to come back. How long do you think that'll take?"

"The forest is a big place," said Emily, shrugging. "It could take minutes, it could take hours… We're here for the long haul, I'm afraid." She settled down with her back to the nearest tree, with Bella on her lap. Who had been surprisingly patient while the three had talked.

"I still have the goods from the bakery you asked for," said Rose, taking the white bag out of her pocket. "They might be a bit squashed but they should be good."

Emily grinned as she took the bag, pulling out a surprisingly still warm, squashed crepe. "I guess Capilet kept them warm?"

"Guess so," said Rose, shrugging as she sat down next to Emily. Mal took a seat on the ground across from them with a small smile.

Ten minutes later, Mal smiled as she said "So, if it was alright with you, would this count as a date?" while looking over at Rose and Emily. Bella was sat in Emily's lap, finishing off a Pan Au Chocolat, while Mel was happily being stroked by Rose.

"Saving a princess from an evil woman who kidnapped her when she was a baby?" asked Emily, with a smile. "Well, Rose and I once considered saving the world from an asteroid a date so I guess this would count, yeah. If we were OK with that, of course." Emily looked at Rose. "Are we OK with that?"

Rose let out a small laugh before saying "I think this is a date, yes. I mean, we have to start some time, right?"

"Ben's gonna be so jealous," said Mal, smirking. "He was the one who wanted to take you on a date today." She grinned. "Oh this is gonna be so much better than his idea."

Emily and Rose shared a look before the three heard rustling in the nearby leaves. Followed by Robin appearing. Mal immediately stopped grinning, as she saw Robin walk up to Emily. "Decid!"

"You've found the tower?" asked Emily, nodding. "Shinobi's keeping an eye on it, right?" Robin nodded. "OK then, let us mount Beauty and Capilet and we'll follow you." Hearing their names, the two Rapidash made their way over from where they had been resting, nuzzled into each other. The two teenagers mounted their horses, with Mel taking her place in front of Rose and Bella taking her place in front of Emily, the remnants of the pan au chocolat around her mouth. Emily looked over at Mal and said "You wanna ride with me or Rose?"

"I think I'll fly behind you," said Mal, sprouting her dragon wings once again, causing Emily and Rose to gasp and go wide-eyed. "Like it? A guy from New York taught me how to control my dragon powers."

Emily grinned before nodding to Robin to set off. He took off into the forest with the three following with their Pokemon.

It took them ten minutes to get through the forest, and Mal was regretting the choice to fly as she ran into the hundredth branch, but they soon reached another clearing. This one with the purple roofed tower in it. Shinobi jumped out of the nearest tree as they arrived.

"Is this the tower?" asked Mal, as she pulled leaves out of her hair while Emily and Rose got off their Rapidash.

"It definitely looks like it," said Emily, nodding. She smiled before looking up at the tower.

"Though we can't fly like you so how are me and Em are gonna get in there…" said Rose, looking at both Emily and Mal.

"We have fliers," said Emily, reaching into her bag and pulling out a Pokeball. In a flash of red light, a Pidgeot appeared, with a strange stone in a bracelet around his left foot. "Hi, Ace," she said, as she stepped forward. The stone in her necklace reacted with the stone in the bracelet and Ace began to glow white. When the glow dissipated Ace was larger and more colourful.

"Woah," said Mal, looking at Ace. "What just happened?"

"He Mega-Evolved," said Rose, with a smile. "Cerberus can do the same thing. None of mine can thou…" She trailed off as they saw movement on the tower, namely long blonde hair being thrown down.

"Hide," said Emily, turning to Rose, Mal and their Pokemon, suddenly all business. "Take Capilet with you." Rose nodded and pulled Mal into the forest. Capilet followed, while Robin and Shinobi took off into the trees and Ace flew off. Rose took one last look at Emily, who smiled and nodded before she turned to Beauty, who had a sleeping Bella on her back, and moved further into the clearing.

Moments later, Emily was brushing Beauty, with Bella still on her back, as a woman with curly brown hair in a red dress climbed down the hair, a basket in hand. As soon as she noticed Emily, she seemed surprised for a split second before donning a neutral expression. Emily hid her smirk as she looked at the woman, Mother Gothel.

"Excuse me," said Emily, putting on a smile. "Is that your tower?"

"Yes, but I was just leaving," said Gothel, looking at Emily. "Can I help you?"

"I was wondering if you had a phone," said Emily, looking at her. "Mine won't work out here…"

"I'm sorry, I do not," was the reply, as Gothel put on a smile of her own. "I have to go into town every time I want to make a call."

"Oh, OK," said Emily, as she looked at the woman. "Is that where you're going now? I got turned around when I entered this forest and my map app requires the internet, and, well, the internet requires signal which the trees seem to block…"

"I can take you there if you want me to," said Gothel, putting on a sweet smile as she began walking towards the entrance to the clearing. "If you'd follow me."

Emily put on a grin before saying "You'd do that? Sweet." When Gothel turned around, Emily shot a look at Rose's hiding place and just nodded, before motioning with her head to the tower.

"We're going to have to go now if we want to get there before nightfall," said Gothel, turning to look at Emily again. That fake sweet smile plastered on her face. "We don't want to run into any ruffians or thugs."

"Or cannibals," muttered Emily, as she followed Gothel out of the clearing, leading Beauty.

"Was that…?" asked Mal, looking at Rose as they stepped out of their hiding spot after making sure Gothel and Emily were gone. Robin and Shinobi joined them. "And is Emily safe with her? That lady didn't seem like she wanted to play nice…"

"Oh, don't worry about Emily," said Rose, with a smile. "She has Gothel exactly where she wants her. With Gothel believing she has the upper hand."

"If you say so," said Mal, looking at the teen spy. "How long will she be?"

"If I'm right, she's leading Gothel to town so she can turn her in," said Rose, looking at Mal, getting down to business. "Giving us time to rescue Rapunzel and find that signal jammer. Probably in that order because Rapunzel is our first priority. We can come back later and find the jammer." She walked over to the bottom of the tower.

"Is this what it was like for you back home?" asked Mal, as she joined Rose.

"We usually had more of us," said Rose, with a small smile. "And I was usually never out in the field like this… And Daisy or Oscar were the ones doing what Emily is right now."

"Huh," said Mal, shaking her head. As she noticed Rose studying the bottom of the tower. "Mind telling me what you're looking for."

Instead of answering, Rose looked upwards and said "I'm not that heavy, do you think you could carry me and fly us both to that window?"

Mal looked up as well, looking at the window Gothel had climbed out. "It'd probably be a squeeze but I think I can manage," she said, sprouting her wings again. "No time like the present to test it, anyway."

Rose laughed, before telling the Pokemon to stay there. And for Robin to send an arrow up if anybody came by. She smiled before turning to Mal and saying "No time like the present," as she held her arms out.

Gripping her from behind, Mal shot up into the air, towards the window.

As soon as they landed in the window, Rose tumbled to a stand catching a frying pan just as it was about to hit her in the face. She noticed it was being held by blonde hair, and smiled to herself as she followed the tendril of hair to the person it belonged to. Rapunzel was sat in the corner, in the dark, trying hard not to be seen.

Mal retracted her wings as her eyes turned completely green, allowing her to see in the dark corners, spotting Rapunzel. "We're not here to hurt you," she said, stepping forward. Only to get grabbed by a tendril of hair, pinning her arms to her side, along with Rose.

"I promise you, we're not gonna hurt you," said Rose, looking at Rapunzel, as she struggled against the tendril. "I know my friend looks scary with her green eyes right now, but she's a good person." She winced as the tendril got tighter. "We're here to help you!"

"Who are you?" asked Rapunzel, in a deep voice. "How can you help me?"

"Princ…" started Mal, only to trail off when she noticed Rose was glaring at her. She frowned, but shut up.

"I'm Rose, this is my friend Mal," said Rose, looking at Rapunzel, with a smile. "I understand you want to see the lights that happen every year on your birthday, right? We can take you there." She let out a sigh of relief as the tendrils let her and Mal go. "Thank you."

"Mother won't let me go," said Rapunzel, stepping into the light. Mal returned her eyes back to normal with a smile. "She says they're just the stars… That they're nothing special."

"Well, we both know she's wrong," said Rose, smiling. "And I wouldn't worry about your mother, she's occupied right now." She looked at Rapunzel. "So, you know our names, what's yours?" Mal went to say something, only to stop when Rose shot her a look.

"I'm Rapunzel," said Rapunzel, looking at Rose. "What do you mean mother's occupied?"

"My girlfriend is keeping her busy," said Rose, smiling. "Your mother is showing her the way to town."

"Oh, OK," said Rapunzel, frowning. Before looking at Rose. "When are we going to see the lights? They're not for a few days…"

"We can leave right now if you want," said Rose, nodding. She looked around the room, studying it. "In fact, I think we should probably go right now. This place is giving me the creeps."

Rapunzel nodded as she said "Shall I let us down?" before tendrils of hair moved towards the window.

"I think I'm gonna fly," said Mal, as she climbed onto the window and jumped.

Rapunzel gasped, as she ran over to the window, before seeing Mal flying with her dragon wings. "Does she have wings?"

"She's part-dragon, yeah," said Rose, with a smile. "I still gotta get my head around that myself… Only found out about ten minutes ago." She looked at Rapunzel. "We should go as well."

Across the forest, Emily was following Gothel through the forest. Bella was still asleep on the back of Beauty, who was walking behind the two.

Gothel appeared winded and said "I'm afraid I'm a little tired from all the walking," as she lent against a tree. "Do you mind if we take a break?"

"I don't mind at all," said Emily, with a fake smile. She pretended not to see the movement of Gothel's hand, reaching for a dagger that had been hidden inside the basket, and turned her back to the old woman. "Is it much further?"

"Oh, it's not far at all," said Gothel, smirking as she pounced with the dagger. Only for Emily to effortlessly dodge and disarm the woman.

"Oh please, Gothel," said Emily, rolling her eyes as she stuck the dagger in the nearest tree while pinning Gothel's arm behind her back with her free hand. "Did you really think I'd let you stab me? Please, I've had your number since we left that clearing." She shook her head. "Actually, I've had your number since you climbed down Rapunzel's hair." At the shocked look Gothel was giving her, Emily smirked. "Yes, I know about Rapunzel, I know all about how you kidnapped her. How you use her hair to keep yourself young." There was venom in her voice as she said that last line.

"Who are you?" hissed Gothel, as she looked at Emily. "Are you with the city guard?!"

"Not Corona's city guard," said Emily, with a smile. "I work for M.I.5. A group you've probably never heard of…"

Gothel scowled before saying "I heard they were bringing in a new group this year… I didn't think you'd be so good."

"Well, that's what they get for hiring M.I.5," said Emily, with a smirk. Before reaching into her bag and pulling out a pair of handcuffs. "Well, now, I'm glad I never returned these to that miserable old policeman." She immediately slapped them on Gothel and threw her over the back of Beauty. "Let's get you back to town, shall we."

"You were never lost, were you?" asked Gothel, sighing as Emily pulled rope out of her bag and began securing the woman to Beauty.

Instead of answering, Emily just smirked before climbing on Beauty herself, telling the Rapidash to trot.