A loud sound instantly woke her up. When CJ then opened her eyes, she was immediately hit by a splitting headache. She noticed that she was laying on a straw bed in a small room. It did not take her long to deduce that she was in the brig of the Lost Revenge.
CJ turned to her side, only worsening her headache, as she tried to remember all the events from past day. She felt her head and found out that she had a spectacular bump on her forehead. She carefully felt it and winced, it hurt like hell.
"Are you okay?" A voice from nearby asked.
CJ turned her head, a little too fast and she felt pain again, and saw Freddie sitting in the corner of the same cell as her.
"Freddie!?" CJ loudly exclaimed as she sat up straight. She then felt dizzy and simply fell back down again.
"CJ! Take it easy. You have a pretty nasty bump on your head." Freddie said as she moved next to CJ.
CJ slowly breathed in and out as she tried to focus and make the pain go away. "Freddie. What did they do to you? What happened?" she asked softly.
"Solomon took my magic." Freddie softly said as she started tearing up. "That asshole took my magic!"
"How do you feel?" CJ asked, trying to mask her anger.
"Like all the blood has been drained from my organs." Freddie answered crankily.
CJ had to close her eyes and lay back down in order to think straight. The more she thought about what had happened, the angrier she became. Solomon had used her, even more then she could have imagined. He never had any intent to let Freddie have a choice. If she refused to join him, he would simply steal her magic, like he had done.
Despite the raging hate she felt for Solomon at the moment, she couldn't help but feel worried, both for herself and Freddie.
"What's gonna happen now?" CJ asked softly. "What will they do to us?"
"Your brother took my teleportation spell to talk to Mal. Apparently they're gonna have some sort of trade. They will only let me go if Mal hands herself in." Freddie replied sadly.
"That's good. Mal will come for you, she's a softie." CJ teased.
"I don't want that! I don't want her to sacrifice herself for me! I want all of us to be free, and that includes you CJ!" Freddie stated.
"If they will actually let you go, it's a deal you should take." CJ told her. "Don't hang around here for me, and especially not for Mal."
A small smile appeared on Freddie's face. "Look at you, worrying for my safety. You wouldn't be totally misplaced in Auradon."
CJ scoffed. "I wouldn't want to be found dead there."
"CJ, I promise, if I get back to Auradon, I will try to get you in as well. It's way too dangerous for you on the isle, especially with Solomon around." Freddie reassured.
"You forgot Uma and Harriet." CJ replied sarcastically. "I'm pretty sure that I'm the least liked person on the isle right now."
Freddie looked worried. "I don't want to leave you CJ, not again. I have no idea what would happen to you if I left. What if they hurt you again, or kill you?"
"I can handle it." CJ responded. "I always have, and I will continue to."
"Look around, CJ! We're in a cell! We have been captured! CJ, it's okay to ask for help every once in a while. Please let me try to get you into Auradon!" Freddie pleaded as she tried to grasp CJ's hand.
"NO!" CJ shouted as she jumped up, which immediately caused her dizziness to return. CJ staggered around the cell and eventually fell against the doorway.
"CJ!" Freddie yelled startled before approaching her fallen friend. "CJ, lie down. You need to take things slow."
"Shut up!" CJ screamed. "And just stay away from me! I don't want you here! You need to get back to Auradon, where you belong, as soon as possible!"
Freddie's eyes turned stone cold after that. "Is that truly how you feel about this? About me?"
"I know that I should not have brought Solomon to you, and I'm sorry for that. But I do not need your pity. It would be best if you would just stay away." CJ said coolly as she tried to steady her head again.
"You are so sad!" Freddie spat. "Why can you never be thankful? Why can you never accept anyone's help? You are not alone in this world CJ, you can at least try to make the best of it!"
Before CJ could answer, they heard a voice from outside their cell.
"What do I hear? Is there trouble in paradise?" Said Solomon as he emerged in front of the cell. "And I even insisted that you'd be put in a cell together, such a shame."
"Rot in hell Solomon!" CJ snapped.
"Well, good to know that you still possess your spirit. You did take a wicked hit on the head, we were really worried that you might have suffered a concussion." Solomon joked.
"Thanks to you, really." CJ replied as she crossed her arms.
"You're very welcome. Now, I need Freddie, so she's gonna have to come with me. But don't worry CJ, I brought you some other company." Solomon said as he opened the cell door.
Both CJ and Freddie moved back in their cell, trying to create as much distance as possible between them and Solomon.
Solomon sighed, pulled out a dagger, and gestured to the cell door. "Out! Now!"
CJ gave Freddie a little push, signaling that she should do what Solomon says. Freddie slowly exited the cell, all the while giving Solomon a dirty look.
"I would really like to give the both of you time to say goodbye, since this will probably be the last time you see each other. But even I am not cruel enough to let you have your farewell under these conditions, you'll learn to live with it." He said before closing the cell door and pushing Freddie to the deck of the ship. "Your turn." CJ then heard him say to someone else.
Harry Hook then stepped in front of her cell. "Hey CJ, how are you doing?" he asked with somewhat of a worried expression.
"My head hurts." CJ answered scornfully. "Thanks to your good pal Solomon."
Harry rolled his eyes. "Come on, you know damn well me and him are far from friends."
"Still all too happy to follow his orders though." CJ replied before giving her brother a foul look. "You betrayed me Harry, you promised me that you'd help me. But when the time comes you scatter like always with your tail between your legs."
Harry punched the iron bars of the cell, startling CJ. "I said that I would help you if you were in danger. He wasn't threatening you, he only wanted Freddie!"
"And you saw that I did not want her to fall prey to him!" CJ spat back.
"Well, that was your problem then! I care about you, I really do! But don't expect me to risk my hide for any of your friends. Though after what I could hear from outside, I'm not sure if I can still call the two of you friends." Harry angrily replied.
"Fuck you Harry! After all this time, and after all your promises, you're still weak and a coward! To think that I have ever tried to put faith in you, how stupid of me." CJ said.
Harry's face became red in anger. "I offered to help you! I made sure that no one would do you any harm! And do you thank me? NO! I am the bad guy again, of course I am! Freddie was right, try and be thankful at least once in your life!"
"Why are you even here?" CJ suddenly asked. "Or was insulting me the only purpose of your visit?"
"No! I wanted to know if you were alright. Real glad to see that that bump on your head hasn't effected any of your terrible manners." Harry jokingly replied.
"Please do me a favor and get out of my face! The empty space between the bars is more fun to look at!" CJ said.
"You are digging your own grave behaving like this! Acting up because someone hurt your friend? Come on, CJ! Behave like a villain for once, or we might as well send you to Auradon before we destroy the place." Harry teased.
This was the last drop for CJ, who stood up and spat in Harry's face. "Get out! Get out! You are no different from Harriet! I will gladly never see your face again!"
Harry actually seemed somewhat brought down by that last comment. "CJ…" he started, sounding regretful, but she simply turned to the outer wall of the ship and ignored him.
About a second later she heard the sound of his heavy boots leaving. CJ was shaking as she was lying down on her bed. She had never felt this angry, furious with nearly everyone she knew for betraying her.
Freddie for not understanding her. She appeared to believe that CJ would simply have to move to Auradon to fix all her mistakes. But CJ never showed any interest in moving to Auradon, because she did not want to! Or, at least she thought she didn't want to.
Harry had deceived her again, and she had been foolish enough to believe anything else was possible. But he had seemed so genuine when he had offered to help her. He appeared to feel honest remorse when apologizing for leaving her to Harriet and had been legitimately angry when he had heard that she was attacked by Harriet's goons. All empty promises though. When push came to shove, he cowered once again.
And finally, there was Solomon. Of course, she knew that he could not be trusted, but it was a whole new level of treachery to hurt her even after she had brought him Freddie. Even willing to ignore some of his more dubious characteristics, CJ had hoped that Solomon would at least honor his pacts, a futile hope apparently.
CJ was then pulled away from her thoughts when she again heard footsteps, and Solomon once again appeared in front of her cell.
"Oof, what did you do to Harry? He seems as though you killed his favorite puppy." He said grinning.
"I don't see why that would be any of your business." CJ remarked.
Solomon nodded. "I understand, family business and all that. Well, you wanna come along? We have some preparations to make." He said before opening the cell door.
CJ pulled up an eyebrow in confusion. "What the hell are you talking about?"
"Mal is supposed to arrive in about an hour." Solomon said checking his watch. "We are doubling down on security to make sure she doesn't try to escape, and if she does, that we'll catch her."
"Why tell this to me?" CJ asked.
Solomon stared at her. "You're still part of my crew."
Now CJ was really perplexed. "Really!? After last night? Why would you still want me in your gang? Better question, why would I still want to be in your gang?"
Solomon breathed out loudly, apparently annoyed with CJ's behavior. "Look, I won't act like your performance yesterday was a bit, you know, disrespectful. But, you brought me Freddie. And because of that I'll be willing to forgive you this one incident and keep you around."
CJ scoffed. "You'd have more success in scurrying back to the other side of the isle and leaving me be."
Solomon gave a sinister smile. "Oh, CJ. Did you really think that refusal was an option? No. So either you come back and behave properly this time, or I might just sell you to your sister. I'm sure she has plenty of bonding exercises planned for the two of you."
CJ paled at this. "You sick, rotten bastard. Can't you just leave me alone?"
"No. You know too much, you can do too much damage. I'm not taking any risks here, but the choice is up to you." Solomon replied.
"Why not just kill me and be done with it?" CJ asked in a manner that was both skeptical and fearful.
Solomon shrugged. "I would like to, really. There's no other person on the isle who has given me as much headaches as you have. But, as much as either of you would deny it, Harry still holds something resembling affection towards you. Killing you would anger him, which would anger Uma and simply bring along a general shitstorm of problems. This is the easier out."
CJ laughed derisively. "So, I either have to join up again with you, one of my least favorite people on the planet, or get turned over to Harriet, the only person that could beat you to the number one spot?"
"Pretty much." Solomon replied without a hint of humor or remorse.
CJ couldn't believe it. After everything that happened yesterday, after everything she had done for him, and after all the horrendous things he had put her through, he still had the audacity to try to keep her on the end of a line again. And again, CJ knew she would have no choice but to accept. Anything that CJ would maybe have to do for Solomon would be a better fate then to fall into Harriet's clutches.
"So, what? You're just gonna pretend that yesterday never happened and have me go around doing errands for you again?" CJ asked skeptically.
"Exactly." Solomon said as he clapped his hands. "That is, if you join right away, you know I hate to be kept waiting."
"You do realize that, for me, it's like choosing between two evils?" CJ rhetorically asked.
"Oh, you flatter me." Solomon grinned. "But since I know that you're not stupid, I know that you'll gladly continue our little enterprise."
"You once again leave me with little choice." CJ replied with clenched jaw.
"Good, I will expect you to patrol the streets with the rest of the gang once Mal arrives. I anticipate that she won't let us take her without a fight, and she will probably take some of her friends to break her out." Solomon described.
"I thought that you said that she should come alone?" CJ questioned.
"I did, but never trust a hero to keep their word, am I right?" Solomon said. "Mal will come to the Lost Revenge to exchange herself for Freddie. Afterwards, she will be moved to the den, so that I can take her magic. Should any of Mal's little friends try to intercept her along the way, please make sure they do not succeed."
"You really want to burden me with that kind of responsibility right away?" CJ asked.
Solomon sighed. "I know, but you are presumably the best fighter in the gang, which automatically makes you the best fit for an event like this. You are also free to keep me company at the den or await Mal's arrival with Uma, Harry and Freddie. Which one will it be?"
"Patrolling the streets, definitely patrolling the streets." CJ said without hesitation.
"Good, you should sharpen your sword just in case." Solomon said before leaving.