It didn't matter how many warnings Gil gave his brother or how many times he pleaded with him to just give up, Trip was even more determined than he usually was. His group of warriors were following him, while Gil and the other pirates led them away further from the actual battlefield. Trip didn't bother to turn around and see what they were doing, let alone give them the command to go back in line. His eyes were fixed on Gil and his brain was only focused on how to strike and defeat his little brother.
Gil wasn't blinded by the duet at all. He had to make sure they were heading in the right direction. Besides every few moments he had to make sure that both Jay and Harry were close by, still breathing and well. Gil felt better when he could still see them, but knew they soon had to move on and leave his side. Fortunately Jonas and Gonzo were still around. They were leading the new recruits, who were given the important task to let none of the warriors interrupt the duel between the two LeGume brothers. Even though Gil had a lot of faith in all of the new recruits they had been training the last couple of days, Gil doubted they were skilled enough to fight his father off as well.
He also kept an eye on his dad. He had seen the raging eyes towards them and Gil knew his dad had noticed what was happening. He just hoped his dad wouldn't know their entire plan or find a way to stop them somehow. But Gil was right.
Gaston was still on his horse, overseeing the battlefield. He had spotted the young King Ben, who definitely had to die, but still didn't see the king he had been looking for. He had been searching for the Beast, but somehow the old king Adam was nowhere to be found. Gaston grunted his teeth. The coward was probably too scared to fight a war. Last time he also had to search the entire castle before he had finally found the Beast all crawled up in a dark room.
Back then Gaston had no idea his warriors were losing against a bunch of furniture. This time he could see how the soldiers of Auradon were slowly pushing them backwards. An evil grin was still marking his face. It wouldn't take long before Yzma would strike them from behind. And when she did it wouldn't take long before the entirety of Auradon would yield before him. Even that old Beast, which he still couldn't find in the sea of people. While searching his eyes shot back to the left flank of the battlefield again.
The left side was still a huge mess, even with the reinforcements Junior had just sent. The pirates fought alongside the Auradon soldiers, not slaughtering his warriors, but just breaking their lines and adding more confusion in his ranks. It was what those pirates did best. How it was possible for them to betray Gaston was beyond him. He didn't need those kids anyway. He would slaughter them, bring them to their knees. Hate fuelled his rage and he had to use all his self-control to not barge into the front ranks of the warriors again. It was a surprise though, that the source of the rage wasn't the old king Beast, but a small boy whom he was once proud of.
Carlos and Evie followed Dude towards the prison of Auradon, a building close to the castle. Both Carlos and Evie had raised their eyebrows in shock when they saw how the entrance door of the prison hall, which was usually highly secured, was ripped out of its frame and thrown aside. The guards who should have been standing watch were nowhere to be seen. No bodies, no blood at all and no sign that someone had tried to send an alarm. Dude didn't feel the need to inspect the crime scene and impatiently waited for the two humans to follow him.
"Come on, they're close," he whispered towards them. His little nose was still twitching, trying hard to maintain the mysterious magic scent in the air they had been following. It was everywhere now, so he had to concentrate on where the scent was the strongest.
Carlos was the first to snap out of his shock and walked through the empty frame. The hall he walked into was dark. He also had never been here before. As far as he knew not many people were locked up in Auradon. The place had been mostly empty until the past few weeks, when they started arresting the many villains and their kids who were on Jafar's list.
Since the building wasn't used as much as many other buildings, it also wasn't as well maintained. The hall was small and the walls looked old and dirty. It was very poorly lit since there were almost no windows through the hallway. When Carlos kept walking, different cell doors started to appear on the left and right sides. They were old wooden doors and all of them had a little window which was secured with another cover. For a moment it felt like they were back on the Isle and Carlos was grateful he could feel Evie's presence just behind him.
They turned a few corners, but there was still no sign of Yzma or her henchmen. They followed Dude, while they tried to be as quiet as possible. Carlos felt like every step he took echoed through the entire building. Suddenly Evie grabbed his shoulder and Carlos could hear her gasping for air. He quickly turned around, but he didn't see any immediate danger.
"What's wrong?" he whispered to her. She still had a tight grip on his arm.
"Nothing, just rats," Evie answered him. She didn't look away from the little creatures on the ground. Carlos followed her gaze and indeed saw two rats and one little sparrow.
"What's a bird doing here?" Carlos wondered out loud.
Dude walked back, at first wondering what was taking them so long. They should not be taking breaks while they were so close to the source of the scent. But then he also noticed the three little creatures who were snakingly holding each other. He carefully sniffed them and then took a step back, looking up at Carlos.
"The scent is very strong on them," he said quietly.
"Help us, please."
At first neither of them had any idea where the voice had been coming from.
"You're Evie, right? Can you please help us?" Carlos blinked rapidly and raised his eyebrows as he looked down at the rat that had just been talking to him.
"Great! More talking animals," Dude said. He sat down beside Carlos, looking up at his owner. "I promise, they're not as good in tracking as I am."
Carlos smiled warmly at the dog. He kneeled, not just to pet Dude on the head, but also to take a better look at the three creatures before him.
"Who are you? What happened?" It was Evie, who had also kneeled beside him.
The same brave rat took a few steps towards them. The other rat and the sparrow seemed to calm down as well. "We are Auradon soldiers. We were assigned to guard the prison today. Easy job you would say with the battle going on, but suddenly people were coming in. Before we could do anything they threw something towards us. Change us into… this."
"Who came in? Did you see what they looked like?" Evie asked.
The rat seemed to think for a moment when the sparrow came hopping forward. "There were
two big guys," the sparrow answered them. "And this older woman, scary beyond all reason."
"Yes, that would describe her perfectly," the rat added.
Evie and Carlos looked at each other for a moment. They didn't even have to say it out loud. It was Yzma, that was certain. Somehow she had been able to get her hands on enough magic to make her potions again.
"Come on, we need to stop them," Carlos said, standing up again.
"How? We're are two rats and a bird." The little voice from the rat sounded helpless. The three little creatures still looked up to them. They weren't shaking anymore, knowing they weren't in any immediate danger, but they were still scared nonetheless.
"Just stay with us and you'll be alright," Evie answered them. She didn't know what else to tell them. She knew other potions could make them human again, but she had no idea how they would get their hands on those.
"We need to do at least something," Carlos said. "Who knows what kind of potions she has, they can change in anything they want. And how many prisoners from the Isle are here at the moment? They can send a huge army of all kinds of dangerous animals our way."
Dude lifted his little snout back into the air. The scent came closer again, he could smell it. "Guys," he softly tried to warn the others.
"We will follow you, but I don't think we will be of much use like this," the first rat answered. He looked down at the paws which were once his hands. Despair was written all over his little face.
"Don't worry, it can be reversed," Evie tried to reassure them. "But we need to stop them first. Maybe they even have some human potions with them."
"Guys!" Dude said again. This time a little louder, but still nobody listened to him.
A little too late Carlos looked up to see the woman completely dressed in purple grinning towards them. Yzla and Zevon, her daughter and her son, were standing beside her. Behind them stood two giant men, probably two of Gaston's men.
"Look how sweet, they're trying to stop us," Yzma said, with the same unsettling grin on her face.
Carlos saw how Zevon brought his arm backwards, while a vial with a bright pink substance lay in his hand. As fast as he could he grabbed Dude and threw him out of range. He then pushed Evie out of harm. The vial landed in front of his feet, and before he could run away he was entirely surrounded by pink smoke.
Gaston had left his position on the higher ground and was back at the front lines. He tried hard to push back the Auradon soldiers that were all around his warriors. There didn't seem to be an end to the constant attacks of the blue and yellow fighters who kept pushing them backwards.
Gaston didn't even notice the exhaustion in the eyes of the warriors around him. His eyes were still filled with enthusiasm and bloodlust. All he could hear around him was the clashing of weapons and the different screams from the fighters around him. Some of them were cheers of encouragement, others were awful screams filled with pain and agony. Gaston forced his horse deeper into the Auradon ranks. With him in the lead they could make some ground again.
"Dad!" The voice of his son snapped him out of his focus and Gaston turned around to see indeed Junior making his way towards him. Junior had to dodge a weapon, but quickly turned around to stab the person with his sword.
Gaston jerked on the horse's reins and drove them towards the boy that tried to make his way towards him. The unsteady ground made it hard for the horse to move forward, but his rider was persuasive. The horse tried his best to avoid stepping on any bodies, but his rider kept pushing him to go faster. He squealed in agony. He wanted to leave this place. Far away from the loud noises and the smell of iron that was hanging in the air.
"Dad!" Junior had finally reached Gaston and he looked up at his father on his dark horse. "It's no use. I can't find Trip anywhere and all his warriors seem to be disorientated."
Gaston glanced over to the side where his second son should be. Trip had fought himself through the ranks and seemed to be slowly leaving the battlefield. None of the Auradon soldiers seem to pay him any attention, though. There was just one opponent who was fighting against him. Gaston grunted his teeth. He should've done something about this from the very beginning. He should've known.
Gaston turned back towards his oldest son. "Gaston Junior, follow me!"
Without giving any more instructions he pushed his horse forwards again. With his last strength the horse reluctantly obeyed, throwing his head high to avoid getting any of the flying weapons in his face.
Junior followed his dad closely, even though he too had a hard time with it. Both soldiers and warriors were standing in his way and the muddy ground was starting to get slippery. He pushed everybody aside who was standing in his way, didn't matter if they were wearing blue and yellow armour or not.
Gaston finally came to a halt. He estimated his range when he already took his pistol from his belt. He aimed his weapon at the two fighting boys. They weren't exactly what someone would call boys. They were both big and very muscular for their age. The one with the short, black hair was even taller than the blond boy. Gaston could see how one kept swaying his sword towards the other, wearing himself out, while the other seemed to be only focused on blocking the countless attacks.
Without looking away from the disastrous scene before him, Gaston spoke to his eldest son. "Once I've fired I want you to get over there and get some order back into those ranks. Whatever it takes."
With a steady click he made his pistol ready to fire, until a firm hand grabbed his arm. Gaston looked up in surprise when he saw Junior holding on to him. "Dad, what are you doing? You said you were saving your last bullet for the Beast. Why are you aiming your gun at my brother?"
"Let go of me, stupid boy! I'm not aiming at your brother, I'm aiming at Gil!"
Junior had his share of beatings during his years living with his dad, but none of them hit him as hard as this blow. With eyes wide with shock he let go of his dad's arm. He simply nodded, telling his dad that he had understood the order. After the shot he would go towards the ranks and fight his way through. Whatever it took.
But somehow he felt unable to move, as if his feet were stuck in the mud he was standing in. He noticed the little guy that was making his way towards them. The guy had been there before, when Gaston tried to take Gil back to the Isle with them. The guy who had held Gil's hand and had told him he would not leave without him. The guy his little brother was apparently in love with.
Junior looked up at his dad again, still his pistol determined in his hand. There was absolutely no doubt to be seen on his dad's face. His dad never missed a shot. His dad never lost. Whatever it takes.
Junior could've stopped the little guy from reaching his dad, but instead he stepped aside. With all the force Jay could muster, he ran against the horse which had finally enough of all of this. He threw his front hooves into the air and pranced while whinnying loudly. A shot was fired, but the pistol was aimed towards the air because of the sudden commotion. With just one hand Gaston tried to get a grip on the horse's mane, but the horse was having none of it. With another movement he made sure he got rid of his rider and he spurted away. He didn't care where he was going, as long as he was going far away from whatever was happening at this place.
Gaston fell towards the ground, suddenly harmless with no way to defend himself, while the little guy was still running towards him with a sword in his hand. Junior was quick to stand in between them. He would not be stepping aside anymore. Jay saw the attack coming and their swords clashed together. Junior pushed Jay away from his father, who rolled away from the other soldiers who were trying to get a piece of him.
For once he had to fall back, grab a new weapon and gather around some warriors before he could engage himself in the attack again. Jay cursed to himself when he saw how Gaston got back to safety. He didn't believe he would've succeeded, but for a split second Jay had hoped he could've finished Gaston of himself. Jay then focused back on his new fierce opponent, preparing himself for a heavy duet. At least he had been able to get the attention of the other brother.
Gil quickly glanced over his shoulder, before he had to put his full focus on blocking his brother's attacks again. He was almost there. It was almost over. He was almost there. "You know, it really doesn't have to be this way," Gil yelled to his brother. He was almost out of breath, but he still felt like he should warn his brother. Trip didn't say anything back anymore. He hadn't said anything for a while now. The wild snorting sounds were the only thing that left his lips. It made Gil shiver, but it also reassured him that everything was going according to plan. The angrier his brother was, the more likely it was that he was going to succeed.
Gil took another few steps backwards, towards the trees. Even though fully occupied by his brother's attacks, Gil could see the pirates patiently waiting for them between the branches. Trip didn't seem to notice at all. His eyes were fixed on Gil and only on Gil. He had to be able to break his defence! And fast! Gil was getting restless and walked faster and faster towards the group of trees. Trip didn't even seem to notice his change in action and just followed him without paying attention to any of their surroundings.
Gil could hear the sound of an axe cutting through some wood and then he heard Lonnie screaming his name. This was the sign. He had made it. Gil dropped his sword and rolled backwards as fast as he could. Before Gil could stand up again, a loud bang shocked the earth as a big metal cage hit the ground right where Trip was standing. Before Trip could comprehend what had happened, Lonnie and the group of pirates jumped out of the trees and secured the metal cage to the ground with some nails. It should not be possible for one person to lift the heavy metal cage on their own, but Lonnie and Uma had agreed that they didn't want to take their chances with the LeGume brothers.
Gil was trying to catch his breath, still lying on the ground. He had made it. Gil watched how Trip was indeed trying to escape from his prison by lifting it up, but the cage didn't move from his spot. His cries reminded him of an angry and anxious beast, while using all his strength to yank at the iron bars that were now blocking his way. He tried to rip them apart or to push them away from him or both. He tried to lift the heavy cage from the ground, loudly screaming and grunting, but it was all in vain. It didn't budge at all.
Gil slowly rose from the ground. His breath was still heavy and he could feel all his four limbs shaking. But nothing was more disturbing to him than to see his older brother so helpless in a cage. Like a wild animal he was still trying to get out with all his might. Gil knew he wasn't getting out, not until Lonnie or Uma commanded to use the lever that was also hidden in the tree. Trip was slamming his fists against the iron bars in a last desperate attempt to get out of his prison.
"Trip, stop! You're going to hurt yourself!" Gil's words made the other man look up in anger. Gil still took a step backwards, even though he knew the other man couldn't reach him anymore. Not as long as he was captured underneath the huge iron cage. "Please Trip, it really doesn't have to be this way."
Trip suddenly seemed to realize he still had a sword laying beside him in the grass. He picked it up and threw it like a spear towards his younger brother. It was a well-aimed throw, since Gil had to jump to dodge the flying object. The sword landed in the grass without doing any harm. Gil looked back at his brother again, his eyes still filled with rage and still grunting through his teeth.
"Traitor! You're a disgrace! Dad was right! You're nothing! You're absolutely nothing!"
Gil closed his eyes, while he let all the insults wash over him. Somehow it still hurt, even though he knew he had done the right thing. Somehow seeing his brother being defeated still felt like a major defeat for him as well. Gil took a deep, shaking breath.
Why did it always have to be this way?
