Chapter Fifty Nine
A/N: I do not own anything other than my OCs when they come out to play. Everything else belongs to either Disney or the Greek Myths.
Woo, another chapter for the record books! Hard to believe we're almost on chapter sixty! You all make it possible with your constant support and for that I thank you.
Special thanks to AmethystDragon14 for their help with the comment ideas—I seriously couldn't have gotten this chapter out without you (the joys of a winter cold means my brain is 100% fogged up. I'm not sure when this chapter would have come out had you not helped! :D)
Speaking of which, please be safe you guys! I know the holidays are upon us and with cold and flu season coming, the last thing I want is for any of you to be sick!
Just a head's up, I will be on a 2 week hiatus for the holidays! I'll still be writing when I can but updates might not happen due to constant travel and traditions!
Katt Kiki: I hope you enjoy the chapter and that the reactions are to your liking! :D
danifan3000: Hmm, I don't think it mentions it either now that I think about it.
Marcus Emrys: For the sake of not traumatizing the Smeelings (Squeaky and Squirmy) I'm going to say that Smee does not have his gun. Though Harry might have his sword.
61394: I mean, they brought back Scar and Frollo so why not bring back Sabor? And oh man if I didn't have way too many people in attendance, Elizabeth, Will, and Jack would be a brilliant addition jus for that line alone! :D
Heroesweardogtags209: Thank you so much! :D
AmthystDragon14: Yay! Yeah, poor Smee and poor CJ! At least now she has her mother to tell her that it wasn't her fault. Though whether or not she believes it remains to be seen.
Hufflepuff24: I'm so glad you liked the chapter—yeah it was a bit more somber than the chapters have been traditionally but with the subject matter I didn't think it right to make jokes. Smee really is a big teddy bear who really didn't deserve the Isle.
Hufflepuffgirl95: I can see both sides too and I'm not looking forward to writing it but it needs to be done. Just because Harry's tormenting his sister by telling her that it was her fault their mom died when that's not true. Though I can definitely see Uma coming immediately to Harry's aid followed by Mal and Jay.
JaclynnM: Well I hope you enjoy this chapter! :D
BlackWidowAndCapRule: Oh thank you! Hope you enjoy! :D
smc-smfan1: Thank you! And no, Mollie is from Jake and the Neverland Pirates.
WaitingOnAMircl: Unfortunately, since there's a lot of people currently in the room, I might not be able to add Mirabel. Plus I haven't seen Encanto yet and the last thing I'd want is to write her OOC.
SixUnderOneXSix: It definitely begins! But at least they'll know so they can stop it!
SnowWhite45: I'm honestly surprised she hasn't burst into flames with all the glares toward her. And you're right Smee really didn't deserve the Isle! Oh I'm glad you liked the CJ and Milah mother-daughter moment. I thought it'd be a good idea to have one there since CJ was learning that the food was deliberately made rotten and that it wasn't her fault that Milah died like Harry had been telling her.
CaptainSwan: While that would have been a great idea (and I'm kicking past me for not thinking of that), nope, Emir and Emma are going to have their own kids. And I've seen that theory going around but I needed a way for Harry to hate CJ and 'causing' the death of their mother in his eyes would have worked better than just being a half sibling.
IWantColouredRain: I'll be waking Leah up probably around a couple of chapters before the chapter where she meets her fate! :D
Auralia Dawn: Huh, that really is interesting! I was just going off of the way Sabor seemed to live all the way to Tarzan's adulthood in the movie.
Hope you guys enjoy the chapter! Let me know what you think—and happy holidays! :D
Aziz sighed as he opened the scroll in his hands. He knew the reading had to happen but with how depressing the scrolls had gotten, he didn't know if he wanted to keep going.
There honestly was no delaying the inevitable, unless one happened to be a king who still attended school and tried to make time for his girlfriend that didn't involve official business.
"And Ben still managed to juggle it very well," Malinda said with a small smile.
Then there was a reasonable expectation for delay.
Benji shook his head. "There was no reasonable expectation for the delay. Peoples lives were at stake. Delaying was not reasonable."
It also didn't help matters that Mal seemed just as busy as Ben was.
Malinda sighed softly as Benji held her close. The sad thing was, those had been the days when her schedule was light. Natalie was truly just getting warmed up.
Okay, maybe not as busy but pretty close. Every time Ben turned around, Mal seemed to be attending a meeting about Cotillion or rushing off with Kitty, Jordan and Ally, or checking on Evie or sparring with Uma.
Malinda sighed. "And yet I only enjoyed the last two…no wait, scratch that, I liked spending time with Kitty, Jordan, and Ally. I just wish it wasn't necessary."
At least your Ben noticed how busy you were, Audie thought, lightly biting her lip.
It was for that reason why Ben was currently making his way to the gym two weeks after his talk with Chip, to try to see if he could get a moment with his girlfriend and talk to her about what was going on with the Isle.
"At least we know the truth now," Jay said, his voice soft. "So that way kids don't have to wait as long to see things improve."
He trusted her more than he trusted the reports he received…if he received them at all.
"Yeah, it's probably a better idea to trust someone who's lived on the Isle all her life rather than reports that can be manufactured," Uma nodded.
"Hey Ben," Akiho smiled and waved as Ben walked into the gym.
"Hey," Ben chuckled as he walked over to him. "What're you doing here?"
"Heard Mal and Uma were going to be doing some sparring," the blond said with a grin. "Jay texted us."
Jay and Harry grinned.
"It's always fun seeing two pros go at it," Harry said.
"Then why is it you never stop to watch me spar?" Henry asked.
"Noticed how I said two? With the exception of Uma, Jay, Mal, Harriet, and myself, there's no one else on the crew skilled enough to give you a decent spar."
"Us?"
"Emir came too," Akiho said, pointing to the raven haired boy talking to a younger girl who was off to the side.
Both Ben and Benji chuckled and shook their heads.
"Of course," Benji said, still clearly amused.
"Ashaki seemed interested in the whole thing, she heard us talking about it in the hall and followed us in."
"What's so bad about her watching?"
"Woo! I've made it in the scrolls!" Ashaki grinned. "And yeah, what's so bad about me watching?"
"Nothing," Emir chuckled as he walked over, Ashaki trailing behind him. "The talk was just because mom and dad think she needs to call home more and asked me to tell her that."
"Wait seriously?" Ashaki asked, looking at Emir.
Emir chuckled. "You know mom and dad like to hear from you Ashaki."
"We like hearing from all our kids," Aladdin corrected.
"I call home once a week!" Ashaki exclaimed. "Ben, don't you think that's more than enough?"
"Why do I feel like that's only because your parents said that if you didn't call at least once a week, they'd come visit you?" Alexandria asked with a small chuckle.
"I see my dad every time there's a council meeting and I still call home at least twice a week," Ben chuckled.
"…we're sure he's human?" Ashaki asked, turning to her older brother.
"Jury's still out on him."
"Yeah, we're still debating on that," Herkie nodded.
Ben shook his head. "As I've said, I've bled enough times on the Tourney field to prove that belief wrong."
"Hush you two," Ben said, shaking his head in amusement. "I'm missing the sparring."
Uma snorted. "I have a feeling Mal would be happy to give you your own private show Benny."
"Oh yes, that's why you came to the gym," Akiho teased as Ben sat down, the sound of clanging steel in the background as Mal and Uma seemed to really get into their sparring match. "It wasn't to see your girlfriend but to watch the sparring."
"Oh it was both," Benji said, smirking playfully.
"Can't it be both?"
"Exactly," Benji nodded as Ben flushed.
"I don't want to hear that," Hades muttered.
"I'm so proud!" Emir and Akiho exclaimed, draping themselves over Ben as the king turned bright red.
"Do I want to know?" Jay asked as he walked over with Harry.
"No, not really," Benji sighed and shook his head. "You two are insane."
"Thank you!"
"Not a compliment!"
Jay shook his head. "Watching the sparring I can get behind but the reason he wants to watch Mal spar in particular…I don't need those images!"
"Neither do I Jay!" Hades growled.
"Not really, no," Ashaki told him, smiling at the two of them. "You guys gonna spar too?"
"Ooh are we?" Harry asked, perking up with a small grin.
"Nah," Jay chuckled. "Carlos and I just got out of practice so I'm beat. Actually, I was looking for those two over there."
"Oh come on Jay! Don't tell me Auradon sparring has made you soft! You're lucky Jade's not here otherwise she'd be laughing her arse off right now!"
"Hate to say it, but Harry's got a point," Henry nodded. "You know as well as anyone, Jay, that an attack's not going to always come when you're fresh."
Jay shook his head. "Well when I say this in the future, I'll remember this lecture."
"Why are you looking for my brother and Akiho?" Aziz asked, tilting his head.
"Oh you mean my brother and his best friend who are currently embarrassing themselves and Ben?"
"The very same."
"So not much has changed there," Neal said, snorting slightly in amusement.
"And why did you need to look for them? Wouldn't they have been in practice with you?"
"A very good question, Ashaki," Ben said, looking over at his best friends. "I hope you guys are okay."
"I'm sure we're fine Ben," Emir told him but gave Ben a small smile in thanks.
"They skipped." Carlos said with a chuckle as he joined the group, Dude trotting behind him. "Presumably because they were getting into mischief with Harry and Uma or they finally remembered they have girlfriends."
"Why can't it be both?" Emma asked. "Mischief with their girlfriends?"
"Emma!" Snow scolded. "I'm with Lord Hades, I don't want that image in my head!"
"Not that sort of mischief mom!" Emma exclaimed, her cheeks bright red.
"Either way they didn't let me know and I had to spend all of practice dealing with Chad muttering about how a captain knows where his team mates are," Jay sighed.
"Sorry Jay," Emir and Akiho said softly.
Lucy looked over at Chad. "So…is this you just being a jerk because Jay's a VK and got Captain over you or have the number of times Ben found you after being late to Tourney practice finally sunk in?"
"Therefore, I need to talk to them about letting me know if they're going to bail on practice just so I can be prepared for another Chad diatribe."
"Hence why you texted them," Aziz chuckled. "Lure them in with sparring and then you've got them right where you want them."
"Being in Auradon's made you boring mate," Harry chuckled. "Nothing wrong with taking some time off now and then. Otherwise you'd wind up like Henry."
"There's nothing wrong with that," Claudine said as she rested her head on Henry's shoulder.
"Henry trained for like eighteen hours a day," Jay pointed out. "I think only you, Mal, or Uma could match him in training hours. I still don't know where he found the time."
"Eighteen hours a day?" Ben asked, looking at Henry. "When did you sleep? Eat?"
"I did," Henry nodded. "But there's nothing wrong with keeping ones skills up to snuff."
Emir raised an eyebrow. "What if you got burnt out?"
"I think we've established that the Isle's different than Auradon is," Mal said, her voice soft.
"Also I'd like to just point out that Ben is not the best person to ask about someone's sleeping or eating schedule," Akiho said.
"Well when you're not obligated to help stock your dad's store, I'm sure there's more time in the day," Carlos teased and Jay reached over, grabbing the smaller boy close to him and rubbing his knuckles into Carlos' head.
Henry chuckled and shook his head. "Okay when did DeVil get some bite to him?"
"Being in Auradon's good for him," Harriet said, a small smile pulling at her lips.
"Gah! Okay, okay! Let me go!"
"Only if you say it!"
"Fine! Boreadon!" Carlos exclaimed and Jay chuckled as he let Carlos go.
Malinda shook her head. "Why are you so intent on getting him to say that nickname? We all call it 'Auradon' by now anyway."
"When I can speak to my future self, Mal, I'll let you know," Jay told her.
The son of Cruella rolled his eyes as he rubbed his head.
"You are so strange," he said before looking around. "Where's Gil?"
"Why do we care?" Harry asked.
Uma shook her head. "Because he's still under our protection even if we're in Auradon and the last thing we want is Gil getting hurt."
"I think he's talking with a few of my friends. He ran into Emir and me in the hall on our way here and joined us," Ashaki told him. "Kitty should be among the group, and Phillip Jr. for that matter. Of course that usually means Audrey's not too far behind but then again she normally avoids the gym."
Aurora frowned. If I didn't know better, I'd say that Audrey was avoiding her brother, she thought.
Thank Gods Grandmother is still passed out otherwise I'd be granted a lovely litany of comments about how Audrey was right to avoid 'the spare', Phil Jr. thought with a small sigh.
"Oh Bennyboo!"
"Ah, spoke too soon," Emir sighed, shaking his head.
Sammy couldn't help but look amused. "Bennyboo?"
"His ex's nickname for him," Mal said, gesturing to Audrey.
"Then again, apparently I can summon her," Ashaki muttered. "This is a power I didn't know I had. I wonder if it works with other people…"
"I'll be happy to teach you how to activate your brother's 'Ben sense' if you'd like," Benji said with a small chuckle.
"I'll pass. I love Emir but I can do without him randomly popping up all over the place." Ashaki told him.
Ben ignored the mutterings of his best friend's little sister and turned to look at his ex-girlfriend. "Yes, Audrey?"
"Your first mistake was responding to that name," Evan said, shaking his head. "If you want her to stop, you can't respond to it."
"I didn't receive your invitation to Cotillion," Audrey said sweetly. "I assume it's lost?"
"Your invitation?" Ben asked, tilting his head in pure confusion.
"Mom sends out the invitations to Cotillion," Jane said. "I…I don't think Ben's ever handled the invitations."
Audrey sighed. "You've always invited me personally to Cotillion Bennyboo. I guess you forgot with the excitement of coronation and everything that happened that day."
"He invited you personally when you were his girlfriend Audrey. Something you are not anymore," Lonnie said, shaking her head.
"Audrey…you know Fairy Godmother sends out the invitations right?" Ben asked. He still wasn't sure what Audrey was getting at, asking about personal invitations. "She codes them to the ward she places around the yacht we rent each year."
Fairy Godmother nodded. "It's always one of the items that takes the longest to complete for Cotillion," she said.
"I know that Ben," Audrey harrumphed. "I mean my invitation to be your date!"
"Audrey…I'm dating Mal."
"What's more, isn't Mal in the room? And can hear this?" Kitty asked.
Audrey rolled her eyes. "You mean that bad girl infatuation of yours hasn't worn off yet? Look at her Ben! She's not exactly the person you want on your arm as you tour the kingdom now is she? All dressed in leather and her dragon motif, no decent person would wear that!"
"How someone's dressed doesn't make them a decent person," Cinderella said, looking over at Audrey.
"Yeah Audrey, considering you're asking a guy out in front of his girlfriend, I'd say my mom's got a point," Lucy nodded.
"She's not even a person," one of her lackeys giggled. "Considering she's Fae and all."
"Correction, I'm a Godling," Mal said, her voice low as all the Godlings and Gods glared at the scroll.
"Is she saying we're humaniods?" Hyllus growled.
"Excuse me?" Ben said, his voice hard.
"Bad move," Emir muttered under his breath. If there was one thing that would get Ben's back up, it was the idea of treating people differently just because of how they were born.
"Very bad idea," Emir said, nodding in agreement with his scroll self.
"Well I mean, fairies aren't humans," the lackey explained with a shrug. "Plus we all know she's Maleficent's daughter. She's like obsessed with dragons and Maleficent was a Fae before Mal turned her into a lizard."
"Mal was magically adopted by Persephone. She's not Maleficent's daughter, she never was," Demeter stated, her eyes narrowing as she continued to look at the scroll.
"Lady Persephone is Mal's mother," Ben said. "She said that at my coronation."
"This may be why you're on mom's 'Do Not Smite' list," Malinda muttered to Benji.
"Well that and I'm married to you," Benji muttered back to her.
"Oh Bennyboo, like I told you before, you're just too trusting," Audrey told him. "I know you think that blood doesn't make family because of your relationship with Chip but he's still not your brother. Phillip Jr. is my brother. Ashaki is Emir's sister. Kitty is Chad's. Chip's not really your family just like Mal isn't really Lady Persephone's daughter."
"And now I remember why I don't like you," Chip said, giving Audrey a look.
Lucas sighed. "Seriously? She's a teenager and you're a grown man! You ever hear of a self-fulfilling prophecy? If you don't give her a chance, she's going to act in the way you don't like because that's what she thinks you already expect."
"Huh, at least she acknowledges I'm her brother," Phil Jr. said, shaking his head.
"Audrey, you should go," Jay said as he stood up, the VKs in attendance glaring daggers at Audrey.
"If you have more than one braincell, you'll listen to him," Phil Jr. said, looking over at Audrey.
"Mother!" Audrey exclaimed.
Aurora sighed. "Phillip, don't insult your sister. However Audrey, dear…read the room."
"Mal doesn't owe you any explanation other than this. Lady Persephone is her mother. She has always been her mother. Just because Maleficent birthed Mal doesn't make her Mal's mom."
"I thought we agreed we were going to stop making that image appear in my head?" Chip asked.
"Teacup, no one agreed to that," Lucas sighed, shaking his head.
"Excuse me, but who do you think you are?" Audrey scoffed. "The royals are talking."
"Who do you think you are? Talking to him like that?!" Lonnie exclaimed.
Before Jay could respond, he ducked as a dagger whizzed past his ear and embedded itself into the wall behind Audrey.
"You weren't even looking!" Ruby gasped. "How did you know?"
"There." Mal's voice said flatly as the purple haired Godling walked up to the group. A faint growl could be heard as Estelle also joined them and Ben couldn't help but smile slightly at the sight of the Cerberus who'd now become a staple of Mal's friend group. The only time he wasn't by her side was in classes or her meetings with Natalie it seemed. "Now they're not talking so Jay can make his point."
"Go Mal!" Hadie cheered.
"Where did you get a dagger?" Uma asked as she joined her cousin. "That's an Angel weapon of choice."
"You know the rule, finder's keepers cuz," Mal said with a small smirk.
Mal shrugged. "Freddy boy used it on me in our last tête-de-tête. I didn't feel the need to return it to him."
"Smart move," Harry nodded.
"I agree," Henry said. "No sense in giving Freddy back his weapon…when were you in a confrontation with Freddy without one of us?"
"A few scrolls back," Harriet told him.
"I'm sorry, you had a confrontation with Freddy and you didn't think to tell me?"
"I second that!" Uma exclaimed. "You tell me if that French Fanatic goes near you!"
"Not the time Uma," Mal said before turning to face Audrey. "Leave Ben alone Audrey. Gods, you've been broken up a month. Shouldn't that be a giant sign to you that he doesn't want to date you?"
Benji nodded. "I'm sorry Audrey but scroll-Mal has an excellent point."
"Maybe he doesn't know what he wants," Audrey shot back. "After all, spelling people is a staple in your family."
"You know you could say the same about your family," Lil Shang spoke up. "After all, the three Good Fairies are your aunts and they spelled Ben. Good or not, a spell is a spell right?"
"Let's not anger the Banshee," Akiho said, shaking his head. "I mean, you're right but I value my hearing."
Mal's eyes flashed bight green for a split second before it faded.
"See? Your eyes even flashed green just like Maleficent's did at the coronation," Audrey scoffed. "How can you claim you're not Maleficent's daughter when you act just like her?"
"Maleficent cursed a baby within minutes of not being invited to her christening. Mal's been around you for two months and has barely lifted a finger at you. See the difference?" Kitty asked.
"Audrey, that was uncalled for!" Ben exclaimed, as Jay and Harry tensed as if they were ready to attack or defend Mal if necessary.
"Sic her, boys," Uma growled, narrowing her eyes. She fully supported an attack should it be needed.
"Whatever Ben," Audrey scoffed. "When you're free from whatever spell you're under, I'll be waiting for your invitation."
"Which will come never," Malinda and Benji muttered at the same time.
She walked off with her lackeys, and everyone else shook their heads.
"Wow. You'd think someone raised in politics would have more tact," Jay rolled his eyes as Mal walked over and yanked the dagger out of the wall.
"Ooh nice burn there Jay!" Harry grinned, reaching over to high five his best friend.
"Don't worry about her Mal," Ben said gently as she sheathed it.
"The day Audrey occupies my brain cells should be the day pigs fly," Mal chuckled but if anyone was paying attention, they would notice that it was a little forced.
"Maybe not Audrey but something worse might occupy my brain," Malinda muttered softly as she looked down.
She had noticed how The Gazelle had been pulling focus on how she looked like a young Maleficent, and Natalie had made a few comments about possibly changing her style. After all, when people in Auradon thought of dragons, they thought of Maleficent.
"Oh I've got a few comments I can make to this Natalie woman but I won't because of the young ears in the room!" Lonnie exclaimed. "When people in Auradon think of dragons, they think of Maleficent? What about Mushu?"
Mal had shot her down but after hearing Audrey's comment about her eyes…
Hades shook his head. "Remember what I told you before you left, Mal. Don't change yourself to make Boreadon happy."
"You're amazing by the way, for the little bit of sparring I saw," Ben told her, pulling Mal out of her thoughts, as he went to wrap his arms around her. Sure she was a little sweaty from the sparring but Ben didn't care.
"Now that is true love," Anna said with a small smile.
Kristoff shook his head. "Doesn't sound the same without you almost hitting me in the head with a lute."
"Kristoff!"
Malinda and Benji couldn't help but look a bit shocked before smiling slightly. Anna had no idea how right she was.
"I've had a sword in my hand since I was five, so I should be," Mal said, her easy going tone sounding more natural as she leaned into his embrace. "Harry's the one who taught Uma, Jay and me since he's had a sword in his hand since practically birth."
Meanwhile, Harriet was the one who taught me, CJ thought. Because Harry was never around, always with Mal, Uma, or Jay or at Lord Hades' restaurant. Even after he moved out, I still barely saw him and we were on the same ship!
"It's the life of a pirate," Harry grinned. "Not having a sword on my belt is like being naked."
A few of the teenaged girls flushed at the image of a naked Harry who puffed up his chest as he noticed. He however did not notice Uma glaring at them.
Mal chuckled and shook her head in amusement as she looked over at Ben. "So, Ben, what brings you to the gym?"
"Oh just to see you Mal. It's become a habit," Abby said, grinning at her brother.
"I can't come by to see my girlfriend?" Ben asked, bending down to kiss her on the cheek.
"Of course you can," Mal said, smiling a little at the kiss. "But I know you're probably swamped Ben. You don't need to add stress by—."
"Seeing you is never a stress," Benji whispered as he held Malinda close to him.
"Mal, seeing you is never stressful," Ben told her. "But I'll be honest, I did come to see if I could talk to you about something."
"Okay. Shoot."
A somber mood fell over the room, as they realized what was going too come.
"I um…I was hoping it'd be in private?"
"Ben, unless it's something super personal, whatever you have to say to me you can say in front of the others," Mal told him.
Mal and Uma nodded in unison.
"Bar anything super personal, the Captain always tells the crew," Uma said.
"It's about the Isle," Ben said and Mal looked at him.
"What about the Isle?"
"You'd better brace yourself, scroll-me," Mal muttered.
Ben sighed softly and looked at the others, the other VKs seemed to stiffen as Ben said that. Almost as if they were expecting to have to defend the place that'd been their home. Well, except for Gil but he'd only just walked up; looking at Carlos in confusion.
"What else is new for Fish for Brains?" Harry muttered, shaking his head. "He's almost always confused."
"Mal, I was wondering…can you tell me what it's like on the Isle?" Ben asked.
"Wouldn't that be something she would have already told you?" Squirmy asked. "If you're dating her? Also…what's dating?"
"It's Auradon's version of a flirtationship," Sammy said.
"I mean I can but…why do you want to know Ben?" Mal asked. "I mean, we all know that if we tell you anything, you'll be fighting with your council for Zeus knows how long before it gets done. Look how long it took before you got them to agree to bring Uma, Harry, Gil and Hadie here."
"Three guesses who caused the delay on that," Neal muttered, glaring over at Leah's still passed out form.
"Meaning who knows how many kids would have died in that time," Uma muttered and Ben's heart sank. He hadn't want his suspicions to be correct but there was no other option. Not when it came to the quality of the food being sent to the Isle.
"It's not your fault Ben," Mal sighed.
"That doesn't mean I wanted to hear that my fears were right," Ben said softly.
"Died?" Akiho asked, also having heard the mutter.
"Is that really the best place to be discussing that information?" Hera asked, her voice soft.
"Ben, did you tell them?" Mal asked, looking at her boyfriend. "About the food?"
"I did," Ben nodded.
"Then shouldn't they know about all the deaths on the Isle?"
Emir shook his head. "If we had known, we would have done something about it."
"…you're teenagers," Aziz said. "You could at least involve the adults."
"You're two years older than me!"
"Mal…I only told them what I know," Ben said gently, taking Mal's hands and holding them in his. "If you don't want to talk about it in the gym, we can all go to my office."
"That would be a good idea," Persephone said as Hades held her close, unknowingly mirroring how Benji was holding Malinda.
Mal paused, biting her lip. She had a meeting with Natalie in about fifteen minutes but…this was the Isle. Natalie wouldn't mind if she was a few minutes late.
Malinda sighed softly and shook her head. You have no idea how wrong you're going to be, scroll-me, she thought as Benji wrapped an arm around her shoulders, holding her close.
Besides, Mal would be with Ben. There's no way Natalie could take issue with Mal being late if it was because of a meeting with Ben.
"You'd be surprised with what that…woman would take issue with," Audie muttered, her hands curling into fists once more at the mention of Natalie.
"Okay Ben," Mal said. "But only if the others come too. Uma, Harry and Gil are more familiar with the status of the Isle after all, and Jay and Carlos have their own experiences."
Ben nodded. "Of course. This affects all of you so you should all get to hear it."
Evie would have joined them but once again she was at the hospital, sitting at her father's side. While the three weeks off that Fairy Godmother had granted her were up, there was no harm in her visiting on the weekend.
Evie couldn't help the sad smile that pulled at her lips. She'd get to spend more time with her father, something that was a dream come true. But…Dizzy was still on the Isle.
She couldn't afford to be selfish when this could help get Dizzy better food.
"Of course," Ben nodded and the group quickly made their way to Ben's office. Mal quickly flopped onto the sofa and Ben grabbed a spot across from her so he could see everyone.
"A true King holding an audience," Ariel said with a sad smile.
"What do you want to know?" Mal asked as everyone got comfortable. "I mean, Ben, you saw the Isle. You know what it's like there."
Benji shook his head. "I didn't see enough to get the full picture," he said softly.
"I saw a glimpse of the Isle Mal," Ben corrected. "But I need to know everything that happens on the Isle."
"Why?" Uma asked. "No offense Benny but…we all know nothing's going to change. Oh wait, maybe you lot will bring some of those who have died back to life because death's too good for the villains but other than that…"
"But…if Lord Hades could do that once… why can't he do it again?" Alexandria asked softly.
"Technically that would have been the Fates weaving a new life thread for them," Hades said. "And they didn't want to do it the first time."
"Uma may be blunt but she's right," Mal said. "Ben, we've lived on the Isle our whole lives. You know about the food issues—."
"What's with all the understatements?" Evan asked. "I for one would not call being given rotten food a mere issue."
"Calling being given rotten food an 'issue' is understating it Mal," Ben said. "I'm just sorry I haven't done anything about it until now."
"I mean, it's not as if you were just ignoring it," Tiana said. "When you found out Ben, you were the Prince and then you had to worry about your coronation and then getting Evie set up with therapy and getting Daniel out of Maleficent's clutches."
"What my wife is saying is that you don't have to beat yourself up," Naveen said.
"And yet he will anyway," Chip sighed.
"Ben, you've been busy! Being king isn't like schoolwork you can push to the side. Besides, you've also been helping to get Daniel back from Maleficent's dungeons and arraigning for medical treatment for him, along with therapy for Evie and the other VKs."
"Huh is there an echo in here?" Emir asked, trying to lighten the mood as he noticed the similarities between Queen Tiana and Mal's statements.
"Still, I should have done more before now," Ben sighed and then shook his head. "But we're not here to talk about that. I…I need to know Mal. What was it like, on the Isle?"
"And please don't sugar coat it," Ben said. "I can't help if I don't know the full extent of what's going on in a part of my kingdom."
Mal looked over at Belle. "So, be honest. When does the warranty expire on him?"
"The fact that I'm pregnant should prove that Ben is in fact human," Malinda said with a small chuckle.
Mal glanced over at the others, as if trying to determine how much they should tell Ben. It wasn't that she didn't want to...but she knew how hard Ben would take it. It wasn't his fault yet Mal knew how much this would hurt her kind hearted boyfriend.
Benji sighed and gently kissed Malinda's head. "And you're amazing for that Mal but I needed to know."
"…mom practically saved our lives," Mal said softly after a few minutes. If Ben hadn't been watching her lips move, he might have never heard her.
"Truer words have never been spoken," Uma sighed as all the VKs nodded.
Well Squeaky and Squirmy didn't know why they were nodding but Sammy was agreeing with Captain Uma so it was a safe bet that it was something they were supposed to agree with too.
"I just wish it hadn't had to be needed," Persephone sighed.
"She brought over formula when I was a month old, according to dad. For the women who couldn't nurse or for the families who had mothers die giving birth…the formula was a gift from the Gods."
Harriet sighed as she wrapped her arms around her knees. Mal wasn't wrong there, that formula had been a godsend when CJ was born. If Lady Persephone hadn't brought it…the Isle likely would have taken both her mother and her sister.
Milah quickly wrapped her arms around her oldest child. "You should have never had to worry about that," she whispered. "When the day comes, you can trust that I'll be having words with your father."
"Uncle Hades found a way to filter salt water to make it fresh, so people could use the formula," Uma added. "Otherwise, the only source of water we had that was fit to drink was our own urine. You can't drink salt water after all."
"Let's add that to the list of things we need to improve on the Isle," Beast muttered to Belle.
"More like the list of things that should have been included in the first place," Belle muttered back.
"But didn't…didn't you live with Maleficent?" Akiho asked softly, not wanting to bring it up due to Audrey's fit earlier but the question rang in his head. "How would you have…?"
"I knew Jay and guess who mom gave the formula to?" Malinda said.
Mal sighed. "Maleficent allied herself with Jafar. After…after Maleficent stole me from dad's, mom gave the stores of formula she'd brought with her to Jafar to sell in his shop. After all, dad wouldn't need six months worth of formula if I wasn't there."
"Scroll-me just made my point," Malinda said, nodding her head.
"I think dad must have told the Dragon a lie, maybe about mom finding them on the barge," Jay said with a sigh. "It's the only way Maleficent would have bought it. It's not like she would have accepted anything from Steph."
"That…probably would have been smart," Kit sighed, shaking his head.
"Maleficent wouldn't have accepted anything from your dad anyway," Mal scoffed. "If it wasn't for the fact that she wanted to rub it in dad's face she had me, I probably wouldn't have gotten anything."
Growls could be heard throughout the room from all those who liked Mal.
"Okay…this is odd," Mal muttered as some of the growls could be heard from the Olympus contingent.
It was clear that they had forgotten the AKs were in the room, judging by how open Mal was being. Even after being in Auradon a month, the original VKs were still a little closed off from the others.
"They probably had forgotten about you all being in there," Henry said softly.
"Ah good point," Jay nodded. "But you're half God, shouldn't that have—?"
"Still gotta eat Jay."
"Hey that reminds me…how is your bowl of strawberries still full?" Benji asked, looking at Malinda.
"The Fates work in mysterious ways," Malinda said with a smirk. "Also they've been refilling the bowl every time it gets down to the halfway mark."
Ben looked at Emir and Akiho, unsure if he should jump in to bring the conversation back. It wasn't that he didn't want to hear about this, but hearing about his girlfriend's childhood, a childhood that she had to go through because of his father's choices…
"As you said…as much as it killed to hear, I needed to know," Benji said, sighing softly.
"So food was sparse on the Isle?" Emir asked, bringing the focus back much to Ben's appreciation.
"That would be an understatement," Henry muttered.
Uma snorted. "Sparse is one word for it. There was one delivery barge a month. If you lucked out and got there first on top of being someone in Maleficent's group of allies, you might have gotten something fairly edible. We mainly relied on fish from the ocean and chickens from Old man Slade's farm."
"I still maintain that some of those chickens have to be female because otherwise, chickens are still sneaking onto the barge and we haven't been noticing them," Harry muttered, shaking his head.
"The stupid birds snuck on to the barge one day," Harry chuckled. "I don't know when but Slade's always had them for as long as I can remember. One day though they broke free and wandered around town. That was when we were about five."
"Fred tried catching one around that time," Claudine said, with a small smile at the memory.
"What happened?" Mal asked.
"He missed grabbing it and scraped up his arm. He ended up declaring them 'devil birds' and that they weren't fit for Angels to eat. Didn't even let Strat try when he came on board a couple of years later."
"Ah. So he is as stupid as he looks. Good to know."
"Jay and Estelle were the ones to grab them for dad, well after I got Estelle that is," Mal chuckled and the aforementioned dog gave a small yip.
Estelle gave a small yip from his spot next to the Smee twins as he heard his name mentioned and wagged his tail, giving all the readers a doggy grin.
"Good boy," Mal said, smiling slightly.
"The chickens didn't have a lot of meat but it was meat we could trust. Anything on the barge was likely to be rancid by the time we got it."
Despite the subject matter being rather dark, both Mal and Hadie licked their lips almost automatically at the thought of their father's crispy garlic chicken.
Ben knew the same look of horror that was on Emir and Akiho's face was also on his. Rancid meat? And Mal was chuckling about it?
"We're used to it Ben," Mal said gently, noticing the look on his face. "It's been our lives since we were born."
"You shouldn't be used to it though," Robin muttered.
"Yeah Ben," Uma nodded. "If it hadn't been for my grandfather sending fish to the Isle, we probably wouldn't have gotten any meat. Well other than the chickens."
"You know it just occurred to me," Mal said, looking at her Godling cousins. "Artemis is the Goddess of the Hunt. Would she be able to direct animals where to go?"
"You're not thinking that she…" Macaria said softly.
"I mean…it's either that or think the chickens were just that stupid to wander onto the barge."
"Poseidon was sending fish?" Akiho asked.
"You lot may control the food on the barges but the sea belongs to Poseidon," Uma smirked.
"I'm glad I could help if only a little," Poseidon said with a sad smile. "I should have done more."
"Helps that Uncle Poseidon is the younger brother that dad's still talking to," Mal added. "Uncle Zeus is basically on dad's 'dead to him' list."
"Very true," Uma nodded.
"What about now?" Poseidon asked, looking over at Hades.
"…jury's still out," Hades said after a moment. "Unless you were asking about yourself Po-Po, which in that case, the answer is that you will always be the brother I talk to. You know what it's like to be eaten as a baby."
"I feel that we've once again gotten off track," Jay chuckled. "Sorry captains but otherwise this'll turn into an hour long 'Zeus bashing' session."
"Good idea Jay," Mal said, nodding her head slowly as weak chuckles that filled the room.
"Oh please, we all know it would have gone longer than an hour," Uma said as she shook her head.
Mal rolled her eyes but turned back to Ben. "What's with all the questions about the Isle? Has something happened?"
"Brace yourselves…" Lucy whispered.
"That's one word for it," Emir muttered and Akiho elbowed him in the side.
Ben sighed. "I started doing some research into the food going to the Isle Mal. It…it appears as though the food being rotten was deliberate."
Everyone turned to glare at Leah…well those who had been in the room when it had been revealed during the break when Milah had arrived.
"I feel as if they know something we don't," Smee whispered to Sammy.
"Hopefully we'll find out soon so we'll be in the loop," Sammy whispered back to her father as both Ben and Persephone had to calm Mal and Hades down from firing off the fire balls they'd formed.
The six VKs stilled, as if they were unsure how to react.
"What?" Mal hissed, her eyes once again flashing green and she got up, beginning to pace. "All the deaths, all the suffering everyone experienced on the Isle…that was deliberate?!"
And I can't smite that waste of oxygen now why? Hades thought with a growl. He was furious but he was also trying to avoid traumatizing the youth. Or the youthier youth, like the Smee twins who were once again curling up in their father's side as growls started to be heard throughout the room.
Because smiting someone will likely traumatize Hadie, Malinda thought back to him. Besides, Leah gets her just desserts dad.
…why do I have a feeling like it's going to be rather enjoyable for us to read about said desserts?
Let's just say making an alliance with the hyenas proved to be wonderful. I won't spoil it for you though.
That's okay. I'm just picturing the geriatric waste of oxygen running afoul the hyenas now and I'm as happy as a clam.
"My mother might have survived giving birth to the runt had she had decent food!" Harry growled.
Milah quickly wrapped CJ up in her arms as she remembered the question her youngest had asked when they read the previous scroll.
"It wasn't your fault," Milah whispered in CJ's ear. "It was never your fault."
Harry rolled his eyes as he watched the mother/daughter embrace. Why should the Runt get their mother's attention when she was at least partially responsible for both their mother's death and their father's change?
Jay nodded, his face stony. While his mother didn't die in childbirth like Harry's did, she still would have benefited from decent food.
"We all would have," Sammy said, her voice soft as she held her brothers close. My brothers might have actually grown up knowing our mom had we had edible food, she thought.
Gil and Carlos remained silent; they'd been one of the few lucky VKs to not have anyone they knew die due to the poor quality of the food but they were still familiar with the issue.
"Gil's always worried about his sisters," Hadie said, his voice soft. "Gaston doesn't acknowledge them after all so they had to form a gang themselves for protection but they're even lower ranked than the Casters so getting food spots is few and far between for them. I doubt anyone in the higher gangs actually know they exist."
"…you talk to Gil?" Mal asked, tilting her head.
"He is part of the crew after all," Hadie shrugged.
Harry scoffed. "Barely. Fish for Brains is protection level at best and that's all he'll be."
"That's a Captain's decision Harry," Uma reminded him.
After all, they had been under Pirate/Warf Rat protection.
"Even if we constantly questioned why one of them was under protection," Harry muttered under his breath.
Meanwhile Mal was still ranting. "All the kids who were crushed by the stampedes at the barge, trying to get their shot at something edible! All the stillborns, all the kids who died from dehydration, from allergic reactions…Gods you all call us the monsters! The villains!"
She's right, Esmeralda thought. What Leah did is worse than anything any of the villain have done. Well…with the exception of maybe Frollo.
"Mal, I'm furious too but you need to calm down," Ben said, as if trying to sooth a wild beast. "Akiho's working to get the footage from the docks and Chip's talking to the captain of the ship."
"I promise you guys, nothing will be prioritized over this," Akiho nodded.
"Well seeing as we already have the footage this time, that's not something we have to worry about," Uma told him.
"Footage?" Elsa asked.
"You'll find out," Anna sighed.
"Unfortunately, it's likely that we won't get that footage for a month," Akiho said. "The guy in charge's on vacation."
"So call his backup!" Hadie exclaimed. "It's seriously going to take a month for our scroll selves to learn the truth?"
"Hads is right," Celia nodded. "There's got to be a way to streamline this!"
"A month?!"
"Something tells me Mal's not the most thrilled about that," Macaria said, her voice soft. Not that she blamed her cousin for her anger.
Mal had never felt anger like this before, it was pure unadulterated fury. Beast better hope he doesn't meet me in an abandoned room, she thought as unbeknownst to her, her magic began to bubble up.
"I mean…he'd kinda deserve it if he did," Evan muttered.
She'd had flare ups before since coming to Auradon but nothing like this.
"Mal…" Uma said as Mal stopped pacing, the squidling recognizing the signs of a flare up.
"If this is anything like dad's flare up when he found out that Pain was wearing Hercule's merchandise, I'd say it'd be better to get out of the room," Hadie said.
"Hit the deck!" Harry called, pulling Uma and Jay down; Carlos doing the same for Gil.
"Oh why? It's not like Mal would have hurt Fish for Brains anyway," Harry whined, pouting slightly at the lack of Gil torment.
It was a good thing too because not a few seconds later a fireball hit the wall where Gil's head had formerly been.
"Still think it was a bad idea for DeVil to pull Gil down?" Uma asked, looking at Harry.
"…no, cap'n," Harry muttered. Hey, he might have hated Gil and wished he didn't have to interact with him but he didn't wish death on the blond.
The Isle had too much death on it for Harry to actively want to wish it on someone else. Well, other than Freddy of course.
"Oh Gods," Mal whispered, horrified, as she calmed down and realized what she'd done. "I'm so…Gil I didn't mean…I gotta go!"
"Oh the poor dear," Fairy Godmother shook her head. "Flair ups happen, and it's to be expected after sixteen years of her magic being forcefully suppressed that it flared up there."
"Mal!" Ben called but Mal had already rushed out of the room.
"So…Mal doesn't find out who's behind the food delays I'm guessing?" Akiho said as he and Emir patted the flames with their jackets to put it out.
Note to self, give Ben a fire extinguisher for his office, Beast thought. It was an innocuous enough that Ben probably wouldn't realize it was for moments such as this.
Ben shook his head. "No. I'm not keeping secrets from her. I'm more worried about that flare up."
Ben and Benji both frowned worriedly. Ben because he was worried about what was happening with Mal and Benji because he couldn't help but wonder if that was the start of Natalie's torment and he'd missed the signs.
"What did you expect Ben?" Uma asked. "Biological offspring of Maleficent and daughter of Hades coming to a land of magic after having it basically suppressed for her life? She needs more than three hours a week."
"Then she will get it," Ben said with a nod of his head.
"And she'll get that," Ben nodded. "I'll talk to Fairy Godmother right now. Akiho, see if there's any way we can speed up that footage."
"Again, why not just talk to his backup?" Neal asked. "Unless he doesn't have a backup?"
Just then, Ben's cell phone rang before Akiho could even respond to Ben. Raising an eyebrow as he saw that it was Chip's number, Ben flipped open his phone and put the call on speaker.
"I think our scroll selves are about to find out what we already know," Uma muttered. Leah's days are numbered.
"You alone Benji?"
"If you count being in a room with Akiho, Emir, Uma, Gil, Jay, Carlos and Harry as being alone."
"Considering the fact those are all people that Chip trusts implicitly I wouldn't be surprised if he said he did count that as being alone," Lucas said.
"Oddly enough I actually do."
"Whatcha got Chip?"
"See? What'd I tell you?"
"I hope you're sitting down Ben. The captain was all too eager to give me the information. Apparently, the Beauty Matriarch from Hell is a pain in the butt to deal with."
"No, you don't say! And here I thought she'd be downright pleasant and cheerful!" Ashaki said, shaking her head.
Ben paused, as if processing the information for the very first time. Chip didn't mean…no, he couldn't…could he?
"Chip, you're not…you don't mean Leah do you?"
"No Ben, clearly scroll-me means the other geriatric royal who I refer to with that nickname!"
"Okay, I think that's enough sarcasm," Abby said, shaking her head. "But seriously Ben, how could you not think Chip meant Leah?"
Benji sighed. "I was shocked okay?"
"Well, that's the end of the scroll," Aziz said. "Who wants to read next?"
"I'll read," Kitty said.