Truth or Fiction Chapter 89, a descendants, 2015 fanfic

Chapter Eighty Nine

A/N: I do not own anything other than my OCs when they come out to play. Everything else belongs to Disney and the Greek Myths.

Yes, yes, I know this chapter came out super fast but I have AmethystDragon14 to thank for helping me out with the comments. Because I'm going to be honest, I probably would have done my best to avoid this chapter for as long as possible otherwise.

Hope you all enjoy this chapter! Let me know what you think!

Kristoff unfurled his scroll, unsure why he had a shiver of dread run up his spine.

Ryan tightened his belt as he left the crew's quarters and started to make his way down the gangplank.

Malinda froze as she realized what was about to happen in the scroll, who Ryan was about to find. She could only hope that wouldn't happen this time around.

The food barge had just arrived, meaning they were likely to have a doozy of a time cleaning up the trampled bodies that were a usual side effect.

"Worst day of the month," Hades sighed, Persephone gently rubbing the back of his hand with her thumb.

Lately, though, the crowds have been bigger and bigger. Ever since that old bat had come to the Isle. It was as if the residents were expecting a change in the food quality.

Henry shuddered slightly. A bigger crowd at the food barge…well it could only mean one result.

More food for the hyenas.

Ryan wasn't exactly sure why they were expecting that. Twenty plus years hadn't changed anything about the food they ate, why would a new resident?

"Because the 'new resident' was the reason for the horrible food and now you all will get edible food and won't have to queue like this!" Akiho cheered.

But then again, there hadn't been a new resident in over twenty years with the exception of the babies born on the Isle.

"Babies that should have been taken off the Isle at birth," Esmeralda said.

Though Mal had been working hard to try to get some decent food sent over to the Isle. Mal and Uma both in fact, from what they told the crew the last time they were over on the Isle.

"I wonder what's taking so long, especially now that Leah's off the council?" Anna asked.

"I can think of at least one person who might be delaying the process if he's still there," Elsa said, thinking of a certain duke.

"Hey, fair warning, it looks like it's a bad one," Nick warned him as they made their way to the barge. "Gods, how many people showed up this time?"

"How…how bad do they get?" Akiho asked.

Jay sighed. "You don't want to know."

"It looks like a third of the Isle," Ryan sighed, though he knew realistically it probably was a lot less than that. "The hyenas are going to eat well tonight, that's for sure."

"Though they're not usually one third of the Isle bad," Harriet said with a slight frown.

"Hell, the lions and Shere Khan, his girlfriend and son might eat well tonight as well," Jake nodded. "I don't think there are enough hyenas to eat all of these people before they start decaying."

"The…the tiger has a girlfriend?" Emir asked.

Evie nodded. "He also runs a pawn shop."

"Evie's the only one he likes," Hadie added.

"And on that morbid note, let's get started," Henry told them.

"Different month, same routine," Malinda sighed.

"I'll talk to the barge attendants, see if there was any trouble. Well, besides the usual mess. You lot start clearing the bodies. Remember—."

"Our people and anyone twelve and under get a pirate burial. Everyone else is fair game for the hyenas," Derek nodded.

"That's something we have practically memorized," Harriet sighed.

"I think I've given that order too many times," Henry shook his head, his red hair flopping into his blue eyes.

"We all have," Uma said with a small sigh, her voice soft.

"It's the life of the Isle," Nick shrugged and the three boys split off to look over the bodies of the people who had simply wanted a chance to secure a month of decent food; Jake and Dustin going off in another direction in order to save time.

Hades shook his head. "You kids shouldn't have to deal with that, it should be up to the adults," he whispered.

Never before had it sunk in just how lucky Ryan was as when he had to clean up the barge after a delivery.

"Damn you Leah," Aurora whispered.

He was a Rat. He had the ability to access Lord Hades restaurant or Ursula's if for some reason he was bored with the Greek food.

"Knowing Ry, though, that would never happen," CJ said, shaking her head at the very thought.

James chuckled. "Are you saying that because you know your best mate or because Lord Hades is here?"

"…Yes?"

The other gangs didn't have that, and the Gods forbid you were a gang less guy or girl on the Isle…

"But that's changing," Emir said. "That won't be the reality for the Isle anymore."

Ryan paused as he came across a familiar teal blue coat, one that had been formerly Uma's before she outgrew it and added it to the storage pile in case they got any new girls to their crew.

"Why is someone outside the crew wearing your jacket?" Celia asked, looking over at Uma.

"Ryan must have given it to her," Uma said, though she had a small sense of dread run through her body.

No...she'd been so certain she'd be fine. That she'd be able to weave in and out of the mob, that she wouldn't have been touched.

Henry stilled. "No…" he gasped. Please don't let there be someone Ryan knows in there!

"Kristy?" Ryan whispered as he ran over to her, kneeling down by her body. "Kristy, come on. Stop playing around! You've got to wake up!"

Claudine froze, her mind recapping information from previous scrolls. Particularly a bit about Fred 'befriending' a Rat in training who was always around Ryan… "Fred…what did you do?!"

"I think I'll have a soul to deal with when we get out of here," Hades said as all the VKs seemed to glare in realization. "And I'm not even mad."

He knew Nick, Derek, Jake and Henry were probably looking at him. He knew the hyenas were probably waiting for them to clear out so they could eat. But Ryan didn't care.

"They're not eating her! She means something to Ryan so that's all we need to know to classify her as one of ours," CJ said firmly.

"They couldn't even if they wanted to. Our deal is our people and kids twelve and under," Uma said.

All he knew was he held his little sister in his arms, her tiny body broken beyond almost all recognition. And she wasn't waking up.

A silence fell over the group as Kristoff read that, everyone looking at each other in shock. It didn't take too much time before the older siblings rushed over to their younger ones and held them close. Well…almost all of them.

CJ had stood up and begun to rant, her eyes shining with unshed tears as she could only picture Ryan going through that without her there to help him.

"Come on! Kristy, come on! Please! Wake up!" Ryan urged, shaking Kristy a little in his quest to get his little sister to open her eyes. To give him a playful little smirk at the realization that he'd been worried about her.

"Hades…couldn't you do something?" Hera asked, her voice soft as her heart broke for the young

mortal.

Hades sighed as he looked at his sister-in-law. "I couldn't even if I wanted to. Life or death…that's the Fates' decision. I just handle them after they die," he said. "And if you remember correctly Hera, the fact that they've had to make and cut so many threads is the reason we're all here reading."

Yeah he'd be mad at her for a second for playing a prank like that but it wouldn't matter because she'd be alive.

Evan shook his head. "No…no one would pull a prank like that…it'd be too cruel," he whispered.

Minutes passed and her eyes didn't move. Her lungs didn't fill with air and Ryan's ears didn't hear the melodious sound of her laugh.

"Come on Kristy…wake up," Squirmy said softly. "Make Ryan happy."

The sound that came from Ryan's lips as he realized his sister wasn't waking up couldn't exactly be described as human.

Henry stood up and walked over to the nearest wall, punching it with all his might. He'd failed. He'd failed as a Captain to protect his crew and he failed as a brother to keep Ryan from harm. Physical or emotional.

"Hey, hey," Claudine said gently, rushing over to him and gently rubbing her thumb over his bruised knuckles. "Hurting yourself won't help Ryan and we can make sure this would never happen in the future. Our Kristy's still alive."

Gently leading him back to the group, Claudine held him close; one hand gently brushing over the bruised knuckles while the other softly brushed away the tears that were streaming down Henry's cheeks.

"WAKE UP! KRISTY!" Ryan shouted, and Derek and Nick came running over. Tears prickled in Ryan's green eyes as he continued to shake and urge Kristy to wake up.

Estelle looked around the room, trying to pick one of the sad hoomans to comfort. He could sense the mood in the room but unfortunately he was only one Cerberus so he went over to who he thought needed it the most.

"Thanks boy," Henry whispered, his voice catching on his tears as Estelle rested his heads on his leg.

"Ryan, mate, you got to let her go. There's nothing you can do now. We'll take care of her," Derek said, keeping his voice low as to prevent anyone from overhearing. He wanted to give his friend privacy even if he was yelling at the top of his lungs.

"If there's other people around, why aren't they helping with the bodies instead of you kids?" Posideon asked.

"Because this way, we can make sure our deal with the hyenas gets fulfilled to the letter," Uma said softly.

"Get off me Derek," Ryan snapped before turning back to the girl, his voice devolving back to the pained scream as he urged the girl to wake up. "KRISTY, PLEASE. YOU GOT TO WAKE UP!"

"I know this is heartbreaking for Ryan but you have to feel bad for Derek too," Jay said. "His best friend, his brother, is hurting and there's no way to fix it."

Henry sighed as he quickly made his way over from the barge, more than a little concerned for his best friend. As gently as he could, he started to pry Ryan's grip from the dead girl.

"He's going to hate me forever for that," Henry whispered.

Claudine gently rubbed his back. "He could never hate you."

"HENRY, DON'T YOU TOUCH HER!" Ryan exclaimed, struggling against Derek and Nick's grip. "SHE'S NOT DEAD! KRISTY!"

Ryan's too young to have to deal with this, Hercules thought. No one's ever ready to deal with that…there're days I still remember all the emotions that raced through me when Meg died and I was not much older than Ryan is.

The pain in Ryan's voice would be a sound Henry would never be able to get out of his head, no matter how hard he tried.

"This isn't real…this isn't happening," Henry whispered even though he knew the Fates wouldn't lie to them.

"She's de—."

"SHE'S NOT DEAD! SHE CAN'T BE!" Ryan shouted, wrenching his shoulder from Derek's grasp as he continued to shake Kristy, her body flopping like a rag doll in his grip. "KRISTINE! WAKE UP!"

CJ coughed as a sob bubbled in her throat. "Ry…" she whispered. She knew the power of a full name, she was one of the few VKs who did, but she had a sinking feeling that the full name wasn't going to be enough to get Ryan what he wanted this time.

"Ry, we've...we've got to. Come on, it's okay. I'll make sure she's taken care of," Henry said softly as he looked over at Derek in concern. Their best friend seemed to be completely beyond reason at this point. "She's go—."

"Don't!"

"SHE'S. NOT. GONE! SHE'S JUST SLEEPING OR PULLING A PRANK OR SOMETHING!" Ryan shouted, but as his little sister continued to remain motionless, something in him snapped.

"He's fourteen," Esmeralda whispered. "He shouldn't be going through this…no one should have to go through this…"

It was as if part of his brain finally accepted it even as the other part valiantly fought to deny his reality. He slumped forward and Nick and Derek caught him before he landed in the pile of bodies that surrounded them.

"It almost sounds like he's gone into shock," Phoebus said. "He's going to need attention."

"Derek, Nick, get him out of here," Henry said, making sure the order was as gentle yet as firm as he possibly could. "Jake, Dustin and I can finish up here."

"I should go with him," Henry whispered.

"Guys, no. Don't, I'm fine," Ryan said softly as Derek started to lead him back to the ship. "Guys, seriously. Guys, get...GET OFF ME! NO! HENRY, DON'T YOU TOUCH HER! SHE'S NOT DEAD! GUYS!"

"I hope Derek and Nick are strong…because Ryan's not going to let go of her even if his life depended on it," Lucas whispered. "I know I wouldn't."

Lucas also knew that, Gods forbid, if anything happened to his brother Liam; the only reason he'd let go of his body would be to deal with whoever hurt his little brother in the first place.

"Gods, I don't know who this girl is but if CJ catches him carrying on like this, she'll be jealous for sure," Nick muttered to Derek.

"Really Nick? Really?!" CJ exclaimed as she continued to pace around. "Ryan's going through hell and you make a comment like that?! And why would I be jealous? Jealous that my best friend is in pain?!"

"Oh yeah, Nick's dead when we get back," Harriet muttered, looking at her sister.

"I'll help her," Henry muttered.

"If my hands weren't full making sure my best mate didn't run back there, I'd hit you," Derek said shortly.

"Do it anyway," CJ muttered, tears running down her face at the thought of her best mate going through that and Nick making those kinds of comments.

Ryan was scrambling against their grip, acting almost like a determined badger than a fourteen year old boy. It was clear that the girl had meant something to their friend and Derek wasn't going to let anyone in the crew taint her memory for Ryan.

"Badgers can be almost feral when they want to be and I'm sure Ryan's proving that now," Ben whispered.

They made their way back to the ship and CJ scurried over to them, concern evident in her eyes.

"I should have been there for him," CJ said, shaking her head.

"What happened?" She asked, looking at Derek. "Harriet said there was a stampede at the barge but she didn't give any details."

"And that's a good thing," James said softly; thankful that there hadn't been any stampedes this bad in his time.

"Let me get Ryan to the crew's quarters and I'll fill you in then," Derek promised.

"Captain's quarters would have more privacy, anyone can walk into the crew's quarters," Henry whispered, Claudine gently rubbing his back.

"Do the Captain's quarters," Harriet said as she walked up. "Henry won't mind and something's clearly bothering Ryan. The crew's quarters aren't the best for privacy and the Captain's quarters has a door that locks."

"Seems Harriet had the same thought as you Henry," Sammy said softly as she held her little brothers close to her.

Derek nodded and the four of them made their way to the Captain's quarters. Mal and Uma had taken up lodging here when they weren't spending the night in their clubhouse or with their parents.

"Well yeah…shouldn't that be kinda obvious considering they had the Captain title?" Neal asked.

After Uma left to go to Auradon, Henry had reluctantly taken up lodging to free up a mattress in the crew's quarters.

"Hey it's not mine, I'm just keeping the seat warm for them," Henry said with a small shrug.

But nine times out of ten, the quarters remained empty as Henry spent the night with the crew in their quarters. After all, as he liked to say, he was only the acting Captain.

"Acting Captain is still Captain," Jay said.

"Ry, it's okay," CJ said softly as they led Ryan to one of the two beds. Tears spilled silently from Ryan's face as he shook his head, wiping fiercely at his cheeks as if to deny the existence of the tears. His...his sister...his baby sister...she was gone.

Chad leaned over and gently took Kitty and Lucy's hands, giving them both gentle squeezes as he could see the tears in their eyes. He knew he'd feel the same if anything happened to his sisters, even if their relationship wasn't the firmest.

If only he hadn't wasted so much time in asking Henry if she could join the crew...

He hadn't planned on asking him, not until she was thirteen.

"Why is he waiting? Why does there have to be a specific age to join if it's for her safety?" Ruby asked.

Uma sighed softly. "Sometimes…we can be stupid when it comes to our younger siblings."

A pirate's life wasn't the best and she was still an innocent beam of sunshine. The Isle hadn't squashed that love of life from her yet.

"And sometimes it never does," Hadie said, looking over at Dizzy.

And then this morning...Gods, this morning…

"I'm not sure I want to know…" Rowyn whispered.

"What do you mean you have a new ally?" Ryan asked as he turned to look at his sister.

"Exactly that," Kristy nodded. "I'm just like you now Ry! I've got my own crew!"

"No Kristy, I'm sorry to say that you have the exact opposite of your own crew," Claudine said softly.

Ryan shook his head. His sister was rather sheltered for someone from the Isle, he had made it so she didn't have to deal with the nastiness that the crew dealt with.

"She'd be an under fifteen Ryan…we'd keep her innocent," Mal whispered.

"Ryan!"

"Be there in a minute Derek!" Ryan called back. Despite the fact that he often slept on the ship, there were days when he spent the night with his dad and sister.

Note to self, keep an eye on Williams if this is the same one in my crew, James thought, his mind going to the low level deckhand of his crew. Especially now that I know he's got two young ones to look after.

He didn't avoid his home because he had a bad relationship with either of them, but because it might put a target on Kristy if anyone knew he was connected to her.

"If he's so worried about her safety though, wouldn't it be a better idea to get her into the Rats sooner?"

"He's not that bad Ryan," Kristy told him. "You should at least meet him."

"What's he look like? I might have already done that," Ryan said.

"As has been said, the Isle's not that big," Sammy said softly.

"Tall, black hair, grey eyes—."

"Freddy?!" Ryan exclaimed, turning and looking directly at Kristy. "Your ally is Freddy Frollo?!"

"Keep him away from Kristy!" Lonnie growled. "Keep him away from any of the young girls for that matter!"

"Oh…that won't be a problem," Uma promised, the steely tone of her voice sharp enough to cut through the tension in the room. Freddy's death was imminent, he just didn't know it yet.

Kristy rolled her eyes. "I know you have your issues with him but really, he's not that bad. He suggested I make the run to get food from the barge this month rather than you since you do so much for the family."

"God, Fred really does have a silver tongue," Claudine sighed and shook her head. "Ryan's a Rat, he's got the best access to food on the Isle. There's no need for her to go anywhere near the food barge."

"Kristy, you stay away from him! Freddy is nothing but trouble!" Ryan snapped. Oh it was a good thing she'd be getting off of the Isle, he'd already made plans to get her application sent in with the rest of them.

"Listen to him Kristy!" Emma pleaded.

"I'm twelve, not two! You can't tell me who I can or can't talk to!" Kristy snapped back at him. "I can't believe you Ryan! You always come here, complaining when the crew treats you like a child and now you're doing the same thing to me!"

"Trust me Kristy, this isn't the usual 'you're a child' lecture. You need to stay away from him!" Malinda urged.

"I'm just trying to protect you!"

"Well stop! I don't need your protection!" Kristy told him. "I'm going to the barge and I'll get the food. I'm smaller than you, I'll be able to weave in and out of the mob."

"Ryan, take her to the ship and tie her to the mast! She can't go!" Celia cried

Before Ryan could say anything, she stormed out of the house. Shaking his head in frustration, Ryan walked out to meet Derek. The pair walked to the ship in silence, Derek looking at his friend in concern as Ryan fumed.

"No! Tell Derek! There's still time to head Kristy off!" Herkie shouted.

"Henry?" Ryan asked as he got onto the deck. "Can I have a word?"

"Of course."

"In...in private?" Ryan added. He was asking a lot sooner than he wanted but if Freddy was going after his sister, Ryan knew his plans meant nothing. His sister's safety was everything right now.

"Too late…" Ashaki whispered brokenly.

"Sure," Henry nodded, looking at Derek in slight confusion but the other boy could only shrug. The pair of them walked into the Captain's quarters and closed the door.

"Derek should know!" Audie cried. "He could run and grab her!"

"What's up Ry?" Henry asked, turning to look at the smaller boy.

Ryan sighed. "I...I was wondering if we could bring a new member into the crew?"

"Depends on who it is," Henry stated. "This person wouldn't be the reason why you've been acting so odd now, is it?"

"You...you noticed that?"

"I mean…we do have eyes Ry," Henry said softly but even joking like that felt wrong.

"Ryan, you've been sneaking off the ship with food and taking clothes that in no way could fit you considering they're usually Uma's or Sammy's old things. I think even the Gaston twins would notice you're being strange."

"That's debatable," Harry sighed. Even insulting the Gaston twins didn't have the same joy to it. Not when he knew his crew mate was going through something, even if he hadn't gone through it yet.

Ryan sighed. He thought he'd been careful not to be noticed by anyone. CJ certainly hadn't said anything and she was one of his best friends.

"Because that's what best friends do. We keep each other's secrets," CJ whispered.

"I...I have a little sister," Ryan said after a minute or two of silence. "She's twelve and I want to make sure she's safe and secure right now."

"A sibling can be brought in at any age," Malinda said.

Henry shook his head. "Ryan, you know we always have room for new members. Especially if that new member is a sibling of an existing crew member. The Hook siblings are the best example of that. At some point I want to know why you felt the need to keep her a secret from us or how I didn't know about her before now but that doesn't matter right now. Go get her."

"Go get her now! I mean…even if she was injured…you could patch her up right?" Hadie said.

"Yes Henry," Ryan nodded. He had expected he'd have to explain his reasoning at some point but that didn't matter right now. He could keep Freddy from her.

"I can promise you Ry, Freddy's not going to be able to think about your sister," Henry growled.

A pounding on the door brought Ryan out of his thoughts and Henry quickly strode over and opened the door.

"Stampede at the barge," Derek said and Ryan felt his blood run cold. His sister was at the barge. She...she wouldn't be...no, she'd be fine.

CJ shook her head. No…she won't be Ry… she thought.

She had to be.

"She will be," Ben said softly. "I'll issue her an invitation for the next group."

CJ gently rubbed Ryan's back as he buried his face in her shoulder, desperately trying to keep the tears at bay despite the fact that they had already escaped his eyes and were flowing freely down his face.

"…Freddy made my best friend cry…doo dah, doo dah. Freddy now is gonna die, oh the doo dah day. Don't matter to me, if his sis might be family. He made Ry cry, he's gonna die, oh the doo dah day!"

Harriet shook her head. "I can't even find it in me to scold her," she said as everyone looked over at CJ who seemed to be singing a ditty she'd made up right then and there.

"My fault...it's all my fault..." Ryan muttered, his voice so soft it was only audible to CJ.

"It's not though," Emma whispered.

"What was your fault?" CJ asked, holding him close to her.

"Nothing," Harriet said. "Nothing was his fault. It was Freddy's and we'll make sure he pays for it."

"She's dead...she can't be dead though...I talked to her just an hour ago...she's probably going to come up the...the gangplank with Henry…"

"She will…just not in the way Ryan and everyone else wants," Eugene whispered.

CJ looked over at Derek, Nick, and Harriet in concern. "What's he talking about? Who's dead?"

"Maybe…maybe it'd be better not to ask that right in front of Ryan," Elle said softly.

"His sister," Henry said as he slipped into the quarters, having used the key he kept as acting Captain. He sat down on Ryan's other side and gently rested a hand on his shoulder.

Benji smiled sadly. At least Ryan's got a good support system in all this…if one needed to find a silver lining, he thought.

"She's not...she was fine…"

"Denial…the first stage of grief…" Phillip whispered sadly.

"She's in the brig, ready for one of the girls to prep for burial," Henry said softly. "Ryan, I'm so sorry...she would have been a good crew member."

Ariel shook her head. "Gods…they're children and they have a system for burials," she whispered; Eric holding her close to him.

Ryan shook his head and bit his lip, as if trying to stay strong in front of the older boys in the crew. CJ continued to rub Ryan's back but sat in silence.

Jay shook his head. "Derek and Henry won't care about you not being 'strong' or anything like that. Family lets family grieve."

Or at least they should, he thought as foggy memories of when he was four filled his head; walking around Maleficent's castle shoving down tears after his mom died because his dad had said crying attracted attention which was the last thing you wanted for a thief.

"I should have been there..." Ryan said softly. "I could have...I could have pulled her out of there…"

"Don't….Ry please…" Henry said softly.

"Ryan, if you had been there, you might have gotten crushed too," Henry said, keeping his voice gentle. "You saw all the bodies that were out there."

If Ryan had gotten crushed, Henry would never be the same, Claudne thought as she looked over at the love of her life.

Harriet shook her head. A good captain Henry might be but he clearly didn't know the right words to say to someone who was hurting. The last thing Ryan would have wanted would be thinking about his sister in the belly of a hyena or crushed by the feet of an older Isle dweller.

Harriet looked over at Henry and gave him a small smile. "Sorry…"

"Well I mean…to cut him some slack, as has been said, there aren't protocols for this," Emir said softly. "Besides…what do you say?"

Still though…being tactful is important, Aziz thought.

"Ryan, trust me," Harriet said softly as she knelt down in front of the younger boy, the same way she would have done for Harry or CJ. "I never met your sister but she wouldn't want you beating yourself up over this."

"Speaking as a younger sibling…she wouldn't," Emir whispered.

"We...we got into a fight," Ryan said, his voice still incredibly soft. "Before I got on the ship. And I'll...I'll never get to take those words back...never get to tell her I didn't mean them…"

"She knows though…she knows you didn't…" Rowyn said softly.

"What were the words?" Nick asked.

"Why does that matter?!" CJ exclaimed, glaring at the scroll even as tears continued to spill down her

cheeks.

Milah and Harriet both moved to comfort her but, to everyone's surprise, Harry beat them to it. Gently wrapping his arms around CJ, he said "come on…let's sit back down."

Slowly walking her back to his seat, he said "come on lass…it's okay…just cry for him. It's okay CJ…just let it out lassie."

"We haven't fallen down the rabbit hole have we?" Hadie whispered to Celia as CJ buried her face into Harry's chest and finally let out the tears that had been building up.

"If we have, I'm happy for CJ. How long has she wanted Harry to treat her as a sister?" Celia whispered back.

Both Harry and CJ missed the proud smiles both James and Milah gave them.

"They don't matter," Derek said quickly. "Ryan, trust me. The words you told your sister don't matter. Your sister knows you cared for her and that you'd do anything to make sure she was safe."

"Thank Gods for Derek," Henry sighed.

Claudine shook her head. "Nick might be used to the death and destruction of the Isle but this is the first time one of your crew's been impacted…there'd be no protocols or precedent…"

"Clearly, considering none of us knew she existed until now," Nick muttered and winced as Derek whacked him over the head.

"Hope it hurt him," Jay muttered.

"You've decided to take Dustin's role as prat today haven't you?" Derek shook his head and sighed as Ryan seemed to almost curl into a small ball; his arms wrapped around his knees and pulling them close to his body.

"Yeah what is with Nick right now?" Mal asked.

"Ryan, you can cry," Henry said softly. "You really think anyone here's going to judge you for that? You just found your sister's body, after she died in probably the most horrendous way possible."

"She really did," Malinda whispered. Henry had told her that Kristy's body had been completely crushed; there hadn't been a bone that wasn't broken.

"How old was she?" Harriet asked.

"Tw...twelve," Ryan told her, choking back a sob.

"Too young, far too young," Chip whispered.

Harriet gave him a sad smile. "You don't have to be strong Ryan. Do you really think that if Sammy found Squeaky or Squirmy's bodies after a stampede at the barge that she'd be even able to form a complete sentence?

Sammy shook her head. "I'd be catatonic, I don't know how Ryan's even able to form a sentence," she whispered, sobs choking her voice as she held Squeaky and Squirmy to her.

Do you think that if anything happened to Harry or CJ that I wouldn't be tearing off the head of the person who hurt them?

"I would keelhaul them and feed their dismembered body parts to crocodiles let alone just 'tear off their head!" Harriet exclaimed, her voice thick with tears. "Remember my father once shot someone because he disliked their singing, no one wants to know what else I have in my temper if someone touches my siblings!"

Freddy almost tasted my steel because of a comment he made about CJ, I can guarantee it'd be the last thing anyone did if they actually hurt my sister, Harry thought, never noticing that he referred to CJ by her name rather than 'the Runt' for the second time.

Do you think Uma wouldn't be sending tidal waves into the Isle if Celia got hurt?

"I'd do more than a mere tidal wave if someone tried to hurt Lia or Freddie for that matter," Uma whispered.

And you know Mal would be introducing the idiot who thought it was a good idea to hurt Hadie with a fireball without thinking."

"That's if the idiot survived the wrath of mom and dad for even thinking of hurting Hadie," Mal said, shaking her head.

Or Rea, Malinda thought, thinking about her younger sister who was not even a thought in her parents' heads yet.

Ryan shook his head again. You're not going to be weak, not in front of two captains...not in front of your best mates...you are a pirate of the Isle of the Lost, you do not cry...you cry, you die remember.

"For Gods' sake this is not the time for that!" Aziz exclaimed. "How could anyone think he was weak for crying over that?"

But try as he might, he just couldn't keep the tears at bay. He buried his face into his knees and his shoulders began to shake with silent sobs.

Aziz silently pulled Emir and Ashaki to him once more, holding them close. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Emma do the same with Neal and Rachel do the same with her gaggle of siblings. Chad also pulled Kitty and Lucy to him, though he didn't have to with Alexandria as she had almost launched herself at him.

To everyone's surprise, however, Audrey pulled Phil Jr. to her. Though if there was anything that would open the 'sibling bond', it would be something like this.

None of the other crew members said anything, Derek and Nick leaning against the door to prevent anyone else from barging in and to give Ryan as much privacy as possible. Henry rested a gentle hand on Ryan's back.

"I doubt any of the crew would try to get into the Captain's Quarters right then," Uma said softly.

Let it out mate, he thought. I'm right here, it's alright. You're not weak. You're just a sibling, a grieving sibling.

"He's never been weak and he's not weak now!" CJ said, shaking her head.

The crew continued to remain silent, even as Ryan's sobs grew to be audible. They knew their crewmate and knew that Ryan would probably try to stop the sobs if they said anything. And bottling everything up wouldn't be healthy.

"On the ship with them...it's our one place where no one will judge if we cry and especially not because of that," Jay said.

"You...you don't have to stay here," Ryan whispered, turning his head to look over at Henry.

"Yeah something tells me Henry's not going anywhere," Jay shook his head.

"You really think I'm leaving you alone when you're upset?" Henry asked.

"Not on his life," Henry said, shaking his head.

"You're acting Captain Henry, there's stuff that matters more than me—."

"Nothing that comes to mind," Henry told him and gently rubbed his back.

"Ryan's more important than any captain duty," Henry said softly yet there was a bit of firmness to his voice that made it clear to everyone there that he meant every word.

Ryan was the closest thing that Henry had to a little brother and even if he wasn't, there was no way he'd leave him alone when he was upset like this.

"Who would leave anyone alone after that?" Emma asked.

Even if there was a part of him that yearned to check Dragon Hall to make sure Claudine was okay like he always did after a delivery, Ryan came first.

Claudine squeezed Henry's hand and gave him a small smile. "I'm sure I'm okay, you should be by Ryan's side," she said softly.

"He's right Ryan," Harriet nodded.

"You're both Captains—."

"I'm also an older sister," Harriet said. "Older sibling trumps Captain. Every time."

Harriet nodded. "Like my scroll self said. Every time," she whispered.

"And you're my best mate," CJ nodded. "I'm staying as long as you need me Ry. Wild seahorses couldn't drag me away."

This time, none of the VKs had the heart to make a crack about Ryan and CJ being the next Harry and Uma. Well, the VKs who normally made those types of cracks at least.

"Don't look at me mate," Derek stated. "I'm staying no matter what."

"They truly are his older brothers aren't they?" Jay whispered.

"You...you all can't stay," Ryan whispered. "What if someone in the crew needs you?"

"They've all been trained in what to do if there's an emergency," Uma said. "The crew can handle themselves."

Nick shrugged. "They're all big boys and girls. But if it makes you feel better Ryan, I'll go and be acting First Mate or something."

"Actually…who would be acting First Mate if Derek and Ryan were busy in a Captain Henry ship?" Uma asked.

"Sammy's out there and she's my First Mate," Harriet stated. "If anyone needs anything from one of us, she knows how to handle it."

Sammy gave Harriet a small smile, thankful for her confidence in her.

"That's not fair to her though," Nick pointed out. "Especially if she's looking after her brothers too."

"Thanks Nick," Sammy said with a sad smile.

Harriet gave Nick a small smile. "If you're sure Nick..."

"I'm sure," Nick told her. He didn't really know what he was doing in there anyway. Henry was acting Captain and he and Derek were Ryan's best mates alongside CJ. Plus there was the fact that everyone knew CJ and Ryan would end up together. And Harriet may not have been the closest to Ryan but she could provide some insight as an older sibling herself.

"Nick's part of the crew though, he'd want to help," Hadie whispered.

But what Nick could do would be to make sure no one bothered them. Give Ryan time to grieve in private.

"Okay…maybe Nick lives," Henry muttered.

"Is Ryan alright?" Jake asked as soon as Nick slipped out of the quarters and closed the door.

"No…" Rachel said softly. "And he won't be for a while…"

"How'd you—?"

"Bonny was in the crow's nest when you, Derek, and Ryan returned," Jake explained. "Everyone's concerned."

"I'm kinda surprised half the crew didn't bolt down the gangplank thinking someone was attacking Ryan when he started screaming," Jay said. "They would have never heard any of the crew like that before and with how loud he likely was, Bonny probably could have heard Ry from the ship…"

Nick sighed and turned to look at his best mate. "You know how Ryan's been sneaking off with food and clothing?"

"Actually…Jake might not notice. CJ, Henry, and Derek I could see but clearly most of the crew hasn't if it's kept quiet this long," Harry said.

"Yeah but I thought we were going to do an intervention with him on that?"

"There's...there's no need anymore. Turns out that was for his sister."

"Ryan's got a sister?"

"Yes and we're going to make sure it stays that way!" Henry said firmly.

Nick sighed and looked at the closed door of the Captain's Quarters. "Had a sister. She was at the barge today Jake."

Benji shook his head. "No matter what, Ryan will always have a sister…she just won't be visible to everyone else," he said, glancing over at Abby with a sad smile.

"Oh Gods," Jake sighed.

"Read my mind there," Nick nodded. "He's really shook up Jake. Understandable of course but...I dunno. I've never seen him like this."

Because you've likely never seen him mourning the death of his sister, Li'l Shang thought. Lonnie rested her head on his shoulder;having come over and sat next to him

"The crew will be with him," Jake promised. "Come on, let's let the others know. That way, Ryan doesn't have to talk about it if he doesn't want to."

"Shouldn't that be Ryan's news to share though?" Rose asked softly.

Nick nodded and the two of them scurried off to talk to the rest of the crew. They'd make sure Ryan was taken care of.

"Okay…Nick definitely lives," Uma said.

"We're still killing Freddy though right?" CJ asked, her voice choked with tears.