I really miss these characters and I'd always wanted to add this to the end, but the epilogue turned out to be the better proper epilogue. So, here are some bonus stories from before the Time Travelers were a solid team. Especially to show their home lives and backgrounds. Well not Reggie's in its entirety because his parents are very toxic and sad to see in my head. It's kinda helping my block with the next story.

Reggie's Perspective

"Hey, wizard," someone called. Reggie tensed automatically. Most of the Isle was set up like a city—with tons of dark stairways, roofs, and alleys to disappear into. But Reggie's house—castle really—was on the far side of the island, near Siren's Cove and the Silver Serpents' Seafaring Academy. His school, however, was at the base of Chernobog Mountain, near the Shriekwood. The only path between the two was a very, very, very long road called the Trail of Tortures. Fitting considering..."gonna do a spell for us?"

There they are. Reggie thought. Pirates. Since the walk from his school passed theirs, he always ran into at least one of the crews. And it was...sometimes bearable. He didn't look at them, continuing on. He just had to get home. Mother may be a bit...demanding, but she was nothing if not scary.

"Yeah, what a great idea," another voice said. Jolly Rogers came into his field of view but Reggie kept his eyes forward and continued to walk, breezing around him.

"How could we not realize this?" Dutch Manns asked, the blonde pirate grinning. "We can finally be free, we have Diamonds over here."

"Our hero," Golden Hind said, laughing. She spun around Reggie. "He can finally get us on the sea, I wanna loot something."

"That's what he's in that stupid school for, right?" Royal Fortune said. "Of course he can, can't you, Hart?"

"Do you guys think it's getting a little mean?" Sloop asked tentatively. He was the only one in the crew that didn't seem completely awful.

Reggie kept walking, ignoring them. He just had to get home. Mother would be on the grass playing croquet and she'd handle it.

"No, it's not mean," Golden said, "I said I wanna get to looting. Clovers, I love that bracelet. I wish I had one like it." Reggie sighed, taking the bracelet off and giving it to her. It was a lot easier than arguing.

"Ooo how nice," Dutch jeered. "Since you're in a giving mood—" Reggie took off his spade-shaped earrings and handed them over. He wondered what they'd ask for next. It would all be over when he finally got to the castle. Mum would probably come out swinging her croquet mallet. Reggie chuckled, remembering a time she hit Gil over the head with it. He really hoped she'd give Royal a proper whack to the head, she was the worst of the bunch.

"What's so funny, Hart?" Royal asked, stepping in front of him. He pulled back hurriedly so he didn't bump into her, but he leaned a bit too far. He completely lost his balance, stumbling back a few steps and falling. Blast, Reggie thought. He was wearing white pants and falling into the dirt was a no-no. His mother wanted to stick to white and black, along with a spades theme, today. If he came home dirty, it'd bother her as soon as she saw...even if he left the room after. And if it bothered her, he'd have to change. And if he changed, he'd stop matching her and Papa. So, if he changed, all three of them would have to change to match as a set or she'd start to panic. And mother hated changing when it wasn't her idea, so she'd get upset. Then he'd be in trouble. Being in trouble meant more choresandmorechoresmeantmoretimespent- "Hey!" Royal said, clapping in his face.

"Nothing's funny..." Reggie began, standing back up. He didn't meet Royal's eyes. He'd read somewhere that eye contact was seen as a challenge. "It was completely unrelated, I meant no offense, I'm sorry—"

They all laughed. "He's sorry!" Dutch laughed.

"What's going on here?" Someone asked. Reggie turned, noticing two people that he'd never met. The boy had brown hair, gold eyes, a strong build and he was tall...ridiculously tall. The girl had curly black hair, gray eyes, and...an amazing outfit. Reggie was transfixed by the brocade of her cloak, but she continued with an easygoing smile, "we wanna laugh too, guys."

"None of your business," Royal said, turning to the two newcomers. She looked between them. "Don't you have better things to do on this date or...whatever this is."

The girl giggled. "I just wanna make some new friends." She held out a hand. "Hi, I'm Gio, this is Shen, and you are?"

"Royal." She didn't take her hand. She took a step closer, getting in Gio's face. "Now let me be clear on one thing since I wasn't before. Get moving or get robbed."

Gio glanced at Shen amusedly. He nodded with a grin, and an identical one appeared on her face. Her gaze turned dangerous and Reggie was suddenly very nervous about being so close to the both of them. "Royal?" Gio mused. "With that breath?"

Royal's eyes flashed and Gio laughed. "I see you chose to get robbed."

"Nah, we didn't," Shen said. Royal drew her sword, holding it up with a bloodthirsty smile. Shen was quick though, looping an elbow around the arm she held the sword with. He stepped forward and pulled, twisting the both of them so they began to spin with her sword extended. She couldn't fight the way he'd held onto her arm and he was able to twirl her into her crew and send her spinning around toward her crew sword-first, completely out of control. She screamed and the rest of the crew screamed too.

Gio grabbed Reggie, pulling him as she ran down the path. Shen let go of Royal, the girl still dizzy enough to keep spinning, almost slashing Sloop. He followed behind Gio and Reggie as they escaped. "Hey," she said, laughing giddily as they ran. "What's your name?"

"Reginald," Reggie said, breathing harder. This was a bit more exercise than he expected to do in a three-piece suit. "But everyone calls me Reggie."

"They should call you liability," Shen said evenly, not breathing hard in the slightest as he passed and jogged in front of them backwards, keeping up with their pace. "What was the point of this little rescue, sweetness?"

"I can't do something nice without a point or motive?" Gio asked. Her gaze flicked to something and she motioned for the group to follow her off the path and down a hill. There was an old-timey car that was wrapped around a tree (if it was wrecked, this was definitely one of Cruella's many cars). They hid behind it and peeked to notice the pirates still running down the road. Gio giggled quietly. After a while, she stood back up, searching the path. "All clear."

Reggie stood, feeling uneasy. This was way too kind not to be suspicious. "Thank you guys for that," he said. "I'm truly grateful, I appreciate it."

"Oh, no need to thank us," Gio said sweetly. "We were in the woods anyway and I think Shen looks super hot when he's fighting, so..." Shen laughed but Gio looked Reggie up and down. "And someone as fashionable as you should never be picked on. Look at him, Shen."

Shen glared at him. "Look at what?"

"This is why I have to dress you, honey, you don't appreciate clothes," Gio said. She faced Reggie. "So you see the black rectangle patterns on his blazer, vest, and pants, that's the main interest of the outfit, right? And then the black shirt underneath it provides a little stability and grounds it, but the tie is both colors but the spade pattern kind of pops out."

"Yes," Reggie said happily. "That's exactly what I thought when I paired it, it matches Mum's outfit perfectly."

"Good eyes appreciate taste," Gio complimented.

"And I love your cloak so much!" Reggie said. "I've never seen material like it...and I've seen a lot of material, I have the needle scars to prove it."

"Oh, it's something I got altered, it was my mom's," Gio said charmingly. "She's old as time so we have a ton of old stuff she never wears." She gasped dramatically. "You said you sew, right?"

"Yes, all the time, everything my family wears," Reggie said, happy to speak to someone who didn't want to torment him.

Gio turned to Shen. "Do you think you and your sisters can scare the pirates into leaving poor Reggie alone? Please, for me?"

"Sure," Shen ground out. Gio hugged him and kissed his cheek.

"You are the best, absolutely perfect," Gio said. Reggie's heart lifted. The walk from school to his house was an hour every day if he rushed. If the pirates weren't going to—Gio continued and his heart dropped, "Shen will make sure they don't bother you and you could sew all my mom's old dresses and cloaks into new stuff for me and my sisters. And, like, do favors and errands for me."

"Um..." Reggie began. It sounded awfully like his mom. Chores every and getting bossed around. But the pirates...maybe this was the lesser of two evils. "I'm already doing chores for Mum so I suppose it's not any different."

"Yay!" Gio exclaimed, shaking his hand. "Consider yourself adopted. Isn't this perfect?"

Reggie forced himself to smile. "Perfect."

Maddie's Perspective

"If you can't get that ember from Hades, don't come back," Madame Medusa had said. Maddie was outside of Hades' lair, lurking in a shadowy alley across from the entrance. Her hair was rolled into a bun at the back of her neck with at least a dozen pins securing it. And a backpack was slung over her shoulder. She swiped a few chemicals from Yzma that morning and she'd used a trick with a stick, a clock, and a match to rig them to...perfect, just on time. The skull-themed gate opened. Hayden and Haddie walked out, the twins laughing about something. They had their backpacks, heading for school.

And it happened. There was a deafening BOOM as the explosion rang out. Everyone took off running, but Hayden and Haddie ran toward where it came from. They came back to their cave, screaming at each other about the restaurant. Hades Soulvlaki had, unfortunately, been vandalized by an explosion that took out one of its walls. Hopefully, no one would be hurt. The restaurant would definitely get robbed until it was repaired. But Maddie wasn't gonna spend another night sleeping on concrete when she had a bed with her name on it. Literally. It was carved onto the headboard in case someone stole it and she had to go looking for it.

Hades stomped out of the cave, screaming at his kids about interrupting him when he was "sleeping like the dead." They went to the restaurant and when they were too far to notice her, Maddie dashed across the street. She knelt down, picking the lock on the gate in record time. She ran in, ignoring the bike and sprinting as fast as she could. It was a long dash, but they'd be busy for a while. She got to the living space and searched for hiding places with an expert eye. She ignored the safes and considered where he'd have it close enough to always guard and obvious enough that no thieves would suspect it.

Maddie went to the recliner. She ran her hands along it, searching for hidden pockets or seams. When she found none, she checked underneath. Then she looked between the cushions and...she felt something rigid. She used a hairpin to tear into the leather, opening it and pulling something out to reveal...she was saved. A dim, blue crystal as big as an egg. She hid it in her boot and ran to get out, grabbing a ring and clutching it in her hand in case Hades or one of the twins came back and asked what she broke in to steal. But they didn't. Maddie got out of the cave and ran back home with a smile on her face.

Giovanna's Perspective

Gio got home to the tower after closing up the store. She'd just finished the late shift, which was technically the early morning shift. Isle time was different, everyone was almost nocturnal. The day started at 11am and ended at 3am. She got to the top of the tower, which served as their living room. Her sisters were laughing on the couch. Gianna (second oldest), Genevieve (third oldest), Giullianna (fourth oldest), and Gigi (youngest) all turned to her. "Did any mail come?" Gio asked.

"What a shocker," Gia began, "who knew Gio's skirts could get shorter than mom's temper?" Her sisters all laughed.

"What a shocker, who knew you could run your mouth with lipstick on your teeth?" Gio retorted, untying her cloak. Everyone cackled at that and Gio tossed over a compact. Gia opened the compact, wiping at her teeth with a napkin from her purse. "Crazy new invention, it's called a mirror."

"Ooo, did you get that burn the same place you got those ancient relics you call earrings?" Gen taunted.

"No, they're antiques," Gio said, smiling, as she assessed Gen, "but you have to have taste to appreciate 'em. Judging by those tragic sparkle boots, you don't. What are you, a fairy?"

A chorus of laughs rang out and Gen took off the boots. Gio turned to Giuli. But the second-youngest sister closed her eyes, laying back in an armchair. "Nope, I'll pass."

"Good," Gio said, "because I'd hate to comment on those chipped nails." Another roar of laughs. Giuli sighed, standing to go find some polish.

"Well..." Gigi began uncertainly, looking Gio up and down. "You need to fix your ugly face!" Everyone gasped, the laughter ceasing immediately. All the girls looked between Gio and Gigi.

Gio rolled her eyes, plopping on the couch next to Gigi. "You have split ends, that hairband is tacky, your pants are warm-toned but your shirt is cool-toned, and your makeup is atrocious," she fired off in rapid succession. Tears started to pool in Gigi's eyes and Gio sighed. She pulled out a wad of money, passing her sister a few bills. "Get your hair done today, try less makeup, and I'll help you pair your clothes." Gigi leaned closer to her and Gio leaned away. "We don't do these jabs just to call each other ugly. If something is wrong with our hair, or our makeup, or our clothes, it's better to hear it from each other than Thelly. We get to say something back and make it fun instead of—."

"And I'm not fun?" They all turned when they heard their mom's voice. Wait...their Thelly's voice because Hades forbid they ever implied she might be old enough to be a mother. "I'm fun, right, girls?"

"Yes, Thelly," they all droned in unison.

"Giovanna," Thelly said sweetly, "I've always loved your eye for detail, you never disappoint me by walking around looking as unkempt as your sisters like to." They sighed, but Gio smiled, waiting for Thelly to get tired of the sound of her own voice. "But I almost didn't recognize you with all the dirt you got on my cloak. Have you fallen in with a bad band of pigs or just given up?" She giggled. "Just joking of course, dear."

"I'll clean the cloak, Thelly," Gio said, standing and heading toward the stairs. "I'm tired, I think I'm gonna go to bed."

"No you won't," her mother said firmly. Gio stopped immediately. "We need privacy, girls." Her sisters all stood, scattering to go downstairs. "Let's play chess darling," she said kindly, "I love when we play chess together, sometimes you're almost as clever as I am."

"Thank you, Thelly," Gio said with a bashful smile, avoiding the urge to roll her eyes.

Her mother pulled a scroll from her own cloak. "Almost. I didn't know you and the king were in contact with one another."

Maddie's Perspective (A Long Run Later)

Madeline's house was out of the main town, farther inland by the Minacious Mire, a swamp that was totally disgusting. Awful smells and mosquitoes, but that just meant no one would bother them. The ground squelched under your shoes, sometimes giving way to a deep hole of water and mud. But it had trained Maddie to be careful of where she stepped and quick on her feet. There were crocodiles all over the place, but the Medusas had a way with them. Maddie, at least, knew how to sneak around them to stay safe—a good lesson on the Isle.

She made it home, an abandoned boat that had sunk into the waters of a swamp. That fact meant gravity made it difficult to walk across the floor naturally due to the tilt, but, hey...it's a balance lesson at all times. Gotta look on the bright side. When she went up the steps, she loved the familiar feeling of trying to fight how gravity and the tilt worked in tandem to try to pull her to the ground. Maddie took a breath and knocked on the front door.

"Hook, that crocodile wasn't one of..." her mom came out roaring, hair wild and green eyes set in a murderous glare. Her face didn't soften when she saw Maddie. If anything, the glare turned worse. "What?"

"Mom," Maddie said nervously, reaching into her boot to pull out the ember. She raised it and her mom's eyes widened. "Got it."

Her mom's face broke out in a smile and she lunged for Maddie. The girl tensed as her mother pulled her into a bearhug. "Oh, my sweet, sweet girl," Madame Medusa cried. She pulled back, holding Maddie's shoulders. "How did you know I wanted that?"

Same as always. Maddie never knew if it was just an act or if her mom wasn't aware of what she'd said before. "Just had a hunch, mom." Her mom snatched the jewel from Maddie and pulled her into the house. They passed all of the crocodiles that guarded the front door, one of them nudging Madeline affectionately as Mom led her to the table they used for at-home appraisals.

"I love you, darling," Madame Medusa hugged her again. "You're always so good to me. Let's have some fun, shall we?"

"You too, mom," Maddie said blandly. She and her mom worked in unison without having to speak about it. Cleaning it together before they examined it. Sandpaper test that didn't leave a scratch, a test on if it was clear enough to read a newspaper through, then mom used her loupe to examine it.

"Still warm despite the magic shields," Madame Medusa noted. "It's like Cruella's Ring of Envy, I've never gotten to examine that..."

Maddie felt like a psychic. Whenever her mom brought up any sort of jewel...Maddie put on a fake smile. "Mom, what if I went to get that ring for you?"

Her mom gasped before she smiled happily, tears appearing in her eyes. She pulled Maddie into a bone-crushing hug, the ember rolling onto the floor forgotten. "I'm truly amazing," she said happily, "I've raised the perfect daughter, I don't know what I'd ever do without you."

"Thanks, Mom," Maddie said. When her mom let her go, she turned. "I'll be back with it-"

"Madeline..." Her mom began ominously. Maddie turned back to see her mom staring at her intensely, arms crossed.

"Or I won't be back at all," Madeline beat her mom to saying it. She kept walking out, petting her favorite crocodile, Cesar. "See you soon, buddy." When she went out the front door and jumped off the porch, she really hated the way the gravity came down on her from the top of her head. Life never felt the same without the way her home was tilted.

Gio's Perspective (Further in the Match)

Gio was on the gray side and her mother was on the black side. Gio had actually managed to capture more pieces than her mother this time. Especially her mom's favorite piece, the queen. Gio was in possession of her own queen at the moment, considering her mom's next move. Her mom had a pawn that was a tile away from the end of the board on Gio's side. If it reached that final row, it could be traded for the queen that Gio had captured. Not happening.

"Very clever idea getting to the wand in the past instead of the present," Mother Gothel said. "It's always best to strike when someone's guard is down, from where they least expect it."

"Your guard should never be down, in my opinion." She moved her queen horizontally, capturing the pawn. She set it aside in the neat row of pieces she'd captured over the course of the game. "Like mine never is."

"Oh no." Thelly shook her head sadly. She considered something. "I have a surprising number of pawns left. Or you just have surprisingly few."

Gio laughed. "Pawns are barely useful, the whole point of them is to be traded for something better or sacrificed to make room for bigger moves."

"Interesting," her mom said. She moved one of her pawns forward a tile. Gio noticed it was in a position to threaten her king. Pawns could only move forward a single tile or capture a piece that was a single tile forward diagonally. Gio moved her king, a piece that could only move a single tile in any direction, capturing the pawn. She put the pawn off to the side and waited for her mom's next move. Her mom smirked, putting the pawn back in its original position and the king back into its original position as well. "No, darling, you can't do that."

Gio looked at the board. King can only move in a single tile. She knew the three tiles behind it weren't safe because of her mom's rook, which could move as far as it wanted horizontally. The front and left tiles weren't safe because of her mom's bishop, which could move as far as it wanted diagonally. The tile to the right was threatened by a knight. The one to the front-left diagonal was also threatened by a knight. And the first pawn she'd noticed was to the front-right, threatening the king's current position.

"But if I take it..." Gio wondered what piece could possibly make this a checkmate. Her mom tapped it and Gio noticed...another pawn. If she took the one closest to her king, another pawn was off to the side, ready to capture it. "How?"

"Never underestimate a pawn, Giovanna," her mom said severely. "They can be just as dangerous if you can't control the board."

"Right, Thelly," Gio said, plucking up all the pieces and putting them away in a box.

"But you were smart with one thing." Her mother reached into her cloak, pulling out an ornate wooden box the size of her forearm.

"What?" Gio asked, referring to what her mom was saying as well as the box.

Mother Gothel slid the box over to Gio. "Never let a pawn think it can become a queen," Gothel said. Gio opened the box and gasped when she saw her mother's prized silver dagger. It was sharp, dangerous, beautiful, old, perfect. She squealed happily.

"Oh my Hades, Thelly, seriously?" Gio asked happily, feeling the dagger. It was cold and deadly.

"For your trip to Auradon," her mother said happily. "I trust I'll be able to get it back from you soon. Until then...don't let a pawn become a queen."

Gio picked up the dagger, reveling in how heavy it felt in her hand. "I'm gonna make sure I'm the only teenage queen in Auradon."

Shen's Perspective

The General had Shen and his older sisters training on the top of Chernobog Mountain. Despite the biting cold up there, they weren't allowed to bring jackets so everyone was shivering. Except The General, that is. Shanshan, Shuo, and Sai sat off to the side with their father, watching Shen face Shige.

Shen threw a series of jabs at her that she dodged, spinning around him so that he was forced to spin just to try and hit her. "You're getting slow, baby bro," Shige taunted, smiling. She was too agile and lean enough to easily dodge anything he threw at her, with limbs long enough that it was never easy to tell her reach. He dropped low, sweeping a kick out at her legs. Shige hopped over his leg to avoid the kick, spinning around him and jabbing at his spine with two extended fingers.

Shen cried out, pain tearing through his back. He grit his teeth through it, turning to face her. Shige was still in motion, feet dancing as she shifted her weight, prepared to move in any direction at any moment. Shen reached out as fast as a snake, grabbing one of her legs. She stopped, trying to find her balance. Shen pulled Shige's leg...hard. And she fell down to the ground hard. Before she could get back to her feet, Shen tackled her to the ground. He grappled her arms with his hands and rested his weight through his knees onto her legs.

"Ow, ow, ow," Shige cried, eyes screwed shut. "You're on my knee, it hurts so bad."

"Sorry," Shen said, reducing the pressure as he held her still.

"Thanks, baby bro," she said gleefully. She pulled one leg free and extended it before swinging it around so her heel struck the back of his neck. It was right near his spine and Shen roared as pain rushed through him again. His grip on her arms slacked and she looped her leg around his neck, pulling Shen to the ground. He heard his sisters laughing as Shige began pelting Shen's back with punches, her knuckles jabbing down his spine again and again. Every hit sent a new wave of pain through him until he finally broke.

"Fine, fine, I yield," Shen screamed. The blows stopped immediately. His sisters were still laughing. Shen rolled onto his knees, rising to his feet. Every move hurt his back, the pain still lingering along the edges of his spine and even stretching to his sides. When Shen faced Shan Yu, his father was glaring at him.

"One son," he said, shaking his head disappointedly. "All I wanted was one son. And when I get one, he's a disgrace."

"He'd embarrass the entire family screaming like that," Shige said. She stood with the stiff posture of a soldier, hands behind her back. "I'll work with him."

"Do what you want," The General said dismissively, turning to leave. Shanshan, Shuo, and Sai followed him quickly, desperate to get away from the cold and trek back down.

"Embarrassment, huh?" Shen asked, shoulder-checking Shige as he went to follow the rest of the family. His sister grabbed his shoulder, pulling him back.

"Come on," she said, leading him off to the side. She sat on a boulder and waited for him to join her. Her stare was intense. Her everything was intense, she was the scariest of his sisters. "You're going to stop letting people get in your head."

"You flat-out lied!" Shen yelled. It was ridiculous, she was totally being sneaky. She should be the one The General was embarrassed by "You didn't-"

"You're going to stop seeing girls as weaker," Shige ordered.

"What?" Shen asked. He couldn't believe that she would even say that. "That's ridiculous, we've all been trained as equals. I know how capa—"

"Do you?" Shige asked. She quickly jabbed him in the soft spot near his underarm...hard, sending another shot of pain through him. He hated the way she fought. He could shrug off a punch, but when she hit him in the right place it hurt like something was broken. "Do you know how bad it was for us before mom had you? Four girls back to back when he wanted a son."

"You were barely even five," Shen shrugged, rubbing the spot on his chest she'd jabbed. "How bad could it be?"

"We were running drills since we were two," she rolled her eyes. "Until mom had you, we had to be twice as good, twice as dangerous, and twice as ruthless. It still wasn't enough for The General, but we're deadly and a lot of other VKs are—girls too. You're going to stop holding back."

"I'm not gonna do something to hurt a girl more than necessary," Shen said stubbornly. The General had given him this lecture a thousand times about how power respects power on the Isle. No matter what he did, he couldn't have that weak spot or someone would take advantage of it. It was all so stupid, he didn't think chivalry should be something to be considered weak for. "That's the end of it, no matter what. I'm never treating girls how The General treats you guys and mom. Ever."

Shigi sighed. "The General won't like that."

"Whatever," Shen stood up, going to descend the mountain. The sun had finally set and he'd have to jog to meet Gio on time. He was giving her self-defense lessons and it felt nice to be able to teach her how to use a bostaff. No yelling, or drills, or critiques, or criticisms, or lectures, or disappointed looks, just...fun. Freedom.

"Where are you off to?" Shige asked.

"I have a date with G." Shige crept up on him and jabbed his back again with a knuckle, reigniting the pain in it. On instinct, he threw out an elbow in response. Shige fell to the ground. She looked up at him surprised. "I'm so sorry, Shi," Shen held out a hand and pulled her up.

"Don't apologize, that was progress," she said happily. They started to descend the mountain again, Shige picking up the pace when Shen started jogging. He felt a sharp pain in between his ribs on his left when she hit them with a jab. She broke out into a run. "Be careful with her," she said, running backward now to face him, "just because you won't hurt a girl doesn't mean a girl won't hurt you."

So, that's what felt relevant to share about their backgrounds. Reggie is timid and used to being told what to do since his mom is scary and even treats him and his dad as accessories who orbit her, so he'll do that same thing with Gio. Maddie is used to just taking orders to please her mom and pretty clever because her mom always asks her to do the impossible. Shen's dad is constantly disappointed by all his kids so he longs for validation and he doesn't like to view girls as threats due to misguided chivalry since his dad treats his daughters like their gender is a crime. Gio's mom is image-obsessed so she seems judgemental since she's trained to avoid passive-aggressive criticism of her appearance. But she's also been encouraged to scheme and plan and manipulate others.