A big thank you to everyone who's keeping up with the story.
A review would mean a lot, I appreciate all feedback and it will motivate me to keep writing.
Don't be afraid to ask any questions, I always try to reply.
Enjoy!
Chapter 8: Running Back
"Who's there!?" Chloe straightened up and pointed her sword. Her arms were trembling uncontrollably, as was her voice.
She and the other members of the group of unfrozen people had successfully ran away from Beast Castle, most likely narrowly escaping the clutches of the villains as well. Following more perilous running through the dense Auradon forests, they had eventually hunkered down in a small farmhouse on the edge of the city.
While it paled in comparison to the splendor of Beast Castle, the farmhouse still provided them with all the comfort they could ask for. After settling down, CJ, Carlos and Royce had updated the rest of the group about their little trip to the museum of cultural history, the strange stone figures they had encountered and their unexpected confrontation with Mabel and Johnny. The shock of facing a potential army of stone men who functioned as the eyes of the villains, as well as Mabel using the pocket watch to move faster than the speed of light, had been enough to make everyone's stomach churn.
The fear Chloe had felt following their escape from Auradon Prep had somewhat lessened after she and the others started making concrete plans to cure everyone back at Beast Castle. Now that those plans had been discarded, meaning they had to start from scratch, the fear was once again taking over.
This derelict farmhouse could probably not service as their holdout for long, meaning they had to go on the run again pretty soon. They had luckily managed to gather all their belongings before their hasty exit from Beast Castle, even some of the books they had been researching, but had sadly not been able to stack up on food. The farmhouse had stood empty before they had arrived, without so much as a single crumb of food in the dusty and cobweb-riddled kitchen. And so, CJ, Royce and Chad had gone out in search of something to eat, leaving the others to tidy up and hold down the fort.
Chloe had been assigned guard duty, which filled her with both dread and excitement. It was pitch black outside, and even the slightest sound would cause her to jump and point her sword in every direction, trying to spot any would-be assailants.
"Easy. It's just us…" CJ's voice sounded out from the darkness about a second before stepped into Chloe's field of view, with Royce and Chad in tow.
Chloe let out a long sigh of relief as she shakingly sheathed her sword once more.
"Be on your guard, but don't be jumpy." CJ told her as she passed. "The last thing you'd want to do is accidentally skewer one of your friends."
Chloe joined up with the three of them as they made their way to the small living room, where the rest of the group were huddled around a small portable stove that Dillon had brought along from Auradon Prep.
"What do you got?" Carlos asked as CJ, Royce and Chad emptied their bags on the floor.
"Basic stuff. A lot of canned meat and veggies. There was another farmhouse only a few minutes up road. It was smaller than this one though, and a lovely elderly couple sat petrified in the kitchen, so it wasn't as suitable as a hideout. We did raid their pantry." Royce explained.
"Wait…" Chloe's eyes widened as she looked over the large assortment of canned foods that now lay sprawled over the floor. "Y-You stole these?"
Royce blinked as he looked back at Chloe. He then exchanged a quick glance with CJ and Carlos before answering. "Ehm… Well… The people were frozen. They don't really need this food at the moment. We do."
"But it's still stealing!" Chloe hissed. Shivers ran down her entire body. One of the first and most important lessons her parents and tutors had ever taught her was that stealing for one's own personal gain, under any circumstance, was always wrong. This had since always remained one of the key cornerstones of Chloe's belief system – one of the primary aspects with which she determined whether or not a person was good in her eyes. Now, of course, the villain kids had had different upbringings with different life lessons hammered into them, so she could excuse their occasional lapses in judgement, but to hear that her friends, and a renowned warrior like Royce in particular, would so casually engage in stealing, really threw her for a loop.
She looked towards the others for support. CJ, Celia and Carlos seemed utterly indifferent. Chad too had already stuck his hand out at one of the canned pineapples, but had frozen mid-reach. The only one who had apparently been at least somewhat affected by her words was Dillon, but his lips remained sealed at the moment.
"You're honestly going to throw a fit about this? Really?" Royce argued. "I didn't hear you complain when we made use of the kitchen back in Beast Castle!"
"That was Ben and Mal's castle! We know them! We didn't know these people! We can't just go around and take whatever we like! That would make us no better than the villains!" Chloe's tone became more and more hysterical.
"Chloe, for the love of-" Royce managed to withhold himself from finishing his sentence. "I have neither the time nor energy to debate war-time ethics with you right now. Just shut your trap and eat something." He tossed a can of spam in her direction.
"No!" Chloe huffed, throwing the can back and causing it to clang loudly onto the rough, stone floor.
"Shhh!" Everyone accusingly stared at her.
Chloe felt a blush creep up on her cheeks. "I will keep watch for a little while longer." She muttered before turning around and heading back to the front of the farmhouse – her blue curls dancing after her as she stomped away.
From her spot near the front door, Chloe was able to look up at the night sky. The clouds had finally passed by, and the dim light from the stars illuminated the surrounding fields and forests ever so slightly. The faint murmuring of her friends' voices was the only sound, alongside the occasional hooting owl, snapping twig or crunching leaf.
Her thoughts were swirling. Anger, regret and indignation all fought for control at the moment. She hated feeling this way, mostly because, as a princess, she almost never did. Royce's annoyed voice kept echoing through her mind. The way he had so casually defended taking something from someone else infuriated her. Ever since she had first learned how to wield a sword, she had dreamed of using her skills to help and defend those in need. She clung tightly to the virtues of knighthood that had been instilled in her since childhood. And now, when push came to shove, she had discovered that her allies apparently had absolutely no trouble with disregarding said virtues, as if they had never existed in the first place.
Chloe let out a low growl, having to resist the urge to kick at the farmhouse wall or lash out at the ground with her sword. Even in her agitated state, she was not stupid enough to make any noise and possibly give away their position.
As much as she tried to regain her cool, Chloe's imagination was spiraling out of control. If she and her allies were to somehow defeat the villains and free everyone, would she then have to officially report them to the Auradon authorities for stealing? Theft was seen as one of the most serious crimes in the kingdom, and her friends were guilty as charged, seemingly without so much as an ounce of remorse.
On the one hand, Chloe's brain told her that no crime should go unpunished, even if it were her friends doing the perpetrating. On the other, her heart told her that her friends were not bad people, and that they were all ultimately aiming to do good in this world.
It probably had something to do with today's events, which resulted in both mental and physical fatigue, but Chloe's mental gymnastics quickly exhausted her. Chloe Charming could sleep anywhere and at any time. Even now, with her back against a rough farmhouse wall.
She didn't know how long she slept. All she knew was that she awoke with a start when a hand gently tapped her shoulder. It was still pitch black outside, and her stomach rumbled due to the lack of stolen food she had consumed.
"Sorry…" CJ told her as she sat down beside her. "I didn't want to wake you up, but I couldn't risk the villains locating us because of your snoring."
"Oh." Chloe's face immediately turned beet red as she sat up straight and wiped some drool from the corner of her mouth. Even though she still harbored some resentment towards CJ, she was still someone she looked up to, and Chloe was always eager not to embarrass herself in front of her idols.
"Celia told me about how easily you tend to fall asleep." CJ went on. "In hindsight, it probably wasn't that smart to have you stand on watch…"
"I can handle it." Chloe muttered. Her stomach rumbled again, and CJ must have noticed.
"Here." She said as she handed Chloe a crumpled bunch of sandwiches in a doggy bag. She eyed it suspiciously. "I brought them from Beast Castle." CJ explained. "Go on… You need to eat…"
Chloe accepted the food and immediately dug in. She really was starving.
"That little bust-up you had with Royce…" CJ continued. "Chloe, I need to know that it won't cause any trouble… We have to be able to rely on each other… We could be Auradon's last hope…"
"It's just…" Chloe had trouble swallowing a large bite. "I-I just thought that we were all on the same page… I thought we all knew what was good and what was bad… I know that stealing is wrong, but you all apparently don't seem to care…"
CJ looked at her almost compassionately, like a parent would at a child who is saying something stupid. "Chloe… You're still young… You haven't known times of strife or hardship… Not like most of us have, at least. I know it's difficult, but you will have to find a way to trust us… Trust me, and Royce, and the others, when we make certain decisions… We know what's best for us… For you…"
Chloe stayed silent for almost a minute. She hated being talked down to. Sure, CJ was right when she implied that Chloe had lived an easy-going and privileged life. She had never gone to bed hungry. She had never known a difficult home life. She had two loving parents. She always excelled in school. She was a freaking princess. Still, she felt as though all those facts did not somehow make her opinions any less valid.
"But, CJ…" Chloe replied, her voice taking on an almost pleading tone. "Where do you draw the line? How am I supposed to blindly follow you when I'm afraid that you could, at some point, just turn outright bad?"
CJ bit her lip. "The line… Well… Honestly, Chloe, in times like this, I'm not sure there's much of a line to speak of anymore… Frankly, I will do whatever I can to bring everyone back… I don't have to like it all, but sometimes you really have to weigh the pros and cons of your actions… Today, we were fighting for Auradon, and we were hungry… If the choices are either 'stealing some food from people who won't miss it' or 'starving to death and allow Auradon to be conquered by a group of power-hungry maniacs', then you won't see me hesitate."
"But stealing is wrong!" Chloe snapped, loud enough that CJ shushed her. "I-If the only way to beat the villains is to become villains ourselves, then have we not lost already?"
A slight smile appeared on CJ's face, surprising Chloe. "You sound just like Archer…" She said. "During the war too, he would go on and on about how we couldn't allow ourselves to be brought down to the level of the villains… Still, Archer too recognized that, sometimes, it's not a person's actions that matter, but rather their motivations… Chloe, all of us back in this farmhouse want to do good… You know that, right?"
"Yes, but-" Chloe replied, before CJ interrupted her.
"Tell me, Chloe, what do you think of Robin Hood?" CJ raised an eyebrow.
"I- What?"
"Robin Hood? Awesome guy, right?" CJ went on.
"I-I… I mean, yes… Yes, he did a lot of amazing things…" Chloe shrugged.
"Like stealing…"
"He stole from the rich to give to the poor." Chloe argued.
"In other words, that line you love so much can be crossed… Quite easily… Even your heroes, the ones your parents told you about in bedtime stories, were not afraid to get their hands dirty sometimes…" CJ countered.
Chloe blushed even more.
"We know that… The villain kids, I mean…" CJ went on. "Back on the Isle, we often had to steal to survive. I have done some things I am not proud of, but I also realize that I wouldn't be here if I hadn't done them… The same goes for Carlos and Celia… Would you hold us accountable for every tiny rule or law we broke growing up?"
"No…" Chloe sighed. She would be an outright terrible and uncaring person if she would judge the villain kids for all the things they had done back on the Isle. For one, they didn't know any better, with no positive role models to steer them in the right direction. Also, the Isle was a different place with different rules than Auradon. The kids there were practically expected to do bad things.
"The world isn't as black-and-white as you were always taught, Chloe. There's bad in good people. And there's good in bad actions. Can you accept that?" CJ looked intently at her.
Chloe's head hurt. A combination of fatigue and the moral dilemmas CJ was heaping onto her. "I-I'm not sure…"
"Then, and excuse me for being blunt, then you should find a way to get off that high horse you're sitting on." CJ's tone was just slightly impatient. "I am terribly sorry it has gotten to this point, but I need you to grow up, and fast. You're a good kid, and a good fighter, but your princess is showing… I need to know that I can rely on you if the going gets tough… You need to put your pride and everything you think you know aside for the greater good… We're your friends, Chloe, and your allies… Don't go fighting us on trivial matters when there's actual evil to be fought…"
Chloe let out a groan and leaned her head back against the wall. She got what CJ was saying, and she was right, of course. Chloe was still young and inexperienced. Hell, she had never clashed sword with anyone outside of the Swords and Shields arena. Wasn't there a possibility that this all of this could be a huge learning experience for her?
CJ apparently noticed Chloe's inner turmoil. "Look, you don't need to alter your entire world view right here and how… Just, you know, don't get in our way… If you do feel like you need to object, you are free to do so, just don't go stomping off every time things don't go your way. I want to keep you safe, Chloe, just like all the others… So, you know, just stick with us and don't throw away the food we give you… I can't have you starve on my watch. Archer would never forgive me."
Chloe couldn't help but let out a giggle, followed by a huge yawn.
"You get back inside now. Get some sleep. I'll keep watch the rest of the night."
"B-But…" Chloe wanted to argue. CJ had already done so much for them that day.
"Don't." CJ put up her hand. "Get inside, Chloe. That's an order."
Even though CJ could not literally pull rank over Chloe, she felt as though she had no choice but to do as she instructed. With her head hung low, Chloe shuffled back inside.
The others had splayed out whatever cushions and furniture they could find alongside the sleeping bags they had brought around the center of the living room. Multiple empty cans of meat, fruit and vegetables lay casually discarded in one corner of the room. Chloe eyed them with a faint, rebellious glare. Everyone was sound asleep – their slow, steady breathing the only sound that filled the air.
Chloe imagined that she would lie awake for hours, since her conversation with CJ had given her so much to think about. Chloe, being Chloe, however, drifted off to sleep within minutes.
The following morning was predictably somewhat awkward for Chloe. The others kept staring at her as they gathered their stuff and ate their breakfast. No one spoke a word about her little outburst from the day before. Chloe just tried to ignore it all as she mostly kept to herself.
CJ, Carlos and Royce all stood around a rickety old table, with a map of Auradon and a number of the books they had brought along spread out across the tabletop. They were discussing what to do next.
"My guess is we're here…" Royce pointed at a specific spot on the map. "If we're gonna keep running, I'd say we stick south. Close to Auradon City. We need buildings for shelter, and it'll be easier to gather food if we're in a more populated area."
"Won't it be wiser to stick to the woods? We can't have them spotting us from the sky…" CJ offered.
"I'm not saying we parade through the streets with bright banners." Royce countered. "We move stealthily. Maybe only at night… I'm just trying to stay realistic… If we do want to strike back eventually, we can't stay holed up in the forest all the time."
"And who knows how long we actually have… We can't just wait for the villains to reawaken Chernabog. Then it'll be game over. They didn't say anything about how long that would take, right, CJ?" Carlos inquired.
"No." CJ shook her head. "Still, I imagine it'll be quite difficult… And since they are actively hunting us, I'd say they're at least somewhat scared that we might pose a threat to them."
"That's true." Royce nodded. "So, let's figure out how to make their fear a reality… I think our best option is still to use some of those magical artifacts to try and unfreeze some of our most powerful allies." He pointed at the page displaying all the most powerful magical artifacts.
"How do we do that if the museum is guarded by stone men?" Chad asked as he joined the group.
"When we went there yesterday, we had no idea what we'd be facing. Now, we do. We can make a plan. Maybe some of us can create a distraction, while the others go in and take what we need… Unless Chloe would have any objections, of course…" Royce sneered.
Chloe immediately started blushing as she stared back at Royce. Both she and Celia wanted to angrily retort, but CJ was ahead of them, smacking Royce on the arm.
"This is not the time!" She snapped. "I swear, the next person who makes any sort of backhanded comment will get more than a slap on the wrist! We need to work together, okay?"
Chloe was tremendously impressed by the way CJ confidently took charge.
"Now, Royce, I do agree with your plan… Our best course of action would be to get more powerful magic users on our side, and these artifacts are our best bet. Everyone gather around. Let's see if we can think of something…" CJ went on.
Everyone closed in around the table. Royce was still eyeing Chloe somewhat unflatteringly, but held any snide remarks back for the moment.
Chloe looked over the large map of Auradon and all the books splayed out across the table. She honestly had no idea what to do. She hadn't gone along to the museum of cultural history, and had no idea what these stone men that the others kept mentioning looked like or how big of a threat they were. She was also not an expert on any sort of strategic planning or magic. In other words, she was all but useless to her friends at the moment.
"So, if we do want to bring some people back with these artifacts, then we have to break into the museum somehow, right? I mean, that's where they all are… I say we start planning for that…" Chad suggested.
"Not all these artifacts are in the museum." Carlos replied. "As we said before, some of them have been destroyed. Others are lost. The villains have some of them…"
"And it's no use going after the ones that aren't in the museum?" Chad opted.
"We wouldn't even know where to start…" Royce sighed. "Most of these things that aren't in the museum… I'd have no idea where to start looking for them. We'd have to do so much more research… Travel god knows where… Waste so much time…"
Chloe looked over all the artifacts. The ones that they knew were kept in the museum of cultural history were circled. Fairy Godmother's wand… Triton's trident… And so on… If they would genuinely be able to collect these artifacts and use them to bring some people back, then that would boost their odds exponentially.
"Hey!" Celia suddenly called out, startling Chloe.
"What?" CJ asked.
Celia pointed at the page with all the artifacts, specifically at an illustration of Hades's ember.
"Hades's ember?" Royce pulled up an eyebrow. "That one's not in the museum."
"No, because he still has it. Right, CJ?" Celia's eyes twinkled.
"That's right!" CJ gasped, holding up the book. "Holy shit! How did I forget that!? Hades still has his ember, back on the Isle!"
"The Isle…" Royce smacked himself on the head. "Holy shit! We totally forgot about the Isle! I mean, the barrier still has to be intact, right? It definitely was when the freezing spell was cast… What if it protected the inhabitants? What if the villains remaining on the Isle are still able to walk about freely?"
"What are you saying?" Chad frowned. "You want to recruit the villains on the Isle to fight for us?"
"Of course not!" Royce spat. "They are even less trustworthy than Levi and his band. But it does offer up another opportunity… Carlos, do you think that bringing a frozen person over to the Isle would undo the spell?"
Everyone looked at Carlos. Chloe could barely breathe from sudden excitement.
Carlos bit his lip. "Honestly… I'm not sure… It's true that magic does not work within the barrier, but there are exceptions. Fairy Godmother always held the power to alter the barrier from outside with her wand, so maybe Levi and his cronies can do the same with Maleficent's scepter."
"Meaning?" Royce snapped.
"If they wanted to, they could probably alter the barrier in a way that means everyone inside would turn to stone as well…" Carlos explained in a reluctant tone. "But that's only if they thought of it… Who knows? I mean, they hate the villains and the Isle, right? Maybe, in their spiteful ignorance, they forgot to take it into account?"
"That's a big 'if'…" CJ bit her lip. "But honestly, we don't have much else to gamble on, right? There are people on the Isle who would still ally themselves with us… My brother, for one…"
"The terrorist…" Royce hissed.
Chloe's gaze switched between CJ and Royce in a fit of uncertainty. For a second, it seemed as though CJ was ready to plow her fist straight into Royce's face, but she appeared to just about keep her cool.
"We are dealing with a kingdom-ending threat. If we can save everyone by allying ourselves with people who have done bad things but want to do better, then why the hell would we not do that!?" CJ spat. "Royce, you braindead buffoon, can you try to put your prejudices aside for one freaking second!?"
Royce straightened up and puffed out his chest. He stood over a head taller than CJ. He had turned red with both anger and indignation.
"Okay…" Celia of all people stepped in between the two, placing a delicate hand on either person's shoulders. "How about I do some talking? You two need to calm yourselves down… CJ, did you not remind us that we need to work together only a few minutes ago? Teamwork, remember? Friendship and harmony… Yay…"
CJ was still staring daggers at Royce, but did take a more relaxed stance.
"Now… Before we got, ehm, sidetracked… We were discussing the Isle… Carlos, do you think bringing a frozen person within the barrier could undo the freezing spell?" Celia inquired.
Carlos shrugged. "Honestly. I have no clue. We would need to compare the specifics of the freezing spell and the power of the barrier. But, again, the villains could have altered it… In any case, I wouldn't bet on it…"
"Noted." Celia nudged her head. "However, the Isle could still be useful… Hades is still there… Along with his ember… And, I'm not sure if you all remember, but Hades has a daughter we all know and love…"
"Mal!" Everyone shouted in unison.
"Bingo!" Celia clapped her hands. "So, if our research is correct, and I really hope it is, then that means we can bring Mal back with the ember, right? That's what we should be doing! That's how we can win! Levi and his rats don't know about Hades or the ember! They're probably not even keeping tabs on the Isle! We can be in and out before they realize it, and then we can bring back one of our most powerful magic users!"
Chloe felt a warm feeling spread through her chest. Not only had they just come up with a genuine, feasible plan to defeat the villains and save the day, but it was Celia, her best friend, who had thought of it all.
"That's brilliant!" She squealed.
Celia somewhat cockily pretended to dust off her shoulders.
"That is probably the best plan any of us could have come up with…" CJ acknowledged, the fire renewed in her eyes as she once again leaned over the table. "I know how to get to Hades's hideout… Getting the ember should be a piece of cake… If the people on the Isle are indeed all frozen, then they'll not be a bother… If the spell did not affect them, then they could be of some help… In any case, we need to get to the Isle…"
Royce visibly wanted to object.
"Royce, I swear to god…" CJ gnashed her teeth.
"I just wanted to know…" Royce seemed equally annoyed. "How are we planning to get in and out? You should know better than I do about a certain barrier around the Isle…"
CJ looked lost for words. Chloe too was suddenly doubting everything. How exactly could they pass through the barrier?
Celia scraped her throat. "Excuse me… Allow me to save the day once again… Please hold your applause…" With an air of showmanship, Celia started digging around in her bedazzled satchel. Everyone just stared. "Just a minute…" Celia muttered as she kept rifling through the satchel's contents.
"Ceel, what-" Chloe stammered.
"Aha!" Celia interrupted her as she held up a small, rectangular item before slamming it down onto the table. It was a remote. A very plain, golden remote with a single button in the middle.
"How do you have this!?" Carlos immediately snatched up the remote. "This is the remote that opens up the barrier! Ben usually carries it. Or it's stored in the royal limousine!"
"I was feeling a little down back at Beast Castle, so I started looking around for trinkets… It's how I improve my mood…" Celia admitted without an ounce of shame. "I found this little thing, and it looked shiny and important, so I took it… It was only later that I realized what it was…"
"And you didn't think to mention that you took it?" Royce asked in both an annoyed and somewhat disbelieving way.
"Well, up until now, we weren't planning on visiting the Isle… But now we are… So, why not thank me for being smarter and more amazing than all of you?" Celia smirked in an almost insufferably superior way.
Everyone rolled their eyes, but they also seemed to tolerate Celia's confident and boastful demeanor.
"So, this is it…" CJ eventually spoke up. Her eyes were sparkling. "We go to the Isle, get the ember, head back to Auradon, unfreeze Mal and kick the villains' asses…" She summarized, nodding and smiling. "I like it…"
"We're not there yet." Royce jumped in. "The way to and from the Isle is long, and there'll be a bloodthirsty gang of villains standing between us and our goal…"
"Which means we will just have to be careful…" Carlos stated. "We need to plan out our route. We can't have the villains know where we're going. If they find out we're heading towards the Isle, they might just lock it down…"
"How long will it take to get from here to the Isle on foot?" Dillon inquired.
"On foot… Hmm…" Royce stroked his chin. "We have to be stealthy, so we can't just head straight through Auradon City… We need to rest, and occasionally scout for food… I'd say two days minimum… If we really want to play it safe and only travel at night I'd even make it three or four days…"
"Travel at night?" Chloe cringed at the prospect. The dark terrified her, and she already started imagining cowering at every shadowy street corner.
"I don't see why we shouldn't just travel during the day." CJ argued. "Yes, the odds of us getting detected at night are practically zero, but we don't exactly got time to spare, Royce. I say we stay careful but move whenever we get the chance…"
Royce nodded. "Fine by me. Okay. We got a plan. It's still early, so I suggest we get going. We can make a lot of ground today."
"Everyone, pack up your things. We move out in five!" CJ clapped her hands.
Everyone quickly scattered to gather their belongings. Celia joined Chloe at her side as the two of them rolled up their sleeping bags.
"Chlo? Are you okay?" Her voice was soft enough that only Chloe could hear her.
"I'm fine." She answered somewhat curtly. She wasn't in the mood to discuss her outburst of the day before.
"You can always talk to me, Chlo…" Celia whispered, placing a soft hand on Chloe's.
Chloe blushed and pulled her hand back. She wasn't really angry at Celia, she was just a little tired of people talking to her like she was some baby that needed to be swaddled. "I'm fine, okay!? Celia, please!"
Following that tense interaction, Celia did keep her distance from Chloe a little as the group headed out. Chloe's thoughts were still swirling, but she forced herself to stay focused and be as much of an asset to the others as she could be.
They slowly but steadily made their way south towards Belle's Harbor, from where they could activate the magic bridge towards the Isle of the Lost. Royce was the one who meticulously planned their route, taking into account how much cover they would have and where they could rest and find food. It was like the group was participating in some huge scavenger hunt, except that everything and everyone they knew would be doomed if they did not succeed. Royce had had the most military training by far, and he kept urging the others to stay quiet and simply follow his directions. He furthermore insisted on scouting ahead from time to time, just to make sure that they would not walking straight into an ambush. While his reasoning was solid, this also meant that the group would be moving even slower than they already were.
During one such instance where Royce wanted to scout ahead, he asked Chloe to accompany him, much to her surprise. The group had made its way to the outskirts of Auradon City, and the next step would be to zigzag through the numerous picturesque streets and find a building to hunker down in for the night.
It was then that the first truly exciting event of the day occurred, when Nera flew right over their heads, leaving a trail of green smoke in her wake. Royce and Chloe had quickly taken cover, pressing themselves tightly against the nearest house, and hoped that they had gone unspotted.
Luckily for them, it seemed, Nera had not noticed them. Royce saw this as a sign, deciding that they had travelled far enough for the day and that they should take cover in the nearest suitable building they could find.
The building would be a closed gas station this time. Carlos used an ordinary hairpin to open the locked door, after which Chad, Celia and CJ greedily gathered whatever food and drink they could find in the small store attached to the gas station.
Chloe tried and just about succeeded in holding back any further criticism of her allies' actions. CJ's words about trusting them and believing they wanted to do good kept echoing in her mind. Still, Chloe did not manage to calm herself down for a single second the entire time they spent at that gas station. She did begrudgingly accept some of the food her associates had 'acquired', since she had learned that going to bed angry and with an empty stomach would do nothing to improve her mood.
When the darkness set in, and the group once again rolled out their sleeping bags to spend the night in close quarters, Chloe even allowed Celia to cuddle up against her once more.
They were rudely awoken later that night when Chad, who was keeping watch, alerted everyone that he saw someone outside.
That someone turned out to be one of the stone figures that CJ, Carlos and Royce had seen guarding the museum of cultural history the day before. It clogged along the otherwise abandoned street, turning its torso left and right in order to look around with the strange orb positioned right between its shoulders. It was the first time Chloe saw one of these figures in the flesh, and she could not help but be extremely creeped out. The figure thankfully did not approach their location, instead turning into a different street and quickly disappearing from sight.
It was still several hours before dawn, and Royce urged everyone to grab some more sleep while they still could. Chloe doubted if she could, with the image of the stone figure burned into her mind. Chloe being Chloe, however, drifted off to sleep within minutes once more.
The next day-and-a-half went by in a similar fashion. Walking. Sneaking. Hiding. Scouting. Eating. Resting. Breaking and entering. Stealing. Nera would fly overhead from time to time, but everyone in the group quickly became an expert in ducking for cover. They also encountered more stone figures, but would remain undetected.
They reached Belle's Harbor around noon, days after leaving Beast Castle. The relatively short trip through the quaint seaside town was arguably the most perilous of their journey, since there was very little cover. Royce once again scouted ahead and reported back with the happy news that the town was completely devoid of villains and stone figures. Nevertheless, the group largely stayed quiet as they made their way to the shore, every one of them jumping in fright whenever a seagull or stray cat would make even the slightest bit of noise.
"There it is… Home…" Celia muttered as she stared across the water.
There, far off in the distance, the Isle of the Lost was partly hidden behind a fogbank. Chloe had only ever seen the Isle like this, from far away. Back home, either in Charmington or Cinderellasberg, she had often gazed at it from one of the higher palace towers, wondering what life over there was like and what the villains were up to. Never, in a million years, would she have considered that, one day, she would count several villain kids as some of her closest friends.
"Alright, people…" Royce spoke up after he and the rest of the group had huddled together near the base of the not-yet-conjured-up bridge. "This is it… Now, we still don't have a car, and the way across the water is a long one… Whoever crosses over will be totally exposed, so I was thinking not all of us should cross. Not at once, at least."
"I agree." CJ nodded. "Some of us should stay back. That way, if the people on the Isle are caught, or vice versa, the others can continue the fight…"
"Okay. So who goes?" Chad inquired.
"Me, for one. I'm the only who knows how to get to Hades's lair." CJ answered. "Royce, I think you should stay behind. We need a leader on the mainland."
Royce snorted a little, but nodded as well. "I'd say it's up to you then, CJ. Who would you like to bring with you?"
CJ looked around, her gaze resting on Chloe for about a second longer. "Hmm, I'd say at least one VK… Someone who knows their way around, just in case. Carlos, are you up for a trip back home?"
"I guess." Carlos shrugged, though he did not seem all that happy. "I'll leave my equipment behind, though. My gun won't work within the barrier anyway."
"That's fine. And then…" CJ looked over the others once more. "Chloe? Do you think you have it in you?"
Chloe was surprised. She had not expected CJ to pick her, especially after their little bust-up the other day. "Ehm…" Chloe looked at the others, her brother and Celia in particular.
"I need another fighter, Chloe." CJ told her.
Chloe gulped and blushed. "O-Okay… Y-Yeah… You can count on me…"
"Then it's settled." CJ nodded as she straightened up.
"Now, wait a minute!" Chad called out, raising a finger. "No, no, no, no way… Chloe is just a kid… I'll go, CJ… Take me along on your little side quest."
"No offense, Chad, but we don't want to attract any unwanted attention." CJ replied.
"When do I ever-" Chad began, standing up so abruptly that he knocked over the garbage can he had been sitting against. The lid tumbled to the ground with a loud clanging sound, making everyone cringe.
"I rest my case." CJ smirked.
"CJ!" Celia then hissed. "B-But why don't you want to take me along? I-I know the Isle! I can be of use, right?"
"I know you can, Ceel." CJ patted her on the shoulder. "But your magic is too valuable and it won't work within the barrier. You need to stay here. You are our best chance of getting out if something should go wrong…"
Celia gulped. She obviously hadn't expected so much responsibility to be heaped upon her.
"Carlos, Chloe, grab your stuff. We pack light." CJ told them. "The rest of you stay hidden around here, and don't break my stuff. With some luck, we'll be back by the end of the day. If something goes wrong, we'll send a signal across the bay, somehow."
"Smoke." Royce suggested. "Unless you got firework stashed away on the Isle somewhere…"
"I wouldn't count on it." CJ replied. "Good luck, guys, and stay out of trouble."
"You too." Royce nodded.
Chloe's hands trembled slightly as she handed her backpack over to Celia. She would not be bringing it along. All she needed was her sword.
"Be careful." Celia bit her lip as she took Chloe's stuff from her. "A-And don't let the Isle scare you, okay? It's not so bad…"
Chloe tried to conjure up a reassuring smile. "I'll be fine. CJ will be with me…"
That indeed seemed to calm Celia down a little, but she nonetheless pulled Chloe into a tight hug. Chloe sputtered slightly as Celia's red curls obstructed her vision and got into her mouth.
After freeing herself from Celia's clutches, she found herself face-to-face with her brother.
"Y-You got your sword? Good…" Chad mumbled, leaning down to make sure Chloe's scabbard was attached correctly.
"I'll be fine…" Chloe repeated. It was both somewhat funny and extremely endearing to see Chad kick up such a fuss. "You don't have to worry about me…"
"But I will worry!" Chad hissed. "Chlo, you're going to the Isle of the Lost! A-And what if something goes wrong? I-I won't be there to protect you… Urgh, mom and dad would kill me…"
Chloe did not respond right away. She simply pulled her brother into a tight hug. She let out a long sigh as she squeezed her arms around his neck and buried her face in his shoulder. "I can protect myself. You know that, right?"
"You're still my baby sis…" Chad muttered.
"Your junior S.A.S. MVP baby sis…" Chloe corrected him as she stepped back. "I will be back, and then you can hug me some more. Just… Take care of Celia and Dillon while I'm away, okay?"
Chad nodded. He bit his lip, seemingly trying to hold back tears.
CJ and Carlos were both standing at the base of the bridge. Carlos already held up the small, golden remote that could activate it.
Chloe waved at both Celia and Chad one more time before joining the two.
"No turning back now…" CJ exhaled loudly as she cracked her knuckles. "Back to the Isle on a mission…"
"It happens more often than you'd expect." Carlos smirked.
"Well, no point in waiting…" CJ snapped. "Do it."
Carlos pressed the button. Immediately, the bridge made of golden sparkles unfolded itself in front of them. It stretched on only a couple of meters.
"It will move along with us." Carlos explained. "Only the parts where there's a vehicle or person on top become visible."
Chloe hesitated for a second before taking the first step onto the bridge. She had genuinely feared she would sink right through and plunge into the ocean below, but the gold-like structure supported her easily. She looked back one more time. Royce, Chad, Celia and Dillon had already moved further back to find some cover in one of the nearest houses.
"Let's go." CJ took the lead, confidently heading along over the bridge.
Chloe and Carlos followed. The sky was overcast and looked somber. The Isle too looked somber. Chloe tried to psyche herself up, reminding herself why she was doing this.
"I need to bring everyone back…" She muttered to herself. Let's hope this would work.