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Enjoy!
Chapter 9: Rotten Places
"Wow, things have really changed…" Carlos said as soon as he stepped onto the Isle's shore alongside Chloe and CJ.
"I told you. Harry's been putting in the work. The last time I visited, they even started trying to get a regular cleaning crew going." CJ replied.
"I can see that. The place looks spotless." Carlos nodded approvingly.
Chloe wasn't sure what to make of this. As she and her associates walked further into the Isle, she could not help but reflect on how desolate and neglected the place seemed. Chloe had never traveled outside of Auradon, where every kingdom, city and town was kept up according to the pristine standards set by the splendid Auradon City. Back in her home town, she would never find so much as a single roof tile out of place or a street sign hanging askew, let alone houses with broken windows or walls covered with graffiti. Compared to every city or town she had ever visited, this place looked more like a garbage dump.
The Isle's reputation, as a mishmash of all sorts of disorganization and chaos, had preceded itself. Chloe could not help but openly stare as they walked across an unsteady road where half the cobbled stones were either broken or missing entirely. The first buildings that doomed up on either side of her could scarcely be called buildings, since most roofs and walls had either partially or completely collapsed. A strange smell hung over the place – a mix of burnt rubber, rotting garbage and polluted water. Still, if CJ and Carlos were to be believed, the Isle had never looked this good. Chloe could barely begin to imagine what hellish surroundings her two companions had grown up in.
It was dead silent.
A vague mist hung over the streets, hiding most of their surroundings from sight. CJ took the lead, her hand tightened around the hilt of her sword. Chloe mirrored her stance, also trying to keep her breathing under control. Carlos held up the rear, his prosthetic leg ominously creaking with every step, the sound echoing loudly.
The sound of a clanging garbage can made Chloe jump a whole foot in the air. She unsheathed her sword and held it up, her arms trembling like twigs as she tried to locate the source of the noise.
A small black cat tiptoed out of the nearest alley before quickly scurrying away once it noticed Chloe and her friends.
"Calm." CJ told Chloe. "Just breathe, Chloe. Trust me, there's nothing on this Isle that will hurt you as long as you're with us…"
Chloe, whose heart was still beating about a hundred times per second, weakly nodded as she shakingly sheathed her sword once more.
The three of them continued their journey, traveling more deeply into the main city center of the Isle. The houses and the street steadily started to look cleaner and more intact, and Chloe could finally see why the VK's would occasionally reminisce about this place with a hint of nostalgia. Because, while most buildings were old and crumbling, and the persistent smell was still lingering, there was both a sense of community and individuality that Chloe had never seen in Auradon.
Back home, everyone lived in immaculate houses with pristinely painted walls and clean windows that looked out over meticulously kept gardens and picturesque white picket fences. Here, on the Isle, no two houses or buildings looked even remotely the same. Each inhabitant had seemingly tried their best to stand apart from the others, be that through the use of worn-out banners and draping, sparkling chimes hanging next to their front doors, lanterns and garlands, or crude messages and drawings sprayed on their walls in brightly-colored graffiti. Every house stood apart from the others, and yet it felt as though they all belonged together like some wonderfully untidy puzzle.
"I haven't been back here since we got all the kids out…" Carlos muttered. "And yet it feels as though it's only been a day…"
"Let's do what we need to do before we start to reminisce about our horrible youths…" CJ hissed. "First thing's first, where is everyone?"
Chloe had wondered that as well. Aside from the alley cat, they had not yet encountered any living, moving being on the Isle. The streets were deserted, and there were no curious eyes peering at them from behind closed windows.
A large structure doomed up out of the mist, towering over them. The building, with its dark bricks, boarded up windows and large gargoyles posted around its walls and towers, gave Chloe the shivers.
"Bargain Castle." Carlos remarked. "That's where Mal grew up. I'm guessing it's been vacant since Maleficent left?"
"You're correct." CJ nodded. "Though the goblins or pirates would occasionally break in to throw wild ragers. You know, to celebrate Mal and her mom finally leaving them alone…"
Chloe had heard tales about Mal's behavior during her youth. Chloe had met Mal during her wedding, when she had been dolled up and exhibited behavior fitting of the queen of Auradon, so to imagine her as some sort of junior crime lord feared by everyone was quite a leap.
A smaller building emerged right next to Bargain Castle as the trio walked along, and this time Chloe was able to spot several figures huddled together around the front door.
"Look, in front of the Slop Shop…" Carlos pointed out. "Are those? Oh… Oh no…"
Chloe had seen it too. A group of around twenty people, as well as some creatures she recognized as goblins, were clustered together, seemingly trying to all cram their way into the building with the words 'Slop Shop' displayed above their heads. No one was moving or making a sound. Their eyes were wide and a dull grey.
"Petrified…" Carlos sighed as he approached the group and studied the nearest man. "Just like in Auradon… The exact same…"
Without warning, CJ suddenly turned on her heel and ran off.
"CJ! What- Where are you going?" Chloe yelled, her voice shrill and panicked.
CJ didn't answer, and she soon disappeared around a corner.
"Chloe! Follow her! Go!" Carlos urged.
"B-But…" Chloe looked back at him wide-eyed.
"I know where she's going! I'll catch up! You need to stay close to her!"
Chloe did as she was ordered. She hurried after CJ, her long blue hair flying after her like a flag in the wind. CJ had a head start, but Chloe gave it her all in trying to catch up. She followed CJ through more dingy streets and alleyways, with more petrified people occasionally blocking their path, past more buildings with broken windows and peeling paint. The muddy ground was unsteady, and Chloe's sparkly army boots were soon covered almost entirely in grime and dirt. CJ was running like she was being chased, and she occasionally slipped through narrow cracks in walls or took abrupt turns into grimy alleyways, making it extremely difficult for Chloe to keep her in her sights.
"CJ! Please, wait up!" Chloe called out in desperation, but CJ wouldn't listen.
They passed a crude wooden wall that seemed to separate one part of the Isle from the others. A battered sign hung next to an opening. Chloe was just about able to read the barely legible words – 'Uma's Corner'. A shiver of fear traveled up her spine. Was this Uma's territory?
This part of the Isle indeed featured architecture and items Chloe had always associated with pirates. There were more houses made of wood than stone, with fishing nets, barrels, portholes and jolly rogers decorating the outsides. Further away, she spotted a large bay filled with wooden huts on stilts and a large array of boats, ships and rafts bobbing up and down on the water.
CJ still did not stop running.
It was only when they reached a wooden building with the words 'Ursula's Fish & Chips' written on a sign above the entrance, that CJ skidded to a halt and just stood there, breathing heavily.
"CJ…" Chloe panted as she came to a stop. She bent over and put a hand on her side, trying to get her breathing back under control.
"H-He must be in there…" CJ pointed at the fish and chips shop. "He must be…"
"Who?" Chloe asked, still panting. Barely a second later she remembered that CJ had a brother on the Isle whom she had wanted to visit. "Oh…"
After taking a deep breath, CJ resolutely opened the double swinging doors and stepped into the shop.
Chloe hesitated for a second before following her. The shop was packed, but eerie and silent nonetheless. Everyone that Chloe could see was petrified, just like the people back in Auradon. Groups of pirates and other shady individuals sat around circular tables with cups, plates and cutlery splayed out in front of them. A lot of them were playing card or dice games, and Chloe even spotted two frozen mid arm-wrestle.
CJ stumbled over to the bar. There, on the stool in the very center, sat a tall young man wearing a red leather coat, identical to CJ's. He had dark hair and a wide grin, and happily raised a cup in the air. His eyes were a dull grey though, and he did not move an inch as CJ approached him.
"Harry…" CJ groaned, standing still about a foot away from her brother.
Chloe just stayed back. She had no idea what to do or say to make this situation any better for CJ. She just knew that, if she had found her own brother frozen in a similar state, she would want a moment for herself.
"I thought that, I don't know, maybe you coulda gotten out… You're good at that sorta stuff…" CJ muttered as she stepped even closer to her brother. "Now I guess I gotta save your dumb ass as well… Ah well… It's not the first time…" She then reached out for something attached to Harry's belt. A second later, she held up a large, sharp and shiny hook, which Chloe immediately realized had to have belonged to CJ's father, Captain Hook.
"Ehm…" Chloe stammered.
"What?" CJ replied in a slightly snappy tone as she attached the hook to her own belt. "It could be a handy weapon. It might not be a relic, but it's unique and carries quite history with it. And it would just be the cherry on top if I could skewer Peter Pan's dickhead son with it…"
Chloe did not press CJ any further. Thankfully for her, Carlos chose that precise moment to stumble into the fish and chips shop, his prosthetic leg creaking.
"CJ! I thought we were supposed to work together!? Running off like that… You know I can't keep up with you!" He complained, exhaling loudly as he plopped onto the nearest empty seat. He then noticed Harry, and his look soured even more. "So I guess everyone's frozen here too… I'm not sure if that's a curse or a blessing…"
"Harry would have helped us." CJ countered. "You might not think much of him, but I know him."
Carlos rolled his eyes. "I want to believe you, sure, but I'd rather not have to deal with anyone that still lives here, and especially the people Harry associates with…" His eyes shifted to the corner of the shop.
Chloe followed his gaze and audibly gasped. There, in the corner, sat a young woman with a ragged pirate hat and long blue braids that obscured her face like a curtain. Half a dozen bottles and tankards lay strewn about the table in front of her. Her eyes were completely hidden from sight, so it was impossible to see whether she was petrified or not.
"Don't worry." CJ told Chloe, joining her at her side. "If Uma wasn't frozen, she would have jumped us the second we stepped into the place. I don't think our time apart has made her see the error of her ways."
"So, Harry and Uma are frozen… I'm not gonna act like I'm not a bit happy with that news… In any case, CJ, we're on a bit of a schedule here… So, can you lead us to Hades's hideout?" Carlos requested in a bit of a sassy tone.
CJ shot him a glare, but did not retort with any snide remarks. Chloe could not help but sympathize with her. They had been through so much. They had been fleeing the villains for days, had to sleep in abandoned buildings, had to constantly be on high alert and had been feeding on scraps. Chloe's stomach rumbled right at that very second, further reminding her of their miserable situation. For CJ, to have gone through all of that to then find her brother frozen, this must have almost been enough to reach her breaking point.
Wind and salty sea air blew through the portholes in the walls, but otherwise no one in the room moved a muscle. CJ eventually tore her eyes away from her brother and walked back towards the entrance. "Hades's cave is near Wonderland. I know a shortcut." She said in a calm and solemn voice.
Carlos nodded and followed her.
Chloe did not dare speak yet as she hurried after the other two. Together, they traversed the Isle in a much calmer fashion than before. They passed by more sleezy streets and derelict houses, with the occasional frozen Isle inhabitant blocking their path. Chloe could not help but openly gawk at all the incredible things she saw. Well, incredible to her.
Both CJ and Carlos appeared to be notably amused by her wide-eyed demeanor, even more so when they started to reminisce about their time on the Isle.
"Look, Mal burned down that place after a teacher gave her a bad grade." Carlos said as he pointed to a pile of charred wood and bricks.
"And over there, Harry and I once threw one of Solomon's goons over that wall. He lost his front teeth. I don't think he ever got them back." CJ pondered a little later.
"And look, the Big Market… Wow, there are actually some stalls here… It used to just be some hoodlums with useless crap on a blanket, and Jafar dragging his cart around of course… And are those garden beds?" Carlos spoke up after a while once the three of them entered a larger open space.
"Yeah. I told you, Harry's been putting in the work. He's a regular old gardener now. Even got himself a pair a gloves and rubber boots." CJ snickered.
"Weird." Carlos muttered.
They quickly left the market behind and found themselves in a darker, even more run-down section of the Isle. The houses here were splattered with crude black or brown paint. Skull emblems adorned almost every door, though most had been roughly crossed or carved out.
"Solomon's old territory." CJ explained after noticing Chloe's furrowed brow. "He made everyone put that stupid logo of his on their door."
"To show their loyalty…" Carlos rolled his eyes. "Though I'm glad to see most people don't put up with his bullshit anymore now that he's rotting away in some far off prison. What happened to his territory anyway? Anyone try to pick up the pieces?"
"Ginny and Maddy I thought…" CJ shrugged. "Ginny always stayed loyal to Solomon and Maddy's just batshit crazy. Zevon just stayed out of it like the pathetic worm he is. Still, barely anyone still followed them. Solomon's hole is now just an empty space… Harry has been talking about turning his old den into a shelter of some kind…"
"How altruistic of him…" Carlos muttered.
"He's really trying!" CJ snapped. "And he sure as hell has done a lot more good for the people here than Mal or any of you during your years in Auradon!"
Chloe could not help but blush. Hearing CJ and Carlos fight and call each other out like this made her want to disappear into the shadows.
Carlos too grew notably flustered, but he kept his mouth shut.
"So, Chloe…" CJ began as they walked through an alley filled with cracks and weeds sprouting up all around them. "What do you think of your first trip to the Isle? If we'd had some time to prepare, we coulda made it a lot more welcoming…"
"It's, ehm…" Chloe had no idea what to say.
"You can be honest." Carlos interjected. "It's awful. We know that. That's why we're so happy to have gotten out."
"It's not just that…" Chloe mumbled. "But you guys, and Celia as well, you speak about such terrible things that happened to you growing up here, but you act as though it was, I don't know, not that bad or even fun…"
Both CJ and Carlos sighed.
"Would you believe it's a coping mechanism?" Carlos asked with a hint of a grin. "A lot of us went through some really traumatic stuff. If we can look back on our time here with a smile, then there's nothing we can't do."
"True." CJ nodded. "And our time here made us who we are. I am happy now, at least, before everyone got frozen… It would have of course been nice to have had a good childhood, but everything worked out in the end…"
Chloe's heart raced with pity. She looked around some more, taking in the sorry sights. She opened her mouth, but CJ shushed her.
"Don't say you're sorry for us." She snapped. "Honestly, all you Auradonians do is feel sorry for us villain kids nowadays, and it's getting old. We're people, just like you. We're not broken or fragile… We're not victims… We're strong… Much stronger than you often give us credit for. Honestly, the best thing you can do is help us when we want to fix this place up… Who knows, in a generation or so, when there are no more villains left, we can get rid of the barrier altogether…"
Chloe just listened. Celia too had always told her to not feel sorry for her or spend too much time worrying about her troubled past, but Chloe had found that difficult. For a person like her, who had had a near perfect upbringing, to hear about the things the villain kids went through was like a punch to the gut. Now though, after getting to know the likes of Celia and CJ a little better, Chloe felt as though her understanding of the real world had grown exponentially.
"I wasn't gonna say how sorry I was…" She began, biting her lip. "I just… I just wanted to thank you… Both of you… All of you…"
CJ and Carlos both raised their eyebrows as they looked at each other.
"I spent my entire life in a freaking palace. I didn't see all the things that were wrong in the world. Not until you guys, and Celia and Mal and Evie and everyone else… You really opened my eyes… You made me want to be someone else, someone better… Like, even with everything you've been through, you are here, fighting for Auradon without any hesitation… Again! Like, do you know how many Auradon people would do the same? Not a lot… I know that much… You are so brave and badass and cool… And I'm, well… I'm a useless coward… And yet you still put up with me, even though I'm only holding you back…"
Both CJ and Carlos grinned.
"What?" Chloe blushed. She had half expected the two to console her and try to reassure her that she was in fact not a liability.
"Chloe… Chloe, Chloe, Chloe…" CJ snickered. "You're still young, alright? When I was your age, I could barely read or write, and you can be damn sure I never stuck my neck out to try and help anyone…"
"And I had a deadly fear of dogs." Carlos added. "And I was way too cowardly to even hold a sword, let alone use it against someone…"
"What we're trying to say is that we're all different people with different strengths. Chloe, you might not be like us, and you will probably never be… But, as I told you before, you're a good kid… You're kind… And you're brave… You're Auradonian, but you did not hesitate to join the fight when we needed you…" CJ listed off.
"Yeah. Don't beat yourself on the head like that… You're not helping anyone… Just do your best… That's all any of us can ever do." Carlos went on.
Chloe, who felt as though her heart was about to jump out of her chest, really wanted to thank both of them, but that's when CJ stuck out her arm and stopped her.
"We're here." Her voice was uncharacteristically cold.
Chloe looked around. They stood at one end of an old and very brittle-looking bridge. There was no river flowing underneath – only a giant heap of trash, rubble and weeds. On the other side, Chloe saw groups of buildings that were more broken down than any she had seen so far in other parts of the Isle. Every wall and roof that was still intact appeared to have been somewhat amateurishly splattered with red, pink or brown paint. These splashes of color did nothing to liven the place up though. Instead, it looked joyless and run-down, reeking of faded glory.
A large and crude wooden sign hung above the other end of the bridge. 'Wonderland'.
"Wonderland?" Chloe pulled up an eyebrow. "As in, 'Alice in Wonderland'? But that's back in Auradon…"
"True." Carlos nodded. "That's the Queen of Hearts' territory. She calls it Wonderland. The rest of us call it 'the slumps'. That's where all the bad guys who did not fight on the side of the villains during the first war ended up… The Queen of Hearts sorta took charge… The rest of the Isle always sorta avoided the slumps… I don't know a lot of what happens on the other side of that bridge, but I know it's not pretty…"
"And that's where Hades lives?" Chloe inquired.
"Nope." CJ looked over the edge of the bridge down below. "That's where he lives."
Chloe followed her gaze and was just about to make out an old, rusty gate down on the other side.
"Well, we won't accomplish anything waiting here…" Carlos sighed as he headed down first.
The way down was slippery, and the smell of rotting garbage was even worse than further up, but Chloe did not let out even so much as a grunt of complaint as she tried her best not to stumble or breathe in the disgusting air too much. Before this, only her boots and the lower parts of her pants had gotten muddy, now almost her entire body was covered in dirt.
Fear began to gnaw at Chloe again when CJ wrenched open the rusty old gate, revealing a tunnel that seemed to stretch on endlessly.
"There's nothing scary in there, unless you're scared of rats…" CJ told Chloe with a shrug as Carlos handed both of them a flashlight.
The three of them entered the tunnel, and it felt as though they had set foot into another universe. The air was clean and moist. It was dead silent, safe for the sound of their breathing and footsteps, which echoed off the walls. Their flashlights illuminated only a few feet of their path, and Chloe kept expecting all sorts of horrors to jump out at them from the darkness. She did not dare ask how far they'd have to walk, even though her feet were genuinely starting to hurt.
It was only after about fifteen minutes that there was a change in the tunnel's layout. An entrance in the cave wall revealed a set of earthy and heavily trodden steps that led upwards.
"That's his lair." CJ pointed out. "Let me go first. He might still have some booby traps laid out…"
Chloe wordlessly obeyed. CJ walked ahead more cautiously, but they did not encounter any obstacles. The stairs opened up right into what had to be Hades's living quarters. Chloe whipped her head around, trying to take it all in. Old furniture, moldy rugs, torn draping and appliances like a record player and television that appeared to both be broken. The floor was furthermore strewn with empty bottles and leftover bits of food, emanating a nauseating smell.
The embers in the hearth right opposite them were still smoldering, which confused Chloe.
"What are you doing here?" A deep voice boomed throughout the empty space.
Chloe thought she would get a heart attack as she jumped back and unsheathed her sword, searching the room with wide, panicked eyes for the source of that voice.
CJ too had made a startled movement before immediately turning to one corner of the cavernous space. "Y-You're here…" She stammered, quickly getting her breathing back under control.
"Where else would I be?" Hades snarled as he stepped out of the shadows. He was lean and very tall, with a gigantic blue mohawk on top of his head making him even taller. He was dressed in black and blue leather, with plenty of old and battered looking chains and wrappings further decorating his outfit. He had large bags underneath his dark eyes, which smoldered just like the embers in the hearth. Hades looked at CJ before his gaze shifted to Carlos and Chloe, his eyes lingering on her. "You brought more guests? I thought I made it clear to you that I always prefer to be left alone…"
"I know…" CJ replied, her voice a little softer than usual. "But there's, ehm… There's an issue… And we need your help…"
"My help?" Hades seemed more amused than intrigued. "What makes you think I either can or want to help you?"
"Because it concerns you too…" Carlos spoke up. "All of us. All of Auradon. The entire world…"
Hades examined him with a slight squint. "You're Cruella's son, are you not? Hmm… The last time I saw you, you stuttered more than you talked… I guess Auradon is good for something after all…"
"Did you hear me?" Carlos asked in a more impatient tone. "We're all in danger!"
"Big whoop." Hades snapped as he walked further into the room and sat down in a moldy old recliner. "I can't really be bothered anymore by politics, even the world-ending catastrophe kind…"
Carlos again wanted to speak up, but CJ placed a hand on his shoulder. "So, you have no idea what has happened? Even here, on the Isle?"
Hades curiosity, or at least a sliver of it, appeared to be piqued. "What happened?"
"A bunch of villains got together and unleashed a curse that turned everyone in the world to stone." CJ explained, not pulling any punches. "Us three and a small group of others were spared because of a protective spell. We're trying to fix everything. Bring everyone back."
Hades seemed genuinely surprised. "Hmm. And I guess I was also spared a stoney fate because I still possess my ember, and the magic of the spell cannot overrule the power of the relic?"
Chloe could not help but be impressed.
"That's what we think, yeah. And that's also why we're here. We need the ember. We can use it to bring Mal back…" CJ went on.
"Mal's been hit?" Hades asked, the slightest bit of worry in his voice.
"Yes." CJ nodded. "But she's unhurt. We can use the ember to bring her back. Can you give it to us?"
Hades bit his lip. "I'm not much in the business of helping people…"
"Didn't you hear me?" CJ snapped. "Mal has been taken out! We need the ember! Give it to us! Please! We don't have a lot of time!"
Hades's eyes shifted from CJ back to Chloe. "And who's this? I don't think a genuine Auradonian has ever set foot in my humble abode…"
Chloe went rigid. The fact that Hades had seemingly instantly managed to identify as an Auradonian threw her off. She suddenly noticed she was still holding up her sword. "I-I'm Chloe… Chloe Charming…" She stammered as she sheathed her sword.
"Charming…" Hades smirked. "I never expected someone of your 'esteemed' bloodline to come visit me…"
"Hades!" CJ barked, snapping his attention back to her. "Focus! We need the ember! So, frankly, either you give it to us or we'll take it from you!"
Chloe gulped loudly. She was not emotionally prepared to take on Hades.
Hades still seemed unimpressed. "A freezing spell…" He muttered, talking to himself mostly. "An old favorite… Another villain catastrophe, and so soon after the big war… Which villain is the culprit? Maleficent is still locked up, I hope? Is it the Horned King's son again? You couldn't get rid of him?"
"No! None of those." CJ answered, growing more and more agitated. "A bunch of asshole Auradonians got together, stole some relics, and did all this!"
Hades burst out laughing. "Hahaha! Auradonians did this! Whoo, I guess it was only a matter of time… They thought a barrier would keep all the villains out… I guess they never thought villainy could spawn from their own loins…"
"Gross…" Chloe muttered, softly enough that no one heard her.
"So, who are you fighting this time, CJ? Any famous names?" Hades inquired. The revelation that Auradon was being attacked by its own people seemed to have greatly improved his mood.
"Peter Pan's son is the leader." CJ replied.
More laughter from Hades. "Hahaha! That's fitting! A good old family feud we got going on here… And who would have ever thought the Hooks would be fighting on the side of 'good' against the evil Pans… Hilarious…"
CJ rolled her eyes. "He's planning to take over the entire world. Him and his cronies want to release and control Chernabog!"
It was as if CJ had said the magic words. Hades instantly stopped laughing and straightened up in his seat. "Chernabog? Chernabog!? That rotten twerp is planning to release Chernabog!?"
"Yes." CJ answered curtly.
"Impossible!" Hades muttered, standing up and pacing around. "T-That's age-old magic… Ancient spells and enchantments are keeping Chernabog at bay… He can't… There's no way he would even know how… Those rituals are hidden… Tucked away…"
"In Magnifico's book, I reckon?" CJ spoke up, sassily crossing her arms.
Hades turned to her. He seemed dead serious. "How do you know that?"
"Because the villains raided the museum of cultural history and took off with a bunch of relics… Levi, that's Peter Pan's son, took Magnifico's book… It opened for him and apparently showed him all sorts of stuff… He had a grand old speech about how he wanted to bring back Chernabog…" CJ explained. "What do you know of it?"
Hades bit his tongue for a few seconds before deciding to answer. "Me and my kin originally imprisoned Chernabog. Ages ago. A demon of that power… You can't even imagine the terror he wrought… It took the combined might of Olympus, Atlantica, Agrabah and Northern Wei to subdue him… We defeated him and his dark forces at Bald Mountain, which is where we confined him as well… My cousin Hephaestus built an elaborate prison – inescapable. Zeus added his own touch – a lock that only he could break. So, I don't know who this son of Peter Pan thinks he is, but he's dealing with forces beyond his imagination…"
"He stole Zeus's lightning bolt as well…" Carlos immediately spoke up.
Hades's nostrils flared, as did his hair momentarily. "That insignificant twerp stole my brother's most sacred relic?"
"He did." CJ nodded. "Does that complicate things? Can he do the things he says he's gonna do?"
Hades chewed on his tongue some more. "Zeus never enlightened me with the details of his lock… Even back then he mistrusted me… But I would wager a significant guess that his lightning bolt would indeed be the key to his lock…"
"So…" CJ pondered. "Helping us doesn't seem like that much of chore anymore, does it?"
"Chernabog cannot be released!" Hades snarled. "His influence reaches deep… Beyond Auradon… Beyond the Isle… All the way down to the underworld… No barrier can hold him out…"
"Well, Levi really hates the Isle, so he was planning on destroying it anyway… He was going to 'let it sink into the abyss', to use his words…" CJ went on. It looked like she was enjoying the rise she was getting out of Hades.
Hades swelled even more in anger. He jumped up and walked over to a smaller, separate room, which was closed off by a single curtain. Chloe guessed that it had to be his bedroom. "Even on the Isle they don't leave me alone… Rotten twerps… Dealing with forces they don't understand…" Chloe heard him mutter.
He emerged once more only a few seconds later, holding a bright blue orb in his hand. "Take it!" He barked, shoving the item in CJ's hand. "Take it and do what you gotta do! Don't let that insignificant piss stain or anyone else get close to Chernabog, you hear me!"
"We'll do our best." CJ answered, holding up the ember, which shimmered in the feint light of the torches that adorned Hades's hideout. Chloe breathed a sigh of relief and satisfaction. They had accomplished what they set out to do.
"The sun." Hades added.
"Excuse me?" CJ replied.
"Chernabog's weakness. He can't go out in the sun."
"Not much of a villain." Carlos frowned. "All we have to do is get a tanning bed?"
Hades glared at him. "Chernabog has ways to cover his weaknesses. Don't even think for a second to underestimate him! He wields powers beyond any relic. And, since someone has apparently stolen my brother's lightning bolt, that means that they can control clouds of thunder if they so desire… You are fighting an uphill battle…"
Carlos gulped.
"We'll deal with it when we deal with it." CJ mumbled as she put the ember safely away in a pouch around her waist.
"Don't let it get wet." Hades snapped. "That'll lessen its power…"
"I'll take good care of it." CJ promised. "And I'll bring it back after we fix everything…"
Hades just snorted. He took a couple of steps back and plopped back down onto his recliner. He groaned loudly as he put a hand over his face. "Damn kids…"
CJ gave him one last look before abruptly turning around.
"Wait… That's it?" Chloe spoke up. The whole ordeal felt somewhat anticlimactic. They had traversed the entire Isle of the Lost only to confront Hades and get his ember in about ten minutes.
"Yes. We got what we came for. Let's go. Our friends are waiting." CJ snapped before heading out the exit. Carlos followed her without saying a word.
Chloe glanced back at Hades, who had turned his recliner away, facing the hearth. It felt weird to just leave him here. He could very well be the only person in the whole world other than Chloe's group and Levi's band of villains who was still walking around freely.
"Chloe!" CJ called out to her.
Chloe hastily followed after her associates. The tunnel seemed even more dark and dreary after leaving Hades's hideout, which, while also grim and miserable, was at least brightly lit.
"He seemed genuinely worried." Carlos spoke as soon as they were out of sight of the entrance to Hades's cave. "About Chernabog, I mean…"
"Understandable. You remember the way our parents spoke about him, right? My dad would shit his freaking pants… And he and the gods of Olympus apparently helped to imprison Chernabog in the first place… He should know what it's like to go up against him…" CJ listed off.
"Should we not have asked him to come with us?" Chloe hesitantly asked.
Both CJ and Carlos chuckled humorlessly.
"We would do no one a favor with that…" CJ shook her head. "Hades is done for. And I still don't trust him."
"He gave us the ember." Chloe argued. "And he did seem a bit worried about Mal…"
"I noticed that too." Carlos said. "I know he told Mal that he wanted nothing to do with her, but maybe he cares about her enough to worry about her wellbeing at least a little…"
"Still. Imagine what Royce would say if we strutted into Auradon with Hades in tow…" CJ nudged her head, sounding vaguely annoyed.
The three of them reached the outside soon after. Chloe blinked due to the bright light, even though the sky was still overcast.
"Finally… That tunnel was getting on my nerves…" Carlos muttered as he already began clambering back up towards the rickety bridge.
"I wouldn't say the rest of the Isle is an upgrade, especially not the slumps." CJ countered as she joined him.
Chloe did not join in the conversation as she followed the two. A strange mix of fear and calm settled over her. They had done what they had set out to do – find Hades's ember – which meant that they could bring Mal back. Then again, that would also mean that they would soon actually be confronting the villains for real. Chloe could not stop her hands from shaking at the thought of having to genuinely fight someone in a life-or-death situation…
"Even though we've only been here for a couple of hours, I still can't wait to get back to Auradon…" Carlos wished aloud.
"Yes, because that's where the villains and the creepy stone men are… Paradise…" CJ moped.
"But now we'll get Mal on our side…" Carlos smiled as they reached the top of the hill. "She'll show the villains who's boss… There's no way they can stand up to her…"
"We still need to make a plan, and fast." CJ replied as they walked back towards the center of the Isle. "We can't risk that Levi lunatic actually releasing Chernabog…"
"We'll figure something out." Carlos tried to reassure her as they passed through a narrow weed-filled alley. "The odds seemed insurmountable when we faced Solomon, and we still ended up on top…"
CJ wanted to reply, but she suddenly went completely rigid.
Chloe had heard it too. The sound of boots scraping against the concrete alley wall.
She looked up just quickly enough to see a flash of bright red jump down from above and crash right into CJ, who roughly smacked against the wall and fell down in a heap.
"Hey!" Carlos shouted, reaching for his sword.
The figure who had crashed into CJ, hooded and clad from head to toe in red and black leather, now turned to him. They moved quickly, bouncing off the nearest wall and sending a thunderous kick to his prosthetic leg, which detached with a loud 'click'. Carlos let out a shriek as he fell backwards, his sword tumbling from his grasp.
"No!" Chloe yelled, pulling out her own sword and confronting the hooded figure. Her arms trembled so uncontrollably that she could barely point her sword.
The hooded figure straightened up and turned to Chloe. They pulled out a sword of their own and confidently twirled it as they got closer. Their attire was almost blindingly red, as was the long wavy hair that flowed down almost to their waist. Underneath the hood, Chloe saw a pair of brown eyes sparkle maliciously.
Chloe's breathing did not steady in the slightest. Who was this person?