Chapter 3
Ellie knew she had to go…
Her eyes fell to the steps leading out of the lair… Hades followed her gaze. He knew she had to leave too… He didn't want her too though… He had just gotten her… But… but… "Do me a favor, Ellie?"
Her attention fell to the god, "Yeah?"
Hades didn't look at her, "Look after Mal for me…"
Ellie's heart swelled and she smiled gently… She looked back up at the steps, "She's my family. Of course I will. I'll always be there for her." Hades nodded sharply… And Ellie stepped away from him, content to allow the conversation to end there.
Hades' eyes fell to her, but before Ellie could get far, he grabbed her by the arm. He crouched lower, quickly pressing his lips to hers. Ellie blinked and a split second later, Hades pulled away. A smirk was pulling at his lips, "What? You'd think I'd let you go and not get a goodby kiss? Think again, sweetheart."
Ellie flushed lightly, whacking him in the shoulder, before taking a few steps backwards and walking up the stairs.
Hades watched her go with a smirk…
A small chuckle left him…
"Those are my girls, alright."
Ellie wasn't… happy when she finally caught up with her family and Celia. Evie breathed a sigh of relief, hugging her sister tightly, "Oh thank god you're okay." Ellie sank into her sister's embrace, her embarrassment fading away.
As Evie pulled away, Mal put her hand on Ellie's shoulder, "You good, El?"
'Did he do anything?' was what she was really asking. Ellie shook her head, "No, other than being an assh*le."
Mal snorted, "That's an… accurate description of him."
Evie frowned slightly as she took in her sister's appearance, "Where's your jacket, Ellie?"
"Huh?" Ellie looked down at her form… great… She had left her leather jacket in Hades' lair… She tugged her fish-net undershirt, making sure it was covering her left wrist, then made sure her bracelets were on. At least she didn't forget those too…
The pink-ish red-haired girl let out a huff… "Let's just get out of here…" She walked forward, past Jay and Carlos, who exchanged a worried glance. But they followed after her anyway, Jay pressing the button to open up the barrier.
They all stepped through, and blue power coursed through Mal's veins, keeping her in her true form… though blue highlights appeared in her royal purple hair. Evie ooohed, "You've got a little Hades thing going on there."
Mal looked at her hands, then the ember, grinning, "Guess so."
The barrier began to close behind them…
But not before two people ran out, jumping through right before it closed…
Harry Hook…
And Gil…
Uma's first and second mates.
Harry laughed as Gil cheered, and they embraced quickly. The VK's were instantly on guard, and Harry grinned, "Hey guys, we're just coming for a wee visit."
Jay pushed Harry backwards, Carlos doing the same to Gil. Mal got involved, the ember slipping through her fingers and onto the bridge. Harry spotted it and hooked it into the ocean, causing Mal to gasp, "NO!"
The ember went tumbling towards the water…
But before it could hit, a sea-green tentacle snapped up from the water, grabbing it tightly.
And then…
Uma's body appeared after it.
The daughter of Ursula smirked, "Drop something?"
"It can't get wet!" Mal shouted. "Give it back before it goes out!"
Harry and Gil exchanged a look, "Uma."
"That's my name," Uma disappeared behind the water's surface in a whirlpool of water rising upwards. They all looked over the edge of the bridge, each for different reasons, but there was no Uma… "Hey boys."
Ellie turned around, finding Uma standing on the opposite side of the bridge, holding the ember in her hand. Harry and Gil immediately made their way towards her. The son of Hook grinned, "Welcome back."
"Uma-" Gil began, a sad look on his face. "You swam off and forgot all about us."
Mal scoffed, "Yeah, plotting her revenge no doubt."
"It's not all about you Mal. I was looking for a hole in the barrier to let everybody out." Uma turned to her pirates. "Y'know what I found boys, it's way better out there than we thought. There's this furry rock called a coconut and fish so huge you can dance on their backs. And they've been keeping it all for themselves."
"Whatever," Mal rolled her eyes. "Uma, I need that ember to break a spell."
"Cast by Audrey," Carlos explained further. "Sleeping Beauty's daughter."
"So, the good guys, the bad guy?" Uma chuckled. "Well, I might not give it back. See what happens."
"Uma this isn't the time for games!" Mal snapped. "People's lives are in danger!"
Uma hummed, shifting the ember in her hands, "Promise me that every single villain kid that wants to, can get off the Isle."
"I… I can't do that."
The sea-witch shrugged and held the ember out over the ocean, "Well how 'bout now?"
"Deal!"
Uma made to drop the ember, but Evie stepped in. "Uma!" the sea-witch paused, looking at her. The blue-haired girl looked completely sincere, "Her word is good."
The daughter of Ursula pulled the ember back onto land, looking at it in her hand, then at Mal's outreached hand as she stuffed it in her jacket. "I'll still keep this; for the time being. Because if you think I trust you to save the world on your own- think again. This is a job for pirates!"
She turned to her crew, a wide smirk forming on her face. Jay came up to Mal's side, placing a hand on her arm, "You can always go back to hating each other when this is over." The daughter of Hades and Maleficent nodded sharply. Jay turned to look at the pirates, "Where are our bikes?"
"Oh, uh-" Gil smiled at them. "We crashed them."
"You what?!" Ellie seethed, stomping up to Gil and poking him in the chest. "It took me weeks to hot-rod that thing!"
"Uh… sorry?"
"If you're gonna be off the Isle when this is all over, you two-" she pointed at Harry as well, who blinked. "Are helping me build a new one!"
The son of Hook smirked, "And what makes you think we'll do that, lassy?"
"I'll turn your hook into a nice wall ornament otherwise."
"Seams like you've never lost your spunk, wee duckling." Harry knew her threats were dire… as they always had been… Ellie always had the uncanny ability to make strange and weird objects, turning his hook into a wall ornament was not out of the realm of possibility.
Evie pulled her sister away from the pirates, "Here's a thought. We could try to be friends. Put our history behind us and celebrate our differences. Yeah?" Evie unzipped a small pocket on her wrist, pulling out a mesh baggy with a few blue gumballs inside. "Who wants gum?"
Uma turned, "Let's go."
"No?"
"Ah!" Mal stopped the sea-witch in her tracks. "No. I'm in charge. Let's go." Mal began to walk towards Auradon, and both groups passed on either side of Evie and Ellie.
Ellie huffed, her cheeks puffing out. She held out a hand, making Evie smile. The slightly older twin put a gumball in her sister's hand, before popping one in her own mouth. "Y'know," Ellie began, talking softly, popping the gum in her mouth. "I think it was a good idea."
Evie's smile softened, "Thanks, El."
Cell phones were useless… Because everybody was either asleep, or if they weren't, unable to answer for some reason… They walked through the green space of Auradon Prep, spotting the sleeping students. Gil became fascinated with everything around him…
The leaves on the trees…
The flowers…
Fresh fruit…
The son of Gaston shoved more grapes in his mouth, Jay looking astonished with his behavior. Ellie giggled, patting Gil on the shoulder, "Tell you what, after you help me make a new bike, I'll take you apple picking."
Gil blinked… "A… apple picking?"
"Fresh fruit picking, really. If you like grapes, you'll like apples."
A look of pure disbelief was on his face, "Y-you'd really do that for me?"
Ellie blinked, but then she smiled. Jay spotted Harry pick-pocketing an asleep student, and headed over, taking the money back, "Don't."
"Oh, come now, I believe I deserve a little compensation."
"You do. Me not squashing you like a bug."
Harry only laughed. Jay shoved the money in the kid's shirt pocket. Harry turned to the son of Jafar with a mad grin, "You think I'm scared of you, Jay."
"Guys," Mal and Uma called, breaking up their fight.
Carlos spotted movement from the corner of his eye and grinned when he saw who it was, "Dude!"
The dog, who was eating something out of a student's hand, froze, "It wasn't me I swear." He then burped, "Okay, fine, it was me."
The others came up to Carlos' side. "Hey, do you know what happened here?"
"Yeah. Audrey showed up and she put everybody to sleep. And then she turned some of them to-"
Evie spotted it first…
The stone statue. "Stone."
'Stay alert' didn't need to be said.
Uma glanced at the school, "Since we're already here, let's check the school."
"No," Mal shot that idea down. "Audrey went straight for the crown, so I think it's safe to assume that she's gonna go for Ben and his castle next. That's where we'll go."
"Says who?"
"Says me."
"Says you? And that's supposed to mean something to me?"
"Guys," Evie broke Uma and Mal's stare down. They both glanced at her and Uma rolled her eyes… They were headed to the castle.
Mal called for Ben as they walked throughout the castle, Dude leading them. Mal sighed, "Ben could be asleep anywhere."
"Or turned to stone," Celia added, causing Evie to gently put her hand over her mouth. The younger girl glanced at Evie, then at the younger twin, who shook her head.
Dude sniffed the castle floor, "I've got a scent! Very pungent cologne. Easy to track. Follow me people!"
Carlos smiled, "That's great, Dude."
"FYI, I give great cuddles too."
"Really?" Gil began to ramble. "I never had a pet growing up. Unless you count the Elk head in my dad's man cave, but that wasn't-"
"Hold up-" Uma ran her hand over the wall. Deep set scratches were in the wood, slicing a painting completely in half. "What's this?"
Ellie raised her eyebrows… This was just getting… weird.
And she had kissed a god.
Dude led them to a room with stained glass windows where many suits of armor stood tall and strong, protecting the room. Evie grabbed Celia by the shoulders, "Stay here, okay?" The girl nodded, and the twins followed the others into the room, Mal still calling for Ben.
Uma flipped her hair over her shoulder, "I bet you lost some sleep thinking about me on the loose, huh?"
"No. Dragons don't really lose sleep…" A thoughtful expression appeared on Mal's face. "I wonder what fried octopus tastes like."
Uma laughed, and Ellie sighed. "Okay, why don't we not do this?"
The sea-witch gave her a look, "We're celebrating our differences- just like your sister said."
Harry spotted movement from the corner of his eye… One of the suits of armor began to move, "I believe we're being challenged."
Uma held up a hand, "Let's split up and look for Audrey."
"That makes absolutely no sense." Mal said without blinking. "Unless you give me my ember, she's gonna spell you."
"Girls!" Harry shouted, drawing their attention. His eyes never left the moving suits of armor. "We have a situation here."
Pink smoke left the armored helmet of the suit, and it bowed mockingly, just as Audrey's voice rang out of it. "You like a prince, Mal? How about a knight in shining armor? Or knights?" The suit of armor hefted its sword as Audrey's cackle filled the air.
And all of the suits of armor drew their swords back.
Ellie hurried glanced to the door- Celia had backed away into the hallway with Dude in her arms, but knights were already blocking the path. The pink-ish red-haired girl backed up to the platform in the middle of the room.
"I know the best way, fall back, let me lead," Uma said, standing on the platform with Mal. Gil passed her a sword he drew from the wall. "You hold the line and we'll bring them to their knees."
Jay threw Mal a sword he got from the decor on the wall, much like Gil had for Uma. The daughter of Hades's eyes narrowed, "I've got a strategy, you take the left, and the rest of you can follow me."
Uma immediately shook her head, "Uh-uh."
"This is my crew."
"This is my squad."
"This is my turf."
"Oh my gosh-" Evie stood between the two, two swords in her hands. "Look, we've got bigger fish to fry, put your differences aside 'cause right now we're on the same side." She passed Ellie one, "You think you can-"
"Get them all into one place!" Eliie shouted, Jay and Carlos giving her sharp nods. The armor took two more treating steps forward… and the battle fully began. Mal and Uma both glanced at Ellie but jumped off the platform.
The two girls engaged four knights near the back of the room, fighting side by side. Mal blocked one of the knight's swords with her own, sliding down to the floor, just as Uma sliced at the armor hard enough to send it tumbling backwards.
Uma grabbed Mal's hand, helping her up, and they clacked their swords together.
They may be enemies… But right now, they were on the same side.
More knights banned down the side doors, one of them pushing the sword out of Carlos' hands and sending him tumbling to the floor. Glowing blue circles snapped to life around Ellie's wrists, and the sword in her hands glowed blue… "Transmute!"
The sword turned into a shield, which she slid over to Carlos, him hosting it over himself just in time to block a downwards strike. He breathed a sigh of relief, "Thanks, Ellie!"
The armor then marched forward… all coming from one side. Mal whipped her head around to find Ellie, "Ellie! Now!"
The daughter of the Evil Queen grinned… She stood on the wooden platform, two more glowing blue circles appearing around her wrists. Ellia held both her hands out infront of her, crossing at the wrists. An intricate blue, glowing, mandola-like pattern appeared beneath the soldier's feet.
"Transmute!"
And in a bust of light, the soldiers turned into harmless feathers...
Feathers that swirled around in the air, before landing in a huge pile…
Ellie lurched forward, her breathing ragged, and Evie was by her side in an instant. "You good?"
"Yeah…" Ellie slid to sit on top of the platform, her eyes drooping. Evie checked her twin's forehead and frowned at the elevated temperature… She was getting warm… that wasn't good. Everyone else erupted into cheers, the boys all celebrating together.
Uma looked between the feathers, and then Ellie, and smiled, "That was awesome! How'd you do that?!"
Ellie grinned at the complement, "Alchemy. Takes a while to get it right though."
"You are a bada**." Uma complemented, then turned to Mal, the two girls going in for a high five… Yet then stopped mid-way, realizing what they were about to do… The boys then froze, before sliding back to their respective sides, each celebrating with one another.
Evie stood with Ellie at her side, Carlos coming over to keep the younger twin steady. A disappointed look was on the blue-haired girl's face, "Guys, come on. This was so great! We were a team! We worked together!" She reached for Mal's arm, only to be shrugged off, then the same thing happened with Uma, causing Evie to sigh.
Ellie then grinned, "Hey, hey, you know what we should try? An Icebreaker!"
"Ooh, good idea, El." the other VK's groaned, and Evie turned to the pirates. "You say something you really like about the other person, okay? I'll start." she looked at the three of them, before settling on Harry- who looked like he wanted to die. "Harry. Great accent." She smiled, "Now you go."
Uma shook her head, looking at Mal, "Are they always this perky?"
"Oh, it wasn't really your turn but thank you."
"Evie, Ellie," Mal grabbed the two, holding both of their hands. "I love you. I love this energy, but we are very short on time. Audrey clearly knows that we're here and we need to get out of here ASAP."
"All right," Uma took a step forward. "Where does this cheerleader bunk down? Even if she's not there, we might find some sort of clue."
"She's still in the dorms because of summer school."
Harry let out a laugh, "What? Summer school? Summer school! No wonder she wants revenge."
Mal looked between Uma's pirates, and Jay and Carlos, "Okay, I need you guys to go find Ben. We'll meet back at the twins' place in two hours, okay?"
"Sounds like we're goin' with my plan," Uma said. "Just sayin'."
"It was kind of the obvious plan."
"Uma said it first~" Gil added.
"Right," Uma grinned. "So, my plan."
"Whatever."