Stolen Waters (Descendants Jay x OC)

Chapter 46

They all laughed except for Harry, who scowled and slunk over to Gil. Jay fist-bumped Carlos, still smiling, and turned to Syl, who grabbed his hand and gave him a wink.

"C'mon guys, this way," Dude reminded them. "I think he's near."

"Ben!" Carlos shouted. His call echoed through the tall trees.

Jay turned to a rustling sound coming from the bushes and turned towards it.

"Woo, boy, you've got to be smelling that, right?" said Dude, sticking his nose into the air.

Without warning, a terrible beast with wild eyes, matted fur, and a booming roar burst out from behind the trees. Jay and the others immediately tensed for a fight, fists up and crouched up into a defensive stance. Syl had copied their movements, but she was looking at the beast with a strange look on her face, as if she wasn't exactly sure what they were doing there.

Jay couldn't puzzle about her expression for too long, because the beast lunged at Harry. Jay pulled the pirate out of the way before he could get hurt. They all examined the beast carefully.

Harry looked pointedly at Dude. "You need some serious nose adjustments," he critiqued.

Carlos stepped forward tentatively to take a closer look at the feral creature. The beast seemed to have familiar eyes. "Ben?" he asked.

The beast turned toward the small white-haired boy and nodded.

"Huh, I thought I recognized those pants," Jay said, noting the beast's blue racing pants with yellow side stripes. The outfit definitely looked familiar, with only one difference: a hole in the back where the beast's long tail whipped around wildly.

The beast clawed his way up a dirt mound, clutched his large paw, and roared with montrous pain.

"Aw, he's got a boo-boo," said Gil. "That's why he's so cranky. You know, my dad said his dad did not handle pain well. At all."

The beast let out a deafening growl, drew back his arm, and took a swipe at the pirate.

Jay looked at Carlos. "You're good with animals. Do something."

"What? Okay..." Carlos took a breath and approached the beast with cautious steps. "Hey Ben. It's me, Carlos, all right?"

The beast snarled, bared his teeth, and launched himself at Carlos, who quickly jumped back.

"Whoa, whoa, Ben, it's me, Carlos. You know me." Carlos reached for the beast's injured paw. The creature snatched it back with a deep, intimidating howl. "You helped me once. Remember, with Dude? Let me help you. Let me see your hand."

The beast tentatively relaxed and held out his paw. A large thorn was stuck in his palm, and the flesh around it was puckered angrily. Carlos looked from the nasty wound to the beast's pointy teeth and hesitated. Jay nodded at Carlos, trying to boost the boy's confidence.

"Let's count. One, two, three." Carlos gently grabbed the thorn and tugged, removing the wood shaving from the beast's palm. With the pain gone, the beast released a deafening roar of relief.

"There it is. You did it!" said Carlos excitedly. It was unclear whether he was talking to the beast, or to himself.

Out of nowhere, a forceful stream of water blasted the terrifying beast in the chest. Jay spun around to find Jane standing in the forest clearing, looking very fierce. She aimed Chad's water gun at the beast and squirted him with a stream of water from the Enchanted lake.

Jane caught sight of Carlos ran for him, Carlos sprinting toward her as well. They hugged happily and talked over each other in excitement.

"When you didn't show up, I was sure she got you, too," said Jane, taking Carlos's hand.

"I was so worried. I didn't forget your party. We had to go and I forgot to call," said Carlos earnestly.

"I'm so glad you're all right!" they both exclaimed at the same time. They giggled together.

Jay smiled awkwardly and, sharing a look with Syl, turned towards Ben, who was no longer a beast.

"All right, you good?" asked Jay, helping the king from the mound. "Take a seat right there." He pointed toward a sizeable tree trunk.

"Yeah, uh-huh." Ben still seemed a bit shaken up. "That was funky."

"Was. Is," said Jay, tilting his head and staring at Ben. Ben still looked part beast, with unruly hair, a full beard, and teeth pointy enough to be called fangs.

"You need another blast," Jane said decidedly. Carlos beamed at the girl as she brought the sprayer to waist level and blasted Ben once again with the water. This time, it had no affect, and water dripped down Ben's face as he pleaded, "Please stop."

Jane emptied the water gun and looked down at it. "Huh. It's Enchanted Lake water. But I guess there's only so much it can do."

Harry chose this moment to step forward, toward Jane. "Well, well, well," he said, sauntering up to Jane. He bowed low in an exaggerated gentlemanly fashion. "Harry Hook. And you, my little duckling, are ravishing."

"Ravishing and taken," said Carlos emphatically as he tried to stand tall. "Just in case anyone was confused." He stepped between the two, giving the boy the meanest look he could give and wrapping an arm around Jane's waist. The girl's eyes lit up at Carlos's words.

Ben, on the other hand, was looking extremely confused. "Hold on. Whose side are they on?"

Jay recounted the short version of what had happened. "They escaped and joined us. Mal has the ember, which is our only hope to stop Audrey. Details to follow."

"Hades's ember? Has Mal gone back to the Isle? And I thought you were sick," Ben said, pointing at Syl. He was completely perplexed.

"I said 'details to follow'! We're meeting up with Mal, Evie, and Uma."

"Uma?" Ben's mouth hung agape and his eyes were widened in shock.

"Details to follow," Everyone yelled in unison.

Ben still looked confused, but he got up and started following a glowing Jane and Carlos in the direction of Evie's house. As they set off, Harry looked at Jay, tipped his hat, then ran his hook slowly over his chin and grinned. "Hey, Jay, um...." The pirate cleared his throat awkwardly. "Thanks for saving me gorgeous face." He swatted Jay on the back in an almost friendly way and left to follow the group.

"Come on, let's go," said Syl. She grabbed a confused Jay's arm and half-dragged him in the path the group had taken.

"I don't think they're so bad after all," Jay mused.