Why. Out of all the people after me, WHY.
Mother Gothel smiles a thin smile at me. She doesn't seem to be in her prime anymore. Her poofy hair is streaked with gray, her clothes tight on her body, and her skin just a little wrinkly. Still gorgeous, but...
And the other woman, Carlos' mother, Cruella De Vil, grins at me and wiggles her fingers in the air. Her coat, much like Carlos' outfits, is covered in black-and-white fur, with splashes of red. Right now she's wearing a red dress that falls to her ankles, with a huge furry-white overcoat that has black spots on it like a cheetah. Her eyes watch me in a way that makes me wonder if she isn't a teensy bit crazy, and her hair reminds me of Einstein.
Sera groans.
Pitch glances at her. "I assume you know them, girl?"
"Duh. Mother Gothel, Queen of Kidnaping. And Cruella De Vil, the mama of Icy's nerdy boyfriend." Sera says, her voice tight as she tries to force humor into herself. I can't imagine why she's so uptight about it.
I mean, other than the fact that I'm dating one of my kidnapper's children...
I clear my throat. "Any particular reason that you two are after me?"
Mother Gothel scoffs, rolling her eyes. "As if we'd just tell---"
"Ohhh, I'm here to get my revenge on little miss Steal-My-Son, right Baby?" Cruella cackles and squeaks a miniature stuffed puppy at her shoulder.
Pitch puts his face in one hand, sighing.
I press my lips together hard to hold back a smile.
Cruella seems to realize she looks like an idiot, because she just straightens her coat and indignantly moves back. Gothel rolls her eyes and puts one hand on her hip. "As I was saying, we're each here for reasons of our own."
"And... Sera?"
"Oh, she was an accident." Gothel waves her hand nonchalantly. "Boogey's henchmen---"
A loud snort-giggle-cackle comes from Sera's cell. All of us turn toward her, and I'm only mildly surprised to find that she has a wide grin on her face.
"Y-yer name is B-b-boogey?" She points a trembling hand at Pitch. Laughter shakes her whole body, and part of me is kind of shocked she hasn't broken a rib by holding back her laugh---
"BWAHAHAHAHA!!!!"
---ter.
Pitch swells in anger. "Shut up, girl! Shut up!"
"---AHAHAHAHA---"
"SHUT UP!" Pitch roars.
"---AHAHAHAHA---"
"Oh, please, girl, it isn't that funny." Gothel says, rolling her eyes.
"---AHAHAHAHA---"
"Sera, maybe you should shut up." I suggest, noticing Pitch is turning a brilliant, angry red. It compliments his pasty skin quite nicely, if I do say so myself. But villains turning red is often quite a bad sign.
"---AHAHAHAHA---"
"Can we kill her, maybe?" Cruella suggests.
"I'd like to see you try." I tell her, not even bothering to get up.
"---AHAHAHAHA---"
"Okay, she has five seconds and then I'm going to murder her." Gothel drawls, sounding bored. "Five---"
"---AHAHAHAHA---"
"---four---"
"---AHAHAHAHA---"
"---three---"
"---AHAHAHAHA---"
"---two---"
"Sera, I'd shut up." I say tightly.
"---AHAHAHAHA---"
"One."
"Ha." Sera says mockingly, closing her mouth with a smug grin on her face. Gothel doesn't even move. Pitch's face slowly falls back to paste, and he breathes, trying to calm himself.
"Fine." He hisses. "Fine. Now, Gothel, can you please figure out whatever it was you needed from his daughter so I can exact my revenge?"
"What about me?" Cruella demands. "And baby!" She squeaks her puppy again. I feel a newborn sympathy for Carlos having to grow up with this cuckoo as his mother.
Pitch rolls his eyes. "Fine. You can do whatever you like with her before Gothel, as long as you're quick."
Cruella grins and primps her Einstein 'do before crossing to my bars and pressing a keycode into whatever pad is next to my door. My bars groan as they slide open, and Cruella walks inside. I start to stand up, but Pitch waves his hands and sand trickles from his dress, wrapping around my fists and connecting to the ground as very short shackles.
Great. Now I really feel like my mom. Except she froze hers off, and I can't. Maybe I can burn them, but there's no guarantee I'll be able to do it fast enough right now before Pitch takes those, too. So I don't struggle when Cruella waves the other two away, and they cover Sera's cell with a curtain before exiting.
"Hi." I say. Easy enough to start a conversation with 'hi', even to crazy old bats.
Cruella looks surprised. "Oh. Hi?"
"So... can you, you know, exact revenge quickly?" I prompt. "So I can move on to the other two?"
Cruella looks further confused, and stays standing so my neck starts to cramp looking up at her.
"So..." I draw the word out. "We're in Rapunzel's tower?"
Cruella's face is hilarious. "How'd you know?"
I point out of the cell, where the walls are covered in peeling paint. "I figured."
"Well, yes, I suppose we're in her tower. But we're in the second tower, the one Gothel used when Rapunzel was very young. As you can see... Rapunzel was quite the artist, even at a young age. But she was tiny enough that she won't remember this tower, making it very safe."
"For you." I point out. "I'm here against my will, most likely about to be killed."
Cruella still looks surprised, so I'm wondering if this is her resting face. "Well, of course. Why else would you be here?"
"Polite scolding?" I suggest.
"What? Scolding? No, of course not. You took my son away from me! Why would I scold you for that!?"
I look down at the floor, tired of feeling my neck spasm. "I didn't take Carlos away from you. He chose to stay on his own accord. If you were an awful parent, then that's your own fault."
She stiffens, that much I can see from my angle of her ankles. "I was an amazing parent! I actually stuck around, unlike your low-down father!"
My head snaps back up. "So you do know that Hades is my dad!"
"Of course!"
"Because Pitch took my mom's powers." I explain. "Not my dad's."
"Then why haven't you used your powers to escape?" She asks, not seeming to realize she's asking a very flammable girl why she's not on fire.
"Because..." I look down again, staring at my encased hands. "I can't."
"Well, why not?"
"Because I don't want to hurt anyone, you old bat!" I snap.
She groans as she sits down next to me on the stone. "Why? Hurting people is the best fun!"
"No, it's not!" I yell. "Fun is running around, reading a book, listening to music, hanging with friends! Fun is going on a date with my boyfriend, making fun of Uma and her seafood crew! Fun is being sane, not a weird old crone!"
She stares at me.
"I don't expect you to understand." I turn away from her, cursing myself for giving so much away. I've always heard Cruella doesn't have powers, but there's something that radiates off of her, coaxing words out.
Possibly it's the fact that she looks so crazy she can't possibly be smart enough to blow my secrets.
Cruella pats my knee consolingly. "Don't worry, girlie. You'll be dead soon enough, and then you won't have to think about hurting people!"
I glare at her, my idea of her being too crazy cemented. "Gee, I feel so much better."
"Good!" She stands. "Bye! Say bye, Baby!" She squeaks her stuffed puppy once more and flounces out of my cell. Gothel and Pitch join her in the doorway, and Sera's curtain is lifted. The expression on her face tells me that she heard every word that was said.
She mouths the word crazy to me, and then grins towards Cruella, nodding feverently. I wonder whether my friend is at all sane.
Pitch cracks his knuckles. "Now, Gothel, what was it you said you wanted with Jack's darling girl?"
My mouth pops open. "Wait. What?"
_________________________________
TA DA
that is all that needs saying.
TA. DA.
Also, props to Meloetta246 for guessing both Cruella De Vil and Mother Gothel!!
I sincerely hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. It was a LOT of fun to write, what with Cruella being banana balls and all.