Izzy:
Malia:
River:
Gaige:
Gaige was sitting at a table, performing in an arm wrestling match, slamming the other man's hand on the table as he was showing off his brute strength to everyone in the Chip Shoppe. Gil cheered on for his brother.
Gaige stood, flexing his arms macho-ly, while River was watching, smirking and shaking her head, before rolling her eyes, turning away and getting back to work. Other girls were swooning over Gaige's muscles and his brawn and looks, but Gaige watched River for a moment, like he was trying not to be longing, turning to Gil for advice, sauntering over to his brother.
Gaige sighed. "Gil, what would you do with a girl you like?"
"Keep 'em," Gil answered. Gaige nodded sarcastically. "Gaige, you are doing something that doesn't happen in the Isle. You're in love with River. You need to know what you're doing. In fact, you two being Raige, but there can be some serious consequences. Make good choices."
Gaige was impressed with the somewhat wise advice from his brother. "Wow, Gil, that was amazing. Probably the smartest thing you've ever said. Thank you, bro. But how do you ask an evil girl to... I don't even know."
"Well, can only give one good piece of advice per day," Gil told him. "Gaige, you've never had any issues with asking girls to go out with you. In truth, most of them went out of their way to make themselves available for you. Girls are always dropping schoolbooks in front of you and laughing when you're around them."
"Well, it is true," Gaige agreed. "I am used to a certain amount of admiration from the female species."
"So why is it so different with River?" Gil asked.
"She's not like the other girls," Gaige answered. "She doesn't fawn over anybody. A complete badass and pretends to be hard as stone. Not the easiest girl to talk to, but I think that's what I like about her."
Gil smiled at this, happy to hear a softer side from his brother, patting him on the back. "See, I knew you had it in you."
Gaige rolled his eyes. "Oh, shut up. But life is good when you're the strongest men on the Isle. You might not be the smartest guy on the Isle, Gil, but that's not the worst thing to live with."
"Well, we have girls to impress and strength to display, Gaige," Gil told him. "Hey, you want me to balance the table on my head again?"
Gaige gave him a weird, amused look. "No, thanks."
Uma and River were still working.
Uma put out a tray of food to an older woman pirate without a look, walking past.
The woman turned after her. "Hey! I wanted the fried clams!"
Uma turned to the woman mockingly, angrily. "And I wanted a sea pony. Life ain't fair!"
Uma walked away.
Malia, Mal and Izzy walked in, letting the doors swing closed behind them.
Izzy smirked, singing the words. "We're back."
"Well, well, well," Uma said. "Izzy. Pretty sure we'll get to see Yeva again soon too, even if it's not on good terms anymore."
"River," Izzy replied. "Uma."
River smirked, waving at Izzy. "Hey, Izzy. Excited to see Yeva again, too." She looked at Malia and Mal, gesturing to the table in front of her. "Losers, party of two. Right this way, please."
Uma and River both slid a chair to Malia and Mal. Malia and Mal caught the chairs by the top of the chairs.
Izzy walked along. "Place still stinks."
"Oh, I'm sorry," Uma told her sarcastically. "We're down a butler today... princess."
Izzy smirked, clearly missing the competitive banter that she and Yeva used to have with River and Uma, who both clearly missed that too, but they brushed it off since now Izzy and Yeva were friends with Mal and Malia, their enemies.
Izzy raised her eyebrows at River and Uma. Uma smirked, tilting her head, chuckling. River smirked, biting her lip.
Malia and Mal sat down, looking between Izzy, Uma and River. Gaige and Gil saw this from by the bar, turning toward them, leaning back against the bar as they watched the girls.
"Where are they?" Mal asked.
River smirked, looking at Malia and Mal. "You know, I've dreams of this, you two wanting something from us and us watching you squirm like worms on a..." She looked at Izzy. "Hook."
Izzy knew that River looked at her when saying Hook because she knew about her history with Harry, smirking sarcastically.
Malia looked at River and Uma, gesturing from herself to Mal. "I'm so flattered than you dream of us. Aren't you, Mal? We haven't given you two a thought since we left."
Uma slammed her hands on the table. "Obviously. You two have the perfect little lives, don't you?" She looked at the crew. "Don't they have the perfect, little lives?" She turned back to Mal and Malia. "And we're 20 years into a garbage strike."
"Listen, if you two have some kind of score to settle with us, game on," Mal told them. "I see no need to bring Ben and Anthony into this."
River laughed. "It may be a little unnecessary, but, oh, it is so much fun." She sat down in front of Malia. "Here's the deal."
"You two are just like your mother, always a catch," Izzy remarked with a roll of her eyes. "Where's Harry?"
Uma smirked. "You'll see Harry and your scepter, with Queen of Hearts inside, soon, Izzy, if you all play by my and River's rules."
River put her arm on the table for an arm wrestling match against Malia. "If you win, Ben and Anthony are free to go back to their little brother Bane, and Izzy gets her scepter and Queen of Hearts back. Hmm?" Malia put her arm on the table. River gave her a look of fake innocence. "Don't you want to know what we get if I win?"
"Still dreaming," Malia replied.
Uma chuckled, looking between the three girls. "Last time I checked, your mothers, and Yeva's mother Yzma, thought they had things all sewn up, too, huh? How'd that work out for them again?'
"You're forgetting we're the ones that took our mothers down," Mal replied. "What do you think we could do to you?"
"Nothing much, not as long as Harry has Izzy's scepter, with Queen of Hearts inside, and Ben and Anthony," Uma answered.
Malia and Mal glared at Uma and River.
Mal sighed, looking at River and Malia. "On three."
Izzy counted. "One, two, three."
River and Malia started the arm wrestling match.
River looked at Malia and Mal. "You know, Izzy and Evie were the princesses over here in the Isle. Daughters of evil queens, and Yeva was like a voodoo queen, even if she was only just Yzma's daughter. But you two?"
"You tried to pretend you're both pretty pink princesses, right alongside the second cousin to me and River, Mari, and her older sister Ara," Uma mocked. "Never bought your acts for a second. You can stick a pink tiara on a villain, but you're still a villain."
"And you can slap pirate hats on, but you're both still Shrimpy," Malia responded, mocking a gasp.
Mal laughed lightly, watching as Malia's reply made River lose a step in the match, and Malia let her eyes glow green as she tried to beat River.
Izzy watched this all intently, looking distant and a little unnerved to see her former friends battling it out with her friends, having known all of them since being kids. Gaige and Gil walked up beside Izzy, as they all watched the wrestling match. Izzy looked at them, also a little unnerved to be pit against them, and Harry as well.
Gil smiled. "Hey, Izzy. Long time."
"Yeah," Izzy agreed. "Hi, Gil."
River strained, waiting till the last second to say this so she could take Malia off guard. "If I win, you bring us the wand."
Malia was in shock, losing concentration in the match, so River took the easy win. The pirate crew cheered. Gaige raised his arms proudly as he cheered. River stood, laughing, cheering, doing a handshake with Gaige, both smiling since they had both won an arm wrestling match just in that one scene.
Uma smirked, standing, looking at Izzy, Mal and Malia. "Now, if you want beasty boys to reunite with little Beast brother Bane, and Izzy's scepter, with Queen of Hearts inside, back, bring us Fairy Godmother's magic wand to our ship tomorrow at 12:00 noon... sharp. Oh, and if you blab, you can kiss them all goodbye."
Uma and River blew Izzy a kiss like it was something that they and Yeva had used to do as friends, laughing, walking away. Izzy sighed, remembering when they used to do that as a group, shaking her head, looking down.
Mal and Malia looked at Izzy, but Izzy avoided their gazes.
-----
Outside
Mal, Malia and Izzy walked outside, seeing Harry leaning against the wall.
Izzy looked at Mal and Malia, nodding for them to go. Mal and Malia nodded in understanding, walking away.
Izzy walked toward Harry in annoyance. "Where's my scepter, Harry?"
Harry chuckled. "Don't worry, love. You'll get it back soon."
"Well, I also know that that's not the only thing that you took from me tonight, either," Izzy told him, holding out her hand. Harry smirked, chuckling. "My necklace, please."
Harry held up the necklace. "You mean the necklace I gave you that you were wearing until I slipped it off of you in the alley before when we first reunited after you came back?" Izzy sighed, reaching for the necklace. Harry took it out of reach, smirking. "Wearing sentimental trinkets, when you claim to be just another heartbreaker, when you clearly couldn't be heartless if you still wore this. Not so heartless as you would like people to think, are you, Isabella?"
"Let it go," Izzy told him, reaching for the necklace again.
Harry stepped back, making a mocking expression. "Hmm, not yet. You left. No goodbye, no note, nothing."
Izzy was losing her patience. "I didn't have a choice. My mother was sending me off to Auradon, she was with me every second of packing up with the clothes she wanted me to wear, spying on me through a looking glass."
"Yes, before you trapped Queen of Hearts in your little scepter," Harry told her.
"Speaking of, where is that?" Izzy asked.
"You'll get it back," Harry said. "You overcame your fear of Queen of Hearts finally and trapped her for good. You used to say that it was only your mother that was holding us back, other than the games you liked to play. And yet you never returned."
"I did return," Izzy disagreed. "I'm here now, aren't I? All of this is happening because I came back."
Harry chuckled in agreement. "You were always one to know how to create a spectacle, either intentionally or not. Though some of the blame can fall on Queen of Hearts this time, princess. I'm already out of my head, so her whisperings just made me more so just in the short amount of time I've had it. I can imagine what it was like for you." The way that Harry said that made it seem like the scepter was close enough for him to hear the whispering, meaning close enough to where Izzy could summon it to her hand, holding out her hand to summon it to her, tearing it from Harry's jacket into her hand. Harry was stunned, impressed. "That's a neat little trick."
"One you didn't know I could do, did you, since it's an object charmed with good magic, so even in a place where you can't use evil magic, you can still use good magic, or an object charmed with good magic," Izzy stated. "Ever hear of Once Upon a Time, a Land Without Magic? Even in a Land Without Magic, a charmed object could still work." Harry looked at her in confusion. Izzy shook her head. "You'll get there. You didn't know that I could do that, otherwise it wouldn't have been so easy. And you didn't know that since this thing is charmed with good magic inside of it, I could do this."
"Do what, exactly?" Harry asked.
Izzy sighed. "You don't even know the real reason why I left without saying goodbye. Why I tore it off before I left. Well, you're about to." She spun the scepter to cast a spell, leaving a trail of red magic in the air, making her eyes glow red. "By the earth, air, fire and sea, let him see the memory of him between you and me, to know why this way things came to be."
The memory played as if from a projection from the scepter's stone.
-----
Flashback
Night - Izzy's Castle - Balcony
Izzy:
On her balcony, Izzy walked outside, looking around. "Harry?"
Queen of Hearts approached her from inside the castle. "He wasn't able to make it."
Izzy turned to see her. "Mother?"
"Expecting your pirate?" Queen of Hearts asked.
"What did you do to him?" Izzy asked.
"You don't get to ask any questions!" Queen of Hearts snapped. "I only do now. Why are you sneaking around with one of those pathetic vermin?"
Izzy got angry, but couldn't stop her. "Mother, I swear to God--"
"What?" Queen of Hearts asked. "What was your plan, Isabella? To sneak around for the rest of your lives together? I taught you better than this, Izzy. I didn't mind you breaking the hearts of every boy you came across because you were acting like me. But this? You falling for a pirate?"
"I didn't fall for him," Izzy denied.
Queen of Hearts wasn't convinced, scoffing. "You're a better liar than that, young lady."
"It isn't like that," Izzy told her.
"Wasn't," Queen of Hearts corrected. "Wasn't like that. If you don't stop seeing the lowly pirate and act like the princess you are, and queen meant to be, I will remove his head."
Izzy shook her head nervously. "Mother, please don't do this."
"Love is weakness, Isabella!" Queen of Hearts shrieked.
Izzy jumped from the screeching in her mother's voice, but remained strong and angry. "How would you even know? You found someone, Mother. You had me! Why can't I have the same thing as you did? Why can't I be happy?!"
"Because I never loved your father," Queen of Hearts told her. "And I was never happy. And your pirate can't make you happy if he's dead, now can he?"
Izzy stepped forward. "You killed him?"
"No, I didn't," Queen of Hearts answered. "Not yet, at least. But if you see him again... off with his head."
-----
Now
Night - Chip Shoppe - Outside
Izzy lowered the scepter, making the projection of the memory she showed to Harry fade, letting the glowing red in her eyes fade.
Harry was stunned, in shock, not knowing what to say or how to react. "And that's the mad woman who's been whispering to you for months? No wonder you lost your mind, Diamonds."
Izzy, not surprised by the joke that he used to diffuse the tension, scoffed but laughed at the same time, looking away. "At least it's better than when she was screeching at me when she was free."
Harry lowered his hand, which still held Izzy's necklace. "You never told me."
"I couldn't," Izzy told him. "And now it doesn't matter."
"Doesn't matter?" Harry repeated skeptically, knowingly.
"Nope," Izzy said. "Not anymore."
"You still have to bring the wand to save Anthony and Ben," Harry warned.
"You think I don't know that?" Izzy asked. "See you, Harry."
Izzy took the necklace back, walking away with the necklace and the scepter, never looking back.
Harry watched Izzy go, completely stunned by the memory that she had shown him, both realizing that they cared a lot more than they thought they did, from both sides, but knew nothing could happen now with their crews fighting each other the way they were. He watched Izzy walk away and disappear into the night, realizing that she had only hurt him because she was trying to save his life from her mother, smirking, which slowly turned into a smile, laughing lightly, looking down.