Jay, Syl, Carlos, Harry, and Gil trudged down an overgrown path deep in the forest. Syl was walking in front of Jay, where he had a view of her long hair swishing back and forth across her back. Every now and again she would look back at him, grinning when she caught him staring at her. The group hadn't talked much, except for Dude, who had chattered away, and Gil, who had spouted meaningless comments every now and again.
"These things grow everywhere," said Gil. Jay looked behind him to see the boy scarfind down tiny red berries directly off a bush. He seemed to be in absolute bliss. "Hey, we should play that icebreaker. Um, Jay, I like the way that you can bounce around and jump off things," he said, juice dripping off his chin.
Jay was taken aback. He had never really considered the boy before him, other than a pawn of Uma's that threw a mean punch. Of course, he knew that the boy had feelings, but he had never realized how innocent and kind Gil was, deep beneath his exterior.
"This is free, right?" Gil asked, plucking off more berries.
"Yeah. I like how you get a kick out of a berry bush," he told Gil as if he was finally seeing him fore the first time.
Gil looked slightly embarrassed. "I guess you've probably seen everything by now, huh? Furry rocks, giant fish. You're probably used to grabbing lunch off a bush."
Now Jay was feeling a little embarrassed. "No- I mean, no, not really. I mean, I mainly just use the vending machines at practice. You know, tourney kind of eats up most of my time."
Harry snorted derisively. "Tourney? That's a wee boy's game."
Jay ignored him. The pirate had been bothering him all day, but he was trying to control himself.
"You know what would be fun?" Gil said, looking out over Auradon dreamily. "To go rafting down a jungle river."
"Find a lost civilization," said Jay excitedly. He'd been in Auradon a while, but had really only seen the city around the school and Camelot. He mulled the thought around in his head as he grabbed a mouthful of berries. He could taste Gil's appeal, as they were tangy, yet sweet. Something that couldn't be found on the Isle.
"Or maybe a penguin," said Gil.
"Well, you find those more on, like, icebergs," remarked Jay. "But I'd love to see one of those."
Harry seemed annoyed with their conversation. He sauntered over and sneered. "You guys are killing me." The pirate glided up to the bush and slowly picked a berry with his glinting hook. He put it in his mouth and smiled. "And PS: the mutt went thataway."
"Dude, what do you see?" shouted Carlos, running off. Syl was right behind him, her dress swishing around her legs as she took off into the forest. Harry and Gil followed, but Jay hung back for a moment and stared at the bush. Something seemed different about it, and he plucked another berry off of it. Something just felt right about the small act of freedom.
Looking up, he realized that he was falling behind and ran toward his friends, not wanting to leave Syl and Carlos alone with two pirates who may or may not have good intentions.
When Jay finally caught up to the group, he found a smirking Harry talking to his girlfriend. "So, lassie, are you really dating him?" He had slung one arm over her shoulder, and Syl picked up his arm with one hand and pushed it off her shoulder.
"Yes, we're dating. And you're not allowed to touch me, or I'll hit you where it hurts."
Jay grinned slightly as he came up behind the pair. Before he could say anything, Carlos spoke up. "I'd listen to her Harry. She's sent a lot of people to the infirmary. And I think once she's done with you I think Jay would finish the job."
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.