Ways to be Wicked - Descendants 2 AU

Chapter 14

 Marinette had an almost odd sense of nostalgia at the smell of fried clams and the thick grease it bubbled away in. The docks were still creaky and sticky from unknown stains and years of sea salt that had encrusted upon them. All of it was strange and alien, yet at the same time sent her back to a simpler time, before she knew the difference between good and evil.

Those were the days when things were easy. She and her friends were young and full of adrenaline, swinging from scaffolding and flinging paint balloons at unsuspecting passerby's. Back then, the VK's had pit stops in the various slums all over the Isle for whenever they were looking for food that their parents wouldn't provide for them. One of those lynchpins in their lives was an odd little fish n' chip shack on the lower docks that belonged to the sea witch herself: Ursula.

Ursula had two kids that the VK's considered members of their pack, Luka and his wide-eyed little sister Juleka. She was their age, but didn't meet the standards for the Villain Kid breed of wannabe evildoer. She was lanky, quiet, and hid behind a thick fringe of bangs, cowering behind Marinette and her friends as they ran the streets and started establishing their reign of terror. She was Marinette's shadow, the annoying kid that they only really brought along for Luka's sake. Maybe that was why they were so mean to her, so hard on her in the name of supposedly toughening her up. All these years later, it was starting to seem like their plan backfired on them now that Adrien had been taken and Juleka was working against them.

Marinette wasn't sure of how they got here, an odd feeling for someone who used to have a plan for everything. There had been small skirmishes back in the day between the VK's and Juleka's ragtag group after Marinette and Luka came apart, but nothing so coordinated like this. How long had Juleka been waiting for a moment like this to strike back at her? Could this really been because of what happened between her and Juleka's brother? While Marinette knew they were close, she couldn't shake the feeling that this was something that went beyond just sibling camaraderie. The sea witch's daughter was after something else.

Ursula's Fish N' Chip Shop was like the rest of the Isle's less than fine establishments with mismatched tables and chairs, creaking floor boards and any number of dark stains and grease spots. The air reeked of old fry oil and the sharp smoke of the home-rolled cigars that were popular on the dockyards. The people who ate there were as rough as the sea they worked in and were known to start a brawl or two once they had gotten enough rum in them. This made the sword check at the door a necessity, and anyone who disrespected it would find out how far Ursula's tentacles could throw them out into the bay. The place was crowded as usual with a mix of locals and Juleka's make shift crew sitting at the head table, causing chaos and laughing too loud.

"Well, look who it is!" A shriek came from among them, Marinette immediately narrowing in on the bright pink hair of Alix the daughter of Medusa where she sat with her feet propped up. "Flame Brain!"

"What brings you to our fine establishment?" Max crooned from where he stood leaned against one of the restaurant's many wooden support columns. He gave her a mocking bow that made Marinette want to shove him the rest of the way down to the floor. With the absolute glee in their eyes, Marinette knew they were expecting her and looking forward to whatever torture their leader has in store for her. Standing behind them, leaned up against the back wall beside a busted TV set, was Luka who unlike everyone else refused to look at her.

"Shut up and tell me where he is," Marinette said flatly, with an edge to her tone that made several of the lower level scum stop laughing. It didn't manage to knock Alix's infuriatingly smug smile off her face though.

"Can't say I know what you're talking about," Alix said in a tone full of false innocence as she twirled a knife between her fingers.

Marinette was about ready to give Alix a piece of her mind with a swift kick of her solid soled boots when her host finally made her appearance, looking worlds away from the scrawny little girl who used to follow Marinette like a shadow.