Disclaimer: I do not own Disney or any of these characters
Forward: This chapter was difficult because of a lot of added characters all at once. Hopefully you all enjoy all the new additions and hopefully I got them somewhat in character...
It was almost comical how nervous Wesley felt as Pheobus opened the door to the rebellion headquarters. Meeting up with different villains? Sure, that had caused some minor nerves. But opening himself up to a bunch of heroes? Now that was terrifying. The first thing Wesley noticed as he took in the meeting room was how simple and tiny it was. It was a stone room with just a small wooden table in the middle and a few chairs. In those chairs sat five heroes, though Wesley only recognized three of them. There was Shang, pinching the bridge of his nose, while Buzz tried to make some grand point. Next to him sat Megara, who was stretched out in the chair, looking almost relaxed and nonchalant about the whole situation. The other two Wesley could not recognize. One was a girl about his own age in a purple and pink dress and long blonde hair. The other was man with dark brown shaggy hair, a beard, and a slightly tattered plain brown shirt and dark brown pants. The girl looked bored and the guy was clearly zoning out. Pheobus cleared his throat loudly and the entire group turned to inspect the new guests.
"You're a little tall for a hunchback" Meg commented, stretching her arms and giving Wesley a once over.
"Excuse me?"
"We'd hoped…" Esmeralda answered, her eyes guarded and cold. "But that is another matter. We found you" Esmeralda shot him a small smile before turning to address the council, "We found what the villains were alluding to" Wesley crossed his arms then, knowing that he was about to become the subject of whatever happened next. He hated this, always being the center of attention. Buzz swaggered over and firmly held his hand out to the boy.
"Buzz Lightyear, space ranger. It is a pleasure to finally meet you" Wesley just stared at the hand for a moment, before looking at Pheobus and Esmeralda as if to say is this a joke? But they only nodded to Buzz. Wesley just shrugged and shook Buzz's hand between his index finger and thumb. It wasn't like his life could get any weirder.
"General Shang" Shang announced, standing and shaking his hand formally.
"Meg" Meg saluted him.
"Princess Eilonwy" The stranger curtsied.
"Charming" the man smiled and shook Wesley's hand. Wesley had to disguise his laugh as a cough. Was his name really Charming? There was a long pause before Pheobus finally nudged Wesley none too gently.
"Oh! I'm uh Wesley" Wesley tried to smile but it came out more like a grimace. The silence stretched on. Wesley didn't know what to say, but nobody else seemed to be stepping up to the plate.
"Wesley" Charming finally murmured, a small smile appearing on his worn face. "A regal name. We heard you were staying with the villains?" Says the guy named Charming. Even so, Wesley was grateful to not detect even the slightest hint of suspicion in the man's tone, only genuine curiosity.
"Right. Actually I'm here by accident. My little sister is...somewhere here too. I was told you could help me find her" Wesley moved his hands into his pockets, trying hard not to fidget.
"You lost your sister within seconds of arriving." Meg deadpanned, "I'm impressed"
"That's not what happened! I-"
"Came here "by accident" So you say" Shang replied, crossing his arms and regarding the stranger warily. Everyone seemed to be waiting for Wesley to expand upon his story, but his vocal cords were no longer cooperating with him. His anxiety had rooted him to the spot. What was wrong with him? He'd told Syndrome and Facilier off perfectly fine!
"What land are you from?" Charming prompted, finally taking pity on the clearly terrified child.
"I'm not from around here" Wesley explained, taking a deep breath. "I'm from...well, a faraway land I guess. Mickey just appeared and poofed me into this , Notre Dame specifically. I don't know where my sister is, but-" Wesley trailed off as he realized that no one was listening anymore. Instead they were gaping at him like he had just grown another head. Charming and Eilonwy were sharing a loaded look, Shang was leaning forward and scrutinizing Wesley, Meg's eyebrow had risen almost to her hairline, and Buzz's jaw was ajar.
"So you're the chosen one?" Eilonwy finally said, giving Wesley an unimpressed once over.
"No." Wesley snapped. What was it with these people and their stupid "chosen one" philosophy? Were they that desperate for someone else to come and solve all their problems for them? Why couldn't they just leave him be? "There are no such things as chosen ones. I'm not here to be some sort of hero, I-"
"Well why are you here?" Charming cut him off.
"By accident. I just told you, I-"
"You escaped the villains so that you could find your sister" Buzz finished, crossing his arms and raising a single eyebrow at Wesley. "And you do not think that makes you a hero?"
"It makes me a decent human being" Wesley argued, running a hand through his hair in frustration. Why did everything have to be so grand with these characters? Heroes and villains. Good and evil. What a load of nonsense. Wanting to protect his sister didn't make him some pinnacle of goodness. It just made him human. "Look, I'm not here for riddles or a therapy session. Have you seen my sister or not?"
"Sorry, kid. No big-eyed pouty lipped kids here" Meg replied casually. Like his concerns didn't matter at all. These people were no better than the villains. Out of the frying pan and into the fire, indeed.
"This is a waste of time" Wesley growled, looking away and bunching his hands into fists. This was ridiculous. No one was going to help him. He should have known better than to expect anything else. There was only one person he could rely on in this world and that was himself.
"You've got another plan?" Eilowny scoffed.
"I don't know!" Wesley rounded on her, "But I know I'm not staying here with a bunch of second rate heroes" Eilowny's eyes widened in hurt at that remark, physically taking a step back as though slapped. The others reactions weren't much better. Shang had closed himself off again, Buzz looked like he'd just killed his favorite pet, all traces of humor from Meg were gone, and Esmeralda and Pheobus were barely concealing their anger. "I'm sorry" Wesley said quietly, flashing back to the memory Faciler had taken him back to not so long ago, "I didn't mean-"
"You're not the only one who has lost someone" Charming piped up and Wesley turned to him, hating the guilt churning in his stomach. He'd forgotten Charming was even there. "My wife…" Charming took a short steadying breath, "Shang has lost a wife, Meg a husband, and Lightyear and Eilonwy a best friend. You're not the only one grieving" Wesley looked away. Ashamed.
"My sister's not dead. I….wait. What are you talking about?"
"Disney heroes are disappearing" Shang replied, his anger only fanning the flame of shame, "Villains are seizing control of all our worlds. Did you think we chose to have his war?"
"I'm...I'm sorry" Wesley looked down. How long had it taken him to anger the heroes? Five minutes? That had to be a record.
"We're not the villains, Wesley" Buzz walked over, gently placing his small hand on Wesley's finger. "You have a choice. You don't have to help us if you don't want to. But we would appreciate it if you did" Wesley couldn't help the laugh that escaped him.
"And what could I possibly do to help?"
"Intel. You want to work solo? Use it to your benefit. Talk to the villains. They already know all about us. You're still a mystery" Shang replied
"Are you kidding? No way! I just escaped from them!"
"Look at it this way, kid. Your sister's got herself lost in one of those lands. You're bound to find her eventually" Meg gave a lopsided smile, but there was no humor in her eyes.
"Yeah, maybe in a couple of years" Wesley muttered, "And how do you know I won't decide that the villains have a better deal?"
"Do you want to find your sister or not?" Pheobus asked.
"Was that a threat?" Wesley narrowed his eyes.
"Enough." Esmeralda finally spoke, her eyes showing the exhaustion she must have felt watching all of this chaos.. "You're old enough to know the difference between right and wrong. If you want to go with the villains, go. Just know that there will be consequences-good or bad" Esmeralda sat in one of the chairs, taking a deep breath. "You don't have to make the choice right this second. Get some rest. Think carefully about what you want to do"
"And what about my sister?"
"We will keep you updated" Shang replied, "You have my word"
"I believe you will make the right choice" Buzz smiled, but Wesley only managed a feeble groan as he stuck his head in his hands. How had he gotten stuck in this situation? Traded from one team to the other like some baseball card. Or a chess piece. That was all he was to anyone. A piece to be moved around on a board. These character's all had their own problems to worry about and why should they help him? But, in turn, why should he help them? Was it really the "right" thing to do as they so vehemently claimed? Wesley wasn't so sure anymore. And that thought terrified him.
Ending Note: So that was fun. Trying to make sure each character got enough screentime was a challenge, but hopefully I gave them all a fair share. Also I haven't seen The Black Cauldron in ages. What will Wesley choose to do? If you have any suggestions or comments, let me know! :)