Hey guys! I'm Writer207 and this is my first ever Descendants story. I'm excited to let you read it because I've been planning it for a long time. It's basically just the Descendants story we know, but with the villains having escaped the Isle very soon and ruling Auradon. Also, it won't follow the plot completely (it'll be a little darker), so there'll be similarities and differences, but you'll see what I mean soon. I have to say before we start: some characters will be a little OOC, but only because the story and the world they live in demands it. Also, there will be one or two OC's, who won't really be important (for now). So, without further ado, here's the prologue!

-Writer207

Once upon a time, long, long ago… well, more like twenty years ago, Belle married her Beast in front of six thousand of their closest personal friends. Big cake… Yeah, so, instead of a honeymoon, Beast united all of the kingdoms and got himself the elected King of the United States of Auradon. He rounded up all the villains and sidekicks – basically all the really interesting people – and he booted them off to the Isle of the Lost, with a magical barrier to keep them there.

However, that barrier didn't stay there for a long time. Almost immediately, the barrier broke down and villains went to Auradon. The good guys fled when they heard we were coming or them. Those who didn't go and hide somewhere, were killed. Soon, the United States of Auradon fell in the hands of the villains and Maleficent became the supreme ruler of the land. Villains had the upper hand and the good guys were vanquished – or so we thought.

Hang on! You're about to meet us. But first, this happened…

The family ran through the forest, struggling to get through the dense cluster of plants. Not many people went this way, so they decided to go there. Behind them, they could hear the far away noise the five goons, who were following them, made. Luckily, they still were far behind, making it hard to catch up on the family.

The family was made up of three members. Mother, father, son. The son was exploring the woods, trying to find the way to the safe location. Then his mother came and last but not least, his father. The son was going faster than his parents, to scout the area. You never know where those goons would show up.

"Ben!" He turned around. His mother sounded scared. When he saw her, he noticed she was fine. When he looked at his father, he knew why they stopped. The wound hadn't completely healed yet, which already made it hard for his father to run away from the goons. Currently, he was takng a break, leaning against a tree.

Ben ran back to his father, also known as the infamous Beast. Even if his real name was Adam, people still called him Beast after all those years. "Dad!" He came closer and stood in a position that would allow him to help his father whenever necessary.

"Are you okay?" he asked, "Do I need to help you?" his father shook his head in response.

"No, thanks. I'm fine." Even in these dark times, people still used that lie. It didn't need to be said out loud. It would take a while for Beast to recover and be able to continue. In the meantime, the goons were coming closer and closer. If they stayed there too long, they would sure catch up on them.

"We have to split up," Beast then said, looking at his family. Belle nodded and it pleased him to see she agreed with his plan. She definitely saw the bigger picture. Ben, on the other hand, didn't consider this plan to be a good one.

"What?" he said, disbelief clearly audible in his voice.

"I can't continue like this," Beast explained, "I will only slow you down. Ben, go back to the alliance on your own. You have the best chance of survival." Ben already started shaking his head when Beast wasn't finished talking.

"No," he responded, "I'm not leaving you."

"Ben…" Beast tried again, but Ben continued before his father could say anything else.

"No, I won't. I'm staying." Beast took one step in his son's direction – he would've come closer than that if he wasn't exhausted and if the wound wasn't stopping him.

"Ben, please." His father said. Ben stared into his father's eyes, and his father stared back at him. "You have to go. The alliance needs you." He begged his son to go, to leave them behind. Ben continued to watch his father. He knew his father was genuinely worried about him, but the tone he used and the meaning behind his latest words gave another possibility of interpretation. He eventually turned his head.

"I'm just a kid…" He whispered. He didn't look directly at his father anymore. He was sixteen, old enough to have some responsibility. He knew this day was coming come, but he had no idea he would be sixteen when some responsibilities and burdens shifted from one person to another. Beast had picked the worst day to give Ben the biggest responsibility of all. They were on the run and they had no idea what was going to happen. There was always a back-up plan, but that wouldn't be activated until next week or when the three of them were dead. Someone of his age shouldn't have to have so much responsibilities.

He felt a soft hand on his shoulder. It was his mother. He still didn't look up, but still shifted his head in his mother's direction, placing his own hand on his mother's.

"He means well," Belle said.

"I know." Ben replied, "I just… Chip would've been so much better at this than me." And he actually wanted it, he thought. It was a pity his enthusiasm made him one of Maleficent's victims. Even in his last moments, he remained true to himself. He would never grow older than twenty-four and still inspired a lot of people today.

"Chip isn't here anymore," Belle said with a shaky voice. She missed him and she got sad when she was reminded of him. She had known Chip longer than Ben, after all, and often acted as his second mother. "They respect you. They like you. You're nice to them. I'm sure they'll listen to you." Ben turned around and finally looked at his mother. He had no idea how she still was able to smile in the face of danger.

"I'm not ready." He said. After everything that happened, he knew he just wasn't ready. He wasn't the perfect successor who is able to withstand the forces of evil. Heck, he was not even half the fighter his dad was. Then how could his father ever expect him to lead the resistance? There were far better candidates in the alliance.

"Yes, you are." Ben turned his head to his father. He still was leaning against the tree, but had recovered a bit, making him use the tree just for support. "Don't ever let anyone tell you otherwise. You can do it. I'm sure you can."

"But dad…"

"No buts," Beast interrupted him. "I've seen how you take charge of the younger alliance. You'll be a great leader, Ben, even if you don't see it yet." Ben nodded in response. He still doubted himself. But his parents believed in him, so it was time to believe he could actually lead the entire alliance. And if it turns out he wasn't ready, he would have to learn as he led his big family through the dark times they were living in.

The goons were coming dangerously close. The family went to lay on the ground. Their clothes were already dirty, so a little more dirt wouldn't hurt anyone. As long as they stayed alive, it didn't matter how dirty they were. They continued their conversation.

"I'll distract them," Ben suggested, "You stay here until they're out of sight. We meet at the alliance." He didn't leave any room for contradiction and immediately crawled away. He was already lucky they had found this small way which the few animals of this forest use. It would be easier for Ben to sneak away from his parents and distract the goons from a distance. It took him long – too long, in his opinion – to find a tree to hide behind. It was wide enough to temporarily hide him from the goons' sight.

He started to doubt again. Would he be able to do it? Would he see his parents, his friends ever again? Did Maleficent find them already? He already knew Audrey had escaped eight times, a record nobody wished to break, but others had less luck. Whatever the case, he told himself to focus on the present. The goons had to be distracted. That was the problem of the now. The other matters could be addressed later.

Ben took a deep breath. From his position, he could see the goons walking around, looking for any sign of life, any sign of resistance. He looked to his left, at his parents. Currently, they were hiding, but not for much longer. They would be on their way to the alliance, to a safe place where he'd meet them eventually. If he ran, they would not turn back to look for his parents. They'd be too busy chasing him.

He took another deep breath and ran away from his parents, away from the safety of the tree he was hiding behind. He focused on the village, where he'd try to shake them off. After a few seconds, he could hear the goons. "Over there!" And then, no second later, bullets flew past him. He was lucky these goons weren't properly trained, because they barely had any experience with chasing the enemy in a forest they didn't know.

Ben didn't look back. The thought of his parents, who were going to be safe, and his father's words to him, fuelled him and made him run a little faster than usual. In the meantime, the goons were still shooting at him. They hit the trees, the plants, the fern as Ben fought his way through the dense forest.

One lucky shot ended the chase. As it hit Ben, he stumbled a few more feet forward, but then fell. He shouted out in pain, and immediately grasped the wound at his ankle. Blood poured out of it, and Ben put pressure on it. Hopefully, this reduced the amount of blood flowing out of it.

He was close to swearing. He wouldn't be able to shrug this one off. He tried to crawl away in a last attempt to stay away from the goons. He failed. The goons soon caught up on him. They stood around him in a circle, guns pointed at him. Ben quickly counted them. Five goons. They all went after him. His parents were safe.

"Let's end this now," one of them said, looking at the victim. Ben guessed this was the guy who had hit him, though he couldn't be sure. He did know that his comrades wouldn't let him kill the kid right away. Immediately after the goon had said it, the other four immediately protested.

"Dude, what are you doing?" the goon on his left said, "Maleficent wants every resistance member alive." The three others nodded. Ben looked at the guy who wanted to shoot him, but not anymore. Everyone knew Maleficent (and other villains who sided with her) wanted the resistance members to be publicly executed to spread fear and despair, to prevent anyone from doing what the poor resistance members did. She had found a way to make everyone she caught beg for mercy, pleading innonence in their lastv moments, as if they were somebody else, as if they belonged with the ordinary, scared townsfolk. Ben had seen it happen more than once. Her plans didn't include someone being executed in the forest.

Two of the goons, one of them being the guy who wanted to kill him, picked him up by his arms and dragged him out of the forest, to the village. He was forced to walk or to have his feet get dragged behind him. Ben chose to walk. His ankle hurt a lot, but it would hurt a lot more if his feet were dragged behind him.

When they were out of the woods, Ben looked at the dark castle in the north. Maleficent's castle. A chill went down his spine. He'd spend the last days of his life there before . He would never see his parents again.

For some reason, he started to think about the villains and what kind of parents they were. There were a lot of villains who had kids of their own – nobody knew how they managed to convince someone to have a baby, or multiple babies, with them. Because he was a member of the alliance, he knew them all by face – if you didn't know the faces, there was always a chance to get caught. In this part of the kingdom, Maleficent and her three closest 'friends' (Jafar, the Evil Queen and Cruella De Vil) reigned supreme. Everyone knew the faces of those kids and there were whispers, rumors going around about them when they weren't in the village. Most people preferred not to say their names, afraid some sort of spy would hear them pronounce that name with disrespect. Disrespect was a crime nobody dared to commit, as it was often punished with death. No, they preferred the common nicknames everyone used. The Traveler. The Princess. The Fur-Hunter. The Witch.

Ben knew their names and wasn't afraid to say them out loud. Jay. Evie. Carlos. Mal. After today, he had no idea if he would ever say them out loud. He probably never would. As the goons pushed him, he wondered if the Fearsome Four would be around when his head would be separated from his body.

He shook his head. Of course they would be around. They were always around when another alliance member had to bite the dust, grinning as if they were watching their favorite show. He hung his head and looked away from the castle.