Hello and welcome to Part 5 of my "Forever Wicked" series. As you can tell by the title (and if you read Part 4 - "Poor Unfortunate Souls"), it's a whole new world. Basically, it's an AU that is also a sequel. Wow.
If you're new and haven't read the first four parts, go to my profile where I left a list of the titles of Parts 1 - 4 (and the prologue).
Enjoy.
Leave a review after reading, please. Feedback is always appreciated.
I'd like to thank the following users for reviewing the final chapter of "Poor Unfortunate Souls": DragonEmperor999, Carvie12, danifan3000, MaliceMalAmyMalevFaery, CC, TheGreatGodzilla, xez2003, Guest
To TheGreatGodzilla: I know Mal deserved punishment for her crimes. It's just that you didn't have to keep saying "Mal deserves to be executed" over and over and over again. But nice one on the "vengeance vs. stubbornness" to describe Mal and Uma's rivalry. It seems like a perfect way to sum it up.
To CC: Well, basically, yes. The timeline has been changed. But it's best to read the story and wait to see what'll happen.
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Descendants.
WARNING: Rated T for themes and violence
"Dear Diary,
This is pretty much the first time I've written to you. In this new world, that is. The diary from my world doesn't exist anymore. So, the two of us are gonna have to acquaint. Maybe for the rest of my life. I don't know. Everything is a blur now. A dark, unforgiving blur. Much like me. But enough about that. Where do I start? Oh, there's too many places to start, but I guess I should start with why I'm writing to you.
It's been exactly 29 days since I woke up into this new world. A world I created. Long story short, Uma wanted to change the world using a magical wishing well. She almost half-succeeded, but I had to add my magic to the mix to prevent her from getting what she wants. The result? A world even worse than what I had imagined. Just because this world isn't Uma's, it doesn't mean it's any better. The villains rule all Auradon now. My mother is at the top of it all. That's right. The villains have won. I didn't just change reality. I changed history. To keep it simple, instead of the villains being locked up on the Isle of the Lost, there was a war. A war that lasted 5 years. The villains, as I mention, won. The heroes are either dead or in hiding. My mother mentioned a resistance, but who knows how big or small it is.
As for me, well, I have it all. At least, what the old me ever wanted. A mother who's proud of me. A luxury bedroom I can call my safe haven. Feared and respected by the entire kingdom. A lifetime supply of strawberries. Okay, that last one wasn't exactly what the old me wanted or expected, but you get the point. But I'm living the good life. The good bad life. I can't deny that a part of me is loving this, but a huge part of me knows this is all wrong. It's not real. It's just an illusion created by a stupid wishing well. I didn't wish for all this. As far as I'm concerned, everything I created is random. If I ever wished for anything, I'd want to change myself completely. Be the good girl that everyone expected me to be. But I haven't changed. I'm still the same me I've always been. I may not possess my mother's scepter anymore, but the transformation I went through when I touched it, it still remains inside of me.
My mother. Oh, how I wish she were proud of me for real. For being a sort-of good girl. Not this ruthless, heartless vixen she believes I am. For the past 29 days, I had to keep up the act. That includes acting like a bad girl, which isn't exactly hard. The hardest part so far was what happened on the anniversary of the villains' victory. Apparently, in this world, since I was 13, my mom presents me with an innocent life to execute just for the fun of it. I know. It's sick. Hypocritical, I know. The next victim was a member of the resistance. A husband. A father. A soldier. I was asked to behead him. But I didn't. I put my sword down in front of everyone. But I knew that I couldn't risk suspicions. So, I burned that poor man alive. He screamed and screamed as his body slowly turned to ash. The villains, as you expect, cheered at the sight of it. You'd think I'd feel pleasure for burning someone alive, well, I didn't feel it. I felt disgusted with myself. The worse part, I barely hesitated.
I've kept myself locked up in my room since then. I just couldn't swallow the fact that this is the world I'm living in right now. It's horrible. Everything and everyone I touch, I'm worse than poison. But now, I'm done hiding. it's time I get out there, familiarize myself with this new world, and see how I can manage all this. Like mom said, I'm gonna rule it all one day. Might as well start by getting to know everyone all over again, if they don't remember anything. Whoever's alive, at least.
I just wish the others are okay. Maybe they've gotten better or worse, but I would really like to see them. Evie. Jay. Carlos. Ben. Oh, Bennyboo. I miss you.
'Til next time
- Mal"
Mal shuts her diary, makes it disappear (hiding it somewhere no one would ever find it), and then lies down on her very soft, very terrifying bed. She was going nuts just staying in her room all month. She wonders why she hasn't gone psycho like CJ yet. So far, all she's done is check what's on the darknet (which is the "internet" in this new world), watch TV shows directed and written by the villains' sidekicks, and lie down all day. She ordered for her meals to be served to her in her bedroom. She wouldn't leave for any reason. Not for her mother. Not for visits. Not for goblins arguing outside her room..
But now, she's ready to get out.
"You're trapped in this nightmare, Mal. You did this to yourself. You want to pay for your penance, then here's your payment to the world," she said to herself.
Mal grabs her purple jacket from the coat rack, arms herself with a sword, slips on her favorite shoes, made sure her favorite dagger was safely stored in her show, and blew the purple locks off her face with a smirk on her face. Conjuring a little bit of fire, Mal throws a fireball at the wall, precisely at her infamous "Long Live Evil" graffiti artwork. Hey, if anyone is allowed to mess with her artworks, it's her.
"Burn in hell, they say? Well, here I am, only I'm the one who's gonna supply the burn," said Mal.
Mal kicks her doors open. She's really ready get out of her room and explore the new world. First things first, she has to talk to her mother.
~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ ROTTEN TO THE CORE ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~
Mal walked to the throne room, but she can sense her mother's magic coming from somewhere else. Maleficent was in a room with a giant oval-shaped table in the middle. You can say it was the castle's conference room. Mal wondered why her mother would keep the conference room that way it is besides making everything dark and sinister. All meetings take place in the throne room anyways.
"Mother," Mal called.
"Well, well, look who finally decided to leave her room," said Maleficent. She sounded a bit annoyed. "Care to explain yourself, missy?"
Mal did not say a word. She just looked at her mother with a near expressionless look on her face.
"You burn that knight alive and then you retreat to your quarters like a recluse. You refused to leave under any circumstance. Quite odd, I must say," said Maleficent.
"I came here to tell you that I won't be available for the next day or two," said Mal. "I'm gonna go out and breath the fresh, rotten air. Like you said, I've been acting like a recluse for the past few weeks."
"So, you finally come out and you decide to take a personal trip for reasons I'm sure you won't tell me?" Maleficent questioned. "Oh, heck with it. You do whatever you have to. Just be sure to be bad out there, my little Mal. Burn down a house or two if you must. We both know how much you love setting things on fire."
"Oh, you'll be hearing all about it from the sidekicks, I'm sure," said Mal.
"But before you go, Evil Queen is coming for a visit. She's bringing that brat daughter of hers with her," said Maleficent. "Just one teensy favor for your dear mommy. Keep that one called Evie under control."
"It's Evie, mom. All she does is powder her nose, literally," said Mal.
"Last time she visited, she gave one of the goblins a makeover. I can still see it in my nightmares," said Maleficent, shivering from the memory. "She's your friend, you deal with her. Once their visit is over, you may go on your gloomy little way."
Mal sighs and says, "Fine."
As is said in her diary, Mal has never seen Evie since she woke up in this new world. All she knew is that Evie and her mother ruled Charmington (which is now called Grimsmouth). Mal has yet to know how close or how distant she and Evie are in this world. Well, she's about to find out.
"One more thing, Mal," said Maleficent. "You know nothing happens in this kingdom without my knowing. What exactly were you doing in your room?"
"Well, mom, can you blame your daughter for being pressured with the future of ruling, well, everything?" Mal replied casually.
"I may be the evilest of them all, but I am still a mother. You know it's my job to prepare you for queen-hood," said Maleficent. "You're my evil, nasty little girl, Mal. You walk the dark waters I walk on. Nothing can ever keep us apart."
"True that," said Mal.
"Oh, it seems like it was only yesterday I was teaching you how to wave a magic wand," Maleficent reminisced. "You set half the castle on fire and killed a few goblins. I was so proud of you."
Mal pretended to smile, but it was convincing. No sheepishness present in the smile. Just the convincingly false proud feeling she showed in the smile.
"And one of these days, you will get to hold mommy's scepter," said Maleficent, just dreaming of that day.
"Yeah, I can already picture it," Mal said through her teeth. Her mother doesn't know that her daughter had held the scepter before.
Maleficent pokes her daughter on the nose with that wicked grin on her face. It hurt Mal to see her mother feel so proud of her for false reasons. But she has to bear with them for as long as she's here. Like she told herself, she created this hell so she has to live in it, as her penance.
Later that morning, an evil-looking but neat carriage parked right outside Maleficent's castle. Evil Queen and her daughter Evie walk off the carriage and through the front doors. Evie was "powdering her nose" as she walked, looking at herself in the mini Magic Mirror to make sure she is as fair as her mother. The second Mal saw her, the purple-haired sorceress rolled her eyes and said "of course" since Evie is, well, Evie.
"I guess some things don't change," Mal muttered.
What did change, however, is Evie's choice of clothing. She wore a blue dress with black sleeves and her hair was tied up in a bun. Well, if Evie still fancied herself a princess in this world, this shouldn't be a surprise. Besides, now she really looks like her mother.
Mal teleported back to the throne room to greet Evie and Evil Queen properly. Maleficent and Evil Queen looked at each other with mild but very transparent hatred. Evie just continued looking at herself in her mirror, which made Mal roll her eyes again.
"Queen," Maleficent greeted her formally, if with contempt.
"Maleficent," Evil Queen greeted her with the same contempt in her tone.
"You better not be wasting my time again," said Maleficent.
"The resistance robbed three stores in Grimsmouth," said Evil Queen. "That's, what, the billionth time my kingdom has been robbed in the past 16 years."
"What do you want?" asked Maleficent.
"I want to know if you're really making progress with locating these insufferable bandits," said Evil Queen. "I can't stand constant complainers knocking on my door every single day. What if they decide to rob my castle next?"
"Didn't they do that last year?" Maleficent asked mockingly.
"Why you uncooperative crone!" Evil Queen insulted.
"Don't you dare talk to me like that, you ugly old hag!" Maleficent shouted back, only her voice boomed as lightning stroke when she did.
Mal knew this was her cue to leave. Evie knew it as well.
~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ ROTTEN TO THE CORE ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~
Both teenage girls walked out of the throne room and left their mothers to argue like they always. Some thing haven't changed in this new world, Mal saw. Now Mal can talk to her "friend," but she was too busy making sure her cheeks were free of any speck of dirt to even look at her.
"Nice to see you too, E," Mal said sarcastically, just in case sincerity would make her suspicious.
"Yeah, sure. Nice to see you too," Evie said dismissively. When she finally looked at Mal, she crossed her arms and, in a disappointed tone, said, "Still wearing that old jacket, M? As the future ruler of Auradon, you should consider updating your choice of clothes. If you're gonna stick to those nasty colors, at least try putting them on a dress fit for a queen. And you could use a makeover. Your eyebrows look pretty crooked and your cheeks look like you came out of a filthy attic."
"I can just snap my fingers and fix my face. Let's see you criticize me after that," Mal snarked.
"Hmm. What a crass riposte," Evie replied.
"I didn't see you at the anniversary weeks ago. I must say, I'm kinda hurt," Mal said, again with sarcasm just in case she and Evie aren't close in this new world.
"As pleasing as the sight of you chopping off some poor mortal's head off was, I had more important things to attend to," said Evie.
"Like what? Your facial?" Mal asked in an insulting manner. Now, this time, that tone was sincere.
"My wedding," said Evie. "Oh, haven't your heard? My sweet prince proposed to me a day before the anniversary."
"What kind of moron would marry a self-serving, self-involved fashionista like you?" Mal questioned. "Oh, wait, let me guess."
Mal turns around, looks up, and throws a fireball at...
Jay.
He managed to jump away from the line of fire and landed on the floor in style. He scoops Evie in his arms and kisses her straight on the lips. Evie kissed him back. Mal fake-vomited, only because she really felt disgusted by the sight of this.
"Of course. Now that Jafar's the Sultan of Agrabah, that makes Jay an official prince. And you've always had your eye on a prince, E," said Mal.
"You know it, M," said Evie. "The wedding is in a month. Don't worry. You're invited. Not my decision, however."
Jay didn't seem to change much. Same old beanie. Same old sleeveless leather jacket. His jacket's snake pattern and color scheme was slightly different though. Now that he was living the royal life, that came with more luxurious clothing.
"Mazel tov," Mal sassed. "How'd you even travel here? Hitched a ride on the carriage?"
"Actually, I did," said Jay. "Hid inside this big trunk Evil Queen owns. Good thing the keyhole is big enough to let air in."
"Well, I didn't want you to suffocate during the ride, my sweetie," Evie said flirtatiously.
Mal gagged in disgust again.
"Hey, where were you after the anniversary, Mal?" Jay asked. "The guys and girls and I were waiting for you at Eden. I thought we were gonna party like crazy, crazier than parties before."
Through the contacts in her phone and her social media profile, Mal discovered that she was the leader of a gang of her own, just like back on the Isle of the Lost. That gang is called "The Dragons," a name clearly chosen by her. The gang consisted of Jay, Freddie, Yzla, Ginny, Hadie, Claudine, and... Mad Maddy. Apparently, her little screw-up with the Wishing Well brought a dead person back to life.
"I wasn't in the mood to party," said Mal.
"I heard your latest execution didn't end with beheading. You burned that man alive," said Evie. "Something's off with you."
"I don't need you to judge me, Mrs. Mirrors," Mal retorted. "At least I still have my dignity intact. Look at you. A narcissistic princess marrying a common lowlife."
"Okay, I'd take that as an insult, but I do see your point," said Jay.
"Did you steal anything for me today, Jay my dear?" asked Evie. It was a thing with their relationship. He'd steal a gift for her every month.
Jay reaches into his pocket and takes out a lovely necklace with a shiny golden dragon on it.
"Hey, that's mine!" Mal shouted.
Mal snatches the necklace back and puts it around her neck. She hid the dragon inside her jacket to keep it from being snatched again.
"You never wear it," said Jay.
"Doesn't mean it doesn't mean something to me," said Mal. "You touch any of my stuff again, I'll make sure the groom shows up to the wedding in a very, very, very bad shape."
Mal conjured a little bit of fire to emphasize her threat. Despite being barely fazed, Jay was definitely scared.
"So, I'm guessing your gonna want this back?" Jay asked, holding up a rusty silver chain.
Mal quickly snatches the chain back. She didn't know what the chain was, but since she owned it and kept it, it must mean something. Maybe not much, but she preferred to keep everything that belonged to her in this new world. Every. Single. Thing.
"I dare you to try that again," Mal said threateningly.
"Can't blame a guy for trying," said Jay.
Mal sighs and faceplams herself. All of this is a little too hard to digest. First, Evie is an even bigger narcissist than before. Jay suffers from the same level of kleptomania when he grew up on the Isle. And on top of that, the two of them were getting married. Ew!
"When my mom asks, tell her I've already left," said Mal.
"What's the matter, Mal? Purple with envy?" Evie teased. "Maybe you can find love too if you weren't so focused on impressing your mother."
Mal's hands curled into fists and shook. Fortunately, the only thing that (magically) broke is a nearby torch on the wall. Mal takes a deep breath before walking away from the "couple." Oh my mother, I can't believe they're even a couple, Mal thought with revulsion.
And so, Mal left the castle. She took her first breath of "fresh" air in a while. She hasn't stepped out of the castle since the anniversary of the villains' war victory, but now she is ready to face whatever is out there. First stop, Auradon City... or as it's called in this new world, Villainsville. Strutting down the streets like the woman in charge (which she technically is, in spite of her mother), Mal had every single evil soul avoiding eye contact and running scared with just a single look. Feeling in a very "bad" mood right now, Mal takes out her phone, plugs in her earpieces, and turns on the music.
"Rotten To The Core" by, well, her. Apparently, she has an album in this new world.
Mal listens to the wicked beat as she looks around for opportunities to cause a little bit of trouble. Her mother expects her to be bad, so that's what she's gonna do. Maybe a part of her just wanted to do this, but she's gonna do it anyway.
They say I'm trouble
They say I'm bad
They say I'm evil
And that makes me glad
Mal starts off by snapping her fingers and causing some random trouble, such as dumping fruit on people and making skateboarders float and crash.
A dirty no-good
Down to the bone
Your worst nightmare
Can't take me home
Mal climbs up the fire escape of a nearby building and sees three kids hanging out. She snaps her fingers and causes the fire escape to collapse. While she lands safely, the other three, not so lucky.
So I've got some mischief
In my blood
Can you blame me?
I never got no love
Mal sees two evil lovers sharing ice cream. Snapping her fingers again, she makes the ice cream literally blow up in their faces.
They think I'm callous
A low-life hood
I feel so usless
Misunderstood
Mal steals an apple from a bystander, takes a bite out of it, and then throws it at the face of the person she stole it from.
Mirror, mirror, on the wall
Who's the baddest of them all?
Welcome to my wicked world, wicked world
I'm rotten to the core, core
Rotten to the core
I'm rotten to the core, core
Who can ask for more?
I'm nothin' like the kid next, like the kid next door
I'm rotten to the, I'm rotten to the
I'm rotten to the core
Mal shows up at a playground and causes a little bit of mayhem. She magically curses the roundabout to spin fast and faster, ejecting the pre-teens riding on it at high speed. Mal sees a boy bullying a younger girl about not being able to survive the monkey bars. Mal causes one of the bars to turn to ash, which led to the bully falling on his back. Mal carries the little girl up on the monkey bars and helps her succeed. As she walked away, she caused the slide to lean up, causing a kid to fall backwards.
Call me a schemer
Call me a freak
How can you say that?
I'm just unique
And you know the rest. Mal decided to kick things up a notch. As she danced along to the wicked beat, she entered a rundown apartment building. Not many people lived in there, but the building looked like the perfect place for her to "lighten" things up. She scares everyone by seemingly bringing down the place. Ripping the floor and ceilings with her magic. Causing cracks the made the building more unstable. Lighting some fires to cause more panic. Mal was really living the moment. Soon, everyone ran out of the building as the fires roared.
Mal came out last as she continued to dance to the music. She really started to move at the final chorus.
"I'm rotten to the, I'm rotten to the..." She sang. "I'm rotten to the CORE!"
Mal snaps both her fingers and the entire apartment building burst into flames. She turns around and watches as the place burns down brick by brick, plank by plank. Despite the good half of her, Mal always loved a good fire. She smirked that sickly smirk as the building burned and crumbled, all because of her.
After spending the entire day just walking around Villainsville, Mal decided to step outside the village and into the nearby woods to find a place to sleep. She's okay lying down on the grass. She's done it before, after all. Just as she found the perfect spot, she heard something. Someone was definitely following her, watching her. Mal slowly reaches for her scabbard, where she sword is sheathed in. Timing it perfect, she quickly draws her sword and holds the blade dangerously close to her stalker's neck. And her stalker is...
Harry Hook.
"Whoa, luv," Harry said, startled. "No need to be pointing dangerous weapons at me."
"Depends. Why are you following me?" asked Mal.
"I was coming to meet you at your home tonight. One of our secret moonlight rendezvous," Harry answered as he used his hook to move Mal's sword away from him.
As Mal can clearly see, Harry's hand didn't remain cut off when the new world was created. He was still holding a hook in his hand, probably still hoping it gets cut off so he can replace it with the hook itself. Too bad, Mal said. She really wanted to know how he felt about having an actual hook for a hand. I'll correct that one day, she thought.
"Okay, let me ask you again. Why are you following me?" Mal asked.
"Isn't it obvious, luv?" Harry replied with a grin. "Or do we have any company nearby and you're just pretendin' not to know?"
Mal decided not to say anything. Whatever Harry was thinking, he seems so sure she knows what it is. Well, she doesn't, but the Mal of this world knows. Mal sheaths her sword so he would talk.
Instead, Harry kissed her... on the lips. On the lips.
After the kiss, Mal stared at Harry with a stunned look on her face. What was that, she wondered. Harry only assumed that the subtle shock on her face is because he caught her off guard.
"Is our little secret still between us?" asked Harry.
Assuming she and Harry have something special between them, Mal remembered that Evie mocked her for not finding love. Maybe what she and Harry have is a secret from everyone.
"Still between us," Mal promised.
Harry grins again and says, "Wonderful, just like you."
Then he touched her hair with his hook in a very flirtatious manner. This was nothing new. He used to do this with her back on the Isle. He may have been in love with Uma, but he was also attracted to the daughter of Maleficent. It appears that, this time, the touching thing was more than just flirtation.
"Something wrong, luv?" Harry asked, having noticed the odd look on Mal's face.
"I just wanted some alone time, my love," Mal said, playing along.
"Well, isn't that the first time you've called me that?" Harry replied.
"Harry, please, I'd love to spend time with you, but I just need some personal time for myself," said Mal. "That's why you didn't find me at the castle."
"Oh, well, in that case, I'll see you when the sun rises," said Harry.
Harry kisses Mal's hand before walking away.
"You're planning on stalking me again, aren't you?" Mal guessed.
"Then you just spoiled the surprise," Harry replied. "But I will see you then, luv."
Harry blows a kiss as he departs. Mal had to blow a kiss just to convince him that she's "in love" with him. When Harry was finally out of sight, Mal can finally drop the act and focus on getting herself ready for a good night sleep. When she turned around, however, she saw another someone she didn't want to see.
Sitting on a wheelchair, wearing a pair of nerdy-looking glasses, there was Eleanor.
"Don't you two make a cute couple?" Eleanor teased.
And that ends the first chapter. This may not have all the answers, but it's a start. I just hope this had some enjoyable and/or interesting moments. Best to start a story with just enough rather than take it slow, you know (I love rhymes).
Notes:
- Believe me, I am no fan of Jevie (Jay/Evie). In fact, I turn away every time I see a story with that pairing tagged. But this is a new world and everything is different. I'm no fan of Hal (Harry/Mal) either, but we're all gonna have to endure these changes. Remember, a whole new world.
- Mal's still a bad girl, people. Whether you like her transformation or not, she's gonna be a very bad girl. But don't worry. Half-good, half-bad, and all that (Ha, again with the rhymes lol).
