They grew up in literal hell. They walked in the dilapidated streets that reflected the absolute poverty that Auradon had condemned them to. They knew nothing of love or friendship, all they knew was survival, hatred, and a thirst for revenge. And that was how they met. They met in survival and in revenge and through those actions they formed a connection that was unlike any other the magical world had seen before. Auradon would discover in due time that they had made a mistake in condemning the children of the villains, they could have saved the children from becoming like their villainous parents and raised them to be good. But no, they had only brought this destruction upon themselves. What would eventually come to pass would be through no fault but their own. And they would watch their perfect world burn down around them. And it would be All. Their. Fault.
Mal was raised to be the personification of evil just like her mother, and so she learned. Her hatred and vindictiveness grew and festered and When she showed any amount of weakness her mother would teach her how to be evil with her words and her fists and what little Fae Magic she still possessed. But it was the emotional manipulation above all that maleficent used in making Mal her perfect replica, saying that if she does this or that, she will be evil just like her. And so Mal learnt, she learnt how to hurt people with her words and in time as she grew, her fists, then in secret, she strengthened her Fae Magic too, it was evil, it was strong and she was great. But this only made Mal grow all the more rotten. And with the years passing as she grows older there are whispers that she may even be more evil than her namesake.
Jay was raised as more of an employee or a pack mule than anything else. His father taught him the tricks of being a street rat, slight of hand, how to avert people's attention, how to fight and most of all how to steal. His father was not a good man, he was obsessed with money, and full of greed. He had his son stealing for him before the boy could even talk. But the one thing that he was more consumed by than money was Aladdin's Lamp. He was completely consumed by the thought of finally possessing a genie, that was his sole purpose in life and he projected that ideal on to his son. Jay was conditioned to always search for and steal any lamp that he could find and bring it to his father. When Jafar was given a stolen lamp from his son at the end of each day and it was proven that once again he was unable to provide a genies lamp, well, Jafar would show Jay why it was so important to find him a genies lamp with his fists and his cutting words of disappointment in his only son. This would only push jay more to become the best at what he does, steal, lie, and Fight.
As the daughter of the evil Queen life for Evie was slightly different but deadly all the same. Emotional manipulation when used by the right person can be far more successful in getting exactly what you want than what violence can get a person. It can shape someone into the perfect model that you desire and that person could be completely ignorant to the manipulation and think it is themselves that is making the decision and not the puppeteer. The Evil Queen raised her daughter to want one thing in life, and that is a prince. A rich prince who will take care of her mother in her old age. A prince who is almost as vain as the Queen herself.
And so the queen teaches Evie how to look perfect, how to act perfect, to just be perfect. There is no other option other than perfection. She tells her daughter that the only class a princess has to be good in is how to take care of a castle and on how to snag yourself a dashing young prince. She tries to stamp out all of the thirst for knowledge that her daughter has, claiming that she needs the room in her brain for the tricks of being a seductress. But what the Queen doesn't know is that even with Evie being vain and completely obsessed with the above mentioned perfection, she still has a thirst for knowledge that her mother knows nothing of. She had come across her mother's old potions book and has been studying it in private ever since. And as she learns more about the world of magic and potions she learns even more of her hatred for the people of Auradon.
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Carlos, the poor boy, has had possibly the worst start to life than any of the rotten four. With a mother that is certifiably insane and obsessed with skinning all the nasty little doggies, and preserving what precious dog skin cloaks she has, it left the young boy without a proper upbringing, and while the others childhoods were not perfect by any means, they were still given the basic necessities for childhood growth. But poor Carlos was only cared for until his sixth year but after that his mother truly lost what little was left of her mind. From there on his life was a thing of nightmares, cigarette burns, claw marks, and bruises from all types of maltreatment. He was brought up on stories of evil, vicious mutts and how their only aim in their existence was to kill and devour all in their path. A traumatic life as such and it was no surprise that the small boy with white hair never said a word until an odd group of three saved him from a man who only wanted to kill and devour. And his first ever words in 13 yeas were spoken to complete strangers, but they were strangers that chose to save him and not hurt him, something that he thought was impossible in his miserable life. And these three words were spoken is a sad broken voice, "why save me?".
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Mal and Jay met first. Mal was fighting off a larger female who had thought Mal was an easy target to steal from. But Mal had been fighting since she could walk and at the age of eleven she already knew some Fae Magic that could help her if she was in dire need, it was hard to control and only came when she felt extreme desperation. But Jay saw something in Mal and for reasons unknown to him he went and helped they young girl with purple hair and glowing green eyes. After a few minutes of more punches being thrown they were able to take out the older woman. Mal turned to the taller boy who looked hardly a year older than herself and harshly questioned him as to why he would dare help her, she wasn't weak and was in no need of his help. He simply responded that he felt like it. With that said Jay simply walked away throwing a "see you around, little one." Over his shoulder. Mal was slightly confused by what his nickname made her feel, but she just pushed it down and stalked off back to her house where mother would surely be waiting to lecture her on how she isn't evil enough and needs to do more do be the best villain just like Maleficent not once questioning why she has a cut lip and bruised cheek. Maleficent simply doesn't care or even truly notice.
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A year passes and Mal and Jay slowly form an alliance of sorts, they don't enjoy each others company. No, not at all they tell themselves. But they do have the others back in a fight. Jay had taught Mal to fight better, claiming that it was too embarrassing for even him to watch her fight. He doesn't let himself think about how his stomach felt like it was twisted in knots when he saw her hurt. It is then that they officially meet the Evil Queens daughter, Evie. She is being berated and catcalled by a few of the younger lowlife boys. And Mal and Jay instantly see red. They will discuss this incident later and will both agree that they have no idea why they felt the need to help the girl, they didn't know her and should have felt no obligation to protect her. But just like when Mal and Jay met, they felt drawn to the girl and had a dire need to protect and save. It was the first time the Evil Queen had let Evie leave their house alone to visit the market. Evie was in no means innocent to the world around her, but she did wish to see the best in people and so when a young boy called out to her she gave a slight smile but continued to walk. It was a mistake. More boys joined the first, they didn't dare touch her, fearing the poison of the Evil Queen, but they did shout obscenities at her. She was starting to panic when she made eye contact with a girl she had seen before, Mal was her name and she was standing beside the merchant's son. And they looked furious, Evie feared that it was at her, for what she didn't know but the panic was making her brain feel fuzzy. In the next moment Mal and Jay were in front of her and facing off her harassers. Within a matter of minutes they had all six boys either on the ground unconscious or running for their life. It is Mal that turns to her first, looking at Evie hesitantly as if to gauge her reaction, Jay hovers quietly behind her. Evie smiles her brightest smile and gushes her thanks, still shaking she moves to give Mal a hug. The purple haired girl stiffens and moves back slightly, stopping Evie in her tracks. Evie looks hurt for a second before she smiles again. Mal and Jay then shadow the girl to the market, efficiently scaring all who dare even look at the girl the wrong way. From then on Mal and Jay can't get rid of the girl, though they don't try to do so particularly hard.
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It's three years later that the three meet Carlos. Jay and Mal have trained Evie to be just as deadly as them, only with her beautiful exterior and the manners of a princess she was all the more dangerous. To underestimate Evie would be a person's greatest downfall. They're thirteen when they come across a man attacking a small white haired boy in an ally way. The instant they see the young boy cowering against the ally wall they feel the urge to protect, they would never say it out loud but the boy, who's name they don't yet know, strikes a chord within them at seeing his fragility and childlike appearance. And so Evie, Jay, and Mal step forward towards the man who has yet to notice them. Jay delivers a hard punch to the back of the mans head, knocking him away from the boy. When the man turns to face them, it reveals a face that is more dog like than human. Hair almost completely covers his face and his teeth are similar to that of a canine, and when he swings at Jay in retaliation, his hands reveal long sharp blood soaked claws. The three freeze for a second before jumping to action. They crowd him to the corner of the ally where they in turn attack the beast until he is either unconscious or dead, they don't care either way. They stand still for a few moments observing the beast, they have never seen anything like this before, and they've seen some weird things, but a werewolf is something new for them. Evie is the first to remember the boy on the ground, she slowly walks over to him and looks him over. He has bite and scratch marks all over his body, Evie silently starts to whisper all the things she will need to help heal his wounds while Jay and Mal walk over to her. They observe Evie in her concerned state and turn their heads to make eye contact, silently agreeing that they are going to bring the boy into their group. Once Evie has stopped going over the wounds she gave the boy a gentle smile hesitatingly reaching for his hand to help him to his feet, but before she could hold on to his hand he flinched away looking terrified. Evie pulled her hand back looking sad, but not for herself but for the young boy so obviously traumatized in front of her. Mal noticed his lips moving and leaned in closer pulling Jay with her, and what they heard him say made them all feel pain in what was left of their soul. "Why save me?"
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And that's the million-dollar question isn't it? Why did they save each other at all? They don't know the answer to that and don't know if they ever will. But for now they simply say it's because they felt like it. Simple but to the point. They don't bother to over analyze why they've been drawn together, it's best that for now they just accept it and move on.
It takes a few months for the three to convince Carlos that they actually do care about him and that they don't have any evil contempt towards the boy. A hard task to carry out when their whole world consists around abuse. And while they are in no means good people, they do, in their own ways care for Carlos and wish for him to be comfortable with them and have him talk with them. It takes a few months but Carlos eventually shows that he has accepted them when he takes Evie's hand one day and offers a simple hello to the other two. It was in that moment that all four felt a sense of right and belonging. Something that they have never truly felt until that day that they all finally accepted each other.
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Three more years pass and the core four are inseparable, their parents had given up on trying to understand how their group works and had just settled on them plotting the most evil of deeds together. And they did do that most often, but they were more than that, they were something indescribable. They were friends, confidants, lovers, and possibly even soul mates. Mal had come across the word in one of her mother's books, and the way the book described soul mates was exactly how the four teens felt only the book had said only two souls could bond but what the four Villains had was most definitely a bond that went as deep as their souls. And as much as the people of Auradon would want to believe, the people of the isle did indeed possess a soul. Some just chose to ignore it and some had theirs cursed to be locked away inside of them, but they still possessed that part of them. And so Evie, Mal, Jay, and Carlos accepted that they were bonded, even if they didn't have a name to put to the feeling they still would have loved each other and protected themselves as they do now. But even the people of the Isle of the Lost thought them unnatural, and so they had to be kept a secret, Mal and Jay would do their best to protect the other two but they would still have to beat someone back into their place every once in a while just to remind people who were actually in charge on the Isle. Their parents could try and convince themselves that they were the ones in charge as much as they wished, but deep down they knew that it would be their children to burn the world around them and reign over all.
They are sixteen when they are told that they have been accepted to attend school in Auradon. Instantly Maleficent starts to plot, she orders Mal and the other three to capture fairy Godmother's wand and give it to her so she can take over Auradon. Mal goes along with it, playing up the weak and devoted daughter who only wants her mother's validation and love. But on the inside Mal is near cackling, they couldn't have made it easier for her and the other three to take over Auradon. Really, it's like they're simply handing it over to the rotten four. And so Mal and Jay share a side glance and instantly know that all of their plans are finally going to happen. They had spent years plotting how they would take over Auradon and how they would rule. Only They still were not sure of a way to get off the island and to Auradon, and so them welcoming the four into their country is a godsend. Finally Mal 'gives in' to her mother and her truly horrible plan. It would have never worked even if Mal had intended to retrieve the wand for her mother.
And so within the week they were sent off with what few belongings they had. While in the limousine that was taking them to the school they sat in silence, except for the sounds of munching coming from Jay and Carlos who were sampling all of the different candies. They had never been given the luxury of sweets on the isle, it was all nearly or completely rotten foods that were sent over to them. They were lucky if they even saw fruit or vegetables, it's truly amazing that the people of the isle were able to survive. They couldn't talk much of their plans due to it being such vulnerable spot and the driver possibly listening in on them. So they discuss what they think they will be treated like, if the food will be better than the isle, something that the people of Auradon would have never had to worry about or discuss in all seriousness.
Once they finally arrive they are met with a large and elaborate building with what looks to be a band and a few others waiting to welcome them. Mal feels the need to say something sarcastic about the situation but let's it be buried for the time being, it was time to put on the show of her life and charm the pants off the people of Auradon. "We can do this, just remember our plans and everything will work to our favor." Mal whispers and then steps out of the limousine. The band is playing a cheerful tune and there are far too many people smiling for Jay's comfort. An older lady in blue and a younger couple walk up to them and the music cuts off.
The introductions could have gone better, Carlos and Jay were too busy joking around trying to give off the impression that they are no real threat. Mal simply ignores them, pretending that it is a daily occurrence, that her boys are always happy and playful like this. If only they knew, knew that being happy in a place like the isle of the lost was next to impossible. That instead of smiles and laughter there was hunger, poverty, abuse, and utter hopelessness. And so Mal just smiled and let her hate power her actions, playing the part of leader and standing her ground, exuding confidence. The young boy dressed in blue stepped up introducing himself as the soon to be king, Ben was his name and his girlfriend, Mal gathered, was a complete and utter bitch. Within seconds she had introduced herself as sleeping beauties daughter and completely shut down Evie's claim to royalty. Mal hated her instantly, as if being from Auradon wasn't enough incentive. After seeing Evie's face after the jab at her princess status Mal decided that Audrey's death was going to be slow and painful.
After making fun of Ben's princely speech Mal pushed for him to move on. While he was showing off the statue Mal decided that if she had been a nicer person she would have liked Ben, he was kind and it looked as if he truly wanted this program to work and to help them be good, but as she was anything but a good person she let his charm roll off her like water to a duck's feathers. As they continued their tour of the school Mal was growing more and more irritated with Audrey, she was a self absorbed, spoiled little girl and Mal was growing tired of her voice, and the constant "Benny-Boo's". Jay also tried to flirt with her when they were all being introduced, rationally Mal knew he was just trying to cause trouble, but her jealousy flared, if it was Evie or Carlos that he was flirting with she wouldn't have cared, they were together and they were all secure in the relationship they had. But seeing him smile and wink at Audrey had Mal planning on a very loud talk with Jay much later. Once they had made it inside, Mal slightly calmer, they were introduced to Doug. He had their class schedules and some of them were absolutely ridiculous. "Remedial goodness" Mal read aloud, "some new one just for us, huh?" Doug nodded nervously, "some, but you'll still be integrated into some of our grade level classes, like math and science, things like that." He managed to get out without stumbling over his words. Evie strutted up to him to take her class schedule "Thanks." She breathed out with a smile and a wink, then strutted over to Jay, leaning into him slightly. Mal almost felt bad for the boy, it looked as if he was about to pass out. But not as bad as to snap out at him to show them to their dorms. Once they had all been shown where their dorms were located they sent Doug away with reassurance that they were just fine on their own. When they were sure that they would be left alone Mal and Evie left to go back to the boy's dorm room.
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Finally alone and in the security of the boy's dorm Mal turned to Jay and instantly started into him, "Don't you ever look at Audrey or anyone else like you did today again! Jay you are ours and ours alone, I almost ripped her head from her shoulders when you winked at her, I can not afford to be sent back!" Mal finished breathlessly, looking much smaller than she already was. "Mal don't be jealous, I just wanted to stir up some trouble. You know it meant nothing and that I only hold affections for you, Carlos and Evie." Jay said while reaching out to the three of his bond mates. Evie and Carlos were eager for the hug while Mal reluctantly stepped forward, not wanting to let go of her anger just yet. But as all six arms wrapped around her she felt her anger and insecurities fall away. "I'm sorry." She mumbled out softly. "It's okay Mal, it's a new situation for all of us and there is a lot of pressure to get everything right. We understand, but you need to trust in us." Jay said, hugging everyone to him tighter. Just then they heard a knock at the door. Carlos walked over to the door, Evie not far behind.
The door, once opened, revealed a smiling Prince Ben. "Uh, hi. I just wanted to check in and make sure that you've all settled in, and I see the girls have joined you as well." He sounded slightly nervous, but his smile was steady and he was looking straight at Mal. Jay stepped in front of her and defensively stated that they were just fine. "Okay that's awesome, if you all have any questions or need anything just let me know. Also I'm not sure if you were told, but curfew is at 9 o'clock at night and that means everyone has to be in their respective rooms." Ben finished his speech grinning. "Oh, no worries Ben. We will be out of here and into our beds as soon as 9 pm rolls around." Evie purred. Ben nodded, and his cheeks noticeably reddened. Mal and Jay could be heard in the background coughing back their laughter. "Thanks Ben, we'll let you know if anything comes up." Carlos said, slowly closing the door. Once they were sure he was gone they all had a good laugh at the reaction from the prince. "Poor guy didn't stand a chance." Carlos said in response to Evie causing the prince to blush. "Well it's not like it's hard." Evie said with a giggle. Mal reached out to her, taking Evie's hand and pulled her close, resting their foreheads together. "You did good Eve." Mal whispered, then leaned forward to give the blue haired girl a loving kiss. After a few seconds Jay chimed in, "Okay if you two don't stop this will evolve into more and we don't have the time to be distracted." He said with thinly veiled restraint. "Just had to be the voice of reason today, huh Jay?" Mal breathed out. "Fine, we have plans to carry out anyway. Carlos grab that laptop that Jay swiped earlier today and open the GPS. Evie, do you have the mirror?" Mal shot out her questions, once everyone was settled she had Evie find where the Fairy Godmothers wand was being held. "It's in a fucking museum?!" Mal exclaimed. "Are they that stupid? Anyone could walk in and take the wand and then what?! Are the people of Auradon really this trusting as to leave it so completely unprotected?" Mal ranted. "Oh well, all the more easier for us to retrieve. Carlos, find out where the museum is and then once 12 o'clock hits we will go and take a look at how well protected the wand really is." Mal laid out her plan.
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It was 12:30 when they finally made it to the museum. They quietly walked up to the front doors of the museum. Carlos raddled the door handle, only to it locked. "Well at least they're not as completely stupid as we thought." Evie stated. In turn Mal pulled out her spell book, "This thing has got have something to unlock doors." Mal mumbled while flipping through the spell book. Once she found the page irritation flooded her system. "The fucking book states that to open the door I just have to envision the door opening!" Mal whisper yelled. "Okay so just try it, if not Jay can kick it down and we will deal with what ever happens after the fact." Evie tried to calm Mal. "Fine, okay, I can do this." Mal closes her eyes and let's out a steady and deep breath, and the three wait for her and watch the door closely. After a minute Jay nods to the other two, signaling that he's going to kick the door down. Just as he is in the air ready to take out the door, they swing open sending him through the threshold and to the floor with a heavy thud and low moan of pain. Instead of checking if he is okay, the other three are having a small victory dance, celebrating Mal's first real display of magic. And sure, she was able to do small things on the Isle like push an object over or have someone trip, but that was all minor things and took all of her energy to do so. But this was large scale magic and she did it without an incantation which she had never done before. "Because that was your fist spell without the assistance of an incantation I'll let this slide." Jay says petulantly. "Thanks, Jay." Mal says with a huge grin. They help him off the ground and then go to peer around the corner, there is a security guard sitting at a desk that they are going to have to get around somehow. "Anything in that book to get by him unnoticed?" Carlos whispers to Mal. Without looking at the spell book, Mal pushes back her shoulders and shoved her hand out towards the guard while whispering the word sleep. All four watch in amazement as a spinning wheel materializes in front of the man. The guard looks at the wheel in shock but then his face goes slack and his eyes glow green like Mal's. He reaches out to the needle on the wheel and pricks his finger then falls to the floor in a dead sleep. "Subtle Mal, real subtle." Evie sasses. "At least he is sleeping and not dead, Auradon would instantly be coming at us with their pitchforks and torches blaming us. Rightfully so, but we don't need that right now." Mal sasses back but gives the girl a smile and takes her hand. "Guys come on, we've gotta be quick, remember." Jay says to the girls, already walking to the stairs and getting ready to go down them. Once they make it to the landing they walk into a room labeled 'Villains'. Inside the room are a bunch of mannequins and wax figures all depicting a villain from history, only all of the figures looked ugly and grotesque. The figure of the evil Queen looked like an old lady and had boils and the one for Maleficent had scales and talons instead of skin and fingernails. "Do they really believe that we are that ugly? The victors truly do write history, don't they?" Evie mumbled. "They may be ugly on the inside but they have retained their beauty, even living in the hell hole that is the Isle." She continued. "So that is what they think of us, must have been a shock to them to see us walk out of that limousine then huh?" Jay snickered. "Wow okay, I've lost what little respect I still had for Auradon. They are completely and utterly idiotic. We will remind them what true Villains are really like. This is going to be so easy to take over." Mal muttered.
They all left the room and walked until they found a room labeled 'magical artifacts'. "And bingo." Mal said, strutting into the room. "Touch nothing, we are only here to inspect the wand and layout plans of extracting it at another time." Mal reaches out to pull Jay away from the wand and the sensors protecting it. "Sorry, got a little excited there." Jay says, coughing to clear his throat from the embarrassment. Mal nods and walks around the pedestal, marking down notes and talking with Carlos every so often. "Okay, we have what we need. Let's go." Once in the lobby again Mal has Carlos go to the computer to delete all video surveillance, so once the security guard wakes up he will be clueless as to what actually happened that night and will simply think he accidentally fell asleep on the job. And its not like he will tell his superiors, he wouldn't want them to think him a slacker. With that completed Mal re-locks the door and they make their way back to their dorms where they push the boy's beds together and pile on to the mattresses and collapse under the blankets, completely exhausted from the day.