Disclaimer: This is a work of fan fiction using characters from Monster High, Ever After High, Disney Descendants, DC Super Hero Girls, and Project MC2 worlds which is trademarked by Mattel, Guru Studio, Disney, Dreamworks Animation's AwesomenessTV and MGA respectively. All characters are created and owned by Mattel, Disney and MGA and I do not claim any ownership over them or their story and it is not purported or believed to be part of the original story canon. This story is for entertainment only.

Episode Four:

That Stings

Everyone turned right and walked under the arches into clothing sales. It was a long and narrow drab room with crunchy old carpet. The uniform racks were along the far-left wall, random school supplies and the registers were in the center of the room with the four dressing rooms along the far-right wall. There were two archways at the entrance of the room and Freddie's shadow spirits guarded the entrance as Twyla and crew selected uniforms.

Several clothing sales workers came out with measuring tapes, papers and uniforms. Twyla entered the changing room to put on the uniform and looked at herself in the mirror. The navy button up blouse was lightweight and of soft material. The mid-calf length black cotton voile skirt was light and breezy and the wide red waist belt fit her comfortably. The formal version of the uniform had a sand colored button up top and forest green skirt, since the sizes for formal were cut the same as regular she didn't try them.

She turned and looked at the PTV uniform sitting in the chair. She had no idea what PTV stood for but she guessed it was like physical deaducation because it was a simple white t-shirt and knee-length brown skort combination. She tried it on to be sure everything fit then changed back into her regular clothes and walked out of the dressing room. Upon exiting, she bumped into something unseen and almost fell backwards. She felt a strong hand catch her by the waist as Billy made himself visible.

He smiled down at her and asked, "Sorry Twyla. You okay?"

Twyla sat up and grabbed her fallen clothes, "Yeah, fine. Wait, how did they measure you for your clothes?"

Billy shrugged, "They didn't, but since that Fred girl's spirits are patrolling the entrance I couldn't really leave, so I've just been trying things out to see what fits. This red sash thing is weird though, I can't decide if it's supposed to be a neck sash or an awkwardly long handkerchief."

Billy held it up for Twyla to see. Twyla squinted and tapped her chin with her fingers, "Hmmm, I'm thinking it's supposed to be a belt, its long enough to fit through your belt loops."

Billy tilted his head and gave a lopsided smile, "Belt it is then, thanks."

Both chuckled quietly and looked at the ground. Twyla stepped closer to Billy and glanced around the room before returning her gaze to Billy, "So have you figured out exactly how those shadow spirits see you? Or…"

Billy quirked an eyebrow, shrugged then rubbed the back of his neck with his free hand, "Yeah, no not really. As far as I could tell, even when I'm being quiet those things can find me. Reminds me of my mom. It is so weird to have something constantly aware of my presence. Before this, I never had a problem with hiding in plain sight. Honestly, I'm at a loss. How are you holding up?"

Twyla threw her shoulders back and sighed shakily, "I'm so scared right now Billy. I have no idea what to do. I've never been out of the shadows for this long; much less been forcibly placed into the light. Plus, all my shadow maneuverability has been cut off. This is beyond frightening; this is a down right nightmare. I'm completely out of my element, here."

Billy placed a reassuring hand on Twyla's shoulder, "Hey, I know the situation looks bad but we will make it through this. I promise, I won't let anything bad happen to you. I got your back."

Twyla peered at Billy's face, a small smile graced her lips, she placed her hand over his, and tilted her head, "Don't make promises you can't keep, and thanks."

Billy removed his hand from her shoulder and shifted the bundle of uniforms to his other arm, "No problem, and I keep my promises."

Twyla chuckled and shook her head, "I'm sure you try."

Billy glanced towards the rest of the room and then back at Twyla, "I mean it. You can still use the shadows at night, right? I've seen you go to bed there. How about we sneak out of here then."

Twyla tilted her head, "I've never tried a shadow jump with another person before, but I could give it a try."

Billy nodded and walked into the dressing room, "Tonight then."

Twyla turned and sashayed towards the register, "Tonight."

She handed the sales clerk her fitted uniforms and was given seven pairs of each type then told to sit down while everyone finished trying on clothes. When everyone was seated one of the sales clerks waved in Freddie. Freddie sauntered into the room and looked over Twyla and crew.

Freddie's eyes lit up and she winked at one of her shadow spirits, "What do you say we help these kiddies out, hmm?" She snapped her fingers and laughed while her shadow spirits swarmed Twyla and crew stripping off their clothes and exposing their nakedness. Freddie pointed and laughed while holding her side as she belted out, "Muahahaha! Oh man, I know I'm irresistible but get it together ghouls. You can't take off your clothes every time you see me."

She continued to laugh at her own joke while Twyla and crew dressed in embarrassed silence. When Freddie noticed everyone had put on their regular clothes she snapped her fingers and had the spirits strip everyone again. She examined her long nails and spoke to the nearest shadow spirit, "Honestly whatever am I going to do with these fools?"

Freddie turned to Twyla and crew and pointed to herself. "Let me spell it out for you, this is a school uniform. This is the uniform you wear every day." She then grabbed a set of PTV gear, "This uniform is for PTV aka pillage the village. It is always the first class of the day. Can any of you mouth breathers tell me what you should be putting on?"

Abbey, an Amazonian-sized girl with ice crystal blue skin replied, "PTV uniform?"

Freddie dropped the gear and clapped slowly, "Very good under-bite, PTV is the current uniform you should be wearing. Now can any of you fly-catchers accomplish such a daunting task?"

When everyone had on the uniform, Freddie placed her hands on her hips and marveled, "Finally. Y'all are going to have to speed up this whole getting dressed thing. I swear you won't make it out of here alive if you can't even get dressed in less than 32 seconds. Spectra take these beasties up to the dorm to drop off those uniforms then bring them to the outdoor drill pad. Duchess, Melody come with me."

Spectra avoided Freddie's gaze and nodded. "Follow me everyone."

Twyla and crew followed Spectra upstairs to the dorm. Once the door was closed Twyla took advantage of the Freddie free moment, "Spectra, what happened to you?"

Spectra with dull-eyes turned around. She looked at Twyla, blinked and then opened her eyes wide in recognition, "Oh my ghost, Twyla! I haven't seen you since my days at Monster High." She lowered her head with a sigh, "Oh! But you're here now. I am so sorry; I wish you didn't have to be here."

Twyla tossed her uniform into the trunk next to her bed and sighed as she looked at Spectra, "Yeah, it was all so sudden but how did you get captured?"

Spectra wrapped her arms around herself and shuddered, "Well the person who captured me was oddly over-prepared to deal with ghost. I don't think I will ever forget the sight of that red-head. So glad we didn't go to school together. I hate vacuum cleaners!"

Frankie approached Spectra, "Can you tell us anything about where we are and if there is a way to escape?"

Spectra shook her head like she was trying to clear away bad thoughts, "I'm sorry Frankie but we really can't delay any longer. Freddie, Freddie controls a lot of things and last time I tried to chat with some friends Freddie locked me away in that small dark shadow box. I couldn't move, I could barely breath and that music! I…I'm sorry but you all have to go downstairs. Let's move out, now."

Spectra's hair began to float as she glowed a sinister shade of purple and chased Twyla and crew down the stairs and outside to the drill pad.

Freddie stood next to Melody and Duchess in the grass. She pointed at Twyla and crew when they arrived, "DJ Melody play these kids a beat they can scream to."

Melody's face flickered with contempt as she opened her purse to set up the portable DJ station. Pulling out headphones and a record Melody stated in a dead voice, "All right, DJ Pipes is dedicating this next beat to the new kids on the street, don't look back just keep moving those feet."

The moment the upbeat electronic music started playing giant rats darted out of the forest and gave chase to Twyla and crew. The squeaking of hungry rats nipping at her heels was nothing in comparison to the maniacal laughter of Freddie, "Muahahahaha! Pump up this beat Melody, keep it up. It's no fun if they run and don't cry."

After thirty minutes of non-stop cardio, Melody switched tracks to a yodeling song that sent the rats running back into the forest. The moment they were no longer being chased Twyla and crew fell to the ground where they stood. A loud clank of metal hitting the ground near Twyla's head made her look up. Robecca, the copper steam robot, was currently on the ground with steam whistling out of her feet at an alarming rate.

Twyla sat up, "Robecca, everything okay? I'm not a mechanic but…"

Robecca smiled pleasantly as she held up her smoking feet, "Just letting off a little steam, everything is quite all right really."

Duchess jogged over waving her arms wildly in the air, "Haaay, follow me."

Twyla and crew sticky from sweat and humidity, followed Duchess inside with Spectra following along behind them. Once upstairs in the dorms, Twyla and crew too tired to be shy, took off their clothes and grabbed their shower gear.

Spectra floated through the shower bay, turned on all the showers and gestured towards the flowing water, "All right everyone, put soap on your chest and shampoo on your head then walk through, the last one out turns off the shower as they pass. This is called the car wash and it is the only type of shower you will have time for in the mornings after PTV, which you can use to eat breakfast. Speaking of eating, it is almost lunch time so let's hurry."

Twyla and crew "car washed" through the shower before they donned the regular uniform. When everyone was dressed, Spectra floated down through the floor to go and retrieve Freddie.

Shortly afterwards Freddie burst through the dorms to escort Twyla and crew to the chow hall. Twyla was determined to eat this time around, she tried her best to remember the rules and regulations but she just couldn't remember what she was supposed to do, and she wasn't the only one. This time Lagoona, a girl with light aqua-blue scales and blonde hair turned too quickly while in line. Freddie was all too happy to send in her shadow spirits to snatch their trays and throw away their food.

Freddie cackled, "What am I going to do with you slackers? Y'all must really not want to eat. Duchess, whatever am I going to do with these little fools?"

Duchess danced on tip-toe over to Freddie, spun around in circles and honked, "Haauh, you might have to beat the rules into them Freddie."

Freddie sneered and backhanded Duchess causing her to go into black swan form. She snatched black feathers out of the air with a sneer, "That was a rhetorical question bird-brain. Tell you what you can do though, fly these little goslings upstairs and have them prep their dorm for the arrival of LT Delahaye."

Duchess honked, landed and became a girl. Her lip curled into a sneer and her eyes narrowed as she smoothed down her hair, "Haaauh, fine, geez no need to ruffle the feathers." She turned to Twyla and crew, "Come on, back up to the dorms. I will show you how to make it inspection ready."

Twyla looked back at the food line and sighed as she left the chow hall. In the hallway, she felt a tap on her shoulder. She glanced over her shoulder but saw no one. She smiled as a granola bar was placed in her hand. She shoved it into her mouth quickly as she walked up the stairs and noticed others of her class doing the same thing. Once in the dorm everyone wiped their faces and tried to look as innocent as possible.

Duchess placed her hands on her hips and raised an eyebrow, "You guys are weirding me out. Any ways let me show you where your supplies are."

She walked past the entry control point and into the bed bay to the only closet along the wall. She opened it and went over all cleaning duties, "Make sure your hospital corners are at a 45-degree angle, you can cheat by using a coat hanger to make it straight. Trust me when I say, Delahaye can spot the difference between a 44 and a 45, haaauh. I remember when I made my first hospital fold, it was awwwwwful! Delahaye flipped my bed thirteen times! No one could go to chow until I got it right but we worked together. Well by we, I mean Spectra and Melody. That Freddie is pure evil, I swear."

Faybelle the other fairy with ruddy blue skin and silver wings fluttered over to Duchess, "So like, how have you been. You went missing a while ago and like, I never knew what happened."

Duchess leaned back and looked at Faybelle. She blinked then jumped and hugged her, "Haaaauh! Faybelle, oh my gawwwwwd, I never thought you would end up in this hell hole. I should have guessed that when we snuck into Ever After High I would see some familiar faces, I just didn't think it would be my best friend forever after!"

Faybelle hovered in place, "Like, really, this place is terrible, have you not found a way to escape?"

Duchess raised her arms above her head and twirled in placed while still looking at Faybelle, "I wish! The only way to get out of here is to graaaaaaaaaduate."

Faybelle landed on the floor. Her shoulders slouched and her wings wilted as she pouted, "Seriously?"

Duchess nodded and crossed her arms over her chest, "No escape."

Faybelle opened her mouth to speak just as the door to the dorms burst open and in walked in Delahaye. Duchess stopped swirling and stood at the position of attention, Spectra floated at attention right next to Duchess. Delahaye looked them both up and down, rolled her eyes and waved them away. Duchess and Spectra left the dorm just as Freddie entered.

Delahaye looked around at the messy dorm and narrowed her eyes as she dictated, "Hello class 225. I see you are settling well. As you know you were brought here for the sole purpose of being trained into an elite unit of pirates, the strongest pirates this side of the Caribbean and since you are the largest class we have ever had I look forward to teaching you. I'm not going to sugar-coat it for you though, if you aren't strong enough to handle this training you will die."

Crecha planted her feet, leaned forward and balled her hands into fist at her side, "That is so stupid! How can you do this to people? You should be ashamed. All the students here were living normal lives until you snatched them from it and now you add insult to injury by saying the very thing your training us to do could kill us! That is just…dumb, right Frankie?"

Frankie nodded in agreement, "Yeah, couldn't have said it better myself. Come on everyone there is only one of her and several of us, I know we can take her. You said it yourself Delahaye, we are the biggest class you've ever seen which makes us the most powerful, now take us home or face the consequences." Her neck bolts sparked and a bolt of electricity landed just shy of Delahaye's feet.

Delahaye frowned and turned to leave. She whispered as she passed Freddie, "I am extremely disappointed Corporal Facilier, I had hoped you of all people could train these brats in a day but I see now that I was wrong. You can go inform your classmates that they will be going to bed without dinner. I hope the hunger pains keep you up tonight, perhaps it will motivate you to teach them properly tomorrow."

Freddie growled low in her throat as Delahaye left the dorm, "Oh I am already motivated."

The slam of the door closing behind Delahaye was the only warning Twyla and crew had before they were once again slammed face first onto the ground. Twyla cringed as the taste of blood mixed with granola in her mouth. Freddie stomped over to the prone figure of Frankie, grabbed her by the hair and ripped her head off.