I told you I'd get this chapter out sooner. Either way, this was one of the two chapters I've been looking forward to writing for a very long time (the other being the next one) and finally, I've written it and you can read it. And it's a long one today! (though I suspect the next chapter is going to be even longer) I just hope the quality's good enough... Anyway, here are my responses to your reviews and after that, this next chapter.

Mustang52: Thanks for reviewing! "Great" is not a word I'd use for a boy who's just been named leader and who does not really have any experience leading a battle, but he sure got the skills.

Jay-Wow: First off, thank you so much for that lengthy review. Secondly, I just took the movie and set it in a world in which villains rule, including all the mature and evil things they did and would do. The rest and the details just came naturally. Thanks for reviewing!

PurpleNicole531: Thanks for reviewing! I'm sure Evie will need quite some time to adjust to the good life, considering Carlos still isn't quite convinced of this life. And when Hadrian mentioned the people who'd die in "the lessons", he was talking about himself and Henry. Well, death is not one of Chad's favorite subjects, and since Hadrian is the son of Hades, there is quite some friction between the two of them. In regards to Audrey, you'll learn what she's been doing in this chapter.

Kingson24601: Oh yeah, it's time to get started! Thanks for reviewing!

Enjoy!

-Writer207

It had started, yet nothing really happened. Maleficent had stopped walking towards them and just stood there, a couple of yards in front of her 'army', her two henchmen staying only a little behind her, not giving any commands yet. Before anyone could wonder what she was up to this time and before Ben could tell the alliance and their supporters to start the attack, everyone heard her speak.

"May I speak with your leader, please?" Maleficent requested. Involuntarily, a chill ran down Mal's spine. After years of spending time with her, Mal felt only fear for her mother for the first time in her life, instead of the usual fear mixed with respect for her evilness. And after these years of conditioning, she had learned to know what her mother wanted just by hearing the intonation in her voice and the choice of words. The others did not react as dramatically as Mal.

"Please?" Chad said, frowning in confusion. Apparently, he was surprised Maleficent tagged that word to a command and even knew that word.

"That's her way of saying she won't accept 'no' for an answer," Mal then said, looking directly at Ben, wondering what he'd do. Nobody spoke for some time and many things were left unsaid. Don't do this. Don't let her confuse you, don't let her get to your head. Because Maleficent was not just evil, but still pretty smart herself.

Eventually, Ben turned to the soon-to-be battlefield, having made his decision. Chad, realizing what his friend was about to do, immediately placed his hand on Ben's shoulder.

"Ben…" Chad trailed off immediately and he never finished his sentence. What was there to say that wasn't already said, especially when it did not need explaining because of the situation and context?

"We've got to at least hear her out. To see what she wants," Ben said, staring at Chad with determination in his eyes. Chad sighed after a while and let go of the shoulder.

"I swear, if she touches you, I'll go out and kill them all," he said. Ben nodded at him, though it was unclear whether he agreed with the statement. He was already glad to have the support.

"Good luck," Mal then said. You'll need it.

"Thanks," Ben said and briefly smiled at all of them. Then, he turned around again and walked straight onto the battlefield.

The walk took too long in his opinion. Every step of the way, everyone was watching him. It seemed like he actually felt the burden that he willingly took upon him, the impossible task of fighting back, taking a stance, and telling the oppressors they've had enough. He confidently continued to walk, knowing every pair of eyes fixated on his back supported him in every decision he made, even when doubt started to creep in his mind and made him unsure about the plan. He did manage to keep the worst thoughts under wraps with deep breaths and a steady pace.

Finally, he reached the middle ground, the approximate middle of the battlefield, far away from any support, and after what felt like an eternity, Maleficent came closer as well. She was much more frightening than he expected her to be. Of course, she looked like everyone told her she would look like, but nobody mentioned her sickening grin and the light in her eyes, clearly showing pleasure in knowing people will die today.

Far behind her stood her two henchmen. On one side stood a man Ben barely recognized, clad in black and wearing an armor that made him look quite threatening. On the other side stood Jay, for the occasion dressed as a warrior and sporting a large two-handed sword.

"So you are the leader?" Maleficent said, disparaging him, "I had no idea they let children make the important decisions." Ben knew she was trying to belittle him, to make him feel small and insecure. He tried his best to hide it from her and to come across as a confident young man.

"You wanted to talk," Ben said, but Maleficent almost immediately shook her head.

"No," she said, "Not really. I want to make a deal."

"What kind of deal?" Ben asked. He tried not to show his confusion about her intentions to her – he soon would know what she wanted, anyway. A creepy and evil smile appeared on her face, replacing the grin that had previously been there.

"Let's have a duel," she suggested, "To the death! Your best fighter against mine. Of course, mine won't be one of the beasts. That'd be unfair, wouldn't it?" That last part stuck with him the most. Fighting one of the beasts was indeed unfair, but after everything she had done to this country, he thought she did not have the right to say what was unfair.

"What's the catch?" Ben then asked her. There had to be a catch – she wouldn't just suggest to have a duel without having personal gain with it.

"There is none, you silly boy," she said, "It's just a duel. If you ask me, it's better than sending all your friends to their deaths. If your fighter wins, I'll surrender. If mine wins, you turn around and leave. Nobody dies, except for the losing champion. Tell me, what is one life compared to thousands?"

There was short period of silence. he had no idea what to think of this offer. It was tempting to accept it and hold the duel, to say yes and hope for the best. Yet, he still was negotiating with Maleficent. Would she give up the chance to intimidate her enemies into submission? Was she lying about the peace being kept after the duel? But then again, what if she truly was telling the truth?

"How do I know you will surrender if we win?" Ben eventually asked her.

"You don't," Maleficent responded. That did not make it easier to figure out what her intentions were, unlike what he had expected. A grin appeared on her face, smiling at the leader, happy because of the position she had put him in. She took one step forward and even if she did not come too close, she seemed much more intimidating and even bigger than before.

"Do we have a deal?" she then asked her, probably assuming him to hesitate and ask for more time to think. But Ben had already made the decision.

"Yes."

Finally, Ben walked back to the alliance unharmed. Once he was back, Philip and Lonnie had returned to the 'leader's outpost', presumably right after Ben went to meet up with Maleficent. And the closer he got, the easier it was to see the disapproving look on Philip's face.

"You really shouldn't have gone," Philip said. Without the Beast being present on the battlefield, it seemed that Philip had slipped in the role of the fatherly figure. "You could've been dead!"

"He's back now, isn't he?" Mal then said, coming to Ben's defense. "If mother wanted him dead, he would be dead by now." Ben nodded in agreement, though stopped doing it when he realized what Mal was implying.

"Well," Chad then piped in, breaking the silence that had been building up, "Tell us. What did she want?"

"She suggested to hold a duel," Ben then told them. reactions were mixed. Philip and Mal both seemed to accept this, but Chad and Lonnie were more surprised by this turn of events.

"A duel?" Chad asked, wondering whether he had heard it right. Ben nodded in response.

"To the death," Ben added, "Her best fighter against ours. The loser surrenders and nobody else dies."

"Do you really believe she is going to stick to that promise?" Lonnie then asked him. She had spent most of her life with him, as a good friend, and the rest of the alliance, as a family. Some may interpret it as her asking whether he was crazy, but she just wanted to know if this could be the solution they were hoping for, one where nobody has to die.

Ben shrugged. "I don't know," he admitted, "but if she is, it's a chance we have to take." Lonnie nodded, showing her support for the idea.

"Please don't tell me you agreed to it," Philip then said – making deals with villains isn't a good idea, especially when it's Maleficent. But Ben did not answer him, and everyone rightly assumed he had agreed to the duel.

"Do you know who her champion is?" Chad wanted to know. Ben shook his head, turning to his friend.

"No," he said, "All I know is that your opponent won't be a beast." Chad nodded and sighed in relief. Their opponent would be human. Well, that's one good thing coming out of this mess.

"I'll go," Philip then announced. He took his sword out of his sheath, as if he was ready to fight already, and looked directly at Ben, confidence and determination in his eyes. "I've fought her before, I can do it again." Before he was done talking, Ben already had started shaking his head.

"No, we need you here," he said. Mal thought he sounded more like a child begging for his father to stay than a commander telling a soldier to stand down. The age difference between them did not help either, and neither did Philip's appearance. He looked exactly the same as the first time he confronted Maleficent, when his future wife was still a sleeping beauty, with the exception of some wrinkles here and there.

"We need everyone here," Philip said, "We can't afford to lose anyone of them. With all due respect, but let me fight her." He emphasized the last four words, and Mal took one small step away. Even if Philip was a nice man, he too had his issues and over the weeks where he'd trained her, she had learned when to give him his space.

Ben shook his head. "We don't know if she's her own best fighter," he said, "I'm not letting you go out there to be killed."

"She took my wife!" Philip shouted unexpectedly, startling everyone. He rarely raised his voice, so this was even more of a surprise. But it did not get worse than that. He paused, looked away and took some deep breaths before turning to Ben again. "She took my wife and killed her," he continued in a much calmer voice, "maybe even my daughter, too. I will not allow her to take anyone else."

Philip turned around and was about to walk to the battlefield, but stopped. Chad, while everyone had been too busy watching Ben and Philip's conversation, was already walking to the middle of the battlefield to fight the duel himself. He had seen his chance and taken his opportunity. Nobody had noticed him go.

"Chad!" Philip was ready to go after him, but Ben still had something to say.

"Philip, please…" He could not finish his sentence. This small attempt to stop Philip made the man turn around and look at his leader with suppressed anger.

"So you're willing to let him die?" He was almost shouting again. He was trying not to shout, even if it looked like he really wanted to.

"You're the better strategist," Lonnie said, hoping to calm him down and maybe justify Chad's actions. "I mean, Chad's good at fighting, but you've got the better brain."

"Besides, I don't know how she'll react with two people approaching," Mal said, "Maybe she'll attack if you go after him. I'm sorry, but there's nothing we can do. He's going to fight." She looked directly at Philip. "I would not take that chance."

Philip sighed. He took a deep breath, put the sword back in the sheath and then looked over the fields, at his surrogate son going to either live or die in the next few minutes. He may not agree with Chad's decision, but he could hope that Chad would return victoriously and that he would do well out there. Despite this, he turned around and walked into the volunteer army.

During the conversation, Chad had decided to make the decision. If Ben and Philip couldn't make up their minds, surely he would. Besides, if they are too busy discussing and arguing, they were losing time. Maleficent may not have said when she was expecting their best fighter to show up, but he most certainly did not want to risk it.

When Ben mentioned the duel, Chad knew it was something he had to do. Why? Because he still felt like shit. It's only been some days, a week or two since he tried to stab and kill Ben's family. Only some days to think about his behavior, to be confronted by the bad man Evie had briefly turned him into. He still felt guilty for everything he'd done when he was controlled. One act of evilness, whether it was out of free will or not, was already enough to break relationships that took years to make. What better way to mend those relationships than proving his worth by dueling? If he could kill Maleficent's champion, he surely would be accepted back into the alliance as a hero and blow a big hole in the hirelings' morale. And if he did lose today, it wouldn't be that bad. The punishment for treason was death, and as far as he was concerned, he still deserved it.

He soon arrived at what he believed the middle of the battlefield. He stood there, unsheathing his sword and waiting for Maleficent to send her champion. He could already imagine fighting him, imagining it was Jay he'd have to fight. He couldn't wait to see the light go out in that guy's eyes. After all, he'd been an accomplice when Evie took control of him.

Maleficent's fighter walked closer, and Chad gripped his sword even tighter. Relax, he thought. It'll be over soon. Show no mercy, end it before I can begin, win the fight and prepare for the war Ben just started. Because once Maleficent is gone, the villains would search for power whenever they could, either going after each other or after Ben.

Now, he could see his opponent's face. His eyes widened, his face paled and his blood ran cold. No, he thought. He could take anyone, any person at all – heck, he'd rather fight one of those beasts. Anyone but her.

"Chad," Audrey said once she was close enough to talk, "It's good to see you." She was wearing an armor with Maleficent's emblem on it, carried her own sword with her. She failed to get herself a helmet, but that wasn't so much the problem.

Chad took a step back, not taking his eyes off of her. There were so many things he wanted to tell her right now. I'm glad you're okay. We were so worried about you. Philip's been looking for you. Yet, the most prominent though was: What's gotten into you?

"What's the matter?" Audrey asked him, slowly walking closer. "Cat got your tongue?"

"Audrey, this isn't you," Chad said, "Snap out of it." Because he did not want to believe Audrey was doing all of this willingly. So many scenarios ran through his head, all various situations which could explain how Audrey could have ended up here, yet none of them included joining voluntarily.

Audrey returned his words with an evil grin. "Nobody is making me do anything," she said. Chad sighed in despair. So she really was here voluntarily.

"Why?" Chad then asked her. He was fighting back the tears – never show them they get to you, even if they are your family. He stared straight at her.

"It's so much more fun and rewarding," she said. Chad could only nod in response. That was it then. From that moment on, he forced himself to stop seeing her as Audrey and to start seeing her as his opponent. It wasn't easy to do, but he might live longer or at all if he did it. He also concluded he went into this battle with a disadvantage. Siding with the enemy had given her a better armor than Chad (or anyone in that alliance, for that matter) could afford, including a shield. He could only hope she hadn't learned how to use it properly – only then it could be an advantage.

Audrey did not waste any time. She charged at Chad, who let her come close enough to attack. she raised her sword and let it come down on him. Chad blocked it, then aimed for her stomach area, that was left unprotected after her first attack. yet, she was quick enough and it rebounded on the shield.

Both were equally matched, both trained by Philip, both on about the same level. The blades clanged when they hit each other, time after time. Chad slowly backed up as the fight progressed. He decided to use the distance to run into her shield, effectively knocking her on the ground. He took a moment to pause and take a deep breath. He wasn't ready to kill Audrey, but he could incapacitate her and pass it as a death.

When Audrey fell, she turned, landing on her stomach. As he approached her again, she grabbed a handful of dirt from the ground and when Chad was close enough, she threw it in his face. Chad immediately closed his eyes, his free hand reaching out for his eyes, staggering backwards. He was already glad he didn't stumble. When he forcefully opened his eyes again, he was barely able to duck when Audrey tried to decapitate him.

He could not keep them open for too long, which put him at a crippling disadvantage. He was able to duck and defend himself for a couple of times, but Audrey's attack came followed each other much quicker. Before he could stop it, Audrey cut him in the arm. She must've hit an important nerve, as he immediately lost all feeling in that arm and the sword slipped from his numb fingers.

He was about to open his eyes when Audrey struck him in his chest, almost impaling him. She did pull her sword out of his body right away, causing Chad to fall backwards. He hit the ground and groaned. Get up. C'mon, get up! But the pain was too strong and breathing was getting harder with every passing second. He feared he would never get up again.

When he opened his eyes, Audrey was standing over him. she had ditched the shield and now held both swords, with a triumphant smile on her face and no compassion in her eyes.

"Please…" Chad was unable to finish that sentence. By then, Audrey had plunged Chad's sword in his heart. First, there was an overwhelming pain, which almost caused him to pass out. But that pain soon faded away, as Audrey faded from his sight. And then, the light went out.

After a minute, Philip returned to the outpost and joined Ben, Mal and Lonnie, who had been watching Chad this whole time. He had arrived to the duel place not long ago, and his opponent was now coming closer to him as well. When they turned their heads to Philip, they noticed he was holding a pair of binoculars.

"Where'd you get those?" Lonnie asked him.

"Got them from an observer," Philip said. "Apparently, not everyone came to fight. I asked if I could borrow it."

"Why?" Mal wondered out loud. They could perfectly and clearly see the two duelists, though the distance made it hard to spot their faces. Though that was barely a hindrance, as Chad's opponent was not wearing the same color as Chad's dark blue.

"I just want to know who's fighting Chad," Philip said. He then put the binoculars at his eyes and focused on figuring out who Chad's opponent was.

"Well, it's not Jay," Mal said, folding her arms. "It's not his style to taunt his enemies." She then briefly turned her head to Philip. Slowly, he was lowering the binoculars and eventually let them slip through his fingers, letting it fall to the ground. He took a few steps back, trembling from head to toe. His face was one of despair, of sorrow even, and one of pure shock.

"Philip?" Ben asked, immediately rushing to his side. He took the arm, tried to comfort him. In the meantime, Lonnie picked up the binoculars from the ground and decided to look through them at the duel as well.

"They have her…" Philip said, sounding quite alarmed, a tear running down his cheek, "They have her. they're forcing her to…" he trailed off, fighting back the tears and not wanting to finish that sentence. Lonnie lowered the binoculars again, with the same dejected look on her face.

"Audrey's fighting Chad," Lonnie said, as some sort of explanation for Philip's behavior and Audrey's disappearance. So that was where she was the entire time.

Philip closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He now controlled his trembling, being non-visible or non-existent now, and when he opened his eyes, there was a determined look on his face. Ben and Lonnie figured out what Philip might do next. so, when Philip wanted to run towards his children, Ben and Lonnie both grabbed an arm and held him back. Even with two, it was a hard thing to do.

"Let me go!" Philip said, having raised his voice, "Let me go!" Luckily, their outpost was for the most part separated from the volunteer army. Seeing their leaders acting like that may make them doubt their commander's capabilities, especially after seeing Philip's reaction. Nobody really noticed – they were just waiting for something to happen, for something to do.

"Philip, no." Ben said. It was getting harder to hold him back.

"She has Audrey!" Philip said, pushing a little harder, "She's a prisoner, forced to fight!" Ben and Lonnie now were just able to keep him from taking off and possibly ruining everything. In the meantime, Chad and Audrey had started dueling.

"Maleficent doesn't take prisoners," Mal said, not looking away from the fight in the distance. This temporarily stopped Philip. He stopped struggling and looked directly at Mal.

"What?" he said. Ben and Lonnie let go of him, though they were ready to grab him again when necessary.

"Escape once, you're lucky, but eight times…" Mal said, but she trailed off and briefly shook her head. She did not want to say it out loud, only because of the way Philip may react. Luckily, there were implications, which helped Philip put two and two together.

His eyes widened in realization. He shook his head in denial. "No," he said, "No, Audrey isn't evil. I know her, she'd never do that! There… there has to be another reason." It was the desperation talking, the hope that Audrey hadn't betrayed her parents, that she was deceiving Maleficent, that she was anything but plain evil.

"It doesn't look like it," Mal said.

"Did you know?" Philip then asked her, "Did you know about this?"

Mal turned her head to Philip. "Mother didn't share any information with me. if I had known, you would have known." She then turned her head away from Philip, to look at the duel again. She had to admit that the both of them were great fighters – Philip taught them well – but one had to be better, one had to grow tired sooner or later, and the other would win.

Chad fell on the ground and Audrey approached him, her sword in one hand and Chad's in the other. He apparently had just lost it. For a moment, it looked like Audrey hesitated. But then, without further consideration, she plunged one of the swords in Chad's stomach.

Philip screamed. In her life, Mal had heard nothing that could compare to this scream of anguish and agony, despair and misery. He immediately ran towards his children, specifically Chad. Ben and Lonnie were unable to hold him back this time. As he rushed onto the field, volunteers followed him, believing him to be the signal they had all been waiting for.

In response, Maleficent's troops started to advance, too. The hirelings were sent first, with the beasts being held at bay for now. They screamed to instill fear in the volunteer army, but with Philip at the front, they kept on going.

Ben, Mal and Lonnie could do nothing but follow quickly and hope to reach Maleficent before too many people lost their lives.