Have you guys wondered, "Where were CJ and the other villain kids while Mal was talking to Ben?" Well, even if you're not, I'm gonna answer that question. This chapter will also feature some "Jay being a big brother" moments with Evie. Read and enjoy.
Leave a review after reading, please. Feedback is always appreciated.
I'd like to thank the following users for reviewing the previous chapter: DragonEmperor999, MaliceMalAmyMalevFaery, Guest, xez2003, CarvieCamfia, Mustang52, Quartz Rider
To Mustang52: That's pretty deep, but you do have a point... about Ben needing to step up, not Mal being killed. This story may be dark, but I'm trying not to go too dark.
Eight months ago...
It was the night before Ben's coronation. Mal, Evie, Jay, and Carlos meet up at the boys' dorm to discuss the plan one more time. After the horrible way the Auradon kids treated them during and after Family Day, they were more than determined to finish the job their parents assigned them. They were gonna steal Fairy God Mother's wand, free their parents from the Isle of the Lost, and take over Auradon.
"We all clear?" Mal asked.
"Don't worry, captain. We won't forget our parts," said Jay.
"Don't call me captain," said Mal, clearly irritated.
"Look, I know you're still upset about this afternoon, but I think you need to chill," said Jay.
"I'll be chill after Coronation tomorrow," said Mal. "Don't blow it."
"We won't, I promise," said Jay.
"I was talking to myself," said Mal, munching on a chocolate bar.
"Hey, where did you get that?" Carlos asked, wondering how Mal found his secret stash of chocolates.
"They don't exactly sell cider in the cafeteria, so I needed something else," said Mal. "Also, a pillow is a cliche hiding place."
"You don't have to worry, Mal," said Evie, putting a hand on the purple-haired sorceress' shoulder. "You still have Ben's heart in your hands, and that's all we need."
"Now I have this terrifying image in my head," Jay commented, a bit disturbed by Evie's choice of words.
"Mal, this plan is full-proof," said Evie, trying to make Mal feel more confident. "Once we have the wand in our hands, no one, not even an entire room full of heroes, would dare to stand in our way."
"You'll be remembered forever as the one who freed all the villains from the Isle," said Carlos. "Stealing the wand may be your mother's plan, but the plan that gets it done is yours."
"Yeah, what he said," said Jay, trying to take credit for those words. "I... we... believe in you, Mal."
Mal smiled for a second, secretly feeling touched by her friend's words.
"How do you do it, though?" asked Evie. "Always come up with such incredible plans?"
"Not all my plans are full-proof, but thank you for the compliment," said Mal. "When it comes to making a plan, I follow three principles. One, make sure the execution is as flawless as possible, . Two, always be cautious in case of failure. Three, when the original plan fails, discard it and either come up with a Plan B or improvise."
"So, in the event your plan for Coronation goes wrong...?" Evie asked.
"I use my magic," said Mal.
"And if that doesn't work?" Carlos asked.
"Oh, it will work," said Mal. "With the no-magic rule, they don't have the means to stop us. That's the problem about Auradon's perfection. They've been living in absolute peace for 20 years, which is why they were so eager to welcome us with open arms instead of prioritizing security. They play too safe."
"Which means our victory will wake them up," Carlos replied.
"By the time they do, we'll be stepping on them like ants," Mal said with an evil smirk.
"Ooh, I think my spine just tingled," said Evie, feeling her vertebrae shiver from Mal's words and tone.
"That's fear, Evie," said Mal.
The Lost Pearl is out of water and floating high in the sky. CJ was up on the crow's nest, looking through her telescope, searching for their next destination. Harry was manning the wheel, as he always did. Ginny was reading a news report on her phone, along with Gil and Zevon. The report was about the fires at Auroria that occurred yesterday evening.
"Wow, Mal sure made quite the mess at Auroria," said Ginny.
"And to think, I almost doubted her," said Zevon.
"Uh, you did," Ginny reminded him.
"Don't attempt to infurgitate me," Zevon said angrily.
"I think the word is infurione," said Gil.
"Read a book, you two," Ginny dissed them.
"Ahoy, mateys! The Enchanted Wood is within our sights!" CJ hollered from above. "Gil, prepare the anchor!"
"Aye, aye, Captain Cutie," said Gil flirtatiously.
"Just get moving, you muscle-brained dummkopf!" CJ ordered.
"You heard the captain, dummkopf. Get moving," Ginny said, pushing Gil towards the anchor.
CJ swings down from the crow's nest and lands on the quarterdeck.
"I never tire watching that," said Harry.
"Of course you're not," CJ teased.
"Victory is nearly within our grasp," said Harry, sniffing the air. "You can almost smell it."
"Actually, that's linden, but I do love the scent," said CJ, sniffing the air as well. "Call me a softy, but I'm loving the fragrance. It's nice to get away from the foul stenches of the Isle."
"Me and you both," said Harry.
CJ takes her brother's hand and looks at him with determination.
"You're right, brother. Victory is upon us. We could not have gotten this far without each other," said CJ.
"I guess family has its advantages," said Harry.
Harry uses his hook to move part of CJ's hair away from her eye, making sure her face is uncovered. He grins as she playfully pokes her on the chin with his hook.
"Can't have you ruling Auradon looking like a mess," said Harry.
"Awww, didn't know my brother cared about my looks," CJ teased. "In that case..."
CJ takes Harry's hook and wipes off what appears to be a small piece of sludge on his cheek. She adjusts his pirate hat in an awkward position on his head for laughs.
"You're lucky you're my blood. No one takes my hook away from me besides Uma," said Harry.
The siblings stopped teasing each other when they felt The Lost Pearl stop, which meant that Gil has already anchored the ship.
"If you two are done poking each other, we're here," Ginny called.
CJ gives Harry his hook back and lightly smacks his chin with her finger before heading down to the main deck. Harry is left thinking how one adventure has forged a bond between him and his sister. They always respected each other, in a way, but recently, it felt different.
Meanwhile, at Auradon Prep, in Jay and Carlos' dorm, Evie is lying down on Carlos' bed, hugging his pillow, while Jay is taking his frustration out on video game villains.
"Carlos loves that game," said Evie, hugging the pillow tighter.
"Don't remind me," said Jay. "Dang! We almost got him back. All we needed was Mal to talk."
"But she didn't, and she killed nearly a hundred people in Auroria because Ben brought us along," said Evie sadly.
"You sound like you're giving up," said Jay.
"I'm not giving up," said Evie.
"Yet, you're hugging Carlos' pillow as if he's gone," said Jay.
"I just miss him so much," said Evie. "I never even got to tell him I'm sorry."
Jay pauses his game upon realizing why Evie has been moping about Carlos non-stop since the Auroria fires.
"It's not your fault, Evie," said Jay. "Mal wanted Carlos. She would've taken him regardless of what happened between you and him."
"Really? Because it feels like she knew what happened and took him just to mess with me, to make me feel how I am right now, and I let her because... because..." Evie paused, unable to fight back against her tears.
"Hey. Hey. Don't cry. Not with me in here," Jay pleaded, rushing towards his friend.
Jay helps Evie sit up and gives her a hug, feeling that it is the right course of action when it comes to comforting a friend who is sad. It seemed to work when Evie hugs him back.
"Thanks. I needed that," said Evie.
"Well, that's what friends are for," said Jay.
"I don't want sit around here and do nothing anymore, Jay," said Evie. "I want him back."
"What about Mal?" asked Jay.
"Jay, she murdered a lot of innocent people. I may be an optimist, but even I know when to let my optimism blind me from the truth," said Evie. "Mal is a villain now. She's gone way too far."
"So, you're giving up on her?" asked Jay.
"I don't know anymore, Jay," said Evie. "Look, I want Carlos back first, and then we'll talk about Mal."
"But what are we gonna do?" Jay asked. "Even if we go out there by ourselves, we don't even know where to start looking for Mal. She has magic, so she can literally be anywhere in Auradon."
"She was right about one thing, though," said Evie. "Auradonians play too safe, and we've become just like them in the way we've been fighting this war. Mal is going all in on keeping us from finding Carlos and we let her succeed because we always try to do the right thing just as heroes do. It's time we start thinking like Mal."
"So, what you're saying is that we use bad to win this fight?" Jay guessed.
"It's not evil if it's used for good, right?" Evie replied.
"So, what do you have in mind?" asked Jay. "Steal some magical items for the museum?"
"We only need to steal one item," said Evie. "Fairy God Mother's magic wand."
"Who, going for the big score, aren't you?" Jay replied. "But I thought only Fairy God Mother can deactivate the force field that shields it."
"I have a crazy theory," said Evie.
Evie and Jay plan to break into the Museum of Cultural History after closing hours. They show up with an unconscious Jane being carried by Jay. They ambushed her and knocked her out using Evie's sleeping potion.
To open the door, Evie uses a hair pin. She opens the door as silently as possible as to not attract the attention of the guard. She takes out a small silver sphere, activates it, and rolls it towards the guard. It stops next to his chair and sprays sleeping perfume at him, putting him to sleep.
"Carlos, you are a genius," Evie said.
Evie and Jay started running down the halls in search for Fairy God Mother's wand. Since they've been here before, they know where it is.
"Okay, time for Jane to wake up," said Evie.
Jay puts Jane down as Evie sprays ordinary perfume at her. She smells it in and wakes up. She yawns and stretches her arms before seeing where she is. She was in the museum with Evie and Jay, who were creepily grinning at her. She turns around and sees her mother's magic wand.
"Why are we in the museum?" asked Jane.
"Oh, we're just stealing your mother's magic wand... again," said Jay.
"What?" Jane asked, surprised and confused.
"It's for a good cause, Jane," said Evie, knowing Jane will jump to the wrong conclusions. "We need it to find Carlos."
"Why didn't you guys talk to Ben or my mother about this?" asked Jane.
"Because they'll never agree to this," said Evie.
"Then why am I here?" Jan asked.
"We need your help," Jay asked.
"But what do you need me to do?" asked Jane.
"Obviously, you're mother's not gonna bring down the force field for us, but I have reason to believe that maybe your magic might be bring it down," said Evie.
"What makes you think so?" Jane asked.
"You're your mother's daughter," Evie answered. "You wield the same magic she does. If she can bring down the force field, maybe you can."
"Emphasis on maybe," said Jane.
"I thought it was a dumb idea," said Jay.
Evie hits Jay on the chest, glaring at him. Jay just shrugs his shoulders and takes a step to the side, distancing himself from Evie.
"Aiding and abetting theft, huh? Oh, my mother's gonna kill me," said Jane worriedly. "I could be grounded for life, or worse, imprisoned..."
"They have prisons here on Auradon?" asked Jay.
"Yeah, there's a dungeon underneath the castle," said Jane.
"Look, Jane, you're not going to prison. We'll take the heat for this," said Evie. "We just need you to cooperate."
"And what if I don't want to?" asked Jane, trying to turn off her worrisome look.
Evie decided to ask her a big question. "Jane, do you love Carlos?"
"I-I do," Jane answered.
"Then by helping us, you're helping in rescuing him," said Evie.
Jane sighs, defeated. "I can't believe I'm about to do this. Keeping my magic hidden from my mother is one thing, but this..."
"Uh, Jane, can you please hurry up?" Jay asked, growing impatient. "Your boyfriend's in danger, remember?"
"Okay. Okay," Jane replied.
Jane faces the force field and takes a deep breath. Waving her hand in the air, she tries to come up with a rhyme for the spell she has in mind.
"With these words, I ask with grace, free my mother's wand from his case," she cited.
Nothing happened.
"I guess your theory was crazy after all," Jay said to Evie.
Suddenly, the force field started to disappear. Jane started cheering, proud of herself, only to remember that they're in a museum, so she silences herself. When the force field had fully disappeared, Fairy God Mother's wand falls down to the floor. Jane picks it up and reluctantly gives it to Evie.
"Thanks, Jane," said Evie. "Carlos would be proud of you."
"I hope he will be," said Jane.
Evie reaches for something in her bag, "Now, I'm sorry to do this, but since you're terrible at keeping secrets..."
Evie sprays Jane with her sleeping perfume five times, putting the daughter of Fairy God Mother to sleep. She faints and hits her head on the ground as she fell.
"That's gonna leave a mark," Jay commented.
"True, but Jane will wake up thinking this was all a dream," said Evie. "Now, let's get her back to her room and then we'll look for Mal."
~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ ROTTEN TO THE CORE ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~
After taking Jane back to Lonnie's dorm, Evie and Jay return to Jay's dorm so they can use the wand in peace. Evie takes out her magic mirror. She checks her hair and complexion first before moving on to more serious matters.
"Mirror, mirror, in my hand, where is Mal in this land?" She asked.
The mirror lights up and shows Evie an image of Mal, who was currently strolling through a forest, humming the song "Evil."
"So, where exactly is she?" Jay asked.
Evie asks her mirror ."Magic mirror, where is the forest on the map?"
The mirror shows an image of Auradon's map and zooms in on where Mal currently is. Sherwood Forest.
"Good. Now we know where she is," said Evie.
"So, we go in, ask her where Carlos is, rescue him, and be back before everyone wakes up," Jay recapped the plan. "Sounds easy enough."
"Don't jinx it," said Evie.
Evie starts waving the wand and taps her magic mirror. Magical sparkles twinkle around Evie and Jay and make them vanish, taking them to Sherwood Forest.
Can bad really be used for good? Well, Evie and Jay think so, but the outcome for their secret mission, as well as answer as to why CJ and her crew are at the Enchanted Wood, will have to wait until the next chapter. Man, I hope you're as excited as I am.