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"You did what?!"
All eyes were on Mal after hearing what she just confessed. She was smiling in a sheepish manner.
"Maleficent is alive?" asked Audrey.
"I just said that," reminded Mal.
"Okay, let's see if I can get this straight," said Jay. "When you touched the scepter, you absorbed both the darkness and your mother's life. She was in your head and talking to you like an imaginary friend. You took a trip to your own mind to get rid of her, only for her to escape. Did I miss anything?"
"Well, she did try to force me to kill Evelyn," said Mal. "But I wouldn't do it."
"Well, you didn't kill her," said Lonnie. "Is there any consequences for not doing it?"
"That's why I'm telling you this now," said Mal. "She'll be coming after us since I didn't kill Evelyn."
"So, it's us versus Maleficent. Again," complained Chad.
"You know. It's kinda funny when you think about it," said Evie. "Sofia. Carlos. Mal. Maleficent. They all died, but they came back."
"Yeah, it makes you feel like all that mourning was for nothing," said Jay, seeing Evie's point.
"Well, one of us is going back to the afterlife," said Mal.
"You're going to kill you mother again?" asked Ben.
"Ben, I tried reasoning with her once and it failed," reminded Mal. "It's gonna hurt me to destroy her again, but it's our best and only option."
"Before, the worst you can do is curse people, but now, you think killing is normal," said Ben.
"I know that makes me sound like a monster, but I have to do what's necessary," said Mal. Before Ben can speak, Mal snaps her fingers in front of him and says, "I'm not discussing this any further."
Jane shimmies past Audrey and approaches Carlos. "Um, Carlos, can we talk?"
"Sure," said Carlos.
Carlos and Jane walk somewhere else for a private talk.
Chad leans closer to Evie and says, "Uh oh! Someone's trying to get in the royal doghouse."
"What does that mean?" asked Jay, clearly confused.
Chad puts his hand on Jay's shoulder and says, "Jay, my boy. There are some things in this world you are just too young to know."
"We're the same age," said Jay.
Chad pats Jay's back. "Don't worry. When you grow up, we'll let you in on the important stuff."
"What are you guys talking about?" asked an even more confused Jay.
Everyone else just chuckled, amused at Jay's confusion. The ex-thief was still muddled, not understanding what her friends are laughing about.
Ben's phone beeped. He answers it. "Hello? Oh, hey, Cogsworth. What's wrong?"
A few seconds later, Ben hangs up the phone.
"What is it?" asked Mal.
"Mal, you have to take us to the Broken Bridge," said Ben. "Don't ask, just do it."
Mal takes Ben's hand and teleports both of them out of the room.
Meanwhile, outside the door...
"It was Mal?" Jane sounded surprised.
"Yup," replied Carlos.
"But I thought she loves Ben," said Jane.
"It's not that kind of love," said Carlos. "She loves me like how a girl loves her brother."
"So, you're back," said Jane. "Except for the part that we have to fight Maleficent and there could be a small chance one of us will die."
Seeing her stuttering friend's state, Carlos grabs both her shoulders. "Relax. I'm not going back to the afterlife. I promise."
"Maybe we better go back before Evie suspects something," said Jane.
"Don't worry," said Carlos. "We're just two friends having a little talk. Besides, if she's getting the wrong idea again, I'll just drag her to another session."
"Just be sure I'm not in the same room," said Jane. "Seeing you two on your little 'session' is a little discomforting. Besides, don't you think your 'session' is a little too grown-up for you two?"
"I'm not 14 anymore. I'm 16... turning 17," said Carlos. "Besides, the 'session' thing was her idea. Not mine. I was a little uncomfortable about it at first, but after our first five-minute session, I got used to it."
"That's sweet, but it's kinda nauseating me just thinking about," said Jane.
"Sorry," apologized Carlos.
Jane gives Carlos a hug, which he returns. After they let go of each other, they walked back to the others.
At the Broken Bridge, Mal and Ben arrive to see the authorities and paramedics at the scene. They were surprised and shocked to see four familiar faces. It was Katherine, Uri, Fernando, and Garth. They were covered in towels because they're wet. The paramedics offered medical attention, but they refused.
"Look what the fish dragged in," started Mal.
"Very funny, Mallory," replied Uri sarcastically.
"Not that I'm not happy to see you, because I'm not, but why are you alive?" asked Mal.
"Uri. She needed to carry three of us and she had eight tentacles," answered Katie.
"But what about Ursula? She can swim, can't she? I mean I saw the barrier go down when the Isle blew up, so she can transform into her octopus form if she wanted," wondered Mal.
"She was one of those who got caught in the blast when the device blew up," explained Uri.
Mal can see the sad faces on her four former neighbors. It's clear that their parents didn't survive the destruction of the Isle of the Lost.
"I'm sorry," she said.
"Yeah right," scoffed Katie, not believing that Mal feels bad.
"No, I mean it," said Mal. "By the way. Carlos said that the blast of the explosion was reduced. Do you guys know anything about that?"
"We do," answered Garth.
"We created a dome made of metal," said Fernando. "Apparently, that wasn't enough."
"You did save yourselves," pointed out Mal.
"But we couldn't save our parents," said Katie in despair.
Mal kneels down and puts her hand on Katie' shoulder. "Hey, if you guys want, you can come back to Auradon Prep. After all, the Isle is gone and you guys hated the rehabilitation center."
"Not until I get my hands on that Fire Ranger for what she did," said Katie angrily.
"You can't," said Mal. "She's in prison and all messed up."
"You didn't kill her? I'm shocked," said Katie sarcastically.
"I would've, but I couldn't," said Mal.
"Of course not. You're weak," said Katie.
Mal tensed and felt like punching Katie, but remembering that she was in grief made her second-guess herself.
"So, are you coming back?" Ben asked the quartet.
"Fine," said Garth.
"But the dormitory is still under repair," said Ben. "So, until then, you can stay in the guest bedroom at the castle."
"Bad idea," said Mal. "I think it's better if they stay in the hospital."
"We're fine," said Fernando.
"I can't trust you guys at the castle," said Mal. "If the doctors say you're fine, then you can leave early."
Ben spoke. "Oh, by the way. I almost forgot my manners. Thank you."
"For what?" asked Katherine.
"For sending Carlos that picture," answered Ben. "Without it, we would've lost today."
"Happy to help," said Katie in a sarcastic tone.
"You do realize that this one deed has made you heroes," said Mal. "Tomorrow, everyone's gonna know."
"Uh, no way," said Uri.
"No talking your way out of this," said Mal. "Trust me. Being worshiped as heroes will make you feel even more welcome here."
Later that evening, just before midnight, beneath Castle Beast, Evelyn sits alone in her cell. Her scar is still present and her eye is still healing. To keep her from using magic to escape, Mal put a magical bracelet on her. If anyone was down there to see the look on her face, they can see that she was both furious and miserable. She may have destroyed the Isle of the Lost, but that was after her knights were turned against her and the public saw her true colors, thanks to Carlos.
She looks at her family picture in her locket again. Her eyes started to water until tears rained down. Her sad moment was interrupted when someone knocked on the bars. It was Mal.
"Hey," she greeted.
Evelyn wipes off her tears. "What do you want? You here to make fun of my face?"
"It's hard not to," said Mal. "But no. I came here to talk."
Mal teleports inside the cell.
"What do we have to talk about?" asked Evelyn, still feeling bitter.
"I know you're upset." said Mal. "But you don't have to be if you..."
"Let me stop you right there," interrupted Evelyn. "You turned this entire kingdom against me, and gave me a scar on my face. If you're trying to make up for it by being nice, that option went out the window when I found out Bertha was really Mal."
"You brought this on yourself," said Mal. "Instead of finding a new purpose in life, you just started a revolution against Ben."
"I think we're clear that the 'darkness' inside me made me do this," said Evelyn, putting air quotes on "darkness".
"No," said Mal. "That's not true."
"How would you know?" retorted Evelyn.
"Because I know the darkness," said Mal. "Do you remember when we fought on the day I revealed to Auradon that I'm alive? You made me feel like a wimp. Without magic, I felt useless, hopeless. You know what you did to me? You made me desperate. I wanted my magic back."
"What does this have to do with the darkness?" asked Evelyn.
"I was craving for power. I felt it before when I embraced the darkness," said Mal. "Even without the darkness, I wanted the power. I just never thought about what it really meant until recently. The darkness doesn't just turn you into the worst you can be, but strengthens your desire for what you want. When I first wielded magic, it felt great. I just realized that I've always wanted more. I wanted to be the most powerful sorceress in the world, but my hunger for power was buried by my love for Ben."
"What are you saying? Are you saying that starting a revolution was what I really wanted?" questioned Evelyn.
"Yes," said Mal. "Your grief and love for your family would've buried that so low, but embracing the darkness helped you see what you wanted."
"But I was always a good girl. Why on Earth would I want to rule?" wondered Evelyn, confused about the darkness.
"We all have our dark sides," said Mal. "Look at Audrey and Chad. They may be kids of heroes, but they have their own selfish desires. Audrey wanted to be the most popular girl in the school. Chad wanted to be the most popular guy in the school."
"What exactly are you saying?" asked Evelyn.
"Deep down inside, you really wanted payback on Ben for inviting me and my friends here," said Mal. "The black color of your blood helped you bury your love for your family and let your dark desire rise."
Evelyn looks away from Mal.
"Evelyn. We're sisters," said Mal. "I want to help you. Give me a chance and I'll let you out of here. Do you want to be alone for the rest of your life?"
"I don't know," answered Evelyn with a bitter tone.
"Fine. Have fun sitting down here eating prison food until the end," said Mal with scorn.
Mal teleports out of Evelyn's cell.
As soon as Mal left, one thought started clouding Evelyn's mind.
"How can she be my sister?"
Don't worry. That question will be answered soon. I'll update when the next chapter is ready.
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