Hello everyone, it's been a while. I haven't forgotten about this story, I just have not had the interest to work on it. I don't know why, but suddenly I wanted to finally continue. I'll try to update more often. Anyway, the OC Rayner is mine, the OCs Malice and Skylar are MaliceMalAmyMalevFaery's, the OC Amy is KagamiPINKAgreste's, the mentioned OC Henry is Andrea Mikaelson.x's and everything else is Disney's. I hope you all enjoy and review.

Chapter 2

Ben stood in a room with his parents and Fairy Godmother waiting for Mal to arrive. They were silent, none wanting to really discuss the previous day's events. Their silence was broken when Rayner came running into the room.

"I go to party now, please?" Rayner asked. "Al take me."

Ben went down to Rayner's level. "Did Malice say it was okay with him?"

Rayner nodded. Before Ben could give an answer, Mal and Malice walked into the room. "Perfectly alright with me." Malice said.

"Then sure, you can go. Do you remember where we put Jane's present?" Ben questioned.

"Yeah," Rayner told him, then dashed to his bedroom. Malice went with him, leaving Ben, Mal, and the others to speak of the current situation. "I think we all know why we're here." Adam started. "The people are in a panic about Hades. He almost got out."

"Who knows what he would have done if he escaped?" Fairy Godmother added.

"We can't risk having another villain escape." Adam continued. No one disagreed with him, they just couldn't come up with a way to fix it.

"I really feel like it's all my fault. I'm supposed to protect Auradon." Mal blamed herself.

"You did-do- protect Auradon," Ben reassured her, placing his hand on her shoulder.

"Every time we open the barrier we're exposed to danger. Maleficent, Uma, Hades." Adam reminded them. Before anyone could respond, Ben's phone went off. Knowing he must answer it, he walked away from the group. On the other end was an officer of the royal guard informing him of a break in and robbery at the Museum of Cultural History the night before.

After ending the call, Ben turned back around. He knew that this development would not help his case, but the others deserved to know what had happened. "Maleficent's scepter and the queen's crown have been stolen." He told them.

"Uma," Adam accused, pointing right at Ben.

Ben ran a hand through his hair. "We don't know that, Dad." It was in Ben's nature to defend anyone, but even he had to admit that it was the most reasonable explanation.

Belle held on to her husband's arm. "When people hear this, they'll never come out of their houses! What do we tell them?" The fear in her own voice was clear. "Mal, what do we do? How do we keep evil out of Auradon?"

The three older adults looked at Mal for answers. Mal felt immense pressure to give them the solution that they would find acceptable. She had an idea and the more she thought about it, the more she convinced herself that it was the right choice. "I think that there's only one way to guarantee their safety. And I think that there can't be any more in and out." Mal took a shaky breath before going on. "I think that we have to close the barrier for good."

To Ben, everything went silent. Not just the four people he was with, but the entire room, nothing made a noise. "No," Bem refused. There was no way he was going to do that.

"Son," Adam tried.

"No," Ben repeated, walking away from them.

"Ben," Mal attempted again.

"No, no, no. no, no," Ben said over and over. He could not believe what was happening.

Mal walked over to him and grabbed him by the hands, making him focus on her. "I do not want to take away your dream, because it was so beautiful and it is why I fell in love with you, but as king and queen, what is our duty?"

"To protect Auradon." He answered, his voice cracking. "But do you know what this would mean? All those kids, are you prepared for that?"

Mal felt the tears that threatened to well up in her eyes. "I know what it means, and no, I'm not prepared for it. I just think that we have no other choice."

"Bu-" Ben started to argue.

Mal stopped him again. "If you won't do it for everyone else, do it for your son and the kingdom he will one day inherit. I just don't think that we'd forgive ourselves if something happened."

Adam stepped forward. "Son, Mal's right."

Ben looked away and saw Rayner out in the hallway, excitedly talking to Malice. His eyes watered. Finally, he gave his permission with a nod, not trusting his voice enough to speak.

Mal had already been planning on going to Evie's house to join up with her friends before going to Jane's party, but after the long conversation about the Isle, Mal needed to talk and knew Evie and Amy would listen. Ben, now having made a decision, had some meetings he had to attend and would be arriving later. Mal, Amy, and Evie sat in what has become known as Evie's fashion workshop, discussing the day's earlier events.

"Who else knows about the scepter and the crown?" Amy inquired.

"No one, I mean, think about it. People are scared as it is. We have to employ these entirely new safety measures." Mal explained.

"Will this delay us bringing over more VKs?" Amy wondered. When she was on the Isle she saw how much the VKs, and even some villains, had changed since Cotillion. The VKs did deserve the chance to come to Auradon.

Mal hesitated for a moment. "We're talking about closing the barrier for good."

"But you said no." Evie assumed. "I mean, the four of us are living the dream here and we finally get to share it. What could be more important than that?"

Mal could think of more important things, not that she would tell that to Evie. "Yeah, I know, but maybe security, or maybe peace of mind for everyone in Auradon?"

"Is that what they're thinking? M, are they seriously thinking that no one will ever go in or out of the Isle ever again? I mean what, we never get to go back and see our parents?" Evie asked. "And what about these kids? We promised them they could go back and visit whenever they wanted."

Amy stayed behind and watched. Maybe, eventually, she would consider going back to the Isle to see her dad, but her mom was still trapped in the body of a lizard here in Auradon and she wanted nothing to do with her. She could tell Mal seemed to be keeping something to herself, but just couldn't quite tell what it was.

"Yeah, I know," Mal said. She gave a small smile, hoping it would convince Evie.

"M, I am glad that you're going to be queen. You will be a part of these conversations. You will stand up for the VKs. Thank you for telling me. You'll make a great queen." Evie thanked. The three girls then dispersed to change their clothes and finish getting ready for the party.

While Mal and the others had their first encounter with the new and improved evil Audrey, ending with Mal being turned into an old hag and them coming up with the plan to go to the Isle and get Hades's ember, Jane, Chad, Malice, Henry. Skylar, Rayner, and a lot of other people were at the Enchanted Lake, with no knowledge of what was going on elsewhere. Skylar and Rayner were already in the water. Malice was sitting on a bench, throwing swim toys into the lake. Jane was looking around for the rest of her friends, and Henry was off talking to some other people.

Chad was standing next to Jane. "Looks like Carlos forgot about your birthday." He teased.

Jane was worried, but would not believe that her boyfriend would just not remember her birthday. "Well, maybe not. Maybe he just took the wrong trail or something. Or you know what? They probably don't celebrate birthdays on the Isle. Maybe it's a cultural thing."

Chad went on annoying her. "Yeah, or maybe he just forgot your birthday."

Jane wanted him to leave her alone, so she looked around for something that would distract him. "Hey, Chad, look! There are people taking selfies." She pointed at a group of people.

"Selfies? Guys! Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait for me!" Chad yelled. He ran off, leaving Jane laughing at how ridiculous he looked. Jane went and sat on the edge of the lake with her feet in the water. She had fun splashing Rayner.

"Stop Jane!" Rayner laughed, splashing her too, but it only hit her legs.

Suddenly she felt a gust of wind from behind her. Jane turned and saw Audrey with pink hair and the crown and Maleficent's scepter. This is not what Jane thought would happen today.

"Anyone save me some guacamole? No? Someone forgot to invite me." Audrey walked around, dragging the scepter on the stones behind her. "Don't expect Mal, she's not…feeling herself." She grabbed a cupcake from the hands of another person and threw it over her shoulder. "Does that make you sad? Just ruin everything?

Most people were just confused and shocked. They stared at Audrey, unsure of what exactly was going on. "Mindless little drones!" She screamed. "How could you forget what she did to us? How could you forget that I was supposed to be your queen?"

Before Audrey could do anything further, Chad came running down to her. "Time out, time out. First off, great new look. Love the feathers." He complimented. "Before you do whatever it is you're going to do, I was wondering if maybe you would want a loyal boyfriend by your side?"

Audrey raised an eyebrow, not convinced. "Partner in crime? Sidekick?" Chad offered. "Or maybe just a lackey to do your bidding? Change tires or smoothie runs?" HE crossed his fingers and smiled, hoping it was enough for her.

It apparently was. "You can be useful. Fine, stand behind me." Chad quickly took his place by her side. Audrey looked around at all of the people. "If Auradon likes to forget so much, you'll love this." She walked around singing Happy Birthday. Whenever she finished a line, a puff of pink smoke would escape the scepter and sweep over the crowd.

"Audrey?" Chad questioned.

"Sweet dreams." Audrey cackled before leaving in a final puff of smoke.

Jane, Malice, Skylar, and Rayner were the farthest away, so the smoke would get to them last. Jane glanced behind her and saw Rayner and Skylar still in the water, which made her remember the magical powers the lake held. She stepped into the water, needing to tell the others her plan.

"Okay Rayner, I need you to close your eyes and hold your breath under water until I say. Got it?" Jane quickly explained.

Rayner nodded, tightly shut his eyes, and took a deep breath. Jane looked at the others, silently telling them to do the same. Jane pushed Rayner under the water as Malice jumped in. Jane opened her eyes and watched as the pink smoke passed over the group. Once she knew they were safe, Jane surfaced and pulled Rayner up with her. Finally catching her breath, she swam back to land.

She grabbed a towel, drying herself off. She then grabbed another and did the same to Rayner, or at least as dry as his swim shirt and trunks could get, then helped him into his Crocs. "Can you take this bag over to Malice? He'll put all of the water guns in it." Jane asked, handing the boy an empty backpack. "I have to go call your dad."

Rayner did as asked, even filling his own little water gun. Skyler walked through the large group of people, trying to figure out what happened. She found Henry, who was laying on a rock.

"Henry? Henry!" Skylar called out, shaking his shoulder. "Everybody's asleep!" She shouted to the others.

Jane walked further away, dialing Ben's number on her phone. He picked up soon after. "Hey, Jane, I'm on my way to the party. My meetings ran late." He was in his bedroom, present in hand when she called.

"No, no, stay where you are. Audrey's for the scepter and everyone's asleep. I'm going to call Mom and tell her to get her wand." She informed him in a frantic, panicked tone. She then ended the conversation and began to call Fairy Godmother.

"Is Mal with you? What about Rayner?" Ben wondered. "Jane? Jane?" But there was only silence on the other end.

Ben was very confused. Jane, Malice, Skylar, and Rayner were on their way in search of others, and Mal, Evie, Jay, Carlos, Amy, and Celia were magically driving on water on a mission to get the answer to Auradon's newest problem.