AN: small trigger warning for suicide baiting. It's in there somewhere. sort of.
Mal dragged Evie to curl up and dye while the boys took the limo back to Auridon. The entire time Evie Kept trying to ask Mal questions about the plan. Questions the Fairy kept dodging. Even as Evie caught up with Dizzy and shared designs, the witch kept one eye on her friend.
Mal simply ignored Evie's gaze and made five smoke bombs before signaling that they were leaving. Evie left dizzy with a wave and a promise to come back soon before following her leader out and onto the street.
Mal lead the way to somewhere she refused to share with Evie, the people of the isle scrambling to stay out of her way. Evie followed in a reluctant silence before a thought struck her.
"Aren't you worried about running into your mother?" Evie knew the evil queen was still banished so she wasn't worried about her own mother, but maleficent was sure to make an appearance once she heard that her traitor daughter was back.
"Tch. The other villains ran her off to the outskirts of the isle when we turned 'good'. Rumor around the Bazar is that she is currently living in the ruins of her old castle." Mal answered with an air of nonchalance. Evie shuttered, remembering when the four visited that castle the last time. she nodded in response and the two kept walking until Evie found herself in a familiar location.
"Why are we at Carlos's old tree house?" Evie had been there once before, when the boy had shown her all his old tech.
"Need something from here. Guard the entrance." Mal didn't wait for her to respond before disappearing into the old tree house. Evie wondered why Mal wanted her to stand guard as they were miles from anywhere, but she supposed it was better to be safe than sorry.
A few moments later, Mal returned with her bag secured onto her back, chosen devices inside. "Got 'em. Let's get back to the dock and meet the boys." Mal and Evie started the track back to the docks where the pirates were waiting. "Hey E." Evie hummed to show she was listening to Mal. "When we get there, don't tell the boys anything about Ben."
Evie gasped in shock as to why Mal would want to keep that a secret. She didn't even know why Mal was so intent on saving Ben, for all Evie cared, the pirates could do whatever they wanted to him.
Mal saw Evie's shock and sighed. "Look I sent the boys on a time filling mission to get them out of our hair for a little bit. If you tell them what happened, they might mess up the plan." Mal stopped Evie to look her in the eye. "I know this looks bazar, but I need you to trust me and have my back on this one."
Evie agreed without any hesitation. If whatever Mal was planning didn't go accordingly, Evie would simply curse the king and have the boys rip him limb from limb. She would never let that pile of king trash near Mal again if she could help it.
The two girls arrived at the docks before the boys so Mal went to scope out the situation while Evie waited for the boys.
The royal limo pulled up just as Mal came back with Carlos, jay, and Lonnie inside. Evie rolled her eyes at the Boys' reasoning for bringing Lonnie but hugged her and welcomed her anyway. The more backup the better.
"Aright guys, lets go rescue Mal's boyfriend!" It took all Evie's self-control to keep from snapping at jay. The warning glare from Mal helped too.
"You guys ready?" Mal questioned. They all nodded. "Alright then. It's going down."
Mal, jay, Carlos, Evie, and Lonnie made their way towards the pirate ship with two minutes to spare. Lonnie fell naturally into the typical battle formation the VKs had formed with Mal at the front and Jay right behind her, backed up by Evie, Carlos, and now, Lonnie.
Evie watched Mal lead them as though this were any other fight, not a hostage negotiation to get back her horrible ex-boyfriend. Evie struggled to understand how Mal was even standing, let alone leading the gang after what he did to her. Evie shook those thoughts away as they neared the pirate ship.
Uma and her crew gave the VKs the usual welcome along with some threats about Ben. Evie noted with great joy that the king looked far worse for ware after getting captured by pirates. He was bound at the wrists and ankles as well as bleeding from the head meaning the pirates probably roughed him up pretty good.
Harry dragged Ben over to the side of the ship, teetering him just over the ledge so that with one push, the son of captain hook would send the king of Auridon into the drink.
Uma approached the bridge that connected the ship to the dock with Mal Approaching from the other side. "where's the wand?" Uma drawled, holding her sword loosely at her side. A warning that she was ready should mal try to fight her.
Mal smirked at the threat, sauntering a little closer to the sea witch. "Where's Ben?" Mal asked, gesturing to where hook was still taking great joy in pushing the king ever so close to falling from the ship.
Uma frowned at the fairy, standing still a few moments before signaling to hook to bring Ben forward. The crew jeered at Ben as he was dragged past them, before being forced to his knees beside Uma. In front of Mal.
Uma put a hand on Ben's head, fingers pulling painfully on his hair. "Here he is. The king." Uma spat out in disgust. "Think he is worth that wand?"
Every pirate and Vk watched with wrapped attention as Mal looked Ben the eye and said, "No. I don't think he is."
Ben couldn't believe what he was hearing. He is the king of Auridon! He would be worth any ransom! Especially from his first lady! Ben was starting to get really fed up with her defiant attitude.
"Mal! What are you doing? Give her the wand!" Ben hissed at Mal, causing the girl to laugh.
"Oh why benne-boo?" Mal drawled as she crouched down to look Ben in the eye. "So you can drag me back to Auridon? So you can go back to trying to make me into your perfect little girlfriend? So you can go back to slowly killing me from the inside out?" Ben barely noticed the confused and horrified looks from all the kids surrounding them or Evie trying desperately to placate Carlos and Jay as they demanded to know what mal was talking about, but he did notice the way Uma laughed along with Mal.
"You set this up! You arranged for me to be kidnapped by these Pirates!" Ben cried as he tried to lunge for mal, only to be held back by Uma's foot standing on his bound ankles. "You Bitch! You Whore! I GAVE YOU EVERYTHING AND THIS IS HOW YOU REPAY ME! If you though life was bad before just you wait! I'll put each and every one of your villain friends in their own personal prison and I'll make you watch as they lose all will to live and take their own lives just to free themselves of their tie to you! Simply leaving them on the isle of the lost was FAR to merciful a plan."
Evie gasped at Ben's reveal. She believed mal, of course she did, but she had never expected Ben to be like… like this. She would never have known how close she became to being stranded on the isle of the lost once more.
However, Ben wasn't done. "As for you, you traitorous fairy, you will still be mine, but no longer as my first lady, but as my plaything! You will be subject to my every whim just as you should have been from the start!" Mal flinched at the king's snarling tone as well as his words. That tone promised every pain he said and more. Mal was starting to Panic as Ben got a little too close and a little too loud. Just as the VK was starting to question her plan, question her choices, she found herself pulled back and into the comforting arms of, none other than Uma.
Uma had noticed Mal begin to panic and quickly signaled harry to hold the still snarling Ben, before she pulled the shaken girl into a hug. Purposely turning her away from the king. Everyone froze as the two enemies embraced, they all simply watched as the usually invulnerable Mal teetered on the verge of breaking in her greatest enemy's arms.
Mal's crew moved forward to grab her, but one look from Uma had even Jay taking a few steps back. Ben was also forced to stop speaking and harry quickly gagged him and forced him down onto the deck. A few moments passed as Mal collected herself, no one dared to speak.
Mal slowly pulled herself away from Uma, whispering a soft "thank you" for only the pirate to hear. The fairy turned back to Ben, signaling for harry to let him up. Upon seeing a confirming nod from his captain, Harry pulled Ben back up into a kneeling position, keeping his foot firmly on the king's bound ankles.
Mal didn't settle herself back down to be eye level with the king, opting to look down at him instead. "Well thank you for making it so easy." Mal said in a light taunting tone.
The confusion was evident on Ben's face as he muttered a "What?" thought through the gag it sounded more like "Muur?"
"I thought for sure I was going to have to taunt you more for you to spill all your secrets." Mal continued. "You said no one will believe me over the king, but I bet they'll believe the king." The fairy pointed to an object sitting just above the entrance pipe to pirate's cove.
"My camera." Carlos called out in an amazed half-shout.
Ben's eyes widened, then narrowed again as he finally managed to spit out the old sock Harry had used to gag him. "What so you and all these other villains can watch this moment over and over? That tape will never reach anyone in Auridon, the barrier is sealed! Nothing can get through, not with out my say so!" the king finished with a triumphed smirk. A smirk that Mal matched.
"That would be the case, yes. If we didn't have our resident tech genius on our side." Mal pulled a little box with a flashing light out of her pocket. "You see, Carlos found a way to punch a hole in the dome about a year ago. That way we could get some signals in. and let some signals out."
Queen Belle and King beast watched in unbelieving horror as Mal taunted their son and hinted at the horrible things she claimed he had done, but nothing could have prepared them for what Ben, their only son, admitted after. The former king and queen cried to themselves wondering just what they had done wrong for their son to turn out this way and how they had never noticed before. The only thing the couple knew was that they needed to make this right.
"How? Why?" Ben shuddered, for once not knowing his next move.
"Well, you got set up beaty-boy, by the second smarted girl to ever grace the isle with her presence." Uma drawled, throwing her arm around Mal's shoulders.
"Uma, stop" mal chastised lightly, giving Uma a light shove.
"Not a chance." This was the only warning the pirate gave before finally kissing the girl she had waited years for.
AN: MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAH it was a MalXUma all along! you confused yet? all will be reveled in the next chapter. probably.