Twenty minutes had passed since the Dragons left Mal alone with her mother and in that time, they were kept distracted by the fighting in the streets. They took off to regroup once they realized that Mal wasn't fighting alongside them. "Where the hell is she?" Jay asked as he paced up and down the alley, keeping his eyes glued to the Curl up and Dye entrance. Roan and Evie were keeping their eye on the riots around them, but they kept throwing glances to the door as well. Carlos was toying with one of his explosive devices, almost ready to hand it to Dahlia who was rounding the corner towards them for it.
"Jay stop pacing," Roan directed. "You're going to bring attention to yourself."
"She said she would join us in a minute," he worried, not hearing a word Roan had just said. "It's been almost half an hour."
Carlos tossed his finished device to Dahlia who took it and ran, and then grabbed Jay in an effort to still the boy.
"Carlos I swear if you don't get your hands off me…"
Before Jay could try anything, Evie angrily jumped up, decked him across the jaw, and hooked her leg around both of his while pushing him down simultaneously. He hit the ground with a thud, effectively shutting him up as well as bringing him to his senses. He held his aching cheek and looked up at her in a rage before jumping back to his feet. He towered above her as Carlos jumped to her aid, clenching his fists at his side but Evie didn't back down or even blink in discomfort. The pissed off look in her eyes served to calm Jay down when he realized that he was supposed to be the one in control; he was supposed to be leading. Giving her nothing more than a warning look, he sighed and gestured for them to head back in to look for their missing crewmate.
An hour later and across the Isle, Mal woke up in a world of confusion before she remembered what had happened. One of her mothers goons had snuck into the salon behind them and lied in wait for Mal after her crew had passed him by unaware. This was Maleficent's plan all along; to get Mal alone in order to separate her from her crew. That was why the Huns had tried to grab her in the market after the drop. The pounding in her head told her that she most likely had a concussion, but it was the burning around her wrists that had her the most concerned. Flashes of her childhood thrusted their way into her mind as she remembered being bound by iron chains for days on end. It wasn't chains this time, but the shackles around her wrists were most definitely iron; and iron was poisonous to fae type.
Her eyes adjusted to the dim light as she found herself bound to a wooden chair, her arms fastened behind her more uncomfortable than she cared to admit. She quickly scanned her surroundings for any clues to where she was, and dismay filled her when she realized she was not in her mothers castle. At least there she could figure her way out.
"No one will find you," a familiar voice boomed from behind her.
Dread gripped her soul as she recognized that voice. He had caused her half of as much pain as her mother had growing up. "Steel," she declared as she gritted her teeth, triumphantly hiding the slight shake to her voice that threatened to come out. "Still doing my mothers dirty work, I see."
"Dirty work?" he asked as he grabbed a fistfull of her hair and yanked her head back. The knife now tracing the old scar across her throat sent shivers of recollection back to the day she had earned it. "I quite enjoy this."
He released his grip on her and Mal laughed to release some of the tension as the man planted himself in front of her, crouching to her level. His hair looked the same, black as the night and framing his face, setting off his grey eyes that were glimmering in excitement. His rough hands gripped her legs while her body betrayed her and gave a slight shiver of discomfort. "She's never going to get Ember…" she trailed before realizing her mistake.
"So that's her name," her mothers voice sounded for the first time behind her as she walked into her field of view. Mal didn't even know she was there.
Mal couldn't help but freeze in shock, exciting Steel and cringing when his wandering hand snaked its way up her thigh. Somehow, them knowing Ember's name held some kind of power over her, because she was now visibly terrified infront of her tormentors.
"Ember," Maleficent pronounced, tasting the name and enjoying how its very mention was causing such distress in her daughter's eyes. "A strong name, but such a waste for such a horrible little creature."
"Don't you ever say her name again," Mal spat as tears began to collect in her eyes as rage built from her very core. She had fought so hard to keep the girl a secret, and her very name was out due to a stupid slip. "I will kill you if you ever…" but she never finished her sentence in that breath, because Maleficent pushed Steel out of the way and cracked her scepter across Mal's cheek, splitting it open and watching as her head snapped to the side from the sheer force of the blow; but Mal wasn't done. She groaned in pain before pushing it to the back of her mind and meeting her mothers gaze once more. "I will kill you if you ever step within 100 yards of her," she finished with a low growl.
Instead of getting angry at her daughter's threat, Maleficent smiled at the challenge it was going to be to get her daughter to submit to her. Controlling her mind wasnt going to be as fun, so she would have to torture her instead. Pain was a valuable bargaining tool when it came to control. A nod to her number one henchman resulted in his fist colliding with Mal's stomach, effectively causing Mal and the chair she was tied to flying backwards and smashing onto the floor. Just like everything on the Isle, the chair came from Auradon. Old and non useful things came from there, and the chair was no exception. The force caused the already unstable chair to shatter as Mal was left coughing as she tried sucking in the air that was knocked from her. She didn't even get her breath back before a kick to her ribs sent her skidding across the floor before she came to a stop against a wall. The tiny crack she heard told her that a rib had snapped, but she didn't care compared to what came next. Over and over Steel kicked her as she refused to scream. She wouldn't give her mother the satisfaction. She was just waiting for the darkness to take her once again and she almost groaned in disappointment when Maleficent ordered the man to stop.
He did as he was told, but grabbed her by the arms and yanked her up. Mal wanted to kick herself when a tiny yelp escaped her lips. Her legs wouldn't support her at first, so he held her against him with an arm across her chest and hand around her throat. She sucked in as much air as her lungs would allow as her mother met her gaze once more.
"Don't make this too hard on yourself kid," Maleficent said nonchalantly as if the assault on her daughter meant nothing to her. "How hard is it to just listen to your mother? I could kill you if I wanted."
Mal gave a condescending laugh as she struggled against Steel's hold. Remembering her emergency safety tool, she began scratching at the back of her hand as she stalled for time. "Yeah, so could starvation, neglect, or even a very dedicated duck. Death doesn't scare me, and you are not my mother," she dismissed. "Mothers don't hurt their children."
"Oh?" Maleficent mocked in surprise, "like this?" She released her scepter which seemed to stand on its own, and pulled out a dagger from beneath her dark robes.
This time, Mal couldn't help but grit her teeth against the scream that tore itself from her vocal chords as the dagger dug its way into her thigh. A second scream parted her lips as the blade slid back out, releasing a steady stream of crimson that stained her second favorite pair of jeans. To add insult to the injury, Steel whirled her around and delivered a sickening punch across her face that sent her sprawling onto the grime covered ground once more.
Mal wanted to catch herself, but her hands were still bound behind her and she landed hard onto her shoulder. The shards of glass she felt in its socket told her that it had dislocated, but she bit back her pain and rolled to face her abusers, not wanting to leave her back exposed. The roll made her eyes slam shut for a split second as what felt like a bolt of lightning shot through her shoulder, leaving her momentarily breathless as her shoulder popped back into place. They didn't advance on her, but it took everything she had to gather her own feet beneath her and rise to face them as she dug even harder into the back of her hand with her nails. The nauseating, coppery taste in her mouth told her she had bitten her cheek. It was that along with the blood from her split lip and bloody nose that ran into her mouth that made her spit it out onto Steel's boots. Still, she did not back down. There was too much at stake to bow down to her mother. Maleficent could beat her to the brink of death and she would still never follow her or give up Ember.
"Ew, Mal. Honestly, where are your manners?" her mother taunted as she glanced at the blood covering Steel's boots. "I hope 'Ember' doesn't take after you when I get my hands on her."
At the mention of her daughter's name, Mal snapped. She charged forward as Steel stepped in front of Maleficent. She didn't even care how bad her shoulder hurt; she rammed into the man with as much force as she could summon and they both hit the ground with a grunt. The bigger man rolled on top of her and pinned her to the floor as she spat curses at him that of course did absolutely nothing under the magical Isle barrier. She writhed beneath him, screaming in a mixture of frustration and pain as he jammed a finger into the knife wound in her thigh.
Maleficent laughed at her daughter's pain as well as the howl that came from Steel when he tried to cover her mouth and nose with his other hand in an attempt to suffocate her, and she bit him in retaliation. He jumped off of the small girl and delivered a swift kick into her side as he shook and inspected his now bleeding hand. Mal spit out the chunk of flesh and rolled onto her side in an effort to get her breath back. Still she worked on her own hand, using her nails to finally free the pin she had inserted beneath her skin years ago for a situation such as this one. She pedaled backwards as she left a trail of blood, ramming her back against the wall as she fit the pin into the lock of one of the shackles around her burning wrists.
Maleficent was still laughing as Steel worried over his hand. "She got you so good!" she cackled. "That's the Mal I know. Come on child, you could rule alongside me! We could make this Isle great, and with our combined power finally tear this barrier down for good!"
An intense feeling of despair forced its way into Mal's heart when she realized something she had deep down known all along...she couldn't bring the barrier down.
"When I finally break out of this prison," Maleficent continued, "Auradon will burn. I want their kneecaps to crack on the stone that will run red with the blood of their children, their necks to break from bowing to me. I will conquer kingdom after kingdom until even the worms know my name…"
She couldn't do it. She couldn't expose the world to this new evil, because it was just that; new. After being caged for so long, Maleficent's wickedness had grown to an ungodly level. What the world had known before would be nothing compared to what would be coming. There had to be some other way to save the ones she cared about, but how? *Clink* One of the shackles had unlocked around her wrist.
"Oh won't you join me Mal?" her mother asked in excitement.
"What about everyone else here on the Isle?" she coughed as she avoided the question.
Maleficent cocked her head in confusion as Steel started inching towards Mal with a murderous gleam in his eyes. "What about them?"
'What about them?' Maleficent didn't even care about getting revenge for the other villains trapped there. She wanted revenge only for herself, and Mal bet she would cast her aside the moment it became convenient for her. "See that's the difference between you and me," she spat, "you don't care about anyone but yourself, and that makes you weak." Maleficent's entire demeanor changed the moment Mal called her weak, and she had to swallow back the fear that was climbing her throat.
"Weak?" the evil villain asked in a dangerous tone that made even Steel hesitate. "You think I'm...weak?"
*Clink* The last shackle was off. "No," Mal said as she pushed back as much of her pain as she could before bracing herself for what she knew was about to follow her next words; but she couldn't help herself. "Not weak, mother… I think you are pathetic."
The rest of the Dragon crew were at their wits end when Mal was pronounced missing over an hour ago. They had to deal with a swell of rival crews around the Tremaine household, effectively slowing them down in their search. There were more VK's in their territory than ever before, and the mixture of Dragons and Pirates were having a hard time keeping tabs on everyone involved. They caught glimpses of some kids that ran with the Demon crew, but it was only a few. Uma came to the conclusion that they were deserters, joining the much larger Hun and Jungle crew for better protection.
Not one member of their crews had escaped damage from the fights. They only slowed down once the other adult villains had enough of the riots happening outside of their doors and spilled into the streets as well. Soon, the Isle started to quiet down again but the Dragons and Pirates stayed out, chasing off stragglers and beating down anyone who may have information on where Mal may have been taken.
No one would say a word as to her whereabouts, and Uma was getting restless after taking stock of her battered crew. She was forced to make the decision to pull them back and leave the Dragons to continue the search, much to their dismay.
"I've held up my end of the bargain," she argued with Jay. "We chased those assholes out of your territory, but I need to look after the best interest for my crew."
Jay was seething, but he really did understand. They had gone above and beyond at helping them, and he knew he couldn't keep them forever. "Thanks, Uma," he said a little too bitterly. "Be careful on your way back."
"Oh I'm not going back," she said with a sly smile. "I'm staying, but I can't keep my crew here."
Jay looked at her in disbelief. "Why?" he couldn't help but ask, but his feet were getting anxious to be moving again. The longer Mal was out there, the worse off they would most likely find her to be.
"Mal and I may have our differences," she started, "but she would do it for me, and you know it."
Jay smiled, thankful for her help. When she turned back to Hook to give her orders, he called for Roan, Luna and Dahlia. They joined him immediately and he could see the waves of anxiety exuding off of them. "The Pirates are done," he informed them, "but Uma is staying with us for a bit."
"Shit," Roan cursed, although he too knew that they couldn't stay forever. "That's going to slow down the search."
Jay wholeheartedly agreed with him. "Yeah, but we need to reorganize. We need teams of three; comb the territory and search everywhere. I'm willing to bet that Maleficent will be giving us the runaround. The Huns may be done for now, but they are going to be back.
Uma finished up with her crew, and then rejoined Jay, fitting in easily between the rival crew. "I spread them all out as they head back, just in case."
"Thanks, Uma," Roan acknowledged. He would have to play nice with her since he would be back in charge once Mal and Jay were back in Auradon.
"Uma, Roan, Dahlia, and Evie will be with me, checking Maleficent's castle just in case. I highly doubt she would be there, but I'm not going to rule it out without checking first."
"That's more than three," Roan said, not seeing sense in pulling the strongest of their crew all in one group when they could be leads of other groups.
Jay looked at him in warning, but made no move to change his decision. "Would you rather split us all up and send only three into the depths of Maleficent's lair? What if she's there, Roan?" he asked with a conveying tone. "Her men would tear us apart before we even laid eyes on that bitch."
Roan of course did not respond. He stood there and seethed at being called out by Jay, but he realized that he was right. They needed more muscle and even he wouldn't risk sending in anyone else from their crew.
Seeing that Roan got the message, Jay turned back towards the circle. "I want Carlos to go with Red back to the safehouse and make more bombs. I have a feeling we are going to need them sooner rather than later. Alright people," he ordered, stepping back and bouncing on his heels in anticipation to get going, "let's move."
Moving through Maleficent's castle was unnerving and terrifying. No one had ever been past the first and second floor before, and Mal had always said that it stretched deep underground as well. The lower levels were lit by torches and anyone could be hiding in the shadows that they would not see until it was too late. In one of the rooms, they cringed when they saw weapons of iron lining the walls, surrounding restraints that had been chained into the floor. Based on Mal's description of where Maleficent would keep her as a child when she disobeyed, they knew it was this room. They just had never seen with their own eyes the horrors her mother would put her through to try and keep her loyal. The more Maleficent pushed her daughter though, the more Mal would stray from her and her ways.
They wandered from the room in slight disappointment, because this was where they had hoped she would be. It brought them back to square one, and they were forced to leave the daunting castle and spill back into the streets to search for the missing girl. They had no idea where she was, and they could never imagine the sort of hell her own mother was putting her through as they combed through the Isle.
Every member of the Dragon crew began to fear for the worst when light began to filter in through the barrier, morning having come and still they hadn't found Mal. Jay was becoming increasingly short with everyone as his search efforts were leading them to nothing but dead ends. He eventually split his own group up about midday, choosing then because they had wandered around the borders lining other territories in hopes of seeing or hearing something from rival crews. He sent Evie with Dahlia and Carlos, and Red with Luna. He and Uma stuck together as they snuck into Hun territory and holed up in a space lining the market there. They were hoping again that some rumor would find them and they could get a lead. Someone had to know something.
The day had come and gone with no leads, and night had already set when the two heard someone shimmying into their hiding space. The telling sound of metal being pulled from a sheath at Uma's side had Jay pulling his own from his belt. The small frame from the boy as he rounded the corner and drew his hood back had Jay catching Uma's wrist just in time to save Jax from getting a knife to his skull. The kid fell back with a startled yell, but then relaxed when Jay shifted around the Pirate to help him up.
"What the hell are you doing here kid?" Jay asked in a harsh whisper.
Now recognizing the kid from the night before, Uma relaxed and drifted closer, all the while keeping her body turned towards the street to listen for danger.
"I've been looking for you all over!" Jax said as he grabbed for Jay and began pulling him towards the way he came.
"Whoa, hold on there kid," he said, shaking his arm free and sending the kid stumbling back a few feet. "What's going on?"
"It's Evie!" he yelled, turning and running back the way he came.
Jay was stunned, "What the hell?"
Uma abandoned her watch and joined Jay, not believing what she had just heard as well. "Did he just say Evie?"
The two took off at a run once they slid back through the gap in the wall, and caught up to Jax who was expertly leading them a way they hadn't been before back in the direction of their territory. "What the hell happened?" Jay yelled breathlessly as they hopped between rooftops, and then slid down a metal lined roof back onto an abandoned crumbling street.
"Roan said some of the Evil Queens men grabbed her as she and Dahlia were close to the market," he breathed, "but that was hours ago."
"Why the hell am I just finding out about this now?" Jay was seething. Here they were looking for Mal, and The Evil Queen managed to get her hands on Evie as well.
Uma laughed at the situation as they ran. "You guys suck in the terms of parents."
Jay threw a scowl back at her as they ducked into a drain pipe after Jax and then relaxed when it spilled back into their territory.
"We've been looking for you for hours," Jax explained. "Roan had to pull some of Mal's search teams to look for Evie, and they just found her near your fathers shop."
"His shop?" Jay asked, dread filling him when he thought that his father and new horde of weapons may have something to do with it.
Jax guessed as to what he was thinking as they ran and soothed his fears. "Jafar didn't have anything to do with it. EQ was just pissed at Evie. She saw an opportunity and took it. She's shaken and a little worse from wear, but she's okay."
Jay was feeling so guilty. He should have told someone where he and Uma had gone. He was feeling bad now for snapping at Roan earlier, but he was thankful that he had stepped back up and took care of the situation. "Where's Carlos?" he asked. "He should have been with them."
"He was at first," Jax promised, "but he was tailing a Hun through the market behind them. He saw the whole thing happen. Dahlia got away but they still got Evie."
Wait," he said, slowing his steps for a moment before picking back up the pace, "they grabbed Dahlia too? Why?"
"I don't know," the kid called as he slipped under a fence. "Roan had me looking for you guys as soon as I saw him. I didn't stick around to ask questions."
Jay's mind was spinning as they drew nearer to the safehouse. He was worried for Mal, and he was worried for Evie. Fall break was supposed to be a relaxing time. There was no school, he would be back on his own home turf terrorizing the Isle and having a good time. He hadn't even had a chance to breathe before he was thrown into all the bad parts that also came along with living in a place created for villains.
"Where is she?" he demanded as they barged into the safehouse. VK's were sent scurrying away from them as they eyed him and the stairs. Jay and Uma took them two at a time after he told Jax to stay, and he barged right into their lair on the top floor. "Eve's" he said as he melted at the sight of her.
Jay had hardly ever seen her hair out of its usual perfectness and braids. It was thrown sloppily into a bun to keep it out of a cut to her eyebrow and hairline. Her clothes were tattered, and bruises were already littering her skin. He quickly made his way over to her, pushing roughly past Roan and Dahlia. "What happened?" he asked as he fell beside the princess.
"It's fine, Jay," Evie said as she sighed at him. She was tending to a cut on her arm but he knew she was using that as a distraction to not cry.
Letting her gather herself, he rose and turned to Dahlia to find out what had happened.
"We were ambushed," the dark haired girl said. Her eyes slipped back to the door when Carlos returned with a bag of supplies from downstairs, and then continued. "We were so wrapped up in looking for Hun's that we didn't see the Queens men until they grabbed us."
"But why you?" Jay asked the girl as he cut his eyes to Uma for a second as she walked around the injured VK.
"I don't…" she started, but Evie finished it for her.
"My mother thought it would be nice to have someone else to torture to get me to talk. Dahlia just happened to get away and that left me."
"Shit, Blue," Uma said in alarm, dropping to her knees beside Evie and causing her to violently flinch in reflex.
The scene caused an even greater concern in Jay as he joined the pirate and saw the crimson across her sides as her blue shirt was stained a deep red. Pushing himself between Evie and Uma, he gently lifted her shit as Carlos joined him with some supplies from the bag he had gathered. An almost inaudible whimper escaped Evie's lips when the hem brushed against the area on her ribcage. What he saw there made him boot everyone from the room, because its revelation instantly caused Evie to collapse into Jay's arms as the dam behind her eyes finally broke.
"Out," he growled, and even Uma knew not to argue this time. "Roan, send Jax back out and then go with Uma and Dahlia to keep up the search." No one said a word as they all but ran from the room, until Evie stopped them.
"Go to Hun territory," she ordered strongly. "My mother let it slip that Maleficent was up to something near the water tower."
A little bit of hope filled the crew at the information, and they hurried from the room in search for the still missing Dragon leader.
As soon as they left, Evie slipped back into her emotions as waves of memories from years of abuse at her mothers hands were thrust back to the forefront of her mind.
"I tried to stop her," Carlos said as he leaned into Evie to give her some comfort.
Evie was now crying her eyes out, and Jay let her for a few moments before he was forced to shift her into Carlos' arms so that he could get a better look at what he saw. She allowed him to lift her shirt once again as she choked on a sob, refusing to even look at it. "That bitch," he said, using his fingers to trace the mark in the air above it to try and decipher how deep it was and how bad it was going to scar. "Why?" he asked mostly to himself, but Evie answered anyway.
It was barely a whisper, but at least her crying was starting to die down as feelings of being safe were finally reaching her. "She said I would never be perfect and that I was a failure in every way possible to her. Apart from her, I was the only other fairest thing on this Isle to her, and now I'm nothing but dirt."
"You're not dirt, E," Jay affirmed as he reached into the bag and pulled out some antiseptic to wash the wound. The one on her other side needed the most attention medically, but the one on her ribcage had Evie in emotional shambles. And what were the other tiny marks that seemed to drip onto her skin? He grimaced once more when the blood was washed away and he could see it more clearly; the word etched into her skin would never fade, reminding Evie of her mother and her lessons every day of her life.
"She threw me into a mirror after beating me senseless, and then carved it there with a shard as she held me down. 'Fairest,' she scoffed as she looked at me in more disappointment than she ever had before. She carved that word there, right before crossing it out and throwing me to her men."
"They didn't touch you, did they?" Jay asked, freezing in a mixture of fear and anger as he took in her tattered clothes. When Evie hesitated, an intense feeling of sadness and anger washed over him before Carlos steadied his worry.
"We found her in time," he whispered, forming his hands into the shape of a bomb and making an exploding sound.
Still, Jay was speechless. The Evil Queen held her daughter to such a high standard that she never let a single man touch her on this Isle, save for the Queen of Hearts' son. The woman never figured out that it was Mal and Jay who had ended the man's life for laying a finger on the princess, all for some kind of business deal. She didn't want her daughter to be tainted by anything other than royalty. He just couldn't quite figure out what had changed.
Evie knew what he was thinking. Flashes of all those hands reaching for her, tearing at her clothes as lust filled those eyes invaded her mind as she shrank back into Carlos. Her sides screamed at her in agony and her skin burned from the cuts and acid her mother dripped onto her. The room that she was in seemed to explode in a flash of light, and she just knew it was her crew that had found her. She took in Carlos's scent and used it to convince herself that it was over and that she was safe. "It was because of Kenzi," she said in a shaky breath.
Of course, Jay thought. The Evil Queen no longer thought of Evie as pure, and she wanted her to know it. The mental and physical manipulation the Evil Queen used on her daughter had kept her loyal and crawling back to her all her life, but now she was done.
"She was going to kill me if the patrol hadn't heard me scream. I know she will if she ever finds me again. I can't ever go back there Jay, I can't..."
"Shhh, princess. You're safe and she won't ever get you as long as we are around. She's got an entire Dragon crew to go through first."
Evie's sniffles wouldn't calm down as they fought to get her cleaned up. She slipped in between feeling safe and not safe everytime they would try to touch her. Jay seethed when she told them what the woman had done and said to her. It didn't help her when everytime he looked at her wounds he would clench his fists in anger at the villain who did this.
As the search for Mal went on, the one in question was barely clinging to consciousness. The near constant torture to get Mal to fall in line with Maleficent was proving futile. Maleficent and Steel had tormented the girl for over 24 hours, barely giving her a break as she tried not to bleed to death. Maleficent had gotten into Mal's head, sending her visions of Ember being hunted down and thrown into the sea. Visions of Mal always getting there too late to save her. Over and over these mental and physical tortures we're pushing Mal to her limits, but she knew they weren't real and that frustrated her mother to no end. It hurt the young girl to see those things happening in her mind, but her mother could never get Ember's face quite right, and that was a dead giveaway. Maleficent had to hand it to her daughter though, she was tough and was refusing to break no matter what she did or what she threatened. The dull ache in Maleficent's side had sent her into a rage at one point; Mal had the guts to plunge her own dagger into her side. The dark fairy was looking forward to the meeting with Shunyuan and his poor excuse of a crew to help her carry out the rest of her plan. With one last frustrated glance to her Mal struggling to cling to consciousness, she gathered her robes around her, hiding the wound her wretched excuse of a daughter had given her. As much as she had punished her her over the years, this was the first time she had actually fought back against her. It was taking everything in her being not to end her life right at this moment. Her plan would work without her, but it was just easier to have her alive. If she died from tonight's events, then so be it. She couldn't care less if the young girl succumbed to her wounds.
As Maleficent sauntered from the room for the meeting and left her minion behind, dread hit Mal for the hundredth time as she realized she was alone with the man. If she wasnt so hurt, it would have been easy to get away from him and make her escape. She could hardly move from the blinding pain that gripped her with the tiniest of movements or breaths. She wasn't even sure if she was fully conscious, but she had to be if she was having these sorts of thoughts, right?
"Well, well, well," she heard Steel utter as she felt the vibrations of his bloodied boots moving closer. Mal prepared herself the best she could for the next assault, but with her mother gone, she knew he would be slipping back into his old ways. "With your mommy gone, it looks like we are free to play some more adult games," he growled, dropping to his knees and flipping her over.
Mal couldn't even speak. Her throat was so raw from screaming at the near constant torture, but that didnt mean she couldnt shoot him a death glare. Steel was a monster; he was a prime example of the types of men she would hunt down and end their pitiful excuses of a life for touching children. It all started with Mal when she was six, and there was nothing the tiny girl could do then to defend herself. Her mother knew this of course, but he was off limits with the threat of killing her if she ever touched her number one henchman as she grew more deadly with age. She never listened to her mother and had come close so many times at driving a dagger through his heart, but Maleficent was always there just in time to remind her of that rule, and she had paid for it each time.
Mal's body was zapped of energy, too drained to even remove the daggers that had been thrust into her stomach and shoulder for the past hour. She had been trying to focus on the slight throb their bloodied hilts gave each time her heart beat, just so they could tell her that she was still alive. When Steel flicked the handle still protruding from her shoulder, she squeezed her eyes shut from the agony as Steel ran his hand through her hair before tracing her lips with his now bloodstained finger. Mal knew what was coming next, and she was prepared to die at her mothers hand if she somehow gained what little strength she had to finally kill the man who had hurt her and so many more.
He leaned into her ear and whispered in a sultry voice, effectively causing bile to rise into her throat that she fought to swallow back. "We have a few minutes, you know."
Oh she knew, and panic started to grip her as those wandering hands from before brushed against her battered form. They landed on the hilt of the old dagger in her middle, and she nearly bit through her lip when he accidentally snapped the hilt from the blade. "Oops," he muttered in a surprised laugh as she groaned in agony. The blade was left buried in her stomach, and she knew that removing it would not go well as the burning intensified. She tried to sling curses at him, but her body wouldn't listen. When she heard the knowing sound of a belt buckle being undone, Mal tried with the last bit of strength she had to grasp the final traces of adrenaline that was scarcely circulating her system. Agonizing pressure pressed onto her as the evil man climbed between her legs and leaned on top of her as she fought for control of some of her movements. Whether it was a primal instinct to get away or a last ditch attempt for her body to save itself, she managed to pitifully push her hand into him in an effort to keep him away as her dislocated shoulder screamed at her for its unauthorized use. Steel laughed to himself as he easily swatted it away and grinned as his eyes left hers, traveling down as he worked to get her pants undone.
This wasn't going to happen. Mal was not about to let him have his way with her again; she wasn't a child anymore. It was sick as to what he thought he could do just because she was beaten half to death. Even though she was dancing at death's doorstep, she knew she would never be allowed to cross its threshold by his hand. Her mother needed her to carry out her plans, but she also did not care what happened to her along the way. So, she summoned the last bit of strength she had left and grabbed the dagger that was piercing into her shoulder. A guttural groan that had been nestled deep within her throat ripped its way out, igniting her vocal chords as the pain from both that and the blade were wrenched out. In that same, fluid motion, Mal watched as a shocked expression blanketed Steel's face as blood sprayed onto her from the slit she had cut across his own unprotected throat. The hand that had been fighting to expose her left its task and instead gripped his bleeding neck in an effort to staunch the tides of red gushing from it, but Mal knew she had cut it deep. Even more agony gripped her when the man collapsed on top of her, his lips at her ear as he choked on the blood that was going to drown him. The pressure became too great and blackness rimmed her vision as her body was finally giving up on staying awake. She couldn't leave anything to chance though, so she gripped the dagger with both hands around the man on top of her, and plunged it deep into his back, effectively severing his spinal cord as she was finally dragged into the sweet relief of unconsciousness. He wouldn't be able to hurt anyone ever again.
Closing in, the Dragon crew sent into Hun territory were slowed down immensely by those who inhabited it. Hun VK's were crawling around everywhere and the crew had to be absolutely sure no one saw them. If they were discovered this deep, their small group would be torn to pieces and word of their failure would not reach the rest of the Dragons until too late. If they had brought a larger group, then being discovered would have made it much easier for that to happen.
Roan, Uma, and Dahlia crept along back alleys and jumped across rooftops as they kept the water tower in sight. If Evie hadn't been captured by her mother and her goons, then they wouldn't have had such a big lead. Uma and Jay had the right idea of being in the market, but they were a little off from where they really needed to be.
Roan fingered one of the small bombs in his pocket that he had snatched from their safehouse. He knew that using it would most likely save them, but it would also call attention to their location and the Huns would come running. That was of course if they found Mal. They only hoped that the Evil Queen had let the right information slip.
"Okay," Roan said after they had stopped almost directly beneath the water tower. "We need to split up now to cover more ground. I don't know where she is going to be, if she is even going to be here in the first place, but we need to try."
"Sounds good," Uma said, "but we need to do this in increments. We go out, scout, and then meet back in 20 minutes." Knowing that Roan was the one in charge, she made sure to look to him for approval, and was impressed when he went with her plan. "If we find her, do not engage yet," she warned with a growl, much to the dismay of Dahlia.
"If we find her and the 20 minutes arent up," Roan added, "we get back here and bang a rock on the tower leg. It will be enough for the sound to reach us and then we regroup and go from there. Any questions?"
A chorus of 'nopes' went around and they all determinedly set out in different directions. A tinge of hopelessness began to fill them when after the first 20 minutes when they met up, no one had seen a thing. It was the same with the next, but within the 20 minutes following, the preplanned *clang* rang finally out.
"Where?" Roan demanded as he ran up to see Uma doing the same. Dahlia was pacing breathlessly, her eyes filled with anxiety. As soon as she saw Roan and Uma, she raced off in the direction of the edge of the Isle. No one struggled to keep up as the adrenaline filling them propelled their bodies in the direction of the missing girl.
"I didn't see her exactly," Dahlia panted as she slowed and quieted her voice, "but I saw some of Shunyuan's guys were hovering nearby. Mal's name was mentioned several times."
Roan almost stopped in frustration. "That wasn't the plan, Dahlia," he growled but they kept moving, pausing beneath a canopy.
"Roan I swear," Dahlia groaned in a whisper as she made sure the coast was clear, and then hurried into an alley that reeked of mold. "They said something about Maleficent meeting with Shunyuan, and that Mal had better not stain the floors of their strategy room." She grabbed onto the metal ladder leading up the side of one of the buildings they were wedged between.
"Strategy room?" Uma repeated, clearly intrigued at the potential location of their safehouse, as well as apprehensive as two major Isle players were meeting up together.
"Quiet," Dahlia spat back over her shoulder in warning as they climbed, "we're almost there."
After hopping between several rooftops, Dahlia dropped to her stomach and motioned for Uma and Roan to do the same as they crawled forward to peer over the edge of the roof. They saw the group Dahlia had mentioned further down the alley, but they were dead silent now as Maleficent was also there, waiting impatiently a little further down. She leaned against a door and Roan was betting that Mal was in there somewhere.
He motioned for them to duck back down and ordered Dahlia to stay here and listen in on them as he and Uma went and searched the building while everyone was busy. He slipped a few of the bombs into her hands for her to use as a distraction, as well to warn them that Maleficent was done with whatever it was she wanted to talk to the Hun crew about.
It took several minutes for Uma and Roan to slip back down the ladder they came up on after making absolutely sure that the coast was clear, but they discovered a ledge about halfway down which led to a window. A huge sigh of relief came from Roan when he found it to be unlocked. Well, the lock was broken but it was their saving grace. The room it led to was empty, but it did show signs of someone having been there recently as there were spots not covered in dust. Creeping along the hallways was slow going as they had to be sure each room they passed was empty. Hardly any sounds were coming from within the building so Roan was assuming that the Huns left the entire thing to Maleficent while she was there. Uma desperately wanted to comb through the rooms and take whatever she wanted, but there was no time. When they came upon a set of stairs, they had two choices: go down and look for Mal, or go up. They contemplated splitting up, but Roan didn't want to do that in case they came upon their rivals.
"Up," Roan decided for them as their unease built while they ascended the stairs. They had been inside the building for about ten minutes now, and Maleficent could be returning any second. They hadn't even found a trace of Mal yet but they were not going to give up when they could be so close. No one was in sight as they peeked around the top of the stairs, so they crossed the space and then hesitated before gripping the handle to the next room, because it was covered in blood.
Not a word was said as they turned the knob, but in the next moment, they were racing across the room and Roan ripped off the man that was situated on top of the missing Dragon.
"No…" Roan said just above a whisper as his knees hit the floor next to Mal in the next instant. His hands rushed to staunch the bleeding, but he hesitated, not knowing where to touch first because it was coming from everywhere. Uma on the other hand inspected the man that Roan had thrown off of Mal's body and found him to be dead, but he was still warm. Her eyes noticed not only the slit across his throat and dagger that was planted into his back, but also his pants undone as horror reflected into her eyes when she noticed Mal's the same. She had to squeeze her eyes shut for a moment to calm herself, but when she opened them again, she took in the scene and breathed a sigh of relief when she realized that the man had not been able to do what he thought he could. Uma smiled to herself when she registered that Mal had killed the man before he commited the heinous act. And if his body was still warm, then that meant that Mal had been conscious not too long ago.
Uma's knees hit the floor next to Roan but all she could do for the moment was grab Mal's hand, brushing her fingers over her bruised and damaged knuckles. A smile tugged at her lips as she made the connection that Mal had not gone down without a fight. The dead man lying against the wall was also sporting fighting wounds. Mal had gotten him good at some point.
Roan and Uma took in Mal's blood drenched tank top, and her signature purple jeans were ripped to shreds as deep cuts and lacerations peeked out from beneath the fabric. With Roan distracted by trying to wake the girl, Uma re-did the girl's pants buttons for her. Roan didn't need to know unless Mal herself wanted him to. Without missing a beat, Uma then slid off her own jacket and then overshirt to rip long strips from it. The cold of the air immediately raised goosebumps on her arms but she didn't care as long as she was able to get some of Mal's bleeding under control.
"We need to get her out of here," Roan announced as he moved to grab his leader.
"No, stop!" Uma growled as she grabbed his shoulder and pushed him back, angering him and causing him to become defensive of Mal. Uma realized he wasn't in control of his emotions when Mal was lying on the blood soaked floor in front of them, so she softened her tone. "If we move her now, she bleeds out. We need to get some of this under control first."
Roan stared at her with the threat of death in his eyes, but he sighed and shook his shoulders before sliding back over to the pirate and shedding his own shit off. He had no undershirt or tank top beneath it like Uma had, so he was exposed to the frigid air.
Uma pressed what remained of hers into the knife wound on Mal's stomach, and winced when Mal made a sound for the first time. It sounded so broken, but it was also music to her ears as it was another sign that she wasn't dead. How she wasn't was a mystery to her, but Mal was strong and it would take a lot more than that to kill a Dragon.
It was when Mal arched her back slightly before a choking sound filled the room. "Turn her over!" Uma yelled slightly above a whisper as hands pushed Mal onto her side. Blood sprayed from her lips as the purple haired girl coughed up what had pooled into her lungs. It sprayed onto Uma, but she didn't care as long as it gave Mal a bit of relief. Tremors overtook her battered body as she rolled back over, and the team froze when a tiny whimper slipped past the girl's lips. It was extremely rare when they heard such a sound come from the Dragon leader. They hurriedly tied strips around the worst of it, but it looked like they hadn't done a thing by the amount of blood still covering the girl. "We need to move now," Roan said as the anxiety of being in another gang's territory spilled over. They were right under Maleficent's nose, and she was bound to come back and finish the job.
"There's nothing else we can do here," Uma said as she agreed with the boy. "Let's go. I'll lead and make sure our path is clear. We stick to the shadows and move fast." She helped move Mal into Roan's arms, and winced when Mal groaned in pain at being moved around. Not even seconds had passed when the sounds of small bombs detonated, echoing and shattering windows along the alley wall they were facing.
The bombs would draw the Huns to the source of it, but Maleficent would figure out that it was a distraction. Roan ran with the blood soaked girl in his arms and they made it down the stairs in record time. Just before he could kick the door to the outside open, Uma pulled them into a closet adjacent to the door. He trusted her instincts, and tried to calm his breathing when moments later the robe clad villain flew through the door. They waited several more seconds after she disappeared from view, and then burst from the cramped space and into the night.
The frigid air slammed into them once again as they ran before holing up once again for a moment to gather their senses. Uma gave him a nod before slipping back out and disappearing around a corner. His own senses screamed at him to run with Mal back towards their territory, but he knew that Uma was finding the safest route for them. If they were caught now, they would all be dead. Several minutes passed as Roan worried over the blood stained Mal in his arms. When Uma returned, he wasted no time in trusting her, following her from their hiding spot and meeting up with Dahlia who then ran ahead to do the same thing Uma had. They did this, running and hiding for half an hour before they noticed another figure slinking through the shadows. It was Dahlia who noticed who it was first, and she threw a rock to gain his attention.
It was Jax, and he jumped when the rock hit him, panic splayed across his face when he noticed the figures watching him. Roan moved ever so slightly that the moonlight lit up his face, and Jax relaxed when he recognized him. He scanned the street for several more seconds before racing across the open space and landing next to them, surprise and fear filling him when he noticed Mal in Roan's arms,
"Is she alive?" he asked as he stared at the gruesome sight before him. There was no way that she was alive, she couldn't be in this state.
"Of course she is," Dahlia answered for Roan, "dont be stupid."
"Jax," Roan said, ripping his attention away from the Dragon leader, "get back to the safehouse and let Jay know that we found her and are on our way. Tell him we are going to need the Last Resort kit."
"Roan," Dahlia warned in a tone that told Jax that there was something about it that she didn't like. Roan ignored her, and then glared back at the kid who hadn't moved yet.
Jax looked from Roan, and back to Mal with uncertainty. "Is she going to be okay?" he asked.
"Jax, go!" Roan yelled a little too loudly as Dahlia shoved the kid back the way he had come. They needed to be moving and he was holding them up.
He ran then, using all of his skill and speed to make it back to the Dragon safehouse unseen.
"They found her!" Jax announced as he burst into the top floor of the safehouse. He shielded his eyes when he noticed Evie's bloody and exposed body as Carlos worked on it. She had finally allowed them to help her, and she was in Jay's arms on the floor, laying against him with her head on his shoulder as he tried to keep her from moving around so much. There was nothing to numb the pain of the needle dipping in and out of her skin. As she gripped a towel to her chest to cover herself, it did little to drape down across her ribcage and hide the word 'fairest' that was carved into her porcelain skin.
At the announcement, they tried pulling apart until a firm order from Carlos made them stop. "Don't move!" he said, grabbing Evie's shoulder and giving Jay a desperate look. "I'm almost done, unless you want to bust these stitches open and have me start all over."
They did as they were told and Jax used the moment to move further into the room and ask Jay what he could do to prepare. "They are a few minutes out but Roan had me run ahead and warn you guys; It's bad." He knew all eyes were on him as he shifted uncomfortably in front of the Dragons most inner circle members.
"How bad?" Jay asked as his eyes began scanning the room for supplies. He stopped when Jax neglected to answer him, and buried his face into Evie's neck for just a moment before gathering himself.
"Jax…" Evie said before a hiss of pain at Carlos's work made her falter.
"Roan said to get the 'Last Resort' kit?" the kid said nervously. "I couldn't get the details before they made me run ahead. What do I need to do?"
The Dragons' faces were already pale from the announcement that they had found Mal, but they became even more pale when Jax mentioned 'Last Resort'.
"Get downstairs," Jay ordered as Carlos finished his last stitch on Evie and began hurriedly wiping the blood away and grabbing for the bandages to cover it. "Tell Nova to gather more medical supplies and bring it up. Are you okay to run back out?" he asked as he peeked at how far along Carlos was with the bandages.
"Ye...yeah," Jax stuttered. "Why? What's the last resort kit?" Jay shot his eyes over to him for a second before ordering him to turn around. Sounds of shuffling told him that Evie was getting a shirt back on, and then moments later a flash of blue passed him as Evie began rummaging around the shelves next to him. He turned back around to see Carlos pulling everything he had out of the medical bag and placing it on the table as Jay was now replacing boards into the wall above the bed, a small bag now in his hand.
"It means that whoever needs it could die," Jay said as he added the brown bag to the pile Carlos had amassed. "I need you to tell Nova, and then get back out there to pull our search parties back into our territory. Tell the leads to patrol the borders, but I want Red's team back here just in case."
"Yes sir," the kid said, and then ran to his task.
"Everyone out of the way!" Uma growled as Dahlia threw the safehouse door open for them minutes later. She stepped to the side to let Roan lead as a few VK's jumped in surprise at the sight of the pirate invading their space once again. They calmed when they saw Roan and Dahlia, but then panicked when they saw who was in the arms of a bloodied and shirtless Roan. Roan ran to the stairs with Mal limp in his arms, her breathing stopped just moments before reaching the safety of the building. He made it up the stairs quicker than he had ever before and kicked the door in that led to the top floor. Uma and Dahlia flew in behind him and slammed it shut, not sure what to do next as they took in the shocked faces of Jay, Carlos, and Evie.
"She stopped breathing!"