Long before the wicked four became the strongest gang of the isle, it was Mal and Uma who stuck fear into all the villain kids of the isle. The two were inseparable as children and quite well known to enact their evil schemes on anyone they pleased, although, their evil schemes were more like harmless pranks at that age.
If one of the girls got kicked out of the house by their angry mother, they could always find refuge by sneaking into the other's room and sharing their bed. This became a common occurrence as the girls got older, they were hardly ever seen without each other. So much so that it began to worry their parents.
The two Villains had set their children up to be minions to each other, allies at the most! Not friends, never friends! Those were not allowed on the isle of the lost. Mal and Uma's mothers both began to pressure each of them to break off the friendship, to betray the other as villains are supposed to. The girls held strong for a while, but once the persuasions turned physical, they both decided it was time to listen to their mothers.
So, that is why at the age of 10, Uma greased the dock right before a supply run so that Mal would fall into the water. However, when the sea witch saw Mal drowning, she jumped into action without thinking, pulling her best friend from the water and performing cpr to save her life.
When Mal came to, she couldn't hear the concerned words of her best friend, all she heard were warning about Uma's inevitable betrayal that her mother had promised her many times over. Mal had never believed her mother about Uma. Not until now. Mal grabbed the closest thing to her, a bucket of shrimp, and dumped it onto Uma's head proclaiming, "How's it feel, Shrimpy?" before stomping back to her mother's castle.
Maleficent had been overjoyed to hear about Mal's humiliation of Uma. It was the first (and only) time Maleficent had praised Mal for an evil deed. So, still seeking her mother's approval, Mal continued to call Uma "Shrimpy", and hated every second of it. Mal hated the sight of her former friend's face twisting in sadness and rage as she insulted her. But Mal kept doing it. She had to. Especially if she didn't want to ruin the only thing that had ever done right in her mother's eyes.
Mal and Uma made new friends, AKA minions. Mal got jay and Uma got Harry and Gil. But things were not the same to the two girls. The boys didn't give them the same felling of safety or comfort that the presence of their former friend had brought. The two girls felt drawn back to each other but couldn't figure out why.
As time progressed Mal and Uma felt more and more drawn back to each other, leading to lots of fights. The girl's new friends had all come to the same conclusion that the girls' strange relationship was nothing more than a bitter rivalry, but Uma began to question that.
The young sea witch had heard all her mother's stories about the little mermaid and her prince, and she thought it sounded kind of… desirable. Uma tried to imagine such a relationship with some one like harry or Gil, but quickly discarded the idea due to disgust. She pushed the thought away and tried to forget about the idea of having a partner. The thought sat in the back of Uma's mind until her next fight with Mal.
Uma crossed swords with Mal just like every other fight, but unlike other fights, Mal managed to grab Uma's blade in the handle of her sword and fling the weapon away. Uma quickly responded by grabbing Mal by her wrist and jacket and sweeping her legs out from underneath her, sending her opponent's sword skittering away as well.
Uma successfully threw the fairy to the ground, but couldn't keep her balance and fell down on top of Mal. The two girls froze as they found themselves face to face on the ground, breaths ghosting over each other's faces. They stayed in this position, staring into each other's eyes, for what felt like hours, but might have been only seconds, before Uma felt a violent kick to her ribs, sending her rolling off Mal.
Uma watched as Jay helped Mal to her feet before the fairy called for them to retreat. The purple haired girl then pushed Jay off of herself and turned to run. Uma watched as Mal ran until she was almost out of sight, only to turn around at the last second. The two girls made eye contact as Uma took Mal's sword and stabbed it into the ground in front of her feet, an old signal that the two used to determine a meeting place for later. If the fairy was confused, no one could see it before she was out of sight.
Uma sat near the sword, still impaired in the ground. She had sent Harry away a few hours ago and was starting to think about going home when she heard a nearby twig snap. "You are losing your touch." Uma calls out into the darkness, scanning her surroundings until she sees Mal step out of the shadows.
"I just wanted you to know I was here so you wouldn't get scared." Mal snapped back before sitting down next to the sea witch, causing Uma to snort in laughter.
The two girls sat in silence for a while, just staring at the sword Uma had impulsively planted in the ground, each wondering what the other wanted. "I just came to get my sword back." Mal finally broke the silence.
Uma raised an eyebrow. "You walked into a potential ambush to get a sword back?" disbelief lased the sea witch's voice.
"It is my favorite one." The two lapsed back into silence after Mal's statement. "Why did you call me here?" Mal suddenly turned to face her companion for the first time since she arrived.
"I don't know. I guess I just-" Uma tailed off as she put her face in her hands, exasperated as she really didn't know what she wanted to say to Mal. Surprisingly, the fairy waited for Uma to collect herself, not saying a single word about the weakness the girl had just exposed. Uma sighs, "I just miss you." The words were so quiet that Mal almost didn't hear them.
"You miss me?" there was no mockery, so judgment, just curiosity in the question.
"Ya. Maybe." Uma takes her face out of her hands to look at Mal. "For the record, I'm sorry I greased the dock. I didn't know you couldn't swim."
Mal's face flashed from questioning, to anger, then to sadness. "You didn't know" the fairy repeated before suddenly standing and glaring down at Uma. "I thought you had betrayed me and tried to kill me!" Mal yelled, causing Uma to shrink down into herself just a little bit more. "I thought my mother was right." Mal paused as a new thought struck her, one she soon wished she had though that day at the pier. "How did I get out of the water?" Uma looked up, questionably. "You were right next to me! How did I get out of the water Uma!?" both girls froze. It was the first time Mal had called her Uma since that day.
Uma raised her head to look Mal in the eye. "I dove in to pull you out the moment I realized you couldn't swim." Uma only hopped that Mal didn't think she was lying.
Mal slapped her hand to her face and sat back down by Uma. "I dumped shrimp on your head. Then called you shrimpy. And all you did was save me." Mal's voice was laced in despair. If Uma was unsure about weather or not mal still liked her, she didn't question it anymore.
"To be fair I did listen to my mother and grease the dock." Both girls giggled at the response.
"Let's never listen to our mothers again." Mal proclaimed throwing an arm over Uma like she always had before.
Uma pushed down the weird feeling creeping into her stomach. "Tch. What and idea."
After a few moments, Mal sighed "How are we going to explain this to everyone." Uma panicked at Mal's words. She didn't know how Mal's mother felt about relationships, but she knew Ursla would never stand for it.
"We can never tell anyone!" Uma felt Mal pull away at her words and quickly added on, "I know my mother rip off a limb if she found out I apologized to anyone. Plus, I don't think harry would believe me. He might still try to kill you."
"The feeling is mutual." Mal deadpanned, causing Uma to burst out laughing and after a few seconds the fairy girl joined in. "Okay so we can't tell anyone we made up. Are we just supposed to go back to fighting all the time?"
Uma wasn't sure if she had imagined the note of longing in Mal's voice or not, But the sea witch decided she didn't want to go back to the way things were. Even if it was just pretending. The blue haired girl wanted… no needed… something more. "We can pretend we are still rivals in public and meet here on the night of no moon." Uma tried to force some authority into her voice, but it came out strained. What if Mal rejected her? What if the offer wasn't enough? What if it was too much?!
Mal stopped Uma's spiral by placing her hand over the sea witch's, saying "Ya. That sounds good."
The two girls sat in silence after this, simply taking pleasure in being back in the other's presence. They stayed this way for hours, until the sun started to show a tiny bit of light through the clouds covering the isle. Upon realizing this, the fairy girl got up without a word and pulled her sword from the ground and began to walk away.
Mal once again turned back at the last second and said, "see you next time." only loud enough for Uma to hear it.
So, the two isle girls started meeting once a month to catch up and talk smack about other isle goers. Soon the once-a-month meetings turned into twice a month, then three. Soon the girls were meeting up twice a week with their other friends being none-the-wiser. The two girls would often look forward to their secret meetings, both careful to lose any tails sent by their mothers or friends. In these meetings they finally didn't need to be the perfect children to their parents or the leaders of their gangs, they could finally just be children who could laugh, cry, and take joy in the simple pleasure of being safe with another person.
A few times throughout these meetings Uma noticed the strange fluttering feeling in her stomach growing, especially when Mal got closer to her than normal or laughed so hard she snorted. Uma tried to push down the feeling, not understanding it and worried that a weakness such a feelings would drive Mal away. All the while, not noticing Mal going through a similar predicament.
Mal and Uma's gangs would still have battles for turf. If anything, the two gangs only fought more and if it was just an excuse for the girls to see each other and test their steel outside of their secret meetings, then no one needed to know.
Life on the isle continued this way for years. That was until a certain prince decided to bring over four isle children. of the four included Mal, but not Uma. That last night Mal spent on the isle was the best and worst night of Uma's life. Mal held her friend tight, swearing that she would be back for Uma as soon as she could, but she didn't know when that would be.
Uma held out hope for Mal but lost it all the moment she looked to the tv in her mom's shop to see the girl in a pretty dress, holding some stuck-up prince's hand. Uma watched as Mal turned down the opportune moment to bring down the dome and chose to be good. The sea witch understood wanting to be free of her mother, but couldn't help being bitter at Mal's broken promise.
The bitterness grew over the next few weeks as Uma saw Mal on TV, at various kingdom events with Ben. Except, Uma could swear there was something wrong with Mal. She had never looked to tired on the isle, nor her eyes so… so haunted. Uma also noticed the slightest flinch from her old friend whenever that stupid king touched her.
So, Uma investigated it deeper. Well as deep as someone isolated on the isle of the lost could, by rewatching her mother's recordings of Auridon events. Uma noticed an almost… shine around Mal, like she was using a spell. But those weren't her colors, so whose Magic was that?
Uma watched in anger as Mal started dressing more like and Auridon princess and lost weight rapidly. What where that gang of hers doing if they didn't notice this?! However, Uma still couldn't do anything, and her crew was starting to think she was losing her touch due to this "rivalry", so Uma let the sleeping dog lay. Instead, she worked to be the best captain to her crew. Uma taught the younger VKs to wield a sword, sailed the shores of the isle with her first mate, and kept all the pirates out of trouble.
That is why it caught Uma by surprise when, on a normal day in Ursula's Fish and Chips, trying to help Gil with his reading, Harry walked in with none other than Mal in front of him. Uma had been horrified to see the claw marks on her face but shook it off so the pirate could play into their old act.
"Well, look what hook dragged in boys! A little Auridon princess." Uma chose to ignore Mal's grimace at being called an Auridon princess. "What would royalty be visiting us humble folk on the isle for?" so maybe Uma was letting the bitterness was come out, but she was still angry about being left on the isle. The king hadn't even invited over anyone else!
"I came to talk to you-" Mal tried to say but was cut off by Uma.
"To talk to me?! What for? You have everything you ever wanted over there. A perfect prince, fresh food, even magic." Another flinch. "And now you decide to come back after MONTHS just to what?! Slum it with-"
"UMA!" Uma cut off instantly at the sound of her name. Mal never called her by her name in front of others, it was part of their act. Mal only ever called her that in private. Even the pirate crew froze upon hearing their captain's name. "I need to talk to you." Uma could almost swear that Mal was about to cry if she didn't know any better. "Please."
It was the please that broke the pirate captains resolve. No one said that on the isle. Never. Not even if your life depended on it. "Harry, I'll be in my cabin. Don't do anything stupid." Uma motioned for Mal to follow her and turned to walk to her room without waiting for her first mate's response.
Uma opened the door for her room and let Mal in then, the moment the door closed, Uma felt arms wrap around her, just like the night Mal left for Auridon. "I missed you."
"You missed me?" Uma echoed, no mockery, so judgment, just curiosity in the question.
"Ya." Mal chuckled as she held Uma just a little tighter before letting go.
Upon seeing the wound on her friends face again, Uma asked "What happened to your face?" Mal responded by the question by looking… almost… embarrassed? That couldn't be right. Mal couldn't be embarrassed by something as simple as a wound… unless… "Who did this?" Uma's voice hardened, she couldn't stand the idea of some one doing this to Mal in something that was obviously not a fair fight.
So, Mal told Uma everything. Every gritty detail. Uma was horrified and enraged at the information about Auridon's king, but she kept her face blank for Mal's sake. If a tear or two was shed, no one but Uma would know.
Once the fairy finished her story, Uma was just about ready to boil over. "I'm going to kill him." Uma moved to stalk out to her crew to give an order to kill the king on sight but Mal grabbed the pirates arm, stopping her.
"No. If you do that you will never get off the isle of the lost." Uma was shocked by Mal's words. She still cared? She hadn't broken her promise? "I have a better plan." Uma liked the smirk that found its way to Mal's face. She raised an eyebrow, waiting for the girl to continue. "Auridon has this thing about reputation. I say we ruin his."
And so, Mal talked Uma through her plan for the pirates to kidnap Ben and she would get together the equipment to punch a hole in the dome (new and exciting information to Uma, but she decided it wasn't the right time to ask about it) and broadcast the king as what he truly is to everyone. Uma agreed immediately. She didn't leave Mal with any impression that she wasn't going to beat the king senseless while he was in her possession and the fairy didn't say anything to entice the pirate to refrain from doing so.
Uma really did not want to send Mal back out on her own to face her ex, but the pirate captain knew that Mal could hold her own. Especially on her home turf. It also didn't hurt that Mal had told Uma that she planned to get a few hits in before Harry and Gil could grab Ben.
The first part of the plan went off perfectly. Mal enraged the king to the point of running away, got rid of his iron ring (something Uma was also very mad about and intended to made the king pay for dearly), and set up his kidnapping perfectly. It was almost to easy for Uma, Harry, and Gil to bind and gag the king before he would even react, leaving a note for Mal's crew just like she said to. And if Uma was a little rough with the boy on the return trip to the ship, it was only a little taste of the pain the pirates had in store for the soon to be ex-king.
Uma let her crew take showing telling the king exactly how they felt about him. After the crew had their fun, Uma finally decided it was time for her to have a little chat with the beast. Uma swaggered her way down to the hold where they kept Ben, waving away the guards as she did so, opening the door to find the king still tied to his post, bleeding from a few cuts he got from the many Pirates' strikes.
The sound of the door opening caused Ben to look up. "Finally, someone in charge." He hah noticed her captain's hat. At least Auridon had some taste. "Look this will go over much better for all of you if you just let me go. I wouldn't want my guards to have to hurt you and your crew."
Uma laughed at the empty threat. "We both know that your guards don't know you are here." The kings shocked expression shown through even though he tried to keep his features blank. This boy would be terrible at negotiations. "After all, who would tell their big fancy guards that they want to slum it on the isle of the lost. No, you are mine now." Uma was trying her best to contain herself, the plan still hinged on Ben believing everything was real. "You left us here to rot. For what crime? The only thing us villain kids had ever done wrong, was be born. If that is a crime, I could say you are guilty of the same thing, your highness. Maybe you deserve the same punishment as the rest of us. To live forever on the isle of the lost." Uma took great joy in the way Ben's face paled, but now she had to get back to business.
Uma sighed for dramatic effect. "You are lucky though. Your girlfriend agreed to trade fairy godmother's magic wand for your release." Mal and Uma had decided on that for the negotiations as Ben would believe that stupid plan easily and it was easy for Carlos to make a replica for trading. "She should be here in about an hour." Uma got close to Ben's face, wishing desperately she could pound it in farther. "I won't hesitate to throw you overboard if you try anything funny. Got it?" Ben only nodded franticly, fear practically rolling off him in waves. Good. He deserved a little fear.
Uma left Ben with Harry (maybe a little more payback and drive the king up the wall farther so he would be ready to blow by the time Mal got here) and moved up to the deck to wait for Mal and her gang. After about 45 minutes, Uma saw the girl she was waiting for appear in the pipe connecting the docks to the rest of the isle. She watched as the girl fixed a camera to the top of the pipe, angled to record anything that happened on or near the deck of the ship. Uma quickly set up the connecting microphone to the edge of her ship by the bridge connecting them to the dock. To think, this dock was where she publicly betrayed Mal all those years ago, and now it would be the place for their ultimate team up.
Uma went through the motions of the hostage negotiation, noticing how Mal stood a little bit straighter with her chin a little bit higher when she saw the kings condition. Uma also noticed the hateful glances from Evie to the king. Good, she won't have to keel haul that one.
Ben exploded Just as Mal predicted once he figured out the kidnapping was a set up. Uma loved the way Mal's friends became enraged by the king's words, barely held back by Evie. Mal must have filled her in on some part of the plan. Everything was going perfectly, until Uma noticed mal starting to panic.
Uma had never seen mal panic, not even when facing any of the villains from the isle. She didn't even panic in the face of her mother's rage! Uma quickly handed the snarling Ben off to harry and pulled Mal away from him. The pirate captain glared at anyone trying to get close to Mal. If Mal hadn't broken from anything that bastardly king had already done to her, there was no way in hell Uma was going let mal break now.
With a soft "thank you" Uma stepped back to let Mal reveal the fate the king had just doomed himself to. Uma reveled in the look of horror that shown of the kings face as he realized that everyone in Auridon had seen him for what he truly is. A beast.
"How? Why?" The king stuttered out. Uma bristled at his audacity as to ask why they did this, but she rained it in for Mal. Instead, she decided to rub salt in the wound.
"Well, you got set up beasty-boy, by the second smarted girl to ever grace the isle with her presence." Uma drawled, throwing her arm around Mal's shoulders just as Mal had always done to her.
"Uma, stop" mal chastised lightly, giving Uma a light shove.
"Not a chance." Uma finally realized what all those fluttery feelings in her stomach were. She realized why she hated ben even before she knew what he was. Uma finally knew what she wanted. So. The Pirate captain reached out and pulled the girl she had chased after for years into a lip bruising kiss.
Uma finally had what she wanted all along.
