Ben was still sitting in a mediative pose when he opened his eyes. He used astral projection to send his spirit to the Isle of the Lost to make sure that Mal and the other VKs got into the limo without any resistance. He saw that Mal looked straight at him before he left to merge back into his body. He looked over to Chewie, who was laying down next to him and said, "Mal's coming. She's finally coming to Auradon. We're going to be reunited at last." Chewie gave a couple of barks. Ben sighed, knowing what Chewie was telling him, since Ben could read his thoughts as those were in Shyriiwook, the Wookiee's language, and Ben understood Shyriiwook, and said, "I know she doesn't have her memories as Rey yet or reawakened her Force powers, but the first step was getting her over here and that is happening." Ben got up and stretched his limbs. "They're on their way here. So I need to go downstairs and greet them. And Chewie, you need to stay here. Normally I would want you there, but Carlos is afraid of dogs, so having you there will frighten him. Maybe you can meet the VKs another day when things have settled down." "And why are you having a big celebration at the front of your school to greet them?" Luke appeared next to Ben. The prince sighed and said, "Personally I didn't want that big of a greeting, but Fairy Godmother insisted. Are you and the others going to find a hiding place to watch?" Luke shook his head and said, "No, kid. You have the best seat in the house. So we are all going to watch from there. Good luck," With that, Luke disappeared back into Ben's body as Ben patted Chewie on the head and walked out of his room.
Ben got to the front of the school where Audrey was waiting, who huffed and said, "I can't believe that you invited those villains to our kingdom. Not to mention this school." Ben sighed and said, "Audrey, we've been over this. It is my first proclamation and that is final. The children are innocent. We need to give them a chance." "Why did you have to bring over the daughter of my family's greatest enemy?" Audrey hissed. Ben turned to Audrey and sent her a glare that stopped Audrey in her tracks and said, "That girl needs our help. Just like the others. I want to give them a chance here. You can't judge someone based on who their parents here. Understand?" Audrey nodded meekly as Ben calmed down, sighing to himself that he had to use some mental persuasion on her to back off, and said, "Now. They are going to be here soon. Just put on one of your smiles and greet them. Like a princess should. OK?" Audrey put on one of her fake smiles and said, "OK. For you BennyBoo." Ben groaned internally, hating that nickname, which caused some of the Force spirits in his head to snicker. Ben did the gentleman thing and held his arm out for Audrey to take and Audrey did, the betrothed couple walking outside with Ben thinking, "Hopefully I won't have to spend my time with this spoiled princess any longer."
As the Core 4 were riding in the limo to Auradon, Carlos and Jay were fighting over the huge amounts of junk food in the car. Evie was looking at Mal and said, "You're looking a little washed out. Let me help you out." Mal hated wearing makeup and said, "Ew. Stop! I'm plotting." "Well," Evie retorted. "It's not very attractive." Carlos then moaned as he was putting different sweets in his mouth and said, "These…It's salty like nuts, but it's sweet like I don't know what." "Let me see," Jay said. Carlos opened his mouth to show him, but Jay scoffed and just took the rest our of Carlos' hand to eat. Mal found a remote next to her and pushed a button on it, which lowered the screen between them and the driver. Evie looked out the front window and shouted, "Look!" The limo driver was driving right to the edge of the road, where there was no road. "It's a trap!" Carlos screamed as he and the others ducked for cover. But then a magical bridge appeared and the limo drove onto it. Everyone noticed that they weren't dead and sat up as Carlos asked, "What just happened?" Everyone saw the bridge as Evie said, "It must be magic!" Mal suddenly felt something surge inside of her. "My magic," Mal realized. "I can feel my magic." She was happy with that so now she could use her mother's spell book. But she also felt something else. It was weak, but it was there. It felt different from her magic, like it was something special. But Mal waved that thought off for now as she turned to the driver and said, "Hey. Did this little button just open up the magic barrier?" The driver held up another remote and said, "No, this one opens the magic barrier. That one opens my garage. And this button…" He then pushed a button above him and closed the screen so that he could have some peace and quiet. "OK," Mal said. "Nasty. I like that guy."
The limo drove over the bridge right into Auradon and drove right to the school. Ben and Audrey were waiting with Fairy Godmother at the front door. He had a smile on his face that he couldn't get rid of which Audrey noticed and scoffed at. Soon they heard the band start to play, which Ben thought it was a little too much, but Fairy Godmother insisted. They all walked outside to where the limo stopped as the driver opened the door and Carlos and Jay tumbled out fighting over a pair of jeans with Carlos shouting, "Ow! You got everything else, why do you want whatever this is?" The band stopped playing as Ben, Audrey, and Fairy Godmother approached and Jay replied to Carlos, "Because you want it!" "No!" Carlos shouted. "Give it to me!" Jay shouted as Ben took in the scene. He wasn't really surprised by their actions, since it was normal for the two boys back on the Isle. Mal and Evie had gotten out behind them and Ben sucked in a breath. "She's here," Ben thought. "Right in front of my eyes, in the flesh. She's beautiful." He kept his eyes on her as Mal whispered to the two boys, "Guys! We have an audience." Jay looked up and saw Fairy Godmother standing there and said, "Just cleaning up." He helped Carlos up as Fairy Godmother said, "Leave it like you found it. And by that I mean just leave it."
Jay threw everything he and Carlos had back into the limo. Mal groaned at Jay's actions and looked at the three people in front of her. But once she looked at Ben, her heart stopped. "It's him!" Mal thought. "The boy at the lake from my dreams. He's the prince who invited us here?" She noticed Ben staring at her, who noticed and blushed, looking away. Mal noticed the girl with her arm around the prince and a wave of jealousy suddenly hit her. "Wait," Mal thought. "Why am I feeling jealous? I don't even know that guy yet." Jay walked up to Audrey and said, "Hello, foxy. The name's Jay." Audrey laughed nervously clinging onto Ben more, which made Ben groan a little, which Mal noticed and smirked.
Fairy Godmother then spoke up and said, "Welcome to Auradon Prep. I'm Fairy Godmother, Headmistress." That took Mal's attention away from Ben and said, "The Fairy Godmother? As is Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo?" "Bibbidi-Bobbidi you know it!" Fairy Godmother responded. "Yeah," Mal said. "I always wondered what it felt like for Cinderella, when you just appeared, out of nowhere, with that sparkly wand and warm smile. And that sparkling wand." "Something's up," Ben thought. "Why is she so interested in the wand? Need to find out." "That was a long time ago," Fairy Godmother said. "And as I always say, don't focus on the past or you'll miss the future!"
Ben stepped forward and said, "It's so good to finally meet you all. I'm Ben." "Prince Benjamin," Audrey said stepping forward as well. "Soon to be king." Ben looked down to collect himself as he didn't like Audrey interrupting him. "Maybe we should carbonate freeze her," Han said in his head. "Han!" Leia shouted. "Not the time. Ben's just upset that Audrey is stealing his first moment with Rey…Mal. Show some respect." Ben mentally told his original parents to quiet down as Evie stepped forward and said, "You had me at prince. My mom's a queen. Which makes me a princess." Audrey scoffed and said, "The Evil Queen has no royal status here and neither do you." "Actually," Ben said. "Even though Queen Snow White took over the throne, Evie's mother is still legally a queen since she had her reign. So Evie is a princess by blood." Evie looked at Ben with love and gratitude in her eyes as Ben secretly nodded to her. He turned to Audrey and said, "This is Audrey." "Princess Audrey," Audrey corrected as she grabbed Ben's hand. "His girlfriend. And future queen. Right, Bennyboo?" Ben chuckled nervously as he could hear several of the Force spirits laughing in his head at the nickname. He mentally told them to shut up as he looked at the Core 4 standing there awkwardly. He looked into Mal's eyes and saw something in them that he wasn't expecting right away, a tinge of jealously. "Interesting," Ben thought as Fairy Godmother broke through Ben and Audrey's handholding, much to Ben relief, and said, "Ben and Audrey are going to show you all around, and I'll see you tomorrow for the first day of school. The doors of wisdom are never shut! But the library hours are from 8:00 to 11:00. And as you may have heard, I have a little thing about curfews." Fairy Godmother then walked away as the band followed her.
Ben took the opportunity to step away from Audrey and to the VKs and said, "It is so, so, so good to finally meet you all." He walked to Jay to shake hands, but Jay swung his fist to play punch him instead. But Ben's reflexes and instincts kicked in and he grabbed Jay's fist in midair, surprising the VKs and Audrey. Jay looked shocked as Mal looked at Ben and thought, "Princey here seems to be full of surprises." Ben had a hard look on his face for a second, then his face morphed into a smile and said, "I apologize. Whenever I see a punch, my self-defense skills kick in. From now on, I will understand that this is the way you like to greet others. Cool?" Jay looked at the prince shocked, then shrugged with a smirk and said, "Cool." Ben grinned and moved over to Mal and reached for her hand to shake. But when their hands touched, the air around them turned quiet, just like it would for their Force bond in the past. Mal and Ben were staring at each other's eyes as each one saw a flash of images in their heads. Ben saw her whole life on the Isle, which he was familiar with some of the images since he saw them before in his dreams. He also did see Mal talking to her mother right before she came to Auradon, but couldn't hear what was being said as the images were passing too quickly. But what surprised him was that he saw visions of himself as Kylo Ren, which shocked Ben. "So," Ben realized. "She is starting to get the memory dreams like I did. But mostly about me as Kylo Ren. I wonder…." He focused his mind a little on hers and saw blurry visions of Rey. "She must have only just recently started to get visions of herself as Rey." Meanwhile, Mal was getting blurry images of Ben's life, seeing him cry about nightmares, him running away into the forest, and feeling miserable when he was around Audrey. "So," Mal thought. "He's not a fan of his little princess girlfriend, huh?" But then Mal got a quick flash of the dark guardian of the Isle in her head before Ben pulled his hand away. "Ben's seen the dark guardian?" Mal thought. "How?"
Although the moment between them felt like an eternity, in reality it was only a couple of seconds. Ben tore his eyes away from Mal and looked to the others and said, "This is a momentous occasion, and one that I hope will go down in history." He shook Carlos' hand, realizing that it was covered in chocolate. Ben pulled his hand away and brought his fingers to his mouth, tasting it, making Audrey gag behind him. "Is that chocolate?" Ben asked Carlos. Carlos just sucked on his fingers in response as Ben said, "Reese's Cups. Good choice." Carlos looked shocked at Ben, who went over to shake Evie's hand as he continued, "As the day our two peoples began to heal." "Or the day that you showed four peoples where the bathrooms are." Ben laughed a little, amused that Mal had a similar sense of humor to himself. He walked over to Mal and asked, "A little bit over the top?" Mal smiled and said, "A little more than a little bit." Both of them chuckled as Ben said, "Well, so much for my first impression. I hope I didn't embarrass myself too much to all of you guys. My apologies, Mal." Mal looked at Ben as he looked at her. Audrey noticed this and stepped in between them and said, "Hey! You're Maleficent's daughter, aren't you?" "Oh great," Ben thought. "Audrey's trying to start something." Audrey then continued, "Yeah, you know what? I totally do not blame you for your mother trying to kill my parents and stuff. Oh, my mom's Aurora. Sleeping…" "Beauty," Mal interrupted. "Yeah, I've heard the name. You know, and I totally do not blame your grandparents for inviting everyone in the whole world, but my mother to their stupid christening." Audrey chuckled and said, "Water under the bridge." "Totes!" Mal replied. Both girls faked laughed then sighed dramatically. Ben felt awkward and said, "OK! So, how about a tour?" The Core 4 nodded as Audrey put her arm around Ben's and Ben guided the new students around campus.
"Auradon Prep," Ben said as the group was walking around. "Originally built over 300 years ago and converted into a high school by my father when he became king." They stopped in front of a statue of his father and clapped in front of it, changing the statue from a king to a beast. Carlos screamed and jumped into Jay's arms. Ben saw this and said, "Carlos, it's OK. My father wanted his statue to morph from beast to man to remind us that anything is possible." Jay dropped Carlos onto the ground as Mal sarcastically asked, "Does he shed much?" "Yeah," Ben said going along with her. "Mom won't let him on the couch. Or Chewie for that matter." Mal tilted her head in confusion as Ben smiled and said, "Story for another time." He and Audrey turned to walk inside as Mal, Evie, and Jay followed. Carlos stayed and tried to clap to get the statue back to the human form. Ben sensed this and clapped his hands making the statue return to normal, startling Carlos to make him run inside with fear.
Inside the lobby, Mal asked, "So, you guys have a lot of magic here at Auradon? Like wands and things like that?" "We used to," Ben said, with a sad look in his eyes that Mal noticed. "But my father banned magic when he started his reign 20 years ago. It is now only allowed for special ceremonies and emergencies. So everyone now here are just ordinary mortals." Mal realized that Ben may not have been happy with the fact that magic was banned but shook that thought aside and said, "Who happened to be kings and queens." "That's true," Audrey interrupted. "Our royal bloodline goes back hundreds of years." She took Ben's arm and wrapped it around her shoulder as Ben chuckled nervously, which Mal noticed. Ben looked around trying to find an excuse to get his arm off of Audrey and saw Doug walking down the stairs. "Doug!" Ben shouted getting his arm off of Audrey. "Doug, come down." He walked over to Doug and turned to the others and said, "This is Doug. He's gonna help you with your class schedules…" "And show you the rest of the dorms," Audrey interrupted. "Ben and I have an important meeting to get to." Ben turned to glare at Audrey, but sighed as he knew that he needed to go process what he just learned from Mal. He stepped forward to Mal and said, "I'll see you later, OK? And if there is anything you need, feel free to…." "Ask Doug," Audrey interrupted again. Audrey then pulled Ben away from the VKs and out the door, much to Ben's irritation.
Doug turned to the Core 4 and said, "Hi, guys. I'm Doug. Dopey's son. As in Dopey, Doc, Bashful, Happy, Grumpy, Sleepy, and…." But then he stopped talking when Evie turned to him with a smile on her face that made Doug's heart melt. "Heigh-Ho." Evie stepped forward and said, "Evie. Evil Queen's daughter." Doug shook his head a bit to clear it as he said, "OK. So about your classes. I put in the requirements already. History of Woodsmen and Pirates, Safety Rules for the Internet, and Remedial Goodness 101." Mal walked around and looked over Doug's shoulder and said, "Let me guess. New class?" Doug nodded meekly as Mal looked to her gang and said, "Come on, guys, let's go find our dorms." The Core 4 walked up the stairs as Doug said, "Oh. Uh, yeah, your dorms are that way, guys." The VKs walked back down the stairs and past Doug who was muttering, "Dopey, Doc, Bashful, Happy, Grumpy, Sleepy, and…" "Sneezy," Carlos said from behind Doug before walking away. "Oh," Doug said.
Audrey finished dragging Ben away, having dragged him all the way to the tourney field as Audrey turned to Ben and asked, "What was that?" Ben tilted his head in confusion and asked, "What do you mean?" "You know very well what I mean!" Audrey hissed. "You were flirting with the daughter of my parents' enemy!" "Calm, down, Audrey," Ben said. "I was just being friendly. I invited them here. So I didn't want to be antagonistic towards them. Like you were to Mal." Audrey huffed and said, "Well at least I wasn't flirting in front of my betrothed." Ben glared at Audrey with the Force spirits in his head telling him to not give into his anger. Ben closed his eyes and took a deep breath to recenter himself. He opened his eyes and looked at Audrey and said, "I am trying to be friendly to all of them. They deserve a chance at a normal life. They didn't grow up the way we did. And I want to give them that chance. All I am asking is for you to do the same. Remember Fairy Godmother's saying, don't focus on the past or else you'll miss your future. I suggest you take that advice to heart. I sure do." Audrey huffed but didn't say anything in response as Ben turned around and said, "I have to go. Need to prep for tomorrow." Ben walked away as Audrey folded her arms in frustration. Chad walked up to her and asked, "Trouble in paradise?" Audrey turned to Chad and said, "Just some disagreements. Don't worry. I'll wrangle him back in no time." "Don't be too stressed out about it, babe," Chad said. Audrey smiled and kissed Chad on the cheek and said, "You're cute. Come on. Let's get out of here. I need to get ready for tomorrow." What the two royals didn't know was that Ben can sense the entire conversation thanks to his Force connection and Ben smirked as he was walking back to his dorm room.
Ben entered his dorm room and closed the door, Chewie running towards him. "Hey, Chewie," Been greeted. "Come on. I don't want to talk here where someone might hear me." He concentrated and made the door to his secret room appear. He walked through the door along with Chewie as the Force spirits appeared around him. R2D2 rolled up to him and beeped several times. "Welcome, Master Ben," C-3PO said as he walked up. "How was the arrival of the new students?" "Interesting," Ben said taking off his jacket. "They acted like their normal selves. I did surprise them by blocking Jay's play punch to me. My reflexes are too much. But I did find out something interesting." "About Mal?" Obi-Wan asked. Ben nodded and said, "When we touched hands, I saw images from her past. I couldn't hear anything, only see. It looks like her mother and the parents of the other VKs talked about something important that they want their kids to do when they got here. I had a feeling something like that would happen." "Then shouldn't you stop them?" Padme asked. "No," Ben said. "On the Isle, their parents influenced them too much. Here, they can have a chance to be themselves and become more than their parents. But I need to find out what their plan is. I think it might have something to do with Fairy Godmother's wand. Mal kept mentioning it. But there's something else too." "What is it?" Leia asked.
"She's having dreams about me, the spirit me, but also the memories of Kylo Ren." "Seeing you in that form on the Isle must have triggered the dreams to start," Anakin deduced. "But not the dreams she should start having," Yoda added. "I did see Rey too," Ben said. "But the images were blurry, like she is just starting to have them, quite recently." "Then you must treat this with caution," Luke said. "Remember Agathe's warning of not pushing Mal too much into remembering her past when the Force says it's not time yet." "Plus," Han added. "You need to work on that crush of yours, kid. I know you felt the spark when your hands touched. Work some of your Solo magic on her." Leia smacked Han on the head and said, "Of course you would say something like that. Ben needs to do this the natural way. He's only seen Mal from a distance. He needs to spend actual time with the girl. Get to know the new her." "Mom's right," Ben agreed. "I did feel the spark Dad mentioned. And I could also feel the conflict in her. The light is there, but her mother's influence is strong. But I did see a tinge of jealousy in her eyes when Audrey was acting too clingy. Which means that she feels that spark just like I do. I want to help that spark grow into something more. For both of us." "That's the spirit, grandson," Anakin said. "So what's the plan?" Ben smirked and said, "Well, first, I need to figure out fully what the VKs' plan is. So time for meditation."
Mal and Evie found their room and opened the door. Inside are two twin beds with white and pink bedding, two lounge chairs, two desks, and two windows with flower curtains. "Wow!" Evie said. "This place is so amaz…" "Gross," Mal interrupted. "I know, right?" Evie said. "Amazingly gross. Ew." But inside Evie was excited about the room they were in. Mal scoffed and said, "I'm going to need some serious sunscreen." She pointed to one window so Evie could walk to it and close the curtains as Mal did the same. "Phew!" Mal said. "That is much better. Now, we need to figure out how to get the wand. Once it's dusk, we'll meet with the boys." Mal suddenly turned around, feeling like someone was watching her. "Mal?" Evie asked. "You OK?" Mal looked back at Evie and said, "Sorry. I'm just on high alert now that we are here in Auradon."
Ben opened his eyes and saw the Force spirits, Chewie, and the two robots looking down at him. "Anything?" Luke asked. "They want the wand," Ben said. "I think their parents want them to steal the wand to bring down the barrier." "Is that what you want to do eventually?" Han asked. "Yes," Ben said. "But not like this. I want to get those who are suffering for crimes they did not commit to get off that island. Some of those villains haven't changed at all. Yes they shouldn't be there either, but they want to wreck havoc on Auradon. If Mal and the other VKs take down the barrier now without myself and Agathe taking precautions about containing those who aren't peaceful, then evil will reign. I have to think this through and strategize. I can't let everyone out at once. Even though I want to get as many as I can out at once, Auradon isn't ready for that, as much as I hate to say that. I want the people of Auradon to see the way I do about the Isle. And I want the ban of magic to be lifted so the magical beings here can help prepare Auradon for the residents of the Isle and rebalance the magical nature of this place. "Wow," Anakin said. "You've really thought this through, huh?" Ben nodded as he stood up and said, "I have. I want to do this right. And for the right reasons. And Mal and the others need to realize that too. Now, I need your help. I think the VKs will act tonight for getting the wand. Will some of you watch them when they meet up?" Luke and Anakin stepped forward and nodded, disappearing from the room. "What are you going to do?" Leia asked. Ben smiled holding out his hand summoning his lightsaber. "I need to rest, Mother. I have a feeling that the dark guardian of the Isle will need to make an appearance tonight…."
