Welcome back! Now as you are about to read, it's time to return to the Isle. And I know that this is where the song, "Chillin' Like a Villain" is suppose to come, but I decided not to use it. As my characterization of Ben does not fit with that song, even though I like that song. I chose another DCOM song instead, but a duet for Ben and Mal, "Can I Have This Dance?" from High School Musical 3. I felt that it fit with what I am trying to do in this chapter. I don't own this song, as always. Enjoy.
Mal was in the middle of her worst nightmare yet. All the people of Auradon were surrounding her and mocking her, "She's no Lady of the Court! She's evil, just like her mother! Send her back to the Isle!" Mal tried to cover her ears, but she couldn't move. Audrey appeared before her and sneered, "You thought you could steal Ben from me. Think again. He's my betrothed. You never had a chance with him." Mal shook her head muttering, "It's not true. It's not true." Then Ben appeared before her and said, "You will never be my Queen. I never loved you." Mal started to cry as a dark voice sneered, "You don't belong in Auradon. Come back to the Isle. It's where you belong. Come home."
Mal woke up screaming. She looked around and saw that Evie had already left for classes. "I can't handle these nightmares anymore," Mal thought. Sighing, she got out of bed. "And I didn't even get all of the food prepared for my date." She looked over and saw her spell book sitting on her bedside table. She got an idea of how to solve her problem.
Ben was sleeping in bed when he suddenly shot up from his bed, startling Chewie awake. Ben took some deep breaths to calm himself down. He saw Chewie rattled and said, "Sorry Chewie. I had a bad dream." The Force spirits appeared in front of him and Han asked, "What's the matter, kid?" "My dream," Ben answered. "It was dark. I couldn't see anything. But I heard Mal's voice. She was crying. I looked over and she was being pulled further away from me. I tried to reach her, but I couldn't. It was like something was pulling me away from her as she was being pulled away from me." "A premonition, perhaps," Yoda suggested. "Something might happen to pull Ben and Mal apart?" Padme asked. "Don't know," Anakin said. "It could have been a vision of the future, or it could have been a warning." "Yes," Obi-Wan said. "The Force could be warning you of something dangerous that could affect you and Mal." "I agree," Luke said. "You need to be on your guard, Ben." "And," Leia added. "You need to figure out why Mal is stressed out. Be there for her." Ben nodded as the Force spirits disappeared back into his body. He sighed and said, "I hope Mal will open up to me during our date. If there is something dark that is trying to come between us, then I will stop it. Nothing will get in the way of the new life that we are meant to have."
Later that day, Ben and Mal were on their date at the Enchanted Lake. Mal had brought all of the food in a large picnic basket which Ben helped her carry. She then spread everything out on a table under the gazebo and started to feed Ben, "Would you like a hot hors d'oeuvre?" "Yes, please," Ben said as Mal fed him. He could taste the magic on them, but didn't say anything as he didn't care that she had to use magic to do it. He could sense that she still felt stressed so he wanted to make her happy. "Mmm. This is the best thing I've ever had." "So you like it?" Mal asked. "I more than like it," Be replied as he grabbed another bite of food. "Mmm. Double like it. Is this beef ragout?" Mal nodded as Ben took a bite of it and said, "This is amazing." "Did I surprise you?" Ben nodded and said, "Oh, yeah, you surprised me. This is every single dish Mrs. Potts made for my parents. This means a lot. That you stopped and did all this for me. Especially with all the craziness you've been put through. I missed you. We don't get much time to be just us anymore." "I know," Mal said as Ben reached over to cup her cheek. Mal then reached over to wipe some crumbs off of Ben's mouth as Ben chuckled and said, "You can't take me anywhere, huh?" Mal laughed, glad that Ben was enjoying their time together.
Ben then sighed and said, "Mal. I wanted to ask you something." Mal held in a breath, her doubt creeping in. Ben looked at Mal and asked, "Are you OK? I know you've seemed stressed out lately. Trying to fit in here is hard. Believe me, I know. But I feel that there is something else that has been bothering you." Mal put on a fake smile and said, "Everything's fine. Just stress for the Cotillion." Ben sighed and said, "I know that you're lying to me." Mal gasped. Ben reached into the basket and pulled out Mal's spell book as proof, "I know that this food was made by magic. I could taste it." Mal started to cry as Ben replied, "Mal. It's OK. I'm not mad at you for using magic. It's part of who you are. You don't have to hide it from me. I love you for you." Mal stood up and shouted, "But I'm a fake! I'm trying to fit in, but I'm not one of those pretty pink princesses that Auradon wants me to be! What you want me to be." Ben stood up and said, "That's not true. I fell in love with you for who you are. You don't believe that?" Mal couldn't answer as her nightmares were creeping up into her head. Ben started to cry and said, "Please. Tell me what's going on."
"He doesn't love you," The voice from her nightmares said in her head. Mal put her hands on her head, trying to block it. Ben noticed this and walked over to her and put his hands on her head. Suddenly Mal blasted accidental magic at Ben, which knocked him back and he hit the side of the gazebo. Mal was shocked over her actions. "You see," the voice said. "You hurt others. You hurt him. He will never accept you for who you are." Mal started to cry harder as Ben rubbed his head as the Force was starting to heal his injuries. "I'm sorry, Ben," Mal cried. "I don't deserve your love." She then grabbed her spell book and magically teleported away.
Ben stood up shakily and shouted, "Mal!" But it was too late. Ben cried out angrily, clenching his fists and using the Force to blast the table of food away from him. He then shouted, "Agathe!" The Enchantress heard his call as Ben turned to her angrily and shouted, "Did you know? That something was affecting Mal?" Agathe shook her head and said, "I am sorry, Ben. I did not. Whatever this darkness in her mind is, I couldn't see anything." Ben then shouted, "Why didn't you tell me that sooner?" Agathe sighed and said, "I can't interfere unless it's an emergency…" "This is an emergency!" Ben interrupted. "When my hands touched Mal's head, I felt it. Darkness. Whispers feeding Mal stress and doubt. About Auradon. About me. I wish I had seen it sooner. So I could help her before it got to this." Ben slid down to the ground and cried into his legs. Agathe knelt down and said, "Young Skywalker. This destiny wasn't suppose to be easy to achieve. There are always obstacles that will try to block your path. This is one that we weren't prepared for. Now, are you going to mope around? Or are you going to go find your true love and get her back?" Ben looked up and asked, "Back? What do you mean?" Agathe sighed and said, "I fear that Mal is going back to the one place where she felt like herself." Ben realized what she was saying and stood up quickly and ran to his motorized bike, leaving Agatha standing there thinking, "Force, please protect him."
During the conversation with Ben and Agathe, Mal had magically arrived back in her dorm room and changed out of her pretty dress and threw on her old Isle clothes. She grabbed a box and started to poke holes into it so that she could put her lizard mom in it as she sobbed, "I don't belong here." She walked over and pulled out her lizard mom from her cage and put her in the box saying, "Let's blow this popsicle stand." She then wrote a note and left Ben's ring on it as she walked out of the room and got on her motorized bike and drove to a cliff looking out towards the Isle. She pulled out her spell book and chanted, "Noble steed, proud and fair, you shall take me anywhere." She braced herself as she drove out onto the ocean, her spell working, as she rode through the barrier and drove around on the Isle, startling the locals. She stopped for a second to look around and saw a poster of Ben and her. She looked at it sadly and thought, "I'm sorry, Ben. But you deserve better than me." She pulled down the poster, rolled it up into a ball, and threw it behind her. She then drove to the secret hideout her friends created before they left for Auradon. She parked her bike and threw on her book bag and walked over to the entrance. She grabbed a rock and threw it at a sign, which caused the entrance to open. She then went through it and walked up to the hideout.
By the time Mal arrived on the Isle, Ben had finally arrived back at Auradon Prep. He jumped off his bike and ran to the dorms, thinking that might be where Mal is. He wanted to look everywhere in Auradon first before going to the Isle. On his way to Mal's room, Evie walking through the halls and saw Ben, "Ben!" The King stopped as Evie ran toward him and Ben asked, "Evie. Have you seen Mal?" Evie sighed and said, "Mal's gone back to the Isle." She handed Ben the note Mal left and his ring. Ben read the note and held onto his ring with a clenched fist. Tears started to leak down his face as he said, "This is my fault. I couldn't help her. She's been under so much pressure lately. I've been patient and understanding with her, and I tried talking to her, but she wouldn't open up to me. Something was…." He didn't finish his statement as he felt Evie wouldn't understand and that he had to keep his secrets from her. He looked up at Evie and said, "I need to go after her. I need to go to the Isle and bring her back. She's not safe there." Evie sighed and said, "Ben, you'll never find her. You need to know that Isle and how it works…." "I know how it works!" Ben shouted at Evie, who was startled by Ben's answer. Ben sighed and said, "I know more about the Isle than you or the others know. I can go there and find Mal." Evie didn't know if Ben was being truthful or lying just so that he could go, so she said, "Whatever the case, you have to take me with you." Ben looked at Evie and asked, "Are you sure? I can take care of myself." Evie scoffed, not believing that, and said, "Mal's my best friend. And we're going to bring the boys, too, because there is safety in numbers and none of us are really too popular over there right now." Ben realized that Evie had a point and said, "OK." Evie looked at Ben and said, "But let's get two things straight. You have to promise me that I won't get stuck there again." Ben nodded and said, "I promise." Evie smiled and said, "And there's no way you're going looking like that." Ben looked down at himself, then thinking of an idea, and then looked back up at Evie and said, "Actually, I have that covered."
Back on the Isle, Mal walked to Curl Up and Dye, a hair salon run by Lady Tremaine. Mal opened the door and snuck inside. She walked in and saw Dizzy, Drizella's daughter, sweeping up hair while listening to music on her headphones. Dizzy looked up and saw Mal standing there, "Mal! Is Evie back, too?" Mal chuckled, knowing that Dizzy loved Evie like a big sister, and said, "As if. I, um, forgot that you guys don't open till midnight. Place looks good. So, what is your deal? Has your grandmother given you any customers yet?" "Ah," Dizzy sighed. "Just a witch here and there. Mostly it's a lot of scrubbing and scouring and sweeping. Lots and lots of sweeping." "Sounds like the old Cinderella treatment, hey," Mal replied. "Yeah," Dizzy agreed. "She's gone from wicked stepmother to wicked grandmother." "That's not really much of a switch," Mal said. "Hey, Dizzy. You used to do Evie, right?" "Yeah," Dizzy said, smiling as she talked. "I thought of the little braids." Mal nodded and asked, "You have any ideas for me?" Dizzy walked up and examined Mal and her hair, "The washed-out blonde with purple tips. The best of no worlds. You can't see where your face ends and your hair begins." She led Mal to sit down in a chair as she examined her nails, "Oh, what is this? Bored to Death Pink? Hmm. How far can I go?" Mal thought for a moment, then said, "The works. I mean, whatever makes me feel like me, but you know…way worse." "Yay," Dizzy cheered.
Dizzy did the whole nine yards on Mal. She dyed her hair back to purple, trimmed a few inches off, put curlers made out of soda cans in her hair for styling, and painted her fingernails purple. Dizzy was excited the whole time doing Mal's new look. Mal was deep in thought during the whole process. She wanted to feel like herself again, but she didn't want to go villain again. She just wanted to go back to how she lived on the Isle, by surviving. "Like the brown haired girl," Mal thought. "She looked like a survivor. I'll be one too." That then made her think of Solo. "What would he think of me doing this? No. Don't think about him. Hopefully now that I am back here, I won't get any dreams or nightmares of any kind. Those all started when I went to Auradon. Although, I had my dreams of Ben here….Stop. Don't think about him. He deserves better than me. Move on."
When Dizzy was done, Mal looked at herself in the mirror. She loved her light purple hair and said, "Hey, there I am." Dizzy smiled and said, "Voila!" Mal smiled back and said, "Voila." She pulled out some money she took from Auradon and gave it to Dizzy, who said, "For me?" Mal nodded and said, "You earned it."
Dizzy ran over to put it into the cash register, but Harry suddenly appeared in the doorway and said, "Fork it over, ya runt." She handed Harry the money and Harry tapped his hook, even though he didn't need it as he had both hands, on the cash register and said, "Now the rest of it." Mal stood there chewing a piece of gum as Dizzy emptied the cash register and handed all the money she had to Harry. He turned to leave when Mal decided to shout, "Still running errands for Uma or do you actually get to keep what you steal?" Harry turned around and saw Mal standing there and said, "Well, well, well. What a nice surprise." Mal looked straight at Harry and said, "Hi, Harry." Harry walked up to Mal and said, "Just wait until Uma hears you're back. She's never gonna give you back your old territory." Mal felt deep down that she didn't want her territory back as she just wanted to survive on her own and being evil wasn't really her cup of tea in the first place, but she remembered that on the Isle, she had to keep up the appearance of being intimidating, so she said, "Oh. Well, that's OK. Because I will be taking it." Harry took his hook and weaved it through Mal's hair and said, "I could hurt you." Mal suddenly grabbed Harry's hand with reflexes that Mal didn't even know she had, surprising herself and Harry. "That was weird," Mal thought as she took the gum out of her mouth and put it on the end of Harry's hook and said, "Not without her permission, I bet." Harry chuckled as he put the gum in his mouth, which made Mal gag internally, and Harry walked away, purposefully knocking stuff off counters. He turned and bowed to Mal, who glared at him, and he walked out. "Great," Dizzy said. "More sweeping."
Later that night over in Auradon, Evie, Carlos, and Jay had thrown on some old clothes they wore on the Isle and snuck out of the school to where Ben's limo was waiting. "OK," Carlos said. "Where's Ben?" "He said he would met us here," Evie said. Suddenly one of the limo doors opened and out came Ben. "Wow," Jay said as he looked at Ben's look. Ben was wearing dark pants, black boots, a black leather jacket, dark gray undershirt, and a black beanie concealing his hair. He looked at the three and said, "What do you all think?" Evie got over her shock and said, "It'll do. You could of at least added some color." Ben chuckled and said, "I need to blend in on the Isle, not stand out. Trust me, I know what I'm doing. Jay, here are the keys and remote." He threw them to Jay who caught them.
"Shotgun!" The four looked over at the stairs and saw Dude standing there. Carlos glared at Dude and said, "No, Dude, stay. The Isle is way too dangerous." Dude whimpered as Ben and Evie stared at Dude in shock. Jay looked at Carlos and asked, "Did he just…" "Talk?" Carlos interrupted. "Yeah, I know. I'll tell you later." "Wait," Ben said, then he whistled. Chewie came bounding down the stairs and stopped in front of Ben. The King knelt down and whispered into Chewie's ear so no one could hear him, "Guard Dude. He must have been affected by one of Mal's spell to make him talk. I don't want him doing anything stupid." Chewie barked once as Ben petted his head and stood up saying, "Let's go." "Yeah," Evie said as the four got into the limo and drove to the Isle.
"OK," Evie said as they drove. "Once we cross the bridge, park under the pier in the old garage. Got it?" "Got it," Jay said as he drove over the bridge. They got to the Isle and parked in the old garage. The four got out as Carlos said, "Ben, help me with the tarp." Ben nodded as the two boys grabbed the tarp. Carlos threw some of it at Jay and the three boys covered the limo. Evie whispered to Jay, "It's really weird being back here." Jay nodded and said, "We'll get in and get out." Carlos, Jay, and Evie got another tarp over the limo as Ben felt something coming from a tunnel nearby. "I can feel something," Ben thought. "So can we," Luke said in his head. "Sith," Yoda said. "It could be whatever landed here six months ago," Obi-Wan said. "You have to be cautious, Ben," Anakin said. "He's right," Leia said. "Now that you are on the Isle, your connection to the Force will be limited. Luckily you have enough power reserved in you. But only so much." "Don't waste it," Han said. "Stay strong," Padme said. "I will," Ben thought as the other three came over as Jay said, "Don't go that way. You don't want to know what's in here." "I think I have a good idea what," Ben said, confusing the others. "OK," Carlos said. "We need to keep it chill. Last thing we need is our parents figuring out we're here."
They walked out of the garage and through different alleys. Two kids suddenly came up and distracted Evie, taking her wallet. Ben turned around and was about to fight them off, but Evie looked into both kids' eyes and said, "Take it." Ben smiled at Evie's gesture, but then put on an emotionless face. "I'm on the Isle," Ben reminded himself. "Positive emotions can't be shown here." He turned and walked away, going in the direction he sensed Mal in. Evie turned from where she let the two kids go, and saw that Ben was walking way ahead of them. "Come on," Evie said to Carlos and Jay.
Ben kept walking, determined to get to Mal. Evie, Carlos, and Jay caught up with him. "Ben, stop," Evie said. "Just stop. You don't know where you're going. And you need to be careful here. The Isle is different, this isn't a parade you can just walk through." "I know that," Ben said, glaring at Evie, startling her. "I know the rules. Keep your hands in your pockets unless you're stealing. You either slouch or strut. And never, ever smile. Also, no thank you or please. Just chill." He saw the shocked looks on the other three's faces and said, "What? You thought I could never be like you? I can. There's more to me than just how I act back home. Trust me." He turned and kept walking toward where Mal was as the other three tried to keep up.
One of the locals came up and pushed him, which made Ben stop and glare at the guy. "Uh oh," Carlos said. But Ben surprised them by grabbing the local's arm, twisted it around, swiped the guy's legs so he would fall to the ground, and knelt his knee on the guy's back while holding his arm. "I'm in no mood to be messed with," Ben sneered. "I will end you if you try. Got it?" The local whimpered as Jay said, "Lay off, Ben. He gets it." Ben sighed, but before getting off him, he leaned down and whispered in the guy's ear, "You never saw me. You will forget this happened. "I never saw you. I will forget this," the local mumbled as if in a trance. Ben had used the Jedi mind trick on him. Ben got off of him and turned to the others and said, "He'll be fine. We came to an understanding. Let's go." He turned and walked off, Evie, Carlos and Jay following him.
What the group didn't see was that Gil was nearby and saw what happened. He got a look at Ben's face in passing and said, "He looks familiar." He looked up at a poster with Ben's face on it and realized, "It's King Ben. Uma's gonna love this." He turned and ran to find Uma to let her know what he saw."
Over on the Lost Revenge, Uma was staring out at sea smiling to herself, "Mal's finally here. Now my revenge can begin. She thought her nightmares would end now that she's here. Ha. That was just the beginning." "Yes," the voice from the amulet said. "Her spirit is breaking. Now you just have to make sure that you break it entirely." Uma hummed as Harry came up behind her and said, "Uma. I have news." "Let me guess," Uma said, turning around to face Harry. "Mal is back." Harry looked shocked and asked, "How did you know?" Uma smiled evilly and said, "Word gets around."
Suddenly Gil ran abroad the ship and said, "I saw King Ben! And Evie, Carlos, and Jay. They're here on the Isle." Uma's smile got bigger as she said, "Interesting. Mal's friends and her precious King have come to get her back. Not happening. But, maybe we can use this to our advantage. Bring me King Ben." "Uh," Gil said. "How? He's very intimidating. He nearly twisted some guy's arm off. How are we going to get him?" Uma thought for a moment, then reached into her jacket and pulled out a vial, "Magic may not work here, but herbs can do wonders too. This should be enough to knock the King down."
The four arrived at their hideout of which Carlos asked, "Ben, how did you know where to go?" "Just a feeling," Ben said. The others didn't buy it, but said nothing. Jay took a rock and threw it at the sign, causing the entrance to open. Ben got to the stairs, turned to the others, and said, "Wish me luck." "Good luck," Evie said as Ben started his climb to the top.
When Ben reached the top, he looked around. It was run down, but comfortable. Ben realized that this was probably where the Core 4 hid from their parents. He heard a spray bottle and walked right to the source. Mal was spraying some graffiti art. Ben smiled. He knew Mal was a talented artist, but now he got a full view of how great she was. "At least I don't see a picture of me with horns and a pitchfork," Ben said, getting Mal's attention. Mal turned around, startled, and said, "Ben. What are you doing here?" "I'm here," Ben answered. "For you. I'm so sorry, Mal. I should have helped you sooner. I knew you were under stress. I tried to take some of it away, but that wasn't enough. I just want us to talk. Right here, right now. Where you feel comfortable." Mal tilted her head and asked, "You aren't here to bring me back to Auradon?" "I am," Ben said. "But I want to talk to you first. Away from everything." Mal sighed, walked over to a couch, and sat down on it, Ben following suit.
"So," Ben said. "Please tell me what is bothering you. I know that it's more than not fitting in at Auradon." "It is!" Mal shouted. "I tried to fit in. I gave it my best shot. And if you think that I could change, I think you're wrong." "I don't want you to change," Ben said. "To be honest, I prefer how you look now and when you first came to Auradon. Not the girl you were pretending to be." "Really?" Mal asked. Ben nodded and said, "I care about the girl I met, and that's you." "But," Mal countered. "I'm such a bad influence. I have to take myself out of the picture, because it's what's best for you, and it's what's best for Auradon. You don't deserve me. You deserve a pretty princess who will make a great Queen for you. You are still betrothed to Audrey. In a few months, you two will be engaged. She's the one who will be best for Auradon. Not me." "Don't say that!" Ben said angrily, standing up. "You are worth more than Audrey ever could be. Don't you remember what I told you during our date? I don't like Audrey. I ran away when I found out that I was betrothed to her. Do you want me to be trapped in a loveless marriage? While you stay here with a broken heart? While I'll have a broken heart? I don't love Audrey. I love you. I don't care that you aren't like those pretty pink princesses back in Auradon. You are you. We have a connection, Mal. A spark that has grown. I feel it. I know you feel it. You've told me that you do. And I have been patient with you. I know that I am running out of time because of the contract, but I don't care about that. All I care about is you and my love for you. But you have grown so much, Mal. I can feel that you are learning to love. I know it's true. You care about me." Mal felt tears well up in her eyes. She knew that Ben was telling the truth. And at the moment, no creepy voice in her head was telling her otherwise.
Mal looked up at Ben and said, "I do care about you, Ben. But I hurt you today. I'm not worth it. I'm no Lady of the Court. I don't even know how to waltz." Ben chuckled and said, "I heal pretty quickly. And I can teach you how to waltz. Right now." He held out his hand and, to his surprise, started to sing,
(Ben)
Take my hand, I'll take the lead
And every turn will be safe with me
Don't be afraid, afraid to fall
You know I'll catch you through it all
And you can't keep us apart
'Cause my heart is wherever you are
(Ben and Mal)
It's like lightning, the chances of finding
Someone like you
It's one in a million, the chances the feeling
The way you do
And with every step together
We just keep on getting better
So can I have this dance?
Can I have this dance?
Oh, no mountain's too high and no ocean's too wide
"Cause together or not, our dance won't stop
Let it rain, let it pour, what we have is worth fighting for
You know I believe that we were meant to be
It's like catching lightning, the chances of finding
Someone like you
It's one in a million, the chances of feeling
The way we do
And with every step together
We just keep on getting better
So can I have this dance?
Can I have this dance?
Can I have this dance?
Can I have this dance?
Ben smiled, loving that Mal joined in on singing. He could feel that Mal hasn't felt this happy in a while. They stopped dancing and stared at each other. Ben leaned his forehead on Mal's and said, "Please come back with me. I love you. I can't live without you." Mal sighed, knowing that Ben was right.
Suddenly Ben felt the darkness creep into Mal's mind as the creepy voice shouted, "No!" Ben pulled back and said, "What was that?" Mal stared at Ben in horror. "He felt that?" Mal said. She knew that he could sense things from her, but not to that degree. Mal sighed, realizing that she needed to be honest with Ben, and said, "You were right. About something else bothering me. I've been getting nightmares. I hear this voice in them. It taunts me about not fitting into Auradon. That you don't really love me. That I should come back here." "And you listened to it," Ben realized. "It's OK. I'm not mad at you. I just wish you told me sooner. But thank you for finally trusting me with this. Let's just get off this island. Together. Evie, Carlos, and Jay are waiting downstairs."
Mal looked into Ben's eyes. There was so much love in them. But Mal still felt some self-doubt in her. She felt that she had so many voices in her head telling her what to do and she just wanted to think for herself. She sighed and said, "Can you give me an hour? I need to think about this. On my own. I need to make this decision myself." Ben sighed. He wished that she would just come with him now, but he understood that she needed some peace and quiet to think. He could relate to that. "Hey!" Han shouted in his head. Ben chuckled, which confused Mal as she didn't understand why he was chuckling, and looked at her and said, "OK. Like with everything, I won't pressure you. Take the time you need. I will be waiting downstairs with the others. Just come down when you have your answer. OK?" Mal nodded as Ben took her hand and kissed it. He then walked out as Mal stood there thinking, "He loves me. He really does. I just need to think for myself right now. What do I really what? To stay here? Or go back to Auradon?"
Ben walked down the stairs where the others were waiting. Evie asked, "Where's Mal?" Ben sighed and said, "We talked. And after everything we said to each other, she needs some time to think. I gave her an hour. I don't want to pressure her. I never do. We'll just wait down here and she'll come down once she's thought some things over." The others nodded as they took their posts guarding their hideout.
Ben walked over and leaned against a wall near the alleyway next to the hideout. Suddenly he felt something dark. He sensed that something was coming that way. He then heard a dark creeping voice laughing. Ben walked toward where the voice was coming from as he thought, "It feels like the Sith. It's close by. But where is it exactly?" But then someone grabbed him from behind and covered his mouth with a cloth and Ben could taste something on it. "Chloroform," Ben realized. "And it's strong. I can't breathe. Mal….." Then his world went black.
Carlos looked down the alleyway where Ben was suppose to be near and didn't see him. "Guys!" Carlos shouted. "Where's Ben?" Evie and Jay walked to Carlos and saw that Ben was not there. They saw a figure walking toward them. Evie mistook it for Ben and said, "Ben, don't scare us like that." "Don't scare you?" The figure came out of the mist and darkness to reveal Harry. "That's my speciality." "Harry," Evie said as Jay shouted, "What did you do with Ben?" "Oh," Harry said. "Uh, we nicked him. Mmm-hmm. Gave him a little something to knock him out for a long while. Courtesy of Uma. Yeah, um, and if you want to see him again have Mal come to the Chip Shoppe tonight. Alone. Uma wants a little visit. Aw. Jay. Seems like you've lost your touch." Jay tried to lunge at Harry, but Evie pulled him back as Harry laughed. He looked at Carlos and barked at him, trying to scare him, but Carlos didn't flinch. Harry turned and walked away, whistling. The other three looked at each other and turned and ran back to their hideout, knowing that Mal was not going to be happy with them.
