"Let's get this prissy princess taken care of already." Morgan commented as everyone walked away from the Cottage. "What do you say Cuz?"
"You know, someday, you're gonna have to tell me how you guys all teamed up." ben commented.
"Actually, Mal and Sophia promised to let all the kids off the Isle once this is over." Evie explained. I paused in my steps, letting everyone walk in front of me.
"River?" Uma muttered when she saw me.
"Guys." I called softly. Everyone stopped and turned to me. "I...I lied to you all." I looked away in shame, "The Kids that are left on the Isle...they won't be coming off it."
"What do you mean?" Jay asked.
"The program is shut down." Mal said. "And the barrier will be closed for good."
"You knew about this?" Evie questioned.
"For Auradon's safety."
"Wait a minute." Morgan said as they stepped towards me, "We're here in Auradon trying to save your precious citizens, and all your backs, for a lie? I knew it was a mistake to try and trust you again. You've always looked out for just yourself, and your family. Apparently, I'm still not part of it."
"And you, King Benny." Harry spoke loudly, gesturing to Ben with his hook. "You're probably just gonna throw us all back inside, eh?" Celia then walked towards me.
"You know what?" She asked rhetorically, her voice shaking. "I always looked up to you, though you were so brave. But you're nothing but a spineless polyp. You were too scared to tell me that we were never gonna see Dad again."
"Starfish…" I trailed off. Celia then reached out, ripping Mum's talisman off my neck. "Celia!" She then ran up to Mal and snatched the Ember from Mal's hand, throwing it into a pool of water.
"Celia! No!" Mal exclaimed. Celia then ran off. I watched her go sadly Mum's talisman tight in her grip. "Regain your might and ignite!" Mal shouted. "Morgan, Uma, can you help me?" She asked.
"No." Morgan stated. "Not after what Sophia did to us." I could feel a couple of pairs of eyes on me.
"Let's go find Gill and leave 'em all to rot." Uma added. I held back tears as Uma left alongside Harry and Morgan. I turned my back on them, my heart unable to take the pain.
"Evie…" I muttered as she slowly approached, "I am so sorry. I-I thought that...I thought that if I told you what was gonna happen I was gonna lose one of my best friends. I had to do something to protect Auradon."
"Closing the barrier was your idea?" Evie asked hollowly.
"I did it so that we could keep our lives here in Auradon. For the life we have now."
"For our life?! What about the kids that we left behind on that island?! The kids that we promised. We were their only hope. I thought you were gonna stand up for the VK's. You as well." Evie turned to Mal for a second before her gaze turned back to me. "But instead you lied to them." Tears started to form in my eyes and spill down my cheeks, "You lied to Jay. And you lied to Carlos. You lied to me. You lied to your own sisters! And look at what they did!" Evie pointed the way that Celia, Uma, Harry and Morgan left by. "We're your family." Evie then turned away.
"Evie, please." I begged, "We had no choice!" There was then a crack of lightning and suddenly, in the places our friends once stood, were stone statues. "No." I sobbed.
Sophia -
Here we are alone, and we deserve it
Our friends have turned to stone
And that's on us
We had a cause to serve but did we serve it?
Or did we see ourselves in ways that just weren't us?
Mal -
Why tell all those lies?
We feel unworthy
Like there isn't solid ground for us to stand
But a stack of lies is not a firm foundation
We cannot build a castle on a mountain made of sand
This is not your father's fairytale
Sophia -
And no, it's not your mother's fault you fail
Sophia and Mal -
So when our story comes to light
Make sure the story that they write, goes
Take once upon a time, they fought a dragon
Once upon a time, that beast was us
Once upon a misspent youth
They faced themselves
They spoke the truth
That's how we see our once upon a time
This time
Mal and I made our way back to Auradon Prep. We soon found Uma, Harry and Morgan. "Uma!" I called, running up to them, "Uma! Morgan! Wait, please!" Mal and I ran in front of them. "Please, listen to me. The four of us have a chance to stop Audrey, together."
"Your friends kick you to the curb?" Morgan asked. "Good."
"Morgan come on." I groaned, "Ben saw something in you today, and I did too. I didn't realise before but you care so much, the kids on the Island, your crew. And please, Morgan, Auradon is worth saving...please…"
"You talk pretty, but...they've already made up their mind." Harry commented.
"Sophia, the only reason this is happening is because of you." Morgan stated. "You brought this on yourself. You should figure out how to fix it...alone. Let's go." Morgan started to walk away, Harry and Uma trailing behind.
"Aquarius…" I called softly. Uma didn't turn.
Sophia -
Life is not a storybook but life unfolds in chapters
Turn the page and start to make amends
Mal -
There's no pre-written guarantee of "Happily ever after"
Step into our greatness before our story ends
Sophia and Mal -
So when our story ends
They'll say once upon a time girls flew higher
Once upon a time they made things right
Once upon a tie that binds
They changed their heart
To change their minds
That's got to be our once upon a time
This once upon a time
We'll finally see out once upon a time
This time
Mal and I were on the balcony of the school. "Sophia! Mal! Help me!" A familiar voice shouted. My eyes widened and my eyes snapped up to the roof of the prep.
"Calia!" I cried. She struggled for a second before I saw a glint of teal, my necklace fell from her grasp and into my hand.
"Yeah! Save your little friend girls!" Audrey taunted. I growled, my eyes glowing as teal smoke enveloped me. I grew in size, tentacles appeared and replaced my legs as I grew to a humongous size. I started to climb up the building, my tentacles giving me a good grip. I finally rose above the side of the building, glaring down at Audrey.
"Let. Her. Go." I boomed. My voice echoed through the courtyard. I swat away blasts of Magic that Audrey was sending my way. Mal then swooped down, but stopped short when Audrey pulled Celia closer. Audrey sent a blast of magic that hit Mal. I jumped off the building, my tentacles barely missing Uma, Morgan and Garry as I landed. I caught Mal in my hands. She was about the size of Dude in Dragon form when I was at this size. I gently set Mal down on the grass. The others looked tiny compared to us. "Mal?" I asked, "Hey, Mal, you ok?" Mal stood on her four legs, the Ember still tight in her claws. She nodded.
"We're stronger together!" A voice shouted from below. I looked and saw Morgan and Uma holding hands. "Mal, Sophia, we're right here!" Morgan continued. They reached out to Mal, "Come on, together now."
"Regain your might and ignite!" Morgan and Uma chanted.
"We're right here for you!" Uma cried, "River, join in!"
"Regain your might and ignite!" I chanted alongside my sister and cousin. The ember in Mal's claws started to shine. I smiled. I then turned and glared up at the building. I started to climb it again, turning so I was scaling the opposite side of it. I reached the top and loomed over Audrey. I then casually reached down and held my hand between Audrey and Celia so it was flat on the stone. Celia instantly climbed on it. I held her protectively as I scaled back down the building, Mal appearing behind Audrey. I set myself down on the grass, placing Celia next to Uma. I then shrunk back down to my normal size. When the smoke had cleared, I fell to my knees, tried. I felt two sets of arms wrap around me and knock me to the floor.
"Sophia!" Uma sobbed, burying her head into my neck, "I am so sorry!"
"I am too!" Celia cried, her face pressed into my lap. I held my sisters close, holding back tears of my own. I looked up and saw Mal and Audrey. Mal was shooting the power of the Ember at Audrey, who was counteracting it with magic of her own. Pretty soon, Mal's power won and when the battle was over, Mal landed on the roof, back in her human form. I sighed in relief, pulling my sisters closer to me. Morgan looked over at me and pressed their lips together.
"Thank you." I mouthed. Morgan merely nodded in response.