A/N: Hi again! Thank you guys so much for all the support for this fic! I'm sorry it's been a while since the last update. I've been really busy with school since I've had a bunch of tests and projects due. Add onto the fact that I'm on board of a club, and I'm on the dance team. Yeah, I'm busy. But fret not my dear readers, writing is a passion of mine and resides in the top 5 of must dos in my life. With that in mind, on with the story! Also, please note that while I will follow the movie and continue after it left off, I will also change some things.

Also, I will update before next week with another chapter since it's Thanksgivin Break and all. So, stay tuned for it!

Chapter 2

Mal sighed as they finally reached their room. She vaguely wondered if they were allowed to even have food in here. Probably not. The others were just as dejected as she was. She was just so stupid! Spilling out their secrets out loud so all could hear. Mal was being weak, and this was frustrating her.

Jay on the other hand was grateful for the outbursts they had said. It sure shut those prissy pants up. Bonus points that they took food to their room. He would have to find a secret storage place for it, in case the need ever arises, and knowing these so called heroes it is a probable yes.

Jay peered over at the others, wondering how they were feeling about this. He saw Carlos just finishing stuffing his face with his food, although he left a good portion of it behind to save. Carlos then began to turn on the TV to play some games. Jay then turned his attention to Evie, but there was nothing surprising there. She had already abandoned her food to her sewing machine and mirror. Jay felt sympathetic for the girl. It had been ingrained in her mind from the start to search for a prince and no other.

Jay finally set his gaze on Mal. She was always the most difficult one. She had to act all tough. They all had to, but Mal always got it the worst. Mal might be their ringleader, but Jay was the one that protected all of them. He knew Mal wasn't as bad as she might seem. Try as hard as he might, he knows that she doesn't really have it in her. Or maybe she's a late bloomer, like her mother keeps reprimanding her about. Either way, it's hard to tell.

"You ok Mal?" he questioned softly.

"Of course I'm okay, Jay," she scoffed sarcastically. "It's not like I basically spilled all of our sufferings to the student body here on the first day. Ugh!" she groaned, "I'm so weak!"

"Hey," Jay exclaimed, "you're not weak. That was a natural reaction. Even we were all spouting stuff. It wasn't just you."

"Doesn't matter," she replied stiffly, "I should've known better."

Jay exchanged glances with Evie and Carlos. Mal really pushed herself too hard. Whether she was evil or not, she pushed herself too much; she should just let it run its course. What did that one old guy say once? Go with the flow? Yeah, Jay thought smirking, that's my kind of motto.

"Ok guys! We have a break in to plan!" Mal suddenly announced.

It took some rounding up, but eventually every got focused. Carlos used his laptop to hack in and find the layout of the museum. With that, they were off to go steal the wand. It seemed relatively quite simple as they crept up to the museum.

They had no trouble getting in and putting the night guard to sleep. Once they got the place to themselves, they each split up to find the wand. They wandered off into a less accessed corridor. She noticed it was more dreary and gathering dust, so not many people went through here. At the end of the hallway, Mal realized why. This was a memorabilia to all the villains.

Hesitantly, they glanced at all the statues. They really immortalized their parents? Mal thought. Cautiously as if in a trance, they walked towards the statue. Mal quickly glanced at the others to see that they weren't any happier than she was for stumbling upon this. There was nothing to describe it like. To be finally rid of their parents, from all the torture and belittling, and then realizing that they weren't really free from them, it was depressing. Mal blinked rapidly. No, she chided herself, crying shows weakness, don't you dare cry.

"Wow," Carlos finally said in a quiet voice, "even when we're free of them, we aren't really."

Jay murmured in agreement before snapping out of his own trance. He could see someone needed to get them out of there, for their own sake.

"Well guys, they're just statues. Nothing more, nothing less. C'mon, we have a wand to find," he beckoned them to a different direction.

While Evie and Carlos followed Jay, Mal stayed behind, staring at the statue of her so-called mother with a conflicted look on her face.

"Will we ever be rid of them?" Mal spoke to herself quietly, "but what are we doing anyways? Following their orders, so they can have the freedom they want. What's the whole point anyways?"

Mal pondered about this a bit more. What was the point anymore? They were free, free from their parents' grasps. They didn't have to do as they were told anymore. They could start a new life, here in Auradon, if they wished it. That would be nice, Mal thought, not worrying about her mother anymore especially for the others too. But then, what would happened if their parents found out?

That was a different problem entirely. If their parents found out, to say they'd be furious is an understatement. They'll be livid; they'd want revenge. It was simple as that. And while the barrier is the only thing that is protecting them, Mal doubts that it could hold forever. If given that Maleficent was angry enough, she'll find a way. A way to get back at all of them, of this Mal was sure.

~Flashback~

"This way Evie!" 8-year-old Mal called as they ran through the Isle.

The two girls were trying to find the perfect place to hide from the boys. They were playing hide-and-seek. Well, sort of. This game was different. They would be in teams and had to hide. Once they were caught, depending on how long they were hiding would ensure which team won. The losing team had to be nice for the rest of the day.

It was a strange game, but it was alright for these young kids. And to be nice was the absolute punishment, the best incentive to get ahead.

Since it was Jay and Carlos' turn to seek this week, Mal and Evie were the ones hiding. Eventually, they found a partially hidden door in an alley and ducked there.

"Hey Evie," Mal started, "do you know what time it is?"

"Probably around 3 o'clock," Evie answered. "Why?"

"My mother said that I had to be home by 6 o'clock. No exceptions. She said we had something important to do, and that I'll be very sorry if I disobeyed her."

"Oh, well don't worry. We'll get you home in time. If not, maybe you'll be able to sneak in. I doubt we're going to be playing for three hours anyways."

Mal nodded in consent, and they drifted into silence in anxious wait for the boys. But how wrong they were, while the boys were able to find them (the girls lost by the way), they were just young kids. And like most young kids, they were content to having fun while time slipped by.

By the time Mal realized it was late, it was already 6:30 at night. Panicked, she raced off towards her house, the others in hot pursuit. Ten minutes later, she reached the ominous castle she called her home. Climbing the side of the wall, she was able to get to her window. With some amount of effort, Mal hauled her way into her bedroom and waved good-bye to her friends. She knew they were worried, she was too, but she had to face the music eventually. Hopefully, she could put it off.

"Well, well, well," came a voice behind her that she knew all too well. So much for putting it off.

"H-hey Mom," Mal squeaked out nervously.

"Do not 'hey' me, Mal," Maleficent hissed venomously. "You are LATE. What do you have to say for yourself!?"

"I-I'm sorry Mother" Mal whimpered, "it won't happen again."

"It better not," Maleficent snarled, "do you know what I do with people who don't listen and follow my orders!? I end them."

And with that came the long torture for Mal. While most of the night became blurry to Mal because of the pain, she knew that it was horrible. She knew that it was painful, and she knew that she shouldn't do anything to make her mother angry again. Her mother inflicted multitudes of pain on her that night. Maleficent had beaten her mercilessly, used the limited amount of magic she had to emotionally and physically hurt her inside, and kept food from her the next few days.

When her friends were able to see her again, it was a week after the fateful day, and Mal was exhausted, hungry, in pain, and with an insanely high fever. Her mother had broken one of her arms. One look at her, and her friends hauled her to their own alcove. The alcove was a place where the friends would go to whenever they had trouble at home. It was theirs and only theirs and provided reprieve from the ill intentions that await them.

They each took turns nursing Mal back to health. It tooks a couple weeks, but her fever and swelling of her arm went down, and she began wearing a cast Jay managed to steal, so her arm could heal.

She never did find out what she had to be back in time for.

~Flashback~

Mal snapped back from her memory and blinked rapidly. She almost began to cry. Again. Letting out a small huff of frustration, she allowed herself a few seconds to collect her thoughts. She came to the conclusion: help their parents. The consequences of them being discovered by those perfect preppies would never be as bad if they were to betray their parents.

She wandered after her friends and saw that they had already found the wand. Gleefully laughing, they raced down the stairs to get to it. Mal tried to formulate a plan, but then Jay began to walk towards the wand to take it.

"Wait Jay, don't!" Mal cried out.

Jay merely smirked at her. "What?" he said, "it's so easy."

Mal groaned, it wouldn't ever be that easy, but it was too late. Jay had already reached to grab it.

A force field shot out, knocking Jay down. Sirens began to go off. Not good, the security guard only fell asleep, not in a deep sleep.

"Really?" Carlos said, "a force field and an alarm!?"

"Who cares?" Evie said frantically, "let's go!"

With that the quadruple hurried down the steps, nearly running into the security guard that came the opposite way. They raced to the doors, and while Jay held them open, Mal realized that Carlos wasn't with them.

"Where is Carlos?" Evie hissed.

"Over there," Jay pointed to the security desk where Carlos was on the phone.

"Yeah, yeah, it was just a false alarm. It was a malfunction in the LM714 chip in the breadboard circuit," he said, nodding to the person at the other end of the line, "yeah, no problem. Say hi to the missus."

"Carlos, hurry!" Evie said frantically.

"Your welcome," Carlos said before rushing over to the door.

They took off and ran towards to Auradon Prep. Once they reached the campus, they slowed down the pace and cautiously went back to their rooms. Mal and Evie bid the guys good night before retiring to their own room.

Mal sighed, frustrated as she got ready for bed. They needed to come up with a new plan to get that wand.

A/N: Thanks for the read! Sorry it took so long.

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