Chapter 12- Awkward First Meetings

Teddy bit his lip in worry as he pulled the blanket that had fallen down with him tighter around his still cold body. He watched with wary eyes as two pairs with unfamiliar footwear hesitantly entered the room. They shouldn't be here. In fact, Theodore shouldn't have been here either. The teens heart thudded painfully in his chest. His eyes began to sting from not blinking for so long. Theodore's lungs ached as he momentarily forgot how to breath. A pair of black flats stepped closer, almost three feet away from his face.

The teen pressed his palms over his mouth, frantically trying to cover up any noise he may emit. The floorboards creaked under the weight of two, full grown adults. The room remained silent for a moment. Theodore could almost imagine the looks of shock on his— friends faces? Were they friends again? Teddy jumped a little when he heard someone clear their throat.

"You must be Mal," a unfamiliar, feminine voice said. Teddy dropped his head down onto the hardwood floor, his chest heavy with remorse. Theodore had no doubt who that voice belonged to. A huge part of him wished he could face her. Speak to her. Anything.

Theodore's heart wanted him to jump out from under the bed, embrace his parents in a way he always secretly fantasized in doing. He had so many questions he wanted to ask; So many things he wanted to say to them, and most of all, he just wanted to see what they looked like. The portrait at the museum was nothing compared to the real thing. Plus, that painting must have been old since he was depicted as a baby in it.

"What do you want," he heard Mal ask with a barely concealed growl. Theodore gave a small smile at that. Even if Mal was mad at him, she still cared for him. Even if it only a little.

Mal glanced over at the odd couple standing before her and the others. Her usually calm facade seemed to crack the longer she waited for one of them to say something. The blonde woman was on the small side, only a little taller than herself. She was pale, her face contorted into a look of pain; an expression Mal couldn't help but sneer at a little. Such an obvious show of weakness would never pass on the isle. The purple haired girl couldn't believe this woman had given birth to her mischievous friend.

But then again…

Her nose, chin, and eyes; hell, her whole face screamed Teddy. From her small size and girly hands. Oh how Theo hated his small size. He and Carlos were always so small; they were the small teens on the isle. Carlos for the lack of food from his childhood, but Teddy… It was genetic.

Mal glanced over at the red headed man, and flinched at how damn colorful he was. His obnoxious hair was more than enough to scream crazy but this guy just had to add the clashing colors and polka-dots on stripes ensemble. He was tall, scarily so. The height difference between the man and woman before her was almost laughable. They looked like complete opposites. One posh and all fancy like and the other was eccentric, borderline insane looking.

Typical for heroes to go for their complete opposites.

"My son," The blonde woman finally said. "I want— I just want my son."

Mal felt her eyes twitch at the show of such expression. The woman's sadness almost tangible in the air. However, no matter how much she tried to ignore it, Mal felt herself soften in front of the pitiful woman.

"He's not here," Jay spoke up. Mal gave him a quick, grateful glance. She hated talking to people.

"Ye must be— uh, Jay," The red haired— no Orange haired man. With the dim lighting in the room, Mal mistook the man's actual hair color for a darker shade of red. Nonetheless, the change made the man look no less obnoxious. Just like Teddy, really.

"That's my name, old man," Jay said as he leaned back in the chair he was sitting in. "Don't wear it out."

"We didn't expect him to be here," the woman sighed, her face suddenly looking ten years older. She looked down at her feet, her thin arms tightened further around her body as though she were trying to physically hold herself together. "We actually wanted to talk to you," she said, her eyes resting on Mal's.

"Well then," Mal started as she walked over to Evie and sat beside her on the bed she knew Teddy was hiding under. "Talk. Just don't expect us to talk back."

"You know," Carlos piped up from his position in the back corner of the room. "It seems you know who we are—"

"Carlos," The orange haired man said, looking straight at him then glancing over at the blue haired girl. "Evie," He finished with a nod.

"Riiiight," Carlos said, stretching out the word with a sarcastic roll of his eyes. "However, we don't know who you are. Obviously your Teddy's parents but I can't keep calling you both 'Blondie' and 'Crazy' in my head."

"It gets confusing," Evie said as she looked up from filing her nails.

"Mah apologies, lass—" Carlos grimaced at being called a girl by some crazy looking stranger but thankfully didn't comment.

"Ah am Tarrant Hightopp," the man said giving a low, unenthusiastic bow. Any other situation, Tarrant might have looked welcoming and brimming in happiness no doubt, but that little act looked practiced, almost forced. "An' thes is mah lovely, full of muchness wife, Alice Hightopp."

Alice gave a half-hearted curtsey, Her eyes brimming with unshed tears as she glanced at each of the them. "Please," She whispered hoarsely. "Do you know where he is? What is he like? Does he—" Alice paused, he breathing became shaky as she tried to compose herself. "Does he know who we are?"

Mal winced, feeling a strange sense of guilt for keeping their child away from them. Theodore was literally an arm's length away from them as they begged for any sort of information for his whereabouts and wellbeing.

"We don't know where he is," Jay lied. "We haven't seen him since family day." Theodore's parents seemed to deflate with every word the thief said. Mal noticed the odd change of coloring not unlike when Teddy got in his moods. There was no doubt in his mind that Teddy and his parents had some type of magic in their blood.

"Describing him to you is impossible to do in just a few hours. I doubt Fairy Godmother would allow you to stay after curfew. In fact, I doubt she even know you two are even here," Carlos told them not unkindly. "However I can say that Teddy is probably one of the weirdest, quirkiest, and all around oddest guy I know."

Mal noticed that Tarrant seemed to become strangely proud at that.

"Theodore know's you two are his real parents," Evie said, her voice barely above a whisper. The room seemed to still as the two adult's heads snapped to stare at the blue haired girl. Mal nudged the other girl with her elbow, prompting her to continue as the stares from the near strangers were beginning to freak her out.

"He know's because his mom— adoptive mom," she added quickly at the look of Alice's face. "She would always tell him stories about you two. Unfortunately none where all that good."

"W-what do you mean? Who was his adoptive mother?" Alice asked, her voice sounding raw, on the edge of hysterics. Mal looked over at Evie, noticing how her hands seemed to shake the more the silence went on. The purple haired girl knew her 'sorta' best friend did not want to continue. She always was an emotional one.

"What she means to say is that Theo thinks you two abandoned him," Jay interrupted, taking no pity to the couple in front of them. Mal sent him a harsh glare, her eyes burning an acidic green.

"No," Tarrant whispered brokenly, his once bright, green eyes dimming to an impossible grey. "We woods never — we loved— love him!"

"My baby," Alice moaned in despair. Mal's glare hardened tenfold.

Jay took no notice.

"He thinks you two threw him away. He thinks you left him to a woman that hated you, therefore hated him. It wasn't bad enough that we lived with villains but at least they were our parents that actually tolerated us to some degree. But Teddy? His mom hated him," Jay told them as he stood up and stalked toward them slowly. "Especially because he looked so much like you," He growled staring at Alice with no concealed anger.

"Jay!" Evie shouted.

"Calm down, dude!" Carlos yelled as he rushed over to the taller teen and tried to pull him away. Alice began to shake, tears fell from her eyes and streamed down her slightly sunken cheeks. Mal stood from her seat. She could feel the tension escalating that and she felt a tug on her shoe laces; a silent message from Teddy to make everything stop. She at least owed that to him.

"Jay," she snapped before turning to the distraught parents. "You two should go." Alice and Tarrant looked shocked, both voicing their concerns and refusals. "We can't help you here."

"Lass—"

"Just go!" She shouted throwing her arm out towards them. An invisible force then came out of nowhere, pushing them out of the door and into the hallway. Mal briskly walked over to the door, prepared to slam it shut but a pale hand shot out and stopped her.

"Please," Alice whispered. "Who was his adoptive mother?" Mal eyes hardened as she ripped her arm away from the blonde woman.

"I think you already know," She whispered fiercely, slamming the door shut on the grieving mother.

A long moment of silence passed. Each teen waiting for the people on the other side of the door to either break it down or ask to come back in. It never happened. They listened to nearly silent footsteps walk away. Smart. The Hightopps must have recognized a defeat when they saw one.

Mal walked over to Evie's bed and knocked twice on the frame. A head of bright orange hair, still a little damp from the shower, pop out. Theo looked around the room hesitantly before pulling himself from out of the bed.

"That never gets any better," he groaned but didn't say anything further concerning the situation that just transpired.

"Ted—" Carlos started but was silenced from one glance at Theodore's haggard expression.

"Not now, please," he whispered. Mal sighed through her nose. They were wasting time. Coronation was tomorrow and they still had not let Theodore in on the plan.

"We can't worry over that right now," she said, her voice cutting through the awkward silence. "What we need to worry about is the wand we are getting tomorrow."

"That's tomorrow?" Theodore asked, his voice hard.

"Problem?"

"No," Theodore whispered. His head held down and hands clenched tightly into fists. "Not at all."

"Good," Mal replied with a nod. "Good, because we need you to do something…"

Theodore glanced around at the huge crowd of people with a frown. His job suddenly got a whole lot intimidating. Mal had entrusted him in creating some sort of distraction so no attention would be on her or the others as they grabbed the wand and remote for the magical bridge. Teddy had no doubt that his mere presence would cause the perfect distraction the purple haired girl would need. Auradon's citizens did spend a good few days looking for him nonstop.

Currently, Theodore stood behind a few pillars at the far left corner of the cathedral. No one could see him at the certain angle he stood in but he sure could see everyone else. Higher ground would have been preferable but the teen couldn't find access to the roof. Not with all the security lurking around.

Honestly, the security was a little much. If all the villains were locked up on the isle, what was their purpose of being there? If the security detail was for the isle kids in attendance then Auradon citizens were either stupid or just plain paranoid. There were only four of them; five if you counted himself. Even then the only real threat would be Jay and Mal. He, Carlos. and Evie could hold their own in a fight sure but against so many people would be impossible. Jay had his monkey like abilities to get away safely and Mal had her magic, but him and the other two? Well… They had grit.

At least Evie and Carlos were smart. They would probably figure a way out of a messy situation. So in all reality, if anything were to go down, Teddy would be screwed. Excuse me— Royally screwed. Get it? Coronation day and all that jazz.

The orange haired teen ducked behind the pillar as another couple walked by. He recognized them as Prince Naveen and Princess Tiana; followed closely behind an… Alligator dancing to the music he made on a trumpet.

Pretty cool but still really odd.

To his left, Teddy noticed the carriage that carried Ben and Mal were just pulling up in front of the building. The crowed seemed to quiet down as the two teens climbed out. Theodore was just glad no one seemed to hold any ill intent towards his friend. It would be such a shame if the girl were to be provoked. She looked really nice in that gown. A gown he was proud to say he help make finishing touches on. The ruffles around the skirt was totally his idea. He and Evie had stayed up till the wee hours of the morning finishing up the other girl's dress. Sure Mal had rolled her eyes at the amount of work they had put into it but Teddy knew she secretly loved it.

It was the only reason Teddy said he didn't mind if Evie wanted to use him as a test subject for future projects of hers. The girl really had some untapped talent there. Jay had made fun of him for his indifference in wearing a dress or skirt but Theodore just flipped him the bird and continued looking threw the girl's sketch book.

He couldn't care less in what people thought of him over what he wore. He had some damn good legs and he was not afraid to show them off.

Theodore's thoughts cut off abruptly at the sight of two specific people in the crowed. He hadn't thought about the pair since family day and in all honesty he had forgotten they were most likely going to be present. Mrs Potts and her son, Chip. Two people who went out of their way to help him in one of his lowest points. He really hoped those two wouldn't be hurt by what was up to come.

He would most likely ask for the two to be spared if Maleficent did go through with her plan to enslave all of Auradon. His involvement with the plan should grant him some leeway.

At least he hoped.

A deep part of his heart told Theodore that if this all went down, things would not go well with him. Malificent, Evil Queen, Jafar, and Cruella had no reason to keep him around. He was just a snot nosed friend of their children. It came to a shock to Teddy when the others took him back so readily. However, their parents had no special ties to him.

Especially when they find out exactly whose kid he was.

People began to make their way inside the building. All of them were chattering away in a mix of excitement and cheer. Theodore began to feel guilty for what was going to happen soon but he squashed the feeling down. He made his choice and there was no turning back now.

Theodore ran, in a way he hoped was undetected, towards the main doors. He slid and crab walked behind thongs of people, decorative pots filled with bright flowers, and thick, marble pillars. The odd looks he gained from people told him is discreteness was not at all discreet but screw them. He was having fun. Thank whatever higher power out there that the beanie and sunglasses stayed in place. It was a half assed disguise but he and Evie didn't have time to find something better. The dress really did take up all their time so the last thing on his mind was a damn disguise. In fact the whole ensemble came from a rather annoyed Carlos who just grabbed Jay's beanie and a pair of glasses said teen had stolen.

So really his disguise came from Jay but who really cared.

Theodore made a quick, sudden stop when he noticed a woman and camera man standing at the front entrance, no doubt giving some sort of closing if the woman's hand gesture had anything to go by. The lady waved at the camera with a giant smile on her face before freezing and adding something that made Theodore's heart drop.

"—Oh! And before I forget, the search for the missing child, Theodore Alistor Hightopp is still very much underway. Intel says that the last sighting of the teen was on Drury Lane two days ago. If you have any information, please contact Auradon city police. And Theodore," The woman's tone turned sickly sweet, making Teddy roll his eyes. If only she knew the person she was reporting on was standing only a few feet away from her. "Please go home. Your parents miss you very, very much. And this is Snow White Bringing you today's latest news from Auradon—"

Theodore shook off the odd feeling growing in his chest and quietly made his way to out of the courtyard and into a small opening between the two adjoining walls. No one was outside at the moment as Snow White just went indoors with her camera man. Theodore was alone once more. Thank goodness.. or whatever. Now all he had to do was wait for the chimes to ring and the 'distraction' will start.

Teddy knew something went wrong when he felt the earth begin to shake. The teen gasped as he tried to grab hold of something but he ultimately fell on his rear. The hair on his arms and the back of his neck stood uncomfortably on his skin. The air felt almost static-y, like when you rub an inflated balloon on your arm. Something felt… off.

The teen stood from his position on the floor, rubbing his bottom a bit to lessen the pain, and for some odd reason, he looked up. Theodore had no idea what possessed him to look up. The obvious thing to do was to find a place where falling objects wouldn't be a danger. However he was glad he didn't. Up in the sky, where you could barely catch a glimpse of the murky green dome that entrapped all the villains on the isle of the lost, was now pure blue.

No green in sight. The dome was gone, though only for a split second. The dome re-appeared in the bright blue sky as though it never left. Theodore hoped with all his might that he just blinked but he knew he couldn't be that lucky. Mal must have got the wand before the appointed time.

The orange haired teen quickly regained his footing and ran over to the open entrance and into the cathedral. He really didn't want to be left behind when the other four made their escape. Teddy raced passed spotless, white marble walls and floors. His breathing was heavy from the adrenaline pulsing through his veins.

Finally Theodore made it to a set of double doors that he knew the whole shebang was going down. Theodore grinned a little when he didn't stop to push open the doors and instead kicked them open. The way the wooden doors swung open and shocked the few people near it made him feel so cool.

Nevertheless, Teddy didn't let the moment hold him up. The teen heard a few people gasp and comment on his sudden interest, a few even recognized him and tried to make a grab at him. Theodore evaded the grabby hands and skidded to a stop at the center of the grand hall. His friends stood in a half circle just a little ways away from him.

"Hey guys?" He said giving them a half wave. "What did I miss."

"Teddy," Evie cried with a watery smile as he walked over.

"You're always late for the good parts, dude," Jay said with a roll of his eyes. The older teen pulled Theodore over to his side once he was at arm's length away and gave him a harsh noogie.

"Ok, ow, but seriously what's going on?" Theodore asked glancing at the shocked still people in the room. "Shouldn't we be running right now. There's like a shit load of people in here."

"Mal here finally changed her mind, bro," Carlos said. "We're going to be good now."

"You totally missed out on Mal's speech though. It was a real tear jerker."

"Oh really?" Theodore said to Jay and Carlos. His expression neutral. "Why the sudden change?"

"Probably the food," Jay said.

"Nah. man. I think it was Ben," Carlos said with a snicker.

"Love does change a person," Theodore nodded

"You guys are unbelievable," Evie groaned.

Theodore laughed, the first real laugh he had in a long time. Only that didn't last long when he looked out the window.

"Oh shit!" He cried. "Guy's the dome! It opened!"

"What!" a few people that heard him cried out.

"I was outside and the dome flickered for a moment!"

"The chances of a villain escaping in such a short time would be impossible." Ben said, making Theodore glance at the teen. Teddy blushed a little when he remembered where he was at and exactly who was present. Nearly all of Auradon in fact. Though he was surprised when he didn't see the two main people he hoped to escape from.

"Theodore?" A voice gasped loudly.

He spoke too soon.

Thank you for reading! Sorry for any mistakes. Next chapter should be the finale!

This may be asking a lot but can anyone who reads this please leave a review? I hate asking but reading reviews really makes writing these things worth the time and effort I put into these chapters. Since the story is coming to an end, I really would love some feed back. Tell me what you liked. What you didn't like. What I can improve on as a writer. Anything. Hell, leave me a prompt for a oneshot. I need the practice. Some people had commented on how the last short story from the last chapter seemed unfinished. After rereading it, I found myself agreeing. I'll post an improved version of it in the next chapter. Once again, thank you especially if you read through this whole note.