Mal was furious enough to hurt something but, unfortunately, Ben was the only thing within striking distance and she knew she could never hit him. Or she could but would feel dreadful about it later.

"What's taking them so long?" she demanded, fingers tapping against the table impatiently and though she knew it hadn't been but a couple of minutes a feeling of unease was starting to settle in her stomach; they were her friends and she deserved to know what was being said to them.

"I'm sure it's nothing," Ben reassured her, hand firmly grasping her shoulder and she might've believed him if he didn't look as tense as she felt.

"If it was nothing, then why were we not allowed to go with them?" Mal challenged and her eyes were practically smoldering with anger as she considered every negative possibility of why the leaders wanted to talk with her friends.

"I don't know," Ben admitted and he turned to hold her hand as he gazed earnestly in her eyes, "but they're strong. It'll be fine."

He still swallowed, as if he was nervous, and his eyes shifted over to the door they had disappeared through. She followed his gaze, half-expecting for them to suddenly appear and everything be alright with the world again.

They didn't and her hands in her lap curled into fists.

She deserved to be with them. They were her friends, and they all came from the isle, and nothing she could think of made any sense on why they separated her from them. Except she had been and not even Ben was enough to appease the tiny voice in her head, screaming at her to find them because they were in trouble.

"There they are," Ben suddenly said as he tapped her arm excitedly and his eyes were sparkling in relief and if she had been in any other mood she would've smiled at the boy's adorable reactions.

She didn't, instead spun around to her feet and caught sight of her three friends come back into the cafeteria. It almost brought a bright smile to her face except for the fact that they were frowning now, clearly angry and something unease settled in her stomach.

Ben must have noticed it too because he took her hand and guided her over to intercept them as her mind swirled.

It wasn't odd for them to agitate easily- they still had a long way to go anger management wise- but they were all skilled at keeping it hidden behind false smiles and twinkling eyes. Like the rose hiding its thorns and it was something they all took careful pride in.

They weren't even bothering to hide it now.

"What happened?" Ben asked as gently as he could, a hint of concern coloring his voice and Mal remembered why she had grown so close to him.

"Why don't you ask your parents?" Jay demanded, crossing his arms over his broad chest as he tried to make himself seem more intimidating.

It wasn't out of aggression, Mal realized with a shock, as much as defense. Something very bad happened and she has every intention on finding out what.

"Jay?" she asked, speaking to him directly, and their eyes met.

His still seemed furious though there was a hint of something else she wasn't accustomed to in any of her friends- fear. He was scared, terrified even and something hot and protective threatened to spill out from her now.

"What happened?" she demanded, anger giving her voice a hard edge as she looked in the other two's eyes and realized they were feeling the same as Jay.

They were all scared.

She was going to kill Ben's parents.

Jay sighed, shoulders slumping and when he spoke he was no longer angry or scared or anything, "We shouldn't talk about it here."

"Why not?" Ben demanded and his fingers curled painfully in Mal's shoulders.

"Ow," she protested, spinning to swat him away only to freeze when she realized the prince wasn't even trying to conceal his anger as he narrowed his gaze on her friends.

She opened her mouth to protest, to defend her friends, but shut it when she realized Ben wasn't really angry at them. He was angry at his parents and had an impressive temper of his own, when it came to the four of them.

"It's not safe," Evie explained, voice shaking slightly and her eyes looked a million miles away as she added softly, "it might cause a panic."

"What did they say to you?" Mal demanded because she suddenly really wanted to know, had to know so she could share whatever her friends were experiencing; it wasn't normal for her to be left out from the loop, and that frustrated her.

"Mal, seriously, not here," Jay told her firmly and she met his gaze to realize that he meant it, which somehow seemed worst.

"Alright then, let's go back to our room," she decided already turning to lead the way and wasn't surprised when they followed.

The entire walk there her mind came trying to piece together what could've happened to make her friends so silent and the bitter mood she knew they were feeling must have been contagious because she was starting to feel it too. Not even the way the other kids scrambled to avoid them made her feel better.

By the time they reached her room, the anticipation was killing her and she slammed the door behind her. Beside her stood Ben while her three friends just stood in the middle of the room like they afraid of getting comfortable.

"Alright," Ben said first as Mal tried to wrap her brain around the idea of her friends being afraid of making themselves at home, especially in her room where they were always welcomed, "What did my parents say to you?"

"Our parents are free," Jay explained smoothly though Mal noticed the slightest quiver in his hands as he added, "We think they escaped the same way Maleficent had."

Mal forgot how to breathe, remembering the sadness she felt when her mother turned on her. When her mother attacked her and her friends. It was something she was grateful the others never had to experience.

"That's impossible, though," Ben protested immediately and his voice was hard in disbelief, "They shouldn't be able to get past the barrier much less off the island."

"Well they did," Jay snapped, glaring at him before turning back to Mal and added, "and they're not going to take our betrayal lightly."

Of course they wouldn't. They're villains after all, some of the worst, and not even the slightest bit of love of their children was going to slow them on their vengeance.

"Do they know where they are?" Mal asked because if they did then problem solved, they wouldn't have to worry about their parents or their anger and it was still too soon after each of their decisions to choose good.

Carlos's words at the time echoed in her head, reminding her that this was much more serious than when her mom appeared because now there were three of them.

"No," Evie replied simply as she shrugged elegantly- like the princess Mal knew she is even without her prince, "They thought we might have some idea since we were their children."

"Wait," Mal interrupted with a shake of her head before she asked, eyes burning now, "they didn't blame this on you, did they?"

Her friends silence was all she needed to know.

She spun on her heel, moving towards the door in angry strides and it was Ben who reached out to stop her. She fought briefly, but stopped when he made no move to let go. If anything, he just clung on a little tighter.

"I'll go speak with them," Ben offered once Mal had calmed some as he turned back to the others, "Is there anything else I need to know?"

"We think that our parents are going to come here," Carlos added and a cold chill crept down Mal's spine as she realized what they're parents would do if they caught them, none of it was pleasant.

"I understand," Ben reassured with a firm nod as he glanced quickly around the room at each of them before reassured, "we'll find them and put them back where they belong. They won't hurt you."

Then he was gone, the door closing behind him and Mal took another look back around at her friends. They didn't look angry anymore, just incredibly tired and she swallowed. For the first time since the four of them really connected, she had no idea what to say or do to them.

Ben returned after Jay and Carlos left to go back to their room and Mal had never been so thankful to see him in her life. Evie was sitting silently on her bed, flipping through one of her textbooks though Mal suspects she wasn't reading any of the words.

Mal felt so useless it frustrated her. She ached to help her friends though wasn't sure how. It was true she defeated her mom, but that seemed different. At the time her mother had still believed she was on her side and hadn't actively attacked her until it was clear that she wasn't.

The other villains undoubtedly knew of their children's betrayal by now.

"Hey," Ben greeted, brow furrowed in that adorable way of his whenever he was concerned about her or her friends, "How is it?"

"Jay and Carlos went back to their room," Mal explained stepping back to let the prince in, "Evie claims she's doing homework."

"It would benefit you to start yours too," Evie said without looking up, "Escaped parents or no, we still have class in the morning."

Mal shrugged, more of a do-it-at-the-last-second kind of girl as she turned back to Ben. He was frowning though no longer looked as angry as he had been when he left, which was fortunate because Mal has no idea how to deal with angry Ben.

"I talked to my parents and they ensure you and the other's safety," Ben offered, looking at Evie on the bed with a sincere expression, "Your parents won't be able to harm you. Not after everything you've done for us."

The words drew no comfort to Mal because she knew her friends weren't really worried for themselves. Their parents weren't going to kill them, just punish them.

"And what about everybody else?" Evie asked still not looking up from the textbook, "Our parents are going to destroy this school trying to get to us."

"They'll be safe too," Ben replied, swallowing as if the idea had just now come to him; these people really were too soft. They had no idea what a villain was capable of.

Mal realized she had no idea what they were truly capable of, once off the island.

"Forgive me if I don't believe you," Evie responded snapping the textbook closed and setting it aside, "but my mother is viscous and has no regard for human life. I know Jafar and Cruella are the same and empty promises will accomplish nothing."

"E," Mal gasped because she's never heard her friend use that tone of voice before and Evie just sighed, her shoulders relaxing as she leaned back against the headboard.

"I'm sorry," Evie apologized, "but you know I'm right Mal. They won't be able to protect us or themselves or anyone. They're trying too hard to convince themselves that our parents haven't really escaped and that everything is okay."

"You're right," Ben agreed, surprising Mal because he seemed so tired all of a sudden, "but I promise that I'll protect you four."

Evie glanced at him, dark eyes swirling with thought, before she nodded and returned to her textbook. Mal glanced at Ben a little frightened about the way his eyes now seemed to burn with a protective conviction she was unfamiliar with.

She always knew Ben cared, but his sudden proclamation sent chills down her spine.

"Perhaps you should go," she finally suggested, walking him to the door and opening it for him, "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yeah," he agreed, a fire still burning somewhere in his eyes as he looked at her and nodded, "See you tomorrow."

The room was silent, the only sound being the tap-tap-tap of Carlos's fingers on the keyboard of the laptop Jay stole when they first arrived and has yet to return it. It wasn't like any of the snobby rich kids missed it; they probably didn't even notice it missing.

Jay glanced over at his friend, sitting on his bed still dressed in the clothes from earlier. Beside him lay Dude, who was watching him from across the room and it was almost wrong how silent and very still his younger friend had gone.

He knows the news about his mother had shocked him- it shocked all of them- but he also knew that they never had that healthy of a relationship before. His mother had made it clear that she never cared for him as anything but a servant and now that he gone against her there was no telling what would happen.

Something in his stomach soured at the thought, the urge to reach out and protect the smaller boy almost overwhelming. It wasn't the first time he felt this way, but this time was different. He knew he wanted to protect him from an actual threat, not just a group of idiot boys with a poor sense of humor.

"What're you looking at?" he finally asked, breaking the silence and drawing him out from his thoughts as he moved across the room to sit beside his friend.

"I'm looking up our parents," Carlos explained, "to try and get an understanding on what we're up against."

"We know what we're up against," Jay reminded as he propped himself up on his arm so he could stretch out on the bed.

"On the isle, perhaps," Carlos agreed, "but out here our parents are no longer powerless. You father had quite a set of magical skill before they locked him away."

"Whoa. Really?" Jay asked because he knew a lot of things about his dad but that wasn't one of them; he sat up straighter, trying to lean over his friend's shoulder.

There wasn't really any need.

Carlos moved the laptop so he could see, a picture of Jafar stood out amongst all the words and Jay was stunned to see him dressed in royal robes. Beside the picture he read his father had been consultant before he betrayed the family and tried taking over himself.

"Killer," he breathed in shock and Carlos just sighed.

"And that's not all," his friend continued clicking on a tab so that Jafar turned in the Evil Queen as he explained, "She also had some magic in her prime though most of it was potions she had to create. She even once turned into an old lady to poison Snow White."

"Wait, as in, transform?" Jay asked as the steadily increasing sense of dread almost seemed too much to bare, "She can turn into anyone she pleases, and we won't be able to recognize her."

"Uh huh," Carlos agreed, voice tight as he moved the laptop back so it was directly in front of him though he didn't type anything.

"Oh boy," Jay whistled because it seemed like their situation was spiraling from bad to worst with every passing second.

Once the villains arrived, he knew there would be no stopping them.