Going to class after being told her mother had escaped and could be anywhere just seemed cruel to Evie the next morning, and she knows cruel, having to grow up on the Isle of the Lost for sixteen years.

Her mind had been so preoccupied with new thoughts of her mother, she hadn't even realized the teacher was calling on her until Doug nudged the side of her leg worriedly. She blinked, snapping out from her thoughts, as she glanced at her friend then to the still frowning teacher.

"Am I boring you?" he asked and she knows he's still cautious of her because of the magic mirror incident.

She swallowed, shaking her head, as she admitted, "I just have a lot on my mind."

"Oh really?" he questioned and she told herself it was just thoughts of her mother that it sounded like a challenge as he crossed both arms over his chest and inquired, "Care to share with the rest of the class?"

"No," she replied because she knew she couldn't, they would all panic and the school would probably crumble without any of their parents actually doing anything.

"Then I'd advise you to keep your mind on Chemistry," he informed her simply and she nodded, ducking her expression behind her hair; beside her, Doug shifted worriedly.

"You alright?" he whispered and she glanced at him, thinking briefly on how he would react.

He would probably panic at first, not skilled in keeping all his reactions together. Then he'd try to help her and the others, being almost as bad as Ben in that regard; she swallowed as she silently vowed to not worry him over this just yet.

She would protect him, for as long as she could, which was why she nodded a little too hurriedly as she reassured, "I'm fine. I didn't get much sleep last night."

Technically true.

She'd been plagued by thoughts of her mother and Jafar and Cruella and how they were going to ruin everything. It's all they've been talking about since before any of them were born, and they had the element of surprise. Everyone else thought they were still back on the island.

"Oh. Okay," Doug blinked like he was trying to find the words to help make her feel better as he leaned forward and asked softly, "Do you want to talk about it?"

"No," she denied with another shake of her head as she gave him the slightest smile, "I'll be fine."

She could only hope that that wouldn't turn out to be a lie though she suspected that it wouldn't. After all, their parents probably had no intention of hurting any of them. That didn't mean their fate wouldn't be as bad as the others, though, and she knew she didn't want anything happening to the others almost as much as not wanting to get caught by their parents.

"Okay," Doug nodded again, slowly his eyes never leaving her's as he added, "If you ever need to talk to someone, though, I'm here."

"Absolutely," she agreed with a quick flash of a smile before returning her attention to the teacher's lecture though her mind keep slipping to her mom.

She felt immense relief when the bell finally rang, signaling the end of class and she was one of the first ones out the door. She knew she probably freaked Doug even more out with her quick exit, knowing she normally waited for him so they could leave together.

Now the only thing on her mind was finding one of her friends because they knew, they understood and she spotted Carlos sitting underneath the shade of one of the many trees on the campus. He had a pair of black headphones on, tapping on the computer in his lap. He hadn't even noticed her approach until she was right on top of him.

"Hey," he greeted with a smile as he moved one side of the headphones to the side so he could hear her.

She matched his smile as she sat beside him, leaning over his shoulder as she asked, "What're you doing?"

"Research," he explained moving the screen so she could see, "on our parents and we might be in even more trouble than we originally thought. Your mother and Jafar both have some control over magic. Jafar might even have as much as Maleficent had."

"What?" Evie demanded as pricks of ice settled in her stomach as she read the words on the screen, "Does Jay know?"

"I showed him last night," Carlos admitted with a nod as he moved the laptop back so it sat directly in front of him as he typed some more, "He acted surprised, like his dad never told him about it."

Evie was suddenly relieved that Mal had already defeated her mother, knowing they would be doomed if they had to go up against her and Jafar at once. She also knew that if their parents weren't found soon then they are still doomed.

"What I can't understand, though," Carlos continued eyes focused on the screen, "is why they've waited so long to attack. They should know they'll lose their surprise if they wait to long."

And, as if to answer him, there was loud screaming and both Carlos and Evie leapt to their feet as a girl Evie hasn't seen before ran up to them. She was pale and her eyes were wide in fear as they locked onto them and hurried over.

"You have to help," she panted and Evie knew she was close to losing it as she reached out to help steady the girl's shoulders, causing the girl to jerk away as she screeched, "No! Not me! Chad. You have to help Chad."

She made some sort of vague gesture towards the direction she just came from, and Evie shared a look with Carlos before they both took off in the direction she had pointed. Not before she told the girl to go find more help, preferably a teacher, as she followed her much quicker friend.

They came to a stop when they found Chad, lying unconscious in the grass. Evie felt her heart quickened as Carlos beat her to him, sliding to a stop beside the prince. His clothes were scorched slightly, like they had been fried, and the ends of his hair was singed.

"Is he alright?" she demanded finally reaching both of them, staring as Carlos checked his vitals with a worried expression.

"He's still alive," he sighed after a slight pause, the relief evident in his voice as he moved so he could get a better look.

Chad looked like he had when Evie sprayed him with her sleeping gas only this time seemed worst because she didn't know what had happened to him. There wasn't even anything around, the school several yards behind them being the closest thing in their vicinity.

"Do you think he was attacked?" she asked, kneeling down beside Carlos so she could help assist with helping the still unconscious prince.

"No," Carlos responded with a shake of his head as he glanced around, "It looks like he was electrocuted."

"By what, though?" Evie demanded because she had came to the same conclusion but couldn't figure out how he could've been shocked, "Do you think the girl did it?"

Carlos didn't reply.

He just picked up a rock from the grass, throwing it in front of them. Evie watched it, jumping when it suddenly bumped into an invisible force. There was a crackling sound as the rock turned black before collapsing back in the grass.

"A barrier," she gasped, matching wide eyes with Carlos before they heard shouting behind them and both turned to see the girl running alongside the tourney coach.

"What happened here?" he demanded as Carlos and Evie scrambled to their feet so he could take their spots.

He reached out, lifting Chad's head only for it to loll limply on his neck. Evie swallowed as the girl whimpered, hands balled up into fists over her mouth. She was seconds away from losing it, Evie realized.

"What happened?" the coach repeated as he gently set Chad's head back on the grass, looking expectantly at her and Carlos.

"We were just walking," the girl on the coach's other side explained as teary eyes locked onto Chad's limp figure, "He was a little ahead of me and the next thing I know he's falling several feet away."

"There's a barrier," Carlos filled in gesturing towards the direction he had thrown the rock, "it must have shocked him when he tried to pass it."

"Who would put a barrier up, though?" the girl demanded, eyes wide at the thought and Evie was reminded why they haven't told anyone else about their parents.

She shared a look with Carlos and the coach shook his head as he interrupted whatever they would've said, "We can ponder this later. Right now, he needs serious medical attention."

As if on cue, the school nurse came into view as another kid followed. They paled upon seeing them and Evie swallowed again, her shoulder brushing against Carlos's tense ones. She glanced back at him, realizing he was thinking along the same lines as her.

Their parents had created the barrier, trapping everyone in the school.

"What happened?" the new student demanded as the nurse crouched beside the coach as he directed furious eyes at her and Carlos and practically snarled, "What did you freaks do?"

"They didn't do anything," the girl protested as she stepped up to their defense, "I found them after it happened," she turned back to the adults as she practically sobbed, "Is he going to be alright?"

"He's alive," the nurse reassured as she and the coach lifted Chad up, "Someone needs to go find Fairy Godmother."

"I'll do it," the boy who had come with the nurse offered, giving Evie and Carlos one more poisonous look before taking off.

"The rest of you three follow us," the nurse commanded and she locked eyes with the two of them as she added, "We'll need to talk to you. All of you."

Mal was talking with Ben when Jay waltzed over, wearing a smile that only seemed half fake. She relaxed some, Jay looking a lot better than he had yesterday after being told the news concerning their parents. Ben must have agreed with her because his grin brightened upon seeing him.

"You look chipper," Mal noted as he sat across from them.

He just smirked at her in that obnoxious way of his as he held up money between his two fingers. Ben paled slightly as Mal's smirk turned more mischievous.

"Robbing people blind now?" she teased and Jay's grin broadened as he lowered his hand.

"Of course not," he reassured dark eyes moving from her to Ben as he explained, "Lonnie showed me a magic trick and I bet I could do it better than her. As it turns out, I'm awesome at it. It's not my fault the poor suckers betted against me."

"Magic trick?" Ben asked when Mal opened her mouth to reply, "As in slight of hand?"

Jay shrugged as he bent over to snatch the price's untouched apple as he said, "Sure. If that's what you want to call it."

Ben's frown seemed to lesson as he realized that the boy hadn't stolen the money and Mal hid her smirk behind her bottle of juice. It was sweet, like most of the things at Auradon, and it so different from the isle that she often found herself waiting for it to all change and she'll wake back up on the isle with its rotten apples and terrible coffee.

"I want to see," Mal finally said, setting her bottle down on the table and looking up at her friend expectantly.

"Alright," Jay agreed with a nod as he pulled out his room key, closing his other fist around it except when he opened his hands they were both empty.

"Impressive," Ben praised with a smile and nod.

"Oh, you have no idea," Jay nodded as he reached over to grab Ben's hand, flipping it over so the palm was facing upwards; he pulled the key out from Ben's sleeve.

Mal clapped as Ben checked inside his sleeve like he expected to find abundant amounts of spare keys. Jay just bowed, eyes twinkling as he settled back across from them biting back into Ben's stolen apple.

Ben straightened back up, eyes focused on Jay as he asked, "How did you do that?"

"Why would I tell you?" Jay questioned with a smirk, "It'll ruin the trick."

"Yeah Ben," Mal agreed turning to other boy and focused hard green eyes at him as she grinned and added, "and you wouldn't want to do that."

"Alright," Ben sighed as he looked between the both of them, "I can tell when I'm being ganged up on."

"Who's ganging up on you?" Mal teased as she lightly punched his shoulder, feeling truly happy and content since finding out the other villains have escaped; it was never meant to last.

"Ben," Audrey suddenly exclaimed as she rushed over to their table, eyes wide in panic as she stopped beside the prince and gasped, "You need to come to the infirmary immediately."

"Why? What happened?" Ben asked, already climbing to his feet, Mal and Jay following as they waited for her answer; something sour had settled in Mal's stomach when she realized she hasn't talked to either Evie or Carlos all day and the thought of something happening to either of them was enough to make her physically ill.

Audrey glanced at Mal and Jay unsurely before focusing back on Ben, tugging at his sleeve as she explained, "It's Chad. They said he'd somehow been electrocuted. He's unconscious right now but they sent me to fetch you."

Ben paled at her words, needing no more incentive to follow her. Mal and Jay shared a look before rushing after them.

Mal knew that whatever had happened had to be the work of the escaped villains, which meant Chad's current injuries was an extension of their fault. She just hadn't expected that when they finally turned the corner to the infirmary Carlos and Evil were sitting in the chairs outside of the door.

Her stomach dropped as she felt Jay tense beside her, quickening her step to her friends. They glanced up when they finally noticed they were no longer alone, rising to their feet at their approach. Audrey ignored them, urging Ben to follow without sharing any of the words with the teens.

"What happened?" Jay demanded first as the door to the infirmary clicked closed, leaving them alone in the hall.

"Chad had been electrocuted by a barrier surrounding the school," Carlos explained and his voice was even despite the fact that his skin was still very pale.

"Barrier?" Mal asked, blinking in surprise, "There's a barrier now?"

"Our parents must have set one up," Evie added and it probably wasn't the first time her and Carlos talked about it, "They're trapping everyone inside so they can extract their revenge."

Which meant that there was no escape.

Mal's heart sank a little further in her chest at the thought. If their parents had set up the barrier then they were caging everyone in one place, making it easier to punish them. It also made it harder to stop them, innocent lives now at risk.

The infirmary door opened and all four of their attention turned to Fairy Godmother, who didn't look like her usually perky self. That didn't stop her from forcing a smile upon seeing them and Mal appreciated the effort.

"How is he?" Evie asked, stepping forward worriedly as her eyes stared helplessly in her face for any sign of good news.

"He'll be fine with time," Fairy Godmother explained with a relieved sort of expression, "He was lucky to not have been alone. Otherwise it would've been much worse."

They nodded and she focused on Evie and Carlos as she asked, "May I speak with both of you alone?"

"We already told the others what happened," Carlos protested, looking suddenly frightened- like they were going to blame all of this on him.

"I know," Fairy Godmother sighed and nodded, looking ancient all of a sudden as she explained, "I just want to get both of your stories from you. I have a feeling there's something you're not telling everyone else."

They all shared a look before they both nodded and Mal watched two of her friends walk away, a icy pit where her stomach once was. Then she was alone with Jay, who was practically vibrating with his unease.

"They trapped us," Jay hissed at her, meeting her gaze with a frustrated one of his own, "They set up the barrier to trap us."

Mal nodded, having come to the same conclusion herself as she turned to stare back in the direction her two friends and Fairy Godmother had disappeared. Jay followed her gaze and they just stood there in silence until Evie and Carlos returned.

"Where's Fairy Godmother?" Jay asked once they were back with them as he tried craning his neck to see behind them.

"She has to go contact Beast and Belle," Evie explained, "to discuss what's going on."

"Did you tell them about your parents?" Mal questioned as she gazed in her friend's anxious features.

Evie nodded before she said, "I just keep thinking about what would happen if it hadn't been Chad or if he hadn't had someone with him and how it could've all been avoided in the first place if everyone knew. Now we're all in danger."

"I know," Mal agreed softly, bowing her head slightly as she reassured, "but they know now and your parents trapped themselves in here with us."

It was meant to be comforting but it left a sour taste in Mal's mouth. Soon the whole school will know and then will come the panic, making it almost too easy to destroy all of them. Especially if the villains had somehow accumulated enough magic to imprison the whole school.

Carlos woke in the middle of the night, throat dry as he sat up blinking. He glanced around his room, Jay slumbering in the opposite bed several feet away. Beside him, Dude was still sleeping, drawing a smile from Carlos as he stroked the dog's soft fur.

It was comforting, knowing that Dude was next to him, because if his mother ever got her hands on him then…

He closed his eyes, pushing the thought away instantly as he silently climbed from bed without disturbing either occupant in the room. He's had years of practice, after all, moving around without being seen or heard. It was how he managed to sneak out as much as he had.

Grabbing his jacket he had been wearing earlier, he wrapped it around his slim figure as he crept out from the room. Behind him, the door clicked softly and he briefly remembered Fairy Godmother telling them about her thing with curfews before he tiptoed down the halls to the kitchen.

It wasn't a long walk and it reminded him of when they made the love potion cookies for Ben. It was also how he managed to find it so quickly, slipping inside unseen.

The glasses took longer to find as he opened every drawer until he finally managed to find some, taking one out and going over to the sink to fill it with water. He gulped it down greedily before refilling the cup and repeating the motion.

The door creaked and he froze, ducking behind the sink as it slowly opened. He could see the rectangle of light illuminating the wall across from him, and he felt his heart freeze when he made out the familiar shadows of his mother and Jafar.

"I don't understand why we're checking the kitchen," Cruella's loud gaudy voice complained as the clatter of pots echoed in the room; Carlos pressed his back tighter against his hiding place, clutching the glass with white knuckles, "All the kiddies are in their beds sleeping."

"We won't be able to get all of them," Jafar explained in a way that made it seem obvious as he opened a cabinet before slamming it closed, repeating the gesture several times.

Carlos shifted, careful to remain silent as he moved to peek around the counter. Cruella looked bored, like always, while Jafar was checking the cabinets for something. It was all wrong, they weren't supposed to be inside the school. Fairy Godmother locked it down once she had become aware of the situation.

She'd been informed too late, Carlos realized as he hunched back in his hiding place, focused on keeping his heart steady.

"Well why are we in here?" Cruella demanded instead squeaking the stuffed dog on her shoulder as she added with a deranged laugh, "Baby doesn't like it in here."

Panic threatened to swallow Carlos whole at the sound as he leaned his head back against the cabinet he was still hiding behind. He remembered everything he read on the two villains and realized that if he managed to get caught now then he was doomed.

"We're looking for something for Evil Queen," Jafar explained, sounding exasperated- which Carlos could understand because his mother was exhausting- before he made a happy noise and exclaimed triumphantly, "Here it is!"

"Good. Let's go now darling," Cruella commanded already exiting the room in a way Carlos imagined as dramatic, the door slamming closed behind them.

He didn't move, muttering under his breath as he willed his whole body to relax. He felt weak as the adrenaline started to wear off and he quickly washed the cup, placing it back where he found it before sneaking out in the hall.

He just managed to close the kitchen door when a hand grabbed his mouth and he was jerked backwards.