Mal blinked green eyes open, confused and a little disorientated as she realized she was lying on the floor with Fairy Godmother shaking her shoulder. Her face appeared pale and distraught, concerned about something, and it was enough to shock the teen back into awareness better than a bucket full of ice ever could have.

"What happened?" she demanded instantly, eyes taking in her surroundings.

Doug was crouched beside Evie, who was still unconscious and something foul entered Mal's mouth as she realized the guys were equally as still.

"What's wrong with them?" she asked, crawling over to Jay who just so happened to be the closest.

She reached out pale fingers, brushing long dark strands from his face as she waited for Fairy Godmother to speak, to explain any of this because she was so confused and cold and scared.

She hates being scared.

"The villains knocked you four out," Fairy Godmother explained as she went over to shake Evie back into awareness, "and they took Ben."

Something cold froze Mal's insides at the words, a sudden sensation of panic overcoming her as she realized the boy whom she loved dearly was in the hands of her friends' parents. She tensed, her shoulders rigid as she struggled to breathe.

"What?" she asked, voice sounding lost and confused as her heart fluttered wildly in her chest.

Fairy Godmother glanced over at her, Evie groaning on the ground beside her as she finally came to and repeated much more cautious, "The villains took Ben. I have no idea why."

Because they want revenge. They want to make the queen and king hurt in ways they'll never recover from- like taking their child from them.

"Mal, sweetie, you're hurting him," Fairy Godmother suddenly said, breaking her from her trance as she blinked and realized her fingers had curled in tight fists around Jay's temple.

She relaxed immediately, moving back so the kindly woman could rouse him from whatever spell had been placed upon them. Several feet away, Doug was speaking to a dazed looking Evie, hand curled around her shoulder as his face was knotted up in concern. Mal gambled a guess and decided he was filling her in over what happened, how their parents had overcome them and took Ben.

"I've got to go rescue him," she gasped, already rising to her feet.

That, it seemed, shocked Evie from her dumb expression.

"Mal," she said, scrambling to her feet and catching her wrist and Mal knew she was the only conscious person in the room who would've been brave enough to attempt that; especially considering how Mal seemed to be overcome with the urge of finding Ben and tearing those who took him apart.

She doesn't have many people she cares for, the need to protect those she does almost overwhelming.

Unfortunately for her, Evie was also one of those people which meant she was also one of the few who could hold her back from doing something insanely rash and stupid.

"E," Mal protested, bowing her head and jerking at her wrist weakly, "They have Ben."

"I know," Evie whispered and Jay groaned as he was finally roused, Fairy Godmother staying long enough to make sure he was okay before moving on to Carlos, "but you can't do this alone. You don't have to."

"You don't understand," Mal protested, voice raised in a whine as she spun to stare frantic eyes at her friend, "They're going to wake my mother and then use Ben as revenge."

Evie's grip around her wrist tightened as she squeezed- probably unconsciously- and Mal could see her visibly swallow as she paled slightly. Mal knew her words struck something inside her friend and though Evie seemed the least close towards Ben, she knew she cared about what happened to him.

Ben had that annoying quality about him.

"Hey," Jay groaned, sitting upright and rubbing his head and he looked so confused and lost Mal allowed Evie to drag her over to check on him.

"Hey," Evie greeted as she crouched down in front of him, gentle hand resting against his shoulder as she met his gaze with a worried expression of her own, "How are you feeling?"

"Terrible. What happened?" he asked and Mal swallowed, still standing behind Evie as her concern for her friend kept her tethered.

Evie glanced at her, a flash of something Mal couldn't detect, before she turned and whispered in a feather light voice, "Our parents took Ben."

Jay froze, body rigid, as he glanced at Evie before turning to stare intensely at Mal and demanded, "Seriously?"

Mal swallowed again, not trusting her voice so she nodded.

Jay's face seemed to scrunch up in fury, probably the most like Mal in the way he responds to people hurting those he cares for- which is not well- and she knew it would take a lot more than Evie to keep them both from doing something incredibly stupid.

Carlos groaned.

The sound seemed to shock Jay from his blind rage as he twisted so he could catch a glimpse at their smallest friend. He quickly moved over to where he was, bending over and speaking in a low voice and Mal knew it was because Carlos was the youngest, physically smaller than the rest of them, and somewhere that meant that he was the one who needed to be the most protected.

It wasn't because he was weak, surviving with Cruella was testimony to that. It was just because he seemed to draw the shortest stick out of the four of them, alone before he met any of them and has suffered more than he'd ever like to share.

He went to sit up but Jay gently guided him back down, face bunched up in concern and Mal remembered something else: his mom took Dude.

He must have suddenly remembered too because he suddenly bolted upright, eyes frantic as he searched the room for his dog only to come up empty and then something very surprising happened. His face morphed into something ugly and angry.

"Whoa buddy," Jay protested as Carlos scrambled to his feet, quick despite just having woken up.

"I'm going to kill her," he snarled, Jay quick to wrap his arm around Carlos's middle and their friend squirmed before he snapped, "Let go of me Jay. I have to go rescue my dog."

Jay made no move to release him.

"Come on Jay," Carlos whined, a slight hitch to his voice now though his fingers were entwined in the cloth of Jay's sleeves, his knuckles white and even then Mal could tell he was shaking.

He was worried about Dude, like how she was worried about Ben.

"Carlos," she said surprising herself as she stepped past Evie so she could bend over and met his dark eyes, "We'll find our parents and we're going to stop them. No one's going to hurt anyone, got it?"

He was silent for a long time, just staring at her like he didn't quite believe what he was hearing, before he nodded slowly. She offered one last supportive smirk before straightening back up and locking eyes with Jay, who looked seconds from restraining her next.

"Children," Fairy Godmother suddenly spoke, shocking them because they had forgotten that she was there, and Mal turned to face her.

The kindly woman was frowning now, an expression that did her no favors, as she seemed to take each of them in. Beside her, Doug shifted from foot to foot nervously and if the situation wasn't so dire Mal would've laughed in realization.

They came from the isle, they were different. Not bad or evil but not exactly good either. They didn't know what they were capable of, and some part of Mal hoped no one would have to find out just how far they are capable of going.

"Don't worry," Evie spoke, eyes flickering between the woman and Doug, her face impassive of all emotion and Mal could tell that she was trying to figure out the best way to go about this, "We'll stop them."

"It's too dangerous," Fairy Godmother protested, stepping forward like she was enough to stop them, "I can't let you."

"We're not asking," Jay said and he released Carlos so he could eye the woman intimidatingly, "and we don't need your permission. They're our parents, we'll deal with them. Come on guys."

They started towards the door, together, and Mal liked how familiar it was- how comfortable- and she wondered how she ever got by not knowing these guys. At the door, though, she stopped and turned to face them, faces pale and eyes wide in something akin to shock and she knew that they would never be prepared to take on their parents. This was something they had to do.

"Don't worry," she said, making each word sound like a promise, "We'll stop them and bring Ben back safely."

Because if he was hurt then Mal can't be responsible for what she does next.

The call came sometime in the morning, late enough that the sun was still shining yet early enough for nobody to fully be awake.

"Honey," Belle groaned and he felt the way her body turned to face him, her weight dipping in the mattress and he blinked groggy eyes open so he could fully see her beauty.

She loved him when no one else would, something he should've remembered when his son had been dealing with the villains' kids. After all, he had been given a second chance yet refused to give any to the children who he knew deserved it.

"Yes darling," he asked, voice still husky from sleep and though she was slightly blurred from his failing eyesight he could make out enough details to see she had just been woken up.

"The phone," she demanded and he got the message, groaning internally to himself.

"I've got it," he said and he heard her snicker when he climbed from the bed to retrieve the obnoxious object.

The day before they got the call about the barrier and how everyone was trapped inside the school, but he had faith that Fairy Godmother would keep the children safe. After all, the villains' revenge had nothing to do with the school but him so he wasn't all that concerned by it.

That is, until he answered the phone.

He isn't entirely sure what happened next, only that the phone somehow slipped from his hand and clanged noisily against the marble floor. The room spun and his knees felt weak and the commotion was enough to draw Belle from the covers.

"Honey, what is it? What's wrong?" she asked, voice low in concern.

He doesn't know if he told her or not- he can't remember- but he figured he must have because the next moment she let out a cry of anguish as she sank down to the floor beside him; the words from the other line echoing in his head over and over again on repeat.

"They have Ben."

Their parents were almost embarrassingly predictable, and almost incapable considering by the time they got there they still hadn't managed to recover Maleficent. Mal didn't much care for them, though, eyes immediately seeking out the one person she cared for.

Ben was awake, frozen in place. He was slightly paler than normal but otherwise unhurt and they must have frozen him in place because there was no signs of restraints as far as Mal could tell. His eyes were narrowed and furious and if he had been capable of speaking he probably would've declared on how they would never get away with this.

After all, they were the villains and villains always lose.

Except this wasn't a fairy tale and if Fairy Godmother had contacted Ben's parents like she suspects then they already have.

The Evil Queen raised her hands as whatever she was chanting increased and Mal realized she was close and then they'd have a very peeved off Maleficent to deal with.

"Mother, no!" Evie cried and it was so abrupt and unlike her that it took Mal a second to realize that it was indeed her friend who had spoken.

It worked, nevertheless.

All the eyes in the room trained on them and Mal took careful stock to count the other two villains, keeping them in her range of sight. Jafar was standing near Ben, obviously the one keeping him trapped in place. Cruella was across the room, clutching Dude in a manner that was neither loving nor compassionate.

"Children," the Evil Queen spoke, voice calm as she turned to face them in all her icy glory and Mal briefly wondered how she had managed to trick all of those people into thinking she was a good queen, "We've been expecting you."

"Stop this mother," Evie continued and Mal was surprised by the boldness of her friend.

The isle might've hardened them but the school had added a sort of edge to them. A reason to question their parents for the first time.

"I'm sorry," the Evil Queen responded as she turned back to the spell, "but I'm afraid I can't do that."

"Then I'm sorry too," Evie responded and before anybody knew what was happening, she raised the mirror and chanted something Mal couldn't understand.

There was a flash before all the lights exploded above them, bathing them in darkness and Mal took that as her cue to move.

Reacting on instinct and memory, she rushed over to where they had been keeping Ben. Reaching out, her fingers connected with his chilly flesh and she nearly fainted in relief when she finally got a hold of her trouble-prone boyfriend.

"You're going to be okay," she reassured softly, maneuvering her body in a protective stance.

Behind her, something moved and she had just enough time to spin around before something came hurtling towards her. She flinched but refused to move from in front of Ben, and was pleasantly surprised when nothing hit her.

Blinking one eye open, she saw a dark figure in front of her. His body was tense and he seemed to be fighting with someone and she had enough time to figure it was Jay fighting his father before whatever spell keeping Ben tethered broke and he suddenly found his voice.

"Mal," he gasped, cold fingers gripping her arms tightly as he tried jerking her behind him, "You can't be here. It's too dangerous."

"No," she protested as she gently shoved his hands away, "It's where I belong. I'm sorry you got caught up in our parents' little feud."

She kissed him in the dark, before pressing her hands to his chest and chanted in soft words the spell she memorized after her mother's first defeat. There was a sudden chill before her boyfriend disappeared, leaving her in a room trapped with their vindictive parents.

One second Ben was standing with Mal, and the next he wasn't. Naturally, panic was his first reaction.

"Mal?" he asked though he knew she wasn't there because it was no longer dark and he was no longer in any danger.

"Ben?"

He spun around, surprised to see Doug sprinting towards him. The pale boy slowed down, eyes wide, as he demanded, "Where's Evie and the others?"

"I don't know," Ben responded, voice distraught even to him, as he explained what happened; Doug only seemed to grow increasingly more pale and concerned with each word.

"We need to find them," Doug declared like Ben hadn't already came to that conclusion himself, before there was a crackle of thunder and a flash of something bright.

"What?" Doug asked in dumb shock as he stared up at the sky, something close to dread circling down Ben's spine at the sight.

It never stormed there, ever, which meant something was very wrong.

By the time they made it back to the room Ben had been taken, the only thing inside was Maleficent still bound in her enchanted cage and it should've been a relief but all Ben felt was dread because the other kids should've been there too.

"I don't under," Doug said beside him, voice thin, and Ben went to reply when someone else beat him to it.

"No? It's not all that complicated."

They spun, as one, only to come face to face with the villains' kids victorious smirks and though Ben was relieved to see them all okay it didn't escape his attention that they had won against their parents, something no one really thought was possible.

He didn't ponder it for long, too relieved to remain still, and he rushed forward to swoop Mal up and swing her around in a circle and he knew he was grinning like a fool. He didn't care, though, as Mal grinned back at him and for the moment that was enough.

A little later when Fairy Godmother found them they would have to worry about the barrier and how they all looked moments from passing out. At the moment though, he was just relieved to have Mal back safe in his arms and the others close by- safe from their parents- and he was determined to keep it that way.

Like it was meant to be.

So this little (long) arc is finally done. YEA! I hope everyone's enjoyed it and I'm always open to requests so don't be afraid to tell me what you'd like to see in a review and I'll try to find time to write it for you. All reviews are welcomed. Until then, good day.