Hey again, guys. Here's the next chapter, at last! I hope I did this chapter well. I've been waiting to write this chapter and the next two from the beginning. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. First, let's go to your reviews, and then we'll see how things are going for Chad and Henry:

PurpleNicole531: Thanks for reviewing! Of course he has, he had no choice in the matter. Yes, the knife was poisoned and Chad will be interrogated. Unfortunately, he isn't really the sanest person right now, so it'll have to wait a while. Not all of them, just Evie (though she planned it with Jay).

Kingson24601: Yeah, it's Evie's fault that Chad has gone crazy. He's okay for now. Anything can happen at any given moment. Thanks for reviewing!

Enjoy!

-Writer207

The first thing he thought when he regained consciousness was: I'm not dead. Henry had no idea what had happened – after all, Chad had just scratched him with that knife – but he did think to know what caused him to feel so miserable. When he wasn't thinking of the attack, he tried to get a grip of his surroundings. There were voices talking all around, though he could barely hear what they were saying. He was laying on something which didn't truly feel comfortable, but it was better than having to sleep on the ground.

When he finally succeeded in opening his eyes, he stared at the wooden ceiling. He turned his head to the right and found Mal sitting next to her. Once she noticed he was awake, she smiled. He started to smile as well, though that didn't last long.

"How are you?" Mal asked him.

"I should ask you that question," Henry responded, trying to sit. When he looked around, he saw other cots and no more than two others occupying them. He realized he was in the infirmary. "I'll be fine. At least, I think I'll be fine. How long have I been lying here?"

"Two days," Mal said, "Though it could've been a lot longer if Doug hadn't figured out what was killing you."

"I'm guessing it's poison," he said and Mal nodded.

"Yes it was. He said he recognized it. Apparently, more people have nearly died because of this poison," she told him. Some pieces fell into place when he thought about the circumstances and the way this particular poison was used. He remembered witnessing a death match, where the two competitors would fight to the death to survive and win the love of the girl they loved. Unfortunately, neither of the boys knew one cut was more than enough to die.

"It was Evie, wasn't it?" he asked her. "She's got her mother's skills. And her poisons book," he added, having seen the book stand on the shelf between the other books. It was a birthday gift from her mother.

Mal nodded, confirming it had been her friend who put the poison on the knife and so had sent Chad to kill him. The smile disappeared from her face. She should've known someone would be influenced to do what she wanted them to do. And Chad had not been an exception.

"So, how's Chad?" Henry then asked "How does he cope with being a prisoner?" Not that he was interested in his well-being, but he did want to know if he reacted the same as the lovesick fools in the dungeons he visited when he went to meet Evie for the first time.

"He's been yelling," Mal said, "trying to break free. He doesn't make sense. The only thing I can understand is that he wants to go back to Evie."

"He's lost his mind," he commented, summing up what had happened to every boy who ever had had the misfortune of meeting Evie and her showing interest. At one point, every man wanted more and would do anything to gain her affection. If they couldn't get it or if she lost interest, the guys would either lose hope and die of depression or go crazy and die after doing something stupid. The fairest of them all was also one of the deadliest women alive.

"Yep," Mal said. They had to make sure Chad wouldn't try to do anything stupid. They tied him to a chair and left him there under the watchful eye of volunteers. From what she's heard, all of them reported hearing Chad yell, curse and insult everyone and everything.

"Shouldn't he be sane enough?" he wondered out loud. "It's been two days. That's enough time to calm down, think about his actions and talk." Mal didn't immediately respond. She had no idea how long it would take until Chad was sane enough to talk and confess. Truth is, it was always different. Some people get over it in a couple of days – a couple of hours if they're lucky – and some stay lovesick for weeks.

Before she could say anything, Doug appeared next to them. They greeted one another before Doug turned to Henry.

"Are you feeling better?" he then asked Henry, who nodded in response.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Henry said and Doug nodded.

"Good to hear," he said and then turned to Mal. "I don't mind you being here, but can Henry and I have a word? In private?" Mal said 'yes' and then stood up, ready to leave the infirmary.

"Thanks for stopping by," Henry said.

"It's the least I could do," she said, then left Henry behind with Doug to discuss things. As soon as Mal walked out of the infirmary cabin, she went straight to the other side of the alliance camp. Special cabins had been placed there to keep prisoners for an unspecified amount of time. They never could stay for more than a month in the same cabin. Most prisoners didn't last a month anyway.

It took her a couple of minutes before she reached the prisoner cabins. They were just like all the others on the outside, but differed on the inside. Walking through the door, you'd reach the visitor's section. It was just a bare room with two chairs and few windows. There was a second door, which was the only way out for the prisoner inside. A small light bulb was hanging from the ceiling, magically lit up since electricity was unfortunately unavailable this deep into the forest. There were no windows, just the one through which the visitors could look at the prisoner.

When she entered Chad's cabin, she wasn't surprised to see Ben was here. No matter what they said or what Chad has done, Ben still considered him a friend - and, above all, a friend who is worth saving. Because, however Chad acted, whatever that man would do, Ben would still consider him as a friend. That's what Ben is: a friend when nobody else is, a man who believed in you when nobody else does. Even if that person is someone like Chad.

"How is he?" Mal asked. She couldn't hear him scream, so Chad was in one of his calmer moments. Ben had turned his head when she had opened the door, but now looked back at Chad.

"He's... calm," he replied, "hasn't shouted since this morning." Ben was aware of what Evie had done to him, and the fact that he hadn't shouted since that morning, roughly ten hours ago, was an improvement.

"Maybe he already wants to talk," Mal said. After a while, Ben nodded.

"Let's give it a try." He walked to the door, taking the key from his pocket. With a small click, the door opened and they entered Chad's prison cell. There was no way Chad could escape - he was still stuck tied to the chair. He didn't look up when the door - he didn't react at all.

"Chad?" Ben asked, cautiously, "Do you want to talk?" There didn't come an answer for a long time. For some moments, Mal believed Chad hadn't heard it or ignored what he was saying. After everything she had heard, it was weird to see him sitting in that chair, calm and unmoving, head facing to the ground.

"There is nothing to talk about," Chad eventually said, still refusing to look up, even if it was a good sign he was willing to talk, "I'm unreliable. I betrayed you. I let her invade my mind. Just… do what you have to do." Mal looked at Ben and he looked back at her. There was something in his eyes that was unsettling. He was looking at her for support, as if she was supposed to know what Chad meant. But she didn't. Soon, he turned back to Chad, who still hadn't moved anything but his mouth.

"And what about extenuating circumstances?" he asked, hoping for an answer. Hoping for a way to help his friend.

"There aren't any," Chad replied. "if there are, don't consider them. I committed treason. Give me the appropriate treatment. Punish me."

"What's the punishment for treason?" Mal asked. She'd been around long enough to know there were rules within the community and punishments for each rule when someone broke it. Before Ben could answer her question, Chad did.

"Death," he said. Now Mal understood why Ben would be looking for extenuating circumstances. Chad finally lifted his head. Even from that distance, they noticed his red eyes and how he slouched. "Make it quick. I don't deserve your mercy. I don't deserve anyone's mercy." He continued with a hushed tone, barely audible for Mal and Ben. "I don't deserve to live."

"Why?" Ben asked, slightly shaking his head. He couldn't hide the desperate tone of his voice. Mal looked at him, surprised. Despite what Chad had done and had gone through, he still wasn't ready to give up on him, as many others would do. One more reason to admire (or despise) him – no matter what happened, he would never let his friends down, whatever they had done.

"I betrayed you. Tried to kill you," he replied. Ben sighed, wondering how Chad could wish to die.

"It's not your fault," Ben said, "It's hers. She made you do this." He tried not to mention Evie's name, since they had no idea how Chad would react when he heard that name.

"Not entirely," Chad then said, turning his head away from his friend. "I wanted you removed as leader. I wanted someone else to make decisions you never could. I never meant to harm you, to harm anyone. She's stronger than she looks. I tried to resist, I truly did, but I… I had no control. But I was aware of what I had to do. I would've done it. Gladly, even." Chad paused, taking his time to make sure he wouldn't cry. Then, he continued: "I'm sorry for everything I did. Now punish me for it."

Mal looked at him and saw not just the man she knew from before she left, but also a broken man. without hesitation, she would pull the plug. End it, right there and then. Give him what he wanted so badly. He'd be with his parents. Good riddance, too. But Ben wouldn't allow it. He won't.

"What did she want you to do?" Ben asked him.

"She…" Chad said, but rephrased what he originally was going to say. "Everyone here had to die. Especially the leaders. I obeyed. She promised me that, when I killed you, we'd…" He paused for a few seconds, taking the time to gulp. "But she lied. I just followed her orders."

"Did she share anything with you?" Ben then asked, hoping to get at least a bit of information, "Any plans, ideas?" Chad nodded once before answering.

"She was talking about your destruction. The alliance had to be torn apart, its members killed. She said…" he hesitated for a moment, but decided to continue anyway. "She said Maleficent would come here. She'd come and destroy everyone here. She'd tell her beasts to leave nobody alive. She just needed the location…" He stopped talking, realizing something he should've realized sooner. His eyes widened and turned his head back to Ben.

"Evacuate everyone," he said, sounding as scared as he looked. "Get them out of here. She's coming." Mal and Ben knew he wasn't talking about Evie this time.

"A-Are you sure?" Mal asked him and he nodded.

"Yes, I am," he replied, "I don't know how much longer you have. Get everyone away from here, somewhere safe. Somewhere far away from here. Once that's done, get rid of me." Ben nodded. But he had to be sure. They fled once before, but that was a false alarm. He had to be certain Maleficent was coming.

"Did you tell her where to look for us?" Ben asked him. After some silence, Chad nodded.

"Sound the alarm. We're evacuating," Ben told one of the two designated guards at the edge of the section with the prison cabins. The guard nodded her head and then ran away to sound the alarm. The other guard waited for his commands.

"Take Chad and get him out of here with your group," Ben told him. That guard turned around and walked to the cabin where Chad is. before either Mal or Ben could say anything, a loud siren could be heard. An answer was the faint sound of a second siren at the other side of the camp.

"That's efficient," Mal said. Ben nodded.

"Yes, it is," he said, "But some people won't move when hearing the sirens. Can you go to the west side and make sure everyone will evacuate?"

"I'll tell them to go," Mal said, thinking about ways to make people move without having to threaten them and ruin the good reputation she'd been building.

"Meet me near the center," Ben then told her, "If you can't make it, go with the people there. We'll go to the same place." Mal nodded in response and then ran to the west side.

It took her two minutes to get there. Once she was there, she tried to get people to get up and evacuate. Some were harder to convince than others, but eventually everyone came out of their cabins, stopped their work and followed the evacuation procedure. Mal was surprised they were calm, collected and knew what to do – there was no panic, no fear of what could happen. This made her wonder if they rehearsed the evacuation or whether they had to evacuate a lot in the past.

After a few minutes, there were just some more people to go before everyone in this area was ready to leave this camp site. She approached the cabins in which they lived when she heard the noise.

It was a loud roar, coming from the woods around the camp. Mal immediately turned her head in the direction of that roar. Others either turned their heads in surprise, too, or shrieked in fear. She couldn't blame them – those roars had frightened her in her childhood, too. anything that produced such a loud sound was something to be afraid of.

Mal stood and stared as she heard the roars growing louder and coming in their direction. Only when she saw the creatures in the distance, she turned around and ran. She had no idea why she didn't run before seeing them. Not looking back, she told everyone to run and leave, screaming those words over and over again. She rushed past everyone who went slower than her, not ceasing to warn everyone to run and leave. Panic quickly spread through the crowd and soon, everyone was running for their lives. The exact image Mal had expected when she told them they had to evacuate. Mal sped towards anyone who trusted her. Unfortunately, she couldn't find them soon.

More beastly growls could be heard. Not much later, coming from the same direction, there were humans screams, sending shivers down everyone's spines. If possible, she ran even faster without looking back. She didn't need to know how far away they were from her. She hoped the creatures had surrounded the camp and that the other side had more luck. The screams of men, women and children mixed together with the sounds those creatures made didn't give her a lot of hope, especially since the sound wouldn't cease, no matter how fast she ran and how far away she was from the beast she's seen first.

She considered herself incredibly lucky to bump into Hadrian. At least one person she knew had survived the attack so far.

"What are those?" He asked her, afraid of what was chasing the alliance members who hadn't been able to flee yet.

"Terrifying beasts," she answered, speaking as fast as possible, "We have to get out of here." Together, they continued to run away from the creatures, straight to the camp center. There had to be more than one. They always were sent with more than one, hardly with less than ten per assault.

"Mal!" She almost ran past Ben and Philip during her search for them. The way he shouted her name let her know the beasts had indeed surrounded the camp. There were five more people with them, all equally terrified of what was to come.

"Get us out of here," Mal said, "They're here to kill us all." As the beasts approached, Philip spoke the spell to transport them out of this place. It took him long enough for them to see those beasts come around the corner.

Nobody could tell what exactly they were. The name 'beast' or 'creature' was a perfect name for them. Mal had never seen them before, but hearing them growl was more than enough to recognize them as the beasts her mother kept locked away in the dungeon. They stood seven feet tall on all fours, as huge as a bear and fast as a wolf, with a long tail, black fur and sharp teeth. But none of that was what stood out the most about these beasts. Not when human eyes were staring right at you, glaring at you, picking you as their newest victim.

The beasts were only three yards away when Philip finished the spell and they were swept off their feet by the whirlwind generated by the transportation spell. Not much later, the nine members were safe and out of reach of those beasts. At least they can't fly, Mal thought when she took in her new surroundings.

It was something she had never seen before. Everything looked brighter and more colorful than any place she's ever visited. She didn't feel the animosity she felt wherever she went. Instead, this place – wherever she was – made her feel calm and happy. The grass and leaves were greener, there was no cloud in the sky and the water wasn't polluted. She was surprised she could see the bottom of the river, which ran near to the place where they landed. Other than that, it looked like the alliance had been maintaining the place in case of an emergency, since there were cabins present like there were in the alliance, but not as much as back there.

Other than looking at the environment, she noticed everyone who had been evacuated earlier were here. A lot of familiar faces walked around, getting to work. Doug, Belle and some others helped some of the patients into one of the wooden houses. It pleased Mal to see Henry could walk properly without anyone's help. A bit further, Chad was sitting on the ground, in plain view, probably to make sure he wouldn't try to do anything funny.

"Where are we?" Mal asked nobody in particular. Ben came standing next to her and looked with her over the new alliance location.

"Neverland," he said. Mal turned her head to him, frowning.

"But doesn't Captain Hook live here?" She had never been to Neverland, mostly because Captain Hook liked to keep the territory for himself and his crew plus families. He never liked visitors, anyway. She always did hear stories from when her mother went there. The fairies who survived were put on display, kept alive and derived of their fairy dust. The Mermaids fled into Ursula's territory and the Indians were either killed or could flee. They haven't been seen since Captain Hook claimed Neverland as his country. Legend has it that, up in his bedroom, he skinned the crocodile who bit his hand off and kept him as a rug. Peter and his Lost Boys were gone for good. As for the Darlings, only Michael and his son Mikey survived the manhunt, and both father and son were safely walking among the alliance members on the island.

"Not on this part of the island," Ben said, "He lives behind the mountains and beyond the river. He and his crew never come to this part of the island." Mal looked at the mountains in the distance. Captain Hook and his children were at the other side, unaware of what was happening on the other side of their island. If mother knows of this… Mal thought, but interrupted herself. Her mother would be cruel, she knew that, but that didn't mean she had to think about how her mother would punish Hook for 'collaborating' and 'giving the enemy a place to hide'.

"What were those creatures?" a young woman asked, shouting out and sobbing her heart out after what she's heard and seen no five minutes ago.

"Where'd they come from?" a child then asked out loud, supporting the woman who might be her mother.

"Why did they have human eyes?" a man wanted to know, looking for answers. Soon, people were asking these questions all over the place, waiting for someone to answer them. Everyone also waited for someone else to come from the original alliance home, but nobody came. Those who were still there never made it back home.

Ben, Philip and Mal tried to calm down the crowd, which was desperate for answers. They were so busy that they didn't notice Michael Darling and son approached them until they were standing next to them.

"If you have any idea what happened, please tell them," Michael said. "They – we – need answers." Mal nodded in response. She knew what they were. She's always known, yet had never stood face to face with one. She didn't speak for a long time. When the night was starting to fall and people were getting ready for bed, she wanted to speak.

Ben called the council together. Obviously, his parents were welcome to attend as well, and they did. Philip and Ben welcomed everyone in the cabin designated for the council. Doug refused to come, since some people needed assistance. Lonnie helped Chad into the cabin, since he was still in chains. Nobody knew how long Evie would be influencing him and they needed to be certain he wouldn't do anything. Since she was accepted, she had learned the names of the other council members. Alice from Wonderland came rather soon along with Shanti, the girl who fell for the boy who grew up in the jungle. The young Hiroki Hamada was the last to come in. He apologized for being late, since he didn't really know his way around here. Lilo and Ariel were exceptionally late. Everyone feared the worst, because the worst may have happened to them.

"Thank you – all of you – for coming to this meeting. Mal knows what the creatures are," Ben said. The room exploded with everyone talking to one another at the same time. It was hard for Ben to calm them down. Luckily, he had some help.

"Silence!" Everyone fell silent when they heard Beast say this. He didn't have to raise his voice to make everyone stop talking. Then, he turned his head to Mal. "Go on," he said in a friendly way, "Tell us what you know." She nodded and then looked around. Everyone, except for her and Ben, were standing in half a circle around them, ready to listen to anything she would tell them.

"I know you're not going to like what I am about to tell you," Mal said. Nobody replied to her words, so she decided not to wait and tell them what those beasts were.

"Those creatures…" she said, "they are created by my mother. They only serve one purpose: destroy and kill. They don't listen to anyone except for mother. They fear her enough to do as she says. They have no emotions and there is no end to their bloodlust. And they…" she paused, thinking about every prisoner she ever saw being brought to the dungeon. She couldn't remember their faces. How could she? She never bothered to remember them, anyway. But she did feel guilty for everything that had happened to them, for everything they were forced to do and be.

After a while, she continued talking. "And they know you and probably hate you for abandoning them." This provoked some confused expressions from everyone.

"What do you mean?" Alice asked her. Then, Mal decided to look directly at Ben for the remainder of her explanation. She knew he wouldn't judge her for her mother's actions. He made her feel comfortable. And that's all she needed to continue telling the story, even if other people were asking questions.

"When my mother imprisons people, she executes them after a couple of days. But there's a small chance of survival. It's what she calls being 'replaced'. If you're being replaced, it means she makes another insignificant person look like you and they will take your place."

"So you'd live? The guy takes your place, he dies and you live," Hiroki said. Mal took a deep breath before answering.

"Yes, but I'd hardly call that living. After all, if you don't die in front of the townsfolk, you become one of those beasts." Nobody said a word as they let the news sink in. Only after a while they dared to talk again.

"So our friends and family are the ones who attacked us?" Alice asked and Mal nodded, taking another deep breath before answering.

"Yes… no, I… some of them attacked you. Others, who were more important to the alliance, are dead," she said. There was a long silence as everyone realized their lost friends and family members are either dead or among those beasts who attacked them. Another cruel way of the villains to break their spirits. Break the spirits, break the alliance. And the villains, especially Maleficent, would win.

"But why human eyes?" Shanti then asked. Mal shrugged, turning her head to the jungle woman.

"I don't know," Mal said, "I've only seen them for the first time today. I guess that mother intended for you to be weak when you recognize the eyes of family and friends."

"Can they reach us here?" Beast asked her. She turned her head to him and recognized some of Ben's patience inside. She shook her head and responded to the previous leader.

"They can't fly and shouldn't be able to track us to this place," Mal said. Beast took a step forward, standing near his son and Mal, ready to address the council properly.

"Now we know Maleficent has those creatures to do her bidding, we should act fast. Everyone should know what they are. They have to be ready for another attack – we don't know when she'll strike again." He looked directly at Ben when he said the following words: "We can't delay it any further. Tomorrow, we go to the Fairy Godmother. Tomorrow, you'll be the new leader."