Chapter Three

MR. V

Now that the room was silenced and he had received more glares, Mr. V remembered why Dr. Facilier hated gathering this group around. Even through dinner they acted out and just like the Original Villains that they were – impatient, self-righteous, and always needing to get the last word out. Every time they acted up it only stressed Ms. Scatter out more and there was little that Ms. Villa could do to calm her worries as she was thoroughly entertained by the quick drama. The last thing Mr. V needed was Ms. Villa encouraging their antics and causing more problems for Mr. Po, or else he would have a giant mess to clean up. Planning this whole dinner event already took a lot of work; he didn't want any more issues or concerns than what he already had to deal with. He took another shot of whiskey to cool his own temper and slid his hand over his face to slick a smile back in place.

"Ladies and Gentlemen," he stood and began walking around the table to calm his nerves. "I have invited you all here for a chance to rewrite history. Your history, in particular. Everyone here in the Anit-Realm, the underside of Disney all knows how much life just really sucks here. If we could all go back to the cushy lives that we once knew, or even have a taste of what they have up there, we'd do whatever means necessary to get it back."

The silence was almost eerie, and Mr. V could feel the tension radiating off each one as he walked. He suddenly realized why Scatter had been so nervous, this many Villains in a single room was a powder keg ready to explode.

"Yes, we acknowledge that life sucks down here," Hades rolled his eyes. "But your point is?"

"Your Recruits that you brought here," he pointed his cane at Hades, "are going to be the ones that will change your history."

Hades raised his eyebrow, as if to challenge Mr. V to swing that cane at him, and he had half a mind to shoot a shot through Hades's immortal head. He wouldn't do it, and though it was tempting he thought against it since it would not be very professional and would most definitely start a fight. The last thing his fellow Hosts needed to do was stress out about cleaning up a warpath from the Villains.

"You can't be serious," Captain Hook slammed his bottle of rum down on the table. "How do you propose that they will be able to change our present lives? Especially if we couldn't change our own lives?"

"I can't help it, y'all tried to change your past and screwed that up." His tone was pointed at all the Villains, not just Hades. Pointed glares threw their daggers at him as Mr. V kept a calm smile on his face. "However, your Recruits, these people that you either adopted, created, or kidnapped, will be the key to the past because they have yet to return to it."

"Are you trying to tell me, sir, that I am the all-powerful fairy of darkness and evil Maleficent." Maleficent intertwined her fingers and rested her chin on her knuckles with a condescending look on her face. "Cannot change my past, but that my Recruit can?"

Out of the corner of his eye he could see his fellow Hosts shifting nervously and sending silent signals of concern and warning to him as Mr. V dared to speak against the Villains. However, Mr. V had to prove that he was the leader in this situation and that he would not back down against their threatening glares.

"Yes, that is precisely what I'm tellin' all of you." Mr. V nodded and continued his walk around the long table. "However, it is only because they lived their own life here in the Anti-Realm that it will give them a chance to travel back in the past. They will be able to assist you in your plots and plans to take over your kingdoms and castles."

"It's almost too easy." Ursula hummed and tilted her head curiously. "How will their going into the past change things for us?"

"By enterin' your stories, they will be able to alter the flow and timeline of your stories." Mr. V explained slowly. "This means that whatever decisions they make while they are livin' in the past will ultimately alter your future, or your current present. It will also alter whatever endings and happily ever after all those silly little princes and princesses lived through after they messed up all your plans."

"You mean to tell me that if I send my recruit into the past," Jafar mused and twirled his beard with the tip of his fingers, "she can ultimately put me back in my place of power?"

"The exact thing, sir," Mr. V smiled like a greedy cat. He could see the revelation of things washing over the Villains' faces and he knew he had them right where he wanted them. Now he had given them a sample of an idea of what could happen for them, it was time to see if any of them would be willing to seal the deal. Mr. V did not even try to hide the smile that planted itself on his face as he made his way back towards his seat. His fellow Hosts were all sitting at the edge of their seats, half excited that this was working so well, half anxious to see if they would really take the bait. "All you Villains have to do is leave your little Recruits here so they can go through a training of sorts before they are sent into the past, then - " He snapped his fingers. "Your lives go back to the way they once were, or to a better one that you only dream of having."

"And what exactly is in this for you, Mr. V?" Maleficent's eyes were very pointed at him as he returned to his seat. Though it was obvious that many of the Villains found this plan very enticing, Mr. V was not foolish enough to hold out on the hopes that they would all blindly accept this plan.

"A good show, helping the Original Villains, and just getting the rest of the villains out of this place." He shrugged as he sat back down. He could feel the nervous energy from his fellow Hosts and hoped that he could calm their nerves with his overconfident aura he tried to show.

The Evil Queen looked at him in disbelief, "That can't be all."

"I assure you that it is." He propped his feet up on the table and leaned back in the chair. "A little good deed in a world full of villains never hurt anybody."

"Then what is the catch, sweetie?" Ursula scoffed and crossed her arms while her tentacles tapped impatiently on the table. "There is always a catch in every contract. Believe me, I would know."

"I suppose the catch would be the future." He shrugged again and he could feel Ms. Scatter's worried glare on him now. When the four of them decided on the plan they had not discussed any sorts of catches to their plan should the Villains ask about it. Now that they were Mr. V had to be selectively careful with his words to make sure they were all onboard.

"That's a little vague, don't you think?" Cruella hummed as she prepared her cigarette to smoke on. "If the catch is the future, what would be any point in agreeing to this plan?"

"Since it is the Recruits that are going into the past, they have the chance to change your future." Mr. V laced his fingers together as he looked at the Villains. "How they change it is ultimately on them. I cannot guarantee what future they provide for you. Whether it is the best, worst, or puts you right back where you started. The future may or may not change depending on the decisions that the Recruits make."

He could sense the unease that shifted between all the Recruits and amongst his fellow Hosts. The Villains all sat deep in calculating thought as they looked from their Recruits to something else on the table or picked at their food. It was obvious that dinner was finished now that they had things to think on and Mr. V needed to clear the table and pull out the paperwork. He snapped his fingers and the plates of food vanished and were replaced with contracts for all the Original Villains to sign.

"I've laid it out plain and simple in black and white for you all." He snapped again and the writing utensils of the individual's choice sprang in the air beside the contracts.

None of the Villains moved to reach out and take hold of their writing utensils or to touch the contracts and merely stared at the floating pieces of paper instead. Their eyes skimmed over the words on the pages and another tense silence fell about the room. Beside him he could see Ms. Scatter's knuckles turning white from how tightly she held the edge of her clipboard. Mr. Po kept readjusting his tie as though it were too tight around his neck and bounced his leg under the table. Ms. Villa held a tight smile on her face and rolled her fingers impatiently on the table. Even Mr. V found himself chewing on the inside of his cheek as they waited for the Villains to finish reading over the contracts. The Recruits seemed to hold the most amount of anxiety, though, as they all sat at the edge of their seats as calmly as they could to hear how their Villain would respond.

"There will be no blood required," Mr. Po spoke up and half-heartedly chuckled. "Just a signature."

"Before I sign this," the Evil Queen looked at him. "I need you to add a clause to this contract."

"And what would that be, your highness?" Mr. V remained composed to hide and suddenly felt nervous, as well as agitated at this.

"Should mine or the other Recruits fail to change the future for our esteemed and wanted better or best, things are to return to as they are currently." There was a knowing glint in her eye, as if she suspected something. "I would rather be sure that I would not lose anything worse than the fate I am already here to suffer. I will only sign this knowing that I can gain something and lose nothing."

"You're not much of a gambling woman, are you, your highness?" He chuckled and took his feet off the table and sat upright in his chair again. He could tell that Ms. Scatter was on the verge of an anxiety attack with how fast her foot was bouncing, Mr. Po looked as though he was holding his breath ready to pass out and even Ms. Villa looked as though she was sweating as they let Mr. V do all the talking.

The Evil Queen raised her eyebrow in suspicion and crossed her arms in finality. "You will change this clause, or I will not sign this contract."

"I am in agreement," Maleficent narrowed her eyes as she glared at Mr. V. "I would rather put up with what I already know than with a fate much worse than this."

"Very well," Mr. V nodded and snapped his fingers and Mr. Po gasped beside him. He heard Ms. Villa's quick inhale and was sure he heard Ms. Scatter's clipboard crack. "It is done."

Mr. V could now feel the heated glares from his fellow Hosts and tried not to let it show how much it bothered him. He was in a room where nearly everyone else in the room was ready to harm him in one way or another. The four Hosts had discussed for hours in creating the best way to convince the Villains to sign the contracts. They had all four agreed that nothing would be changed without their full agreement to it, so it was understanding why the three other Hosts weren't particularly happy at the moment. Mr. V took a great risk in simply agreeing and complying to the Evil Queen's demand, but since they were all there to hear it, there would be little to argue about if that is what got them all to sign the contracts. Silence filled the room and they all just stared at their contracts.

The Evil Queen was the first to pick up her quill and actually sign her contract. Like a herd of penguins needing someone to make the first move, the Villains all soon picked up their writing instruments and began to sign. The Queen of Hearts grabbed her flamingo feather; Captain Hook grabbed his own ostrich feather quill; Maleficent's raven feather glided across the signed line; Cruella's fountain pen sloppily signed her contract; Ursula chuckled as her fishbone signed the contract; Jafar wordlessly moved his writing brush, Scar merely used the tip of his tail to sign; Lord Claude Frollo signed with a quill as well as his waxed stamp of approval; Hades took the longest to sign, but eventually picked up his chisel and signed.

When they finished signing their contracts, the Villains all set their writing utensils down and looked at the four Hosts expectantly. Whatever angry tension the Hosts held for Mr. V quickly disappeared as they too turned to him for what was to happen next. None of them, including himself, had anticipated them all signing the contracts. A chuckle escaped Mr. V and he snapped his fingers again and the contracts all disappeared. He wouldn't cheer in victory just yet, there was still the matter of dealing with the Recruits to be done. "Well, now that we've all signed the contracts," he released a shaky breath, "let's get those letters of introductions written."

"Letters of introductions?" Cruella whined. "Whatever for?"

"For your little Recruits to go back in time to set things right, they will need a little bit of proof from you Villains." Mr. V explained.

"Again, wouldn't it be easier to have no knowledge of them?" Jafar asked. "Wouldn't it be a little suspicious for them to come to us with such a letter?"

"Not so, good sir." Mr. Po spoke up. "According to how things happened to you all in the past, you wouldn't just allow anyone to suddenly help you. You all are much wiser and older now than what you were in your original stories."

"Fair enough." Hades shrugged and rolled his wrist. "But how would we believe such a thing?"

"It is quite simple, sir." Mr. Po readjusted his glasses on his nose as he smiled at Hades. "You will need to write down the name of your Recruiter, what they are here to do – as in why they're going to help you in your past – and a specific thing that only you would know. Whether it be a tragic memory, traumatic secret, or a word of caution towards actions to be made, it needs to be something that only you as a Villain would know and would kill if anyone discovered it."

"Isn't that just a touch dramatic?" Lord Claude Frollo scoffed.

"If you can't believe yourself, how will you believe the Recruits?" Mr. Po countered. The Villains shifted in their seats but said nothing as Mr. V snapped his fingers and the contracts were replaced with paper, envelopes, and wax seals for the Villains to use.

The Hosts all sat and watched as the Villains picked up their pens again and began to write words on a page. Mr. V couldn't help but watch the emotions play on the faces of the Villains. Both the Evil Queen and Maleficent wrote with a strong determination while Lord Claude Frollo wrote with a subdued vengeance, it was sad to see how deep grudges went and how badly they wanted revenge. Hook wrote considerably lazy as he was more or less writing in a drunken stupor after drinking half a bottle of rum. Scar looked more annoyed as though he would rather do anything else but write the letter but did it anyway because he knew he needed to. Ursula wrote quickly and surely, as though she had to do this often and made certain strikes through the page with a sigh and poked her Recruit with her tentacles. It was strange to see a thoughtful and almost endearing look pass over Jafar's face as he glanced from his letter to his Recruit then back again to continue writing. To think that such a power-hungry man had a considerable soft spot for his Recruit, perhaps he would have been a good father had things not ended the way they did. Cruella's hands shook too much and required her Recruit to write for her as she dictated what she wanted said to her past self, all the while petting and doting on him as he wrote. The Queen of Hearts snacked on a tart as she hummed happily and wrote her letter. Hades had his arm over the back of his Recruits chair and spoke softly to her in between sentences that he wrote, and Mr. V could see a true adoration and love for a daughter in the immortal's eyes.

The Hosts all sat quietly and patiently as they waited for the Villains to finish their letters. One by one they finished writing, folded their letters, stuffed them in envelopes, and sealed them with wax seals that would not be tampered with until they read them again. Both Scatter and Villa rose from their chairs to go and collect the letters while Mr. Po collected the writing utensils. Once all the letters were collected, Mr. V stood and dusted himself off.

"Thank you all very much for coming here today," tapped his cane on the ground and the large doors opened up behind him. "After you say your goodbyes, you're all dismissed."

"Goodbyes?" Hades snapped.

"Yes, I assume you all want to say your farewells." He rested both of his hands on his cane as he looked at the Villains. "Now that the contracts have been signed and the letter written, the sooner we get started the better. And since everyone is already here, all you need to do now is say your goodbyes."

"That's a little soon, isn't it?" Cruella frowned and held the hand of her Recruit.

"Though I sympathize with you all in having to part with the Recruits, it is for the best." Ms. Villa said as she rejoined Mr. V at the head of the table.

"And what about their belongings?" Jafar frowned through gritted teeth as he stood.

"You won't have to worry about it." Ms. Villa chirped as she took her place beside Mr. Po.

"Everything has all been taken care of and your Recruits will have their own rooms very well furnished." Mr. Po agreed and slid his hand around Ms. Villa's waist.

Ms. Scatter clutched her clipboard to her as she stood a little closer to Mr. V. "I assure you that the Recruits will be safe and sound in this castle."

"Oh, I most certainly know that they will," Maleficent stood and glared down her nose at Mr. V, "or else you shall all suffer the consequences."

"Of course," Mr. V stepped aside to let them all pass. "I will take full responsibility should anything happen."

They all, two by two, Villain and Recruit, stood up, left the dining hall, and returned to the foyer to say their goodbyes. Mr. V and Ms. Scatter both stood in the doorway of the dining hall and watched them all say goodbye. Ms. Scatter was shaking beside him, whether in fear or anger, he was still uncertain. He was sure that his fellow Hosts would be ready to give him quite the earful after all of this, but for now he would just be careful and watch the Recruits. Mr. V chuckled and rested his hands on his cane, "Well that went well, don't ya think?"

"Of all the people you had to be so, so, so - " Ms. Scatter's cheeks puffed out in frustration before she groaned. Mr. V bit back a smile at her frustration and tried not to be too amused by it.

"I will admit that it was rather unexpected." Mr. Po whispered over his shoulder. "What's even more unexpected was not only how well it went, but that they all agreed to it in the end."

"But it is always good to be spontaneous and flexible!" Ms. Villa sang as she leaned on Mr. Po's shoulder. "Sometimes when we go left it takes us back on the right path."

Mr. V chuckled at the shock of his Hosts and quickly earned a nice hard smack from Ms. Scatter's clipboard. Both Po and Villa snorted at Ms. Scatter's reaction and Mr. V rubbing his shoulder from being smacked. Under different circumstances he would loudly scold her for her outburst, however, this time he would let it slide since he had had that one coming the entire dinner, and this was the smallest lashing out she would do. He turned his attention to the salutations between them all and learned more about the Original Villains than they realized.

Though the Evil Queen kept her head high and her face stony, her angry eyes were somehow softer as she passed on a dagger to her Recruit, patted him on the face and walked out. Someone was growing soft in their old age.

The Queen of Hearts bellowed orders about what to do with Alice before throwing her arms around the Recruit and giving him a big hug. She stuffed a tart in her mouth as she walked out. Some people never truly change, even if menopause possibly changed the crazy hormones.

Captain Hook had his hand on the back of his Recruit with the hook latched onto the bottom seams of the hood and pulled her too close as he whispered through gritted teeth. He gave her a shove before he wobbly walked out. Mr. V was very curious just what the story was there, but for certain alcohol would loosen him up if he ever truly needed to get the full story from Captain Hook.

Maleficent elegantly, slowly, and dramatically slid the back of her hand down her Recruit's face while giving him an evil smile. She pressed a small kiss to his brow before she hobbled away.

Cruella held Recruit's face in her hands, called him darling, and kept kissing his cheeks before giving him a long hug and walking out with an extra sashay in her hips.

Ursula counted off a list of things on her tentacles that her Recruit needed to do, patted his cheek, then slithered out of the foyer.

Jafar kept his hand on his Recruit's shoulder in an odd fatherly way that was almost more professional than it should have been. It was as though he was worried how the others would perceive him if he was too affectionate. She, on the other hand, threw her arms around his neck and gave him a long hug before he pulled her off of him and left.

Scar kept his paw on his Recruit's knee as she bowed and listened to his orders before gently headbutting her and stalking away.

Lord Claude Frollo and his Recruit had no means of affection or physical contact. He kept his crooked nose in the air, told her what he expected of her, needed her to do, and what would happen to her if she did not succeed. She did not even bother to look over her shoulder as he left. Mr. V did not like where that relationship was at and hoped that the future most definitely changed.

Hades seemed to be the most loving, if being sarcastic and mocking could be loving. He kept calling his Recruit 'Miss', 'Kiddo' and a few other pet names before ruffling her hair, laughing at her as she shoved his hand off and gave her the longest and tightest hug before disappearing into a cloud of smoke.

With all the Original Villains finally out of the way and gone, Mr. V finally had them to himself. All of the Recruits stood in front of him with their hoods up and staring at him and the other Hosts expectantly.

Author's Note:

Thank you so much for reading, I hope you're enjoying the story so far!

Please remember to leave a comment or a review and let me know how I'm doing! I'm in the process of editing chapter by chapter to make this better.

Thanks for coming along the journey with me, stay tuned!

Ko-fi/SarahtheWriter