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Enjoy!

Chapter 8: Retreat

The road back up to the edge of the town seemed a lot longer than it actually was, but Mal realized that she hadn't been paying attention to time while she and the others had moved through the town during the fighting. Mal's legs ached from exertion, and the cut in her arm had started stinging a little, but she was otherwise unhurt. Ben still had a cut on the side of his head, which was bleeding slightly, and he was covered in dust from head to toe, but he too was otherwise unharmed.

Mal's thoughts then went back to Carlos, who she'd left with a bleeding leg wound… How many of her friends were also injured? She picked up her pace a little when they neared the market where she had originally joined the fight, eager to see her friends as quickly as possible.

It was just like the fight in the woods, where almost all of her friends had gotten hurt in one way or another, but now on a much larger scale.

"Archer! Ben!" A voice shouted from a little further up.

Mal looked up and saw Lancelot walking in their direction. He too was covered in dust, but apparently not hurt.

"Any updates?" Archer asked without greeting Lance.

"It appears the battle is over." Lance replied a little stiffly. "Triton has pushed the villains' ships back into open sea, and all their ground troops are on full retreat. Both king Charming and king Eugene have contributed some of their own forces in order to form a perimeter on land on either side of the city. We're making sure that there'll be no stragglers once this is all over."

"Good." Ben replied before Archer could. "And what of Solomon? Or Uma? Have they finally been sighted?"

"No." Lance answered a little hesitantly. "Lookouts have been posted on both land and water, but I don't believe we've had any word from them yet."

"Where could they be?" Ben mumbled, patting Lance on the shoulder as he passed him.

Lance nodded at Mal, who weakly smiled in response. Mal chose to follow Ben, as she didn't feel like having to listen to yet another argument between Lance and Archer.

A little further up, on what used to be a neat square, the Auradon soldiers had established an emergency hospice. There had to be about fifty soldiers who were being treated at the moment. The less injured ones all greeted Ben and Mal when they walked past, but Mal could barely nod in return.

The simple fact that she could relatively easily fix most wounds with her magic weighed down heavily on her, but she also knew that the best way for her to help would be to capture Solomon and Uma as fast as possible.

"Mal! Over here!" A voice called out, pulling Mal away from her thoughts.

Looking up, Mal felt intense gratitude when she spotted Evie and Jordan.

"I have to meet up with some officers. You go and see them." Ben told Mal, sounding very tired.

"I'll catch up with you in a flash." Mal replied, kissing Ben on his cheek before hastily walking towards her friends.

"Thank god you guys are alright." Mal sighed while Evie pulled her into a strong hug.

"Well, we're fine. But you? You ran straight into the fray. Are you hurt?" Evie asked, looking Mal over from head to toe.

"Nothing much." Mal muttered, shrugging off Evie's hand when she placed on Mal's injured arm.

Only then did she spot the person laying on the ground. It was Carlos, and he was smiling broadly at her.

"Carlos! You're okay!" Mal exclaimed, kneeling down next to her friend.

"Of course. How could I not, with these two not leaving my side." Carlos grinned, nudging his head at Evie and Jordan.

Mal examined Carlos a little more. One of his legs was bandaged up from thigh to ankle, but he had no other wounds as far as Mal could see.

"When are they going to get you out?" She asked.

"Out!? Why? I want to stay and fight!" Carlos resolutely protested.

"Fat chance." Evie replied, crossing her arms. "They're transporting wounded troops about every ten minutes, and you're leaving with the next batch!"

Carlos seemingly wanted to protest, but cowered when he saw Evie's intense stare.

"Where are the others?" Mal then asked, also standing back up to look around. "Jay? Lonnie? Freddie?"

"Probably back there…" Evie answered, gesturing to one of the less ruined buildings. "Royce and Chad came by a few minutes ago, and they said that we're gonna go over some new tactics."

"Then that's where I'm going." Mal sighed. "I don't want to see you anywhere near here when I return!" She then told Carlos in her sternest voice.

"Yes, ma'am." Carlos replied, though not completely sincere.

"I'm coming with you." Evie said. "Jordan, can you…"

"Of course, I'll make sure he behaves." Jordan smiled.

Mal smirked, ruffled Carlos's hair a little, and then walked off with Evie. "No sign of Solomon or Uma yet." She said as soon as they were out of hearing distance.

"Figures…" Evie snorted. "Though I'm guessing that we'll know when they make their grand entrance."

"I can't wait." Mal moped.

They neared the building that temporarily functioned as headquarters, and Mal could already distinguish the shapes of Chad, Lonnie and Alex. From the other side of the square, Archer, CJ and Lancelot walked up as well.

"Jeez, what happened to you?" Evie asked, looking at CJ's busted nose.

"Harriet happened." CJ replied, not elaborating.

"Ouch." Evie mumbled.

Together they walked into the building, where Ben and some Auradon officers were already leaning over yet another map. Jay was sitting next to the doorway on a half-broken chair, and was seemingly trying his best not to fall asleep. Lonnie and Chad, both with heavy bags under their eyes, were standing close to Ben. Archer squeezed past Mal to join the army officials, but both CJ and Lance stayed back.

"How long is this gonna take?" CJ asked, rubbing her eyes. "I never knew staying awake was this much of a pain."

"We'll be done in no time, I'm sure of it." Mal answered, kicking Jay's chair to alert him.

"Wha- What!?" Jay muttered, feverishly looking around.

"Hey there, you awake?" Mal said, again kicking Jay's chair.

"Mal!? You're okay! G-good…" Jay exclaimed before yawning loudly. "A-and Evie… CJ… You guys here too… Great…"

"Good to see you're still on stand-by." Evie smirked as she pulled up another half-broken chair and took a seat next to Jay.

"We've been fighting for, what, four hours? Give a guy a break…" Jay mumbled as he stretched a little. "Do we have a new strategy yet?"

"First, we get the wounded soldiers out." Ben explained as he walked up to them. The meeting was apparently already over. "That shouldn't take too long, but it is a substantial undertaking. Once that's all clear, we're fanning out both east and west to try and find where our enemies are hiding."

"Shouldn't we assume that they're on the run?" Lancelot asked. "That was their main force we just fought here, so maybe they're scared?"

"No way." CJ retorted. "Solomon doesn't care about casualties. If he could, he'd send every villain to their death to get what he wants. And besides that, he still hasn't used the cauldron, even though he should be able to."

"Exactly." Ben nodded, before Lance could respond. "So, we have to at least try to find him before he uses the cauldron… Because, you know, if we don't, then we're in a whole new mess of trouble…"

Mal was barely keeping up with what was being said. Her fatigue was threatening to overwhelm her, and the finer details of the next stage of their plan escaped her. The sun was now definitely rising, but a dreary and cloudy sky meant that it was still relatively dark outside.

"Hey." Ben said, a little louder than before, again alerting Mal. "You still with us?"

"Yes… Yes, of course." Mal answered, shaking her head slightly in an attempt to clear up her mind.

"I think the last of the wounded are being transported right now…" Ben told her, looking over her shoulder to make sure. "Afterwards, we're gonna head out. I will lead a company of soldiers east, while Archer will lead another west… You're joining me…"

"Of course." Mal nodded.

"If you need anything, or if you're tired, you can just say so…" Ben offered.

"I'll say so afterwards." Mal replied with a small smirk.

Ben affectionately squeezed her shoulder for a second before stepping out the ruined door, followed by Archer and the rest of the Auradon officials.

"Are we leaving already?" Jay asked, followed by another enormous yawn.

"We have no time to lose, you lazy ass." Lonnie snapped, kicking the chair out from under Jay, who then promptly fell to the floor.

"We're going villain hunting… Again…" Mal told everyone present. They did not respond very enthusiastic. "Ben and Archer are both leading groups. You can join either of them." Again, everyone just muttered in response, and Mal just rolled her eyes as she headed back outside.

The square, which had been filled with injured Auradon soldiers just a few minutes ago, was now nearly empty. Only a few of the wounded remained, including Carlos, but they were already being loaded onto large trucks. Ben and Archer were already busy dividing the remaining forces amongst their own companies, with some of the higher ranked officers listening intently.

"So, where are we going?" Evie asked, not quite managing to hide a large yawn.

"East… That's what Ben said… I don't really know anything else…" Mal answered.

"Maybe Solomon will just show his face and, you know, come along quietly?" Evie offered.

Mal snorted. "Not something I'd bet on, but I admire your optimism."

"You don't think we'll find him?" Evie questioned.

"I, ehm, I really have no idea… We didn't find him before either… But we must try either way, and I'm really looking forward to catching that asshole." Mal snapped.

"I really hope we catch him soon though…" Evie added, stifling yet another yawn. "I'm quite tired…"

"I wouldn't count on it." Mal replied, rubbing her eyes. "He's really making a habit of making us wait. It could be days, or even weeks until we see him again."

Evie gave a sad smile before putting an arm around Mal's shoulders and walking further up the square. Ben and Archer were just giving the final few instructions to the Auradon officials, but dismissed them as soon as Mal and Evie approached.

The final truck filled with wounded Auradon soldiers was about to leave, and both Evie and Mal took their time to wave to Carlos as he was being hauled off. Mal felt immense gratitude that he at least would definitely be safe.

"We're all but finished here…" Ben began to explain, while their other friends joined in as well. "Carlos and those other soldiers were the last of the wounded to be transported… After that, there'll be some vehicles coming in, which we'll use to search the designated areas."

"Does that mean we have some time to, ehm, sleep?" Jay asked from the back.

"Yes…" Ben nodded. "We might have an hour or two, so make the most of it."

Everyone in the group nodded before they scattered, spreading out along the square. Ben, as always, approached Mal.

"The medics are available again. They should look at our wounds." Ben told her, softly running a finger along the cut on Mal's arm.

"Our wounds… Yes…" Mal replied, also paying more attention to the wound on Ben's cheek.

"Let's go get cleaned up, and afterwards we can…" Ben began, before he suddenly stopped talking. He looked over Mal's shoulder, an alert expression on his face.

Mal turned around, because she had heard it too. It had been a faint, but noticeable, crashing sound, like a small bomb had gone off a few miles over. Mal hadn't been the only other one to notice it, as the whole square had suddenly fallen silent, with everyone staring in the same direction.

"What was that?" Mal asked, the sudden silence scaring her more than she was willing to admit.

Before Ben could answer, there was another explosion… And another… And they kept getting closer, and louder…

"Battle formations!" Someone shouted, and all the soldiers on the square immediately began scurrying for their armor and weapons.

"Ben!?" Mal exclaimed, suddenly feeling incredibly clammy.

"Mal! Run!" Ben hissed as he unsheathed his sword and ran past her.

"What!? No!" Mal yelled, pursuing Ben while also pulling out her own sword.

The crashing sounds became louder and louder, while the explosions also started getting closer and closer. Everywhere around Mal, people were clambering to take out their weapons and get into the correct battle formations. Mal saw Jay and Lonnie at the front, with Archer, CJ and Alex close by as well. Royce instead took position at the rear, with most others still unsure where to actually stand. The problem was that most of their forces had already been depleted. Most of the soldiers present on the square had either been called in from the reserves or were part of the medical staff. At the moment, the Auradon army was far from an organized force.

"What's happening!?" Evie asked, emerging next to Mal in a similarly distressed fashion.

Mal didn't answer, and instead kept looking ahead at the already ruined city, where brand new clouds of smoke were rising into the air. Aside from the crashes and explosions, sounds of shouting and combat now also started emerging from the city, and everyone around Mal was apparently just as scared and apprehensive as they waited for what was coming for them.

For now, the Auradon troops had formed a somewhat chaotic front line at the edge of the square. Everyone was looking into the same street, waiting for something to emerge.

After a few incredibly tense seconds, which might as well have been years, one Auradon soldier emerged from around the corner of the street. He appeared to be heavily wounded, and slowly limped in their direction. Behind the soldier, the sounds of clashing swords and deep grunts became ever louder.

"Medic!" A few of the soldiers in the front line yelled, after which two soldiers started running towards their comrade.

Mal was holding her breath as the wounded soldiers was taken back behind the front line. His entire face was covered in blood, but his eyes were wide with fear.

The sounds of battle were now also intermixed with loud screams, which could only belong to other Auradon soldiers.

"Steady!" Archer shouted from the front as he unsheathed Excalibur.

All of the sudden, something else emerged at the end of the street. Something which slipped on some of the loose rocks, before straightening back up, looking over at the Auradon front line, and charging at them.

Mal gasped, and some people around her screamed in terror. The thing charging at them looked like a human from a distance, but Mal had also never seen anything that looked less like a human…

This thing mostly resembled a rotting skeleton, with flaps of brown, decaying skin still clinging to its bones. It was wearing an old, torn tunic of a brown fabric and had a rusted helmet on its head. Its eyes were hollow and empty, and there was no tongue or any living flesh inside its mouth. Despite all this, the thing was sprinting towards them in a fury, screeching like a banshee, with its sickly thin arms swinging around in a fit of madness. The thing was also holding a rusted old sword, which was already dripping in blood.

"Fire!" Someone shouted, and immediately a salvo of arrows flew over Mal's head.

About half of the arrows hit the creature, which halted its advance for a moment, but then simply continued to run at the Auradon force.

Mal saw Archer break loose from the front line and run out. CJ shouted something, but she couldn't hear what. The creature slashed at Archer, who ducked under the swing and immediately struck back, slicing the creature in half with one mighty slash from Excalibur. Only now, after having been pierced by half a dozen arrows and sliced in half, did the creature finally stop moving.

"It's an undead!" Archer shouted, kicking the downed creature. "He's done it! He's used the cauldron!"

Mal felt as though she had been doused by a bucket of ice-cold water. The sword in her head trembled, and a somewhat familiar sense of panic, which she hadn't felt in quite some time, started bubbling up in her stomach.

He had done it!? Solomon had used the black cauldron!? Was this the famed army of the dead that everyone spoke about in such fearful tones?

As if on cue, about six more undead appeared at the end of the street. They all looked similar to the first one, with all their bones on display, though there was some variation in clothing and weaponry.

"Charge!" Archer yelled, raising Excalibur.

"Charge!" The other soldiers cried, following Archer into battle.

Mal had still been taken aback somewhat by the appearance of the disgusting undead, but did follow the rest of the soldiers, eager on driving these things back from where they came.

More undead appeared on the end of the street, but these beings didn't form a line or waited for reinforcements… No, these monsters only screeched as they hurled themselves at the Auradon soldiers.

Mal saw Archer cut through another undead, while the other soldiers clashed in the middle. It was a tight fit, and Mal was but one of numerous of the Auradon fighters who could not yet reach the fighting.

More arrows were fired, but these appeared to be doing little to no damage to the undead, who did not have any blood to spill or any organs to pierce. Mal quickly noticed that the only real way to incapacitate these creatures was to either cut them in half, or simply bash them to mush.

Auradon soldiers were used to fight against human opponents. You know, human opponents who would either fall or quit after as few as one substantial hit. Human opponents are vulnerable, and these things were not. Mal saw how most soldiers would block a hit from the undead with their shields, before lashing out with their own swords. Simple slashes from these swords did absolutely nothing however, and the undead would immediately throw themselves back into the fight. Mal saw one undead lose an arm, and still continue to slash at its opponent. Mal saw an undead who'd lost both its legs crawling to find a new victim. Mal saw how an undead was pierced straight through its hollow chest by a spear, but continue to fight as if nothing was wrong.

All of the sudden, one undead undid itself from the fray, spotted Mal, and stormed at her with a rusty axe raised over its head. Thinking quickly, Mal fired the same air blast spell she had used to save CJ. It hit the undead straight on, and the creature shattered into a hundred pieces of old bones.

Somewhat elated, Mal threw herself into the fight, trying to emulate Archer's move of cutting the undead in half. More soldiers caught onto this, but some found it difficult alter their tactics just like that. Archers were still firing arrows, but these didn't suddenly become more effective.

For now, axes and war hammers appeared to be the most effective in dealing with this new type of enemy, but most soldiers were sadly carrying swords. Luckily, the monsters were extremely brittle, and it didn't take much force to cut through or shatter their old bones.

Alex took advantage of this, heading out in front and freely swinging his war hammer. The undead all shattered as soon as they were hit by the heavy weapon, but they didn't hold back.

What they lacked in strength, they made up for with ferocity. These monsters were absolutely fearless, and threw themselves at the Auradon front line like cannon fodder. Only now did their real strength come into play… Their numbers…

More and more undead came sprinting from the same direction, their screeches filling the air. And they just kept on coming…

Most soldiers, after having disposed of one undead, were immediately targeted by at least two others. Mal saw numerous soldiers get swamped and eventually toppled by a whole horde. Some of the undead didn't have weapons at all, but they simply clawed at their living opponents with their sharp, bony fingers.

Mal kept her own, blocking attacks and then retaliating in a vicious, but collected manner. Jay and Lonnie stood back to back at the front, taking out tens of the undead together. Archer was even further up front, alternating between slashing the undead creatures in half, or shattering them with magic blasts from Excalibur. CJ and Evie were both close to Mal, and were equally adapt in disposing of the undead, but were also quickly growing exhausted.

This became a pattern, as the already tired out Auradon force had to deal with an enemy that wouldn't stop attacking. There was no resting period, and Mal painstakingly had to keep raising and swinging her sword in an attempt to keep the creatures at bay.

The undead now held the superior numbers, with what was basically a wall of them dooming up at the end of the street and rushing at the Auradon force. The undead did not stop screeching, and they clawed their way past one another in an attempt to get to the Auradon soldiers first. They were like a wave, crashing against what was previously the Auradon front line, and rapidly wiping it out.

All of the sudden, Ben emerged from the fray, panting heavily and his sword trembling in his hand.

"M-Mal…" He stammered, staggering closer to her.

"Ben! Are you hurt?" Mal asked, taking Ben in her arms.

Ben just groaned, slumping against her. Mal started breathing heavier, feeling Ben tremble as she hugged him tightly. Around her, more Auradon soldiers fell under the onslaught. She saw the undead viciously hack at her fellow soldiers without remorse, and the fighters could do nothing but drop lifelessly to the ground.

"Go! Run! Retreat!" Several voices called out from within the field of battle.

Mal looked up, and saw Aden and Lonnie carry a wounded Jay away. More soldiers ran past her, some with bleeding wounds. Alex was still further up front, doing his best to keep the wave of undead warriors back.

Evie and Chad suddenly appeared next to Mal.

"Is Ben alright?" Chad asked.

"I-I don't know…" Mal replied with a soft voice.

"Come on." Chad told her, holding out his arms to pull Ben onto his shoulders. Mal let him, but felt incredibly empty as she watched Ben get carried off.

"Mal! Come on!" Evie said in a panicked tone as she pulled on Mal's sleeve.

"W-where is everyone?" Mal asked in a bit of a daze.

"We need to go!" Evie persisted, basically pulling Mal off her feet.

Looking back towards the fighting, Mal still saw CJ and Alex among the human survivors. Archer was nowhere to be seen.

"W-we need to help…" Mal muttered.

"There's nothing we can do!" Evie snapped, still pulling.

One of the undead broke through the lines, spotted Mal and Evie, and started running towards them. Evie screamed, but did release Mal before raising her sword and dispatching of the creature with one swing. Mal stared on in a stupor as the creature's lifeless head rolled past her feet.

"Mal! Snap out of it!" Evie yelled as she again started pulling Mal away from the battle.

Alex now ran past them as well, huffing and puffing. Mal and Evie were two of the last Auradon fighters still present near the front lines. CJ was still there as well, and she was screaming her lungs out.

"Archer! Archer! Get back!" CJ shouted, still dodging oncoming opponents.

As she watched on, Mal saw how a gigantic blast blew back the entire front line of undead soldiers. Out from the fray emerged Archer, with his hair pointed straight up and a flabbergasted expression on his face. CJ quickly grabbed him by his hand and yanked him back along with her. On their way, the two also pushed Mal and Evie along.

The undead army was hot on their tail however, with the screeching horde having already recovered from the blast.

Mal had somewhat regained her senses, and was running along with Evie, CJ and Archer. They reentered the square, where Lancelot was waiting for them.

"Hurry!" He said, raising his staff as Mal ran past him.

Looking back, she saw how he conjured up one of the transparent barriers Mal had also managed to summon during the battle of the woods. The undead army crashed into it, but was apparently held back.

"You need to go." Lancelot grunted, his hand trembling as he tried to keep the magic barrier activated.

Archer gave him a quick look, but then immediately ran off, followed by CJ. Evie and Mal followed them as well. Further up the square, six large trucks had appeared, and Auradon soldiers were already scurrying to get on.

Ben was standing next to one of the nearest trucks, helping some wounded soldiers get on before him. He appeared to have somewhat recovered from the shock, but still looked pale and somewhat sickly.

"Mal!" He called out, gesturing for her. "We need to leave! Now!"

"What happened?" Mal asked as she ran up to him.

"We're overrun." Ben answered, not realizing she was asking about him specifically. "We're in full retreat."

Both Ben and Mal then stared back at the other end of the square, where Lancelot was still keeping the barrier intact. Even further back, other parts of the city had already caught flame again, and the continuous sounds of crashes and explosions once again enriched the air.

"He'll be fine." Archer spoke up as he approached them. "Lance can teleport… But Ben, we have more serious problems…"

"What?" Ben asked, paling a little more.

"T-there's… There's not enough room…" Archer replied. "On the trucks, I mean… We just can't fit everybody…"

"No…" Ben muttered, staring at the trucks and then at the still remaining soldiers.

Mal looked on too, and realized Archer was right. There were over a hundred soldiers still standing around, waiting to get taken away. The trucks were already almost full as it was, and there was absolutely no way all these people would fit as well…

"There has to be a way…" Ben stammered, balling his fists.

"There isn't." Archer resolutely replied.

"We need more trucks… Get more trucks…" Ben proposed.

"There's no time…" Archer responded. "Lance can't hold that barrier forever, and the undead army will break through any moment."

"Have them run…" Ben offered. "Have the soldiers run in the direction of Auradon… We can pick them up later…"

"No." Archer replied, though he obviously didn't like saying it. "The undead army is too fast… Our soldiers would never make it…"

"What other choice do we have?" Ben spat. "Would you have me let them die here!?"

"Rather here than on the run." Archer snapped. "These are soldiers, Ben!"

"They are also people! My people!" Ben cried out, the first tears streaming down his cheeks.

Some of the soldiers around them took notice of Ben's cries, and they looked on in apparent interest.

"We can't save everyone…" Archer stated with a heavy heart.

"We must try!" Ben desperately shouted, looking around feverishly. "Everyone! Run! Run for Auradon City! You must all get away!"

None of the soldiers moved.

"Go!" Ben kept shouting. "Run for your lives!"

Still none of the soldiers moved.

One officer suddenly stepped forward. "What is the problem, king Benjamin?" He asked.

"There's not enough room for everyone on the trucks." Archer immediately spoke up. "And there's no time to call for any other transport. We can't get everyone out…"

The officer nodded solemnly. "Well… You kids need to leave then… We'll hold up the rear…"

Both Ben and Archer immediately fell out at the officer.

"I am your superior officer! You don't command me!" Archer shouted.

"You cannot stay! We all need to leave!" Ben yelled.

All the other soldiers, including Mal, Evie and CJ, simply looked on wordlessly as Ben and Archer continued their tirade. After a while, they were visibly tired out, and the two simply panted as they looked at the officer.

"With all due respect…" The officer began. "You are all far too important to stay behind. We are soldiers, king Benjamin, and we are sworn to protect the royal family and give our lives to do so if need be."

"No, not like this…" Ben pleaded.

"Overruled." The officer plainly stated, before turning to the soldiers. "We need a company to hold the rear. Are there any soldiers brave enough to stay?"

"Here!" Most of the soldiers shouted in unison, and those who hadn't followed suit in any case.

"No…" Ben repeated, though his voice was soft.

Even some of the soldiers already loaded onto the trucks had raised their hands, and were now exiting the vehicles to join the remaining battle group.

"It has been an honor fighting alongside you, king Benjamin." The officer stated, saluting Ben before heading back down the square.

Mal was speechless as a few dozen other soldiers joined in as well. Ben was still mumbling things, but not even Mal could hear what he was saying anymore. Archer also looked on with a pained expression, and he too had tears in his eyes. CJ moved in and grabbed Archer by his hand, and he allowed her to pull him towards one of the now freed up trucks.

Soon, there were no more soldiers standing around the trucks, with all able-bodied warriors having joined the small force who were now forming a line further down the square.

"Ben, let's go." Mal whispered, grabbing Ben's hand.

"My people…" Ben mumbled. "They are my people…"

"They know what they are doing." Mal replied, swallowing heavily. "Ben, please…"

"I can't leave them…" Ben muttered, not tearing his eyes away from the soldiers.

"You must, for them… For Auradon… For me… Please, Ben…" Mal begged, also feeling hot tears stream down her cheeks.

Ben looked back at her, and Mal saw more sadness, regret and fear in those eyes than she had ever seen before. He then looked at the trucks, which were already filled with scared-looking soldiers. Mal saw Royce, Alex and Jordan in the nearest truck, and they were all staring expectantly at Ben. They had to leave, and Mal realized that…

"We need to go, Ben." Mal whispered, pulling on Ben's shoulder. "Their sacrifice has to mean something… Please, Ben…"

These words finally appeared to wake Ben from his contemplations, and he took a few deep breaths and scraped his throat. "Yeah… Yeah…"

That was all Mal needed, and she immediately pulled Ben along and into the nearest truck. As soon as she and Ben had entered, someone slapped the side of the truck and it started driving off.

Right as they left the square, Mal saw how on the other side, Lancelot suddenly vanished. At the same time, the wave of undead soldiers broke through the now evaporated barrier. Even from this distance their screeching was clearly audible, and Mal saw how these monsters immediately rushed towards the remaining Auradon soldiers.

"For Auradon!" She heard the soldiers yell in unison, but it sounded soft and hollow from this distance.

Ben buried his face in Mal's shoulder, and she felt his body tremble as he started sobbing. Mal couldn't keep her eyes from the soldiers on the square, who were almost immediately overrun by the much larger enemy force.

Soon they turned a corner though, and the battle scene disappeared from view. They drove off in quite a hurry, and the ruined roads caused their truck to bump and shake. No one spoke, instead simply staring out in front as if they too had joined the undead army. They quickly left the ruined city of Belle's Harbor, and the sight of burning, ruined buildings was replaced by calming green fields and trees…

Mal carefully exhaled, her breath extremely shaky, and looked back at the city one more time. The flames had returned, scorching what little was left of the once neat Auradonian buildings. Mal thought she knew exactly who was responsible for these flames…