Maddie's Perspective
Madeline was exactly where she knew she'd end up when her mom forced her to tag along with that lying backstabber. In jail. The Royal Police had put them all to sleep and rounded them up in a cell. They even searched them, apparently, because her sharpest hair pins and lockpicking pouch were missing. She hated her hair being down.
She sighed, leaning against a wall. Reggie began to stir, but Shen was still sleeping. His leg looked...bad. Reggie sat up, looking around himself in a panic.
"In the Royal Jail," she recapped. "Gio betrayed us to get away, your cards are confiscated, there are half a dozen guards outside."
Reggie shot to his feet, looking oddly calm. "Do you think they'll send us to the Isle?" He asked. Maddie rolled her eyes, but he continued, "will we meet our younger selves there?"
"I dunno, let's wait and see," she said disinterestedly. Of course he'd think about the stupidest thing possible. "I can't believe I even went along with this."
"We just wanted to do the right thing," Reggie said gently. "I've been speaking to Wes. The Isle, conceptually, is wrong."
"Maybe to you, but I kinda like it," Maddie said, a smile threatening to appear on her face before she fought against it. "Do you really think Auradon compares?"
"I mean there are hot showers and bread without mold," Reggie began.
"Of course, Fancypants," Maddie laughed. When he looked down at the dirt on his pants, she said, "it's okay, you've got respect for fashion, I get it."
Reggie smiled for a second before his face darkened. "I can't believe Gio would do this to us, she said we were a team."
"If you can't believe this, you haven't been paying attention," Maddie said. "She's been on Team Gio for a while. Now she's just less sneaky about it."
"Don't talk about her," they heard. Shen had finally woken up, wincing as he pulled himself up to sit against a wall.
"You okay, mate?" Reggie asked. When he reached to help Shen straighten out, Shen shrugged away.
"I'm fine," Shen said. "This is nothing."
"We can't let her get away with this," Reggie said. "If Mal and Gio are both free, one of them gets to wherever the lamp is, which might be bad for all three of us."
"More like definitely bad," Shen said gravely. "Mal gets it, she brings us back to the present and locks us up. Gio gets it, she abandons us again and goes to the present with the wand."
"Then we'll be left here with no way back to where we're supposed to be," Reggie said. He looked like he was going to be sick. So dramatic.
"So we go to the Isle or we go to the Isle," Maddie said. She approached one of the benches and laid across it. "Cool."
"Not cool," Shen growled
"The cards," Reggie mused. "I knew what The Tragic Lovers meant for the past few months. The Passage of Time was Gio's plan to come here. The Ten of Swords was about Shen getting betrayed." He continued pacing and Maddie interrupted before he could continue.
"We get it," Maddie said. "Your vague prophecies were vague enough to coincidentally apply."
"Maddie, you've seen his magic work," Shen said. "Still a non-believer?"
Reggie looked like a happy little puppy. It was annoying. "He can do some cool stuff," Maddie said. "I don't know how well he can tell the future though."
"Well, believe it or not," Reggie said, staring intently at Maddie, "I think we're depending on you now. The Crossroads. Choices . You might be important, your choices could affect us all."
Maddie rolled her eyes. "Oh godmother."
"We don't have to go to the Isle," Reggie said.
"No way," Maddie said. "Some of us would like to go to the Isle. Live with our families. Not have to act all perfect. Be free to cut class whenever we want."
"She makes a good point," Shen said. "But if we get the lamp first, we can stop Gio's plan and prove we're not evil. We can stay in Auradon."
"Not you too," Maddie complained. She stood, pulling off her earrings and taking the sharp, pin-like needles into her hands. "I'm going to a different cell."
"Maddie," Reggie said, "growing up I never got a chance to know who I was," Maddie stopped, confused why he was telling her this. "Everything me and Papa did revolved around Mum. Mum is always right. I know your mum was a bit similar..."
"And?" Maddie asked, getting angry at what he was trying to do. She whipped around to face him. She crossed the room, getting in his face, and he blanched. He was already pale, but with his red eyes, he turned vampiric. "What about it?"
Reggie raised his hands in surrender. "I'm just sharing my story with people I feel safe with. Like FG has us do."
"You know we lie when she puts us in that circle, right?" Shen ground out, holding his leg to his chest.
"Well, honestly," Reggie continued. "All my life I never really knew who I was. And I didn't have time to care because every day was about doing something to make Mum's life easier."
Maddie scowled at him, hating how she began to see where he was taking this.
"When we came to Auradon, I was so excited to get the chance to find out who Reginald was. I found out I like magic, and dating, and bowling. I adore bowling. I spent so much time avoiding my feelings and hiding them that it wasn't easy to let them out. But, since I did, I never regretted it."
"You've touched my heart," Maddie turned to the door again. But Reggie called to her.
"I know you feel afraid to let your feelings out," Reggie said. When Maddie glared at him, he didn't falter. "I know it's difficult for your life to revolve around your mother. How guilty you can feel when you don't do every single thing for her. But it's so much more freeing to say 'no.' To live your own life your own way. And it's not a horrendous thing to do. The only good thing Gio told me is that we deserve to live our own lives."
"Great speech," Maddie sighed. "But I'm not interested in being a hero."
"You don't have to be a hero," Shen said. "Be Madeline Medusa. What do you want right now? Not your mom, or us...what do you want?"
Maddie considered it, sitting on the bench now. "I want to make Gio pay." She said, passion rising in her voice. "For being a lying snake, for making fun of the way I look everyday, for calling me bestie when she knows I hate it, for the slick comments, everything."
"Then you can make her pay." Shen said, smiling wickedly. "But you're gonna have to let me help, I've gotta get back at her too."
"The cards didn't lie, Maddie." Reggie considered his memory. "Giovanna is the Proud Weaver, in a precarious position manipulating all of us. You're at a crossroads and it's time to make a big choice."
Maddie let out a long exhale. This was so stupid. All their parents tried to do what they thought was the best thing at the time. All their parents had failed. All of them knew it. She knew better by now. Trying hard at anything was pointless.
So she had no idea why she said, "whatever loser. Let's try to make her pay"
"If we help Mal, she'll probably forgive all the illegal stuff we did," Shen said. "We just have to figure out how to get the lamp. Where is it?"
Maddie considered it.
"Not in the apartment." Reggie said.
"The museum." Maddie announced.
Shen and Reggie looked at her. She shrugged. "We used the wrong lamp in the ritual," she realized. "We thought Genie's was the darker one because he poofed out of it, but I think that was Jordan's."
"Why?" Shen asked.
"The cuffs we used were a purer gold, very much expected of an antique that's thousands of years old." She stood and began pacing. "The lamp we used to bind Jordan was similar to the cuffs in material. And it had way more signs of wear."
"Sooooo..." Reggie prompted.
"Genie coming out of a lamp didn't mean it was his," Maddie stopped pacing and grabbed her needles again, "he must've been in Jordan's lamp for some reason. We assumed it was his, then bound Jordan to the other. But-"
"We put Jordan in her dad's lamp," Shen said. Maddie snaked her hands through the bars and began to pick the lock to their cell.
"So, that's why Genie's lamp is missing." Reggie said.
"I'd bet objects transported through time-" Maddie began.
"Go back to where they were in this time." Shen said, wincing lightly in pain. "The museum, probably."
"Way to keep interrupting me with stuff I already said," Maddie finally got the lock and opened the door. "I'll be back with the cards and my pins. Then we get to the lamp first, guys?"
"And I have to heal Shen," Reggie said.
"Oh, that too," Maddie said.
Mal's Perspective
Mal appeared in the middle of Auradon Prep's hedge maze. It was probably the only place she felt she could be completely alone and undisturbed so she wasn't surprised this was where she wound up. She'd used a spell to get to safety.
It was bad. Very bad. Everyone thought she was her mother, her dragon form had caused a huge panic, and this was when anti-villain sentiment was even worse than the present. But she couldn't panic.
She was once the top student in the Isle's school for schemers: Dragon Hall. And there were four people attempting to destroy her kingdom. No way was that happening.
What was it Tremaine was always saying? "Never lose control. When you are in control of yourself, everyone else will bend eventually. Focus on problems piece by piece and you'll destroy your enemies in time." Kinda ominous, but she could apply that to saving the day instead of doing terrible things.
First problem, she looked like her mother. She strode to the the bird bath, a couple blue jays fleeing when she approached. Examining her reflection in the water, she came up with a spell on the fly.
"Beware forswear, heed as I declare
cast upon me a visage most fair
so those who see me will not scare."
It was near-instant. Her face glowed green as the illusion surrounded her. Her hair turned a strawberry blonde shade, her eyes becoming deep blue, and freckles dotting her face. Even her clothes changed, becoming a soft pink jumpsuit as pearls appeared at her neck and in her ears.
Second problem, the VKs running around. She focused on the water in the bird bath and recited her next spell.
"Beware forswear, show me the affairs
of those who wish me great despair."
The water rippled before two bubbles popped out of it. They shimmered green as they floated into the air. Mal stared into one.
Giovanna was in an empty boutique that looked hastily abandoned. Clothing, shoes, jewelry, and makeup were scattered on the ground. Gothel's daughter wore a pale blue dress and diamond jewelry. She apparently wore a wig because her black curls were traded for long, blonde hair. In a mirror, she was applying makeup to her face to make her pale skin appear sun-kissed.
Mal checked the other and saw Maddie picking the lock to a prison cell. When she opened it, she said something that Mal couldn't hear. So Mal used another spell.
"Beware forswear, let me hear what they're saying there."
"And I'd bet objects transported through time-" Maddie began.
"Go back to where they were in this time." Shen said, wincing lightly in pain. "The museum, probably."
"Way to keep interrupting me with stuff I already said," Maddie finally got the lock and opened the door. "I'll be back with the cards and my pins. Then we get to the lamp first, guys?"
"The museum," Mal said. "Beware forswear, show me the Museum of Cultural History's affairs."
The bubbles merged together and showed a new scene. The guards were all gathered in the entrance hall. Mal used a spell to hear their words.
"Fairy godmother and Merlin are working tirelessly to come up with a way to secure the artifacts," one of the guards said. "Until they sort out the magical mumbo jumbo, we have to do our jobs. High alert, no one in or out until we've updated our security, understand?"
Everyone voiced their affirmation before continuing on to their posts.
"Hmmmm," Mal considered. No one was going to be allowed into the museum. She wondered how she was going to get to that lamp. Even she had never managed to break anything out. And there was a huge clap of thunder when she magicked herself anywhere. Third problem.
The only people she knew had managed it before were Maddie and Wes. Maddie had apparently been scoping it out and planning for months, if Reggie's texts could be believed. And Wes took over Ben's body.
Thinking about Wes automatically made her remember Vivianne and all the classes they shared together. There was this one time the familiar had said, "can I have your spellbook? Wait, why am I asking? That museum is way easy to break into in..."
The museum may not allow humans inside. But no security measures are made with animals in mind. a dragon would be too big. But a snake, a cat, a bat, a mouse? No way they could stop her if she used a quick transformation spell.
She doubted she would be able to cast one for the first time on the fly. She thought for a moment and remembered something. There were all kinds of books Wes had stolen from a secret room in the library. A place no one would be using during the magic ban. If she poofed right in, no one should be able to find her. And Reggie's texts had shown her there was a room full of ingredients in the Alchemy Tower that no one would miss.
Find a spell to transform into an animal temporarily. Infiltrate the museum. Get the lamp. Round up Gio, Shen, Maddie, and Reggie. Bring them back to the present. Arrest them all. Save the day.
As her mom would say: easy peasy.
Ben's Perspective
Ben was under lockdown. His parents had sent him to his room with guards at his door. They wouldn't tell him why, there was just some "issue." None of it made sense. And the sun was setting. He always got a little unsettled when it was dark and all this mystery didn't help.
He picked up his book, ready to find out what happened when the wizard went into the snake's secret chamber. It would at least be interesting while he waited. But then he heard a knock at the door to his balcony. He was about to call for his guards, but he saw the lady through the glass.
She held a finger to her lips. She looked really pretty. Golden hair and skin and a pretty blue dress. It was actually his favorite color; like the sky. She looked like a princess. He went to the door and she knocked on the glass softly.
Ben unlocked and opened the door. "Who are you?" He asked, before he let her pass. "How did you get up there?"
"Magic, of course," she said. She spun and glitter fell from the folds of her skirt.
"Magic isn't allowed." Ben said, face showing his concern.
"It can be our little secret," she whispered, crouching down to his level. "Prince Ben, do you know what happened today?"
"What happened?"
"If I tell you a secret, will you keep my magic secret? It's only fair, right?"
Ben was never good at fighting his curiosity. But it did sound fair. And getting onto a balcony didn't seem like something anyone should get in trouble for. He nodded and stepped aside to let her in.
She smiled brightly. "Thank you, Prince Ben." She passed him and sat down on his bed. "So, you want to know the secret?"
He nodded again, sitting next to her.
"Auradon is in trouble," she said sadly, eyes downcast.
Ben's eyes widened. Auradon was never in trouble. It was the safest place in the world. "What's wrong?"
"The villains in the Isle..." her voice broke and tears appeared in her eyes. She continued, "some of them were spotted today. There was a dragon flying over the plaza and everyone thinks it's Maleficent."
"What?" Ben asked. From what he knew of Maleficent, this was definitely not good. His friend Audrey apparently had nightmares about a purple dragon. And she'd never even seen it. "How?"
"No one knows," she said. "But she's already tried to destroy Aurora's kingdom once. You know her daughter well, right? Audrey. You have sleepovers and she can only go to bed if she hears her mother's story and knows the evil dragon can't harm her anymore, right?"
Ben gasped. "How did you know that? Do you know her?"
"I've never met Audrey. I told you I'm magical."
"Why are you telling me all this?"
"The bigger question would be why your parents didn't tell you?" She leaned closer with a beautiful smile. "You are supposed to rule Auradon in nine years. It's your responsibility. You should know if it's in danger, right?"
Ben looked down, feeling hurt.
"They don't think you're ready to defend Auradon," she continued. She still smiled dazzlingly."But I do." She lifted his head up gently. "Do you like to read about Auradon's history?"
Ben perked up. "I like to read about anything, but I especially love history."
She giggled. "You must be a way smart boy. Do you know what happened in Cinderella's darkest hour?"
Ben smiled, nodding. He spoke in a practiced rush. "Her fairy godmother appeared, helping her in her hour of need to get a fair chance to meet the prince. They fell in love when they spoke and danced. Then she left the ball, her stepmother tried to keep them apart, and Cinderella outsmarted her so she could live happily ever after with Prince Charming." He blushed. "Told you I like reading a lot. And I know them. Fairy Godmother, Queen Cinderella, King Charming, I'm best friends with Chad and...Charm...is difficult."
"You're a very smart boy," she said. "Wanna know another secret?"
He nodded again.
"I'm your fairy godmother." She said, dusting off her skirt again and sending sparkles falling. "I believe you can save the day today, Prince Ben, so everyone in Auradon can live happily ever after...again."
Ben's eyes widened in wonder. "Really?"
"I've got a magic sense about these things," she said. "You have to prove your courage, your honor, and your heart. Can you do that?"
He nodded. "I think I can." Ben saw her gray eyes flash dangerously for a second when she heard that. But she was smiling warmly again so quickly that he doubted he'd seen it.
"You can do more than think." She reached into a bag, "I believe in you. You can slay a dragon." She pulled out a long, silver dagger that sparkled with blue glitter. "I have an enchanted sword, just like the one King Phillip used. Little smaller since a bigger one would be totes heavy."
Ben took the sword, but he really didn't like the way it felt in his hands. It was still heavier than he'd like. "My parents don't want me to use weapons," he complained. "They say my mind, words, and heart are-"
"I'm sure they also don't want villains to take over Auradon," she said kindly. "I know you can prove that you're ready to rule Auradon one day if you show them what you're capable of," she reached for the sword. "But I understand if you're too scared. It's not easy to be as brave as a king. Maybe Chad or someone else can save us-"
"Wait," Ben said. "I have one question." When she let the sword go, he asked. "Everyone will bring the villains back if I use this, right?"
She laughed. "Of course, silly, why do you think I put a magic spell on it? It's enchanted. All you have to do is slay that evil, purple dragon. Won't Audrey and Chad be so impressed with you? Won't your parents be?"
Ben smiled. "I think they will. I'll slay that dragon."