Yen Sid was helping his apprentice with a special after school project when his cell phone rang again.
“Let me guess?” he answered, glancing at the ID, “Jay and Carlos have—”
“I’ll look into it immediately,” he answered tensely, a few minutes later.
“You’re dismissed for the day, Sophie,” he continued in the same brisk tone, tucking the phone into his robe as he headed for the door under full sail, “Just leave everything where it is. I’ll clean up later.”
“Okay…” the teenager bobbed her head respectfully and backed away, biting her tongue to keep her curiosity at bay.
“On second thought,” he spun around, “you could help me.”
“Anything!” she bounced eagerly on her heels.
“This morning,” he began, after a moment’s hesitation, “Fairy Godmother called to tell me that Evie has returned to the Isle.”
Sophie’s jaw dropped, but no words came out.
“Apparently, she’s been struggling since Mal came back and when Fairy Godmother found out yesterday she knew they couldn’t make her stay if she didn’t want to so she sent her back with her wand last night.”
Silence reigned in the classroom.
“She broke the news to Carlos, Jay, Doug, Ben, Belle, and Beast this morning,” his voice softened, “It was heartbreaking for her.”
“I can’t even imagine.” she murmured.
“Naturally, the boys skipped school to come back,” he went on, “But, unfortunately, Ben, Doug, Lonnie, and Jane followed them and eventually Freddie and a number of others caught wind of it and they insisted on coming with them. Fairy Godmother believes that they’re all here via Jordan’s magic.”
“Oooooo,” Sophie’s eyes widened in shock, “They-they all came here?”
He nodded gravely, “She saw them disappear from the school parking lot on the security footage.” Counting off the names on his fingers, he said, “Ben, Doug, Lonnie, Jane, Chad, Audrey, Ally, and Jordan, along with Freddie, Jay and Carlos. We need to find them quickly.”
She nodded empathically, “I’ll start right now!”
“No, no,” he shook his head, “We need to be efficient. I’d like you to round up the antiheroes and tell them to come here for instructions. We need all boots on the ground for this one.” He drummed his fingers on a desk, “If anything happens to those kids…”
“I bet they’re all at Pleasure Island.” she cringed at the thought, “Or maybe their hideout.”
“Hideout?”
“I-I-I think Claudine signals them from the bell tower,” she added, shrinking back from his suddenly formidable gaze, “but I have no idea what the signal is or where they meet.”
“I didn’t know about it.” he looked troubled, “Why didn’t you tell me before?”
“I-I-I heard them talking about it accidentally.” she stammered, “They didn’t even see me. I’m not supposed to know. I thought maybe they had a good reason.”
“There isn’t a moment to lose.” he whirled on his heels, “This hideout could be the perfect place to talk with them. Let’s go speak with Claudine.”
*o*o*0*o*o*
Mal and Evie laughed, skipped, and danced their way through the squalor-ridden streets, making their way back to Maleficent’s palace for dinner without harassment after spending the whole afternoon with Dizzy; it was such an unusual sight that many of the old villains poked their heads outside to yell at them.
“Get lost, ya old bat!” Mal snapped, using her leftover spray paint to blast the Queen of Hearts’ red dress. She cackled like old times, “And don’t forget who’s in charge around here!”
“Off with her head!” the old villainess bellowed, sending her playing card soldiers after them.
Instantly the girls took off, overturning everyone and everything in their path in an attempt to slow their pursuers. Finally, their steps slowed and Evie couldn’t help but giggle hysterically, her face glowing with happiness.
“It’s so good to have you back!” she gushed, puffing to catch her breath, “You worried me this morning, all cooped up in there.”
“That was awesome!” Mal beamed brightly, “I finally feel like me again!”
They rounded the next corner, their faces still aglow with the thrill, then suddenly Evie stifled a scream and leapt behind her friend.
“Oh, you big sissy!” the purple-clad girl teased, turning back to look at her with an amused smile, “It’s just your mother.” She turned back to watch Evil Queen haggle with Madam Medusa over the price of a cracked half-filled bottle of perfume then turned to Evie again, “Oh, come on, you knew she’d show up eventually! What are you afraid of?”
For a moment Evie pouted, then she sighed and shrugged, “You’re right, of course; might as well get it over with.” Setting her face, she marched out into the open.
“Excuse me,” she said, peering over Madam Medusa’s elbow before grabbing the bottle. She threw it against the castle wall, watching it shatter before turning back, “That scent is sooooo last season, Mommy!”
“You’d better pay for that!” the old pawn shop owner shrieked, her eyes bulging in fury.
“Naturally, naturally,” Evie patted her arm soothingly, pulling out some unused Auradonian arcade coins from her purse; she dropped them into the old villainess’ hand then gave her a little wave before turning to her mother.
“Well, you’d better have something from this season,” the old woman snapped, “seeing as how you didn’t bring home a prince!”
“It was half-empty and cracked,” the blue-clad princess retorted boldly, tossing her hair off her shoulder, “It’s beneath you.”
“Does that mean you brought me something better?” the old woman’s eyes burned with greed as she brushed Evie’s cheek lightly with her cold hand, “My beautiful daughter; I knew you wouldn’t forget how much your poor mommy has suffered here.”
For a moment. The Isle’s princess closed her eyes as her mother’s frigid touch seeped into her skin. She swallowed hard and shook her head, mumbling, “I-I-I-I’m afraid not, mommy. I-I-I’m so sorry…”
A thunderous crack sent her reeling into the castle wall and her vision spun with a thousand stars. She heard Mal yelling as she staggered sideways, trying to keep her balance.
“Stop it” the purple-clad girl snapped, “You can’t do that!”
Evil Queen raised her hand to strike her old rival’s daughter but recoiled when Mal’s eyes began burning green. Clearly having a flashback from the days when she and Maleficent had battled for control of the Isle, she stood mesmerized for a long minute. Then a rare smile tweaked her blood-red lips upward and she laughed with evil bemusement.
“How sweet, you defending my daughter,” she said coldly, barely concealing her pent up rage, “You, who completely ruined her childhood!” She shrieked now, “You and your mother ruined us!”
“Oh, I played nice when we came back,” she purred, her voice suddenly eerily calm, “I played along with your mother. I played along and I bided my time…but now, but now, I have you right where I want you. If only your mother was here to see it…”
“Mommy, stop!” Evie staggered forward, hobbling as fast with a throbbing head would allow, “Mal’s my best friend! I came back because of her, not to make sure you have the latest fashions!” A sob broke from her lips as a set of her own flashbacks assailed her mind, “I-I’m sorry. I’m so sorry! I know how much they hurt you—I should have thought—I can get—”
“You will get—” the old woman corrected coldly, instantly forgetting about the purple-clad girl when the prospect of better beauty products presented itself. Her triumphant smile made her seem two feet taller, “I want everything new for every season!”
“Yes, yes, mommy, yes, I will.” Evie stammered, her face turning red as an apple, “Of course, mommy.” Gently, she pushed Mal towards the castle’s door before the more independent girl could get involved, “Let’s go.”
“Why—?” Mal whirled on her once the door was closed and locked.
“Don’t—” Evie pleaded, “You don’t know what she’s like. Maleficent didn’t care. You don’t know what it’s like to have someone control every facet of your life. Carlos understands, but you and Jay can’t.” She sighed, “And Carlos could get away from Cruella whenever he was at school or she went to the spa. I was stuck with Mommy all the time.”
“My fault.” Mal scowled, kicking the couch, “If only I’d known…”
“What’s done is done, Mal.” Evie sighed, wrapping her arms around herself protectively as she shivered with old memories, “We both did what we had too to survive.”
“Whatever.” the purple-clad girl’s scowl deepened as she watched over her friend. Then she saw the table and gasped, “Hey—look, the vultures came while we were out!”
Bolting forward, they both realized that they hadn’t eaten since breakfast and eagerly tore into the baskets.
“I’m so hungry,” Evie’s eyes gleamed, “that this crap actually looks pretty good.”
“You want to tell me about your mom while we eat?” Mal paused to study her blue-clad friend again.
“Not really,” Evie made a face, “I’m starving!”
“Home,” Mal smiled ruefully, “freak home.”
“Yeah,” Evie repeated softly, “Home, freak home.”
*o*o*0*o*o*
Freddie led the little troupe of antiheroes down the path towards the beach.
“Where in the goblins have you been?” Jay hissed, pouncing on her a little ways from shore; he didn’t bother to greet the antiheroes and they respectfully kept their distance.
“Relax, Jay,” she gave him a look, “We took our time and came the long way around. I didn’t want anyone following us.” She gestured behind her and Claudine hustled forward, her arms laden with stolen VK clothes.
“We got some disguises so they won’t stick out like sore thumbs too.”
“We thought you’d been caught!” Carlos scolded, “We thought you were gonna be right back!”
“That would’ve gotten us caught!” she snorted, folding her arms over her chest. Gesturing around, she added, “Where is everyone?”
“Hiding.” Carlos frowned, “We didn’t know—”
“Lonnie, Ben, and Chad have the swords.” Jay added.
“Great,” she made a face, “You gave Chad, of all people, a sword?” She shook her head, rolling her eyes, then softened, “The guys really want to meet them.”
“Fine.” Jay huffed; turning around, he shook off his fear and anger with gritted teeth, “This way.”
“It was a smart thing to do,” Carlos admitted, trying to make amends as he trudged along beside her. He laid a hand on her shoulder, “Hmm, what did Yen Sid say about the AKs…?”
“He doesn’t know…” she winced, “I lost my nerve and got Claudine to call everyone to the secret hideout.”
“What–?” Jay spun around, gasping. All his contingency plans involved Yen Sid rescuing them, “Oh, shoot, crap–never mind.”
“Who’s there?” Ally called out.
“It’s alright.” Carlos replied softly, as they stepped onto the sand, “It’s us. Freddie’s back, with the antiheroes.”
The AKs cautious appearance broke the VKs shyness and suddenly they rushed forward with cries of delight.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” Jay and Carlos panicked, jumping in front of the stampede,“Quiet, guys! Someone might hear you!”
“Shut up, you idiots!” Freddie was right with them.
“That’s right!” Big Murph joined them, trying to help, “We gotta remember our good manners. We’re meeting AKs!”
Hermie Bing snorted, “That’s ironic, coming from you.”
“Enough, Hermie,” Claudine hissed.
“Is it safe?” Audrey and Ally called worriedly.
“Of course,” Ben patted their shoulders, “Any friends of theirs are our friends too.” Stepping forward, he eagerly introduced them, “I’m King Ben. This is Prince Chad, Lonnie, Jane, Princess Audrey, Ally, Doug, and Jordan.”
“I’m Claudine.” Frollo’s daughter stepped forward with more boldness than she felt, “This is Yzla, Jace and Harry Badum, Eddie, Hadie, Hermie Bing, Big Murph, and Diego.”
“I’m Carlos’ cousin.” Diego clarified.
“I see the family resemblance,” Ben smiled, “Thank you all for your help.”
“Hm, uh,” Claudine hesitated, then said, “Welcome to the Isle of the Lost.”
“Thanks!” Ben held out his hand. When she took it, he smiled again, “I’m glad to be back for another visit.”
“Really?” she wrinkled her nose and pulled her hand back.
“Really.” he answered seriously, extending his hand again.
“So, how did you guys get here anyways…?” Yzla interrupted, looking around with a confused expression, “I thought you had to drive.”
“That would be me.” Jordan gave a little wave, “I’m Genie’s daughter so I wished us here.”
“Then how will you get back?” Yzla asked, frowning.
“Ooooooo,” Hadie suddenly understood, “Uma has the only magic on the Isle!”
Carlos and Jay looked at each other as the realization sank in.
“Evie and Mal are gonna kill us.”