Fairy Godmother paced back and forth inside her office, one minute wanting to call Yen Sid, the next wanting to call her daughter, and the next not knowing what she wanted to do.
“Did you find them?” she demanded, grabbing the phone when it suddenly rang.
Spooky laughter echoed through the line, starting out softly and growing until it almost roared in her ear. Then a maniacal voice replied, “I hope that Ben and Chad came for their cars and all is well.”
“What? Who is this?” she snapped, her heart jumping into her throat, “I demand to know—” Stopping short at the sound of a scuffle, she waited with baited breath until Happy came on the line.
“I’m sorry if he frightened you, Fairy Godmother,” he apologized, “my son has an unfortunate dark side, but he means well.”
“Oh, well, that’s alright,” she almost cried with relief, “Give Happy Jr. my love.”
Hanging up quickly before he could ask questions, she realized that Gordon must have talked to his cousin and fresh tears started to flow when she realized how lucky she’d been that it was just a prank call from a student instead of a frightened parent.
I can’t believe I haven’t told them yet, she thought listlessly, reaching for her phone again.
*o*o*0*o*o*
Yen Sid also paced in his classroom at Dragon Hall, impatiently waiting for Sophie and the antiheroes to return.
“Why are you still here?” Dr. Faciller suddenly threw the door open, catching the Sorcerer peering out a window, “Hmm,” he cackled, “Maybe your goodie-two-shoes went to Pleasure Island tonight…? Not so good, after all, ha!”
“Why don’t you go have a little fun tonight, you loser?” the headmaster continued, when the Sorcerer didn’t respond, practically dancing as he advanced into the room, “Oh yeah, I forgot, Beastie Boy outlawed fun around here.” He crackled, “Good thing we have younguns like Uma! She’s gonna be a true villain one day! Not like your traitors.”
“Did you have something important to say to me?” Yen Sid looked bored.
“I was just concerned about why you’re still here,” the old villain shrugged, “Contrary to Auradonian opinion, we villains can and do care..” He crackled suddenly, “Take a load off tonight; the rest of us are! Pleasure Island just opened!”
“Thank you for your concern,” Yen Sid snorted, “but it isn’t necessary. You know I don’t approve of the nightlife around here. I intend to stay in my classroom and work on lesson plans, just as I always do.”
“Suit yourself,” Dr. Facilier called gaily, bowing with a flourish before dancing towards the door, “I have a date with Madame Medusa tonight!”
“How wretched!” Yen Sid frowned, turning back to the window.
*o*o*0*o*o*
Donning their villainous disguises, Doug, Audrey, and Chad slipped silently out the front door and immediately hid behind the old rickshaw that Gil had left behind.
“Now what?” Chad asked, casting an arrogant eye on some older VKs who were taunting a youngster down the street.
“We’ve gotta find Evie,” Doug answered simply, staring out into the darkness with purpose.
“Yeah, but how?” Audrey was impatient, wrinkling her nose at the filth around her, “I don’t like it out here. It’s gross!”
“Let’s follow them.” Doug suggested, as they watched the VKs move on, leaving the crying child to join a crowd at the end of the street, “Mal said she’s still popular. She could be in that crowd!” He started babbling, “Or maybe someone will tell us where she is! Or maybe we’ll see Sophie or Yen Sid!”
“Stop it, Doug!” Audrey hissed, grabbing his arm, her nails digging in, “They’ll hear you.”
Chad glared as he pulled Audrey back. Then he softened as all three warily stood up, “Hey, we got this, okay?” Whacking Doug on the back, he added, “We’re AKs. We’ll show ‘em.”
Joining the crowd, they cautiously mingled with the bad kids as they streamed towards some unknown destination, each privately wondering where they’d end up.
“Step right up!” a loud voice began to boom, “Step right up! Pleasure Island is finally open! Party all night kids and don’t worry about class tomorrow! Your teachers at Dragon Hall and Serpent Prep have given you their permission to stay up late, eat all the junk food you want, and do whatever you want!”
The VKs shrieked with glee, applauding wildly as they surged forward.
“Wh-wh-who is that?” Audrey asked, breaking the unspoken code of silence with a quivering voice. She grabbed Chad, trying to balance against the pushing crowd.
“No idea, babe,” he answered, pulling her close, “But I’ve got you.”
“I think it’s the Coachman.” Doug said, studying the fat old villain with narrowed eyes.
Then suddenly, he got cold feet and tried to back out, instinctively realizing that Evie couldn’t be here. But the VKs behind them surged forward and he was almost knocked him off his feet.
Turning wild eyes on his friends, he had to holler to be heard over the growing chaos, “I don’t think she’s here!”
“What?” Chad was incredulous, “How do ya know?”
“I just do!” he yelled back, “I’m her boyfriend. I know her.” He tried to turn around, but the jubilant crowd surged again, separating him from his friends.
“Doug!” Audrey screamed, her eyes widening in terror. She reached out, trying to grab his hand, but missed and was jostled out of Chad’s grasp.
“Audrey!” both boys yelled, scrambling to reach her as wild shrieks of ecstasy rent the air.
Fortunately, the VKs were all too excited to pay any attention to them and, after a few minutes of terror and desperation, they managed to get ahold of each other again.
Unfortunately, however, they were also being swept along with the rest of the crowd and soon found themselves in a replica of the old evil carnival.
“Eww,” Audrey made a face, as they scrambled into a dark crawl space behind one of the games to catch their breath, “Are we gonna turn into donkeys now?”
“I’m gonna be a horse!” Chad answered loftily, “A big strong white one!”
“Like Maximus?” Doug didn’t resist the tease, then he softened and added, “Don’t worry. There’s no magic on the Isle, right?”
“Right.” Chad agreed.
“So…” Audrey pulled her knees up to make herself smaller, “What do we do now?”
*o*o*0*o*o*
“I’m sure that you’re all wondering why I’ve called you here so late.” Fairy Godmother began nervously, her gaze resting on each parent, knowing all too well that they could see the tears in her eyes.
“What’s happened?” Belle asked tenderly, hurrying to embrace her, “Have Jay and Carlos gone back now? I’m so sorry—”
Fairy Godmother shook her head sadly, biting her lip until she tasted blood as she motioned for the queen to sit down again.
“Let me first explain,” she began, “for those of you who were not informed this morning. Evie has elected to return to the Isle.” She paused as gasped and murmurs of concern ran their course, then continued with a quivering voice, “S-she struggled to be happy here after Mal left us and I love her too much to make her stay when she doesn’t want too.”
Another murmur ran through the group, but Belle spoke up, “It’s not unlike what my dear husband did for me when his magic mirror showed that my papa was so sick.” She took Beast’s hand in hers, “Letting someone you love go is the very definition of a hero.”
Fairy Godmother gave her an appreciative smile, then flipped the security footage on fast-forward to get to the point where Jay and Carlos were shown leaving. She couldn’t even look at Beast, knowing how angry he’d been that morning.
“Unfortunately,” she continued softly, biting her lip again as the footage rolled, “and I’m so sorry that I didn’t tell you before, a major problem has come up since then.”
The tension in the room was almost unbearable as the old heroes and heroines silently watched the screen until the instant that their children disappeared. Then Beast exploded in fury.
“Our children are on the Isle?” his voice boomed, “How could this happen? I told you—”
“Now, dear,” Belle tried to reason with him, working hard to keep the panic out of her own voice, “I’m sure that Yen Sid is doing everything he can.” She glanced at Fairy Godmother with raised eyebrows.
“He knows.” she answered quickly, “I-I only found out this afternoon, but I called him right away.”
“And Mal, Evie, Jay, Carlos, and Freddie are there to help them.” Belle continued, anxiously trying to get her husband to sit down, “I’m sure they’ll be home before we know it.”
“This is a nightmare!” Alice disagreed, wringing her hands, “I hope they make it back before it’s too late!”
“I’d give three wishes to get them back,” Genie sighed, “But it won’t work on the Isle.”
“We must all remain confident,” Doc spoke for the Seven Dwarfs, “They’ll pull through, just like we did. I’m sure of it!”
“That’s right!” Happy slapped his brother’s back, hoping their words encouraged everyone else, “It’s our kids time! They’ll win just like we did!”
“I know we have confidence in our Lonnie.” Mulan stated, firmly gripping Shang to hold him back when he jumped up to go on a rescue mission.
“Chad will be strong for Audrey,” Cinderella assured Aurora, as they both worked to restrain their husbands from following Shang’s lead, “I’m sure they’ll come through together.”
“I hope so!” Aurora answered bravely, “Do you have a plan, Fairy Godmother?”
“Yen Sid is going to call for a limo…” the headmistress blushed deeply, “just as soon as the children are located.”
“What?” Beast roared again, “That’s no plan, Fairy Godmother! You don’t even know where they are! How could you let this happen?” Then, at the height of his anger, he did what no one thought possible, “Since my son is not here to defend the kingdom, I must do so. Fairy Godmother, you are relieved of your duties!”
*o*o*0*o*o*
“Maybe they’ve actually figured out how to do it,” Yen Sid muttered, checking the windows for spies again with a tense scowl. He thought back to the days before King Ben began inviting the VKs to Auradon. Back when his antiheroes were just youngsters, they made all sorts of childish mistakes whenever they spied on him, “I miss those cute little brats.”
Then he heard it: a soft noise outside his door.
Turning slowly, a small smile threatened to turn his stern mouth upward. “Come in…” he called softly, his voice as low as faraway thunder echoing off the cavernous walls of the classroom.
The door swung open, seemingly on its own, and for a long minute nothing happened. Then young Celia’s head peered around the door.
“Are you really gonna stay here all night?” she whined softly, “Dad wants me to stay and watch you, but it’s no fun.”
“I don’t know,” he answered truthfully, “I hope not though.”
“I wanna go to Pleasure Island!” she complained, scowling, “Dad’s no fun!”
Suddenly, Yen Sid changed his mind. He needed help and Freddie’s little sister was as trustworthy as anyone on the Isle, “Would you like to get back at him?”
“Yeah!” Her eyes lit up eagerly.