The sounds of battle came to Yen Sid and his companions as they closed in on Maleficent’s castle and Doug and Chad couldn’t resist the urge to join in.
“Something’s going on!” Doug took off like a shot.
“Come on!” Chad quickly passed him.
“Stop! Come back!” Celia yelled, “You’ll get hurt!”
“Chad!” Audrey screamed, “Doug, stop!”
“Let them go, Audrey,” the Sorcerer’s big hands gasped her shoulders, “We’ll be there in a moment.”
“But—” She could hardly believe her ears, looking at him with horror-stricken eyes.
“Patience, Audrey.”
Then they were there, stepping out of the alley just in time to watch Chad pick a sword up off the ground and face Harriet Hook.
“I’m Chad Charming,” he bowed deeply, sizing her up with arrogant eyes, “Son of Prince Charming and Cinderella.”
“Oooo,” she laughed, pointing her sword at his chest, “I quiver with fear!”
“What’s your name?” he asked curiously.
She curtsied, remembering that her father hated bad form, “Harriet Hook, at your service—eldest daughter of Capt’n Hook and older sister to Harry and little Calista Jane.” She rolled her eyes, “Otherwise known as CJ.”
“I met your sister at the Jewelbilee a couple months ago.” he nodded as they began circling each other, “She crashed it with Zevon.”
“She’s a brat.”
“You sound jealous.”
“Why not?” she shrugged, “Where would a villainess be if she wasn’t jealous?”
“You know you can’t beat me, right?” He changed the subject.
“Who says?”
“I’m a hero,” he jumped forward for a quick strike, “I’m predestined to win.”
“I think not,” she easily deflected his move, “Your parents just got a lucky break.”
“You’re doomed,” he insisted, swinging again and again.
“If Fairy Godmother hadn’t shown up, little Cindy would still be wearing rags and mopping the floor.” she retorted, deflecting all his blows with practiced ease, “Although…she’d probably be doing a better job than Dizzy does.”
*o*o*0*o*o*
“Evie!” Doug’s voice rang with joy as he plowed into the pirate she was dueling, “You’re alright!”
“Doug, what?” she gasped, lunging forward to defend him from the angered pirate, “Wh-where did you come from?”
“Um, uh,” he hesitated, suddenly realizing that the truth would be awkward. Instead, he took an opportunistic swing and sent their opponent to the pavement, “Whoa, I got him!”
“What are you doing out here?” she snapped, pressing her heel into the pirate’s throat as she faced her boyfriend.
“Um, ah,” Doug’s eyes widened as he watched the pirate gag, “What are you doing?”
“Don’t change the subject!” she snapped, giving her hostage a swift kick to get him out of the way, “Carlos said you were upstairs!”
“Uh, ah,” he stumbled for words, stupefied by her actions. Then he laughed weakly, “Well, you know me, I couldn’t let you have all the fun, right—hey!” He pounced on a second pirate who was sneaking up behind her.
“But, you don’t know how to fight!” She ripped off her heel to beat off the attacker.
“You might be surprised at what we heroes can do when we put our minds to it,” he laughed freely now, spinning to punch a third pirate, “Geez, how many of these guys are there?”
“Don’t ask,” she snorted, swinging both shoes at their opponents, backing them all the way to the castle wall, “Take that, and that, and that!”
Then a booming voice stopped everyone in their tracks.
“THIS HAS GONE FAR ENOUGH!”
*o*o*0*o*o*
Celia and Audrey watched in amazement as Yen Sid lifted up his arms and spread them wide as lightning exploded across the sky. It was as if he could still command the weather from under the barrier.
The opposing teenagers instantly froze, shocked at the sight of the strange old Auradonian using his magical powers after so long advocating against it.
Strolling through their ranks with his face set like stone, the Sorcerer marched to the castle door to usher the good kids back inside, leaving Uma and her crew on the sidewalk.
“It’s time you all went home.” he said calmly, looking over the haggered group with a satisfied expression as the kids from upstairs cautiously came back down, “You’ve done well and proven yourselves worthy of your heritage, but this adventure is over.”
“Wh-where’s Mal?” Ben asked, doing a quick head count.
“She stayed behind, your majesty,” he answered softly, bowing his head, “Dr. Faciller interrupted us and she volunteered to distract him so that I could come to you.”
“No, no, no…” Ben stumbled for words, “I came to bring her back to Auradon!”
“It’s alright, Ben,” Freddie laid a hand on his arm, “I’ll go get her. I can handle my dad.”
“It’s up to Mal,” Yen Sid reminded them gently, “whether or not she will go back.”
“But we have to give her a chance!” Ben was aghast.
Catching Evie’s eye, Doug silently pleaded to know her thoughts. Was he going to lose her again too if her friend refused to come?
“I need to call your mother.” The Sorcerer changed the subject, giving Jane a meaningful look, “She is very worried about everyone.”
“Hold on! Wait a minute,” Freddie vehemently shook her head, “Why can’t I go talk to Mal first? She only stayed for your sake, not because she doesn’t want to come. It’s not fair to not give her a chance.”
“I’d like to go too.” Ben pleaded.
“Mal spoke with Fairy Godmother already,” the Sorcerer looked concerned, “She knows you’re all here and well. Time is short.”
“Come on, Yen Sid!” Freddie pleaded, “You know Dad forced her hand. She’d be here if she could. I know it!”
“Give us a chance to rescue her!” Ben added.
“Only Freddie,” he relented, nodding curtly, “I’m sorry, your majesty. It’s too dangerous for you outside now. Freddie, you have a half an hour.”
Then suddenly his phone beeped and he stepped away to answer it.
*o*o*0*o*o*
Uma stood in the shadows of the courtyard, puffing to catch her breath as she stared at her nemesis’ castle in disbelief; Evie had actually lied to her!
Numbed by the thought of not even recognizing any of AKs during the battle, she could only stammer and gasp in shock.
“W-w-why’d they all come here? W-what’s happened over there?” She whirled around, fingering her mother’s necklace, then whirled back to stare at the castle again.
“Let’s break down the door!” Gil called excitedly, pumping his fists as the pirates whooped behind him.
“We’ll wait for our captain to decide,” Harry silenced everyone with a cool look, “M’lady?”
“We’ll wait until they come out,” the green-clad girl shook her head to clear the cobwebs, “They can’t stay there forever. They have to go back and when the barrier opens, we’ll be ready.”
“Okay guys,” she continued giving directions as her breathing began to return to normal, “Harry, Gil, and I are going to Auradon tonight! We’ll steal Fairy Godmother’s wand ourselves and bring the barrier down!”
“We ride with the tide!” Harry called out, whooping with glee as the crew howled again.
“Everyone spread out,” Uma continued giving instructions as the noise subsided, gripping her mother’s necklace fiercely, “Everybody on the Isle has to be ready when we invade!” Then she raised her fists in triumph, “Once the barrier comes down, we’ll finally take what we deserve!”
o*o*0*o*o*
“We’re going with you.” Jay and Carlos took the Sorcerer’s absence as an opportunity.
“Excuse me?” Freddie raised an eyebrow.
“Safety in numbers.” Jay shrugged, “You hear Uma out there now, don’t you? Evie got kidnapped earlier.”
“Excuse me?” she repeated, her tone rising an octave, “You don’t think I can handle myself out there?”
“What he means is, she’s our friend too,” Carlos tried a different approach, “I mean sure, you’ll be safer with numbers, yeah, but what we really want is to talk to her too.”
“If you guys go,” Evie joined them, “I’m going too.”
“Somebody has to stay here,” Jay nodded at Yen Sid down the hall, “He’ll be ticked—”
“You mean you want me to cover for you?” the blue-clad girl hissed, “I’m her best friend!”
“Alright,” the Sorcerer’s stern voice grabbed everyone’s attention, his tone and expression made everyone stiffen. Something was very wrong, “You four may go talk to Mal, but the rest of you are going home right now.”
“What—” Ben gasped, “No!”
“Your majesty,” the Sorcerer sighed heavily, “Fairy Godmother didn’t tell me this before, but your father, as King in your place, has relieved her of her duties. He was understandably angry over what’s happened, but you must all go home to fix it.”
“What?” Jane gasped, “Can he even do that?”
“I told her to send the limos. I will send for them again if your friends want to come.”
“But—?” Ben protested; he felt like he was losing control of the situation.
“Go.” Evie implored him, “Go home where you belong. We’ll stay here and talk to Mal.”
“No!” Doug blurted out, seizing her hand, “I went to Pleasure Island to look for you! I won’t let you stay here!”
She gasped and spun on Carlos, suddenly connecting the pieces.
Jay caught her arm. “Deal with him later!” he implored, “We have to go now.”
“We’ll be in touch.” Carlos added, trying to encourage everyone, “This isn’t over.” He caught every antiheroes eye, “We’re still good.”
“Of course!” Claudine affirmed; she was the only one of them who could speak.
Carlos reached for Jane, “I’m sorry, but I’ve got to do this.”
“I-I-I understand…” she answered bravely, her voice catching before she pulled away and fell into Ally’s arms.
Jay held out his arms to Lonnie but words failed him; he’d never done this before.
“Go,” she said, biting her lip, “Do what you need too. That’s what my mom taught me, no matter how hard it is.”
Doug kept shaking his head, vainly trying to keep his girlfriend from leaving him again.
“What about us?” he croaked.
“Don’t you see how hard this is?” the blue-clad princess answered softly, pleading for understanding before turning away, “I’ve got to go.”
“Well,” Big Murph scowled, looking at the floor as they filed through the door, “This really stinks.”
*o*o*0*o*o*
“Wait, look!” Gil pointed excitedly as the castle door opened, “They’re coming out!”
Uma’s eyes widened in horror; they couldn’t be leaving already! She wasn’t ready!
“Quick!” she hissed, turning frantic eyes on Harry and Gil as the rest of the crew scattered on their own, “We gotta hide!”
Reacting like lightning, the black-clad pirate pulled his two best friends into the shadows.
From there, they watched their rivals cautiously emerge from the castle and quickly vanish into the night.