“Celia,” the Sorcerer closed the door quietly behind her, “I sent Sophie into town to get my students some hours ago, but they haven’t returned.”
“You mean the antiheroes?” she guessed, her mind immediately leaped to all the ways she could leverage the situation against both her father and the old Auradonian, “I can find ‘em easy!”
Yen Sid smiled as he watched her mind work; he didn’t even really mind the treacherous thoughts, “Thank you, Celia. Tell them to come straight here.”
“Most everybody is at Pleasure Island tonight.” she shrugged, turning to skip through the door again, “I bet they are too.”
“I hope so,” he murmured, “I dearly hope so.”
*o*o*0*o*o*
Anxious to start looking for Evie, Doug poked his head out of the crawlspace, but Audrey yanked him back with shaking hands.
“Don’t!” she whispered earnestly, her eyes wide, “They might see you.”
“Yeah!” Chad glared at him, “Why don’t you think about someone else instead of just yourself, Doug?” His mouth twisted into a knowing sneer, “Is this what she’s taught you?”
Doug’s face flamed; he’d never wanted to punch Chad Charming more than now but he managed to catch himself, “Whatever, man.”
“I wanna go home,” Audrey whimpered, snuggling closer to her boyfriend.
“I’ll get us out of here, babe.” Chad held her close, “Don’t worry about it.”
He poked his head outside and suddenly declared that the coast was clear. Audrey didn’t say a word as he lifted her out and Doug had no choice but to follow, biting his tongue against their hypocrisy.
“Now what?” the pretty pink princess asked, shivering as she tracked the villains and VKs around them.
Chad wrapped his arms around her again and headed for the gate, “Come on, let’s get out of here.”
“What about Coachman?” Doug hissed, his voice bringing them to a screeching halt.
“We’ve got our disguises.” Chad shrugged, giving him a look, “Hurry up, Doug. I thought you wanted to find your girl.”
“But what if there’s another way?” Dopey’s son insisted, “A safer way? When Jiminy Cricket and Pinocchio escaped, they jumped off a cliff and swam out. Better that then getting caught going through town, right? We could swim back to the dock and start from there, keeping in the shadows like Evie—”
“So, yo wanna get swallowed by Monstro, huh?” Chad snapped, “I’ve seen him down there when I take dad’s boat out. And ole Tic-Toc too. Not to mention Brutus and Nero.”
“Please, Doug,” Audrey whimpered again, “I don’t want to get separated.”
“Great goblins.” Dopey’s son used his girlfriend’s favorite expression.
But he knew they had a good point and that took all the fight out of him. They headed towards the gates on high alert and, to their great relief, they found only Coachman standing guard. He was keeping a lazy watch, taking tickets and bribes, chatting with old villains, and showing some little VKs how to play the games.
“Ooo,” Audrey sucked in her breath, as they stared at the who’s who of villainy, “I-I-I don’t think this was a good idea!”
“Thanks a lot for dragging us into this!” Chad hissed into Doug’s ear, pulling his girlfriend close again, “I won’t let ‘em get us, babe.”
Doug seriously contemplated punching him again, but like a true hero he kept his cool and Audrey came to his defense.
“Chad, stop it,” she growled, digging her nails into his neck for emphasis, “You’re being mean!”
“Okay, babe.” he kissed her lips then turned to Doug, “Sorry, man. I was outta line. This is your baby so you should decide how we get out. We’ll follow you.”
“Thanks,” Doug almost rolled his eyes, feeling caught between a rock and a hard place as he scanned the area and made a snap decision, “Maybe we can get out this way, if we keep our heads down and move fast.” Watching his companions, he felt a stab of awe at their steady expressions; they looked like true heroes and he’d never felt more like a sidekick, “I mean, we’re AK’s, right? We just gotta trust that we can do this.”
Chad began nodding and he held out his fist, “Okay.”
“Okay,” Doug set his hand firmly on Chad’s, “first, we’ll walk fast. Then, if someone tries to stop us, we run.”
“Alright.” Chad agreed.
“Okay.” Audrey laid her hand gently on the pile.
“But, if one of us gets caught,” she added bravely, “We all stop. We’ve gotta stick together. No matter what. That’s what heroes do.”
“Agreed.”
Then they turned and headed for the gate.
*o*o*0*o*o*
“I’ll admit, that was pretty cool.” Jordan whispered, as she and Mal led the exodus from Maleficent’s dungeon, “I never thought I’d say something like this but…you’re mom, wow…”
“The Mistress of all Evil.” the purple-clad girl scowled, snorting as she wondered for the hundredth time where her best friend was, “I was her biggest disappointment.”
“Hey, Doug,” she turned around to see how he was doing, “You alright?”
Silence reigned and the others turned around to see what had happened.
Sweeping the group with her eyes, Mal’s heart began to race. “Hold up, guys.” she snapped, “Where’s Doug, Chad, and Audrey?”
“Where was the last place we saw em?” she continued barking, pushing her way through the crowd and running back the way they’d come.
“Maybe they’re trying to figure out which bedroom Evie will take.” Jay suggested, as he and Carlos pounded behind her, “Audrey would totally do that—and she wasn’t keen to come down here.”
“Maybe they’re hanging out upstairs.” Carlos added.
“They should have told me.” Mal didn’t turn around.
“We’ll go check.” Jace and Harry enthusiastically volunteered, their eyes aglow with delight.
The purple-clad girl didn’t try to stop them; she just glared at Carlos, wordlessly telling him to keep an eye on them.
He nodded once and followed.
Not finding them nearby, Mal hurried back to the group and started giving orders, “Jay, Ben, Lonnie—get the swords. Take one for Carlos. If they went outside and people find out you’re here, we could get ambushed.” She nodded at Freddie, Claudine, Yzla, and Diego, “You guys go too. Barricade the doors and windows with whatever.”
“What about us?” Hadie spoke for the rest of them.
Mal gave him a look, “We’ll follow ‘em in a minute. I-I just want to make sure they aren’t…hiding somewhere.” She knew that was lame.
“Can I have a sword?” Big Murph’s eyes glowed with interest, “Dad’s been teaching me with one of Capt’n’s old ones.”
The purple-clad girl whirled on him, her eyes glowing green, wordlessly daring him to talk again.
“Hey, hey,” Ben grasped her shoulder, “None of that now. I’m sure Big Murph is great.”
She shrugged him off, still glaring at the hopeful pirate.
“We’ll find ‘em!” the king insisted, reaching for her again, “Don’t worry. They wouldn’t—”
She shrugged him off again then evaded his third attempt.
“Please, Mal!” Big Murph pleaded again, “Dad says I’m pretty good now.”
Claudine snorted, “Who of us has ever heard a compliment come from our parents?”
“Yeah,” Hermie Bing folded her arms over her chest, giving the pirate a pointed look, “Good lie though.”
“I gave up lying!” he shot back.
“Alright!” Mal whirled around, “If you can disarm Lonnie, you can have a sword. Fair?” Her eyes still burned green, “I’ve had enough. They’re not here. Let’s go up!”
His eyes lit up, “Gee, thanks, Mal!”
“Now, she’s started it.” Eddie grumbled.
Hadie snickered.
Carlos and the Badums met them at the top of the stairs, “They’re not here.”
Pressing her lips together, the purple-clad grimly accepted the news and made a snap decision, “Guys, I’m going to Yen Sid.”
“Mal, no!” Jane cried, “What will we do without you?”
“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” Ben blurted out.
“You guys will be fine,” she nodded at Jane, “You have Jay, Carlos, Freddie, the antiheroes. Lonnie is here. Ben. Evie will be back soon.” She forced a smile at her ex-boyfriend, “We don’t have a choice.”
“I should go with you.” Ben blurted out.
“No!”
“But—”
“Look, Bem,” she forced a smile again, gripping his hands, “I need you to help keep everyone safe here.” She squeezed his hands for emphasis, “Besides, I have a feeling you might be a little bit of a hindrance for me out there.”
He scowled. She was right and he knew it.
“But, w-what about the siege?” Ally asked, “Won’t you get captured?”
Green flames leapt into the purple-clad girl’s eyes again and she picked up a can of spray paint, shaking it with a growl, “I’d like to see em try!”
*o*o*0*o*o*
“I’ve had enough of this!” Evie abruptly stood up, “See you suckers later.”
Harry and Gil instantly blocked her path.
“Going somewhere?” the pirate’s son fitted his hook under her chin again.
“Get out of my way, you sea scum!” she snapped, using a tone that would make her mother proud, “You can’t hold me here. I’m a princess!”
“Aww, come on, Evie,” he leaned close, whispering in her ear, “You’re in our territory now.”
She glanced at Gil, “Say, did you ever tell your brothers about our kiss?”
“No!” he gasped, “I’m gonna go right now!”
“Don’t you dare leave!” Uma snapped.
Harry instinctively stepped back to block his path and Evie took her cue.
Grabbing Sophie’s arm, they bolted for the door and tore through the streets as if Headless Horseman was after them.
“Wait,” the Sorcerer’s Apprentice finally started to falter, “Wait, please, I can’t keep up!”
The blue-clad princess glanced back but continued running, half-dragging her friend behind her until Sophie wretched her arm free.
“Seriously!” the blue-clad princess whirled around angrily, “What kind of AK are you? Our friends need us! Doug is probably—”
“I’m not Hercules,” Sophie snapped, “Can’t we just walk? We lost them back—wait, what? You know about—?”
Evie snorted, her eyes sweeping the street for a quick hiding place, hissing in her friend’s ear, “Yes, they’re at Mal’s! But, I’ve been gone way too long!”
Sophie’s jaw dropped.
“There—go” Evie pushed her behind a rickety old hay wagon and quickly arranged the straw to cover them before giving her friend a vile look.
“Now, what kind of villain’s attitude have you picked up living here?” she growled, “A hero can always go the distance! Our friends need us!”
“Fairy Godmother called Yen Sid,” Sophie explained softly, her face reddening with embarrassment, “I’m sorry—it’s just been such a crazy day.”
“You got that right.” the blue-clad princess muttered, “So…she told you?”
Sophie nodded, “She saw them leaving on the security camera after Gordon complained because their cars were blocking the gate. Jordan wished them here.”
“They told us what happened.” Evie rolled her eyes, “We were gonna go to Yen Sid tomorrow morning, after the nightlife settles down. But Gil stopped by the Slop Shop this morning while we were having breakfast and I promised to kiss him on the square at midnight—don’t ask—then Uma came—” She rolled her eyes again, “It got all messed up.”
“Wow.” Sophie looked at the ground, “I’m glad they made it to Mal’s. Particularly tonight, with Pleasure Island opening. Yen Sid sent me to get the antiheroes so we could find them quicker. I was headed towards Pleasure Island to look for them, but Harry stopped me along the way.” She wiped her eyes as tears leaked down her cheeks as she felt the weight leave her shoulders, “What a relief to know they’re safe.”
“Freddie got to antiheroes first,” Evie smiled lightly, “They helped them get to Mal’s. They’re still there too.”
“What?” Sophie gasped.
“Shh, yes.” Evie glared at her, “They even stole disguises for the AK’s to wear. That’s who the wharf rats saw earlier.”
“That’s a relief!”
“Yeah, I guess,” Evie murmured, “but I’ve been gone too long. They’ll know something is up. If Doug—”
“Then we have to get back!” Sophie exclaimed, suddenly jumping up, “Okay, I’m ready. You’re right, we do need to get going!”