Wicked Ones ♛ MAL [✓]

➣ twenty-one.

021. | UMA VS. MEDDY

Suddenly our moment was shattered when Uma lunged for Fairy Godmother's wand and shouted, "Ugh, give it to me!"

"No!" Fairy godmother cried.

"Guards, seize her!"

Uma glared at all of us before running to the edge of the boat, preparing to jump into the water. But Mal stopped the girl when she yelled, "No, no! Stop, please! Stop!" When Uma stopped and looked at Mal, she went on, "Uma, I know you. You are so much more than just a villain. And you have to believe me, because I've been there. Do not let your pride get in the way of something that you really want."

Uma stared at us, and her mother's necklace—the one she always wore—started glowing. For a second we thought she was going to stay, but then she turned and jumped into the water anyway.

"No, no!" Mal cried, running to the edge of the boat. "Uma! Uma!"

We all watched the water, looking for some sort of sign that Uma was there. But then the ocean began to churn, and Uma burst out of the sea. Only now, she was fifty feet tall, and the lower half of her body was that of an octopus.

Just like her mother.

"True love's kiss won't defeat this," Uma taunted. "The world will know my name!"

Uma began to rock the boat, trying to capsize it. Everyone screamed as the ship tilted from side to side, struggling to keep from falling overboard as Uma laughed maniacally. Then Uma looked at a furious Mal, smiling as she held out her arms, daring Mal to challenge her.

I turned to Mal, gasping when I saw that her eyes were glowing bright green, and she was panting heavily.

"Mal?" I asked.

She looked at me, fear and relief in her eyes, then tilted her head up as violet smoke enveloped her. Then there was a furious roar, and a huge purple dragon burst out of the smoke, stretching out its wings before landing in front of me.

I watched as the dragon stared at me, its loud breathing being the only sound. Its eyes flicked down to my arms, and when I looked at them myself, I gasped. Green electricity was crackling around my wrists, popping and snapping with power. I realized that I had inherited my mother's lightning ability, and probably her other powers and tricks. Then I looked up at the dragon, and that's when I realized who it was. And I couldn't believe it.

Mal had turned into a dragon.

Mal leaned her head down towards me, jerking her neck slightly, and I realized she wanted me to get on her back. So I hiked up my dress and climbed up her scaly neck. Once I was seated, Mal let out another fierce roar and took off into the sky, then turned around and breathed a fireball at Uma. It just barely missed her, and Uma lashed out with one of her tentacles before she looked up at us, holding out her arms again.

"Come on, ladies!" Uma challenged us. "Let's finish this once and for all!"

Mal dove down, breathing fire at Uma again as she passed, and I shot electricity at her as well. It hit Uma in the arm, and she cried out in rage before she lashed out again. Mal leaned back to dodge it, then spun around and launched another fireball at Uma. Uma ducked underwater just in time, then didn't resurface again.

We all waited for a second, only to have Uma pop up again, creating a huge wave that rocked the boat once again. Then I heard another roar, but this time it wasn't from Mal.

It was from Ben.

I turned my head just in time to see Ben dive into the water, then resurfaced between us, holding out one hand to halt our fight.

"Mal, Freddy, Uma!" he yelled. "Stop! Back down!"

Uma just laughed, flicking water up with her hands. "What are you gonna do, Ben? Splash me?"

"That's enough!" Ben shouted. "It's got to stop! This isn't the answer! The fighting has got to stop! Nobody wins this way!" He looked at Mal and I, then back at Uma. "We have to listen and respect each other." He paused, then added, "It won't be easy, but let's be brave enough to try." Facing Uma, Ben told her, "Uma, I know you want what is best for the Isle. Help me make a difference." He held out his hand to her.

Uma stared at him, then at Mal, who growled lowly at her. Slowly, she raised one tentacle, earning a full-on roar from Mal, then lifted it past Ben and dropped something into my hand. It was the necklace I had planned to give Mal.

I looked up at Uma, all my hostility fading away at the gesture. Smiling sadly at us, Uma turned and dove into the ocean before disappearing from sight.

Ben, Mal, and I watched her go. Then Ben turned and swam back to the ship, and Mal followed.

It was over. We had won.

━━━━━━━ ❃ ━━━━━━━

A/N: We're one chapter away from the epilogue! Can y'all believe it? But I hope you guys are ready for it, cause I'm 99% sure it's gonna melt your hearts and leave you shook.