Freddy grimaced as he shifted in his cell, trying to change position as his butt was seemingly falling asleep. His wounds still ached, even if he would never actually admit it. Sure the Boreadon Bores brought a doctor to see him but he would never admit to them that he hurt. You don't let an enemy know your weaknesses after all.
That would be admitting that Mal had won. That the little witch had gotten one over on him with that little trick of her's at Cotillion. God he couldn't believe he thought she'd fight fairly!
How was he supposed to know that she could do that anyway? They claimed Mal had done this before, at Beastie Jr.'s coronation but he hadn't seen that. He'd been too busy to try to get to freedom after the wannabe Princess stole Fairy Godmother's wand and blasted a hole in the barrier. Though all it did was confirm what he already knew—Mal was a witch. Only witches transformed themselves the way Mal had. Only witches tried to rid the world of those who were only trying to keep others from going down their dark path.
He winced as a spasm of pain shot through his body, though the epicenter seemed to be around his ribs. God damn Hook! And Uma! And that little blue haired brat too! The son of Hades, that heretic! That would be another one he would have his revenge against once he got out of here!
The brat, that is. Freddy wasn't an idiot after all. Hades may have been a false God but he was still much bigger than Freddy ever was. Though...he could always take his anger and frustration out on that little fraidycat that ran errands for Hades. God it was always nice to cause him to jump out of his skin.
Jay was going to pay too, for punching him in the face! Oh he would regret that once Jade was tasting the cold steel of his dagger. Just like Hook would regret his choice to kick him once CJ was within his grasp...once Harriet was screaming for his mercy.
War would come to the Isle. And the Rats would be caught in a trap they wouldn't escape, especially if Freddy decided it might be good to partner with the witches over in the Casters. Sure, he despised magic but rumor had it Zevon had been working on a potion that was particularly debilitating if one were to get hit by it.
The Rats could block or duck daggers. But they'd be so busy fighting the Angels, they'd never see the Casters coming. The downfall would be glorious. They'd probably react the way Ryan had the day of the stampede. Freddy had heard the younger boy's screams from his hiding spot on the barge.
It would be worth teaming up with the worst sort of sinners the Isle could produce, just to hear his enemies scream like that. You couldn't block what you couldn't see after all, and there weren't enough Rats to fight both Angels and Casters.
In his pain addled brain, Freddy forgot in that instant that even though there were four Rats on his side of the bridge, there were still fifteen Rats on the Isle. Even with his seven Angels and the four Casters, the Rats still outnumbered them. It was close but they did. But that could be dealt with at a later date.
He had revenge to plot.
Of course Zevon would be out of his mind if he thought he'd get access to the docks. Freddy had bled for crying out loud! Had almost been hit by lightning by that witch Mal! If anyone was owed the docks, it was him.
"You might want to watch out. Or move away from the door. Then again it's your choice, if you want to get blasted go right ahead."
A familiar yet unfamiliar voice rang out, interrupting his plotting, and Freddy winced as a blast of bright light filled the cell. When it faded, however, Freddy was greeted with a glorious sight.
It's that Princess, the one I ran into before gracing Cotillion with my presence...Audrey, wasn't that her name? I didn't know she was a witch! She hadn't looked like one when I talked to her, neither did her allies for that matter. But then again, if she's freeing me from the odious cell, maybe she's someone worth knowing. Maybe she'd even be someone worth being called an Angel...once she'd been saved of course. Magic users belong over in the Casters if not with the filthy Warf Rats.
"Are you coming? I'd have thought you'd be keen to avoid going back to the Isle for now since Mal's little gang is probably out for your blood?" Audrey asked, looking over her shoulder as she turned to leave causing Freddy to smirk.
"I must admit, I'm not particularly fond of witches," he said as he slowly rose to his feet to walk out of the cell. He was stiff and so it took longer than he was happy to admit but he finally got there. "But for one as exquisite as you, I'll be willing to make an exception."
"Help me get revenge on Mal, I'll make sure you have all the witches you want," Audrey told him, growling slightly as her grip on her scepter tightened.
Freddy chuckled. "Anyone who's not an ally to Mal is an ally of mine," he told her. "Even if they do dabble in magic."
"How else are we to best Mal? Hopes and dreams? You've proven swords don't exactly work on dragons after all," Audrey scoffed but gave Freddy a flirtatious little smirk. As if to let him know that she was only joking, that she meant no ill will. "By the way, I found these in a bag in a closet down the hall. I suspect they were going to throw them out, or worse let Evie use them as practice material, but I thought you'd want them more."
Freddy opened the bag to see his old clothes, the clothes he had stripped off in order to don King Beastie Jr.'s suit. The suit he was still wearing, sans the Beast crest that Jay had so kindly cut off.
"You've no right to wear that," he growled as he finished the job. Now all that remained were pathetic little threads, clinging to the grey fabric for dear life. Not that he particularly wanted to wear the crest of the family who unfairly imprisoned his father and forced him to be kept in captivity like a caged animal.
The light golden threads oddly enough reminded him of Brooke and her blonde hair before going on to the other Angels. Briefly he wondered if Claudine was leading them in revenge against the Rats for Mal's attack on him. After all, an eye for an eye was one of the many mottos around the Isle. Henry or Harriet would have to be their target, or maybe they'd pick off one of the younger members.
"You know Jay, if you gave in and had a fling once in a while, you wouldn't be so tense," Freddy smirked, pulling himself out of his thoughts so Jay wouldn't catch him unawares. It was always so easy to get a rise out of the Rats, they were so emotionally attached to each other. It'd be pathetic if it wasn't so amusing. "Or are you tense because you and Hook are having a lover's spat? You two did seem quite close when we all were on the Isle."
Jay shook his head as he turned to leave. "You're trying to bait me so I'll punch you. It won't work, no matter how tempting it may be. But enjoy the cell."
"I'll get out at some point! And then you and your little witch of a leader will regret this!"
"Freddy, you're the one who decided to attack Auradon without backup," Jay said as he walked out of the cell, closing the door behind him and making sure it closed tightly so there was no chance in Freddy escaping. "The only thing I regret is not killing you back when we were kids. The day you pushed Mal into the Cove."
"And he shall smite the—."
"Yeah, yeah, fiery depths, blah blah blah, watery depths are more appropriate, blah blah blah, joke about Mal being a witch, blah blah blah," Jay shook his head. "Honestly, you're like a broken record. No wonder the Angels are a joke. No matter what you all do, you can never escape the number two spot and you never will."
"Was I a joke when I escaped the Isle?" Freddy smirked. "Oh that's right, your precious Rats were too distracted to even realize I'd gotten off the Isle. God, you'd think after fourteen years, Ryan would have been used to seeing a dead body but he hollered and carried on like he'd been raised here in Boreadon. Some pirate. I didn't think he was that weak."
Jay growled but someone held him back from charging back in and pummeling Freddy within an inch of his life.
"Jay, you injure him any more than he is and we'll never get rid of him," a blonde girl said as she stepped out of the shadows.
"Emma, you—."
"Jay I was at Cotillion. I know what he did," Emma growled before coughing to clear her throat and tucked a strand of her blonde hair behind her ear. "But Ben doesn't want you to get hurt. And I know Mal wouldn't want to miss her chance to teach Freddy here a lesson again. Plus Gil, Carlos and Evie want a turn to give Freddy a free education in the importance of not messing with Ben."
Freddy scowled at the nickname, one the Rats and more specifically Mal had so graciously given him. It didn't matter that the blonde was quite attractive, he still hated the nickname. "It's Fred."
"Eh, you look more like a Freddy to me," Emma said with a small smirk.
"And now I know why you're with Emir," Jay chuckled. "Come on, let's get back before your boyfriends freak out that you were here."
Freddy rolled his eyes. Boyfriends with an 's'? What a pity. He knew Boreadon was full of suckers but he didn't realize all the boys were brainless as well. Honestly the poor boys made Gil seem smart.
"I'm dating one guy Jay." Emma sighed.
"Akiho and Ben count as your other two boyfriends. Don't you, Elle and Mal have that joke about inadvertently getting three boyfriends when you guys started dating your guys?"
"Oh right," Emma chuckled. "See you Freddy. Don't get lost on your way to the Isle!"
"Nice one." Jay smirked.
"I try."
They quickly left, leaving Freddy sitting in his cell and seething with rage.
Freddy shook his head and quickly stripped down and changed, not caring that he was in the presence of a woman. Or a Princess. God made him in His image after all, why should he be ashamed of his body?
Though he had to smirk as Audrey flushed slightly and turned around, as if to give Freddy his privacy. God, they were so pure here. It was almost sickening! Still...he could work with pure.
"See anything you like Princess?" He purred as he pulled on his shirt. Granted, the Boreadon Brat wasn't his type, being a witch and all, but it'd been so long since his last fling. A man had needs after all, and if Boreadon was willing to provide a release for said needs...well he'd be a fool not to take it.
Sure Shayla was good but she had this misguided belief that if they had enough flings, he would make her his fling permanently. He had enjoyed crushing those hopes after the first round, he'd enjoy crushing them again.
Especially if it meant going for girls who weren't Zevon's sloppy seconds. Or a fling sandwich with him as the bread and Zevon as the filling in Shayla's case. She was lucky she didn't get kicked out of the Angels for that. If they had decent numbers...she would have been.
"The only thing I'd like to see is Mal suffering," Audrey growled as she turned back around, annoyed at the fact that Freddy was still in the cell. If he didn't hurry up, they'd be caught for sure. "That little witch stole everything from me. My life, my standing, my boyfriend! She deserves everything we're going to throw at her. If you're willing to do so."
Freddy grinned, barring his teeth in delight. "Gladly," he said with a dark little chuckle. Mal suffering? Oh that was practically music to his ears! And to hear someone who wasn't him call her a witch? Finally someone saw the light and wasn't kissing the helm of her dress as she walked by!
Oh sure the Casters hated her too but Zevon not so secretly wanted to be the one to be Mal's first fling and Maddy only hated Mal because she didn't want to be in Mal's shadow. Everyone knew that.
It was rare to find someone who hated Mal, truly hated Mal, and saw her for the horrendous person she was. Plus if she betrayed him or tried to lure him to sin, he could always stick her with his dagger.
"Oh I think you and I will get along just nicely," Audrey smirked before making them disappear in a cloud of pink smoke. It had been something she had practiced on her way over to the cell, to make sure nothing would happen to either of them. It wouldn't do for them to get injured before they even had a chance to confront Mal after all.
They reappeared in front of a small cottage, nestled deep in the woods. Audrey knew this cottage, it had been the focus of many a bedtime story when she was growing up. The place where her mother had spent sixteen years of her life.
"Small but decent," Freddy said, tilting his head as he looked at it and trying to ignore the slight feeling of nausea that came from the teleporting. It really would work as a hide out. It was so...vanilla that no one would expect them to be there. It was certainly no Haven, that was for certain. But maybe that was a good thing. Mal wouldn't associate him with this cottage, that looked like Snow White was going to frolic out of it and call to the woodland creatures to help her clean up.
"It's where my mother hid from Mal's," Audrey told him as they made their way inside. Freddy nodded, more than a little amused at how close his thoughts had been.
"She probably won't even appreciate the irony of us using it as our headquarters to destroy her considering she's so dedicated to denying Maleficent's her mother," Audrey muttered.
Freddy couldn't help but smirk. That hadn't been the case on the Isle. Oh she strutted over every inch of that damned rock simply because as she claimed, Maleficent was her mother.
That being said, Maleficent had made his and his father's life hell because of Mal's little dip into the Cove. How the Dragon even found out about it, Freddy would never know as he had thought the smoke had hid his face from view. Claudine had somehow remained untouched though she spent most of her time in the bell tower of Dragon Hall. Even after he spent all that time dragging her out of her shell, she still preferred to hide.
Gods, it makes me glad she's only my half-sister. I'd be worried about my genetics if someone as weak and timid was one hundred percent my blood, he thought. It makes me wonder who her mother had been. I don't see our father spending time with someone as meek as Claudine had been, if Esmeralda was any indication. Then again, Esmeralda was another witch—at least according to the stories father likes to tell.
"So what's the plan?" Freddy asked, looking over at Audrey.
"Time to show Bennyboo the wickedness Mal's been hiding," Audrey told him with an evil little giggle. "It's a good thing I 'borrowed' this from the museum."
She held up Maleficent's spell book and gave it a small wiggle as she smirked.
You know what, I think I can ignore her use of 'Bennyboo' if the Princess just stole Maleficent's spell book, Freddy thought, impressed despite himself. Yes stealing was a sin but on the Isle...there were a couple sins you overlooked in preference of survival.
Magic? Witchcraft? That couldn't be ignored. But if Locklyn happened to swipe some food from Hades' restaurant or Strat stole weapons from the Rats...well Freddy was content to look the other way then.
Plus...'Bennyboo' was so trite and irritating that it was sure to get under Beastie Jr.'s skin. Or even better, get under Mal's skin. If she was irritated, she'd make a mistake.
I mean, that's what that blasted pirate does, he thought with a small smirk as he took the spell book from Audrey's hands.
"I'd heard stories about this but I figured the Dragon Witch had it locked away for protection," he murmured as he held it in his hands, ruffling through the pages despite his better judgement. There was a small, almost minuscule part of him that was curious to see what all could be done with the Dragon's spell book. "I guess Mal went soft then, if this was in a museum of all places."
Audrey snorted and Freddy rolled his eyes, knowing what she was more than likely amused about. It was a stretch to say the girl who transformed herself into a dragon and turned him into a rag doll was soft.
"Here," he muttered, almost shoving the book into Audrey's hands.
"Well, well, let's see what you have for me," Audrey said with a smirk gracing her lips as she searched through the spell book for inspiration. "Ah ha! A hag spell, well isn't that perfect? Then she can be as ugly on the outside as she is on the inside!"
A bit weak if you ask me but I'm not the one doing the witchcraft, Freddy thought as Audrey cackled. Then again, this is a Boreadon Royal. She probably doesn't know what true evil is even if it came by and smacked her in the face.
Maybe that could be something he could...teach her.
"So enlighten me," he said, crossing his arms over his chest. "You say Mal stole your life. How exactly did she do that?"
Audrey growled, her fingers tightening around the spell book. "I was supposed to be marrying Ben. I was supposed to be his Queen. But then Mal came in and just...spelled him! Oh sure they claim he's not spelled but he's never acted like this before she arrived!"
Hmm, yep that sounds like Mal. Ruining lives for the sake of ruining lives, Freddy thought with a small nod.
"Well then," he said and smirked slightly as he gave a small bow. Oh he didn't mean it in the slightest but for right now it was better to have a witch on his side rather than have two witches waging war against him. "Once we take down Mal, it will be a pleasure to make sure your kingdom is free from all witches."
"My kingdom..." Audrey said with an almost feral grin. "I like the sound of that, Fredrick. Audrey, Queen of Auradon."
She'd need a King but she'd worry about that later. If push came to shove, she could always demand Chad be her King...no. Her Prince Consort. After the way he acted the night of Cotillion, there was no way he was going to get to be the same rank as her.
"You, my Queen, may call me Fred," Freddy told her, a small smirk pulling at his lips.
"Let's go," she said, returning the smirk. The two disappeared in a puff of smoke once more.
You'd better be ready Mal, Audrey thought as she glanced over at Freddy once they got to their destination. Cause we're coming for you—and this time, victory is within our grasp.
Well Jay, you taunted me about not having backup? How's this for backup? Freddy thought with a smirk as the two of them stood on the edge of the woods, looking up at Beast castle. Your move Beastie. Your move indeed.
War would come for the Isle. But the Angels could handle that without him for now. It was time to help a Queen get her kingdom back.