Dear Princess, Mal,
Mal grinds her teeth together and her eyes glow a very angry green. She holds the note tightly in her grasp, crumpling it almost to the point that the parchment would rip into multiple pieces. She knows who wrote this note and 'they' decided to open the letter with a mocking statement of her former status within the kingdom of Auradon, which was on the rocks thanks to Uma. She sucks in a deep breath and keeps reading the note.
I hope you've been getting all the caviar and spa treatments that you can handle because that is about to end. I wonder if you've figured out who's been causing a little chaos around this prissy prep school. Life in this kingdom is so boring and it was so much fun to shake things up and watch you take the fall. After our near run-in a couple of nights ago, I decided to show Auradon who you really are and who you've always been.
You can get mad at me all you want, but you know it's the truth. Evil is born not made and it will always stay that way. Like I said before, you can stick a tiara on a villain, but you'll always be a villain. The only difference is that I've fully embraced who I am and have decided to flaunt it. You know my name and what it means.
I can't say that I haven't enjoyed the freedom of the open waters and now, my crew is too. We plan to improve our lives by 100%, but we must take care of a few things first before we set sail. It's been a little while since we've talked, and I think it's time that we have a little reunion, only this time on your turf, instead of mine. I figured Ben deserved a front row seat for him seeing who you truly are and that's why he's been given early admission. He's not dead... yet... If that makes you feel any better. But it won't stay that way for much longer.
You might be thinking that I want Fairy Godmother's magic wand again and that I want to trade it for Ben, but I don't. Your precious king is just the leverage I need to get you here. You and I need to settle this once and for all, find out who the Queen of the Isle truly is. If you think you can beat me, you've got another thing coming and this time Beasty boy won't be there to stop the fighting. You knew that this has been a long time coming, the ultimate showdown and this time, only one of us is coming out alive.
Meet me on the beach in an hour where we can finally see if you can answer this question;
What's my name?
If you tell any teachers or other adults, then Ben won't live to see the sunrise.
I know you're itching for some excitement, bring it on.
Uma
P.S.
Gil and Harry say hi to you and the other loser VK's
The note becomes a crumpled ball as the daughter of Maleficent's fist squeezes it in her grasp. Her eyes are now like two green beacons of light as she becomes more and more enraged. She lets out an animalistic snarl. Before, she had been fighting back tears of anger and sadness, but now her rage is boiling over. The ground beneath her begins to shake violently with her inner evil coming out once again. It was like déjà vu for her. The last time she and Ben had broken up, he'd come to the Isle and been captured by Uma and her crew. Now they'd broken up again and the pattern is repeating, only this time Mal felt that there is more to it. Uma always wanted something more, there was always a catch to her plans or deals; like mother, like daughter. She couldn't figure out what it is, but tears are streaming down her face as she pants in anger.
Everyone in the room is deathly afraid of what will happen next; those who had seen what happened on the Cotillion cruise ship knew what this reaction likely meant. They take several steps back, Jay putting himself in front of Dizzy to protect her, Carlos pulling Jane and Dude close to him so he can protect them, and Doug has his hand on his girlfriend's shoulder to pull her away from the raging dragon-girl. But Evie shrugs off his grasp. The daughter of the Evil Queen realizes what was going to happen and she grabs her friend's shoulders tightly, having no regard for her own safety.
"Mal, listen to me..." she says in an eerily soothing voice. "You have to control your anger. You have to calm down. The only way to get Ben back is come up with a plan."
The purple-haired teen doesn't respond, but she keeps breathing heavily. She has the urge to spread her dragon wings and take out Uma in a ball of fire. She should have done it at the Cotillion, but Ben stopped it. A stupid move on his part in retrospect.
"Mal, we're going to do this together, you don't have to fight her alone."
Evie continues to hold her best friend's shoulders, refusing to let go and watch her sister do something that she will regret. She's trying to shake some sense into Mal, wake her from the angry trance she's in.
"Mal... look at me.... LOOK AT ME!" she orders, using her inner "evil queen" genes to finally have her friend lock eyes with her. "We're going to do this together. We're going to get Ben back, but as a team."
Mal sucks in another deep breath, allowing her magic to come under control again. She looks into Evie's brown eyes, seeing the determination in them, but the daughter of Maleficent knows she cannot ask her friends to put themselves in danger like this. "NO...You... can't do that. You can't risk your lives. This is between Uma and me like it was always meant to be."
"No way," Carlos says, going over to be next to Evie. "I've said it before and I'm going to say it again. We've been through a lot together and we're not stopping that now. We're your family and we're always going to be your family. Your fight is our fight..."
"Right," Jay nods, going to join his friends. "We're a team and we have each other's back. When the captain becomes tired, he has his army to watch his back."
They all look at him with slight confusion.
"Or... something along those lines," Jay says, knowing he's not a good motivational speaker.
He grabs Mal's hand and holds it in front of them. Carlos lays his on top of theirs and Evie joins in too.
"Losing is not an option," Evie says firmly. "Because we're rotten..."
"To the core," Mal finishes, giving a weak smile.
Dizzy joins the huddle putting her hand in, followed by Doug and Jane.
"We do this as a team..." Doug agrees. "As friends."
"No, there is no way you're getting involved in this," Evie says, taking her hand out of the group. "You too Diz."
"Jane, no..." Carlos says, grabbing her hand and pulling her away from the team huddle.
"I have magic, I can help you."
"I can't risk it," the son of Cruella De Vil says firmly. "It's too dangerous."
"NO!" Jane says, almost angrily. Everyone is surprised by the sudden change in sweet Jane's personality. She glares at all of them, finally putting her foot down. "I'm tired of people always treating me like I'm made of glass and if I'm touched, that I'll break. Just because my mother's the headmistress doesn't mean I need to be pushed to the side. I've let people do that to me all my life and I'm sick of it! I'm letting my voice be heard. Mal is just as much my friend as she is yours and if we're fighting for Auradon and Ben, we're doing it together."
Carlos is taken aback by his girlfriend's words and everyone else is too. All of a sudden, the shy, sweet Jane has given way to someone none of them can recognize; she's angry and determined, not taking no for an answer. Gone from timid, young fairy to warrior in a single heartbeat. And her boyfriend finds it rather attractive. He smiles at her, letting her know he's on her side now. He knows he couldn't convince her otherwise.
"Okay..." he says gently and allows Jane to put her hand in the huddle again.
Evie turns to deal with her boyfriend. "Doug, I can't ask you to fight with us."
"You didn't and I won't ask, but like Jane, Auradon is my home and I will protect it, no matter what..." the son of Dopey bites his lip, leaving a little hesitation in the air. "Remember how I tried to get you to wear matching plaid outfits and no matter what I said you stubbornly refused to even go near the pattern?"
Evie smirks. "Yes."
"That's how I feel now. We're saving Ben together and we won't let anything happen to Mal." Doug then leans forward and kisses Evie with a lot of passion. The daughter of the Evil Queen likes this new persona her boyfriend has adapted. It's stronger and slightly more macho than ever before. She knew he was her Prince Charming, without a doubt. The son of Dopey then puts his hand in with the rest of the group.
"Dizzy..." Mal says, but she sees the determination on the youngest VK's face, they knew there was no stopping her from becoming involved either.
"Let's skip another inspirational speech," Jay mutters. "We have less than an hour until show time."
"Fine, Dizzy you can help, but only if you stay back and give us some cover with those smoke bombs," Evie says sternly.
"I can help with that too," Doug grins with excitement.
Dizzy smiles with purpose, excitement, happiness, and determination. She adds her hands to the group.
Mal smiles, feeling happy and assured that her family from the Isle and Auradon were there to help her. She didn't feel alone anymore, but heroic and resolute, good always conquers evil and while she and the VKs weren't perfect, they were close enough.
"Let's show Uma how Auradon fights back," she smirks. "She's on our turf now."