I know what you're going to say.
"Mal! What was that?"
I can't let him get hurt. I can't let any of them get hurt.
"Last time you tried this-"
You don't think I remember?
All the times I've attempted to distance myself from people I care about for their protection. All the times it's failed?
I remember. Yet... I have to try.
If there's a chance that I can get him through this unharmed, then I have to take it.
So now it's just me, Evie, Jay and Carlos trudging through the woods in the dead of night.
The three of them are talking, muttering quietly in harsh whispers as if to pass under my radar.
They forget how sensitive a dragon's ears are.
Yet, I can't concentrate on any of it because of the river of ideas and theories rushing through my head.
It's pretty obvious what needs to happen here.
Cruella, Jafar and the Evil Queen need to be hunted down, and disposed of. Pronto.
Then, we need to find out who it was that actually let them out in the first place.
And lock them away. Properly. For good.
All of this - while being chased by the wonderful people of Auradon that currently thirst for our blood in repayment for a. Unleashing some of their worst enemies (which they don't seem to understand that we didn't do) and b. Killing their former king (which we also didn't do).
So, step one : track down the villains-
I was snapped from my thoughts by an aggressive snarl, to my left.
I froze, causing my friends to collude with me, and we fell in a heap on the floor.
Slowly, I got to my feet, eyes fixed on the spot of which the growl was emitted.
"Mal, what-" Carlos began, but I shushed him quickly, still glaring at the nearest possible threat.
"Mal, what's going on-!"
"Be quiet, Evie!" I hissed "didn't you hear the..." I trailed off when I noticed her expression; it went from disapproving to absolutely terrified.
Then, I noticed a pair of lupine red eyes, gazing hungrily at my Blue-haired friend.
Instinctively, I dived forward, knocking Evie to the ground underneath my body as the animal took a swipe at where she had been, moments before.
We scrambled to our feet, our backs pressed together, and I unhooked my blade from my chain, passing Evie my bow and quiver in the process.
The blade extended, forcing the beast back into the darkness of the trees, but others crept out, circling us slowly, and blocking off all exits.
The beasts were wolves.
Their creamy fur was matted, and speckled in spots of tar black.
Their blood red eyes were trained on us, expressing their animalistic throat for blood. The wolf foamed at the mouth, slimy drool dripped to the floor, until it licked it's lips and lapped it back up.
I could see Jay and Carlos out of the corner of my eye, in a similar position to us, Jay holding his gloved fists up, ready for a fight and Carlos sporting a particularly large stick.
I watched an arrow impale itself in a wolf lunging towards Jay. He stared at it in surprise, before yanking the arrow out of the corpse to use as a weapon.
The wolves were slowly pressing us together. More and more were emerging from the darkness. We were getting quickly overwhelmed.
I watched Carlos loose his stick to a particularly hungry wolf, and saw Evie's last arrow hit its mark.
We were running out of time.
Fast.
Until it all stopped.
<><><>
I cautiously tip-toed towards my friends through the crowds of wolves, their lips frozen in a snarl.
I have no idea what caused this, but they suddenly just stopped moving.
They're not dead, though. I can hear the ragged breathing, the air whistling in between their teeth.
Personally, I was all for running.
So were Jay and Carlos.
But it was too late for that.
"Good evening, Children," a sickly-sweet voice drawled.
A hauntingly familiar sweet voice.
We turned to face her, and in her shadow, my friend looked like the scared little runt he was when we first found him.
"I would say I've missed you, but... That would be lying," she laughed.
My fist clenched on the hilt of my sword, and I raised it so the point was resting a couple centermeters away from her chest.
But instead of intimidating her, like I had hoped to do, she batted it aside like a particularly annoying fly, with another sickening laugh. Then, she snapped her fingers, and a single wolf burst to life from the field of statues.
I prepared to face the creature head-on, bringing my fists up to my chest in the defensive position.
But the beast sprinted straight past me.
And latched it's canines around Evie's neck. She was out like a light.
I stared in horror at the wolf, now removing it's jaws from around my friend's neck. I could see the bloody welts on her neck, slowly swelling, and dripping a vile substance similar to that of the wolves' drool.
"What are those things!" I screamed at the evil woman, but she just laughed that infuriating laugh, throwing her head back maniacally.
"Those my dear, are the product of Dalmatian puppies, and a random potion stolen from Facilier's desk."
Of course, they're not natural. Natural things are just too easy to beat.
The world must just hate me.
"Baby has just loved the new company, haven't you Baby?" Cackles Cruella Deville.
Then the wolf came for me.
I felt the impact, the intense pain beyond anything else.
Then I blacked out.
<><><>
When the light flooded my features again, something was different.
My body felt light as air and was a painless mass. Then I looked down and realised I didn't have one.
What is going on?
I glanced to my left, then to my right, but saw nothing other than pure air. But then, my dragon senses picked up on a life force, a few meters away from me.
It was a compact cloud of mist. Like the kind you might get see around the enchanted lake near Auradon prep.
Yet... Something within told me it was Evie.
I tried to call out to her - key word, tried, but as expected when you're a cloud of mist (which I am assuming I am, judging from my friend's current state), nothing came out.
Except more mist.
I looked down, and noticed a horrific scene unfolding below me.
Carlos, shivering in his shorts, up against one of his worst fears.
His mother.
Suddenly, I saw the scared boy that I met when we were 14. The boy that slaved away to please the creature below us, yet was punished anyway. Despite his best efforts.
Carlos had come so far since then.
And I won't let this... This beast of a woman take him back.
Both to the Isle, and in time.
I noticed Jay off to the side, leaning against a tree, clutching his ribs while blood trickled from his lip. Slowly shuffling away from the nearest threat - a large mutt, slowly bearing down on him. Playing with its prey before taking its life.
Or sending it up here, if you prefer.
The beast caught his neck, and Jay shimmered out of existence like we had too.
"No!" Screamed Carlos. "Jay!"
His head whipped back to his mother, his fear and sadness shimmered in the form of tears in his chocolate eyes.
"What did you do to them?"
"Oh, you know... Just sent them away," replied Cruella vaguely. "They're in the Fade now."
Well, that's not good.
The Fade is like a mirror dimension, and works like a dream. The contents are controlled by those who have the power to manipulate it - meaning those descended from the Ancients.
I knew Maleficent and the Evil Queen were, meaning Evie and I are, but Cruella? That's new.
A Jay cloud floated out of his still body, and floated up to where Evie and I were, and a ripple ran through the air, as if it were paper.
He hovered next to us, and we watched the continued feud between mother and son.
Until Cruella froze.
Just like her horrible dogs.
<><><>
Like stone. Her lips pulled back in a vicious snarl, she almost reflected the expression of her dogs, arms lifted and fingers curled like claws. It reminded me of that creepy statue in the Auradon museum.
Carlos looked to her carefully, edging forward. He kicked her in the shin, and she wobbled, like the statue, before falling backwards onto a bed of grass.
I wondered what was going on. Freeze is a powerful spell. And this is clearly the work of a spell.
That's when we fell from the sky.
As I plummet, I felt my senses heighten again, my body materialise and my arms nearly snap at the weight of my landing.
Jay groaned, and rolled onto his back, while Carlos rushed over.
"Guys! Are you okay?" He squeaked, and although this was a severely un-funny moment, I just had to laugh.
"Mal! This is not funny!" Lecturer Evie, but even she was fighting to hide her smile.
Eventually, the four of us were sprawled out on the grass, ignoring the body of Cruella Deville, still frozen.
A sudden flash of light, and her wolves disintegrated into piles of salt-and-pepper ash.
We were all okay. Evie told us of how she managed to manipulate the dimension long enough to release us from it.
However, none of us could explain Carlos' mum's current state.
Yet, it didn't seem to matter.
All was well.
For now.
End of chapter.
Question : what do you think might've frozen Cruella?
Okay. So I have no excuse for why it took me a month to do this chapter. I ran out of ideas and spent ages trying to think of some good ones I like. I have allocated myself a schedule for writing though, so hopefully the next one will come quicker.