At first, everything was dark. It wasn't the darkness that is akin to a black phone screen or when the lights go out at a cinema. This darkness felt like being enveloped in nothing – the closest description would be closing your eyes right before falling asleep. Everything was numb too, and time seemed to pass by slowly and quickly all at once.

Just as fast as it all happened, it disappeared in an instant too. One moment, Meredith was frozen like a statue, and the next she was fine. She blinked her eyes and scanned her surroundings, finding herself still in the forest and in the exact same position she was in what felt like just a second and lifetime ago at the same time. The only difference was that Mal was nowhere to be found now, and something in the air – perhaps it was the magic, or rather, the lack of it – told Meredith and the remaining VKs that something had changed while they were out.

After wiggling her fingers and stretching her neck a bit to get some feeling back into her body, the first thing Meredith next was turn to Carlos. But he was quicker than her; before she could even look at him properly, he was standing in front of her with his hands grazing her face and arms.

"Are you okay?" he asked, looking for any signs of injuries. Despite knowing full well that they had only been frozen and were now back to normal, he couldn't help but worry for her.

"I am," Meredith said, catching his hand and holding onto it gently. He softened at her touch and relaxed. "Just making sure – we were all turned to stone, right?"

"Yeah. Felt weird."

"It really did." The two of them shuddered before exchanging amused glances at that. Then, Carlos opened his mouth, wanting to continue their conversation from earlier before they were cut off by the confrontation against Mal, not to mention them all being turned to stone. But he shut it just as quickly, feeling that the timing wasn't right. He wanted to tell Meredith why he was acting so weird and fidgety all day. He wanted to give his present, one that was supposed to only be a small token of his appreciation for her but now felt like such a massive deal after everything they had gone through together. There was truly so much he wanted to say and do, but nothing about the current situation was normal, and even more so romantic.

And so, Carlos chose to tackle the matter at hand instead. Remembering that things weren't over just yet, he said, "I'm guessing the spells have all been broken."

"Right," said Meredith. "That means that everyone's either been unfrozen or awoken, and that –"

"Mal must have beaten Audrey somehow."

The air was tense as the couple turned to their friends who had all finished checking up on each other as well. Jay sighed to himself and Ben still looked upset, almost like a kicked puppy. Meanwhile, Evie cleared her throat and placed her hands on her hips.

"The question now isn't if she defeated Audrey – it's how," the blue-haired girl said.

"That and what the repercussions are," Ben added. "I worry about what magic needed to be used if Mal had to do it all alone, and if she's okay right now – heck, I even want to know if Audrey's fine."

"Do you think Uma really left, though?" Meredith wondered, causing the others to pause and think about that possibility. "Given how powerful Maleficent's scepter is, I doubt it was as simple as Mal using one shot of magic to stop Audrey."

"I don't know... Uma and Harry looked really set on leaving," Jay shook his head. "And after what Mal told us, they don't really have a reason to save Auradon, you know?"

"There's only one way to find out," Evie said firmly. She eyed each and every one of her friends with a look of determination. "Are we all good?"

Meredith, Carlos, Ben, and Jay all nodded their heads in response.

"Come on, then," Ben urged for the others to follow him. "Let's go."

The group headed back into the thicket of trees in search for Mal. It was dim in the forest, but the five of them had familiarized themselves with it quite a bit by now, so it wasn't too hard for them to retrace their steps and follow the path back out. Eventually, the trees thinned and led back out into an open space where they could see Auradon Prep standing tall in the distance. Sure enough, the answers to all their questions laid before them: Mal, in her dragon form, had just landed on the grass with two figures they couldn't quite discern yet, and waiting for them on the ground were another pair of figured that they guessed were Uma and Harry.

"Mal!" Ben shouted. All heads turned at his call. Mal was engulfed in a cloud of purple smoke a millisecond later, hurriedly transforming back into a human. She then jogged towards her friends to meet them in the middle of the field, her face showing a multitude of emotions: relief, remorse, and pain.

"You're all okay," she said mostly to herself. She slowly raised a hand to cup Ben's face, unsure of how he would react after all that she did and told them at Fairy Cottage. When he didn't back away, she sighed in relief and let the smallest of smiles grace her lips. Reluctantly, she then dropped her hand and faced the others to address them too. "Look, you guys, about earlier –"

"We can talk about that later," Evie said, placing a comforting hand on Mal's shoulder. "There are more important things to discuss right now. Are you alright?"

"I'm okay," Mal reassured her. "Uma helped me."

At that, they all glanced at Uma who was standing a couple of feet from them and pretending not to hear their conversation. Harry stood next to her with his arms folded over his chest in an attempt to seem nonchalant. But what really caught their eye was Celia sitting on the ground with an unconscious Audrey lying next to her.

"Oh my goodness," gasped Evie. "Is she –"

"Unconscious," Mal finished. "But she's weak. The dark magic from the scepter combined with me and Uma fighting back... it took a lot out of her."

"How did this all happen?" Ben asked, brows furrowed in concern and confusion. "How did Audrey face you? What happened in the fight?"

"It's a long story," Mal sighed. "For now, we need to get Audrey to a safe place and find out how to wake her."

♚ ♚ ♚

Mal wasn't exaggerating when she said that it was a long story. As they moved Audrey into her dorm, Mal told everyone all that had happened up to that point, starting with how she had run through the forest with Hades's ember to try and catch up with Uma and Harry after her friends were turned to stone. She explained how she tried to convince Uma to help her, but the latter initially declined – and Mal couldn't even find it in her to blame her for it after all the wrongs she did unto them. Then, she told them about Audrey taking Celia hostage, and how she couldn't fight Audrey nor find a way to get Celia to safety even as a dragon because she just wasn't strong enough on her own. That was when Uma stepped in and things took a turn for the better. Combining forces intensified their individual powers as well as the one coming from the ember, and they were able to beat Audrey together at long last. Immediately after that, all spells seemed to have broken and even Audrey had been turned back to her regular self – she no longer wore the crown and her hair had gone from deep violet and pink to blonde.

After the adrenaline died down, the group resorted to brainstorming for ideas on what to do next. At the same time, they took the opportunity to check in on their other friends and family. Jane called them up first and said that Fairy Godmother was back to normal, and that both Doug and Gil were with her and unharmed as well. Evie also called Dizzy and was delighted to update everyone that the sprightly girl and the Smee twins were up and about; they were just hungry and now digging into Jane's delicious birthday cake. Ben talked to his parents as well, requesting them to help the Auradon citizens by explaining what had happened and to order the staff to escort them back to their dorms or homes.

However, it soon became painstakingly obvious for Meredith, Ben, and the VKs that they were stuck in their current dilemma about Audrey; none of their suggestions, if any, were going to work. It didn't take long for them to lapse back into a strained silence. Harry now sat on an armchair by the fireplace where Jay was mindlessly picking at the ornaments atop it; Celia was biting her nails anxiously in her seat by the side table; Ben and Uma went back and forth from standing still to pacing restlessly; Mal and Evie sat on either side of Audrey who laid motionlessly on her bed; and Meredith and Carlos sat by side on the couch by the window. The happy and calming colors of baby pink, gold, and teal in Audrey's room were evidently a stark contrast to what everyone was feeling.

"She's slipping away," Evie said solemnly, breaking the silence.

"There's only one person in the world who might be able to do something about this... and that's Hades," Mal spoke up. Meredith's eyes widened and she sat up straighter at that, unable to refrain herself. In fact, nobody could hide the surprise on their faces at those words.

"Hades?" Ben said disbelievingly. "He wouldn't do it. I wouldn't risk it."

"Actually, he might do it for me."

"But why?" asked Meredith, verbally voicing out everyone else's question.

Mal took a deep breath before replying, "He's my father."

Meredith let out a low whistle and leaned back into her seat. Inching closer to Carlos, she whispered, "Did you know about this?"

"No clue," Carlos said, mouth slightly agape in shock. Meredith observed the others – Ben, Jay, Uma, Harry, and Celia – and concluded that none of them were aware of it, either. They were all just as taken aback as she was. Now, several things started to make sense, such as why Mal was so powerful since her parents were Maleficent and Hades, for beast's sake, and why she was able to retrieve the ember at all.

"Okay," Ben released a long breath after that reveal. Not seeing any other solution in sight, he nodded to himself and obliged with Mal's idea. "Well, I'll have to send guards to get him from the Isle first thing in the morning."

"Maybe I can hitch a ride," said Uma. "The Isle is my home. Someone needs to be there to protect it."

"Well, then, you will need your first mate," Harry said, pushing himself to his feet and coming to stand behind Uma. After everything Uma, Harry, and even Gil had gone through with them just that day, Meredith found herself not wanting them to leave. It wasn't an easy road having them there in the beginning, especially after the tricks they pulled during the last cotillion, but it was now clear that they weren't all that bad; they weren't evil. All they wanted was a chance to stay in Auradon too – to be treated respectfully and to live safely and freely. But considering the fact that the barrier was going to be closed for good very soon, there was no other choice but for them to return.

"The Isle will be in very good hands," Mal said. Although this was said with good intentions, it somehow felt like a slap to the face given the circumstances surrounding it.

"Can I go, too?" Celia interjected, standing up as well. "I wish I could be in both places."

Mal pursed her lips, feeling as if her heart and mind were being torn and pulled in all directions.

"I really think that Evie was right," Mal suddenly said. "I do think that we could've been friends. And I'm really sorry that I lied to all of you guys – you deserved so much better than that."

"You were just trying to do the right thing," Jay consoled her. Part of him was still upset, but he knew Mal was in a tough position that he couldn't ever fathom. He couldn't imagine having to ensure the safety of both the people of Auradon and the Isle of the Lost as the future queen, all while coming from a background that many still questioned to this day.

"Yeah," Uma said, shrugging as if it didn't bother her.

"I get it," Evie said next. While she wasn't happy with Mal's choice either, she understood where she was coming from and saw why she pushed for that decision.  Besides, she couldn't stay mad at her best friend. And for Mal, even if she had wronged these people surrounding her and would disappoint so many more children at the Isle, it was enough for now that those she held dearest to her heart had forgiven her and still stood by her.

A/N: This was a quick chapter but omg we're getting closer to the finish line :0 Hope you guys liked it and see you again in the next update!