"Even the evilest villains have backstories. And yes, even they were good at a point in time."
- Nora the Wise

Ava

Tonight was the night that villains from fictional franchises had been waiting for. From the hardcore to the sympathetic, each and every villain was gearing up for the Villain Awards.

I bet that you readers already know where this is leading to.

Fast forward to the event, and all the famous and known villains were sitting at tables. The boys wore suits, and the girls wore fancy dresses. Not me. Dresses are for losers. And if you are offended by that, you clearly have forgotten that I myself am a villain.

Whatever villains are your favorites or you are thinking of were there, including a puppet who wants to make the human race his slaves, an evil wizard with no nose, a clown who has an obsession with red balloons, and a plankton who is not fond of a certain sponge. The tables were filled with fictional villains...

...except one table. That was reserved for the Forlot villains, and the other villains were hoping that we would not show up. What is that, dear readers? You think that they are jealous of us? My mistake. I need to rephrase my earlier statement.

The villains know the Forlot villains well - too well - and did not care whether we showed ourselves at the awards show or not. Actually, they were counting on us to not attend. Can you guess why? I will give you a hint. It has to do something with me.

If you answered that these so-called villains are afraid of me, then you have my respect. I do not even know why these guys are called villains and the heroes are careful of them when they are chickens around me.

That reminds me of the time that the main villain from the dark force messaged me a letter, threatening me to not outshine him anymore. I took 'offense' to that as most villains do and stalked him for a bit. Once I got bored of the stalking, I fought with him and won easily.

I am not only the greatest villain in Forlot, but the greatest fictional villain ever.

I had snuck into the building and spied on what was taking place. Just in the nick of time. The Villain Awards Show was beginning.

The host who was also a villain stood in front of a wooden podium and cleared his throat. He spoke into the microphone.

"Testing. Testing, one, two, three."

The villains immediately stopped chatting with one another and turned their attentions to the stage and host.

"Thank you. Thank you all for coming. Who am I kidding? We are villains! We say spiteful things, and the phrase 'thank you' is not in our vocabulary!"

The audience cheered. Some pounded their fists on the tables, and some others clinked their drinks.

I rolled my eyes. "Pitiful," I said.

"I am sure that all of you are eager to be here and hope to receive at least one award."

"I am so going to win the title for Best Villain!" a member of the audience shouted.

"Ah, yes," the host said. "The Best Villain award. That is one of the main reasons why you all attended this special ceremony. One of you lucky villains will be receiving the most important and respectful awards. And the question still remains. Who is the best fictional villain?"

Another villain raised his hand. "I am!"

"Could it be a clown who has a bat issue?"

"It has to be me! I have been proven to be the best villain ever!" the clown proclaimed.

"Or a teacher who has an obsession with fairies?"

"Ooh! That is me!" the teacher confirmed.

"Why are we still debating who he or she will be? Why are we procrastinating?" The host held up a pink envelope. "I have the result here! In this very envelope."

The audience whistled and roared.

"Let us find out who truly is the best villain." He ripped the top of the envelope. "Without further ado..." He pulled out a piece of paper and unfolded it. "...the winner of the Best Villain award is—"

He was suddenly interrupted by one of the villains.

"Should we wait until the villains from Forlot arrive?" The villain motioned to the empty table.

"Pfft!" The host was amused. "Those poor excuses for villains? They do not hold a candle to us."

"But...what about..." He gulped. "...Ava Campbell?"

"Whoa," a villain in the shape of a triangle said. "We do not mention her, and that is coming from a villain who is clever and powerful."

The evil host leaned over the podium and yelled in the microphone.

"Enough!"

The audience locked eyes on him and were quiet.

"Enough, enough, enough. I know as well as you do that...Girl-Who-Should-Not-Be-Mentioned...poses a real threat on us. However, you should not fret. She is not popular."

"Yeah!" the audience exclaimed in unison.

"She is not a good villain."

"Yeah!"

"And the only way that she would receive any sort of respect is if she won some award. But the chance of that happening..." He made a zero with his thumb and fingers. "...is zero."

"Yeah!"

"Now, enough about her. Back to what is really important. As I was saying, the winner of the Best Villain award is..." As soon as he read the winner's name, his face went pale. "...no. This cannot be!"

"What is the matter?" a villain asked. "Who won?"

The host showed off the paper with a shaking hand. "S-she did. Ava Campbell..."

I kicked open the door and walked right in. The attentions were on me now, and the villains were baffled.

"Hello," I greeted creepily. "Did someone say name?"

"Ava Campbell," the host said softly.

"That is my name. Do not wear it out, and if you do, you will pay the price."

"What are you doing here?" a villain questioned me angrily.

"Why, I only wanted to see the terrified looks on your faces."