CHAPTER 37

"Ben!" Ellie calls as they walk through the castle.

"This way," Dude says as he takes lead.

"Ben could be asleep anywhere," Ellie says with a sigh. She is extremely worried about him.

"Or turned to stone," Celia adds before Evie covers her mouth.

"Ben!" Ellie calls again more worried than before.

"I got a scent. Very pungent cologne. Easy to track. Follow me, people," Dude tells everyone.

"That's great, Dude," Jay tells him as Gil looks at him impressed.

"FYI, I give great cuddles, too," Dude tells Gil.

"Really? I never had a pet growing up. Well, except for the elk head in Dad's man cave but that wasn't..." Gil starts explaining.

"Hold up," Uma orders as she follows some scratch marks along the wall to find a broken painting. "What's this?"

"Uh... Any chance this was already there?" Carlos asks causing Ellie to let out a worried sigh as Evie rubs her sister's arm in comfort.

"And follow me," Dude says before leading the way.

"Ben! Ben! Ben! Ben!" Ellie calls as they walk into a room full of suits of armor.

"Stay here, okay?" Mal tells Celia before she follows the others.

"I can feel you lurking," Harry says as he looks at a sword.

"Good," Jay tells him before walking away.

"So you can track, cuddle, and talk," Gil says as he pets Dude before turning to Carlos. "Hey, do you think his puppies would be able to talk, too?"

"All right, man. He's taken. You want a dog, adopt a rescue," Carlos tells him with a smile.

"Talking puppies. That's crazy," Dude says with a laugh before walking over to Celia.

"I bet you lost some sleep thinking about me on the loose?" Uma says as she and Ellie walk to the other side of the room with everyone else behind them.

"Nope!," Ellie tells her with a smirk. "I wonder what fried octopus tastes like."

"Okay. Why do we not do this?" Evie says as she stands between the two.

"We're celebrating our differences," Uma tells Evie.

"I believe we're being challenged," Harry says as he sees the knight moves in front of them.

"Let's split up and look for Audrey," Uma says.

"That makes absolutely no sense. Unless you give me my ember, she's going to spell you," Ellie argues.

"Girls!" Harry yells as the knight moves again. "We have a situation here."

"Do you like a prince, Ellie? How about a knight in shining armor? Or knights?" Audrey's voice questions through the armor. All the knights around them come to life.

"Watch your back

Watch your back

Watch your back

Watch your back

We can counter their attack

Hit them till the armor cracks" Everyone sings as Carlos, Mal, Evie, Jay, Harry, Gil, and Ellie run for the door, while Uma stands on the small stage in the center of the room.

"This could get a little sticky

How to win this battle

Could be tricky

But I know the best way

Fall back let me lead

You hold the line and we'll

Bring them to their knees" Uma sings as she points for Gil to grab some swords before he throws her one. Ellie joins her on the stage as Jay throws her a sword.

"Swords in the air

If you're with me" Ellie sings as she holds her sword up in the air.

"Yeah" Jay cheers.

"They got us outnumbered one-to-fifty

The victory is ours

Because I've got a strategy

You take the left and the rest

Of you can follow me," Ellie sings as she tells Uma then Carlos and Jay what to do.

"Uh-huh," Uma sings as she pulls Ellie away from Carlos and Jay.

"This is my crew" Ellie sings in challenge as she turns to face Uma with a glare.

"Look this is my squad" Uma sings as she takes a step closer to Ellie.

"This is my turf," Ellie sings as she and Uma get chest to chest.

"Oh, my gosh

Look guys we got bigger fish to fry

Put your differences aside

'Cause now we're on the same side," Evie and Mal sing as they pull Uma and Ellie apart. Ellie and Uma jump off of the stage. "Till the night falls Everyone"

"We'll stay together

Till the battle is done

Watch your back

Watch your back

Watch your back

Watch your back

We can counter their attack

Hit them till the armor cracks

Until the night falls

We're aligned

It doesn't mean

That we're on the same side

Watch your back

Watch your back

Watch your back

Watch your back

Hit them hard

And hit them fast

They're too heavy to react" Everyone sings as they start to fight the armor, besides Evie and Mal, who are on the stage.

"The situation is getting

Kind of heavy

Hold your weapons tight

Keep them steady

'Cause if we stick together

We can make it out alive

I will cause a distraction

You attack them from the side," Ellie sings as she and Uma take on three knights together.

"All my soldiers stand at the ready

We can cut them up like confetti

We'll hit them from the front

You counter from behind" Uma sings before she and Ellie take the knights down.

"Don't forget the fate of Auradon's on the line" Ellie sings as she and Uma touch swords together.

"This is all-out war

They got us outnumbered

The way the swords clash

Is the sound of the thunder," The guys sing as they stand on the stage with the girls in front of them.

"And we are not going under

We will never run for cover," Ellie sings as she smiles at everyone.

"We battle for the victory

And ride for each other," Everyone sings before the guys jump off of the stage.

"Until the night falls

Everyone

We'll stay together

Till the battle is done," Mal and Evie sing as they stand back on the stage and more knights appear.

"Watch your back

Watch your back

Watch your back

Watch your back

We can counter their attack

Hit them till the armor cracks," Everyone sings as Carlos loses his sword before Celia slides him a shield.

"Until the night falls

We're aligned

It doesn't mean

That we're on the same side

Watch your back

Watch your back

Watch your back

Watch your back" Everyone sings as they fight the knights and Carlos uses the shield to quickly slide over to his sword.

"Hit them hard

And hit them fast

They're too heavy to react," Everyone sings as they fight before the knights start doing a dance. Ellie and Uma rush forward hit the first knight with their swords causing a shock to go through the knights. Mal then stands on the stage as her eyes turn green.

"Suit of armor strong and true, make this metal bust a move," Mal says before holding her sword above her head and swaying her hips back and forth. The knights then copy her move. Ellie takes Mal's place before she touches each shoulder with one hand. She raises that hand above her head before swaying her hips back and forth. The knights follow the move while Uma takes Ellie's place on the stage as she takes her sword in both hands before moving her hips in a circle. The knights follow her moves. Carlos then takes Uma's place on the stage. Carlos holds his sword behind him before stomping his foot on the ground. The knights then follow his move. Ellie, Mal, Evie, and Uma all meet up at the doorway. The guys start dancing around causing the armor to follow their moves. Celia gets on the stage as she dances around.

"Until the night falls

You can trust" Evie and Mal sing as they dance.

"I'm gonna help you

Win this battle because" Ellie and Uma sing as the join Evie and Mal.

"I got your back" Carlos sings.

"Got your back

Got your back

Got your back" The guys sing.

"All for one and that's a fact" Jay sings.

"Knights fall pitch black" Everyone sings. The knights all fall in a pile on the stage.

"Yeah! Come on," The guys cheer as they meet beside the armor.

"Yeah!" Ellie cheers.

"We did that. That's what I'm talk..." Uma says as she and Ellie go to high five before quickly realizing what they were about to do. Harry and Jay chest bump then Gil and Carlos before they realize what they did.

"No," Evie says as Ellie walks over to Jay and Carlos while Uma walks over to Harry and Gil.

"Guys, come on. This was so great," Mal says as she and Evie are standing between the two groups.

"We were a team. We worked together. Come on," Evie says before trying to grab Ellie's hand but she just brushed her off.

"Come on," Mal tries with Uma, who shakes her head no.

"You know what we should try?" Evie asks as she and Mal share a smirk.

"An icebreaker," Mal says causing Ellie, Jay, and Carlos to groan.

"You say something you really like about the other person, okay?" Evie explains.

"I'll start," Mal says excitedly as she turns to Uma, Gil, and Harry. "Harry. Great accent. Now, you go." Harry smirks at Mal, sending her a wink.

"Are they always this perky?" Uma asks Ellie, who smiles.

"Oh, it wasn't really your turn, but thank you," Evie says with a smile.

"Okay. Evie, Mal, come here," Ellie says bringing both girls towards her. "I love you both."

"I love you," Mal and Evie say back.

"I love this energy, but we are very short on time. Audrey clearly knows that we're here and we need to get out of here, ASAP," Ellie explains to her.

"All right, where does this cheerleader bunk down? Even if she's not there, we might find some sort of clue," Uma says as she walks forward.

"Actually, she's still in the dorms," Mal answers.

"You're right. Because of summer school," Ellie adds causing Harry to laugh.

"What? Summer school? Summer school! No wonder she wants revenge," Harry says causing Mal to playfully roll her eyes with a smile.

"Okay. I need you guys to go find Ben. We will meet back at Evie's in two hours, okay?" Ellie orders as she looks at the guys.

"Sounds like we're going with my plan. I'm just saying," Uma says with a smirk.

"It was kind of the obvious plan," Ellie argues.

"Uma said it first," Gil says.

"Right. So my plan," Uma says as she smiles at Gil.

"Whatever," Ellie says before leading the way out of the room as Evie and Mal look at the knights one last time.