RECAP:

"There they are!" Trent screamed, pointing towards us. A herd of people ran over, sweat still gleaming off their foreheads and necks.

"Oh my god. People." Roger groaned. "Can I just stay here forever and not move. I don't feel like meeting new people."

"No, that means I have to be the only one to explain what happened," I said.

"And what's wrong with that?"

"Who will believe me? 'Yeah, so I didn't actually die and neither did Roger. This funky necklace a witch gave us in the desert saved our life by sucking our souls before they made it to Hell or Heaven—we have yet to decide—and kept us trapped with a bunch of crazy angels with machetes. Oh, and Trent used me so hold me back before I murder him."

"I'd believe that story," Roger said with a shrug.

"You'd believe anything," I said, glaring.

My mom and Trent rushed over, their own people or who was left of it anyway following behind.

"What happened?! I thought you were dead?!" My mom threw a hand up in outrage.

Trent nodded, uneasiness settling across his face. "Yeah, mind explaining the pink wings?"

All eyes rested on my wings, the feathers still broad yet light as hell.

"Where did you get those fabulous wings?!" Trent even added and brushed his hand over the feathers. "Softer than a babies bottom..."

My mom stomped her foot down. "What happened?! We saw the Beast stab you in the heart, and it held you for a moment before you dissolved into pink flames!"

"We had to fight angels and shit," Roger explained.

"An angel," she said.

"Yes, a fucking angel," I snapped. Trent's presence had me clenching my fists.

"Whose halo did you let up your ass?" Trent asked.

"Please tell me you didn't let him put a halo up your ass," my mother said.

"Amen!" said Archer.

"Don't even go there," my mother ended. "What is going on in this conversation?"

Wait—Archer.

My eyes met the young man as he moved through the crowd and stepped in front of me. Clothes tattered and torn, his exhausted eyes look even more drained and scales remained on his arms from his beast.

"Hey, hero," he told me.

+++

"Guess whose back bitches." Roger sat upright and gave two peace signs to the rest of the crowd.

"What is going on here?!" My mom stomped her foot down and a crack split under my feet.

"You tell me," Trent asked and turned towards her. "Did you know this would happen?"

"Everyone, hold the fuck up." I put my finger in the air and silence fell over the beach except for the soft waves climbing up the sand. "I want to get some things off my chest. Death does that kind of stuff to people. You start to realize things... who betrayed who... who lied to who... and now that I have a clear mind. So let me speak."

I flapped my pink wings and the gust of wind sent them backwards except for Roger who stood by my side with... ugh-sandwich wings. The gifts death bestowed on us...

"I could easily pull each of you individuals aside and tell you what we've learned or how I feel, because right now everyone is one hot mess. But because I'm so done with this stupid lying and backstabbing game, I'm going to share what I have to say with everyone."

"Trent," I said. He lifted his head, a glimmer in his eyes as I called his name. "You lied. You lied to us all. You knew this was going to happen."

The glimmer in his eyes flashed and people close by squinted and covered their eyes. Jessus, it was like a Coldgate commercial. "Except the wings. I didn't think you and Roger would get...special wings," he admitted.

"Did you hear that everyone?" Roger hollered.

"We're literally right here," my mom mumbled.

"Trent wanted change," I explained. "So he purposefully planned the rumour of the beasts returning to our world and made sure Archer was sent to find me. In order to change the hierarchy of species, the beasts of all three races; Heroes, Citizens and Villains, must fight to the death for power. He made sure all three of us were together and that I would defeat the Beast of Villains; he purposefully put me up against Roger so I could destroy him and put The Beast of Citizens again the Beast of Heroes."

A hush of murmurs and gasps passed over the crowd and Trent simply shrugged. "You figured it out, dummy gummy. Took you long enough."

I narrowed my brows. "If I didn't have single moral sense in my body, I'd rip your throat apart right now."

"But she won't," Roger piped in, horrified faces already rising.

"And mom." I turned to the woman who supposedly gave birth to me (at this rate, I couldn't trust anyone and people were clearly not who they said they were). "You want heroes to continue ruling because you feel villains and citizens are not fit. You wanted me to win this fight and keep the heroes on their throne. Makes sense."

"I ain't the craziest one here, 'kay? I'm speaking from tradition," she replied, and took another step back.

"Archer." I faced my torso to the young man who started it all. "You survived that attack after killing me. I dissolved into flames and the rest of the lava submerged into the ground. You were alive. Technically, if we play by the rules, the Citizens won and they should officially be crowned as rulers."

People shuffled to the side a bit, a wave of concern hitting everyone.

"But." I paused and took in the hundreds of eyes that held onto every word. "The Citizens aren't going to rule. Because we're going to form a fucking council like the Citizens did back in the hay day."

"Did you have to use the f word?" my mother grumbled.

Roger smiled. "So you did pay attention in human history class."

"All three races should be able to have their own say in what goes on," I declared.

A preachy vibe started to roll in my body. "We should rebuild our world into a democracy! Members from each race will represent their people and we will vote on what happens next in order to come to terms."

"You're being ridiculous. The Citizens won!" That glimmer faded in Trent's eyes and he advanced a step. "It's tradition."

I raised a brow and took another step, wind shooting up his purple hair. "I'm sure no one here wants a ruler that will lie to the people closest to him."

"I did it for the right cause!"

"How do we know you won't rule these lands like the Heroes do? And put all other species below you to avenge how your ancestors were treated?"

Trent's tongue was caught in his mouth and he remained silent, knowing I hit home.

"I vote this tradition of beasts shall end! It has brought nothing but chaos and caused disaster!" I announced.

I looked out to the ocean, hearing the winds whistle in agreement. "Villains out there don't know any of you exist. Villains—people like me—think Citizens and Heroes are just myths and we're the only people on this planet."

"Don't you want to live in a world where the villains can be free to explore? Villains need to see the real world. You can't hide it from them forever. They're living, breathing creatures like you who are afraid of the same things you are."

"Citizens should be able to not look down upon. Citizens should be able to roam around the land without needing to hide or worry if anyone will see them. They should also be educated like the Heroes and Villains---knowledge is for everyone. They can even teach survival skills in school, something Heroes and Villains don't know much of since we've been raised within isolated, safe compounds."

"Let's build cities where no one has to be afraid of who they are and can freely explore the knowledge, beauty and art the world has to offer."

"Preach!" Roger shouted.

"What's in it for Heroes?" my mother called out.

"Well, after the Heroes get off their stupid high horse for the past century, Heroes can finally learn more outside of their realm. Understand Villains and Citizens, and to expand their scientific knowledge that I'm sure the other species have a significant amount of. Now no one has to call up a beast and fight. We should be growing together, not fighting against each other."

"Amen!" Roger yelled.

"What are you doing?" I asked him with a confused face.

"I'm your hype man," he whispered in a sideways glance. "Keep it up. Pretend I'm not here."

I blinked back, narrowed my eyes to get a better understanding and then just shook my head. "So all those in favour of creating a council and a system that gives everyone equal rights?"

The crowd cheered in screams and the sand rumbled from the soundwaves riding along the shore.

"Now why couldn't you speak like that at the beginning of the school year," Roger told me and I shoved him to the side.

"Whatever, cupcake. We just have one more thing to fix."

It took a bit of persuading, but after meeting with several council members from each species, we had come to an agreement for what was going to happen next.

A system would soon be developed to organize meetings and voting. I stood in representation for the Villains as Headmistress Alice of Villain Academy wasn't there.

Once the crowds dispersed and began helping each other with the cleanup, someone tapped the back of my shoulder.

But I already knew who it was.

"Great job out there." Archer stood tall despite the exhausted look painted across his face.

I did a little effortless shrug. "Nah, just doing what I thought was right for once in my life."

"Yeah..." He gazed around his friends helping Heroes out: picking up whatever the lava damaged and throwing it into a pile that would later become tonight's bonfire.

"So what are you doing to do now?" I asked him.

He sighed and raked a hand through his hair. "Well, now that I just found out I'm not an actual Hero, and that I'm a Citizen, I feel it would be right if I try to understand my true heritage. Maybe even search for my real parents."

"Sounds like a plot to another story if you ask me."

"Yeah, what about you?" He gazed at me, eyes softening in comparison to the strained pupils I saw weeks ago.

I motioned over to Roger who was retelling the story of our adventure in the Medallion to a bunch of little Citizen and Hero children.

"We have to make a final stop before this crazy journey ends for us."

"And after that?"

I looked up at him and a smile grew across my lips. I turned towards the sun that began to set, it sitting on top of the lake and were to later disappear.

+++

"I won't allow it."

"But the world is ready for them."

Alice leaned back into her chair like that stickintheass she was. "The world will never be ready for villains."

"They are!" Roger exclaimed.

"Sugarcakes, we've changed it." I pointed an accusing finger at Alice. "Believe me—if you could just get your ass off your stupid throne, you could see the world is so much different than you believe it to be!"

Alice pressed the tips of her fingers together like a slimy biatch. "What makes you think I should believe you? I mean, this could be another one of your pranks for all I know. Like the one you did with Faith and murdered hundreds of villains."

"Oh. My. Hells. Bells." I slapped my hand down on her desk and looked up at the ceiling

Roger shuffled his foot to the side and gave a small smile. "Actually, that was me. You know, as the Beast of Villains and all."

Alice raised a brow and sat upright on her chair. "You endangered our precious gift to the academy, didn't you?" she asked Roger. "You were supposed to watch Vhalerie at all times."

"And he did," I cut in. I put my hands behind my waist and cleared my throat. "He, uh, he is the best babysitter I've ever had. He's loyal, kind, incredibly amusing and is the only one who really puts up with my bullshit."

"Preach it honey." He put his hand on his chest and closed his eyes. "Give it to me."

"Roger keeps me going and despite that fact he is an annoying little twat"—I smiled—"I kinda like the sandwiches he makes."

He gasped and pressed his hands to his cheeks. "You what?! Tears. Oh my mayonnaise, someone get me a napkin to dab these holy tears dripping down my cute face." Roger waved his hand in front of his eyes and puffed out a breath.

Alice deadpanned. "Pardon me?"

"Look." I sat on her desk and pointed towards the window. "Out there, sugar, are people just like us. The Heroes and Citizens are only their names, but it isn't what they are. Their species doesn't define them; Heroes can be bad and good, Citizens can be bad and good, and we can be bad and good. In the end, we all have blood running through our veins, a pumping heart and a spectrum of human emotion. We are all one race."

"Someone get this bitch a medal!" Roger hollered and blew his nose into his shirt.

Alice's glare hardened, it cold and demeaning in a way where I wanted to punch her.

"So can we please allow the Villains to exit the compound and tell them there is a world outside of here? They need to know," Roger concluded.

Her silence filled the air, seconds passing.

"No," she stated. "I refuse for anyone to leave this institution and merge with the other species. You don't know what I've seen. Mixing evil people and monsters and humans will never turn out well."

Her eyes held a pained gaze, flashes of flames and screams reflecting in her eyes. "I've seen it," she repeated. "The death is unbearable. And I cannot have my monsters be exposed to that."

She raised her hand up and Villain Academy began to rumble. I grabbed onto the desk, Roger held onto my shoulder and we watched as the field outside split in half.

A concrete wall rose out of the ground, shooting into the sky.

"It's gonna make a dome around us!" Roger shrieked.

"You're going to trap us from the outside world?! Are you nuts?! How will we get resources and food?!" I exclaimed.

"We cannot mix with Heroes and Citizens. We can't," she whispered. Pain spilled across her face, eyes squeezed shut.

Roger's hand slipped off my shoulder and he clutched my wrist. "We're all going to die in this dome. She'll never let us leave."

The ceilings trembled now, and screams echoed down the halls outside Alice's office.

I took my hand away from the desk and grasped Roger's, feeling the warmth of his palm and the spark in mine. We looked at each other and I felt the strong pulse bounce between us.

Our wings began flapping, sending everything in her office spinning; the desk, chairs, the bookshelves, paintings—all flying around like a tornado.

He sensed the flames igniting in my chest and I crafted the anger stored in his mind, and we created a pink ball of light that grew from our hands.

"Stop!" Alice screamed.

My eyes lifted to meet Roger's and the longer we stared at each other, the bigger the light became.

"You're going to destroy the world!" Alice shrieked now, getting spun with the rest of her broken furniture.

"You ready, psycho?" he whispered.

A grin spread across my lips.

Then I kissed his forehead.

The pink ball of light exploded and everyone's vision disappeared, swallowing the Villain Academy world in a blink of an eye.

Time and space made a hiccup and spat us back out.

We were back in Alice's office and her furniture returned to its normal spot. Except Alice wasn't in her chair.

We let go of each other's hands and rushed to the window.

The ground mended itself back together and the cement wall disappeared.

Except the clouds in the sky weren't blue.

"We did that?" Roger asked in awe.

"I guess so, muffin."

He turned back to the empty chair. "Does this make you Headmistress? Because if so, I want new sandwiches on the lunch menu."

Laughter rumbled in my chest and I led us out of the office, and onto the field outside.

Villains must've sensed the powerful alteration in the universe and were all walking out the doors of the academy.

"You're free to explore!" I announced and watched as their faces lit up. "Do not fear what's ahead of you. The people you meet beyond these grounds will be like you: scared and curious. Explore their differences and similarities, learn from them."

Mentally, you could tell each Villain had a voice in their heads telling them to venter out into the world. It was their time. They were ready.

Roger and I climbed up one of the hills on the field and stared out towards the thousands of Villains: ghouls, werewolves, fairies, vampires, banshees and even more, heading through the forest or the lake to discover past their academy.

"Did you really mean all that stuff you said?" Roger asked and looked up to me.

Standing straight now, I didn't realize the little grub wasn't so little anymore.

In fact, he was taller than me.

"Okay, sugar. Since when did the puberty truck hit you and why hadn't I noticed?"

He shrugged and pointed his nose up a bit, trying to gain another inch on me. "I dunno. You were too busy saving the world."

"Ha," I scoffed. "Who'd think I'd be the person to save the world?"

"I did." He looked down at me, the khaki backpack that was once twice the size of him now half his size.

"For seven sins, why don't you act like a villain and quit being a sap?" I said.

"Nah, I like annoying you. It's the next best thing to putting lettuce on bread."

I wrapped my arm around his shoulder and squeezed. "Whatever, sugar."

He tilted his head to the side, his breath hitting my ear. "Seriously though, did you mean the things you said when it was getting mad as a hatter back in Alice's office?"

A smile grew across my lips and I leaned my head on his chest. "Well. Even though you're a two legged, fat ball of flesh with sandwich wings, I like to think of you as..."

"The hot sandwich making guy?"

I bit down on his ear to shut him up and kissed his cheek.

"You're my hero, Roger."

Then for hours, we stood under the pink clouds shaped as sandwiches.

THE END