▌𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐓𝐰𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐲-𝐓𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐞 ━︎━︎ 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐄𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 ▌

━︎━︎━︎━︎𝐓𝐎𝐃𝐀𝐘 𝐖𝐀𝐒 𝐉𝐀𝐍𝐄'𝐒 birthday. Ilaria had gotten up early to help Carlos prepare the cake and they were both extremely proud of the outcome. Carlos grabbed the beach towels, Evie was tossing Jay apples to put into the basket while Ilaria was making sandwiches. Carlos was beaming with joy, excited to make his girlfriend's birthday a special one. "I really think she's gonna like the cake you guys." Carlos made his way to the cake only to pause. "Oh, no. Okay! Who got into Jane's cake?!"

     Ilaria made her way over, noticing a corner piece was missing. "Carlos, just breathe. We can make a new one."

     "There's not enough time." Carlos huffed, running a hand through his hair. The sound of Mal yelling outside grabbed their attention and they instantly all went running. Evie threw open the doors just in time to see Audrey standing there, the scepter in her hand and the crown on her head. She had changed. Her hair was a violent pink with stripes of purple, her new look screamed that she was up to no good.

     Audrey turned to look at them. "So long, suckers." She twirled and pink smoke surrounded her before she was gone.

     Jay instantly turned to Mal, going to grab her hands only to abruptly pull back. "Whoa! You might wanna think of a spell for that." Mal was no longer young and beautiful, instead she had a hunched back, her skin was wrinkled, a few teeth were missing and her hair was as white as snow.

     "There's no spell that can reverse the curse of the scepter." Mal slowly said, her voice old with age.

     "Well, that's a shame." Carlos said with a straight face, glancing at the rest of them.

     "Forget about me." Mal said. "Audrey's out for revenge. And all of Auradon is in danger."

     Evie asked, "What should we do?"

     "The only thing more powerful than the scepter. . . is Hades' ember."

     Ilaria let out a deep breath. "Oh."

     Jay scoffed. "Like he's just gonna hand it over, give them back to the Isle."

     "And no one knows where his lair is." Evie sighed.

     "I do." Celia grabbed their attention. "I'm his errand rat. I've got the key at my dads."

     Mal pointed to her. "You're coming."

     Celia closed her eyes and took a large step backwards. "But I just got here."

     "Mal?" Dizzy's voice made them turn and when Dizzy saw Mal's state she let out a scream.

     Evie shot forwards. "Dizzy, stay here and take care of the twins. We'll be right back and everything will be just fine. Go inside." Evie turned back to the rest of them. "Guys, go get your stuff." Jay, Carlos, and Celia quickly ran inside.

     "I think I'm gonna sit this one out." Ilaria whispered.

     Evie frowned. "What? No, I need you."

     "Evie. . ."

     "Your mom won't get to you." Evie softly said, grabbing her hands. "I promise. The boys will be there to keep you safe and so will I."

     Ilaria stared at her for a long moment, chewing on the inside of her cheek. Finally, she nodded. "If you really think you'll need me."

     Evie gave her a soft smile, cupping a hand to her cheek. "I'll always need you." She gave her a kiss and Ilaria instantly kissed her back before pulling away. Evie nodded towards their home. "Go get your stuff." Ilaria nodded before making her way inside.

     They all got on their bikes with Celia riding on the back of Mal's bike and drove to the edge of Auradon. They sat there for a moment and Mal said the spell that would allow their bikes to go across. They went across the water, making their way into the Isle. They parked their bikes, climbing off of them and taking off their helmets. Mal looked at her hands before feeling her face. "Hey! I'm me again!"

     Celia gave her a blank look. "Duh. Evil magic doesn't work here. Kind of the point."

     Evie wrapped an arm around Mal's shoulders. "Welcome back." She grabbed Ilaria's hand and they all followed after Celia who came to a stop in front of a metal door and began knocking a beat on it, the person on the other side responded and Celia gave another response knock before the door opened. They all walked into Dr. Facilier's lair and Celia ran down the steps.

     "Daddy!" She ran towards him and he instantly picked her up, spinning her around before the did a little dance. Ilaria couldn't help the smile that pulled on her lips. At least some villains had a good relationship with their kids. They all went further into the lair as Celia talked with her father and grabbed the key.

     Carlos sat down, putting a coin in the television and watching it. When he saw Auradon on the screen, her frowned, instantly grabbing their attention. "Uh, guys. Come look at this." The four of them walked over to him, watching the television intently.

     "There are rumors that Sleeping Beauty's daughter, Audrey, is behind the spell. We're trying to discover who is responsible for these vicious lies, and which villain has perpetrated this evil." The reported put a finger to his ear. "We have an update. It's what? It's moving this way? It's moving this way." The television cut off.

     Ilaria kissed her teeth. "Well, that's just great."

     They made it out of the lair, only to come to a stop when they spotted Harry and his goons on their bikes. "Wow! Rookie mistake." Carlos muttered.

     Harry smiled at them. "Long time nay see!"

     "Get off my bike, Hook!" Jay said, running forwards.

     "Catch me if you can, Jay!" And then he took off, along with all of their other bikes. Evie,

     Carlos, Jay, and Ilaria watched them all disappear. "Over the roofs!" Jay instructed. "Cut them off." The group went running, splitting way in hopes of catching them faster. They had attempted to catch up, but they were too fast and it wasn't long before they lost them. Now, they were all making their way to the barrier exit, Mal and Celia walking with them. Thankfully, Mal had retrieved the ember. Ilaria wanted to know how, but decided that was for a later date.

     "Alright. Get in, get out." Mal breathed. She glanced at Jay. "Jay, you good?"

     Jay had a clenched jaw but nodded. "Yeah." They stopped long enough for Jay to use the button to bring down the barrier before walking out. Jay pressed the button to close the barrier and as they walked through, Mal's body came to life with magic, blue decorating her purple hair. But before the barrier fully closed, Harry and Gil quickly jumped through.

     The two of them quickly celebrated before turning to face the group. "Hey guys." Harry greeted. "We're just coming for a wee visit." The two of them came forwards but Jay and Carlos quickly shoved them back. They came again and Harry shoved Carlos into Mal who dropped the ember to the ground. Quickly, she grabbed it but before she could stand, Harry put his hook around her wrist, throwing her hand and forcing the ember to go flying towards the ocean.

     A cry left Mal's lips. "No!" Just before it landed in the water, a tentacle shot up and grabbed it. They all looked over at the water to see Uma appear.

     "Drop something?" Uma asked, holding the ember up.

     "it can't get wet!" Mal yelled. "Give it back before it goes out." Uma laughed, curling a tentacle tightly around the ember.

     "Uma?" Harry and Gil asked in sync, both of them in shock.

     She smiled. "That's my name." She fully submerged herself under the water and Mal let out another cry. The water grew before it exploded and suddenly Uma was standing there with them. "Hi, boys." She smiled, holding the ember in her hand, the blue light still glowing from it.

     Harry laughed, instantly moving towards her. "Welcome back!"

     Gil's movements were more slow, a small frown on his face. "Uma, you swam off and forgot all about us."

     "Yeah. Planning her revenge, no doubt." Mal snarled.

     Uma rolled her eyes. "It's not all about you, Mal. I was looking for a hole in the barrier to let everybody out. And you know what I found, boys?" She turned her head to look at them. "It's way better out there than we thought. There's this thing that looks like a furry rock called a coconut. And fish so big you could dance on their backs." She turned to face Mal again. "And they've been keeping it all for themselves."

     Mal blinked. "Whatever. Uma, I need that to break a spell."

     Carlos added, "Casted by Audrey, Sleeping Beauty's daughter."

     "Mm." Uma hummed. "So the good guy is the bad guy?" She laughed. "Well, I might not give it back. We'll see what happens."

     Mal instantly grew frustrated. "Uma, it's not the time for games! Peoples lives are in danger!"

     Uma stared at her, growing closer to the edge. "Guarantee me that every single villain kid who wants to, can get off the isle." Ilaria grew uncomfortable.

     "I can't do that."

     Uma nodded. "Can't do that?" She held the ember out over the water. "Well, how 'bout now?!"

     "Deal!" Mal shouted. "Deal."

     Uma nodded before she went to drop it, Evie yelled out to her. "Uma!" Uma paused, looking at Evie. "Her word is good." Ilaria glanced at Evie before looking at Mal who met her eyes. Mal's eyes grew with guilt and Ilaria clenched her jaw and forced herself to look away.

     Uma pulled the ember away from the water, walking towards Mal before she shrugged. "I'll still keep this, for the time being." She put the ember into her necklace. "Because if you think I trust you to save the world on your own, think again. This is a job for pirates!" She turned to Gil and Harry who instantly laughed and let out a cheer.

     Jay approached Mal, placing a hand on her arm. "We can always go back to hating each other when this is over."

     "Fine." Mal muttered.

     Jay let go of her and looked at Harry. "Where are our bikes?"

     "Oh, yeah. We crashed them." Gil answered with a smile. Harry demonstrated, purring like an engine before whistling and making an explosion sound. Jay clenched his jaw and Harry laughed.

     Evie walked forwards. "Here's a thought. We could try to be friends."

     Ilaria closed her eyes. "Evie, darling."

     Evie continued. "Put our history behind us and celebrate our differences." She glanced between them. "Yeah?" She pulled a bag from her wrist pocket, shaking it. "Who wants gum?"

     "Let's go." Uma said, walking forwards.

     "No?" Evie asked.

     "Ah." Mal held up a finger. "No. I'm in charge. Let's go."

     They all walked past Evie except for Ilaria who came to a stop beside her. She placed a hand on Evie's shoulder. "Good try." Evie sighed before popping a gum ball into her mouth, offering one to Ilaria who smiled at her before taking it.