↠↠↠↠↠↠↠↠↠↠

↠

ARRIVING on the Isle, Carlos whipped out the flare gun gifted to them by Fairy Godmother for arrival purposes and debated if he wanted to shoot it or not. His eyes looked above them, the dawn light of the charcoal sky became a wispy silver.

Using a flare gun would be asking for trouble. He tossed it away, thinking the bridge closing off should be enough evidence the lot made it safely to the Isle. How they were going to cover the limo was the true problem. Fairy Godmother provided them some table cloth to cover the limo - he thought it was ridiculous.

'Nothing screams normal like the outline of a million dollar worth vehicle parked near the entry way.' He thought as he watched Evie and Jay grabbed the cloth and started covering it.

"We check the hideout first," Jay instructed, swiping the Auradon logo off the hood and finishing the cover-up, "She'd be there. The hideout was Mal's comfort home," he looked at Evie for conformation.

The blue-head wasn't paying attention. Staring off at the broken door that leads into the Isle, "We're back here...." the statement quietly escaped her lips. In her eyes swirled the emotions of fear, breaking into her once courageous heart and taking over.

"We won't be here long," Jay's eyes softened as well as his tone, "We'll get Mal and leave. I promise,"

Evie's nail dung dipper into the fabric of her clothing, her leg moved in a manner of sulking anticipation. Maybe Jay was right - they'll get Mal and be out. Maybe Jay was wrong - she refused to come and they'll have to stay longer than expected.

What if they ran into their parent's?

The things their parents would do to them. Mal was lucky, her mother shrunk. As for their parents - Jafar, Evil Queen and Cruella - they're well alive and walking freely around.

"Evie, let's go," Carlos gave her a quick sympathized pat before leading the pack to the entrance way of the Isle.

On the outside he was calm, looking determined to go find Mal and secretly apologize. However, on the inside, he was just as afraid as Evie. Putting aside the fear he had of seeing his mother for Mal took courage preps. Even still, he knows he's not fully prepared.

"Maybe it was because she stood up to hers," he softly commented, "But still.. only she had that privilege,"

↠↠↠↠↠↠↠↠↠↠

UMA took the chair from one of her crew members as she continued the eye contact of loathing with the girl trapped in front of her.

"What are you going to do? Throw octopus on me? Lay bear traps under me? Shave my hair off?" Mal stotically guessed, an expression of boredom rotating around her pupils.

The opposite girl shook her head, "I'm not you, Mal - I don't send my friends to bear traps," Uma referenced the scar Carlos had thanks to Mal. When they were kids, Mal trapped Evie in Cruella's fur coat; Carlos had to go rescue her because Cruella's closet was filled with bear traps, which everyone on the Isle knew. Mal never apologized for the incident despite later befriending the girl.

A quiet scoff escaped Mal's lips. Did she really come here to apologize? With the way Uma was acting, their rivalry will never end. She understood the jealousy Uma had inside of her - of course, anyone on the Isle had it towards the purple head. She got the opportunity they all secretly prayed for. How was that her fault?

But Uma, on the other hand, twirled around the dagger resting between her fingers, "Why are you back here?" She asked, a pit of anger quietly forming underneath her tone. The same girl who terrorized them, bullied them, betrayed them, and traumatized them returned to their home as if it was nothing - as if they were nothing. She didn't think once about offering the other kids a chance. Her and her little gang made it off and selfishly lived amongst the once enemies.

She mingled with the same man who revived their parents only to trap them, feeding them leftovers. She mingled with the same man who punished them for what their parents did.

Mal's gaze unknowingly softened towards the question. In the back of her head, memories flooded in. She came here to better herself; find herself. In Auradon she lost who she was... never found who she wanted to be. Yes, she's made bad decisions in the past but they were all because of her mother. Either she wanted her approval or wanted to be like her. It's the Isle - you're here to be bad.

Did Uma expect Mal's sympathy? Did she expect the purple head to hear her sob story and cry? She got pushed into the ocean years ago - she needs to let it go. Thinking about how she originally considered the idea of apologizing to Uma, Mal slightly chuckled. She must've been out of her mind.

"To get my turf back. I'm done with Auradon," Mal answered, searching around the area with her eyes.

The stare from Uma never faded. The girl stood up, kicking the chair towards Mal with aggression. A smirk formed on Mal's lips. Did she hit a spot?

"Good luck with that. You better pray your Benny-boo realizes you're gone," as Uma replied, she made a signal for her crew to lock Mal into one of the shop's rooms.

She wasn't letting her mess with any kids on the Isle. She had her time of running it. Uma takes care of the Isle now.

↠↠↠↠↠↠↠↠

CARLOS jogged down the stairs of their secret hideout, disappointment sinking into his heart as the purple-head he imagined chilling in her spray painting area wasn't there. Evie didn't have to ask; his facial expression was the only answer she needed. Where is Mal?

Carlos lazily plopped on the stairs, rubbing his hands together nervously, "She's not up there... I called her name... I searched for her... I checked for any recent clothing.. it's how we left it..." He told his siblings, staring at the ground as memories of Mal and him trying to figure out who her stalker was flashed in his mind. He should've checked on her more, but as much as they were spending time together, he saw nothing wrong with her. She hid it well.

"Do you think she went to see Dizzy?" Evie hopefully asked the two, crumbling under the defeated pressure they were giving. She wasn't going to give up so easily. She came here to rescue her best friend; her sister. This is all her fault; she should've noticed Mal was emotionally off - mentally not well. She was absorbed in her clothing business - her schedule filled with dress appointments or fitting the Auradon boys for tuxedos. She rarely spent time with Mal like they used to; she rarely checked on her like she used to.

Jay stood up, staring at the mold-covered rock resting in his hand. There was no way Mal would've guessed they'd come for her.... right? When they were kids she loved the mud. If Mal didn't chill in their hideout, she chilled near the only muddy ocean section the Isle owned.

"I think I got a clue," he sighed. He then turned his head in Evie's direction, "But you're going to get dirty," as the sentence escaped his lips, the girl's pupils began fading. Carlos suddenly dashed forward as Jay slightly chuckled. Same ol' Evie.

She fainted.

↠↠↠

The trio, Carlos now carrying Evie while sending daggers at the back of Jay's skull cap, walked down a dirt path covered in molded posters with marked X's on them of the Core Four, including some rottening apples, pee stains and dead bugs having flies hovering over them.

Carlos had no clue where they were going, being thankful Evie wasn't awake to see the disaster Jay was leading them to. He kept his complaining to himself; seeing Mal in the back of his mind. He was the closest to her before she left; knowing about the person threatening her and reading her secret diary entries.

He remembered the one he read of her admitting she had an ex crush on him. The tomatoes weren't as nearly as red as the rest of that day. As awkward as it was, he felt some sense of satisfaction with learning the new information. Much against Doug's advice, he smiled thinking about the entry. Mal was the main one who bullied him for being a dork; the main one who claimed she'd never see anything in him. Maybe it made sense the more he thought about it.

"Get out of your head. Stay alert," Jay sternly scolded him, checking on the sleeping Evie swinging in the other boy's arms. Carlos grumbled, not understanding why Jay didn't volunteer holding her instead.

Jay picked up a rusty key, it was shaped like a brown-tooth covered dragon fang. It gave off the vibes of catching an disease if you picked it up, the moist air of metal leaving its tinted color. His hearted connected to this key, hoping it would lead him to his missing sister.

"Do our parents know about this place?" asked Carlos, adjusting his standing position to go back to correctly carrying Evie. The stench of the area was as revolting as the key. If ten month old garbage was dumped in one place, Carlos guessed this would be it.

"Would I bring us here if they did?"

"Fair point," Carlos mumbled. Whether he acknowledged it or not, Jay was a big brother towards them all.

Jay struggled putting the key in an old peeling door, the door being the same size as Cruella's old closet. Carlos shuddered remembering the memories of his mother's most prized possession - besides that stuffed dog she loved talking to.... he really prayed they didn't get caught. As much as he loved Mal, he was pushing aside a lot of his own issues being here.

Walking inside, Jay whistled a few times, expecting in an insync whistle to respond, "No way..." Jay said, speeding up the pace of searching for the purple-head. Carlos sat Evie down on the cleanest object he could find in the room, covering her nose with his pocket handkerchief as he covered his with his hand.

The sight of Mal not being here broke both of the boys. Where was she?

"No, no, no! Either the hideout or this hideout! It was her second favorite place to come! If her mom was stressing her, she came here! I was always here with her!" Jay yelled, running around for any signs she could've left telling them where she'd be. Maybe it was in Carlos' head but he swore he heard Jay's voice crack somewhere in that rant.

Evie shifted in her sleep, beginning to mumble frantically. Jay stopped his breakdown to check on her as Carlos took this opportunity to scan the area. Jay's second idea got them nowhere.

Or.... He thought, his eyes landing on a faded spray paint of Uma's face in the center of the room. ... It didn't. As he finished the thought, a smile came across his face.

She went back to her territory.

|Thank You For Reading|