Chapter Text
3rd Person POV:
Ben could say he had seen some things in life. I mean, being king wasn’t always an easy job. Often, he would excuse himself and have to run off to different sides of Auradon prep in order to avoid the love-crazy girls that always seemed to follow him-a little disturbing actually. It was times like these where he was grateful for Mal’s more calm and less chasing-Ben-around-the-castle personality. Having said that, he had also been kidnapped by Uma and was nearly dropped into shark infested waters, so yeah, he had been through a lot. But out of all the love-sick girls and angry Villain Kids out to get him, he had never once before seen a sight such as this one. Mal, his Mal , had become a.... monster.
Mal had seemingly disappeared, being replaced by this thing that now stood in her wake. She appeared dead. Her skin was an odd ghostly white, and she had massive scaled wings extending from her back. Her hair was a rich purple magenta, small black streaks racing through it, and two large black horns, similar to her mother’s, were protruding from the top of her head. Her hands were clawed and she was positioned as if she were an animal ready to attack. Her red eyes blazed in the darkness and a feral growl escaped from her lips, revealing a row of jagged, sharp teeth, and a forked tongue.
Ben shivered.
Audrey was visibly surprised at the sudden change in appearance of her opposer. Nevertheless, she regained her malice-filled facial expression and addressed the newly changed Mal.
”What’s the matter, Mal? Decided your little dragon act wasn’t enough? Is that supposed to scare me? Always begging for attention, aren’t you?...you and your disgusting villain freaks.”
Mal roared at Audrey’s comments. The very sound of it reverberated through the crisp night air.
Ben, Evie, Jay, and Celia were beyond shocked at their friend’s new appearance. What had happened to cause this? Evie would be lying if she said she wasn’t afraid, not just with Mal’s new look, but for her own safety as well. She knew that her friend was still in there somewhere underneath that demonized state...or at least, she hoped. Jay on the other hand was in complete disbelief. This wasn’t Mal! Where had their beloved friend gone?
Celia, by this point, had regretted ever going to Auradon. She hadn’t ever imagined going through what she was experiencing now. Despite that, Celia knew one thing for sure. She wanted her friend back-not this imposter. Hesitantly, she called out Mal’s name. “M-Mal?”
Mal turned toward Celia’s direction, a flicker of recognition in her eyes, before she snarled and charged at her.
“AAAAAAHH!” Celia screamed. She quickly dropped Dude and used her arms to shield herself. Time slowed down just as Mal reached a clawed hand between the bars of the cage at Celia. All at once, she stopped and drew her hand back, shaking her head harshly. She appeared to be fighting some unknown force, or perhaps herself, inside her head.
Mal POV:
Attack...must...attack!....No....friend?...Celia..afraid?...What is happening to me?! Focus Mal!...no...must...attACK! NO stOP!
3rd Person POV:
She froze, a sorrowful expression on her face. She looked away ashamed at what she had nearly done. Ben, Evie, and Jay looked at Mal, hoping a little bit of their friend was still in there somewhere.
Celia peeked between her arms, risking a glance now that Mal had stopped trying to attack her. Celia could now clearly see the storm of emotions swirling in Mal’s eyes. Mal whimpered lowly, and recoiled from her friend’s confinement.
Just then, Carlos lifted his head. His entire body felt beaten, battered, and broken. He groaned..he was just about to lay his head back down when he saw Mal. She was...different, very different. She resembled a little of her dragon form but still possessed her human figure. Carlos saw the fear in her eyes and felt the pain she must have been in. He couldn’t stand seeing her like this. Mal may have looked different, to say the least, but she was still the same girl they all new and loved, nothing would change that. Carlos slowly sat up with the help of Evie and Jay and stared directly at Mal and called her name. “Mal? Is that....is that.. you ?”
Mal turned her head. She looked at him, perplexed. “ C a r l o s ?” She grated out. Speaking was apparently not an easy task for her. She looked at his pitiful state. Realization dawned across her features. Suddenly her sorrow turned into fury. She remembered who had done this, remembered who had committed this dreadful act, and she knew who would pay.
“ A u d r e y ... ” Mal all but snarled. The name tasted bitter, like ashes, on her forked tongue. She growled again and scanned the area for Audrey. Mal caught sight of her figure and raced toward her. She flapped her wings to gain altitude and dove right at Audrey, claws out, and fangs bared, snarling.
Audrey turned towards the sky. She waved the septer and threw a spell at Mal. Mal ducked and twisted at a sharp angle, slightly off course, before she righted her self and began charging toward Audrey once more.
Audrey remained unfazed. She went to draw up another spell but was too slow. Mall racked her hand across Audrey’s face, Audrey howling in pain. Mal went for another slash, but Audrey fired a hefty spell at her chest. Mal went flying across the field falling from her short altitude in the sky. She tried to right herself but ended up unsuccessful and crashed to the ground right on top of her wing. There was a sickening snap and Mal released a throaty roar. She then fell limp on the ground, unmoving, her wing bent at an odd angle.
“ MAL !”Carlos yelled. “Mal! No! Come on get up Mal!”
Jay dashed over to the edge of the cage closest to Mal. “Audrey, don’t do this, let us out!
Audrey laughed, “And why should I listen to you? Your little pack rat is as good as dead. You would do well to not test my patience.”
“Audrey stop this madness!” Evie protested.
“You can’t let her die! We’ve gotta help her!” Carlos begged.
“I’m afraid I can’t do that, unless...”
”What? Unless what?” Carlos queried.
”I will let you out of your prison and allow you to tend to your friend, if you hand over Auradon.” she finished, smirking in triumph.
”What!?” Jay, Evie, and Carlos exclaimed. “We can’t do that!” Carlos argued.
“Yeah you don’t think we’ll just let you have Auradon that easily do you? We’ll find another way to save Mal and this kingdom!” Jay exclaimed.
”Guys,” Ben started,” We don’t have a choice. Mal needs us, I can’t-I mean, we can’t lose her. We’ll find a way to get Auradon back, but for now, Mal needs us.”
”He’s right guys, Mal needs us. We have to help her.” Evie said.
”Are you sure? What if this doesn’t work out?” Jay questioned.
”It'll be alright guys. We will find a way.” Ben assures the group. He walked over to the side nearest to Audrey. He grasped the bars and let out a shaky breath. “Audrey, we agree to your terms.”
”Always knew you were the smart one Benny-Boo. Well, a deal is a deal.” Audrey waved the septer, and in the blink of an eye the cage was gone. The gang rushed over to Mal, Carlos and Dude trailing behind, and gathered around their injured friend. Ben fell to his knees at the sight of Mal’s disfigured wing. It was broken, stuck at an odd angle, he could only imagine how much pain she was in. Ben rested his forehead against Mal’s. He felt the warm exhale of her labored breathing. They needed to act quickly.