Chapter Text
Three weeks.
For three weeks, they’d been stuck on this hell-hole again. Just like they’d never quite stopped expecting, their time on Auradon had come to an end and they’d been sent back to the Isle ( I’m sorry, there- there’s nothing I can do) . The place was as much of a dump as they remembered- more, actually. Maybe they’d gotten used to the pristine surroundings of Auradon; maybe there’d been a riot after the coronation. Whatever had happened, it was undeniably disgusting to be surrounded yet again by garbage on all sides.
One of the biggest reasons that they hadn’t wanted to come back was that a lot of people- a lot of people- were very, very angry that Mal and her friends had turned their backs on them on live television- backs that now had huge, glaring targets on them. They’d found allies, of course. As they’d suspected, a lot of the other kids on the Isle had hopes for better things than lifelong villainy and failed attempts at world domination.
Mal had some of her territory back- most of the eastern side of the Isle. Uma still reigned in the west, but Mal wasn’t planning on letting that stand. There weren’t many border skirmishes; the feud between Mal and Uma was bad, but not bad enough that the very center of the Isle couldn’t remain a neutral zone. Neither side was interested in risking what they already had for some damn marketplace. It served its purpose perfectly well without belonging to either side.
But Uma hadn’t been the only thing keeping them in Auradon, Obviously, the Isle was considerably worse in practically every way imaginable. The food, when there was any, was awful and borderline inedible. There was no clean part of town, only filth. The island itself smelled, and the most reliable form of entertainment was fighting.
The biggest reason they had for staying away, though, was the simple fact that their parents- minus a lizard- lived there. It wasn’t hard to imagine that they were probably very angry at their children for turning against them. For the first couple of days, the newly-returned Villain Kids had been relieved to find that none of the adults they were worried about had searched them out. Granted, they wouldn’t have been easy to find, but it seemed that no one had even tried.
Which is why it was such a surprise that Carlos decided to find his mother himself.
“Carlos, are you crazy? No, you’re not going.” Jay had been against the idea from the beginning- all of Carlos’s friends were, but Jay was the most insistent.
“Yes, I am. She’s my mom, Jay. I have to- I have to talk to her, if nothing else, okay? Just… just let me talk to her. We can work it out. We’re family.”
“She’s not your family, Carlos. We are.”
“That’s not what I- she’s my mom. Doesn’t that mean anything?”
“My mom’s a lizard in a box who tried to kill us, so no, I would say it doesn’t mean a whole lot,” Mal interjected.
Carlos took a deep breath. “Listen. I’m going, that’s not a debate. Maybe it’s stupid- it probably is- but I have to try. She’s family.”
“She’s a psychopath,” Jay reminded him.
“Jay…” Evie put a hand on the taller boy’s shoulder to calm him.
Carlos just gave them a shaky, hopeful smile. “Even villains love their kids, right?”
That had shut them up, and Carlos had taken off a few moments later.
When he left, Evie stared after him. “What if he’s right?”
“What?” Mal looked at her like she was crazy.
“Maybe they do love us. They were just- they were trying to do the best they could in a bad situation.”
“Evie, your mom wouldn’t let you out of the house unless you’d spent hours perfecting your make-up,” Jay said.
Evie flinched a bit, and the others pretended not to notice. “I know. And that was wrong, I know, I get that now. I’m not going back to thinking beauty is all that matters, you don’t have to worry about that. It’s just… Carlos was right. She’s my mom. Besides, it’s not like she’s going to hit me. I think.”
“This is ridiculous. You’re not-”
“Jay, stop. Evie,” Mal said, planting herself directly in front of the other girl. “If you want to go see your mother, I won’t stop you. But you have to understand that she’s been a bad influence on you your entire life, and that isn’t going to stop now. She’s going to make you feel bad about yourself, and you’re not going to deserve it. Whatever happens, you just have to promise me that you’ll come back the same person you are now.”
Evie stared at her friend’s eyes; they were glowing ever so slightly. But she was determined. “I will. It’ll be fine. I’ll be back in a couple of hours.”
“Hours?” Jay growled.
“Tops. I promise.”
And so Evie had gone. Like she’d promised, she returned in a matter of hours. She’d brought some of her old clothes, and some pillows and blankets. But she came back dejected, shoulders hanging low and eyes flat. She didn’t look anyone in the face, and when Mal tried to talk to her, Evie brushed her off. She skipped dinner that night, staying instead in the corner of the hideout that had been unofficially designated hers. Mal would have mentioned it, but there wasn’t enough food for all of the kids staying there anyway. Evie would eat the next day; Mal would make sure of that.
As upset as she was, though, Evie had come back. The same could not be said for Carlos. The next morning arrived, and he still hadn’t reappeared. By midday, Mal, Evie, and Jay had agreed that they should be worried. Jay volunteered to go get him (“I’m going to grab that skinny bastard by the hair and drag him back, and anyone who wants to stop me can go ahead and try it. ”)
He’d climbed the hill to the house and knocked, waiting at the door for ten minutes. Nobody answered. He kept knocking, but got no response. Eventually, he was forced to admit that he wasn’t going to get one. So he circled the house instead, trying to use his senses. None of the lights were on, and there Jay couldn’t see any movement in the windows. The only thing he could smell was the usual overpowering smell of cigarettes. What bothered him the most was the silence. Granted, he was outside, so he hadn’t been expecting to hear anything as quiet as breathing. But there was nothing- no voices, no footsteps. No whirring machinery, no crackling electricity. No broom sweeping, no water sloshing. Even the area around the house seemed eerily still. The entire place seemed like a dead zone.
When Jay returned to the hideout alone, Mal and Evie’s concern multiplied, but when they went up there, they found the same thing. There was no hint of life that they could find.
“Maybe Cruella moved,” Evie suggested.
“Where? Back to hell where she belongs?” Mal shot back.
Evie frowned at her. “Maybe she went to her spa, and maybe Carlos joined her. We don’t know something’s wrong.”
“But we don’t know that it isn’t, and that’s usually just as bad.”
The next two and a half weeks passed without a word from Carlos, but his friends were becoming increasingly busy with other matters.
As the fighting with Uma became more intense, more and more of the Isle residents took sides. Soon enough, there were two crews, each willing to fight to the death- life on the Isle had never meant much.
Still, Jay had stayed away from his father, and Mal… Mal shared a room with her mother. Who was a lizard.
Maleficent stayed in a cage brought over with her from Auradon, sitting on what could loosely be termed Mal’s desk in what could loosely be termed Mal’s office. As more kids joined them in the hideout, Mal was forced to take increasing amounts of responsibility for them, and had ended up with a space just for herself. She slept there, worked there, and planned there. But right now, she was just staring at her mother.
“Are you aware of what’s going on? Do you know where you are?”
The lizard flicked out its tongue at her. Mal decided to take that as a yes.
“Okay. Don’t get me wrong, I’m still mad at you. I didn’t forgive you or anything. I just- I think you could be helpful. Here. You always knew what to do, you always had a plan, and I’m… stuck.”
Maleficent tilted her head.
“I don’t know what they want from me. They say they’re here to help, that they want to fight Uma, that they want to be good. But I’m not sure I actually ever learned how to do that. I’m not trying to start a war- I just want my friends to be safe.”
Mal frowned when the lizard narrowed her eyes.
“Don’t do that. Yes, I have friends now. And they are. Friends. They’re not my minions, or even allies, they’re friends. And I know you don’t get that, but you don’t have to. They aren’t yours.”
Maleficent flicked her tongue out again, and Mal opened her mouth to respond, but was cut off by a knock on the door. “Come in,” she called.
Evie stepped in carefully. “Is now a good time?”
“Yeah, why wouldn’t it be?”
“I thought I heard you talking.”
Mal’s face reddened slightly. “Oh. You thought wrong. Anyway, what did you want?” It came out more harshly than she intended it to, but she didn’t have time to correct herself before Evie responded.
“We’re low on supplies.”
“What supplies? Be more specific.”
“All of them.”
Mal stared at her. “What- what do you mean all of them?”
“Well, not all of them, but most. We’re low on food- we always are- and we’re low on everything else. Toilet paper, regular paper, bandages, Oxy- all of it. I lied when I said most, it really is all.”
Mal could feel a headache coming on, and she rubbed her temple with one hand as she answered. “Okay. Alright, that’s fine. The barges are coming in a few days, and we can restock then. Jay can run out tomorrow and get some more to tide us over until then. Is there anything else?"
Evie nodded. “We have a couple of kids who’ve gotten hurt fighting Uma’s crew.”
“I know.”
“I’m not a doctor, Mal.”
“I know. But you’re the closest thing we have. You know the most about chemistry and medicine and helping people. Who else do you think could do it? Jay?”
Evie cracked a smile. “Fine. But I need help. Can you tell Jay to look for some books about medicine or doctors or anything like that when you send him out tomorrow?”
“No problem. And I thought Dizzy was helping?”
“I don’t want her to. She’s too young, Mal.”
“She’s only a couple years younger than we are. I don’t know if you’re worried she can’t do it, or if you don’t think she should have to, but you’re going to have to get over it. There is no childhood on the Isle, and if she doesn’t know how to do it then you’re going to have to teach her. We aren’t in a position to refuse help, Evie.”
Evie looked away. “Fine.”
“Is that all?”
“No,” Evie said. Mal looked at her expectantly. After a moment, she continued. “I miss Auradon.”
Mal was silent for a minute, looking down at her desk. “We all do.”
Neither of them spoke. Eventually, Mal heard the door click shut and looked up. Evie was gone.
She gave herself a moment to slow down. It was fine. Everything was fine. Mal had grown up on the Isle; she’d lived here for 16 years. She had a good vacation in Auradon while it lasted, but she didn’t have time to sit around reminiscing about it. There were more important things to worry about.
Like magic. She’d been working on it for the three weeks they’d been back, trying to draw on the tiny amount that managed to survive the barrier. She hadn’t been able to do anything significant yet- not even close- but she was getting there. Maybe. Until she did, though, this was something she kept to herself.
“Magic, magic, from the land, light a fire in my hand,” she murmured. There were a few sparks on her fingertips, but they died down in a matter of seconds.
“I’ll get there,” Mal whispered to herself. “I’ll get there.”
----
Evie had returned to the unofficial medical station- which is to say, the section of the hideout where kids came when they were scratched up and bleeding. Dizzy was sitting on a cot, waiting for her.
“Evie! I’ve been practicing my bandaging skills. See?”
Dizzy’s leg was bandaged up from the ankle to the knee. Evie gave her a weak smile. “Dizzy, was your leg hurt?”
“No,” Dizzy answered, unsure.
Evie took a deep breath. That was a huge waste of a supply they were already running low on. “Okay. That’s fine, we can reuse it, I think. I’m not sure, but- that’s fine.”
“Are you mad?”
She was about to be honest. She was about to look Dizzy directly in the face and say, ‘yes, I’m mad, because I’ve been sent back to Hell and Carlos is missing and I miss my friends and this place is disgusting and I’m tired and my mother’s a bitch and you’ve wasted the bandages .’ But then she saw Dizzy’s face.
Her eyebrows were drawn up, mouth wavering uncertainly. She looked scared, and embarrassed, and upset. Evie recognized that look; she’d seen it in the mirror a thousand times. So she lied. “No, Dizzy, I’m not mad.” She knelt down to look at the girl’s leg. “You did a good job. I want you to ask in the future when you want to practice something, because I can help you. But I’m not mad at you.”
Dizzy’s face cleared up, and she beamed. “Good! I’m sorry I used the bandages without asking. But do you really think I did a good job?”
Evie took a closer look at the bandages. “Yes, I do. It’s very neat, and I can see you worked hard on it. It could use a little work, but I’m very impressed with you.”
“Thanks,” Dizzy said quietly. “My mom never said things like that.”
Neither did mine. “She didn’t know any better. But we do, so that’s alright. Now, can you check Deux’s leg for signs of infection?”
Dizzy diligently headed off to do just that. Evie hovered a bit behind, giving her space but checking to make sure Deux didn’t get gangrene.
----
Thump.
Jay swung fist after fist at the makeshift punching bag. It wasn’t as strong as it could have been, and he had to keep tying it back up every half hour, but it was there, and it was something. He’d been going at it for a while, and he could feel the sweat dripping down his back. He’d put his hair up in a bun to keep it out of the way, but the bun wasn’t going to hold up much longer.
Thump.
Jay didn’t care.
Thump thump.
If he ever got back to Auradon, he was going to kick someone’s ass.
Thump.
Or maybe not, considering it would just get him sent back again. But it might still be worth it.
Thump .
It had been three weeks. Three weeks since they’d gotten sent back and Carlos had disappeared.
Thump thump.
The fighting with Uma was getting more intense. No one had died yet- not on their side, anyway- but they’d come close. Still, it was restricted mostly to minor skirmishes.
Thump.
Mal was trying to keep everything together and maintain what she jokingly called the Anti-Hero Club.
Thump.
Evie had taken over as doctor, apparently. She didn’t know much about medicine, but she was doing her best.
Thump.
They were both in over their heads- way over- and trying not to show it.
Thump thump.
And Jay? Jay was the thief again. If they needed supplies, he’d get them. He swiped everything he saw that looked valuable- the only difference from before was that now he wasn’t just doing it to save his own skin.
Thump.
But he knew. He knew that was who he was, and that was what his friends saw. They’d all done their ‘growing’ and ‘personal development,’ and he was exactly the same. The most helpful thing he could be was a pair of hands.
Thump thump thump.
Thwack.
“Damn,” he said, staring at the punching bag on the floor where it had bounced off of the wall.
“Uh, Jay?”
Jay whirled around in surprise. It wasn’t like him to be caught off-guard; he was usually the one doing the catching.
Jace Badun was standing there, fidgeting awkwardly. Jay knew him, if not well. He’d seen him around the hideout recently, but mostly he knew him through Carlos. Jace was one of Cruella’s minion’s kid, along with his cousin Harry. They’d hung around Carlos some before Auradon, but it was less a matter of friendship and more a case of hereditary minionship. Still, Jace seemed like a good kid. “Yeah?”
“I was hoping you’d help me work out?” When Jay gave him a blank stare, the boy continued. “I just mean- you know, you’re so big, and tough, and you’re so good at fighting, and I figured you could give me some pointers?”
After a moment, Jay nodded. “Yeah, of course. Come on over, we’ll work on your arms.”
He led the younger boy- a little younger than Carlos, even, and Carlos was 2 years younger than Jay already- over to what passed for a weights station. It was loaded with the heaviest, most worthless stuff Jay could find, and a few of them even resembled actual weights. He looked over the pile of garbage, picking out some items that looked to be Jace’s weight range.
“Will these do?”
“Oh! Yeah, those are fine. Uh, thanks.”
Jay grabbed a pair of fake weights for himself, and both boys lifted in silence.
Until Jay broke it. “What do you know?” He asked, voice low.
Jace glanced at him, slowing down. “Honestly… not a lot. I haven’t seen him since he got back, no one has. I asked my dad a couple of times, but he won’t say anything.”
“So he could be okay?” Jay asked. It was unlikely- borderline impossible- but he couldn’t crush the sliver up hope crawling up his gut.
Jace looked away. “I don’t think so,” he said quietly. “This is the first time I’ve ever seen my dad look guilty about anything, and it’s only when I ask about him.”
“Oh,” Jay said, feeling the sliver of hope choke and die. After a moment, he kept at it. “I’ve been there every single day, and no one’s ever home.”
“I don’t know if that’s true,” Jace shrugged. “My dad says Cruella’s been quiet lately. Scary quiet. Says he liked it better when she yelled.”
One of Jay’s weights fell to the ground, and he forgot for a moment to pick it up. Jace grabbed it and handed it to him, not meeting his eyes. Both of them continued in silence.
----
It wasn’t often that Mal called a conference. For starters, there were usually only a few people in the compound at any given time- though the number had been getting steadily bigger. There also wasn’t usually anything important enough to call a conference for.
So when she called one, people came. They gathered around her desk, where she stood with her hands planted firmly on the wood. Evie showed up first, face pinched, followed by a giddy Dizzy. Others came- even Deux hobbled over so he wouldn’t miss the news. Jay was the last to arrive, trailing some kid Mal vaguely recognized. He was glowering, so Mal knew he wasn’t going to have the best reaction to her announcement.
When Mal determined that everyone important was there- minus a certain freckled face- she began to speak. “I sent a message to Uma asking her to consider a… peace, of sorts.”
As she’d expected, the room exploded in noise.
“A what?”
“Without consulting anyone?”
“Who delivered the message?”
The last one was the most common question. Obviously, the Isle didn’t have snail mail or the internet, so personal delivery was just about the only way to get a letter to anyone. Everyone was looking around the room accusatorily, trying to figure out who had kept this secret from the rest of the crew.
Everyone, that is, except for Evie and Jay. Those two looked directly at her, sending her a clear message. You may be our leader, but this is not a dictatorship.
A challenge. If things with Uma were going to calm down, Mal was going to have to be able to control her side of the equation, and she had to be authoritative. She let her eyes glow slightly, feeling the room quiet around her as she did. When she saw her friends’ face pull tighter, she knew it had been the wrong move.
But she didn’t have time for that now.
Clearing her throat, she continued. “I sent a neutral party from the marketplace. He’s not on our side, and he’s not on Uma’s, and he’d like to keep it that way. All he had to do was deliver our letter, and bring back her response. He has done so.:
Everyone looked at her expectantly, although Jay and Evie still seemed peeved. “She has agreed to send two messengers to exchange… demands, for lack of a better word. We have to determine what we think is most important for peace, and they have to do the same. The messengers will meet and exchange papers tomorrow morning on the wharf.”
“Who are they sending?” A girl near the front.
“We can’t be sure, but we know it won’t be Uma herself. She’ll send one of her lackeys to do it. I’m willing to bet it’s a Hook though, probably either Harry or Harriet. She trusts them, and they can stand their own in a fight.”
“Who are we sending?” The same girl.
“Well, it’s not going to be Mal,” Evie responded immediately. Heads turned to look at her.
“Don’t say that,” Mal said. “I’m willing to go.”
“I don’t care if you’re willing, you can’t. I think we’ve established that you’re in charge, and we’re not sending you out on your own. We don’t know that the other side will fight fair.”
“I can take any risk I ask any of you to take. My life is not more important than yours, and I won’t pretend it is.”
Evie narrowed her eyes. “That’s nice, but we both know it’s not true. If something happens to you, this entire side falls apart. Maybe someone else will step up. But,” she turned, gesturing to everyone else in the room, “can all of you promise you’d have as much faith in that person as you do in Mal?” She was met with silence, and turned back to Mal. “You’re not going.”
Mal could feel her face reddening, and hoped it wasn’t noticeable. “Fine,” she said, trying to keep her temper in check. “But you can’t go either. If things go downhill, we’re going to need a medic.”
“I’m not a doctor!”
“But you’re the next best thing, so we’re all going to have to deal with that. You’re not going right into the line of fire.”
“I’ll go,” a boy interrupted. Mal turned to look at him, and recognized him. Sammy Smee had grown up with the Hook siblings… for the first 11 of his 12 years of life.
Mal sighed. “I’m not sending a child.”
“We’re all children, if that word even applies here,” he shot back. “I’ve known the Hooks my whole life.”
“And then you turned on them and joined us instead.”
Sammy’s face turned crimson. “I am not my father, and I will not be a Hook’s lapdog!”
“Aye!” Cried Deux from the back. Like Sammy, he'd separated from his father LeFou and turned against Gaston's kids.
“I know. I’m not saying you were wrong, because you weren’t. I’m saying that they’re not going to take kindly to seeing you again, representing the other side, ” Mal tried to explain.
Sammy looked up at her beseechingly. “They practically helped raise me. That’s got to count for something, doesn’t it?”
( “Even villains love their kids, right?” )
And just like that, the discussion was closed. Jay made Mal’s point for her, pushing his way to the front of the crowd and grabbing the boy by the collar of his shirt. “You. Are. Not. Going.” Terrified, Sammy nodded. Jay set him back down and ruffled his hair, trying to defuse the tension. “Great. You can work out with me tomorrow instead.” Sammy nodded again.
“Great, glad that’s settled,” Evie said sarcastically, bringing them back to the matter at hand. “Who’s actually going? Jay can’t go, because he has to go on a supply run tomorrow, and apparently neither of us is going.”
“I’ll do it. And don’t say I’m too young, because I’m not. I’m only two and a half years younger than you, and I don’t have any sort of connection to anyone on Uma’s crew. No one has a vendetta against me, and I don’t have anything against them, either. I can stay neutral and deliver the letter, no problem.”
Everyone had turned to look at the boy who’d spoken.
Jay sighed. “Jace-”
“Please. Let me be useful, I’m tired of staying around cooped up in here waiting for Carlos to come back.”
Jay reeled back like he’d been slapped, and Evie had much the same reaction. Mal was barely able to keep from flinching herself.
“Fine,” Jay said, voice lower than before. “But you’d better come back in one piece.”
----
It took another hour and a half to work out what the demands should be, even with Mal’s pre-written suggestions. When the conference finally adjourned, most of the villain kids headed off to either their respective houses or their makeshift beds on the floor of the hideout.
Mal was left alone in her office to contemplate the decision. Had she been wrong to send the message out without telling anyone? They might have tried to stop her, and this was the best course of action. Things were getting more and more drastic every day. Deux had had one of his legs damn near sliced off by one of the Gastons the other day, and Mal was willing to bet that it was just a matter of time before someone died. She could assume no one had died on the other side because Uma would have been out for blood.
But she hadn’t been expecting to send a kid. Not one as young as Jace, anyway. Then again, this wasn’t Auradon, and it wasn’t likely to be the kid’s first life and death situation.
Snap out of it, she reprimanded herself. Auradon really had made her soft if the idea of a 13-14 year old involved in a turf war made her feel anything other than bored. Besides, Uma’s letter had seemed relatively sincere- not sweet, by any means, but cordial enough and open to negotiations.
She had other things to worry about. She looked over the list of demands for what seemed like the hundredth time, in case anything was missing or would make negotiations impossible. Again, she found nothing. Taking a deep breath and forcing herself to stop overthinking it, she set the sheet down and made herself practice her magic again.
Just like earlier, sparks came alive on her fingers before quickly sputtering out, but they were distinctly brighter this time. She really was getting better.
Good. She was getting the feeling that would be important soon.
----
Since the hideout had essentially become a new living space for kids wanting to escape villainy, Evie had taken the unofficial position of den mother alongside the unofficially official doctor position.
It really wasn’t her responsibility, but she wanted to give these kids something she and her friends had never had. Something she’d been taught at Auradon. So every night, when most of the kids were settling into their makeshift beds, she went and ‘tucked them in.’ Kids had been resistant at first, of course, but the younger ones liked it. Gradually, some of the older ones started letting her do it, too. And when she sat in the middle of the unofficial sleeping hall and told a story- something small, and stupid, because Evie had never been a storyteller- no one complained.
She could tell it was working. A lot of the kids, especially the younger ones, had really started perking up. It was like they’d been forced to grow up when they were still knee-height, and they were taking the opportunity now to be a kid that they hadn’t had before. It was good for them. She thought.
But she was worried, too. Getting a childhood was great… if you could afford it. But Evie wasn’t sure anyone on the Isle could. Already most of the younger kids were acting their age- younger, even; Dizzy had never seemed as young as she had these past two weeks- and Evie was terrified that it would end up getting them killed. She wanted to protect them, but the single most important tool for survival on the Isle was self-reliance.
And yet. She couldn’t bring herself to stop now that some of the kids seemed so eager for it every night come bedtime, couldn’t help wanting to give them this little glimpse of family. So she told herself that a few stories never killed anyone, and she prayed to whoever was listening that it was true.
----
No one used the work-out room at night, so Jay had it all to himself. That was a good thing, because someone else might have tried to stop him from beating the shit out of the punching bag. His knuckles had started bleeding a couple minutes back, and he’d hardly noticed. It was the least of his worries.
Carlos was still missing, and even his sort-of minions were giving up on him. He hadn’t been seen in three weeks. He was ammunition now- a fast way to end an argument, and damn, Jay shouldn’t have given up so fast. It was ridiculous. It was pathetic. It was terrifying.
Mal was going off on a power trip. Making unilateral decisions without consulting anyone. Pulling her eyes on them? She hadn’t done that in years. What made her think she could make these decisions for them without asking, and then condescend to them when they called her out?
Evie hadn’t had a spare moment in days. She kept piling on responsibilities like she thought she had 48 hours a day. Doctor, chief of inventory, team therapist, and most recently hive mom. She looked like she barely slept; she was too busy trying to take care of everything and everyone else.
Jace was heading off on some hare-brained mission tomorrow on Mal’s word alone. Jay didn’t believe for a second that Uma was willing to commit to any sort of peace talks, and Jace wouldn’t stand a chance against any of the Hooks. Jay barely knew the kid, but he knew that 14 was too young to risk your life.
Then again, that was Auradon thinking. Jay had known people who died much younger; he hadn’t expected to make it that long himself when he was younger. There was no such thing as ‘too young,’ at least not here. But he still couldn’t shake the feeling of guilt.
And as for Jay himself, well- he didn’t seem to be doing much of anything nowadays. He went out on supply runs a couple of times- his best skill was thievery, after all- and beat up some of Uma’s goons, but that was about it, unless one counted his routine demolition of the punching bag. No one seemed to have time or need for him, but the worst part was that he could feel what Mal and Evie thought when they saw him. He knew that they blamed him for getting sent back, and they didn’t have the guts to say it out loud.
A loud crack disrupted his train of thought and he jolted back to reality. He was kneeling over the punching bag on the floor where it’d fallen, one arm still pulled back for a hit. It reminded him of the familiar feeling of bashing someone’s face in, and it felt good. He rolled over off the bag and landed on his back on the floor. He didn’t feel like getting up and heading back to his usual spot. He’d just sleep here instead.
----
“All you have to do is go to Goblin Wharf, trade papers with whoever meets you there, and come back, okay? It shouldn’t be difficult, and it shouldn’t be dangerous. If you feel something off-key, get out. It shouldn’t take more than a minute or two.”
Jace rolled his eyes at her. “I know, Mal. It’s not hard to remember, it’s not really a complicated scheme. I’ll be fine.”
“Fine. Get going, then. It’s better to get there early and have time to scope out your surroundings.”
He nodded and took off, leaving the door open behind him. A second later, a familiar blue head popped in.
“Come in, Evie.”
“Thanks.” Evie let herself in and leaned against a wall, sizing Mal up. “Don’t pull anything like that again.”
She meant the secret letter to Uma, of course. “You’re one to talk, Miss You’re-Not-Going.”
Evie narrowed her eyes. “I stated the obvious. You made a unilateral decision affecting all of us without bothering to tell anybody."
“I told you.”
“After she’d already replied. You and I both know that’s bullshit.”
Mal’s first instinct was to tell her to watch her mouth, but she quashed it. They weren’t 15 anymore; she couldn’t coast by on her mother’s reputation and cow everyone around her into submission. That wasn’t who she was now- or at least, it wasn’t supposed to be. So she reigned in her temper. “Do you have anything more productive to tell me, princess?”
Evie bristled. “Jay’s out on the supply run already. He should be back before long.”
“If that’s all…”
Evie scowled and left, shutting the door behind her. Mal waited a second to make sure she was gone and let her head fall into her hands. She was really mucking this up, and she couldn’t seem to stop herself. Her pride kept getting in the way. Still, the turf war with Uma would be over soon- or if not over, quieter- and they could go back to normal. It would be hard letting go of Auradon, sure, but not impossible. Everything would calm down and they’d find Carlos and all of them could just… be friends again. She just had to wait a little longer.
----
Being invisible was a thief’s best tool, so Jay had become very, very good at it. Most people never knew he’d been there until he was long gone and they realized their wallets were gone. It wasn’t the only way he knew how to steal, but it was by far the most efficient- no one let their guard down around him otherwise, given his reputation.
He’d changed into a different outfit and pinned up his hair; he looked indiscreet enough that no one would give him a second glance. He stepped quietly in uncrowded alleyways, hardly being seen. In more public places, he simply became part of the natural jostle of the crowd. No one noticed a thing as Jay stripped them of their most prized possessions. They should have known better than to wear them out in public, anyway.
But the good stuff didn’t come from pickpocketing. A lot of it he stole from stores- quick in-and-out jobs before the owner even saw him. It was a good way to get things he couldn’t otherwise; what few medical supplies he managed to scrounge up he got like that. It was good for larger items, as well.
Of course, he’d taken too many things for any one person to carry. He had a rusted wheelbarrow hidden behind a pile of garbage- blending in well enough, considering it was barely in one piece- where he deposited things every time his pockets got too full. When he was done, he’d wheel it back to the compound. If someone tried to take it from him, well. Jay was hardly lacking in self-defense skills (or weapons).
But he had one more stop to make before he could head back. It was still school hours, so Dragon Hall wasn’t empty, but it wasn’t as if anyone was paying attention there anyway. It was staffed (almost) exclusively by villains, so what else could be expected? He just needed access to its library for those medical books Evie had asked for.
As Jay made his way through the halls, he noted how empty the classrooms were. There were still students, but only half the number there used to be. Some kids were no longer interested in learning to be evil, he supposed, and others had just realized that they had better things to do. Some of them were in the compound he was stealing for.
When he finally got to the library, the most difficult part was finding the right section. There was no one on staff, which made books easier to steal, but infinitely harder to find. Jay just wandered through the aisles until he found some books about fixing people.
He grabbed the books that looked the most informational- textbooks, mostly- and paused when he noticed the books on the next shelf over.
They were still about fixing people, but they were more about feelings . Fixing the brain. Jay debated whether or not to get them. On the one hand, they didn’t have therapists on the Isle, and no one had ever really asked for any. Showing that kind of vulnerability was like asking to be taken advantage of. On the other hand, plenty of the kids on the Isle were fucked up, especially compared to anyone in Auradon. It was damn near impossible to make it through the night without some kid or another having a nightmare, and that made them a lot less effective.
But there wasn’t anyone who had the time or energy to fix all those kids’ brains. Oh, but wait! Some of these books were labelled ‘self-help.’ That would be perfect; the kids could fix themselves instead of making others do it for them.
Piling on as many books as he could carry, he slipped out the back door (everything had a back door on the Isle- one of the few upsides) and made his way back to his wheelbarrow. There was another kid milling around, trying to eye it discreetly. He jumped when he saw Jay and, recognizing the clear physical imbalance, scurried off.
Jay dumped all of the books into the wheelbarrow and starting pushing it back to the compound. It had been a couple of hours since he left, so Jace was bound to be back by now. If things really did cool down with Uma, they would finally have more time to spend looking for Carlos. It hadn’t been cool of Mal to jump the gun without asking, but the general idea had actually been a good one, if he thought about it.
By the time he made it back to the place he was tentatively starting to call home, he was almost vibrating. He wanted so badly to know how things had gone with Uma. Were things finally going to go back to normal? Did Jace see anything that might be useful in negotiations? What did Mal make of things?
Speak of the Devil. Mal was standing outside the main entrance of the compound, face grave. Jay’s stomach dropped. Nothing good ever came with that expression. He approached her slowly, hoping that he was just misreading her. Of course, he wasn’t.
When he got close enough, she grabbed his arm. “Jace didn’t come back,” she said.
He froze. “What?”
“He didn’t come back. At all.”
“It’s been hours.”
“I know.” Her voice was low. “Everyone does. There’s about to be a real problem. People are getting uneasy, Jay, and that never ends well. If we don’t find him, someone else is going to go looking.”
As always, crisis focused his mind more than anything else could. “I can go. No one has to know I was back in the first place, so I’ll just come back and say he was helping me out.”
“If you find him in one piece.”
“Mal-”
“Mal!” An unexpected voice cut off their conversation entirely. They both turned to look and saw Carlos’s cousin Diego running towards them, eyes wild. “Mal, I- we found Jace.” The boy was breathing heavily, much paler than usual.
But the first thing Jay noticed was the blood on his hands.