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Mal watched in horror as her friends turned to stone in front of her, as quick as a flash of lightning. Ben, Evie, Jay, Carlos, and even little Dude. This was all her fault.
But she hadn’t asked for any of this. She’d never asked to leave the Isle, she’d never asked for the King to freaking propose to her, and she’d certainly never signed up to face off against his ex. All she’d ever wanted was to do the right thing, and look how far that got her.
Mal was out of ideas. With Hades’s ember unable to ignite, she had nothing strong enough to face off against Audrey. What’s worse, she was certain that even if her friends hadn’t been turned to stone, they would hate her too much to help her stop all this. She wouldn’t blame them, either – she’d lied to them, she’d betrayed the trust of the people who loved and supported her the most. Maybe villains like her were never meant to do the right thing.
All Mal could do was collapse on the ground and cry. She couldn’t do this alone. She’d never thought she’d have to. These four had been with her through all the insanity of the past year, having stood up against Maleficent, Uma, and now Hades together. She needed them by her side, not as sidekicks, but as friends. As partners.
The tears just wouldn’t dry up, but eventually, Mal gained enough strength to stand and look at her friends. If she didn’t know any better, she’d think they were statues, perfectly carved to the likenesses of the most important people in her life. What she wouldn’t give for one of Ben’s hugs right now. What she wouldn’t give for one of Evie’s affectionate pep talks. She missed Carlos’s smile, Jay’s laugh. Would she ever get to experience those things again? Or was all hope lost?
She approached Evie’s statue, putting her hands on its cold cheeks as the tears kept flowing down her own. “I’m so sorry,” she whisper-sobbed to the stone face.
If Evie weren’t turned to stone right now, Mal would apologize, ask her for help in finding a solution to all this. She’d promise to do better. Most importantly, she’d tell Evie how much she loved her. Their friendship meant more to her than any ring, any crown, any scepter, any throne. But all Mal knew to do in that moment, in between sobs, was shut her eyes and kiss Evie’s stony lips.
They were cold and hard for a moment, until they weren’t. In fact, they started to feel warm and soft, and Mal could’ve sworn she felt Evie’s face move. She opened her eyes to see Evie’s wide brown eyes staring back at her.
“What the…” Mal uttered, taking a step away from Evie.
Evie seemed just as puzzled as Mal, examining herself as if surprised that she could move again. “Mal, what happened?” she asked.
“Audrey turned you to stone,” Mal replied without thinking.
Putting her hands on her hips, Evie said, “I know that. What I’m wondering is why I’m back to my normal self while the boys aren’t.”
Mal wiped her tears away, realizing she was so shocked that she’d stopped crying. “I have no idea. Honest. But…”
Now that Evie was back, Mal wanted to tell her everything. She sniffled.
“Evie, I’m so sorry for lying to you. You deserve so much better than that.”
Evie looked at her shoes, hugging herself.
“I promise I’ll do better,” Mal continued. “Because I love you, and your friendship is more important to me—”
“Wait,” Evie interrupted her, looking back up. She didn’t look mad exactly, but she certainly wasn’t in the best mood either. “What did you just say?”
“That your friendship is important to me?”
“No, before that.”
“That you deserve better, so I’ll do better?”
“No, after that.”
Mal thought for a second. She quietly said, “I love you?”
Evie snapped her fingers, face lighting up with a realization. “M, that’s it!”
That girl certainly had a weird way of saying things. Most people’s response to “I love you” would be “I love you, too,” not “That’s it.”
“What’s ‘it’?” Mal dared to ask.
Plump red lips forming a bashful smile, Evie said, “You kissed me.”
Mal still had no idea where this was going. Was Evie just trying to embarrass her? Or was she upset that Mal hadn’t asked before kissing her or something?
Apparently noticing Mal’s confusion, Evie elaborated. “M, don’t you get it? You broke the spell with true love’s kiss!”
“What?” Mal shrieked, a knee-jerk reaction. She knew that true love’s kiss was strong enough to break a sleeping spell or a love spell, but to essentially bring someone back to life ? Her confusion only grew when she realized she already had a true love.
“E, how could that be possible? My kiss has worked on Ben, and yours has worked on Doug. That makes them our true loves, doesn’t it?”
“You can love more than one person,” Evie giggled, blushing like a shy schoolgirl. She snapped out of it when she gasped with a sudden realization. “And true love doesn’t have to be romantic!”
Before Mal could process what Evie had told her, Evie scurried over to Carlos’s stone figure, which was bent over the statue of Dude. She stooped to his level and kissed his stony cheek.
In a flash, Carlos came back to life too. He stood straight up, grinning at Evie as if he immediately understood what had just happened. As he bent back down to give Dude a kiss on the top of the head, Evie rushed over to Jay to bring him back.
Mal looked around. There was only one statue left: Ben. She sidled up to him, noticing the worry frozen on his face. She knew she’d have to apologize to him the moment she woke him up. She knew she’d have to talk to him, tell him that she was wrong about closing the barrier. Was she ready for that?
Hearing Jay’s laughter as Evie brought him back gave Mal the confidence she needed. Standing on her tiptoes, she leaned forward and pressed her lips against Ben’s cheek. Soon, Mal enjoyed the welcome, familiar feeling of Ben’s face against hers, followed by a gasp and a hug.
“Mal,” said Ben, “you saved me.”
“I haven’t done anything yet,” Mal replied. She locked eyes with her fiancé. “I’m sorry, Ben, I was wrong. We can’t close the magic barrier. We have to find another way.”
Ben gave her the widest grin she’d ever seen on him. “God, I love you.”
“Uh, hey Mal?” said Jay. “Something in your pocket is glowing.” He pointed to her pants.
Mal looked down at herself. Jay was right: a blue light was coming out of her pant pocket. She reached in and felt the shape of Hades’s ember. As she pulled it out, she saw that it was glowing as brightly as it had before it had gotten wet. Her eyes nearly bugged out of her head.
“How the…” Mal started, but she couldn’t even finish the thought.
Carlos exclaimed, “It must’ve been reignited by true love!” He jumped in excitement, but he stopped and quickly pumped the brakes on the enthusiasm. “So, does this mean we stand a chance against Audrey now?”
“Only if we stand against her together,” Evie answered before Mal could.
Mal and the others nodded. Ember in hand and true love surrounding her, Mal declared, “Let’s do this.”