Chapter Text
Red.
Scarlett ‘Red’ Hearts had never been considered a particularly popular - or even good - person, neither inside of Wonderland nor out.
So when she finds herself standing outside of Auradon Prep, clad in a crimson corduroy waistcoat she would never have been caught dead wearing in her own timeline, with the son of a Madrigal beside her and a younger sister that didn’t even exist before…
Yeah, she isn't quite sure what to think.
But surely it can’t get any worse than that, right?
“Hey Robbie!”
Certain that she recognised that voice, Red looked over from where she was preoccupied with the Madrigal kid flexing his muscles and-
Oh, well that’s just great.
“...Max?” The question slips out before she realises.
Max Hatter, one of her closest - well, only, if she’s being completely honest - childhood friends, was walking across the courtyard towards them.
Except, rather than the usual patterned button-down and oversized bow tie she’s come to expect, he seemed to have adopted an all-new leather attire.
He was even wearing eyeliner, for God's sake.
The dark purple tailcoat he wore appeared old, a hand-me-down if she had to guess, with matching oversized pinstripe trousers and a top hat that looked as though it had been torn apart and sewn back together multiple times.
He looked…
Wrong.
Something glinted between his fingers, a golden coin. He flicked it through the air.
Robbie Hood, Luis’s apparent best friend (or follower, it seemed), caught it effortlessly.
“For Sherwood’s collection box,” Max explained, his smile shadowed by his hat.
Red frowned.
She was pretty sure she’d just watched him lift that from another student’s pocket, very out of character for him.
“Drop the act, Hatter.”
Luis - that was his name, right? - rolled his eyes, folding his arms across his chest.
Red thought that he was still way too close for comfort. She resisted the urge to push him back a step.
“No one’s buying it.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“You stole that coin.”
“I found it.”
“Yeah, in someone else’s pocket!”
Max shrugged, looking a little dumbfounded. “They weren’t using it.”
Luis moved closer toward the boy.
“No matter how hard you like to pretend, Hatter, you’re still a VK.”
At this, the other boy’s smile finally faltered.
Robbie sighed as he produced the coin from his pocket where he’d already stashed it, tossing it right back toward him.
“Seriously?” Max’s tone was exasperated as he caught it in his hand.
“You stole it.”
“You’re kidding.” He huffed a humourless laugh, slipping it into his own pocket.
The hypocrisy wasn't lost on Red, with Robbie’s father’s whole stolen money schtick, but she kept her mouth shut.
To be honest, she was beginning to think that this entire timeline was one cosmic joke. I mean, was she seriously friends with these people?
“Hold on, VK?” She interrupted once the phrase had caught up to her, mind still whirling.
“...Villain Kid.” Luis shot her an odd look. “You of all people should know what Maddox did to Wonderland.”
Red’s stomach twisted.
The Maddox Hatter she knew had been eccentric, sure, but he had also been kind, had always made room for her when her mom became too much to bear, brewing her tea and tinkering with his ridiculous gadgets.
It was extremely difficult to imagine that the man she knew could ever be considered a villain.
“...Right.” She lied through her teeth, shooting Chloe a desperate look. Her friend offered nothing but a helpless shrug in return.
She’ll be no help here then.
Red searched for the irritation she would usually be feeling, but none came.
Even though she’d technically only known the other girl a handful of days, it was beginning to feel increasingly as though they’d been best friends her entire life.
In fact, if she concentrated hard enough, she could almost remember growing up with Chloe.
The beginning of a headache was forming behind her eyes.
And so she found herself looking back over at Max, at his purple-highlighted hair and quite frankly ridiculous fingerless gloves. He definitely looked the part of a Villain’s kid; there was no argument about that.
The pit in her stomach was beginning to fester, hurtling towards the edge of panic.
Had she ruined her friend’s life?
“How about we keep it moving, huh Max?”
Luis stepped forward, placing himself as a buffer between Max and the rest of them. There was clear tension simmering underneath the surface of his skin.
“Keep yourself and your lackeys out of our way this year.”
The smile on the purple-haired boy’s face was yet to disappear, but it did become noticeably more forced than before. It was almost uncanny, actually, for him to be holding the same expression for so long.
“Okay, I know you’re not talking about my crew.”
Hazel Hook, another new character in Red’s life, materialised in front of them, the flat edge of her golden - well, hook, coming to rest underneath Luis’s throat.
She moved with the effortless confidence of someone who expected people to unquestioningly clear the way for her. To be fair to her, most did.
“You already know what happens when you mess with us.” She bared her teeth, hook glinting underneath the morning sunlight.
Luis didn’t flinch. (Surprising, actually.)
Red glanced sideways at Max, beginning to lose interest in the petty squabble in front of her. He was starting to appear increasingly uncomfortable in the wake of the conflict.
It was actually reassuring to find a familiar expression - he’d always hated confrontation when they were younger.
Red wondered distantly if she was expected to do something about the threat to her…friend? Supposed love interest?...To Luis. How would this world’s version of her be expected to react?
Movement behind her prickled across the back of her neck, but it was already too late.
By the time she turned, two figures had already slipped neatly behind her and Chloe, caging them in.
The Smee twins.
They smiled in a way that she supposed aimed to be menacing. Red resisted the urge to groan.
That would never have worked on her before; she was completely off her game. The reminder caused her muscles to tense automatically.
Okay, if they wanted a fight—
A streak of bright pink exploded across her vision.
“What-”
“Oh my hearts-”
Rose, or ‘Pink’ as she was supposedly known by (a little on the nose if you asked Red, but whatever,) was leaping down the entrance stairway, taking two steps at a time.
“Oh my hearts-”
She nearly missed the last one entirely, skidding to an inelegant stop and pausing to catch her breath for a moment.
“Oh my hearts, oh my hearts, oh my hearts-” She sucked in a dramatic breath. “Mom’s been captured!”
There was a tense silence.
She threw the back of her hand dramatically against her forehead. “By Maddox Hatter!”
Here, she actually fainted like a classic damsel in distress. Luis caught her the same way he’d caught Red not so long ago. Was that his thing, then?
“Now, princesa”, He murmured.
Red felt a little sick.
Once Pink had been brought back up to standing height, Red instinctually gripped her by the shoulders, shaking them.
“Hey. Hey! Calm down. Breathe.”
She was extremely out of her depth here.
“We’ll fix this, okay?”
Beside her, Max had actually begun to draw closer.
“Hey-“ He began stiltedly, looking worriedly between her and Pink.
“I-“
Luis had pushed him away before he could get another word out.
“Get out of here, freak!” He growled. “It’s your dad that did this! Don't think we've forgotten.”
Max didn’t respond, looking stricken for a moment before turning and walking away, shoulders drawn high.
Hazel shot Luis a withering look and followed after, the twins falling into step behind her after a lazy wave of her hook. They were quickly disappearing into the panicked crowd.
Red glanced between his silently retreating form and the girl before her, conflicted.
“Max!” She called after him almost desperately, but he showed no sign of having heard her.
“We should find my mom.” Chloe placed a hand on Red’s shoulder, expression firm. “They’re still best friends here, right? She’ll help us.”
“Absolutely not,” Ella answered their plea to return to Wonderland decisively.
The walk to Fairy Godmother’s office had passed in near silence, Red and Chloe walking in front whilst Pink trailed behind them nervously.
Red’s mind was spinning with an overwhelming amount of questions; she didn’t even know where to start trying to unpack what was happening. Maddox, Max, Pink. Everything was wrong.
Chloe had stared straight ahead the entire time, jaw clenched tightly and hand reaching for a sword that no longer sat around her waist.
Red had made her sister stand outside once they got there, deciding that her full body shaking would do absolutely nothing to help the argument they were trying to make.
Now, Ella wouldn’t even let them get a word in edgeways.
Standing before them in The Fairy Godmother’s office, the woman appeared even more regal and imposing than usual. Chloe really hadn’t been exaggerating; this version of Ella seemed to have completely settled into her royal lifestyle.
“There are rules, Chloe,” she continued, "protocols to follow.”
“But I thought that rules didn't matter when it’s important.” Chloe pushed for the nth time in a row. “You said so yourself - sometimes, we need to get our hands a little dirty.”
The Fairy Godmother cleared her throat.
“You ladies can’t just bippity-bop yourselves into the hands of a dangerous villain.” She said, as chipper and high-pitched as always.
Red visibly fought not to gag. Beside her, Chloe coughed suspiciously into her fist. They did not have time to deal with this.
“Scarlett, you know that Maddox is not to be trifled with. He terrorised Wonderland for years before your Mother imprisoned him on the Isle.”
The two teenagers shared matching looks, sombre. Red was struck with the notion that she’d taken his gift to her and used it to ruin his and his son’s entire life. She’d royally messed this up.
“But don’t worry!” The woman continued, unaware of the raging inner turmoil the girls before her were facing. “I’ve spoken to Uma; she’s calling the Auradon council, and they’re coming up with a carefully thought-out rescue plan that will leave nothing to chance.” She then had the gall to smile, as if this news was reassuring in any way.
Red stared disbelievingly.
“...A plan, that’s it?”
“Our plan is to proceed responsibly and bring your mother home safely.”
She scoffed. “Yeah, eventually.”
“As soon as possible.” Ella corrected.
And look, Red knew that she didn’t exactly know her mother well, in this timeline or the last, but she’d be damned if she was expected to sit around and do nothing while her mom was captured by a villain that she created.
Besides, her brief stint as friends with past Bridget had caused her to grow on her, even if she was just as obnoxiously bubbly as her shiny new sister.
“I’m not going to let you leave my mother there.”
“Scarlett-”
“It’s Red.”
“Red.” Ella corrected. “We don’t break rules, even for a good cause. You’ll stay here and let us handle this.”
“And you.” She turned to Chloe. “You're a Charming; you need to act accordingly.”
It was hard for Red to connect the younger Ella she’d met to the one before her now, their priorities so vastly different.
Chloe appeared to be having the same problem. She looked at her mom for a long moment, as though searching for someone who wasn't there anymore.
“She’s supposed to be your best friend.” Her voice sounded defeated.
Ella didn’t respond, and it was Chloe who eventually looked away first.
“Come on.” She turned to walk through the door, Red following behind without a word.
Ella called after them, yet neither of them stopped. They waited for the office door to click shut behind them before taking off towards the Wonderland portal, leaving Pink to once again follow behind.