[4] Phoenix | Descendants 3

TWENTY-FIVE: Good Against Evil

Night had fallen in Auradon once again, the kingdom still trapped in a sleeping curse. Maleficent sat on the throne in the throne room of Beast Castle, stroking Diablo mindlessly as she thought back on her plan. The grand scheme two years in the making had all gone smoothly without a hitch. But there was one piece still missing that prevented it from being complete. The wand was still out of Maleficent's grasp, evading her as it has been doing for over twenty years.

And worse yet, those brats that were being held in the dungeons were silent on the matter. The villainess was certain that the little good fairy knew where it was, and the girl would talk upon seeing the friends in the same position. Fairy Godmother's daughter did nothing but cry her eyes out, begging for the villain to stop hurting her friends and to just let them go. But still, no word about the whereabouts of the wand and Maleficent's patience was running out.

Diablo squawked, snapping the villainess out of her thoughts. The crow got up from where he was perched atop the Dragon's Eye and began flying. The villainess followed the crow outside to the castle's balcony, where a surprising sight was waiting on the front lawn. Her daughter.

"Hi, Mom," greeted the younger fairy. 

The villain grinned wickedly. "There you are, Mal. I was wondering when you were going to show up."

"Why? Did you miss me?"

"Of course I did," replied the elder fairy, her voice laced with false sympathy. "You were missing out on the fun I was having with my guests."

Maleficent noticed the way her daughter's nose flared, her fist tightening at her side. It was still easy to get under her skin. "You won't be having fun for long."

"Oh no." Maleficent said with a false gasp. "And why is that?"

"Because I'm going to stop you." There was a pause as the daughter of Ursula appeared out of the shadows, joining Mal at her side. "We're going to stop you," She corrected, looking at the sea witch before looking back at her mother.

Maleficent laughed as she stared at the reunited duo. It was an adorable thought, that two kids in over their heads could defeat the Mistress of  Evil. "You two have joined forces again, isn't that nice?"

Mal shrugged, "We realized we have a lot in common."

"We both hate you, for starters," added Uma, and the villainess laughed, putting a hand to her heart dramatically.

"I'm touched, truly. All of this for me."

As Maleficent looked over the two girls, she thought of how strange the sight was before her. Mal and Uma haven't been beside each other since they were kids, but the two were without their respective crews. For the first time in years, Mal was without Evie, Jay, Carlos or Helena and Uma without Harry and Gil. The villainess already took care of Helena and Gil was locked up in her dungeon, but the others were still unaccounted for.

And then it hit her. They weren't out here with them because they were already inside the castle.

Mal smirked, seeing her mother's face harden. "Look who finally realized."

Uma turned toward Mal, "I thought she would've realized sooner that we were just distracting her all this time."

"Well, she's been stuck on the Isle for a while. Maybe she's lost her edge," replied Mal, never taking her eyes off her mother.

"GET OUT!" She roared as she slammed her scepter onto the floor, a large green burst of energy coming from it that spread throughout the castle.

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