The girls and Alex all arrived at Evie and Alex's 'starter' castle. "Nice digs." Uma stared at the castle as she looked at Evie and Alex as they both held hands.

Evie gave her a small smile before looking at her fiancé. "We got a deal." She turns her head back towards Uma who nodded her head.

"Hey, there's your bae." Celia nodded towards Ben, Harry, Gil, Carlos, Jane, Doug, and Jay who were standing outside the castle. Mal's face lights up as a wide smile spread across her face, as she ran towards him. "Ben!" he turned his head towards her, standing up and Mal embraces him before pulling back and looking up at his face to see that he had the similar thing happened to him like with Alex.

"Nice beard, bro." Alex approached them both with a smile as he placed his free hand on his younger brother's shoulder.

"Nice fangs." Ben smiled back at him as he points to Alex's new addition.

"Thanks. Mal do you like the fangs?" Alex asked his future sister-in law.

"Meh..." Mal smiled up at Ben as she ran her finger across his jawline.

"I like them.." Ben spoke up as Alex laughs a little.

"Okay, so we all think that Audrey and Olivia could be at Fairy Cottage. We have no idea where that is. Did they ever take you guys there?" Mal looked between the brothers.

"Every Fairy Godmother's Day." Ben spoke up.

"Where is Fairy Godmother when you need her?" Alex added as Evie slides her free hand across his forearm.

"I wish I knew." Jane looked over at Alex and Ben as she spoke up.

Carlos sits opposite to Jane as he held a gift in his hand. "Hey, this might be a bad time. But...uh. Happy birthday." He slides the gift across the table as he smiled at her. "I made it with my 3D printer."

Jane opened up the box to found inside is a necklace. "That's our names put together."

"No. I get it, yeah." Jane said with a smile as she looked down at the necklace.

"Yeah, because, you know we're together. You and me were like a couple." Carlos chuckles nervously.

"Right. 'Cause Jane and Carlos make Jarlos." Jane smiled over at Carlos.

"Yes. Yeah. I could've gone with Cane, um, but I went with Jarlos. Unless you prefer Cane." Carlos nervously rambles.

"Oh, no. No, I love it."

"You prefer Cane? Yes, you do. It's fine. You know what? I can remake it. It's cool." Carlos reaches out and takes the necklace as he was standing up.

Jane followed suit, "No, Carlos." She looked at him with a reassuring smile. "It's perfect."

She turns around and moves her hair out of the way for Carlos to put the necklace around her neck.

"Doug! Go with Jane." Alex walks over to Doug, placing his hand on his shoulder. "We need to find Fairy Godmother."

Uma walks over to him and places her hand on his arm. "They might need some muscle."

"Hey."

"Well, I'll go." Gil offered with a smile.

"Yeah, actually, I would feel better." Carlos added as he had his arm around Jane.

"Yeah, actually, I'd feel better, too." Evie stepped beside Alex, where she gave Doug a friendly smile.

"Same." Mal also stepped closer as she looked at Doug.

"Actually, I would, too." Doug admittedly says.

Gil puts his arm around his neck as he chuckles. "All right, man. Let's do it."

"Let's go, Jane." Doug looked over at Jane with a smile.

"Okay." Jane made her way over to Doug and Gil.

"Be careful, okay?" Carlos says as he watched Jane.

"I will."

Doug, Gil, and Jane walked off, and the VKs, Uma's crew and Dude head inside.

~~

Alex and Ben lead the way to Fairy Cottage. Ben opened the gate in front of the house, and everyone rushed in after him. The door swung open to reveal and empty room. Jay ran up the stairs to check, while everyone else looked around the seemingly recently abandoned cottage.

"They're not upstairs." Jay informed them after his check. A loud knocking from the closet got everyone's attention. Ben turned around and lifted the plank of wood locking the door. He opened it to reveal Chad, curled up in a ball on the floor.

"Chad?" He asked, surprised. "I want my mommy." Chad said, honestly. Ben went to help him up, but Chad flinched. Ben reassured him and he got Chad onto his feet. He checked his surroundings before realizing who was there.

"Ben! Ben. What happened to your face?" He asked before realizing Audrey and Olivia weren't there. "They're gone? And the door's open. Freedom! Oh ho!" He screamed as he began to run. Alex stuck out a leg and Chad tripped over it. This didn't deter him as he got right back up and kept running.

Alex looked back to see Evie glaring at him. "What?" He asked shrugging his shoulders. The group began walking out, with Evie slapping his arm as she went past him.

They continued to walk through the garden as Uma let out a sigh. "All right, let's get this Audrey chick taken care of. What do you say, girl? Time to wrap things up?" Her and Mal fist bumped in agreement.

"You know, someday, you guys are gonna have to tell me how you all got teamed up?" Ben told Mal. "Actually, Mal promised to let all the kids off the Isle when this is over." Evie informed them.

"Mal?" Ben and Alex said to her in slight shock. Mal continued walking as everyone else stopped. "I have to tell you guys something." She turned to face everyone as Ben and Alex hung their heads.

"I lied to you. The kids won't be coming off the Isle." She revealed to them, as everyone shared looks of confusion. "What do you mean?" Jay asked her.

"The program is shut down. And the barrier will be closed for good."

Harry groaned as he shoved his hook towards her.

Evie turned to Alex. "Did you know about this?" She asked him, in an accusatory tone.

He looked up at her. "I got outvoted, Evie. There was nothing I could do." He tried to tell her.

She shook her head at him. "You're the king Alex. You're the only one with a choice."

Uma started walking towards Mal. "Hold up, we're saving your precious people, and your behinds, for a lie?" Mal had no response, which told Uma all she needed to know. "I knew I never should've trusted you. You're always out for yourself."

Harry was angry too. "And you! King Alex and Prince Ben ay?" He couldn't even give out to them. "You're probably just gonna throw us all back inside, ay?" He turned away.

"You know what?" Mal looked to Celia. "I thought you were brave, but you're nothing but a chicken. Too scared to tell me I was never gonna see my dad again!" She spat at Mal.

She grabbed the ember from her hand and chucked it into a small basin outside the house. "Celia?!" Alex shouted as he followed after her.

Mal grabbed the ember out of the water. "Regain your might and ignite!" It didn't work. She turned to Uma and said it again, still nothing.

Uma looked at her shell and it wasn't glowing. "Bummer. Let's go find Gil and leave 'em all to rot." Her and Harry walked past Mal, and into the woods, ignoring her call to come back.

Mal turned back to see Evie stepping closer to her, a look of fury on her face. "Evie. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I just... I thought that- I was afraid to tell you, I was afraid I was gonna lose my best friend.. but, I had to do something. I had to protect Auradon." She tried to tell her.

"Closing the barrier was your idea?" Evie questioned her.

"I did it for us." Mal told her. "I did it for our life that we have here now."

"For our life?! What about the kids that we left behind on that island? The kids that we promised! We were their only hope. I thought you were gonna stand up for the VK's. But instead, you lied to them. And you lied to Jay." She pointed at their friend. "And you lied to Carlos. And you lied to me. We're your family!" She told Mal.

"Evie." She didn't listen, as her, Carlos and Jay turned away from her. "Evie, come on, I had no choice!" A blast of pink smoke interrupted her, as they were turned to stone. "No." Mal let out seeing her family like this. Her eyes filled with tears.

https://youtu.be/sdxARQoF_C4

Mal:
Here you are alone, and you deserve it.
Your friends have turned to stone, and that's on you.
You had a cause to serve, but did you serve it?
Or did you see yourself in a way that wasn't true?
Why tell all those lies? You feel unworthy,
Like there isn't solid ground for you to stand.

But a stack of lies is not a firm foundation,
You cannot build a castle on a mountain made of sand.
This is not your father's fairytale,
And no, it's not your mother's fault you fail.
So when your story comes to light,
Make sure the story that they write goes

Once upon a time she fought a dragon,
Once upon a time that beast was me.
Once upon a misspent youth,
She faced herself, she spoke the truth.
That's how I see my once upon a time, This time.

Mal:
Once upon a time a girl tried harder
Once upon a time she tried again
Once upon a braver choice She took a risk,
she used her voice
And that will be my once upon a time

This time
Life is not a storybook, but life unfolds in chapters.
Turn the page and start to make amends,
There's no pre-written guarantee of
"Happy ever after".
Step into your greatness before your story ends,

So when your story ends, they'll say.
Once upon a time a girl flew higher,
Once upon a time she made things right.
Once upon a time that binds,
She changed her heart, to change their minds.
That's got to be my once upon a time,
This once upon a time.
I'll finally see my once upon a time, This time.

Mal ran into the front lawn of the castle. "Uma!" Harry and Uma looked back but didn't stop. "Uma! Please stop. I need your help." Uma tried to walk but Mal stopped her. "We have a chance if we do this together." She tried to convince her.

"Your friends kick you to the curb?" Mal said nothing. "Good." She finished.

"Alex and Ben saw something in you and today, Uma, I saw it too. You care! You care about everybody. And Auradon is worth saving!" She attempted to convince the girl. "Help us. Please."

Harry looked between the two. "You talk pretty, Mal. But she's already made up her mind."

Uma looked at him before facing Mal. "You brought this on yourself Mal, you figure out how to fix it." She tapped Harry's chest. "Let's go." Mal watched them walk off.

"Help me Mal!" Celia's voice rang through her ears as purple smoke circled around her. Her eyes turned green as she transformed into her dragon form again. She flew up and saw Audrey holding the sceptre, while Olivia held Celia back.

The two traded blows. Mal spewing fire at Audrey as she blocked it and sent back bolts of pink lightning. Each one Mal dodged but it was getting harder and harder.

Uma and Harry ran back towards them and saw what was unfolding. Mal attempted to reignite the ember with her flames but to no avail. "She doesn't stand a chance without the ember." Uma told Harry.

Audrey fired a bolt at Mal and this one hit, knocking her off balance as she fell towards the ground.

Alex had finally caught up with Celia and arrived at the top of the tower. "Celia!" Audrey and Olivia faced him.

"Get back!" Audrey threatened facing him with the scepter outstretched.

Uma and Harry stopped in front of where Mal had caught herself. Uma felt her shell begin to glow this time. "We're stronger together. We're stronger together, I'm right here Mal! Regain your might and ignite! I'm right here, girl! Regain your might and ignite!"

Mal's eyes softened and she opened out her claw. The ember was glowing once again. She rose to the top of the tower and Audrey turned back to her. Letting out a maniacal laugh, the two-shot energy at each other.

Mal let out a roar as the power of the ember started to win. Audrey's lighting was no match for the power of the ember and soon Audrey was out. The small blast from the duel was enough to send Alex and Olivia over the edge of the tower.

Olivia started to scream as they fell, and Alex reached over. He took hold of her and brought her close to his chest, as the two hit the ground. Olivia was in pain, but Alex took most of the force. He wasn't moving and was barely breathing.

Mal landed on the top of the tower and saw Audrey on the floor, defeated. "Celia?" She asked. Celia turned, tears brimming in her eyes as Mal feared the worst. "Where are Alex and Olivia?" Celia turned back to look over the edge. Mal walked over to her and looked over the edge.

She saw Olivia, Uma and Harry surrounding him. Her soon to be brother-in-law. On the ground. Dying.

The two rushed down to the group as Mal fell to her knees next to him. "Alex! No! No please I'm so sorry! I should've been more careful, I'm sorry. Just don't go, ok? Evie needs you!"

As if she heard her name, Evie, Jay, Carlos, and Ben turned the corner, and saw the scene in front of them. Ben and Evie's hearts dropped at the sight. "No. No, no, no, no, no!" Evie screamed as she too fell beside him.

"What'd you do to him?!" She shouted at Olivia.

The girl had tears in her eyes. "He saved me." She let out. Evie turned back and saw the blood and bruises that covered his body.

"Alex wake up, please. I'm sorry that the last thing I said to you was in anger, I didn't mean it. I just need you to come back, please! Alex we need you, I need you!" She screamed as Ben was also crying over his brother. Even Uma and Harry were tearing up seeing how sad the situation was.

Mal hugged Evie as Jay and Carlos leant down and joined them. "We should get them inside." Harry said to them as Evie nodded. They stood up and brought Alex, and Audrey, into the dorms.

~~

They were all now inside Audrey's dorm room. They brought a second bed in which they had laid Alex in. Evie sat beside him, their fingers intertwined, as she held back her tears.

"They're slipping away." Jay said, solemnly. Evie let out a quiet sob as she looked at the love of her life.

"There's only one person, who may be able to do something about this and that's.. Hades." Mal told them.

"Hades?" Ben repeated. "No. He wouldn't do it, and I don't trust him to really help Alex, or Audrey." He finished.

"He might do it for me. He's my father." Mal revealed to them. Jay and Carlos exchanged a confused look at this new information.

Ben crossed his arms. "Well I'll have to send guards to go get him." Mal nodded at him.

"Maybe I can hitch a ride." Their attention turned to Uma. "The Isle is my home. Someone's gotta be there to protect it."

Harry stood up from his seat. "Well then, you'll need your first mate." He said, putting his hands on her shoulders.

Mal looked at the pair. "The Isle will be in very good hands." Uma nodded at her.

Celia stood up from the seat by the window. "Can I go too? I wish I could be in both places." She asked them. Mal stood up and looked at her former enemy.

"I do think that Evie was right. And I do think we could've been friends." Uma looked down and nodded.

"And I'm really sorry that I lied, to all of you guys. You deserved so much better than that."

Jay shook his head at her. "You were just tryna do the right thing." He reassured her, as Uma agreed.

Evie looked over at the group, as she locked eyes with Mal. "I get it." Mal slightly smiled at her best friend, as Evie turned back to Alex.

~~

Early the next morning there was a knock at Audrey's door. Beast walked over and opened it, as the chained villain walked in. Mal stepped towards him. "Thank you for coming." She told him.

"Didn't have much choice." Hades replied.

Ben and Evie stepped towards them. "Can you wake them?" Ben asked.

"Since when do heroes care about villains?" Hades responded.

Ben looked back at Audrey. "She's-"

"One of your own?" Hades finished for the prince. He chuckled to himself. "When you guys try to destroy the world? It's an error in judgement. But when it's one of us? Lock 'em up. Throw away the key. Right? Beast?" The former King gave him a look, as he went to remove his shackles, startling everyone in the room.

"I'm gonna need to use my hands." He told them. Everyone looked to Ben, who nodded, as the guards removed the cuffs. Hades shook his hand and gestured for Mal to give him the ember. His hair flared a bright blue as he was reunited with the ember.

"Haven't lost my touch." He stepped to the side and began growling at Beast, who did it back. Mal stopped them and Hades went to the front of Alex's bed. Everyone waited on bated breath as he began to swirl his hands around.

Blue lights surrounded the room as he cast his incantation. But when he finished, nothing happened.

"What happened?" Evie asked frantically.

Hades closed his eyes as he hung his head. "There's nothing I can do." He said, barely above a whisper, but everyone heard him.

Evie's heart shattered. "No!" She screamed as she fell to her knees beside his bed. She reached up for his hand as she looked for any sign of life from her fiancé, but found nothing. "No there has to be something!" She tried to find anything that told her he was lying within his expression. But all she saw was his sad eyes.

Ben was in hysterics. He had always tried to be strong and a leader. But right now all he could do was cry. He fell back onto the window seat as Mal sat beside him, shedding her own tears. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, Ben." She whispered into his ear as she hugged him.

Mal was distraught. In her mind she had killed him. If she was more careful he wouldn't have fallen and he'd still be here. It was her fault. Those were the only thoughts running through her mind in that moment.

Belle fell back into her chair as Beast stepped towards the villain. "You're the king of the underworld. There has to be something! Anything!" He roared at him, his anger shadowing his pain.

"If there was something I would have done it." Hades let out, even he was sad at the scene in front of him. Beast went back to comfort his wife, as they mourned their son.

"Alex, please just wake up." Evie sobbed as she held his hand. "Please! I can't live without you. I'm sorry the last thing I said to you was in anger, I'm so sorry. Just please wake up! We have to have the wedding. We have to live our live together Alex. Please I need you!" She screamed again as she began to let the reality sink in. No matter how hard she tried to deny and suppress the notion. She couldn't.

King Alex was gone....