Insanely Sane

3: 08

The VKs snuck through the forest to get to Fairy Cottage. They had to be quiet, as thry didn't know if Audrey was still there or not.

They entered the cottage and it was silent. From first glance, it appeared to be empty. Jay and Edward ran upstairs and returned a moment later. "She's not upstairs."

Banging from behind a door caught the VKs attention. Ben opened the door to reveal a wide-eyed Chad sitting in a fetal position. "Chad?"

Chad looked up at him, pure terror in his eyes. "I want my mommy."

Ben reached for Chad and he flinched away. "No!"

"It's okay," Ben said softly. "What happened buddy? Hmm."

Chad looked around and stood up before staring at Ben. "Ben. Ben! Your face." He touched Ben's facial hair. "She's gone? Huh?" Everyone nodded and Chad noticed the door. "The door is open. I'm free. Freedom!" He ran out of the cottage. "Oh! Freedom!"

The VKs continued looking around the cottage for any sign of Audrey, but she was gone.

They walked out of the cottage and Uma said, "Ooh. All right. Let's get this Audrey chick taken care of already. What do you say, girls? Time to wrap things up?"

Ben smiled at Mal. "You know, someday, you're gonna have to tell me how you guys all teamed up."

Evie spoke up. "Actually, Mal promised to let all the kids off the Isle once this is over."

Ben looked at his girlfriend. "Mal?"

Mal turned to face her friends, seeing the confused looks on their faces. "Um, I lied to you. The kids won't be coming off the Isle."

Jay and Catherine frowned. "What do you mean?"

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

"For Auradon's safety," Ben added.

Kiara's face instantly fell. "How could you do that, Mal? How could you?!"

Edward tried to take Kiara's hand, but she yanked it away while still glaring at Mal.

Uma walked up to Mal. "Hold up. So, we're saving your precious people and your behinds for a lie. I knew it was a mistake to trust you. You're always out for yourself."

Harry glared at Ben. "And you, King Benny... you're probably just gonna throw us all back inside."

Celia narrowed her eyes. "You know what? I actually thought you were brave. You're nothing but a chicken. Too scared to tell me I was never gonna see my dad again. To scared to tell Kiara that she'd never see her dad again. You remember he's one of the best people on the island?"

"Celia. Celia," Mal called as Celia grabbed the ember from Mal's hand. She dropped the ember into the water. "Celia, no! Celia! No! No." Mal picked up the ember and tried to relight it. "Regain your might and ignite! No... regain your might and ignite!"

Uma held up her shell to see that it was no longer glowing. "Bummer." She turned to Harry. "Let's go find Gil and leave them all to rot."

The two of them walked off and Mal called out behind them, "No. Uh... Uma!" She turned back to her friends. "Evie... Kia... Cat... I'm so sorry. I'm sorry, I just... I thought that you... I was afraid to tell you. I thought I was gonna lose my best friends. But I had to do something. I had to protect Auradon."

Evie's eyes narrowed and Kiara looked at her angrily. "Closing the barrier was your idea?"

Kiara's voice was soft and sharp as she said, "Mal, how could you?"