Love Is Not A Choice Yet a Possibility

Chapter 30: The Battle

Mal's POV

Mal watched Miranda go as tears formed in her eyes. She looked back at her friends who were turned to stone.

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?
Did you see yourself in a way that wasn't true?
Why tell all those lies?
You feel unworthy
Like there's isn't solid ground for you to stand
But a sacrifice is not a firm foundation
You cannot build a castle on a mountain made of sand
This is not your father's fairy tale
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 the 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

Miranda's POV

I continued to run after Uma and Harry. I caught up to them right before they hit the grounds of the school. "UMA! HARRY!" They both stopped and turned towards me. "I am so sorry for everything Mal has done. I never agreed to this and I still don't. I am going to fight with everything I have to make sure that this program doesn't shut down. But I need help first, Audrey turned everyone but me and Mal to stone. I need you to combine your magic with mine so we can try and turn them back." Uma looked conflicted. "Listen, I know you want to go back to the Isle and help them and I want to go back with you and explain personally what is going on and that there is a chance the barrier may close for good. But I need your help. Everyone back there wanted to help keep this program open; they had no idea what Mal was doing." Uma and Harry shared a look and she turned towards me. She gave me a small smile and nodded. I gave her one back and we were all about to head for the forest when we saw Mal running towards us.

"Miranda! Uma!" Both of us looked back but we didn't stop. "Uma, Stop! Please, stop! I need your help." She stopped in front of us and we tried to go around her. "We have a chance if we do this together." Uma scoffed, "Your friends kick you to the curb, along with your sister?" Mal stayed quiet. "Good." "Ben, Miranda, and Liam saw something in you. And today, I saw it, too. You care. Uma, you care about everybody. And Auradon is worth saving. Help us, please." I glared at her. "You're right. She does care, which is why she is going to help me unfreeze everyone and then she is going to go back to the Isle and protect everyone there. Because you wouldn't." Harry stepped up next to Uma, "You talk pretty but she's already made up her mind." "You brought this on yourself, Mal. You figure out how to fix it." Uma looked at me and Harry. "Let's go." We all started to walk back towards where our friends were frozen.

Mal's POV

Mal

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 happily 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
Will finally see my once upon a time
This time

Mal stood in front of the castle when she heard Celia yell, "Help me, Mal!" Mal turned and saw pink lightning in the sky. "Yeah, save your little friend, Mal!" yelled Audrey. Mal's eyes glowed green and she went up in smoke, transforming into a dragon. She flew up and saw Celia in a corner with Audrey in front of her. Mal tried to fight her off.

Miranda's POV

We finally made it to where everyone was frozen. I stared at Ben, wishing for him to turn back. "Wow," Harry said. Uma and I grabbed each other's hands and tried every spell we could think of to unfreeze them, but nothing was working. "No..." My voice broke as I stared at them. Uma looked at me, "I think the only way to unfreeze them is to stop Audrey." I sighed. "That means helping Mal." In the distance, we heard screeching and yelling and saw pink lightning. "That's Audrey and Mal." Uma and I looked at each other before we took off to go find Mal and help her take down Audrey. We heard Harry run behind us.

We made it back to the field and saw Mal as a dragon and Audrey on the top of the castle with Celia in her arms. We could see the ember in Mal's claws. "She doesn't stand a chance without the ember." Uma pointed out. "Help me!" Celia yelled. Mal got hit by a beam from the scepter and groaned in pain. Mal fell and got control only a few feet from us. Uma grabbed her shell necklace and I grabbed her hand. Uma and I spoke together, "We're stronger together. We're stronger together! We're right here, Mal! Regain your might and ignite. We're right here. We're right here, Mal! Regain your might and ignite. We're right here. We're right here. Regain your might and ignite!" Mal softened and held out the ember. It started to glow. Uma, Harry, and I celebrated that it worked. Mal flew back to Audrey. We watched as Audrey's and Mal's power collided. "Go, Mal!" "You got this!" "Let's go, Mal!" Slowly, Mal overpowered Audrey. There was a big explosion and it all stopped. The three of us on the ground celebrated our victory. "Yeah!" "Come on!" "Yes!" I stopped celebrating once realization hit. "Omg! Audrey was defeated, which means her spells are undone. Ben! Evie! Carlos! Jay! I have to go! I'll meet you at the barrier!" I yelled to Uma and Harry as I raced off into the forest to get back to my friends.

I was running through the forest when I saw people walking towards me. I sped up once I realized who it was. "Ben!" I yelled. They barely had enough time to stop before I rammed into Ben and he stumbled a couple steps back. "Oh thank god you guys are ok?" I stepped away before pulling him in for a kiss. My friends behind me started to cough. "Ok, break it up." I laughed and pulled away from Ben before giving them each a hug, even Dude and Liam. "So, what did we miss?" asked Carlos. "A lot," I sighed. We all started to walk back to the school and I told them everything that had just happened.

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When we reached the school, we heard about Audrey's condition and all headed towards her room. Mal sat on one side of her bed and Evie on the other, while I stood in Ben's arms. "She's slipping away." Mal sighed, "There's only one person in the world who might be able to do something about this, and that's Hades." Liam gasps, "Hades? He wouldn't do it? I wouldn't risk it." I mumbled, "We all know you and Mal hate risks." Still not over them wiping our memories. Ben smirked at my words, but the others were oblivious. "Actually, he might do it for me and Miranda." Evie looks at Mal. "He's our father." The whole room goes silent. I feel Ben's hold relax on me. I look up at him and I whisper, "I'm sorry." He breathes in deeply before he gives me a small kiss, "It's ok."

Liam looks like he doesn't know what to do with the information, "Ok. Well, we'll have to send guards to get him." Carlos and Jay move closer. Uma turns towards Liam, "Maybe I can hitch a ride. The Isle is my home. Someone needs to be there to protect it." Harry walks over to her, "Well, then, you will need your first mate." Mal looks at her, "The Isle will be in very good hands." I scoff and turn towards Uma and Harry, "If Ben and I have anything to say about it, the Isle won't be shut off from Auradon and we will continue to fight. No matter what." Uma gives me a smile and I know she knows I'm telling the truth. Celia speaks up, "Can I go, too. I wish I could be in both places. But until I know what's happening with the program, I would rather be with my dad." Mal gives her a small smile.

Mal looks at Uma, "I really think that Evie was right. And I do think that we could have been friends. And I'm really sorry that I lied to all of you guys and erased your memories. You deserve so much better than that." Jay speaks up, "You were just trying to do the right thing." "Yeah." Ben and I stay silent, knowing we need to have a conversation with just us, Mal and Liam. Evie stands up, "I get it." Liam leaves with Uma, Harry, and Celia to arrange them to go over and get Hades. Evie, Carlos, and Jay head back to their rooms as do Ben and I.

We both separate to get dressed before I end up back in Ben's room with us just cuddling on the couch. A knock is heard at the door. I get up to go see who it is and it's Mal and Liam. I guess it's time for the conversation.