Junior Descendants

12

Chapter 12

CJ blinked his eyes. He yawned and sat up. Where was he? He looked around the room. There was only one light source: a candle. He picked it up, turned around, and screamed. MJ screamed too. The two were awake. Together. In a closet.

"CJ?" MJ asked. "What are you doing here?"

CJ shrugged. "I don't remember much. Maleficent was wearing your ring though. I remember that."

MJ groaned. "Great. Maleficent's going to use my ring to take over Auradon, and we're stuck here in a closet." She hit the wall, which rumpled like the roar of a lion.

CJ sighed. "I know. And I'm sorry. I should've tried to swipe the ring when I had the chance."

"No no no," MJ said. "This is my fault. She's my grandmother, I should be able to handle her. I've beaten her before."

CJ scratched his neck. "But that was a long time ago. She's more powerful. She knows our weaknesses."

"I don't care," MJ said, then stood up. "I'm not going to let Auradon become Maleficent's toy. I will stand up to her again and I will win. Auradon will be my responsibility one day, so I'm going to show my people how much I care about them."

CJ smiled and stood up next to MJ. "I'm glad you're confident. But there's one problem. How do we get the door open?"

MJ clenched her fists and kicked the door. There was only a rumble as dust fell. MJ kicked it again. More dust fell. She kicked it a third time, and the door collapsed onto the floor.

"Well that worked," CJ mumbled.

MJ stepped over the door and looked around the room. It was empty. "Maleficent's not here. Let's move."

The two were about to run out of the door, but were pushed back because the door was locked. "Dang it!" MJ yelled. "She locked the door."

CJ sighed. What were they going to do? Suddenly, he stared at the door knob, studying it. He noticed that it was very loose already. With one kick, the door could probably open. "Kick it," he said.

MJ looked at him, staring into his eyes. "Kick it," CJ repeated. MJ shrugged and kicked the door. It opened with a squeak noise. "Sorry door," MJ apologized, noticing that she had broken the hinges. The two ran downstairs and out the front door. They gasped when they saw that the streets were lined with the face of Maleficent. LONG LIVE EVIL was written all over buildings.

"What happened?" CJ asked, kind of bothered by the way people painted Maleficent's face. Her eyes aren't that color green, he thought.

MJ needed a moment to take everything in. "I don't know. But I'm afraid this is only the beginning."

~

As they moved into town, MJ and CJ discovered that the whole town was covered in LONG LIVE EVIL signs. There wasn't any spot that wasn't covered. "Wow," MJ mumbled, "Mom started a trend."

They kept walking, looking for their friends, and for Maleficent. She wasn't going to take over Auradon. "Where are the others?" MJ asked, ducking under a ladder that two people were carrying. CJ followed her as they arrived in the town.

"We were all taken separately. Well, I was," CJ answered.

MJ squinted her eyes and looked around town. She squinted harder, which made her eyes glow a shade of green. This was the dragon sense she had inherited from her mother. She glanced around, then suddenly saw a long, brown ponytail. "Lory!" MJ shouted, which scared CJ. She began to run, CJ trailing behind her. She was a very fast runner. I'm surprised she didn't go out for track. Oh, sorry, narrators aren't supposed to have feelings. Excuse me, ahem. Where were we?

Ella and Lory were almost finished with building Ursula's new stand. They were never taught to do construction work, so they were surprised that they were almost done. Ella was hammering her last nail, when she heard screaming. "Lory! Lory! Lory!"

Lory looked up, her ponytail falling to the side. "Did someone call my name?"

Ella looked around. "I think."

Suddenly, MJ ran up to the two. She hugged them. "MJ?" Ella and Lory said in unison. They were so happy to see their friend again. "We missed you!"

"I missed you guys too," MJ said. "But we have to move quickly. Maleficent is going to use my ring to capture Auradon. Let's move. C'mon CJ."

There wasn't a response. "CJ?" MJ repeated, then turned around. CJ was being lifted onto Gaston's shoulder and taken away. "CJ!" the three girls shouted, watching as he was taken away.

"What do we do?" Lory asked, dropping her hammer. MJ's eyes pierced green. She was beyond angry. "M," Ella said, touching MJ's shoulder. "Don't use your dragon sense. We're going to get CJ back."

MJ's eyes turned back to normal. "How?"

"We're not the only friends he has. We need to find Jayden and Franny. And maybe Gabby-"

"You guys know Gabby?"

Lory and Ella nodded. "C'mon, let's get going," Ella said, then her, MJ, and Lory began running.