Chapter Twenty-Four

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When Evie and Carlos turned on the magic mirror, they were greeted by Jane, Carlos, and Mal on the other side.

"Guys, I have the wickedest news." Mal smirked, practically bouncing with anticipation.

"Considering you didn't tell us your precise plan, I have no idea what to expect!" Carlos replied, smiling because if Mal was this happy, it surely went well.

"Listen, I got the elite infantry to sneak into the council room and take everybody by surprise." Mal explained, punctuating her last sentence with a particularly Maleficent-like cackle. "They were all so impressed, they want me to send my elite soldiers to spy on the Isle!"

"Oh gods, that's rich!" Evie laughed. "You can't fail when you're spying on yourself!"

"And no one suspects a thing!?" Carlos added, incredulous. Not because Mal wasn't a glorious actor, but because the high council of Auradon was actually that gullible.

"Not a thing, dude!" Jay chuckled. "As we left the room, I heard Cinderella whisper that Mal looked so proper for such a strategic mind!"

"Proper? You!?" Evie laughed until she teared up, imagining Mal in their childhood, sitting like a boy with her legs apart, and bloody knuckles from beating the shit out of someone. She was many things, gorgeous, powerful, magical, but proper was not one of them.

"What can I say?" The girl smirked. "I'm an evil genius like that."

"Anyway, down to business." Jay continued, putting the derailed topic back on track. "Today, Mal got a copy of all the court records dating back from the Isle's founding. We have a detailed, indisputable record of who did what, and when."

"Apparently they're public record for official nations of the UKA." Mal snorted.

"Ooh, juicy! Whose idea was it in the first place?" Evie asked, her eyes glinting in something that was not quite malice. She didn't mean "Who decided to get the records." Rather, Evie wanted to know who got the bright idea to create the Isle, that hell that had built (and broken) them as much as their parents did.

"Beast and Beastette, of course." Mal scowled. "They swear up and down that Auradon wasn't created solely for the purpose of locking up villains, but once the Isle was made, Auradon got a lot bigger, and a whole lot wealthier."

"Wealthier?" Carlos asked, and Jane answered him this time.

"Each nation pays an Isle tax, for the care and upkeep of the Isle of The Lost." She explained. "Currently, we have no idea where that money is being sent-"

"But it sure as hell isn't here." Evie finished.

"It's going to take a while to get the paper trail, but we may have more allies than we think." Mal continued. "On our way out, Elsa of Arendelle cornered me, and practically begged me not to send troops to the Isle."

Mal rolled her eyes before continuing her tale, complete with ample air quotes and a very comical Elsa impression. "At first I thought she was scared for my soldiers, but I realized pretty quickly she was actually worried for the villains. She said, and I quote: 'That damn map was invasion of privacy enough, and if they aren't going to keep the peace on that island, they might as well stop trying to be voyeuristic about it.'"

"Oh god. What did you say?" Evie asked, leaning forward with interest.

"It took me a second to think of an answer, because I didn't want to seem like I cared, but I didn't want to alienate a potential ally either." Mal explained. "Finally, I just nodded, and said: 'I won't be looking at anyone's social life, just checking in on militias, defenses, weapons and the like.'"

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