Disclaimer: I do not own Descendants or its prequel Isle of the Lost, which I may draw on from time to time for background information.

Mal sat in the cold darkness of her room, her breath fogging the air before her. Being in Auradon, she had forgotten just how cold it got at night on the Isle. But now, she sat shivering on the floor of her room. She was afraid to light the lamp on her beside table, scared the action would somehow alert her mother to her still being awake. And she didn't want to sit on her bed, just in case Maleficent came in and decided to shout at her some more. She felt safer behind the edge of her bed, its wooden frame a barrier between her and the door. Up until half an hour ago, Maleficent had still been stomping around the loft apartment, yelling at Mal and throwing various objects she could find that would make the loudest noise.

Mal had never seen her mother so angry.

It had been a week ago that Ben's coronation had taken place. Mal had grabbed the wand from Jane. She and her friends had chosen to be good, right there in front of everyone. Then Maleficent had appeared. Mal hadn't been able to move. Proclaiming herself as good had made her no less afraid of her mother when the woman had appeared in front of her. She hadn't been able to fight it, and she had given the wand to her mother.

Instead of Maleficent taking over Auradon though, Beast had tackled her in the moment that Maleficent had spent cackling at her great scheme being fulfilled. Cockiness had been the downfall of many villains, and Maleficent was no different. Fairy Godmother had gotten her wand back. Ben had stood there, betrayal in his eyes. Mal hadn't been able to look at him. He had been like a brother to her, and she had betrayed him. In one fatal moment, she had destroyed every ounce of his trust.

Ben hadn't fought for any of the four teens from the Isle to stay. Beast himself had ordered the removal of Maleficent and the four friends back to the Isle. They were to remain there. Forever. No more deals. No more chances. Stuck behind the barrier forever.

Mal regretted it. Her moment of fear had caused her to betray everyone she held most dear. But what was worse was coming home. The coronation had been televised to the Isle too. Everyone there knew Mal and her friends had chosen good, abandoning their Isle roots and betraying everyone there. Then they had watched Maleficent be humiliated. Maleficent blamed Mal, of course. Everything was always Mal's fault.

Mal hadn't seen Evie, Jay, or Carlos in the week that they had been home. She assumed that, like her, they were being held hostage in their rooms, too scared to argue with their parents and too scared to go out into town where there were angry islanders.

Mal sniffed, the cold in the room making her nose run like she had a cold. She listened for a moment longer. There was no movement in the other rooms of the apartment. Maleficent had probably gone to bed. Relieved, Mal stood up and pulled one of the moth-eaten blankets from her bed. Pulling it around her shoulders, she moved to sit on the edge of the bed. Her stomach growled. She couldn't remember if she had eaten that morning or if it had been the morning before that. It wasn't like Maleficent was keeping food from her, but Mal avoided the kitchen so as not to get yelled at for foiling Maleficent's 'perfect plan' again.

Before Mal could make up her mind whether or not it was worth it to sneak into the kitchen, a flash of green light reflected off her window. It was almost immediately followed by a flash of purple. She frowned and stood, walking over to the window. She pushed it open.

On the other side of the island was Hell Hall, where Carlos lived with Cruella. Now, lighting the sky above Hell Hall were periodic flashes of lasers. They seemed to be coming from the roof. A flash of green again, then purple. Red, yellow. Red, yellow. Blue, white. Blue, white.

"Carlos," Mal whispered in awe. Then a small smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. He was a genius. Cruella must have gone to bed too for Carlos to be sending signals to her, Jay, and Evie.

Dropping the blanket from her shoulders, Mal climbed out the window. In a few quick movements, she found herself on the ground in the alley below, having landed perfectly like a cat. She looked around, everything within ten feet fading into darkness. It had to be midnight at least.

It took her half an hour to get to Hell Hall. Noises down different alleys made her turn back several times to look for alternate routes other than the fastest one. The last thing she wanted was to run into anyone out on the streets this late. Or at all. During the walk, the lights repeated their flashes above the building twice and then abruptly stopped after the third complete rotation.

When she finally reached Hell Hall, she paused at the front door, thinking it might be safest to go to the back. But then the door opened without her knocking or anything. A hand reached out and pulled her inside. The door shut with a snap.

In the darkness of the entrance hall, Mal could just make out Carlos's impish face. He held a finger to his lips and then motioned for her to follow him. She did, and a few minutes later, he closed the door to his room behind her.

"Oh thank goodness you're alright, Mal," Evie said, hugging her tightly the instant she was over the threshold.

Mal looked from Evie to Jay to Carlos. She had been the last to arrive, so she guessed none of the others had been able to sleep well the last week either if Evie and Jay had beaten her there. "Yeah. Mom's not happy."

"Course not," Carlos said, though he was whispering. "My mom's furious. I've had to wash and wax her car twice, brush all her furs three times daily, and clean the great hall."

"Doesn't she normally make you do that though?" Mal asked, moving to sit beside Jay on Carlos's mattress.

Carlos shook his head. "Not that often. She's being brutal. She locked me in her closet the moment we got home."

Evie took her bag off her shoulder and set it on the floor. "My mom hasn't been so bad. I'm more scared of everyone else. They hate us."

Mal nodded, watching the blue-haired girl pull different clothes out of the bag. "My mom's just been yelling and making a lot of noise, complaining about how I embarrassed her. I mean, it could be worse. She's just...scary when she gets like that. It's worse than her usual intimidation."

Evie and Carlos nodded knowingly. Evie stood back up and handed a wad of fabric to Carlos before walking over to Mal and Jay. "I, uh, I've had a lot of time on my hands, as you can imagine. Mom and I have been sewing together. She was silent a lot at first, but it was a little better today. I made you guys stuff. New shirts and jackets and...stuff." She was blushing, but gave them a soft smile.

"Thanks, E." Mal said. She turned her fabric over, unfolding it to find it was a purple collared shirt with a green and black heart sewn onto the front where it would be over Mal's own heart when she put it on. Brass triangles were fitted onto both corners of the collar, and the buttons of the shirt were dark green. "It looks great."

"Well, try it on," Evie prompted. "All of you now." She grinned.

Jay stood, unzipping his vest and tossing it onto the bed. "You know they're going to fit," he said. "You just want us to be your little runway models."

Evie laughed. "A little bit, but it's fun."

Mal laughed and rolled her eyes. She shed her jacket so she just had a thin lavender camisole on. She pulled on the shirt Evie had made and buttoned it up to her throat so it was comfortable. She watched Evie fold down the collar of Carlos's black and red vest as he zipped it up. Then her eyes darted to Jay, her heart a bit lighter from just being with her friends again.

But it immediately jumped into her throat. "Oh my gosh, Jay!"

"What?" he asked, looking up at her, alarmed.

Mal's eyes were wide. "Your...your back. What happened?"

Jay's usual playful demeanor instantly fell. "What? Oh, it's nothing." He quickly pulled on the sweater Evie had given him, effectively shielding his back from view.

Mal glanced at Evie and Carlos. Evie's eyes were wide too and met Mal's to search for an explanation.

"Jay...it's not nothing," Mal said. "Your back looks like it's been through a shredder." Actually, Mal would have guessed a cheese grater. The image was burned into Mal's mind. Jay's back had looked like a mess of scars and a few stitches. Like...like... "Did your dad do that to you?"

Jay huffed, dropping his hands to his sides after finishing rolling back the sleeves of his red sweater to his elbows. "It's nothing." He turned and walked to the other end of the room. He slid into Carlos's bathroom and shut the door behind him with a snap.

Carlos sighed, and Evie and Mal rounded on him. "You know. Explain," Mal demanded.

"What? How do you know I know?" Carlos countered, looking like a cornered puppy.

"You weren't surprised. Also, you shared a locker room with him for tourney. It looks like his..." Mal took a breath and then lowered her voice. "Does Jafar whip him?"

Carlos's gaze flitted between Mal and Evie. Then he sighed, defeated. "Yeah, he apparently always has. Jay used to steal so many things for Jafar's shop because if Jafar wasn't satisfied with the day's haul, he would give Jay lashes. I think he beat him too. He's had several broken ribs before."

"How do you know that?" Mal asked, suddenly defensive. She had been friends with Jay before Carlos and Evie. Never had she noticed signs of Jafar abusing Jay.

"He told me. I guess he was just more open to talking about it when we were in Auradon. I guess he figured it would never happen again, so..." Carlos shrugged and cast a glance toward the bathroom door. "Don't say anything more, please, Mal. Jafar probably gave him a pretty hard time upon our failure."

"It was my failure, not any of yours," Mal corrected him sharply, anger rising in her veins. She clenched her hands into fists. Then she huffed. "But how are the new ones stitched shut?"

"Jafar and Mother Gothel have that on-mostly-off-again relationship, remember?" Carlos prompted her. "Mother Gothel doesn't approve of the way Jafar treats Jay, but she doesn't do anything about it. She just doctors him up afterwards."

Fury hit Mal in the chest as she thought about Mother Gothel, who taught at their school on the Isle. She was one to talk about raising kids right. She had abused Rapunzel emotionally for years. But, Mal figured that was a step up from Jafar beating Jay senseless.

"How often does it happen?" Mal asked.

Carlos didn't answer. The door to the bathroom was opening.

Jay, goofy smile back in place, walked back into the room. "Alright, I'm starving. What do you say to raiding your mom's kitchen?"

"Sure," Carlos said hurriedly.

Mal just scowled at the ground, afraid she would pounce on Jay and demand more answers if she looked at him. One thing was for sure though, this conversation was far from over.

Thanks so much for reading the first chapter! I hope you guys enjoyed it. Remember to check my profile for periodic news on updates. Give this a fave, follow, and review if you liked it.

Foarrin