Are you still reeling from the cliffhanger of the last chapter? Well, I can't give you all the answers just yet, but all I can show you now is what happened to Mal. Read and enjoy.

A/N: I'm gonna be very busy in real life starting next week onward, so my time for writing is gonna have to be decreased. In other words, it's gonna be very, very hard for me to find time to write Part 5. But rest assured, I'm going forward with Part 5.

Leave a review after reading, please. Feedback is always appreciated.

I'd like to thank the following users for reviewing the previous chapter: DragonEmperor999, Mustang52, TheGreatGodzilla, xez2003, Carvie12, CC

To Mustang52: Well, you don't have to say everything you think about my story if it's too much for words. You can just say a few things, one or two. That would be nice.

To TheGreatGodzilla: Hey, been a while. I can't say I missed your comments (*fake cough* Mal needs to be executed *fake cough*), but thanks for the review anyways. I really appreciate how much you expressed about what you think of the previous chapter, especially your favorite part (Mal proposing to Ben). I guess it would be kinda hard to know who is the poorest and most unfortunate soul, but that is up to everyone to decide.

To CC: Keep your fingers crossed.

Mal wakes up after what felt like an eternity of darkness. The last thing she remembered is trying to use her magic to disrupt the Wishing Well in order to prevent Uma's dream world from becoming a reality. There was a bright light, and then everything went dark. It's as if she was staring right into the end of the world, only to open her eyes and see the light. Well, barely any light, that is. Either she's been sleeping for too long or the sun hasn't risen fully yet. One thing she's certain... the bed was soft and comfy. At least she had a pleasant sleep.

When Mal sat up, she became confused by what she saw around. For one thing, she was sitting on a king-sized bed with purple sheets, a purple blanket, and a pillow covered in a purple sheet. The blanket even had her signature Long Live Evil painting sprayed on it.

"Okay, I must dreaming," Mal said to herself.

Mal then noticed that she is wearing a light purple T-shirt with amethyst-colored short sleeves and black leather shorts. She always did like leather. It came as a surprise to her that she found her favorite purple leather jacket hanging on a golden coat rack.

"Huh? I guess the Wishing Well worked," Mal said. As much as she loved her all-black look, she loved purple even more.

As Mal puts on her jacket, she looks around again to find herself in a rather large bedroom. This was definitely not her guest room at Beast Castle or her bedroom on Bargain Castle. Everything is purple and black with a bit of green. It was only now that she saw that the headboard of her bed had thorns on it. While it was cool, she wondered why she would ever want a bed decorated with thorns. At least they're pointy, she thought.

There was a bunch of graffiti on the wall. Yup, this is me alright, she thought. But not just any graffiti. All of her favorite works back on the Isle...

Her signature "Long Live Evil" painting with the Maleficent silhouette.

Several green and purple fires with the "Down with Auradon" painted on them.

Green flames shaped like Maleficent's horns with her eyes, and below the eyes say, "She Is Watching You."

Crowns. Crossbones. Snakes. Dragons. Skulls. Octopuses. So many different, very dark colors.

"I wish I can get rid of all this so I can do it all over again," Mal said to herself.

Mal continued to pace around her "room." The floor was made of shiny black marble with white features that made it look like the floor was cracking. She found a desk that had a laptop and other electronics, all purple. One giant screen TV. A bookshelf with books named after history's greatest villains. She grabbed the book titled "Maleficent" and jumped straight to the ending. She immediately closed the book after reading how it ended.

"Okay, this has got to be some practical magical joke," Mal hoped.

Mal rushes to the bathroom, which is also bleak and purple like her bedroom. Washing her face with water, she was hoping this was just a dream. It wasn't. Looking into the mirror, her face is still wet and her eyes were glowing. No, she's not dreaming. Deciding to step away from the mirror before she could even think about punching it, Mal returned to her room and looked out the window. Something isn't right. What she can see outside looks bleak and dark.

Trees surrounded by giant thorns.

A sky covered in dark clouds (and her phone says it's 7:49 AM).

Three puffs of smoke in the air seen in the distance, caused by fire (Mal knows her fires).

As she tried to process what she saw outside, she found a tail sticking out from under her bed. Fortunately, it was just a toy dragon. It was purple and its tongue was sticking out of its cute smile.

"Violet, I don't think we're in Auradon anymore," Mal said to the toy.

Violet is just a name she gave the toy until she can find out its real name. She sits down on her bed and hugs the toy since she is feeling a little scared right now. She doesn't care if she looks like a little girl. This is it. A whole new world. She doesn't know what has changed or how much has changed, but judging by what she saw outside she can only assume that things have taken a turn for the dark and ugly.

Someone knocked on her door.

Mal hides the toy under her bed and opens the door. As she discovered through her ability to sense magic, the lock was enchanted to be opened only by her magic. When she opened the door, she found...

A goblin. It was holding a tray. On the tray is a bowl of strawberries and a glass of water.

"What is this?" Mal asked.

"Your breakfast," the goblin answered. Fearing he did something wrong, he fearfully asks, "Why, is something wrong with the strawberries? Is there too little water?""

"Um..." Mal didn't know to respond.

"Oh, please don't burn me again, your malevolence! I'm down to my last pair of underpants," the goblin begged, fearing for his life. He even got down on his knees.

"No, you did nothing wrong," Mal said as she sighed, annoyed by the goblin's begging. "I was just expecting... more."

"More strawberries, on it," said the goblin.

Before Mal can explain, the goblin runs away with the tray to get more strawberries, having misinterpreted what Mal told him. Mal just raised an eyebrow as she watched the goblin run way. She was, no doubt, stupefied by the sight of the goblin.

"Since when did Ben let goblins in the castle?" Mal wondered. "Unless... Ben is no longer in charge..."

Mal slowly and quietly roams the halls of the castle on her way to the throne room. It looked like Beast Castle, except it was changed to look like a villain's home. The gargoyles near the ceiling. Candles being the only source of light. Rats scurrying in and out of little holes in the wall. Spiders spinning webs on the ceiling. The hallway carpeting was halfway torn, as if the castle has been ravaged and even the carpets weren't safe. And the goblins, who seem to be the workers of the castle. Seeing Mal makes them squeamish and they stay out of here way to keep themselves alive.

"Wimps," Mal insulted them.

One unlucky goblin accidentally ran into Mal. He now lied on his back as he looked up at the dreaded daughter of Maleficent.

"AAAHH!" The goblin screamed in terror. He gets on his knees and says, "Please, my malevolence, don't harm me. I was in a hurry and I wasn't watching where I was going. Plea-ea-ea-ease don't hurt me. I'll take any punishment, but..."

"Silence!" Mal interrupted him. She decided it was time take playing along to a new level. "Because it was an accident, I'm gonna let you walk away. But remember, if you get your filthy goblin germs on me again, I'll make you run until you can't run anymore. Understood?"

"Un-un-un-u-u-understood," said the goblin.

Mal kicks the goblin aside and proceeds to the throne room. When she entered through the giant doors, Mal gasped in shock at what she found. The throne looked exactly like her mother's throne room. From the slightly damaged columns to the circular pit in the center to the raised platform where Maleficent's throne stood, it was a perfect if slightly improved copy. The place looks a little cleaner but still retains the menace and filth that can be expected from the Mistress of Evil. Now, it only made Mal wonder if...

"FOOLS! IDIOTS! IMBECILES!"

Mal's body shook at the sound of that familiar voice saying that very familiar line. Those three insults were the same ones Maleficent used in the same sentence when she scolded her goblins for failing to find Aurora.

"No, this is not what I wanted," Mal muttered under her breath. "Not this way."

Just as Mal was about to move...

"Mal!"

Mal slowly turned around to see her. Maleficent. No longer a lizard but back to her true form. Clad in a long black robe, holding the Dragon's Eye Scepter in her hand, and smiling than evil smile of hers, Maleficent truly is back. Mal only feared that she would be in big trouble considering the fact that her mother has been a lizard for two years and that she would remember the old world.

"You overslept. That's so not like you, dear," said Maleficent. Mockingly, she asks, "Bad dreams?"

Mal remained silent as she stared at her mother, surprised that here she is back to normal.

"Cat got your tongue?" Maleficent joked.

Mal didn't speak.

"Well, say something," said Maleficent.

Mal finally spoke. "What do you want me to say, mom?"

Mom. To say that to Maleficent's face (her real face) is already proving to be a challenge for Mal after so long.

"Why, my dear, it's the 16th anniversary of our 5-year-war against Auradon," said Maleficent. "You didn't forget now, did you?"

Mal was trying to swallow all this really fast. Did her mother just say that today is the 16th Anniversary of their war against Auradon? Is that what her actions have caused? Has she created a world where her mother reigned supreme for 16 years after a long-fought war against the heroes? Considering that the view from her bedroom resembles to a view from a window at Beast Castle, the hallways are similar to Beast Castle's in terms of layout, and the skies outside are awfully gloomy even though it's morning, Mal had little to no reason to doubt that she has transformed Auradon into a nightmare.

Although, considering her mother believes it has been 21 years since this supposed victory over Auradon, it's clear to Mal that Maleficent doesn't remember the old world. Good, Mal thought.

"I guess I'm just not interested," Mal said, hoping she sounded convincing.

"Oh, nonsense, my dear," said Maleficent. "You love these anniversaries. You sneaking off to have some wild parties with your fellow youth. Setting random buildings on fire. A celebratory execution. Oh, I remember how much joy you had when you sliced off the head of that worthless farmer."

One would call Mal a hypocrite for feeling guilty about murdering an innocent when she has taken the lives of over a hundred innocents. But this is different. Not only has she grown out of that evil post-death phase but also she doesn't even remember executing a farmer. It must be the rewritten history of this new world that said she did such a horrible thing.

"Yeah. I can never forget the pleasure of executing all of those executions," Mal joked. She just played along as if she knew what her mother was saying.

"Well, you're about to have another one tonight," said Maleficent. She then cackled because she was excited for it.

Mal didn't have the heart to laugh, so she hoped a sadistic-looking smirk would suffice.

"Although, I assume you'll be sneaking off against to another one of your stupid parties?" Maleficent asked bitterly.

"I'm 18, mom. I'm allowed to make my own choices," Mal said firmly. "I do whatever I want to do whenever I want to with whoever I want."

Maleficent looked like she was about to scold Mal. Mal didn't show any weakness and stared at her mother resolutely, showing her that she is her own woman and she will do as she pleases. It reminded her of their stare-off at Ben's coronation, only this time her mother isn't a dragon right now.

"Disobeying your own mother... That's my nasty little girl," Maleficent said, feeling proud of her daughter.

Maleficent pinched Mal's cheek, much to the annoyance of the purple-haired sorceress. Mal just rolled her eyes and shrugged it off.

"Come," Maleficent ordered.

~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ ROTTEN TO THE CORE ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~

Maleficent takes Mal to the balcony on the highest tower of the castle. They looked down at the kingdom below. Once again, the sight of the bleak version of Auradon disturbed Mal. All she wanted was to make sure Uma's half-finished wish didn't come true. Mal didn't even wish for anything when she touched the Wishing Well's waters. All that was on her mind is the desire to ensure the world would not fall too deep into the darkness. Yet, here she is.

"Beautiful, isn't it, Mal?" Maleficent asked, reveling in the evil that fills the skies and the ground of Auradon.

Stoically, Mal says, "It's glorious."

Maleficent stayed silent for a while as she looked down on the villains and their sidekicks enjoying the land that they own. Mal, however, was too busy looking up at the sullen skies above.

"I heard you shout at the goblins again," Mal mentioned. "What's wrong?"

"Oh, those morons let those stupid resistance dunces get away again," said Maleficent. "We may have ruled this land for 16 years, Mal, but those Auradonian dolts continue to resist us. They won't go down without a fight. We still don't know where they're hiding, but they can't hide for long. All of Auradon belongs to us."

"If the resistance thinks they can end all we've accomplished, then they're bigger fools than the goblins," Mal said, still playing along.

"Mm," Maleficent agreed.

Maleficent really looked like a proud mother. The proud mother Mal always wanted. It is a very strange sight for her. Can she get used to this?

"Well, if you'll excuse me, I have some important matters to attend to," said Maleficent. "Would you like to join me, Mal? I know you're more of the burning-everything-down-to-the-ground type of teenager, but one of these days, you're gonna be the ruler of everything. I still have to give you some pointers about what it means to be mean and in charge."

"No, thank you," Mal replied. "I think I'll stay here. I love the view. So much carnage, so much destruction... you can just smell the evil in the air."

"Well, if you insist," said Maleficent.

When Maleficent left, Mal could finally drop the act and think about her true feelings about all this. All this carnage and destruction, it's not pretty, even for her. She had set fire to Neverland and Auroria, emotionally tortured her friends after they locked her up like an animal, and killed two of her own people (Clay doesn't count because his heart beats even if his body won't move, although he may not be in a catatonic state now due to the wish).

"There was once a time when all of this would've been a dream come true for me. There was once a time when I would have sacrifice blood, sweat, and tears to make this holocaust a reality. But that was a long time ago. Despite my latest transformation, there is still a trace of goodness in my heart. That goodness is telling me that everything I'm seeing is wrong. This whole world is wrong. Worse, I created it. I put my hand into that well and I changed the world for the worse. I always thought that I only infect the lives of the people close to me, friend or foe. But it's worse. Far worse. So many ways to be wicked. And the worst way... I poison everything I touch. Everything."

Mal's hands started to burn the stone railing of the balcony as a tear escaped her eye. The storm of emotions inside her, it was more than even the mighty Mal can handle.

"What am I gonna do?"

THE END

What is Mal going to do? What else has changed here? Well, I'm afraid it's gonna take a long while before I can give you any answers. If you read the A/N I left above, you know it's gonna be a tough time for me starting next week onward. I'm still gonna write the sequel. It's a matter of finding time to do so.

Before I say goodbye (temporarily), I just want to ask ya'll some questions, as I do at the end of every story from my Forever Wicked series. You can answer them or not. It's your choice. But I would appreciate it very much if you answered. But only answer the questions you can answer. If you don't have an answer for this one question, then you can leave it alone.

A/N: September 16, 2018 Re-edit - I had to change Question #1 because the previous question was very dumb on my part. I'm too late now, I'm aware, but still...

1. What do you think of Mal's journey in this story?

2. What did you think about the Mal vs. Uma storyline here?

3. Mal and Ben may not be officially back together, but I want to know... what did you think about their love story in this story?

4. What is the ONE thing you want to know about the "new world"? Just one. (I'll always keep it in mind. The review list is just one click away, after all.)

Well, see ya next time.