I knew that Shrimpy girl would be back, ugh!

Mal and Celia returned to the Isle’s destitute Bridge Plaza to meet up with Jay, Carlos, and Evie.

“All right, let’s get in, let’s get out,” said Mal. They needed to open the barrier and sneak through without any trouble.

Jay clicked the remote, the barrier flickered open, and they darted through with stealthy moves.

Mal squeezed Hades’s ember tightly in her palm as she crossed onto the bridge to Auradon, desperate for the ember to work for her as it had for Hades. And it did. The ember ignited into dancing blue flames the moment it hit the magical land. Then, with a flash, the glowing power shot straight through Mal. Its effect on her was instantaneous. Her signature purple hair became streaked with blue tones, and her purple vest turned midnight blue. Even her wedge high-tops and fingerless gloves boasted painted blue flames. Mal looked down, stared at her altered clothes in shock, then twirled a strand of her bluish hair with intense fascination. “Huh,” she said. She guessed there was more of her dad in her than she’d realized.

Evie, Carlos, Jay, and Celia circled Mal, checking out her new look from every angle.

“Wow,” Evie said, impressed.

“Man, that thing packs a punch,” said Carlos, nodding toward the glowing ember.

Before any of them could question why Hades’s ember had affected Mal as it had, Jay gasped, then turned the group’s attention to the Isle side of the bridge. “Look,” he shouted with urgency.

Mal was grateful for the distraction until she saw what Jay had spotted.

Harry Hook and his sidekick, Gil, somersaulted through the closing Isle barrier and landed safely on the bridge. It was just as Beast had predicted: every time they opened the barrier, another villain—or, in this case, villains—escaped.

“We made it!” exclaimed Gil, his eyes wide with amazement. For the first time in his life, he’d stepped foot off the Isle.

“Bro!” yapped Harry as he and Gil bro-hugged it out. They’d done it! They’d busted out of the Isle. Harry turned toward Mal and her friends. “Hey, guys,” Harry said, chuckling. “We just came for a wee visit.”

Carlos and Jay tried to block the pirates’ path. As the two groups collided mid-bridge, Celia hung back coolly and enjoyed watching the fracas like a spectator. According to her father, there was no sense in picking sides until a clear winner was declared.

Mal, on the other hand, tried to intervene. “No, no, no, no, no,” she uttered, hoping to keep the pirates from going any farther. Harry shoved Carlos in an effort to get by. His strong push sent Carlos tumbling into Mal. Mal staggered off-balance, causing the ember to jostle free from her grip. She desperately tried to grab the escaping ember, but Harry’s hook scooped around her fumbling hand before she could nab it. The bright blue ember sailed high into the air and out of Mal’s reach.

“Noooooooooo,” screamed Mal. She watched helplessly as it plummeted toward the deep dark water below. Any chance of saving Auradon from Audrey was extinguished the moment the ember got wet. Mal waited with agony for the telltale splash.

But the dreaded splash never came. Instead, a long, slimy turquoise tentacle emerged from the sea. It stretched to its impressive full length and skillfully snatched the ember out of the air. With a whoosh, Uma, in her part-octopus form, rose grandly from the rough waters and gripped the powerful ember.

Mal had to hand it to the sea witch: she knew how to make a splashy entrance.

Uma looked magnificent, wilder, and more in her element than she had at Cotillion. She wore a turquoise sweetheart-necked bodice that perfectly framed her mother’s golden shell necklace. Her tentacles swirled through the water with grace and ease. She tossed back her long turquoise hair, which was braided at the crown of her head and fell loose below her waist.

“Drop something?” she asked with a wry smile. The ember sizzled, dulled, and grew weaker in her dripping grasp.

Mal was unsure if she should feel relieved or panicked to see Hades’s ember in Uma’s hand—er, tentacle. For all the ways she had imagined Uma’s returning to Auradon, she’d never dreamt up this scenario—her archnemesis cradling the single object that could save the kingdom. This definitely called for panic.

“It can’t get wet. Give it back before it goes out,” yelled Mal.

Uma laughed mischievously.

Mal wasn’t the only one surprised to see Uma. “Uma!” shouted Harry and Gil in unison. The scallywags were excited to see their long-lost captain.

“That’s my name,” said Uma, still balancing the dying ember. She glowed with confidence and gave her friends a coy wave. Then she wrapped her tentacle tightly around the ember and sank into the dark water.

“No!” shrieked Mal. All was truly lost.

Uma’s marvelous gold shell necklace brightened beneath the waving sea. Then a whirling burst of water gushed upward out of the ocean’s roiling surface, exploded, and rained back down on everyone who stood on the bridge. Mal and her friends were drenched. They scrambled to the side railing, expecting to see a tentacled Uma rise dramatically from the sea once more. But there was no sign of her.

“Hi, boys,” said a voice behind them. Everyone spun around to see Uma on the Auradon side of the bridge, looking fabulous in her teen-girl form. She wore fish scale leggings and a pair of aqua cowboy boots with gold crustacean accents. Her clothes were beaded with shells and sea glass. In her hand was the still-lit ember.

Harry Hook sprang to the other side of the bridge. He circled his friend, a wicked smile on his face. “Welcome back,” he said.

“Uma, you swam off and forgot all about us,” said Gil, sounding a little hurt.

“Planning her revenge, no doubt.” Mal stared at Uma.

“It’s not all about you,” said Uma. She’d felt bad about leaving her minions leaderless, but she’d been gone for good reason. “I was looking for a hole in the barrier, to let everyone out. And you know what I found, boys?” Uma threw her arms wide and gestured toward Auradon and the open sea. “It’s better out here than we thought. There’s this thing that looks like a furry rock, called a coconut. And fish so big you could dance on their backs,” said Uma. She pointed at Mal and her friends accusingly and snarled, “And they’ve been keeping it all for themselves.”

Mal didn’t have time to discuss all the ways poor little Shrimpy felt she’d been shorted in life. Audrey was gaining ground in Auradon while Mal stood there listening to the adventures of an octopus. “I need that ember to break a spell,” she told Uma.

“Cast by Audrey, Sleeping Beauty’s daughter,” added Carlos, trying to help.

Uma lapped up this delicious news. “Oooh, the good guy’s the bad guy. I might not give it back. See what happens.”

The pirate captain soaked in the moment of power. She had something Mal desired. Now she just needed to decide how best to use that advantage.

Mal pleaded with Uma. “It’s not the time for games,” she said. “People’s lives are in danger.”

Uma looked at Auradon, the city that was shunning her, and back at Mal, the girl who had caused the shunning. Why should Uma care what happened to them? Weren’t they the very same people who had booed her presence at Cotillion? Uma had made up her mind. “Guarantee me that every single villain kid who wants to get off the island can,” she said.

“I can’t do that,” countered Mal.

“Well, how about now?” threatened Uma. She dangled the still-lit ember over the bridge’s railing, determined to get what she wanted. Enough of this four-at-a-time application process; if Mal wanted the ember, every last villain kid was getting released from their Isle sentence.

Mal looked back and forth among the dangling ember, the girl she called Shrimpy, and Auradon City. She made a choice.

“Deal,” Mal said, knowing she couldn’t possibly keep that promise. “Deal,” she repeated.

Uma eyed Mal skeptically. She had no reason to believe her rival was telling the truth.

Evie jumped in. “Uma, her word is good.”

Mal flinched, pained by the knowledge that she’d lied to Evie as well.

Uma looked hard at Evie’s sincere expression and honest eyes, then opened her gold shell necklace, placed the ember within it, and sealed it away safely. “I’ll still keep this for the time being. ’Cuz if you think I trust you to save the world on your own, think again.” Uma smiled and looked toward Harry and Gil. “This is a job for pirates!” she exclaimed.

Harry and Gil rushed Uma, and together the wretched threesome hooted and roared in triumphant reunion.

Mal grimaced, appalled at the prospect of joining forces with a gang of double-crossing pirates. Jay leaned in and said what they both were thinking. “We can always go back to hating each other when it’s over.”

“Fine,” she said, standing with arms crossed.

Agreement reached, Jay went to Harry and Gil with a menacing stride. They had business to settle. “Where are our bikes?”

“Oh yeah,” said Gil. “We crashed them.” He smiled oafishly at the memory of it.

Harry pantomimed the bikes vrooming along, then meeting a fiery end. How he loved taunting Jafar’s son.

Evie interrupted brightly. “Here’s a thought. We could try being friends. Put our history behind us and celebrate our differences. Yeah?” She pulled out her red wristlet, which contained several blue spheres, and jingled it. “Who wants gum?” she asked optimistically.

Everyone stared at Evie in great confusion. Had she seriously just tried to mend fences with gum?

“Let’s go,” Uma ordered Harry and Gil.

“Uh, no,” Mal said, stopping her. “I’m in charge.” She paused, then gave her own order to the group. “Let’s go.”

With that, the strangely united band of villains started the long walk across the bridge toward Auradon.