Take it from me: That whole knight-in-shining-armor thing? It’s way overrated.

The idyllic Fairy Cottage lay hidden deep in the forest in the middle of a beautiful glade with trees that grew high into the sky. Its whimsical rubblestone chimney, wood-framed windows, and overgrown English garden lent to the cabin’s peaceful feel.

The quaint cottage that had once hidden Aurora from Maleficent now had a new resident: Audrey. She stood inside the cheery cottage, among the winsome lace curtains and hand-embroidered wall art, and threw a colossal fit.

With untamed fury, she stared into the orb of Maleficent’s scepter. The magical glass sphere showed Mal, Jay, and the rest of the squad making their way through the streets of Auradon City. Audrey was livid. “How did Mal break my spell?” Audrey screamed. The china teacups that lined the shelves shook with reverberations.

Chad shrugged innocently. “I don’t know,” he said.

“And what is Uma doing here?” Audrey asked. She turned over a glass fruit bowl, emptied the green apples onto the frilly tablecloth, and chucked the bowl in Chad’s direction. Chad ducked nimbly out of the way and fretted. Perhaps he’d made a mistake, joining forces with Audrey. She was out of control.

“Come clean, Chad. Where did they go?” she asked, menacing.

Chad flinched and inched toward the cottage door. “I don’t know. I could go check for you,” he offered, hoping to escape Audrey’s mounting wrath.

“Stay,” boomed Audrey as she tightened her fingers around the scepter.

Chad slumped his shoulders and silently obeyed. Audrey walked toward her little pet and ran her fingers through his hair. She grinned malevolently and turned her attention back to the scepter’s orb and the image of Mal and her friends approaching Ben’s palace. “It’s about to get a little ugly.”

Audrey watched as Mal ran down the grand palace hall, followed closely by the other seven travelers. “Ben could be asleep anywhere,” Mal said, worried.

“Or turned to stone,” Celia managed to squeak out before Evie clamped her hand over Celia’s mouth.

“Ben,” yelled Mal. Her unanswered shouts echoed through the chamber.

Dude sniffed around. “I’ve got his scent. Very pungent cologne. Easy to track. Follow me.”

“That’s great, Dude,” said Jay.

“FYI, I give great cuddles, too,” the dog announced proudly.

Did someone say cuddles? Gil thought. His face lit up with glee. “Really? I never had a pet except for the elk head in my dad’s man cave,” he said.

Uma stared thoughtfully at a series of deep claw marks scratched into the wall. She ran her finger over them. “What’s this?” A framed ancient map that hung on the wall had been cut clean in half.

“Any chance that was already there?” asked Carlos. He looked around the room nervously. The royal-blue curtains were tattered and torn, and the mysterious scratches continued along the corridor for many feet.

“Follow me,” Dude offered, then led the group out of the room and toward the scent he’d detected.

Moments later, the group trailed Dude into the palace’s hall of armor. Sunlight shone through the domed stained glass ceiling, illuminating artwork of the great battle scenes and gallant knights of past reigns. The group approached the grand foyer with great reverence. Silver swords with glistening blades and shields battered from combat hung on the wood-paneled walls. Foreboding suits of armor that had been collected through the ages stood stiffly on platforms.

As the villain squad crept through the majestic hall, Harry inspected all the tempting treasures. His eyes lingered on the more portable items, like a sparkling halberd and antique shield, and he wondered if anyone would notice if a few trinkets mysteriously went missing. He was a pirate, after all, and looting came naturally. As if reading his mind, Jay moved up quietly behind Harry. “I can feel you lurking,” Harry told Jay without needing to turn around.

“Good,” said Jay. He pushed Harry along. Not trusting the seasoned villain, Jay vowed to keep a close eye on him.

They weren’t the only members of the two feuding villain cliques to clash. Carlos had had just about enough of Gil, who had taken an intense liking to Dude. “So you can track, cuddle, and talk? Do you think your puppies would be able to talk, too?” Gil asked, scratching the dog under his chin.

“He’s taken. If you want a dog, adopt a rescue,” said Carlos possessively.

“Ha ha, talking puppies,” mused Dude. He walked over to Celia to be scratched. “He seems nice,” the chatty canine said, oblivious to Carlos’s feelings.

Across the room, Uma and Mal were locked in their own tête-à-tête. “Bet you lost a little sleep thinking about me on the loose,” Uma goaded Mal.

“Nah. Dragons don’t really lose sleep,” Mal countered. “I wonder what fried octopus tastes like,” she added, just to annoy Uma.

Evie stepped between the two girls and threw her arms around their shoulders in a gesture of solidarity. “Okay, why don’t we not do this?”

“We’re celebrating our differences,” Uma said sarcastically.

Clank! Clash! A suit of armor that had stood stiff for centuries on a high wood pedestal clicked its heels and turned toward the group.

“I believe we’re being challenged,” said Harry, his hook dancing in the air. Harry was always itching for a good fight.

Mal and Uma, too busy one-upping each other, failed to heed Harry’s warning. “Let’s all split up and look for Audrey,” Uma told Mal.

Mal balked at Uma’s suggestion. “That makes absolutely no sense. Unless I stop her with the ember, she’ll spell you.” Mal was unsure how much longer she could handle listening to this insipid pirate. Mal was in charge, not Uma.

Harry cleared his throat and interrupted the girls’ competitive confab again. “We have a situation here,” he alerted them. That would prove to be an understatement.

The bewitched knight moved and spoke ominously in Audrey’s voice. The effect was disturbing. “You like a prince, Mal. How about a knight in shining armor? Or knights?” The lead knight swung his lethal sword with a swift, authoritative gesture, and the rest of the suits of armor in the long hall magically clinked to life and drew their sharpened swords on the VKs.

Uma and Mal shared a furtive look. Spooked and outnumbered, Mal, Uma, and their friends backed up, spun around, and rushed toward the hall exit. But before they could reach it, two menacing knights stepped forward and blocked the doors. Exiting would not be an option.

Gil grabbed two gleaming swords and handed one to Uma. Jay followed Gil’s lead and snatched several swords, then tossed a blade to Mal with perfect precision. Harry snatched the halberd he’d been eyeing earlier. He had known he’d end up with the coveted treasure somehow.

Uma jumped up onto a tall platform in the center of the hall. “Fall back, let me lead,” Uma shouted to the others.

Mal bristled. She would not be outranked by a puny, gutless pirate. Mal leapt onto the raised platform and, with a confident heft, lifted her sword above her head. This was her fight, her command, and they’d follow her battle plan. “Swords in the air if you’re with me,” Mal declared.

Uma did not comply. She flashed a fake grin, stepped in front of Mal, and whipped around her turquoise hair. She was not about to fall in line.

Evie looked askance at both girls, then jumped between them, planted her hands on her hips, and sternly reminded both sides that at the moment they were all on the same side. And they were gravely outnumbered. The only way to defeat Audrey’s armor army was to set aside their differences—at least until the battle was done.

The enchanted knights marched with military precision and attacked the teens in one swift swoosh. Swords clanged, blades scraped, metal clashed against metal. Three towering soldiers yielding razor-sharp swords cornered Mal and Uma. Without thinking, the girls parried in sync and fought off the first two knights together. Clink! One knight. Clank! Another knight. The third knight lunged at Uma, his sword outstretched. With dragon-fast speed, Mal kicked his foot out from under him, which sent him stumbling to the ground with a crash. Uma looked up, surprised to see Mal was the one who’d had her back. Mal shrugged, then rejoined the melee. The battle raged on.

Mal jumped in next to Harry and Jay, who stood back to back, swerving and deflecting blows in a coordinated effort. Behind them, Carlos and Gil worked together, dashing and darting about, attempting to attack an indomitable knight from both sides.

Mal dueled with the lead knight, her bluish-purple hair flying behind her. Their swords collided midair with a shudder. The knight shifted his weight and gained advantage over Mal. Just in time, Uma yelped loudly and distracted the knight long enough for Mal to spin away. She turned and found herself standing face to face with yet another attacking knight. Mal groaned. The unyielding knights kept coming.

The unstoppable armor army was on its way to easily trouncing the band of VKs. Their swords moved so quickly they were a blur. Mal looked around the hall at her friends, who stumbled with exhaustion. They fought valiantly but were overwhelmed and overmatched. Mal’s eyes flashed green with focus. She pushed through the chaos, made her way back up to the platform, and stared at the doomed battle scene below. With a confident, clear voice, she incanted: “Suit of armor, strong and true, make this armor bust a move.” Then she raised her arms high and launched into a sick dance move. Having fallen under Mal’s spell, the knights raised their swords and duplicated Mal’s dance move, swaying their hips from side to side.

Catching on, Uma jumped onto the platform beside Mal. She popped it and pumped it, causing the seashells on her jacket to rattle. The knights repeated every one of her moves. Carlos, too, put the knights through a complex combination. Celia, not wanting to miss out on what now looked like fun, ran back into the hall and rejoined the others. The knights matched the teens’ hip-hop moves step for step, and one by one, the metal soldiers exhausted themselves and dropped to the floor with a clatter, collapsing into a large heap of metal. The lead knight, last to fall, toppled with a deafening crash.

Exhilarated by victory, Mal and Uma forgot themselves. They smiled at each other and high-fived. Behind them, Jay and Harry chest-bumped while Gil and Carlos shared congrats. The moment was sweet until the two sides remembered they were supposed to be sworn enemies. The teens separated quickly into their two distinct cliques, abandoning any sign of friendship that had been there just moments before. Mal, Jay, and Carlos stood to one side, while Uma, Gil, and Harry stood to the other.

Only Evie jumped forward. “No. Guys, come on,” she said. “This was so great. We were a team. We worked together. Come on, admit it.”

Everyone glared at Evie in silence, but she remained undeterred. They’d already done the hard part of coming together; now they just had to acknowledge it.

“You know what we should try? An icebreaker. You say something you really like about the other person. I’ll start.” Evie turned to Harry and thoughtfully considered her options. “Harry. Great accent,” she said. “Now you go.”

Uma rolled her eyes and let out an exasperated breath. “Is she always this perky?”

“Oh, it wasn’t your turn, but thank you,” Evie gushed.

Mal turned to Evie and took both of her hands in hers. “Evie, I love you.” Evie broke into a huge smile. “I love you, too.” Her icebreaker was working—or maybe it wasn’t.

Mal continued. “I love the energy, but we’re very short on time. Audrey clearly knows we’re here. And we need to get out of here ASAP.”

“All right, where does this cheerleader bunk down?” asked Uma. “If she’s not there, we might find some sort of clue.”

“Actually, she’s still in the dorm,” offered Evie.

“You’re right, because of summer school,” said Mal.

“Summer school,” Harry said, scrunching up his face in utter disgust. “No wonder she wants revenge.”

Mal pointed to Jay, Carlos, Dude, Harry, and Gil. “Okay, I need you guys to go find Ben. We will meet back at Evie’s place in two hours.”

“Sounds like we’re going with my plan,” boasted Uma. “Just sayin’.”

“It was kinda the obvious plan,” said Mal.

Gil piped up. “Uma said it first.”

“Right, so my plan,” Uma said, gratified. She high-fived Harry and Gil, proud of her small victory over Mal.

“Whatever!” Mal exclaimed, throwing her arms in the air as she headed out of the hall.