Evie quickly makes her way to Ben's office, note and ring in hand. She knocks lightly on the door, entering without even waiting for a reply.
"Ben?" she calls softly.
"Evie, come on in," he tells her cheerfully.
She hates to dampen his mood, but they don't have any time to waste. "Mal's gone back to the Isle," she says without hesitation, like ripping off a band aid.
The young king's face immediately falls.
Evie crosses over to where he stands behind his desk and silently hands him Mal's note along with the ring he gave her on his coronation day.
He gently takes the ring and reads through her note. "This is my fault," he murmurs. "This is my fault! I- I blew it. She'd been under so much pressure lately and instead of being understanding I just- I went all Beast on her!" Ben slams his hands on his desk in frustration.
Evie reaches out to comfort him, to tell him it's not his fault, when he straightens up suddenly in realization.
"I have to go there and apologize," he says. "I have to go there and- and beg her to come back."
"Ben, you'll never find her," Evie protests.
"I-"
"You need to know the Isle and how it works and..." She trails off, taking a deep breath as she realizes what she's about to say. "You have to take me with you."
"Yes!" Ben immediately agrees. "Uh, I mean, are you sure?"
"Yeah," Evie breathes. "She's my best friend," she says simply. It's all the explanation needed.
She takes another deep breath, wringing her hands as she turns around nervously.
"And we'll take the boys," she adds. "There's safety in numbers and, well, none of us is really too popular over there right now. Except for probably Hayden who is, of course, not here."
Ben looks oddly thoughtful at that, glancing over at the papers still sitting on his desk, but before he can say anything Evie turns to him again, her pretty face determined.
"Let's get two things straight. You have to promise me that I won't get stuck there again," she says, trying to ignore the little voice in the back of her mind that reminds her how many kids are still stuck there.
It's a little voice that, fittingly enough, sounds a lot like a certain godling.
"I promise," Ben says sincerely.
"Also," Evie adds, raising one judgmental eyebrow, "there's no way you're going looking like that."
By nightfall, Evie, Carlos, and Jay are back on the Isle of the Lost, Ben right there beside them dressed in blue leather fit for an Isle resident.
As Carlos and Ben grab a couple of old tarps to cover the limo, Evie looks around. "It's really weird being back here," she tells Jay.
He nods in agreement. "Well get in and get out," he assures her before they both go help camouflage the limo. Ben looks into what seems like an old maintenance tunnel.
"Hey, what's in here?" he asks. All three of them hurry over and pull him away.
"You don't wanna know," Jay says seriously.
"Look, guys," Carlos says, "keep it chill, alright? The last thing we need is our parents figuring out we're here."
"Or anyone else for that matter," Jay mutters, thinking about the fact that the whole Isle probably saw them choose 'good' at the coronation.
They start down one of the alleyways when Evie gets stopped by a couple of kids trying to steal her bag. She protests at first before she takes the time to really look at their little faces. She sees the hollow cheeks and dark eyes and loosens her grip.
"Go ahead," she says quietly. "Just take it. Go on."
The kids exchange a look before running off, bag in hand, choosing not to question their luck. As they run off, Evie notices the skull and roses painted on the alley wall. She turns around to face Carlos and Jay, who seem just as haunted by true reminders of the Isle as she feels, and sees another tagged on the shop across the way.
She starts to say something about it when she notices Ben farther down the alley. "Come on," she tells them, hurrying in that direction.
They stop him before he can end up in a confrontation with a pirate, probably one of Captain Hook's crew by the looks of him. "Ben, stop. Just stop," she tells him.
"Why?" Ben asks.
"This isn't a parade," Carlos tells him.
"It's the Isle."
"Keep your hands in your pockets unless you're stealing," Jay says seriously.
"You either slouch or strut," Carlos adds.
"And never, ever smile," Evie finishes.
Ben nods. "Okay, tha-"
"No!" Evie snaps, holding one hand up. "No 'thank yous' and drop the 'please' too. Just... chill."
Music seems to start from nowhere and what follows is a quick lyrical lesson on how to blend in on the Isle of the Lost. It seems to go well enough, with Ben actually starting to get a grasp on things by the end, when their 'let's not get noticed' plan is compromised.
"Hey, I know you!" Gil claims when Ben accidently bumps into him.
"Uh, no. Don't know you either, man," Ben tries.
"Uh, yeah, you do," Gil says. He goes to remind them who his dad is when he suddenly comes to a realization. "Wait, oh! You're King Ben!" he exclaims, looking between Ben and a graffitied poster of him on the wall.
Interestingly enough, there's another one of Hayden's symbols spray-painted just above it.
"Okay, let's go," Evie says as the three of them hurry Ben out of there and towards their hideout.
"Yeah, and you're Jay, Carlos, and Evie," Gil continues from behind them. "Hey, guys. Oh, Uma's gonna love this!" He starts to run back to Ursula's when he suddenly turns back. "Hey, wait, is there any chance you guys brought Hayden?" he calls as they turn a corner and disappear from his sight.
"Speaking of Hayden," Ben says, glancing back toward the direction they just came as he hears Gil's question, "is it just me, or is that the symbol on the back of his jacket?" He points at the wall next to them where, yet again, a familiar skull and roses is painted.
"Yeah, it is," Carlos agrees. "I've noticed a lot of those tagged everywhere."
"Well, we can figure where some of them came from at least," Jay says, pointing at another which is painted right next to a bright red hook.
"This is a bit much even for Harry though," Carlos argues. "I know I might sound crazy but, well, did Hayden do this?"
"They weren't here before and Hayden hasn't been back since we left the first time," Evie reminds them.
"Are we sure about that?" Jay asks skeptically. "I mean, he can travel to the Underworld. Are we sure he doesn't have a way to the Isle?"
"He can't," Ben says, shaking his head. "Plus, he, well, he's been so busy meeting with the council that I don't see how he could have time." He sounds guilty as he says it, remembering the way that Hayden has been standing alone at all those meetings, the rest of them busy with their own lives.
"Right," Carlos says quietly. "I guess he really has been busy these last few months."
There are a few seconds of silence as they all think about that and what it really means before Evie gasps in realization.
"That's why," she breathes. The three boys look at her in confusion. "Hayden's symbol- that's why it's painted everywhere. Think about it. The number of times he's been on the news, all the reporters talking about the meetings, the televised coronation, the whole Isle knows that he's the one trying to change things," she explains.
"The whole Isle stands with Hayden," Ben says slowly. "They're with him because- because he's the one that's fighting for them."
There's another loaded silence as the four of them look at each other, all of them feeling guilty that Hayden's the only one the Isle residents seem to have in their corner.
"Guys," Ben speaks up, "I, uh, I actually have a question. About Hayden."
"What is it?" Evie asks.
"Well, I've been thinking about something he said before he left, about the royal council and how they don't seem to care that- well, I just-" He takes a deep breath. "What exactly happens when you make a deal? I mean, if it falls through?"
The other three exchange glances.
"We don't actually know, Ben," Carlos tells him honestly. "I mean, Hades hasn't been topside in twenty years, so he hasn't been making deals and, well..."
"No one on the Isle will even shake hands with Hayden," Jay says bluntly. "They definitely won't make a deal with him."
"All we know, all anyone really knows, is that a soul is kind of the standard price," Evie adds.
"Right," Ben breathes shakily. "That seems to be all anyone knows," he repeats, thinking about all the files and ancient records he went through, anything that even mentioned a deal with Hades.
"What about Hercules?" Carlos asks optimistically. "Or his wife, what's her name?"
"Megara," Ben responds automatically. "I tried to get in contact but apparently the Olympians have been busy with meetings of their own. They've been busy dealing with... whatever that's about."
The conversation comes to a stop as they reach their old hideout and Jay throws a rock at the sign to lift the gate.
"All the way up, bro," Jay tells him.
"Wish me luck," Ben says as he slowly starts up the stairs.
Jay, Carlos, and Evie settle in to wait, all of them hoping he can convince Mal to return to Auradon.
"You don't think Hayden would really claim Ben's soul, do you?" Evie suddenly asks. The other two just give her a look. "Yeah," she says quietly, "that's what I thought."
All three of them know that Hayden will see the deal through. Whether that means changing how the Isle operates through Auradon law or claiming the king's soul and then doing things his own way, well, that remains to be seen.