As soon as MK told them that Mavis was already at Town Hall and was planning on looking at the files, the group dashed to their vehicles and raced to Town Hall. Mavis herself was waiting at the front desk and ushered them in.
“I figured you would come here,” said Mavis as they walked to the file room, “so I figured on making things a little easier and give you a hand. Not only that, but, I’m beginning to realize that I might not know about everyone who is here. I was so focused on getting back at Merida that I didn’t realize how many other people were brought here! And I don’t know half of them!” She paused as she quickly unlocked the door. She shot MK a smile. “Even though I trust you, I figured we couldn’t have just anyone wandering in here.”
MK laughed. “I agree with you on that.” Mavis led them into the room. “You’ve been changing some things up.” Instead of the boxes, Mavis had brought in ten filing cabinets, which made the room look so much nicer.
Mavis nodded. “Yes, makes it look more professional.”
MK nodded with approval at the new set-up for the files. “That’s definitely true. Let’s get started.” Each person went to a filing cabinet and began straight away to look through the contents.
Rapunzel had paused. “Are you sure this is a good idea? We’re looking at people’s personal information.”
“Just look at the pictures and names, Punz,” said Jack as he opened a filing cabinet.
Mavis nodded. “I have everything set up to where I can just glance at names and pictures to find someone, just in case.”
Rapunzel let out a breath. “Alright.” She stepped up to a filing cabinet, opened it, and began looking through the files. “Oh! I see how this works! OK, this isn’t that bad after all.”
“And pretty quick,” said Hiccup as he practically flew through a drawer.
“But, are there any other villains we don’t know about?” asked JJ as he quickly flipped through the folders in his filing cabinet.
Jack and Hiccup paused in their search to glance at each other. “He’s got a point,” said Jack.
“Well, if you’re not sure, just say the names out loud. We can tell you if they are or not,” said Merida as she closed the top drawer on her filing cabinet.
Hiccup grinned. “Good idea!”
Merida flipped her hair. “Well of course, I’m just full of them.”
Jack laughed. “It’s why he married you.”
“I know,” said Merida as she shot a playful grin at Hiccup. Hiccup chuckled. The next minute, the only sound that could be heard was the ruffling of files with the occasional opening and closing of drawers.
Rapunzel found the first one, evident by her shriek. “Jack!”
He was by her side in a second. “What is it? Who did you find?” She showed him the file. His eyes bulged. “Gothel’s here?” He shared a startled glance with MK. “But, when we looked for your folders, neither one of you were here!”
Mavis blinked. “Really? I found Rapunzel’s while I was sorting the files.” MK and Jack shared another shocked look. Mavis’s brow furrowed. “Though, it was odd that it seemed like there were a few more files than I remember . . .”
MK turned to Mavis. “Where did you find Rapunzel’s file?”
Mavis shrugged. “In a box under my desk, along with Gothel’s file and a few others.”
Jack relaxed. “Well that explains that, we didn’t look in there.”
“But, I didn’t put it there!” By then the others had crowded around them to look at the villain. They shared a startled glance at Mavis’s announcement.
“But if you didn’t, then who did?” asked MK.
“That might be something you’ll have to figure out,” said Mavis.
MK waved her hand. “That’s going to have to wait. Right now, we have Gothel’s file, which means she is here in Cedar Grove.”
“But, where is she?” asked Merida. “I don’t recall seeing her around town.”
“Neither do I,” said Jack and Jaime at the same time. They glanced at Mavis.
She put up her hands. “Don’t look at me, I’ve never seen her before in my life.”
Jack rubbed his chin. “Maybe she’s outside the city lines with Pitch? I mean, maybe she’s one of the few who could leave the town without repercussions.”
“And if she is out of town, there’s a big chance she could come back,” said Rapunzel.
Jack put a protective arm around her. “But we can handle her.”
Hiccup thought a moment. “But, I don’t think she was the one who shot arrows at Jack. She would have gotten close to attack.”
Jack nodded. “That’s true, that’s how she works, up close and personal.” He glanced back at the file. “So we have one villain, but it’s not the villain we’re looking for.”
MK pointed to the table. “Maybe we can put all the villains we find on the table. I think we need them separated from the rest of the town.”
The others nodded. “Good idea,” said Hiccup. Jack gently took the folder from Rapunzel and set it on the table.
“Well, there’s one. Let’s find out who else is here.” The others nodded and went back to looking through the folders. Jamie found the next one.
“Dagur’s here too! But, I haven’t seen him around town.”
Hiccup was the first to reach his side to look at the folder. “Really?”
Mavis saw the folder too, she and Jamie nodded firmly. “It would be hard to forget Dagur,” said Jamie.
“Definitely, but, where could they be?” said Mavis.
“Apparently there are some things you don’t even know,” said Jack. The others glanced at him. “And in a way, that’s almost terrifying.” His face hardened as he glanced at each person. “Let’s keep looking, make sure we have everyone. Then we’ll proceed from there.” The others nodded and went back to looking. They ended up with five folders on the table at the end of their search; Gothel, Dagur, Drago, Mordu, and Hans. “With Pitch, that’s six, and if Mavis hadn’t decided to change, there would have been seven,” said Jack slowly.
MK’s head snapped up, eyes wide. “S-seven?”
Jack held her gaze. “Yes, seven, there are seven heroes to save us all, and I think seven villains you will have to face. But, I don’t think these are the seven villains. Like I said, Mavis would only have been one if she continued down her path of revenge. But she has finally realized the truth and is now on our side. And of the remaining six, Gothel and Pitch are the main ones we really have to watch out for, the rest are easily handled.”
Merida scoffed. “They’re not that easy.”
Jack waved his hand. “Ok, Ok, not that easy, but easy in comparison to Pitch and Gothel.”
Merida huffed. “Oh, alright, I’ll give you that one.”
Jack grinned for a brief moment before turning back to the folders. “Though I think of this group here, I think only Pitch is one of the seven.” He gazed at JJ pointedly and sadly.
JJ gulped. “You think . . . he’s the villain I have to face?”
“It makes sense, too much sense.”
“B-but what about Zhan Tiri?”
Rapunzel gasped. “The Sandy’s told you about Zhan Tiri?”
Jack sighed. “It would make sense that they would, JJ is your son after all. Besides, Sandy is sort of like the opposite of Zhan, just like the Sandman is the opposite of Pitch. But there are seven heroes, so someone else is going to have to handle Zhan Tiri.”
“A-and who do you think the other five are?” asked MK.
Jack let out a breath as he ran his hand through his hair. “Laverna, Rothbart, HEX, Binary, and . . . “ he shot a sideways glance at Mavis, “I’m beginning to think Frieda is the last one.”
“But all the power my mom had was in that staff. She’s practically nothing without it!”
“But you know magic,” said MK slowly.
“Well, well yes, I learned how to use it . . . with some help from the staff.”
Jack raised an eyebrow. “Well that explains a few things. But no, I think Frieda is one not because of magical capabilities, though the rest certainly have that, but because she is manipulative and determined to achieve her goal. Not that any other villain isn’t, but, I don’t know, there’s something about her . . . maybe your mother hasn’t unlocked her full magical potential.” His face really hardened. “And to be honest, I wouldn’t want her to.”
Mavis’s face twisted with disgust. “And I would agree with that.”
Merida smiled wanly. “It’s going to take some time to get used to you talking like that.”
Mavis glanced at her. “Yeah, I understand that.”
“But it’s good to hear,” said Merida with a smile. Mavis smiled back.
“Yes, definitely!” said Jamie as he hugged Mavis.
MK turned to Jack. “But if Frieda isn’t the last villain?”
A bit of fear crept into Jack’s eyes. “Then it’s a villain I have never heard of, and that’s worrying.”
“How can you be sure the others are part of the six too, though?” asked Hiccup. “Laverna’s been beaten by Elina several times, and Odette and Daniel have subdued Rothbart with the help of the Enchantress.”
Jack shrugged. “You’re right about those two, but they are the only other two who are capable of being on the same level as Pitch, Zhan Tiri, HEX, and Binary. I know for a fact that those four are definitely going to be four of the villains. Joey is pretty sure about that too. It’s why he, Moana, and their son are in hiding.” Jack rubbed his chin. “Now, if only I could get in contact with them.”
“And that’s one reason why we have to get back to the magical realm,” said Merida, “besides the fact that Frieda and the rest of the villains are still there and running amok.”
“But we have to take care of the villains running amok here,” said Hiccup, “provided we can find them.” His eyes widened and snapped his fingers. “The cave! We haven’t actually explored it!”
Jack pointed him. “You’re right! And I bet those vines we battled were actually put there by Gothel to prevent people from getting through! Well, at least to Rapunzel, she might have another trap set up before the area where they’re staying.”
“But, how would they have gotten food?” asked Merida. “Mavis, Jamie, you and I certainly haven’t seen them around town!”
“Right, we wouldn’t have, because we mostly stayed in town,” pointed out Jack.
Merida gasped. “The farms!”
Jack nodded. “And it would be easy too, they wouldn’t recognise any of these people, though your parents would have recognised Drago and Mordu. But only Drago and Mordu, they wouldn’t have known the others.”
MK picked up the files. “Then that shall be our next stop, the farms, see if anybody recognises them and know where they might be hiding.”
“It has to be the cave, though,” said Hiccup slowly.
“They could be in separate places, Dad,” said MK. “We did find Rapunzel’s tower, one or more of them could have stayed there.”
Jack nodded. “She has a point. But, we can’t go to the farms yet.”
“Yeah, I was just going to ask about that,” said Rapunzel.
JJ glanced between his parents. “Why?”
“We need to get to the Onceler’s store, that’s where we’re supposed to be meeting with the Sandy’s.” Jack looked at MK. “And I think it’s time you all learn about the Lorax.”
A Faraway Land 