Archive of Our Own ^beta

"Alright," Chip grinned as he untied the scroll and unfurled it. "Let's begin shall we?"

Hades looked over his shoulder at the bundle in Maleficent's arms, his soon to be ex-wife glaring at him as he prepared to walk out the door.

"Gods, calling Maleficent my ex anything sends shivers of disgust down my spine," Hades muttered. "We had to start with her?"

Leah sneered slightly at having the same thought as a villain of all people.

Mal, though, frowned as she realized just what was happening. Dad…dad was going to leave me with her? Just walk out on the both of us?

"So you are Maleficent's daughter after all! See Ben, I told you! Villains always lie!" Audrey exclaimed.

"Not even one line in and she's already at risk for getting hit with a fireball," Emir muttered to Akiho.

"Are you really surprised dude?"

Persephone sighed and looked over at the princess. "Princess Audrey, it would be best if you refrain from acting like you know anything about our family. Mal is the furthest thing from Maleficent's daughter that you could get."

Audrey glowered slightly but backed down. Still she seemed to wear an air of 'I was right', causing the boy next to her to roll his eyes.

"Please continue," Persephone told Chip, who was fighting the urge to roll his eyes as well.

"Go on!" She growled, her eyes glowing green. Had she been able to access her full power, Hades might have felt nervous for Mal. "Leave! But know this, if you go, you'll never see hide nor hair of Mal again!"

"She's really telling Uncle Hades what to do?" Uma snorted. "The Dragon's gone round the bend if that's the case."

"She wasn't exactly the sanest to begin with Uma," Harry chuckled.

"How exactly did she get pregnant though?" Akiho asked. "Considering she was stabbed in the stomach by Prince Phillip Sr.?"

"The less we think about Maleficent, the happier we all are," Mal stated.

Hades stilled, before turning to square off against his wife, towering over her smaller form. "I'm taking her with me," he told her, his voice low. "She's my daughter Maleficent. If you think I won't get my hands on her one way or another, you've forgotten what got me tossed on this hellscape of an Isle in the first place."

"Go Lord Hades!" Jay cheered. Estelle yipped softly as if to agree with what Jay had said.

Mal grinned. "Had me going there for a bit there dad."

"You honestly think I'd leave you in the Dragon's talons Mali?" Hades said with a small smile.

Neither father nor daughter noticed the look on the other Gods' faces. They definitely hadn't been expecting that from Hades. Though Zeus glowered slightly at the reminder of Hades' crime against him.

"She'll have powers you'll never understand," Maleficent told him. "I"m the only one who can explain them to her, even if she can never use them."

"Oh, so you'll be able to explain her godlike powers too or were you going to brush those under the rug? Maybe pretend like they were your Fae powers?"

"Yeah that does seem like something she'd do," Persephone muttered while rolling her eyes.

Maleficent rolled her eyes. "She won't know you exist nor will she have access to them while she's under the barrier so what's the point in explaining those?"

"The Isle's not the biggest," Hades pointed out, his voice low with a slight growl. "We could run into each other."

The two stood off for what felt like an eternity but was more realistically around five minutes. Maleficent broke it first, shoving Mal into Hades' arms.

Mal held back a small sigh. Even though she knew her mom and dad loved her, there was still a small part of her that was hurt that Maleficent didn't try to fight for her. And when she said small, she meant like microscopic. Looking at Audrey, Mal said with a small smirk, "there you go. I'm not her daughter. She just handed me right over."

"Fine, take the little brat!" She growled. "With a weak father like you, there's no chance she would be anything to be proud of."

"You and I have very different definitions of what would make us proud of our daughter," Hades told her before walking out of Maleficent's lair, Mal being supported the best he could.

"See Bennyboo? How can she be Lady Persephone's daughter if Lord Hades just said Mal was his and Maleficent's daughter?"

"…Bennyboo?" Hades smirked as he looked over at the Crown Prince.

"Audrey, again, Mal has no reason to lie," Ben said, fighting the flush that was threatening to overpower his cheeks. "And can we please not use that nickname?"

"Okay Bennybear."

Ben sighed and then looked over at Chip. "Don't. Say. A. Word."

Chip chuckled but did just that, causing Beast to sigh and shake his head in slight amusement.

"You can still read Chip," the King told his surrogate son.

"Oh right."

He knew it was a risk, walking out into the Isle with an infant but he had no choice. His lair was on the exact opposite side of the Isle from Maleficent's and there were no underground tunnels connecting the two, the way there might be if he had an alliance with Maleficent.

"And the only day that would happen is if a kimono dragon sprouted wings and learned to fly," Lonnie scoffed.

"I like her," Hades smirked.

And there never will be any tunnels to the Dragon's lair, Hades thought, a glare keeping some of the underlings from approaching him. Some even dove out of his path to avoid his rage.

"So that's where Mal gets it from," Hadie grinned.

However, that didn't stop others from trying.

"Three guesses who," Harry muttered.

"Ah Hades!" Gaston greeted him with a wave, Captain Hook his only company, at the half way mark of Hades' trek to his lair. "Come, have a drink! I'm celebrating after all!"

"What on Earth is he celebrating?" Harry scoffed. "Did he finally realize he had a brain?"

Belle tried her hardest to keep the giggles at bay but she couldn't prevent one or two from slipping out.

Hades rolled his eyes but walked over to the hunter despite his better judgement. "What are you celebrating?"

"Before you ask, I've no idea why I even stopped to talk to them," Hades shook his head. "All talking to Gaston provides is a headache."

"The birth of my son of course! A boy, strong like his father! He'll be running around with Gaston Jr and Gaston the Third in no time."

"How creative," Beast said dryly.

"Well he's halfway to his dream," Belle shook her head. "Six sons and a little wife massaging his feet."

"I just realized Gil's younger than me," Mal said.

"Lucky you," Harry muttered.

"It's just by like three weeks Harry."

"Still, at least your age isn't used as one of the reasons why you're constantly lumped with Fish for Brains."

"Let me guess the name for this one. Gaston the fourth?" Hades ventured.

Gaston sighed. "Sadly no. I got the news too late so Claudette had already named him. Gil, on account he was born near the water and Claudette likes fish. Serves me right to leave that decision up to a woman."

"Whoa! What's that supposed to mean?!" Emma exclaimed.

"If Rachel Fitzherbert was here, she'd be asking if Gaston wanted to say that to her frying pan!" Lonnie nodded. "I didn't know one's gender made one good at picking out a name!"

"She's got a point," Shang shrugged as some of the other parents looked over at him, as if asking if he was going to reign in his daughter.

"Aye, I've been blessed with a son myself," Hook nodded while Hades rolled his eyes at the hunter's not so creative names for his sons.

Harry held back the wince at the words. There'd been a time when he'd been his father's whole world. He'd sit on his lap and they'd talk about where they'd sail when they'd finally get off the Isle.

And then the runt was born. And his mom died. And the Captain changed.

So to hear the Captain say he'd been blessed with a son…all it did was bring back memories of that time. That time that Harry could never get back, no matter how hard he tried.

"Harriet's not the happiest lass in the sea but she'll get over it."

"Wait, there was a time when Harriet wasn't happy you were around?" Mal teased Harry, trying to get him to smile.

"Speaking as an older sibling, it does happen," Aziz chuckled.

"Feeling the love there!" Emir and Ashaki exclaimed.

Ben smiled slightly, trying to hold back the pain at never knowing what that was like.

"Well congratulations," Hades said dryly. "If you'll excuse me, I need to return to—"

"What's that you got there Hades?" Gaston asked, finally noticing the bundle in Hades' arms. "Laundry? Give it to one of the scullery maids around here and grab a drink!"

"Laundry doesn't move, you idiot," Hook sighed.

"Now we know where Gil inherited his brains from," Harry snorted. Mal, Uma, and Jay smiled at that; happy Harry wasn't dwelling on the past.

"I knew that!"

"Sure he did," a blonde girl sitting next to Snow White said and rolled her eyes.

"Emma," Snow scolded lightly.

Hades rolled his eyes at their banter but before he could say anything, Mal cooed from her blankets. The noise caught the pirate and the hunter's attention.

Mal flushed slightly as Uma and Harry chuckled.

"Guess you developed the ability to read the room at a later age cuz."

"I was a baby!"

"Why Hades, is that a baby you've got there?" Hook asked, his hook peeling back the blankets.

"Very well spotted," Hades responded, his voice flat as he resisted the urge to rip that hook from Hook's body. "Your powers of observation are obsolete."

"Who does the brat belong to?" Hook asked.

"The same guy who's holding the baby," Mal smirked, ignoring the gasped from some of the Auradonians at Hook calling a baby a brat. Everyone on the Isle knew Hook didn't care for kids.

"Didn't Maleficent's egg just hatch?" Gaston asked before Hades could answer.

"How in the world did he know that?!" Melody exclaimed.

"She's got a point. Gaston's ego is so large, you'd think he'd only care about news pertaining to himself or Belle," Harry scoffed.

"Hades, bold of you to snatch the hatchling right after the birth. You know dragons are extremely protective of their young."

"Protective…possessive…tomato…psychotic dragon…" Mal said, moving her hands as if weighing her options.

Hades snorted. As much as Maleficent tried, she couldn't avoid people see her growing belly during the pregnancy. Evil Queen had delighted in Maleficent's changing figure, though she couldn't say much considering she had been pregnant with her own child at the time. The young girl had been born three months ago so it wasn't possible to confuse her with Mal, who was about three weeks at best.

Evie couldn't help but smile slightly at the mention of her mother. That time was the rare bit of happiness her family had—just her mother, her father, and her.

"Well Maleficent couldn't do much considering she was sleeping," Hades lied. It would be safer for Mal if no one on the Isle knew she was biologically his. Maleficent held all the power on the Isle.

"You're a God though," Hadie said, looking over at his dad.

"Didn't matter. Maleficent runs the Isle," Hades shrugged.

"Wouldn't it have just increased her standing on the Isle?" The boy next to Audrey asked. "Considering she had a child with a God?"

"The less we try to understand about Maleficent's mind, the better…and you are?"

"Phillip Jr."

"Copying Gaston there for names huh?"

Phillip Sr. flushed slightly.

"Ah excellent," Gaston nodded and then looked over at Mal. "Bah, a girl! I wouldn't have even put in the effort."

"Yeah the Isle's well aware about what you think of women," Carlos muttered.

"Considering he won't even acknowledge his daughters, I'm not surprised he said that," Mal rolled her eyes.

"He what?" Belle gasped.

"Oh yeah, to him, his only kids are his sons," Mal shrugged. "You're really surprised? I mean, it's Gaston we're talking about."

Belle didn't answer but gently rested a hand to her stomach. Even after all these years, she could sometimes feel a phantom flutter…as if her daughter was still there, yearning to be born…and to know there were girls on the Isle who weren't even being acknowledged by their father…?

"Didn't you get bested by a girl? A girl who's husband is the reason we're all on this prison?" Hook asked as Hades walked away, not in the mood to hear their drivel any longer.

"Always a mistake to overlook the ladies," Lonnie grinned.

The remaining walk back to his lair was without interruption and Hades sighed as he entered his home. That's when the realization hit: there was nothing suitable in his lair to raise a baby.

"Welcome to the first time parents' club Uncle," Hercules said softly, looking over at Hades. "I remember when Hyllus was born."

"Wonderboy, you panicked for about a month when you found out I was pregnant," Meg shook her head as Hades looked at the two of them in slight shock. After everything he'd done to them, he hadn't expected…then again Hercules was more forgiving than Zeus ever was.

Mortals usually preached the importance of not holding a grudge. Probably because they knew how fleeting life truly was, as opposed to the Gods who had forever and a day to hold on to their grudges.

"Oh gods I wish Persephone was here," Hades groaned and then paused. "On second thought it might be a good idea that she's not. I can handle a baby on my own for a few months. I can't handle becoming a mint plant. Of course, that wouldn't be seen as evil so Steph's powers would work if anything green could grow around here."

"I wouldn't have turned you into a plant," Persephone chuckled.

"Uh huh," Hades said dryly. "Your track record speaks differently dear."

Setting Mal down on a nearby chair and using what he could to keep her from rolling, Hades walked into another room.

"Dad, I was three weeks old," Mal shook her head. "I doubt I'd be rolling anywhere."

"When you're a first time parent, you'll be singing a different tune Mali," Hades stated before pausing. "Which won't be for many, many years to come."

"Please dad, you really think I want a kid? I'm sixteen," Mal chuckled.

"PAIN! PANIC!" Hades bellowed, realizing a minute too late that the summons might have awoken Mal. But there were no cries from the other room and soon his minions were in front of him.

"Please Uncle Hades, Mali sleeps like the dead," Uma shook her head. "I don't think a herd of elephants could have woken her up."

"Pain!"

"And Panic!"

"Reporting for duty!" They said, ending with a salute.

"They're like Emir and Akiho," Ben chuckled.

"Only in imp form," Mal smirked. She may have only met them just now but she was more than happy to compare people to Pain and Panic.

"We take that as a compliment you know!" The two boys grinned.

"I need you to set up a room for a baby," he growled, his tone of voice letting them know that there would be no questions. "You are not to be loud. You are not to ask questions. Let me know when it's done."

"So is it safe to assume questions were asked?"

"Actually no, they followed instructions for once," Hades chuckled at his son's question.

"Yes sir!" Both of them agreed and ran off, saluting as they went. Hades smirked and went back to hold Mal.

"Hi little Mally," he said softly. "I'm your dad. Your mom's a little scary so I thought it would be better if I spent all the time with you."

"Calling Maleficent a 'little scary' is an understatement Uncle Hades," Uma snorted in amusement.

"Don't even say a word Audrey," Emma sighed.

There was no response, no noise, which Hades had to link to Maleficent being the mother. The only baby he had ever been around was his little sunspot of a nephew but even he was squealing and babbling all the time.

Hera couldn't help but shoot Hades a glare. Thanks to him, she only got a few precious moments with her son at that age.

I could always inquire at Ursula's. Didn't my niece have her own little squidling? Hades thought as he sat with Mal. No, that would defeat the purpose of people not knowing Mal's mine.

"By people, did you mean the citizens of the Isle or us?" Zeus asked, his voice oddly soft for the King of the Gods.

"Both," Hades said as he glared at his younger brother.

"Mama wouldn't blab though," Uma pointed out. "I mean she kept it a secret that Ariel had signed a contract with her for the time period of said contract. Besides she hates most of the people on the Isle anyway. Who'd she tell?"

"Um Hades?" Panic's voice broke through Hades' thoughts after what might have been an eternity but was more realistically about thirty minutes and he turned to glare at his minion.

"What?"

"The r-room's r-ready," Panic said and Hades had to be impressed, despite his better judgement.

"Panic's the less moronic of the two," Hades shrugged. "Unfortunately he's easily led by Pain."

"That was fast," he said, getting up to see what his minions had done.

"I-I hope you don't mind b-but we used a lot of V-Virgil's old things," Panic said as Hades looked at the room. "The c-crib for instance—Vanessa spent the morning freaking out because Virgil had managed to climb—"

"Vanessa?" Eric asked, looking over at Hades as a flash of fear washed over his face.

"We don't know how but the two of them split," Hades told the raven haired King. "And somehow the human form decided to get together with Panic of all beings."

Mal though couldn't help but smile at the mention of Virgil. The always nervous boy was like an older brother to her.

Hades cut Panic off with a glare; he honestly did not care about the backstory for the room being completed so fast. The job was done and they weren't loud in doing it—proof they were capable of at least following instructions. The crib was a suitable one, a bit cracked in places near the top but the frame seemed sturdy. There were bite marks along the edge, presumably where Panic's brat had gnawed while teething.

"Disgusting," Leah muttered under her breath.

"It'll do," Hades nodded, looking nonplused but Pain and Panic were probably just relieved he wasn't shouting. "You're dismissed."

Pain and Panic ran out the door, the fear of fireballs still engrained in them. Hades sighed at the memory. He used to be a God and now he was stuck on this Isle. The only solace was the fact that he had access to the Underworld to continue to do his job; harboring the souls of the deceased.

"So…who would run the Underworld if you didn't have access?" Mal asked.

"Probably your mother," Hades told her.

"Why would Maleficent—?!"

"My mother is sitting right next to me Audrey," Mal stated, resisting the urge to call her the numerous nicknames that were floating around her head. "As I told you, Maleficent is only my birth giver!"

A small coo from Mal brought Hades' attention back to the present and he couldn't help but smile. Okay, this was a good reason to be stuck.

All the parents in the room couldn't help but smile as they thought back to when their children were that age. How they would do anything to protect them.

"Here's hoping your mom doesn't end up wanting you back," Hades muttered. It was a coin flip with Maleficent, and if Evil Queen ended up using her daughter to try to snatch power from Maleficent's hands the Mistress of Evil might want to use Mal for the same.

Hades' face darkened and Persephone's eyes grew sad at the reminder that Mal hadn't always been there with them.

The worst part was, on the registry, Mal was Maleficent's and only Maleficent's. If he refused her access to Mal, then she could reach out to someone. On the rare occasion an inspector came to the Isle, she could play whatever card she chose and Hades was sure the idiot would take Mal from him.

"Yeah I mean, because the idiot would risk angering a God," Macaria scoffed.

After all, with his record, who would believe Mal was actually his and not just some other child he had stolen?

It was Zeus' turn to have his face darken at the memory of having Hercules stolen from him as a baby. It was something he truly would never quite get over.

Hera noticed the look on her husband's face and sighed. While she would always regret not being able to have time with Hercules as he grew up, she also knew there was a large chance that had they had Hercules, their three adorable grandchildren wouldn't be there.

That didn't mean she would forgive Hades for stealing Hercules from them though.

Looking down at his daughter, who was staring back at him with her bright green eyes, all thoughts about the future vanished from Hades' mind. All that mattered was this moment right here.

Hades smiled slightly as Mal looked up at him, her bright green eyes shining with love and happiness. Just as they had those sixteen years ago.

Maleficent won't try to steal from a God, he thought as he set Mal down in the crib. Now, I need to figure out how to get word to Persephone. I doubt those two morons set up anything for Mal to eat.

Besides, it would probably be better if Persephone had time to stew over the news Hades had a biological daughter with another woman. She'd have time to calm down and Hades wouldn't have to spend some of his precious limited time with her mad at him.

"I'm calling it now….mom was mad," Mal stated.

"It's almost like you know mom or something Mali," Hadie grinned.

The question was: how?

"You won't call me dear. I'll call you," Persephone said with a small smile.

"That's the end of that scroll," Chip told them. "Who's next?"

"You go ahead Ben," Belle told her son. "I'll read the next one."

"You sure mom?"

"Of course."

Ben grinned and grabbed a scroll that was tied up in a blue ribbon.

Ben smiled as he pulled the ribbon and unfurled his scroll. While he wasn't thrilled to think about a death count on the Isle, it was fascinating to find out how things had been all those years ago.

Hades was on edge. It had been about a week since he had taken Mal and walked out of Maleficent's life. There had been no sign, no whisper, that Maleficent was planning revenge though Hades knew it was coming.

"Of course it's coming. It's Maleficent. Why did you let your guard down, past me?" Hades muttered.

His ex-wife—oh Gods how he hated referring to her by that title even in his head; no one had known they were married or even together—was not one who was known for acting rashly. After all, it took her sixteen years to enact her curse on Aurora.

Aurora sighed softly as Leah stiffened at the reminder of the sixteen lost years she could have had with her daughter.

Hades, on the other hand, was the guy who kidnapped a baby because the little sunspot might have interfered with his plans.

"You didn't just kidnap him. You made it so he could never return home," Zeus growled.

"And what did you do in revenge?" Persephone shot back. "We went to you for help. You denied it. You and Hades are now even."

"Father?" Hercules asked, looking over at the Olympus contingent. "What…what does Aunt Persephone mean by that?"

"I'm sure you'll all find out soon enough," Hades said, his voice stiff as Persephone glared slightly at Zeus. Though one might have thought there was a bit of a smile at being called 'Aunt' Persephone.

"Mal, I hope you inherit your mother's patience," Hades muttered while holding his daughter.

Uma, Harry, and Jay looked over at each other and burst out laughing.

"Mal? Patient?" Harry chuckled.

"That's like saying she's not obsessed with dragons or the color purple," Uma snorted.

"That being said, your mother never did have much in the way of patience, at least when it came to suffering fools. Just slightly more than I do."

"See Ben! How many different ways—?"

"Adoption is a thing," Mal said, her voice flat and her green eyes flashing slightly in rage as she glared at Audrey. "Now drop it."

Mal remained silent and Hades sighed. That was another thing keeping him on edge—Mal rarely cried.

"You didn't cry?" Ben asked, looking over at Mal.

"Why would I?" Mal shrugged. "While the motto of the Isle is 'you cry, you die', a baby doesn't know that. But I probably knew I was safe with my dad."

Hades couldn't help but give Mal a sad smile. I couldn't keep you safe though, he thought.

She'd coo, she'd glare, she'd try and grab his finger if she was particularly annoyed. Almost anything except cry.

"Oh so the opposite of Emir?" Aziz asked with a chuckle.

Emir rolled his eyes but smiled at his brother. "I wasn't that bad."

"You once cried because the sun went behind a cloud." Aziz shook his head.

"Uh, H-Hades?"

" What ?" Hades barked, turning toward his cowering minion with a glare.

"A c-call for you," Panic said, his knees knocking together out of either fear or habit, considering it was hard to be intimidating with a baby in one's arms, and the likelihood of getting hit with anything within arms' reach was low.

"You know that'd be interesting to see how far you could throw something while—."

"No," Mulan stated, looking at Shang.

"I was just saying it was interesting."

"I don't care. Su's the only one with young enough kids that you can reasonably hold and you know Yao would try to throw something while holding them."

"…that's a good point."

"From L-Lady P-Persephone."

"No, really? And I thought it was from Hera," Hades snorted in amusement.

Hades sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Watch Mal. If she cries, do what you need to so that she stops crying. I want no interruptions."

"I'm not even going to place a bet that there was an interruption," Macaria snorted.

Panic nodded frantically, taking Mal from Hades, and Hades made his way to another room before shutting the door. This room was completely empty but housed the most important thing to Hades.

"Feeling the love dad."

Well third most important.

"Oh that's nice!"

"You weren't even born yet Hadie!"

It housed the portal Persephone used to traverse between Auradon and the Isle.

"Oh…well then that is important," Hadie nodded.

"You know, I just had a thought," Persephone said, turning to her husband. "We should probably find someone who can maintain that. If anything happen to it…"

"And normally I'd agree with you Steph but for one thing."

"And what's that?"

"It was created by a God," Hades chuckled. "Say what you want about Olympus but they don't believe in shoddy workmanship."

The only good thing Zeus ever did, Hades thought as he smiled upon seeing his wife.

"Well and defeating Kronos," Poseidon pointed out.

"He only did that because our mother decided not to give him to our father to eat," Hades scoffed.

"Still if he hadn't been able to do that, we'd still be in our father's stomach and your children would not be here today."

Hades glowered but couldn't argue against that point.

Though the portal could be used to go back and forth, it was only ever fully open every six months. Outside of those months, it could only be used to open a looking glass; allowing them to see and hear each other but not fully embrace the other.

"Gods…I don't think I could handle not being able to embrace the person I loved for six months," Emma whispered. "That sounds like pure torture!"

Persephone, though, was the only one who could imitate a call as her powers were not forced into dormancy in Auradon nor were they forced into dormancy when she arrived on the Isle. It was lucky that the barrier was only designed to keep 'evil' magic from working.

"How exactly is magic defined as 'good' or 'evil'? Is it intent? Or was it just decided that everyone on the Isle is evil and therefore shouldn't get their magic?" Melody asked.

"Hades," Persephone smiled upon seeing her husband. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything but I wanted to see you. It's been so long since our last conversation."

"You are never an interruption," Hades told her.

"Aww!" Elle and Emma sighed, smiles gracing the faces of both princesses.

"How is life over in Boreadon? Still perfectly peaceful?"

Persephone shook her head in exasperated amusement at the nickname most of the Isle dwellers had given Auradon.

"Hey, we are not—!"

"Audrey, be honest. Does anything really happen in Auradon? Anything exciting I mean?" Ben asked, looking over at her.

"Ben!"

Mal though couldn't help the small smile that graced her lips. So, sounds like you're looking for an adventure Beastie Jr. Like mother, like son huh?

"Queen Belle has given birth to a healthy baby boy, as did Queen Ella, while Princess Aurora gave birth to a healthy baby girl and Queen Rapunzel has given birth to her fifth healthy baby girl. The royal announcements will be going out next week."

"Honestly, I don't know how Rapunzel did it," Ariel said, shaking her head. "Five kids at that point?"

"It is rather impressive," Mulan nodded.

Belle bit her lip, hiding a sad smile as she thought about the fact that Ben was the only child she had been able to give Adam. She loved her son, and she would always be grateful for him, but she always had a feeling Adam wanted a large family. Lots of kids running around after the ten years of isolation and only having Chip and his siblings to play with.

And he really couldn't do much with them considering they were teacups.

"If they're healthy, then why are they waiting to make the announcement?" Hades asked, not really caring about the royal gossip. With all the villains on the Isle, it would make sense that the birth rate in Auradon would spike. Not much else for the heroes to do.

"Dad, if you didn't care, why did you ask?" Mal asked.

"A man can't make conversation with his wife?"

Leah though bristled at what the text on the scroll seemed to be implying. The royals of Auradon were too refined to just spend their days doing…that.

"Anyone who would be interested in stealing them is on the Isle after all."

"And they should stay there," Leah muttered under her breath.

"Probably just a precaution," Persephone said. "After all, babies are quite susceptible to diseases; having no immune system of their own yet. Either that, or they just want a moment of peace with their children before getting hounded by the press for pictures."

"I can't speak for the other royals, but for me it was definitely the later," Belle said softly. "Of course, it helped that Ben inherited a tiny bit of the Beast enchantment so we could delay dealing with the press for a bit."

"Helped…scared us to death the first time we felt his temperature and found he was running warm so we frantically ran upstairs to put him in an ice bath," Beast said, moving his hands as if weighing the options.

Hades nodded; it would make sense that Persephone would know this as her sister Eileithyia was the goddess of childbirth and midwifery.

Wait, what was that she said about babies and disease? Hades thought, thinking of a specific baby in the other room, and tuning back into the conversation.

"So does that mean you don't listen to me dear?"

"Just agree with whatever she says, Lord Hades. That's what dad does if mom's mad," a young boy with brown hair spoke up.

"Neal!" Snow sighed.

Hades chuckled. "I've been around a time or two so I know what to do when Steph's mad but thanks for the advice."

"Really? Babies don't have their own immune systems?" Hades asked, making a mental note to maim Panic for not telling him this. The little imp had a three year old son, he would have known this. "So, let's say a baby was in an environment where disease was prevalent. How likely would it be that they would get sick?"

"Are they a Godling?"

"Considering I was asking about Mal, yes."

"Then not that likely," Persephone shook her head. "I probably scared you out of your wits with my answer back then, didn't you?"

"Let's just say I was a nervous wreck the day Mal's magic started to come in," Hades sighed.

"Probably very," Persephone said and gave her husband a kind smile. "Are you worried about the others on the Isle? I know many of them have given birth to their own kids this year."

Mal and Uma frowned slightly as they thought about the kids who had been able to leave the Isle. Just not in the way Mal had.

"You saw the updates to the registry?"

"Of course I did Hades!"

"Of course," Persephone nodded. "Eileithyia is the one who updates it after all, or Hera if Eileithyia is assisting with a birth. How does it feel?"

"Pardon?" Hades asked, his heart stopping for a moment. Did Maleficent actually…

"Mom?" Mal asked. "Would it have been better if Maleficent did put me under dad's name on the registry?"

Persephone sighed. "Looking back on it, I'd say no. Yes it was awkward between your father and I for a while but seeing it on the registry without any explanation would have been worse than the way I did find out."

"Being a great-uncle," Persephone elaborated, chuckling a little at the look on her husband's face. "I saw Ursula gave birth."

Ariel gave a sad smile as she watched Mal wrap her arm around Uma's shoulders. While she and her aunt would never truly have a familial relationship, the red haired Queen wished she had the ability to get to know her cousin.

Family was everything to Ariel after all—came with the territory of having six older sisters.

"Oh," Hades said, a little relieved that Persephone hadn't found out about Mal though the registry. Then again, he didn't know why he had thought any differently. Maleficent had named Mal after her, no sign of her God heritage to be seen in her name.

"That's not the case anymore," Mal grinned.

"That's right," Hades nodded. "Malinda Bertha…I still think you should have changed the middle name too."

Mal shook her head. "Half Auradon, half Isle. Just like Hadie and just like me."

Maleficent Bertha…Gods what a horrible name. How much of an ego trip did she have to be on to name Mal after herself?

"…the Bertha part's kinda pretty," Ashaki said, obviously trying to not offend anyone.

"We all know it's horrible," Mal told her. "No need to pretend."

"Hades?"

"Ah, sorry," Hades said upon hearing Persephone's prompting. "Must have gotten lost in thought."

"Over the idea of being a great-uncle?" Persephone chuckled. "Surely you're used to it by now? What with Triton having seven kids and all."

"The feeling of joy never goes away, no matter how many kids your child has," Poseidon said, smiling over at Ariel, Elle, and Melody.

"Well I'm sure I won't have much of a relationship with the little squidling so it doesn't matter," Hades chuckled. "What was Poseidon's reaction to learning he's a grandfather again?"

"Complete and utter joy," Zeus stated. "I don't think he stopped talking about it for a month."

Uma raised an eyebrow. "Even though I'm a VK?"

"Ursula's still my daughter, no matter her choices," Poseidon stated. "What's more, you are not your mother Uma. Even if I was disappointed in her choices, you're still my granddaughter."

"I wouldn't know, I haven't seen your brother in a while," Persephone said. "He's been visiting Atlantica as well as Ariel and Eric's kingdom. They just had a child after all."

Ariel and Eric gave sad smiles at the memory of Poseidon's visit. It had been a few weeks after Elle's birth and her diagnosis of Sirenomelia, not to mention all the surgeries Elle had gone under to get her legs unfused. Her legs had legitimately looked like a mermaid's tail upon her birth. Both Poseidon and Triton had come and, using the divine powers from Olympus, had granted the elder princess the ability to at least swim.

It was both a worry removed from Ariel's mind and something her doctors recommended to build what muscle she could in her legs.

Hades nodded, not really caring about the comings and goings of his brother. Though it would be funny to give him grief about being a great-grandfather if he ever got off this gods forsaken Isle.

"Whenever you want to 'give me grief' go right ahead brother," Poseidon said, giving his grandchildren a proud smile.

"Steph," Hades said, gathering his nerve. "About the registry…I need to tell you something."

"What is it?" Persephone asked, looking at her husband in concern. Hades rarely used her nickname in conversation, preferring to use her full name. Hades took a breath and opened his mouth to speak but before he could say anything, he was interrupted by a baby's wail.

"I thought you didn't cry?" Audrey sniffed.

"I was a baby," Mal rolled her eyes.

"A-Apologizes H-Hades," Panic said as he came in, holding Mal who had deemed that moment the perfect one to let out a rare cry. "I-I tried t-to get her to stop but—"

"Speaking of Panic, and I realize this is completely out of left field but…is he technically my son-in-law?"

"…I just accepted the fact that Vanessa is also my niece, making Virgil my nephew. Don't make me think any harder about that."

"Wait, I have a grandson?" The God of the Ocean asked. He knew that Panic had a son but there was a difference between knowing that fact and knowing that said son was another grandchild.

"We'll catch you up to speed."

"Hades?" Persephone asked as Hades snatched Mal from Panic's arms, causing the little imp to scurry out of the room. "Is that a baby?"

"No, it's a Cerberus," Hades said, rolling his eyes as he gently bounced Mal to try to get her to stop her caterwauling. "Of course it's a baby."

"Okay, thinking back I definitely deserved that snark," Persephone chuckled.

Estelle yipped softly.

"That's right boy, you're the best Cerberus there is," Mal grinned at her dog.

"You stole a baby?!"

"Not exactly new for him," Hera muttered.

"Is it really stealing if she's mine?" Hades asked before his brain could come up with a different response. He seemed to realize exactly what he said too late though as Persephone stiffened.

"That could have probably been said a bit more gently," Kristoff said softly.

"Sometimes you can't help what comes out of your mouth," Anna shook her head. "I once went on a three minute ramble about how Elsa looked 'beautifuler' than me and then tried to explain that she didn't look 'fuller' but that I meant she looked 'more beautiful'."

"Your sister is quite stunning but I don't think it's possible for her to be more beautiful than you."

Akiho grinned as he watched his parents interact, his dad pulling his mom close and gently kissing her forehead.

Even Mal seemed to realize the seriousness of the conversation as her wails quieted down to whimpers.

"Hey, something you're scared of!" Hadie chuckled.

"Storm cloud, you should know that when mom gets mad, you stop what you're doing," Mal shook her head.

"I'm not that bad Mal," Persephone said but she smiled in amusement.

"Agree to disagree mom," Mal said. "I've got two words for you. Mint. Plant."

"You have a child?" Persephone asked, her voice inquisitive yet hard. "One of the street rats from the Isle?

Aladdin sighed slightly as he heard that. No matter how old he got, the phrase 'street rat' would never sit right with him. He may have been born a street rat but it wasn't a title he had chosen for himself.

Did you finally take pity on one of them?"

"No," Hades said, not taking the obviously offered out. But he knew Persephone would find out sooner or later that Mal was biologically his. It would be better if it was sooner. "She's mine. By blood."

"I know I was upset," Persephone said softly. "But at least you had the courage to tell me to my face then rather than wait a month and have me find out upon arrival."

"I would never do that to you," Hades told her, gently kissing the top of her head.

"But it's not listed in the registry that you have a child," Persephone said, as if hopeful she had successfully proven him wrong. "Believe me, that would have been the talk of Olympus. One of the Big Three having a child? Zeus probably would still be talking about it."

"You got that right," Hera muttered. When it was announced that Persephone was pregnant, it was the only thing Olympus would talk about for what felt like eons.

Hades shook his head. "How far did you look on the registry?"

"Not very, Eileithyia only filled me in on what she thought was interesting considering I'll be back on the Isle next month anyway," Persephone told him. "Seeing your name would have been very interesting to her. She spent an hour talking about the fact that Jafar had a son."

"Bit behind the times there," Jay chuckled.

"Yeah mom, Jay's a year older than me," Mal nodded.

"She's listed under her mother's name," Hades said. "Maleficent."

"Say one word and you'll get a fireball," Mal threatened, pointing at Audrey.

Persephone froze, as if the word had struck her. "You had a child with Maleficent ? But she wasn't pregnant when I was on the Isle last."

"If I had a list of things I'd rather not think about, that would probably make the top," Harry muttered.

"Fae pregnancy is shorter than a mortal pregnancy. It only lasted about six months," Hades sighed.

"Really?" Ben asked, interested. "I wonder how that works?"

"You're going to try to read a book on it aren't you?" Emir asked.

"No! Well…I mean…are there books on Fae pregnancy?"

"Ask Jane."

"Believe me, there were no feelings involved."

"I don't think Lady Persephone would care either way," Harry stated.

"I have to go," Persephone said suddenly, her voice hard. "I'll see you in a month."

" Steph…"

"Someone's in the dog house," Phillip Sr. muttered.

Persephone ended the call, leaving Hades staring at the wall where the portal resided. Shaking his head, he looked down at his daughter, who was looking back up at him; mischief clear in her bright green eyes.

"But…she's a baby," Belle said. "Babies can't have mischief in their eyes."

"You did that on purpose didn't you?" Hades asked, with no response but an innocent coo from Mal.

"Right dad," Mal shook her head. "Because I as a baby would be aware enough to purposefully cry and make Panic so desperate that he interrupted your call with mom."

Sighing, Hades couldn't help but chuckle. "So that was your step-mother. Hopefully she'll come around. I know one thing, she'll take her frustration out on me and not you."

"Heh," Jay chuckled. "Mali's got a non-wicked step-mother."

Mal whacked Jay over the head. "I don't have a step mother Jay. I have a mother."

Persephone would never take her anger out on an innocent child. Then again, one would think the heroes of Auradon wouldn't subject children to the same fate as their parents. Children who had not committed their parents' crimes.

"And that's why I want to bring the VKs to Auradon," Ben stated. "We're denying them a chance that the rest of Auradon gets if we continue to isolate them and treat them like their parents."

The sounds of stomachs rumbling filled the room and Hades could have smacked himself. Of course Mal was hungry!

"In my defense I'd only been raising Mal on my own for a week at that point," Hades stated.

"Panic!" Hades bellowed and the little imp came running. While the always nervous minion wasn't the best source of information, he was unfortunately the only other parent Hades had access to and could trust not to betray him.

"Hook?"

"Mama?"

"Jafar?"

"Gaston?"

Hades sighed. "As knowledgable as the Captain is, I'm not fond of his ideas of child rearing. Ursula and I have no relationship as is, Jafar I trust as far as I can throw and never in a million years."

If he went to any one else on the Isle, the risk of them finding out that Mal was his was too great. "What do we have in terms of food for Mal?"

"N-Not m-much, Hades," Panic responded. "I-I think t-the barge came in a-a few days ago t-though. There might be s-some food t-there."

Persephone looked over at Hades. "Oh thank us I only had a month to go. Seriously? The food barge for a baby?"

"Mal had to eat something," Hades shrugged, not noticing the confused yet worried looks some of the royals were giving each other.

"Well then go out there and find some ," Hades growled and Panic ran off, hopefully to follow the command. Mal gigged and Hades had to chuckle.

"Glad I can amuse you dad," Mal shook her head.

"Oh you like that Mali?" He asked, looking down at his daughter, making his voice a little softer as to not scare her. "You like it when I yell at Panic? Come on, let's go see if I can't yell at him some more. Maybe I can yell at Pain as well, would you like that?"

"Dear you would have yelled at Pain and Panic regardless."

"True, but not if I had Mal in my arms," Hades said. The last thing he'd want to do would be to scare his child.

He's changed, Zeus thought but then pushed it aside. It was entirely possible that his older brother was merely acting.

The squeals coming from his daughter brought a smile to Hades' face and he walked out of the room to find his minions, temporarily forgetting about his wife's reaction to Mal.

Hopefully she would come around. Otherwise it would be a long six months when Persephone arrived.

"Mom came around though right?" Hadie asked.

"Would I be calling her mom if she didn't?" Mal asked him.

"Good point, good point."

"Mom, it's your turn," Ben said. Belle smiled and reached over to grab a scroll that was tied up with a red ribbon.

Belle smiled and unfurled her scroll, the red ribbon fluttering to the ground by her feet. A ribbon that was quickly snatched up by a Cerberus who wanted to play.

"Honestly," Mal chuckled.

"It's fine Mal," Belle said with a small smile as she began to read.

It had been a month since his call with Persephone and Hades had not heard a single thing from his wife. Granted, he was sure that she was busy with preparing to relocate to the Isle for six months. But it would have been nice to talk to her.

"I'm sorry dear," Persephone said with a small sigh. She'd been busy trying to purchase everything she thought Mal would need while she was on the Isle. Unfortunately, she'd gotten so wrapped up in her mission, she'd forgotten to check in with Hades.

However, his attention had been diverted about five days before Persephone was due to return. The threat of Maleficent and the worry about his relationship with Persephone were both driven from his mind by the worst possible fear.

"What happened?" Ariel asked, clutching Eric's hand as tightly as she could. No matter what Hades had done, he was still her uncle. Well great-uncle. He was family was the point she was trying to get across. Family was everything…unless that family tried to attack her daughter.

Morgana could continue to freeze for all she cared but Mal hadn't done anything to earn her ill will.

"What do you mean she's sick?" Hades asked, glaring at Panic as he emerged from the lower level of the Underworld.

"What?" Hercules asked, looking over at Mal in concern.

"Eh, I was fine," Mal shrugged. She would never admit it but she was slightly touched by the concern Hercules was showing. Guess family did matter to the big lug after all. "I'm still here aren't I?"

Sure the saying was don't shoot the messenger but Hades was sure that saying didn't apply to worried fathers.

"Or mothers," Mulan nodded. She knew she'd be worried if she woke up one day and found Lonnie or Lil Shang sick.

"S-She's w-warm to the t-touch—"

Hades got up and walked over to Mal, frowning as he touched her forehead. Mal didn't seem bothered by the touch or by the warmth but Hades was. This didn't seem right. Granted, Hades had rarely been among mortal babies. Gods didn't get sick after all.

"That would explain why you didn't panic when Hadie started feeling warm," Persephone said, giving her husband a small smile. She had been so worried that the Isle had done something to her beautiful baby boy…

"Not my first rodeo dear," Hades chuckled.

Oh gods, what was that saying Apollo used to say whenever he was blathering on about something medicinal? Hades thought as he paced back and forth around his lair. Sweat a fever?

"Panic!"

"Y-Yes?"

"You actually listened to Apollo?" Zeus asked.

"Yes, contrary to popular belief I don't tune you lot out when you start talking," Hades shook his head.

Hades glared at the stuttering demon. He hated to do this but he had no choice; if he couldn't remember Apollo's advice, Hades knew he might make whatever Mal had worse and not better.

"It's 'feed a cold, starve a fever'," Belle said with a small sigh. "Mrs. Potts used to say that all the time when Ben was growing up."

"I need you to go and get Yen Sid. Don't tell him why, only that I need him."

"Yes sir!" Panic said, not stuttering for the first time that conversation and ran off. Hades sighed and shook his head. What had his life become that he was reliant on Panic for help?

"Well Virgil was a toddler and I was only a baby, so were Uma, Jay, and Harry. Oh and Hadie hadn't even been born yet! Dad, I think you've been hanging around Gaston too much. It's melting your brain."

"You know you shouldn't insult people who are bigger than you," Jay told her.

"Then I'd never get to insult anyone," Mal shrugged. "Sides, Dad knows I'm joking…right dad?"

"Of course Mal," Hades chuckled.

At least the wizard would be intelligent enough not to blab the fact that Mal was Hades' all over the Isle. The lone non-villain understood secrecy better than most of them.

I'll have to keep in contact with him. He's been supposedly helping other kids born to magical parents deal with being unable to use their magic. If any one would need assistance with that, it'll be the daughter of a God and Maleficent, Hades thought as he began to walk around his lair, bouncing Mal in his arms as a way to keep himself calm. Mal, meanwhile, was as cool as a cucumber; babbling away. It was probably just a bug after all. There wasn't a month that went by on the Isle where some snot nose rat wasn't sick.

Leah sniffed in disgust. You would never catch her Audrey near any of them.

"Those poor kids," Aurora said, her voice a near whisper.

But Persephone's words kept echoing in his head, like an ominous warning. Babies don't have their own immune systems.

"Pain!" Hades bellowed, needing to keep his thoughts in order before he began thinking about other parts of that conversation .

"I'm so sorry," Persephone said as she rested her head on Hades' shoulder, her two kids smiling at the interaction between their parents.

"It's in the past," Hades told her, lightly kissing her head.

"Coming, your most lugubriousness!" His purple minion called as he ran in. Hades couldn't help but smirk at the title, it was nice to be respected by someone.

"Hey! I respected you dad!"

"You were a baby Mali. I was probably referring to the idiots we lived with."

"Virgil wasn't that idiotic…"

Hades just shook his head.

"What medical supplies came in the latest shipment from Auradon?" Hades asked, turning to Pain. He didn't want to risk confusing him by using the nickname, even if he hated giving that place any kind of respect by using its proper name.

"You could have said across the bridge," Harry pointed out.

"But…the Isle is a part of Auradon," Ben said looking around at everyone in confusion. "Everyone always says the Isle is one of the nineteen points of Auradon. Why are we acting like it's a separate entity?"

"Because it is Bennyboo," Audrey said. "If it wasn't, why would there be a barrier?"

"Bennyboo?" Mal snorted in amusement. "I think I like 'Benji' better."

"There weren't any," Pain said. "At least, not any that were useable and the ones that were were swiped up by anyone who was able."

"Wouldn't the hospital have it?" Emma asked.

Uma and Mal looked at each other and then burst out laughing.

"What's a hospital?" Evie asked her…I guess it would be step-niece who just looked on in shock.

"You…you don't know what a hospital is?" Elle asked, her voice soft.

"We don't have one on the Isle," Mal shrugged.

"Adam, didn't we start the paperwork to set up a hospital?" Belle whispered.

"The day we started that paperwork was the day you…the day we lost Abigail," Adam whispered back. "It may have slipped my mind."

"What?!"

"I might have been mistaken!" Pain rushed to amend his statement. "I'll go check right now!"

"You do that!" Hades growled and his remaining minion rushed out of the lair, leaving only Hades and Mal, the later of whom broke the silence by giggling.

"You just love watching Pain and Panic scurry off in fear don't you Mali?" Hadie teased.

"You did the same thing storm cloud," Mal smirked.

"You're going to get tired of me yelling at them at some point you know?" Hades asked but only got a bit of mindless babble in response. "How are you so happy? Being hot to the touch like that would cause any other baby to scream their head off, that I'm sure of."

Adam sighed. Ben had done that, when the remnants of the Beast enchantment he had inherited started to come in when he was two. Gods the fever…they had panicked for days until Fairy Godmother examined him. It was her who suggested it could have been part of the Beast enchantment. And thankfully she was right.

There was no response from Mal, not that Hades expected one. She was barely a month old. Even Wonderbreath wasn't talking at that age.

"Wonderbreath? Really?" Meg asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Hades?" Panic called and Hades looked up from Mal to see the green annoyance and Yen Sid standing in the middle of his lair.

"Hey, Panic's not that bad Uncle Hades!" Uma said.

"That's because you don't have him constantly underfoot Uma," Hades said, shaking his head.

"You arrived faster than I thought," Hades said, inwardly impressed with Panic but making sure it did not show on his face.

"You have a good assistant," Yen Sid told him. "Would not take no for an answer even when he refused to say who was asking for me, though now I'm to assume it's you."

"No, really?" Ashaki chuckled. "I mean, it could be the other God holding the baby in the room."

"Which one of you taught her sarcasm?" Aladdin asked his two sons.

"Akiho," Emir smirked.

"I regret nothing!" The blond said with a grin.

"That's because you have no siblings to teach to be sarcastic."

"Well yeah! I'd have taught Ben but Chip beat me to it!"

"You'd be correct," Hades nodded and Panic ran out of the room. Presumably to help Pain but Hades found it was better if he didn't think about what they were doing. He'd be less likely to become enraged at them. Even if it did make Mal happy.

"Every father would do anything in their power to make their little girl happy," the man sitting next to Snow White nodded.

"Oh David," Snow smiled and kissed her husband's cheek.

"How can I help you today Lord Hades?" Yen Sid asked and Hades sighed before holding Mal up to him.

To everyone's surprise, Chip burst out laughing.

"I'm sorry!" The former teacup said, trying to control himself. "I'm just…picturing Yen Sid's face as Lord Hades holds up a baby with no explanation…."

"Should we worry about him?" Harry muttered to Jay.

"Eh. He's got a point."

"Her temperature just started going up earlier today," Hades explained as Yen Sid looked at him quizzically. "She wasn't fussing so I—"

"A parent's natural inclination is to be worried," Yen Sid told him, feeling Mal's forehead himself. "Hmm, I do agree. She is quite warm. I'm assuming she's yours?"

"But didn't he say that it was a parent's natural inclination to be worried?" Aladdin asked, Chip's laughter finally settling down. "Why would he ask if Mal was Lord Hades if he assumed that Lord Hades was a parent?"

"You. I like you," Hades nodded. Never mind the fact that he and Wonderbreath had worked together to defeat him and Jafar. The street rat was asking the right questions.

"And dad just went on an hour long rant and he doesn't know why," Jay shook his head.

"You steal one kid and all of a sudden people assume you're kidnapping babies left and right," Hades grumbled before clearing his throat. "Yes, she's mine."

"And proud of it!" Mal grinned.

"Same!" Hadie nodded his head.

"Are high temperatures normal for gods in infancy?"

Hades paused. That was a good question. "I don't rightly know. My father Kronos ate me when I was born along with most of my siblings, my brother Zeus being the only one of us to avoid that fate. Obviously I wasn't around when he was an infant."

"Gods and I thought the Dragon was bad," Mal muttered.

"But you did meet his son," Yen Sid pointed out and Hades had to bite back a growl at the reminder of his nephew. "Was he warmer than a mortal baby would have been?"

"You know, I didn't really notice," Hades said, his face darkening at the memory. "I was a bit more preoccupied with the finger the little brat had just crushed."

"So that's where Herkie gets it from!" Hyllus grinned.

Yen Sid nodded as he continued to feel Mal's forehead and neck. "Lord Hades, forgive the intrusion but is it safe to say Lady Persephone is not this babe's mother, considering she appears to be but a month old and Lady Persephone is still in her six months off Isle?"

"Way to open that can of worms Yen Sid," Neal muttered.

Hades glared at the wizard for a minute before stiffly nodding his head once, not wanting to think about the conversation he'd had with Persephone again.

"In order to be certain in my hypothesis, I'll need to know the identity of the mother," Yen Sid said. "You'll have my word that it'll stay between you and me."

Hades snorted, a person's word meant next to nothing on the Isle. However, Yen Sid was the only non-villain on the Isle; a 'gift' bestowed onto them by King Beastie.

"Can we exchange that gift for something that's actually useful?" Harry asked.

"Yen Sid's useful," Uma and Mal said.

"Yeah if you've got magic. For those of us without…"

"Oh yeah. Good point."

Yen Sid was good to his word, mainly because he rarely spoke to someone unless it was in the classroom or in a one on one setting.

"Maleficent," Hades said shortly and Yen Sid nodded.

"You know, I think he was the only one on the Isle who knew and he kept his trap shut," Mal noted.

"Why didn't we go to him when Mal got kidnapped?" Persephone whispered to Hades. "If he knew?"

"We were worried parents and didn't think about that," Hades whispered back.

"Then, and I can not be certain of this so I would recommend that you watch her for a few days, but it would appear that this is not due to a fever."

Hades stared at the wizard in slight confusion. "She's blazing hot. How could that be related to anything but an illness?"

Yen Sid straightened up and looked at him. "Think it over. The answer may appear obvious once you do."

"We can do without the vagueness," Phillip Sr. muttered and Aurora looked over at him. "What? I may not care much for Maleficent but it's clear that Mal is not Maleficent's. Even if she was, I wouldn't wish a child to be ill or in pain just because I wasn't fond of their mother."

"How did I marry such a prince?" Aurora asked, kissing his cheek.

"We were betrothed and just lucked out that we're also True Love," Phillip chuckled.

"You know I could do without the vagueness," Hades told him but paused for a second. "This temperature, it couldn't be related to her magic. She's a month old."

"She's part Fae," Yen Sid stated. "Unless you feel comfortable asking Maleficent about her infancy, we must go off of what we know. As well, it's safe to assume that Gods come into their powers early in life, going off of the comment you made about your finger. Until more symptoms arrive, it is safe to assume that your daughter is not suffering from any illness. At least if she is, it is not one I'm familiar with."

"You know, it'd be nice if Fairy Godmother was here. She'd be able to answer any questions we had about the Fae."

"You just want to ask her if there's any books you can read about the Fae don't you Benji?"

Ben flushed as Chip chuckled.

Hades wanted to explode with rage; this was the best the wizard could come up with? Yet it was no use. Yen Sid had a point; Mal had no other symptoms that could be attributed to any illness.

There would be nothing he could do but wait.

"Yen Sid," Hades said and the wizard turned to face him. "I'll contact you if anything changes."

Yen Sid nodded. "I wouldn't expect anything else."

With that, the wizard turned on his heel and left; leaving only Hades and Mal standing in the room.

"You're going to keep me on my toes, aren't you?" Hades asked, rocking Mal a little. Shaking his head, Hades began moving to the guest room. "Come on, let's make up the bed here. Something tells me your dad's still in the Cerberus house with your step mom."

"You still keep me on my toes Mali," Hades told her.

"Hey, at least I'm not boring," Mal grinned.

The five days seemed to go by faster than Hades expected and before he knew it, the day of Persephone's arrival had come. Not that Hades realized it of course. In fact, he missed his wife's arrival completely.

"Were…were you alright Uncle Hades?" Macaria asked, startling Hades. It was clear to her that her uncle cared for her aunt. Even loved her. A fight wouldn't have prevented him from greeting Persephone. But being depowered on an Isle full of villains…

"I was fine," Hades said after a minute and Macaria smiled. Mal and Uma looked at each other with raised eyebrows, more than a little taken aback by that.

"Hades?" Persephone called as she stepped through the portal; her arms ladened with bags despite the fact that she kept six months worth of stuff on the Isle at all times. While she was still upset with her husband, the brief glimpse she had of Mal had warmed her heart; and she wasn't as mad as she had been when she ended the call with Hades. It wasn't as if he was living with Maleficent.

"Never put that image in my head again!" Hades exclaimed. "Ugh!"

"At least you just have to picture it! Imagine actually doing it!" Mal shot back.

"You poor thing."

Ben frowned. Though to others it would seem like the father and daughter were just joking around, Lord Hades seemed completely serious to him.

But more importantly she was not going to let an innocent baby suffer for the actions of her father.

"Oh look, someone who knows children aren't their parents!" Hades exclaimed, giving a look to Belle and Beast.

"Lady Persephone!" Pain exclaimed as he walked past the portal room.

"Hello Pain," Persephone said, giving the little imp a kind smile. "Have you seen Hades? He's normally here when I arrive."

I hope he isn't avoiding me, she thought with an inward frown. Isn't it supposed to be me giving him the cold shoulder? Though I guess I already did that with a month of not calling him.

"How often do you go between calls Aunt Steph?" Uma asked.

"I think the longest was a week," Persephone said with a small smile. "And that was because of a week long council of the Gods."

"If that'd gone any longer, I've no doubt Demeter would have killed one of us," Poseidon nodded. "Most likely Zeus."

"He's in the den," Pain said, pointing in that direction. Persephone nodded and thanked Pain, before going to greet Hades. The sight she saw had to be the most adorable one she thought possible.

Estelle yipped as he wagged his tail, as if wanting to know what the image was that Persephone had seen.

"Hold your Pegasuses boy," Mal chuckled.

Her husband, the big scary lord of the underworld, was lying on their battered sofa fast asleep; Mal sleeping on his chest.

"Oh how cute!" Snow White said, her voice almost a squeal as Mal's cheeks turned a pale red. She didn't do cute.

"I hope there's a photo," Ariel sighed. Moments like that were so fleeting, they should be preserved…there was at least two albums of pictures of Eric napping with one of the girls on his chest.

Setting her bags down as quietly as she could, Persephone fished a camera out of her pocket and snapped a quick picture. She knew, at one point, they were going to want to have that.

"I love looking at that photo," Hadie grinned.

The flash from the camera, though, seemed to wake Hades as he groaned a little and opened his eyes. "Steph?" He asked, blinking the sleep away.

"Hello dear," she said, leaning down to give him a kiss on the cheek. He looked so adorable, with his sleep tossed hair and his eyes still blinking away the sleep, that she couldn't resist.

"Uh huh," Hades smirked.

"Oh don't give me that look," Persephone chuckled. "You know I love you no matter what."

"I'm sorry, can we go back to the Lord of the Underworld being called adorable?" Emir asked. That wasn't normally a word one would use to describe Hades after all.

"My dad can be adorable!" Hadie exclaimed.

"Thank you Hadie," Hades muttered, glaring at his younger brothers who were chuckling.

"I'm home."

Hades grinned. No matter how long it had been since the deal was struck, he still loved hearing his wife say those words.

"Are you still—"

"Shh," Persephone said, resting a finger to Hades' lips. She was still upset, of course she was. But she didn't want to have that conversation around Mal while she was sleeping. As the saying went, you never wake a sleeping dragon. Or baby.

All the mothers in the room nodded at that. No matter how many little tidbits of parenting advice they got, there was one that remained consistent: never wake a sleeping baby.

Though in this case, I guess it would be a baby dragon, Persephone thought before she could stop it and mentally shook her head to clear her thoughts. The little baby on her husband's chest didn't deserve it.

Mal gave her mother a small smile, a smile that Persephone readily returned.

Brushing her hand over the light waifs of purple hair that were starting to grow in, Persephone frowned as she felt Mal's forehead.

"Hades, she's—"

"You're a bit late to the party," Hades said, covering a yawn with his mouth. "Yen Sid believes it's her magic, not an illness."

"You spoke to Yen Sid?" Persephone asked, slightly taken aback.

"She was hot to the touch, Steph. What was I going to do?" Hades told her. "I mean, I would have talked to you but there was that whole month without contact you were doing."

Persephone nodded, not wanting to comment lest she raise her voice and therefore wake Mal. "Should she be put down for a nap?"

"I'm pretty sure Lord Hades already did that!" Melody said with a small giggle.

"I thought I did," Hades chuckled and carefully got up off the sofa. Thankfully the shifting didn't wake Mal and Hades was able to carry her to her room without much trouble. Setting her down in her crib, Hades closed the door.

"You're to get me immediately if she wakes," he growled to Panic, who nodded. Persephone was impressed that Panic had seemed to know he was needed.

"Considering what they were like before, I don't blame you for being impressed," Meg told Persephone.

The two of them walked back to the den, where Persephone had left her bags.

"Steph, what is all this?" Hades asked as he unpacked them.

"Formula, diapers, toys, medicine if it's ever needed," Persephone told him. "A few onesies I thought were cute but had to get multiple sizes in case they were too big or too small for Mal."

Hades looked over at his wife in shock.

"That does explain the rumor I heard that Lady Persephone was with child," Aurora nodded.

"Oh you heard it too?" Jasmine asked.

"I heard the same thing!" Ariel exclaimed.

Mulan sighed. "And this is why I'm happy to hang out with Yao, Ling and Chen-Po," she muttered to Shang. "Honestly. Why can't the Goddess live her life?"

"Well probably because there're no enemies to fight and we're pretty much all past the age to produce children," her husband muttered back.

"What?" Persephone asked.

"Nothing," Hades told her, going back to unloading the bags.

"Smart move, very smart move," Kristoff muttered.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Anna asked as she raised an eyebrow.

"Nothing!"

"You honestly thought I would take my anger toward you out on Mal?" Persephone asked, aghast. "Hades—"

"You turned Minthe into a mint plant because I liked her," Hades said. "Excuse me if I was unsure how you'd react toward the child I had with another woman."

"The child would have been fine, especially since Mali was and still is so amazing," Persephone stated. "Maleficent dies though."

"Can we watch?" Mal and Uma asked.

"Can we sell tickets?" Chip, Emir, and Akiho chimed in.

Persephone sighed. There wasn't much she could say to that. "Minthe thought herself to be superior to me," Persephone said. "An ego that large needed to be checked. Mal, though, did not ask to be born. She is innocent in all of this."

Adam frowned. It was strange but seeing a day of the life of someone on the Isle, a child no less…it brought back the arguments that Belle used to make when the Isle was first founded. How children shouldn't be punished for the crimes of their parents.

And yet…he had been but a child when the Enchantress cursed him.

"Does this mean—?"

"You're still in the Cerberus house," Persephone told him but gave him a small smile. "But I am looking forward to spending time with Mal."

"Somehow the Underworld survived," Uma chuckled.

"Hopefully the Underworld is still standing with the two of you in league with each other," Hades chuckled. Things were starting to look up a bit.

"Well that's good," Belle said with a small smile. She wasn't going to mention the fact that in literature, whenever someone said things were starting to look up…

"Can I read next?" Lonnie asked.

"I don't see why not," Ben grinned. Lonnie grinned back and reached over to grab another scroll, this one tied with a gold ribbon.

Lonnie grinned as she unfurled the scroll and leaned back in her chair. "Alright, let's get down to business."

The next couple of months flew by and before Hades knew it, he and Persephone had fallen into a routine of parenthood. While things were still a little chilly between the adults in that Hades was sleeping in the guest room, Persephone had taken a shine to Mal.

"Of course I did," Persephone smiled. "How could I not?"

Because she's a villain! Leah thought with an inward sniff.

It was rare that the Goddess of Vegetation was without Mal in her arms; the only time she forwent holding Mal was when Persephone would take a walk around the Isle. It wasn't because she wanted to leave the baby behind, but it was too big of a risk.

"Because of Maleficent," all the VKs nodded causing Leah and Audrey to scowl in displeasure.

Everyone knew she lived with Hades. By now, everyone on the Isle would have at least heard of Hades grabbing Maleficent's child.

While most of the citizens of the Isle were moronic, there were a select few who had more than two brain cells to rub together. There was nothing more dangerous than an aggravated Maleficent and if she saw Persephone walking around with Mal, it would not be a pleasant result.

"For her," Macaria said with a small smile. "Aunt Persephone would still have access to her her powers since the barrier only blocks evil magic!"

"You know I like her," Mal muttered to Uma with a small nod.

"Me too. She may be Wonderbreath's but she clearly has a brain. Must come from her mom," Uma muttered back.

That didn't mean anything inside Hades' lair. When they were inside, it was as if the Isle didn't exist.

"Hi Mali," Persephone cooed as she carried the young demi-Goddess around, the purple haired Fae squealing in delight.

"You squealed?" Uma asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Babies squeal," Mal rolled her eyes. "Celia squealed when she was a baby after all, and so did Hadie."

"Aww! You're so happy! Yes you are! Who's the prettiest girl in the Underworld?"

"Hmm, think you're tied with her there Steph," Hades said, kissing his wife's cheek.

"And I think you might be biased dear," Persephone told him but smiled at her husband.

Hades walked up and couldn't help but smile at the sight. His wife had never looked better, with her long brown hair tied up in a messy bun, her body clad in a sweatshirt and sweatpants that Mal had spit up on about five times since Persephone got to the Isle, and just walking Mal around the den; his daughter's thick purple hair messy from sleep.

"I'm pretty sure a Goddess could make any look work," Ashaki stated.

Aladdin shook his head as he stared lovingly at his wife. "Not true Ash. When you're a parent, you'll understand that there is truly no better sight than seeing your spouse holding your child."

Hades leaned against the doorframe and took in the sight.

"After six months, I missed having her around the Underworld," Hades said, pulling Persephone close to him.

"Enjoying the view?" Persephone asked as she caught sight of him and giving him a small smile.

"I was," Hades nodded, returning the smile. "What are you two ladies up to?"

"They're just walking around," Audrey muttered.

"Sometimes that's all a baby wants," Phillip Sr. told her. "To be held and know they're loved by their parents. You used to love it when I'd walk with you around my office."

"Mali's up from her nap and wanted to see the den," Persephone told him. "I was going to grab one of the toys I brought for her from Auradon but my hands were full with Mal."

"I'll get it," Hades told her, still leaning on the doorframe and making no indication that he was actually going to grab the toy.

"Hades," Persephone chuckled and shook her head.

"Hey, I had the best view in the Underworld right in front of me. Why would I give that up?" Hades asked her.

"Which one were you thinking of grabbing?"

Persephone gave him a small smile. Ever since she'd returned from Auradon, Hades had been at her beck and call when he wasn't working down in the Underworld; as if trying to prove to her that she was the only woman who had his heart. Even if Persephone knew that wasn't true.

"Excuse me? It most certainly was!"

Every father's heart one hundred percent belonged to one woman: their daughter

"Oh…you may have a point there."

"Lady Persephone's right about that," David nodded, wrapping Emma up in his arms as Aladdin did the same with Ashaki, Phillip did with Audrey and Shang with Lonnie. No one noticed Beast's sad smile as he looked at the fathers embracing their daughters. Knowing he would never get the chance to do the same.

— and Persephone was completely fine with that as Mal had stolen her heart as well.

"I'm a VK. I steal everything," Mal smirked.

"Though you still needed me and later Estelle to steal a chicken," Jay chuckled as the Cerberus perked up at hearing his name.

"Those things are demonic! They don't stay still long enough for us to grab!"

"Steph?" Hades asked, his voice breaking into her thoughts. "Can't really get the toy if I don't know which one you're looking for."

"Oh sorry," Persephone said, shaking her head to clear it. "It's a small half dome type thing with items that dangle down so Mal can bat at them while lying on her back. I still need to set the thing up though."

"Oh! Audrey and Phillip loved playing with that when they were babies!" Aurora exclaimed, grinning from ear to ear as she thought about her children.

"Emma and Neal did as well," Snow nodded with a small clap of her hands.

"So safe to say Mal'll probably not enjoy playing with it?" Melody asked and Hadie chuckled.

Hades nodded and chuckled. "Look behind the sofa, dear."

"How'd you know that was the one mom was going to ask for?" Mal asked.

"Lucky guess," Hades shrugged. "Your mother brought so many toys I figured it'd be one of them."

Persephone frowned and took a peek only to find the item she'd described already put together.

"I found the box in the guest room the other day, half kicked under the bed. Thought it had fallen out of one of the bags you brought," Hades said when Persephone looked over at him in shock. "You'd fallen asleep so I thought it'd be a good idea to put it together. Just in case."

"Trying to get back in her good books brother?" Poseidon asked with a small chuckle.

"One could say that, yes," Hades nodded and Persephone gave him a loving smile.

"That's so sweet," Persephone told him as Hades walked into the room. "Don't worry I won't tell anyone. I know you've got a reputation to protect."

"Who would believe you?" Hades chuckled, kissing the top of Persephone's head.

"We would!" Harry, Mal, Jay, Uma, and Hadie said in unison, Mal and Hadie grinning from ear to ear.

Hades shook his head and chuckled. "No one would believe you if you said anything anyway. But thank you."

"Here you go Mali," Persephone cooed as she shifted Mal so that she was holding her with one arm and grabbed the toy from behind the sofa. "Hades, could you—"

Her husband had already known what she was going to ask as he had laid out a blanket Persephone had purchased a couple of years ago. It was getting a little run down but it still would serve its purpose.

"I think Rapunzel had made that," Ariel said with a smile.

'Oh yes!" Persephone nodded. "I had talked to her about not finding a blanket I liked to brighten up the Underworld and not two months later she gave it to me."

"You said you purchased it from an unknown shop," Hades said, raising an eyebrow.

"Would you have even let it past the threshold if you knew it'd come from an Auradon royal dear?"

"Umm…"

"That's what I thought."

"You know, I could get used to this," Persephone told him, a small smirk forming on her face. "This mind reading thing you have going on."

"Don't you already have a mind reading thing?" Elle asked.

"Yeah, everyone of Olympian descent has access to the mind link," Macaria nodded.

"It's come in handy," Mal smirked.

"You've asked for this blanket at least three times today already," Hades said, a little smirk pulling at his lips as he watched from his spot behind the sofa. "I thought I'd save the trouble and assume this was what you were asking for."

"Whatever happened to that blanket?" Mal asked. She didn't remember seeing it around the Underworld recently.

"A certain pirate laid claim to it," Hadie spoke up, chuckling as Harry shrugged.

"It's still in the Underworld, just in my room."

Persephone chuckled and gave her husband a kiss on the cheek. "Thank you," she said as she laid Mal down under the top of the dome. Her step-daughter seemed to be confused as to the purpose of it as she just laid under it.

"Called it," Melody giggled.

"I think Mal doesn't want to play," Hades chuckled and walked over to them.

"Maybe if we move one of the dangly bits?" Persephone asked, moving the closest one to try to attract Mal's attention. "I don't understand, all the new parents in Auradon love this. Maybe it's not set up right?"

"Really?!" Hades exclaimed with a chuckle as he looked at his wife. "I made sure that thing was set up as the inane instructions said to. Do you know how hard it is to set up something with no words?"

"Sorry dear," Persephone said with a small smile pulling at her lips. "I just…everyone was gushing over how their kids loved it. I guess my Auradon side was at play there rather than my Isle side."

"Well, Mal's not an Auradon baby," Hades said, scooping up his daughter who began squealing with delight as Hades started to bounce her, the hood of her dragon onesie flopping off her head from where it had landed when she was on her back.

"Are there pictures?" Lonnie asked, looking up from the scroll with a grin.

"Yes and you'll never see them," Mal said, crossing her arms. People reading about moments when she was a baby were one thing, baby pictures were another thing all together. Boreadon didn't want to give them real food, they didn't get to see the photos.

Lonnie shrugged. "I just wanted to see the onesie. Mom gave me one when I was a baby only it was red. I wanted to see if it matched. "

"Mushu insisted on it," Mulan chuckled.

Hades honestly didn't know where Persephone managed to get a purple dragon onesie in Auradon, or how she managed to avoid anyone asking questions about it since she hadn't mentioned anyone being curious about the purchase, but he had to admit that Mal was extremely adorable wearing it.

"To answer your question Lonnie, I doubt Mal's would have matched your onesie because I made that for Mal," Persephone stated.

"Like you made my jacket?" Mal asked, clutching her jacket to her as if to indicate what she was talking about.

"Exactly," Persephone nodded. "Everyone on the Isle knew you as Maleficent's child so I figured it'd be safer to stick with her colors at that point."

"Right now, she gets her entertainment from me yelling at Pain or Panic."

"You can't do that all the time. You do have an Underworld to run."

"Unfortunately," Hades muttered, thinking of all the children who were residence there because of the food Auradon decided to graciously give them.

"Yeah, well, Pain and Panic aren't totally moronic," Hades said. "They may have failed with Wonderbreath but they have been actually very good with Mal."

"Wonderbreath?" Meg asked, raising an eyebrow as she looked over at Hades.

"Didn't you used to call him 'Wonderboy' nut-Meg?" Hades asked.

"Maybe because they're afraid of you?" Persephone ventured, not showing any reaction to Hades' nickname for Hercules. It was clear that there was no love lost between the uncle and nephew. "It would be a good idea not to call him that around Mal."

"Why?" Hades scoffed. "It's not as if she'd ever meet him."

"I obviously stand corrected."

"Still, she is his cousin," Persephone said. "If Mal ever gets off the Isle, Hercules would be a good ally for her to have, especially if it's during the six months I'm on Isle."

Hades shook his head; his wife was an amazing woman but she seemed to only see the positives in life. Maybe it came from only having to spend half a year on the Isle instead of the rest of her life.

"You really think King Beastie will allow the kids off the Isle? He probably thinks the kids deserve to be here," Hades said and Persephone shook her head.

"You know, I was right," Hades stated. "It wasn't King Beastie who invited Mal and the others off the Isle. It was his son."

Beast frowned. Knowing what I know now…children don't deserve to live in that kind of environment, he thought.

They'd had this conversation multiple times throughout the four years the Isle had been created.

"How was your walk today?" Hades asked, obviously changing the subject but Persephone didn't mind. Better than dredging up an old conversation that would only end up with them fighting.

"We only have so much time together. Why waste it fighting?" Hades said as everyone glanced at him.

"As pleasant as always," Persephone told him. "No one really bothers me on the walks. Probably helps that my powers aren't suppressed by the barrier so they know I'm not defenseless."

"Plus you've been here for the life of the Isle," Hades pointed out. "By this point, even the most moronic henchmen knows you're associated with me."

Persephone chuckled. "Oh, associated am I? Is that all I am to you?"

"I'm guessing that was the wrong word to use," Kristoff chuckled.

"Oh I'm sorry," Hades said with a small smirk. "I should have said beloved, shouldn't I?"

"Good change," Aladdin nodded.

Hades rolled his eyes. "Why thank you."

"Much better," Persephone said and got up to give Hades a kiss. At least she would have if Mal hadn't moved her head so that it was between Persephone's lips and Hades'.

"Oh we have got to work on your timing, young lady," Hades shook his head in amusement.

"She just wants to be the only girl in her dad's life," Persephone told him with a kind smile on her face as she ran her fingers through Mal's hair. "Either that, or she's annoyed that you stopped bouncing her. She seemed to really like that."

"My money's on the later," Jay nodded and Mal whacked him on the arm.

"Well Mali, it's time for lunch," Hades said as they walked into the kitchen. "Steph, that formula you brought has been a lifesaver."

"Literally," Uma muttered but not as quietly as she thought as Akiho glanced over at her.

"I brought some extra from Auradon as well," Persephone said, sitting down by the counter in the kitchen as Hades set Mal up with a bottle. "I know how scarce food is here and the last thing I want is for a baby to suffer because of it."

"Are you thinking of—"

"Yes Hades," Persephone nodded. "I won't give it to Maleficent or any of her allies, but I will make it available among the Isle. If need be, I'll give it to Jafar and he can sell it."

"Dad would make a killing on that," Jay nodded. "He could price gouge it, claim supply and demand."

"Especially since there weren't a lot of babies on the Isle at the time," Mal nodded.

"That's not a bad idea," Hades said. "Except people will wonder where Jafar got it. Last thing we would want is for it to be linked back to you. They'll wonder why you're buying formula."

Persephone sighed. "I know. If you want, I can just keep it here and you can decide what to do with it. I know the amount I brought for Mal should last around a year so you shouldn't run out when I have to go back to Auradon."

"How'd you get past the whole salt water thing?" Carlos asked, speaking up.

"What do you mean?" Emir asked, looking at him.

Jay, though, seemed to know what the younger boy was asking. "Lord Hades has a water flirtation system in his restaurant."

"But…his restaurant isn't a thing here. Otherwise they'd have mentioned it."

"The pup's got a point," Harry nodded and Carlos flinched at being compared to a dog of all things.

Ben, Akiho, and Emir glanced at each other. Why would there be a need for a water filtration system? Surely…surely there was fresh water on the Isle right?

"That should be more than enough," Hades said. "Didn't that baby book you read say Mal should be on more solid foods by then?"

"Every baby's different Hades," Persephone reminded him. "Remember that book was talking about mortal babies. I don't think there's a baby book that would tell you the milestones of a half Fae, half god baby."

"If there is one, I bet Ben could find it!" Emir stated, trying to lift the mood after the bombshell brought on earlier.

Ben chuckled but it was slightly forced.

Hades snorted in amusement as he fished out a napkin to wipe off Mal's mouth as she had spit up some of the formula. "If I was so inclined, I could talk to Maleficent about her life growing up to see when the Fae hit certain milestones. But I'm not inclined to do that. In fact I'm more inclined to stay on my end of the Isle than talk to Maleficent."

"I'm more inclined to eat sand than talk to the Dragon."

"I'm more inclined to kiss Freddy than talk to the Dragon."

"Ooh good one Mal."

"I thank you Jay!"

"You know he'll never get near you though right?"

"Considering he's on the Isle and we're in Boreadon? I should hope not."

"That does seem to be the safer option," Persephone nodded as Mal babbled happily in the background. "I'll include some solid baby food my next six months. Just to be on the safe side."

Persephone sighed. She wished the Fates could have brought them to read before Mal had gotten captured by Maleficent. Before she missed out on five years of her daughter's life.

"Oh and some more of those crackers that are shaped like animals? I know Mal can't eat them yet but Pain and Panic love them. They're good rewards for when they haven't completely messed something up."

"You reward Pain and Panic with animal crackers?" Hadie asked, looking at his father.

"Whatever works," Hades shrugged.

"I'll add them to the list," Persephone said with a chuckle. "Besides, the next time I'm here, Mal might actually be old enough to eat them."

The smile faltered from her face as she realized how much of Mal's life she would actually miss being off the Isle for six months. She knew it was the arrangement she and Hades had but now that there was a child involved, it didn't seem fair.

"Since when is anything about our lives fair?" Harry muttered.

"Steph?" Hades asked, noticing the frown and how quiet his wife had gotten. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah," Persephone nodded. "I was just thinking about how much of Mal's life I'll be missing when I'm off the Isle."

Hades nodded and picked Mal up from the counter. "Well I know it won't be the same but she'll be on every call you make unless she's napping. Plus it's the Isle, not much ever changes around here."

"The only time something changes is when something bad happens," Harry nodded. The last time something changed, the runt was born and my mom died after all.

"Not true," Uma shook her head.

"Yeah Harry, would you say Hadie wasn't a good thing?" Mal asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Of course I wouldn't Mali," Harry said quickly.

"I know," Persephone sighed. "But she's going to be growing up and I'll miss a bunch of it being in Auradon. It's not fair to her."

Hades chuckled softly. "She's a child of the Isle of the Lost. When has life ever been fair to them?"

"See?! Even Lord Hades agrees with me!'

"No one disagreed on the life not being fair part," Uma said, chuckling a little at her First Mate.

Persephone frowned but she couldn't deny her husband had a point. However, before she could say anything, a smell hit her nose and she had to shake her head. "Dear? I think Mal needs to be changed."

Mal flushed as the VKs and AKs chuckled. Though Ben frowned slightly as he heard Audrey's laugh. It…it was a bit more cruel than he had expected.

After all, they'd all messed up their diaper when they were babies.

"I think you might be right," Hades nodded, wrinkling his nose as the smell wafted into his nostrils. "Let's go Mali. I think it's time for a fresh diaper."

Persephone smiled as Hades and Mal turned the corner, Mal's babbles fading off. Sighing, Persephone got up to join her husband. She loved every moment she could get with Mal and with Hades. She wouldn't trade them for anything.

"Hmm, maybe an added member," Persephone added, wrapping her arms around her son.

Little did they know the storm cloud that was about to cover their sunshine.

"Wait, what?" Macaria exclaimed.

"What happened?" Elle asked, biting her lip as she looked at Lonnie.

"That's the end of the scroll," Lonnie said. "Someone else will have to—."

"I'll read!" Macaria stated, grabbing a scroll that was tied in an orange ribbon.

"…alright then," Lonnie nodded.

"I like her," Uma said with a small smirk.

Before Macaria could unfurl the scroll in her hand, the eyeball that the Fates had used to leave came floating down into the middle of the room. It spun and spun, almost hypnotizing everyone before it burst into a blast of bright light.

When the light cleared, there were many more people standing in the room than there had been before.

"Hey Jane!" Ben grinned and waved at a smaller girl who looked to be about his age.

"Ben!" Jane smiled. "What are we all doing here?"

"Apparently we're reading about life on the Isle sixteen years ago," Emir told her. "And apparently you brought Chad with you?"

"The Fates pick who they pick," Mal said, having heard the boy's comment. Before Chad could respond, a loud squeal broke out.

"Evie!"

"Dizzy!" Evie squealed and brought the younger girl in for a hug.

"Wait, if the fireball's here does that mean…?"

"Uma!" Celia grinned and rushed over to her sister.

"This has got to be the strangest thing I've ever done," Eugene stated to Kit, the older royals just standing in the room.

"More strange than dueling a horse with a frying pan?"

"Touche."

"If I could read please?" Macaria muttered. "Some of us would like to know what happened to cause storm clouds to cover Lord Hades and Lady Persephone's happiness!"

"…alright."

"Thank you!"

Sometimes storm clouds roll in gradually over time, giving people time to prepare for the incoming storm. However, other times the storm clouds appear without warning; blotting out the sun and drenching the people below.

"That's just depressing," Akiho muttered.

"Yet it's quite nice imagery," Emir nodded. The two boys were tense as they waited to hear just what was going to happen to Mal and her parents.

For Hades and Persephone, their storm cloud was the later; appearing without warning one evening during Persephone's fourth month on the Isle. The two gods had just set Mal down for the night, Hades giving Pain and Panic the orders to alert him should she wake, and the two of them were relaxing in the den.

"Gods…I should have stayed in there," Hades muttered.

"You didn't know," Persephone said, her voice soft as she looked at her husband.

"It was Maleficent. I shouldn't have let my guard down."

"You know, I should bring a baby monitor the next time I'm on Isle," Persephone said, her head resting on Hades' shoulder. "That way, Pain and Panic won't have to constantly monitor Mal."

"They liked it," Mal chuckled.

"You were a baby," Elle pointed out. "How would you—?"

"Because dad probably wasn't yelling at them when they were watching me," Mal said. "Plus I'm sure someone would wonder why mom was buying a baby monitor."

"I think they like it," Hades said, running his fingers through her hair. "Well Pain more so than Panic. I think he'd rather be with his own son."

"Panic has a son?" Jane asked, looking at the other AKs in shock.

"Yep. With Vanessa apparently."

"How in the world—?"

"We don't know."

"Panic has a son?" Persephone asked, looking up at Hades.

"I think we should just hand out cards that say 'Yes Panic has a son' and 'No, we have no idea how he wound up with Vanessa'," Harry chuckled.

"Yeah, with Vanessa," Hades nodded. "Kid's about three years old than Mal. I should probably introduce the two of them at some point; kid might be a good minion for her."

"Family can't be minions," Uma shook her head.

"Ah my dear minion of a cousin, that's where you're wrong," Mal smirked.

"I'm older than you."

"By mere months!"

Persephone shook her head. "Dear, the child will be older than Mal. Do you really think he'll want to take orders from someone younger than him?"

"It's Virgil, he'd jump at the chance just to have someone who wouldn't yell at him," Harry scoffed.

"Be nice!" Dizzy said, crossing her arms.

"As the little Tremainelette commands," Harry said, giving a slight bow. Normally he wouldn't have given in so quickly but Dizzy was under the crew's protection after all being Celia's cousin and all.

"Considering Mal's half god and he's half whatever Panic is, he should," Hades said.

Persephone rolled her eyes. "If Mal has to have henchpeople, they should be closer to her age or younger. That way, if the time comes, she won't have to worry about them questioning why they're taking orders from someone younger than them and overthrowing her."

"Gee, why does that sound familiar? An older person overthrowing the younger one in charge?" Poseidon chuckled as he looked over at Zeus.

Hades nodded. "That's a good point, I hadn't considered that."

"That's why we're a team," Persephone told him. "You don't have to think of things by yourself anymore."

"A team's the best thing to have on the Isle," Uma nodded, wrapping her arms around Mal's shoulders.

I hadn't realized, that the kids I picked would have friends they were leaving behind, Ben thought as he saw that. I mean it should have been obvious. Hopefully Mal and Jay won't go too long without seeing Uma and Harry again.

Hades smiled and leaned down to kiss Persephone on the forehead. As he leaned back up, he paused as he thought he had heard a thunk in the distance.

"What was that?" Jane squeaked.

"Probably just a picture falling or something," Elle said though everyone could tell she didn't believe it for a second.

"Everything okay?" Persephone asked, noticing his pause.

"Thought I heard something," Hades said as he sat back up. "Probably just Pain and Panic. Pain was always hurting himself before we got locked on this Isle."

"I mean, his name is Pain after all," Mal said, trying to defuse the tension by making a joke. It didn't work.

"They wouldn't risk waking up Mal though," Persephone reminded him, sitting up herself. "Not unless something was wrong."

"We're close enough to Mal's room that we'd hear…" Hades started to say but trailed off as he heard the tell tale sound of a baby crying.

"Don't babies often cry?" Alexandria asked.

Emir shook his head. "It was established in earlier chapters that Mal never cried as a baby. For her to do so now…"

"She might just be hungry," Lucy said, trying to reassure her little sister.

"Or need a diaper change," Kitty added.

"Or she might be lonely," Chad said to everyone's surprise. "What? Did we all forget about how Alex would just burst out crying if she was left alone for too long?"

"Nice Chad," Alexandria muttered, her cheeks bright red.

Mal rarely if ever cried. Something was wrong. Looking at Persephone in panic, Hades vaulted over the sofa and raced to Mal's room.

Zeus looked over at Hades, the look on his older brother's face enough to let the King of the Gods know that he was not in the mood for an apology or to hear anything from him at that moment.

"Oh Gods," Hera murmured. "Persephone, I'm—."

"You're what Hera? Sorry? You've had sixteen years to be sorry, to realize I was honest when I petitioned for help," Persephone scoffed. "You can be sorry all you want. But it's too little too late."

I'm trying to picture dad vaulting over the sofa. So far, nothing, Mal thought. She didn't know why she wasn't worried like the rest of the reading contingent. Maybe it was because she'd already lived it?

Though it was only a few rooms down from the den, it felt like it took an eternity to reach Mal's room.

Wrenching open the door, Hades stood in the doorway in shock. Lying on the ground, knocked out, were his two moronic minions and an empty crib lying on its side.

"Did Pain and Panic try…try to fight Maleficent's minions?" Hadie asked, curling up next to Mal as if any amount of space would allow the Dragon to steal her away again.

"They're good to have if you need them on your side," Mal said, gently rubbing her brother's back. Estelle walked over and rested his heads on Hadie's leg, as if trying to comfort the younger boy.

"Good boy," Hadie whispered, scratching Estelle behind the ears.

Slowly walking into the room, Hades went for Mal's crib. There, lying on the pillow that had been tossed out of the crib and was lying next to it, was a solitary black feather.

"Oh no," Aurora gasped, her hand flying to her mouth. Even Audrey was silent, looking over at Mal in slight shock.

"Why'd she do it?" Emma asked, her voice a near whisper.

"Because she's a psychotic egomaniac who doesn't like being made to look bad," Mal stated.

Evie nodded slightly at that. After all, had she just invited Mal to her sixth birthday, her father might not have been suffering in Maleficent's clutches all this time.

"She's gone?" Persephone gasped from the doorway, Hades' longer legs had made it so he had beaten his wife to Mal's room despite the both of them leaving the sofa at the same time. "But…who would steal a child? A God'schild?"

"Say one word and I turn you back into a swan brother," Hades growled, looking at Zeus. "Even if I have to petition Yzma to give me a potion to do it, I'll find a way!"

Hades shook his head slowly; sometimes his wife's positive outlook on things was appreciated. This was not one of those times.

"Sometimes hope is the most dangerous thing to have," Carlos said softly, looking at Mal. After all, he still held hope that his mother might actually love him and he knew some of the LeGume girls still held hope that Gaston would acknowledge them.

Taking the feather from the pillow, he turned around to look at Persephone.

"I'll give you three guesses," he growled,

"And if you need the other two, you're Chad," Kitty muttered.

"Be nice," Cinderella scolded her daughter.

trying his best not to crush the feather in his fists as he held it up for Persephone to see. It was their only evidence that his ex-wife had stolen his child.

"Maleficent?!" Persephone exclaimed. "Does she have a death wish?"

"Again, can we sell tickets when this occurs?"

"Not the time," Aziz told his little brother.

"If she doesn't, she soon will," Hades growled, marching out of the room. Persephone, though, quickly stood in front of her irate husband.

"Probably not the best move," Rapunzel said softly.

"We needed to plan," Persephone stated. "If we went off too steamed, we might have gotten hurt. Or worse, Mal would have gotten hurt."

"Wait, wait," she said. "I'll get her. Maleficent won't just hand Mal over to you; not after just stealing her from us. Plus, I have more access to my powers than you do. As well, no one on the Isle knows you're Mal's father so it'll be safer."

"You could have reached out to the pirates," Harry stated. "Our crew would have helped, Lord Hades."

"Your crew didn't exist yet, and I wasn't about to put more kids in harm's way," Hades stated. That being said, he was touched at how much the pirate's loyalty to his daughter had extended to him.

"Steph, everyone knows you stay here in your six months on Isle," Hades told her, slamming his fist into the stone wall. "Besides, you don't think Maleficent hasn't implemented every security feature at her disposal? I don't believe this—she shoved Mal into my hands all those months ago and now she steals her from me?!"

"So what? We just leave her with that evil lunatic of a witch?!" Persephone exclaimed, silent tears running down her face. "You know what'll happen, we'll never see Mal again."

"I am so glad I was wrong about that," Persephone sighed, holding Mal close to her.

"Um mom? Gonna let go?"

"No."

"Okay then."

Hades sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Do you think if I could steal Mal back, I would? But even if I flamed up to the limited amount I can here, there's the risk of hurting Mal. You and I both know Maleficent would not consider that to be a bad thing."

"I think even Gaston knew that," Uma scoffed.

"What if I updated the registry when I go back to Auradon?" Persephone suggested as she started to pace, clearly grasping at straws as she tried to think of ideas to get Mal back. "That way, you'd have a legal right to petition Auradon to get Mal back safely. Olympus alone would stand with you."

"Did they?" Hyllus asked, looking at his father with hope filled eyes. Macaria and Herkie did the same.

"I…I don't know," Hercules said and turned to look at his father. "Father?"

"I..I um don't—."

"No," Poseidon said and glared at his brother. "If you're going to lie to save face, have the common decency not to do it to your son."

"And that is why you're not on dad's 'Dead to him' list, Uncle Poseidon" Hadie stated.

"Uh…thanks?"

Hercules shook his head. "How could you father? Mal was a baby and you thought she should just suffer?"

"In my defense, I didn't realize it was a child of Hades who needed help—."

"That's even worse! You were content to let a baby suffer!"

"Wonderboy, calm down," Meg said, her voice soft. "We can talk to your father later. Right now we're holding up the reading."

"Right," Hercules nodded. "But we will talk about it."

"Who would believe it?" Hades asked. "The main reason I am on the Isle is for kidnapping a child. All Maleficent would have to do is claim that I stole Mal from her and that she was just stealing Mal back. The matter would be closed. Add in the fact that the child I kidnapped was Zeus'. Do you honestly think my brother would stand with me on this matter? He'd probably think I deserve it."

"Don't even try to deny it," Mal scoffed as Zeus opened his mouth.

"Athena would at least! She's always been reasonable!"

"Athena won't do anything if Zeus isn't on board," Hades said, rubbing Persephone's arm and wiping away her tears. Sighing, he brought his wife into an embrace wishing he could say anything that sounded like a plan and less like a desperate parent. He wasn't used to this, this feeling of helplessness. So this is how Zeus felt all those years ago, he thought.

Zeus looked over at Hades in shock. He didn't think Hades would have even thought about that. Not that he would have blamed him if he hadn't.

Hades? Zeus thought, trying to reach out with the mental link.

The mind you are trying to reach has been disconnected. Please be less of a horrible God and brother and try again.

Hades, come on!

You have reached the mental mail box of Hades, Lord of the Underworld. Sadly it is full so you can not leave a message.

I'm trying to apologize!

…you're sixteen years too late. Being put on the Isle? I can live with that. But you threatened the safety of my child Zeusey. I'll never forgive you for that.

"What's Maleficent going to do to her?" Persephone asked after a few minutes, breaking from the hug. "What does she want with her now anyway? As you said, she shoved her into your arms! That's a pretty clear message of 'I don't want her'!"

Mal flinched slightly at the thought. Yes she knew who her mother was and it wasn't Maleficent. Still…the words stung slightly.

"Who knows how her foul mind works?" Hades growled as he started to pace; taking care not to step on the unconscious forms of Pain or Panic.

"She has the common sense the Gods gave a housefly, making an enemy of Lord Hades like that," Emir nodded.

"I like him too," Hades stated.

"We're just going to get out of here and you'll be friends with the entire royal family of Agrabah aren't you?" Persephone sighed.

"Hey, they're friends with a genie. Why not a God too?"

"Besides, if it got around the Isle that I had managed to steal Mal from her, she'd do anything to disprove it, even if just to protect her reputation. She probably only wants Mal to get back at me. For leaving her, for stealing Mal, because it's Tuesday…take your pick."

"Why would…why would Maleficent steal Mal because it's a Tuesday?" Celia asked, tilting her head.

"Basically Uncle Hades was saying it was because the Dragon wanted to," Uma explained and Celia nodded.

Sighing, he ran a hand through his hair once more to try to calm his racing nerves. "I don't think Maleficent will kill Mal though. Not after all the trouble she went through to steal her. After all, she'd want to prove the rumor mill wrong. Can't do that with a dead child. Nor can she raise Mal to be the next Mistress of All Evil if Mal's dead either."

She may not have killed me but you'd be surprised at what you can live through, Mal thought with an inward shudder at the memories of growing up around the Dragon.

"Not to mention you'd know if Mal was dead. She'd be in the Underworld," Persephone told him. "Maleficent would do everything in her power to keep you from seeing Mal again. Whether alive or dead."

"Wouldn't it be rather hard to kill a God's daughter though?" Evan spoke up.

"You lot are rather accepting of the fact that I'm Hades' daughter," Mal stated and Evan shrugged.

"My dad's a former thief, my mom used to have magic hair that glowed when she sang, one of my sisters is extremely in need of a hair cut, Ben's dad used to be a beast, Elle's mom used to be a mermaid and I'm pretty sure we've got a classmate who's grandmother got turned into a bear. Point is we're pretty accepting once we've gotten used to the idea."

"Anyway, to answer your question sunshine, yes it would be hard to kill a God's daughter," Hades nodded.

"Sunshine?"

"The sun on your shirt. Nicknames are kinda my thing."

Hades nodded, not trusting himself to speak but he knew his wife had a point.

"You know perfectly well that Zeus would consider this an act of war if he knew," Persephone told him, wiping the tears from her cheeks, as she searched for a reason to go after Mal.

"Grandfather does love a good fight," Herkie nodded.

"And if I hadn't stolen his child, he'd probably hear me out," Hades said. "His joy over being a grandfather from Wonderbreath probably would have removed some of the negative feelings toward me regarding the attempted takeover of Olympus. But I stole his kid. To him, this is karma rearing her ugly head."

"I feel like this is a repetitive argument," Macaria sighed.

"He's not unreasonable," Persephone said, resting a hand on Hades' cheek. "I could try to petition Hercules to speak to Zeus in my stead. Mal is his cousin after all."

"I would have been honored to ask him, Aunt Persephone," Hercules said.

"It is so strange hearing someone not Uma call you that," Mal told her mom.

"After what I did to his little nut-Meg, you honestly think he would actually petition his father in my defense?!"

"Of course I would!" Hercules exclaimed, looking at his uncle. "I may not exactly be thrilled with what you did to Meg, but Mal was a baby! You actually thought I'd let an innocent baby suffer?"

"You're Zeus' kid," Hades said with a small shrug.

"And you're a hypocrite," Hercules stated. "You state that we shouldn't judge the kids of the Isle by their parents' crimes. Fair enough. But what right do you then have to turn around and say what I would do based solely on who my parents are?"

On top of that, I'm also adopted. Maybe if I was raised with my parents, your argument might have more weight, he thought.

Persephone rolled her eyes. "Well what can we do then? I won't just stand here and do nothing while Mal suffers at the hands of that maniac!"

"Ooh, are we insulting people now?" Akiho grinned. He normally wouldn't be excited about that but Maleficent deserved it for stealing Mal away from people who made her so happy.

"No," Kristoff sighed.

"But dad! It's Maleficent!"

"I don't care Akiho! Imagine if the situation was reversed and she was insulting you, how would you feel?"

"…like everything was normal because it's Maleficent and it's safe to assume she insults all of us on an hourly basis?"

"You are your mother's son."

"Besides, 'maniac's kinda tame for the Dragon," Mal said, looking at Persephone.

"I know dear. I remember a talk we had when you were thirteen and you referred to her as the spawn of Satan herself."

"Steph, as much as I'd love to talk to my brother,

"I can't tell if that was sarcasm or not," Poseidon stated.

"It was for Mal," Hades said with a shrug. "I'd suck up the annoyance of talking to Zeus for her."

the fact remains that according to the registry, I have no claim to Mal. Even though she's mine by right, Auradon won't see it like that. Never mind the fact that it takes two to tango as it were.

"Yuck," Hadie muttered, making a face at the thought.

"I agree with that sentiment, storm cloud," Mal nodded.

If we're lucky, they'd hear me out and take Mal from Maleficent. But then there's the risk that Beastie and Belle might think Mal's safety is too much at risk on Isle and they decide she's better off growing up in Auradon."

"…dad you do know we would have been better off growing up off the Isle right?"

"I know Mal," Hades sighed. "But I didn't want to think about that. Not after Maleficent had just stolen you from me."

Ben looked over at his parents. What in the world was going on with the Isle?

"They wouldn't—"

"Look, Maleficent is supposed to be dead," Hades growled, cutting off whatever point his wife was going to make. "Gaston is supposed to be dead. Evil Queen, Scar, Clayton, Frollo…dead, dead, dead, dead. If the good people of Auradon think death is too good for villains, then I have no doubt they'd take a child from her parents."

"He…may have a point there," Phillip Sr. muttered.

"Of course he does. He's the God of the Dead and we basically asked him to reverse death for some of them," Aladdin sighed.

Beast sighed as well. While he wasn't thrilled about the idea of removing children from their parents, if it meant the children survived…

"There has to be a way that we can get her back," Persephone said as she returned to her pacing. "What is the point of being Gods if we can't get Mal back from a fairy, even one as powerful as Maleficent?"

"No offense meant to present company of course," Persephone stated, looking at Jane and Fairy Godmother.

"None taken your Ladyship," Fairy Godmother said with a small bow of her head.

Hades sighed and shook his head. "Steph, as much as it pains me to say it, but for Mal's safety we might be better off—"

"You're not just going to leave her there, are you?!" Hadie exclaimed.

"Don't you dare say we're better off not doing anything Hades!" Persephone growled, turning to glare at her husband.

"Get a good enough thief, they could get her," Eugene said, rubbing his chin. "I almost wish I had been put on the Isle if just for this."

"Cass!" Rapunzel gasped. "She's on the Isle and with her dad being captain of the guard, she'd know how to infiltrate anything!"

Hades and Persephone looked at each other, cursing the decision to keep Mal's relationship to them a secret. They could have had Mal that much sooner.

"I don't like it anymore than you do!" Hades told her. "But Maleficent, as I said before, will have implemented every security device at her disposal by now. Not to mention the risk to Mal if it gets out that she's my daughter. She already has to live with the reputation of being Maleficent's daughter, adding a god linage only widens the target on her back."

"I can think of one person who would increase his efforts of getting rid of me if he knew," Mal muttered thinking about one French fanatic.

Persephone sighed and Hades pulled her into a hug once more. It was the only thing he could think to do. Well the only thing that wouldn't result in Maleficent being a pile of ash and bones.

"She'd be much improved that way," Audrey sniffed.

"…I don't know how to respond to the fact that I agree with her," Akiho muttered to Emir.

"I hate not doing anything," Persephone whispered, her voice muffled by Hades' chest.

"I do too," he told her. "But even if we don't do anything now, Mal won't be a baby forever.

"Thank Gods. I like being a teen thank you," Mal nodded.

There will come a day when Maleficent won't care that Mal's walking around the Isle by herself. Maleficent won't be able to stop me from going up and talking to her."

"You'll need to be careful," Persephone told him as she looked up, her eyes shining with hope she dare not speak out loud. "Maleficent has eyes everywhere. Oh how I hate the fact that Fairy Godmother took pity on that raven of her's and released him from his stone state before the barrier was erected."

"Why would you do that?!" Leah exclaimed.

"I felt bad for the poor creature," Fairy Godmother explained, seemingly not reacting to the exclamation that left Estelle whimpering and putting a paw over one of his ears.

"That would explain the feather," Hades said with a nod. "From what I had heard, I thought that little pest was still doing its best Medusa impersonation."

Audrey didn't mean to, she tried to keep it in. But she couldn't resist a small snort of amusement at that.

Persephone couldn't help the small chuckle that escaped her lips. "Be serious Hades," she said though a smile still appeared. "The Underworld is the only place safe from Maleficent's spies."

"Uh…didn't the goblins or whoever she used as minions get in?" Neal asked.

"Clearly not since her little gremlins managed to sneak in here," Hades grumbled but shook his head. Now was not the time to argue. "I know you're worried Steph but don't forget. Maleficent may have her eyes everywhere but so do I."

"We're relying on Pain and Panic?"

"Hey! They can step up when the job requires it," Mal stated, crossing her arms over her chest. Almost in a 'only I can make fun of my minions' pose.

Persephone gave him a look before looking over at Pain and Panic, who were still knocked out on the stone floor, before looking back at Hades and raising an eyebrow.

"If you're referring to your new floor decorations, I seem to remember that you call them morons at least three times a day. And that's when you want to be polite to them."

"They are morons though," Meg nodded. "But like Mal said, they do step up when they need to."

"Didn't you say they turned themselves into a female Pegasus to lure Pegasus away?" Hercules asked.

"I didn't say they make sense when they step up," Meg sighed.

"They may be morons but they're my morons," Hades told her before shaking his head once more. "But I"m not talking about them. Mal's my daughter, her connection to me means she's connected to the ember. I can watch her from here and Maleficent would never need to know."

"I almost feel bad that I'm a toddler here," Jay said. "If I was older, I could have—."

"Not with your dad in Maleficent's gang," Harry pointed out. "Plus if you were older, Mal'd be older too."

Persephone nodded before sighing. "While that's a little better than your minions, I'm not sure how much good it'll do. All it'll do is drive you mad, watching through that ember and not doing anything."

"I'm pretty sure dad got driven mad by the Isle ages ago," Mal said.

"I know," Hades sighed as well. "But it's the best plan we've got that ensures Mal's safety."

"*Contact Olympus*," Rowyn coughed.

"Allergies?" Ruby asked.

"Yeah, I don't know why but they just acted up for a second."

Looking around the room, Hades couldn't help but frown as he thought of what could have been. "Let's go back to the den," he said softly. He really didn't feel like continuing to stand in his daughter's empty room.

"I don't think anyone would want to do that,"

They would get her back. Someday soon. The storm clouds wouldn't last forever.

"And they didn't," Hadie grinned, "considering I have my sister."

"Anyone up for a small break?" Macaria asked. "After reading that, I'm a little nervous as to what the next scroll'll be."

"Fair enough," Hercules nodded. "I think your grandfather and I need to have a talk anyway."

Hercules and Zeus made their way over to a corner of the room. There were no separate areas where they could go but thankfully everyone seemed to give them a wide berth. Maybe it was because there was a frown on Hercules' face that seemed out of place for the hero.

"Father, how could you?" Hercules asked, breaking the silence that had occurred as either one waited for the other to say the first word. "Mal was a baby and she was the one who needed help."

Zeus sighed. "Hercules, you've got to understand. The coup against Olympus was still rather fresh—."

"Fresh? Father, I'm pretty sure the coup happened years before the Isle was even created. And again, that has nothing to do with Mal."

Hercules shook his head as he looked at his father, disappointment clear in his blue eyes. "What am I supposed to tell Hyllus, Macaria or Herkie? The one thing Meg and I have always told them was that if they got into trouble and for whatever reason their mother or I weren't there to help, Olympus would always be there to give them aid."

"And we always will be," Zeus stated.

"How can they be sure about that?" Hercules asked.

"They're my grandchildren Hercules! Of course I—."

"Mal's your niece and you weren't there for her when Uncle Hades asked for your help. Excuse me if I have a hard time believing now that you'd be there for your grandchildren."

"You're calling him Uncle after he kidnapped you and removed your godhood? Not to mention the fact that—."

"Father, I may not be particarlly close to him but there is no denying the fact that Hades is my uncle. I am only giving him the proper title. But while we're on that subject, it seriously took you years to talk to me? I guess abandoning family members when talking to them is inconvenient for you is a habit."

Was that hit a little below the belt? Probably. Did he regret saying it? Not in the slightest.

"Okay, okay Hercules. I think he gets the idea," Meg said, trying to keep her voice gentle as to not draw attention. Not because she didn't want Zeus to feel shame. Oh no, quite the opposite. But she didn't want Mal to feel embarrassed over this.

She could see Macaria was in the midst of a conversation with her purple haired cousin, Hyllus busy chatting away with Uma while Herkie was nodding along to whatever Hadie was talking about.

They weren't the only ones chatting with their family. Dizzy Tremaine had left Evie's side and struck up a conversation with one of the Charming girls. Leah of course was venting as loudly as she could to the only audience that would suffer her rants—her family.

Dear Gods she's got a set of lungs on her, Meg thought. I'm on the other side of the room and I can still hear her clearly. I have to wonder though. She's clearly miserable, why on Earth did the Fates bring her?

Shaking her head slightly, she turned back to the conversation between her father in law and her husband.

"Thank you Meg—."

"I didn't intervene for you Zeus," Meg stated. "I intervened because I knew we had the possibility of our volume getting louder than we'd want it too and I didn't want anyone being embarrassed."

"But I—."

"Zeus, you were the one content to let a baby suffer at the hands of Maleficent," Meg told him, crossing her arms over her chest. "A baby who shouldn't haven't been on the Isle since her only 'crime' was to be born. Something that she in no way could control."

"I'm not surprised you're on Hades' side, considering you used to work for him," Zeus muttered.

"Father, leave my wife out of this," Hercules growled. "You want to have an argument, you have it with me."

"Hercules, I'm a big girl. I tie my own sandals and everything, I can handle your father," Meg said but she gave Hercules a small smile. She knew how much the Wonderboy loved his father after all.

But…he gave up his chance to be on Olympus for you, she thought. No matter what, Hercules would put her first over Zeus every time.

She turned to Zeus and sighed. "Yes, I worked with Hades. It wasn't by choice, I sold my soul to him after all. But the one thing you can say about Hades is that he keeps his deals. When Hercules made a deal with him to give up his strength for twenty four hours in exchange for my freedom, Hades kept that deal. He likely would have done whatever you wanted Zeus in exchange for getting Mal back."

"Exactly," Hercules nodded. "In addition to that, when that pillar fell on Meg after she pushed me out of its path, I got my strength returned to me as per the agreement. You wouldn't have had to worry about him not keeping his side of the bargain father, as long as you kept yours."

Zeus sighed and Hera walked up, having watched the conversation go on for some time. "Hercules, is it really worth beating your father up over something that was in the past?"

"Mother, considering he was going to lie to my face?"

"Your father and uncle's relationship has always been…tumultuous at best," Hera said with a sigh. "Hades never really got over the fact that Zeus was the one sibling not eaten as a baby."

"Call me crazy but I think that's a fair thing to hold a grudge about," Meg chimed in.

"Right, so then Uncle Hades got his 'revenge' by kidnapping me," Hercules nodded. "That then evens everything out."

"But then Hades threw his coup."

"And he was thrown on the Isle," Hercules pointed out. "Ergo everything's evened out again and the wrongs kinda wash away. But right now, father, you're the only one who's wronged Uncle Hades here."

Zeus sighed. He knew his son had a point but he didn't know how he could possibly make it up to Hades and Persephone.

"Call me crazy but maybe removing that stupid six months on and off agreement might be a good way to start making it up," Meg offered, seeing the look on her father-in-law's face.

"That agreement has been in place since before the Isle was created!"

"And all it's doing is hurting everyone involved!" Meg shot back. "Persephone is without her son for six months or Mal is in Auradon for six months without a parent to be in her corner. Hades is without his wife for six months and as we all can see from the scrolls, he obviously gets lonely. How else would Mal have been born?"

"Could…could we not talk about that fact please?" Hercules murmured to her. Sure he was an adult but there were some things he'd rather not think about. Maleficent in any capacity was one such thing.

"Oh grow up Wonderboy," Meg chuckled. "But I see your point. The idea of Maleficent doing that…"

"I think even Eros would find it hard to wrap his head around," Hera nodded.

Hercules sighed. "There's a part of me that wants to continue to be mad at you for Mal's sake, even though I'm pretty sure she's not all that fond of us."

"Oh, whatever gave you that idea? The fact that Hades is her father?"

"Persephone is also her mother," Hera pointed out. "Speaking of which, we should be lucky that Demeter hasn't realized what we did-or didn't do. You all remember how she reacted when Persephone went into the Underworld the first time."

"That would not be pretty," Hercules nodded.

"That would be an understatement," Zeus sighed. "She's already been chewing my ear off because Hadie's on the Isle after all. I don't know what she thinks I'd be able to do about that though."

Three pairs of eyes looked at him, each one more incredulous than the last.

"What?"

"You're the King of the Gods. If you want someone off the Isle, tell King Beast!" Meg exclaimed.

"Well yes but—."

"Oh dear Gods, if this is because he's another child of Hades, I'm going to take one of your precious lightning bolts and stick it up your—!"

"Okay!" Hercules exclaimed and clapped his hands together. "Let's keep it appropriate for young ears. That being said she does have a point father. With King Beast stepping down and Prince Ben taking the helm, you should be able to talk to him about getting young Hadie in Auradon. After all, I'm sure Mal would appreciate it."

And would Hades appreciate both of his kids off the Isle? I have a feeling the rift between us would only grow if I took his son from him, Zeus thought with an inward sigh.

"You've got to make the first move dear," Hera stated. "I know I'm not the closest with Hades, considering he robbed us of years with Hercules but at least we know Hercules lived with a loving family all those years. He had people who appreciated the gift of him being in their lives. Do you really think Hades had such a luxury?"

"I think it's safe to say the answer to that is 'no'," Meg stated, her voice soft as she watched Macaria walk away from Mal and Mal lean into her father's embrace; Hades giving his daughter a side hug as his son chattered away with Herkie. She had to hold back a chuckle as Uma glared at Harry as he chatted up Elle.

Nice call your highness, she thought as Ben quickly jumped in and seemed to join in the conversation so it wouldn't be as if Harry was flirting with Elle. Otherwise she would have given it about five minutes before Uma would have stormed over there.

A small whine drew her attention downward and Meg stared in confusion as the Cerberus looked back at her.

"Uh…hi?"

"It's Estelle," Persephone said as she walked up. "I think he's saying hello to everyone who'll let him. He was just over by Akiho and Emir."

"Ah," Meg nodded.

"I'm surprised no one has been smote," Persephone said, looking at Hercules and Zeus.

"I don't have that ability," Hercules muttered.

"I wouldn't smite my own child," Zeus stated, as if Persephone had personally offended him.

"There's a lot of things you say you wouldn't do Zeusey," Persephone said, narrowing her eyes a little and closed the distance. "Just remember, my husband may be the God of the Dead but when all is said and done, I'm the one who's turned someone into a mint plant because I was angry with them. Do you really want to test me and see if I can do that to you?"

"Threatening me are you Persephone? You want to spend the whole year on the Isle?

Persephone smirked. "You wouldn't do that. The mortals would have your head in a heartbeat because of what my mother would do to them. My mother has you and you know it."

Zeus glowered but knew she had a point. Demeter would gladly give the mortals an eternal winter if Persephone was sent to the Isle permanently. Though Hades and Hadie might welcome her presence.

"So, we're going to go back. We're going to read some more," Persephone said. "You're not going to antagonize Hades. You're not going to comment if Hades or Mal disparages you. Because they have every right to, Zeus. I've tried to defend you. I've tried to say that we should get along, because we're family. But no more. If you want me to defend you to Hades, Mal, or Hadie, you'll have to earn it."

With that, Persephone turned on her heel and went back to her husband and kids; Estelle trotting dutifully after her.

"I guess we should go and sit down," Hera said, slightly taken aback at the verbal lashing Persephone had given.

"I guess so," Hercules nodded. Go Aunt Persephone!

You, young Hercules, can call me Steph, Persephone said thought the mental link. You have earned that right by confronting your father on Mal's behalf.

You're…you're not mad?

At you? Why should I be? You're not your father Hercules. You've done nothing for me to be mad about. Now, your father? I'm furious at. But I have both my children and my husband with me. For right now, I can ignore him.

…yes Aunt Steph.

I have to say, Mal's right. It sounds weird hearing someone other than Uma say that. But a good weird.

Hercules smiled as the group sat back down.

"Who's reading next?"

"Can I read?" Hadie asked.

"Go ahead storm cloud," Mal nodded. Hadie grinned and reached over to grab another scroll with a purple ribbon.

Hadie unfurled the scroll and sighed softly at the first paragraph. It didn't look like this was going to be a happy scroll.

Hades sighed as he walked past the empty nursery; the crib still lying on its side. It had been two weeks since Maleficent had stolen Mal back and Hades hadn't had the heart to clean the room.

Zeus frowned as his nephew read that. It was becoming more and more apparent that Hades had truly changed. But…could he really be trusted?

His son and daughter-in-law seemed to think so.

It was if it had been frozen in time, the only difference being the lack of feather on Mal's pillow. Hades had put that away for safe keeping in case he ever needed to bring up an accusation against Maleficent.

"But…you're a God," Aziz asked. "Wouldn't people believe you regardless?"

"One: it's the Isle," Jay told him. "Accusations without proof are really easy to blow off."

"Two: it's the Isle," Mal added. "A resident stealing from another resident? Jay calls that a Tuesday."

"Normally he's on the other end of it though," Harry said with a smirk.

"And finally, would you go up against Maleficent without proof?" Uma asked.

Aziz shook his head.

"Didn't think so."

Persephone had been avoiding Mal's former room as if it had been the plague but Hades couldn't fault his wife for that. Every time he came across one of the toys Persephone had brought for Mal from Auradon scattered on the floor of the den, his heart broke.

Belle gave Hades a what she hoped was a comforting smile. She knew how she felt whenever she had come across one of the baby clothes they had gotten for Abigail a few weeks after…

Was there something more I could be doing? He thought as he closed the door to the nursery. He didn't know how it had opened; he had given orders to Pain and Panic that the room was not to be disturbed.

Rapunzel sighed. She had talked to her mother about the night she'd been kidnapped a few weeks before Rachel was born. What her mother had said was almost similar to what Lord Hades had been like—or at least the Lord Hades in the scroll.

Mom used to say that the only thing that really helped was staying busy, she thought. Though…I kinda hope Lord Hades doesn't have to be busy in the Underworld.

His minions had been making themselves scarce ever since Mal had been taken; what normally took one angry bellow of their name now took at the very least three before they would rear their heads. Persephone had suggested that maybe they thought Hades blamed them for Mal getting kidnapped—after all, they were in the room.

"They're moronic but I wouldn't have blamed them for that," Hades shook his head.

Pain and Panic versus Maleficent's goblins, Hades thought as he made his way to the kitchen. Unless they had their shape shifting abilities, Pain and Panic would be toast. I heard the stories about how exuberant those goblins were in tying up Phillip. As much as I hate to compliment a hero, Phillip seems like he's fairly competent from the reports Persephone brings back from Auradon.

"…Thank you Lord Hades," Phillip Sr. said after a few minutes.

"Hey, you didn't get yourself hypnotized, transformed, and you were ready to give up your throne for who you thought was a peasant girl," Hades shrugged. "I can recognize competency when it rears its head."

He grabbed a chipped mug from the cupboard and sighed as he put the water on for tea. The tea helped; it gave him something to do that didn't involve hunting down his ex-wife and eviscerating her to the point that her soul wouldn't even wind up in the Underworld. Well, or at least that's what happens in Hades' dreams. But then he has to wake up and remember that anything he did would potentially put Mal at risk.

"We really should have consulted Athena," Persephone sighed.

"Or Apollo, isn't he also the God of Logic?" Poseidon said.

"The fact that one of Zeus' kids is the God of Logic scares me," Hades muttered.

For not the first time since Mal had been taken, Hades cursed the fact that he was on this gods forsaken Isle. If he had been in Boreadon, he could have petitioned Zeus.

Hera, Demeter, Poseidon, Zeus, Hercules, Meg and Persephone all looked at Hades in amazement and astonishment.

"It was for Mal," the Lord of the Underworld said and Persephone smiled. Her husband would put up with a brother he despised to get his daughter back safely.

That was the God she loved.

Actually, it wouldn't have even gotten to that point since Hades would have had full access to his chariot and his powers. Cerberus would have liked using Maleficent as a chew toy, Hades thought with a grim smile as the water boiled.

Estelle yipped softly and wagged his tail.

"Sounds like someone else wants to turn Maleficent into a chew toy," Neal chuckled.

"Good boy," Chip grinned.

"Your water's ready," Persephone's soft voice broke Hades from his thoughts. He turned around to see his wife standing in the doorway. It was a rare sight for Persephone to be out of their room; the inability to do anything seemed to be affecting her more than Hades thought possible.

Mal frowned. She didn't like the idea that she'd put her mom and dad through that much pain. Sure it wasn't her fault, she hadn't been asked to be kidnapped by Maleficent but still.

"Can I make you a cup?" Hades asked, reaching up on the shelf to get her one of the few non-chipped mugs that she had brought from Auradon a couple of years ago.

"You should have used the non-chipped mug," Meg told him. "It's not exactly safe to use a chipped mug to drink out of."

"I'm a God," Hades said simply.

"No thank you," Persephone said and sighed. "I'll be up at all hours otherwise. That's the last thing I need right now."

"They make non caffeinated tea Aunt Persephone," Macaria said.

"We have no clue what brand that tea is that Hades uses," Persephone told her gently.

Hades nodded as he poured the water over his tea. He would have preferred loose tea but the tea bags were easier to fish out of the barge deliveries.

"Why…why would you need to fish out the tea bags?" Emir asked.

Jay snorted. "Maybe because we practically eat your garbage," he told him.

"What?!" Ben exclaimed. "No, that…that can't be! Emir, Akiho, and I run the food drives every month. We've been in charge of them since I was thirteen! We've been participating in them since I was eight! That food's the freshest it could possibly be!"

"Well then there's a disconnect between when you all collect the food and when we get the food," Mal said, crossing her arms. The look of genuine shock and horror on Ben's face though did make her soften her glare.

"It's rare to find food not covered in flies or dirt," Dizzy added.

"I'm lucky," Carlos said softly. "I'm under Mal and Uma's crew's protection so I can get food from Ursula's. Plus my…plus Cruella's allied with Maleficent so I can get food when I want."

"I'm a little lucky too," Evie nodded. "My mother's with Maleficent's group after all."

"How could this be going on?!" Kitty asked, looking over at Ben.

"I don't know. But I'm going to find out," Ben said, nodding his head as if to punctuate his point.

Emir bit his lip. As much as he cared about the issues of food poverty, he knew Ben was already running himself ragged to get ready for the coronation.

"Ben…don't you have enough on your plate?" Akiho asked gently, as if picking up on Emir's thought. "Emir and I can handle the research—."

"Making sure Auradon's citizens have access to a basic human right is more important than the coronation Akiho!" Ben said firmly. "If I'm going to be King of Auradon, then I'm going to be King of all of Auradon."

"I wish I knew what brand that was," Persephone said as she leaned over on the counter. "I'd be able to get you a box of fresh bags in Auradon."

"They should be getting fresh bags regardless!" Emma stated.

"I'm used to these," Hades told her. Sure the tea was weaker than it should have been but it was still tea.

"Something tells me I'll be getting a bunch of boxes soon," Hades chuckled as he saw the look on his daughter's face.

Mal pursed her lips. If there was going to be anything good to come out of being forced to go to Boreadon, she could at least get her dad some good tea.

Persephone frowned. "I know, but it'd be nice to be useful for something. I haven't heard anything from the gossip chain regarding Maleficent when I go on my walks. Then again maybe no news is good news."

"That's always the case," Jane said, as Lonnie nodded in agreement.

"She's still holed up in her castle," Hades told her. "I've been keeping an eye on Mal through the ember."

"Wouldn't that just drive you mad though?" Jasmine asked, her voice soft.

"It was better than doing nothing," Hades sighed. He wasn't exactly sure why he was spilling his guts to the Boreadon royals but he was.

"Let me guess, you like her too?" Kristoff asked and Hades chuckled.

"Yes…and you too Reindeer King."

"…much appreciated Lord Hades."

"How does she look?" Persephone asked, leaning on the counter as if trying to hang on Hades' every word. Hades didn't blame her; his favorite time of day was quickly becoming the hours he spent staring through his ember keeping an eye on his daughter.

"Like any parent would," Eugene said, holding one of his daughters close to him, Rapunzel doing the same with their son.

"If Maleficent's hurt her, I can't see any proof of it," Hades told her, knowing who Persephone was referring to. "Overall Mal looks fine."

"Maleficent might have known you were watching," Poseidon said. "She wouldn't have left a mark anywhere visible."

"Knowing Maleficent? She would have left a visible mark just to drive me up the wall," Hades shook his head.

"Could Maleficent have turned over a new leaf?" Persephone asked, her voice so soft that Hades almost thought his wife was talking to herself. "I've heard stories in Auradon of new mothers not connecting with their children after birth. Maybe…"

"Honestly," Leah scoffed. "There's no reason to be delusional over the brat—"

"Don't you dare say another word Leah," Demeter said with a glare. "And I'd think twice before insulting my daughter or my granddaughter!"

"Mother?" Persephone asked, looking over at her.

"She called you 'mom'. You clearly have some kind of a relationship," Demeter told her.

"Yet you didn't react during the last scroll when Maleficent kidnapped her."

"Seething with rage dear. Seething with rage."

Persephone smiled. "Keep this up mother, and you might get to have a conversation with Mal."

"Steph," Hades said gently, taking his wife's hand and holding it gently in his. "I know where your thoughts are going but you're forgetting something. It's Maleficent we're talking about. She doesn't have a maternal bone in her body."

"Then why did she—?"

"Status," Mal shrugged as she looked over at Elle. "Evil Queen probably was using Blueberry there to try to elevate her own status on the Isle. Either that or Maleficent wanted to quash any rumors that dad stole me from her."

" I know," Persephone told him, looking into his eyes. The pain in her eyes broke Hades' heart; how he wished he could take this pain from her or to be the only one who felt it. If there had to be a silver lining in all this, it was that Persephone was here and Hades could comfort her as needed. If Maleficent had stolen Mal when Persephone was in Auradon, Hades didn't know what he would have done. "But I need to have hope."

"You'd get on well with Ben," Akiho said. "There's no one more hopeful than him."

Ben shrugged. "It was one of my christening gifts. But I hope I'd get along well with Lady Persephone."

Hades frowned and set his mug down. Walking around the counter, he enveloped his wife up into a hug. "Maleficent will let her guard down at some point," he told Persephone. "We'll get Mal back."

"Funnily enough, it wasn't Maleficent letting down her guard that let us get Mal back," Hades chuckled.

"How did you get her back?" Hercules asked.

"Sorry Wonderboy, that would be spoilers," Hades said, the chuckle still on his voice. He didn't notice that he had said 'Wonderboy' instead of the usual derogatory nickname of 'Wonderbreath'.

"But when?" Persephone asked as she looked up at him, tears beginning to well in the corner of her eyes. "And what will Mal be like when we do get her back? Maleficent will twist all the sweetness in Mal and turn it into a perchance for evil."

"She tried," Mal muttered.

"But you were stronger than her," Jay muttered back, resting a hand on Mal's shoulder. Mal couldn't help but give a small smile to the older boy.

Hades sighed. "Then we'll just have to get her back before that happens. It won't be in the next couple weeks though. Maleficent's evil but she's not stupid. She's not going to leave a baby alone with just her goblins to guard her. Those fools spent sixteen years looking for Aurora thinking she was still a baby after all."

"And they only found her because two idiots decided to have a magic fight before sunset," Uma muttered.

"Hey!" Audrey snapped. "Those are my Aunts you're talking about!"

"And they risked Aurora's safety by literally having a magical fight while the window of the curse was still active!" Uma snapped back. "The curse said 'before the sun sets on her sixteenth birthday'. Not on her sixteenth birthday but before the sun sets. Meaning after sunset, Aurora would have been in the clear."

"How do you—?"

"My mother's Ursula and my uncle's Hades. You really think I don't know my way around contract wording by now?"

"You have a point," Persephone sighed. "Still, that doesn't mean I have to like it."

"If you did like it, I'd have to start worrying about you," Hades told her, brushing a bit of her brown hair behind her ear.

"Your hope is my sun," Hades muttered into Persephone's ear. "Or at least, it's part of my sun."

"I'm guessing our children are the other parts?" Persephone muttered back.

"You'd be correct."

"It'd be too much to hope that we get her back before I have to go to Auradon, right?"

"I'm pretty sure all hope died on the Isle by that point," Celia shrugged.

Hades sighed and nodded. "I can do my best but Mal's only four months old. Small enough to easily snatch as Maleficent's imbecilic minions proved two weeks ago."

"Have…have you given any thought to my suggestion?" Persephone asked, her voice soft. "Of petitioning Zeus for help?"

"I'm sure he has," Poseidon nodded. "Though how many of those thoughts are printable with young Hadie and the young girls here in the room, I'm not sure."

"I've heard worse on the Lost Revenge!" Hadie exclaimed.

"You've heard what?!" Uma and Mal exclaimed.

Harry shook his head. "I'll make sure the crew cleans up their language cap'ns," he said. Especially if they're using that sort of language around the runt. She doesn't need to hear their filth, he thought.

"The question is how much help would he be?" Hades asked her. "Yes, he's the king of the Gods. Yes, he's my brother. Yes, Zeus loves a good fight. But for me? Right now? There's a much higher possibility that Zeus would say no. Not to mention the target it would put on Mal's back if Zeus did step in. It would let the Isle know that I was her father."

"Freddy would be out with a vengeance if he knew I was your daughter," Mal nodded.

"Who's Freddy?" Ben asked, frowning slightly at the idea of someone wanting to hurt Mal.

"Freddy Frollo," Mal elaborated. "Scourge of the earth. No wait, that's an insult to the Earth and I'd rather not do that considering who my mother's the daughter of."

"Well it's not like we can insult the ocean," Uma pointed out.

"Plus calling him a sentient pile of dung just insults the dung," Celia chimed in.

"…I think I get the idea," Ben said faintly.

"His sister's okay though," Dizzy said with a small smile. "She'll stop by the shop sometimes."

"Oh yeah Curl Up and Dye is in the neutral zone," Mal nodded.

"But it would also tell the Isle that Mal isn't someone to be messed with," Persephone countered. "The Gods don't get involved with the affairs of mortals for just anyone after all."

"…I'm pretty sure the mortals have a saying that most of our history can be summed up with one sentence. 'And then Zeus did the thing'. We get involved in the affairs of mortals much too frequently," Demeter sighed. It wasn't truly the saying but she wanted to keep it clean around her grandson.

Hades sighed. "If it makes you feel better, go ahead and talk with Zeus when you get back to Auradon," he told her. "But I wouldn't expect any assistance from my brother."

"And what do you know? Dad was right," Mal scoffed as Hercules shot Zeus a disappointed look.

"Hades, I don't care about the sibling drama. I'm just trying to find a way I can help Mal," Persephone told him. "My powers aren't suppressed here the way the other residents are but the urban setting does me no good. You can flame up to a limited degree but that risks hurting Mal if you went for her."

"If Old man Slade had kidnapped me, you'd be better off," Mal said. "He's got a farm after all."

"If he'd have kidnapped you, you'd have access to those chickens," Jay grinned.

"I have access to chicken now anyway," Mal chuckled.

"Not to mention that would be what Maleficent would be expecting," Hades told her before walking back around the counter and taking a sip of his tea. He realized too late that he he had left it out for too long without drinking it—it had basically become cold leaf juice.

"Blech!" Neal exclaimed as he made a face.

"Neal, all tea is just leaf juice," Emma told him.

"I reiterate. Blech!"

"You could just heat it up again," Persephone pointed out as Hades went to go and pour the tea out.

"Have you ever had reheated tea after it's gone cold?" Hades asked her and Persephone shook her head in amusement before letting out a small yawn.

"Was I boring you?" Hades teased, trying to bring some levity to the reading.

"Sorry," she said as the yawn faded. "Guess I didn't sleep very well last night."

Hades frowned. Persephone hadn't been sleeping well for the past fourteen nights. "Go take a nap Steph."

Demeter looked over at Hades in slight shock. It had been no secret that she was not fond of Hades for stealing her daughter from her. But scenes like this and with how he acted with his daughter…it was a different Hades than the one who made Persephone Queen of the Underworld.

"But—"

"When we get Mal back, you won't be any use to her if you're dead on your feet," Hades pointed out, cutting off any argument that was forthcoming from his wife. "Go on. I can manage the Underworld by myself for a couple of hours."

"I mean I do it on my own for six months after all," Hades added.

Persephone sighed but walked around the counter to give Hades a kiss on the cheek. "Don't work too hard," she said softly. "You won't be any use to Mal either if you're dead on your feet as well."

"Better I'm the one dead on my feet than you," Hades murmured, kissing Persephone on the head as he pulled her close.

"Never say that again," Persephone told him. "The last thing I want to do is see you in pain."

She walked out of the kitchen and Hades watched her turn the corner. Once he heard the door to their bedroom close, he made his way to the portal room. Unbeknownst to Persephone, Hades had moved a small chair in there so that he'd be able to sit while watching Mal.

"You did what?" Persephone asked, looking at Hades. "Hades, you promised you'd only spend an hour in there at most!"

"And you really think I'd enjoy spending an hour on my feet?" Hades countered. He'd do it, of course. For Mal.

It made it a lot harder to run out of the room to kill his ex-wife if he constantly had to spring to his feet.

"Do it anyway," Jay said.

"And tell us so we can watch!" Uma nodded.

Sitting down, Hades pulled the ember out of his pocket and stared into it. The limited magic he had allowed him to be able to power the ember and look into it to see his daughter. The sight he saw though was not a pleasant one. The onesie Mal had been wearing looked torn and dirty, as if she hadn't been changed out of it for the past two weeks. Knowing Maleficent, that was probably the case.

Evie couldn't help but wrinkle her nose a bit at being in the same outfit for two weeks.

"What did you expect, Princess?" Mal scoffed, having noticed Evie's look of disgust. "It's not like the Dragon just had onesies lying around to change me."

"Knowing the Dragon, she probably thought she was making you stronger by denying you a change of clothes," Jay muttered.

She didn't look like she'd lost weight but Hades was sure Maleficent wouldn't be feeding her or hunting down the right food for Mal to eat. From the scene in front of Hades, it was clear that Maleficent barely deemed it necessary to hold Mal.

"How horrible," Emma whispered, tears prickling in the corners of her eyes. She treasured the memories of her childhood with her parents.

"Let me guess, you lot thought that 'even villains loved their kids'?" Harry scoffed.

She's a baby, not a bomb Maleficent, Hades thought as Maleficent held Mal at an arm's length away from her, the cries coming from his daughter breaking Hades' heart as Maleficent's nails seemed to pierce Mal's skin. That had to hurt as Maleficent curled her fists in anger, only increasing the pressure of the nails digging into his daughter's skin.

Huh, I was wondering where I got those scars from, Mal thought with a small shrug as many of the mothers and fathers in the room looked on in horror. Snow White had her hands to her mouth while Aurora's eyes went wide with shock. Rapunzel had buried her head into Eugene's shoulder, the brunet rubbing the former blonde's shoulder.

Belle bit her lip, the apology dying to slip from her lips. The apology that Mal deserved for having endured that. But she didn't think it was the right time.

Demeter glared at Zeus. Yes she had been silent for most if not all of the reading but that was only because she couldn't believe she had another grandchild! One who was of Maleficent's blood but still! The girl clearly thought of Persephone as her mother and therefore she was her granddaughter!

"Why didn't we do something?" Demeter hissed in Zeus' ear. She didn't expect a response. Not if Zeus thought he was in the right.

"Stop wailing!" Maleficent ordered but Mal continued to cry. Maleficent glared at Mal but the glare failed to quiet Mal's caterwauling. "Nothing but pathetic cries for the past two weeks! How did I wind up with such a weak daughter?"

"Give her hell Mal!" Emir cheered.

Aziz sighed. "You do realize Mal's crying because Maleficent is more than likely hurting her right?"

"And I can cheer on the fact that Mal's fighting against her," Emir stated. "Babies aren't stupid, they learn quickly to stop doing the thing that hurts them."

"In a strange way, Emir's right," Chip nodded. "By continuing to cry and refusing to be subdued by Maleficent, Mal's proving how strong she is."

Mal raised an eyebrow. "Okay, is this just the strangest day I've ever had or what?"

"Strangest day we've ever had cuz," Uma corrected.

That's my girl, Hades couldn't help but think; the thought entering his mind before he could stop it. While he was happy that Mal was annoying Maleficent by not doing what she wanted, Hades couldn't help but worry about what Maleficent would do in retaliation.

It was a weird reaction but Mal couldn't help but beam with pride, hearing her dad cheering her own even if it was just his thoughts.

The woman cursed an infant because the infant's parents failed to invite her to a party, after all.

"Hey look, someone who acknowledges the fact that it was Leah and Stefan's fault Princess Aurora got cursed in the first place!" Ashaki nodded.

"I like her too," Hades said.

"Seriously?" Persephone sighed.

As Mal's wails refused to diminish, Maleficent seemed to grow more and more agitated. Finally dropping Mal in what looked like a makeshift crib but was really just an extra wide crate that hadn't had the bottom rot through yet, the Mistress of All Evil stormed out; slamming the door behind her.

"That's not a crib!" Ariel exclaimed, her eyes wide in horror.

"Huh, better than what I got," Jay nodded, seemingly ignoring Ariel's comment.

"Yeah Mal lucked out. Thankfully mom saved Harriet's crib from when the Captain thought Harriet was going to be a boy or who knows what I'd have gotten?" Harry nodded as well.

Seeing Mal left alone in a dark room, crying at the top of her lungs and wearing a filthy onesie and possibly a diaper that was close to bursting, only fueled Hades' anger toward his ex-wife.

"Dad…ever thought about possibly using that sword of yours on a dragon one last time?" Phillip Jr. asked, glaring at the scroll.

"…I'm tempted."

"Phillip!" Aurora exclaimed.

"Yes?" Both of her Phillips said, looking at the blonde.

"I'm just as furious as the two of you are but we can not condone murder!"

Mal was his daughter! Was Maleficent just that cruel or was she mistreating Mal as yet another way to get back at Hades for leaving her?

"My money's on 'just that cruel'," Carlos said rather timidly. "I mean it is Maleficent after all."

Hang on Mali, Hades thought. I will get you back. Someday.

"And you did!" Hadie said with a small grin as he looked at his dad.

"That I did," Hades nodded with a small chuckle.

Outside the Underworld, the already overcast sky seemed to grow darker and darker until every bit of sky seemed to be covered. The few Isle dwellers who resided by Hades' lair gave the gate a wary glance. He was one of the most powerful people on the Isle even with his magic mostly dampened by the barrier; if he was angry it probably wouldn't be a good time to be on the lower end of the Isle hierarchy.

I had wondered why the cloud cover over the Isle had increased, Fairy Godmother thought with a small frown. I thought it was because the barrier was weakening.

They could only hope that his anger wouldn't last for too long.

"…wasn't it like seriously overcast for five years?" Harry asked. "At least, that's what Harriet said."

Zeus looked at Hades in shock. "You kept that cloud cover for five years?"

"If I remember correctly, Zeus, Demeter brought a year long winter when Persephone went to the Underworld and you spent a year giving the mortals nothing but thunderstorms when Pain and Panic nabbed Herc," Hades stated. "Never underestimate a parent's anger when their kid gets taken."

"And on that cheerful note, who wants to read next?" Hadie asked.

"I'll read," Uma said with a shrug.

Uma shrugged and grabbed a scroll. "Okay, let's see what's going to happen in this one."

Hades had to smirk as he strolled through the streets of the Isle, making his way over to Pirate's Cove. The sight of the underlings diving out of his path never failed to amuse him.

"It is rather amusing," Uma nodded.

"Yeah, especially when they literally dive," Mal chuckled and then paused. "Well, not when it's Smee."

"Smee's like the one underling who's harmless," Harry said. "Not to mention he treats all of us with respect."

"His daughter's your sister's first mate. Of course he treats us with respect," Mal shrugged.

It was, however, some of the only joy he could get.

"Well that and time with Persephone," Hades amended.

It had been five years

"Five years?!"

"Yeah," Mal shrugged as some of the AKs looked at her in shock. "What? Did you honestly expect Maleficent to just hand me back to dad? Dragons aren't really known for sharing."

She wasn't going to lie though, she was rather enjoying the death glare that Demeter was giving Zeus.

since Maleficent had stolen Mal from him and Hades had yet to see a possible way of taking his daughter back. That didn't mean he hadn't come up with plans; it just meant that all the plans he came up with were a guaranteed failure. Hey, there was a reason why Athena was the Goddess of Strategy and not Hades.

"So why didn't you write to her?" Demeter demanded. "My granddaughter—."

"Athena would only go along with it if Zeus was on board," Hades said in a matter of fact tone. "Even if I was just asking for help ironing out some holes in the plan, I knew my letter would likely go unread. If it even got past the post goblins for that matter."

"I think it might be time for the net again," Poseidon muttered.

"Do it and I'll turn you mortal again," Zeus said with a glare, having heard the mutter.

He'd even considered borrowing from the Trojans but there wasn't time to build a giant wooden dragon that would allow him to sneak into Maleficent's castle.

"Can we help with that?!" Akiho and Emir asked, looking more excited at the prospect than they had any right to be.

"Your friends are two halves of a whole idiot Benji," Chip whispered to Ben with a small chuckle in his voice.

"I know," Ben shook his head. "But you gotta love them."

"Oh there's no choice in the matter there."

Besides, Maleficent was a horrible waste of oxygen but she wasn't an idiot. She'd be able to see a trap coming.

"I thought most of the villains were idiots?" Audrey scoffed.

"You're thinking about the sidekicks like LeFou," Mal told her, rolling her eyes. "Believe it or not, there are a few villains on the Isle with a few brain cells to rub together. Unfortunately, the Dragon is one of them."

So Hades waited and waited, for five years; trying to come up with a plan that would work.

It never came.

Persephone, true to her word, had attempted to reach out to Zeus during one of her six month stays in Auradon but Zeus wouldn't hear it.

"Of course he wouldn't," Mal scoffed, rolling her eyes as Demeter's glare at Zeus grew darker. "I mean, Gods forbid he get off his fat ass and actually do something!"

"Malinda!" Persephone scolded. "Watch your language around your brother."

"Yes mom," Mal nodded. "I stand by the Zeus comment though!"

Hades couldn't blame his brother for that; there was no proof Mal was his other than Hades' word which probably meant close to nothing to Zeus right now.

Zeus sighed. Maybe at the time, Hades' word wouldn't have meant anything. But…knowing what he knew now?

So there was no help coming from Auradon, and no help coming from Olympus. If Hades was desperate enough, he could join one of the cliques that had developed among the residents of the Isle. But he was not desperate. Not in the slightest.

He was also lying to himself, Hades thought with a small sigh. Had it gone on much longer without any sight of Mal, he might have actually joined a clique to get Mal back. Thankfully that hadn't been necessary.

The day I join forces with the likes of Clayton, Frollo or Scar will be the day Beast starts letting people off this Isle, Hades thought with an inward grimace. Jafar would be tolerable, if only because we'd worked together in the past trying to best Hercules and Aladdin. But he's joined forces with Maleficent and it'll be a cold day in my underworld before I sign up to be one of her minions.

"So dad, does this mean you'll be joining forces with Clayton, Frollo, or Scar?" Mal teased.

"Yeah, since Mal and Jay got let off the Isle," Hadie added with a grin.

Hades rolled his eyes. "I said Beast, not his son," he told his kids. "Besides, the day I actually join with Frollo is the day the sky turns to fire and all our noses fall off."

"Good," Mal nodded.

Hades raised an eyebrow as if asking for an explanation.

"If you joined forces with Frollo, then Freddy would be around Hadie more than I feel comfortable with." Mal elaborated.

"You really think I'd let that brat anywhere near your brother?"

"No, of course not."

"Then there's nothing to worry about."

So Hades walked alone, being one of the few Isle residence to forgo a clique. Despite this, however, no one bothered the God. It was one of the few benefits of being the God of the Dead, even if the ingrates on the Isle always called him the God of Death.

"What's the difference?" Audrey scoffed.

"Thanatos is the God of Death, Macaria is the Goddess of Blessed Death, not to be confused with our classmate, while Keres is the Goddess of Violent Death," Ben said instantly, as if the answer was just rattling around in his brain. "Then of course there are the Gods of the seven rivers of the Underworld, Acheron, Alpheus, Cocytus, Eridanos, Lethe, Phlegethon, and Styx."

"Beat me to the punch why don't you?" Hyllus chuckled.

"You just have that information stored in your head, do you?" Mal asked.

Ben shrugged. "I like to read."

"Was I named after her?" Macaria whispered to her father. "The Goddess of Blessed Death I mean?"

"You were," Hercules whispered back. What? He had liked the name.

Hey, if it gets them to leave me alone they can call me whatever they want, Hades thought as he watched some of the younger kids of the Isle run around on the docks. They looked to be around five or six, though Hades knew looks could be misleading.

"Don't I know it," Carlos muttered to himself.

The quality of the food that was being sent to the Isle each month had quickly deteriorated to the point where most of it was inedible.

Leah rubbed her hand over her mouth, looking pensive as she cleverly hid a smirk. It wouldn't do to look too pleased, not with the Gods in the same room as her.

Ben shook his head. "I'm getting to the bottom of this. Food is a human right that they should have! I mean, I can't even start to think about the medical issues the people of the Isle have got to be having."

"So you want to tell him or shall I?" Uma muttered to Mal.

"Why are we telling him anything?" Mal muttered back.

"Because it'll likely get revealed in one of these scrolls and at least then we can avoid Boreadon knowing all our weaknesses."

Mal sighed. "Fine…but I'll tell him. I'm the highest ranked VK here."

Ben whipped his head toward them, having heard that last bit of conversation.

"Tell me what?"

Mal sighed and shook her head. "Normally I probably wouldn't tell you this but since we're apparently spilling secrets, most of the girls…well their cycles are…barley non-existent."

"We've done the math. If the Isle continues to be like it is without change…" Uma added.

"There'll be no one or at least close to no one on it in about three generations," Mal said softly.

"People do die on the Isle after all," Harry muttered.

Emir shook his head, just as angry as his sister was. "So who's ever doing this…"

"They're essentially committed to killing an Island of people, most of whom are completely innocent of their parents' crimes," Ben said, his eyes hardening slightly before taking a slight breath to stabilize his emotions as he looked at the VKs. "Guys, I promise. I'll find out who's behind this."

"I'll have the shipping records pulled as soon as we get back," Belle promised.

The rare edible items would quickly be snatched up by Maleficent as she ran the Isle. Everyone in her clique benefited from the arrangement while everyone else on the Isle suffered.

"At the time it was just Jafar and Cruella. Well and Maleficent's goblins," Carlos said softly.

"And trust me, only they benefited," Jay muttered under his breath. He had his father's quota to meet after all. If he didn't meet it…well he'd be lucky if he didn't get locked out of the house for the night.

If Hades was a more naive person (or a more naive God), he might think it was a good thing that Maleficent had Mal because at least then she'd be able to get some decent food.

Mal couldn't help but explode in laughter, her head thrown back and tears starting to form in her eyes.

"Oh…Gods! Maleficent…give me more food…than she deemed necessary? Dad, you must have been around…Pain or Panic too long to assume that!"

"I believe the scroll said if I was a more naive person or God," Hades reminded her, not liking the fact that his suspicions had basically been confirmed.

But Hades knew there was a slim chance his daughter was getting anything more than what she needed to survive.

"That's if I behaved," Mal muttered under her breath. She could still remember the pangs of hunger as Maleficent deprived her of dinner for not being evil enough. She'd normally skip breakfast willingly and run over to Uma's mom's restaurant to get something for lunch before she met her dad.

It was partially because of the deteriorating food supply that Persephone had gotten the idea to open a restaurant on the Isle. Hades was against it at first, due to how risky it would be, but ended up agreeing.

"Risky?" Hera asked, looking over at Hades. "You're both Gods."

"Anything done on the Isle had an element of risk to it," Persephone told her. "But it had only been nine years since the Isle was created. I still had the brush of Auradon over me, and to be frank, Auradon wasn't exactly winning popularity contests over on the Isle."

"But…the Isle is part of Auradon," Ben said softly.

"I'm sorry Prince Ben but the Isle doesn't see it that way," Persephone told him. "And from the food supply they've been given, many of the residents believe that Auradon doesn't see it that way either."

It was good for Steph to have something to keep her mind off Mal—plus with them putting Hades' name on the building, it essentially became his restaurant.

Thus ensuring no one would mess with it.

"I mean they tried, but it was mainly Maleficent and her ilk," Hades shook his head.

"The goblins didn't like the fact that they had competition?" Mal asked.

"Exactly."

Persephone had been key in getting ingredients from Auradon; things that normally would be impossible to find on the Isle though they had to be non perishable since even Persephone couldn't keep meat and dairy fresh for six months without it going bad.

"Didn't I give you a cooler that kept food fresh?" Demeter asked Persephone.

"Not for another year mother," Persephone shook her head. Gods that would have been so handy…how many lives could have been saved if I'd had that.

Leaning over the rail of the pier, Hades watched as the kids continued to run along the docks. Unless they're incredibly short for their age, they'd be around Mal's age, he thought. I wonder if Maleficent has finally allowed her to walk around the Isle unaccompanied now or if she's still trying to pass off the facade of a devoted mother.

"Who are the kids?" Harry asked, trying to think if he remembered any kids running around the dock at that time.

"Idiot, they're us," Uma scoffed. "We always ran around the docks when we were kids."

"Lord Hades didn't give any indication that they could be us!"

"What other kids would be running around the docks closest to your father's shop?"

Mal though snorted at the idea that Maleficent would ever be a devoted mother.

His mind wandered briefly from his daughter to Auradon and the population boom they'd had over the last five years. Persephone was quick to inform him whenever a royal gave birth.

"Honestly we had nothing better to do," Hades shrugged as Poseidon looked at him as if to ask why.

Rapunzel had given birth to another daughter and a son bringing her total to six kids,

"How do you do it?" Cinderella asked, looking at Rapunzel.

Rapunzel chuckled. "Sometimes I ask myself the same question Ella. It helps that they get along most of the time."

Ariel had given birth to another child,

"Another child, what was my gender to be kept a mystery?" Melody snorted in amusement.

Cinderella had birthed two daughters much to Lady Tremaine's annoyance,

"Three daughters you mean," Alexandria chimed in as Cinderella sighed softly at hearing how her step-mother had been annoyed at the birth of her daughters.

"What do you mean Alex?" Kitty asked.

"This was five years from when Mal was kidnapped right?" Alexandria asked. At her sister's nod, she continued, "so mom had three daughters in that time frame. You and Lu were two years after Chad and then I was two years after you. That's still within the five year time frame."

Jasmine had given birth to a daughter

Ashaki chuckled as Jasmine gently kissed the top of her head, holding her daughter close to her.

and Aurora had given birth to a son.

"Not that Grandmother even acknowledges that fact," Phillip Jr. muttered under his breath but smiled as his father wrapped his arms over his shoulder in a small side hug.

That last announcement had particularly ticked off Maleficent from what Hades could see in the ember, though she thankfully did not take her anger out on Mal but rather on her goblin minions.

Phillip Jr. sighed a little in relief. He knew he had no control over Maleficent's actions but he was still glad his birth hadn't caused more pain to Mal.

If she could have found a way to do so, though, Hades was sure that his ex-wife would have.

There hadn't been an inspector out here for years,

Uma paused and looked over at Belle, unsure if she should read aloud the next part. Oh sure, she didn't really care about the feelings of the royals who saw fit to imprison children on their prison island and not even bother to give them decent food but she also knew how emotional those prissy Auradonians could be.

"What's wrong?" Mal muttered, leaning close to her cousin and Uma pointed to the next bit. "Oh. Well…I'm sure everyone already knows about it. I mean if Dad—."

"Uncle Hades is the God of the Dead, Mal. He'd know about a miscarriage." Uma said, keeping her tone as low as possible.

"Will you hurry it up!" Leah snapped, cutting off whatever Mal was going to say. "Honestly if we're here for much longer, we might return to our kingdoms overrun!"

"And here I thought it impossible to hate someone more than I hate the Dragon," Mal muttered as Uma shook her head and resumed reading.

not since the announcement of Queen Belle's second pregnancy three years ago. It lasted six months and the kingdom had been preparing for the birth of their new princess before it was announced that the Queen had miscarried.

Tears prickled in the corner of Belle's eyes at the reminder of her daughter. Of the pregnancy she'd lost. She could still remember that day like it had been yesterday.

"Who does that woman think she is? Wanting to put Ben in a betrothal contract?!" Belle exclaimed as she paced the floor of her bedroom in her castle. Well paced as well as her six month pregnant body allowed her to. "He's three! I will not sell my son like he's some prized horse to be sired! He'll find love in his own time…"

She trailed off as her stomach clenched, pain racking through her body like she had never known before. Not even going into labor with Ben had been this bad. Her hands flew to her stomach as her face lost all color. "Adam!"

Beast came running into their room, rushing to Belle's side. "Lumiere, call a limo now! And have Mrs. Potts watch Ben!"

"Right away sire!" Lumiere called.

"Adam, what's happening?! It's…it's too early!" Belle cried, tears welling in her eyes from both fear and pain.

"It's okay Belle. We'll get you to the hospital, the doctors will try to figure out what's going on," Beast said softly, trying to sooth her.

Belle nodded as Beast picked her up, almost in a bridal pose so they could make it to the limo faster. No, no, no! Abigail! Abby, don't you leave me, she thought as tears streamed down her face.

She was smart enough and had read enough books during her pregnancy with Ben to know that there were only two reasons why she'd be having pain now. She was either in very early labor or she was…

No, I am not going to think like that, she thought as they climbed into the limo and Beast gave the order for the driver to go. We are going to get to the hospital, the doctors will fix what's going on and then I'll have Abby in my arms in a few months. I…I can't lose her! Please, whatever God is listening, please don't let me lose my daughter!

She whimpered as a spasm of pain rocked her body and her hand flew to her stomach once more, the other one held by Beast as the limo sped off to the hospital. "Adam…what if we lose her?"

"We won't Belle. Both her and you are going to be just fine," Beast said gently. "Just focus on relaxing right now. We're almost there."

Belle nodded once more and tried to relax but couldn't as another spasm of pain racked her body. The next few hours were a blur to her as she was rushed into the hospital, people talking over each other so quickly she could only make out a few words. The ones she could make out weren't words that lent themselves well to comfort. Beast tried to stay with her as much as possible, only leaving if he needed to according to the doctors.

Finally Dr. Sweet came into the room. "Your majesties," he said softly, standing at the end of Belle's hospital bed with a sad look in his eyes. "I'm so sorry…we did everything we could but I'm afraid…"

Belle sobbed into Beast's shoulder. He didn't need to say anymore. She knew it.

"I'll give you two time alone," Dr. Sweet said. "Please let me know if you need anything."

"Is…Is Belle alright? Physically at least?" Beast asked, his voice no higher than a whisper as it broke.

Dr. Sweet paused. "Her majesty will be in some pain for a few days while her body recovers. I…I don't want to say anything definitively but unfortunately your majesties…"

"What? You can say it," Belle said, sounding almost broken.

"Your majesties, I'm afraid from what I've seen…Prince Ben may be your only child after this," Dr. Sweet stated. "Her majesty sustained some…damage that…"

"I understand," Belle whispered. "Thank…thank you."

"You're welcome your highness…I just wish I had better news. I'll leave you two alone now. Let me know if you need anything."

At their nods, Dr. Sweet turned and left. As the door shut, Belle sobbed once more. Beast quickly wrapped his arms around her.

"It's not your fault," he said softly.

"I was stressing over that damn contract Leah wanted, how is it not my fault?" Belle whimpered, tears streaming down her face. "I'm so…so sorry Adam. Our daughter…and now I can't even give you more than one child!"

"Hey, hey, it's okay," Beast said, gently rubbing her back. "Belle, this wasn't your fault. Royal life alone is stressful but you were ruling the kingdom and raising Ben. Plus Leah was pressuring us with the contract. It was just…"

"It's all my fault," Belle said, choking out a sob. "Adam, I should have delegated more. You wanted me on bed rest after all! I could have sent someone else to talk with Leah. Gods I hate that woman!"

"You okay?" Beast whispered.

"Just…just remembering that day," Belle whispered back.

Beast nodded, gently rubbing Belle's back as he had all those years ago. And just as before, he was telling himself that he could break when he was alone. That Ben didn't need to see him like that. That he just had a month to go as King and then…and then he could fall apart. Never mind that every time he thought about his daughter, it was like losing his mother all over again. They were to share the same name after all…

Ben frowned slightly as he thought about the sister he never got to know. Akiho and Emir gently resting their hands on his shoulders.

While Beastie would never be Hades' favorite person, Belle at least tried to champion change for the Isle when it was first created. At least, that's what Persephone had heard. Now though, Belle seemed more preoccupied with protecting her sole child and heir to the throne rather than continue the changes she sought to make.

Mal bit her lip and sighed as she looked over at Belle and Beast. "I…I know it won't mean much coming from me but….my condolences," she said. Even if those two were the reason she and her brother were trapped on the Isle…no one should go through that pain.

Hadie nodded in agreement, neither Godling noticing the proud yet sad smiles on their parents faces.

"Thank…thank you Mal, Hadie," Belle said, her voice soft and Beast nodded.

Not that Hades could blame her for being distracted. He still found it hard to do his job and Mal was still alive. He couldn't imagine what losing a child would be like, and he ran the Underworld.

Hades shook his head. How in the world did he ever think he could compare the two? At least Mal was still alive…he could at least see her through the ember back then.

It had been tempting, for a minute, to have Steph send a condolence card when the news broke but Hades knew that would only put a potential target on Mal. The people of Auradon would wonder why Hades was sending a condolence card and the residents of the Isle would wonder if Hades had gone soft and try to find out why.

"I thought you'd think that," Persephone sighed. "Which was why I didn't sign your name on the card I sent them. I debated about it but I thought you wouldn't want me to."

"You know me so well," Hades told her.

Zeus was not the only one to look at Hades in shock. Beast also looked at Hades in surprised amazement at hearing that.

"Thank you, Lord Hades," Belle said, her voice soft but Hades could hear the gratitude.

"Steph told me that you were the one who spearheaded any positive changes we had on the Isle," Hades told her. "And even if you weren't, the one thing I hate is seeing the souls of babies and children come to me to be judged. They didn't get a chance to fully live to earn a judgement. If…if it's any comfort, you should know that Abigail is in Elysium."

"I'd…"

"Beastie, are you seriously going to say I'd subject a baby to Tartarus?"

"She was my daughter."

"She did not commit your crimes. She did not deserve to be sent to Tartarus."

It was a potential lose-lose either way.

"The thought is still appreciated though Lord Hades," Ben said.

"Ah Hades," Hook exclaimed as Hades walked into the pirate's shop. "What can I help you with?"

"Well he wants to know the price of tea in China. Why do you think he's there Hook?" Mal growled slightly. She would never forgive the Captain for how he treated Harry and she knew Uma felt the same.

"What do you think?" Hades asked with an eye roll. "It's Tuesday isn't it?"

Normally he'd have Pain or Panic pick up the supplies, or even Panic's son Virgil since the boy was now eight and able to be trusted with simple errands, but Hades wanted to use this rare opportunity to see if Maleficent had allowed Mal the ability to roam the Isle without her.

"Just because the Dragon didn't allow it didn't mean I didn't do it," Mal smirked. "How else would I meet up with Uma and Harry?"

So far, he hadn't seen any sign of his daughter but that didn't mean that wouldn't change.

"And change it did," Hades chuckled.

"Of course," Hook said running his lone hand through his short black hair. "We'd just grown so used to seeing your henchminions that we had not expected the honor of seeing you."

"Henchminions isn't a word…" Ben said, sounding almost as if the word pained him to say.

"I guess 'henchimps' would be better," Mal nodded.

"That's not a word either!"

Mal chuckled. She didn't know why but she enjoyed getting a rise out of the Crown Prince.

"No one likes a kiss up, Hook," Hades told him. "Except for Gaston. That man's ego understands nothing but flattery."

"Just one good knock to the ego, would that be too much to ask for Coach Gaston?" Jay muttered.

"He's a coach?"

"Someone allowed him to be around children?"

"To answer your questions: yes he is a coach and he has kids. Why wouldn't he be around them?" Mal said with a shrug as she looked at Belle and Beast.

Hook snorted in amusement before looking over his shoulder. "Harriet, lass, come here!"

A young girl about maybe eight or nine walked out from the back and came up to the counter. "Yes, Captain?"

"She calls her father 'Captain'?" Aurora asked.

"Typical Isle child, no respect for her—."

"She calls him 'Captain' because that's what we're told to call him once he deems us old enough to talk 'properly'," Harry snapped. Sure he was revealing a bit more than he wanted to but he wasn't going to have Leah or anyone else demean Harriet!

"Go and get the order for Lord Hades. It should be in its usual place. Your brother was supposed to ensure it was there before he ran out to the docks."

"And I did," Harry muttered.

Harriet nodded and left to go to the back room. Hades raised an eyebrow.

"You gave me grief last year for running a restaurant yet you run a fish market? What happened to the pirate way?"

"I'm sure the pirate way's hard to do when he's trapped on an Isle. Not that that's necessarily a bad thing," Melody muttered. She was fine with Harry but…she wasn't crazy about pirates. Not when they killed her grandmother.

"It's hard to ravage the seas and pillage villages when you're trapped under a barrier," Hook shot back but Hades found he didn't mind. Hook was tolerable as far as the Isle Villains went. "Plus fishing keeps the boy out of trouble."

"Even if it's the most boring thing known to man," Harry shook his head. "I'd rather be sparring."

"With Uma?" Mal asked.

"Of course," Harry grinned, not noticing the teasing tone in Mal's voice.

Hades opened his mouth to respond but was interrupted by Harriet's reappearance, holding the order of fish. "Captain, CJ threw up," the young girl said. "I don't think she liked her dinner last night."

"Oh no!" Snow White gasped. "The poor dear."

"Was she alright?" Aurora asked, looking at Harry.

Harry shrugged. "I was five at the time. I don't really remember."

"Well it's all the brat will get. It's all we were able to get from the delivery this month," Hook snapped, turning to his eldest child.

Harry frowned slightly. He called the runt a brat? I thought she was his favorite. Maybe it's just a show for Lord Hades. No weakness allowed on the Isle after all.

"He runs a fish shop and yet he's reliant on the delivery barge?" Uma scoffed.

"Hard to make money if you're eating your wares," Mal pointed out.

"She's three!" Harriet exclaimed, as if unable to prevent the outrage from spilling out. "She can't control it!"

"Go wait in the back," Hook said, his eyes darkening ominously. Harriet glared but obeyed her father.

Harry's hands curled into fists, one tightening his grip on his hook. It was one thing to be used as the Captain's personal punching bag but he'd better not have laid hand or hook on his sister!

"Everything okay?" Hades asked, not that he cared.

That'll change in a few years dad, Mal thought with a small smile as she thought back to when they were nine. To when her dad offered Harry a job at his restaurant just because he wanted to keep her safe…how he offered up the spare guest room to Harry so his ribs could heal…

The pirate was notorious for his hatred of children which made it surprising he had sired three of them.

"Nothing I can't handle," Hook told him, holding Hades' order; the handles of the bag dangling in his hook. "The same deal, I take it?"

"Hades and his deals," Zeus muttered.

"You and your allies eat free at the restaurant," Hades nodded. "I don't go back on my deals, Hook."

"And I'd like everyone here to remember that!" Hades stated, giving his nephew a hard look. Hercules, at the very least, had the decency to look sheepish: he was more than likely remembering the deal he had made with his uncle. A deal he'd failed to keep.

You like making deals…keep me in Meg's place…

"I'm sorry, restaurant?" Hyllus asked.

"Dad, you're not allowed to close that restaurant by the way," Mal said, ignoring Hyllus' question. "It's been a lifesaver."

"Well seeing as it was that restaurant that allowed me to have time with you before you came to live in the Underworld again Mali, I'm never closing it unless I have to," Hades nodded.

Hook nodded and Hades grabbed the bag of ingredients—mainly fish since that was the freshest thing they could find on the Isle. Beast can prevent edible food from arriving from Auradon but he can't control the sea, Hades thought as he left. That's Poseidon's territory and Ursula's his little girl. Poseidon would make sure his daughter and granddaughter at least got something to eat and if the rest of us benefit from that, well he doesn't need to know.

"Did you know? About the food?" Hades asked Poseidon.

"I had an idea but I didn't know it was as bad as what we've learned," Poseidon stated. "I got a message once from Uma through the mental link…though I don't think she meant to."

"I definitely did not mean to," Uma nodded.

"Anyway, she had asked for something fresh to eat since her birthday was coming up and I sent over a school of fish."

"Huh," Mal mused. "That does explain why there's a bunch more fish around your birthday cuz."

As he walked back onto the pier, Hades couldn't help but smile softly at the sight of the children still running around on the docks. Busy in their own little world, not worried about where their next meal would come from or if the shipments would be fresh enough to eat.

"Not true," Uma shook her head. "We may have been five but…we were old enough to know the food status at least."

"Innocence is the first thing to die on the Isle after all," Mal shrugged, unknowingly giving all the Auradonians (well all those who cared) a punch to the gut.

Looking closer, Hades could tell that the group consisted of a boy and two girls. It wasn't unusual for the younger kids to intermingle; the boys tended to protect the girls if needed.

"Hey, girls don't always need guys to protect them!" Lonnie stated.

"Yeah, sometimes the guys need the girls," Kitty nodded with a grin.

Though considering the boy of this group just dumped water on one of the girls, Hades would assume that the boy would be the one needing protection.

"Harry Hook, you'll pay for that!" Hades heard the girl exclaim and his heart clenched, having heard that voice on the ember many times throughout the years. That was Mal.

"You poured water on Mal?" Hadie asked Harry.

"Sure did," Harry nodded.

"And you're still alive?"

"What are you going to do about it, dragon girl?" Harry teased as Mal chased him up the dock to where Hades was standing. Before Hades had time to move, he felt a small thud on the back of his legs, almost around his knees.

"Not going to lie, that was probably the funniest thing I'd ever seen," Uma chuckled. "Mal was just running full speed after Harry and then *thud*. Right into Uncle Hades' legs!"

"Hey watch it!" Mal's voice came from behind him and Hades had to school his features as he turned around. His heart sank as he saw a bit of fear cross over his daughter's face before she was able to school her features.

Dad? Mal said through their mental link.

Yeah Mali?

If I knew then what I know now…I probably should have hugged your leg and begged you to take me home with you rather than just say 'watch it'.

Mal, you were five and we were in public. I don't fault you for reacting the way you did. Even if it took all my willpower not to scoop you up and take you home myself.

"Forgive me Lord Hades, I wasn't watching where I was going," Mal said, looking at Hades in a respectful but defiant manner.

"So typical Mal then," Jay chuckled.

"Be more careful next time," Hades said, trying hard to keep his tone neutral even though every fiber in his body was screaming to snatch Mal up and take her home with him.

"I should have," Hades sighed.

"And Mal probably would have screamed bloody murder," Persephone told him.

Mal shrugged. "Or just kicked him in the shins. Everyone knows you don't make a scene after all and Harry and Uma were there too."

Hard to believe she's gotten so big,

"Have we changed the definition of big?" Uma snorted.

"You're not that much taller!" Mal exclaimed.

"Key word is taller cuz."

Hades thought as Mal got back up and proceeded to chase Harry down the pier once more; all thoughts of Hades completely driven out of her mind. The remaining girl shook her head in amusement as she strolled up to the pier and stopped next to Hades.

"To this day, I don't know why," Uma chuckled slightly at the actions of her younger self.

She seems familiar but I can't put my finger on it, Hades thought, looking at the girl out of the corner of his eye. She was small, though maybe an inch taller than Mal, with her bright blue hair tied up in braids.

"Uma!" Celia grinned.

"Hey Uncle Hades," she said in a low tone, as if to not be overheard. Hades knew who this girl was now. He had seen glimpses of her in passing when Hades would walk along the streets of the Isle, plus the one time he saw her as a baby when Persephone insisted he visit Ursula back when they still had Mal. That was the only visit Hades had paid his niece in the nine years they'd been on the Isle and it would continue to be that way if Hades had any say in the matter.

"And it did, I think that was the only time I saw Ursula was when I went to see you when you were a guppy," Hades told Uma.

"…you wouldn't happen to have any photos?" Poseidon asked. He had so many baby photos of Attina, Andrina, Adella, Alana, Arista, Aquata, and Ariel from Triton and Elle and Melody from Ariel, Arabella from Alana, and Jaime from Andrina but he didn't have any of Uma.

"It's the Isle Poseidon," Hades said, looking almost regretful but it might have been a trick of the light. "The only photos I have are what Steph takes."

"Uma," Hades said, nodding his head at his great niece. Uma didn't stick around long, running after Mal and Harry. Hades couldn't help but smirk as Uma barked out an order that Mal seemed to ignore—the little squidling was going to be an interesting companion for Mal.

"Companion…co-captain," Uma grinned, moving her hands up and down as if they were scales.

"You also forgot cousin!" Mal said with a smile.

I wonder how they got to know each other, Hades thought as he turned to leave. After all, I don't see Ursula becoming friendly with Maleficent. The whole fire and water thing doesn't really work out all that well.

Still it was good to know that Mal would have allies if she needed them. It'd be a good way to keep her away from Maleficent as much as possible.

"How did you guys wind up allies?" Jay asked. "You were such a tight knit group when I joined that I never asked.

Mal chuckled. "Thank the Dragon actually."

"…Explain."

"Gladly," Mal smirked. Being a Godling and still keeping a bit of her Fae magic even after the adoption, she had a better memory than most. "I met Uma when I was three and the Dragon went over to Ursula's Chip Shoppe to try to recruit her as a minion."

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure Ursula turned that down," Jay snorted.

"You'd be correct," Mal nodded. "But I saw Uma then so a couple of days later, I grabbed a bit of food and made my way to the docks. Coincidently that was when I met Harry too."

"We had a parley right then and there," Uma nodded. "I mean, I had access to food through mama's restaurant but what VK turns down more food? Especially the quality of food Maleficent can get?"

"After a couple of years, it basically became an alliance of 'I provide protection, Mal provides food,' before morphing into what it is now," Harry shrugged.

"Boy!" Hook shouted from the doorway of his shop. He must have been watching from a back window. "Come here!"

"Doesn't he know your name?" Emir asked with a slight frown.

Harry shrugged. "It's the Captain, I've stopped trying to figure out his mind."

"Coming papa!" Harry called back and Hades watched with a heavy heart as the young male Hook came running from the end of the pier. Hades knew he would give anything to have Mal call him 'papa' or any other name she wanted.

"I started off calling you 'father'," Mal chuckled. "That lasted for a day I think before I switched to 'dad'."

Hook grabbed Harry's wrist with his hand. "What do you think you're doing, roughhousing with Maleficent's daughter?" Hook hissed.

Harry subtly rubbed his wrist. He could still remember that day, the Captain's grip was so tight Harry was afraid he'd break his wrist.

"We..we were just having a bit of fun, papa!"

Belle frowned slightly. It was hard to tell since it was being read but was there a bit of fear in the younger boy's tone?

"Do you want the dragon to come down on us?" Hook growled. "Besting Maleficent's daughter in a fight is like besting Maleficent. Do you understand?"

Harry nodded, a little frantically in Hades' opinion but he wasn't going to judge a five year old for being afraid of Maleficent.

I wasn't afraid of the Dragon…I was more afraid of the Captain, Harry thought with an inward sigh. He wasn't going to lie though, he was thankful for Lord Hades thinking it was because of Maleficent. Made him look less weak.

Now Hook, Hades was going to judge until the cows came home.

She's completely powerless, with the exception of making her eyes glow green. She can't do anything to you, you worthless codfish, Hades thought with an inward eye roll.

"Don't start singing. You know Harry hates that song," Mal warned, looking at Jay.

"Wasn't going to Mal," Jay promised. But I can think it! Hook is a codfish, a codfish, a codfish!

"Don't make me hit you," Harry muttered, seeing the look on Jay's face. He had a sinking feeling he knew what Jay was thinking about.

"Directed to the Captain Harry, directed to the Captain."

"Now go!" Hook barked, releasing the boy's wrist. "Make yourself useful and get some more fish."

"How much fish does one man need?" Audrey rolled her eyes.

"…he runs a fish shop," Phillip Jr. said, looking at his sister in concerned amazement.

Harry nodded and ran off, presumably to get the fish but Hades didn't know nor did he particularly care. The boy was friendly with Mal, that's all Hades needed to know. In the distance, Hades could see Mal and Uma run off and he couldn't help but wonder what those two were up to.

Two villains left to their own devices is terrifying on its own. Two villains who happen to be cousins…well we should just hope the Isle remains standing, Hades thought as he turned to leave. He needed to get this fish to the restaurant so he could get started.

"Hey we kept the Isle standing!" Mal exclaimed.

"If only because we were five and our powers were muted because of the barrier," Uma added.

The restaurant wasn't too far from Pirate's Cove; located near Lady Tremaine's hair shop

"I'm sorry, who's hair shop?" Cinderella asked.

"Granny's hair shop," Dizzy said with a grin that faded slightly as she continued. "All she lets me do is sweep though."

"You work there? But you're what? Eight? Nine?" Chad asked.

"Better than the alternative," Dizzy shrugged.

"Who told her about the alternative?" Mal muttered to Uma. Part of having someone under their protection was making sure to keep the innocence alive for the younger kids.

"Dunno but I'll find out Mal," Uma muttered back.

in the neutral ground. It was one of the few places villains from every clique could come and grab a bite of actually edible food. It was all Persephone's idea. Hades just cooked the food.

"You cook?" Zeus asked.

"Don't sound so surprised Zeus," Hades rolled his eyes.

He didn't use to know how to cook. Why would he need to? He was a God after all, there would be others who could do that for him. Even after getting tossed on the Isle, Hades hadn't bothered to learn; instead using his status as a God to get as close to first dibs on the monthly deliveries as he could get.

"And that was pretty darn close I'll have to say. Considering most of the underlings were terrified of me," Hades smirked, making sure he watched his language for the younger ears in the room.

It wasn't until he had Mal and she had been living with him that Hades finally bothered to learn, back when he thought that Mal would be living with him for all time. Mal, only being half god, would need more in the way of food than Hades or Persephone would.

A parent would do anything for their child, even learn a new skill, Kit nodded. It was why he tried to learn at least one 'non royal' skill each year. So that way he could teach his kids and they'd be able to have that knowledge should they need it.

Plus…his wife hadn't been royal and was trying so hard to learn the ins and outs of royal life even now. It was the least he could do to make sure she was comfortable.

It was odd but Hades found he did enjoy it. His main job would forever be running the Underworld but cooking was a nice little side project.

And the restaurant's less depressing, Hades thought to himself.

Heating up the fryer, Hades began working on the bakaliaros—one of the few dishes he could make with what was available on the Isle. Sure it would end up competing with Ursula's fried fish over at her chip shoppe since it was a fried fish dish but Hades didn't care.

"Dad, is there anything you do care about?" Mal chuckled.

"You, your brother, and your mother," Hades said instantly.

He didn't need money. The restaurant was Persephone's way of giving back to the Isle.

"I could be doing so much more," Persephone sighed.

"You've done more than anyone could ask of you," Hades said softly.

"Yeah mom," Mal nodded. "That formula was a lifesaver. Literally. And the food you've brought over, the pain meds, the first aid kits…"

"I…children were suffering. I couldn't just stand by," Persephone sighed. "Not when I had access to Auradon. I'm just sorry for the kids who suffered when I was off the Isle."

The only thing Hades cared about was being able to see his daughter—and if the restaurant gave him the chance to do so, he'd not say a negative thing about it.

"And he's kept that promise by the way," Persephone smiled.

"Spoilers, Steph," Hades teased.

Gods I'd love to find a way to get some chicken over here, Hades thought as he cleaned the fish.

"Well it'll be a while but we'll handle that for you Lord Hades," Jay said with a smirk.

"Yeah yeah," Harry shook his head. "He steals one chicken and he thinks he's the best."

"Seeing as you were eating pavement whenever you tried?"

"Who told you…Mal?!"

Some souvlaki would be great to make but chicken is rarer than gold in these parts. There's no way I'd trust any chicken Auradon sent over anyway. Not if it meant Mal could get sick.

Estelle perked up his head at the mention of chicken.

"Sorry boy, none here," Mal chuckled as Estelle whined slightly.

"Does he like to eat chicken?" Ben asked.

"He likes to help Jay catch chicken," Mal stated with a smirk as the AKs looked slightly shocked.

Quickly battering the fish, Hades went and flipped the sign from closed to open on the front door. Not that it mattered, people came in all the time. Hades could argue that he wasted his money on that closed sign, if he had actually paid for it.

"I don't even want to know why you lot threw out a closed sign," Hades shook his head.

Now all he had to do was wait for people to show up. Hades didn't care. He had seen his daughter in person for the first time in five years. He could wait as long as he needed.

"Well that…was a very packed chapter," Uma stated.

"I'd read but I think it might get caught on my hook," Harry stated.

Elle raised her hand. "Can I read next?"

"Sure. Don't see why not," Mal shrugged.

Elle smiled as her sister handed her a scroll. "Thanks Mel."

"No worries," Melody smiled back at her and went to go sit back down as Elle untied the scroll and got started reading.

It turned out Hades didn't have too much longer to wait, as the day wore on. The ebb and flow of customers was at a pretty steady stream until an hour before Hades 'closed' for the day. He never officially closed up shop and most knew that there were prepared dishes in the kitchen that people could take from if needed.

"Dad, that's a practice that needs to keep going," Mal nodded.

"Oh yeah, the crew's found that to be a lifesaver," Uma agreed.

"Or you know when one of us gets locked out for the night," Jay shrugged.

Aladdin looked at the older boy in shock. "I'm sorry what?"

Jay looked over at him. "Exactly what I said. If Harry, Uma, or I get locked out of our homes, we'll go over to Lord Hades' restaurant and grab one of those prepared meals."

"The clubhouse has nowhere to store food after all," Uma stated.

Hades sighed. Those prepared plates were meant to help the kids of the Isle but he didn't think they would have to help his kid. He was more than happy to of course. He just wish they weren't needed.

Where those dishes were kept, though, was a secret only a select few knew. Hades obviously was one of them, considering he ran the place. Panic was another, and Hook was the last person who knew.

Hades wasn't exactly thrilled to share that information with the pirate but in exchange for that and letting him and his allies eat for free, Hades got his orders from Hook's shop free of charge.

"Let me guess, you can't get something for nothing?" Elle asked.

"Exactly!" Uma nodded.

The front door clanged open and Hades didn't bother to look up. He knew, despite there only being one option, that most villains still took their sweet time ordering their food. Hades didn't mind—he just charged them extra for that. There was never a price on the board so no one ever tried to fight him on it.

Leah shook her head. Dastardly, trying to cheat his customers. The only positive about the whole thing is that he's trying to cheat villains!

They all knew the motto of the Isle: life ain't fair. Hades just happened to like teaching it to the adults who hadn't learned it yet.

"So what adults needed to learn that lesson?" Lonnie asked.

"My money's on low level villains who thought themselves more important than they truly were, right dad?" Mal asked.

Hades nodded. The 'high level' villains never came into his restaurant since they could easily get the food from the barge.

"What's bakaliaros?" Mal's voice called out, sounding out the word slowly as if it was foreign to her.

"Oh dad can make some great bakaliaros!" Hyllus grinned.

Hades looked over at Hercules. "You cook?"

Hercules shrugged. "I grew up mortal after all. It had been an interesting experience, what with my strength but I learned," he said. Even after all these years he wasn't sure if it was okay referring to his adoptive parents as 'mom and dad' around his parents. He didn't want to bring up bad memories.

Considering its Greek background, it probably was. Hades' heart clenched and he took a deep breath before looking out the window that allowed him to see out to the front of the house from the kitchen. Frowning when he didn't see anyone, Hades made his way from the kitchen to the front counter. Looking down, he had to hold back a chuckle as he saw Mal. No wonder he hadn't seen her, she was so short that the counter had completely hidden her from view.

"Dad!" Mal exclaimed, a pale flush to her cheeks, as Uma and Harry burst out laughing. Jay just shook his head in amusement.

"Oh yes, sorry Mal. Let me go and revise my observations from over ten years ago!" Hades shook his head.

"Thank you!"

"That was sarcasm."

"It's a fish dish," he said, leaning on his forearms as he rested on the counter, looking at her. "Basically just fried fish."

Mal rolled her eyes. "If I wanted fried fish, I'd have gone to Ursula's chip shoppe. That's all she ever has."

"And at the time fish was all Uncle Hades' restaurant had too!" Uma chuckled, still amused by the previous paragraph.

"Well that's the option for the week. Take it or leave it," Hades told her, holding back an offer to invite her to eat back at his home.

"So why didn't you?" Phillip Sr. asked. Had that been Audrey or Phil, he'd have scooped them up in his arms and hightailed it out of there…but then again, he hadn't spent time on the Isle.

"I'm sure it'll explain soon enough," Hades sighed.

Maleficent never told her about you, that's clear as day. Take it slow otherwise you're going to risk chasing her off, Hades thought as Mal bit her lip softly, clearly thinking about it.

"Fine," Mal scoffed. "I'll take some. To go."

"Fair enough," Hades nodded and walked back into the kitchen. Most villains took their order to go since the front of house was too small to feasibly fit more than fifteen tables. That didn't mean Hades didn't feel his heart sink when he heard Mal say that though.

"Most villains also took it to go because they preferred eating in their territory," Mal added. "Dad's restaurant might be in neutral territory but that didn't mean you wanted to linger."

He didn't know what was crueler: the years of only seeing Mal through the ember or getting these brief glimpse of her before she ran off again.

"Why not both?" Eugene asked.

"We know. You like him too," Persephone sighed as Hades opened his mouth.

Eugene grinned. "You hear that Blondie, Lord Hades likes me!"

"Yeah I don't think I like him anymore," Hades shook his head.

"Oh come on!" Eugene exclaimed and Hades chuckled.

Quickly getting to work, Hades mentally did an inventory of what was remaining in his pantry. He had enough fish to make it through a busy week, or at least he had enough that an extra piece of fish wouldn't go amiss.

"Couldn't you get some more from Captain Hook if you ran out?" Alexandria asked.

"Probably. I never found out though," Hades told her.

Making up his mind, he battered and fried three pieces of fish; letting the batter get a nice golden brown before pulling them out of the fryer.

Blotting the fish so that they weren't too oily and potentially led to the bag breaking, Hades wrapped them up and stuck them into a paper bag. For the first time since he opened the doors to the restaurant, Hades wished the dish took longer to make just so he could spend more time with Mal.

"Overcook a piece of fish so she stays longer?" Emma threw out there.

"But then Lord Hades has less fish for the week," Lonnie pointed out.

"That was quick," Mal said as Hades walked back to the counter.

"Yeah well it doesn't take that long to fry three pieces of fish," Hades told her.

Mal looked over at the sign that listed the dish of the week. "Sign says two pieces," she said with a suspicious edge to her voice that seemed out of place on a five year old.

"Why did I write the amount of fish on the sign?" Hades muttered.

Belle, though, couldn't help the small smile that came to her as she thought about a younger Ben pointing out a spelling error a shop had on a promotional sign. It was strange but in a strange way she almost hoped the purple haired girl and her son would become friends.

"Sign's wrong," Hades told her.

"Then change it."

"Honestly, no respect for adults—."

"Mother, stop it," Aurora said gently but firmly. "Just stop it."

Hades couldn't help but chuckle at the demand. He knew that if that was anyone else, they'd have found themselves tossed out on the street and their meal shoved where the sun didn't shine. But to have it come from a five year old, Hades' five year old, there was something endearing about it.

"Five year olds can make anything endearing," Kit said with a chuckle.

"That's certainly the truth," Eugene nodded.

"I'll get right on that," Hades told her with a smirk and Mal seemed to stand up a bit straighter, as if proud that she had successfully given a command.

"Oh! How adorable!" Snow White beamed.

"I don't do 'cute' and I don't do 'adorable'," Mal muttered, the flush returning to her cheeks.

Agree to disagree there, Ben thought and then shook his head. Whoa, where'd that thought come from? You're with Audrey! Remember the contract? A King keeps his promises! Even…even if a girl appears who looks exactly like the girl who shows up in your dreams for the past year.

"How much?"

"Pardon?" Hades asked, pausing as he had turned to go back into the kitchen to clean up.

"How much for the food?" Mal elaborated, rolling her eyes and clearly annoyed she had to repeat herself.

Evan nodded. It was certainly annoying as the 'baby' of the family having to constantly repeat yourself because people were talking over you. Sure it wasn't exactly the same thing but he knew where Mal was coming from.

Hades turned and faced her again. "Can't you read?" He asked, pointing to the fine print at the bottom of the Order of the Week sign, quite aware of the fact he had asked that question of a five year old.

"Some five year olds are quite avid readers. Ben was," Belle said.

"Belle, you read to him before he could even talk. Of course he'd be an avid reader," Chip chuckled.

"And he's still smarter than Fish for Brains," Harry shook his head.

"We get it Harry, you hate Gil," Uma sighed.

"Uma, he probably couldn't pour water out of a boot with the instructions written on the heel."

Persephone had insisted that the children of the Isle be able to get food whenever they needed it and money was one resource they never had a lot of.

"Why have money when you can just take what you want?" Jay shrugged.

Mal chuckled. "If you want it, take it and if you can't take it, break it!"

"That's kinda mean don't you think?" Jane said, her voice soft.

Uma shrugged. "It's the Isle. If you're nice, you're perceived as weak."

Mal nodded slightly, remembering the time she helped a goblin pick up a basket of apples he had dropped when she was five. Unfortunately she had made that decision in the presence of Maleficent who knocked the basket over once more and berated her in public about being a disappointment. Thankfully she had somehow escaped without a 'lesson' from the Dragon.

The adults paid, or they worked out a deal with Hades if they didn't have the money on them. The kids, though, never asked for this life. They never did anything to earn being locked on an Isle.

"Oh look it's almost like how Leah and Stefan didn't invite Maleficent to Aurora's christening and yet Aurora was the one to suffer!" Rowyn spoke up.

"Or how Lord Zeus was the one who angered Lord Hades yet it was Hercules who ended up paying for it," Rose nodded.

Rapunzel sighed and looked at Eugene. "You had to pass along your sarcastic trait didn't you?"

Regardless of policy, I wasn't going to charge Mal anyway, Hades thought as Mal looked at the sign. It's not like I'd lose any money, giving away a free meal. Besides, no one's here so it's not like anyone would be able to accuse me of being weak or accuse Mal of taking charity.

"If anything you'd probably look like you were trying to curry favor with Maleficent," Uma pointed out.

"Ugh, you're right," Mal made a face.

"Good thing that'll never happen," Hades stated.

Mal looked back at Hades and eyed the bag of food as if it housed a bomb and not three pieces of fried fish. "What's the catch?"

"Cod, if Hook is to be trusted."

"Oh Gods!" Emir chuckled.

"What?" Hades asked. "I thought it was good!"

"That was such a dad joke," Akiho nodded with a smile.

Hades looked at the Arendelle heir in confusion. He does know I'm a dad right?

Just smile and nod Hades, Poseidon thought to him through the mental link. The mortals are strange sometimes. Even I have to admit that and I have one as a grandson-in-law.

Mal rolled her eyes at what Hades thought to be a pretty good joke. "Everything's got a catch," she said and Hades sighed as he heard the distrust in her voice. Mal was only five, she shouldn't have been so suspicious of the world. What had Maleficent done?

"You know the offer of my sword is still available…"

"We're not going to the Isle to stab Maleficent," Aurora said firmly, looking over at her husband.

"Well, now you can say that's not true," Hades said, leaning on the counter once more and holding the bag at a height that was low enough for Mal to reach but high enough as to avoid her getting insulted. "Ask around, that's been the policy since this place was started."

"I did," Mal said as most of the AKs looked over at her, inquiring expressions on their faces like they wanted to ask but were too polite to ask. "They all said the same thing—that if Lord Hades said that was the policy, then that was the policy."

"Ah the fact that they scare so easily amuses me," Hades grinned.

"But what if that wasn't the policy?" Audrey asked. "I mean, the customer's always right after all."

"Oh thank Gods Tiana's not here," Eugene muttered under his breath. His fellow 'Learning to be Royal' club member would have greeted them to an hour long lecture about how much that phrase needed to be banned.

Mal though just raised an eyebrow. "It's dad's restaurant. He sets the policy."

"Audrey, who taught you that?" Aurora asked.

"It's what Grammy always says," Audrey shrugged and Aurora sighed. Of course.

Mal still seemed a little hesitant but grabbed the bag from Hades and walked out, not saying another word. Hades shook his head and went back to the kitchen to clean up. He couldn't help but feel like he was floating on cloud nine—he had actually had a conversation with Mal.

Zeus held back a sigh as he glanced at his older brother. He had never told anyone this but after his first conversation with Hercules, when he removed his presence from the status and was firmly aware of his surrounding again, he'd had that same feeling for about an hour.

Maybe…maybe he was wrong not to help? But there wasn't anything he could do now though.

Granted he didn't know if he could classify it as much of a conversation but after five years of only seeing her through the ember, Hades would take what he could get.

You should have just taken her to the Underworld, he thought as he began to clean up from the day's service.

Oh yes, the same Underworld where Maleficent's minions had snatched her before?

It would have been a private area where you could have told her who you are. She deserves to know.

"And she found out somehow!" Hadie added.

"Yeah, considering she calls Lord Hades 'dad'," Dizzy nodded and then paused, looking at Mal.

Mal chuckled. "Yes Dizzy. Hades is my dad."

"Uh Mal? Should you be—?"

"Uma, any target on my back that comes from this is removed by one fact."

"Which is?"

"I'll be in Boreadon and Freddy and Zevon are still on the Isle."

"Neat!" Dizzy exclaimed, cutting off what Uma was going to say. "Can you cast fireballs like he can? Oh, can your hair turn to fire?"

"Yes on the fireballs, not sure on the hair thing."

Hades shook his head as he continued to clean up the kitchen. While Mal definitely deserved to know, it was too soon. Besides, Hades didn't want to risk Maleficent hurting Mal because of it or preventing Mal from seeing him again.

"Maleficent also forbid me from going to the docks and I still went," Mal shrugged but couldn't help but smile at her father's concern.

"That just proves you're insane," Uma told her.

"You're my cousin, You share my insanity."

Wiping down the counter and tossing the rag in the sink, Hades couldn't help but smile. He had thought that the restaurant was a waste of time, something that Persephone was doing to take her mind off of Mal. He was only helping to ensure it stayed up and that no one messed with it when Persephone was off the Isle.

Now, though? He wouldn't hear a negative thing about this place.

"That explains the spoiler comment from earlier," Kristoff chuckled.

"Still like you Reindeer King," Hades smiled. "You've got a brain in that head."

"You're going to 'adopt' all the Auradon Royals aren't you?" Persephone sighed.

"No," Hades shook his head. "Not Beastie."

Closing the front door and flipping the sign from 'open' to 'closed' even though he knew full well anyone who wanted to go in would just ignore the sign, Hades couldn't help but give a little whistle as he strolled back to the Underworld. His obvious good mood seemed to scare the underlings more than his negative moods as the streets were completely barren.

"Okay I can have good moods people!" Hades exclaimed as most of the people in the room stared in shock.

"We know dear," Persephone said soothingly.

"Steph?" Hades called out as he stepped into his lair. He was thankful that this wasn't one of Persephone's six months off the Isle. This was news that he had to share in person.

Persephone smiled and kissed Hades on the cheek. "If you had waited to tell me until I got back, I wouldn't have been happy."

"I know," Hades nodded. "But…I wanted to hug you when I gave you the news."

"In the kitchen!" Persephone called back to him. Hades grinned and rushed to the kitchen, where his wife was elbow deep in suds and dishes.

"You know if Lady Persephone can do all those dishes, you can put your cereal bowl in the dishwasher," Lucy muttered to Kitty.

"Decided to do a deep clean?" Hades asked, chuckling at the sight.

"If your minions knew how to clean a gods forsaken dish, we wouldn't have run out of spoons this morning," Persephone grumbled, brushing a bit of hair out of her eyes and leaving a small trail of suds on her cheek.

Hades smiled at the memory. If he was being honest, Steph had never looked better than she had at that moment.

Hades, though, continued to grin; his wife's bad mood failing to dampen his good one.

"Which is really strange to think about considering normally Hades is the gloomy one and Persephone's a ball of sunshine," Poseidon chuckled.

"Honestly it's like a cat and a dog live together," Meg shook her head.

"I can hear you nut-Meg!"

"What's going on?" Persephone asked, noticing the grin on her husband's face. Hades didn't answer but instead closed the distance and enveloped Persephone in a hug. Spinning her around, Hades had to laugh as Persephone let out a surprised squeak.

"…did someone get that on video?"

"No," Hades said, looking at his little brother.

"Hades, do you know how rare it is that something like that occurs?" Poseidon asked.

"Hmm, maybe don't imprison me on an Island of villains and you would have actually seen it Poseidon," Hades shook his head. Despite the slight irritation he couldn't be mad at his brother. Not when he provided so much food to the Isle.

Mal though couldn't help but smile at her father's reaction to just seeing and talking to her.

"Hades!" Persephone exclaimed. "What's happened? Wait, did Maleficent die? Is that what's got you in such a good mood?"

"If only," Leah muttered under her breath.

"Wait, that was your first thought?" Demeter asked her daughter.

"Hades comes to you in a good mood, what do you think?" Persephone said with a slight shrug.

"That something happened to embarrass Zeus."

"Oh that is a good one."

Hades shook his head and spun Persephone around so that she faced him. "No, the dragon's still alive. But my good mood is in relation to her, as odd as that is to say. In fact, you could say my good mood is a relation of Maleficent's."

"Nope! Sorry dad you're wrong!" Mal shook her head. "The only thing the Dragon did was provide the egg!"

"And again, we're going to file that away in the 'never thinking about it again' drawer in our brains," Ashaki muttered.

"Mal?" Persephone gasped, catching on. "You saw her? Outside of the ember, I mean?"

"I didn't just see her Steph. I talked to her!" Hades said, leaning against the island. "Granted it was like a minute long conversation before she ran off but it still happened—and she came by the restaurant!"

"She also ran into your legs," Uma added, chuckling a little at the memory. What? Mal was her cousin but she still found it amusing!

"What?!" Persephone exclaimed, her eyes lighting up in delight. "Oh Hades, why didn't you say something sooner? Did you bring her back with you?"

"I think if he'd done that, it would have been the first thing out of Lord Hades' mouth," Anna said, a sad smile gracing her lips.

Hades shook his head, his good mood slightly diminishing as he thought of Mal having to continue to live with Maleficent. "It was too soon Steph. It was one thing to pretend I stole Maleficent's baby after she was born but Mal's old enough now to fight back. If she didn't want to go and I grabbed her, I might have ended up hurting her."

Again, knowing what I know now, I'd have willingly gone with dad, Mal thought with an inward sigh. But I can understand dad's hesitation too.

Persephone sighed. "When you say it like that, it makes sense. As well, Maleficent's already stolen Mal from us here. It would be all too easy for her to do it again—or worse. Mal's registered as her daughter, she could file a report to Auradon against you if you stole Mal again."

"That registry is completely ridiculous," Hades grumbled. "There haven't been any inspectors here for the past two years and clearly no one cares about the status of the Isle if the food deliveries are any indication."

Belle sighed. The inspectors were her idea but they always came back injured. She hated seeing them suffer and they never had anything to report anyway. At the time, Auradon was in an economic lull and their council couldn't justify the expense that could be going to help the citizens.

"I know," Persephone said, resting a hand on Hades' cheek. Sighing, she decided to change the subject. "How did Mal look?"

Hades smiled. "She looked good. Small for her age compared to the other brats that run amok throughout the Isle but that could be her Fae heritage coming out."

"See?! I told you there was a reason I was smaller than you!" Mal told Uma.

"Or you're just tiny," Uma chuckled.

"We're the same height!"

"Didn't you say I was taller than you?"

"Lack of food too," Persephone added. "Maleficent might be able to get first choice on the deliveries but that doesn't mean she'll give more to Mal than what's needed."

Ben frowned as he heard that, making a mental note of things to include for the next group of VKs. Therapy sessions and medical visits to check for any underlying problems would be two such items.

Hades nodded. "I gave her an extra piece of fish when she came by the restaurant. She noticed the sign said that there were supposed to be two pieces and I told her I fried up three."

"What did you say?" Persephone asked, turning back to finish the dishes.

"Told her the sign was wrong."

"And her response?"

"Told me to change the sign," Hades said as he hopped up to sit on the counter of the island. "I told her I'd get right on that."

Persephone couldn't help but shake her head in amusement. "Oh Gods. Hades, I wish I could have been there."

"Maleficent's letting Mal walk around the Isle by herself now," Hades said. "It's a start at least. I can do more for her—make sure she's getting food, for starters."

Mal bit her lip, causing Hades to sigh.

"Mal?"

"So fun fact, that fish? The three pieces of fish? I may have split that three ways with Uma and Harry," Mal told him.

"I should be surprised and yet I'm not," Hades shook his head.

"And you thought the restaurant was a bad idea," Persephone teased, going back to the dishes.

"What I'm hearing is 'Always listen to your spouse?'" Aziz asked.

"Unless said spouse wants to pretend to be a prince because of a stupid law," Jasmine stated, looking at Aladdin.

"Or if said spouse wanders the marketplace and almost gets her hand chopped off?" Aladdin chuckled.

"Hey, you were right," Hades said, grinning. "I won't complain about that place again. Even if I do have to interact more with Hook because of it."

"I thought Hook was one of the few villains you could tolerate?"

He was until he started using his son as a punching bag, Hades thought, glancing over at Harry.

"He is," Hades nodded. "But some in his crew spend their time around Frollo and it's starting to show. If that sorry excuse for a mortal tries to tell me I'm living in delusion and that there's only one God one more time, he's going to find that hat of his in a very interesting place."

"He's what?" Hera, Poseidon, Demeter, and Zeus exclaimed.

"Ooh is Frollo going to get smote?" Harry grinned. "Can we add Freddy to that?"

"And Zevon!" Jay added.

Mal sighed. "I think the barrier prevents smiting considering Zeus is the one who reinforced it."

"Drat!"

"I get the sense that Freddy is their Audrey," Emir muttered to Akiho.

"I pray for their ears," Akiho muttered back.

Persephone sighed and grabbed a towel, tossing it to Hades. "As long as you don't do it in front of Mal, I won't say anything."

"No! Do it in front of Mal so that way we can read about it!"

"Emma!" Snow exclaimed in shock.

"What? Frollo deserves it mom! Neal told me the stories that Zephyr told him about what Frollo wanted to do to Zephyr's mom," Emma stated.

Hades caught the towel and smirked. "Is this your way of saying 'I washed, you dry'?"

Evie couldn't help the small smile on her lips as _ read that. It was almost like the faint memories she had of her parents…though her mother would never do something as common as the dishes.

"No, of course not!"

"Steph."

Persephone sighed. "I figured you wouldn't want to make dinner on top of doing the cooking at the restaurant. If you can dry, I'll handle dinner."

"Almost reminds me of when your father and I were first married," Rapunzel told her kids with a small chuckle. "Of course, he refused to let me do anything that even remotely resembled household work."

"Yes and yet you still woke up at seven am and swept the floor," Eugene shook his head.

Hades nodded and hopped off the counter to get started on drying the dishes. As Persephone walked away, Hades grabbed her by the waist and pulled her into an embrace. Kissing her gently on the lips, Hades whispered, "she's okay. No matter what happens next, we know Mal's okay."

Every parent's hope, that their children will be alright, Rapunzel thought, a small smile on her lips. I only wish my parents could have had reassurance like that when I was taken.

"The next step is to bring her home," Persephone reminded him, resting her head on his chest.

"Actually next step would be to build trust," Chip pointed out. "What? It's the same thing Belle and Adam had to do almost! Only no adorable five year old teacups have to depend on people falling in love so that they can go back to be human!"

"He never fails to remind me of that at least once a day," Beast sighed.

"It'll be slow going," Hades told her. "She's already so distrustful of others. She looked like I was lying right to her face when I told her there was no charge for the food."

Eugene sighed. He could sympathize a little with that—being a thief, you couldn't really trust anyone. Lance was probably the only one he truly trusted during his tenure as a wanted man.

"Well then, you've got to make her trust you," Persephone said with a smirk that made Hades' heart race. "That shouldn't be a problem for you. After all, there's no way you'd be able to make deals with people if they didn't trust you."

"Not necessarily. I mean I made deals with the Stabbingtons and they didn't trust me nor I them."

"That's not exactly helpful dad," Rachel sighed.

"Those people weren't raised by Maleficent, if you can even call what she's doing to Mal 'raising'," Hades said.

"Let me just tell you now, past-me, you can't," Hades muttered, his face growing dark.

"Didn't you used to tell me that the challenge was the fun part?"

"That's with mortals. Not my daughter."

"I don't make deals with my kids," Hades stated.

Persephone rested a gentle hand on Hades' cheek, looking up at her husband. "Hades, if there's anyone who can do it, it's you."

There's nothing a dad won't do for their little girl, Phillip Sr. thought as he looked over at Audrey with a fond smile.

Breaking from the embrace, Persephone said, "for right now though, focus on drying those dishes. I'll see if I can scare up something for dinner."

"Yes dear," Hades chuckled and grabbed the towel off the counter. "You know though, scaring things is more my area."

"Mom turned someone into a mint plant though, I think that's more scary," Hadie said.

"Yeah dad, and aren't you the one who named their Cerberus 'Spot'?" Mal asked.

"Well then scare those dishes dry," Persephone said as she walked out of the kitchen. Hades chuckled and shook his head; nothing could ruin his good mood right now.

"Not even Pain and Panic being idiots?" Mal asked.

"Not even that," Hades nodded.

"Who's reading next?" Jay called out .

Neal shrugged. "I'll give it a go."

"Alright, let's see what this scroll has to offer," Neal said with a small smile.

The next time Hades was able to have a one on one conversation with his daughter wasn't until a month after the first one. Yes, he still saw her about once a week whenever she came into the restaurant but it was never longer than ten minutes or so. She came in, placed her order which nine times out of ten was a fish dish of some kind, and leave.

"Nine times out of ten," Uma snorted in amusement. "Like Uncle Hades didn't only have fish back then."

Hades had been trying to come up with a fish dish that took longer to make but with no luck. A ten minute prep and cook time seemed to be the perfect amount. The fish either came out too dry or too oily otherwise. Persephone, though, had promised to get a cook book the next time she was off the Isle—or at the very least print off some recipes.

"I mean I'd try to go to the library at Dragon Hall and see if there'd be a cookbook for you dad but it's locked and only Facilier has the key," Mal said.

Ben and Belle looked at her, horror on their faces. "They lock the library?!"

"Probably the worst thing you could have said to two bookworms," Chip told Mal.

Never before had Hades longed for something as simple as an internet connection but now he did. It was bad enough Beast had to put a magical barrier around the Isle but he could have at least given them dial up at the very least. It's not like they could use the Internet to escape.

"Why did we not include internet?" Belle asked, looking over at Beast. "Lord Hades raises a good point, it's not as if it could be used to escape."

"Dear, when we set up the Isle, internet wasn't exactly a thing," Beast reminded her.

"So why didn't we set it up when it became a thing?" Belle said as she raised an eyebrow.

"Oh honestly," Leah scoffed before Beast could answer. "It is a prison after all. They shouldn't have the creature comforts we have."

"I don't like her," Hades muttered to Persephone. "Belle though…she could grow on me."

Persephone snorted in amusement.

Plus, the image of Maleficent trying to use a computer was one Hades would pay to make real instead of living solely in his head.

"Can…can we make that a reality?" Chip asked with a grin, turning to look over at Ben.

Ben shook his head. "How is it you're the older one?"

"That's not a 'no' Benji!"

Hades had been closing up the restaurant when he saw Mal running past him out of the corner of his eye. Now, a child of the Isle running someplace normally wouldn't garner attention. Nine times out of ten, the kid was running from whatever shop keep they stole from and normally was able to get away from in a matter of minutes. The wonders of youth.

Demeter stiffened and shot Hades a look. Why was her granddaughter running around unattended? She was only five years old! For a Godling, that was practically still an infant!

"You know, if you know what you're doing, you don't need to run," Jay said with a smirk.

"Yes, yes, we know you're skilled Jay," Uma shook her head as Harry rolled his eyes.

However, this was Mal. There would have been no reason for her to steal from or run from any of the shop keeps in the area. Being the daughter of Maleficent gave her leeway in that regard. Most shop keeps would have given her the item she asked for as tribute just to keep Maleficent happy.

"Frollo wouldn't," Mal chuckled. "That's fine too because I enjoy the thrill of stealing from him."

"That's if you happen to find yourself in Angel territory?" Jay asked.

"Of course! What, do you think I set out to go steal Frollo's stale bread?"

It does help to have the ability to turn into a dragon even if the magical barrier prevents Maleficent from actually doing it, Hades thought as he saw Fred Frollo chase after his daughter.

"He was what?" Jay asked, turning to Mal with a growl in his voice.

"Please, you honestly think Freddy could do anything to me?" Mal scoffed.

"Yes!"

"Glad to see you think so highly of me Jay," Mal muttered. This stupid reading was going to completely ruin her rep.

To almost everyone's shock, however, Estelle picked up his heads and growled as Neal mentioned Freddy's name.

"Good boy," Jay and Harry said in unison.

"Don't encourage him," Mal sighed. She didn't want Estelle thinking it was okay to threaten people. That was her job.

Guess Mal didn't steal from a shop keep after all. Time to see what the little French fanatic wants with my daughter.

"Nothing good, that's what he wants," Harry muttered and winced as Mal whacked him over the head.

"Dad, don't pay any attention to Harry. Freddy's just a pest, nothing I can't handle," she told Hades.

"Nothing we can't handle you mean?" Uma corrected.

Hades shook his head. "Sorry girls but that's not going to happen."

Be careful Mal, Aurora thought as she gently bit her lip.

Following at a distance, Hades watched as Frollo's son chased Mal into a nearby alley. Mal looked around, seemingly frantic, as she reached the dead end and whirled around to face the other boy.

Ben frowned and glanced at Emir and Akiho, both boys having the same small frowns on their faces as well. They'd grown to like Mal and the other VKs even if they hadn't been in the room for that long…they didn't want to hear about one of them getting hurt.

Hades longed to step in, to protect his daughter from whatever was about to happen.

"So why didn't you?!" Demeter snapped.

"Demeter, out of the two of us, who knows more about the Isle's culture?" Hades asked.

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"Answer the question."

"Well…you."

Hades nodded. "I made a judgement call and I was prepared to step in if it went south."

But he knew that on the Isle, an adult stepping in was the ultimate sign of weakness.

Carlos nodded slightly to himself. It was bad enough when the Rats stepped in because at least everyone knew they had him under their protection. If an adult stepped in…he might as well just hide in his closet because he'd be labeled the Isle Joke.

The only acceptable time was when there was a known alliance or the odds were stacked horribly against the kid the adult was coming to the rescue for. At this point, with a one on one match up, there was no way Mal would forgive him if Hades stepped in now.

"He knows me so well," Mal smirked.

"He should, considering he's half you," Akiho pointed out and chuckled as Mal's smirk vanished slightly, as if not happy that someone had poked a hole in her logic.

After all, reputation was everything on the Isle.

"So not that different from Auradon then," Aziz mused. "I mean, to some people around here, reputation is everything."

"Caught you now, you little witch," Fred growled and Hades could see bright purple paint splattered all over the boy's clothing. Hades could only imagine which Isle resident was responsible for that.

"Thank you, thank you," Mal said, pretending to take a bow as Uma, Jay, Hadie, Celia, Dizzy, and Harry applauded. "I can't take all the credit of course. Freddy stood there and took it."

Why is she alone? Hades thought. From what I've seen, Uma and Hook's kid have been at her side like glue.

"Where were we?" Uma asked Harry.

"Probably at the fish shop or the chip shoppe," Harry said but with a frown at the fact that Freddy had been able to be able to get to Mal.

Hades could only hope that Mal had acted alone and that she didn't have a falling out with her minions. The Isle was dangerous enough with help. Trying to navigate it alone was near suicide. Even Maleficent had her minions, and was even trying to recruit some non goblin ones if the rumor mill was to be believed.

"Considering what Uma and Mal told us about Maleficent trying to recruit Ursula, that rumor should be believed," Rowyn nodded.

She had already snatched up Cruella, though honestly Hades thought the two of them were made for each other. Both of them were completely insane and cared only for themselves.

You're not wrong there Lord Hades, Carlos thought with a small shudder as he thought about the bear traps that surrounded his bed.

That, in addition to Jafar, brought Maleficent's non goblin minions to a grand total of two. While there were safety in numbers, it didn't matter when one terrified the rest of the Isle based on reputation alone.

"…yeah that would tend to help," Akiho nodded.

"You were in our territory, Frollo," Mal said, bringing Hades' attention back to the matter at hand and standing as tall as she could which wasn't that tall.

"Dad!"

"Dear I think our daughter's upset with you," Persephone chuckled.

"You don't say," Hades shook his head.

Despite Frollo's son being just three years older than Mal, the boy still towered over her due to his lean build. "You honestly think you could go after Harry's sister and get away with it? You got off lucky that Harriet only splashed you in the face with sea water. You should have left her alone when she told you the first time."

"Was she alright?" Elle asked, looking over at Harry. "Your sister I mean."

Harry nodded. "It'll take more than Freddy Frollo to take down Harriet that's for sure."

"Honestly guys should respect when a girl says no," Lonnie stated. "If not, well I could always introduce them to a sword!"

"Okay but then girls should do the same if a guy says no!" Chad spoke up.

"When do you ever say no?"

Kit and Cinderella turned to look at their son, both of them raising an inquisitive eyebrow.

"A wonderful story. I don't suppose you have any proof to back it up?" Frollo sneered. "You think just because Maleficent is your mother, you can just walk around the Isle and do what you please? The wicked shall have their just reward."

"I'm conflicted," Phillip Jr. muttered to his father.

"About what?"

"I don't like this guy because of how he's treating Mal but he also doesn't like Maleficent and we all don't like her."

"What does your gut tell you?" Phillip Sr. asked his son.

Phil bit his lip. "That…that this guy's bad news," he said softly.

"Trust your gut," his father said. "It won't steer you wrong."

Mal rolled her eyes, the frantic look having faded away to be replaced with bored indifference.

"Oh so the way she always looks at Freddy?" Uma chuckled.

"Newsflash weirdo, we're all wicked here. Why else would we be in a place called the Isle of the Lost?"

"That—."

"My logic was that of a five year old's. Don't poke holes in it," Mal stated, glaring slightly at Ben.

"My father was unjustly persecuted—"

"Yeah, yeah. Tell that to somebody who cares," Mal said and Hades could tell she was reaching behind her for something. She was leaning up against a barrel so Hades could only assume she was reaching for something to fight back with so he was a little surprised to see Mal holding what looked like a water balloon.

"Ooh are we going to soak him?" Ashaki grinned.

Frollo opened his mouth to respond but Mal let the balloon go and a cloud of dark red smoke filled the alley. Quickly making his way down the street a bit, Hades ducked into another alleyway and pulled Mal into it as she ran past.

"And you didn't scream?" Harry asked Mal.

"What do you take me for, a prissy princess?" Mal scoffed. "Besides, you and Uma pulled me into an alleyway at least once a week by that point."

"What are you—?!"

Hades shushed her just as Frollo ran past, his clothes now stained with the dark red smoke that clashed with the purple paint already on it.

"Oh I wish you took a picture," Macaria grinned. She did not like the sound of this Freddy guy, judging by Mal and the other's reactions to him.

Looking around, he snarled as he couldn't find Mal and ran off.

"I had him right where I wanted him!" Mal exclaimed as soon as the coast was clear. "You didn't need to butt in!"

Oh dear Gods, I think I see some Zeus there, Poseidon thought with an amused chuckle. After all, their little brother was quite stubborn when he wanted to be.

"Oh I'm sorry that I thought it might be a good idea to see what's going on when you ran past me, Frollo hot on your heels," Hades said, scoffing a bit.

"Lord Hades should have smote that thorn," Harry grumbled.

"Why do you even care?" Mal shot back.

"How about the fact that you're my daughter?" Hades stated. "That's the only reason I need."

Hades had to school his features to make sure Mal couldn't see the hurt on his face. She didn't know, she still didn't know. He honestly hadn't expected Maleficent would have told Mal straight away but even she couldn't be that cruel to keep his identity from Mal?

"We're still talking about Maleficent right? Tall, kinda frightening, really good at cursing people?"

"Actually I'm taller than her if you don't count the horns," Mal told Hyllus.

Oh who was he kidding, of course Maleficent was that cruel. And of course, there was never a right moment for Hades to tell Mal himself.

What, was he supposed to just say 'oh by the way Mal, I'm your dad' when he handed her her meal? She'd probably think he was insane and never stop by the restaurant again.

"Don't even pretend that Uncle Hades doesn't have a point there," Uma told Mal, who'd opened her mouth to object.

"I care because you have certain skills I need," Hades said carefully, thinking on his feet. "How'd you like to earn all the free food you can eat?"

"Not going to lie, that caught my attention," Mal nodded.

Mal stared at him for a second before her eyes narrowed a little in suspicion. "What's the catch?"

"Didn't you hear Lord Hades last time? It's cod!"

"I need a squirt bottle to spray you with," Aziz sighed as Emir grinned at his own joke.

"Once a week, you'll need to run down to Hook's fish shop and pick up the order," Hades told her. He'd add more responsibilities once their relationship developed but for right now, he knew that she trusted Hook's son and Hook's son presumably trusted her, therefore Hook should hopefully do the same. It was a good place to start.

"Well that and Hook seemed terrified of Maleficent," Kit pointed out. "Therefore, the girl he thinks is the daughter of Maleficent should have no quarrel with him in addition to her being friends with his son."

"I like him," Hades nodded and Kit couldn't help but grin slightly.

"That's it?" Mal asked, crossing her arms over her chest and raised an eyebrow. "I stop by Hook's shop once a week and I get free food from your place whenever I want?"

"Why are you questioning it?!"

"Because a deal that good had to be questioned," Mal stated. "And why do you care Beastie Jr.?"

"It's Ben," Akiho said. "He cares about everyone."

Hades nodded, while mentally adding in that he'd be keeping an eye on her in case Frollo or his gang tried anything. Though he already did that anyway—he trusted Maleficent as far as he could throw her. "You got it."

"So…have you thrown Maleficent before?" Hadie asked, looking at his dad.

"It's an expression," Hades sighed.

"Oh. So follow up—."

"No, I'm not throwing Maleficent."

"And the gang," Mal said quickly.

"Mal, you didn't just potentially ruin your chance at getting free food just so we'd be included in the deal did you?" Uma groaned.

"It worked didn't it?" Mal shrugged.

"I'm sorry?"

"My gang gets the same thing," Mal elaborated, and Hades couldn't help the feeling of relief that washed over him upon hearing that. So Mal had been acting alone when she went up against Frollo.

"Of course I was! What you thought Uma and I were in a fight or something?" Mal scoffed. "The last time I had a fight with an ally was when I was three, before I met Uma. And in all honesty, I'm glad to be rid of the Castor."

"Castor?" Ben asked.

"One of the other VK gangs on the Isle," Mal said. "I was allies with Mim's granddaughter until she decided she didn't want to be under my shadow anymore."

"Jokes on her now, she has to deal with Zevon," Uma smirked.

Hook Jr was probably at his father's shop and Uma was more likely with Ursula. "They get the free food too or the deal's off."

Hades glowered slightly but couldn't say no. As much as he distrusted Hook and had no relationship with his niece, he couldn't refuse Mal.

"Aww," Aurora couldn't help but sigh at that.

Hades shook his head and turned to Mal. "I think these scrolls are going to ruin our reps in Boreadon."

"You think?!" Mal exclaimed.

"Fine," Hades said, trying to keep his tone neutral. "As long as they say they're with you when they come to get their food. I'm not in the charity business."

"What's the point of making a deal for free food if the policy is kids don't pay?" Audrey asked, rolling her eyes.

Mal paused and looked over at him in suspicion. "I thought it was restaurant policy that the kids of the Isle ate for free?"

Mal and Audrey looked disgusted at having had the same thought while Uma and Harry chuckled.

"Policies change," Hades said simply. He wouldn't actually charge any of the other kids of the Isle. Well, maybe with the exception of Frollo's brat.

"Oh I would have loved to see his face the first time he realized he had to pay," Mal cackled.

"He's actually banned from the restaurant," Hades stated. "All of those Angels are."

Yes the restaurant was on neutral grounds and yes it had been established as a place for all kids to get food if they needed it. But Hades had overheard a certain conversation Mal and her friends had had when she was nine…let's just say it was safer for the Frollo brat to be banned from the restaurant.

But Mal didn't need to know that. "Do we have a deal?"

"I thought you didn't make deals with your kids?" Zeus asked, looking over at Hades.

"It's not a deal, it's an alliance," Hades stated. "I try to make my deals where I come out on top after all."

Mal nodded and held out her hand to shake. Hades took it and couldn't help but give a small smile at how small her hand was compared to his as they shook on it.

"I get it! I was small when I was five!" Mal grumbled.

"Just five cuz?" Uma chuckled.

It was a weird thing to notice but he did.

"Okay, go and run off now," Hades told her. "First order pick up is this Tuesday by eleven. Don't be late."

Mal nodded and ran off, presumably to let Uma and Harry know about her alliance with Hades.

"Why not keep that a secret?" Lucy asked.

"They benefited from the alliance. It would make sense to tell them," Mal told her.

Hades chuckled and made his way back to the Underworld. He'd have to talk to Virgil and let him know that Mal would be taking over his duties at Hook's. Hopefully the little jar of sunshine wouldn't take it the wrong way and think Hades was replacing him entirely.

"It's Virgil dear," Persephone shook her head.

"Right, I don't know what I was thinking," Hades sighed.

The kid was a bundle of nerves but he was quick and a hard worker, more nervous about making a mistake than anything else. Rare qualities for the Isle.

"Almost sounds like DeVil," Jay muttered to Mal.

"DeVil's not as nervous as Virgil though," Mal muttered back.

"Panic!" Hades shouted as he walked into the Underworld.

"You catch more flies with honey than with vinegar you know," Lucy said.

"…you Auradonians like to catch flies?" Hadie asked in shock.

"No, no, it's just a saying," Kitty said, shaking her head as she looked at her sister.

"Y-yes Hades?" Panic asked as he came running toward the God.

"Is your son here? I need to speak to him," Hades said and Panic's eyes grew wide.

"O-oh, w-whatever he's done, I-I'm sorry Hades! H-He'll do better! I-I promise!"

"But…he hasn't done anything," Phillip Jr. said, tilting his head in confusion.

Hades rolled his eyes. Panic always seemed to go for the worst case scenario, possibly due to it being his name. "He hasn't done anything Panic. I just need to speak to him about his duties as my errand rat."

"Won't that just make him more nervous?" Jane asked, her voice still soft.

"Oh." Panic said and seemed to deflate in relief. "I-I'll go and grab him."

Hades nodded as the little imp scurried out of the room. Hades plopped onto the sofa, thinking it wouldn't be a good idea to totally intimidate the kid. If he was anything like his father, Hades was in for at least a good five minute ramble about how he'd see improvement.

"Before anyone accuses me of being hyperbolic, I'll have you know I've timed the kid," Hades stated. "Five minutes is short for his rambles."

"H-Hades?" Panic's voice called out no more than five minutes later. That was the good thing about Panic, he never left you waiting longer than you had to. "Virgil's here."

"Send him over," Hades said, looking over his shoulder. The kid was thin, with dark brown hair with bangs that almost seemed to cover his eyes at times. He favored his mother clearly, with mainly human features with the exception of slightly pointed ears and a slight yellow tint to his eyes. Oddly enough he had a purple sweatshirt on which only served to make him look thinner than he already was.

Poseidon leaned forward slightly. This was his grandson, the grandson he never knew about because no one seemed to consider Vanessa a part of Ursula. He wished to meet the boy but if he took after his father, judging from the readings, it would only terrify the boy.

One would think that as Panic's son, Virgil would have on a green sweatshirt but maybe it was left over from when Vanessa and Ursula split. After all, his niece did favor purple which made Uma's preference of blue more than a little amusing.

"Considering dad's got purple too, it really is funny," Celia nodded.

Uma shrugged. "I like teal. Besides, we're not our parents. Why should I choose mama's color?"

"You still call your mom mama?" Audrey scoffed.

"You still call your grandmother 'grammy'," Uma shot back.

"Audrey! Apologize!" Aurora exclaimed. "That was very rude."

Audrey stared at her mother in shock. "Mother!"

"I mean it Audrey," Aurora said firmly. At her daughter's silence, Aurora sighed. "Alright then, you're grounded for the weekend."

"What?!"

No one noticed Ben's slight relaxation at hearing that. After all, a grounded Audrey meant no weekly Sunday shopping date.

Wait, did that make Vanessa his niece as well? Since that was the human form Ursula shifted into when she went after Eric? Hades thought as Virgil walked over to him. Shaking his head slightly, Hades decided it wasn't the right time to dive into those thoughts.

"It seems like there's never a good time to dive into those thoughts," Eric muttered to Ariel.

"Dear be nice," Ariel muttered back to him.

Besides, if Vanessa was his niece, that would make Panic related to him in a way as he was her husband. Hades liked the moron but not enough to call him family.

"You say that now dad," Mal smirked.

"Y-You asked to s-see me, L-Lord Hades?" Virgil asked and Hades had to remind himself that the kid was eight. He was only three years older than Mal, though with the stuttering it was hard to see it.

I know he's three years older than the kids I brought over in the first group but maybe Virgil would do better in Auradon? Ben thought. A lot less to be nervous about that's for sure.

"I wanted to talk to you about your duties as my errand rat," Hades said and Virgil's eyes grew wide. It was as if he was imagining every worse case scenario he could.

"And knowing Virg, he probably was," Uma nodded.

"I-I'm s-sorry! I'll d-do better! A-Am I n-not fast enough? I—"

"Oh the poor dear," Snow White said softly.

"Virgil!" Hades cut the boy off before he had the chance to build up steam. If the boy was anything like his father, Hades would have been siting there for a week before he would have gotten a word in otherwise. "You're not in trouble. I just picked up another errand rat so I wanted to let you know you didn't need to go to Hook's anymore."

"Or you could just alternate weeks," Chip pointed out. "Puts less pressure on one of the kids and prevents a full blown panic from Virgil."

"Oh," Virgil said, flushing a little but calming down. "But what would I do as your errand rat if I'm not going to Hook's? That's pretty much the only place I go on errands for you, Lord Hades."

"What's the point of an errand rat if you only have one errand?" Emma asked, tilting her head.

"When you've got two jobs, being able to delegate even one thing is a godsend," Hades told the girl and she nodded in understanding.

"Oh look Ben, someone who understands the meaning of the word delegate," Emir said, looking at his best friend pointedly.

That was the good thing about Virgil, Hades thought. When he wasn't panicking, he was clear and concise; almost logical in how he thought things through. If he didn't have his father's gift for thinking of the worst possible outcome, the kid would go far.

"Virgil may be nervous but if you're someone he cares about, he'll stand by you," Jay said with a nod.

"Yeah Virgil's nice!" Dizzy grinned at the thought of the older boy. "If he ever comes to the hair shop, he always is nice to me!"

"I'm thinking of adding a delivery aspect to the restaurant," Hades said, the idea coming to him out of the blue. It would work as a reason to keep Virgil on as an errand rat, plus there were some villains who didn't like to venture out of their homes. If they had kids, those kids would still need food.

"And even if they didn't have kids, they would still need to eat," Persephone said firmly.

"You want me to be a delivery boy?" Virgil asked, more than a little apprehensive about the idea but Hades was happy to see the stammer hadn't returned. Good, the boy would need to grow a spine if he was going to make it on the Isle.

Carlos flinched slightly at that, knowing the comment could apply to him as well.

"You've proven yourself reliable enough picking up the packages from Hook," Hades said. "I see no reason why you wouldn't be the same with customers' money."

"Dad, I just thought of something," Mal said. "You should have given Virgil a guard. Someone as timid as him carrying food out in the open?"

"Huh, that does explain the first few trips when he'd come back with a bruised eye or bloodied nose in his shirt," Hades mused. "He never told me who did it though."

"Three guesses," Harry growled. "And if you need the other two you belong across the bridge."

"That's assuming they'd pay," Virgil muttered and Hades had to hold back a snort of amusement. The kid did have a point.

"If you get anyone who refuses to pay, let me know," Hades told him. "Anyone with a pre-existing deal with me should let you know at the start. If not, I'll make a list."

"Hmm, if they had the Internet then there could be a way for Lord Hades to keep an electronic copy of the deals," Ben muttered to himself.

Virgil nodded, and Hades couldn't help but be impressed. Any other kid would complain about the work it would take, schlepping deliveries around the Isle.

"Uh Uncle Hades? It's the Isle," Uma said.

"Yeah, we don't really complain about work if we're likely to get food out of it," Jay nodded.

Ben sighed; every one of those comments was like a punch to the gut, hearing how the VKs lived.

Though, Virgil was the son of one of his minions. It was logical to assume that the kid just didn't want to make life harder for his dad.

"Like we said, Virgil's nervous but loyal," Mal nodded.

"Any questions?" Hades asked.

"What do I do if a customer starts causing problems?" Virgil asked, and immediately looked down. "Sorry, guess that's a stupid question."

"The only stupid question is the one that's never asked," Rachel said. "That's what mom says anyway."

"What if you ask someone wearing a store's uniform if they work there?" Rowyn asked.

"…okay so there is such a thing as a stupid question."

"No such thing," Hades told him; it was actually a fair question considering the types of villains that lived on the Isle. Most, if not all of them, had reputations of not treating their minions with respect and Hades was no exception. But Virgil was a kid, he didn't ask for this life. "Any customer that's abusive, I want you to leave their house and come straight to me. I'll deal with it."

"Or just tell us," Mal said with a smirk as she gestured to herself, Uma, Harry, and Jay. "We'll take care of them."

"You were five and six respectively," Hades deadpanned. "I wasn't getting kids involved."

Hades normally didn't care what the other villains got up to. But Virgil was Panic's son and therefore an extension of Hades' minion. His minion, his rules. No one else got to abuse them.

"Lord Hades, when have you ever actually abused your minions?" Harry asked. "I mean you yell at them sure but…"

Hades sighed. He thought he knew what the boy was going to say. That there were plenty of Isle kids who knew what it looked like when someone was being abusive after all.

"I was referring to how I used to treat them," he said. "Pain and Panic, I mean. I'm pretty sure I turned Panic into a crisp after he drank some of Wonderboy's lemonade in front of me the day before the cosmos aligned after all."

Besides, there is a strong possibility this little twerp is my nephew if Vanessa is actually my niece considering the fact that Vanessa was just the form Ursula used to trap Eric, Hades thought. Unlike Ursula and Uma, he had actually been around Virgil since the little sun spot was born—or at least heard about him from Panic.

"How long did it take to figure out?" Poseidon asked.

"Years," Hades told him.

Mal's old nursery furniture had been Virgil's, and there was still the possibility of Virgil being one of Mal's minions once Hades got her back. His fight or flight reflex would be a good thing for her to have at her disposal, plus his constant overthinking would mean he'd be the rare exception to the idea that an older kid would have issues taking orders from someone younger.

"I don't give him orders," Mal shook her head. "Only suggestions."

After all, Virgil was like Jay in a way—an older brother but one that Mal looked out for instead of the other way around.

"L-Lord Hades?" Virgil spoke up in a soft voice and Hades blinked in slight surprise to see the kid still standing in front of him.

"He didn't leave?" Herkie asked.

"Minions stay until they're ordered to get out of the head honcho's sight," Uma explained.

"You're dismissed. Report to the restaurant on Tuesday for your first round of deliveries," Hades told him and Virgil nodded before racing out of there as if Cerberus was on his tail.

"Oh he'll get used to that in a few years. Estelle chases him around all the time when he wants to play," Mal said with a smile.

Estelle yipped softly and wagged his tail as he heard his name mentioned.

"Hades, don't torture the poor boy," Persephone told him as she walked into the room.

"I didn't," Hades told her and Persephone raised an eyebrow. "Honest Steph. This time I was on my best behavior with the boy."

"You truly were," Persephone smiled and kissed Hades' cheek.

"You doubt me or something?" Hades chuckled.

Persephone nodded and leaned over the sofa so that she was looking over his shoulder. "So, what did you need to talk to him about?"

"I'm changing up his responsibilities as errand rat," Hades told her.

"Oh Hades, you just said you didn't torture the poor boy," Persephone sighed. "You know how well Virgil responds to change."

Hades shook his head. "Life on the Isle is all about change. If he's going to make it here, he's going to have to get used to that idea."

"Virgil's gotten better now that he's older," Uma said with a small shrug. "More of his mother's coming out of him."

"Besides, what else changes on the Isle other than the food quality deteriorating?" Harry muttered.

"Well at least it's a good change," Persephone said as she sat down next to Hades. "But why change up his responsibilities?"

"I acquired a new errand rat and decided it was time for the boy to take on new responsibilities," Hades told her. "After all, he'd be the more experienced one."

"Okay I'm not even as nervous as Virgil but even I can say the very idea of that is terrifying," Alexandria stated.

"I think you might have made Virgil's day and caused his nightmare to come to life at the same time," Persephone said, running a hand through Hades' hair. She loved how, despite his denials, Hades truly cared for the kids of the Isle. Or at least the ones connected to him.

"I'd rather not see more kids in the Underworld on a permanent basis," Hades muttered to Persephone.

"Who's your new errand rat?"

Hades took a breath and couldn't help the small smile that graced his lips.

"Mal."

Almost everyone in the room had to smile at that.

"Who's reading next?" Neal asked.

"Mal, you read!" Uma told her cousin. "I read one!"

Mal rolled her eyes. "Fine but just one."

"Okay but no skipping any embarrassing parts!"

Mal shook her head as she unfurled the scroll. "Let's get this over with," she muttered.

Mal had to admit,

"Nope, can't do it," Mal shook her head.

"Come on! I did it!" Uma exclaimed.

"Uma, do you know how weird it is to read about yourself in the third person?!"

Ben couldn't help the small chuckle that slipped through his lips. A chuckle that Mal heard as her eyes locked on him.

"Just wait till you read next!" Mal told him. "If you ever show up in one of these, you'll see it's weird!"

she was nervous even if she would never say it out loud. This was her first time being an errand rat and if Maleficent were to find out she would probably blow her stack.

"Oh please, a bit of hard work never hurt anyone," Leah scoffed.

"When has your mother ever worked hard?" Phillip Sr. muttered to Aurora.

The very thought of her, Mal, being an errand rat would be bad enough but for Lord Hades? Mal didn't know why her birth giver seemed to utterly despise the God of the Dead but the mere mention of him or Persephone got Maleficent worked up to go on hour long rants. Nine times out of ten, Mal was able to get out of dodge before she was noticed.

"Oh that's good though," Alexandria said with a smile that Mal was able to get out of the way and not get noticed.

"Nine times out of ten though," Lucy muttered to Kitty who nodded.

The tenth time though….

Chip frowned and glanced over at Mal, who was looking at the scroll with a stony expression. He wasn't sure he wanted to know what the tenth time entailed.

Mal shook her head to clear her thoughts. It wouldn't do to go into Hook's territory distracted.

"With how terrified the Captain was of the Dragon, you would have been fine," Harry told her.

Even if Harry was part of her crew, that didn't mean everyone else was. After all, some of Hook's crew seemed to hang on Frollo's dad's every word, which could prove dangerous if they ever lost their fear of Maleficent.

And once Hadie, Celia, Uma, and Harry are off the Isle, they are free to do just that. Maleficent may not have her magic but she has enough in terms of minions to quash any rebellion that tries to over throw her, Mal thought.

Frollo didn't hold back on how he felt about those who practiced what he called 'witchcraft' after all, and with no magic to protect her, Mal knew she could be a target if Frollo and his ilk gained enough power.

"Well good thing you're in Auradon then," Akiho said with a smile that fooled no one. Ben rested a hand gently on Akiho's shoulder. He knew how much someone being accused of witchcraft bothered him, based on what happened with his aunt.

"Hey Mal," Harriet said with a smile as the younger girl walked into the shop, bringing Mal's thoughts back to the present. "How can I help you? If you're looking for Harry, he's off getting more fish for the Captain. If you're looking for the Captain, he's in a meeting with Smee. I doubt you'd be looking for CJ and I'm obviously right here."

"I see we're stating the obvious today Harriet," Harry chuckled.

"I'm surprised she's working the counter," Uma said. "Didn't you say your father called that 'man's work'?"

"How in the world could working the counter be too strenuous for a woman?!" Lonnie exclaimed.

Mal shook her head, wincing a bit at the movement as she'd been taught a lesson in respect from Maleficent the night before.

Hades' hands curled into fists and Persephone narrowed her eyes at the thought of Maleficent laying a finger on their daughter.

"I'm sorry, a lesson?" Demeter asked. "What sort of a lesson involves pain?"

"A lesson from Maleficent," Mal muttered and Demeter glared at the scroll.

"You know, I think Maleficent's in danger of being smote," Emir muttered to Akiho.

"Does it make me a bad person if I say 'good'?" Akiho muttered back to him.

"No, I'm here to pick up Lord Hades' weekly order actually."

"Oh," Harriet said, not commenting on the wince. To her credit, if she was surprised that Mal was picking up the order, it didn't show on her face. "It's in the back. Give me one minute and I'll grab it for you."

"That's the best part about Harriet," Harry said with a small smile. "She doesn't ask questions if she doesn't need to."

Mal nodded and the older girl ducked into the back, leaving Mal by herself. Not that she minded, the fish shop was small enough that no one could really sneak up on her.

Snow frowned at the thought of a five year old needing to be so aware of their surroundings that they'd note if a place was big enough for someone to sneak up on them. All a five year old should worry about were scraped knees and if their parents would let them have some candy before dinner.

Besides, if being the offspring of Maleficent held any benefits, it was that it was rare that anyone tried to mess with her.

Fred Frollo and his gang notwithstanding.

"His gang of what? Four?" Uma scoffed.

"Two actually," Mal said. "Strat didn't leave the crew until you took leadership and announced Harry was your First Mate. That was when we were seven and then Shayla left a year later. Remember? She left the same year—."

"The same year Sammy's mom died," Harry said softly.

"Right," Jay nodded. "And then Morgan followed a few years later."

I should meet up with Harry soon, Mal thought. If Frollo's getting as brazen as he was last week to chase me through the Isle, I should make sure my sword fighting's up to par. Especially since my eyes keep flashing like crazy. Maybe it's the Fae magic Maleficent keeps talking about.

"Anytime you need your butt kicked in sword fighting cap'n, just let me know and I'll be there," Harry promised.

"Harry, you haven't 'kicked my butt' as you put it since I was seven," Mal chuckled.

It would have to wait until her latest 'lesson' from Maleficent healed. It was Mal's fault though, she had called her Maleficent to her face instead of the preferred title of 'mother'.

"Rookie mistake," Uma shook her head.

"Hey, she's not my mother so why should I have called her by the title?" Mal shrugged.

No one should lay a hand on a child, Eric thought with a small frown. I…I know it doesn't do much good now but I wish I knew about Mal. I'd have petitioned for guardianship—she's Ariel's cousin after all.

It wasn't as bad as it could have been, only a bruised rib and arm this time and a night without dinner.

Ben wasn't sure he wanted to know how bad it could have been, if a bruised rib, arm and going without dinner was considered light.

Mal had skipped breakfast by her own choice; not wanting to be alone with Maleficent for longer than necessary in case Maleficent decided Mal needed to learn her lesson again.

Demeter glowered and turned to Hades.

"I couldn't do anything," he said as his mother-in-law opened her mouth. "What was I supposed to do, put Mal in even more risk with Maleficent? If you really want to be angry at someone, be angry at the God who put me on the Isle in the firstplace!"

"Well played," Persephone muttered as Demeter turned her glare onto Zeus.

"Thank you. Your mother's right though—I should have done something. Anything."

"You got Mal out of there before it could potentially get worse."

Truthfully, going without dinner was more of a kindness than anything else Maleficent could have given her—the selections they had gotten from this month's delivery were bad even for first pick standards.

"Oh my," David White sighed and shook his head. "We really need to look into what's going on there."

"Why? So your wife can scoop her competition?" Uma scoffed.

"How do you—?"

"We get two channels—one of which is news. We know Snow White's a reporter."

"A gossip reporter," Evie added softly. "Mother…mother likes to add that part if the subject comes up."

Besides, if Lord Hades was good to his word, Mal wouldn't have to worry about starvation as a punishment anymore.

"Never again," Hades promised. "You shouldn't have had to go through that."

"It's not your fault dad," Mal promised.

"I know," Hades told her, glaring at Beast.

"Here you go," Harriet said, breaking into Mal's thoughts as she came back around holding the order. "One weekly order of fish for the God of the Dead."

"I like her."

"She's not even here Hades!"

"Doesn't matter. She got my title right. Grown adults can't even do that and Harriet did it at eight," Hades said, nodding his head.

Mal took the order, holding back a wince as the act of lifting her arm caused pain to shoot through her rib.

Hades frowned and sighed softly to himself. He'd have wrapped Mal up in his arms if it wasn't for the fact that she was reading.

Well and the fact that they were surrounded by Auradonians—and Zeus.

She'd have to find a way to wrap it or something—maybe Harry would have some tips. He was always getting into 'trouble' with his dad.

Mal's eyes narrowed and Uma growled slightly as Jay's hands curled into fists at the thought. Something most of the AKs weren't slow to notice.

I need to get him out of there, Ben thought. If his dad's abusive, Harry might not have a month to last. I'll talk to Mal, see about getting him over here.

Or I could talk to Jay, Mal thought. He's always getting into scrapes, people catching him steal their stuff. Plus, since his dad's on Maleficent's team, it might get her off my back for a bit. Show her that I'm becoming like her, making my own team of minions from her team.

"I'm not your minion!" Jay chuckled. "I'm your First Mate!"

"The Dragon wouldn't be able to tell the difference," Mal shook her head.

The son of Jafar was also a year older than Mal, making him at least somewhat more knowledgeable on the issue.

"Ah, someone finally admits that I am older and therefore wiser," Jay smirked.

"No, I said you were somewhat more knowledgable on the issue of injuries," Mal snarked.

Could Mal trust him?

"With my life," Mal said and Jay gave her a big smile.

Are…are they dating? Or whatever they call dating on the Isle? Ben thought to himself and then shook his head slightly. It shouldn't matter to him if Mal was dating anyone. He had that damned contract.

That was up in the air. Like she had said, Jafar was in league with Maleficent which would always pose a huge risk.

"Mal, you okay?" Harriet asked and Mal realized she hadn't done as good of a job holding back the wince as she thought.

"I thought you said Harriet didn't ask questions?" Elle asked Harry.

"I said if she didn't need to," Harry stated. "Someone wincing on the Isle is notable. Mal wincing is something that would stand out."

"Yeah," Mal nodded. "Just slept wrong, that's all."

Harriet frowned but didn't push the issue. Mal did technically outrank her in the Isle Hierarchy after all, even though the purple haired girl was younger.

Mal shook her head. "At the time, Harriet outranked me. She was a Captain after all. Besides, now? We're equally ranked."

"That's within the crew," Jay said. "To Harriet, then, you were Maleficent's daughter. You vastly outranked her."

Mal shook her head. "It's fine Harriet, really. Besides, you know there's no rest for the wicked here."

"True," Harriet nodded, the frown still on her face. While she hadn't personally gotten any 'lessons' from her father, she had cleaned up Harry enough times to know how serious they can be.

Oh yeah, I'm definitely getting him out of there, Ben thought as he locked eyes with Emir and Akiho. One look on his friends' faces told Ben they were having the same thoughts he was.

"You should get going. Won't be good if you're late with Lord Hades' order. Plus you don't want that fish to go bad."

Mal nodded and left the shop, holding the order on her left side as to avoid jostling her rib. It also had the added bonus of avoiding any contact with the bruise on her arm.

A child shouldn't have to form strategies to avoid being in pain, Aurora thought with a frown as she noticed Mal seemed to be avoiding everyone's eyes as she read that.

What's it like to have a normal parent? Mal thought as she made her way back to Hades' restaurant, the thought coming unprompted to the front of her mind.

"Well past-me, you'll get to find out," Mal said, a small smile tugging at her lips. Such thoughts weren't as bad to think about now that she was with her mom and dad. "Mom's certainly normal enough for both her and dad."

"Hey!" Hades chuckled.

It was dangerous to have such thoughts as there was always the risk that the thoughts might accidentally get spoken out loud; there was no use complaining about their lot in life.

"Complaining doesn't get us anywhere after all," Hadie nodded.

Some kids managed to luck out though—like Uma. Even if she didn't have the best relationship with her mom, she could always go over to Dr. Faciller's for an escape into normalcy. Mal wouldn't begrudge her best friend her relationship with her father, but that didn't stop her from being the tiniest bit jealous. Mal would give anything to know who her father was, even if such thoughts made her weak.

"Wanting to know who your father is doesn't make you weak," Ariel said, her voice soft. She would have given anything for clearer memories of her mother after all.

"If it wasn't the Dragon's preferred level of evil, it was weakness," Mal shrugged.

"I mean, my sword's not currently in use, I could—."

"Phillip, we're not running Maleficent through with a sword!"

Celia looked at her sister. "You thought dad's was an escape to normalcy?"

"Compared to my mother?" Uma asked her.

"You may have a point there."

All Maleficent would ever say about her father, if she talked about him at all, was that he was weak and that he had given Mal up at the first chance he had. He walked away from both of them.

"Well she's half right there," Ashaki said. "Lord Hades walked away from her, not Mal."

Hades looked over at Persephone. "Have I said if I like her yet?"

"I don't know dear."

"Well just in case I haven't, I like her."

If he just walked away from both of us, chances are he's not still alive if he was as weak as Maleficent says he was, Mal thought. Maleficent would have made it next to impossible for him to get any food from the deliveries.

"Oh she tried," Hades smirked. "The first month or so after she stole you, she tried."

"How'd you get around it?" Mal asked.

"Didn't," Hades shrugged. "I started the restaurant and went to Hook for fish deliveries."

At least she had a parent who stayed, who had made the choice to stay even if calling Maleficent a parent was a stretch of the word's definition. Not like Harry, who's mom had died after CJ was born.

"Oh no!" Fairy Godmother gasped softly as her hand flew to her mouth. "I'm so—."

"I don't want it," Harry muttered. "Not from you or anyone else from Boreadon."

"Harry…" Mal said softly.

"I mean it Mal. They want to be sorry, that's fine, but sorry won't bring my mom back," Harry told her.

Mal sighed and locked eyes with Jay, tilting her head toward Harry. Jay nodded and wrapped an arm around Harry's shoulders. It was as much of a hug as they could afford being surrounded by 'enemies' as they were.

Though Milah wasn't the best mom, she still provided some stability for Harry and Harriet. She even managed to put a smile on the Captain's face a few times.

After Milah's death, though, Hook had basically foisted all parenting responsibilities on to Harriet. Well, with the exception of punishment.

Tears prickled in the corner of Snow's eyes and Cinderella quickly wiped away the ones that had started to run down her cheeks. If Harry hadn't wanted their apologies, chances were he didn't want to see their tears either.

Lonnie also had tears running down her cheeks and Mulan gently pulled her into her arms, the same way Shang had their son. They couldn't imagine…

Sometimes Mal couldn't believe Harry still idolized the man to the point that his goal in life was to get his hand chopped off so he'd need a hook. Not that it stopped him from carrying around a hook, mind you. He just didn't need it.

Okay, therapy is definitely going to be something for the next group. He wants to chop off his hand? Ben thought as Estelle walked over to Harry and rested his heads on the boy's leg.

"Hey boy," Ben heard the pirate whisper. "I'm…I'm okay. It's just hard hearing about that."

Before Mal knew it, she was at Hades' restaurant and she shook her head to clear it of any thoughts of her father or birth giver. Wouldn't do to have something show on her face and potentially give Lord Hades something over her.

"But…he's your father," Melody said, her voice soft as everyone's emotions were still raw from the previous paragraph.

Mal shrugged. "I didn't know that at the time."

She may have been five but Mal knew how the game was played. The second you let someone have something over you, you were finished—and there were plenty of people who would love to have something over Maleficent's daughter.

Mal sighed. She had to admit, the only good thing about Blueberry being in Boreadon with her was that she wouldn't be able to go around and spread this information throughout the Isle. To her crew, her reputation was intact.

"You're late," Hades said as Mal walked into to the kitchen, not looking up from the pantry.

"By two minutes!" Mal exclaimed as she looked at the clock. She hadn't been walking as fast as she normally did—that stupid rib of hers. If Maleficent ruined this deal for Mal, it would just be yet another way her birth giver had ruined her life.

Leah scoffed. Typical Isle brat, thinking only of herself. Never mind all the other lives Maleficent ruined!

Being an evil loon who decided the best course of action was to curse a baby when not invited to a party was the first way Maleficent had ruined her life but that went without saying.

"Can we start referring to Maleficent as an evil loon?" Akiho asked.

"Go right ahead," Mal shrugged and chuckled as Emir and Akiho grinned.

"Late is late," Hades told her, turning around to look at her. "Did Hook give you trouble? I know he's used to dealing with my other errand rat."

"From the sound of things, he sounds more likely to be used to Pain and Panic than he is Virgil," Evan pointed out.

"No," Mal told him. "Harriet was manning the counter. Hook was in a meeting with Smee so he doesn't even know I'm handling the delivery pickup now."

"I mean that'll likely change since Harriet might tell him," Rachel said, trying to sound positive.

"Harriet and the Captain don't really talk," Harry shrugged. Unless it's Harriet's inane once a month family dinners that she tries to force on us, he thought.

Hades frowned but didn't say anything as Mal put the order on the counter.

"I guess the deal's off," Mal muttered as she stepped back.

"Why would you say that?" Jay asked, turning to look at Mal. "Did your dad ever say you'd have to be on time for the deal to be in effect?"

"It's the Isle Jay. Anything good never lasts," Mal shrugged, not noticing the Auradonians frown at that.

"Why would that be the case?" Hades asked, taking the order and putting it in the fridge.

Mal raised an eyebrow. "I was late. You said it yourself, late is late."

"Don't question it Mal," Uma shook her head.

"Did I specify you had to be on time for the deal to still be in effect?" Hades asked, turning to look at Mal.

"Well no but—"

"Why are you pushing your luck?!" Harry groaned.

"You really think dad would just let me go hungry?" Mal asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Exactly," Hades told her. "I keep my deals Mal. You made the delivery, you and your gang get free meals here. Unless you want to change the terms of the deal?"

"If you said yes, I'll kill you right here and now," Uma promised.

"Well then it's a good thing I didn't," Mal chuckled.

Mal quickly shook her head, despite every bone in her body telling her to play it cool. She wasn't an idiot; this was free food they were talking about. Even if there was always the looming threat of an unseen catch.

"Actually Hades' deals are pretty clear cut," Meg said. "Hercules gives up his strength for a day, I go free. I get hurt, deal's off and Herc gets his strength back."

"It's Ursula's deals that have the unseen catch," Ariel sighed. After all, I'm sure there was probably a clause indicating she could interfere in that contract. If I didn't close my eyes and actually read the darn thing…

Hades smirked. "Go on and grab a seat, the place is pretty much dead right now. I'll whip you up something."

Hera couldn't help but smile slightly at that. It was strange, seeing Hades be so parental. But at the same time…it was nice.

Mal didn't need to be told twice, even if she was a little surprised at the offer. All she'd done was deliver one order to him. It wasn't as if they had a working relationship.

I wonder if he's trying to overthrow Maleficent as ruler of the Isle? Mal thought as she waited for the food. That might explain why he's being so nice, he wants to know Maleficent's weaknesses.

"Mal, if I wanted to overthrow Maleficent, I'd have done so years before you were born," Hades said with amusement in his voice.

"You don't want the power?" Zeus asked.

"Not if it means idiots are going to constantly coming up to me asking me to solve their problems," Hades stated.

Mal didn't want to be the one to tell Hades that Maleficent had practically no weaknesses or if she did, they weren't known to Mal. Maleficent didn't become ruler of the Isle by broadcasting things that could be used to take her down.

Tell me something I don't know, Evie thought with a small frown that quickly faded as she reminded herself about the potential for wrinkles.

That being said, Mal wasn't going to overlook free food—especially since she skipped breakfast and had dinner withheld from her.

Hades growled slightly at the thought of Mal going without food. If he happened to hear a small growl coming from Poseidon and Hercules as well, he didn't comment on it.

"Here you go," Hades said, bringing a plate of what she usually ordered. "Enjoy."

Mal nodded and dug in, eating ravenously as the meal continued to be the same quality as all of Lord Hades' dishes. Mal honestly didn't know how the God did it but she didn't particularly care. At this point, she'd eat some of the food from Boreadon if it meant getting something in her stomach.

"Were you talking from the delivery barges or from Boreadon proper?" Harry asked.

"Probably the barges but Boreadon proper probably wouldn't have been too bad either," Mal nodded.

Hades frowned from his spot in the kitchen as he cleaned up his work area. While he hadn't expected a fight over the food, he had at least expected a little resistance. Mal was the daughter of two very stubborn individuals after all.

"Yeah, stubborn is a good word to describe you and Aunt Steph," Uma nodded, giving Hades a cheeky grin.

Still, the pace Mal was eating…it was troubling to say the least. Maleficent got first pick of the food that was delivered to the Isle so it wasn't as if Mal was lacking in terms of access to food.

"Just because I had access to it doesn't mean I was given it," Mal stated.

"I still can't believe she'd do that," Jane shook her head. "I mean—."

"She's a villain," Mal said flatly. "What, did you think she'd turn over a new leaf just because she had a kid?"

"Slow down," Hades called as he walked over to her. "You eat any faster, you could bite your tongue off."

"Already turning on that parental side," Persephone smiled and kissed Hades' cheek.

Mal nodded and slowed down a bit. "Can't help it," she said. "Someone could come by and take it."

"In an empty restaurant?" Jane asked.

"You'd be surprised," Carlos told her, his voice soft. "You get food, you guard it with your life."

Hades looked around at the empty restaurant. "And who would that be? It wouldn't be me, I ate already."

Mal shrugged and Hades frowned as he noticed a purple mark on Mal's right arm as her sleeve seemed to rise up her arm.

"What was I wearing with sleeves that day?" Mal muttered to herself.

"Why does that even matter Mal?" Uma asked.

"Because I didn't have my jacket yet and most if not all of my shirts were short sleeved," Mal said with a shrug.

"Oh yeah!" Uma nodded.

"You guys aren't upset about Mal having a bruise?" Ben asked. Most of the Auradon Royals seemed furious at the idea that someone would hurt a child. That Maleficent would hurt her child…err would hurt Lady Persephone's child?

Speaking of the Goddess, she and Lord Hades were glaring daggers at the scroll. It was honestly impressive that it hadn't caught fire by that point.

The girls shrugged. "Why be upset about something that already happened?"

"Where'd you get that?" Hades asked, and Mal followed his gaze to her right arm.

"Bumped my arm on a doorknob," Mal muttered, pulling her sleeve back down.

Fairy Godmother shook her head. While physical abuse wasn't common in Auradon, in fact it was pretty much non existent, she still had to read a book on warning signs to look out for before she became headmistress. An excuse like that set off warning bells in her head.

It wasn't her best lie but she didn't particularly care. It's not like Lord Hades would notice. "Why do you care?"

Hades shook his head. It would be a cold day in his Underworld when he fell for a poor lie like that, especially from his daughter. "You want to try that one again?"

"Ooh Mal! Your dad's not going to fall for a bad lie like that!" Uma smirked.

"I don't have to answer to you," Mal said, standing up and giving Hades a glare.

"Technically you do," Kitty said. "While you didn't know he was your dad then, he does have you in a deal where you report to him."

"That was a fine loophole you just found," Hades nodded and then turned to Persephone. "I like her."

"We're going to end up with every royal kid of Auradon under our protection aren't we?" Persephone asked.

"Just the ones I like."

"I bumped my arm. End of story."

"Mal Bertha, you're going to tell me the truth!"

"Ooh the double name, right out the gate!" Kitty said, sounding impressed.

"Lord Hades might have just given himself away though," Lucy pointed out.

Hades didn't mean to use Mal's middle name, it honestly just slipped out. But his five year old daughter was not that great of a liar, even if she thought she was.

"Maybe not at five," Mal smirked.

"And if you're not talking to your dad," Uma teased, causing Mal to form a pale flush to her cheeks.

There was only one person, one entity, with the clout and the protection to dare to injure Maleficent's daughter. Unfortunately, that person was the Dragon herself and the thought of Maleficent laying a talon on Mal was enough to get Hades' blood boiling.

You're not the only one brother, Poseidon thought as his hands curled into fists. He didn't know his niece well but the thought of someone laying a hand on her!

"How'd you know that?" Mal asked, her eyes wide in shock, as she looked up at Hades. She hadn't told anyone her middle name, mainly because it was just too horrible.

"Really?" Emir asked. "My last name is 'Bobolonius'. You still think Bertha's that bad?"

"Yes," Mal said, her voice flat.

She hadn't expected anything prissy like 'Aurora' but couldn't Maleficent had given her something better than Bertha?

Aurora couldn't help the sad smile that pulled at her lips as she heard that. No child should hate their name that much.

"Honestly, Aurora is a fine name!" Leah scoffed. "It means 'the dawn'. Her father and I chose it because she filled our lives with sunshine."

All the VKs looked at each other and then back at Leah. "What's sun?"

"I feel like they're messing with Leah," Chip muttered to Ben. "And if that's the case, I approve wholeheartedly."

"Your mother told me," Hades said, thinking on his feet. It wasn't a lie—Maleficent had told him Mal's name when she was born. "I was there when you were born."

"Really?" Poseidon asked, looking at Hades. "And you thought the doorknob excuse was a bad lie?"

"You try thinking on the fly!" Hades rolled his eyes.

Mal shook her head. "You're lying," she said as she got up. Maleficent would never have allowed anyone other than Lady Tremaine as acting midwife into the room when she was vulnerable—and she especially would never allow Lord Hades anywhere near her or Mal after the birth.

Cinderella tilted her head as she heard her stepmother's name be used as the acting midwife but didn't interrupt. She could tell that this was a rather…emotional moment for Mal and it would be cruel if it were to get drawn out.

"Mal—"

"I gotta go," Mal said as she rushed out of the restaurant.

Mal stared directly at the scroll, avoiding eye contact with anyone. If one were to look closely at her face, they'd see a faint flush to her cheeks at the thought of running away from a problem. She didn't run. She fought.

If Lord Hades was going to lie right to her face, then Mal wasn't going to spend any more time than necessary there. She'd still be his errand rat but that was it.

She wasn't an idiot after all. Free food was free food, even if it was prepared by a liar.

"Plus you know the whole not knowing where the next meal's going to come from thing," Celia chimed in.

Hades watched as Mal left the restaurant, the front door slamming breaking the quiet of the empty front room.

Mal paused and looked over at her mom.

"Yes?" Persephone asked, noticing the look.

"I need a 'language pass' for this," Mal told her.

"Granted, only because I'm curious."

"Shit."

"Hades!" Persephone exclaimed.

"I thought I blew my chance at getting Mal back," Hades said.

Mal sighed. "There. I read. Never again."

"I'll read!" Hadie grinned.

"Didn't you already read?" Mal asked. "Let someone else go, storm cloud."

Jay chuckled. "I'll read then."

Jay chuckled as he grabbed the scroll. "Alright, let's see what madness this one has to offer."

Four weeks had gone by since Lord Hades had used Mal's middle name and the incident had been living in Mal's head ever since.

"You thought about it for a month?" Hades asked.

Mal nodded. "I mean…it's not like I could talk to Maleficent about it," she said with a shrug.

She replayed it over and over again, even when she didn't want to; as if looking at all possible angles for something she was missing.

Audrey didn't want to think about the fact that she had something in common with a VK, let alone the daughter of Maleficent. But she would do the same thing if the cheer squad was having trouble with a routine. She'd look at it from every possible angle to see what the issue was.

Why had Lord Hades even cared? He wasn't the type of villain to worry about what others did, or about the welfare of a child. After all, if the stories Gaston Jr had spread around the kids of the Isle were true, Lord Hades was one of the few villains to target a baby. Probably the first one really, considering he was a God.

"You actually listened to his dribble?" Harry scoffed. "He's got less brains than Gil."

"Hey sometimes he can be right about something," Mal said. "Besides he wasn't talking to me. He was chatting up some of the older VK girls and trying to impress them with what he knew about the adult villains."

"That makes more sense."

Hmm, maybe that's why Maleficent doesn't like him, Mal thought as she dropped off the order at the restaurant. After all, she prides herself on being an original. Another villain going after a baby, especially a God, would make it seem like she couldn't come up with her own ideas.

"Trust me kiddo, there are numerous reasons why that loon doesn't like me," Hades chuckled.

"What kind of loon is she Lord Hades?" Emir asked with a grin.

"Why an evil loon I believe," Hades said with another chuckle.

Ben sighed and shook his head in amusement.

Mal quickly made her way out of the restaurant without saying a word despite being a little hungry, not wanting Lord Hades the chance to lie to her again. Even if his food was good and the bruise on her arm had healed to the point that it was unnoticeable if her sleeve slid up again, Mal didn't want to take that chance.

"Hey! Uma! Stop that!" Mal said as Uma whacked her on the shoulder.

"Nope! You walked away from food! Gods, why are you so freaking stubborn?"

"I'm not stubborn!"

"Agree to disagree Mali!"

Instead Mal started making her way back to Maleficent's.

"That's an interesting way to say the clubhouse," Harry stated with a frown.

It was horrible but Maleficent was always horrible. She was always cruel. She was always consistent.

Consistency wasn't something often found on the Isle so when you found it, you tried to make the best of it.

"Hey that's not true! The food is consistently awful!" Jay spoke up.

"Freddy is consistently a nuisance," Uma nodded.

"The sky is consistently covered with clouds," Harry added.

"Okay, okay, I get it," Mal chuckled.

Lord Hades had been consistent. He was honest…until he wasn't with the deal involving Mal's middle name.

"Technically, I didn't lie," Hades smirked.

"Yeah, I know that now," Mal chuckled.

Something though caught Mal's eye as she walked past the window of the restaurant and she paused, though she couldn't tell you why. Lord Hades was getting the front of house ready for the lunch rush, though Mal didn't understand why. Hardly anyone ate in the restaurant, preferring to eat on their own turf.

"Some of the younger VKs like to eat in the restaurant though," Uma pointed out. "It's a safer place to do so, considering it's neutral grounds."

"Yeah, but those are the ones not in a gang," Mal added. "The ones too young for a certain practice that I won't say because of the younger ears."

"I'm not a baby Mal!" Hadie exclaimed.

Mal looked at him and raised an eyebrow. "I was talking about Celia and Dizzy but thank you for reminding me that you applied to that too."

Why hasn't he tried to escape yet? Mal thought as she watched through the front window. After all, he's a God. Wouldn't that be enough to counter the barrier that's mainly Fairy magic? I mean, the only other fairy powerful enough to trap a God would be the Blue Fairy but Maleficent always said she was more of a neutral party; preferring to not get involved on either side.

"See I would have but someone reinforced the barrier," Hades said, giving Zeus a look.

That was probably the nicest thing Maleficent had ever said about another fairy and she hadn't actually said it to Mal. Mal just happened to be in the room while Maleficent had been plotting. One of the goblins had made the foolish suggestion of Maleficent reaching out to the other fairy folk in Auradon or the Moors for help.

"He actually suggested Maleficent reach out for help?" Jay asked.

"That goblin's no longer with us I take it," Harry nodded.

That goblin hadn't been seen from since.

"I feel that I should feel sympathy for the goblin," Phillip Sr. stated. "However, as probably the only one here who had been tied up by said creatures, I can't really find it in me to do so."

"Fair enough," Mal and Hades said with a nod.

"Yeah we don't really care for them much ourselves," Harry nodded.

Jay snorted. "I steal their helmets from them and they buy them back from dad, not realizing that they're the same helmets."

'How thick can you get?" Evan asked.

"You're talking about the same creatures that searched baby cradles for sixteen years?" Rachel asked him.

Mal tilted her head as she studied the God of the Dead, who was still seemingly unaware that she was watching him. She wasn't going to lie, there was something familiar about him. Obviously, she knew him since they had a partnership but that wasn't what she meant.

Hades couldn't help but smile as he heard that, glad to know that his daughter had remembered him if only slightly.

She couldn't help but feel safe when she was around Lord Hades, like no matter what happened he'd be there. It was stupid since she'd only really known him for a few weeks but the feeling was there.

"Well, the few weeks of the partnership but the few months you stayed in the Underworld as a baby," Ariel added.

And maybe it was just a trick of the light but did Lord Hades' chin look like Mal's?

Emir and Akiho tilted their heads, looking from Hades to Mal as if they were spectators at a tennis match.

"Do I…do I want to know?" Hades asked as he noticed this.

"They're probably trying to see if your chins truly are similar," Ashaki said with a sigh at her older brother's antics.

Shaking her head, Mal started making her way back to Maleficent's; the incident from a couple of weeks ago playing in the back of her mind. Why had Lord Hades known her middle name? It wasn't like it was a guess either—'Bertha' wasn't that common of a middle name. Mal knew Lord Hades had said Maleficent had told him but that just didn't make sense.

"Because Maleficent would never reveal something like that," Persephone nodded.

Maleficent hated Lord Hades with all her power; honestly Mal thought that Maleficent might have hated Hades more than she hated Leah, Stefan and Phillip.

"Hmm, nope. No 'might' about it, I'm positive she hates me more than she hates Queen Bat over there," Hades nodded. "Good thing I happen to hate her more than I hate Zeusey so it evens out."

"More than Zeus? Really?" Persephone asked.

"It's a close one but she just eeks out a win," Hades nodded.

Oh sure, she acted like she hated Aurora but Mal knew Maleficent still had a soft spot in her heart for her 'Beastie'.

Aurora couldn't help but give a small, sad sigh as she heard that. A sigh that was covered up by Leah's scoff of disgust.

Or at least, that's what Mal assumed based off of Maleficent's rants and plots. Mal barely heard Aurora's name mentioned.

"That hardly means anything!" Leah exclaimed.

"Did your mother have to be here?" Phillip Sr. muttered to Aurora.

Mal sighed; she wished she could make sense of it.

"Well dear you were five," Fairy Godmother said in her typical gentle tone.

Lord Hades didn't act like adults on the Isle normally acted. He made it so kids had some way of getting food and made it so it was good food. He had come to her aid when Frollo had her cornered in that alleyway.

"Well I mean dad's more of an anti-hero anyway," Mal shrugged. "Hey! Kinda like Beastie!"

"Excuse me?!" Beast exclaimed.

"Kidnapping and holding a woman prisoner are considered heroic traits now?" Mal asked, raising an eyebrow. "And let's not forget about the fact that you set up the Isle where you brought people back from the dead because…what was the reason again dad?"

"Death was too good for villains," Hades stated with a glare.

"Ah right," Mal nodded, crossing her arms over her chest.

Chip chuckled. "It's going to be interesting, having her in Auradon," he muttered to Ben.

So why would he treat her like an idiot and lie about how he knew her middle name? There were only three people on the Isle who would know that anyway. Mal obviously, Maleficent and…her father.

"By Jove, I think she's got it!" Chip said with a grin.

"You're the reason why Emir and Akiho are they way that they are, aren't you?" Ben asked.

"Considering you've only known your friends since you were four and you've known me much longer than that, what do you think Benji?"

There's no way Lord Hades is my father.

"Never say never Mali," Hades chuckled.

He would have mentioned that when he set up the alliance or Maleficent would have boasted it to the heavens. She may hate him but the dragon is so power-hungry that having a daughter who's half god would guarantee her control of the Isle. Not to mention her little rivalry with the Evil Queen would be over; there's no way Queenie or her daughter could top that.

Evie sighed softly. Mal had a point there, her mother would likely be furious if she ever found out that Maleficent had a child with Hades.

"Maleficent and the Evil Queen are rivals?" Ben asked.

"Oh yeah," Mal nodded. "About every two years or so, Queenie tries to do a power grab from the Dragon. It doesn't end well for her."

"Okay," Ben nodded. "Well it's nice you and Evie can be friends despite the—."

Mal burst out into laughter, cutting Ben off mid sentence.

"I have a feeling they're not friends Benji," Chip said, shaking his head at Mal's laughter.

"You got that right," Uma nodded.

Ben nodded slowly. Mal's not going to like it when she finds out who her roommate is then, he thought.

Still, why else would Lord Hades know her middle name? Why would he care about a bruise on her arm? Why would he make sure she slowed down and didn't hurt herself when she was rushing through her food?

"The last two could be excused by the alliance but the middle name one is hard to explain away," Jay nodded.

I need to talk to Uma, Mal thought and turned on her heel to Ursula's Fish and Chips. She knew Uma would be working but hopefully she'd just be on dish duty right now. Entering the restaurant that always stunk of fish and seaweed, Mal looked for her friend and ally; scanning the restaurant for a glimpse of that familiar bright blue hair.

"Her father's Poseidon, God of the Sea, and she runs a restaurant that serves…fish?" Neal asked.

"Food is food," Uma shrugged, not noticing the frown on Ariel, Elle, and Melody's face as well as the one on Poseidon's.

"Hey dragon breath," Uma's voice sounded from behind her and Mal had to work to not jump.

"I knew I startled you!" Uma said with a smirk.

"What are you doing here? Thought you spent most of your time at Lord Hades' place now?"

"I need to talk to you," Mal said, turning around to look at the other girl who had her arms filled with dirty dishes. "That is unless you're busy, octo-girl?"

She's five…there's no childhood in working in a restaurant, Snow thought with a frown. She should be out running around with her friends.

Uma chuckled. "Come on, I need to put these dishes in the back. We can talk there. Mama's in the back office but the door's shut. As long as a customer doesn't start a fight, she never comes out."

"That's no way to run a business," Audrey sniffed.

"I'm ignoring her," Uma muttered to Mal. "Otherwise we'll never leave and something tells me if we're here for much longer, Freddy'll make a move on our territory."

"Henry and the others won't let him," Mal shook her head.

Mal nodded and the two girls made their way back into the kitchen, where Uma put the handful of dirty plates she had been holding into the sink. Said sink was already overflowing with dishes but no one seemed to mind considering Mal and Uma were the only two people back there.

"You know it just occurred to me," Mal said, turning to Uma. "There's no running water on the Isle. How'd you clean those dishes?"

"Went out back and washed them in the Cove of course," Uma grinned.

"Okay," Uma said and turned to Mal. "What did you want to talk about?"

Mal took a breath to steady her nerves. "How did you know Facilier was your father?"

"Not even going to ease into it, are you Mali?" Harry chuckled.

Uma blinked, as if not expecting that question. "I asked mama," she said after a moment's pause.

"Just like that?" Mal asked. "You just asked your mom who your dad was?"

Ariel sighed. It honestly didn't seem like Ursula had changed all that much—she hoped it hadn't turned out poorly for Uma.

"Well no," Uma chuckled. "After I met dad, he acted weird. Always telling me to make sure I got my cut and to try to get friends on the other side. Plus Freddie always seemed to be looking out for me whenever I found myself on dad's turf. After about a few of weeks of that, I asked mama."

"And you're still alive?" Jay asked.

"I thought we didn't like Freddy?" Akiho asked before Uma could answer Jay's question.

"Freddie with an 'ie' is the one we like, she's Uma's sister," Harry stated. "Freddy with a 'y' is the spawn of Satan himself."

"And she told you?"

"Not in so many words," Uma said. "So I asked dad. You know the motto of the Isle: Villains always lie. But mama and dad don't really talk to each other much so it's not like they could match up their stories."

"Remember that saying Rick used to have?" Mal said with a sad smile as she thought about her former crew member.

"Oh yeah. 'If your best mate says they tolerate you, ask your other best mate to verify,'" Uma nodded.

Mal nodded. "So Facilier told you?" She asked to confirm what Uma had said.

"That's what she said!" Audrey said, rolling her eyes. "Keep up why don't you?"

"Audrey!" Aurora exclaimed. "That's two weekends now, you want to make it three?"

"Yep," Uma nodded and frowned. "Mal, why are you asking about fathers? You never ask about them."

Mal shrugged. "Just curious. You're one of the few kids on the Isle who knows who both your parents are," she said. It wasn't worth the risk of it getting back to Maleficent before Mal was ready to broach the subject.

"You know I wouldn't have said anything Mal," Uma told her.

"I know," Mal nodded. "But the wrong person listening by the door? It may have only been pirates but you know Maleficent tried to have spies wherever she could."

"Well do you want to be curious while you help me with the dishes?" Uma asked with a smirk.

Mal chuckled. "Sorry Um, but I got to get going. Maleficent won't be happy if I show up late."

"Honestly I think Maleficent wasn't happy to see me at all," Mal shrugged.

"Was the Dragon ever happy?" Jay countered.

"Good point Jay, good point."

Uma nodded and Mal left the kitchen, heading out of the restaurant. There wasn't anyone else she could talk to about their parents—Harry had known his mother but talking about Milah right now just made Harry mad. Mal was in a bind but she wasn't that desperate that she'd make her crew mate upset.

Harry shot Mal a small smile, a smile that Mal readily returned. She was just sorry that these scrolls seemed to constantly bring up Milah.

She wasn't that close to Jay that she could ask the older boy about his mom. Jacqueline, of Jack and the Beanstalk infamy,

"I thought Jack was a guy?"

"Don't always assume a guy's a guy," Lonnie said with a smile as she looked at her mom. "Sometimes they're a girl kicking all the guys' butts!"

"Are you actually praising a villain?!" Audrey exclaimed.

"It's not like Jacqueline did anything to any of us," Lonnie said with a slight shrug. "Unless you're secretly a giant, Audrey?"

had been one of the few good parents the Isle had. So of course, the Isle had to take her when Jay was four.

Snow gasped and her hands flew to her mouth, while tears prickled in the corners or Rapunzel's eyes.

And that's another reason why I didn't say anything negative, Lonnie thought, glancing over at Jay. She could see he had tensed up a little when they started talking about his mom and…villain or not you don't speak ill of the dead.

Unless it's the Matchmaker. Damn that woman.

Maleficent had already partnered with Jafar at that point so Mal had hazy memories of Jay walking around Maleficent's 'castle', holding back tears.

Gee, thanks Mal. I didn't know you noticed that, Jay thought, holding back a sigh as Harry rested a hand on his shoulder. If you noticed then it's probably likely dad noticed too.

Besides, Jay's a bit too dangerous of an option. He may be a thief but his dad's still in league with Maleficent, Mal thought. The odds of it getting back to Maleficent were too high if Mal talked to Jay.

"I think Mal's got issues trusting us," Jay tried to joke as he tried to shove down the feeling of 'hurt' that came upon hearing that Mal didn't trust him not to go to the Dragon.

"Nah, just you and Uma," Harry grinned.

There were only two options remaining to her, and the one Mal was considering was probably the most dangerous option she had. She'd have to talk to Maleficent about her father face to face. It was a lot safer than Maleficent finding out Mal was asking about her father around the Isle.

"Didn't you just say it was the more dangerous option?" Rose asked.

"And yet it was still safer than Maleficent finding out through gossip," Mal told her.

Oh Gods, please let her be in a good mood, Mal thought as she entered her home. Either that, or please make it so I can easily access the exits if needed. I don't think I could take another 'punishment' right now.

Hades glared at the scroll in Jay's hands. She lays a talon on my daughter, I'll make sure she doesn't live to see another day!

Mal knew where Maleficent was, it was the same place she always was. Her little throne room was where most of her plotting was done and where she met with her allies, like Jafar and Cruella. Mal didn't fully understand why her birth giver had paired up with Cruella over other magic users like Madam Mim. The hunters had their gang, why not make it so Maleficent's gang was only magic users?

"Please, I'd rather Cruella than Mim," Mal scoffed.

"Yeah, at least DeVil won't be another Maddy," Uma nodded.

Ben tilted his head. "Maddy?"

"Mad Maddy, Mim's granddaughter," Jay explained. "From what I've gathered from rants on the subject, she and Mal used to be friends."

"Until the little Caster thought it better to strike out on her own because she was tired of being in my 'shadow'," Mal growled.

"Ah," Ben nodded. Note to self, if I bring over Maddy, she and Mal should not room together, he thought.

Besides, Cruella's son was a wimp. Only three years old but cowered like a baby. It was almost pitiful. The Isle was going to swallow him whole if DeVil didn't toughen up.

"Gee thanks Mal," Carlos muttered under his breath. He knew he wasn't the toughest but did she have to phrase it like that?! He didn't need the Auradon kids' pity!

Thankfully, Maleficent was alone when Mal entered the room.

"Is that really something to be thankful for?" Elle asked.

"Mother?" Mal said, thankful she hadn't called Maleficent by her name again. Her arm may have healed but her ribs still smarted.

No one commented on the slight growls heard from the Olympus contingent though Estelle did pick up one of his heads and look over in confusion.

"What?" Maleficent snapped, turning toward Mal who had grown silent upon hearing Maleficent. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all. "Spit it out."

"She's not the most patient is she?" Neal muttered to Emma.

"Why does Lord Hades know my middle name?" Mal asked, the question coming out of her mouth a bit faster than normal as to prevent losing her nerve.

"How should I know what that has-been God knows or doesn't know?" Maleficent scoffed.

"Huh, she must have been in a good mood," Hades noted. "That's tame for her."

Mal took a breath and looked at Maleficent. "It's just, mother, there's only three people on the Isle who would or should know my middle name. You, me…and my father."

Maleficent's eyes flashed and Mal backed up a tad, making sure the doorway was still right behind her in case she needed to make a quick getaway.

"Smart, know your exits," Jay nodded but he was tense. He didn't like the idea of Mal being alone in a room with Maleficent.

"I told you never to mention that weakling in my presence!" Maleficent growled, leaning forward in her chair.

Mal nodded. "Yes mother, you did. But when I have the Lord of the Underworld knowing information that only my father would know, I thought I would ask. Uma knows who her father is, don't I have the right to know who mine is too?"

"And now you run," Harry said. He knew perfectly well what words could trigger a 'punishment' and he didn't want to read about Mal getting one too.

Ben frowned as he heard that and reaffirmed his vow that he'd get more kids off the Isle. No matter what it took. Kids shouldn't have to fear getting information from their parents.

"You brought my name into that!" Uma exclaimed.

"I thought it might appeal to her sense of wanting to be better than everyone else," Mal shrugged.

Maleficent seemed to still and Mal wondered if she had stepped too far over the line. It was risky enough to talk about her father but to tell Maleficent that Mal had the right to know her father's identity?

Maybe Uma will say some nice words when the dragon kills me, Mal thought, nervously eyeing Maleficent.

"I would but I'd rather not considering you're not dying!" Uma exclaimed.

"The only thing you have the right to know is that your father was a weakling who walked out on the both of us," Maleficent told her, the tone of her voice dangerously low. "He didn't want you. If you want to be a weakling like him and believe whatever stupid fantasy you concocted in your head, have at it!"

"Amazing, everything she said couldn't have been more wrong," Phillip Sr. said, shaking his head.

"Fine, mother, I will!" Mal shouted, her own nerve startling her, and turned on her heel;

"You actually said that to Maleficent's face and lived?" Jay asked in amazement.

"Honestly I think she was too stunned to actually do anything," Mal shrugged.

surprised Maleficent hadn't decided Mal needed to learn another lesson in respect. Then again, there was always the chance Maleficent would teach her that lesson later.

"She even tries, she'll have to go through me," Hades vowed.

"Uh dad? Already happened," Mal pointed out. "And she didn't. I spent the night in the clubhouse, figured it'd be safer."

"Sword offer is still available—."

"Phillip, enough!"

Heading back out to the Isle, Mal sighed. Maleficent had been a bust but what had Mal really expected? For the older fairy to sit Mal on her lap and tell her that, yes, the Lord of the Underworld had been her father?

Mal sighed. There was a tiny part of her back then that had longed for such an interaction. But that was Boreadon thinking. Such a thing would never happen on the Isle.

Honestly I think I might have run out of the room screaming if that had happened, Mal thought with a frown. Maleficent on a rampage, ranting in anger? That Mal could handle. But the thought of Maleficent being nice, even in her own head, was truly terrifying.

"Screaming? Seriously?" Audrey shook her head.

"No, no, Mal has a point," Phillip Jr. nodded.

There was only option left now if Mal wanted to know the truth. The problem was, she'd have to go to the man she had accused of lying to her.

Gods don't take insults well, Mal thought as she made her way along the path back to Lord Hades' restaurant. I mean, Athena turned Arachne into a spider because she claimed she was better at spinning and weaving than her. What would Hades do to me for calling him a liar?

"…consider it a compliment considering we're all trapped on an Isle filled with liars?" Hades proposed. "I mean, yeah sure, it's not the nicest thing but I'm sure I've been called far worse by people in this room."

As he finished his sentence, Hades shot a look to Zeus.

The only silver lining Mal could think of was the fact that there was no one in the restaurant at the time Mal had said that. No witnesses meant Lord Hades wouldn't be too rough with his revenge. Right?

"It's Hades," Poseidon pointed out. "He'd get his revenge upon death rather than take it out on the living."

Hades smirked. "This is very true brother."

Plus, the barrier meant there wasn't a chance of fireballs. Mal could easily escape if Hades tried to lay a hand on her but fireballs would allow Lord Hades the luxury of distance.

"I didn't realize he could still flame up," Mal stated as people started to look at her. "I was five."

Opening the door, Mal wasn't surprised to see the restaurant was dead inside. It had only been three hours since she dropped off the delivery. Despite the fact that it was called the lunch rush, there was never really much of a rush. Dinner was the more popular time, considering most villains hadn't eaten all day and were usually desperate.

Ben held back a wince at that, feeling once again as if he'd been punched in the gut. His parents were the ones who set up the Isle. Why hadn't they checked on things? Made sure the quality of the food going to the Isle was the same quality as the food they got?

"What can I get you?" Hades asked from the counter, his back to Mal.

"I'd settle for answers," Mal said softly and Hades turned around to face her.

"Mal?" Hades asked as if shocked to see her in the restaurant. "You already dropped the delivery off. You don't have to stop by here twice in one day."

"She might have been there for food," Emma pointed out.

Mal couldn't help but smirk a little at that before sobering back up. This was her one chance to find out the truth. She didn't want to blow it.

"Can I ask you a question?" Mal asked, walking closer to Lord Hades.

"You just did," Chip chuckled.

"Well you technically already did but you can ask another one," Hades told her, leaning on the counter. He smiled at her; he had been worried that he had blown his chance at building a relationship with her after the whole 'middle name' debacle four weeks ago.

"Hey, I think like Lord Hades!" Chip grinned.

"Oh Gods help us all," Poseidon chuckled and Hades shook his head at his little brother.

Mal bit her lip in thought, trying to figure out how to word her question in a way that wouldn't wind up with her being smote.

"I wouldn't smite you for asking a question," Hades shook his head, all the while vowing to find a way to smite Maleficent for putting the doubt in Mal's head.

"Mal, you can ask your question," Hades said with a small smile and Mal sighed. She gathered up her courage and asked the question that had been growing in her mind all day. She didn't even care if it gave Lord Hades something over her; at this point she just wanted an answer.

"Why would that give Lord Hades something over you?" Phillip Jr. asked.

"Exposes a weakness," Mal stated, her voice flat.

"Are you my father?"

"That's it," Jay said.

"Wait, that's where it ends?" Lucy exclaimed.

"Yep," Jay nodded. "You know, I think it's been a while since our last break. Does anyone—?"

"No! Almost all of the Auradon Kids exclaimed.

"Please Jay? Just one more scroll?" Dizzy asked.

Jay chuckled. "Well if someone else wants to read, I won't fight them."

"I'll read!" Lucy said instantly.

"They do know what happened already right? I mean I'm sitting right next to you and calling you 'dad'," Mal muttered to Hades.

"I think it's all the sun. Makes their brains soft," Hades muttered back to her.

Lucy quickly grabbed a scroll and tore off the ribbon.

"Hurry up!" Alexandria exclaimed.

"I'm moving as fast as I can!" Lucy told her and unfurled the scroll.

Hades could honestly say that he had not expected that question to come from Mal. At the very least he had expected it when she was a lot older, like maybe thirteen or so.

Mal raised an eyebrow. "Really? You use my middle name and you think I wouldn't ask questions until I was a teenager?"

"In my defense, it just slipped out," Hades shrugged.

But he saw no reason to lie to the girl, especially since she was coming to him for the answers.

"After all, she might not take it all that well if she realized you lied to her later on," Phillip Jr. spoke up.

"…he may have a point," Mal muttered.

If anything, she'd probably be a lot more likely to believe him since she was coming to him instead of vice versa.

"This is true," Jay nodded. After all, that was pretty much the case for every one of the kids on the Isle.

"Yes Mal, I am," he said after a few minutes of silence, giving a nod as if accentuating his point. Mal tilted her head as if in thought and Hades couldn't help but be amused. So she did get something from me, at least behavior wise, he thought considering his daughter was pretty much a Maleficent clone though the purple hair was entirely her own.

Mal bristled at the thought of being called a Maleficent clone though smiled at the fact that she'd gotten something from her dad.

"Of course Mal's hair's her own," Uma grinned. "No one could try to be Mal!"

"Why would they want to?" Audrey muttered under her breath.

Her green eyes though were one hundred percent Maleficent however Mal's eyes shown with a fire that was different than that of his ex-wife's. While Maleficent's seemed to shine with rage, Mal's shone with a curiosity and a passion that had yet to be extinguished by life on the Isle or with Maleficent.

Belle couldn't help but smile at that, happy that the young girl was able to keep those desires alive. If one looked closely, they could still see that curiosity and passion shining in Mal's eyes even though it was clear she tried to keep it hidden.

One could argue, however, that Mal's lean frame could come from Hades.

"It is true that the Goddesses tend to be more lean than the Gods," Hera nodded.

"Not necessarily. You've seen Narcissus and Hermes," Demeter told her.

Compared to my brothers, I'm not the most muscular of the Gods, Hades thought. But the Fae were always seen as lean creatures themselves. Maleficent was no body builder after all.

"So I just got the image in my head of Maleficent curling like fifty pound dumbbells," Chip chuckled.

Persephone leaned over and kissed Hades' cheek. "I happen to think you look the best of all of them," she whispered. "Who needs big and bulky?"

Hades smiled at her and kissed her cheek in return.

Plus Mal's been on an Isle where rotten food is the main course. As much as I can try at the restaurant, I'm still working with the food Auradon sends us. Gods, if only I could get my hands on something fresh!

"You mean in addition to the fish, right dad?" Mal asked.

"And the chicken," Uma added.

"Of course," Hades nodded.

"Why did you leave?" Mal asked, her voice soft and breaking Hades out of his thoughts. "Mal—Mother always said that my father walked out on her and me."

"Yeah well she's an evil loon so let's not take what she says to heart," Melody nodded.

"Seriously? Are you all going to start calling the Dragon an evil loon?" Mal asked.

"I don't see why not," Akiho grinned.

Hades sighed and walked around the counter. This was a conversation that he would need to be sitting down to have. Quickly walking to the door and locking it as to not be disturbed, he sat down at one of the tables. Mal quickly followed suit, scrambling into one of the chairs as fast as she could as to not delay getting the information.

Many of the parents in attendance smiled at the image that paragraph had produced. There was a child's innocence there, eager at the prospect of getting information, and they were happy to see that the Isle hadn't completely eliminated that.

"I'm not going to lie and say I tried to stay," Hades said once Mal got settled. Hades had never noticed before how Mal seemed to be too small to sit comfortably in the chairs.

"Seriously?!" Mal grumbled. Ben bit his lip to keep a chuckle from escaping at her reaction. He couldn't help it—it was cute.

She must have been sitting on her knees, he thought and made the resolve to get something to act as a booster. Maybe a phone book—Auradon threw enough of those away that he could pretend it was extra padding for the seat. "In fact, I left your mother when you were about three weeks old."

"Why?" Mal asked.

"Did you miss the part where we said she was an evil loon?" Neal asked and chuckled as Melody gave him a high five.

Mal sighed. "Who started this 'evil loon' thing?"

"Pretty sure it was you," Hadie chuckled.

"When?!"

"When you gave Ben's shadows carte blanche to call Maleficent an evil loon," Chip shook his head in amusement as Emir and Akiho high fived.

"Your mother. She's…she's not the easiest to get along with. I didn't want to have you live in a home where your parents were always fighting," Hades told her, even if that wasn't truthfully the reason why he left. He just couldn't stand being around Maleficent a moment longer.

"And no one blames you for that," Demeter nodded.

"I…I think your mother just complimented me," Hades muttered to Persephone. "Has the world ended and I missed it?"

"You know, I think saying that Maleficent isn't the easiest to get along with is an understatement," Phillip Jr. stated.

However, while he may have hated the fairy, he wasn't going to trash Maleficent in front of Mal. Though, judging by Mal's comment about him, it was clear that Maleficent did not return the favor.

"No! Whatever gave you that idea?!"

"Neal!" Snow and David exclaimed, clearly worried that Hades would take offense. But all Hades did was chuckle.

"You think I'd be offended by a sarcastic teen? I live on the Isle. That's all the teenagers are," he said, shaking his head. "You Auradonians need to loosen up."

"But Mal, I want you to know I never left you. In fact, you lived with me until you were four months old."

Hey dad?

Yeah Mali?

Is…is it weird that I'm a little thankful for these scrolls? I can at least remember those months with you now.

…it's not weird at all Mali. I'm thankful for them too

Mal bit her lip, unsure as to whether she should believe him. After all, she was living with Maleficent without him. That was a pretty clear sign that he had left her behind.

Or that you were stolen, Hercules thought with an inward sigh. You should have grown up with Uncle Hades, Mal. If only my father had actually provide assistance when asked. Had I known…I would have helped. I would hope at least.

But Maleficent always lies, she thought. Why should we believe her now? After all, she said my father was weak and mortal. It certainly takes strength to tell Maleficent no and clearly he's not mortal if he's a God.

"Mal's right you know," Persephone whispered to Hades, wrapping her arms around him in a small hug. It certainly had taken strength to tell Maleficent no but that wasn't the only way in which her husband was strong. Judging the souls, seeing the kids come into his Underworld and not breaking entirely…

"You're my strength for that," Hades whispered to her, somehow knowing what she was thinking. "You and Mal and Hadie. Every time I get a bunch of kids to judge, at the end of the day I know I'll either be coming back to seeing you three in the den or getting a call from you on the portal. Plus now Mal's in Auradon. She gets to actually have a life now."

Why are we believing him though? He could be lying to try to gain power on the Isle?

"Don't want power," Hades shook his head. "Maybe I did years ago but after being trapped on the Isle I can tell you that powers just attracts the imbecilic. A quiet life with your mom, your brother and you is all I need. Oh and access to my powers. And maybe Cerberus."

Estelle lifted his head and gave Hades a doggy grin along with a soft yip.

"Okay, if I can't have Cerberus, at least I have Estelle," Hades chuckled.

"Sorry dad, he's mine," Mal shook her head.

If he was looking for a power grab, he would have claimed he was my father the moment Maleficent allowed me to walk freely around the Isle. He would have told Uma and he would have probably grabbed me back when I ran into his legs all those months ago.

But Maleficent-

Screw Maleficent! If you want to believe the dragon, go ahead but I say it's a safer bet with Hades!

"Go Mal!" Emir cheered.

"Keep at it with that line of thinking," Akiho nodded.

Hades turned to Mal. "Make allies with them. They seem like they'd be good minions."

"They seem to be spoken for," Mal said as Ben shook his head at his friends' antics.

"Steal them from Beastie Jr."

"Why did that change? I mean I'm living with mother right now. Did you change your mind?" Mal asked, breaking herself out of her thoughts, and Hades sighed. That had to be the question that was most like a slap in the face. He would never change his mind about wanting Mal.

Aurora held back a sigh as she glanced over at Leah. She wasn't going to lie, Aurora'd had similar thoughts to Mal's after the events of her sixteenth birthday. When she had wondered if the reason why her parents had sent her to live in a cottage wasn't because they were trying to protect her but because they hadn't wanted her anymore.

"Your mother had…let's call it a change of heart and wanted you back," Hades said, fudging the truth a little. He didn't want to, but how could he explain to his five year old that she had basically been a hostage for five years? That the only reason why he didn't steal her back was because of the threat to her safety?

"I mean five year olds aren't dumb per se. I think she'd handle that," Chip said with a shrug. After all, Ben had to handle the fact he wasn't becoming a big brother at three…

Demeter though glared at the scroll. When would it stop referring to Maleficent as Mal's mother? It was clear as glass that Maleficent did not act the way a mother should toward the young Godling.

"Due to the registry from Auradon and the fact that your mother had only herself listed as your parent, I had no choice but to let her have you. Otherwise she might have issued a complaint to Auradon."

"You know that's completely ridiculous," Emma said. "Lord Hades is Mal's father. He should be able to file for custody if he wanted to. We're really relying on a piece of paper that the villains fill out? Like Mal pointed out in the scroll, Maleficent always lies."

"You do have a point," Ben nodded.

"Gee, if only they had something where the villains could go and a medical professional could fill out a certificate noting both parents at the time of birth," Chip said, stroking his chin.

"Oh you mean like a birth certificate?" Akiho asked.

"That's exactly what I mean!" Chip nodded.

"And what if the villain in question doesn't state who the father is?" Macaria asked. "What, does the doctor just put 'father unknown'? Then we're back where we started."

"The registry?" Mal asked, tilting her head again. She had heard Maleficent talk about it before but she didn't really understand what it was. Hades chuckled a little at her reaction.

"Really dad?" Mal asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I didn't expect it. It was…it was so innocent that it took me off guard," Hades told her.

"It's how Auradon keeps track of the growing population of the Isle," he said and Mal nodded.

"How do they keep track of the population going in the other direction?" Mal asked and it was Hades' turn to tilt his head in slight confusion.

Cinderella gasped, her hand flying to her mouth as she realized just what Mal was asking about.

Five years old…she was noticing that at five years old and no one tried to make it so she didn't see it, she thought. I guess I can see now why Uma and Mal seem determined to keep Dizzy and Celia's innocence alive.

"You know, all the kids who are dying because of the lack of food?" Mal clarified and Hades stilled. It wasn't a question one expected from a five year old.

Everyone else stilled as well, the mood growing serious as they looked over at Mal.

"How many were we at that point?" Uma asked.

"You want kids or total?" Mal sighed. "Cause dad could probably give you more exact details but I think we were at thirty kids by that point."

"Dead?" Emma asked, her voice faint.

"No, on vacation," Mal snapped. "What do you think?!"

Jay rested a hand on Mal's shoulder. "She was just taken aback Mal. Be nice, we're going to have to deal with them when we get out of here remember?"

"If she doesn't ask stupid questions like that, I'll be nice," Mal scoffed. "Honestly…"

"And she noticed all of that," Aurora whispered to Phillip Sr. "Honestly Phillip…I think I'm going to help with the next food drive. Figure out what's going on."

"I'll be happy to help," Phillip Sr. nodded.

Then again, I guess when your father's the God of the Dead you're going to notice the death around you a lot more, he thought with an inward frown.

Hadie nodded softly. Mal had tried to keep that knowledge from him but he still knew what was going on. Prince of the Underworld, how could he not?

"I'm not sure Mal," he said softly and then, desperate to change the subject, said, "I'm sure you've got a lot more questions."

Mal shrugged and leaned back in her chair. "So what am I?"

"You're Mal, Mal!"

Mal and Ben stared at Akiho in confusion and concern.

"Your friend's strange," Mal told Ben.

"I'm well aware," Ben nodded.

"Thank you!" Akiho said with a grin on his face.

"He considers that a compliment by the way," Ben chuckled as Mal raised an eyebrow.

"Ben's called us 'strange' or 'insane' once a day every day since we were twelve," Emir grinned.

"What do you mean?" Hades asked, raising an eyebrow.

"You know, am I a demi-goddess? A Fae? I'm clearly not mortal," Mal elaborated and Hades nodded, realizing what Mal was asking.

"Technically you'd be a demi-goddess but since you're also half Fae it's hard to say for sure. Though that brings up an important point. Mal, you can tell people that you're my daughter if you want but I would advise caution."

"Why? If I found out Lord Hades was my father, I'd scream it to the heavens," Carlos said, his voice a bit louder than it had been but still quiet.

"Why?" Mal asked. "I'd be one of the few kids who knows who both my parents are on the Isle. That's rare."

Mal chuckled. "Oh five year old me, you were so innocent."

Hades chuckled. "True. But the last thing I want is for a target to be put on you because of me. The barrier severely limits your magic. Oh sure they claim that all magic is suppressed but there's no way to truly suppress a god's magic. Fairy magic is only so powerful. Even with Zeus aiding in the creation of the barrier."

"Freddy would certainly increase his efforts if he found out I was a 'false Goddess'," Mal mused.

"Huh that's a good point," Uma nodded.

"Then again Freddy's not allowed anywhere near you girls so he wouldn't even get a chance to try," Harry stated and Jay nodded.

A few of the adults couldn't help but smile at the loyalty between the four of them.

"Unless they had that potion you fed to Jerkules," Mal pointed out and Hades frowned. That wasn't really something he wanted to be reminded of by his five year old.

Hercules held back a wince at the nickname, his mind inadvertently going back to his teenage years. That'd been the same nickname they had given him even though he never understood why.

Plus Steph would probably tell him that Mal shouldn't refer to her cousin that way, that Hercules would be a good ally to have if Mal ever got off the Isle, yada yada yada.

Meg snorted. "Ease up on the sarcasm there Tex."

"Well sorry nut-Meg but I didn't expect my thoughts to be written down on a scroll to be read to most of Boreadon," Hades shook his head.

"Ah well now you're forgiven," Meg smirked.

"You know, it's times like these I remember they used to work together," Persephone said, her turn to shake her head.

Speaking of Persephone, I should bring Mal to the Underworld. Steph's been dying to talk to Mal. The only reason she hasn't is because of Maleficent's spies being all over the place. If one of them caught her talking to Mal, it might not have been good for Mal.

"They'd have to get through me before they would have the chance to touch Mal," Persephone vowed, a slight growl to her voice.

"Yeah well they only made one of those potions and I don't remember where I had gotten it in the first place," Hades said, pulling himself out of his thoughts.

"That's good," Hyllus said.

"Yeah, imagine if the wrong person got their hands on that," Macaria nodded.

Good thing, otherwise Zeus probably would have insisted I take it before they put me on the Isle, he thought before mentally shaking his head.

Zeus looked over at Hades in shock. Did…did he honestly think I'd do that? I mean, yes I reinforced the barrier and yes I put Hades on the Isle but he's still my brother. Plus Persephone would have found a way to kill me if I actually did that—and we don't exactly have an extra God of the Dead lying around.

The last thing he wanted to do was think about his brother while talking with his daughter. "So while I can't turn into a giant fireball, I can still use a bit of my flame."

He conjured up a small blue fireball to prove his point before extinguishing it, not wanting to risk Mal getting burnt.

"I can do that!" Hadie grinned and conjured his own blue fireball.

Mal smiled. "Nice work storm cloud! It's bigger than the last time you tried."

"Thanks Mal," Hadie smiled and extinguished it.

Though there is that old saying about fire not being able to burn a dragon…

You sure you want to risk Mal getting hurt over that? You don't even know if that saying is true!

"And even if that saying's true, she wasn't a dragon right then," Evie said softly.

"Hmm, Blueberry has a point," Mal nodded.

"Will I be able to do that too?" Mal asked, her eyes widening in wonder, and pulling Hades out of his thoughts.

"Why yes," Mal said with a smirk as she held out her hand to summon a small ball of lilac flames. "Yes I will."

"Whoa," Ben said softly, looking at the fireball. He didn't know why but he couldn't help but pay a bit more attention than when Hadie did it.

"Honestly Bennyboo, are you just going to let her do magic without your permission?!" Audrey exclaimed.

"Audrey, it's not like she's hurting anyone," Ben shrugged.

"I see no reason why not," Hades told her. "You're my daughter after all."

Gods it feels good to say that to her and know she'll actually remember it, Hades thought with a smile. His daughter. No matter how she tried, Maleficent would never be able to take this moment away from him.

Zeus couldn't help but give his brother a small smile. He remembered that feeling, the same feeling he'd had after his first conversation with Hercules. No matter Zeus' feelings toward Hades, he couldn't help but feel happy for his brother.

Mal paused for a moment, as if in thought. "Is that why my eyes have been glowing?" Mal asked softly.

It wasn't because of the Fae powers at all. It was my God powers! Why didn't Maleficent tell me my father was a God? Doesn't that seem like something I have the right to know?

"At least you didn't say that in front of her this time," Jay said. "I don't think we'd be able to mop you up from that."

"I know Jay," Mal sighed. Maleficent was the one who decided what you had the right to know after all…

"It's possible," Hades said. "Though it's also possible that it's your Fae powers coming in. I doubt your mother has explained anything to you though."

"You'd be correct sir!" Hyllus nodded.

Hades held back a wince. His great-nephew had sounded too much like he had when he freed the Titans and tried to take over Olympus. Oh he didn't regret the coup, he just didn't want the kid to potentially wind up like him.

Mal shook her head and Hades sighed. Of course Maleficent hadn't explained anything to Mal. That would be too much to ask of the older fairy.

"Well…if you want to, I'm sure there are some books in the library about the Fae," Jane said, her voice sounding rather meek as if she was worried Mal might shoot down the suggestion.

Mal shrugged. "I mean, I'm a Godling but I still have a bit of Fae. Can't hurt to learn about them."

"So it could be either my God powers or my Fae powers causing my eyes to glow," Mal sighed. "Great. Glad that we cleared that up."

"Easy on the sarcasm, cuz," Elle chuckled. Mal paused and looked over at her, having not expected the girl to say that. She wasn't going to lie, there was a small part of her that kinda liked it.

Hades chuckled. "Well we've got time to figure out what's causing your eyes to glow. You're half God after all."

"Did you ever find out?" Kitty asked.

"Kitty, that's a rather personal question. I don't think—."

Mal shook her head, cutting Cinderella off mid-statement. "No, we never did though it likely was my magic coming up."

Mal nodded and grew silent for a moment. "So what do I call you? You know, when we're alone like this?"

"Whatever you want," Hades told her.

Mal nodded and bit her lip in thought. She wasn't sure what she was going to call Hades.

"Mal, I'm pretty sure you could call your dad a 'limp noodle' and he'd be cool with it," Jay said.

"Where'd you come up with that?" Mal asked.

"Some of the crew were talking one day," Jay shrugged. "The topic of favorite insults came up and Ryan said he liked 'limp noodle'."

"Of course the kid would like something tame like that," Harry chuckled.

"…and we're the strange ones?" Emir and Akiho asked Ben after staring at Jay in shock.

"Yes," Ben nodded.

"For the record, if you do call me that Mal, I'm taking you to your mother to see if you're okay," Hades stated. "And if anyone else calls me that the way you all have been calling Maleficent an evil loon, they're looking at a fireball."

"Understood Lord Hades!" The kids in the room called out.

"Yeah, got it dad," Hadie nodded.

"Don't threaten the kids Hades," Persephone sighed.

"What threat? It's a promise."

What about father? After all, we call Maleficent mother.

"But dad's like the exact opposite of Maleficent," Hadie pointed out.

But that's only in public and it's because Maleficent would beat us bloody if we didn't.

The usual collection of growls that had started whenever the scroll mentioned Maleficent possibly injuring Mal started back up, and unless Mal was mistaken, they were somewhat louder than they had been before.

Remember when we were four and we called her by her name in front of the Evil Queen?

And we're positive the beating wasn't because we disrespected her in front of EQ rather than forgetting to call her mother?

I'm pretty sure the broken ankle you got didn't care about the details as to why it was received!

Phillip Sr. looked at Aurora. "She broke Mal's ankle. When Mal was four. Briar, I'm telling you, I don't care if anyone asks for it, I'm this close to—."

"Phillip, it's taking the last bit of my will power to say no, that you can't take your sword and run Maleficent through with it," Aurora saiid softly, trying not to picture a young Mal in pain because of a mistake. Tears prickled in the corners of her eyes—no mother should lay a hand on their child.

But Maleficent's not her mom. Lady Persephone is, Aurora thought.

Hades looked over at Persephone, his voice hard. "I get to kill her right?"

"Only if you beat me to her." Persephone said and her eyes flashed in irritation. Demeter could be heard audibly making plans to find her way onto the Isle to have a 'talk' with Maleficent.

She should be checked over, Ben thought. I doubt that ankle healed properly with everything we've heard about the Isle. Plus as Maleficent as a…care giver I guess?

Okay, okay. We're getting off topic anyway.

True. What about dad? You know, since it's pretty much the opposite situation that we have with Maleficent? He acts like our father in private but has to pretend otherwise in public?

"Not exactly what I was saying but same vein," Hadie nodded causing Alexandria to giggle slightly.

So why not call him father? After all, he's only really been our father for the past few weeks.

"Pretty sure he's been your father your whole life," Neal said.

"I like him too!" Hades said. "What is in the water over in Boreadon that I'm liking these kids?"

Hades watched as Mal seemed to think over what she was going to call him. He honestly didn't care as long as Mal was in his life.

"But don't actually call me 'limp noodle'," Hades added with a chuckle.

"Father?" Mal said softly and Hades almost missed it.

"I'm sorry?"

Mal rolled her eyes. "Father. That's what I want to call you."

Hades nodded. "Okay. Father it is then."

After all, Wonderbreath called Zeus father; as did Triton to Poseidon. It was only fitting that Mal called Hades father as well.

"But…you call Uncle Hades 'dad'," Herkie said, looking over at Mal.

"It may have been 'fitting' but that's not how we do things on the Isle," Mal said with a smirk.

Hercules didn't know why but the old derivative nickname only amused him now. At least, when it was from Hades.

"Hang on," Mal said slowly as if coming to a realization, "does this mean Uma's my cousin? Since her grandfather's Poseidon?"

Poseidon smiled as Uma wrapped her arm over Mal's shoulders. He was happy that at least the new generation of the family would be able to get along.

"Yes, the little squidling's your cousin," Hades nodded with a small smile. While he didn't have the closest relationship with Ursula or Uma, he was happy his daughter had a friendship within the family.

Jay and Carlos smiled as they heard that, each of them thinking about their respective cousins.

"What about Panic's kid, Virgil?" Mal asked. "Everyone knows that he's the son of Vanessa and since Vanessa was just Ursula's human form that somehow got split from her when the barrier went up…"

"Someone still needs to explain to me how that's possible!" Lucy exclaimed.

"We don't know either," Jay shook his head.

"I'm still trying to figure that one out," Hades told her. "For now, I'm leaning toward 'yes' but still want to do some research into it."

Gods if that's true, then I'd have to call Panic my nephew-in-law. Is that even a thing?

Knowing my luck, it would be.

Eh, Panic's a good minion. A bit well panicky but he's less likely to keep things from you than Pain is. Thank gods Pain never reproduced.

"You know that's a good point," Meg nodded. "Panic always used to say you'd be furious whenever you found out about something. It was Pain who'd put the 'if you found out' in his head."

"I'm going to guess they did that a lot, mom?" Hyllus asked.

"You'd be correct," Meg nodded.

"But I still shouldn't tell them?" Mal asked, once again pulling Hades out of his thoughts. "That we're cousins I mean?"

"It's up to you Mali," Hades said, his old nickname for her slipping out as if it'd been weeks instead of years since he used it. "Like I said, there's a risk of a target getting put on you if word got out you were the daughter of Hades."

"But she found out," Ben pointed out. "Uma didn't react during the first chapter when the scroll mentioned that Lord Hades was Mal's father."

Mal chuckled as Estelle trotted over to her. "I had some help with that. Besides, you don't keep secrets from your crew."

Mal nodded. "Oh. Well I guess it can't hurt to keep it to myself for a while. Besides if we still don't know if Virgil is my cousin, then we shouldn't get his hopes up."

Dizzy nodded. "That wouldn't be fair to him!"

"Exactly," Hades chuckled at the innocence used in that logic. Maleficent hadn't completely twisted his daughter.

Speaking of mothers and daughters….

"Hey Mal?" Hades asked as he got up. "You want to go meet your step mother?"

Persephone chuckled. "I was wondering when I was going to get a chance to see Mal."

"You know you already lived this right dear?" Hades asked, raising an eyebrow.

Mal smiled and took his offered hand. "Yes father!"

"How precious!"

"I think she does it on purpose now," Mal muttered, glaring slightly at Snow White as the faint flush returned once more to her cheeks. "First cute, then adorable and now precious? I am none of these things!"

Hades couldn't help but grin at the ease the word had come out of his daughter's mouth. "Then let's go."

They would probably hear Persephone's squeal of joy from Auradon when she saw Mal.

"Oh so that's what that noise was," Chip chuckled.

"So should we have our break now?" Jay asked and Mal shook her head in amusement.

"I think Jay's getting antsy guys!"

"Says the girl who's been fidgeting for the past five minutes!"

"I have not!"

Mal smiled as she looked around the room. While she wasn't exactly thrilled with the scrolls revealing her secrets to the Auradonians—and making her look cute and adorable—she was happy that most of the AKs seemed to like them.

Okay maybe happy was the wrong word to use. Maybe surprised worked better? Especially since they all seemed to get angry on their behalf, or upset. She had seen the tears when the scrolls talked about Milah or Jacquline.

Oh Gods, if those scrolls talk about what happened to Harry when we were nine…he's probably never going to forgive the Fates for allowing that to be recorded! Mal thought as she gently chewed on her lip in thought.

"Everything okay?"

Mal looked up to see Ben looking at her in slight concern.

"Just thinking. Why?"

"Everyone else is up and about and you were just sitting here. I wanted to make sure you were okay," Ben said with a slight shrug. "Can…can I sit down?"

"You're the future King. You can do whatever you want," Mal shrugged but scooted slightly to allow for some room for Ben to sit next to her.

"Thanks," Ben said as he sat. "Listen Mal, I…I want to know more. About the Isle I mean. I feel terrible that you all have to deal with that—."

Mal scoffed. "You'd be the only one Beastie Jr. Otherwise, why has no one checked in on the Isle before now. You know, I honestly think this whole 'invite VKs to Boreadon' was some press thing you all did for the twentieth anniversary of your kingdom or something."

"Why?" Ben asked with a small frown.

"You've been reading the same scrolls I have," Mal told him. "Twenty years and no one from Auradon even bothered to check in on the Isle. You all are stunned when we mention things like the death count but really? You have an Isle filled with villains and give them low resources of things like food and you all are shocked when some of them die?"

Ben sighed. "You…You have a point Mal. And for what it's worth, I am sorry that no one's checked in on the Isle before now."

"Sorries won't bring back all we've lost," Mal told him. "They're just pretty words."

"I know…but for right now it's all I can do until we get back to Auradon and I can pull the shipment records."

Mal raised an eyebrow. "Didn't your mom say she was going to do that?"

"Mom and dad are working on this coronation, I'd hate to put more on their plates," Ben said with a shrug. "Besides, if I'm going to be King, I should know how to pull things like the shipment records myself or I could…"

"You could what? Beastie Jr.?" Mal asked as Ben trailed off. She followed his gaze toward Akiho and his family. Before Mal could blink or even ask what in the world was going on, Ben sprung up and raced over to his best friend.

"You okay Ben?" Akiho asked.

"Arendelle still provides the security for the docks, right?" Ben asked, bouncing a little from his idea. If he was right, they wouldn't have to wait to leave to get some answers into what was going on with the food.

"Yeah unless something's changed and my parents haven't told me," Akiho told him, looking over at his parents. "Mom? Dad?"

"Nothing's changed Akiho," Anna promised.

Ben grinned. "Great! Can you contact the head of dock security and ask him for any footage relating to the ship that sends the food donations to the Isle? The shipment records are great but we will have to wait to get out of here to actually get them. Meanwhile—."

"Meanwhile I can contact Michael right now and get the ball rolling on this!" Akiho finished, grinning from ear to ear. "Ben, you're a genius!"

"I mean, anyone else would have had the same thought…"

"Nope. You're a genius. Let me call Michael now and maybe by the next one of these breaks he'll have something for us."

Anna looked over at her husband. "I feel like, as King and Queen of Arendelle, we should step in?"

"I mean on the one hand this is good practice for Akiho for when he takes over the throne. On the other hand, they're kids. The only thing they should be worrying about is school, sports, and relationships," Kristoff said, a small frown tugging at his lips.

"Oh dear…they're royal kids. Even I know they've got more to worry about than just that and I spent thirteen years locked in a castle with only paintings to talk to," Anna said, gently resting a hand on Kristoff's cheek.

Kristoff sighed but nodded before looking over at his son. "Akiho, perhaps I should go ahead and call Michael?"

"If you want dad but I can do it," Akiho said with a slight shrug.

"So can I," Kristoff said and pulled out his phone, quickly dialing the number for the head of Arendelle's security team that they loaned to Auradon to monitor the docks. Meanwhile, at the other end of the room, Mal and Uma were getting an impromptu family reunion.

"Why do we have to do this?" Uma muttered to Mal.

"Because mom asked us to," Mal muttered back.

"This is a load of barnacles you realize that?"

"That's a new saying."

"Trying to keep it clean in case the fireball or Celia are listening in. Not to mention Hadie."

Mal gave her cousin a small smile before shaking her head. "Come on. Time to meet our grandparents I guess."

"I'm surprised Demeter hasn't asked to meet Hadie yet," Uma noted. "You know, considering he's her grandkid too."

Mal shrugged. "In all honesty, she probably did but I don't think anyone could tear him away from Estelle right now."

That was very true, as Hadie, Celia, Alexandria, and Dizzy were in the midst of giving Estelle the biggest belly rub they could.

"Kinda feel bad for DeVil though, which is odd for me," Uma said. "But he's looking at Estelle like he's going to eat him."

"You know DeVil's got a fear of dogs," Mal said. "And a Cerberus, if nothing else, is a dog with three heads. You know the crap Cruella put in DeVil's head after all."

Uma snorted. "I think the whole Isle knows about that. About how dogs are 'vicious rabid pack animals who eat little boys who don't behave'."

"Your impression of her's getting good."

"Oh thank you Mali!"

Poseidon bit back a snort of amusement, the two Gods having approached the two Godlings maybe not fifteen minutes ago. "You think they'll realize we're here at some point?"

"I'd give it another minute before Persephone points that out," Demeter muttered to him, biting back a chuckle as Poseidon brushed a lock of his flowing blue hair out of his eyes. "I see where your granddaughter gets it from."

"Gets what from?"

"The blue hair," Demeter elaborated. "I can only assume that it's natural though I seem to remember Ursula had white hair."

"She does," Poseidon nodded. "But she dyes it, or at least she did before she got sent to the Isle. Triton got his hair from his mother."

Demeter nodded and grew silent as she realized that the two Godlings were looking at them. The stare down seemed to last for ages when in reality it was more than likely only a few minutes.

"So…you're my grandfather," Uma said, crossing her arms over her chest.

"I am," Poseidon nodded.

"And you're my grandmother," Mal said, looking at Demeter.

Demeter nodded. "It is quite lovely to meet you Mal. I only wish I we could have done it sooner."

"Well you know if you had checked into the Isle once in a while, we could have," Mal told her. "I mean, for Gods' sake, Poseidon, didn't you ever wonder why Uma was wishing for something fresh to eat for her birthday? Or could you just not be bothered to check?"

Uma smirked. "Oh and let's not forget cuz, your grandmother apparently didn't even wonder why your mom was petitioning Zeus to help get back a child that Maleficent had kidnapped."

"That's right! I guess now that she knows she's got two grandchildren, it's okay to care. Never mind the fact that I spent five years in Maleficent's talons," Mal nodded.

Persephone sighed and walked over to them. "Girls, behave."

"We are behaving mom," Mal stated. "But honestly after all of this, do you really think we'd just go running into the arms of our grandparents here? They could have gone against Zeus and Beastie and actually done something for the Isle but they didn't."

Uma nodded. "Yeah Aunt Steph, you're the only person from Olympus to actually care about the Isle. I mean, and Uncle Hades of course but he's trapped on the Isle with us. Not to mention the fact that Uncle Hades has to deal with weighing the souls every day."

Persephone sighed—she couldn't argue that the girls had a valid point.

"I can reach out to Minos, Rhadamanthus, and Aeacus," Persephone said. "They can help Hades judge the souls—."

"No!" Mal and Uma exclaimed, causing all three Gods to blink in surprise.

"Dad's the only one who knows the kids," Mal elaborated. "Or at least knows of the kids. Minos, Rhadamanthus and Aeacus are all from Auradon so all they'd see are VKs. Those kids would be sent to Tartarus without a doubt!"

"Not to mention the fact that they're all Zeus' kids!" Uma added. "I don't think Uncle Hades would really appreciate them butting in."

I hate the fact that they have a point, Poseidon thought to Demeter.

I agree, but what else can we do? It's clear from the scrolls that Hades at least hates judging the souls of the kids who come to him, Demeter thought back to him.

Poseidon sighed but nodded, resolving to think of a way to help his older brother in anyway he could. One by one, everyone came back together to start back up with the reading. However, before anyone could inquire as to who would be the next person to read, the eyeball returned.

"I'm going to continue to state that this is the strangest experience I've ever had," Eugene stated as the eyeball began to spin.

"More so than sword fighting with a horse while using a frying pan to defend yourself?"

"You've got to use another example!"

"I could but I don't want to," Kit said with a chuckle.

As the eyeball finished spinning, four people dropped from it—two men and two women. Mal couldn't help but smirk as the blond man groaned; his armor clanging on the stone floor.

"Phoebus, are you alright?" One of the women asked, brushing her thick black hair out of her emerald eyes.

"Just fine Esmeralda," Phoebus said, groaning as they stood up. "But um…where are we?"

"Achidanza!"

"I'm not quite sure this is 'cool' Naveen," the other woman shook her head.

"But Tiana! We are in a room with all the Gods from Olympus! Who could not say this is cool?" Naveen grinned before it faded. "But um…why are we in a room with all the Gods from Olympus along with many of the royals from Auradon?"

Eugene grinned. "Welcome to the Newbie club! We're apparently reading these scrolls."

"Eugene," Rapunzel sighed as she shook her head. "The scrolls show us what has been happening with the Isle of the Lost."

Tiana's eyes widened as she went to go sit next to her fellow Learning to be Royal member. "Is anyone going to read next?"

"We were just going to decide that when you arrived," Rapunzel told her. "Would you care to read?"

"If anyone doesn't have an issue?"

"No issues here!"

Tiana smiled slightly as she reached to grab a scroll.

"You're taking this 'dropped into the lair of the Fates' thing rather well," Uma noted.

"After you get turned into a frog, it takes a lot to faze you," Tiana chuckled.

Tiana sighed and unfurled a scroll that had been handed to her by one of the kids. She didn't know what was going on but she hoped to get to the bottom of it.

The father and daughter quickly made their way through the streets of the Isle toward the Underworld. Hades tried to make sure he kept his pace to one that Mal could match without seeming like he was slowing down for her.

Esmeralda couldn't help but smile at that, picturing Phoebus doing the same with Zephyr.

"Good, nobody's cooing," she heard Hades mutter.

"Give it time dad, give it time," the girl next to him told him. Esmeralda had to assume she was Mal.

Thankfully, the streets were empty wherever they went. Whether that was because someone had spread the word that Hades was coming or if it was because they were worried about upsetting Maleficent, Hades didn't know. Nor did he particularly care. As long as they didn't impede him from getting Mal to the Underworld, they could go dress in drag and do the hula for all Hades cared.

Almost all the kids stopped and turned to look at Hades.

"Yes?" Hades asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Dad, did you have to put that image in our heads?" Mal asked, shuddering in disgust!

"Yeah Uncle Hades! I never want to imagine Gaston doing that!" Uma nodded.

Harry shook his head. "At least Gaston would be pleasant to look at in a strange way. Imagine Yzma doing it."

"I'm…I'm pretty sure that's not drag then—."

"Hush Benji, just be horrified like the rest of us," Chip told Ben who was looking a little confused.

"…is brain bleach a thing?" Emir asked, his voice soft from horror.

"And if it's not can we make it a thing?" Ashaki asked, her voice just as soft as her brother's.

Though now the image of Hook and Gaston potentially doing that was seared into Hades' brain…it was a good thing Gaston thought himself too manly to actually do that or Hades would have to kill him. The God would have no choice in the matter.

"We'll help!"

"Oh Gods, why did you have to mention the Captain in the drag too?!" Harry exclaimed as he pressed one of his hands into his eyes as if to block out the image.

Should I be worried that Mal's so quiet? Hades thought about halfway through their trek. Mal had been keeping pace with him quite nicely but she had been quiet. Maybe she's worried about slipping up? Saying something that someone else might hear? I mean, I want her to be proud to be my daughter. I just don't want the potential target on her back. She's already got one simply by being Maleficent's daughter, she doesn't need another one.

Though I'd love it if Maleficent came after me for this. Give me the chance to give her a piece of my mind about how she's been treating my daughter.

"I'd be happy to help Lord Hades. I've even got a sword you can use if you feel that your powers are too dampened by the barrier!"

"You. I like you. I may have already said it but it bares repeating," Hades nodded. "Come talk to me in the next break, we'll figure out a way to use that sword."

Phillip Sr. grinned and Aurora sighed, an amused smile pulling at her lips.

Hades let out a soft sigh. There was no way Maleficent would actually confront Hades about this. She would never actually do her own dirty work. That was left for her goblin minions after all.

"They can deal with my sword too! I still owe them one for tying me up!"

Though, the poor souls who crossed her last just opened up a coffee shop. Cause that's what people want—coffee made out of the junk Auradon sends us. Who in their right mind wants curds in their coffee? Because that's what people would get if they put in the month old milk we're lucky to get.

"I'm sorry? Month old milk?" Tiana asked, looking from the scroll in shock.

"Yeah apparently the Isle's getting our garbage instead of actual food," Eugene told her, barely hidden rage flashing in his eyes.

"But we're going to figure it out," Ben said, speaking up. "We're looking to see if we can get the footage from the docks to figure out exactly what's going on with the deliveries."

"Good," Tiana nodded.

Esmeralda sat in silence, stunned to her very core. Paris had been one thing, she had assumed that was just because of Frollo and even then people had still fought to keep her safe and defeat Frollo. But to hear that all of Auradon had apparently been content to sit by, not bothering to check on the Isle?

It's only because of Phoebus that we have the registry, so that the kids wouldn't be labeled and judged for who their parents are, so we could get them help if they needed it, she thought. But I guess that was just a dream.

That formula Steph had brought over back when they had Mal had been a lifesaver for a lot of the kids Mal's age and younger. Since Steph had brought over a six month supply under the guise of helping the infants of the Isle, it wasn't doing much good just sitting in Hades' kitchen after Maleficent stole Mal from them.

"Those poor kids," Tiana softly, making a mental note to talk to Beast to set something up so that the Isle could have some better food. She'd make it herself if she had to!

Slowly yet surely, Persephone had made it available to the other new parents of the Isle. Some, like the Evil Queen, turned it down; claiming all the formula would do was make her daughter fat.

"Fat?! She's a baby!" Snow White exclaimed. "I can't believe this!"

Evie couldn't help but give her step sister a small smile as she heard her defense.

Others, like Gaston, turned it down as they considered it an insult that Persephone was implying they couldn't produce food for their kid.

"Well considering he only acknowledges three of the twelve, I'm pretty sure mom had the right idea," Mal muttered.

"Twelve kids?" Naveen asked and then turned to Tiana. "And you called me the playboy?"

Thank the Gods for Claudette and Milah, Hades thought as they continued to make their way to the Underworld. They at least accepted some of the formula for when Gaston foisted Gil off onto her so he could get drunk with LeFou and Hook. That way, Harry had something to eat too. I almost wish we had still had some of the formula when CJ was born but with Milah's death, there was no way Hook would have accepted it.

"Lady Steph must have had a stock pile of it though because the runt survived," Harry said softly. He'd never admit it out loud but he was thankful for that—he already lost his mother, he didn't want to lose another family member too.

There were a few parents, mainly the lower ranked villains, who were more willing to accept the formula. Though, since it obviously came from Auradon, they took some convincing that it was actually good to consume.

"I'm not surprised," Emma said, her voice soft.

"Villains aren't going to trust easily normally and then after years of dealing with the food we sent them…" Elle sighed.

Normally they'd be accused of being overly paranoid but one look at what the adults had to eat said otherwise.

Belle winced and sighed as there was no denying the fact that Lord Hades had a point there.

Sighing, Hades shook his head a little to clear it of such thoughts. He was about to re-introduce Mal to her step mother, last thing he needed was memories of Steph crying on the couch in the den because another infant died running through his head.

Tiana gasped softly and Naveen gently wrapped his arm over her shoulders, holding her close to him.

"Steph?" Hades called out as he entered the Underworld, Mal in tow.

"Steph?" Mal repeated softly, looking at Hades in confusion, but Hades didn't hear her.

"In the kitchen! Your dishes are going to take over the sink if they're not done soon!"

"How do you go through so many dishes when it was just you and Uncle Hades?" Uma asked.

"Pain and Panic," Persephone told her.

"That makes so much sense," Uma nodded.

Persephone shouted back but walked out to him. "Hades, I swear. What is the point of having minions if you don't…"

She trailed off upon seeing Mal standing next to him. Hades could see her eyes light up as she took in the sight of their daughter standing in front of her.

"You have no idea how much it took not to run up and scoop you in my arms," Persephone said softly.

"Mal, this is your step mother Persephone," Hades said gently, going to stand next to Persephone.

Mal gave a small smile. "It's nice to meet you Lady Stepho—I mean Perstephone. Er—"

"Aw!"

"'Persephone' is hard to say when you're five!" Mal exclaimed, glaring slightly at the cooing royals. I swear to all the Gods, I'm going to have a permanent blush by the time this is over, she thought as she felt the heat on her cheeks once more.

"Mal, sweetheart, you can just call me 'Steph'," Persephone said, giving Mal a kind smile.

And that's great, but when does she call you 'mom'? Demeter thought.

"Have you had lunch yet? I was just heating up some leftovers from your father's restaurant."

"That's a weird way to say doing dishes," Herkie said.

"If Mal wanted food, I'd get her some food," Persephone told him. "The dishes could wait."

Mal shrugged, hoping she didn't seem too eager for the food. "I can eat. If it's not too much trouble, I mean."

"If it was any trouble, I wouldn't have offered," Persephone said, gently taking her hand and leading her to the kitchen. Hades sighed with a small smile before ducking away; walking down the hall and opening the door to Mal's nursery for the first time since that faithful day.

Hades sighed. To this day, he hated thinking about that. About Mal crying in the clutches of the goblins and not being able to do anything about it.

Estelle walked over and put his heads on Hades' thigh, as if sensing he needed to be cheered up .

"Good boy," Hades whispered, scratching Estelle behind the ears.

It was exactly as he had left it all those years ago. Granted a little dustier than normal but Pain and Panic had kept to the orders not to touch anything. The crib was still on its side, the pillow strewn on the ground as if the goblins had tossed the room only an hour ago rather than five years ago.

This would be a good room for her, he thought as he ran a finger over the chest of drawers, looking disgusted at the dust buildup. I'd have to move the crib into storage for her to use if she has kids in the far, far, far off future.

"And what if she chooses not to have kids?" Mulan asked.

"Then I'll save it for Hadie's kids," Hades shrugged.

"And if he doesn't have them?"

"Donate them. I don't care as long as my kids are happy."

He shook his head and stopped. Wait, what am I thinking? Maleficent still has Mal regardless of her knowing about Steph and me. If I took Mal from her now, all Maleficent would have to do is file a complaint to Auradon. There may not have been any inspectors since Belle's failed pregnancy but knowing Maleficent, she'd find a way to get a report to Beastie.

"Not necessarily," Shang spoke up. "Someone like Maleficent wouldn't want anyone thinking her weak, even King Beast. So in all actually, all that would happen would be Mal would be in a state of tug of war between Lord Hades and Maleficent."

If Belle and Beast thought Mal might be in the crosshairs of a custody battle between the Isle's two biggest bads…no wait, there's no way Maleficent would actually admit to the royals of Auradon that Hades was Mal's father.

"Yeah that doesn't seem like something Maleficent would do, telling anyone she needed someone's help to create a child," Meg said dryly.

"…you make your point quite vividly," Phoebus stated, not wanting to think of Maleficent like that.

"So who wants to tell him Frollo's got two kids?" Uma muttered to Mal.

"Eh, one kid and one spawn of Satan," Mal corrected. "Claudine's decent for an Angel."

They'd probably just send in guards, take Mal, and give her back to Maleficent. And then find a way to punish me for wanting to live with my daughter. Maybe prevent me from seeing Steph, he thought bitterly.

"…How?" Persephone asked. "We have an actual agreement between my mother, Zeus, and King Beast. Unless King Beast wants a year long winter, no one's messing with that agreement."

"When's the last time you were in here?" Persephone's voice asked, bringing Hades out of his thoughts.

"Probably the last time we had the door open," Hades admitted, turning toward his wife. "It's hard to believe how big she's gotten."

"Again, just checking to see if we've changed the definition of 'big'?"

"Shut it Uma!"

"Never cuz!"

"Kids grow," Persephone said gently, walking toward him. "She's so small though. You weren't kidding when you told me that."

"Why would he joke about that?" Mal and Hadie asked, looking over at their mom.

Persephone shook her head. "So much like your father," she murmured.

Hades raised an eyebrow. "Why would I joke about that?"

"You know what I mean," Persephone sighed and Hades brought her into his arms, giving a light kiss to the top of her head. "I've got her set up with some of the fish from the restaurant and some milk I managed to bring from Auradon that I put in the fridge."

"That stuff's still good?"

"Do you really think I would have given Mal something that went bad?" Persephone asked as they left the room, closing the door behind them. "Mother gave me a cooler blessed to keep things fresh the last time I was on Olympus. She may not be pleased we're still together but she has been hinting at grandchildren so she's at least accepted the fact I'm not going to up and leave you."

Persephone sighed. That cooler would have been a life saver so many years ago. Thankfully she had it when she did and could transport perishables—like milk. She couldn't have too much but at least she could help the Isle a bit more.

"Could Lady Persephone leave Lord Hades?" Aziz asked. "I mean with their agreement, they'd be living together for six months anyway."

Hades coughed, slightly taken aback. "Did you tell her—?"

"No she did not! Had I known I would have helped!"

"Really?" Hades asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Hades, I might not have cared for you back then but I wouldn't have left my granddaughter in Maleficent's clutches," Demeter told him.

Alright Demeter, you get some points back, Mal thought.

"No Hades. I didn't. Mal may be our daughter but I won't tell people if you don't want me too," Persephone said as they entered the kitchen, Mal eagerly eating the food in front of her. Persephone stared sadly at Mal wolfing down the fish like someone would steal it from her if she ate at a normal pace.

"Mal, slow down," Hades said gently yet with a firm edge to his voice. "No one is going to take that from you. Not here."

"Habit's hard to break," Mal said with a shrug, unknowingly giving a punch to the gut to Belle, Beast, and Ben.

Already getting back into the swing of things, parental wise, Persephone thought with a small smile. She had wondered how Hades was going to handle the fact that he would have to be firm at times. Mal wasn't a baby anymore as much as Persephone wished that was possible. But the last thing Mal would want would be the two of them babying her. No kid on the Isle wanted that.

"You got that right!" Hadie spoke up.

"Still mad about being included in the 'under fifteen' rule?" Mal chuckled. "Sorry storm cloud, you're what? Eleven? Ryan and CJ at least have a reason since they're fourteen."

"Yes father," Mal said softly, pulling Persephone out of her thoughts, and slowed her pace a little. It was odd, hearing Hades referred to as 'father'. That was something normally used to refer to Zeus or sometimes Poseidon, though the two of them had grown used to their new title of 'grandfather'.

Zeus and Poseidon couldn't help but smile at the reminder of their titles, even if it was rather melancholy as it came with a reminder that Mal missed out of five years with her father.

Persephone couldn't help but wonder what Mal would have used if she had grown up with Hades as her parent.

Not daddy, no matter what I don't see Mal as a 'daddy' type of girl, Persephone thought. Maybe pateras? After all, Hades is the Greek God of the Dead. It would make sense for her to use the Greek word for father.

"Mom, I was lucky Maleficent taught me English. You really think she'd teach me Greek?" Mal asked.

"A Goddess can dream," Persephone said with a small sigh.

Honestly, with the French background of Maleficent and Aurora's story, Persephone was a little surprised that Mal hadn't chosen père to use to refer to Hades. Then again, Maleficent didn't strike Persephone as the type to teach much French other than possibly swear words or maybe even some spells. If she bothered to teach Mal anything at all.

"Do you want to learn French?" Ben asked, looking over at Mal. "I can teach you."

"You know French?" Mal asked, tilting her head.

Ben chuckled. "Mom and dad's old kingdom's in France. I am French. Why wouldn't I know it?"

"I dunno." Mal shrugged. "But I know a bit. Estelle's name for instance, it's French for 'star'."

"And it's still a million times better than 'Phoebus'," Phoebus spoke up with a chuckle.

"I'm done," Mal said softly.

"Did you get enough?" Persephone asked, going to clear the empty plate and glass. Mal looked a bit perplexed.

"I can do that," she said.

Chip sighed. No child should have to be perplexed at someone clearing their spot for them or offering to do the dishes. Not at five.

Persephone shook her head. "I was already up dear. Besides, I'm still waging war on those dishes in the sink. Pain and Panic really need to learn how to do them."

"I think we'd end up with more broken dishes that way than we'd know what to do with," Hades told her.

"Or I could get Virgil on it," Hades pointed out as he leaned on the doorframe. He would have offered to do it but the sight of Persephone and Mal together was one he didn't want to let go of. "He's eight after all, perfectly old enough to do a chore or two."

"Can…can you give someone else's kid chores?" Hercules asked.

Hades shrugged. "You can if that kid is the son of my minion."

Mal tilted her head. "I could do it," she said softly. Maleficent always stressed the importance of earning one's keep, or at least not being a pest so that the trash underneath didn't grow to resent you and try to overthrow you.

"…should I be more stunned that she told you that or that it's actually pretty good advice for the Isle?" Uma muttered to Mal.

"Why not both?" Mal muttered back.

If Steph and Hades…father were going to willingly give her some of their food, Mal was going to make sure she earned it.

Persephone sighed. We'd never do that to you Mal, she thought. None of you kids…you don't need to earn food!

"Oh Mal," Persephone gave a small, sad smile as she heard that. "You don't have to do that sweetheart. But if you wanted to help, or even stay here while I do it, I'd appreciate the company."

Mal nodded as she sat back a little in her chair. Hades frowned as he realized that, other than being friendly with Hook Jr and Uma, he didn't know much about what his daughter liked to do.

"Sparring!"

"Making smoke bombs!"

"Chasing people out of our territory!"

"Tagging!"

Hades chuckled. "You four know I know what Mal likes to do now right?"

"We just wanted to make sure Lord Hades," Harry grinned.

Then again, Maleficent doesn't seem like the type to encourage extracurriculars. At least not the type like art or anything that didn't seem 'evil', Hades thought as he watched Mal doodle a little with the condensation left on the table from the milk glass. He couldn't tell what it was supposed to be but it was very good for being a doodle in water.

"You're good," he said softly and Mal jumped a little, wiping the doodle away.

"You like art?" Ben asked.

"Maybe…why?" Mal said, narrowing her eyes slightly.

Ben shrugged. "Just making conversation," he said as he made a mental note to enroll Mal in the art class at Auradon Prep.

"It's nothing," she said quickly. Hades frowned but didn't comment; she had just found out that he was her father. The last thing Hades wanted to do was make Mal feel that they were moving too fast. Mal quickly scurried off her stool and went to go help Persephone, probably hoping that it would get Hades to forget about the doodle.

"We should get her to talk to Athena," Poseidon muttered to Demeter. "As the Goddess of Arts and Crafts, I'm sure Athena would love to talk to her. In fact why isn't she here?"

"Who knows how the Fates work?" Demeter told him. "You, me, Zeus, Hera, Hades, and Persephone are probably the only Gods here because of our connection to Mal in the scrolls."

Hades watched with a small smile as his two girls made short work of the dishes; Persephone earning some squeals from Mal as the goddess splashed her a little with the water. This was how their life should have been. Not for the first time since he left Maleficent did Hades curse the existence of that woman.

"Trust me Lord Hades, we've all cursed the existence of Maleficent at one point in our lives," Aladdin nodded.

"But…she's not your villain," Jay said.

"She's the Mistress of All Evil," Aladdin told him.

"Fair enough."

Gods, the only reason you took Mal back was for your own ego. You just couldn't handle the rumors spreading that I had stolen your child, Hades thought with an inward glare. You don't love Mal, Maleficent. To you, she's nothing more than a minion with your bloodline.

"How horrible," Jane said softly. Yes she knew she had big shoes to fill with being Fairy Godmother's daughter and sometimes she felt that pressure but…she knew her mother loved her.

Before Hades knew it, though, Mal was saying she had to leave.

"Are you sure?" Persephone asked. "You can always stay here."

"Yeah Maleficent probably wouldn't have been thrilled if she found out," Mal muttered.

Esmeralda heard that and her heart broke before glaring at Beast. "How is this justice? Letting children suffer for the crimes of their parents? That's not just—that's vengeance!"

Mal shook her head. "Mother will be looking for me," she said softly. Hades didn't even need to look at Persephone to know that was a lie. "Besides, I should leave before it gets too dark."

"Oh that's right! Had we made our alliance with the hyenas yet?" Uma asked.

"I think that happened maybe a week later?" Mal told her. "It's a little hazy though."

Hades sighed but nodded. She had a point there; the older gangs liked to roam the streets at night and most of them wouldn't think twice at the chance to get one over on Maleficent. Even if that meant hurting Mal.

"They'd have to go through me to do so!" Uma and Jay said at the same time, Harry nodding in agreement.

"You know you're welcome here anytime," Persephone said as they walked Mal to the door. "Day, night, rain or shine."

"Oh Gods, my Auradon side was showing right then," Persephone sighed. After all, there was no shine on the Isle.

Hades knelt down to Mal's level as Mal opened her mouth. "You're my daughter. I know your…mother may have told you things about me but I'm sure you've learned that she's not the most honest of creatures. You need anything, I'll be there."

"That I believe is an understatement Lord Hades," Rose spoke up.

"I need to make a list of who I've said I like and who I haven't yet," Hades shook his head. "But just to cover my bases, I like you."

"So my kid gets liked but I don't?" Eugene asked.

"Got that right."

"Oh come on!"

"What's the catch?" Mal asked.

"No catch," Hades told her. "I don't make deals with my daughter."

"We have an alliance though—"

"An alliance is more of an all the time thing, a deal is really a one and done," Elle said. "Our kingdom has an alliance with Corona, my mother made a deal with Ursula."

"Huh," Mal said. "Five year old me would have appreciated that."

"An alliance is not a deal," Hades told her. "Well I mean, it kind of is in that we shook on it but at the same time it's not since you're getting the better end of the deal there."

"Rambling dear," Persephone told him. "Besides, you're getting into semantics at this point."

"Semantics that I'm sure the five year old did not care about," Evan pointed out.

Mal tilted her head. "Would I still be your errand rat?"

"Do you want to be?" Hades asked.

Mal shrugged. "It's kinda cool, being Lord Hades' errand rat," she said. "Even if only Harriet knows it."

Hades couldn't help but smile a little at that, knowing that his daughter thought it was cool being connected to him.

"Appreciate that feeling Hades. It won't last," Meg chuckled.

"Well then, you can still be my errand rat. And your gang still gets free food at the restaurant, that part of the alliance is still going."

"Good!"

"I mean I don't charge the kids of the Isle anyway," Hades pointed out.

"Doesn't matter," Mal chuckled. "To those three, all that matters is the fact that they have access to your food dad."

"Good," Mal grinned as she turned to leave. Hades sighed as the door to the Underworld clang shut and Persephone turned toward him.

"I'm taking her with me," she said and Hades stared. He hadn't expected that.

"…what?!"

"Oh there's your mother's outrage. I thought it had been too quiet around here," Phillip Sr. muttered to Aurora.

Persephone raised an eyebrow. "I want to take a child off the Isle. I don't think it's that hard of a concept Queen Leah."

"She's a villain! She deserves the Isle just as much as—."

"What crime?"

Leah paused and looked at Persephone. "I beg your pardon?"

"What crime did Mal commit? You call her a villain, state her crime," Persephone said firmly. After a few minutes with no response from Leah, Persephone shook her head. "You can't, can you? Because to people like you, Mal and the other kids of the Isle only have one crime. Being born."

"What?"

"The next time I go to Auradon. She's coming with me Hades," Persephone elaborated, walking back to the kitchen. "Look at her! She deserves so much more than how Maleficent treats her!"

"All the kids deserved—."

"Uh mom? All the kids?" Mal asked.

Persephone shook her head. "Right, right. I've heard you and Uma rant about Freddy Frollo enough times that I should have realized."

"I'm sorry, Freddy who?" Phoebus asked.

"Frollo," Mal told him. "Chip off the old block too."

"What poor woman—?"

Harry sighed. "One working theory is that Frollo tried to convert the pirates in Pirate Cove because Smee told me once that after Red Jessica ended things with the Captain, she ended up in a fling with Frollo."

"How did Smee know that?" Jay asked.

"His wife was Jessica's first mate," Harry shrugged. "But Jessica wasn't Freddy's mom. I think Jessica was still with the Captain by that point."

"Steph, I want Mal off this Isle as badly as you do but think about it for a minute—"

"What's to think about? The Gods have had numerous children; hell Aphrodite and Athena were born as fully formed adults! I could claim the same. Say Mal was mine and that she was just born as a five year old."

"That…might have actually worked," Beast spoke up.

"I'm sorry, what?" Persephone exclaimed, looking at Beast in shock.

"I don't claim to be an expert on how the Gods give birth," Beast told her.

"And who would you say is the father?" Hades asked. "Me, you'd have to say she's my daughter. Then you've got a problem because in Beastie and Belle's eyes, you haven't taken your child off the Isle. You've taken a prisoner off the Isle."

"He's got a point," Aladdin muttered to Eugene.

"So does she though," Eugene muttered back. "None of the kids deserve the Isle."

"Hades, Mal doesn't deserve it here! You saw the way she scarfed down the fish! That was probably the first bit of food she had gotten all day if Maleficent had anything to say about it."

"Mom, you weren't spying on me through any device from Olympus were you?"

"No dear. I just know how Maleficent works," Persephone sighed.

"Steph, think about this rationally. If you got caught sneaking Mal off the Isle, then you'd get put here permanently. You're our one link to Auradon now that the inspectors have stopped coming. The limited medical supplies we do have, the few books, the food…we owe that all to you," Hades said, resting a hand on Persephone's shoulder. "I love you. You would be miserable seeing the kids suffer and not be able to do anything to help. I couldn't bare to see you like that."

Persephone sighed and Hades held her close to him. "I hate that you were right. I wouldn't have been able to handle the thought of the kids suffering and not being able to do something," she whispered.

"You've got the biggest heart of anyone, mortal or God. Isle or Auradon," Hades whispered to her and kissed her forehead. "The fact that you're trapped there for six months is bad enough but you can see what we need and get it in Auradon. If you were on the Isle full time?"

He didn't need to finish—they both knew she would turn into a shell of herself, not being able to help.

Persephone sighed. "But…if Mal was there, in Auradon, she could plead before Belle," she said, trying to find someway to counter Hades' argument. "Belle would be devastated to learn about the state of the Isle."

Belle nodded, dabbing at the corners of her eyes with a handkerchief. She hated hearing about what the kids of the Isle had to deal with. Yes, she helped create the Isle but she never wanted anyone to suffer! She would have heard Mal's statement.

"We've been like this for nine years Steph," Hades said gently. "Sure it's gotten worse since Belle's miscarriage but we've been dealing with the lack of resources since the Isle was founded. When Mal's asking me questions about how Auradon keeps track of all the people on the Isle who have died, it's safe to assume Belle and Beast just don't care anymore."

"Wha—?"

"He's not wrong," Dizzy spoke up, her words an unknowing dagger to Belle's heart. Beast wrapped an arm around Belle's shoulders but she brushed it off.

"Adam, we did this," she whispered. "I…I don't think we really deserve to be comforted."

Beast sighed. "Belle, I was the one who handled the Isle after Abby remember? This is solely on me."

"No, it's not," Belle shook her head. "Yes I was a mother but I was also Queen. I should have done more."

Persephone sighed and buried her head in Hades' chest. "I hate the fact that you're right," she muttered.

I don't think he is, Ben thought as he looked over at his parents. If they didn't care, they wouldn't be reacting like this.

"Think of the life that would be for Mal if you didn't tell people about her," Hades said softly, running his hand down Persephone's back. "Always hiding, fearful of being discovered. The Isle may be a prison but she can run freely here."

Demeter sighed. As much as she would want Mal to be free in the sun, she knew Hades had a point. There would be even less of a childhood if Mal had to hide out of fear that she'd be put back on the Isle if she was found.

Persephone nodded. "I know. I just…"

"I know," Hades said gently. "I do too. But she knows now. She can start to come home."

Despite the serious subject, Hades couldn't help but smile at that. At the idea that Mal could come home.

The words he thought he would never get the chance to say; the words that made five years of waiting worth it.

Mal could come home.

Tiana couldn't help but smile at that last part. "I have to say that scroll was rather emotional. Who wants to read next?"

"I'll read, Queen Tiana," Hyllus said.

"You know I just want to point out that there are a lot of scrolls," Hyllus said as he picked up the next one.

Mal made her way through the streets of the Isle, happy as can be though she was careful not to let it show on her face. She may have only been five but she knew Maleficent had spies everywhere. If one of them reported that she was grinning like an Auradon Princess, it would only mean bad things for Mal.

"Scroll's starting off depressing right off the bat, I see," Eric sighed.

Still, just because she couldn't show it didn't mean she didn't feel it. She knew who her father was!

Hades couldn't help but smile as he heard that and held Mal close to him. He loved the fact that Mal had been happy to know he was her father.

That was something only a handful of children on the Isle could say—that they knew who both their parents were.

And most of the ones that do know don't get to keep them, Mal thought as she jumped through a mud puddle, relishing the feeling of the water soaking through her socks.

Audrey wrinkled her nose at the thought of wet socks—and she wasn't the only one.

"You liked that sensation?" Rowyn asked.

"You mean you don't?" Melody chimed in, grinning at Mal.

Akiho chuckled. "Must be an Olympian thing then cause I may like snow but I hate it when it gets in my socks."

Aurora, however, frowned as she focused less on the puddles and more on the parents. The idea that only a handful of kids knew who their parents were…and that most of those kids didn't get to keep them…that was horrible!

The only other person who liked the feeling was Uma; even Harry thought they were a little weird for it.

"Yep, Olympian thing," Akiho nodded.

"I don't like it," Hadie chimed.

"An Olympian girl thing," Akiho corrected himself.

It's bad enough Boreadon hates us enough not to send decent food half the time but you'd think all the Prissy Princesses would care about people dying in the streets or at the very least care about kids dying if not the adults.

Belle sighed softly, knowing that they should have checked more on the Isle. After all, they were the reigning monarchs—the buck stopped with them.

Then again, these were the children of villains after all. Auradon probably just assumed they deserved it.

Phillip Sr. glared at his mother-in-law who'd opened her mouth to make a comment. "They. Don't. Deserve. That. Leah."

Mal scowled, though, as she caught sight of the only prissy princess on the Isle.

Kitty frowned. "I didn't think there were any Princesses on the Isle."

Evelyn, or Evie as she insisted to be called, was Evil Queen's daughter and the complete opposite of Mal in every way; tall and lean, with long luscious tendrils of blue hair growing out of her head and a crown that always sat perfectly perched centered in her widow's peak. She always seemed to be wearing a dress, even if it was in the same type of material as the other Isle clothes.

"…so Audrey if she had an affinity for blue and a personality transplant?" Neal asked.

"Neal!" David exclaimed.

"What? Evie's been rather pleasant, actually almost silent while Audrey keeps making catty comments!" Neal shrugged.

"My brother's got a point," Emma nodded.

Meanwhile Mal was short with dark purple hair self cut into a messy bob. Long hair was a danger on the Isle; someone could easily grab it if you tried to run away or it could get stuck on something. Uma was one of the few girls on the Isle to have long hair and it not look prissy; with her teal blue hair in tight braids.

"Aww, thanks cuz," Uma grinned.

"I'm sorry, self-cut?" Rapunzel asked, looking over at Mal.

Mal shrugged. "I wasn't permitted to go to Curl Up and Dye at that point and Maleficent or her goblins sure as hell weren't cutting my hair."

Then again, Uma was skilled with a sword or at least as skilled as a five year old could be. If someone tried to grab her, it'd be their funeral. Especially if they tried to do it around Mal or Harry.

"Or Freddie. Or your dad. Or any of our crew," Mal added.

"Who's your father?" Tiana asked.

Uma raised an eyebrow. "You sure you want to know?"

"Well, yes. That's why I asked."

"Alright. It's Facilier."

"…with Ursula?! He…how?! Do I want to know…no on second thought I don't think I do!"

"Is he okay?" Uma asked Tiana as Naveen kept rambling.

"Jury's out on him." Tiana told her.

"You're calmer than I thought you'd be about this."

Tiana chuckled. "You're listed on both pages in the registry. I double checked when Prince Ben announced he was inviting kids from the Isle."

Uma honestly didn't know how she felt about Tiana checking the registry for her but there was a small pleased feeling that came from knowing that she was claimed by both her parents in the eyes of the Boreadon elite.

Mal's clothes were leather, just like Evie's, but instead of a dress Mal opted for pants and a short sleeved shirt. Sure she got cold easier but short sleeves meant less material was wasted on the clothes. It also made it so again she could get away easier.

"Well I mean, I also get cold easier because I have a dragon for a birth giver and a dad with fire for hair. I like the heat," Mal stated.

"We know," Uma, Harry, and Jay said in unison.

Akiho stared at Mal in shock. "But…but the cold brings snow!"

"What's snow?" Dizzy and Hadie asked.

Ooh that's going to hurt him, Ben said as Akiho almost looked like he'd been slapped. Then again, that's how Ben felt too. Childhood winters should be spent with snowball fights and curling up with hot chocolate, not wondering where your next meal was going to come from.

"Oh I know what snow is!" Evie spoke up. "Prince Hans told me about it once."

"Oh…did he?" Anna asked, her voice hard at the mention of Hans. To be fair to her though, Hans did try to kill both her and her sister.

Evie nodded. "Yes he did. Mother was trying to arrange a match for me and she thought Prince Hans was suitable, you know being a Prince and—."

"I'm sorry, a match?" Snow White and Anna said at the same time.

"You're a child!"

"He's old enough to be your father!"

"If anything happened, I'm going to do more than just punch him!"

Evie looked at the other VKs, more than slightly shocked. "Did I say something wrong?"

"Probably but then again, we're VKs. Everything we say is wrong," Mal shrugged.

Leah rolled her eyes. Honestly they were making too big of a fuss about the whole thing. She had been in a betrothal match with Stefan and of course Aurora had been put in one with Phillip. Not to mention the one Audrey was in with Ben. That was just the way things were done!

I don't know how she can call herself an Isle kid and survive, Mal thought with an eye roll. The 'princess' was about three months older than Mal but it was the only achievement the little brat had over her. At least the only one that counted—if Mal had to hear about how good the little 'evilette-in-training' was at sewing and cooking the next time Evil Queen and Maleficent had their little get togethers—get togethers that only served to raise Maleficent's ire and nothing more—Mal was probably going to scream.

"Then why does she have the get together if all it does is raise her ire?" Lucy asked.

"Again, the less we ponder about the inner workings of Maleficent's mind, the happier we all are," Mal told the dark haired Charming.

Mal stopped for a second as a thought came to her, as thoughts often do. I outrank the princess now, she thought with a smirk. Well technically, Mal already outranked Evie in terms of the Isle's hierarchy. One of the few good things about being seen as Maleficent's daughter, you found yourself elevated to the top of the food chain without needing to do anything.

Exactly as I thought. She didn't have to work for her station, she was just handed it, Leah thought with a scowl.

But God outranked fairy in terms of life's hierarchy…and it definitely outranked mortal.

Father wouldn't be happy if I just started bragging about being his daughter though. Especially since he said that doing that might put a target on my back, Mal thought with a small frown.

"More importantly, you were going to let Blueberry know before you let me know?!" Uma exclaimed.

Besides, why should Blueberry know before Uma? I actually like Uma for one and for another thing we're cousins! Just ignore the 'princess' and head over to the clubhouse. Harry and Uma should be there by now.

Harry chuckled. "I shouldn't be surprised you cousins had the same thought."

Fate, however, would not allow her to ignore the Bluette as Evie saw and gave a small wave in Mal's direction.

"Why didn't you just ignore her anyway?" Uma asked.

"You'll see," Mal sighed.

Ugh, fine. Now I have to talk to her since we're on the same side of the road. I can't just turn and cross—well I mean I can but is it worth it? If Maleficent found out I was rude to Princess Blueberry…honestly I don't think she'd care but it's not worth the risk.

"Oh," Uma sighed.

How much power does Maleficent have over the Isle if Mal can't avoid people she doesn't like? Emir thought. Then again…I have to play nice with Audrey and I can't stand her.

"Princess," Mal said shortly, nodding her head.

"Hello Mal," Evie smiled. "I hope you're well?"

"I really did mean that," Evie said, her voice soft as she looked over at Mal. "I know you and Uma hated me but there was no reason for me to wish you ill."

"Yeah Evie wouldn't wish that on anyone!" Dizzy spoke up, shaking her head.

Mal snorted. Trust Blueberry to use a phrase like 'I hope you're well' and probably mean it, she thought. She really thinks of herself as a princess.

Snow White tapped her chin in thought. "Well…technically you could be gifted your mother's title through my line. After all, we are step-sisters since your mother never divorced my father."

"Really?" Evie gasped. Audrey, after all, had been quick to remind her that she had no royal standing in Auradon.

Ben nodded. "If Queen Snow would like, I can look into it—."

"After the coronation!" Emir, Akiho, Emma, and Lonnie said in unison.

Audrey stared in shock. "You're honestly going to give her a royal title?!"

"I don't see why I shouldn't," Snow White said, her voice never losing its kind and gentle tone. "She's family after all."

Evie gently bit her lip; careful not to leave any teeth impressions or mess up her lipstick. Maybe…maybe I don't need to steal the wand. Maybe I could ask Snow for help getting my dad back?

"Got enough stuff there?" Mal scoffed, noting all the bags Evie was ladened down with. Where she had gotten half the stuff in her arms, Mal didn't know nor did she particularly care.

Evie looked down. "Oh, well mother's preparing for my birthday. It's coming up in a couple of weeks you know."

Mal scowled and Evie sighed at the mention of that fateful birthday. The birthday that would change both of their lives.

"And she sent you?" Mal asked, raising an eyebrow. The Evil Queen didn't strike Mal as someone who would send her daughter out to run errands. She would have thought they would have had minions for that. Then again, it was shopping. If there was anything Mal knew about Evie, it was how much she just loved shopping.

"Oh! You'll enjoy going to the shops in Auradon then!" Lonnie grinned.

Lil' Shang shook his head. "How can you be so athletic and so girly at the same time?"

"It's a gift," Lonnie said with a shrug.

"Of course," Evie said, standing straighter than Mal thought possible.

"Whatever princess," Mal scoffed. "Tell you what, as a birthday present Uma and I won't pelt you with smoke bombs."

"…that's a gift?" Rachel asked.

"It is for the Isle," Mal said with a smirk. "And when we don't particularly like someone."

"But…isn't that bullying?" Rowyn asked, looking a little shocked. "I mean it's one thing if it's in fun but the fact that you're offering a respite as a gift…"

"Bullying implies our families didn't have a rivalry," Mal stated even if she was avoiding Ben's disappointed stare.

What? The guy's puppy dog eyes were murder on her soul and she barely knew the guy!

Ever since they had perfected their formula, the two girls had used smoke bombs whenever possible. Though their favorite target was Evie whenever possible.

That's probably why Blueberry's talking to me now, Mal thought. We're out in the open and I don't have a bag with me so there's no chance I could hit her with a smoke bomb. Huh, that's not a bad idea now that I think about it. But why would someone just carry a bag with them if they don't need it? Seems like a waste of time.

"It is, but we have to carry them because people believe women don't deserve pockets in their clothing!" Lonnie exclaimed.

"Ooh, that would be handy," Evie nodded. "I almost wish I had a notebook or something, I'd love to design a dress with pockets in it!"

Rapunzel smiled. "Talk to me during the next break Evie. I might be able to help."

"Oh Gods, I'm going to discover fifty thousand dress designs the next time I come home aren't I?" Eugene shook his head.

Evie rolled her eyes. "You know Mal, if you're going to act like that, maybe I won't invite you to my party."

"…I know this already happened," Jay sighed. "But dear Gods Blueberry! Why in the world would you say that?"

"Because she doesn't have a brain," Uma taunted.

Evie, though, stayed silent. She knew it wasn't worth saying anything…besides, had she actually invited Mal, maybe her dad wouldn't have had to spend years in Maleficent's clutches.

He suffered for so long. All because of a stupid mistake I made as a child, she thought.

"If that's your idea of a threat, princess, it needs some work," Mal chuckled as she walked off. She knew she had an invite guaranteed.

"Because she saw you as Maleficent's daughter?" Akiho asked.

"No because we were the best of friends…of course it was because she saw me as Maleficent's daughter," Mal said, shaking her head.

Though, one good thing did come of not going to Blueberry's party, she thought as Estelle plodded over to her. I would have never gotten Estelle otherwise.

Not that she wanted to go but everyone on the Isle knew Maleficent's story and what she did because she hadn't been invited to Aurora's christening. No one wanted to potentially earn Maleficent's wrath by purposefully snubbing her daughter.

Evie held back a wince at the reminder of Maleficent's story.

"…Maleficent's story? Maleficent's?! She cursed my child and it's her story?!"

"Again, your mother had to be here why?" Phillip Sr. asked Aurora.

I mean it's not like Maleficent would care that I wasn't invited. Oh no, it'd be the insult to her she'd care about, Mal thought as she made her way to her clubhouse.

"It's all she'd care about," Mal muttered under her breath.

Uma had been the one to find it back when they were four. It wasn't much, mainly empty rooms but it was a place that was theirs. None of the adults knew it existed meaning if any of their parents ever went looking for them, they'd never find them.

"But…what if you'd been injured? No one would know where you were," Kristoff pointed out.

Harry shrugged. "Then we stay there until we become un-injured enough to handle the Isle."

"It's where I stayed most of the time when Maleficent broke my ankle," Mal added and the blasé tone of her voice caused many to glare at the scroll at the reminder of what Maleficent had done.

Lobbing a rock at the 'Flying Rocks' sign to open the gate, Mal made her way up to the clubhouse.

"Isn't that rather dangerous? What if you hit someone missing the sign?" Alexandria asked.

Mal shrugged. "Then they know not to walk past there anymore."

"Hey guys?" Mal called as she finished climbing up the stairs. "You here?"

"Hey Mal," Uma grinned, hopping up from the milk crate that she was using for a seat.

Ariel sighed. Milk crates…they were using milk crates for chairs. That's not to mention the food situation. Dear Neptune did we fail the Isle. And I don't think reversing our mistake will be as easy as we think.

"You look like you have news."

Uma smirked. "Me and Harry saw one of Old man Slade's chickens in town today."

"That's news? How boring is the Isle?"

"Well considering we have two channels on our television and one is always an infomercial on dungeon shackles and the other is the Auradon News, we've got to get our entertainment somewhere," Uma told Audrey, rolling her eyes.

"This is news? Everyone knows Old man Slade was the one to take in the chickens that somehow made their way onto the barge," Mal said, rolling her eyes. No one knew how those stupid birds wound up on the barge but Old man Slade as he was called was the only one willing to take them in. No one wanted to even eat them due to how little meat there was. Plus Slade was one of the rare exceptions to the urban environment, having a farm on the edge of the Isle.

"…did we ever figure out how those chickens wound out on the barge?"

"They're dumber than Gil Mal! I'm pretty sure they just walked on," Harry told her, shaking his head.

A few kids tried to steal a chicken once a year early on but that stopped once they came face to face with Slade's shot gun or his dog Chief.

"I know they're stealing and he has the right to defend his property but…they're just trying to get food," Chad spoke up.

"…that might be the first time when you made sense," Kitty told her brother.

"No Mal. We saw them in town," Uma told her. "Meaning they escaped Slade's farm."

"Oh. Ooh!"

"I don't get it," Melody said with a frown.

"I think she's got it," Harry smirked. "We were thinking we could catch one of those feathery rats. The one we saw looked fairly plump for the birds that came from the barge; Slade's been feeding them well."

"Oh…Oh!"

"Did you get them?" Emma asked.

Mal chuckled. "Well, we had some help."

Mal chuckled. "You mean you'd be fine with eating something other than fish, Harry? I know how loyal you are to your dad's fish shop."

"Food is food," Mal told her past self. "Besides, without those chickens, dad can't make his crispy garlic chicken!"

"Hey it's meat." Harry shrugged. "Plus it's food that's ours. Boreadon had no say in it."

"…we are definitely getting to the bottom of the food issue," Ben promised.

"Michael's on the ball, looking for the tapes," Akiho promised.

Mal nodded. "Then what are we waiting for?"

"You."

Mal chuckled and the three of them left the clubhouse to go further into town where Uma and Harry had seen the chickens. It took maybe thirty minutes before they caught sight of one.

Estelle wagged his tail as he heard the world 'chickens'.

"Sorry boy, none here," Mal told him. Estelle whined and laid down, disappointed.

"Allow me girls," Harry smirked as he walked up to grab it. Sauntering up to the chicken, Harry reached out to snatch it. Sadly, for Harry that is, the chicken was smart enough to avoid being captured and all Harry got was an introduction to the pavement.

"Smooth," Emma shook her head.

"Spotless execution," Lonnie chuckled.

"Oh well done," Mal said dryly as Uma rolled her eyes.

"In all honesty I'd give it a three in execution," Uma chuckled.

"Well I don't see either of you doing it!" Harry exclaimed, rubbing his chin where he'd hit it on the ground. Uma and Mal smirked and they dove for the chicken. One skinned knee and bruised elbow later, the three kids were back in their clubhouse; nursing their wounds.

Mulan couldn't help but smile at the image that produced. If one ignored the fact that they were trying to catch chickens to have a decent thing to eat, it almost sounded like something from a happy childhood.

"It's impossible! We'll never catch one of those feathered demons."

"Maybe we won't," Mal said slowly, as an idea came to her. "But I know someone who might be able to. But we'll have to make a deal with him. He won't just do it for free."

"Ah I was wondering when my name would be brought up," Jay said with a chuckle.

"Any self respecting villain kid wouldn't do a job for free," Uma scoffed. "Who is he?"

"Jay."

Uma nodded. "He'd be good at it. But what can we offer him? He's a year older than us, there's no way he'd be willing to make a deal with younger kids."

"Is a year really that big a difference?" Chad asked.

"Yes!" Dizzy, Hadie, Celia, Alex, Kitty, and Lucy exclaimed.

Mal chuckled. "If CJ and Ryan were here, they'd have added to that chorus."

Mal thought for a minute. Uma had a point; even though Jafar was in league with Maleficent, that didn't automatically mean Jay would agree to a deal with Mal's crew. Especially since they were a year younger.

Younger meant weaker. No one wanted to associate themselves with someone they thought to be weak.

Carlos held back a sigh. He knew that all too well—the sense of knowing that others thought you weak. Thankfully he was in Auradon now and could check out what they had in terms of technology and that sort of thing.

"We could bring him into the crew," Mal said slowly. "Offer him a place to sleep in the clubhouse, you know if we ever get furniture in here. Protection, stuff like that."

"Isn't his dad in Maleficent's gang?" Herkie asked. "Doesn't that mean Jay already has some protection since messing with him would be like messing with one of Maleficent's people?"

"That's not a bad idea," Uma said. "Plus, he's older than us. We'd elevate our status among the kids of the Isle if we were seen giving an older kid orders and him going along with it."

"Well I mean we kinda still do that anyway," Jay chuckled. "Henry's older than I am after all and I'm a year older than you three."

"Henry?" Emma asked.

"Henry Kersey, fourth in line if anything happens to the Captains, Harry, or me," Jay explained. "He's a good man, though he trains a little too much."

"Eighteen hour days apparently," Harry shook his head.

"Whoa, girls! Think about it," Harry exclaimed. "Do we really want to bring that sneaky scarf stealer into the crew? Besides, Mal, his dad's already in league with the dragon. I think he's good to go in terms of protection."

"Heh, I see my brother and you had the same thought Harry," Macaria said with a smile.

"Don't be jealous Harry," Mal chuckled.

"I wasn't jealous," Harry muttered. I just don't like change. The last big change was…the runt being born and mom dying.

"I'm not. I just don't see why we need to bring in new blood," Harry stated, crossing his arms. "We work just fine the way we are Mal. Besides, what can Jay offer that I don't?"

"A male sparring partner for you," Rose pointed out.

"Two completely useable hands for one?" Mal stated, shooting a look at the hook that occupied Harry's right hand.

"That too," Rose nodded.

Jay chuckled. "She's got you there mate."

He didn't need the hook but due to the young boy's desire to be exactly like his father, Harry had started carrying it around. The only time he didn't was when he was sparing Mal and Uma—and that was only because he liked to switch hands mid fight.

Mal held back a sigh as she thought about all the times she or Uma or Jay had to drag Harry back from Tick Tock or his kids because Harry had gotten the mad idea to get the crocs to bite off his hand.

"Harry's right," Uma interjected, preventing Harry from shooting a response back at Mal. "I still think it's a good idea but we really need something Jay can't say no to."

"Mal's seen as Maleficent's daughter though and Jafar was in Maleficent's clique," Emma pointed out. "I don't think Jay would risk it getting back to Maleficent that he told Mal no."

Mal smirked. "I think I know of something. You guys know how I'm Lord Hades' errand rat right?"

"Yeah," Harry and Uma nodded. Being an errand rat wasn't usually something to be proud of but Lord Hades never had errand rats. Just that fact alone was worth telling Uma and Harry but they had to know about the deal. Otherwise, they wouldn't have known they would be able to get free food too.

"Again, do they really need to know about the agreement when Lord Hades didn't charge the kids of the Isle anyway?" Ashaki asked.

"Well part of the deal is that me and my gang get free food at his restaurant whenever we go in," Mal said. "Think about it. If you were Jay, would you turn down that kind of food security?"

Esmeralda shook her head. It may not have been the same but she could remember her childhood, traveling from city to city and sometimes not knowing if they'd be able to get something to eat. She'd have killed for a shop where she knew she could get food.

Plus there was no way her father would say no to that sort of thing. He'd probably put a limit on how many kids could be in Mal's gang but one more kid getting free food wouldn't put his restaurant under.

Hades chuckled. "Mal, your crew currently has nineteen members and the restaurant still hasn't gone under. Not to mention, most of the kids get free food anyway."

"Think Lord Hades would go for it?" Harry asked. "Or do you think he'd cancel the deal?"

"Never!" Hades exclaimed, looking at Uma and Mal. "The only time I'd cancel the deal would be if you girls had a falling out, thus causing your crew to split."

"So basically never going to happen?" Mal asked.

"Exactly," Hades nodded.

"Only way to know is to ask," Mal said. "I'll ask in the morning. I just saw him when I dropped off the order from your dad's shop. Wouldn't do to be seen as a pest."

"You are never a pest Mali," Hades told her.

Mal smiled at him. "Thanks dad. But you know I didn't want to establish a pattern for the Dragon either. Plus, Harry and Uma didn't know about you being my dad at that point."

Phoebus leaned over to Esmeralda. "Why am I not more shocked that Lord Hades has a daughter?"

"Because we're sitting in the realm of the Fates reading about the Isle of the Lost with others who include some of the Gods?"

Harry nodded and then stood up. "Well, no use just sitting around. You guys want to spar?"

"There's only three of us," Mal pointed out. "One of us would have to sit out the first round."

"That's how it always been," Uma argued. "One of us has always sat out."

"Wouldn't that be another argument for bringing in another member?" Emir asked. "So that way there's not one person sitting around bored out of their skull?"

"Captains first," Harry said, smirking a little as the two girls grabbed their swords. Sneaking the swords away from Hooks' crew had been easy; all they had to do was wait for Smee to be on watch. The timid first mate could never say no, especially when Harry asked.

"Is it really sneaking the swords then?" Elle asked. "Since it basically just sounds like Smee gave them to you."

Harry opened and then closed his mouth, looking over at Uma and Mal. "The lass has a point."

Harry and Uma had been the most skilled with the sword, having trained together since they were old enough to hold one. Mal liked to joke that Harry was born with a sword in his hand.

"He's the son of Captain Hook! What did you expect?" Melody shook her head.

Which, considering who his father was, probably wasn't that far off from the truth.

"Well…she is Mal's cousin. That might explain it," Harry muttered to himself.

Picking up her sword, Mal smirked as she turned to face Uma. "Ready to have your butt kicked, octo-girl?"

"Since when have you 'kicked my butt' in sparring Mal?" Uma chuckled.

"Last week!" Mal smirked.

"Keep dreaming, dragon breath," Uma teased right back. "How many times have you won a sparring match against me?"

Mulan looked intrigued. It was clear that the Isle didn't seem to have any set gender roles—probably because their main priority was survival. If it wasn't for the fact that it was an Island of villains and Shan Yu would probably find her in a second, she'd go for a visit. See just how good those pirates were.

"First time for everything Uma!"

Harry chuckled as the match began, each girl quickly matching and dodging the other's movements. It was clear that they had grown used to both the swords and each other as partners as it almost seemed like a dance. Not that either girl would admit to something as prissy as that.

"Dancing's actually really athletic," Macaria said.

"Uh huh," Mal rolled her eyes.

"Believe it when I see it," Uma agreed.

"Nice move Mal!" Harry called as Mal grabbed Uma's other hand to knock her off balance. He was sure that some of the stuffed shirts over in Boredon would call that cheating. But Harry didn't care and he knew Mal and Uma didn't either. They were villain kids.

"Do what you gotta do to survive. You can worry about the niceties later," Jay nodded.

Aladdin wasn't going to lie, seeing someone live the life he used to live was almost like a punch to the gut. The lack of food, the stealing, the coming up with their own rules to survive…it was like looking in a mirror.

The sound of the sword hitting the concrete flooring brought Harry out of his thoughts and he saw Uma pointing a sword at a disarmed Mal.

"You beat Mal?!" Hadie asked.

"I love how your brother is so shocked," Uma shook her head as she looked at Mal.

"Another win for me," Uma smirked as she sheathed her sword.

"You cheated." Mal chuckled, not mad in the slightest.

"Pirate." Uma said with a smirk and a small bow.

"So was I!" Mal exclaimed.

"I was just a better one," Uma smirked.

Mal chuckled. "Harry, you're up. Who do you want to spar with?"

"Whoever's the least winded. I don't want an easy match today. Papa's going out with Gaston so I want to get all my energy out when he saddles Harriet with me and fish for brains."

"Who has fish for brains?" Naveen asked.

"Gil. Son of Gaston," Harry told him.

"And why is he not here as well if he's mentioned in the scrolls?"

"Because the Fates are kind to me for once."

"Gil's not too bad," Uma chuckled. "Sure he's a moron but he's working on repairing mama's necklace for me. He told me he found the pieces one day in the 'food' barge and salvaged them."

"Gil's always liked crafts," Carlos spoke up. "His brothers give him a hard time about it so he mainly hangs out with his sisters when he can."

"Yeah right," Harry scoffed. "He's just trying to get into the crew. Why would Boreadon ever throw out something like that? Especially pieces of Ursula's necklace?"

Poseidon sighed. He had given Ursula that necklace for her birthday what seemed like several lifetimes ago.

"Maleficent has her scepter," Mal said softly. "I don't know how she got it but she has it."

"…that should be something we should look into," Phoebus said, his voice soft.

In the privacy of the clubhouse, among her friends, was the only time Mal truly felt safe enough to call Maleficent by her name. Mal knew that neither Uma nor Harry would go running back to the dragon and report what Mal had said.

"Of course we wouldn't Mal!" Harry shook his head.

"Guess security is really lax in Boreadon or something," Harry shrugged.

"Well when they have all the villains on an Isle, do they really need it?" Mal asked. "I mean, seems like a waste of time if you ask me."

"Don't we have a security guard at the Museum of Cultural History?" Chad asked.

"We do," Ella nodded.

"But if all the villains are on the Isle, why do we have him?"

Harry and Uma nodded before Harry stood up. "Well girls, you've had enough of a break. Who wants to spar me?"

"Why are you even asking? We both know it'll be Uma," Jay shook his head.

"Who do you want to spar?" Mal asked.

Harry thought for a moment, looking between the two girls. "Uma," he said after a minute and Uma smirked.

"What else did I expect?" Mal chuckled. "It was always Uma until Jay joined us."

"Okay Harry, but don't go crying to Mal when you lose," she teased.

"Oh please," Harry scoffed. "I taught you, remember?"

"And you did a fantastic job!" Uma grinned and Mal nodded.

"Yep! We haven't lost a fight with Freddy and his Angels since you taught us," she added.

"Sometimes the student surpasses the teacher," Uma chuckled as she raised her sword once more. Mal chuckled as the two began to spar. Uma and Harry might have been the rulers of trash talk but they could back up what they were saying.

"Why else would you talk smack unless you couldn't back it up?" Kitty asked.

Now, that wasn't to say that they could beat an adult but if they went up against someone like Fred Frollo for example, they could easily trounce him.

"Considering Freddy uses his daggers, I should hope we could trounce him in a sword fight," Harry said, spitting out the word 'daggers'.

"I'm sorry, I still can't get over the fact that Frollo sired a child," Phoebus sighed.

"Two children. He's got a daughter—."

"What?!" Esmeralda snapped and then looked over at Beast and Belle. "And you never once thought to get that poor girl out of his clutches? You all remember what he wanted to do to me, imagine what he'd be like to her!"

"Claudine's okay," Mal said. "She mainly spends time in the bell tower of Dragon Hall, my old school."

Esmeralda shook her head. "Why am I not surprised he made one of his children a bell ringer? It's what he did to Quasi after all."

Then again, Freddy Boy doesn't have any skills in the art of sword fighting, Mal thought with a chuckle as she sat on the milk crate Uma had vacated. Mal looked around the club house and smiled a little. Sure one might think it was depressing; with its lack of furniture and blankets strewn about for when it got cold.

"Might think it's depressing?" Emir muttered to Akiho. "How can we get some furniture over there?"

"We talk to Ben of course," Akiho muttered back.

But it was home. It was certainly more of a home than Maleficent's castle was.

Hades couldn't help but give Mal a sad smile as he heard that. While he was of course glad Mal had a place to get away from the vindictive harpy that was her egg donor, he wished it wasn't needed.

The Underworld might compete with that, a tiny voice rang out in Mal's brain. After all, that's where your father is.

Father. The title didn't quite fit. Even though that's what she had chosen back at the restaurant, Mal wasn't quite happy with it. It felt too stuffy. Like she was trying to fit in around the Boreadon elite.

"It's like you read my mind," Hades chuckled.

"Well I am a Godling. We can do that," Mal smirked.

Well Hades is a God. Don't they do that stuffy stuff on Olympus?

"Unfortunately," Persephone sighed.

Yeah but I'm not on Olympus. I'm on the Isle.

Are you going to be running around telling people about Hades?

"Not unless I want the Dragon on my case," Mal muttered.

Probably not?

Then what does it matter?

Mal shook her head a little to clear it of her internal debate. She wasn't going to run around, calling Hades by the title in public after all. It shouldn't matter that she felt uncomfortable.

Oh Mal honey, you should feel comfortable calling your dad whatever title you want, Persephone thought with a sad smile.

What else could I call him? Mal thought. Harry calls his father 'papa' and Uma calls her mother 'mama' but that seems like more of a pirate thing. I call Maleficent 'mother' but that's only because I know what'll happen if I don't. Hades is the exact opposite of Maleficent so why am I calling him 'father'?

"Because that's what you decided to call him," Rose said with a shrug.

Maleficent always referred to Hades by that title as well whenever she spoke about him. 'Your father', she'd say. 'Your weak, useless father'.

"Dad's not weak or useless!" Hadie exclaimed.

The dragon's wrong, Mal thought with a rush of anger.

"Well she's wrong about a great many things but what specifically is she wrong about this time?" Hades asked.

Hades isn't weak, even trapped under a magic barrier he still has some access to his powers. That's more than Maleficent can claim, with her glowey eyes and a scepter that's basically a fancy walking stick.

"I wonder what Maleficent would look like if someone said that to her face?" Eugene asked.

"Does this person you're imagining have a death wish?" Aladdin asked him.

And he's certainly not useless, not to me. Even if that use is just better food, it's more than Maleficent has ever done.

"Trust me, he does that and so much more," Mal muttered to herself, thinking about that fateful day at the Cove.

Mal's eyes glowed bright green for a moment before Mal clenched them shut, stamping down the anger she felt. Maleficent may have been a horrible monster, but she had been Mal's only parent for five years. That had to count for something right?

"Just because she gave you the bare minimum of care does not mean she was your parent," Cinderella stated, thinking about her own step mother.

Oh yes, all the beatings disguised as lessons. All the pinches and prods by the goblins. I think I still have a few bruises shaped like their fingerprints.

Demeter growled and her hands curled into fists. Poseidon's eyes flashed in anger.

"I think some goblins are going to be smote," Harry muttered to Jay.

"I have no sympathy for them," Jay muttered back.

Maleficent rules the Isle, she can't afford to be seen as weak. Hades has had five years to try to get you out of there if he really cared.

Hades winced but couldn't deny the fact that he could have tried harder to get Mal out of Maleficent's clutches.

Dad vs Maleficent, now that's a fight I pay to see.

"I'd sell tickets!" Chip said with a grin.

Mal's head shot up. 'Dad'. She had referred to Hades as 'dad'. Even in her head, it seemed right.

"And that is how I came to refer to dad as 'dad'," Mal told Herkie.

As she had said, Hades was Maleficent's polar opposite at least when it came to parenting. Instead of keeping her from food, Hades ensured Mal got some. She had only been in the Underworld for a few hours but Hades and Steph did their best to make her feel welcomed and safe.

Hades and Persephone couldn't help but smile as they heard that though Hades renewed his vow to smite himself a dragon. Actually so did Persephone. And Demeter.

Dad was a good title for him. A lot less stuffy than 'father' was. What had she been thinking?

She couldn't wait til tomorrow, when she could try out the new title and maybe get a new member of the gang as well.

"You honestly thought I'd say no?" Jay asked.

"You know what happens when you assume, Jay," Mal shook her head.

"Very true."

Hyllus chuckled. "Who wants to read next?"

"I'll read," Beast said, taking a scroll.

Beast sighed and looked at the scroll in his hand. "Out of curiosity, how many scrolls are there?"

"Well, counting the one in your hand dad, I got one hundred and three," Ben said. "We've read fourteen scrolls, so we've got eighty nine more to go."

Before Beast could answer, the floating eyeball appeared once more and began to spin. Once the spinning subsided, all that was left was another scroll that landed on Beast's head.

"One hundred and four," Ben corrected himself.

"We're going to be here a while then," Beast sighed and unfurled his scroll.

Mal woke up the next day feeling slightly nervous, though she quickly tamped down that feeling. It wasn't like she could guarantee success; if Hades…if her dad said no to Jay getting a free meal, they wouldn't have any way to tempt Jay into joining the crew.

"I'd have gotten him to say yes Mal," Persephone told her, giving her daughter a small smile.

Scurrying out of her room and quickly leaving Maleficent's castle, Mal made her way to the Underworld. It was early enough to assume that Hades was still there rather than at the restaurant.

"Safe bet. After all, Uncle Hades lives there and doesn't seem too fond of the other villains," Hyllus nodded.

Hades shook his head. Uma calling him 'uncle' he could handle because it'd been years and he'd grown fond of the little squidling. Hercules' kids calling him 'uncle' though? That was just weird.

I'll try there if dad's not in the Underworld. Gods, it's strange…referring to someone as 'dad' even if it's in my head. I mean strange in a good way though. Like days when the cloud cover isn't as dark.

Beast wasn't going to lie, reading Mal's thought was almost like a punch to the stomach. He'd never have that experience, of hearing his little girl call him 'dad' for the first time…he hated to admit it but in that moment he was jealous of Lord Hades.

The only reason she had spent the night in her 'room' at Maleficent's castle was because she didn't want to raise the dragon's suspicions in case she had heard about her confrontation with Evie. The last thing Maleficent would want would be to be made to look bad and her daughter having a confrontation with the child of someone under her control?

"I…I didn't say anything," Evie said, her voice soft as everyone turned to look at her. "Mother handled the invitations to my party anyway."

"Uh huh," Mal scoffed.

Mal held back a shudder at the thought of what kind of 'lesson' Maleficent would teach her for that.

"She even tries and she'll deal with me," Hades promised, growling slightly.

"You'd have to beat me to it dear," Persephone told him.

Aurora looked over at Phillip Sr. "No sword offer?"

"I'm reigning in my urge to kill," Phillip Sr. said. "No child should have to fear their parents' reactions to them getting into an argument of all things."

I should have just stayed the night in the clubhouse, Mal thought as she walked the streets of the Isle. Sure we don't have a bed or heat there but it's better than getting almost no sleep because you don't know when the dragon'll strike.

Ariel felt her heart break as she heard that. While she was happy that her little cousin had a safe place where Maleficent couldn't get to her, the idea that Mal would rather sleep on the floor than on a bed…

Thankfully, a somewhat tired Mal meant a scowl was presented to the other members of the Isle. Meaning she wasn't stopped by anyone on her way to the Underworld.

"Not even Freddy?" Harry asked.

"I don't think he was out that day," Mal told him.

"What about Zevon?" Jay added.

"…I think I shoved him out of my way about halfway to the Underworld."

"Good," Uma said with a smirk.

Shaking her head as she opened the door, Mal couldn't help the small feeling of relief she felt as she stepped inside.

"Hello?" Mal called softly, walking further in.

"Mal?" Persephone called, walking out to greet her. "Hello sweetie."

"Hi Lady Steph," Mal said, using Persephone's proper title. Maleficent still insisted that her lackeys call her 'her excellency' sometimes, Mal didn't know if she'd be required to do the same with Persephone. Better safe than sorry.

Persephone sighed. She knew there had to be a reason why Mal had referred to her by 'Lady' Steph the first few months they knew each other but she didn't think it had to do with Maleficent.

"Just 'Steph' is fine, Mal," Persephone said, giving the young girl a sad smile. "Your father's in the den. Just go on in, he'll be happy to see you."

"I'm always happy to see my kids," Hades said with a nod of his head.

Mal nodded and made her way to the den. Hades, it seemed, was deep in thought as he hadn't even heard Mal come up.

"What were you thinking about?" Poseidon asked.

"It's been over ten years, you think I still remember?" Hades told him. That was a lie; of course he remembered. He'd just gotten finished weighing another group of kids' souls and was thinking how lucky he was that Mal probably would never be in that group. Or at least it would be a long time before she was.

"Fath…dad?" Mal asked softly, correcting herself mid-word as she was prepared to call Hades by the old title. Saying it out loud for the first time, dad was definitely the better choice.

"Definitely agree there," Neal nodded, grinning at Mal.

No reaction seemed to come from Hades, and Mal assumed that the God hadn't heard her. Summoning all the confidence she could that came from strutting around the Isle like she owned it (one of the few perks of being Maleficent's daughter), Mal walked into the den and plopped on the sofa next to her dad.

"So a regular Tuesday then?" Hadie chuckled.

"You know, you really need to serve something different at your restaurant," Mal said, her topic choice surprising her but she decided to roll with it.

"That's how you broached the subject?" Uma asked.

"Hey I was five," Mal shrugged. "I wasn't as well versed in the art of subtlety."

"Oh really?" Hades asked, looking over at her. If he was surprised to see her, it didn't show on his face. "Well what did you have in mind? There's not much available to us other than fish and I'd rather not feed the people of the Isle stuff sent from the boat. I'm cruel but not that cruel."

Belle sighed and Beast closed his eyes briefly at the reminder of what the people on the Isle were forced to eat. All because they hadn't checked in.

Ben looked at Akiho and nodded. They were going to get that footage and see what was happening. No matter what.

"What about chicken?" Mal asked, a seemingly innocent tone to her voice. "Then people wouldn't constantly be comparing yours and Ursula's food. For the record, Uma would like that—apparently, your food's better."

"What?! Come on cuz, we both know that's a lie! I mean Uncle Hades' food is good but his fish is not better!"

There was no love lost between Uma and her mother but she would be damned if the restaurant got slammed because of this.

That was a total lie, no one on the Isle would risk irritating the daughter of the God of the Sea but Hades would never know. Besides, there was no harm in stroking the ego of a God; even if that God was one's dad.

"So, I'd never know huh Mali?" Hades chuckled.

"Good idea in theory Mal," Hades said with a smirk. "Just one tiny little problem. How exactly do you propose I get my hands on one of those feathered pests?"

"Why am I now picturing Pain and Panic walking along the streets of the Isle with a net?" Ashaki chuckled.

"Probably because that's what they did when they had to capture Abu," Emir pointed out, having grown up on that story.

"Oh my crew's on it," Mal said with a smirk of her own. "Or at least we're close to. Harry and Uma found some of Old man Slade's chickens in town yesterday and we tried to catch one. They're too fast though so we're going to bring in Jay."

"I thought you don't admit weaknesses?" Phillip Jr. asked.

Normally, Mal would have snapped back but she could tell that there was no malice in the boy's question. Just curiosity.

"He's my dad," she shrugged. "He and mom are probably the only adults it's safe to admit a weakness to."

Hades couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at that. Granted Jay wasn't an unknown entity but his father was connected to Maleficent.

"Really brother? Judging a boy based on who his father is?" Zeus asked, raising an eyebrow.

Maybe I shouldn't worry so much. I'm doing what the Boreadon elite did when they set up this Isle, condemning Jay simply because of who his father is.

"Going to accuse me of being a hypocrite again Zeusey?" Hades shot back.

I'm not condemning the boy. I just want Mal to be careful. Hook and Ursula may be slightly lower on the Isle totem pole but at least they're not in league with the dragon.

Poseidon sighed. He could definitely relate to Hades' want of keeping his daughter safe. It was one of the reasons why Poseidon didn't speak to Zeus for a month after Athena died. It may have been irrational, since there wasn't much that could protect against a ship smashing against rocks, but if it could have saved Triton from that heartbreak, the gift of immortality would have been welcomed.

"So if we bring you a chicken, can we get another option for the menu?" Mal asked, unaware of the internal dilemma being raged in Hades' brain.

Tiana couldn't help but smile a little, both at the childish innocence only a five year old could have and at the prospect of another restauranteur adding something to his menu.

"If you like Lord Hades, I have some recipes for chicken I'd be happy to give you," she said.

"The offer's…the offer's appreciated Queen Tiana," Hades said after recovering from his shock.

Naveen shook his head. "You two can talk shop later. For now, let's just listen to this scroll and hope the image of Facilier and Ursula doesn't enter back into my head."

"Just to make sure I understand, you're actually going to bring another member into your gang just so I make something different at the restaurant?" Hades asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well when you put it that way Uncle Hades, it sounds insane," Uma chuckled.

Mal sighed. "Dad, if I keep eating fish, I will turn into a fish."

Poseidon shook his head. "Nothing wrong with that, though if you're interested I'd be happy to help."

"Or so would my father," Ariel spoke up. He could easily turn them into mermaids for a day and turn them back into humans. What? You actually thought that trident in the museum was real? Why would he allow the item that allowed power over all the oceans to be easily stolen? When it was in Atlantica, it couldn't be removed from its pedestal unless it was by him or one of his descendants.

This time, Hades did notice the change in title but chose not to comment on it; the only sign he noticed was a small smile on his face. "Mal, I don't think that it's possible for you to become a fish. Not unless you ask your Uncle Poseidon to do it. As for Jay, I know he's a good thief and could more than likely catch one of those rats with wings. But his dad is in league with your mother. You really want to make one of her minion's son your minion justfor the sake of some chicken?"

"Just because Jafar's in league with Maleficent doesn't mean Jay would be," Aladdin spoke up. "A child is not their parent…"

He trailed off as he caught sight of Hades' knowing look and a flush came to his face as the former street rat realized he'd made the same argument Lord Hades had been making while reading these scrolls.

"I mean Princess Aurora is pretty much proof of that!" Ashaki spoke up.

Jasmine sighed. "I feel I should scold her but…is she wrong though?"

"Dear, aren't you the one always saying that it doesn't make sense for the Auradon elite to keep the kids locked on the Isle just because of who their parents are?" Persephone asked, walking into the den.

Meg chuckled. "She's not wrong. After all, you've been saying that since we came in here for this reading."

"Yeah dad," Mal nodded. "If it's wrong for Boreadon to do it to the kids, then why should I do it to Jay? Besides, from what little I know about Jay, he may need the gang as much as he'd be useful for us."

"A true alliance then," David said with a small, sad, smile.

Hades looked over at Persephone and sighed. "Alright. But be careful. There may not be many people on the Isle that I trust completely, but at least Hook and Ursula aren't in league with Maleficent. In fact, I may trust Ursula a bit more than I'd trust others on the Isle just because she's a relation. That being said, I still trust her as far as I can throw her."

"How far can you throw her?" Melody asked.

"Not far enough to trust her," Hades replied.

"Rambling dear," Persephone said, sneakily taking a photo of the two of them sitting on the sofa; Hades having turned his head back toward Mal so he was looking at his daughter instead of at Persephone. Otherwise he'd have seen Persephone take the photo.

"I thought I saw a flash of light!" Hades exclaimed.

"Right," Hades nodded. "The point I was trying to make was that I don't want you getting hurt just because you brought a new player into your gang."

"I wouldn't hurt Mal!" Jay exclaimed, a hurt look flashing across his face before he could stop it.

"I know that now," Hades told him. "I didn't know that then."

"Don't worry about me dad," Mal said, still surprised at the ease in which she called Hades by the title.

Maybe it helps that he actually acts like a parent—like Milah did with Harry and how Facilier acts with Uma.

Harry sighed softly at the mention of his mother. It may have been about fourteen years since her death but it still hurt to think about her. Thankfully, Naveen's confused and slightly disgusted mutters about Facilier and Ursula distracted him.

Which was exactly what Naveen had planned on. He had seen the hurt look on the young boy's face and so played up his reaction. Oh sure, he was still disgusted and confused but he could talk about that with Tiana.

"I'm your father, I'm always going to worry about you."

Mal smiled slightly as she got up. Jay wasn't going to come find her after all and she still needed to get Uma and Harry. "By the way, the next time Jay comes by the restaurant, he's going to get the same deal as Uma and Harry since he'll be in the crew."

"You were confident about that," Lucy chuckled.

"Of course I was," Mal smirked.

"Don't count your chickens Mal. Jay could say no."

"Hades, was that a pun?" Hera sighed.

"Why would it be…oh, because they're going to catch chickens," Hades said. "Hmm, I dunno. Might have been."

"We'll see," Mal smirked. "I'm going to go get Harry and Uma, we're going to go make the offer to Jay today. I just wanted to make sure it was confirmed that Jay would have the same offer Harry and Uma got before we asked Jay to join us."

"Smart, cover your bases," Eugene nodded.

"Of course he does Mal," Hades chuckled. "I still don't want you getting ahead of yourself there. Like I said, Jay could always say no."

Mal just shook her head and smirked a little. "Only an insane person would turn down an offer like this. Jay's a thief, he's not crazy."

"Jury's still out on that!" Harry called.

"No, I'm pretty sure you're the crazy one of us," Jay chuckled.

With that, Mal made her way out of the Underworld back onto the streets of the Isle. Wasting no time, she scurried to her clubhouse where Harry and Uma were waiting.

"Look, girls, are we sure about this?" Harry asked as Mal walked up, he and Uma sitting on the milk cartons that passed as furniture. "I mean, really, is there anything Jay would bring to the crew that I don't?"

"Devilishly good looks?" Jay asked with a smirk.

"So my question still stands," Harry said, chuckling at Jay's astonished look.

"Jay's a master thief," Mal said as she made her way over to them. "He could get us stuff we need, maybe even get us some good stuff from the barge if we don't feel like eating from Ursula's or Lord Hades' places."

Jay puffed up his chest at hearing Mal call him a master thief at the age of six.

Emir shook his head and poked Jay in the head. "I thought your head was getting a little too big. Wanted to deflate it before it took you off the ground," he said upon receiving a glare from the other thief.

"Master thief? He's six!" Harry growled. "That's like saying I'm a master pirate. Besides, all Jay steals is valuables. Nothing we could actually use for day to day life."

"Um…isn't food something you need from day to day?" Dizzy asked.

Mal and Uma stared at him for a second.

"Harry, we're going to ask him to steal a chicken," Uma stated. "A chicken is food. How do we not use that in everyday life?"

"Exactly!" Celia nodded.

"Not what I meant," Harry shook his head. "You get a chicken, you kill it, you eat it, it's gone. One use item."

"Not really," Celia spoke up. "Feathers could be used to plump up the pillows or add warmth to a blanket, the guts are good for talking to your friends on the other side or so dad tells me."

No one wanted to comment on the fact that she knew that off the top of her head.

Uma sighed. "True. Besides Mal, I was thinking. Jay could turn down the offer. After all, we're still younger than him. That might matter more than what we're offering."

"Younger but offering access to food," Emma said with a sigh. "I think that might outweigh the age concern."

"Uma, we're offering him food security and a stable place to sleep," Mal stated. "I've been in his dad's shop a few times with Maleficent. Jay's 'bed' is a blanket under the TV shelf in his dad's shop. I think he'd be mad to turn us down just because we're younger than him."

"Thanks Mal," Jay muttered as he looked away from Aladdin's shocked look. The last thing Jay wanted was his pity.

"Hey, do you think I knew my words were going to be recorded and then discussed with a bunch of Boreadon elites?" Mal asked him.

"You know, with his muscle, I bet in a couple of years we could get a bed in here," Uma said with a small grin, slowly getting back on board. "It'd be better than sleeping on the ground here—even if the blankets do help a little."

Esmeralda sighed softly, Phoebus wrapping an arm around her shoulders in comfort. To hear children living like that…

"At least they're going to start to come off," Phoebus whispered. "Remember, today was the start of Prince Ben's initiative."

"Yes but Phoebus, it's just four kids. All the rest of them are suffering," Esmeralda whispered back.

"Let's at least make him the offer," Mal suggested and Harry rolled his eyes.

"Fine," he muttered. "I still don't see why we'd need him though."

"Ah past-Harry, do you eat your words?" Uma smirked.

Harry chuckled. "Yes cap'n."

Mal shook her head but gave Harry a small smile. "You might like having another boy around more than you think, Harry."

"If you say so cap'n but I doubt it," Harry said as he got up. The bruise on his chin from his attempt to catch the chicken the other day seemed to be darker and Mal couldn't help but wonder if Harry had tried to catch one of the feathered beasts on his own just to prove that they didn't need Jay.

Mal and Uma shook their heads while Jay rolled his eyes. Honestly, there was no one more stubborn than Harry.

Stubborn idiot, she thought as she rolled her eyes.

"I stand by that thought by the way!" Mal stated.

"Come on, we have a thief to find," Uma said, getting up herself.

"Shouldn't be too hard. I mean, doesn't he almost never leave his daddy's store?" Harry asked with a slight mocking tone to his voice.

"You got a problem with that Harry?" Jay asked, glaring slightly to hide the hurt. He knew they weren't friends back then but he didn't think Harry would have mocked him for working in his dad's shop.

"Says the boy who also hardly leaves his papa's store," Mal shot back, rolling her eyes at him. "Now come on."

"Thank you Mal!" Jay said.

"I was five and we barely knew each other!" Harry exclaimed.

"Fine," Harry grumbled as the three of them left the clubhouse and made their way toward Jafar's shop. Mal led the way, being the member of the gang who'd actually been to Jafar's shop before. Plus, as Maleficent's daughter, it would make negotiations go smoother should they need to be done.

"Power is power, to steal a quote from the Dragon," Mal shrugged. "There's no denying that fact and if Jafar was there, he'd be less likely to throw us out if he saw me."

"Morning Jay," Mal said, throwing open the door to the shop. "I have a proposition for you."

"Well that's certainly one way to start a conversation," Evan chuckled.

Did she know exactly what the word meant? Nope. But she had seen it in one of the few books the Isle had and it was the same situation as she was in right now. It seemed like the right time to use it.

"You used it correctly," Belle nodded. "But…if they lock the library how did you…?"

"Someone throws out books," Mal said with a shrug. "At first it was just picture books but then chapter books started showing up."

Emir and Akiho looked over at Ben who was quite adamantly avoiding their eyes. He wasn't throwing them out, but putting them in the donate bin in their castle. He had five copies of one book, he didn't need all that!

"Fish for Brains wants another copy of the mad book with the freakish cat who wears a hat," Harry chimed in. "His brothers destroyed it."

"Go on," Jay said, leaning on the counter as Mal, Harry and Uma made their way into the shop. "When the daughter of Maleficent says that, it's bound to be good."

"And I was right," Jay nodded.

"I believe you may have some skills that would be handy for our crew," Mal said, crossing her arms over her chest.

"So what you're saying is you need a thief?" Jay asked, smirking at Harry who was standing behind Mal. "But you already have a pirate."

"Not really a good idea if you want them on your side," Elle pointed out.

"Shut it, you run down trinket snatcher!" Harry growled.

"Also not a good idea," Melody said, echoing her sister.

"Harry!" Mal snapped in warning. The last thing anyone needed was for this meeting to get back to Maleficent and a fight between the son of one of her minions and the son of Hook would definitely get back to her in someway. Harry glowered but backed down a little.

"Good, the last thing you kids need to do is deal with a fight," Eric sighed in relief. He didn't know how stocked the shelves were but if one of the kids got hurt because some merchandise fell on them…

"What we need, Jay, are your swift hands," Uma chimed in. "We think they might be good at catching one of the chickens that have made their way into town."

"What's in it for me?" Jay asked. "You're telling me there's not one member of your little trio who can catch one of those feathered fiends?"

"No and trying to do it just results in pain to this day!" Uma exclaimed. "I swear Jay, you just wanted to hear us admit we couldn't do it."

Jay shrugged. "Hearing the daughter of Maleficent say she needed my services was a bit of an ego boost, I'm not going to lie."

"So you're saying you wouldn't be interested at free meals at Lord Hades' restaurant?" Mal asked with a smirk. "Not to mention a guaranteed place to sleep that isn't under a shelf?"

"At first you had his curiosity but I think now you have his attention," Emir chuckled, trying to ignore the rage he felt at someone being forced to sleep under a shelf.

Jay paused for a slight second before looking back at Mal. "Go on," he said. "I just need to help you catch a chicken and I get all that?"

"It does sound too good to be true," Kitty nodded.

"You'll have to help us move a bed into the clubhouse at some point," Mal said. "And you'll have to actually get a chicken for Lord Hades to use at his restaurant. Plus anything we think we might need that you can snatch, it's ours."

"That's not a bad deal," Hades said. "Though I would point out that Jay benefits more than you do."

"That was the idea," Mal said with a shrug. "Anything too evenly balanced or favoring us, Jay might have said no."

"Shouldn't be an issue," Jay said with a small nod. "I can catch one of those feathered feasts with my eyes closed."

He hopped over the counter so he was standing in front of them. It helped that the part of the counter Jay had been standing in front of was significantly lower than the rest of the counter.

"Oh come on Mal! Just ruin my coolness factor!" Jay grumbled.

"Just know that your list can't interfere with my dad's quota," Jay told Mal, who nodded. Jafar wasn't the most subtle and would often tell Jay his quota to fill for the day when they were at Maleficent's so Mal was quite familiar with it.

"Quota?" Aziz asked, looking at Jay.

Jay shrugged. "Dad's got a daily quota of stuff I need to steal for the shop," he said.

"What happens if you don't make that quota?" Emir asked, though he wasn't sure if he truly wanted to know.

"I'm sure you'll find out," Mal said, answering for Jay.

"Do we have a deal?" Mal asked softly.

"We've got a deal," Jay said with a nod before smirking. "Oh cheer up Hook. One might think you weren't happy to have another guy around."

Harry rolled his eyes, glowering a little but not reacting under the watchful eye of Uma.

Oh Gods, even at five, Uma was the only one he'd truly listen to, Mal thought. Maybe these scrolls will get him out of his denial. That'd be something positive at least.

"Oh, and to be in the crew, you'd better be prepared to learn how to sword fight if you don't already," Mal added.

"I know a bit," Jay said with a nod. "But I'm not pirate level."

"Oh we are so sparring when we get out of here," Emir said with a smirk.

Harry shook his head. "Get your own sparring partner!"

"I have one! His name's Akiho, oddly obsessed with reindeer."

"Then keep him! Jay's my sparring partner!"

Jay snorted. "I feel like I'm in the middle of a custody battle," he muttered to Mal.

"Well, well, well. Something we can teach you," Harry said with a small smirk.

"Bring it Hook," Jay told him, a smirk on his face.

Harry smirked. "And how long did it take you before you could beat me again? That's right, I think you were twelve."

"Oh, see? You two are already getting along," Mal said with a smirk of her own. "Now, think you can actually get one of those feathered pests?"

"With my eyes closed," Jay told her. "Dad's trained me to sneak since I could walk after all."

"Honestly why put in that work?" Audrey sniffed. "All they are are filthy rats with wings."

"They're also food," Phillip Jr. told her.

"I'll believe it when I can see it," Harry grumbled.

Jay smirked. "Come on then. You'll get your own show," he said as he walked out of the shop toward the town square. Harry rolled his eyes but followed Jay, the girls trailing them.

"This should be good," Ashaki grinned.

"Now, first thing I need to know is where the thing I'm supposed to be grabbing usually is," Jay said.

"They're normally by Old man Slade's place but obviously they've escaped from there," Mal told him. "Also, they're stupid chickens so who knows where they'd get to."

"That'll make it harder," Aladdin sighed. "Not to mention, you might not be the only ones who realized the chickens had escaped."

"True but we're the only ones who had a Jay," Mal said with a smirk.

"So it's a waiting game to see if we can find one?" Jay asked. As Mal nodded, Jay gave a small sigh, almost inaudible to anyone not listening closely. That made it a lot harder. His mom had taught him that having a mark made stealing anything a lot easier than leaving it to chance.

"Your mom was a decent thief. That's some good advice," Eugene said, giving Jay a small smile.

"How can you—?"

"Leah, I was a thief before I met Rapunzel," Eugene said, glaring at the older Queen. "I can recognize when another thief is good even if I might not condone it anymore."

Thankfully, they didn't have to wait long as they came across three chickens in an alley close to Hades' restaurant.

"Watch and learn," Jay said with a small smirk. This was perfect, since there was nowhere for the chicken to run, all Jay would have to do is back them up against a wall and grab one. There was more than one of them too, which only tripled his chances of grabbing one. As he crept into the alley, Jay shook his head slightly. He couldn't have planned this better if he'd tried.

Glancing at the chickens, who still hadn't noticed they weren't alone, Jay sized them up; trying to see which one of them was the biggest. If the chicken was going to go to Lord Hades, it had better be plenty plump.

"Or as plump as they can be being from the Isle," Jay amended his past thoughts.

That one, in the middle, Jay thought. The one that's…is he trying to eat a rock ?

"…doesn't that sound like that chicken Miguel's mom always talks about?" Emir asked.

"Hei-hei!" Ben nodded.

"How did he get on the Isle?"

"Maybe he had kids who ended up on the Isle?" Akiho ventured.

"Come here you," Jay said as his hand shot out, grabbing the now squawking chicken by the neck and picking it up. "No one wants rocks with their meat!"

"See? What'd I'd tell you?" Jay asked, still holding onto the chicken by the neck as he turned to face the others. "Now does Lord Hades want this thing alive or does anyone have a dagger?"

Alexandria gasped, her hands flying to her mouth. "You're going to stab it! Isn't there a nicer way to kill it?"

"…no, no I can't. It's like killing Hadie's innocence, I can't," Mal muttered, shaking her head.

"I'll deliver it," Mal said, walking up to Jay. "Besides, Lord Hades has knives in the kitchen of his restaurant he can used to turn the bird into food. It's not too far from here actually. By Lady Tremaine's hair salon."

Cinderella shook her head. "I'm sorry, it's still hard to believe my step-mother has a hair salon."

"She's also a midwife!" Dizzy spoke up. "Aunt Ana is too! Mom's not but Granny needs someone to help watch the store if she has to run out to deliver a baby."

Taking the chicken from Jay, Mal added, "stop by whenever you want Jay. Just tell him you're with me and you should get your meal without any problems."

Jay nodded and turned to look at Harry. "Believe me now Hook?" He asked, raising an eyebrow and smirking a little.

"I told you I'd believe it when I saw it," Harry sighed. "Well I saw it so I have to believe it."

"And I'm glad I did!" Harry grinned, wrapping an arm around Jay's shoulders.

Jay nodded, the smirk still on his face as Mal walked off. A question had been in the back of Jay's mind but he hadn't wanted to ask it while Mal was still there. After all, she was Maleficent's daughter. The last thing Jay wanted to do was make things tense with her mom and his dad.

After all, if I got dad kicked out of Maleficent's crew, he'd probably lock me out of the house for a month, Jay thought with a small sigh.

"Hey, what's Mal's deal with Lord Hades?" Jay asked, finally satisfied that Mal was out of earshot. "I'd wager he doesn't just give out free food to anyone yet Mal thinks we can just walk in no problem?"

Ashaki chuckled. "The funny thing about that is the fact that Lord Hades gives out free food regardless yet he has a reputation for not giving out free food."

Uma and Harry looked at each other and shrugged. "Dunno," Uma said. "But it's the truth. We just tell him that we're with Mal and he gives us our food, no problem."

"All she tells us if we do question it since she's Lord Hades' errand rat is it's part of her agreement with him," Harry added with a shrug. "We don't question it often since who questions easy food?"

"I'll tell you who would question it! The Gaston twins! They've got less brains than Gil and that's saying something!" Harry stated.

"Gil's not too bad," Carlos said and grew quiet as Harry glared at him.

"Harry, stand down," Uma shook her head. "The pup's right, Gil's harmless."

"But most people aren't in the business of giving free food to their errand rats, let alone their errand rat's crew," Uma pointed out.

"Most people aren't the God of the Dead," Hyllus pointed out. "So it doesn't make much sense to compare them."

Jay shrugged. It was kinda weird but like Harry said, if it got him free meals by being in Mal's gang, he wasn't going to complain.

"That's because you've got a brain in your head unlike some people I could mention!"

"Oh, keep the fact that you know Mal's Uncle Hades errand rat to yourself," Uma said. "If Mal…if her mother found out, she might not be too happy."

"And who would I tell?" Jay asked. "Freddy hates me just as much as he hates you two because of dad's wish to become a genie, Zevon creeps me the hell out, the Gaston twins are dumber than a bag of rocks, and Gil's in our crew!"

"Maleficent not being too happy at me being an errand rat would be an understatement Uma," Mal sighed, ignoring the growls that resumed upon hearing that.

"I mean, the daughter of Maleficent as a lowly errand rat?" Harry added, shaking his head.

"Hey, there are a lot worse things if it gets you food around here," Jay pointed out.

"Yeah like a certain practice we won't mention because of the younger kids," Uma muttered.

He hadn't missed Uma nearly calling Maleficent by her name but he wasn't going to comment. No use in rocking the boat this early.

"That's…that's always a good idea," Jane nodded.

"We know that," Uma said. "But what Harry's saying is that there's no way her excellency would let Mal be an errand rat."

"Why do you call her that?" Audrey sniffed.

"Well one, because that's what your grandmother called her the day of your mom's christening. You know, the one your grandparents failed to invite the Dragon to," Mal pointed out.

"And two, it's a good way to avoid slipping up and calling her 'Maleficent' to her face," Uma stated.

"She might not know," Jay pointed out.

"Jay, it's the Dragon," Harry shook his head. "She knows everything."

"And she's not going to, right?" Harry asked, a slight growl to his voice. He knew what the dragon was capable of, having mopped up Mal a couple of times after a 'lesson' from Maleficent. The last thing he wanted was for Mal to get hurt because they had trusted the wrong person.

Mal couldn't help but shoot Harry a small smile upon hearing that. She knew how much Harry hated change but she never thought one of the reasons he'd been so resistant to bringing in Jay was because he didn't want her getting hurt.

"You're like my sister Mal," Harry said, seeing the smile.

"She'd be your younger sister too," Uma chuckled. "Since you were born in April and Mal's in June."

Ben perked up. "Really? What day? We might share a birthday!"

"That's classified and the month would have been too if someone wasn't a blabber mouth," Mal stated, glaring at Uma.

Phillip Sr. turned to Aurora. "Please Briar, my sword's literally not doing anything—."

"Phillip, you're a grown man. If you want to go risk your life by stabbing Maleficent, I can't stop you," Aurora shook her head in amusement.

"What would her excellency know? Nothing that I know, that's for sure," Jay said with a small smirk.

"Good answer."

"I'm not dumb," Jay stated. "First off, me blabbing to the Dragon would just get me known as a blabbermouth. Not the best rep on the Isle. Second off, you all just let me in your crew."

Jay looked around, more than a little willingly to change the subject. "So, are we just going to hang around this alley until Mal gets back?"

"That's a good way to get jumped," Uma snorted.

"We could start heading over to the restaurant?" Uma suggested. "That way we can get the best table and the best portions when the chicken's done."

"Uma, no one ever eats at Lord Hades' restaurant. We'd have our pick of tables," Harry reminded her.

"Which means that you can still pick the best one," Tiana said.

"So? We'll still be able to pick the best table."

Harry shrugged. "Sounds good to me. Harriet's on fish duty anyway so Papa won't notice if I'm gone."

Harry bit back a sigh as he heard that. You've got Lord Hades, he told himself. You don't need the Captain.

"I never turn down food," Jay said with a nod, joining them as they start to move out toward the restaurant.

"You'd be an idiot to turn down food," Jay amended his previous statement.

That's certainly the truth, Aladdin and Eugene thought.

He couldn't help but smile a little. He had been pretty much a loner since no one wanted to hang out with him. The perils of being a thief and having a dad who ran a pawn shop. No one wanted to risk their stuff, what little they had, winding up on Jafar's shelves.

Lonnie frowned—it wasn't Jay's fault his dad made him steal! He shouldn't have been ostracized for that!

It was nice, being in a group that wanted his thieving ability.

The three of them made their way to the restaurant, where Mal already had a table claimed.

"He said it should be about fifteen minutes," Mal told them as they sat down. "He does need to kill and cut up the thing, but that was about maybe ten minutes ago."

"That poor chicken!" Alexandria gasped.

"Do you want to be the one to tell her that happens to all chickens or should I?" Kitty muttered to Lucy.

"Let Chad be the one to do that," Lucy shook her head.

"We can wait," Jay said with a nod.

Mal grinned and looked over at the former lone boy of her crew. "So Harry, finally on board with Jay in the crew?"

"You know it just occurred to me," Mal said. "Weren't Henry and the others part of our crew by that point?"

Uma shook her head. "I didn't start leading that bigger crew until we were seven, Mali."

"Ah, right."

"I still don't see why we need him but if he's useful in getting food, I won't protest," Harry said with a slight glower.

Mal rolled her eyes. "There's safety in numbers Harry. Every kid knows that. Besides, he got us that chicken. Would you rather have Freddy boy's gang have that? Thanks to Jay, we eat. They don't."

"Oh what a beautiful thought that is!" Harry said with a smirk.

"But…doesn't everyone deserve food?" Macaria asked, looking around with a confused look on her face.

"Oh I'm sure Freddy finds a way to get it but at least this way we get better food," Mal explained.

Harry nodded with a small smirk. "That is certainly something I can get behind."

"Hey, as long as you're fine with me in the crew, I don't care what your reasoning is," Jay smirked.

"Welcome to the Rotten Four, Jay," Mal said with a smirk as their food came out. It was faster than they had expected but then again, Hades was a God. Who were they to question him?

"Hey, you kids can question me all you want," Hades chuckled.

"And we do," Mal smirked.

Jay didn't respond but dug in to the dish in front of him. The others didn't care, as they did the same thing.

"Gods, if Jay keeps catching chickens like this, we'll have to rename ourselves the fat four," Uma said as she finished her meal. "How is it Uncle Hades was only doing fish before yet his chicken tastes so good?"

"My thing is…how do the chickens keep multiplying if we keep catching them?" Harry asked. "We catch them probably once a day yet they just roam without a care in the world."

"We live on an Island filled with people who're supposed to be dead and that's what you question?" Jay asked him.

Mal nodded, her dad was a surprisingly good cook. You wouldn't think a God would be but Hades proved that wasn't the case.

"Why thank you Mal," Hades chuckled.

"So other than catching chickens, what do you guys do for fun?" Jay asked, not used to being part of a gang.

"Sword fight and play pranks on anyone who's not one of the four of us," Uma told him.

"Yeah, come by the clubhouse tomorrow," Mal said. "Harry'll get you started on sword fighting. We'll all be able to practice at the same time now since we've got an even number."

"So we'll get to see more sword fighting?" Robin asked with a grin on her face.

"I might like her," Mal muttered to Uma.

"Me too, any Princess who likes sword fighting is worth knowing," Uma nodded.

"Mal, don't think I'll go easy on you," Uma said with a small smirk as Harry shot a smirk of his own toward Jay.

"Bring it on, octo-girl!"

"Oh, you're going to regret that, dragon breath," Uma taunted with a small chuckle.

"So what time tomorrow?" Jay asked, cutting into the banter. "I don't think dad's got me watching the store so I should be free."

Jasmine shook her head. A six year old shouldn't be expected to watch a store, especially not unsupervised!

Mal, Harry and Uma looked at each other. "Noon?" Mal suggested.

"That works," Jay nodded.

"How about one of us swing by one of our food stops and pick up lunch, we can eat in the clubhouse after sword practice?" Mal said.

"I can stop by mama's restaurant if no one has an issue with fish," Uma said.

"I'll eat anything," Jay shrugged with a small smile.

"You can't exactly survive the Isle being a picky eater," Jay added.

"But…what about allergies?" Ben asked as the adults looked on in shock.

Mal tapped her chin. "Allergies, allergies…oh that would explain why some of the kids get all puffy before they—."

"Not in front of Celia, Mal," Uma stated.

"I wasn't going to get graphic Uma! Hadie's here too, remember."

Oh dear Gods, Beast thought in horror. That's…that's a horrible way to go. And these are children! With no hospital, there'd be no epipen to relieve the reactions…!

"Oh, we're going to get along just fine," Uma told him, smirking a little.

"Fish is fine, Uma," Mal said while Harry nodded.

Uma nodded. "I'll bring the food to the clubhouse then. We can do the sword fighting after we eat since mama's stuff is better warm anyway."

"You know, if you ignore the sword fighting, it's almost like when we'd go to your tree house when mom and dad would visit Arendelle," Emir muttered to Akiho.

"That's right, we'd always pack a picnic basket! Though Ben would try to fill it with books instead of sandwiches," Akiho chuckled as he muttered back.

"I can hear you two!" Ben said, shaking his head.

Harry grinned. "You know, I bet in a couple of years when we're a bit older, we could manage getting a sofa or a bed in there.

"We did manage it," Harry smirked.

"How?" Emma asked.

"You'll just have to wait and see, lass," Harry told her and then winced as Uma elbowed him in the arm.

"You plan on keeping me around that long, Hook?" Jay teased.

"You plan on staying around that long?" Harry shot back as Mal and Uma rolled their eyes. Harry would clearly need some time to adjust to the new dynamic of the gang.

"I don't like change," Harry stated, crossing his arms.

"We know," Uma, Mal, and Jay said; their voices flat.

"A sofa or bed would be nice," Uma agreed. "But right now, it'd just take up room. Room we'd need for sword fighting. We want to be the best after all."

Mulan nodded. "If you want to do something, be the best at it."

"Okay, okay, 'savior of China' we get it," Shang chuckled.

"We will be the best," Mal corrected with a slight smirk. "We'll be so powerful that no one will mess with us. We'll be rotten. To the core."

"See? They even say they're rotten!" Leah exclaimed.

"They're also five and six respectively," Phoebus pointed out. "When Zephyr was five, he wanted to be a triceratops."

Uma and Harry nodded with a smirk on their faces.

"Shouldn't be a problem," Jay said with a shrug.

"So…anyone want to go make smoke bombs and throw 'em at Evil Queen's daughter?" Mal asked, keeping her voice low in case one of the Evil Queen's allies came in. Hey, Queenie may have been allies with Maleficent but that didn't mean she didn't want to make her own play for ruler of the Isle.

"Like I said, every two years or so," Mal said, shaking her head.

Maleficent was awful but the last thing Mal wanted was for Evie to have her spot. Blueberry would be insufferable if that happened!

"Leave Evie alone Mal," Carlos spoke up, to everyone's surprise. Sure his voice was still soft and laced with timidness but that probably was more to do with Estelle sniffing around his feet than anything else.

"Huh, pup's got some bite to his bark," Harry chuckled.

"I'm in," Uma told her, a wicked grin on her face. "Boys?"

"I'm in," Harry told her.

"Me too!" Jay said with a smirk and Mal grinned.

"Let's go," she said. "We'll have to stop by Lady Tremaine's and grab the stuff to make 'em. It shouldn't take too long though. Uma and I have the recipe down pat now."

Of course you do, Evie thought with an internal sigh. And I'm your test dummy.

They ran off, the four of them ready to make their own mischief.

"And the Isle was still standing?" Aziz asked with a chuckle. The four of them reminded him of Emir and Akiho, two people who should never be left unsupervised.

"Sure was!" Harry nodded.

"Who wants to read next?" Beast asked, setting down the scroll.

Snow White smiled. "I'll read, if no one else minds."

"I don't think you'll have any complaints, Queen Snow," Ben said with a smile of his own.

Snow White took a scroll and sighed softly. While it was interesting to learn more about the Isle, she found herself hoping this would be a more positive scroll than the ones that came before it.

Mal had to give Evie credit. When she made a threat, she stuck with it.

"Well that's not looming or vaguely threatening at all," Rose tried to joke. Tried being the operative word."

With all the excitement of bringing Jay into the fold and teaching him how to sword fight, something Harry was all too eager to do though that may have been due to the fact that Jay was a beginner and not because Harry just wanted to teach, Mal had forgotten about her little head to head with Blueberry. The days passed by and all too soon, the princess's birthday had arrived.

Harry couldn't help but smirk at the reminder of the first few training sessions with Jay. "Those were fun."

"You say that because you kicked my…butt," Jay muttered, changing his word of choice after remembering there were under fifteens present.

It seemed like everyone on the Isle had been invited to the six year old's party. Everyone but Mal, that is.

"If I remember my history and all the stories correctly, maybe it wasn't a good idea to not invite the person you saw as the daughter of Maleficent to a party?" Phillip Jr. spoke up.

Trust me, I learned that rather quickly, Evie thought with a small frown.

That's okay. I didn't want to go to Blueberry's dumb party anyway, Mal thought as she stared out from the balcony of Maleficent's castle, one of the few mornings she opted to stay around the dragon.

"Uh huh. Me thinks the Godling protests too much," Hyllus shook his head.

Using a discarded telescope that had made its way from Boreadon, Mal could see that the guests were getting animals as party favors.

"Who…who uses animals as party favors?" Alexandria exclaimed.

"Evil Queen," Uma shrugged.

"I mean, it's not like we had much else in terms of stuff to use as favors," Jay added.

"I think she used them to curry favor," Carlos spoke up. "I got a cat but I…I also got a hyena pup. I think Evil Queen was trying to lure my mom over to her side with the promise of more fur."

Mal shook her head. "Thank Gods we got that pup out of there."

"I wasn't going to let anything happen to the pup, Mal," Carlos said.

"Who else got a pup?" Cinderella asked.

Jay tapped his chin in thought. "There were four pups, two girls and two guys. Evie kept one of course on top of having Iago's son. Carols, you just heard, had one. Gaston Jr. got one and the last one went to—."

"Maddy," Mal said, rolling her eyes.

"I'm sensing history?" Akiho asked.

Uma nodded. "Mad Madam Mim's granddaughter. She and Mal used to be friends until they had a falling out when they were three. That's when Mal met me."

Cats and eels and all sorts of creatures would find their way to new homes.

"Eels?" Ariel asked.

"Flotsam and Jetsam's kids," Uma said. "I think Jay got them."

Jay nodded and then smirked as he looked over at Uma. "Does that make you the mother of my eels?"

"Make that joke again and Harry might smack you," Mal chuckled.

Mal rolled her eyes and put the telescope down. Jay, Uma and Harry had all gotten invitations too. Harry had to go because his dad was attending but Jay and Uma had offered to skip it once they realized that Mal hadn't gotten an invite.

Jane couldn't help but smile at that. Those were some true friends, to offer to not go to a party just because their friend wasn't invited.

She wished she had friends like that—she had Lonnie of course but she wouldn't say no to more friends.

She had told them not to, that there was no reason for them to be miserable just because she hadn't gotten an invite.

"That was very mature of you Mal honey," Persephone said with a smile. She knew this chapter wasn't going to be easy for her to hear.

That being said, that same day Mal and Uma had unleashed hell on Blueberry with their stash of smoke bombs.

That being said…she was five, Persephone told herself as Hadie chuckled.

Her skin matched her hair, that's how many blue smoke bombs they ended up pelting her with. Then again, her hair had several spots of purple hue based solely on the fact that they had to dip into their stash of purple smoke bombs. The princess had run off before they were able to use any of the red ones but the Isle was only so big.

Mal and Uma smirked and exchanged a fist bump at the memory, the purple haired girl avoiding the disappointed puppy dog eyes that were once more coming from Ben's direction.

I get she was disappointed and I know that was a mean thing of Evie to do, not invite Mal when she was inviting the whole Isle. That's why our class has the rule that we can't invite people to a party at school if we're not inviting everyone, he thought. But Mal didn't have to pelt her with smoke bombs!

There was definitely a chance they'd run into her again. Oh, Mal almost counted on it.

You're not going to get away with insulting me like that. It was bad enough when I thought I was the only one out of my crew not to get an invite but to be the only one out of the Isle? Oh Blueberry, you should watch your back, Mal thought with a small nod of her head.

"I mean, I know you were disappointed but there had to be other ways to—."

"Inviting everyone but me to that party was a deliberate insult and I'd have been remiss to not enact my revenge," Mal told Akiho. "Turning the other cheek is Boreadon levels of thought."

Still, she wasn't going to lie. It stung watching everyone else have fun at the party.

Hercules gave Mal a small smile. He could remember what it was like growing up and being left out of events because of his strength. He remembered how much that stung, especially since the other teens would always talk about said event in front of him if they saw him.

Even if she was just there with Uma, Harry and Jay, it'd be better than being at Maleficent's by herself.

"I think being covered in honey, tied to two logs, and then descended upon by fire ants would be better than being at Maleficent's by oneself," Alexandria said.

"I like her," Mal said with a smirk.

Hearing movement in the other room, Mal quickly left the balcony. She knew what Maleficent would say if she saw her moping over not getting an invitation to Evie's party. Parties are for the rabble.

She says that but yet she cursed my daughter because she wasn't invited to the christening, Leah thought with a roll of her eyes.

Yeah you say that now, Maleficent but who was it who cursed a baby because they didn't get invited to a party? Mal scoffed as she made her way to the front door of Maleficent's castle.

Of course Leah then made a slight face at the thought of sharing anything with a VK, especially one who was the daughter of Maleficent.

Thankfully, the dragon had been tormenting the goblins all morning so she hadn't paid any attention to Mal. The last thing Mal wanted was to try to come up with a passable lie as to why she wasn't at Evie's party.

"You…you mean you didn't tell her you weren't invited?" Evie asked, her voice soft with shock as she looked over at Mal.

Mal scoffed. "Of course not. Uma was down there after all and who knows what the Dragon might have done to her if she'd known."

She wasn't feeling well? Maleficent would call her weak and order her to go.

"Then again, calling me weak was pretty much her MO," Mal shrugged as Hades growled softly under his breath.

Does…does he sound like a platypus? Emir thought as he heard the growl.

Tell the truth and say Evie didn't invite her? If Evie was lucky, Maleficent would just accuse Mal of lying and tell her to go anyway. If Blueberry wasn't lucky….well it was hard to say what the dragon would do.

I know what she'd do, Evie thought as she softly wrapped her arms around her as if to give herself a hug.

"David, is Evie alright?" Snow asked, whispering to her husband.

"I'm not sure," David whispered back. "Why don't you check on her in the next break? She might not want to be called out in front of everyone if something's bothering her."

Snow nodded and turned back to the scroll that was in her hands.

Say she got an invite but didn't feel like going? Mal would definitely end up getting one of Maleficent's 'lessons' on not making a fool out of her in front of the others of the Isle.

"Would…would it really make Maleficent look like a fool?" Robin Fitzherbert asked. "I mean, she runs the Isle. Meaning if Mal got an invite and didn't feel like going, it'd be an insult to Evie since it would tell the rest of the Isle that Maleficent's daughter didn't deem the event worthy enough for her to make an appearance."

"Yes but that would require the Dragon to not be an egomaniac," Jay told her.

There wasn't anything good that would come out of Maleficent finding out. Thankfully, Mal knew she had another place she could go where she wouldn't have to stare at Blueberry's party.

Hades couldn't help but smile at the thought that Mal felt safe enough in the Underworld to go there instead of wallowing and watching a party she wasn't invited to.

In another life, one where she was raised in Boreadon, Mal probably would have run down the street toward her dad's place. But this was still the Isle. Running was only acceptable if you were being chased or if someone had just been stabbed. An occurrence that was more common than one might think.

"I'm sorry, stabbings were common?" Aurora asked.

Uma nodded. "Mama has a sword check at the restaurant to make sure there's no stabbings there. She doesn't want to deal with the blood stains on the floorboards."

Obviously Mal wasn't being chased and, unless someone had been stabbed and she just didn't know, she couldn't use that excuse.

"I mean, who was going to know?" Emir asked.

So Mal walked; the empty streets being a godsend in that she wasn't delayed in getting where she wanted to go.

"Exactly my point! If the streets were empty, there wouldn't be anyone to know you were running without knowing if anyone got stabbed!"

"Hello?" Mal called softly. There was no response but that didn't mean anything. Mal had been over enough by now to know that her dad was probably just deeper in the Underworld and Lady Steph was probably waging war with the dishes that had piled up again.

"If you had a dishwasher, that would make life so much easier," Persephone muttered to Hades.

"Dear, the only way I'd get a dishwasher is if one got recalled over in Auradon," Hades muttered back. "You know appliances with defects were the only ones that get sent over to the Isle."

Chuckling a little at the mental image of a Goddess waging war against a sink full of dishes, Mal walked deeper into the Underworld.

"It is rather funny…no offense Lady Persephone," Ashaki said quickly.

Persephone smiled at the youngest Agrabah heir. "No offense taken, Princess Ashaki. I do agree, it is a rather humorous mental image."

The silence was a bit unnerving; usually either her dad or Steph would have come out to say hello by now.

"Hello?" Mal called again as she walked into the den. The only thing she managed to do was startle Virgil, who'd been sitting on the sofa. Mal rolled her eyes.

"Oh the poor dear," Aurora said softly.

"Virgil's always that jumpy," Mal said, a fond smile pulling at her lips.

"You didn't hear the door?" She asked him.

"H-headphones," Virgil said softly. "E-even without music, it dampens m-most noise."

"Where'd he get those anyway?" Jay asked.

Mal shrugged. "Dunno. He's always had 'em since I've known Virg."

Persephone, though, gave a knowing and loving look to her husband. He had never said how he found the headphones but he had given them to the young boy as a thank you for a job well done when Virgil was six.

Mal shook her head but couldn't help a small smile. The jury was still out whether or not Virgil was her cousin, so he wasn't in the loop in terms of Mal's relation to Hades, but Mal didn't really care all that much. The timid eight year old never treated her like she was an outsider barging into his turf.

"You're the daughter of his dad's boss," Rowyn pointed out.

"He doesn't know that though," Rachel told her.

"W-what brings you here, M-Mal?" Virgil asked, taking his headphones off while they talked. Mal shrugged.

"That was nice of him, to give his full attention to Mal like that," Eric said with a small smile.

"Blueberry's having a birthday party," she said before looking at Virgil. "Why aren't you there?"

"Why did I even ask that?" Mal muttered to herself, shaking her head.

Virgil chuckled. "N-no invite," he told her and Mal felt a small rush of anger toward the wannabe princess. It was one thing to insult her but Virgil was another thing. Even if he didn't know or care about Evie, it would still bother the older boy.

"But…mother handled the invitations," Evie said as some of those in attendance turned to look over at her.

Uma scoffed in disbelief and Mal rolled her eyes.

Then again, Virgil's not a prince or even the son of a high end villain. He's the son of a minion—and everyone knows those kids are on the lower end of the Isle's totem pole.

"W-why aren't you there?" Virgil asked softly but seemed to grow silent when Mal looked over at him. "N-never mind."

"It was a fair question," Mal shrugged.

Mal shrugged again before sighing. She could tell Virgil—he was the one kid on the Isle who wouldn't blab to anyone. Mainly because he'd spend a week overthinking whether or not it was a good idea before he did so but regardless.

"That's certainly the truth," Harry chuckled.

"Be nice!" Dizzy said with a frown. "At least while Virgil's not here to defend himself!"

Harry shook his head. "I'm a VK and a pirate. We're never nice."

"You and I could form a club," Mal told him, sitting down on the sofa. "The only two kids not to be invited to Blueberry's birthday."

"If anything, the Evil Queen was playing a dangerous game," Lucy spoke up. "To not only risk insulting Maleficent by not inviting the girl the Isle saw as her daughter but insulting Lord Hades by not inviting the son of one of his minions? If it wasn't for the fact that Lord Hades seems to hate the ground Maleficent walks on, I wouldn't have been surprised if they teamed up to make the Evil Queen's life hell."

Virgil gave her a small smile. "Maybe your invite just g-got lost in the mail, Mal. I-I'm sure—"

"We have a postal service?" Jay asked, looking at the other VKs.

"Not that I'm aware of," Mal shrugged.

"Then how—?"

"Virgil was probably just looking for a way to make it not seem as bad that I wasn't invited."

"Virg, Maleficent and the Evil Queen have had a rivalry since the Isle was founded," Mal scoffed. "I'm sure the princess thinks I'm in her rightful spot or something, the daughter of the ruler of the Isle."

"So why did Maleficent bring the Evil Queen into her gang if they were rivals?" Melody asked.

"Keep your allies close and your enemies closer so you know their every move," Mal stated.

Not to mention if mother didn't join, who knows what would have happened to dad? Evie thought.

Sighing, Mal looked at the other boy. "Not to sound like Maleficent or anything but the little Bluette invited everyone else. Everyone, Virgil! Jay, Harry and Uma all got invites too. I mean, not that I wanted to go but still…"

"You say you didn't want to go but you're awfully upset about not getting an invitation," Evan pointed out.

Virgil frowned a little but didn't comment, choosing to let Mal rant. It was rare that Mal actually let loose like this and it was probably only because there was no one else in the room.

Hades held back a sigh. He had figured that had been the case when he and Steph had heard Mal start to rant from their spot in the kitchen.

"And they're getting pets! Can you believe it?" Mal asked, breaking Virgil out of his thoughts.

"W-What?"

"Honestly, who gives pets as a party favor?" Aladdin shook his head. He may have been royal now but that was just a level of extravagance that irritated the former street rat.

"Evil Queen just wanted to prove she could," Uma said as she rolled her eyes.

Mal nodded. "Yeah. Pets. Now every kid's going to know I wasn't there since I won't have one either. All that'll do is increase the chance of Maleficent finding out there had been a party I wasn't invited to."

Maleficent, you'd better not have touched a single hair on Mal's head because of this! Demeter thought with a growing glare.

Blueberry had better hope I can hide the 'lesson' Maleficent will teach me for letting the Evil Queen embarrass her like this, Mal thought with a small frown.

Hades and Persephone glared at the scroll as they heard that, and Mal had to give credit to Snow White for not running out of fear for her life.

One God glaring in your direction was terrifying. Two or more?

"I just…who does Blueberry think she is?" Mal sighed.

"I'm guessing someone who's going to quickly learn not to mess with you?" Virgil asked softly.

"You got that right!" Harry smirked as Mal and Uma fist bumped again.

Mal nodded. "Oh, the next time I see that little blueberry, she'll be so covered in smoke bomb smoke she'll be blind," she growled, not noticing in her anger that Virgil hadn't stuttered. "I'll get Uma involved too! Blueberry won't know what hit her!"

"You could have just ignored it," Ben pointed out.

"Why?" Mal scoffed. "Unless you're saying the better revenge would have been to do nothing and let Blueberry stew in her own nerves, jumping at every cracking twig until she became a jittery mess?"

"…you really don't like Evie do you?"

"What gave it away?"

The pelting Evie would get would make the one she got when Jay, Uma and Harry all got their invites look tame.

Persephone sighed. She had hoped Mal would try to use a bit of diplomacy to reach out to Evie but then again, she was five at the time. Plus grudges were something Hades was notoriously known for—I mean he still resented Zeus for not getting eaten as a baby.

Hope Blueberry enjoys red hair for a while because she'll be hit with so many of Harry's smoke bombs that she'll have to!

"But…if what Evie says is true and it was her mother who handled the invites, should she really have gotten the smoke bomb pelting?" Kitty asked.

Mal shook her head slightly, not wanting to get too angry. She might take it out on Virgil which she didn't want. Virgil was letting her rant to him, he didn't ask to have her bite his head off.

Aurora smiled as she heard that; despite the hurt and the anger that Mal was feeling at the time she was still kind enough to try to not take it out on Virgil.

"And yet another hit to my rep," she heard Mal mutter.

Besides, she didn't want to risk admitting how much being left out had actually hurt.

Estelle got up and walked over to Mal, resting his heads on her leg. He wasn't sure why his Mali was so tense but he was happy to be by her.

"Good boy," she whispered, scratching him behind the ears.

Virgil got up from the sofa, catching Mal's attention. "W-Wait right there Mal," he told her, the stutter returning but not as bad as it had usually been, before he quickly raced over to his room.

"You gave him a room?" Zeus asked Hades.

"Of course!" Hades said, rolling his eyes at his brother's surprise. "The kid's a timid mess most of the time. You really think he'd be able to handle the Isle at night?"

Hades wasn't horrible after all, his minions deserved a place to crash if they got overworked and errand rats fell under the 'minions' category. Not to mention Virgil was eight. There were some days where it was just too dark at the end of a day for him to head back to Vanessa if Panic worked past sunset.

"That was really smart Uncle Hades," Uma said. "After all, the hyenas and the big cats patrol the Isle at night. Virgil might have gotten a pass from the hyenas since we had our alliance with them but Zira or Shere Khan wouldn't have cared."

Walking back into the den, Virgil held up a can of what looked like liquid but the solid nature of the can made it hard to tell. "Let's have our own party," he said.

"Aw!" Ariel couldn't help but let out a soft sigh at the image that produced. Her two cousins having a celebration of their own.

"What's that?" Mal asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I f-found it when I was scoping out the barge," Virgil said, setting the can down on the table in front of them. "The c-can caught my eye—the bright red seemed out of place. I think it m-might be a Boreadon drink."

"Oh that's right," Chip nodded. "I think we started sending soda to the Isle around that time."

Mal paused and looked over at the older boy. "You'd trust something from Boreadon?"

It was Ben's turn to feel as if he'd been punched in the gut. At five, Mal had trouble trusting the food and other deliveries they sent. He was the future King, hearing that people in his kingdom were living like this…

"If you don't trust it, I'll take the first sip," Virgil told her, shrugging a little.

Mal shook her head. "No, no. I just mean…what's the catch?"

Belle sighed. A five year old shouldn't have to think there was a catch to someone being nice to them.

"No catch Mal," Virgil told her. "Just something that I thought might brighten the day. You deserve to have a party too," he said, holding the can out for her to take. "It's something Blueberry doesn't get to have. Besides, you might like it and if you don't, just spit it out."

"He knew exactly what to say to get you to take it," Uma said with a slight chuckle.

"Hey, did anyone notice Virgil's stutter's almost nonexistent?" Jay asked.

Poseidon couldn't help but smile a little at that. He assumed it meant that his grandson felt at ease around Mal.

Mal nodded and took the can, still a little unsure but trusting her gut. Virgil wouldn't give her something dangerous on purpose.

"He'd be too nervous to do so," Harry nodded.

"Yeah, he's the one person we can trust outside of the crew to not betray us," Jay added.

"Mainly because as Mal said, he'd spend a week overthinking it," Uma chuckled.

Opening the can, Mal took a small sip of the liquid inside. Her eyes widened as the liquid touched her tongue. "It's sweet," she said after she swallowed. "It's like a sweet version of the bottled water Lord Hades has at his restaurant."

Chip sighed. "It'd gone flat," he said. "Mal would have mentioned if there were any bubbles from the carbonation."

"Is sweet good?" Virgil asked.

"It's very good," Mal said with a grin, taking another small sip.

Ben made a mental note about the color of the can. Granted a red can wasn't exactly the most descriptive but hopefully he could find the soda and make it available for Mal and the others to have at the school.

Virgil returned the grin and his shoulders sank in relief. "Oh good," he said.

"What, was he worried you wouldn't like it or something?" Elle asked.

"Knowing Virgil? More than likely," Mal nodded.

"Hang on, I'll get you a cup," Mal said, setting the can down. "If this is supposed to be our party, I shouldn't be hogging the drink."

"How sweet!"

"You're only doing that because your mother's reading the scroll, aren't you?" Mal asked, glaring slightly at Emma. The intensity of the glare, though, was diminished by the faint flush on Mal's cheeks.

"Okay," Virgil said softly as Mal walked into the kitchen. To her surprise, Hades and Persephone were in there and they seemed to be deep in conversation though it stopped once Mal walked in.

"Was everything okay?" Demeter asked, looking over at her daughter.

"The six month mark was about to come up," Persephone told her and Demeter nodded, understanding what Persephone was saying.

"Mal, honey," Persephone said, her tone hesitant as if she didn't want to have the conversation. "Can I have a word with you?"

"Worst thing a parent could ever say. Gets you to think about everything you've ever done," Emir nodded.

"Um…sure Lady Steph," Mal said, walking up to her. She wasn't really in the mood to talk but this was Steph. "What's up?"

Persephone let out a small sigh before looking at the young purple haired girl. "Sweetie, there's no easy way to say this but..I have to leave—"

Eugene hid a wince. During his time in the orphanage as a kid, he had heard that phrase more times than he could count and no matter how many times he heard it, it still stung.

Mal froze, unsure of what Persephone meant by that. "Like to go to the docks?" She asked, hoping that's what Steph meant.

Cinderella hid a sad smile at the childish innocence in Mal's question even though there was a desperation to keep Persephone there.

"No honey," Persephone said with a small sad smile. "I have to go back to Auradon."

"What?!" Mal exclaimed. Way to make a horrid day worse, she thought with a small frown.

"Mal—"

"I can't do this," Mal muttered, shaking her head. First Blueberry's party and now this! I have to get out of here!

It was Jay's turn to look over at Uma and tilt his head softly to the side. Uma picked up the hint and wrapped her arm around Mal's shoulders, squeezing it slightly.

"No matter what, we're here for you Mali," she whispered. "Ruthless yet Loyal right?"

"Right," Mal whispered back.

Rushing out of the kitchen and past Virgil who was still in the den, Mal set her sights for the clubhouse.

"But…there wouldn't be anyone there," Melody said, her voice soft as if she wasn't sure if she should comment.

"Exactly," Mal stated, her voice flat—clearly not in the mood to talk about that.

The one place that wouldn't ruin her day. Granted that'd be because no one would be in there but that didn't matter!

It shouldn't matter whether or not people are there. Mal should feel safe enough to be able to show all her emotions, Akiho thought.

Shaking her head, Mal shoved down the frustration she was feeling. She would never admit it out loud but amidst the frustration, she felt a tiny bit of sadness too. Of course Steph was leaving! Why wouldn't she? She had the chance to go to Boreadon after all! What was Mal compared to that?

"Oh honey," Persephone said softly. "Trust me, I would much rather be with you than be alone in Auradon."

Mal nodded slightly, not trusting herself to speak at that. While she knew her mom loved her, she was still waiting for the other shoe to drop with the AKs. They had been rather quiet.

Reaching the clubhouse, Mal threw a rock to open the gate. No one need ever know it took more than one try due to the tears welling in Mal's eyes.

Mal's back stiffened and she braced for the onslaught of comments to finally come, effectively destroying her reputation among the AKs as someone dangerous and not to mess with.

But they never came. Oh sure, they might have thought that Mal was just a kid, like them, but none of the AKs said it out loud.

Though in Audrey's case, it was because her mother was watching her like a hawk.

Racing up the stairs, Mal burst into the clubhouse shaking. Wrapping her arms around herself to try to stop the tears that were threatening to fall, Mal sat down on one of the milk crates.

Audrey rolled her eyes. Honestly, how dramatic did Mal have to be?

She should have known it was too good to last. But did it have to happen the same day as Blueberry's party? Couldn't the Fates have given her only one blow today?

Persephone sighed. That was a fair point, and she could have waited a day or even a week to tell Mal. After all, she was in the kitchen listening to Mal's rant; it wasn't as if she didn't know.

But…there was a part of her that had seen Mal in the kitchen and didn't want to lose her nerve. The longer they waited to tell her, the worse it could have been.

"Mal….oh honey. Sweetheart, let me explain."

"You followed her?" Hera asked.

"Of course I did," Persephone said. "Wouldn't you?"

"Steph?!" Mal exclaimed, looking up upon hearing her step mother's voice. "How'd you get up here?"

"I'm going to guess it's not that hard to figure out how to get into the clubhouse," Phillip Jr. said, his voice trailing off as Melody and Evan both gave him a look

Persephone didn't answer but gave Mal a sad smile as she knelt down, wrapping her arms around the young girl. She had followed Mal as soon as the young girl rushed out of the kitchen and had seen Mal throw the rock to open the gate. But even if she hadn't seen her, Persephone did have eyes. She would have seen the small pile of rocks by the 'falling rocks' sign and may have put two and two together.

"Huh," Uma said. "I didn't think about that. We should figure out a way to change that."

"I…I have a couple of ideas," Carlos said. "A…a pulley system? Where there's a rope attached to the sign?"

Jay shook his head. "That'd make it more obvious than the rocks. At least the rocks could be explained away as being part of nature."

They should have furniture in here, if this is going to be Mal's hide out, Persephone thought as she glanced around the room. At the very least chairs instead of milk crates.

"Really Steph?" Hades murmured, shaking his head.

"Am I wrong?" Persephone murmured back to him.

"Mal honey, it's not forever," Persephone told her, breaking herself out of her thoughts. "It's just for six months and then I'll be back."

"Why?" Mal whispered. "W-what did I do?"

Belle's heart broke for the young girl while Mulan found herself longing to stick her sword through Maleficent for putting so much doubt into the confident teen that sat before her.

Lord Hades and Lady Persephone are to thank for that, not Maleficent, she thought.

She didn't mean to voice her insecurities but there was only so much a girl could take in a day before it became too much.

You know, bad enough that my insecurities are being read aloud to the Boreadon elite who are the reason I was trapped on the Isle but did they have to be read in front of Blueberry too? Mal thought, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Oh Mal," Persephone said with a small, sad smile as she brushed a bit of hair out of Mal's eyes. "You didn't do anything. This has been the arrangement since the Isle was created. It's the deal Zeus made with King Beast and my mother."

"Because someone didn't like the fact that I fell in love with my husband," Persephone said, raising an eyebrow at Demeter.

"Stupid deal," Mal muttered. "Why can't you just stay here all the time? What can King Beastie even do if you refuse to leave? You're a Goddess after all."

"Well nothing but Steph wouldn't be able to help the Isle if she was on the Isle year round," Hades said, his voice soft.

Persephone sighed. "It's the way the deal is set up Mal. Besides, we got lucky in its set up. The deal could be worse. I could not be allowed to see you two at all."

"No!" Mal exclaimed before she could stop herself, her eyes widening and shaking her head a little.

"I'm with Mal on that! That doesn't happen right?!" Hadie exclaimed.

"Oh honey," Persephone said with a small smile. "If I wasn't able to see your father and sister, you wouldn't have been born."

"I know sweetie," Persephone said softly. "Six months isn't much but it's better than nothing right?"

"But…" Mal said softly. She hated feeling like this but she couldn't help it.

Feelings are normal Mal. The fact that Maleficent hasn't removed them and made you just like her only proves that you're stronger than her, Ben thought with a small smile. The VKs were good. They just needed a chance.

"I know sweetheart but I'll be back. I always am. Plus I'll call on the portal every day I'm gone."

Mal gave Steph a weak smile. It was a little reassuring to know that Steph would be in contact even if she wasn't there in person.

Persephone gave her daughter a small smile as Uma continued to wrap an arm around Mal's shoulders, giving her as much of a hug as she could surrounded by the Auradon royals.

"Mal I promise, six months will be over before you know it."

"And…you will come back right? Promise?" Mal asked softly, looking up at her.

"I will always come back for you and your brother," Persephone promised.

"I promise sweetheart," Persephone said with a small nod. "I'm just sorry I'll be missing your birthday."

Mal shrugged. "My birthday doesn't really matter."

Emir and Akiho glanced at each other. They normally handled Ben's birthday parties but they'd be more than happy to throw one for Mal.

In fact, someone would have to stop them!

"Think Hadie would know Mal's birthday?" Emir muttered to Akiho.

"Worth a shot," Akiho muttered back.

"It does to us Mal," Persephone said with a slight frown. She hadn't expected Maleficent to make a huge deal about Mal's birthday but from the sounds of things, the Fae seemed to just ignore it entirely.

"Yeah well is anyone really surprised?" Phillip Jr. asked. "Maleficent's not a mom. She shouldn't even be called a parent with how she treats Mal."

Mal just shrugged again and Persephone vowed that if she ever came face to face with Maleficent, the Fae wouldn't know what hit her.

"Again, can I sell tickets if and when this occurs?" Chip asked.

"We'll do something special for your birthday when I get back. Okay Mal?"

"Oh boy did we," Mal let loose a soft chuckle as Estelle gave her a gentle lick on the hand.

"If you insist," Mal muttered but couldn't help but smile a little at the idea of someone other than Uma and Harry celebrating her birthday.

"And Jay!" Jay exclaimed, looking over at Mal. "What, did you think I'd ignore it?"

Persephone nodded. "Now, how about we head back? I'm sure your father is wondering whee we ran off to."

"Actually I was busy stemming Virgil's rambling as he was worried he'd done something to upset Mal," Hades said.

"Oh the poor thing," Snow White said softly. "He sounds like a sweetheart."

"Okay," Mal said softly.

The two of them got up and started making their way back to the Underworld. Persephone couldn't help but give Mal a small smile.

I may be leaving the Isle Mal but I'm not leaving you, she thought. I would never leave you and I never will.

Persephone nodded. No matter what, if Mal needed her she would find a way to get to her.

Persephone wanted to grab Mal's hand, to let her know that she would always be there. Normally though they wouldn't risk it, as Maleficent's spies would be everywhere.

Hercules glared slightly at the scroll. Mal should have been able to hold her mother's hand in public without fear of Maleficent.

However, today the streets were empty. Everyone was likely either at Evil Queen's party for her daughter or at Maleficent's likely getting yelled at for their latest incompetence. Gently taking Mal's hand, Persephone couldn't help but smile a little when Mal didn't pull her hand away.

"Aww!"

"Uma, the AKs are corrupting your sister!" Mal exclaimed as Celia smirked.

"Urusla?" Naveen asked.

Celia shook her head. "I don't know who my mom is but it doesn't matter because I've got Uma and Freddie."

"I thought—."

"There's a girl on the Isle also named Freddie," Mal explained as Phoebus looked at them with a frown. "We like her. We hate the boy Freddy."

The two quickly made their way back to the Underworld where Hades had taken Virgil's place in the den.

Looking up as his two girls walked in, Hades glanced at Persephone as if silently asking a question.

"Don't you just love the hidden parental language all parents seem to have?" Ashaki asked, shaking her head.

"I told her," Persephone said softly as Mal gave Hades a small, sad smile that Hades returned.

"Hey dad, at least now you had someone to miss mom with!" Hadie pointed out.

"Hey Mali? You want to have a spray paint lesson?" Hades asked, thinking that might cheer the younger girl up. He didn't even notice he had referred to her by the nickname he'd given her as a baby.

Hades smiled as he thought back to that day. He hadn't thought about it, the nickname had just slipped out. But it felt right. Plus Mal hadn't said anything so he had figured it was okay to call her that.

"Really?" Mal asked as she perked up a little at the offer. She had found near empty cans of the stuff on the boats that came from Auradon but there wasn't anything that really made an impact. Besides, the little squirts she did get out of them were just ignored by Fred Frollo's gang as they marched into her territory.

"You mean our territory right cuz?"

"Right," Mal nodded, a smile growing on her lips as she realized what Uma was trying to do—distract attention from the emotional stuff by focusing on the territory drama.

There was no way to secure full cans of spray paint but it might be something they were able to make.

"I mean you can make anything if you set your mind to it," Rowyn grinned. "But if you manage to, I'd love to know how you do it. It'd save me a fortune in paints!"

"Yeah," Hades said, nodding his head a little as he smiled.

"Okay!"

"Remind you of anything?" Belle whispered to Beast.

"You mean like how Ben could be easily distracted from a bad mood with a book at that age?" Beast whispered back with a small chuckle.

Hades and Persephone couldn't help but chuckle a little at Mal's reaction.

"Come on," Hades told her, walking out of the den as Mal trotted after him; a small smile on her face. Persephone shook her head in amusement. While she wasn't entirely thrilled about the idea of Mal being so close to those chemicals, it would be okay as long as Hades was there with her.

"I wouldn't let anything happen to her," Hades promised.

"I know," Persephone nodded.

"Mom!" Mal exclaimed, the faint flush coming back as Uma, Jay, and Harry chuckled.

Well, time to prepare for another six months in Auradon, Persephone sighed. There really wasn't much to do to prepare as her 'Auradon' clothes were in her closet in her apartment off the Isle. All the preparation was really mental in getting used to not having Hades and now Mal around.

"It's the first two months that are the worst," Persephone said, shaking her head. "Though, it's the same the other way too; getting used to someone being there and wanting to do things for you."

Though now I can look into getting a certain four legged present for Mal, Persephone thought as she left the den. She and Hades had heard bits and pieces of Mal's rant to Virgil while they were in the kitchen; after the life Mal had so far it was safe to say she deserved to be spoiled as much as they could do so on the Isle.

Mal couldn't help but grin as Estelle wagged his tail.

"Is it safe to assume who the four legged present is?" Elle asked with a smile on her lips.

Mal was her daughter. Persephone may have to miss Mal's birthday because of the agreement but that didn't mean she wouldn't make it up to Mal when they saw each other again.

"It wasn't your fault though mom," Mal pointed out. "You didn't need to—."

"I wanted to," Persephone stated.

Snow White smiled at the interaction between mother and daughter. "That's the end of the scroll. Does anyone want to read next?"

"I'll read," Kit said.

"You know, I have to ask. How are we getting lucky to avoid spoiling the other scrolls?" Kit asked as he took a scroll. "It's not like they're labeled."

"You really think the Fates wouldn't have thought of that dear?" Cinderella asked him, giving her husband a small smile.

"Right…"

The months flew by and before Mal knew it, it was June and the day of her sixth birthday arrived.

Ben couldn't help but grin at the idea that he shared a birth month with Mal.

She didn't really expect much; Maleficent never really acknowledged it.

"Yeah well Maleficent doesn't matter much!" Phillip Jr. stated. "Who cares what she does?"

The only reason Mal knew it was her birthday was because she had asked Maleficent when she was three.

"…how did you survive before I joined your crew?"

"Sheer force of will Jay, sheer force of will."

Uma had asked about her birthday and Mal, being a reasonably innocent three year old,

Leah rolled her eyes at the idea that anyone on the Isle had ever been innocent. They were villains after all.

"Why am I not surprised you were involved somehow?" Jay sighed.

"Because we're inseparable!" Uma said with a grin, wrapping her arm over Mal's shoulders and pulling her close.

thought there had been no harm in asking the dragon the same question. Thankfully Maleficent had been in a reasonably good mood, having gotten the chance to torment the goblins, and so all Mal got was a terse response giving her the date.

"…I guess miracles do happen." Harry said, though he was in a bit of shock at the idea that Maleficent had answered the question.

After Mal found out, though, Uma and Harry had made it their mission to make sure they at least celebrated Mal's birthday the best they could.

Poseidon gave his granddaughter and her friend a kind smile, making a mental note to make sure they always had favorable seas if they ever got off the Isle and went sailing.

With the young Hook being a pirate, there was no doubt they'd be doing that.

Whether it was by trying to grab the freshest thing from the delivery barge they could or by snatching something from another Isle resident, they always made sure Mal had something on her birthday.

"You…you celebrated by stealing?" Jane asked. She decided not to comment on the delivery barge part, knowing it would likely just bring down the mood.

"Hey, it's their own fault for not keeping a closer eye on their stuff!" Uma declared and Harry nodded.

"That's how the Isle works," Jay stated. "If you want it you take it and if you can't take it you break it so no one else can have it."

Today, however, Mal woke up feeling a little excited for once. It was her first birthday where she had a parent who might do more than simply tell her the day she was born.

"Oh I can promise you Hades has something up his toga," Hera nodded.

Hades stared at her for a second. "…was that a compliment or an insult?"

"Yes."

"That in no way answers my question."

I mean, dad won't be able to do much since we're trapped on an Isle and Steph's stuck in Boredon but at least it'll be better than what the dragon provides, Mal thought as she got dressed and quickly scurried out of her 'room' at Maleficent's.

I really should have just stayed at the clubhouse. Gods, why did I risk a lesson on my birthday? Mal thought with a small sigh.

"I'm pretty sure a jab in the eye with a rusty spork would be better than anything Maleficent could provide," Chip muttered.

The last thing she wanted was for Maleficent to try to teach Mal a 'lesson' on her birthday.

"She better not have…"

"Dad! She didn't," Mal said, shaking her head. "I got out of there before she realized I had even spent the night."

"Good," Hades said though he was still mentally making a list of everything he could do to get back at Maleficent—even if he couldn't enact them until Hadie was off the Isle.

Thank the Gods the dragon still hasn't realized I was the only kid on the Isle not invited to Blueberry's birthday, Mal thought as she made her way to the clubhouse as per tradition.

She did though, Evie thought, softly biting down on her lip. It was around this time that dad went missing after all.

Opening the gate, Mal couldn't help but chuckle at the sight before her.

"Was it a bunch of mini snowmen doing a conga line?"

Mal wasn't exactly sure how to respond to that and so could only stare at Akiho for a minute.

"Dude, even I know it wasn't that," Ben shook his head.

"Ben, you say that as if you're not the smartest person on the Tourney team," Emir stated.

Clearly her cousin and friend had stayed up way too late preparing a makeshift party for her as they were slumped over on the milk crates.

Welp I was wondering when my rep would start taking the hit, Uma thought as the older royals let out a round of soft 'aww's'.

Finally! And I thought you wouldn't be joining me in my rep decimation cuz! Mal thought to her.

At least Harry's with us too, Uma thought.

A spray painted banner hung above them, reading 'Happy Birthday Mal" in dark purple.

"I thought you said you couldn't get full cans of spray paint?" Rowyn asked.

"Exactly," Mal nodded.

"But Mal had made a batch with Uncle Hades and had brought it to the clubhouse to test it out," Uma added.

"Where we just so happened to find it," Harry finished as Mal rolled her eyes. "Don't give me that look Mali! If you didn't want us to use it, you should have hidden it better!"

Shaking her head, Mal quietly walked over to Uma and shook her shoulder. "Uma?"

"Not now Mal," Uma muttered, sleep clearly still occupying her brain. "I need to get the clubhouse ready for Mal's party."

Mal chuckled. "If there's one thing I've learned about you cuz is that when you first wake up, you're not all there."

"Name one time that's happened!"

"You mean besides this scroll?"

"Yes!"

"Okay," Mal said with a smirk. "We were eight and you tried pulling the anchor up in the Lost Revenge by sticking your hand into Pirate's Cove after a nap."

"Oh?" Mal asked, amusement evident in her voice. "Well what's left to do?"

"We need… Mal ?!"

"Yes, I think Mal is necessary in order to properly celebrate Mal's birthday," Emir said as Aziz shook his head at his brother's tomfoolery.

"Good morning sleepyhead," Mal chuckled as Uma stared at her in shock, waking up from her slumber. "How late were you two here last night?"

"Didn't your parents wonder where you were?" Elle asked, looking over at the two VKs in question.

Uma, Mal, Jay, and Harry all stared at her for what felt like an hour but in reality was probably just a couple of minutes.

"Have…have you not been paying attention to any of the scrolls we've read?" Harry asked, being the first one to regain their ability to speak.

Elle flushed. "It was just a question," she muttered.

"I don't know," Uma said with a yawn and a stretch as she sat up. "Harry, Jay and I spent hours arguing over what color the banner should be.

"Jay wanted it yellow, Uma wanted it teal, and I wanted it red," Harry said. "And I still say it should have been red!"

"Even though my color of choice is purple?" Mal asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I didn't say our choices were smart, now did I Mal?"

Then Jay had to go and finish his quota for his dad and Harry and I finished the decorations."

Aladdin shook his head at the idea of a child having to fill a quota in order to be able to please their parent.

Though it makes me wonder…if dad hadn't left or if he had come back, would I need to fill a quota? I probably would have had to if he'd raised me among the Forty Thieves, he thought.

Mal gave her friend a small smile. "It's nice to know that Harry's accepted Jay in the group."

"It only took him what? Two months?"

"Yeah," Mal nodded as Harry rolled his eyes at Jay's smirk. "No one can say Harry's not stubborn."

"I think it's because Jay's taller than us," Uma chuckled. "He had an easier time hanging the banner. We almost used Harry's hook to secure to the wall before Jay swiped some sticky stuff from one of the shops. I didn't ask what it was and I don't want to know what it is."

"I'm not sure I want to know either," Emma stated, wrinkling her nose at the thought.

"Hey Mal," Harry said with a groan as he woke up, not even questioning the other girl's arrival. "Happy birthday."

"Gotta love how he doesn't even react to Mal showing up," Hyllus said, shaking his head.

"Thanks Harry," Mal said with a small smile. "Won't your dad be missing you at the counter though?"

Harry shook his head. "Captain papa won't notice I'm gone. Well he might but he won't do anything. Not if I tell him I'm making sure you have a great birthday. He's terrified of what the dragon might do, especially since I told him you never got an invite to Blueberry's party."

"Wouldn't that increase the likelihood of Maleficent finding out though?" Alexandria asked.

Harry froze and looked over at Mal. He honestly hadn't even considered that.

"Maleficent might murder him if she ever found out Hook was there when her own daughter wasn't," Uma said with a small smirk. She wasn't a fan of how Hook treated her first mate though she knew Harry still had a soft spot in his heart for the man. He was, after all, his only remaining parent.

Dad?

Yes Mali?

You're…you're going to keep an eye on Harry right? I know I didn't ask before I left but…

Mal, you didn't need to ask. Of course I'm looking out for him.

Mal sighed. Ever since Harry had turned six back in late April, about a couple of weeks after Blueberry's birthday, he had taken to calling his dad 'Captain Papa'. I mean, it made sense in a way considering Harriet called Hook 'Captain' while CJ still called Hook 'papa'. It just felt odd hearing it come from Harry.

Harry winced slightly at the memory. The first time the Captain had heard him say 'Captain papa' had also been the last time he had called his father by that title.

"Jay should be here soon," Harry said, breaking Mal out of her thoughts. "He's picking up the presents we got for you."

"You guys didn't have to—"

Okay so we're definitely throwing a party for her, Akiho nodded. In fact, we'll throw her so many birthday parties it'll get to the point she'll question it if there's not one!

"Yes we did Mal," Uma said firmly. "It's your birthday. We had to get you something since we all know the dragon won't acknowledge it."

"And at the time we didn't know about your relation to Uncle Hades because someone didn't think it important to tell us!" Uma added.

"Ease up Uma, you know why I didn't," Mal told her.

"Just because I know doesn't mean I have to like it!"

Mal sighed but didn't fight back. Even Jay had grown to see how much Maleficent's show of 'motherly affection' toward Mal was an act now that he was in the crew.

"Honestly I think Mama Odie could tell that it was an act," Jay muttered though he hated the fact that he hadn't been able to tell until he became part of Mal's crew.

That being said, Mal still wanted to be careful about how much Jay knew. It wasn't that she didn't trust him, but it was just that with Jafar in Maleficent's gang, the risk was higher.

Jay held back a sigh, knowing Mal had a point and that she trusted him now. But he wasn't going to lie, the thought that there had been a point where Mal hadn't trusted him…Mal was the closest thing he had to a little sister and while trust may have been rare on the Isle, he still thought he had Mal's.

The sound of the gate opening prevented any further conversation and the three of them rushed downstairs only to see Jay pushing what looked like a…bed?

"How…how in the name of ever loving gurgesmurf did you get a bed over there?!" Kitty exclaimed.

"Are we just making up words now?" Lucy asked, looking at her twin.

"Jay, I know you like stealing but did you steal someone's bed from them?" Uma asked in shock.

"I don't like stealing," Jay muttered.

"Yeah you do," Uma said. "Didn't you once say it's like buying whatever you want except it's free?"

"No," Jay chuckled. "This was by the barge. I checked it out—it's in decent shape. No mold on the mattress or anything. I know we like to sleep in the clubhouse on the odd days our parents lock us out but wouldn't it make more sense for there to be an actual bed for us to use?"

Gods, to be six or seven and to think of checking the mattress to make sure there wasn't any mold, Chip thought with a frown as some of the parents who were present muttered about the fact that the kids would get locked out of their homes.

"Honestly," Mal scoffed. "Did you think our parents would tuck us in and read us a bed time story? You all fought against these people! You know them!"

"I dunno Jay," Mal frowned and glanced up the stairwell, with all its twists and turns. "How are we going to get it up there?"

"We're VKs! We'd figure it out!" Jay declared.

"We were also six and seven respectively," Mal pointed out, effectively poking a hole in his logic.

Harry perked up. "Give me five minutes," he said and rushed off.

"Now who does that remind you of?" Cinderella asked as she turned to her husband, a smile pulling at her lips.

"What in the world got into him?" Mal asked and Uma shrugged before turning to Jay.

"Did you get the stuff we actually sent you for?" She asked and Jay smirked.

"Oh Uma, do you actually doubt me?"

"Yes," Uma said flatly.

"You wound me!" Jay exclaimed, causing Dizzy to giggle.

"Considering we sent you out for one thing and you came back with a bed ?"

"That is a fair point," Emma nodded.

"I just want to know how no one stopped him," Ashaki pointed out. "I mean, it's not like it's food that could be hidden in a pocket or something."

"Good point," Jay chuckled and patted a satchel that was hanging off the headboard of the bed. "But I got the stuff. Don't worry."

"Jay always comes through when you need him!" Hadie said with a grin.

Mal chuckled and shook her head in amusement. "Any chance I'll find out what the stuff is?"

I'd wager that it's something for your birthday Mali, Persephone thought as she bit her lip to keep a sigh from escaping. How she wished she could have been there.

"When Harry gets back," Uma told her. "Though depending on where he's gone, that could be hours from now."

"Oh ye of little faith cap'n," Harry shook his head.

To their surprise, the son of Hook only took a little over ten minutes before he arrived again; this time accompanied by his older sister and a petite blonde girl with a blue and white stripped shirt.

"Sammy's almost always with Harriet," Harry said. "She's almost like her shadow."

"Harry said you guys needed some help?" Harriet asked, brushing a bit of her brown hair out of her face.

"I thought your sister had black hair?" Mal asked.

"She does. She just went through a period where she wanted to try out brown hair," Harry shrugged. "I'll never understand girls."

"Jay found a bed and we want to put it in our clubhouse," Mal said. "But there's no way we'd be able to get it up those stairs on our own."

Harriet smirked before turning to her little brother. "So you came to me, your smarter and stronger older sister?"

"Gee, why does that sound familiar?" Rowyn shook her head, glancing over at Rachel.

"No, I came to you because you're bigger," Harry said. "Plus Captain papa won't notice you're gone for at least an hour since he's with Gaston."

"No one…—."

"Don't," Beast said, looking over at Chip. "That will be in my head all day if you finish that song."

"Oh come on!" Chip exclaimed.

Harriet chuckled. "Good point. Okay, so Jay and Harry, grab the end of the bed there. Mal, you and Uma take each side while Sammy and I take the head. Someone needs to be able to tell the boys when a corner's coming."

"Why didn't she do it?" Phillip Jr. asked. "Since she and Sammy were at the head and Harry and Jay were at the end, she'd be able to see when you all were approaching a corner."

"How does the question seem so logical coming from him and yet if it came from the Brat over there, Harry would take it as an attack on Harriet?" Uma muttered to Mal.

"I'll do it," Mal said, taking the left side.

"No need," Harry scoffed. "I know the stairwell by heart."

"Stubborn idiot," Mal muttered under her breath.

"So do I, Harry. But you've never walked it backwards before," Mal shot back as they picked up the bed.

"You know that actually sounds like fun!" Neal said.

They quickly got started as, even though they had two eight year olds with them, it was still a pretty heavy bed and they didn't want to carry it longer than they had to.

"I think even if we were grown adults, we still wouldn't want to carry that bed any longer than we had to," Uma stated.

"Does anyone need a break?" Harriet called as they stopped on the first landing.

"Bah," Harry scoffed. "Breaks are for wimps and the insipid mermaids of Neverland."

"Hey!" Elle and Melody exclaimed, the raven haired sister glaring slightly at Harry.

"You do know the Captain's not here right? He's not going to know if you don't spew his catchphrases," Harriet told him. "Sammy won't say anything anyway, right Sammy?"

Why am I not surprised Harry was using Hook's catchphrases even then? Mal thought with a small frown.

Sammy nodded and Harriet turned back to her brother. "So as I was saying, anyone need a break?"

"Wouldn't it be better to just do it all in one go?" Naveen asked. "That way, you don't have to think about picking the bed back up."

"Actually, taking breaks would be better," Phoebus stated. "Gives you a chance to reposition your hands and secure your grip."

"We took one while you and Harry were arguing," Uma said, shaking the slight pain out of her arms. She didn't know where Jay had found the bed but it seemed lighter than a bed should be.

"Hmm, that's odd," Macaria said. "You think it was enchanted?"

"But wouldn't the barrier stop that?" Lonnie asked.

Jane shook her head. "The barrier only stops evil magic. Enchanting a bed to be lighter to carry isn't exactly evil," she said though her voice got meeker as everyone turned to look at her.

Mal had the same thought too. Could this be Steph's doing? Mal thought. After all, Steph saw the clubhouse before she left for Boreadon and how it was lacking in furniture. How easy could it have been for her to make it so that there was a bed light enough for us to move? She is a Goddess after all, with access to options we could only dream of.

"Why Mal, I've no idea what you mean," Persephone said with an innocent look on her face that fooled none of the VKs, even the ones who weren't around the Goddess as much like Evie and Carlos.

Reaching the top of the stairwell, the six of them quickly positioned the bed against one of the walls in the clubhouse.

"Teamwork makes the dream work as coach always says!" Emir said with a nod of his head.

"Wow," Uma said softly. "We have a bed ."

Ariel wasn't sure how many times her heart could break as they read these scrolls but she was positive she felt it break once more upon hearing that line. No child should sound so amazed at having a bed.

"We do," Mal grinned. "Jay, I know you didn't mean to find the bed, but well done!"

Jay smirked. "My pleasure!"

Harriet and Sammy chuckled. "Well, we'll get out of your hair," Harriet said. "You four need us for anything else, just let me know."

"Of course we would! Harriet's the best!" Uma stated, her tone of voice almost challenging anyone to contradict her.

Harry gave Uma a grin upon hearing that, not noticing Jay and Mal's knowing look.

The two older girls turned to walk out before Harriet paused. "Oh Mal? Happy Birthday."

Mal smiled. Harriet was always a good ally, and a good crew member after they combined their crews.

"That was nice of her," Emma said with a smile.

"Thanks Harriet," Mal said with a small smile and the older girl left the clubhouse. There was a brief bit of silence before Harry turned to Jay.

"You got them?"

"Yes! The mystery's finally going to be over!" Chip exclaimed with a grin!.

"Oh! Right," Jay nodded. "They're in my bag. On the headboard right there."

Mal frowned. "Got what?"

"Your presents silly," Uma said with a smile. "Can't have a birthday without presents!"

"What kind of pirate would I be if I didn't get one of my captains some loot?" Harry asked.

Mal shook her head. "Guys, really. You didn't have to—"

"Did you hear something Jay?" Harry asked as he got Jay's bag off the headboard.

"Nope," Jay shook his head. "Only Mal saying 'thank you for my presents guys'."

"Hey, they're like your shadows Benji," Chip said with a small grin as Ben shook his head.

"Chip, you know Emir and Akiho go overboard—."

"When's the last time we did that?!"

Ben looked over at his best friends. "My birthday party last year. One of the ballrooms is still an ice rink."

"Oh yeah," Akiho chuckled. "That was fun."

"How did…?"

"Aunt Elsa came and helped us," Akiho said, looking at his mom who seemed almost confused by the thought.

Mal chuckled. "Well if you're going to insist…where's my loot?"

"There we go!" Evan said with a grin. "Best thing about birthdays is no one judges you when you ask that!"

"I judge you every day," Ruby told him.

"I know. But you don't count."

"And why not?"

"You're my sister."

"That's more like it," Harry smirked as he tossed Jay's bag to him. Jay caught it and took out two oddly wrapped parcels. It was clear that her friends had used whatever paper they could get their hands on to wrap them. Mal didn't care though.

"Who cares about stuff like that? It's just going to be used for fire fuel later anyway," Uma said with a shrug.

"Here Mal," Jay said, handing her one of the parcels. Mal raised an eyebrow as she felt it.

"A book?"

"Ben's favorite present!" Lonnie said.

"I like more than just books, Lon!" Ben shook his head.

"Just open it," Jay chuckled and Mal carefully unwrapped the parcel—the paper might prove necessary later and it was still in reasonably good shape. To Mal's surprise, a hard purple book awaited her.

"Hey! I think that's my old composition notebook!" Rowyn said, her eyes growing wide with excitement. "Were there brown stains on some of the pages and were they slightly crinkly?"

"I think so," Mal nodded.

"Then yep, that's mine! Rose knocked a soda on it when I was working one day."

"I said I was sorry!" Rose exclaimed. "Are you still judging me for that!"

"No because at least you didn't destroy my tablet like another sibling of ours," Rowyn said, looking over at Evan.

"Stop having open drink containers around things you don't want destroy, Ro," was all the younger boy had to say.

"I found it in the delivery barge," Uma said. "Whatever prince or princess in Boreadon who had it clearly didn't believe in waste not want not—there's about half the pages still remaining. You've been planning out our tags but there's only so much you can do with the water rings left from Uncle Hades' restaurant."

"Not to mention it'll be easier to edit your sketches," Rapunzel nodded. "Though I usually prefer blank paper to lined for drawing."

Mal nodded, grinning a little as she opened it. It was a lined notebook and it was clear that whoever threw it out hadn't cared much for keeping the pages intact; bits of the remaining paper still clung to the spine.

"What? It had my school notes in it and we had a test coming up," Rowyn said as some of the kids turned to look at her.

At least it's not pink , Mal thought as she set the book to the side. And I can easily find some charcoal or something at dad's place to use to sketch out the tags. Plus, since it's purple, people will know by sight that it's mine.

"So…you don't like pink?" Ben asked.

"I would think that would be obvious," Mal told him. Ben gave her a slightly nervous smile, trying not to think about the girl's dorm room and the pink walls they had set up.

"Well, it doesn't make any sense to say it since there's only two presents but open this one next Mal," Harry said, handing her the other parcel. Mal chuckled and quickly unwrapped it. To her surprise, a tri-cornered hat like the one Uma had started to wear stared back at her.

"You know, you should wear that hat more," Uma stated.

"If I did, the Dragon would learn that I had said hat and more than likely destroy it," Mal told her.

"We know normally a crew has one captain," Harry said.

"But we figured in this case we'd make an exception," Jay added with a small smirk.

"How sweet!"

"Take a shot!" Harry joked as Jay shook his head. Mal could only smirk though, it was about time her friends got some more hits to their reps.

"We wouldn't be a crew if it wasn't for you Mal," Uma stated. "You're my best friend, if I'm sharing power with anyone, it's you."

And I mean that one hundred percent, Uma thought with a small smile. A smile that Mal readily returned.

Mal stared at her friends in shock. She definitely hadn't been expecting that.

"Guys…"

"Besides, you can't expect Maleficent's daughter to be subservient in her own crew?" Jay joked and Mal rolled her eyes. It was corny but it helped ease the feelings that were choking up in the back of her throat.

Ben frowned slightly as he couldn't help but wonder once more if Mal and Jay were…well why wouldn't she be?

After all, Jay's already proven he can cheer her up while you're just the son of the people who're the reason she's on the Isle in the first place, he thought before shoving that thought out of his head. The contract. You've got the contract.

"How did you get it purple?" Mal asked, holding it up to look at it closer.

"Lady Tremaine's shop," Uma said. "The boys were a bunch of guppies walking in there but Anastasia said if we didn't make a mess, she wouldn't say anything about us being there."

"Wait, don't you guys make your smoke bombs using Granny's shop?" Dizzy asked.

"Sure do," Uma nodded.

"Making smoke bombs are different than going in there when Yzma's getting her hair done," Harry stated.

Mal nodded. The elder Tremaine sister never really kicked up a fuss about the kids coming into Curl Up and Dye the way her mother or younger sister would. "She hasn't been in for a while. Is she feeling okay?"

Cinderella frowned as she heard that. She might not have been the closest with her step sister but that didn't mean she wanted something to be wrong. "Was everything okay?"

"Oh yeah," Uma nodded, giving Celia a small smile.

"Probably just tired from taking care of her brat," Harry stated. "Anthony would lower anyone's energy level."

"Ugh, don't remind me," Uma shook her head. "He's not even here and he's already elevating my blood pressure."

"Don't you mean 'Lord Tremaine'?" Jay scoffed as they all chuckled.

"I swear, that boy's worse than Blueberry sometimes," Mal said, rolling her eyes as she put the hat on.

"You mean you actually hated Anthony more than Blueberry?" Celia asked.

"I wouldn't go that far," Mal told her. "Though if I had to rank the people I hated of the VKs, it'd be Freddy, Zevon, Blueberry and Anthony though the last two could change positions."

"Alright Mal, that's enough," Persephone said, lightly scolding her daughter.

"It suits you cap'n," Harry said with a small smirk.

"That's co -cap'n, Harry," Mal stated, giving Uma a small smile. "Uma was captain first, she's our main captain."

"Embodying the motto before we even thought of it, huh cuz?" Uma asked.

"You know it!" Mal told her.

"The motto?" Ben asked.

"Our crew's motto," Mal told him. "Ruthless yet Loyal. We stick with our allies and we destroy anyone who tries to harm them."

"Sounds like two other people I could mention," Ben said as he glanced over at his friends.

Uma smiled and stood a little straighter. "Well, as your captain, I order you to go and have a good birthday!"

"And those are orders that anyone should be happy to follow!" Kitty said with a grin.

"Aye aye Cap'n!" Mal said, giving her cousin a small salute. Her friends chuckled and before long the crew had to split up; each one of her friends expected back by their parents. Mal didn't mind though. That just meant that she could spend more time at her dad's.

"I'm happy for you Hades," Poseidon whispered to him.

Hades smiled slightly as he heard that. "…Thank you Poseidon. And, for what it's worth, give Uma some time. She'll come around."

"I'm surprised to hear that from you."

"Hey, you helped provide fish for the Isle and more than likely made my job easier as a result even if that wasn't your aim. We might not always be on the same side of the barrier but you will always be my brother."

"Dad?!" Mal called as she walked through to the Underworld.

"Oh Lady Mal!" Pain exclaimed as he walked past and Mal rolled her eyes.

"How many times have I had to tell them not to call me that?"

"8,921," Hades said, absently picking at his nails as Mal looked at him in shock.

"You counted?"

"Honestly I just wanted to see how many times it would take before it'd sink in for them."

Ever since her dad had told her the truth, his minions had been calling her 'Lady' Mal non stop. She wasn't a Lady—she was just Mal!

"Okay Just Mal!" Emir grinned.

"…they're going to be calling me that for the rest of the time here aren't they?" Mal asked, turning to Ben.

"More than likely," Ben nodded.

"Pain," Mal said with a small nod. "Is my dad in the kitchen?"

"Yes my lady."

"I am not a lady," Mal growled.

Well that much is obvious, Leah thought with an almost silent sniff.

"Don't call me that!" Mal exclaimed as Pain scampered away, obviously expecting a fireball that never came.

"Yet," Mal said with a small smirk. "Dad had to teach me how to conjure up one first."

Mal couldn't help but roll her eyes once more.

How did dad survive the six months without Steph with just those two before I came along? Mal thought as she made her way into the kitchen.

"As you said earlier Mali, sheer force of will," Hades sighed as he shook his head.

To her surprise, a similar scene to the one that had been at the clubhouse awaited her. Well, except for the fact that no one was slumped over asleep.

"Oh I'm sure Panic was off dozing somewhere," Hades said, shaking his head.

"Dad?" Mal asked, a little shocked at the fact that her dad had remembered or even known when her birthday was.

Just another reason to want to kill Maleficent for putting that doubt in Mal's head, Mulan thought. It was clear to anyone with eyes that Hades cared for his daughter and would do what he could to make her birthday a good one.

"You thought I wouldn't do anything?" Hades asked, giving his daughter a small smile. "Mali, I've waited six years to celebrate this day with you. Now, it's not much but I was thinking maybe some dinner and then maybe get a portal call from Steph? And then I've got something to show you."

"Why not just show her then?" Rose asked, tilting her head and then flushed as she realized what she asked and more importantly who she had asked the question to. "I'm so sorry—."

"It's a valid question," Hades stated. "And to answer, I wanted Steph to be part of it."

"Okay," Mal said with a small nod as she tilted her head slightly. "What's for dinner?"

"Chicken of course," Hades chuckled. "The way you scarf it down at the restaurant, I assumed it was your favorite. Unless you'd rather have something else?"

"No way!" Mal exclaimed.

"Lord Hades, have you tried making the chicken into a sandwich?" Akiho asked. "Or even a wrap? Which I think could be classified as a type of sandwich—."

"And we are cutting off the start of the hour long sandwich ramble," Emir stated.

Hades shook his head. "I have to admit, I'm intrigued."

"I can get you the necessary ingredients for a wrap," Persephone told him.

"I volunteer as taster!" Hadie declared.

"What?! No way, that's my job!" Mal cried.

"You're in Boreadon, you can't really be a taster!"

"Dad!" Mal said, giving her brother a teasing grin as she turned to look at her dad.

"He's got a point Mali," Hades said. "But Hadie, you won't be the only tester."

Mal shook her head. "Nope! Chicken's fine!"

Hades grinned. "Okay, well you can come over here and help if you want. Or you can stay over there and offer commentary?"

Mal tapped her chin in mock thought. "Snide commentary is what I'm good at though!"

"Well it's more like sarcastic commentary," Mal amended.

"You got to love sarcasm," Uma said. "It's like punching someone in the face, but with words."

"Ooh I like that!" Lonnie told her.

"Well every chef needs a critic," Hades teased and Mal stuck her tongue out at him, causing Hades to chuckle once more.

Audrey rolled her eyes. Honestly, she couldn't believe Ben thought someone like that would be a good fit in Auradon!

Mal watched as her dad quickly got to work on dinner; the sounds of sizzling chicken quickly filling the kitchen.

Mal, Hadie, Harry, Jay, and Uma grinned; they could almost smell the chicken right there.

"Hey dad?" Mal asked after a few minutes of silence. "Do you have any charcoal or something I could use?"

Hades chuckled a little. "Well that's an odd question. Why do you need charcoal?"

"To start a fire of course!"

"Ease up on the sarcasm Mal," Jay chuckled.

"Uma, Harry and Jay got me this for my birthday," Mal said, holding up the notebook. "I want to break it in but I don't have anything to draw with."

"If we didn't have it, one portal call could solve that," Hades said.

"Yeah, mom can get anything," Hadie nodded.

Hades couldn't help but smile at that; he loved seeing Mal doodling with the condensation from the water glass or drawing in the sand by the docks whenever he made his way to Hook's.

"So what's your preference? Sand? Water?" Rowyn asked, looking over at Mal.

"Spray paint," Mal stated.

"Neat! I'm more preferential to oil based paint but I'd like to give spray paint a try."

Eugene shook his head. "Kit, you'd better go ahead and read before we're here for five hours."

"Dad! I'm not that bad!"

"I've timed you Ro," Eugene said, giving his daughter a small smile.

With the popularity of the restaurant picking up, it had gotten to the point where he needed to have two delivery pickups and he wasn't going to have Mal or Virgil be overworked.

Let no one say he didn't care about the kids, Persephone thought with a small smile. Hades can try and say he doesn't care about anyone on the Isle but he's one of the few adults on the Isle who do care about the kids. Daniel was another one but…we haven't seen him for years.

"We should have some around here somewhere," Hades said. "Or I can ask Steph to pick some up for when she comes back from Boreadon."

Persephone raised an eyebrow. "Really dear?"

"This was supposed to be one of those 'what Steph doesn't know won't hurt her' sort of a thing," Hades told her.

Mal nodded slowly, clearly not happy with that answer but not wanting to make a fuss. It didn't matter anyway as dinner was quickly ready soon after that. Hades plated the chicken and presented it to Mal.

"Did you speed up the cooking so Mal didn't have to think about the lack of charcoal?" Poseidon asked, looking over at Hades.

"I can neither confirm nor deny," Hades stated.

"Dig in Mali," Hades said with a small smile. "I'll plate my own but you don't have to wait for me."

And that's how a parent should act. Making sure the kids get their food first before getting their own, David thought.

That was all the invitation Mal needed to start tearing into the chicken. It tasted better than it normally did, which was a high bar to clear as her dad's cooking was always pretty good. It was hard to say what it was; maybe there was some new seasoning?

"You all honestly think I remember how I prepared chicken over ten years ago?" Hades exclaimed as everyone turned to look at him.

Hades couldn't help but smile as he ate his dinner. He hated the fact that he couldn't spoil Mal more than what the Isle would allow but at least he could do this much. Besides, at least she was with him and not with the dragon.

"I think we spoiled her plenty though dear," Persephone said as Estelle wagged his tail, licking Mal's hand and nudging it with his nose as a hint that he wanted pets.

"Lord Hades?" Pain's voice broke through the silence as the two of them finished up their dinner.

"Yes?"

"There's a call on the portal from Lady Persephone," Pain said and Hades' heart swelled as he saw the grin that appeared on Mal's face at the little imp's words.

"Portal calls from mom are the best!" Hadie declared with a grin of his own.

Great timing Steph, Hades thought as he helped Mal down before she raced to the portal room.

"It's a gift," Persephone said even as she smiled hearing about young Mal racing to talk to her.

"Mal!" Persephone exclaimed in delight as Mal burst into the room. "Oh sweetie, happy birthday!"

"Thanks Steph," Mal said with a small smile.

"I wish I could be there to celebrate with you in person," Persephone sighed, the smile still on her lips. "But I'm sure your friends and your father have made it a good one?"

"They made it one of the best birthdays I've ever had," Mal said and her three friends and her dad gave her a grin upon hearing that.

Mal nodded. "They have! Oh Steph, that reminds me. Did you send a bed to the Isle from Boreadon?"

"Why would you think Lady Persephone would send a bed?" Audrey scoffed.

"What do you mean Mal?" Persephone asked, though the small smirk on her face betrayed the innocent look she was going for. Mal could only smirk in response as Hades walked into the room.

"You sent it, Lady Steph?" Harry asked.

"Of course I did," Persephone said. "And for the millionth time Harry, you don't have to call me by my title."

"Hey Steph," Hades said with a small smile. "How was your day?"

Persephone sighed. "Oh you know the usual. I won't bore you with the details—not on Mal's birthday of all days."

"Aww!" Hadie couldn't help but pout a little. He liked the details!

Mal chuckled a little at that. She loved hearing about Steph's day, if only because it normally came with a running commentary from her dad. She never knew how many different ways there were to call someone a moron before until she met her dad.

"Seems Mal had the same thought as you," Dizzy told Hadie with a grin.

"Have you shown her yet?" Persephone asked, looking at Hades.

"Showed me what?" Mal asked but Hades shook his head.

"I wanted to wait until after you called," he told Persephone. "I figured we'd make the offer together."

"What offer?" Chad asked.

"If you let dad read, we'll find out," Lucy said, rolling her eyes.

Mal tilted her head in slight confusion. What offer? What were they talking about?

"Mali," Hades said gently, kneeling down to get to her level. "I know you live at Maleficent's right now but what would you say if I offered you a place to sleep here?"

"I'm pretty sure if I said anything other than 'yes', you can assume I'm spelled or something," Mal said with a small shrug.

Mal paused. "You mean like I would live with you?"

"If that's what you would want," Hades said. "It's completely up to you though. I know you've spent five years living with your mother so if you'd rather—"

"Honestly I don't know why we tried to delude ourselves by calling Maleficent my mother," Mal shook her head. "Mom's my mom."

"No!" Mal said, cutting Hades off; the excitement of what that meant rushing through her body. "No, I…I want a room here."

I would have given anything for an offer like that when I was around Mal's age, Cinderella thought.

Hades grinned and Persephone smiled from her spot in the portal. They had waited years to hear those words and they sounded just as sweet as they imagined them.

Every parent wants to know their child is somewhere they feel safe, Fairy Godmother thought with a small smile.

"But wait, Steph asked if you had showed me something?" Mal asked, looking at her father in confusion and slightly tilting her head.

Hades chuckled. "Well you're going to need a place to hang your hat after all," he told her, patting the hat that was still on Mal's head. "Virgil and I have been working on getting a room set up for you."

Mal smiled as she thought about her room. It was honestly the best gift she could have gotten—as well it allowed her to keep the items she cared about safe. The items the Dragon would have destroyed upon sight. Like her sketchbook or her hat.

"Really?" Mal asked. "But what if I'd said no, that I didn't want it?"

"It would have still been here for you Mali," Hades said gently. "For whenever you did want it."

"No matter how old you got, the room would always be there for you," Hades told her.

Mal couldn't help but smile at that.

"Go and show her dear," Persephone said. "I'll stay on the line for when you get back."

Hades nodded and held out a hand for Mal to take. Gently taking the offered hand, Mal followed Hades out of the portal room to one of the spare rooms. It was actually the only room she hadn't been in since she had been over in the Underworld. The door was always shut but sometimes she would catch Hades or Steph staring at it fondly.

Persephone couldn't help the slightly sad smile that formed as she heard Kit read that. She was glad that Mal had said yes to the room but she wished she could have been there in person.

At least now you'll get to see her reaction, she thought and some of the sadness faded from her smile.

Now, though, Mal had to chuckle as she came to the door; painted a dark shade of purple. It was so dark it almost looked like black but Mal could tell the difference.

"Of course you could," Uma shook her head. "Honestly if it was possible to hoard sketchbooks, you would Mali. Little miss artist."

"Hey the more sketchbooks I have, the better designs we can have for our tags," Mal smirked.

"Ready?" Hades asked as he put his hand on the doorknob. Mal nodded, a little excited. Hades gave a small smile as he opened the door and Mal couldn't help but grin. It truly wasn't much, but what it was was better than she could ever imagine.

"You gave her a room?" Zeus asked but unlike the last time he had asked, his voice was lacking any surprise. Instead, there was a small note of something that was hard to place if one wasn't listening closely.

For Zeus couldn't help but be jealous in that instant of his older brother. For he had wished that Hercules had chosen to live on Olympus with him and Hera instead of them being forced to say goodbye to their son just five minutes after getting to see him in person rather than through a statue.

"Of course I did," Hades stated. "She's my daughter."

Sure she had a room at Maleficent's but that was just for show than anything else. After all, the dragon couldn't have it get out that her daughter slept in a closet or anything.

"It wasn't actually a closet was it?" Cinderella asked, her voice soft as she thought back to her attic bedroom which had been provided by the 'goodness' of her stepmother.

Mal shrugged. "Doesn't matter, I was barely there as I got older."

Here, she had a bed and a dresser and a bookshelf with more books than she thought were on the Isle. Sure the furniture was clearly used but Mal didn't mind. She wasn't a prissy princess, she was a dragon.

No, Mal thought as she glanced at her dad. I'm a Cerberus.

"And Cerberuses are so much better than dragons!" Hadie said with a grin as Estelle yipped in agreement.

"First of all, it's 'Cerberi' storm cloud. And second of all, dragons are still pretty cool," Mal said.

Ben nodded. "Did you know that supposedly if you bathe in the blood of a dragon, it allows you to see into the future?"

Everyone paused and turned to look at the future King. Some had a look of shock on their faces while others, like Chip, Akiho, and Emir, just looked bemused.

"How…how do you even know that?" Lonnie asked.

"Why do you know that?" Mal added.

Ben shrugged. "There's not a lot of books on dragons in the library at home so I tried to read as much as I could."

"How….?"

"I'm your dad Mal," Hades said. "When it comes to making sure your kid's happy, not even a magical barrier'll stop a parent. I know it's not much but it's got the bones to be a—"

"It was perfect, dad," Mal said, her voice soft but still loud enough so that Hades could hear her.

Whatever Hades was going to say was cut off by the hug Mal gave him. Normally Mal would have kept her cool and freaked out in private. But now, knowing she had another option other than the clubhouse on nights where she didn't want to stay at Maleficent's? A place where she could truly be her and not some carbon copy of the dragon?

That's all you need to be Mal. You never have to be a copy of anyone, Persephone said, sending a message through the mental link.

Best. Birthday. Ever.

Hades grinned as he heard that, happy that he could give Mal a good birthday for once.

"I have to say, that was a more cheerful scroll than the previous ones," Kit noted.

"Hey we can have good days on the Isle," Hades told him. "And before anyone asks, I'll read."