Chapter Twenty Three

A/N: I do not own anything other than my OCs when they come out to play. Everything else belongs to either Disney or the Greek Myths.

*shakes head in amazement* Guys I can't believe we're only 25 reviews away from 300! Thank you all so much for your continued support, it means the world! As always, a special thank you to AmethystDragon14 for all your help in being a sounding board for ideas and just generally helping get the plot going.

Oh yeah, if you guys recognize the songs, it would be because I had a nostalgia trip over the weekend and watched both Tangled the Series and the Rugrats Movie.

Hope you all enjoy this chapter and let me know what you think! :D

Mal groaned as the little storm cloud's cries continued to ring through the Underworld. It had only been about three weeks or so but the little brat was as obnoxious as could be. What was worse was the fact that he seemed to take up all of Steph's time. Mal hardly got to see or spend time with her step mother since the little storm cloud was born.

What did you expect? She's his mother! Mal thought as she tore yet another page out of her sketchbook, balling it up and tossing it in the corner where it joined the growing pile of pages containing ruined tag idea after ruined tag idea. The constant crying was making it hard to concentrate, and the interrupted sleep made drawing difficult since Mal kept messing up making it so the drawing didn't turn out right.

She hated wasting the paper but at least it could be used as fuel if they ever needed to make a fire. Plus the page had been filled to the brim with tag attempts, there was almost no white space remaining. If she could find a spot to attempt a tag, it wouldn't have the space needed to be good.

Uma was right after all, little siblings were useless. At least Uma didn't have to worry about Celia replacing her though.

Dad did try though, Mal thought as she started on a fresh tag. The day the storm cloud was born.

Mal shook her head. She hated thinking about that day...the day her life got turned upside down and not in a good way.

"Mali?" Hades called, knocking lightly on Mal's closed door a few hours after Hadie was born. Mal laid on her side, her back facing the door. She really didn't want to see her dad right now. She didn't want to hear the news that she'd been replaced. It'd been bad enough just seeing her replacement, she didn't want to have it said out loud.

"Mal, come on. I just want to talk. You were so excited when Steph was pregnant, what changed?"

"You promised me a sister," Mal muttered under her breath. Later on, when Mal looked back on this time of her life, she would realize that neither Steph nor Hades ever actually said the storm cloud would be a girl. But in the moment, all Mal cared about was the fact that her dad had a son all his own.

Hades sighed. "I'll leave you alone for now Mal. But I do want to talk to you. I'll see you in the morning okay?"

Mal stayed quiet as she listened to his footsteps grow softer and softer, the only noise other than Estelle's scratching at the door. She knew her boy wanted to go see her dad, she did too. But...she didn't want to get hurt twice in the same day.

Is this what Maleficent meant by love is weakness? Could...could the dragon actually be right about something? Mal thought as the storm cloud's cries broke through her thoughts and Mal grabbed a pillow to cover her ears.

"Stormy please...rest your head. Now it is, time for bed. Please stop, don't you see? I want Steph and dad for me," Mal sang softly, pressing the pillow to her ears to block out the wails and closed her eyes as she imagined a world where it was just her, her dad and Steph.

A world where it hadn't been the worst day of Mal's life-and considering how many bad days she'd had in the seven years she'd been alive that was saying something. After all, good days weren't exactly common with Maleficent as your birth giver.

Estelle whimpered as the little storm cloud's cries seemed to grow louder. Mal rolled her eyes—she knew what that meant.

Here comes dad, with another attempt for me to bond with my replacement, Mal thought with an inward scoff as she brought her sketch book higher and closer to her face as if to act as a shield. No thank you! I can stay in this room for as long as I possibly can dad! One of the only good things about growing up around Maleficent: hunger doesn't bother me!

After all, was skipping lunch really all that bad when the other option was spending time with…him?

Gods, a sister. All I wanted was a sister and you couldn't even do that! Instead dad had to have a bouncing baby brat! Was this some punishment from Zeus, for being part Maleficent?

"Mal?" Hades' voice came from the other side of Mal's closed door, and Mal was surprised not to hear the usual crying. She hadn't even heard the cries fade as her dad walked away from the door the first time he'd come by. Guess she'd been in the zone so to speak. "Hadie's gone down for a nap if you'd like to join us for lunch?"

Mal grinned and hopped off the bed, putting her sketchbook away as to avoid it getting ruined somehow. While she had been prepared to skip lunch to avoid spending time with the storm cloud, she wasn't a complete fool. Nothing was worth skipping her father's cooking.

The little beastie might have replaced her in the family but there was no way she was missing out on lunch because of the little demon. Wait no demon would be a compliment to him wouldn't it? Because of his connection to her father. Mal would have to revisit that particular insult.

"There she is," Hades grinned as Mal opened the door.

"Dad, you saw me this morning," Mal said, rolling her eyes. "You know, at breakfast?"

"Yeah well that doesn't mean I don't like seeing my daughter," Hades told her as the two of them made their way to the kitchen. "Hey, Steph brought this stuff back from Boreadon—it's a type of paste that they put on food. Supposedly adds flavor to whatever they put it on. You want to try it out for lunch today?"

Mal shrugged. Food was food after all, and why would her dad want to mess with stuff that was already good?

"I'm taking that as a yes," Hades said as he picked her up and sat her by the counter. Despite being seven, Mal still hadn't grown all that much. That being said, she wasn't going to complain. Not when it meant a rare bit of attention from her dad in this post storm cloud era of her life. "Give me fifteen minutes and then lunch will be served."

"Okay dad," Mal said with a small nod as she swung her feet, trying to find a way to amuse herself without her sketch book since she had left it in her room. She could try to practice her magic but what was the point? Her fireball never got any bigger and she couldn't practice any of the advanced stuff, not with the barrier around the Isle.

Besides, she hadn't had a private lesson with her dad in weeks. Not since the little storm cloud came around and blotted out her sun.

"Hello Mal," Persephone said as she walked into the kitchen, a tired smile on her face upon seeing the young girl.

"Hey," Mal nodded. She always seems tired lately, though with the storm cloud always crying I guess that's to be expected. Gods why couldn't he have been born in Boreadon? Then I could have both of them all to myself and nothing would have to change. After all I'm sure Uncle Zeus or Uncle Poseidon would watch the storm cloud in the six months Steph was here-or any of the other Goddesses.

Plus she was sure that the Gods of Olympus were scrambling to make sure he was brought off the Isle. They probably started as soon as they saw the registry get updated. After all, the storm cloud was the son of one of the Big Three. Perish the thought of the son of Hades living amongst villains, and in squalor! Never mind the fact that Mal was Hades' daughter; the Gods didn't know that.

To them, she was just Maleficent's daughter. Someone who probably deserved to be on the Isle.

"Steph, where'd you put the garlic paste you brought back from Auradon?"

"In the pantry dear," Persephone said and Hades went to go grab it but paused upon hearing Persephone's voice again. "No, wait, it should still be in my bag. Sorry, I meant to unpack it but with all the excitement—"

"No apology necessary Steph," Hades said, gently kissing the top of his wife's head. "Let me go and grab it. Be right back girls."

Hades left and an awkward silence grew. Truthfully, Mal hadn't really said much to Persephone since Hadie had been born. She didn't meant to, she just wanted to punish Hadie for coming and snatching her spot as dad's child.

But Persephone was almost always with Hadie. Mal honestly hated the sight, hated the look Persephone would get whenever she looked at Hadie.

The look a mother should have when they see their kid, Mal thought bitterly. Not the look of indifference or hatred Maleficent usually has. If I'm lucky, it's just a look of distain.

One gained an extensive vocabulary quickly when one had a God and the Mistress of All Evil as their parents—though Maleficent usually used hers when ranting about Auradon, Hades, the Isle, Mal and the Evil Queen; usually in that order.

Hades used his when berating Pain and/or Panic or ranting about Maleficent or Zeus.

"Mal, sweetheart," Persephone said softly, "is something bothering you?"

"I'm fine," Mal said quickly, making sure her walls went back up.

"Are you sure?" Persephone asked, giving Mal a kind smile. "It's just, we haven't really talked since Hadie was born. I want to make sure you're not feeling neglected. I remember you were so excited when I told you I was pregnant."

Yeah well you led me to believe I was going to get a sister, someone who'd look up to me, Mal thought bitterly. Not someone who was going to replace me.

"I'm fine Lady Persephone," Mal said softly, making sure to face forward and therefore missed the slight look of shock and hurt that flashed over Steph's face. She hadn't been 'Lady Steph' in ages and she had never been called Lady Persephone by Mal. Mainly because Mal had had difficulty pronouncing it when they had first met.

"Mal—"

"Found it!" Hades said, walking back into the kitchen and holding up the jar of garlic paste, unknowingly diffusing the tense atmosphere that was building in the kitchen. "Why was it in your toiletry bag of all places?"

"I don't know," Persephone said, shaking her head as she turned to look at her husband. "I'm going to say going into labor might have been the main cause."

"That would be a more pressing matter," Hades nodded. "Mal, are you ready to try this?"

Once again Mal shrugged though a small part of her couldn't deny the joy she felt in this. It was something the storm cloud couldn't replace her at. No matter what, she would always be her dad's food tester.

Just you wait though. Babies get older and soon dad will be using him for testing items for the restaurant. After all Ursula has Uma help out at the Chip Shoppe, why wouldn't dad have his precious son help at his restaurant? You'd be lucky to get the scraps off the brat's plate. That's if dad doesn't take back the deal and you have to go back to scrambling for food. At least you'd have Ursula's Chip Shoppe as an option. That's better than what most kids have on the Isle.

Sometimes, she really hated her thoughts. She was having a good time with her dad, why did they have to show up now?

"Hey Mali, do you know why eggs don't tell each other jokes?" Hades asked as he began to cook the chicken, the sizzling sound music to Mal's ears.

"Dad, it's probably because eggs can't talk."

"Nope. It's because they'd crack each other up," Hades told her and Persephone groaned.

"It's my own fault. I got him that book of 'dad jokes' the last time I was in Auradon and he's been non stop with them," she said, shaking her head.

"What do you get from a pampered cow?"

"Who pampers their cow?" Mal asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Spoiled milk!"

Mal shook her head but she couldn't avoid the small smile that began to creep onto her lips. She couldn't help it; the joke was just so…bad that it was hard not to find it funny in some regard.

"Ah there it is!" Hades said, smiling at the sight of his daughter's smile. "Haven't seen that around these parts in a while. I have to say it's a welcomed sight."

Mal rolled her eyes but the smile stayed on her lips.

"Hey dad?" Mal asked softly as Hades continued to work on lunch. She didn't want to push her luck with how great everything had been the past hour or so but she really wanted to know the answer to her question. "Do you…do you think we'd be able to have one of our private lessons after lunch?"

"Of course Mali," Hades nodded and Mal's smile turned into a grin. Finally, she'd be able to spend time with her dad—just her and him. No annoying little beastie to ruin anything.

"Dig in!" Hades said, handing Mal her lunch. "Garlic crispy chicken, for your enjoyment. Let me know what you think, Mal."

Mal eagerly dug in and she couldn't help but be amazed at how much better it was than her dad's regular chicken. It was hard to explain, maybe it was the garlic?

"You like it?" Hades asked and Mal nodded, too focused on eating every last bit of chicken to answer.

"I think that's a yes dear," Persephone said with a smile. "You should put that on the menu in the restaurant."

"I think I just might. The other patrons might think I'm trying to poison them but then again, they thought that when I began offering chicken in the first place," Hades nodded as he and Steph dug into their lunch as well. Before long, the lunch had been consumed and one seven year old was eagerly waiting for her private lesson with her dad.

"Alright Mali, let's—"

"Excuse me, Lord Hades?" Pain spoke up, interrupting Hades and earning a glare from the Lord of the Underworld.

"What?"

"L-L-L"

"Speak quickly," Hades said with an eye roll. Pain wasn't typically the kind to stutter but it could happen occasionally and it was more annoying than Panic's. Panic's at least had a reason, he was panicky. When Pain stuttered, all it served was fuel for Hades' urge to throw Pain out the window.

"Lord Hadie is up," Pain said and Mal's heart sank as Hades nodded. Persephone had gone down for a nap so Hades was the only parent available for Pain to go to. After all, Hades had threatened to chuck his minions into the cove if they even so much as coughed while Persephone was napping.

"I'll go get him," Hades said.

"Dad, what about—"

"We can still do it Mal. I just need to take care of Hadie first," Hades said and he walked off to the nursery where the little sun spot resided. Mal stared at his retreating form, not knowing what to do.

First. He actually said first. See? The storm cloud's not even a month old and he's already replacing you in your dad's eyes.

Mal sighed and went back to her room, Estelle trotting behind her as usual. If this was going to be the new normal, Mal wasn't going to stick around for it.

"Guess by now I ought to know my place," Mal began to sing under her breath as she grabbed a small bag. She didn't know why she was singing but it felt...right. It must be an Olympus thing. "But I won't stand by and watch myself get replaced. Dad knows how much I love him, but now he's got more important things. So I'll keep waiting in the wings."

Quickly, she tossed some clothes and her sketch book into the bag along with Estelle's supplies (food and water, dog treats, toys) before closing up the bag and tossing it over her shoulder. The lone food bowl and water bowl would have to stay behind-they were located in the kitchen and Steph and dad would definitely notice them missing. She had to get out of here before her dad came back and caught her.

Though maybe that would just be the reason he needed to kick me out. Make more room for his precious son, Mal thought as she made her way to the front door; Estelle by her side as always.

"Come on boy," she said, clipping the leash to Estelle's collar. "It's clear we're not wanted here. Let's go see if the clubhouse would be a better home."

Estelle gave a small yip and the two of them slipped out of the Underworld, making their way to the clubhouse that had quickly become a second home to her and her crew.

"Guess we're going to have to get you a food and water bowl for here huh boy?" Mal asked as she sat down on the bed. The crew wasn't likely to show up today, which was good. As much as Mal cared for her crew, she didn't really want to be around anyone right now. Sighing softly, Mal conjured a small fireball and stared into the lilac flames before vanishing it.

She'd be alright. After all, she'd stayed in the clubhouse plenty of times before she found out that Hades was her dad.

Wait, what about stopping by the restaurant? Mal thought. Dad'll probably start working there more often now that I ran off, as an excuse to talk to me.

With his bouncing baby brat? You heard him, the storm cloud comes first. Besides, you can just send Jay or Uma to make the order and bring it back to the clubhouse. Get yourself involved in a sparring match with Harry, that way you've got a believable excuse why you can't go.

Mal nodded before patting the bed for Estelle to hop up. The Cerberus did just that and rested his heads on Mal's leg.

"At least you'll never leave me boy," Mal said softly, scratching Estelle behind the ears of his middle head as she looked at the barren walls of the clubhouse. Thankfully, she had plenty of spray paint here and two sketchbooks filled with designs. It was time to get to work.