Chapter Forty 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.

Hard to believe there's just two chapters to go! Where has the time gone? I'd like to thank you all so much for the continued support, favorites, follows, and reviews! Have you seen how close we are to 600? Just 21 reviews away!

Hopefully I'll have the sequel up soon but as we're coming up on Thanksgiving and the winter holidays here in the States, it may be extremely unlikely I'll get the sequel up this year. Unlikely but not impossible. :D

Hope you all enjoy!


Mal sighed as they stopped the limo and smiled slightly as she stepped out of the car. She was finally back on the Isle. She should feel a sense of joy at being home after so long.

So why did all she feel was a sense of dread? A sense that she was making a huge mistake being here with Ben?

"Jay, get the limo covered," she said quickly, shoving down her doubt. She was acting captain with Uma not being in the group, there was no time for her to have doubt. The limo would be fairly obvious that they were from Auradon if anyone but her or Jay came across it.

"Mal?" Ben asked as Jay quickly scrambled to grab a nearby tarp to use to cover up the limo. "What can I do?"

"Stay right there," Mal said simply. "You're not leaving our sight."

Ben nodded slightly, titling his head a little in confusion and Mal had to will herself not to melt at his puppy dog eyes. "But…why won't you say my name?"

"Because saying your name is probably the stupidest things we could do right now," Jay muttered as he walked past them, pulling the tarp that he had found over the limo. "Think about it dude, your dad's not exactly popular on the Isle."

"Jay's right," Mal nodded, thankful that she brought her first mate. At least he would be sure to keep his head. "Gods we should have thought about this before we left Auradon."

"Mitchell."

"I'm sorry?" Mal asked, looking over at Ben.

"If you need a fake name, call me 'Mitchell'," Ben elaborated. "Mom and dad had considered naming me that before settling on my name. You could pretend I'm a VK who was born outside the Isle."

"If we stay out of Maleficent's territory, that could work," Mal nodded. "But Mitchell, you're going to have to do everything we say while we're here. Understand?"

"Yeah absolutely thank yo—"

"Dah! That's the first thing that's got to go," Mal said, slipping back into her Isle persona. "There are no thank you's on the Isle. There are no 'please's'. There is no 'touchy feely' stuff where we go on about our emotions or ruffle people's hair unless you're in someone's crew. And there are no apologies. You want something, you take it. If they won't let you take it, you break it because if you can't have it, no one can."

"But nine times out of ten, they let Mal take it," Jay said with a smirk. "Meaning they let anyone in Mal's crew take it too."

"Being known as the Dragon's spawn tends to work in my favor around here," Mal said, returning the smirk.

"You said something about Maleficent's territory," Ben said, cutting into the conversation. "How would I know where that is?"

"The giant spray painted silhouette of Maleficent in green with the words 'long live evil' over it might help," Mal said dryly. "Or the spray painted dragon with the words 'the dragon will rise again'. Or the red Genie with 'long live evil' spray painted over it. Basically anything that has 'long live evil' over it. Besides, you won't be going anywhere without me or without Jay and we're not going anywhere near Maleficent's territory."

"Oh yeah, that's another thing," Jay nodded. "We're avoiding my dad's shop."

"We avoided your dad's shop whenever we could when we lived here," Mal chuckled. "Besides we don't have anything to pawn."

"Good point," Jay nodded. "But come on, we're burning cloud. They're going to realize we're gone over in Boreadon at some point."

"I'll get the loot," Mal said, both of them easily slipping back into their Isle personas as Ben stared in slight shock and amazement. "We'll take Mitchie boy here to Lord Hades' restaurant since he wanted to see it. I'll meet you two there—I want to stop by Ursula's Chip Shoppe."

Jay nodded and the three of them made their way to their respective restaurants. Mal couldn't help but smile slightly as she walked through the swinging doors of the Chip Shoppe once more. Sure it still smelled of fish and seaweed but she loved the smell. This had been her second favorite place growing up after all.

"Mali?" Harry asked, in shock as the son of Hook walked up to her. "Wha—?"

"I decided to come for a visit, Harry," Mal chuckled. "What are you doing here? Don't you have a shift over at Lord Hades' restaurant?"

"Stopped by to see Uma before going to my shift," Harry said, wrapping an arm over Mal's shoulders. "C'mon co-cap'n, let's go see our cap'n."

Mal grinned. "Good, cause I've got some loot for the two of you and our allies at the Warf Rats," she said as they made their way into the kitchen.

"Harry, what are you doing here? Uncle Hades isn't going to be happy if you're late—"

"Hey cuz," Mal said with a smirk at seeing Uma's shocked face as the granddaughter of Poseidon seemed to freeze upon seeing her. "I'm back!"

"You'd better be joking," Uma said, pulling Mal into a hug. Mal couldn't help but appreciate the irony considering what she had just told Ben but she didn't care. She had her best friend in front of her again! "Gods, I've missed you!"

"Of course I'm joking," Mal chuckled but returned the hug. "I've got something for you guys," she said as she broke from the hug. "Boreadon's got so much good food they didn't notice Jay and me swipe some."

"Jay's here too?"

"You really think he'd let me come back to the Isle alone?" Mal chuckled. "He's over at dad's restaurant, Harry you'll see him since you're heading over there anyway."

"Never mind that, you said something about good food?" Uma asked, looking at the bag in Mal's hand.

"For you Uma," Mal said and Uma quickly opened it up and stared in shock. "I tried to grab as much stuff that didn't need to be refrigerated so you can keep it in the clubhouse or on the ship without worrying about your mom using it."

"Mal, that…that can't possibly be food," Harry stated, looking over Uma's shoulder. "There's no brown bits or green fuzzy pieces to eat around."

"Please Harry, we all know you ate the green pieces," Uma scoffed.

"I ate the maggots Uma. Protein."

Uma rolled her eyes but sighed, looking over at Mal. "He's right though. Not about the maggots but about the food."

"Uma, I promise you. This is what food looks like in Auradon," Mal said gently. "Also…I've got news."

"Ooh?!"

"I got Ben to promise that you two and Hadie would be in the next group to be invited off the Isle after his coronation," Mal said after looking over her shoulder to make sure no one was in danger of walking in on them.

"Mal…are you serious?" Uma asked in shock.

"As a heart attack," Mal nodded. "I got him to promise me and Ben hardly ever breaks a promise according to Emir and Akiho."

"And they are…?"

"Ben's best friends and Jay and Carlos' fellow Tourney team mates," Mal explained. "Sons of Aladdin and Anna."

"Hans won't be happy to hear Anna had a kid," Uma smirked in amusement.

"I'm surprised Jay's okay with the son of Aladdin," Harry muttered to himself, crossing his arms slightly.

Mal chuckled. "Emir's alright," she said. "Honestly, he and Akiho are like the Auradon version of you and Jay, Harry, with all the mischief they get into."

"Oh Gods, and Boreadon's still standing?" Uma chuckled.

"Just barely but I guarantee it'll fall once Harry joins the madness," Mal told her, chuckling herself.

Harry rolled his eyes. "I'll meet you out front co-cap'n," he said, and Mal noticed a slight limp when he walked out of the kitchen.

"How's he been?" Mal asked softly with a small sigh once the door closed.

"He's…it's complicated Mali," Uma said, sighing herself. "Working with Uncle Hades has really helped him but every so often he'll spend the night at Hook's house. Harriet's demented attempt at family bonding no doubt and she's a captain too so he can't say no to her."

"And staying at Hook's house means staying with Hook," Mal sighed.

"Hook's been okay. As long as he doesn't get any rum."

"There's not usually rum in the delivery barges," Mal stated. "Jay or Henry would have grabbed it if Barbosa's daughter didn't beat them to the punch if a bottle wound up our way."

"Well one did this time," Uma stated. "About two weeks ago and it was a fairly full bottle—maybe three quarters full. I'm guessing someone from Boreadon realized they had a problem and tried to quit cold turkey. Well let's just say Harry tried a few swigs and the crew got to see what a drunk Harry looks like…and so did Hook."

"No!"

"Yep."

"And Harry's still alive?"

"Hook forgot that Gaston was over with Gil," Uma stated. "Poor Gil tried to pull Hook off of Harry but only earned a hook to his shirt for his trouble. Though Gaston wasn't going to stand for that—Gil might not be his favorite son but he's still a son."

"How'd you know about this?"

"CJ told me," Uma said, gathering up the food so Mal could take the bag back. "For a price."

"Let me guess, you took her watch shift?"

"It's the only thing I could offer that would get her to spill. She's in Harriet's crew after all. I may be a captain but I'm not her captain."

"But didn't they join our crew with the Warf Rats?"

"The Isle's only so big and Harriet's crew is her, Sammy, Jade and CJ," Uma stated. "It made sense for us to join forces."

Mal sighed and took the now empty bag, folding it up and sticking it under her arm. "I wonder what Harry hated more—the fact that Hook was Hook again or the fact that Gil technically saved his life."

"Gil saving his life for sure," Uma nodded. "I know because I was treated to a three hour rant once Harry recovered from his hangover."

"But if he was unconscious which I'm assuming he was, how would he know?"

"Harriet told him."

"That must have been a fun conversation," Mal sighed. "Well Uma, I should head over to dad's restaurant. If Harry's still limping it'll take us longer and that'll just make Jay worry."

"I've got the Warf Rats patrolling the roofline," Uma told her. "We didn't know you were coming of course but with Harry injured, the last thing we need is for Zevon or Freddy to try to launch a surprise attack."

Mal nodded. "You got a spare sword I could borrow? I'm not letting myself go without a weapon."

"Grab one from the sword check," Uma told her. "No one'll miss it and if they do, leave it at the clubhouse and I'll have one of the Rats drop it back off."

"Will do."

"Take care Mali," Uma said softly.

"Hey, I'll see you soon," Mal told her. "Ben gets coronated after Family Day which is coming up. Actually it's tomorrow."

Uma nodded and Mal walked out of the kitchen, catching up to Harry who was waiting by the sword check.

"You ready?" Harry asked.

Mal nodded, grabbing one of the swords and stuck it in her belt. "Now I am. Uma said that Zevon and Freddy were on the prowl."

"I wouldn't let anything happen to you, co-cap'n," Harry said as they started making their way toward Hades' restaurant.

"I know," Mal said before pulling Harry into an alley.

"Wha—"

"This is for getting yourself drunk," Mal said, whacking Harry over the head before quickly wrapping him up into a hug, "and this is for not being there for you."

Harry sighed. "It's fine Mal. Honestly I've given up on the Captain. He likes the girls—Harriet and the runt I mean."

Mal sighed. "Harry….and maybe I'm completely off the mark here, but you don't think that your dad treats you the way he does because he's trying to get you to not be like him?"

Harry shook his head and gave a small chuckle. "I think your brain's been melted by the Boreadon sun Mali. The Captain, treating me like a punching bag for twelve years because he doesn't want me to end up like him?"

"It was just a thought," Mal said softly as they continued on to the restaurant. She couldn't help but think about a conversation she had overheard between her parents the day after they brought Harry to the Underworld when he was nine.

"Steph, I don't know what's gotten into Hook," Hades said, taking a sip of his tea. "You know the day I brought Mal home with me, I ran into him and Gaston? He was toasting because Milah had blessed him with a son. I know I'm not the most familiar with what a normal father does considering mine ate me when I was born, but potentially breaking a nine year old's ribs does not say 'blessing' to me."

"Mortals grieve in different ways Hades," Persephone sighed. "I'm not defending Hook at all but you know he never was the same after Milah died."

"There's grieving and then there's whatever this is," Hades told her, shaking his head. "If we still had the inspectors coming, I'd be tempted to slip an anonymous note so someone would get Harry away from Hook."

"You'd separate a chid from his only living parent?"

"If staying there meant the child might wind up a permanent resident of the Underworld? In a heartbeat. Hook's got his beef with Pan and we all know he's not the biggest fan of children but there's a difference between firing a canon at the Lost Boys and hitting your own son."

"Well he'll be staying here until his ribs recover," Persephone said, trying to look on the positive.

"I personally think he should stay here afterwards too. But Harry would probably argue against it. As long as he's not staying with Hook, I'll be fine."

Mal sighed and shook her head slightly. Her dad may have been wicked but he was more of an anti-hero compared to the others on the Isle. If a kid was loyal to Mal, Hades was loyal to the kid—even if they didn't know it.

Harry opened the door to the restaurant and held it for Mal. "Co-cap'n."

"First mate," Mal chuckled as she walked through. She couldn't help but sigh in relief as she saw Ben and Jay seated at their usual spot.

"Mal, who's that with Jay?" Harry muttered. "He looks…familiar."

"Not here," Mal hissed and dragged Harry into the pantry for the kitchen once they got into the back.

"Whoa! Mal, all I did was ask a question."

"Harry, I need you to swear that what I'm going to tell you, you won't tell anyone. Even Uma."

"Yeah you know I'm telling Uma. But Uma can keep a secret Mali."

Mal sighed. Stupid twiterpated boys, she thought. Uma could bat her eyes and get Harry to do or tell her anything.

"…the boy with Jay is from Auradon," Mal said finally, figuring telling Harry that much wouldn't put Ben at risk.

"You brought a Boreadon kid here?"

"He wanted to see the Isle," Mal said with a shrug and Harry stared at her in shock. "Why does everyone look at me like that when I tell them that? First Jay and now you?"

"Why on Poseidon's blue sea would he want to see the Isle?" Harry asked.

"You'd have to ask him that," Mal said.

"Ask who what? And why are you standing in the pantry, Harry, with my…Mal?"

Mal chuckled as her father stared at them in shock. "Hey dad," she said and held up the basket of food. "I brought something for you from Auradon."

"You didn't steal this food, did you Mal?"

"Don't you know it's easier to ask forgiveness than permission, dad?" Mal smirked. "Besides, they've got so much good stuff around there they won't notice some fresh stuff missing."

"Uh huh. And is that why Prince Beastie Jr. is in my restaurant?"

Mal stared in shock, thankful for the now empty kitchen. Her dad must have ordered everyone to go on break or something. "How…?"

"Hadie came back here asking why Jay was in the restaurant and why the boy he was with ruffled his hair."

Ben, we said no touchy feely stuff! You're lucky it was Hadie and not someone like Zevon or Freddy boy!

"Wait, that's not the Ben who asked you to be his date to coronation, is he?" Harry asked.

"Uma told you, I take it?"

"The captain doesn't keep secrets from her crew."

"I'm sorry he what?" Hades asked.

Mal smiled sheepishly. "I take it mom didn't tell you?"

"No, your mother certainly did not!"

"Dad, it's a long story. The only reason Ben's here anyway is because I told him about your food on our date and he—"

"Your what?!" Harry and Hades exclaimed.

Mal kicked herself for letting that slip out. "Dad, mom knows all about it. Besides Ben wanted to see the Isle and it's the only time before his coronation we could sneak away."

"He's not your boyfriend now is he?" Harry asked, narrowing his eyes as he walked out of the pantry.

"He's the reason you're getting your ass off the Isle, Harry," Mal told him, following him out of the pantry. "Besides, the Isle doesn't do stuff like 'boyfriend girlfriend'."

"But I take it Boreadon does?"

Mal shrugged. "He had one when we got there. Sleeping Brat was horrid, the only reason Ben was still with her was because of a betrothal contract he was in. But that is a thing of the past now…and mom's already told me I'm grounded for a week dad."

"I'm adding a week because of this stunt," Hades told her. "But go on and join your friends. Jay ordered you your garlic crispy chicken."

Mal nodded and ran out to the front to join Ben and Jay.

"I saw you with Harry," Jay grinned as Mal sat down. "How's our favorite pirate?"

"Your favorite pirate. My favorite's Uma."

"Ah right. So, how's my favorite pirate?"

"Apparently, he recently discovered the joys of rum and the joys of a hangover." Mal rolled her eyes. "The sooner Harry's off the Isle and away from Hook, the happier I'll be."

"I'll send the invitations as soon as I can Mal," Ben promised as Jay stared at Mal in shock, clearly not expecting that answer.

Mal nodded. "I know you will," she said softly. "But let's talk about something else."

Thankfully, the food arrived before either one of the boys could say anything and Mal quickly dug into her garlic crispy chicken. Even as she'd grown used to the decedent food Auradon had to offer, there was nothing better than her dad's cooking.

"How you like your food Mitchell?" Mal asked after a bit, noticing that Ben seemed to be eating his food rather slowly.

"It's…interesting," Ben said, searching for a neutral enough word as to not potentially offend Hades if he was listening in.

Mal and Jay exchanged an amused glance. "Mitchell, it's okay," Mal told him gently. "Most of the food's rotten anyway. You won't offend Lord Hades by saying it's off putting."

"Rotten?" Ben asked shocked and Mal shrugged.

"Missing something Mitchell?" Jay asked quickly, changing the subject by waiving Ben's wallet in front of him.

"How'd you get that?! When did you get that?!"

"You're seriously asking Jay that question?" Mal chuckled.

Ben shook his head. "Unless you're offering to pay for lunch, I'd like my wallet back Jay."

"Nah, no one in Mal's crew pays here," Jay chuckled.

"Then why'd you steal my wallet?"

"It's an important lesson to know on the Isle. Never lose track of your valuables," Jay said and Ben nodded. Quickly, Ben leaned forward as if to snatch his wallet back but Jay leaned back to get out of reach. However, the older boy was confused by the smirk on Ben's face.

"Missing something Jay?" Ben asked, holding up Jay's phone. It'd been a gift from their team mates when Jay made the team—Carlos had gotten one too.

"How'd you—?"

"Emir's been my best friend since I was four, you honestly think he didn't teach me how to swipe things?"

Mal chuckled. "Well now Jay, losing your touch?"

"Beginners' luck," Jay said, shaking his head. "Alright Mitchell, exchange on three?"

"Fair enough," Ben nodded. "One, two, three…"

Both boys handed the swiped item to the other and made sure they were secured in their pockets. Mal quickly got to-go boxes for their lunches.

"I think we should go," she said softly. "Uma said Zevon and Freddy boy have been patrolling the Isle, and the last thing we'd want is for either of them to realize we were here."

"Considering Freddy's obsessed with you and Zevon's got a crush on you, that's a good idea Mal."

"Honestly Jay, Freddy boy is like three years older than me. He's not obsessed with me…and I really can't say what Zevon's deal is but he doesn't have a crush. We don't do that on the Isle remember?"

"Well then he's obsessed as well and considering he's the right hand man of the Caster gang, that may be worse," Jay said. "He wouldn't be averse to using a potion on you."

"Half Fae, Jay," Mal said as they left the table. "There's not a lot that can spell us."

Mal gave a quick wave to Harry, who had replaced Smee behind the counter, before the three of them walked out.

"Mitchell, hold the food," Mal muttered, scanning the area around them. She was the only one with a sword—if she needed to fight, she couldn't be holding the leftovers.

Ben nodded, choosing not to comment about how tense Mal had gotten. The Isle was definitely different than what Ben had thought.

Rotten food! They'd been eating rotten food! But why? We've been having food donation drives every month since I can remember. Hell, Akiho, Emir and I have been running the drives since we were thirteen! We've been donating food since we were eight! What in the world is going on here?

"Well, well, well, look who we have here," a new voice broke into Ben's thoughts and he blinked as he saw a rather lean older boy with jet black hair walk up to them. "And I thought the Isle had gone down a witch."

"Don't get disappointed Freddy, Jay and I aren't here to stay," Mal said, her hand going to her sword. "In fact, we were just leaving."

"Nice joke Mal but everyone knows there's no way off the Isle," Freddy scoffed and then paused as he realized there was a third person with Mal and Jay. "Oh ho! Well you're not the pirate…and you're certainly not the other witch. You're too tall to be Hades' spawn, so who are you?"

"None of your business," Mal snapped. "Jay, get him out of here. I'll deal with Freddy."

"Mal—"

"That's an order Jay," Mal growled. "Go!"

The last thing Mal wanted was for Freddy to realize exactly who Ben was, especially this close to his coronation.

"Oh, has the Dragon's Spawn finally cast a spell on someone?" Freddy taunted. "I think our new friend should stay. Maybe I could release him from whatever spell you have on him, save him from being damned for all eternity…?"

"Touch him and you'll be eating steel," Mal growled, taking the sword from her belt. "Jay, if you're not gone in five seconds, you're swimming back to Auradon!"

The footsteps behind her told Mal that Jay had finally followed the order and was finding a new route to the limo. Freddy wasn't armed so all Mal'd have to do is knock him out and she could rejoin the boys.

A dagger to her shoulder proved her wrong.

"You honestly thought I wasn't armed?" Freddy scoffed. "God, this'll be easier than the time I pushed you into the cove when you were nine. Oh Maleficent made my father's life hell for that but it was worth it…until you showed your face around the Isle the next day."

"Sorry to ruin your murder plot," Mal growled, wincing slightly as the dagger continued to penetrate her skin. "And you're not going to kill me today either Freddy."

"And why not? You sent your allies off and you've clearly lost your touch if you thought I wasn't armed."

"Because Uma's no idiot," another male voice sounded from the roofline. Mal had never been more relieved to see some of the Warf Rats—specifically three. Henry, Derek and Ryan were three close friends and to be honest, Mal saw bits of Ben's friendship with Emir and Akiho in them.

They may have started off adversaries to Mal's crew, as the Warf Rats were plotting to steal Triton's trident if they ever got off the Isle. Uma may have hated the Atlantician side of her family but they were her family. Only she could mess with them once they got off the Isle. But the promise of free food from Hades' restaurant brought the Rats over to Mal and Uma's side.

Once they were on their side, though, the Rats were extremely loyal. More importantly than that, they hated Freddy as much as Mal and Uma did.

"Henry," Freddy growled. "Thought you were more than Uma's lap dog."

"The captain orders you to do something, you do it," Henry snapped, making his way down to Mal and Freddy. "Mal, get out of here. We'll deal with the tool with the Bible shoved up his ass."

"How do you—"

"Some of the pirates are Frollo's disciples," Ryan said as he and Derek also made their way down to the ground. "All our parents were members of Hook's crew after all."

"Go, Mal!" Derek urged.

Mal nodded, dropping her sword as she sprinted away from the brewing fight. While she'd kick herself from running away from Frollo of all people, it was better to live to fight another day. She would not die on the Isle.

"What happened to you?" Jay asked as Mal met them at the limo.

"Never mind that, go go go!" Mal urged. "Drive now, ask questions later! Details to follow!"

"Mal, Ben's the one driving," Jay stated as he climbed into the back with her. "Let me take a look at that shoulder."

Mal winced. "It's shallow. Freddy must have not wanted to hit me—either that or his aim was off."

"Knowing Freddy, his aim was probably off," Jay said. "I'm going to yank this out now so we don't cause a panic at school with you having a dagger sticking out of your shoulder."

Mal nodded and didn't even wince as Jay removed the dagger. "I'll kill him."

"Because he put a hole in your jacket?"

"He bested me in a fight Jay," Mal growled. "I can handle losing to you or Harry, hell most of the time I lose to Uma. But I do not lose to Freddy boy. When we get back to Auradon, we're sparring because clearly I've lost my touch!"

"When we get back to Auradon, you're going to see the nurse," Ben corrected, looking at Mal through the rearview mirror amidst the glow of the bridge. Mal could see the worry shining through Ben's eyes.

"Ben, the dagger did more to damage my jacket than my shoulder."

"Don't care. You're seeing the nurse. I don't want you dealing with an injury that might get worse without medical help."

Mal shrugged. "Ben you just saw the Isle. Did you see anything that looked like it might be a hospital? Most of us kids are pretty used to being our own doctors…but if it'll make you feel better, I'll go."

"Thank you," Ben sighed. As did Mal. She definitely wasn't looking forward to the first doctor visit of her life. And right before Family Day too—Steph would spend the day mother henning her, Mal could guarantee it.