Disclaimer: I own nothing. Everything belongs to Descendants, or Ginny's AU. I'm just playing in it.
I started writing this chapter over a week ago, and dang I haven't written this much since my college English final paper. It also took a while because I had to build myself a new computer over the weekend. Didn't want to write on the old one in case I lost any progress.
I loved writing this chapter, though it does get dark.
Some warnings of undescribed death, and a touch of blood.
I hope you guys enjoy!
Danifan3000 – I'm trying to follow Ginny's stories as closely as possible. If it's included there, I'll likely dig it up and reference it as well. If need be, at least. As long as an idea pertains to Hadie. I do plan to reference the Disney Hercules TV series though! I actually hinted at it with Hades' BBQ history. Some bits in the series will actually become a relatively important plot points once Hadie is over 15.
OceanBlueSeaEyes – I'm quite fond of lamb, so I had to put that in. Halva is also one of my favorite desserts. Just melts in the mouth! The overall meal is actually one of the more common meals I eat with my own family for the holidays :D Though most prefer getting prime rib.
Mal had left hours ago. She couldn't afford to be seen walking out of the Underworld so close to Hades and his known family. Instead, Hadie would meet up with her when he joined their dad on the way to the restaurant.
Restaurant days were even rarer for Hadie now that Persephone was gone again. He'd get to go maybe twice a month. If he was lucky. One hand was tucked into his dad's; Hades other arm occupied with a crate of fish fresh from Hook's.
"Dad, can I go over to Curl Up and Dye to visit Dizzy?" Hadie asked, quickening his steps to keep up with his father's wide gait.
Looking down at his son, Hades smiled. 'If only he could stay this small forever.'
"I'd like you to finish the last of your homework, but then yes, you may see if she's available."
"Yes!" Hadie cheered. His excitement sped him forward, now pulling his dad stumbling forward instead of vice versa.
A couple Wharf Rats were already settled in when the pair arrived. Hadie gave them a short nod. Slipping into the kitchen, the two quickly got to their own work. It was less than an hour later by the time Hadie cracked through his homework.
"All finished, Dad," he told Hades.
"Gimme a minute to finish this up," his dad called back. "I'll give you a double order for you to take over and share."
"Thanks, Dad!" Hadie hopped off his stool. By the time he finished stashing his homework back away, his father had some fish wrapped and ready to go.
"Keep an eye on the time!" Hades said as his son headed out to the front. "I want you back in two hours!"
"Will do!" Hadie shouted over his shoulder.
Catching sight of his sister, Hadie gave a light wave. Mal happily returned the gesture before he rounded the corner to the shop Dizzy's family ran.
"Hey Dizzy, I –" opening the door, Hadie stopped and stared.
"Hadie!" Dizzy rushed over, giving the blue-haired godling a hug. She stepped to the side and gestured to the other kid already sitting at one of the booths. "Have you met Celia?"
"We've met," Celia jumped off her seat and walked over.
"Hi, Celia, it's been a while," nodded Hadie. Dizzy's smile was earnest. Thinking back to his mother's words, he decided to give the other girl another chance.
"Oh good! Celia and I met over winter, being stuck in town, you know? Her dad had this huge fire set up for everyone to warm up at and –"
"Breathe, Dizzy," Celia and Hadie chorused.
"Thanks for taking care of Dizzy, Celia," he gave Uma's sister an uncertain smile.
"She's fun to hang out with," admitted the daughter of Facilier. She hesitated for a moment.
"I guess not everyone has to be Isle tough."
'Ah, that's as close to sorry I'll ever get on the Isle' Hadie thought. He'd take the olive branch.
"My, uh, Dad said I could hang out for a couple hours. Even let me take some food to share." He walked over to the counter that Dizzy's mom said they could use, in the back and out of the way of any customers. "He only gave me two plates, but there's enough pieces of fish to split three ways," he continued.
Hadie placed the box on a counter and pulled out the plates. He placed a piece of fish from each plate onto a napkin.
"You guys can use the plates," he said as he hopped onto a chair, taking the napkin into his lap.
"Thanks, Hadie!" Dizzy had yet to stop smiling as she scrambled onto another chair.
Celia seemed to be stuck between skeptical and nervous. It was hard to turn down food. Food eventually won over any concerns.
The three first ate in silence. For Celia and Dizzy, this was likely their first full meal of the day. He slowly ate his versus the scarfing pace the girls had.
After she'd finished her first piece, Celia glanced at Hadie.
"So, Dizzy told me a lot about you, how you'd hang out before winter came."
Hadie tensed. Was she going to question why he'd never been in town to visit? That he was being babied again?
"Do you think I'd be able to visit your place too?" Hadie looked at Celia in surprise.
Deciding to clarify, she spoke again.
"Daddy explained to me about your family. Plus, about a few other cultures and how different places view the afterlife." She paused, taking another bite of fish.
"When I met Dizzy, you were almost all she talked about. That she got to visit and learn more than what even the schools offered…"
"Going to the Underworld is a lot more interesting than anything the Isle has to offer," Dizzy jumped in.
"Especially in winter," she added. "But since I've met Celia, her dad offered to transfer me to Dragon Hall. Especially now that Grandmother is starting to teach there. They at least have more stuff than just being a villain. There's an art portion plus the library!"
"I still learn way more from Daddy," Celia pouted. "Despite a lot of the magic users teaching there, there's no classes for it."
"Which is supposed to be the main difference between the schools," wondered Hadie. "Especially with someone like Dr. Facilier being the Headmaster."
"He limits it to those he or other teacher's think deserve it. Of course, he teaches me at home." Celia thought hard for a moment as she finished off her fish. "Frollo sends his kids there too. Dunno how much influence they have, but considering how much they hate magic…"
Luckily the shop was quiet today. Anastasia was in the back with Anthony taking inventory. Celia looked towards the front window to make sure no one was near enough to look in.
"Check this out."
She had a deck of cards with her again. Palming one, an expanse of darkness stretched out from beneath the card. Slowly, it formed into a human shaped shadow.
"I can't get them to be without a link to a shadow source, they'll disappear pretty fast." Celia brought it near one of the lamps. "But if there's enough of a light source angled, they grow really big."
The shadow warped around the light, causing the room to dim. Its body stuck, narrowing to it's tiny source from the card.
"And I can only control small sources. Bigger portals have to cut bigger deals."
"That's still super impressive," Hadie looked on in awe. Sources were a way to get around the Barrier's magic, albeit still in small bursts. Unless he was allowed to access his dad's ember, he could only use his internal gifts. Until he got to runic lessons anyway.
"What about you, Hadie?" Dizzy asked. "You never got to show me the magic your parents teach."
"Mmm, mainly because Dad didn't want me doing anything yet without supervision. Fire's dangerous to control enough as it is." He still brought up a hand, a micro blue flame radiating from his palm. "But I'm allowed now! I'm just not allowed to go any bigger yet."
He brought his flame near Celia's shadow, causing it to arc in the opposite direction. An even bigger shadow towering on the far wall.
"Woah!" Celia dropped the card and the shadow snapped away. "I don't think any of my shadows have gotten that big, not with regular fire anyways."
Hadie tilted his head. Snuffing out his own magic, he looked to Celia.
"You think it might be because my flame is pure magic or soul based?"
Celia nodded excitedly. She and Hadie scampered back over to Dizzy, energetically swapping theories and possibilities together until it was time for Hadie to head back to his Dad's.
Hadie decided to bring both Dizzy and Celia back to the restaurant. Normally, after a playdate, Hades would let Dizzy take home some food for her family in the basket Persephone had given them. Neither he or Dizzy had mentioned anything to Celia, but he'd hoped that would be the case for her too. Their bond over the study of magic cemented their originally rocky acquaintance into a solid friendship. The veiled apology and glue that was Dizzy certainly helped too.
As they approached the town center, Hadie and Celia halted. Dizzy bumping into their outstretched arms.
"What's happ –"
"Sssh," they both warned Dizzy.
Red smoke filled the air. A flare glowed brightly above. The Wharf Rats were rallying.
As the smoke cleared away, Hadie could make out the figures of his sister and her gang. One by one, silhouettes of who he knew to be Wharf Rats were moving into the town. Across, near the far entrance to town, a smaller group stood.
"Angels," growled the godling.
"You're on the wrong side of the Isle, Freddy."
Mal's voice rang out, the low growl of Estelle the only other noise echoing through the square.
"This is openly neutral grounds, witch."
"Individually, but when the entire dunce division shows up, we're gonna have a problem."
"Now, now, we're just here to get food. No need for hostilities." Freddy sneered. "Though you'll still get your due one of these days, heathen."
Mal laughed humorlessly. "Nearly had me there. But I think not, go back to your dad's stale bread."
"Freddy, we should just go," Claudine grumbled over her brother's shoulder. "Their entire crew is here. The odds are severely in their favor."
The Frollo siblings glared at each other, but eventually a retreat was agreed upon. As Freddy moved to rally his Angels to fall back, a voice rang out.
"And here I was, looking forward to a fight."
Everyone's head snapped up to one of the roof tops. Leisurely reclined across was Zevon, son of Yzma. A couple other castors appeared from opposite roofs.
"Shite," mumbled Harry. "Looks like we're surrounded, Captain."
Uma glanced at Mal. This wasn't looking good.
"I've even brought some new favors to the party," Zevon held up a few bottles, recalling the attention to him. Each was a different color. He grinned maniacally down at the Angels and Rats. "And I'm looking for testers."
Uma's eyes widened in alarm.
"POSITIONS!"
The triad had taken refuge behind some bins while watching Mal and Freddy's initial tête-à-tête. After Uma's shout, the Wharf Rats scrambled to their defense stations. One boy stumbled near them. Hadie recognized the stringy boy as the one who'd sneak him taffy whenever he'd visit the docks.
"Martin?" Hadie whispered, catching the preteen's attention.
Martin gave the trio a once over. "Shite, you're the lot are under our crew's protection, ain't ye?" He snatched up a trash bin's lid in time to block a flying dagger. It seemed the Angels had decided to use the opening from the Casters to try for their own advantage.
"Quick, duck down that alley. There's a split that heads behind Lord Hades' gig." The Wharf Rat turned away, keeping the three behind him as he defended their entrance to the alley.
Making sure the girls ran ahead first, Hadie took the rear as they dashed into the alley. Across the way Mal lost her focus as she caught sight of her little brother fleeing.
"Mal, look out!" Mal felt her cousin pull her off balance, a dagger whizzing by her face.
"Thanks, Uma." The purple haired godling quickly grabbed the dagger from the board it lodged into. With her sword readied in one hand, dagger in the other, the Rotten Four turned back to the Angels.
"Rats, defend and cover!" Uma ordered. "Mal and I will deal with the Castors. Jay, Harry…Take care of the Angels."
"Aye, aye!" rallied the cry.
Adults looked on in gross amusement as they watched the groups of children engage in battle. The pavement rumbled under the stomping of the Rats, who greatly outnumbered both enemy gangs put together. Several of the pirates climbed deftly up the walls to hustle out the Castors. Mal and Uma causing a distraction to pull any magic in their direction. A method they knew worked on most the castors…Except Zevon.
As they headed further down the haphazard backstreet, Hadie heard a scream. A glance over his shoulder showed the entrance to the alley covered in smoke. One of Zevon's potions. He could only hope it wasn't deadly enough to end Martin.
Nervously, he grabbed Dizzy's hand and pulled her further ahead. She had stopped at the scream too. They'd almost caught up to Celia, when the small amount of light they had was suddenly cut off by shadows above them.
"'Ey look Steb, we got o'selves a round o' babs."
Celia pulled Hadie and Dizzy close to her, backing into some boxes.
"Knuckleheads." She growled quietly.
Hadie tensed. These were the Dragon's goons. They might've been out here to keep track of Mal, but with Hadie out here without his parents…
"In't that blue one 'Ades brat?" The one on the right grinned madly. His teeth were busted and yellow. The left one looked as if he hadn't bathed. Ever.
"Mistress would love to get 'er hands on 'is brat."
Wasn't that the truth. The warnings from Mal alone terrified Hadie. They never told him details, but the likelihood of torture was absolute. He had to get to Dad.
"Le's rough 'em up." Just as the minions were about to jump on them, Hadie braced himself in concentration.
"Celia," he whispered, glancing at the girl.
It seemed they had the same idea. Her face was scrunched in concentration, a card slipping into her hand. Hands reaching close to the other's, Hadie sent a small spark of flame toward Celia as she summoned a shadow under the card in her hand. The shadow arced over the flame, expanding. It bloomed into an umbrella over the three, shielding them from the Knuckleheads view before it launched at them.
"Run!" Hadie screamed, spinning Celia around and shoving Dizzy in the direction of the alley that led to his dad's. Unfortunately, one of the Knuckleheads had managed to avoid their distraction. He'd jumped to the side and down into the alley. His long legs quickly gaining on the kids. The Shadow's link to Celia's card snapped.
"AH!" Pain shot up Hadie's arm as he was yanked back.
"Gotcher, ya lil' brat!" the unkempt man snarled. "The rest o' ye beat it or I'll take ye too."
"Heh, nice grab Larky," the other goon eventually caught up.
"Let him go!" Dizzy cried. Her eyes were welling up, but Hadie could tell she was fighting back the tears. Tears were more likely to get one killed after all.
"Dizzy, Celia, just go! They just want me." Hadie yelled, waving his other arm as if it'd get them to go away.
"'Ey, listen to the boy, gorlies," sniggered the Knucklehead holding Hadie's arm. Larky started to tug the godling away as the girls stood in shock. Neither were sure what to do.
It felt like ages, the nerves in Hadie's system slowing time down from the increasing pressure of fear as he was pulled back down the alley. In reality, they'd only taken two steps when an enormous bang echoed down the alley.
"LET. HIM. GO!"
Jay sliced up his sword to collide with another dagger.
"How many knives do these assholes have," growled the son of Jafar.
"We'll be sure they're in short supply after this." Harry helped Jay disarm Strat and slam the boy into the ground.
Above them, Mal and Uma were working through the Casters. Mal backed Mad Maddy onto a ledge, before giving her a shove into some scaffolding. The old beams would ensure a livable fall, but the granddaughter of Madam Mim would be bruised for a while.
Yzla had already bailed. She was similar to Claudine, never actually interested in fighting.
All that was left of the Caster's was Zevon. Mal leaped to the next building over and raced to help Uma. She knew their first mates would be able to handle the Angels. The magic users would always be the biggest threat.
As she approached Zevon from a perpendicular roof, the Caster's leader flashed her a smile.
"Had fun, sweetheart," he mocked. "But it looks like I'm going to have to cut our date short."
A potion slammed into the shingles at his feet. Another round of smoke billowed up, concealing any trace of where Zevon had fled to.
"Dammit!" Mal swore. But part of her was mildly relieved. The worst of the lot were gone, but by the screams earlier, they'd likely have lost a Rat or two.
"We need to get back down there," Uma hurried over. Mal nodded wearily as they began their descent back to the Square.
"As fast as possible. I don't know if you saw, but our siblings are out there somewhere," warned Mal.
"What!" Uma leaped off her hold and onto Locklyn. "She's supposed to be in Curl Up and Dye!" She swung the Angel, using the momentum to slam her into a wall. Quickly disarmed, the Angel wrestled herself away and bolted towards an exit.
Mal struck another Angel in the back of the knee with her boot. Claudine, who happened to be near, struck Mal's blade away with a dagger.
"Move!" Claudine ordered Shayla. The lower ranked Angel crawled away as fast as she could before managing to get back on her feet. A heavy limp carried her out.
A grunt from behind, took Claudine's attention from turning back to Mal and Uma.
"Fred," she sharply inhaled, grimacing through her teeth.
The lead Angel was slouched over. A great cut leading across a thigh. The son of Hook advanced on the wounded boy, but was quickly stopped by a recovered Strat.
With a glance at the Captains, Claudine backpedaled towards her brother. She grasped her brother by the arm and pulled, whispering in his ear.
Freddy slapped her hand away and glared.
"Strat," he called. "We're leaving."
Soon, only the Rats stood in the Square.
"Mal, go look for Celia and Hadie, I'll check over for any fallen or injured." Uma ordered.
"Aye, Captain."
"Dad," whispered Hadie. He'd wanted to shout in excitement, hearing his dad's voice roar from behind. But turning in the God of the Underworld's direction just increased the fear he felt.
He'd heard the stories of Hades engulfed in raging flames. This wasn't close, but it certainly was the closest Hadie had ever seen. Bright red flames were wrapped around his father's arms, racing up his shoulder's and into the usually white-blue hair. Blue eyes were incandescent gold. This wasn't magic with the intent to harm. This fire swelled up with the intent to protect.
"Dad!" He cried out, trying to pull his arm from the minion's grip. He desperately wanted to run into his dad's arms. No matter how intimidating the God was in that moment, the need for safety outweighed the mild fear he felt for his own father.
The problem was, Hadie realized, was that the godling could get hit.
Unable to shake away the vise the knucklehead had on his arm, Hadie focused his own power once more.
'Just like Dad, do it just like Dad," chanted Hadie.
Pale blue flames raced up his own arm, burning the hand of Larky.
"Yow!"
Hadie quickly pulled away. With a last second decision he swung his elbow back. The henchman doubled over in pain as Hadie sprinted away. The prince colliding with his earnest friends.
Pulling them behind Hades, the trio watched as the God let loose two small infernos.
"Fak!" Larky and Sneb shrieked as their more flammable bits of cloth caught flame. The leather being the most resistant.
They began hitting themselves, trying to squash the fire. As spots they couldn't reach began to spread, they switched to hitting each other.
"Ow, yer not helping idiot," yowled Sneb. "Quick, we'll jump in the water!"
"That's Hades' territory, you dolt!" Larky snarled.
"IF YOU ΠΑΓΚΑΤΑΡΑΤΟΣ DON'T LEAVE NOW, I'LL SET YOU ON FIRE AGAIN!" Hades' hair still flickered red. He knew he wouldn't actually be able to throw more, now that Hadie was safe, his magic would likely no longer be seen as protective. And throwing at such an intensity after only using the barebones took much of his reserves. But the idiots on the Isle didn't need to know that.
The pair of thugs quickly ran off, still trying to quell the fires.
'They deserve any burn they get,' scowled Hadie.
He looked up at the back of his dad's head. The hellish red already started to simmer back to a flickering blue. Hadie held back a flinch as Hades turned around. Eyes that had been filled with murderous rage, now occupied by worried trepidation.
Sighing, Hades let the flames along his arms burn out. A hand nervously ran through his hair, dissipating any remaining flames. He desperately wanted to sweep up his son and hide him back away in the Underworld. But they were still in public. Who knew who was watching?
And by the sounds earlier from the main square…
"Are any of you hurt?" Hades quietly asked as he herded the youths towards his kitchen's entrance.
Celia and Dizzy shook their heads.
'They're certainly traumatized though,' the God thought to himself. He frowned as he caught sight of his son starting to tremble.
"My arm hurts," Hadie whispered.
As soon as the door to the kitchen closed behind them, Hades swept his son up into his arms.
"Let me take a look," he demanded. "If any of you feel comfortable enough to speak, please explain what's going on out there."
Placing his son on a clear counter, he carefully rolled up the sleeve of Hadie's t-shirt. A slight bruise could be seen.
"Hrrrm," a low growl emanated from Hades' throat. He gently ran a hand over the bruise.
"Channeling magic through your arm was a smart idea." Hades spoke softly. "Any remnant is helping you heal."
True enough, the handprint was already fading. Purple. Yellow. Nothing.
"Wow," Dizzy whispered, awe evident. Celia, too, looked on in interest before turning her attention to the God.
"There's Angels and Casters outside right now. Hadie had said his time to hang out was up, so we were all coming here. One of the Rats told us a short cut to avoid any fighting, but we ran into those Knuckleheads," Celia spat the last word.
Hades sighed. That meant Mal was likely out there fighting. He couldn't help but pray to Ares or Athena that she'd find victory. Or at least come back without injuries.
"Dad?" Speaking of Mal…
"In the kitchen, Mali," he called back.
Mal burst into the kitchen, her worried face swiftly switching to relieved.
"I'm glad to see you guys made it out alright," she said, coming over to give her brother a hug. She gave one to Celia and Dizzy in turn. She couldn't very well blow her errand rat cover.
"I don't know if I'd say alright," Hades grimaced.
Mal glanced up in concern. Looking everyone over she noticed the still slowly fading bruise on Hadie's arm.
"Who?" she growled.
"Knuckleheads." Celia quietly informed her. "Sneb and Larky, they called each other."
A dark look passed over Mal's face.
"I'll take care of them," she said.
"H-how's Martin?" Hadie looked up at his sister, a shine slowly taking over his eyes.
'The shock must be wearing off,' Mal thought sadly. She noticed Celia turn away from them in the corner of her eye. 'Right, her dad has connections too…'
"I'm sorry, Storm Cloud…I think you already know the answer to that." Her quiet voice broke the tense atmosphere. A single tear broke from her brother's eye.
Behind them, their dad quietly cooked up food. If the fight had been as big as it sounded, all of Mal's minions would be coming in for reprieve.
"I…I liked him," mumbled Hadie.
Celia and Dizzy huddled close and pulled Hadie off the counter and into a hug.
"He was a good guy, Sprout," Mal gave the newly formed triad a forlorn smile. "And he liked you too."
Some hours after feeding Mal and Uma's crew, Hades personally saw Dizzy and Celia home. He received awkward, but relieved thanks from Lady Tremaine and Dr. Facilier. Celia's dad was especially surprised to see Hades with his daughters in tow. Uma decided to stay with her dad and sister, extending an extra thanks for the take out Hades left them with. Jay and Harry decided to shadow the Lord of the Underworld back to their Cave. Mal had already departed ahead of the others, not planning to spend the night at Maleficent's. Not yet at least. She had plotting to do.
As Hadie fell asleep, tucked into the crook of his dad's neck, he saw Mal gather Harry and Jay into her room. He felt his weight shift as his dad laid him down to bed. What should've been a restless night, was comforted by the protection his family provided.
Mal would always look out for him.