"Can he be trusted?" my father stressed incredulously. "This is Hades we are talking about!" he snapped, and I couldn't help but sigh. I knew the history between Hades and my parents so I knew that this suggestion was going to be difficult for the pair of them, but if I needed to ask Hades for help then I would do it - and I would deal with the consequences later.
"If he knows what state Mal is in, he might want to help" Fairy Godmother suggested.
"Unlikely!" my father snapped. "Just because Mal is his daughter doesn't mean that he is going to want to help!" he growled as he bawled his fists up. "And if he does it is going to come at a price" he warned us all.
"How can Hades actually help Mal?" my mother asked.
"Well, he would need his member, '' Fairy Godmother answered.
"We don't have it" I stated as I started to fill with despair. How was it every time we had an idea to help Mal out of this we came up against another obstacle that prevented us? I needed to help Mal. I needed her, and the longer she was in this unconscious state my fear of losing her was getting greater with every passing minute.
"No," I heard Fairy Godmother say. "We don't," she added.
"But Hades does" I heard Evie interject, which made me look over to her.
"What?" I asked in shock. How was this even possible? I thought my parents had taken all magical items away from the villains, how could it be that they had forgotten one?
"He carries it around with him," Carlos added. "He uses it to scare people, but due to the fact that he is under the dome he can't use it," he added. "It won't work," he stressed.
"Ok" I nodded.
"Be that as it may-" my father began. "We still don't know whether we can trust him," he stressed.
"It isn't a matter of trust-" I stated. "It is about Mal" I told him sternly. "If I have to trust Hades to wake Mal up then I will" I stated as I pulled my phone out of my pocket and I opened my facetime app.
"What are you doing?" my mother asked.
"Face timing him" I replied as I rang Hades. "We at least need to ask him" I stated as the call opened, and a confused looking Hades appeared.
"Hello?" he said slowly in confusion. "I wasn't expecting a call," he added as he looked around me to see what was going on.
"This is an emergency" I replied. "We need your help" I stated.
"Oh" he said as a smug grin spread across his face. "I see" he nodded. "You only ring me when you want some help" he sang darkly. "No isn't that gratitude for you" he said sarcastically, and I couldn't help but notice my father throwing a dark look towards my phone. "Where's Mal?" he asked.
"That is why I have rung you-" I started as I threw Mal a quick glance before looking back down at my phone. "Mal has been stunned," I told him.
"What?" he asked in shock as his face dropped. "How?" he urged as she stepped closer to the screen.
"Magic" I answered.
"I see," he noted. "I thought it was forbidden over there," he added.
"It is" I confirmed. "But sometimes these things happen to magical beings," I continued.
"Right" he nodded. "So, what do you want me to do about it?" he questioned sarcastically.
"Fairy Godmother seems to think you are the only person who can help Mal" I replied. "And I need you to try," I stressed. "Please?" I begged and I watched as something changed in his eyes.
"So let me get this straight-" he started. "My soon to be son-in-law needs my help?" he questioned as a warm look entered his eyes, which unnerved me slightly.
"Yes" I nodded.
"And why should I help you?" he said. "Your parents locked me here" he reminded me darkly.
"I know" I nodded. "And I have my own feelings on that" I told him. "But this is about Mal, not about my parents" I stated hoping that he wasn't about to fixate on his history with my parents. This wasn't what was important to me right now, what was important to me was Mal and if he said he wasn't going to help I didn't know what I was going to do.
"True" he nodded. "Very true" he said as he began to think, and I felt my chest start to burn as my father's words echoed in my mind. Hades had a history of not doing anything for anyone without something being done for him in return. I knew what Hades ultimately wanted - he wanted to live in Auradon. And if this was the price then I was going to try and have and think of a way of trying to make this work - even though a lot of backlash was probably going to come with it.
"You know when I found out Mal was my daughter I was over the moon" he told me after a few moments of him thinking. "I knew she was mine," he smiled proudly. "I wished that I could have done more for her," he told me sincerely. "But her-" he started. "Mother-" he added as he shuddered. "Isn't the easiest person to get along with" he grimaced. "Especially when she kept saying Mal wasn't mine" he strained. "However-" he added. "I am not like Maleficent," he said. "I believe that even us villains need to show solidarity, when it comes to family" he advised. "Mal is my first born and I want to help" he finished with a smile.
"Thank you" I smiled at him.
"Can I speak to Fairy Godmother please?" he enquired. "I assume she is there," he added.
"Of course," I said, and I handed the phone over to Fairy Godmother as Evie dropped into the seat on the other side of the bed and she took Mal's right hand in both of hers.
"Hello Hades" I heard the Fairy Godmother say as I mirrored Evie's actions with Mal's left hand and I gave it a gentle squeeze.
"Hello" I heard him answer. "Long time no speak," he teased.
"Yes," Fairy Godmother answered. "It has been a long time," she noted. "A very long time" she added as she pursed her lips together.
"Anyway-" I heard Hades began. "Back to my daughter," he added. "I assume that I am going to need my ember," he concluded.
"That would be correct," I heard the Fairy Godmother say.
"Ok" Hades answered. "I do have one request," he said.
"See!" my father snapped. "I told you there would be a price!" he growled.
"Adam!" my mother warned him.
"Oh!" I heard Hades sing smugly. "Beastie boy!" he called out to my father and I watched as my father grimaced at this. "How I have missed you so!" he sang sarcastically. "How's the talking clock and the teacup?" he mocked, and I quickly took my phone back from Fairy Godmother.
"Hades" I stated. "Stop this, this isn't helping Mal" I told him.
"Sorry" he quickly apologised, which again unnerved me. "I couldn't resist, I could always get under your father's skin" he grinned.
"Hmph!" my father puffed as he crossed his arms over his chest.
"So, what is this request?" I enquired.
"I just want a glimpse of the sun," he said. "Give me a couple of hours," he begged. "Then I will go home," he added. "And you won't cause any problems" he promised. "No" he quickly added before I could say anything. "I may have a little snipe with your father; but that comes with the job" he said, and I watched as my father rolled his eyes at this.
"Ok" I said as I looked down at Hades. "Agreed" I nodded.
"Very well" he smirked. "You have a deal," he confirmed.
"Yes" I nodded again. "I need you to be on your best behaviour Hades" I warned him.
"And I will be" he promised as he held both of his hands out in front of him.
"Good" I answered. "It will look good on your appeal" I advised, hoping that what I was about to tell him would make sure that he did in fact behave himself.
"What appeal?" he asked as he pulled his right brow up in confusion.
"I am going to work on setting up an appeal committee to look at the residents on the Isle-" I began to explain. "Some may come to Auradon, some may not" I continued.
"Wow!" he exclaimed. "I like the sound of that" he said with a toothy grin.
"I thought you might," I answered. "Nothing is confirmed Hades, but this will go in your favour" I told him.
"Very well" he nodded. "I can see why Mal likes you," he noted as he looked me up and down.
"Thank you" I smiled happily.
"So, when do you need me..."
After hanging up on Hades I then rang Dawson to send some guards over to the Isle to go and get Hades, after doing this I then told Doctor Cameron that I needed to move Mal back to Auradon Castle. It was going to be hard enough getting Hades into Auradon without trying to get him into Auradon General, and Doctor Cameron stated that he would go and do Mal's discharge papers.
Fairy Godmother then suggested that she teleport me and Mal back to Auradon Castle, so it wouldn't cause as much of a scene. Which I quickly accepted, me and Ben had enough drama going on at the moment without the press seeing Mal lying on a stretcher peacefully asleep. My mother then told me and Fairy Godmother that the rest of them would follow us back, and when I looked over to my father, I could see that he still wasn't happy with the extremes that I was prepared to go to. I made a mental note to discuss this with him later on, I knew he knew that I would do anything to save Mal, but I knew that I was going to have to make sure that he was ok - as seeing Hades after all these years was going to be very hard for him.
When it came to leave Fairy Godmother and Evie swapped places and she took Mal's left hand and reached over the bed and took my left hand as I held onto Mal's left. She smiled at me for a couple of seconds before she quickly teleported us away from the side room, and back to the private seclusion of mine and Mal's suite in Auradon Castle.
We landed in mine and Mal's bedroom with a loud pop and Mal landed safely on her side of our bed, with Fairy Godmother still standing up while I landed sitting down on Mal's left hand side. I quickly kicked my shoes off and lay down next to Mal and I wrapped my left arm around her waist. I watched as a meek smile spread across Fairy Godmother's face as she turned and went to go and sit in the living room quarters of our suite to wait for the others to return.
When Fairy Godmother left the room, I looked down at Mal and I couldn't help but sigh sadly. At least we now had a plan in place to save Mal, I just wished that time would go quickly. The sooner that everyone got here the sooner that Hades would wake Mal up, and in my opinion couldn't come quick enough!
I don't know how long I was lying in silence before our family walked into the room but in the time waiting, I had slid closer to Mal and pulled her to me, so we were in a sort of hug. It was catching me off guard the fact that she wasn't cuddling into me, even if she was asleep, she would at least be more snuggled into me. But what was getting me through this current moment was the hope that Hades was going to be able to wake Mal up, then I could get a proper hug from my perfect purple haired princess.
"I hate this" I heard my father say, and when I looked up at him, I noticed that he was pacing the floor as we all waited for Hades.
"I know you do father," I answered. "But this is the only way," I told him.
"I know son" he nodded. "I just wish there was another way, Hades is going to be insufferable" he shuddered.
"Sorry" I quickly apologised. "I know I am asking a lot from you, given your history with him" I quickly added. "If you need to leave the room while he is here, I will understand" I offered. I l knew how hard it was not only going to be for my father but my mother as well, as they had told me that trying to send Hades to the Isle had proved quite the task. And when they were finally able to capture him all he did was flirt with my mother and argue with my father. I expected the same type of behaviour between the three of them to be honest, which would only make this situation even more awkward.
"No son" he insisted. "I will stay," he promised. "You and Mal need me here" he continued. "No matter my problems with Hades" he shuddered again. I watched as he opened his mouth to add something but stopped and we both looked over to the bedroom door as we both heard footsteps and chains being dragged against the floor. I couldn't help but gulp as I heard a knock on the door, and I watched as my father quickly sprang into action and walked up to the door before stepping aside. I then watched as Hades walked into the room, with four guards flanking him, two on each side.
It was at this point when I was able to take in Hades' appearance, his electric blue hair stuck up in a mohawk and when his piercing blue eyes landed on Mal, I watched as concern filled them. His lips were pulled tight together and his jaw was clenched as he slowly walked to the foot of our bed. He was wearing a black leather studded jacket with flickerings of light blue splayed across it which put me in mind of the jacket which Mal came to Auradon in. He was also wearing a dark black t-shirt, trousers and boots and there was a black piece of holy fabric wrapped around his waist to finish the outfit.
"Thank you for coming" I smiled meekly over to him as I placed Mal back down onto the bed.
"I didn't do it for you," he told me coolly. "I did it for my daughter," he reminded me.
"I know" I nodded. "I still want to thank you though," I added as my father also stepped to the bottom right-hand side of bed, so he wasn't that far away from Hades.
"Very well" he muttered as he lifted up his hands and we all froze at this. "What?" he questioned in confusion as he looked at all of our panicked faces. "I'm going to need to use my hands" he explained, and everyone looked over to me and I nodded and one of the guards undone his shackles. When they had done this, he rubbed both of his wrists as he smirked at my father, and I couldn't help but notice that my father was currently glaring at him as he bawled his fists up.
Thankfully Hades cleared his throat and looked down and pulled a dark blue ember out of his inside jacket pocket and when he lifted it out there was a surge of magic coming from it and Hades's hair quickly lit up.
"Haven't lost my touch" he sighed happily, which made my father roll his eyes at him. However, Hades noticed this, and he stepped forward and when they stood face to face, they continued to glare at each other. We all then watched as Hades started with his famous clicking snarl and I froze when I heard my father start growling at Hades. Even though I knew that this might happen, I knew that it was going to have to be me that put a stop to it.
"Dad!" I called. "Hades!" I shouted and they both looked over to me. "We are here for Mal" I reminded them harshly. "I know you both have history, but right now isn't the time" I advised. "Please put your differences aside for the time being at least and help Mal" I stressed.
"Ok" Hades shrugged as my father nodded at me and he stepped back and stood next to my mother. We all then watched aa Hades stood at the foot of our bed and he stood up straight. "Wanna take a step back, Beast Junior?" he enquired. "Need a little bit of space" he stated sarcastically. I gave Mal a quick glance before I nodded at Hades and I reluctantly slid away from Mal, so I was now sitting on the edge of the left-hand side of the bed.
We all then watched as Hades crouched down slightly and he started to move his hand and ember in a circle as he closed his eyes, and as he did this, I began to pray that this was going to work. Blue magic started to light up and flash around the room, and when he did the circle movement with his hand for the third time, he threw his arms out dramatically as he stood up straight. As he did this the blue flashes of magic disappeared and Mal started to glow an electric blue colour, the glow only lasted a few seconds and when it disappeared, we all gasped as Mal slowly sat up properly and her eyes slowly opened.
*Mal's POV*
When my eyes slowly opened, I was met with a sudden wave of confusion, the last thing I remembered I was reaching forward for Ben's crown at the Enchanted Lake. Flashes of flying through the air and striking something then flew to my mind and I quickly told myself that I must have had a head injury given the evidence. However, this train of thought was quickly dispelled by a new wave of confusion at the fact that my father was currently standing in front of me with a blank look on his face. Why was he here? Surely it can't be good if Hades was in Auradon?
"Ow!" I cried out as my right hand went to the back of my head, and to my surprise a bandage stopped me from getting to the source of my pain.
"Mal!" Ben quickly exclaimed as he slid closer to me. "Mal what's wrong?" He urged.
"My head!" I gasped. "It hurts" I told him as I looked up at him. When my eyes landed on his I saw that his eyes were full of worry and concern, and I noted how I didn't like seeing this look on his face. I liked seeing Ben happy, laughing and playful. My mind then went to how playful we were at the Enchanted Lake, and yes it probably was in bad taste, but I decided to play a little bit of a trick on him. "Who are you?" I asked him, keeping a blank look on his face and I watched as everyone gasped.
"What have you done?" Adam complained as tears started to form in Ben's eyes.
"Hey!" Hades exclaimed as he put both of his hands up to defend himself.
"I knew you would do something like this!" Adam growled as he started to charge at Hades.
"Stop!" I shouted. "I'm only joking!" I called out as I put both of my hands up.
"Joking?" I heard Ben exclaim and we both looked at each other. "Were you really teasing me then?" he asked incredulously as his face dropped.
"Yep" I said smiling at him, hoping that this was about to reassure him.
"You know what-" he started.
"What?" I questioned as he pulled me into a hug. "I'm too relieved at you being awake to be annoyed at you" I heard him say as he snuggled into my hair.
"Good" I smiled smugly as I looked up at him to see him smile warmly down at me.
"Thank you so much Hades" he said as he looked over to my father.
"Thanks Dad" I smiled happily, and I watched as a proud smile spread across his face. I guessed that this meant a great deal to him, as this was the first time that I had called him 'dad' publicly like this.
"Can I ask you a question Hades?" Belle interjected.
"Of course, Belle" my father purred smoothly, which caused Adam to growl, and I gulped as I knew how hard Hades coming to Auradon was going to be on both Adam and Belle.
"Hey!" my father exclaimed. "She spoke to me first, Beast!" he snapped, and I watched as my father and Adams both threw each other a dark glance.
"Adam please?" Belle begged as she placed her right hand against his chest.
"Ok" Adam nodded as he looked down at Belle and he wrapped his right arm around her waist.
"What is your question?" Hades asked.
"Why is Mal's hair now purple and blue?" she questioned, and I took some of my hair and looked at it. Yes, I still had my purple locks however half of it had now changed into a bright blue colour, I really didn't know what to make of this - but I knew that it probably was going to take some getting used to.
"Oh" my father nodded as I looked up at him. "That's from the ember, it activated the goddess part of Mal" he explained. "Sorry" he quickly apologised to me. "It's permanent" he stated as he pursed his lips together.
"Oh" I muttered as I stroked my hair again. "That's fine" I answered. "I dig it" I advised as I looked up at Ben to see him also looking at my hair. "Sorry Ben, I've lost some of my purple," I teased.
"Hey" he chuckled as he snuggled into my hair once more. "I've got you back, that is what matters" he added before pressing a kiss against the top of my head. "And anyway-" I heard him say which made me look up at him. "You're still purple, so you are still my perfect purple princess" he finished happily, and I couldn't help but notice my father rolling his eyes at this. However, before I could say anything to my father about this the guards stepped forward which made my father's face drop.
"Hey!" he exclaimed. "You promised" He reminded Ben harshly as he looked over to him.
"I know" Ben nodded and I watched as the guards stepped back.
"You promised what?" I asked, and I watched as Ben looked down at me.
"I promised your dad he could have a few hours here" he advised. "For helping" he added.
"Ok" I nodded. "I think that is fair," I noted. "Dad are you hungry?" I asked as I looked over to my father to see his face light up at this question.
"I could eat a Pegasus," he teased with a large grin.
"What would you like?" I asked.
"Really?" he replied slowly in shock.
"Yes" I nodded.
"Anything you would like," Ben interjected.
"Oh!" my father laughed as he quickly walked over to a nearby couch on the left-hand side of the room a short distance away from our bed and he dropped down into it. "This is brilliant" he grinned as he put his feet up on the coffee table.
"Don't push your luck Hades" Adam warned him.
"I'm not!" my father answered back sarcastically. "But the food on the Isle is-" he continued. "Yuck" he shuddered and me, Evie and Carlos all shared a glance at this - as we were all aware what the food was like on the Isle. "So don't be alarmed at the fact that I am going to make the most of this" he said smugly, and I watched as they both shared another dark glance.
"Mal- "my father stated as he looked over to me from the couch.
"Yes Dad?" I answered.
"I actually need a word with you-" he began. "In private" he urged as he threw everyone a glance around the room.
"Ok" I nodded as I felt Ben's arms tighten around me. "However-" I started. "You do know Ben won't be leaving my side" I told him, and I watched as my father threw a look at Ben before looking back at me.
"I assumed not" he stated bluntly, and the room fell into silence. I really didn't know how to feel at the fact that my father wanted to speak to me. I was intrigued as to what he wanted to speak to me about, and as he had helped me and as I wanted to build a better relationship with him, I believed he deserved the benefit of the doubt.