You could almost feel the temperature drop a few degrees when they arrived on the Isle, thanks to the clouds and lack of sunlight beneath the barrier.
With Mal in the lead, the four original VKs, Celia, and Pandora rode through the streets and alleys of the Isle of the Lost. As the alleys got narrower, they moved into a single-file line as they drove their bikes. After a few minutes, they pulled into a wider market-like space. There were clotheslines hanging above their heads and people hanging around.
One-by-one, they pulled their bikes up to a green wooden fence, causing a couple people to jump out of the way.
Pandora pulled one of Mal's old helmets off her head, and Jay did the same just in front of her. She swung one leg over the bike, stepping away from it and smoothing her outfit out while looking around at everything. For some reason, Evie had apparently been inspired to design an Isle-esque outfit for her within the last few days.
Her leather jacket was a close fit, hugging her curves, with a zipper that went across her front, from her right hip to her opposite shoulder, a green shirt peaking out from under it. The jacket was mostly light green with patches of light blue that looked like it had been spray painted on. Dark green vine patterns wrapped around both her sleeves, up over her shoulders, and coiled together between her shoulder blades to hang down the middle of her back. Her pants were dark green cargo pants with strips of blue and several pockets. She was also wearing black fingerless gloves and black and blue combat boots.
"Hey!" Mal called, sounding excited. "I'm me again!" she called, poking at her face as the others joined her.
"Duh." Celia answered, "Evil magic doesn't work here. Kinda the point." she pointed out sarcastically, starting to lead them down one of the alleys.
"Welcome back." Evie joked, throwing her arm over Mal's shoulders.
"Thank you."
Jay, Carlos, and Pandora exchanged amused grins, following along behind the other three girls.
They entered a short alley that had a sign near the front saying, "Fortunes Told". Celia plopped her helmet down on a round, red table, which is probably where Celia did her fortune-telling. She then walked confidently up to a large, red, steel door that said "Pa Deranje" in green letters. Celia grinned excitedly back at them before knocking on the door in some tune. Someone responded on the other side. Celia knocked on the door again before it slid open.
Grinning, Mal lead the way after Celia through the doorway. Pandora followed with the others.
"What is this place?" Pandora asked quietly.
"I think this is Facilier's arcade." Jay answered quietly. "A small side business when he's not the Headmaster of Dragon Hall. I've never been here before, though."
Sure enough, when they reached the end of the hallway, they stepped out onto a small balcony with a few steps. When Pandora glanced up, she realized they were basically stepping out of a giant mouth of some kind of purple voodoo creature.
"Daddy!" Celia called, running down the steps and toward a man in a burgundy and purple outfit with a top hat.
Dr. Facilier tossed his cane to a random person before picking Celia up and spinning her before setting her down again. Then father and daughter did a short dance routine, bringing a smile to Pandora's face. Maybe Jay and the others were right. Being a villain didn't automatically make them bad parents.
Facilier bent down for a kiss on the cheek, but Celia just flicked his hat, then tried to run away, only for her dad to grab her, both laughing.
Pandora chuckled, exchanging grins with Carlos. It was nice to see something so heartwarming even on a place as dreary as the Isle.
As Celia walked further into the arcade with her dad, the others moved down the steps, slowly taking in everything that was in the arcade. There was a giant neon sign above their heads that said "Dr. Facilier's Voodoo Arcade". There was a variety of your typical arcade games with a voodoo twist. Put the Pin in the Doll, Monster Madness,…
Pandora smiled slightly, her eyes traveling around the room. She knew arcades weren't nearly as popular nowadays compared to maybe ten, or even five, years ago. She remembered going to the arcade in Olympus with her friends a lot as a child, one of the many fun ideas Hermes came up with over the years. Unfortunately, as technology developed, kids lost interest in the arcade. But here it appeared to still be thriving, probably because of the lack of internet and advanced technology within the barrier. All that aside, these kids didn't look like "villain kids". They were just kids, hanging out with friends and enjoying their summer vacation just like any other kid in Auradon.
"Uh, guys?" Carlos called, "Come look at this."
Pandora, Mal, Evie, and Jay joined him around a small, old TV with bunny ear antennas, which was playing the Auradon News Network.
"There are rumors that Sleeping Beauty's daughter, Audrey, is behind the spell. We're trying to discover who is responsible for these vicious lies," the reporter explained, filming in front of Auradon Prep, "and which villain has perpetrated this evil." The reporter paused, his hand going to his ear, likely to an earpiece, "We have an update. It's what? It's moving this way? It's moving this way!"
Mal's head snapped up, her green eyes moving intently from one of her friends to the others. "We have to move. Now." she ordered tensely.
They all nodded, standing from where they'd sat in front of the TV and moving toward the door of the arcade.
When the front door slid open, the first thing out of Carlos' mouth was, "Wow, rookie mistake."
Pandora got a look between his and Jay's shoulders to see that their bikes now had a bunch of teenagers on them.
"Long time no see." the guy closest teased in an arrogant, Scottish accent as one-by-one the others started driving off with their bikes.
"Get off my bike, Hook." Jay ordered as they broke into a run toward the motorcycles.
"Catch me if you can, Jay." 'Hook' taunted as he sped off with the rest of his gang.
Pandora, like the others, slid to a stop on the slick pavement in the spot the bikes had just been parked.
"Over the roofs." Jay ordered Carlos, also glancing at Evie. "Cut 'em off."
Pandora glanced at Mal, and then after where the others had run off. After a split-second decision, she jerked her thumb after Jay and the others, quickly indicating to Mal she was going with them, before she bolted down the alley to catch up. A small part of her wanted to go with Mal, but this was definitely not the time to meet her father for the first time.
Not knowing the Isle as well as the others, Pandora's eyes scanned her surroundings as she ran, catching up with Jay. Evie and Carlos went after a different pair of bike thieves, Evie actually climbing a pile of junk to get onto the roof of a small building.
Seeing an opportunity, Pandora took a flying leap up a small stack of crates, using the momentum to push her foot against the wall of the building and managing to latch her hands over the top edge of the roof. She pulled herself up and raced across the flat roof and then along the edge, her eyes fixed on the alley below. She could see Jay chasing after "Hook" on his bike.
Looking down the alley ahead of them, Pandora picked up speed and left the side of the building, heading a little more toward the center. There was only one way for Hook to go up ahead, and that was to make a left turn. Pandora might be able to cut him off.
Reaching the edge of the building around the corner, Pandora paused, her eyes quickly scanning the alley for a way down. She saw Hook skid the bike around the corner. Knowing she was running out of time, Pandora took a breath before jumping. Her gloved hands latched onto a beam partway down the wall. She gave one good swing as Hook sped under her, flying down after him.
Her feet kicked into the back wheel of the bike, causing it to swerve. Pandora stumbled, landing partially on her behind. Unfortunately, Hook managed to correct the bike, laughing as he continued on his way.
Pandora stood up, wiping off her pants and huffing in embarrassment.
Jay ran up to her. "You good?" he asked, his breathing only slightly heavier than normal.
"Yeah, I'm fine." Pandora answered in a tone that clearly stated she wasn't happy with herself.
Jay patted her shoulder. "It was a good try. Impressive, actually. You almost had him."
Pandora gave him an unimpressed look. "Yeah. Almost." she agreed sarcastically.
Jay grinned. "Come on. Let's go find the others."
They retraced their steps and met back up with Carlos and Evie outside the arcade.
"Mal and Celia must have already gone to Hades' hideout while we were chasing the pirates." Evie announced when they were all together again.
"Well, Celia's the only one who knows where that is, so there's not much we can do other than wait." Carlos pointed out.
Reluctantly, the four of them entered the arcade to wait for Mal and Celia to return.
"I'm kinda surprised you came with us instead of going with Mal." Jay noted.
"I don't think this is the best time to meet my father for the first time." Pandora explained simply.
Jay nodded slightly. "I suppose that's true."
Meanwhile, under the Isle of the Lost:
Mal rolled her eyes while Hades pretended to hear cheering fans. She'd almost forgotten how arrogant and theatrical he was. She was so ready for this to be over.
Turning to him after a moment of thought, she asked, "Do you want to make up for being a lousy dad?"
Hades turned to her, his arrogant expression seemingly still in place, but she could tell she had his attention.
Holding out her hand, Mal ordered, "Give me the ember."
"The ember only works for me." Hades informed her coolly.
"No, it'll work for me." Mal countered. "We're blood."
Hades chuckled. "You're only half Hades. The ember won't do everything for you that it does for me." he explained, holding the blue ember in one hand.
Mal's eyes narrowed slightly. This could be the opening she'd been wondering about.
"What if there's two halves?" she asked casually.
Hades eyed her for a moment, seemingly unsure where she was going with this. "Two halves?"
"Well, you said I'm only half Hades." Mal reminded him unnecessarily. "What if there were two?"
Hades scoffed. "What-you're going to take Hadie with you? I doubt the kid has the power you're looking for. He can barely make a decent potion from what I hear."
"He's a kid." Mal reminded him harshly. "And I wasn't talking about Hadie."
Hades' brow rose tauntingly. "Oh? Then who are you talking about?"
"Does the name Persephone mean anything to you?" Mal asked in a fake casual voice.
Hades smirk fell from his face in an instant. He was silent for a moment before pulling himself together.
"Hardly." he scoffed slightly. "We lived in Olympus together, that's about it. Where'd you hear that name, anyway?"
"I made a new friend recently." Mal informed him, walking around him and leaning back against the wall in a relaxed pose. Hades' eyes followed her. "Her name's Pandora. She's Persephone's daughter."
Hades' eyes narrowed slightly. "Really." he sneered. "And that's supposed to mean something to me?"
Mal smirked slightly. She had a feeling Hades knew where this was going, he was just refusing to completely believe it.
"She's older than me. About seven months or so, if I remember correctly." Mal continued.
Hades looked away, his eyes still narrowed as he seemed to think things over. Finally, he spoke.
"Get to the point. We both know where you're going with this, so just spit it out."
"She's your daughter." Mal announced bluntly. "Even has blue hair and everything. Of course, it sounds like her mom's been dying her hair blonde her whole life, so she only recently discovered the blue hair."
Mal's green eyes watched her father. He wandered away a bit, his back to her as he leaned his shoulder against a wall.
"My mother always used to badmouth you when I was younger." Mal continued randomly. "She was always insulting some aspect of your character. But you know one thing she was always especially vicious about?" she asked rhetorically. "She always talked about how weak you were, because you apparently loved someone."
Hades' head turned just enough for Mal to know he was listening.
"I'm going to assume it was Persephone." Mal continued. "You actually loved Persephone. That's why you kidnapped her and forced her to come to the Isle."
"No." Hades snapped, spinning around and pointing a finger at her. "If you're going to spout this trash, get your facts straight. I never forced Persephone to do anything. She chose to come here. She chose to be with me."
"How?" Mal retorted. "There's no way she could have gotten through the barrier."
"And you think I could have?" Hades countered rhetorically. "If I could get through that blasted barrier, I'd leave, not force someone to join me here. When Persephone heard what Beast was planning she snuck onto the Isle before the barrier went up. She got herself trapped here to be with me."
Mal narrowed her eyes thoughtfully. That certainly wasn't what she would have guessed.
"So, how'd she end up back in Auradon?" Mal asked.
Hades turned and began pacing slightly. "You've seen what it's like out there." he insisted. "On the Isle. It's dull and dreary and depressing. She's the Goddess of Spring."
"She couldn't use her powers." Mal noted quietly.
Hades shook his head. "It was more than that. It wasn't her powers necessarily. Things actually grew a bit while she was here. I don't think it was her powers as much as her presence. There was some green and growth. But not much. It wasn't enough. The air was too stuffy and dirty, dreary, filled with smog, no sunlight. She became depressed, withdrawn. There was nothing I could do to help her."
Hades sneered suddenly. "But apparently Big Brother Zeusy was keeping an eye on things. Probably saw how miserable Persephone was and decided to come to the rescue. Not completely sure how he did it, I think he used one of his stupid bolts to temporarily crack the barrier, then sent someone in to get Persephone. She was gone before I knew what was happening."
Mal tilted her head slightly. "When did that happen?"
"Early 1998. January." Hades answered vaguely. "All the plants on the Isle died within a couple months."
Mal nodded. "She would have been a month or two pregnant with Pandora when she left. And then, what, you rebounded with my mom right after?"
Hades glared at her, but she merely raised her brows.
Mal glanced over at Celia, who was waiting near the entrance to the tunnel, pretending to give them privacy while probably listening to every word. Mal knew they were short on time.
"Look, whether or not the ember completely works for me, I need it to save my home." Mal announced. "Give me the ember so I can stop Audrey."
Hades turned and stared at her for a long moment.
"On one condition." Hades finally answered.
Mal raised her eyebrows expectantly, waiting for his terms.
"I want to meet her." Hades answered, straightening his shoulders and meeting Mal's eyes straight on. "Pandora. My other daughter. I want to meet her."
Mal pursed her lips for a moment.
"You're going to be Queen. You have the pull. You can make it happen. I want to meet her." Hades added.
Mal took a deep breath before letting it out. She couldn't tell him that Pandora was currently on the Isle. They didn't have time to do all this right now. But they may never have the chance, either, when they close the barrier for good. But that wasn't Mal's problem right now. She needed to focus on stopping Audrey and saving Auradon.
"I'll do what I can." Mal finally answered firmly, "It also depends on if she wants to meet you, too." she pointed out, figuring that could be her cop out when this was all over.
Hades narrowed his eyes at her, his blue eyes, the exact shade of Pandora's, boring into Mal's green. He rolled the ember around in his fingers for a moment, and Mal was sure he would refuse. Finally, however, he set the ember in Mal's open palm. She smiled, turning to walk away.
"If it gets wet, it's game over." Hades called as she walked up the stairs toward the tunnel.
Mal waved a hand without looking back, showing that she heard him. When she was out of sight, Hades chuckled.
"That's my girl."
AN: I took a couple days off work, so here's a surprise update for all of you. Pandora won't be meeting her father for a while, but let me know what you thought of this chapter, especially Mal and Hades' little chat.
Thanks!