As King Beast's first decree as king of the United States of Auradon, he had every villain and sidekick banished to the Isle of the Lost where they would be held prisoner for the rest of their days. One of these villains was a powerful God and the Lord of the Underworld, Hades… and he was not too happy about that.

"Ugh! I can't believe it!" Hades ranted; he slumped against a nearby wall and folded his arms over his chest. "I am a GOD! I don't belong in a place like this! Those fools over in Auradon think they're so great! So much better than us! Ha! While we're left to rot on this miserable island like caged animals, they get to go off and live happily ever after! Oh, but it's true love! Blech, mortals! This is SO UNFAIR!" He stomped his foot in anger and clutched his ember tight in his fist.

"You said it, boss! So unfair! Those stupid, stupid mortals!" One of Hades' minions, Pain commented.

"Yeah! And their stupid lovey-dovey smiles! Makes me sick!" The second minion, Panic chimed in.

"Thanks for the unnecessary commentary, fellas." Hades sarcastically said. "Oh, what I'd like to do to that King Beast. I would LOVE to go over to Auradon right now, walk straight up to that fancy-dressed thick-skulled cretin, look him straight in the eye, and give him a piece of my mi…" Hades suddenly trailed off and went silent.

Pain and Panic looked up at their master and saw that he was looking at something with wide eyes and his mouth open. It looked as though the God of the Underworld was in a trance and they had no idea why.

"Uh, boss? Boss, you okay?" Pain asked, waving a hand in front of Hades' eyes.

"What are you looking at?" Panic asked, snapping his fingers in his boss's face.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa! Who is THAT?!" Hades asked.

Pain and Panic turned their heads to see what he was looking at and they saw a group of women standing a few yards away. One of them was wearing a black dress and holding a scepter in one hand, but the most peculiar thing about her was the lack of hair and the giant pair of horns on the top of her head. Nevertheless, she was quite beautiful.

"You fools!" The woman screamed in anger; she seemed to be yelling at a group of goblin-like creatures dressed as guards. "I commanded you to wait at the castle! Away with you!"

She pointed her scepter at the goblins and they disappeared in a burst of green flames. The woman sighed and leaned up against a wall, pinching the bridge of her nose.

"Ugh, I suppose that's what I get for hiring goblins. Honestly, ladies, you just can't find good help nowadays." She said, glancing at her new companions.

"Agreed." A woman wearing dark robes and a crown replied.

"Here, here." Another woman with black and white hair and wearing a fur coat added.

"Wow, are you two seeing what I'm seeing? What a knockout!" Hades said, a big smile worming its way onto his lips.

"Which one?" Panic asked.

"The lady with the tentacles, the crown, or the fur coat?" Pain asked.

"No, you meatheads. I'm talking about her!" Hades pointed a finger at the woman with the scepter.

"Her?" The two minions asked.

"The lady with the horns?" Pain asked.

"Why her?" Panic added.

"Are you two blind? Just look at her! She's dark, she's tough, she's elegant, she's stylish, and not to mention, she is GORGEOUS! Plus, we even have the same management style! Now that is a ghoul for me."

"That's why you keeping staring at her like that?" Pain asked.

"Weird." Panic chimed in.

The flame-headed god didn't seem to listen to their last comments. He smiled. "Name."

"Huh?"

"You heard me. Name."

"What?"

"Gimme a name."

"Uh…"

"You idiots! Who is she?! WHAT IS HER NAME?!"

"Oh! Why didn't you just say that?" Pain asked.

Hades groaned and facepalmed.

"Well, she is Maleficent, the Mistress of All Evil." Panic clarified.

"Wow! Maleficent, what a name. Just saying it warms my soul, if I had one." Hades said with a chuckle.

"Ooh, don't look now, boss. But…" Pain said, pointing a finger at the women again.

Hades looked and saw Jafar waltzing over to them and he bounced his eyebrows at Maleficent. He frowned.

"I should've known." He grumbled in disappointment.

"My dear, I've been looking for a diamond in the rough." Jafar said, trying to sound smooth.

Maleficent rolled her eyes and wacked him on the face with one of her long, flowing sleeves before the top of his turban suddenly started on fire. In a panic, Jafar patted his turban with his free hand as fast as he could to put out the fire and it quickly went out. He stood there for a moment or two in surprise, unsure of what to say to that.

"Real smooth, Prince Charming." Jafar's parrot, Iago, said sarcastically.

"Quiet, you." Jafar grumbled as he walked away in defeat.

"Oh come now. Don't be so serious, darling." Maleficent laughed as she watched him leave.

Hades couldn't help but laugh along with her.

"She even has a sense of humor! Just when I thought she couldn't be any more perfect for me." He grinned and adjusted his leather coat.

"Whatcha doin', boss?" Pain asked.

"Isn't it obvious? I'm gonna go introduce myself." Hades answered, fixing his eyebrows.

"Are you sure you wanna do that?" Panic asked.

"Yeah. I mean, look at what she did to that last guy." Pain added.

The God scoffed. "Come on, it's nothing I can't handle. Now don't save my spot, boys. Daddy's gone a courtin'." He smiled and walked over to Maleficent while her back was turned.

"Can you believe him?" Maleficent said to her friends.

"A diamond in the rough? Wonder where he got that from." The woman in the fur coat scoffed.

"Ooh, ladies. Something tall, dark, and handsome is coming this way." The woman in the crown said, seeing Hades approach.

"What?" Maleficent asked before Hades stopped right beside her; she yelped in surprise.

The dark fairy looked up at the man before her and realized that he was practically towering over her; she was almost taken aback by his dark clothes and bright blue mohawk. But the Evil Queen was right; he was rather handsome.

"Evening, dark and deadly." Hades said, trying to sound smooth. "I'm Hades, Lord of the Underworld. Maybe you've heard of me?" He smiled and bounced his eyebrows at her.

Maleficent blinked a few times and said nothing before bonking Hades in the side of the head with her scepter.

"Ow!" He cried out in pain; he rubbed the side of his head. "Uh… huh, seems clear my reputation precedes me." He let out an embarrassed chuckle; Maleficent and her friends were giving him very confused looks. "Uh, okay. Good chat. I'm glad we had a talk… that I'm continuing now by myself. Good." He briskly walked away as his cheeks turned bright red in embarrassment.

"What was that all about?" The woman with tentacles asked.

"It was obvious he only wanted to talk about himself, Ursula. Not exactly worth my time." Maleficent answered; her friends laughed as she watched Hades walk back over to his minions. Her expression softened ever so slightly.

'Though he does seem rather charming…' She said to herself, pressing her lips in thought.

"You sure can pick 'em, boss. She is hot." Panic said as Hades walked over to where he was originally standing.

"So, when's the big day?" Pain asked, almost oblivious to the exchange that had just taken place.

"Boys, I propose a toast. YOU!" Hades screamed as he blasted fire at his two minions; they were burned and they immediately passed out. "Ugh, nitwits." He glanced over at Maleficent; he saw that she was laughing with her friends.

"Pardon me." A new voice said.

Hades nearly jumped and turned to see Professor Ratigan standing next to him. He had a somewhat sly look on his face; it looked like he wanted something.

"What do you want, Ratigan?" Hades asked, rolling his eyes.

"Well, that's a fine 'how do you do', Lord of the Underworld." Ratigan said sarcastically; he adjusted his neckerchief. "You know, I couldn't help but overhear your little predicament. And I don't mean to step on your toes here, but have you ever stopped to think that people would like you better if you tried to be, oh I don't know, nice to them?"

Hades' eyes widened before he burst out laughing. "Nice?! Are you kidding me, Ratigan? I am not nice! Nice isn't my thing, it clashes with my evil look. And is Miss Beautiful Short Fuse over there really gonna go for NICE?" He glanced over at Maleficent. "Yeah, I think not. Everybody, meeting downstairs in FIVE SECONDS!"

"Hold it! I'll prove it to you. Watch and learn." Ratigan said before making his way over to Maleficent.

"Hope you paid up on the fire insurance, Ratsy." Hades called out.

"Don't look now, ladies." The Evil Queen said.

"Well, good evening and how do you do, Madame Maleficent." Ratigan warmly greeted, approaching the dark fairy.

Maleficent rolled her eyes and muttered under her breath, "Not another one." She quickly put on a fake smile and said through gritted teeth, "Hello, Ratigan. What do you want?"

"Nothing, my dear. Nothing at all. I just wanted to talk." Ratigan replied. "I hope you're having a nice evening, especially considering our… current circumstances. Nonetheless, I truly sincerely hope you're feeling somewhat happy today." He gave her a smile and bowed to her.

"Uh… yes indeed, very happy. And giddy with fun." Maleficent nervously said through a giant, fake grin. "Will you leave me alone now?"

Hades watched the exchange with wide eyes; he hadn't heard the muttered phrases she said. "Whoa, that was… impressive. I can't believe these words are actually coming out of my mouth, but… there might be something to this 'nice' thing after all."

Pain and Panic quickly shot up onto their feet in shock. "NICE?!"

"Boss, are you listening to yourself?" Pain exclaimed.

"Do you even realize what you're saying?" Panic asked.

"Boys, you don't get it. In order to get the girl, I gotta be nice." Hades explained. "But the problem here is that I can't be nice. It's just NOT ME. This is torture! This is like something I would come up with! What am I gonna do?!"

"Don't you worry, Hades." Ratigan said as he walked back over to the distressed God. "If you want to be nice, I'll teach you everything I know. You have but to ask."

"You? Want to help me?"

"Of course I do. With my help, you'll be acting like a proper gentleman in no time. But no lying, no tricks, and absolutely no sleazy behavior. Understand?"

"Uh…"

"Do you want to win over Maleficent or not?"

Hades glanced over at Maleficent just as she was walking away with her friends.

"Yes."

"Then you'll have to do exactly as I say. You have to promise you'll really try."

"Fine, fine. I promise. Cross my heart and hope to… uh, oh. Little too late for that. I guess you'll just have to take my word for it."

"Hmmmm… Works for me."

"But do you think we could start this tomorrow? I've had a pretty long day."

"Of course. After all, a gentleman needs his beauty sleep."

"Then I guess we're in business."

"I suppose we are."

They shook hands.