Hades was slumped over on a bench with a defeated look on his face; Captain Hook and Jafar were standing nearby in an attempt to console their friend. He had unbuttoned his suit jacket and he was holding a glass of water in his hands; as of now, he felt like nothing short of a complete loser.
"Come on, Hades. Don't be like that." Jafar said, trying to comfort him.
"Yes, my friend. Clearly this… look just isn't working." Hook added.
Hades took a swig from his glass. "I just can't believe it! What was I thinking? I changed myself completely just to impress a woman who would never go for someone like me. Am I insane? I'm a total failure."
"There's no such thing as failure, until you give up. That is when you fail." Hook said.
"Shockingly, this isn't making me feel any better." The Lord of the Underworld said with a depressed sigh.
"Don't be too hard on yourself, mate. It wasn't your idea to change." The hook-handed pirate replied.
"Hook is right. Raitgan was the one who told you to be a completely different person." Jafar chimed in.
At that moment, Hades had an epiphany. He sat up straight and threw his glass onto the ground, causing it to shatter on impact.
"You're right. You are absolutely right! That is all that rodent's fault! He's the one to blame!" He stood up before his whole body burst into flames. When the flames subsided, Hades was back in his old clothes, his hair was back to its old self, and he had an enraged look on his face. "WHERE IS RATIGAN?!"
Not too far away, Ratigan froze in fear when he heard Hades scream his name.
"Uh oh, I think you made him mad." Pain taunted.
"…You'd better run." Panic added.
"Duly noted." Ratigan quickly said before running away just before a fireball hit the ground, narrowly missing his feet.
"Why you sleazy old RAT! Come back here!" Hades screamed, chasing after Ratigan and throwing more fire at him.
The two imps laughed mockingly at Ratigan's situation
"Yes! Hades is evil again!" Pain cried happily.
"Hallelujah!" Panic cheered.
"What is it with the men on this isle anyway?" Maleficent asked her friends.
"Who knows with them?" Ursula replied with a shrug.
"I'm afraid not a lot of men are too bright in general." The Evil Queen added.
"Yes, they get something stuck in their heads and you can't do a thing with them." Cruella chimed in.
All four women tensed up when they heard someone scream. They turned their heads to see Ratigan being chased by Hades.
"I don't wanna die! I don't wanna die!" He chanted in fear, running past the four villainesses.
"Ratigan! Get back here so I can DESTROY YOU!" Hades yelled in pure, unbridled anger; he was so mad that didn't even realize he pushed Maleficent out of his path.
Maleficent was greatly intrigued as she watched the Lord of the Underworld chase the poor rat into an alleyway a few ways away. She raised a curious eyebrow.
"What was that?" Cruella asked.
"Wasn't that Hades?" Ursula asked.
"What is going on?" The Evil Queen asked.
"This just got interesting…" Maleficent said to herself, standing up and heading towards the alley; a curious smile slowly crept onto her lips.
By now, Hades had Ratigan cornered and completely helpless. Ratigan was breathing heavily, both from running so much and from sheer terror. Hades grabbed him by the neck and pulled him closer to his face.
"Oh dear…" Ratigan muttered.
"You haven't seen 'oh dear' yet." Hades snarled as his free hand started on fire.
"Now, Hades, there's no need to do anything hasty. You know I was only trying to help."
"Yeah? Well some help you were. Because of you and your horrible advice, I humiliated myself in front of the most beautiful creature that has ever lived. And now, you're going to pay the price. No one in this world makes a fool out of ME."
The flames in the God's hand grew bigger and brighter, causing Ratigan to panic even more.
"Please, Hades. Don't do this to me! Whatever happened to being nice?" He begged.
"Nice? You know I'm NOT a nice guy and I NEVER will be. And do you know what sounds nice to me right about now? ROASTED RAT!" Hades shouted, his hair flaring up again.
"Roasted rat? Ooooh! Now, there's an idea I like." A familiar voice said.
Hades quickly turned around and was shocked to see Maleficent standing there with a mischievous smile on her face. His eyes widened and he quickly loosened his grip around Ratigan's throat; Ratigan fell to the ground, gasping and wheezing for air.
"…You do?" Hades asked.
She nodded. "Forgive my bluntness, but I'm assuming Ratigan over there has been giving you something of a hard time?"
"A hard time? Are you kidding me?" Hades scoffed. "Ratigan gave me something much WORSE. He gave me the most terrible advice! And I not only believed it, I actually TOOK it! ARGH!"
"Whoa! Easy, big fellow. Easy." Maleficent said with a giggle; she gently took his arm. "I know exactly where you're coming from. If I was in your position, I would've done the same thing."
"You would?"
"Of course. I mean, come on. Ratigan is a terrible flirt, not to mention he's so annoying."
"Annoying? W-w-w-wha? I-I-I mean, you… You just the words right out of my mouth."
"You know, I appreciate a man with a fiery disposition. It brings out the dragon in me, if you get my meaning." She gave him a wink.
"Really?" Hades smiled and snaked his arm around Maleficent's shoulder. "Well let me tell you something, sweetheart. I get mad a lot. I mean, I always get mad. I'm basically mad all the time. Ask my minions."
"Oh, don't worry. I believe you. I saw proof of that firsthand."
"I figured."
"And I must say, I have NEVER seen a man blow a fuse like that before. That's very impressive and I don't impress easily."
"Thank you."
"Hold up, you actually enjoyed that?!" Ratigan said in shock.
"Shut up. You're still in trouble." Hades said, glaring at him; Ratigan stayed quiet.
Maleficent giggled. "Hades, is it?"
"Yes?" Hades asked.
"This may sound a little forward, but how would you like to go for a walk with me?"
Hades' eyes widened in surprise. "A walk? With you? Around the Isle? Just the two of us?"
"Why yes, of course… unless you're not up for it."
"No, no, I never said that. I mean… yeah, I'd love to." He offered his arm to her. "Shall we?"
She smiled and took his arm. "We shall."
Then the two villains walked away, leaving Ratigan alone in the alley completely flabbergasted.
"…What just happened?" He asked himself.
As Maleficent and Hades exited the alleyway together, the other villains in the area watched them in shock, including Hook, Jafar, Ursula, Cruella, and the Evil Queen. Soon, every villain started whispering about the two of them, wondering what the heck was going on.
"Everyone is whispering about us." Maleficent said.
"So what?" Hades said before Pain and Panic ran up to them.
"Boss, you did it!" Pain cried.
"You got the girl!" Panic exclaimed.
"Not now, boys. I'm busy. Move." Hades said as he and Maleficent pushed their way past the two minions.
Pain and Panic watched his boss walk away with the dark fairy on his arm before they looked at each other and smiled big, excited grins.
"…He's back!" They cheered.