Chapter Eleven
A/N: I do not own anything other than my OCs when they come out to play. Everything else belongs to either Disney or the Greek Myths.
Thank you all so much for your continued support! I love waking up to your reviews—it makes it easier to get through the work day! :D
Tracie Adams: Ask and you'll receive! :D Well at least for Mal reading next!
Urmimala Hazra: Oh yeah, Demeter will be kicking Zeus' butt for sure!
Katie2001: Oh I'm so glad you liked the chapter and thank you so much for the compliment! :D
twilightgirl587: Eugene is fun isn't he? And how can you not love Dizzy?!
danifan3000: I…have no explanation for that (the kids with Greek heritage not calling their parents by the Greek version of mom and dad).
Marcus Emrys: In all honesty Mal age five and on are my favorites to write too just because of the sass. Babies are cute but hard to write!
Dance love 2007: Glad you like the story!
DS Rider: Ah! Okay…I'll look around for one! :D
EllaBSinging: Oh thank you so much!
AmethystDragon14: Yay! Oh yeah Emir has no idea how right he is!
Fangirlnerd001: Thank you so much! I'm so glad you like it! :D
billyandkimfan1994: Oh yeah, it'll definitely be a long talk!
MarvelGirl2005: I'll see what I can do! :D
Anonymous Reader: Because Leah is a 'Queen' and therefore she thinks she doesn't have to show the same graces as us. Yeah this reading is definitely ruining Mal's rep amongst the Auradonians. Heh, I can totally see Hades 'adopting' all the royals except for Leah and Beast! Glad you liked the chapter!
Lord of the A.U. FanFiction: I'll definitely consider it! :D
Hope you all like the chapter! Let me know what you think! :D
"Alright, let's see what this scroll has to offer," Neal said with a small smile.
The next time Hades was able to have a one on one conversation with his daughter wasn't until a month after the first one. Yes, he still saw her about once a week whenever she came into the restaurant but it was never longer than ten minutes or so. She came in, placed her order which nine times out of ten was a fish dish of some kind, and leave.
"Nine times out of ten," Uma snorted in amusement. "Like Uncle Hades didn't only have fish back then."
Hades had been trying to come up with a fish dish that took longer to make but with no luck. A ten minute prep and cook time seemed to be the perfect amount. The fish either came out too dry or too oily otherwise. Persephone, though, had promised to get a cook book the next time she was off the Isle—or at the very least print off some recipes.
"I mean I'd try to go to the library at Dragon Hall and see if there'd be a cookbook for you dad but it's locked and only Facilier has the key," Mal said.
Ben and Belle looked at her, horror on their faces. "They lock the library?!"
"Probably the worst thing you could have said to two bookworms," Chip told Mal.
Never before had Hades longed for something as simple as an internet connection but now he did. It was bad enough Beast had to put a magical barrier around the Isle but he could have at least given them dial up at the very least. It's not like they could use the Internet to escape.
"Why did we not include internet?" Belle asked, looking over at Beast. "Lord Hades raises a good point, it's not as if it could be used to escape."
"Dear, when we set up the Isle, internet wasn't exactly a thing," Beast reminded her.
"So why didn't we set it up when it became a thing?" Belle said as she raised an eyebrow.
"Oh honestly," Leah scoffed before Beast could answer. "It is a prison after all. They shouldn't have the creature comforts we have."
"I don't like her," Hades muttered to Persephone. "Belle though…she could grow on me."
Persephone snorted in amusement.
Plus, the image of Maleficent trying to use a computer was one Hades would pay to make real instead of living solely in his head.
"Can…can we make that a reality?" Chip asked with a grin, turning to look over at Ben.
Ben shook his head. "How is it you're the older one?"
"That's not a 'no' Benji!"
Hades had been closing up the restaurant when he saw Mal running past him out of the corner of his eye. Now, a child of the Isle running someplace normally wouldn't garner attention. Nine times out of ten, the kid was running from whatever shop keep they stole from and normally was able to get away from in a matter of minutes. The wonders of youth.
Demeter stiffened and shot Hades a look. Why was her granddaughter running around unattended? She was only five years old! For a Godling, that was practically still an infant!
"You know, if you know what you're doing, you don't need to run," Jay said with a smirk.
"Yes, yes, we know you're skilled Jay," Uma shook her head as Harry rolled his eyes.
However, this was Mal. There would have been no reason for her to steal from or run from any of the shop keeps in the area. Being the daughter of Maleficent gave her leeway in that regard. Most shop keeps would have given her the item she asked for as tribute just to keep Maleficent happy.
"Frollo wouldn't," Mal chuckled. "That's fine too because I enjoy the thrill of stealing from him."
"That's if you happen to find yourself in Angel territory?" Jay asked.
"Of course! What, do you think I set out to go steal Frollo's stale bread?"
It does help to have the ability to turn into a dragon even if the magical barrier prevents Maleficent from actually doing it, Hades thought as he saw Fred Frollo chase after his daughter.
"He was what?" Jay asked, turning to Mal with a growl in his voice.
"Please, you honestly think Freddy could do anything to me?" Mal scoffed.
"Yes!"
"Glad to see you think so highly of me Jay," Mal muttered. This stupid reading was going to completely ruin her rep.
To almost everyone's shock, however, Estelle picked up his heads and growled as Neal mentioned Freddy's name.
"Good boy," Jay and Harry said in unison.
"Don't encourage him," Mal sighed. She didn't want Estelle thinking it was okay to threaten people. That was her job.
Guess Mal didn't steal from a shop keep after all. Time to see what the little French fanatic wants with my daughter.
"Nothing good, that's what he wants," Harry muttered and winced as Mal whacked him over the head.
"Dad, don't pay any attention to Harry. Freddy's just a pest, nothing I can't handle," she told Hades.
"Nothing we can't handle you mean?" Uma corrected.
Hades shook his head. "Sorry girls but that's not going to happen."
Be careful Mal, Aurora thought as she gently bit her lip.
Following at a distance, Hades watched as Frollo's son chased Mal into a nearby alley. Mal looked around, seemingly frantic, as she reached the dead end and whirled around to face the other boy.
Ben frowned and glanced at Emir and Akiho, both boys having the same small frowns on their faces as well. They'd grown to like Mal and the other VKs even if they hadn't been in the room for that long…they didn't want to hear about one of them getting hurt.
Hades longed to step in, to protect his daughter from whatever was about to happen.
"So why didn't you?!" Demeter snapped.
"Demeter, out of the two of us, who knows more about the Isle's culture?" Hades asked.
"What does that have to do with anything?"
"Answer the question."
"Well…you."
Hades nodded. "I made a judgement call and I was prepared to step in if it went south."
But he knew that on the Isle, an adult stepping in was the ultimate sign of weakness.
Carlos nodded slightly to himself. It was bad enough when the Rats stepped in because at least everyone knew they had him under their protection. If an adult stepped in…he might as well just hide in his closet because he'd be labeled the Isle Joke.
The only acceptable time was when there was a known alliance or the odds were stacked horribly against the kid the adult was coming to the rescue for. At this point, with a one on one match up, there was no way Mal would forgive him if Hades stepped in now.
"He knows me so well," Mal smirked.
"He should, considering he's half you," Akiho pointed out and chuckled as Mal's smirk vanished slightly, as if not happy that someone had poked a hole in her logic.
After all, reputation was everything on the Isle.
"So not that different from Auradon then," Aziz mused. "I mean, to some people around here, reputation is everything."
"Caught you now, you little witch," Fred growled and Hades could see bright purple paint splattered all over the boy's clothing. Hades could only imagine which Isle resident was responsible for that.
"Thank you, thank you," Mal said, pretending to take a bow as Uma, Jay, Hadie, Celia, Dizzy, and Harry applauded. "I can't take all the credit of course. Freddy stood there and took it."
Why is she alone? Hades thought. From what I've seen, Uma and Hook's kid have been at her side like glue.
"Where were we?" Uma asked Harry.
"Probably at the fish shop or the chip shoppe," Harry said but with a frown at the fact that Freddy had been able to be able to get to Mal.
Hades could only hope that Mal had acted alone and that she didn't have a falling out with her minions. The Isle was dangerous enough with help. Trying to navigate it alone was near suicide. Even Maleficent had her minions, and was even trying to recruit some non goblin ones if the rumor mill was to be believed.
"Considering what Uma and Mal told us about Maleficent trying to recruit Ursula, that rumor should be believed," Rowyn nodded.
She had already snatched up Cruella, though honestly Hades thought the two of them were made for each other. Both of them were completely insane and cared only for themselves.
You're not wrong there Lord Hades, Carlos thought with a small shudder as he thought about the bear traps that surrounded his bed.
That, in addition to Jafar, brought Maleficent's non goblin minions to a grand total of two. While there were safety in numbers, it didn't matter when one terrified the rest of the Isle based on reputation alone.
"…yeah that would tend to help," Akiho nodded.
"You were in our territory, Frollo," Mal said, bringing Hades' attention back to the matter at hand and standing as tall as she could which wasn't that tall.
"Dad!"
"Dear I think our daughter's upset with you," Persephone chuckled.
"You don't say," Hades shook his head.
Despite Frollo's son being just three years older than Mal, the boy still towered over her due to his lean build. "You honestly think you could go after Harry's sister and get away with it? You got off lucky that Harriet only splashed you in the face with sea water. You should have left her alone when she told you the first time."
"Was she alright?" Elle asked, looking over at Harry. "Your sister I mean."
Harry nodded. "It'll take more than Freddy Frollo to take down Harriet that's for sure."
"Honestly guys should respect when a girl says no," Lonnie stated. "If not, well I could always introduce them to a sword!"
"Okay but then girls should do the same if a guy says no!" Chad spoke up.
"When do you ever say no?"
Kit and Cinderella turned to look at their son, both of them raising an inquisitive eyebrow.
"A wonderful story. I don't suppose you have any proof to back it up?" Frollo sneered. "You think just because Maleficent is your mother, you can just walk around the Isle and do what you please? The wicked shall have their just reward."
"I'm conflicted," Phillip Jr. muttered to his father.
"About what?"
"I don't like this guy because of how he's treating Mal but he also doesn't like Maleficent and we all don't like her."
"What does your gut tell you?" Phillip Sr. asked his son.
Phil bit his lip. "That…that this guy's bad news," he said softly.
"Trust your gut," his father said. "It won't steer you wrong."
Mal rolled her eyes, the frantic look having faded away to be replaced with bored indifference.
"Oh so the way she always looks at Freddy?" Uma chuckled.
"Newsflash weirdo, we're all wicked here. Why else would we be in a place called the Isle of the Lost?"
"That—."
"My logic was that of a five year old's. Don't poke holes in it," Mal stated, glaring slightly at Ben.
"My father was unjustly persecuted—"
"Yeah, yeah. Tell that to somebody who cares," Mal said and Hades could tell she was reaching behind her for something. She was leaning up against a barrel so Hades could only assume she was reaching for something to fight back with so he was a little surprised to see Mal holding what looked like a water balloon.
"Ooh are we going to soak him?" Ashaki grinned.
Frollo opened his mouth to respond but Mal let the balloon go and a cloud of dark red smoke filled the alley. Quickly making his way down the street a bit, Hades ducked into another alleyway and pulled Mal into it as she ran past.
"And you didn't scream?" Harry asked Mal.
"What do you take me for, a prissy princess?" Mal scoffed. "Besides, you and Uma pulled me into an alleyway at least once a week by that point."
"What are you—?!"
Hades shushed her just as Frollo ran past, his clothes now stained with the dark red smoke that clashed with the purple paint already on it.
"Oh I wish you took a picture," Macaria grinned. She did not like the sound of this Freddy guy, judging by Mal and the other's reactions to him.
Looking around, he snarled as he couldn't find Mal and ran off.
"I had him right where I wanted him!" Mal exclaimed as soon as the coast was clear. "You didn't need to butt in!"
Oh dear Gods, I think I see some Zeus there, Poseidon thought with an amused chuckle. After all, their little brother was quite stubborn when he wanted to be.
"Oh I'm sorry that I thought it might be a good idea to see what's going on when you ran past me, Frollo hot on your heels," Hades said, scoffing a bit.
"Lord Hades should have smote that thorn," Harry grumbled.
"Why do you even care?" Mal shot back.
"How about the fact that you're my daughter?" Hades stated. "That's the only reason I need."
Hades had to school his features to make sure Mal couldn't see the hurt on his face. She didn't know, she still didn't know. He honestly hadn't expected Maleficent would have told Mal straight away but even she couldn't be that cruel to keep his identity from Mal?
"We're still talking about Maleficent right? Tall, kinda frightening, really good at cursing people?"
"Actually I'm taller than her if you don't count the horns," Mal told Hyllus.
Oh who was he kidding, of course Maleficent was that cruel. And of course, there was never a right moment for Hades to tell Mal himself.
What, was he supposed to just say 'oh by the way Mal, I'm your dad' when he handed her her meal? She'd probably think he was insane and never stop by the restaurant again.
"Don't even pretend that Uncle Hades doesn't have a point there," Uma told Mal, who'd opened her mouth to object.
"I care because you have certain skills I need," Hades said carefully, thinking on his feet. "How'd you like to earn all the free food you can eat?"
"Not going to lie, that caught my attention," Mal nodded.
Mal stared at him for a second before her eyes narrowed a little in suspicion. "What's the catch?"
"Didn't you hear Lord Hades last time? It's cod!"
"I need a squirt bottle to spray you with," Aziz sighed as Emir grinned at his own joke.
"Once a week, you'll need to run down to Hook's fish shop and pick up the order," Hades told her. He'd add more responsibilities once their relationship developed but for right now, he knew that she trusted Hook's son and Hook's son presumably trusted her, therefore Hook should hopefully do the same. It was a good place to start.
"Well that and Hook seemed terrified of Maleficent," Kit pointed out. "Therefore, the girl he thinks is the daughter of Maleficent should have no quarrel with him in addition to her being friends with his son."
"I like him," Hades nodded and Kit couldn't help but grin slightly.
"That's it?" Mal asked, crossing her arms over her chest and raised an eyebrow. "I stop by Hook's shop once a week and I get free food from your place whenever I want?"
"Why are you questioning it?!"
"Because a deal that good had to be questioned," Mal stated. "And why do you care Beastie Jr.?"
"It's Ben," Akiho said. "He cares about everyone."
Hades nodded, while mentally adding in that he'd be keeping an eye on her in case Frollo or his gang tried anything. Though he already did that anyway—he trusted Maleficent as far as he could throw her. "You got it."
"So…have you thrown Maleficent before?" Hadie asked, looking at his dad.
"It's an expression," Hades sighed.
"Oh. So follow up—."
"No, I'm not throwing Maleficent."
"And the gang," Mal said quickly.
"Mal, you didn't just potentially ruin your chance at getting free food just so we'd be included in the deal did you?" Uma groaned.
"It worked didn't it?" Mal shrugged.
"I'm sorry?"
"My gang gets the same thing," Mal elaborated, and Hades couldn't help the feeling of relief that washed over him upon hearing that. So Mal had been acting alone when she went up against Frollo.
"Of course I was! What you thought Uma and I were in a fight or something?" Mal scoffed. "The last time I had a fight with an ally was when I was three, before I met Uma. And in all honesty, I'm glad to be rid of the Castor."
"Castor?" Ben asked.
"One of the other VK gangs on the Isle," Mal said. "I was allies with Mim's granddaughter until she decided she didn't want to be under my shadow anymore."
"Jokes on her now, she has to deal with Zevon," Uma smirked.
Hook Jr was probably at his father's shop and Uma was more likely with Ursula. "They get the free food too or the deal's off."
Hades glowered slightly but couldn't say no. As much as he distrusted Hook and had no relationship with his niece, he couldn't refuse Mal.
"Aww," Aurora couldn't help but sigh at that.
Hades shook his head and turned to Mal. "I think these scrolls are going to ruin our reps in Boreadon."
"You think?!" Mal exclaimed.
"Fine," Hades said, trying to keep his tone neutral. "As long as they say they're with you when they come to get their food. I'm not in the charity business."
"What's the point of making a deal for free food if the policy is kids don't pay?" Audrey asked, rolling her eyes.
Mal paused and looked over at him in suspicion. "I thought it was restaurant policy that the kids of the Isle ate for free?"
Mal and Audrey looked disgusted at having had the same thought while Uma and Harry chuckled.
"Policies change," Hades said simply. He wouldn't actually charge any of the other kids of the Isle. Well, maybe with the exception of Frollo's brat.
"Oh I would have loved to see his face the first time he realized he had to pay," Mal cackled.
"He's actually banned from the restaurant," Hades stated. "All of those Angels are."
Yes the restaurant was on neutral grounds and yes it had been established as a place for all kids to get food if they needed it. But Hades had overheard a certain conversation Mal and her friends had had when she was nine…let's just say it was safer for the Frollo brat to be banned from the restaurant.
But Mal didn't need to know that. "Do we have a deal?"
"I thought you didn't make deals with your kids?" Zeus asked, looking over at Hades.
"It's not a deal, it's an alliance," Hades stated. "I try to make my deals where I come out on top after all."
Mal nodded and held out her hand to shake. Hades took it and couldn't help but give a small smile at how small her hand was compared to his as they shook on it.
"I get it! I was small when I was five!" Mal grumbled.
"Just five cuz?" Uma chuckled.
It was a weird thing to notice but he did.
"Okay, go and run off now," Hades told her. "First order pick up is this Tuesday by eleven. Don't be late."
Mal nodded and ran off, presumably to let Uma and Harry know about her alliance with Hades.
"Why not keep that a secret?" Lucy asked.
"They benefited from the alliance. It would make sense to tell them," Mal told her.
Hades chuckled and made his way back to the Underworld. He'd have to talk to Virgil and let him know that Mal would be taking over his duties at Hook's. Hopefully the little jar of sunshine wouldn't take it the wrong way and think Hades was replacing him entirely.
"It's Virgil dear," Persephone shook her head.
"Right, I don't know what I was thinking," Hades sighed.
The kid was a bundle of nerves but he was quick and a hard worker, more nervous about making a mistake than anything else. Rare qualities for the Isle.
"Almost sounds like DeVil," Jay muttered to Mal.
"DeVil's not as nervous as Virgil though," Mal muttered back.
"Panic!" Hades shouted as he walked into the Underworld.
"You catch more flies with honey than with vinegar you know," Lucy said.
"…you Auradonians like to catch flies?" Hadie asked in shock.
"No, no, it's just a saying," Kitty said, shaking her head as she looked at her sister.
"Y-yes Hades?" Panic asked as he came running toward the God.
"Is your son here? I need to speak to him," Hades said and Panic's eyes grew wide.
"O-oh, w-whatever he's done, I-I'm sorry Hades! H-He'll do better! I-I promise!"
"But…he hasn't done anything," Phillip Jr. said, tilting his head in confusion.
Hades rolled his eyes. Panic always seemed to go for the worst case scenario, possibly due to it being his name. "He hasn't done anything Panic. I just need to speak to him about his duties as my errand rat."
"Won't that just make him more nervous?" Jane asked, her voice still soft.
"Oh." Panic said and seemed to deflate in relief. "I-I'll go and grab him."
Hades nodded as the little imp scurried out of the room. Hades plopped onto the sofa, thinking it wouldn't be a good idea to totally intimidate the kid. If he was anything like his father, Hades was in for at least a good five minute ramble about how he'd see improvement.
"Before anyone accuses me of being hyperbolic, I'll have you know I've timed the kid," Hades stated. "Five minutes is short for his rambles."
"H-Hades?" Panic's voice called out no more than five minutes later. That was the good thing about Panic, he never left you waiting longer than you had to. "Virgil's here."
"Send him over," Hades said, looking over his shoulder. The kid was thin, with dark brown hair with bangs that almost seemed to cover his eyes at times. He favored his mother clearly, with mainly human features with the exception of slightly pointed ears and a slight yellow tint to his eyes. Oddly enough he had a purple sweatshirt on which only served to make him look thinner than he already was.
Poseidon leaned forward slightly. This was his grandson, the grandson he never knew about because no one seemed to consider Vanessa a part of Ursula. He wished to meet the boy but if he took after his father, judging from the readings, it would only terrify the boy.
One would think that as Panic's son, Virgil would have on a green sweatshirt but maybe it was left over from when Vanessa and Ursula split. After all, his niece did favor purple which made Uma's preference of blue more than a little amusing.
"Considering dad's got purple too, it really is funny," Celia nodded.
Uma shrugged. "I like teal. Besides, we're not our parents. Why should I choose mama's color?"
"You still call your mom mama?" Audrey scoffed.
"You still call your grandmother 'grammy'," Uma shot back.
"Audrey! Apologize!" Aurora exclaimed. "That was very rude."
Audrey stared at her mother in shock. "Mother!"
"I mean it Audrey," Aurora said firmly. At her daughter's silence, Aurora sighed. "Alright then, you're grounded for the weekend."
"What?!"
No one noticed Ben's slight relaxation at hearing that. After all, a grounded Audrey meant no weekly Sunday shopping date.
Wait, did that make Vanessa his niece as well? Since that was the human form Ursula shifted into when she went after Eric? Hades thought as Virgil walked over to him. Shaking his head slightly, Hades decided it wasn't the right time to dive into those thoughts.
"It seems like there's never a good time to dive into those thoughts," Eric muttered to Ariel.
"Dear be nice," Ariel muttered back to him.
Besides, if Vanessa was his niece, that would make Panic related to him in a way as he was her husband. Hades liked the moron but not enough to call him family.
"You say that now dad," Mal smirked.
"Y-You asked to s-see me, L-Lord Hades?" Virgil asked and Hades had to remind himself that the kid was eight. He was only three years older than Mal, though with the stuttering it was hard to see it.
I know he's three years older than the kids I brought over in the first group but maybe Virgil would do better in Auradon? Ben thought. A lot less to be nervous about that's for sure.
"I wanted to talk to you about your duties as my errand rat," Hades said and Virgil's eyes grew wide. It was as if he was imagining every worse case scenario he could.
"And knowing Virg, he probably was," Uma nodded.
"I-I'm s-sorry! I'll d-do better! A-Am I n-not fast enough? I—"
"Oh the poor dear," Snow White said softly.
"Virgil!" Hades cut the boy off before he had the chance to build up steam. If the boy was anything like his father, Hades would have been siting there for a week before he would have gotten a word in otherwise. "You're not in trouble. I just picked up another errand rat so I wanted to let you know you didn't need to go to Hook's anymore."
"Or you could just alternate weeks," Chip pointed out. "Puts less pressure on one of the kids and prevents a full blown panic from Virgil."
"Oh," Virgil said, flushing a little but calming down. "But what would I do as your errand rat if I'm not going to Hook's? That's pretty much the only place I go on errands for you, Lord Hades."
"What's the point of an errand rat if you only have one errand?" Emma asked, tilting her head.
"When you've got two jobs, being able to delegate even one thing is a godsend," Hades told the girl and she nodded in understanding.
"Oh look Ben, someone who understands the meaning of the word delegate," Emir said, looking at his best friend pointedly.
That was the good thing about Virgil, Hades thought. When he wasn't panicking, he was clear and concise; almost logical in how he thought things through. If he didn't have his father's gift for thinking of the worst possible outcome, the kid would go far.
"Virgil may be nervous but if you're someone he cares about, he'll stand by you," Jay said with a nod.
"Yeah Virgil's nice!" Dizzy grinned at the thought of the older boy. "If he ever comes to the hair shop, he always is nice to me!"
"I'm thinking of adding a delivery aspect to the restaurant," Hades said, the idea coming to him out of the blue. It would work as a reason to keep Virgil on as an errand rat, plus there were some villains who didn't like to venture out of their homes. If they had kids, those kids would still need food.
"And even if they didn't have kids, they would still need to eat," Persephone said firmly.
"You want me to be a delivery boy?" Virgil asked, more than a little apprehensive about the idea but Hades was happy to see the stammer hadn't returned. Good, the boy would need to grow a spine if he was going to make it on the Isle.
Carlos flinched slightly at that, knowing the comment could apply to him as well.
"You've proven yourself reliable enough picking up the packages from Hook," Hades said. "I see no reason why you wouldn't be the same with customers' money."
"Dad, I just thought of something," Mal said. "You should have given Virgil a guard. Someone as timid as him carrying food out in the open?"
"Huh, that does explain the first few trips when he'd come back with a bruised eye or bloodied nose in his shirt," Hades mused. "He never told me who did it though."
"Three guesses," Harry growled. "And if you need the other two you belong across the bridge."
"That's assuming they'd pay," Virgil muttered and Hades had to hold back a snort of amusement. The kid did have a point.
"If you get anyone who refuses to pay, let me know," Hades told him. "Anyone with a pre-existing deal with me should let you know at the start. If not, I'll make a list."
"Hmm, if they had the Internet then there could be a way for Lord Hades to keep an electronic copy of the deals," Ben muttered to himself.
Virgil nodded, and Hades couldn't help but be impressed. Any other kid would complain about the work it would take, schlepping deliveries around the Isle.
"Uh Uncle Hades? It's the Isle," Uma said.
"Yeah, we don't really complain about work if we're likely to get food out of it," Jay nodded.
Ben sighed; every one of those comments was like a punch to the gut, hearing how the VKs lived.
Though, Virgil was the son of one of his minions. It was logical to assume that the kid just didn't want to make life harder for his dad.
"Like we said, Virgil's nervous but loyal," Mal nodded.
"Any questions?" Hades asked.
"What do I do if a customer starts causing problems?" Virgil asked, and immediately looked down. "Sorry, guess that's a stupid question."
"The only stupid question is the one that's never asked," Rachel said. "That's what mom says anyway."
"What if you ask someone wearing a store's uniform if they work there?" Rowyn asked.
"…okay so there is such a thing as a stupid question."
"No such thing," Hades told him; it was actually a fair question considering the types of villains that lived on the Isle. Most, if not all of them, had reputations of not treating their minions with respect and Hades was no exception. But Virgil was a kid, he didn't ask for this life. "Any customer that's abusive, I want you to leave their house and come straight to me. I'll deal with it."
"Or just tell us," Mal said with a smirk as she gestured to herself, Uma, Harry, and Jay. "We'll take care of them."
"You were five and six respectively," Hades deadpanned. "I wasn't getting kids involved."
Hades normally didn't care what the other villains got up to. But Virgil was Panic's son and therefore an extension of Hades' minion. His minion, his rules. No one else got to abuse them.
"Lord Hades, when have you ever actually abused your minions?" Harry asked. "I mean you yell at them sure but…"
Hades sighed. He thought he knew what the boy was going to say. That there were plenty of Isle kids who knew what it looked like when someone was being abusive after all.
"I was referring to how I used to treat them," he said. "Pain and Panic, I mean. I'm pretty sure I turned Panic into a crisp after he drank some of Wonderboy's lemonade in front of me the day before the cosmos aligned after all."
Besides, there is a strong possibility this little twerp is my nephew if Vanessa is actually my niece considering the fact that Vanessa was just the form Ursula used to trap Eric, Hades thought. Unlike Ursula and Uma, he had actually been around Virgil since the little sun spot was born—or at least heard about him from Panic.
"How long did it take to figure out?" Poseidon asked.
"Years," Hades told him.
Mal's old nursery furniture had been Virgil's, and there was still the possibility of Virgil being one of Mal's minions once Hades got her back. His fight or flight reflex would be a good thing for her to have at her disposal, plus his constant overthinking would mean he'd be the rare exception to the idea that an older kid would have issues taking orders from someone younger.
"I don't give him orders," Mal shook her head. "Only suggestions."
After all, Virgil was like Jay in a way—an older brother but one that Mal looked out for instead of the other way around.
"L-Lord Hades?" Virgil spoke up in a soft voice and Hades blinked in slight surprise to see the kid still standing in front of him.
"He didn't leave?" Herkie asked.
"Minions stay until they're ordered to get out of the head honcho's sight," Uma explained.
"You're dismissed. Report to the restaurant on Tuesday for your first round of deliveries," Hades told him and Virgil nodded before racing out of there as if Cerberus was on his tail.
"Oh he'll get used to that in a few years. Estelle chases him around all the time when he wants to play," Mal said with a smile.
Estelle yipped softly and wagged his tail as he heard his name mentioned.
"Hades, don't torture the poor boy," Persephone told him as she walked into the room.
"I didn't," Hades told her and Persephone raised an eyebrow. "Honest Steph. This time I was on my best behavior with the boy."
"You truly were," Persephone smiled and kissed Hades' cheek.
"You doubt me or something?" Hades chuckled.
Persephone nodded and leaned over the sofa so that she was looking over his shoulder. "So, what did you need to talk to him about?"
"I'm changing up his responsibilities as errand rat," Hades told her.
"Oh Hades, you just said you didn't torture the poor boy," Persephone sighed. "You know how well Virgil responds to change."
Hades shook his head. "Life on the Isle is all about change. If he's going to make it here, he's going to have to get used to that idea."
"Virgil's gotten better now that he's older," Uma said with a small shrug. "More of his mother's coming out of him."
"Besides, what else changes on the Isle other than the food quality deteriorating?" Harry muttered.
"Well at least it's a good change," Persephone said as she sat down next to Hades. "But why change up his responsibilities?"
"I acquired a new errand rat and decided it was time for the boy to take on new responsibilities," Hades told her. "After all, he'd be the more experienced one."
"Okay I'm not even as nervous as Virgil but even I can say the very idea of that is terrifying," Alexandria stated.
"I think you might have made Virgil's day and caused his nightmare to come to life at the same time," Persephone said, running a hand through Hades' hair. She loved how, despite his denials, Hades truly cared for the kids of the Isle. Or at least the ones connected to him.
"I'd rather not see more kids in the Underworld on a permanent basis," Hades muttered to Persephone.
"Who's your new errand rat?"
Hades took a breath and couldn't help the small smile that graced his lips.
"Mal."
Almost everyone in the room had to smile at that.
"Who's reading next?" Neal asked.
"Mal, you read!" Uma told her cousin. "I read one!"
Mal rolled her eyes. "Fine but just one."
"Okay but no skipping any embarrassing parts!"
