Chapter Twenty Eight
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!
*smh* I swear, I don't know how this chapter ended up going the way it did. I mean, I like it but the muse really needs to warn me when it's going to take over like this lol! Or maybe this is a sign I should start making more detailed outlines lol!
danifan3000: I mean….anything's possible! :D
AmethystDragon14: Yay! Hey, I don't know what people do and don't complain about lol! And thank you :D Writing 'papa' Hades is almost as much fun as writing 'big bad God' Hades, I have to say! And you're not the only one to get a sense of foreboding…
SnowWhite45: Oh thank you so much! I'm so glad you're enjoying the AUs! :D
OceanBlueSeaEyes: To give Hades some credit, he's got first time parent nerves. I think…nah I'm sure they never go away lol!
jedblack1997: Oh Hades would freak when he finds out his daughter has a soulmate lol!
Hope you guys enjoy the chapter! Let me know what you guys think! :D
Evil Queen's bid for power came sooner than Hades or Persephone expected. They knew it was coming, Evil Queen attempted to make a bid for power every few years or so since they were all put on the Isle and 'elected' Maleficent to be their leader.
Hades rolled his eyes every time he thought about that farce of an election. It couldn't really be called an election when most of the people voting were afraid of the candidate in the first place. But then again, he didn't have to deal with the idiots so why should he care?
Oh right, sunspots, Hades thought as he looked at the babies 'playing' in the makeshift playpen as he came up from the Underworld. Can't be a good parent if I don't care for my sunspot.
"Lord Hades?" Smee called.
"Yeah Smee?"
"I think there's someone at the gate."
Hades frowned but went over to the gate, only to see in his shock and confusion, the husband of the Evil Queen standing before him.
"Daniel?" Hades asked, frowning slightly.
"Lord Hades," Daniel said with a slightly relieved tone to his voice. "I'm so sorry to bother you but I…I was hoping I could have a word?"
"Normally I'd say no but because you've got your sunspot with you, you've piqued my curiosity," Hades told him as he opened the gate to let Daniel come in.
"Thank you," Daniel said as the baby in his arms cooed. "I promise I won't take up too much of your time."
"Not like I was doing much anyway, it's been a slow day for soul judgment," Hades told him as they made their way into the den. "So, what brings you to the realm of the big bad Lord of the Dead? Need me to bring someone back to life?"
Daniel shook his head.
"Need me to smite someone?" Hades asked, tilting his head slightly. "I mean I haven't done that in a hot minute and I don't know if the barrier will allow me to but I'm willing to try."
"I need you to…I need to leave Evie here," Daniel said, his voice soft. "Please, Lord Hades, at least until Regina's bid for power is over."
"…You want to leave your child here?"
"It's the safest place on the Isle," Daniel explained. "I thought Regina was over this want to rule the Isle after she lost the election the first time. We were happy together, just the two of us. And then Regina said she was pregnant and I was over the moon when she delivered Evie safely and didn't seem to be in any danger of dying herself but now—."
Hades sighed and held up a hand. "Normally, I'd be happy to do something that could potentially annoy Maleficent. Normally. But this isn't a normal situation Daniel. I have a child of my own, not to mention I'm not risking Hook's kids or Smee's kid. Not when we're so close to Persephone going back to Auradon and the kids losing a protector."
"But…you're a God." Daniel said and Hades sighed as he could see the desperation in the mortal's eyes. This wasn't a man who was looking to annoy anyone or get on the wrong side of a feud. In fact, Daniel was one of the few people on the Isle to have the respect of most of the people there in part due to the fact that he had volunteered to come onto the Isle.
There were only two volunteers—Daniel and Cassandra (and honestly, anyone who voluntarily spent time around Gothel had Hades' undying respect even if he wouldn't say it out loud). However, where Cassandra had volunteered to go to the Isle to keep an eye on Gothel and make sure no other child grew up like she did, Daniel had volunteered to go in order to stay with the woman he loved.
Persephone may or may not have given Daniel Ariel and Eric's address to write any issues with the Isle he saw once she heard he had volunteered to go. As Persephone had once said, she couldn't always be on the Isle and even though she trusted Eric and Ariel to do the right thing, the Isle still deserved to have someone looking out for it.
Hades had pointed out that he was on the Isle but Persephone had told him that wouldn't have been fair to him, to put even more pressure on him.
"Hades…" Daniel said softly and Hades looked over at the mortal, pulling himself out of his thoughts. "Please…you know as well as I that Maleficent won't overlook Evie just because she's a baby and as much as I love my wife, I can't let my daughter be caught up in this mess."
Hades sighed. "Look, I'd love to help. Really, I would—but if you repeat that to anyone on the Isle, there won't be a punishment your soul won't know when it comes time for me to judge you. But I'm not the only one in this Underworld anymore and I can't just unilaterally make a decision….however I may have an idea."
"Really? Any assistance would be appreciated Lord Hades," Daniel said with a small nod of his head.
Hades sighed. "Cover your sunspot's ears," he said. Waiting to make sure Daniel actually did so, Hades shook his head before bellowing down the cave.
"PANIC!"
"Coming Lord Hades, coming!"
Ignoring Daniel's raised eyebrow, Hades looked at his imp minion. "I need you to go to your home and speak to your wife about temporarily watching Evil Queen's sunspot while she enacts her attempt at a coup against Maleficent's rule on the Isle."
"Yes Lord Hades," Panic nodded. If the imp had any questions as to why he was asking Vanessa such a question, he didn't let on that he had them. After all, Hades hadn't thrown a fireball at him yet so Panic wasn't about to press his luck.
"Did you have any questions about the order?"
"...No Lord Hades?"
"Then why are you still here?" Hades asked, his voice near a low growl as Panic quickly scurried off and Hades shook his head.
"Minions, sometimes it's hard to find good ones. Oh, am I supposed to offer you a refreshment?"
"…It's the Isle, Lord Hades. I don't think refreshments are done," Daniel told him.
"Yeah, yeah. Steph would have my head though if I wasn't a good host," Hades shook his head. "At the very least, come in and have a seat. Panic might be a while and your sunspot might want to nap in something not your arms."
Daniel sighed but nodded as he followed the God of the Dead into his living quarters. He knew he was pressing his luck, especially since Regina didn't know he was there, but Daniel was no fool.
Plus it didn't hurt that he'd been working on the docks, helping to repair them and make sure they were sturdy, when Mollie Smee had left the Hooks' fish shop only for both Milah Hook and Lord Hades to go into the shop at the same time. That, combined with some of the rumors that the Hooks and Smees were living in the Underworld, only cemented Daniel's belief that Hades would be able to help him.
"Hades?" Daniel heard Lady Persephone ask as she walked out of the kitchen. "Is everything okay? Why is Daniel here?"
"Apparently he thinks Evil Queen's attempt to seize power from Maleficent might make their sunspot a target for the Dragon," Hades said, keeping his voice down to avoid being overheard by the young girls who, at that moment, were happily drawing on paper that must have been brought back from Auradon by Lady Persephone.
"I mean…it's a fair assumption to make but what does he think you can do?" Persephone asked, matching her husband's volume.
"I sent Panic to ask Vanessa to see if they can watch the sunspot," Hades said.
"Hades, that would make Virgil a target if Maleficent thought Panic and Vanessa were aiding Regina in trying to overthrow Maleficent," Persephone said.
Hades shrugged. "It was the best idea I could come up with. After all, what reason could Evil Queen have for wanting to take power other than the fact that she also has ruling experience and it's been almost dull around here without an uprising attempt."
"Regina…she thinks the fact that she's been gifted a child and Maleficent has yet to have one is a sign that Maleficent shouldn't be ruling the Isle," Daniel said, his voice soft. "Not when it could mean an unstable transfer of power if or when Maleficent does die again."
Hades paused and turned to look at Daniel. "And this wasn't information you could have given me at the gate?"
"It didn't seem relevant," Daniel said.
"Hades?" Persephone asked, looking at her husband. While, yes, dealing with what he called the 'imbecilic' of the Isle often infuriated him, Persephone had never seen him this tense before.
But then again, there had yet to be a threat toward their own safety. They could easily handle Frollo despite their fears if it came down to it. However Maleficent was a different kettle of fish and it wouldn't do to not take her seriously as a threat. Though that didn't mean they weren't safe in the Underworld proper.
"Hades, Daniel might have truly thought it wasn't information you'd need to know," Persephone said, keeping her voice gentle as to not stress her husband out even more than he already was. "Besides, we've got the most secure area on the Isle. If Maleficent did manage to get in here, or rather if her minions managed to get in here, we'd know and we'd be able to kick them back to Maleficent's part of the Isle."
Hades sighed. "I know you're right," he said.
"You're worried, it's natural," Persephone told him, gently placing a hand on his shoulder. "I know if the situations were reversed, and you were the one going to Auradon for six months, I'd be worried as well. Heck I'm still worried and I'll be in Auradon with our daughter. Being a parent only seems to heighten your ability to worry…and now I feel the need to apologize to my mother for my actions in my youth."
"She tried to turn you into a tree, Steph," Hades pointed out. "If anyone deserves the apology, it's you."
"…Are you just saying that because you hate my mother or because you genuinely believe it?" Persephone asked.
"…Because of the fact that Daniel is still in the room, I'm going to go with the second option," Hades said before sending Persephone an answer on the mental link. It's both, Steph. We both know it's both.
And why didn't you just send me the answer over the link?
Oh now Steph! That would have been rude!
Persephone shook her head and looked over at Daniel. "Apologies for my husband, Daniel. He is regrettably very odd."
"Aren't we all, my Lady?" Daniel said.
"Nice answer," Hades said with a small snort of amusement.
Daniel shook his head. "I was the stable hand for Cora before my death, my Lord. I needed to be able to give a quick answer that would satisfy her if I didn't want to run afoul of her magic."
"…She's not on the Isle is she?" Hades asked. Hey, he might have been the God of the Dead but even he didn't know the names of every Isle dweller unless they came into his territory permanently.
Daniel shook his head once more. "Thankfully, whoever created the Isle thought having two Queen of Hearts would be a bit confusing and so Cora is thankfully not on the Isle. Otherwise she'd likely be living with us and Regina doesn't need that."
"Oh I did hear the Queen of Hearts had a daughter recently," Persephone said with a small smile. "So young Quinn is not Regina's sister?"
"No, my Lady," Daniel said, shaking his head. "Something Regina is more than thankful for, if you'll forgive me for saying that."
Hades shrugged. "People have said weirder things to us than that."
"Lord Hades?" Panic's voice broke into the conversation, preventing whatever Daniel was going to say.
"Yes?" Hades asked, looking at his imp minion. "You took your sweet time."
Persephone shook her head. "Hades, be nice. I'm sure Panic was jus having a talk with his wife. Looking after someone else's child, even for a bit, could seem overwhelming."
Hades sighed. "Right, right. Alright Panic, what do you have to report?"
"Vanessa…she said we could watch Daniel's child," Panic said. "Apparently…apparently being around babies…helps Virgil's anxiety."
"It does?" Hades asked and then tilted his head as if in thought. "Huh…so that's why he's almost more calm when he's with Harry and Mali than when he's with Harriet, Jess, or Sammy."
"Thank you," Daniel said, sighing in relief as he looked at Panic. "I know this is a hardship but knowing my daughter's safe for a while, in an area where Maleficent wouldn't think to look…"
"You…Vanessa said she…she owes you one after you rebuilt the dock by our house," Panic said, stammering slightly but regaining his confidence. "Remember? When it collapsed after Virgil was born?"
"You had a newborn and could have used that dock to get supplies," Daniel said with a small shrug. "Plus it was a potential safety hazard, I had heard Gaston talk about possibly using one of those dock beams to bash down the barrier."
Hades paused and shook his head. "His idiocy knows no bounds. Why has he been allowed to keep breeding?"
"I wish I knew Lord Hades," Daniel sighed. "I wish I knew."
He shook his head and then turned to Panic. "Thank you again for agreeing to look after Evie, Panic. I truly appreciate it."
"Before you go," Persephone called and Daniel blinked as the Goddess stepped out of the kitchen with a bag of supplies. "I figured that since Vanessa and Panic haven't had a newborn in their midst for a while, their newborn supplies might not be as stocked up as ours are. It's not a lot but it should get you through a few months at the very least."
"Lady Persephone, you…thank you but you didn't have to—."
"No one want to see an innocent child caught up in Maleficent's insanity," Persephone said as she handed Daniel the bag. "And if doing this helps me make sure my husband has one less soul to judge before their time, then I'll do it."
Daniel couldn't help but give the Gods a smile in thanks as his daughter cooed for the first time since arriving in the Underworld. "Your help is appreciated Lord Hades, Lady Persephone. If there's ever anything I can do to repay your kindness—."
"Don't mention it," Hades said. "Really, I mean it. Got a rep to protect after all."
"I won't breathe a word," Daniel promised as he followed Panic out of the Underworld. Hades watched as, for the first time, Daniel's shoulders seemed to deflate as if someone let all the tension out of him.
He's just one of us now, he thought as Persephone gently kissed him on the cheek. A worried parent trying to keep their kid safe. And I think this time, he'll be able to without an issue. Gods though…I'm glad Maleficent will have the common sense not to try anything with me. Even if she did find out I 'helped' here.
Even so…maybe it would be a good idea to increase the security around the gate. The Isle had eyes everywhere after all.