Truth or Fiction Chapter 17, a descendants, 2015 fanfic

Chapter Seventeen

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.

Gah! Again I'm so sorry guys—I meant to post this earlier but I completely crashed! I'mma try for multiple story updates in a day but that might not be possible at times.

Katt Kiki: I'm so glad you liked the chapter! :D

BlackWidowAndCapRule: Thank you so much! :D

AmethystDragon14: Yay! Yep, Hades really is great isn't he?

Tracie Adams: She's there because of events that'll happen later in Choosing Love and Home.

Guest: I hope you enjoy the chapter!

Anonymous Reader: I'm so glad you liked the chapter! I can agree that Ben's biased but at the same time, he wants to believe in his parents. After all, he's spent his life probably looking up to them so finding out that there's an island of people suffering and his parents aren't doing anything to solve that suffering? It's a wake up call for sure.

Dance love 2007: Thank you so much!

danifan3000: …dear Gods why? Why must that image exist and why is it now seared into my brain? Huh, I now need to rewatch the Little Mermaid TV show! Give Hadie a few years and I'm sure he'll be taller than Mal.

twilightgirl587: *cackles innocently* Yeah I think if brain bleach existed, they'd have advertised the hell out of it! I think Aurora is just going to let it happen :D. Oh that's going to be interesting for sure! And dogs are amazing comforters—as are cats like mine is! :D I checked and while Hades did mention Athena, she's not there in the reading. The only reason Leah's been so tame is because I honestly hate writing her!

shortanamx: Glad you liked the chapter!

Urmimala Hazra: I'm so glad you enjoyed the chapter! I don't think Leah is capable of shutting up tbh!

Supercorp Slexie 24: Thank you so much! I'm so glad you liked the chapter!

darkpegasuzz: You're quite welcome!

billyandkimfan1994: So glad you liked the chapter!

AthenaArtemis25: Thank you so much! I'm so glad you're enjoying it! :D

Guest: That is kinda the plan! :D

midnight rose112358: I'm so glad you liked the chapter! I think Aurora is slowly being worn down tbh. And nope, it definitely wasn't going to last (Leah's silence).

Guest: I'm guessing they're from the TV series? I'd have to watch it to really get a grasp as to the characters.

Marcus Emrys: Oh yeah, I can totally see that! It's why I'm going to make it so Leah doesn't read!

Guest: lol pretty much!

MarvelGirl2005: It's not out of the realm of possibilities!

lilyflower101: Oh they're definitely not going to like it, that's for sure!

Roxas Itsuka: I honestly think that needed to be in canon. Just someone asking what crime the VKs committed to deserve to be on the Isle. Because in all honesty all they did was be born which wasn't something they could help. I definitely think Belle would have listened to Persephone's plea and would have been horrified to hear about the food situation. Oh that's a good point re: Hades, Persephone and Demeter reacting to Freddy.

GodHelpOutcasts: *stares in shock* I…you need to warn people before you read their minds! I was just imagining that's how that scene would go!

Hope you all like the chapter! Let me know what you think! :D

"You know I just want to point out that there are a lot of scrolls," Hyllus said as he picked up the next one.

Mal made her way through the streets of the Isle, happy as can be though she was careful not to let it show on her face. She may have only been five but she knew Maleficent had spies everywhere. If one of them reported that she was grinning like an Auradon Princess, it would only mean bad things for Mal.

"Scroll's starting off depressing right off the bat, I see," Eric sighed.

Still, just because she couldn't show it didn't mean she didn't feel it. She knew who her father was!

Hades couldn't help but smile as he heard that and held Mal close to him. He loved the fact that Mal had been happy to know he was her father.

That was something only a handful of children on the Isle could say—that they knew who both their parents were.

And most of the ones that do know don't get to keep them, Mal thought as she jumped through a mud puddle, relishing the feeling of the water soaking through her socks.

Audrey wrinkled her nose at the thought of wet socks—and she wasn't the only one.

"You liked that sensation?" Rowyn asked.

"You mean you don't?" Melody chimed in, grinning at Mal.

Akiho chuckled. "Must be an Olympian thing then cause I may like snow but I hate it when it gets in my socks."

Aurora, however, frowned as she focused less on the puddles and more on the parents. The idea that only a handful of kids knew who their parents were…and that most of those kids didn't get to keep them…that was horrible!

The only other person who liked the feeling was Uma; even Harry thought they were a little weird for it.

"Yep, Olympian thing," Akiho nodded.

"I don't like it," Hadie chimed.

"An Olympian girl thing," Akiho corrected himself.

It's bad enough Boreadon hates us enough not to send decent food half the time but you'd think all the Prissy Princesses would care about people dying in the streets or at the very least care about kids dying if not the adults.

Belle sighed softly, knowing that they should have checked more on the Isle. After all, they were the reigning monarchs—the buck stopped with them.

Then again, these were the children of villains after all. Auradon probably just assumed they deserved it.

Phillip Sr. glared at his mother-in-law who'd opened her mouth to make a comment. "They. Don't. Deserve. That. Leah."

Mal scowled, though, as she caught sight of the only prissy princess on the Isle.

Kitty frowned. "I didn't think there were any Princesses on the Isle."

Evelyn, or Evie as she insisted to be called, was Evil Queen's daughter and the complete opposite of Mal in every way; tall and lean, with long luscious tendrils of blue hair growing out of her head and a crown that always sat perfectly perched centered in her widow's peak. She always seemed to be wearing a dress, even if it was in the same type of material as the other Isle clothes.

"…so Audrey if she had an affinity for blue and a personality transplant?" Neal asked.

"Neal!" David exclaimed.

"What? Evie's been rather pleasant, actually almost silent while Audrey keeps making catty comments!" Neal shrugged.

"My brother's got a point," Emma nodded.

Meanwhile Mal was short with dark purple hair self cut into a messy bob. Long hair was a danger on the Isle; someone could easily grab it if you tried to run away or it could get stuck on something. Uma was one of the few girls on the Isle to have long hair and it not look prissy; with her teal blue hair in tight braids.

"Aww, thanks cuz," Uma grinned.

"I'm sorry, self-cut?" Rapunzel asked, looking over at Mal.

Mal shrugged. "I wasn't permitted to go to Curl Up and Dye at that point and Maleficent or her goblins sure as hell weren't cutting my hair."

Then again, Uma was skilled with a sword or at least as skilled as a five year old could be. If someone tried to grab her, it'd be their funeral. Especially if they tried to do it around Mal or Harry.

"Or Freddie. Or your dad. Or any of our crew," Mal added.

"Who's your father?" Tiana asked.

Uma raised an eyebrow. "You sure you want to know?"

"Well, yes. That's why I asked."

"Alright. It's Facilier."

"…with Ursula?! He…how?! Do I want to know…no on second thought I don't think I do!"

"Is he okay?" Uma asked Tiana as Naveen kept rambling.

"Jury's out on him." Tiana told her.

"You're calmer than I thought you'd be about this."

Tiana chuckled. "You're listed on both pages in the registry. I double checked when Prince Ben announced he was inviting kids from the Isle."

Uma honestly didn't know how she felt about Tiana checking the registry for her but there was a small pleased feeling that came from knowing that she was claimed by both her parents in the eyes of the Boreadon elite.

Mal's clothes were leather, just like Evie's, but instead of a dress Mal opted for pants and a short sleeved shirt. Sure she got cold easier but short sleeves meant less material was wasted on the clothes. It also made it so again she could get away easier.

"Well I mean, I also get cold easier because I have a dragon for a birth giver and a dad with fire for hair. I like the heat," Mal stated.

"We know," Uma, Harry, and Jay said in unison.

Akiho stared at Mal in shock. "But…but the cold brings snow!"

"What's snow?" Dizzy and Hadie asked.

Ooh that's going to hurt him, Ben said as Akiho almost looked like he'd been slapped. Then again, that's how Ben felt too. Childhood winters should be spent with snowball fights and curling up with hot chocolate, not wondering where your next meal was going to come from.

"Oh I know what snow is!" Evie spoke up. "Prince Hans told me about it once."

"Oh…did he?" Anna asked, her voice hard at the mention of Hans. To be fair to her though, Hans did try to kill both her and her sister.

Evie nodded. "Yes he did. Mother was trying to arrange a match for me and she thought Prince Hans was suitable, you know being a Prince and—."

"I'm sorry, a match?" Snow White and Anna said at the same time.

"You're a child!"

"He's old enough to be your father!"

"If anything happened, I'm going to do more than just punch him!"

Evie looked at the other VKs, more than slightly shocked. "Did I say something wrong?"

"Probably but then again, we're VKs. Everything we say is wrong," Mal shrugged.

Leah rolled her eyes. Honestly they were making too big of a fuss about the whole thing. She had been in a betrothal match with Stefan and of course Aurora had been put in one with Phillip. Not to mention the one Audrey was in with Ben. That was just the way things were done!

I don't know how she can call herself an Isle kid and survive, Mal thought with an eye roll. The 'princess' was about three months older than Mal but it was the only achievement the little brat had over her. At least the only one that counted—if Mal had to hear about how good the little 'evilette-in-training' was at sewing and cooking the next time Evil Queen and Maleficent had their little get togethers—get togethers that only served to raise Maleficent's ire and nothing more—Mal was probably going to scream.

"Then why does she have the get together if all it does is raise her ire?" Lucy asked.

"Again, the less we ponder about the inner workings of Maleficent's mind, the happier we all are," Mal told the dark haired Charming.

Mal stopped for a second as a thought came to her, as thoughts often do. I outrank the princess now, she thought with a smirk. Well technically, Mal already outranked Evie in terms of the Isle's hierarchy. One of the few good things about being seen as Maleficent's daughter, you found yourself elevated to the top of the food chain without needing to do anything.

Exactly as I thought. She didn't have to work for her station, she was just handed it, Leah thought with a scowl.

But God outranked fairy in terms of life's hierarchy…and it definitely outranked mortal.

Father wouldn't be happy if I just started bragging about being his daughter though. Especially since he said that doing that might put a target on my back, Mal thought with a small frown.

"More importantly, you were going to let Blueberry know before you let me know?!" Uma exclaimed.

Besides, why should Blueberry know before Uma? I actually like Uma for one and for another thing we're cousins! Just ignore the 'princess' and head over to the clubhouse. Harry and Uma should be there by now.

Harry chuckled. "I shouldn't be surprised you cousins had the same thought."

Fate, however, would not allow her to ignore the Bluette as Evie saw and gave a small wave in Mal's direction.

"Why didn't you just ignore her anyway?" Uma asked.

"You'll see," Mal sighed.

Ugh, fine. Now I have to talk to her since we're on the same side of the road. I can't just turn and cross—well I mean I can but is it worth it? If Maleficent found out I was rude to Princess Blueberry…honestly I don't think she'd care but it's not worth the risk.

"Oh," Uma sighed.

How much power does Maleficent have over the Isle if Mal can't avoid people she doesn't like? Emir thought. Then again…I have to play nice with Audrey and I can't stand her.

"Princess," Mal said shortly, nodding her head.

"Hello Mal," Evie smiled. "I hope you're well?"

"I really did mean that," Evie said, her voice soft as she looked over at Mal. "I know you and Uma hated me but there was no reason for me to wish you ill."

"Yeah Evie wouldn't wish that on anyone!" Dizzy spoke up, shaking her head.

Mal snorted. Trust Blueberry to use a phrase like 'I hope you're well' and probably mean it, she thought. She really thinks of herself as a princess.

Snow White tapped her chin in thought. "Well…technically you could be gifted your mother's title through my line. After all, we are step-sisters since your mother never divorced my father."

"Really?" Evie gasped. Audrey, after all, had been quick to remind her that she had no royal standing in Auradon.

Ben nodded. "If Queen Snow would like, I can look into it—."

"After the coronation!" Emir, Akiho, Emma, and Lonnie said in unison.

Audrey stared in shock. "You're honestly going to give her a royal title?!"

"I don't see why I shouldn't," Snow White said, her voice never losing its kind and gentle tone. "She's family after all."

Evie gently bit her lip; careful not to leave any teeth impressions or mess up her lipstick. Maybe…maybe I don't need to steal the wand. Maybe I could ask Snow for help getting my dad back?

"Got enough stuff there?" Mal scoffed, noting all the bags Evie was ladened down with. Where she had gotten half the stuff in her arms, Mal didn't know nor did she particularly care.

Evie looked down. "Oh, well mother's preparing for my birthday. It's coming up in a couple of weeks you know."

Mal scowled and Evie sighed at the mention of that fateful birthday. The birthday that would change both of their lives.

"And she sent you?" Mal asked, raising an eyebrow. The Evil Queen didn't strike Mal as someone who would send her daughter out to run errands. She would have thought they would have had minions for that. Then again, it was shopping. If there was anything Mal knew about Evie, it was how much she just loved shopping.

"Oh! You'll enjoy going to the shops in Auradon then!" Lonnie grinned.

Lil' Shang shook his head. "How can you be so athletic and so girly at the same time?"

"It's a gift," Lonnie said with a shrug.

"Of course," Evie said, standing straighter than Mal thought possible.

"Whatever princess," Mal scoffed. "Tell you what, as a birthday present Uma and I won't pelt you with smoke bombs."

"…that's a gift?" Rachel asked.

"It is for the Isle," Mal said with a smirk. "And when we don't particularly like someone."

"But…isn't that bullying?" Rowyn asked, looking a little shocked. "I mean it's one thing if it's in fun but the fact that you're offering a respite as a gift…"

"Bullying implies our families didn't have a rivalry," Mal stated even if she was avoiding Ben's disappointed stare.

What? The guy's puppy dog eyes were murder on her soul and she barely knew the guy!

Ever since they had perfected their formula, the two girls had used smoke bombs whenever possible. Though their favorite target was Evie whenever possible.

That's probably why Blueberry's talking to me now, Mal thought. We're out in the open and I don't have a bag with me so there's no chance I could hit her with a smoke bomb. Huh, that's not a bad idea now that I think about it. But why would someone just carry a bag with them if they don't need it? Seems like a waste of time.

"It is, but we have to carry them because people believe women don't deserve pockets in their clothing!" Lonnie exclaimed.

"Ooh, that would be handy," Evie nodded. "I almost wish I had a notebook or something, I'd love to design a dress with pockets in it!"

Rapunzel smiled. "Talk to me during the next break Evie. I might be able to help."

"Oh Gods, I'm going to discover fifty thousand dress designs the next time I come home aren't I?" Eugene shook his head.

Evie rolled her eyes. "You know Mal, if you're going to act like that, maybe I won't invite you to my party."

"…I know this already happened," Jay sighed. "But dear Gods Blueberry! Why in the world would you say that?"

"Because she doesn't have a brain," Uma taunted.

Evie, though, stayed silent. She knew it wasn't worth saying anything…besides, had she actually invited Mal, maybe her dad wouldn't have had to spend years in Maleficent's clutches.

He suffered for so long. All because of a stupid mistake I made as a child, she thought.

"If that's your idea of a threat, princess, it needs some work," Mal chuckled as she walked off. She knew she had an invite guaranteed.

"Because she saw you as Maleficent's daughter?" Akiho asked.

"No because we were the best of friends…of course it was because she saw me as Maleficent's daughter," Mal said, shaking her head.

Though, one good thing did come of not going to Blueberry's party, she thought as Estelle plodded over to her. I would have never gotten Estelle otherwise.

Not that she wanted to go but everyone on the Isle knew Maleficent's story and what she did because she hadn't been invited to Aurora's christening. No one wanted to potentially earn Maleficent's wrath by purposefully snubbing her daughter.

Evie held back a wince at the reminder of Maleficent's story.

"…Maleficent's story? Maleficent's?! She cursed my child and it's her story?!"

"Again, your mother had to be here why?" Phillip Sr. asked Aurora.

I mean it's not like Maleficent would care that I wasn't invited. Oh no, it'd be the insult to her she'd care about, Mal thought as she made her way to her clubhouse.

"It's all she'd care about," Mal muttered under her breath.

Uma had been the one to find it back when they were four. It wasn't much, mainly empty rooms but it was a place that was theirs. None of the adults knew it existed meaning if any of their parents ever went looking for them, they'd never find them.

"But…what if you'd been injured? No one would know where you were," Kristoff pointed out.

Harry shrugged. "Then we stay there until we become un-injured enough to handle the Isle."

"It's where I stayed most of the time when Maleficent broke my ankle," Mal added and the blasé tone of her voice caused many to glare at the scroll at the reminder of what Maleficent had done.

Lobbing a rock at the 'Flying Rocks' sign to open the gate, Mal made her way up to the clubhouse.

"Isn't that rather dangerous? What if you hit someone missing the sign?" Alexandria asked.

Mal shrugged. "Then they know not to walk past there anymore."

"Hey guys?" Mal called as she finished climbing up the stairs. "You here?"

"Hey Mal," Uma grinned, hopping up from the milk crate that she was using for a seat.

Ariel sighed. Milk crates…they were using milk crates for chairs. That's not to mention the food situation. Dear Neptune did we fail the Isle. And I don't think reversing our mistake will be as easy as we think.

"You look like you have news."

Uma smirked. "Me and Harry saw one of Old man Slade's chickens in town today."

"That's news? How boring is the Isle?"

"Well considering we have two channels on our television and one is always an infomercial on dungeon shackles and the other is the Auradon News, we've got to get our entertainment somewhere," Uma told Audrey, rolling her eyes.

"This is news? Everyone knows Old man Slade was the one to take in the chickens that somehow made their way onto the barge," Mal said, rolling her eyes. No one knew how those stupid birds wound up on the barge but Old man Slade as he was called was the only one willing to take them in. No one wanted to even eat them due to how little meat there was. Plus Slade was one of the rare exceptions to the urban environment, having a farm on the edge of the Isle.

"…did we ever figure out how those chickens wound out on the barge?"

"They're dumber than Gil Mal! I'm pretty sure they just walked on," Harry told her, shaking his head.

A few kids tried to steal a chicken once a year early on but that stopped once they came face to face with Slade's shot gun or his dog Chief.

"I know they're stealing and he has the right to defend his property but…they're just trying to get food," Chad spoke up.

"…that might be the first time when you made sense," Kitty told her brother.

"No Mal. We saw them in town," Uma told her. "Meaning they escaped Slade's farm."

"Oh. Ooh!"

"I don't get it," Melody said with a frown.

"I think she's got it," Harry smirked. "We were thinking we could catch one of those feathery rats. The one we saw looked fairly plump for the birds that came from the barge; Slade's been feeding them well."

"Oh…Oh!"

"Did you get them?" Emma asked.

Mal chuckled. "Well, we had some help."

Mal chuckled. "You mean you'd be fine with eating something other than fish, Harry? I know how loyal you are to your dad's fish shop."

"Food is food," Mal told her past self. "Besides, without those chickens, dad can't make his crispy garlic chicken!"

"Hey it's meat." Harry shrugged. "Plus it's food that's ours. Boreadon had no say in it."

"…we are definitely getting to the bottom of the food issue," Ben promised.

"Michael's on the ball, looking for the tapes," Akiho promised.

Mal nodded. "Then what are we waiting for?"

"You."

Mal chuckled and the three of them left the clubhouse to go further into town where Uma and Harry had seen the chickens. It took maybe thirty minutes before they caught sight of one.

Estelle wagged his tail as he heard the world 'chickens'.

"Sorry boy, none here," Mal told him. Estelle whined and laid down, disappointed.

"Allow me girls," Harry smirked as he walked up to grab it. Sauntering up to the chicken, Harry reached out to snatch it. Sadly, for Harry that is, the chicken was smart enough to avoid being captured and all Harry got was an introduction to the pavement.

"Smooth," Emma shook her head.

"Spotless execution," Lonnie chuckled.

"Oh well done," Mal said dryly as Uma rolled her eyes.

"In all honesty I'd give it a three in execution," Uma chuckled.

"Well I don't see either of you doing it!" Harry exclaimed, rubbing his chin where he'd hit it on the ground. Uma and Mal smirked and they dove for the chicken. One skinned knee and bruised elbow later, the three kids were back in their clubhouse; nursing their wounds.

Mulan couldn't help but smile at the image that produced. If one ignored the fact that they were trying to catch chickens to have a decent thing to eat, it almost sounded like something from a happy childhood.

"It's impossible! We'll never catch one of those feathered demons."

"Maybe we won't," Mal said slowly, as an idea came to her. "But I know someone who might be able to. But we'll have to make a deal with him. He won't just do it for free."

"Ah I was wondering when my name would be brought up," Jay said with a chuckle.

"Any self respecting villain kid wouldn't do a job for free," Uma scoffed. "Who is he?"

"Jay."

Uma nodded. "He'd be good at it. But what can we offer him? He's a year older than us, there's no way he'd be willing to make a deal with younger kids."

"Is a year really that big a difference?" Chad asked.

"Yes!" Dizzy, Hadie, Celia, Alex, Kitty, and Lucy exclaimed.

Mal chuckled. "If CJ and Ryan were here, they'd have added to that chorus."

Mal thought for a minute. Uma had a point; even though Jafar was in league with Maleficent, that didn't automatically mean Jay would agree to a deal with Mal's crew. Especially since they were a year younger.

Younger meant weaker. No one wanted to associate themselves with someone they thought to be weak.

Carlos held back a sigh. He knew that all too well—the sense of knowing that others thought you weak. Thankfully he was in Auradon now and could check out what they had in terms of technology and that sort of thing.

"We could bring him into the crew," Mal said slowly. "Offer him a place to sleep in the clubhouse, you know if we ever get furniture in here. Protection, stuff like that."

"Isn't his dad in Maleficent's gang?" Herkie asked. "Doesn't that mean Jay already has some protection since messing with him would be like messing with one of Maleficent's people?"

"That's not a bad idea," Uma said. "Plus, he's older than us. We'd elevate our status among the kids of the Isle if we were seen giving an older kid orders and him going along with it."

"Well I mean we kinda still do that anyway," Jay chuckled. "Henry's older than I am after all and I'm a year older than you three."

"Henry?" Emma asked.

"Henry Kersey, fourth in line if anything happens to the Captains, Harry, or me," Jay explained. "He's a good man, though he trains a little too much."

"Eighteen hour days apparently," Harry shook his head.

"Whoa, girls! Think about it," Harry exclaimed. "Do we really want to bring that sneaky scarf stealer into the crew? Besides, Mal, his dad's already in league with the dragon. I think he's good to go in terms of protection."

"Heh, I see my brother and you had the same thought Harry," Macaria said with a smile.

"Don't be jealous Harry," Mal chuckled.

"I wasn't jealous," Harry muttered. I just don't like change. The last big change was…the runt being born and mom dying.

"I'm not. I just don't see why we need to bring in new blood," Harry stated, crossing his arms. "We work just fine the way we are Mal. Besides, what can Jay offer that I don't?"

"A male sparring partner for you," Rose pointed out.

"Two completely useable hands for one?" Mal stated, shooting a look at the hook that occupied Harry's right hand.

"That too," Rose nodded.

Jay chuckled. "She's got you there mate."

He didn't need the hook but due to the young boy's desire to be exactly like his father, Harry had started carrying it around. The only time he didn't was when he was sparing Mal and Uma—and that was only because he liked to switch hands mid fight.

Mal held back a sigh as she thought about all the times she or Uma or Jay had to drag Harry back from Tick Tock or his kids because Harry had gotten the mad idea to get the crocs to bite off his hand.

"Harry's right," Uma interjected, preventing Harry from shooting a response back at Mal. "I still think it's a good idea but we really need something Jay can't say no to."

"Mal's seen as Maleficent's daughter though and Jafar was in Maleficent's clique," Emma pointed out. "I don't think Jay would risk it getting back to Maleficent that he told Mal no."

Mal smirked. "I think I know of something. You guys know how I'm Lord Hades' errand rat right?"

"Yeah," Harry and Uma nodded. Being an errand rat wasn't usually something to be proud of but Lord Hades never had errand rats. Just that fact alone was worth telling Uma and Harry but they had to know about the deal. Otherwise, they wouldn't have known they would be able to get free food too.

"Again, do they really need to know about the agreement when Lord Hades didn't charge the kids of the Isle anyway?" Ashaki asked.

"Well part of the deal is that me and my gang get free food at his restaurant whenever we go in," Mal said. "Think about it. If you were Jay, would you turn down that kind of food security?"

Esmeralda shook her head. It may not have been the same but she could remember her childhood, traveling from city to city and sometimes not knowing if they'd be able to get something to eat. She'd have killed for a shop where she knew she could get food.

Plus there was no way her father would say no to that sort of thing. He'd probably put a limit on how many kids could be in Mal's gang but one more kid getting free food wouldn't put his restaurant under.

Hades chuckled. "Mal, your crew currently has nineteen members and the restaurant still hasn't gone under. Not to mention, most of the kids get free food anyway."

"Think Lord Hades would go for it?" Harry asked. "Or do you think he'd cancel the deal?"

"Never!" Hades exclaimed, looking at Uma and Mal. "The only time I'd cancel the deal would be if you girls had a falling out, thus causing your crew to split."

"So basically never going to happen?" Mal asked.

"Exactly," Hades nodded.

"Only way to know is to ask," Mal said. "I'll ask in the morning. I just saw him when I dropped off the order from your dad's shop. Wouldn't do to be seen as a pest."

"You are never a pest Mali," Hades told her.

Mal smiled at him. "Thanks dad. But you know I didn't want to establish a pattern for the Dragon either. Plus, Harry and Uma didn't know about you being my dad at that point."

Phoebus leaned over to Esmeralda. "Why am I not more shocked that Lord Hades has a daughter?"

"Because we're sitting in the realm of the Fates reading about the Isle of the Lost with others who include some of the Gods?"

Harry nodded and then stood up. "Well, no use just sitting around. You guys want to spar?"

"There's only three of us," Mal pointed out. "One of us would have to sit out the first round."

"That's how it always been," Uma argued. "One of us has always sat out."

"Wouldn't that be another argument for bringing in another member?" Emir asked. "So that way there's not one person sitting around bored out of their skull?"

"Captains first," Harry said, smirking a little as the two girls grabbed their swords. Sneaking the swords away from Hooks' crew had been easy; all they had to do was wait for Smee to be on watch. The timid first mate could never say no, especially when Harry asked.

"Is it really sneaking the swords then?" Elle asked. "Since it basically just sounds like Smee gave them to you."

Harry opened and then closed his mouth, looking over at Uma and Mal. "The lass has a point."

Harry and Uma had been the most skilled with the sword, having trained together since they were old enough to hold one. Mal liked to joke that Harry was born with a sword in his hand.

"He's the son of Captain Hook! What did you expect?" Melody shook her head.

Which, considering who his father was, probably wasn't that far off from the truth.

"Well…she is Mal's cousin. That might explain it," Harry muttered to himself.

Picking up her sword, Mal smirked as she turned to face Uma. "Ready to have your butt kicked, octo-girl?"

"Since when have you 'kicked my butt' in sparring Mal?" Uma chuckled.

"Last week!" Mal smirked.

"Keep dreaming, dragon breath," Uma teased right back. "How many times have you won a sparring match against me?"

Mulan looked intrigued. It was clear that the Isle didn't seem to have any set gender roles—probably because their main priority was survival. If it wasn't for the fact that it was an Island of villains and Shan Yu would probably find her in a second, she'd go for a visit. See just how good those pirates were.

"First time for everything Uma!"

Harry chuckled as the match began, each girl quickly matching and dodging the other's movements. It was clear that they had grown used to both the swords and each other as partners as it almost seemed like a dance. Not that either girl would admit to something as prissy as that.

"Dancing's actually really athletic," Macaria said.

"Uh huh," Mal rolled her eyes.

"Believe it when I see it," Uma agreed.

"Nice move Mal!" Harry called as Mal grabbed Uma's other hand to knock her off balance. He was sure that some of the stuffed shirts over in Boredon would call that cheating. But Harry didn't care and he knew Mal and Uma didn't either. They were villain kids.

"Do what you gotta do to survive. You can worry about the niceties later," Jay nodded.

Aladdin wasn't going to lie, seeing someone live the life he used to live was almost like a punch to the gut. The lack of food, the stealing, the coming up with their own rules to survive…it was like looking in a mirror.

The sound of the sword hitting the concrete flooring brought Harry out of his thoughts and he saw Uma pointing a sword at a disarmed Mal.

"You beat Mal?!" Hadie asked.

"I love how your brother is so shocked," Uma shook her head as she looked at Mal.

"Another win for me," Uma smirked as she sheathed her sword.

"You cheated." Mal chuckled, not mad in the slightest.

"Pirate." Uma said with a smirk and a small bow.

"So was I!" Mal exclaimed.

"I was just a better one," Uma smirked.

Mal chuckled. "Harry, you're up. Who do you want to spar with?"

"Whoever's the least winded. I don't want an easy match today. Papa's going out with Gaston so I want to get all my energy out when he saddles Harriet with me and fish for brains."

"Who has fish for brains?" Naveen asked.

"Gil. Son of Gaston," Harry told him.

"And why is he not here as well if he's mentioned in the scrolls?"

"Because the Fates are kind to me for once."

"Gil's not too bad," Uma chuckled. "Sure he's a moron but he's working on repairing mama's necklace for me. He told me he found the pieces one day in the 'food' barge and salvaged them."

"Gil's always liked crafts," Carlos spoke up. "His brothers give him a hard time about it so he mainly hangs out with his sisters when he can."

"Yeah right," Harry scoffed. "He's just trying to get into the crew. Why would Boreadon ever throw out something like that? Especially pieces of Ursula's necklace?"

Poseidon sighed. He had given Ursula that necklace for her birthday what seemed like several lifetimes ago.

"Maleficent has her scepter," Mal said softly. "I don't know how she got it but she has it."

"…that should be something we should look into," Phoebus said, his voice soft.

In the privacy of the clubhouse, among her friends, was the only time Mal truly felt safe enough to call Maleficent by her name. Mal knew that neither Uma nor Harry would go running back to the dragon and report what Mal had said.

"Of course we wouldn't Mal!" Harry shook his head.

"Guess security is really lax in Boreadon or something," Harry shrugged.

"Well when they have all the villains on an Isle, do they really need it?" Mal asked. "I mean, seems like a waste of time if you ask me."

"Don't we have a security guard at the Museum of Cultural History?" Chad asked.

"We do," Ella nodded.

"But if all the villains are on the Isle, why do we have him?"

Harry and Uma nodded before Harry stood up. "Well girls, you've had enough of a break. Who wants to spar me?"

"Why are you even asking? We both know it'll be Uma," Jay shook his head.

"Who do you want to spar?" Mal asked.

Harry thought for a moment, looking between the two girls. "Uma," he said after a minute and Uma smirked.

"What else did I expect?" Mal chuckled. "It was always Uma until Jay joined us."

"Okay Harry, but don't go crying to Mal when you lose," she teased.

"Oh please," Harry scoffed. "I taught you, remember?"

"And you did a fantastic job!" Uma grinned and Mal nodded.

"Yep! We haven't lost a fight with Freddy and his Angels since you taught us," she added.

"Sometimes the student surpasses the teacher," Uma chuckled as she raised her sword once more. Mal chuckled as the two began to spar. Uma and Harry might have been the rulers of trash talk but they could back up what they were saying.

"Why else would you talk smack unless you couldn't back it up?" Kitty asked.

Now, that wasn't to say that they could beat an adult but if they went up against someone like Fred Frollo for example, they could easily trounce him.

"Considering Freddy uses his daggers, I should hope we could trounce him in a sword fight," Harry said, spitting out the word 'daggers'.

"I'm sorry, I still can't get over the fact that Frollo sired a child," Phoebus sighed.

"Two children. He's got a daughter—."

"What?!" Esmeralda snapped and then looked over at Beast and Belle. "And you never once thought to get that poor girl out of his clutches? You all remember what he wanted to do to me, imagine what he'd be like to her!"

"Claudine's okay," Mal said. "She mainly spends time in the bell tower of Dragon Hall, my old school."

Esmeralda shook her head. "Why am I not surprised he made one of his children a bell ringer? It's what he did to Quasi after all."

Then again, Freddy Boy doesn't have any skills in the art of sword fighting, Mal thought with a chuckle as she sat on the milk crate Uma had vacated. Mal looked around the club house and smiled a little. Sure one might think it was depressing; with its lack of furniture and blankets strewn about for when it got cold.

"Might think it's depressing?" Emir muttered to Akiho. "How can we get some furniture over there?"

"We talk to Ben of course," Akiho muttered back.

But it was home. It was certainly more of a home than Maleficent's castle was.

Hades couldn't help but give Mal a sad smile as he heard that. While he was of course glad Mal had a place to get away from the vindictive harpy that was her egg donor, he wished it wasn't needed.

The Underworld might compete with that, a tiny voice rang out in Mal's brain. After all, that's where your father is.

Father. The title didn't quite fit. Even though that's what she had chosen back at the restaurant, Mal wasn't quite happy with it. It felt too stuffy. Like she was trying to fit in around the Boreadon elite.

"It's like you read my mind," Hades chuckled.

"Well I am a Godling. We can do that," Mal smirked.

Well Hades is a God. Don't they do that stuffy stuff on Olympus?

"Unfortunately," Persephone sighed.

Yeah but I'm not on Olympus. I'm on the Isle.

Are you going to be running around telling people about Hades?

"Not unless I want the Dragon on my case," Mal muttered.

Probably not?

Then what does it matter?

Mal shook her head a little to clear it of her internal debate. She wasn't going to run around, calling Hades by the title in public after all. It shouldn't matter that she felt uncomfortable.

Oh Mal honey, you should feel comfortable calling your dad whatever title you want, Persephone thought with a sad smile.

What else could I call him? Mal thought. Harry calls his father 'papa' and Uma calls her mother 'mama' but that seems like more of a pirate thing. I call Maleficent 'mother' but that's only because I know what'll happen if I don't. Hades is the exact opposite of Maleficent so why am I calling him 'father'?

"Because that's what you decided to call him," Rose said with a shrug.

Maleficent always referred to Hades by that title as well whenever she spoke about him. 'Your father', she'd say. 'Your weak, useless father'.

"Dad's not weak or useless!" Hadie exclaimed.

The dragon's wrong, Mal thought with a rush of anger.

"Well she's wrong about a great many things but what specifically is she wrong about this time?" Hades asked.

Hades isn't weak, even trapped under a magic barrier he still has some access to his powers. That's more than Maleficent can claim, with her glowey eyes and a scepter that's basically a fancy walking stick.

"I wonder what Maleficent would look like if someone said that to her face?" Eugene asked.

"Does this person you're imagining have a death wish?" Aladdin asked him.

And he's certainly not useless, not to me. Even if that use is just better food, it's more than Maleficent has ever done.

"Trust me, he does that and so much more," Mal muttered to herself, thinking about that fateful day at the Cove.

Mal's eyes glowed bright green for a moment before Mal clenched them shut, stamping down the anger she felt. Maleficent may have been a horrible monster, but she had been Mal's only parent for five years. That had to count for something right?

"Just because she gave you the bare minimum of care does not mean she was your parent," Cinderella stated, thinking about her own step mother.

Oh yes, all the beatings disguised as lessons. All the pinches and prods by the goblins. I think I still have a few bruises shaped like their fingerprints.

Demeter growled and her hands curled into fists. Poseidon's eyes flashed in anger.

"I think some goblins are going to be smote," Harry muttered to Jay.

"I have no sympathy for them," Jay muttered back.

Maleficent rules the Isle, she can't afford to be seen as weak. Hades has had five years to try to get you out of there if he really cared.

Hades winced but couldn't deny the fact that he could have tried harder to get Mal out of Maleficent's clutches.

Dad vs Maleficent, now that's a fight I pay to see.

"I'd sell tickets!" Chip said with a grin.

Mal's head shot up. 'Dad'. She had referred to Hades as 'dad'. Even in her head, it seemed right.

"And that is how I came to refer to dad as 'dad'," Mal told Herkie.

As she had said, Hades was Maleficent's polar opposite at least when it came to parenting. Instead of keeping her from food, Hades ensured Mal got some. She had only been in the Underworld for a few hours but Hades and Steph did their best to make her feel welcomed and safe.

Hades and Persephone couldn't help but smile as they heard that though Hades renewed his vow to smite himself a dragon. Actually so did Persephone. And Demeter.

Dad was a good title for him. A lot less stuffy than 'father' was. What had she been thinking?

She couldn't wait til tomorrow, when she could try out the new title and maybe get a new member of the gang as well.