Chapter Thirty Nine
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 Myth.
*ducks incoming projectiles* Yes, yes I know! I'm lagging in my updates! There really is no excuse other than real life and I've discovered a small obsession with the HBO limited series Band of Brothers. To preemptively answer some questions—no, it will not find its way into a crossover with Descendants. I know fics about real people exist but it's not something I'm comfortable with, especially with a topic like World War 2.
Secondly, I will be on vacation at the end of July so updates may slow a bit more as I prepare for that. Thankfully that should be the last major trip this year so updates should speed back up until the regular football season lol :D
charmed princess imzadi: Yeah Zeus really should get in trouble more imo. There should be an Auradon chapter soon!
AmethystDragon14: Yay! Oh yeah, trust me I was angry at the muse for abandoning so much of the fic last chapter! Yep, that's why they're kidnapping a goblin! If they can't go after Maleficent then they go after her minions!
AliceCullen3: Oh yay!
danifan3000: More protection than Simba and Ariel combined is rather impressive, I'm not going to lie. But then again, these are Gods we're talking about so maybe it shouldn't be that startling lol.
OceanBlueSeaEyes: I've had duck, it's rather enjoyable but very rich so I can understand it's not everyone's cup of tea :D Glad you liked the chapter!
IWantColouredRain: Oh I agree, that would definitely be a humiliating way to die…was it a whole pear or did the guy just choke while taking a bite?
SaikoGoyangi: I'm sure I can work in a flashback in a later chapter of Hercules going off on Zeus :D
Hope you guys enjoy this chapter! Let me know what you think! :D
Hades sighed as he tried to focus on his work. It had been a few weeks since Persephone and Malionë had gone back to Auradon and Hades wasn't going to lie, he missed them.
The six months seemed to go by in the blink of an eye, especially now that they had gotten his daughter back from Maleficent's talons. Yes he loved having Jess, Sammy, Harriet, and baby Harry around but a selfish side of him wished he could have his wife and daughter year round.
Hey, he was Zeus' brother. There was a good chance he had a selfish side, as minuscule as it was.
He let out another heavy sigh as he laboriously sifted through the paperwork spread out before him. Fortunately, the stack wasn't as daunting as it had been on some days, indicating that fewer souls were departing the mortal realm. If Hades were to speak truthfully, he would have rather been overwhelmed with work. At least then, the crushing weight of missing his wife and daughter might have been temporarily lifted.
Oh you know what, Pain and Panic can handle the rest of this, he thought as he stood up. Well Pain more so. I'm not going to deny Panic time with his son. Hmm…speaking of his son, I wonder how old he is now? He might be of the age where it could behoove him to be under the protection of someone powerful…plus I owe Poseidon for Ariel getting Malionë back. The least I can do is protect his grandson.
Yeah, that had been an interesting discovery but Ariel had asked Belle to assist her in doing the research and the royal bookworm had confirmed it. Hades wasn't entirely sure how it worked but Virgil was the grandson of the God of the Ocean and cousin to Uma.
Hey, why don't I take Malionë to go and visit Uma? Even if I don't get on with my niece, Malionë should get to know her cousin, Hades thought as he made his way to the nursery where both Harry and Malionë slept. He might have been so deep in thought that he'd forgotten that his daughter wasn't napping in her crib but rather with her mother in Auradon. Which would have explained the panic he felt upon seeing only one child in the nursery.
"Okay, don't panic," Hades muttered as he backed away from the snoozing Harry. Even if he could feel his blood run cold at the thought of his daughter missing again, Hades wasn't stupid enough to risk the wrath of Milah if he woke up her son from his nap. Hades had done that once when Harriet was Harry's age, he was not repeating that mistake thank you. "Just because Malionë isn't in her crib doesn't mean she's missing. Maybe Milah or Mollie took her to get changed…or maybe Smee or Hook took her to see their ship."
Would the pirates take his daughter out of the Underworld without telling him? Probably not. They valued their skin too much and while Hades would hate to make a child fatherless, after everything that happened with Maleficent he most certainly would kill Hook or Smee if he found out they had taken his daughter without telling him.
"Unca Hades?" Harriet's voice broke Hades out of his thoughts and he looked down at the young pirate in training.
"Yes Harriet?"
"Are you okay?"
Hades nodded, trying to hide his panic from the young girl. "I'm fine, Harriet. I just can't find Malionë. Have you seen her?"
"I thought Auntie Steph took her across the bridge?" Harriet asked, tilting her head and Hades felt himself exhale a sigh of relief. That was right, it was Steph's six months.
"Oh right, right," Hades nodded. "Thank you Harriet."
"You're welcome Unca Hades! I hope Mali has fun over there but I know Harry's looking forward to her coming back," Harriet said with a grin before scurrying off to go join Jess and Sammy in whatever mischief they were going to get up to.
Hades shook his head. How could he have forgotten Persephone was gone on her six months already? For Tartarus' sake, the whole reason why he was having difficulty with his paperwork was because he was missing his wife and daughter!
"You alright there Hades?" Hook asked as he walked past the God.
"Depends. Have you ever forgotten something so obvious that you went into a panic because you forgot?" Hades asked.
Hook chuckled. "Don't tell Milah but one time I left Harriet on The Jolly Rodger when I came back here when it was her nap time and then panicked when I went to get her up and she wasn't here."
"Oddly enough that does make me feel better," Hades said, shaking his head.
"Good," Hook said with a small smile. "So…why were you so panicked?"
Hades sighed and shook his head. "If you repeat this, I'll deny it but…I forgot Steph was in Boreadon and went to go get Malionë…"
"Ah, you forgot she was with Lady Persephone?" Hook guessed.
"You said it, not me," Hades said.
Hook chuckled. "It's normal Hades, at least you realized it before you completely freaked out and torched the Underworld."
"Your daughter was the one who reminded me, actually," Hades said.
"…Which daughter?"
"Oh right. Harriet. She pointed out 'Mali' was in Boradon."
Hook shook his head. "I'm surprised you're okay with that nickname, Hades. Milah and I have tried to squash it but—."
"First off, Ariel and Eric gave Malionë the nickname first and second of all, I'm not gonna fault a small child for making a difficult word easier to say," Hades told him. "I may be a villain but I'm not that villainous. Besides, if I didn't want my daughter to have a nickname that sounded close to a certain dragon's, then I shouldn't have given my daughter a name with the ability to make said nickname."
"Didn't you choose the name because it was Persephone's favorite of your options?"
"Yes?"
Hook shook his head. "So you would have still gone with it even if it had been pointed out how similar it was to a certain dragon's name?"
It was Hades' turn to shake his head. "You know I think I liked it better when you all feared me."
"You say that but if we feared you, you'd be running around here thinking your daughter was still kidnapped by Maleficent instead of enjoying her time with her mother," Hook pointed out.
"…I hate when you're right."
"Hey, I didn't get to be a captain based solely on my good looks." Hook said with a chuckle before dodging the shove from Hades. Hades shook his head but gave Hook a small smile. It was weird but he truly did appreciate the fact that the pirates had stayed all these years.
They could have left, especially after word had gotten out that Frollo had sired a daughter. No, the Isle had not found out about Jessica Hook potentially being Frollo's but rather Frollo had sired another daughter. Milah had immediately argued that they shouldn't leave the poor girl in Frollo's clutches but Hook and Hades shot it down.
Hook's argument, that they would only be inviting Frollo's ire to be focused on them once more, had seemed to be the stronger of the two arguments however Hades was rather proud of his point that taking the child who was rightfully Frollo's (no matter how much it disgusted them) would have made them no better than Maleficent stealing Malionë.
Them keeping Jessica was one thing, there was a strong chance that the girl was Hook's daughter. But there was no other contender for the father of Caitlin Frollo.
Hook had suggested killing Frollo but Hades had said that if they weren't killing Maleficent then there was no reason to kill Frollo.
"How's Frollo's daughter doing?" Hades asked. "I know you've assigned some of your crew to look out for her."
"The young lass is doing fine…well as fine as she can for being Frollo's daughter," Hook sighed before looking over his shoulder for young ears. At the confirmation that they were alone, Hook shook his head. "I know you think I'm insane for looking out for the girl but…she could be Jessica's sister. We still have no way to tell if I sired her or if she's truly Frollo's daughter—."
"Okay, one thing we do know? Blood doesn't make someone a father," Hades told him. "You were the one who raised Jess. You were the one who helped change diapers as best he could, you were the one who rocked Jess back to sleep, the one who she goes to if she has a bad dream. You are her father, no matter what her blood might be."
Hook gave Hades a smile. "Thank you Hades."
"Don't mention it," Hades said. "And secondly? I don't think you're insane for looking out for Frollo's kid. She's what? A year younger than Harriet? Too young to have no one looking out for her on the Isle and we know Frollo's not going to do it."
"According to some of my crew, he's stuck the lass in the bell tower of Dragon Hall," Hook shook his head. "Mollie's gotten some of the crew of The Rose to help as well, since the lass might be connected to Jess."
Hades shook his head. "I know why we vetoed Milah's idea of stealing the girl away from Frollo but the idea of Frollo having a daughter does not sit right with me."
"You and me both, but it's clear Frollo would rather spend time with his son than actually father his daughter," Hook said. "I just want to know what poor soul was the girl's mother."
Hades shook his head. "Well there's no way she's still alive, if she is she's a horrible mother for allowing her daughter to be stuck in a bell tower."
"Hades, did you forget where we are? Horrible mothers are pretty much a dime a dozen here."
"True, very true."
Hook shook his head. "Well I should let you get back to work."
"You weren't distracting me," Hades said, more than a little thankful for the change in topic. "Plus, if I'm honest, I wasn't getting much done today anyway."
"Ah, one of those days huh?" Hook asked. "You want to watch the girls spar? I know Harry enjoys watching it so it might take your mind off of what ails you."
"The girls are rather impressive swordswomen for their age," Hades nodded as the two of them made their way to the den. "Then again, you've trained them well. I'm sure Harry will be just as good as soon as he learns to walk."
Milah snorted from her spot on the sofa as the two men walked into the den. "Don't encourage him Hades. James had a foam sword in Harry's hand as soon as Harry was able to firmly grasp an item."
"This in no way surprises me," Hades shook his head in amusement. "I have the feeling that if Persephone makes alliances with Mulan, Malionë will be just as skilled with a sword by the time she gets back."
"Didn't you say that there was talk about a youth jousting class?" Hook asked. "Seems like something she'd like."
Hades shook his head. "I think there's an age limit for that, according to Persephone. Eric had been looking into it for Elle."
"Really?" Hook asked.
"You can still joust from a wheelchair," Hades told him.
Milah shook her head. "I think James was referring more to the fact that the High King would be participating in a jousting class."
"Ah…well from what Steph read, it's mostly foam jousting lances. Like Harry's foam sword. Plus Beast and David are participating once their kids are old enough."
"Yes but Beast is an idiot."
"David's not though, not from what Daniel's heard," Milah pointed out. "Though he hasn't been able to hear much since the Evil Queen refuses to allow news of Snow White or her husband into their life."
"How do you know this?" Hook asked.
"Believe it or not, I do talk to non-pirates," Milah said as she shook her head. "He was visiting Panic with young Evie, seems Virgil enjoyed having her company and I thought it would be a good idea if Harry got to know Virgil as well."
"Oh Gods, please tell me Harry's not going to become allies with Evil Queen's daughter," Hades shook his head.
"Would that be a bad thing if he did?" Milah asked. "The more allies the better."
"Milah, your children have the High King and High Queen of Auradon as their allies, thanks in part to Ariel's' impromptu visit to the Isle," Hades sighed. "But furthermore, I'm all in favor of the sunspots having allies if said ally doesn't make it a point to aggravate Maleficent. We do have to survive the next couple of years before the next election."
"Oh…right," Milah nodded. "I'd completely forgotten about that. It seems like so much has changed on the Isle."
"If you say so," Hades shrugged before shaking his head. "Well this has grown almost depressing. Where are the sunspots? They're always good for brightening up the mood and I haven't seen them running around since Harriet told me Malionë was in Auradon."
"That…is a good question," Milah said, looking around. "James? Where are our daughters and Sammy?"
"I'm not sure love," Hook told her. "They know not to leave without telling one of us though so they couldn't have left the Underworld."
A loud crash broke through the silence and cut off whatever it was that Hades was going to say. Shaking his head, Hades couldn't help but chuckle. "I think we found them."
"What makes you think it wasn't Smee?" Hook asked.
"We're okay!"
Hades chuckled again as the three voices called out, echoing on the walls of the Underworld. "That answer your question?"
"Aye," Hook nodded. "I guess we should see what it was that they broke."
"That would be a good idea," Milah nodded and the three of them walked off. Hades knew he'd never repeat this out loud but at that moment, he was extremely thankful he wasn't alone.