Do What I Have To Do

There was a collective gasp emitted from the crowd as Hades appeared. Hades was a blue fireball, crackling with energy. Ben, Mal, Uma, Evie, Carlos, Jay, Harry, and Gil all rushed to the front, protecting the innocent spectators. Ignoring them, Hades turned to Belle and Beast, with a murderous look on his face.

"What makes you think that she's your daughter? Because she's marrying your son? Mal is nothing like you and-" Hades began, a blue-white fireball in his hand.

"You don't know anything about me!" Mal growled, eyes flashing green.

Hades laughed like she was a toddler throwing a tantrum. He looked down at her, the smile lines exactly like hers. Mal could see so many pieces of her in him. Mal may have been claimed by Maleficent, but standing next to Hades, no one could deny the resemblance between them, his affection towards her, and that she was his daughter.

"Might want to be careful Mallie when turning into a dragon, wouldn't want for people to get hurt, now would you?" 

Mal hesitated at that, which made him grin.

Hades flipped the Ember in his hand, ready to fight.

Mal saw the taunt in Hades' eyes, which had an unspoken question.

What are you going to do about it?

It was the same taunting look she used to give people on the Isle when she humiliated or took something from them. Full of challenge and dark humor, make her victim believe that they stood a chance against her, unlike Maleficent's cold gaze that made the victim back away immediately.

"Come on Mal, turn into a dragon. You can-"

Instead of turning into a dragon, Mal shot a blast of magic at him, getting him away from the crowd. 

Mal turned to the others, ready to tell them to get the civilians to safety, but Audrey beat her to it.

"We'll get them to safety!" Audrey promised as she and Fairy Godmother began to herd everyone inside. "Go!"

"Let's go then!" Uma declared, brandishing her sword.

After passing out swords, the eight teenagers ran after the villain, who began shooting out blue fire, which they barely dodged and deflected with their blades. Hades glared at them, annoyed at the way his plan is failing.

"I've waited for over seventeen years to get you back Mal, and I'm not backing down now!" Hades yelled with a desperate and insane look in his eye that made Mal nervous.

Fucking hell. How long had he fooled himself with the delusion that he'd get her away from Maleficent? And now from Ben. Mal felt a bit of pity worming itself inside of her. Mal pushed the pity aside, she had work to do. And Hades wasn't her dad, just like how Maleficent wasn't her mom...anymore.

If anything, she was Beast and Belle's child now.

"Leave her alone," Ben snapped.

"You. I've wanted to hurt you before, but now that you've proposed to Mal, let's just say I'm going to savor every minute of it!" Hades snarled. "And as for Mal, let's just say I have big plans for her."

"Leave her alone!" Ben growled, running towards Hades.

"Ben, no!" Mal yelled.

Hades intercepted his attack by grabbing Ben's sword.

"Foolish boy!" 

Hades threw Ben into a tree where he slumped down, unconscious. Mal tackled him, catching Hades off guard. Mal grappled for the Ember and Hades growled when he saw her holding it. Before Mal could do anything, Hades disappeared again.

"Coward!" Uma yelled.

Mal ignored her outburst and rushed to Ben's side. 

"We need to get him somewhere safe. Then we can deal with Hades," Mal promised.

"Or Hades can deal with us," Carlos said.

"Not helping-"

"No look!"

A message was burned into the ground.

You should have joined me when you had the chance Mal. Now Auradon and the Isle will pay. See you soon.

Mal paled at the promise in the message.

"We need to get Fairy Godmother now!" Mal ordered.

While Mal, Gil, and Jay went to put Ben in his room so he could rest, the others went to find Fairy Godmother. It hadn't even past twenty minutes when everyone had assembled outside of Ben's room. Belle and Beast were still shaken up by Hades' declaration and even more so at the damage caused to their son, but they were otherwise okay.

"We need to get my wand and Maleficent's spellbook and scepter out of the Museum's vault. The one's on display are fake, but I'm not going to put it past Hades to find the real ones," Fairy Godmother said nervously.

"I'll get the magical objects," Mal offered.

"Not alone, you're not!" Evie argued.

"Or at all!" Beast decided. "Hades wants you Mal. Until-"

"I'm the only one that can slow him down. I have the Ember. I can threaten to dunk it in water if he doesn't go back to the Isle. Besides, I'm probably the only one who can hold my mom's scepter without going nuts."

Beast opened his mouth to say something, but then decided against it, shaking his head.

"Fine. Who's going with you?"

"Evie, Gil, and Jay. Every one else needs to keep the kids and the others safe," Mal said.

"We'll find the VKs," Uma promised, pointing at Harry and Carlos.

"I'll tell the people to remain calm and to remain inside for their safety," Fairy Godmother said.

"We'll stay with Ben and tell him what's happened when he wakes up. Good luck Mal," Belle smiled.

Mal nodded and left with Evie, Gil, and Jay. They got into the Museum no problem, but Mal felt like someone was watching them when they got to the Restricted Vault, where all the real artifacts, both good and evil, were kept.

Mal grabbed the book and scepter while Evie grabbed the wand, but before they could leave, Hades was blocking their path.

"Thanks for saving me the trouble of having to go get Maleficent's stuff, and is that Fairy Godmother's wand? That's a bonus!" Hades laughed.

"You're not getting any of it!" Mal sneered.

"Maybe not the wand, but I do need the book and the scepter. Oh, and my Ember Mal," Hades snapped, glaring at her.

Mal stiffened at the tone of Hades' voice. Mal pulled out the Ember and looked at him straight in the eye.

"You're not getting anything."

"Well, guess we have to do this the old fashioned way."

Hades lunged at the four teens, dodging attacks and swiping his Ember and Maleficent's scepter. He smiled as he placed the Ember on top of the wickedly green jewel. Hades slammed the scepter down and sent the four sliding backwards, wind whipping in their faces, making them shield their faces with their arms. When the wind stopped, they saw that the two jewels had merged and that it was a dark red.

The four teens stepped back, feeling the power, the evil, radiating off of the object and from Hades himself. Hades laughed at their fear. His eyes went from their normal vivid blue, to a fiery red, along with his hair, both now matching the jewel. Mal's throat dried up looking at him. For once in her life, she was genuinely scared of Hades.

All the times he had come to her at night when Maleficent wasn't around or too drunk to care didn't count neither did the recent times when he had broken out or hurt her friends. She had been worried then; worried for herself, her friends, her family and what Hades might do.

Now Mal was scared of what he was going to do. Hades was more powerful than her mother ever had been and now possibly more powerful than Fairy Godmother. Before Mal could suggest to use the wand, Hades engulfed the place in flames. 

"We need to go!" Jay coughed, grabbing Evie, protecting her and the wand.

Gil and Mal moved to follow but Mal-

"I can't move," she realized. 

Her friends stared at her, wide eyed and scared as Hades began to laugh.

"Go now!" Mal ordered.

Hesitantly, the trio obeyed, and Mal opened her mouth to recite a spell to get her unfrozen and away from Hades. 

"I don't think so," Hades crooned, clamping a hand on her mouth.

He kept her mouth shut and hands pinned with one arm and the other held the scepter and book.

"I'll get the wand when I need it," Hades promised. "Let's get rid of this!"

Hades flicked Ben's ring off of Mal's finger.

"Mmh!" Mal protested, trying to get him off of her.

"None of that Mal. Now, go to sleep," Hades soothed. "I know you're thinking I'm the villain here, but I just gotta do what I have to do."

Mal didn't respond as she slumped into his arms, his sleeping spell hitting her. Within seconds, Mal was unconscious and in Hades' arms. Hades looked down, savoring this moment.

Gods, how long had it been since he had held her like this? Hades didn't dwell on this though, he melted into shadows and reappeared in the Underworld. He put Mal in one of the empty rooms and left to continue planning the next step of his plan to bring Auradon and the Isle of the Lost to their knees.