Chapter 4
Evie and the two boys rushed in after the fires had died down, ready to help their friend...only to find her engagement ring instead. Evie scooped up the ring, her face pale. Mal would have never taken the ring off which meant-
"Hades has Mal," Carlos declared, confirming Evie's fear.
No no no. When Mal had told Evie that Hades was her father, that he had tried so many times to get her back, sometimes nearly succeeding, but to be struck down by Maleficent, which made Evie wonder why Maleficent would act like that. The faerie wasn't known for being loving and nurturing, only acting out of her own self interests which would have been the conclusion Evie would have come up with, but she had seen Maleficent's face when she saw Hades.
She was wary, and rightfully so. Hades was more powerful than her, he was a god. Maybe selfishness wasn't the reason Mal's mom kept her, maybe it was the fear that if Hades got Mal, then-
"We need to go back to Ben and tell him what happened," Gil said, placing a hand on Evie's shoulder, jerking her out of her thoughts.
"All right, let's go," Evie said softly.
The trio went back to Ben and the others and informed them of what happened. Ben looked like he had been sucker punched in the stomach, his brown eyes wide and face pale.
"Oh god, no. Please no, is there any chance that Mal could've-" Ben started.
"To escape Hades? No. He's at the height of his powers now. Hades is probably back in the Underworld planning to get back at us, but mainly you and Mal is essential to that plan," Evie sighed.
"How do you know he's planning something?" Uma asked. "I mean, I know it's obvious, but why do you sound so scared?"
"Something Mal told me about her parents. Mal said she had never seen Maleficent get scared, protective of her, or show any sign of weakness...unless Hades showed up at the door," Evie admitted.
"The Mistress of Evil scared of Hades? How is that-? Oh," Ben gasped.
"He's more powerful than her. Maleficent making a name for herself probably happened while she was pregnant. Taking control of the Isle wasn't just to establish her rule, it was to keep Mal away from Hades or as much as she could be," Carlos concluded.
"What else happened?" Jay asked.
"I don't know," Evie admitted. "All Mal would tell me was that sometimes she was visited by Hades and unlike her mother, he outwardly cared for her as much as villain dad could."
"So he was possessive?" Gil asked. "My dad used to be like that with me when I was a kid. Heck, isn't Mother Gothel's kid not allowed anywhere too?"
"Wait, so there are villains who care for their kids?" Ben asked.
"Well not nurture and all that fluffy stuff, but in a sense that we know that we answer to them and they keep us 'safe,' since they don't want us to fail or get hurt like they did," Harry grumbled.
"What do you know about Hades? What was he like on the Isle? If we can find out what he did, this might give us a clue on how to bring him down!" Ben declared.
"Well, I'll get Celia, since she apparently ran errands for Hades," Uma decided. "Then after listening to what she says, we can decide what to do."
"Fair enough. Though I think we should wait until tomorrow. We all need sleep and time to process what happened," Evie said. "Ben, get some sleep. Do not go out and do anything stupid."
"Okay," Ben sighed. "See you tomorrow."
The group of exhausted teenagers filed out of the office, all trying to hold it together while being bombarded with all sorts of questions: What was Hades' plan and the normal evil villain crap.
Meanwhile, Mal was slowly waking up, head throbbing. She found herself in the Underworld. Whatever light that was produced here seemed to only increase the amount of shadows, not recede them. Mal tried to walk around but soon found that-
“You can’t get out of those restraints I put on you,” Hades declared, smiling at her, making Mal uneasy.
“What do you want?” Mal asked.
“What I have been deprived of for all of your life: to be your father.”
”No. You are not my dad. Leave me alone you-“
”None of that Mal,” Hades chastised.
“You don’t get to tell me what the fuck I can’t do. You weren’t there and for a good reason. That was the one thing my mother was right about.”
”That I was what? Evil? So was she! It was in her title: the Mistress of Evil! She was a such a-“
”Not that. Keeping you away from me. You were so obsessed about me that it was borderline-“
”And what would you know about father villain parenting? Nothing. It’s in my nature to protect my child. Your mother wanted to provide a life where she could keep an eye on you so that I couldn’t teach you about your other powers!”
“I don’t want to learn anything from you Hades.”
”Oh please. Your mother didn’t let me near you because she didn’t want to be out of the Isle. At least not without her sceptre and my Ember since I’m the only one powerful enough to beat her and I can restrict you to staying here Mal.”
”What is this about?” Mal demanded.
“This is about getting my daughter back!” Hades growled. “And this time, I’m not going to let you go. And if anyone tries to bring you out of my realm, I will know and I will kill them. Especially if it’s that boy, Ben.”
“Don’t you dare. I will get out of here and stop you from-“
”From what? You don’t even know what I’m going to do. Goodnight Mal.”
Mal once again blacked out, cursing mentally. Hades scooped her up in his arms as she collapsed and took Mal to her room.
I’m not losing Mal. I will not lose another child! Hades vowed.