At first, Harry and Gil stood open-mouthed as the vibration shook Dragon Hall’s facade, then they cracked up.
“What idiots!” Harry guffawed, doubling over in hysterics, “Now everyone will know something’s up.”
“Hey, Evie!” Gil suddenly noticed the core four slinking up from behind; he waved excitedly, “Jay, Carlos, Mal—what are you guys doing here?”
“Oh, we’re just out for a little stroll…” the purple-clad girl rolled her eyes, “The place didn’t need much cleaning up, you know.” She shrugged, “Just chillin’. I haven’t been out much since I’ve been back, you know.”
“We know…” Harry looked suave.
“So I suppose the real question is,” Carlos glared at him, “What are you guys doing here?”
“We asked you first…” Harry shrugged.
“And we told ya.”
“Just hanging around…” Harry shrugged, “Like you guys.” He bowed low, “We want to learn everything we can from those goodie-two-shoes so when we go to Auradon, we’ll be able to fit in better.”
“Ain’t that nice…” Mal’s hand’s were on her hips.
“M—” Evie shook her head.
“Kinda hard to learn anything from ‘em when they’re in there and you’re out here, isn’t it?” Jay asked.
“We were about to head in.” Harry shrugged.
“Sure…”
“We were just—” Gil broken in
Evie tickled his nose flirtatiously, snapping his mouth shut, “Careful, Gil…your nose might start growing.”
“Don’t listen to her.” Harry rolled his eyes, “Uma’s magic won’t do that.”
“Excuse me?” the blue-clad girl frowned, “I’ll have you remember that I’m royalty around here.”
“Look, Evie,” Harry raised his hook, “I don’t want to have to—”
“Are you threatening her?” Carlos was shocked.
“In front of us?” Jay added.
“No, no, no,” Gil jumped in front of his friend when Mal’s eyes flamed, “Harry wouldn’t threaten Evie! H-he loves her! W-we just wanted to know what the antiheroes were doing.”
“I don’t need—” the pirate began.
“Look, Harry, whatever, alright.” Mal stepped in, “It’s not like we didn’t know you were gonna do this. In fact, we came to keep an eye on you.” She rolled her eyes, “We all know we don’t trust each other.”
“I get it,” she continued, “There’s a lot of crap between us. It’s not like any of us is ever gonna completely forget. Home, freak, home, right?” She glanced at Evie, understanding how hard the blue-clad girl wanted things to work out, and suddenly felt inspired, “Why don’t we go in there and talk to ‘em together?”
*o*o*0*o*o*
“Ben told us about the fight with Uma’s pirates.” Beast looked earnest, “First, I wanna thank you, but I’m sure you understand that—”
“Well, we had too!” Diego blurted out, “Carlos flipped out when he saw Princess Evie and Sophie out there. They’re our friends. We couldn’t let Uma—”
“Forgive us, dear…” Fairy Godmother interrupted, “but, the point is we’re concerned, even though you’ve spent more time together, that…”
“Hold on a minte,” Belle suddenly jumped in, catching Ben’s ansty look.
She reached out to Fairy Godmother and her husband, “What ifs are a part of life. We’ve all had to deal with them.” She nodded at Beast, “I took a chance on you, didn’t I? What if…” She nodded at the headmistress, “And Fairy Godmother, what if Cinderella hadn’t—”
“Alright, alright…” Beast looked chagrin; his wife had a way of opening raw wounds sometimes.
“I think if we asked everyone in Auradon, we’d spend all day rehashing the what ifs in our lives,” she went on, “It’d be a disservice to the next generation if we didn’t let them work through their own what ifs. And it’s not like they haven’t planned things out. I’m sure—”
“Thank y-you, mom.” Ben’s voice caught.
“That’s not to say things will be easy, of course, or even go the way we want,” the retiring queen went on, “but think of everything they’ve been through already. They’ve met every challenge. Ben has been thoughtful about this. He’s working it out with both Yen Sid and us. Frankly, if I were him, I’d have talked to Yen Sid before Papa too. I think if—”
“If it’ll help,” Hadie suddenly interrupted, “My sister and Uma have been working really hard to get along. I was surprised at first but—”
“Your what?” Eddie broke in, “Who?”
*o*o*0*o*o*
Uma’s impatience was griving her nearly mad as she scurried about, trying to get chores done before her gang returned; she just hoped Harry and Gil hadn’t screwed up their job.
If things went south with Mal, she wanted ammo to use against her.
How long could it take to figure out what was going on? She fumed listlessly as she scrubbed tables. But no word came and, when she finished the last chore, she’d decided to enact Plan B.
“I’m not gonna stand here and wait for them.” she muttered, pushing through the batwing doors, “I’m gonna find them.”
What if this whole thing was a setup to give Auradon more opportunities to squelch the Isle? Her mind spun wild theories as she stalked the dark streets. It was darker and lonelier tonight than she ever remembered it being.
“Flotsam and Jetsam!” she began to rage at the emptiness around her, “Lagan and Derelict, where are those fools?”
“I don’t like this place.” she eventually wound up in front of Dragon Hall, “They know I don’t. Serpent Preppers don’t—”
She skirted off to the side, thinking the boys might have been forced into hiding, and noted that Claudine was not in the belltower.
“Maybe they’re still eavesdropping…” she muttered, doubling back. Her heart pounded in her ears as she reached for the doorknob.
“I see we have a little Serpent Prep spy…” Dr. Facilier’s voice stopped her in her tracks.
“Shut up!” she hissed, whirling to face him, “I’m in charge on the Isle now, you old fool.”
“Don’t you want some help?” he shrugged benignly, “I know why you’re here—but you’re too late.”
“You don’t know anything!” she bristled.
“Suit yourself…” he shrugged again, turning away, “But I’ve been watching. Mal and the others invited Harry and Gil to go into the old wizard’s classroom with them.”
“What?” the green-clad girl nearly gagged.
*o*o*0*o*o*
“What—?” Ben’s leapt to his feet, his face ghostly, “Mal’s father is—”
“Hades…” the blue-haired boy nodded seriously, his face reddening, “I-I’m pretty sure she knows…but dad said she was young when he left Maleficent.”
“If she knows,” Beast’s voice had an edge, “she didn’t tell us.”
“Dear, please…” Belle put a hand on his arm, “Sit down, dear. Remember where your temper got us last time.”
“But, how can we trust her if she wasn’t even open about her lineage?” Beast gestured angrily
“Children, children—please, I understand how you feel.” Yen Sid moved fast as a murmur of discontent swept through the VKs, “That’s no way to handle this. You’re antiheroes now, please remember.”
“Dad only told me this morning…” Hadie hoped he was helping, coming to his feet for attention, “I didn’t know before, I swear.” His face colored more deeply, “Mal’s a little older than me. Maybe she doesn’t know…”
“Did I hear someone say my name?”
“Mal!” Ben gasped as his purple-clad ex-girlfriend and her friends sauntered into the room, “W-wait, I thought that door was locked?”
“Hiya…” she waved, smiling tightly, “I didn’t mean to interrupt, but I-I brought some more guests…in the interest of getting along better, you know.”
“I’m glad you’re all here!” Ben suddenly broke into a radiant smile.
“I bet you are.” Harry muttered, crossing his arms over his chest.
“Hello, Mal.” Belle found her voice, hoping she didn’t look as shocked as she felt, “W-we’re glad you’re so well!”
“The same to you, your majesty.” The purple-clad girl’s face warmed; she could literally feel everyone staring at her, “I’m sorry for what we’ve put you through the last couple days. I-I didn’t mean–”
“Did you know Hades was your father?” Hermie Bing blurted out.
“Hermie!” Claudine hissed, “Be quiet!”
“What?” Jay and Carlos looked stunned.
“Well, now…” Mal’s eyes widened in surprise, “I wasn’t expecting that…” She gave them a tight smile, “Can I introduce a couple people first a-and then we can talk?”
“Yes!” Ben looked desperate, “Yes, of course! Please do! Mom, Dad, Fairy Godmother, this is—”
“Harry Hook and Gil.” Mal finished flatly.
“Harry Hook and Gil?” Beast jumped up, “Now, just a minute—”
“No, wait, dad!” Ben jumped up too, “Just let Mal talk…please.”
“Well, that’s kinda hard to explain…” she smiled tightly, “I-I just felt inspired, I guess. In light of the last couple days.”
“Well, I can’t argue with that!” Ben tried to encourage her to continue, “Welcome, Harry, Gil!”
“But, what about—” Beast argued, ignoring Belle grip his hand, “Do you really think they’ve changed enough to allow—”
“Dear…give them a chance.” his wife growled, her nails digging into his hand, “Like Ben gave Mal, Evie, Jay, Carlos, and Freddie. Like I gave you.”
He winced, again she’d caught him where it hurt. “Al-alright…welcome Harry Hook and Gil.”
A small smile touched Mal’s lips. “Harry Hook is Captian’s Hook’s son and Gil’s dad is…Gaston.”
“Gaston!” Beast was on his feet again.
“Yeah…” Gil waved with an innocent smile, “You’re Queen Belle, right? My dad says hi.” He waved, “And King Beast, my dad–”
“Whoa, whoa!” Mal and Claudine jumped to cover his mouth. The purple-clad girl shrugged, pointing at the brown-clad boy’s head, “Not a lot of there, there, if you know what I mean…”
“But he’s sooo sweet.” Evie said.