Chapter Fifteen

A/N: I do not own anything other than my OCs who may or may not come out to play. Everything else either belongs to Disney or the Greek Myths.

*blinks in shock* Okay, how am I already at chapter fifteen and almost at two hundred reviews? Thank you all so much for your support for this story! It means the world, you have no idea!

As always, a special thank you goes to AmethystDragon14. I know you say it's not necessary but our back and forth literally wrote about half this chapter. Thank you so much!

Hope you all enjoy this chapter! Let me know what you think and please continue to stay safe!

Mal woke up the next day feeling slightly nervous, though she quickly tamped down that feeling. It wasn't like she could guarantee success; if Hades…if her dad said no to Jay getting a free meal, they wouldn't have any way to tempt Jay into joining the crew.

Scurrying out of her room and quickly leaving Maleficent's castle, Mal made her way to the Underworld. It was early enough to assume that Hades was still there rather than at the restaurant.

I'll try there if dad's not in the Underworld. Gods, it's strange…referring to someone as 'dad' even if it's in my head. I mean strange in a good way though. Like days when the cloud cover isn't as dark.

The only reason she had spent the night in her 'room' at Maleficent's castle was because she didn't want to raise the dragon's suspicions in case she had heard about her confrontation with Evie. The last thing Maleficent would want would be to be made to look bad and her daughter having a confrontation with the child of someone under her control?

Mal held back a shudder at the thought of what kind of 'lesson' Maleficent would teach her for that.

I should have just stayed the night in the clubhouse, Mal thought as she walked the streets of the Isle. Sure we don't have a bed or heat there but it's better than getting almost no sleep because you don't know when the dragon'll strike.

Thankfully, a somewhat tired Mal meant a scowl was presented to the other members of the Isle. Meaning she wasn't stopped by anyone on her way to the Underworld. Shaking her head as she opened the door, Mal couldn't help the small feeling of relief she felt as she stepped inside.

"Hello?" Mal called softly, walking further in.

"Mal?" Persephone called, walking out to greet her. "Hello sweetie."

"Hi Lady Steph," Mal said, using Persephone's proper title. Maleficent still insisted that her lackeys call her 'her excellency' sometimes, Mal didn't know if she'd be required to do the same with Persephone. Better safe than sorry.

"Just 'Steph' is fine, Mal," Persephone said, giving the young girl a sad smile. "Your father's in the den. Just go on in, he'll be happy to see you."

Mal nodded and made her way to the den. Hades, it seemed, was deep in thought as he hadn't even heard Mal come up.

"Fath…dad?" Mal asked softly, correcting herself mid-word as she was prepared to call Hades by the old title. Saying it out loud for the first time, dad was definitely the better choice. No reaction seemed to come from Hades, and Mal assumed that the God hadn't heard her. Summoning all the confidence she could that came from strutting around the Isle like she owned it (one of the few perks of being Maleficent's daughter), Mal walked into the den and plopped on the sofa next to her dad.

"You know, you really need to serve something different at your restaurant," Mal said, her topic choice surprising her but she decided to roll with it.

"Oh really?" Hades asked, looking over at her. If he was surprised to see her, it didn't show on his face. "Well what did you have in mind? There's not much available to us other than fish and I'd rather not feed the people of the Isle stuff sent from the boat. I'm cruel but not that cruel."

"What about chicken?" Mal asked, a seemingly innocent tone to her voice. "Then people wouldn't constantly be comparing yours and Ursula's food. For the record, Uma would like that—apparently, your food's better."

That was a total lie, no one on the Isle would risk irritating the daughter of the God of the Sea but Hades would never know. Besides, there was no harm in stroking the ego of a God; even if that God was one's dad.

"Good idea in theory Mal," Hades said with a smirk. "Just one tiny little problem. How exactly do you propose I get my hands on one of those feathered pests?"

"Oh my crew's on it," Mal said with a smirk of her own. "Or at least we're close to. Harry and Uma found some of Old man Slade's chickens in town yesterday and we tried to catch one. They're too fast though so we're going to bring in Jay."

Hades couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at that. Granted Jay wasn't an unknown entity but his father was connected to Maleficent.

Maybe I shouldn't worry so much. I'm doing what the Boreadon elite did when they set up this Isle, condemning Jay simply because of who his father is.

I'm not condemning the boy. I just want Mal to be careful. Hook and Ursula may be slightly lower on the Isle totem pole but at least they're not in league with the dragon.

"So if we bring you a chicken, can we get another option for the menu?" Mal asked, unaware of the internal dilemma being raged in Hades' brain.

"Just to make sure I understand, you're actually going to bring another member into your gang just so I make something different at the restaurant?" Hades asked, raising an eyebrow.

Mal sighed. "Dad, if I keep eating fish, I will turn into a fish."

This time, Hades did notice the change in title but chose not to comment on it; the only sign he noticed was a small smile on his face. "Mal, I don't think that it's possible for you to become a fish. Not unless you ask your Uncle Poseidon to do it. As for Jay, I know he's a good thief and could more than likely catch one of those rats with wings. But his dad is in league with your mother. You really want to make one of her minion's son your minion just for the sake of some chicken?"

"Dear, aren't you the one always saying that it doesn't make sense for the Auradon elite to keep the kids locked on the Isle just because of who their parents are?" Persephone asked, walking into the den.

"Yeah dad," Mal nodded. "If it's wrong for Boreadon to do it to the kids, then why should I do it to Jay? Besides, from what little I know about Jay, he may need the gang as much as he'd be useful for us."

Hades looked over at Persephone and sighed. "Alright. But be careful. There may not be many people on the Isle that I trust completely, but at least Hook and Ursula aren't in league with Maleficent. In fact, I may trust Ursula a bit more than I'd trust others on the Isle just because she's a relation. That being said, I still trust her as far as I can throw her."

"Rambling dear," Persephone said, sneakily taking a photo of the two of them sitting on the sofa; Hades having turned his head back toward Mal so he was looking at his daughter instead of at Persephone. Otherwise he'd have seen Persephone take the photo.

"Right," Hades nodded. "The point I was trying to make was that I don't want you getting hurt just because you brought a new player into your gang."

"Don't worry about me dad," Mal said, still surprised at the ease in which she called Hades by the title.

Maybe it helps that he actually acts like a parent—like Milah did with Harry and how Facilier acts with Uma.

"I'm your father, I'm always going to worry about you."

Mal smiled slightly as she got up. Jay wasn't going to come find her after all and she still needed to get Uma and Harry. "By the way, the next time Jay comes by the restaurant, he's going to get the same deal as Uma and Harry since he'll be in the crew."

"Don't count your chickens Mal. Jay could say no."

"We'll see," Mal smirked. "I'm going to go get Harry and Uma, we're going to go make the offer to Jay today. I just wanted to make sure it was confirmed that Jay would have the same offer Harry and Uma got before we asked Jay to join us."

"Of course he does Mal," Hades chuckled. "I still don't want you getting ahead of yourself there. Like I said, Jay could always say no."

Mal just shook her head and smirked a little. "Only an insane person would turn down an offer like this. Jay's a thief, he's not crazy."

With that, Mal made her way out of the Underworld back onto the streets of the Isle. Wasting no time, she scurried to her clubhouse where Harry and Uma were waiting.

"Look, girls, are we sure about this?" Harry asked as Mal walked up, he and Uma sitting on the milk cartons that passed as furniture. "I mean, really, is there anything Jay would bring to the crew that I don't?"

"Jay's a master thief," Mal said as she made her way over to them. "He could get us stuff we need, maybe even get us some good stuff from the barge if we don't feel like eating from Ursula's or Lord Hades' places."

"Master thief? He's six!" Harry growled. "That's like saying I'm a master pirate. Besides, all Jay steals is valuables. Nothing we could actually use for day to day life."

Mal and Uma stared at him for a second.

"Harry, we're going to ask him to steal a chicken," Uma stated. "A chicken is food. How do we not use that in everyday life?"

"Not what I meant," Harry shook his head. "You get a chicken, you kill it, you eat it, it's gone. One use item."

Uma sighed. "True. Besides Mal, I was thinking. Jay could turn down the offer. After all, we're still younger than him. That might matter more than what we're offering."

"Uma, we're offering him food security and a stable place to sleep," Mal stated. "I've been in his dad's shop a few times with Maleficent. Jay's 'bed' is a blanket under the TV shelf in his dad's shop. I think he'd be mad to turn us down just because we're younger than him."

"You know, with his muscle, I bet in a couple of years we could get a bed in here," Uma said with a small grin, slowly getting back on board. "It'd be better than sleeping on the ground here—even if the blankets do help a little."

"Let's at least make him the offer," Mal suggested and Harry rolled his eyes.

"Fine," he muttered. "I still don't see why we'd need him though."

Mal shook her head but gave Harry a small smile. "You might like having another boy around more than you think, Harry."

"If you say so cap'n but I doubt it," Harry said as he got up. The bruise on his chin from his attempt to catch the chicken the other day seemed to be darker and Mal couldn't help but wonder if Harry had tried to catch one of the feathered beasts on his own just to prove that they didn't need Jay.

Stubborn idiot, she thought as she rolled her eyes.

"Come on, we have a thief to find," Uma said, getting up herself.

"Shouldn't be too hard. I mean, doesn't he almost never leave his daddy's store?" Harry asked with a slight mocking tone to his voice.

"Says the boy who also hardly leaves his papa's store," Mal shot back, rolling her eyes at him. "Now come on."

"Fine," Harry grumbled as the three of them left the clubhouse and made their way toward Jafar's shop. Mal led the way, being the member of the gang who'd actually been to Jafar's shop before. Plus, as Maleficent's daughter, it would make negotiations go smoother should they need to be done.

"Morning Jay," Mal said, throwing open the door to the shop. "I have a proposition for you."

Did she know exactly what the word meant? Nope. But she had seen it in one of the few books the Isle had and it was the same situation as she was in right now. It seemed like the right time to use it.

"Go on," Jay said, leaning on the counter as Mal, Harry and Uma made their way into the shop. "When the daughter of Maleficent says that, it's bound to be good."

"I believe you may have some skills that would be handy for our crew," Mal said, crossing her arms over her chest.

"So what you're saying is you need a thief?" Jay asked, smirking at Harry who was standing behind Mal. "But you already have a pirate."

"Shut it, you run down trinket snatcher!" Harry growled.

"Harry!" Mal snapped in warning. The last thing anyone needed was for this meeting to get back to Maleficent and a fight between the son of one of her minions and the son of Hook would definitely get back to her in someway. Harry glowered but backed down a little.

"What we need, Jay, are your swift hands," Uma chimed in. "We think they might be good at catching one of the chickens that have made their way into town."

"What's in it for me?" Jay asked. "You're telling me there's not one member of your little trio who can catch one of those feathered fiends?"

"So you're saying you wouldn't be interested at free meals at Lord Hades' restaurant?" Mal asked with a smirk. "Not to mention a guaranteed place to sleep that isn't under a shelf?"

Jay paused for a slight second before looking back at Mal. "Go on," he said. "I just need to help you catch a chicken and I get all that?"

"You'll have to help us move a bed into the clubhouse at some point," Mal said. "And you'll have to actually get a chicken for Lord Hades to use at his restaurant. Plus anything we think we might need that you can snatch, it's ours."

"Shouldn't be an issue," Jay said with a small nod. "I can catch one of those feathered feasts with my eyes closed."

He hopped over the counter so he was standing in front of them. It helped that the part of the counter Jay had been standing in front of was significantly lower than the rest of the counter.

"Just know that your list can't interfere with my dad's quota," Jay told Mal, who nodded. Jafar wasn't the most subtle and would often tell Jay his quota to fill for the day when they were at Maleficent's so Mal was quite familiar with it.

"Do we have a deal?" Mal asked softly.

"We've got a deal," Jay said with a nod before smirking. "Oh cheer up Hook. One might think you weren't happy to have another guy around."

Harry rolled his eyes, glowering a little but not reacting under the watchful eye of Uma.

"Oh, and to be in the crew, you'd better be prepared to learn how to sword fight if you don't already," Mal added.

"I know a bit," Jay said with a nod. "But I'm not pirate level."

"Well, well, well. Something we can teach you," Harry said with a small smirk.

"Bring it Hook," Jay told him, a smirk on his face.

"Oh, see? You two are already getting along," Mal said with a smirk of her own. "Now, think you can actually get one of those feathered pests?"

"With my eyes closed," Jay told her. "Dad's trained me to sneak since I could walk after all."

"I'll believe it when I can see it," Harry grumbled.

Jay smirked. "Come on then. You'll get your own show," he said as he walked out of the shop toward the town square. Harry rolled his eyes but followed Jay, the girls trailing them.

"Now, first thing I need to know is where the thing I'm supposed to be grabbing usually is," Jay said.

"They're normally by Old man Slade's place but obviously they've escaped from there," Mal told him. "Also, they're stupid chickens so who knows where they'd get to."

"So it's a waiting game to see if we can find one?" Jay asked. As Mal nodded, Jay gave a small sigh, almost inaudible to anyone not listening closely. That made it a lot harder. His mom had taught him that having a mark made stealing anything a lot easier than leaving it to chance.

Thankfully, they didn't have to wait long as they came across three chickens in an alley close to Hades' restaurant.

"Watch and learn," Jay said with a small smirk. This was perfect, since there was nowhere for the chicken to run, all Jay would have to do is back them up against a wall and grab one. There was more than one of them too, which only tripled his chances of grabbing one. As he crept into the alley, Jay shook his head slightly. He couldn't have planned this better if he'd tried.

Glancing at the chickens, who still hadn't noticed they weren't alone, Jay sized them up; trying to see which one of them was the biggest. If the chicken was going to go to Lord Hades, it had better be plenty plump.

That one, in the middle, Jay thought. The one that's…is he trying to eat a rock?

"Come here you," Jay said as his hand shot out, grabbing the now squawking chicken by the neck and picking it up. "No one wants rocks with their meat!"

"See? What'd I'd tell you?" Jay asked, still holding onto the chicken by the neck as he turned to face the others. "Now does Lord Hades want this thing alive or does anyone have a dagger?"

"I'll deliver it," Mal said, walking up to Jay. "Besides, Lord Hades has knives in the kitchen of his restaurant he can used to turn the bird into food. It's not too far from here actually. By Lade Tremaine's hair salon."

Taking the chicken from Jay, Mal added, "stop by whenever you want Jay. Just tell him you're with me and you should get your meal without any problems."

Jay nodded and turned to look at Harry. "Believe me now Hook?" He asked, raising an eyebrow and smirking a little.

"I told you I'd believe it when I saw it," Harry sighed. "Well I saw it so I have to believe it."

Jay nodded, the smirk still on his face as Mal walked off. A question had been in the back of Jay's mind but he hadn't wanted to ask it while Mal was still there. After all, she was Maleficent's daughter. The last thing Jay wanted to do was make things tense with her mom and his dad.

"Hey, what's Mal's deal with Lord Hades?" Jay asked, finally satisfied that Mal was out of earshot. "I'd wager he doesn't just give out free food to anyone yet Mal thinks we can just walk in no problem?"

Uma and Harry looked at each other and shrugged. "Dunno," Uma said. "But it's the truth. We just tell him that we're with Mal and he gives us our food, no problem."

"All she tells us if we do question it since she's Lord Hades' errand rat is it's part of her agreement with him," Harry added with a shrug. "We don't question it often since who questions easy food?"

"But most people aren't in the business of giving free food to their errand rats, let alone their errand rat's crew," Uma pointed out.

Jay shrugged. It was kinda weird but like Harry said, if it got him free meals by being in Mal's gang, he wasn't going to complain.

"Oh, keep the fact that you know Mal's Uncle Hades errand rat to yourself," Uma said. "If Mal…if her mother found out, she might not be too happy."

"I mean, the daughter of Maleficent as a lowly errand rat?" Harry added, shaking his head.

"Hey, there are a lot worse things if it gets you food around here," Jay pointed out. He hadn't missed Uma nearly calling Maleficent by her name but he wasn't going to comment. No use in rocking the boat this early.

"We know that," Uma said. "But what Harry's saying is that there's no way her excellency would let Mal be an errand rat."

"She might not know," Jay pointed out.

"And she's not going to, right?" Harry asked, a slight growl to his voice. He knew what the dragon was capable of, having mopped up Mal a couple of times after a 'lesson' from Maleficent. The last thing he wanted was for Mal to get hurt because they had trusted the wrong person.

"What would her excellency know? Nothing that I know, that's for sure," Jay said with a small smirk.

"Good answer."

Jay looked around, more than a little willingly to change the subject. "So, are we just going to hang around this alley until Mal gets back?"

"We could start heading over to the restaurant?" Uma suggested. "That way we can get the best table and the best portions when the chicken's done."

"Uma, no one ever eats at Lord Hades' restaurant. We'd have our pick of tables," Harry reminded her.

"So? We'll still be able to pick the best table."

Harry shrugged. "Sounds good to me. Harriet's on fish duty anyway so Papa won't notice if I'm gone."

"I never turn down food," Jay said with a nod, joining them as they start to move out toward the restaurant. He couldn't help but smile a little. He had been pretty much a loner since no one wanted to hang out with him. The perils of being a thief and having a dad who ran a pawn shop. No one wanted to risk their stuff, what little they had, winding up on Jafar's shelves.

It was nice, being in a group that wanted his thieving ability.

The three of them made their way to the restaurant, where Mal already had a table claimed.

"He said it should be about fifteen minutes," Mal told them as they sat down. "He does need to kill and cut up the thing, but that was about maybe ten minutes ago."

"We can wait," Jay said with a nod.

Mal grinned and looked over at the former lone boy of her crew. "So Harry, finally on board with Jay in the crew?"

"I still don't see why we need him but if he's useful in getting food, I won't protest," Harry said with a slight glower.

Mal rolled her eyes. "There's safety in numbers Harry. Every kid knows that. Besides, he got us that chicken. Would you rather have Freddy boy's gang have that? Thanks to Jay, we eat. They don't."

Harry nodded with a small smirk. "That is certainly something I can get behind."

"Welcome to the Rotten Four, Jay," Mal said with a smirk as their food came out. It was faster than they had expected but then again, Hades was a God. Who were they to question him? Jay didn't respond but dug in to the dish in front of him. The others didn't care, as they did the same thing.

"Gods, if Jay keeps catching chickens like this, we'll have to rename ourselves the fat four," Uma said as she finished her meal. "How is it Uncle Hades was only doing fish before yet his chicken tastes so good?"

Mal nodded, her dad was a surprisingly good cook. You wouldn't think a God would be but Hades proved that wasn't the case.

"So other than catching chickens, what do you guys do for fun?" Jay asked, not used to being part of a gang.

"Sword fight and play pranks on anyone who's not one of the four of us," Uma told him.

"Yeah, come by the clubhouse tomorrow," Mal said. "Harry'll get you started on sword fighting. We'll all be able to practice at the same time now since we've got an even number."

"Mal, don't think I'll go easy on you," Uma said with a small smirk as Harry shot a smirk of his own toward Jay.

"Bring it on, octo-girl!"

"Oh, you're going to regret that, dragon breath," Uma taunted with a small chuckle.

"So what time tomorrow?" Jay asked, cutting into the banter. "I don't think dad's got me watching the store so I should be free."

Mal, Harry and Uma looked at each other. "Noon?" Mal suggested.

"That works," Jay nodded.

"How about one of us swing by one of our food stops and pick up lunch, we can eat in the clubhouse after sword practice?" Mal said.

"I can stop by mama's restaurant if no one has an issue with fish," Uma said.

"I'll eat anything," Jay shrugged with a small smile.

"Oh, we're going to get along just fine," Uma told him, smirking a little.

"Fish is fine, Uma," Mal said while Harry nodded.

Uma nodded. "I'll bring the food to the clubhouse then. We can do the sword fighting after we eat since mama's stuff is better warm anyway."

Harry grinned. "You know, I bet in a couple of years when we're a bit older, we could manage getting a sofa or a bed in there.

"You plan on keeping me around that long, Hook?" Jay teased.

"You plan on staying around that long?" Harry shot back as Mal and Uma rolled their eyes. Harry would clearly need some time to adjust to the new dynamic of the gang.

"A sofa or bed would be nice," Uma agreed. "But right now, it'd just take up room. Room we'd need for sword fighting. We want to be the best after all."

"We will be the best," Mal corrected with a slight smirk. "We'll be so powerful that no one will mess with us. We'll be rotten. To the core."

Uma and Harry nodded with a smirk on their faces.

"Shouldn't be a problem," Jay said with a shrug.

"So…anyone want to go make smoke bombs and throw 'em at Evil Queen's daughter?" Mal asked, keeping her voice low in case one of the Evil Queen's allies came in. Hey, Queenie may have been allies with Maleficent but that didn't mean she didn't want to make her own play for ruler of the Isle.

Maleficent was awful but the last thing Mal wanted was for Evie to have her spot. Blueberry would be insufferable if that happened!

"I'm in," Uma told her, a wicked grin on her face. "Boys?"

"I'm in," Harry told her.

"Me too!" Jay said with a smirk and Mal grinned.

"Let's go," she said. "We'll have to stop by Lady Tremaine's and grab the stuff to make 'em. It shouldn't take too long though. Uma and I have the recipe down pat now."

They ran off, the four of them ready to make their own mischief.