It doesn't take long before Ben comes back down the stairs. They wait a second, expecting Mal to come down behind him, but then they see his face.
"Where's Mal?" Evie asks.
"She's not coming back," Ben says sadly as he walks past them.
"What? I'll talk to her," Evie says. She tries to do just that only for Mal to shut her down.
"Let's give her some time to cool off," Jay suggests.
"Guys," Carlos interrupts before Evie can respond, "where's Ben?"
"Ben?"
They start to look for him before they see a figure walking towards them through the smog and shadows normally found on the Isle.
"Ben, don't scare us like that," Evie says in relief, planting both hands on her hips.
"Don' scare yeh?" Harry Hook asks as he steps out of the shadows with his usual mad grin. "Tha's my specialty."
"Harry," Evie breathes, hands falling to her sides.
"What did you do with Ben?" Jay immediately demands.
"Oh, uh, we nicked him," Harry says simply with a dramatic point behind him in the direction they know the docks are located. "An' if yeh wan' to see him again, have Mal come to the chip shop tonigh'. Alone," he adds. "Uma wan's a lil visit."
Evie notices the way Harry's swaying as he speaks, and the smell of rum is unmistakable. It's stronger than she remembers. She also notices the way he keeps glancing around like he's looking for someone. "He's not here," she tells him.
Harry looks at her sharply. For a moment it looks like he might deny that he was looking for anyone before he apparently decides not to bother.
"Where is he then? Decided he didn' wan' to see me?" He's smiling as he asks but his eyes are hard, like he doesn't know if he really wants the answer to his question.
The three of them exchange glances, none of them wanting to be the one to tell the pirate. Harry, of course, notices.
His smile immediately falls. "Where's Hayden?" he snaps.
Jay sighs. "It's spring, Hook. It's also a Wednesday."
Harry only grows more furious. "Yer tellin' me they've still got him on tha' schedule?" he nearly growls. "He should be comin' and goin' from the Underworld as he pleases."
"Yeah, well, the Olympians apparently don't care about what should be happening," Carlos tells him, crossing his arms with an annoyed huff. For once, they're all in agreement with Harry.
"And the royal council's just glad there's three days a week that he's not scheduling meetings with them," Evie adds.
"Aye, the meetin's," Harry drawls with a smirk. "We've all seen how tha's been goin'. 'Course, I'm sure the three of yeh prob'y know all 'bout tha'. I'm sure yer all righ' there wit him."
He says it deliberately, obviously knowing the truth. Evie, Jay, and Carlos all trade glances, not wanting to admit to Harry Hook of all people that they've been leaving Hayden, their friend, to do everything on his own.
They don't have to.
"Oh, tha's righ'," Harry says, tapping the curve of his hook against his chin in mock thought. "Yeh've all abandoned my godling, left him to deal wit tha' council all on his lonesome." His bright blue eyes are cold as ice, the hand on his hook shifting to a far more threatening grip as he points it at them.
"We didn't abandon him!" Carlos denies.
Harry's lip curls in a threatening show of teeth. "Keep tellin' yerself tha'," he sneers. He turns on his heel and saunters off back down the alley, whistling what sounds like an old sea shanty as he goes.
The three of them exchange looks before they start up the stairs to the old hideout.
Naturally, Mal is not exactly happy with them when they explain what happened to Ben.
"If you guys never would have brought him here this never would have happened," she tells them tensely. "What were you thinking!" she yells.
"Look, he was gonna come with us or without us," Evie explains quickly. "We just wanted to protect him!"
"Yeah and we completely blew it, guys," Carlos points out.
"Okay. Okay," Jay says, calming everybody down. "So, what are we gonna do?" he asks.
"We are not doing anything," Mal says, gesturing sharply between them. "This is between Uma and me and she's a punk and guess what? Now I have to go get him."
"Woah, woah, woah," Carlos protests. "Mal, you're still gonna have to go through Harry Hook and his wharf rats."
"Yeah, you're gonna need us," Jay tells her. "Especially because Hook seemed particularly angry with, well, all of us." He sweeps one arm out to encompass all four of them as he says it.
"Yeah, I noticed that too," she mutters under her breath. "Look, Uma said to come alone."
"Mal, come on," Evie tries.
Carlos sighs. "She said to come alone," he reluctantly agrees. "I know one thing," he adds, turning back to face the others and dropping onto one of their old beat-up couches. "I'm not going anywhere."
"We'll be here when you get back," Jay tells her.
They watch as Mal leaves, all of them having a bad feeling about her and Uma's meeting.
Mal makes her way quickly to Ursula's Fish and Chips. She stops outside the crooked doors and takes a deep breath before pushing through them as confidently as she can.
"I'm back!" she calls when Uma sees her.
Uma, apron on as she serves customers, gestures to an empty table. "Loser, party of one, right this way please," she says with a smirk. She kicks a chair towards Mal who catches it and turns it around, resting her arms on the back as she sits.
"Place still stinks," she remarks.
"Oh, I'm sorry, we're down a butler today," Uma drawls. "Princess," she adds with a sneer.
"Where is he?" Mal asks, refusing to rise to her bait.
"You know, I've dreamed of this," Uma says as she rips her apron off and drops it on the floor. "You wanting something from me and me watching as you squirm like a worm on a hook."
"I'm so flattered that you dream of me," Mal tells her snidely. "I haven't given you a thought since I left."
Uma slams her hands on the tabletop. "Obviously. You have your perfect little life, don't you?" She straightens up and turns to the restaurant at large. "Doesn't she have the perfect little life?" she calls. All of the customers call their agreement, most of them glaring at Mal.
"Meanwhile, we're twenty years into a garbage strike," Uma sneers.
"Listen, if you have some kind of score to settle with me, then game on," Mal says. "I see no need to bring Ben into this."
"Yeah? I do."
"How's that?" Mal asks.
"Within a year," Uma tells her. Mal freezes at the words. "That sound familiar to you?"
"I don't-"
"Hayden gave King," she sneers the title, "Ben a year to change things. It's been six months and nothing has changed at all."
"That deal's what you have a problem with?" Mal asks in shock. "Hayden made that deal, not-"
"I don't have a problem with the deal being made," Uma cuts her off. She smirks. "You know me, I love a good deal. Get it from my mother," she adds.
"Then what's the problem?" Mal demands. "There's still six months left for the laws to be changed."
Uma looks at her seriously. "If that deal falls through then Hayden claims your king's soul, which I also don't have a problem with, but do you know what happens then?" She answers her own question. "Then, all of Auradon and the Olympians start calling for Hayden's head. I'm not letting that happen."
Mal can almost feel herself pale at the thought. "Hayden wouldn't- he wouldn't take Ben's soul," she desperately denies.
Uma chuckles in disbelief, shaking her head. "First of all, yes. He would. Second of all, I can't believe that's all you're worried about." She turns around, hands placed on her hips. "Why am I surprised? You've obviously washed your hands of Hayden if the way he's been going about everything alone is any indication."
"I have not!" Mal cries. "I've just been busy with other things. We all have. It just-"
Uma whirls back around, long teal braids flying around her. "You don't abandon your crew," she tells her fiercely. "Hayden may not officially pick sides but when he went to Auradon with you and your group that's what he became, at least temporarily."
She slams her hands down on the table again and Mal can't help but flinch back a little.
"So not only did you leave all of us here to rot," she continues, "but you left Hayden to try and change a twenty-year standing law within one year. All. On. His. Own."
"Look, what do you want?" Mal finally asks, admitting even if only to herself that Uma's right. She'll have to make things right with Hayden, see if she can help him change any of those laws.
"I want the wand," Uma tells her simply.
Mal immediately starts to protest. "That's not happening." She can't even imagine the chaos Uma would bring with Fairy Godmother's wand in her hand.
"That's the deal," Uma drawls with a smirk. "Bring the wand to my ship at noon sharp tomorrow. Otherwise, you can kiss your Benny-boy goodbye."
She heads toward the shop's kitchen without another word, clearly dismissing Mal and leaving her to make her own way out.
"There's no way we're gonna give Uma the wand," Evie declares when Mal gets back to the hideout and explains what happened. "We can't just let her destroy Auradon."
"If Uma doesn't get the wand then Ben is toast, guys," Carlos points out. Mal watches as all three of them start to argue before she cuts them off.
"Enough!" she snaps before suddenly getting an idea. "Wait, guys, your 3D printer!"
"A phony wand," Carlos agrees with a smile.
"The second Uma tests it she'll know it's fake," Evie reminds them.
"Okay, so, we get Ben out really fast," Mal says.
"We still have to deal with Hook and the other pirates," Jay tells them.
"Yeah, I've got an idea for that too, but you're not gonna like it."
"What is it, Mal?" Evie asks.
Mal sighs. "Look, as much as I hate to admit it, Uma was right about some things. She was right about Hayden. We all got caught up in ourselves and forgot the Isle. We left him alone."
The other three get quiet as she finally says it out loud for all of them.
"We did," Jay admits with a sigh. "Plus, now it makes sense why Hook was so upset with us," he adds.
Carlos smirks. "The one time Harry Hook is reasonable about something," he says without humor.
"Yeah," Mal agrees quietly. She takes a deep breath. "Look, if we're gonna have to deal with him and the pirates then we're gonna need-"
"Oh, don't say it," Carlos cuts in with a groan.
"We're gonna need Hayden," Evie finishes for her.
"Hayden is in the Underworld right now," Jay says, pointing out the obvious. "How are we supposed to..." He trails off as he realizes what the girls are suggesting.
They both just nod silently.
Carlos groans again. "That's what I didn't want you to say."
Mal starts toward the door. "Come on, guys. We've gotta get to Hayden's place quick." She turns back to face them, one hand on the doorway. "We're going to the Underworld."