Let it Burn

Summary: My take on the Hades/Persephone myth … or well, what the Disneyfied version of it would be anyway.

Author's Note: Why? Because clearly there aren't enough Hades/Persephone fics on this board! Heh. Oh, and because doing two fics at the same time in two different fandoms is clearly a good idea. Anyway, this takes place after the events of the movie, but may make reference to some of the events in the animated series.

Disclaimer: I'm pretty sure the Greek mythology stuff is in the public domain. As for Disney's spin on said mythology – hey, if they had the time, energy, and inclination to sue fan fiction writers ... well, then they'd be too busy doing that to crank out the latest Hannah-Montana-teen-pop-star, soon to be Lindsey-Lohan-esque-trainwreck. So … actually, I kind of think I would prefer the lawsuit! Bring it on Disney!

Chapter One: The Plan

Never again.

That what the first coherent though Hades had when he got out of the water. The second thought was, never again, the third thought was never again, and the thought after that … well, you get the idea. A few slimy souls still clung to him even as he emerged, and he couldn't even use his fire to zap them, drenched in soul residue as he was, so he was reduced to scrambling away from the shore bank in a most undignified fashion, shaking himself off like Cerebus might, gasping, shivering and bald.

He was really glad no one was here to see this.

After a moment, he recovered his usual flame, relieved to see that he still could. It was foolish – hey, he was immortal, after all – but still, for just a moment he'd had the irrational fear that his fire had been … permanently snuffed out. Just the thought of it made him shiver once more. Never again. Never, never would he ever get sucked into that ... that … soul-slime ever again, not even if his godhood depended on it, not if just one quick dip meant he would somehow usurp his arrogant big brother and rule the cosmos.

Oh yeah. That.

So close. He had been so close. So close, he could taste it, the bitterness of defeat in his mouth … or… maybe that was some of the soul slime? Yeeeeuch! Hades gagged. Never ever ever ever – Okay, focus now, he told himself. Okay, so – new plan. New scheme. He had to come up with something.

Something more subtle this time, for sure. Storming the gates hadn't exactly worked out well, and he'd had the Titans on his side at the time. Of course, it would have worked out quite brilliantly if stupid little Nutmeg hadn't gone all noble and his big dumb ox of a nephew Jerkules hadn't –

Focus, he reminded himself again. No good dwelling on the past. He needed a new strategy. All the gods of Olympus were too much for him to take on at once. So he needed to … what was the phrase? Oh yes, divide and conquer. That was it. Good plan. Get the other gods to fight each other, and/or get some of them on his side.

Getting someone on his side, now that was going to be a problem. None of the gods would openly defy Zeus, even if they wanted to (and he knew at least a few of them wanted to, he wasn't the only disgruntled deity in this pantheon). He could bargain with them for their loyalty, but even as he considered it, he was forced to admit to himself that he really didn't have anything to offer another immortal at the moment, and certainly not something that would make them risk incurring Zeus' wrath. Therefore, his immediate goal should be acquiring some bargaining chips for dealing with the other gods.

And to that end …

"PAIN! PANIC!" He shouted, his fire flaring a bright orange. It felt good to be able to do that again. He waited a moment, and then added, "You better not make me call your names again!"

"Coming, oh Oneness, coming!" Pain stumbled into sight, followed closely by Panic, who was stammering … something. Hades didn't hear it, because he was too busy blasting the two of them back into the Bronze Age.

Ah, now he really felt better.

Hades blew the smoke off his finger. "And that," he said, "is for that little 'If is good,' exchange, my minions."

"Oh," Panic squeaked – impressive, considering he was currently crispy-fried – "You, uh, heard that, huh?"

"Helloooo, I'm a God, duh! I hear everything. I know everything."

"Hey, then how come you didn't know that Hercules would defeat you, not to mention that his thread couldn't be cut –"

"Shut up, shut up, shut up!" Panic hissed at Pain desperately. He'd always been the smarter of the two. Not that that was saying much, but still, he generally had a knack for knowing when to keep his trap shut – a talent that Pain distinctly lacked.

Hades briefly considered smiting them again, just for the fun of it, but ultimately decided he had better things to do. "Come along, boys," he said, gliding towards the main room, and his imps skittered behind him, grateful not to be fricasseed again. "We've got plans to make."

"Hmm." It was the first word they'd heard Hades utter in an over an hour. If "Hmm" could be considered a word, that is. After telling him how long he'd been swirling around with the dead souls when he'd asked – "Three months," they'd squeaked fearfully, and watched him flare up – the short-tempered, fire-crowned Lord of the Underworld had been surprisingly calm. He'd been studying the pieces on his game board, only this time, instead of representing Hercules and various monsters, each playing piece was a different Olympian god. He'd hold one of the figures in his hand, look at it very hard, as if trying to memorize its features, and then, more often than not, place it back on the board with a sigh. A few times, he seem to be struck by some kind of inspiration, and his flame brightened accordingly, but then he'd appear to dismiss whatever he'd been considering, put the figurine down, and move on to the next piece. At one point, Pain started to ask a question, but Panic clamped his hand over Pain's mouth, shooting him a warning look, and he fell silent. Fortunately, Hades seemed to pay them no attention, although they both watched him expectantly. Hades continued on in this fashion, seeming to make no progress towards reaching any kind of decision, until he got the figurine that represented Demeter.

He picked it up, shrugged, and was about to set it down again when –

"THAT'S IT!"

The room was bright as Hades' flame flashed a brilliant blue.

"What's it?" Pain asked before Pain could stop him. Fortunately for both of them, Hades was only too happy to explain.

"Leverage boys, leverage!" Hades answered, seeming quite pleased with himself. "Leverage against Demeter, to make her do my bidding!"

"Demeter?" Panic squeaked. "But she's –"

"I know, I know right? See, that's why it's so brilliant. I mean, come on, no one would suspect her, the Goddess of the Spring, to be in league with me, the Dread Lord of the Underworld –"

"Actually," Pain interjected, "I think she's Goddess of the Harvest."

"Pfft." Hades waved his hand. "Spring, harvest, whatever, same difference. The point is," he grinned, "that I will have something that will, shall we say, compel her cooperation."

The two imps looked at him blankly. Hades sighed. "The kid," he explained. "The kid is the key."

"B-b-but Hercules isn't a kid anymore –"

"I'm not talking about Zeus' kid!" Hades flared. "I'm talking about Demeter's kid, you morons! That innocent little boy of hers."

"Actually," Panic couldn't stop himself from saying, "forgive me for my boldness, boss, but I'm pretty sure Demeter has a girl."

"No she doesn't –" Hades began angrily, and then stopped himself. Now that he thought about it, that was actually right. Demeter had a girl, not a boy. For once, one of his minions was right. Well, first time for everything, he supposed.

"Oh yeah, it was a girl for her. Well, godlings, who can keep 'em straight, am I right? In any case, it doesn't change our plans." He grinned evilly at his minions, who grinned nervously back. "We are gonna kidnap Demeter's kid, and hold her for ransom until we get our dear Goddess of the Harvest to do exactly what I want."

"Now," Hades continued, snapping his fingers. "First things first, what was the kid's name again? It was – okay, okay, don't tell me, I know this – starts with a P, right? Something, something … Peanut? Petunia? Porcupine? I know it was something like that, what was it?"

"Persephone?" Panic supplied helpfully.

"Yes! That's it! Persephone!" Hades chuckled. "Poor kid. She won't know what hit her."

*TBC. Please review!*