Hey, look whose back from the land of dead writer's! This chapter was a beast because a lot of plot threads needed to be started, and just as I began writing the second scene I realised I had put my favorite Disney villain (Maleficent) and one of my beta's favorite Disney villain in a scene together. So I was really worried about fucking him up the entire time I was writing it, hahaha. One question I've gotten a lot that I wanted to address here - while this is a sequel to a time travel fic, there won't be any time travel shenanigans in this story. It will be purely based in the future universe of Days, and resolve a lot of plot points I started in the other fic.
Huge, huge, huge thanks to spartanguard and always-been-a-pirate for beta reading and keeping me sane, even when I wanted to chuck the computer out the window.
As always, enjoy, and reviews keep the muse going even when the writer starts to doubt!
Chapter 2: A God's Promise
Since the dawn of time, mankind had feared the night.
Daylight was safe for them, the sun lighting the world and protecting their fragile existence from the beings that lurked in the shadows—those dark and fiendish creatures who used the blackness that enveloped the land to prey upon men. It was a time when witches and demons roamed freely, their power at its apex when the moon rose high in the night sky. Death came more swiftly with night, like long-lost friends who aided each other in a dance that had begun long before man walked the mortal world. When Nyx's cloak blanketed the world it hid everything, the forms of the creatures who walked beneath it merging with their surroundings, camouflaged by the most ancient darkness. The night could not hide the woman that stood on the balcony high atop the castle, however; her black form was darker than even the shadows that curled around her.
She did not fear the night for she was the Dark Fairy, the darkest of all beings.
Maleficent's blue eyes peered out over the vast landscape before her, taking in the Dark Forest that sprawled in every direction as far as the human eye could see. When she had been exiled from Avalon centuries before, this was where she had landed—broken, betrayed, and clipped of her wings—and she had made it her sanctuary. There was a solace to the barren land and the thorns that tangled themselves around blackened trees, an echo of her inner torment reflected in the deadly landscape. It was the perfect location for a shunned fairy to rebuild herself into one of the most feared creatures in any realm. Desolate and isolated, the forest had been here long before Man had begun to build his castles, a foreboding shield to any who dared enter it.
The land that had once sheltered her after a broken heart had done so once again as she healed from the catastrophe that had been her last battle with the Charmings.
Maleficent's hand tightened around the dark wood of her staff. Six months had passed since she came within a hairsbreadth of having everything she wanted, the taste of victory on the tip of her tongue as she wrapped her hand around the past Savior's heart. It wasn't how she had dreamed of getting her long sought-after revenge but all that mattered in that moment was seeing those who had been responsible for Lily's death suffer. The unraveling of the damnable prophecy that had heralded the prince and princess' birth would have been a happy byproduct of crushing the younger Savior's heart, the timeline be damned, yet in a blinding flash of light everything had been ripped away from her again. No one, not even the Mistress of All Evil, stood a chance against the power of true love.
With the dagger lost and physically weakened from the younger Savior's magic, she had used the last of her strength to translocate herself to the Dark Castle. After Diablo moved her limp body from the floor of her throne room and into a bed, time had ceased to move for her - night and day blurring together while her magic instinctively pulled her into a restorative sleep for two months. Her magic had remained as strong as ever upon waking but the past Savior's magical attack had left her physically weak, the invisible wound causing her to barely be able to move from one room to another without becoming severely fatigued. Maleficent had refused to give up in the four months it had taken her to fully regain her strength, the desire to see her revenge through until the end propelling her every step.
It was in the midst of her healing that she had begun to think of Avalon.
She hadn't thought of her homeland in centuries, content to forget the place that had made her who she was and the sisters that had turned their backs on her when she fully embraced her power. Unable to do anything else, she had let her mind wander through every memory she had of the magical isle—summer days spent around the various lakes, learning to control her magic, running barefoot through the tall grass and chasing her sisters beneath the giant trees that watched over them. She recalled the crystal clear waterfalls that lay at the heart of the island and the ancient ruins that had sat on its soil for eons before her own birth, their walls etched with the flowing language of her people. Most of her memories were happy ones and filled her with an odd contentment and peace she hadn't felt in centuries, yet others turned the blue of her eyes golden and caused a decades long anger to bubble within her darkened heart and almost choke her. The lectures, the clipping of her wings, being tossed into the world of Men…
With one last sweep of the seemingly endless forest, Maleficent abruptly turned and made her way into the castle. The one good thing to come from recalling her time in Avalon was she now had a foolproof way to defeat the Charmings and stop the prophecy from being fulfilled once and for all.
She had discovered the root of her new plan completely by accident. After attempting to travel back in time a fortnight ago and discovering the meddling heroes had sealed the time vortex—rendering time travel impossible—she returned to the books she had taken from Morgana's library after her death. Hoping the younger Sister of Avalon had written of a way to undo the sealing of the time vortex, Maleficent had pored through the former fairy's journals over the course of three days, scanning every entry, even if its subject had nothing to do with time travel. She had almost given up and resolved to find another way to make the Savior suffer when she stepped in front of a window with one of the books in her hand. There, on a page she had thought Morgana had intentionally left blank, words had appeared. The language itself hadn't surprised Maleficent—Morgana clearly preferred to write in Elvish over the common language of Man—but what had surprised her was the method the Black Fairy had used to record them.
The fairies called them moon letters, words that were written using Mithril so that they they could only be read by moonlight. By stepping in front of the window, the light from the full moon had fallen onto the page and illuminated the silver ink. She had read the secret passage fervently, the book almost tumbling from her hands at the revelation her fellow exiled sister had penned. It was something Maleficent could use to ensure the prophecy that had hung over her head for the last twenty-seven years never came to pass, a piece of her homeland's history that would continue her plan from six months ago while ensuring this time nothing got in her way.
Reaching the room's fireplace, Maleficent came to a halt and stared into the dying flames as they fought futilely against the darkness that tried to claim them. It was while plotting her new course for revenge, mind tumbling over Avalonian lore and a way to get the Savior's children out of the way, that she recalled a long-buried conversation from before she had been forced out of her homeland.
"I'm sorry, Maleficent."
"Liar!"
"It's the truth. I-I'm sorry. Whatever I can do, no matter the time or place, I will make this up to you. You have my word."
She had forgotten about the promise that had been made to her on the shores of Avalon, the one she had vowed never to call upon so long as her immortal body drew breath. Time was running out for her, however. The fulfillment of the prophecy that foretold the Savior's children defeating her was drawing closer and closer, though the exact moment it would happen was unknown to her. Maleficent could feel it in a way she never had before in the past twenty-seven years—it was a pounding in her blood, the fairy magic that even her exile couldn't take from her warning that the time drew near. Morgana's secret passage had revealed that the key to her demise was closer to the Savior's children than even they realised, and if she wanted to beat the Charmings and keep the prophecy from coming to pass, she had no choice but to see the one person she despised more than the Savior.
It was time to see a god about keeping his word.
He hated this time of year.
It was the one prevailing thought that kept running through Hades' mind as he sat on his onyx throne and scowled at the damned soul playing a large golden harp on the floor below him.
Spring was arriving in less than two days and with it came the departure of his wife. It happened every year, had for centuries longer than mankind could count, but he still despised it. The Underworld was always a little bleaker when its only light left and his own temperament darkened considerably during Persephone's absence, much to the dismay of those who dwelled within the confines of what could loosely be called his kingdom. It had been the deal though: six months with him and six in the Upper World, an accord that had been struck between himself and Zeus to keep his wife's mother from destroying all of mankind.
It was at times like this, however, that he wished he had let Demeter starve the mortals, even if it would have made his reign over the Underworld relatively short.
Huffing in annoyance, Hades stood and made his way down the black marble dais to one of the numerous flower pots that lined the circular floor of his throne room. He had never been one for living things taking root in his realm but he was unable to deny his wife anything, particularly this detail. Each waist-high pot held a bouquet of brilliantly white flowers with yellow centers, their six petals perfectly straight and coming to a slight point at the ends. The narcissus flower was special to him and Persephone. It was very the symbol of how they had met and because of that, it was the one living organism he allowed in the Underworld outside the perimeters of Elysium.
Bending at the waist to smell the arrangements that would never wilter, Hades let the unique floral scent calm his agitated mind. It wasn't fair to Persephone if he spent her last days in the Underworld angry and resentful over a decision that could never be undone. There would be time once she left for the Upper World to let his anger roam free, to unleash his frustration on the souls in need of punishment...
"I never took you for one who stopped to smell the flowers."
The harp music that had continuously been playing in the background came to a comical and sudden halt at the same moment Hades' entire body stilled. It had been centuries since he heard that voice but he would know it anywhere, the melodic cadence of her race mixing with the dark tone that had always been natural to her. Straightening to his full height, Hades turned to find the last person he had ever expected to encounter again, let alone in the Underworld.
"Maleficent."
The Dark Fairy stood at the center of his throne room, the rubies interwoven into her black dress shimmering in the eternally lit cauldrons that lay interspersed between each of Persephone's flower pots. She looked the same as she had the last time he saw her but in the same breath, she was a stranger. Evil seeped from her eyes where once innocence had dwelled and the immortal features he could still remember being soft and filled with jubilance were now hardened with malice. Even the way she held herself was achingly familiar yet different - her stance more confident, devoid of the wildness that had marked her youth.
A variety of questions flew through the God's head as he looked upon the woman he had almost spent eternity with. What possible reason could she have to darken his door? Did she want something? How would Persephone react to Maleficent being here? Could he make her leave before his wife saw her? But the most prevailing one, the one that demanded an answer above all the others, was how did she enter the Underworld?
"I mean really, Hades - what would the pantheon think if they were to learn the Lord of the Underworld spent his free time sniffing weeds?"
Hades huffed in annoyance and without looking backwards waved his hand, sending the damned soul who had been playing the harp back to the depths of Tartarus. "You're the last person that should be giving gardening advice, Maleficent. How are you even here?
"What, no pleasantries?" she asked, red lips falling into an exaggerated pout. "No catching up on how we have spent the last hundred centuries or asking after each other's health? You wound me, Hades."
"Pleasantries are mute for those with an infinite lifespan," he replied without emotion, eyes following her as she began to move around the circular floor. "How did you get into the Underworld?"
She seemed to be taking in every aspect of his throne room, from the stalactites that hung high above their heads to the five river openings that flowed from different points beneath the black marbled floor. Coming to a stop at one of the flower pots, Maleficent traced the delicate petals of a narcissus flower with the tip of her finger. "I've always been partial to thorns but these are quite lovely—deadly to mortals too, if my memory is correct."
Although his face remained an emotionless mask, Hades could feel his temper rising with every evasive response from the Dark Fairy. The Underworld was not a realm that anyone could waltz into whenever they pleased—he had made sure of that so no mortal could enter and steal one of his subjects. Only the souls of the dead and Gods of the pantheon could enter his kingdom's boundaries, though Hermes was the lone one who did. Even as one of the most powerful fairies to ever exist, Maleficent shouldn't have been able to enter the Underworld.
"I won't ask again, Maleficent," he responded, his divine power causing his voice to fill the throne room.
All playfulness dropped from Maleficent's features, her back straightening just a little bit more as her red painted nail lifted from the flower petal. When she turned to face him he could tell she had seen the error of her ways and that the next response from her would be straight to the point. He was more of a benevolent God than mortals believed him to be, but Hades could be just as vengeful and stern as his brother - especially when someone was attempting to give him the runaround in his own realm.
She may be the Mistress of All Evil, but he was the Lord of the Underworld - and in his domain, he called the shots.
"I asked the Erinyes to grant me access."
Scoffing at the answer, Hades turned his gaze from Maleficent to the dark waters of the river Styx that flowed to his left. Of course she would enlist their help to enter the Underworld. The Erinyes, or Furies as mortal men knew them, were the three Goddesses of Vengeance and were responsible for bringing strife against those who had wronged an individual. Maleficent would have used the fact that he betrayed her eons ago to make the request and since the Erinyes couldn't physically harm him—he was a god, after all—they would have viewed her entering the Underworld without his knowledge or consent the perfect form of retribution.
"I must admit it was a rather clever way to gain access," he mused before turning his attention back to the Dark Fairy. "Although annoying me can't be the only reason you have graced my realm with your dark presence."
Maleficent contemplated his statement with the slight tilting of her horned head. "While it is always fun to annoy you, Hades, you are correct—it's not the only reason I came here. I have a favor to ask of you."
"Really, now?"
This was certainly interesting. Even when they had been on speaking terms, the Dark Fairy had never allowed herself to be in his debt and the intriguing notion that she needed something desperately enough to do so now had Hades momentarily forgetting that he wanted her gone before Persephone found out she was in the Underworld. A wave of his hand had an ornate chair appearing behind him, complete with black cushions and the likeness of Cerebus' head at the end of both armrests. Sitting with a dramatic flourish of his black robes, he inclined his head towards her and smiled.
"Do continue."
"You see, there's two… pesky individuals I've had the unfortunate honor of interacting with for some years now," Maleficent continued, her left hand coming up to stroke the wings of the dragon figurine atop her staff. "You, of course, can understand the hardship that comes with dealing with such people."
Hades hummed knowingly. "Yes, pesky individuals can be so draining when they persist at a cause that they can not possibly achieve. Why not handle them yourself, though? Surely theyare no match for the Mistress of All Evil."
Maleficent practically preened at his observation of her power and Hades grinned internally—she was walking perfectly into his trap.
"An unfortunate event occurred that rendered me unable to, which is why I'm here. I've become bored dealing with them and would like for you to make them... disappear, as it were."
"I'm flattered that you thought of me, but there isn't much I can do from my position down here," he replied with feigned sadness in his voice, as if he truly were disappointed that he couldn't help her.
It was a lie, of course. As a god, he wielded an enormous amount of power and had been known to change the course of events while never leaving his onyx throne, but he was testing the Dark Fairy. He wanted to see just how far Maleficent was willing to go. She still hated him, that much was clear with her being able to call upon the Erinyes and gain access to the Underworld, yet he was certain she would say or do anything to get what she wanted.
"Please," Maleficent scoffed, "Mortal men refuse to even whisper your name for fear of gaining your attention and avert their eyes when making sacrifices to you. Stories of your prowess in battle are still told around campfires and in war rooms, the fierce and unforgiving way you take to the field against your enemies legendary. I've heard of entire armies who have quivered or fled at the mere sight of your black chariot upon the horizon, Hades. Despite being given the very depths of the world to rule, you are far more benevolent than any of your siblings and the riches you have amassed over countless eons exceed even Zeus' great wealth, as does your talent to rule. The fact that there is no disorder in your kingdom speaks to your ability to maintain control and you are far more clever and patient than Zeus ever could be. You are the Lord of the Underworld, Keeper of souls and the Ultimate Judge to all who walk the realms—there is no power greater than your own and nothing you can't accomplish."
The throne room fell into silence after Maleficent's speech, the only sound that of the five eternal rivers flowing around them as Hades studied the Dark Fairy intently, his fingers absently stroking the three-headed figurine on the right side of the chair. And there it was—the true depth of how far she was willing to go. She had never been one to stroke his substantial ego before their falling out yet here she was, doing that very thing and giving him the answer he needed.
"Well, when you put it like that," he said at length, giving her a disarming smile. "What is it you require of me, O' Mistress of All Evil?"
"It's a rather simple favor but one that only you can set into motion. I need you to open a portal to the Underworld."
Hades blinked in surprise at the Dark Fairy's words—of all the things she could have asked him, he hadn't quite been expecting that.
"You want me to open a portal that gives access to the Underworld."
"Yes."
"You do realise I abhor living souls coming into my realm," he said seriously with a wave of his hand, indicating the room around them. "This is a place for the dead, not those who still breathe."
"Oh, I'm well aware of how much you hate it," Maleficent replied as her red lips pulled into the most evil smile the Lord of the Underworld had ever seen. "In fact, I'm counting on it to help me with my little… problem."
His fingers paused in their movement atop Cerebus' figurehead at the meaning behind her words. She was referring to the law he had put in place eons before to ensure a living person couldn't enter the Underworld and steal a loved one's soul, at least not without the gravest of consequences. It wasn't the most extravagant or difficult thing she could have asked him to do, but he had to give her points for creativity. The existence she wanted to bestow upon these individuals was the thing of nightmares, an act that would forever alter them physically and emotionally if not out right break them.
Misreading his reaction as excitement, Maleficent took a step towards him. "All you need to do is open a portal so the individuals who are pestering me can fall through and become residents in this… delightful kingdom."
"Is that all?" Hades drawled.
"A simple act for someone of your magnitude," the Dark Fairy responded with a wave of her hand, as if what she was asking was something he did every full moon.
"And what's in it for me?" he asked, head tilting in mock contemplation. The game had been fun in the beginning but she was beginning to bore him now, and it was time the charade ended.
"My undying gratitude, of course."
Hades tutted mockingly at the response. "Not good enough, Mal. You're asking for an awfully big favor from me and I'm going to need something physical in return. Tit for tat, as the mortals say."
"Have we really sunk so low that we're quoting the mortal heathens now?" she quipped with a raised eyebrow. When he remained silent, she huffed in annoyance, the index finger of her right hand tapping the gnarled wood of her staff. "There is absolutely nothing I can give you that you don't already have or couldn't easily acquire yourself."
Leaning forward in the blackened chair, Hades grinned victoriously. "Precisely."
This was what he had been subtly working her toward since she mentioned needing a favor, the moment when the proverbial stick swept her knees out from under her and reminded the Dark Fairy of just who she was dealing with…
Maleficent's body began to shake as he reveled in his victory—the movement subtle at first but then becoming more obvious—and it took the Lord of the Underworld a long moment to realise it was because she was holding in laughter. He had just revealed that he had been stringing her along the whole time, that he knew from the beginning there was nothing she could give him to grant her favor, and she was laughing. Seemingly unable to contain herself any longer, Maleficent threw her head back and filled his throne room with a cackling laugh he hadn't heard in eons.
"What in the seven hells is so funny?" he snapped in annoyance, his right hand coming down onto the arm of the chair and causing the floor beneath them to tremble.
"You are," Maleficent replied, ignoring his display of anger as her gaze found him once again. "Did you really think I came here a fool, Hades? I of all people know the games you like to play and walked willingly into your little trap."
Hades' jaw clenched at the revelation—he should have known better than to view Maleficent as simply another soul that was easy to trick. Even before she had fallen from the graces of the Sisters of Avalon, she had been cunning, her mind sharper than the fairies around her and an innate sense of how to use a person's personality for her own motives. But while he appreciated vile cleverness in all its forms, there was one thing he despised more than unwanted visitors in his realm and that was being manipulated.
"You're playing a very dangerous game, Maleficent," he replied coldly while standing from his chair. With measured steps he closed the short distance between them until they were inches apart, the hem of his black robe mingling with her ruby trimmed dress. "You come into my realm unannounced, give me the run around about why you're here, and then attempt to manipulate me? I've smited people for far less, fairy."
True to her defiant nature, Maleficent simply lifted her chin and smiled at him serenely.
"Except even as a God, you can't kill me."
"I don't have to kill you to make you suffer," he growled. "All I have to do is deny your request and let the prophecy run its course."
The high ground that had been alternating between the two of them since she appeared shifted a little more to his side when the smile faded from Maleficent's lips. She had clearly not been expecting him to know about that little detail and Hades relished in the small victory.
"How do you know about the prophecy?"
Chuckling, Hades turned from her barely concealed expression of shock and made his way across the rounded floor. "I'm a god—I know everything there is to know, even if I haven't stepped foot in the Upper World in centuries." Upon reaching the long and ornate table that sat to the left side of his throne room, he picked up a decanter of wine and poured himself a generous amount, humming an ancient melody as the dark red liquid filled the crystalline glass. Facing the Dark Fairy once again, he took a long sip and sighed as the bitter, fruity flavor slid down his throat.
"I'm well aware that the pesky individuals you mentioned earlier are Princess Erin and Prince Liam of Misthaven, the children who are prophesied to be your undoing. I also know of the protection spell Regina cast that prevents you from harming them with your magic—an ingenious move on the former Evil Queen's part, I must say."
Recovered from her initial surprise of discovering he knew the real reason for her request, Maleficent began to slowly move towards him. "So you understand why I have to get them out of the way and why I can't do it myself."
"Oh, I understand completely," Hades said with a nod of his head, "But I make it a matter never to alter prophecies, particularly those set forth by the Mother Fairy."
Maleficent's eyes instantly flashed gold at one of her former Sister of Avalon's many titles. "What does she have to do with this?" she seethed.
"Everything," he said, taking another sip of wine as the high ground moved closer to his side. "You know the laws of magic, Maleficent, particularly those of your kind. It always comes with a price and the prophecy was yours for unleashing that unto the world. Did you really think it only came into being because of your little feud with the Savior and her Captain? The Mother Fairy wrote the prophecy the moment you landed in the world of Men—you were only made aware of it once the children who were a part of it were born."
Maleficent scoffed quietly at the mention of the deed that had earned her exile from Avalon. It was in actuality an event that even he found abhorrent, but he knew the fairy in front of him had justified her actions long ago based on his own.
"She never did like me."
"You were her most loved sister," Hades pointed out which earned him a death glare from the Dark Fairy.
"She always held me back, just as you are trying to do now."
Finishing the rest of the wine, Hades sat the glass back on the table without ever taking his eyes off her. "Why the rush, Maleficent? Is it because you can feel that time is running out?" When she remained silent he continued, a smile pulling at his lips as the high ground ceded more in his favor. "Your fairy blood is telling you that you don't have much longer before the prophecy is fulfilled, the very magic that governs your life force tensing in anticipation for the battle that will come. That's why you swallowed eons of animosity to come here and ask for my assistance because you knowthey will defeat you in the end. Light always defeats the darkness."
"Not this time," Maleficent growled. "You will open that portal, Hades, and those two blasted royals will remain forever trapped in this godforsaken section of hell!"
"Hell isn't the Underworld, darling," he casually corrected while turning his back to pour more wine. "And I don't have to do a damn thing I don't want to."
"Oh, but you will, because you promised to."
Hades physically recoiled at the stressed word like someone had punched him. The hand that held the decanter jerked with the movement, causing the delicate crystal to hit an iron candlestick holder and smash into thousands of tiny pieces. As the red liquid spilled to the table and floor, he spun around to find the Dark Fairy smiling at him smugly from the center of the throne room.
"I did no such thing!"
"How short your memory runs," Maleficent taunted, her voice dripping with confidence. "Whatever I can do, no matter the time or place, I will make this up to you. You have my word."
Hades closed his eyes as Maleficent recited the words he had said so long ago on the darkened shores of Avalon. He hadn't thought about his word choice in that moment of desperation and had only wanted to spare her feelings as much as possible. In hindsight, he knew now there was no way he could have done that with what he revealed to her that night and it was a testament to how much she truly loathed him that she had held off on collecting from the promise for eons. It had been a foolish mistake, one Zeus was more likely to make than the ever careful Hades. A promise made by a God was an unbreakable oath, a sacred agreement that the divine being who gave it had no choice but to honor. There was a reason the Gods rarely gave them and yet at the height of his youth, he had not only given one to a fellow immortal but a fairy at that.
Zeus would never let him live this down if he ever found out.
"You have no choice but to honor my request."
Knowing the high ground had fully shifted back to Maleficent and that there was no way he could win it back, Hades reluctantly agreed as he opened his eyes.
"So it would seem."
Maleficent's red lips drew into a mocking pout that caused Hades to glower. "Don't be too upset, Hades. I'm only collecting on what was freely given to me."
"All I have to do is open the portal?"
"Open the portal and ensure that the two brats are the ones who fall into it and your promise to me will be fulfilled."
Everything in Hades that made him a benevolent god revolted at what she was asking him to do, his morality screaming at him to change her mind but he knew his words would fall on deaf ears. Maleficent wanted to beat the prophecy and had made up her mind on how she was going to do it before she had even called upon the Erinyes. "I will need something that is linked to them in order to provide that assurance."
Black smoke encompassed Maleficent's left hand and when it cleared a long dagger rested in the Dark Fairy's palm, the purple colored blade covered in dried blood.
"Will the blood from one of them do?"
Without a word Hades flicked his wrist, translocating the blood stained dagger into his own hand. He recognized it instantly as a Wonderland blade, the unique essence that was Wonderland's magic pulsing through the stone and metal. "Yes. The twins share the same blood so it will ensure that both of them fall into the portal."
"Wonderful!" Maleficent exclaimed and bile rose sharply in Hades' throat at the absolute glee on her face. "You should open it in Camelot."
"Why?" he asked, genuinely curious. "I don't know much about the Savior or her Captain, but won't they investigate a strange portal rather than their children? Or even Merlin?"
With a dismissive wave of her hand Maleficent said, "I've timed my request with Merlin's absence from Camelot to ensure that meddling wizard wasn't around. As for the other—Ingrid, despite her betrayal, ensured they wouldn't. The Savior underwent the sleeping curse from Medusa's Heart. There's no way she isn't experiencing nightmares and fluctuations of her magic from it, as I'm sure even you are aware of its after effects. The pirate will know this and will send his brats in their stead and unknowingly to their demise, which only makes my plan all the more sweeter."
There was a special place in his realm for people like the Dark Fairy and Hades truly loathed the fact he would never be able to toss her into it.
"You've thought of everything, haven't you?"
"I simply refuse to let two mortals defeat me. You of all people should know that, Hades."
Oh, how he did know that. Maleficent had never been one to accept loss without retaliation—the evils of Mankind were proof enough of that.
"Very well, I'll open the portal in a few days."
Maleficent instantly shook her head. "No, you'll do it toni—"
"You do not get to choose when I fulfill my promise, Maleficent," Hades snarled, knowing without even having to look into a mirror that his eyes were flashing the electric blue color of his magic. "I said I would do it but first, I will see my wife back to the Upper World! It will be done by the end of the witching hour in two days time and not a moment before."
The Dark Fairy's eyes burned golden in response to his words yet she wisely remained silent after his outburst. She may hold the winning hand, but they were playing at his table. Despite the promise he had so foolishly given to her, he was still a god and she was nothing more than an immortal fairy.
"Fine," she said at length, the gold flecks of her inner dragon receding until only the natural blue of her eyes remained. "I have… other plans that I can put into place in the meantime. It's been a pleasure doing business with you, Hades. We really should do it again sometime."
Growling in unrestrained hatred, Hades jerked his wrist towards Maleficent and in a cloud of electrical blue smoke, the thorn that had been in his side for the last twenty minutes returned to wherever she had come from. He would forever rue the day he had given her that promise, but at least he had bought himself a few days before he was forced to do the Dark Fairy's bidding. Just as he was about to toss the blood-stained dagger onto the table to be dealt with at a later time something on the pommel caught his eye. It was a family crest, one he hadn't seen in centuries but he recognized the heraldry immediately. How Maleficent hadn't noticed it was a mystery, especially considering how close the origin of the royal crest was linked to her. As he stared at the simplistic yet meaningful design carved into the stone pommel, a smile slowly spread across the God's face.
The Dark Fairy had unknowingly given him a way to ensure her plan would ultimately fail, and the high ground shifted back into his favor.
Maleficent laughed victoriously as she reappeared in her own throne room, the last image she had seen in the Underworld of an annoyed and defeated Hades filling her dark heart with absolute glee.
Her encounter with the God of the Dead had gone just as she expected it to, even down to Hades attempting to humiliate her by trapping her into saying there was nothing she could give him in return for her request. Before invoking the Erinyes' names, Maleficent had known exactly what his reaction would be every step of the way—the initial surprise, wanting to know how she got there, his response to her giving him the runaround, and how he wouldn't be able to resist the idea of her coming to him for a favor. Their mutual history had taught her that while he would respect the power she wielded, in the end he would underestimate her just as he had always done. Eons may have passed since they laid eyes on each other but Maleficent still knew how Hades' mind worked, probably more so than the insipid goddess he had taken as a wife.
Not that Hades had been completely without surprises, she thought as she sat in her dark throne.
She hadn't expected him to know about the prophecy or the identity of the individuals she wanted brought to the Underworld. That had been a tactful error on her part, however—she should have taken into consideration before going that even as a god who ruled beneath the ground, Hades would have knowledge of the going ons in the Upper World. In the end, his knowledge of why she was making such a request hadn't mattered, not when she had his promise up her sleeve.
In his attempt to throw her off balance, Hades had answered one of her most burning questions. She had always wondered who penned the prophecy, knowing the blind Seer that had brought it to her four months before the brat's birth had only been the messenger and not its author. Seers gave their prophecies by word of mouth and never wrote them down, always relying on mankind's ability to alter what they heard from one generation to the next in order to disguise the true nature of their warning. The fact it had been delivered on parchment with a magical enchantment made sense now that she knew the Mother Fairy was the one behind its creation. Maleficent's former Sister of Avalon was self-righteous enough to ensure that Maleficent was unable to destroy the physical reminder of her foretold demise, forcing her to look upon its words every day for the last twenty-eight years.
The joke was on the Mother Fairy, however, because Maleficent fully intended to see that the prophecy never came to pass.
"Diablo!"
No sooner had the name left her lips than a lone raven flew in through one of the high windows, its black wings bringing it to rest a few feet in front of her throne. She watched as the familiar black smoke engulfed the avian and in the mere span of a few heart beats, it dissipated to reveal a man in tattered black clothes. His skin was pale and eyes as black as midnight, the greasy black hair that hung over his face unable to hide the angry red scar that ran from his left temple down to the corner of his left lip.
"Did it go well, Mistress?"
"Beyond well," she answered with another victorious laugh. "Hades will be opening the portal in two days time."
A sinister smile pulled at Diablo's lips. "Excellent news, Mistress! I take it the dagger I used to stab the prince with came in handy?"
"Indeed. You shall be greatly rewarded for having the foresight not to wipe the meddling brat's blood from it, my dear Diablo."
Her loyal henchman fell into a deep bow at her words. "I live to only serve you. My only regret is that the prince's life won't end by my own hand."
"The fate we are condemning him and the princess to is far worse than a blade piercing his heart," she assured him as she leaned back in her throne. "But you shall watch while he falls into the portal, both as your reward and to assure me it happens. Are your men ready?"
"They are, Mistress."
"Then get them in position. The second part of my plan will be carried out the moment I receive word from you that they have gone to the Underworld."
With a nod of his head, Diablo quickly left, leaving her alone save for the giant hourglass that sat to the far right of the room. It had been created upon her return from the failed attack on the Charming's castle almost twenty-eight years ago, each piece of sand that fell into its lower compartment marking the passage of time until the protection spell Regina had cast on the Savior's children ran its course. She had so been looking forward to watching the last piece fall and finally be able to use her fae magic on the brats, though as she had told Diablo, what she had planned for them was far worse a fate.
With a flick of her wrist, she translocated the prophecy from its place of origin on her desk to her hand. As her eyes scanned the words she knew by memory, she thought of the one aspect from her conversation with Hades that had left her baffled. The Lord of the Underworld had mentioned that the prophecy was written when she was exiled from Avalon—yet that had been centuries ago. How was it that she and the Savior's children were linked lifetimes before even their father had come into existence? Hades had said the prophecy was her consequence for the action she had taken because of a broken heart, but surely her exile and the loss of her wings had been her penance. What was it about these two mere mortals that had their fate so closely intertwined with her own?
Perhaps there were more hidden passages in Morgana's journals that would answer her questions. Merlin had once been close to the Mother Fairy, and the wizard would have confided in her fellow exiled sister. It was something to do at a later time, she thought, as green fire erupted in her palm, consuming the prophecy until its ashes drifted to the stone floor below like falling snow.
For now, she had an invasion to plan.
So, this Hades is based more off his greek mythology roots than how he was in Once. I deliberately did that as a nod to one of my betas, always-been-a-pirate, who loves Hades and who I affectionately term the Greek Mythology Expert because of her vast amount of knowledge on the subject. :)