Chapter 12: The Festival

(The sun has set; the moon is starting to show in the night sky. Hades, Hekate, Charon and Dave walk through the giant doors of the castle and enter its quadrangle; it looks like the preparations for the pre-war celebration festival that night are in full force, with colorful decorations and unending tables of food surrounded by performers and soldiers alike, with more joining in the festivities each minute)

Hekate: Hey hey hey!

Charon: (To Hekate)*clearly irritated* Must you always be this extra?

Hekate: *Raises an eye brow* Must you always be such a stick in the mud? {Someone's unhappy with the outfit choice, hee hee hee}

Charon: *huffs*Fine, I'm catching up with Dave *stomps ahead* (there's a "why the hell am I doing this" look on his veil covered face as walks ahead and joins Dave and Hades)

Hekate: (To the reader) While he catches up with the boys let me help you catch up with the plot! So right now, we're all wearing disguises except Hades; of course he's wearing the helm of darkness again so you can't really see him. I'm soo excited! I've always wanted to dress like a belly dancer! And with the veil covering our faces Dave can sneak us right in! And this *points to Charon who's grumpily walking with Dave, relishing in his misery* is by far the best thing to happen this century. Both of them (except Hades who's invisible at the moment) are also wearing belly dancer outfits, with Charon looking so annoyed that he might actually spontaneously combust. He hates revealing clothes and his face is seriously red behind that veil; (explains why our boy's so pissy) and check out Dave; who's only focused on the mission, but pulls off the outfit without even trying, probably something to do with his incubus charm. {What I'd give for a duck-face selfie with them right now! But alas we don't have time for that} We're making our way through the castle right now but we have to be careful, cos Dave being here may raise suspicion as he's supposed to be on guard duty with his team at the eastern forest base, epically as he's sneaking us into the restricted section of the dungeons; wearing a belly dancer outfit with a face covering veil was the best idea ever! Turns out, the ritual is tonight! The whole castle is filled with dancers and artists of all varieties; so sneaking in was a breeze.

Dave: We're almost there, through that tunnel to the left, the guards must be at the celebrations, so we should be able to get in with ease. {I can't believe they kept the pre-war celebration so thoroughly hidden from me. How did I not foresee it? I was instructed to stay at the base the whole month. It was so obvious that they were up to something. I was certain they'd delay it till after the sowing season as labor would be required then. But I have to focus now!} Still it would be best if Lord Hades went in first to check for guards, just in case since stealth is of the essence here. {The Sorcerer cannot know that I am here without my team}

Hekate: (To Dave) You seem tense. Relax~ Have a kebab.

(Dave pays no attention to Hekate, as he signals Hades to go in first and check for guards, He looks anxious)

Hekate: *speaking with a mouthful of Kebab* Are you sure you don't want these? These kebabs are to die for!

Charon: *Hissing through his teeth* That's cos they are supposed to be to die for!

Hekate: (To Charon) You should try some!

Charon: Quit stuffing you face!

Hekate: It's a buffet dumb-dumb! Eating is what people do here!

Charon: *Shouts* THAT FOOD IS POISONED YOU MORON!

(All eyes are now on Charon, Dave and Hekate)

Hekate: Uh oh

Dave: RUN!

(Play funny chasing music as guards chase them around the castle, they all split up)

***** Meanwhile *****

Persephone: {Alright! Brilliant! I successfully created a portal! YAY! Just one problem though. HOW IN THE NAME OF STYX DID I END UP IN AN ACTUAL PRISON! This is by far the dumbest way to end up in jail…... Oh, but I HAD to practice my portals *kicks the metal bars of the prison*. Guess I'll just have to bust myself out of here. But how? Think Persephone! Think!... That's it! There's a key ring there on that hook! But how in sweet Olympus am I supposed to get it? This place seems to be underground. No plants nearby. Not even roots! I COULD portal my way out of here but I'm too exhausted, not to mention this wouldn't have happened if I hadn't used magic in the Underworld knowing it would glitch when I'm not even good at making portals on Earth! I'm definitely not trying that again…..} (Sees a bunch of mushrooms growing on a rotting wooden excuse for a bed)

I give up! Might as well get comfortable. *Turns the mushrooms into a comfy chair and sits down with a defeated huff*

Now if only the keys would just fly to me! *keys begin to fly* What the! A ghost or something? *keys fly through the key hole, turn twice and open the door* Well that was easy. Thank you awesome magical key ghost.

Hades: Boooooo you're welcome booooooo

Persephone: Oooh creepy *chuckles*

Hades: So, what's a place like you doing in a girl like this?

Persephone: *laughs* you make quite the amusing ghost lord Hades

Hades: *takes off the helm of darkness* How did you know?

Persephone: I didn't *a smug knowing grin plastered on her face*. Who knows, maybe I was hoping you'd rescue me again.

*both laugh*

Both Hades and Persephone: {Wow!}

Hades: {Oh my Styx is she beautiful!}

Persephone: {It should be illegal to be that handsome!}


Author-chan: Thank you dear reader, for sticking with this story! How's the sore throat coming along Hekate?

Hekate: Nothing a visit to Asclepius couldn't fix.

Charon: Author-chan, please, no more skimpy clothes!

Hekate: Awwwwwww, but you looked soooo cuteeee!

Charon: *insert angry puppy meme*