This Persephone and Menthe are MINE! Anyone who uses them without my permission gets attacked by Cerberus.
Every other character/place/whatever else belongs to Disney. Use them at your own risk.
The REAL Cosmic Couple
Chapter XXV-- Hecate is Furious and Menthe Seals Her Fate
Persephone swallowed hard. Menthe had let her out of the cage, but had not stopped stabbing her with the stick. And Persephone wanted to get out of here. She wanted to get far away from here, go back to Hades, and go back to the Underworld. She wanted Hades to pick her and leave. She would have let him.
No. No, she wouldn't have let him. The Underworld, the state of the Underworld, was much more important then she was. If Hades chose her over the Underworld, she'd have to kill him.
Persephone was sure she wouldn't have to go that far. He wasn't that stupid. He'd make the right decision.
Hecate's scream of rage in the other room confirmed it. He wasn't that stupid. And he had made the right decision.
Barely, Hecate managed to control her anger. For a few minutes, at least. "Excuse me?"
Hades smirked. "You're excused."
"But…but…" She clenched her fists, and gritted her teeth. "Are you out of your mind? Why would you pick the Underworld over Persephone?"
"If I had picked her, she would have been furious with me," he said calmly, "Besides…she's a good kid—doesn't want to hurt other people and other junk like that. Frankly, I think that whole 'good deeds' system is way overrated, but I'm not arguing with her…"
Hecate glared at him, breathing heavily. Her plan had failed. Completely failed.
And, good gods, she wanted to strangle him.
"Now," said Hades, standing up, "If ya don't mind I'd like to say good-bye to Persephone…"
Silent with shock, Hecate pushed the door open, and he walked outside, her following.
As soon as Hades walked out the door, Persephone rushed over to him. She was sure he had made the right choice, but still…it didn't hurt to be absolutely sure.
"Hades…tell me you didn't give up the Und—"
"I didn't," he interrupted. He gave her a sad smile.
Persephone sighed with relief, and hugged him. The hug turned into a kiss in no time.
Menthe dashed up to Hecate in shock, trying not to outright retch at the sigh before her. "He didn't—he didn't actually choose the Underworld over…over…?" Her voice trailed off.
Hecate scowled. "He did."
Menthe blinked, and shook her head angrily. "I don't believe it! How could that have happ—well…" She paused. "At least this way, I can still get him, right?"
"I suppose so…" said Hecate. And then her face lit up. "I have an idea! Gimme your stick." Menthe nodded, and handed it to Hecate.
"Hades," said Hecate, and the couple broke apart and looked at her. She was hiding the stick behind her back.
"Hades, we all know you were trying to do the right thing…" she continued, "And you did do the right thing! For the mortals, that is…but was it the right thing for Persephone?"
Menthe pulled Persephone away from Hades and forced her to stand by Hecate.
Hades narrowed his eyes—focused half on Hecate and half on Persephone. "What do you mean?"
"Persephone 'belongs' to us now…And we are free to do whatever we want to her…that was part of our 'deal,' remember? And you can't do a thing about it." Hecate's smile broadened, as she took the stick out from behind her back…
…and stabbed Persephone in the stomach.
Hades gasped as Persephone let out a choked cry and fell backwards. The stick had gone right through her.
"Is she dead?" said Hecate, and she broke the stick in half, then in quarters. "Of course not. She's immortal. Is she paralyzed for life? Perhaps…"
Menthe chimed in, "She has a hole in her middle—she looks like a donut!"
He stared at her, then at Persephone, then at Hecate, looking between the three, unable to register what had just happened.
Hecate had taken a sharp stick. Hecate had run said sharp stick straight through Persephone. And Persephone was now unconscious in a pool of her own ichor.
Hecate had done a lot of unbelievably daring things in the past. This topped them all off.
But Hades was in a state of utter shock. He stood frozen to the spot; his only movement was turning from blue/grey to a red/orange in a time span of three seconds.
"And now that she's out of the way," said Hecate, tossing the pieces of the stick on the floor, "Let's talk about something different, ok? Since you and Persephone…er…'split up,' for lack of a better word, it's going to be awfully lonely in the big ol' Underworld, right? And I'll bet you were getting rather attached to life as a husband, too."
By now, the entire room was cast in an orange glow thanks to Hades' rapidly changing skin and hair color. He didn't answer her.
"But don't worry…we've got someone else for you," Hecate went on, observing the confused look that was spreading across Hades' face, "Say hello to Menthe."
Right on cue, the green tinted nymph bounded over to Hades, who automatically stepped back.
"Hold it," he said, regaining his senses (sort of) and his personality as well, "Time out. There must be something…I'm not getting here. There's gotta be something someone forgot to tell me…'cuz the last time I checked, you—" He pointed at Hecate, "—cannot order me around…and you absolutely cannot set me up with anyone at all, especially HER!" He glared at Menthe, who pouted.
"Now, that wasn't very nice."
Hades made a face. "Yecch." He pushed her away from him.
Hecate shrugged and grinned. "I think you two'll get along fine."
Hades scowled at Hecate. "Very funny…" He pushed Menthe, who had reattached herself to him, away again.
She stood back, hands on her hips, and said, "I think it's funny how you still haven't recognized me."
Hades blinked, and looked at her. Suddenly, his eyes opened wide. "Oh gods…" He turned to Hecate, "Out of everyone in the entire universe, you pair me up with my stalker. Nice, Hecate, nice…"
"Stalker? How cute, he has a pet name for you," said Hecate, glancing at Menthe who beamed.
"I promise you'll like me if you give me a chance," she giggled, attaching herself to Hades again, who groaned.
"Get off me," he snapped, "I don't like you, I never did like you, and now you're just annoying the hell outta me. Whatever 'methods of seduction' you're trying are not working. Leave me alone." He pried her off him again, only to have Menthe wrap her arms around him.
"That's not giving me a chance," she said sweetly, "Hey—I can be every bit of whatever Persephone was for you, and I mean it."
"I sincerely doubt that," Hades said, growing more and more annoyed by the second. At the mention of his wife's name, his eyes had traveled to where Persephone lay. He hoped she was alright. If she wasn't, he'd never forgive himself…
"Please???" said Menthe again, "Just let me try—oof!"
Hades had managed to unhook her arms, and had dumped her on the floor.
"I'm getting tired of this. Aren't you, Menthe?" said Hecate, and as Hades grew close to exploding, she shot out her magic at him. Immediately, he was wrapped in her spiderweb-thingys.
"No fair!" protested Hades, flaring up even more. Fortunately (for Hecate and Menthe, at least), the bindings were fireproof. And god-proof.
"When have I ever played fair?" said Hecate, crossing her arms.
Hades narrowed his eyes. "And that's my line."
Menthe giggled again. "Ooh, possessive. But everyone has flaws, huh?"
Hades resumed glaring at her. "Yes. Your flaw is that you're incredibly annoying."
Menthe giggled again, and turned to Hecate. "Lookit, I think he's flirting with me."
Hades groaned again, and rolled his eyes. Damn this nymph. It was a good thing Persephone was unconscious. If she had seen this exchange, she would have flipped.
But Persephone, in fact, was not unconscious. And she was, in fact, viewing this exchange, however weakly. Still, order to flip, she would need just one more thing to push her over the edge, restoring her strength and anger.
It was at that moment that Menthe (perhaps being urged on by Hecate) leaned in and kissed Hades, though against his will entirely.
And Persephone was pushed over the edge.
Menthe had just sealed her fate.