Plight of Persephone

Ok people, you know the score, I do not own Hercules, Disney does and even though they do not have plans for— What? They do! DAMMIT! Son of a Titan—! I knew it! I KNEW they would do a god damn live action remake! *Agent of Teal facepalms wearily* I hope none of the executives got the idea from reading this story, now that would be awkward ...I'm sorry, back too the disclaimer.. Don't worry, you do not need to have read any of my other stories to read this one and the original is NOT going anywhere, it stays here where it belongs.. I do own this version of Persephone and all other original characters and places that come up, permission and advice is always given to those who want to use them but do tell me if you use my characters so I may view and comment on your work.. Just like the original I will be basing this story around Greek myths and twisting them around just like Disney did, I will also be reworking some of the original plot lines.. Please review and let me know your thoughts.. Thank you for your time. Enjoy!

Reviews:

Sharkeygirl: I always find times when Hades is trying to put feelings into words and not quite having the full capacity to manage it very sweet. You have to love him for trying but he's just so socially awkward that he ends up making his own life so difficult. He has many issues on many levels.. that's why it's taking so long for them to hook up. It's him, not so much her..

Angel of Hunkydoriness: Haha, yeh.. When she's stressed you really start to see how like Hades Persephone really is and how rebellious she can be. There's a bit more into her past internships in this chapter but you can now begin to see why she hasn't held down a job.. Like Hades she's partly to blame for her own predicament..

Dedicated to Sharkeygirl~ my biggest reviewer who's thoughts and comments keeps me inspired to write.. And also to the 70 of you who are now alerted to when I update.. For you, I bring this a little early.. (I posted this at 11pm Monday GMT)

Although reviews aren't necessary, it's always nice to hear from you guys (especially now in these times) and every review pushes you guys closer to getting the little one-shot stories.. Thank you everyone for making these stories happen..

Chapter Twenty-One: The Consequences To Those Actions

Minthe had had enough. She was done.

Kaput.

Out.

Gone.

Bye-bye.

It had become clear to her that Hecate wasn't interested in helping her win over Hades, she just wanted a clear shot at his Underworld throne. The green haired nymph had left the immortal witch's gloomy grotto when her and her winged wolves had left for their nightly hunt, whatever that involved. She didn't mind making the Lord of the Dead out to be a kidnapper as that was believable but a rapist too? That was the last straw! The fiery god was a lot of things but the naiad knew he would never force himself upon anyone. He wasn't like that!

Coming to the conclusion that if she wanted Hades for herself she would just have to find another way to get him. Persephone would be leaving in a few weeks for Spring anyway and she wouldn't be back. She never kept a job for longer than six months. She was too wilful and ever changing, she wasn't to be pinned down to a single realm with a single job. Not her style! Persephone would grow bored and restless with the same old drudgery day in and day out. There was a reason her and Hermes were besties, they were thick as, well, thieves when they got together. 'Coo-coo nutty hijinx' they called it.. trouble more like! Always goading each other on, or being egged on by Narcissus, Ares, Bacchus and whoever else wanted in on their stupid pranks, stirring the pot to see which deity they could wind up next.. Zeus had fired Persephone himself when she had interned with Hermes, forbidding her from interning on his cloud again. Their 'hoodlum antics' being the reason he had dropped a quiver of thunderbolts on Pompeii causing it to be wiped off the map.

Minthe just couldn't see Persephone settled in any realm with a husband, it just seemed so unlike her. The girl was just clueless when it came to love, she had only ever had a couple of innocent kisses and never seemed to really notice when she was being hit on by anyone, man or god. She was still a virgin goddess for Gaia's sake! At her age and not invested in the Vestal Virgin programme that was just.. sad.. The nymph believed that Hades deserved better than some naive eternal teenage looking maiden who had no experience in the bedroom. They would look so odd together since he looked much older and way more mature. Everyone would think he was a sugar daddy or possibly a creepy old pervert.. Minthe looked older in the face and felt as if that made her more aesthetically pleasing to the eye when standing next to him. At least they would look like a regular couple, like they were supposed to be married and not either robbing the cradle or grave..

It was late when she appeared back on the large ox-bow island that Hades kept his imposing skull shaped home on, wiping the dirt off the long petal-like skirt of her white dress. Hecate really needed to invest in a feather duster and spring clean once in a while. The sound of voices hit the pale green skinned nymph's ears making her swivel her head to see the familiar shadows of Pain and Panic approaching. Quickly she transformed into her plant-form hoping that she would be small and inconspicuous enough that they wouldn't notice her. She was certain that if they saw her flitting about in her nymph form they would goad her for 'stalking' their boss then take great pleasure in alerting Hades to her presence like she was some unwanted pest.

She had always hated those god-blockers!

"—I can't believe he bought it." Panic was saying impressed by his chubbier rose-pink partner as he walked beside the imp with a flop of burgundy coloured hair who nodded with a wide grin.

"See. I told you it would be easy. It's not like he's checkin' the books since he's got Persephone doin' them." Pain replied with a smirk.

"What makes you think she won't squeal to him?" The skinny teal asked unsurely.

"Pfft.. She's not gonna do that. That would involve admitting that she's the reason the soul left in the first place." The rose-pink imp replied with a grin and Panic gave a start.

"Wait, how did you figure out it was her?" This in turn made Pain blink.

"I thought you knew. You called her out." He jabbed a small stubby clawed finger at his brother.

"I was just venting!" The teal imp rolled his eyes as he stuck both hands out in a sullen yet exasperated manner.

"Oh. Well when you said about ghostly orbs I figured it had to be her. Her powers are all about new life after all.. maybe she gave him a new lease of life." Pain explained his reasoning.

"Makes sense and that probably means by the time he gets back here the boss won't remember who he is.." Panic replied feeling the stress of hiding the truth lift instantly.

"Exactly, it's win-win.." Pain continued before his eyes fell on the small sprig that was Minthe hiding in plain sight. "Man, Persephone's plants are breeding like weeds. They're everywhere.."

"Urgh.. Just leave it.. If you pick it two more will grow in its place." Panic snagged his brother's hand before Pain could pull it out the ground. "C'mon, we can't be late for dinner with the clan, you know how mom gets and you still haven't told me your plan for the love arrows.." He let go of his slightly older twin and the two imps continued onwards down the path that lead to the distant gates of Tartarus near the Nether Regions on the east side of the Underworld.

"The ones behind Hades' throne?" The rose-pink chubby imp asked then cried out in pain as his toe stubbed a loose bit of jagged rock on the ground.

"No, the other ones.." Panic responded in a deadpan tone before it washed into an irritated glare and his hands flailed exaggeratedly. "Yes, of course those ones!"

"Chill out Panic, your getting worked up over nothing. You really need to catch up on some sleep.. I'll fill you in over dinner, I hope mom's made plenty, I am one hungry Misery.." He added as they rounded the corner to the docks, planning on waiting for Charon who usually passed at this time.

"Between you, dad and Gluttony I wouldn't be so worried, feels like ages since we've been home. Oh, and speaking of dad we better dirty up for dinner, you know how he feels about that.." The teal imp added, their conversation starting to fade as they continued on..

"As long as we remember to clean up on the way back, Hades hates us being dirty.."

"Gods are so weird... The things we do to keep him happy.."

At the sound of their fading laughter died away and Minthe finally transformed back into her nymph form, smirking deviously. Thanks to those two idiots she now had a new idea on how to get Hades to be hers and they had done most of the hard work. All she had to do was get the Love Arrows and Hades alone. She smiled brightly at the idea and disappeared into a small burst of leaves..

...Minthe appeared in the empty throne room. Since things had been quieter the the Lord of the Dead and his soon-to-be-gone little intern had turned in for some much needed sleep. Positive that nobody would be interrupting her any time soon the little dryad headed immediately up to the huge stone throne, reaching behind the grey veil and felt feathers. With delight she pulled them out.

"Yes, pay dirt!" The green haired nymph flicked her high ponytail as she straightened with the two pink arrows in her hand and a wide smirk. "He shall be mine." She giggled brightly before vanishing out on the spot..

When Hecate and her two large wolf minions returned to the dimly lit grotto after their night time hunt they found the green-haired little dryiad gone. While the two large wolfs sniffed around trying to figure out where Minthe had gone the soft-violet skinned immortal witch with deep blue hair relaxed on her throne unconcerned.

"Forget the nymph. Good riddance, too-dah-loo. So long, we don't need her.." Hecate drawled flashing her winged pets a dark scowl to which the brothers cow-toed to immediately.

"But Hecate, aren't you worried she will tell Persephone what your up to?" Canis spoke up looking concerned.

"Yeh, what about your plans to get the god squad to haul her out of here? Do we still press ahead with the plan to up the anti?" Lupus added cocking his head curiously.

"Let's hold off from that just now. She's just a jealous little nymph. We obviously offended Minthe last night.." The immortal witch pulled a look of mock-hurt making her wolf minions chuckle.

"Nymphs are surprisingly sensitive.."

"Whatta you expect with Demeter in charge of them.."

"Here's what we'll do.." Hecate pulled herself over to hers scrying bowl that sat on her alter table and with a wave of her hand which glowed with her magic it swivelled to reveal the small nymph in the throne room. "We'll keep an eye on our little forest friend and when she makes her move.. So do we..." Her silvery green eyes narrowed as she watched the small nymph girl stretch behind Hades' throne and pull out two Love Arrows with a look of delight, giggle silently then vanish from sight.

"What about the rumours circling the dead right now? Won't that complicate things?" Lupus spoke up still looking unsure about her plan to take the throne from Hades.

"What rumours?" Hecate kinked a neat angular brow with a slight frown making both wolf brothers look at each other in some confusion.

"You know, the ones about the Elysian Fields having a new ruler.." Canis added twirling a paw then adding tentatively as both winged-wolves started to tremble nervously. "T-they're calling her.. Praxidyke, Bringer of Light and t-t-true Lady of the Dead."

Matching simpering, jagged grins appeared as both wolves dropped their ears, curled their tails submissively as Hecate's usual pale violet face deepened to a more angry puce and she shook like some long dormant volcano about to detonate with rage and fury...

"WHAT?-!"

The sound of cheerful humming could be heard inside the Lord of the Dead's huge master suite as the god was getting ready for a new day. He had woken in a very good mood. He wasn't sure if he was still in an insomniatic trance due to working around the clock for the passed few weeks, catching only a sparse few power naps when he could or maybe it had something to do with witnessing Persephone's transformation into a jaded little fire-cracker with a talent for sass-talk and terrifying the imps. There was just something about watching her temper soar while their yellow eyes bulged and their tiny hearts beat wildly out of their rib-cages that sent his flaming head and heart into a tizzy.

There was something so alluring about watching her fly into a shrieking banshee of fire and the creative insults she came up with? Oh, how he loved what came out of her mouth! He could listen to her insult those little yutzes from dawn until dusk. Calling them 'piles of fungi festering plant fertiliser' was now a personal favourite and something he wanted to commit to long-term memory. Even now as he combed sulphur into his flames with his black bone comb making them more buoyant and tinge a red hue, the smirk was stretching his blue lips and a barely restrained low chuckle sat in his throat just wanting to burst forth.

He coulda kissed her that day!

Oh Fates, they only knew how much he had wanted to. It had taken all his restraint not to just grab her and smooch those plump, petal soft lips. He was pretty sure she would of ripped his head off if he tried but he had always been a god with a masochistic kink, pain could be quite pleasurable when proper precautions were present. Still, he wouldn't force her into anything she wasn't ready for and he wanted both her heart and trust before he would have her screaming at the top of her voice in his bedchamber. He wondered vaguely how she felt about being tied up then shook his head roughly to perish the thought.. One step at a time.

First objective: Ask her out.

Not just for dinner. Not just for a quick fling either. He wanted her to be his girlfriend!

The fiery god actually paused as the flames on his head shrunk and dimmed back to blue. Gods he was nervous about doing this. Hades had never had a girlfriend before. He'd never wanted one until now. But he wanted to be with her, like all the time. He felt like a better god when he was with her, he was pretty sure he wasn't a better god. He was still a cruel dictator that still struck terror, respect and awe in his minions eyes. He gave zero flames about the souls in his care beyond their numerical value once they were through processing. And he would still love to smash the face of every pretty-boy hero wannabe that dared barrel into his realm like they owned the joint, i.e Jerkules but Persephone didn't seem to care about all that. She hated heroes as much as he did! Maybe they could even be like a regular couple, well as regular as they could be anyway. Go on dates, share in each other's interests, Tartarus, maybe they could even get married down the line when he felt secure enough in them to commit to it. He wouldn't do it just cause Zeus commanded it, he was a risk taker sure but he wasn't an idiot. Still, he wanted nothing more than to be able to rub it in the faces of the entire god squad that he had nabbed one of the hottest babes in the cosmos who was never gonna look older than sixteen.. Hades casually moved onto brushing his slightly discoloured fangs with the charcoal toothpaste he used then flossed still feeling good about this. To see the look on Posideon's face would be better than any scheme in the cosmos. He even knew exactly how he would goad him too!

'Hey Po-Po, guess what? You were pinin' after Demeter for centuries to no avail now look who's bangin' her daughter, hah!'

Of course he would only say that once Persephone was out of earshot. This was the kind of thing gods did once the goddesses were out of sight, puff themselves out, bring out the bravado of testosterone and scrutinise each other like a piece of meat. Due to not having ever had a girlfriend before he was often on the receiving end of their immature jokes and jeers but that would change if Persephone agreed to be his girl.. They would stop claiming no girl would touch him or that he couldn't seduce one if he tried..

The piece of floss in between his long bony fingers disintegrated as he flared in slight annoyance. Those mush-headed idiots upstairs didn't realise there was a difference between not wanting a girlfriend and not being able to get one. Scanning the products of his own grooming kit he continued to hum in an attempt to drown out the irritation and it worked. His smirk returned as he scooped up his favourite aftershave, Old Spite and poured some out immediately slapping it on. Instantly his blue flames billowed as the familiar spicy woody smell surrounded his nostrils. This was the aftershave he saved for special occasions, too good to waste on meaningless flings and one time things... But Persephone... He was hoping the deep musky scent of this would subtly seduce her.

Checking his reflection in his dark bathroom mirror it grinned back at him with his best smouldering look. He then pulled back still grinning as he straightened his skull pin then headed out to get his morning coffee and see what breakfast options were on offer. Then he would lay down the agenda today in the mandatory staff meeting.. Where Persephone should be heading for now, assuming she was on time for once...

Unbeknown to the Lord of the Dead who was just leaving his large bedroom suite Persephone was already up and in his office. She had gotten so used to the early shifts by now that her body clock had adjusted to the change and she had found herself just going with the flow. The youthful looking white skinned beauty had already ground the coffee beans, left the coffee pot on a simmer along with bread and an assortment of condiments and fruit for when Hades eventually rose for his morning shift. There had only been a few sparse soul scrolls from the graveyard shift which she had quickly taken care of. It wasn't really that difficult to sort out the recommendations on the quality of afterlife. Hades had a points based system that was pretty easy to follow once you had the corresponding life script from the judge presiding the hearing. That of course was only part of the final decision the other came from the judges themselves. From what Persephone understood from Hades was at the end of the lifetime interview the judge presiding the case would ask the deadfendant what kind of afterlife they expected. The judes of doom, of course, being well-versed enough to spot a lie would send them to Tartarus just for trying. Though these instances were rare due to the deadfendants having to take an oath by the Styx to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth so Hades help them. Persephone had never met the Judges of the Dead but they sounded like interesting guys..

When she had first arrived the blonde goddess had not understood how Hades could run the Underworld so efficiently by himself, that in itself had been a pretty impressive feat. But now that she had spent almost six months in his world, learning about both the Underworld and how to survive in it she only found herself admiring him more. He really was the smartest god she had even interned under. The Lord of the Dead practically had the whole place running itself. When he was behind his work desk he was giving her signatures, his permission to go ahead with orders, teaching her about new procedures: the latest lessons were about his Faustian deals and understanding the inner workings of his contracts. When the fiery god wasn't in the office he let her sit in and scribe the minutes in performance management meetings with minions where she had finally got to meet some of the resident Underworld community, his boardroom power meetings that were based on statistics and algorithms intended to project where his business stock portfolio was and how to manage investments. When he was out in the Underworld the fiery god was breathing fire and smoke down the necks of his underlings. He used fear, intimidation and occasionally manipulating 'schmooze talk' to ensure that his underlings did their jobs and if they failed he made an example out of them in the most brutal fashion he could think of in that moment.

Persephone couldn't deny that he was a tough boss but he sure knew how to run an efficient buisness. There was so much more he could teach her if she accepted his job offer... and she was sorely tempted by it.

Once she had finished tidying up the office space, ready to start the influx of paperwork the imps were sure to send her way the small goddess picked up her cup of now luke-warm nectar and half-eaten pomegranate slices and made her way to the morning staff meeting in the boardroom next door. Upon arriving to the huge room that was almost taken up by the long empty table Persephone sighed heavily looking glum as she set her plate and cup down.

Great. First one here. How depressing..

She rolled her green eyes then settled herself in one of the two black high-backed seats and drummed her fingers on the grey stone table top making a clicking noise due to her long narrow-pointed purple nails. She then gazed around the room from the empty easel to the stone faces of Pain and Panic carved into two the opposing walls from the window and door. Like all Hades' stone work carvings the faces were beautifully carved with intricate, realistic detailing, the faces a picture of terror and agony. These were obviously meant to permanently motivate the imps into doing a good job lest they wanted these expressions to be on they're faces again. Deciding to finish of her breakfast while she had the peace to Persephone took a sip of her nectar and began chewing on her fresh plucked pomegranate. After finishing this and clearing up nobody had arrived so she summoned a nail file out of a swirl of orbs and began buffing her nails unaware of the talk circling around her..

Where is everyone?

"Dead tongues are wagging with rumours about a new goddess in town.." Charon's gravelly hoarse voice sounded as he pulled into the black wood and stone jetty with a couple of morning straggler souls. The skeletal boatman jammed his long spindly oar into the muddy banks of the Styx as Pain and Panic scribbled notes on their clipboard.

"Pfft, you mean Persephone?" Pain blinked once he was finished scribbling his notes and passed a number to the soul he was dealing with.

"Hah! That's old news... just ignore it." Panic added passing a second number slip to his soul then pointed towards the line for Doom Service. "Just wait in line over there one of the three judges will deal with you shortly."

"Don't forget to get your life story straight.." Pain added with a smirk waving them off casually.

"These rumours about an Underworld goddess." Charon shook his skull shaped head, his empty eye sockets moving in a manner that suggested he would roll his eyes if they could be seen.

"An Underworld goddess? Who?" Panic repeated kinking his brows in some disbelief as his attention returned to the skeletal boatman.

"Hecate? Is she scheming again.." Pain added looking concerned.

"What? I don't know, you know I don't get involved with politics.." Charon's bony brow scowled deeply. "The dead are talking about a goddess called Praxidyke.." His brow softened as if expecting this to ring some sort of bell. After a few moments he realised he might've been expecting too much as the pair looked as gormless as ever.

"Who?" Both imps intoned together with complete bemusement and this drew a heavy annoyed sigh from the nihilistic boatman. Why his blue-flamed boss kept these two employed was anyone's guess.

"The new Ruler of the Lands of Light?" Charon waved his free hand in a circle as if this was supposed to help. Again, he was giving these two way more credit than they deserved.

"The surface?" Pain asked dumbly.

"The Elysian Fields!" Charon snapped getting annoyed now. "The dead are saying she can give them another shot at life, a fresh start.. They're proclaiming her their new Queen of the Dead.."

"Shyeh, well this Praxidyke is outta luck. Hades won't share his throne. We all know that." Panic snickered at the very thought of some no-nothing goddess just waltzing in like she owned the place and expecting their boss to just lie down and take it. He wouldn't.

"Yeh! And we all know he's sweet on Persephone anyway." Pain responded wriggling his eyebrows playfully having witnessed his boss' far off staring and completely sold on the idea of hooking them up. He still remembered the training that he and Panic had gone through when trying to undermine Cupid's operation a few years back and they had all the classic signs of love.

"Mhm. Well, this is why I just row the boat.. Thought you would wanna know the word on the creek.. See ya next drop off, boys." The skeletal boatman lifted his large out of the stygnalian mud and began rowing of with a casual wave back..

"Yeh, thanks for the info." Panic called back before Charon rowed outta sight then rolled his eyes and piffed. "Can you believe that guy, buying into Gossip like that.." He added thinking that their dark-pink skinned effeminate brother had been spreading stories again. It wouldn't be the first time. He completely missed the moment of realisation that had come over Pain in that same moment.

"Wait a minute! What if Praxidyke is Persephone?" The rose-pink imp gripped his skinny teal brother by the shoulders and squeezed him tight to his face.

"What?" Panic winced pulling himself back somewhat confused.

"Think about it.. If she really did give that soul a new shot of life then that makes her her, right?" Pain reasoned and this made Panic suddenly think hard tapping his tiny round chin and pacing speedily back and forth, now on his brother's train of thought.

"And we know the souls in the Elysian Fields have been uppity lately.. Pain, I think your right. But if she is the new Lady of the Dead then she's in real trouble. What if Hecate finds out?" The teal imp rounded back on his brother looking worried..

"She'll try and destroy her!" Pain added now also looking panicked by that thought.

"We have to tell the boss!" They both cried out at exactly the same moment..

...At that exact same moment the Lord of the Dead casually strolled into the boardroom with what was left of his morning coffee in hand to find Persephone casually filing her nails with a bored expression on her face, clearly waiting for this morning staff meeting to start so she could get back to work sooner rather than later.

"Hey, your on time for once. How about that.." The fiery god drawled as he deliberately passed close behind the chair she was sat in, hoping that she would get a whiff of his aftershave.

"Actually your..." Persephone began to respond but tailed off as the unfamiliar spicy, woody scent hit her delicate nostrils. What was that? It smelt so... good. She blinked when she realised that he was still stood directly beside her just silently watching her. Not in his chair which was at the head of the table right next to her. "Your in my personal space." Persephone quirked a brow trying to look unimpressed and ignore the strange new alluring scent she couldn't quite place that was making her brain feel fuzzy and her heart skip a beat. Could smells do that? She was pretty sure she failed as his smirk only widened.

"Whoops! My bad.." Hades didn't sound the least bit sorry, immediately slipping into the seat next to her flashing her a wide serpentine leer. His golden eyes narrowed to her as she merely looked confused and slightly suspicious of his behaviour. "You were gonna tell me I'm late. Weren'tcha, my sweet.." He leant in towards her looking somewhat amused by her somewhat flustered attitude. It seemed she did indeed like his aftershave and was trying not to show it..

"I-I uh..." Persephone gulped thickly, inwardly scolded herself before remembering that they were still the only ones in a meeting that was supposed to have started by now and suddenly her smirk was back with a vengeance. "I was but it seems that your not the only one.." She casually pointed the nail file still in her hand innocently towards the empty space with an empty easel standing in front of them.

As if on cue the two imps skidded into the boardroom with an armful of scrolls each looking anxious and flashing sheepish grins.

"We're here.. We're here.." They babbled together as they hurriedly began stuffing sheets together and hastily getting them into the easel.

"Your late!" Hades snapped flashing red, smashing both fists on the heavy stone table top making it glow red in the spots where his fist had been momentarily. Beside him Persephone merely looked unconcerned by the now warm table as she checked her handiwork by comparing nails then made the nail file vanish in orbs.

"We have a good reason your inflammatory imperiousness." Pain spoke up and the now yellow flamed god narrowed his eyes giving a snarling growl.

"I highly doubt that.." He rolled his eyes returning slowly blue and leaning back into his high backed chair.

"We were gathering intelligence from—" Panic started but was cut off by the fiery god.

"You were yakkin' with Charon again.. Oy vey.." Hades slapped his head in disbelief which only served to make Persephone giggle softly with one dainty white hand in front of her face. The fiery god then pointed both index fingers to them casually shooting two identical torrents of fire, burning them into two blackened piles of ash with eyes. The sound of a distant scream sounded, like it had come from the throne room and this made Persephone get up.

"I got it, you guys carry on.." She replied lightly, this meeting had clearly gone awry and the morning influx of Phlegethon victims were starting to drop in meaning someone would have to tend to them.

"Hold it cutie. You remember what I told ya?" Hades questioned her pulling himself out of his seat and heading to the ash piles still smoking on the floor.

"Yeh, yeh, they grab a name tag then get dumped in the sulphur pit.. Hardly difficult.." Persephone rolled her green eyes. Did he really think she needed a reminder?

"Alright, good. Go get'em girl.." The fiery god replied before adding with some concern, "And stay away from the edge!" He waited a few moments with his eyes still directed upwards as if expecting some response before his shoulders sagged and his gaze narrowed with a deadpan edge. "Hmh. Classic Seph.."

"Sir, we need to talk about the rumours going around the Underworld.." Panic's voice piped up the second the teal imp returned to his regular form with a worried expression.

"What have I told you two about buying into dead rumours.." Hades snarled back as his focus and flames were back onto his minions. This wasn't a question, it was an irate rant at the fact that they were having this discussion again, for the umpteenth time.

"Uh, not to.. But this time it's different." Pain spoke as he followed his slightly smaller brother, transforming back into his imp form and feeling a trembling Panic use his large frame as a shield.

"How?" The yellow flamed god's skin glowed orange momentarily as he glared with impossible frustration.

"This time they are talking about a new goddess of the Underworld.." The teal skinned imp said in his usual pathetic voice that whined when he was under this kind of hard pressure.

"Yeh.. They're calling her Praxidyke, the Ruler of the Lands of Light, the new Queen of the Dead.. They think she can give t-them... n-new.. life.." The chubby rose-pink imp shook now two as Hades seemed to be burning so hot it was almost like he could bypass anger and go straight into raging-nova any second. This made Pain and Panic cling to each other in solidarity of fear.

"WHAAAT?-!"

The surrounding black cavernous walls of the glowing, swirling Vortex of Phlegethon juddered along with the ground of the massive cliff edge. The small blonde goddess who's usual pure white skin and golden blonde hair was coloured a harsh poisonous green from the glowing sulphur waters of the Phlegethon as she wobbled dangerously able to hear the distant roar of the Lord of the Dead. She felt a stab of empathy for him, knowing he was upset but it was shattered instantly as she wobbled, dangerously close to losing her footing and going over the cliff edge. Unfortunately she did drop her phoenix feather quill which immediately careened over the edge of the Vortex of Fire.

As the black-looking rocky ground she was stood on juddered violently she pushed off it, levitating above the shaking land mass on a seat of glowing white orbs until the seismic activity stopped. Tentatively, she put one black heeled sandal to the ground, testing it to make sure it was indeed solid before making her way slowly to the edge of the cliff and peering over, looking down the long swirling body of water and souls.

"Oh figs.. I really liked that quill too.." She lamented with a slight frown, seeing no way of getting it back now. She would just have to go and get a bony handled one from the office once she was finished here. Her expression saddened somewhat knowing it wouldn't feel the same in her hand. As she turned her back on the huge drop into the swirling sulphurous waters of the Phlegethon an aged whispery voice spoke, sounding like it hadn't spoken in eons..

"Praxidyke..."

"Huh?" Persephone's green eyes widened in shock, turning as if expecting to find a someone stood there but finding no-one. A sharp hiss came from the deep depths of the Vortex of Phlegethon and a small glowing green light shot upwards from the huge drop-off. It hit the stony ground with a clink, reavealling the undamaged phoenix feather quill Hades had given her on her first day, still burning, it's flame undamaged by the waters below. For a moment Persephone stared at the innocently flickering flamed feather of the quill before tentatively moving forward and picking it up holding it close to her ample bosom. Her green eyes travelling around the now serene and seemingly empty cavern, unsure who had returned her quill.

"Thank you.." She simply replied, not wishing to seem rude to whomever had returned this cherished item before turning and leaving the eerily quite room, her heels clicking echoed as she left.

"No soul gets a new life! Who does this chick think she is?" Hades vented as he paced sharply back and forth through the wreckage that was now his boardroom. The long grey drapes were still smouldering, the walls and long table were blackened and the bony chairs were on their side. Pain and Panic finished extinguishing the drapes as their boss returned his attention to him. "If she thinks she can just waltz in here and make changes then she's got another thing comin'!"

"But you're inconceivably irated-ness, we think it might be Persephone.." Pain spoke up with a look of concern mixed with terror, knowing he risked another agonising smiting just for talking back like this.

"Are you joking with this?" Hades drawled in disbelief, his eyes narrowed. They were back to this? First they accuse her of being responsible for a soul leaving, now they think she wants to takeover? This was laughable..

"She is a fertility goddess, who else can bring in new life? And if the dead think she's the new queen, she could be in real trouble if Hecate finds out.." Panic immediately chimed in, wanting to spare his brother from taking all the blame. Both imps shrunk themselves down into small slugs in the hopes that looking small, disgusting and pathetic might spare them a second smiting. When the anogizing flames never came they looked up to see their boss no longer looking annoyed but thoughtful..

"Hey, you guys are not gonna believe what— Oh, wow." The voice of the very goddess that the imps had just been talking about spoke with a rush of excitement before noticing the destruction as all eyes rounded onto her. Persephone's green eyes took in the wreckage of the room as she carefully picked her steps, moving inside. "I hope your feeling better after this blow-out, our lessons never go well when your in a pissy mood.."

As she spoke Hades merely stared at her in silence, as if seeing her plainly for the first time while still contemplating what the imps had just said. In this moment everything clicked into place. Since she had been down here the souls in the Elysian Feilds had been more active.. She had changed the Underworld climate and landscape.. She, however unintentionally had somehow set off the alarm that alerted him to souls leaving the Underworld... How had he not seen this before?

"Um, why are you staring at me like that?" Persephone asked unaware of his thought process, her hands folding across her chest as she looked a little unnerved by his long silence and unblinking gaze. "Do I have pomegranate seed in my teeth again?" The white skinned goddess summoned a small compact mirror and began checking her teeth..

She was supposed to be down here, that's why the Fates wanted him to show her how to understand prayers. She was meant to rule here... with him..

..And now she was in danger!

Little Notes:

Hey guys, recently had this big epiphany on how the showdown is going to go down as was having a little block on that front. And in no way does it signal the end of the story as there is still a fair way to go until the end. We still have plenty of chapters to go, don't you worry. Also I have changed the cover of this story so it's different to the original P.o.P series..

Ok, there's more into Persephone's unsuccessful job history in this chapter. This is a subject that dips in and out but it's important to establish why she has never settled down with a position considering her vast age. And more into Persephone and Hermes' long standing friendship. Before you ask, have no fear 'Coo-coo Nutty Hijinx' will be coming into play at a much later date and if you guessed it was Hermes that originally called it this, your right and the name stuck.. The term itself however came from an off-handed comment from the cartoon Sabrina: the animated series, which incidentally was another Disney owned production a few years later and it honestly inspired a lot of the Persephone/Hermes relationship..

There is a little backstory for the imps here too. There backstory hasn't really changed from the original P.o.P p, their parents are still Lamia the Spirit of Sorrow and Oyzis the Demon of Misery..

And we finally get a real look into the head of Hades with this chapter. Apologise if some of what is written is somewhat offensive or the adult themes are not what you read for, but this is why it was given a T-rating. It has taken the God of the Dead 17 chapters to finally get his head straight.. I've always considered him a cautious and complicated character with a lot of emotional baggage so it was always going to take him some time to get on board..

And this is it.. Minthe holds all the cards. The Underwold showdown starts with her but how does it end?

Stay tuned..

A~Teal