Goddess of Ghosts

I'm back.

Now before I start there are a few replies I should give out, I won't reply to all your reviews, but to you new comers thank you for taking the time to give me your reviews, they are better than favs and follows by a landslide!

The lovely Shahrezad1 has graced me with so many beautiful reviews! Thank you so much! As for fan art ooo I'm so excited! And you can bet your socks that Po-po is actually an integral part to this Act, so don't worry justice is coming his way.

Embez002: Thanks for recommending her! I have binge-watched literally all her content throughout the semester. I am really impressed by her analyses of Disney's Hercules in general and her other ones… Hehe I'm obsessed now… I'm just glad I'm not the only one. Yeah, the TV show throws a wrench in to the canon of the movie, but eh, you work with what you got.

Noface: Honestly there should be a discussion regarding Meg, but I can't deny that she is world weary. Herc over here turns 18 on the day of the Titan Takeover so we know his age, but if I had to give Meg a number: 24, she's not that old, its just bitterness adds age to ya, and that could possibly explain how she could be younger than what I'm assuming, but idk.

BlueHecateMoon: Your last review honestly inspired this chapter. I always forget about Herc, and I really don't give him enough credit, so here ya go!

BialyyyandBloom: Awwww! Thanks! But sadly no cheese will be served at this party unless its feta.

EnvytheSkunk: Hey thanks for the advice about the drama tag, it made this act so much easier to craft! I didn't expect things to get more dark, but here we are and I'm definitely not regretting the outcome.

Pro-tip, the way I start these chapters ain't gonna be so hunky-dory anymore, this Act is darker. Yeah, it's been dark since Competition part 2 and it's why I changed the genre from humor to drama. I will be editing some old chapters and some character designs especially of that of the Lampades as I recently found a lovely piece of fan art that I think will work nicely with this fic. So if you notice some discontinuity in character looks re-reading this fic, you know why.

Also you might want to have chapter 3 fresh on your mind… This will make a lot of sense. I'm sorry this chapter didn't get to what we all want to see, but there is a lot that needs to be built up to show what's happened in the aftermath of the competition so I decided to give y'all a little treat before I return in December! I originally wrote their reunion back in September, but as I was re-reading it I hated it and scrapped a lot of it b/c I made Persy too violent and whiny and Hades felt off. Like I wasn't getting his charm right and just made him all around apathetic and unfocused.

Btw I'm gonna talk about him at the end of this chapter!

Disclaimer: Chapter 1

"I walk along the street of sorrow

The boulevard of broken dreams

Where gigolo and gigolette

Can take a kiss without regret

So they forget their broken dreams

You laugh tonight and cry tomorrow

When you behold your shattered schemes

Gigolo and gigolette

Wake up to find their eyes are wet

With tears that tell of broken dreams."

-Boulevard of Broken Dreams (1933), by Al Dubin

The bleakness of the Underworld was such a normal sight for its citizens. The crumbling kingdom of decay only matched the dearly departed that roamed this land of the underground. But had it been any day previous before this whole underworld fiasco maybe it wouldn't look so dead. Everyone was on their toes, judge, harpy, fury, boatman, god, even shade were bustling about like some macabre version of Thebes. There was much wailing and gnashing of teeth throughout the land whether it be from Cerberus or his brooding master, who was working himself to exhaustion, but he somehow found the energy to work through it all, even if it meant forgoing sleep in the process.

Something kept him going, though, no one could explain what had their lugubrious lord so up-in-arms, but no one complained. They didn't have the time to as they were forced to their limits as many of his workers were finding out, working without stopping- without a break.

Nothing.

If he was to suffer, so was everyone else.

One of his employees though had decided to test his boss' one track mind to see if he would notice one of them slip out and take a much needed nap.

He had barely returned from the world above that Thanatos decided to rest in the new Fields of Asphodel. He was mentally and physically drained and he had not given much thought to his decision until he curled into a ball and fell fast asleep. He didn't even think about the bed he had at his mother's house, but at this point he didn't care, and it was much farther than here.

Here….

There was a strange call about this place, like it had its own life-force in this barren land. It was the only place in the entire Underworld that had growth entirely of its own. Elysium didn't count, it was more of a floating land that belonged to Zeus, but this place, the flowers here decided to take root and grow.

Whatever, it was comfortable, Thanatos grumbled to himself as he threw off his blindfold and shut his eyes, using his wings as a blanket.

He didn't even bother to notice that the flowers refused to rot underneath his touch. They stayed strong and continued to bloom as if nothing. As if being this close in contact with Death was nothing to whatever was allowing the life to continue.

The fields of asphodel glowed an ethereal lilac color in the dark atmosphere. The star-like flowers shifted and rustled as a lone nymph pushed them aside as she continued to weave through the dense growth. When she finally made it to the one dented patch in the fields, Melinoe couldn't help but roll her eyes. She'd seen the boy spying on the five of them ever since she met him.

Every time he came back from the world above to bring the new wave of souls, he would always make a point to bother one of the lampades, and now he had the gaul to take a nap like this was his house?

Oh, he was in for it.

She was about to awaken the boy, when a shade appeared before her. A large broad-shouldered spirit manifested and solidified right in front of her. "Let the kid sleep, he's had a long day," his calm bat-like voice rasped.

His face was familiar to Melinoe, and a strange sort of ire and delight stopped her from doing what she had intended to do. Memories of this once proud hero flashed through her.

Memories of him as a baby being coddled by his mother, another one leading Cerberus straight to the throne room of the Underworld, and sending Hades into the Phlegethon, but the last one did not coincide with the rest of them.

She saw him on Olympus surrounded by the glowing gods of the world above, all of them congratulating him for defeating the Titans and saving them all.

She could see all these things in her mind as if she had been there in person, and it disturbed her that she had only been alive for two days when it was clear these events had taken place at different intervals in time, long before she was created.

"Alright, Jack, whatever you say," Melinoe shrugged, pretending to be apathetic about the whole situation. Turning around to leave, his nauseatingly sweet voice stopped her.

"It's Melinoe, right?"

"Jerkules, right?" The lampade turned a complete 180 to allow the hero to see her snarling face.

Hercules couldn't help but smile in return. "Thanks for letting him sleep here. He really needs it."

"Why should you care?" His statement caught her relatively off-guard. "Isn't he your warden, Hero-boy?" Her yellow eyes scanned his face, looking for any kind of deceitful intentions, but a face like his- a personality like his- it was almost impossible for him to have any sort of trickery.

"For now… Than's a kid, though, the worst thing he's put me through is talking me to death, but," he shrugged nonchalantly. "-it was an accident, I don't blame him. Any of you guys... You could say I have a soft-spot for the employees of Hades," a knowing smile spread on his see-through face.

Melinoe couldn't help but snort as the image of a dark haired woman with violet eyes flashed through her mind.

Nutmeg.

"You're not kidding, but I'm no lackey for old flame head," she crossed her arms stubbornly. "He already tried to boss us around, but we listen to a higher power if you catch my drift," her golden eyes flashed with some strange sort of malicious mirth.

"Thought as much, so how is she?"

"Why exactly hasn't Hades punished you yet?" Melinoe dodged his question, despite the deluge of emotions that overtook her at the question. She had to shout it out just so she could release the overflow of anguish that rippled across her as she felt the connection line to her mistress connect once again.

So much regret...

"Given you a Herculean task, huh, Herc?" Her eyes continued to glow warningly at the hero as she snarled and bared her sharp teeth.

"I guess he's focusing on more important things."

"More important than vengeance?" Melinoe scoffed incredulously. The connection line disconnected once more as she focused on the anger bubbling through her core. "If that were me, I'd get my revenge and keep trying."

"Now who does that sound like?" Hercules rubbed his chin knowingly.

"I'm just saying," Melinoe snapped. "He had everyone on the run, defeated every god, but you. The very god he reduced to a mortal," she disdainfully muttered.

Hercules paused. "I thought Demeter-"

"Mother- I mean Demeter," she shook her head bemusedly. "Would never do such a-"

"What did you say?"

"Demeter hasn't the capacity for evil, or the brains, trust me she's not as clever as she pretends to be," Melinoe reiterated, thinking that Hercules was simply confused.

"No, you called Demeter: 'Mother.' "

"I was confused, nothing more," Melinoe bit the inside of her cheek, but her face was as passive as ever. She didn't even bat an eye as Hercules continued to try and look tough as he stared her down.

"Who created you?"

"Don't ask stupid questions, Herky-jerky. I came from the flowers your warden's sleeping on. The daughter of Spring created them in a moment of deep regret and soon after fished the lord of these lands from the punishment you threw him in. Regret is what these flowers represent, it's something you shades understand, and something that Persephone is undoubtedly feeling right around now after this whole fiasco. So if you excuse me-" she began to move, but Hercules was too deep on this thought that he wasn't going to drop the subject.

"Wait, please, something's not sitting right with me. Nothing is decaying," Hercules emphasized, but Melinoe looked unfazed, just rather bored.

"You said yourself this wouldn't last long without Persephone's powers keeping you in check, but you're still breathing," the shade continued.

"Weren't you dying when I said that?" Melinoe rolled her eyes.

"That's not the point. You know and I know that nothing can grow here. That kid is literally Death, he is napping on those flowers and they are not dying. He elbowed me and I died, I know what happens when he touches living things, so don't try and smart me," Hercules shouted, desperation ringing in his voice.

Melinoe found some entertainment hearing this shade at the end of his string. "Smart you? It's kind of nice seeing you're less of a meat head than I thought. Go ahead keep humoring me, I've got all eternity," she brushed a hand through her dark voluminous purple hair.

"If what you're telling me is true- no, you don't," Hercules shook his head sympathetically. "That's why I think the only reason you're still alive is because of another god and I think you know who," he eyed her curiously hoping to catch a glimpse of any sort of reaction from her, but her poker face was strong.

"Please," he pressed. "I'm not asking you to be nosy, I just want to go back to earth, tell my wife that everything is okay. I know her enough to know she's going to be doing something incredibly crazy to get me back, so I have to hurry up before she goes through with her idea."

Melinoe sighed as the strange feeling of pity welled inside of her once again. "I can't help you with your quest," she started through gritted teeth. "But you might be going home soon. He's leaving, y'know. He's going to see her."

Hercules couldn't help but pause at this unexpected insight. "How do you know he's leaving?"

"Look," was all she exclaimed.

And right before his very eyes, the flowers of Asphodel stopped glowing and the area upon which Thanatos was resting on had turned an ugly withered grey.

"Oh… But he can't make anything grow- before all this things decayed around him, then how-" his words failed him as he watched a slow appreciative smile spread across Melinoe's heart-shaped face, revealing the rows of sharp teeth.

"You know, you're a lot smarter than you look. I'll give you that much, Hercules," she seated herself next to the sleeping boy and began to smooth the godling's feathers in an attempt to ignore the look that Hercules was giving her.

"But this isn't adding up!"

"Perhaps then…" she coyly winked at him before she returned her attention to Thanatos' unkempt feathers.

If he had been alive, he'd feel a little more uncomfortable and might have turned away from that look she was giving him.

"There was more than one kiss exchanged. Not the kiss of death that did him in, but one that changed her fate."

A wicked grin spread across her thin face as her hair transfigured into a glowing river of blue light. The curls of her once dark hair became wispy things as they defied gravity and curled as if she was underwater.

"Ta-ta, Wonder Boy," she spun around to walk away and proceeded to throw a bunch of violets over her shoulder at the deceased demigod's feet. "You have an hour before I kick the kid out," she turned slightly to show off her cheeky grin and disappeared in a swirl of light.

Leaving the napping god and the ever growing confused spirit of a demigod to ponder upon what the Lampade had just revealed.

Hercules is the nicest person in this fic, he deserved some spotlight, so you're welcome...

Oooh, and what's up with Melinoe, huh?

I almost included the Muses in this fic, but that idea was scrapped. In one of Ovid's works, it was them who told the tale of Hades and Persephone after they were challenged to see who could tell a more compelling story, and they chose Persy's since the nymph judges sympathized with their friend's abduction and how nymphs were usually carried off by gods all the time. Eh, Ovid's really isn't the nicest interpretation of this tale, I mean the Greeks paint a nicer story, making Persy actually powerful and respected, so don't worry too much about Ovid's influence on me, but I did have to throw in the references to the violets. They were the flowers Persy was picking when Hades nabbed her, at least according to the Romans/Ovid's version.

I toyed around this idea for a while with the Muses trying to sabotage Persy and Hades' relationship only for it to actually help it. I was going to do it, but I don't want more characters than I already have and honestly the Muses were more of Meg's wing-ladies while the Lampades will work the same way, but for Persy.

Ok, about Hades.

We're going to get into his character and develop him slowly, this act is more centered around him, but as this carries on it is a slow burn. That's why I came up with 74k so far just to give a solid story before I rush romance. I don't want Hades to fall so quickly, it is in his nature to do so, but he has way too many priorities to balance him out, but first I needed to humble his character since I essentially made him learn nothing thanks to Persy saving him. Other fic writers know this and that's why with him freeing himself, Hades saw that he was essentially alone in this world, while my Hades just got out thanks to sheer luck. So that's why I built up both Persy's innocent side and the betrayal to be so raw for her, so raw that it slapped Hades in the face and showed him he was wrong for it and will do anything to win her trust back.

Now he has his priorities pretty in line, he's learned his lesson and oh boy is next chapter gonna be looooong!

Once again I apologize for how short this chapter is.

See ya real soon!