... And Wings Apparently
Some notes I left out from last chapter, I was heavily inspired by: "Our Decay" from OUAT thank you BlueHecateMoon for having me re-watch that episode, and in it I really liked the fact that Hades did man up to his shortcomings in that episode. I mean the reason it happened was bc he's an adult, and it's usually never done for scrappy young protagonists until later in the movie, ie Aladdin, but Hades has been around for eons so yeah.
And Persy rising above her rage is a product of her mulling over every little detail from what happened. So now she's doing her best to own up to what she did too, but she's still deeply embarrassed that she did something that no one would be surprised about- hence her wanting to hide her mistakes. Also the sea green chiton she wore was a reference to the Goddess of Spring silly symphony- I know it's dorky, but it was something I watched religiously back when I was 3, and I watched it waaaay too much. Explains a lot, huh?
Not gonna lie, embez002 did inspire this.
Disclaimer: Chapter 1
Persephone:
"When I was a young girl like you
Sister, I was hungry too
Hungry for the underworld
When I was a young girl
Now you know how it tastes
The fruit of Mr. Hades' ways
Sister, it's a bitter wine-
Spit it out while you still have time-"
Chant (II), Hadestown, Anaïs Mitchell
The day was going fine, he'd say. Sure he said that while he was in hell, but you know that's where he calls home so leave him alone, he's trying his best. After all it's not like he could go upstairs at the moment, his other boss had just given him a lecture to go home and get some rest.
So when he actually decided to follow his instructions after reaping a few dozen more souls per the instruction of his higher up boss, Thanatos went to see his other three bosses.
Yes, it was a confusing situation having so many different bosses from Hades to Hermes to the Fates, but then again he wouldn't have it any other way. One acted like his father, the other like an uncle, and the last three… Well, everyone has that one trio of sisters dispelling gloom and doom, cackling at the goings on of anyone and everyone, but they just so happened to be going somewhere West.
Somewhere past the Adriatic Sea.
From then, each of them then had given him a slobbery kiss and one too many cheek pinches and proceeded to give him a lengthy list of instructions to make sure happened… or something, he kind of got caught up staring at the completed Tapestry of Fate.
Ever since he was little when his mother dropped him off with his three sisters, he'd seen them toil away tirelessly coming up with the fortunes and misfortunes of god and mortal alike, but now they were leaving the Fate of Greece in his hands. While they set up relations with the Etruscans, but for some reason his sisters called them: "Romans."
Oh well, it looked like Hercules caught most of it, he was the one paying attention unlike him who was too focused staring at one particular scene that happened right after his friend taking care of the Titans for good.
"Hey, sis- who's that?" He pointed at a goddess holding up a flower and a flame in each of her hands.
"You'll see soon enough," Clotho giggled knowingly.
Hercules wasn't too surprised about the identity of this goddess, either, but he said something along the lines: "Don't worry about it."
That was when it occurred to Thanatos why he was ordered to go home. Heck, Hades was gonna be pissed if Hermes showed up unannounced.
"Alright good-bye my three weird sisters- see you soon!" He brought the three of them together with his large wings and then gave the three of them a tight squeeze.
"Be good, boy, and don't forget what we told you," Lachesis warned him, squirming in his grip. The spider in her nose temporarily escaped and patted one of Than's dark curls before the Fate sniffed and he was sent back.
"You can write anytime," Clotho began to tear up. "Just tell Hermes where we'll be."
"And go talk to Hypnos," Atropos reminded him. "He misses you too, y'know."
"Fine, love youse guys too!" Than released his hold on his sisters. "So when will I see you three again?"
"Not until the last day of winter," they exclaimed in unison while pushing him out of their lair.
It wasn't until the door slammed shut that the godling finally processed what they said to him.
"What's winter?"
Though he was always referred as the messenger god, Hermes was a little more than that. For one he is Zeus' personal advisor- agent- assistant- he'd heard it all. Heck he'd done it all! He was after all a jack of all trades so it seemed to fit every single one of those descriptions, but he did happen to work for the lord of the dead as well.
At first this job was done solo, but after Thanatos was born some six hundred years ago, the Fates encharged Hermes to teach him the ropes of delivering souls to the Underworld in the hopes that the godling would one day be ready for the full position.
But that was not this day.
After catching Thanatos topside with all of his orders, Hermes scolded his apprentice for biting off more than he could chew. He was still a growing god, practically a child! Than only worked the basic schedule of eight to three with an hour lunch break every day. Hermes personally wanted it to be only six days a week, but the kid gave him those puppy eyes and he eventually relented.
Yet now, it looked like he was working well past his allotted schedule and was taking practically all of his soul reaping. That much he knew for sure since he had received one scroll for the 'Incoming Death' lists, but they were all dated from the first two days of the week. The full week wasn't even there!
Hades chose who got what, but why was his work load so small? Did he think Thanatos was ready to be the sole reaper? Or was it because he wanted him out of Underworld business?
The latter seemed more likely, Hermes surmised as he made his way down under. Hades wasn't the kind of person to overestimate a person's ability, in fact after the whole Sisyphus fiasco, you'd think he'd make the kid take a break- ground him or whatever.
Sure, Hades is mad at me for not keeping as close an eye on the kid, but he shouldn't shorten my workload! You'd think he'd do the opposite to teach me a lesson.
So why the flip?
"Hey, cats, you mind telling Hades I'd like to see him?" Hermes arrived at the foot of the docks that led into the Underworld palace. He had seen the two imps arguing there and decided it was best for them to show him in as courtesy to old flame head.
Pain and Panic jumped at the sight of the the messenger god, but after sharing a fleeting glance the two of them couldn't help but stare unsettlingly at the god.
"Uhhhhhhh…"
"Whaddya mean, Hermes is here?!" Hades shouted, causing a torrent of flames to shoot out of the eyes of his office.
Hermes couldn't help but chuckle from outside the throne room where he'd been pacing. Thanatos must have not scampered down to tell their boss he was going to confront him.
Not long after the outburst, Hermes watched the stone doors open revealing the two imps now on the extra crispy side.
"He'll see you now," Pain wheezed.
Pain and Panic barely had the chance to motion their guest in that he flew past them in a blur.
The messenger god greeted his boss with a jovial wave, "Hades, babe, long time no see-"
"You're fired."
"Wow, you don't even want to hear what I have to-"
"You heard me, vamoose," Hades waved him off, signaling him to leave. "Your work here is done, the boys have already collected your things, so sayonara babe, you no longer work here," the god triumphantly held up the pink scroll that Hermes knew was long in coming.
Still, the messenger god refused to accept it. "You- you can't do that, man! I'm your last connection to Olympus! You cut me out- you cut the big man out of the picture."
"Uh yeah, that's the intent," Hades exclaimed matter of factly. "You just so happened to make it easier for me to do so with that little situation of losing the kid for a week. Says so in your contract in paragraph seventeen, line nine that if you fail in your duties I can rightfully fire you without consent from Zeusy."
The guilt squirmed in Hermes, but this decision was more than just because of the kid's disappearance. "It was four days, Hades, half of that time I was held hostage by a crazy mom- in a granary! Who does that, babe? And I was busy sending correspondence trying to find a replacement for you. "
"And we all saw how well that went," Hades made his voice go as flat as possible in the hopes that he'd give nothing away.
"Whoa there, that's Kore you're talking about, bub, I won't have you disrespect her while I'm in ear shot." Hermes squared up and repeatedly thumped his caduceus threateningly in his hand.
Pain and Panic couldn't help but grin knowingly at each other until they noticed Hades giving them a death glare which meant their fun was cut short as they flew out the office.
"I meant no insult to our beloved Persephone," Hades averted his gaze from Hermes, "but I don't think I need to explain my actions for getting you out of the Underworld. First Sisyphus and the kid going missing- oh, speaking of that little wretch. The kid has increased his daily input so much that he's ready to do it on his own, don't you think?"
"That's because he's not on his schedule! A war is literally starting! It started early this morning! Ares and Athena have officially started the Peloponnesian War- Greece is having a civil war- heck we gods just had one," he lowered his glasses a smidgeon, shooting a wary glance at the lord of the dead. "But Than's gonna have to go through his first war alone. I beg you on the kid's behalf, babe."
"Civil war you say? Bada bing! Sorry let me relish the calm before the storm," Hades began to recline in his chair with his hands behind his head. He couldn't believe his luck, oh this worked well for his upcoming plans. "Haven't had one since the Trojan one. Good times- right, Herm? You never stopped working, I was running on thirty cups of Joe a day, and hey, you were running all the time."
"Hades, you crazy cat, this is serious. I know you and your bro don't see eye to eye on things, but because of all the trouble you've caused us with your takeover bit, the mortals have been more irrational- y'know like us gods. But if that's what you want- fine," he snatched the pink scroll from Hades' hand.
"I just gotta report back to the big Z if you want to close all contact between the two lands. He'll want a meeting, you know? Like the ones you've been skipping," Hermes added with a casual little smile.
Hades smirked. "Oh sure, I'd love to meet with Mr. High and Mighty. See what my big bro has to offer for that deadbeat son of his- heh- pun," he couldn't help but chuckle at his own joke.
Hermes sighed. "Alright, I'll be back in a- wait a sec' since when do you like flowers?" The god couldn't believe he hadn't noticed it till now, but there it was plain as day: a small little vase filled with three blooming violets sitting atop Hades' desk.
Hades felt the ichor in his blood freeze.
Crap, this was why he didn't want any visitors from topside in the first place.
"Uh, I don't know, those boys got a funny little idea of trying to liven this place up- isn't Persephone making those these days?" He found a lame excuse, but with the way the imps were he might buy it.
"Yeah, but I'm the one delivering them," Hermes muttered so softly that even Hades couldn't hear. That was when the cogs in his brain started to turn.
"What was that?" Hades' voice snapped.
"Uh, yeah, she is," Hermes inwardly smiled as he remembered something he overheard this morning. "Speaking of that cute cat, 'Thena's got some beef with her- so much so that she's heading straight for Persy after the war meeting with Pericles. Something about trying to figure out where the girl ran off to the night before the competition- you didn't hear about that, huh?" Hermes added, paying close attention to the god's flames as they began to turn red. "
"Can't say that I did, trying to free myself that day, y'know?" Hades forced a laugh in an attempt to cool down.
"Oh, just figured you'd like to know," Hermes shrugged. "Some of the gods were even going as far as thinking that with the big meeting tonight that it was time for Kore to be punished for her actions if we find out what exactly went on and see who's the real cat causing all the fuss. Any way gotta bounce, babe, Big Z's not the patient type."
"Alright- buh-bye," Hades' fingers drummed impatiently on his desk as the god left exactly the same way he came in.
He waited a whole minute in the silence still drumming his fingers until he finally felt assured Hermes was gone. "Pain! Panic! Front and center!"
"Yes, your most patient-ness?" The two of them appeared in a jiffy.
"I need to step out for a spell," he hurriedly explained, his helm appearing between his two hands. "If you need anything, the kid probably already made it worse, so if you don't mind me-"
"Ugh, sir?" Pain questioned, he and his brother flew up to Hades' eye level, forcing the god to halt in his tracks.
"What?! Can't you see I'm in a hurry?" Hades began to flare impatiently.
Both of the imps suddenly began to wear oddly large grins that Hades realized they were in on where he was going.
Oi vey.
"What do we tell Thanatos? He's due in an hour for the tallying," Panic reminded his boss.
"Just don't tell the kid where I'm headed, make up whatever you want I gotta split," he easily dodged the assumption the two imps were hinting at. "I don't need you two clowns to fan the flames with that kid and his rather intrepid imagination," Hades simmered, his eyes scanned the walls and the ceiling above him, just in case there happened to be a snooping little bird.
A snooping little wretch by the name of Thanatos.
Three freaking days of having Than pop out of walls hoping to catch him, his own boss, off guard with his nonexistent new bride. Gods, where was that damn kid getting these infernal ideas? He'd be damned if he would admit how far he jumped each time the kid pulled that crap.
Ugh, he hated kids, that kid especially, but Nyx was his friend and his friend circle wasn't even a circle, it was more like a triangle, and now was not the time to make enemies. She was a powerful ally, and a true friend if he didn't count the not rescuing him from the Phlegethon, but she thought his ruling the cosmos was inane and claimed his time down there would- clear his head, but that was just her passive aggressively telling him that she got a kick out of it.
Truer friends there have never been.
"Yes, sir," both imps saluted him as the god hurriedly disappeared in a torrent of flames.
One could always find a change in the winds when gods appeared. Either it be a soft gentle wind or a charge of energy there is always a change in the air. It was that same sensation that the naiad watering the plants could feel, but this time around it felt more than one.
"Demeter and Kore were home then," she mused to herself to no one in particular. Deciding to look for her friend, Daphne found Kore humming to herself.
But it was not just her little tune that caught Daphne's attention it was the goddess' hair that caught her the most off-guard. Ever since her date with Apollo, her hair had become this ethereal river of light and the rosy hues of her skin returned with it. She was still not used to change that happened not even a full day, but it was one that few could ignore.
"There you are!" The naiad jumped onto her unsuspecting friend from behind.
The very next second, Daphne found herself winded and on the forest floor after Persephone grabbed her arm and threw her there.
When Persephone realized it was just her friend, the goddess sighed in relief, and proceeded to help her friend to her feet. "Daph, don't scare me like that!"
"So what are you up to?" Daphne casually ignored her friend's rather strange reaction. "I saw you and your mom leaving this morning, I hadn't realized you'd already come back."
"Oh, today's the first day of Harvest, you know how mother is with all the pomp and circumstance. She thought we'd get along since I haven't been to one in decades, but she's not happy… that I'm not happy," her voice sounded tired, but she looked more upbeat than she had been the past couple days.
Daphne had thought her friend was finally back to her optimistic state, but it seemed all for naught. Persephone was still being clandestine about whatever she was dealing with and apparently Demeter was becoming annoyed that her daughter wasn't opening up like she thought she would.
"Oh that's too bad- still keeping secrets, huh?"
Persephone snorted and gave her friend a wink. "Wouldn't you like to know?" She lightheartedly exclaimed.
"Alrighty, then I can't wait to hear all about it- you know when you're ready to talk… About everything," Daphne simply nodded.
Persephone looked at her friend- really looked at her. One look at the love and understanding in her friend's eyes made her breathe an internal deep sigh of relief.
A friend who was patient with her, what a rarity they were.
"Oh, Daph," she brought her friend into a tight embrace. "When everything is made right I'll tell you everything. I promise."
"Alright, I can wait," Daphne returned the embrace. "I've always liked a good story, anyway, you better not deliver me a Greek Tragedy."
"You'll be the first to hear it in its purest form, I promise," Persephone released her friend, and the two of them began to walk towards the meadows. "Good or bad ending, you'll know soon enough."
"I don't think you heard me correctly, Kore," Daphne wagged a cautionary finger in her friend's face. "No Greek Tragedies. None. There's already enough of those, and I don't want to hear your story being one of them."
"Then you're gonna wait a long time."
"I have time, but do you have the heart to make it a good ending?"
Persephone contemplated her friend's words, but seeing the meadow open up in front of her with the nymphs tending the flower patches, she felt her mind refocus to the task at hand. "We'll see won't we?"
Daphne rolled her eyes but said nothing, Kore would learn in her own time with or without her. "Here's the orders I've gathered for today," she handed her the scroll with all the compiled orders. "I'm happy to say we have more than seventy today-"
"Oh look at that we're expanding," Persephone grinned.
"-Half are dedications for your mother, though."
The smile Persephone wore quickly slipped off her face. "Isn't that just peachy? Alright, fine, any business is good business, I guess." She scanned the rest of the orders and was pleasantly surprised that the Homecoming orders were stagnant but all were for this island and some place called Prometheus Academy.
"Oh and before I forget you have another letter that isn't a usual order…"
Persephone peered over the scroll and gave her friend a confused look. "Um… What kind of order?"
"I'll let you see for yourself," Daphne handed one last scroll and proceeded to briskly walk away.
Still perplexed at her friend's vague description, the goddess unfurled the scroll and began to read through its contents, but her gaze wandered down to the last line and saw exactly who wrote it.
Megaera… Megaera… Now who could- OH!
As soon as the realization hit her, the scroll in her hands burst into flames. Persephone dropped the scroll in her panic and began to furiously stomp on it in the hopes that it would go out.
"Ahhh, go out- go out, you stupid-"
"Is something wrong?" Nemesis appeared out of nowhere, scaring the living daylights out of Persephone.
"Holy Hera! Everything's fine!" Persephone shouted a bit too loud, but internally she was sighing in relief when she briefly glanced down to see that the fire was successfully put out. Sure, she ignored the ashen grass, but still crisis averted.
"Alright," Nemesis remained unfazed like always, "but your mother said to watch you while she runs to see Hera, so if you want me to smite any-"
"Hera? Why Hera?"
"Meeting of queens? I don't know- don't care, just let me know about any smitings you require."
"I'll keep you in mind," Persephone rolled her eyes watching her old babysitter saunter off. Nemesis was such an odd cookie and she had first hand experience with that ever since she babysat her all those centuries ago. Couldn't you tell where she learned to fight? Athena wasn't the only one.
With her gone, Persephone sunk to the ground and attempted to make out what survived in the letter, but she was having quite the hard time.
Meanwhile, Hades had been in quite the hurry to get to Persephone in the case that Athena would arrive only seconds after him, but it looked like she wasn't anywhere near based on the sky.
Taking a few deep breaths to calm down his thumping heart, Hades knew he had to play it cool, and show that he was calm and not at all worried about the prospect of Athena interrogating Persephone for the truth. He knew how much she wanted to keep their past relationship a secret, and he couldn't help but agree with that mind frame. The less people who knew about the nature of their eccentric relationship and his burgeoning love for her the better- why do you think he wanted Hermes out?
So hiding in the shadow of the tree that was about four feet away from where Persephone was crouching, Hades patiently cleared his throat, hoping she would acknowledge that she was no longer alone. He knew she wouldn't notice him with the helm on, but at least she'd recognize someone's presence, but when she continued to peruse the burned scroll after clearing his throat a little more exaggeratedly, the god knew she was too focused to notice such a small thing like that.
"Mind if I brood with ya?" He slid the helm off as he crept up closer to her and couldn't help but stare at her glowing hair and the way it floated and spread out all around her- almost like she was underwater.
"Hey, bub, no one's stopping-" Persephone briefly glanced up to see where the voice had come from, but when she made eye contact with the golden orbs of Hades, her mouth fell open in unabashed surprise. "-you. Oh shi-"
"Hey isn't this your mom's place? I don't want her getting the wrong idea," he charmingly grinned at her, but all it did was make Persephone frown.
"Don't even," Persephone snapped. "What the hell are you doing here?! Can't you see I'm busy?!" she harshly whispered in order to not alarm Nemesis or any of the other nymphs working in the meadows.
"Then you're about to get your world rocked, my sweet, because you've got company coming- and not just me," he winked, "but Zeusy's little grey-eyed wonder."
"So? We're great friends," Persephone rose to her feet, crossing her arms in defiance.
"Well I got intel from a reliable source that she's on her way here to deal with some beef she has against you among other things."
It suddenly began to dawn on Persephone that the last time she had talked to Athena it had been days earlier when she had dropped off Praxidice. Wow was that a lifetime ago, and my Athena must be ticked off with her for not offering an explanation to where she had run off to.
"I don't believe you," Persephone lied and began to walk deeper into the forest, but Hades quickly appeared in her path.
"Don't start that again, you're terrified about her finding out because you know she'll tell everyone. She does have that penchant for morality and truth and all that other mess," Hades smirked knowingly.
"Watch it, Hades, it looks like you care," Persephone quipped, but couldn't help but feel a moment of deja vu. She had said that once before, before she knew the god that stood before her was a villain through and through with clever words that always disguised his real intent.
"Me? Don't care?" He scoffed and closed the large gap between them and gently took one of her hands into his. "C'mon, sweetness, we've done this song and dance before, and hey, I'm the one asking you to put the old ball and chain on me, Persephone. I'm just waiting for you to say yes," his half-lidded eyes were teasing in a way, but the goddess couldn't help but look away as she felt heat rise in her cheeks.
"Trust me, I want to," Persephone rolled her eyes and ripped her hand out of his grasp despite its loose grip on her. "But apparently they can't send you to Tartarus if you already rot there."
The laughter that erupted out of the god was unexpected for the goddess who kept taking him literally. He really was having a ball with his metaphors, he was going to use everyone in the book until it clicks, but for her sake it better be soon.
"Hey, shut up, they might hear you!" Persephone shushed him.
Once his chuckles subsided, Hades couldn't help but mockingly bow towards her. "Alright, I'll take that as a yes when the time comes, my sweet Persephone."
"Time for what? You finally gonna leave me the hell alone?" The goddess rolled her eyes, and made herself head back to where she was previously.
"Eh," Hades shrugged, "How about when you catch my drift?"
"You're such a dork. Now go before she gets here," Persephone turned around from where the meadow met the forest. "I'll handle it, kapiche? I did learn from the best," she added in an unexpectedly soft voice.
"I know you will, but if you need me, I'll be watching," Hades winked before sliding the helm over his head, making him disappear right before her eyes.
Persephone felt the beginnings of a smile on her face, but quickly dashed it.
He really was a dork.
Hermes had seen many things pass throughout his existence. Had seen great heroes rise up and then fall to numerous sorts of flaws that could be narrowed down to hubris and wrath, and once he had seen one of the strongest empires fall for the sake of holding a pretty woman within its walls.
And those very same walls fell in order to obtain that pretty woman. It's amazing what love could do, but Hermes didn't know if he'd describe it as such. It was more tarnished pride that led to the Trojan War, and he wondered if that same tarnished pride was what led to Hades' attempts to win this daughter of spring.
It was evident Kore was not catching any of the god's true intentions for visiting her, that brief interchange told him much and one of them was that Hades frequented seeing her and had become more of an annoyance on Kore's part than actual fear which may or may not be a good sign.
Seeing that brief interchange between two of the most unlikely gods to form any sort of a relationship was startling to say the least, but happened so natural and without a hitch. No one could deny that they knew each other before especially not with the vehemence Kore held in her voice but slipped by the end of it.
Yet it couldn't be tarnished pride, Hermes surmised. Hades came. After purposefully giving him the warning that Athena was coming to berate the dear, he came to help. He didn't send the imps or anyone of his minions, he made it his personal mission.
He cares.
Everything clicked now. How else did Kore get the power to reap souls, the brains to carry it all out, the flowers sitting on Hades' desk, she had gone to the Underworld on the day she disappeared!
Who do you think pulled him out of the river? A dark whisper in his mind suggested.
The thought alone was enough to send the god plummeting to the ground from his hiding spot in the tree onto an unsuspecting bush.
Holy Hera!
"Hey, buster get lost this is our bush!" A nasally voice harshly whispered in the god's ear before he felt two pairs of hands begin to pound him.
"Whoa, cats, cut it out!" Hermes slapped the hands away with his caduceus. "Wait, Pain, Panic what are you two cats up to?"
"Ahhh!" Panic's eyes widened in horror with the realization that Hermes was in on the secret too.
"Oh great now he knows. Panic, hand me the rope," Pain requested.
"Whoa there, wait a sec', I ain't tellin' nemo," Hermes pressed. "I promise, this stays between us."
"How can we be so sure, hmm? I bet you're just spying for Zeus-" Pain began to shape shift, but Hermes bonked him on the head.
"Hey, I bet the H-man thinks you two cats are back in the Underworld, right? Well, you try any funny business and we'll all be caught, kay?"
"He does make a good point," Pain relented.
"Yeah, I second that notion," a disembodied voice announced to the three hiding in the bush.
Pain, Panic, and Hermes all screamed their own unique curse words or just general screams of fright.
"Haha, oh I got you three good," Thanatos threw off the cowl of his invisibility cloak to reveal the face of a deathly pale youth with a blindfold covering his eyes.
"Than!" Three pairs of voices shouted as the three of them made a grab at the youth and tackled him to the ground.
"You knew about this too?!" Pain shouted in his ear.
"At this point don't you think everyone knows?" Thanatos' voice sounded muffled thanks to Panic covering his mouth. "Hercules wasn't happy about spying on them, trust me, but he-"
"Oh, let him out then," Hermes suggested.
"I can't with youse guys pinning my arms down," Thanatos grumbled, but was relieved when the force on his arms disappeared. "Thank you. Oh hey Herm, I didn't know you knew too."
"Eh, it was just proving a theory," Hermes admitted to the macabre company he found himself with. "I really didn't know what to expect, nor the rest of you cats."
"The feeling's mutual," Panic twittered.
"Whoa!" Hercules found himself released from Than's little pouch and couldn't stop the surprised: "Huh?" to issue out of his mouth.
"What's going on here?"
"We're spying on Hades trying to woo Miss Persephone," Panic explained. "Unfortunately, they haven't set the date yet."
"Oh thank Nyx! I'm just glad I haven't missed the wedding," Thanatos sighed in relief.
Hercules on the other hand shared a bemused look with Hermes. "You know I never expected my afterlife to go like this."
"Babe, I didn't expect my existence to lead up to this point," Hermes cracked a wary smile.
"It's good to see you Hermes, how's Meg?"
"Actually Mrs. Hercules sent a letter-"
"Shh! I just saw Athena's chariot streak across the sky!" Panic announced to the the motley crew.
"What? I thought that was a trick!" Pain elbowed the blue god in the rib cage.
"Of course not! I don't have a reason to lie like you cats," he shot a disappointed look in Than's direction and despite the blindfold, the godling could feel the heated glare on him.
"What?"
Choosing to ignore his apprentice's failed pretense of innocence Hermes just sighed. "I wanted to leave before 'Thena got here. Well looks like we're in for a show, cats."
"Where's Persephone?" Athena barely even parked her chariot as she disembarked and marched on over to where Daphne was consulting with Nemesis.
Daphne immediately shrunk underneath the grey-eyed goddess' stare and proceeded to hide behind her acquaintance.
Nemesis with her cold red eyes barely even regarded the wise goddess, not even giving her her signature disdainful stare. "She's around here somewhere."
"Alright, then where's Demeter?" Athena pressed.
"With Hera," Daphne replied swiftly. The wise goddess did not look like she was in the mood and the naiad didn't want to make her angrier than she already looked.
"Good, I'll be out of your hair long before she makes an appearance," Athena brushed past the two women and headed for the tree line where Persephone was crafting bouquets.
"Kore, I have business with you," Athena trudged over the soft earth, having to walk softly since the ground was still wet with the rains that had passed a couple days previously.
Persephone quickly straightened her white chiton. "Oh hey, you look mad. You ok…?" The question came out rough, but in all honesty, the last time she had seen her sister, she had not looked happy with her four days previously on Cloud 33.
Even now as she made her way towards Persephone, the spring goddess could note the anger that was coming out of Athena by the way her usual pleasant face was marred with an annoyed scowl and how rigid her pace was, like an automaton in an unfamiliar terrain.
"A word with you in private," Athena demanded and grabbed the spring goddess by the wrist leading her further into the forest far from prying eyes.
"Oh no! Now we can't see them!" Panic whined.
"Hang on, I got an idea."
Thanatos took out his cloak of invisibility and before long the motley crew with Pain and Panic clutching onto the godling's shoulders, Hercules back in his pouch with the flap open so he could see, and a rather annoyed Hermes who was being given a piggy-back ride on Than's back followed after the pair of gods.
"Than, can you see where you're going?" Hermes whispered.
"You bet I can't, but I can sense the life-forces and thankfully we're in a place surrounded by life, so no prob."
"Please, just don't run into Hades," Panic reminded him. "I don't want you to accidentally run into him."
"Oh don't worry, I may be blinder than a bat, but I always know where he is. The Fates taught me a tracking spell a long time ago to find the right mortal I need to reap, but Hypnos helped me tweak the spell to locate gods… And now I can't find my brother, so for now, Hades hasn't figured it out yet."
"So that's how you've been sneaking up on him all these years," Pain chuckled.
"You'll have to excuse me," Persephone's voice silenced any sound from the prying eyes of the forest. "But my last private conversation didn't go so hot. So can you just tell me why you look like you're going to turn me into a spider?" Persephone quipped, already terrified at whatever was causing Athena to look so ticked off.
"Very well," Athena huffed. "I have news from Athens, actually."
"What? Do they want flowers too?" She handed the bouquet of daisies she'd just finished to Athena
"No," Athena sneered, and swatted the flowers from the goddess' outreached hands. "No amount of flowers could fix what is going on in my city."
"Not with that attitude," Persephone awkwardly smiled, trying her best to sound upbeat, but her eyes briefly glanced at her daisies on the muddy earth. I worked hard on those….
Athena rolled her eyes. "To think of all the gods to start a war, I would not expect it from you."
"What's that supposed to mean?" It was Persephone's turn to glare at the sudden change in topics.
"Sparta and Athens are officially at war, and it's your fault."
"…Is it really, though?" Persephone comically inquired, her face scrunched up squeamishly. "I mean I'm not even a war goddess- that's your jurisdiction."
"But a goddess of chaos can certainly do so. Isn't that right, Persephone," Athena hissed.
Persephone side-eyed the grey-eyed goddess. Alright, she tried to play nice and lighten the mood, but that strategy clearly wasn't working. "Wow, look at you, you predicted what I would accomplish when I was only a baby. Someone call the Oracle, I think she's just been replaced."
"Why aren't you taking this seriously?!" Athena cried. "Zeus is furious at me! The centuries of peace between the two cities has finally been broken!"
"I'm sorry, but last time I checked I did what you wanted me to do. I joined that competition and it was mother who gossiped to the mortals that you got me tangled into this. How was I supposed to know it would start a war?"
"But I wasn't the one who helped you," Athena pointed out. "You can say it was my fault, but I never told you to use the River Styx, you did that. There is no way in Hades' dark Underworld you could have come up with that."
Persephone felt a slight chill ripple down her spine as she began to realize Athena came here for the very intentions Hades warned her about.
Wow, he wasn't lying, that's a first, but he did fail to mention the war.
"Oh?" Persephone began to play the fool and twiddled with her fingers, but something struck her as odd. This wasn't just about the blame game, there was an underlying feeling of jealousy there.
Clearly, Athena didn't come here for the blame game, oh no that would be too obvious, and obviousness was not something Athena played, it was subtlety as strategy is known to do. She came to know- to understand how Kore of all her schemes to incite against her brother, Ares, it was this goddess of innocence that got the result she always wanted a true war with her brother and forever cement herself as the true superior war god. Athena needed answers and answers she would get, no matter how they were disguised.
"You left and I had to send Hercules after you," Athena continued. "Someone else helped you. I haven't figured out who yet, but once I get an audience with Hercules-" she began to circle Persephone who wore a mask of stoicism, biting her lower lip all the while to stop it from trembling. Her sister thought her dumb and she had her cornered. "-he will tell me what I need to know, and you can rest assured you'll be blamed for the chaos in Greece if my theory is correct."
"How bold of you to assume that Herc will tell you," Persephone quipped.
"Oh so he does know something," Athena grinned, elated that her clever wordplay worked.
Crap, should not have said that.
"Nononono," nervousness rushed out of Persephone in that moment as she tried to think of an explanation. "That is not what I meant you see-"
Before she could further explain, Persephone stopped herself from flinching as she felt a hand brush her exposed shoulder.
"Looks like you need some help," a smokey voice whispered hotly in her ear.
Of course he was here.
"You see…" Persephone stretched out the word and in a silent action tucked a strand of imaginary hair behind her ear and simultaneously tapped her earlobe twice to communicate to the lord of the dead she was listening.
"Hercules did exactly what you told him to do," Persephone explained, repeating almost word for word all that Hades was whispering to her. "He found me in the Underworld. I was exploring you see and I got lost, but when he found me he dropped me off at Poseidon's palace because I got an idea from watching the River Styx. You see the way it is able to collect souls I got to thinking, and Wonder Breath- I mean Hercules," the life goddess grumbled, silently cursing Hades for still being such a jerk wad.
"Told me how back in high school, the trident was able to control any body of water so I asked for his favor."
"Poseidon, helped you?" Athena felt her jaw slacken, disbelief was written all over her face.
Persephone pretended to scratch her neck, motioning for Hades to stop, she had an idea of where to go with this next. "You saw how he acted back on Cloud 33, he was positive that I was his daughter, why wouldn't he help me?"
"This is an interesting development…" Athena mused. "One I had not anticipated," she admitted mostly under her breath. "But that doesn't explain all the goings on with the monsters and the resurrected heroes."
"Monsters came on their own," Persephone shrugged. "But I resurrected the heroes to fight them when Hercules insisted he escort me to drop off the first load," she clarified which was actually true.
"Hmm, yes, it seems your first time handling certain godly powers made you quite sloppy. It was expected from how little power you possess," Athena criticized, her eyebrow cocked at a tight angle. "But I suppose your reaction to salt water based power mixed in with the soul river's ability to-"
While Athena continued to rabble Persephone was ready to pounce on her for that first statement as her knees were already squatting ready to punch her in the face, but Hades saw it coming and held her back before she could do so.
"Whoa, there, my little minx not so fast," Hades warned, his arms were fastened around her waist from behind and very briefly Persephone's legs flared up as her forward momentum was thwarted by the god.
Persephone continued to struggle and pretended to clear her throat as she hissed into his ear. "Let go."
"Calm down then."
Halting all her struggles, Hades waited a full second before he let her go in case she decided to try some funny business.
Persephone fought the urge to grumble as Athena finally finished her little explanation of why she couldn't do all the things that actually happened "…Yup, you know me, I'm so inexperienced," she grumbled.
"See I'm glad I wasn't the only one who noticed," Hades teased in her ear, earning an elbow to the gut.
Persephone briefly smiled at his sharp intake of breath, but quickly reverted back to her shame face.
"Mhm," Athena agreed, happy to see Persephone was seeing her side of this. "But all this still points to you, Sparta was nearly destroyed, and they're blaming me for this and now my city is going into an unnecessary war, and I fear that this Peloponnesian War is heralding a dark turn for my patron city.^"
"Look, if you really want to blame someone for this war go to Po-po," Persephone shrugged. "You know he has a sore spot for your city, so who knows, maybe he planned this," she muttered, suddenly feeling even more ashamed that she was throwing Poseidon under the chariot. He wasn't her dad- but he was the closest to a father figure she had all the centuries she'd been alive.
"You might be onto something…" Athena agreed. "For now, you're off the hook, but if I find anything out, you better be in Rome yesterday," the grey-eyed goddess warned her, sending her sister a sharp glare.
"Whatever you say, 'Thena… Buh-bye," Persephone waved, plastering a fake smile across her face.
"Good day," Athena nodded and marched back to her chariot and took off.
"Jeez Louise, you'd think she'd be happy for another war," Hades exclaimed, still invisible to the entire world.
"Hey, moron," Persephone snapped, she turned to face him, even if he was still invisible. "Who said you could stay? She's gone now."
"Don't I get a little reward for helping you back there?" Hades wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.
Persephone rolled her eyes, but decided that she'd let him have that. "Alright, but don't let it continue," Persephone bent down and retrieved the flowers Athena had so haphazardly thrown away and slammed the crumpled daisies into Hades' chest. "Here's your flowers then. Its your parting gift, now get out. I'm a working woman, y'know."
"Working woman in all the wrong fields, huh?"
"Was that a plant joke? Because I can do you one better: Leaf."
"C'mon, sweetness, I helped you out back there don't you think-"
"That you deserve something?" Persephone interrupted him. "So what? You want something in return now?"
"First of all, you didn't let me finish," he took her hand once again but this time the gesture was almost pleading. "But consider my help as a gift."
"A gift? Psh, nothing from you is free," Persephone shook her head resolutely, and was about to take her hand away, but in that blink of an instant both her hands were in each of his, and now she had no choice but to fully face him.
"Then, let it be the first of several. We were partners in crime once, I'm sure with a little elbow grease and schmoozing we can be partners again. Real ones this time, catch my drift?"
Persephone felt her face heat up and her hair seemed to react as well as it began to reach out to the god. She couldn't find the words as her brain was dead and completely blindsided by this kind of reaction, but fortunately she felt her heart beat inside of her and she knew that her heart was finally going to get a say.
"You can't change the past, Hades," his name fell from her lips so easily you would have thought she'd said it a thousand times before. "I still can't trust you, not after everything," her eyes fell to their joined hands. "Maybe I can one day, but not right now, and I can't have you solving all my problems like everyone else is. I just can't," her voice whispered as she felt her throat begin to tighten.
"I'd just be proving everybody right," Persephone sniffed, feeling an onrush of tears issue forth.
"I know, I know- I understand, really, I do," his hand clapped her face and with his thumb wiped the tear that fell down her cheek. "Ask me anything, I'll give it to you."
"The thing I want from you, you'd never give to me," Persephone shook her head.
Hades removed his hand from her face and inched away from her. "Anything, my sweet, but I can't give you that."
"That's what I thought," Persephone sadly smiled as twin trails of tears ran down her face. Wiping her face, the goddess immediately regained her composure.
"You can take the flowers, I have too many as it is," Persephone waved. "Good-bye Hades- please don't come back."
"What if you gave me something for Hercules? Something that I want more than the schmo's soul."
"Oh?" Persephone locked gazes with the god, a cruel smile graced her sweet face. "Then that wouldn't be a gift would it?"
Without another word, she fled the forest and didn't look back, leaving the flame-haired god to simmer at his own foolishness.
Once the gods had left, Hermes said good-bye to the strange crew he had found himself entangled with this afternoon and proceeded to fly to Mount Olympus. He had a lot on his mind during his flight, one of them being he couldn't tell Zeus everything, especially not all at once. It was his favorite little game to plant good ideas in Zeus' ear before the king of the gods decided to carry it out.
Still if there was one thing that was accomplished in this day- despite being fired and having to watch his apprentice suffer from the lack of help he'd be receiving in the upcoming days, he finally knew what was the one thing Hades' heart desired far more than Olympus, and maybe there really was a way to make everything right.
Sooner or later, the sons of Kronos would have to gather. The only question left at hand was whether it would take place before or after Hades decided to act.
I wanted this chap to be the first chap in Act II to parallel the first chap in Act I, but I decided to scrap that idea. And yes, Athena was always going to be an antagonist to Persy, it's why I had Persy's name origin to be about her biting her. I wanted it to parallel how Hades got his fingers nearly ripped off by a baby Herc in the beginning of the movie. So talk about class A foreshadowing.
About Athena: In myth she has great pride issues- ie: Arachne and if another daughter of zeus just so happened to be in line for claiming cleverest well there's the pride issue again. Athena takes great pride in being Zeus' favorite daughter, and even in the show Athena doesn't like being outsmarted or outplayed.
^Yeah, I'm setting a time period for this now, thanks to a throw away line. "That Oedipus guy? Man I thought I had problems," that play debuted in 429 BC. You see I was looking at my world history notes from HS and found some gems about that war so I decided to add in some historical accuracy and it'll certainly tie up this fic quite nicely.
Sorry, y'all I'm going back to college and will not update till May! For now please fav and review! Love y'all and have a Happy New Year!