"So, this is what it means to be BORED." Hades sighed, lounging in Maleficent's throne in her castle. The moment he arrived at the Forbidden Mountain, he was immediately bombarded with the dark fairy's simple-minded goons, but they soon accepted him after seeing their mistress's scepter in his possession. By now, it was almost midday and with nothing else to do, Hades was bored out of his mind. "Let's see, what did I do for the past few hours? …I counted all nine hundred sixty two thousand three hundred and forty five bricks in the ceiling, walls, and floors of the throne room a dozen times, I yelled at those goblin things and gave them a few orders, and I surveyed the castle several times for intruders." He groaned in frustration as he sat up straight. "Geez, this is SO BORING! Is this what it's like all the time for that horn-headed broad? What I wouldn't give for something crazy to happen right now! Like a baby dragon or a cannonball flying through the window or SOMETHING! Come on, just give me something to do!" He paused. "Your first day as a dark fairy and you're already talking to yourself, Hades." He sighed and facepalmed.
At that moment, Diablo suddenly flew through the nearest window and landed on the arm of the throne, squawking all the while. Hades covered his ears and looked to see the raven next to him; he reluctantly took his hands off his ears.
"Oh, it's only you. What do you want now, you overgrown black chickadee?" It was then that Hades noticed something in Diablo's beak; it was a parchment scroll. "What've you got there?" He took the parchment from the raven and unfurled it, revealing to be a poster of some kind; a young couple with golden crowns on their heads was in the center with writing underneath. "What's this? 'Come one and come all to the official celebration in honor of our beloved Prince Phillip and Princess Aurora as they are crowned King and Queen at midday today.' A coronation, huh?" Hades paused. "Aurora? Hey, that's the name of that princess Maleficent hates so much. She and her pretty little husband are gonna become king and queen, eh?" Then he got an idea, a wicked idea. Hades got a wonderful, wicked idea. He smiled a mischievous smile as he looked at Diablo. "The poster does say 'come one and come all'. What do you think? Should we go check it out?"
Diablo cawed and nodded his head as Hades stood up and picked up the scepter. "Finally, something to do! This oughta be fun." He chuckled as the raven perched on his right shoulder. "Come on, let's go. But you'd better not make a mess on my shoulder, capisce?" The bird cawed again in response; Hades rolled his eyes as he headed towards the exit. "The Gods as my witness, you will learn to speak." He examined the scepter in his hand. "Okay… how do you work this thing?"
0-0-0-0-0-0
"Oh, finally!" Maleficent groaned as she fell back onto Hades' throne in exhaustion. She had just finished judging a huge load of souls that had just arrived in the Underworld and by now, she was bushed. "Pain, Panic, PLEASE tell me that's all of them."
"Well… that's all of the souls for now." Pain said, rolling up the list he and Panic grabbed earlier.
"But just you wait until later, Your Most Impatientness." Panic added. "There's bound to be more souls coming when you least expect it."
Maleficent glared at the imps. "If you please, I would truly appreciate it if you two would stop calling me things like "Your Impatientness" or "Your Fiery-eyedness" or "Your Villainousness". And I'm certain the names you're calling me aren't even real words. I am a lady and I wish to be addressed as such." Pain and Panic looked at each other, then back at their new master with confused looks. She sighed and put a hand over her face. "I forget you two are simple-minded beings. As of now, you may call me "Mistress" or "Your Grace" or "Your Excellency", just to name a few."
"…As you wish, Your Grace." The imps said in unison, curtsying to her.
"Ah yes, that's more like it. That wasn't so difficult, now was it?" She took in a breath. "Now, what else is on the agenda for today?"
"Oh! Well…" Panic started before a scroll fell from the ceiling and hit him in the head. "Huh? What's this?" He picked it up and he and Pain read it. "Ooh, here's something new. There's an emergency mandatory meeting of the Gods happening on Mt. Olympus at noon today. All deities must be present."
"Yeah! And since you're the Goddess of the Underworld now… you have to be there, too!" Pain added.
Maleficent's eyes widened. "Me?"
They nodded.
"Well… alright. If it's truly mandatory, I'll go." She stood up from the throne, smoothed the skirt of her chiton with her hands, and headed towards the door.
Pain and Panic giggled to themselves before Maleficent stopped and turned to them.
"But you two brain-sharers must come with me and wait outside the gate." She demanded.
"Yes, Mistress!" They said before trailing down the stairs after her.
0-0-0-0-0-0
It was noon. Guests from all walks of life had gathered around to witness the crowning of their new King and Queen. The ceremony took place in the throne room of King Stefan's castle; he, Queen Leah, and King Hubert were there with their children who were ready to accept their new crowns and titles. Wearing their finest garments of red, pink, and blue, the pair kneeled before the three elders as they carefully placed a golden crown upon their heads, crowns fit for a king and queen. They smiled, stood up, and turned to face the crowd before them.
"All hail your new King and Queen!" King Stefan declared.
The crowd cheered and applauded and Phillip and Aurora each took a golden goblet of wine. Without missing a beat, Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather waved their wands and fireworks and sparks began flying out of their wands, lighting up the room and the faces of the many excited guests. Everyone cheered again as the couple were about to start a toast, but then the festivities were suddenly interrupted by the front doors bursting open by a great gust of wind, followed by a clap of thunder, a crash of lightning, and a cloud of dark blue smoke. When the thunder and lightning stopped and the wind ceased, a dark hooded figure appeared. As the mysterious guest slowly approached the royals, the people in the crowd on either side cowered in fear and trembled as the tall figure passed by them, the heels of his boots clicking on the marble floor. The stranger paused and stopped in front of the monarchs as Diablo came flying in; he perched on the gem in the scepter just as Hades removed the hood he was wearing. It disappeared the moment it hit the floor.
"Well, well, well… this is quite the shindig you've got going on, King Stefan." Hades started, his voice echoing throughout the silent throne room. "I see everybody's managed to come. Royalty, nobility, the gentry, and…" He took a quick look at the three Fairies and chuckled. "Even the rabble? Heh."
Merryweather was about to fly up to him and give him a piece of her mind, but Flora grabbed her cape to stop her.
"Aw, isn't that cute?" He chuckled at the fairy in blue. "Not a fan of the little uniform, but I do like the blue color, I'll give you that."
"Wait a minute, who are you? And what are you doing here?" Merryweather asked.
"Yes, yes. Who are you and what brings you here to our celebration, sir?" King Stefan asked, trying to sound brave.
"Who am I? Who am I? Have I really been gone THAT long? Is it possible that none of you know who I am?" Hades asked, looking at no one in particular. He scowled. "Fine. Name is Hades, newest dark fairy in town, Lord of All Evil, yadda-yadda. Hi, how you doin'?"
"Lord of All Evil? Never heard of you." King Hubert scoffed.
"Even so, I feel a little bummed at not receiving an invitation to your little hullabaloo." Hades said, polishing his nails on his robe.
"You're not welcome here!" Merryweather cried.
He shot up in faux surprise. "Not welcome?" He paused, then let out a chuckle; he gently stroked Diablo's back with his free hand. "Geez, how awkward is this? You know, I'm sorry to barge in like this. I really am. But I only came here to give my congratulations to the new rulers, and I kinda thought me not being officially invited was because of some teeny tiny oversight. But it's okay; I know when I'm not wanted. So if that's the case, I'd better get outta your hair and be on my way." He turned to leave as the raven perched on his shoulder.
"And… you're not offended, Your Excellency?" Queen Leah reluctantly asked.
"Oh? 'Your Excellency'? Ooh, I like the sound of that." Hades smiled and turned around to face the royals again. "But to answer your question, Queenie, no I'm not offended. Come on, it takes a lot to make me hot." He glanced at Aurora and Phillip and smirked. "And just to show you all that I mean no harm, I too have a little something-something for the new Queen and King."
As if on instinct, Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather flew over to Phillip and Aurora and stood in front of them to protect them.
"No! Keep your gift!" Stefan shouted.
"Whatever it is you're offering, we don't want it!" Phillip said, drawing a sword and pointing it at the dark being.
"Gift?" Hades started to laugh. "No, no, no, no! You got it all wrong; I'm not offering any gift! Honest!" He took another glance at Aurora and looked at her from head to toe before he paused; he smiled. "What I am giving you is just an eensy-teensy, tiny, little, insignificant tidbit of information."
"…What kind of information?" Aurora asked nervously.
"Well, let's just say… I know something you don't know." Hades taunted in a sing-songy tone; he let out a creepy giggle. "And the best part is that it just so happens to concern your precious little Aurora."
Everyone turned to look at Aurora.
"Me?" She asked.
"That's right." Hades suddenly snaked an arm around her shoulders and pulled her away from her loved ones. "Aurora, Rory babe. Can I call you babe?" Aurora said nothing in response, but she could clearly smell his sulfur-scented breath and it repulsed her. "Mind if I have a taste of that? Thanks." He took her goblet of wine and took a large gulp from it. "Mmmm, excellent vintage! Although, I wouldn't be drinking this stuff if I were you… especially not now."
"Look, I don't mean to be rude, but what is that you have to say?" Aurora asked, trying to sound brave, but also remain polite; she took the goblet back.
"So moody. But if you're gonna be like that, fine. I'll tell you… I know about something you don't yet possess, but something I know is coming." He taunted, bouncing his eyebrows at her.
"A-a-a-and w-what's that?"
"Nothing, just…" He wrapped his arm around her slim midsection and pulled her closer to him before he gently lifted up one of her luxurious golden curls and whispered into her ear. "…your firstborn."
Aurora's eyes widened and she gasped in shock as she dropped her goblet, which made a clattering sound as it made contact with the floor. She put a hand to her abdomen and looked at Hades in fear; he folded his arms and smiled wickedly at her.
"What's the matter? A bit too much to take in?" He asked.
"No… No, no! You're lying! I can't believe it!" Aurora argued before pushing past him and running out of the throne room with her hands over her face.
"Aurora!" Phillip called as he and Leah ran after her; Hades chuckled as Stefan glared at him.
"Not exactly the reaction I was going for, but I'll take what I can get." He smugly laughed.
"What did you say to my daughter?!" The old King commanded.
"What? I was just telling her what I know. It's not my fault if she can't handle the truth." Hades said, pretending to sound innocent; Diablo cawed and flapped his wings in approval as the gem in the scepter started to glow.
"Guards, take him!" King Hubert shouted.
"Seize that creature!" Stefan added, pointing at Hades.
"Creature?! Okay, now that is just rude!" Hades' eyes started to glow as castle guards ran up to him in an attempt to subdue him; he snarled at them in anger. "How dare you! Is this any way to treat the Lord of All Evil?! Stand back, you fools!" He brought the scepter down and drew a circle on the floor around him with the glowing gem. Within a moment, the circle Hades drew suddenly burst in bright blue flames, causing the guards to jump back in surprise. Hades laughed as the crowd began to panic; the light in his eyes slowly dimmed. "Whoa! I could get used to this!" He glared at Stefan, Hubert, and the Fairies through the fire. "Oh! And one more thing before I go. I bet the kingdom is gonna put up a statue to Phil and Rory now… IF there's anybody left to build it! Gotta go, I'm too hip! I can't stay! Ciao, babes! Ciao!"
He raised the scepter over his head again and without missing a beat, he disappeared in a spectacle of smoke, lighting, and blue fire, laughing evilly all the while. The flames died down and Diablo flew out of the open doors, leaving the kingdom in complete shock.
0-0-0-0-0-0
Meanwhile on Mt. Olympus, Zeus, Hera, and the rest of the Gods all sat around a large round table, ready for the emergency meeting to begin.
"Alright, here we go! This emergency meeting of the Council of the Gods will now come to order!" Hermes, the Messenger God announced.
"Thank you, Hermes." Zeus said, standing up from his seat. He cleared his throat. "Gods and Goddesses, I've called this meeting for a very important reason: there's been a disturbance in the cosmos sometime last night. Hera, Hermes, Hercules, Megara, and I all felt it, and I just want to know if any of you felt it as well."
"Now that you mention it, I felt something last night, too." Athena the Goddess of Wisdom said.
"I did, too." Ares the God of War chimed in.
"Me, too!" Hephaestus the God of the Forge added.
"So did I!" Aphrodite the Goddess of Love and Beauty commented.
The other Gods and Goddesses all looked at each other and agreed, saying that they felt it as well.
"I wonder what it was." Poseidon the God of the Sea said, stroking his beard.
"Well whatever this disturbance was, it can't be good." Demeter the Goddess of Agriculture replied.
"Demeter's right. We should probably investigate before it gets any worse." Artemis the Goddess of the Hunt commented; the other deities nodded their heads in agreement.
"Okay, okay! Blah-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah! There's a disturbance in the universe! We get it! Can we move on to the REAL issue here?" A new voice shouted.
"Oh please be quiet, Hecate. This is important." Apollo the God of Light and Music muttered to his seat neighbor.
Hecate, the Goddess of Witchcraft and Necromancy, sat in her chair with a look of anger, impatience, and annoyance on her pouty face; she sat with her arms folded over her chest and sulked to herself.
"Apollo is right, Hecate. We'll all get to the issue involving the Underworld soon." Hera said, remaining calm.
"Yeah, keep your chiton on, you witch." Megara muttered under her breath.
"Soon is not good enough!" Hecate shouted, banging her hands on the table which caused everyone to jump in their seat. "I just want to know WHO has been down in the Underworld judging the newer souls! Huh? Who is it? WHO?!"
"I suppose that would be me." A new voice said.
Every God and Goddess sitting at that table paused and collectively turned their heads in the direction of the voice to see a figure casually leaning against a column obscured by the shadows. The figure stood straight and took a step into the light, revealing Maleficent. Because she was now in charge of the Underworld, she was able to enter the gates of Olympus with no trouble. With her posture straight and her head held high, she calmly walked over to the table to search for a place to sit; the other deities stared at her in disbelief as she passed them, wondering who she was. Then Maleficent stopped at where Hecate was sitting.
"Mind if I have a seat? No? Why thank you." She said quickly as she bumped Hecate out of the chair and sat down. She looked around and noticed the shocked and confused looks on everyone's faces. "What's the matter? Why so shocked? You all look as if you've seen a ghost." She chuckled as she started to file her nails with a magic nail file.
Hecate quickly got back on to her feet and glared at Maleficent, but before she could get a word out, Maleficent stopped her.
"Please, do not speak unless you can improve the silence." She said with a smug smile; Hecate snarled at her.
"Uh, excuse me? Sorry to interrupt, but… who are you and what the what are you doing here, babe?" Hermes asked, hovering next to the late arrival.
"Hm? Oh, of course! Of course, how rude of me." Maleficent said before standing up and giving a polite bow. "I am Maleficent, and I'm here for the meeting of the Gods."
"You? You're a Goddess?" Aphrodite asked.
"Yes. This meeting is mandatory, is it not?" Maleficent calmly replied, sitting back down.
"But if you really are a goddess… then how come we've never seen you before?" Demeter asked.
"Isn't it obvious?" A deep male voice said; it was Trivia the God of where three roads meet. He walked over to Maleficent and examined her. "She's new."
"Are you the one who's been judging the new souls in the Underworld?" Hecate asked, putting two and two together.
"Indeed I am."
"But… that's Hades' job." Zeus pointed out. "And none of us have seen hide or flame of him for centuries."
"Well…" Maleficent looked around until she spotted Hercules sitting near his wife and parents; she smirked. "Why don't you ask your little sunspot? He's the one who caused the disappearance of the Lord of the Dead."
Hera and Zeus looked at their son. "Is this true, dear?"
Hercules paused, then let out a sigh as Meg held his arm. "Yes, mother. On the day I rescued Meg, I… threw Hades into the River of Souls. But that was millennia ago! I didn't know a new deity would take his place!"
"Oh, I didn't take his place. Hades is taking a day off and I'm filling in, as he would say." Maleficent said, filing her nails.
"Filling in?" Hermes asked.
"Day off?" Hecate added.
"Oh, you don't know? Lord Hades is free."
"What?! Who would dare do such a thing?!" Zeus demanded.
Hecate paused and looked at the new Goddess of the Underworld. "Pardon me, Zeus, but would you mind if I borrow Miss Maleficent for a moment? Thanks." She then grabbed Maleficent by the shoulders and dragged her off to another section of cloud.
"What do you think you're doing?! What is the meaning of this?" She demanded before Hecate covered her mouth with her hand.
"You freed Hades, didn't you?" She asked.
Maleficent paused and calmly removed Hecate's hand from her mouth. "…Yes, I have. What of it?"
"Well… it would be a real shame if Zeus and the other Gods found out about what you did." Hecate said, wrapping an arm around her shoulder. "I'm sure they'd have your head. But don't worry; I won't say a word… if you tell me how you did it."
"What?"
"You heard me. If you tell me how you freed Hades, I won't tell any of the Gods you're the one who released him." The Goddess of Witchcraft gave her a smug smile, waiting for her answer.
Maleficent stared at Hecate for a good minute or two until she let out a chuckle.
"What's so funny?"
"Nothing, dear. Nothing at all. It's just…" She cleared her throat and started to sing.
"I was once like you, my child, naïve, insecure
Argued with my mother too, thought I was mature
But I put my heart aside
And I used my head
Now I think it's time you learned
What dear old mamma said"
Hecate froze, unsure of what was happening.
"Don't you wanna be evil like me?
Don't you wanna be mean?" Maleficent continued.
"Don't you wanna make mischief your daily routine?
Well, you can spend your life attending to the poor
But when you're evil doing less is doing more
Don't you wanna be ruthless and rotten and mad?
Don't you wanna be very, very good at being bad?
I have tried my whole life long
To do the worst I can
Clawed my way to victory
Built my master plan
Now the time has come, my dear
For me to take my place
For many years, I've tried to be
An absolute disgrace
Don't you wanna be evil like me?
Don't you wanna be cruel?
Don't you wanna be nasty and brutal and cool?
And when you slit one's throat that's when your reign begins
Who wants an evil queen without a sack of sins?
Don't you wanna be heartless and hardened as stone?
Don't you wanna be finger licking evil to the bone?"
The flames in Maleficent's hair started to grow taller and brighter as she sang.
"This is not for us to ponder
This was preordained" She went on.
"You won't reign, not now or ever
My freedom is regained
Mistress of the universe, powerful and strong
Hecate, hear me
Help me, join me
Won't you sing along?"
Then out of nowhere, they started to sing together.
"Now we're gonna be evil, it's true
Never gonna think twice"
"And we're gonna be spiteful" Hecate added.
"And frightful
That's nice" Maleficent continued on her own.
"And before you know it
My future's safe and sure
This solo woman act is going out on tour
If you wanna be evil and awful and free
Then you should thank your lucky star
That you were born the girl you are
Striving to be an evilicious queen
Like me!"
And with another evil laugh, Maleficent disappeared in a burst of green flames, leaving Hecate alone with her thoughts.
"…What just happened?"
