As they walked through the dark forest back to the Forbidden Mountain, Hades and Maleficent didn't dare say a word to one another; they let their own emotions get the better of them and they practically screamed at each other. Maleficent hated that Hades violated her family's privacy and was snooping through her father's things and Hades thought Maleficent and her father knew something and he believed she was lying about it. So they were both on their guard, anticipating for the other to pounce and not even daring to start a new conversation. They even stayed silent as Hades carried Maleficent across the river a second time.
But when they got closer to the Forbidden Mountain, they realized something; the entrance of Maleficent's castle was swarming with guards and knights from Aurora and Phillip's palace and they were led by the former kings, Stefan and Hubert. Thinking fast, Maleficent pulled Hades into the bushes so that they wouldn't be seen.
"What the heck is going on here?" He asked before she shushed him.
"Shh! They're talking." She hissed.
"I don't know, Stefan." Hubert said. "We searched every inch of the kingdom for several days and that Hades fellow is nowhere in sight. I'm starting to believe this is a lost cause."
'They've been searching for me?' Hades thought.
"Hubert, we still don't know what this 'Lord of All Evil' is truly capable of." Stefan gently argued. "We must find him and subdue him before he does something truly diabolical, like taking Maleficent's place… or even bringing her back."
"Lord of All Evil?" Maleficent whispered, raising an eyebrow at Hades.
"Eh… long story." He said awkwardly. "There has to be a way to get rid of those guys."
"But how?"
"You know, I heard stories about the Forbidden Mountain being haunted by Maleficent's ghost." One man commented.
"What? Come now, Duke. Surely you don't believe in such silly rumors." Hubert scoffed, trying to be the voice of reason.
"But what if it's true?" Stefan chimed in, sounding anxious. "What if this palace truly is possessed?"
"Stefan, don't be like that. You know ghosts don't exist. Fairies and dragons, yes. But ghosts? Ha! Nothing but superstition."
Then Hades' face lit up as he got an idea. He smirked and turned to his friend. "I think I know how to scare them off. But the real question is… are you willing to do it my way?"
Maleficent gave him a curious look, wondering what he could mean; he pulled her closer to him and whispered his idea into her ear, a sinister smile slowly creeping onto her lips as she listened. A few other knights exited the castle and shrugged at Hubert and Stefan.
"Nothing at all?" Hubert asked.
"Nothing." The head guard replied.
"Well, there must be something we missed." Stefan said. "Leave no stone unturned. We must find something to—"
"Who invades my castle?!" A new voice boomed.
Stefan, Hubert, and the knights all jumped at the sound when wisps of bright green flames erupted from the castle windows and the silhouette of a large dragon appeared, frightening the group of men. They backed away, practically shaking.
"Do you dare to enter the domain of the Mistress of All Evil?!" The voice shouted. "This castle belongs to me, and no one else!"
"It's the monster's ghost! I knew it!" Duke cried.
"The castle IS haunted!" One knight shouted.
"Men! Ready your weapons!" Stefan commanded.
"Fire at will!" Hubert exclaimed.
The guards all nervously did as they were told; they readied their weapons, which were mostly bows and arrows, and shot at the supposed apparition, but nothing they did worked. Almost every shot that was fired came right back at them, which made them all, including Stefan and Hubert, take cover. The shadow let out a booming laugh.
"Ha! You cannot harm me! Even in death, I am still more powerful than you! Leave this place, and never come back! Or you shall face my wrath!" It demanded.
"Stand strong, men!" Hubert commanded.
"Hubert, I think it would be wise to take this being's advice." Stefan said.
"Nonsense, Stefan!"
"But Hubert—"
Before either man could say another word, the shadowy figure led out an ear piercing roar, which caused everyone to cover their ears. Hubert turned to his friend with a nervous expression.
"You know what? Perhaps you're right." He quickly said.
"Retreat!" Stefan commanded.
And that's exactly what they did. The two older men and every single knight practically jumped onto their steeds and rode off as fast as they possibly could. The moment they were all out of sight, Hades and Maleficent emerged from the bushes and started laughing their black hearts out as they made their way back up to the castle.
"Hades, that was BRILLIANT!" Maleficent chortled. "Using our magic to scare away those guards? Very clever!"
"See? What'd I tell ya?" Hades laughed, trying to catch his breath. "Man, humans are DUMB!"
"No truer words have ever been spoken!"
The two beings stopped right in front of the castle doorway on the drawbridge when they finally calmed down and caught their breath.
"Why don't you try doing stuff like that more often? Could keep a lot more intruders out and save you a lot of trouble." Hades suggested.
"I suppose I could…" Maleficent started before she noticed something in her friend's back. "What is that?"
"What's what?"
"THAT. Sticking out of your right shoulder. Behind you."
"What?" Hades looked and saw that he had an arrow in his back. "Oh, would you look at that."
"One of those fools' arrows must've shot you by mistake."
"But… how? I didn't even notice."
"It doesn't matter; we can fix this. It just needs to be removed, simple as that."
"Okay." Hades tried to grab the arrow, but he couldn't reach it.
"Here, allow me." Maleficent rolled her eyes. "Now turn around and hold onto something heavy."
"Are you sure?"
"Do you trust me?"
"What?"
"I said do you trust me?"
"…Yes."
"Then let me do this for you."
Hades paused and stood in thought for a moment before shrugging and saying, "Eh, whatever. You do you." He then turned around and grabbed the thing that was closest to him, a stone pillar. "Let's just get this over with."
"Agreed." Maleficent said, rubbing her hands together; she took a hold of the arrow. "Now hold still and I will yank this right out. Although I must warn you; it might hurt."
"Whatever you're gonna do, just do it already, okay? There's no use in delaying th—"
Hades didn't even get the chance to finish his next sentence; he just let out a loud, pain-filled scream and his hair flared up like mad the moment Maleficent used all of her strength to yank the arrow right out of his back. Breathing heavily, he calmed down and slowly turned around to see his friend twiddling the arrow with her fingers; the arrowhead was dripping a black substance with a slight blue glow, which was presumed to be some of the god's ichor.
"Done." She said.
"Ow…" He whimpered.
"I told you it would hurt."
Hades reluctantly rubbed the spot on his back the arrow had pierced him; he could feel a bit of wetness from the blood leaking from his wound and it still hurt.
"I'll definitely be feeling that one in the morning." He said, trying to brush off the situation as a joke.
"Hmm. Perhaps not." Maleficent said before she took a deep breath in through her nose. She closed her eyes and started making strange hand gestures while reciting something in a language Hades didn't recognize. "Reme, Peo, Tou, Sha, Kai, Jin, Retsu, Tsi, Zen." Her hands started to glow and she placed one hand onto his injured shoulder. "Reme, Peo, Tou, Sha, Kai, Jin, Retsu, Tsi, Zen."
Maleficent removed her hand and opened her eyes. After a moment, Hades didn't feel any pain anymore; he rubbed his shoulder and looked at her with wide eyes.
"Maleficent… what did you just do? And how'd you do that?" He asked.
"It is an ancient technique known as the Healing Hands." She said. "It is known to soothe pain of any kind and even heal the injured."
"Huh. I never expected someone like you to know something like that." Hades commented.
"I understand, but I don't use it often. It originates from a land in the Far East and it's extremely difficult to learn; very few people are able to tap into it. I've practiced this technique for a long time, but I have only ever used it for myself and the only times I have used it are few and far between. But now I was able to use it to heal your minor injury, although it will leave you with a scar."
"Eh, I've been through worse." He then reached down and pushed down part of his chiton and pulled up part of his shirt to reveal a long, deep, nasty looking scar on the left side of his stomach; Maleficent gasped at the sight.
"Where did you…?" She started.
"I received this handsome little thing eons ago. And no matter how much time passes, it always stays the same." Hades replied before he shuttered. "The memory of how I got it still kinda haunts me."
"What happened?"
He hesitated. "…You wouldn't understand."
"Oh really?"
That was when Maleficent started to take off her black and purple robes to reveal what she was really wearing: a two-piece black dress with a royal purple shirt with long sleeves underneath. She carefully pulled up part of her bodice to show off a long scar on the right side of her abdomen and she even pulled down the neck of her shirt to reveal another scar on her chest. Hades silently gasped.
"As you can see, I have my own scars." She said, covering up her marks. "But I'm afraid that is a story for another day." She put her robes back on, keeping her eye on the mark grazing her friend's body. "Now, why don't you tell me yours? Have your brothers done that to you?"
"Well… no. It was something else, something a bit more traumatic for me. None of the other Gods and Goddesses even know about this." Hades started, letting go of his shirt. He sighed. "It all started when I was really young. I had a huge fight with my father, Cronus; we were practically screaming at each other about him treating me and my brothers like garbage. And then I asked if he even loved us at all. I guess that must've hit a nerve… and in response, my father hit me pretty hard." He placed a hand on his cheek as he recalled that memory. "It wasn't hard enough to knock me out cold, but it did hurt A LOT. I was so angry and upset that I just… ran away; I ran and ran until I found myself in a cave underground. The cave itself was really dark and quiet, the perfect place for me to be alone. But as I was crying to myself, I heard something. It sounded heavy, wet, and disgusting. Then I looked up and…" He shivered. "…I was face to face with a giant, glowing red eyeball. But then I got a better look at the owner of the eye and what I saw instantly freaked me out. It was a massive blob made entirely out of this slimy, sticky, smelly, gross black ooze."
Maleficent listened to Hades' story very intently. In all of the years she'd been alive, she had never once heard of such a creature; it sounded like something that belonged in the darkest depths of Hell. But she recalled that the tar creature he created had a similar description to the monster in his story. Hades went on.
"I was so scared that I could barely move. At the time, I was puny compared to the size of that thing. And then it let out a super loud, ear-shattering scream that's still stuck in my head to this day; it was like a mix between a whole chorus of shrieking, screeching demonic birds and a hoard of roaring dragons. And its mouth was huge and filled with dozens of filthy, razor sharp teeth. That was when I finally decided to book it. I've never run so fast in my life and I could feel that thing chasing me, worried that it would catch me and swallow me whole. And I did NOT want to be eaten alive again, thank you very much. But then, I finally found my way out of the cave and I was so relieved. I basically threw myself out of there, but the creature didn't follow me out. It was as if it was afraid of the sun, which I guess makes sense. But as I was out in the open and catching my breath, I noticed a sign near the cave entrance and what it said shook me to the core."
"What did it say?" Maleficent asked.
"It read… 'Abandoned by the Gods'. And I still have no idea what that meant. But then I felt a pain in my side; I looked and saw a large, bleeding gash on the left side of my stomach. The creature must've gotten me while I was running; I didn't even notice it until then." He placed his hand on where his scar was. "When I made it back, my mother, Rhea, was frantic with worry. She scolded me and told me not to run off again, but I think she noticed my fear and calmed down. She asked me what happened, but I couldn't bring myself to tell her; I felt I couldn't tell anyone. So I kept it to myself. I was so afraid of that monster that I decided to call it the Nightterror." Hades turned to Maleficent. "You are the only person who knows about this and you have to promise me NOT to tell anyone."
"…You don't need to worry. I promise I won't tell a soul." And to prove it, she crossed her heart.
He smirked at her before deciding to change the subject. "Thank you. And I want to apologize for looking through your dad's things back there."
She paused. "…I understand. And I wish to apologize for my brash behavior before."
"Hey, you had every right to be mad. I would be too if someone violated my family's privacy. But if I may, I had no idea your dad was a scholar."
"Oh yes. My father used to be one of the most intelligent sorcerers in the world. He always had a great thirst for knowledge, especially when it came to magic, and he used to travel the world and take notes of everything he learned and he would conduct all sorts of magical experiments as well."
"…But there was one experiment he couldn't figure out."
"What?"
"I read his latest journal entries and he was studying something that… belonged to me."
"That… ember you have mentioned before?" Maleficent's eyes widened in realization. "YOU created it?"
"Sure did, but it was stolen from me during the Titanomachy… by my dad. Cronus claimed he was doing it for my own good, but he just took it so I wouldn't be able to beat him on my own. So he locked it up in an iron box and hid it somewhere far away. I could never find it, but apparently your father did. He said in his journal that he wanted to use its energy to become even more powerful, but that endeavor was pretty pointless. The Ember of Blue could only be used by its creator, aka ME."
"But… what does this Ember do?"
"Well… the Ember was made from an active volcano when I was in my teens. I took an ordinary smoldering ember from the remains of a huge explosion and the moment my hair touched the ember, it glowed a bright blue and it was pulsating with magic. I don't know how, but as I held it, I felt even more powerful than ever before so I decided to wear it as a necklace so I would have it with me at all times. The Ember basically amplifies my normal abilities, it makes me stronger and more resilient, and it even allows me to perform other kinds of magic… and it can even steal power and energy from other beings and creatures, which makes the Ember even more powerful."
"Hmm, it sounds like quite the magical weapon."
"Oh believe me, it was. I was a beast against the Titans back then." He chuckled. "Those were good times…. But after the Titanomachy, I never saw my Ember again." He glanced at Maleficent. "This may be a bit of a stretch, but… do you have any idea where it might be?"
"…No. I've already told you, I knew nothing about your Ember before tonight." Then she had an idea. "But I have a theory. What if it was stolen by dragons? The same dragons my father claimed to fight before his disappearance?"
"Weird. What would a bunch of random dragons want with my Ember?"
"Dragons are known to be very greedy and have enormous hoards of treasure in their cave lairs. Perhaps your Ember is hidden amongst one of these hoards and my father traveled there to try and get it back."
"Hmm, it is possible. But if what you say is true, then how can I find this dragons' lair? I'm sure there are a ton of them in the world. How will I know which one is the right one?"
"Perhaps…" She placed a hand on his. "…you just need a little assistance."
He smirked at her.
"HADES?!" A third voice shouted.
Maleficent and Hades turned their heads to see a tall dark figure with purple skin, white hair, a pair of massive feather wings on his back, wearing a black hooded cloak, and carrying a purple and silver scythe driving Hades' chariot with Pain and Panic hovering near him with nervous expressions on their faces. Hades' eyes widened.
"Thanatos?!" He cried in shock.
