And that's exactly what he did. Hades told all of the Gods and Goddesses in attendance everything that happened to him from the moment he was released from the Well. He told them about how he met Maleficent, the bet they made, how he'd go out once a week to see her, and how she would teach him how to perform dark fairy magic whenever he'd visit her. By the end of it all, the other deities sat in their seats in silence; they definitely weren't expecting to hear a story like that. They all looked at each other, then back at Hades.

"…Is this true?" Lethe, the Guardian of the River of Forgetfulness, asked.

Hades sighed. "Yes."

"So this Maleficent… was never a Goddess?" Hecate asked. "She was a dark fairy who was temporarily turned into one? Just to see what being a Goddess was like?"

"Pretty much."

"And during that time, you've been out in another land as… a dark fairy?"

"Yep."

A few long seconds of silence passed. Then all of a sudden, Hecate burst into hysterical laughter; eventually, Macaria, Melinoe, Zagreus, Eris, the Lampades, and a few others started laughing along with her. Hades blushed and put his hands over his face in embarrassment while Thanatos came over to his friend.

"Oh my Gods, you lived as a FAIRY?!" Zagreus chortled.

"A fairy of all things?! That is too funny!" Eris shrieked.

"Did you have little wings and a magic wand?" Macaria mocked.

"And were you super tiny and wearing a pretty dress?" Melinoe taunted.

"Hey! For your information, the boss looked NOTHING like that as a dark fairy!" Panic pointed out.

"Yeah! He had no wings, he wore cool darker clothes, he was carrying a scepter, and he had a pair of ram horns on the top of his head!" Pain added.

"Hold up! He had HORNS?!" Hecate just laughed even harder.

Hades was so embarrassed that he just wanted to crawl into a hole and never come out. That was when a God with flowing black hair, a goatee beard, and blue eyes grabbed a glass and slammed it onto the table and screamed,

"SILENCE!"

Luckily, that was enough to make Hecate and her lackeys stop laughing. The God who screamed got up and strode over to Hades and said, "That is enough from all of you. You are all grown Gods, start ACTING like it."

"Yes, Erebus is correct." Rhadamanthus chimed in, nodding his head at the God of Darkness. He turned to Hecate. "Now I suggest you all sit back down and stay silent until the end of the meeting or else."

Not wanting to get on the bad side of Rhadamanthus or his brothers, Hecate and everyone else who laughed nervously sat back down and stayed quiet from that moment on. Hades looked at the three stone men.

"Thanks." He said.

"You're welcome." Minos, the stone guardian with the helmet, said. "Now, you were saying, Hades?"

"Frankly, I'm not sure there's much else to say." He said. "I mean, being a dark fairy was pretty hard, even if it was for less than a day. And I'm glad to be myself again, to be honest."

"Well, I say it's great to have you back, Hades. Some of us have really missed you." A woman with blue skin, long dark hair, and golden eyes said.

"Aw. Thanks, Nyx." Hades said bashfully.

"Yes, things around here have never been the same since you left. And we're all glad our true Lord of the Dead has returned at last." Styx said. "And that brings us to the second topic we need to discus." She turned back to Hades. "Hades, you remember how you nephew, Hercules, first banished you, yes?"

"Yeah. How could I ever forget?"

"Yes, yes. Very true. And I assume you know of how he and Megara, Hercules's wife and a former slave of yours, both ascended to Olympus."

"Yeah, kind of. So?"

"So let me just ask you one question. What punishment do you think would be suitable for Hercules for what he did to you?"

"…Say what?"

"Ever since this Maleficent told Zeus about your newfound freedom as well as what Hercules had done, Zeus came to us asking what to do. But we told him Hercules had already spent twenty years working down here as a servant before he became the God of Heroes. And now that you know about the arrangement, what are your thoughts on this issue?"

"Hold up… Wonderboy worked as an Underworld servant for twenty years? And I didn't even get a cut of the dough?! Weak."

"We know. We all believe it was unfair. Well… most of us believed so." Erebus said, side-eye glancing at Hecate who turned away from him.

"Yes. Quite a few of us thought you deserved a bit of that action, too." Nyx chimed in. "So we made a deal with Zeus. If you ever came back from your banishment, Hercules has to serve you for an entire year, or for as long as you want. Your choice."

"MY choice?" Hades thought very hard about this proposition. Having his nephew work for him for however long he wanted? That would be a great way to welcome him to the corner of pay and back. "…Okay then. How about I have Wonderboy work for me for… about a month?"

"Why a month?" Thanatos asked. "That kid has been a pain in your flaming backside for as long as you can remember. Don't you want him to pay for all the grief he caused you?"

"I know. And yeah, I do." Hades replied. "And seeing him suffer for a year by my hand would be great, don't get me wrong. But having him actually work for me for that long would probably give me nothing but back to back migraines. You know what I mean? Besides, who knows what could happen in the long run?"

"Well… you're not wrong, I'll give you that." Nyx said. "While you were gone, Hercules had to do whatever Thanatos and I said for those two decades while he was still mortal. And he did all of his tasks pretty well, but just seeing him around after what he did made us resent him even more. His presence even caused Erebus to do extra primal scream therapy for a while."

"It's true. My throat is still pretty sore to this day." Erebus said, rubbing his throat.

"Yeesh." Hades said, taking a breath through gritted teeth.

"Well… I suppose that settles it, then." Styx said. "Hercules will now have to do whatever Hades says for one month. No more, no less."

"Okay, sounds good."

"Should we send a message to Hermes about this, Lady Styx?" Pain asked.

"Right away?" Panic added.

"That would be quite helpful, actually. Thank you." She said, nodding at the two imps. They gave a salute and flew off to do their task.

Erebus sighed in relief. "Finally. I thought those nitwits would never leave."

"I hear you, man." Hades said as he and Erebus shared a quick fist bump.

"Alright. And now for one final point to address before we bring this meeting to a close." Clotho said, standing up.

"And what's that?" Hades asked.

"…You've met a girl!" Nyx squealed with excitement as she ran over to tackle her friend in a hug, causing him to feel confused and a bit blindsided by her sudden action.

"Wait, what?" He asked.

"You know, Maleficent! She's a girl!" Nyx said before she stopped hugging him.

"So?"

"SO I say it's great how you're getting back up on the saddle. It's about time you started dating again."

"DATING?!" Hades abruptly stood up from his chair in shock. "Oh no! No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, NO! Maleficent and I are NOT dating! We are friends, JUST FRIENDS!"

"Uh huh." Thanatos said with a sly smile. "Then would you care to tell everyone about how she gave you a peck on the cheek around the time I came to pick you up?"

Hades' face immediately flushed. It was then that Nyx let out a very dramatic gasp and she practically evaporated out of thin air in front of her friend, nose to nose with him, and started asking her friend millions of questions. She was talking so fast he could hardly understand what she was even saying.

"Oh my Gods, oh my Gods, oh my Gods! Tell me everything! Spill it, honey! I need details, gimme details! What's she like? Is she pretty? Is she smart? Is she stylish? Can she fight? What color are her eyes? What color is her hair? Will we ever get to meet her?"

"Hey! Nyx, Nyx! Please, come on! Cool it, will ya?" Hades said, backing away to get some air.

But then Nyx asked one question in particular that really struck some kind of nerve.

"Has she ever hurt you?"

"NO. Never." He sternly said.

"You're sure?" Lachesis asked.

"Yes. I know Maleficent and she would NEVER hurt me."

"Well… that's good to hear, I guess." Lethe said. "None of us wants a repeat of what happened last time you met a girl and brought her down here. And we certainly don't want another… uh, what was her name again? It's on the tip of my tongue."

"Don't even START, Lethe!" Hades shouted, slamming his fist on the table in anger and causing Lethe to take a step back in surprise. His hair flared up yet again, almost towering over his head. "She was horrible! And I don't want you bringing back old memories! Got it?! Just don't bring it up! Please, just… please don't." Hades slumped down into his chair and Nyx wrapped an arm around his shoulders to comfort him in response; she knew perfectly well how her dear friend felt about this sort of thing.

"You should know better, Lethe. You know how much he hates talking about… her." Styx gently scolded her.

"Okay, okay. Fine. Sorry, sheesh." Lethe said, turning away and pouting.

Hades sighed and stood up. "Okay, are we done here? It's late and I'm tired."

"But I feel as though we need to talk more about this Maleficent, if you don't mind." Styx replied.

"What's there to talk about? Maleficent is my friend, and if you're trying to tell me to stay away from her because you don't trust her, then forget it! I don't care what any of you say, I am NOT going to stop seeing her! End. Of. Discussion." Hades glared up at the large, watery being before him.

Styx hesitated, but she backed down and bowed her head to him. "…Whatever you say, my Lord." The other deities reluctantly followed suit.

"Good. Thank you. Now if you'll excuse me…" Hades took his new book out of his chiton. "…I've got a bit of studying to do." And with that, he walked away back to the ferry with Charon nervously following him.

"Studying?" Rhadamanthus asked as Minos and Aeacus shrugged their shoulders.

"Then… all in favor of ending this meeting early say 'aye'." Atropos said.

"Aye." Everyone said in unison.

"Motion carried." Lachesis and Clotho said.

Hecate watched as Hades vanished from view, a curious look in her pale blue eyes. 'Hmmm, very interesting.'

0-0-0-0-0-0

Maleficent slowly opened her eyes and realized she had reached her destination: the entrance to a cave at the highest point of the Midnia Summit. She looked into the cave and saw nothing but pitch black darkness; a freezing wind howled and blew into the structure, causing Maleficent to slightly shiver from the cold. It was so dark, how was she going to find anything in there? But then she remembered; if the Ember still has power, even a fraction of godly energy, perhaps she could find it by searching for a blue glow. The gold medallion clutched tightly in her fist and her scepter in the other, she took a deep breath and strode into the cave.

"No turning back now." She said to herself as her scepter lit up again, lighting her way.

As she went further and further inside, the terrain of the cave floor suddenly changed. Maleficent looked down and shined her scepter down on the floor; it was covered in gold coins that had a symbol that was exactly the same as her mother's medallion. But then she looked back up and as her eyes adjusted to more of the darkness, she could see piles upon piles of gold and jewels; it was a total mess. But then she spotted something in one of the farthest corners of the cave; it was faint, but she could see a blue color.

"The Ember of Blue. That must be it." She whispered as she started to make her way towards it, being careful not to slip on the treasure beneath her or trip on anything.

But as she walked, Maleficent began to notice a slight stirring in the piles of treasure. She turned her head to one of the larger mounds and saw more coins falling as something began to move underneath the gold. She narrowed her eyes at it, unsure of what she was trying to find. But then she saw it; it looked like a giant closed eye… which must've belonged to a sleeping dragon. Then she noticed more parts of the pile moving, either it was trying to get more comfortable or it was starting to wake up. She tried to back away as slowly and quietly as possible, hoping whatever was inside that gold wouldn't wake up.

'Nothing in this world is more dangerous than a dragon woken up from its hibernation.' She thought, heading back in the direction of the blue light.

But just when she thought she was in the clear, Maleficent took a misstep and suddenly tripped over a large stone jutting out from the ground, causing her to fall to the ground and straight into a pile of more gold. The coins jingled together when she fell, making a very loud noise… which was enough to make the sleeping creature move even more and the eye started to slowly open. Thinking fast, Maleficent waved her scepter and quickly turned herself invisible just as a massive head emerged from the piles of treasure. It was the head of a dragon with deep golden scales, a pair of small black horns on its head, a large pair of wings upon its back, and bright yellow eyes that practically glowed in the dark. It scanned the cave and sniffed the air, searching for the intruder that had disturbed its slumber. Maleficent stayed quiet while invisible, silently hoping and praying the dragon wouldn't find her.

"Thief, I know you're here. I sense your presence. I smell your blood. I hear your breath. Where are you?" The dragon asked in a deep male voice. "Come now, don't be shy. Step into the light so I can see you."

While the dragon's back was momentarily turned to her, Maleficent took the opportunity to make a run for it towards the blue light. But the creature noticed her hurried footsteps and quickly made its way over to the sound, unknowingly stopping the dark fairy in her tracks.

"Where are you? Why can't I see you?" It asked before it sniffed the air curiously. "You carry something on you; something made of… gold."

Maleficent then decided it would be a better option to try and negotiate with this beast; it would be something Hades would do. So she deactivated her spell and made herself visible again, revealing herself to the dragon. It leaned its head closer to her with one of its eyes staring straight down at her.

"There you are, little thief." It said as the enormous eye inspected the dark fairy from top to bottom. "Hmmm. Your scent is familiar, but I don't remember seeing someone like you before. Who are you and where do you come from, may I ask?"

Maleficent cleared her throat and began to speak. "I am Maleficent, the Mistress of All Evil, and I come from another land, searching for something that has been lost for many years."

"A charming title. If you have come seeking my gold, then your efforts are pointless." The dragon said, straightening up. "I am Brynewelm, the guardian of the Midnia Summit! My family has been guarding this treasure for generations and NO ONE steals from here!"

"Oh really?" Maleficent smirked, took out the medallion, and held it up to the creature, now dubbed Brynewelm. "Then how was it that my mother was able to acquire this little piece of your treasure? I'm sure it has been part of her jewelry collection for quite some time."

Brynewelm paused and took a closer look at the medallion; he saw that it was the same as the other coins here. He narrowed his eyes and glared down at the evil fairy, towering over her. He opened his massive mouth to speak, but she stopped him before he could say a word.

"Now, now. Don't you start accusing me of stealing." She started. "If I give you this little trinket, will you give something to me in return?"

"…What is it that you want, Mistress of Evil?" The dragon asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I want that." She pointed a finger in the direction of the blue glow. "That stone is the Ember of Blue and it belongs to Hades, the Lord of the Dead and God of the Greek Underworld. It was stolen from him by his own father, Cronus, and I only wish to return the Ember to its rightful owner."

"That little stone?" Brynewelm picked up the stone in his massive claws and brought it closer to his eyes, inspecting it carefully. He laughed with his great belly rumbling against the cave floor. "Only one other being has come for this, and has failed in his mission. This is what you want?"

"Yes. If you give the Ember to me, I will give you this medallion and never disturb you or your hoard again. Do we have an agreement or not?" Maleficent asked, still holding up the coin.

Brynewelm paused and stroked his scaly chin in thought, mentally weighing the options he was given. He glanced at the Ember, then down at Maleficent. After a few moments, he finally came to a decision. He sighed and reluctantly offered her the Ember, which Maleficent promptly took; she then placed the medallion in the dragon's open claw.

"A pleasure doing business with you." She said, gazing at the stone in her hands. The Ember was beautiful; it resembled a sapphire gemstone in the shape of a teardrop and it was big enough to fit in the palm of her hand. But then her eyes began to glow. "And one more thing before I leave."

"And what is that, Mistress of Evil?" Brynewelm asked, adding the medallion to his collection.

The orb in her scepter began to glow as her eyes started to burn with rage. "This… is for taking my father away from me!"

She whirled around and shot a huge beam of magic at Brynewelm just as he turned to face her; the beam shot him in the face, which made him cry out in pain and shock and collapse into more piles of his gold. But then he felt something sharp pierce his shoulder; it was a stalagmite and it stuck itself into his body when he fell. Brynewelm let out a deafening roar in frustration and agony, but he was so distracted by his own excruciating pain that he didn't even notice Maleficent disappear in a burst of green flames with the Ember of Blue in tow.