"I'm telling you, he doesn't want to see anyone!" Charon said as he rowed Rhea down the River Styx towards Hades' palace.

"I don't care! He's my son and I am going to see him whether he wants me to or not!" Rhea argued before the ferry reached the dock. She stepped out of the bed, flipped her hair, gave Charon a tiny 'humph', and walked up the stairs to the palace without saying another word.

"What? No tip?" The ferryman asked, sounding a bit miffed.

Rhea ignored his salty comment and continued climbing up the stairs. Ever since Maleficent left the ball, Hades also left soon after midnight and no one had been able to reach him for several hours. Rhea wanted to know why her youngest child was acting in such a manner, so she decided that her best bet was to go see him in person. Then she finally made it to the doorway leading to the throne room, but Pain and Panic quickly stopped her from entering. They were both wearing sunglasses and standing up straight like a pair of security guards.

"Halt! No one is allowed entry!" They said in unison.

"Not even your boss's mother?" Rhea asked, placing her hands on her hips and furrowing her brow.

"Especially not his mother!" Dementia said as she hovered over Pain and Panic; she was wearing the exact same glasses as them. "Sorry, but the boss specifically said no visitors. No exceptions."

"Are you joking?" The Titaness said before she noticed Hades slouching in his throne. He had taken his clothes off and was only wearing his black chiton around his waist with his bare chest visible and a saddened and emotionless look on his face. "I can see him right there!"

"Yes, yes. I know, but still. The least you can do, as his mom, is respect his wishes and leave him be." Dementia retorted.

"What makes you think you can speak to me this way? I used to be Queen of the Cosmos; you have no right to treat me like this! I demand satisfaction!"

"Oh, don't give me that. I've seen your type before, lady."

"MY type?!"

"You know: entitled, privileged, thinks she can walk all over everybody!"

"I beg your pardon?!"

"Do I HAVE to repeat myself?!"

"Why you little—"

"QUIET!" Hades screamed as he threw a fireball at the doorway, causing Rhea and the trio of imps to jump back in surprise. He glared at the group and snarled, not wanting to deal with anyone's nonsense.

"Hades! How dare you throw a fireball at your own mother?!" Rhea shrieked in shock.

"Mother, PLEASE don't start! I am NOT in the mood! I just wanna be left alone." Hades said, slumping forward and frowning.

Rhea shook her head and sighed. "I don't understand, Hades. What has gotten into you? You've been like this ever since that woman left the ball the night before." Then she noticed something sitting on the right armrest of the throne; it was Maleficent's lost shoe. "You need to stop this moping. She left; it's not worth crying over. There are plenty of other women out there. And if you ask me, I believe she wasn't fit to be your bride anyway."

"NOBODY ASKED YOU!" Hades screamed in pure, raw rage. Rhea jumped back in response, shocked by her son's sudden outburst; she hadn't expected him to be so defensive. The flame-haired God breathed heavily as he slowly calmed down. "You don't know Maleficent like I do. She's not like anyone I've ever seen or met before. She's just so… magnificent." His face slowly started to turn red as he thought of her.

"I knew you had feelings for her." A new voice said.

Rhea turned around to see Nyx walking up the stairs and stopping right next to her. She glowered at the Goddess of the Night.

"This does not concern you, Nyx." She said in a snobby tone.

"It doesn't concern you either." Nyx retorted.

"Ladies, please." Dementia said as she, Pain, and Panic, tried to push the two Goddesses away from each other to avoid any unnecessary squabbles.

As the pair of women argued with one another, Hades instinctively tuned them out; his mind was focused on Maleficent and his head was overflowing with questions. Why did she run away? Did he say something to offend her? Why did she want to be alone? Why was she acting so scared? This made no sense to him. Hades always saw Maleficent as a confident, fearless, and powerful woman, so he felt she had no reason to run away from him the way she did unless he said something that royally messed things up, yet he couldn't fathom what he could've possibly done to upset her. Then his hand clasped itself around the blue Ember around his neck; she had brought back his Ember, the most powerful artifact he ever created and lost. But now he had it back… because of her. He smiled and he felt his cheeks turn hot as he remembered his time with her the night before; he thought of Maleficent's graceful movements, her shining eyes when she gazed at him, her laugh, her gorgeous smile. She truly was a rare beauty. But then he thought about her tale with Grumio and his blood boiled.

'Grumio was nothing but an idiot. He never deserved Maleficent.' He thought, then he paused. After replaying the events of the evening in his head, his expression softened as realization hit him. There was no use denying it anymore.

"I've fallen in love with her." He said.

That was enough to make Nyx and Rhea stop fighting and turn their heads towards him; Nyx grinned excitedly while Rhea only gawked at her son in shock.

"One quick smile

And I'm glad I know you" Hades started to sing.

"You unlock the secret me that I couldn't see

Only you, lonely you

See me as I am and hope to be

I'm sky high and I long to show you

My whole world is altered

Yet I don't say a thing

Only you, lonely you

Show me how my lonely heart can sing"

As he sang, he thought about when he and Maleficent first met; releasing him from the Well of Souls, having a casual dinner with him, and making that silly bet. He smirked at that.

"Look what I missed

I was so blind

You were always in plain sight?

Out of my dreams

Into the light

Nothing's the same now

Ev'rything's bright

Ev'rything wrong seems right

All my life

I've been waiting for you

Right beside me all this time but I never knew

Only you, lonely you

And I sense that you can feel it too

Why don't I speak

Say it out loud

Tell you how I really feel?"

Hades glanced at the shoe sitting on the armrest. He picked it up, looked at it, and held it close to his chest as he kept on singing.

"You were right there

Five feet away

Why was I tongue tied

Ever so dull

When I really want to say"

He then stood up from his throne and strode over to a window looking out at the River Styx, visions of Maleficent appearing before him.

"All my life

I've been waiting for you

You were born to change my life but I never knew

Only you, lonely you

And I'll find a way to make you see

Only you can rescue lonely me!"

After a moment, Hades leaned up against the wall near the window, slunk down to the floor, and buried his face in his knees with his hand still holding the shoe. Rhea, Nyx, Pain, Panic, and Dementia paused and looked at each other, unsure of how to react. Pain and Panic slowly stepped to the side to let Nyx and Rhea pass; the two elder Goddesses nodded at the impish minions and meandered over to Hades to see if they could do or say anything to help.

"…Hades?" Nyx softly asked.

"Who am I kidding? Hades, wake up and smell the nightshade. She's the most beautiful creature in the world and I'm…" Hades sighed. "…so not worthy of her."

Rhea let out a dramatic gasp. "Hades, how can you say such a thing? If anything, this woman isn't worthy of you." That was when she felt something hit her hard in the left bicep. "Ow!" She turned to Nyx, realizing she had just punched her; she rubbed her sore arm as the Goddess of the Night glared at her. "What was that for?"

"Haven't you said enough?" Nyx asked before walking up to Hades and sitting down next to him to comfort him.

Rhea paused, feeling a tinge of guilt combined with embarrassment. "Very well. If you need me, Hades, I'll be up on Olympus." And with that, she turned on her heel and walked out with Pain and Panic escorting her down the stairs back to the dock.

"Hades? Why would you think you're not worthy of Maleficent?" Nyx asked, wrapping an arm around his shoulders.

"…I don't know." Hades bluntly answered. "I just feel so confused. I've never felt this way about anyone before. Sure I've had some crushes here and there, but actually being in love? This is a whole new thing for me."

"Well… how does Maleficent make you feel?"

"Where do I start? She's bright, she's beautiful. She makes me feel… confused, l-like something's filling up my chest, like I can't breathe. I feel my heart racing, my stomach twisting, and my whole body feels hotter than it usually does. I can't explain it."

"Is that so bad?"

"…What do you mean?"

"I mean… does she make you happy?"

Hades slowly lifted his head with a look of realization on his face. Maleficent DID make Hades happy. In fact, whenever he was around her, he's been the happiest he had ever felt in his life. He truly was in love with her and he wanted to be with her… and he wanted her to be his Queen. But then another thought popped up; what if she didn't love him? Is that why she ran away? Or was it because of something else? Hades looked at the shoe in his hand.

"Yes. She does." He declared.

"Then why don't you go talk to her and tell her how you feel?" Nyx asked.

"I want to, I really do. But Dementia told me that she wanted to be alone and the last thing I want to do is disrespect her. Besides, what if she doesn't love me back?" He sighed. "But the least I can do is give her space… until she decides she wants to talk."

"That's… a very mature thing of you to say." Nyx then wrapped her arms around Hades in a loving hug; he reluctantly hugged her back. "I am SO GLAD you've found someone to love, Hades. And let me tell you one thing. If Maleficent doesn't like you, then it's her loss."

"Hey, boss! Boss!" Pain and Panic exclaimed as they burst into the throne room.

"What are you guys doing?" Dementia asked, rolling his eyes as she took off her glasses and tossed them aside. "The boss is still having a crisis here."

"We can worry about that later!" Pain said.

"There's a letter for you, boss!" Panic said, holding up a scroll in his hands.

"If it's junk mail, I don't want it." Hades retorted.

"But it's from Maleficent." The pair of imps spoke in unison.

Hades immediately shot up at the mention of Maleficent's name. "It is?! Gimme that!" He ran over to his minions and snatched the scroll from them before he unfurled it.

It read:

"Hades, I apologize for running away from you like that. But I wish to make it up to you. Meet me at my old house and I will explain everything. I'll be waiting."

"She wants to talk!" Hades cried as he hurried around his lair to get himself ready. "This is perfect! I can finally tell her how I feel!" He grabbed his gray shirt and put it on before he pulled the strap of his chiton over his right shoulder.

"Old house?" Nyx asked as she stood up.

"Yeah, she showed it to me once. But it's the ideal place for us to talk in private." Hades then stuffed Maleficent's shoe into the folds of his chiton before grabbing a small black velvet box and placing that into his shirt.

"Don't go." A trio of voices said.

That was when the Fates suddenly appeared in the middle of the room in a flash of light, causing everyone to jump back in surprise. Hades narrowed his eyes at the three hags, unhappy with dropping in unannounced and with their comment.

"What is that supposed to mean?" He asked as he slipped his favorite black sandals onto his feet.

"You can't go." Clotho answered.

"If you do, then you'll be in trouble." Atropos chimed in.

"Trust us. DON'T GO." Lachesis warned.

Hades was extremely miffed at this. "Is this some kind of joke? Because if it is, I don't find it funny. I'm going to see Maleficent and that's THAT. Pain, Panic!"

The two imps stood straight as a pair of boards.

"Prep the chariot, you're coming with me."

"Whatever you say, Your Fieriness!" Pain and Panic said.

"Should I come, too?" Dementia asked.

"No. Dementia, I need you to stay here and hold down the fort until we come back. Can you do that for me, kid?"

The little purple imp gave a salute. "Aye-aye, captain. No surprises while I'm on duty."

"Good. I'll see you later. Boys, let's go."

"Coming!"

And with that, Hades descended the stairs with Pain and Panic at his side to where his chariot was parked leaving Dementia alone with Nyx and the Fates. Nyx dusted the skirt of her dress as she also headed towards the door until Atropos stopped her.

"Oh!" She said. "Nyx, we heard from Hermes that Zeus has just called for a meeting of the Gods later tonight and he asks all deities to be present, including us and you."

Nyx facepalmed and groaned in frustration. "Ugh, fine. Better see what he wants and get it over with." She turned to Dementia. "You're sure you'll be okay on your own, sweetie?"

"I'll be fine, Nyx. I'm a lot tougher than people think, trust me." Dementia said with confidence.

"Well okay, if you're sure." Nyx said before disappearing down the stairs towards the dock.

After a few moments, Dementia turned her head to sneer at the Fates who gave her confused looks.

"What?" Clotho asked with a shrug.

"Telling the boss not to go talk to his true love and possible future wife/queen? I never would've expected this from you three." The little imp said.

"No, Dementia. You don't understand." Lachesis said as she stepped forward. "Hades is—"

"Lord Hades!" Three unfamiliar voices exclaimed.

Three little lights suddenly flew into the room before they transformed into Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather. They searched through the castle library until they found the spell Maleficent used to travel to the Underworld and the fairy sisters were so glad that it still worked. The three fairies sighed in relief while gasping for breath.

"I thought we'd never make it past those giants." Fauna heaved.

"And that three-headed dog was quite territorial." Flora commented.

"It doesn't matter. We made it." Merryweather said before looking around the throne room. "Wait, where is he?"

"Hey, I remember you three." Dementia said as she walked up to the Fairies. "You helped Maleficent get ready for the ball, right?"

"Yes. And you are the little imp that drove her to the ball, yes?" Fauna asked.

"Name's Dementia. But what are you three doing here?"

"We came to look for Lord Hades, we need his help." Merryweather replied.

"You just missed him." Atropos commented.

"But where did he go?" Flora asked.

"He received a letter that told him to meet Maleficent at her old house to talk, but it's a trap." Lachesis explained. "We tried to warn him, but the lovesick fool wouldn't listen to us. But you can still catch him if you hurry."

"A trap? Oh no!" Dementia cried.

"We have to find him!" Merryweather said as she and her older sisters started to leave. But then she paused and turned to the purple imp. "Would you like to come with us?"

"Me? But the boss told me to hold down the fort." Dementia replied.

"Don't worry about that, dear. Everything will be fine. Go, they'll need your help." Atropos told her.

Even though she was hesitant, Dementia was also a bit excited; she hardly got to be part of the action. She turned back to Merryweather and shook her hand. "I'm in."

"Good, then let's go!" Flora said as she, her sisters, and their new companion flew out the door back to where the portal was.

"…Good luck." Clotho said before she and her sisters used their shared eyeball to teleport away.