After a bit of travel, the golden chariot stopped over a familiar patch of the sea; the edge of Scylla and Charybdis. Another chariot was waiting for them; this one was pink and golden and was being pulled by massive yellow and white moths… and Persephone and Hecate were driving it. The two women turned to see the chariot of monsters flying towards them.
"There you are." Persephone said.
"Did you get him?" Hecate asked.
Lamia reached down and picked up Hades by his shirt; he was still sound asleep. The Goddess in pink smiled a sadistic smile.
"Perfect." She turned to the rocks in the water below and took out her golden flute. She played a short tune and three female figures rose up from beneath the waves. Persephone smiled down at the trio of fish-like creatures. "Sisters! Beautiful, magical sirens! Look at you in your squalid ocean prison! Who put you down there?!"
"The Gods!" The Sirens cried in unison; they shrieked and made waves with their arms and fins.
"That's right!" She nodded at Hecate, who waved her hands and sent a blast of magic down to the Sirens. The magic surrounding them allowed the invisible cursed chains trapping them to break free. "And now that I set you free, what is the first thing you're going to do?!"
"Destroy them!" The Sirens screeched as they transformed into three beautiful women with massive white wings sprouting from their backs.
"Good answer."
With a smirk, Persephone played a few notes on her flute and was enough to make the three Sirens spread their wings and fly up to the two chariots, officially joining the group. And with one final note from the golden instrument, Persephone, Hecate, and their monsters flew off in the direction of Mt. Olympus. Up on Olympus, the enormous meeting of the Gods Zeus had set up was about to start and every God and Goddess in attendance was all gathered in the Pantheon. Zeus was sitting on his throne next to Hera and Hercules.
"Now I understand how unsure and frustrated you all must be right now, and I certainly don't blame you." The King of the Gods began. "But there's an issue of utmost importance that we need to address immediately."
"Yes. Like how your youngest brother chose a complete stranger to be his bride?" Rhea chimed in.
"Mother, don't!" Poseidon hissed.
"Well, Hades seemed to know this "stranger" quite well. And they seemed very happy together throughout the evening." Hera replied.
"Then why did she run away from him at around midnight, hm? Would someone care to enlighten me?" Rhea asked no one in particular.
"Hey, we're all just as confused about this as you, okay?" Ares retorted. "Why do you care so much about who Hades likes? Huh?"
"You know, Ares makes a valid point… for once." Athena said. "At the ball, Hades was bored out of his mind until that woman showed up. I don't think any of us have ever seen him so happy before."
Most of the other Gods around Athena nodded their heads and agreed.
"And did you see the way he was dancing with her?" Hermes asked.
"Yeah, what he did out there was amazing. And I heard Hades had sworn off dancing centuries ago, especially after he participated in that dance contest a while ago." Harmonia, the Goddess of Harmony and Concord, added.
"But why did he choose HER? And not me?" Eris added with a pout.
"Or me?" Lyssa added.
"Or us?" Leuke and Minthe chimed in.
"Or us?" Macaria and Melinoe commented.
"Because you're psychotic?" Apollo asked.
"And you all stalked or hunted down Hades a few times?" Thanatos added.
"Oh! Hey, another point I believe I should add is… my son here shot Hades and that Maleficent woman with a couple of his arrows dipped in one of his newer love potions." Aphrodite said as she stepped forward while holding Cupid by his forearm.
"You SHOT them? With a LOVE POTION?" Rhea exclaimed.
"Hey, I'm a love god. It's my job; I call them as I see them. Besides, I designed that potion to amplify people's true feelings for one another." Cupid said in his defense.
"That's no excuse, Cupid! Hades fell for a fairy because of you!" The elder Goddess cried, glaring at the God of Love.
"I don't get it, grandmother. What's so wrong with Hades choosing Maleficent?" Hercules asked.
"Yes, Rhea. What is so wrong with that?" Hera added with a raised eyebrow.
"What's wrong is that he's choosing to marry a mortal and taint our divine bloodline! It's disgusting and completely unheard of!" The Titaness argued.
"Who cares?!" Most of the deities shouted in unison.
"Yes, mother. They're right. It's the fourteenth century already! Things aren't the same as they were back then, and we don't care about that sort of thing anymore. And besides, people can't help who they fall in love with." Zeus said, taking Hera's hand. "Us Gods are no different. It took me a while to realize my true feelings for Hera before she and I were married."
"Yeah. While I was living on Earth, I had a few mortal crushes that didn't work out until I met Meg. Then she and I married and we eventually became Gods together." Herc added.
"And look at me and Apollo. He may have had a lot of lovers in his time before he and I got together, but we eventually worked things out and I'm proud to call his children my own as well." Athena said, standing close with Apollo, Oleus, and Wisteria.
"And take a look at Psyche and me. She started out as a mortal princess, but we worked it out and we live together with our daughter. And we wouldn't have it any other way." Cupid said as he stood with his wife, Psyche, and daughter, Hedone.
"Or me and Ariadne." Bacchus said as he and his wife, Ariadne, stepped forward together. "She used to be mortal too and she was literally ditched on an island by her first crush. But I was able to help her and we're happy together."
"Everyone here has had relationships with mortals at one point in their lives. And there's nothing wrong with that." Aphrodite said.
"Aphrodite's right. Who cares if Hades fell in love with a fairy?" Nyx said as she and Erebus stepped forward. "He made sure she would be able to come to the ball because he wanted her there."
"Yes. And the least you can do is support him and his choices, not criticize him. Do you even realize what you're sayi—" Erebus started before Rhea shushed him. This instantly offended the God of Darkness. "Wait, did you just shush me?" She shushed him again. He scoffed. "Really, Rhea? If you don't want to answer my questions, then you—"
"Quiet!" The Titaness hissed as she put a hand to her ear. "I hear something."
The entire Pantheon was confused, but everyone soon fell silent as they stopped and tried to listen to what Rhea was hearing. Then they heard it; a faint sound that was quite similar to… singing?
"Wait… I hear something, too." Herc said.
"Me too." Erebus added.
A pale pink fog started to fill the room and soon, three lovely figures emerged from the fog and walked into the Pantheon like they owned the place. They were moving in perfect synchronization and singing in unison; the mysterious voices were coming from them. As they sang, the Gods could only watch as they immediately fell under the Sirens' spell, unaware of what was happening around them. They were so focused on the song that they didn't even notice the little creepy crawlies making their way across the cloud floor.
"Oh wow." Herc said.
"How beautiful." Zeus commented.
"Gorgeous." Hermes added.
"Stunning." Hera chimed in before she felt something crawl up her leg. She looked down, lifted up part of her skirt, and screamed in terror to see a spider the size of a peanut crawling up her leg. That was enough to snap her and everyone around her out of their trance.
That was when the Sirens pointed their fingers at Zeus and several more spiders of different sizes, some small and some extremely large, came crawling into view followed by snakes of all lengths and sizes slithering in. The assembled Gods and Goddesses started to panic as the Gorgons, Empusa, Arachne, and Lamia all barged into the Pantheon and began to attack. They all tried their best to fight back, but the Sirens' song was somehow strong enough to slow them all down and they were easily taken out. Eventually, the Gods and Goddess all found themselves trapped in either enormous spider webs or wrapped in the coils of vicious snakes. Zeus, Hera, and Hercules all struggled to get free from their silky restraints.
"What is going on here?! What is the meaning of this?!" The King shouted.
"Oh, Zeusy-Poo!" A new voice called out. Zeus and the other gods turned their attention to two very familiar faces appearing from the fog; it was Persephone in her chariot and Hecate was right beside her with her winged wolves, Canis and Lupus. Persephone grinned a malicious smile and winked at the King of the Gods. "Your new Queen has arrived! Mee-yow!"
"Persephone?!" Zeus said in bewilderment; his shock quickly turned to anger. "…YOU'RE BEHIND THIS?!"
"I most certainly am!" The Goddess in pink laughed proudly. "So, what do you think of my little menagerie? Pretty cool, right?"
"Cool? …ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND?!" Ares screamed as he was hanging upside down in a web with his sons, Phobos and Deimos the Gods of Fear and Terror, right beside him.
"Persephone, what do you think you're doing?!" Aphrodite cried out as she, the Charites, and the Hesperides struggled to get free from a giant serpent's grip.
"When I get out of this, I'm gonna march right over there and RIP YOU AND YOUR LACKEYS TO SHREDS!" Nemesis, the Goddess of Revenge, threatened as she used her weapon hands to try and get free from her silky prison.
"Oh really? I'd love to see you try." Hecate laughed as she got up in Nemesis's face; Canis and Lupus snarled at her and she flinched before they started laughing.
"Made you squirm!" The two wolves mocked.
"Persephone, I DEMAND an explanation for all of this! NOW!" Zeus shouted.
"QUIET!" Lamia said as she slapped Zeus across the face with her tail.
"Leave him alone!" Hera cried before Lamia slapped her too.
"I told you to be quiet." The snake woman hissed in the Queen's face.
"Well, well, well. Finally ready to play King and Queen, are we?" Arachne mocked as she sat beside Hercules.
"Hey, wait. Where's Hades? Did he put you up to this?" Herc asked.
"Hades? Oh! You mean… this Hades?" Persephone asked as she grabbed Hades by the back of his shirt collar and hoisted him up so everyone could see; everyone gasped.
"Hades!" Poseidon cried as his wife Amphitrite looked on with worry.
"What have you done to my brother?!" Zeus commanded.
"Don't worry about it! He's just napping." Persephone said with a mocking laugh. "Though I have a feeling he's probably going to wake up pretty soon and then he'll see that I've accomplished what he never could. Isn't that great?"
"You. Are. CRAZY!" Bia, the winged Goddess of Force, screamed.
"BEYOND crazy!" Nike, the winged Goddess of Victory, added.
"You will pay for your crimes!" Kratos, the God of Strength, commented.
"And then you'll be sorry!" Zelus, the God of Passion and Zeal, chimed in.
But the huge cobra that was holding them hostage suddenly hissed at the four siblings to shut them up. The other Gods and Goddess agreed with what Nike, Bia, Zelus, and Kratos said; Persephone just rolled her eyes in annoyance.
"Rebellion; that is SO last century." She said before she heard a soft moan.
She turned her head and saw that Hades was starting to wake up; she smiled sadistically as she watched him open his eyes and blink the sleep out of them. He yawned and shook her head.
"Huh, what? Ugh. How long was I out this time?" He asked groggily. As his vision adjusted, he looked around to see the entire Pantheon covered in spider webs and old snake skins, little spiders and snakes were slithering and crawling over the place, and every God and Goddess there was restrained. He gasped. "What the?! Uh… wow. Two things. One: the whole spider and snake infestation motif looks really cool and all and everyone tied up and strangled is a nice touch. Really, I mean it. And two: …What in the sweet name of Chaos is going on?!" He then looked down at his restraints and he suddenly remembered everything that happened at Maleficent's house.
"Oooh, look! Someone's finally awake. About time." Persephone said.
Hades slowly turned his head and to his horror, he was practically nose to nose with his ex. She furrowed her brow and smiled.
"Nice to see you again after so long, Hades." She said in a sickly sweet tone.
"P-P-P-P-P-Persephone?" He stuttered as his breath quickened; memories of Persephone and her abuse suddenly came flowing back to him as if the dam that was holding them back had burst at the mere sight of her.
"Come on, don't be like that. Look around, Hades." She gestured towards the chaos and destruction her monsters had just caused. "You were always talking about how you wanted to rule Olympus instead of Zeus and yet, you never succeeded. Even with the Titans on your side, you still failed because of your nephew over there. But look at this! I was able to achieve YOUR biggest goal and with only a little assistance from monsters of the Earth! I mean, come on! Who needs some crummy ol' titans when you have monstrous girl power?!" She then clapped her hands and jumped up and down while giggling like a schoolgirl. Hades shakily got back onto his feet as she turned to face him. "Stings, doesn't it?"
"I-I-I-I-I-I uh…" Hades tried to speak, but he couldn't say a word.
"What do you think you're doing, young lady?! Let me, my son, and everyone else go or else!" Rhea screamed from another corner of the Pantheon.
"Shut up!" Persephone shrieked at Rhea, who immediately flinched at her tone of voice. "I don't have to listen to some old hag who never wanted her youngest son to marry."
"What?! That's not true! I just never wanted him to marry a mortal!" Rhea said in defense.
Hades' eyes shot open. "Maleficent. Persephone, when Maleficent hears about this, she is so gonna kill you!"
The Goddess in pink paused before turning back to Hades. "Oh, her?" She narrowed her eyes at him as she tried to hold back her anger. "You don't have to worry about her anymore."
Then he paused as realization dawned in him in horror. He furrowed his brow. "What have you done to Maleficent? You'd better tell me right now or…"
"Or you'll what? Burn me to a crisp?"
"I'm warning you, Persephone. If you don't tell me what you did to Maleficent by the count of five, I will break out of this silk and GRIND YOU INTO CHUM!" Hades screamed.
Persephone's eye twitched before she screamed, "Oh! You wanna know what happened?! FINE! I'LL SHOW YOU!"
Hecate then handed Persephone a crystal ball; she tapped it a few times and in the ball, she and Hades could see a close up of Maleficent lying in her bed sound asleep but slowly withering away. Hades gasped in terror.
"Hecubane Crepidotus poisoning." He muttered.
"Bingo." Persephone chimed in. "And here's the best part: as soon as she's finally out of the way, you will be mine… forever."
"Wait, wait, wait! You poisoned an innocent mortal, kidnapped Hades, and did all of this… just so you could marry Hades?!" Zeus exclaimed.
"Wait…" Hera paused as memories flew back to her; she remembered seeing Hades trying to hide himself from other deities, she remembered Persephone walking around with bruises and wounds as if she was proud to show them off, she remembered Hades begging Zeus on his knees in private to get Persephone away from him and Zeus refusing to do anything. She paused and turned to face the blonde Goddess. "Hades never did anything wrong to you, did he?" Zeus and Herc practically spun their heads in Hera's direction. "You lied about everything… to everyone! YOU abused Hades!"
The other Gods and Goddesses gasped in shock before they started whispering amongst themselves like high school students who were just told a ridiculous rumor about another innocent student; this was starting to get juicy.
"Wow, Hera. You know something? That's almost exACTLY WHAT I'VE BEEN SAYING." Hades said as he glared at Zeus.
Zeus could only turn away in shame.
"Her? Abusing my Hades? Impossible!" Rhea scoffed.
"Oh? Impossible, is it, mother?" Hades asked as he turned in her direction. "Why? Because I'm a man? And she's a woman? Newsflash, men can be victims too!" Then he felt a hardy slap right across the face.
"That's enough from you." Persephone said cruelly.
"Enough!" Demeter, the Goddess of Agriculture and Persephone's mother shouted. "Persephone, please! Why are you doing this?! Any of this? This isn't like you at all!"
"Oh please." Persephone scoffed at her mother. "After so many years together, Hades abandoned me all those centuries ago! And then, when he comes back, he acts as if nothing even happened! And to make things worse, I see him cavorting about with some green-skinned, horn-headed freak?!" It was clear she was starting to get emotional. "Well I chose NOT to stand for it! And as for all of you, you all choose to let this affair happen! Right in front of you no less! And Zeus just expects everyone here to get along, carry on, and play nice?! WELL I DON'T WANT TO PLAY NICE!" She stopped and took a deep breath. "Maybe… this will help explain my motives."
She snapped her fingers and music began to play; she began swaying to the beat.
"N-n-name, in the lights" She started to sing.
"Living royal, take a look at this beautiful diamond
And I'm shining, and I'm climbing to the top of this kingdom
Nobody can stop me
If having everything that I want is wrong I don't wanna be right
Sitting high on my throne in control, this is some kind of life"
She then stepped out of her chariot and used her powers to make enormous flowers of all kinds spring up from the clouds. She started to dance on those flowers.
"Empire, Empire
Reign over everything
Take over everything
Empire, Empire
Reign over everything
Take over everything
Take over the realm
I will rule forever
Nobody can stop me, stop me
Stealing my Empire, Empire
Reign over everything
Take over everything
Empire, Empire
Stealing me an Empire
Empire, Empire
Stealing me an Empire"
She made her way over to other various deities and mocked them as she continued to sing.
"All I, want is everything
Cause I'm your new queen
Why pretend to be anything less
I'm a goddess
And the hottest
When I run this kingdom, everybody will see
If having everything that I want is wrong, I don't wanna be right
Sitting high on my throne in control, this is some kind of life"
That was when thorny vines erupted from the ground with even more flowers. Persephone used them to swing all over the Pantheon as she sang.
"Empire, Empire
Reign over everything
Take over everything
Empire, Empire
Reign over everything
Take over everything
Take over the realm
I will rule forever
Nobody can stop me, stop me
Stealing my Empire, Empire
Reign over everything
Take over everything
Empire, Empire
Stealing me an Empire
Empire, Empire
Stealing me an Empire"
The only thing the Gods and Goddesses could do was watch.
"I just want the power, the money and the power
Take it if I gotta, look out the world towers
I just want the power, the money and the power
Stepping on you cowards, look out the world towers
Empire, Empire
Reign over everything
Take over everything
Empire, Empire
Reign over everything
Take over everything
Take over the realm
You'll be mine forever" She pointed a finger at Hades.
"Nobody can stop me, stop me
Stealing my Empire, Empire
Reign over everything
Take over everything
Empire!"
Persephone then jumped off of the flower she was currently riding and collapsed onto a newly formed cloud throne beneath her; it was pink and very intricate looking with flowers everywhere. She snapped her fingers and Canis and Lupus brought Hades closer to her.
"And you can have a bit of this action, Hades… if you agree to marry me." She said.
"What?" He asked in disbelief.
"One word, Hades. That's all it takes."
"Well… I'd just like to say something first."
"Yes?"
"Come closer." She leaned in. "Little closer. Even closer." She leaned in again. "A little more. Just a teeny-tiny bit more." She kept leaning and leaning, but stopped when they were nose to nose again. "Yeah, yeah that's good." Hades then took the opportunity to blow a raspberry right in Persephone's face. She sputtered as she tried to wipe the saliva off of her face; Zeus, Hera, and Herc stifled their laughter. "I will NEVER marry you. And you can't make me."
Persephone narrowed her eyes and scrunched her nose; she hated being told 'no'.
"Canis, Lupus." She used some sharp thorns to remove the spider silk from Hades' body. "Lock him up. Oh! And before you go…" She then reached out her hand, took the Ember of Blue, and snatched it off of Hades' neck. "You won't need this little trinket anymore."
"Hey! I just got that back!" Hades complained.
"From HER! Get him out of my sight until he decides to cooperate!"
Canis and Lupus nodded their heads before they flapped their wings and flew out of the Pantheon with Hades in their embrace with Hades screaming at them to let him go all the while. Hera and Zeus glowered at Persephone.
"You are horrible." Hera snarled.
"How dare you speak to your new queen that way?!" Persephone screamed. "Do you want to end up like Hades?"
"Persephone, I swear. When I get out of this, you WILL pay for—" Zeus started before he was suddenly gagged by Arachne.
"Sorry, bolt boy. But I'm the one giving orders now." Persephone said as she smiled evilly and lounged back in her new throne.