"Donald, my little beastie, my little birdie, my little *duck*ling," Teased Hades as he pulled Donald over with his smoke manipulation powers, "Where's my centaur warrior, dear boy? I thought you were going to persuade him to join my cause for the upheaval and I don't have him here. Why is that?"
"I'm sorry, alright?!! I did my best, but that bozo made me an offer I had to decline", Donald snapped in annoyance.
"Very well, I'll add two more years on your sentence, that way you can give it your all".
"Look, it wasn't my fault, it was this wonderboy, Storkules!" Donald snapped at the God of death again. Hades' eyes went wide as if reminded of an unpleasant memory. Panic paced nervously.
"Storkules...why does that sound familiar?"
Pain shrugged at the question,"I don't know...maybe we owe him money?"
Hades stepped closer to Donald, "Repeat that name again, dear boy?" He asked with venom in his voice.
"Storkules", responded Donald. This causes Hades to turn red in pure anger and looks over towards pain and panic.
"He comes on with this big innocent idiot routine, but I can swe through that in a minute", finished Donald.
"Wait a minute. Wasn't Storkules the name of that chump we were s'posed to --?"
"OH MY GODS!" Both imps shrieked in unison as they fled. Unfortunately for them, Hades grabs them by the tails and drags them back towards him with his smoke manipulation powers.
"'Took care of him' you idiots say!" The God of the Underworld angrily growled, "'Good as bloody dead' you say!??! Weren't those your exact words???!" He held them both closer to his face, directly.
"This might be a different Storkules!" Cried Pain.
"Yeah! I mean Storkules is a very popular name nowawadays!" Agreed Panic, until his last few words come out strangled because Hades tightens his hold.
"Remember, like, centuries ago, every other boy was named Jason, and the girls were all named Brittany?" Pain tried to persuade his master, but to no avail.
"I'm about to rearrange the cosmos...", Hades angrily throws his imp minions to the ground, "And the one dolt, who can ruin everything iswaltzing around on the earth!" He explodes into red flames, destroying all the trees and things around him. Donald quickly ducks to avoid the flames, then stands up again.
"Wait! Wait, boss! We can still cut in on his waltzing", said Pain, still quaking from Hades' outburst.
"That's right! And-and-and he's mortal. That's a good thing. Right?" Agreed Panic.
Hades hesitated and gave it a thought. Even though the two imps failed to get rid of Storkules, when he was done doing what Hades needed him to do, he could still finish off Storkules properly. That way, he won't ruin his plan to get Vengeance on Zeus and the rest of Olympus.
"So it's decided", Hades brought Donald and the two imps closer to him with his smoke manipulation powers, "Luckily for you three fools, we still have time to correct this rather egregious oversight and this time, no mistakes".
Meanwhile Storkules and Gus were flying over Thebes on the flaptter.
"Wow! This place changed the last time Storkules was here!"
"Yes well, that what happens when a city becomes technologically advanced", Said Gus while finding a place to land.
They land in a parking lot and start walking through the crowd.
"Stay close now, this city is still a dangerous place", said Gus with caution. They go to a crosswalk and waited to walk across the street.
When given the signal, they begin to cross the street, and are almost hit by a car.
"Look where you're goin', numbskull!" Shouted the driver.
"I'm bloody walking here!" Shouted Gus back. He looked back at Storkules, "You see what I mean? People here, never have common sense because they still live in a city of turmoil", Gus harrumphed.
Far in the distance, a group of Thebes citizens are having a conversation at a water fountain.
"It was tragic! We lost everything in the fire!" Sobbed a middle-aged, brunette dog woman.
"Yes, everything ... except old Snowball here", said a middle-aged raven holding up a burnt black cat, which mews weakly.
"Now did the fires occurred before or after the earthquake?" The young Bulldog male asked the shaking parakeet.
"They were after the earthquake" The quaking parakeet replied in a wavering voice, holding a leaking pot of water, "I remember because everything that wasn't destroyed by the fire was annihilated by the earthquake."
"But before the flood", added the Brunette dog woman.
"Don't even get me started on the crime rate", Grumbled an elderly hare male.
"You'd think Thebes would've gotten better after all these centuries, but apparently, it gotten worst", sighed the brunette dog woman.
The elderly man nodded in agreement, "Tell me about it. It seems every time I turn around there's some new monster wreaking havoc or a natural disaster occurs".
"All we need now is a plague of locusts" said the tall crow. A locust jumps onto thefountain and chirps, scaring everyone gathered there.
"That's it! I'm moving to Rome!" Said the old hare bitterly.
"Pardon me good people!"
Said Storkules as he walked up to the crowd of Thebes citizens. They all turn and look at him.
"It sounds like you all could use a hero!" the citizens looked at each other and back at Storkules, unconvinced.
The bulldog spoke first "Yeah. And you are you?" He asked.
The former deity cleared his throat, "I am Storkules! I am happen to be a hero!" He replied proudly. Sadly, most of the crowd started laughing.
"Is that so?" Asked he elderly man, "Have you ever saved a town before?"
"W-well, Storkules can't re--"
"Have you ever reversed a natural disaster?" Asked the tall crow.
"No, but—"
"He's a wannabe!" Said The bulldog unhappily, "Bring back a real hero we can actually count on!"
"Now wait just a bloody minute!" Gus shouted, "He's the real deal, just give him a chance!" The crowd continued to leave and Gus sighed.
"Don't worry, we'll get 'em next time." He said dejectedly, flittering away.
As they were about to leave, Storkules saw Donald in the crowd.
"Wait is that Donald?" Storkules asked excitedly, spotting a duck in sailor attire, forcing his way though the crowd, "It is!"
"What's he doing here?" Asked Gus with suspicion.
"Wonderboy! Storkules, thank goodness!" Donald gasped as he approached them.
"What's wrong, dear Donald?" Asked Storkules with worry.
"In the gorge, two kids were playing and there was a rockslide! They're trapped!"
"Children Trapped?!" She said excitedly, the crowd returning to see what the commotion was, "Oh Gus! Gus, this is wonderful!" Her shooked the gremlin with genuine excitement.
Donald frowned, "Jeez, you're real choked up about it aren't ya?" He replied in surprise.
Storkules picks up Donald, bridal style and takes him over to where the flaptter is located at. Storkules carefully seats him there and takes the steering wheel of the flying machine.
"No, I -- you don't under -- I have this terrible fear of heights!"
Storkules ignores Donald's protests and flew towards the gorge.
"Storkules! Wait for me!" Gus yelled in vain as they disappeared over the city.
"Whoo! I'm out of shape!", Gus panted and began following the rest of the crowd to the gorge, "I need to start exercising more often".
Meanwhile at the gorge, The flaptter lands and Storkules dismounts from the machine. Storkules looks back at Donald, who looks like he's about to be sick, and an absolute mess.
"Are you ok Donald?" Storkules asked in concern. Donald gave him a thumbs up and waved Storkules away. Storkules nodded and then ran towards the rockslide.
"Please help us!" A cob (male swan chick) yelled from a narrow crack underneath a massive boulder.
"We can't breathe!" An eyas (young hawk chick) added, coughing while he said so.
Storkules got on the ground and looked into the crevice.
"Have no fear! Storkules will get you younglings out of there in no time," Storkules promised, not noticing as the crowd from Thebes began to filter in. Storkules got back on his feet and grabbed the boulder. Grunting with the effort, he slowly began lifting the massive rock, eventually making enough room for the children to scramble through. The kids crawled out of the cave and Storkules let the boulder drop again, not wanting to disturb the rest of the rocks.
"Thank you Sir!" The cob said politely.
"Jeepers, mister! You're really strong!" The eyas said in awe. Storkules chuckled at their praise.
"Don't worry about it", He said, "Just be a little more careful next time, alright?"
The two children both nodded and then went running off. Storkules smiled to himself and then noticed the large crowd that had assembled. He gave them a little wave and they applauded his effort, suitably impressed by his strength.
The two kids run off up the mountain slope, where they find HADES.
"Well done, you two! I was really moved!" Hades smirked.
"'Jeepers, Mister'?" Said the eyas-turned-imp, Panic, looking at his partner with unamusement.
"I was going for innocence", replied Pain as he turned back to his original self.
"However, it wasn't as compelling as our little beastie over here," said Hades looking over at Donald from afar.
"Shut up Hades,"Donald darkly said in a hushed tone, "Get out of there, you big balooka, while you still can", He muttered to himself.
Back down the mountain, Gus have just arrived and approached Storkules.
"Gus! I did great! They even applauded -- sort of," Storkules spoke in a joyous tone. Gus was about to say something, until they heard hissing and growling.
"Erm ... I hate to brick your bubble, dear lad, but that's not applause".
What appeared from the gorge, was a titanic, scaly, four-legged beast with razor sharp claws and jagged teeth.
"G-G-G-Gus? W-w-w-wha-what is th-th-that?" Storkules stuttered, for he has never seen such a beast like that in real life nor in person.
"One word: HYDRA!" Replied Gus as he quickly fled from the scene in a flash. The hydra roared.
"LET THE BRAWL BEGIN!" Announced Hades in delight.
The hydra roared again and charged towards Storkules.
Storkules pulled out hid sword and dodged the hydra's first swipe, diving to the side and rolling to his feet. It hissed at him and attacked again, this time trying to catch Storkules in it's deadly jaws.
"That's it. Dance around! Dance around! Watch the teeth. Watch the teeth. Keep going. Come on. Come on! Lead with your left! No... your other left!" Gus coached from the side.
Instead, it got a mouthful of stone as Storkules dashed out of the way.
Storkules ran forwards and tried to slice at its neck with his sword, but the monster flicked his sword away with one of its claws, sending him flying.
Storkules regained his hands just in time to dodge another bite, but was grazed by one of the hydra's fangs. Storkules put her sword back in his belt and picked up a massive rock, throwing another rock at the beast's head. The monster caught it in its teeth and pulverized the rock. Before it could attack again, Storkules leaped into the air and, unsheathing his sword, swung it at the monster's outstretched neck, severing it from the body.
He landed, while the hydra's head and neck flopped down on the ground next to him, the stump of its neck steaming and bloody. Gus rushed over to Storkules.
"Well done old boy!" He shouted as the crowd began to cheer, "Keep it up, and you'll be in Olympus in no time!"
At the mountain slope, Pain and Panic stood there quaking while Storkules and the crowd celebrated.
"Oh calm yourselves!", Hades said with a sinister grin on his face,"It hasn't ended yet".
Below, Storkules and Gus hear a rumbling coming from the Hydra's body.
"That doesn't sound good", said Gus in a frightened tone. The hydra stands up and grows three new heads.
"Definitely not good!" Shrieked Gus as he pushed the sword back into Storkules' hand and teleports away.
The now three-headed monster got to its feet and hissed angrily atStorkules. Storkules quickly ran and hopped onto the flaptter. He flew up in the air as the monster struck, just missing the elusive Storkules. He flew towards it and wove in between its heads, Storkules severing each one as they flew by. Soon, the hydra was no longer three-headed, but instead was a writhing mass of angry heads, teeth, and scales.
"ENOUGH WITH THE HEAD SLICING THING!!" Gus yelled from the ground.
Storkules steered the flaptter through the air, trying to avoid the monstrosity, but one of the heads used itself as a club and knocked the flaptter out of the sky, sending Storkules flying towards the beast. He landed on a neck and slid down further, doing his best to avoid the heads and their deadly fangs. Suddenly, he was thrown off the monster by a convulsive movement and into the gorge wall. Storkules started sliding down the rock, but was quickly pinned in place by a paw. Storkules stared at the innumerable furious, hissing heads of the Hydra getting ready for the finishing blow.
"My favorite part," Hades crowed, "sudden death".
The hydra moves in for the kill, but Storkules quickly pounds his fists on the rock
behind him, causing a landslide. The hydra is buried under the rocks, but
Storkules is still trapped in its paw. The crowd all sigh.
"Oh! There goes another one. Just like Achilles", Gus said miserably, turning away from the wreckage.
Donald gasped in horror and Hades let out a victorious giggle.
"One pest down, 10 more to go", said Hades as he summons a wine to celebrate.
Suddenly, a rustle is heard from the hydra's paw. Storkules pushes it apart and climbs out. Hades spits out his drink and the crowd goes crazy.
Storkules waves to them. They move in, pick him up, and carry him away on their shoulders. On the way, they passed Gus.
"Storkules did good!" He smiled at the proud Gremlin.
"You did it, lad! You did it! You won by a landslide!" Gus cheered!
Above, Hades let out a scream of rage. He kicks Pain and throws Panic off the slope, furiously. Donald on the other hand, was impressed.
"Well. Whaddaya know?" He applaused with a smile.
Whooooo! I'm on a role with this fic! Oh dear, things doesn't look good for Hades does it XD? Also, yes Donald, root for your man on (as you should)!
