Not Such Brotherly Love
Hey guys, this is the story you voted for in the poll, since I am one review away I thought I wold post this 1st part as a teaser. So enjoy! Part 2 only comes after I get 50 reviews on the story.. This isn't related directly to any stories, more for fun and dedicated to all those who reviewed, followed, alerted and read P.o.P 2019.. Thank you..
Reviews:
Guest: Hmm, maybe... You can judge for yourself below... The real question is, will they try to fix anything?
UncleMeg: Glad you are enjoying it, sorry this part took so long..
Sharkeygirl: Yes, he is but he is an old hat at this, don't worry..
Part Two: The Appointment..
The silence in the room spiralled horribly as both immortal brothers sat opposite the aging Aristotle. He was an elderly mortal wearing a deep maroon robe and clutching his scroll and charcoal pencil eyeing both immortal gods waiting to see if one of them would break the silence. He had been asked as a personal favour by Persephone who had sat through a few of his classes when she was newly married to Hades and thought it was a good idea to study mortal psychology to better understand her deceased charges. He was supposed to retire but this would be his very last appointment and they had all day to talk about whatever they wished to reveal..
"Why don't we start at the beginning. Tell me about your childhoods." Aristotle finally broke the silence, fed up of waiting for one of them to speak.
"My childhood was great. He wasn't in it!" Hades declared in a loud burst gesturing to Zeus while lancing him an intense look of loathing.
"Hades.." Zeus clicked his tongue in disapproval. "You were born on Olympus, like the rest of us but mother said that father threatened to throw you into a pit in Tartarus so she had to take you away. That's why we never grew up together." A look of hurt was in his sky blue eyes not that Hades seemed to notice as his yellow eyes rolled in an uncaring fashion and he snorted.
"Pfft. Whatever.. Shoulda just run ya through when I had the chance.." The blue flamed Lord of the Dead muttered under his breath, rolling his eyes.
"Hades.." The golden skinned god exhaled in frustration.
"No, no.. Don't stifle him. What do you mean by that Lord Hades?" Aristotle waved Zeus off turning his focus to the blue framed god who blinked in shock, not used to being chosen over Zeus. He glanced at the Lord of the Universe who seemed just as shocked as him, then glanced back and shrugged with a non-commit all jerk of his head.
"Ok, I'll bite. I know this trick but lose the 'Lord' will ya, no need to be formal with me." Hades drawled waving off the mortal with a slight shudder at being so formally addressed. He had never seen his titles as something to brag about since they had pretty much been dumped onto him by Zeus himself, something that always irritated him. The other gods got fun jobs while he found himself tethered to the toughest job of all. "First time I met Zeus was when I was in my teens. I'd been hangin' out with some of the Underworld nymphs and was goin' back home. Then this idiot startles me so I flame him, pin him with my dikrano then the idiot starts wafflin' on about some jerk called Aidenous."
"That was the name mother gave you at birth! How was I supposed to know Nyx changed it after she and Erebus adopted you." Zeus interjected looking irritated.
"Uh, gee Zeus, I dunno. Maybe try some research!" Hades started in a mock-stupidity voice before snarling in annoyace, his flames jumping up yellow before he pinched his nose and returned blue with a heaving sigh. "You see what I'm dealing with here, right?" He turned to Aristotle looking somewhat disbelieving of his brother's nature.
"I'm not here to judge, just observe. So you were still a teenage god when you were recruited into the Titan War?" The aging mortal queried and this made Hades nod at the question.
"Oh yeh, I hadn't even come into my full powers and thrown into a situation I didn't wanna be a part of. My mom was very concerned about me going off.." Hades remincised hardly failing to forget the fuss that Nyx had made over him then making sue to visit him every night.
"Your adoptive parents were instrumental in hiding us from father, he was a maniac." The golden god declared. "My childhood was nothing but abuse. I always knew my father hated me. But after a meeting with the Fates he tried to swallow me whole when I was a boy, I only got away because I threw a stone down his gullet and ran off while he was choking. I never trusted those old hags after that. Spent the rest of my childhood with hiding grandma Gaia in perpetual fear he would find me." He sighed looking suddenly sad and slumped forward in his seat.
"I didn't know about that." Hades responded softly looking both surprised and moved. His childhood had been the best time of his life but Zeus' had been rough. "You never mentioned it before."
"Why would I? It was the worst time of my life, it's why I don't like talking about it." Zeus responded with a scowl looking uncomfortable.
"Amongst other things.." Hades muttered darkly.
"You say your father hated you. How so?" Aristotle turned his attention to Zeus now, curious to know more.
"I think he always viewed me as a threat to his throne. Before the meeting with the Fates he was just a negligent father. In the Hellenic period that wasn't unusual though it was the mother's job to raise the child. The few times he did acknowledge me he was drunk on nectar and wanted to belittle me in front of his peers. Saying I was a disappointment and I would never be good enough for him. Any time I spoke to him he would silence me with a glare then shoo me away saying he didn't need to see me let alone hear me. My mother was terrified of him, he used to beat her, if she wasn't immortal herself she probably would have died. I did witness some of the arguing but not the beatings. I knew when they were happening though, she would come to me with the bruises afterwards and sleep with me promising everything would be alright. He would get better. He never did." The golden god sighed looking saddened and emotional as if this was the first time he had recounted the whole story to another being.
"And after the Fates.. Did he immediately try to swallow you or did he go for your brothers first?" Aristotle asked curiously.
"He went for Posideon first." Zeus exhaled heavily closing his eyes unable to get what he had witnessed out of his head. "He was newly born at the time. Hades, Demeter nor Hera where born by this point." The golden god responded finally opening his eyes looking like the timid boy he had been at the time. "I was with him when my father grabbed him out of the crib and threw him out of the window. I didn't see him land into Oceanus' sea domain I just screamed and tried to flee. I was scared by his anger. It was the first time his rage had been fixed on me, usually my mother took the brunt of it. She tried to get between us but he forced her down and thundered after me. That's when he tried to swallow me."
"I see.. I see.." Aristotle was scribbling down some notes while Hades stared at his older brother as if seeing him plainly for the first time.
"Y'know.. That explains so much about the way you've been treating me over the millennia.." He finally chipped in.
"What do you mean by that? I've always tried to be fair to you. I even forgave you for the mess with the Titans.." Zeus looked affronted by the blue flamed god's word, a scowl forming as the clouds outside darkened and rumbled again. It was certainly a turbulent weather day for the mortals today.
"Your kiddin', right?" Hades blinked looking disbelieving at his older blood brother.
""Why don't we try a spot of role play.." Aristotle interjected sensing that the two brother's were gearing up for a fight and seeking to defuse the situation quickly and get them talking again. It was clear that these two had deep rooted issues that would take more than this one session to fix but he needed them to keep civil and talking so that he could see if his suspicions of the root was really what was the cause.
"Huh?" Zeus blinked having never done such a thing without changing physical form before while Hades raised both brows at the suggestion.
"Ok, as long as it's not the same kind of role play I do with my wife, I'm down." He eventually replied making the golden god turn to his brother.
"What kind of role play do you and Perseph—" The Lord of the Universe found himself cut of by a flaming Hades.
"That's none of your buisness!" He snapped sharply before impressively returning blue and switching to a calm demeanour as fast as a flash of lightning. "So what is it you need us to do?" He was addressing Aristotle keen to get this part over with. His quick change in demeanour was obviously a way of masking his true inner feelings and discomfort with being emotionally bare next to Zeus but for this exercise their inner motions would become clear to him immediately during the role play.
"What I want you to do is play each other in this instant. How would you greet each other in a normal circumstance?" The ancient mortal human said gesturing for them to begin. Zeus rolled his eyes in some disbelief while Hades suddenly looked keen to play our this role. It was a change for him to see first hand the treatment that his little brother experienced every time they met on Olympus.
The white haired God of the Skies and Heavens looked somewhat perplexed as Hades sauntered over to him after growing himself in height a little to be level with his usually taller brother.
"Hades, good to see you.." He grabbed Zeus as tight as he could making Zeus' eyes widen in shock as he found himself constricted into the claustrophobic grip of his grinning brother then smacked as hard as the Lord of the Dead physically could. "How are things in the Underworld, that I just dumped on you without realising how much work was involved in running it." Unlike his more lithe and light-weight brother Zeus didn't wobble but still looked surprised by the force used and the words in the moment of badly repressed frustration aimed at him. It all threw him a little but his competitive nature had been hit. If Hades was going to throw him under the chariot he could do the same.
"Oh, fine. It's dark, with dead stiffs I like to ignore in favour of plotting petty little attacks against you. It never occurred to me that since I grew up in the Underworld and know it and it's residents best that they might not take kindly to someone else coming in and giving them orders." Zeus responded harshly with a frown then folded his arms turning away huffily.
"Alright. That will do. I've seen all I need to see now talk me through your relationship during the Titan War." Aristotle said trying to defuse the tension a bit sensing a lot of built up tension and repressed anger eminating from both brothers.
"Oy, now that was a rough time.." Hades exhaled deflating at the mere mention of this crucial moment in history.
"It was rough on everyone.." Zeus added sombrely. "Grandma Gaia was the one that had sent me to collect my brothers so, I being the oldest, naturally chose to take charge. I tried my best to keep them safe. I was the only one who had experienced first hand how brutal and insane our father could be." He added with a heavy sigh.
"I imagine that the enormous age gap between you must have been challenging even without having to see your new 'brother' as an authority figure. From what I've seen and heard today I would say that the foundations for trust were never really formed, were they?" Aristotle spoke candidly returning his attention to Hades though both brothers looked awkward at the question.
"Well... I... Huh..." Hades tailed off from beginning to contradict the mortal psychologist before stopping and reflecting more on the question. "Y'know Ari, I don't think anyone has ever asked me anything like this before. But I guess, since we're being honest here.." His large golden eyes turned to Zeus looking a little apologetic before answering, "No... Ya pretty much hit the nail on the head of that one. I didn't trust him, still don't in fact, even now." There was a slight sad edge to his expression, like a monochrome of regret twinkled in his eyes.
"I want to trust you Hades, I do but you've undermined me so many times and even back then, you always fought against me and my decisions." Zeus responded looking almost as guilty.
"Ya were never willing to listen to anyone else! 'Specially not me! I was just some little kid you could push around to make yourself seem big." Instantly that flash of anger and orange flames washed away any kind of break-through that could have been formed and Aristotle sighed heavily as Zeus sized himself up, rounding on his little brother..
"I was trying to protect you! You were just a boy!" The golden skinned god roared. "No kid should see war. I didn't want to drag you into it once I realised how young you were but the Fates told me without you we would fail!"
"Oh, yeh, sure. Blame the Fates.." Hades pulled an immature face of mocking then scowled. "Try a new one Bolt Boy!"
"Quit being such a child Hades.." Zeus frowned in disapproval. "We're here to try and repair our relationship.."
"Who says I wanna repair it?" The fiery god exploded into a tirade of fury. "I am just fine with the way things are, thank you very much!" He then hauled himself out of his seat, took a jeering bow then added, "Hades has left the building, ciao babe! Don't call." Immediately he vanished in a cloud of smoke making Aristotle hack.
"I am so sorry about him." Zeus sounded sympathetically as the smoke cleared. "I just don't know what I'm going to do with him."
"It's never too late to open the door and see the light." Aristotle said matter-of-factly wondering if Zeus could truly see why his little brother despised him so much.
"Speaking of the light, I should probably be getting back to Olympus. Heh, I have this divine intervention scheduled in soon and I must check in with Hermes and get up to speed. Hah! Getit? Up to speed... Oh that's good. I kill myself.." Zeus then waved off the mortal casually.
"At least think about what transpired here today, we have only made stepping stones." Aristotle responded. "There is a lot of hard work needed on your part to—"
"Yes, yes... I'll consider it.." The God of Skies vanished in a clap of bright light leaving the ageing mortal alone in his office. He merely gave a withering sigh looking to the reader.
"You think they'll fix anything?"
"Oh Persephone..." Hades called out the moment he returned to his dark Underworld abode, glad to be away from Zeus and that whole situation. "I went, I talked and it accomplished nothing. Now where are ya? Ya owe me payback..."
Nothing. Unknown to him his wife had chosen to go out with Hermes and their mutual friends and was unaware that he had clocked out early.
"Hello? Me, your illustrious husband calling. Looking for his obedient little wife... Hello, hello? What, am I talking to myself here?" The fiery god frowned deeply turning red in irritation. "Dammit Seph, YOU OWE ME!"
Well, that's it guys... Super sorry that it's come this late. Been busy trying to finish up some other things and work has been crazy at the moment too.. Don't worry, next chapter of P.o.P reboot is in the works and hopefully will be up soon..
A~Teal