Away from town, the men transformed into their natural forms; a pair of devilish imps, henchmen to the Lord of the Underworld.
"Man, I really hate changing shapes, let alone species", the thin, blue demon complained.
"Ya, I know wha'cha mean", agreed his plump, magenta colored partner. "I prefer going au natural", he made an unforgettable pose.
They returned to their underground home and admired their loot. In a fit of girlish giggles, they each tried on and modeled their own shoe.
"Look'en good Panic!" "Thank-you. I do feel rather....sophisticated"
The God of Death himself, heard his minions return from what, he hoped and darn well better be, was a successful plunder.
"Pain. Panic; my loyal servants. I trust you have brought me the items I had requested." The warning was apparent upon his face.
The Imps were too busy in their own world to notice their boss' presence, or his incredible short temper.
Hades changed from his normal cool hue, to a much 'hotter' shade. The flame, from his Bunsen-burner like hair, spread throughout his body, making his annoyance apparent. "HELLO??!!" Embers burst from his godly form, singeing anything and everything in sight, including two oblivious minions.
Blackened to a crisp, Pain and Panic coughed and moaned. The only part un-touched were the whites of their blood-shot eyes. "Oh! Hi boss"
Slowly gaining his composure, Hades rolled his eyes. '"Oh, hi boss."' He mocked. "You two are such gluttons for torture"
The devil-like Imps stood at attention. "Sir! Yes sir."
"Great. Now that I have your attention.....where's the items from my list....."
The two demons exchanged a panicked glance. "Uhh, items? What items."
Hades started to simmer and boil. "Ohh, I don't know. The items I sent you two dimwits to retrieve. Does that sound familiar?"
Panic laughed nervously. "Oh, those items. The ones on the list, right? Umm, well they're........"
Hades noticed the new wear that covered one of each of his servants feet. "And what have we here?" He robbed the shoes from their feet and shook them before their faces in a fit of rage. "These...were NOT what I requested!!" He snatched them by their rubbery necks and squeezed until breathing was impossible.
"Hades.....?"
A new presence entered the fray.
"What's going on? Did they get what I needed?" The man wore a scraggly, un-kempt beard. His eyes were sunken and worn from age and lack of sleep.
Hades smiled a wide, fanged grin and set his minions gently upon the ground. "Ahh, Julius, my friend. Every-thing's fine. There's just been a slight delay. Apparently, my boys were unsuccessful in retrieving the necessary materials, this time around. But, I'm sure...." He gave Pain and Panic a stern look, his eyes ablaze, and bulging. "they won't fail again."
The older gentleman nodded and retreated back through the darkened tunnel from whence he came.
Hades turned his angered attention back to his employees, whom had shape-shifted into lowly rats, showing their regret for their failure. "Will they?......Or.........ELSE!!!!" A layer of smoke filled the cavern, snuffing out the remaining light.
I sense a few uttered gasps, resulting from the previous paragraph. So, let's take a few steps back and see if we can clarify a few things before we move on. Shall we?
Did anyone wonder what happened to the scientific genius, Julius Sanders? Well, after the explosion in the basement, Mr. Sanders was transported back through time, just as planned. But something happened. One, tiny mistake altered everything, it could have happened to anybody. Unfortunately, it happened upon this gentleman. As the earth shattered from the electronic force, Julius's body swayed violently. Trying to right himself, he accidentally bumped the switch that controlled the time destination. That was all it took to alter his plans, dramatically, one tiny blunder.
When he arrived in the ancient world, he was disoriented and confused. Where was he? What had gone wrong? When he was able to collect his thoughts, he finally was able to put together where he was and what had happened. He panicked. Wasting time feeling sorry for himself, he hugged his knees, rocking back and forth, mumbling pathetically. Later, he wandered aimlessly through the woods, unsure of what might lay ahead of him. Thinking only of his failure and his wife and daughter.
Meanwhile, Hades found himself in yet, another meeting.....I mean...get-together, with those spinners of Fate themselves; The Fates. Trying to be the charming, generous host, he offered the twisted sisters a variety of refreshments. Everything from, Frog-eyed salad, Jelly Worms, and Bloody Marys. After a fine meal, Hades got right down to business.
"So my lovelies, seen anything interesting through that 'all seeing eye' of yours? Perhaps something to my benefit?"
The sister, deemed Clotho, huffed and hocked a slimy loogie from her wide nostrils. "You know very well, Hades, that we cannot reveal what is to be."
"I should have know this was all a trick", Atropos commented. (No kidding)
Hades smiled sweetly and pressed his clawed fingers together. He couldn't believe he was stooping so low to commit to this. But he was getting desperate; none of his evil plots had been successful. He needed some....incentive.
"Pwetty pwease?........" He babbled in baby talk. "Wit bile on top?"
Clotho, of course, fell for the act and turned to her sisters for their approval. Lachesis and Atropos considered their gullible sister.
"Hmm....I don't know....." Lachesis pondered as a hairy spider crawled out of her empty eye socket, from which she quickly snatched and popped into her mouth.
Atropos was catching and throwing their shared eye-ball, up and down, in the air like a ball, also thinking. "We cannot show you what lies ahead, but we can show you someone who could become a useful friend." She tossed the eye into the congested, brimstone filled air, as it began to display a new visitor upon the Greek shores. It showed a man, obviously lost and discouraged, wandering alone.
"He....has a gift." Lachesis pointed out. "One of which that will give thee a much needed lift"
The eye went blank and fell back into Atropos's scaly palm. "Do with what you will. That's all we'll spill." They disappeared in a swirl of smoke, leaving Hades with the new found information. He shrugged. "OK. That was helpful", he muttered, not fully understanding.
Julius spent many years testing out different prototypes, in which he planned to return home. He didn't have his notes or anything to refer to that would help in the construction. The first few months in the past were mostly focused on survival. He was, after all, a stranger in a new world, he wasn't use to the primitive way of survival; Finding one's own food and building a shelter. Julius had to re-learn how to live, if he expected to see his own time again.
Once he got himself settled, he went straight to work into building a new time machine. Unfortunately, all of his attempts were failures, due to lack of useful materials. He would often weep mumble about his wife. "Forgive me, Layla. I never meant for this to happen", he would pray silently. Julius Sanders lived like a hermit, alone in the past, for nearly two decades. Until, one day, he got an unexpected visitor.
Inside his meager hut, he prepared himself a small meal, over the fire. He had spent all day trying his luck on re-creating what had already been. If only he had thought of a way to retrieve one's self from his time traveling. He poked and tempered the flame, encouraging the heat speed up the cooking process. For a moment, he stared into the hearth with a bored, distant look. Suddenly, the flames seemed alive and throbbing; Shifting and changing colors before his eyes. The once orange spark was now a brilliant blue, dancing upon the wooden logs. Unsure by the fire's behavior, Julius took and instinctive step back, afraid but all the while; Mesmerized. The flaming energy jumped from it's birthplace and landed before Julius's feet, upon the dirt floor. Startled, Julius fell back, landing on his rump. His instincts warned him to flee, but he couldn't pry his eyes away from the scene before him. Some odd part of the human psyche that draws one to witness horrific events; Like when you're driving down the freeway and come upon an auto accident, it's hard not to take more than one glance.
Smoke billowed up, swirling around the flame, towering above to form the figure of a man. Julius coughed and choked, waving his hands about to help purify his incoming oxygen. When all the smoke cleared, a powerful being was standing before him. He wore long, flowing, gray robes. His skin, the color of ash. His nose was sharp and pointed, as well as the teeth beneath his menacing smile. A blue flame adorned the top of his head, in place of hair. Julius was, understandably, frightened. Never in his life had he experienced what was before him. He shook his head, not believing what he was seeing. His mouth moved to form words, but it took a few tries to apply voice to the life-less words.
"Wh.....what are you?" Which was strange; because normally when you first meet a stranger you ask, 'who are you?' But Julius couldn't help it, he had no knowledge of that world's workings. He was a scientist. To him, the delicate balances of the universe could be interpreted through careful study and observance. He didn't believe in an all-powerful being that governed and sanctioned the world. Or in this case, numerous ones.
Hades straightened his spine. "Name's Hades, Lord of the.....what? What...am...I?!" That was a new one. He was clearly insulted. How dare this lowly mortal refer to him as a....? Well, he never specified what, but it was definitely disrespect. "Why you little......!" The hot flames around him intensified. He was about ready to repay the offense by giving him a one-way ticket to the Underworld. But, like it or not, Hades needed the pathetic, little mortal, and it would get him nowhere to throw his anger about needlessly. He'd been watching the man carefully for almost two decades to decipher if the Fate's prediction was worth-while. Hades was intrigued by what he saw and knew the mortal had potential, despite his numerous, failed attempts, to reproduce the device that had brought him there. Perhaps, with his generous help of course, he would, again be successful. Since he could not conquer this world, thanks to some second-rate demi-god, then he might have a chance to conquer another, in the future. Though, he would need to offer a trade for his services. Hades could not simply threaten the wining pup, that wouldn't do any good. He had nothing of value to confiscate for collateral. But there had to be something he could use to persuade his loyalties.
Hades noticed the man inch away from him, cowering in fear against the far wall. He made a conscience effort to cool his short temper, and make his voice lighter.
"I'm....sorry." It took him a great deal of effort to utter that apology. He didn't have much practice with those words. "Please forgive my abrupt and brutal behavior. Allow me to re-introduce myself; I am Hades, Lord of the dead." He bowed low.
A spark of interest flashed in the old man's hazel-colored eyes. Julius nearly lost his nerve before the dreaded Deity, but curiosity burned past his fear. He slowly found his feet, still shaking, bracing himself close to the protection of the wall.
"The dead? You rule the dead?"
Hades sighed tiredly. "Yes. Unfortunately, that is the task I've been given to bear. Unfairly, might I add."
"So....you have the power to retrieve those whom have passed on"
Mortals were so slow to catch on. Still, Hades smiled to himself; 'now we're getting somewhere'
He nodded. "If I ever had the need or desire to do so, then yes, I do have that power." Even though he never wanted to or even tried.
Plunging to his knees Julius cautiously, yet anxious, crept before Hades. "Will you help me? Will you help me find my long-dead wife"
BINGO!
Hades raised the fragile mortal to his feet and attempted to show sympathy in order to gain his trust. "Hey, I'm here for ya." He put a brotherly arm about Julius's shoulders. "Just tell me when the little lady passed on to my neck-of-the-woods"
Julius seemed slightly awkward, as if trying to work out how to explain. "Well, she won't even born for centuries to come. You see, I'm not from this place in time. I'm....a wanderer, lost in time." He continued to explain how he'd arrived and by what means, while Hades tried not to look bored, since he was already aware of the circumstances.
"Like I said before, pally, I'd be glad to help because, hey, that's the kinda God I am. But in order for me to retrieve the babe, I'd need to be in the same time as her death."
Julius became thoughtful. "I've been struggling to re-create my invention. But, surely with your help, I could make it work."
Hades feigned delight. "Oh, you think so?! I'd love to see the future in the flesh, so-to-speak."
Julius shrugged out of Hades grip. "Only if you help me, first." He might have been desperate, but not so much a fool.
The God of Death smiled his acceptance. "Of course, my friend. Whatever you say." His mind was swimming with the possibilities. "Come. Let me take you away from this dump. You can crash at my pad." He snapped a finger and they disappeared in a fiery flash.