5.

- No, I'm not going back there!

- Persephone, you don't seem to realize what you have done to Hades!

- Why would you care?!

- He is my brother, that's why! – Poseidon was on the verge of strangling the goddess standing before him.

Persephone apparently inherited a good amount of persistency from her hell of a mother because she was talking back to the God of Seas without any hesitation. And gods, she was just as annoying as Demeter right now.

- You can't send me back there! – she shouted. – You have no idea how horrible that place is!

- But Hades needs you! If he fades, the entire world will suffer and we will be defeated!

- No, we won't! Besides, even if I went there, it would change nothing.

- Oh yeah, how do you know?!

- Because I am not going to stay there! – hissed the Goddess of Springtime uncharacteristically menacingly. – It won't do him any good. He will know I won't stay. He won't stop fading.

- Did you at least try it?!

What was wrong with everybody here?! Nobody seemed to think about giving it one single try to help Hades somehow. Why the hell not?!

Oh yeah, because it was Hades.

Tears welled up in Persephone's eyes.

- I will miss him… it will be very painful – she sobbed, casting her eyes to the ground. – And… I wouldn't bear seeing him in this state… I just can't do it…

- What have you done to her this time, Seaweed Breath?! – shrieked a newcomer: Athena stormed to them.

The Universe was against Poseidon today.

- Stay out of this! – shouted Poseidon. – The last thing I want now is your stupid smart-talk nonsense!

- Oh you mean Hades – mused Athena, eyes narrowing dangerously. – Why don't you stop wasting your time, Seaweed Breath and start preparing yourself for the chaotic days after his death—

Athena jumped back just in the time as the Trident stabbed the pavement right where her feet were a second ago. Persephone gasped and stepped back as well. Poseidon looked at Athena with pure hatred in his eyes.

- You say that like it is something insignificant – he growled in a dangerously low voice. – Hades means nothing to you, huh? Trust me on this, my dear niece, he will once he is gone. Now go away. Next stab will be at your neck, sweetheart.

Athena held her head high as she walked away from the spot. Poseidon looked after her for a short while then turned to leave as well. But not before hissing some last words to the fearful Persephone:

- Hypocrite bitch.

...

The Sea God was on the verge of losing common sense from anger… no, not anger, desperation. Yes, that was the right word.

He couldn't believe the rest of the gods. Nobody seemed to care about Hades, nobody wanted to give him one chance. It seemed that the Lord of the Underworld was destined to fade alone. He had always been the… how do mortals say it? Black sheep of the family? Yes. Hades was the black sheep. He liked to be to himself. In the dark, in silence. Maybe that's why he hadn't gone mad in his kingdom. It was the perfect place for him. But of course, everyone needs some company after a while. Probably only Poseidon agreed on this, but he thought Hades deserved Persephone. He, against all claims, was never a very demanding god actually. Yes, he had a pride of his own, just like everyone else, and a nasty habit of keeping grudges till the end. But he always settled for what he had and in a relatively short amount of time, too. When Kronos swallowed them, they were trapped inside the "stomach": a kind of void in the Titan's body. Hades was okay with this as long as he was alive, as he could retreat to his own privacy every once in a while but having his siblings there as well. Hades was okay with Zeus getting the crown, even though he was the youngest of them. Him becoming the Lord of the Underworld was a subject more… difficult, however. It was completely understandable nonetheless. Who the hell would have liked the idea of being technically banished to an underground realm filled with the dead? But, once again, much to Poseidon's surprise, Hades settled for even that. Especially after he married Persephone. After that he never even mentioned that the draw had been unfair. That it was planned out the way it turned out. He also never seemed to show any interest in the others' powers and domains. He was still grumpy, of course… and when Zeus killed his mortal wife during World War II (along with another fifty innocent people) things got really out of handle. Hades became enraged, and rightfully so.

Poseidon almost laughed at this. Hades was the only god who was apparently denied from having a mortal or immortal wife. No, it wasn't his right to have a companion. Everybody could have one or a dozen at a time. Him? No, of course not. Why do you ask?

The God of Seas needed silence, needed a place far away from the other gods. So he traveled to the Underworld, to Hades' palace. It was weird really. He usually enjoyed sounds. But this time he needed silence. Utter silence.

He quietly entered the bedroom. Hades was unconscious again. Before his bed stood a dark-winged figure dressed in robes: Thanatos, the God of Death was leaning over his master, examining him carefully. At the sound of the opening door he backed away from the god. Poseidon sighed heavily.

- Can you… tell how much time is left? – he managed to press the question out of himself, despite knowing that the answer will probably make things worse.

Thanatos face stayed straight: he was either this used to seeing death, or hid his real emotions this well.

- Are you sure you want to know the answer, sir? – he asked slowly. – Most people can't accept it.

- Yes, please tell me.

-… Five days. Starting now – mumbled Thanatos. – A few hours more or less.

Five days.

Only five days until the eldest brother of the family was gone. If the Titans knew about the situation, they were probably already celebrating. Poseidon inhaled deeply, letting the information sink in.

- I will leave now – said Thanatos after a long pause and walked out of the room.

Poseidon looked at Hades. The god was sickly pale, thin and fragile-looking. His right hand was resting on the blanket. Through his skin one could see the shimmering silhouette of the folds in the fabric.

Poseidon looked around. There was a black armchair in one of the corners, turned to face bed. Maybe Nico placed it like that. Nevertheless, the God of Seas flung himself into it and stayed there motionlessly for what seemed like an eternity.

Five days. It was far too early.

Maybe Hades would only wake up for minutes now, before sinking back to unconsciousness. Maybe he wouldn't even know where he was during those moments.

Poseidon watched his dormant brother (it was probably for hours) and then he started talking. He wasn't even sure what he was saying, as if his mouth became self-aware and started working against his will. He just talked. About everything. Gossips on Mt. Olympus, news from the mortal world, his underwater palace, the Underworld, his brother and sisters, Athena, Persephone, the weather, the adventures of their demigod children, everything. He wasn't even thinking about what he said, the words just poured out from him.

Maybe he did it because he, against all of his current feelings, liked sounds. Any kind of sound. He liked to talk, even if not as much as Apollo or Hermes. He realized that the Underworld Palace was the only place truly silent ever since Kronos' stomach. His home was never quiet: the soft murmuring of the ocean always filled the air. Heck, he spent most of his free time on beaches, listening to the waves. Some kind of sound was always present in his immortal life. But not now. This room of Hades' palace was deadly silent. One could hear every small creak on the corridors or the room next door. The murmuring of the dead soul in the Fields of Asphodel didn't reach up here, neither did the agonizing screams from the Fields of Punishment, nor the laughter from Elysium. Probably it was to most silent place in the world even. And it was unnerving for Poseidon. So he guessed he talked because he wanted to vanquish this almost drowning amount of silence.

Or maybe, it was because he wanted to talk to his elder brother normally once, while he still had time. It was always hard to start a simple conversation with Hades, especially after that incident with Maria di Angelo. He was only allowed onto Mount Olympus during the Winter Solstice, strictly for formal and official stuff like a meeting.

Once again it was a laughable situation. A god who helped fighting against the Titans and after that the Giants is forbidden to come up to Mount Olympus just to have some fun and talk or something. Heck, even Thanatos had this right, even though he very rarely used it. But Hades? Nah, he will be fine down there. He should stay there.

Maybe the other gods didn't want to help because they wanted him to disappear completely. Yes… it made sense actually. Nearly locking him up in his realm was not enough, it seems. No, it was better if he was completely gone.

Maybe only Poseidon and Hestia had a different opinion. Hestia… the only one among them who never possessed an almost sick amount of pride like the rest of them. She was humble and an amazing listener. She paid attention to anybody who went to her to talk or let out some steam. It didn't matter to her even if all you ever did was whining around her. And among them she was the only one who openly showed her affection towards Hades. Poseidon… he found himself hiding his sympathy all the time. Maybe he wasn't as brave as Hestia. After all, everyone resented Hades. Poseidon just didn't want to stick out that much (he already had enough trouble with his demigod child). But he still remembered the day he first saw that stupid Disney movie "Hercules" and it actually made him angry watching the mortals show Hades as a being even worse than Kronos. Let's forget the fact that the movie was completely inaccurate in mythology.

Heh, he just caught himself talking about that cartoon. Hades didn't even stir at his voice, yet the Sea God went on and on, until his throat started to hurt. When that happened, he finally stood up slowly, murmured a goodbye and teleported to his underwater palace where a sleepless night would await him.


Now before you judge me, let me say this: I LOVE "Hercules". It's an epic classic cartoon and everyone should watch it at least twice. I actually love it so much that I don't care about the countless mythology mistakes in it... and THIS says something since I usually can't stand something like that (fck my maximalist nature.)

R&R please!