Same as before, I own nothing but the plot.

Characters:

Hades: King of the Underworld, son of Kronos and Rhea

Hestia: Virgin goddess of the hearth, home and cooking. She is a daughter of Rhea and Cronus and sister of Zeus.

Hephaestus: Crippled god of fire, metalworking, stonemasonry, sculpture and volcanism; son of Hera by parthenogenesis

Chaos: The nothingness from which all else sprang.

Zeus: King of the gods, the ruler of Mount Olympus and the god of the sky, weather, thunder, law, order and fate. He is the youngest son of Kronos and Rhea, whom he overthrew, and brother-husband to Hera.

Part One: The Fields of Punishment

"My lord Hades." He lowered his hood to expose his face.

"Ares?" a voice whispered and out of the darkness a shadowy figure materialized.

He was tall, with marbled skin like his nephew and intense black eyes that drew him in with a mesmerizing and evil charisma.

At first Hades said nothing as if unsure how to proceed.

"It is rare for war to visit the dead." He said in a soft and oily voice, "Even rarer to do so on its own violation."

Ares' eyes flashed, the orbs of flames igniting with barely contained rage, "Uncle." He said in a carefully polite voice, "I have come to extract my debt."

Hades frowned, "Your debt… Ares?"

Ares laughed coldly. "Uncle, you know that the losing side of every war owes me a tribute and sacrifice."

Hades' frown deepened, his black eyes flashing like obsidian chasms.

"I am a Neutral Lord." Hades declared with oily arrogance.

A vicious sneer materialized on Ares' scar-torn face, "You weren't always my lord… were you?"

Hades' frown vanished, replaced instead by a grim understanding. He glowered but did not reply.

Ares smirk widened, bearing his teeth, "I need soldiers, lots of them. As well as weapons."

"YOU GO TOO FAR!" Hades roared, the shadows twisting and warping as if agitated by his anger. "You presume to order me around?"

"I presume nothing." He replied calmly, as if speaking to a petulant child. His tone did not go unnoticed by Hades whose eyes flashed with murderous gleam. "Uncle must I take my case to the courts of Olympus?" He asked, "Perhaps to Lord Zeus."

Hades flinched at the mention of his brother's name as if the word itself caused him unquenchable agony.

"That…is unnecessary." Hades whispered.

"Thank you Uncle." Ares said bowing in mock humility, bowing his head. His sarcasm was not lost on Hades who looked slightly distracted as if thinking of something else.

"You shall have your tribute." Hades declared. He snapped his fingers and dissolved back into the shadows.

A cold hand rested on his shoulder, its touch sending dark electricity volting through his body.

"You have done well."

He shivered, the heat of his eyes dissipating, the orbs of flames becoming dying suns.

"It has begun."

Pain shot down his spine and he fell to one knee, gnashing his teeth to expel the agony.

"Good my good and faithful servant."

He collapsed his head thrashing on the ground.

"Nyx gives you her blessing."

He cried out as the cold hands wrapped around his throat and the land of the dead dissolved into shadows.

The fields of punishment were vast and perpetually endless plain, shallow chasms separating the different areas of punishment. The ground was searing hot, like molten lead, the air heavy with the stench of fire and brimstone.

"Why did you give in so easily my lord?"

Hades' eyes flashed with a deadly gleam, "That is of no concern to you."

"My Lord…"A voice whispered into the darkness. Something in their depths stirred and the voice fell silent as a dark presence materialized in the gloom.

"Is it done?" The presence demanded, its cold, heartless voice reverberating in the air.

"it is." The voice replied quickly, a bead of sweat forming on the back of its neck.

"Then the gods have made their choice." The presence hissed, a low, mirthless chuckle filling the air, "And we…have made ours."

Fire crackled in the silence, the golden flames caressing marbled flesh. Hestia, goddess of the hearth stared unblinking into the neat of the blaze. Images of mortal homes and solemn temples flickering in the depths of the sacred flames.

"My lady." Hephaestus whispered, his warm black eyes rolling across the tasteful silhouette of the veiled goddess, "I have come as you instructed."

For a long time she said nothing and then turned, her eyes twin orbs of flames, staring through the veil onto his crippled form.

Unlike Ares, Hestia's eyes held no malice, the fire was soft, warm, and kind, and Hephaestus found in them no judgment or condemnation for his brokenness.

"My lord." She replied softly, her voice warm and gentle as hot silk, "I see in the fire a dark prophecy."

Hephaestus ran his hand over the hearth, his fingers weaving skillfully through the tongues of fire.

"I see betrayal and death…and the fall of Olympus." She said placing her marbled hand over his own. "But I see also… a hope."

Hephaestus' eyes darkened, the light cast by the hearth illuminated his deeply troubled face, "I see nothing." He admitted in a whisper.

"No." She corrected him gently, "Not nothing, you are looking at Chaos, the first of the immortals as well as the last. He is that which all else sprang."

"What is its meaning my lady?" He asked, his eyes again finding hers.

"It is…"

"My…Lord?"

The presence stirred in the darkness.

"Hades has sworn his allegiance to Olympian Zeus."

The presence said nothing and the voice continued.

"The minor immortals of death have sworn their allegiance as well. Thanatos, Keres –"

"It is…to be expected." The presence replied, speaking more to itself, "I – am not at all surprised. There is… No reason… to fear… that which is… weak."

"Yes my lord."

"Go… find me my legions."

"My… my lord… uh…."

"GO!"