Chapter 4:
Something is seriously wrong. Throughout his many years of being Lord of the Underworld, Hades has felt many disturbing things. Things are constantly changing in the Underworld, and with those changes there are also minor disturbances in the way things feel. But this is a whole new level of disturbance – one that Hades has never felt before. And for a being as old as him, that is no small feat.
Tartarus is overflowing with an evil energy. As Hades walks, armed with his two-pronged fork and Helm of Darkness, he feels himself getting weaker and weaker. The closer he gets to his destination, the heavier the air around him feels. When he finally reaches his father's mutilated head, his whole body feels like it's being crushed between two large boulders.
I can sense your presence, boy. Take off that helmet before I crush you completely. Hades is not sure why he listens to Cronus, but as he lifts off his helm he gets an immediate sense of relief. He takes his newfound strength to swiftly point his fork towards Cronus' head. Finally come to fight me, eh?
"Fight you?" Hades smirks, "you're nothing but a head. No, Father, I've come to punish you. You've kept from sleep for far too long." As Hades begins to strike his weapon down, something happens. Something that Hades thought was never possible. Cronus grabs the fork mid-strike, his hand now a constantly changing shadow. Hades steps back in disbelief as Cronus begins to take the shape of a man, his body made of shifting shadows from the neck down. You can do better than that, Aidoneous. I know you can.
Getting out of his stupor, Hades growls, "Enough!" He sends a blast of green flames from his left hand to Cronus' face. Cronus smiles grotesquely as the flesh on this left side of his face burns off, leaving only charred cheekbones and an eye-socket in its wake. Yes, that's better. Now it's my turn. Cronus throws down his shadow-hands, bringing Hades to his knees with the weight of millions of evil souls. Hades grits his teeth as he is forced onto his hands. No one is here to save you, Aidoneous. Get up and fight. With that, something in Hades snaps; he grabs his fork, crouches, and then jumps and spins up with all his might. Holding his fork out as he spins upward, he creates a twister of green flames and hits it with all his strength towards Cronus; sending the rest of Cronus' head aflame and burning the souls threatening to crush him.
He lands in a crouch and slowly stands up. He's breathing heavily and his legs are shaking.
"Well," Hades says, trying to keep an exhausted tremor out of his voice, "that was fun. It'll take a while for your head to reform. Maybe a few hundred years. In the meantime, I'll be able to get some sleep." Hades picks up his helm and slowly begins to turn around when suddenly Cronus' shadow-body rushes up to him and roughly spins him around.
"How did you-" Hades can hear Cronus speak in his mind, Prepare to feel a pain like none you've ever felt before.
Hades pushes the shadow of Cronus away with a piece of earth he summons from the ground. He closes his eyes at a sharp pain he feels at his side and teleports out of Tartarus and into his throne room.
Hecate and Thanatos stare at him. "My lord," Hecate says, "you're bleeding-" Hades looks down and notices that his armor is gone. His chest is bare as he sees his blood spilling out from a large stab wound under his right ribs; he notices a black, shifting, bruise forming under his skin near the wound. He falls to his knees and begins to violently convulse; it feels like his insides are being ripped out and set over a hot fire: first his intestines, his stomach, his lungs, and then his heart. He sees them being ripped out by a shadow as he desperately tries to hug his stomach and keep his insides in. This is definitely a pain the likes of which he has never felt before.
A/N:
Hey guys! Thanks for all your reviews! :D I think I'll give you guys three chapters today, and then start updating with one chapter a day. How does that sound? Again, your reviews are very much appreciated! I'm really excited for this story, and I'm glad you guys are enjoying it so far.
Some news: the rating for this story WILL eventually go up. In the next few chapters, people are going to talk about suggestive things, and such. BUT! I'm not going to change the rating yet. Nothing explicit is going to happen for a while, so I'm gonna keep it at T for now. Just lettin' ya'll know. Anyways, on with the story! :)