Pardon the delay in updating this one, now that I'm back at work I've just been working around the clock (literally sometimes, 16 hour shifts are exhausting)
Laughs4life: What if Hades actually succeeded in taking over Olympus?
"Hercules! Look out!" Hercules heard Meg's voice a moment before her weight collided with him, her arms wrapping around so they both fell aside. The great column slammed into the ground not a palm's-length from them. Reeling from the roar of collapsing stone, it was several moments before they collected themselves. "You alright?" Meg gasped, quickly pulling away from him to avoid the anger in his eyes.
"Meg..." He trailed off, reaching for her as she stood.
"You alright?" She repeated,
"Y-yeah. Umm I'm fine... are you...?"
"I'm okay," She replied. She turned to him, and extended a hand. He took it, standing with her help.
"Meg... why did you... I mean... you could have been..." He stammered, still tightly clasping her hand to keep her from pulling away again. Was I wrong about her? Did I just let Hades trick me?He questioned himself. She sighed, dropping her gaze again, this time a sad smile tugged at her features,
"I guess people always do crazy things..." She paused, taking a deep breath, "When they're in love," she finished, looking up at him with a shrug.
"Meg..." She, she loves me? He thought about how she was acting at the stadium. Desperately trying to warn him, get him to not make the deal. Writhing in Hades's arms trying to escape his grip. "Hades..."
"Manipulated you, it's what he does," She scoffed. Pegasus and Phil pulled out of their daze and ran over to the pair, Phil's thick drawl cutting through the stiff silence,
"Whoa kid, you okay?" He shouted, glancing from the hero to the fallen stone. Pegasus let out an enthusiastic whinny to punctuate the satyr's concern. Hercules nodded, his gaze still locked on Megara.
"You did it Wonderboy," She tried to smile, and then she chuckled when his brow furrowed in confusion, "The Cyclops." She clarified.
"Knew you could do it kid! Without your strength! Talk about a hero!" Phil cheered, with more accompanying chirping and whinnies from Pegasus. "And... I guess you too, for pushin' him outta the way 'n all," Phil ambled, briefly making eye contact with Meg. She averted her gaze and shrugged, waiting for the anger about her betrayal to return.
"But what now? It took everything I had to take out the Cyclops he's not even a real Titan. How can I defeat Hades now?" The group ceased their celebratory mood. The rumbling of thunder mocked their situation with a sense of irony not missed on any of them. Meg's eyes widened, Fine, okay, Meg is safe, otherwise you get your strength right back...
"I have an idea!" Meg announced, "Give me your hunting knife," she looked at Hercules,
"What?" He stepped back from her, reaching defensively at his hip,
"Maybe there's a loophole," She explained, "Meg is safe, otherwise you get your strength right back," She mocked Hades with a twirl of her fingers. "He never said how hurt. Maybe I just give myself a little cut with your knife, and all is fixed," She explained. The group exchanged looks, and Hercules chewed on his bottom lip.
"I don't know..." He replied, still protecting the knife at his hip.
"What do you have to lose?" Meg replied, straining to control her tone. Time was something they didn't have. Hercules sighed, and produced the knife holding the handle out to her. She took it, and quickly pulled the blade across the back of her arm with a sharp gasp. Hercules flinched as he watched her do so, a dark crimson line quickly appearing. She cleaned the blade against her chiton and held it back out to him. "Feel different?" she asked, clasping her free hand over the bleeding wound. Hercules looked at his hands, flexing them as he shook his head.
"Try pickin' somethin' up," Phil suggested. "Maybe ya won't feel it till ya try." Hercules nodded at his trainer and walked up to the column that nearly killed him. The group watched anxiously as he reached down for the edge of the stone, and strained against the impossible weight.
"Come on!" He groaned, his face flushing red, his knuckles blanched white.
"It didn't work," Meg sighed. Hercules continued to strain against the weight, cursing and begging. "Hercules, stop. It didn't work!" She yelled. Undeterred he continued to his vain struggle. Meg sighed, walking up to him and grabbed his shoulder and pulled on him, "Hercules stop." She repeated, and he finally stopped, falling to his knees. Meg sank down beside him. "We'll think of something," She added, doubting her own words.
"I have to fight, I have to try," He shook his head, looking towards Pegasus.
"Don't be foolish. Think this through," Meg replied. Hercules looked at her sighed,
"I have to do something."
"I'm the one giving orders now bolt boy, and I think I'm gonna' like it here" Hades sat back against this throne, sipping at the glowing drink in his hand. Zeus was trapped, the Pantheon in chains, the Titans were back (will do a good job filling up Tartarus) and Hercules was helpless to do anything about it. "About time something goes my way," He smirked. "Pain, Panic," He shouted, his voice carried to the imps who ran up to him with a quivering salute,
"Here, sir!" They shouted,
"Where's Persephone?" Hades asked, forming a second throne beside himself. He hadn't seen his wife for a few months, it was her "mother's turn" to have her. The selfish woman wouldn't acknowledge that her daughter was a grown woman and was allowed to leave her mother's side. Especially now that she was married. Even with their compromise Demeter had to throw a multi-month temper tantrum and threaten famine every time Persephone returned to Tartarus. Well no more of that. It's my turn now, and I know how to set everything right.
Eons in Tartarus gave Hades more than enough time to watch the Pantheon and the results of their efforts. The world was falling apart. Zeus allowed Demeter to curse the world with winter because of a temper tantrum over her daughter; Ares, Athena, and Enyo rage war unchecked; allowed Aphrodite to curse a rape victim and created the monster Medusa. Their selfishness and arrogance would end, Hades would show the mortals was a true ruler of the Gods would do. The world would see a new era of peace and prosperity. They would praise his name across the lands. They would erect temples in his name. His name would invoke respect and love, no longer fear.
"Uhh.." Pain mumbled a bit and gestured to the shackled Pantheon.
"What?!" He bellowed, the two imps cowering and covering their heads which were already protected by oversized helmets stolen from Athena and Ares. "She was the one Goddess I said not to chain up. One. How is that so hard to remember?" He held up a fist and lifted one specific finger, "Lemme try counting again. One... There. One. Got it? One!" He bellowed again. Okay maybe a little fear from his subjects would be acceptable. "Unchain her immediately!" The two fumbled away and Hades flopped back against his throne swallowing the remainder of his drink in one long swig and immediately produced another.
A tall thin woman approached, flanked on either side by Pain and Panic who were slouched low enough that the large helmets protected nearly their entire bodies. Her long blonde gurls accented her narrow shoulders, a dress the color of a virgin's cheeks on her wedding night hung from her lithe form, trailing behind her leaving a path of flowers in her wake. A plume of pink rose from the top of her head.
"Sephy!" Hades clapped, gesturing excitedly to the throne beside him.
"Hades!" A shrill voice erupted from the woman, a tone far louder and deeper than her delicate features would have suggested. "What have you done?!" She continued, exasperated. "Release everyone at once." She insisted, crossing her arms. Hades couldn't help but notice the way they made her breasts rise, heaving with each angry breath.
"Once they swear their loyalty to me. Everyone will be free to continue their hedonistic affairs, sipping absinthe and eating everything under the sun. All I ask is a simple vow. They followed Zeus the loudmouth buffoon for countless Eons. Takes more than brainless muscle to run the cosmos," Hades insisted.
"You unchain my mother Hades, or so help me..."
"Okay okay," Hades held up his hands defensively. He had never seen eye-to-eye with Demeter. The plump matron returned the sentiment. Each year when his wife would return to him Demeter would try to throw a hunger strike (with the earthly mortals the ones who go hungry) until Persephone returned home. You'd think she'd give up on her efforts after all these centuries. He turned to the still quivering Pain and Panic, their trembling bodies clanging the helmets like bells against the ground at the sound of their names. "Let Demeter go too," He paused, looking back at his wife who's face was still redder than the volcanic Titan, "Come on Seph. Take a seat,"
Persephone sighed, and with an exaggerated flourish of her hands threw herself dramatically into the chair, crossing her arms again and refusing to look at her husband. Loathe as she was to admit it at the moment, she loved the stubborn psychopath. He had stated for centuries he intended to overthrow Olympus. She just never thought he would carry through with it. And what of Tartarus?
"Well what are you going to do about Tartarus? You can't just let it fester. Zeus put you there for a reson, he needed someone strong to rule a kingdom even larger than Terra," Persephone asked, still refusing to look at him.
"He put me down there to get me out of his hair. The Undrerworld has plenty of supervision between the Fates, Charon, and the Erinyes. Zeus, Mister 'I'm so awesome. I beat the Titans. I slayed our ancestors!' couldn't stand the thought of being out shined by his brothers. Why do you think he also shoved Poseidon into the ocean? The only reason our sister Hera stuck around is because she married the idiot," He prattled on. His thoughts were interrupted when Demeter came charging up to where Hades and Persephone were sitting on their thrones.
"Hades!" Enough with the yelling. Hades thought bitterly, pinching the bridge of his nose and glancing at the source of the noise,
"Demeter!" He shouted back, mocking how shrill her normally sugary voice sounded.
"Not satisfied with our arrangement now you come barreling up here, throw everything into chaos, betrayed your brother, your blood, and decide to kidnap my daughter during my time with her?" The sound was like scraping a dagger against a bronze shield.
"You really think this is about me kidnapping Persephone?" He asked, incredulous. Was the woman really so obsessed?
"Can you two stop talking like I'm not here?" An ignored sound came from beside the arguing deities, who were both on their feet staring each other down.
"She's still here, up here, on Olympus. I violated no part of our little deal. And hey, look, you're free! You can sit beside your taughter and keep her on that tight leash you keep her on. It's not like she can't decide for herself. Oh no. Mommy knows best. Mommy dearest always knows best. Must never stray from Mommy. Must never marry. Must never-"
"Enough!" Persephone cut in again, hands on her hips, ears flaring as red as her cheeks. Hades responded with annoyed grunt and flopped back into his throne, downing his second drink as he watched his wife and mother-in-law (how he hated to think of the crazed woman as such) argue passionately. The glowing drink was working it's befuddling magic and dulling his throbbing senses. His vision carried over to the chained up Pantheon, whom were being taunted by Pain and Panic who had apparently decided to occupy their time with seeking revenge against the Gods rather than cowering in fear of their master. I am gonna sleep like, well, the dead. With the hard work done Hades just let the two hens screech at each other like Banshees while he enjoyed the fruits of his labors. Working on this third absinthe martini and a fresh bowl of varied fruits lying in a bed of cream. Only the mortals thought raw milk was barbaric. Idiots didn't realize what they were missing. That's another thing I'll fix, all these stupid food restrictions. Let the mortals eat whatever they want.
"Hades!" An unexpected voice joined the chorus of shouts.
"What?!" Hades screamed, seeing a sight he never expected. Hercules, atop his noble steed flying towards them brandishing his sword. The boy looked like he had fought in a war. Even from the distance Hades could identify that he was sporting a black eye, matching the patchwork of other bruises. One of his hands appeared to have a small burn, and his shoulder hung awkwardly as if it were partially dislocated. One foot was clearly swollen in the sandals which appeared almost a size too small.
"Don't get too comfortable!" He laughed, and Hades sat back in his throne. The Pantheon cheered, but their celebrations were cut short when an icy hand swatted into Hercules as if he were no more than an insect. He came crashing down into the ground, Pegasus straining to keep himself from falling from the sky. Although sculpted from the sky itself the ground was not as soft as it's clouded appearance would suggest.
The sudden calamity brought a much needed cessation to the argument carrying on as all eyes looked towards their failed salvation. The Titans moved in on the unmoving form of Hercules and Hades smirked. He had his share of monologues, he was ready to just be rid of the ginger nuisance.
"Stop!" Persephone squealed. Hades shot her a look, momentarily furious she would interrupt his final victory, the cherry on the cake. But he was his dearest Persephone. The Titans must have been as stunned as Hades, for they stopped their approach and stared at the gods, as Hercules groaned and began to squirm on the groun.
"Stop?" asked Hades, straining to control his temper. She was the one person he always try to restrain himself around. Persephone was the last one he ever wanted to be on the receiving end of one of his rage-fits. Surely the bright pleasant environment of Olympus will be a bit cheerier than the dank smelly cold dark brimstone-scented halls of Tartarus. Constantly smelling rotten eggs and death can make anyone pissy.
"Leave him alone, okay?" asked Persephone, her tone quiet, almost fearful. "You won... don't... don't kill him. Please?" She inquired.
"Why do you care about that whelp? He's just another obnoxious blowhard! Come on babe, I've been trying to end that exuberant supernova of dopamine for almost two decades!" Hades threw up his hands, holding up two fingers his hand trembling. "He represents everything that was in my way of happiness! Everything that was in the way of us being together, and not just for a few months a year. Having a real marriage. I mean... this way, we can finally have kids! A family! Things we've talked about for centuries but never could!"
"You are not siring any children with my daughter!" Demeter cut in.
"Mother, not now!" Persephone shouted, putting her hands on her hips. "We can continue our fight later, this is between Hades and I and you will stay out of it!" Demeter opened her mouth to cut in, incredulous that Persephone would consider her conversation with Hades more important than her conversation with her own mother. But she sensed that arguing further would be fruitless. Besides, if her daughter was going to convince Hades to show Hercules mercy she wanted to step out of the way. She was fond of the boy. "Please, Hades. Show clemency. You've won, and something is clearly wrong with him and he can't stop you,"
Persephone and Hades continued their argument, their voices surprisingly subdued. Hercules groaned, his ears still ringing from the impact with the ground. All the sounds around him melded into one blurry cacophony. His whole body throbbed. One arm hung uselessly at his side, and his already swollen foot was pressing painfully against the strap of his sandal, making his toes burn. His vision was obscured by his eye that was now nearly swelled shut, and a thick metallic taste filled his mouth. I have to do something. He reminded himself. He stood up, shakily, but crashed back to the ground when the pain in his foot overwhelmed his every thought and once again closed his vision into a narrow blurry circle. He felt a soft weight trying to lift him and recognized the familiar snorting and chirping of his devoted companion. He looked up, gazing past Pegasus to see why the Titans hadn't finished him off while he was helpless on the ground. Actually, why am I not dead? He pondered.
The Titans were standing over him, distressingly close, but were moving their gaze between Hades (still deep in conversation with Persephone) and their helpless prey. What can I even do? I can't even stand... one arm is useless. Maybe Megara was right. I should have planned this. But if this is how I die, at least I die a hero. He concluded, and with Pegasus's help got to his feet, leaning on the equestrian for support to keep the weight off his shattered foot.
Hades dropped his head, and looked towards Hercules, then back to Persephone. He bit his lip hard enough for thin drops of blood to appear on his bottom lip. He wanted to kill that whelp. He yearned to kill him almost as much as he had yearned to entrap his brother. He was too harsh a reminder of how close to failure he had come. But if it would make his dearest Persephone happy...
"Okay okay fine. But you tell him he better leave," He whispered harshly, feeling embarassed that Demeter was witnessing his moment of weakness. "He'll want to fight just convince him he's already lost. Tell him to go home," Hades waved his hand, flopping back into his throne feeling the full effect of the third drink but wasted no time in producing a forth while he watched his wife walk away from him, and Demeter taking advantage of the cessation in conversation to start a new argument with him.
Persephone approached the battered Hercules, frowning as she saw the state the poor boy was in. The fight with the Cyclops had evidently not gone well. She was amazed at his tenacity, even with his strength stripped away this heroic boy had managed to defeat the Cyclops. Bright Eye may be stupid, but weak he surely isn't. She thought to herself, remembering the old lumbering fool when he dared to toy with Odysseus, finding himself entombed with the surviving titans as punishment.
"Hercules?" She asked softly, as if she feared her voice would make his injuries worse. He looked up at her, flinching, and his hand was instantly at the sword on his hip. "Whoa whoa, calm down. I mean you no harm," She sounded like someone trying to approach a wild horse.
"I don't intend to hurt you," He replied, but the phrase sounded much more like a threat than a reassurance. His hand was still tensely wrapped around the hilt of his sword, eyes wild and dilated. "But I cannot allow this takeover of Olympus. I am here to stop Hades. Step aside," He insisted. He had no ill will against Persephone, but he also would not allow her to get in the way of rescuing his father and freeing the cosmos from Hades's grip.
"Hercules you need to go home. Hades has won. You lack your strength. You took over Bright Eye, but look at you. Do you really think you can take on four more Titans plus a god in your condition? Please. Hades has promised to do you no harm if you just go home," She was pleading with him, Hercules could see it in her eyes. It was the same pleading expression Megara had given him before flying towards Olympus. No one believes in me. I beat the Cyclops without my strength, but no one believes I can do this.
"I'm here to free you. Free my family. Free my father," Hercules scowled, feeling bitter.
"I know, Hercules. I know. But this is a battle you can't win. Being a hero doesn't mean killing yourself to prove a point. You beat the Cyclops as a mortal. Even Hades was impressed. Pissed," she shrugged, "but impressed. Go back to Phil, Go back to your mortal parents. Go back to that mortal girl who almost killed herself to save you. Don't make her actions be in vain," Persephone pleaded,
"If I save everyone, everything, then it won't be in vain! I can't just sit by and let this happen!" His eyes were burning as tears mounted on his eye lashes. What kind of hero am I if I fall short when the world needs me most?
"Hercules. Face it. You can't win. Fighting just to fight and getting yourself killed will be in vain. Go home. Think on it. Make a plan" She suggested urgently. She hadn't yet decided whom she wanted to side with. Hades, and whichever new future he held, or the status quo. But she knew she didn't want to see this rare example of true heroism kill himself for a lost cause just to prove he died fighting. "A hero doesn't fight a losing battle just to fight it. Go home. Rest. Heal," She insisted. Hercules contemplated her words. Simply giving her words serious thought made him feel craven. Were Phil and Megara right? Was I just fighting to say I fought?
"I'm a Hero." He insisted. "Greece. Gee. The whole Cosmos,"
"Needs you!" Persephone bellowed, her soft tone giving way to anger. "You aren't here for anyone but yourself. You want to feel proud, feel like a hero, you want to die in combat. That doesn't make you a hero. Recognizing a fight you cannot win, and turning away so you can continue to protect those that need you makes you a hero!" She grasped his bad shoulder, ignoring his gasp of pain, hoping to jar him into realizing he was in no state for this suicidal mission. "Don't kill yourself just so you can say you weren't too scared. Go. Home." She demanded.
Hercules looked up at Pegasus, who was nodding emphatically. No one believes in me... He thought sadly. He knew himself he couldn't do it. But he wished everyone else did. But Persephone. She was right. He wasn't here with any thought of winning. He just didn't want to be branded a coward for running. But she was right. He hated himself for admitting it. But she was right. After standing in several awkward moments of silence fighting an internal battle, Hercules pulled himself onto Pegasus and vanished below the clouds. With the son of Zeus out of sight Persephone rejoined her husband, still in a heated argument with her mother. She sat in her throne beside Hades, reached over, and grabbed Hades's glowing drink and downing it quickly.
Maybe I'll make a part 2 to this, but I hope this is a satisfactory response to the question. This one, like others I have done, creates an entire AU. This one could be an entire fanfiction on it's own. Hades is FAR from my strongest character, I know for a fact I cannot write him well. I just hope my writing of him is satisfactory.