The REAL Cosmic Couple! (Hades/Persephone fic)

[Persephone]

Seph: *sticks tongue out at Nani* ;D Bad Elisa, no squishing the Anti-Hades. It's just trying to help. XD Thanks, guys!

Chapter XVI--Hades and Persephone Admit Their Feelings For Each Other (to Themselves)

She couldn’t tell him.

That was about all Persephone had to say about this newly created situation.

After ramming her head against a wall for almost an hour everyday, Persephone had come to the conclusion that:

Alpha: She was not losing her mind. Yet.

Beta: She was indeed in love with Hades. Actually, she had begun to sense it since he had rescued her from the Phlegethon.

And gamma: Ramming one’s head against a wall did not help clear the senses—it just caused headaches.

Now Persephone sat cross-legged on her new bed, one hand to her aching head, the other covering her face.

And without meaning to, she let out a trembling sigh. She was married to the one god who her mother warned her not to go near. There hadn’t been anything wrong with that at first—she had been a prisoner; no say in the matter. But now…

She could have escaped when he had left the door open last week. The door had been unlocked. Hades had been in the throne room, not even knowing about it. But she didn’t. She had stayed. Willingly.

Because you love him, stated pro-Hades, as it stuck its tongue out at anti-Hades and threw it off a cliff.

Persephone bit her lip. “I don’t want to.”

You do.

“I didn’t mean to.”

Of course not…but you wouldn’t have it any other way, would you?

She hesitated, and then sighed, fingering her necklace. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

Persephone rested her head in her hand, sighing again. “I really never thought I would say this…but he’s not that bad once ya get used to ‘im. He’s kinda…sweet.” She stood up and crossed the room to the large window Hades had installed, gazing out over the River Styx. “And he’s really not bad-looking, either.”

Why not tell him how you feel? said pro-Hades.

Anti-Hades, having recovered from its mistreatment by pro-Hades, said, You don’t know if he likes you or not, do you? Without waiting for an answer, it continued, You don’t. Therefore—it would be unwise to say anything. He’d just break your heart.

“Why would he kidnap me if he didn’t like me?” scoffed Persephone, still staring at the window. She wondered where Hades was. Probably in the throne room.

Hmmmm…power-crazed, evil, single, god of the Underworld…young, beautiful, innocent, vulnerable goddess of spring being held hostage in the Underworld, where there are no witnesses, by said god of the Underworld, said anti-Hades dryly, Why dontcha put two and two together?

Persephone gasped. “Oh, that’s just ridiculous!” she exclaimed, “He’s not like that!”

She paused abruptly as she realized she was yelling at herself. Pro-Hades and anti-Hades didn’t exist. It didn’t really matter, since no-one was listening. And she didn’t have anyone else to talk to. Except maybe…

“PAIN! PANIC!”

The two imps appeared in a flash at the foot of her bed. “Reporting for duty, bos—Persephone?!”

Panic went over to her. “We weren’t…expecting you, Your Flower-fully-ness,” he said nervously.

Persephone raised an eyebrow calmly and moved over to the bed, sitting on its edge. “Tell me…do you two tell Hades…everything?”

Pain exchanged glances with Panic. “Er…not…all the time.”

“Well…if I told you that I loved Hades, would you tell him?”

The two discussed this briefly. “Would you want us to tell him?” said Panic finally.

Persephone hesitated. “No,” she stated.

“Then we wouldn’t,” said Pain, “You’re our boss, too.”

“Why do you ask?” said Panic.

Persephone swallowed, hard and realized she was playing with her necklace again. “I…b-because…well…I do.”

The two imps shared confused glanced. “You do what?”

“Love him.”

“Love who?”

“Hades.”

“What about Hades?” said Panic, hands on hips. “You’re not being clear!” added Pain.

Persephone groaned. “Never mind. Forget I said anything.”

“But—”

“Never…mind,” she growled, “Get the hell outta here!”

They jumped, startled, and dashed out of the room.

Persephone sighed, and buried her face in her hands.

“Babe?”

Persephone gasped, and whirled around.

Hades was standing…well, leaning, in the doorframe. “Scared ya, didn’t I?”

Persephone shrugged, not able to look him in the eye. She felt as if she was lying to him.

Strangely enough, he felt the exact same way—yet, he was able to overcome it. She wasn’t.

“What’s-a-matter now?” said Hades, coming over to her, “‘Nother bad dream?”

“No…” she said, as Hades sat on the bed besides her. Damn it, she was going to have to tell him. Not now, but sometime. If he was never going to let her go, then…well, she’d just go crazy.

Too many lies would make the both of them sick. She knew he was lying to her. About what, she didn’t quite know, but something was wrong.

Especially since he never seemed to meet her gaze dead-on(dead-on—HA! Underworld humor.)

Hades held up his hands. “Hey, I won’t pry.” He stood up. “So you like your room?”

She nodded. “It’s really pretty…but…you didn’t have to—”

“Hey. I wanted to, ‘k? Lay off about it.” He gave her a sharp (almost sharp) look, and disappeared.


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Hades reappeared in the throne room. As Pain and Panic came up to him, he sighed happily (I know—it’s very frightening), and slumped against the wall.

“How goes it with the…wife?” said Pain.

“It’s so weird saying that,” marveled Panic.

“I know…you’d never expect it…I know I didn’t…”

Hades flared up at them. “Shaddup.”

They ducked as a fireball came their way,

Hades began to pace. “I’m liking where this is all going…she’s not as…well…murderous towards me like she was in the beginning…but, like, still….there’s something…missing…”

“Have ya kissed her yet?” piped up Panic.

“Shut up!” snapped Hades, turning orange in a flash. But he didn’t zap the turquoise colored imp…

He wanted to kiss her, so badly it hurt—an aching feeling inside him. And he knew that he could. He could easily overpower her without breaking a sweat…she was so much younger and weaker then he was. “I…can’t,” he said weakly.

“Can’t what?”

“Never mind.” Hades slunk across the room, muttering to himself as he did. “Maybe I could make her something else….”

As he came across his throne, made of grayish marble, it hit him—she didn’t have a throne.

“And is it right for the Queen of the Underworld to be denied a throne?” he said aloud, running a hand through his flame as he spoke. Of course, he had no problem with her sharing a throne with him, but she probably wouldn’t like that.

Actually, she’d probably be furious. More then furious. Him without the flames.

He was spoiling her terribly, for the main reason that he still believed she hated him. He had the teeniest, tiniest hope that maybe, maybe, if she wouldn’t like him for real, like, love-like, then he could get her to like him by giving her stuff. Maybe…

Hades had never truly been in love before. And he had certainly never had a girlfriend….at least, not one who he treated in a civil way. He had, for lack of a better word, stalked a few nymphs, dryads, etc…

The only one who he had actually done anything with was one named Leuce. And that had been something...fairly minor. A kiss. A...well...y'know. Hint, hint, wink, wink, nudge, nudge. But that had been it.

But Persephone…Persephone was something different. Not only was she breathtakingly gorgeous, she had an attitude that almost closely matched his own. And she was funny, and smart, and—

And she was his wife. His wife.

And she hated him.

The one person in the entire universe who Hades really, truly loved hated him.

Or so he thought.

[~Eris~]

But I wanna sqiush the Anti Hades voice!

*cheers when the Pro Hades voice throws it off the cliff*

"The one person in the entire universe who Hades really, truly loved hated him."

*lip trembles*

No she doesn't! Stop being so stubborn and tell her! And that goes for you too, Seph!

[Macaria]

Elisa....funny you should say that. ^^

By the way--this chapter, the next chapter and...um, I think the one after it are my favorites in the story. For obvious reasons. You'll see. ^^

Chapter XVII-- Persephone Has a Plan...And It Works Spectacularly

“I think that Hades and Persephone are starting to get along really well,” said Panic happily, “Y’know, hint hint.”

“He didn’t kiss her yet,” said Pain, “And she still doesn’t like him. So therefore—”

“Well, ya can’t rush these things. Ya have to let them happen on their own—” Panic broke off and stood, gaping through the open throne room door.

“What’s the matter?” said Pain, waddling over to his counterpart. He, too, broke off and stared through the doors.

Hades was leaning casually up against the throne he had made for Persephone. The smirk on his face was so big it looked like it would fall off.

“Not bad, huh? Ta da!” he said with a dramatic flourish.

Pain and Panic’s mouths simultaneously dropped open. “I know you made her necklace,” said Panic, “And redid her room…but…you didn’t make this, did you?”

“I did,” said Hades proudly, “I think it’s some of my best work…” He ran a hand over the black crystal that made up the flower-shaped throne.

The two imps went up to the throne and circled it, awestruck. “Boss, this is really…just…amazing!” cried Pain.

Hades grinned. “Ain’t it?”

“Persephone is really gonna like this,” said Panic, reaching out to touch the throne.

Hades slapped his hand away. “Hold it,” he snapped, “This is off-limits to you two. This throne belongs to Persephone and I’m pretty sure she doesn’t want—” He grabbed them by their wrists and held them dangling in the air, “—little claw-prints all over it!” He dropped the two of them to the floor.

“Yes, boss,” whimpered Pain and Panic.

“Stay here. I’m going to get Persephone. AND DON’T TOUCH ANYTHING!” Hades disappeared, leaving the two imps cowering on the floor.



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Yeesh. Talk about ‘no dignity.’


Persephone was curled up in a little ball, sitting on the floor next to her bed. She was exhausted—the entire night had just flown by without a shred of sleep for her. No, last night had been spent thinking about Hades.

How long have I been sitting here? Persephone wondered as she stood up carefully, ignoring the creaks and groans coming from all her joints. With a slight jolt, she realized, I haven’t seen Hades in days!

It probably had something to do with the noises that had been coming from the throne room. Hmm, maybe that was why she hadn’t been sleeping.

Or maybe it’s because you’re lying to your lover.

Persephone blinked. “Ok, he’s not my lover,” she said indignantly, “And I don’t want to talk to my conscience right now. Go away.”

Conscience?... eh. Whatever works.

Persephone sighed angrily and jammed her silk pillows over her ears.

You know, you’re going to have to tell him eventually.

“I know,” she snapped, “I’m not telling him. So go away.”

“Babe, you do know that no-one ‘cept for me is in this room, right?”

Persephone gasped, as she whirled around to face Hades. “Wha—how long were you standing there?”

“Just got here. Now, who needs to go away?”

Persephone shifted, shrinking back nervously. “Er…no-one.”

Hades smirked. “I see. So I guess you’ve inhaled too much brimstone, huh?”

She rolled her eyes, and turned to her window. “So what do you want now?”

“Got a surprise for ya, babe.”

Ah, so that explained all the noise lately. He had made her something again. Hmmm…that gives me an idea…

Suddenly, his hands were over her eyes, and he was moving h—ok, well, pushing her towards the throne room.


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It amazed her that he seemed to have so many different personalities. He could be incredibly sweet and gentle for one second (which was frankly just a bit scary), calm and collected another second, furious and explosive the next second, and so on. She knew he could be incredibly violent, too—she had seen him torment Pain and Panic. Anti-Hades doesn’t know what it’s talking about. He’s got to like me…if he didn’t, I wouldn’t be treated so well…Persephone tried not to stumble as she was pushed through one of the many dark hallways of the Underworld. Hades probably couldn’t see a thing, and he was the one leading her—therefore, if he tripped, she would, too.

“Hey, what, ya don’t think I know my way around by now?” he said, “Babe, I’ve been here for thousands of years. I know every little bump, every rock, every crack…”

Persephone let out a sigh. Ya gotta stick with your plan…unless, of course, you have a better idea (which you don’t), said Pro-Hades inside her head, No matter how nice he is to you…

Hades stopped her then. “’K, babe, we’re here…” He pushed open the throne room doors, and let her walk in the room.

Persephone’s mouth immediately dropped open. She stood, frozen to the spot for a few seconds staring at her throne. “A flower…” she said weakly, “It’s a flower…”

Hello? Plan? Genius plan? Helloooo??? said pro-Hades, Come on…

Persephone blinked. I can do this. I’m a good actress. I’ll be able to— “I can’t believe you!” she exclaimed angrily.

The smirk on Hades’ face faded immediately. “…What?”

Her expression grew darker and darker. “You’ve really got problems…I’m a living, breathing goddess! And you think that making me all this stuff is going to change how I feel about you!”

Hades took several steps backwards as Persephone took several steps forwards; him, nervously and her, angrily.

“Things! I don’t care about things! STOP SPOILING ME! I DON’T WANT ANY OF YOUR STUFF!”

“I—”

“Do you think all this stuff will win me over?” she cried.

Hades stepped back again, and stumbled into his throne.

“Yeah, they’re getting along great,” said Pain dryly.

“Persephone, I just—” He was at a total loss. He hadn’t expected this. She wasn’t supposed to get mad at him!

“Do you think that I’ll fall for you if you give me things?!” she exclaimed, fury clouding her voice and face.

Hades shrunk back in his throne as she came over to him.

But instead of hitting him(which he was sure she was going to do), Persephone’s face softened.

Her eyes glancing at the floor and her hands playing with her necklace, she said, “Well…it wasn’t all the stuff you gave me that did it…but… I...I’ve fallen for you, Hades.”


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Simultaneously, Rhea and the Fates smiled.

[~Elisa Maza~]

*squeal mixed with happiness and rage shatters windows*

Woot! She told him! Yay!

But... How could you leave it at such a cruel cliffhanger? So mean!

[Hades]

Second favorite chapter!

Chapter XVIII-- Persephone Gets Another Idea, Hades Believes Her, and Menthe is Furious

A full thirty seconds passed before Hades even began to try and comprehend what she had just said. It took another thirty seconds for him to convince himself he’d heard her correctly.

And even then, he wasn’t sure.

“Could you…could you…repeat that last part?” he said tentatively, more confused then ever. In his time, Hades had seen a lot of bad jokes. But this was just cruel.

If she was joking.


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The second the words were out of her mouth, Anti-Hades disappeared and she felt…lighter, if that was possible.

Persephone had expected him to be confused. It was a pretty normal reaction, after all—if the girl who had claimed to hate you all this time suddenly whirled around claiming she loved you...

So, skepticism was fully expected. She had no problem repeating herself.

“I…love…you,” she said, softly, almost holding her breath. What would he say?



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Well, she can’t be anymore obvious, thought Hades. But still…


“Umm…could you…repeat that…one more time?”

Persephone smiled, a thought that would have given Demeter a near-heart attack forming in her head. “I have a better idea.” Leaning forwards without a second thought, she grabbed him and kissed him.

Hard.

Anti-Hades would have died.


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“Macaria…um…I know you weren’t born yet, but, ah…was Persephone drugged?” said Hercules, as Meg made a few obvious gagging noises.

“Very funny,” said Macaria dryly, “No, she wasn’t drugged.”

“How do you know?” said Meg.

“I don’t,” Macaria replied, “But if she was drugged, then I wouldn’t have been born and you wouldn’t be here right now because my dad would be ruling Mount Olympus.”

Hercules blinked. “Wait, I don’t get it.”

“I didn’t get to that part yet,” said Macaria, inspecting a black polished fingernail, “I will, eventually. It’s called ‘patience.’” She glanced skywards. “You ok, Bob?”

“I…yeah. It’s just so…” He sniffed loudly, “It’s so sweet…”

Hercules, Meg, and Macaria exchanged glances.

“Yea-ah…” said Macaria, “Uh, do ya want, like, some tissues or something?”

“No, no, I’ll, I’ll be fine…”

“Oookay…” She shrugged, “Anyway…”


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The only thing Hades was thinking was that if he asked her to repeat that, she’d probably hit him.

As they broke apart (very, veeeeeeerrrrrry reluctantly), he tried to maintain control of his spinning head.

He became vaguely aware of Persephone moving over to her throne besides his, and facing him, playing with her necklace again.

“Y’know, I’ve never actually kissed anyone before…” she reflected, after a moment. And, by the gods, she had loved every second of it.

Hades found his voice. “I find that…very hard to believe.”

They both randomly glanced over at Pain and Panic, who were standing in the corner, mouths hanging open.

Hades raised an eyebrow at them. “Is there a problem?”

They recovered almost instantly. Pain twisted his tail around. “Oh, uh, no, no, boss, we were just…”

“Leaving. We were just leaving,” said Panic, and they ran out the door, both snickering quietly.

Hades rolled his eyes. “Imps.”

Persephone stood up, and crossed the room to Hades’ chessboard, and stood staring at all the pieces.

After a few silent minutes, Hades said what was on his mind. “You don’t really love me…”

Persephone turned around.

“You can’t possibly…” his voice trailed off and he stared at the ceiling.

“Why not?” said Persephone.

Her simple question startled him. Why couldn’t she? Age difference was a big factor, first of all. And then there was the fact that…well…he was him, and she was her, and they just weren’t meant to be together.

It’s not true. We’re fated—the Fates knew. Mom knew. We’re supposed to be together.

He didn’t have an answer for her. Why couldn’t she love him?

“I…have no idea,” he said finally, eyes moving to the ground.

Persephone tilted her head. “You think I’m lying, don’t you?”

He kept his gaze on the floor. “It’s...well, it's simple reasoning…why would someone like you ever even think about loving someone like me?”

“My god…” she breathed quietly, softly enough so that Hades wouldn’t hear her. Was it possible that there was a totally different side of Hades that no-one had ever seen? It could be, couldn’t it? The fact that he would say something like that…it almost frightened her. How come someone have such a low opinion of themselves?

“Hades…” She was by his side again, in his throne, leaning over its edge.

He hadn’t noticed that her hands were behind her back, but when she brought them out, he realized it.

In her hands were two figures from his chessboard.

His figure.

And hers.

With Hades watching, she fit the pieces together so that they were holding hands. “I love you, Hades,” she said quietly, “And trust me. I wouldn’t lie about that.”

He blinked. She wasn’t lying. That meant that she really, truly...

“YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”


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“That’s right…deep cleansing breaths…stay calm…” said Hecate, trying to calm Menthe down. Seeing them kiss had been bad enough. Half the room was in ruins.

“I am going to KILL that little brat!” hissed Menthe, clenching her green-tinted fists. She was so mad, she was shaking. “When can we turn her in to Demeter?”

“Honestly, Menthe, what do you see in him?” said Hecate wearily.

Menthe stood up and slashed through the little bubble that was displaying the conversation going on in the throne room, making it disappear. “You said once they loved each other, we could re-kidnap her. So let’s go!”

Hecate cocked her head. “Menthe, darling…we have to be patient. Patience is key!” Her sweet smile turned into a scowl. “If we’re not patient, then we won’t get anywhere, and our little deal will be broken. Got it?!”

Menthe made a whimpering noise. “Uh-huh…”

“We have everything planned out already, so sit back, relax, and try not to kill anyone.” Hecate hooked a pointed finger under Menthe’s chin and jerked her head up painfully. “And absolutely no kidnapping anyone without me. Are we clear?”

Menthe managed a nod. The only thing that kept her bound to Hecate was their deal.

If she helped Hecate take over the Underworld, then Hecate would help her get Hades.

‘Love’ didn’t even begin to describe what she felt for Hades. It was an obsession.

In fact, Persephone’s was the only love that rivaled her own. And that was new.

Hades had never noticed her—in fact, he often made a big show of ignoring her. But still…

Hecate will do the trick. Hecate will solve everything…

[bolt]

*melts into a happy puddle*

[somechick]

D: AUGGH! DAMN HECATE! XP
Hades has got to do somefing! ;-;
ZOMG! POOR SEPH!

-snuggles Sephy- ;-;

LOVE WILL PREVAIL!
<3

[Persephone]

Although it's kinda obvious, this chapter involves inference, just saying. XDD By the way: third favorite chapter, right here. XD....and I apologize in advance for the Harley Quinn comment. ;D

Chapter XIX-- The Fates Intervene BIG TIME

It was amazing that something as simple as a wedding ring could change someone’s life.

Sometimes it was for the worst. Other times, it was for the better.

Hades had to go with the latter—and it absolutely delighted him that he even had that decision to make.

He inspected his own wedding ring. He didn’t wear it (he had never been one for jewelry), but he had kept it in safely locked away a drawer. In his bedroom. Where no-one was allowed to venture but him.

And…and maybe Persephone, if she ever wanted to—

No. No, he was already walking on eggshells with her; he didn’t dare risk doing anything that would change the growing relationship they had.

But still…maybe…eventually…in time…she’d…maybe…want to—

No. No. No. No. No. No. Persephone was completely, totally, off-limits, and that’s how she would stay. It had only been two months since she had told him she loved him; that meant it had been about four and a half months since he had kidnapped her. Four and a half months wasn't that long. 'It' was not an option.

“Yeah, right. She’s not exactly the picture of innocence…if anyone was going to break those ‘rules,’ it’d be her,” said Hades to himself. And speaking of which, where was Persephone?


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He found her by the bank of the River Styx, walking back and forth and back and forth, over and over and over.

“Er…Persephone?...what are you doing?”

She looked up, startled, and then she smiled. “Hades! I didn’t see you there. C’mere, check this out.”

He shrugged, and materialized next to her.

“Look at this,” she said, and she walked a few feet ahead. Little red and black flowers bloomed wherever she stepped. Persephone paused, and whirled around. “Ta da!”

Hades stared at her, at her flowers, and then back to her. “Wha—how’d you do that?”

Persephone beamed. “It’s pretty easy. I’d teach you how to do it, but I doubt you’d want your ‘villainous image’ to be ruined by a bunch of flowers trailing behind you wherever you walk.”

Hades smirked dryly. “Yeah, pass.”

She returned his smirk. “I saw that coming.”

He examined the flowers. “Why are they all black? And red? I mean, y’know, besides the fact that you’re a Harley Quinn fan…”

She looked puzzled. “Who?”

“Never mind. So, what, is this, like, a new Queen of the Underworld thing? Or are ya trying to match our color scheme?”

Persephone shrugged, pushing her hair away from her face. “I’m not sure; I was wondering that before. I guess being in the Underworld for so long has affected my powers.” She spread her arms, and let a wave of her magic spread across the ground (and her husband). Everything the light had touched was showered with flowers—black, blood red, dark purple, deep blue, and various shades of grey.

“Hmm. Weird,” she said after a second.

Hades made an annoyed snorting sound, as he pried her flowers off of him. “I love ya, but I really wish you wouldn’t do that.”

Persephone smirked, and hugged him. “I know. That’s why I do it.”

That was when they both realized that neither Pain or Panic had been around for some time.

“How long haven’t—”

“About an hour,” responded Hades, looking frantically around. “Wonderful. Maybe this time when I find them they won’t be hanging someone over the Phlegethon.”

“Very funny,” said Persephone dryly, “Let’s just go find them…”


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“I’m not sure…I mean, Hades will kill us if we—”

“Nonsense. He won’t kill you—we’ll make sure of it.”

“But Lachesis—”

“Listen, we’ll make you carry out our plans whether you like it or not, so stop whining and objecting,” said Atropos.

“We know for a fact that Hades will not kill you,” added Clotho.

For three hours, the Fates had been talking to Pain and Panic, filling them in on what would be happening for the next few days. To say the least, the two imps were still doubtful, and were refusing to take part in this.

They would have to hurry, too. Hades and Persephone would find them in fifteen minutes.

“Pain, come on, all we need you to do is fall into Panic, who’ll fall into Persephone, who’ll end up crashing into Hades, and we’ll take it from there,” said Atropos.

“And I can guarantee you that he will not be mad. At anyone, for that matter.” The three shared knowing smiles.

Panic shivered. They were giving him the creeps.

Clotho glanced at the sundial hanging on the wall (don’t ask how a sundial can work in the Underworld where there’s no sun), and then back to Pain and Panic.

“Hades and Persephone are going to be here in a few minutes,” she said, “Remember—if you suddenly find yourself a bit more clumsier then usual…”

“Don’t worry—it’s just us,” said Atropos. The three disappeared just as Hades and Persephone came into the room.

“What are you two doing here?!” said Hades, looking around for any signs of damage.

“Oh,” said Pain, “We were, ah, just, um…”

“Talking?” suggested Panic, “About…”

“About the weather,” said Pain, “And how it was all…”

“Cold. The weather is cold,” said Panic, “And, uh, how we needed…”

“Scarves?” They put on hopeful smiles.

Hades stared at them. “Yea-ah…um...”

Persephone shook her head, and picked the two of them up by their tails. “It’s really not everyday I get to see you speechless,” she said to Hades, as if the two imps couldn’t hear them.

Hades gave Pain and Panic suspecting looks. “I know they’re up to something…”

“Yeah, right.” She rolled her eyes. “If you combined them, they’d have an IQ of 2.”

“Hey!” said Panic.

They entered the throne room, and Persephone dumped them on the floor.

“If they’re not up to anything, then what were they doing by the Fates’ tapestry?” said Hades.

“We told you, we were talking about the weather,” said Pain. Panic gave him a thumbs up.

“Sure ya were,” said Hades indignantly, “And I’m Aphrodite.”

“You’re not Aphrodite,” said Pain.

Hades sighed. “Oy…”

Panic sighed, too.

“What?” said Pain. He took a step towards Panic, and fell flat on his face. The two stared at each other, wide-eyed.

“Uh-oh,” said Panic nervously.

Pain made a whimpering noise. “Maybe…maybe if we don’t move…then we won’t—”

He and Panic had both gotten up, and had started to walk in circles around Hades and Persephone.

Panic groaned as Hades glared at them and Persephone raised an eyebrow.

“They did say that they were gonna make us trip, no matter what,” whispered Pain to Panic.

Panic grimaced. “Wonderful.”

“I know…Hades is going to kill us—WHOA!” He tripped on his tail, slammed into Panic, who slammed into Persephone, who fell onto Hades in another kiss.

Panic glared at Pain.


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“Ok…spin that there…and them there…put them over there…and put him behind her…ok…” directed Atropos, standing besides the Tapestry of Fate with Lachesis as Clotho hurried to spin everything in.

“Is that enough people?” gasped Clotho, exhausted.

“We need enough so that Persephone will get annoyed,” said Lachesis.

“I think…that this is fine,” panted Clotho.

“Where’s Charon? Throw Charon in the mix, too,” said Atropos.

Clotho grumbled, but took the thread Lachesis handed her, and spun it into the Tapestry.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

By now, a huge crowd had gathered around the two. This crowd consisted of Pain and Panic, of course, Tisiphone, Alecto, and Megaera, who were the three furies, a few demons, and lots and lots of assorted ghosts and monsters. Everyone, actually, except for the Fates (who were busy spinning all this into their tapestry).

Through the corner of her eye, Persephone observed the crowd gathered with some annoyance. It was hard to enjoy yourself, even when kissing someone you absolutely loved, when everyone in the Underworld was gawking at you.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Ok, Clotho, that’s enough,” ordered Lachesis. The youngest fate stepped away from the Tapestry, and let Lachesis and Atropos take over. Lachesis stood, poised and ready with her threads, while Atropos motioned for Clotho.

“Come on…” breathed Atropos, “Ready, Clotho…any second now…”


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Persephone rolled her eyes.

Now that she was no longer a prisoner, she could materialize wherever she wanted whenever she wanted. And she could bring others with her.

So, that’s what she decided to do. She snapped her fingers, hoping to transport them to a deeper part of the Underworld where no-one could sit and stare at them.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“NOW!” screeched Atropos and Clotho hurriedly spun into the tapestry.

They had altered Persephone and Hades’ destination.

And instead of appearing deeper in the Underworld, they arrived someplace totally different.

His bedroom.

[bolt]

0.o

Oh my...

[Hades]

Yeep, sorry for lack of update again.

Chapter XX-- Persephone Cries, and Hecate Prepares

Ha. And to think I wanted to be a virgin goddess…

Persephone had never been the goddess of her mother’s dreams—sweet, innocent, kind and pure; someone who listened to mommy and didn’t do ‘bad things.’

One by one, as Persephone got older, Demeter checked everything off her ‘list.’

Persephone wasn’t sweet (most of the time).

She wasn’t innocent.

She wasn’t always kind.

She most certainly wasn’t pure.

She almost never listened to Demeter.

And, yes, she did ‘bad things.’

Or at least what her mother would deem ‘bad.’

Persephone had a feeling that this was one of those things. At least, if they ever went back to Mt. Olympus, Hades couldn’t get blamed for what they had just done.

It had been all her idea. Persephone could only imagine how her mother would respond if she found out about this.

It must have been the Fates’…they must have wanted to speed things along… She smiled dryly. Well, it sure worked, didn’t it?

She glanced at her sleeping husband with another slight smile.

It now totally shocked her that he had been single for so long. Not only was he funny, charming, sweet (at times), and caring (at times), he really was handsome and honestly?...he had a body to die for (Underworld humor—HA!).

Demeter would keel over, have a heart attack, and die.

Persephone didn’t give a damn. She was happy; she had a husband who loved her and who she loved, too. He cared about her in a way that made all the others who cared about her seem small and insignificant.

With that said, she yawned, and fell back asleep.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“…Where are you going?”

Meg scowled. “I’m getting out of here. I’ve heard way too much for my liking already…let me know when the subject matter turns to something…less gross.”

“Oh, relax,” scoffed Macaria, “It’s honestly not that bad…do you think I would be telling you anything if it was? Sit back down.”

“No thanks.” She shuddered. “I’m going to see if I can smash the mental images I’ve gotten out of my mind with a brick.” She exited the room.

Hercules shrugged and turned to Macaria. “So was that how you were born?”

She shook her head. “I’m not gonna be around for another few years. Demeter doesn’t even know that they’re together…which brings me to the next part of the story…”


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Somehow, whilst thinking all the things she was thinking about how ‘Demeter wouldn’t like this,’ and ‘Demeter wouldn’t approve of that,’ and ‘Demeter would die if she found out that…’ and so on, Persephone hadn’t thought one thing.

Demeter didn’t know she was here. Demeter was undoubtedly searching frantically for her. And that meant that…

“Hades! Wake up,” Persephone said urgently, shaking him.

Hades bolted upright, dazed and confused. “Is the house on fire?” he said groggily, then shook his head, blinked, and looked at Persephone.

“Demeter,” she said, visibly pale and nervous.

“Demeter,” he repeated, “Right…um…what about—” His eyes grew wide, and suddenly, he understood.

“Oh, dammit,” he breathed, growing more panicked by the second.”

She nodded, and whispered, “She must be going crazy looking for me…”

“And that means it’s only a matter of time before she thinks to look in the Underworld,” said Hades, his eyes growing even wider, and his hair flickering wildly.

Persephone buried her face in her hands. “Oh no,” she groaned, “This is bad. If she finds me here…I…” She looked at Hades, obviously trying not to cry, “I’ll never see you again…”

He bit his lip, knowing full well that she was absolutely right, but not wanting to admit it. “Persephone…we’re married…I mean, she can’t just…split us up—not even Hera can do that.”

“That won’t stop her,” sighed Persephone, “You don’t know my mother like I do…”

Hades sighed too. “We’re, like, so screwed, aren’t we?”

“I can only imagine what she’s done to Earth with me gone…”

Hades glanced at her. “Wanna see?”

“See what?”

“What’s she’s done to Earth.”

“You mean go up to Earth?” She shook her head, “We can’t, she’ll see us—”

“No, I have something better.” He took her hand and evaporated with her, reappearing in a small room to the left of the throne room. They were both fully-clothed again.

He picked up a remote that was on the coffee table (ambrosia table?), and pressed a button. A smoky screen popped up in front of them.

“Tartarus Vision—TV, for short,” he said, and began pressing buttons wildly; searching for one that would lead him to Earth.

Persephone stood besides him, eyes on the screen as it flashed from place to place to place to place. When he finally found an area with mortals in it, they both gasped.

“They look like…like living skeletons,” whispered Persephone hoarsely.

“A famine,” echoed Hades.

“She’s crazy,” said Persephone weakly, “She’s really lost her mind…”

Hades glanced at her and realized with a start that she was softly crying. “…Persephone?”

She shook her head sadly. “I have no choice…I have to go back…I have to…I can’t let everyone die…but…” She broke down completely. “But I don’t want to!”

Hades could feel his heart break—it was small and hard, but still breakable. He felt like crying himself, but he didn’t cry—couldn’t cry; it was impossible.

“It’s not fair…she doesn’t even know you,” Persephone continued, wiping away tears frantically. She hated crying, but Hades was the best thing in her life. She didn’t want to lose him forever. “How can she hate someone she doesn’t know?”

“She knows me, just…just, well, not like you do.” Hades shrugged. “No-one knows me like you do, babe.”

Persephone closed her eyes and let her tears trickle out. “I don’t want to go back…”

Hades didn’t know what to say. He didn’t want her to leave either, but they both knew that she had to.

Instead of saying anything, he wrapped his arms around her.

And they stayed like that for a while; her sobbing, him trying to console her.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Ow…” Hecate managed to pick herself off the floor where she had laid, unconscious, for the last few hours.

She knew Menthe had a little obsession with Hades, but honestly.

Seeing Hades and Persephone…y’know… was no reason for Menthe to punch her in the face.

It still hurt. Hecate had a feeling she had a black eye. “Little twerp,” she muttered under her breath as her two minions flew over to her.

“Bad night?” said one.

“Didn’t sleep much, didja?” said the other. He motioned to the little orb that still displayed Hades and Persephone. “Neither did they.”

Hecate rose, and glared at them, shooting a blast of blue magic from her fingertips that hit him between the ears.

“We know you’re cranky, but that’s no excuse for rudeness,” said the other and he got a blast between his eyes.

They yelped, and high-tailed it out of there.

Rolling her eyes, Hecate ran a hand through her hair. “Patience is everything,” she reminded herself, “Soon we can kidnap the brat and the Underworld will be all mine…”

[Jim Hawkins]

Simultaneously, Rhea and the Fates smiled.

Y'know, that part should really say:

"Simultaneously, Rhea, the Fates, and the reader smiled."

XDDDDDDDDD
FWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

[somechick]

I want to cry! Demeter is such a little -----!
And Hecate is one giant -----, too!

Nani: -blows her nose- This is so disgusting, yet satisfyingly romantic...

CONTINUE OMG! <3

[Hades]

I know, Jim, it's about freaking time, right? XD And yeah, Nani. Yeah they are. XDDDD

Chapter XXI-- The Pomegranates Enter the Picture (Hades Defies Physics), Hecate Gets Ready(er), and Zeus Gives Up

“Persephone?” Hades could tell she was trying very hard not to cry.

But she was failing.

Apparently, even the thought of leaving him was unbearable to her.

It killed him to see her like this. Nothing he said or did could shake her off her misery.

This wasn’t good.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

She felt awful. Hades must think…she didn’t know what he was thinking.

Persephone was caught between Scylla and Charybdis. If she stayed, everyone would die. If she went, she’d never see Hades again. And Persephone couldn’t live with either.

She wanted, very badly, to stay with her husband. But it just wasn’t the right thing to do.

“Hades…” she whispered.

Hades looked at her, and she felt her heart wrench. I don’t want to leave you…
“You have to go, don’t you,” he said quietly. His voice was void of any emotion; though it was clear he was hurting as much as she was.

“I…I don’t want to…but…” She wiped away her tears. “I have to.”

Hades took her hand. “I’ll go with you.”

She stared at him in surprise. “…Really? You would do that? And face all of Mt. Olympus?”

“Why not?” he shrugged, “They won’t kill me if you’re right there…”

She rolled her eyes. “Honestly…is that all I mean to you? A Get-Out-of-Jail-Free card?” she said teasingly.

He smirked. “I take it you’re feeling better then?”

“Better then I was before, at least,” she said, “But...”

He thought for a second. “You have a …pomegranate fetish, right?”

“A fetish?!” She crossed her arms. “I am insulted.”

He waved his hand dismissively. “Yeah, yeah, I know, scarred for life, yadda yadda. But you do—”

“Sort of. Why?”

He smirked. “Be right back.”

He disappeared, and Persephone shrugged. She waved her hand, and a few dozen (dark blue) roses bloomed. She smiled slightly.

That was when Hades reappeared. He tossed her a bottle.

Persephone barely managed to catch it, and when she did, she almost dropped it again.

“Are you trying to get me drunk?” she said immediately, although the slight smile on her face showed she wasn’t as angry as she sounded.

Hades blinked. “No!” He paused and looked at her with a dry smirk. “Although…”

Persephone rolled her eyes and she held up the bottle of odd-colored wine he had given her. “Then why’d ya give me this? And…what does this have to do with pomegranates?”

Hades took the bottle in her hands, and turned it around. He handed it back to her. “Read the back.”

She raised an eyebrow and began to read out loud. “‘…Made entirely out of—’” She broke off and stared at him. “No way. That’s impossible.”

“Apparently not…”

Persephone gave him a look. “You can’t make wine out of pomegranates. It’s physiologically impossible. And besides—” She made a face. “—it probably tastes really gross.”

Hades returned the look. “First of all, I’m a god—therefore, I can defy physics. And second of all—how unfair is that?! You didn’t even try it!”

Persephone eyed it warily. “…I dunno…”

“Never had alcohol before, right?” Hades raised an eyebrow. “And if you think I’m trying to pressure you into drinking, I’m not.”

“I’ve had alcohol. Just not a lot. And I’ve never actually gotten drunk before…”

Hades shrugged. “Hey, it was just a suggestion. Thought it might make ya feel better…” He took the bottle of pomegranate wine from her hands (again), and went to disappear.

And then she took it back.

“What are you—” started Hades, but Persephone cut him off.

“I said I had never gotten drunk before,” she said, a smirk growing on her face, “But I didn’t say I didn’t want to…”

Hades’ eyes widened. Demeter’s really been living in La-La Land, hasn’t she?

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Oh. My. Gods,” said both Hecate and Menthe at the same time, staring, mouths agape, through her orb.

Menthe threw something at the little bubble, and it dissolved. “Hecate…they love each other,” she spat, as if each word hurt her to say it, “Can we please kidnap them? PLEASE!?!”

Hecate let out a sigh. “Well...”

Menthe crossed her arms, furious. "LOOK WHAT THEY'RE DOING! The little brat is sitting there getting drunk with him! If we don't do anything now...WHO KNOWS WHAT THEY'LL DO NEXT!"

Hecate shook her head wearily. "Fine. We'll do it tommorow."

Her wolves whooped and high-fived each other.

Menthe let out a sigh of relief. “Thank the gods…”


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“And speaking of gods…” said Macaria, ignoring the shocked look Hercules had on.

Going way out on a limb, Macaria guessed he was shocked about what Persephone had just done (the wine). Heh. Wait ‘til he finds out how much she had…

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“It’s been almost five months,” said Zeus, “And there is still no sign of Persephone!”

Demeter looked down at the ground, tears brimming at her eyes again. They were at a meeting of the Olympian Council. Everyone was there—except for Hades and Hecate, who both could not be reached (for obvious reasons).

“It pains me to say this…but…” Zeus took a deep breath, and stared at the ground, “We cannot keep searching for her.”

Demeter stood up sharply. “What?!” she exclaimed, “My daughter has gone missing and you’re giving up?!” She crossed her arms. “I won’t have it!”

“Demeter!” cried Zeus, “You must understand—there isn’t much we can do. She’ll come back on her own eventually. Until then, all we can do is wait. And you must make the Earth grow again.”

“I will do no such thing!” snapped Demeter, “If it was your child missing, you wouldn’t just…give up like that.”

She considered what she had just said. “Or maybe you would—you have so many children as it is….with various women all over Greece…”

Hera glared at her husband.

“But my Persephone is all I have!” continued Demeter, “And I won’t give up!”

“We can’t afford to search any longer. We’re all abandoning our duties as gods to search for your daughter. And you, Demeter—the mortals are all starving to death! This cannot and will not go on!” snapped Zeus.

The other gods found it wise to stay out of this.

“It will not go on?” repeated Demeter, “It will go on—until my Persephone is safely in my arms, nothing will grow on Earth!” She vanished, leaving dozens of very shocked gods and goddesses sitting in silence.

Zeus moaned, and buried his face in his hands. “Oh, dear…”

((The Author's Note I left at the end of this chapter on FF.net::

~Author's Note~ Ok, let me just say right now that I KNOW that (in this day and age, that is) it's impossible to make wine out of pomegranates.

But as Hades puts it: "...I’m a god—therefore, I can defy physics."

So please don't leave me a bunch of reviews saying that 'it's impossible to make wine out of pomegranates,' and 'you can't make pomegranate wine,' and blah, blah, blah. Any other review is fine, though! Thanks!

(And sorry for shortness T.T)))

[somechick]

I didn't think it was strange. You did define the Godly abilities, so I knew that you were aware of the logics. XD So don't worry, I'm not here to start yapping about that. Some of the reviewers at Fanfiction.net are a tad stupid (some). XP;;;

AND WHAT A NAUGHTY GIRL PERSEPHONE IS! Demeter's one demented mother.
Geez am I glad my mom doesn't hog me like the fat lard does x3.

CONTINUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

[Hades]

^^ Well, I didn't want a bunch of reviews on my story saying that it didn't exist. XDD You're right, some FF-ers are stupid. (but i didn't get any reviews like that ^^)

Chapter XXII-- Persephone is Re-Kidnapped

It was so infuriating that Persephone wanted to scream. Infuriating and incredibly embarrassing, too.

Kidnapped again.

Being kidnapped once was bad enough. Being kidnapped for a second time was just humiliating.

Persephone didn’t even know who her kidnapper was. Some woman who floated—dressed in shades of blue and purple with a pointed headdress and fangs.

Why does she remind me of Hades? Persephone wondered half-heartedly, as she tested her bindings.

Thick white…stuff. Possibly tons of spider webs. Whatever it was, it was unbelievably strong, and it was wrapped entirely around her body and mouth. And it didn’t help her hangover either (remember the pomegranate wine she drank the other night?).

The woman—whoever she was—had cornered Persephone in her room and had thrown the webs over her, using some sort of magic. Persephone probably could have managed to fight back.

But the woman’s icy whisper—“Be a good girl and maybe—maybe—you’ll get to see your husband again.”—had scared her into sort of an obedient silence. And Persephone cursed at herself for doing so; for being so weak.

Laying, immobile, in the chariot of her captor, she could only imagine what Hades was thinking.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“WHERE IS SHE?!”

“We don’t know, she’s just gone,” stammered Panic.

“Maybe she ran away?” suggested Pain.

Hades ran a hand through his hand nervously. “No, no, she—she wouldn’t do that, she told me—” No. No. Persephone wouldn’t be that cruel to him.

But still…

What if she had made everything up in order to escape from him?

Hades bit his lip, and sank into his throne. “Just—just go look around some more,” he said shakily. She couldn’t have. She…she cared about him, she loved him, she wouldn’t have—

But she was smart. She could have done it. She could have just been making it all up, pretending she loved him, pretending she wanted him. Pretending everything was real.

Hades was suddenly feeling very small, very hurt, and very alone.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Yoo-hoo…” sing-songed Hecate, her image appearing in smoke behind Menthe.

It was a handy trick. Helped her to be in two places at once. Like, for instance, now.

Menthe jumped, startled. “Hecate!” she gasped, “I didn’t see you there…” She stumbled forwards and accidentally crashed into the image, which dissipated and reformed. “But…you’re not there,” said Menthe uneasily, standing up and dusting herself off.

Hecate shrugged. “Well, I can’t be in two places at once…well, not for real, that is…” She glanced behind her, and then placed a finger to her lips. “But keep your voice down—there’s—” She glanced behind her, a wicked smirk spreading across her face, “—something in the back of the chariot.”

“…Something?...what do you—oh!” Menthe covered her own mouth, looked both ways, and leaned in close to Hecate’s image. “Persephone, you mean…” she whispered.

“Duh…”

“I take it everything went according to plan, then?” said Menthe.

“Our little prisoner is petrified. She hasn’t even tried to escape once.” The witch paused. “Send my wolves over—I’m almost here.”

Menthe nodded, and motioned with her arm to the two flying hellhounds. They winked and flew off.

Of course, Hecate could have just carried Persephone here herself, but being flown in by two wolves with razor sharp claws and teeth was worse. It was the little details that mattered…


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Nothing?” said Hades, already knowing what the answer would be.

Pain and Panic shook their heads, confirming his suspicions immediately.

Hades raised his hand, and for a second the two imps thought he was going to zap them.

Instead, he just waved them away sadly. The goddess of his dreams had left him. Left him.

He hadn’t cried in over 800 years. But his streak was about to break.

Against his will, as the case was, but still…

Hades felt so stupid. Everything Persephone had said—everything she had done—a lie. And he had fallen for it. All of it.

With a whirl of smoke, he disappeared and reappeared in Persephone’s room.

Sighing heavily, Hades moved to the huge window and stared out at his kingdom. The Underworld was huge.

It seemed even bigger when you were alone. He let out a shaky sigh, and sat down on the edge of her bed, absentmindedly putting his hand on the bed besides him.

He didn’t expect to find something under his hand. Surprised, Hades closed his fingers around the object and looked at it.

A flower, a black flower. Persephone's flower.

He, with the flower still in his hand, rose and crossed the room to the window again, feeling tears come to his eyes. It had been so long since he had--

Wait.

The flower was attached to a string. The string was attached to something hanging over the edge of the bed. Hades pulled at it, found that it wouldn’t move, and went to the other side of the bed.

His eyes widened.

A headdress.
A blue headdress.
A blue pointy headdress.
Hecate’s blue pointy headdress.

“It can’t be…” he breathed, “It…it just can’t be…”

However, there was another string attached to the headdress. Hades followed the string to a tiny piece of a scroll.

Two words were written on the scroll:

Find me.

Pinned to it was Persephone’s necklace.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Witch,” spat Persephone bitterly, after being dropped on the floor by Hecate’s twin wolves.

Hecate beamed. “Thank you!”

Persephone glared at her, arms and legs still bound together, and her face covered in claw marks from the wolves. “If Hades finds out about this, you’re screwed,” she snapped.

Hecate rolled her eyes, and smirked. “Of course, Persephone…now,” She clapped her hands, and one of her wolves, pushed Persephone into a large iron cage, “You just try to relax and soon enough your husband will come to save you and we’ll all be happy. ‘Kay?” She vanished, and the wolves flew away.

“Bye bye now!” called one.

Persephone scowled. Obviously (and it was quite obvious), this was some sort of a trap. And she was the bait. Sheesh.

“Psst!”

Persephone looked up sharply. “Wha—who—who’s there?” she whispered, managing to sound furious through her whisper.

“Persephone!” cried Menthe, although her cry was soft.

“Menthe?!” gasped Persephone, sitting up in her cage, “How did you—how are you here? How did you get here? Why did you get here? I mean—why—”

“I'm here to help,” she whispered in return, and she ran over to Persephone’s cage, picking up a sharp stick that was next to it. “Hold still, ok?”

Persephone nodded. “Trying to get the lock off?” she started to say, but then—

She let out a choked gasp as the pointed stick crashed between her ribs. “Menthe—” she managed to say, “Wh-what are you—”

Another jab from the stick silenced her.

“You said you were here to help!” protested Persephone, weakly noticing that she was ichor-ing in several spots. And it hurt like mad, too.

“I did say I was going to help,” said Menthe innocently, as Hecate appeared next to her, “I just didn’t say I was going to help you.”

The witch and the nymph both simultaneously sneered as Persephone’s eyes widened—both in fear and in pain.

Persephone could only hope that Hades would come.

And with a sinking feeling, she realized that they were both hoping the same thing.