The REAL Cosmic Couple! (Hades/Persephone fic)

[Macaria]

Chapter XXIII-- Menthe and Persephone Argue (Over Hades)

It was unbelievable, but Persephone knew it was true.

Menthe.

She had been Persephone’s best friend and best employee for…for…for…for practically forever.

Menthe had never felt the same way. Menthe had been plotting against her for…how long? A long time, undoubtedly.

Persephone let out another gasp as the stick stabbed at her skin again. Ichor. Ichor everywhere. The sight of her own ichor made her sick.

The sight of Menthe’s smiling face made her sicker.

“Explain,” said Persephone, her voice raspy, but still clear, “Explain everything.”

Menthe glanced at Hecate, who shrugged and mouthed, ‘Why not?’

“I’ll explain everything slowly, so I don’t confuse you, ‘kay?” said Menthe, adding a (fake) bright smile at the end of the sentence. “Hecate and I plotted to kidnap you, and we did, and now we’re waiting for Hades to come and save you so we can trade your freedom for the Underworld.”

Persephone’s eyes widened. “You can’t do that. Hades would never fall for something as simple as—”

“Actually, you’d be surprised,” interrupted Hecate, studying her fingernails casually. With a smirk she added, “People do crazy things when they’re in love.”

Persephone made a snorting sound. “How cliché.”

Menthe rolled her eyes, “You’re telling me…”

Hecate shrugged. “I’ve heard cliché-er.”

“You’re not going to get away with this,” snapped Persephone, to which Hecate responded, “See, like that. Cliché-er.”

Persephone scowled, and Menthe jabbed her with the stick again.

Wincing in pain, Persephone couldn’t help it. “What, can’t you come up with anything worse then making me look like Swiss cheese?” she taunted, a daring smirk appearing on her face.



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Yeeow.


Ok, that one, she hadn’t seen coming. Apparently, two talking, flying dogs could cause a very large amount of pain. Apparently, the dogs had claws and teeth even bigger then their mouths. And apparently, Persephone’s immortality was the only thing keeping her alive right now. That small fact didn’t affect the insults streaming out of her mouth.

“How do you sleep at night?” she persisted wryly, her smirk fainter but still there, “How can you torture an innocent goddess without feeling even the teeniest, tiniest amount of remorse.”

“Innocent,” repeated Hecate and Menthe, glancing at each other and then bursting out laughing. All four of them were in hysterics (wolves included).

Through gritted teeth, Persephone said, “What’s so funny?”

“We saw…w-what you did with…with…” Hecate burst into laughter again, “Oh, I can’t, it’s too much!” Menthe, too, was almost in tears from laughing.

Persephone understood immediately, and she narrowed her eyes, her face flushing slightly. “You…didn’t…”

“We did, we did!” cried Hecate, “And if mommy finds out what you two did—”

“—Sephy gets punished!” finished Menthe.

“And Hades gets strangled,” added Hecate, re-adjusting her headdress, and smoothing out her dress, “Anyway…”

“What I do with my husband is my business—” started Persephone.

“—and his,” muttered Menthe.

“What I do with my husband is my business and mine alone,” she continued, ignoring Menthe, “And if you two perverts want to watch, then that’s your business. But don’t make fun of me because neither of you can get a man.” She stuck her tongue out and turned her back to them, ignoring the pain that was shooting through every inch of her.

Hecate rolled her eyes, but Menthe walked to Persephone’s cage and kneeled next to her.

“The only man I want is married,” she hissed, “But I will have him, no matter what it takes.”

Persephone raised an eyebrow.

Menthe stood up. “I’ll be fair and include you in this…if he’s married, then the only way to get him is to maim his wife, right?”

Persephone yawned, and nodded.

“Or at least hurt her real bad, right?”

“Mm-hmm…”

“So you agree with me on this?” said Menthe, picking up her stick.

Persephone stared at her blankly. “…Sure…”

Menthe gritted her teeth, and rammed the stick into Persephone’s side.

She gasped in surprise (and pain). “Menthe! What—what’d ya do that for?!”

“The man I love—the man I want—is Hades, and I will have him,” said Menthe, holding the point of her stick at Persephone’s throat, “I hope we’ve reached an understanding, hmm?”

Hecate, from the other side of the room, mused, “She’s coming along well, isn’t she?”

Persephone felt her insides turn to ice (not literally—duh). “You…you can’t have him,” she said, narrowing her eyes, and jerking the stick away from her.

“I can so have him,” argued Menthe, “As long as Hecate keeps her end of the deal, I can.”

Persephone’s eyes swiveled to the witch. “You promised her my husband in exchange for her service?...That’s pretty low.”

Hecate shrugged. “Whatever works.”

Persephone opened her mouth to say something, but Menthe’s stick stabbed her again.

Somehow, she managed to move herself to a sitting position. “For how long?” she asked, blinking several times to try and clear her head. Although she was still conscious, Persephone had been stabbed so many times it was beginning to make her light-headed. Loss of ichor will do that to you…

Menthe sighed happily, happy to be talking about something she wanted ot talk about. “From the moment I saw him,” she said, standing up and fingering her stick. “I’ve been trying for years to get Hades to notice me.” Her expression grew dark. “It’s totally unfair how you…” Menthe searched for the right word. “…how you bewitched him into falling in love with you.”

It was so ridiculous Persephone almost laughed. “Bewitched him?! I didn’t do a thing—he saw me, he liked me, he kidnapped me.” Tossing her hair behind her (bleeding) shoulder, she added, “I really didn’t have a say in the matter. He even forced me to marry him.”

“I don’t care!” protested Menthe, “He loves you! I don’t give a damn whether you love him or not—the important thing is he doesn’t like me!” She lifted her stick to Persephone again, and pulled back her arm to stab her again.

Hecate’s hand stopped her. “If she’s disfigured, Hades won’t want her,” she scolded, “And then our plan goes haywire.”

Persephone cringed, and reached automatically for her necklace. “HEY!”

Everyone turned to look at her.

“Where’s my necklace?!” demanded Persephone, balling up her hands, and scowling angrily, “Nothing better have happened to it! And I’m not kidding! Where is it?!”

“It’s in good hands.”

Persephone and Menthe both gasped, and looked at the door to where Hades was standing, dangling Persephone’s necklace between his fingers.

And smirking.

I got a review on FF.net on this chapter that said::

"It's a pegasus! It's a cloud! No! It's SUPER HADES to the rescue!"

....

I almost died laughing.

[~Elisa Maza~]

Super Hades, I love it! It is Super Hades!

*Is so gonna call him that from now on. *

[demeter]

Chapter XXIV-- Hades and Hecate Negotiate

“Nice entrance,” said Hecate dryly, as Hades walked calmly over to her (tossing the necklace to Persephone as he did).

“Style is everything,” he said, just as dryly, “Now…then…” Suddenly and without warning, he flared bright red. “Let’s talk business, shall we?”

“I’m up for a…negotiation,” said Hecate, raising an eyebrow.

Hades blinked a few times, then smirked. “A negotiation? You want to negotiate? Ok…” He pressed his palms together, and then after a second he grabbed Hecate by the collar and lifted her to his eye level. “Here’s a negotiation…how about you let Persephone go and I don’t rip off your head?”

Hecate remained calm. “Come now, Hades, we must control our temper…” she chided, a slight smirk of her own playing on her lips, “We wouldn’t something unfortunate to happen the next time you have an outburst like that, hmm?” She nodded to Menthe, who, as if on cue, held the point of her stick to Persephone’s throat.

Persephone blinked, and gulped.

Hades glanced to Persephone, back to Hecate, and then released the witch. “Don’t touch her,” he said finally, “What do you want?”

“Oh no, he won’t fall for it at all,” said Menthe sarcastically to Persephone, “Excellent judge of character ya have there.”

“Oh, shut up,” snapped Persephone, “You don’t know anything.”

“Ladies,” said Hecate, grinning crookedly, “Please. Let the big kids talk business, hmm?”

“Witch,” spat Hades.

“Thank you!” said Hecate, “Now then. If we could talk some place in private, how about…”

Hades sighed, cringing inwardly. “Why do I think I’m not gonna like this at all?”

Leading him by the arm to another small room, Hecate muttered to herself, “Because you’re not…”


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“You’re crazy.” Hades stared at her from across the table.

“I’m not,” Hecate crossed her arms solemnly, “I’m making an offer.”

“Then it’s the offer that’s crazy,” he replied.

“It’s a simple offer.”

Hades leaned back. “One of the two is crazy. If it’s not the offer, then it’s you.” He tilted his head. “Am I right?”

“Oh, please. It’s a reasonable offer,” Hecate scoffed, “You’re being overly dramatic.” She smirked wryly. “Then again, that’s sort of how you work isn’t it?”

He ignored the last comment. “A reasonable offer? You call that a reasonable offer?! All of this is reasonable to you?!” He stood, shaking his head in disbelief. “You are crazy. The last time I checked, asking someone to choose between their wife and their kingdom is not reasonable.”

“It’s Persephone or the Underworld,” was all Hecate said. That, and, “Pick one.”

Hades stared at her, with even more disbelief then before. “And just how does a person make a decision like that?! I sincerely doubt that ‘Eeenie Meenie Minie Moe’ will work in this case…”

“Don’t tell me that you have to think about this!” exclaimed Hecate, feigning surprise. She stood up as well and floated to Hades, who stood with a scowl, arms crossed. “Shouldn’t it be simple for you?”

“…what do you mean by that?” he said suspiciously.

“Don’t get worked up. It’s nothing of real importance…” The crooked grin returned. “Just…Menthe and I have been keeping an eye on you since Persephone’s oh-so-suspicious kidnapping…”

“You—” His voice broke off, and Hades looked at her. “Ah, jeez…”

She shrugged. “Granted, I did receive a little more then I bargained for…”

Hades understood immediately, and attempted (and succeeded) to cover up his disgusted surprise. “Hmmph…I always knew you liked that sort of stuff.” He smirked.

Hecate scowled. “Shut up. You’re the perverted one…kidnapping a girl half your age, forcing her to marry you, and then…well, you know. If I didn’t know better, I’d call you a pedophile.”

Hades blinked. “Sheesh. And I thought I was the evil one.” Under his breath, he muttered, “Pedophile…jeez…”

“Anyway…” Hecate clapped her hands, and returned to her seat. “What’s it gonna be? Your lovely wife? Or the lovely Underworld?”

He thought for a second. And then, with the tone of a three-year old child, he whined, “Do I have to?!”

“It’s one or the other, and nothing in between,” said Hecate firmly.

Hades sighed dejectedly. He was trapped. He couldn’t give up Persephone, not in a million years would he ever. But… “I can’t give up the Underworld,” he said suddenly, and he sat down, slumping in his seat.

Hecate’s eyes flashed, but other then that she showed no sign of anger. “And why not?”

He debated with himself. He couldn’t tell her, could he? He had never told anyone—sure, some people (like Rhea, for example) had known it from the start, but other then that… And honestly, if he had to tell someone, it wouldn’t be Hecate. But Persephone was being tormented in the next room, and for her… “I’m the only one,” he said finally, “who can rule the place.”

Hecate managed to control her temper. “Isn’t that a little conceited?”

“I’m not being conceited. It’s a fact. Talk to the Fates if ya don’t believe me.” It was the only reason he was so attached to the Underworld. Hades was the only one who could successfully run it, and he was (sort of) proud about that. If he ever ended up ruling the universe, he’d rule the Underworld too. He didn’t have a choice.

“That’s ridiculous,” she protested, “And it can’t be possible.”

“If I gave you the Underworld, you wouldn’t last XX minutes,” he said flatly, “All the creatures would tear you to shreds. And then all the other beings that live there—the five river gods/goddesses, the Furies, the Miseries, the Curses, the Madnesses, the Retailations etc.—would kill you. Literally.” Hades shrugged half-heartedly. “It really doesn’t make a difference to them that you’re immortal. They’ll find a way.”

Hecate narrowed her eyes. “Liar,” she spat.

“I’m the only one that they’ll listen to. Me and—” Hades broke off abruptly as he realized that the entire time Persephone had been down there, nothing had even tried to attack her… “Me…and Persephone,” he finished hoarsely. “She was meant to be Queen.”

“Make your decision,” hissed Hecate. She was done with hearing this jibber-jabber, the lies that she was sure he was telling her just to scare her—ghost stories.

“If I gave up the Underworld…all Hades would break loose,” he said quietly, “And the universe would be plunged into turmoil—more then it already is, thanks to my lovely mother-in-law, Demeter…” Hades shook his head and looked upwards absentmindedly. “Everything would be utter chaos. You have no idea how dreadfully insane it would be…”

“But you’re willing to risk it all for Persephone, aren’t you?” she questioned tentatively, feeling her anger start to boil over. Ridiculous. Ridiculous! It was all ridiculous.

Hades thought for a second. “Yeah,” he said.

“And your choice is…?” she pressed, leaning forwards slightly. All her anger disappeared. So close, so close!

He wanted Persephone back. He needed Persephone back, and she felt the same way, he had seen it in her eyes. But she was smart. And she had a good heart.

And Hades decided to do what she would have wanted him to do.

With a heavy heart that was growing heavier by the second, Hades said quietly, “I choose to keep the Underworld.”

[~Elisa Maza~]

Elisa: He thinks he loses his temper? Just wait til I get a hold of him.

Giselle: How could he choose the Underworld over the woman he loves? It's so sad!

Eris: So typical. Here he has the chance to spread chaos, and what does he do? Wimps out.

Alsan: Peace, everyone. The story's not over yet, and I'm sure this will end well for Hades and Persephone.

[demeter]

Seph: *grimace* I hate this part...

Chapter XXV-- Hecate is Furious and Menthe Seals Her Fate

Persephone swallowed hard. Menthe had let her out of the cage, but had not stopped stabbing her with the stick. And Persephone wanted to get out of here. She wanted to get far away from here, go back to Hades, and go back to the Underworld. She wanted Hades to pick her and leave. She would have let him.

No. No, she wouldn’t have let him. The Underworld, the state of the Underworld, was much more important then she was. If Hades chose her over the Underworld, she’d have to kill him.

Persephone was sure she wouldn’t have to go that far. He wasn’t that stupid. He’d make the right decision.

Hecate’s scream of rage in the other room confirmed it. He wasn’t that stupid. And he had made the right decision.


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Barely, Hecate managed to control her anger. For a few minutes, at least. “Excuse me?”

Hades smirked. “You’re excused.”

“But…but…” She clenched her fists, and gritted her teeth. “Are you out of your mind? Why would you pick the Underworld over Persephone?”

“If I had picked her, she would have been furious with me,” he said calmly, “Besides…she’s a good kid—doesn’t want to hurt other people and other junk like that. Frankly, I think that whole ‘good deeds’ system is way overrated, but I’m not arguing with her…”

Hecate glared at him, breathing heavily. Her plan had failed. Completely failed.

And, good gods, she wanted to strangle him.

“Now,” said Hades, standing up, “If ya don’t mind I’d like to say good-bye to Persephone…”

Silent with shock, Hecate pushed the door open, and he walked outside, her following.


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As soon as Hades walked out the door, Persephone rushed over to him. She was sure he had made the right choice, but still…it didn’t hurt to be absolutely sure.

“Hades…tell me you didn’t give up the Und—”

“I didn’t,” he interrupted. He gave her a sad smile.

Persephone sighed with relief, and hugged him. The hug turned into a kiss in no time.

Menthe dashed up to Hecate in shock, trying not to outright retch at the sigh before her. “He didn’t—he didn’t actually choose the Underworld over…over…?” Her voice trailed off.

Hecate scowled. “He did.”

Menthe blinked, and shook her head angrily. “I don’t believe it! How could that have happ—well…” She paused. “At least this way, I can still get him, right?”

“I suppose so…” said Hecate. And then her face lit up. “I have an idea! Gimme your stick.” Menthe nodded, and handed it to Hecate.

“Hades,” said Hecate, and the couple broke apart and looked at her. She was hiding the stick behind her back.

“Hades, we all know you were trying to do the right thing…” she continued, “And you did do the right thing! For the mortals, that is…but was it the right thing for Persephone?”

Menthe pulled Persephone away from Hades and forced her to stand by Hecate.

Hades narrowed his eyes—focused half on Hecate and half on Persephone. “What do you mean?”

“Persephone ‘belongs’ to us now…And we are free to do whatever we want to her…that was part of our ‘deal,’ remember? And you can’t do a thing about it.” Hecate’s smile broadened, as she took the stick out from behind her back…

…and stabbed Persephone in the stomach.

Hades gasped as Persephone let out a choked cry and fell backwards. The stick had gone right through her.

“Is she dead?” said Hecate, and she broke the stick in half, then in quarters. “Of course not. She’s immortal. Is she paralyzed for life? Perhaps…”

Menthe chimed in, “She has a hole in her middle—she looks like a donut!”

He stared at her, then at Persephone, then at Hecate, looking between the three, unable to register what had just happened.

Hecate had taken a sharp stick. Hecate had run said sharp stick straight through Persephone. And Persephone was now unconscious in a pool of her own ichor.

Hecate had done a lot of unbelievably daring things in the past. This topped them all off.

But Hades was in a state of utter shock. He stood frozen to the spot; his only movement was turning from blue/grey to a red/orange in a time span of three seconds.

“And now that she’s out of the way,” said Hecate, tossing the pieces of the stick on the floor, “Let’s talk about something different, ok? Since you and Persephone…er…’split up,’ for lack of a better word, it’s going to be awfully lonely in the big ol’ Underworld, right? And I’ll bet you were getting rather attached to life as a husband, too.”

By now, the entire room was cast in an orange glow thanks to Hades’ rapidly changing skin and hair color. He didn’t answer her.

“But don’t worry…we’ve got someone else for you,” Hecate went on, observing the confused look that was spreading across Hades’ face, “Say hello to Menthe.”

Right on cue, the green tinted nymph bounded over to Hades, who automatically stepped back.

“Hold it,” he said, regaining his senses (sort of) and his personality as well, “Time out. There must be something…I’m not getting here. There’s gotta be something someone forgot to tell me…’cuz the last time I checked, you—” He pointed at Hecate, “—cannot order me around…and you absolutely cannot set me up with anyone at all, especially HER!” He glared at Menthe, who pouted.

“Now, that wasn’t very nice.”

Hades made a face. “Yecch.” He pushed her away from him.

Hecate shrugged and grinned. “I think you two’ll get along fine.”

Hades scowled at Hecate. “Very funny…” He pushed Menthe, who had reattached herself to him, away again.

She stood back, hands on her hips, and said, “I think it’s funny how you still haven’t recognized me.”

Hades blinked, and looked at her. Suddenly, his eyes opened wide. “Oh gods…” He turned to Hecate, “Out of everyone in the entire universe, you pair me up with my stalker. Nice, Hecate, nice…”

“Stalker? How cute, he has a pet name for you,” said Hecate, glancing at Menthe, who beamed.

“I promise you’ll like me if you give me a chance,” she giggled, attaching herself to Hades again, who groaned.

“Get off me,” he snapped, “I don’t like you, I never did like you, and now you’re just annoying the hell outta me. Whatever ‘methods of seduction’ you’re trying are not working. Leave me alone.” He pried her off him again, only to have Menthe wrap her arms around him.

“That’s not giving me a chance,” she said sweetly, “Hey—I can be every bit of whatever Persephone was for you, and I mean it.”

“I sincerely doubt that,” Hades said, growing more and more annoyed by the second. At the mention of his wife’s name, his eyes had traveled to where Persephone lay. He hoped she was alright. If she wasn’t, he’d never forgive himself…

“Please???” said Menthe again, “Just let me try—oof!”

Hades had managed to unhook her arms, and had dumped her on the floor.

“I’m getting tired of this. Aren’t you, Menthe?” said Hecate, and as Hades grew close to exploding, she shot out her magic at him. Immediately, he was wrapped in her spiderweb-thingys.

“No fair!” protested Hades, flaring up even more. Fortunately (for Hecate and Menthe, at least), the bindings were fireproof. And god-proof.

“When have I ever played fair?” said Hecate, crossing her arms.

Hades narrowed his eyes. “And that’s my line.”

Menthe giggled again. “Ooh, possessive. But everyone has flaws, huh?”

Hades resumed glaring at her. “Yes. Your flaw is that you’re incredibly annoying.”

Menthe giggled again, and turned to Hecate. “Lookit, I think he’s flirting with me.”

Hades groaned again, and rolled his eyes. Damn this nymph. It was a good thing Persephone was unconscious. If she had seen this exchange, she would have flipped.

But Persephone, in fact, was not unconscious. And she was, in fact, viewing this exchange, however weakly. Still, order to flip, she would need just one more thing to push her over the edge, restoring her strength and anger.

It was at that moment that Menthe (perhaps being urged on by Hecate) leaned in and kissed Hades, though against his will entirely.

And Persephone was pushed over the edge.

Menthe had just sealed her fate.

[~Elisa Maza~]

Elisa: *hums funeral March*

Giselle: She kissed another woman's true love! That's the most horrible thing I've ever seen!

Eris: Oh, I cannot wait to see these fireworks go off.

Aslan: *shakes head*

[demeter]

Chapter XXVI-- Persephone Punishes Menthe (and Does it With Style)

The shocked silence that filled the room was the response to:

A) – Persephone had stood up as if nothing had ever happened.

B)- Persephone’s stab wound had healed, in front of everyone, in about four seconds.

C)- Persephone was now screaming out a series of curses, directed mainly at Menthe, who had quickly separated from Hades and was pressed against the wall with wide eyes.

“—disgusting, miserable excuse for a nymph!” Persephone finally shrieked, and stood there, fists clenched and breathing heavily.

There was a few more seconds of silence. And then Menthe (who was certain that Persephone was still weak) smirked, and said, “Aw…is someone jealous?” She smirked wider, and then leaned in and kissed Hades…again.


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“Wow. Is she ever going learn, or what?” said Meg, who had re-entered the room and was now leaning back in her chair, a partly amused smirk of her own placed on her face.

“Trust me,” said Macaria, grinning twistedly, “She’s gonna learn.”

“Uh-oh…” said Bob.

“Yeah…that, uh…doesn’t sound too good,” agreed Hercules, “How exactly is she going to learn?”

“You’ll see,” said Macaria, her twisted grin still in place.


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Persephone stared at Menthe in amazement.

Her blind anger had quickly been rationalized after about a minute of cursing. Ok, so Menthe was attracted to Hades—completely understandable; after all, what was there not to be attracted to? Ok, so Menthe had kissed him—unacceptable, yes, but Menthe hadn’t known that Persephone was still conscious and watching—she had just followed what she thought was right, was just following ‘her heart’s desire’ or some garbage like that. Again, understandable. Forgivable.

But Menthe, who quite obviously had seen Persephone stand up, and who quite obviously was now aware that she was watching, had just kissed Hades again. With the knowledge that Persephone was standing there watching.

Persephone had a feeling that Menthe knew how much it angered her. And she had a feeling that the nymph had kissed Hades again just to piss her off.

Is it a game to her? wondered Persephone, feeling her temper rise around her, surrounding her like a force-field. She was sure Hades, Hecate, Menthe and the wolves could feel her fury radiating off of her.

As Persephone narrowed her eyes and took exactly one step towards Menthe, she thought again, Does she think this is funny??

Yes, Menthe had separated herself from Hades (who looked absolutely disgusted) and was standing with her arms crossed, a smile on her face.

It was strange how she still thought she was ‘untouchable.’ Didn’t she see that she was in danger? Even Hecate noticed.

“Menthe…you know I’m on your side…but…maybe you might wanna give it a rest, huh?” said Hecate, staring at Persephone and feeling just a trifle nervous at the sight of her. Not even Hades had ever been that mad.

“Why?” said Persephone innocently, looking past her to Hades, who winked, “Am I scaring you?”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” sneered Hecate, turning her head, “I would never—”

“Oh, don’t worry,” reassured Persephone, her eyes narrowing slightly, and her lips twisting up in a sick smile, “I’m not angry at you…for now…no…it’s Menthe who’ll be receiving—” Here she paused, and leaned closer to Menthe, whose smile had dimmed slightly, “—the sharp end of my sword.”


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He had to give her credit—she had style, lots of style. It was a damn good thing she wasn’t mad at him. That thought was the only thing keeping Hades from truly panicking; he could tell that whatever she was about to do, it wouldn’t be pleasant, and it would be deadly. And stylish. She did have lots of style.

Though Hades wanted to watch the show that would surely be taking place in a few seconds, he had other things to worry about. Such as the fact that there were spider-webby things all over him. Flicking a small flame on his thumb and index finger, he started burning through his bindings, thinking all the while.

These stupid things aren’t that strong…why the hell couldn’t I break through them? said Hades in his head as he watched the thin strings weaken and melt. Then it hit him—The Fates did it…they didn’t want me to break free…’cuz it’s Persephone’s time to shine…
His train of thought was brought to a sharp halt when he saw that his young wife was…transforming.


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Even Hecate’s mouth dropped open, and her wolves were speechless.

Menthe felt a pang of fear of her own. Wasn’t possible—couldn’t happen, Persephone had been run through with a stick, she couldn’t be all that well, couldn’t be well enough to…to…to do what, exactly? What was it she was doing?

What Persephone was doing, she didn’t even know herself. It had never happened before. But jealous rage reigned over her thoughts, and the last thing she heard run through her head before she became almost a different person was: Guess I’m the jealous type.

Her violet eyes flashed and turned a bright, glowing green that took over her irises, her pupils, even the white parts of her eye.

The torn black dress she was wearing changed—like someone had thrown green paint over her—into a new, mossy green chiton.

Persephone’s hair became a much lighter blonde color—it was almost white—and several locks of her hair turned green and started to glow. Her pink aura became tinged with the same shade of green.

As an invisible wind began to whip her hair and chiton around, she floated a few feet in the air and stared down at Menthe. Her smile was still present, and it only broadened when she saw that Hades was staring back at her, genuinely amazed.

“P-Persephone,” said Menthe, finally (finally!) sensing that something was wrong.

Very wrong.

Persephone smiled a little more, showing teeth. “Oh, I guess this is s’posed to be the part where you beg for mercy,” she said, pointing at Menthe, her other hand on her hip, “Right, Hades?”

Hades, who had managed to burn off all of the spider-webs, gave her a thumbs up.

Neither Hecate nor Menthe saw it. They didn’t dare take their eyes off Persephone.

“So,” Persephone said, and she clapped her hands together once, “I’ll skip a step. I don’t need to hear you plead with me--I wanna get this done, and I wanna get this done fast, ‘k?”

Menthe trembled, then said, “You…you aren’t going to…to, like, kill me or anything? R-right?” When she didn’t respond straightaway, Menthe added, “We’re best friends.”

“Were best friends,” Persephone corrected mildly, “Before you kidnapped me, stabbed me, knocked me ‘unconscious,’ and then kissed my husband.”

Menthe started to object, realized there was nothing to object to and closed her mouth.

“I’m not going to kill you,” she continued, “No matter how much of a treacherous slug you are, we were best friends…and if I kill you, you’d just end up in the Underworld with Hades, and then where would we be?”

Menthe blinked; she hadn’t even thought of that. Behind her, Hades let out a sigh of relief.

“No…” said Persephone, smiling again, and floating down until she was hovering in front of Menthe, “I won’t kill you. I’ve got something worse planned.”

“W-what—wh-what are you…” stammered Menthe, “I-I don’t…don’t understand…wh—” Her voice broke off as orbs of bright green light formed in Persephone’s hands. The orbs became bigger, until their green light enveloped Persephone entirely, and spilled all over Menthe.

The result was horrific. Menthe’s scream was caught in her throat as the light washed over her body, forcing her to fold into herself and become smaller and smaller. Her brown hair faded and her hands became broader and vein-y. Her legs molded together.

When Persephone’s light dimmed, all that was left of Menthe was a tiny, green plant.

“And Menthe,” said Persephone, “becomes mint. End of her story.”

Hades, Hecate, and the wolves could only stare.

[~Elisa Maza~]

Elisa: She really thought she could pull the 'We were best friends' card?

Giselle: I think she smells nice.

Eris: And people say I'm twisted.

Aslan: *shakes head again*

[Hades]

Chapter XXVII-- Hades and Persephone 'Defeat' Hecate and Prepare to Go Up Against the Worst Monster of Them All

It was Hecate who spoke first; a stunned, “Oh my gods” and then nothing more. It was if she was unable to speak.

Hades came up to Persephone, almost breathlessly, and after a minute of speechlessness, said, “Ok, how did you do that?”

Persephone landed lightly, but her hair, eyes and dress still stayed unchanged. “I—” She realized she had been thinking the same thing. “I’m not sure,” she said, “It’s never happened before.”

“But that was…that was amazing!” said Hades, grinning, “I can’t even do that!”

“No, you just explode when you get mad,” replied Persephone, with a grin of her own, “We’re kind of evenly matched.”

Hades started to retort, but his attention was instead directed to Hecate, who was still staring at the newly created mint plant in awe.

“So, Hecate,” said Hades, now with a smirk, “Let’s keep our deal, ‘k? I get the Underworld…” Here, he paused and lightly pushed Persephone towards Hecate, “…and you get Persephone.”

Hecate just looked from Persephone to what used to be Menthe, back and forth and back and forth. Then she said, “About that…ah…perhaps…we can just…call off this whole silly ‘deal’ thing…right? I mean, there’s no need to—”

She broke off abruptly when Hades turned orange and Persephone began to float again.

“Ok, ok…ok, fine…” Hecate bit her lower lip and seemed to be considering her options—eyeing Hades and Persephone all the while.

She seemed to realize that what was happening—her trembling before Hades and his wife—did nothing for her karma points, and only made her look worse (villain-wise).

Her expression changed instantaneously. From her frightened, panicky expression to one of pure hate and anger. She looked to her wolves, then back to Hades.

The twin demons caught the hint and flew to her side, growling and snarling, baring their teeth.

And Hecate raised one finger to Hades and Persephone, a cruel smile creeping onto her face as she commanded: “Sic ‘em.”

Hades winced and rolled his eyes towards the ceiling with a quick sigh of ‘Great…’ Honestly, the last thing he needed right now was to be attacked by dogs—and with Persephone on his arm, in her glowy-green-anger mode (which, by the way, she looked extremely hot in), he didn’t think would be able to summon what it took to kill these things.

‘These things’ were smiling, one remarking, “Ah…the thrill of the hunt,” before they both lunged at the couple.

Seconds before the winged wolves hit them, Persephone shot up in the air again, and blasted a wave of green light at them.

The light missed one wolf, but hit the other on the tail—he howled and leapt backwards, then twisting around to see that damage.

His tail was now a long thorny vine.

Persephone landed again, Hades beamed at her, Hecate’s mouth dropped open again, and the wolves took several steps backwards.

“What are you doing?!” Hecate finally screamed at her minions, “I told you to attack them! ATTACK THEM!”

They only stepped back again.

“What are you, crazy?!” said one.

“Look what she did to my tail!” protested the other, “She’ll turn us into freakin’ flowers, and then he’ll turn us into toast! No way, Hec, I’m outta here.” He flew out the door, and his partner followed, calling out, “Seeya!”

Hecate was at a total loss, and she eventually managed to say, “Minions. You just can’t find good help these days, huh?”

“So true,” agreed Hades, “However, this time, I think your minions might have been right.” He flared up and turned orange again, pulling Persephone, still in anger-mode, but not floating, to him and holding her hand tightly.

They both put on bright (fake) smiles, and stared at Hecate in a way that made her shiver.

“…Hades…?” she said questioningly.

He kept his expression the same, only narrowing his eyes slightly. “If I were you, I’d get out of here,” he said, in that same eerily cheerful way.

Persephone’s smile brightened as she added, “Before we do something painful to you.”

Hecate’s eyes widened, and she, deciding that the best thing to do would be to listen to them, vanished into blue light.

Her voice still echoed through the room: “But don’t you worry, Hades, this isn’t the last you’ll see of me…”

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

“They let her go?!” exclaimed Bob, “Why on Earth would they do that?!”

“They were in a fairly good mood that moment,” said Macaria simply.

Hercules blinked. “But…then they’re just gonna have to fight her again and again…” Under his breath he muttered, “And then they’re gonna ask me to fight her…”

“I do not know of the logic behind my parents’ actions,” snapped Macaria to Bob and Hercules, “So kindly stop questioning me and let me finish telling the story. It’s almost over anyhow, so you can wait a little longer to ask me stupid questions, ok?”

No-one said anything. Macaria took this as a sign to continue (it pretty much was) and did so:

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

“We did it,” said Persephone incredulously, as she tried to keep her floating hair in one place. Her nonexistent wind was still blowing her hair and dress around.

“We?” said Hades, leaning backwards against nothing, with an extremely satisfied smirk on his face, “We; yeah, right. It was all you, babe.”

Persephone grinned. “You helped. I’ve never acted maniacal before. I couldn’t have done it without you.”

Hades sneered. “Very funny.”

She smirked. “I wasn’t kidding.” Still trying to calm down her hair (and switch to regular-mode), she walked over to the Menthe-plant and knelt down. “What should we do with her?”

“Burn her,” suggested Hades, and a fireball appeared in his hand.

“Oh no. That’s just cruel,” said Persephone. The little mint plant seemed to think the same thing.

“Step on her.”

“That’s just plant abuse.” She turned her gaze to Hades. “I’m not an abuser.”

“Plant abuse, sheesh,” he muttered, and then pointed out, “Seph, she looks just like any other plant. She’ll get stepped on anyway.” He appeared next to her, a devilish smirk on his face. “Don’t you want the satisfaction of crushing her first?”

“Vengeance isn’t my thing,” responded Persephone, “and I don’t want her to be crushed by anyone.” She thought for a second, then waved her hand. Another flash of green spread over Menthe. And then—

“Ok, what did you do, and what is that smell?” said Hades.

“The smell is Menthe,” said Persephone, “See, now everyone will smell mint when they come across her, and then no-one will step on her.”

Hades was quiet for a second, then said, “I still say we burn her.”

Persephone just shook her head, and stood up. Then Hades remembered something, and he put a hand on her glowing green shoulder. “Seph? Are you ok? I mean, Hecate totally stuck that stick straight through you; I don’t know how anyone can be ok after that.”

“I’m fine,” said Persephone, “I’m a goddess, Hades.”

“You were unconscious,” he pointed out.

“I was not. Weak, yes, unconscious, no.”

“I’ll bet the only reason you’re standing is because you’re like that.” And he gestured towards her and her glowing green-ness.

“I’m fine, Hades,” insisted Persephone, and then she switched back to normal, her hair not floating around anymore, her dress changing back to tattered black, her hair returning to its normal blonde, and her eyes becoming violet again.

Hades had been right, though;when she changed back, the hole in her middle reappeared, and she collapsed—into Hades’ arms.

He smirked despite himself. “You’re fine, huh?”

“Shut up,” she snapped, but there was the hint of a smile on her face.

He eyed her wound carefully (and suddenly found himself despising Hecate even more then before). After a second he declared, “I can probably fix it, but we’ll have to go to the Underworld. And if I can’t fix it, Charon’ll be able to. I think he has a degree in medical stuff…”

As he carried her away from hecate’s cave-hideout, Persephone started to speak again.

“You know we’ll still have to go to Mt. Olympus and tell mom I’m ok.”

He looked at her as if she had three heads. “Ok? Having a hole in your middle is not OK…”

She gave him a look. “You know what I mean.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know.” He glanced back towards Hecate’s cave. “At least the worst part’s over.”

“Hardly.”

“Huh?”

Persephone gave a short laugh. “You think Hecate’s bad? Wait ‘til you see my mother in one of her moods. And oh boy, will this be one of her moods.” She laughed again, but this time bitterly. "She's the worst monster of them all."

As Hades transported them to the Underworld, he realized he had been thinking the exact same thing.

[Macaria]

REVIEW ME, PEOPLE, I ONLY HAVE A FEW CHAPTERS LEFT TO GO WITH THIS STORY!! >>

Chapter XXVIII- Hades and Persephone Arrive on Mt. Olympus and are Questioned by Hermes

About an hour later, Hades and Persephone (with bandages wrapped around her mid-section where Hecate had stabbed her) were sitting together in a black chariot, headed towards Mt. Olympus. Two black griffins pulled it through the air.

And at least for the thousandth time, Hades turned to Persephone and asked, “She’s not gonna, like, kill me, right?”

Persephone gave him a dry look. “For the thousandth time, I don’t know. I’d like to believe that she won’t…but, ah, knowing my mother…”

Hades shrunk back in his seat. “I wanted a wife and she’s gonna kill me. Oy.”

“She’ll do more then that,” Persephone admitted.

“Wonderful. Did we bring a mop for when my intestines become scattered across the floor?”

“Oh, cut it out,” said Persephone, rolling her eyes, “I promise, your intestines will not end up scattered across the floor.”

Hades muttered something inaudible.

“Honestly, though…I…I’m sort of nervous. I mean, she’s crazy; she’s crazy and she hates you,” Persephone said and paused. “She’ll split us up—for good.”

“She can’t break us up; we’re married.” He lifted her hand to display her wedding ring.

“I told you already, she’ll find a way to do it.”

“Hey, babe, if she tries to, you can just go green on her—like you did with Menthe?”

Persephone feigned horror. “She’s my mother!” Then she added, “Although, nothing could give me greater joy then seeing Demeter get turned into a weed.”

He looked at her with a smirk. “…nothing?”

Persephone sensed what was coming. “Nothing,” she replied.

His lips met hers, and they stayed like that for a while. It was a tense kiss, though, since both were extremely nervous about facing Demeter. It had been about six months since Persephone had last seen her mother, and if her mother was out killing all the mortals…

The last thought made Persephone break the kiss with her husband and lean out the side of the chariot to see the mortals down below.

“This is just awful,” she said quietly, observing the dozens of frail skeletons crawling about the Earth.

“It’s not all bad,” said Hades, although he had to admit to himself that it pretty much was, “It’s good for business down under.”

She gave him such a look that he actually winced.

Both were distracted as the griffins pulled to a stop outside the gates of Mt. Olympus. Both then glanced at each other and cringed.

Uneasily, Hades said, “Seph, babe, y’know, if…if you don’t want to do this, then we don’t have to. I-I mean, we can just stay in the Underworld and—”

“Are you scared?” inquired Persephone.

He hesitated for a split second, unnoticed by Persephone (well, ok, fine, not really; she saw it). “Don’t be ridiculous.”

“Well, then come on.”

He sighed, and reluctantly followed her out of the chariot, proclaiming, almost annoyed, “You just seeing me panic, huh?”

Persephone whirled around and smirked at him. “It’s cute.” Grabbing his hand and thus forcing him to walk up the stairs with her, she opened the gate and stepped inside.

“She’s going to kill me,” said Hades once more.

Persephone rolled her eyes, and took another step. “Hello! Anybody here?” she called out.

“PERSEPHONE?!” There was a zipping sound, then a ‘whump’ sound as Hermes sped out from a room and crashed into a cloud column in his excitement.

“Hermes!” cried Persephone, and she ran up to him and hugged him (Hades tried to maintain an expression that didn’t involve him looking jealous). “Y’know, out of all the lousy gods and goddesses here, you’re really one of the only ones I’ve missed,” she continued, as the messenger god fluttered out of her arms and did a somersault.

“Everyone’s been going crazy looking for you!” he gushed, “Demeter’s been so scared—we’ve all been so worried—s’like you just disappeared—we thought you had maybe ran away—couldn’t find you anywhere—Demeter sent gods everywhere—where have you been?”

Persephone blinked at this wave of words flowing from Hermes. “It’s a really long story. Where’s my mother? I’ll have to explain it all to her, and then I guess you can listen.”

Hermes did another somersault. “But where were you?” Then he spotted Hades, who had been leaning up against a pillar with a scowl/smirk on his face, and asked, “Did you find her?”

“Far from it,” responded Hades.

Hermes either didn’t hear him or ignored him; whichever, he continued to talk non-stop, asking questions that he didn’t let Persephone answer. “What are those bandages for? You’re not badly hurt, are you?”

“Well, I—” started Persephone.

“And the dress—nice dress! But where on Olympus did you get a black one?”

“The Und—”

“And that necklace is new, too, right?”

Persephone fingered her skull necklace. “It was a gift from Ha—”

“And is that a wedding ring?”

“Oh, uh…” Persephone hid her hand behind her back hurriedly. “Funny story, actually.”

Hermes wasn’t listening though, and had moved on to another topic. “So was Hades the one who rescued you?”

“In a way, yes,” muttered Persephone, glancing at her husband, who rolled his eyes at Hermes, “Now where did you say my mom was?”

“You’re just in time, babe,” said Hermes, and he finally stopped fluttering to hover directly in front of Persephone. “She’s at a meeting with the Big Z and some other gods n’ goddesses…they’re trying to talk her into making all the greens grow again. Betcha haven’t noticed that all the mortals are dying, huh, babe?”

Persephone glanced at Hades.

“But once she sees that you’re back, everything’ll grow again and it’ll be good as new!!”

He grabbed Persephone by the wrist and started to drag her to where Demeter was. She pulled away, turned around, and raised an eyebrow at Hades.

He appeared by her side. “You’re not gonna let me talk my way outta here, huh?”

“Not a chance,” replied Persephone, crossing her arms firmly.

Hades’ face contorted into a grimace. “You’ll come to my funeral, right?”

“Would you cut it out?” By the look on her face, she wasn’t kidding, and Hades realized that she’d drag him to to Demeter if she had to.

“…Fine…” He reluctantly followed her and Hermes throughout the cloud corridors of Mt. Olympus.

While they walked (Hades, sulkily), Hermes flew ahead of Persephone and talked to her, somewhat skeptical.

“Seph, babe…um, c-can you fill me in here?…you’ve got a wedding ring, you’re dressed in all black, and you’re with Hades.” Almost pleading (and she knew he was thinking what he thought must be impossible), he said, “Tell me it’s all just a coincidence?”

Persephone shrugged, and smiled. “’Fraid not, Fly Boy. You’re lookin’ at the new Queen of the Underworld.”

Hermes froze and stared at her; the only things moving were his helmet-wings and his sandal-wings. Then he doubled over in laughter, doing flips in the air at the sheer ridiculous-ness of it all.

Hades glared at him. “I fail to see the humor,” he said coldly, then grabbed the blue god by the throat. “Care to explain the joke?”

Hermes gave a desperate grin. “Uh, hey, ease up Big Guy…you just, ah, don’t exactly look like her type…”

Hades only narrowed his eyes. After being elbowed in the ribs by Persephone, he released Hermes.

He flew in front of her again. “Perseph, babe, how did this happen? You said it yourself—you wouldn’t marry anyone unless it—”

“—was for love,” finished Persephone, “I know what I said.” She appeared next to Hades, and she put her hand in his. “I do love him.”

Hermes raised an eyebrow. “…Do you really?”

She nodded matter-of-factly.

Hermes shook his head slowly, took off his glasses, polished them, then put them back on. “Your mom’s not gonna like this, you know.”

Hades and Persephone looked at each other. “I know,” said Persephone, “But it can’t hurt to try and change her mind.”

“Can’t hurt for you, that is,” Hades mumbled.

Hermes shrugged. “If that’s what you say, then ok…” Blinking several times, he led Hades and Persephone to the room where all the gods and goddesses were.

“Oh, yeah, Demeter’s not going to like this…” he muttered, “Not at all…”

[~Elisa Maza~]

Giselle: *crying* She'd seperate her own daughter from the man she loves? That's so sad!

Elisa: Meet the original Monster In Law. But don't worry. It ain't over until the fat lady sings.

Eris: And believe me when I say Demeter can't carry a tune if her life depended on it.

[Persephone]

Chapter XXIX-- Mother and Daughter are Reunited...and Then End up Fighting.

“Demeter, this has gone on long enough,” said Zeus sternly, standing up and slamming his hand on the table to prove his point.

Demeter’s head was in her hands, and she stared up at Zeus with void and emotionless eyes.

“The loss of Persephone was a tragedy indeed. It was a terrible thing to have happened,” he continued, “But it is—but it was-a thing of the past. We can’t keep mourning over her absence like…like a bunch of mortals. We’re gods, by Zeus!”

Typical of Zeus to use his name in that context.

“Gods cannot let the past affect them; we live forever! If we keep being affected by the past, where would we be? No, this needs to stop.”

Apollo bowed his head.

“I’m making it a Zeus-decreed law. No more must be spoken of Persephone—we must get on with our immortal lives. And that means­­—” He looked Demeter in the eye, “—that everything must grow again. Are we understood?”

“That’s unfair. You’re all going to forget about me, just like that? Well, I feel appreciated.”

Every head on Olympus swiveled around to the cloud door.

And Demeter gasped. It can’t be…!

Persephone smirked. “Miss me?”

She found herself being crushed to death (well, if she was mortal…) by her mother, who as crying and exclaiming repeatedly, “My Sephy! You’re back, oh where were you, we were so worried, we thought something bad had happened to you, we didn’t know where you had went, you just disappeared and we were all panicking…”

“Mom!” gasped Persephone, “I’m alright! Let go of me!”

“But my Sephy,” said Demeter, tears filling her eyes, “I was so worried about you, I thought something awful had happened…”

Hades had slunk in the room and was now leaning against a pillar, watching these events with a glare. It was just his nature.

“Mom…mom. First off…do not call me Sephy. And secondly...I’m fine. Nothing bad happened to me.”

Hermes opened his mouth to say something, but Hades clamped a hand around his throat.

“I sent Hecate out to find you, sweetheart, was she the one who saved you?” said Demeter, and she held her daughter at arms length.

Persephone stepped away from her mother, eyes wide. “You sent Hecate out to find me? It was you?!” Demeter didn’t understand; she nodded. Persephone’s mouth dropped open.

“Mother! If I wasn’t immortal, she would have killed me!” And she stepped back again to show her the bandages wrapped around her middle.

Demeter gasped. “She…she did that to you? But…how? I didn’t…and, and Menthe was supposed to keep an eye on her, make sure she didn’t do anything…oh my. Did something happen to Menthe?”

“Menthe was helping Hecate,” said Persephone flatly, “And I turned her into a mint plant.”

“You…” Demeter raised an eyebrow. “You turned her into…a mint plant? I…I would have expected a flower from you. But, oh well. I’m thrilled that you’re getting the hang of your powers! But…but why did Hecate stab you?” It was clear that Demeter thought Persephone had lost her mind.

“It was a scheme to get the Underworld from Hades,” she found herself saying, “I was a part of it. They (that’s Hecate and Menthe) re-kidnapped me and—”

“Re-kidnapped you?”

Wow. Nice one, Seph, thought Persephone, stealing a glance at Hades.

Hades shrugged. “She was bound to find out sooner or later.”

Demeter looked sharply to Hades, then sharply back to Persephone. ‘Persephone,” she said, “What are you talking about, re-kidnapped?”

Persephone looked at Hades again. She didn’t want to rat him out, but if he said it was ok…”I…I didn’t run away,” she said slowly, “Hades…kidnapped me.”

Demeter stared at her, and her hands flew to her mouth. Kidnapped. Her precious baby had been…kidnapped? By Hades?!

“You….monster!” Demeter screamed, and she hurled herself at Hades, vines springing out of the cloud ground and trying to strangle him. “How dare you! How dare you snatch my baby away from me, how dare you even go near her! I told you not to! I ordered you not to! YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO DO SO!!”

“Mom!” cried Persephone, and a vine of her own pulled her mother away from Hades, who took a step backwards. “Cut it out. He had a good reason for kidnapping me!”

“A good reason?” sneered Demeter, ‘There s no excuse for harming my precious Sephy!”

“Do not call me that,” growled Persephone, “And he most certainly did not harm me. The only thing he did was kidnap me…and, well…” She cut off, but held up her hand so everyone could see her black, skull-shaped wedding ring.

Everyone gaped. Demeter gasped. “You…you married my daughter?! You sick, demented—”

“He had a good reason for it!” argued Persephone, and she looked to her husband again. He took another step backwards.

“Seph,” he said, “I really don’t think this is a good idea—”

“Hades,” she said, and nothing more. She looked at him, pleading silently.

Hades seemed to shrink as all eyes became fixed on him.

“You have a good reason for kidnapping my daughter?” said Demeter, arching an eyebrow, “Do tell.”

Oy. My rep’s shot. Shrinking back even more, Hades said, very quietly, but still audibly, “I love her.”

Demeter’s eyes widened, as did everyone elses’ on Mt. Olympus.

Finally Zeus said, “That’s cute, Hades, really, but she obviously doesn’t love you back. Now, give her to her mother and we’ll annul the marriage—”

“Now hold on a second,” cut Persephone, folding her arms, “I never said that. I never said that I didn’t love him back. Kindly do not jump tp conclusions, especially conclusions concerning my husband and I.”

Hades slowly regained his confidence, despite the murderous glares he was receiving.

Zeus laughed, and there was a touch of cruelty in his laughter. “You can’t possibly love my baby brother…how could you? And he can’t possibly love you. He’s incapable of the emotions we feel.”

“I’m right here, ya know,” said Hades, flaring red at this obvious insult.

Zeus pointedly ignored him. “Persephone, let’s just clear this mess up right now. Do you or do you not love him?”

“How could she?” snarled Demeter, “The man kidnapped her…and gods know what else he did to her…” She glared at Hades. “Isn’t that right, you sick, perverted—”

“Silence!” bellowed Zeus, “Silence and let Persephone speak.” He turned to the goddess of spring/queen of the Underworld. “Answer the question—do you or do you not—”

“Yes, I do,” she said firmly, without even a moment’s hesitation, “If I didn’t, I wouldn’t be willingly wearing this—” The wedding ring. “—this—” Her necklace, “—AND Menthe would not be a mint plant today.” Matter-of-factly, she added, “She kissed him, y’know.”

All of Olympus rolled their eyes.

“This is ridiculous,” said Demeter firmly, “My daughter…my Sephy would never ever do something as…as disgusting as falling in love with Hades.” Shaking her finger in her daughter’s face, she cried, “She knows better then that!”

Persephone stood still for a second, boiling over, her arms crossed and a scowl on her face. "This is ridiculous? You're ridiculous! Ridiculous and a total hippocrit! I love him! I've married him. You're the one who's been pushing me to get married. And now I do...and you flip out?"

"I told you," said Demeter through clenched teeth, "He is no good. He is pure evil. He'll hurt you. Don't you see? He doesn't love you. He can't love you! He's Hades. Love to him is...is meaningless. Doesn't exist!!!" She scowled. "SO STOP LYING TO YOURSELF! STOP SAYING THAT HE LOVES YOU, STOP SAYING THAT YOU LOVE HIM BECAUSE IT'LL NEVER HAPPEN!!"

"Shows how much you know," retorted Hades, appearing by the side of his wife, flared orange, "I happen to love her very much. Ya know what, DEmeter? I thought the exact same thing...until, that is, I met Persephone, until, that is, I married her, and until, that is, she admitted she felt the same way."

Demeter glared at him. "Liar," she hissed.

"But you won't believe me?" he said, "All of you lousy gods! You won't believe me? Who will you belie--be--hmm...." Smirking now, he said, "Ask the experts, that's what we'll do. See if I'm really capable of love or not. Aphrodite, Cupid...give us the verdict."

"We do love each other, Hades," whispered Persephone to him, "There's no way they'll say we don't love each other, right? It's evident that--"

"They're biased," he admitted, "On Zeuses' side. Seph...babe...we might be doomed."

She blinked, and clung to him while the two love deities debated.

[~Elisa Maza~]

Giselle: But... They wouldn't really lie, would they? Anyone could see that they're in love!

Elisa: Hades has a point. They're loyal to Zeus.

Giselle: *starts to cry* But... But that's so sad... If they say that Hades and Persephone don't love each other, then they'll never see each other again! They'll be parted for ever and ever!

Bolt: *nuzzles Giselle*

Sarah: It's gotta be okay. It just has to.

Eris: This from a woman who's husband left her with an eight year old son. Love is useless.

Elisa: Oh who asked you? Go make out with Maleficent or something.

[Warren Peace]

Jim: I was NINE!!!! *fumes* DX<

[~Elisa Maza~]

Eris: Whatever. That makes it all so much better, doesn't it?