Leandor’s lease on life...
Hades walked through the remains of the battlefield and some of the souls were reluctant to go, so he personally had to come up and get them, being as there were too many for Pain and Panic to handle, he’d left them in the underworld instead he’d brought along his brute force. He wandered through the bodies... he was glad of one thing. It had taken Zeus alot of time but he finally got the Elysian fields, not him persay, more like Persephone, but she was his wife, that meant half each so he was quiet happy. “Tartarous.” he said pointing to a soul.
The brute squad reached in and pulled the screaming soul out and sent it on it’s way.
“Tartarous.” He said again he stoped and looked at another body next to it. “I’m feeling nice. Elysian fields for this one.” The brute squad moved in again sending the two souls on their way.
“Tartarous, tartarous, tartarous... Elysian, tartarous, tartarous, tartarous...” He said pointing out the souls, each one screaming as they were dragged on their way. Hades looked at a lone soul quivering and he smiled eerily at it... “Lets see... hmmmm... no
tartarous...” he said and moved on. The souls screamed as it was dragged off.
Hades shook his head. “Don’t these people ever clean up after themselves?” He asked. “It’s always left to me.” Hades looked along the line of bodies and he sighed this was going to take a while. He spotted one living mortal, the man stood up shaky on his feet and he leant on the handle of his sword. Hades floated over to the man.
“Okay what happened here I only assigned a few people to die?” He asked.
The man looked at him and blinked. “Okay like hello, anybody in there, look at this, the Underworld is full as it is, so tell me what happened, and I might consider giving you an extra lease on life.” Hades remarked waving his hand in front of the man.
The man nodded. “It was an army we weren’t ready for them, they were running like Hel was after them, they basically stampeded the place out and moved on, I got a few of them...” The man said.
The brute squad stood behind Hades and Hades nodded straightened up.
“Okay then I’ll spare you, fix him up boys.” Hades said and floated on.
The man looked at Hades. “Why’d you let this happen?!” the man called after Hades.
Hades spun round and looked at the man. “Me? Oh no you don’t this wasn’t my fault. I’m Lord of Dead only. I just the shmuck who cleans up after Athena and Ares little battles. So don’t you go blaming me, or I’ll reconsider my little offer here and you can join your buddies in the underworld.” Hades said.
The man sighed. “They aren't my buddies. And it wasn’t Ares or Athens’s armies, they were pure... barbarians... like mad men.” He remarked.
Hades looked at the man. “Well then go home sleep a bit and take it up with Athena when you get better.” He said. Some of the brute squad dragged the lone survivor off.
Hades went wandering back through the bodies... “Tartarous... Tartarous... Tartarous... Elysian. Tartarous, tartarous, tartarous... Elysian.... Tartarous, tartarous, tartarous... Tartarous, tartarous...” Hades said and he sighed, at least now, Zeus had let him extend on the underworld, there were too many people and they were all dying pretty fast through violent and meaningless ends, so far Hades had only come across not one villager body amongst these ruins, which was strange since he was wandering
through a destroyed village. “Where are all the villagers?” He asked himself and he looked round.
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Alethea sat high atop of Cerebus riding him like a horse and in her hand a long large sword and she swung it suddenly sending a blue imp like creature flying across the styx and in to the wall. Alethea swung again and a pink imp like creature joined him in flying across the styx and in to the wall next to him.
“Next time we get given a job to watch over the underworld and it’s inhabitants we should make it clear that it does not state Alethea.” Panic said and he fell off the wall leaving a very impressionable mark in the wall.
“She shoots, she scores!!!! Wwwwwwoooooooooooooo!!! Yeah I’m it... I’m the wo-MAN!” Alethea shouted.
Pain fell off the wall next. “Persephone had to choose to go back topside these six months didn’t she?” He asked.
Cerebus reared up and Alethea held her sword high in the air and waved it about still on top of Cerebus’ back. Pain and Panic looked over.
“She looks very demonic.” Panic remarked.
“Be nice, she’s the bosses daughter.” Pain said.
“So is Diasiana. But you don’t see her riding Cerebus chasing after us with a great BIG SWORD do you?!” Panic panicked.
Alethea brought Cerebus back down and she sighed, she got bored pretty much easily and picking on Pain and Panic was her favorite past time. Her mother had long left the underworld but due to some sort of transcript she had to stay behind in her father’s realm. But he was all ways busy, so she hung out with the others sometimes, but they seemed to consider her too strange for even them... So that’s when she had decided to cause a bit of trouble and “borrow” Cerebus from his station and go on daily rides, wielding her sword picking on the occasional soul it’s not as if they felt it, they were already dead. Besides, it was her job to torment the souls, so she had been told, the souls within Tartarous were to be tormented to the extreme so that they would feel the error of their old ways. She liked the torturing jobs they were cruel
cold and nasty, but so far all the souls had been given their daily torment so boredom set in and well, she had then decided to chase the two little imps and play a bit of polo underworld style.
“What’s the score boys?!” She called across the styx.
“Seven for me.” Pain called back and he shook himself.
“Five for me.” Panic added.
Alethea smiled. “Most excellent. I do believe I have improved.” Alethea replied putting on her best mocking English accent and she pulled out a cigar and with a flick of a thumb she lit it up. “Care for another round?” she asked.
“Not really.” Pain replied.
Panic nudged him. “Encourage her.” he said. “Besides I’ve got to check on the other... er... minions and um... kids... here.” He said and took off.
“Hey no don’t leave me with her!!!” Pain called.
Alethea reared Cerebus up and she raced him over the styx and he landed in the middle of the styx right in front of Charon’s boat, causing a soul tidal wave to spill the boat over dropping the souls in to the styx and Cerebus leapt out on the other side and shook his back leg which had a squashed soul attached. Alethea looked at Pain and she grinned menacingly and raised the sword and Pain instantly ran off. Alethea gave chase and hit him with the flat side of the sword sending him flying again.
Charon sighed as he watched and he got up and he pulled the souls out of the styx that he was suppose to take to tartarous. “That girl is going to cause the underworld to collapse one day.” Charon sighed.
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Hades wandered to the next town and he sighed more dead souls they were just hanging round hoping to get another shot at life. “Oh no you lot don’t. Tartarous.” He said and the brute squad moved in and Hades saw a figure standing in the ruins in the distance she was holding up a piece of concrete and she tossed it aside. Hades smirked to himself and he floated on up to the figure, she was talking to herself.
“I knew I should of picked Goddess of Retribution, better than this Goddess of Desire stuff.” She was grumbling and she kicked a piece of concrete away with her foot.
“Psyche babe, how are you?” Hades asked.
Psyche jumped and she turned round and looked at Hades. “Look at this mess, this is my temple damnit, I watched the people of this town make it for me to help with their selling of desirable foods and some punks come storming through and destroy it, this is unfair. And deserves to be punnished!” Psyche said angry.
Hades grinned and slipped an arm round her shoulder. “You know I can help you out there babe, c’mon you know you want my help.” Hades said.
Psyche looked up at him and she sighed. “Okay then lets hear it. But I ain’t helping you take over Mt. Olympus.” She said.
Hades shrugged. “Come visit your daughter sometime, she’s getting to be a real pain, the fates are complaining that’s she’s messing with the cosmos and she’s scaring the souls back to life. Just give her some motherly attention and well all fair and I’ll get
revenge on the people who did this to your temple.” Hades said.
“Persephone’s away for six months isn’t she?” Psyche asked bluntly.
“Well no... not really.” Hades replied and Psyche looked at him. “Well okay maybe, but babe c’mon Alethea your first born.” He added.
Psyche sighed. “Fine but I’m gone before Persephone gets back and I have to bring Pleasure along, Eros says I’ve got Goddess training to do for her and I
can’t skip out on that.” She remarked.
“Bada boom babe, you got yourself a deal.” Hades said.
Psyche nodded. “Well I suppose I better head off to pack. I’ll be round later tonight.”
“That’s great babe see you then.” Hades said.
Psyche waved and she clicked her fingers and vanished in a puff of purple smoke.
Hades saw in the distance one of his brute scouts come running back to him.
“Lord Hades, there are several villages destroyed and no souls left, not even one villager body just these warrior types who stampeded through.” The scout said.
Hades arched an eyebrow. “Not one innocent? I got a feeling someone is stealing my souls. I have to get to the bottom to this. Back to the last village... I got an idea. We can use our one lone friend to help us out with this.” Hades remarked. “But first... this one to Tartarous, and that one to Elysian, and-” Hades stopped as he saw a hand out of the ruins. “What is that? Somebody dig it out.”
The brute squad moved in and they pulled a young girl out of the ruins, Hades stood back watching. “It’s a girl Lord Hades.” one of them spoke up.
Hades rolled his eyes. “I know it’s a girl, she’s not of this village, that much I can tell she might of been a scout for the last village, bring her back to the last village with us.” He said.
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The man dug through the ruins of his home and he sighed, there was nothing, not one innocent body left. He pulled his armour off and dropped it on the ground, he looked at the hole going right through his armour.
“What in the name of Hades? I should be
dead with a hit like that!” He remarked.
The man cleaned the breast plate down and he looked at his reflection and he sighed. “Leandor you’ve seen better days.” He remarked to his reflection.
Leandor stood up and he looked round the village was flattened and he couldn’t even remember what happened. It was like he had been thrown in the Lethe and taken out again. He scratched his head and he kicked his armour away. He walked out in to his village streets and he picked up a small doll off the ground he brushed it down and he sighed he looked round.
“Ianthe.” He whispered. The doll dropped from his hand as he heard a noise and he spun round he saw Hades standing there. “What do you want Hades?” Leandor asked.
“Well I was a village up and we found this young girl who doesn’t belong, I have a feeling you might know her.” Hades said as the Brute force brought the girl forward and they laid her down. Leandor looked at the girl.
“Ianthe!” He exclaimed. “But I don’t get it. A village up you say?”
Hades nodded. “I could do with a guy like you working for me, so whadya say, I’ll give you immortal powers to work for me in exchange for your sister’s life back.”
Leandor looked at Hades. “Work for you? That’s it? Wait a minute. What would I be doing?” He asked cautiously.
Hades shrugged. “You seem like a strong fellow, after all you are the lone survivor in several villagers, I could use a living fellow in my brute squad, someone not so... how do we put this... dead and ugly.” Hades explained.
Leandor looked at the brute squad and he arched an eyebrow. Well they were defiantly dead, obviously souls who had struck some sort of unfortunate deal with the God of the Underworld, Leandor didn’t want to be like them.
“C’mon, you’ll still be alive, immortal even, all in exchange for an extended lease on your dear sisters life, you can see her grow up marry have kids, so whatdya say? I’ll even put you in charge Leandor, you’re a warrior that I can tell, coming home for
what you’re sister’s tenth birthday when suddenly the village is attacked your family taken, you took out fifty of these assholes by yourself. Plus I’ll let you come topside and live with your sister, but you have to come when I call you. C’mon you’re not saying anything, no decomposing of the body, longer life, you know you want too. Leandor, c’mon don’t make me beg-.” Hades remarked.
Leandor sighed. “Oh alright you’ve got yourself a deal.” He sighed.
Hades grabbed his hand and he shook it. “Bada boom welcome to the team." He remarked.
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To be continued...