Later, back in the present…..
Roger raced down a staircase, leading him to a chamber beneath the throne room. Hades followed him while holding his lower robes up. "Slow down, mortal! You will make me trip!"
Roger annoyed him. He was more concerned about the Cerberus. If the god tripped, he could always get back up as if nothing happened.
Why is a god acting like he is fragile? Roger stopped at the bottom of the stairs and looked around.
The chamber was enormous with towering Doric pillars, standing around like a forest across the marble floor tiles. Darkness colored the entire surrounding, except light shined down toward the center from the ceiling, just like a spotlight. That should be where the girls landed.
Roger rushed toward the center and found their body laying on a flat pile of rubble. Their back lay on the rocks while their heads laid back with their tongues out. Eyes closed, which worried Roger.
He approached them and shook their right arm. "Girls! Girls! It's me! Wake up!"
None of them awakened to his call. His heart sunk inside his chest. "Are they….."
"Do not worry." Hades rested his hand on Roger’s shoulder. "If they are dead, they wouldn't be here."
Roger sighed and continued to shake the girls' massive body. "Wake up!"
Their hand rose and swung toward him. Roger quickly ducked as their slap missed him.
"Who is trying to touch us!" Katina roared, raising her head up.
Cilla raised her head next, smiling at Roger with surprise in her eyes. "Roger!"
She grabbed him and squeezed him against her chest. "We are so sorry for attacking you! It wasn't our fault!"
"Hey! You are squeezing him against our boobs!" Katina shouted.
Labda opened her eyes, blushing at Roger’s face. "Oh, mine!"
Roger couldn't move, and his head was literally between the girls' large breasts. Warm and soft like giant pillows, but they would feel better if Cilla wasn't crushing his body.
"Ahem!" Hades coughed.
When the girls noticed him, they released Roger and bowed down before the god of death.
"Oh lord, Hades," Labda spoke with her head down. "Forgive us if we-"
"No need for your apology." Hades rubbed Labda’s head. "It wasn't your fault when Acrisius took control over you. You should thank your mortal for slaying him."
Cilla gazed at Roger. "Is that true?"
Roger held up the bident while holding the helmet in his other arm. "It was messy, but I brought the bastard to justice."
Katina smirked. "Well, I’ll be damn."
"You are amazing, Roger!" Cilla cheered.
"Indeed he is," Labda agreed.
"Now before you explain everything to me," said Hades, "we still have a mess to clean up in the Underworld. After you get your bearings, I want-"
A green blast struck Hades and flashed before Roger’s eyes. On the floor, a black sofa rested on the floor where Hades stood, sizzling in smoke.
The Cerberus immediately jumped to their feet.
"What the Hades?" Katina shouted.
Someone laughed until she stepped out from behind a column.
"Do you like the sssofa?" Medusa asked, holding up the scepter. "He isss a lazy god."
Roger pointed his finger at her. "Is that-"
"The Ssscepter of Power?" Medusa smiled. "I took it from the vault. Hadesss ssshould never keep his precioussss toysss in the sssame place."
"But I thought I destroyed it!"
Medusa chuckled. "All relicsss from the Underworld returnsss to the vault after you dessstory them. Hadesss jussst like keeping his collectionsss intact."
"You won’t be intact after we kick your green ass back to the Tartarus!" Katina roared and charged toward the snake-haired woman.
Medusa aimed her scepter. "Foolisssh, beassst-"
The sofa flew into Medusa and knocked her to the ground. Then the scepter landed behind her without releasing an attack.
The Cerberus stopped and glanced at the sofa on top of the unconscious Medusa.
"Who threw that?" Katina shouted. "I was about to pull her snakes off her head!"
"We did!" From the shadow, another three-headed beast woman stepped forward. They looked exactly like Katina, Labda, and Cilla with blonde ponytails and a golden Greek armor suit.
“I did, but we share the same body,” the first head explained, pointing her thumb at her face.
The Cerberus women faced their doppelganger with their legs spread out and theirs fists raised.
Stolen novel; please report.
“Who are you?” Labda shouted. “Is this some kind of illusion?”
Cilla sniffed the air. “I don’t smell anyone else here, but they smell just like us!”
“We are you,” said the other Cilla. “From the past!”
“The past?” Labda asked.
“It’s a long story, but we don’t have enough time now,” the other Labda explained.
Katina snarled. “How can we trust you?”
“They are telling the truth!” another voice shouted behind the doppelganger.
A man stepped forward from the shadows, wearing a golden Greek armor suit and a helmet. Roger couldn’t recognize the man, but the man’s voice sounded just like his voice.
“You must listen! We know who helped Medusa free the monsters from the Underworld,” the man explained.
“Who?” Roger asked.
“Eris! The Goddess of Choas! She is-”
In a flash, the armored man and the Cerberus faded away into nothingness. Like two ghosts who turned invisible.
Roger, Katina, Labda, and Cilla blinked their eyes, standing still.
“What the Hades was that?” Katina exclaimed.
*****
Later, Hades sat on his throne, facing Roger, Katina, Labda, and Cilla. It didn't take long for him to return to normal after his wife found him as a sofa. Persephone picked up the Scepter of Power and blasted him back to his godly form. She said she didn't know how to use it, but her shot was lucky.
Hades’s guards brought Medusa back into the Tartarus and placed the scepter back into the vault. This time they dropped Medusa into the abyss where she will never escape again. Only eternal darkness will give her company.
Now he got his bearings, he sat down and listened to what his gate guardian had to say about the previous outcome. What surprised him the most was the name they mentioned. "Are you sure your other-selves said Eris is behind all this?"
"Yes, before they disappeared," Labda answered.
"Hmmmmmmmm." Hades never thought he would ever hear his niece's name ever again. And he assumed the doppelgangers were from another time sent back to warn their counterparts. Either way, they now know who was truly responsible. "It all makes sense now. My niece would do this for her own pleasure."
"I don't understand why," said Roger. "Aren’t all Gods supposed to care about balance or something?"
"Eris is the Goddess of Choas. Creating chaos and discord is in her nature." Hades drummed his fingers on the arms of his throne. "When she was born, Zeus and Hera couldn't handle her benevolent behavior toward her siblings. She caused a lot of arguments and broke many things in Olympus. My brother realizes he had to get rid of the brat before she brought our family into a civil war. So he gave her to Nyx, the Goddess of the Night, to raise her into a proper woman. And she did a better job keeping Eris under control."
"Thank god we didn't have children," said Katina under her breath.
"Although Nyx trained her well, Eris was still a little shit. One of her faults began at the wedding of Peleus and Thetis. When she heard she wasn't invited, she stole the golden apple from the Garden of Hesperides and tossed it into the party. My sisters fought over the apple until Zeus appointed the Prince of Troy to solve their problem. Eris watched as the prince gave the apple to Aphrodite so she would give him the most beautiful maiden of all Greece, Helen, the queen of Sparta. Unfortunately, his decision led to the Trojan War, which destroyed his kingdom."
Cilla glared at the stone floor. "Men can be so stupid."
"Excuse me?" Roger and Hades asked together
Cilla startled. "Oh! Except you two!"
Hades creeped a grin and continued, "Although my niece orchestrated the war, Hera found Eris very useful. When Hera heard a couple loved each other more than her, she summoned Eris to punish the couple. Eris challenged the couple to finish a chariot board in a race. Whoever loses must give the other a female servant. The wife won and made her husband angry in his defeat. In retaliation, the husband kidnapped his wife’s sister, raped her, and disguised her as a slave. When his wife discovered the slave was her sister, she murdered her son and fed him to her husband. This displeased my family and we turned the family into birds. Still, Hera and Eris were responsible."
"Oh my god!" Roger exclaimed.
Hades nodded with a frown. "I haven't heard of her since she left with her family, but if she is back, she will create a new dark age. Too many damn souls will come here as well…"
"What do you want us to do, Lord Hades?" Cilla asked.
Hades rubbed his chin. He hummed for a bit until he glanced at his hound. "You and your mortal must return to the Earth, and find Eris. Unfortunately, fighting a Goddess at your level is impossible."
Cilla glared at Hades. "Why don't you fight her while we hunt the monsters?"
"I can't because the Underworld needs me."
"Your throne needs your butt," Katina and the other heads giggled.
Hades growled as his eyes gleamed red. "Don't you dare mock me again! The Earth is still at stake and I still need to catch all the monsters in my realm!"
"Then how are we supposed to fight your pain in the ass niece?" Katina complained.
Hades hasn't thought about that. "Hmmmmmmm…" He scratched his chin until his red eyes gazed at Roger. "Maybe you can fight Eris."
Roger widened his eyes. "How?"
Hades pointed his finger at him. "You can fight her if you become a God."
Cilla held up her finger. "Can I ask how too?"
Hades leaned forward. "The Garden of Hesperides I mentioned still has the golden apples. One bite and you will become an immortal with supernatural abilities. With that power, you won't need to be afraid of the Chaos Goddess."
Roger widened his eyes and pointed his thumb at his chest. "Me? Becoming a God?"
"It is the only way for you to fight my niece."
"What about the other monsters?" Labda asked.
Hades glanced at her. "My Furies will bring them back. For now, the mortal must become immortal.”
“Where is the garden?” Roger asked.
“At the Arcadian Mountains in Greece." Hades pulled out a golden key with a clear crystal ball on top. "This will show you the secret entrance. Use it to open the entrance."
He tossed the key and Roger caught it.
"Beware, the Hesperides left a strong guardian in the garden before they left with the Gods. Eris might also hunt you if she finds out about your plan. So keep your guard up."
Labda bowed her head to Hades. "We will not fail you, lord. We will save the world."
"How will we return to the living?" Cilla asked.
"I will resurrect you, but you can only return to the location where you died."
Roger placed the key into his pocket. "Why can't you fly us to the Arcadian Mountains?"
Hades yawned. "Don't question me again. Be grateful I am giving your life back."
Roger pursed his lips shut.
"That key is the only thing I can give you. Once you return, you will be on your own."
"Yes, my lord," said Cilla.
"Good luck." When Hades snapped his fingers, the mortal and his hound vanished in a puff of black smoke.
He sighed, now glad he could relax.
"Oooooooooh, honey!" Persephone's voice shouted.
Hades massaged his forehead. "What now?"
On his left, his wife leaned against a pillar within the archway. She wore a dark tight silk robe, which revealed her pink nipples and thong below her waist.
She smiled at him as she twirled her blonde ponytail. "Since we are alone now….. Let's make more children in case your acolytes fail their quest."
Hades grinned and strolled toward her. He grabbed her wrist, pulled her close, and kissed her sweet raspberry lips.
After he sucked her breath away, he glanced into her sparkling emerald eyes. "I am grateful for abducting you, my love."
Persephone moaned as her body melted against him. "I will always be yours forever…"
With a chuckle, Hades lifted his wife up and carried her to their sacred bedchamber. They probably won't come out for a long time.