Three months had passed since the Winter Solstice. Hades wasn't sure if it was because he hadn't kidnapped Persephone, but he noticed that Winter wasn't exactly a thing yet. At least not in the Mediterranean. Heck, even Autumn wasn't a thing. It was weird for him to walk outside in mid Febuary and not feel any chill.
Which is exactly what Hades was doing as he approached her cave on Mount Ida. Zeus had asked her time and time again to move into a set if apartments on Olympus, as befitted her status as Dowager Queen, but she refused, preferring her humble abode.
From a distance, he could see the lions that came probably as a result of his mother's affinity with them. He could see how at peace the cubs were with their surroundings and how alert the older lions were.
As he neared, he saw on of the lions head inside after making eye contact with him, probably to inform his mother of his arrival.
Within moments, his mother came rushing out and enveloped Hades into her loving embrace as he seemed to melt in her arms. He wasn't sure if it was Hades' memories from before he took over or his own lack of parental love back in his original world, but he seemed to instinctively yearn for his mother's love and care.
Which terrified Hades. He knew from all the different mythologies growing up that bad things happened to people the Gods loved. They became targets, bait, scapegoats, backstabbers; the list goes on.
For him to show such instinctive care for Rhea sounded the alarms in Hades' head.
'I should avoid her for the time being until I can get my thoughts about her in order.'
"Hades, you finally decide to visit your dear old mother," Rhea said. Looking down, he could see a deep pain in her eyes hidden behind her happiness, and it gripped his chest seeing it.
"Why are you sad, mother?" he asked, stroking a hand through her hair. "It isn't good for you."
That seemed to get her to chuckle a bit.
"'Not good for you' he says. Tell me, Hades. When was the last time you saw the sun? You're so pale! If not for your hair and eyes, I might as well lose you in the marble!"
'Wait, did she just...insult my skin? And why do so many jokes come to mind? Damn you internet. You've ruined me.'
"Now, now, mother. It's not like a had a choice in the matter," Hades said, trying to calm her down. While it did calm her down, he also noticed her expression falter momentarily before she covered it again in smiles.
"Hehe, I'm just messing with you," she said. "Come inside!"
Without waiting for his response, she took him by the hand and led him inside. Surprisingly, it was very well furnished inside, with wall to ceiling windows and luxury furniture. It felt like he had walked into a modern day millionaire's mansion.
What broke him out of that train of thought was the random pack of lions that decided to pass right by him as if he never existed.
'Okay, what the actual fuck.'
His mother had already sat down on a chair by a wide balcony. Before her lay a table with fruits, nectar and ambrosia atop it. When she noticed him, she motioned to a seat beside her.
"So Hades. What happened?" Rhea asked as Hades poured himself a goblet of nectar.
"What do you mean?" he asked.
"I mean, what happened that causes the change in personality?" she asked back.
"Ah. I did some thinking, and I realised that the way I was acting before wasn't very nice," Hades replied. "I am immortal, for all intents and purposes. So I may as well have a better relationship with those I'd be spending eternity with."
If smiles could give out light, Rhea's would have made the sun look dim.
"Oh, Hades. Hou have no idea how happy that makes me," she said. "You three never get along, so seeing you trying really eases my heart."
"Hm?" Hades didn't understand where she was taking this, and he didn't like that.
"It's just that I always wanted you and your siblings to have a better relationship, to be able to have close bonds with one another," said Rhea. "But seeing you all drift apart ever since you emerged from Kronos, it breaks my heart."
'Hades, how could you...'
"Zeus is paranoid of the power you and Poseidon weild. Poseidon is jealous of Zeus and hates always be right behind him. You were always resentful for being ignored, given the Underworld and then forbidden from Olympus."
'Hades, how dare you...'
"Demeter and Hera try to hide it, but they're terrified that Poseidon or Zeus may try to force themselves on their bodies. And poor Hestia is left in the middle trying to keep you all together."
'Hades, you absolute idiot.'
Tears now began to well up in her eyes as her expression began to darken.
"Kronos was supposed to care for you all as I do, you were all meant to grow up running around in the fields as you happily playing with each other. Instead, he devoured you all, fearing you'd usurp his position."
'Oh Chaos, how could we let this happen...'
"And yet, no matter what I do, it is all futile! Because no one wants to listen to their poor titan mother! No one wishes to bother or care!"
The tears began to streak down the sides of her face, making her dress and the tablecloth damp.
'Hades, if only I could strangle you...'
"All I ever wanted was for us to be a family. To be happy. Together. You, me, Kronos, Zeus, Poseidon, Hera, Hestia, Demeter, Iapetus, Koios, Oceanus and all the rest. We were meant to be a family."
'Oh Lord, forgive me...'
"So why! Why does everyone want to fight each other!? Why do we all hate each other so much!?"
She could no longer hold it in as she burst into sobs. She hugged herself as her body began to shake and tremble. Hades instinctively went to her side and hugged her, which only caused her to wail out even more.
"Why!? Why can't we all be happy!?"
'Damn you, Hades! How dare you let your own mother become like this! How could you!'
He looked down at his mother, who seemed to have completely broken down in his arms, the facade she had been putting up falling apart.
He felt shame. Great shame. Shame for allowing his own mother to become like this.
'But is she really your mother?'
He could still remember his mother from his past life and the struggles she went through to help him, to secure his own future and happiness. He owed her a debt he knew could never be repaid.
'But that me is gone. I'm no longer James Carter. I am Hades, son of Kronos, son of Gaea.'
He felt lighter. As if a heavy load had been taken off his shoulders. It felt freeing, as if he could never truly breathe until that moment.
'From this moment on, I am Hades! No one shall get in my way! And none shall harm those I care about!'
But there was still that voice whispering at the back of his head.
'What about Rhea?'
He felt conflicted, because he had only ever treated one person as 'mother' and that was as James. It felt wrong to view someone else as his mother. But then he thought of everything she had gone through for them. All the pain, the suffering, the loneliness, the sadness...
'No. She is my mother. From this day, until the end of my days. For as long as my name is Hades!'
"I'm sorry mother," Hades said. "I've been a horrible son to you. We all have. I cant imagine the pain you feel right now, and it's killing me inside knowing I'm responsible."
"N-n-no, Hades. I-I-it's not-"
"No, mother. I must say this," Hades said, cutting her off. "I've been a terrible, terrible person. I realise that now in hindsight. I was grumpy, moody, angry, annoying, short tempered... I wasn't a good person at all. I know that my behaviour only served to distance me from everyone else, you included. What I'm trying to say is that I promise, from now on, I'm not that man anymore. I will do right by you as you deserve. I will try my best to mend things with my siblings. You don't need to cry and suffer alone."
It seems his words only had the opposite effect, making her cry out even more, except this time she would repeat things like "Hades!" and "My dear boy!". His clothes were ruined, but he didn't care. He allowed his mother to cry all her tears out onto his shoulder. When she finally stopped, she seemed to have fallen asleep in his arms, the area around her eyes red and puffy from the crying. He gently lifted her into her chambers and placed her on her bed before taking his leave, but not before leaving a note behind for her.
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A/N: I appreciate all the support this is getting. Truly, I do. But it appears there are some issues and misunderstandings that must be addressed.
Yes, Hades is powerful. How powerful? No one knows. Not Zeus, not Poseidon and not Hades. Even in the Titanomachy, Hades didn't really go all nuclear like Zeus did but spread chaos in Kronos' army's ranks with his Helm of Darkness. His power level at the moment was an unknown, even before factoring in the wishes James made.
Now about the domains/divine authorities. Yes, he absorbed the domains of two Primordials, but bear in mind they weren't that powerful. Thanatos worked for Hades in the original story and was actually able to be chained under a mortal's bed, needing Ares of all people to save him only because the latter noticed people weren't dying in battle. Thanatos himself wasnt that strong, which is why canon Zeus allowed him to work for Hades.
Erebos is a seperate issue entirely that I wish to address later on.
Besides, not all Primordials are powerful. Sure, there is Gaea, Ouranus, Tartarus, Pontus and Nyx, but on the whole, they weren't the OP game breaker existences as a species, just like the Gods and Titans. They were the exception, not the norm.
Now to address the spear. He does NOT have a spear that can kill all Gods. He wanted that, but was denied. He has a much weaker spear that will grow progressively stronger the longer it rests in his godly soul. It is NOT a symbol of power. Not yet. It will be, but it is too weak currently.
And yes, I WILL have to draw from the original mythology because, for all his expansive ness and creativity, he really has trouble creating a cohesive timeline for the ancient history period (I'm not even sure he wanted to). Not to mention I will need it for stuff that couldn't be put into PJO to keep it strictly PJ13 (like Zeus fucking Hera on a mountaintop, the raping and sacking of cities in war, shit like that).
Ya'll need to calm your tits is what I'm saying.