Against the Gods

A/N: Thank you for all of your reviews.

“You lost my daughter! You wretched, selfish nymph!” Demeter shrieked. Daphne winced as the redheaded goddess stomped menacing toward her, with her fist raised high. She hit her, hard against the head and she did not stop. Her fists came down in a shower of fury. Artemis watched, coolly but did not bother to stop her. Demeter had all the right in world to beat up Daphne and the nymph deserved every punch. Daphne fell to her knees, taking her punishment as tears fell down her face. She had been trying so hard for the last week to find Persephone but to no avail. No one knew where she went; either god or mortal. Or at least what they wanted to reveal. And it was all her fault.

“My precious daughter, my beautiful Persephone! It is entirely your fault, you slut!”

“Okay, Demeter,” Artemis finally intervened and grabbed Demeter’s hand. Daphne’s face and arms were bruised and red from Demeter’s abuse. Demeter sobbed and crumpled into Artemis’s arms. Trembling, Daphne rose to her feet as tears spilled from her cheeks. Artemis’s dark eyes glared at Daphne and patted Demeter’s back. “Okay. We have to tell Zeus. He will know what to do.”

“Okay,” Demeter conceded. Her gaze fell to Daphne with a wicked smile. “But first…”


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Hades found himself pacing around his bedroom in frustration. His thoughts were consumed by Arista. It had been a while since anyone consumed his thoughts like she did. And she was getting him! Without trying, she was digging deep into his skin. When she did not cry or scream while he beat her, he felt fury and humiliation. When she accused him of enjoy it, he felt guilty and yearning just to love her. And when she claimed he was confusing love with lust, he was mortified. He had to leave before he did anything he knew he would regret. Hades did not know what to do with her or with himself.

He loved her. He wanted to be with her. He wanted her to love him. Yet this was the only way he knew how to gain a woman’s love. And he would not deny that he enjoyed every minute of it but it was fought by gnawing guilt. Each time her hurt her, each time he looked at her and the wounds he afflicted, he wanted to stop and love her. Then she was trying to gain the upper hand. And it was working! Even if it was not physically noticeable, her actions were tearing him up inside. She was driving him insane. And his love for her just grew. Hades kicked out blindly and screamed under his breath. Love was pain! It was nothing but pain! He was not confusing love with lust. She did not know what she was talking about.

“Hey? Are you still out there?” Arista’s voice broke his thoughts and he turned toward the couch. After a day or so, he decided to let her out. She could not do much damage with her legs bruised and her hands handcuffed behind her. Her blonde head poked over the couch, looking around. Images flickered on the TV behind her. Hades sighed and moved back into the living room. He patted her head as he slid onto the arm near her head.

“Are you enjoying the TV?”

“Yeah, I am. Do have anything to numb the pain?” It was amazing how much subdued she was now. It only made him suspicious that she had something in mind. He was now fully aware that she was capable of defiance. The wounds on his arms proved that. It actually was a thrill. Hades stroked her hair lovingly and handed her two pills.

“Do you have water?”

“You have become very demanding.”

“I have a right. I cannot walk,” she replied accusingly.

“Fair enough.” Hades got back up and poured her a glass of water. He half expected her to be standing behind him, ready to attack him. Yet she was still lying on the couch, her cuffed hands in front on her. He handed her the water and watched as she gulped down the water and the pills before adjusting into a comfortable position. Hades smiled and took away the cup. He set it down on the coffee table before ordering Arista to lift her head. She complied and he sat down, taking a pillow so she could rest her head on his lap. They sat in silence as Hades stroked her head and watched the television. The tranquility of the moment was amazing even under the circumstances. Hades through glances over to Arista ever know and then. She was focused on the television but caught him gazing at her a few times.

“So,” she began. “Tell me again….why are you doing this?”

“That was subtle.” Hades murmured. Why was she bringing this up? They finally were having a moment of peace.

“I want to get this straight. You claim to love me, right?”

“Yes. I do love you.”

“Yet you basically torture and beat me.”

“Yes.”

“Yet it is remotely understandable because you are a sadist, do you deny that?”

“No.”

“Okay, we are finally getting somewhere without one of use getting hurt or losing any dignity. Now if I was to tell you that I am not a masochist and this does not turn me on, would you stop?”

“No.”

“Is it for your own pleasure? Are you just being selfish?”

“No.”

“Liar.” Hades looked down at her as she twisted her head up to look at him. Her green eyes were wide and she nodded. “You are being kind of selfish.”

“What is your point?” Arista shrugged and pulled against the restrains around her wrists. What was she getting at? Was she trying to get him angry? Did she want more pain? She did not say anything for a while and just played around with her handcuffs. Hades watched her for a moment, trying to figure out what she was thinking. Yes, his motives were selfish. Yet why did she care? Was she trying to get him to do something? Was she manipulating him to stop or set her free?

“Okay. Now you are a sadist and I get that. But I am still confused,” she started again, lying her hands on her chest.

“Why are you confused?” Hades was getting rather irritated with her.

“Though you enjoy giving people pain, doesn’t it hurt you to hurt the person you love?” Hades did not answer. His breathing became abnormal as he stared blankly at TV in front of him. She had trapped him. And she was looking at him with intent eyes, waiting for his reply. Of course it hurt him! Then she added: “Or are you that selfish that your pleasure overrides your guilt.”

“It is more than that,” he screamed, finally caving into her eyes. He stood up quickly and looked at her, lying helpless on the couch. Yes, she was helpless. She could not go anywhere or do anything. She was under his control but he felt like she had more power than he did. Hades stared at her as she looked calmly back at him. Yet her tongue wetted her lips in a sign of nervousness. Hades felt himself calm down. She was not fully aware of her power. She was testing it carefully. He was going to show her that he could offer her more than pain.

“How much more,” she probed but Hades shook his head.

“Enough talk. It is time for a bath.” It was obvious the disappointment she felt as her eyes fell and the laugh that threatened her lips vanished.

“What? You mean right now?”

“Of course, you need one.” We both do, Hades continued in the back of his mind as he picked her up carefully and carried her to the bathroom. He was going to give her a great pleasure, to prove he could offer great pleasure. He really had not been given a chance too. He set her down on the toilet and turned to prepare the tub. Everything happen so fast, he had little time to react. Arista had risen from her seat and jumped on his exposed back. Without missing a heartbeat, the chain of the handcuffs was at his throat and her legs were around his waits. It must have been causing her a great deal of pain, her breath hiss angrily next to his ear.

“I tried to reason with you but you did not want to listen. Of course I was going to kill you anyway but it doesn’t matter now,” she laughed in his ear and tightened the chain against his neck. Hades tried hard to claw at it, to loosen the hold around his neck. Arista was determined not to let go. He could not get a decent breath. In desperation, he slammed her against the back of the wall. Arista shrieked with pain but it did not stop her. She was very determined and very strong. Hades was now worried and frantic to stop her. It did not matter if he died he was immortal and as the god of death, suffering a human death would not affect him. He was worried about Arista. Once she killed this mortal form, it would expose his pure from and she would die. She would suffer from the greatness of his form and die. Her body was too frail to withstand it.

He could not let her die. He wouldn’t let her suffer that. No matter how much pain he put her through and how much guilt it gave him, he could never allow her to suffer death! He would never forgive himself. Hades fell backward, trying to get her off him. He needed to get to the bed. He needed to get her off of him quickly. Hades was starting to get dizzy from the lack of oxygen. Stumbling back into his room with Arista still clinging onto him, Hades fell onto the bed and tried to slip out of her grasp. He almost managed until Arista used all her strength, with overflowing tears of pain and now had him pinned under her, giving the chain a good tug. Her breath was closed to his ears.

“Now you see how it feels.” With that, she moved her hands in just the right direction and SNAP! Hades felt his mortal form die around him if only for a few moment. He was still very aware of what was going around him as Arista rolled off of him and on her back. She pulled her hair by the roots, breathing hard. He heard her cry and laugh at the same time as his mortal form shimmered away. She was going to die. He knew it as his mortal form dissolved into mist and the unprotected rawness of power shot through. Arista was sliding off the bed beside him and was leaning against the bed, sobbing and laughing. Moving across the bed, Hades looked down at her just as she looked up, puzzled by the movement. Hades waited as her eyes widen and her lips parted in a sharp intake of breath. He expected her to die right away. He watched for her body to go limp and her soul to leave. Yet none of that happened. All she did was pushed away from the bed, opened her mouth and scream in bewilderment.



I wanted them to discover each other so bad. If it seemed to happen to fast, I apologize. I had this idea for quite sometime and I did not want to drag out their interaction in the ‘mortal world’.