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phoebepheebsphibs · 5 months

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Double-Mutated Mikey

Chapter 16: Genetics

Continued from the short story written by @boots-with-the-fur-club

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Mikey is in the Interaction Room again. He's waiting for something to happen. There is a staticy feeling in the air, the lights keep flickering. Mikey can sense unease from the evil humans. Instinct has been taking charge more often than not. Mikey's head is getting worse... It doesn't remember things. Mikey can't remember how he became like this very well. Mikey can't remember what he did the other day. Instinct was in charge all of yesterday, so he probably knows. But Mikey can't recall anything. Mikey's not even sure if 'Mikey' is his name. The only reason he thinks it could be is because the evil humans in white will sometimes call him that. But when they say it, it almost sounds like a joke.

Mikey sits patiently, waiting. Wondering. He's never been made to wait this long. At least, as much as he can recall.

There is a buzzing noise, mechanical whirr. A soft rumble through the building. The lights flicker again. A panel opens and a robotic arm with a pellet gun descends from the ceiling. It points at Mikey --

He prepares himself, getting into a quick stance.

-- and the gun turns around and points at a corner in the room. It swivels and points at another. It shoots a pellet. The shot is lazy and the pellet weakly flicks off the wall.

Mikey tilts his head in confusion. What is happening?

The gun swivels round and round, shooting randomly before being forcefully retracted into the ceiling, snapping and shortcuirting as it disappears. Not one second after, another panel opens, and another machine lowers, but it stops halfway and starts shooting out sparks before it snaps off and crashes to the ground, almost crushing Mikey.

He yelps in surprise before jumping away at the last moment.

There is a crispy static sound and speakers in the room start going off.

'*CCCCCRRRSSSSHHHHH* -- Wha-- *CCKKKKHHSSPH* -- last time we mutate an electric eel -- *FFFFFSSHH* -- stupid EMP powers -- *KRRRAACKLE*'

Mikey is very confused.

A panel opens from the wall, and a wolf mutated with a rat walks in, sees Mikey, and charges.

Instinct doesn't ask to take over. He just does.

He dodges the wolf and studies its attacks and looks for any weaknesses it has. Underbelly is weak. Strike there. Instinct's tail sharpens and he --

Another panel by the floor opens up. After a second, a curious new mutant saunters in.

What? They've never sent in two at a time before!

The wolf takes advantage of the fact that Instinct/Mikey is distracted and bites the tail. Instinct roars, wraps the tail around his mouth, and whips him into the wall. Instinct turns to this new mutant, an armadillo. The shell looks somewhat similar to his with its jutting scutes and scales that fold over each other. But it smells bad. Not just nasty, but VILE. There's something wrong with it. It smells like disease.

'*KKKRSHSHSH* What are you doing?! -- I thought we were putting the armadillo in quarantine! -- has leprosy -- idiot -- I didn't do it -- something's wrong with the controls! *CCCXSHRSH*'

Instinct stays away from the diseased creature, but the wolf sees it and attacks. The armadillo balls itself up into its protective casing, a green ooze beginning to penetrate the outer shell. The wolf snaps its jaw on the armour, ingesting the poisonous ooze. It growls and begins to play with the round thing, scratching it and kicking it like a ball... He kicks it towards Instinct!

Instinct hisses and dashes away from it, clambering up the wall. He watches as the wolf starts to cough and turn a sickly green colour. The armadillo uncovers itself and watches. It saunters over to the wolf, who is getting greener and more sickly by the second. The dasypodidae glares at the canis lupis and shoots out the ooze at him. It sizzles against the wolf, who howls in agony before toppling over and decaying at a rapid pace. Instinct watches in disgusted horror as the wolf becomes nothing more than putrid acid-drenched roadkill.

Instinct needs to kill it. Fast. He dashes down to the smashed machine and grabs the whole thing -- heavy as it is -- and throws it on top of the mutant armadillo. The creature balls itself up just before the heap of heavy scrap can crush it.

Instinct wonders if that did the trick. The armour looked pretty tough...

Before the question can be answered, the lights go off. Then on. Then off again. Instinct hears three wall panels open, and sees three-- no, FOUR pairs of eyes glowing at him. This is going to be a long day...

'*KKKKKRCK* Oh, sh--SHHHHKK*'

Instinct activates the heat vision and sees that there are three creatures coming into the room... One is small and slithering. One is taller, a long snout and tail, but walking on its hind legs. The last one is a two-headed beast. Well, this should be fun...

The lights come back on, and several panels from above open, turret guns descending and misfiring in dozens of directions. Instinct reactivates the normal vision. There is a snake, an anthropomorphic crocodile, and a fox with two heads. Instinct challenges them to come closer.

They make the mistake of accepting the challenge.

Instinct dances around them, dodging the pellets and bullets as they all simultaneously charge. The two-headed fox is fastest, but clumsy; its vision impaired by the extra set of eyes that throw its depth perception and placement off. It misses Instinct by a mile, running straight past him. The crocodile runs on his stubby little legs with a gurgling snarl. He goes for Instinct, but is shot in the face and a pellet strikes his eye. The snake is swift, slithering straight for him and lunging. Instinct jumps over the serpent and lands atop the bigger reptile. He grabs onto the crocodile's mouth, gripping the jaw and pulling hard, making the mouth go wider and wider and --

SNAP! CRACK!

The croc falls to the floor, Instinct having broken its jaw.

The fox(es) lunge at Instinct again, snarling and yapping and barking. It misses yet again and runs into the wall.

The snake curls back and goes to attack, jumping up and snapping at him, fangs dripping with venom. Instinct grabs it by the neck, but it slithers out and coils around his throat, choking him. He grips it as tightly as he can, but it keeps slipping out of his grip... The fox returns and jumps once more at Instinct.

Instinct holds the snake's body out and the fox rams into it, snapping his teeth into the serpent's slim body and clamping down hard.

The reptile hisses in anger and throbbing pain, releasing its hold on Instinct's throat and wriggling around to get free. While the two mutants are distracted, Instinct turns his tail into a spiked mace and rams it into the chest of the fox. The poor, pathetic animal is struck down.

The serpent manages to wriggle itself free, bleeding profusely and incredibly infuriated. It turns back to Instinct.

From behind him, the pile of scrap metal starts to move. The armadillo emerges, the armour having protected it.

From ahead, the snake.

From behind, the armadillo.

They both leap forwards.

Instinct must act fast.

He ducks quickly and barely manages to miss the serpent, grabbing it by the tail and swinging it round, throwing it straight at the diseased armadillo.

The snake bites the armadillo on the neck, filling it with venom while ingesting the victim's poison. Both miserable creatures fall to the floor. The turrets start to deactivate and slide back into the ceiling.

Instinct exhales deeply, hoping that no more monsters will come in --

Another panel opens. Of course.

But the eyes are different. The smell is, too. It smells like...

Human.

A large, lumbering figure makes its way into the room, groaning miserably. Instinct's eyes go wide.

Human...

The human stares at Instinct. It growls low and angrily.

'*SCCSRRRSH* -- Wait, what is this?! -- test subject -- meant to take them down to the basement for surgery -- storage room -- Get them out of there before he kills it!! *KKKSHKSH*'

Instinct growls low. There is something different about this creature... it is susceptible. It doesn't think for itself. It takes orders...

Instinct/Mikey can feel some strange connection between themselves and this odd malformed human. He recognizes a smell. It matches one of his own... the biggest smell. Krang smell. Mikey doesn't know what that smell means yet. But Instinct knows. Instinct knows all.

Instinct knows that this human smells like krang.

Instinct clicks at the creature. He growls a command at it, testing something...

The human turns its head. It peers at Instinct carefully. Instinct clicks again. The human sits down.

'*KRRSH* ...What the...?'

Instinct/Mikey commands the krangified human to follow his bidding, ordering it to slink back into the hole from whence it came. The creature does. Instinct/Mikey watches as it sits in the dark, waiting. When it tries to come back out, he snarls at it, and the krangified human slinks back into its room.

Soon enough, the panel slips closed, and the door opens behind Instinct. Three scientists rush in, followed by practically an armada of guards.

The scientist known as 'Dr. Timothy' runs to the front with 'Dr. Chaplin', and the two stare in shock and awe at all the carnage and wreckage. But Instinct feels they are more concerned with how he controlled the mutated human...

Dr. Chaplin smiles.

"Well, I think this is something we can use..."

Donnie stares at Mikey, the box turtle's tongue hanging over his lip in that silly expression he would make on occasion before the mutation happened. The 'blep', he called it.

Mikey sits in front of the giant horde with the biggest grin on his face, beaming as if he'd just shown them how he'd trained a new puppy to roll over. He is somehow oblivious to the horrific danger he was just in...

Leo steps forward nervously and starts to pull Mikey away from the krangified crowd.

Mikey is confused. Didn't he do a good job? Aren't they proud of him? Are they still mad at him?

They don't look mad. They look scared. Scared of the horde, and scared of...

Mikey?

Monster.

Mikey churrs at Leo, furrowing his brow anxiously.

"Lllleee-oh? Why Leo s-s-scared-d-d? Mikey do good?"

"Y-you did... uh, you did good, you did great," Leo stutters, not looking at him but keeping his gaze glued to the zombie mob. "April, Cass, I'm going to open a portal now. You take Mikey, drop him off and grab the formula."

Leo sounds so scared. His voice is soft and chilled and shaky. His arms wobble as he carefully drags Mikey away. Mikey doesn't want Leo to be mad at him again, so he follows his directions. Leo's hands shake as he slices the air and creates a blue portal. Mikey is led through the blue light, and instantaneously finds himself in the lair again!

Casey is pacing back and forth with a phone in his ear as he redials the guys. He yipes when the trio jump in.

"Come on, pick up, pick-- Ah!! What -- Mikey?! How, what, I was just calling Leo --"

Casey stiffens when he sees Cassandra. Mikey notices this, but the others are moving quickly and are focused on their mission and don't pay any mind to him.

Mikey sniffs around, confused. How did he get back to the lair so fast? The sensation from the portal is familiar, and Mikey's mind foggily recollects a memory of him and Leo jumping through these blue things a lot...

April and the other human Cass rush away to Donnie's lab, leaving Mikey alone in the halls with Casey, who slowly creeps to him and starts to check him over as he scolds him.

"Mikey, what were you thinking running off like that? I was worried sick, I thought you might've gotten lost, or recaptured, or hurt -- and what was I supposed to do when Leo came and saw you were gone?! They already hate me here, they're too scared of me to talk to me like I'm a normal person, and now I'm the guy who almost lost their brother --"

Casey freezes, realizing he's said too much.

"Uh... don't, please don't repeat any of that to the guys. I just... I'm struggling to fit in here, and I lost the one most important thing to this family. I'd get disowned if I wasn't already estranged to them..."

Mikey chirps at him sadly, nuzzling his beak against Casey's chest.

"S-s-sooor-r-r-ry..."

Casey sniffles and hugs him.

"It's okay, Mikey. Just... don't ever do that again?"

Mikey beeps at him with a nod.

Cass and April run past the two of them, carrying several boxes of glowing blue vials.

"We'll be right back, just gotta take care of something!" April shouts as they go through the portal again.

It stays open, and Mikey wants to see what they're going to do --

But Casey pulls hims away softly, saying something about needing to clean him up from the mud on his claws.

Mikey is taken to the bathroom, his hands and feet cleaned until they hear the clambering of feet against stone. The others have finished with whatever it was that was so important and returned. Mikey skedaddles out of the bathroom and greets them happily, if not a bit nervously. He thinks they may still be a bit sore about his escape...

But they don't look mad, they all look tired and wrung out. Donnie's hands are stained with glowing blue.

"...That giant squirt gun you made with your ninpo was perfect, Dee," Leo compliments, stretching his back out. "It got pretty much all of em at once..."

"Yes, well, I need to go and wash this toxic elixir off of my hands..."

Mikey runs up to Leo with a happy chirp and rubs his face against his fingers. Leo strokes his head gently.

"Hey, Mikey. Glad to see you're okay... we're gonna have a talk about you running out, though."

Mikey whimpers, but is relieved that Leo's anger and scoldings will be over soon. The sooner the better. He wants Leo to be happy with him again... He doesn't like the sadness that hangs around him, it reminds him too much of... of... of what?

Nevermind, it doesn't remind him of anything at all. He just doesn't like it.

Mikey then goes to Raph, asking for head pats from him, too. Raph smiles and rubs his thumb across Mikey's forehead.

"That was pretty impressive, big man," he chuckles. "I didn't know you could do that... How did he do that, Donnie?"

Mikey runs over to his third brother, circling around him and asking for head pats as the genius does his best to explain hypotheses and theories.

"Well, it seems that Mikey's... erm, 'leading genome' allows for him to sort of... control the others that also carry the same genome. My guess is that Mikey could be something like... the alpha male of the species."

"Alpha male?" Raph asks. "So, they saw him as the leader of the pack?"

Mikey whines quietly, waiting for Donnie's headpats. He lifts his head up to nuzzle against his fingers.

"I think so," Donnie says. "I'd have to do some more studies of the DNA sample, and I'd much prefer--"

"AAAAGH!"

The room is struck silent as Mikey screams in pain, pulling away from Donnie's stained hands, the glowing blue liquid sizzling against Mikey's forehead. He tries to wipe it away, but it burns his hands. Mikey screams and cries, the others screaming in chorus as they rush to help. April wipes the toxins off with her sleeve, Leo runs to his aid and inspects the injuries, Raph goes to pick him up and carry him somewhere safe, Casey goes to get water and rags, Donnie reels back and keeps his hands far away from his brother, Cass helps to direct them all and keep the calm.

Mikey sobs as his hands smoke softly, the blue liquid like acid against his skin. The burning against his head continues, the pain immense. It's searing through him, reverberating throughout himself. Casey Jr. returns and helps Leo start treating the wounds, cleaning the remaining smudges away with water as quickly as possible. The acid is gone, but the pain lingers for eternity. Mikey is lost in the deafening sound of everyone shouting orders at each other, everyone touching him at once, lifting him up and carrying him away.

Mikey squeezes his eyes shut and cries, the tears seeping through as the burning lingers...

Just stay still. Let it happen. Let it happen, and let it linger, then it will end. Just let it happen...

Mikey is laid down on a table or a bed, he's not sure. Leo commands the room, giving orders and instructions that Mikey doesn't understand. Salves and ointments are applied. A sharp stinging starts in his forehead where the burn is, the same sting pricks his hand. The sting fades, as does the burn. Mikey's head and hand go numb. His claw is swathed and a bandage pressed against his head.

As the doctoring continues, the room quiets and calms...

Mikey's wrists are locked into place. He cries and weeps. He knows it won't change anything. He knows they won't understand, or won't care...

Needles are pressed deep into his skull. Injections are made.

Tiny wires are set against his arms. They shock him, over and over and over again.

Syringes dig deep into his chest. Fluid fills him up, burning his intestines like fire.

Someone grabs a scalpel and begins to make incisions. Blood leaks from the open wound.

Something pink and wriggling is shoved onto him, into him. It integrates into his flesh, becoming one with him. It crawls under his skin, it crawls into his mouth, his eyes, his nostrils. He suffocates from it. He gags on it. He chokes from it. It won't kill him. But it sure wants to see him suffer...

Mikey hates this. Mikey hates himself. If he weren't him, maybe he wouldn't be punished like this...

Mikey lets it happen. There's no point in fighting, it will just make it worse. Mikey just lets them hurt him, slice him, change him, kill him. Mikey lets the pain etch away at his mind, scraping him away piece by piece. Destroying him.

Mikey waits for the pain to end.

It never does.

Leo wipes the tears from Mikey's face, trying to calm him down.

"I'm so sorry, bud. I know it hurts," Leo whimpers.

Leonardo wants to cry so badly. He wants to sob. He wants to scream and shout out his pain and frustrations at the universe for letting this happen to him, to Mikey, to everyone --

"This is my fault," Donnie moans. "I should have realized that the formula would hurt him. I should have been more careful. I should have --"

"I shouldn't have let him escape," Casey interjects. "If anything, it's my fault for letting my guard down..."

"No," Leo corrects. "if I'd just stayed behind, or had Raph or Donnie stay behind, then he would have been okay, he wouldn't have run off. If I'd -- if I'd been better, smarter, s-stronger... I..."

"It's no one's fault but mine," Raph weeps quietly. "I took him to the TCRI building in the first place. I did this. It's my fault."

"Oh please," Cass scoffs. "All this blame game is getting ridiculous! You all did the best you could! You made mistakes, sure, so WHAT?! It's not like you intentionally tried to hurt him! You're all so focused on what you did wrong that you can't focus on how to make it right or how to move past it!"

The three turtle boys stare wide-eyed at Cassandra Jones.

"If you want things to get better, act like they will! And soon enough they will! Half of this whole thing is a mind game you play with yourself! Do you want to lose?! No! Do you think that after I quit the Foot, I moped around like a pathetic weakling?! NO!! I knew that my mistakes were big, but I could work past them and make up for everything! I could do something amazing if I put my mind to it, and I am! So stop acting like there's nothing you can do to change things, and start actually changing things! Starting with your perspective!"

The boys hang their heads sheepishly. Casey stares at his future mother in amazement.

"Yeah... Cassie's right," Raph mumbles. "We can't keep focusing on what we did wrong. We need to move forwards, not backwards."

"Darn right, I'm right!" Cass whoops. "I'm always right! HAH!"

Raph smiles and chuckles softly. Leo sighs and sits besides Mikey, rubbing his face as the baby brother finally relaxes.

"Okay. Move forward. Got it."

Donnie's gazes diverts to an empty corner of the room as he ponders a few things. He ponders how this mutation is far beyond what he expected. He ponders how everyone -- his brothers, Splinter, April, Mikey, everyone -- is counting on him to reverse the process.

He ponders how he's been pondering all night, every night.

He ponders how this is not his area of expertise; he's the tech guy! Sure, he know some science facts, he knows a few trivia tidbits about animals and stuff, but not enough to reverse engineer a cure all by himself! He ponders how he has no idea what to do or where to start.

He ponders about going backwards... back to the beginning. To the first mutation.

Donnie leaves the room and pulls out his phone...

Draxum is in the process of remodeling his home lab. After the events of the invasion, Draxum managed to help protect the Yokai from the krang dogs that made their way down into the Hidden City, and in doing so cleared his name and reputation. As a reward, his criminal record has been expunged.

He directs several Yokai on how to repair his ancestral home and build four additions for his surrogate sons. He is secretly eager to see Michelangelo's reaction to the room he has planned for him... whenever he gets back, that is. They told him about the mission gone awry. Draxum had offered to 'take care of' the humans in the building, but they'd declined. Ah well. Some other time, then. But it has been a little over a week or so since then, and Draxum has received no word...

Draxum's human communication device known as a 'cell phone' begins to buzz. It is Donatello. Draxum answers.

"Yes? What do you need?" Draxum asks plainly.

Donatello only ever calls him if he needs something.

"Hey," he mumbles through the speakers. "What are you doing now?"

"Rebuilding my lab from the last time it was blown up," Draxum grumbles. "By, who was it -- oh yes... you and your family."

"Draxum--"

"Of course, I'm willing to let that slide, since my goals at the time were less than cordial or moral. By some standards."

"Drax."

"Although, I'm sure it weighs on you and your brothers that you single-handedly destroyed the home and livelihood of one whom you might consider a mentor, or creator. So, if you wanted to repay old debts, you could always come and help --"

"DRAXUM!" Donnie yells, then sighs with deep exhaustion. "Would you... like to come and see Mikey?"

Draxum pauses.

"...He is home?"

"Yeah, we got him back two nights ago. He's recovering. I texted you about this."

"I have no idea what a text is," Draxum groans. "But yes, I would like to greet him."

"Okay. But before you come, I need to let you in on a few things," Donnie says quickly. "Mikey has gone through a tremendous amount of trauma, and will most likely not recognize you. And you will probably not recognise him at first, either. Be careful, be gentle, speak softly. Secondly..."

Donnie pauses.

"...I need you to bring everything you have on genetic studies and mutations."

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persephoneflowerpetals · 2 months

Text

'Til Death

Chapter 9: The Exes

Chapter 8: First Date

Chapter 10: Three Little Words

The months that followed went by almost too fast for Hades and Persephone, especially now that they were dating. They really tried to spend as much time as they could together before it was time for Persephone to go back to Earth for springtime.

Meanwhile, somewhere not too far from the Underworld, an evil force was at work. Hecate and her winged canine henchmen, Canis and Lupis, were watching Hades and Persephone from a black cauldron.

“So, the little pink powder puff managed to fall for Hades did she? Hmm, I will say this throws a bit of a stone wrench in my plan, but I can work with this. Now that they’re together it’ll be that much easier to break them up.”

“You’re so right! As always!” Canis praised, trying to kiss up to Hecate.

“Absolutely! So, what’s the plan now? Should we spread some nasty rumors about the lovebirds and create a little ‘he said, she said’ situation?” asked Lupis.

“No, no. I have other plans to manipulate their little romance. Keep an eye on them, boys. I have a couple of acquaintances that I think will be a great help in taking down Hades once and for all.” Hecate said with a sinister chuckle as she walked away from her minions, into the darkness.

~X~X~X~X~

Persephone walked hand in hand with Hades down the hallowed halls of the Underworld. Spring was only one day away, so they had decided to have one last picnic together, this time in Asphodel Meadows (mainly because Hades wanted to admire all the work she’d done around there), before Persephone’s departure.

“I can’t believe I have to leave tomorrow. I feel like I just got here.” Persephone said with a solemn chuckle.

“Yeah, I know. Time flies doesn’t it?” Hades asked with a smirk, trying to hide his underlying sadness. Persephone nodded in response as she gave him a halfhearted smile.

He may not have shown it, but Hades truly was upset that Persephone had to leave so soon after developing their relationship. However, he wanted to keep his spirits up for the sake of his pride and for Persephone. He knew if she saw how sad he was about her leaving that she’d feel even worse about the whole situation and he certainly didn’t want to do that to her. As much as this displeased him, Hades knew she had a job to do and he also knew that Demeter would probably smite him if he kept Persephone in the Underworld for the entirety of spring.

Not only did the thought of Persephone leaving disappoint him, but it worried him as well. In a few months from now, Hades was going to lose his powers and the Underworld, and it was starting to become increasingly obvious. After their date, Hades began to realize that his flaming blue hair was starting to get shorter. Thankfully, it hasn’t gotten bad enough to where it’s noticeable, so Persephone hasn’t said anything about it. In fact, it seems Persephone’s forgotten all about Hades’ predicament and the whole reason why she was down there in the first place. She’s never once brought it up since she returned to the Underworld and Hades was pretty thankful for that. The last thing he wanted to do was make her think he was just using her to get his powers back. True, that was his plan from the start, but that was before he truly got to know the goddess behind the perfect facade. Persephone was merely a crush and a pretty face who also happened to be conveniently single when they first met, but now he realized that she was much more than that. Persephone was a clever, kind-hearted, and feisty goddess that Hades simply couldn't get enough of.

So, how was Hades going to develop his relationship even further with Persephone if they were going to be apart? Could he even get her to say “yes” to marrying him this soon after starting their relationship? Would she even want to marry him? Dating is one thing, but marriage…and what will he do if she says “no”? It’s not like he could just wait another year and try again. He was on a time limit here, but…none of that mattered right now. What mattered now was him being with Persephone, cherishing this time with her while he still could.

The two deities were making their way towards Hades’ throne room when they passed by Cerberus who noticed Persephone with Hades. Cerberus, being the protective and loyal guard dog he was, growled at Persephone as one of his heads snapped at her when she got close enough to him.

The goddess jumped in surprise and protectively grasped onto Hades’ arm as the large, snarling three-headed hound stared her down. “Hey! Cerberus! No! Bad dog!” Hades scolded.

Cerberus backed away from the gods slightly, his heads still growling and baring their teeth at Persephone as he crouched his body down in a hesitant and aggressive stance. Persephone watched the dog curiously as she let go of Hades’ arm. She didn’t blame him for snapping at her. After all, Hades probably trained him to do that sort of thing with strangers to scare them off. Though, she didn’t think he’d go as far as to snap at her just for being so close to his owner.

Persephone gently raised her hand towards the dog, slowly stepping towards him. Hades noticed this and internally panicked. She may be an immortal goddess, but that didn’t mean Cerberus couldn’t hurt her.

“Woah, hey! I wouldn’t do that if I were you! He isn’t good with…”

Hades then looked over to Cerberus and noticed that his middle head stopped growling to sniff Persephone’s hand. His right head immediately got curious and started to sniff Persephone’s hand as well and soon enough, the left head joined in.

Persephone cautiously stepped towards Cerberus a little more to gently touch the muzzle of his middle head. Cerberus growled for a split second before Persephone started to pet him tenderly. Cerberus instantly calmed down and melted into her touch, the other two heads trying to nudge Persephone’s arms as if they were asking to be pet as well.

“…strangers.”

Hades stared at Persephone and Cerberus in awe. Cerberus has never warmed up that quickly to another person before. In fact, Cerberus probably hasn’t warmed up to anyone at all before. He’s always been a very well trained guard dog, so much so that he’s known to snap at Hades himself when he enters the Underworld by boat.

Persephone giggled and used both hands to pet and scratch Cerberus under his chins as he started to lay down and happily wag his tail. “You’re such a good boy! Aren’t you!? Yeah you are! You’re just a big ol’ slobbery puppy dog!” she cooed at the monstrous dog. One of Cerberus’ heads started to lick Persephone in response as she giggled again.

Hades smiled as he watched Persephone interact with his now sweet and puppy-like guard dog with amusement. “Well, it’s official,” he thought to himself. “I am definitely gonna marry her.”

~X~X~X~X~

The day had finally arrived. The enchantment from Hades’ special pomegranate seeds he had given to Persephone had finally worn off and now she was free to go wherever she wanted without Hades by her side. However, it seemed that now that was the only place she wanted to be, but that wasn’t possible. It was springtime and she was needed on Earth.

There was a melancholic feeling in the air throughout the Underworld (and not the usual kind either). Hades made his way towards Persephone’s room that morning as she got herself ready to leave. Persephone sat at the vanity of her room as she adjusted her flower crown.

“Maybe I could talk Hades into giving me more pomegranate seeds?” she thought. “No, no, I can’t do that. My mother would create an entire famine if I did that. Besides, that would be selfish of me. I can’t stop doing my job just because I’m in love. There are mortals out there that are counting on me to bring another beautiful spring this year. I can’t just leave them out in the cold…literally.”

A gentle knock at the door pulled Persephone away from her thoughts as she fixed her hair in the mirror one last time, knowing good and well who was behind the door.

“Come in.”

Hades opened the door and found Persephone at her vanity. The deities looked at each other through the mirror, both sharing a very solemn and disappointed look on their faces.

“You ready?” Hades asked gloomily.

Persephone took a deep breath to not only calm her emotions, but to stall for just a few seconds more. “Yeah.” she replied with a nod before getting up from the vanity and leaving the room with Hades by her side.

The spring goddess held her love’s arm as they both quietly walked towards the River Styx where Charon’s boat was waiting for her. Neither of the gods knew what to say to make this situation better, so they just stayed silent as they sadly walked together.

Once the gods reached the river’s edge, Persephone let go of Hades’ arm and slowly walked towards the boat, hesitating. She then turned to Hades who gave her a sad, halfhearted smile.

“Well…I’ll see ya around, Rosebud.”

Persephone tried to give him a smile as she fought back tears, but her smile turned into a frown as her bottom lip quivered. Tears immediately began to fall onto her rosy pink cheeks before the spring goddess dashed over to hug Hades tightly, sobbing into his chest.

Hades hated seeing Persephone so upset. A sweet and beautiful goddess like her should never have a reason to cry. He immediately hugged her back as he began to pet her long, soft, hot pink hair. He wasn’t gonna let her leave all torn up like this.

“Hey, c’mon. What’s with all the tears, huh?” Hades lightheartedly asked as he gave her a soft, yet playful smirk.

Persephone sniffled as she wiped some tears out of her eyes. “Sorry. I just….after spending all this time getting to know you and…love you. I don’t wanna leave.”

Hades gave her a warm smile as he brushed a strand of her hair behind her ear so he could see her face better. “Don’t get yourself all worked up, babe ‘cause I can assure you this won’t be the last time you see me. Alright? I mean, c’mon, I’m pretty sure you and I both know I’m gonna take every opportunity I can get to pop up there and bug you.”

Persephone chuckled through her tears as she continued to wipe them off of her cheeks, still sniffling and trying to get herself to stop crying. “Trust me, babe. I’m gonna miss you just as much as you’re gonna miss me. This old Underworld’s gonna feel pretty empty without you around.” Hades admitted as he gently cupped her cheek, giving her a genuine loving smile. Persephone placed her hand atop his and smiled as she gazed into his piercing yellow eyes that she always seems to get lost in.

“Before I go,” the goddess then said as she glanced down at the ground. “I wanted to give you something. Sort of a…’parting gift’.”

Hades took his hand off of Persephone’s cheek as she manifested a vase with small light blue flowers in it. She looked at Hades with a bit of nervousness, unsure of what he’d think of these “softer” and “cutesier” flowers.

“They aren’t really poisonous or carnivorous and I know this kind of stuff isn’t really your style…and I’m sure by now you’re probably tired of me giving you all these plants and trying to make your Underworld into an underground garden, but I wanted to make something a little nicer for you to remember me by. I call them forget-me-nots. Y’know, so you don’t forget me while I’m gone.” Persephone nervously chuckled as she handed Hades the vase of flowers.

Hades took them and observed the flowers, expressionless which made Persephone start to anxiously rub her arm. His expression was hard to read and she worried that she might’ve somehow offended him by giving him flowers like that. She knew she was pushing it already with the nightshade and the cobra lilies, as those were pretty and deadly, but at least those were types of plants that interested Hades and they had some beneficial value to him. The forget-me-nots, however, weren’t gonna do anything for him except maybe bring a little color to the drab and dreary atmosphere of the Underworld. Knowing Hades, it wouldn’t surprise her at all if he told her he wasn’t fond of them. He’s always been known to be brutally honest with people (unless he was trying to schmooze them to get what he wants, then he’d lie through his razor sharp teeth).

“Y-You don’t have to keep them, though, if you don’t like them! I won’t –“

“Oh, no. I’m keeping them.” Hades assured her with a smile.

Persephone was slightly taken aback by that. “You are?”

“Yeah. Sure, they may not match my whole ‘dark and menacing schtick’ I got goin’ on down here, but hey, I always thought this place could use a goddess’ touch, y’know? Plus, I think they’re pretty nice to look at...like you.” Hades told her, giving her a wink and a playful smirk.

Persephone smiled bashfully as she blushed. Hades then carefully placed the vase of flowers on the ground and took her dainty pink hand in his as he gazed into her beautiful purple eyes, bending down a bit to look at her face to face.

“But, trust me, babe. I won’t have any problem keeping you on my mind. You’re positively unforgettable.” Hades then brought her hand to his lips to softly kiss the back of her hand. Persephone became even more flustered as she quietly giggled. He really knew how to charm a lady.

Hades glanced back at the boat behind Persephone as his loving smile faded a bit. It was time to let her go. “As much as I hate to say it, you better get going or else your mom is gonna come down here and berate me again for holding you hostage or something, then I’ll never hear the end of it.” he joked, letting go of Persephone's hand as he nodded towards the river where Charon and the boat were still waiting.

Persephone gave a light, sad chuckle as her smile faded a bit as well. He was right. As much as she wanted to procrastinate, it was time for her to leave. She approached the boat as Hades followed and then stepped on board as Hades took her hand once again to help her keep her balance. Once she was safely on board the floating vessel, Charon began to slowly sail towards the exit to the Underworld.

Hades crossed his arms and stepped away from the edge of the river to lean on the small section of wall that served as a base for his skull-shaped abode. Persephone turned around slightly to look back at Hades one more time before the giant bone-like walls closed behind the boat. She gave him a small wave as she smiled, trying to hide her sadness for just a short moment, so he wouldn’t worry about her too much. Hades gave her a small wave in return, sharing the same “I’m okay, but not really” expression before the walls finally closed. The god’s fake smile immediately became a disappointed frown as his shoulders slumped. He then looked down and saw the forget-me-nots Persephone had given him before bending down to pick them up, walking away with them as he made his way up the dark spiral stairs.

~X~X~X~X~

3 weeks have passed since Persephone left the Underworld once again. Hades certainly kept his word about visiting her whenever he could, popping up every once in a while just to chat and spend time with her. Sometimes, he’d even bring food for her to convince her to take a little lunch break for an hour or two just so they could hang out.

Persephone had to admit, though, that it was tough being alone again. She was so used to the solitude she had in the springtime before she met Hades. Usually, she spent her days quietly melting the ice and snow away for the grass, and flowers, and trees she’d be growing, singing and chatting to the animals that happen to stop by to greet her as she worked. Nowadays, all Persephone does is think about Hades and how much she misses him.

However, down in the Underworld, Hades hasn’t been faring too well. It’s only been a few weeks and he couldn’t stand to be without Persephone. He knew she had a job to do and didn’t need anyone distracting her, but he simply couldn't resist the urge to pop up to Earth and see her. Of course, he tries not to take up all of her time when doing so (even though he really wants to) since the longer it takes for her to finish spring, the longer it’ll take for her to come back.

It honestly kinda baffled Hades how much he missed her. He’s never felt this way about anyone before and he figured he never would. He didn’t think he was cut out for “this love junk” (as he calls it), but it turns out he was quite mistaken. That goddess really did have him wrapped around her little finger. Hades was absolutely smitten for the goddess of spring and it drove him absolutely mad that he couldn’t be with her for an entire season.

He did his best to distract himself by burying himself in his Underworld work, but it didn’t really help. No matter how much paperwork he filled out or how many souls he courted, he still couldn’t keep himself from missing Persephone and that took quite a toll on his mood. In fact, Hades has been pretty irritable since Persephone left and has been losing his temper much more than usual (if that was even possible). Whenever Pain and Panic screwed something up or asked him to perform some Underworld-ly task he didn’t feel like doing, he’d flare up in a fiery rage, yelling and throwing out insults. When he finally does calm down from his “tantrums”, he flops onto his throne and sulks while muttering under his breath:

“Oy, this is gonna be a long spring.”

~X~X~X~X~

Persephone made her way through the frozen forests of Athens with Thallo, melting the leftover winter snow from the grass and trees and leaving beautiful blossoms and lush, green grass in its place.

“Who is Thallo?” You may ask. Well, Thallo is a unicorn mare and a beloved animal companion of Persephone. She had beautiful white hair and a long, silky pastel blue and violet mane and tail that Persephone loved to brush, and braid, and decorate when she had the spare time.

Persephone rescued Thallo one spring in the Athenian glades when she was only a baby. Her mother had been hunted by mortals for her horn (which, unfortunately, was starting to become a big problem nowadays, pushing unicorns closer and closer to endangerment). Poor little Thallo was cold, hungry, and terrified, so Persephone took her straight to Artemis, who cared for her until she was ready to go back to the wild. Persephone made sure to visit Thallo and Artemis whenever she could just to check up on her and make sure that she was doing alright.

Once Thallo grew up, Artemis released her back into the Athenian glades with the other unicorns. Eventually, the beautiful mare found Persephone again during the spring and became quite attached to her rescuer. Now, every spring, Thallo keeps Persephone company around Athens as she performs her godly duties.

Persephone had been melting slush and snow and planting flowers all afternoon, and she was starting to get a little tired. “I think I could use a little break, Thallo. How about you?” she asked the unicorn as she stretched her arms. Thallo nickered in agreement as she nodded her head. She then followed Persephone over to a nearby log covered in soft, fuzzy moss. Persephone sat on the log and let out a long sigh as Thallo laid down next to her.

The goddess then leaned against a tree that was so close to the log, that they almost connected and plucked a white daisy she had planted not too long ago, plucking the petals as she began to hum a sweet tune. She smiled to herself as she listened to the tranquil sounds of the waterfall that came from a nearby grotto. She was thinking about Hades again. She hasn’t seen him for a few weeks now and was really looking forward to his next surprise visit.

“I know that look.” a sultry female voice said from somewhere within the forest. Persephone and Thallo both perked up in surprise, looking around to see who was speaking.

“Oh yeah, she’s got it bad.” another voice spoke out, sounding more light and higher pitched than the last.

Suddenly, a nymph who had taken the form of a mint plant appeared not too far from the mossy log Persephone was sitting on. Then another nymph who had previously taken the form of a white poplar tree appeared next to her.

The first nymph had light mint green skin and long green hair that was put up in a messy, yet elegant ponytail with little dark green mint leaves scattered throughout her hair. She was thin, but curvy and wore a dress made of large leaves that were about the same shade of green as the mint leaves in her hair.

The other nymph had light blue skin and was quite petite compared to the other nymph. She had long, flowing blue hair and a wrapped dress made of a very soft and comfy looking fabric. It was sort of a light turquoise color that turned into a watery blue color towards the bottom of the garment.

“Oh, I’m sorry! Was my humming bothering you?! I forgot that grotto was popular with nymphs. I can leave if you want me to.” Persephone asked nervously as she tossed the flower she had been messing with to the ground.

“Not at all! We were just hanging around when you caught our attention. I’m Minthe.” the green nymph greeted as she and the blue nymph walked over to Persephone and Thallo.

“And I’m Leuke.” the blue nymph chimed in as she sat on the grass in front of Persephone. “Of course, we know who you are, Persephone. There’s nobody in the cosmos that can make the forest as pretty as this for springtime!”

“Mmm-hmm. Leuke and I were just saying what a wonderful job you’ve been doing around here.” Minthe commended as she sat down next to Persephone on the mossy log.

“Yeah! You are so talented!” Leuke praised.

Persephone blushed a bit from the compliments. “Oh, heh! Well, thank you! I really appreciate that!”

“Then we saw that look on your face and the way you smiled.” Minthe continued.

“— and heard your pretty singing!” Leuke added.

“And we knew that could only mean one thing,” said Minthe.

“Oh….um…what?” Persephone awkwardly asked, wondering what they were even talking about.

Minthe and Leuke looked at each other with a knowing smile and then at Persephone. “You’re in love!” they gushed in unison.

Persephone started to blush again as she nervously brushed her bangs behind her ear. “I, uh…I didn’t know it was that obvious.”

“C’mon! Spill the chamomile!” Leuke exclaimed as she laid on her stomach, resting her head in the palms of her hands and kicking her legs up in the air.

“Yeah, who’s the lucky god? Or goddess if that’s what you’re into.” Minthe asked.

“Oh, wait! Is it a mortal?! Ooh, I love a forbidden romance!” Leuke squealed as she kicked her legs with glee.

“Actually, it is a god.” Persephone told the intrigued nymphs.

“Who?! Who?!” Leuke asked excitedly.

Persephone giggled bashfully. “Um…well…it’s um…Hades. The God of the Underworld.”

The nymphs’ excited smiles immediately turned into frowns as they looked at each other once again and then back at Persephone. “Oh, no.” they said in unison as they shook their heads at the goddess.

Persephone became concerned with their reactions, giving an anxious expression as Minthe began to talk. “Honey, I hate to break it to you, but that is the worst god you could ever fall in love with.”

“How do you know that?” Persephone asked anxiously.

“We’re his exes.” Leuke confessed as she rested her arms on the ground.

“Exes?” Persephone repeated, secretly taken aback by this new information.

“I should warn you now, Hades really isn’t a committal type of god. Like, at all. ‘Love ‘em and leave ‘em’ is his game.” Minthe explained.

“Yeah, I don't think Hades is into serious relationships. He’s pretty fond of his ‘single bachelor’ status.” Leuke said.

“But, Hades di-“ Persephone tried to defend Hades before she was interrupted by the nymphs.

“Trust us, Persephone. Hades is bad news and if I were you, I’d stay far away from him. You’re better off. I mean, he’s not that great of a boyfriend anyways. He certainly wasn’t to us. He was rude, mean, selfish, a total workaholic, and he smelled like sulfur all the time! That doesn’t really sound like ‘boyfriend material’ for a goddess. Just saying.” Minthe explained as she counted on her fingers all the reasons why Hades wasn’t a good boyfriend.

“I dunno. The sulfur smell wasn’t that bad and Hades wasn’t really that mean to me either. Honestly, I think Hades was the best boyfriend I’ve ever had!” Leuke happily speculated.

“Shut up, Leuke!” Minthe quietly hissed as she glared at the other nymph.

“Sorry.” Leuke whispered.

“Anyways, if I could be completely honest with you, I really don’t think, — and I mean this is the nicest way possible — that you’re his type.” Minthe admitted.

“His type?” Persephone asked in confusion. Since when did Hades have a “type”?

“Yeah, y’know, girls that are all plump, and cute, and innocent and stuff. Like you! Hades’ never been into girls like that…but I’m sure there’s some other deity out there for you who is! Just not Hades.” Leuke explained with a shrug.

“Oh…I see.” Persephone replied in a dejected tone as she looked towards the ground, now starting to feel self conscious.

“I know it’s hard to hear, but it’s the truth. Hades is a ‘playgod’. When a woman piques his interest, he goes from a total jerk to a total ‘dreambarge’ by doing what he does best: schmoozing. He showers you with compliments, and gifts, and takes you to nice places to make you feel all special. Next thing you know, you’re being lured in by that charming smile and those amber eyes of his and then when you finally tell him that you’ve got feelings for him…he gets bored and dumps you like a stale pita. To put it lightly, hon: you’re a ‘spring fling’ and nothing more.” Minthe explained in a rather blunt manner.

Persephone simply refused to believe the nymphs. Hades wasn’t like that at all. Maybe he was like that before she met him, but he’s changed. He cared for her. Why else would he share such personal things about himself to her? He wouldn’t just leave her because he got bored with her…but it has been a few weeks since she’s seen him.

“No! No, Hades wouldn’t do that. He…He loves me. He —” Persephone said as she stood up from the log and walked a few steps away, trying not to cry.

“How do you know?” Leuke asked as she stood up as well.

“Well, I —“ Persephone tried to explain, turning around to face the nymphs.

“Has he even told you he loves you?” Minthe asked, raising her brow at Persephone suspiciously as she too stood up from the log and crossed her arms.

Persephone opened her mouth to answer, but paused. Now that she thought about it, he never has told her he loves her back. She’s always been the one to tell him she loves him and in return he just smiles or gives her a kiss back. In fact, their first date wasn’t even an actual “date”. Hades said he just wanted to have a picnic and talk, he never said the word “date”. It seemed that only Persephone was under the impression that she and Hades were together. She was the one who made the first move by kissing him. She was the one to say “I love you” first. He never even once called her his “girlfriend”. Maybe the nymphs were right…maybe she really was just a fling and none of this meant anything to Hades. The goddess then closed her mouth and looked down at the ground once again with a hurt expression.

“No…”

The nymphs smirked at each other as Persephone turned back around, not wanting the nymphs to see her get all emotional. Minthe and Leuke then sauntered up to Persephone, each placing a hand on her shoulder.

“That’s exactly what we thought.” Minthe said, sounding almost sarcastic rather than sympathetic.

“Don’t beat yourself up over it, Persephone. We’ve all been there. There’s a reason why he’s the God of the Underworld. He’s low down and rotten….and smelly.” Leuke sympathized, attempting to comfort Persephone.

“Yeah, we’re only telling you all this as your friends. We wouldn’t want to see a sweet thing like you get hurt by a loser like Hades. He just isn’t worth the tears. My advice: end it now before he breaks your heart. Just think about it. ‘Kay?” Minthe advised with a slight smirk.

“Anyways, we should go. Nice meeting you, Persephone! Good luck with the ‘Hades doesn’t actually love you’ thing!” Leuke said sweetly with a wave as she and Minthe walked away from the brokenhearted goddess.

The pair of nymphs then made their way to the nearby grotto, leaving Persephone alone with Thallo in the middle of the forest. Once they reached the waters of the grotto, Minthe led Leuke behind a waterfall into a decent sized cave where other nymphs liked to relax and cool off during the hot summer days.

“That was so great! Ha! Did you see that look on her face?!” Minthe snickered mischievously.

“Yeah…I kinda feel bad for her. I think she really loves Hades.” Leuke admitted, the guilt of their actions starting to sink into her subconscious.

“Oh, who cares? She’ll get over it.” Minthe callously replied.

“But, don’t you feel just a little guilty? I mean, it’s not like Persephone’s ever done anything to us. I didn’t want to make her cry.” Leuke asked.

“Guilty? Please! As if I’d ever feel sorry for her. Besides, Hecate said we’d be ‘handsomely rewarded’ if we convinced Persephone to break up with Hades and if she’s as dumb as she looks, she’s gonna do just that. Don’t you want that reward, Leuke?! Like, come on! It’s not everyday you get rewarded by a goddess! Who knows? Maybe that ‘handsome reward’ will be Hades himself.” Minthe suggested as she bit her bottom lip at the thought of receiving Hades as a reward.

“I thought you said you were over Hades.” Leuke recalled.

“I am over him! Just…shut up, Leuke!” Minthe snapped as she stormed out of the hidden cave.

“Okay…jeez. Tou-chy.” Leuke replied under her breath, rolling her eyes before following Minthe.

~X~X~X~X~

As soon as the nymphs left, Persephone dropped to her knees and began to sob into her hands. She felt so foolish to believe that she and Hades could ever have a romantic relationship or that Hades could actually love her. It was crystal clear to her now that they were never meant to be. They were total opposites. It never would’ve worked out between them. It was only a matter of time before he’d break her heart and that was the one thing about love that terrified Persephone. Actually, that was the main reason why she’s never dated another god before. The thought of opening herself up to another person and putting her full trust in them only for them to reject her and throw her away like garbage was frightening. Minthe was right…she had to end things with Hades. No matter how much it hurt her to do so.

Thallo slowly approached Persephone and laid down next to her as she nuzzled her head into her hands, trying to comfort the crying goddess. Persephone sobbed and sniffled as she pet Thallo’s mane. The spring goddess and the unicorn sat there in the middle of the forest for the rest of the day. By sunset, Persephone had cried herself to sleep, Thallo’s head still in her lap as she rested by the goddess’ side.

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