《Hades XII》 Prologue = Gods Damn-it Thanatos The thief lurked quietly through the corridor toward the large metal safe and began to carefully pick the lock. Had he taken a moment to consider his current situation he might have realized that it had all been far to easy. The fact that he had seen neither hide nor tail of Cerberus, Hades'' relentless three headed guard dog, should have made him uneasy. His mind, however, was fully occupied with thoughts of the vast fortune that he had been promised in exchange for raiding Hades'' magical armory. with a click the vault door opened and the thief began place the items in his sack. Just as he was placing the last item, a metallic purple glove, into his sack, he realized something. Each and every one of these items was worth far more than the fortune he had been offered. With these twelve items even Hades would not be able to stand in his way. His greedy thoughts, however, were suddenly interrupted by a sharp pain in his hand. The glove that he had been holding had somehow come to life and driven its claws into his flesh. He felt his body become stiff as pain coursed through his body. Suddenly he heard laughter behind him. He turned painfully to see a blond young man standing behind him and realized with terror that he had been watching the entire time. Despite his pleasant appearance the man had an air of death about him that would have made the thief shrink back in fear if he could still move. Suddenly the thief noticed a slightly older and even more terrifying man with raven colored hair walking towards them followed by a large black three headed dog. He recognized this second man as Hades, the lord of the underworld. "Thanatos!!!" shouted Hades, startling the blond man who quickly turned and bowed his head. "Why have you not captured the thief yet". "My apologies Lord Hades", stuttered Thanatos. "This wave of thieves is the most exciting thing to happen here in centuries. I wanted to see how long he could last". "Fool!!!" Hades cried. "The other thieves were all eaten before we could question them. I locked Cerberus up so that we could finally capture one and find out who has been sending them and now you''ve let him die". "What''s the big deal" argued Thanatos. "It''s probably just another one of Hermes'' pranks". "Nay" Hades responded. "Hermes would never employ such incompetents. His thieves are honorless but they have pride in their work." While listening to this conversation the thief had begun to shake uncontrollably and his skin had turned a light shade of blue. He realized with a start that he was dying. Despite this he was not worried. His master had given him a spell that would save him from death no matter what danger he was facing so long as he had the twelve items of Hades nearby. With great effort he raised his left hand with the demonic purple glove still clinging to it and began to recite the incantation. Hearing his voice for the first time, the two gods ceased their conversation and turned to look at the thief. After a moment of listening the expression on Hades'' face changed from a look of mild curiosity to one of extreme urgency. He rushed forward and lifted the thief by his throat constraining his vocal cords. Unfortunately, it was already too late. The incantation was over and the thief watched with joy as the purple glove disappeared. His joy receded, however, when he realized that the pain was still increasing. Hades considered questioning the thief but saw that there was no point. He released his grip on the man''s neck and the thief died before his body hit the floor. This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. "Viral''s Gauntlet vanished" Thanatos cried. "Not just the gauntlet" Hades replied, glancing at the now empty sack. "It appears we have been outsmarted. That spell was designed to scatter those twelve items across the overworld". "What do we do now" Thanatos cried frantically. "We''re sitting ducks". "Calm down Thanatos" Hades replied calmly. "It''s not as though we rely on those things much anyway. God''s aren''t allowed to fight directly with each other anymore and none of the demons in my army are good at using them. Things have changed since the days of heroes and monsters. To be honest even our wars have gotten fairly dull after demigods were banned. Even so, I''d rather not leave those things in the overworld too long. Who knows what kind of chaos they might cause if some idiotic humans found them". "That''d be a disaster" Thanatos agreed. "I''m glad I ordered you to catalog and organize the vault a few decades ago. Otherwise there''s no way that we could find out which specific items are missing." Hades said optimistically. "Yeah...", Thanatos said before pausing nervously. "Wait did you say I was supposed to do that..?" "Thanatos!!!" Hades yelled angrily. "You''re kidding me right? You had one job. One thing to do in the last century and you blew it off." "Hey that''s not true." Thanatos interrupted. "I''ve done plenty of things in the last century. There was that thing with the Wiccans. That makes two things. And I''m also responsible for feeding Cerberus on fridays... Breakfast, lunch, and dinner. That''s like three more things a week." As if on cue a large rumbling sound emanated from the guard dogs stomach. "So that''s why he''s been getting thinner" Hades muttered. "It''s not my fault" Thanatos pleaded. "It''s those humans. In the past century they''ve invented television, video games, and high fructose corn syrup. How am I supposed to work with all those distractions." "Just shut up Thanatos." Hades said with an exasperated sigh. "Yes Sir" Thanatos replied Chapter 1 = Fallen Angel Skyler Refluci crept silently through the graveyard with his arms folded tightly in front of him. His best friends, Michael and Ralph, had dared him to walk through the Blackmore Graveyard at midnight and place a black rock on the Witchstone. The Witchstone was a nickname for the creepy black statue of a male angel holding a large sword in the air that stood in the center of the graveyard. According to the local legend it marked the grave of Sarah Blackmore, the daughter of the town''s founder Richard Blackmore,who was burnt at the stake for practicing witchcraft. Her father believed that she was innocent and built the statue as a monument to her. The legend claims that the statue was originally gold colored but over time Sarah''s evil soul turned it black. Skyler wasn''t scared of course. He walked past the statue almost every day to and from school. On top of that, he simply didn''t believe in occult stuff. He was a practical guy who knew that Sarah Blackmore had died of natural causes and that the copper statue had turned black due to oxidation. Even so, Skyler wished he had checked the weather report before agreeing to this bet. It was freezing cold and he hadn''t even brought a jacket with him. Furthermore, finding the statue in the dark with only a small flashlight was taking far longer than he had expected.The thing was nine feet tall so you''d think that would be the easy part. He could have sworn he was in the right place. Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. Suddenly Skyler heard a noise behind him. He quickly turned around and saw four monstrous outlines fighting in the shadows. As he looked more closely he realized that three of the monsters, who looked very similar to human skeletons with enormous red bat wings, were ganging up on the other. What shocked Skyler the most was that the fourth monster looked oddly familiar. He realized with a jolt that it was the Witchstone. Could it be that Sarah Blackmore really had been a witch and was now controlling the statue from beyond the grave Skyler thought to himself. That, however, wouldn''t explain the skeletons, who now seemed to be gaining the upper hand. One of them managed to land a critical hit which caused the angels sword hand to break off and plummet to the earth. A moment later the rest of its body slowly began to crumble. Just before the statue shattered a strange black object rose off of its head and flew toward Skyler. Skyler turned and tried to run away but before he got the chance a black silk like substance erupted from the ground and wrapped around his ankle. "I''m going to die" Skyler thought to himself. He felt something land softly on his head and suddenly the world faded into blackness. Chapter 2 = The Strings of Fate Three seemingly young women stood in front of a table that seemed to go on forever in both directions. On the table lay an endless amount of golden colored strings. To one side the strings were cut to the other they were whole. Each string represented the destiny of a single human being, woven by Clotho, measured by Lachesis, and eventually cut by the eldest sister Aisa. These three entities had existed long before any of the gods. They were known as the three fates. Clotho examined the string with interest. At a glance it looked just like any of the other lives she had spun although it was significantly shorter than most. "Let''s not cut this one yet Aisa" she said almost pleadingly to her sister. "This ones special. I can feel it!" "You''re always saying things like that Clotho" her sister replied with stubborn indignation. "And I have never once caved in to your requests. He''ll be happier in the underworld anyway, humans always are." Clotho knew her sister was right. Ever since Hades had reformed the Underworld and expanded the Isles of the Blessed it had became a veritable paradise for all but the most vile of human souls. Though the land beyond the isles was still an unknown. This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. "Stop wasting time and let me cut the string" Aisa continued. "Time doesn''t really apply to us though" Lachesis interrupted. "And it''s not like we have anywhere to be." "Don''t take her side!" Aisa said angrily. She pushed Clotho away and quickly cut the string. "There. Now we can move on." Aisa said with forced calmness as she moved to the next string. "Don''t cut that that one Aisa!" Clotho cried, restarting the cycle once again. Aisa was about to shout at her when Lachesis interrupted once more. "Aisa that string you just cut might have been special after all." Aisa and Clotho turned just in time to see the string emit a bright golden light and weave itself back together. "Told you so" Clotho said, not taking her eyes off of the now golden thread. Chapter 3 = Chained to the Living They say that when you die your entire life flashes before your eyes. My name is Mike Tyralus and I can tell you from experience that this isn''t true. The only things running through your mind are shock, disbelief, and intense but brief pain. Today started out like any other day. Well... except for the bracelet. I found a really weird looking gold bracelet on my way to school. At first glance it looked like some kind of toy. It was just lying there on sidewalk and there was nobody around. I decided to drop it off at the police station that my dad works in on my way to school, but I couldn''t resist trying it on first. Looking closer it seemed really intricate like some kind of Egyptian antique. I''m not sure if you can really call it a bracelet since it''s like 6 inches long, but it fit my wrist perfectly. It fit so perfectly that I couldn''t get it off my arm. I figured I could use soap to get it off at the police station but before I could get there I kinda got hit by a truck. I don''t know if he was drunk or just a bad driver but he totally rammed me. I might have been fine if the driver hadn''t then swerved off of the road and crushed my still breathing body into a concrete wall. Anyway the next thing I knew I was floating above the bloody remains of my body. I like to think I took it pretty well. I was certainly more composed then the truck driver who had begun bawling hysterically after calling an ambulance, which seemed fairly pointless considering the state of my body. Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. I had lived a pretty nice life, all things considered. I had loads of friends, a loving family, I was captain of every team I''d ever been on. I was the state champion of high school boxing and was well liked by almost everyone I had ever met. I felt a sudden urge to float upward and enjoy my new found freedom. Before I could do so I felt a strange metal object wrap around my right leg. I looked down to see dozens of thick golden chains sprout from the bracelet on my corpse and wrap around my astral body. I was overwhelmed with panic as the chains pulled my down back towards my body. Chapter 4 = Helmet Skyler woke up in a daze to find himself lying in his room. As he was getting out of bed he noticed his reflection in the mirror. He was wearing a deep black helmet with large raven colored wings on each side. The helmet was so light that he hadn''t even felt it. Honestly he couldn''t decide if it looked cool or dorky. All of a sudden the events of the past night came rushing back into his memory. His body froze in place as he tried to process this information. What had happened in that graveyard and what was the deal with this helmet? Skyler''s thoughts were interrupted by his mother barging noisily into his room. This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. Laura Wingfaer was a thin young woman with shocking red hair. She was a great mother in general but had very little concern for her son''s privacy. Skyler prepared himself for an onslaught of unwanted questions about why he had left Ralph''s sleepover and about his odd choice of headgear. Skyler could not think of any believable explanation that wouldn''t land him in therapy. Oddly enough she didn''t ask Skyler anything. She simply glanced around his room and walked out the door without acknowledging his existence. Skyler''s confusion grew when he caught sight of his mirror again and saw that his reflection was gone. Chapter 5 = Aura Susan Gardner had always been a bit different from her classmates. Her mother came from a long line of Japanese Shinto priestesses. She had defied this tradition and studied medicine in America where she met Susan''s father. He was an Englishman who was also studying to be a doctor. From sometime around her sixth birthday Susan had been able to see and differentiate auras. Susan''s grandmother, who had moved to America to be closer to her daughter, was the only one who had believed this. Her parents tried to convince her it was some kind of sight disorder but her Grandmother had explained that it was a sign of her intense spiritual affinity. She further explained that it must be a result of her Shinto ancestry. Her grandmother seemed glad that she had inherited something from her mother''s family. People always said that between her blond hair and lighthearted personality she was a spitting image of her father. Despite her grandmother''s explanation Susan had no real knowledge about the ability. It was useful sometimes. She could usually tell when people were lying to her by reading the fluctuations of their auras. She could also tell their general emotions and she had never lost a game of hide and seek. Sometimes her ability was a major hassle. In elementary school her classmates had started calling her a witch after she tried to show off her power. Back then her only friend was a boy named Toby Aceso. He didn''t seem to care about any of the creepy rumors that kids had made up about her. He said magic and witchcraft weren''t real and Susan had no desire to prove him wrong. If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. Nowadays Susan was quite popular. Nobody in high school believed in witches anymore. She had drifted apart from Toby since they rarely had classes together. She still saw him in the halls sometimes though. One day when the final bell rang she was in such a rush to get out of school that she literally crashed into him knocking them both to the floor. She tried to apologize but Toby got up and ran off without a word. His aura was usually a vibrant orange but now seemed to be colored with heavy purple fear. Stranger still he was wearing a strange purple glove that seemed to emit its own dark aura. Susan was pretty certain the glove was against school dress code. More importantly its aura was the most frightening thing she had ever seen. Susan wanted to chase after Toby but her legs refused to move. She sat there for a few minutes trying to calm down. Students walked by her as if they hadn''t seen anything unusual. Eventually Susan decided to go home and question Toby tomorrow. Just as she was getting up however she felt a pulse of energy that erased Toby and his glove completely from her mind. As if in a trance she got up and began walking towards the strange energy. Chapter 6 = Playing Mafia 5 men sat at a small wooden table in a rundown abandoned building. The men were all quite young. Most were in their early twenties though their leader Brian was 34. They were the leaders of black hydra, the largest and most powerful gang in the city. It was said that all the illegal drugs in the city had gone through them at some point. The cops could do nothing to stop them. Some of the cops were them. But now they were facing the first significant challenge to their power since they had gained it. "I just don''t understand these guys" Franky said in anger. "They don''t even deal drugs but they still expect us to respect their territory. What kind of gang are they?" "They''re not a gang." Donny replied. "They''re just some punk kids who want to play mafia!!! They got less than a dozen members." "What I want to understand." Brian interrupted with a slow and intimidating voice "Is how this group of punk kids managed to destroy more than two thirds of our drug supplies. We have guns, knives, and hundreds of men so why is this our last big drug store!!! We got twenty men in the hospital, 43 in prison, and they haven''t had a single casualty yet." "Don''t worry boss," Donny interrupted trying to defuse the situation. "We got twenty armed men patrolling the perimeter and a dozen snipers in place. even if they really do have flamethrowers they aint getting in here." This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. "Ya think so," interrupted a voice from behind him. A tall young man with shocking red hair stepped into view. "You were supposed to wait for my signal" came another voice from the other side of the room. The second boy was a bit taller and had shiny black hair. He was carrying what looked like a large glass shield with a strange long hilt coming out of the top. "Nobody move!" Brian shouted as he pulled out his gun and stood up. To his surprise he fell on his face. His allies had all fallen to the ground as well. Brian was shocked to see that the floor around his table had somehow been covered in slippery ice. "Guns are pretty useless when you can''t get a foothold" said the black haired boy with a smirk. "Now then, why don''t we get started" said the first boy in an equally cocky voice. He was now holding what looked like a sword made out of red flames. "What are you?" Brian said, his voice now tinted in fear. "I can give you money, drugs, whatever you want just leave me alone!" "Sorry" said the black haired boy, assuming the leadership position. "We don''t care about any of that. Your friend was right. We''re just a group of punk kids who like to play mafia!" Chapter 7 = Just Wires Mike sat up in his hospital bed to better view the small television that was hooked up to corner of his room. He was watching a magic show done by some famous prodigy magician named Matt Trinity. He was wearing a pure white suit with a matching top hat and a golden monocle that would have made any other fifteen year old look like a dork but somehow worked for him. Mike had never been particularly interested in magic tricks but he had to admit that the kid was amazing. He was only a year older than Mike but was already a world renowned magician. Apparently his father Travis Trinity was a legend who could have rivaled Houdini himself. Just as Matt was about to levitate a large volunteer Mike''s dad walked in. "I still can''t believe it!" he exclaimed. "The doctors said yours was one of the worst cases they''d ever had and now they''re letting you out after only a week of bed rest." "Guess I''m just a fast healer" Mike responded nervously, his eyes shifting towards his arm. He knew that if he tried to explain that a 6 inch long golden bracelet that no one else was able to see had saved him from death he''d be spending another few weeks getting tested for brain damage. He was certain that the bracelet was real but he didn''t think he could prove that to anyone else. "So how was work today dad?" Mike said, trying to change the subject. His father seemed all to willing to oblige. "It was the strangest day we''ve ever had. The biggest gang our city has ever seen, the Black Hydra, was completely destroyed in a gang war. It''s leaders have all been arrested, it''s hideouts destroyed, it''s gone for good. Furthermore their''s no trace of the gang that crushed them, They call themselves the Frozen Phoenix and they''re supposed to be a new gang but they haven''t broken any laws until now." If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. "How could a group like that beat the Black Hydra?" Mike interrupted with genuine interest. He wondered if such a group might be related to his bracelet. "You haven''t even heard the weirdest part!!!" his dad replied. "The leaders were found in a cage made of ice. All they''ve done since we brought them in is talk nonsense." That was enough for Mike. He was sure that these Frozen Phoenix people had something to do with his bracelet and he decided then and there that he would track them down no matter what it took. He had to find out more about what was happening to him. Just then a loud noise caused both Mike and his father to turn towards the TV. It was the clash of two floating swords that Matt Trinity seemed to be levitating. "That''s some magic trick!" said Mike''s dad, momentarily distracted from his own amazing story. "It''s just wires" Mike replied, already losing interest in the fake magic show. He had real magic to deal with..