The God of Olympus (28 page)

Hercules watched as Hades and his dragon came towards him.  He quickly turned to Pegasus and leapt on top of him.  “Be prepared for what
will come Pegasus!”

Pegasus could have been intimidated by a massive dragon approaching him, but he was not.  He was confident and brave.

Hercules watched as Hades’ dragon sent a powerful ball of fire right at Pegasus, but Pegasus quickly shot away and barely dodged the attempt to kill him.  “Pegasus is fast Hades and will defeat your dragon just as I will defeat you!”

             
“Never!”

The two flew at each other.  He
rcules had his sword extended.  Hercules’ sword collided with Hades’ staff.

             
Hades looked up at Hercules, who flew gallantly up in the sky, and laughed.  “Ha!  He thinks that he can challenge me!  He cannot face me…”  Hades suddenly mounted his fierce dragon and flew up into the sky. 

             
Pegasus looked at the great dragon that he was to face, not with fear, but with hope.  The great dragon fired a blast of hot fire at Pegasus, but Pegasus moved just in time.

             
Hades did not realize that Pegasus was made, at least in part, from the clouds and thus had a greater advantage the higher in the sky they went.  And Pegasus flew higher and higher, to the point where the air was so thin that Hercules could hardly breathe.  Hades, and his dragon for that matter, were now lost as to where Pegasus was, as he shot up and down through clouds everywhere.  Then suddenly, while both Hades and the dragon were stalled, looking for them, Hercules and Pegasus appeared below the dragon.  Hercules jabbed his sword into the chest of the great dragon.  The dragon immediately let out a great screech in pain, flapped his wings around in pain, and slashed its claws at the sword.  But by then Hercules had already pulled the sword out.  Hercules looked down at the sword, now covered in a black blood.  The dragon took another swing and swatted Hercules’ sword out of his hand and away to the ground.  Hercules looked down at his falling sword for only a moment, but a moment was enough for the terrifying dragon to slash at Pegasus.  His great claws sliced Pegasus’ side and his fierce stallion screamed in pain.  Both Pegasus and Hades’ dragon were so injured now that they could not sustain themselves in the air and both began falling downward, through the clouds towards the ground.

             
In the air Hercules tried to get underneath Pegasus to help ease the pain of the fall.  And he did save Pegasus’ life, for Pegasus was still alive after the fall.

             
Hades, however, did not do the same with his dragon.  He rode his dragon all the way down, wanting his dragon to take the majority of the hit in the fall.

             
People on both sides of the battlefield suddenly stopped fighting and watched as both Hades and Hercules and their great steeds were falling down through the sky.  Both Hercules and Hades hit the ground in nearly the same spot—directly through the roof of the Parthenon.

             
Meg looked up towards where Hercules was, but saw Pegasus and the dragon falling down towards the ground.  “Hercules!” she yelled.  Of course, her heart felt something was wrong and she rushed up to be with him.

             
When Hades got up of the ground he looked around and felt a little dazed.  He was surprised at this.  He then looked back at his dragon, now dead, and then over to Hercules.                “You killed my dragon, the fiercest creature in the world!”

“I assure you, I am the not the one who killed him…you are the one who killed him, by letting him die!”

While Hercules and Pegasus had been fighting Hades and his dragon, and once all of Philoctetes’ men had scrambled far enough up Acropolis field, Poseidon lifted up his trident and caused the water from the western sea to hurl upon the land.  This was a grand moment of triumph as the water lifted itself above all of Hades’ warriors who fought in Athens. Gradually the water washed away the filth of Hades.

Hades looked down to behold the water wa
shing away the remnants of his forces.  He looked back at Hercules.

             
Meg looked around and it seemed that they had won the battle.  The water touched her feet but nothing more.  Hades’ men, at least the ones alive, were retreating now, away from the massive rush of water and their great Gods were working wonders on the battlefield.  Waters lingered all over the ground and Apollo’s light came down from above.

             
Meanwhile Hercules and Hades both looked down at the battle below, that, for all intents and purposes, was now all but over.  Hercules looked at Hades and said, “Hades, it is over now!  You have lost!  Your army is destroyed!”

             
“Not yet!” retorted Hades.  Hades extended his staff.  “You still forget my power, which is the most powerful of any God!”

             
Hades lifted his staff in the air and fired a blast of magic that blew Hercules back against a pillar.  It hurt Hercules, but it could not kill him.  “Your magic is useless against me Hades!” retorted Hercules.  “Now that I am a God I cannot die by any magic you possess!”

             
“Well then, let’s see if you can survive this!”  Hades suddenly shot a series of shots at several columns of the edifice.  “I will destroy the pillars off this building and see if you die then!”  Suddenly the roof above Hercules shook and began to fall apart.  He knew he only had a few moments.  He lifted up Pegasus and pushed him out of the way of the tumbling building.  As he did so he was covered by tons of concrete.

             
Hercules meanwhile moved towards Hades. Oh and how did Hades hate this man, this man that was now a God!

             
“Gods fight against Gods and mortals against mortals! Do you not know what you will end up with?” mocked Hades. “Just another eternal war! And that is exactly what your parents created you to avoid! Ha, but in death they have still failed!”

             
Hades laughed for a moment, but watched as Hercules heaved the remnants of the building from off of him.  Hades realized Hercules had strength unlike that of any he before possessed.  “Oh, you just won’t die!”

             
Hercules lifted up his sword.  Hades laughed and fired a blast of magic that hit his sword and flung it several feet away.  “Very well, let’s see if you can fight me without your sword!”

             
Hercules didn’t attempt to retrieve his sword.  He felt if he did so Hades would send a blast of magic at Pegasus and kill him.

“Now no weapon,” laughed Hades.

              “I trained with no weapon,” said Hercules. “I wrestled great and terrible beasts with no weapon. I certainly can fight you.”

             
So Hercules rushed at Hades like he did in the final event of the Olympics.  He pushed Hades back and Hades hit the ground, his staff falling away.

             
Both Hercules and Hades were now fighting hand in hand.  Hercules remembered and used all the training given by him from Philoctetes and Milo. 

             
So the two wrestled there against each other in the Parthenon, between the broken pillars. Hercules suddenly realized that this wrestling was really no different than the wrestling of a lion, or a Manticore, or Milo.  Both of their fists were locked together as they pushed with all their might to defeat the other. It was then that Hercules remembered the trick that Milo taught him.  He quickly pushed back one of his fists and ducked to avoid a blow from Hades’ fist.  He then used that fist to hit Hades had in his chest.  This flung Hades back to the ground against a pillar. Hades let out a screech in pain.

             
Hades suddenly laughed as he looked over the city of Athens from the Parthenon. “Look at what you have done Hercules! You have filled the city with death and destruction. If you were not here the people would have merely submitted to my will and we would have had peace.”

             
“Under your dominion there would be no peace!” retorted Hercules.

             
Hades looked out and watched as all of his men were fleeing away. “But no, you had to be a noble hero! You and your ideals caused so much death! But you forget it is I who control death and so all these souls will merely go to me and be under my control. I can only imagine the thousands upon thousands of souls that now linger in the underworld just waiting for me.”

             
“Not anymore,” said Hercules.  “Your underworld is no more a prison for mortal souls!” Hades suddenly spat on the ground and backed away.

             
Hades looked back for a moment and noticed from the corner of his eye his staff, lying on the ground at an angle so Hercules could not see. He began to fake his injury with tact. “You may yet die after all Hercules…” Hades suddenly grabbed his staff and prepared to fire a terrifying blast at Hercules. But, while Hades was so focused on his staff, he didn’t see Meg come running from the side. Just before he could fire his blast at Hercules Meg grabbed the front of his staff and made him fire in another direction. “Ah!” yelled Hades. “Meg you will pay.”

             
Then what Hercules saw next was too disheartening to forget. Hades hit Meg hard in the stomach with his staff and caused her to fall backward to the ground. Hercules took off towards Meg, but even he wasn’t that fast.

             
Hades merely took a moment and only said a few words. “Meg, you have interfered for the last time!” Then he fired a blast of Meg that hit Meg right in the chest, causing her to fall back flat to the ground. Hercules jumped at Hades and, immediately after his shot fired, hit Hades, flinging him several feet. This was the closest Hercules had ever been to flying, because his jump was of so much force that it caused Hades to fling his staff far away into the air and Hercules and Hades to fall down Acropolis hill, each punching at each other as they hit the ground and plowed through trees. When Hercules and Hades had finally stopped rolling on the ground they had reached the bottom of the hill. And there, about twenty feet from the two of them, lay Hades staff—and in front of Hades’ staff stood Philoctetes.

             
Philoctetes smiled as he ran his hoof over Hades’ globe. “Now who is the failure Hades?” asked Philoctetes.

             
Hades suddenly realized what Philoctetes was going to do.  “No, you can’t!” yelled Hades.

             
Philoctetes suddenly stomped his sharp and strong hoof down on Hades magical globe, causing it to be break. After it broke the entire surrounding area exploded and all the souls that were under Hades’ banner were suddenly freed.

             
“No!” yelled Hades as he went over to grab his staff.

             
“There is no power left in it Hades,” said Hercules.

             
Milo was next to Philoctetes and moved forward to hold Hades captive in his arms.  Then they all watched as Hercules rushed up the hill to find Meg. She was barely alive.

             
Hercules picked her up and brought her down the hill to Philoctetes.  He saw Philoctetes and said, “Quick you must save her!”

             
Philoctetes shook his head, “I cannot save her…hit by dark magic she was, and after all, she was only mortal.”  Hercules knew that now, now that Hades had no true God power over the dead, that Meg would not go to his underworld but would go to a different place—a place that he could not go, that he could not follow.

             
Meg looked up into Hercules’ eyes and smiled.  “Hercules, you have done well…your parents would be very proud…you have defeated Hades!  And so I will now go to a peaceful place—a place apart from this world!”

             
“No, you can’t!” said Hercules, in tears.  “You can’t!  Not now!  Not now when victory is before us!”

             
Philoctetes approached Hercules and placed his hand on his shoulder.  There Hercules watched as she died in his arms.  “No, not you Meg!  Not you!  I lost my mortal and heavenly parents, but not you!  I cannot lose you!”

             
All in the city who yet lived had now gathered around Hercules and Meg.  Hercules looked up at the Gods, and noticed Asclepius, the god of Healing.  “Philoctetes you must do something, heal her…give her some of Asclepius’s potion!”

             
“That will do no good,” replied Philoctetes.  “That cannot bring people back from the dead.”

             
Hercules was getting desperate and said, “Anyone!  Can anyone save her?  Poseidon, great God of the sea, can you save her?  Or Athena, great God of wisdom?  Can any of you save her?  One must be able to!”

             
But nobody said a word, and tears streamed down Hercules’ face.  Hades smiled.  Hades looked down at Hercules and mocked him saying, “Look at this!  If it isn’t the great Hercules, a being who is so powerful but cannot control death! Your parents may have been able to give their life for you, thereby giving you your godly powers back, but you have yet to control death, for I have power over death and hence your love!  And no love endures past death!  Despite all your powers you have not power to control death!”