Chapter Twenty Two

## Twenty Two

With the God of the Dead away from the chthonic castle on matters of importance, his mighty steeds were unavailable to transport Hecate, Persephone, Zelos, Bia, and the prisoner Epimetheus to Tartarus. So instead, Hades' motorcarriage was pulled out of the new garage built to the side of the stable. The black and gold cruiser had a long front end which housed the clockwork engine and essence crystal compartment. The cabin was near the rear with two comfortable seats in the front, two slightly less enjoyed mid-seats and a rear-facing collapsible seat at the vehicle's end.

Before the vehicle departed, Zelos took the liberty of smashing the butt of his carbine into the prisoner's face, rendering him relatively docile for most of the trip. Bia gagged him and used other chains found in the garage to secure him to the rear seat, where he would be the least disruptive.

The two throne guards were seated in the middle of the cabin. Each partially enjoying the luxurious ride through the streets of Asphodel while also dutifully checking on their prisoner. Hecate enjoyed seeing the look on Bia's face. She had a beautiful smile, and it was a shame she did not show it off often. Contrasting his sister, Zelos always wore a sinister grin that even Hecate found disturbing.

Having been allowed to change her clothes in the garage, Persephone did the honors of operating the motorcarriage. Though both Bia and Zelos had insisted they should drive for the queen, Hecate had told them to stand down. Hades had spent a fortune commissioning this vehicle from Hephaestus. If anything were to happen to it, it would be best if Persephone had been at fault. She was the only one guaranteed to survive Hades' wrath.

Or... at least that is what Hecate said. She knew the queen well enough to know that Persephone had been the one to convince Hades to purchase such an ostentatious means of transport. It saw little use, and this prisoner transport was a good excuse for Persephone to get behind its wheel and have some fun. After Achlys' temper tantrum, Hecate figured Persephone could benefit from a joyful distraction.

The drive was two marathons long, more or less. It took the clockwork contraption just over two hours to reach Tartarus, which gave Hecate plenty of time to think. Thinking came easy to her once she got out of the city of Asphodel. Something about the lack of noise and the sensation of wind through her hair made her mind come alive.

As she glanced to her side to see Persephone looking surprisingly stylish in her one-piece motorist overalls and driving goggles, Hecate smiled. She was the Goddess of Witchcraft and Necromancy, but she also enjoyed such silly moments as these. She remembered when Hades first told Hecate that he planned to marry Persephone. Hecate could not understand her mentor's reasoning, but having gotten to know Persephone and regard her as a surrogate mother, Hecate began to understand the processes of Hades' heart.

Hecate was adopted by Hades when she was still young, long before his marriage to Persephone. The circumstances which led to this adoption are not matters she was ever fond of remembering, but they always seemed to creep into her mind when she found herself at peace. Hecate's actual parents were Asteria, the spiritual sister of Leto, and Perses, son of the Titan Krios and his mysterious wife, Eurybia.

When Asteria was pregnant, Perses was the Lord of the Underworld, having been appointed to that position by Kronos. However, when the King of the Titans heard of Asteria's pregnancy, he became concerned that Perses might create a dynasty and attempt to secede the Underworld from Kronos' reign. To keep Perses in line, Kronos ordered Asteria imprisoned in Tartarus.

When Asteria was imprisoned, she found herself in the company of many others, including two other mothers who had given birth in their prison cells: Metis and Demeter. These two coached Asteria through the process of giving birth to her own daughter, who she named Hecate.

Some years later, when Kronos heard of the birth of Perses' daughter, he took the Lord of the Underworld to Tartarus and then gave him the option to save his wife or his daughter. Then, before Perses could answer, Hecate heard the Kronos whisper into her father's ear, saying, "Children are such awful creatures."

Offended by this, a young Hecate partially proved the Titan right as she cursed profanely and swore to bring an offensive end to the reigns of all the Titans. But the Titan only laughed as Perses released his wife from her cage and walked away, not even looking back at the daughter he left behind. Once her parents were gone, Kronos gave Hecate's cell a solid kick, launching it off the platform it had been hoisted to and sending it plummeting into the depths of Tartarus' abyss.

When Zeus freed the gods, the god Hades made a special effort to free two others: Hecate and Charon. He had made a close bond with Charon over the years, but he had never had the opportunity to speak with Hecate. He had only recalled hearing her insults spewed at Kronos and thought the girl had spirit.

It turned out that Hecate had more than moxie. Shortly after the escape, Hades learned that Hecate had a birthright which gave her a natural affinity for powerful magic. Wanting to help Hecate fulfill her vow to Kronos, Hades braved the Underworld with Hecate, taking her to a cave in uncharted lands that Hades had explored many years ago.

Inside the cave was an ancient primordial being that Hades had previously discovered. In exchange for promising to keep her location and existence a secret, Hades asked the ancient entity to bestow Hecate with the wisdom to use her birthright to its full potential.

Once the deal was struck, Hades turned to leave, but unlike Perses, Hades looked back at Hecate. Seeing her concern, he smiled and told her, "Fear not, child. It will all be as it should."

Hecate took those words to heart. Likewise, she embraced the notion that Perses was not her father. From that moment on, Hecate realized Hades was the only father she had ever known and would ever know.

For nearly a century, Hades paid regular treks through the wastes of the Underworld, at great personal peril, to learn of Hecate's progress. Finally, when the final days of the Titanomachy were at hand, Hades brought Hecate with him to the fortress at the center of the Underworld.

To defeat Kronos, Hades needed the Bident, a relic of power possessed by Perses, considered only one of three weapons able to measure up against the power of the Pillars of the Earth, the mighty weapons of the Titans. So Hecate eagerly strolled into the humble throneroom of the Underworld and turned against the god that impregnated her mother. With dark magic, Hecate made short work of the guards, allowing Hades to forcibly dethrone Perses and claim the defeated god's two-pronged bladed scepter.

Offering the weapon to Hecate, Hades gave her a chance to kill her sire. Hecate, however, had a better idea. She spared her father so that after the war, she could personally throw him into the same cell he had abandoned her. As he begged and pleaded for mercy, Hades allowed Hecate to give Atlas the order to condemn her father to the abyss.

Having heard her give the order, Perses glared at her as he scoffed. "Kronos was right," he said, locking eyes with the daughter he never knew. "Children are such awful creatures."

The words still haunted her memory. Of course, she had no love for the god she had condemned, but still, his words carried some intrinsic weight on her soul. The burden of it made her sick at times.

Arriving at Tartarus, Hecate led the way up the steps to the gaping mouth of the dead primordial, Ouranos, as he lay on his side at the edge of the Underworld. Inside his mouth was the thick otherworldly mass of limbo. She took a deep breath and then stepped into the pitch.

Hecate was no stranger to the unsettling nature of limbo. Yet, its familiarity brought comfort to her as she marched through it until she emerged on the other end. Then, departing limbo, Hecate's boots made a loud clank on the metal plating floor of the Tartarus platform.

Tartarus was most narrow at its summit, as though it were built inside the interior of a mountain. The platform was built into one wall with a railing on one side and a large cage on the other. The end of the platform was open, allowing anyone brave enough to lean over and peer into the endless abyss below.

The cage housed the controls for a complex system of chains and pulleys. Seated beside the controls was the massive Titan known as Atlas. Myths said he carried the weight of the world on his shoulders; figuratively speaking, they were not wrong.

Atlas operated the chains of Tartarus. Most of his imprisoned family are kept in various cells, essentially a simple cage suspended above the endless abyss, inky darkness that resembles the mass of limbo; only gazing upon the abyss could drive one mad. When Hades or another visitor comes to the platform, they call upon Atlas to work the massive pulleys which can move one of the suspended cells to the platform so the occupant can be interviewed.

Being raised up to the platform was a cathartic experience. The essence at the higher elevations, further from the abyss, was refreshing. However, being submerged into the depths of Tartarus' abyss not only did things to the mind but was also physically painful and excruciating to endure. The further someone goes into the abyss of Tartarus, the more sinister the mental torture inflicted upon the mind becomes.

For Atlas to bring one prisoner to the platform, one or more other cells must be plunged deeper into the abyss as a counter-balance to the pulley system. Although Atlas cannot open the cell doors, he can give his imprisoned family a reprieve by bringing some cells up to rest on the platform's edge, but at the cost of being forced to give another cell an increased taste of torment.

Atlas' sentence requires no locks or cells. He can leave his cage anytime, but should he do so, he would not be there to disengage the controls' built-in override. Should the override activate, the end of the platform drops out, plunging any cells being given a reprieve back into the abyss. Atlas has no chains on him because if he ever chose to leave, his family would writhe in pain for eternity.

Stirring at the sight of Hecate and the keys she wore, Atlas stood up. He resembled his father, Iapetos, only somehow larger than the Titan. Unfortunately, this also meant he looked like a blown-up version of his brothers.

When Epimetheus stepped out of the limbo with the others, Atlas had a brief look of joy, only to lower his eyes. Then, looking away, the Titan began to crank the wheel to bring an empty cell from the depths, causing another Titan's cell to lower.

"Hold," said Hecate. She walked to the edge where several cells were resting. Hecate took the time to inspect each cell and its occupant. Smiling, she stopped at one and tapped its corner with her cane. "Lower this one," she said, glancing sideways to the occupant who was napping peacefully.

Atlas nodded and worked the controls to fulfill Hecate's request.

As his cell was jostled, Perses awoke with a startled gasp. "What is this?! Atlas, I have only been up here for-" he stopped, the words catching in his throat when he saw Hecate glaring at him. "No! N-no! No!" he screamed as he grabbed the bars of his cell door. "No, please!"

Hecate stepped forward and gave the cell a light push. Then, as it tipped backward, she offered a dainty wave.

Perses' screams grew distant as his cell plummeted and its chain rattled. Finally, as his cell slammed into the abyss' inky surface and began to sink, another cell appeared out of the darkness. Hoisted to the platform where Perses' cell once stood was an empty cell. Making use of the keys afforded to her by Hades, Hecate opened the door and waved the throne guard to place the cell's newest resident.

Some prisoners in the cells resting on the platform began to stir and moan, some noticing the prisoner joining their ranks. When their cries grated on Hecate's senses, she gave a look to Atlas. Then, nodding, the Titan worked the controls so that each one fell toward the abyss, suspended with its counter-balance just below the abyssal thick. As the cells submerged, the otherworldly dungeon grew eerily silent, with only Epimetheus' struggles and rattling chain disrupting the quiet.

Bia removed the god's chains just as Zelos kicked the god to the back of the cell, causing it to lurch backward, risking tipping over. Epimetheus gasped as the throne guard grabbed his cell by its bars and righted it upright, only to slam the door shut and test its lock.

"Summon Prometheus," said Persephone, wandering to Atlas' side.

As the chains rattled, Hecate looked over to Persephone. She wondered if being in Tartarus still haunted her like it did Hecate. Both goddesses had been born in Tartarus, a distinction they only shared with Athena. So they made a trinity of goddesses haunted by this shared past.

Hecate recalled hearing that Poseidon would sacrifice his daily reprieve to give pregnant Demeter a longer reprieve. He continued this practice after Persephone was born. But when Kronos insisted that Persephone was old enough to be put in her own cell, Poseidon was forced to choose between his lover and daughter.

Not envying Poseidon's choice, Hades took it upon himself to sacrifice his reprieve for Persephone, allowing Poseidon to give his to Demeter. Persephone had once told Hecate that was the first act of love Hades had ever shown her. Hecate wished someone had shown her that same love.

Hecate could always recall precisely how the abyssal energies would put her into a fugue state, causing her to experience the same shared nightmare landscape with the other prisoners. But, though they were kept on the same island of pain and suffering and were free to interact with their fellow prisoners, they each experienced a particular torment—unique to them.

As the cell of Prometheus was hoisted to the top, someone else was experiencing their personal torture's severity increasing incrementally. For every second that Prometheus' cell sat on the platform's edge, another Titan was pleading for death. The thought gave Hecate some demented joy, knowing most of these prisoners had condoned her childhood imprisonment.

Confronted with Prometheus and shifting her eyes from his cell to that of his brother, it was hard not to see the resemblance. Curious if that was the sole reason for bringing the condemned god to the platform, Hecate looked over to Persephone. "Needing to confirm their similiarity?"

Persephone shook her head. "No. The throne guard requested they be allowed to question him about the heresy."

"We don't need this one," said Bia, giving Epimetheus' cell a rocking. "Could we, counter-balance these two cells?" she asked with a wicked grin.

Atlas nodded and then glanced over to Persephone. The queen sighed and nodded. "Do it."

With a long sigh, Atlas got up to make the necessary modifications. As he worked, Hecate stepped up to Persephone. "Atlas listens to you, without question."

Persephone sighed and nodded. "When Zagreus had been torn apart by the Titans, I marched in here and ordered Atlas to drop all the cells into the furthest depths. Once he had done so, I locked him out of the controls and left him to listen to the screams."

"That's right," said Hecate, nodding. "I had heard that."

"I had not allowed Hades to give Atlas control again until Dionysus was born, and the baby was back in my arms," said the Queen of the Underworld. "The next time Atlas saw me, and ever since, he has been nothing but respectful and obedient to my every wish."

With a sigh and regretful look to his brothers, Atlas turned to the queen. "It's done."

"That means so is he," said Zelos as he kicked Epimetheus' cell off the platform.

As Epimetheus let out a cry, Prometheus snarled at the throne guard. "You bastard!"

"You need to have parents to be a bastard," said Bia, golding her arms. "Tell us what you-" she paused as the sound of Epimetheus' cell splashing into the abyss was followed by his gurgled shouts of defiance. She continued as the prison fell quiet again, "Tell us what you know of the heretical movement... if anything."

"Heretical movement?" asked Prometheus, suddenly changing his posture. A smirk formed on his lips, his eyebrow raised. "I'm interested. Please, do tell me more."

Zelos scoffed. "This bastard won't tell us anything," he said as he stood next to his sister. Then, pausing, he leaned in to whisper, *"He is a bastard, right?"*

Bia shrugged.

Prometheus chuckled. "I'm curious. Do you gods feel the ground shake beneath you? Do you feel everything you built beginning to slip away from you?"

"Do you?" asked Bia as she stepped forward and gave the cell a thrust. The occupant was jostled and hit his head against the bars at the back, causing him to groan in pain.

Looking past his interrogators, Prometheus glared at the queen and the witch. "Some of my fellow residents tell me you have a new child."

Hecate rolled her eyes. "No one told you anything, braggart. I know about your geminipathy," she said, tapping the side of her brow. "You know what Epimetheus knows when you two are this close."

Persephone smiled and strolled forward. "I do have a child. One day she might rule the Underworld and you will still rule your cell. Farewell," she said, turning on her heel and stepping back into the mass of limbo.

Hecate followed her, leaving the throne guards to continue their interrogation of the supposedly most clever resident of Tartarus. On the other side of limbo, Hecate found Persephone staring off into the distance. Standing beside her, Hecate shielded her eyes from the flash of red lightning across the clouds and gazed at the fast approaching speck in the distance.

"Zeus?" she asked, recognizing the purple and gold of the King of the Gods' favorite new toy, his royal motorcarriage.

Persephone shrugged. "Perhaps he wanted to personally see Epimetheus' imprisonment?"

Hecate shrugged. "I suppose we should go find out," she said, heading down the steps with Persephone on her heels. The two waited beside Hades' motorcarriage, leaving Hecate to briefly amuse herself by noticing the vehicle's hood ornament of a small silver statue of a naked Hades standing behind the naked figure of a bronze Persephone, his arm wrapped around her breasts as his other hand massages her cunny.

Knowing Hades, the hood ornamentation was commissioned solely to provoke Demeter. However, it was also just as likely that it had been Persephone's idea, as she was no stranger to kinky public displays of affection. But Hecate let that remain a mystery as she was not sure she wanted to hear the exact reason for this particular choice of decoration.

As the motorcarriage drew near, it became apparent that Zeus was neither passenger nor operator of the vehicle. Instead, Hermes sat behind the guiding wheel with Athena beside him and the small satyr Pan in the rear. Then, with a flourish that only the God of Roads could manage, the vehicle skidded sideways to a halt, parking it parallel to the other motorcarriage, only facing the opposite direction.

"What are you doing?" asked Hecate with a confused demeanor.

Athena looked over to Hermes and Pan before she sighed and climbed out from the passenger seat. "We're here to see Mnemosyne," she said, slamming the door behind her.

"And does Zeus know you're here?" asked Persephone, raising an eyebrow.

Athena blew some hair off her face as she turned and walked away, leaving Hermes and Pan to answer that question as she marched up the stairs.

"Nope," said Pan, bounding out from the backseat and scurrying up to follow Athena.

Hermes chuckled with a roguish grin as he peeled the driving goggles off his eyes and let them snap back onto his hat. "What? I'm the God of Thieves," he said with a scoff. "Do you expect me to ask permission?"

## Characters

### Gods

* Persephone
* Bia
* Zelos
* Hecate
* Hermes
* Athena
* Pan

### Titans

* Epimetheus
* Atlas
* Perses
* Prometheus