Chapter Eight: Let Fates Decide
A
medium-sized, glowing orb floated before Hades, depicting an image of Genevieve
Marie, Christina Melnitz, Cody Martin, and the Ajax Ghost Exterminators leaving
the ravaged Ghostbusters HQ in a taxicab. His flames grew reddish-orange and
intense in response to his increasing rage over the failure of his “fool-proof”
plan. He was on the verge of exploding again until Pain, Panic, and the Fates
(Lachesis, Clotho, and Atropos) appeared behind him. The short and stout Fate
with the purple skin and a single eye socket and known as Atropos said, “We can
show you the future, if it’ll give you peace.”
“Nothing
can give me peace right now!” Hades yelled, his booming voice forcing Pain and
Panic to cower behind the Fates. “Seriously, I had a better time trying to
eliminate ‘Jerkules’ than these lame mortals!”
The
tallest of the three Fates with blue skin and a long nose and known as Lachesis
remarked, “But they can be stopped, Hades...just like all mortals who dare
challenge the higher powers.”
Hades’
flames settled down a little, as he started to realize how right the Fates
were. “Okay, okay. You’re right. You’re absolutely right,” he said. “I mean,
look at the scenario: they’ve got nuclear accelerators and we’ve got the cosmos
on our side. It’s like a no-win situation for them.”
“That
is, until they get the team back together…then it’s, uh, game over,” Panic
mentioned, which resulted in Hades’ fury returning, the flames on his body
getting brighter and more intense. Seeing this, Panic began to do what he did
best. “Oh, no!”
Luckily
for him, Pain was there to set things right again. “But they’re miles apart
from each other now. Those geeks won’t get them back in time for your ‘great
plan’, Your Evilness.”
“Right,
right, right,” Hades repeated, calming down again.
“But,
then again, last time I checked the ‘Manhattan Phone Book’, all their names are
still listed,” Pain added. “So, I guess they’re, like…still living in the same
city.”
And
Hades’ fury returned soon afterwards, much more intense than before, causing
the entire rooftop of the Tipton Hotel to quake. The Fates, already knowing
what was about to happen (of course), disappeared from the scene. Pain and
Panic, realizing how the Fates’ disappearance left them exposed to the fury of
Hades, screamed in horror; but the screams were soon drained out, just as Hades
exploded, emitting a mushroom cloud of fire and smoke from all sides of the
rooftop area.
As
soon as the smoke had cleared, every inch of the rooftop was covered in ash,
along with Pain and Panic, who were stuck to the wall of the Temple. Hades
remained in the center of it all, panting like crazy. It wasn’t very long
before the Fates reappeared, the only ones other than Hades that were unscathed
from the whole thing.
“As
we were saying,” said Clotho—the green-skinned Fate with a large chin and
wormlike hair, “the future for these pathetic mortals will be anything but
victorious. Whether they reunite the Ghostbusters or not, you shall still
rule the living world, Lord Hades.”
Hades
wanted to be thrilled by this revelation; but something kept him from feeling
that way. “The last time you told me that, I ended up being sucker-punched into
the River Styx!”
“And,
if it were not for me, you would still be swimming with all those poor
unfortunate souls,” said an unknown voice that came from the edge of the
rooftop.
“Wha…Who?”
Hades moved to the edge and glanced over it. A long, black tentacle suddenly
shot up in front of his face, startling him; then another and another and
another came. Before the Lord of the Underworld knew it, he was witnessing the
bizarre arrival of Ursula the Sea Witch. A supernatural creature of the
cecaelia race, Ursula was head, arms, and torso combined with tentacles.
The
obese, purple-skinned, and white-haired Sea Witch spoke in a deep, flamboyant
tone to Hades. “I thought I’d be stuck in limbo forever, after that little
mermaid’s human lover-boy stuck a sunken ship through me.”
“Well,
I guess we all can’t have more G-rated endings now, can we?” Hades
sarcastically remarked.
“The
point is I rescued you from a fate that no god should ever experience,” Ursula
said. “And the way I see it, you owe me…big time.”
Hades
chuckled, not so intimidated by the sea witch’s presence. “What kind of thing
do you deserve? Other than a better direct-to-video sequel?”
“A
chance at controlling the seven seas!” Ursula quickly responded. “If you’re
getting revenge on the Ghostbusters, then I want in.”
“That’s
just the thing, sweetheart,” said Hades. “It’s all about revenge. This isn’t just
another Saturday Morning Cartoon scheme. We’re talking about beyond
world takeover here. I’m gonna unleash a fury that no one has ever seen before.”
Ursula
grinned. “And how exactly do you intend on doing that, Hades? Since when do you
have the powers of Zeus?”
Hades
was about to retort, but then realized that he did not quite have a good answer
to Ursula’s question. He had pretty much been making things up as he went
along. The whole ordeal with Cerberus was just his way of going for broke; not
even the Fates had anything to do with that.
Wait!
The Fates! They can bail me out of this!
“My
trustworthy overseers have assured me of a powerful victory,” he said,
approaching the Fates and putting his arms around them. “Isn’t that right, my
gorgeous, lovely friends?”
The
Fates were highly flattered by his words, each flashing a disgusting, toothless
smile that nearly made Ursula sick. “Lord Hades will be supreme ruler of the
living realm,” said Atropos. “All of these mortals shall be his minions to control…”
“…to
corrupt…” Lachesis added.
“…to
abuse…” Clotho also added.
“…for
all eternity!” The three Fates exclaimed.
“YES!
BRING ON THE REAL HAPPILY EVER AFTER, BABY!” Hades cheered.
Ursula
mockingly applauded. “Bravo, Hades. But there’s still the matter of all the
other goody-two-shoes out there, like your brother, Zeus. You think he’ll sit
by and let you take over this precious realm?”
“You
think you could do any better?” Hades asked, and Ursula grinned at him in
reply. “O.K., Sea Witch. Show me whatcha got.”
“With
pleasure!” She remarked, before slithering back towards the edge of the rooftop
and going over it, disappearing before Hades’ eyes.
The
Lord of the Underworld scoffed at the sea witch, mimicking her departing words
in a high-pitched tone. “With pleasure!” He then grumbled, returning to
his throne.
“Hades,”
Clotho said. “There is one more thing we forgot to mention.”
“No,
no! Let’s just leave it with me kicking the Ghostbusters’ butts and watching
them kick Ursula’s,” Hades remarked. “I’m in too much of a good mood now to let
any technicalities affect me of following my destiny.”
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