By: Tazura Avey

He sat at his desk, his black hair spilling across the white marble surface like an ink stain. His clothes were wrinkled and the soft sound of breathing filled the quiet room. Persephone leaned against the doorframe and watched the man, who was mostly hidden by stacks of papers piled around his computer, sleep. Shaking her head, she glided across the floor and gently touched his shoulder.

"Hades," Persephone called in a soft voice. Hades groaned as his tired mind and stiff muscles protested to the interruption of his rest, and he lifted his pale face to stare blearily at his wife. Dark circles lay heavily under his deep blue eyes and his face was lined with fatigue.

"Sephie?" asked Hades, his voice scratchy from overuse.

She helped him to his feet and slung on of his arms over her shoulder as she wrapped her free arm around his waist. "C’mon," she urged. "Let’s go to bed."

"I can’t," objected Hades, turning back to his desk. "There’s too much work to do."

"Leave it for one of the other deities who work down here," Persephone replied, practically dragging him out of the room. "I can’t remember the last time we were asleep together in our bed." She wrinkled her delicate nose. "And it’s been quite a while since you had a bath." Persephone guided Hades down the labyrinth of halls before stopping in front of pair of beautifully carved obsidian doors. The doors silently swung open and torches burst into flame as the golden haired daughter of Demeter lead the Lord of the Dead to a warm pool on one side of their apartments.

Cerebrus raised his three heads at their approach before yawning and laying his head back down as the couple slipped out of their clothes. Hades eased into the water and sighed as the warmth attacked his tired muscles. A few seconds later, Persephone joined him and began to gently wash his hair.

"You are going to take the day off tomorrow and sleep until those bags under your eyes are gone," Persephone announced, rinsing the white suds out of his midnight hair. He opened his mouth to protest when she continues. "You can either consent to my suggestion or I can go talk to Aunt Hera and let you argue with her. Now what will it be?"

Hades sighed in defeat. "You win, my love," he conceded, his voice edged with sleep. Smiling triumphantly, Persephone finished washing her husband before gently drying him off and leading him to their silk covered bed. He was asleep before his head hit the pillow and Persephone crawled under the thick comforter with him. Brushing a strand of damp hair off his forehead, she gently kissed him and soon was fast asleep.

As silently as possible, Persephone moved around the bedroom, slipping on her jeans and a soft green blouse. She softly closed the bedroom door behind her, she breathed a sigh of relief when Hades didn’t stir from his slumber to inquire about her activities. Running a brush through her golden curls, Persephone wandered into the kitchen and grabbed a quick bite to eat. She pulled three steaks and placed them in the food dishes just as Cerebrus rushed into the kitchen for his meal.

"Cerebrus, I have a few people I have to meet with today," Persephone told the three headed canine. The head closest to her stopped eating and looked at her. "Hades needs his sleep so don’t let anyone bother him until he gets up on his own. Okay?" Cerebrus woofed in agreement before returning to his steaks.

Grabbing her jacket on he way out the door, Persephone marched down the halls, her boot heels hitting the floor like little hammers as she made her way towards the offices of the other Deities of the Dead. Finally she stopped in front of a large sandstone door carved with hieroglyphics and knocked. There was a muffled "Come In" and she braced herself as she opened the door. A dry, desert heat slapped her in the face and took her breath away for a few moments.

"Do you have to keep your office so hot, Anubis?" she casually inquired as she adjusted to the sweltering conditions. From behind a mound of paperwork piled on the golden desk, a man dressed in sandals and a brightly decorated loincloth emerged with a smile on his jackal face.

"My dear Persephone, to what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?" he inquired, his voice deep and powerful.

"To put it bluntly, Hades is staying in our apartments until he’s fully rested," she announced, smiling. "Of coarse, he was in no position to argue. Sorry to steal one of your comrades away, Anubis, but he was exhausted."

Anubis nodded, his ears drooping. "I can sympathize," he remarked. "Until we find out how the Trouble Makers are creating the trouble on the surface and they’re stopped, we’re all going to be overworked and understaffed for quite a while."

Persephone cradled his canine head in her hands and placed a gentle kiss on his muzzle. Instantly, Anubis’s ears perked up and his eyes sparkled mischievously. "You sure know how to brighten up a god’s day," he stated. "Sure I can’t steal you away from Hades to work with me?"

"I’m already overloaded dealing with all the spirits who are slated for reincarnation," she apologies. "Oh, by the way, Cerebrus is making sure that Hades isn’t disturbed while he’s asleep. You might want to pass that along to the others in case they get any ideas about bugging him." With that, she left the oppressing heat of the room and sighted with relief as the cool air in the hall enveloped her.

I have just enough time to get to Olympus before the others do, she thought, glancing at her watch. In a flash of light blue light, Persephone teleported from the Underworld to in front of a large golden gate. She ran her fingers through her hair and sent a small shower of blue sparkles to the clouds beneath her feet as the gates swung open to admit her.

"Yo, Sephie, long time no see, Babe," greeted the slender form of Hermes as he flew over to meet her. He still wore his winged sandals but had traded his toga for a pair of worn jeans and a loose tee shirt under a leather bomber’s jacket. "What brings you to our little cloud?"

"I need to speak to Zeus before the others get here about sending help down to the Underworld," Persephone replied, starting for the center of the golden castle that rested on the cloudy ground. Hermes landed next to her and strolled along beside her. "Hades and the others are working themselves into exhaustion because of the Trouble Makers causing problems on Earth. The Fields are overcrowded and I can’t reincarnate souls fast enough."

Hermes shook his head. "It’s a shame this isn’t the Good Old Days," he sighed, sadly. , "When ever there was a problem, all people had to do was call a hero for help. Now, the kind of hero’s we need right now are a thing of movies and comic books. Sure, there are heroes in politics, sports and other fields of work, but none are the ‘go out and beat up the monster’ kind of hero of the golden times." He shrugged his shoulders. "I guess I just miss having a champion."

Persephone stopped in her tracks, her grass green eyes large with realization. "Of coarse!" she breathed. "That’s the answer." Turning, she threw her arms around Hermes for a quick hug before racing into a large room where two men were talking. One was an older, one-eyed gentleman with a snowy-white beard and his companion was a tall, well-muscled man with shoulder length blond hair. Both were dressed in comfortable suits and they turned to look at her as she approached them.

"It is truly wonderful to see you again, Persephone," greeted Zeus, his blue eyes sparkling with delight. He waved a hand at his one-eyed companion. "You remember Odin of Valhalla?"

Odin bowed to her. "It is a pleasure to meet the Flower of the Underworld," he replied, his good eye dancing with humor.

Persephone nodded her head at Odin. "Sir, I cam up here to ask if there was any way you could send some help down to the Underworld," she began, looking right at Zeus. "But after a conversation with Hermes, I think I know the answer to the Trouble Makers’ Problem. They’ve selected champions since none of them can meddle in human affairs from where they are and if they head to Earth in spirit form, they have even less power."

Odin and Zeus stared at each other for a few seconds before Zeus hit his head with his hand. "Of coarse," he groaned. "The answer is so simple that we were looking for something harder to explain it."

"Young lady, do you realize you have just solved a problem that has been taking up almost seven months to find a solution for, in only a few short minutes?" inquired Odin, before returning his gaze to Zeus. "We’ll have to call a full council meeting of all the Pantheons. The others must be informed about this before steps can be taken."

Persephone sighed. "How long will it take for you to call this meeting?" she asked in a sinking voice. "I just got Hades to bed last night and he and the others are working 24-7 to keep up with all the new dead."

Zeus had a vacant look in his eyes. "We’ll send Hermes down to collect Hades and Anubis last," he announced. "That way your husband can get some sleep and you don’t have to go complaining to Hera."

She grinned. "You know me too well, Daddy," she stated before teleporting back to the Underworld. Pushing open the obsidian doors, she was greeted by Cerebrus who practically jumped up to face level with her. Laughing, Persephone managed to scratch all three heads as she made her way to the little office and powered up her computer. As she accessed the Underworld database, she silently hoped that everyone’s problems would soon be cleared up and then she started reviewing spirits’ applications for reincarnation.