I love the Hades 2 superbosses, especially because for all their amazing powerboosts, you can still utterly wreck them if you play well enough. And doing this no hit is really funny.
Am I the first ever person to cosplay Cronus from Class of the Titans show from Teletoon? Of course I am right on Tam. Hope you all enjoy this cosplay of mine. 😈🖤⏰
Help I'm trying to be serious about my grim task to kill Chronos, the Titan of Time, but he's a kintsugi'd gilf cringefail asshole and all this 'my girl' is smashing the wrong buttons and I desperately want to Time to, let's say...
The House of Hades, home of fearsome King of the Underworld, his beloved Queen and son the Prince of the Underworld, was a place where, had any errant Shade or Godly visitor not quick footed Hermes seen into the private bedchambers of the severe faced countenance of the Lord of the House at that moment would've scarcely believed their eyes.
Hades, Lord of the Dead, King of the Underworld, a God of dark reputation and even darker moods…was swaying back and forth on his feet next to a crib, deep mountainous rumble of his voice softened, gentled as he sang to the babe cradled tenderly in massive arms.
"Fates weave their threads
Our lives are sewn
Born to a life
All but our own
We feel it inside our bones
It's in the blood
It's in the blood
It's in the blood, oh
Oh, it's in the blood
It's in the blood
Loves in your life
Live ever on
Home is not where you live
But who cares when you're gone
They'll follow you to the beyond
It's in the blood
Oh, it's in the blood
It's in the blood, oh
Oh, it's in the blood
Run all you like
From the place you belong
It's always there
It's in the air
Your dearest kin
Below the skin
It's in the blood
Oh, it's in the blood
It's in the blood, oh
Oh, it's in the blood"
The Princess of the Underworld, his beloved daughter Melinoë, only 3 months old and yet the God could see wisps of blond locks like his beloved Persephone and the signature dual gaze of his crimson and her emerald only for Melinoë reversed from her brother's. And like her brother the infant princess was already very stubborn. She had absolutely refused to settle down unless her Lord and Father held her and began to speak.
His voice was soothing to his children, Zagreus much the same as his sister had only been able to sleep if he was held and spoken to for many years of his childhood. And a few secret times in his adolescence the two never spoke of but treasured.
He watched those dual eyes flutter and close and it felt like he'd taken Varatha to his chest in one of Zagreus' security runs in both fondness and pain of what he had to do shortly.
Hades' crimson eyes shut a moment as he lowered his head and pressed it with all the tenderness a God like him was capable of against the smaller one. A murmur passed between them, full of emotion he wouldn't name.
"Though you won't remember us, our blood is entwined with yours. You carry our love with you always….I only pray you, your mother and brother will forgive me for what I do, Daughter."
Never mind he'd already spoken to Persephone already about this, that she had given him her blessing as much as it had tore at her as well to lose another child so shortly after birth. That Zagreus had done the same despite his immense frustration at the fact his family was going to be separated again though why, he knew not.
Hades hadn't wanted his stubborn, wilful, brilliant fool of a son to spend his last free moments aware of what was coming, Zagreus was still so young and deserved peace of that. Peace, Hades didn't feel he himself deserved.
The Underworld's King felt like he weighed as much as the boulder Sisyphus had been ordered to push uphill for trying to cheat Thanatos. He placed a kiss against Melinoë's head, his beard tickled her and if she were awake the chambers would've echoed with the delight of her laughter. But as it was, the infant princess smiled in her sleep and turned closer to her Father's broad chest.
Then he turned to the shadowed corner of the room. Eyes of teal green flame opened as Hecate stepped out. The Witch of the Crossroads said nothing as she opened her arms, Hades crossed over in two strides and hesitated only a fraction before he placed Melinoë into them.
Hecate as Persephone's handmaiden had held the young princess before and was fond of her, it made what he would command next easier. Though truly it felt like the words came from tar in his throat.
"Take her with you when you return to shadow, Hecate. Raise her as we would."
The witch protested almost immediately, he expected her to, didn't begrudge it. Understood why even if they'd discussed this as a last resort and hadn't wanted to do it.
"But Lord Hades, I-"
Hades cut her off firmly. With the same unyielding command softened so the sleeping babe wouldn't wake, his hands slightly clenched into fists at his side not in anger but so he didn't take Melinoë back into his arms despite himself.
"You have your orders. Now return to shadow. And, take care of her, for all of us."
Hades couldn't take his eyes off Melinoë, drank in every detail of how she looked now. He wouldn't be able to see her again for…he didn't know how long. If this plan would even work. He wanted to reach out, to trace her face one more time, to have just a few moments more with his daughter in his arms, in their home where she belonged…but he couldn't.
Not with Time breathing down his neck.
Hecate's voice was solemn and slightly choked as she held the infant closer to her chest protectively.
"No harm shall come to young Melinoë, my lord. In this, at least, I shall not fail you."
A magic circle opened up under her feet. The witch spoke one word as she vanished with cargo more precious to Hades than the ore amid his realm.
"Farewell..."
Hades waited until they were gone, as it happened in one blink to the next, before he breathed out two words that felt like they shook more than one of Poseidon's earthquakes.
"Goodbye Daughter…"
He took a deep breath, to stop the quiver in his chest and the burn in his eyes, to gather himself back up before he left the chambers to tell Persephone and Zagreus it was done. That Melinoë was safe and he would fight all he could for both of them to run when the moment came.
Only, when he stepped out, what he saw made a chill worse than any winter Demeter could make go down his spine.
Nyx, Primordial Goddess of the Night, who had become as dear as his Persephone to him in her way but without any romantic connection, was frozen in place by a dome of golden sand. He approached, she didn't look injured for which was a relief as he called hesitantly.
"Nyx?"
No answer. No sign of movement as her eyes remained shut as if in concentration. His heart picked up slightly with dread, nausea curdled in his stomach. Care slipped into his tone as he half hissed half shouted.
"Nyx? Nyx! Answer me! Blast…"
Nothing, she couldn't hear him. If she was even aware under the spell and not caught in the same thought she'd been in when trapped.
Hades stepped out of the hall into the main foyer of his House and felt like his stomach dropped and the air was stolen from his lungs. If he had been a God of weaker constitution he might have emptied his stomach. As it was one word slipped from him with all the horror of Deimos and Phobos' auras combined.
"No…"
Thanatos, duty driven and bound by loyalty, was trapped mid scythe swing as his cloak billowed around him like a pair of corvid wings, stoic face twisted with a snarl of defiance he must've picked up from Zagreus.
Beside him, her kind face severe with rage that would've made Hades step back had it been directed his way, was Persephone who looked all the more like a goddess of war and not spring as her green chiton would indicate. It was becoming spring she'd been about to prepare to leave for six months- The vines caught mid lash with poisoned thorns and blade sharp blooms said as much.
Demeter was never going to forgive him -he wouldn't forgive himself- for letting this happen.
Just to the right of his wife was Dusa, the Shade normally as skittish as a chick among foxes, had her fangs bared and all snake eyes aglow for petrification or to pierce with a venomous bite if nothing else. She looked more like her former self as the mythological Gorgon Perseus had slain long ago.
In front of Dusa was Achilles, legendary demigod warrior turned mentor to his son and guard over the House in the afterlife, had his spear mid thrust forward, face caught in a battle cry with the expression of a man who had found something to fight for again and would not lose it again. The wedding ring on his left hand a match for the hand in Elysium that had waited so long to hold its partner.
To Achilles' right was Megaera, one of the Furies he employed to punish the Wretches in Tartarus but unquestionably more loyal and personable than her sisters, had her wing extended out behind her mid lunge forward, magic sparked at her claw tips and whip uncoiled mid snap, expression thunderous and vaguely bloodthirsty more reminiscent of her sister Alecto.
To the Achilles’ left was Cerberus, the three headed hound that guarded the Underworld Gates both to keep all inhabitants inside where they belonged and to keep the mortals on the surface from getting in before their time passed, the fearsome beast didn't look at all the normally placid family pet he usually did, all three heads had mouths opened and expression twisted in a wrathful snarl, fire licked at fangs as sharp as any blades, fur bristled, massive paws inches from being slammed into their target with the weight of a mountain.
In the center as if a leader was Prince of the Underworld his son and heir half in the world of the living but tied to the realm of the dead, as stubborn as his father and compassionate as his mother, foolhardy, reckless and more loved than Hades had ever been able to express- had a bloodstone ready to cast and Stygian a mere inch from its destination, the blade's glow of summoning still left around the handle as his son had forced it to his side despite the rule of no weapons in the House. His expression more violent than he'd ever seen even when the two of them were biting insults at each other.
The formation they were in was one of battle, hardest hitters at front in Zagreus, Achilles, Cerberus and Megara, support in the middle in Thanatos and Dusa and magic user in the back in Persephone, each in range to defend the other.
But as close as they had been their target had moved just a second too fast…and now they were all in the same state as Nyx. Frozen under golden sand. Caught in time.
By the bastard sat in his throne as if he owned it.
Chronos' voice slithered like in his nightmares from the depths of Tartarus. But he wasn't in a nightmare as much as he wished he was. He was all too awake…
"Hello Hades…"
The God of the Dead felt his breath hitch in his throat, soft enough he only barely heard himself. There was a small mercy that, that he could hide how badly this affected him. That his family couldn't see how he felt like he was drowning where he stood under a fear so stark he couldn't breathe.
He'd heard those same words in that same tone when- no. He couldn't afford to be locked in his memories. Not now. Even as his spine crawled as Chronos continued to speak, polite veneer over something monstrous.
"Ahh, there you are, my son. Grown a full beard and a broad frame, I see. And now you have a family of your own! How full of life they are, despite the dour environs."
Hades didn't feel grown for all the fear that thundered in his chest louder than Zeus' storms. But he mentally shook himself and forced himself to speak, forced the polite tone into his voice and kept it from shaking. Though he hesitated every so often as he fought with his own heartbeat he managed to get out.
"Greetings, Father. I... was not expecting your arrival. You... must forgive us that the House was unprepared for guests. To what do we owe the pleasure of your company?"
He almost wanted to throw hospitality aside, to do something so out of character it would get Zeus' attention, to get Olympus' attention. But that moment of cowardice slipped away almost as soon as it had come. Hades would not endanger more of his family.
He was the eldest. It was his job to protect his family and he would sooner drink from all five Rivers at the same time than let someone he cared for be hurt or trapped, even if his relationship with the Olympians wasn't as close it was still better than it had been in centuries.
Chronos luckily didn't seem to notice the internal battle as he responded casually, as if they were just sitting down for tea. At least at first. The tone turned biting toward the end.
"Oh, you know, for one thing, I was in the area! You might recall the time you, Zeus, and the rest of you little brats cut me to ribbons? Sprinkled all my bits all throughout Tartarus?"
Hades growled a little, his crimson eyes narrowed as he subconsciously straightened. He may have not had domain over justice like his youngest brother but the Lord of Death hated lies. Lying had no place in his House, in his realm. Though the growl faded as he asked the question that had burned on his tongue since he'd seen the utter horror of his family frozen, of his innermost fear made manifest.
"Father... that was a war you started and you know it! We took no joy in what we had to do! But how can this be? l thought that you were gone...!"
Chronos huffed and if the Titan had been more impolitely inclined Hades was sure his eyes would've rolled.
"Do not sound so disappointed! It is / who should be disappointed here, not you. You thought I was gone? I was! But it turns out spite is a powerful motivator. Blood sacrifices also helped."
All at once Hades understood. The damned Satyr in the Temple of Erebus, they'd never been under his command, too close to the surface. Blood and Darkness. They'd been influenced by his father to put him back together. The God swallowed, just slightly. Enough to force the words out.
"What do you intend to do? And... what have you done to the others? To my family?!"
He couldn't contain the care and concern at the last part. If any of them had been awake he was sure a few of them would've done a double take, but blast it they were his family. He was just relieved Orpheus had been with Eurydice when this had happened, for the two musicians be separated again because of him -no not him this was not his fault- would've hurt worse.
Chronos sighed almost as if Hades had said something naive and the God did his best not to bristle.
"Your cries fall on deaf ears. Fear not, my son. I have not eaten them or anything. I have merely... set them aside. They stand imprisoned in a moment that shall never pass. My qualm is not with them."
Hades felt like the floor had fallen out from under him at what was referenced and he couldn't breathe for a moment. That tone. That monstrous voice that had haunted his nightmares so long, he tried to control it but the flashback took him hard.
He was just a boy, a godling too young to even know what his powers were yet. In mortal years he'd have been just six months. He'd wandered around on Mother's creation drawn by the sound of the running water of a river. It had been jet black like obsidian shadow and glittered as it had trailed off to parts unknown to him then. Then he'd heard Father call him. In that same tone.
"Hello Hades…"
He'd turned to answer, confused as he hadn't heard the Titan approach, unaware of the danger in that tone. Innocent in the way any child could be, so young to what the world could do.
Then he'd been grabbed up tightly, too tight, it had been hard to breathe. He'd struggled, squirmed, and he'd felt fear for the first time as he'd seen Chronos' mouth open. Hades had tried to call for his mother, for help, but he couldn't make a sound before he'd been swallowed.
Hades came back to himself, to the present, when he felt his fingertips tremble where they dug into his palms, he'd clenched his fists tight. It was the only sign of any sort of distress. He forced himself to breathe, to growl out as if he wasn't affected by the memory.
As he reminded himself that he'd discovered his powers at that moment and given Chronos horrific heartburn and ulcers in recompense. That he was not helpless anymore.
"...Olympus shall have your head. You can take mine, for all I care, blast you! But don't you dare harm anybody in my House."
The last part was said with a thunderous command that fit his title of Lord of the Dead, Hades didn't care what happened to him. Not of it meant the others were safe, but if Chronos harmed his family, harmed anyone that he had under his protection in his House he would make the entire realm the Titan's worst nightmare.
Chronos tsked in his teeth but sat straighter, those pale eyes narrowed slightly as if scrutinizing the God that stood tall enough to look him in the eye.
"Tsk! You have grown so accustomed to issuing commands that you forget yourself. Though, I do have such a command for you: Tell me, exactly, where the Fates reside."
That made Hades confused, for just a moment. What in blazes would make Chronos think he of all Gods or entities that existed knew where the Fates were? He shook his head and huffed.
"The Fates? How should I know? Not even Nyx herself knows where her daughters are! Why are you... asking me...?"
Hades trailed off, his heart skipped slightly. Wait. Zagreus' room had a Fated List of Minor Prophecy, his son had busied himself with filling it out. Was that why? Did he think that they had a connection to the Fates?
It was the only thing Hades could think of. But maybe if he went with it, if he played along with the foolish gesture. He could force Chronos' attention on him, not on the Shades that made the realm home. Not on those he'd sworn to look after as they deserved.
Every single soul that passed his realm, regardless of their gender or who they loved or anything else mortals argued about, from each of the five Rivers all the way to the Gates Cerberus guarded was under his protection. Yes. Even those in Tartarus that were set to be punished.
Tartarus may have been home to those that had committed evil or offended the gods but they were still among his Realm. If the Shade showed sufficient remorse and changed, such as the former king Sisyphus had according to his son's security runs, then he would make things go to motion for reincarnation and a second chance when the time was right.
So, which that in mind, Hades chuckled. Held his hands up as if in surrender and ducked his head as if sheepish.
"You are too smart Father, but I won't tell you where the Fates reside. If you want it…."
In a move that more fit his son, as impulsive and dangerous as it was, his crimson eyes flashed. The entire House shuddered as his power flared in fiery red, the ground trembled as if under one of Poseidon's quakes had reached into the depths, he held a hand out and he summoned Gigaros to his hand.
"You'll have to rip it out of me like how my siblings and I tore you into pieces."
He pooled his power into the pool of the River Styx behind him. Through it he reached the Phlegethon, Cocytus, Lethe and the Acheron. He poured it through the Rivers into the lands connected. His voice echoed in each realm as it boomed.
"On my authority, as Lord of Death! Awaken, Wretches of the Underworld, and defend your king!"
Portals opened up, Wretches from Tartarus and Asphodel, warriors from Elysium. The power of his call was so great he managed to break Cerberus out of the sand. His faithful hound loomed behind him as the Lernian Bone Hydra's heads uncoiled from one particularly large portal with serpentine hissing, his subjects crowded at his back like an army.
There had been an unspoken command that only Shades would hear.
"On my authority, as God of the Infernal Realm, all Shades are to flee to the Crossroads where the Witch Hecate resides, flee to safety with those as the Nymph Eurydice or Warrior Patroclus, stay hidden or away until I call you back to the rest you were meant to have."
He swung Gigaros, Helm of Darkness in place and as Cerberus howled a war cry that shook the foundations of the realm. He charged forward with a guttural war cry to meet the scythe Chronos branded, his trapped family teleported somewhere out of the way as the Titan sneered at his son over the flash of weapons.
Hades knew he wouldn't be able to defeat his father, not alone. Not without his family. But what he could do was be a distraction. Make sure that for however long this took Chronos was focused on him alone. Not on Olympus. Not on any potential other grandchild that was now the Underworld's only hope.
For as much as Chronos wanted to believe otherwise, Hades and his siblings had proven Time could be slowed. Stalled. Stopped.
And none escaped the hand of death. Not even Time.
Beyblade, please. Kronos is neither a god nor “of Saturn.” He’s the Titan of time in Greek mythology, who goes by the name “Saturn” in Roman mythology.
