The Path to Victory

Chapter 2

Hades was the last to arrive when Zeus summoned his five siblings to a council where it would be ultimately decided who would become the vessel of their weapon. The leader threw at disapproving glance at his brother, not liking the fact that Hades had even failed to arrive on time.

“Hades, how kind of you to join us,” Zeus said dryly. “You might wish to be present, or a decision will be made without you.”

//It’s not like I have any say in this matter anyway// Hades thought, but he kept his mouth shut, not wanting to provoke the other.

“I have a suggestion, brothers and sisters,” Zeus announced, enjoying the fact that he had their full attention and that they were all willing to do his bidding. “I think that Hades should become the vessel!”

Though Hades had, to some degree, expected this, he was enraged to hear it from Zeus’ lips nonetheless. Rising from his seat, he could not stop himself from glaring daggers at Zeus or shouting out an objection.

“I knew it, Zeus! I knew you were going to say that! And what about me? Don’t I have a say in what will happen with my own body?”

“Hades, please calm yourself,” Zeus replied, still outwardly calm himself but underneath the cool façade, a smoldering rage could be detected. How dare Hades openly defy him?! “You are simply the most logical choice, brother. Surely you have realized this yourself, as well?”

“And are you alone to make this decision?” Hades inquired, still standing up. “Who gave you the right?”

“Alright, as you wish,” the leader of the Olympians said, now smirking. “I think we should vote on that.”

Hades stood alone at the center of the congregation as though he were property to be sold. He looked around at his siblings, several of which could not even look upon him.

“Those in favor to nominate our brother Hades…?” Zeus announced.

Hera was quick to comply, as was Demeter, though Hestia was hesitant for only a few seconds. Granted, Zeus’ was already in favor and thus the vote could be won, but the youngest of the gods waited for an answer from one more.

“Agreed.” Poseidon did chance to look up at his brother, and it pained him to see the look of betrayal in his eyes.

Fists clenched, Hades turned toward Zeus. “If my brothers and sisters see it fit, I must fulfill my duty,” he said, head lowered, his hair a curtain to hide the look of cold, absolute fury.

“You are the key to our victory, Hades,” Demeter said, her tone an attempt at reassurance. “There would be no greater choice.”

Hades almost wanted to scream at the irony of it all. Instead a dry, humorless chuckle escaped his throat, causing his siblings to regard him with surprise or even doubt. Did they believe he had lost his mind? Perhaps he would, before all of this was over. It might even be a welcome reprieve.

“I am glad that at least one of us sees the amusement in our predicament,” Zeus said with a snort, which reeked of badly-hidden contempt. “But I need to know that you will accept your task with utmost seriousness, Hades. Do I have your word on that?”

“You have my word, brother,” Hades murmured softly, still hiding his furiously flushing visage behind his long, jet-black hair. “I will do what is expected of me.”

Zeus rose from his seat and walked over to the center of the large room, where his brother still stood. When they were only inches apart, the much taller god reached down to cup the other’s jaw in his hand, forcing Hades to look up and meet his gaze. The look in Hades’ eyes was unreadable.

Zeus smiled indulgently. “Go to your chambers, my brother,” he ordered quietly. “I will visit you tonight to plant my seed in you. Until then, rest. You will need it.”

Hades gave a patient nod, but was back to an infuriated glower once he’s brother’s back was turned. Hestia placed a hand on his shoulder as a gesture of comfort, and while he accepted the contact, he otherwise ignored it. If he spoke now, he was at risk of causing his sister serious offense.

*
That night, Hades awaited the arrival of his brother and leader. He could not rest whatsoever as he waited, his mind racing with the thought of what was to happen. He would become a vessel for the Olympians’ ultimate weapon, and the idea frightened him, as did that of Zeus coming into his bedchambers to bring forth their weapon’s creation. Hades had no idea what to expect of the experience, and he simply lay in his bed, silent in his waiting, as though he were a prisoner to be executed.

Every minute felt at least an hour long, and though Hades feared what was to come, he couldn’t help but wish it was over. Couldn’t Zeus simply arrive and get it over with? Keeping him in suspense as to what would happen was the ultimate form of torment.

This time when there was a knock on his door, Hades did not give a start. He did not even bother to turn his eyes toward the door, as he already knew who was bidding entrance. Soon Zeus would bid entrance to more than his private bedchamber.

The door opened and for the first time in hours, Hades was pleasantly surprised. His visitor was not the leader of the Olympians, but Poseidon.

“How are you feeling, my dear brother?” the visiting god asked, sympathetic of Hades’ plight.

“I have been better,” he replied truthfully, but without malice. Poseidon was not to blame in this, and did not deserve his anger. If anything, he was the only friend and ally Hades still had. Sitting up in his bed, he was still suspicious. “Why are you here? Did Zeus send you to do the deed in place of himself?”

“May I sit?” his brother asked, waving towards the bed. Hades shrugged, trying to look indifferent.

“Zeus will be arriving soon,” Poseidon said, taking a seat beside his brother. “But he approached me with an intriguing proposal. He requested that I join him.”

A reaction finally marked Hades’ features, and he looked in his younger brother’s direction, both confused and surprised. “And to what reason? To further humiliate me?”

Poseidon held back a sigh. The eldest brother was only throwing his misery at him. “He claimed our combined efforts may be for the best,” he answered patiently. “The three of us are the strongest in battle after all.”

Hades frowned and turned his head away.

“And he knows the trust you and I share. I think this is his way of apologizing in the case that he causes you any discomfort.”

Hades snorted indignantly at his brother. “Discomfort indeed. Were he truly sorry, he would be doing this himself.”

“You hardly give yourself any credit, Hades,” Poseidon replied, placing a hand on the older god’s hair. “You are strong, and you will succeed.” He paused, smiling. “And if you don’t then Zeus will have to do it himself. His ego is too monstrous to admit defeat.”

For a very brief moment Hades actually hoped that he would not live through the endeavor simply to spite Zeus, and thus force their leader to take the task unto himself. But it was a childish, puerile wish, and he repressed it almost as quickly as it arose in his mind. If anything, he should be hoping for a chance to finally prove himself to Zeus.

“If this creature of my flesh will indeed bring us victory, I sincerely hope that our brother will not forget what I sacrificed in order for us to prevail,” he mused, no longer sure if Poseidon was listening. “Zeus is the one who never gives me any credit, even though I try just as hard as the rest of you.”

Poseidon wanted to argue, but he could not contradict Hades’ statement without being untruthful both to himself and his older brother. Zeus only seemed to have contempt left for the raven-haired god, while he treated his other siblings with fairness and respect. The original purpose of Poseidon’s visit had been to tell Hades that he had offered to become the vessel but been turned down by their leader, but he had begun to doubt the wisdom of such a revelation. It would only serve as further prove to Hades that Zeus’s personal loathing of him had cause the leader to make this decision.

“Zeus will have you first,” Poseidon finally remarked. “His wishes of course… then he will grant me my turn. In the meantime, try to endure.”

Hades rolled his eyes. “I’m sure I can manage.”

“I was referring to his ego, brother,” Poseidon replied with a smirk.

Hades wanted to laugh, but he was too preoccupied with what would soon happen. “Thank you for trying to lighten my mood. It did not help as much as you might have wished, but I appreciate the gesture.”

*

Less than an hour later, Hades could hear footsteps, and he closed his eyes in mental and emotional preparation. This time his visitor would doubtlessly be Zeus; at least he hope it would be. He could not take any more suspense.

Zeus entered his chambers without knocking, his impressive height filling the doorway. “It is time, my brother,” he announced with a self-satisfied smile.

Hades sighed, but said nothing. The sooner this was over with, the better.

Poseidon quickly moved off of the bed, clearly afraid to offend Zeus with his presence, but the leader of the Olympians merely raised his hand when his brother offered to leave the room.

“You can stay,” Zeus announced, placing his hand on Poseidon’s shoulder. “While you wait for your turn.”

“As you wish, brother,” Poseidon said with a respectful bow before withdrawing into a corner of the room, where he seated himself, determined not to pay any attention to what was going on in the bed between his two brothers. Now he could only hope that Zeus would not be needlessly cruel with Hades.

Zeus’ undivided attention was once again directed at the being warily gazing up at him from the bed. Their eyes remained locked for several seconds, during which neither spoke. Zeus was finally the one to break the silence and move forward.

“Undress, brother,” he said, and though his voice was soft, it was a command masked as a request.

Hades did nothing at first; every muscle in his body as tense as a spring. Zeus took another step toward the bed, and his gaze hardened notably. “Hades, either you comply, or I will take you by force,” he said, strongly determined not to tolerate any defiance, especially from this measly excuse for an Olympian.

The raven-haired god literally leapt onto his feet and the following second he was tearing at his robes, no longer caring if he ruined them. Once he stood naked before Zeus, he steadily met the leader’s gaze and awaited further instructions… or commands.

“Now undress me,” Zeus simply said.

Hades immediately obeyed, disrobing his brother and taking care in how he touched him. For all he knew, Zeus would command the very details of how they made contact with one another. He glanced aside and saw that Poseidon was looking away, either out of allowing his brothers some small iota of privacy, or in simple displeasure at what was unfolding.

Before his robes even hit the ground, Zeus was already embracing Hades and assaulting his face with kisses. Such kisses were not gentle or an attempt at romance, merely an automatic response to what he thought Hades might expect.

Within seconds of both being unclothed, the two gods were on the bed, Zeus of course on top of his brother and pinning him down like a predator holding down his prey. Hades remained as silent as possible as this went on, trying to ignore the discomfort caused by the fellow god’s actions.

“Spread your legs,” Zeus growled out, and Hades felt something very hard – and very big – prodding him. Hades did as told and closed his eyes, preparing for the worst.

Zeus merely laughed at his brother’s apparent terror. Indeed Hades looked as though he was expecting something to lunge for his throat. “Whether or not this will be pleasant for you is entirely your own choice,” Zeus told him as Hades continued to keep his eyes closed. “If you want my advice, it might help if you relaxed your body. And look at me.”

The smaller Olympian opened his eyes after a few seconds of hesitation and found Zeus’ sky-blue eyes fixating him with an intensity that was downright frightening. The other’s weight on top of him was making it difficult for Hades to draw breath, but he did not voice his discomfort.

“Go ahead then, brother,” he urged instead. “Spear me. What are you waiting for?”

Zeus reached in between their bodies, and rather than guide himself into Hades’ body, he began to caress his brother’s shriveled member. “I will not have anyone accusing me of being an inattentive lover,” he smirked, pleased to elicit a gasp from the other.

Hades hardly wanted to be injured from lying with Zeus, but the concept of receiving pleasure from him seemed even worse. He gasped and moaned as his own phallus hardened and grew straight, and the chuckle coming from above him was almost sickening.

“Enjoy it, brother,” Zeus insisted, smiling. “Do not let our animosity for one another stand in the way of me giving you such pleasure.”

Hands gripped powerful shoulders as Hades groaned out in a combination of frustration and arousal. His body did not feel like his own as his legs spread wider, allowing access by his youngest sibling, who took it as a warm welcome. In no time at all, Zeus was inside his brother, and he fervently thrust into him as he stroked Hades’ organ.

Watching quietly from the shadows, Poseidon saw Zeus take Hades like a stallion rutting a mare. Their combined moans and grunts reverberated between the walls, and Poseidon wondered if they could also be heard by their three sisters. While none of them had been willing to volunteer for the dangerous task of becoming the vessel, it was still obvious to everybody that Demeter, Hera and Hestia would not have been averse to the idea of lying with their brother. When victory was theirs, Zeus was likely to choose one of them as his consort, and Poseidon could only guess who it would be.

“Ahh, ahh, ah…” Hades’ exhales came out in audible grunts caused from both pain and pleasure as Zeus continued to hammer into him.

As if the angle of penetration had not been deep enough already, the younger god suddenly pulled out of him completely only to flip him onto his stomach, and spear him again the following moment. Hades was then dragged to his knees, and although this position allowed him to breathe more easily, it also made him feel even more helpless. A large hand tangled in his raven locks and pulled his head backward, hard enough to cause pain and make the tendons on his neck stand out.

“Zeus, brother, you’re hurting him,” came Poseidon’s pleading voice from the other end of the room.

Both gods could hear the objection, and Hades almost shed a tear in response to their brother’s concern.

Zeus only gave a low laugh. “He is a god, and he will endure, Poseidon,” he answered. “Now allow me some satisfaction before I finish.”

Hades was desperate to keep his body lax, to keep his brother’s thrusts less painful, but the great discomfort he felt made adapting difficult. He could only grip the sheets beneath him tight enough to whiten his knuckles as he was plunged into over and over again.

“Enh, enh,” Zeus grunted, thrusting without abandon until his climax ripped through himself and his brother like a bolt of electricity. Hades moaned, a loud and abrupt cry escaping him as he too climaxed. Agonizing seconds passed before his brother exited him, and his limbs lost their strength, leaving him a shivering heap on the bed.

Zeus got up from the bed as soon as he was finished with his business and took his time getting dressed, hardly even looking at Hades as if his brother was not worthy of any further attention.
Hades could only wish that Zeus would leave. He had not moved from his curled up position on the bed since Zeus pulled out of him, and he wasn’t sure his body would obey him even if he tried.

Contrary to what Hades had expected, his brother actually approached him once fully dressed and sat down on the edge of his bed. When he saw Zeus reach out his hand toward him, Hades failed to suppress a frightened wince, as part of him feared that his brother might feel compelled to pull his hair again.

The youngest god frowned at the response and placed his hand on his brother’s back. “I was only about to apologize for any discomfort I gave you,” he stated. “Clearly you are not one to forgive.”

An angry tear escaped Hades’ eye as he glared up at his brother.

“He is yours to do with what you will,” Zeus declared as he regarded Poseidon. “Perhaps your mothering will tempt him from his sullen mood.”

Poseidon nodded, and this time the displeasure in his eyes was obvious, but Zeus ignored it, just this once. Hades would not be in the best of moods in the near future anyway…

When their leader had departed, Poseidon hurried to his older brother’s side, uncertain of how to treat him. The slightest touch might send him into a panic after what he had just been through.

“Hades…?” he whispered, looking into the blank expression his brother wore.

“Do it. Do it now.”

“What?”

Hades squeezed his eyes shut as he shifted in the bed. “I may still be dulled from the pain. I’d rather you do it now instead of waiting.”

Poseidon looked down at himself, still fully robed. The current situation did not particularly arouse him, and what he was about to do required a certain degree of arousal. If anything, witnessing Zeus’ brutal treatment of their brother had made him even more reluctant to touch Hades like that.

“I won’t do to you what he did,” the younger Olympian finally said. “Not like that. Surely you can understand why I cannot?”

Hades was actually touched by the concern. Slowly pulling himself into a seated position, despite the pain it caused in his nether regions, he tugged his brother close and rested their foreheads together. Hades’ waist-long, straight raven hair was a stark contrast to Poseidon’s frizzy auburn curls.

“Is there anything I can do to… wake your arousal?” Hades asked.

Poseidon could not help but be honest. Truly he had no idea what could shake him from the images of moments before in order to become aroused. “Nothing comes to mind.”

“Please…” Hades begged quietly, hand exploring behind folds of fabric. “I would much rather do this with someone I can trust…”

Poseidon hesitated nonetheless, despite his brother’s urging, and he would have stayed frozen where he sat if not for long fingers discovering his phallus and rubbing it to life.

“Please, brother… Give me some comfort… and give me a chance to create something from your seed.”

Breathing heavily, Poseidon leant into his brother’s touch and kissed him at the corner of his mouth. Smiling, Hades began to disrobe the younger god and fell backwards on the bed, taking his brother with him.

The sudden motion took Poseidon by surprise, and they both grunted in pain when their heads collided in a way that was downright painful. Clearly Hades did not have a clue as to how to seduce anyone, but his eagerness to try amused the other, and he gave a good-natured chuckle in response to the clashing of heads.

“Just take it easy, brother,” he suggested, stilling the hands that were still struggling to remove his final pieces of clothing. “We have all night, after all. Zeus did not say we had to hurry.”

Hades, lying on his back with his hair spread out over the pillow like a fan, wished that Poseidon was indeed right. “He might be spying on us, did that ever cross your mind?” he asked, figuring Poseidon would know whom he was referring to.

“Yes, you’re right,” Poseidon admitted aloud, helping Hades in disrobing. Once he was just as naked as his brother, he brushed strands of black hair out of Hades’ face, admiring the mere sight of him as he lay on top of him. “How marvelous,” he said, smiling.

“Enough with the flattery,” Hades snapped, grasping at his brother’s phallus again and giving it a harsh jerk. Poseidon gave a sharp moan in response and he could not help thrusting into his brother’s hand.

“Ohhh…” he silenced himself with a kiss, lips colliding with those of his brother.

Hades wrapped his arms around him and brought him even closer. “Do it, Poseidon, please…!” Hades pleaded with him, his voice low and ragged with pleasure.

When he was begged in such a way, how could Poseidon refuse? He stroked himself as hard as such a short time permitted and spread his brother’s legs.

Poseidon was not as big as their younger brother, but he filled up Hades’ snug channel well nonetheless. Some soreness remained from his earlier rough coupling with Zeus, but he was determined to ignore it and not let it stop him from receiving pleasure from his brother now. Wanting to prove that he was not as frail as Zeus had made him out to be, Hades grabbed a fistful of Poseidon’s hair and roughly pressed his fellow Olympian’s face against his own neck, feeling the nick of teeth against his tender throat.

“Worry not, my brother…” he breathed as Poseidon began to move within him, keeping his thrusts much slower and shallower than Zeus had. “He did not break me, so neither will you.”

Poseidon took this action as a request and bit into his brother’s neck, not hard enough to cause serious harm, but enough to bruise skin. At their close proximity, stroking Hades’ phallus proved difficult without Poseidon’s hand snugly caught between their shifting bodies. Hades noticed the problem and quickly took his own organ in his hand, feeling it pulsate in his fingers as his pleasure grew.

Biting his brother eventually made Poseidon feel as though he were Zeus, so he let go and simply observed his brother’s face, the way it would change with the slightest subtlety. It pleased him to know he gave Hades such blissful satisfaction while their leader could not.

*

Meanwhile, Zeus was returning to inspect the progress of his older brothers. For all he knew, Hades was still curled up on the bed with Poseidon sitting beside him and consoling him.

Why he would choose to coddle Hades was beyond Zeus’ comprehension; he had witnessed himself how efficient and brutal Poseidon could be in the heat of battle, and yet Hades’ sad little face was all it took to make his heart melt. Zeus ground his teeth at the thought. Hades might fool Poseidon, but he did not fool Zeus. He knew that the raven-haired beauty had thoroughly enjoyed the leader’s treatment of him tonight; he had virtually spilled the proof of his pleasure over Zeus’ hand. Then pretending to wince when he came to touch him…

Opening the door to Hades’ chambers, Zeus was met with the sight of his two brothers with their limbs entwined and engrossed in what could only be called ravenous mating. Hades’ head was thrown back, and unlike the tense, distant look his visage had held when Zeus took him, his features were now twisted into a grin of ecstasy and wanton abandonment.

An odd sting of jealousy went through Zeus like a poison. He knew his brothers shared a closer trust with one another than he ever shared with Hades, but to see the obvious pleasure they gave one another angered him. Fists clenched, he watched as their arousal reached its peak, glared at how they moaned and writhed against one another. The god thrusting into Hades and bringing him to such a climax should have been him, not Poseidon.

As he emptied into his older brother, Poseidon just happened to glance in the direction of the doorway, and saw he and Hades had an audience. He locked eyes with Zeus, saw the jealousy in his eyes, and bowed his head, hoping that the peace he was bringing Hades would go uninterrupted.

Gazing at the two of them with a mild discontent, Zeus walked away and allowed them some privacy. He traveled the halls, anger and resentment storming in his mind, but soon those emotions were replaced by a well-learnt sense of denial. If he could not conquer his eldest brother, he would have another. Hera was his favorite sister anyway…

*

Thankfully the fact that Zeus was checking up on them went unnoticed by Hades, and Poseidon was rewarded with the look of utmost contentment and placidity on his brother’s face. Seeing Hades content brought him a much more intense feeling of joy than his own climax had accomplished, and Poseidon collapsed onto the mattress next to his brother, both their bodies glistening with sweat.

“I hope I did not cause you too much discomfort, Hades,” Poseidon said, reaching out to brush a dark strand of hair from the other’s face. Now actual arousal had given the normally pale Hades some colour; earlier with Zeus, he had been red from shame, anger, and most of all pain.

“Quite the opposite, in fact,” Hades replied, nuzzling against his younger brother’s palm. “You were considerate of me. I thank you for that.”

“Do you think… did it… work?” Poseidon’s gaze wandered over Hades’ pale, naked frame, inevitably drawn to his midsection. Was there a creature growing inside him now?

Hades’ jaw tightened at the reminder of becoming a vessel for the Olympian weapon. He placed his hands over his stomach, an automatic response to the notion of something now being within him. Part of him was fearful that whatever came from his body might not defeat the Titans, but another part, far greater and far more terrifying, feared that he would not survive bearing this creature.

“Only time will tell,” he said, staring off into space. “And hopefully we’ll not have long to wait.”

*

Hades soon regretted those words. Hours later he felt as though he were dying. Something was inside of him, no doubt. He was certain the creature had come into being, because it had begun to move. Not only did this cause him pain, but it exhausted him. Somehow becoming a vessel for the monster was draining his strength, and quickly.

Poseidon, who had remained close by, was alerted by his older brother of the situation. He hurried to find Zeus, who would doubtlessly want the first news of success as soon as possible. The most logical place to look for their leader at this time were his personal quarters, where no one was allowed without the expressed permission of Zeus. This, however, was an extraordinary situation, and thus demanded some extraordinary action from the people involved.

Unable to locate Zeus anywhere else, Poseidon reached the conclusion that his brother had already turned in for the night, perhaps worn out by his cruel treatment of poor Hades? If only he knew what was happening to their brother this very moment…

Poseidon knocked on the thick, heavy door to Zeus’ bedchamber. He had only been in there once, and that had been when he came to alert his brother, in the middle of the night, that Cronos was unleashing an attack on their refuge.

“Zeus?” he whispered. “Zeus, you have to come! It is very important!”

“Go away, I’m otherwise occupied!” the leader’s powerful but noticeably irritated voice answered.

Poseidon did not back down. This news was such that his younger brother would want to hear. “Zeus, it is our brother!” he urged. “He is greatly unwell. He believes the creation of our weapon has been successful!”

A few mutters, muffled by the door, were initially the only answer he received. Stepping aside at the sound of footsteps, he came face to face with Zeus, who was struggling to clothe himself in haste. Before the door closed, Poseidon could see Hera, completely nude and trying to cover herself with a blanket.

“The creature?” Zeus said, addressing his brother. “It thrives?”

“Come and see for yourself.”

Zeus followed Poseidon back to Hades’ bedchamber, where their brother lay motionless in bed, expression clearly of discomfort despite his closed eyes. He winced at some unseen pain, but remained silent.

“Hades,” Zeus called to him, impatient for an answer. “Is it true?”

Red-rimmed eyes slowly opened, as though Hades had not slept in weeks. “I feel it within me,” he said, his voice weak. “We will have a weapon against Cronos and his army.”

Zeus pulled away the blankets that covered his brother to see for himself. Nothing was noticeable yet on the outside, but when he placed his hand against Hades’ abdomen, he could feel the creature already alive inside his brother’s body.

A triumphant grin formed on Zeus’ face. Yes, this would definitely become the weapon that would finally rid the world of Cronos and the likes of him. If it had accomplished this only hours after conception… Zeus could not wait to see how the creature had developed in one week.

“My brother Hades…” The leader of the Olympians placed his large hand on his weakening sibling’s forehead. Hades’ eyes already seemed too big for his face. “We all owe you greatly,” Zeus solemnly said, placing a kiss on the clammy brow of his fellow god.

Another thought struck him, this one more ominous. If the creature had done this to Hades in less than a day, was there any hope he would survive bearing it to full term? Perhaps he had been wrong in his choice of vessel?

Hades was hardly in any state to respond to the surprisingly gentle treatment by his young brother, as unexpected as Zeus’ behavior was. The contempt in the back of Hades’ mind told him that such gentility was only a response to the creature growing within him. Said creature wriggled beneath his skin, a bleak reminder of what was to come.

TBC...