Author Games: Ragnarok

Task Four Entries: Goddesses

Persephone Pluton

Persephone was alone.

She was on the ground, choking and gagging as whatever the strange gas in the air was filled her lungs. Eros was right next to her, trying to convince her to rise through his own coughs, but Persephone was alone.

Her personalities had gone silent.

For once, she wasn't simply a vessel for two distinct people to live inside of and control at their whim. She was on her own, and her mind was void of everything except her own gagging screams. She wasn't even sure which personality she was now. Both? Neither? It didn't matter, she was powerless either way.

"Persephone, we have to move, now!" Eros insisted. "We have to go. If we stay here, we're sitting ducks for anyone to take us out." Me shoved her shoulder a little roughly, "Move!"

Persephone rose on shaking legs-- mortal legs, and she could feel the human heart pounding roughly against her ribs. She swiped at the tears in her eyes, wondering for the hundredth time what she'd gotten herself into. She was wondering alone. There was no argument in her mind. The silence made her gag again, and she nearly crumpled back to the ground.

"Oh no you don't," Eros grunted, holding her up. He put his arm around her middle to hold her upright. He stumbled out of the road into what looked like a dilapidated old parking garage, practically dragging the distraught goddess along with him. Once they were inside the shadows of the building, Eros released her to slump against the wall.

Persephone had grown slightly used to the poison in the air, especially since the heavy winds seemed to have blown most of it away, but she still felt weak and clammy. She dropped against the wall as soon as Eros released her, digging her nails into the dirt.

"We need to work out a plan. Clearly the stuff the Gamemakers released was basilisk venom, meaning there has to be a cure somewhere--" His words were cut short by the monstrous cry of some sort of bird, high above them. The roof. He nodded, his lips pursed. "Roc, okay. Great. How the hell are we, as mortals, supposed to face a roc? We'll have to come up with a plan, quickly. I'm thinking maybe..."

But Persephone wasn't listening. She stared down at her shaking hands, digging them further into the dirt. She couldn't feel the plant life growing within it, she couldn't hear the call of the dead in the Underworld. "Who am I?" she whispered.

Eros stopped mid-sentence and turned to look at her, his eyes wide. "What are you saying? You're Persephone, Goddess of Springtime and Queen of the Underworld. ...Don't tell me the venom's somehow effected your memory?"

Persephone shook her head, "No, no... I-I remember, I just... who am I? Which one?"

Eros raised an eyebrow, crouching down so that he was eye-level with her. "I'm not sure I follow."

"Which one," Persephone repeated more forcefully. "I'm not the Goddess of Springtime and the Queen of the Underworld, I'm either or. I'm never both at once. Whichever is having the stronger emotions at any given moment is the one who has control of the body. I can't hear them... they're not here... so who am I?" Her words came out as little more than a panicked whisper.

Eros set a hand on her shoulder. She looked into his eyes, noting that without his godly powers, Ero's attractiveness was easy to overlook without another thought. "You are both. Always. They are you, you are them."

Persephone shook her head, swallowing back more tears. "But I can't hear them."

"Fine," Eros sighed, "you want to hear them again? Fine. Then we have to get up to that roof and get the egg of that giant, crazy bird. You ready?"

Persephone shook her head no.

"Good, neither am I. Let's go."

The pair hurried up the rusting stairs as quickly as they could, Eros trying to formulate a plan, Persephone trying in vain to hear a distinction in her thoughts. No matter what Eros said, he was wrong-- Persephone couldn't function without her two personalities warring within her. She was empty. Empty empty empty.

Eros put his arm out to stop her once they reached the floor before the roof. There was only one more level until they were facing the roc, as mortals. Persephone held little hope.

Above them, there was a scream. Seconds later, a bloodied head dropped by the window nearest them. Jade.

"Well, the roc is definitely up there," Eros stated. Persephone could see his arm shaking slightly. Of course he was nervous. He was human now.

"Do you have a plan?" Persephone whispered.

Eros nodded. "I think so. But it depends heavily on you... It's a pretty stupid plan on my part, as it means I have to trust that you won't let me fall to my death."

Persephone's eyebrows knitted together. "Fall to your death?"

Eros nodded gravely. "I'll explain."

~*~

Several moments later, Persephone and Eros were crouching near the mutilated body of Loki. Persephone tried had not to look at it, to think instead of what Eros had told her to do.

"What if it doesn't work?" Persephone murmured. What if we get the timing wrong, or it takes too long for my powers to come back?"

Eros shrugged, "then I die." He said it confidently enough, but Persephone knew he was just as nervous as her. Still he smiled at her, "It's our only shot either way, right?"

She took a deep breath before nodding slowly. "Okay, let's go."

Eros took a deep breath as well. "Okay." He stood, moving into the roc's line of sight and waving his arms like a fool. "Hey bird! Over here! Come eat me!" He continued to move away from Persephone's hiding place, drawing the roc's attention to him and away from it's nest.

Persephone held a softball-sized rock in her hands. She bounced on her heels, waiting for the cue.

It came when Eros led the giant bird to the opposite end of the roof and nodded to her. She dove for the nest, smashing one of the eggs open with a rock just in time to see Eros dive off the roof out of the corner of her eye. Just as he had planned, the roc dove too.

With her heart slamming in her chest and adrenalin pumping through her veins, Persephone dug her hands into the slimy liquid of the egg and dumped it into her mouth. She tried not to think of the taste, instead swallowing it as quickly as she could. She wasn't sure how much time had passed. It felt like years, but in reality it could have been no more than a few seconds.

When she heard Queen Persephone's voice, she knew it had worked. She wanted to collapse into tears of joy, but she didn't have a chance to. "Go, Springtime!" Queen ordered.

Persephone sprinted to the edge of the roof and commanded the vines down to Eros. She caught him and pulled him up as the roc continued to fall. Clearly, it wasn't the flying kind of bird. It really should have thought of that before diving after Eros.

Eros was panting heavily when Persephone set him upright on the roof. He immediately dropped to his knees. "Free falling. Te- out-of-ten would not recommend."

"I did it!" Springtime exclaimed, jumping up and down in place. A giggle erupted from within her and she laughed almost hysterically. "I did it!"

Eros nodded weakly, laughing quietly along with her. "That you did, now can you do me a favor and hand me one of those..." He trailed off when he looked up at Persephone. "Holy--"

"Holy Hades," Queen Persephone interrupted, her voice sounding terrified and amazed all at once.

Springtime was about to question what Queenie meant when it hit her... Queen's voice hadn't come from within her mind. It had come from over by the roc's nest.

Springtime remained frozen in place for a moment. She looked down at her hands, then down at her dress. The gown she wore was not the one she came into the arena in. It was off-white and covered in an intricate pattern of flowers that swirled up to the bodice. She felt weight on her head that she hadn't noticed before and reached up to touch the large, woven flower-crown that was resting there.

Finally, she turned.

Sitting in the roc's nest, staring at her with wide eyes, was herself. More accurately, her Underworld alter-ego. Queen's copper hair was woven into an intricately braided undo atom her head, and a spiked pewter crown rested around it. Her dress was far more regal than the one Springtime was wearing, and was colored entirely black.

The two Persephone's stared at each other; stared at themselves.

"Well," Queen said after a several breaths, "this is certainly an interesting side effect."

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Nyx

DID NOT HAND IN

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Athena Vincita

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