The Four Skulls of Doofus Drake

Chapter 2 - Dewey

Dewey looked up nervously at Hades as they traveled through the Underworld. He had no idea this was the deal that Duckworth had been talking about when he agreed to it.

"So... Um..." Dewey began, as he rubbed the back of his neck nervously. They were riding the three headed dog, Hades called, Cerberus, through the depths of the murky and smelly landscape.

Smelled like the dead, and looked like it too.

Dewey shivered.

"You know, you're not exactly how I pictured you." Dewey told him as Cerberus stopped in front of two bronze double doors that Dewey assumed to lead to Hades throne room. Hades glanced over at him and raised an eyebrow.

"You aren't the first person to think that." Hades remarked a bit bitterly. Dewey's breath hitched a bit when Hades turned to look at him darkly. Dewey really didn't want to over step his boundaries with the God of the Dead. Hades then, seeing the look on the young blue clad duck's face, sighed deeply.

"You assume I look more like my brother? Zeus?" He asked.

"K,Kind of? Yeah." Dewey replied sheepishly. "I mean, me and my brothers -." Dewey stopped and his left eye twitched. It was bad enough they were split up again. He really didn't tend on talking non stop about them.

"Not all families have to look alike you know." Hades told him as Cerberus hung his head. Hades jumped off the huge dog and Dewey followed close behind him. "Or even have to like each other for that matter." He added and pushed open the door.

"That's not what I've been taught." Dewey grumbled as he looked around.

The throne room was like he excepted. Skulls of the dead lined up in small pyramid piles along side the room, Hades thrown sat on top of even more pile of skulls, and Dewey was quiet sure that he can see about four huge Titan type creatures in the cells that lined up the wall on one side. Dewey was sure he remembered on of them back when he was a kid. But stayed clear away from the cell as not to anger it any further.

"You'll soon find that I have a lot to teach you, Dewey." Hades said, as he strolled up to his throne and sat down on it. "See the pile of skulls here?" He asked, motioning to the pile he was sitting on. Dewey nodded.

How could he not?

"These are the skulls of my enemies." He explained.

"You must have had a lot of them." Dewey remarked, trying to make it sound like he wasn't afraid of seeing so many skulls. Imagining the fact that most of them could, and probably can be his family and friends if he made the God of the Dead angry.

Hades may not look or act like Zeus.

But that didn't mean he didn't have the wrath of Zeus if he angered him.

Dewey wasn't willing to take that chance.

He wasn't about to put his family, and friends in danger.

Not again.

"Still do, in fact, that's what I need help with." Hades said. "I have many, many enemies who see me as a threat. Not because I am one of the big three along with my brother Zeus and Poseidon, but because if something was to happen to me then the whole soul and life thing would become unbalanced."

"That's..." Dewey said, choosing his words wisely, "A bad thing?" He asked.

Hades raised an eyebrow and laced his fingers together as he leaned forward to rest his elbows on his knees.

"Imagine no one ever dying. Imagine a world where the dead rose again, all the evil that had been killed in the past suddenly awakened and never could be killed." Hades told him. "No one would be safe, Dewey. Not you. Not your family or friends. I have enemies who wish for that to happen, and the only way to stop them..." His voice trailed off as he stared at Dewey in the eyes. Dewey stared back, unblinking.

"Is to cut out their souls, and eat them." He finished.

Dewey felt the blood drain from his face.

"E, eat. Souls?" He squeaked out.

"Yes. Eat souls." Hades told him. He snapped his fingers and a list appeared out of no where and he grabbed it out of the air. "The Scythe is to reap the souls, and as they leave the body... You eat it. So it can not come back to life if I am to... Disappear." He told Dewey.

"You're -. You're gonna disappear?" Dewey asked, confused, all over again.

"Sadly, I have no doubt in my mind that could happen. The three fates have spoken. Both me, and my brothers will need replacements when that happens. You, Dewey, will most likely take over for me once that does. As for Zeus and Poseidon. I haven't a clue."

"C, Can't I do something to stop it?" Dewey asked, his heart thudding against his chest. He in no shape or form wanted to be the next God of the Underworld. He done tried to become one back when he was a kid. Had Storkules steal a pair of Hermes flying shoes for him at one point. Got in a big fight with Zeus and well...

Dewey shuddered at the memory.

He could still feel the scorch mark on his behind where Zeus tossed a lighting bolt at him.

"Can't be stopped. Only delayed, which is where you come in." Hades told him. He let the list float over towards him and Dewey reached out his free hand towards it. The first person on the list made the life drain from Dewey's face. Though, how this person came to be Hades enemy in the first place. He didn't have a clue. He would have to face off with him. Of all people?

He looked back up at Hades who was studying him silently, with interest.

"Steelbeak?" Dewey squeaked. "I only faced off on that guy once, and even then, I thought it was a video game! Have you seen this guy? He's like a high school jock with more muscle then brains!" He added. "How am I to go up against a guy like that? At least in a video game you had power ups and things like that to help. What do I got?"

"You'll have the powers of a Grim Reaper, Dewey." Hades told him.

"Grim Reaper?" Dewey repeated. "So... In other words."

"In other words...Dewey. You are Death." Hades told him.