BTW, the character appearances are based off of Neal Illustrator on YouTube cause their art of the epic musical is my favorite. So check them out.


    Persephone''s purple skin is from OSPs videos.


    xxxxxxXxxxxxx


    "Say mom. Mom. Mommy. Mother." Persephone, queen of the underworld, spoke cheerfully as she held a small baby with ashen skin on top of the velvet sheets of her and her husband''s bed. "Dear? Did your spell work? She''s not saying anything."


    Hades, who was laying beside her, let out a curious hum. "It should''ve." He muttered, caressing his beard. "Perhaps I should cast it again. But if i did and the previous one did work, it would turn her into a cyclops."


    The baby, Tephra, blinked. "What?" She asked in a mix of shock and horror. Hades let out a sly smile as his wife''s eyes gleamed with happiness. Tephra quickly realized her mistake with a terrified expression. "How did you know?"


    "You''re not the only trickster in the room." Hades explained with a hearty chuckle. "Now, I have waited eons for a family outing of four or more. So how''s about we go out right now?" Persephone beamed,  holding a frowning Tephra in her arms as she got of the bed. Seeing this, Hades put two fingers in his mouth and whistled. Not a moment later, a large three headed hound burst into the room with a joyous bark.


    Tephra tensed up at the sight of the beast and its enormous teeth. Fear clear in her eyes. Said beast''s tail wagged cheerfully as it barked innocently. The royal couple of the underworld didn''t notice the baby''s tense expression as they joyfully left the room for the hallways of the palace.


    Tephra''s eyes scanned her surroundings with vigilance. She saw portraits of stories and statues of mythical creatures, hammering in where she was now. A mythology.


    They soon exited the palace and were met with the scenery of the underworld. It...had more vegetation than Tephra expected. No doubt the work of her...new mother.


    She winced at the thought. She knew Greek mythology. She knew how dangerous these deities were despite Hades and Persephone being some of the less threatening ones. They were still people and she couldn''t trust they''ll still treat her well if she did something they didn''t like.


    "There! The perfect spot." Said Persephone gesturing towards an area particularly lush with colorful flowers surrounded by the the only kind of grass in the underworld Tephra could see, a dark blue grass rather than green.


    Hades'' hands shook, giddy with joy. "You''re the best!" He said giving his wife a kiss before extending his hand towards the beautiful area. The world- no, the underworld shook. The sound alone made Tephra to scream in fear. Pillars of the underworld''s stone rose from the ground. They broke into a thousand pieces and reformed into a small park that landed gently onto Persephone''s plants.


    Chairs, tables and even decorations made in the blink of an eye. And that''s when Tephra realized what being god of the underworld meant. It wasn''t as obvious as god of lightning or tides at first, but she felt stupid when she realized it. Hades could literally control the underworld. The rocks, rivers and souls that make it up bend to his will. "Oh, sorry about that. I forgot how loud it can be when I don''t mute it." He said sheepishly before clearing his throat. "Let us sit."


    The three sat together as Cerberus laid on the floor beside them and at that very moment, the sound of thunder echoed throughout the underworld. Hades'' eye twitched in annoyance. "At this time? Shouldn''t he be busy cheating on his wife or something?" He grumbled, causing Persephone to snort.If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    The queen of the underworld cleared her throat. "It seems important." She said trying to hide her previous snort.


    Hades let out a heavy sigh. "Cerberus, look over Tephra." He said with a frown. "We''ll be back shortly." He added before he snapped his fingers and the two rulers disappeared, leaving Tephra with a large three headed hound.


    The ash skinned baby, from the table she was laid upon, glanced at the three headed dog nervously before Cerberus growled. Tephra tensed up before the dog barked loudly enough to hurt her ears. The baby screamed as Cerberus pounced in her direction. Tephra closed her eyes, waiting to be ripped apart by the dog.


    But it never arrived. She opened her eyes to find...nothing? She looked around and found Cerberus behind her crushing a small bird under its paws.


    Tephra crawled as fast as she could away from the dog in terror, falling off the table she was on onto her back. On the ground, looking up, she saw more of those birds. Tens of them. They were grey, almost as if to blend into the rocks of the underworld and their beaks were uncannily pointy.


    One of the birds rushed at her with reckless abandon before Cerberus stood in its way. The bird''s beak pierced the dog''s flesh before Cerberus bit it off, letting his blood splatter all over the flood.


    Fear once again gripped her heart as the realization quickly set in. The birds were trying to kill her. She mustered all her strength and flipped onto her stomach before crawling away. The birds followed. "I''m not fast enough." She muttered in horror. She could hear Cerberus trying to stop them, each bark and growl a reminder of her upcoming doom.


    Suddenly, she felt an odd sense of strength in her limbs and spine. Pushing the ground, she found herself standing on her legs. She, a baby, could stand. The thought baffled her, but only for a second before Cerberus barked again. And without waiting, she ran. She didn''t focus on anything, but getting away. She quickly headed inside the palace of the underworld.


    "Birds trying to end me. Gods trying to keep me." She sang unconsciously as she crossed the halls of paintings and statues. "I''ve tasted death before. The life of a ghost too much to endure! I can''t die today. I want to see the sun, but where can I run?! How can I escape the gore? Where is the underworld''s doooor?


    As Tephra ran, she stumbled upon a mirror. A tall mirror that showed her current self. Her eyes widened at her current form. Embers fell down her cheeks like tears. "What am I doing? Why am I singing? How did I fall in this pit? Which crime did I commit? Where did I go wrong? When did I start this song? WHO...am I anymore?" A sob left the baby''s throat. "Am I still the person from before? A father and mother, gods of death and dread. One mistake and I''m worse than dead. A hound that can tear me apart. A fear that won''t leave my heart. Is this what a family means? Is this what a family meaaaans? How can I escape the gore-" suddenly, a voice interrupted her song and she quickly his in the nearest room.


    "Where is the underworld''s dooooor?" It was Hades and his voice was serious as he walked through the halls of the palace, his voice growing closer with each step. "A father and mother, gods of death and dread. One mistake and you''re worse than dead. A hound that can tear you apart. A fear that won''t leave your heart," Hades sang before his tone became soft as he entered the room Tephra was hiding in. "This is not what a family means. This is not what a family meaaaaans! So I will give you a choice to escape the gore. Give us one more chance or I lead you to the underworld''s dooooor!"


    "Give us one more chance or we lead you to the underworld''s dooooor!" Persephone joined the song as she entered the room before she and Hades sang in unison. "Give us just one more chance or we lead you to the underworld''s dooooooooooor!"


    Tephra blinked as Hades spoke. "I suppose we did push too much onto you. We were just too excited by our own dreams to take your mental state into account." He said dejectedly.


    "We''re so sorry." Added Persephone with the same dejection as her husband. Tephra pursed her lips as her body hesitated to move from her hiding spot. But after a few seconds, she walked out and appeared in front of the duo. "Why are you so kind to me?" She asked.


    Hades let out a dry chuckle. "Ahh, I suppose the fame of my brothers exceeds mine. I have no interest in playing with souls or forcing my will upon mortals. I do my job, I love my wife, I play with Cerberus. It''s a simple, but fulfilling life and I don''t desire much past it." He said as he kneeled to his daughter''s level, despite still towering over her. "As for why you in particular. Well, because you''re our daughter now. We chose you."


    Tephra stared at the floor. "So it''s just luck?" She asked dejectedly. The royal couple paused before bursting into laughter.


    "I was born a god and what can you call that other than luck?" Replied Hades with a soft smile. "We can''t choose how we come into this world, but we can choose who we are once inside."


    "And now, you have a choice to be who you want to be. You could give us another chance and become our daughter or we can lead you outside the underworld where you can build your own life." Added Persephone with a weak smile. "It may sound selfish, but we''d still like to have you as our daughter."


    Tephra started at the couple smiling at her. Could she really trust them? She thought. "...okay. I''ll try to be your daughter." Persephone beamed at the response. "But slowly. You''ve been doing everything so fast and i-" Persephone nodded as she patted her daughter now the head.


    Hades saw this and smiled. Now this is a family.


    xxxxxxXxxxxxx


    Atop mount Olympus.


    Zeus sat on a throne of dark clouds with a frown. His yellow eyes piercing through even the light. "My scourge lives another day." He muttered narrowing his eyes. "But know this, Goddess of Ash. Your days are numbered."