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Ugh... humans, flowers, dogs, souls, LIVES... all swarming around him, living and... being happy. And he couldn't do anything about. GAH! Stupid new body... stupid loss of his stupid godly powers! UGH!

Hades darted angrily around Traverse Town, trying despretely to ignore all the lives that he couldn't end. He had left the house because a certain absent-minded robot, a crazy girl, and a ghost (who wasn't swimming in the pits of his lair! Cheater...) had all banded together to piss him off, but the presence of all of this life had only ended up making his foul mood worse. He really wished that he could end someone right now... Anyone... even a child or something. Hades, he'd even settle on simply setting someone on fire...

...Oh, wait...

There was an idea... Hehe...

And with that, he floated lazily towards the small throng of people near the fountain.

Harry was startled for a moment. Someone spoke to him and yet he didn't even see him. Looking up he spotted a boy at the top of the fountain.

"I tripped... over my feet again" Harry said with a small mumble as he looked at the ground and shuffled his feet.

"How...how did you get up there?" Harry asked hoping to change the subject before the boy asked him how he did that.

Harry eyes where so settled on the boy on the fountain and looking at his shoes in embarassment that he didn't notice another figure floating towards them.

Riku blinked at the question following the answer, well, he supposed it would be hard for some people to get up here... "Oh...I just climbed up, not really that hard getting up, the hard part is staying."

That said his eyes turned from the brown haired boy to another, slightly odder one. "I wouldn't if I were you." The silver hairded boy said, not really knowing what the other had in mind, but his look just screamed. 'Not nice!'.

"?"

Hades nearly jumped as Riku caught him in the act.

Darn, he had been so close to lighting the weird kid in the robes on fire. Meddling kids, always screwing up his plans... He crackled angrily to himself before turning his "face" towards the offending silver-haired teen. He crackled again before, in a flurry of changing shapes, he managed to spell out, "What's it to YOU?" in the air, like a sparkler during 4th of July.

"Well it looks sort of hard to get up there to begin, or at least for me" Harry said sitting down on the lip of the fountain. "I have a habit of being a bit of a clutz so something that look easier for other people are a little harder for me."

I wouldn't what? Harry thought as he turned around to look.

"Wah!" was all that Harry could cry as he stumbled back into the fountain pool. The blue flame that stood so close to him gave him a bit of shock. Dripping with water he shook his head to get his hair out of his eyes to look at the blue flame a little more.

"I just can not abide those who would truly harm with out need." Riku answered in a flat tone as he pushed off the fountain and landed just behind the little fireball, a glass jar in hand.

"My father runs an curiousty shop of sorts, so I have access to all sorts of things, you know." As he said this the silver haired boy took the lid of the jar. "Like this jar, it's able to keep a flame burning for years with out being opened to let new air in, and heat doesn't effect it at all...I wonder what such a small space would be like?" The boy said with an almost iced tone as he stared at the flame over his shoulder. "Would you care to find out?"

"Oh, ZEUS."

The flame zoomed frantically forwards and hid under the eave of a nearby building, spitting and crackling furiously. Stupid new body... stupid jar-wielding kid.

"I wasn't gonna hurt the kid! I can't! All I can do is singe people a little. Something stops me before I can really hurt 'em!", he spelled quickly.

He gave another irritated spit. Stupid, stupid, STUPID new body... if he was still his old self, he wouldn't have to explain himself to the little git. He could just smite him and leave it at that...

Harry was completely at loss at what to do. The silver haired boy had threatened the blue flame with a jar, and now the blue flamed was hiding under the eves. Who was this kid anyway?

Harry shook his head and shoved his glasses up on his nose again. Feeling a little wet he sighed remembering he had landed in the water at the fountain. How much clumser could he get.

Hades fizzled angrily from his spot under the eaves and glared at the two of them. Well, at least he had made one of them slightly miserable... Smirking inwardly, Hades started to spell out another sentence.

"Hey, four-eyes... You look like you just lost a fight to my brother, Poseidon... Clumsy much?"

Harry muttered as he looked at the blue flame.

"Poseidon? Whose that... and hey don't call me four eyes! hmph!" Harry cried as he struggled to get himself out of the foutain again. Four eyes his foot, at least he was flying around as a blue flame trying to singe people.

Harry muttered and sat down on the lip of the fountain again. Clumsy was his nature, even the blue flame could tell that.

Hades made a harsh spitting sound at Harry's complete lack of knowledge about Greek mythology. Ugh, children these days...

"You didn't listen very well in school, didja? Poseidon was the greek god of the sea, brother of Zeus..." He stopped here for a minute and spit fiercely. Attention stealing older brother with his ANNOYING little freak of a son... Hissss... "...And furthermore, the brother of me, Hades. Lord of the Underworld. Not really a pleasure to meet you."

"So... Poseidon is a god...and he is your brother... and you the lord of the Underworld? Hades?" Harry asked thoughtfully as he looked at the little blue flame. He didn't look much like a god to him, but who was he to say. As for the study of greek mythology, they didn't study it that much at school. Then again he lacked the patiences to learn about something that he didn't care about. Mythology and history wasn't one of them.

"I'm Harry, and I didn't think it was much of a pleasure when you were apparently going to singe me" Harry said with a bothered look on his face. He couldn't even begin to imagine what he would tell mother when he showed up with a rip, dirt and a singe robe when he got home.

Ugh... children... If he had had eyes, he'd have rolled them.

"No, I just told you that for NO REASON.", he spelled irritably, "Yes, YES. Hades, Lord of the Underworld. The Greek god of death. The Grim Reaper, if you will."

He floated a little closer as Harry continued talking. "Harry, eh? Well, it's a good thing I didn't get any closer. Hair really stinks when it's burning. Does that mean you would, too?", he spelled, whilst almost physically radiating a smirk.

Riku just stood back watching this whole exchange, part of him find it all rather amusing. He didn't really mind going unnoticed the whole time either, part of him rather liked being able to stand in plain site and not be seen.

"So then...you planning to play nice for a little while there candle light?" The boy asked with a smirk as he walked over, the jar having been put in his pack long ago. "Or do I get to test out the jar?"

Hades crackled and sped back under the eaves as Riku reemerged. Idiotic, moronic, asinine magical jar... He remained under there, hissing and spitting like a caged cat for a few minutes, before he finally crept out a little and started spelling again. "Well, ya don't really leave me a choice, do ya, bub? Yeah. I'll play nice..."

'At least until I can get a physical body again, then badaboom, badabing, I'll reap 'em both like Athenian olives...', he thought with an inward smirk.

Harry was really not appreicating the presents of the so called "god" Hades, or Grim Reaper as apparently he was happy about calling himself. But he didn't mind the presences of the other boy, he at least seemed less threatening, maybe it was because he wasn't a flying ball of blue flame.

"I don't think I would smell very good burnt..." Harry said giving a thought about it as Hades hid back under the eves from the silver hair boy again. Nope, he thought, being burnt wouldn't smell very good at all.

Hades crept a little further out from underneath the eaves, making a pleased little sizzling noise. Heh, the silver-haired kid was no fun, but the smaller bespectacled child was turning into a rather good scapegoat for his taunts.

"Well, kid, no one smells good when they're burning. That's why I would usually just toss my enemies into the bottom of the River Styx. Drowning people in death-water is so much cleaner, ya know. No screaming, or flailing, or messy ashes to clean up." He stopped writing and dallied for a minute, using the pause to emphasize his point. "But, since I don't have access to that now..."

Access to it now? Harry asked himself looking a the blue flame. Was this little thing really a death god as he said? Or was he still trying to scare him...either way Harry didn't like it.

"River Styx...what sort of name is that?" Harry asked. I mean if he was the death god why didn't he give it a better name, like the River of No Return, or the Rive of Death, why River Styx? It sounded lamer everytime he repeated it to himself.

'Oi, vey...'

"Okay, babe. Quick mythology lesson for you. There are two reasons for the Styx being named as it is. First, there was my lovely auntie Styx, the Titan-goddess of said river. She was a great woman... Helped me and brothers overthrow dear old daddy Cronus. She was, infact the first to rush to Zeus's aid. Thus, the river got her name as tribute and the name "Styx" became an oath that my siblings and I have deigned to swear by since that time. Also, conviently, the word "Styx" comes from the greek word "stugein", known to you English speakers as "hate". Thus, it's the River of Hate, which fits rather well with the whole "river of death" theme, eh?" He stopped here and seemed to pant for a moment. Whoo, he couldn't write for very long without getting completely exhausted from the movement.

"Oh..." was all Harry could respond from the long lecture of the Styx name. Well, now it made a little more sense, the name at least. But still Styx..still sounded a little lame to him.

Hades didn't immediately respond to Harry's "oh". He was still bobbing up and down in a rather tired manner, as if he was panting. Writing like that really did take a lot out of ya...

Finally, after a couple of minutes...

"Yeah, oh. You still don't get it, do ya?"

"Oh no no I get it but.... it still sounds kinda of lame if you ask me" Harry replied as he stood up. Taking the ends of his robe he rung them until the water no longer poured out of it.

"What would happen if you fell into that river than" he asked looking a the blue flame. Would he possibly live, or would he actually extinguish like a flame on a candle.

That comment really rankled Hades for some reason. He, too, had thought the name silly at times, but hearing it from someone else... "Well, so does the name Harry, but ya don't hear ME bashing it. Oh, wait. Heh."

The annoyance was stopped dead in it's tracks at the boy's question, though. It was a good question. "Well, kid, I used to be able to bathe in the stuff. Dunno what it'd do NOW." He spit a little angrily, once again cursing his new flaming body.

"Yea...I know Harry is a funny name, it always reminded me of a hairy sock..... I don't know why I would think of a hairy sock.. but it sort of does..." Harry said looking down at his shoes again. He was use to people critizing his name, always asking it was short of Henry or something, but he would tell them no it was only Harry, in which in away made people sort of wonder what his mom was thinking when she named him.

"So... if you fell into the fountain like I did.. you would extinguish" Harry asked looked at the blue flame again.

"Who knows what my mother thinks sometimes, she can be a little odd...really...but she is one of the best mothers ever" Harry said with a little smile. True, he sometimes wondered about her craziness but there was no doubt that she cared alot about him, and was always there when he needed her.

"Hmmm....well we may never know if you don't try it...the fountain I mean" Harry said looking down at his feet again. Only to pause and to shove the glasses up on his nose again.

Hades made a little fizzling noise that sounded like a gag. 'Ugh, talk about mushy moments. Do I really have to put up with this?' He had never really put much stock into ANY kind of love (Well, there was that thing with Persephone and he did have a thing for Aphrodite, but those were both lust, really.), especially... Urgh... FAMILY love. He hated his family. His high-and-mighty brothers, and their brats... "Dear Old Daddy" Cronus who had tried to eat his children... His Mom had been decent, but still... Ugh.

He backed a little further off as Harry persued the subject. "Listen, kid, I really don't wanna try. Being extinguished forever is not a GOOD thing, ya know."

"Good point, I guess being gone forever would sort of suck....but still it would be kind of cool to watch you fizzle out you being some god and all and than die such in a pathetic way..." Harry replied simply as he looked at Hades again.

What the...?

Hades simply floated silently for a minute, before...

"Kid, you're sadistic. Were you one of my minions in a past life?"

"I don't think so..." Harry replied with a slight shake of his head. True at times he thought evil thoughts, but really he was really kinder than most or at least he hoped. He didn't think he was that sadistic.

"Too bad, you woulda done alright...Definately better than Pain and Panic, at any rate. 'Course that's like saying that the Elysian Fields are better than than the other circles of Hades... It goes without saying. Hn."

He hovered in the air for a minute before he started to spell again. "Where DID ya come from, then?"

Pain and Panic....Elysian Fields..meh maybe it was better not to ask him and be saved the whole history lecture again.

"Me a minion...I don't know about that...but I come from... like most people I assume, I guess I never really asked mom about...but I do know that I'm a wizard of some sort, one who is suppose to be really good..but I don't really see that...but I'm alright flying a broomstick..that is if I am not caught" Harry said with smile on his face. He loved to fly, but as much as he loved it, he always got scolded for it.

Hades flittered around restlessly as Harry recounted his story. He had an urge to ask the kid if her knew about the birds 'n bees, but that would probably be pushing his luck a little far. He didn't want him to splash him... "A wizard, eh? You really weren't one'a mine, then. Most of the witches and wizards from my neck of the woods had enough magical power to run on their own, without help from the gods. Like Circe... Mmm, she was one heck of a woman... Curvy doesn't even begin to describe it."

He started to make weird, little spitting laugh-noises when Harry meantioned the broomstick, though. "Oh! You're a European wizard, then. I never understood the whole broomstick thing... It's like riding a mop or a kitchen sink. I mean, what's the point when you can just float?"

"So, are you saying as a god of death you really didn't have any witches or wizards in you realm..they can actually get away.... well that a relief I was afraid that I might have to spend my whole enternity in death with you as well" Harry said giving a small quirky smurk, sometimes sarcasm was relief as well. As for the comment of Circe... Harry only imagined when he meant curvy he meant a funny shape of some sort of curve.

Shaking the image out of his head of a funny tubbed bent woman shaped like a sink drain, he looked at Hades with a slight annoyance of his comment about the broom. "Well, some of us can float, as others such as myself, broomsticks are the way to go, besides I want to be a famous quidditch player, or hope to at least be some what good at the game this way no one can pick on me again...besides you could ride a mop...but than they aren't as good in steering" Harry said as he remembered the funny mop he rode one time because he was in trouble for riding a broom again.

"I'm not saying that they could avoid me. They just didn't deign to be minions. Mostly because Hecate would decapitate anyone who tries to take her followers. But, it certainly didn't mean that they couldn't escape eternity with me..."

If Hades had had eyes at that point, he would have blinked them in rapid confusion. "What in the seven levels of Hades is Quidditch, and what does it POSSIBLY have to do with broomsticks?" He bobbed up and down for a minute, waiting for an answer before another half of the statement hit him. "Oh, and kid? I was just kidding about the mop. I didn't think you'd be weird enough to actually ride one."

"Oh so you left me with false hopes than..." Harry said with a sarcastic tone, but than he wondered who was Hecate, he hoped she wasn't as cruel as Hades was.


"Qudditch...well it is sort of like..soccer...but on broomsticks... hmm... lets see..you have the golden snitch that ends the game when caught, a quaffle that is shot into a ring sort of like a goal, and bluders that try to knock you off your broom..it is actually alot of fun" Harry said with a slight excitment in his voice. Actually he was a little surprised to find the god of death not knowing what qudditch was especially since he seemed to know everything else. "As for riding the mop it was sort of a way to punish me... really..." Harry simply replied not wanting to go further on detail.