To Crue or not to Crue

Crue is a new character to the writing, but an old character in the timeline of the stories... and he's a sword that talks, but let's not get technical with magickal objects

If I had known the adventures I would have with Crue, I would have picked him up the second he started stalking me, instead of attempting to blast him into oblivion everytime I saw him.

 

The day I finally took Crue under my care was a same old, same old day, absoultely nothing special. I was with Leo, going to visit my adoptive parents in the Underworld, Hades and Persephone. I hadn't seen them in a few decades and I thought it was time I stopped by to see the people who had raised me, kept me safe and away from the rumors of my existence on the surface. The fact that I had yet to live up to my hated nickname "Abomination", was starting to.. well, tick off a lot of my haters. I hadn't killed any higher beings that were vying for power, I hadn't declared myself a full supporter of heaven or hell, and the least favorite thing was that I never betrayed those who dared befriend me. Immortals and gods were just waiting for me to make a mistake, one that I hadn't even come close to in my millina.

 

Leo and I were approaching the gates to Hades Palace, taking a route that I had learned from Hermes a long time ago, one that went through the crystal gardens I had built during my life growing up in the Underworld. Just for the heck of it and to continue the tradition, as we passed the small field of rose quartz, I summoned two fireballs and threw them as hard as I could at the innocent looking quartz. As usual, the fire seemed to hit a barrier and left the stone untouched, the blood red stain trapped in the stone almost cackling at my failure to erase the memory. Leo was smart enough to just sigh and shift the weight of his favorite onyx blade from one shoulder to the other.

 

As we neared the gates, Leo stopped and tapped my shoulder. "San... look over there." He pointed to a pile of rubble near the walls of the palace. I looked and froze. Impossible. It had to be impossible.

 

"No, no, no, no, no. NO!" I screamed the last "no" and felt myself erupt into my demon form, wings, fangs, horns, and cloven hooves included. Summoning whatever powers I could, I hurled the mass of insanity towards the rubble pile, where an innocent looking sword was set against. It was a familar looking sword, one that followed me everywhere and had been doing so for nearly a century. I had even named the sword Cruentus since it was such a bloody pain in my butt. I purred as the rubbled exploded, hopefully taking the sword with it for at least a decade. I then returned to normal and looked over at Leo. "That was fun! Now, let's go say hi to my folks!" I almost skipped the rest of the way to the gates, but just as I was about the pull open the doors, something strange happened.

 

"CASSANDRA!" Hades' voice echoed through the Underworld. The ground shook as well as the walls and ceiling. I pushed Leo out of the way of a falling stalactite and dodged a few of my own. Persephone appeared at the doors and looked between Leo and me. She gave me a puzzled look. "San, sweety, you need to come in quickly before your father destroys his realm." She turned without saying anything else and started walking towards the throne room. I followed, feeling foolish that I couldn't have just walked in and went in to see my parents the way I was hoping. With Hades roaring at me and Persephone giving me the cold shoulder, I felt like an outlaw in my home. I tossed a grin over my shoulder at Leo and then continued to almost skip after my mom.

 

The reason for Hades' anger between very evident the second I entered the throne room and it resparked my own anger. There was Cruentus, stuck in the middle of the seat of Hades' silver throne. I pretended to use my tonuge to check my teeth for any food that got stuck from last meal as I pondered how the hell Cruentus had made it to the spot he was in. While I pondered, Hades flowed over to me and grabbed me into a quick hug, then just as quickly pushed me away and pointed at the sword sticking out of his throne. "Can you explain this, daughter?"

 

I bit my lip and gave my dad a sidelong glance. "Actually... I can and can't. That thing has been following me around for nearly a century and everytime I try to destroy it, it just shows up again. I just attempted to destroy it again just outside... I didn't think it would show up this quickly... and right here. How it got into your throne, that is beyond me, dad."

 

"Just pick it up. If it's been following you, it is probably meant for you." Persephone reasoned, staring at Cruentus and tapping her chin. "You have people who do like you, contrary to your own beliefs. It may even be connected to you given what you are, something that was put into your protection without you knowing. You are probably meant to watch over it, which is why it keeps following you around."

 

I looked over at Leo. "She could be right. Pick it up and let's see if something can kill you or if you really are meant to live beyond the distruction of the world."

 

The only sound through the room was my nearly silent footsteps as I approached the throne. As a child, I had leaned against that throne learning from Hades how he dealt out punishments to the dead souls who made it into his prescence. This was where Hermes and Persephone had presented me to Hades when they had discovered me abandoned in the Underworld. There were so many memoried that the throne brought up that I felt as if I was wading through them with every step I took. I finally reached the throne and grasping the hilt of the sword, I pulled it out and waited. When nothing happened, I looked over to the other three more powerful immortals in the room. With a raised eyebrow I said, "Alright, I'm no believer. I'm not dead--" I cut off as in my head a cheerful metallic male voice spoke.

 

I thought you would never pick me up! What was with all that trying to kill me? Wow, you named me... I like that name, through can we shorten it to Crue? I like Crue.