Godhood

Summary: (Greek God AU) Han Solo has entered the underworld while still alive in order to find something. There he meets Leia, who is nothing like the dead who reside in Hades. She's alive. Han takes her to the mortal realm not knowing she is a goddess and the daughter of Darth Vader, god of Hades.

I do not own Star Wars. Done for fun.

Han landed with a hard thump. The ground was brittle and bit into his back, legs, and arms. He slowly lowered his head as his vision spun. The calls of the winged monsters rang loudly overheard. Despite the pain, Han couldn't help but smile. He had done it. He had crossed the River Acheron without having to cross on Charon's boat. Han patted the pouch that hung from his belt. He could feel the two coins still in there.

Slowly, he pushed himself to his feet. He looked behind him at the dark purple waters of the Acheron. The waves rose and fell and twisted and formed human shapes. Their arms were reaching out of the waves. Their fingers falling apart into foam. They clawed and screamed. Their eyes wide. But no sounds were heard but the soft rush of the water hitting the rocky shore. Acheron was the river of pain, but he didn't have time to dwell on that.

Han stood up and looked at the vast underground cavern. Crossing the Acheron meant he was now in the land of the dead, Hades. The cavern was dark and filled with sharp rock columns that disappeared into the darkness overhead the hid the ceiling. Han sighed. He needed to hurry, so he started to walk along the shore. He eyed the waters uncomfortably. The dead who were unable to pay the ferryman were forever trapped in those waters. They were all too willing to drag anyone down into the depths should they venture too carelessly to the water's edge.

The silence grew except for the soft rush of waves on the rocky shores. The caws of winged monsters were dying out as they flew away. Han focused on the sound of the rocks crunching under his sandals.

"Did you just ride a drexl over the river?"

Han jumped. He went scurrying back, but stopped himself after a few short steps. He eyed the water. Hands formed the white foam of the soft waves. They were ready for the moment Han got too close. Han quickly stepped away and looked up. He froze and gaped. Sitting on a rock was a young man. A teenager from the looks of it. And he clearly wasn't dead.

In fact, he looked so painfully alive. More alive than Han had ever seen anyone. There was a golden glow about him. The youth had tanned skin and golden blond hair. His eyes were a bright blue like the sky. He was dressed in a white chiton tunic that was tied around his waist and leather sandals. A black stripe ran along his tunic and a red pattern above that. He carried no pouch or weapons.

"I've never seen a mortal do that before," the youth said. His voice was intoxicating. Melodious. Han wondered if he was a singer. "Why not just take the ferry?"

"I need to save the coin," Han said. His own voice sounded rough in comparison.

"Oh?"

"I'm here to find Qi'ra. I need two coins for us both to go back," Han explained.

"Qi'ira? Your love?" The boy's eyes sparkled as he asked. For a second Han was standing under the night sky. Thousands of stars blinked all around him. Then he was back just looking into the boy's eyes. Han blinked and then blinked again trying to clear his head. Did this boy blink? His eyes had yet to close once.

"Yeah," Han said slowly. "I promised I'd come back for her. And . . . I meant it. Even if that means coming into Hades itself."

"How long ago did she come to Hades?" the boy asked.

"What?"

"How long ago? That will depend on where she is at in her journey."

"I uh . . ."

Han paused as he looked at the youth. The youth had mentioned mortals. Was he not a mortal? The youth jumped off his rock and grabbed Han's arm. It felt warm and soft yet strong.

"Come," he said and pulled Han away from the river. Up a rocky incline they went. The walls of the cavern slowly appearing out of the darkness. In the wall was a jagged opening. A slice within the rock. The boy pulled him into the tunnel.

Then the youth started to run. His hold on Han was tight, so Han was forced to run with him. He tried to say something, but found his mouth felt thick as if filled with thick honey. He was barely keeping his feet under him. His free arm waved wildly about. Any moment now Han would trip.

But soon, light grew ahead of them. They came out of the tunnel into another large cavern that was filled with a fores. The trees were thin and tall with white bark and silver leaves. Short gray grass grew among the roots.

"That way," the youth waved to their right, "is the Asphodel Meadows. That is where ordinary souls go to reside. That way," the youth waved to their left, "is the Mourning Fields where those who wasted their lives on unrequited love reside."

"Hey, it wasn't unrequited love," Han barked defensively.

The youth laughed. It sounded like bells. Like the ones they rang at the temples of the gods. "Good luck then," he said.

"Uh yeah. Thanks," Han said.

The youth nodded and saluted Han with two fingers. Then he turned and walked off into the trees. Han took a steadying breath and walked into the forest. It was quiet, but there was a soft sound almost like a rustling of leaves. Or whispers.

The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end. He could feel eyes on him. He turned his head this way and that, but all he saw were the trees. Though a few times he swore the knots in the tree bark looked like faces and their branches like arms. He tried to look down at his feet as much as possible.

The trees were neverending. His feet were tiring. He debated on resting, but decided that it would be for the best to keep pushing on. Eventually the trees thinned, and he found himself at the edge of another river. On the other shore stretched a grassy plain that rolled gently with soft hills. Pale green and white grass swayed gently, but Han saw no one in them. Perhaps the dead were further in.

He walked to the pebbled shore. He looked for a crossing or a bridge or even a boat. Would a boat require payment? He stared at the waters. Unlike the Acheron, these waters were smooth. Almost as smooth as glass. The water seemed to glow a light blue. Would it be safe to swim in? Han walked up to the water's edge. He could feel the chill of the water on his toes.

"That is the Lethe," came a feminine voice.

Han was startled, but didn't jump. He turned to see a young woman standing nearby. At once, she reminded him of the youth he met before. She was dressed similarly in a short white chiton tunic. Her hair was twisted back into buns on either side of her head. Her eyes and hair were a warm brown.

And she glowed. Warm and golden. Her chest rose and fell. She was alive.

"Luke was right," she said as she walked over to Han. Her voice was silky and smooth. He closed his eyes for a second to enjoy it. "There is a mortal here. Is it true? Did you ride a drexl over the Acheron instead of paying Charon?"

"Uh . . . Luke?"

"My brother, whom you supposedly met."

"The blond haired kid?"

She nodded. Her large doe eyes looked at him unblinking.

"Then yeah, I met him."

"So, you're looking for your lady love?" the girl asked.

"Yes."

"What's her name?"

"Qi'ra."

"Qi'ra. Qi'ra," the girl said as she rolled the name around her tongue. She looked around in thought. "Hmmm. And you are?"

"I am Han. Han Solo."

"I am Leia," she said. "And that is the Lethe River. It is the river of forgetfulness. Drink its waters and you shall forget everything you have ever known. The shades of the dead are required to drink its waters so they forget their earthly life."

There was a sharp pain in Han's heart. So even if he found Qi'ra, she wouldn't remember him?

"She may not be there yet," Leia said picking up on his woe.

"How am I going to know? How am I going to find her?"

"I could help," Leia said with a smile.

"You would?"

"Not for free of course. First rule of Hades, nothing here is without a price."

Han's hand went down to his pouch which held his coins. "I can't part with these. I need them to go back."

"Oh I don't want coins," Leia said. "Now let me think."

She kicked a pebble. It bounced into the river. It didn't make a sound nor splash. It was simply gone with only a small ripple to mark its passage.

"Leia! Leia!" a voice in the trees called. A voice like bells. A voice like laughter.

Leia sighed and rolled her eyes. The young man from earlier ran out from the trees. He trotted over to them.

"Leia," the youth said. Hadn't Leia called him Luke? "It's almost time for the feast. We must go prepare. You know how Father is."

Leia's face lit up and she turned to Han. "That's it! You want to find your dear Qi'ra? Very well. Attend the feast and dance with me."

"What?" Han said.

She smiled. "I will see you there!" she said with a laugh that reminded him of summer rain and ran into the trees.

"Wait? What feast? Where is it?" Han called after her. He turned to her brother. The youth only laughed. He walked up to Han and patted him on the shoulder.

"Come now," he said. "Can't go to Lord Vader's feast dressed like this."

"Wait? Lord Vader?" Han exclaimed.

Luke grabbed Han's arm and pulled him back into the trees. They passed through the trees in a matter of steps, though Han had traveled through them for a great length. They entered a tunnel and wove their way through various passageways. Eventually, the passages started to lighten with a red light. They exited the tunnel into a much larger tunnel. Raging down the center was a river of molten lava.

"The Phlegethon," Luke said casually with a wave of his hand. "The river of fire. If you follow it upstream to its depths, you shall reach the pits of Tartarus."

A thick knot formed in Han's throat as he thought of the prison for sinners. Luke was moving on and Han quickly followed him. A narrow stone bridge crossed the raging river. Luke walked across it without care, but Han was much more careful. He could feel the heat. Sweat dripped down his face and back. He tried to focus on the bridge. On his steps and not on the water that looked like flames.

Upon reaching the other side, Han sighed in relief. He wiped his face with his arm. The further away from the river he got, the colder it seemed to get. Had it always been this cold? He also noticed a change in the rocks. They seemed much more smooth. Carved. In fact, he started to see carved columns and decorative motifs.

Soon, they were no longer walking through a tunnel, but a hallway with towering ribbed stone columns on either side. The hall extended into a large room. Rows and rows of columns stretched into the dark. In that darkness were small flecks of distant glitter. The first piece of the glitter they came across was a gold coin. Then Han noticed a second and a third. Then a pile.

As they moved on, the gold coin piles grew and grew. Soon the whole floor beside the path they walked on was nothing but gold. Then it became more than just coins. Statues. Jewelry. Gems. Slabs of swirling marble. There was a large red crystal that towered taller than Han. The place was piled with treasure. Even in the distance, between the columns, the treasure grew and grew into rolling hills.

"What is this?" Han whispered.

"The Treasury of Hades," Luke said. His voice light. Unnerved.

"I thought . . . I mean I've heard tales but . . ."

"Didn't think it existed?" Luke said with a laugh.

Lord Vader was the god of the underworld, and as such the god of the riches it held. Han himself had kneeled and banged his head and hands against the floor in hopes Lord Vader would hear his prayers and grant him riches. Luke stopped by a pile and dug through the treasure. He picked up a necklace and then casually tossed it aside.

"What are you doing?" Han hissed quietly.

"You can't go to Lord Vader's feast dressed like that," Luke said.

"I can't go wearing stolen treasure."

"It's not stolen," Luke said. "We're merely borrowing it. Just be sure to return it before the keepers do their count."

Luke said it so nonchalantly. Without a care.

"The keepers?" Han asked.

Luke pointed up and Han followed the finger up to the ceiling. It was dark and Han couldn't make out anything. But he kept looking and he was sure there was something . . . moving . . . up there. Something slithering. Something with scales that glittered just like the treasure.

"I think this will do," Luke said as he held an armful of treasure. "Still more work to do. Let's go."

Luke led Han back out of the treasury, over the raging fiery river, and back into the tunnels. As they continued through the underground maze, Han realized he had no idea how to find his way back. How would he return the treasure? Find Qi'ra? Even find his way back to the Acheron?

Noise started to echo through the tunnels. Loud squealing and grunting. It wasn't long before Han started to smell a foul stench. He plugged his nose, but Luke carried on in his normal carefree way. The stench and the sounds grew worse. They exited a tunnel onto a raise pathway. Below them stretched animal pens. Inside were hundreds of squealing pig-like animals. They were huge and hairy with four tusks. They all rolled around in white stinky mud.

Luke walked down the path until they came to an empty pen. He placed the treasure on the ground.

"Come here," he said. Han walked over and wondered what was next. He wasn't expecting Luke to grab his arm and throw him into the white stinky mud. He was surprised at how easily Luke had done it. By the gods, the kid was strong!

At once, Han was flailing in the sticky mud and was soon covered in the stinky mess.

"What? What was that for?" he shouted.

"You smell," Luke said with a smile.

"I do now!"

"No. You smell like a mortal. Like someone living. I don't think you realize my sister's request. She's asking you to go to the feast of Lord Vader, the ruler of Hades. All sorts of beings will be attending as guests. None of them mortal. You have to go into the feast and dance with my sister without being found out your a living mortal."

Han stilled. He sank into the mud some more. "What happens if they do find out?"

"It's best not to dwell on that. Come on, get out."

It took a few moments of struggling, but eventually Han pulled himself out of the mud. Luke collected the treasure, and the two returned to the tunnels. This time Luke only led him a short distance to a wooden door. They opened it to find a rather normal looking room. A small fire was in a fireplace. A wooden bed was shoved into one corner. A small table with two chairs in another. Clay cups and bowls sat on it.

Luke dropped the treasure on a table and at once started to dig in a trunk in the corner. He pulled out a large black fur coat. He draped it over Han's shoulders. Then he returned to the trunk and pulled out a large skull. It looked like it belonged to one of the pigs. It was thin with four tusks. He placed it on Han's head as if it were a helm.

Then he took the jewelry and started to place it on Han. There was a large gold necklace with several chains. A huge red ruby hung from the center. There were a few bangle bracelets and two large rings. Luke laced a few thin strands of gold along the tusks. Then he picked up a piece of coal that had fallen out of the fire. He used it to mark all over Han's face.

"I guess that will do," Luke said as he tossed the coal back into the fire.

Luke opened the door and Han followed. They exited the room and onto a street . . . A street? Han looked around. They were on a road. A paved road with stone buildings. Not a tunnel with squealing and stinky pigs nearby. The road led up a large sharp hill. Houses and buildings were everywhere. Yellow and blue fire lit up windows and large braziers lit up the streets.

It was a city. A whole city underground. It was larger than Coronet City on Corellia. Han had to tilt his head back to see all the up the hill. At the top was a large building. No, a palace.

"That's the palace of Lord Vader," Luke waved at it. "That is where the feast is taking place. Just follow the roads up."

"Wait, what about-" Han said, but already Luke had ducked back through the door and shut it.