Chapter Forty-Nine

The first thing to return to me was my vision, and it wasn't a quick return either. It came on gradually, from the darkness to blurry. My ears rang, but nothing else could be heard beyond that. And as my vision became clearer, I could smell smoke, ash, fresh dirt, and the ocean air like a thick blanket over the field.

I found myself laying on my side, with someone's arm around me... No, their body was on top of me, covering me like a shield, and they were breathing, their breath a hot blast against my face and I blinked slowly, turning my head to see Zeus on top of me. Blood splattered his face, his blonde hair a wicked mess of dirt, blood, and sweat, and his eye twitching from the pain of an injury I couldn't see. He was breathing hard, propping himself up and looking at something over my head. I turned my head around, pain snapping up through my back and into my head.

Across the field standing on the shoreline of the beach, in front of a sea turned red, Hannibal stood like a menacing shadow, his mismatched eyes glowing bright red and his fangs elongated as he breathed raggedly, his claws flexing at his sides.

The beast.

I blinked and took in our surroundings. The ground beneath us was broken up into pieces, like a fierce earthquake had ripped through the land, and most of the soldiers had gone down with the shaking, or into the deep trenches created in the earth that were filled with hot bubbling lava that appeared to be coming up from an underground volcano of some kind.

Anexius was laying nearby unconscious, with Cerberus on his knees beside him, clutching at his side where a sword was buried deep in his flesh, having torn through his battle suit. Lucifer was right next to him, touching his shoulder and saying something I couldn't hear. Not too far away, Hades was draped over top of Menoetius, still alive, still breathing, and in obvious pain, but he wasn't about to expose Menoetius to the elements with his chest laying open. He'd also put up his own second barrier around the two of them, tight and cozy, but it did the job of protecting them from the explosion.

I turned back around to see Lea laying on the ground, unconscious.

Suddenly, I remembered Akin and I snapped my head around, cursing under my breath at the pain, and my stomach shrank in on itself as I spotted Akin laying on the ground, unconscious. I could feel his life force, but he didn't look like he was breathing. He was laying like a discarded doll on the ground, blonde hair fanned around him, blood leaking from multiple injuries. And standing over him, facing Hannibal, was Atlan, who appeared all too calm, all too comfortable with this situation.

The ringing in my ears began to fade as Atlan opened his mouth and spoke. Hannibal, who was now possessed by the beast, did nothing, but snarl and snap his teeth like an animal. Atlan smiled pleasantly as he stepped away from Akin and came to face Hannibal directly, who growled.

"My, my," Atlan mused, scanning Hannibal from head to toe before meeting those red eyes, "You've been neglecting my gift, hybrid. How is the beast, by the way? Probably hungry after all those years of being ignored?" Hannibal hissed and stalked toward him. Atlan didn't move, simply smiled with a confidence that made my stomach sink with dread.

Why was he so content? What was he playing at?

Atlan waved his hand, and a group of soldiers appeared in front of him, a mixed pot of both his own soldiers and those of ours. It only took one stupid demon to rush Hannibal and set the beast off. The beast roared, a monstrous inhuman sound that echoed over the ocean and sent chills through me.

He caught the first soldier and literally ripped the thing's head off. He ripped its arms off and used them to catch a soldier in the midsection, knocking him head over heels. Blood sprayed across the white sands, staining them red. The two soldiers from our forces screamed and took off, but the beast teleported before them and snatched one right off the ground like nothing more than a gingerbread cookie, one that he broke clean in half before casting aside.

The soldiers scrambled like a terrified pod of ants, screaming and rushing around, a couple stupid souls trying to blast at the beast, but it did nothing, except piss the creature off more. The beast threw its head back and released a bloodcurdling roar that sent goosebumps creeping over my skin, my fists clenching tight on the ground, and I felt Zeus tense around me, his eyes watching the scene as if he couldn't believe what the hell was happening.

"Good boy," Atlan murmured appreciatively as Hannibal ripped the final soldier into pieces. The beast opened its mouth and drank the blood spurting free of a demon's throat. It clamped its mouth down on the thing and drew in a mouthful of blood before it bit down into the demon's throat and ripped it open, taking not only the blood with it, but the flesh as well. It howled and sank down to the ground to devour what was left, until it caught sight of Atlan moving around to watch it with fascinated silver eyes.

The beast snapped its head up and its red eyes flashed. It parted its bloody lips, revealing fangs that gleamed in the sunlight that was descending toward the horizon. Atlan laughed at the sight as he approached the beast, who hissed at him.

"You're like a feral cat," he said mockingly and the beast snarled at him, but Atlan didn't back down, "Here, kitty. Let's get a closer look at you." The beast snapped its teeth and lunged to its feet, heading straight for Atlan, who merely waved his hand and Hannibal went flying, slamming into the ground not too far from Zeus and I. The dirt went flying and grass clumps scattered. Hannibal lifted his head, breathing hard as his eyes flickered from red back to white and blue again, then back to red. He bared his fangs the moment he saw us and Zeus cursed under his breath.

"Motherfucker," he seethed, tightening his hold on me. I went to prop myself up on my elbow, but excruciating pain exploded up my arm and into my head, so I collapsed back down, gasping for breath as the beast rose up on its feet, coming toward us. Zeus threw his hand up and sent a blast at it, but it spun around and dodged with such speed and agility that I nearly missed it when I blinked.

It roared and started for us again. This time, I managed to push at Zeus on top of me.

"Off," I commanded, "You can't win against him, Zeus. You're just a god."

"And what are you?"

"Ancient, now get off me, unless you want to end up as the beast's next meal," I ordered. Zeus gritted his teeth, then glanced up at the beast, who was only growing nearer and nearer. He finally shoved himself off me and rolled to the side. The beast growled and turned toward him, but I chucked a rock at him, hitting him across the brow. It snarled and locked target on me, lunging for me, but I rolled out of the way and popped back up to my feet. Ignoring the piercing agony in my busted arm, I threw my hand out and sent a blast into the beast that threw him into the ground, breaking open a fresh new trench that everyone scrambled to avoid.

The beast flipped back onto his feet and charged me again. I spun off to the side and caught him by the back of his battle suit, picking him up and throwing him over my head so he smashed into the ground. He snarled and kicked and writhed as I struggled to hold him pinned down to the ground. His teeth gnashed, snapping and clicking as saliva flew and those fangs seemed to only get larger, the claws more razor sharp, and goddamn those claws, he caught me right across the stomach and tore the battle suit open like it was nothing, but rice paper.

I shouted a curse of pain, reeling my fist back and suckerpunching the thing in the face. It yipped like a struck puppy for only a second before lunging up for my throat, and his fangs hit home as they came down around my throat and I gasped. Blood filled my mouth and I choked as his jaws clamped shut, and I reached up to sink my hand in Hannibal's hair, lacing black locks around my fingers as I yanked his head off me.

"No!" Zeus started for us, but Hades was right there to grab him around the waist and haul him back. Zeus writhed against him, trying to elbow him in the gut, but Lucifer was there a second later to grab him before the elbow could connect.

Pain exploded up through my head as Hannibal's jaws tore flesh from my throat, and instantly a wave of nausea and dizziness struck me as the world spun and I lost my balance, falling back from the beast as it rolled over on top of me, reeling its claws back to slice open my face. I caught his wrist before it could reach me, but it was far more difficult than I had anticipated to keep his claws from shredding me to pieces.

I was bleeding out, big time. I could feel it pooling beneath my head, making my hair slick and sticky, splattered up along my neck and the side of my face. And the smell of it was only driving the beast more insane as it became ravenous, snarling and snapping at my face.

I managed to lift my free hand, trembling and shoved it against Hannibal's chest. I blasted him off me and he went flying through the air and skidding across the ground to land in front of Atlan, who glanced down at Hannibal with an arched brow, clearly not impressed with the beast's display.

Wheezing for air, I rolled over onto my side, reaching up to clasp my hand over the hole in my throat. Trembling, but still conscious, I sent a rush of power through the injury to heal it. A second later, Zeus, Lucifer, and Hades were also at my side, Hades's hands clasped over mine as he shot an extra load of power through me and I barked out in pain as I felt the skin snapping back together, closing up the wound and sealing the artery shut.

"You asshole," Zeus snarled at me, grabbing my face when Hades was finished, and Hades scowled at him, something Zeus swiftly ignored so he could glare into my face, "Don't ever fucking do that again. I don't give a shit what kind of creature you are! Gods, fuck you, for real!" I sighed, reaching up to cover his hands on my face.

"Oh, Zeus, your poetic words are really sweet, but you need to move, because that blast barely affected that thing," I said, sitting up and grabbing Zeus to haul him out of the way, bringing him over to my side. Sure enough when we looked up, Hannibal was back on his feet and pissed the fuck off. Or rather, the beast was.

"Jesus," Hades snapped, "What the hell is that? I mean, we've seen the beast before, but it's never looked like that thing. It makes Cujo look like a fucking Pom Pom."

"That's the beast thoroughly pissed off," I seethed, clutching at my arm as it finished healing with a painful crack and twist, "The beast we've seen before was angry, yes, but from hunger and wanting to torture. The beast we're seeing now is one that's getting its ass whooped and is not enjoying it. It's only going to get angrier and it's only going to get worse."

"You've fought a beast before," Lucifer pointed out, and I gave him a grim stare.

"Yes, and I barely held it off long enough to survive. The beast is probably one of the few things in the world that can kill me, and for the record, that means the rest of the universe will die with me."

"Surely it's not stupid enough to kill you," Zeus said, looking at me, but I shook my head.

"The beast does not run on logic. It's called the beast for a reason. It only feels basic things, like hunger, anger. It's the representation of bloodlust and chaos. That's why it's called the curse of bloodlust and chaos. You've seen Ares go through this, haven't you?" I asked. Zeus shrugged.

"Only a few brief times, but never this bad."

"Could it have something to do with his bloodline?" Lucifer asked.

"No idea. But we don't have time to talk about it, it's coming after us again," I warned, getting to my feet. Everyone moved with me, getting into stances as the beast went for us again, appearing to completely forget Atlan was right behind him. I frowned at that.

It didn't make sense. Hannibal wasn't tagged with anything. This was the beast, pure and simple. It craved bloodshed no matter who it was around. It was why beasts were known to kill their host's loved ones. They didn't recognize faces. They only saw shapes, only saw in shades of red. They only felt hunger and rage.

And yet it didn't go for Atlan, at least, not now. It had gone for him earlier, but Atlan had sent him flying... at Zeus and I. I tensed as I glanced back at Atlan, who looked across the field at me and smiled slowly, like he knew exactly the conclusion I was coming to.

"Son of a bitch," I muttered, making everyone glance at me, "He's purposely pitting Hannibal against us. He's staying out of the beast's range, and making sure he stays focused on us. He wants Hannibal to put us out of commission since the thing with Menoetius failed." Zeus cursed and Hades wiped a hand down his face in distress.

"Great," Hades said, bitterly, then paused for a good moment, "So. Let me get this straight, beast just goes after anything that moves within its range, right?"

"Yes, and before you suggest we get a bunch of our soldiers here to distract him, I'm really not into the canon fodder idea," I told him, and he rolled his eyes as he cracked his knuckles and shook his hands out.

"Neither am I. I'm an asshole, but not that much of an asshole. No, I have much better canon fodder. You know, the kind that's already done the job and six feet under," he said, then drew his hands up, conjuring up an incredible amount of magic that crackled between his fingers and he sank down to the ground, touching it and the ground shuddered. Zeus grimaced at that, taking a step back from one of the trenches.

"I hate it when you bring those things out," he muttered and Hades smirked up at him.

"One of the many reasons I learned to do it. My job as an eternal thorn in your ass is never finished," he responded, making Zeus snort. Hades concentrated his magic into the ground, drawing the familiar black skeleton army from its resting place. The rubbling increased to the point where even the beast had stopped coming toward us to stop and cock its head, growling low as it scanned the ground suspiciously.

Atlan's smile twitched, but he didn't make a move at all. He stood absolutely still, watching the scene from Hannibal's blind spot. I narrowed my eyes on him and he met my eyes. A brief moment of silence followed before the first skeleton exploded from the ground, punching a hole through it and clamboring out.

The beast snapped its head to look at the thing and snarled, baring its fangs. Another several exploded from the ground, followed by dozens and dozens more climbing out of the trenches, and the beast snarled at them, lunging for the nearest one. He went to bite the skeleton's arm, then hesitated when he realized there was no flesh there to rip out. Confused, and thoroughly pissed, the beast roared and smashed the thing to pieces, then went for the next one and the next one.

And the skeletons kept coming, charging out of their eternal rest to charge the beast, who spun around and fought the things off with the kind of desperation of a cornered animal.

"They're not going to hold him off for long," Hades said, rising to his feet, "Those things do run out unfortunately. So we need to come up with a plan that gets Hannibal back to the real world so he can kill Atlan. And fast, because we're starting to run low on energy here. One day was not enough to recover from the fight in the Paradise realm." Lucifer nodded grimly.

"I'm already starting to feel a little worn out. And the fighting everywhere else is slowing down now. I think everyone's getting exhausted. We need to hurry up and end this," he said, turning to look at me. I nodded, watching the beast vigorously try to attack the skeletons. My eyes swung back over to where Akin was laying, still unconscious.

"Akin," I said, making them look at me curiously, "Akin's been able to reach through to the beast. He keeps Hannibal calm. And right now, Hannibal's angry and that's what's fueling the beast. If we can get Akin up and awake, maybe he can say something to draw Hannibal out." Lucifer swallowed, nervously glancing over to where Akin was.

"He's injured. Severely, from the looks of it," he said. Hades frowned.

"I can heal him, no problem. Keep the thing off me, as well as the shifty eyed weasel over there," he said, nudging his head in Atlan's direction, "And I can get him up on his feet long enough to chit chat his husband down." I nodded.

"Then do it. And do it now, because it looks like your army is going down faster than a banana peel in a garbage disposal," I said. Hades inclined his head and ran to where Akin was with Lucifer at his side. Atlan's eyes followed them before narrowing. He lifted his hand with the intention to blast them, but I threw my hand out and deflected the blast, in the process wiping out a dozen skeletons and sending the beast skidding through the dirt and into some rocks on the shore. I grimaced, then looked back at Atlan, who coming toward me.

"You are getting on my last nerves," he murmured, clenching his fist and opening it up to reveal a silver bow that glinted in the sunlight overhead, "At first I thought my main obstacles would be the hybrid, Menoetius, even Hades. But it seems every time I've begun to succeed in something, you are right there to ruin it all. I really wanted to keep you, I did, but in the new world I hope to bring, I cannot have someone like you getting in my way." I tensed as he held the bow up and a silver bow glittered into place.

"What the hell is that?" Zeus demanded. I shook my head.
"For once, I don't know, but let's avoid getting hit with it, shall we?" I suggested. Zeus nodded in agreement, then fired up a bolt of lightning, hauling it over his shoulder at Atlan, who narrowed his eyes on the bolt and let his arrow fly through the air, splicing through the lightning bolt and shattering it in midair, sparks flying and the electricity fizzling out.

Atlan drew his arm back again, preparing another arrow, but I let a blast fly at him, knocking him back into the ground. He cursed and went to get up, but there was no way I was going to give him a chance to let another arrow fly, or use any magic.

I appeared right over top of him and went to kick him, but he rolled and shot up, sucker punching me hard in the stomach. Pain exploded in my gut and my ribs whined under the pressure, but I managed to take a few steps back, trying to recover, but Atlan punched me hard in the face and I snapped my head back. He grabbed the front of my battle suit and slammed our heads together, knocking me silly. My vision spun and I stumbled before I threw my hands up and shoved him back hard before landing a kick in his throat.

He stepped back, and I launched another kick. I came at him, breathing hard as I landed punch after punch, smashing his head down on my knee, slugging him across the face. Unfortunately, the physical exertion was starting to creep up on me, and my last punch went right over his shoulder and he caught me around the waist, yanking me up against him, his hand creeping up my back to sink into my hair and I cursed as he yanked hard on it.

"I know I can't kill you," Atlan murmured with a smile creeping onto his lips, "But I can do the next best thing." I didn't get a chance to respond to that, not in the least, as something sharp punctured my stomach and I choked as pain rushed through every part of me. Something stinging and cold was rushing through my veins and I tried to move, but I couldn't. It was like I was being frozen from the inside out, and I glanced down, then back up at Atlan as he smiled, moving his free hand up to stroke the side of my face. I could faintly hear Hades and Zeus shouting something, but my attention focused solely on Atlan in front of me.

"I hope you enjoy the view," he murmured, stroking my cheek with the backs of his fingers, "Because that's all you'll ever be able to do now. Watch as the hybrid fails. Watch as your precious Lucifer dies and all those obnoxious children of his, and those of Hades as well. Watch me take each and every person you love and make them perfection." I parted my lips to speak, but my lips wouldn't obey. The stinging sensation spread down through my legs, through my arms, up into my head, and straight through my chest. I managed a gasp before I sank to the ground like a limp doll.

I fought to twist my body around, fought to move any part of me, even trying to move my fingers, but they refused to obey. I could only lay there and watch as Atlan stood over me, smiling in satisfaction.

"Perhaps I will keep you like this for the rest of eternity. A beautiful perfect doll who can't speak, can't move... yes, it makes perfect sense," he murmured, crouching down to brush the hair out of my face, "Once I heal those nasty bruises and cuts, you'll be perfection incarnate." He rose to his feet again and looked up at something over me, probably Hades, Zeus, and Lucifer and hopefully Akin.

I could still hear the beast snarling, thrashing as he tore through skeletons, and I could hear the rest of the war going on around me. Swords clashing together, magic rocketing into the air and exploding like multiple fireworks and gunshots, and within my sights, the ocean waves crashing red on shore, stretching its foamy fingers out, then drawing back inwards.

Atlan smiled.

"Now it's time to deal with the others. I look forward to having you all in my home. The perfect collection," he murmured, stepping over me. I tried to snap my hand out to grab his leg, but my hand refused to obey and I could only there, watching him move over me and walk away. Panic seized me and I struggled harder to move. My fingertips only twitched once, and not even my voice would work, no matter how hard I tried to scream.

What the hell is going on?

What was happening to me? What had Atlan used? What did that bastard get his hands on that could do this to me? Was it magic?

Fuck!

I fought to escape the hold of whatever had me, but it was no use. No matter how much I tried to scream, no matter how much I tried to move, nothing was working. Even my healing abilities were frozen. I could only there, and my frustration, my panic, only increased. I slammed my eyes shut and tried to gain some semblance of calm, but I heard a scream rise up from behind me and I snapped my eyes open, my chest hurting so much as my lungs inflated sharply.

What's going on? What's happening?

I could hear a struggle very close by, enough so that I could feel the feet beating the ground, and then something landed near me and I flicked my eyes up to see a skeleton's head roll across the ground so it landed right in front of me and I grimaced at its empty eye sockets and bottom jaw snapping off and flying away. The skull came to a stop, its black form glinting in the sun, like it had been dumped in an oil barrel and plucked back out, shiny and black.

And then a strong grip caught my arm and roughly rolled me over so I found myself looking up at the sky, and my panic only hit a new level when I realized it was the beast, standing over me, breathing raggedly as its fangs dripped with saliva that landed on my cheek. I could only breath heavily as it went to rip my throat open again, but something shot out and slammed into it, sending the beast rolling across the ground.

My eyes darted around wildly as I saw Hades run past me with Akin running right behind him, and at least that was a small comfort to know that Akin was safe, and he was working with Hades to subdue the beast.

A second later, Zeus was dropping down beside me, grabbing me up in his arms and touching my face. Sweat made his blonde hair stick to his face, blood running from a gash in his brow, some from the corner of his lip, a cut across his nose, bruises marring his jaw. His piercing blue eyes scanned my face frantically and he was touching near my abdomen, then started to pat my face as if to wake me up.

"Joxeia? Joxeia, are you awake? Can you hear me? Joxeia!" He gripped my jaw, giving it a squeeze before he pulled at one of my eyelids.

"Shit," he looked up to watch what I assumed was Hades, Akin, and Hannibal, "Hades! Hades, something's wrong with-- Watch your six, you idiot! Fuck!" Zeus looked back down at me, touching my face again.

"Joxeia, can you hear me?" He demanded, then leaned down to touch his ear to my chest. I wanted to scream again, but nothing came out, except my breath. He reached up to touch my lips, then held his finger under my nose before he breathed a sigh of relief, then scanned my face.

"Shit," he whispered again, "Joxeia, if you can hear me, blink once." I blinked hard and Zeus breathed a sigh of relief, then held me up against him close, pressing his face into the crook of my neck before loosening his hold on me.

"What happened? Wait, Atlan did this, right?" I blinked once, and Zeus cursed under his breath, "Okay, do you know what it is? Is it a curse? Magic? Wait, answer the first question first." I blinked twice for no and Zeus grimaced.

"Damn it. Alright. Okay. Wait, can you still do that weird mind thing? Like, can you use your magic to get in my head and talk to me?" He asked. I hesitated, then met his eyes straight on. Sure enough, I could read his mind, feel his growing panic, his frustration, his anger, everything. I could even hear him thinking about wanting to kiss me, but I was relieved that he didn't, because now was not the time for that.

Can you hear me? I asked. Zeus blinked, then nodded.

"Yeah, I hear you," he responded, breathing out a sigh of relief as he touched the side of my face again, "Thank fuck."

Zeus, I don't know what this is. I don't know what's happening. I can't move. I can't speak. I don't know what to do, I can't calm down long enough to do anything, I don't know what to do, Zeus, I'm scared. I can't move. I can't. I can't touch you. I can't do anything! I loathed myself for laying myself bare, but I couldn't stop the panic making my heart beat like crazy against the inside of my chest, and the more I panicked, the more my chest hurt. I looked away, not wanting to see his reaction to my being so utterly pathetic.

"It's alright," Zeus said as gently as he could, brushing his thumb against my cheek as he leaned down to catch my eyes, and I swallowed hard as his brows cranked down hard over his eyes, "Listen to me, don't panic. The angel is safe, Hades is with him and they're trying to corral the hybrid, but it's hard. Some of Atlan's men are attacking him and only riling him up further. Hades's archangel is trying to heal some of the wounded, and he's working on Lea."

And Atlan? Where is Atlan?

"The scumbag is watching like he's about to grab some fucking popcorn," Zeus spat. I looked around nervously, then met Zeus's eyes again, noticing that he refused to look away me.

I don't know what he did to me, Zeus. I have no idea. I've never seen anyone do this before. My siblings and I, we can't die, it would destroy the universe. And we can heal extremely well. Whatever this is, it's frozen my abilities to heal. I can't even heal the damage of whatever this is. I don't know what's wrong. I can't help. The admission stung me. I needed to be up, I needed to be out there. I needed to help the others control Hannibal. I needed to get Atlan into Hannibal's sights. If they couldn't calm Hannibal, they needed to get Atlan in his path of destruction, because the beast was still part of Hannibal, and therefore, still part of the prophecy. The beast could kill Atlan as Hannibal. It was the only way if they couldn't get Hannibal back to normal.

"Alright," Zeus said, then clenched his teeth before finally looking up for a split second before looking back down at me, "I'm going to get your brother. He'll know what to do, right? He's seen this before?"

I have no idea, Zeus. Maybe? Maybe Atlan's done this to someone else before? I don't know.

"Alright, then let me go find--"

No! No! Don't leave me here. Don't leave me. My heart kicked into overdrive again and the pain of my hyperventilating was not helping matters. I tried to suck in deep calm breaths, but it seemed to only scare me further, knowing that I had to calm down or I could very well just kill myself. And yet, the idea of being left alone again on the ground, unable to move, unable to speak, terrified me. I didn't want to be here alone. I didn't want to be trapped.

And yet, I was no help at all keeping Zeus here. This was just the fear talking. Zeus was thinking logically. We had to get Xiphrus here. If we could get Xiphrus here, maybe we could figure out what was wrong and change me back.

I swallowed down the fear as Zeus brushed the hair back from my face and looked at me sternly.

"Listen to me, I'm not going far and I won't be gone long. I'm going to turn you so you can see what's happening, alright? It's going to be alright, I promise," he added, then leaned in and kissed me quick on the lips before he laid me gently back on the ground again, turning me so I could see the fighting. He backed up, then leaned in and gave me one last kiss on the temple before taking off. I watched him go, my heart kicking in my chest and I swallowed again, trying to calm my breathes. Zeus was running over to where it looked like Xiphrus was picking himself up after getting blasted in the face by an Atlantean god.

My eyes swung over to where Hades was with Akin, getting near the beast, who snarled at them and backed up. Which made no sense. Why would the beast back up from them? The beast wasn't scared of anything. Fear didn't register... unless they were actually getting through to him. The relief was short lived, however, when Atlan came in from the corner of my view and sent a blast at the beast, who snarled and swung around in time to get bulldozed by it. Atlan quickly vanished from his place to appear at Hannibal's blindside, staying out of sight, so when the beast recovered, its first thing in view was Hades and Akin, who both cursed.

"Shit," Hades bit out, conjuring a blast to defend himself and Akin did the same. They sent a combined blast at Hannibal, sending him flipping through the air.

"We need to get him calm," Akin said nervously, glancing at Hades, "And no offense, but I really, really do not like sending my husband flying through the air a hundred times. No, not even once. I don't think I can do it again, Hades." Hades sighed, frustrated as he raked a hand through his hair and cut Akin a dry stare.

"Sure, you can spank his ass and probably whip it too, but oh no, not a god blast."

"Hades, I love you, but I am like this close to just blasting your ass through the air. A hundred times," Akin warned, making a little measuring motion with his fingers, where a little spark of magic flickered and Hades rolled his eyes.

Shit. I needed to reach them. If they could lure Hannibal in Atlan's direction, that was all it was going to take. We could get the fuck out of dodge long enough for Hannibal to have at it with Atlan. But I wasn't entirely sure I could project my thoughts out this far, and judging from where Zeus and Xiphrus were, they weren't going to return to me anytime soon as they were currently surrounded by Cruentius.

I slammed my eyes shut and concentrated hard on Hades standing more than a dozen yards away. I reached out towards him, further and further until I could shout his name directly into his thoughts.

He seemed briefly startled for a moment, scowling as he looked around until he spotted me and tensed before looking at Akin.

"Do me a favor? Keep him occupied?" He demanded, but didn't stick around to get an answer, just a bewildered look from Akin as he took off toward me. Meanwhile, Akin spun back around to face Hannibal, who snarled and stalked toward him. Akin sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose before glaring at Hannibal.

"Baby, I'm gonna have to switch out your collar with a shock collar when we get home, because I've had about enough of this," he muttered. For a brief moment, Hannibal hesitated, the beast heeling long enough to cock his head at Akin, as if Hannibal registered his voice, but the beast wasn't sure why Akin felt safe enough to talk to him. Akin smiled a bit.

"Sorry, sweetie. I can't let you eat me. But when we get home, I promise, I'll eat you all up, for hours, until you can't walk and I get to bring you breakfast in bed. Remember that stuff you made for me for our anniversary? I learned how to make it. I'll make it for you in the morning, huh? How's that sound?" He asked. Hannibal blinked a few times, looking at him curiously, and those mismatched eyes returned. Only for something to come flying out of nowhere, striking Hannibal in the head as he snarled and turned to face something I couldn't see, and those mismatched eyes flashed red.

Akin whistled sharply and Hannibal snapped back around to glare at him.

"Don't ignore me," Akin exclaimed indignantly, snapping his fingers and pointing at the ground in front of him, "Come here. Now." I watched in amazement as Hannibal, as the beast, slowly began to make his way over to Akin, not stalking him like a predator to its prey, but more like a sheepish dog knowing he'd pissed his master off.

"Shit," Hades dropped down beside me, touching my shoulder before he grimaced, "Wow. Haven't seen a spell like this in centuries."

You know what's wrong? Fix it! Fix it right now!

"You could say please," Hades said dryly.

Fix it right now please! Asshole! I tacked on. Hades cut me an unamused stare before he cracked his fingers, flexed them a little, taking his sweet damn time before he went to touch me, only for a blast to come sailing over me. Hades barely threw up a block in time, falling back into the dirt and barking a curse as he sat up quickly, only to look up and glare at something, and judging from the wrathful flame in those blue eyes of his... it was Atlan.

"Ah, ah," Atlan's voice said, confirming my suspicions, "I don't think so, Greek. If you don't want to end up like him, I wouldn't go anywhere near him and continue to pretend you know what you're doing on this battle field." Hades narrowed his eyes and slowly rose to his feet, eyes locked on Atlan the entire time.

"I hate assholes like you," he sneered, lowering his hands down at his sides, clenching and unclenching his fists, "Sociopathic narcissists who pretend to know how other people feel, what real feelings are, who pretend they know everything, who pretend they're logical powerful beings. In actuality, you're a little bitch." I shut my eyes for a moment, praying Hades would shut his mouth, but of course, he was Hades. Shutting his mouth was not one of his strengths. Or one of his abilities at all.

"You just tell people what they want to hear," Hades continued, looking strangely calm now as he put a hand on his hip, "You find out what they're afraid of most and you use it against them. That's how you convinced all those people to your side. 'Follow me and I'll make things better. Follow me, I know what I'm doing. Follow me, because I'm a highly intelligent ancient being of supreme awesome power, even though I got my own ass locked up by my son'. Yeah. You're real badass, prick. Let's just face the facts. This whole thing you're doing, trying to take over the fucking universe, is so you can fill this void inside you that you've had since the day you were created. You're so fucking empty inside, so fucking miserable, so you're trying to stuff this hole full of fucking everything."

"I recommend you shut your mouth," Atlan warned, his voice tinged with anger. Hades smirked.

"Sorry, recommendation denied. I'm not done yet. See, when you couldn't fill that hole with Xiphrus or Joxeia, you figured you'd create a whole fucking race, your own pantheon, and that should do the trick. Oh, but shit, that didn't work either, especially when your people started to see you for what you really are. A soulless bastard who wants to save his own ass. And kidnapping Hannibal from his fucking mother? When he was what? Five? What kind of psychopath steals a five-year-old out of his mother's bedroom? No, what kind of psychopath scares his own sister so bad that she thinks she needs to sleep with her son in her room in her arms at night because she's afraid he'll take him away? Oh, and I'm still not done."

"Of course you're not," Atlan sneered, and Hades laughed.

"Look, let me get right down to it... You're so fucking miserable with your own cocksucking self that you can't stand the idea of other people being happy, and let's face it, even if you did win this whole war and the universe became yours, who's to say that anyone will be happy then? All your own hopes and dreams were crushed. Why would this be any different? What makes you think your beloved subjects and creations won't turn on you?" He demanded. There was a short silence before Hades took several quick steps back as Atlan stepped over me and started for him.

"Do it, bitch," Hades challenged him, "Come get me! I sure as hell won't give your existence purpose!" Atlan lunged for him, but Hades ducked and rolled out of the way, dashing over to me and snatching me up, throwing me over his shoulder and all I could manage was a soundless grunt at being so forcefully hoisted up and swung around like a sack of potatoes. Hades ran with me over his shoulder, not too far, and gave me plenty of time to see Hannibal with Akin at his side, both of them sending a blast at Atlan that caught him off guard, because he was so focused on Hades's bitching.

The blast sent Atlan tearing through the dirt, knocking up rocks and clumps of grass before he landed on the shores of Atlantis, breathing hard and reaching up to touch a bloody gash in the side of his head. He looked down at the blood on his fingers before jerking his head up to pin Hannibal with a murderous glare.

Hannibal appeared oddly calm... except that his eyes were still red with the beast, and the claws and fangs were still in place. And yet he wasn't attacking Akin, who stood at his side. Akin smiled, reaching up to brush his fingers through Hannibal's hair, stroking his head, and the beast seemed to croon at that, turning to Akin so he could lean down and nuzzle Akin's hair.

"Good boy," Akin murmured, "You're almost done. Remember the bad guy? He's been awfully mean lately. You want to have an early dinner, baby? Cuz, I'm seeing a nice big fat juicy steak over there." The beast lifted its head from Akin and snapped around to look at Atlan, who narrowed his eyes as he rose to his feet slowly. The beast growled low in his throat and Akin reached up to brush his knuckles under his chin, and the beast's growl turned to a purr.

"Be a sweetie and rip him to pieces," Akin told him, taking Hannibal's chin in his palm and turning the beast's head so their eyes met, "I want you to make it as painful as possible. Do it slow, baby, take him apart. Piece by piece and bring me his fucking heart." The beast moaned as if those words were the most beautiful thing it'd ever heard.

It stepped back, turning to face Atlan, who swung his hand up and sent a blast at him. One that Akin deflected. It appeared to rev the beast up because it howled and ran at Atlan, who darted away and went to teleport, but the beast moved so fast he was a blur, catching Atlan's wrist and snapping it to the side, breaking any concentration he may have had.

Atlan snarled in pain and bashed his head against Hannibal's. Hannibal took one step back, then snarled and lunged for Atlan's throat, but Atlan caught his head and went to twist his neck, intending to break it, but the beast yanked away, flipping backwards and skidding back across the wet sand.

This time, as Hannibal rose to his feet, his right eye remained such a beautiful shade of clear blue and his left eye, once milky white from an ancient injury, was now a deep bloody red. He threw his hand out and wrenched his fist around, causing a shudder to course through the ground before a huge tidal wave of water rose up from the ocean, darkening the place we were in.

"Aw, fuck," Hades muttered, backing up from the thing. Lucifer seemed to appear out of nowhere.

"We need to move," he commanded, "Now. Everyone's retreated from the shores. If we don't leave now, Hannibal could inadvertently kill someone. And this order comes from Akin." Hades nodded as he backed up and Lucifer placed a hand on his free shoulder, teleporting us not completely away from the battlefield, but to the perfect vantage point in the nearby mountain range. It provided the perfect view of the tidal wave crashing down over the battlefield, filling it with seawater that sucked the corpses away, filling in the trenches, splashed up around the mountain range and sent shudders through the ear.

And as quickly as it had come, the tidal wave faded and we were able to see Atlan tossed into the middle of the battle field.

"I'm going to take Joxeia," Hades said suddenly to Lucifer, "He needs to be healed soon. The spell Atlan cast on him is only going to make it harder to come back from if he doesn't--"

No, I commanded, making Hades scoff, No, just. Just let me see everything that's happening. I have to watch this. I've waited my entire fucking existence to see Atlan get what he deserves. I will see it no matter what. Now set me down, do something, just let me see. Hades glanced at Lucifer, who swallowed hard before nodding. Hades sighed in frustration before heaving me off his shoulder. I couldn't hold myself up, not for a second, but out of some kindness that I could not explain, Hades held me under my arms, keeping my body against his for support, so I could get a front row seat of Hannibal kicking the living shit out of Atlan.

And it was glorious, in so many ways.

Hannibal spun and kicked, punched and headbutted, sent blast after fucking god blast, summoned water techniques that I hadn't seen in centuries. He moved swift and quick, throwing everything he had at Atlan. And while Atlan was a fighter, he was no match for Hannibal, not by a long shot.

Because, see, Atlan didn't do the physical work. Fighting wasn't his style. Manipulating others into doing his bidding, poisoning people, tricking them, that was what he did best. And now when the battle narrowed down to pure brutal strength, he was finding himself in a situation he hadn't prepared for properly.

The ground around them was turning red with blood, and while Atlan was getting in a few solid hits, and Hannibal was definitely going to need help from Hades once this was over.

Blow after bloody blow, my eyes easily tracking the movement, even from this distance. I watched Atlan's head snap back with each suckerpunch, watched his blood go flying, his bones snapping under the pressure of Hannibal's attacks. One after another, bit by bit, Atlan was going down, and he knew it. The panic was in the air, the despair, the utter agony, that everything he'd worked so hard to build was crashing down on top of him with each strike from his enemy.

And why should he be so surprised?

Our lives were destroyed by Atlan. Mine, Xiphrus, Geara, but most of all, Hannibal. Hannibal had never asked to be hurt the way he had. He never asked for Atlan to kidnap him, to wipe his memory, to dump him on the doorstep of the god who destroyed any chance he had at a normal life. Atlan took everything from Hannibal; his family, his hopes, his dreams, his normalcy.

Everything.

And now it was time for Atlan to pay. For every fucking time he opened his mouth, every plastic smile he wore, every broken promise, every truth he revealed for no other reason than to hurt people. For every person whose soul he destroyed.

The battle was heightened by the eerie silence around us. Even the chattering of insects around us had fallen silent, the birds noiseless, the ocean waves nothing more than a timid whisper, the wind no longer howling as it swung around the mountains. No, the sound of battle could be hear in the distance. Magic exploding, shooting off into the sky like fireworks of pure destruction, rage, hatred, and pain. It was so raw, so potent, that it stole my breath away.

Even Hades and Lucifer had lapsed into silence, watching with baited breath. Hades had even stepped closer to Lucifer, like he needed his lover there to reassure him that what was happening, was actually happening.

This was it.

This was the end.

And Hannibal was going to win it.

Finally, Hannibal would achieve peace. Finally, the universe would find peace, balance would be restored. Imperfection would take its rightful place as what real perfection was. Lives would be altered forever, but in a perfectly clear balance. All would be well, and not in a happily ever after, but in a... settled manner.

I used all the power I could, watching the long awaited prophecy take its rightful place in the timeline, and I listened as Hannibal, bloodied, beaten, bruised, and exhausted, stood over Atlan, who had finally collapsed to the ground after his Achilles tendons were slit. Atlan was breathing hard, his dark hair a wild mess about his face, a face beaten bloody, and those silver swirling eyes turned upward to Hannibal with a strange calm.

"You can rid me of the world, but you cannot rid the world of me, hybrid. My soul will seek its one true path and I will have you, I will have everything," he seethed through bloodied teeth. Hannibal glared at him.

"You're going to be remembered as the coward who was too afraid to live in a world of risks and chances. A coward who attacked a child. A coward who attacked his own children, and people who tried to help you," he returned, and Atlan glared at him.

"I will be remembered as a martyr," he snapped, and Hannibal shook his head.

"A martyr is remembered for greatness. Not stupidity. Are you sure you want those to be your last words?" He demanded. Atlan glared at him, studied him for the longest time, seeking out a way to break through Hannibal's defenses, but it was no use. Pretty words would no longer work. There was only one thing he could do now as he sat on his knees before Hannibal, those silver eyes orbs of emotion that quickly dissolved and he shut his eyes.

"I'll still be here," Atlan whispered, "I'll still be part of everything."

"But you'll be a prisoner with no way out," Hannibal concluded, "Death to you, for now and forever more. I, Hannibal, son of Lea, King of Atlantis, condemn you to eternal damnation... And rot in it, prick." He drew his hand back and slammed it straight through Atlan's chest and the blood went flying. Of course, Atlan didn't die right away, he tried to grab Hannibal's arm to hold him still long enough to do something, but it didn't take.

Hannibal twisted Atlan under his arm, cranking Atlan's head at a disgusting angle and snapped it right off, blood spraying into the air. It gleamed in the sunlight, wet the ground like an oil slick, thick and sticky. Atlan's body collapsed to the ground and Hannibal dropped his head to the ground, then removed his fist from Atlan's chest, taking with it, Atlan's heart, holding it in his hand before he lifted his eyes, staring up at the mountains.

And somehow, even with this distance, I knew he was looking at me, and his lips moved ever so slightly.

It's over.