Chapter Ten

"Is that...?" Dorean's voice faded into shock.

"A man?" I finished for him, unable to comprehend exactly what I was looking at.

At the center of a large cavern adorned with emeralds, and inside a large clear pod on an island surrounded by black liquid, a man was imprisoned in the pod.

He was asleep, or in a coma, or something. He just seemed to float inside, one arm thrown over his head and the other resting across his stomach, as if he were just sleeping on a bed. His long black hair fell around him in loose waves, his features though serene, were incredibly masculine and devastatingly handsome to the point where even my body shamefully reacted to him. His skin was a soft shade of caramel and his fingernails and toenails painted black with white dots in the center, and they were long, more like miniature claws than regular nails. The most peculiar thing, though, was the dull blue tattoos that raced all the way up his legs, over his hips, along his torso, sliding up his neck and through his hair in the back, and covered the left half of his face. The tattoos were incredibly beautiful, like blissful wisps and swirls.

"No," Lea said suddenly, making Dorean and I look at her, "He's something else entirely." Her grim expression gave me a chill.

"Aunt Lea, what is that?" I asked, turning to face her. Lea clenched her teeth, her fists balling up for a moment as she continued to stare at the man in the pod.

"In the beginning, the only thing that ever existed was the Source. What do you think leapt from the Source first?" She asked, finally turning to look at Dorean and I. We shared confused looks.

"The first gods, right?" I asked. Lea shook her head, turning her head to look at the man in the pod. This time, there was a strange look that passed through her eyes, a mix between pity and sadness.

"When time first began, the Source spat three of the first creatures from the darkest bowels of its form. Those three creatures were demons; the first demons. The Demon of Wisdom, the Demon of Destruction, and the Demon of Creation. After that came the first gods. However, the first gods were fighting for power over the world. It was a vast realm that everyone wanted. Empty, still a newborn, and waiting to be taken care of. The Demons banded together to keep the gods in check, but one god had the power to trick one of the Demons. The Demon of Destruction became corrupted and went on a killing rampaging, destroying nearly half of all the original creatures that had leapt from the Source. The Demon of Wisdom and Creation had no choice, but to seal the Demon of Destruction for eternity. Only the blood of the god that tricked him can revive him and command him once again." She explained, her voice low. Dorean blinked, then turned to stare at the man in the pod. I paled.

"Wait. Wait, how come I've never heard of this before?" I demanded. Lea frowned at me.

"Because all those who existed during that time wanted to bury the darkest moment in history, the first darkest moment. The legend was lost and can only be found written in the lair of the god that commanded the Demon of Destruction." She explained. I stared at her for a while in silence before it occurred to me. I stared at the demon inside the pod, then back at Lea.

"No." I managed. Lea grimaced at me.

"Atlan fooled all of us, Xenon, even me, I'm ashamed to say." She said softly.

"No," I repeated, "That's not possible. Xanius is the one calling the shots. She's the one who darkened Atlan. She--"

"Xenon," Lea commanded gently, then reached out and took my hand, "I'm sorry." I yanked my hand back from her, turning to face the demon in the pod, my heart pounding so hard in my chest that I felt like it would leap out.

The creature inside that pod was one of the first of the three demons in existence. One of the first creatures ever. He was older than the planet itself, as old as the universe itself. How many years was that? I couldn't even comprehend that. It hurt my head just to even try and think about it. And after him...

Atlan. My father. The god I had relied on to be the ultimate good. The one who would do anything to protect his children, his family, his pantheon, his people. The one who wept over the deaths of our worshippers, our people. Had that all been just one big lie? My entire life?

I struggled to come to terms with the fact that the father I had loved all these years had been nothing, but just another corrupted god. A lump formed in my throat and I suddenly wanted to destroy the creature in front of me. But there was no way I could do such a thing. If killing a god that drew from the Source could rupture the universe, what would happen if I killed a creature straight from its darkest pits?

And it wasn't his fault, as Lea had said. It was my father. He had been one of the very first gods in existence. He had taken this demon and corrupted him, and then forced him to get the punishment for it. This demon had also been harmed by my father. I tried to reach out with my powers to see if there was any way I could communicate with the demon while it slept, but there was nothing, but a cold silence in answer.

"How did you find all this out?" I managed at last, turning to my aunt. Her expression sad, she reached up to brush a lock of hair behind her ear. She kept looking at the demon with a look of absolute agony, as if she couldn't bear the thought of looking away from the serene demon.

"Atlan's room," She told me softly, "He wasn't there when I arrived. I took my chance and did some digging. I found the scrolls hidden there. I managed to wipe my presence from the room before he came back."

"So Atlan corrupted and imprisoned this demon." I stated. Lea nodded grimly. Dorean reached out and took my hand, giving it a squeeze. I looked at him gratefully. Every time things fell apart on top of me, Dorean was always there for me.

"I'm sorry, kitty." He told me quietly. I swallowed tightly.

"Me too." I replied. Lea reached out to touch my arm comfortingly.

"I really am sorry, Xenon. I trusted him too. Up until the moment he dared to lay hands on my son." She added, her voice cracking. I reached my arm out and pulled her close to me. Lea hugged me tightly, clenching her teeth before she stepped back, reaching up to brush her hands by her eyes as if to hide the beginnings of her tears.

"We can't let Atlan trigger this demon, Xenon," She managed at last, "This is the Demon of Destruction. It has no emotions, no sense of right and wrong. All he'll do is obey Atlan's every word and kill everyone, and because he is a first, he can absorb their powers into himself to prevent the world from rupturing. Atlan truly plans to wipe out the Greeks." I felt cold at those words and Dorean made a noise of distress, squeezing my hand.

"Xenon, we can't let him do it," He agreed frantically, fear bright in his eyes, "What can't let them get rid of Adrian. Or Malachi or any of the sons of Hades or even Hades! We can't even let him destroy Zeus!" That last one I could live with... but the Greek pantheon could not.

"I know," I said, rubbing at my temples before I looked at Lea, "Maybe Hades can find a way around this. He's found a way to kill gods without rupturing the balance." Lea's eyes widened.

"There is such a thing?" She asked, baffled. I nodded.

"It was supposedly the only way to have done it, but now we have another way. Maybe we can kill the demon before Atlan triggers it." I explained. Lea paused, brushing her thumb down the side of her mouth thoughtfully before looking up at me.

"Do you think it'll work?" She asked. I grimaced.

"It has to. It's our only shot."

"Then take me with you to this Hades. I wish to meet the god who created the impossible." Lea told me sternly. I knew better than to argue with my aunt when she took that tone of voice with me. I nodded and took both her and Dorean, teleporting us from the cavern on Leanorius to Hades's palace.

Of course, we couldn't exactly appear inside, so we appeared outside the bridge. I led the way toward the doors, but the skeletons shot up in a line in front of me.

"Unauthorized visitor." The skeletons said in unison, their voices echoing around us. I cursed, turning to Lea, who scowled at the skeletons with her head cocked.

"What is that?" She asked, approaching one of the skeletons to touch its arm. The skeleton hissed at her and withdrew. Lea jumped back and looked at me, bewildered. Before I could say anything, the air rippled and a column of smoke appeared followed by Hades himself decked out in a pair of skull and crossbones pajama pants and a long sleeved shirt.

"Who the fuck wakes me up for this?" Hades demanded, glaring at us, his long black hair a rumpled mess. I frowned and Lea just stared at Hades, fascinated.

"Hades, I brought my aunt with me. We have some bad news, worse news, and more bad news." I informed him. Hades frowned, looking at Lea with his head cocked and Lea's eyes got wider as she took a step toward him.

"It is a rare day I find someone taller than me." She commented, staring up at him. Hades grimaced and took a step back, obviously not liking his personal space invaded. Lea seemed to realize her rudeness and cleared her throat, taking a step back.

"Sorry," She said, politely, "I didn't mean to offend you. I just like finding men taller than me. It's attractive." Hades smirked.

"Tell me something I don't know." He said smugly, folding his arms over his chest. Lea arched a brow, looking impressed by him as she placed a fist on her hip.

"And confidence to boot?" She asked.

"More like incredible arrogance." I assured her. I didn't want my aunt Lea to flirt with Hades of all people. First of all, Lucifer would be broken-hearted and second of all, Hades did not need another ego boost, and third of all, that was my aunt. I'd sooner set Hades on fire than let him near her. Then again, Hades had bad luck with women, considering how many had almost literally fucked him over. Lea shrugged as if to say to-may-to, to-mah-to and I rolled my eyes. Hades scoffed.

"Fine, but let's discuss this where my incredible ego isn't freezing its balls off." He said mockingly at me. I hadn't even noticed how cold it was this afternoon. It was the middle of January in Hades and he was standing here in his pajamas. Though, he didn't even need to touch us to teleport all of us into his palace in the throne room.

"Okay," Hades said, putting his hands together with sarcastic excitement, "Let's get to the part where we talk about all that good news you told me about."

"The Atlanteans have a major trump card," I told him grimly, "And you're not gonna like the sound of it." Hades cocked his head and gave me his best gimme what you got look. But before I could say anything, Lea was speaking.

"You don't know this because this was eons before your time," She began, making Hades arch a brow, "But in the beginning, there were only three creatures birthed by the Source, originally. After them came the first gods." From there, she explained everything she'd told Dorean and I, about the three original demons, about Atlan enslaving the Demon of Destruction, and everything right down to what we hoped Hades would be able to do. The entire time, Hades stood there in silence, staring at her as she spoke. He didn't really show any facial expressions either, until the very end, and I swore I was watching a kid open up a Christmas present with the way they literally glowed.

"Take me to him." He stated. My jaw slackened and Lea's eyes went wide.

"Are you insane?" She asked.

"Certifiably," Hades answered nonchalantly, "Now take me to him."

"Hades," I protested angrily, "Are you stupid? If we take you to Leanorius, you'll be launching war against the Atlanteans! Christ, if you go there, and Atlan finds you, you're a prisoner of war and I can't do anything about it! Atlan is one of the first gods in existence, he--"

"Big friggin' whoop," Hades snorted, "I'm not a push-over either, or need I remind you that if it wasn't for me the whole world would be under Titan rule?"

"Yes," I seethed, "And thanks for that, but Atlan is a whole other ball game."

"Don't care," Hades deadpanned, "Take me to this demon or I just won't help you at all." I raked a hand through my hair in frustration, clenching my fist and looking at Dorean helplessly. He shrugged uneasily, glancing at Hades, who stared at me expectantly. Lea frowned.

"Well, if you're honestly that suicidal, fine." She said.

"Aunt Lea!"

"Don't take that tone with me, Xenon," Lea warned, turning to look at me and I held my hands up in surrender, "If the psychopath wants to visit the demon, then we'll give him a one way ticket to Hell." Hades flashed her a smile that was meant to be charming, but just made my stomach drop.

"Oh, lady, I have a full time membership in Hell." He promised her. Lea scowled, but didn't stick around to ask. Considering Hell had been an empty realm when she was last here, I wasn't surprised by her confusion. That and she had no idea Hades was in a relationship with the ruler of Hell, making the realm practically his second home. Lea took our hands and teleported us all the way back to the cavern on Leanorius.

We landed on the same platform and Hades's eyes glowed in the darkness of the cavern that was only lit by the eerie glow behind the walls coated in emeralds. He turned to stare at the pod and sucked in a sharp gasp, taking a step toward it, only to notice the black liquid with a scowl.

"It's poison," Lea informed, "An ancient Atlantean recipe for disaster that causes the victim to be eternally paralyzed, so unless you wish to become a hot new statue in my new bungalow, I think you might want to take a step back." Hades cocked his head, wrinkled his nose in irritation, then flung his hand out. The black liquid rippled and shuddered before parting in a way that reminded me of the way Moses had parted the Red Sea. Lea's eyes widened.

"How did you do that?" She asked.

"Magical powers." Hades said in a mocking tone that made Lea roll her eyes.

"My lord, for a cute one, you have an incredibly huge ego. You put all the men I've had the misfortune of meeting to shame."

"Oh, stop. I'm starting to get all warm and fuzzy inside." Hades drawled. Lea gave me a droll stare and I just grimaced before watching Hades take a step down into the small pool where the liquid was gone. He walked through the path to the island. Not wanting to send him over there alone, I left Dorean behind with Lea as I followed after him and we stepped onto the island. The poison fell back into place behind us and I took a sharp step forward, smacking into Hades's back to avoid getting splashed.

I shot him a glare and he just smirked before turning his attention back to the pod.

You'd think the god had just discovered the greatest thing on the planet the way he stared at the pod, reaching up a hand to place against the pod. I stiffened, waiting for it to blast him away or kill him, but nothing happened. Hades slid his hand along the clear surface, but it seemed to sparkle with blue magic beneath his fingertips wherever he moved it.

"This is fascinating," Hades breathed, suddenly moving along the pod, dragging his hand against the surface, "If I didn't know any better, I'd say this was made with the same sort of ice found in Helheim. But it's not cold. And I can feel the magical and electrical charge under it. Even though he's trapped in there, I can hear his heart beating." I frowned and tried to hear it, but I heard nothing.

I wasn't surprised. Hades could hear things the rest of us couldn't because of the powers he absorbed from Rhea and Cronus. He could probably hear everything going through my head.

"Yeah," Hades answered my thoughts, making me glare at him, "Now shut up and let me marvel at this thing. He looks completely human and you can't even sense his godhood."

"Well, he's more like a demon," Lea offered from the other side of the cavern, "A really super incredibly powerful demon with the ability to level an entire continent if he so pleased. It was why he was imprisoned. He goes on a killing spree and can only be stopped by Atlan."

"Why is that," Hades asked, "You never explained that part. So what if Atlan corrupted him? What does that have to do with his destructo-mode." Lea cocked her head, folding her arms over her chest and raising an eyebrow.

"Atlan tricked the demon into falling in love with him. The demon swore he would do whatever Atlan wished. Atlan twisted that and used it to force the demon to do his bidding. It's another one of the reasons the creature has no emotions. The Demon of Wisdom and Creation banished his emotions during his imprisonment, so if he were to somehow be freed again in the future, that he would be unable to fall in love with anyone else. Now he's like a rabid dog in a cage. Once you open it, he'll be set free to wreck havoc."

"Yeah, I got that," Hades said, still staring into the pod, "And, you know, just out of curiosity, how do you get him out of there?" I glared at him.

"Hades, don't make me regret bringing you into this. I just want you to kill it so that way we can--"

"Him," Hades said, sounding surprisingly irritated before gesturing with his thumb to the naked demon inside, "In case you missed his really impressive package." I glared at him, clenching my fists and Hades just gave me his hand as if to say it wasn't his fault. I rolled my eyes as he turned back to stare inside the pod.

"If we can get him out," Hades started, making my eyes widen in horror at the mere suggestion, "I can bring him back to my lab. Emotions aren't hard to restore. I gave Cerberus plenty of emotions."

"Except love and generosity and--"

"Because I had no fucking idea what those things were then," Hades snapped abruptly, making me stare at him in irritated silence before he tsked, "Besides, love is what got him into this in the first place, right? I'll opt him out of the worst ones."

"How is that possible?" Lea asked, baffled by the prospect. Hades was thrilled to go into detail, much to my chagrin.

"Easy, Atlantean. It's what I like to call scientific magic. A demented combination of both. I'm the inventor of the artificials, my own type of immortal creature. This guy shouldn't be any different. If we can get him to my lab, not only can I give him the proper emotions, but I can turn his loyalties around so that he obeys the Greeks. Or, rather, me." He said, looking excited. Lea's eyes sparkled for a second before she seemed to realize that Hades intended to keep the demon all for himself.

"And what of your king? Your Zeus?" She demanded, suspiciously. Hades barked out a laugh.

"Put this kind of power in Zeus's hands? It'll make his fuck-up in the Titan war seem like child's play. You think Zeus is bad now? That asshole is a power hungry shitfuck. No way. This belongs in the hands of someone who knows how to control it."

"You didn't seem to do a very good job of controlling your Cerberus." I said in a tight voice. Hades's eyes darkened.

"That was a mistake."

"Cerberus isn't a mistake."

"That's not what I meant," Hades snapped impatiently, "I meant that I may have gone about raising Cerberus wrong, but he is my son. This demon isn't. But his current mindset is that he needs someone to control him and if we can replace Atlan with my name, we can make sure the Atlanteans don't mess with us. No offense, you two, but I really haven't heard anything good about you lot." I didn't object to that. Lea looked a little offended, however.

"Nor have I had any good experiences with you people." She snapped. Hades smirked, moving just past me to touch the pod.

"Oh, trust me, lady. I haven't had good experiences with your shitfaced spawn--" Before he could finish, I moved in front of him and covered his mouth. His eyes became murderous and I swore for a second that he was going to push me right into the liquid around us, but I managed to shush him.

Hades, I warned him in my head, don't do what you're about to do. My aunt Lea isn't a push over. You have to remember, she leapt straight from the Source shortly after my father did. She can and will kill you, maybe even myself, if she finds out that Hannibal is still alive.

Hades glared at me menacingly.

Why should I give two fucks what happens to her and her bastard spawn? Are you forgetting what the piece of mongrel shit did to my son? If Lucifer and I hadn't come to an accord, I would be rampaging through Hell until I held Hannibal's unbeating heart in my fist.

I rolled my eyes before narrowing them on him, ignoring Lea and Dorean shifting around awkwardly.

Hades, don't. You don't know the story. As a father, you should understand. My father kidnapped Hannibal from Lea and threw him at the Greeks against their will. My aunt Lea thinks Hannibal is serving time in Tartarus.

Hades smirked at that as he shoved me aside and I dodged him every step of the way as he walked around the pod, humming aloud with interest.

Oh yeah? Wonder how she'll react to knowing that her bastard spawn is a fucking psychopathic rapist who--

Hades, enough! Stop! You of all people should know how painful it is to be judged by past mistakes.

I don't ask for forgiveness.

And neither does Hannibal, so just stop. Please. For once in your ridiculously long existence, take someone else's feelings into consideration. You have no idea how hard my aunt grieved over Hannibal's loss. Even bringing it up now hurts her more than anything. Please. I don't ask you for anything, but to keep this from her.

Okay, Hades turned to me slowly, pinning me with a glowy eyed glare, I'll keep your pathetic secret, if you let me take the demon to my lab.

"No!" I snarled aloud. Hades smirked.

"What's going on?" Lea asked.

"Are you all right, kitty?" Dorean questioned. I glanced over my shoulder.

"We're fine. I just... Still coping with this." I admitted uncomfortably. Dorean gave me a doubtful stare, but my aunt Lea just nodded. I turned back to Hades, who smirked and arched a brow while mouthing my nickname in amusement. I glared at him.

Hades. If you take it--

Him, Hades reiterated angrily, you're standing there telling me to open my damn mind and let that rapist in, but you won't even refer to this demon as a he. This demon is also a person, or are you the only one who is allowed to judge?

You're getting awfully defensive over something that's supposed to wipe out the entire population.

Because I know what it feels like to be judged by past mistakes. Hades sneered at me, clenching his fists as his sides. I grimaced, wiping a hand over my face and turning away, putting a hand on my hip.

This was so dangerous, an incredibly stupid idea. I couldn't trust Hades. No matter how much good he's done, he's done plenty of bad things as well. For all I know, Hades could use the demon to get back at Zeus or to take over the Greek pantheon or even kill my entire family. My family may not be good, but not all of them were evil either. My aunt Lea wouldn't hurt anyone who wasn't deserving of it.

Hades couldn't possibly want the demon just to wave it in the Atlantean's faces to scare them away. There had to be an underlying purpose. And while his insistence that the demon was a person and not an object was a little surprising, I admittedly had trouble accepting that.

This demon could be used as a major weapon. This demon had no emotions whatsoever anymore, and his beauty was just flat out ungodly and sinful. That pissed me off that someone other than Dorean could make my body react like that, and I knew Hades could feel it too because he kept shifting away from me as if to hide his body's response.

This demon was pure and utter destruction. And destruction wasn't just narrowed down to death. Destruction was an umbrella term for taking one's life and tearing it apart piece by piece.

For all I know, the demon could end up seducing Hades into killing everyone and then himself, and then where would we be? We could launch a catastrophic event, the one that has the rift unbalanced, the one thing that could set the civilized mortal realm back over ten thousand years.

Why can't you just kill it? I demanded, turning to Hades again to glare at him. He glared at me.

I want him. I can change this. I get that you don't trust me, and your oh so optimistic monologue just now was fantastically informative, but this isn't about trust, this isn't about you or me. This is about the universe as a whole. And for your information, I'm not easily seduced. My cock may be hard as rock right now, but I'm about as eager to have sex mentally as this guy is right now. I'm not an idiot, Xenon. If I was, I would have allowed Zeus to kill me during the Titan war.

I clenched my fists and ground my teeth together, glaring at him for the longest time.

There was a strong conviction in Hades's glowing blue eyes. A fierce determination to take what was in that pod and turn it into something non-destructive, but how exactly could you take something born for destruction and turn it into something made for good?

The same way Lucifer turned me into a not-douche.

I turned to stare at Hades's confession, but he suddenly seemed interested in the ceiling as he innocently avoided discussing his disclosure. I clenched my teeth.

Damn it, Hades.

What?

Just damn you. Damn you to hell.

I know. I'm going there after this, actually. If Lucifer finds out what I'm up to, he'll probably throw a bitch fit and come beat me up. He likes to pretend he has a say in our relationship.

I rolled my eyes and stepped away from him, studying one last time before I turned to look at Lea and Dorean, who watched us curiously from their side of the cavern.

"We need to get the demon out of here and to Hades's laboratory. I think he might be on to something." I told them. Lea's eyes widened.

"Are you mad?"

"Yeah." I muttered grimly. Lea chewed at her bottom lip nervously before she nodded. Hades waved his hand and the black poison parted so Lea and Dorean could make their way over to our side of the cavern.

"Okay, Hades, this is your shitstorm. How do we do this without waking him up?" I asked. Hades relaxed a bit and studied the pod intensely, rubbing the side of his neck.

"Oh, I doubt that'll be a problem." A voice said venomously. I froze, staring at the pod and Hades scowled. We whirled around to see Atlan and Xanius on the other side of the cavern, facing us. Xanius curled her lip, folding her arms over her chest and tapping a long black fingernail against her arm.

"See, I told you he'd been brain-washed, Atlan. The Greeks infiltrated his mind and made him their puppet." She sneered. Lea curled her lip.

"Oh, shut the hell up, Xanius. Gods above, I can't wait to sink my fingernails into your throat and dance in your blood." She sneered. Hades raised an eyebrow at her.

"Thanks for the colorful image, lady," He said, making Lea shrug, before Hades looked back to pin Atlan and Xanius with a cautious, but angry smirk, "So, you're Atlan, King of the Idiots Who Got Themselves Locked up. Pleasure to meet you. The name's Hades, Lord of the People Who Are Gonna Kick Your Ass." Atlan glowered and I felt his power pulse through the room as I swallowed tightly. Atlan glared at me.

"Xenon, how could you do this?" He demanded. I clenched my fists.

"How could I do this? How could you! I trusted you my entire life! I even went to war with the Greeks because you told me it was the right thing to do, because I thought they were actually hurting people! You lied to me! You covered everything up!"

"Shut up," Atlan snarled, stunning me into silence, "I'm willing to look over your treason if you just keep your mouth shut and step away from the Greek, immediately." I glared at him.

"Like Hell. If anyone's a good example of a Greek, it's Hades." I sneered. Hades looked surprised at my comment, but Atlan laughed out loud, making us glare at him.

"Not from what I hear," Atlan sneered, raking Hades with a less than approving glare, "According to the voices, this whore actually threw himself at Zeus's feet and begged him to take him after they banded together to kill their own parents. Xenon, they've brain-washed you into thinking that their side is safety. Don't fall for their lies. Not you." Hades glared at him.

"Yeah, you aren't a basket of fucking roses either," Hades returned arrogantly, making Atlan's eyes glow menacingly, "From what I've heard, you're just as sick as my brother is. Not only did you plot to kill an entire race, but you tricked an innocent and made him do your bidding and feeding him bullshit about falling in love with him. Yeah, that's pretty fucking pathetic. At least I own up to my sins. What about you, cuntwaffle?"

"Cuntwaffle?" I asked grimacing.

"I've obviously spent too much time with Theo lately," Hades muttered, more to himself than me, "Anyway, that's not the point! Point is, you can fuck yourself if you think we're gonna back down. That demon is mine." Atlan's eyes flared with hatred and he bared his fangs. 

"Xenon, this is your last chance. If you don't step away from the Greek right now, I will make you very, very sorry for betraying me." He warned. I clenched my teeth and stood firmly at Hades's side. Hades frowned at me.

"I don't need you to stand up for me, Atlantean."

"I'm not standing up for you. I'm standing with you. I'm the one who dragged you into this because I want to avoid a war," I told him, then turned to Atlan with narrowed eyes, "I don't want war. I don't want to dominate this planet. I don't need any of that. I have what I want. Or at least, I thought I did until I realized my family was just made up of psychopaths." Lea cleared her throat and I gave her an apologetic stare.

"Lea," Atlan roared, as if just now noticing her, "Don't fall for this! Not after everything we've done, how hard we worked, and how long we've suffered! You're throwing over ten thousand years of agony and for what? A Greek bastard? Have you forgotten what they did to you?" Lea tensed beside me, before clenching her fists.

"Yes, but I have also not forgotten what you've done to me either," She said, her voice hard, "And I never will." Atlan's eyes glowed and Xanius curled her lip.

"I knew you should've killed her bastard baby when you had the chance, but you didn't listen to me." She said, turning to Atlan, who glared at her.

"Shut up," He commanded, making Xanius huff, then Atlan's eyes slid over to us, glowing threateningly, "If you stand against us, you will suffer."

"At least I'll suffer with dignity." I returned. Atlan ground his teeth together before he drew his hand up in the air and clenched his fist before drawing it down, as if grabbing power out of the air before he threw his hand out at us. A second later, multiple ripples split through the air around us and I jerked my head up to see my siblings appearing one by one on the ceiling, narrowing their eyes and preparing for battle. I cursed under my breath and withdrew away from the black poison around us. Lea moved toward me and pulled Dorean behind her protectively, much to my relief.

Hades, however, being the suicidal maniac he was, just laughed.

"Bring it on, brats. Let's see what you've got." He sneered. Vinion rushed first, screaming as she shot down from the ceiling to try and land her dagger in Hades's head, but he flung his hand out at her and without even touching her, threw her back into the emerald wall so hard that it shuddered. What little light was in the cavern vanished and there were angry shouts, but I heard Hades laugh beside me.

"What now?" I seethed, moving my hands around in the darkness. It wasn't even dim anymore, just pitch black. Until a second later, a pair of blue glowing eyes appeared in front of me and I hissed, withdrawing sharply.

"Jesus Christ, Hades."

"That's just contradictory," Hades chided me, "Once you're done screaming like a little girl, do me a favor and grab onto the side of the pod."

"Hades..."

"Do it now or I'll throw you in that pool. And while you're at it, get your auntie and imp to do the same." Hades commanded. I sighed and reached out until I felt the cool smooth surface of the pod, sliding my hands across it until I bumped into my aunt Lea, who was breathing hard.

"Lea, put your hands on the pod," I ordered, "Tell Dorean to do the same."

"Already got it." Dorean's voice said from nearby. I breathed a sigh of relief that was short lived. A second later, I felt an almost instantaneous pull from within me. Something was coaxing my powers out and it took me a moment to realize it was Hades. Our powers flooded into the pod, causing it to suddenly light up like a Christmas bulb. I heard Atlan shouting and Xanius cursing while my siblings scrambled to make us stop.

However, one second we were in the emerald cavern on Leanorius and the next, in Hades's palace in the middle of a very sterile stainless steel decorated laboratory. Large test tubes lined one wall, tons of scientific doo-hickeys that I couldn't even begin to describe because I literally had no idea what they were for. Lea appeared instantly fascinated and touched a glass test tube before moving to admire a bunch of glowing chemicals in glass vials on a row of shelves.

"They can't get us here," Hades said as Dorean glanced around warily, "My barrier keeps any and all out, unless I give them permission and I don't think Atlan's stupid enough to come to the heart of the Greek underworld. But who knows? Let's hope he is, then I can rip him to pieces and add him to my collection." Lea and I stared at him and he just shrugged innocently, gesturing to a shelf across the room that was adorned with articulated skeletons and specimen jars filled with formaldehyde and organs.

"Oh." Lea's eyes widened as if she wasn't sure whether to be disturbed or awed. I grimaced and looked away, rubbing at the back of my neck.

"This took a turn for the worst," I muttered, leaning back against a counter to rub my forehead, "This wasn't supposed to happen. Now, I don't have a home to return to and Kiraka's probably tearing my house apart trying to find food. Oh yeah, and the best part? My entire pantheon has just turned on me." I covered my face with my hands. Dorean came over to me and wrapped his arms around my waist in comfort.

"You're not alone in this, sweetheart," Lea told me gently, coming over to touch my arm, "We're here with you."

"But now you're suffering too." I told her. Lea shrugged.

"I don't see this as suffering. I've always wanted to tell Atlan to stuff it." She responded. I gave her a forced smile. Hades scoffed as he went to wash his hands in one of the sinks.

"And what's so bad about having your entire pantheon hate you? Mine does and look at how I turned out." He snorted.

"Oh god." I groaned, hiding my face in my hands again.

"Whoa. Ouch." Hades said sarcastically, shaking his head as he made his way to the pod, placing his fingertips on it. We watched with a frown as Hades closed his eyes. Magic shot through his fingertips into the pod and went to the demon inside. I jumped, almost expecting the demon to wake up and just start tearing things apart, but much to my relief, he remained comatose as Hades extracted information.

"In the mean time," Hades said, keeping his eyes closed, "Go to my throne room and ask for Niki. He'll take you to one of the guest rooms." I raised an eyebrow.

"You're okay with us staying here?" I asked. It was really out of character for Hades to just invite people into his palace. He valued his privacy and distrust in others above almost all things, so to have him invite us to stay here was surprisingly polite.

"Oh, hurry up before I decide to add you to the shelf of wonders over there." Hades retorted. Lea took that chance to take Dorean and steer him toward the exit. I started to follow, then paused to look back at Hades as he stepped back, satisfied with his collection of data.

"Thanks, Hades." I said. Hades blinked, then turned to glance at me sideways, inclining his head before returning to his work. I left the laboratory and we found our way to the throne room where the little half-imp was already there waiting for us. Niki was petite with snow white hair cut fashionably longer on the left than the right, and mismatched brown and green eyes, a small mole beside his left nostril. Like Dorean, he seemed to have a thing for fashion and wore an expensive black/white striped sleeveless cardigan draped over a black v-neck and matching jeans.

"Dorean!" Niki exclaimed excitedly when he saw him. Dorean gave him a friendly smile.

"Hello, Niki. Hades sent us here to get rooms?" He asked. Niki blinked owlishly.

"He did? I guess that be why he summon me," He said thoughtfully, then frowned, "But why you are staying here? Lord Hades not normally so happy to have peoples here." Dorean exchanged a stare with me before smiling.

"It wasn't planned. And we're kind of tired, so if you please?"

"Of course," Niki said brightly, "Follow me." We followed Niki out of the throne room and down the hallway. Dorean walked beside Niki, listening to Niki talk animatedly about his current studies. Meanwhile, my aunt Lea walked beside me, scanning her surroundings as if awed by everything in sight, including the Aurora Borealis lighting on the ceiling.

"What is that heavenly light?" She asked, appalled.

"The Aurora Borealis," I answered, "It's a natural light show in the North. Persephone gave a portion of her memory of it to Hades shortly after she came to stay here several centuries after you guys disappeared." Lea stared up at it in awe, doing a small turn to watch it from different angles before her eyes landed on me. She offered me a small smile, reaching out to take my hand.

"Don't give up yet, Xenon," She told me gently, "We'll make it through this." I was having difficulties understanding her optimism. Everything was falling apart around us. Even if Hades did manage to turn the demon against the Atlanteans, what then? Would he kill them off all over again? I'd be alone.

"I lived my entire life alone until I met Dorean," I said honestly, watching Lea tilt her head, "Every single night I had nightmares about losing my family, my worshippers, all over again. In the beginning, I prayed every single night that it was just a dream that you guys were gone, that when I woke up the next morning, you'd be there making me breakfast, my siblings would be at each other's throats again, Xanius trying to come up with some way to get Atlan to punish us, the humans bringing us tribute, but I woke up every morning disappointed to find that I was alone in a desert realm. When I asked for my family back, this isn't what I meant. None of this." Lea's eyes turned sad.

"I know, sweetheart."

"What am I supposed to do now? If Hades kills everyone..."

"He'll kill only those who retaliate," She told me, making me frown as she patted my hand reassuringly, "I may have just met him, and he is still Greek and that unsettles me, but there is something about that god that makes it easy to trust him. As if he has been betrayed enough to know that it is the worst pain imaginable and he would not wish it even on his worst enemy. No, Hades will only attack the ones who will bring harm to him, his family, and his pantheon... and his unexpected Atlantean friends."

"I don't think Hades has friends, Aunt Lea."

"He thinks he doesn't," Lea said with a shrug, "But sucks for him because we are his friends."

"Yeah, that'll sound weird trying to gather a group of friends to go out drinking. Oh yeah, hey, guys, this is my friend, Hades. Hm? Oh, you mean the psychopath underworld god? Yeah. That guy." I said dryly. My aunt laughed at me and elbowed me a bit before smiling.

"We'll be okay, Xenon. We've faced much worse than this."

But even as she said it, I couldn't shake the feeling that this whole situation was about to get much, much worse.