He laid flowers in her coffin, made from gold and silver. She looked so peaceful, so beautiful... almost as if she were asleep and not dead. He touched her cold cheek one last time, whispering "I vow our bloodline shall be safe, all of your descendants shall be protected. I love you, always have and always will. One day, we shall be together again, a family... one day"

Jason laid flowers as he hugged his father. Rhea and Lilith lifted the heavy metal lid, made purely from gold. They sealed it carefully, burying her like a queen as Chronos put his hand on it. He shed a tear, letting it land on the coffin. Jason stood up and said a few words, a good few words before he turned away.

Chronos did a speech before the group disbanded, leaving the golden coffin behind. Lilith put her shoulder on Chronos's arm as she asked "will you be ok?"

"I hope so" Chronos admitted. His ear twitched as men ran up the hill and towards them all. Chronos drew his sword and quickly dispatched them only to see more running up. One of them held a blade at Jason's throat only to feel a knife in their back thanks to Rhea. Jason held his throat after a minor cut started bleeding. Chronos helped him as he sighed; turning to Lilith he said "you were right"

"What do you mean?" Jason asked with confusion written on his young face.

"She warned me... followers of Epimethieus would still be... bound to him but I did not... listen, I did not want to believe it"

"What are you saying? Are you suggesting I am in danger?"

"With me around and... memories of me... yes" Chronos admitted.

"Well then... what do we do? I can... ask for more... guards to... protect me... I can tell my people I do not feel safe... there are ways"

"Rather than sacrificing your people, there is another way"

"Yes... you could make me immortal too!"

"No... not you" Chronos replied. He looked into Jason's eyes, his own filled with tears as he said "if you have memories of me, they shall never let you go but if I remove them or... hide them... you will be free and I... will be able to watch you live your life in freedom"

"You are going to remove my memories? What will you have me believe?! Will you make me believe that I was born fatherless, is that it?!"

"No, never but what you will believe is that I died, that I died on the battlefield and that your mother died of illness. You will remember me, just not that I am alive or that I am... what I am"

"Are you ready?" Lilith asked as she walked towards Jason.

Chronos nodded as he turned away with tears in his eyes. Lilith touched Jason's forehead, locking away all the recent memories about his father, recreating them to suit them. It was the cruellest and most painful thing he could do to Jason and yet he did it so Jason would be free from harm, so no one would come after him or try to hurt him, so he would never lose his only son. He touched his son's shoulder before he hid from him, leaving in a hurry before he ordered Lilith to stop, to release his memories and unshackle his mind, even if that was the wrong thing to do. He did not want to lose his only son and yet his son was lost to him if he did not let Lilith do her job; hide his memories forever to protect him, Jason. His son would be too young to remember Chronos and Hermione would not say a word so he did not need to erase their minds. If only he could do it himself, erase their minds himself... if only he did not love them.

"The hardest thing is saying goodbye for we suspect we shall never see them again. Perhaps what we believe is our falsehood; perhaps what is true is our love for those we leave behind and those we fight for. Deimos, our brother, lays hidden for eternity but I believe that I shall see him again" Rhea whispered softly, her voice being carried by the wind.

"I will see Jason again, I will make sure of it but until then, it is not a goodbye but a farewell"

"When shall we return, brother?" Lilith asked as she walked to him.

"I do not know, when I feel a change in the winds, we shall return but until then, Greece is not safe, not for any of us. Perhaps we were meant to leave here, to stay only for a short time before life and our destinies made us leave, however one day I shall return, for our brother I shall return"

"And before that, for your son" Lilith corrected.

"How can you know that?" Rhea asked stubbornly.

"Because she has seen it happen"

"Do not worry, when you return, you are no longer a threat to him"

"Where we will go? Where shall we find our home again?" Rhea asked as the breeze played with her gentle hair.

"Where we find our call, where we find sanctuary for the years of happiness I foresee" Lilith answered. Chronos smiled as he marched on.

They did anything they wanted to, freed slaves, learnt to battle, fought in wars and against them. Each one of them were free to pursue their true desires but a good deal of years later, almost eighty of them, when the group found itself disbanded, Chronos returned to the place he had long avoided, the area he had hoped he had long forgotten about, all but one single family had left his mind. It was that call, he answered. He walked into the house, Jason's son had children of his own, three he could see, an older man with a small family who seemed to have had ones of their own but it was Jason who called him home... Jason who he had come to see after all that time he had spent apart. 

Jason lay in his bed, his wrinkled skin due to the age of him. He smiled as he saw Chronos. "You look... the same... for years, I could not remember... could it be... now... on my death bed... I remember you, father?"

"Hello Jason" 

"You left me... at my mother's funeral... wiped my memories. If I were as I was then, I would not understand... why... I would have... I did want to... join you but now, after so many years of living, I finally understand the true... thoughts... meanings... meanings of life. I had a great life, a good family... Chronos and Agatha, I was blessed... truly blessed in this world. Had I gone with you, I would have... missed out"

"Yes, this is why I could not do it, my son, I am so sorry but I could not"

"I understand. Even now, now I am an old man, ready to die... I still understand, I am not the idiot child I once acted like... not the one I was... not anymore" Jason admitted. He spotted the ring as he held Chronos's hand and smiled. "You kept it; kept my ring... a part of me... has seen all your adventures"

"Part of you shall continue to, my son" Chronos promised as Jason took his last few breaths. He took his final breath, his eyes open but smiling. Chronos gently shut his eyes, a mark of respect and love. "I will see you again, my son, we shall meet again" he promised as he left. An older Chronos, the son of Jason turned to his grandfather as Chronos whispered "he is at peace, with the gods now. May he pass through and see the light of the gods"

He left on horseback, galloping off. The ages embraced him and his bloodline. Madeleine, the woman who he thought had given him her heart was next to be made, only his heart lay broken when she gave it to another, turning him into an immortal using her own blood. He let her, let them go together... it would be wrong of him to keep her, especially when she was not his. He bowed his head and continued on in his life, pretending to be a dashingly handsome knight one century only to become a fearsome pirate the next. He lived every day as if it were his last and every day with his son's ring on his finger to remind him of those lost and his promise. He was going to find a way for Deimos to be free, no matter how long it took.

Rhea lived her life in the shadows, becoming the best of everything she attempted, mastering music in years, music as well as the sword. It was Lilith who chose a more peaceful life, much more peaceful. Through meditation and her gifts left to her, she found her much needed peace, hoping she too would one day reunite with someone from her past, Alexander, the father who had given his life for hers, his life ended so hers could begin again, made stronger... better in some ways.

The world was at peace and so were they, in time they moved to England, running a court, they were the judges, the vampires who had descended from their great bloodlines, the judged but each of them feared the return of the one monster who could destroy them all, Epimethieus himself, the monster himself.

The End