Chapter Eleven

Everything felt alien to me.

Everyone around me was just pretending that it didn't matter that I lost my memory. As long as I was alive, that was all that mattered. Who cared that I couldn't remember my family or friends or even the boyfriend everyone claimed I had? Said boyfriend who hadn't returned after taking off. And every time I tried to ask someone about our relationship, they just brushed it off.

It was pissing me off.

And the more I went about my day, the more I realized a lot of things pissed me off. I hated how everyone was treating me like a timid child. Akin even asked if I needed help taking a shower. What kind of question was that? I may have lost my memory, but I wasn't retarded. I knew how to take a damn shower on my own. The only two people who didn't treat me as if I were an infant were Blaine and Hannibal.

Blaine was just plain rude the more I hung around him, but at least he was honest. He didn't walk on eggshells around me and flat out told me when I was doing something that annoyed him. Then again, he did that with just about everyone. And when I spoke to Hannibal, his responses were simple and blunt. The guy was more man than anyone else in the house.

For cryin' out loud, Akin spent last night painting his fingernails and watching chickflicks while Hannibal sat there in stone silence, letting Akin hug and kiss all over him. And while Blaine was masculine in his own sense, it was just difficult to take him seriously given how tiny and fragile he appeared.

It was mean of me to be so angry with these people when all they were doing was just trying to help, but I couldn't help it. No one was telling me anything about myself or just in general. No one knew anything about Stanton or where he was. No one knew me or who I was, except for simple little facts that were hardly any help.

It was so frustrating!

Why couldn't I remember anything?

I wanted to go back to Hades and demand that he fix this, but when I told Blaine about it, he'd laughed at me and told me I'd have better luck threading sea shells than getting in contact with Hades when he didn't want to be contacted. Even though Hades had told me to contact him if there was trouble, and surely this counted as trouble.

I couldn't remember anything!

I couldn't remember my favorite foods, what my bedroom looked like, what my home looked like. I couldn't remember my siblings, my father, who apparently was Lucifer, Lord of Hell. I couldn't remember anything and after all the anger dissipated that night, I tossed and turned in agony.

I'd lost my entire life. It really felt like I had died and woken up to a new life. I wanted to remember my family, my friends. I wanted to remember memories I'd had with them, why I'd been so desperate to come to Hades to bring Akin back. I wanted to know why Stanton wouldn't come near me.

I was beginning to think he'd lied to me about being my boyfriend. Weren't boyfriends supposed to give a shit about you? I mean, the least he could do was touch me, but when I'd first seen him in the throne room, he'd kept a safe distance from me. Akin and Cerberus had no problem walking up to me, but Stanton kept his distance as if he couldn't stand the thought of touching me and that hurt even worse.

Why did it hurt so much? My chest felt like it was going to collapse in on itself. I should've contacted Hades about it, but something in me told me that he wouldn't be able to help with this particular problem.

I was so fed up with trying to sleep, so I finally slid out of the bed in the guest room Cerberus had put me in. It was a good sized room with the basic dresser, television set on top, a neat gold and beige design on the walls and bedding. But it felt too strange to be in here alone, especially when I felt so awful.

I padded across the room and the moment I reached the door, I felt a strange rift in the air around me. I looked around, alarmed, feeling the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end, but there wasn't anyone in the room with me.

But somehow, I knew someone else was here in the house.

Concerned it was some kind of intruder, I opened the door and peered out into the long dark hallway. I stepped out onto the cold marble floor and moved down the hallway, making my way toward the power that seemed to pulse and ripple in the air. It was almost like an invisible weight, like gravity had suddenly decided to stock up on cinderblocks. I moved further down the hallway until I made it into the kitchen, a frown working onto my face. A strange instinct picked up inside me. My muscles tensed and I rose on the balls of my feet to move more silently as I made my way to the living room, moving against the wall when I spotted something moving inside.

I held my breath, pressed myself against the wall and started to peer into the living room when suddenly the air was heavier behind me and I gasped sharply, whirling around to attack the intruder when he caught my wrists and slammed me into the wall. I blinked rapidly against the darkness, until the pale silver moonlight poured in through the glass doors beside us, illuminating Stanton's face.

I stared at him. Wow, being closer was way better. Everything about him was intoxicating and made my whole body throb with hunger. His scent was crisp and manly, a mix of leather and sandalwood. The feel of his rough hands on my wrists, pinning me back didn't scare me anymore. If anything, it fired up every hormone in my body until I felt like I was melting from the heat of it. His blonde hair fell in his handsome, rugged face, black eyes glinting like dark marbles in the moonlight, and his lips slightly parted. He was only a few inches in front of me, yet towering over me like a wall of masculinity.

Holy shit, this guy was sex on legs.

"What are you doing out here?" He demanded. His tone of voice was enough to dampen my arousal. A flicker of hurt erupted in my chest. He sounded so cold and bitter. I swallowed tightly, peering up at him through the darkness that shadowed his face.

"I heard you-- Er, felt you? I'm not sure what it's called yet. I just sensed you here." I replied quietly, not that it mattered. We could shout and I'm sure it wouldn't wake someone up. That's how big the house was. No, more like a giant mansion. There were still parts of the house I had yet to see.

Stanton roughly let go of me and stepped back, raking a hand through his hand. He looked so exasperated with me. I rubbed at my wrists that were red and bruised where he'd grabbed them, but that wasn't what hurt. No, that was actually what made me horny in the first place. It was his voice, his reaction to me. It was like he couldn't stand me.

"Go back to bed," Stanton told me sternly, "You need as much rest as you can get." I looked at him, confused.

"I feel like I've slept for a decade. I don't need more sleep," I told him, "Why are you being such a jerk? You told me you were my boyfriend, but you're acting like... like you hate me." It hurt a lot more saying it out loud in front of him. It was like a kick in the chest. Stanton's features were stoic, but he stopped standing so rigidly and took a step toward me. I held my breath as he reached his hands out, cupping my face in his hands. Pleasure assailed me at just his mere touch on my face. Rough powerful palms, large, yet gentle. Something about it felt... familiar.

"I do not hate you," Stanton spoke firmly, and the sincerity in his voice jolted me back from my fantasizes, "I could never hate you. I used to think that was my problem." I didn't understand that and looked at him, puzzled, but he just sighed and let go of my face. I instantly felt the loss of his warm hands and wanted them back, but I managed to restrain myself as I watched him rub at his neck uncomfortably.

"Look, I'm sorry that I made you feel like shit. It's just... You don't remember anything," He said at last, making me cock my head and raise an eyebrow, "You don't remember the day we met. You don't remember the jokes we used to play on each other. Or our first time together. It's just extremely frustrating and difficult to cope with and I'm honestly not very good at this whole feeling thing. I'm Death, not Aphrodite." I scrunched my nose up at the unfamiliar name, then shook my head.

"How do you think I feel," I asked dryly, "You're right. I don't remember any of that stuff. Worse still is that the guy who's supposed to be my boyfriend wouldn't go anywhere near me. My brother and some random stranger ran to me before you did. And they can't tell me anything about myself. Nothing important anyway. Frustrating is barely the word to describe it. Try fucking impossible." Stanton appeared surprisingly guilty.

"I'm sorry, Alaric. All right? I told you, I'm not good with this feeling thing. Even before I had trouble being honest with you. I dropped hints, but... Well, no offense, but you're really oblivious." He admitted with a helpless shrug. I scowled at that.

"What's that supposed to mean?" I demanded. Stanton met my eyes, and the intensity of his gaze stole my breath away. He moved closer to me until I was backed up against the wall again, his body pressed right up against mine so I could feel the heat of him through our clothes, clothes that I wish we could just poof away so I could feel his hot tawny skin against mine. Stanton dipped his head down towards mine slowly.

"I fucking love you, Alaric." His lips met mine and I felt like everything was exploding. It was like fireworks going off in my lips. They tingled as Stanton nipped at them gently before parting them with his tongue. A shudder went through me as our tongues met in a heated battle that set my groin on fire. I arched my back into his touch, letting him put his arm around my waist, jerking me so close that we were grinding our hips together, panting hard.

My head spun with a hundred different emotions, but it all came right down to what Stanton had whispered to me. I suddenly felt a desperation to have him inside me. I wanted to feel his body on top of mine, his breath in my ear as he whispered those same words to me over and over again until it became a chant. I wanted to hear my name on his lips, his name on mine. I wanted to sink my fingernails into his broad corded back, feel his body slamming into mine until I was insane with pleasure.

Oh god, please, fuck me.

Unable to resist the allure anymore, I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him down to deep our kiss. Stanton growled low in his throat, jerking me up against him and pressing me into the wall as he grabbed my legs and hoisted them up until I had them wrapped around his narrow waist. He groped at me before lifting my shirt off over my head and throwing it on the floor.

It didn't even occur to me that we were about to have sex in a stranger's kitchen.

I was too distracted by the way Stanton ground his hips into mine, making me murmur in pleasure as I grabbed at his back beneath his shirt, raking my nails down his skin. Stanton buried his mouth into my throat and sucked so hard that I was positive the purpose of it was to leave a hickey. And I let him, because nothing excited me more than walking around with his mark on me. Oddly enough, his possessiveness just turned me on further.

He set me down on my feet just long enough to jerk my pants down so I could kick them aside. He jerked me back up against the wall, rubbing the wet tip of himself against me. I breathed out deeply, clutching him to me as I took the intiative and lowered myself down on top of him. It was so strange to be doing something this new, and yet, somehow knowing what I was doing.

I purred in pleasure as Stanton slid himself inside me to the hilt. I felt so full and hot. I sank my fingernails into Stanton's shoulder, then tilted my head back against the wall and let him ravish my throat as he began to piston his hips up against me. My body jerked and twitched as bolts of euphoria shot through my veins like bolts of lightning. It was so hard to stay quiet. I just couldn't do it anymore and cried out as Stanton struck a place deep inside me, causing me to shudder and spill myself out between us. Stanton buried his lips against my ear, laughing quietly as he thrust himself hard inside me and came, his arms wrapped around me.

We slid down onto the floor, my legs on either side of him as he leaned his arms against the wall behind me so he was hovering above me. I tilted my head up to look into his face breathlessly.

"That was amazing." I breathed. Stanton laughed.

"You ain't seen nothin' yet." He replied. I shivered. God, it got better than that? I couldn't really imagine anything being better than that. It had been wild and spontaneous. And it left me feeling relaxed and satisfied. Not only was sex itself the best thing in the world, but the afterglow felt great. Now I just wanted to curl up in bed beside him and actually sleep. I reached up to run my hands up his shirt, savoring the quivering muscles beneath his tawny skin. I tilted my head up and nipped at his collarbone, making him groan.

"Baby, you have way too much stamina. Give me a second to recover before you go gropin' me like that." He murmured. I gave him a smile and he smiled back, tilting his head down to kiss me on the lips before he hoisted himself up, bringing me to my feet with him. I managed to get my pants back on and Stanton adjusted his clothing, tucking himself back into his jeans.

"Did you eat already?" He asked, glancing toward the fridge. I nodded, brushing the hair back out of my face.

"Blaine and Hannibal made food. Have you eaten?" I asked. Stanton didn't answer as he moved toward the guest room area that I'd come from. I suppose he'd been here before, because he seemed to know where to go; that being my room. I just followed him quietly.

"So you said Hannibal was here?" Stanton asked me as we went into my room and I shut the door behind us, frowning at him.

"Yeah, why?" I asked. Stanton didn't answer again. Now I was getting annoyed. What happened to the sweet Stanton that I'd just had sex with? I wanted him back, not this irritating silent guy.

"Is he, I dunno, I can't say normal because he was never normal to begin with. Is he all right?" He asked, making me frown further. Yeah, that's what I wanted to talk about now.

"Uhm, what about you?" I asked, folding my arms over my chest. Stanton scowled, obviously confused. Oh Jesus, and he called me oblivious?

"What about me?" He asked. I glared at him.

"Why are we suddenly talking about Hannibal? Jeez, you really know how to ruin a moment." I snapped, aggravated. Stanton sighed and walked over to me. I debated just pushing him away and kicking him out of the room so I could lay in bed for the rest of the night thinking about things I didn't know anything about. But I couldn't bring myself to do it as I let him walk right up to me, his body so close to mine that I could pick up on his scent again, my body aching for another round, but I wanted to stay mad at him, so I just glared down at his chest instead of meeting his eyes.

"I'm not asking because I'm interested in Hannibal," Stanton assured me, then added a shudder to it as if he couldn't think of anything worse, "No way. I was just wondering because..."

"Because?" I prompted, meeting his eyes now. Stanton appeared to be at war with himself. Why didn't he trust me enough to tell me? I probably wouldn't remember that either. Stanton sighed in frustration, backing away from me.

"Hades wouldn't save you if we didn't give him what he wanted." He stated. I frowned, lowering my arm as I watched him move around the room. He was pacing restlessly.

"He asked for Hannibal?" I asked, confused. Why would he want Hannibal? Stanton gave me a weary glance before he continued his pacing. It was making me nervous to have him move around like that. Was he thinking about something?

"He's always asking for Hannibal," He replied grimly, "Hannibal made a severe mistake and ended up hurting one of Hades's many sons. Abel. Hades hasn't forgiven Hannibal for it and hopes to make Hannibal's life a living hell. Not that it isn't already." I scowled.

"Hannibal seems just fine to me." I pointed out. Stanton stared at me.

"People like him are very, very good at hiding their pain. They've lived with it so long, having to hide it from potential enemies, that they're used to keeping it under lock and key. Let's just leave it at the city folk took their revenge out on Hannibal for hurting one of their favorite leaders. Even so, Hades wants a piece of Hannibal himself."

"So he asked for Hannibal then."

"Not exactly. I was just double checking to make sure he hadn't taken it upon himself to do it anyway."

"Oh," I said flatly, then frowned, "So then what did he ask for?" Stanton glared at the floor. He was angry now. I could feel it permeating the air like a hot wave. It sent a chill up my spine. A potent rage that could melt the arctic glaciers.

"You," He said at last, making me blink in surprise, "He asked for you."

"What'd you mean he asked for me? Doesn't he already have me? He said he'll send me back to Lucifer when he's done."

"Yeah, when he's done poking you and prodding you like some kind of science experiment." Stanton snapped impatiently. A sliver of fear shot through me. I didn't like the thought of being a science experiment. I already hated waking up in that glass case, waking up to needles embedded into my skin, that creepy mask on my face, and all those noisy machines. Just thinking about it was giving me goosebumps. It was the ultimate horror movie, the ultimate nightmare.

"Why would he do that?" I asked, confused. He seemed, well, harsh and coarse to be honest, but I didn't think he'd actually be this mean.

"Because he's Hades," Stanton spat the man's name like a curse as he picked up his pacing, like the more he walked, the more he fueled his hatred for the man, "He's pompous and arrogant and selfish. He loves artificial creation. He was practially its founder. And he hasn't really tinkered with it lately and now that he has you, he has the perfect chance to do whatever he wants to you, with you. And I don't like it one bit. Akin was so stupid to think there was any good inside Hades. He always thinks everyone has a good side, but they don't. Not everyone is rainbows and unicorns. If anything, Hades is made from the darkest pits of Hell rolled up into a ball and spat into the fire. He's cruel and he's an asshole and I'd rather gut him and destroy the universe than let him get his hands on you. That's why I disappeared yesterday. I was trying to talk to some friends of mine to figure out if there's a way to get you out of here without setting Hades off into another temper tantrum that could effect the natural balance."

"Another?" I asked. Not that that was the only thing I picked up from his ranting. The fact that he was willing to destroy the universe for me was both flattering and the stupidest thing I'd ever heard. As if I was worth the universe. What an idiot.

"Hades started a war about a year ago," Stanton explained bitterly, "His youngest son, Ambrosius, also his favorite, ran off to Purgatory and got together with your older brother, Thorn. Hades was enraged. Granted, he was already plotting to take over the world like some cheesy cartoon villain, but Ambrosius's abandonment was what triggered it at an early stage. Your brother, Raven, was severely tortured during this war. Hundreds of people were slaughtered like cattle, Alaric. Hades is not a good person. He's the darkest entity that has ever existed. And now he wants you."

Okay, well, when he put it all like that, it sounded absolutely terrifying. Would he really start another war if he didn't get what he wanted? He really did sound like a toddler having a hissy fit. And oddly enough, I found myself wondering why...

Why was Hades like that? Why was he so cruel and mean? Granted, he wasn't exactly the ultimate evil to me when I woke up. He saved my life. Well, a life I could no longer remember, sure, but nevertheless.

It was at a cost, and that cost was me.

"He won't kill me, will he?" I asked. Why would he save my life if it meant killing me? Stanton shook his head.

"No. Worse."

"Worse than death?"

"A hundred times worse," Stanton told me sternly, making me frown as he turned to face me with a cold bitterness I felt right to the core of my soul, "Alaric, you've already gone through all the tests and exams that Hades has planned for you, except they were done by Lucifer and they were done gently and with the utmost care and consideration. Even then, you were traumatized and hurt. You were just a child then too. Now Hades is going to do it all over again. And I know for a fact he won't be gentle about it. He'll do anything he can to make it hurt." I swallowed tightly at that. I didn't like the sound of it at all. Traumatized? Was it really that bad? Would Hades really be that cruel?

Judging from what Stanton had just told me, yes. Hades would happily cut me open without anesthetics just so he could watch me scream and writhe in pain. Cold dread pooled in my stomach and I debated trying that weird teleporty thing, but my powers wouldn't work. Not exactly. Akin told me I would have to learn how to use them all over again, and I hadn't even learned how to trigger the magic itself, let alone the magic to teleport.

"I don't want to to be a lab rat." I managed at last. Stanton's face softened with sympathy and guilt as he moved over to stand in front of me, cupping my face in his hands.

"You won't. I won't let him hurt you, Alaric. I swear." He promised and leaned in to kiss me on the lips, then the cheek. I tried to find comfort in it all, but I really couldn't. Something twisted and wrenched in my gut. The anticipation for a lifetime of agony at Hades's hands. And I still couldn't understand it. Why would he be so mean to someone he's never even met before? He'd told us back in the throne room that he didn't hurt anyone who hadn't hurt him first.

So why in the world would he just randomly hurt me?

I had done nothing to him.... Or at least, I didn't remember doing anything to him.

I choked down the cold dread and fear balling up in my stomach, mostly so I wouldn't worry Stanton, who wouldn't leave me alone now. We finally went to bed, but I didn't sleep. I just laid on my side with Stanton almost entirely wrapped around me, his body warm and protective, his arm like a steel bar around me. Even with him there, though, I still felt uneasy.

I knew Stanton didn't want to tell me all of that. He'd been extremely hesitant. But because I'd pushed him, he'd broken down and told me. He was just being honest. Even so, I felt even more unsettled than before. I didn't like the thought of Hades using me as some kind of lab rat. Why would he need a lab rat in the first place? If he was such a great artificial creator, why would he need me? According to Cerberus, I was a barely functioning artifical before I went into my weird death-like state.

I was just fine now, wasn't I? Aside from the memory loss.

Was that what Hades wanted to experiment on? My memory loss? What if he completely damaged my memory bank? What if I could never remember anything ever again? What if I woke up every morning and couldn't remember anything that had happened in the years before? Agony spread through me at the thought and I rolled over in Stanton's arm to bury myself against his chest, trying to calm myself down.

Scaring the shit out of myself was just making the situation worse. I didn't know Hades, or maybe I did before, but I don't remember him, but either way! I may not know him, but surely Lucifer wouldn't leave me in his clutches if he didn't at least kind of trust Hades, right? Lucifer wouldn't abandon me like this for no reason, especially since he considered me his son?

I couldn't sleep with all these thoughts running around in my head. I wanted to just get up and walk around, hoping it would clear my head, but I couldn't pull away from Stanton. Aside from the fact that the man was well over two hundred pounds of solid steel muscle, he provided a modicum of safety and I didn't want to leave him. So I stayed snuggled up to him and when I felt him stir in the morning, I pretended to be asleep so he wouldn't worry about me not getting any sleep.

He started to get up and I pretended to be coming out of my sleep as I wrapped my arms around his waist and held him down.

"Where are you going?" I grumbled, peeking an eye open to stare up at him. Stanton appeared startled for a moment, then sighed as he slumped back down on the bed, stroking the hair back from my face.

"Just to take a shower... Care to join me?" He asked, arching a brow. A little thrill went through me at the suggestion and I bit my lip before nodding. A wicked grin spread across Stanton's face as he hoisted me up out of bed, lifting me right off my feet as if I weighed nothing. And I knew very well that I wasn't exactly the lightest guy in the world. I'd woken up with my own set of muscles, but it seemed to be no problem for him as he carried me into the bathroom and set me on my feet so he could undress me while I turned the water on.

Something about this felt very... normal. Did we do this often? Or did it just feel like an every day normal day? No threat of experiments, nothing. Even better was that I still remembered last night and everything since I woke up in that glass case back at Hades's.

The shower case was purposely built big enough for two people with a little bench against the blue tiled wall. Stanton sat down and pulled me close, using a foam green poof thingy to soap up and start rubbing my torso. I watched him, still having difficulties believing that Stanton was my boyfriend.

My boyfriend.

Boyfriend sounded like such a weird word. It wasn't strong enough to describe what I felt for Stanton. Saying boyfriend sounded so temporary and plain. What we had was none of that. It was deep and solid. Even if I called us lovers, it still wouldn't be enough. I almost wanted to say soulmates, but it sounded so cheesy to me.

I moaned as I felt Stanton cup me between the legs, taking his time as he cleaned me, making my legs quiver. He guided one hand up my thigh and massaged at my hips before pulling me gently into his lap. The hot water rained down on Stanton's face, soaking his blonde hair and making it stick to his incredibly sexy face. He flicked his tongue over his lips before leaning in to kiss me. I savored the taste of him and reached up to sink my fingers into his wet hair. He cupped my ass and groped me.

God, I felt like Jell-O whenever he touched me. I lost all sense of concern for the outside world. The only thing that mattered was Stanton right here, right now. His touch, his scent, his everything. The whole world faded away so it was just the two of us.

It was when he touched me when I felt I could completely forget about everything else. Forget the world, forget the fears, forget everything.

And when he slid himself deep inside me, I really was far gone. Moans spilled past my lips as I clutched Stanton to me tightly, panting as I bounced in his lap. The sound of wet skin slapping wet skin, the hot water trickling down and making our skin slick. Stanton buried his mouth against my throat again to leave another set of hickeys. I probably looked like a friggin' Dalmatian by now. It succeeded in making me laugh as I tilted my head back to give Stanton more access.

"Enjoying yourself?" Stanton murmured against my skin, trailing kisses down so he could close his lips around a puckered nipple. I squirmed at the feel of his teeth scraping the sensitive skin.

"Uhn, you have no idea... Ohh, Stanton, please... Harder." I pleaded, sinking my fingernails into his already marked back. Stanton chuckled against my skin, then switched our positions. I gasped as he slammed me into the shower wall, turning me so my face was pressed against the tiles and he was ramming into me from behind. My legs trembled beneath me and I struggled to maintain a grip on the slippery wall as he thrust into me. I cried out as my climax struck me so hard, my vision went momentarily white, and it only seemed to increase as Stanton shuddered in release behind me, his fingers kneading into my ass.

I slid down onto my knees and Stanton went down with me, wrapping his arms around my torso and pressing his face into the back of my neck.

"God, I love you so much, Alaric." He breathed against me. I shivered and tilted my head back so I could kiss him, and he kissed me back. We managed to finish our shower without another playful romp and when we emerged, Stanton even took the time to dry me off with a plush green towel. We moved to the bedroom where Stanton started to change into a pair of leather pants and a black v-neck t-shirt when I remembered that I had no clothing, and no way to poof it in like Stanton had.

"Uh," I said dryly, making Stanton glance over his shoulder at me as he jerked a pair of motorcycle boots onto his huge feet, "Yeah, so I haven't gotten the hang of your whole clothes trick yet. You mind?" Stanton raked a hot stare over my naked body, and it instantly reacted to his stare, making my face hot as I held the towel in front of me to shield myself. I cleared my throat impatiently and Stanton sighed.

"You know, I wouldn't mind it if you walked around like that."

"I do." I deadpanned. Stanton wrinkled his nose playfully at me, but reclutantly got up and didn't even have to wave his hand or say any kind of magic words as the clothes appeared on the bed before me, making my eyebrows go up in surprise as I picked up an expensive long sleeved black shirt. The material was the softest thing I'd ever felt.

"How do you do that? One second there's nothing there, then poof!" I exclaimed. Stanton smirked, but there was a tinge of sadness to it. I think he was upset by the fact that I couldn't remember how to do magic. I really hoped it was easier than I thought.

"It takes energy," Stanton replied after a moment as he helped me pull the shirt on over my head, "Energy comes from two main sources. Worship, which is only for gods and demigods, angels and saints, major deities basically, and then there's the Source. The Source is the black void from whence all things came from. Each culture has its own name for it. The Greeks call it Chaos. Anyway, the Source is also referred to as natural energy. It's neverending. You pull your energy from the Source. Think of your energy as a full glass of water. Every time you use it, a little bit is depleted until eventually you need to refill it. Usually a good long sleep can help with that. This natural energy is different from your physical energy. It's more like spiritual energy. If you're going to, say for example, summon an outfit, you have to use a specific amount of energy, generally just point something percent, and focus on all the details you want in the oufit. Materials, labels, brands, styles, even smells sometimes. Once you've got the perfect outfit in mind, you can use your energy to summon it from somewhere. However, you usually already have to own it before you can summon it. Unless you're a god. Then you can defy the laws, but you're not a god."

"Defy what laws?" I asked, confused. Stanton shrugged.

"All shops and stores have a barrier around them. It's so you can't walk out of their place with their merchandise, or summon them without paying. You have to go in and pay for it. The barriers usually prevent teleportation as well, so you can't rob them."

"That sounds way more complicated than what you just did." I huffed. Stanton smirked, sitting on the bed in front of me.

"Yeah, well, I've had eons of practice. You'll get better at it once you get the hang of it. It'll be like second nature. Just try not to waste all your energy on summoning clothes. And the more clothes and stuff you summon, the more energy you use. A simple outfit is no problem, but if you summon your whole damn wardrobe and your bed and your dresser and your toothbrush, you'll have to use more energy." He explained. I nodded in understanding, even though it still sounded a bit complicated. I paused when I saw a pair of lacy red underwear on the bed. I blushed.

"What's that?" I asked. Stanton looked at it dismissively for a moment until he seemed to realize something and looked surprisingly embarrassed.

"Oh, uh. Well, we did this dumb dare a while back where I dared you to wear lingerie for one of our dates and you did it and you've been doing it ever since... It's why you don't have any other underwear. Sorry." He added. I shrugged a little, reaching out to pick up the flimsy piece of lace. I paused for a moment, though, frowning at it. The material felt so familiar and soft. For a second, I thought I would get a memory flash, but unfortunately, it wasn't a cheesy movie, so I was left with just the familiar ache of them. Stanton took them from me and helped me step into them, then paused as he ran his fingers around the inside of the waistband, his teeth biting into his bottom lip.

"God, you're fucking sexy in these." He purred, using the waistband to pull me closer. I gasped as he cupped me through the panties and a shiver coursed through me. No wonder why I liked these so much. They were so thin and soft. It was almost like not wearing anything at all. Stanton was driving me nuts stroking me through them, though, and I really didn't want to spend the whole day having sex.

... Okay, that was a total lie. I would love to spend the rest of eternity having sex with Stanton.

But we had other things to do too.

"You know, we still have things to do." I reminded Stanton shakily.

"Mmm, hm." Stanton replied dismissively, kissing a trail down my abdomen until he reached the panties and kissed the tip of me through the material. I hissed through clenched teeth, unable to stand it anymore as I reached down to caress his face as he sucked and licked at me through the material. In a matter of moments, I was coming hard, soaking the panties. I cursed and gave Stanton a little shove as he laughed, licking his lips.

"Sorry," He told me gently, then a new pair of panties appeared in his hand, "I got you covered. Go ahead and change out of those." I huffed at him, dropping the dirty panties and changing into a new pair before jerking on the jeans he'd given me. We finally emerged from the room to the hot smell of breakfast wafting from the kitchen. I groaned at the smell of it, leading the way to the kitchen.

Sure enough, Blaine and Hannibal were in there cooking and Cerberus sat at the dining table, eyeing Hannibal warily. Akin was tying his long hair up with a Gothic kitty scrunchie, wearing a matching pair of pajamas, which were way too big on him. Part of me wondered if they were Hannibal's, but then again, he didn't look like the type to run around in kitty pajamas. The image of that was almost enough to make me burst out laughing.

"Morning, sleepyhead," Akin greeted me cheerfully, then paused when his eyes slid over to Stanton and his smile twitched, "Stanton." Stanton gave him a droll stare.

"You know, I'm starting to get the feeling you don't like me." He said. Akin stared at him.

"No." I wasn't sure if that was a no, he agreed with him, or a no he didn't like him, or what. I didn't want to ask about it, though, as I sat at the table across from Cerberus, mostly to block him from glaring holes in Hannibal's back. Now he was just glaring at me.

"Yeah?" He asked, uninterested as he tried to peer past my head, but I moved in his way.

"When does Hades want me to come back? I have some questions for him." I added. That seemed to get his attention as he frowned at me.

"He'll come for you when he needs you. What kind of questions?" He asked. I wasn't sure if it was completely safe to bring up the fact that apparently I'd been bartered to save my own life. An annoying tit for tat. I glanced at Stanton, who gave me a silent nod to indicate it was all good. I looked back at Cerberus.

"I want to know if he can get me my memories back." I replied. Cerberus frowned.

"I can't say for sure. You gotta remember-- you died, Alaric. I'm not talking about a coma or one of those magical brought you back things. You were dead. Your body was already going into rigor mortis. It was a miracle Hades could construct you a new body for your soul to host. Memories are stored in parts of the brain. Your brain is dead. You have a new physical body. Your soul is just you." He explained. I scowled.

"That makes no sense at all." I snapped impatiently. Cerberus frowned.

"No, it doesn't." He agreed.

"Now you're just trying to confuse me."

"No way. This whole artificial thing is more complicated than it sounds. I just gave you an idiot's crash course. I honestly have no idea what all the specifics entail and I never bothered to ask Hades because he'd talk for hours on end about it. He may act like a total badass, but he's really just a big nerd." Cerberus explained. I sighed, frustrated as I ran a hand through my hair. Stanton came up behind me so he could rest his hands on my shoulders, giving me a reassuring squeeze. I looked up at him and he gave me a quick smile before a scowl ruined his features and he looked up with a curse.

"Crap. Duty calls," He muttered, and at Cerberus's weird stare, Stanton glared at him, "My job, you dolt. I have a job. Things have been busier since the mortals started to discover more and more ways to kill themselves. There's this fun thing called cigarettes." He glanced at me the moment he said that and I looked at him in confusion. He didn't explain that weird look and just gave me a quick kiss before he disappeared right in front of me. I blinked a few times, but he didn't come back.

"Wow," I said at last, turning to stare at the table, "I'm never going to get used to that whole disappearing act." Cerberus shrugged.

"It becomes second nature after a while." He told me. I don't see how that was really reassuring, but I went along with it. Like I went along with everything else.

And, unfortunately, I would have to do the same thing when Hades came for me.