Chapter Five

I had the strangest dream.

I dreamt that I was back in the incubator I'd lived in for the first two years of my life. I remembered the cold liquid that clung to my skin, making it smooth and soft, just like normal skin. I felt the tubes sticking into my arms and chest, one plunged into my throat. According to Lucifer, my lungs refused to work, so he had to force them to work. I wasn't sure what that meant, but I'm sure it had something to do with that damned tube. I remembered how uncomfortable it was.

The only thing that had kept me from screaming in agony and confusion were the bubbles that emitted from the tube in my throat, and the air pockets from the bottom of the incubator. Something about the bubbles was amazing. I loved watching them swell up, rising toward the top above me that was full of holes to allow fresh air into the container. Once they'd pop, I'd look back down and follow the rest of the bubbles with sleepy eyes.

I always felt sleepy in there.

But what made this dream different from the memory was the fact that Lucifer was standing outside the container, inputting data into the computers outside. I managed to lift my hand, which looked so small and frail, so thin. I touched it to the glass and Lucifer jumped, startled out of whatever he'd been doing. He looked up and his eyes met mine.

He just stared at me.

I wasn't sure why, but that bothered me.

Stop staring at me. Let me out! It's cold in here and I'm hungry! Let me out!

But Lucifer couldn't hear me, and even if he did, he ignored it as he looked back down at the computer to finish what he was doing before he snapped his fingers and a little demon servant came scurrying forward eagerly, holding a syringe in a small metal box. Lucifer nodded his thanks, took the syringe and stuck it into a little port by the computer. Blue liquid flooded into it before a green light blinked on, signifying that the machine was finished filling the syringe. Lucifer took it out and went around to the side near another computer to put in more information. He took the syringe and stuck it into the tube that was trailing from outside the container, through the glass, and into my arm. He injected the blue liquid into the tube and it rushed in, straight into my veins.

And a strange sensation passed through me. It was eerie and freezing. A shudder coursed through me as I felt that ice water flow through my veins. My teeth shattered and goosebumps rose on my skin, hairs standing on end as I struggled to breath.

I could hear the faint sound of an alarm going off, but it was difficult to focus as sudden pain assailed me. I panted hard as the cold became so vicious that it was hot. A hot sort of cold. That was the only way I could think to describe it. I wondered momentarily if this was how old ice cream felt in the freeze as it was struck with freeze burn.

Another shudder wracked my body and a whimper fled up my throat and caught against the tube. I choked now, gagging as my lungs kicked in and began to work on their own, but it was so hard with this damned tube in my throat. I reached a trembling hand up and yanked on the tube. It tore from my throat, scraping it on its way out, and instantly my lungs filled with cold water. I choked and gasped, struggling to breath.

Why am I choking?! What's happening?! What happened to the air?!

Help me!

Daddy, please...

I woke with a sharp gasp, my eyes flying open as I found myself staring up at a blank white ceiling. I blinked rapidly, cold sweat trailing down the sides of my face. I swallowed deep gulps of precious air as I tried to calm my heart that beat so hard against the inside of my chest, it was any wonder it hadn't leapt out. My vision was hazy for a moment as I tried to regain my normal breathing pattern, and I felt a hand on my face. I blinked a few more times, clearing my vision.

And found myself staring up at Stanton, who was looking down at me with warm concern. I swallowed at the sight of him, trying to lift my hand. It felt so heavy, but I managed to reach up and touch his cheek with my fingertips before my arm dropped to the bed.

"Alaric, can you hear me?" Stanton demanded, black eyes flickering across my face as he swept his hand over my forehead to brush the hair away.

"Duh." I managed to respond. Stanton sighed in relief and stood up, turning to look at someone who was across the room.

"He's fine." He said. A moment later, Akin appeared at his side and was pinning him with a menacing glare. How strange to see such a scary look on his pretty face.

"He is not fine! He totally iced up the room, then passed out. I want to know what's wrong with him."

"A lot of things, actually."

"That's not funny."

"I thought it was."

"Tsk," Akin elbowed Stanton out of the way to take his place beside me and looked down at me, "Alaric, are you all right? What happened?" I was a little confused at first. I had no idea what he was talking about, until I thought really hard about it and suddenly remembered, my cheeks pinkening. Stanton and I were arguing again when my temper snapped and I lost control of my powers yet again. But I wasn't about to tell Akin what Stanton and I were arguing about, because he didn't need to know what kind of relationship Stanton and I had.

"I lost my temper," I said at last, my throat feeling dry and sore, "I don't know how it happens."

"Happens," Akin echoed worriedly, "It's happened before?"

"I'm like a computer," I replied with a bitterness that stung me to the core, "Sometimes I malfunction." Akin grimaced, but said nothing more. He just turned and called to Hannibal to get something for me to drink. Stanton returned to my side, sitting on the bed as I slowly sat up against the wall. I rubbed at my throat, a frown creasing my brow. It was almost like I could still feel the tube plunged into my throat. It ached and throbbed. I was relieved when Hannibal brought a glass of water in and I gulped it down eagerly,.

"Have you told Lucifer about this?" Stanton asked. I rolled my eyes as I set the glass down, wiping the back of my hand across my mouth.

"No way. If I did, he'd start poking me and prodding me with needles. I'd rather deal with deterioration than that." I replied sourly. Stanton glared at me.

"Alaric, this isn't a joke. If you really are falling apart, we need to get you back to Lucifer right away so he can fix it. It's just a needle." For some reason, that pissed me off. Just a needle? Try hundreds of needles. It'd been poked with needles since I was created. Every time I woke up from a nap, I'd find another needle jammed into my arms, into my feet, my fingers. It was a miracle I didn't have little dotted scars all over me from how many needles I'd been stabbed with. I was so tired of being treated like a science experiment. I didn't want to be shoved back into that incubator just to be studied again.

"It's not just a needle," I snapped angrily, making Stanton frown, "I hate needles! I hate that incubator! And I'm not going back. At least not until Akin comes back with us." Stanton and I looked at Akin, who sighed in frustration.

"Alaric, I already told you that I can't go with you to Hell. I have to stay here."

"Why?"

"Because," Akin insisted, "If I went to Hell and told you to leave, would you?"

"As long as Lucifer and the others came with."

"Alaric."

"What? I'm serious," I said impatiently, "I have a loyalty to family in case you haven't noticed, and apparently I can't help it because, like a computer, I was programmed to give a shit about people who keep abandoning me. Doesn't that suck?" Akin sucked in a sharp breath, looking like I'd slapped him. Instead of sticking around to argue, he just turned and left, slamming the bedroom door shut behind him. I watched him, then shook my head, only to see Stanton glaring at me. I glared back at him.

"What now?" I demanded, annoyed by that scolding look as I slumped back down on the bed. Stanton scowled.

"Don't give me that. Don't put that kind of pressure on him, especially right away, Alaric. You're asking him to abandon his home, his friends, people he's come to call family. You can't expect him to want to leave just like that. That's not how it works." He explained sternly. I hated that tone of voice, like he was scolding me. I knew what I was asking, and I knew it was too much, but I was Akin's family. Lucifer, Thorn, Jaques, Raven, Dania, Bali, and Wednesday. We were Akin's real family. Not these strangers he picked up from the gutter. Akin belonged in Hell, safe and relaxed with his family, not in this dirty hellhole. I was trying to help... At least, I think I was.

"I'll just have to convince him," I decided at last, sitting back up and preparing to leave the bed, but a pulse of icy pain cut through my veins and I hissed past clenched teeth, "Holy shit." Stanton shot to his feet in alarm and turned to push me back down on the bed.

"Stop moving," He commanded, "You're hurting yourself."

"I'm fine," I insisted, but the pain crackling through my skull said otherwise, "I'll just do things slowly."

"No, you won't. Go back to sleep and rest. Once you wake up, we're going back to Hell."

"Like fuck we are."

"We are," Stanton snapped, "Alaric, you tried. I'll give you that. You tried to tell him, but he wants to stay here and you can't change his mind when he's so set on being a bunny. Just let it go. You have brothers and sisters back in Hell."

"Tsk." Yeah, right! Dania was never home. Thorn lived in Purgatory. Jaques had a family of his own now. Bali and Wednesday could rarely leave Gehenna unattended. Raven wasn't even Raven anymore, and if that wasn't bad enough, Devereaux was always there to take him away from me. And Lucifer? I don't even know what he did in his free time, but whatever it was, it took up all his time because he was rarely around and whenever I tried to find him, just so I could have company and know that I wasn't alone in that huge palace, he would only stick around for a minute or two than disappear.

I was alone.

That feeling hurt a lot worse than the prickling ice in my veins.

I really was alone. As a child, I used to run into someone around every corner of that palace. I would turn around and find a nanny there to take care of me, or Thorn to carry me down to the beach, or Raven to teach me how to fight. And Lucifer was always the one who came to find me and give me something to do. Now, there was no one around any corner. My footsteps seemed to echo on forever, even my breathing could be heard. I even tried to talk to a couple of the cooks, but they'd brush me off as if I were nothing, but a fruit fly hovering around the peaches.

I wonder if this was how computers felt when they didn't work anymore. People just stopped using the old ones and moved onto newer, better, faster ones.

My family was breaking apart and going off on their own and I was left behind in that huge palace.

My chest hurt just thinking about it. I suddenly didn't want to be here. Well, in the room, rather. I pushed myself up, even though Stanton protested and tried to pull me back.

"Leave me alone," I snapped, jerking my elbow out of his grip, "I'm going into town."

"It's not safe, Alaric--"

"I'm hungry."

"Then let me go with you. Or even better, we can order take out."

"I don't want to. Stay here. I don't want you near me." I responded harshly. Stanton frowned now, and just stood by, watching me with an unreadable expression as I dressed in a new pair of jeans and a v-neck shirt. I strapped a gun to my belt and hid a couple of daggers in my boots before I took off and thankfully, Stanton didn't try to stop me. I was on my own.

I should be used to it by now anyway.

Part of me wished I'd accepted Stanton's invitation to come with me, because I hated being alone, but right now was one of those times I wanted to be alone. I didn't want Stanton to see that I was falling apart. I hated it when people fretted over me and wondered if I was going to shatter to pieces.

I managed to leave the penthouse without Akin or Hannibal or Stanton running after me. I went downstairs and left the building. I waited for that weird memory wipe thing that Kristoff had mentioned before, but it never happened, much to my relief. Did Akin trust me? Or did he just shut it down? I had no idea how it worked, not that it mattered. Even if I had forgotten where he lived, he probably would've been grateful for getting rid of me. He obviously didn't want me here, and he didn't want to come with either. But why? What was so special about this place that made him want to stay?

I paused on the sidewalk outside the apartment complex, eyes drifting across the street that was already crowded with people at nine in the morning. Families heading out to cute little breakfast shops and perfect couples holding hands as they entered cafes. The rich hot smell of coffee beans roasting wafted through the air. And the smell of sunlight, an odd thing to smell, because it shouldn't have a smell, and yet it did. Something warm and soothing, almost like freshly dried linens. The smell of the River Styx nearby was faint, the smell of fish and oils barely noticable.

Without knowing where I was going, and making note of my surroundings so I wouldn't get lost this time, I made my way down the street, mostly following the smell of coffee. I found myself standing outside a small old-fashioned cafe with a wrought iron gate instead of a front door. It swung open with ease and inside were a few couples, a few single business men typing furiously on their laptops, and one guy was chatting on his cell phone rather obnoxiously, but all in all, it didn't look too bad.

I made my way to the register and the guy at the register flashed me a charming smile. He seemed incredibly friendly as he flipped his brown hair out of his face, his hazel eyes reminding me a lot of Devereaux's, only not as sexy, of course.

"Hi, welcome to Chicory's. What can I get you today?" He asked. I looked up at the menu and ordered a hot frappe. A strange chill crept up my spine, though, the longer I stood there. It was almost like someone was staring at me creepily. It made me awfully uncomfortable.

"What the fuck are you doing in my realm?" I almost jumped out of my skin at the booming voice behind me. I turned around, expecting to see the almighty giant Hades decked out in sleek armor, but instead, I was looking at a tall man with long white hair that he had tied back into a loose bun with wispy strands framing a beautifully sculpted face. For a moment, I had no idea who this man was, until I recognized those eerie glowing blue eyes that looked almost exactly like Ambrosius's and my eyes widened, blood draining from my face.

"Hades?" I asked, just to make sure I wasn't seeing things. He curled his lip like he'd just run into a cockroach in the kitchen.

"Don't say my name out loud, whelp."

"What do I call you? Mr. Evil? No, Dr. Evil."

"Call me Hector, grab your drink, and meet me at my table. If you try and flee, I'll fry your ass so fast, it'll make your head spin." He threatened in a low, dangerous voice. Normally I would've told someone to shove it if they spoke to me like that, but normally Hades didn't approach me in a weirdly sexy disguise. I swallowed hard, turned to take my frappe from the cashier, who flashed me another smile, before I made my way over to Hades's small two person booth in the furthest left corner of the shop, just behind a window. He sat there, looking almost completely normal. It was weird. He was still freakishly tall, but instead of his aura of I'll-kill-you-and-devour-your-entrails-while-you-watch, his aura was almost... sad? Was that even possible? A sad god? I had trouble believing it, but I walked over and sat down across from him anyway. He took a sip of his dark chicory coffee, then set the foam cup down and pinned me with a withering stare.

"Alaric, right?" He asked after a moment. I stiffened, but didn't react otherwise. Of course, he'd know my name. He was Hades. It was like Akin said. Hades knew everything, after all, this was his realm.

"Yes." I said after a moment, uncomfortable with his intense stare.

"You're Raven's brat brother. Lucifer's youngest. The artificial."

"Oh, come on," I exclaimed, unable to keep silent any longer, "How does everyone know that? Am I walking around with a Made In China sticker on my forehead?" I waited for Hades to get offended and carry out his frying threat, but to my surprise, he laughed and leaned back in his seat, throwing an arm over the back of his seat as he watched me, amusement twinkling in those eerie blue eyes of his. That aura of sorrow faded and was replaced with his typical cockiness.

"No, we just have the largest population of artificials in the universe. And I'm also a god. I know everyone I run into. Unfortunately, reasons are unbeknownst to be, so out with it, devil spawn. What are you doing in my humble realm? Lucifer send you in to dig and find out what I'm doing?" He asked, picking up his coffee to swirl it around in the cup. I frowned. Why would Lucifer send someone into Hell? Was Hades up to something? I couldn't tell. He always looked like he was up to something.

"If you tell me why you're designed as a diva." I deadpanned. A muscle twitched in Hades's jaw, and again I expected him to kill me, but instead, he gave me a wicked smirk that dared me to make another snarky comment.

"I'm the god here, devil spawn. What I do in my free time is none of your business."

"Weird," I said, having sudden suicidal urges, "Why would a god want to hide amongst his own people and fake his identity in his free time? Spying on somebody, oh mighty Hades?" Hades's eyes narrowed. He was silent for a moment. He just sipped his coffee, then set it down on the table and met my eyes again.

"Even gods need a break from being a god." He answered flatly. I frowned suspiciously at that. As if. Gods were egotistical assholes that loved their powers and abusing it. The Greeks were especially violent with them. It explained why they were responsible for nearly causing four different apocalypses.

"All right," I said at last, "I'm visiting someone."

"Who, your brother?" Hades drawled. I glared at him, and he just smiled mischeviously. God, I wished he was wearing his actual form because it'd be a lot harder to stay angry at him. Maybe. Actually, he was shit-your-pants terrifying and orgasm-on-the-spot sexy, but right now in this disguise, there was a false innocence to him that made it difficult to stay angry. I think he did it on purpose.

"You knew about Akin and let him stay here anyway?" I asked dryly. Hades shrugged, folding one leg over the other and passing a glance out the corner of his eye at a waiter who was scrubbing down one of the tables. The waiter blushed at the attention and scurried away. Hades looked more than pleased by that before he looked back at me drolly.

"Akin isn't a problem for me. Not really anyway. Because of him and his foul mutt, I was able to weed out Epimetheus and toss his ass back in Tartarus. At the cost of his life and that bastard escaping with his life, it was worth it. Epimetheus is more a thorn in my ass than Hannibal is." He explained, bitterness lacing his tone. I frowned.

"You don't seem to like Hannibal."

"He raped my son," Hades deadpanned, making my eyes widen in shock and his deadly aura returned full force as he curled his lip, "I should've skinned him alive where he stood, but if I attacked Akin and Lucifer found out about it, he'd rain, no pun intended, Hell down on me for it. And Akin is the only thing standing between me and Hannibal rotting in the pits of Tartarus."

"Why are you telling me this?"

"You asked."

"You're not normally this chatty."

"I'm trying to get in good with you so you can tell me what the fuck you're doing in my realm, short stack. So speak now or forever hold your pieces."

"It's peace."

"No, pieces. Because that's all that'll be left of you if you don't fucking fess up to what you're doing in my realm. You're not just visiting Akin. I'm not stupid." Hades said sourly. I glared at him impatiently. I didn't want to be here. This guy was dangerous, and the whole reason Akin didn't want me to stick around in Hades, but I guess it was too late to run now, huh?

"I want Akin to come home. That's all." I replied. Hades arched a thin regal brow skeptically.

"That's all?"

"That's all. Akin belongs at home with the rest of us."

"Good, you can take him," Hades said, much to my surprise, "In fact, I'll give you safe passage. Ohhh, but. I do have one teensy little problem." I wanted to strangle him. Of course he did. Because nothing was ever easy when you involved the powerful god Hades. I glared at Hades, who smirked as he dropped his hand down on the table and leaned forward.

"You have to leave his deadbeat piece of shit whore here." He said, pointing at the table to indicate this realm. I scoffed.

"Yeah, right. Akin is unhealthily obsessed with him." I responded. Hades chuckled dangerously, making me swallow tightly as he leaned closer, to the point where I'm surprise he wasn't on top of the table, he just managed to get into my face from his seat, blue eyes flashing like a pair of headlights in the dark of the night.

"Then no deal. You can enjoy the rest of eternity in Hades." He replied, sitting back and folding his hands behind his head. I fumed.

"You can't do that!"

"Like fuck I can't. I'm Hades, bitch. I do what I want. And if I want Hannibal to remain in Hades, then that's where he'll remain. That asshole may have gotten away from me last time, but not this time. If Akin goes, Hannibal stays."

"And what'll you do to him?" I demanded. Hades's eyes twinkled and a cold chill crept up my spine.

"I'll do things to him that'll make what Julius did to your precious brother look like a birthday party," He threatened, making me hold my breath as nausea swelled in my gut, then a smirk curved the corner of Hades's lips, "I'll have all my best guards on the borders from here on out. If you show up with just Akin, they'll give you safe passage out. Try to leave with Akin and Hannibal, I'd be happy to add you to my collection of little science experiments. I always need a new lab rat. The others die so quickly. Anyway, have a lovely morning, devil spawn. Enjoy it while you can. This place isn't just named after me." He stood up and looked down at me.

"It is me." He vanished in a cloud of black smoke, leaving behind a thick air of tense foreboding.

Part of me wanted to brush this off. He was just throwing threats around. He wouldn't really do it, would he? But then again, this was Hades. The Hades. He'd plotted to take over the world. He'd tried to keep his son prisoner. He'd cursed countless of people and torn others apart. He'd been one of the main warriors in the famed Titanomachy. From what I'd read, he was also the one who called for the war in the first place. He was danger and death incarnate. If there was any devil, Hades would be it.

And while I personally didn't care what happened to Hannibal, Akin did. I knew that for a fact, even if we'd just met, I could tell that everything Akin did-- Christ, even the air he breathed, was all for Hannibal. If I tried to convince Akin to leave without Hannibal, he'd probably crucify me just for asking. Brotherhood be damned.

Goddamn it.

As if this wasn't already a difficult task, now Hades had to come along and make it twenty times harder.