Chapter Ten

Death was so cold.

Or maybe it was just my death. I wasn't sure. I just know I was freezing cold and I wanted someone to bring me a blanket, or a heating pad. I wanted to curl up with something hot. I felt frozen inside and out. My bones felt like blocks of ice, muscles like slush, and blood like cold running water. The cold was so painful. It felt like bitter talons ripping through my flesh.

I got my sense of hearing back next. Through the agony spreading through me, I managed to pick up on a few foreign noises. It sounded like bubbles, maybe. A blorp sound followed by several more, mingling with the sounds of a machine beeping and another one hissing with air. The sounds were faint, but a bit off-putting.

I didn't like them.

Something about them was familiar, but the feeling it gave me was cold terror. I was so scared that I couldn't move. All I could do was lay in the cold. I parted my lips to breath in air, and much to my relief, warm fresh air flooded my lungs, causing them to expand, then contract, expand, then contract.

Was I still dead?

Could I breath while dead?

I didn't think so.

The next sounds I picked up on were voices. As I strained to hear them, I realized it was two men that sounded like they were arguing. One man, the one with a deep baritone voice thick with a foreign accent, sounded more annoyed. The second man sounded fed up, his voice was just a bit higher than the first man's, but not by much. He too had an accent, but it was different from the first man's. I focused in on their voices, trying to block out the piercing pain pulsing in my veins.

"... doing what I can and your bitching isn't helping. This isn't an easy procedure." The first man chided the other. He sounded like he was right next to me, but maybe muffled by some kind of barrier. A wall maybe? I couldn't tell. Everything was still black. I strained to hear the other man, and as I listened, I noticed his voice sounded more mechanical, or maybe just disrupted by static. Was he on a television screen of some sort?

"Hades, please. Just tell me how he's doing." The second man said, distressed. He sounded so fed up with this Hades person. I almost felt sorry for him. Who was he worried about? Was there someone else in the room I didn't know about?

Or... was it me?

No, it couldn't possibly be me. I don't remember anyone like him.

Actually... I couldn't remember anyone. A sliver of fear went through me as I tried to fish around for memories of the man, or Hades. I couldn't remember a single thing about them. I wasn't even sure where I was or what was happening. I just remember dying, or at least, I think it was dying. It sure felt like dying. It was painful and terrifying. But aside from that, everything else was a blank state, except my basic memories. How to eat, sleep, function properly. Mostly.

But it scared me that I couldn't remember who I was. I didn't even know my name, or the name of the other man. I wasn't sure where I came from, who my parents were, if I had any other family. I just remembered being cold, waking up so cold that it hurt. I needed to be warm.

Much to my relief, my eye sight was steadily returning. The blackness began to fade until I found myself staring at the inside of some kind of container. A long tube was coming out of a mask stuck to my face, and the tube disappeared through the top of the case I was in. It was some kind of breathing mask. I tried to move my body, but that luxery I hadn't regained yet.

I looked beyond the glass case over my head and found myself staring up at a ceiling designed to look like... like the sky maybe? It was a deep shade of navy with bright streams of light in shades of blue, green, pink, yellow.

Oh, wow. It was so beautiful. I wanted to reach out and touch it, but I couldn't lift my hand, so I just stared up at it in awe. They seemed to ripple every so often, as if they were alive. Could lights be alive? I wasn't sure.

"Is he awake?" The man asked. I blinked slowly and turned my head to the side, grimacing at the bright pale blue lights that lit up the length of the case around me. There were tons of machines beside me, all hooked up to me and the case I was in. One was beeping with a squiggly red line bouncing up and down on it, another one rising and falling like some kind of pump. And just beside all of these strange machines was another machine with a large screen on it.

The man on the screen was incredibly beautiful. His hair was golden blonde, curly and swept back from an angelically masculine face, a pair of bright blue eyes beneath regal brows. He was wearing a white leathe jacket, but that was all I could see since the screen only showed him from chest to head.

"Hang on." Hades said and I saw a man move from the shadows near the machines. I held my breath as he approached the case, the blue lights casting eerie shadows across his face. He, too, was inhumanly beautiful. His long black hair was pulled into a loose ponytail over his shoulder, his eyes as pale and glowing as the lights on the case. He wore a tight black tank top and a pair of leather pants with a jacket of somesort tied around his waist. A pair of tight black latex gloves covered his hands as he touched the case and peered in at me. He met my eyes, then sighed and stepped back to turn toward the monitor.

"It worked. He's awake." He informed the man on the screen. The man on the screen swallowed hard and covered his mouth with the back of his hand before scooting closer to the monitor.

"Can he speak? How is he? How are his vitals? Alaric, can you hear me?" He asked desperately. There was an agony in his voice that I felt to the core of my frozen soul. He sounded so worried about me. It hurt so much to hear this person worry about me. What was I to him that made him so concerned? How did he know me? And, Alaric... Was that my name?

"Hold on," Hades said impatiently, shooting a dirty look at the man on the screen, who glared at him for it, then Hades turned away from him to lean over the case with a stern frown as he studied me, "Something's not right." The man on the screen appeared scared.

"What're you talking about? What's not right? What's happening?" He demanded. Hades rolled his eyes, resting his elbow on the top of the case with a dull thud that made me shudder. He shot me a look that warned me not to move, so I went still again, but a small thrill shot through me at the fact that I could move now. I moved my fingers and they twitched before I could lift my hand to touch the inside of the case, revealing a strange device strapped to my finger and something stuck into the crook of my elbow.

I didn't like that there.

It made me nervous.

"Alaric?" The man on the monitor asked, trying to get my attention. I looked beyond the glass case at his concerned face. It almost looked like he was crying, and I suddenly felt like crying too. Why was he so sad, so scared? Did we know each other that well? Who was he?

Please tell me who you are.

I couldn't speak for the mask on my face. I lowered my arm to the bottom of the case, suddenly too tired to keeping trying to contact him. Hades moved away from the case and went to the machines to begin typing things in. The man on the screen continued to stare at me, and after a moment, I wondered if that was parental concern.

Was he my father? Was that why he was so concerned for me?

I looked back at Hades as he input more information into those strange machines of his. Suddenly, a tone went off, on and off, on and off. It took me a full minute to realize I had been in a container full of some kind of cold liquid. That was why everything felt so oddly fluid. I watched as the liquid around me was drained. Once it was all gone, a warm blast of air shot into the container around me, making me gasp quietly in shock.

It was warm enough to blow the cold away. I relished at the hot air drying my hair and body. I wanted to sit up, but the top of the case was too close to my head and I'd probably whack it if I tried, so instead, I laid there impatiently as I was completely dried off and warmed up. The icy biting cold faded from my skin, goosebumps rising on my flesh as the warmth flooded through me. I welcomed it with open arms, and even more so after the top of the case was pulled off.

Hades moved to stand beside the case and reached out to lift the mask off my face before draping a blanket over me as he touched my wrist between two fingers. I struggled to seek out my voice so I could ask him what was going on.

"Hello?" I managed. My voice was hoarse and it hurt to speak. It felt like I was choking on a block of ice. Hades gave me a stern look.

"Don't speak. Your vocal cords are still recovering from the freeze." He commanded. I just managed a silent nod, but continued to stare at him on confusion. Concentration furrowed his brow as he touched me everywhere with an expert touch. Was he a doctor? Was that what this was? Had something happened to me and I was injured? I wasn't sure. I just watched as he ruffled my hair, then pushed two fingers on my gut, making me squirm uncomfortably. He gave me another dirty look that dared me to move and I struggled to stay still despite the tickle his cool fingers caused on my abdomen.

"Okay, we're going to sit you up. Do it slowly and don't speak." He ordered. I just nodded. He put a hand beneath my head and another on my side as he helped me sit up. My whole body felt new and strange to me, almost foreign. Hades managed to get me sitting up and I looked down at myself, amazed at what I say.

Holy crap, I wasn't bad looking. I even had abs! Did I work out regularly? It was the body of a swimmer, maybe. Did I swim? I had no idea. I just knew I had muscles. I ran my hands over my abs, then my arms, amazed by what I saw. Hades cursed, though, making me frown and look up at him to see him glaring at me.

"Don't speak. Just nod or shake your head. Do you know your name?" He demanded. I almost shook my head, but then remembered the man on the screen telling me my name was Alaric, so I nodded and Hades narrowed his eyes.

"Do you know your birthday?" He asked. I started to nod my head, then stopped when I realized I had no idea when my birthday was. I frowned thoughtfully, but no matter how much I thought about it, I couldn't remember. I shook my head. Hades clenched his fists.

"Okay, well, you are pretty old," He said slowly, but I could sense his frustration, "Let's try something else. Do you know the man on the screen?" He stepped aside and gestured to the man on the screen, who appeared to be even more stressed out than he was before. And I was about to make it worse as I shook my head slowly. Hades cursed and the man made a noise of distress.

"Hades, what's going on?" He demanded. Hades shot him a glare.

"I told you it wasn't going to be perfect. You should have never created him in the first place. If this is anyone's fault, it's yours." He snapped impatiently, moving to grab something from a nearby table. I watched him, confused, then looked back at the man on the screen, who appeared to be in more pain than I was earlier.

"Don't you think I know that," He shot back at Hades, then his expression softened as he turned to me, "Alaric, are you sure you don't remember me? What about Raven? Thorn? Jaques? Dania? Bali or Wednesday? God, do you at least remember Stanton?" All those names sounded foreign to me, so I played honest and shook my head. That only frustrated the man further.

Why was he so mad at me? Hades said this was this man's fault. And the man admitted to it. What had he done to me to make me forget all of my memories? And Hades had mentioned that I was created. Didn't I have a mother too? How did they make me? How do you create a person? I had no idea. And I still didn't understand this man's anger towards me not remembering if it was his fault in the first place.

Those names meant nothing to me. I couldn't remember anyone by those names, and he acted as if I should know Stanton the most. Who was that? Were we close too?

Hades returned momentarily and tossed a shirt and sweatpants at me.

"Put those on and stand up." He commanded. I hated being told what to do, I knew instantly. I don't know what it was, but it irritated me. I was confused and I couldn't remember anything, yet they were treating me like it was my fault. Where was their sympathy? I was half tempted to just throw the clothes back at Hades, but I was a little chilly without them and I desperately wanted to escape anything cold, so I grudgingly pulled the gray v-neck on over my head, then tugged the dark sweatpants on before I slid off the edge of the table and almost fell the moment my legs touched the ground. Hades caught me under the arms before I could hit the ground and he made a noise of irritation as he shoved me back onto the table.

"Great. And now he can't walk," Hades said in frustration, then turned to the monitor, "Oh, and don't you throw a fit. You should be fucking grateful he's even alive. You pieced together the shittest work I've ever seen. I highly recommend you don't do something so stupid again." The man glared at him.

"Just send him back to me."

"Like Hell," Hades said suddenly, making the man's eyes glow threateningly, "If I send him back now, who's to say he won't malfunction again? Besides, I'm intrigued as to how you managed to get a hold of Helheim magic to piece him together." This time, the man's rage was obvious.

"He's my son! I want him back, Hades! This isn't a game!" He snarled. Hades smirked, wickedly, leaning on the table beside me and elbowing me in the ribs, making me grimace.

"Of course not," He agreed, then rolled his eyes when the man let loose a foul curse in some other language I'd never heard before, "Oh, don't give me that. I'm not keeping him. Gods know I have enough obnoxious offspring as it is. I'm just going to do a few more tests and figure out whether or not I can retrieve his memories. All right? Or do you want him to go back home to a family he doesn't remember, a life that's completely unfamiliar? What'll it be, Lucifer?" I turned my head to stare at the man on the screen, the man named Lucifer. I could see the indecision flickering in those piercing blue eyes, and the urge to strangle Hades was also quite tangible.

"If you hurt him..." Lucifer's voice drifted off in threat and Hades gave him a droll stare, obviously not afraid of him. I wasn't sure how. Even I was a bit uneasy at Lucifer's merciless glare. Hades was either suicidal, or more powerful than Lucifer.

"I gain nothing from causing him harm," Hades deadpanned, "Contrary to popular opinion, I don't torture people who haven't wronged me. Alaric's a bunny in this whole situation. Now if you're done giving me the stink eye, I have to cut the line. I have a whole room of obnoxious people waiting to see if this kid is alive or dead. You've seen him. You've spoken to him. Goodbye." He hung up before Lucifer could say anything. I frowned, confused by their relationship.

Judging from the words swapped and their tone of voices, I'd say they were anything, but friends.

"All right," Hades said, turning away from the monitor and looking to be in a better mood without Lucifer hovering over his shoulder constantly, "You need to learn to stand and walk on your own. Get off the table slowly and test the ground with your feet." I gripped the table warily, then slowly lowered my feet to the floor, which was so cold that I tore my legs back up and hissed past clenched teeth. Hades rolled his eyes and pushed me off the table none-too-gently, and instead of catching me like he did last time, he let me smack into the floor. I groaned in pain, rolling over onto my side and peering up at Hades angrily past my white hair to see him arching a brow down at me, his arms folded over his chest.

"That's not how you walk." He stated. I wanted to punch him for that, but apparently he'd been the man to save my life, so I suppose I had no choice, but to deal with that coarse unlovable personality of his. I struggled to get on my hands and knees, loathing the icy marble floor beneath me. I used the table as a crutch as I managed to get on my legs. Hades nodded in approval, then gestured for me to follow him.

What made him think I could even walk on my own? It didn't matter. He'd told me not to speak, and my throat still stung from having tried before, so I remained silent as I followed Hades, feeling like a newborn foal trying to walk. I felt ridiculous as I stumbled after Hades and even almost tripped into his back once, but he didn't snap at me for it or shove me like he had back in the room.

We approached a pair of large doors where Hades ordered me to stay put before he walked through them and disappeared into another room. It gave me some time to walk around in circles on my own outside the door to get my legs used to walking. I walked up to one of the walls, running my hand over it. It was an eerie beautiful hue of black that faded to green toward the ceiling, a glowing shade that looked like the ceiling back in that weird room.

A moment later, Hades returned and inched his finger at me to come through. Confused, I obeyed and found myself in a large throne room of some kind. But it was utterly enchanting. Towering leafy trees ran the length of the walls to a few steps leading to a pair of thrones. One elaborately decorated with flowers, a feminine appeal. While the other was the complete opposite, neutral and black, and I swore I saw faces in the depths of the darkness, but I wasn't sure.

What confused me more were the people standing in the room. There were three of them.

One was freakishly tall with layered black hair, a cropped jacket, leather pants, and basically enough Gothic attire to give a priest a heartattack. The next guy appeared a bit feminine and pretty with long white-blonde hair and bright blue eyes. He actually looked a lot like Lucifer, right down to the shape of his lips and nose. He, too, was decked out in a Gothic wardrobe.

And the third man... My heart leapt into my throat and my hormones exploded at the sight of him. There was a thick authoritative aura surrounding his hulking frame. He was nearly as tall as the first Gothic guy, and just as ripped. He was dressed all in black, even his eyes were black. Contrastly, his hair was sandy blonde and swept back from his face, matching the stubble on his jaw.

I couldn't barely describe the emotions ripping and tearing through me when I saw him. My god, he had to be the sexiest thing that ever lived. My whole body ached to slide up that body and lick every inch of it. He stole my breath away.

"Careful," Hades warned when the Gothic blonde took a step toward me, "He's just regaining his balance and he can't speak yet. His vocal cords are still recovering. I managed to kick his healing process into overdrive, though, so he'll probably be able to talk in a few minutes." The blonde just nodded at him, then came toward me, but stopped a couple feet in front of me to look at me. His eyes were red, as if he'd been crying.

Did I do that?

Guilt pooled cold in my stomach as I swallowed hard, uncomfortable at the way he stared at me from head to toe. He started to reach toward me, but I stepped back on instinct. He dropped his hand, looking agonized before he blinked tears back and tried to offer me a smile.

"Hey, Alaric... Uhm, my name's Akin. I'm your brother." He said, voice cracking. I blinked, amazed at that. So I did have siblings! That's amazing. No wonder he looked so heartbroken. I stepped closer to him and reached out to touch his chest. He swallowed hard, his fingers twitching like he wanted to take my hand, so I let him and he looked so relieved. I wanted to ask if we had more brothers, or sisters, but my voice still wouldn't work. Just trying to breath was hurting my throat, so I gave him what I hoped was a smile. He looked like he was going to cry again and I didn't know what to do.

"Akin, stop crying on him," The big Goth guy said suddenly, coming forward to put a hand on his shoulder, then the guy looked at me, "Your brother's a big crybaby. The name's Cerberus by the way. I'm an artificial, like you." I frowned at that foreign term and tilted my head.

"An artificial is someone who is made in a lab, not in bed." Hades offered, making Cerberus give him a droll stare. I didn't like the way he said that. Made in a lab? So, like a test subject? Is that what I was? I didn't understand and it was frustrating. Then how did I have brothers?

"There's a lot of genetic talk," Akin said, noticing my confusion, "Don't worry, sweetie. We share genetics either way. And you're still my little brother... And your hair is still white." He glanced at Hades, who shrugged.

"I thought he looked fine with it." He answered. Akin rolled his eyes, then smiled at me again, giving my hand a squeeze.

"I'm just glad you're all right." He said gently. I started to smile back at him when I looked past him to see that extremely sexy man staring at me. I cocked my head at him curiously before Akin stepped aside and waved the man over, but he didn't move more than a couple steps toward me. It was almost like he was afraid to come near me and I instantly felt hurt by that.

Did I do something to him?

"Alaric, this is Stanton," Akin said slowly, then paused to wrinkle his nose, "Uh--"

"I'm your boyfriend." Stanton stated. Akin glared at him. I barely noticed, though, because his response was like a breath of fresh air. A boyfriend? I had a boyfriend? This was my boyfriend? I had to be the luckiest guy in the world. He was drop-dead gorgeous.

But the thing that concerned me was that he didn't come up to me or try and touch me like Akin did. He didn't speak, except for that short sentence. Had we gotten into a fight before I lost my memory? I couldn't remember, I couldn't tell, and no one was telling me. Or was he lying? Was he just telling me he was my boyfriend as a joke? I really wasn't sure.

"Okay," Hades drawled, coming forward to take hold of my elbow, making me wince and Akin stiffly, taking a step toward me, but Cerberus caught him by the arm and pulled him back to keep him from coming at Hades, "Stand down... You know what? I don't even know what species you are anymore. We'll just go with devil spawn. Get away. I was given permission to do what I can to make sure he's just fine and dandy." Akin glared at him heatedly.

"But I'm staying with him."

"Ah, no. No, you're not." Hades said with a smile that promised Akin would have his skin stripped from his bones. My skin crawled at that and I gave a tug at his grip uneasily, trying to find my voice to say something.

"No." I croaked out. Hades shot me a warning glare not to speak. I looked at Akin desperately and his features twisted in anger directed toward Hades.

"You're not running off with my little brother. I want to stay with him at all times. I have to."

"You don't trust me?"

"I trust Theo more than I trust you."

"Ugh," Hades made a noise of disgust, because apparently trusting this Theo person was a bad idea, "Are you kidding? He's my son and I don't even trust him as far as I could throw him. Look, I have no gain of tormenting this kid or anything. Seriously. Do I really come off as the type of person to just randomly torture someone I barely know?"

"Yes." Everyone said in unison, glaring at Hades, who curled his lip.

"I wish I was that type of person because I'd gut you all for that," He scowled, then locked eyes with Akin, "He needs to be routinely tested for the next couple days to ensure his stability and the fact that he lost his memory is bothering me. That's never happened to another artificial I've fixed before."

"Then let him stay at my place," Cerberus said suddenly, making Hades narrow his eyes at him, "Don't give me that look. I'm serious. I live just two miles out. Let him stay at my crib for a while and whenever you need to test him, just come pick him up. That's all you need to do. It's not really a hassle, and he'll be somewhere more comfortable, because your sterile mancave of doom is not the kind of place he should be in."

"Who died and made you king of the underworld?" Hades demanded impatiently. He reminded me of a toddler that was about fed up with mommy telling him no.

"No one," Cerberus said dryly, "I was just making a suggestion that didn't involve screaming like banshees. I have a headache. Blaine's bound to beat my skull in if I don't get back soon. Ayo's probably home by now. I have things to do, people to annoy."

"You can check the latter off your to-do list." Hades replied flatly. Cerberus flashed him a wicked smirk that made him roll his eyes. Hades roughly let go of my arm and glared down at me with an intensity that made me feel like I was slowly melting into the floor.

"You can go home with them, but if anything happens, if you feel even slightly weird, I want you to come back here. If not, you'll spontaneously combust." He told me firmly. I gulped and just nodded. He relaxed at that, then made a shooing gesture at us. Akin huffed and linked his arm with mine. Cerberus touched his shoulder.

One second we were standing in Hades's throne room, the next we were in a completely different location. The quickness of it made me dizzy and nauseous. What the hell just happened? In the blink of an eye, all of Hades's throne room was gone and in the next, we were standing in a huge beautifully decorated living room with tall ceiling to floor windows that looked out at a gorgeous well-manicured backyard. The living room was split up into thirds, one part being home to the home theater system and sofas, the part across from it being a gorgeous fireplace with more sofas and chairs. Then the complete other half of the room was home to an entertainment center made up of pin ball machine games and other strange things I didn't recognize.

"What just happened?" I managed to ask, my voice slowly coming back. It was still hoarse and I was still sore, but it was getting better.

"We teleported," Akin told me as Cerberus walked away, calling out to this Blaine person, "It's magical transportation." I looked at him, amazed.

"Can everyone do that?" I asked. Akin gave me a smile.

"Most people. I can't. I'm technically mortal. I just don't age. My sweetheart cast a spell on me so I don't die before he does. He's such a cutie. Wait until you meet him." He said. I cocked my head, confused by that. I turned to try and find Stanton, only to see that he'd disappeared. I looked around, confused before looking back at Akin. I went to ask what happened to him, but another man was entering the room, and he was almost as big as Cerberus and Stanton.

He was devastatingly handsome, despite the numerous scars embedded into his flesh. One scar in particular, a long sharp one that was forked at the bottom, ran through his left eye, which was a deep milky white, but judging from the way he watched us, he didn't seem to be blind in it. His other eye was a deep shade of blue, like an ocean, or how I would imagine it to be. His long black hair fell over one broad muscular shoulder, and he only wore a pair of tight leather pants, and a sleeveless hooded vest and what appeared to be a dog collar around his neck.

"Baby," Akin practically squealed and ran to him, throwing his arms around his neck and pulling him down for a deep kiss, and it was amusing to see this huge guy get tugged down a few inches so Akin could reach him, "I missed you so much. I kept turning around to give you kisses, but then I remembered you weren't there. How are you? Was everything all right?" The man gave him a silent nod and leaned down to nuzzle him, like an overgrown puppy pleased to see its master. Akin smiled affectionately at that and patted his cheek before taking him by the hand and leading him toward me. I had to tilt my head to look up at him.

"Ah, Alaric, this is my boyfriend, Hannibal. Hannibal, uhm... Well, Alaric basically doesn't remember anything." He added, looking at him hopefully. Like he thought Hannibal could do something. Hannibal just stared at me in silence. It was eerie. Was he waiting for me to say something?

"Hello?" I tried. Hannibal visibly relaxed.

"Hello." He greeted. His voice was thick with some kind of lyrical, beautiful accent. I had no idea where it came from, but God, it was nice. I offered him a smile and he appeared baffled by it. Was that wrong? Apparently not, because Akin smiled up at him and gave him a peck on the cheek, then popped him on the butt with his palm, making heat creep into my face.

"Go sit down. Let's see if we can help him remember anything." He said. Hannibal just gave him a single nod and went to the nearest sofa, taking a seat and watching us in obedient reservation.

"Okay," Akin said cheerfully, turning to me with a smile, "Let's see... Well, I honestly don't know too much about you, because we just met a couple days ago, but you were awfully talkative, so I managed to pick up a few things. First of all, your name is Alaric. You're an artificial, like Cerberus. The person who created you was Lucifer. He's your father. You have several siblings aside from me. In order from oldest to youngest, that would be... Jaques, myself, Thorn, Bali and Wednesday are twins, then Raven, then Dania, and finally you. You're the baby of the family the way I see it. Ah, you're part of Lucifer's personal guard back in Hell. You still live in the palace with Lucifer. Erm, you mentioned liking Marvel comics? I don't know too much about those. Just that they made movies based on them and some of the actors." He bit his lip as if he were just imagining them. I gave him a weird look, and he blushed, quickly looking at Hannibal, who sat stoically on the sofa.

"Oh, but baby, don't worry. None of them hold a candle to how perfect and awesome you are. You're my babycakes." He assured. I saw the corner of Hannibal's mouth twitch, like he was resisting the urge to smile at his lover's attempt to cover up his gushing over other men. Akin seemed to know that and just gave him a heartwarming smile before turning back to me.

"Okay, ah, what else? Well, you did break out in song to some band called Muse. So I'm assuming they're your fav. Uhm," He tapped his chin thoughtfully, arms folded over his chest, "Let's see... You were really concerned about your milkshake, so you like milkshakes. You showed up here recently because you were worried about me and said something about me coming back home with you, but I assured you I was just fine where I am... And you decided to stay longer just to visit." Hannibal gave Akin a weird look, but Akin pretended not to see it as he smiled at me. I smiled back, but I was curious as to why Hannibal looked at him like that.

Was there more to my visit that Akin was keeping from me?

And what about Stanton?

In fact, how could I believe any of these people? I'd just met them. What if they were lying and were trying to convince me I was normal? Because obviously I wasn't. These people were born, with the exception of Cerberus.

"And... And Stanton? Where did he go?" I asked. Akin's smile faltered.

"He's Death, honey. He's kind of busy." He added. I frowned for a moment, confused before I realized he was serious, my eyes widening.

"I'm dating Death?" I sputtered. Akin laughed, as if it were a common happenstance, which only concerned me even more. Yeah, these people were all crazy. Dating death? Artificials? Teleporting? It was like I was dumped into a really bad movie.

"It's not that weird. I'm dating a hybrid god, Cerberus is dating a faerie, and you're the son of Satan.... Actually, now that I say it out loud, I sound like a loon," He blushed and patted at his cheek in a feminine manner, "I really need to work on my socializing. Hannibal, did that sound wrong?" Hannibal nodded and Akin huffed.

"Oh, never mind," He scolded, but Hannibal just tilted his head like an innocent puppy before Akin turned back to me with an attempt at a smile, "It's really not as crazy as it sounds."

Of course not. Hybrid gods, faeries, Spawn of Satan. Happens every day...

Or does it?

I couldn't remember. It was frustrating. Agonizing even. Was all this stuff really normal to me, or was it all just a lie? Were they testing me? I had no idea. Hades had mentioned having a bunch of tests done. Maybe these people were part of his tests. That was disconcerting.

"Aw, cool," A new voice said, making everyone turn to see Cerberus walk in with whom I assume was this Blaine person, "The kid didn't die! Break out the pinatas and cocktails, but mostly cocktails!" Blaine was very petite, very easily the smallest person in the room at five foot something, with long chestnut hair that was currently tied in a ponytail over his shoulder. He wore a cropped tank top and loose exercise pants.

A new person took up the rear of their trio, a person I also did not recognize. Six feet of powerful lean muscles under dark mocha skin, his thick black hair done in braids all the way down his back, and his eyes pale blue. He was wearing a t-shirt that read OFF LIMITS in bloody letters and a skull beneath it to match his tight black jeans.

"Except he has no memory." The new person pointed out to Blaine, clearing his throat awkwardly. Blaine waved him off, and I just now noticed the way he moved. He walked with his fingertips moved out in front of him and off to the sides, as if he wasn't sure where he was going. It was when I met those pale emerald eyes that I realized he was blind.

"Oh yeah," Blaine said, scrunching up his nose as he came to stand beside Akin, then tilted his head, "I'm Blaine then. We met in the ghettos. Not that you're from there. You were just being a dumbass and wandering obviously dangerous territory, but whatever. You're alive. That's all that matters. Oh, yeah, and this is my son, Ayo. And before you say it, he's adopted. And another fun fact, Cerberus is my husband. And before you say that, he's also adopted." Cerberus scoffed and Ayo grinned, elbowing Cerberus, who elbowed him back.

I stared at them, awed by their comfort with one another. They looked so unique individually, but as one trio, they looked... perfect. A wave of envy crashed into me as I swallowed tightly at the sight of them together.

I want that.

Maybe not children just yet, but still. I wanted a family.

"Alaric, are you all right?" Akin asked worriedly. I looked at him, confused by his concern.

"You look a little sick. Maybe you should sit down." Cerberus offered, gesturing to the sofa beside Hannibal, who scooted over to put some room between him and me. I wasn't sure if it was because he didn't like me or maybe he just have an aversion to being touched by anyone who wasn't Akin.

"He's probably sick of your face," Blaine told Cerberus, who wrinkled his nose and blew him a raspberry before Blaine looked at me, "Sit down, kiddo. Let me whip somethin' up for you. You were gone for a while. You're probably hungry." It wasn't until he mentioned it that I realized I was really hungry. My stomach twisted in a knot and I grimaced, rubbing at my stomach.

"Please." I said. Blaine whistled.

"Wow, he's a lot nicer like this. I like it," He added, making Akin glare at him, but Blaine ignored him and waved to Hannibal, "Come on, Lassie, we're gonna make him a feast to remember. Oh, and everyone stay out of the goddamn kitchen while we're working, seriously. That means you, Cerberus. I don't want you sniffing and stealing shit." Cerberus snorted, but obeyed as Blaine and Hannibal quit the room. Ayo glanced at me, scanning me from head to toe, his arms folded over his chest, then did the same thing with Cerberus.

"It's so weird. You really can't tell that you're artificials on your own?" He asked. Cerberus shook his head, frowning.

"I wonder if it's like that with all artificials. Come to think of it, I've never noticed before until someone pointed it out." He said, looking at me. I frowned, confused.

"We can't recognize our own species?" I asked. Cerberus shook his head.

"It's a weird side effect, I'm guessing. Otherwise, Hades would have told us. He doesn't like to broadcast his failures," He said, then scowled, "Not that we're failures. That came out weird. Anyway, sit down, squirt. Your boyfriend'll be back soon to entertain you. In the mean time, I'm gonna go let Bro-Bro know about you being here and all that fun stuff, so he can let Thorn know." I wasn't sure who "bro-bro" was, but I said nothing as he left the room and Ayo just followed him so I was left alone with Akin, who gave me an awkward smile.

"Let's sit down and see if we can figure out how to help with this memory thing, yeah?" He asked. I bit my bottom lip, glancing around a little, then back at Akin.

"Is Stanton really my boyfriend?" I asked. Akin hesitated a split second before smiling.

"Of course, punkin'. Why?" He asked. I shifted uncomfortably, rubbing at my arm.

"I feel like... I don't know. Maybe it's stupid." I murmured. Akin gave me another smile and sat down with me on the sofa, but something still felt wrong. The cold icy chills were gone. The smell of food made my stomach rumble. These people seemed friendly enough, even if they were testing me.

Well, everyone, except Stanton.

Had I done something to hurt him? Was that why he hated me? I had no idea, but it hurt.

Please come back, Stanton.