Chapter Twelve

"This is impossible." I snapped impatiently.

Blaine heaved a sigh, covered his face with his hand, and seemed to be trying to calm down his fiery temper, not that counting to ten would probably do him any good. And it was probably my fault, but it was mostly his fault and Akin's. It was their idea to ditch everyone and drag me into the living room where Akin convinced Blaine to teach us some dance moves.

Now we stood on a long mat Blaine had set out, the sound of Celtic dance music pulsing out of the surround sound speakers. The music was nice enough. I felt like I normally didn't listen to this kind of music, but it wasn't bad for traditional folk music. The problem was dancing to it. And even though Blaine was blind, he knew when I sucked ass at dancing because apparently my feet didn't hit the mat in time, so he'd stop, kick me in the butt, then force me to do it all over again. I was about ten seconds away from trying to get him into a headlock.

"It's all right, Blaine," Akin told him, more relaxed than Blaine and I, "He's learning. He just learned how to walk yesterday." Blaine wrinkled his nose. He looked like he wanted to argue, but he seemed to finally relent as he went back to restart the song. I ran a hand through my hair, then glanced at Akin, who'd pulled his hair up into a loose bun and had changed into a pair of silky black pants that only came up to his knees, and a matching tank top. Blaine had also forced us to wear loose sashes around our waists that were covered in little gold coins that jingled. I had a feeling it was so he could locate us.

"Do you know how to fight?" I asked out of the blue. Well, not totally. The more I scanned Akin, the more I realized he was pretty ripped. While lean and slender, I could see the hard muscles in his legs when he moved or did a sharp spin.

"Not really," Akin admitted with a shrug, "I'm not a huge fan of the whole fighting thing. I mean, I could probably defend myself if it came right down to it, but I wouldn't go looking for a fist fight at the bar, if you know what I mean. Nah, Hannibal and I go to the gym every week." I glanced over at Hannibal, who'd fallen asleep on the sofa. He looked like a big dog just sprawled out on the couch with one arm tossed over the sofa's arm, and another resting across his stomach, his legs so long that they reached the other end of the sofa no problem. And how he managed to sleep through this blasting music was a miracle.

"What'd you guys do last night?" I asked, looking back at Akin, who grinned.

"A lot." Was his only answer. Oookay, I thought awkwardly. Maybe I shouldn't have asked. Akin and I turned back as Blaine clapped his hands to get our attention as he switched the song to something a little more exotic and ancient. It sounded Egypt-y, but I could be wrong.

"All right," Blaine commanded, taking up position in front of us, "This one's easier. It's from the CD Ambrosius sent me. Anyway, I want you to stand with your feet shoulder width apart... Should width, Alaric. I can hear you shifting to get your balance. If you have to catch your balance, you're doing it wrong." I rolled my eyes, but said nothing as I obeyed, shifting around until I managed to get in the right place and Blaine stopped pestering me about it. I glanced at Akin, who had no problem with it. He looked over-excited about the whole thing.

"Now," Blaine said and started to move his hips slowly, "Move your hips like mine are moving. A slow rotation. This isn't a fast song. It's slow and gentle. It's actually a hypnotic dance. It's meant to distract you from everything, meant to relax you. So move your hips like I am. Don't move your arms yet either." I frowned for a moment, then started to move my hips. There was a dull throb each time I moved from all the playing with Stanton I'd done, but oddly enough, the throbbing made my heart swell tight in my chest.

I missed Stanton already. I wanted him to come back. I wanted to see if he could do all this. He was pretty big and muscular, but Blaine said even Cerberus could dance and Cerberus was a few inches taller. It'd still be pretty funny to see Stanton trying to dance all sexy like. Thinking about it made me smile and it was easier to rotate my hips after a while.

"Sounds good," Blaine praised, "Now let's do something a little harder. Listen to the song. The beat of the drums, the tambourine, then the sound of the guitar. Let it sink into you. And lift your arms, but slowly. Remember, slow song, slow movements until I say so." He moved his arms up slowly and the way he moved them was almost wave-like, his fingers mostly staying still. I tried to mimic his movements, focusing on the sound of the music at the same time. It was kind of hard not to get carried away and move around more.

It took a while, but we managed to get to it. Unfortunately, the dance lesson was ruined when something rippled through the air. It was a rift of power that pulsed hot and Blaine instantly snatched the remote up and snapped off the speakers as the air shuddered nearby and Hades materialized in the living room. I jumped, still not used to that whole magic trick.

I noticed Blaine stiffen immediately, his blind eyes narrowing. Wow, I didn't think a pair of unseeing eyes could hold so much distaste for someone. Akin looked more uneasy than angry, and Hannibal was awake the instant the air had shifted. Now he was on his feet and standing beside Akin, who moved a little to get in front of him as a wall between him and Hades.

Hades's eerie glowing blue eyes pinned Hannibal with a glare so foul, if looks could kill, Hannibal would be a puddle of guts on the floor. Hannibal dropped his eyes. Hades slowly looked away until he met my eyes.

"Time to do a couple tests." He stated. I swallowed tightly at that, rubbing at my arm uneasily.

"Uh, how many and what are they and will I be able to come back here?" I asked. Hades looked annoyed at that, folding his arms over his chest. It was strange how, even in that steel armor, it didn't make a single sound. The perfect suit of armor to wear for a swift assassination. It made my skin crawl.

"Three," Hades said, his voice daring me to ask more questions, "None of your busines, and maybe." I looked at Akin helplessly and he came to stand beside me, with Hannibal at his heels every step of the way.

"Hades, that's not fair," Akin said in the gentlest of tones, "You're scaring him. You won't be able to get anything done that way." Hades glared at him.

"If I wanted a therapist, I'd call Dionysus first," He told him sternly, making Akin shrug in frustration, then Hades glared at me now, "I saved your life, and I'm still trying to. You may be stable physically, but we still have a long way to go before I am certain of your condition. Right now, we have a lot of side effects to deal with." I looked at him, confused.

"What side effects?" I asked. Hades frowned.

"Well, firstly your memory issue. And then a bunch of other fun stuff I'll tell you later. The more you stall, the more tempted I'll be to just kill you myself." He said. I shifted a bit uneasily. I really didn't want to go with him, but I didn't want to die either. So I reluctantly inched forward, until a surprisingly steel grip caught my wrist, and I turned expecting Hannibal, but surprisingly, it was Blaine.

"If he does anything potentially threatening, call Cerberus. Hell, call Theo. Just pray for them and they should be able to pick up on it and run to you." He told me seriously. I nodded and he loosened his grip slowly, looking past me in Hades's direction.

"I might not be in any position to talk," Blaine said dryly, "But if you hurt him, Lucifer and his family will find you and slaughter you in the sphincter with barbed wire." Hades gave him a disgusted glare.

"Sounds like a nice vacation," He answered bitterly, then moved forward and snatched my arm, making me hiss in pain and Akin took a step forward, but Hades shot him a warning glare, "You're the one who asked for me to save him. Don't make me regret it." Akin held his breath, and a flicker of guilt went through his eyes a second before we were gone from the nice cozy living room in Cerberus's house and I was back in that terrifyingly dark room.

Only the glowing ceiling was a comfort with lights that I had learned were designed after the Aurora Borealis after I discussed it with Cerberus. Hades released me and stepped back to move to a monitor, clicking on the keyboard connected to it and bringing up a bunch of extremely complicated charts and lists.

"Take that off," Hades commanded when I shifted and the sash jingled, "Nothing makes me sicker than that stupid dancing." I frowned curiously at that as I obeyed, tossing it onto the nearby table. If I didn't know any better, I'd say that his hatred for it came from something that had to do with Blaine. I said nothing about it, though, as I watched his fingers fly across the keys. My eyes widened in amazement.

"You type fast." I commented. Hades rolled his eyes, but didn't reply. I sighed.

"You know, you could at least be kind of maybe a little nicer. It'd make me more comfortable."

"This isn't about your comfort," Hades said, voice thick with malice, enough to make me step back as he turned to face me, "And I'm not nice. If I were nice, I wouldn't be Hades. Quit trying to fuck with my head and just strip and get on the table." I stiffened.

"Not if you're gonna talk to me like that."

"Would you rather I do it for you?" Hades demanded. I didn't answer as I hurriedly tore my shirt off as Hades muttered under his breath. I hesitated at my pants, but Hades had his back turned, so I quickly pulled my jeans off with the panties, praying he didn't see them. I really just rather only have Stanton know I ran around in women's lingerie, not the Greek God of the Underworld. I shuddered at the mere thought, and the fact that it was cold in the room. I carefully slid onto the bed, wishing I had at least a blanket to hide my nudity, but when Hades turned around, he didn't seem to give two shits that was I naked.

"Did you eat breakfast?" He asked, not looking at me as he moved to one of the machines to fiddle with it and the wires connected to it. I chewed my bottom lip.

"Uh, yeah."

"What did you eat?"

"Eggs, bacon, toast... What does this have to do with my tests?" I asked, frowning.

"Nothing," Hades admitted as he stuck the end of one of the wires on a sticky pad and pushed it onto my chest, "I didn't eat anything and I wanted an idea for later." I looked at him oddly, but he didn't seem to notice. Yeah, Hades was more than just a grumpy prick. He was weird. Eccentric, was what Akin called it, but I think he was just desperate to see some kind of good inside of this god. I had no idea why. I'd only known Akin for two days, or maybe more, but couldn't remember it. Anyway, I knew him for only two days and I already knew Akin was the type of person to see the good in everyone. It was probably how he ended up with Hannibal. Akin saw past the harsh and cold exterior of someone's outer personality and looked for the light inside them.

And while I agreed with him on a couple people, I simply couldn't see any kind of light inside Hades. It was strange, but I felt like Hades's heart was probably literally black. Even his soul. Did souls have colors?

"Do souls have colors?" I asked. Hades looked annoyed at that as he stuck a padded wire against my throat on the side and moved back to the machine it was connected to so he could tinker with it.

"It supposedly changes colors with ones emotions. That whore fae of Cerberus's can sense emotions. Used to be able to see them." He added. There was a bitterness to his voice, and the fact that he insulted Blaine meant he was one of the many people who couldn't tolerate Blaine's mouthiness. I had a feeling Blaine wouldn't be Blaine without it, though. He was outspoken and neurotic, but something about him was difficult to hate. While he could be coarse, he did care about people. He just had difficulty showing it and Akin had told me it just had to do with how Blaine grew up.

Maybe that was why Hades was the way he was. Had he grown up in a fashion similar to Blaine? But how could he if Hades was a god? Shouldn't he just be happy with that? I would be.... I'd just be happy with my memories back.

"Will I ever get my memories back?" I asked as Hades moved to open a nearby cupboard.

"Probably not," He admitted, making my stomach drop as I watched him take a small box out and move to stand in front of me, "But why do you care?" I stared at him, baffled.

"They're my memories. I don't remember Lucifer or Akin or anyone. I don't even remember Stanton." I added, distressed. How could he be so callous? Wouldn't he be upset if he lost his memory?

"No way," Hades said suddenly, making me stiffen as I realized he could hear my thoughts, "In fact, if you want, you can have all of mine. Now, if you're done trying to get emotional on me, shut the hell up and let me stick you with pointy objects." I held my breath as he took out a syringe. I swallowed hard at the sight of it and just quickly shut my eyes, but Hades laughed cruelly and I peeked them open to look at him.

"Oh, no, this isn't going in your arm."

Oh. OH.

"M-My eyes?" I stammered. Hades shrugged, giving the syringe a pump, causing the liquid in it to squirt out. Now I knew for certain he was doing this just to scare the shit out of me. He was incredibly mean!

"No," He admitted after a moment, making me glare at him as he squirt the rest of the liquid out, "Oh, and that was water, by the way. I'm actually going to just insert this into your throat and draw some blood."

"Can't you just do that in my arm?"

"Where's the fun in that?"

"Why are you being so cruel to me? I just want to get better again so I can go home." I pleaded, wishing Stanton was here to save me from this weirdo. Hades didn't answer me right away. Instead, he roughly shoved me down onto the table and pulled two straps around my wrists without even having to lift a finger. It was that creepy invisible magic of his that felt like a pair of steel arms forcing me down. I squirmed nervously, muscles locking and my jaw tensing as he pushed against my cheek to force me to bare my throat to him. Hades gave me a cold look.

"There's no such thing as home." He told me, then stuck the needle in my neck. I whimpered in pain, wishing I could thrash and try to get away, but I was terrified that if I moved, it'd hurt even more. It felt like a severe pinch. My throat instantly throbbed in protest and my head swam as Hades held me still, concentrating on my throat now. I panted nervously, then choked on a sigh of relief as he withdrew the syringe and pressed a cotton ball to it. He unstrapped my hand and forced me to hold it there while he took the syringe to a machine and stuck it inside.

I didn't want to talk to him now. I just wanted to get all of this over with as soon as possible. Even worse, Hades wouldn't tell me what any of these tests were for. He just kept poking me with needles. He kept taking my blood every hour, but that was the more comfortable parts.

He'd injected me three times with different liquids. All three caused absolute misery. The first one made my blood feel like fire in my veins and I wanted to scream, but after I screamed the first time, he'd strapped a muzzle over my mouth to keep me quiet. The second injection consisted of something that felt icy cold. It was an eerily familiar sensation. And the third injection succeeded in making me choke on my vomit. My muscles felt like pudding and my bones like paper. It was like I was trapped on a spinning carnival ride.

He'd broken one of my fingers, then repaired it with his magic. Both of which hurt horrendously. He stuck syringes into my spinal cord, and eventually, one into my eye.

I was beginning to lose track of time. He'd told me only three tests would be done, but in the end, I was positive he'd done over ten of them.

By the end, I felt sick and weak. I didn't want to move from the table as Hades finally removed the straps from my wrists and ankles, then pulled the muzzle off, causing the vomit behind it to pool down the sides of my face. Hades made an annoyed sound and I expected him to toss me on the floor, but much to my surprise, he scooped me up in his arms and carried me to another room. While the other one was completely black, this one was stark white.

A huge bathroom, but it was sterile and empty. Only a large tub built into the far wall, a sink, a toilet. There were no soaps or towels or anything personal. The moment we walked in, the tub automatically turned on and Hades set me in front of the toilet. A good thing too, because feeling and smelling the vomit made me a hundred times sicker and I spewed up into the toilet as Hades stood behind me, watching.

Once I'd cleared my stomach, Hades had pulled me over to the tub and set me inside. I almost expected ice cold water, but much to my relief, it was warm and just right. I settled against the tub, breathing in deeply. Hades stepped back, and a second later, several soaps, shampoos, conditioner, and shaving cream appeared there. Even more surprising was the small silver tray of crackers, Sprite, and some kind of white cracker dip appeared. I blinked, startled by the consideration, then looked up, but Hades had disappeared.

Was he bipolar?

One second, he's practically torturing me and the next, he's making me all comfortable?

I was so glad I wasn't related to Hades. I wouldn't be able to keep up with his perpetual mood swings.

Akin had told me Hades was married to Persephone, but I had yet to see her. Apparently it was the time of the year she was visiting her mother. I felt sorry for her whenever she was forced to stay down here with Hades. How could she deal with it?

I decided not to snub Hades's gifts, so I quickly washed down, cleaned my hair, shaved the stubble prickling my jaw, then devoured all the crackers and licked the dip away before gulping down the Sprite. I sat there for only a while longer before Hades appeared again with a stack of clean folded clothes. My cheeks pinkened when I saw the red panties sitting on top of everything, and I tried to sink down behind the wall of the tub, but Hades gave me a sadistic smirk.

"Nice to know my patient has some interesting hobbies." He told me. Oh, he was just enjoying this. I said nothing as he set the clothes on a nearby rack that wasn't there when we first came in. He conjured a plush white towel and handed it to me as I stepped out, drying myself off. Hades didn't leave this time, but only stepped off to the side to give me some semblence of privacy.

"Why are you being all..." I couldn't find the word. It was nice, but I didn't want to jinx it. I just glanced warily at him as I dried my face off. Hades's eerie blue eyes glowed, but now his face was completely stoic. I had no idea what was going on inside his head. I don't think anyone knew. Not even Hades.

"I wanted to get the tests done and over with. Had I taken my time and acted like your pussy father, I never would have gotten it done this quickly." He answered monotonously. I scowled.

"Why are you so negative toward Lucifer? What has he done to you?" I asked dryly. Hades's eyes glowed passionately.

"I just hate his spawn. Him, I don't care for." Now that sounded like an outright lie, but I decided not to push it. Hades was a closed book. Chained shut. Burned. So I just dried off the rest of the way and changed into my clothes. Once I was done, Hades teleported us from the bathroom to Cerberus's living room where everyone, including Stanton, was waiting.

"Alaric!" Stanton grabbed me the instant I appeared and hauled me away from Hades, hugging me tightly. I was startled by the sudden hug attack that I didn't know how to react, except to stand there with my face pressed against his chest to the side. And from the corner of my eye, I saw something flash in Hades's eyes. I couldn't quite determine what it was because it disappeared too quickly for me to catch.

"Jesus," Stanton managed at last, holding me at arm's length as he brushed the hair out of my face, "You're pale as a ghost." He shot Hades a look, who gave him a droll stare, his arms folded over his chest.

"What did you expect? I was giving him medical tests, not taking him to a tanning salon." He added. Stanton's black eyes flashed dangerously and he took a step toward him, but Hades vanished a second later. Stanton cursed under his breath, then turned to look at me.

"Alaric, are you all right? Are you okay?" He demanded. I just nodded uneasily while Cerberus stared at the spot Hades had been standing in.

"Holy crap," He exclaimed, turning to Stanton, "In all my years of existence, I've never seen Hades haul ass that fast. So death gods really are stronger, eh?" Stanton gave him an unamused glare.

"Yes. Why do you think Hades doesn't harass Thanatos as much as he does Morpheus or his sons? Anyway," He shook his head and looked back at me, concern creasing his brow, "Are you sure you're all right?" I nodded, frowning in confusion.

"Yeah, actually. I mean, it hurt like hell and he was kind of nasty about it--"

"I'm gonna kill him." Stanton stated. I scowled, grabbing his arm before he could do that weird teleport thingy.

"Don't," I scolded, making everyone look in my direction, bewildered, "He made sure I was comfortable and all right after it was all over. It only hurt because he was doing it quickly so it wouldn't last any longer than it had to. In his own weird way, he was being nice." Cerberus barked out a laugh and Blaine just scoffed, folding his arms over his chest.

"Oh yeah," Blaine said dryly, "Such a nice guy. Only nice guys forcefully impregnate you and torture everyone you know and love and makes you blind and eats kittens for breakfast." I frowned.

"Wait, Hades...?" My voice trailed. I didn't want to say the word that was on the tip of my tongue, but Blaine caught it instantly and shook his head.

"That came out wrong," He muttered, "No, he didn't rape me. There's more than one way to get the baby juice, kid. I don't want to talk about it. It's sickening. Look, the point is that you shouldn't try to justify what Hades does. And don't try to make excuses for him. You'll just be disappointed in the end. He's a heartless bastard and I hope it keeps him up at night."

"Probably does," Cerberus admitted with a shrug, "The guy has enough mood swings to out do a pubescent teenaged girl. Anyway, at least you're all right. For now. I have a feeling Hades will be back to do more tests on you. He'll suck you dry of everything you have to figure you out. He's like the Geek Squad with computers. He'll tear you apart, just so he can figure out how to put you back together. He's already raided your first physical body. He'll probably kill you on purpose, just so he can ruin this body." I nibbled at my bottom lip nervously at the idea and Stanton put an arm around my shoulders to squeeze me reassuringly, but it didn't really help.

Hades wouldn't do that. He promised Lucifer he'd give me back to him once he was done with the tests. Surely, despite all Hades's shortcomings, he'd be man enough to actually follow up on a promise? I wasn't sure if I should bet my life on it or not, though.

Blaine finally shut everyone up about it and took Hannibal to go make something to eat. Cerberus followed because he wanted to keep an constant eye on Hannibal, despite Blaine telling him to buzz off about it. Whatever mistake Hannibal made, it must have been pretty awful for Cerberus not to forgive him. Akin went along so he could bitch at Cerberus.

"You're positive you're all right?" Stanton asked, turning to face me again. I nodded. Stanton sighed and pulled me against him. I buried my face against his leather jacket, inhaling the rich scent of it before tilting my head to look up at him.

"I don't think Hades is pure evil." I told him. Stanton looked doubtful.

"Alaric, you don't remember him. You don't remember all the horrible things he's done."

"But Hannibal made a mistake too, right? And Akin still likes him."

"Hannibal isn't evil. Hannibal made mistakes, but he regrets them to the core of his soul. Hades knows what he does is wrong and he does it anyway, so long as he gains something out of it." Stanton assured. I was still skeptical, but I decided not to push it since the subject obviously irritated Stanton.

Not that I could discuss it further anyway because a strange feeling suddenly spread through me. It wasn't cold or hot. It was more like... remembering? Suddenly, I wasn't in Cerberus's living room with Stanton. Instead, I was standing in a dark room with dozens of people that I didn't recognize, but somehow, I recognized one of the people who was standing at the doors.

My brother, Raven. He stood in front of the doors like a rigid soldier, hands clasped behind his back. He wore an all black battlesuit made of padded material under firm plates of armor, his boots laced all the way up to his knees. His black hair was curly, and a bit longer than I felt it had been before. His eyes were a pale shade of blue, but they were... pained. There was a raw agony that burned so bright in his eyes that it hurt even me. Why was he in so much pain?

The people around us were murmuring and talking as a man took up post at the head of the room and upon closer inspection, I somehow recognized the man as my oldest brother, Jaques. Tall and regal with a military stance that put Raven's to shame, which was a feat within itself, he, too, had dark hair with a touch of wave to it, despite being cut shorter than Raven's. He wore a uniform similar to Raven's, except there were medals and badges clipped to the front signifying his great accomplishments in battle. He was speaking, but I couldn't quite hear him.

And then the memory skipped, almost like a VHS tape. A moment later, I was staring at a screen that flashed with horrible images. Agonized screams and heartwrenching sobs that tore at my heartstrings until I felt like I was also going to burst into tears. It took me a full minute to realize that it was Raven on the screen. Dozens of strange men were grabbing at him and abusing him in ways that made me want to vomit.

I turned to look at Raven, and I saw the horror on his face, the tears that shone in his eyes. Even from here, I could feel the burning humiliation and the inner turmoil bewing as he backed up, only to hit the doors. A moment later, he spun around and threw them open, disappearing.

And then I was back in Cerberus's living room with Stanton standing in front of me.

"Alaric?" He asked, concerned. I blinked, looking around, stunned. But I still felt nauseous and heartbroken. My chest ached with a pain so ferocious that it was a wonder I wasn't weeping from it.

That was my brother... Raven... I remember Raven. I remembered running to the training center in Portius, in Hell, trying to meet up with him. I remember getting there just as he was leaving, so all he gave me was a quick goodbye before he was running off with his boyfriend. I remembered that room, though, and the video of Raven's abuse when he was a prisoner of war. I remember the way he flinched and moved away whenever someone came near him. The way he walked around through all hours of the night. He always wore gloves so no one would see his disfigured hands, or long sleeves so no one would see the scars on his arms, turtlenecks to hide the scars there from having a collar embedded into his skin.

"Oh my god," I managed, stepping back, "Oh my god, Raven." Stanton appeared alarmed.

"Do you remember him?" He demanded. I nodded, but the grief was new to me. It was a horrible feeling that felt like my stomach was dropping into a pit. All those horrible things that happened to him... I wanted to weep for a brother I barely remembered.

Stanton put his arms around me and hugged me tightly and I hugged him back, breathing hard. I really just wanted to go home and go to Raven. I wanted to see him. I wanted to make sure he was okay. Even if it was just a quick glance, I needed the reassurance that he was safe at home, away from all of that horrible stuff.

"Is Raven okay?" I asked after a moment, stepping back to look at Stanton, who grimaced.

"He's at home where he belongs, if that's what you mean."

"He still flinches."

"Yes."

"And... And the gloves?"

"And the gloves." Stanton said quietly. I gritted my teeth, clenching my fists. I wanted to find the monsters that hurt him. I wanted to rip their throats open. The sudden bloodlust was hot and addictive. It was almost as powerful as the lust I felt when I was with Stanton, but this one was a burning hot negative energy. I wanted to feel their blood running down my face as I tore them to pieces for what they'd done to my brother. Raven didn't deserve that-- No one did.

"Alaric, calm down," Stanton said gently, taking me by the shoulders and giving me a little shake to get my attention, "Stop. The guy who did it is dead."

"There was more than one."

"Hades killed them." Stanton admitted, sounding irritated. I frowned.

"Hades?"

"The man who did those things to Raven, Julius, didn't tell Hades what he was doing. He'd done it on his own before going AWOL after Raven returned home. Hades found out what had happened during Raven's imprisonment and had the other men who abused Raven tortured and killed."

"And you think Hades is evil," I asked incredulously, "He didn't know Raven was being hurt. He sounds like he was as angry by it as anyone else." Stanton snorted.

"One good deed doesn't make up for eons of evil, Alaric. Granted, I'll let Hades off the hook when it comes to that whole situation, but it never would have happened if Hades hadn't of started the war in the first place." He explained. I wasn't so sure about that. If we were gonna play that game, why not blame Hades's mother for giving birth to him in the first place? Or her mother for giving birth to her? It was an endless chain game of find-someone-to-blame. And blaming people wasn't going to help anything. It wasn't going to help Raven.

There was no use in talking to Stanton about it, though. Stanton saw Hades for what Hades wanted him to see. Or at least, that's how I figured it. Maybe I was wrong. Maybe Hades was the ultimate evil, or maybe he was just a dog tired of being kicked. I didn't know. And I suppose trying to convince people of it wasn't going to help. I wondered if this was how Akin felt when it came to the way Cerberus treated Hannibal like a feral beast. But Akin never fought to explain Hannibal to people. He didn't seem to feel the need to. As long as he loved Hannibal, and Hannibal loved him, nobody else's opinion mattered.

So, Stanton could see Hades as the ultimate evil if he wanted. And I didn't. I just saw him as a tired bitter man hiding behind some Halloween mask.

We went to the kitchen after Blaine had informed us it was time for dinner. It wasn't until I started eating that I'd realized I hadn't eaten lunch. So I scarfed down as much as I could, as fast as I could.

"So, you got a bit of your memory back?" Cerberus asked as he chewed on a steak. I nodded, frowning.

"But you said I wouldn't because my brain was technically dead."

"Maybe Hades transferred your memories to your soul, or your new brain. I don't know. Didn't I tell you I wasn't a mad scientist?"

"I guess so." I answered dryly. Sheez, might as well take Cerberus off my list of people to have a real discussion with. The guy didn't take anything seriously.

"This is a good thing," Akin insisted, then paused to grimace, "Well, not that particular memory, but you're on the right track! Hopefully you can start remembering things bit by bit as time goes on." I only nodded.

I just hoped my next memory wasn't something that traumatizing.