Chapter Forty-Two

"Fucking hell, Joxeia, are you crazy?"

I grimaced, ignoring Satanika's dismayed exclamation as Hestia dabbed a cotton ball of alcohol on a gash in my forehead. I used little magic to heal myself physically, because Hestia appeared to be doing a fine job, therefore allowing me to save as much as I could to teleport our army to the Paradise realm.

Meanwhile, Satanika was glaring at me from behind Hestia as we stood in the medical tent that was set up outside the hospital on Olympus. Also in the room, Ares stood near the entry way with his arms folded over his chest, legs apart, stance prepared to destroy anyone or anything that came within fifteen miles of his wife. A dark shadow that took up unnecessary room, considering we both knew Satanika could handle herself.

But the thought was sweet.

"Alright," Hestia said, pausing to brush the hair back from my face so she could study her stitchwork on the gash, "It'll heal within a few minutes. Head injuries tend to take us longer, so I'd rather you not bleed out during that time. I'd offer you pain medication, but I have no idea what medications work for a creature like you." I shook my head, sliding off the gurney and grabbing my holster up off the railing beside it.

"I don't need pain medication," I said, then approached Ares, whose eyes followed me behind a pair of pitch black wraparound shades, "Are the others here? What about Lucifer and Zeus?" Ares glanced over at Satanika, who was glaring daggers into the back of my head and I tried not to notice. He looked back at me.

"Hannibal, Akin, Menoetius, and Arikos are getting ready at the military barracks on the other side of town. I'll take you there. As for Lucifer, he's with Persephone, who's been trying to shut him and keep him from doing something stupid. Zeus locked himself up in his damn castle again and won't come out until we're all ready," he explained grimly. I nodded and headed out of the tent, ducking under the flap as Ares followed close behind, and Satanika came sprinting around to block my path.

"Joxeia, stop," Satanika shouted in my face, and I pulled up short, glaring at her in irritation, "I get we need to get Hades back, believe me. My heart bleeds for him as we speak, but we cannot go to the Paradise realm half-cocked, do you understand me? You're letting your emotions get the best of you while and I'm glad you're all feely again, this is not the time to let your anger and your fear rule you." I narrowed my eyes on her and behind me, I felt Ares tense, as if he were preparing to kick my ass to stop me from hurting Satanika.

He needn't worry, however. Satanika was just worried about the situation and there was no need to.

"I'm fine," I told her flatly, watching her expression twist in under disbelief, "I am. You think getting slapped around by a pathetic nymph will put a drain on my powers? In case you've forgotten, I am older than you. I am stronger than you. You may be the embodiment of Love, but you are not Love itself. I am Creation and I am itching to create a whole new fucking graveyard with Atlan's name on the first headstone." Satanika took a deep breath to calm herself, her anger showing pink in her cheeks and tips of her ears. She spread her hands out in front of her, moved them up and down for a moment, then pinned me with a steely glare.

"Listen to me. I am not speaking to you now as a friend. I am speaking to you as a fellow soldier. We cannot just bumble into the Paradise realm fueled by anger and revenge. While Hades is important to Atlan in terms of providing his army with the necessary weapons and battle suits, he is not so important that Atlan will not kill him if he has to. He can and he will kill Hades if he thinks its the only move he has. We need to make a plan, a strategy. If you insist on going in right now, then I'm behind you, but only if you allow us time to plan an attack. Do you understand me?"

I took a moment to calm myself. My adrenaline was still flowing like lava through my veins, heating my skin, throwing my heart into overdrive. Fear and anxiety made my hands tremble, my legs shaking as if I needed to run a thousand miles all at once, but could not possibly do such. My chest was tight, my stomach icy cold, empty, dipping low into a dark abyss.

She was right. I had to calm down. I had to think about this.

Right now, I was clouded by emotions. The fear and horror of what could be happening to Hades. Anger that Atlan would dare lay a hand on him. Sympathetic pain for Lucifer and Zeus as they suffered with Hades's loss. There was just too much to cope with... So I reached into myself for that empty cold space.

I closed my eyes and breathed slow through my nose, out through my lips. I clenched my fists tight, then loosened them at my sides. I sought deep into my blackened soul for that quiet space... and I felt the Source humming around me. Its static power buzzing in the air around me, as all sounds became one harmonious symphony, and I felt myself relax.

I opened my eyes to see Satanika watching me intently, eyes searching my face sternly before her features relaxed as she realized she'd finally gotten to me.

"Correct," I said at last, making her sigh in relief, "Get Lucifer and Zeus. I'm going to fetch the Savior and his company. Meet us there. It's time to discuss our plan of attack." Satanika nodded and vanished in a thin column of smoke. I started to move until the air rippled, and all the soldiers and gods in the vicinity tensed and turned to the source of the power. Black smoke swirled into a mini-tornado in the center of all the people, and a moment later, Set appeared alongside the Aztec god of death, Mictlan.

I was caught off guard by Set. I hadn't seen him since the Titan war. His hair had grown out a bit, though still cut shorter on one side than the other, and his liquid mercury eyes were sharp as blades, emphasized by black eyeliner. He wore a customized battle suit by Hades himself. Sleek and black with a gold adorned neckline with a ruby red scorpion done front and center with its tail curled outwards, and judging from the gleam of it, the damn thing was poisoned.

At his side, standing quite taller than him with black hair that fell past his shoulders, two braids running along the side of his skull and disappearing into his hair, Mictlan commanded quite the attention as he didn't wear the battle suits most of us wore. Instead, he wore steel black shoulder pads with vampire skulls attached to them with the fangs bared, a matching mask that currently sat on top of his head, black leather pants with steel toed boots that ran to his knees, and a holster with weapons I hadn't seen in centuries.

Set led the way toward us and everyone watched, wary of his presence, and he completely ignored all of them as he approached before stopping in front of me.

"Set," I greeted, and he inclined his head respectfully.

"We're here to help," he said, making me raise an eyebrow and he shrugged, "While Hades is like a hemorrhoid, he's also made my realm incredibly wealthy in the past few years and I'm mostly here to help for investment reasons. But since you're all such big fans of the prick, I figured two birds with one stone." I smiled briefly, then glanced at Mictlan, who gave me a flat emotionless stare.

"I'm here because he's here," he told me, pointing to Set, who smacked his hand down, then looked at me. I couldn't hide my smile now. The way Set blushed ever so lightly... cute.

"Alright," I said at last, "Then follow us. We're on our way to the military base. We're going to discuss our plan of attack there. Aphrodite, Zeus, and Lucifer will be joining us shortly." They nodded and we moved as a group toward the barracks. As we walked, Set came to my side, leaving Mictlan and Ares to walk like shadows behind us.

"How is Lucifer?" Set asked, surprising me. When I arched a brow at him, he rolled his eyes and reached up to brush his hand through his hair casually.

"I'm not a complete asshole. Lucifer's far more likable... And I would never wish upon even my greatest enemy the events that have unfolded upon Hades," he added under his breath. I glanced at him, then the path ahead.

"As well as you could expect," I said at last. Set nodded, as if he completely understood. I looked at him, then back at Mictlan, whose eyes were completely and utterly focused on Set. I looked back at Set, who pretended not to notice.

"I'm afraid to ask," I said. Set looked at me. A brief shadow of fear flashed through his eyes, then vanished before I could pinpoint the location of such a look. He locked eyes on the path ahead.

"The path to love is never easy, or so I've been told," he added, looking at me smugly. I rolled my eyes.

"I need to stop giving philosophical advice to people, at least for free."

"Hey, I'm cured. Start charging your new clients," Set snorted. I smirked at that.

We came upon the military base just a few moments later. On the other side of town, and built into the side of the mountain, it looked like something out of a sci-fi movie. Made of dark and light steel plates that ran several stories high, the place was lit up with blue and white lights and stretched out into the air where clouds hid part of the building. An electric fence surrounded the property and hissed and sizzled when we approached.

We checked in with Phobos, Ares's son and the god of fear, at the entrance before we were led through the fence and into the building that looked much more like a hospital than a military base.

Everything was stark white and made of steel, no decorations, nothing. It was completely cold and sterile... and reminded me a lot of Zeus's home. No pictures, no awards, no honors, nothing.

"Where's mom at?" Phobos asked as Ares came up beside him in the hallway. Seeing them together, it was nearly impossible to tell them apart. They looked so alike, tall, buff as hell, and wearing the same damn sunglasses. Nothing said I wanna be like you when I grow up, daddy like Phobos's get up.

"With Zeus," Ares answered, "After you drop us off, go find Deimos. I want you guys with me when we head out, understood?" Phobos nodded as we approached a pair of steel doors that opened up into a massive war room. One side of the room was home to blinking and flickering computer monitors with buttons glowing bright on the keypads, more than a dozen creatures surrounding the things as they watched security cameras and monitored the barrier around the mountain as well as any incoming power surges.

In the center of the room was a massive oblong black table that also functioned as a computer with blue buttons and keys. Standing around the table already was the Savior and his entourage. At the head was the Savior himself, Hannibal, decked out in his royal Hellion uniform with the patch that designated him as a sergeant and leader of the special Deliverance unit of the Luciferian Army.

At his right hand was his husband, Akin, dressed in a royal Hellion battle suit. His white blonde hair was done up in a ponytail swept back from his face, his expression surprisingly stern and totally prepared for what was to come. Although, he was holding Hannibal's hand in a vice grip.

Menoetius was on Hannibal's other side, and Arikos by his. And standing behind them was the rest of the Deliverance unit; Fiona, Libby, Tristan, and Zeke. And all of them appeared prepared to fight.

Also joining us was the Greek goddess of war and battle strategy, Athena. Her hair was always so beautiful to me, an array of almost every natural hair color in the world from jet black to light blonde, and it fell in a smooth silky ponytail from the crown of her head, a pair of aviators sitting just in front of it. She wore battle suit similar to the Olympian army, and here sharp intelligent blue eyes scanned the room for a split second before locking on us.

A few other gods were also present, but standing off the side, some injured and tending to their wounds during the meeting, others stiff, some nervous. It was hodgepodge of emotions as the gods struggled to cope with the fact that one of their own had been kidnapped, and while Hades didn't exactly have the best reputation in the Greek pantheon, he was still one of them.

And nobody touched the Greek pantheon.

Nobody.

"Jo!" Akin exclaimed as we approached. He caught me off guard by breaking away from his husband to run to me, throwing his arms around my neck and squeezing me tight. I caught him, though completely confused as to why he was hugging me of all people. Then again, Lucifer didn't appear to be here with Satanika and Zeus yet.

"Are you alright?" He asked, stepping back to look at me. I looked at him blankly.

"I am... Are you?" I asked. Akin gave me a droll look, putting his hands on his hips.

"Uhm, no? Why didn't you tell me you were moving out? I went to see you and Lucifer said you'd left. You didn't even say goodbye or anything. What the hell is that about? I thought we had something," he added, touching his chest, then shoving me in the chest. I scowled at that as Ares took Set and Mictlan over to Athena so they could be briefed on the situation.

"I didn't feel it was necessary to let you know something so trivial. While I consider you one of my dearest friends, it felt more like an inconvenience to tell you about my leaving, especially given the circumstances," I added under my breath. Akin raised an eyebrow, folding his arms over his chest and giving his head a tilt to look into my face.

"Uhm, first of all, shut up? Friends tell other friends when they're moving, ya jerk. Second of all, what circumstances? Lucifer just said you wanted to leave, that's all he would tell me. He did get all pissy when I asked him for details," he added, averting his eyes and muttering in irritation. I inclined my head, glancing around the room once more to see if Satanika and the others would show up, but it appeared it was taking her much longer to convince them to come.

How annoying. Wasn't Lucifer the one who wanted to go right now?

"I apologize," I said at last, "The circumstances are irrelevant. I generally don't stay in one place for very long, Akin. And I believe I have overstayed my welcome in Hell. Had I known it would cause you grief, I would've sent you something." Akin frowned at that, lowering his arms to give me a probing stare.

"What the heck? Did I do something to piss you off? If this is about the spa day we had, I'm sorry. I just really wanted to go and Hannibal actually said no. He made plans with Raven. If I thought it would make you that upset--"

"This isn't about the spa day," I told him gently, realizing that apparently he really was offended by my leaving without saying anything, and the guilt returned so suddenly that I didn't have time to try and shut it off before it hit me, "I just... I just think it's my time to move on. This doesn't mean we'll never see each other again. I still have the same number. You can still come over, when I find a new place..." My voice trailed as Akin looked at me, flabbergasted.

"You don't even know where you're staying? Where did you sleep last night?"

"It doesn't matter," I started, then fell silent as the doors behind us opened to admit Satanika with Lucifer and Zeus trailing behind her. Neither of one of them appeared pleased, and Lucifer looked like he was seconds away from imploding, and he had yet to tuck his wings away. They were about as twitchy as Lucifer himself was. And it only got worse when Lucifer spotted me with Akin, those blue eyes flashing red for only a split second before Akin ran to him and hugged him so fiercely, it even made Satanika jump back in surprise.

"Oh, dad, I'm so sorry," he said, squeezing Lucifer tight, "We'll get him back." Lucifer quickly forgot his rage and his blue eyes became liquid before he slammed them shut and hugged Akin to him tightly. Akin appeared to give magic hugs, I noticed. Lucifer buried his face against Akin's neck and held onto him for dear life as Akin stroked his back to comfort him.

Meanwhile, Satanika made her way to Ares, cupping his face in her hands before she whispered something to him that made him nod his head once. My eyes went to Zeus, who stood stiff and alone in the middle of the room... and my heart immediately squeezed with incredible pain. Everyone was comforting each other in the best way they knew how, but Zeus was standing alone in the middle of the room with his heart shattered. I could tell just by looking at him he wanted to break down and scream and probably join Lucifer in a crazy homicidal rampage into the Paradise realm.

But it was like Zeus had told me.

A king never showed his emotions.

He wore his stone cold business-like expression, carried himself like the king he was, as he walked over to the war table and waved his hands for everyone to take a seat and the other gods to move in so they could listen in on the plan. He didn't even seem to notice that Set and Mictlan had just appeared in his realm, which any other time would've been a declaration of war. It only went to show how desperate Zeus was to get Hades back, even if it meant consorting with pantheons he deemed his enemy.

"Alright," Zeus announced, touching a few keys on the computerized table to bring up a holographic image of Olympus, "Atlan's recent attack completely destroyed Olympus. And while civilian casualties are extremely low, thanks to our new evacuation plans, there's still a lot that needs to be done here while the rest of us are gone. Right now, I'm putting Dionysus, Apollo, Artemis, Hestia, and their squads here. We need you to access the damage, protect the civilians from any lingering threats, and to take our captured enemies to the holding quarters at the base of the mountain. When things are in the clear, send me a text." Dionysus and company nodded their heads in unison. Zeus stepped back to sweep the table with a grim stare.

"The rest of us are going to be involved with operation Genesis," he said, making me raise an eyebrow, "The operation will be to accomplish two things. The first is to rescue Hades from behind enemy lines. We need it quick, and while not necessary, but highly encouraged, bloody. In terms of Atlan's soldiers. You see one, you kill them. No questions asked. The second objective is to kill Atlan once at for all." No one said a word. They just stared intently as Zeus turned to Athena.

"Since this is your forte, I'm assuming you probably have several ideas of how we can do this. And we'll find a solid plan after we figure out the layout of this realm," he said, then turned to Satanika and I. I turned to look at Satanika, and she met my eyes, swallowing hard. Pain swirled in those deep ever changing hazel eyes, and I shared her pain as she swept her hand into my own.

Together, we placed our hands on the computerized table and it went static for a moment before revealing the realm in which we were born, raised, loved, hated, danced, and cried. The realm appeared as a blue holograph, and hardly did justice to the land itself. Not that there was much of it to see. The first war had torn the landscape apart, and Atlan's new village of misery and woe only further desecrated what was once holy grounds.

Where my home once sat, a tall massive beautiful gleaming black gem in the sunlight, settled amongst the trees and on the edge of a field of wildflowers, now sat a foreboding castle that put Dracula's castle to shame. It was a drab creation of black and grays. A testament to Gothic architecture with its sharp pointed steeples, crowned towers, and a massive fortress wall that ran the length of not only the castle itself, but the village Atlan had created with his minions. The fortress was overflowing with soldiers, all dressed in the same eerie red-black battle suits that Jericho wore.

The landscape around the castle was dead. The trees were stripped bare of leaves, naked skeletons shivering in the cold wind. The field once home to wildflowers and brilliant green grass was stamped down dead grass and salted sand, so nothing could grow. And to the east, the lake that once sparkled and rippled beneath the afternoon sun was now a dried up crackled monstrosity with the skeleton of a horse laying on its banks.

Satanika choked on a sob, reaching up to cover her mouth as tears filled her eyes and she stepped back from the horrific image of what had once been our home. Ares was right there to wrap his arms around her as she pressed her face in against his chest. He covered her head and held her close, refusing to look at the holographic image.

I swallowed hard, felt Zeus, Lucifer, and Akin look at me. I kept my expression placid as I cleared my throat and gestured to the image.

"Atlan won't have Hades imprisoned in the castle. It'd be too close to where he sleeps. The entrance to whatever prison he's holding Hades in will be somewhere else, somewhere that has everything he needs to work," I added, watching Lucifer's eyes sharpen.

"Everything he needs to work?" Zeus asked. Lucifer nodded.

"He took Hades as a tactical plan. Hades provides us with our weapons, our battle suits, our technology. It's how Hades became the richest realm in all the universe. Not only does Malachi have the Demonic Fashion industry headquartered in Inferi, but Hades has his own line of tech. Several, actually. From computers to animatronic limbs," he explained. There was a glint of pride in his eyes when he spoke.

"He's right," I said, "When Atlan confronted me earlier, he was wearing a battle suit. But it looks different from ours. I only recognized it, knew Hades had been the one he'd taken, because no one could possibly design a suit that sophisticated. Especially not Atlan, who's a technophobe to the extreme." But apparently that phobia didn't matter when it came to war. Atlan would use Hades until he was finished and throw him into a pile of toys to use for later. Worst of all, when he realized that Hades combined magic and science, he would definitely find Hades useless.

Hades required magic to work. Oh sure, I had no doubts he could produce a fucking space shuttle out of just science, but the magic was what made his work unique, what made it usually indestructible. Atlan wasn't going to give Hades magic to make things work. Hades could easily turn on him. He brought Hades to the Paradise realm because he knew that Hades would eventually become drained of his magic.

The realm was not meant for people like Hades.

While Hades was powerful, the realm would suck him dry in a matter of days.

After that? I didn't want to think about that horrid nightmare I'd had of Hades sitting in that chair like a limp rag doll, unable to see, unable to joke, unable to play. I never thought I'd say it, but fuck, I missed that bastard.

"So, he'd have him somewhere like a lab," Lucifer said at last, and when I nodded, he rubbed at the stubble on his jaw as he studied the map, "And judging from your reactions, you've not been to this realm since the day the first part of the war ended all those years ago. So you have no idea what the layout of the fortress is." I shook my head, then reached out and touched the hologram, dragging the zoom out until we could see not only the castle and the fortress, but the landscape around it, including the mountain range on the other side of the field from the fortress.

"However," I said, "I do know that the tunnels running under the mountain are still intact. We used the tunnels back during the first war to get from place to place without getting caught by Atlan's troops. While I have no doubt he probably knows they're there, he wouldn't destroy them. His thinking is that he'd catch us right when we showed up... which is what will happen."

"He's right," Satanika said, sniffing as she wiped at her eyes and took a deep breath, stepping away from Ares and patting him on the arm before she regained her composure, "Once we get into that realm, Atlan will know we're there. We need to send in a team to distract him, one that will keep him occupied while we send another team in to save Hades. We'll split the front line soldiers into two groups. One to rescue Hades, the other to take down Atlan."

"That's a good idea," Athena spoke up, "We could kill two birds with one stone."

"Because Hannibal is the Savior, he will be in the team that confronts Atlan," I added, making everyone nod grimly, "Menoetius and Arikos are also required to be there, according to prophecy. Akin will be there to back him up as well, along with the Deliverance team."

"That's quite a lot of people to take on one person," Dionysus pointed out, folding his arms over his chest. I shook my head.

"Atlan won't be attacking Hannibal alone. He'll throw his pawns at him to test him, to figure out what his abilities are," I explained.

"Unfortunately," Hannibal said from across the table, his eyes staring into the hologram of the Paradise realm, but somehow, I knew that wasn't what had focused his attention, "Back when Atlan captured me after he first arrived, he knows quite a bit about my methods. He's got the advantage in terms of combat."

"But you have numbers," Athena responded, "And you also have the prophecy backing you. You're destined to win."

"Or he could become enslaved for the rest of eternity," Dionysus deadpanned, making everyone glare at him and he shrugged innocently, "What? Just reminding you what's at stake here. It's more than just losing Hades. If you lose, we all lose."

"He's got a point," Artemis said grimly, rubbing at her arms, "If we lose now, we'll be killed or enslaved or worse." Apollo gave her a peeved glare.

"What's worse than being enslaved or killed? He'll break all your creepy owl figurines?"

"Fuck you, Apollo."

"No, thanks."

"Anyway," Athena drawled, bringing the attention back to the matter at hand, "Hannibal will lead his squad to Atlan. The rest of us will go through the tunnels to get inside the fortress. Hades may not be in the castle, but he will be on site, so that Atlan can have easy access to him."

"I'm going with you," Lucifer announced, "I can sense Hades without my magic, which conserves it for actually rescuing him." Zeus scowled at him.

"How can you do that?" He demanded. Lucifer glared at him for the longest time, and I could see him debating whether or not to tell Zeus something he didn't know. While it was known Lucifer was damned from Heaven, his curse was not well known.

"Because I feed from him daily," Lucifer said at last, apparently deciding it was a good idea to tell him, and the look on Zeus's face went from cold and serious to pissed, "I can sense his presence because of my curse."

"Wait, let me get this straight," Zeus said, holding his hand up before lowering it to the table, "You've been feeding from him for fucking years and for some reason you think you have the right to judge me?" Lucifer raked him with a less than approving sneer.

"Yeah, because he actually fucking consented to me, asshole," he threw back. Everyone in the room stared at him, then at Zeus. I squeezed my eyes shut, cursing silently. This was not the best time for Lucifer to be airing Hades's dirty laundry. In fact, something told me Hades did not want the rest of the pantheon to know exactly what happened between him and Zeus. It was their private business, and a war room was not the place to bring it up.

"What the fuck is he talking about?" Dionysus demanded, lowering his arms and pinning Zeus with a glare. Beside him, Demeter covered her mouth and shut her eyes, lowering her head. Poseidon went absolutely rigid, his eyes locked on the table, like he was trying his hardest to pretend none of this was happening. And Hestia merely sat at the table, stiff and silent, but her eyes becoming shiny with tears that she refused to let fall.

"Yeah, I'd kind of like to know what the fuck he means by that too," another god demanded from the group. Several other gods spoke up and Zeus clenched his fists against the table, keeping his glare locked on Lucifer, who glared back at him. There was a moment of silent tension between the two before Zeus spoke in a low voice.

"Fuck you, Lucifer. I'll deal with that big mouth of yours later. Right now, I'm more preoccupied with the fact that, because of your negligence, Hades was kidnapped and is probably being tortured again because of you," he seethed. Lucifer's eyes flared red and he lunged across the table, only for Poseidon and Ares to catch him under the arms and haul him back. Zeus straightened, narrowing his eyes as Lucifer bared his fangs at him.

"You son of a bitch! Hades went to see you! If it's anyone's fault he's captured, it's your fault! He never would've been in Atlan's sights if it wasn't for you!"

"Enough," I shouted, my voice booming through the room and everyone fell silent and still, even Lucifer, who stared at me in surprise, but I ignored his direct eye contact to glare around the room, "Hades never would have been in Atlan's sights if he hadn't had openly mocked him. But we're not here to play the blame game. We're also not here for your bullshit soap opera drama. I don't give a shit what happened between you three. I seriously don't. I'm sick of your personal drama being dragged into a war that will affect all of us. If Atlan wins because you two can't forget your shit, I swear to the fucking Source that Atlan will be your last problem. Do you understand me? Can you both shut the fuck up for three seconds long enough to save the person you're currently both damning?" Lucifer was silent, rigid, but he was placated for now. Zeus also was quiet.

Unfortunately, the damage their argument did was already done. The other gods were shifting restlessly, muttering under their breaths, sharing looks of disdain and then casting them toward Zeus.

I suddenly found myself infuriated mostly at Lucifer. He had no right to speak about Hades or Zeus's private affairs. What happened between them was between them. Lucifer may be Hades's boyfriend, but that did not give him the right to discuss something so private out loud in a fucking war room full of nearly fifty people.

Taking a deep breath, I looked at Athena, who inclined her head in thanks. Although, she did pass a glare to Zeus before she spoke.

"Then that's what we'll do," she said, "Lucifer will lead the team to Hades. Hannibal will lead the team to Atlan. In order to get there, we'll have Satanika and Joxeia take you to the Paradise realm."

"What about Xiphrus," Arikos asked suddenly, "Why wasn't he invited to this birthday bash?" Everyone glanced toward me, as if they knew, and I frowned. To be honest, I had no idea why Xiphrus wasn't here. Perhaps the idea of returning to the realm where we were created was simply too painful for him. He'd always been far more in touch with his emotions than myself. The idea of returning to the place where he'd murdered half his own creations, became the source of ultimate evil, was too much for him. Or so I was hoping.

Xiphrus wouldn't return to Atlan.

There was no way he would.

He'd told me himself that he would be willing to sacrifice Atlan in order to save the majority.

"It's too painful for some of us," I answered at last, feeling Satanika's eyes on me, "You have no idea what it does to us to return to this realm. And that's why Atlan chose it. He knows how traumatizing the events of that realm were. And he knows how powerful it is, how much it will suck the power right out of you, all of you. The realm itself is practically toxic to anyone who isn't originally from there."

"Which is why you can't stay long," Satanika spoke up, "Rescue Hades and get out as soon as possible. Hannibal should be able to do well there, along with the Keys, but the rest of you may have to back out when the final showdown happens. Hannibal and the Keys are kissed by the Source itself. The Source will provide them with the strength they need to get through the battle."

"I can't leave you there," Akin said suddenly, looking at Hannibal, who looked at him with pain in his eyes.

"And I can't let you stay there," he answered. Akin looked like he wanted to argue, like he even wanted to pull the "i'm your master, listen to me" card. But he didn't. He knew that without Hannibal this war was lost. He knew it hinged on Hannibal's presence, his ability to fight without having worry whether or not Akin was being hurt.

Instead, he reaching up to cup Hannibal's face, giving him a firm kiss on the mouth before he pulled back to brush the hair away from Hannibal's scarred face. Hannibal touched his hand and held it to his cheek, closing his eyes as if he could imagine nothing better than the feel of Akin's palm against his skin.

"Sir, we have a security breach," someone said suddenly from one of the monitors. Zeus cursed and went over as the gods began to murmur and mutter amongst themselves. I followed him to the monitors where we leaned on the panels as the nymph typed some codes in and revealed one of the security cameras just outside the military base, and Zeus groaned, stepping back and wiping a hand down his face. I sighed, frustrated at yet another unwanted interruption.

"Who is it?" Lucifer asked, coming over. Zeus glared at him.

"Did you tell Hades's sons he was missing?" He demanded. Lucifer appeared offended by the mere suggestion.

"Absolutely not! Why?"

He was answered a moment later when the doors to the war room flew open and banged against the walls as all nine of Hades's children appeared, all decked out in battle gear and more than ready to kick ass. Leading the brigade, with his signature red and black velvet cloak was Hades's son, Theo, holding what looked like it used to be Jericho, but was now a lump of bloody flesh and shredded clothing.

"Knock, knock, bitches!" Theo shouted, then threw Jericho so he went flying and slammed into the table, sliding across it and leaving behind a streak of blood and what appeared to be a finger. Jericho's corpse landed as a mound on the other side of the table, making Hannibal and his team take a huge step backwards. Akin pressed his hand to his nose and Arikos made a gagging sound.

"I told you not to do that," Malachi said to him, popping Theo in the back of the head with an open palm. Theo glared at him, rubbing the back of his head, ruffling his haphazard blood red hair. Cerberus ignored them and stepped around them, commanding attention with his massive presence so that all eyes went to him as he swept the room with a red-eyed glare.

"Looks like someone forgot to tell us something really fucking important. Like, oh, I dunno, that our dad was kidnapped by only the absolute worst dickbag since Rhea?" He demanded. Lucifer grimaced and Zeus wiped a hand down his face before looking at me.

"We don't have time for this," he growled. I shook my head at him, then stepped forward to address the brothers, all of whom looked less than pleased. And fuck, seeing them all together like this, I could see the resemblance to Hades almost immediately. It was unnerving. And even more so, the fear that underlied their anger and bloodthirst.

"Go back to Hades," I commanded, watching Cerberus's eyes darken and his fangs peek out from his upper lip, "You can't do anything here. And Hades would kill us if we took you with us."

"Too fucking bad," Ambrosius said, stepping out beside Cerberus and folding his arms over his chest, bracing his legs apart in refusal to move, "And, Lucifer, we'll deal with your lying ass later." Lucifer grimaced.

"Ambrosius, please. I didn't tell you because I knew Hades would be angry--"

"You guys need to fucking stop with the whole we're just protecting you bullshit," Nikias snapped, "Hades is the one who needs our protecting. And he needs all of us. Hades is in good hands right now anyway. Persephone's there and keeping things in check. And for your information, what the fuck made you think we wouldn't notice if Hades was gone? Seriously?"

"Hades is always there when we need him," Zelios agreed.

"We're not leaving," Charon chimed in, "So either you accept our assistance--"

"Or we'll fucking make you," Cain threatened, to which Theo gave a fist pump and pointed a finger at where Jericho's mangled corpse lay. Abel merely shook his head at them, then looked at me.

"Hades is our dad. And our king. And you'll be a lot more productive if you let us help. Please," he added. I glanced at Lucifer, who still didn't looked pleased by the turn of events.

"I don't want them getting involved," Lucifer muttered, "It already took me an hour to get my own children to stay put." Ambrosius snorted at that.

"You're joking, right? You think they'll sit their asses down? Besides, who do you think told us about Hades?" He asked. Nikias nodded.

"And who do you think is preparing armies to protect both Olympus and Hell?"

"And also, Dania has been here the whole time," Cerberus added. Lucifer's eyes widened and then there was an annoyed scoff from the crowd of gods, who moved apart as a male god came forward only to wave a hand. A column of smoke consumed him and Dania took the male god's place, putting her hands on her hips.

"Fucking traitor! See if I get you anything for Christmas this year, jackass."

"Sorry, but if we're in trouble, we're all in trouble," Cerberus answered.

"Alright," Zeus snapped at last, making everyone look at him, "You can assist, but you'll be split into two teams. Atlan is going to know we're going after Hades. He'll send someone out to stop us sooner or later. So we'll send in two teams to extract Hades. But I want Theo and Cain split up."

"What?!" Theo demanded. Cain glared at him.

"What the fuck, man."

"Only because you two are constantly at odds," Zeus answered dryly, which made both of the brothers look at him in surprise, "What? You think I don't fucking pay attention to you little brats? Every time Hades brought you up for reunions, I prayed he brought Abel or one of your other brothers. The two of you are literally the worst fucking creatures I've ever had in my presence, and that guy over there was my brother." He threw a thumb toward Jericho's corpse, which Dionysus was trying to scrape off the table with a wooden pointer.

"That was your brother?" Theo asked, curling his lip in repugnance.

"Ew," Cain added. Zeus nodded in agreement.

"Finally, you two speak sense," he muttered, "Alright, Athena, split the teams up. It's time to stop chatting and start doing." Athena nodded and waved over the team that was to remain on Olympus to protect the citizens and capture prisoners. Then she turned to the rest of us.

"Hannibal, get your team together. Lucifer, you're taking Zeus, Joxeia, Theo, Poseidon, Ambrosius, and Cerberus. Satanika, I want you and Ares to take the rest of the brothers, plus Demeter. Everyone else, fall in behind Deliverance. You back them the fuck up until there's no one left standing," she ordered, making everyone nod, and then she turned to Satanika and I, "Whenever you two are ready."

I nodded, then turned to Satanika. She faced me, swallowing hard before she took my hands and I took hers. We stared at each other for a moment, drawing strength from one another. It was more than a physical toll that would be taken on us by doing this. It was a mental blow we wanted to avoid. But now wasn't the time for our own grieving.

We had a mission to carry out and we'd waited centuries to do it.

Closing our eyes, we reached out to the Source, felt its powerful hum through the air. It felt stronger than usual, a electrical current in the air that sparked and hissed, latching on immediately when we reached for it. Its power surged and flowed into our veins, filling it with heat, making our hearts leap with the burst of adrenaline. We focused on the vibrating sound around us, the combined sounds coming together into one whisper.

There was a sharp crack in the room as the power clapped together and we gathered everyone up and teleported as a whole to the Paradise realm.