I felt the void around my hand, the space between Aion and I growing. For a moment, I wondered if I had the same look of fear he had on his face on mine. I didn't know what this all meant; he never told me.

Hold onto him. His staff.

Just hold on.

Why?

The light that existed behind us, somewhere, faded into nothingness and that is what we became. Nothing. There was no up or down, left or right. It was impossible to know if I was standing, floating - existing. Only darkness existed and it swallowed us completely. I felt a breeze in my hair, a sign I had to be going somewhere but there was nothing to grab onto, nothing to feel.

"Elise! Elise, can you still hear me?" Aion's voice trembled with his panic, each word filling with his fear. "Elise!"

I waited to join him in that state, but instead, I only felt calm. It was as though a bubble of peace surrounded me, protecting me from the chaos surrounding us. My powers were quiet, my mind choosing the same path as for that moment nothing else mattered other than whatever this was.

Just enjoy the peace.

It never lasts.

"I can hear you," Closing my eyes I put my hand out in his direction trusting him to find me, find us. I kept one hand on my stomach, relief flowing over me as I felt Blueberry move. "I'm right here."

This time when I opened my eyes, the darkness was overtaken by light. It was space, resembling scenes from every science fiction movie I'd ever seen. Colourful galaxies danced before me, surrounded by a million tiny stars twinkling in the vast expanse. Planets, unfamiliar and mesmerising, orbited distant suns and pockets of pure darkness, creating universes beyond the comprehension of any mortal mind. It was everywhere and nowhere, and within it all, here we simply existed. I barely startled as Aion joined me, his hand tight to the point of crushing around mine as he found it, just how I knew he would. Now his early fear faded only to be replaced by something new.

"This is the space between the worlds?" I whisper, not believing any of what I was seeing.

"Not quite, this is the beyond and from what I've been able to work out, the aether exists outside of here. If you wanted to believe in a God, the God, some higher power, the one creator, the first of the firsts. It exists here, and who knows what lies outside its kingdom." He keeps his voice low, as if we'd be overheard. "It doesn't like visitors. We won't be welcome much longer."

"The one that created Gaia?"

"Most likely, my knowledge is limited because not everything can be known. Forget this ever happened. I will." He says solemnly. "I will do all I can to ensure our safe return, the blast that got us here was stronger than I expected but whatever you do, do not let me go."

"I didn't do it on purpose." Did I?

"It kind of felt like you did." His staff lights up, and I'm pulled backwards before I can respond. "I've seen so many different futures, Elise. As soon as I got my powers back, I went straight to a world I had never seen before. I realised too much had happened for me to jump into the life I was forced to miss out on. I took time to learn, became accustomed to the changes, the evolution of your planet, and then the lands I was born in. Centuries have passed between our visits. I saw you win. I saw you lose. Never have I seen you, or me, needing to escape the beyond."

I never saw that one coming either. "You have visions?"

"No, I'm a time traveller. The future changes constantly, each day, hour, minute influences the end. You worry about a vision that has not yet occurred, this here, and now could have already changed that."

"Is this your idea of a pep talk?"

"Possibly." He looks over his shoulder and smiles, looking more like a naughty teen than ancient time traveller Power. "I'm just saying, you look tired. Don't be tired. Ending it before it begins won't help anything. You've still got a lot of fight left in you. Now, hold on."

He was right about one thing though, I was tired. I wasn't sure where this all was, but I also didn't want to leave. For all those times the door to my sanctuary had been offered and I'd turn to run the other way, would I be willing to walk through it now? No more tricks, or deals. Peace and quiet.

I was so tired.

This time when I closed my eyes, the battlefield remained as it was and Cain and Hades tore Uranus apart. Gaia took Tartarus thread from my corpse and Cain wielded the Wheel of Life under her guidance. I watched from afar, from a ledge in the clouds, still a part of this ending but so separated from it, it was like I didn't exist. I reached for Cain in our bedroom, our son beside him on the bed but I didn't exist in that world anymore. I didn't belong with them. When I fade away, it's peaceful and quiet.

"Rise and rise again, little phoenix." Hecate calls from beyond the veil of the realms, an eternity away in a place I'd never make it back to.

The fire in my belly has turned to ashes.

Cold.

Dust.

The phoenix would not rise this time.

Aions hold of my hand is painful, and I can't escape him despite my attempt to be free. I look through the wisps of hair that tickle my face, we're moving faster now. Peter Pan and a reluctant Wendy, on our way to Neverland. Colourful galaxies fade to grey, the stars no longer sparkle and the darkness devours us whole.

There's a pulse that surrounds us, Aions grip weakens as the light on his staff dims before shining brighter. A hum fills my ears that stops as soon as it starts and Aions sighs, this time adjusting his hold so he's no longer got my hand but my wrist. His body is beside mine, his hand shifting slightly until we've linked arms.

"This is between the realms." The relief in his voice makes me wonder if he's crying. "We made it back."

"Now what?" I can't help being curious, and he lets out a long breath.

"I'll get us home." He promises.

I have no idea how he intends on doing that, or what else to say so just stay silent as the light disappears from his staff and again we're suspended in darkness. It doesn't matter if my eyes are open or closed, so I keep them shut, ignoring the tightness in my chest and the way my throat feels parched. I focus only on my breathing, the tiny threat of there not actually being air here growing louder each time I count to three.

"If I've done this correctly, we should be able to go back around the same time we left and," Aion pauses, his arm leaving mine as instead I feel him move behind me. "Shit!"

"What?" I barely squeak.

"Aftershocks. We gotta-"

Bright sunlight blurs my vision and falling sensation snaps me back to reality. Gone is the peace and quiet; instead it's the roar of the wind, and the feeling of my skin being hit by air. My hair is in chaos behind me as I freefall towards the clouds.

It hadn't been my imagination at play wherever we just were - I reached for and found my powers gone. Aions suddenly back, the second he catches my hand we're both tossed like leaves in the breeze as we continue to fall at a sickening speed and now flailing about in the chaos of the fall. His voice is barely heard over the roar in my ears and I scream as the mist of the clouds surrounds me and Aion disappears.

Why didn't I have my powers?

As quickly as it all started, it stopped. I'm lying within the clouds that seem a lot more solid than they had a second before and taking my chances, I awkwardly sit up. Was I dreaming? Has all of this been some kind of nightmare?

I sense I'm not alone a second before Uranus emerges from the mist. This may very well be a nightmare, but I had a feeling this was much worse because I had no doubt in my mind that I was wide awake. Fear flooded my system, and I barely managed to swallow as I looked up at him. His presence alone was terrifying, but unlike all the other times I'd met with him, I was now completely at his mercy.

No weapons.

No powers.

Fuck.

"Look at you, little Empress," he taunted, his words dripping with poison.

I squared my shoulders, refusing to cower before him. "Really, not in the mood," I retorted, each word leaving my mouth as mist since the temperature went from cold to freezing.

His smile widened, resembling more of a snarl than something joyful. That altered slightly as I took a chance and awkwardly, painfully and with a few curse words managed to get to my feet. Acting as if nothing was abnormal about any of this and that I hadn't lost a single inch of my abilities right now, I took a second to run a hand through the mass of knots my hair had become and looked at him expectantly.

"Your time to choose is over, and I am out of patience." He began.

"Oh this feels like one of those long, drawn out, over complicated speeches that again, really not in the mood for it right now. Can you skip to the end so we can get this over and done with?"

His gaze darkened, and I remembered why I didn't choose his team. He wasn't like Tartarus and Gaia, so how far could I push him? This time when he spoke, his rage clipped the end of each word. "Who do you think you are?"

"Rude. I am Elise Bunting." I answer him slowly as if speaking to a child just to antagonise him a little more because what else could I do. "How many times have we met?"

It felt good to say my name. I am Elise Bunting. I wasn't the God Killer, I wasn't a Queen or a Power or the fucking Empress right now. I felt my mortality as easily as I felt the absence of my powers. Somehow, despite being so close to the end, I found myself right back at the start.

I am a Hunter. I am human.. Somewhere in the back of my mind, Logan was screaming at me about lacking any sense of preservation, V's approval shone in his eyes like a proud parent. "You're not like the other Hunters, darling girl."

Good, I never wanted to be.

I am Elise Bunting, a mortal facing a god, again. My determination to stand my ground against whatever came next made me meet his gaze.

"I will destroy you." He promised, his voice a rumble like the thunder that vibrates around us.

"Thank you, so glad I didn't have to fake my interest while you did some boring monologue about," The hit is precise, a slap of air across my cheek that stings worse than a burn.

Light flashes, the roar of my heart beat replacing all other noise as I'm knocked down. Oh my knees are going to hate me later for that. I don't get a chance to think before I'm hovering in front of him; contained by an invisible force that forces me to look at him again as the hold around my throat is crushing.

"I am out of patience with you, girl. This is my domain, your precious Gaia can not help you here. Nor can that fool you align yourself with, trapped in his own design." Uranus spits inching closer to me. "I want what you have."

I had no idea what the hell he was on about now, apart from some tiny little pocket of information in the back of my brain reminding me, Uranus was one with the sky and heavens. Of course he fucking was, couldn't have found myself tucked safely beneath the ocean or in a pile of dirt now could I?

"Say. Please." I managed to get out, but whether or not he heard me was debatable.

"You will do as I say, and perhaps in time I will become merciful." He laughed, not making me feel any warm and fuzzies about where this would be going. "Or I will take by force and destroy whatever I must."

I felt it then; beyond the lack of oxygen and tiny black spots that started to flood my vision but of something else. It circled around me in a way I was almost familiar with, a snake coiling around its prey, tighter and tighter with Blueberry no longer protected as what I had once thought the safest place for him to remain proved me wrong. How could I defend him like this?

New pain, and a new fear took control. I felt the sting of tears on my still raw cheek, while fighting to suck in a breath I knew I wasn't going to be allowed to get.

I'm sorry, Cain. I can't save him.

"No." The sound barely left my lips, yet his eyes lit up with something more than his anger.

"What was that, Empress?" He came closer, his hands like claws as he ran a finger down my stomach. The pressure eased on my throat. Just. "You will do as I say, and perhaps this one will be permitted to draw its first breath. Understand?"

More lightning.

The clouds swirled around us, making me wonder if we were actually moving or if beyond us, a storm was threatening to tear the world apart. Clouds that had seemed light and fluffy when I had fallen into them, had darkened with Uranus's mood. The thunder that followed made my bones rattle within my skin, while I tried with all that I was to find some spark, some remnant of my powers. It would be the only way out of this, and nothing happened.

I'm sorry, Blueberry, so, so sorry for not being stronger. For not getting us out of this. I failed you. Everyone.

What choice did I have, other than to do as he wanted?

The next rumble of thunder was different. It was more of a roar, a calling that I wanted to answer, and it was then I felt the first touch of fresh air as Uranus' hold weakened just enough for me to actually breathe again. Closing my eyes, I was very aware of the being in front of me. He circled like a shark who had scented blood in the water, every move a display of his strength and control. I felt his touch as a finger brushed across my hair, the ever present chain around my stomach not yet pulled into its full tautness despite his lingering threat about doing just that.

"Submit to me now, Empress." His voice rumbled, deep and resonant, echoing the thunder that still reverberated through the air. "Give me your word. You will obey me."

Beyond this storm there was another coming. The darkness within that threatened to overtake the sky as little was left untouched beneath us. His power found me, and it would only ever be him that I obey. It was like fighting fire with fire, as Cain's power burned around me. Whatever blocks existed were no match for us, as I felt all that was missing returned to me. Cain was nearby and needed him closer. I needed him with me, and this time when I looked into Uranus' eyes, I wasn't afraid.

I forced Cain back, mentally holding my powers and tucking them deep within where no one would ever see as that could keep Uranus from discovering the truth.

"I will obey, no one." I smiled, forcing myself to hold it as again his grip tightened. "I told you, I'm Elise Bunting."

It was my sword that appeared in my hand as his face was in front of mine; and the second I unleashed my power, it was already connected with Cain. I pushed deep, the blade slicing through his abdomen as I screamed unable to contain my rage.

Cain wasn't here physically, but he was everywhere. His storm collided with Uranus and a flicker of confusion appeared on the Firsts scarred face. No longer contained, my powers bloomed, seeking and one by one I got a glimpse of what was happening. Hades was with Cain, my friends, our army raged against the one Uranus had gathered. The battle had commenced below us and I was eager to end it all now.

With my sword stuck in his side, I was released. Again I fell to my knees and I barely managed to gasp as the new pain shot through my legs. In the same instance, I felt Cain again, his familiar tingle of power felt all over my body as he eased all my aches and bruises helping me to stand again. My legs still shook, the hollow feeling of hunger growing inside as I regretted not getting in a decent meal and a nap before getting to this point. I regret many, many things right now. I shivered thinking of Zane.

He's fine. He will be fine.

I am so tired.

Everything I had was now thrown against Uranus. Whatever platform he had established for us wavered, and I nearly tripped again as empty space appeared beneath my right foot. With my attack paused, he pulled out my sword and tossed it aside. Foolishly I went to grab it and again, nearly fell. This time, I had my powers, and in seconds it was returned to me as I focused on finding Uranus's energy to ensure no more missteps. The second his power collided with mine, Cain was there. The warmth of his body so close beside me was beyond a relief and the tears that followed, I quickly wiped away.

"You're here." I whispered, glancing back at him.

Why did it feel like it has been months not minutes since we'd been separated?

Zane flashed into the front of my mind and I felt my power weaken; so did Cain as he subtly came closer and nudged my arm. Beyond the aches even he couldn't heal, and the pure exhaustion I fought just as hard against as Uranus, the one little reminder and possibility of what had happened threatened to be the final blow to tear me apart completely.

"Together." He barely mouthed, before his eyes met mine. "Focus, Elle."

Right.

Drawing what strength I could from Cain's presence beside me, I squared my shoulders and unleashed as much force as I could against Uranus. Cain had been doing the bulk of the work, but together, we managed to make him stagger backwards. It gave me my first sense of victory. The second came as I glared at Uranus who seemed to forget to hide his surprise at the force of our attack.

I wanted him dead.

I wanted him gone; the glimpse of Gaia showing Cain how to use the Wheel and the thread gifted by Tartarus, replaced by the nightmare of Hermes taking away Zane, only fueled me. For a moment, it seemed like we might have the upper hand, only the way he then looked between us told me it might not be as simple as I had hoped. The coldness that I remembered feeling from our first encounter in the forest seemed to grow, sinking its claws into my chest as an endless sense of despair came with it.

Cain stepped around me, facing Uranus on his own and again, I failed them all by just standing there.

"You know what we are, let's stop these games." Cain demanded the power in his voice, making me look at him again, but in a different way.

My Dark King.

The Emperor.

Mine.

Uranus regarded us with a mixture of rage and curiosity, but the pure hate in his eyes felt as if he'd just cut us with a knife. Or maybe something did, as somehow I managed to stay upright as something that I refuse to acknowledge as a possible contraction took my breath away.

"You think you can actually challenge me?" he sneered, his voice dripping with the same level of loathing. "You may have some power, but you are still nothing to me!"

We didn't have time for this.

I didn't have time for this.

"The kind of nothing that has taken away Nieve and your little sick sister trio and that you tried time and time again to sway to your fucked up way of thinking? Oh, I think we are definitely something." I smirk, keeping a hand on my stomach that finally seemed to ease its own battle against me. "Isn't that why you stopped our kind being made in the first place?"

The time for talking was over as his next attack was brutal, leaving no room for error or distraction. Holding our position was growing harder and harder, the world tilting around me despite how grounded I felt, even in the clouds. As if sensing how I was feeling, Uranus seemed to be targeting me, rather than us; splitting his focus and force between two attacks.

He was too strong.

We weren't enough.

I wasn't enough.

Then Uranus smiled. Again I felt a new flood of fear as I sensed the full weight of his attention, yet before I could react we were falling. It took me a second to realise whatever he had done to create our platform had been removed and the screaming I could hear was mine. Lightning flashed nearby, the tingle of electricity blinding my senses and as a hand grabbed my ankle, I instinctively went to kick, only stopping as I realised it was Cain.

And then we were safe.

"Elle, are you hurt?" His hands were everywhere as I started to shake. I couldn't stop it, my teeth chattered as if I was freezing as I managed to shake my head. "You need to rest. I'll find somewhere we can go, but this is all I can think of now. We're underground, so if the rules still apply, Gaia will have to protect us?"

It made some sense so I just nodded.

"I'm so tired." I admit, realising we're home. Kind of. The ocean looked dark behind Cain, swirling as it seemed as restless and wild as the storm we'd left behind. "But we have to go back."

"How can you do anything right now?"

"I just, will. I always do."

"This isn't like anything you've faced before." He warned.

"Oh right, I forgot you're a fucking expert on the matter." I snapped back, tasting blood as I managed to nip the edge of my tongue. "Considering you were behind nearly everything I faced before and it's not like you have either!"

He took my anger better than I think I would have handled his, guiding me to the bed and forcing me to sit. The blanket he then hung over my shoulders allowed me to take a decent breath and slowly the shaking I hadn't realised was still happening finally stopped.

Cain passed me an apple. "I'm not the enemy right now."

"He says passing me an apple. I've watched enough Disney." I took a bite, even the idea of chewing seemed exhausting and as the adrenaline faded, I nearly threw it up as a new stabbing pain tore across my stomach. "Fuck."

Rocking back on his heels, Cain ended up sitting opposite me as instead I pulled the blanket tighter around my body as if it would fix everything until the pain eased. Daring to look at him now, I felt cold all over again. He looked as defeated as I felt.

"I'm sorry." I whispered.

"So am I."

He hid his face in his hands and screamed.

Minutes, hours, possibly only seconds passed and I went to sit beside him, wrapping us both up which seemed like a great idea at the time but not so much once I was down and super uncomfortable.

"We have to go back and we will make it through whatever happens next." I'm still whispering, unable to say the words like I meant them.

"I know, but Uranus isn't like Zeus or Cronus. He isn't like any of them, I don't know how we win this." He admitted.

"I never do, and look how it always seems to turn out?" I forced a smile, but he didn't return it.

Cain shakes his head, standing up to look down at me. "You fucking die!"

"It only happened like, a couple of times." I put my hands out, forcing him to help me stand. "I will see this through to the end, I always do. We will win, because we always do. I'm just not sure what will happen after that."

I knew what. How many times have I seen it?

I wouldn't fail, not completely. Blueberry would be safe, be born, and be able to live a life. I'd give mine up if it meant he could have his, and all of this would be over for everyone.

"Elise, what aren't you telling me?" He drops my hands, looking at me as if I'd just told him it really was a poisoned apple.

"I'm tired, and-" and what?

I want to give up?

I want the peace that waits in the beyond - somewhere.

I am selfish and not deserving of any of this, and maybe next time we find each other, I'll be better. Stronger.

Not so damn tired.

You'll be a great Dad.

"We're all fucking tired, Elise!" Cain yelled, no, screamed back startling me back into the moment.

"I slipped into the beyond, outside the space between the realms." I confess.

"What?" That stopped him.

"I don't know if I slipped or let go of Aion, but when things went to shit, we got pushed into it or something. I dunno. It was so quiet. And peaceful. I'm trying, I am, but I'd almost be okay with staying there if he hadn't got us back."

In an instant I'm being crushed against him, his kisses covering the top of my head as he holds me. "We're all tired, Elle."

"I know."

"I need, we need, you to come back. Anytime you think you want to go, please come back. I'm one selfish fucker, and I cant do any of it without you. Together. Okay? Promise!"

Reminding me of his presence, again, and if every word his father had just said was law, Blueberry wriggled in my stomach, to the point that I wondered if he'd manage to claw himself out all on his own. Now I held onto Cain, forcing myself to breathe through whatever the hell was going on now. Fear only seemed to make it hurt more.

"Of course she did." Cain growls, and opening my eyes he wasn't even looking at me, but behind me. "I don't care. I can't let her go back out there."

As the pain eased, and the tiny black spots came and left, I realised we weren't alone anymore. Slowly turning, I kept hold of Cain as I found Poseidon standing there and in his hand were two fucking pomegranates.

"I understand, and will do what I can to assist now the threat of the Furies are no more." He looked at Cain as if we'd already lost.

"It's fine. I'm fine. Give me the stupid fruit." I hold my hand out to take one and instead Cain blocks us.

"No. If Hecate wants you to eat it, she can come here right now and fucking shove it down your throat. Maybe even stick around long enough to make herself useful instead of the absolute shit-show she's been navigating these last few years. We stay until we have a decent plan or Uranus breaks whatever rules exist between them and he attacks Gaia by attacking us and we are out of options."

"You can't-" I start to argue, but Cain shakes his head.

"I fucking can. Elise, you're in labour. Our son needs you to stay here. Right now, you two are what I care about. If I could get you back home, have Dr. Katie helping to," He pauses. "I'll get-"

"No. No you will not." I stop him instantly. "She is not coming here! I am not in labour, you're being dramatic."

"I was instructed to give you two the fruit. Job done." Poseidon interrupted, dropping the pomegranates on the bed.

"If you are willing to help now, go to Hades. Tell him and only him, Elise has gone into labour." Cain ordered.

"But I'm not, and why only him?"

"Because everyone else will want to find you, and being distracted in a battle never leads to success." He made a little sense.

"We can't just leave them all out there with Uranus either." How have I survived this long? I can't deal with any of this, and trying to think clearly is impossible. "I'm not in labour. Its fucking stress and those fake contractions."

"I've felt your fake ones, these are different, and the timing of them is steadily increasing." He says like a total know it all.

"Didn't realise you were also a midwife. Anything you haven't done over the years?" I snap.

"I'll find Hades." Poseidon throws in the mix.

"If anyone asks, we're chasing a lead on Uranus and will be there as soon as possible." Cain keeps the orders flowing and with a nod, he's gone. "Okay, so now we have a little time to work out what to do next."

"How? Uranus is like the first of the first Cain. We need to be back out there because what chance do our friends have when we struggled so badly together!" I'm not done arguing just yet.

"A better one than being distracted by you and everything going on now. Uranus won't be involved out there until we are. He'll be like Gaia, and whoever else is in on all of this. Sitting back, letting things evolve and watching for the right time to strike. We are his only target and Gaia's final move." Cain carries on, and the sudden appearance of my fit ball makes me step towards it. "It's still early. You're not at three contractions in a ten minute block, so now we just need you to try to relax, while keeping you comfortable as things progress."

I'm speechless, and just stare at him not quite comprehending what he just said.

"I read the books, Elle. They seem quite intense? But they are still about fifteen, maybe even twenty minutes apart."

"What does that mean, exactly?" Clearly I didn't read the books. "The timing, not the fact you are already, clearly, a better parent than I am and have been able to process everything quicker than I can."

Again I'm being crushed in his embrace, and I close my eyes, unable to bring myself to look at him. Millions of tiny little boxes that hold everything I can't deal with over the years seem to be bursting at the seams, and that grain of sanity I constantly fight to hold onto is crumbling with each second - contraction timing be damned. 

I can't do this. Any of it.

Elise Bunting is a lie.

Visions of people, places and events I can't place fill my mind until the haunting vision of the tree Leto gave birth under in the Crossroads dominates my thoughts and all I can do is hold Cain tighter. The weight of it all is too much, yet before it can crush me I feel Cain's kiss on my forehead and somehow manage to look up at him; his eyes are as wet and blurry as my own.

"No my love. All it means is, this part can last for at least six hours, possibly longer, and everything else is going to have to wait."