Safe within our home away from home, I enjoyed the feeling of Cain behind me. I hugged his arm, the other firmly stuck in place beneath me as my pillow. Still in my post-nap fog, I closed my eyes again only before I could drop back into sleep, the jolt from my body hating the world and all my life choices, had me groaning before attempting to do some stupid three-deep breath exercise I'd been hearing about non-fucking-stop before my nap.

Then I really woke up.

"Shit." Cain groaned, awkwardly following me up as managed to sit in our bed. He looked as tired as I still felt. "Well, at least you got an hour in."

"An hour?" I felt hot, too hot.

Instantly getting up, I ignored the way the room spun and instead tugged off the jumper I vaguely remember demanding as I'd felt cold. That's why I laid down under the blankets and insisted he lay with me. It only got worse as I turned back to stop Cain from hovering and instead, the world around me blurred into a haze of shapes and shadowy figures that followed me down a dimly lit alleyway.

I knew this place. I'd been here before. The shapes and people were in my head, created by my fear and paranoia. All I had wanted to do was go out with Dad and Jordan but Mum insisted I was too young. It wasn't fair. I am eight. I am a Hunter. Anything Jordan could do, I could as well. Sneaking out was easy, following them not so much and I'd ended up lost. My bravery died at the first sense of being followed and now the nightmares I'd created, became real as the vampire that now stood opposite me.

"I've heard about your type." He had a slow, American accent. A southern drawl that would have been interesting any other time and was strange to hear now in West End. "Slayers. Hunters. Trackers."

Before I could find my courage, Dad replaced the vampire who had become dust between us "I expected more from you. Not even an hour, Elise. "

"Elise?" I'm with Cain, and as he clicks his fingers in front of my face, I want to punch him. "Babe, you back?"

"What?" I sound like I'm still asleep.

Maybe I am, or maybe that's what they want me to think. They all try to fuck with my head. Who even are they?

Real.

Not real.

Behind Cain, Dracula laughs as he fades away. I close my eyes and breathe.

One.

Two.

Three.

"Where did you go?" Cain asks softly.

"I was just thinking."

I hear him sigh. "I don't believe you. Elle, I am trying and I need,"

"I was just thinking about my Dad." I forced a smile, not sure where the memory had come from. "I want a shower."

I'm taking my clothes off before he can respond, eagerly heading towards the bathroom and away from whatever else he had been about to say. My father's disappointment is as clear and fresh in my mind as if it had just happened. Catching a glimpse of myself in the mirror I can only feel just as disappointed.

"Okay, that's good. Water is good. It will help." Cain mumbles behind me.

I don't hear what else he says as I turn the water on, and whatever stupid mind games my own brain is throwing at me get silenced as well. Leaning against the wall, I only focus on the feel of the water around me, the cool of the tiles and as my eyes close I force myself to keep them open, not sure I can trust myself to do more than a blink right now.

I've actually done it.

I am completely fucking crazy.

The realisation almost makes me laugh yet it dies in my throat when a pomegranate appears on the shower ledge in front of me. I pick it up, gently passing it from hand to hand when it suddenly cracks open.

"Don't," Cain warned. "I want to believe they are being given with good intentions, but with everything going on. Hate me if you want, but you are in no condition to do anything other than rest and,"

"Are you out of your fucking mind?" I'm not sure if I say the words or think them yet it doesn't matter as I'm not even looking at Cain now.

Instead, Hades sits in front of me with a bowl of pomegranates on the table between us.

"You were in no condition to do anything other than rest. You seemed to have some kind of death wish at the moment, so it worked well for both of us."

I looked at him blankly, not entirely processing everything. "Did you at least tell someone, say Apollo or V where I was?"

"And deal with the questions and drama relating to the state you were in? No." He put down his copy of Harry Potter on the table as I stood up, thinking of the ways I could kill him or at least try to. "Portia came by, and she is aware."

"Next time, open with that." I sighed, thankful I wasn't going to be going back to a complete disaster. Hades may not want to deal with any drama, but he wasn't the only one. Spying the pomegranate, I picked it up smirking. "Aren't you allergic to these or something?"

"Again, your ignorance is infuriating. No Elise, I am not allergic to them." He retorts, sounding more like Cain now.

Why does Hades sound like Cain?

I'm back on the bed; my hair is damp and I can't quite work out what the hell is going on right now. I was in the shower. I needed to feel the water on me and maybe I should go back. The second I look up Hades is with Cain.

Where did he come from?

Real.

Not real.

"I don't know what to do. I can keep some of the contraction pain back, it's easier when she's asleep and doesn't seem to fight me on it." Cain admits.

"Well, if there was ever a perfect time for things to happen, this is probably not it so I'm not sure why we are so surprised." He mutters dryly. "We can go to the Underworld?"

Cain quickly shakes his head. "That time has passed and I'd be more worried about taking her down there."

"True. It's outside Gaia's realms and I wouldn't like to test your theory." Hades sighs like this is all his problem to solve. "Get the doctor to come here?"

"She doesn't want her to come here."

"You might not have a choice once her condition, ah, progresses?"

"My condition is fine," I argue, getting out of bed.

Both rush over in a not-so-subtle attempt to keep me there as they block my path; Cain kneels in front of me and Hades hovers behind him like a bad, overconcerned, smell. I glare at them both, yet all of us stop as another damn pomegranate appears on the bed beside me.

"Well, she's persistent." Hades muses.

"Cain, I'm fine. I've slept, I've showered. Let me eat the fruit and we can get through this as quickly as possible." I go to grab it, only he's faster.

"Elise you are not fine. You have only done any of those things because I have been the one to do it for you, and you'd have noticed that if you weren't fading off into fucking visions every five minutes."

"Well at least my contractions aren't five minutes apart and," I pause, realising what he just said. "Excuse me, what did you just say?"

"You're going to have to repeat the vision part again." Hades agrees before he seems to work out whatever I can't. "That's what you've been avoiding telling me. Of all the -"

"Don't you even dare try to deny it, Elise?" Cain argues, standing up as Hades is ignored. "I've had my suspicions since you killed Nieve, and a few other times could be explained, kind of. I waited for you to work it out, to admit what was happening and that was wrong on my behalf."

I didn't need to question myself this time. Real.

My stomach sank as I looked at Cain now. "I'm sorry?"

"It doesn't matter. None of it matters now. What this even means doesn't matter, I just need you and our son to survive."

"You had suspicions and did what? Nothing!" Hades turns on Cain.

"I know." Cain let him keep his anger, sounding oddly calm. "I fucking know."

"I don't even know!" I argue.

"Well that at least, is not surprising." Hades snaps, making my fists clench with a new urge to punch something. I glare at him, and he only returns it.

"Back off," Cain warns him now. "This is where we are at. I need a way out of this, for all of us."

My fight dies. "I am sorry."

Hades shrugs. "You're stuck between Scylla and Charybdis. The Reckoning has arrived, destined to cease only with the fall of Uranus, yet neither of you possesses the ability to complete the task. And as for our dear little troublemaker here," Hades tone altered slightly, and I hated the look of pity he served me with, "can she cross her legs and by some miracle prevent the inevitable long enough to eat the damn witches fruit, do whatever the pair of you can to avoid defeat, save us all and then ride off into the sunset where you can safely hide away to then deliver out into the world, a creature that will become not only your main point weakness but your greatest source of joy?"

Cain just stared at him as if he just said it all in some foreign language, while I was more impressed I didn't even catch him taking a breath.

"Who is Scylla and Charizard?" I ask instead.

"Another time," Hades rolled his eyes.

"Whatever. You do, however, make a good point, so thank you for siding with me on this one." I get up, and Cain narrows his eyes as I take his hands and stand with him. "Two against one. We eat the fruit. Finish this up by nightfall, and that sunset can be a trip straight up to Doctor Katie. I won't even fight you on it. I'll be the best patient ever. Bed rest. You got it. Three proper meals and snacks each day. All over it. Medicine? I'm taking it, even the yucky stuff. I will be more obedient than a desperate housewife and not argue with you once on anything, for at least, like a week."

Hades snorts. "As if you could refrain from arguing for a week."

"With him." I point out.

"Naturally. Cain, are you sure you weren't being too protective?" Hades smirks. "She seems to be quite lucid now, though it is hard to know with this one. I think we should go with my plan."

I can't deal with Hades right now. "Wow, you are just warming up asshole mode aren't you?"

"Consider it a side effect of being dragged into wars with beings that even the most irrational and sane individuals would never dare to provoke, only I somehow find myself a part of." I poke my tongue out at him because what else could I do and to my surprise, he does it back..

Some of the tension leaves the room.

"Go. If you're gone too long, questions will be asked and Hermes has already made one attempt to join us." Cain orders and Hades straightens up, the second of relief gone as quickly as it arrived.

He nods in acknowledgment, accepting his dismissal with seemingly no complaint for someone who just made a point they had been dragged into something he would have preferred to be exempt from.

Then again, wouldn't we all?

"With that logic, I'll be on my way," he says with a sad smile. "I look forward to both of you surprising me once again by conjuring up a solution to this mess. And if not, I'm sure our paths will inevitably cross again. Though, if it does end up as a nightmare of Tartarus proportions, I'll be sure to point the finger at her. For eternity."

"Oh that's a name I recognise," I mumbled yet froze as he suddenly hugged me, still shocked I didn't move as he turned and did the same to Cain.

Then he was gone.

Cain sighs, moving to stand near the ocean window. He looks back at me, his brow furrowed in concentration, and I can feel the tension that surrounds him even with this distance. The weight of the situation is too much. Months of planning have given us nothing and left us here, already defeated and hiding within the Earth. I wish I had an answer, or at least a way to ease his burdens, and keep them solely as my own and yet I find myself frozen in place. No words come from either of us, until he looks away and I feel my heartbreak.

"I'm sorry." I finally whisper, daring to join him.

"So am I."

"No." He tugs me closer, and as I feel the start of another contraction, the pain I was oddly growing more accustomed to dealing with, faded. Instead, it felt more like a muscle twitching before it cramped. "Cain, I'm glad that it's you."

I can feel the confusion as he looks down at me, a tingle of his healing ability soothing out the remaining ache across my stomach. "Because of that?"

"No. I just can't imagine being here with anyone else." I sighed, leaning into him. "I want a life that is our own. I want to start our family. I want more than this and it's not going to ever be possible until Uranus is gone. Hades' plan is the best we have. We've had months to find an alternative and this, here and now, is all there is. Eat the damn fruit, win the war, ride off into the sunset. Simple."

"Simple." He repeats slowly. "And what do you see as the outcome of that?"

"Exactly what I want. White horse, big hill, sky full of fire. I'm on the horse, maybe even in a dress. Something fancy." I smile, yet his face fades into darkness as I close my eyes, only opening them to see dirt. Fragments of dead grass. Kara's crown and the blood staining the silver. "The battle behind us."

I turn to Cain, hoping to share his optimism, but his expression is dark as his eyes search mine for a moment. "What did you really see?"

"Nothing we can't change," I keep my smile in place, mentally patting myself on the back.

"I spent centuries with a Seer, Elle," he reminds me gently. "You do not lie anywhere near as well as she did."

"Fine, it was Alfie. Not a white horse. Do you think I'd be that cliche?" Even as I say it, I know he isn't going to believe me. "Anyway, potato, patata. Hungry for some magical pomegranate?"

"Okay. We'll eat the fruit." He agrees easily. "If you can answer these next questions with complete honesty. And trust me, I will know."

I don't like this. Cain's expression remains unreadable for a moment, his eyes boring into mine with an intensity that sends a shiver down my spine. So of course, I nodded. "Fine. Cross my heart, yada yada. You know the rest."

"Are you, or are you not in labour right now?"

"I could be? I've never done it before to know for sure."

Cain rolls his eyes. "Good point. So, a check-up with the good Doctor to either confirm or deny may be necessary. You know, to put my mind at ease and I'm sure yours to some degree before we. Eat the fruit."

"You can't bring her here."

"Watch me." He challenged.

As if to prove a point, I barely get a warning twinge at my side, before I'm holding onto Blueberry's cage like that may stop whatever is happening right now. I breathe. I've had worse pain, but this is fine. I just need to distract myself.

I start to walk back and forth across the room, ignoring Cain as best I could.

"What else you got?"

"Do you deny inheriting the power of the Fates, the night you killed Nieve?"

"I mean, I could have. I've never." I stop. I couldn't play this one off as easily. "Had this experience before. I mean, I was the Third for like a minute. I don't remember even getting a vision."

"But you do now?" He pushed.

"I mean, my mind is essentially fucked so I could be having a mini-stroke from stress and a quarter-life crisis, each time you think I'm having a vision." I shrug, still walking as another intense wave of what may or may not be the worst Braxton hicks in history or an actual contraction. "Which is unlikely because I can't lie right now."

My voice is high and the words come out quickly as I see the yoga ball and sit down. The squishy seat feels like heaven as I sink into it, and rolling my hips now feels even better as I sway back and forth.

"Why is that?"

"Because I want you to agree to eat the fruit?" I finally look at him again, and he doesn't look impressed. "Fine. It's likely that's what happened, but doesn't mean I feel different or anything and these visions just get randomly triggered and I have no control over it. Portia isn't here, so it's not like I can just go and ask her for some guidance."

"What if you could?" I stop rocking. "Hear me out. At some point, a third or whoever would have been learning how to control their power. You have access to an infinite resource Elle. Beyond controlling this power you now have, we now have. When we fought Uranus, surely you felt how joined we were? Together. We can use this. Try and meditate, think of what you want to see, not just random points that are triggered by whatever. Look for Uranus. When he was trapped the first time. See the conversations held with Hecate upon The Fates creation." A hint of desperation crept into his tone. "You need to use this power, these abilities! This is how we get the fucking white horse, into the sunset ending."

I had a feeling I was only going to let him down again. Hesitating, I felt the weight of the situation return. My shoulders dropped as the fatigue I thought I'd slept off returned and even the effort of rolling back and forth on the ball was too exhausting.

"Cain, I don't know if I can." Looking away, I didn't want to see his disappointment.

He made a good point. I was The Fates now. All three rolled into one. Accepting that, I felt the shadow of an immense power come over me. The same power that had driven an old Crone over the edge into a madness that I constantly felt myself walking alongside. Closing my eyes I barely tapped into it, and knew this wasn't a path I'd be walking away from. My own powers had originally terrified me, so much so I locked it away into a tiny little box in the recess of my mind - forbidden to be released. It was now free. I didn't restrain or try to hide it anymore, yet it still felt dwarfed in comparison to what was demanding I acknowledge.

I jumped as his hands held mine and looking now, he knelt in front of me. "I'm sorry. Forget I said any of it."

"No, you make a good point. This is like a turbo boost of power, but I don't think I can handle it." I paused, sucking in a sharp breath as I squeezed his hands. "If I go there, it's not going to be how it was when I accepted my powers. It's going to be more of a case of if these powers accept me, and if I'm still here when it's done. I felt it, Cain. I'm not sure why it isn't taking over already, and I know it could. Nieve was never right, but this is what truly broke her. I don't want to push it."

Only, what if I did at the right time?

'"I know. There is a reason they were broken into three. Something will-"

"Work out. I know." I agree; meaning it completely.

In an attempt to stop the tears, and what remained of my heart from shattering, I grabbed Cain's face with both hands and kissed him, desperately wanting to feel him.

His warmth.

His taste.

His love.

Real.

The world and all its problems fade away until all that exists is him. It's a place I want to stay but I can't, gasping as another contraction hits and separates us. What also was apparently very real, and something else I couldn't deny, was the time between these pains was getting shorter.

"Okay. You win. The fruit will last, but I might need to see the doctor." I admit as soon as I can.

"Seriously?" His relief is almost contagious as I give a little nod. Seeing Doctor Katie wouldn't be so bad right now. "Okay. Stay. Do not leave. Promise me? I will be back as quickly as I can."

"Fine. I promise." I keep my fingers crossed against my legs, wondering if he noticed but he was already gone before I worried about it further.

Instead, I move to the bed and try to find somewhere comfortable to sit. There's a new pressure building between my legs that I do not want to even think about right now and closing my eyes, I think of Portia. I think of Nieve and Adala. I think of the Fourth whose golden armor clatters to the floor in Medusa's lair as if it didn't dare be seen by a Power that once controlled it.

"You will rise and rise again." Hecate's voice echoes in my mind. "Come to me, my little Phoenix."

I followed her call once before and got nowhere, yet the sudden weight in my hand made me look down. The piece of metal I now held, which I had once thought was the wheel appeared. A chain dangled from the curved gold and my fingers became stained with black ash as I traced around the various shapes and symbols engraved over its surface.

Without thinking, I put the necklace on. 

It didn't seem as heavy now, the gold cool against my skin and as I looked at my hands again I found them stained red. Skins and seeds of the pomegranates surround me on the bed and the tangy sweetness I find on my lips has me licking them. I picked up one untouched half, looking at it as if it held all the answers.

Why pomegranates?

"Why this fruit?" Circe asks Hecate, her small basket full of glossy red balls of fruit. "The taste is not one I can consume with ease."

"These fruits saved me, in another time. Another life. It is not for you to understand, sweet child, nor do I wish for you to ever need to discover its healing powers." Hecate took one of the fruits, slicing it open with an ease that evaded Circe. "It is a fruit full of life, though just as it gives, I will teach you how it can also take, for that is a skill you will need to master."

Hecate handed Circe a dagger, and it was this poison she dipped the blade into before strapping it with the others around her waist. As the lion roared, I turned to see the fight around us, but this was not a glimpse into a past I never knew, but the present; the dagger moving with deadly precision as Circe launched it towards something behind me. Turning now, I could only watch as it slammed into her target. With a grunt, she ran through me, snatching up her blade and flicking off the eye of our enemy as she kept moving; her lions with her.

"Circe," I whisper.

Valkyrie flew overhead.

The clarity of it all made me shudder. I could feel the magic in the air, and smell the smoke that swirled from nearby fires like markers on a football field. Blood and death filled the spaces in between. I was no stranger to war. I'd been on too many fields just like this one for it to surprise or shock me, but what did, was seeing Matt standing opposite me. He looked around in horror; eyes wide and face pale, absorbing each detail that would come out on a canvas that would haunt me like no enemy ever could.

I ran to him. "Matt! Matt! I'm here!"

A bright, white light made me stopped me in my tracks and I was forced to shield my eyes. Through the haze, I saw Apollo, and as Matt went closer towards the one of light, I put my hand out to stop him only for them to disappear completely. It was Deimos shadows that made the world go dark and I watched as his victims' fears came to life within his attack and the bodies that fell in his wake. I saw my friend instantly, standing nearby calmly as he kept Kara in his sights but let her fight her own battles. Artemis' arrows whizzed by, never missing a shot and Ares's battle cry echoed in my ears.

"Matt!" I screamed for him now, unable to see him anywhere.

I was here now. We could change this, I'd make him see that my friends were winning. He was scared, I could feel it as if the fear was my own and then I saw him. He'd run towards the trees, deserting the clearing as if he had a choice to leave and following him, I saw the second he noticed me.

"Elise? You can see me?"

Breathless, I just nodded. He didn't respond, choosing just to stand there.

"We're winning. Your vision will, can, it can be changed. You can see us winning now, right? Tell me how we do it. What happens next?"

"It's always like this. I come here every time to stop you. I never can." His voice is thick with emotion, the tears running through the dirt on his cheeks.

"What?"

"You always come from the trees and he's always waiting."

We both freeze as the earth quakes and it's Cain I sense first. The portal is next. Hermes comes running past, followed by Hades who moves with less urgency as his minions rise from the dirt to do his bidding. The air changes, bringing back memories of Tartarus right before Cain and I pass us, ready for battle with the hope and determination I'd so far been lacking all over our faces. Our friends gather around, a new energy arriving with us.

This is new.

Different.

"This isn't like the paintings." I feel giddy with the possibilities, yet Matt only shakes his head.

"Nothing that ever happens here will be enough for you to win the war. This is a memory, Empress. Not the future."

Uranus suddenly appears and Matt fades away as whatever we have just walked into explodes around us and I'm left staring at yet another version of a vision I've yet to change.

"No!" I scream. I pound my fists against the bed, pausing only as I notice the pomegranate skins around me.

My hands are stained red.

My lips have a tangy sweetness on them.

Real.

Not real.

It didn't matter as another wave of pain crashed into me, yet rolling onto my side in pure agony, I felt something snap. It was more than just another contraction. Something else was happening, beyond the physical and this time I screamed for Cain. I called for Kara. I cried for my Mum as I sent out promises and prayers for help. The world tilted and my vision blurred, yet I had never seen clearer. Hundreds, thousands of faces and shadows flitted by, countless lives and endless moments all flooded into my mind.

Past.

Present.

Future.

It all became one, yet remained as a million various threads. I gritted my teeth until the metallic tartness of blood became too distinct to ignore yet no matter how I tried, the visions persisted, swirling around me like a chaotic storm. In seconds I was everyone and no one. A bad choice and a good decision.

"Elise, honey. Wake up, it's Doctor Katie." Warm hands on my cheek. "What has she been eating?"

"Pomegranates." Cain practically growls.

Real.

Not real.

"Cain?" My voice is hoarse. I can still taste blood.

"What happened?" He's beside me in seconds, and I realised I'm still on the bed. "Elle, what the hell happened?"

"I had a bad dream." I look at Doctor Katie. "You're here?"

"I am," fear makes her voice tremble. "Did you two, ah, need a sec?"

"Do what you can, bringing you here was a risk we had to take." Cain moves to get up, but I grab his hand.

He stays.

"Elise, are you happy for me to examine you? Cain said you've been having some intense contractions." She's already putting on gloves, as half of her usual room seems to be in here now. "Shall we work out what's going on?"

I nod, and she gets started. The room is silent until she puts the heart rate monitor around my stomach and the steady woosh woosh woosh of Blueberry's heartbeat takes over. I think I must fall asleep at some point because when I open my eyes she's packing things up.

"Well, your waters are still intact. Baby is tracking well, and nothing out of the ordinary is happening. You're progressing well, any other time I'd get you admitted, more for safety and we'd just let you get as comfortable as you can until things get moving."

"Can we make it go faster?" Cain asked. "There is no safe place. Even here isn't guaranteed."

We all watch the little screen as it beeps a little quicker now and I see a contraction take place on the screen.

"Despite outside circumstances, Elise and the baby are so far doing great. I'd expect within the next couple of hours,"

"I'm not." I take off the monitor. "I'm losing my fucking mind. Literally. A couple of hours for what?"

"Your cervix still has a long way to go. Your body knows what it's doing. Unless you're back home, in an actual birthing suite and not a glamping cave or whatever this is, I see no reason to intervene."

I look at her now wondering how I ever thought she was nice. "This glamping cave is under Olympus in another realm that exists like hundreds of others to our Earth. We are surrounded by dirt, because here, Gaia, yes, that Gaia, can give us some kind of protection against, fucking Uranus. You know, God of the Heavens and Skies. He also wants to take over, everything, and wipe all of Gaia's hard work away to start his own fucked up little worlds. Still think you don't need to intervene? My body doesn't have the best fucking timing, so I'm questioning if it really does know what to do right now."

"Despite outside circumstances, your baby is showing no signs of distress and your body is doing what a millennia of women have done." She answers back just as firmly. "Anything I do could make it harder for you and him. A natural birth will give you a faster recovery."

Not the answer I had hoped for.

"Baby's come in their own time. Maybe it's all happening this way for a reason?" She smiled hopefully.

I wanted to murder her.

"Let's get you back home." Cain makes them all disappear before I can respond.

"Okay, Blueberry. We're in it together, and to be honest with you, I'm not sure if I'm in or out right now so I am going eat more of this magical fruit, and you are going to ease up with getting earth side anytime soon so I can do whatever I need to, for you to survive this." I rub my stomach, feeling him beneath my skin and knowing he's safe, not in distress and hopefully in a better mental state than I currently am, helps.

Kind of.

If it turns out he can perform miracles, we'd be all set. Until then, I needed to pull one out of thin air - preferably before Cain got back.

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Does all this make sense? I'm going to give it a reread in the morning after coffee. Thank you for still being here! x