Adrienna grumbled under her breath as she once again trudged through the path leading from the Underworld into the mortal world.

"Ugh... I swear to Gaia, I hate this path. It's so long and so stupid..." she griped and moaned under her breath.

If one were to ask why she was heading to the mortal world, she was in need of "a bit of enlightenment", which was code for "a visit to Apollo's domain". In reality, she was sneaking off to see her cousin Alina, Apollo's daughter. If she had wanted to leave a note for her parents, you bet your ass she would have. But today, especially out of all her days, the future goddess of the dead didn't give a minotaur's ass about what others thought.

"Damn it," she once again grumbled, "if that Epiales bastard doesn't stop invading my mind, I will rain hell on him."

"Oh, will you now?" came a voice from behind her, causing her to jump and turn in the direction the voice came from.

"Great Gaia; Hermes, you dick! You scared the shit out of me!" she said while putting a hand to her chest as she tried to stop her heart from jumping out of her chest.

"Not my fault you weren't paying attention," the messenger god retorted. "Now would you mind giving me a wee hint as to where you're going? Maybe I can help you get there."

"Yeah... no. Go kick rocks," Adrienna sneered at the elder god. "I don't need another god giving me crap for doing things my way."

Hermes chuckled a bit at her words. "And which part of my statement-slash- offertory gesture was me giving you crap? You're a rebellious teen; I get it, I have been there and I have a child of my own. Just in case you forgot that last bit, I thought I would remind you."

Adrienna glared daggers at him as she continued walking, Hermes lazily floating on his back next to her. "Thanks, you ass," she snapped.

"No problem, m'lady," he retorted. "Now, back to the matter at hand. Where ya going and what are you doing?"

Adriena rolled her eyes. "I'm going to Apollo's domain with the hopes that he'll ever-so-graciously lend me his chariot so that I can personally hand the god of nightmares the ass-whooping he deserves."

Hermes facepalmed. What was this kid thinking? "So let me get this straight. You - the future goddess of the dead - want to talk to Apollo - the god of life-giving light via the sun - and ask him to just give you his chariot?"

Adrienna nodded with a sense of finality. "Hmmm... Yep, that pretty much sums it up," she replied with a grin.

Hermes chuckled as he kept his eyes trained on her. "You're such a little shit sometimes, you know that?"

Adrienna nodded softly. "But if you think about it, if I wasn't one, you wouldn't be here, now would you?" She cocked a brow, smirking softly.

Hermes rolled over in midair and sighed, continuing to float beside her. "Unfortunately, that is the case, but like it or not, you and I will have to work together once the crown of the Underworld rests on your head, and the weight of the responsibilities that come with it, on your shoulders."

"You've said that before, Hermes," she retorted as she crossed her arms. "You don't need to repeat yourself. You're gonna start to sound like a broken record." She turned to look at him. "I'd call you a windbag, but that would only be appropriate for Aeolus if we're thinking realistically."

"Har-dee-har, Princess," Hermes retorted. "Very funny. You're so lucky that Aeolus isn't here, or he'd blow you over with all four winds at once."

Adrienna turned to Hermes. "Would that not just force me to stand in one spot rather than be blown around like you're implying?"

Hermes rolled his eyes as he crossed his arms. "Okay, who the hell spit in your morning ambrosia, Your Royal Heinous?"

Adrienna sighed. "No one, but you might as well have with the contention we're currently having. You need to get used to me being in charge if I am ever to become Queen of the Underworld." She began walking again, Hermes following.

"You're right. But that still doesn't explain why you're going to Apollo's domain to steal his chariot."

Adrienna kept walking, only looking back to explain her plan. "I'm not going to steal it, I'm gonna bring it back... eventually. Think about it. If there's no night, Epiales won't be able to give people nightmares because it won't make sense. But he'll have to come out at some point, so we'll trap him when he does - probably out of anger."

Hermes smirked. "So you're not afraid of getting backlash from Nyx or Erebus? Because if Nyx finds out you're doing this, she'll give Hades hell, then he'll give me hell, and Zeus might get shit from Nyx as well, which would make him wish he'd worn his brown toga."

Adrienna sighed. "It'll be fine, Hermes. I'll get Apollo's daughter to help me sneak it away."

Hermes looked at Adriena incredulously. "You seriously think it's gonna happen either way? Things don't always work out the way you want, kiddo. Sorry to burst your proverbial bubble, but it's the honest-to-gods truth." He kept floating beside her, smugly grinning.

Adrienna, however, wasn't about to take these perceived insults lying down. She'd always been a fighter, and lately, it felt like she was fighting with people more and more. "I don't care if it's the truth, Hermes. I'm going to find a way to put this plan into action - logically."

"No offense, your ladyship, but I highly doubt that there's any way in Olympus, the mortal realm or the Underworld that you could get Apollo - or his daughter, for that matter - to simply give you his chariot. Nice try, though, kid. I'll give you points for creativity."

"Oh, Hermes... sweet, stupid Hermes. You should know by now that 'try' is not a part of my vocabulary in any form. 'Do', however, is very much in my vocabulary, and I intend to do the hell whatever it takes to stop that asshole from wrecking people's fucking lives."

Hermes gave Adrienna a concerned look and stopped floating, his feet landing on the ground softly as he settled with walking next to her. "Well, I clearly can't stop you from being a brat and doing whatever you damn well want, but I can tell your father. "

Adrienna looked up at the rest of the winding path ahead, sighing before looking at Hermes with a bit of a pleading expression. "Please don't tell him."

Hermes pinched the bridge of his nose. "If I get in trouble for keeping this from your father or uncles, or even the rest of the pantheon, that's on you. I wanna make that extremely clear."

"Gee, thanks, Hermes," she retorted with an eye roll. "Now, are you done being petty and more willing to help, or are you going to stand there for the rest of eternity?"

Hermes let go of the bridge of his nose with a deep exhale. "Fine, I will help you. But if this comes back to bite me in the ass in any way, I will not be happy."

Adrienna kept walking, tempted to tune Hermes out, but on the other hand, she had the utmost respect for him. "Thank you, Hermes; that's all I ask," she replied to his comment.

~

The rest of the walk - part of which involved Hermes flying while carrying Adrienna in his arms - was a breeze, after which Hermes gave her a slightly resigned look.

"Go," he prodded her. "But please, please, Adrienna, be careful."

She looked at him with curiosity. "You're not coming? Don't you serve all the gods or something?" Then another thought crossed her mind.

"You're not actually trying to help me, are you?" she asked. She was now suspicious of Hermes, at least for the time being.

Hermes nodded his head. "I am trying to help you, my lady. But I am specifically trying to help you help yourself. Does that make sense?"

Adrienna cocked a brow. "Yeah, sure, Hermes. As long as you're not some elaborate scheme set up to look like my worst nightmare."

Hermes shook his head. "I think one time would be enough in terms of being subjected to your worst nightmare, don't you?"

Adrienna nodded. "I agree. What I'm about to do is second only to that." She turned and walked towards the blinding light that enveloped Apollo's domain. "Of course it's blinding as hell," she muttered to herself. "Sun, brightness... I get it. I've gotten way too used to the dark. This is some kinda metaphor, isn't it?"

While she was busy giving her one-sided argument, Apollo had moved his chariot close to her. "Nope, no metaphor. Just you, me, and the bright, warming light of the sun. If you wanna get really technical, it's Helios' job to bring warmth to the mortals down yonder, but we all have to do our part, right? Your dad rules over the dead, Poseidon's got all his oceans to swim around and rule in, Zeus rules over pretty much everything else, and me? I get to be the chauffeur to a giant ball of fire and plasma that is both life-giving and death-bringing."

Adrienna gave Apollo a look that accurately depicted what she was thinking - that Apollo was weird. "Uh... okay. That was not at all what I was expecting, but you know what? I'll take it anyway."

Apollo chuckled. "Fair enough." His grin widened. "You're welcome, by the way."

Adrienna cocked a brow. "For... what, exactly?"

Apollo's grin didn't falter as Adrienna spoke. "For giving you the chance to really stick it to your uncle. I know you, Adrienna, and I know that you're not one to put up with your family's shit. Kudos for what you did, and brownie points for creativity. I doubt he'll mess with you from now on."

Adrienna grinned a bit as well. "Speaking of people not messing with me, I have a favor to ask of you. It's kinda big and might screw with some mortals' heads but it's very important."

Apollo's grin fell and he grimaced a little. "And what can I help you with that, in your own words, 'screws with some mortals' heads'?" He didn't know what she wanted, yet he already didn't like where this was going.

Adrienna took a deep breath in before exhaling. "I need you to keep the sun up as long as possible so night can't happen and therefore Thanatos' complete jerk of a brother can't give me or anyone else nightmares."

Apollo arched his brow. "So... let me get this straight, Adrienna. You want me, the god of the sun, to keep the sun up in the sky even during the nighttime, just so you can avoid having nightmares?"

Adrienna nodded. "Yup, that about sums it up."

Hermes floated up beside the two, a worried look on his face. "I explained this to her already, Apollo. That if either of us gets in trouble for keeping this from her father or uncles, or even the remainder of the pantheon, that's on her and she has to take ownership if it bites me in the ass."

Apollo closed his eyes, at peace with the simple fact that this goddess, this child, was told no and was still persistent with trying to get her way. "Does she understand the possible repercussions of these events?"

Just as Hermes was about to speak, Adrienna raised her hand in a shushing gesture. "Yes, I do. I understand that if I do this, if you do this, that we're not only involving you but also Nyx. Hermes also said that you'd both get backlash from Nyx and Erebus, and it would spiral from my father getting screamed at to Uncle Zeus getting crap from her, which would more than likely make him feel like Medusa stared into both his eyes AND his soul."

Both Hermes and Apollo looked at Adrienna with a concerned gaze before the latter spoke up. "I won't deny that this kid is going places, but I really don't like where this is going. I do not consent to the use of my chariot and my horses as a tool to get back at a god who's likely just bored out of his mind."

Adrienna crossed her arms and rolled her eyes. "Oh yeah, because a god who's bored out of his mind would go so far as to torture a young goddess who just wanted sleep." She spoke with a snarky tone that said 'I'm done with this bullshit.' "That sounds exactly like something a bored god would do."

Hermes leaned on Apollo's chariot softly. "Be glad that's the only thing that's been done to you, kid. There are people out there that have had it way worse than just a simple nightmare and theft of said nightmare." He gave her a sly smile.

Adrienna huffed. "Oh yeah? Like who?"

Apollo looked at the young goddess with curiosity. "You live in the Underworld, and you still don't know?" He shook his head. "Prometheus, who gave fire to the mortals, and was then cursed to have his liver consumed by an eagle, and grow back each day; rinse and repeat."

Hermes gave Apollo a quick nod of acknowledgment before giving his own example. "Tantalus, who served his own son to us gods, and was punished by being made to stand in a pool of cool, clean water with a fruit tree at its edge." He paused for effect before continuing. "When he would try to grab one of the fruits, the tree would pull them out of his reach. When he would try to drink the water in the pool, it would recede."

Apollo stared Adrienna down before beginning to give another example. "Let's not forget about Sisyphus-" he began before Adrienna stopped him.

Adrienna nodded at hearing the god of death's name. "Oh yeah, that's something I know about. Sisyphus escaped from the Underworld and captured Thanatos, meaning that nothing could die. Afterward, he was punished by being made to roll a boulder up a steep hill for the rest of his afterlife, only for it to roll back down after nearly reaching the top."

Adrienna smirked. "Oh, so that's who keeps cursing Thanatos out every day; that makes a lot more sense now."

Apollo nodded. "Technically, it was Zeus who punished him, but I can see why he'd curse Thanatos out. It makes just as much sense." He then looked from Adrienna to his chariot - the horses attached to it impatient stamping their hooves and snorting - and back before he acknowledged her previous request.

"Anyway, back to your inane request. My final answer is a hard no. With too much light being brought to the world, crops - and plants in general - will die, causing every living thing that relies on them to die, thereby giving Thanatos and your father more work on top of the work they already have to do." He then made a wary face. "I also really don't want my sister - or Selene for that matter - to get mad at me."

Adrienna's face contorted to one of pseudo-sadness. "Alright, I guess that's fine. I'll just let him invade my dreams and the dreams of others and poison them, then."

Apollo sighed. He had to admit, his cousin was persistent, if not a bit manipulative. "My answer is still no, but I'll offer an alternative solution if that works."

It was then Adrienna's turn to arch a brow. "Go on..." she urged him, interested in what he had to say.

Apollo leaned on one of his horses - who were quite well-behaved for having to cart around their master and a giant flaming orb - and looked at Adrienna with an expression of... pride maybe? "We both know that, at some point, my father is gonna wanna talk to me, to see what's up, you know? And of course, he's gonna want to know if you came by." The expression on his face morphed into a small smile. "So I would be glad to cover for you. I'll just tell him we talked, nothing more. In case you haven't noticed, my father does not take kindly to insubordination or otherwise wayward behavior. Hera, on the other hand, might be more open to alternate solutions if given good enough reason."

Adrienna nodded. "Oh, yeah, I noticed. Uncle Zeus can be a real D-bag. That's kinda why I asked you to play the song that I did. I wanted to give him a taste of his own medicine while also giving him what he wanted." She then upturned one side of her mouth. "I would take a shot at you on any normal day, given that I know several things about you that would make a mortal's skin crawl, but I definitely need your help if I am to catch the dick who has decided to make my life a living hell."

Apollo glared at her, his eyes metaphorically burning like tiny faux suns. "I swear, Adrienna if you dare to bring any of them up or speak of them any further, I will not help you."

Adrienna shrugged and relented. "Alright, but it isn't my fault you have shit luck with women. Might wanna take that up with Aphrodite and Aunt Hera."

Apollo sneered, becoming angrier and angrier with every word coming out of this child's mouth. "I- You- Fine. But if this is some half-assed attempt at turning the tables on me and skewing the odds to your favor, it won't work."

Adrienna shook her head. "That wasn't what I was thinking of before now, but now that you mention it..."

"Gaia, give me strength," the sun god muttered while massaging his temples. "Does it ever occur to you that you can be an annoying little shit sometimes?"

Adrienna had turned her back for a moment but whirled around on her heels nearly immediately after Apollo had commented on her attitude. "Say that again, Apollo. I'm sure that all the people who die due to sun-related things would be ever so delighted to know that one of the gods they revere was at fault when they come to my realm. You know, when I eventually take over for my father." She grinned. "Or did you forget about that part while you were giving me lip?" She reached out to place her hand on the golden chaise but was stopped before she could even touch it.

Apollo smacked her hand away and rolled his eyes. "My point demonstrated exactly. But just so the message is received well and clear: you. Can. Not. Take. My. Chariot." He glared at her once more, getting into the chariot box. "Oh, before I forget, I'd like to add that I'd like you to keep my daughter out of this as well. Find a different way to solve your problem, Adri." He then snapped the reins and waved. "Toodle-oo, cousin!" he called to her as he and his steeds moved away from her.

"Fine, I'll do this without your stupid help, you jerk!" she yelled into the air before getting a tap on her shoulder. Looking behind her, she noticed that Alina - Apollo's aforementioned daughter - was standing behind her.

"Hey," the other young woman beamed. "Any reason why you're screaming at nothing?" She seemed genuinely curious and Adrienna was ready to let out her frustration.

Adrienna scowled. "Your dad is an insufferable asshole, Alina." She threw up her hands, generally fed up with everything at the moment.

Alina, a young girl who was around Adriena's age and whose skin radiated a glow that could only be attributed to the sun, simply kept smiling as she replied to Adrienna's comment. "Didn't he help you the other night? He mentioned something about you giving Grandpa the butt-kicking he deserved."

Adrienna's face contorted to one of shock for just a moment, before she sighed and smacked her own face while sighing - known to the mortals as a 'facepalm'.

"And it looks like I'm running two-for-two in the grandkid of Zeus/my cousin department Seriously, how many damn grandkids does my uncle have at this point!?" She let her hand fall to her side and looked at Alina. "No offense, of course. It's not like it's your fault that you were born into this screwed-up world."

Alina sighed softly while smiling. "Thanks, Adrienna." She then kneeled on what was supposed to be the ground - or so Adrienna assumed - and patted the spot next to her. "C'mon, sit down. The least we can do is talk about it, right?"

Adrienna sat and focused on the other young woman. "Your dad explicitly told me not to involve you."

"But he didn't say I couldn't help you of my own volition, right?" Alina inquired as she smiled brightly.

Adrienna arched her brow. "I mean, that's a really good point, but seeing as how our family is all about the rules - except for Zeus, but we knew that already - I'd rather not piss anyone off. Not unless they happen to be a certain god of nightmares, who decided that my subconscious is his own personal playground now."

Alina winced. "That sounds terrible!" she replied. "If it helps to know, I'm here if you need me."

A small yet noticeable smile crept onto Adrienna's face upon hearing this. "Alina, you're amazing. I'm in your debt." She knelt before Alina chuckled.

"That's what I'm here for, Adrienna; to help you. I will be your light in the darkness, your shepherd, and perhaps even your muse." She then chuckled at the fact that she'd made two puns using her father. "Pardon the puns, I guess I'm just really happy to see you come out of your proverbial shell a bit."

Adrienna smiled in response to Alina's pun mastery. "Thanks for the laughs, Ali. I kinda needed them with how crazy everything's getting. First the thing with Uncle Zeus, then this whole dream-slash-nightmare business has me on edge... I really dunno what to think anymore." She looked off to the west, in the direction Apollo had gone. "I was kinda hoping your dad would be cooperative, but you never know. He could have a change of heart."

Adrienna sighed softly as she pulled Alina into a soft hug. "What would I do without you, Ali? Honestly, you're a sweetheart and the best friend and cousin I could ever hope for." She then turned to leave, before a hand was gently laid on her shoulder. Looking back over her shoulder, she saw that it was Alina again.

"Everything is going to be fine. You'll see. And I'll be here if you need me, alright?"

Adrienna nodded as she looked at her friend. "Alright. I'll make sure I remember that." With that, she walked off, a little dejected, but otherwise none the worse for wear.