April 9th; 6am Gaia

Taki's alarm goes off. He finds himself able to move around better. The sun is rising through his window, but he knows Artemis is worried about Apollo. He's worried about him too. He picks up his blades just in case Zeus attacks them.

Perseus, Heracles, and Orpheus are waiting outside his door with their respective weapons ready to train. They come outside to see Artemis laying against a column. Dried, puffy cheeks with almost lifeless eyes.

The demigods go to check on her, but she waves them off as she doesn't want to lash out at them. They give her space for now.

They also notice Cadmus is awake, in his dragon form, comforting a restless Harmonia. He has a wing wrapped around her as she doesn't want to get off of him. She's afraid that she will lose him too.


Takashi gently walks up to her. "Harmonia, I'm here for you when you want to talk."

Part of him feels guilty for not doing enough the other day, but he won't let things end that way.

"I will bring them all back. Zeus won't get the last word."

She finally looks at him. His confident words remind her of her father. He displays some aura that makes her want to cry. Her mother's love is radiating from within him. She embraces him. He doesn't let go so she can have this moment. She sobs onto his shoulder.

"I'm so sorry. I'm ruining your shirt."

She goes to push him off, but he keeps her in place. "It's alright. When we're done, we are going to be crying happily."

"I know, but it's best that I stay away from you all."

He raises his eyebrows. His eyes asked her what she meant. She explains that Hephaestus gave her a cursed necklace as a wedding gift that would bring misfortune to the wearer and those around her. Despite his death, the enchanted necklace is still active and can't be taken off.

"That's why I'm not around others. It's my fault that my father-

Takashi holds her by the shoulders. "It's not your fault. There has to be a way to remove it. If Hephaestus made it....What if we destroy his forge? Would that undo it?"

Cadmus sadly shakes his head. "The curse would still be active."

Taki has an idea, but he grimaces. "Then.....I have no choice but to bring Hephaestus back. But, I will make him remove that necklace as his first act. He won't get the last word, Harmonia. I promise you."

"We all will live happy lives", Percy adds on.


Looking at them gives her confidence that it will come true. After some time, she lets go. Cadmus sees a brief smile on her face and appreciates his gesture.

Cadmus nuzzles his nose against her back. She turns and does the ceremony to turn him back into a human. He slowly breaks the kiss with clothes on. He cups her face in his hands before kissing her cheek. It will take time, but he has a strong hope that the new demigod will make his promise come true.

He takes Harmonia's hand so they can eat breakfast.


Takashi and the others do some warm-up exercises before clashing their weapons. Takashi knows from experience what they can do as he anticipates the swings of the club, shield, and wire. They stop sparring after picking up on that.

Percy raises his eyebrows. "How did you predict that?"

"We trained before."

This makes sense in his mind. "Oh."

"Let's get you up to speed with that sword."

As he teaches him how to use Athena's sword effectively, Perseus finds it a lot easier as it's all coming back to him. It's a strange sensation to him, but he accepts it. They go back to sparring as Artemis watches on. She then checks on the sun to see if she can communicate with Hemera.

She stands up as if she can't believe it. Taki and the others notice this.

"What's wrong, sister?"

Artemis is trying to make sense of it. "I don't see Hemera....nor the chariot?"

They check to find that she's right. The sun is hovering high above them, all by itself.

Taki and the others come to a horrible realization. Hemera must have been taking out along with Apollo.

"What's pulling the sun then?"

Taki realizes. "He must be going by my world's rules then. Using the gravity of Gaia as it circles the sun. Damn him", while gripping his swords. "......Artemis, can you test my speed? I want to see my limit."

She agrees. The other demigods give them room.

Taki sheathes his swords. He taps his forehead: Zone. FF3.

His body vibrates leaving a wavy outline of him. Artemis decides to attack him with 100% of her divine speed. He blocks her knife with both blades. She swings low and high to see if she can trip him up. Takashi finds himself keeping up with her movements. Fur begins to grow over her arms.

She goes for a thrust with her knife, but Taki moves out of the way. He swings his second-hand blade in an upward diagonal manner. Artemis ducks her head back and goes for a quick stab.
Taki blocks with the hour-hand blade-

He almost falls on his back from the kick that almost levels him. He almost doesn't recognize his niece. The deity had taken on more of her feral wolf nature.

He finds her leg going for a low kick and jumps above it. Hermes steps in to stop the clawed hand that would end Takashi's life. Hermes embraces her with all his strength while his fluttering sandals push back. She writhes around, trying to get loose.

"Sister, we both lost family members. Save that rage for Zeus. We will avenge Apollo."

Orpheus plays some soothing music to calm the huntress.

From the music, her mind replays a moment where she and her twin brother were children. She was crying after scraping her knee. He came over and kissed her knee. Her healing factor kicks in slowly. After some time, he helped her up to keep playing in the woods.

She reverts back to her normal form. She realized what she almost did, but Hermes comforts her by vocalizing a gentle song Apollo used to play.


A smile was about to form on her face, but she stops it. "I'm sorry, uncle."

"All is forgiven. Now I know my limits. Time to close that gap", Taki's distorted voice comforts her.


His casual nature alleviates her guilt like it's nothing.

He turns to the others. "Let's make use of this time! Give me all you got!"

Heracles doesn't use all of his strength but makes it a challenge for the others. Perseus' defenses, like before, are holding up as they keep going. Orpheus fires off musical notes to keep them on their toes.

---------

Meanwhile in the Underworld,

Hades and Persephone are in bed and haven't slept a wink from all that has happened yesterday. It was a nightmare for everyone to handle a mass number of souls while keeping everything running smoothly, but they did it. On top of that, Hades had tragically lost his nephews because of Zeus' manipulations. He wished he had known about his schemes earlier.


Although he is fatigued, he wraps an arm around his wife. He kisses her shoulder. She kisses his cheek.

"What a day", she exhales.

"Dealing with casualties of the Trojan War was easier than this. They don't even remember what caused their deaths. I can't believe my sister would be this cruel. And now she rules over Atlantis. Not knowing where my nephews are......It's just too much."

She lays a comforting hand on his cheek. "I know. It's a lot to process. We will figure it out together."


Hearing her words makes him grin. "At least Poseidon, Athena, and Eris are in Tartarus for their many actions. I didn't know how many lives they had affected."

"It's strange. Poseidon was given a chance to defend himself in front of the kings but chose not to disclose how he died."

"I will ask the Hecatoncheires if they have gotten anything out of him."

They roll out of bed and get ready to handle the daily affairs of the Underworld. Hades places a dark flower in his wife's crown while she places a bright pink tulip on his skull helmet.

Something crosses their minds as they see some daylight pouring in through some of the cracks. Hades' forehead wrinkles as he keeps thinking.

"You feel the same way?", she guesses.

"Yes, something's not right. Did we forget anything?"

The queen thinks hard and realizes. "Zeus took something from us. But what is it?"

After a sufficient breakfast, Hades sends a messenger out to Tartarus to check for any updates.

He crouches over in his seat, thinking deeply about what's bothering them. Persephone holds his hand to keep him steady.

The servant comes back after some time. "Sire, Poseidon is still not cooperating."

The king of the Underworld summons an orb of water that is on fire. He hands it to his servant. "The fires of the Phlegethon should make him talk."

The servant runs out to carry out the torture.

Hades sighs. "I'm sorry you have to see me like that."

"Why do you keep apologizing for that, my husband? I stand by your decisions."

"I just don't want to scare you away."

Persephone turns his face to give him a tender kiss on the lips. "I don't regret choosing to be with you. Not even once."

Hades manages to crack a smile. Their ears then perk up. A faint sound, but it's there. They get up and find a small object. They recognize what it is.

A musical note.

Hades puts it to their ears and applies aura to it. They hear what the note is saying. Their respective auras of life and death flare out, shaking most of the Underworld. It was Apollo's last message that included Hemera and Nyx in it.

They pull in their auras to avoid scaring those in Elysium. The musical note vanishes.


Hades' grey eyes turn a burning silver from his rage.


Persephone's eyes tell him that they need to get involved, but how? With Zeus' space ability, he could remove them and possibly the Underworld. They think about the innocent souls being subjected to whatever Zeus could do to them. Minthe, Hades' other lover, resides in Elysium. He doesn't want her nor anyone to get hurt because of his decision.

Persephone thinks of having her mother, Demeter, help on their behalf but it could end the same way. They come to the same conclusion that Nyx could even the tides if they can get her out, but how is the question. A direct confrontation with Zeus would undo that plan.


Persephone gasps. "Thanatos will go after him."

Hades hates what he has to do next, but he can't risk The Furies being the only deliverer of souls that died peacefully. His ring glows and Thanatos appears right in front of him to his surprise. Silver aura restrains the god in place.

"Why are you stopping me?!"

"We know what happened to Hemera was wrong, but-

"Don't you dare finish that sentence."

Hades raises his hand and the ring glows intensely. "You are hereby sworn to perform only your duties to keep the Underworld safe. You will keep any mention of Hemera between us."


The silver aura wraps around the deity's neck like a scarf as a reminder. Thanatos tries to head to Mt Olympus, but he can't move a step forward. He can't even raise his aura to counteract this spell.

Thanatos is seething. "You bastard! My family needs me!"

Hades looks down in shame. "And we need you too. I wish I could get involved, but I won't risk losing Elysium to Zeus. I know I won't be forgiven, but-"

"If Persephone was hurt-

Hades' seated anger makes the throne room shake. Even the god of death is shaking from the immense pressure. Hades exhales as he pulls it back in.

"I would do anything for her, but I always have to think of the big picture unlike my brothers. I took this role knowing that I would be the right person for the job. I'm not going to make millions of innocent souls suffer for a small chance at vengeance."

Thanatos hates it, but he had to admit the possible consequences. Zeus will not show mercy to those in Elysium. He reluctantly bows to Hades.

"As you wish."

"I will find a way to help Takashi and the others. I'm going to find a way to level the playing field."

Thanatos goes to leave for his duties, but something important comes to mind. Poseidon was delivered by his sisters without his trident. He wouldn't be seen without it by his side.

"His trident. It's a powerful weapon that they can use. They're at Artemis' temple in Ephesus", before leaving their presence. He goes to a large house where his twin brother is surprisingly awake. The wings attached to his head rubs his eyes. His wife in a teal gown adorn with lavender flowers tries to pull him back to bed. She pushes back a strand of long brown hair.


Thanatos sees tears crawling down her face.

"Brother? I can't sleep", his voice is broken and weary.

Thanatos wants to tell him, but Hades' vow will not allow him. He embraces his dear brother and helps him back to bed.

"You need your rest, Hypnos."

"Where's Hemera and mother? I can feel them, yet not at all."

Thanatos tucks him in. "They're okay."

Hypnos' wife wraps her arms while pressing her body against him. The lavender flowers emit their pleasant smell. Thanatos goes to leave, but Hypnos grips his arm.

"Please stay."

The god of death wraps an arm around his twin. He uses his black aura to lull him back to sleep. Hypnos' wings cover his eyes like a sleep mask to finally rest.

----


Meanwhile....

Hades turns to his wife. "My queen, conceal what I'm about to do next."

Without hesitation, she brings her aura out to surround the throne room and beneath it.

He gets up and puts a glowing hand to the floor. His aura silently reaches out to retrieve the weapon. He finds it beneath the earth and slowly pushes it. Hades and Persephone keep their auras steady to avoid alerting Zeus in any way.

At Artemis' temple, Takashi is resting up from using FF3. The second time doesn't seem to affect him as much, but his body partially twitches as a side effect.

Artemis, Hermes, Orpheus, and Heracles then feel a familiar presence reaching out to them. It's not threatening since they know who it is. The ground opens up with a faint hand rising with Poseidon's trident in it. The hand drops the trident near them.


"Not much time, but Hera killed Poseidon. She's now ruler of Atlantis after absorbing his powers. Last time I checked, she's in Samos. Zeus also trapped a goddess who could help us. Her name is Nyx, a deity of the moon and night, but we don't know how to rescue her. We hope that you will win so you can set her free", Hades speaks in a hushed tone.


The hand dissipates as it waves good-bye.


The information settles in. Although Hermes is upset with his mother, he's glad that she did get rid of Poseidon. That's one less god to deal with but will she go against them with this newfound power? A thought crossed the minds of the group.


How is she, considering the deaths of Ares and Hephaestus?

Nyx's name comes to Takashi's mind. She must have been the one that Ares had referred to before.

"Has anyone heard of Nyx before?"

The others express confusion. The deities realize that Zeus wiped their memories of her. She must have been stronger than a Titan that she could only be trapped by him.

"Is there a library or a temple relating to her?"

He realized his question was pointless. Zeus would have erased any record of her.

"Athena's helmet may not be enough by itself. Maybe with the lamp will we know how to contact her", Artemis proposes.

Takashi clenches his fists but saves his anger for when it's most important.


Perseus looks at the trident that belonged to the former god of the waters. "Who brought that to us?"

"Uncle Hades, but I can't lift that weapon. I tried a long time ago and couldn't lift it off the ground", Artemis informs.

Hermes sighs. "And I only carried it for a bit before dropping it. That thing weighs like several tons."


Hades is that strong, thought Takashi. He understands why Hades isn't directly involved with their plan as he doesn't want to risk losing the Underworld.

Heracles walks up to it and puts both hands on it. He struggles for a bit, but manages to wield it above his waist. The others are amazed.

"How does it feel?

"Holding the sky was easier, but I will manage. Let's practice."

Orpheus interjects. "About Hades, I-

"I'm also planning on bringing Eurydice back. I didn't see it, but you reunited with her", Taki smiles.

The talented demigod sheds a tear as his mind can vividly imagine his beloved in his arms. His aura flashes from a newfound determination.

Hermes hovers above the ground. "I will go and update the kingdoms of what happened. They need to know."

"Will they know about Hera's crimes?"

Hermes grips his staff while turning away from Artemis. She doesn't argue with him as he flies away. What's left of the Olympian family can't be splintered any further.