Theme Song: "Monster" by Skillet
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"You missed."

"Why don't you try this?"

"My fighting style doesn't work with that."

"Bullshit."

Nathan and Joseph were in Heaven training in the Archangel's Training Room. Although he didn't want to, Nathan had to train with the weapons provided to him in his Heaven-form. He didn't require sword training, but he still needed to master the crossbow.

"Hurry up and hit the bull's-eye so we can get out of here!" said Joseph.

"I'M TRYING!" Nathan fired back.

"You do realize we're the only ones in here?"

"What are you trying to say?"

"Pixies have better aim than you, bruh."

Angered, Nathan loaded the crossbow, cocked the arrow back, aimed, and fired. Finally, on his twenty-second try, he hit the bull's-eye on the black and white target. He tossed the crossbow across the room and stormed out of the building. Joseph picked up the crossbow and followed after his partner. When he opens the door, he sees that Nathan was just about to go through a portal back to Earth.

"Hey, dickhead! You need this!" said Joseph.

Nathan turned around to see Joseph with the crossbow. He then remembered that the crossbow will turn back into his guns on Earth. "Thanks pal. Let's get the hell outta here."

Back On Earth...

A portal opens up in front of Nathan and Joseph's apartment building, and out came the two. They both take the first step on their apartment stairs, then hesitate.

"You heard that right?" Nathan whispers to Joseph.

"Someone cocked their gun. He's in the kitchen." Joseph whispered back.

"About how many can you get?"

Joseph inhales through his nose, taking in a quick smell, "I'm getting twenty. You?"

"I'm feelin' about that amount of souls." said Nathan.

"Close enough. There's three people surrounding the door. One directly ahead, one on the left, one on the right."

"OK, you rush in, take out the door-guy straight ahead, and I'll take out the guys on our sides. I'm going to hop on your back and we'll do it that way. When you rush in, watch the shotgunner on the stairs, then-"

"Or we can just go through the windows?"

"...Fine!"

The two stepped back for a running start. When spaced enough, dived side-by-side through the windows. At the sound of shattering glass, the lights in the house went on. The duo glanced around the house, finding the men they sensed. Each of them wore black military clothing, including bulletproof vests, black helmets, black trousers, and a machine gun. But, one man stood out from the rest. He was wearing a green suit, and was sitting on the couch.

"DROP YOUR WEAPONS!" one of the soldiers yelled.

"Fuck you! You drop your weapon!" Nathan retorted.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, men, stand down! I honestly don't even know why they sent you guys." said the man on the couch.

He stood up and turned around with the biggest smile on his face.

"Hey! Pistachio!" said Nathan.

All of the soldiers lowered their weapons, one of them saying, "We're good," and another saying, "Send in the VTOL."

"What's going on, Geo?" Joseph questioned.

"Nathan. Joseph. Men, we need to talk." said Geo.

He put his hands on their shoulders, instantly, they were disappeared in a blink of light.

In A White Room...

Nathan and Joseph reappear and find themselves in a white room, with only a chair and a table, and a man in a black tuxedo standing at the corner. Geo was nowhere in sight.

"The fuck?" said Joseph.

"Why are we in here?" Nathan grunted.

The man in the suit began walking towards them, "Please remain calm. I have something important-"

"Get me the fuck outta here!" Nathan exclaimed.

Joseph turned to Nathan with concern on his face "Nathan, chill dude, he only wants to-"

"NO!"

Suddenly, the lights flickered and the table and chair started to rattle.

"Nathaniel, please remain calm. I just have some important information, if you could just sit down, and allow your friend here to apply the handcuffs under the chair on you." the man urged on.

Nathan growled at the man like a savage, seeming extremely frustrated. His wings flung out, almost hitting Joseph with them, and his body appeared to be steaming up.

He looked up at the man, eyes strangely glowing purple, and mutters, with an another- darker voice, behind his own, "You have no fucking idea what you've done, now you will die!"

Nathan drew his Blazers and charged towards the man. He swings his blade at the man to be quickly stopped by Joseph in his wolf-form. The man hastily escaped through a nearby door, while Joseph stalled Nathan.

"Nathan, what the hell?! Calm down, what's wrong with you?!"

Nathan answers with a super-kick to Joseph, sending him through the reinforced wall. Nathan leaps out of the room through the hole in the wall, and appears to be in a military base, with a bunch of scientists running around. They see Nathan has escaped, and began to run towards the exits. Nathan decides to exit through the roof and leaps upwards to fly, but is quickly caught by the leg, and thrown to the ground by Joseph.

Nathan and Joseph always spar with each other, so they know each other's moves, weaknesses, and strengths. Normally, Joseph and Nathan are equal in strength, speed, and durability, so there's never a winner; they fight until they both give up. But this was no spar, it was different. Nathan was slightly quicker, and immensely stronger.

Nathan charges Joseph with a right hook, left hook, and then backflip-kicks him, stunning him a bit. Then Nathan jumped forward and went to cobra punch him. Joseph blocks his face, but when the hit connects, a loud bone-crack is heard, and Joseph releases the block, howling in agony.

With Joseph distracted, Nathan tries to escape through the ceiling again. Nathan's eyes still glowed purple, as did a black aura surround him; it was almost as if he was possessed.

Feet away from the ceiling, Nathan was about to escape. The ceiling as well appeared to be made of a reinforced metal, but with such new strength, it was nothing more than scrap metal to Nathan.

Just then, someone else broke through the ceiling. Happening so fast, Nathan didn't see who it was when he was violently tackled back to ground level. The two crash back down into the concrete, caving the ground in. The attacker jumps off Nathan and goes to check on Joseph, who is suffering from his arms self-healing, bones snapping back in place. He turned back to an enraged Nathan standing in the crater. Nathan spat out a wad of blood, and begins to speak, but stops to pick a black feather in his mouth. "That was a little too close for comfort, Archangel Gabriel."

"Stop this Nathan, this isn't you."

"That's correct, I am not Nathan. I am the Black Phoenix. You would have had the pleasure to bow to me as the rest of this world will someday...but you will now die."

Nathan pulled out his guns and liquified them into shapeless blobs of mercury. They then mold themselves onto Nathan's hands, also forming what looked to be a firearm chamber on his palms. He aimed his hands towards Gabriel, jerks them back and forth- as a click of a gun is heard- and relentlessly fires from his own hand.

Although small chambers, the guns sounded like that of a minigun. Gabriel quickly twirled his twin blades to deflect each and every bullet fired at him. A charging sound is now heard from the guns and as the charge gets louder, the firing rate of the guns increase.

Faster and faster, Gabriel continued to deflect the bullet barrage, pushing himself to the limit; his movements were like a blur. The charge grew louder up to its peak, as if it was at maximum power, and with this, Gabriel began to slide backwards as he twirled.

"I can't hold this any longer! The bullets...they're too fast!"

At a time so opportune for Gabriel, the charging and gunfire began to fade in intensity until eventually, Nathan ceased his fire. His arms were now relaxed and dangled, as he now appeared dazed with a distant, blank stare. Suddenly, the glow in his eyes disappear, as does his black aura. His eyes closed and he collapsed in the crater beneath him, revealing Geo standing above him, with his hands outwards as if he were holding Nathan's head.

"Unless you tell me what the fuck happened just now, Nathan will remain dormant for eternity!" he demanded.

Exhausted, Gabriel released his scrapped and smoked twin blades of gold, "Well...for starters, you tried to keep him contained."

"What do you mean?"

"Demons are natural-born rebels.
When being, or even so much as feeling contained, they will naturally rebel. In a reinforced interrogation room, what demon wouldn't act as so? That's why when you strap down or handcuff a possessed human, it's not only what the priest is saying to relieve of the possession that's bothering them, but it's the fact that the demon knows it's being held against it's will. And, what happened with Nathan? He rebelled. It's in his blood to do so."

"That wasn't Nathan though. I felt something else inside him before I even placed my hand on him. What's the explanation for that?"

"'That' was the spirit of the Black Phoenix."

"Oh," Geo less tense now, "I see, and anger provokes the spirit, as I recall?"

"Yes, and Nathan was already beyond anger."

"Right...So how can we contain this?" Geo asks.

"We can't. Nathan has to learn to control it." Gabriel replies.

"How can he do that?"

"He needs to learn how to control it under the supervision of God or Jesus Christ. The Black Phoenix is a vengeful spirit, and will stop at nothing to wreak havoc for its own desire...unless tamed."

"Very well. I will wake him now."

"First, get him out of that crater. Sit him down somewhere, and give him space. I'll head back to Heaven. Thank you Geo for your assistance."

"No, thank you for the information. This whole time, I underestimated Nathan, now I know not to."

Gabriel picked up his blades and sheathed them both at his side.

Bringing his attention back to Joseph, "Joseph, are you OK?"

"Yeah, I'm good now. Thanks for the help." Joseph replied.

"I'm your Guardian Angel, it's my job."

Gabriel pushed off the ground with his wings as a golden light shined down upon him from the hole on the ceiling.

"Joseph, help me lift him." Geo requested.

An Hour Later...

Nathan finally awoke from his slumber to find himself lying under what appeared to be a large circular ship- if anything, it resembled a UFO. He sat up to find the same agent who tried to interrogate him earlier, but this time, Geo and Joseph were beside him, as if guarding him. Nathan glanced around his environment, concluding that he was in some kind of military facility.

"Nathan, do you remember anything that happened about an hour ago?" asked Geo.

"Surprisingly. In fact, I was fully aware of my actions, but I had no control whatsoever- wait, Joseph! Your arm! Are you alright?" said Nathan.

"Yeah, don't sweat it. Just answer this guy's stuff." Joseph reassured, gesturing to the familiar man next him sitting on the chair.

"Alright Nathaniel, let's try this again. My name is Agent Raul." he greeted sternly.

"Where are we?" Nathan questioned.

"Classified."

"Agent Raul, you have my clearance." Geo ordered.

"Nathan, we are in Area 51, Las Vegas, Nevada." Agent Raul corrected.

"Geo, you have connections with the government? I thought I can trust you!" Nathan raised his voice.

"Yeah, for years now. But, that doesn't mean you can't trust me, why do you think they haven't showed up at your door for these two years now? I mean, technically, you are responsible for multiple mass-murders." Geo retorted.

"Joseph, did you know about this?" Nathan redirected to Joseph.

"Hey, I just found out all this information an hour ago!" said Joe.

"Mr. Blackwood-"

"Who do you work for?" Nathan interrupting the agent.

"Nathan, he works for the CIA. Agent Raul has been doing his job for more than a decade now. If you could please show the man some respect and stop interrupting him, that would be much appreciated!" declared Geo.

Nathan rose from the ground and nodded, allowing the agent to speak.

"Mr. Blackwood, I understand that you and Joseph are demon hunters?" asks Raul.

"That's correct." Nathan replied.

"Well then, I'd like for you to know that ever since your arrival on Earth, the entire world has been reporting more cases of some very...odd encounters."

"Paranormal?"

"Precisely. Our experts concluded this is nothing from beyond our world, that this is something ancient and not of anything we know."

"Well then, you've called the right people, Mr. Raul. What do you need?"

"I don't know how this may relate to you since you come from Christian origins, but we can only seem to monitor Greece better than other places. At least two incidents a day, even as we speak."

"No worries. Although separate religions, figures of all religions acknowledge each other and can coexist with each other."

"So what would you like for us to do?" asked Joseph.

"Well, with every incident that takes place, these spirits leave markings on the ground before they leave." Raul responded.

"Markings? Do you have any photos?" Nathan requested.

Raul then pulled out an envelope from his jacket pocket and handed it to Nathan. Nathan took the photos out of the envelope and carefully analyzed each of them. His curious expression quickly became a concerned one, noticeable by his tensed jaw muscle.

He passed the photos and envelope over to Joseph,  "We need to move now. Those aren't just any markings, for that's a common thing for an exposed demon to do. But these markings are different than their generic symbols, they're warnings. And the fact that has been happening for two years is surprising, they would've caused a mass-murder around the third incident...unless...of course! They're watching me. They were waiting 'til I found out."

"So you say they're trying to lure you?" asked Geo.

"Correct." answers Nathan.

"Do you know who 'they' are?" Raul followed up.

"Every Underworld existing, mostly Hell. Satan's been trying to have my head for a while now, and it's only a matter of time before he decides to take action himself."

"Well then enough talk. Let's get moving." declared Raul.

Several Hours Later, Above The Clouds Of Greece...

"OK, so what's our objective Agent?" asked Joseph.

"Wait for an incident, interrogate the demon, come up with a solution." said Raul.

"Pretty straightforward. Are we ready to drop?" asked Nathan.

"On your go." Raul confirmed.

Joseph slid open the helicopter door. Nathan took a few steps towards the exit and stood there next to Joseph. They looked to each other, nodded, and dived out of the helicopter.

They soared downward through the clouds, watching as the Greek land grew larger. Nathan looked over at Joseph, to find him doing acrobatics in the air. He also noticed Joseph was wearing a black t-shirt he has never seen before.

"Hey!" Nathan called through the wind.

"What?!" Joseph called back.

"Is that your shirt?"

"What?!"

"Is that your shirt?"

Joseph makes a swimming motion to move towards Nathan to speak better.

"They gave this to me. It's a special cloth made for me for when I go wolf-form." said Joseph.

"Oh, so it doesn't rip like all your others?" Nathan replied.

"Yup! But it itches like hell!"

Nathan grinned, and noticed they're several seconds from touchdown.

"You grabbed a parachute?" he asked.

"No, I got it covered." Joseph said, as his eyes darkened, a snout crunched through his skull, and hair grew out from his face.

While Joseph transformed before hitting the ground, Nathan's wings shot out and helped him land gracefully on the beach below them. He dove straight down, flipped, and his wings broke his free-fall speed before he landed on his feet. Three seconds later, right next to him, Joseph crashed into the sand, leaving a crater and sand flying everywhere. Nathan fanned the dust away, to notice Joseph standing up as a werewolf, but with no shirt.

"Where'd my shirt go?" asked Joseph.

He looks around and under him. Five seconds pass and a ripped black shirt falls behind him.

"Cheap ass cloth." Joseph growled.

"OK, it's a small city, so recon isn't necessary. We can feel them wherever they are...but...there's no signals." said Nathan.

"What do you mean?"

"Demons usually have an energy floating around before they arrive on Earth. They have to adapt their astral energies to the realm; I'm not getting any energy."

"So...-"

"Something's wrong. I need to speak with Jesus." said Nathan.

He looks up at the sky, and calls to Jesus. He yells His name once and waits. No answer. Twice, no answer. He calls out two more times with a longer wait period...nothing.

"Shouldn't you pray?" Joseph suggested.

"Never had to before. Something's definitely not right." Nathan replied.

"The activity that's been happening in Greece might have an affect on contacting Jesus. Maybe it's throwing off your contact with the astral plane, which might be why you can't feel the demons."

"That's a considerable theory...or...waitaminute. We're in Greece!"

"...Yes Nathan, we're in Greece. Where'd the fuck you think we were going?"

"No, you don't understand. We're in Greece."

"OK, what are you trying to say?"

"Jesus is a deity of the major American religion. We're in Greece."

"...Oh shit. So does that mean-?"

"Oh yeah." said Nathan. He took a few steps forward and looked to the infnite sky, "ZEUS!"

No answer. He tries again, "ZEUS!"

A large dark cloud formed above them, then an abnormally large lightning bolt struck down in front of them. As if spawned from the bolt, was a man unnoticeably taller than Joseph in his wolf-form (which is slightly taller than Nathan) with long silver hair, long white beard, and seemed old. Old, but was quite fit and chiseled for his age. His eyes had a color of nothingness, almost blind looking. He wore a toga, with no shoulder strap, has gold forearm bands, and no shoes.

Zeus was crouched on one knee, then he stood up, staring down at Nathan and Joseph. His presence was graceful, especially with the assistance of the glass ground he stood on, after lightning struck the sand.

"So you're the demon Jehovah has taken in?" said Zeus, with his almost thunderous voice.

"Jehovah? You mean Yahweh?" Nathan replied.

"Yahweh, Jehovah, no matter- He's still 'God.' I was expecting you Nathaniel, now for what reason might I ask?"

"Well, what's happening in Greece? Why can't I pick up any Demonic energy?"

'"I hear the people's prayers, and believe me, I tend to the matter. The amount of encounters that take place every day are nothing but a mere fraction of what should happen. However, I'm only powerful until Earth. I have tried to venture to the Underworld, and have sent others before so. Even strangely enough, our messenger Hermes has no access. I have come to believe that Hades has sealed the Underworld permanently, but only so no one may enter and he may exit. I fear Hades has grown stronger, and will soon unleash whatever there is the in the Underworld, onto Earth...and as a matter of fact, wherever Hades' new power comes from, is not of Greek origin. In fact, it feels like more of your power. Perhaps-"

"Satan!" Nathan muttered.

"Indeed. Perhaps you can try to venture to the Underworld? At this point, any action would help. Do you remember how to get there?"

"Of course. Although it'd be easier if my father had not stolen my ability to slice portals to other dimensions. He left me with a one-way trip to Earth."

"Well then, carry on. I wish you the best on your journey Nathan and-"

"Joseph! My name is Joseph the Great!" Joseph filled in, as Nathan glared at him."

"Yes...Joseph." Zeus mumbled, as another lightning bolt struck upon him, and in the flash, he disappeared.

Just then, screams and cries were heard from far.

"An attack!" said Nathan, wings drawing out.

Joseph begins to sniff as if he has picked up a scent. "I smell...canine...Hellhounds?"

"Greek Hellhounds? No, there's no such thing...but-...but worse: Cerberus."

"I smell fish too, and it's close."

From the ocean behind them, a large three-headed sea serpent arose from the waters. It was thirty-feet high, green, scaly, and appeared threatened. All three heads roared down at the two.

"Shit, it's a Hydra!" Joseph, go deal with the Cerberus! I'll meet you after this!" Nathan exclaimed.

"I hope dog-fighting isn't illegal in Greece!" Joseph quipped, as he sprinted on all fours towards the city, heavy in his steps.

Nathan drew his Blazers and flew towards the middle head, but was caught by the side heads when they bit down on each of Nathan's wings, catching him in the air. They threw him upwards above the middle head, as it's mouth opened wide to catch Nathan. Nathan's wings luckily healed on time, and he once again caught air. Strangely though, there was a pool of blood blossoming in the water from the Hydra. The monster suddenly rose a bit, as if lifted, and appeared to be thrown over, as it splashed into the waters trying to regain it's balance.

When it fell, it revealed it's torso, in which a man, similar in appearance to Zeus, except, his hair was short and curled. The man wielded a gold trident, in which he just retrieved from the Hydra's abdomen.

"Poseidon!" Nathan called.

"Zeus may not realize it, but we are at war! Now quit stalling boy, go deal with that Cerberus, I'll take it from here!" yelled the old man, as he charged towards one of the heads of the Hydra with his trident.

Without another word, Nathan flew towards the city to assist Joseph.

On The Streets Of Greece...

"Alright, I can be a pacifist when it comes down to dealing with animals, so I'm going to give you one chance to leave these people alone, or I'm gonna have to kick your ass!"

Joseph stood in front of the fifteen-foot Cerberus from a distance, just transforming into a human, to show he is of no threat to the Cerberus, hoping there would be some sort of "canine connection" between them. Instead, the three-headed hound growled at him, as if warning him to retreat. In response, Joseph remained there, crossing his arms together. The Cerberus then began to bark at him, giving it's last warning. Still, Joseph remained nonchalant. The heads growled once more, and charged towards Joseph.

He sighs, "I warned ya."

He turns back into a werewolf, cocks back his left fist, and as the shadowy Cerberus was feet away, Joseph straight drove his fist onto the nose of the middle head, halting the beast entirely. And with his right fist, he hammers the head onto the ground. It bounced a bit, and was now unconscious and dangling as the body stood up. Both side heads checked their direction towards the middle. Their exposed fangs quickly retreated behind their lips as a look of shock and worry fell upon them. One side head lifted middle one and released it. The head fell loosely below them.

Without another action, the other side head lifted the limp one, and the Cerberus began to retreat. Joseph immediately followed, along with Nathan, who has just flown in from behind.

"Wait, why are we chasing it?" Joseph called to Nathan above as they were chasing down the Cerberus.

"I don't know, I thought you had a plan?" Nathan called back.

They both took a moment to plan something. During this, they chased down the streets of Greece, citizens scattering everywhere, avoiding the stampede.

"I have a plan! We'll follow it to the Underworld!" Nathan suggested.

"Great idea, but how do we know that's where it's going?" Joseph asked.

"Where else would this bitch go?"

"True...wait, it's a girl?"

"What? No, what do you mean?"

"You just called it a bitch- a female dog!"

"I also called you a bitch before!"

"You need to take speech classes!"

"Just shut up- grab onto it somehow!"

Hearing this, the Cerberus picked up its running speed, as it galloped hurryingly away from the two.

"For being injured, it's pretty quick!" said Joseph.

"Grab my hands!" said Nathan, descending to offer his arms.

Joseph leaped up and grabbed onto the arms, as they both ascended into the air again. Nathan flew in closer to the Cerberus, and began swinging Joseph back and forth. Joseph understood his intentions, and began swinging in-sync with Nathan's motion.

"Ready on your go Joe." said Nathan.

As they swung back, Joe counted down, "Three....Two....One....Now!"

They swung forward and released. Joseph soared forward in the air, and successfully landed on the lower back of the Cerberus. He clawed into the shadowy body of the Cerberus to gain a better grip. The Cerberus didn't flinch, but whimpered a bit, and was still persistent in its pace. Now it was Nathan's turn. For once, Nathan couldn't keep up with his target. Besides, this wasn't just any hound he was chasing- it was a fifteen-foot, immortal Hellhound. The Cerberus moved as fast as it looked- like a shadow.

Suddenly, the Cerberus sped up just a bit more, but the body's posture looked concentrated, more relaxed, positioned.

"Oh shit. Joseph, hold on tight!"

"What do you think I was doing, smelling it's ass?!"

Nathan dive bombs towards the beast's tail, as it leaped forward in the air. Just then, a portal opened up in front of it, and through it revealed a hellish environment. The heads of the Cerberus dove in first through the portal, as it began to disappear into the astral plane.

Joseph looked in ahead of him, and saw the portal come close. His last words before the portal absorbed him into the Underworld were, "Oh shi-!"

All at the same time, as if in slow-motion, Nathan dove closer and closer to the tail. The hind legs inches away from the portal, Nathan grasps the tail, and disappears into another world.

In The Underworld...

"Damned dog! I said, down!" commanded Joseph, as he smashed a fist onto the back of the Cerberus.

With this, the heads, let out a yelp, and the beast lost its balance and broke down on the warm, stony ground. As the Cerberus fell, it rolled over with Joseph still on its back, mashing its weight on him, removing him from the back. The Cerberus regained its stance, and whipped Nathan off its tail, tossing him next to Joseph. Along with their troubles, the middle head has awoken. The Cerberus began to charge towards the two, and just when it came closer, there was there was a sudden wall of fire that lit up in front of it, bringing the vast canine to a halt.

"Edó, Kerberos!" said an echoey, dark, and raspy voice.

The wall of fire died down, and revealed a submissive Cerberus, lying down next to a man.

This man was old and unsurprisingly resembled Zeus and Poseidon, but much more dismal. His hair was black and long, reaching below his shoulders, down to his elbows. He wore a black, full-body armor, with exception to his right arm. Skulls for shoulder pads and a larger skull covering his chest. His eyes beamed a flashing red, bringing out the menacing look in his eyes. With the exposed arm, he held a two-pronged, U-shaped staff, that was golden, but seemed to have a red stain at the tips.

Nathan and Joseph stood up and observed the man. Joseph looked over to Nathan and found something he has never seen before: Nathan's demon-form. The reptilian eyes, pointed teeth, the demon tail which Nathan kept retracted on Earth, and the demon wings, blacker than the lettering of a story.

"Nathan? Is that you?" Joseph asked confusingly.

Nathan looks to Joseph, then observes himself, "I forgot this happens. It's been a while."

The figure next to the Cerberus lays a hand on his pet as if he were to pet him, except the Cerberus vanished in a black smog.

"What the f-"

"It was a fake!" Nathan interrupting Joseph, "I knew it! The real Cerberus has a snake for a tail, and it can't allow the living into the Underworld...but a fake one could."

The dark and raspy voice was heard again, "And it does not allow the dead to escape."

The voice came in the direction of the man.

"So you're saying I'm dead?!" Joseph panicked.

"Not yet." the man grinned, "Where's your respect for your elders Nathaniel?"

"As far as I'm concerned Hades, I lost my respect for demons two years ago!" Nathan snapped.

"That's Uncle Hades to you, boy!"

"Lucifer has no brother!"

"Come Nathaniel, we're still family!"

"We're nothing! I'm not here to catch up and have dinner, enough with the bullshit! What have you been planning?"

"Do you really expect me to tell you? I thought you would know by now...in fact...what was it my fish-loving brother said: 'We are at war.' That is all you need to know."

"Fair enough. Why did you lure us here?"

"Actually, I wasn't expecting that behemoth of a friend of yours to join us, but he could come to good use for me."

"Oh, hell no! I am nobody's bitch!" Joseph fired back.

He ran towards Hades with intentions to attack, until Hades called out, "Kerberos!"

A large, three-headed, shadowy canine beast rose from the ground, braking Joseph in his tracks. This beast looked exactly like the last Cerberus, except it was twice as big, and had a purple snake for a tail that was seen raised above the Cerberus hissing at Joseph, along with the growling of the three heads.

As before, the Cerberus charged towards Joseph. Joseph cocked back his fist, and when the beast came close enough, he drove his fist onto the middle head's nose. The Cerberus halted again, but surprisingly, the head was still conscious, in fact, it didn't even flinch. Instead, it was Joseph who stood there, holding his hand in pain.

He looked up at the angry hound, and whispered in terror, "Shit."

He then scampered off as fast as he could with the Cerberus following afterwards. Nathan began to move forward to assist Joseph, but a large skeleton hand grabbed his leg from underground. Nathan morphed his pistols into a shotgun and sprayed bullets on the hand. When the hand released the grip, more sprung up and grabbed Nathan's limbs. He tried to fight them, but their grip was unceasing.

They then stretched out his limbs as far as possible. Nathan bellowed at this, along with the sound of bones popping out of place as they pulled. Hades pointed his staff towards Nathan and the prongs ignited a ball of fire at the tips. Once complete, Hades shot the ball at Nathan. While travelling through the air, the ball increased in size, until it was finally the size of Nathan where it blasted him off the skeleton hands, sending him about twenty-feet backwards, landing hard on a boulder.

He quickly stood up and drew out his Blazers, he leaped forward, wings shot out, and he flew towards Hades. To his misfortune, more of the cold bony hands appeared again. They caught Nathan by his demon wings, and in one effortless tug, they ripped off his wings. Nathan lost his air, and fell to the ground face-first, grunting at the pain overwhelming his body.

Then something scorching hot surrounded his neck. He winced at the stinging metal touching him, and then seemed to be lifted by this object. It was Hades' staff, and Nathan's neck fit perfectly between the dual prongs, until something odd happened. Between the prongs, a sharp blade pierced through Nathan's throat, blood shooting out with it.

"A...trident?!" Nate coughed.

"More of an upgrade to my staff; courtesy of your father! You like?" Hades replied.

He lifted Nathan higher with his weapon, turned around, and hoisted Nathan over him, slamming him into the ground head-first, cracking a bone, and removing him from the staff. Hades levitated closer to Nathan, when in surprise, Nathan turned around and impaled Hades with both of his Blazers. Nathan lifted Hades and attempted to do the same maneuver Hades did, except when he went to slam him on the ground, Hades vanished. Out of instinct, Nathan looked upwards, readied his shotgun, and fired. Hades was indeed there, and flinched at the bullet, ruining his pounce on Nathan, and fell to the ground.

Taking a step forward, Nathan suddenly sunk into the ground, as if he fell into a pool of water. The ground was now shin-high, until he sunk deeper into the pothole, now chest high, arms restrained.

Hades stood up and stared down at Nathan- who then challenged, "Is that the best you got?!"

Hades broke a sinister grin, inhaling deeply as a fire ignited in his own mouth, growing rapidly into a smaller scale inferno. Nathan cringed as he was waiting for the worst- Hades' chest stopped rising, and he exhaled a massive blast of fire on Nathan. The blast echoed through the Underworld, with an intense power that shook the ground, and created an explosion in front of Hades.

A flash of light gleamed for a moment, and slowly began to fade. As it faded, black smoke was revealed to have been elevating from a hole approximately forty-feet deep. Hades stepped forward to look into this crater, and at the very bottom was a motionless Nathan, sprawled flatly, scorched and smogged from head-to-toe. Of course, he began to heal, yet even still, Nathan appeared weak. Hades raised his hand and telekinetically, Nathan began to float up from the crater. Once above it, Hades pulled Nathan towards him, and released the body next to him, falling limply.

"What are you doing young Nathaniel? There's no time for resting, you need to see the grand finale!" Hades grimaced.

He waved his hand again, and a sharp rock grew out from the ground, piercing Nathan through his chest, positioning him on his knees. Another rock of the same shape shot through Nathan's throat, keeping his head raised and looking straight forward.

Hades leaned forward, and spoke in a soft, but sinister voice, "I want you to watch what's about to happen."

Nathan bled heavily on the rocks, as was his body was trying to heal around it, but he was now snug on the stalagmites, stuck with gaping wounds.

A loud galloping noise was heard, slightly vibrating the ground. The noise grew louder, as did the mini-quakes, and over a hill appeared the Cerberus. It slid down the hill, and ran towards Hades and Nathan stopping just feet away.

It rotated itself around and revealed Joseph constricted in the tail's grip. The snakehead bit down on his shoulder, and Joseph howled his wolf-howl at the pain, then yelled. He yelled, and switched back to a fainter howl, with a lack of control of his own voice. He tried to escape the serpent's grip, but grew weaker as the snake strengthened its bite.

"JOSEPH, NO!" Nathan blurted out.

He tried to free himself from the stalagmites, but was stopped by skeleton hands, pinning his arms behind his back.

"Watch him suffer! Get angry boy!" Hades barked.

"N-Nathan!" Joseph called back.

He was now growling and wriggling more, but even then, that began to fade. He began to cough and croak, trying to regain his breath, but instead a black substance began to pour from his mouth.

With his last attempt at speaking, he choked out, "Nathan...I-I'm...s-s-sorr-..."

Then he lost his breath and closed his eyes. The thick black liquid flowed out of his mouth like a faucet, and now his eyes and ears too. The snake saturated his blood with poison, killing him. It released its grip on Joseph and he fell to the ground, body stained black. He was weak. Paralyzed. Dead.

Hades pointed in the direction of his castle behind him, and ordered the Cerberus to leave. "Páo!"

The Cerberus leaped over the house-wide crater, and coursed its way back to the castle.

"NOOOO!" Nathan squirmed, yelled, and growled. "I'll have your head for this!"

Hades turned to Nathan. He kicked Nathan's head through the stalagmite, breaking it and the one at his chest. Nathan rolled to the floor, and ripped out the rocks from his body. He lied on his back facing upwards toward the polluted sky of the Underworld.

It's gruesome beauty was interrupted by the shadow hovering above him, no other than Hades. "Honestly, what did you think you'd accomplish by coming down here? How foolish!"

Hades' staff retracted its middle blade, but this time, it glowed red. An expert in Demonic weaponry, Nathan knew exactly what this blade could do.

"An Absorber? What do you plan to do with that?" said Nathan.

"Like I said, that friend of yours was of good help...but I'm not satisfied." replied Hades, as he skewered the staff into Nathan's healing wound. Now, the same glow from the blade created a red aura around Nathan. "I knew you'd eventually make your way down here to try and put an end to the attacks on Earth. In fact, it was your father's plan! You see Nathaniel, you have a power that your father wants, but his pitchfork alone can't do the job. Which is why mine was upgraded with his own power! With such power, Zeus would've done something about it, so Lucifer helped me seal the Underworld."

"That explains why I can't travel through the realms anymore..." Nathan groaned.

"Exactly. He tried to take your power, but realized it was too much for his arsenal to hold. Plus, he couldn't have a waste like you in his land, which is why you were banned, you disgrace!"

Nathan began to grow weak and his veins were more prominent, blackened, as Hades began to drain his power.

"Judgement Day will come, and it will not be under the responsibility of a god of any Heaven! Demons will rise, and all that's pure of heart, will fall. I call to you Black Phoenix! Join us, and reek the vengeance you ever so desire!"

"So that's...w-why you killed...Joseph." Nathan said, at a whisper now.

"Get angry! Aren't you infuriated?! I killed your friend, and you were too weak to do anything about it!"

"Too weak?...I'm just fine....angry, yes...but...n-not enough for your liking." Nathan fired back, smiling.

"You're weak! WEAK! Just like your whore mother was!" Hades spat.

Nathan's smile vanished. "What did you say?"

"Your mother was a whore! She couldn't have birthed a bigger mistake than you! You bring shame to the demon race! A prince as yourself shouldn't even be weeping over a mutt, let alone be his friend."

The ground then began to shake violently.

"Yes! Rise Phoenix! RISE!" Hades exclaimed.

Nathan's eyes glowed purple. The red aura completely diminished within Nathan's black and shadowy aura. Hades' excitement died down as well, for he couldn't feel any energy being absorbed into his staff.

"What is happening?!" Hades panicked, "WHAT IS HAPPENING?!"

"You bit off more than you can chew, King of the Underworld. You shall suffer!" said Nathan with the other echoing voice returning in the background.

Nathan's chest rose upon his strong intake of air. A purple flame lit up in his mouth, as the flames rapidly increased, Hades eyes widened at this, and without a moment to waste, a much larger wave of flames than what Hades' had created, exploded out from Nathan's mouth when he exhaled. The blast created a blinding light around them, lasting much longer before fading away.

Once the light died, Hades was just falling from sky, a body smoked and weak, struck the ground with an impact. He slightly struggled, but managed to stand up, almost stumbling, to find Nathan with black shadow-like wings- much larger than an archangel's and slightly smaller than a dragon's- and was reeking of a black and blue-violet aura. He was also holding Hades' staff.

Hades took a step forward, arms stretched out, and pleaded, "No, stop! Nathaniel!"

Without an evident effort, the staff suddenly turned to golden dust and gracefully fell to the floor. Hades knelt down in disbelief. He blinked once, and in that instant, Nathan was in front of him, hand raised down at Hades. The mercury-guns were molded onto his hands again, and before Hades could gasp, Nathan fired an explosive at Hades, sending him soaring backwards about one-hundred meters, with a rolling stop.

Before he could process what just happened, an unforgiving pain struck through Hades, like a blade, was then twisted within him, and he was lifted from the ground like a ragdoll. It was now Hades taking a final look at his own sky, while death stood behind him. Nathan lit up his other arm- his Blazers also merged within him, so now his arms were his dual-blades- as purple flames created a curved blade, engulfing his arms.

Hades trembled at the sound of the fire flickering.

"You can't kill a god! Don't even try it!" Hades coughed.

"As far as I know, you're hanging off the blade and I'm the one holding it."

Nathan raised his free arm-blade, pulled back, and swung into Hades' head. Being a god, Hades' head couldn't simply be decapitated in one attempt. To remove the head, one had to put in effort- for the blade would puncture the muscle, and they would have to literally push their way through.

Hades roared at the impact of the blade on the side of his neck. His body faded in and out of existence as he tried to teleport away from the blade in his abdomen, but the pain didn't allow him. Nathan dug deeper into his neck, as blood poured out of it, now two inches deep.

In the nick of time, a lightning bolt struck Nathan, causing him to release Hades. He turns around to find Zeus and Poseidon behind him.

"Enough Nathan! Control yourself!" Zeus demanded.

"You dare tempt The Black Phoenix?" Nathan threatened.

"Zeus...this power...he is merely an amateur, he...can't control it." Hades choked.

"Silence Demon King! Zeus, was it not you who wanted me to kill Hades?"

"Kill?! I wanted you to stop him! I may not commend of Hades' actions, but in the end, he is still my brother!"

"You made a grave mistake in siding with him." said Nathan.

He raised his hands, cocked them as he would a gun, and began to charge his fire, until suddenly, he went into paralysis. He froze, and couldn't move. Behind him still, was Hades using his powers to hold him.

"Attack him brothers! I can't hold it for long!" he exclaimed.

Poseidon threw his trident at Nathan, impaling him. Nathan began to power through the paralysis, but he moved all too slowly. Zeus launched a ball of electricity at the trident so it may serve as a conductor, and electrocute Nathan, stunning him. Poseidon then tackled Nathan to the ground with the trident, holding it securely on his chest.

"NOW!" he cried.

Hades and Zeus shot a wave of fire and electricity (respectively) at Nathan, as Poseidon pinned him down with the trident. Nathan growled and bellowed as he was helplessly being attacked by the three of the most powerful Gods of Greece. Submitting to the pain, Nathan echoed with pain, as a screech of a bird was also heard in the background. Then, he finally passed out. Zeus and Hades released their blasts, as did Poseidon with his trident. The black aura from Nathan vanished, as did his large shadowy wings. He seemed normal again, but was unconscious.

"Hades! I spared your life! Resurrect Joseph the Great this instant!" Zeus barked, staring furiously at his brother.

"Very well, an eye-for-an-eye." chuckled Hades.

He took to his feet and summoned Joseph's body in front of him. Joseph was in human-form, pale and blackened by the toxin, veins black, and eyes pitch black, still tearing black. Hades put out his hand and seemed to absorb the poison from Joseph, returning his tan skin color, veins normal again, and eyes cleansed of infinite darkness.

"Although healed, his body is weak. He will be resting for a while...my brothers, I am confused...How did you arrive here?" said Hades.

"Nathan's power slightly surpassed yours, so upon attack, he broke your part of the seal-"

"Mine as well." said a deep, hoarse voice.

Zeus and Poseidon turned around to find a blood-red-skinned man, with large horns, black cloth trousers, a long pointed tail, and a pitchfork.

"Lucifer!" Poseidon hissed.

"I prefer 'Satan,' thank you. Hades, did it work?"

"The Absorber wasn't strong enough." Hades replied.

"Absorber?! You fools! You can't contain the Black Phoenix!" Zeus bursted.

"We now know that, thank you. I'll have to extract it from Nathan some other way." said Satan.

"Satan, you're making a big mistake. I'll be damned if you think I'll allow you to harness such power!"

"We'll see about that. You Gods will fall eventually, and the skies will be stained with your blood!"

Angered, Poseidon hurled his trident at Satan, but before contact, Satan disappeared in flames as his sinister laugh echoed the Underworld.

"Damn him!" Poseidon scoffed, as he summoned his trident, as if splashing out of water, but out of thin air.

The brothers turn back to Hades, and find he is no longer there either. Just Nathan and Joseph resting on the warm ground.

"Well, it's time to return these two back to Earth...Jehovah and Jesus have a lot on Their plate apparently." said Zeus.

"Jehovah? I thought it was Yahweh?" replied Poseidon.

"Jehovah, Yahweh, no matter!"

On Earth...

"Thanks again, I didn't think they'd make it."

"You're welcome Geo. Now we must go. I'm sure that Hades has already started planning his next act." said Zeus.

Zeus, Geo, and Poseidon were back on the beach from which Nathan and Joseph have arrived. It was sunset, the sand was beginning to lose warmth, and the waves crashed against each other violently.

A lightning bolt struck down on Zeus and with it, he disappeared, leaving another glass platform where he once stood. Poseidon walked towards the ocean, as a large wave crashed down on him, and when the water was back to ground level, Poseidon was already gone with the wave.

Geo was left there, standing above a resting Nathan and Joseph. The propellers of a helicopter were heard from a distance, as it grew louder while approaching the beach. The helicopter began to descend on the beach, as small sandstorms were created by the propeller's wind. Several armored CIA agents marched out of the chopper and went to grab Nathan and Joseph. Following them was Agent Raul.

"How'd it go?" he asked.

"Well, the Gods have equilibrium again, so they can solve their own problems now. Mission accomplished." Geo assured.

"For now of course. There's always something with you superior beings...What happened with those two?" asked Raul, gesturing his head to Nathan and Joseph.

"The side effects of a tough job well-done! Especially Nathan, he had another incident. All three Gods had to stop him."

"Hades cooperated?"

"He had no choice, his life was on the line."

"Well, we can't have an agent like that...Speaking of which, when should we tell them?"

"Do you really want those loose-cannons to be working for you?"

"Not 'for us.' I was thinking more 'with us,' and that's exactly what we'll call them: The Loose Cannons."

"Perfect!" Geo chuckled.

"Alright, let's head back to base men! Gotta make it home for dinner!" Agent Raul ordered his men.

"Take care Agent! Say hello to the family for me!" Geo called out through the roar of the helicopter.

Agent Raul jumped in the chopper, and waved back to Geo. The helicopter ascended, rotated in the opposite direction, and it was off and gone.

Geo turned to admire the beauty of Greece: The blue and tan beach, the sunset, the small multicolor and now, peaceful city. All seemed normal, until Geo cringed with an ache, a headache in fact. He held his temples, feeling weak. He turned towards the sky as if something or someone was there. There was nothing but the sky and whatever may be beyond it...but that was the problem exactly.

"Ungh!" he cried, "That...dimension...it feels so close...but it's actually so far...a-and...there's more. Far dimensions, but...w-why am I feeling this? Who is responsible?"

His pain ceased, he took a deep breath, and stared questioningly at the sky and beyond.

The End...

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