EPILOGUE
PERSONAL UNDERWORLD

HADLEY liked to block out the day that she made Percy leave. It was difficult to do – forgetting him, pretending as if that day never existed – but she did it because she had to. If she remembered the way he kissed her, or the way he cried when he noticed her still watching him as he walked out of the Cortez – she didn't know what she'd do. If she remembered, Hadley was sure she'd run out and try to find him again. She would bring him back to the hellmouth. She would risk his mortality just to feel his hands burn against her icy skin.

Without him there, she felt lost, but it was what needed to be done.

Hadley liked to tell herself that she was fine without Percy, that she could get through anything on her own. She had been dealing with this affliction by herself for almost her whole life. She liked the alone time.

But after a while, alone time became nauseating. Alone time was scary. Because alone time was when she was left with her innermost thoughts, and her mind was consumed of their moments together. The only thing she could do to pass the time was to kill off the rest of those brat pack kids, which took longer than she thought it would. She desperately tried to reach her conscious out, trying to find his across the entire state of California, but she knew it was useless and there was no way for her to contact him. She needed to sit with the memory of him and enjoy this time.

However, it was difficult to enjoy when the people who raised you are suddenly dead.

Yes, you heard it here first. The Countess miraculously met her demise at the hands of the one and only Ten Commandments Killer, who needed her for his last vow, Thou Shalt Not Commit Kill. Hadley remembered the scene so clearly, and found herself thinking back to how she could've prevented it over and over.

She had been having an argument with Elizabeth – per usual. They fought back and forth, two stubborn minds clashing together. The Countess had explained to her daughter that she was finally leaving the Cortez forever to be reunited with her old flame, Rudolph Valentino. "You don't understand," Elizabeth argued, pointing a clawed finger in Hadley's face when she disagreed. "You will never understand. I have loved Rudolph for as long as I can remember. He is my savior. He is my maker. Nothing can break us apart anymore."

"Then have him move here!" Hadley exclaimed, throwing her hands up. She allowed them to form into fists, and her lip curled. "Listen," she huffed, "I know ... I know we fight a lot, but I've lost too many people to now lose you. You're my mom, Elizabeth. You made me into your daughter. Please –"

The Countess sighed, reaching a hand out to brush dark strands out of Hadley's face. Her cheeks were rosy and covered in freckles. Elizabeth would miss the sight of her pretty face. "You're an adult, Hades," she whispered, and the former nickname made Hadley close her eyes. "As much as I don't want you to be. You don't need me anymore."

Hadley wanted to tell her that her statement was a lie – it was the biggest lie she ever told – but Elizabeth was already picking up her suitcase and sending her a warm smile. It was the most heartfelt smile she had ever seen from her in the past seventeen years.

She was nothing short of a Victorian fantasy as she walked away. Hadley watched her from the living room, noticing the way the bustle on the back of her cream jacket swayed from side to side. Every strand of her hair was pulled away, framing her face delicately, and Hadley felt a tear slip down her cheek when she realized this would be the last time she'd ever see her creator. Elizabeth pressed the button on the elevator and turned to Hadley, whispering, "Goodbye, my child."

Neither of them expected the rain of bullets that followed a second later.

Appearing from the compact elevator was John Lowe, who continuously fired at Elizabeth, even as she fell to the floor in shock. Hadley couldn't bring herself to scream. She had seen far too much pain in her thirty-seven years, but her heart still sank in her chest, shriveling up like a tiny raisin. Her throat closed up and she couldn't think. How could she utter a word as she watched a killer approach her dead mother with a smirk on his face.

John looked at her and suddenly frowned, realizing what he'd done. He didn't dare point the gun in Hadley's direction. He didn't need her, but he could tell from the way her mouth opened slightly that killing her would be a waste of time. He'd let her sit with this image, and so she did.

Elizabeth never got to leave the Cortez. She never got to be with her Rudolph forever, like she wanted. She was to stay here, in the hellmouth, with James March. Her soul could never pass on.

But when Donovan's death came, Hadley realized that she had never felt that kind of pain before in her whole life. Thankfully, she hadn't been there to see it. Hadley didn't know what she'd do if she saw him again, only to watch him die minutes later. She'd probably kill herself too.

Elizabeth said that he died protecting her, and Hadley didn't have a doubt about it. That's just who Donovan was: a protector. He hated Elizabeth for throwing him out, but nothing could stop the everlasting love he would have for his creator. It was tragic – falling in love with a person who finds it in multiple people is the worst thing he could've done, among other things. He died saving her from a string of bullets sent to her chest. Liz and Iris had walked into the penthouse, guns blazing, but Iris hadn't meant to shoot her own son. The bullets were meant for the Countess, in retribution for her killing Tristan. They hadn't expected the fallout.

When Hadley was told of the news, her first instinct was to go and look for Donovan. Surely, if he was shot in the hotel, his spirit had to be haunting some hall. Her heart leaped with excitement. She wondered if he changed at all, if he had a beard, if he missed her – he had to have missed her.

But then Liz had grabbed her arm, explaining that Iris had taken his body outside the Cortez before his untimely death. He was truly gone. His spirit was lost in the afterlife.

Hadley wanted to be happy that he didn't have to endure this wretched hotel anymore. She wanted to believe that it was better this way. But she was a liar. Hadley Monroe was greedy, and she had wanted Donovan to die in this hotel, to have his spirit never reach the afterlife. She wanted him back.

If only she could learn not to be so selfish.

•••

Percy didn't return for a year. He was tempted to go back after six months, when he realized his insufficient human brain was starting to forget all the good times he had with her, but he stopped himself. It was a good thing too, since it took Hadley almost eight months to find the last newborn hiding out in the hotel and snap his neck. Once the Countess was officially gone, nothing was stopping her from ridding the hotel of those newborns, but it was tougher than she assumed. They would always be stronger than she thought. It was better this way – you know, for Percy to be gone. He had to tell himself that this was safer.

He went back to his parents with nothing but a broken heart and a dingy suitcase. No friends. No diplomas. Nothing substantial, but himself, which was all his parents truly needed. He'd always remember the shock on their faces when they saw him on their doorstep. Their mouth had dropped. Tears had gushed from his mother's eyes as she gripped him tightly in her arms. His dad had never looked happier in his life. This was the first time they showed that they really cared.

They probably thought he was dead this whole time. Maybe he was.

His mother let him rest for longer than he liked. Percy wasn't used to this kind of treatment from them. It had always been work, work, and more work between the three of them. Anything to make Percy and the family successful. But now, they simply wanted Percy close. It was a nice feeling, but also incredibly strange.

After a full day of sleeping – which Percy had spent dreaming of only Hadley, much to his delight, but also displeasure – his parents sat him down and persuaded him to tell them where he was this whole time. "I know this is a difficult subject," his mother murmured, grasping his hand tightly, "but we thought you were dead, Percy. The investigation had never been solved, though we were left to assume the worst after so many months. We need to know."

Percy didn't know what to say. He had a plan of what to say, but when his parents started to shed a new batch of tears, his throat closed up. He was at a loss for words. His mother was gripping his hand for dear life, and Percy was suddenly noticing all the scars and bruises that littered his fingers from the dangerous schemes he had been involved with. He didn't regret them for a second.

He ended up lying to them. That was always going to be the end result, but he didn't expect it to sting as much as it did. "I was kidnapped," he explained, trying to keep his voice low and even, despite the sudden urge to cry at the thought of Hadley holding him. "I never learned the man's name. Bobby and Christian were killed, but he kept me for so long to ..." Percy licked his lips. "To have someone to talk to, I guess. Eventually, he let me go. I think it's because ... because he felt bad."

Maybe he had been kidnapped. If anything, Hadley had kidnapped his spirit, and he hated that it all had to end like some cliché Nicholas Sparks novel. Except his girlfriend didn't die from cancer or a car accident. She was just a vampire that had gotten too close.

His parents went to the police with this (fake) information, which had started an investigation for Percy's (fake) kidnapper. They would never find any evidence, or a kidnapper, for that matter, but it was his best coverup and he didn't have time to think about it. Percy was now dedicated to going back to Harvey Mudd College, even though he was stared at wherever he went. Everyone had believed he was dead. The second he came back to campus, it was like he was the shiny new toy.

He got his degree after finally completing his last year. He got his degree in business. However, he now had no plans of running a business. He needed to move out, go back to his other life.

Percy lied to his parents again. At this point, he was doing it for their own good. He could've fake his own death to get out of their grips, but he decided that it was probably better for their own mental health to do this. Percy told them he got a job offer for a highly paid internship in L.A. They asked a lot of questions:

"Which business?"

"Do you have a place to move?"

"Why did they become interested in you?"

"When did you interview with them?"

Percy tried to pass their questions off as best as he could, his heart breaking each time he voiced another lie, but they allowed him to go. How could they not? He was twenty-three now. He needed to be an adult in the real world.

He left at dawn on a Sunday morning, right before his parents woke up, with nothing but a suitcase. He didn't want to say goodbye, in fear that he would have to lie again. Instead, he left them a note. A knot had still formed in his stomach. As Percy rode in a taxi to the train station, he watched early risers walk to church in their best clothes. He wondered then what they would think if they found out the demons that lurked around the deepest parts of hell were real – that monsters were real.

He paid over twenty dollars for a train ticket to Los Angeles, and he had to tell himself that the long ride would be worth it. In just four hours, Percy was back in the city of dreams, walking out of the train station into the blistering heat. Cupping a hand over his eyes, Percy slung his suitcase over his shoulder and tried to pinpoint his exact location. Once he realized the street he was on, his eyes went wide, and he realized he was only blocks away from his destination.

As he neared the familiar, flickering sign, Percy didn't know if he was sweating because of the heat or his own nerves. Cobwebs hung from the edges of the sign, and he noticed a few light bulbs had been smashed in. It was still recognizable. Percy could find the Cortez from a mile away.

He felt the heat escalate once he entered the musty hotel, and for the first time, he released a breath of relief. Nothing had changed. Everything was in its place, covered in a thin blanket of dust or dirt. The warmth made a sweat form on his brow, but all Percy wanted was to bathe in it, to feel like he was drowning in the depths of the Underworld.

"Percy?"

It felt like everything was moving in slow motion when Percy turned to her voice. She was standing at the front desk, surrounded by apparitions of Iris and Liz, and her cheeks were rosy with delight. Her face was practically lighting up like a sign, and her grin spread from ear-to-ear. Percy felt his lungs deflate. His chest almost collapsed. Before he could even catch his breath, she was running to him, burying her face in the crook of his neck.

His arms snaked around her waist, but the gesture was anything but casual. Their grips were both equally tight. Percy inhaled her decadent scent, breathing in every part of her, while she could just feel the blood pumping in his veins as she lowered her cheek to his skin. The sound calmed her, but also made excitement flood into her stomach.

"I didn't want to come back so soon," he whispered into her hair. "But it was so difficult. I was afraid that you wouldn't want me if I came back."

Hadley lifted her head, sending him a warm smile. "I'll always want you." She paused and allowed herself a moment to swallow down the bile rising in her throat. It was then that Hadley realized that he was back, and she couldn't let him go. She didn't have to be alone anymore. They could have eternity.

She needed to think over her next set of words, but they were tumbling out before she could stop them: "I want you forever."

Percy knew what she meant. The response hit him in the face, as if she slapped him. He chewed on his bottom lip, knowing the implications of her words, but he wanted nothing more than for her to act on them.

"Forever?" He muttered, and she pressed her chest closer to his.

Hadley nodded, thumbs caressing his sharp cheekbones. She took note of every angle, every wrinkle, every freckle. She wanted to remember this forever: Percy with golden skin and sculpted features. She could never forget it.

"Always," she replied before finally pressing her lips onto his.

Later that night, Percy realized just how painful forever would be. But he didn't mind it one bit. He would never mind it. All he needed was her: his very own Hades and their own personal Underworld.

THE END

•••

A/N: That's it!!!! Thank you guys for reading this fanfic because it was so much fun to write! Truthfully, I had written it when I was hardcore missing Hungry Heart lol, but this fic turned out way different and I'm so glad that you guys stuck along for the ride!

I'm taking some time off writing after this. Not too long – maybe a week, maybe two weeks – but I wouldn't call it a hiatus. The last thing I wanna be is one of those people who makes a "going on a hiatus" post and comes back 2 days later LMAOOOOO

I just want some time to chill and enjoy this time before my college graduation! Still can't BELIEVE that's happening WOWZA 😳 After that, I have 2 weeks off and then I go back to my big girl job!!!! Guess I have to be an adult now lol

Thank you guys again for all the support on this story! 💕