Chapter Thirteen

My whole body was racked with unbelievable pain.

I couldn't remember the last time I'd been in this much pain. I'm pretty sure I had several broken ribs and my wrist was twisted an angle that also told me it was broken. My nose had managed to heal itself so it wasn't broken, but it was still prone to oozing blood on occasion. My body was taking its sweet time trying to heal the rest of Epimetheus's damage, but right when it was close to being healed again, he'd beat the living shit out of me.

And worst of all was that I couldn't get up and fight him back. I hated this feeling of being helpless and it just succeeded in enraging me further. I just wanted to rip the bastard's throat open and bathe in his blood. But I could barely manage to get a few gulps of air into my lungs. Even worse was that Epimetheus never fell asleep, so I couldn't attack him in his dreams where he was most vulnerable.

But he was tired, I noted. His beatings had slowed down after the first six hours. He sat in a chair right next to me, one leg folded over the other. He'd shift every so often and when his head started to slump to the side in sleep, he'd jump back to his feet and kick me, then start pacing around.

It'd been a total of twelve hours since Epimetheus had captured me, and still no sign of Hannibal. A wave of relief swept over me. Epimetheus could beat me to death and I wouldn't give a shit, so long as Hannibal stayed at home. And it hurt so much, knowing that I would probably die and he would never know that I hadn't meant to leave him there alone for so long.

I told him thirty minutes.

And it'd been twelve hours. He probably thought I had abandoned him again and that hurt far worse than any beating Epimetheus could give me. My thoughts were a scrambled mess of questions.

Was Hannibal okay? What was he doing? Was he hurting himself again? Was he sleeping, eating, dreaming even? That gave me a sliver of hope.

If Hannibal was dreaming, if he was asleep, maybe, just maybe, I'd be able to get to him from here. I hadn't tried long distance dream walking before, but I knew it could be done.

With that thought in mind, I closed my eyes and expelled a long breath as I tried to relax my body. I tried not to alert Epimetheus, who was still scrambling around the mill to try and stay awake. He reminded me of a very wound up squirrel. I ignored the sound of his feet shuffling across the floor and his cloak dragging across it. I focused on the lulling silence of sleep, the cool caress of darkness, before I envisioned the glittering gold bridge that stretched out from my subconscious mind all the way out to where Hannibal was, but suddenly the bridge cracked and broke, making me wince.

He wasn't asleep. He was awake. But what was he doing? That worried me further.

My eyes flickered open as I watched Epimetheus approach me, glaring down at me in irritation. He didn't say anything, just glared at me, then stormed off and started off on one of his rants. That was one thing I had learned about Epimetheus these past twelve hours. He loved to talk, but it was hardly anything positive. It was always some kind of tangent about something completely stupid.

This was probably why he was the god of afterthought, and the fact that he was spilling out a few secrets that Prometheus probably would've slapped him for.

"... is fucking ridiculous! Hannibal's always been such a slow little brat. Like the time my father had hired a private tutor for us. That was a stupid move on his part. He made Hannibal go to the first few lessons, but Hannibal was always late or skipped them. Some whiny bullshit about how he was afraid Menoetius would hit him... Which was true, but so did the rest of us. That's not any reason to skip out on lessons! He would just go to the kitchen and cook with mother! And she hated him as much as we did, but she became amused when Menoetius and Atlas started to dress Hannibal up in brightly colored peploses. But it got boring after a while because he wasn't reacting to it, so mother kicked him out of the kitchen and he tried to cook outside by making little fires and those rotten naiads would always come up to try and help him. Naiads helping a god build a fire. What kind of fucking trip is that anyway?"

I rolled my eyes. Most of his rantings were similar to that. I zoned out and closed my eyes again, relaxing my body.

If I couldn't reach Hannibal, there had to be someone I could reach from here. It was actually illegal for me to try and sneak into one of the princes' dreams, but I had no other choice. Surely Hades or the brothers wouldn't punish me for trying to get help. So I went to the first one that I knew wouldn't kill me over it.

I concentrated on manifesting the glittery gold bridge that stretched out toward Abel, but the bridge cracked and shattered, indicating Abel too was wide awake. I clenched my teeth in frustration, then took a deep breath to force myself to relax as I reached out for Charon next, but again the bridge shattered on me.

Jesus Christ! Don't any of these idiots sleep?! Get some sleep for God's sake!

I focused on Cerberus next, and even tried Blaine, but Blaine's dreams were scrambled because of the infant he carried, ruining the connection. It was far beyond my abilities to dive into the dream of a pregnant person. The infant, upon reaching the development of a brain, began to dream on its own, but of course, since it had only seen the inside of its parents' womb, the dream was made up of sound and water and colors, which completely screwed up my attempt to get into Blaine's dreams, which were difficult to interpret. Even though he was blind, he too could dream just as any normal person, but his dreams could only reach enough power. Not enough to let me in.

I couldn't reach Zelios because of the barrier Hades had strictly put up around Tartarus. I searched for Malachi and Adrian, but both were awake. I didn't bother with Cain. If Abel was awake, he was awake. And finally, I projected a bridge out to Theo, and much to my amazement, the connection went through. The bridge shot out until my soul was teleportated into Theo's dream.

There was a blanket of white glitter, like snow, before it faded and I found myself looking at a dark dreary version of Theo's mansion. It was cold and empty, void of joy and laughter. It was completely different from the way it was now. I frowned. Was he having a memory as well?

I started to go to the throne room, then pulled up short and ducked back as a fiery haired woman stormed into the throne room angrily.

"You worthless, worthless child! How dare you disgrace me in front of your father! I worked hard to birth you and this is how you repay me?!" She shouted, shaking her fists before she whirled around as a small child came in behind her. My eyes widened at the sight of a tiny version of Theo. He looked maybe ten or so. Wavy red hair just like his mother's, the same shade as fresh blood, matching his hooded eyes with dark circles under them. He wore a small drab gray tunic and leather sandals that laced all the way up to his knees. He didn't look at all surprised at his mother's shrieking, which seemed to enrage her further as she backhanded him so hard, he stumbled and fell back onto the floor, clutching his cheek.

"You're a disgrace! You pathetic ugly child! I should have just tossed you into the barracks upon birth and left the Spartan soldiers to deal with you, you shit! At least there you'd be of some use! Here, you are no different from our lowly servants! Go to your room, you ingrate, and stay there! And do not expect any dinner and I'm burning the rest of your toys, do you understand me, you ungrateful bastard?" She snarled. Theo just nodded numbly before his mother stormed off and left him in the throne room. He struggled to get to his feet, stumbling for a moment.

I took my chance and darted out into the throne room, making Theo jump. He looked startled to see me, then looked around and clutched the side of his head as his dream was disrupted and distorted. He didn't change his shape, though, and the room stayed the same, but the memory was halted.

"Who the hell are you and what are you doing in my dream?!" Theo demanded angrily. It was odd to see the child version of him yelling at me like an adult, but I shook my head.

"Lord Theo, my name is Akin." I introduced calmly. Theo gave pause at that, raising an eyebrow.

"Akin... You're the guy Abel keeps going on about. Well, Akin, in case you experienced severe brain damage, which you probably have considering you've got the hots for Hannibal, it's illegal for anyone to enter my dream, unless I've given them permission, so either you get out or I'll make you get out."

"Lord Theo, I really apologize for invading your privacy, but something's wrong. Epimetheus has me." I added. Theo's eyes flared.

"What?" He demanded angrily. The burst of anger caused the dream to shatter like a mirror, revealing the newer, better version of his throne room and a spiral of red smoke twirled around him so he was now his older self. An incredibly pretty man caught in his mid-twenties, with his blood red hair brushing his shoulders and matching eyes flaring like the flames of hell. He wore only leather pants and his long red velvet cloak.

"Epimetheus is in Styx," I explained quickly, feeling the sudden tug of someone trying to wake me up, "He's after Hannibal, who's at my apartment. Please, please, tell Abel, but don't tell Cain. I can't let Cain hurt him."

"Where are you?" Theo demanded, coming toward me as my image started to flicker. I cursed.

"He's trying to wake me up. You have to get to him quickly. He's at one of the abandoned mills, he's trying to--" I was cut off as a sharp pain exploded in my skull and I cried out in pain, collapsing to my knees as I clutched my head. Theo's eyes widened in alarm and he went to grab my hand, but the dream flickered and everything vanished as I zoned back into reality and out of his dream.

And I returned to reality with Epimetheus's foot planting itself into my temple. Pain racked my skull as I gasped in agony, scrambling to get away from him, but Epimetheus grabbed me by a handful of hair and threw me at the wall. I started to slide down it, but he caught me by the throat and pinned me to the wall as I choked and gasped for air.

"You bitch! Who were you contacting?!" He shouted at me, dark eyes glowing with absolute hatred. I tried not to laugh, but let's blame it on suicidal tendencies, as I laughed breathlessly.

"Theo. Lord Theo's coming." I panted. Epimetheus's eyes widened as he released me and I hit the floor in a crumple.

"Son of a bitch," Epimetheus shouted angrily, doing a full circle as he raked a hand through his hair, "Shit! Damn! Ugh! I knew I shouldn't have let you sleep. The one time I don't have change for a Red Bull at the vending machine! Get up! We're leaving, now!"

"Yeah, sure, let me just not do that." I grunted past clenched teeth. Epimetheus fumed and reached down, grabbing me up by the waist. I hissed and writhed as best I could to get away from him, but his grip was crushing me so badly, I felt my healing ribs snap back into their broken places. It was a miracle they hadn't punctured my lungs yet. We vanished from the mill and reappeared in one of the dirty alleys between a couple of abandoned apartment buildings. Well, probably not totally abandoned. No doubt some homeless folk had infiltrated the place.

"Get off me!" I snarled, trying to push him away, but he didn't let go and just squeezed me tighter until I couldn't move anymore. Even worse was that he held me against his chest so my face was dangerously close to that nasty breath of his, making me cringe. Epimetheus went to the nearest door and kicked it open, causing a few orphans inside to shriek and scramble away in fright. None of them seemed to really notice that Epimetheus was dragging me in as a prisoner. They were too busy running for their lives.

Epimetheus went inside and slammed the door shut, then went to the cellar door. Instead of being so nice as to go down the stairs with me, he threw me do so I bashed into each step on the way down and slammed into a very wet, cold, and disgusting cellar. I gasped, lifting my face out of the water, breathing hard and watching my breath come out in clouds. I looked up as Epimetheus slammed the cellar door shut on me and locked it. I cursed, struggling to get up so I could leave, but my leg cracked and I cried out in pain, sinking back down into the water.

I looked down at my leg as I scooted myself up onto the step that was sticking out of the water and cursed when I realized my leg was snapped at an odd angle. I hadn't even noticed because I was already in pain. I grimaced and tilted my head up as dust and broken wet splinters of wood fell over my head at Epimetheus's storming around in circles upstairs. I wanted to go back to sleep and tell Theo where I was now, but no doubt that he was already awake and alerting his brothers. If he was smart anyway. I hoped he was smart.

I just prayed to the gods that he didn't bring Cain to Hannibal.

Please, please, please, Lord Theo. Don't hurt Hannibal. Don't let anyone hurt him.

My heart ached and I wanted nothing more to hold Hannibal in my arms again. But if having him here meant he'd be hurt, then I'd rather him just stay as far away from here as possible. I could only hope Abel and Theo were smart enough to do that. I didn't want Hannibal here. Epimetheus was going to hurt him.

And part of me didn't want to believe Hannibal loved me. He may not hate me, but he couldn't possibly love me. It wasn't that he wasn't capable of loving; it was just the fact that he couldn't love me. I had been so horrible to him. I kicked him out of my house and called him a monster. I was pathetically trying to heal the wounds that those cruel bastards had caused him, knowing that I never could. I wasn't helping him at all.

That succeeded in making tears well up in my eyes, blurring my vision. I coughed and sniffled, rubbing at my arms given how freezing it was down here. It was cold enough in Styx now that cloaks and jackets were necessary to leave the house, but my jacket was gone and now I was just left in my tank top and torn Tripp pants. Goose bumps rose on my clammy skin and my teeth chattered as I sniffed, looking up at the ceiling as I heard Epimetheus's footsteps pause, then continue again. I could hear him yelling at himself for being an idiot. I sniffed again and hiccuped, looking down at the diry water that had collected in the cellar.

It was leaking from a pipe that led from the river of Styx. But the souls that swam there hadn't made their way in here. It was just the cold black water, about six inches of it. Six inches of icy cold water stabbing at my legs and hips as it lapped at me every so often.

I sniffled again, reaching up to wipe my wrist across my nose.

If Theo couldn't reach me, I just hoped they could protect Hannibal. I didn't want him hurt anymore. He'd suffered so much and he didn't deserve to suffer anymore. And he most certainly didn't deserve someone like me. I was pathetic and weak. I always went on about how strong and tough I was, but when it came right down to it, I was none of those things. I wasn't strong enough to protect Hannibal and I wasn't strong enough to even keep my promises to him. All I ever wanted was to be happy with him, for him to be happy, even if it wasn't with me.

It didn't matter how much I loved him, it just wasn't enough.

I choked on a sob, but managed to swallow it down as I reached up to wipe at my eyes. I cupped the cold water at my knees into my palm and splashed my face with it. Breathing hard, I looked up at the ceiling as I heard Epimetheus pacing around, trying to come up with the next part to his stupid diabolical plot. I gritted my teeth.

Stop, Akin. Stop. Stop having a pity party. If I was going to die, then I sure as fuck wasn't going out alone. If I could get rid of Epimetheus, that was enough for me. He would stop pestering Hannibal and leave him to live his own life.

I grabbed onto the step behind me and pulled myself up, making my way up the stairs. I sent a flow of power focused on my broken leg and busted ribs. I grabbed another step and pulled my way up, repeating the same thing in my head.

I love Hannibal. He may not love me, if by some miracle he did, he could fall in love again, with someone who wasn't like me. If that's the case, I just want my last thing for him to be getting rid of Epimetheus. I could at least save Hannibal from being tormented by the bastard, and stop Epimetheus from releasing Prometheus and Menoetius.

I heaved myself up another step, then gasped as the rotten wood gave way and I almost fell through, but I managed to catch myself on the rail. I cringed, looking at the way the wood had cut into my arm, causing it to bleed. I took a deep breath, fought the pain, and pulled myself up along the railing now, avoiding the parts of it that creaked against my weight. I ignored the pain of my leg and ribs struggling to heal themselves.

I managed to get up to the second step, then threw my hand out at it and sent a blast of power at the door, causing the whole thing to explode off the hinges and shooting across the room, narrowly missing Epimetheus, who yelped in alarm.

I pulled myself to my feet using the door frame. Epimetheus snarled at me and lunged, the stupid idiot, sent both of us off balance and flying back down the stairs, splashing into the water. I gasped as he shoved my head under the water so it closed just over my face. I held my breath, cringing at the sliminess of the water. I reached up and grabbed angrily at his face, trying to rip it off with my fingernails. I succeeded in sinking my fingernail into his cheek, tearing through it until I felt the wet warmth of his mouth and he howled in agony, releasing my throat.

I shot out of the water, gasping and sucking in cold breathes of air. Epimetheus clutched at his cheek, tears welling up in his eyes before he lunged for me, throwing me back in the water, but I brought my knees up between us and sent him flying over my head and crashing into the stone wall, causing a few stones to come loose. More water sprang from between the stones, spraying at Epimetheus, who shrieked at how cold it was before he pushed off the stones and lunged at me. The water was steadily rising to a foot now, and this time, it easily closed over my head as Epimetheus struggled to hold me under.

I didn't have time to catch a breath and my mouth was already open, sucking in gulps of water in an attempt to get oxygen. I choked and coughed, frantically trying to shove him off me. I felt his thumbs press into my throat as he tried to rip into it, but I managed to fling my foot up between his legs and he dropped back, crying out in pain. I scrambled to my feet, seething in pain as my freshly healed leg struggled to support my weight. I stumbled back into the wall, then lunged at Epimetheus, who yelped as I pinned him down and held him under the water.

He flailed and grabbed at my throat. I choked and gasped, but didn't let go of him. He still writhed and thrashed like a giant fish, until his fist connected with my jaw and I rolled over into the water, breathing hard and trying to catch my breath. Epimetheus struggled to grab me, but I rolled out of his way and made my way to the stairs to get away from him, but he caught me by the leg and tore me back down into the water, climbing on top of me to hold me under. I swung my arm around and bashed him over the head, sending him sloshing through the water.

I tried to muster up the strength to teleport, but my body refused to obey. My powers were spiraling out of control and even when I tried to blast Epimetheus back, it only made him stumble before he was on me again, grabbing a handful of my hair and shoving my head back under the water. I choked and coughed, trying to suck in air, but only getting lungfuls of water before he tore my head out of the water suddenly, glaring at me.

"You're not dying! Not yet! Hannibal has to be here to see you choke on your dying breath."

"You're the one trying to kill me, you psychotic son of a bitch!" I managed to shout breathlessly, before breaking into a coughing fit. Epimetheus curled his lip and got off me, but he grabbed me by the hair and tore me to my feet. I stumbled through the water, but managed to get on my feet for a moment before Epimetheus caught me by the waist and lifted me easily over his shoulder. I cursed at him and slammed my fist into his back, but he only wobbled before struggling up the stairs.

"Put me down, asshole! Let go of me!"

"Not until Hannibal shows up to do his cowboy rescue thing. Once he releases my brothers, then I'll let go you go. Then I'll rip your throat open in front of Hannibal."

"You're stupid! Hannibal will never come!"

"Oh yes, he will! Now shut up before I break your jaw and knock all your teeth out and cut your tongue off!"

"That won't stop me from screaming." I reminded him and opened my mouth to do so, but I yelped instead when Epimetheus threw me down on an old table in the room that creaked under my weight. I hissed at that and tried to sit up, but Epimetheus shoved me back, leaning over me and pressing his hips right up against mine, making me freeze. He smirked at me evilly.

"I should've had those asswipes rape you instead. You'd make more noise than Hannibal did." He sneered. I glared at him murderously.

"You were the one that did that to him?!"

"You bet your ass, I did," Epimetheus said dangerously, gripping my knees and forcing them apart so he could get between my legs and I sat up to shove him back, but he caught me by the wrists, leaning in to my face, "Hannibal was at the bar trying to get drunk because he was so heartbroken that you booted him out onto the streets with nothing, but the collar on his throat. Which was very useful, by the way, thanks for that. I talked the bartender into slipped some drugs into his drink and when he came out, I had already told everyone what he'd done to Abel. They were on him faster than flies on shit. They were ripping him to pieces, beating him for the longest time, before I whispered that they should punish him with the same crime he committed. It took some convincing on my part, but they did exactly what I wanted them to do. I supplied them with the drugs they needed to keep him from using his god powers. The only thing that pissed us off was that he never screamed or cried or made any pretty noises. He just let it happen. So it was his fault in the first place for not fighting back hard enough."

"Shut your fucking mouth!" I snarled, bashing my head into his and making him yelp and let go of my wrists as I went to grab him by the throat, but he backhanded me so hard that I fell back against the table, breathing hard at the blinding pain. Epimetheus leaned over me and I cringed at the feel of his erection grinding against me.

"It was his fault. Everything's his fault. The reason Menoetius was captured. The reason we lost the Titanomachy. The reason my father was always in a foul mood. The reason mother never looked at me anymore. Hannibal, that god for saken whoreson, is the reason my life is miserable. And nothing will please me more than watching him scream in pain when I rip your body to shreds in front of him. When he gets here, I'm going to rip your tiny ass and make you scream." He sneered angrily, reaching for the zipper of my pants, but I swung my knee up into his nose and he yipped like a puppy in pain, stumbling back before lunging at me again.

I rolled off the table and watched Epimetheus trip and slam into the table, causing it to splinter and crack in half under his weight. Epimetheus snarled and scrambled to his feet, but I bolted for the door and grabbed the handle to wrench it open when Epimetheus caught me around the waist and this time, I screamed, beating at his hands.

"Get your filthy hands off me, you fucking disgusting pervert! I'm going to rip your intestines out and bathe in your blood!" I shrieked. Epimetheus cursed as I kept screaming obscenities, hoping to get someone's attention outside, but Epimetheus flung me around and slammed me into an old glass cabinet.

Pain sliced through me as the glass shattered and plunged into my back. Blood welled up in my throat and poured past my lips as I sank to the floor, struggling to breath and gain back my breathing. Epimetheus went after me and heaved me up to my feet by the front of my tank top, tearing it in the process as he threw me down on the floor. He got between my legs and held me by the throat, squeezing tightly whenever I moved to stop him as he grabbed the front of my pants to yank them down.

"I'm going to kill you slowly and painfully," Epimetheus seethed in a blind rage, trying to slap my hand away when I tried to stop him from yanking at my pants, "Forget letting Hannibal watch. I'll just see the look on his face when he comes and finds out that he was too late. He'll find your ravished destroyed corpse and--"

"Fuck you!" I spat in his face and Epimetheus snarled, moving to bash me over the head when a strong blast of power sent the door flying off its hinges. I jerked my head back so I saw an upside down version of Hannibal standing in the doorway. A smirk curled Epimetheus's lips as he steadily rose to his feet, grabbing me by a handful of hair to get me to my feet. I wobbled a little, breathing hard as Hannibal stood in the doorway.

I was both agonized and relieved to see him. He hadn't hurt himself. He was wearing one of the black sleeveless turtlenecks I'd bought him and leather pants. And even more shocking was the collar I'd bought him around his neck again. My eyes widened slightly.

"Hannibal?" I managed, just to make sure it was him. Hannibal glanced at me, then locked his eyes on Epimetheus.

"Get your hands off him." Hannibal commanded, his voice ice cold. Epimetheus beamed and tightened his grip in my hair, making me wince and try to pry his fingers away, but their grip was like steel.

"Hannibal, my baby brother, it's so good to see you. We were waiting for you to show up. What took you so long? Surely fourteen hours was enough to realize your precious incubus was gone." He pointed out with a shrug. Hannibal's eyes narrowed considerably and I felt a pulse of power go through the room, but Epimetheus didn't seem worried at all. Then again, he was an idiot.

"Get. Your. Filthy. Hands. Off him." Hannibal repeated, enunciating each word slowly, as if Epimetheus were an infant. Epimetheus just kept smiling as he tightened his grip in my hair and pulled me so I was right up against him and I writhed in disgust, trying to shove him back, but it was like trying to get a bear to let you go.

"Not until you do me a favor."

"Prometheus stays where he is. Menoetius also stays." Hannibal told him flatly. Epimetheus's eyes flared as he twisted his fist in my hair and I hissed past clenched teeth.

"You're not getting your slut back until you give me my brothers. My real brothers, whoreson." He sneered at Hannibal, who remained stoic. He took a step toward Epimetheus and Epimetheus took one back, dragging me with him. In a desperate attempt to distract Epimetheus, I glanced to the side to see the cellar door still opened. I threw all my weight to the side to throw Epimetheus in and he shrieked, scrambling away from the door and slammed his fist into my jaw. I gasped in pain and almost fell back on the floor, but Hannibal was behind me in an instant, catching me under the arms and spinning me around so I was pressed flush against his rock hard chest.

Epimetheus screamed in frustration and started to teleport out, until he realized he couldn't. He kept trying, sending out one power flare after another before he screamed again, pinning Hannibal with a deadly glare. He lunged for him, but this time, I jerked out of Hannibal's arms and grabbed Epimetheus by the front of his shirt, slamming my fist into his nose, causing it to snap and squirt blood onto his face and clothes. He stumbled back, clasping a hand over his nose. I wanted to keep attacking him, but Hannibal touched my arm and pulled me back. I looked at him curiously, but he just pulled me back into his arms, then glared at Epimetheus, who wheezed for breath.

"There is a barrier here that even you cannot break, Epimetheus." Hannibal informed calmly. Epimetheus blinked, then tried one last time to try and teleport out before he cried out angrily.

"You didn't do this!"

"No, I didn't," Hannibal agreed, "The Sons of Hades have. And they await Hades to come and get you." The blood drained from Epimetheus's face as he stared at Hannibal. Wow, I don't think I'd seen Epimetheus this afraid before. I looked up at Hannibal, who kept his cold gaze locked on Epimetheus.

"You're bluffing," Epimetheus accused, "If the Sons of Hades were here, you, too, would be arrested. You're a fugitive as much as I am. You raped the son of Hades, Abel, and you plotted against them with Prometheus and I! You think a little over a month is enough for them to pardon your actions?!" Hannibal's expression remained a blanket of stoicism, but his grip on me tightened considerably, but not to hurt me, just the only reaction he let himself show in irritation at Epimetheus's words.

"I did," Hannibal said at last, making me wince, "I know what I did. I will pay for my crimes, but I will not go to Tartarus alone, Epimetheus. You're coming with me so we can spend the rest of eternity together. Isn't that what you wanted, brother? Things to go back to the way they were before the Titanomachy?" Epimetheus's cheeks flushed with rage as he screamed, clenching his fists.

"I want Prometheus! I don't even give a shit about Menoetius or Atlas and especially not you! I want Prometheus back!"

"And you will get him back. Maybe if you're lucky enough, Hades will be merciful and put you in a cell with Prometheus. Then you can be together in whatever sick twisted way you want."

"Nooo!" Epimetheus roared and lunged for him. Hannibal whipped me out of the way and caught Epimetheus as Epimetheus slammed them both into the floor. He struggled to straddle Hannibal so he could effectively punch him in the face, but Hannibal caught his wrist and snapped it, making Epimetheus scream in pain. He instantly recoiled from Hannibal to cradle his wrist. Hannibal got to his feet and I rushed over to help him. He pulled me close into his arms and my breath left me in a shocked gasp. I looked up at him as he looked down at me. There was the slight softening of his expression and I held my breath before speaking.

"You came." I managed. Hannibal inclined his head.

"Yes, sir." He answered. Tears welled up in my eyes and unable to resist anymore, I reached up to take Hannibal's face in my hands and pulled him down to kiss him. I almost expected him to pull away or wince, but instead, he kissed me back passionately. My heart swelled with warmth and the chills from the cold apartment room faded. Hannibal wrapped his arms around my waist, holding me to him tightly before we parted, breathes mingling hotly. Hannibal's eyes studied mine and he parted his lips to speak, but Epimetheus screamed and Hannibal snapped around as Epimetheus lunged for us, summoning a dagger in his hand.

"Hannibal!" I cried out, and shoved him out of the way on instinct. Epimetheus slammed the dagger right up into my heart and I choked, grabbing his arm as he drove me back and slammed me into the wall. He sent a blast of power into the dagger and elongated it so it pinned me against the wall. Epimetheus stumbled back breathing hard and I heard a low cry that shocked me as I turned to see Hannibal scrambling to his feet, coming over to me.

"Akin?" He stammered, touching at the handle that stuck out of my chest. I struggled to breathe, but my lungs were filling with blood and it poured from my mouth and down my chin. I reached up to touch his hands with shaking fingers.

"Holy crap," I managed, looking up at him to see his mask of stoicism fade into utter horror, "He was right..." Hannibal looked confused at that, then gave his head a shake. His hands were trembling as he touched the handle, unsure whether or not he should pull it out before he reached up with bloody hands to cup my face.

"Stay here. Please stay here." He pleaded shakily. My heart wrenched with pain, and not from the dagger either. I watched Hannibal's eyes glisten with unshed tears that made me want to cry too.

He was crying. That mask of everlasting stoicism was gone and he looked truly terrified, truly pained. After everything that had been done to him, he never cried, never screamed, never wailed. He had remained true to the isolation of emotion... until now.

"It's poisoned," Epimetheus spat from behind Hannibal, watching me with eyes filled with hatred, "He'll be dead by the time Hades gets here. If I can't have what I want, then neither can you, whoreson." Hannibal's mouth opened and closed, like he was trying to find words to express his agony, but he couldn't. A very faint smile fell across my lips as I reached up with a trembling hand to touch Hannibal's scarred cheek.

I could already feel the warm sting of the poison pumping through my system, shutting down each of my organs, one by one. My body was shutting down and my heart was the last thing set to go. It was a struggle to breath, struggle to stay alive now.

"Do... you really..." I couldn't finish the sentence as more blood dribbled past my lips and Hannibal made a choking sound that I knew all too well. A tear slid down his cheek and touched my fingertips.

"I do, master... I do, Akin... I love you." His voice was a mere whisper. I sighed in relief, feeling the poison reach my heart like a black plague that grabbed it and clenched. I felt the last few beats, saw the darkness closing in on my vision.

"Love you too... Hanni... bal..."

And then I couldn't fight anymore.