Chapter Twenty-Two

When I first arrived in the Underworld, it was split up into pieces. Large city-states with a few outlying villages all ruled under separate lords. It wasn't chaotic, like Hell had been. There was a strict order to things, strict borders that weren't crossed without coin. Aside from that, there was not a single god that ruled the realm as a whole. After all, the place was vast and touched all kinds of otherworldly borders. It was just too large to contain.

Or so they said.

Of course, I didn't go barging into people's shit, claiming I was their new god, so bow down, motherfuckers. Nah, that came later. In the beginning, I was quiet. I laid low and scoped the place out. I didn't have my palace, or a home at all. At least, not until I had met Charon.

Charon had been so fucking small back then. He was only eighteen and barely reached my chest. His ink black hair was long and fell all the way to his waist, hiding his face so all you could really see were his vibrant lavender eyes. He didn't have Kyros at the time, or the signature cloak that had been given to him. Instead, he wore a tattered cloak that looked almost like spiderwebs with the amount of holes in it. He clearly had no idea how to take care of himself and he was just as lost as I was.

I think that was what attracted me to the little kid in the first place.

He reminded me so much of my siblings.

And even though Zeus had just fucked me over in every way possible, I felt this insane need to protect him.

"You are my son," I told Charon the day we met, and he just stared up at me with those big purple eyes, "I will protect you and I will guard you, and in turn, you shall do the same for me. Does that seem fair?" He'd stared at me in silence for a while, having stood on the sandy shores of the River Acheron.

"Can you make tea?" He asked. I remembered scowling at a peculiar question.

"Of course," I replied. Charon nodded at that and looked back out at the water.

"Thank you, father," he murmured. That had been his response. I took it as confirmation, and thus, I had ended up living out of Charon's house. At the time, the place had been rather large, not the dinky ass tiny house he was shacking up with Alexion on in now. It had several other rooms, of which I had no doubt his former family had stayed in, because the rooms were kept immaculate, as if Charon was preparing for his family to return any day now.

Which they never did.

And I saw how much that tore him up. I remembered hearing him cry the first few nights. I remembered arguing with myself, forcing myself to stay put and let him cry himself to sleep. Comfort would only weaken him, I reminded myself grimly. It was what I had done with my siblings when they wept. I comforted them and they became soft and fragile. Charon was fragile enough. He needed to become strong if he was going to survive in this shit world.

Not that his emotional state was as much of a problem as his basic survival skills.

The kid hadn't bathed since his parents left because he had no idea how. He had no idea how to use any of his powers, the few that had come to him anyway. He was teleporting all over the place for weeks without realizing it. He also also burned half the kitchen down just trying to start a fire to boil water. He'd blown the front door clear off its hinges. He was a fucking train wreck, and he knew it too, seemed to resign himself to this pathetic state, and it had infuriated me.

It had taken weeks and weeks of practice to teach him the basics, so he'd at least stop teleporting into the fucking shower with me or setting shit on fire just by sneezing. I'd also had to teach him how to read and write, which thankfully was easier than teaching him anything else. He'd caught on quickly. He was book smart for sure, and that I took as his greatest strength.

And once Charon was in a good place, we got to work.

There were several lords currently sitting pretty in the underworld. They met often to discuss plans and wars and the like every month during the full moon before they departed and didn't speak for the rest of the month. Most of them were fat pieces of shit with too much power and riches. The kind of guys who pulled wings off imps or used them as furniture pieces. Probably the type of guy that Zeus would find amusing.

But there was one in particular that tended to scare the other lords and rarely made personal appearances at the meetings.

"His name is Kratos," Charon told me as we walked the black beaches along the Acheron, "He's actually the god of strength. He is the disowned son of Styx and Pallas." Pallas had been sent to Tartarus after the war while Styx had been rewarded for not only handing Pallas over to Zeus, but also being his eyes and ears on the other side.

"Disowned?" I asked. Charon nodded.

"He refused to fight with either side in the war. Rumors said he wanted nothing to do with it, so he and his sister, Nike, left the battle."

"I take it Zeus nor Cronus took that well."

"Indeed. Kratos was banished to the underworld and Nike wanted to avoid such a fate, so in the end, she fought for Zeus."

"Where is Kratos ruling?"

"He rules the zone known as The Gates. It is the main entry point to the realm. He lives in a very quaint cottage, actually, unlike the other lords. However, he is very surly and not many like him. In fact, my own parents tended to avoid him often, if for nothing more than his mouth."

Joy, I remembered thinking dryly. I had just left behind a whole family of nitwits and now I was opening the doors to another side of said family, only just as annoying. Clearly being an asshole was a fucking family trait.

A short time later, Charon and I had managed to call a meeting of the major lords of the underworld in order to stake a claim on the realm in the name of Zeus. Something that they had all foreseen and weren't all that surprised to hear; not that anyone was particularly happy.

"A bunch of fucking bull," one of the lords, whose name I honestly didn't fucking bother to remember, "You think you can just show up out of nowhere and claim the land as your own? What, is that why your mum named you after the realm? Think it'll help you get a throne? Fuck off."

"You're but a child in comparison to us," the lord name Paxus scoffed, "We were old when your mother came unto this world, and you think we'll sit back and let a fucking child take control of our lands that we fought for with blood and sweat? God or no, you are nothing!"

More shouts of disgruntlement. Not everyone was displeased, a couple of lords didn't seem to care either way as long as they were paid compensation for handing over the deeds to their lands and authorities.

"He's a fucking god," the lord known as Wind Storm snorted, sitting back in his chair and kicking his boots up on a table, "Stand against him, brothers, frankly, I wouldn't mind seeing the lot of you lined up in Tartarus. Give me my land, my home, and my slaves, and I'll let you do as you please, Hades."

"Honestly," Morpheus, god of dreams and lord of the Land of Dreams, "Cease with the petty whimpering. You accuse him of childishness in the high pitched whine of a babe yourself." There was some healthy arguing. I remembered scanning the room, disinterested in the quarreling that reminded me of my siblings. Charon didn't appear to enjoy it too much and stood very close to my side, clearly eager to leave. I noted that the god, Kratos, was missing from the meeting. It meant no major decisions would be made without him.

How annoying.

The meeting wrapped up with more shouting, but more agreements this time as one by one, the lords began to concede to my rule. It helped offering them whatever the hell they wanted and monthly payments to keep them on the up and up. Charon didn't appear big on the payments, but he didn't really argue his position, probably because he didn't understand the depth of it all. He just went along with pretty much everything I did.

Including a visit to Kratos's famed cottage.

And it really was a cottage.

Well, probably a fucking witch's cottage.

It was made of sleek black rock that had been mined from the mountain range that sat beyond it. The roof was made of straight up steel, something that was new to our people at the time. The same steel roof fell in a cone around the top of a glass room, but you couldn't see through the glass because of some kind of coating. A small little porch sat at the front entrance. It really wasn't much to look at, and considering it was as black as the mountains and darkness around it, it basically looked invisible.

"Does he live alone?" I asked Charon, who stepped along behind me, pausing to splash a little in the rivulets of rainwater that had gathered between the broken and crooked cobblestone path.

"Ah, as far as I know. Not many enjoy his company," he admitted. I nodded as we approached the door, standing beneath the small porch to get out of the rain that seemed to come pouring down at a constant the past week. I didn't really get a chance to knock either, because the door cracked open.

I remembered being caught off guard by him. Mostly because he was tall, nearly as tall as myself, which didn't happen often. His hair was snow white and fell in long locks to his waist, though some of it was gathered up in a sort of half-bun so it was out of his face. His skin was black as coal and he seemed to blend well into his surroundings. His eyes were such a clear shade of blue-green. He was dressed in a black leather duster without sleeves that fell down to his ankles, a pair of tall buckled boots that added a couple more inches to his height, and black leather pants.

Shit, he was practically as a shadow then too.

"Wow," he exclaimed, making me frown as he feigned surprise, "Look at me, how special am I to get a personal housecall from the great lord Hades himself? And, what, your kid or something?" He glanced at Charon, who stepped partially behind me, clearly not wanting to get any attention from the larger male. I immediately diverted Kratos's attention by clearing my throat.

"You missed the meeting," I stated. Kratos snorted.

"Aye, that I did."

"Care to explain?"

"Not really," Kratos deadpanned, making me scowl and he stretched his arms over his head in a way that indicated he wasn't particularly threatened by my presence, which seemed odd considering the moment I had appeared in this world, almost everyone was threatened by my presence. Then, the rumors were getting around now, surely. What happened on Olympus did not stay in Olympus; nah, it fucking got flushed down every toilet in the world.

"Shall I accept that as your acceptance of my proposal?" I asked. Kratos gave me a droll look.

"Did I say I surrendered?"

"No, but--"

"Then, no, I do not surrender. You can have whatever the hell you want, except my property and my land. I own the Gates and everyone who lives here. If you have a problem with that, smite my ass. I'm Kratos, bitch, lord of the Gates, ruler of whores and bandits, emperor of lust and joy, god of power and strength, king of-- Ah fuck it, I give up. That title is too long. Just call me Kratos," he muttered, wrinkling his nose. I stared at him, not entirely sure what to make of him. I had never met someone so fucking weird in my life. He was a sarcastic pain in the ass, but he wasn't attacking me or Charon.

The first visit had been so awkward and confusing that I'd just straight up left and decided to come back later, without Charon, so he wouldn't be afraid. If Kratos was going to attack, I'd rather him jump me than use or hurt Charon. I had promised the kid he was mine and I would protect him, so fuck anyone who came near him.

The second visit I had done alone. And it was still fucking weird.

"Welcome back, Oh Great Depressed One," Kratos had greeted me the second time. I scowled at him.

"Are you not right in the head?" I asked. Kratos stared at me flatly.

"Are we not all a little insane?" He asked in return. I didn't know how to answer that. Kratos didn't seem to care for an answer either as he stepped away from the door and seemed content to just allow me to come inside his cottage. Not that it was much to look at on the inside either. Like the outside, it was all very dark and basically everything had been painted black, and not very well either. A small iron stove sat in a corner with wood burning for heat, a little kettle sat on top of it, steam starting to rise from its spout with a whisper. The only furniture was his bed and a couple of crudely made wooden chairs. There was a door in the ground that would lead probably to what we called refrigerators back then.

"You are letting me into your home," I commented as I came in. I watched him head to the kettle, taking it off the burner before it could start screeching. He took a couple poorly made mugs off a hook in the wall, setting them on a small wooden table to fill them with the hot water.

"Indeed. I hear the ancients used to not have doors for that exact reason, but alas, I would freeze my testicles off, and that would really suck considering I use them quite often," he replied, taking something out of his fridge to put it in the mugs. He turned and came over to hand me a mug before he took his own to his bed and sat on the edge to take a sip, sighing in relief.

"Is this really where you live?" I asked. I wasn't judging. Especially since I would have killed for a place like this growing up in Cronus's fucking stomach. The place I'd come from was a toxic wasteland of death and destruction. It was a miracle my siblings and I survived the way we had.

"Indeed," Kratos said, sitting with his back against the stone wall, "Built it all myself with my own two hands and no others."

"No family?" I asked. Kratos's eyes glowed for a second, and... in that moment, I felt a strange kinship with the guy. He didn't need to expand on an answer. He'd experienced family pain too.

"No. Sometimes it's best to do things on your own," he murmured, then shook his head and snorted, "Besides, they're a bunch of fuckups. I don't want anyone ruining my permanent place of residence."

"I see," I said, then frowned down at the cup in my hands before looking up, "Will you surrender?" Kratos's lips twitched and he glanced up at me.

"Right to the point. I admire that in a person," he said, setting his mug aside and getting to his feet, "But I'm afraid I'm going to have to decline your sweet offer. It wasn't nearly cute enough to encourage me." I frowned at that. What was he saying? What was he doing? At the time, it hadn't made sense to me. Flirting wasn't my forfeit, especially at that time. The wounds Zeus had left behind, both physical and mental, weren't healed. I was still raw from the betrayal, still confused because I still didn't understand why he had done it. I was both infuriated and hurt.

So flirting was beyond me.

Dating was beyond me.

Fucking romance as a whole made no sense to me.

So of fucking course I stupidly fell head over heels without even realizing it, without even realizing that what I was getting into was probably one of the worst fucking relationships I'd ever had.

So to say that seeing Kratos again was a fucking disaster was an understatement.

"I'm surprised you're still alive," I commented, coming out of my head and focusing on the visual at hand. Kratos stood across the visitation room, surrounded by his own little army of shadows, who were all armed and ready to fight to the death. He seemed startled to see me. Just like he had in the past, he was all decked out in black. Fuck, even his eyes were black now. But I'd say it was safe to say he was paling a little bit at the sight of me.

What was he thinking?

I immediately went to delve into his head, only to find that I was cockblocked by the fact that he was too close to me to do so.

Well, wasn't that fucking hunky dory?

"Yo," one of the shadows snapped at Kratos, who still seemed a little starstruck, "Stop with the goo-goo eyes and fucking grab him, asshole." That seemed to snap Kratos out of his funk because the god of strength curled his lip up and turned on the shadow, snapping its neck so fast that no one really seemed to know it was happening. Or rather, the other shadows didn't seem to care too much.

Yeah, Kratos hated being told what to do.

Trust me. Personal experience here.

"Kratos," I announced, moving forward past Yhwhwa and Ra, who glanced at me, and I sent them a quick psychic encouragement to get to the humans and try to save as many as they could. They nodded and hurried for the other exit, the shadows watching after them warily while Kratos kept eye contact with me now.

"Long time no see, couldn't wait to see me that bad? And look at you, still decked out like the poster child for Goth paraphernalia. I will admit, though, thanks for those helpful fashion tips. Who knew I could look sexier than ever in leather?" I mused. Kratos seemed a little caught off guard by my attitude. Which made sense. The last time I saw him, he'd been climbing off me, grabbing up his clothes, and scrambling out of the room. Back then, I'd been a total pushover. Everything Kratos wanted, I gave. Everything he did, I accepted. Because at the time, my idea of romance was completely and totally warped, thanks to Zeus.

In fact, it had been Charon who made me realize that what Kratos had been doing wasn't normal.

Or at least, it shouldn't have been.

"You're different," Kratos said, almost cautiously. I smirked at that.

"Yeah. Been a few hundred millennia. Last time I checked, you were rockin' a Cousin It hairdo and lived in a little old lady's house. Well, if you were Morticia Addams' at age seventy," I added. Kratos blinked at that, then seemed to realize things really were different. I was different. He was different. We weren't here to catch up on old times and make up after what had happened between us.

If it came down to it, I'd have to fucking kill him.

"For the record," Kratos spoke dryly, "You're the one rockin' the Cousin It thing. What's that shit on your head? You call that hair? I thought you were the fucking Ring chick for a whole second."

"You always were really bad at not doing things you shouldn't be doing," I commented. A flinch. I saw it before he could hide it, and I frowned now. Was that regret? Did he regret what he'd done? For some reason, that really pissed me off and I barked out a laugh.

"What? Did I hit a nerve there, asshole? Don't like to be called out on your shit? Wow, and here I thought maybe you'd changed a little. Turns out the only thing you changed was your hair," I snorted. Kratos's eyes flashed menacingly at that and he slowly bared his fangs. He thrust his arm out at the shadows around him.

"Track down the other two. Eliminate or capture. The Shifter will find a use for them. I'll handle this piece of shit," he snapped. The shadows seemed totally okay with that set up and bolted back the way they came. I narrowed my eyes as Kratos came forward, but stopped some distance away, as if he didn't want to get too close.

"That shit was years ago," Kratos said through clenched teeth.

"Yeah, well, rape is kind of hard to forget, even if it is a common happenstance for me," I responded smoothly. Kratos looked away, almost like I'd backhanded him. I frowned.

"It's too late to regret it now," I muttered. Kratos clenched his teeth, then looked back at me.

"It wasn't supposed to turn out that way."

"You're right. You wanted me to think that it was normal."

"It was. At the time."

"No, it wasn't. No, it shouldn't be. And no, I'm not going to just shake your hand and call it good. Especially considering your regret doesn't mean shit when you're trying to end the universe," I added flatly. Kratos glared at me.

"So you're honestly going to stand there and tell me you don't want the universe to end?" He demanded. I smirked, folding my arms over my chest.

"Yeah, guess you really don't know me anymore. As you checked, I was a miserable little brat who would do anything just for someone to say something nice to me. Lucky for you, I've evolved since then. You, my twisted little fuck, are about to meet the new and improved Hades. Lord of the Greek Underworld, Hades. God of riches, the dead, and modern science itself. I may have let you toss me around back in the day, but it's about time I paid you back for some of that."

"Starting with one of your favorites," I added, making Kratos scowl. I vanished and reappeared in front of him, delivering a bitchslap so satisfying that I laughed as Kratos nearly fell backwards. He caught himself and touched his cheek, cursing. Blood oozed from his busted lip and a cut on the inside of his cheek.

"Now that felt good," I exclaimed, cracking my knuckles and cocking my head side to side, "Okay, now that that's out of the way... Fucking perish under my wrath, bitch." I sent a blast at him that resulted in him sailing into one of the concrete walls. He hit the ground, cursing as he rose to his feet, breathing hard and looking up to glare at me.

"I think I liked you better when you were quiet," he snapped.

"Oh, please, we both know I learned to be a shit from the very best," I said, then paused at Kratos's stare, "What? Not you. Fuck off. I was talking about my son."

"Charon?" Kratos demanded in disbelief. I laughed.

"Wow, you living under a rock, asshole? I'm talking about Theo. I've had eight fucking kids since Charon. Who, by the way, says you can rot in Tartarus," I said. Charon had been the only person who'd had some kind of words of comfort for me after what happened with Kratos. I definitely didn't deserve them, didn't receive them well, but he'd been totally right.

"I always knew you were a slut," Kratos deadpanned, making me snort, "Just figured guys were more up your alley." He blasted me, but I spun out of the way and sent another one at him that he managed to dodge as well. He vanished and reappeared closer so he could lunge for me, but I twisted out of the way and swung my leg around in a kick that he blocked.

"First of all, I am a slut," I answered, managing to land a kick in his ribs, making him curse and stumble back, "Second of all, I like to consider myself pansexual, actually. Not that it matters considering I'm engaged at the moment. Oh, and third, fuck off, maybe." I headbutted him and he stumbled back, caught himself and went to blast me, but I deflected and he struggled to block it, scorching his knuckles in the process.

"Who the fuck would marry you?" Kratos demanded breathlessly. I snorted.

"Wow, you are really out of the loop. I've already been married. This is the second time. The last time," I added. Kratos curled his lip.

"Well, at least we can both agree on that last part," he responded. I rolled my eyes and blasted him again. Kratos ducked and dodged before he moved a good ways back. I knew what he was doing before he did it. I watched huge dragon-like wings spring from his back, shredding his leather jacket and spraying blood across the floor. His wings were damaged since I'd last seen them. Still leathery, yet soft, still tipped with a razor sharp talons, still a midnight black with faded blue-black along skin that was once flawless and now riddled with burn wounds.

"What, fly into a bug zapper lately?" I asked. Kratos actually looked like he was going to laugh at that, then seemed to catch himself. At my arched brow, he glared.

"Shut up," he snapped, then launched off his feet and rammed his elbow up into the ceiling, causing the structure around us to grumble and rumble. I cursed, catching my balance on one of the tables before it came off its hinges and slid into a wall, trapping me between it and the wall. I looked up as Kratos dodged some falling rubble before he landed near me.

"I hate how clever you are," he muttered, making me shrug and lean my elbows on the table, though I was still trying to get out without seeming too obvious, "And that you're still as beautiful as that day I met you."

"No," I said, making him cock his head curiously, "I'm way fucking hotter." I settled for blasting the table off me at Kratos, who ducked and used his wings to deflect it at the same time. I spun out of his range and sent a massive blast out. Kratos got caught in it and went flying across the room into one of the walls. I breathed hard, glancing down at my phone real quick, before I cracked my knuckles, watching Kratos get to his feet across the room.

"I'd love to stick around and catch up on old times-- Oh wait, no, I don't. Just realized I couldn't give a shit. But I do have an appointment, so see you in Tartarus," I said, moving to take a step back. Kratos vanished and I felt the ripple of power go through the room, centering behind me as I spun around for Kratos to appear looming over me with his wings outstretched.

"You're not fucking going anywhere," Kratos sneered, "Jokes aside, asshole. Time for you to sit pretty and play nice like you did in the past, and let the Shifter do what is right." I barked a laugh at that.

"Destroying the universe is what is right? Shit, is that what I sounded like all these years? Suck a cock, asshole. I'm not going anywhere."

Kratos lunged for me, but I ducked and shot a blast of flames at his wings. Kratos snarled and scrambled with something akin to panic to get away from the fire that engulfed one of the tables, quickly turning it into an overcooked marshmallow.

He glared at me through the flames as I wiggled my fingers at him in a goodbye before vanishing on the spot.

I couldn't help the feeling, though, that I was about to see that asshole again; very, very soon.