Chapter Twenty-Seven

"Shit, you weren't kidding." Ambrosius managed.

Everyone stared grim-faced at the monitors that gave us several different views of the army that waited outside the main entrances. Lucifer's jaw ticked as he glared at the screen that showed the army that was forcing its way past the gates in Portius, Raven's main forces and all the Sins violently retaliating... but they were barely denting the forces.

"Jesus Christ," Akin breathed, eyes flashing across the screens, "How did they get that many supporters in such a short amount of time?" Lea's eyes darkened as she tightened her grip on her helmet, nails scraping the black paint.

"Atlan's a sweet-talker," She muttered, eyes scanning the screens, flinching as a soldier from Hades was beheaded, "He probably promised them all manner of gifts and rewards to fight for him." Ambrosius let out a long breath of frustration.

"There's no way we can proceed with our original plans at this rate. They jumped us fast and hard. Even if Tsukuyomi put a step on it, we still wouldn't be able to leave with the amount of people we intended." He growled. Lucifer looked distress as he raked a hand through his hair, slamming that same hand down on the control panel.

"Damn it," He cursed, "I can't leave my realm. I can't. My people are depending on me."

"Which is why I'm going there," Hades replied sternly, "Don't worry about it."

"And your realm?" Lucifer demanded. Hades ground his teeth together. I frowned, studying the screens as ideas flitted through my mind at the same time. If I was going to fight Atlan, I would have to have certain people around me. Lucifer wouldn't be able to come with our group anyway considering our current relationship, or lack thereof. Even though I was sure Lucifer wouldn't kill me considering Akin's reaction, I didn't trust him at my back. Akin I trusted no problem. I'd fought with him at my side for years now, against all kinds of enemies. I was still unsure of Lea as well. I hadn't fought her well enough or known her long enough to be able to ensure our fighting styles would be compatible...

"Wait," I said, making everyone look at me, "Lucifer, fight in Hades with Xenon and Xiphrus. Lea, Hades, and Ambrosius can take Hell. I have someone who can accompany Akin and I to Atlantis, but I'll need your assistance, Hades." Hades's blue eyes flashed warily.

"Why do I have a bad feeling I know who it is?" He asked. I gave him a flat stare.

"Because you were reading my mind while I was thinking about it." I said. Hades curled his lip.

"Absolutely not," He snarled, making everyone look at us in confusion, "I'm not dragging anyone out of Tartarus, not even for this." I glared at him impatiently.

"Menoetius has served his time for his crimes and in case you missed the tabloids, Menoetius wouldn't attack me. Not this time. I've fought centuries with Menoetius by my side. I know how he works. I know his attacks and his strategy." I explained. Akin's eyes widened in shock.

"Wait, Menoetius? I think you and I have a lot of discussing." He said, looking angry. Lea nodded in agreement, scowling.

"I know what you said before about Menoetius and his feelings for you, Hannibal, but you also mentioned that Menoetius attacked you before." She warned.

"Yes, because Iapetus was there to watch over him like a hawk," I responded quickly, then gestured to the screens behind us, "We don't have another choice. I need at least two people to come with me to watch my back, people I've fought with and can trust at my back. And the rest of you need to stay here and defend Hades and Hell. Hades, Lucifer, those are your realms. As the leaders of those realms, it is your job to protect them. And, Lea, if there's anyone I trusted to help them do that, it's you." Lea's eyes widened slightly at the disclosure. Akin clenched his teeth, glancing back at the monitors before looking at Hades, defeated. Hades balled up his fists, eyes glaring at me so hard I'm surprised they didn't burn holes through my head.

"It'll take me a couple hours to get him a new body. By then, Atlan's forces--"

"Leave that to me," I commanded, "Akin and I will defend the gates of Hell while Xiphrus and Xenon work on the gates of Hades with Cerberus. Xiphrus and I shouldn't be in the same spot just in case. Once Menoetius is ready, call me and Akin and I will swing by and grab him before we jump the veil into Atlantis." Hades looked less than approving of the plan. Lucifer stared at me, like he was unsure if he wanted me in his realm any longer than I had to be. Hades groaned aloud in frustration.

"Fine," He snapped, then grabbed me by the front of my uniform, making Akin gasp and grab at his arm, but it didn't make Hades let go of me as he drew me close enough that I could smell the scotch on his breath, "But he's your responsibility. If he even thinks about turning on us, I'll know it and I'll not only kill him, but I'll drop your ass into Tartarus so fast your head will spin." Akin's eyes widened nervously as Hades released me and shoved me roughly into Akin, who caught me against him as Hades turned to Lucifer, who cursed.

"Hades, you can't trust him," Lucifer said angrily, "He's a Titan. In case you haven't noticed, we fought an entire war against them not too long ago and that wasn't even the first war." Hades tensed.

"I know that," He growled, then rolled his eyes, "But Menoetius was only in the first one. Because he was dead, he couldn't join the other wars when the other Titans escaped." Lucifer glared.

"Because he was dead, exactly. Who's to say he won't take this chance?" He demanded. Hades glared at him, then turned it on me, his blue eyes narrowing.

"I guess we'll see how much Menoetius truly loves his precious hybrid." He said, then teleported from the security room. Lucifer cursed, then whirled on me.

"If this turns sour," He warned, "You won't have to worry about Tartarus. I have a nice place in Gehenna waiting for you with your name on it." Before Akin or Lea could get out a word to defend me, Lucifer was gone to chase after Hades. I took a deep breath, then looked at Ambrosius.

"Do you have Hades covered for a few hours?" I asked. Ambrosius nodded, giving me a wicked smirk.

"I'm excited to try out my dad's new gadgets," He answered, then on a more serious note, he tightened his grip on his helmet and held his hand out toward me, "Good luck, Hannibal. Do the universe a favor and smash Atlan's teeth down into his kidneys."

"With pleasure." I said, taking his arm and giving it a firm shake. Ambrosius beamed, then jerked his helmet on and teleported to the front lines. I took a deep breath, turning to Lea and Akin, who were sharing wary looks.

"Hannibal, is this really such a good idea," Akin asked nervously, "Hades is right. I get you forgave Menoetius and all's well with him in Tartarus and you here... What if he tries something?" I shook my head, buckling the weapons holster around my waist and shoving the god-gun, as Hades called it, into its place.

"If Menoetius really wanted to do something to me, he would've done it a long time ago."

"And he did," Lea insisted, "What about your eye? Or the time you said he turned on you in the midst of battle? Sweetie, this is a really bad idea. I lost you once and I refuse to lose you again."

"Ditto." Akin agreed fearfully. I glanced between them. I wasn't particularly hurt by their concerns, like I would've been once upon a time. I understood their fears completely, and part of me wondered if it was even a good idea to suggest Menoetius in the first place, but as I studied their eyes watching me, wide and scared, I realized I was staring at the same eyes that Menoetius looked at me with when I had visited him in Tartarus.

I didn't completely trust Menoetius. I probably never would. Turning my back on him could end me faster than I could blink. However, I did forgive him and he did die for me.

I was going to give him one more chance...

"You taught me everyone deserves a second chance," I told Akin, who blinked at me owlishly before he nibbled uncertainly at his bottom lip, "If anyone deserves a second chance, it's Menoetius. He's made the same mistakes I have... and I'm willing to try again. One more time, though." Akin nodded and Lea appeared confused by our exchange. I looked at her for a moment, my stomach knotting up.

This might be the last time I saw Lea...

And I realized there was no way I could tell her what Ares wanted me to tell her, and I knew that was the final block inside me, but I just couldn't bring myself to do it as I stared into blue eyes that looked like mine, a face filled with concern and worry and love. Things I never thought I would get from her... And I felt like a liar, but I just couldn't do it.

"I'll go ahead," Akin said softly, as if realizing that I needed a moment with Lea, and he stood on his toes to give me a firm kiss on the cheek, "Good luck." He vanished a second later and I watched him go before turning to Lea, who looked at me in concern.

"Are you sure you know what you're doing?" She whispered nervously. I nodded, stepping up to her so I had to look down and I rested my hands over her biceps.

"I know I just met you. And I still have so much I want to tell you, so much I want to hear from you too. And I'm extremely grateful for your ability to put up with my slowness on our relationship... You have no idea how much this means to me, how weird it is for me to actually say that out loud for once in my long, really pathetic life," I explained, and she started to open her mouth to defend me, but I cut her off with a shake of my head and offered her what I hoped was a decent smile, "And the fact that you'd defend me against myself just makes me want to get to know you more... Once this war is over, maybe we can spend more time working on that. If it's all right with you." Lea's eyes welled up with tears and she sniffed, giving me a wordless nod.

I nodded back and gathered her into my arms for a tight hug, one that I usually only reserved for Akin, but this time, I shared it with Lea. A full fierce embrace that I hoped said more than my words could. Lea managed a soft sob, pressing her face against my shoulder before she stepping back to cup my face in her hands.

"Hannibal, please, please be careful. Please, sweetie." She pleaded. I nodded, touching my hands over hers before taking a step back to teleport from the security room to Hell ahead of her so she could grab some last minute equipment from Hades's lab.

I reappeared in Portius a few seconds later, a curse flying past my lips the moment I caught sight of the battles ensuing. Buildings were already smoking and small explosions popping up here and there, fire roaring as they flew out windows and ravaged parks. A city once filled with the sweet smells of coffee and donuts was now pungent with smoke and a sweet sickly sulfur smell that came from the overuse of magic to fight.

Thankfully, the city appeared abandoned, which meant that the city had sounded its emergency alarm system, causing the citizens to go into their underground bunkers that were similar to that of the ones in Hades.

The civilians were safe.

The same couldn't be said for the soldiers, however, and my stomach shrank in on itself as I looked around at the destruction around me, the corpses that lay in pieces on the streets. The Atlanteans and their supporters hadn't even left the bodies intact so they could be returned to their families, and a spark of rage flickered inside me, but I quickly shut my eyes and took a deep breath, trying to reel the monster inside back into its cage.

Not today, beast. Today is my day, not yours. So put your fucking seatbelt on and no back-seat driving. I swore I heard a growl from somewhere in my subconscious, but I quickly brushed it off and jerked my helmet on. The moment it clicked into place to latch onto my suit, the system inside flashed on. A quick greeting came up on the side of the visor, in a way that I could still see everything around me through the lens while at the same time viewing the system options as an automated voice spoke.

"Helmet model 31290 is now online. Scanning user 31290... Scanning... Hannibal. Greetings, Hannibal. Mission data saved in File A. Current Mission: Defend Portius. Initiating communications network... Patching through system data base."

Well, that was high-tech. It reminded me of the time I first discovered the cell phone that spoke back to me when I threw it on the floor in frustration. Technology made me uneasy, but I'd quickly adjusted considering Hades was always testing his latest gadgets on his family, which included Akin.

Hades had mentioned the helmet was voice activated, much like the cell phone.

"Call Akin." I spoke into the helmet.

"Calling User 45621, Akin..." The helmet responded. Well, that was easy enough.

"Hello?" Akin's voice came in loud and clear in my ears.

"Akin, I'm on the corner of West Boulevard and Main Street. Where are you?" I asked. There was grunting and noise on the other line, like Akin was fighting someone already, and I could hear the battle raging on in the background. Akin cursed, then responded breathlessly.

"At the military entrance on Cork Street. I'm gonna need your help, sweetie, and fast. There's a god here that's intent on kicking my ass... and I think you know him." He added grimly. My vision darkened and my helmet beeped.

"Heart rate elevated." It warned. I rolled my eyes. Wow, Hades. Thanks. As if controlling my emotions before wasn't hard enough.

"I'll be there in two minutes." I told Akin.

"Make it one, baby, I'm kind of getting tired of attacking the cement." Akin replied. I cut the connection and sprinted down the street toward the entrance to the military base.

The fact that they'd already broken through it and into the base itself was bad. Really bad. Hades had outfitted the base with high-tech security, some of which had yet to be formally tested and approved by Lucifer. Raven had agreed to it right away due to his paranoia. I just hoped that paranoia hadn't backfired on him.

I rounded a corner, catching sight of the military base at the end of the street. It was up in flames, the seven story high buildings practically melting under the heat of the attacks on it. Explosions went off here and there, screaming and shouting echoing through the air, a couple sirens blaring in unison, and a radio in the distance was playing Disturbed's Down with the Sickness.

Well, that was suitable.

I narrowed my eyes and bolted for the entrance when my helmet began to beep frantically.

"Red alert target moving in at three." It warned. For a split second, I was confused until I felt it. I felt the heat of someone moving to attack me, making me whirl around with a quick spin-kick that caught the attacking soldier in the jaw, sending him flying through a shop window and a wall on the other side. I cursed, skidding to a stop as a trio of enemy soldiers emerged from one of the churches they'd burnt down.

The first soldier lunged for me, throwing his arm out to send a blast of ice at me. I spun out of the way and shot after him, but one of the other soldiers shifted and changed into a massive wolf that ran into me and sent me flying across the asphalt, but I caught myself and flipped to my feet as the wolf lunged for my throat, but I caught it by the jaws and snapped them back, making it yelp before hitting the ground, dead.

The third soldier flashed a pair of vampiric fangs at me, moving for my neck. Not that that was helpful considering its fangs couldn't puncture my suit and the suit covered every inch of me. I caught the vampire against me and threw him over my head backwards into the cement, throwing him down with enough force to dent the pavement and disorient him.

The first one attacked me again, throwing out a blast of ice that caught my right arm. I snarled in pain as the biting cold ice crept over my arm, freezing it solid. Pain shot up and down my arm before I sent energy flooding through my veins, down my arm and heating it until the ice exploded. A shard of it shot through the air and hit the vampire between the eyes, killing it instantly.

The ice soldier lunged for me this time for hand-to-hand, but I caught him in a headlock and snapped his neck, letting him drop to the ground.

A loud explosion made me snap my head around to see flames screaming up toward the sky from the cafeteria in the military base. I cursed and took off running at a speed that made my legs scream in protest, but I ignored them as I ran through the front entrance that had been completely blasted open so the steel reinforced walls were laying in huge fragments. Soldiers ran around left and right, attacking the enemy soldiers.

Our soldiers all wore the uniform Hades had created as well as the helmets. Meanwhile, the enemy soldiers wore burgundy suits that looked like the ones Hades had scraped a few months ago. While they were still high-tech, they weren't as good as the ones Hades had now and they definitely weren't made of hydra skin, I noted as an enemy soldier ran by screaming as he caught fire.

I looked around frantically for Akin when I heard him shout my name and I spun around in time to duck a flaming ball that made my helmet beep in warning.

I shot back up to see Akin dodging another fireball before he ran towards me, breathing hard.

"In coming." He warned me at the same time my helmet did. We turned to see his attacker moving out from behind what was left of the fortress wall. I stiffened at the sight of Drak stepping over a pair of bodies and out onto the ledge of a busted piece of cement. While most of the other soldiers wore burgundy, Drak more gold that glimmered menacingly in the light of the fires that were going up around us. His white eyes flickered when he spotted me and his mouth twitched.

"Hybrid," he greeted loudly, attracting the attention of several soldiers nearby, all of whom tensed in preparation to attack him, "It's a pleasure seeing you again... But it'll be much more pleasurable if you were to drop down on your knees for me. Again." He tacked the last part on, on purpose, making Akin's body visibly go rigid. I clenched my teeth.

"Don't attack him," I told Akin, who made a noise of disagreement, "At least, not head on. He was hard enough for me to take on, master. He'll be even harder now that he's prepared and ready to take on both of us." Akin hesitated at that, looking at me in concern before looking over at Drak, who took a step toward us.

One of the soldiers burst from the group around us and launched himself at Drak, who didn't even look at him as he blasted him back through the wall. Akin cursed and his muscles tensed in a stance. I did the same, studying Drak warily.

"This must be the master you refused to abandon," Drak murmured, then gave Akin a very obvious full-body scan before narrowing his eyes, "Hardly fit to be a master... but a slave on the other hand."

"Oh, please," Akin responded coldly, "I was holding back before. You not only attacked and kidnapped my property... but you hurt my husband and you're going to regret it as I paint the pavement with your blood." Drak's white eyes flashed and he moved toward Akin, who sent a blast of power at the ground in front of Drak's feet. Drak bared his fangs and teleported from his place on the rubble down to us, so he could punch at Akin's head, but Akin ducked and spun out of the way.

I lunged for Drak's throat, but he swung his hand around to backhand me, only for his hand to connect with my helmet, which beeped in response. Except Drak's hand cracked and he shouted a curse, stumbling back to clutch at his wrist.

"Remind me to thank Hades for these helmets." I told Akin, who laughed. Drak snarled and lunged for me, but Akin shot out and grabbed him around the waist, throwing him against the pavement and moving to blast Drak in the face, but Drak bucked him off and flipped onto his feet again.

Akin stood beside me now, looking peeved.

"He's not going to make this easy," He muttered, "Damn. Got any ideas, pet?" I studied Drak, who watched us warily. He seemed to realize that he wasn't taking on a pair of amateurs, meaning this fight was about to get big and nasty, fast.

"Not particularly," I responded grimly, "I fought Drak in the arena in Atlantis... He's agile and clever. He's good at improvision."

"So are you."

"And he's better. We need a different strategy."

"We better move fast," Akin added, making me frown for a moment before a couple of small videos popped up on the screen of my visor, "Looks like there are more soldiers on the way and Hades still hasn't finished with Menoetius. The soldiers are coming in by the swarms." I grimaced at the images flashing in front of me of more soldiers marching across the entrance to Hades and Hell, tearing down every building and soldier they come in contact with. They planned to completely lay waste to both realms.

But we needed to take Drak down first. According to Ares, as a god of chaos and blood lust, I was exempt from the killing a god ruptures the source law. If I could kill Drak, that would be one less god to fight. However, I didn't want to risk releasing the monster inside me. I didn't want to go into the fight blind, not with Akin right beside me. The red would prevent me from seeing him as anything other than a target and that made my stomach twist into a knot.

I would have to fight Drak as my own person.

"What's the matter," Drak mocked, drawing my attention back to see him stalking near us, watching us intensely, "You seem troubled, hybrid. Are you afraid your precious master will become like Atlan's whore?" I tensed.

Arikos.

Akin picked up on that instantly and looked at me worriedly.

"Hannibal, you're all right," Akin told me sternly, making me look at him, "You're okay. You got this, baby. I'm right here. You're not alone." I swallowed at his words. Drak made a noise of disgust, then dropped his healed hand to run at us. This time, he threw out a blast of fire, causing Akin and I to leap apart to avoid getting blasted. By now, the other soldiers had taken off to defend the rest of the base while Akin and I focused on Drak.

"Master," I said, patching through to Akin, watching him land on a nearby pile of rubble that had once been the check-in counter for the base, "Stay where you are. Wait for an opening. I'll keep him occupied and wear him out enough."

"Got it." Akin said with a nod, then vanished behind a building to avoid being noticed. Drak appeared confused for a moment as to where Akin went, but I threw a blast away that detered his attention and he snapped his head toward me, eyes darkening. He turned and ran toward me, throwing a fire blast in my direction, but I backflipped over it and landed on a destroyed military vehicle. Drak bared his fangs and threw another blast at me, but I dodged it and threw a god blast that sent him flying off his feet and smashing into a pile of rocks that flew back.

Drak rolled across the cracked pavement, shooting to his feet and flashing from his spot there to the spot in front of me. He reached for my throat, but I knocked his arm back, caught it and drew it forward under my arm, then twisted sharply. Drak snarled in pain as the bones in his arm cracked and snapped under pressure. He used it to his advantage, though, and drew himself forward, using his fist to punch the underside of my jaw, sending the helmet flying back off my head and rolling across the ground.

Pain exploded in my skull and only increased when Drak smashed his forehead against mine, forcing me to release him and stumble back. Drak kicked me in the chest and I fell back against the pavement, but managed to roll myself sharply to the side, just barely avoiding Drak stomping on my throat. I shot to my feet and whirled around, reaching into my holster and yanking out the electrical sword, pushing the button and triggering the blade.

Drak barely leapt back to avoid my slash at him. He glared at me and dodged back again. He ducked and darted away as I slashed at him.

"What manner of weapon is that?" He snarled, eyeing the electrical blade warily.

"That was your first mistake of choosing to fight us," I told him, holding the sword out toward him, "Your methods are primitive in comparison to what we have." Drak narrowed his eyes.

"But our goal is new."

"Oh, please," I deadpanned, "Take over the world? Enslave everyone who isn't you? Yeah, you're unique alright. About as unique as a Disney villain." Drak snarled and lunged for me, but I dodged and spun around to kick him in the back, stepping away from him when I felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end, indicating Akin was ready to deal his blow nearby.

Drak started to turn at the same time Akin stepped out from behind his hiding spot and sent a powerful blast of light so bright that it made my eyes water. The white hot blast cut clean through rubble and hit Drak so hard it sent him spinning through the air and smashing into part of the fortress wall, which shuddered under the attack and began to crumble down on top of him.

"Think he's done for?" Akin asked hopefully. I shook my head, walking over to pick my helmet up off the ground, dusting it off before jerking it back down on my head, listening to the voice telling me it was reconnecting to me.

That sounds uncomfortable, I thought dryly.

"No," I answered Akin, "He's just getting started." Akin grimaced.

"And you fought him on your own? He's like a fucking cockroach." He growled in frustration. I nodded grimly. We looked back over at the rubble where Drak was peeling himself off a slab of cement. Blood coated the entire left half of his face, his broken arm dangling limply at his side. He stumbled out and onto the street in front of us, a good ways out. He stood up slowly, and I could hear his bones cracking and popping even from this distance. He cocked his head from side to side, cracking the bones there before he shuddered and his white eyes flashed menacingly.

"I am done being gentle." He stated. Akin cursed under his breath.

"Great." He said, tensing as he moved back a couple steps. I clenched my fists, preparing to send a blast at Drak, who moved toward us.

Suddenly, a blast of lightning crackled and shot through the air, slamming into Drak, sending him smashing into the pavement. I looked up, puzzled by the blast and Akin scanned the wall where the blast came from.

"Who was that?" He asked, baffled.

"That would be me." I blinked, then turned to see Menoetius approaching us. My body instantly filled with tension on instinct at the sight of seeing him locked and loaded. He wore the same uniform Hades had made for the other soldiers, and he still looked the same as he did in the past. Hades had made a complete replica of his original body, complete with his dark wavy hair settling around his face, his dark eyes narrowed.

"Oh." Akin said, instantly uncomfortable as he put his guard up. Menoetius approached us, as if he were more afraid of us than we were of him. I frowned.

"I told Hades I would pick you up at his place." I said. Menoetius's eyes flickered with an emotion I couldn't recognize before he looked past me where Drak was struggling to get up. We turned sideways so that both Menoetius and Drak were within our sights.

"Hades told me you were being pinned down. I figured I'd provide some support," He said, and then his face became the stone wall that I remembered from fighting by his side in the past, the face that said he was serious and ready for a fight, "Give me a crash course on this asshole. I didn't have the honor of fighting him in the past." Akin and I shared quick looks before I turned to watch Drak get to his feet, stumbling, disoriented from Menoetius's attack.

"Fast, strong, talks too much, libido that won't quit." At my last comment, Menoetius's eyes flared with the same kind of hate I used to think he'd directed at me.

"What?" He demanded. I didn't elaborate, not that I had to. The moment it flew past my lips, Menoetius knew what I meant and his entire body went rigid. He snapped his head to stare at Drak, who smirked at us, blood oozing between his teeth.

"Well," Drak mocked, "You have an equally dirty brother, hybrid... This ought to be interesting." Menoetius's jaw ticked and Akin tensed, looking at Menoetius and I.

"We need to shut him up before I do something stupid like blow up the whole realm just to keep him quiet." He said in irritation.

"I couldn't agree more," Menoetius replied grimly, then looked at me, "Have you got a plan?"

"If you mean running around like a couple of chickens with our heads cut off, yes." I answered flatly. Akin shrugged with an exasperated sigh. Menoetius rolled his eyes, moving past me.

"You were never good at the planning part."

"I was too busy with the killing and drinking blood part." I deadpanned. Menoetius's mouth twitched like he wanted to smile, but his mask of stone returned full force as we turned as a trio to face Drak, who was breathing raggedly, white eyes flickering from one to the others. He looked a little panicked, like he was not looking forward to dealing with three of us now.

Good, we have the advantage.

"Hannibal," Menoetius said suddenly, not looking at me as he watched Drak cautiously, "I have an idea... You're the only one who can kill gods without rupturing the source. I'm going to veer off and attack him from above. Akin, go to his right and blast him with another one of your beacons. When I give the signal, we're going to combine our strongest attacks. He'll be occupied by that explosion and Hannibal can deal the final blow by using our blast as his cover." Akin nodded and I inclined my head.

Menoetius cracked his knuckles, cocked his head to crack his neck before he flashed from his position beside me, appearing closer to Drak to throw a punch at his face, but Drak spun out of the way and lunged for his waist, throwing him to the ground. Akin took his chance to move off into another high level spot where he could attack from.

I was still a little bothered, though, as I inched off to the side to watch Menoetius attack Drak.

How did Menoetius know about the fact that I could kill gods without rupturing the source? Did Hades tell him that, or Ares?

And how did he know Akin was a long-range fighter?

You're being paranoid. Yeah, but being paranoid is what keeps me from getting my ass whooped.

An angry shriek from behind me made me whirl around to see Drulius breaking through window, glass raining down over my head, bouncing off my helmet. I cursed and leapt back to avoid getting jumped by Drulius, who screamed as she slashed at me.

"You treacherous little whore! Down on your knees where you belong!" She snarled, moving to slash at my helmet. I ducked to the side, then whipped the electrical sword out to slash at her, but she caught my wrist and drove her elbow down into the crook of my arm, causing pain to rocket up and down my arm. I snarled as the sword sizzled out and hit the ground as I stumbled back.

Drulius kicked me in the chest and I fell back, but quickly recovered, heaving myself off a slab of concrete. I rolled out of the way to avoid her foot coming down on my groin. I cursed and spun my leg around to kick her, but she blocked it and shoved it away, aiming a sucker punch for my gut. I blocked and we went hand-to-hand as she threw her sword at my head, only for it to bounce off my helmet.

Thank Hades for that ridiculous helmet. If not for that, I'd have been beheaded for twenty-four hours.

And I did not have twenty-four hours to lay on the ground in pieces.

I glanced past Drulius to see Menoetius breaking away from Drak to find higher grounds while Akin blasted at him to keep him from following him. I cursed, realizing they wouldn't be able to go through with their original plan with Drulius occupying my time.

Drulius managed to tackle me when I was distracted, however, throwing me to the ground and sitting on my chest so she could yank the helmet off, tossing it aside so she could punch me in the nose. I snarled and bared my fangs at her. Her eyes glittered and she snatched something out of her back pocket so fast that I didn't have time to see what it was before she was shoving a handful of something into my mouth, something cold and slimy.

Instantly my face screwed up at the horrid flavor in my mouth. It was like a mix of soured milk and moldy orange juice. My stomach heaved and I choked as vomit poured into my mouth before I could stop it and it spilled down the sides of my face. Drulius grinned wickedly, leaping off me and taking off somewhere else.

I rolled onto my side, heaving up whatever was left in my stomach, breathing raggedly afterwards.

"Hannibal!" Akin's voice snapped me back to the present time. I looked around, but Drulius was nowhere to be seen. I had no time to dink around and figure out what it was she'd forced me to ingest. I shot to my feet and sprinted, despite the incredible queasiness that clung to my insides.

Menoetius had managed to make it to a fourth floor window and Akin hovering on what used to be a building. Drak was screaming, moving for him. A sick little thrill rushed through me, though, to see Drak worked up. He was so calm and stoic when he'd had me trapped in Atlantis.

Now he was going to find out what happened to people who thought they could control me like he did.

"Drak!" I shouted. Drak whirled around, breathing heavily, eyes wild. Bloody cuts sliced through his lips, over his left eye, across his chest, tearing open his uniform. His white eyes glowed when he saw me and he stalked toward me, moving faster as he realized I was preparing an attack on him.

I flung my hand out at him, building up as much energy as I could into the palm of my hand, feeling it sizzle and heat under the material of my uniform, and I momentarily thanked Hades once again for the fire proof suit. A second later, the blast shot out and collided with Menoetius's electrical bolt and Akin's blindingly white angel blast. Realizing the explosion was going to be a lot more damaging than I thought, I ducked down behind a slab of concrete and covered the back of my head as I listened to the hum of our combined powers growing and Drak's angry scream ringing out a second before there was silence...

And then an ear-splitting explosion that sent the concrete behind me flying over my head and I slammed into one of the destroyed military vehicles, and instant pain exploded in my torso. I choked, feeling hot liquid bubble up my throat and this time, it wasn't vomit.

Blood oozed past my lips and I looked down, breathing hard at the sight of one of the metal poles from the vehicle that was used to hold up the covering. It was buried straight through my stomach and jutting out my back.

Oh nice. This feels great. Now I know how skewered okra feels.

My breathing came out shaky and hoarse as I tried to pick myself up off the pole. I heard and felt the debris from the explosion raining down around me, and something whacked me in the back of the head, making me groan as it caused the pole to slid further into me.

Oh my gods.

A low moan escaped my lips before I coughed again, blood sliding down my chin. As if that wasn't bad enough, I heard an agonized scream from behind me. I wanted to turn and tell Akin I was fine, but I really wasn't. Well, for the long haul, yeah, I was just dandy. At the moment, I was in an obscene amount of pain.

"Shit!" Menoetius's voice cursed. I heard their footsteps before Akin was beside me, tears welling up in his eyes as he panted hard from running. A deep cut ran from his temple down to his jawline, dripping blood, several bruises marring his pale skin, and dirt and grime smeared across his clothes. His hair was a mess from yanking the helmet off, but he didn't seem to care as he clutched my arm.

"Okay, hang on," Menoetius told me firmly, "We're going to get you off this, all right? I just need you to do something for me."

"I don't think you're in any position to ask shit of me, Menoetius."

"I want you to say mia fos lilolanio taskiya boklya."

"My goat herd is-- Holy shit!" I barked out in agony as Menoetius yanked me off the pole and he lowered me back slowly back down onto the ground over his arm and Akin dropped to his knees beside us, breathing raggedly as he brushed the hair back from my face.

"Sweetie, are you okay? Are you still lucid? What's happening right now? What's your name? What's mine?" He demanded in rapid fire questions. I groaned as Menoetius balled up a nearby torn jacket and pressed it against the wound to staunch the blood, but only really succeeded in soaking the jacket through with enough blood that it dripped like a wet dog when he tossed it aside.

"I'm in pain. I'm only ever half lucid. You're freaking out. Menoetius is trying to stuff half of Hell into my bloody stomach. My name is Hannibal. You're Akin. I'm still in pain." I growled, answering Akin's questions, despite the unbelievable pain. Akin whimpered, angrily brushing at his tears before cupping my face.

"You're gonna be okay," He promised, then snatched Menoetius's hand, making him stiffen and glare at him, "You can't heal him by yourself. Your powers aren't like mine. But you can help me heal him. Give me your hands and let's place them over the wound. I want you to focus all of your energy into his wound, and imagine sewing everything inside up with a red thread. Slowly and methodically. Don't lose focus or it'll stop working." Menoetius didn't look pleased at being ordered around, but when I choked on a bloody cough, he instantly covered Akin's hands with his own as they struggled to heal my wound.

More pain coursed through me and I seethed through clenched teeth, feeling the stretching and pulling, the searing hot magic stitching things back together. Finally, the wound snapped shut on the surface of my skin, but it still felt like someone had kicked me in the stomach.

"You always were clumsy." Menoetius growled to himself, yanking me up by the arm.

"Hey," Akin snapped suddenly, making Menoetius narrow his eyes on him, "For the record, Hannibal is anything, but clumsy. And if you lay hands on him like that again, you're going to wish you were back in Tartarus, you got it?" Menoetius looked less than impressed by him and let go of me to step up to Akin, but I caught him by the arm and spun him around to face me.

"Touch him and you die." I threatened. Menoetius opened his mouth to protest, then stopped. I think it just dawned on him who Akin was to me. He went silent, then tongued the inside of his cheek and rolled his eyes, looking away from me. He wasn't making eye contact now.

"Drak is dead. I don't know what happened to that chick you were fighting earlier." He said, changing the subject. I frowned at him and Akin scowled, folding his arms over his chest as he stepped up beside me.

"What chick?" He asked, looking at me.

"Drulius," I replied, then paused to rub at my stomach with a grimace, "She forced something into my mouth, though." This time, Menoetius whipped around.

"She did what?" He demanded. It was hard to tell if he was concerned or just really pissed off. Akin, on the other hand, looked alarmed.

"What was it? Did it do anything?" He asked. I got sick just thinking about whatever it was again and pursed my lips for a moment to fight the nausea before clearing my throat.

"It just made me vomit and thinking about it is making me want to vomit too and with a stomach that was just healed, I feel like I'm being forced to ingest acid. Let's talk about it later."

"What if it does something later," Menoetius demanded angrily, making me sigh warily, "Don't give me that, Hannibal. Just because you're immortal doesn't make you a super hero."

"No, it makes me a cockroach." I deadpanned. Akin whacked me in the arm and I grimaced as the movement jostled my stomach, making him wince and pet my arm in apology. Menoetius glared at Akin's hand on my arm, then turned away again, raking a hand through his hair before he kicked the tire on the busted military vehicle, his hands on his hips. He was pacing and growling to himself, something he usually did when he was trying to think, so I left him to it and Akin came to stand in front of me, reaching up to cup my face in his hands.

"Are you all right, baby? Are you sure? And tell me the truth or I will spank you and I'm not talkin' the fun spanking either." He added when I arched a brow. I relaxed and offered him a reassuring smile, pressing my cheek into his palm, reaching up to place my hand over his.

"I'm all right," I responded softly, "Really. Whatever it was, it won't kill me."

"There are worse things than death." Akin whispered uncertainly. His concern warmed me to the core and made the pain in my stomach bearable. I leaned down as best I could to kiss his forehead.

"And I've suffered worse than having curdled milk shoved down my throat." I replied. Akin made a face at that and stood up on his toes to kiss me. I kissed him back, then caught sight of Menoetius out the corner of my eye. He watched us, and the agony that had been in his eyes back in Tartarus had returned full force. He looked like he'd been kicked... or rather, stabbed with a pole in his stomach. He looked away again, covering his mouth, like he was trying to mentally convince himself it wasn't true.

I sighed, breaking away from Akin, who looked at me curiously. I touched his cheek to let him know I was all right before I approached Menoetius, who kept his eyes downcast.

"Menoetius. This isn't going to effect your ability to fight, is it?" I asked. Menoetius shot me a dirty look, but it wasn't as strong as it used to be. It was more like he was forcing himself to be angry about the situation.

"Nope."

"Look, I know how you feel--"

"Oh, really? You do?" Menoetius's voice was sour. I frowned.

"Menoetius, you destroyed my life," I said, and he flinched, shrinking into himself the way he did when we were in Tartarus, "Even though you had your reasons, that doesn't change what you did and what you and the rest of our family turned me into. I've forgiven you, but that's it. You're only here because we needed someone compatible to accompany Akin and I to Atlantis. There's nothing more than that." Menoetius ground his teeth together in frustration, but he didn't look at me.

"And what happens afterwards?" He asked. I folded my arms over my chest.

"That depends on what you want to do with the second chance I've granted you. I'm responsible for your actions and if you fuck up, we're both going to Tartarus. So keep that in mind next time you think you want to do something stupid. And for the record, Akin is my husband. He'll always be my husband," I paused at that, glancing back at Akin, who was watching us uneasily. My heart skipped a beat at the concern on his face, and I turned back to pin Menoetius with a glare.

"No, he's a lot more than my husband," I started, making Menoetius tense, "He's the person who saved my life more times than I can count, both from other people and myself. You will respect him or so help me, you'll find yourself back in Tartarus and I will recant my forgiveness. Where Akin is concerned, I don't fuck around." Menoetius studied me for the longest time, and I couldn't really tell what was going through his mind before he dropped his eyes on the ground.

"Fine," He said tightly, "Whatever." I said nothing more to him as I turned to Akin, who perked up to attention and approached me. He gave me a curious stare and I shook my head in silence before he sighed and kissed my bicep, taking my hand in his. Again, I felt Menoetius's glare on our hands, but he didn't say anything aside from that. Now he just reminded me of a sulking puppy. I took a deep breath, clenching my fists.

"All right. Time to go to Atlantis."