Xenomorphic

Chapter 23: What Matters Most Part 1

They were each judged individually, from Max all the way to Gazzy. Minos wanted all of them in the Asphodel Fields, but Freddie Mercury and George Washington voted for Elysium, which was throwing Asteria for a major loop. Then Angel, little four-year-old Angel, was brought to the stand, and was immediately sentenced to the Fields of Punishment on the grounds of 3,001,521 counts of indirect murder, six counts of first-degree murder, suicide, and the unsanctioned bending of the free human will.

Of course, the other members of the Flock, since they were still present, vehemently demanded an explanation, while Asteria had a growing seed of dread sprouting in her heart. Angel wouldn't have...couldn't have...orchestrated her death. Right?

Oh, but she did. The judges explained in turns that it was Angel that controlled the guards, it was Angel that controlled the Erasers, and that it was Angel that implanted modified memories into a rat, memories that threw one Asteria Jackson into an unprecedented rage that resulted in the deaths of millions, resulted in hundreds of miles of land being destroyed, and resulted in trillions of dollars in damages, insurance, and relief efforts, and ruined the lives of hundreds of millions of people.

Yet, despite the Flock's revulsion, heartbreak, and sense of being stabbed in the back, not one of them was willing to be separated. Not Gazzy, not Nudge, not Iggy, not Fang, and definitely not Max. So, the leader of the Flock did what any true leader would do: she brokered a deal with Minos, Mercury, and Washington.

In exchange for Angel not being sent to the Fields of Punishment, all other Flock members would forego their entitlement to Elysium, and all six would spend eternity in the Asphodel Fields. The judges agreed, and the vision faded.

Asteria fell to her knees. Her heart felt like it was in her throat. Small tears of acid trailed her cheeks, descending to the ground below, causing it to steam and hiss softly. The girl's shoulders shook as the true nature of the Flock's demise was revealed.

That was it. Asteria was broken. Her family, her Flock, taken from her by one of their own, by the youngest and the purest, of all people. It was too much. Living as a psychopathic slave, killing for fun, having the few people she loved ripped out of her life. The unconscious barriers that Asteria had built up to block out the anguish had fallen like Rome, and the culmination of years of torment had finally come to a head.

This was much worse than when she had reunited with her father. When she met Poseidon for the first time, she had the capacity to feel hate, rage, sadness, and hope. Now, she was just...numb. Cold. Unfeeling. Unresponsive. Dead.

Like the Flock.

Hades stared down at his niece with chips of black glass for eyes. He was not the most empathic when it came to others; of course, he loved his own children dearly, and wanted them to find happiness in life all fathers, but that was about as far as his love extended.

Right now, his first instinct was deck his comatose niece across the jaw, to screw her head back on correctly with a display of tough love. He restrained himself, using the logic that Asteria was probably having her entire world view turned upside down, and needed some time to adjust. Hades could rationalize being extremely despondent after learning that the little girl you almost viewed as a younger sibling was the mastermind behind so much death and personal emotional anguish.

It was kinda how he felt after he was tricked into being the Lord of the Underworld by his younger brother, Zeus.

However, Hades had learned quickly how to adapt and survive, making the best out of his situation. If the eldest son of Kronos could turn being the King of the Underworld into a profession, then Asteria Jackson could and would move on with her life after this. Call him cold-hearted, but Hades was not an emotional god.