3 Months Later
ZEPHYR
"What do you mean that Hades is metastasizing?" Poseidon barked at me "What the hell even does that mean?"
"Yes, what does metastasizing entail?" Zeus leaned forward in his chair, placing his chin on his intertwined hands "Is he transitioning his power? His soul? What exactly does this mean for the King and Queen of the Underworld?"
I scratched my beard as I leaned back in my father's...now mine...desk chair.
"I've looked through thousands and thousands of books, scoured through lead after lead, and searched for different healers all to just come back to the same conclusion"
"Not to mention getting hammered at every available second" Poseidon snorted "Let's not leave that little tidbit out, shall we."
I ignored him, and the little pang in my heart at the mention of drowning my sorrows away.
"They're getting worse as the days go by."
I threw a scroll on the desk for them to read what little piece of information I found regarding the Metastasis transformation.
"...For the evils of the world were all contained in one Pithos, the most powerful object the world has ever seen. It was crafted by the Gods...gifted by the Gods...and will ultimately be the demise of the Gods. For the one thing that was left behind was the one thing that could untether them all."
Poseidon swore and Zeus sat back in his chair, a contemplative look on his face.
"I knew that, that decision would come back to bite you in the ass" Poseidon growled at Zeus, pointing at the screen where I was monitoring Hades and Persephone 24/7 "But of course you never listen to me."
"I don't listen to you because your track record of bad decisions is as almost as high as mine" Zeus smirked "Plus, I'm the King and I really don't have to listen to you little brother."
Poseidon growled and looked at me "What do we need to do to fix this? Can this even be fixed? Or at the very least, slowed down?"
"I came to you two for answers" I raised an eyebrow "I was hoping you would know how to fix this. Why are you looking at me like if I have these answers?"
"Because you found the scroll" Zeus cut in "And if you found this scroll then there has to be another one out there telling us what we need to do to reverse this process."
I snorted "Well...there's not."
"Did you try hard enough?" Poseidon asked sarcastically "Or were you too busy trying to navigate through you alcohol induced haze?"
"How about you give it a shot?" I barked, standing up "Be my guest and labor away in the library for hours and hours trying to find the answers you're looking for. Answers that don't seem to exist."
"Sit down child" Poseidon scoffed "My hangnail is more intimidating than you."
"Yet, you still found one" Zeus commented, leaning back in his chair, trying to redirect the attention back to the conversation at hand "You still found an answer to what is causing our baby brother's condition."
"An answer that clearly led me nowhere" I snarled "Except to two old biddies who love to take the easy way out and have others deal with their issues."
"Why get my hands dirty when I have you dear nephew?"
"And why would I do anything for you two?"
"You're doing it for your parents." Poseidon deadpanned "Not for our benefit."
I shrugged "Why would I do it for them either?"
Poseidon's head reared back in shock and Zeus sat deathly still in his chair.
The whole room was engulfed in an eerily tense silence.
"Why wouldn't you help them?" Poseidon recovered first, looking at his brother, uncertainty filling his eyes "You're their son. They love you...for some reason or another."
I glared at him.
"They care about me sure," I let out a derisive laugh "But they only love themselves. If they truly loved me, they would have never sent me on that journey."
"From my understanding, that journey was a necessity in order to ensure your survival."
"At the cost of my Mate" I hissed "Something I would have never agreed upon if I knew their true reasoning behind the journey."
"Sometimes for the good of others we need to save ourselves" Zeus commented "Maybe your parents had a reason why they wanted to save you instead of the girl."
"Oh yeah?" I let out a sarcastic laugh "And what was the reason for my brother to do what he did?"
Poseidon grunted "I knew that little miscreant was no good the moment I saw him."
"He was a newborn" Zeus said, amusement lacing his tone "How could you possible know that he would turn out to be evil?"
"It's all in the eyes brother" Poseidon said "You can tell a lot about someone by their eyes."
Before Zeus could retort, I cut them off.
"As much as I enjoy this enlightening conversation" I said dryly "I have somewhere to be."
"Ah, yes" Zeus stood up "Your usual three-thirty appointment, I presume?."
I growled at him but said nothing.
Poseidon snorted "Seems like the Wolf rubbed off on you more than we originally thought."
"Back to the matter at hand Nephew" Zeus declared in his haughty tone before I could reply to my dick of an Uncle "I think I've figured out a way to solve our dilemma."
"Really?" I gave him an uninterested look "I'm listening."
"Since we both have the same end goal in mind, I don't see why we can't kill two birds with one stone."
I shook my head "I told you, I want nothing to do with this."
"After what I'm about to show you..." He smiled "I think you will."
There was a flash of white lightening in the room and suddenly a yellow envelope appeared in Zeus' hands.
He handed it over to me and I took it with caution, knowing that whatever was in the envelope was about to throw my new routine into disarray.
"That was taken this morning, about an hour before our meeting" He said "I would have taken care of it personally but it seems like The Witch has taken some precautions in terms of our interference."
I opened the envelope slowly and took out the contents inside.
I gripped it tightly and snarled when I saw who was on the photograph.
"You didn't think to mention this sooner?" I hissed through my teeth "Like the moment you walked into my office?"
"If he did that then you would have done what you're doing now" Poseidon said dryly "You would have focused solely on him and not of the situation at hand."
"HE IS THE REASON WHY WE'RE IN THIS SITUATION IN THE FIRST PLACE!" I roared "BECAUSE OF HIM, MY MATE IS GONE!"
"Don't forget your parents" Poseidon added "Can't forget about those who brought you into this world."
"Why are you still here?" I shot him a dirty look "Don't you have a harem of women to annoy?"
"I left them utterly satisfied" He grinned me, the sight of his smile reminding me of Hades' stupid annoying grin "And there's no where else I rather be Nephew. I'm quite enjoy seeing you fall apart at the hands of a lesser man. It really makes the redemption story that much more authentic."
I scowled harder and turned my back on him, focusing solely on Zeus instead of his stupidity.
"What are you offering?" I asked Zeus through clenched teeth.
"It's simple really" He smiled at me "You figure out a way to solve this issue with your parents and I'll give you what you truly desire."
He picked up the photo and analyzed its contents.
"Hecate will stop at nothing until she gets what she wants" Zeus concluded, putting down the photo on the desk, and locking eyes with me "That woman is nothing if not tenacious."
"What does she want exactly?" I asked "And what role does my lunatic brother play in this?"
There was a moment of silence.
"I can't tell you what role your brother plays in this" he trailed off "But I can tell you what I know she wants."
I raised a brow "And what is it that she wants?"
"...She wants revenge" Zeus declared "She wants us all to pay for what we did to her all those years ago."