Chapter Thirty-Eight
"Shit, shit, shit."
It wasn't supposed to be this hard. Well, it was supposed to be hard, but not this hard.
The battlefield was soaked with blood. I could hear it beneath my boots, turning the dirt into mud. Flames had erupted all over the field, making the space much tighter and more difficult to fight in. The Titan followers had increased significantly in size. It wasn't just other Titans defending them, but even a couple of gods from other pantheons and thousands upon thousands of lesser creatures with eons of fighting experience.
Yeah, it was war like I'd never seen it before.
I stood back, clenching my fist, taking a deep breath before swiping my palm through the blood on the ground. I threw my hand up toward the sky, sent a bolt of power through my fingers and the blood rose into the air before hardening into a sword as red as the blood it was made of. I frowned, studying the sleek blade before I sensed someone rushing at my back. I cursed and whirled around, slashing the sword through an enemy soldier's throat, watching the blood spurt into the air and rain back down as the corpse sank to its knees.
"You should teach me that some time." I turned as Ambrosius approached me, breathing hard, blood running from a wound in his temple, but looking otherwise safe. I grimaced anyway.
"Let's hope you won't have to use it." I told him. Ambrosius gave me a curious stare before his eyes widened at something behind me. I spun around fast and jammed the sword right up into a soldier's chest, spearing his heart so the tip of the blade poked out near his throat. I tore the sword out and beheaded him before turning to Ambrosius, who arched a brow at the sword as blood rolled off the sleek blade.
"Stay at attention, Ambrosius." I told him sternly, making him nod. A soldier charged him from the side, but he ducked down and backed up, sweeping the soldier's legs out from under him before he leapt on the guy's back, ripping his head right off before leaping off, landing beside me.
"Damn," Ambrosius muttered, wiping blood off his face, looking around, "It's like we're barely putting a dent in their army. Where the hell are Cronus and Zeus? You'd think we'd see them. Aren't god fights supposed to be huge and violent?"
"You've seen way too many movies," I muttered, "Gods fight like anyone else. Violent, bloody, bashing open skulls and breaking noses. Zeus probably took Cronus somewhere more secured, and my guess is somewhere in the mountains. I need to get over there, but it's impossible with all these assholes in the way." Ambrosius frowned thoughtfully at that.
"I have a way through." Abel offered, appearing at my other side. I frowned, turning to him to see his goggles on his head, mask long gone, blood splattered across the front of his uniform and blood dripping from the corner of his mouth.
"You?" I asked. Abel looked at me sheepishly, despite the blood running down either side of his nose.
"Remember all those times we broke into your palace?"
"And you destroyed all my evil plots to take over the universe that were actually just plots for people to leave me the fuck alone?"
"You know, that would've been easier to actually spell out than to sugar coat with typical villain plots."
"Oh, I'm so sorry for inconveniencing you--"
"Dad." Ambrosius cut me off. I stared at him for a moment, still unaccustomed to a title I most certainly did not deserve. He stared back at me, as if he, too, wasn't sure I quite deserved it. Abel looked a bit perplexed by Ambrosius before cursing and we all whipped around at once, thrusting swords forward an impaling a soldier three different ways before he fell off the end of our swords and fell to the ground. Ambrosius curled his lip at the enemy and stomped down on his throat before ducking a swing from behind. Abel caught that second soldier around the throat, tore him off his feet and swung him over his back onto the ground where I jammed my sword through his mouth, then tore it back out, looking up.
"Let's talk and fight at the same time," I suggested in a growl, whirling around to catch an enemy in the throat with my blade, "You know, to avoid that whole dying thing. Could be real nasty if someone wipes me off the face of the planet that'll disappear after I'm gone." Abel wrinkled his nose, but didn't disagree as he threw his sword and it impaled a soldier in the back.
"Persephone has a secret entrance into your palace via an underground maze that lets out wherever your destination is," He told me as he spun around and put his back to mine, kicking a soldier back from him, "Unfortunately, it only has one entrance and it happens to be on the edge of my least favorite river. It's a specific spot too. I can take you to it." I nodded.
"Sounds like a plan. Now, if we can just get to that side of the field." I muttered, narrowing my eyes at what seemed like miles between our post in the empty field and the river. And just a couple miles off to the west was Cerberus's mansion, in flaming ruins that I'm sure was pissing him off judging from his angry howls and snarls as he tore through the soldiers like an oversized version of Cujo.
"You aren't going anywhere without me." Cain snarled suddenly from nearby and we turned to see him hacking the head off one soldier before a second leapt onto his back. Cain swung the soldier over his shoulder onto the ground, then punched a hole through his gut and tore out his intestines, which he then proceeded to throw into the face of a nearby enemy, who shrieked and ran away.
"My hero." Abel deadpanned, watching the soldier flee.
"Remind me to sign him up for therapy after this." I grunted, causing my sword to dissipate and splash to the ground as blood. Cain scoffed, walking over to us and putting his hands on his hips.
"Trust me, this is therapy. Now let's go do our thing. Got enough juice for teleportation?" He asked. I started to nod before a soldier came screaming at us with an axe, but Cain caught him by the arm, tore him off his feet and snarled in his face, baring his fangs before throwing the soldier down and cutting his head off with his own axe. I frowned and tried to focus on concentrating a spot for teleportation, but a handful of soldiers came screaming at us, waving their weapons. The twins cursed and quickly whirled to face them. I started to send out a blast of power, but pain split my skull and I roared in agony, sinking down to my knees and covering my ears.
"Jesus fucking Christ!" I shouted, blinking rapidly against tears that threatened to surface as pain pulsed hot in my skull. I had fought hard to try and ignore all the screaming thoughts blazing through my head from all the other soldiers, but I was like an ADHD squirrel. Concentration in the midst of a screaming battle was damn near impossible.
"Are you all right?" Abel demanded, dropping to his knees beside me.
"Fine!"
"You don't look fine! You're bleeding from your right ear! We need to get you to the back of the troops and find Jahlia--"
"No," I barked at him, jerking from his grip and struggling to get to my feet, breathing hard, "We don't have time! Teleport me to the entrance, now!" Abel clenched his teeth and appeared to want to argue, but Cain was thankfully more cooperative as he grabbed both our arms and teleported us from the center of the battle field, away from a group of soldiers that had been charging for us. We moved from the battlefield to the out skirts, a good ways away from the fighting.
We appeared just near the river that seemed to bubble and churn from the amount of turmoil going on around it. Not to mention, the blood soaking the field was flooding into the river and turning it a deep dark red color. The souls inside writhed and screamed in agony. It made my head ache even further.
"It should be around here somewhere." Abel assured me, stepping away from the grass to the cobblestone path that ran the lengths of the river. I watched him move across the stones, tapping them with his foot when a fissure of power cut through the air and I cursed, whirling around just in time to grab Cain in my arms, jerking him out of the way of a vertical plate of flames that dispersed just a short ways away. Cain looked around, startled before looking up at me, like he hadn't expected me to save him. I quickly pushed him behind me with Abel, who had ducked behind me at the source of the power.
"Well, well. Fuck me and call me a nymph, who do we have here?" Iapetus sneered, appearing after a whirlwind of black sand faded around him. I curled my lip at the sight of one of the many Titans that I wished I could kill. Iapetus was just as ripped as he was during the first battle. Muscles bulging with power to the point where he looked like he was on steroids. His thick dark hair fell in curls over his shoulders, a gold band holding them back from his rugged godly face. He wore gold and burgundy armor, the armor of his era too.
"Who the fuck are you?" Cain demanded. Iapetus's eyes glowed wrathfully.
"Iapetus, you ignorant shit." He sneered. Cain snorted.
"Obviously you aren't that famous if I don't know you, and I know a lot of people."
"Cain, for once in your life, stop antagonizing someone." Abel pleaded. Cain scowled.
"Why not? Look at him and how red his face gets when I piss him off. I bet you I could make his head explode before he even has a chance to attack us."
"I rather you not try."
"I rather you shut up and let me do what I want."
"Cain--"
"Gods," Iapetus roared, taking a thundering step toward us and making the twins jump, "Even mine weren't that obnoxious." I started to respond when I felt another fissure of power and a smirk curled the corner of my lip as a black cloud of smoke swirled around in front of us before dropping to the ground, revealing Hannibal decked out in the black stitch uniform, his black hair in a loose ponytail over his shoulder and mismatched eyes glinted dangerously.
"Yeah, I beg to differ." He stated. Iapetus's eyes burned with raw hatred, but a sadistic smile swept across his lips.
"There you are... I was hoping you were still the same stupid little bastard."
"His name's Hannibal, shithead," Abel blurted angrily, "And you are so in for it now!" Cain glared at him.
"How come you can yell at him, but I can't? And why are you even defending that half-breed son of a--"
"Because Hannibal's not alone." Abel replied smugly. Cain scowled at him and another fissure of power pierced the air and Hannibal visibly stiffened as white smoke coiled next to Hannibal before blasting away to reveal Akin standing there in his uniform, blonde hair done up in a ponytail and his blue eyes flaring.
"No one touches my Hannibal." Akin told Iapetus dangerously. Iapetus sneered for a moment before his eyes darkened.
"An angel?!" He demanded venomously.
"You're an angel?" Cain and Abel blurted in unison. I sighed, pinching the bridge of my nose.
Lucifer.
"You didn't actually think Lucifer would let me fight without super powers, did you," Akin asked, bewildered, then looked at Hannibal, who sheepishly avoided his eyes, "Oh, you brat. I can have super powers too. And there's no way I'm letting you fight this prick by yourself. You can deliver the K.O. blow, but, punkin', you better believe I wanna get a couple head shots in after what he did to you."
"Enough," Iapetus shouted, moving toward us, "I'm going to put an end to you!"
"Bring it on, asshole!" Akin dared him. Iapetus threw a blast that Akin and Hannibal deflected at once, sending the blast flying back into Iapetus, knocking him off his feet and throwing him across the ground, rolling dangerously close to the river. Hannibal turned to Akin, looking mildly surprised.
Holy shit. Hannibal thought. Akin gave him a flirty smile, but unfortunately, his mind was blank to me.
Aw, come on.
"Go," Akin said, turning to us, "Get your game on. Hannibal has several millennia of daddy issues to work out and I'd like to greet my father-in-law with a long overdue beating." Abel didn't wait around as he spun around and searched for the entrance, dragging Cain with him while Akin and Hannibal returned to attacking Iapetus, who'd barely managed to get back on his feet again. Power pulsed through the air so fiercely that it was making my nose bleed and all the voices screaming and shouting and wailing in my head was almost enough to drive me to my knees.
I breathed hard, wiping the back of my hand across my nose before another bolt of pain coursed through me and this time, I did fall to my knees.
"Dad!" I blinked, bewildered by the voice, then looked up to see Abel leaning over me, worry creasing his brow as he touched my shoulder.
"Are you all right? Come on, on your feet! We found the entrance, we need to hurry before it closes on us and the fight over there runs us over!" He insisted. I just nodded numbly and let him drag me to my feet over to where Cain was just stepping onto a platform made of stones that seemed to fit together rather well, like puzzle pieces. We leapt onto the platform just as it rumbled below the surface. I looked around, intrigued by the design as we went down into the ground and above us, the surface closed over our heads, plunging us into darkness and triggering my night vision.
We were surrounded by walls made of moss and flowers with small branches and even a couple of fruits hanging from them. And what surprised me was the fact that the fruits were pomegranates-- my favorite. Why would Persephone do that if she hated me?
She doesn't hate you.
I frowned at that unfamiliar voice, looking at my sons, who now wore their goggles to see in the dark and were looking around in silence.
Persephone hates me.
No, she doesn't. If she hated you, she would have thrown you in Tartarus while you slept.
Who are you?
That doesn't matter right now. Return the favor. Save the underworld. Save Lady Persephone, or Tartarus will be the least of your problems.
Gee, thanks, random voice in my head.
I scowled as the platform came to an abrupt halt and the ground in front of us opened up to reveal long narrow tunnels lined with moss and flowers. A few flowers were glowing bright blue and green, lighting the way. We stepped out of the weird earthy elevator and into the tunnel.
"Okay," Abel said, turning to look at Cain and I, "This tunnel is kind of a mind trick thing. We need to focus on our destination and the tunnels will lead us. If we get strayed, it'll just take us all over the place." Cain nodded, apparently having no problem with the whole thing, but me on the other hand, I was having a problem with it. The voices were gone, thankfully, all the screaming and war cries and sobbing from the minds of a thousand soldiers, both enemy and ally. There seemed to be a limit on this thing.
I couldn't read the mind of my loved ones. I couldn't read minds from...
"How far from the battle field would you say we are?" I asked, turning to Cain, who scowled.
"Why do you wanna--"
"About two or so miles, give or take a few feet." Abel cut him off. Cain pushed out his lower lip in a pout and Abel elbowed him, but I ignored their weird flirting to look up at the dirt ceiling over our heads, mentally saving that piece of useful information. I waited to hear more voices, or the strange voice that seemed to have a boner for Persephone, but nothing happened the longer we stood there with the twins giving me identical looks of concern.
Ah, finally. Silence.
"All right," I said at last, "Let's do this." Abel nodded and led the way down the hallway as we moved through the tunnels, keeping in mind the goal of finding Zeus and Cronus. The tunnels felt like they would go on for eternity and I almost assumed that it was my lack of concentration that was ruining this idea when we turned a corner and the ground jarred open to reveal a small staircase made of moss covered steps. I frowned as I came to a stop in front of it, the twins behind me now, watching me warily. I could feel the power crackling through the air, see the lightening exploding in the sky overhead, lighting up the blackness. I took a deep breath, clenched my fists tight, then turned to look at the twins, who frowned at me.
"Go back," I told them, watching their eyes widen in disbelief, "You've taken me this far, but there's no fucking way you're going anywhere near these two."
"But, that's not fair," Cain cried angrily, "We're not babies!"
"For once, he's right," Abel agreed, making Cain perk up, then scowl as he realized there was a hidden insult in there, "We're adults too, and demigods. We're your sons. If you're an awesome badass, so are we. We can't send you out there knowing what both of those assholes did to you."
"Look," I snapped impatiently, pausing as another rumble shook the ground around us and lit up the sky so powerfully that even the tunnel turned white for a moment before I took a deep breath and looked at the twins, who glared at me, "I get it. This is your way of apologizing. I know you're adults; trust me. It's friggin' scary as fuck. But you're still my kids. If I let you go out there and get killed, it's my fault. And you will be killed. Cronus isn't like the other Titans. And if you get in Zeus's way, he will kill you. Or worse. Go back and help Akin and Hannibal and the others. I can handle this on my own." The twins looked ready to argue when a huge explosion caused the world to shudder and almost knocked us off our feet. I cursed, turning to look up the stairs out into the sky that was still churning with black storm clouds, white and blue flashes of lightning illuminating the sky.
"Go," I ordered the twins, turning back to them, "Get out now! If I find out you've followed me, you know damn well you won't get away with it." Abel clenched his teeth and Cain cursed. He grabbed Abel by the hand and turned the other way, dragging him away. I watched them go, relieved before whirling back around and charging up the stairs. I made it to the surface, which was a flat open space just above the palace, deep in the mountains.
Well, it was used to be flat.
Now it was filled with deep trenches and craters.
And just on the other side were Zeus and Cronus. Zeus was wearing his gold armor, his helmet discarded. His entire left side was coated in thick red blood that oozed between the chinks in his armor, and blood ran from a gash in the side of his head, soaking his hair and lightly bearded jaw. And not far from him, Cronus was breathing heavily, baring his fangs. He was decked out in his black armor, bleeding near his right shoulder and left knee. Definitely not as badly injured as Zeus.
Shit, I thought bitterly and started toward them when a fissure of power tore through the air. I whirled around just in time to leap out of the way of a flaming barbed whip. I gritted my teeth as Hyperion materialized a few feet in front of me, baring long fangs menacingly. Huge and rippling with muscles similar to Iapetus with his curly dark hair cut short and flaming eyes promising a slow and painful death, Hyperion was one of my least favorite Titans.
Not that any of them were my favorite.
I just rather fight Iapetus than this gigantic asshole.
"Beg for mercy," Hyperion roared, tightening his grip on his flaming whip, then snapping it in the air so it sent a crackle of lightning spiraling up into the sky, turning it orange before it faded, "And I might give you the honor of sucking my cock."
"No, thanks." I replied flatly. Hyperion gave off another roar and slung the whip at me. I ducked down, rolled across the ground as the whip slashed into the ground and split it open. I shot back to my feet, then dodged to avoid the recoil of the whip as it spun through the air and almost caught my stomach. I spun out of the way and leapt up into the air when the whip came rushing back at me. I landed back on the ground and slid back on my feet, placing a hand on the ground. I sent a concentration of power into the ground, deep, deep into the bowels of the underworld before the ground around us trembled. Hyperion scowled, looking around for a moment before snapping his head to turn and see a black skeletal hand shoot out of the ground.
Several more tore through the ground and black skeletals pulled themselves out of the dirt, dragging themselves onto the surface. Without hesitation, they charged toward Hyperion, who snarled and slung his whip at them. While he was distracted with those fun dead guys, I turned to check on Zeus, who was pushing Cronus back with slashes from his glowing white sword that was charged with the electricity from his lightning bolts. I turned back as Hyperion slung a new set of dead away from him.
"All righty, mother, let's see what you passed down to me that doesn't involve getting pissed with everyone and everything." I muttered and closed my eyes and summoned a huge amount of power into my arms. I took a deep breath and summoned back the nifty blood sword before moving toward Hyperion, who had his back turned to me so he could slash at a group of skeletons that had leapt at his face. He lashed them back, then brought the whip back to slash at them again, but I brought my sword down on the whip and severed it, causing the long flaming barbed whip to squeal like an injured pig before falling to the ground, writhing in agony as if it were alive.
Hyperion snarled and whirled around, backhanding me so hard that I lost my footing and flew back, bashing into a few skeletons. I crashed into the ground, breathing hard as agony exploded in my skull. I blinked rapidly, struggling to my feet. My vision blurred and tilted, but I could just barely make out Hyperion storming over to me, cracking his knuckles. I blinked and shook my head, turning to face him, gripping my sword and slashing at him. He dodged back, then came forward, grabbing my arm and jerking me against him so he could grab my head and wrench it back, trying to rip it off.
God, he was psychotic.
I snarled and tightened my grip on my sword, regaining my right mind and slinging the sword up into his gut. He roared in agony and slung me to the ground, stumbling back and grabbing at his stomach as blood and innards oozed out and he frantically tried to replace them.
He wasn't going to die. He couldn't die. Not that easily.
But he was occupied, which gave me the chance to check on Zeus just in time for Cronus to grab him by the throat and throw him across the space, bashing into the rocky mountain side. I cursed and took off running toward them. Cronus noticed me instantly and whirled on me with a psychotic scream, throwing his arm out and sending several jagged spears at me out of nowhere. I ducked and rolled, jumping back onto my feet and leaping over another spear before heading over to where Zeus was laying in a crumple in a crater created in the side of the mountain.
"Zeus!" I shouted and skidded down onto my knees beside him. He was still breathing, but it was labored and pained. His left arm was dislocated and laying uselessly at his side. His sword was flickering and glowing beside him, but growing dimmer as Zeus's consciousness seemed to fade out.
"Zeus," I shouted again, grabbing him by the shoulder and shoving him onto his back, causing him to suck in a sharp breath of pain, "Get up! Don't ass out on me now, you asshole! You're the one who started this, so finish it! Get on your feet!" Zeus blinked, looking at me disorientedly. I grabbed him under the arms, hoisting him up onto his feet, breathing hard.
"Come on! Stand up!" I snarled at him. Zeus waved his good arm around for his sword and I picked it up, shoving it into his hand while grabbing his left arm and shoving it back into place, causing him to shout in pain and grab me by the throat. I glared at him as he squeezed my throat for a moment before he realized what he was doing.
"Hades." He stated as if just recognizing me.
"No, Mary Poppins," I sneered, making him twitch in irritation, "We don't have time for you to play damsel in distress. Stay on your feet, asshole, and get rid of Cronus. You need to seal him into Tartarus again." Zeus nodded, still looking a bit dazed. I gave him a harsh smack on the shoulder and he hissed through clenched teeth, giving me a sour glare before Cronus screamed from nearby and we whirled to see him coming at us. He was definitely insane, I realized. He'd lost his sanity all those years locked in Tartarus, and he was going to rip the natural balance if he killed either Zeus or myself. We needed to seal him and fast.
"Get out of my way." Zeus growled, pushing me aside, moving for Cronus. I rolled my eyes, then glanced over to see Hyperion squealing and screaming in rage as he squirmed on the ground, trying to hold his innards in while his healing powers seemed to be taking their sweet time in healing him. Because he was too stupid to know how to heal himself correctly without causing himself pain. I narrowed my eyes at him, then looked over to see Zeus slash his sword at Cronus, who dodged back and swung his sword around into Zeus's so they clanged loudly and sent a bolt of lightning up into the sky, turning it momentarily white.
"Hades!" Hyperion roared and I spun back around to see him charging at me. I cursed. Maybe that was faster than I had hoped. He rushed at me and caught me around the waist, throwing me down into the ground, causing it to shudder. The oxygen rushed out of my lungs and I choked, coughing hard against the ground. Hyperion heaved himself up off me, hovering over me as he grabbed me and threw me down on my back before ramming his fist into my jaw. Pain exploded in the side of my face and I felt a blood vessel pop in my eye, and I'm pretty sure I lost a tooth because I spat something out of my mouth as blood oozed from the corner. My body instantly reacted in healing the damage and Hyperion went to punch me again, but I shot up and bashed our heads together, causing him to howl and slump back onto his knees, grabbing his forehead.
I spat blood to the ground as I rose to my feet, feeling the damage completely heal in my face. I smirked, then grabbed Hyperion by the head and brought his face down on my knee before grabbing him by the neck and twisting hard, snapping it. He squeaked and hit the ground. I stepped back, brushing my hands off before turning to see Zeus slash at Cronus, cutting him across the chest, destroying his armor and causing it to shatter to the ground, revealing a bloody gash across Cronus's chest. Cronus choked on a mouthful of blood and sank to the ground on his knees, still trying to scream and curse Zeus's name. It was when Zeus lost his footing and almost fell that I decided to run over.
"Zeus, let me heal you," I told him, making him glare at me, "I'm not gonna make you shit your intestines out, idiot. You're the one who started this battle and I want you to finish it in one piece, or you know, ruptured world and all that." Zeus curled his lip at me, but said nothing as he turned to face me and I reached out, cupping his throat just under his jaw. I sent in a surge of power, rapidly healing the damage dealt to him by Cronus, who watched us with fury snapping in his eyes as he choked on his blood and almost fell, but managed to hold himself up on his hands and knees. I could feel my powers steadily waning, so I removed my hands and stepping back as Zeus grunted and breathed a deep sigh, reaching up to crack his neck from side to side.
"Finally," He muttered, then turned to Cronus, whose eyes widened, "I'm going to send you back to the prison where you belong, you cheap bastard." He twirled his sword and went to chop his head off, but Cronus screamed and rolled out of the way, lunging at me and slamming me into the ground. I cursed and fought to get him off me as he bashed me over the head and Zeus swore, dropping his sword and grabbing Cronus, pulling him off me.
"I'll kill you," Cronus shrieked, thrashing and writhing, "Both of you! I'll destroy you! I'll burn your innards and feast on your entrails and cut your cocks off and feed them to you! Do you bloody hear me, you pathetic shits?! You can't get rid of me! I am Cronus, King of the Titans, Lord of the World! You will not defeat me!" Zeus rolled his eyes and threw Cronus to the ground. Crous scrambled and shot to his feet and started to make a run for it.
"Son of a bitch!" Zeus barked and went to grab his sword as I made a run for Cronus, chasing after him as he ran toward the ledge that dropped straight down into the river Acheron below. I slowed my running until I was stopped, staring over the cliff at the vast destruction that had swallowed the underworld. Fires lit up everywhere, smoke coiling into the air like snakes, men and women fighting to the death, screaming and shouting and sobbing. Cronus had stopped just at the edge of it, staring off into the mass hysteria.
And then the screaming reached my head and I shouted in pain, collapsing to my knees and clasping my hands over my ears as pain throbbed in my skull. The screeches of dying soldiers, sobbing of families as they struggled not to grieve as they fought on top of the bodies of their loved ones. It made my head feel like it was going to explode!
"Haha," Cronus laughed suddenly, making me peer up at him angrily as he turned to face me, "Now you hear it, don't you? All their screams and pleading and sobbing? Doesn't it feel great? To hear all those people down there suffering because you were stupid enough to fall for your mother's lies? My Rhea was perfection incarnate. She could manipulate everything. She even manipulated me into marrying her and I loved her for it. She was intelligent and perfect. She could read you from the moment you came running to her in Tartarus. She played on your worst fear-- to find out that you are unlovable." I seethed and struggled to my feet, but the screams brought me down again and I hissed.
"Will you shut up?!" I snarled. Cronus laughed louder, more hysterically now.
"Poor Hades can't find some to give a shit about him! Your mother and I loathed you! Mocked your stupidity for blindly following Zeus around like a pathetic puppy! And your sons? They loathe you too! Zeus cursed you, did he not? All they've done up until now is play on your feelings! They think by pretending to give a crap about you that you'll be more willing to give a shit! And Lucifer--"
"It's about time someone shut your ass up." Zeus cut him off. Cronus snapped out of his hysterical fit and turned in time for Zeus to kick him hard in the chest. Cronus shrieked a moment before falling over the edge of the cliff. Panting hard, I struggled to my feet and stumbled over to stand beside Zeus as we looked over the edge to see Cronus splash into the river below and his screams were muffled by the water swallowing him.
"He's not dead." I reminded Zeus, who shook his head, snorting.
"Absolutely not. He's just suffering untold torment. I'll fish him out when I get down there and we can seal him into Tartarus." He assured. I only nodded, then grimaced as more pain pulsed in my skull and Zeus glanced at me.
"You hear their voices, their thoughts, don't you?" He asked. I glared at him warily.
"No. I just had my head bashed in repeatedly by two Titans. I have a headache. We should just get down there and announce Cronus's defeat." I muttered. Zeus shrugged and stepped back. I started to move away when I felt Zeus's strong grip on me and force me around. I expected him to slam me down on the ground and probably fuck me, but instead, he jerked me against his chest in a tight hug sort of thing...
And unbelievable agony tore through my chest. I choked, staring at Zeus, who stared back at me intensely. He tightened his grip on me and I tasted blood in my mouth. I blinked, then choked again as blood rose in my throat and filled my lungs, poured down my face. Zeus narrowed his eyes at me and a moment later, I heard an agonized scream from behind me. Zeus released me and I slumped to the ground, looking down at my chest to see a gaping bloody hole in my chest. I tried to breath, but nothing happened.
My heart wasn't beating. My lungs were filled with blood. There was a hole in my chest.
What's happening?
"Nooo! Hades!" I blinked, looking up at Zeus, who glared down at me as he stepped back. I fell onto my side and someone fell beside me and I looked up to see Lucifer leaning over me, my heart in his hand. I blinked, confused by it.
What just happened?
What's going on?
"Thanks for your help," Zeus told Lucifer, who blinked and looked up in horror, "I knew you were the right person to ask to seduce Hades. But I would have liked to take his heart out myself."
What?