Please don't hate me! . I know I haven't updated since August, and I'm very very very very sorry! And I know this chapter is short... I will be trying to write a lot more! I finally got into the swing of things and have successfully completed my first semester in college! YAY! And now that I'm settled into my routine for this semester, I will be trying to update on the weekends more! :D

PLEASE REVIEW. I'm getting really annoyed with how many people I see reading but not adding a review. :c Anything you'd like to say would be great!

Here's your new chapter! Tell me what you guys think! I'm also open to requests, or suggestions for challenges. Please declare which god and describe what type of challenge you'd like to see!

And..here..we...go!

The days passed quickly, soon it was the night before I was supposed to be back in Olympus to start my Challenges for Immortality. There was much commotion across the underground, so much in fact that the maids had the palace filled with a buzz of chattering. It echoed of the walls lightly, making the place feel a bit more lively than ever since I had been there. However, there was an edge to the echoes. A slight quake of nervousness or fright would float along the words as well. As though my own nerves weren't enough, the constant hum of the words from the maids was no consolidation either.

I sighed and looked over everything I was allowed to bring with me. I was allowed to have a small leather backpack and could put whatever I could carry into it. Zeus only declared I could have nothing that would restore life with me, everything else I could take with me. My eyes had mentally rolled when I heard that. As if I had the ability to get ahold of something enchanted like that (Hades isn't allowed to interfere, so his gifts can't have hardly any enchantment on them).

I had a small mini sword Hades had begrudgingly given me, he wasn't too fond of the idea of giving me something that could maim someone, for fear I would end up maiming myself instead. Unfortunately, that was the only really helpful weapon I was given. I had some rope, slightly enchanted medicinal herbs, a compass, a map specifically designed to show wherever it was the Gods were going to send me for my tasks, and special bottle that Aslan could go into (think of it working like a pokeball or summoning scroll except in a little glass vial).

I tied the bag nice and tight and slung it onto my back. I caught a glance of myself in the mirror on the stone wall and walked closer to see the image. My auburn hair was pulled into a low pony with different pieces sticking out at the top. My figure was a bit more lithe, though I still had my curves nicely, there wasn't a bruise left anywhere on me from when Persephone had "visited." I gulped and had to remind myself to breathe when I say my eyes. There were beaming white, like a luminescent glow under them, and a look of determination. But, there was fear behind them, a part of me scared of what I was about to face and whether or not I would meet the thing from my terrors.

I took a breath to steady myself and shook myself out of it.

"Snap out of it Aislinn," I told myself.

"Now's not the time to get cold feet about this," I reminded myself why I was doing this and felt myself stand a little straighter. Hades had given me what I'd asked to wear, tailored perfectly to my figure. I wore soft leather pants, sturdy for any terrain, warm for weather, and flexible to move easy in them, boots that came to just below my knee with no heel, a lose white poet's shirt with a black corset over it completed the ensemble.

There was a knock on the door suddenly, startling me out of my thoughts.

"Come in," I said and watched my maid flitter in with a sad smile on her face.

"I just came to wish you luck," she said softly, and if ghosts could cry she would have been.

"Hey, no need for the sadness, I'll be coming back when I'm done," I told her reassuringly, half trying to convince myself to my own words as I spoke them.

She nodded her head in agreement and took a deep breath.

"I'm sure you will Milady, and to help," she reached into her pocket and pulled out a pair of leather gloves.

"I wanted to give you these as well. They're good sturdy gloves, always suited me when I was alive and never gave away on their grip either," she looked up at me with her smile.

"I'll take good care of them," I said quietly, pulling them on. Black and fitting perfectly they stopped just before my elbow giving me lots of grip and great flexibility. She nodded again and gave me one last hopeful smile before evaporating entirely in front of me. There was a soft ruffle, almost like wind as she vanished entirely. I gripped my fist tightly.

"I will come back."

I walked towards the throne room where Hades was waiting to leave for Olympus, hesitantly. His mood had been declining as the day neared, and I silently prayed for all of the poor ghosts that had suffered his wrath over the thought. I gulped when I felt an air of tension in the entrance, and saw him sitting languidly on his throne. He made no sign to move as I came closer. Hades was scowling at the back of his chair, not looking at me though I knew he knew I was in the room.

Tense silence hovered over the air like sticky humidity that you couldn't shake off no matter what you did.

"…I'm ready to go," I finally said softly, hoping the words wouldn't hurt him anymore than he already was suffering.

He didn't move for so long I wondered if he had even heard me. His legs slowly shifted from how he was laying and he stood in front of me, his hair flickering angrily between bright red with black and a green I had never seen before. Arms crossed he had a face to match how upset he was. I glared right back at him, refusing to let his intimidation cause me to change my mind about what I was going to do.

We stared each other down for another minute before he sighed and gave in, his face changing to a very sad expression.

"Are you sure you want to do this? You can still back out, there won't be any repercussions if you do it now. Once you start you either stick it to the end or die trying, you know that right?" he said worriedly, hoping inside that perhaps he could change my mind at the last minute.

I nodded my head.

"I will come back Hades, I promise," I said determinedly.

He gave a small smirk at my response, one of

"Yeah, I figured you wouldn't back down, so" he pulled something out from inside his cloak,

"I decided I'd give you this, since I can't really give you much." He handed me a small necklace withan extremely detailed skeleton key hanging on it. There was a small orb in the center, filled with a wispy purple substance. I felt the cool metal in my fingers, smiled up at him.

"Thank you so much, Hades," I said while tying the necklace back so that it hung just above my chest. His face was still filled with worry and pain, the fear of losing me so ingrained in his thoughts he could hardly bear it. We remained silent as he lead the way to his chariot, wanting to prolong the inevitable he decided to fly there rather than teleport.

I stood tall, regal almost, with Hades behind me as he tapped the reins lightly and we ascended into the sky. There was a bit of lighting jumping through the clouds as we climbed higher, Zeus must be raring to go. Cold, practically ice, was pressed up behind me. I glanced up at Hades and noted how breathtaking he was fully decked in his God robes. His face was stern and focused, his lips were pulled into a dark, thin line. He was tense, or was I? I could feel my heart beating more rapidly as I saw Olympus off in the distance.

Thud. Thud. Thud.

It resounded against my chest. I shut the world out, focusing on the figure behind me, his steady breaths, his strength that flowed off him like smoke easily passing around an obstacle in its path. Determination.

Courage.

Strength.

I had to keep my head focused on the tasks ahead. My mind needed to be clear to think, logical to solve problems, and emotion needed to be set aside for other times. Rationality was a necessity to my survival through this.

Focus.

Logic.

Reason.

A deep breath filled my lungs and I reopened my eyes, ready to face my fears. We were almost at the gates of Olympus, and suddenly Hades' arm wrapped around me tightly. His breath danced over my neck, with his nose buried in my hair. There was a sudden, dramatic slow to our flight.

"Hades," I called softly, mustering up enough resistance to hold the tears I felt threatening to overflow.

"I can't bear the thought…to think…the idea…of having to ferry your soul….Aislinn…don't make me go through such a torture…I can think of no greater sadness than not having you beside me," he whispered softly, stopping the chariot all together.

I turned in his grasp, leaning my head against him and lacing my warm, shaking fingers into his cool, smooth ones. I thought back to the relief I had felt at seeing him rescue me from the crash and his expressions as he had read my paper in the museum. Such small incidents, and yet, in retrospect, they meant so much more than I realized at the time. I vaguely wondered if Hades' feelings for me would have been different if my paper were written in a different perspective. Or what if I had never met him by the river? Did that influence my feelings growing up?

I nuzzled against him. What did it matter? I was here now. And I was ready to face the challenges necessary to remain with him forever. I glanced up at him, brushing aside his long hair and holding his face as though it were thin glass. This God of the Underworld was mine, as much as I was his. So many things could have separated us by now, but through it all he hid in the shadows, protecting me from afar. He gazed at me with those sweet, onyx eyes. Full of pleading and worry, they were still earnestly trying to convince me to stay with him as is.

"I have to do this Hades," I whispered again, sounding more determined than before. A reassuring smile appeared on my face.

"Besides, I can't leave you to fend off Persephone alone, if she ever tries to come back." He smiled a little and the chariot resumed movement, still at a snail's pace. We reached the gates and Hades gave me a hand down from the chariot. His arm remained locked at my side as we approached the towering columns. The reminder that he was beside me through all of this was reassuring. If I were thrown from Olympus again, I'd know he'd be able to catch me.

There was a shaking silence as we approached Zeus' throne. All the court Gods and Goddesses were staring, eyes wide and necks almost craning forwards, eager to see what was to happen. I glanced to the side and saw Artemis and Apollo sitting next to each other, arms locked and hopeful smiles sent to me. I felt stronger, braver as we neared the enormous, marble seat.

As we reached the bottom of the stairs of Zeus, Hades gave me one last squeeze, and kissed my head. He lingered long enough there was a cough from the back, and begrudgingly let go and took his own seat.

I tightened my fist, and courageously lifted my gaze to meet Zeus'.

White eyes blazing, determination coursing through my blood, I stood unshakingly, facing him with a damn near unmatchable boldness.

"Aislinn," Zeus said menacingly, the word oozed with velvet poison as he spoke. He's eyes burned with the fury of Hell. Revenge set deep in him.

"Ready to face the horrors we've conceived for you?"

He paused and grinned maniacally.

"You'll be begging for your own death."