Yes, yes. I know. This was a long-awaited, long-procrastinated chapter.
FIIINE.
I can't wait to get into the bulk of the story now that the exposition's done.
Without further ado~
Brief Summary
After crossing the Acheron, the gang finds their way to Hades' Palace. They are met by his handmaiden, who escorts them into the palace. Will their debate with Hades end well? Or will their one last hope be gone forever?
Meanwhile, Kyoya, Gingka, Mei-Mei, and Yu confront Dynamis about his affections for Swan. On the way, they make a new friend with a rather interesting character.
Akira stepped out of the tiny boat, followed by Rose and Swan. Dashan helped Ninel out of the boat, and Masamune, learning from example, attempted to do the same with Freida, only to see that Aeolus had helped her out already. He growled.
"I saw her first!"
Aeolus chuckled, "I'm just being courteous, calm down,". Rose snapped at the two to hush them as they found themselves in front of a magnificent obsidian palace, surrounded by blood-red roses and pomegranate trees.
Masamune tried to touch one, only to have his hand slapped away by another hand. The blader screeched and leapt into Aeolus' arms, who immediately dropped him on the ground.
"I'm so sorry! Did I scare you?" said a voice from behind the tree. A small girl stepped out to meet them. She had long, cascading red-gold hair and doe-like amber eyes. Her dress was a simple black greek toga with a hood that hid most of her face. "King Hades doesn't like people touching the trees, you know. I'm Soteria, it's so nice to meet you. Hades isn't expecting any guests, so I'll go tell him. Follow me to the waiting room."
"Is it just me, Cherry Girl, or is she really creepy?" Masamune whispered to Freida, only to be interrupted by an irritated Akira. "You can't just call people creepy, Masamune."
Freida laughed. "Oh, Akira, just let it go. He's being sweet!"
Rose sighed. "She's odd, that's for sure. I've never seen her around the palace before- it's mostly Pasiphae. "
Swan nodded. "Don't think too much about it. We need to focus on the real goal here- getting the items."
"That's right," Rune agreed. "
They were lead into a waiting room filled with black couches. The 10 sat down patiently as the tiny handmaiden closed the door...
Mei-Mei stared at the adorable little swan inside the tree. "D'awwe! How romantic!"
Gingka sighed. "Eh, it's okay. But did you guys see this butterfly?"
Yu giggled. "Butterfly!"
Kyoya stared at it, confused. Dynamis had a secret relationship- with Swan? Maybe it was a lie. But then why would he try to hide it?
"Where is Dynamis, anyways?" Mei-Mei wondered.
"Let's go find him! I bet he's with his girlfriend!" Yu laughed.
"Yu, his girlfriend is in He-the underworld!" Mei-Mei remined him. The kid laughed it off. "Let's go, let's go, let's go!"
Kyoya watched them all head out, and shrugged. He didn't have many options, at least not in this world.
With a reluctant air, the green-haired boy followed.
It was the start of a different type of connection then one of rivals.
It could have been one of friends.
Akira stared at the high, vaulted ceilings, impatience creeping up to meet her. The place scared her slightly. From the skulls hanging on the walls, to the empty stained black windows...something was off, something big and terrible and unearthly.
She shook her head almost as if to get something off of it. No need to think this way. It was probably just in her head, an irrelevant thought for the moment.
With a shiver, the brunette realized she was cold. A type of chill that sunk through her bones, one that seemed to drain the very essence of her soul, was seeping through her body, coating each limb with its shadowy composure.
ThRose gave her a look of sympathy. "It's alright, Akira. Some people have a strange connection to what goes on in the underworld. It's a place made of shadows, you know. We could slip away at any second- though the chances of that are very slim, see." she added, looking at the terrified faces around her.
"Wile we're waiting, mind telling us about the relics?" asked Ninel. Rose nodded. "Of course!"
"Well, the first one is Persephone's Rose. To be accurate, it's actually a pomegranate flower, but it's called a rose nevertheless. Its virtue is of hope."
Rune interjected. "You know the old story of Persephone and Hades- how she stayed in the underworld for half the year? There was always hope that she would come back to earth."
"And then, there's Nike's Wreath. It's the symbol of justice. Nike took over Nemesis' role of keeping balance after he rebelled, so the name was changed from Nemesis' Scaled to Nike's Wreath. Nike is blind, and is the only true seer of balance." Swan added.
"Hera's Staff is my favorite," Rune added. "Its virtue is of devotion. Contrary to popular belief, Hera was always devoted to her family and home... that is, before she died."
Swan gave a little sigh which went unnoticed. "And the last would be Hestia's Fire- Purity. A pure heart, beautiful intentions, and clear mind. What more could you want?"
The door opened as Soteria stepped back in. "Lord Hades will see you now. Follow me, and be quiet about it." The 10 got up and prepared to leave.
Masamune shyly grabbed Freida's hand, making her blush, and squeezing it. She gave a little smile. "Thanks, Masamumu."
They walked into a hall with a beautiful blood mahogany carpet leading all the way up to a huge polished bronze throne. Sitting on top of it was none other than Lord Hades himself. His black hair streamed down his back, and he gave a frown to the visitors as if they had done a terrible wrong. He was wearing a deep plum toga and dark ebony sandals that contrasted his pale skin.
"Well, well. If it isn't Nyx, Rune, and Swan! And did you bring friends? Oh, Rune, dear, tell me, which ones of these people are your slaves?"
Rune groaned. "Father, be serious! We have bad news."
Swan stepped forwards. "Correct. Lord Hades, Nemesis is at the brink of attacking Olympus. We need the relics in order to defeat him!"
"Ah," Hades said exasperatedly. "So you want the relics, whoop-dee-do. Well, I have my answer right here. No."
"But Lord Hades-" Swan and Rose began, joined by Rune's "But Father!"
"Hades, please! We're all in great trouble-" Freida added, being cut off by a loud sigh from the lord of the underworld himself.
"Darling, even if I wanted to give you the relics- which mind you, I would not agree to at all, I couldn't. They're gone."
"Gone?" Ninel and Dashan said at the same time.
"They left. Relics do that, you know?" Hades responded with a frown. "They decide not to stay, and then they leave. Not my problem- I could care less if Olympus fell at the hands of Nemesis.
"Well, thanks anyways." Rune sighed. "Any advice for us?"
"Not much," Hades replied jeeringly. "Stay safe, fall in love, and don't touch my pomegranate trees."
Gingka rounded a few corners aimlessly, not seeming to find Dynamis anywhere. Where was Zeus' apprentice?
He bumped into a petite chocolate-haired girl while rounding a bend. The two both recoiled, crashing into a hedge.
"Owch! Watch where you're going!"
"Sorry," Gingka responded, "I didn't see you there!"
"Eh, no matter. You're no worse than Triptolemus," she joked calmly. "Where are y'all headed?"
"Um, we were looking for Dynamis, have you seen him?" Mei-Mei butted in innocently.
The girl blinked. "Dynamis? Why're you looking for him?"
"Look, none of your buisness girl, so go back to your makeup or whatever," Kyoya snapped.
"Hey, watch it! You know who you're talking to? You're talking to-" she gave a slight hesitation here, as if forgetting her train of thoughts, "Atlanta! The best huntress in all of Olympus, second to only Artemis herself!"
Kyoya held up his hands. "Sheesh, no need to get so salty."
"Oh, whatever," Atlanta sighed. "I saw Dynamis pass by that way. He's probably in his tower, which is (if you go through those gates), to your right. The door has a sun on it if that helps." She pointed. "Good luck finding him!"
"Thanks!" Gingka and Mei-Mei replied. Kyoya simply rolled his eyes at the supposed ineptitude of his so-called friends.
Yu ran over, panting. "You guys are fast!"
The foursome walked through the extravagant golden gates into the sun-adorned door. They were met with a winding staircase which reminded Gingka all too much about the many stairs he was forced to climb previously.
"You've got to be kidding me!"
149 steps later, they reached the tip of the highest tower in Zeus' palace. At the end of the stairs was another door, this one locked. Mei-Mei knocked thrice, and the door was opened by a rather confused Dynamis.
"Oh. It's you all. Do you need something?" he asked, rather disoriented.
"Yeah, actually," Kyoya said. "What's the thing with you and Swan?"
"Uh- nothing. Nothing. It's none of your concern." he replied coolly.
"We saw a heart with your names in it, dummy!" Mei-Mei added. "So do you love her or not?"
"Yes- I mean- no- oh, for the love of Hera, just come in!"
Yu bounded through the door. "You've got a huge room!" He leapt on a plush blue couch.
"Tell us everything- from the start." Gingka pressed.
Dynamis sighed. "Very well."
And that is all, my darlings! I hoped you enjoyed this overdue chapter. Don't forget to follow, favorite and review!
Next chapter will be out after you guys tell me what you think of this one.
Love you~
~Cookie
