May 8th 1945

Los Angeles, USA

Music floated through the loud hall. People danced and drank with no worries in the world. The war was over and no one else would have to die anymore.

Though disappointed he wasn't needed anymore, Tyler tried his best to be happy too. He danced with Athena who smiled at him as he twirled her around the dance floor, her red skirt swirling around her.

"You can rest now, Ares." She pressed a kiss to his cheek, leaving a red lipstick outline of her lips on his stubble. "You need it."

"I doubt the tension will go away that easy." Tyler sighed. "War is in the blood. It's a natural instinct. It will happen again in some way or another."

"Stop talking like that. Just for once. For me, please? Be happy! Celebrate!" She urged him.

"Fine." He smiled. That night had passed in a golden blur of music, drinks and happiness only to be suddenly washed away by the darkness of the present. "Get out!" Glass smashed against the wall, reflecting the dim, dreary light of the never ending night. Now, Tyler stood in the middle of his lounge, cursing at anyone who came near him. Brock hurried back down the stairs, the sound of the door slamming echoing after him. Tyler's heart hurt again as he thought about being alone and he let out another wail, falling back onto the couch behind him. Grief filled memories swirled around him, making every happy memory suddenly dark and bitter.

"Look at them, Ares!" Evan danced in front of him and grabbed his hands, pulling him to his feet as he pointed to the fireworks exploding in the night sky above them. "Is this what the sun looks like?" How innocent he had seemed. How kind. He couldn't have hurt anyone.

Tyler looked up at the fireworks, smiling a little as they exploded into beautiful colours and the crowd below them gasped. They had been in Venice, the streets filled with festival goers. Evan had danced and spun around Tyler with joy and amazement at the beauty of the night. Yet as Tyler stared at this Evan, rage tasted vile on his tongue.

"No! That isn't what it looks like you monster!" Tyler suddenly yelled, falling off the couch as he tried to push this Evan away. He landed on the stained carpet, a flash of pain surging through him. He let out another sob as he curled into a ball, anger surging through him. He was angry at everything. Angry at Evan. Angry at himself. Angry at everyone and everything.

"Please don't be upset, Tyler." Athena's face hovered over him, her golden curls falling over her face. The 'Thirty Years War' was over and Tyler had felt useless once more. She sat beside him on the large bed, her skirts sprawled around them.

"What am I supposed to do then?" Tyler had reached for one of her curls, twisting it around his finger. "Why did you leave me...Why did you let this happen?"

"Rest, Ares. You know war will come again. Nyx hasn't seen you in awhile...He was asking about you. Go to him. Let him show just how beautiful he's made the night in an attempt to hide your brutal war." She had said with a gentle smile.

"Stop talking about him!" Tyler pushed the memory away, opening his eyes on the dim lounge and the memory of the golden Goddess was gone from his mind.

"How long has he been like this?" Jonathan whispered from the stairs.

"Since we got back...It's useless to talk to him." Brock whispered.

"Do you think we can deal with Evan without him? We have the dagger now…" Sydney said quietly. Tyler could feel their pitying gazes on him.

"We can't rush him." Brock reminded her. Tyler wished they would stop talking. They wouldn't leave him alone. "We can't rush him…" Dionysus had said quietly. It was the end of the eighteenth century, shortly after the glimmering dinner party. Nyx had gotten sick. He let himself get too mortal and he started coughing and couldn't stop.

"How did this happen?" Athena had sighed, her gloved hand pressed her over mouth and nose as if she too could get sick.

"I think he's too scared of the almighty power in himself. He talks about it all the time." Nemesis said with a concerned sigh. There had been blood on his sleeve that wasn't his. Tyler had pushed past them into the dark room and sat down beside Evan who had fallen asleep finally. The sun would rise soon and he would disappear till it went down again.

"He won't die...right?" He had asked.

"Of course he won't. He isn't that mortal. Just give him time to heal and he'll be back to his godly self." Athena had placed a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"I wish he died." Tyler cried, hitting the lounge floor as if he were hitting his sick and sleeping friend in his memory. "Why didn't he die then? Why didn't he die? Why?"

"Come on, Tyler." Arms gently wrapped under his, pulling him back up onto the couch. Brock sat down beside him despite having been yelled at. He poured him a strong drink, placing it into his shaking hand. "You should rest. Jonathan said that Evan hit your head really hard so you need to rest. Don't exhaust yourself." Brock reached for the blanket in Sydney's arms, the bright flowers embroidered into the soft fabric seeming to be real on the dim light.

"Why didn't he die when he got sick? He was human enough…" Tyler took a hesitant sip from his drink.

"Don't talk like that. Remember that this isn't really Evan." Brock sighed, taking the cup from his hand and placing it on the coffee table before Tyler could spill it.

"Yes it is. It's who he really is…" Tyler raised his voice, trying to sit up as if to fight Brock.

"Shh…" A gentle calming energy descended over the room as Sydney knelt down beside him, gently taking his hand in hers. In this light, she looked like Kelly. Tyler reached out, wrapping a strand of her blonde hair around his finger. "Think about something happy."

"I can't…"

"Yes you can. You've lived a long life. There must be something that makes you happy." She gave him a small smile. He turned his head away from her, his gaze on the back of the couch. Of course there were happy memories but now they were saturated with bitterness. He closed his eyes, his exhaustion finally crashing down on him. The blonde strand of hair slipped from his hand as he began to fall asleep.

"Ares!" The voice echoed around him, sparking anger inside of him. Tyler opened his eyes slowly, looking up at the night sky above him. The darkness was filled with beautiful stars and a bright shining moon. "Ares!" The voice called again, floating through the darkness. His helmet weighed his head down as he turned it, seeing a dark figure hurrying across the battlefield toward him. "Ares!" When Nyx reached him, he fell to his knees beside him, a smile spreading on his face as he realized that he was alright. "You should be more careful." Tyler sat up slowly, his furious gaze locked on the seemingly innocent Night God. He knew better.

"No...You should be careful…" Tyler suddenly pushed Nyx away from him, sending him sprawling to the dusty battlefield. "You've made a big mistake." He snarled as he got to his feet, staring down Evan with narrowed eyes. The memory suddenly melted away, leaving them in darkness. Evan stood up with a sigh, his red leather jacket looking bloody in the dark. He couldn't hide behind memories anymore. Tyler's hands curled into fists as he watched Evan try to think of something to say when there was nothing he could say that would make any of this better.

"I didn't want this, Tyler." Evan finally said.

"Bullshit. You've always wanted to get rid of us. You're a monster, Evan." Tyler snarled.

"You've killed millions and you don't hear me calling you a monster!" Evan shot back, pushing Tyler away from him. "I didn't want this to happen! Why won't you believe me?"

"You want the world to be your hell! You want to make everyone suffer!" Tyler yelled.

"Only as much as I do!"

"How dare you say that? How dare you say its our fault that you lost hope!" Anger surged through him as metal swirled around him, creating a sword in his hand. "How dare you cry to me after what you did!"

"Tyler...She knew! She would have killed me!" Evan cried.

"Shut up!"

"Tyler!" He swung at Evan, the sword glinting in the dim light. Evan jumped back, exploding into feathers. The owl flew over the sword, flipping over Tyler. Evan landed on his feet in another burst of feathers and shadows, a sword as dark as night in his hand. He blocked Tyler's next blow, sparks flying between the metal. "I want to create a better world! I never wanted this! I just couldn't let her kill me!"

"So you killed her!" Gunpowder and metal created a gun in Tyler's hand that he raised and pulled the trigger. Shadows flew around Evan, creating a wall around him. "I'm going to kill you!" He shot at the wall again, a crack forming in the glass-like shadows.

"Tyler!" Another bullet broke the glass. In a shower of shadows, Evan fell to the dark ground, blood blossoming on his red jacket. "Don't!"

"Are you going to kill me too?" Tyler snarled, grabbing Evan's collar and hauled him to his feet. Evan managed to shake his head, his dark eyes locked on Tyler's. Tyler glanced down at his hand curled around Evan's collar, watching Evan blood spill across his fist.

"You don't know…" Tyler threw Evan back down, the Night God letting out a cry of pain as he landed in a heap on the dusty ground. "Besides...this isn't real. You can't really kill me…" Evan laughed as he rolled weakly onto his stomach, blood trailing behind him as he started to crawl away slowly from the War God. "You are dealing with grief...of course you'll dream of killing me."

Tyler watched him, rage and disgust washing over him. He knew he was dreaming but he wouldn't let Evan beat him in his own dream. He had hurt him enough. He threw the gun away as another one formed, aiming it at Evan as he crawled away. He pulled the trigger only to be surrounded by shadows dancing around him, their eyes wide and red; their smiles sharp and cruel. They threw Tyler back as Evan rolled and got to his feet, his smile sharp and cruel. The gun fell from Tyler's hand as he hit the ground, sliding into the shadows. "How do you do it? How do you stay awake so long? I'm so tired, Tyler."

"Shut up!" Tyler yelled as he rolled, looking up at the wide eyed Night God. In his hand was a shiny red apple. He watched as Evan bit into the apple, the crunch echoing around him in the dark. It reminded him of the sound of breaking bones. Yet Evan didn't look evil. He didn't look like the cruel king that he had become. He looked small and scared as he glanced down at the apple in his hand. "You...You killed him…"

"I did?" The darkness suddenly surrounded Tyler, the Shadow's smiling faces chasing him. Tyler awoke with a gasp, sitting up on the couch with wide eyes. He struggled for air, looking around the lounge as if he expected to see Evan there but he was nowhere to be found. Brock slept soundly on the chair beside him, while Jonathan had curled up on the floor in a sleeping bag.

"He's tired…" Tyler whispered. The realisation dawned on Tyler, heavy as the guilt and anger that hung on his shoulders. "Wake up! Brock! Jonathan! Wake up!" He threw the floral blanket off, shaking Brock's shoulder and shoving Jonathan with his foot.

"What? What is it? Tyler?" Brock rubbed his eyes, just as confused as Jonathan was who seemed to be a bit more angry at being woken up.

"He's tired! Evan is tired!" Tyler cried, staring at them with wide eyes.

"So? We're all tired?" Jonathan sighed.

"Unlike us, Evan actually needs sleep! We don't. We just choose to sleep; to pass the time. Evan has been up constantly! Athena knew something, that's why Evan killed her. I think she knew how to kill him." Tyler cried, finding himself breathing quickly with excitement and fear.

He shank back onto the couch, remembering the apple in Evan's hand and the scared look on his face. They had watched him kill Brian. He had damned him. He was missing something but he couldn't figure out what. Tyler shook the disturbing thoughts away, remembering how Evan had said he was tired.

"There is no point in fighting Evan. Even if he's tired, he can kill us in a heartbeat. We have the dagger but it's useless to us." Jonathan wasn't impressed with Tyler's realisation. "He isn't going to sleep while it's nighttime."

"So why don't we make it daytime?" Brock asked with a simple shrug of his shoulders.

"What?" Tyler's eyes widened.

"Why don't we make it the day again? That's when he sleeps right? He breaks apart like glass and then reappears again at night." Brock explained. "So why don't we make it the day again?"