Chapter Thirty Three

The Retribution

To Harusame's wide eyes, it seemed as though time had sped up. The next few moments moved like a blur.

One moment Zeus was coming to blows with Kronus, and holding his own. The next he smacked into the wall with a thud of finality, and was laying on the floor beside her, completely motionless, while Hades got up.

'NO!' she screamed, and threw her arms around him. Poseidon, who had been resting in her lap, slid to the damp floor unnoticed, and was kindly caught by Oceanus.

'Harusame…'

She heard Hades' grumbling voice and felt his fingers try to prize hers from his yukata, but there was no way she was letting go. No way.

'Little one,' said a stern, low voice, 'you cannot battle in your condition. I shall take your place.'

'No, Teacher, no way in hell. I won't be left out.'

'For heaven's sake Hades!' Oceanus snapped, and Harusame looked up at his sharp tone. 'This is not some gamely competition between you and your brothers. If Kronus reaches Tartarus before help arrives-'

'So that is your plan,' Kronus called, sounding more inclined to amusement than anxiety. 'You used my sons to stall me, Oceanus? How entirely cowardly.'

'You are the only coward in this room, Kronus,' Oceanus replied. 'I shall fight you myself right now-'

'No, you won't. He's mine. Sorry, petal.'

Hades shoved Harusame unceremoniously into Oceanus' arms and stalked away towards his father.

'Hades, no! Please!' she sobbed.

'Hades! I seriously advise against this!' Oceanus yelled, but Hades ignored both of them.

By this point, it actually looked like a fair fight. Both men were pale, their cheeks flushed and their eyes glowing feverishly, their clothes bloodied and in tatters, and neither able to stand upright without shivering or wilting.

'Hades, my boy,' Kronus whispered.

'Let's get this over with,' Hades snarled.

They wasted not a second.

'Mors Mortis!' Hades yelled, glowing with a ghostly violet aura and slicing his scythe in an arc above his head as Kronus' scream of reply echoed in his ears.

'Tempus Temporis!'

The entire room flashed and suddenly everything looked like a photo negative; black with neon outlines. There was an eerie ripping sound and things went back to normal, or as close to normal as it could manage while time and space enchantments were being madly thrown about and swished around like potions in a huge cauldron. The sweeping, struggling, vibrant violence of the men was too much. They were cancelling each other out.

'I shall haul the Spirit of Destruction from your body and back into existence yet!' Kronus hollered, inky, distorting shadowy clouds seeping from his body yet as he summoned his strength once again. 'TEMPUS TEMPORIS!'

As Harusame watched strange black lines rolled over his skin and down into the floor. They were writing strange characters and symbols as they went, like creeping, living tattoos, and Hades was experiencing them across his own skin too as he repeated his spell.

'MORS MORTIS!'

Though his own potent enchantments halted Kronus' rush of magic inches from his face, it did little to stop the pounding and pulsing of his own heart. Hades hated to admit it, but it felt as though that…thing…that ugly beast was stirring within him again, mewling and clawing and clamouring for release.

'They must cease this,' said Oceanus. 'They are playing with dark matter here. If they stimulate enough sub-atomic particles they may actually create a rift in time and space…a black hole.'

The peculiar black symbols running over the floors met and fizzled out with a dazzling flash of light. The combatants paused for breath, Hades' eyes flashing but his breathing laboured, and Kronus began to cough again.

'Shit,' Hades exclaimed in revulsion as crimson began to ooze from Kronus' ears, as well as his mouth, still covered in a hacking coughing fit.

His injured, unhealed arm, the constant bleeding whenever he used magic…it was all starting to make sense.

'You're mortal, aren't you?' Hades whispered, and Kronus' eyes, burning with the hatred of the flames of hell, looked up. 'I get it now. This is why you announced yourself to the world but kept hidden, making your Keres and Nemesis run around like rats doing your bidding. Of course…your soul swap with the human transferred your inner powers but not your immortality. You're so damn full of it going on about how filthy the humans are, and you've been wearing one like a coat all this time. This body isn't strong enough to hold you though, is it? You're dying from the outside in.'

'SHUT UP!' roared Kronus, staggering to his feet and squeezing his fractured wrist pitifully. 'Shut your mouth! You think you are not mortal after all the pomegranates that Nemesis filled you with; after harbouring the Spirit of Destruction as it flourished? You are as weak as I am.'

Voices filled the room via the doorway and they turned, putting the fight on hold to find the cause of the disturbance.

Harusame was so horrified to think that Hades might actually have consumed enough pomegranate juice to be mortal during this fearsome brawl that she didn't even notice the commotion behind them until Hestia breezed in right beside her and touched her face, making her jump nearly a foot in the air.

'I'm sorry to startle you!' The goddess sniffed forlornly. 'Are you hurt, darling? I came as fast as I could when Hera told us you needed us down here…'

'Hess!' was all Harusame could say, and she was pleased to be held briefly in a comforting hug.

Amphitrite was tending to Poseidon, wiping his bloodied nose as he came around, and Hera, her neck bandaged, was holding Zeus tightly.

'You brought help,' Harusame said gratefully, and Hestia squeezed her so that they were cheek to cheek.

'Why of course, my little sister. It took us a while navigating through here, and we found many under-demons and your ferryman knocked out by a peculiar spell. Your guard dog also seems rather worked up, though he couldn't fit in here to help.' Hestia gave a petulant sigh as she observed her bedraggled younger brothers. 'Oh, look at the state of these silly fools. It is a mighty good thing we brought Athena with us. Speaking of which…'

Harusame blinked, Hestia now looked awkward.

'We found Axel and the little blonde Ker who was working as your servant as we came through.'

'Are they okay?' Harusame cried.

'My poor darling Axel was exhausted; he came to help you see, but the Ker must've cut him off on his way. We assumed she'd been attacking him but he wouldn't allow us to hurt her…he threw himself upon her and protected her until we promised not to harm her.' Hestia's eyes were cloudy. 'Axel fell unconscious as Athena attended to his wounds, but the little Ker was very badly wounded. She'd taken a great blow to the head you see, and she was bleeding profusely-'

'Oh no…Cassie…' Harusame moaned, feeling sick.

'So it's a good thing I'm an incredibly talented healer and was able to save her,' said a voice behind them.

Harusame turned to see Athena standing in the doorway, holding Cassie's inert form in her arms. Limping along beside her was a familiar face, his hair still shining like moonbeams despite being dirty and dripping with blood.

'Ax!' she squeaked, hurrying to his arms for a hug.

He petted her hair in gentle strokes, smiling as cheerfully as ever. 'I am glad to see you too, poppet, that I am.'

'You impossible idiot!' Amphitrite was shouting between alternately raining kisses on a startled Poseidon's face and lightly punching his chest with balled hands, 'you utter bloody moron! How dare you try to do this alone!'

Her assault was only vanquished when her husband crushed his lips to hers, quietening her angry shrieks to whimpering sighs of pleasure as he softly fondled her short hair. This was their first-and only-truly passionate, non obligatory display of affection since the beginning of their relationship, and it was clear that his tortured heart was finally on the road to finding resolution.

'Wow,' thought Harusame, 'I suppose you only find out what a person means to you when you're threatened with losing them; especially for the gods, who consider themselves eternal and undefeatable. This pomegranate juice business must have put the fear of…uh…it must've scared them.'

Hera and Zeus were also making the most of their reunion and, never one to be outdone; Hestia grabbed a defenceless Axel by the front of his robes and pulled him close. He gave a little groan as he complied, but whether it was from the pleasure of her enthusiastic embrace or the pain of having the last of his ribs broken was unclear.

Standing away from the loving couples, looking faintly embarrassed and still holding Cassie, Athena nodded at Harusame.

'My father, aunt and uncle,' she sighed, 'are certainly not the gods of discretion, temperance or appropriate timing.'

'Thank you for saving Cassie,' said Harusame sincerely, and the goddess looked down at the small girl, her face still plastered in congealed blood.

'I prevented her death for now, but I am unsure how this wound will affect her when she regains consciousness. She is one of the Keres, not human, but after a head injury like this it may be kinder if she passed on. You understand?'

Harusame nodded solemnly, but Athena could tell from the tiny wrinkle in her brow that she disagreed.

'So,' the goddess said, changing the subject to more pressing matters, 'would that be my grandfather over there, with Uncle Hades?'

All the while during this intermission, Hades' eyes had darted between the group near the door and Kronus for fear that he would bypass him and attack them directly, but his concerns were pointless.

The titan was bent over, his hands on his knees, gasping for breath. He was panicked as yet more blood leaked from his mouth, nose, ears and eyes. It was no longer a contest of strength but a contest of who could stay on their feet the longest, and though Hades was swaying Kronus went down first, his palms hitting the damp floor.

The lingering effects of their collision still distorted the upper levels of the room, and unexpectedly the lanterns that had been lighting the massive arena went out, plunging everything into darkness. Hades took a sharp gulp of breath, his grip on his scythe tightening, though his sister's voice rang out clearly before he could worry about what would occur in the temporary darkness.

'Incendia Iacio!' Hestia called, summoning orbs of glowing fire that orbited around her. With a graceful swish of her hand she sent them flying up toward the lanterns to light them once more, and as they travelled upwards silhouettes wrought their ghoulish phantoms across the walls.

His keen eyes sharpened by fear, Hades saw a shape in the shadows making its way across the side of the arena, unnoticed by Kronus. Iwanami saw, but she didn't stop it; she just gave a quirky smile.

'So he was mortal all along,' she lamented silently. 'Darn. I should've stuck my claws in his chest all that time ago. Aw well.' She watched the figure walk around behind Kronus and come to a standstill, his gloved hand within his white and blue uniform. 'First come, first served I guess.'

Weak-kneed and trembling and through some kind of malevolent miracle, or perhaps just an incredible feat of obstinacy; Kronus was again on his feet.

'Why do you care?' he rasped at Hades. 'Why do you risk your lives to defend such an inadequate world? The humans…they do not even believe in us any more! They have relegated our splendid reigns and conquests to myths, shut away in storybooks and regarded as fiction! The humans who owe us their lives have discarded us!'

'You're wrong, as usual,' Hades snapped. 'There are those who still believe in us.' He felt the grooves of his charm bracelet squeezing his wrist and thought of how beautiful Harusame had looked in her nightgown, the first time she'd taken him upon her roof to star gaze and read from her fairytale book. She'd never questioned his existence. She'd accepted him, welcomed him with the innocent, open heart of a child. She'd been waiting for him. 'Humans always have faith. It comes in many different shapes and sizes, in all the colours of the rainbow, but it's always been there. The hardest thing I've ever done…is to have faith in them. It takes a lot of guts, but you know what, Father?' He smirked. 'It really pays off. I pity you for never being able to trust or love like that. I really do.'

'I never asked for your pity!' Kronus screamed, barely looking human anymore. 'My greatest mistake, my dear boy, was to love you and the rest of my damned offspring so greatly that I sealed you within me to protect you from your brother's wicked, corrupted influence. I should have forced pomegranates down all of your infant throats until you choked and DIED!'

His rant finished he suddenly lurched forward, his eyes bulging and a gasp escaping his throat. As he bent over, shuddering with pain, Hades caught a glimpse of the small, handheld dagger embedded in his shoulder blade up to the hilt.

Everyone watched in silent awe as Oceanus grimaced, still holding the glinting weapon, and twisted it into his ex-best friend's back a little further. He bent forward to whisper into Kronus' ear.

'This,' he said, a tear down streaking his weary world-worn face, 'is for Nemesis. Consider it your divine retribution.'

And with that, he wrenched it out again, his hand shaking. Kronus dropped to the floor on his knees. Wide eyed and shocked, the fallen king whimpered softly to himself.

Watching with mingled amazement and grim satisfaction, Hades imagined he could pick out the words; et tu Brute? He felt Harusame rush to his side and support him.

'They say payback's a bitch,' he said. 'I didn't think teacher had it in him.' He was wary of what his father would do next, but just like at the festival his vision was blurring. This time he suspected it was due to fatigue rather than spiked coffee. His head began to nod. The arena swam.

'Hold on Hades. We'll get Athena to take a look at you.'

Harusame's voice, a sweet, soothing murmur like a lullaby, seemed a long way away, but her shoulder was so close; inviting and sweet smelling. A quick nap couldn't hurt…

'Harusame,' he warned thickly. 'Catch me-'

Harusame held Hades as he fainted into her arms, and Athena and Hestia were hastily at her side.

'We are only the beginning of the reinforcements, Father,' Hestia announced, and Athena held forth a spear menacingly to attest to this point. 'You cannot win; this must be clear to you by now. Give yourself up.'

Cassie was given to Hera to hold, and assisted by Amphitrite a battered Zeus and Poseidon joined their sister's side to face down their outnumbered enemy. Axel stepped forward too, boldly taking Hestia's hand.

Oceanus, still on the other side of the arena, looked down at the pathetic heap before him with disgust. Covered in blood, mortally wounded and most definitely beaten, Kronus regarded his children with dull eyes.

There were footsteps, and Iwanami knelt beside him.

'Give it up, Mr Titan,' she suggested. 'This is just embarrassing.'

Kronus' face contorted in panic. Giving up wasn't an option. Giving up didn't mean descending to the blistering punishment of the furies, as it did for disobedient humans. He would actually prefer that-anything was better than an eternity of tedium in that desolate hole of Tartarus. He wouldn't go back there. Not while there was breath in his body!

He grabbed Iwanami's wrist, and before she could yelp, before Oceanus could make a move; another flash of light filled the room. This wasn't a surge of power as before, this was merely a diversion, a smokescreen. By the time everyone rubbed the coloured spots from their eyes, Kronus had gone.


Nyahaha, another cliffy. We're so close to the finish line now!!! Huge, resounding apologies for not updating in so long, I've been very busy. This fic, despite recieving most of my nurturing care for the last year*cough bloodsweattandtears cough* doesn't seem to be as popular in the reviews dept as MM, so if you're still reading Hades R and plan to stick it out to the bitter end with me, give me some sugar people!! Authors need love and encouragement too *sniffles cutely* :3 That aside, I do hope you're all enjoying the story. That's all from me for now.. x