The Pinpoint of Change
First, there was deep breathing seen in the steady rise and fall of his bare chest.
Then, there was groaning that resonated from deep within his throat.
Finally, his eyes started fluttering open slowly, just as his hands moved to gently rub at his face, groaning even more into the palms of his hands. This blocked his vision of what was around him as he started to sit up slowly, all while everyone else was holding their breath in anticipation.
"…Gods above…" he muttered under his breath, resting his elbows on his knees while his hands still rubbed at his face. "…So painful..."
At that moment, Macaria, Melinoe and Zagreus seemed unable to contain themselves at seeing their father well and up again, for they suddenly threw themselves at him in big embraces. Tearing his hands away from his face, he looked at his three little children in a mixture of shock and confusion, and it was clear to his eyes that he was wondering what in the world were they doing on the Aboveworld.
But then, he looked up and saw Hecate, Thanatos and Hypnos, all who were watching him with solemn smiles on their faces. But no smile came to his lips in response to them, and there was only the deepening of the shock and confusion in his eyes when his sights began to roam around the thrashed and ruined event hall, along with the rising of utmost disbelief.
"…What... the… hell..." he murmured shakily, very taken aback by the sight that came to his eyes. Without any acknowledgement to his children, to which they seemed to be slightly hurt by this, he gently eased them away from him so that he could get off the table. Shaking only a little bit from a slight unbalance once standing, he ignored the eyes of his loyal subjects and the Olympians, who were all watching in silence as he roamed around the ruins with his widened eyes growing even more with fear with each passing second.
Inside Hades' messy mind, confusion reigned dominant in his thoughts. He could not figure out what had happened to the event hall. It seemed that just a moment ago, it was still bright with its fancy galore and alive with activity, instead of dark – since most of the lights had been shut off except for the dimmer ones – and looking as terrible as it was now. For a moment, he thought to himself of what could have happened, and why he could not seemed to recall what had happened.
But just as he thought to himself that, his confusion suddenly disappeared when he started remembering everything.
…Serpentine vines…
…Screaming…
…Furious olive green eyes…
…A mass crowd running in panic…
…Terror arising…
...Tackling down Demeter…
…Sharpness in the back…
…Life seeping out…
…Blacking out…
…Persephone crying out in anguish…
…Persephone…
…Persephone…
Persephone
All of a sudden, he turned and grabbed the nearest person to him, which turned out to be Hera. This caused Zeus to stiffen ever so much, feeling agitated at the sight of his wife in Hades' hands. It also caused Hera to still ever so suddenly, confused and terrified at the same time at being handled so unexpectedly roughly. It scared her even more to see Hades' eyes being wide with uncontrollable fear and dread. This was something that was not normal of him, for he was always known to be calm, even in terrible situations.
"…My wife… Persephone… What happened to her… Where is she…" he questioned in a shaky, demanding, but absolutely terrified voice, which only grew much more in fear when he said much more quietly, "…Please tell me she's safe…"
Hera could only look back into Hades' fearful and distraught eyes in silence, still stunned by his near-deranged state of mind and body. But the gentle tightening of his fingers on her arms and the desperation that was growing within him was what made her look down in guilt, unable to get the truth past her lips. But this was enough for Hades to realize the answer, and his hold on her started wavering, just as the tears in his eyes started welling up.
"…No… No…"
Slowly, he started sinking down to his knees, his hands sliding down Hera's slender arms until they lost hold at her hands. She remained rooted to where she stood, her gaze settled on her older brother, who was now trembling and wrecked with broken-hearted sobs. She could not feel herself move, still too stunned by what was actually happening. But she had the sudden urge to take him into her arms and comfort him, to tell him that everything will be alright and ease him.
However, she knew very well that nothing could be able to comfort him in the grief of losing his beloved wife once again.
"…Persephone… My sweet Persephone…"
At the sight of the Underworld God-King mourning over the loss of his wife, most of them in presence could feel a saddened heaviness starting to weigh upon their hearts. Seeing Hades so lost and helpless had actually made them start to feel lost and helpless, and even more so at not knowing and worrying of the fate of Persephone at Demeter's hands.
Just then, the three children were let down from the table with the assistance of Thanatos, and they all immediately made a bee-line for their crying father. They had never seen him in such a state before, but by no means were they going to let him be.
With all three of them embracing him at once, this was what made him move his arms to take all of them in his embrace. He held them gently in his arms, continuing to cry gingerly as he slowly kissed each of them on the top of their heads. The warmth and closeness of his children seemed to give him comfort, although by no means did it cure him of his sadness.
Then, in a worried and scared voice, Zagreus looked up at him and asked, "Father, what happened to Mother?"
His words had just been an innocent question with the genuine want to find out, but it was enough to get most of the Olympians taken aback. Along with the way Zagreus' two older sisters were looking at their father with the same look of innocent want to know, it was made obvious at that very moment that the children did not actually know the truth that it was their own grandmother who had caused all of this mayhem.
And it seemed clear that Hades knew this little fact, but that he was enforcing it to remain unknown to them. In fact, he was actually not going to tell them the truth.
One might question Hades' reasoning, since it was curious as to why he would not tell his children that it was their grandmother who took their mother. But honestly, it was actually to not shatter the bond that they shared with her.
In the past, Macaria, Melinoe and Zagreus were very close to their grandmother – out of all their Aboveworld relatives, she was probably the person they felt closer to. During the certain times when the three of them would follow Persephone up to the above when her time below was up, they were taken care of by Demeter, who showered them in love and care like a grandmother normally would for her grandchildren. But at the same time, they were oblivious to the very strained relationship that their grandmother had to their father, and were even more clueless to the fact that the reason of the feud was their mother.
In truth, Hades kept everything a secret from them because he did not want the close bond they shared with Demeter to be broken, just as how he would not dare to try to taint the relationship between Persephone and her mother. Despite Demeter completely antagonizing him from then until now, he knew the importance of keeping a familial bond, especially when it concerned children. He did not want his son and daughters to harbor hate in their hearts at so young an age, and all for something that did not generally concerned them.
However, despite not wanting to shatter the relationship shared between the three little ones and their grandmother, Hades knew very well what the most important thing he did not want his children to not have.
They could definitely not be without their mother.
At that sudden thought, a spark of determination became alive within his heart. It started slowly but surely, before gradually growing into a fierce raging fire deep in his psyche. This stopped his crying and his eyes halted in shedding new tears, just as they became alive within his pitch black irises. It grew even more alive as the firm determination to rescue Persephone became stronger with each passing second.
At that moment, he realized that there was no point in wallowing in sadness at losing her, for it would do nothing to get her back. He could not just stay here and let himself lose to grief, all while Persephone might possibly be suffering on her own and in dire need of help. So it was either he got off his knees right now and start to act, or he could just continue to be sorry for his own loss and remain helpless.
Obviously, he knew which the better choice was.
This sudden change in him was noticed immediately by the Olympians and the Underworld denizens, who could all feel a change in the air of tension, especially when Hades looked at each and every one of his children right in the eye – determination burning fiercely – and told them, "All of you have nothing to worry about, because I'm going to save her."
The looks given to him by each child were different – Macaria's was confusion, Melinoe's was awe, and Zagreus was certainty. But nonetheless, it was clear that all three of them believed their father's words, just as Hades himself was sure that he would make it true.
But just then, Zeus spoke up so suddenly, saying quietly, "We will give you help in any way we can."
His words were so unexpected of him that it caused everyone to turn and look at him in shock, disbelieving at what he had just said. But honestly, it was rightful to be in disbelief, especially because as of recent, like two days ago at most, Zeus had been nothing but uncaring and unbothered by any predicament faced by Hades, especially if it regarded Persephone.
But Zeus seemed to be in full understanding of the look of shock on all their faces, and he released a heavy sigh that actually seemed to sound so full of burden. "We've lost Persephone once," he said, looking down on the ground. "I am not willing for us to lose her again."
At the side, Hera eyed him in silent judgment, but there had been a very small – almost unseen – upwards tilt of her lips.
At the same time, Hades looked at his younger brother blankly in the eye, a part of him still at disbelief of what he had just said. He wondered for a short while if all of this was just for say and meant nothing else, as Zeus was always known to make such empty promises. However, it was undeniable that there was a genuine look of sincerity and guilt in his eyes, as if he already could not bear with the weight of the whole predicament and decided to give up his ego.
Zeus only looked back at him gently in sheer understanding, and a nod of agreement was shared between the two brothers.
However, that moment of silent solemnity was broken suddenly when Artemis suddenly screamed, "Apollo!"
Out of the blue, Apollo had suddenly fainted, falling to ground and lying there completely still. Artemis was quick to kneel by his side and take him into her arms – the same way he did her when she had been unconscious. With her worried midnight blue eyes taking in his unconscious face, she started frantically patting his cheek in an attempt to wake him up, continuously calling out his name as she did.
It was then Hecate appeared by the twins, kneeling on the other side of Apollo. Wordlessly, she placed her hand on his forehead and shut her eyes, trying to mentally make sense of what was happening to him. At the side, everyone else stayed completely silent, watching in anticipation to know of what was going on, some worried eyes focused entirely on Apollo.
When Hecate finally opened her eyes, her dark purple eyes were full of surprise as she gasped, "Gods above…"
"What?" Artemis questioned immediately, frantic eyes looking at her older cousin. "What's happened to him?"
Looking back down at Apollo in a look of what seemed to be wonder, the witch answered knowingly, "He is in a prophetic sleep."
This shocking revelation dramatically raised the tension in the air tenfold, and it was made clear on the rest of the Olympians' faces that they were absolutely taken aback. Apollo had not had prophetic visions for a very long time; the last one that he had was a millennium and a lot of centuries ago, just a while before the Olympians had been banished into the null void and lost their status of divinity. Being the God of Prophecies, any visions that Apollo received always brought great importance, and were taken very seriously.
So for him to have a premonition now, at such a time of coincidence, everyone braced themselves for what prophecies he will have.
Apollo could recognize the Abyss anywhere.
But really though, what more was there for him to remember of this terrible place that he had been trapped in for more times than wanted? All there ever was in this mysterious realm was darkness, darkness and more darkness, stretching far and wide for several miles to the point where it has no end and can seem to go even further and wider. Nothing but darkness, and absolute emptiness, being all alone, and nobody in sight at all.
Except this time, however, there was somebody.
Three somebodies, in fact. And Apollo also knew very well who all three of them were.
Standing right in front of him, dressed in their signatures pure white cloaks with the hoods pulled up over their heads and looking at him with their ancient green eyes, were the Fates; blonde Clotho, brunette Lachesis and redhead Atropos. On all of their faces, their lips were in a smile that showed just how knowing yet devious they were reputed to be; a smile that was enough to make Apollo feel shivers running down his spine.
All of a sudden, noises started to fill throughout the void. These noises were, no doubt, the voices of the sisters. However, they were saying things without actually speaking, because their lips were still fixed into their signatures close-lipped smiles.
Apollo looked at wherever he heard each of their voices resonated from, even if he knew that they were coming from the sisters in front of him. The more he focused his attentions to one voice, he was starting to be able to collect words being spoken. It was all in jumbles at first, and he could only get a few bits and pieces here and there. He knew not what they meant, and tried as hard to concentrate further.
That concentration paid off in the end, for he could finally hear the individual voices of the Fates in his head. And he realized then that they were each saying different things.
…Town of heather flowers… said Atropos.
…Tongue has yet to touch the waters… said Lachesis.
And then came the word said by Clotho.
Home
"There is an east wind blowing."
Everyone had been silent and in their own thoughts, until their attentions were directed to Hephaestus, who was standing at the doors of the hall, looking out into the distance. He had limped out to get a breath of fresh air and to see how intense the paparazzi outside was getting, but it seemed that the direction of the wind was what caught his attention in the end.
Athena found herself walking out as well, careful to keep her distance from Hephaestus – an incident in the past had thought her to be wary of being near to the God of Forge. Her attentions became focused on the wind that he had remarked, and found that it was indeed true that it was blowing in the direction of the east. At that, she suddenly remembered the significance of an east wind.
"Eurus would never usually fly through the skies," she muttered quietly, "unless to warn of calamities that is to come."
This was heard by Hermes, who took it upon himself to add knowingly, "Or to signify of change in the near future."
Right after he had said that, Apollo suddenly woke up, a loud gasp of breath indicating his return from his fainted state. But before Artemis could react in relief and before anyone could start questioning him, he had exclaimed in a snap, "I know where Persephone is!"
Of course, none other had heard those words faster and clearer than Hades had.
"What?" the king snapped, immediately standing from where he was with his children. "You know where she is?" he questioned frantically, his voice starting to rise with anxiety with each step closer he took to his nephew. "Where? Where is she?!"
Unfortunately, when Hades had finally reached to where the twins were, Apollo had started going into a state of aftershock, his eyes wide and his lips trembling as if he was muttering something in silence. Artemis was still holding him in her arms, her hand gently caressing through his golden locks in a soothing manner while she hummed softly into his ear – when they were little children, this had been something their mother had done to soothe down whenever they were terrified by something. She was being gentle because she knew how disorientated Apollo can be after receiving a premonition, so she was trying to ease him back to normalcy.
However, Hades was definitely not going to give him time to soothe down.
"Where is she, Apollo?!" he questioned once again, now near shouting in his panic. "Where is my wife?! Tell me!"
"Town of heather flowers."
"What?" Hades asked, not catching it the first time.
"… Town of heather flowers… Town of heather flowers… Town of heather flowers…"
Unfortunately, even if Apollo was repeating it clearly in order for him to hear, Hades could not make sense of what he was talking about. This caused his frustration to rise, and have him beg desperately, "Just tell me where Persephone is, Apollo! Please!"
All Apollo replied was 'town of heather flowers'.
Hades' angry finally seemed to reach its maximum and he felt like he wanted to hit out at something in this sudden flare. While he knew that he could not blame Apollo for being off after his premonition, he felt frustrated that he was not able to give a straight-to-the-point answer. Hades was desperate, but his nephew seemed to not be of much help in his mumbling state.
With a growl, he turned away and started pacing randomly, his scuffed dress shoes roughly kicking any piece of debris that was in his way. His hands were clenching his messy black hair as his mind throbbed with thoughts of what to do now. Everyone else could just stand back and watch him in quiet worry.
In the background, Apollo said those words again, this time much slowly.
"…Town…of... heather…flowers…"
For some reason, Hades stopped then, finally letting those four words seep into his mind. As he stood still and remained silent, that sentence started running through his mind, at a fast pace at first, before gradually slowing down into a much slower one. At its slow but steady pace, his mind started to break down the meaning behind the sentence carefully.
…. Town of heather flowers…
… Town of… heather… flowers…
… Flowers… Town… Heather…
… Flowers… in…
… Town… heather…
... Heather… Town…
… Heather… town …
… Heather…ton
… Heatherton…
"She's in Heatherton," Hades muttered in realization, his eyes widening and his heart racing. "Persephone is in Heatherton."
He turned to look at Apollo, his eyes seeking for some sort of confirmation. Apollo had ceased speaking at the moment, and he seemed to have started to recover from the aftershock. The young god was looking back at him with knowing sky blue eyes, before nodding in certainty. A huff of breath then escaped Hades, feeling some sort of relief blooming in his chest at the thought that his wife was just nearby.
"But you have to be quick," Apollo suddenly muttered, his bright eyes suddenly turning grave. "You have to, because Persephone has not taste the waters of Lethe upon her tongue… yet."
The sense of relief was suddenly gone in an instant when Hades heard Apollo's words, and he could feel his heart racing and his anxiety rising once again. But as if that was not enough, Apollo too warned the others that they too must be quick because time was of the most crucial essence.
Alarmed by the ominous meaning of his golden son's words, Zeus came forward and knelt next to Apollo, asking him in a quiet, but immensely worried, tone of voice, "What is happening, Apollo?"
Apollo's eyes seemed to be dimming even more when that question had been asked, and there ever seemed to be a mixed sense of relief and fear growing in them as the seconds passed. But he took a deep breath and pressed his face against Artemis' neck when he finally willed himself to answer.
"We're going home."
Author's Note :
Things have definitely gotten a lot more interesting!
Answering reviews!
Book Nerds Rule the World : Hestia has definitely had enough of Hera and Zeus' crap - I mean, who wouldn't? And thanks! As for your question; yes, Hades' secret talent is baking! (It was mentioned in Day 21 of The Simple Life) He knows how to bake a lot of things, especially a Grecian sesame seed candy called pasteli.
Guest #1 : While I have a feeling that Poseidon might have lessened it, I doubt those two are ever going to stop.
Guest #2 (Ember) : Hera has some serious Hades-complex, even if it's about his look-alike son.
Harrylover11 : Welcome back, baboo! Hope you're doing alright with your exams!
Joy Of The Underworld : I had been absolutely itching to write them into the story! I'm glad that you liked it! As for your question. It's partially because he looks like Hades, but also because he has Hades' mannerisms - Zagreus is seriously like his father. As for Thanatos; I like writing him as a quiet, brooding but gentle person instead of the hateful and mean persona that most fanfiction writers like to portray him as, and his secret talent is singing!
Guest #3 : Certainly! 1. Apollo's favorite color is orange; 2. In his spare time, Hermes loves to travel... and pickpocket...; 3. Hades' secret talent is baking!; 4. Hera has a serious strong Hades-complex, towards Hades and his look-alike son, Zagreus.
kat2764 : Ehehehe, sorry dear! As for your question; Thanatos is somewhere around 5'9" while Macaria is around 3'1" or 3'2". In case you did not know, Macaria still looks like a child of around 9 or 10 years old, so she would definitely be way shorter than Thanatos. As for how she ruled; in truth, there wasn't much for her to do, since the abolishment of ancient Greek religion has caused a major downcast in the number of souls entering the Underworld. Even if there were souls that had entered the afterlife, she would sit on her father's throne and deliver the judgement made by the Three Judges of the Damned, with Thanatos at her side to aide her. Truthfully, she doesn't consider herself a queen, because she knew very well that her parents were still very much alive and will return to rule eventually, so she still keeps the role of Princess, but still being in rightful temporary rule of the realm.
Brimo : Definitely! Haha :)
gracefish21 : Thanks!
Guest #4 : Will they be getting good? I wonder... Anyway! To answer your questions (such interesting questions!); 1. Yes, I do listen to music when I write, and the list of songs I attach with each deity is absolute lots, so it might be difficult to answer!; 2. I will choose Athena for this. and she would usually attend university courses in her free time; 3. I would take them to the top of Mount Everest and let them see the sights because I would really love to be at the top of the world with the deities and have them experience being on a mountain higher than Mount Olympus!
Now that Hades is awake with determination, Apollo becomes a bearer of big bad news! What will come out from all of this, I wonder?!
See you on Friday to find out!
Muse of Fanfiction
