Heidi and Hades continued walking in silence as they made their way to an open area in a nearby forest. If anyone were to see the two right now they would notice an almost saddened look on the woman's face while Hades appeared devoid of emotion.

Hades glanced down at his supposed daughter and raised an eyebrow at her expression. "I would think you'd be happy to be leaving." He commented, turning his gaze away when he felt her intertwine her hand with his.

The god still wasn't sure how he felt about the attention the woman was giving him, sure he had always wanted for one of his kids to treat him like she was currently, but he had never actually expected her to be this...dare he say loving. He knewthis wasn't his daughter, technicalities and whatnot, but he wanted to believe she was. She fought for him after he turned his back on her, after he betrayed her and tried using her.

Heidi sighed and looked up at him. "I am...I just wish I could come back. I finally meet people who don't judge me or fear me and…" She closed her eyes as a single tear ran down her cheek. "...I have to leave forever."

Hades felt like a fish out of water when he heard the sadness laced in her shaky voice. He internally grimaced when he caught a glimpse of her quickly saddening expression and thought of how he could respond to her words. He wasn't good with kids! Then again...She isn't much of a kid, is she? He thought before blinking. Okay, I'm not good with sad people. Yep, that one makes sense. He mentally gave himself a thumbs up before taking a deep breath and looking down at her. "Don't you have that mirror or whatever you guys were calling it?" He asked, remembering how the word kept coming up.

The younger blue-haired person nodded as she opened her eyes and brushed the tear away. "Yeah, it's a magic mirror wired up to connect with the Evil Queen's mirror in my world. But…"

There's always a but. Hades thought with an inward groan before smirking to himself. Heh, there is always a butt. He shook his head, ridding the grade school humor filled thoughts away.

Heidi continued, unaware of the fact that the man next to her had been smirking a second before. "It's not the same. Just like how when I call you dad instead of father."

The god rubbed his chin when he heard this. "Doesn't hit the same way." He muttered, loud enough that she could hear him but quiet enough that his voice wouldn't echo as they reached the clearing.

"Exactly. You just don't feel as happy when it doesn't hit the same way." Heidi nodded at him before looking at the ground. "I am doing the right thing by leaving, for everyone...but I don't feel right doing it."

Hades raised an eyebrow before chuckling. "The right thing? What didthey say could happen if you stayed here?"

Heidi blinked and looked at him in confusion. "I can't exactly remember but it sounded pretty bad."

Hades 'hmmed' at this before patting her on the head. "See, that's where they are wrong." She opened her mouth to object and he stopped her with a shake of his head. "You hang out with your Hermes, right?"

"I was assigned to him-" Heidi began, but once again she was stopped by the god.

Hades chuckled and smirked. "The buddy system, annoying but useful." He commented before stopping, prompting her to stop walking as well. "Here's the truth about all this dimensional crap...The only side effect we, as in the gods, have noticed is the personality changes. Hermes is the one who gathered all the info."

Heidi blinked owlishly at him. "Seriously?"

Hades nodded and shoved a hand in his pocket. "Oh yeah, we've dealt with so many dimensional mishaps it's pathetic. We tend to not discuss it though since the humans would probably freak out or something and cause a bigger headache on our end." He looked up in thought before grinning. "The whole idea that our two universes could collapse or collide is completely made up in order to frighten away anybody trying to use the other world for a scheme or something. Add in a few well-placed demigod scientists who declare that the universes could both be destroyed and suddenly no one wants to use their magic to rip open any more dimensional gateways."

Heidi took a deep breath before looking at him. "So, this theory about destruction of both dimensions was just a thing you guys came up with?" She asked him, prompting him to quickly nod. "Because you guys were tired of dealing with it?"

Hades shrugged and smirked in mischief. "That sums it up. Before you popped in we had a four-thousand year streak of no dimensional visitors, you can see why the other gods wouldn't believe you. I, on the other hand, had to keep a watch on the Underworld gateway. That gateway is open to all but I've only seen about...four people come through it. Nobody wants to go to Hell in order to hop to the other dimension. So...I knew you appeared before even you knew." He said in humor while tilting his head.

Heidi placed a hand on her hip and narrowed her eyes. "What about my world? There's nothing recorded about dimensional mishaps and I never even knew about that gateway."

Hades chuckled, seeming completely relaxed at this point. "Yeah, they also had the same problem, but we went ahead and sent Hermes to chat with them. Since he can go anywhere without causing the side effect to happen, he was able to tell them what we did to stop it. They did the same thing with the scientists and foreboding warnings and I think they are on a two-thousand year streak right now. You weren't told of the gateway due to how unlikely the chances of someone going or coming through it were during your time in the Underworld were very low." He wagged his eyebrows and grinned. "It's a very hush-hush subject. Top secret."

By the end of his explanation Heidi was gaping and staring at him with wide eyes. It didn't seem possible that all those warnings were merely a lie being told by the gods for thousands of years. Her breath caught in her throat as she realized what her father was telling her. She could return.

"N-No way…" She murmured in shock, looking up at him for confirmation.

Hades smirked and patted her on the back. "It's the truth. You could stay here for as long as you want if you don't mind the adverse effects." He saw the hope in her eyes and his own eyes softened. "But you probably have people waiting back there for you. You do, don't you?"

Heidi shakily nodded as her eyes fell to the ground. "I do. My girlfriend is back there waiting for me along with Mal and the other VKs. They've all been worried sick." She paused before frowning. "Even though I can come back, according to you, I can't disappear like I did. Not again. I don't want to put her through that again."

Hades 'hmmed' before a mischievous look entered his eyes. "Well...A wise woman once sang, 'If you like it, you should put a ring on it.'"

Heidi's eyes bulged and her cheeks turned red. "Tell me you aren't implying what I think you are implying."

Hades' grin widened and he looked her in the eye. "Oh, but I am implying that."

Heidi's eyebrow twitched and she huffed. "I can't believe we are discussing this. Is this really the time for that?"

He laughed at how worked up she was getting and patted her on the head, messing up her hair a bit in the process. "Tip from a god, kid, there is no designated time for the marriage talk. You just...talk." He gestured widely with his free hand before smirking at her. "If you put a ring on her finger than she'll be by your side even when you try and run away."

"Like you with Maleficent?" Heidi inquired with a smirk of her own, her blush quickly fading away.

His eyes halved and he frowned. "She's absolutely batshit crazy."

"I know, I know." She said sing-songy before rolling her eyes. "But still, why would me marrying her mean anything?"

Hades shrugged and rubbed his chin. "Oh, you know, once you get married, the parents usually just let you do your own thing. That's why you get married, you escape the family."

She looked at him with halved eyes. "Seriously, that's your reasoning?"

He blinked and looked innocent. "Why, is there something wrong with it?"

"Uh, yeah. You don't know how marriage works, Mr. I have a recording of Cerberus to scare away my ex-wife." She said with a huff, pursing her lips at him.

"I hate the fact that you would know that." Hades deadpanned before looking away.

Heidi looked him in the eye. "I know everything."

"It would appear that you do." He noted before rolling his eyes. "This is an invasion of privacy."

"You were just discussing marriage with me and I am invading your privacy?" She laughed before looking at him pointedly. "Nice try."

"Ugh, you kids and your love lives." Hades grumbled before looking at the ground.

Heidi rolled her eyes and shook her head. "We don't all just jump for someone's hand in marriage, we take it slow."

"And that's why relationships are such a bore now." He fired back sarcastically, releasing her hand and gesturing widely.

"Huh, and you wonder why she ended the marriage." Heidi said to herself, folding her arms and shooting him a look.

"I ended it!"

"No you didn't."

Hades groaned and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Now this is evidence of invasion."

She rolled her eyes and pointed at the ground. "Just open the gates already. If someone heard us arguing about this in the middle of a forest, well, I'd hate to think what would happen. You telling the world the biggest lie the gods ever made up."

He didn't react at first but gradually gained a nervous expression. "Heh, yeah...They would certainly do something."

She watched as he stomped twice, amusement clear on her face at the nervousness that had suddenly appeared. "Something bad, no doubt, judging by your expression."

As the ground rumbled he scratched the back of his head. "Bad is an understatement." He muttered under his breath.

Heidi walked over to where he was and watched as the staircase appeared. "Thought so." She mused, looking at the stairs in thought before smirking. "After you."

Hades raised an eyebrow and looked at her in suspicion. "...What are you trying to do?"

Heidi blinked. "What? I'm just being polite."

"Yeah, that's why I asked." He answered, folding his arms and gesturing for her to go down. "Ladies first."

Her eyes halved and she reluctantly started down the stairs. "Forgive me for trying to be nice!" She called back.

"That isn't being nice, that's plotting." Hades said before following her down the stairs, though he kept quite the distance.

Suddenly, the woman in front of him yelped and tripped over something, sending her flying down the stairs. Hades couldn't help but laugh when he saw this and pointed at her. "You were gonna use me to break your fall!"

As soon as she landed she looked up at him with a glare. "I was not."

He casually strolled down the stairs as he heard her huff and grumble something. "What was that? I was right?"

"Would you stop!" She yelled back in annoyance as she pushed herself up. "Just get down here already and point out that stupid door you know so much about."

Hades blinked and smirked, promptly going even slower down the stairs in order to annoy her. "Sorry, I heard go slower. Give me a moment!"

Heidi scowled as she stood up. "Hades!"

The god rolled his eyes and folded his arms. "Toss me the ember if you want me to go faster! Since I'm a grandpa in someone's eyes, I am slow."

Heidi's eyes halved and she pulled out his ember before smirking and throwing it like it was a baseball.

The god blinked and had to jump to catch it, barely landing on the step. "Hey, I said toss it!"

"Oh, sorry, I heard throw it." She replied before laughing at his annoyed expression.

Hades finally reached the bottom and shot her a glare. "Using my own trick, oh, and how I once doubted you being my kid. Only a kid of mine would dare to throw my ember like it was a baseball and try to use me to break their fall."

Heidi placed her hands on her hips. "I learned from the best."

"I am the best aren't I?" He said to himself with an approving smile.

"I'm not boosting your ego by answering that." She responded before looking around the area. "So, where is this thing?"

Hades rubbed his chin before shrugging. "That's the problem, it's always moving. You see it one moment and it's gone the next. You can fix it with magic though…" He said the last part while wagging his eyebrows.

"You want me to fix it, don't you?" Heidi stared at him with halved eyes.

He blinked as if he had never suggested such a thing. "What's that? You'll fix it?"

"I did not-"

"Great! That just made my job easier. Why, I didn't know you were so helpful! Helping your father by technicalities fix his broken world, what a saint." Hades patted her on the shoulder with a wide grin.

Heidi just continued to stare at him. "Are you done?"

"Yes, yes I am." He said with a nod before backing away and looking around the main level. "Let's see...where oh where is that gateway?"

The goddess shook her head at his antics. "If you found it before, why can't you find it now?"

Hades continued to walk around and look as he rubbed his chin. "Yeah, the thing is, that spirit was like a compass, led me straight to the gate. Turns out it was in the lower levels. I've seen where it is upside down."

The woman sighed and looked at him. "Then why haven't you bothered to fix this until now?"

He looked at her and shrugged. "It made my day?" He said innocently before rolling his eyes. "You think I have the time to find a really good magic user to fix it? I don't even have the time to watch it most of the time."

"Oh, so you haven't been keeping an eye on it?" Heidi asked, raising an eyebrow in question.

Hades shook his head. "Nope! It was more, 'Hey, you idiots, have you seen it today?' and they always answered yes. What more do I have to do?"

She facepalmed and looked at him in exasperation. "What a great system." She muttered to herself before folding her arms. "Do you know if the gate has a magical signature?"

Hades paused and looked thoughtful before nodding. "Oh yeah, this gate plus the three others have a pretty particular feel to them. The one down here feels like you are in a blizzard and tends to make you pretty disoriented when you pop out the other end."

Heidi hummed before her gaze snapped to meet his. "Hold on, there are three others?" She asked in confusion.

Hades nodded as he walked to the edge of the platform they were on. "Yep. One on Everest, Zeus's, one at the bottom of the Mariana Trench, Poseidon's, one on Olympus, and the one down here. Those three have been dismantled, though, and the last working one is messed up."

"Huh, I guess you guys really wanted to stop the dimension hopping." Heidi commented, tilting her head in thought. "Why'd you keep yours though?"

He shrugged as he looked down at the lower levels of the world. "I found the idea of random people entering and exiting pretty entertaining. Of course, it only happened four times and those were all demigods. No scared humans in sight."

"Wait, isn't it only possible for demigods and gods to get down here?" She asked, remembering hearing that mentioned at some point.

Hades whistled for a flying demon and the demon quickly appeared in front of him. "Find the gate." He said, prompting it to salute him and fly off then he turned back to face Heidi. "Anybody can get down here as long as they ask nicely. You can hitch a ride with Hermes, Hestia, Hecate, Iris, or me and that will get you down here like that." He snapped his fingers before returning to his search.

Hermes, Hecate, and Iris make sense seeing as those three have access to every domain, but Hestia? How did she manage that one? Heidi thought, finding it interesting that her aunt would be able to access her father's domain so easily.

As if Hades could hear her thoughts he chuckled and looked over his shoulder. "Hestia's the one sibling of mine I still like, I gave her access so we could talk."

That answers that. She shook her head and walked to where he was standing. "Anything?"

Hades scratched the side of his head and shrugged. "Well, it's not on this level, unless…" He looked up at the ceiling before shaking his head. "...Nope. I found it up there one time, though."

Heidi tilted her head to the side before looking at where the platform ended. "What if we just go look for it down there? Seeing as we don't have a time limit anymore." She said, walking to the edge and looking down at the lower levels.

Hades raised an eyebrow and made his way to the drop off. "Do you know your way around down there?"

Heidi chuckled and placed her hands on her hips. "I spent six years down here, I think I'd know how to traverse it."

His eyes halved. "A simple yes would have sufficed."

She spun around so her back was facing the drop off. "You should know by now that I don't do simple." She smirked and shot him a wink. "See ya down there!" She backed up and jumped off, doing a flip before her body ignited allowing her to take flight.

Hades blinked and watched her descend. "She can fly...huh." He rubbed his chin in thought. "I've gotta figure out how to do that, looks badass." He said to himself with a smirk before he disappeared in column of blue fire that was reminiscent of Hestia's own teleportation.

Down with Heidi, she landed in what she would call a "superhero landing" and brushed herself off. "Hmm, I wonder what it looks like."

She heard a roar behind her and saw Hades begin to snoop around. "It looks like whatever you want it to look like. A door, a rock, a staircase, and I've even heard that one person thought it looked like a classic portal. Like the one in fairy tales." He answered, startling several spirits and demons as he ran about.

"That's helpful." Heidi muttered in sarcasm before shaking her head. "How are we supposed to find a gateway when it could look like anything?"

Hades shrugged. "I don't know, you just do. I don't intentionally go looking for it, that would be a waste of time, it usually just shows up in random places."

Heidi facepalmed and shot him an exasperated look. "So what? It'll find us?"

"Maybe." He replied, having no idea how to exactly find it.

She raised an eyebrow and cocked her head to the side. "Hades, have you ever found this thing, like have you actually tried to find it? You said four people have passed through it, surely you found it those times."

Hades paused and turned around slowly. "About that…"

"I don't like where you're going with this." Heidi muttered, knowing the tone he was using as the tone he always used when he wasn't exactly telling the truth.

He chuckled and scratched the back of his head. "See, I never actually found it...Cerberus did."

Her eyes halved and she let out a sigh. "The dog can find it, but you can't?"

Hades looked quite offended when he heard that and he folded his arms. "Hey, I can find it...It'll just take me a couple...thousand years."

Heidi felt like running up to him and smacking him over the head, but instead she let out an aggravated sigh and rubbed her forehead. "Get. The. Dog." She emphasized each word before turning away.

Hades looked perplexed before shrugging and whistling. The dog appeared behind them and looked at both of them in confusion. "Go fetch the gate." He said before promptly jumping on the dogs back.

Heidi glanced over her shoulder and sighed before giving the dog a thumbs up. The dog walked over to her and lowered so she could get on. The goddess hopped on without much trouble and folded her arms. "You heard the man, go find his lost gate."

Hades looked at her then looked at the dog before looking quite confused. "That dog treats you better than it treats me."

Heidi shrugged and smirked at him. "It must be able to sense that I treat my Cerberus quite well. Cerberus loves me."

He rolled his eyes as the dog suddenly took off, jumping off of the platform and heading even deeper. "Yeah, you see, I was stuck for like twenty years. Think I had the time to pay attention to the dog?"

Heidi hummed and tilted her head. "Ah, but you didn't pay her much attention before that. She told me so."

Hades scoffed and folded his arms. "The dog told you, of course the dog-" He paused and blinked at his words. "-You can talk to the dog?"

"Uh, yeah. Ever since I was young." She chuckled and proceeded to sit down. "It's a specialty of mine."

His eyes halved when he heard that. "She basically owns the dog." He muttered to himself, shaking his head with an appalled expression.

The woman shook her head as the dog landed on a lower platform. "I don't own the dog, we have a mutual agreement that I am the better caretaker."

"...So you own the dog."

She looked at him in exasperation. "And here I was saying I missed these kind of conversations."

He raised an eyebrow before looking away, walking to where one of Cerberus's heads was and looked around. "She's not moving any farther, must be around here somewhere." He commented before hopping off and landing on the dark rocky terrain.

Heidi got off as well and smiled at the dog before beginning to look around. "What does this thing feel like again?" She asked, picking up a strange signature that she couldn't quite find.

"Magic wise, extremely powerful, feeling wise, like a blizzard." He responded, walking to the far side of the platform.

Heidi 'hmmed' at that before she started wandering towards the edge of the platform. Hmm, it feels so close, almost like its… She looked down and cocked her head to the side. She got down to her knees and proceeded to look under the platform and blinked as she saw something hanging. "Uh, I think I found it. It's under the platform and it's...upside down?"

"Oh, that's the fun one." Hades commented as he walked over and looking as well. "Hey, it looks like one of those portals I was talking about!"

Heidi looked at him and shook her head. "It looks like a door."

"Boring." He commented sarcastically.

"Hush." She muttered, summoning her magic and testing it before smirking. "So, how do I fix this thing?"

"I don't know, just fire a really powerful blast or something." He said before getting up and walking back to Cerberus. "Now, is it true you like her better?" He asked the dog, putting on the most innocent face possible.

Heidi rolled her eyes and held out her hand so that her palm was facing towards it. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath before opening them and firing a ray of gold magic at it.

It collided with the door and the door suddenly glowed gold before a locking sound filled the air. The door then disappeared and Heidi let out a sigh. "Great, I did something and it still disappeared!"

Hades chuckled. "Oh, I wouldn't say it disappeared."

Heidi blinked in confusion before getting up and turning around. There right next to Hades was the door. "It...turned right side up?"

Hades shrugged and tilted his head. "I don't know. Looks pretty cool though."

Heidi looked at him with halved eyes before walking up to it. "So, this is what its supposed to look like." She looked at the god. "Has it ever looked like this?"

Hades let out sheepish chuckle. "Eh...no."

"Of course." She deadpanned before looking at the doorhandle. "Guess this is where I go."

"Yup. I've gotta take some time and make the dog like me better." He glanced at the dog before shrugging. "Since you fixed it on one end its, probably, fixed on the other end."

"Probably. That doesn't give me much reassurance." Heidi said in sarcasm before smiling at him. "I'll be back, eventually."

"Ah, take your time. I took a long hard look at your Underworld and mine...is ugly. Like really bad." He said, looking around before sighing. "You set high standards."

She chuckled and placed her hands on her hips. "Yeah, you have fun with that one. Cleaning up one Underworld was enough for me." Heidi looked at the door and set her hand on the doorhandle. "Enjoy." She said with a chuckle before opening the door and jumping in.

Hades rolled his eyes as he heard Cerberus let out a sad whine. "Oh, come on." He said in annoyance, turning to look at the dog. "Don't say it, you like her better." He raised his hand, looking offended at the very thought before he disappeared in his blue fire pillar.

….

"No way…" The feline says breathlessly.

There is no way. Absolutely no way.

Chester had been following the two gods, mostly because he didn't get his good-bye scratches. What he did not plan for was to overhear their conversation.

The dimensional consequences were...fake?

He had overheard that the only side effects were temporary personality changes. That is very minor compared to what he had been taught.

His mind is blown. He had eavesdropped and found out the greatest secret of all time! He didn't know what to do with himself. For a few minutes, all he did was stand there on the outskirts of the forest. The forest closest to the school.

"This...This is insane!" He thought to himself. "I have… This is… WHAT ELSE HAVE I BEEN LIED TO ABOUT!? MY WHOLE LIFE IS A LIE!"

Chester takes his education seriously, but he fails to see the point when the information is wrong. "Wait a minute…"

He paced for a moment getting his thoughts together. "If the major side effects are unreal, that means..!" His ears immediately perked up at that realization.

"AAAAARRRAAAAA!" He exclaimed as he blasted toward school grounds.

He ran so fast he could barely feel his own laws. He ran under legs, hopped on heads, ran on the ceiling; anything to get to the auditorium. It was nothing for him to pass under the door like air itself.

Once in the grand music hall, he heard the familiar sound of a harp and spotted his lone group playing with the instruments or simply enjoying each other's company.

Triple G strummed his bass tiredly. He looked down at it and sighed. He found himself thinking back to when him and his friends were jamming out in the RV. One of his favorite memories. "George?"

He looked up at Triple G.

Ever since Heidi left, He went back to being a man of few words. Yep, things are going back to normal.

"It might be time for us to...find a guitarist. That would be cool…" Triple G said with a smile.

George looked at him blankly and said, "You miss her."

By saying those three words caused Triple G's eyes to water. "N-no, no...I just…" He sniffed. "I MISS HER SO MUCH!" He blurted before breaking into a sob.

Deuce disappeared and came back with a box of tissues. He held them out for Triple G to reach. "Chin up, bro. I'm totally sure we'll see that gnarly kook again." He said as he handed him one tissue after another.

Hazel slowed her strumming as she thought about the goddess. "We all miss her G, which is odd because it's only been a couple of hours. At least she's safe." She said continuing her song. "Right, Ara? Ara?"

Ara was busy mindlessly striking notes on the marimba. She paid them no attention. Leaning her body on the instrument, she lazily looked at them with a somber expression. "Yeah, I miss her too, but I am glad she's okay." Abruptly, she looked down at the instrument in anger.

She flung her roughly stick at the keys. It made a note so horrid, that it started everyone in the room. It caused Hazel to stop playing and to turn to her sister in concern.

Ara growled at it for a few seconds before covering her hands with her face.

Hazel deeply sighed and rose from her stool. She quietly made her way over to her sister. "Hey." She placed her hand on Ara's closest shoulder. "It's okay. You did the right thing. We had to let her go, Ara." Hazel tried to meet her sister's eyes.

"I know I did, but I thought doing something good would feel better than this…" Ara removed her hands revealing a thin trail of tears. "I knew I shouldn't have let myself get attached."

When he calmed himself, Triple G sat up with his guitar and shook his head. "This...there has to be a way around this dimension thing. Maybe we could talk to Hermes about visiting rights."

Hazel shook her head. "With all of those side effects, there is no way we negotiate that. We would be shot down before the words came out of our mouths."

"Ugh, forgot about those…" Triple G complained.

George turned his head as he saw Chester enter. He went and picked up the feline and stroked his back to calm the cat.

"Guys!" Chester exclaimed still in an excited panic.

Hazel smiled at her friend. "Oh, hey Chester. We were just-"

"The side effects are fake!"

Hazel blinked for a few moments before saying, "What..?"

Chester catches his breath before replying. "The interdimensional side effects! They. Are. Fake!"

This caught all of their attention. It made everyone turn to him in surprise confusion. Even George seemed surprised by the cat in his arms.

Chester takes their silence as a means to continue. "I heard Hades and Heidi talking before they left. Hades said that the gods made it up; the whole thing! On top of that, it is possible to visit other dimensions. Anyone can do it!" He said with an excited smile.

They all were silent after that. The only thing they heard was the ticking of the clock on the wall.

Tick, tock, tick, tock.

Ara's face eventually turned serious. Her eyes squinted and she told her companions, "Get me Hermes." She folded her arms.

88888888888

Ara had sent Hazel and the others to track down the speedy god. In the meantime, she was doing some thinking on the matter.

"Is what Chester said true? Did he hear it correctly? If it is true...this changes things...big time."

Ara didn't know whether to be excited or confused, but at this point she didn't really care. All she wanted right now was answers. So she waited in her room for them to return hopefully with the god following. It shouldn't be too hard. Hermes was talking with Ben about who knows what, so he should still be around, right?

Thankfully, Triple G came into the dorm huffing and puffing. Once he caught the most of his breath he said, "I-I found him. He is a hard guy to keep track of, but I did it." He congratulated himself. "He said he was coming. Probably through the window."

Ara blinked, then smiled at him. She immediately pulled out her phone to text the rest of her friends to meet in her room pronto.

Once she put her phone in her pocket, Hazel appeared in white light.

Hazel looked around the dorm before asking, "Where is he? You said we've gotten his attention." She questions Ara.

Ara nodded. "He's on his way. Knowing Hermes, It won't take long. Stay on your toes." She said to her sister. She nodded at her adoptive brother and he returned the gesture.

There was a 'boom' that sounded in the distance before they heard someone saying, "Slow down, SLOW DOWN!" Then it was followed by a smack to the window.

The three teens jumped at the sound. As their heart stilled, they slowly turned to the window.

Ara sighed, then nodded in recognition. "My bad. I guess I forgot to open the window…" She says as she slides open the window. She leans a bit out of the window and calls for the god. "Hermes?"

The god zipped in through the window and landed, patting the golden helmet on his head in relief. "I am so glad I listened to that suggestion." He muttered, his voice sounding strangely human as it had previously had an echo to it. "For once I won't end up with a concussion!"

Ara and Triple G grinned while Hazel was still recovering from her heart attack.

Triple G calls to the god. "Welcome back! I must say that no one I know can smack into a window like you can!"

Hermes grinned when he heard that. "It's a gift." He said as he slipped off the helmet.

Ara stepped up and said, "With all of that aside, I have called you here because we have a question of great importance." She made sure to close her window so no real birds would fly inside. She will open it again when Hermes is ready to leave.

Hermes nodded when he heard that, absentmindedly rubbing at a scuff mark on his helmet. "I thought so, normally you guys don't really call unless you got a problem."

"We've been in our own little world." Hazel speaks up after she recovers.

Ara shrugged. "Yeah, it's been busy." She said with a smile. "The thing is...a friend of mine, Chester, said he overheard Hades talking about dimension travel?" Ara said while studying the god with her eyes. "Something about the major consequences being a lie and anyone can jump around. Something like that?" Ara folds her arms and waits for his answer.

Hermes almost dropped his helmet when he heard that, quickly paling when he looked up at her. "You said...Hades said this?"

Ara nodded. "Yeah. What other god you see around here talking at an obnoxiously loud level?" She says casually.

Hermes grimaced and waved his hand through the air. "If Hades is the one who said it he's the only one who can repeat it. He doesn't have anything to lose." He said, shoving his helmet back on.

Hazel paled while Ara grinned. "Okaaay…" Ara started. "I guess we will have to have a little chat…" She said referring to Hades. She thought for a minute before grinning evilly at Hermes. "Can you make that happen?"

Hermes blinked and slowly pulled out a phone, he quickly typed in a number before holding it up to his ear. "Yeah, Hestia, I need to ask a favor…" He began nervously.

Hazel quickly pulled Ara to the side, much to her annoyance. Hazel harshly whispered, "Ara! What are you doing!? Wherever this is going, I don't like it! My "I'm gonna regret it" senses are going off again!" She glared at her twin.

Ara smirked and casually said, "Ah. I got this. Leave this to the big kids." She walked back over to Hermes.

Hazel looked at her annoying sister in irritation. "That's what I'm afraid of…" She mumbled.

Hermes got off the phone as soon as she approached him and he shook his head. "Hestia said she'll do it. She hasn't met up with Hades in years and you guys needing to talk with him is the perfect opportunity." He rubbed his chin in thought. "Hm, who would have known she'd grow to like a group so much." He shrugged his shoulders before glancing at the window. "I'll be off, Hestia should show up any minute now."

Ara grinned at the news before she opened the window for him. "Thanks for the help, Hermes. Twas a pleasure."

Hermes chuckled and gave her a thumbs up before zipping out the window and off to wherever he was headed to.

"Well, that's settled." Ara said in a satisfactory manner.

Hazel folded her arms. "What is settled?"

Ara turned to her nonchalantly. "Oh, we're going to Hell." She went to close her window for the third time.

Triple G nearly choked. "Wait, what!?" He head spin around at her.

Ara chuckled at their horrified expressions. "Look, it's only to ask Hades the question. Hermes explained that Hades said it, so Hades tells it." Ara turned back to face them. "Aaand I want my answer sooo...to Hell we go!"

Hazel resisted the urge to face palm as George and the cats finally entered the room. Triple G walked past George and said, "Oh, get ready, man. We're going to Hell."

Words could not explain the look of confusion that crossed George's face, but he shrugged. He figured that he wouldn't ask as he sat the confused cats down. He followed Triple G to their dorm to get ready.

888888888

Ready to go once again.

They decided that a good, common place to wait was the empty area near the tourney field.

No one was out there at the moment. Sports practice wasn't until the next day and school was out. All this being said, it was the perfect place to enjoy the scenery and wait for a goddess to give you a ride.

The boys just changed into their usual outfits and their familiar colors while Ara and Hazel changed into theirs. Except, Ara had one complaint.

"Hazel, are you sure I am all out of red shirts?" Ara asked in annoyance.

Hazel nodded with a smirk. "I told you not to skip laundry day, but no. You never listen to me. Now, you are stuck with your black shirt." Hazel went back to tending to the wild life while Ara pouted.

She couldn't find her red pants either, So she had to improvise with her blue ones. Good thing she took care of her boots and cape. She could not bare to leave without those.

She grouchily picked up Chester and began to pet her stressed away while she waited.

Chester looked at Deuce with a shocked expression. Deuce was just trying to hold in his laughter at the moment. Of course, he earned a pair of halved eyes from Chester in return.

Before anyone could grow too impatient, a column of orange fire appeared off to the side. Hestia stepped out of it and approached them with a small smile. "My apologies, I had to call ahead as Hades accidently locked me out."

"Oh, well. Um, it wasn't a problem." Ara said immediately feeling her fangirl tendencies flaring up again.

Triple G and George stood and Triple G exclaimed, "Hestia! It's only been a day-ish, but it feels like forever." He smiled. He picked up a gawking Deuce and held him football style.

Hestia chuckled softly and nodded in reply before lowering to the ground and placing her hand down. She smirked before standing back up as the earth started to rumble.

The group of teens looked at each other questionably before they all turned to Hazel with a variety of expressions.

Hazel turned to them with a mixture of aggravation and confusion in her voice. "Wha-? That's not me!" She said as she glared at them.

Hestia took a step back and shook her head. "That is the entrance opening, Hades always had quite a bit of flair with his entrances." As she spoke, a crack in the earth formed before widening to reveal a long staircase going down into darkness.

Deuce's pupils dilated as he turned from Hestia and looked into the darkness. "Sweet…" He grins.

Ara had a similar reaction with a smirk. "Totally… Well, let's go." She said with a smile.

On the other hand, everyone else looked a bit...apprehensive.

Hestia waved her hand through the air and suddenly torches appeared on the walls, lighting up the staircase and providing a better look as to what was at the bottom. "I will go first, he is expecting me. He does not mind visitors, he just asks that you do not 'mess with the dog'." She said with a soft chuckle before beginning to go down the stairs.

Triple G swallowed, remembering his conversation with "mirror Mal". "Um, I don't think I would want to." He said while working up the nerve to follow Hestia and Ara down the stairs.

George shrugged and followed, carrying a wide-eyed Chester. "Same."

Hazel takes a deep breath. "Regret senses. Regret senses…" She complains to herself as she follows.

As they made their way down the stairs, the sound of loud rock music quickly grew in volume. Hestia glanced over her shoulder at them and placed her finger to her lips, silently asking them to remain silent.

They saw her and began to motion each other to be quiet. When they all looked at George, they shrugged, knowing that he would be fine.

When the goddess reached the bottom, she gestured for them to stay put and smiled before walking towards the source of the loud music. "I see you still play the guitar." She said, her voice carrying over the loud guitar.

Hades shrugged and stopped playing for a moment. "What can I say? It's the only instrument that gets me."

Hestia chuckled and tilted her head. "I picked up a few visitors on my way down, they wish to ask you a question." She told him with a calm smile.

Hades raised an eyebrow and set the guitar down. "Really? Huh...I guess I'm more popular than I thought!" He laughed and folded his arms.

Hestia smiled at this before walking back to the staircase and waving for them to follow.

Ara nodded and motioned her friends to follow as she walked out. Triple G shook his head "no" while Hazel followed her sister. George stared at Triple G with halved eyes before pushing him out and meeting up with the girls himself.

Ara waved. "Me, again. With friends." She pointed her thumbs to the people behind her.

Hades raised an eyebrow as a throne formed behind him allowing him to sit down. "Hm, what do you guys need? Not many people hitch a ride to Hell when they could ask someone up there."

Ara looked at her friends before they indirectly motioned her to continue. Ara eyes became halved and she faces the god once again. "Well…that's the thing. This particular question can only be answered by you. At least, that's what Hermes told us." She said rubbing her fingers through her hair.

Hades smirked and chuckled. "That guy only said that because he's got something to lose." He tilted his head in thought before looking at Hestia for a moment. "I think they are down here because they overheard me earlier."

Hestia smiled pleasantly. "You were indeed very loud."

He rolled his eyes at that and looked back at them. "You guys are here because you heard me talk about something, aren't you?"

Ara nodded. "Yup."

Triple G did the same. "Mhm, hm."

"Correct." George said while Hazel put on her guilty smile.

Deuce nodded like a bobble head while Chester replied, "You were really projecting."

Hades shrugged, seemingly unbothered by it. "Well, she warned me to shut up. Oh, well, I never agreed to that oath of silence crap anyway." He jabbed his thumb at Hestia. "She also never agreed to it."

"No, I did not agree." Hestia confirmed, her smile a permanent fixture on her face.

Deuce scratched his head in confusion. "What? Oath of silence..?" He expressed the confusion the group was feeling.

Hazel blinked for a moment and said, "Can you please elaborate?" She looked at him questionably.

Hades smirked and sat up. "Let's see here...Four thousand years ago, my brothers and sisters, minus Hestia, got fed up with the amount of magic users that were hopping to and fro across the dimensions. Every single time they did it there was always a problem of some sort, so they up and decided to come up with a lie that said that if someone were to go into another dimension there could be some pretty nasty consequences. Add in a few demigod scientists and bam! You have no more dimensional fiascos."

Triple G blinked while he took in the information. "I have learned more in this one week than my entire life!"

Hazel shrugged. "That's actually pretty sad. That means what they teach us is diluted."

Ara looked up in thought. "So...there are no super bad consequences? No explosions or black holes?" She asked.

"Nope." Hades said before rolling his eyes. "The only other side effect is increased magic control, but that's about it along with the personality switcharoos."

Ara and Hazel nodded at that. Hazel said, "Alright, We are familiar with those." She shrugged. "Hm, well, you've got your answer are we done here?" She asked her sister.

Ara raised an eyebrow in thought. Then her eyes twinkle as she thought of something. "If one were to hop dimensions again...how would they do it?" She asked as Hazel's eyes widened.

Hestia was the one to answer this time. "The original spell for the dimension crossing was lost when the other gods burned most of the evidence. However…" She looked at Hades and the god laughed.

"We have an alternate way down here to cross over into the other dimension." He smirked as he looked at the drop off area. "We were given a personal doorway into the other world when my brothers and I were all given our domains. Zeusy and Poseidon both destroyed theirs, but I kept mine because I found the way those demigods stumbled in to be an absolute riot."

Ara grew the largest grin on her face and Hazel already knew where this was going. Ara opened her mouth to speak, but Hazel grabbed her and pulled all of them aside. "Time out!" She exclaimed before turning back to her group.

"Hazel!" Ara complained as Hazel's gaze fixed on her.

"Ara, I already know what you are thinking. We cannot go around hopping dimensions!" Hazel argues while using angry gestures.

Ara wilted and said, "Come on! Why not? They are no serious side effects."

Hazel sighed and said, "Hades said there were problems that made the other gods destroy their portals. Doesn't the word "problems" send a red flag?" She tries to get through to her.

Ara smirked and raised an eyebrow. "Hazel, I am a problem." She folds her arms while Hazel face-palms. "I have an idea. We can vote unanimously. Who wants to check out the other dimension?"

Everyone's hand/paw rose but Hazel's.

Hazel went slack-based at them. "Guys!" She said scoldingly.

Chester shrugged. "You know how nosy I am."

George said. "The other dimension sounded cool."

Triple G scoffed. "I am surprised that you are surprised that I wanted to go...if that makes sense…" He folded his arms afterwards.

Hazel glared at all of them then took another deep breath. "Fine, but if something goes wrong I will taunt you guys before we die."

Ara chuckled and said, "Meeting adjourned." She turned and they walked back to the god and goddess. "Hello, we're back."

Hestia gave her a wave while Hades raised an eyebrow. "Decide on whether or not to go running around in another dimension?"

Ara was impressed. She raised an eyebrow and smirked. "Actually, yeah, and we are so going. How do we get to that exit?"

He looked thoughtful at that. "Well, considering I just had it fixed today, the easiest way down is atop Cerberus, but I'm sure Hestia could lead you down." He gestured to the smiling goddess who rubbed her chin.

Triple G shivered at the thought of the three-headed hound. "We're taking Hestia, please!" He said still shivering.

Ara chuckled and said, "Well, Hestia? Pleaasse..? Can you? Can you?" Asked Ara, sounding like a young child in a candy store.

Hestia looked at Hades and nodded. "Activate the stairs, it will make it much easier."

Hades threw her a thumbs up and snapped his fingers, causing the world to shake around them as several platforms moved about while stairs formed from the walls.

Hestia smiled in thanks as a "click!" sounded, the shaking soon ceasing after the sound. She turned around and closed her eyes as she felt for the strong magic signature.

"It's on the lower levels." Hades whispered loudly, trying to give her a hint.

Hestia blinked and smirked at him. "I know."

He rolled his eyes and picked up his guitar. "That was my free hint of the day." He commented before beginning to strum.

Hestia chuckled before heading towards the far side of the area. "It is down two platforms." She pointed at something deep within the Underworld and looked at them with a smile.

Hazel sighed and said, "Well, let's hurry and get this over with." She looked to Ara in aggravation.

Chester chuckled. "In other words. Let"s head onward." He said with a smile.

Hestia nodded and began leading them down the stairs. She looked at the ground for a moment before tilting her head. "Hades neglected to tell you this, but Heidi's Underworld is far more pleasant. According to him, it's quite the sight." She told them as she heard a scream of some sort.

"Uuuhh. What was that?" Triple G asked, concerning the scream sound.

"I believe that was either a demon or a tortured soul, I'm not too positive, though. I don't spend as much time down here as my brother." She answered, a thoughtful look on her face as she considered what could have made the scream.

Ara nodded. "Well, this is the Underworld…" she shrugged while Triple G's skin was crawling.

"It is not the Underworld that keeps me away, it is Olympus. Whereas Hades hasn't attended a meeting in thousands of years, I attend almost every one." Hestia said as they reached the next staircase.

"Hm, so you are always working. I can see that. Not much break time?" She asked the goddess.

Hestia shook her head. "No. In fact, the time I spent with your group was the longest I went without attending a meeting. That is why I had to return urgently." She explained to them, looking around the Underworld in thought.

Ara nodded again. She did remember the time Hestia had to leave to Olympus. Hazel had left and she was in charge of the TV's order. "So that's why it was so important. You had been skipping." She smiled in understanding.

Hestia nodded with a smile. "My brother grew concerned of my unusual behavior and if I did not return he would have sent someone to find me." She summoned a flame to her hand as the area grew dark. "I did not want that to happen."

Ara smiled and nodded. "I have a feeling that would have somehow lead to a disaster."

Hazel sighed, "I wish we knew about the side effects back then. We could have really saved our brain cells, and taken our time." Hazel grinned at the end.

Hestia chuckled as she allowed the flame in her hand to grow in size. "Only Hades could have told you. He does not care what punishment he would receive as he has nothing they could take from him. I couldn't tell you either as Hermes was a constant watcher of my every move along with another goddess." She looked around for the platform and nodded when she saw it.

Triple G blinked. "Wait so all of those gods were around us and we didn't even know it!? I hope I didn't embarrass myself too bad…" He thought about his past actions.

Hestia nodded. "Along with Hermes, Artemis, Apollo, and Demeter had an eye on you all at some point. Artemis tracked you through the forests and Apollo hid in the clouds, Demeter also used the forest but she left after one glimpse. Hermes on the other hand...He just kept flying." She said with a soft chuckle.

Ara raised an eyebrow. "Either we are blind, one track minded, or you guys really know how to blend in!" She chuckled.

They descended down the last staircase and Hestia turned to face them. "Two of them can turn invisible and the other two can control the forests around them. It is understandable if you cannot see them." She glanced over her shoulder before promptly throwing the flame at a shadowy object that was in the center of the platform

Hazel gave Hestia a questioning look. "What was that for?" She asked her.

Hestia didn't answer her right away and instead summoned a massive flame that engulfed the object. "The doorway requires magic to enter. It is the reason why humans cannot access these." She answered, causing the flames to begin swirling around the doorway.

They looked at the doorway with wide eyes. Ara looked to the door, then back at Hestia. "Is this the thing we were looking for?" She asked her.

Hestia let her arms fall to her side as the flames flew off of the door and back to her hands. The door suddenly made a strange noise before it started glowing gold. "Yes. Heidi fixed it before she left, thankfully. It was a wandering door before that."

"Oh, well, okay." Ara said casually.

Hazel looked at the door warily before asking, "After we jump through, were will we end up?" She turned to look at the goddess.

Hestia rubbed her chin in thought. "When Hades went through, he claimed he ended up in the main area. That is the platform that was at the bottom of the stairs. I was told by him that the stairs are also up in her's and there is quite a bit of magic."

Hazel nodded while Ara shrugged. Ara tilted her head. "I think we can manage, but getting lost in Hell would suck to the max." She said as she thought. They all nodded with her on that one.

"I would not worry about that, Hades also noticed magical floating orbs of light that led to each part of the Underworld's levels. He said between the overabundance of crystals, gems, and magic, even the most easily lost individual can find their way back." Hestia informed them with a calm smile.

Chester smiles in relief. "Oh, that's reassuring."

Triple G nodded. "Yeah...so are we gonna…"

Ara chuckled at herself being mesmerized by the door. "Heh, sorry." She turned to Hestia. "Thanks, Hestia! You are still my favorite Olympian!" She said with a grin.

Hestia chuckled softly and nodded. "You are welcome. Enjoy yourselves." She said with a smile before vanishing in her column of fire.

When Hestia disappeared, Triple G ran to the golden doorway. "I'm going in first!" He made sure he had a tight grip on Deuce before he rushed in.

Ara gasped. "What?! Not fair! Get back here!" That's when she jumped in after him.

George, Chester, and Hazel just looked at each other. Hazel rolled her eyes. The three of them walked inside like normal people.

"This better not kill me…" Hazel said before she entered.

The last thing you heard was George and Chester's laughter as they went through the portal.