The group had plotted for the last hour. They had played scenarios in their minds and came up with possible ways to answer questions that were directed to them. Most importantly, they were ready to ask questions. With fingers crossed, they hoped that they could actually pull this off. If they crashed and burned, there were no do-overs. Only one chance.
Ara had relocated the group to a more welcoming area. To be precise, the garden. They say near one of the grand fountains. Ara, in particular, wore a calm expression. She looked at each one of them in almost a lazy manner.
Triple G asked her, "How are you so calm?" He said with a tilt of his head.
Ara looked at him with a slight smile. "Oh, I'm not. Yeah, I'm terrified." She gestured to her expression. "This is what you call a poker face."
"Ah." Triple G nodded in understanding.
"Deuce." Ara called to the cat who was now awake. "I need you to actually stay alive this time since we are a little short handed." She said, thinking about Hazel and CJ. One had not returned and the other is currently drowning her trauma in rock music. "You can do that, right?" She asked him with halved eyes.
Deuce grabbed a blind fold. "Don't worry. Trip got me covered." He tied a black blindfold around his eyes. "Leggo."
Uma sat down and said, "I'm ready." Then she mumbled, "I'm not going to do much talking anyway…"
Freddie tilted her head. "I'm ready too." She pulled out a can of soda.
JR sighed and leaned on his hand. "Let's get this over with." He said with halved eyes, wishing he was somewhere else.
George...well...Ara thought he was ready. He didn't say otherwise.
Ara nodded at that before taking her place on the fountain. She sat right on the edge before calling out to the goddess, "Hecate~!" She called in a song-like voice.
Freddie looked at her with halved eyes. "Way to sound natural."
Ara blinked. "Thanks." She said, apparently not catching the sarcasm.
Hecate appeared with some lipstick and appeared to be in the middle of applying it when she appeared. "Anybody here like romance red? My on and off sun man called me...better not be any bills he claims I own." She said with a sour look before making a mirror appear to look at it.
While Deuce was speaking gibberish to himself, Ara tilted her head, "Uhh...huh. Well...actually we just called you to chill. We're bored. Chat with us." She sat with a smile.
"If your bored...why don't you play video games? That's what Hades' boy does all day. Then again he's a chicken in a romeo and juliet relationship with another chicken." Hecate said before going off track.
Triple G shook his head. "And we are not chickens." He said with a smirk.
JR prided himself. "We are the wolf pack." He said, giving Trip a fist bump.
"And these wolves are bored." Ara replied. "Very, very bored." Then she mumbled. "Not to mention we beat all of our games…" She said, looking down.
"How am I supposed to help? Hades says I'm a bore." Hecate said with heavy sarcasm.
Chester replied, "That's because you're both out of your mind." Then he gestured to the group. "The most of us are sane, which makes you entertaining." He said with a smile.
"Oh...because I've lost most of my marbles and play with dead bodies, I am entertaining." Hecate pouted and folded her arms. "Just for that, I'm sending a zombie after you guys."
"You will!?" Freddie asked with...interestingly...excitement.
As for everyone else, they cringed.
Ara shook her head. "Nuh-uh! I didn't say that! Send the zombie after him!" She pointed at Chester.
Chester's eyes slitted before shaking his head. "What!? No! I didn't mean it like that! I meant you are a...good crazy." He said with a nervous smile.
"...I'm still mailing you a zombie head, watch for the teeth. Zombies are extra bitey." Hecate said with a smirk before flopping in a nearby chair.
Freddie whispered, "Yes!"
Chester on the other hand. "Great…" He said with halved eyes.
Deuce chuckled before saying, "That's what you get for being yappy."
Ara rolled her eyes before saying, "So...you're gonna stay?" She tilted her head with interest.
"Stay for what?" Hecate asked with a raised eyebrow. "Did you want to see the zombie head now? I keep one in a box named John." She said innocently while blinking.
"No!" Ara exclaimed before calming down. "I mean...no. We wanted to talk to you, remember? I personally am curious about Heidi's life on the isle." She said as she relaxed again.
"Why not ask Heidi? It was her life and I just simply spied-mainly because Hades kicked my ass whenever I tried to chat. I'm not a verrrrrrrry good role model apparently. I wonder why…" She said before humming to herself.
Ara said in a pout. "Because Heidi's not here." She gestured. "She's nowhere in Rome, heck, Italy for that matter."
JR joined in. "And who knows when she'll be back."
Chester nodded his head at that. "Let's just say she hasn't been taking the thought of children very well…" He said, scratching his chest tuft.
Hecate shrugged. "It's a family trait. Her mom hated her and ditched her as soon as possible, her dad panicked for ten years, Mal is having a crisis due to the fact that she's the primary parent, and I ditched a demon kid with the guy I still hit up." She said casually while making a nail filer appear.
Uma blinked in a deadpan. "Wow...that's an image I'll have a hard time forgetting about." She said, referring to the last part.
Ara leaned on her arm. "Bottom line is she's not here and you are the closest to Heidi we've got."
"Who is willing to talk and not complain about his life." Hecate deadpanned with halved eyes.
Triple G blinked before saying, "That's a trick question, right?" He said with a smile.
"Uh...no?" Hecate asked with a bit of confusion, clearly having confused herself in the process as she squinted a bit.
Freddie blinked before saying, "I mean...I'm okay with my life. I lived on a piece of scrap and now I'm rich." She said with a shrug.
JR looked at her in a deadpan. "That's nearly all of our lives."
"That means you should be just as happy as I am." Freddie sassily responded to his tone.
Before that could continue, Ara asked, "Please? It's cool to see how the isle was through the eyes of another. Her isle wasn't like my isle since I made personal changes. What did she do? Did she make changes too? Did it look different in the other world? Were there the same people? Anyone new?" Ara asked, bombarding the goddess with questions, with more coming.
"Uh...How about one specific one at a time?" Hecate asked in surprise.
Ara blinked, stopping the river of questions that was currently flowing. "Oh, right. Was...the isle the same or different in the other world. Looks, as in looks." She asked, tilting her head.
"Not really...I guess. Hades just had a few more claimed caves since he was picky in choosing one for Heidi and him." Hecate said thoughtfully. "If it had been just him, he wouldn't have two old caves."
While Ara nodded at that, Triple G took it upon himself to ask, "Umm...Heidi's favorite chill spot?" He raised his hand.
"If she was allowed out of the house...I believe it was the piers. Otherwise, she was always stuck in her room." Hecate said while rubbing her chin.
Freddie tilted her head at that. "Sounds boring. I guess that's why I have to ask, what was her favorite pass time?"
"...Didn't really have one. She trained all the time, and I mean all the time since Hades was Hell-bent on overthrowing his brother. I mean-the dude knocked up several chicks just for his plan. Then it sorta failed when he was left with only Heidi." Hecate said in a casual manner.
"I've been burned once again…" Uma grumbled in a deadpan.
Looking over Uma, Ara asked, "So, she did nothing but train? All the time? Sounds like my childhood…" She thought aloud.
"Keep in mind that Hades and Maleficent were two peas in a pod at one point, until she divorced him for trying to taint her baby. Then Hades just kept his daughter inside except for the rare few times to cause arson and get birthday gifts to Mal. Otherwise than that...It was mostly just training, doodling, and writing in her little Isle journal." Hecate explained with a small shrug as she began to file at a nail.
Deuce, who had been getting used to his lack of sight, lifted the blindfold, revealing one of his red eyes. "So...how'd she have time to date all of those peeps if she was basically the Isle's Rapunzel." He tilted his head.
"...She snuck out during his naptimes," Hecate said plainly. "His fault for thinking he needed to nap just about anywhere on the Isle. I once found him snoozing on some garbage bags once...until he woke up from a supposed dream of him being King of the Gods." She said with a snicker.
Ara smirked at that. "Ah, she snuck out. That makes sense. Bad, bad Heidi." She said as if the woman was with them.
"Everyone turns into a rebel when you have a life like that. Stuck in Hell for the first ten and stuck underground for the next decade and a half." Hecate shook her head. "Would drive even me insane...and I'm like a vampire in the sun."
Looking over Deuce who mumbled something about vampires being hot, Uma said, "That sounds fun. Tell us about Heidi's rebel life."
Ara chuckled at that. "Yeah. It's not every day we see rebel Heidi these days."
JR slouched. "Uh-huh. She's all...granny now." He said, rolling his eyes.
"She's seen some shit, happens to the best of us," Hecate said with a shrug. "Anyway, Heidi thought that it would spite her dad a bit if she dated a few men...well then a few turned into a lot then it got a bit out of hand and...then Hades just put his foot down. She had her own little Aphrodite phase for a year or two before it died down." She examined her nails and frowned at the chipped black nail polish.
Ara blinked. "Aphrodite phase? What does that mean?" She tilted her head.
"Heidi's mom is Aphrodite-the chick who could sleep with ten men in a day or five at once and still be looking for another. The only man she ever went back to was Ares because she just happened to like the bloodlust. Now, Heidi was nowhere near as bad as her, since it got diluted a bit down the line." Hecate pursed her lips and made some black nail polish appear.
At that, most of the group's eyebrows were furrowed with blank expressions.
Ara, on the other hand, raised an eyebrow. "Oh. So...Heidi's Aphrodite phase was a bit...interesting?" She said, causing a few group members to cringe.
"She didn't sleep with them all if that's what your thinking." Hecate deadpanned before continuing. "She acted like...uh...like she was starved for touch. She mostly just used half of them for hugs and cuddling while the rest of the relationships died in the same afternoon."
"Aww," Ara said. "She just wanted affection." She said with a smile.
Until Deuce said, "And some of them she used for other things." He cackled with a raised eyebrow.
"Sure. If by other things you mean as her personal shopping dummies. I knew everything about Heidi and she did not go next level with any of those suckers. They were just people she could charm into getting her supplies from the rest of the Isle." Hecate said while eyeing the cat with a shake of her head.
Deuce shrugged at that with a smirk, allowing the blindfold to fall back over his eyes.
That gave Ara time to say, "Ah...poor suckers. All of them. Every single last one of them used for personal gain. Pretty good for Heidi, pretty bad for them." She said with a shake of her head.
"Yeah, she took the dating term very loosely...so loose in fact I'm not sure if it's even applicable to her 'relationships'. Hades might have taught her how to turn a cave into a furnace, but he also taught her how to play the boys...and girls." Hecate said with a smirk before blinking at the end.
Uma looked at her with halved eyes. "He what?" She was thoroughly getting poisoned at this point.
"Hades. Got. Played. Big time. You don't think he just casually went out and liked Aphrodite, did you?" Hecate laughed and shook her head. "Nah, he got played and then went to teach his daughter how to play the players."
"Interesting." Ara blinked with a raised eyebrow.
"Oh yeah, it was this huge situation where Aphrodite came down disguised as Persephone. She didn't escape like how she wanted though." The goddess clicked her tongue. "Karma can be cruel sometimes."
Deuce raised his blindfold at that. "She disguised herself as Persephone!?" He looked down. "That's messed up."
"Big time. See, Hades' only real love out there...was Persephone. He even kidnapped her, and got turned into a lizard by Demeter, I had to save him, so you can probably guess why he didn't immediately question it. He was struck down by love." Hecate said before holding out the last word.
Freddie tilted her head at that. "What a story." She said, rubbing her chin.
Ara blinked before tilting her head. "Well, I am still confused as to why Heidi is so...cautious around kids. My sister has been through a traumatic event. Hades has his...thing going on…" Ara said with thought before shaking her head. "From what I've heard, Heidi has no reason to flip out. She hasn't been around kids, hasn't had her own kid much less anything bad happen to said imaginary kid, or hasn't interacted with babies in general. I'm...still confused." Ara said, leaning on her own weight.
Hecate paused at that and frowned a bit. "I...think you could say it's the fear of the possibilities and what might happen. Her dad wasn't truly there for her for many years, her mother carried her for like a really long time and didn't bond even a bit, and it's not like it stops at those two. The Greek pantheon is littered left and right with bad parents. Hera kicked one of her kids off Olympus...I basically ditched mine...Hera killed most of Zeus's demi kids, oh, and then there was the whole thing where Zeus tried to stop a prophecy by, quite literally, eating a chick-yeah it's hella messed up-and that only resulted in a massive headache. Kind of beautiful actually...just seeing him get his noggin split open like that…" Hecate said as she once again got off track and into her own thing.
While most of the group looked a bit traumatized, Ara blinked.
The princess tilted her head at that. "What a relief. I thought Heidi had a kid and went through some kind of wild event. Did she?" She asked innocently with a head tilt.
"Not that she'd remember," Hecate said in a somewhat distracted manner. "I did some mind erasing a lot of the time. Did it to Hades, Zeus, basically all of the Olympians, and Heidi just got zapped a bit out of trouble. Eh, what she doesn't know won't hurt her." She said as she made a bottle of wine appear. "I need more of this and I forgot to call Dionysus." She said in a bit of a whining tone.
Ara did her very best not to give herself away by sparking before going into gossip mode. "You're kidding? Who's-who's the daddy?" She said with interest.
"Who cares? The daddy don't remember anyway!" Hecate said while drinking some wine straight from the bottle.
Triple G nudged JR with a chuckle. "Dude...she's toasted!" He whispered.
JR chuckled in response. "Watch out! This may get a little interesting." He said with a laugh.
Freddie turned to Hecate and said, "So, there is a daddy? What does his name rhyme with?"
"Not~Important. The only thing that matters is getting drunk enough that I won't remember my terrible daughter." Hecate said while making more bottles appear. "I can't erase my own memory...so I have to get drunk as hell when I must see that twerp."
JR shrugged at that. "Well, have at it. This is Rome. Everyone is pretty free with the drinks here."
"See-this is why I like Rome! I don't get the boot from Zeus when I'm on my fifth bottle." Hecate said while gesturing widely.
Freddie chuckled. "Oh yeah, she's a goner." She shook her head.
The boys nodded at that as they watched the fun.
Ara tilted her head at that. "Oh yeah. No one cares here. Drink how many you want." Ara waved it off. "Oh, quick question. Since you erased everyone's minds, does that mean you destroyed all of the evidence, memories, videos, pictures?" She asked with a casual smile.
"It is all in my head. I do that because people swear oaths and stuff and try to have me get cursed or something." Hecate said with a shrug.
Ara hummed at that. "So...the pic on Heidi's phone was left behind by...mistake, then." She said with a nod.
"Photo, schmoto. It isn't on paper and it can't get me cursed! Physical evidence will do that!" Hecate exclaimed while waving her hand.
Ara smiled at that before looking around. "Uh...Hecate. Do you need to lay down for a bit..?" She tilted her head.
"I am fine. Besides...I'm not even drunk enough yet! I'll still remember that brat's face and she'll annoy me." Hecate said while she rocked a bit in her seat.
Ara chuckled before saying, "Eh...let's get Hecate to a couch." She said with a smile.
"I am fiiiine, guys!" Hecate said with annoyance.
JR shook his head with laughter. "If you're fine now, just imagine how much better you'd be on a couch!" He said as George easily picked up Hecate.
"This isn't necessary!" Hecate yelled while waving her fists around.
George blinked before looking at her with exasperation. Then...he began carrying her to the large home.
Ara chuckled, shaking her head. "Have a nice rest, Hecate!"
"Oh...shut it...Before I throw something...like...like a book! I will throw a book!" Hecate declared while pointing up as she clearly grew sleepy.
Uma stood and said, "You better be careful. She's gonna throw the book atcha!" She chuckled.
Ara shook her head and watched Geo carry her away. The princess motioned the group to follow as she caught up to them. "Last question, what was one thing the baby's dad always wore?" She tilted her head.
"You are all getting the book thrown in your face when I get up and out of here!" Hecate said in a drowsy tone while pointing at them.
Ara poked at Hecate's face. "C'mon, baby Hecate? What would it be?" She asked in her 'baby talk' voice.
"The book...as in the biggest book you can think of...thrown at you," Hecate said while shaking her head.
Ara kept poking at her. "Okay...now I'm just doing this for fun." She said with a teasing smile.
"I'm just going to slip into sweet sweet darkness," Hecate said before chugging the last of her wine and making it disappear. "You guys...are bad...not nearly as dreadful as my daughter~" She said before slowly passing out.
Uma looked around George. "Is she gone?"
George closed his eyes for a moment. When he opened them back up, he nodded.
JR nodded at that. "Good. That was a lot of talking, even for me!" He shook his head.
Deuce shrugged. "You all should be thanking me! I took one for the team on that one." He said in a slight huff.
Triple G chuckled. "That, you did, but thanks. It sent us in the right direction."
"Agreed. I owe you...three?" Ara said while Deuce shrugged. "On the bright note, I was right and you all heard it!"
Uma shook her head. "Here we go…"
"The best. The awesomest. Don't forget, the most persistent leader. She has delivered once again." Ara said, stroking her ego. "Chester, did you get that?"
The cat nodded, taping his watch that began playing a playback recording of the whole conversation. "Every word." Chester said with a smirk. "I assume you picked up on that hint. With proper math, we can calculate who the child is. Leave that part to me." He said, gesturing to his head.
Ara smirked at that. "Well, it is safe to say that we have quite the take to tell...again." She said with a nervous chuckle.
88888888
The group literally ran through the halls, looking for a certain someone by the name of Seraphina. They weren't sure if she was out or not, but they had to tell someone or they were going to explode. Not only that, they needed help finding out which of the three Hook children fit the bill. Get it? Book, rhymes with Hook? Anyway, Chester's math needed to be proven. What better way than to get an experienced...somewhat crazy, goddess involved?
Triple G yelled, "Yo! Pinky!"
George walked around saying, "Pinky?" In every room, he walked into.
Ara sighed before saying, "This is the worst possible time for you to disappear! I need your help! It's another…" She heavily sighed as if she regretted saying this, "...Code 7." She said in a deadpan.
There was the sound of someone slamming on the brakes of a car before Pinky appeared in front of them. The woman was completely out of breath and was huffing as she laid a hand on her chest. "I...was a bit far away."
Ara looked over her for a moment before shaking her head. "N-never mind that. We...have been doing a lot of talking to Hecate. Turns out...you...kinda...sorta..maybe…" Ara said, trailing off, pondering over her words.
Triple G interrupted, "Have a brother or sister!" He exclaimed before Uma slapped him on the back of the head. "Owww..!"
Uma glared at him. "You can't just be yelling that stuff! We're being watched!" She hissed in a whisper.
Ara, turned back to Pinky. "Look, it's true. We have evidence and everything." She said with a shrug.
Pinky looked a bit dumbfounded before blinking. "So...maybe it's just the fact that I ran all the way here...but I'm not that surprised for some reason." She said with an innocent shrug.
That...was actually quite relieving to the group.
Ara nodded with a small smile. "We just need your help trying to find the kid because we have no idea how. However, we know the father is Captain Hook. Apparently, him and Heidi were a thing on the Isle." She said while rubbing her chin.
As Pinky finally caught her breath, she raised an eyebrow. "Well...at least he's hot. Is he-was he hot?" She asked with a bit of confusion.
Uma chuckled at that. "You kidding?" She shook her head.
Ara smirked before saying, "I spent a lot of time with the Hooks and, yes. He was on fire." She said casually.
"Eh...It's justifiable then." Pinky said with a shrug.
JR, wanting to get back on topic, asked, "So...Will you help us?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.
"...Will any of you at least show me the pic?" Pinky asked with a head tilt.
Freddie raised an eyebrow. "Why didn't you say so?" She casually pulled out Heidi's phone and pulled up the picture. "It's all yours." She held it out for the goddess.
"...Wow, he is hot. I can see why she'd date him." Pinky said with a smirk.
Ara chuckled at that. "I'm assuming that means you'll help us." She placed her hands on her hips.
"Anything for that hot of a couple," Pinky said with a chuckle as she made sure to save the pic.
Triple G smiled at that before asking, "Alrighty then! What's the first order of business?" He gave Pinky his full attention.
"Find Heidi, ask her about all the hot men...try and get her drunk," Pinky said casually. "It's worked before for many...that and everyone we have available to question won't exactly respond to interrogations."
Ara blinked a couple of times before asking, "Are you sure that will work?" With a head tilt.
"Well, how did it go the last time..." Pinky trailed off while gesturing.
"Fair point," Ara said with a blink.
"We still don't know where Heidi is," Freddie said, folding her arms.
"Then somebody just go get Terra and have her locate the missing Heidi," Pinky said with a shrug.
The group nodded to each other before Chester raised his paw. "I'll go find her. We'll be back in a minute." He said before teleporting away.
Ara tapped her chin. "Alright. Chester went to get Terra. We bring Heidi back, get her drunk, ask questions, and...then what?"
"Take notes and connect all the dots? Duh. Then you go ahead and gather your courage before declaring it despite the fact that someone will probably come to kick your ass!" Pinky said with a grin while giving a thumbs up.
JR raised an eyebrow. "Riiiight…" He trailed off. "We all know it's not going to be me, though."
Freddie nervously chuckled. "Yeah…That kind of info should come from someone they deeply trust. No one is stupid enough to trust me." She said, backing up a bit.
Uma winced before saying, "I have very little magic. I'll leave this to the big dogs."
Before Deuce said anything, Ara facepalmed. "So much for the wolf pack." She said with a shake of her head.
Thankfully, Chester chose that time to return. "She teleported right behind me." He said with a smile.
Terra appeared behind him and shot Pinky a look of suspicion. "What have you done?" She asked with halved eyes.
"Nothing...yet...These guys are digging up dirt though on Heidi who is also missing at the moment." Pinky said while pointing at everyone else.
The group backed up, leaving only Ara.
Ara looked at them in exasperation before looking at Terra. "Okay, I'm going to get right to the point. You have another sibling that is Heidi's biological kid." She rapidly said with halved eyes, "Yes, we have evidence." Then she continued. "We need to help us locate her, so we could ask her some questions."
"...Considering Heidi's record, I would have expected that sooner." Terra deadpanned, looking not one bit surprised to say the least. "She's in Japan at the moment eating sushi and other dishes. She's with somebody else, don't ask who, but they are keeping her busy for the time being." She said with a shrug.
JR blinked with a shrug. "Huh...I guess we'll have to wait until later then."
Ara thought before nodding. "Seems that way. I mean, we've come this far. I could use a break." She tapped her chin. "Probably ask Chirpy if she has dinner planned…"
"I'm going back to my room...Sera, don't do anything." Terra said before disappearing.
Pinky scoffed in offense. "I haven't done anything!"
Ara chuckled at that. "You guys deserve a break. To take five or...however long it takes for Heidi to come back. Don't forget to give Chirpy your individual dinner requests and tell CJ to do the same." She turned, beginning to walk off. "I'll be back. I've gotta go talk to someone!" With that, she turned around and ran off.
888888
After she ran off, she made sure she was in a secluded area of her large home. Ara felt slightly nervous due to the current situation. Not only that! How awkward things had become. Even worse! She had broken her promise to him...all because she was being a chicken.
Ara took a deep breath before looking at the pearl bracelet she still wore. It has been a few days since she's done this. In this case, it had to be done to find him.
She released a breath. Then she closed her eyes. That's when she felt the familiar zap of teleportation. By the time she opened her eyes, she was in another area entirely. Wherever she was, she was surely in the sky. Clouds were beneath her feet and the ground was seen far down below.
The princess looked around, ignoring the glow of the Atlantean jewelry she still wore. Eventually, she spotted the familiar storm God from afar. So she called, "Susanoo?" She walked, closing the distance.
Susanoo jumped at the sound of her voice and quickly threw a lightning bolt into the distance before turning around with a forced smile. "Ara...I didn't expect that you would show up at this very minute."
Ara looked at him in exasperation. "...What are you up to?" She walked up to him before sitting down beside him.
"...Nothing," Susanoo said with an innocent look before wincing as a gust of wind blew a piece of paper loose from his jacket. "That is...Ignore that." He said before trying to grab at it.
Ara blinked before raising her eyebrow. As if it was the most obvious thing in the world, she used a touch of her magic to cause the paper to glide right into her grasp. Giving him one last look of confusion, she looked at the page. "Really? You were plotting against Hades?" She gave him another half eyed glance while trying to keep the page out of his reach.
"He was a moron-let me just get him...just a bit?" Susanoo asked with his own version of the puppy dog eyes while continuing to attempt to grab the paper.
Ara bit her lip before forcibly turning her gaze away from said puppy dog eyes. She leaned back, still keeping the paper away. "No! This won't help anything! No plotting!"
"Oh come on...I haven't plotted anybody's doom in thousands of years, besides, Hades deserves it for being a complete menace!" Susanoo said as he tried to lean and reach for the paper.
"Nuh-uh!" She leaned back even further. "You're still not getting it and...why are you so bent on getting him back for that? He was just being...himself." Ara shook her head before eyeing him.
"He was inappropriate and ruined everything because he can't take a hint and shut up," Susanoo said, huffing and folding his arms in a grumpy manner.
Ara looked at him with more confusion. "Ruined everything? What do you mean?" She tilted her head. "What did he ruin?"
"He scared you off! And made me look like a complete and utter pervert when he is the old pervert." Susanoo said while casually launching another lightning bolt into the distance.
Ara looked down before saying, "Yeah. That was a weird moment, wasn't it?" She said, growing a light smile.
"That old man didn't shut up and basically wrote pervert all over my forehead." The god said while throwing another bolt and pouting as he turned away.
Ara took a moment before sighing. "Susanoo...that wasn't the reason I was…scared off." She admitted while looking at him.
"Oh, then I guess then it was the fact that the moron decided to say what he should be keeping to himself. Idiot." Susanoo said with a grumpy huff.
"First things first, " She started. "There's a reason I've come back. One thing I wanted to do was let you know that I have nothing against you. The second is that I wanted to check on you. The third is that I wanted to apologize." Ara said, lacing her fingers together.
Susanoo glanced back at her with a bit of surprise. "You...want to apologize? For what? There's only one guy needing to apologize and I'm trying to get him with a bolt." He said with a bit of sarcasm as he made another bolt appear in his hand.
Ara glanced at him in return before her gaze turned to the clouds below. "Yes." She said with a sigh. "I wanted to apologize because I broke my promise. I said I would not go anywhere and that I would forever be your partner in crime. Well...I broke it…'cause I ran out. All because I was being a wimp at the thought of...having a serious relationship." She said, covering her face with her hands.
"You...weren't a wimp. Hades just opened his big mouth and started talking about crap he won't even do." Susanoo said while tossing another bolt.
"I should have known that!" Ara said, still covering her face. "Then my dad said some stuff about relationships and I got even more scared. I-I got scared because I can tell you really love me. I'm not used to that...so I ran off." By now, she was quivering from all of her emotions. "But I'm back because it took me a moment to realize...I really love you too." She said with a small sniff. "I mean...I really really love you. I realized if I were to be a mother one day, there is no better father than the guy who's right beside me." Ara uncovered her face and looked up at him with teary eyes.
Susanoo took a moment to respond as he flung another bolt before he turned around. Frowning a bit, he pulled her into an embrace. "I know...I just felt like kicking Hades' ass was just...the proper thing to do after he, at least for me I guess, made me seem as perverted as him. Not to mention I haven't gotten back at him for...several things actually." He said with halved eyes as he rested his head on hers. "I figured, take today off to try and fling some bolts at him."
Ara wiped at her face before saying, "Well...I don't mind that. I just wanted to talk since we haven't spoken since the incident. I just wanted to make sure we were still okay." She said, gaining a small smile.
"Oh...I just wasn't talking since that moron opened his big mouth." Susanoo grumbled with a frown before shaking it off. "That and it seemed awkward to be the one who was just declared openly a pervert or something...to be the first to talk." He explained with a bit of hesitance.
Ara glanced up at him. "I never thought of you as a pervert." She got comfortable and relaxed into him. "I never thought of you as perverted."
"My head thought otherwise...and then I plotted to get back at Hades and here we are. I should have honestly just let his dog out, less work for me, and a bad public view for him." Susanoo said with a shrug and a smirk.
Ara chuckled at that. "So, we're okay?" She asked with a smile.
"I mean if you are okay then yeah-I guess we are," Susanoo replied with a somewhat confused look on his face as he thought his words over.
Ara's smile grew at that while she shook her head. She adjusted herself to be able to give Susanoo a kiss on the cheek. "I love you, Susanoo." She said before leaning back on him.
Susanoo nodded with a smile before tilt his head. "So...Do you guys know about the fact that my sister hauled Heidi off to Japan just to talk?" He asked casually with a raised eyebrow.
Ara blinked at that. "That's why she's gone? At least that means she'll be back." Ara's smile turned into a smirk. "Do you know while she was gone me and my friends went detective and found out she has a kid she doesn't know exists?"
Susanoo tilted his head even more. "How do you not know you had a kid? If you were a man and didn't know, that's one thing. Women don't exactly forget about a kid." He said with a wince.
Ara simply nodded. "Hecate. She meddled with the memory of the parties involved." She tapped her chin. "I don't think she messed with Hades', though. I just think he's old." She shrugged.
"Well, of course, he's old...and nasty. An old nasty man who I should have let get in trouble. Wonder if I can still fit in the plan to let his dog out?" Susanoo said before thinking to himself at the last part.
"Susanoo." She said with a shake of her head. "Really?" Ara smiled.
"Uh, yes? The geezer needs to get some bad publicity like he gave me. What better way than...being guilty for the release of his giant dog?" He said innocently.
Ara looked at him with amused exasperation before she finally caved. "...Release the dog outside of Rome?" She folded her arms.
"That wouldn't get his attention! He doesn't give a crap unless the dog nearly crushes him and turns him into a squished blue thing on the ground." Susanoo objected with a pout.
Ara rolled her eyes before saying. "Fine. Just make sure none of the citizens get turned into a pancake." She smirked.
"Eh, I'll get an idiot to distract them...Who is worse? Hermes or that idiot who throws rave parties?" Susanoo asked with a head tilt.
Ara chuckled before saying, "Rave parties. The people here love those for some reason."
"Dumbass Dionysus it is," Susanoo responded as he pulled his phone out and began texting.
"Whatever gets you your 'payback'." She said, using air quotes. "I gotta...go back with the mystery crew. I'll see you later, right?"
"Oh, yeah, for sure. By the way...if you see Hades, tell him his dog got out and it's heading for a casino." Susanoo said with a grin.
Ara laughed at that. "Sure! That might actually come in handy." She smiled at him. "Bye, Susanoo." She said with a chuckle before disappearing.
Susanoo hummed before grinning as he opened a wormhole. "Well, we now know who let the dogs out in that song." He said with a snicker before flying through it.
