Divinity: Fates and the Afterlife

Chapter Fifty-Eight

The man in the dark throne knew his realm like the back of his hand, and its sounds and energy like his heartbeat; he knew what was happening and the sound of somebody approaching was only confirming what he knew was meant to happen. "So, you can hear me..." The soft sound of steps clicking on the marble floors made Hades open his eyes, "It has been long since I last saw your face... my dear Saturn."

Sailor Saturn stopped in front of her father's throne and bowed her head to show pay her respects, "Father,"

Hades arched his dark brow as he moved his head away from his hand, "It took you too long to answer my call," his grey eyes darkened, "Look at me, child." After a few seconds, Saturn slowly tilted her head up and looked into her father's deep grey eyes; Hades frowned, "How come is that you are here now?"

"Father, I am here to warn you."

"Warn me?"

"I heard your call, yes," Saturn stood up straight, "But I was not able to answer properly because I had to assist other issues at hand—" the youngest of the sailor senshi took a step closer to the god of death, hoping that her presence before him was not too late to help her fellow senshi. After the incident, both Saturn and Pluto went to the fourth dimension and fought the shadows sprawling from the open loop in time and space and eventually went separate ways when their suspicions were confirmed that in fact, there was a bigger leak coming from the underworld's gates that was allowing those deadly creatures to travel through space all the way to Earth. She went first to Tristan Castle to try and deal with the situation from there but it was her mother, Persephone, who informed her of the gravity of the situation around not only on Earth but Olympus's realm too and she was guided to the underworld's throne where Hades spent most of his time.

"Father, there are things happening on Earth, and they are caused by—"

"Asteria, I know." Hades interrupted his beautiful child with a low and morbid tone in his voice, "I am aware of it."

"What?" Saturn's eyes widened, "You know? B-but..."

"I am the God of the Underworld child, I know every crack and nook of this realm like the palm of my hand—while I find your intentions endearing, you are too little too late, Saturn."

"She was right then, when she said you granted her the permission to cross over... it wasn't just something she planned behind your back... you knew this whole time..." Saturn frowned and shook her head, still unable to believe her father's words, "I didn't want to believe such thing... I still don't want to believe it... and yet... it's true..."

Hades narrowed his eyes and leaned forward in his seat, "Do you really think I would not notice if Asteria created a warp strong enough to leak thousands of shadows from this place into another realm? Just how careless do you think I am, child?"

Saturn's breathing fastened just to hear her father's dark confession. Everything that has been happening on Earth has been because of him; he has been the mastermind behind the invasions and all the disturbances, with Athamas' revival, and Asteria's attacks. "Father..." she shook her head with grief and a deep sense of abandon in her heart, "Why have you permitted such thing?!"

Hades looked at his daughter and admired her beauty in silence for a minute. It had been so long since he last saw her face and heard her voice; the darkness of her hair and wisdom behind her dark violet eyes. While her calm and uncommon elegance remained intact, her aura had taken a different turn. She felt stronger and more determinant—his child was becoming a beautiful and regal lady, just like her mother, Persephone,but it was clear she was taking a different path where her perspective no longer matched his. "I have reasons to do what has been done, Saturn. I do not need to give any explanations, not even to you," his eyes darkened, "I have seen your progress... you have grown but not to serve me, that is why I relied on Asteria for my plans; I do not beg and I do not wait."

Saturn furrowed her brows with confusion, "What is that supposed to mean?"

"You are the soldier of silence and the emissary of death, of course, you know what it means,"

"You wanted me to do Asteria's work, you wanted me to bring doom," Saturn mumbled with shock, "That is why you were calling for me..."

"By your lack of response, I had to do the next best thing and hand the task to who would do the work with very similar results but with a much more aggressive approach. It is easy to bargain with those who hang from their forgotten glories..." Hades leaned back in his throne and crossed his arms, "I am aware of the situation in Olympus and I am taking matters into my own hands." The god of death arched a brow, "Do you have any idea of what you are doing, Saturn? You have taken a side that will not benefit you. A side that willingly goes against me, your own father." Saturn shook her head, "I have not taken any sides, Father, I am a sailor senshi and I have a duty. I share the prince and princess' ideals for peace and I fight for those ideals to become a reality... I support them."

Hades arched his brow and sighed, "He is here—the monster, if you must know."

Saturn's eyes widened with panic at her father's revelation and the cold way to refer to the prince, "W-What?"

"This only clarifies any remaining doubt as to why you are now standing before me to warn me." Hades finally stood up from his throne and walked towards his daughter, "I gave Asteria the task to lure the mortal into this realm at any cost... I do not know what resources she had taken and I do not care, to be honest, as long as it is done. With him here, his rebel mother will appear and I will finally be putting an end to that cursed dynasty. Those are titans, child; nothing but savage creatures that need to be put down at any cost like the unpolished beasts they are—this is for the sake of our safety."

"You are mistaken, Father." Saturn frowned, "Asteria is taking advantage of the permission you have granted to her—she has darker intentions and using your plan as a perfect decoy to distract you. As the senshi that represents your realm, I beg of you to listen to me, to believe my words—I have seen it! Whatever she has told you, is a lie."

Hades stood in front of his petite daughter and graced her cheek with the back of his hand as he looked at her. "Oh, Saturn... you have grown weak—idealistic. What a waste of power, this is not the child I raised." His cold voice sent shivers down Saturn's spine, "Even now, I am amazed by how Serenity's illusive ideas have permeated up to this day and plant delusions in the many minds around her daughter—it baffles me, to see you have become one of them."

"It is because of that sickening feeling you have that I am standing right before you at this very moment." Saturn looked at her father with defiance and disappointment, "Being given the task as an emissary of death is not something you should impose a child but I have never failed you. I have never taken sides but I will say now that I stand by the idea of living in peace—if that makes me take his side... if that makes me go against you, then so be it."

Hades' grey eyes darkened, "It pains me to hear you say such things," he sighed and moved his hand away from Saturn's cheek, "Well then... so be it. I already lost a brother to such pointless beliefs... I might as well lose a daughter too." He turned on his heel and started walking back to his throne "I know what his intentions are, Saturn, but he will not succeed. The Underworld is a trap, you know it very well—not even you can cross to such territory without being vulnerable to being attacked."

Saturn felt her heart shatter in thousands of pieces, like Pluto, every time she was summoned to take her post as the emissary of death, her past would always catch up to her making her remember every little detail of her childhood, her training days, and every task given by the man walking away from her. Hades was not known to be a warm, welcoming man but to her, he was someone to admire; she loved him after all because, in a very peculiar way, she knew he watched over her. But now things have changed, they have taken a different path and she did not know how to steer his attention to the actual problem Asteria represented and what her involvement in every event that has happened on Earth for the past few months have only been putting everyone's safety at risk.

"Lord Chronos... he knew this was going to happen. That night, when he asked me to bring silence to Queen Serenity's Kingdom..." she looked at her father still giving his back to her, "He knew he was going to remember one day and he needed him to be alive in this era for whatever Asteria is trying to do. Whatever nightmare is coming our way Asteria will make it a reality soon if we do not act fast. Please, Father... listen to me, not as a daughter, but as a sailor senshi..."

This was enough for Hades to stop in his tracks and turn around to look at his daughter with a glare that showed both interest and determination.

O—o—o—o—O

A morbid screeching sound ringed in Endymion's ears as he felt the shift in density in the atmosphere letting them know that they have now crossed into a different dimension; like Charon had said, this was a speed ticket to Tartarus.

"There is still some way to go to get to those cursed gates..." Charon said out loud as he continued to force control over the boat, "But Tartarus being Tartarus... there is no place where I can land, boy."

"That is not a problem," Endymion stood up and looked down at the raging thick waters crashing on the boat, "I will manage,"

"Well, you better come up with a strategy soon enough..." Charon grinned and let out a hard, raspy chuckle as he looked up "Because it seems the Lord of the Underworld has noticed your presence..." he pointed a bony finger at the demons flying towards them, "And it seems he has sent you a welcoming party, boy,"

The terran prince looked up and arched his brow, "I am flattered." He rested his hand on the hilt of his sword and studied the situation as he watched the creatures hovering over their heads like vultures, "But I happen to be a very boring person, so, I do not care for ostentatious shows of appreciation. I will have to be rude to your Lord and return his gift," Endymion drew out his golden sword in a swift move making it echo as it cut through the thick air and let it catch the light of the raging fire beneath the boat; Charon looked at the slick crystal-like blade and narrowed his fiery eyes and smirked with pleasure, "Oi, boy! Just keep your mess out of my precious boat or otherwise, I will retract my offer—"

Endymion narrowed his eyes and swung the weapon once before taking a stance for attack; he tilted the hilt of his sword further back and past his hip and slightly bent his front knee to prepare, "Aye, Aye... old man..." he leaned forward and narrowed his eyes to study a pattern, "Just get me where I need to go, I'll take care of the rest,"

Charon noticed the prince's hands started to glow and channeled the same golden light into the weapon and with one quick flick of his wrist, the prince took the first line of flying demons and threw them to the fiery waters with the force of his blade, then quickly did a backflip and took a second stance and repeated the attack on the next squad of bat-like demons and walked to the edge of the boat to keep the herd away from the old man. He turned and with another quick and measured swings with his sword, he continued slashing and beheading another flock of demons and looked up with a brow arched showing sarcastic wonder, "Well, I must say, that Lord of yours sure knows how to make his guests feel welcome... to be given such attention," Endymion looked at the bigger crowd of demons flying their way and did another backflip to dodge a demon's claws and turned to cut its head and kick the body into the flaming waters before it fell inside the boat.

Charon laughed and continued steering their course with his bone paddle, "That medal of yours was indeed a bargain—your head seems to cost much more. I am starting to reconsider our deal, boy."

"Too bad, old man. No turning back," Endymion turned on his axis in a 180-degree angle and high kicked another demon right in the head and threw it in the water; he turned over his shoulder and hit another one with his elbow right in the eye making the creature screech with pain and also kicked it out; Charon grinned and cracked another laugh as he continued paddling, "Oi, boy! What kind of soldier are you?"

"The kind that doesn't have time to play stupid games," Endymion high kicked three demons in his range of attack and glared up with anger. Charon waved the long paddle and hit a demon out of his way "I told you, boy, Hades has demons to spare... he will sure make of this one joyful party,"

Endymion turned and felt a strong, sharp pain in his chest and remembered the times when his wife would constantly mock his intellectual habits. The image of her smiling and cuddling next to him played in his mind, the sweet and melodic sound of her voice and her crystal blue eyes looking at him with so much love. Endymion closed his eyes for a minute and smiled sadly, "Too bad, I don't like being in crowded places..." he opened his eyes and looked up at the demons flying above them, "This party will have to end sooner than expected," Endymion turned to Charon "Oi, old man—put your paddle up for a minute... I need a quick lift,"

Charon's brows were so long and bushy it was hard to notice any movement in them but the look in his face was enough to prove he was more than amused by the events; without complaint or speck of doubt, the old man pulled his long paddle out of the rapid waters and rested it over the edge of the boat in an acute angle for the prince to use as a ramp and impulse himself with a high leap. From there, Endymion had only a few mere seconds to act and without much thought, he summoned the power within him and let it tingle and spark at the tips of his fingers, "I am done with this bullshit... let me pass!" The prince narrowed his blue eyes and stretched his arm out, aiming his palm at the shadow demons moving closer, "Smoking Bomber!" As soon as the modified command left his lips, an intense burst of light burst through the hundreds of creatures flying full speed at him and the ferryman. Charon widened his eyes as he watched the prince landing inside the boat and along with him the hundreds of demons splashed around them and howling in pain as they were instantly devoured by the furious fire of the mad river.

"A rebel alright... that power is unmistakable..." Charon smirked with pleasure as he continued to control the boat and looked at the prince standing close to the edge. With one strong swing to the side, Endymion wiped the gooey blood dripping on the sleek blade of his sword and put it safely back into its sheath on the left side of his belt and stood in silence as he looked into the distance and brought a hand up to his chest when he felt another strong tug and took a deep breath as he closed his eyes.

"Serenity..."

A pair of pale blue eyes opened slowly and were met by darkness. Princess Serenity growled softly as her body slowly began to regain some sensitivity and enough strength to pull herself up and looked around and then noticed that she was no longer wearing her senshi uniform but her royal gown. It was then when she started to remember what had happened to her and took a deep, shaky breath. "W-Where... am... I?" She mumbled into the nothingness as she rubbed the back of her head, trying to come out of her hazy state.

"So, you have finally awoken from your beauty sleep..."

Serenity widened her eyes and turned to look around, she knew what voice it was but she couldn't find the face, she frowned, "Asteria,"

"My, my... the immaculate daughter of the Queen Goddess of the Moon in the flesh... the precious jewel of the galaxy—"

"Stop saying stupid things and tell me where I am..." Serenity turned her head when she heard the screeching sharp sound of needles dragging over glass "Oh? The princess has quite the temper... I suppose that seeing you here without your group of bodyguards allows me to see your true colors." Not long after, Asteria stepped into the light that fell over Serenity and it was then when both women finally got to meet face to face. Her icy blue eyes widened when she spotted that the screeching sound came from her sharp pointed heels crashing the stone floors and noticed the many chains wrapped around her bodice moving like hissing snakes—the same spiked chains that injured Endymion's leg—she thought. Her long dark hair fell like silk over her pale face, emphasizing her big dark eyes smudged with carbon around them, imitating a lazy smoky eye; her lips were pale and dry, almost chapped. There was a haunting beauty in the woman; the low tone of her voice, her prideful posture, her animalistic movements or the way she looked at her with so much intensity made her feel chills all over her body.

"Where am I?" Serenity's eyes squinted with caution when the dark titan crouched in front of her; crystal blue met pitch black. Asteria arched her brow and raised her hand, motioning her snake-like chains to stop rattling behind her, "I can see why he is so infatuated with you—why he fights for you with so much passion..."

"Answer me," Serenity ignored the titaness' words and tried to stand but it was taking more time for her to adjust to the heavy energy around her but her body wasn't responding. Asteria looked at the struggling white princess with vacant eyes, feeling zero empathy for her and arched a brow, "Do you really want to know? Very well..." Asteria stood up and stomped her spiked heel on the ground and began grinding the stone beneath making a loud echo, "You are in the line that divides Inferno from Tartarus—Thanatos."

"Why am I here?!" Serenity's eyes widened with horror, "Why did you bring me here?!" The strain in her voice was satisfying for the woman in black, with a smirk, Asteria put her hands on each side of her waist and looked at the white princess still struggling on the floor, "I do what I want you lowly being, you are not to question any of my motives."

Serenity shook her head and tried to stand again, it was then when the images of her being dragged to a dark hole and the image of her husband fighting the shadows to get close to her mind and looked up at Asteria with anger, "If you think I will yield to—"

"—Do not confuse things, goddess. I do not care about you, really. To me, you are just a medium to help me get what I want." Asteria crossed her arms, her long black nails looked like sharp raven claws ready to rip someone's flesh. Now that she had the opportunity to look at her closely, Asteria did not look like a mystical creature at all, she looked mechanic—everything in her looked somewhat odd and unnatural. The leather-like material of her tight bodysuit, the extremely sharp heels of her high boots that went up to cover her thighs, the many spiked chains around her, her sleek black hair and black eyes. She looked deadly, yes, but the way she spoke to her was strangely monotone. Serenity looked at the woman in black with confusion written all over her face, "You are insane, bringing madness into a world just to feed your void ambitions... you will pay for what you have done..."

"You? You are going to make me pay?" Asteria chuckled, "I find your attempts to be a senshi quite adorable Moon Princess, but you are very much useless in a place like this. The light you profess cannot even reach the surface of this realm." Asteria let out a long sigh charged with disinterest, "Is this why you desire her so much, Andromedian? Because of her frisky personality? She is like a helpless little rabbit ready to be skinned and beheaded."

Serenity's eyes widened twice in size when she saw Athamas appeared next to the dark titaness with an unsettling smirk on his face, "That... and so much more." Asteria narrowed her eyes with disdain at Serenity, "Even when she is no longer pure?" Athamas turned to Asteria with a mad glare, "What did you just say?"

"Her aura says it all—there is no virtue in her." Asteria studied Serenity up and down, "It is clear the monster has plucked her innocence," she peered at the blonde man that was now on the verge of insanity with a smirk, "Is this who you really want, Andromedian? A woman already taken by no other than your fated enemy... she is tainted, her aura is no longer one of an innocent."

"Stop talking like if I wasn't here!" Serenity frowned, "Stop mumbling nonsense and take me to the surface—now!"

Asteria let out a thick chuckle, "Oh? My... how frightening..." she turned to Athamas, "Andromedian, if you do not control your pest, I will have to rip that tongue out of her precious pouty mouth."

"That will not be necessary," Athamas growled and kneeled in front of the white princess and looked into her eyes, "You are in no position to demand anything from me, Serenity. You are mine... do you hear me? Mine." He grabbed her face and dig his calloused fingers on her flushed cheeks and pulled her face up to meet his mad gaze, "It took me two thousand years to know you were alive—I will not let him have you, you are mine! You have always been meant to be mine!"

"Disgusting," Serenity glared at the blonde man despite the pain she felt from his strong grip, "Seeing you so lost in your own madness sickens me, Athamas—how weak did you have to be to fall for her bewitchments."

"You are not to speak of bewitchments, Princess," Athamas tightened his grip as he moved his hand to hold the princess' chin, "None of this would have happened if you never laid your eyes on that demonic creature."

"Demonic creature, really? Have you seen yourself? Do you even realize what you are doing, Athamas?" Serenity tried to shake his hand off her face but it was futile, "Since I met you, you have done nothing else but inflict pain and fear to those around you by taking everything by force... the misery you feel inside you is the consequence of your ambition. You are not good enough to meet your own standards—that's why you are so angry."

Asteria felt another presence behind her and turned to leave without either the princess of the andromedian general noticing. She walked out of the room and met with the spirit in the dark infinite hall, "What is it, Atropos?"

Atropos, one of the three witches of fate, known as the un-turnable or inevitable due to her connections to death, appeared with a white robe with chains wrapped around her waist with scissors hanging from them like charms, "Inferno..." her voice was low and cold. Asteria narrowed her eyes "It is time then, I thought it was going to take much longer—I am impressed."

"It managed to take the Phlegethon River, the infernals we sent have been annihilated, how shall we proceed?"

Asteria rested her hand on her waist for a minute, "That stingy old man..." she muttered and turned to the spirit standing beside her, "I know how much you wish to cut that string, Atropos, but I need that one intact." She pursed her lips and arched a brow, "Return to your post, I will take matters from here—time is coming close."

"Yes, Master." Atropos bowed her head and vanished in front of Asteria. The dark titaness cursed under her breath with jealousy, deep down, despite wanting the terran prince to come to the underworld she was not expecting him to survive and she did not want to believe the kind of power he had. She turned into the pitch darkness behind her and frowned, knowing the familiar feeling in her chest and vanished moments after.

O—o—O

Serenity turned and noticed Asteria was no longer in the room with them and turned to Athamas with a mocking grin, "Where did your master go?"

"I do not have any masters, I serve no one." Athamas narrowed his eyes; Serenity scoffed and shook her head, "I beg to differ... all the things you have been doing is because she has asked for it." She looked at him defiantly, "The minute she gets whatever she wants, she will dispose of you like waste, you are nothing but a pawn to her, Athamas, you have been nothing but a pawn all these years..."

Athamas felt anger flowing inside him, like poisonous fire coiling around his body like a snake. The princess' words felt like daggers threatening to shatter his ego; he had to admit that the woman before him was not the same innocent and helpless girl he once tried to summit. It was going to take more to break her spirit because she was no longer intimidated by him, in fact, her determinant and challenging new character was indulging him, making him feel things he did not remember he could feel. He was entranced, marveled by this new rebellious version of the moon princess.

Athamas moved his hand from her face and slid it down her décolletage with the same brusqueness, enjoying every millimeter of her silky skin under his touch and wrapped his fingers around her delicate neck "Oh, how much I have missed this..." Athamas breathed in her ear. He pulled her up on and pressed her against the cold stone wall behind her without much effort, "The trembling of your helpless body against mine..." The blonde general wrapped his arm around her waist as he leaned closer. Serenity looked at him with anger despite the tears pooling from her clear blue eyes; she silently thanked to have one hand free and slowly moved it to the man's waist, "Get away from me," she said in a slow growl. Athamas sniffed the sweet scent of her pearlescent hair and smirked with so much delight at the feeling of the woman struggling to free from his strong grasp, "You did not say please princess..."

Serenity felt the metal hilt of Athamas' sword and pulled it out in one quick move and pointed it on his neck, forcing the man to stand aside. Her eyes narrowed with defiance as she held the weapon with both of her hands and without a trace of fear or hesitation, "Please," she muttered. Athamas cracked a laugh, "Are you trying to intimidate me with that?"

"I told you before, long gone is the woman you knew—" Serenity took a stance and arched a brow, "My husband is a very skilled polemarchos," her crystal blue eyes glared with threat, "He taught me well... and if you do not move away from me I swear on his name that I will slit you from navel to nose."

Athamas gritted his teeth, "You do not have the guts to murder somebody, Serenity." The princess leaned forward without taking her eyes off the man in front of her, "Try me,"

"Are you really listening to what you are saying? Do you even know what it feels to kill another being?" Athamas took a step closer, pressing the tip of the blade on his chest, "The stench of cold blood in your hands?"

"I am willing to find out if you don't get out of my way!" Serenity took a deep breath; the andromedian shook his head, "You are contaminated by him—"

"The one contaminated is you, Athamas, now—let me pass."

"You are starting to sound like him, stop it, it is disgusting."

"I will take that as a compliment,"

"Enough!" Athamas growled and moved closer to her, Serenity in response turned on her axis and cut his cheek with the sharp edge of the sword and immediately took another defensive stance, "I told you to stay away from me!" Athamas brought his hand up to his cheek and looked at the blood staining his hand, "That man..." He turned to Serenity and frowned angrily, "The one you so dearly call your husband, is no polemarchos—he is a murderer, just like me."

Serenity kept her arms extended with the sword pointing at the general, "Your words mean nothing to me Athamas, you mean nothing to me."

"Nothing?" Athamas arched his brow with cynicism, "We were engaged my dear Serenity, or have you forgotten?"

"No, sadly I did not forget. That part of my life rings in my memory with bitterness, I remember everything. All the lies, all the mistreat from you, and all the times you threatened me and my loved ones," Serenity tightened her grip on the weapon's hilt, "That was not an engagement based in love, that was just a part of a negotiation plan for invasion and conquest. I was a tool to you—nothing more. A doll to mentally torture to your heart's content, one you became obsessed to make your trophy."

"Love..." Athamas narrowed his eyes, "That stupid word again, love. Just when are you going to realize that such a thing does not exist?"

"Just because you don't know what that is, doesn't mean it doesn't exist,"

"Open your eyes Serenity! Stop being so naïve!"

"I won't say it again, Athamas," Serenity clenched her jaw, "Get the hell out of my way!"

"The monster has given up on you, you know?" Athamas shrugged his shoulder in a casual fashion, "There is no way he can cross to this place. It is over."

"I really can't imagine how terrible must be to have no one to be there for you and care for you." A loud growling sound caught Serenity off guard and made her turn quickly, giving Athamas the opportunity to dash quickly towards the princess and kick the sword off her hands. "Your innocence still amazes me." He sniffed the flowery scent impregnated on her skin and licked her neck all the way up to her cheek then threw her back to the ground violently making her head hit on the stone floor. She gasped, feeling her lungs could have collapsed by the sudden blow "Listen well, Serenity..." Athamas grabbed the sword from the floor and put it back in its sheath, "Stop pretending to be a warrior, you will never win—you do not want to be close to me? Fine." He snapped his fingers, "There are plenty of souls to choose from in this realm."

Serenity widened her eyes when she turned to see at the many corpses and haunting bodies scattered all around her screaming and howling in pain. Athamas went on one knee in front of her and grabbed a handful of her hair to pull her head up and force her to look at him, "You say you have changed, well, so did I—you have no idea of what happened to me after the fall of your cursed kingdom. I was exiled from Andromeda and was treated like a criminal, I starved, I bled... and you? You were granted another chance to live! All of you! Even that damned monster!" He let go of the princess' hair and stood up, "Mark my words, he will never find you, you are in Inferno, Serenity—either you choose me or stay here until you die and rot alone."

Serenity's eyes began to burn with tears when she saw the creatures beginning to notice her and crawl over to her, "N-No..." she mumbled and shook her head, "No!"

"You will come around, someday... in the meantime, enjoy your stay, Moon Princess. Please, make yourself comfortable." Athamas turned to leave; Serenity tried to move but she was still disoriented by the blow on her head, "Nooo! Get me out of here! Athamas!" she felt the bony hands of the creatures around her ankles and made her scream with horror as she kicked them away with the force and started to succumb to the heavy energy, once again, "Noooo!" she felt a lump in her throat and panic burning in the pit of her stomach as she started to lose consciousness again, "Endymion..." she sobbed before passing out in fear.

O—o—o—o—O

Rei opened her eyes when she felt another strong presence in the shrine and walked out of the room where she was trying to find any clues to the prince and princess' whereabouts. She put her getas and stepped outside the temple and saw the man in golden armor standing by the *temizuya using the water to wash his face and hands. "Ares," she said softly, catching his attention and making him turn, "Mars,"

The priestess walked towards her father and stood just a foot away from him and gasped when she saw he had a cut in his hand. Ares smiled softly and waved his hand, "Do not look so surprised, child..."

"You are hurt,"

"It is nothing,"

Rei frowned and ran back to the temple and returned with a first aid kit in her hands. Ares' grey eyes widened when he felt her delicate hand around his wrist and pulled him to follow her back to the temple and walked into what her grandfather's room used to be and closed the door behind them, "I know you hate your pride being tarnished with such trivial things as a cut in your hand..." she said softly and sat next to him on the jade green carpet, "But to me... that is a different story," she turned to take some bandages and alcohol from the wooden box placed next to her. Ares looked at his daughter in silence for a minute and sighed slowly, "I do not need such treatment—I will heal, you do not need to do this for me."

Rei stopped and lowered her head, her long wispy bangs covered her eyes "You're a god, I know, but is it so a bad to be so different from us, mortals?"

"W-What?" Ares widened his eyes when he looked at his daughter's amethyst eyes gleaming with tears, "Mars..."

"Is it?"

"No, it is not." Ares stretched his arm out to his daughter to allow her to clean the blood from his wound. Rei sniffed and ripped the package containing a clean gauze and soaked it with alcohol, "This will burn," she pressed the gauze on the long cut and just like she predicted the uncomfortable burn made the god of war squint his grey eyes, "I know what you are going to say—that I am not a mortal," Rei continued, "And I am probably not one, at least not a normal one, but, I do not consider myself a divine being either."

"Why are you telling me this, Mars?"

"Because I know you do not want to talk about it—you are not here to warn me anything, you are here because you are looking for something else."

Ares looked at his daughter with wide eyes; it was surprising to see that after all this time, she still knew him like the palm of her hand. They may not have spoken about it much in the past, but they both care too much for each other and despite his nature, and the sad and tormenting childhood he gave her, she still looked at him with grateful eyes. Many said they were very similar in character, both determinant, both fearless, both stubborn, but the more Ares looked at her, the more he was convinced that she was in fact, the better than him.

"You know me too well, child." Ares moved his arm back and looked at his bandages. Rei pulled back and gave him a soft, sad smile, "We used to do it so often, whenever we felt things were getting out of control, we would always seek each other for comfort and support." She looked at him, "This is one of those moments, am I right?"

Ares rested his bandaged arm over his knee and looked at her with the same sad smile "It has never been too easy to hide things from you," Rei closed the wooden box and put it aside, "Things are getting out of control..."

"Are you asking me?"

"No, I am letting you know." Rei looked at her father, "Asteria attacked again—she took the princess with her and now the prince went after her and as a result, this planet is quietly suffering the consequences of his absence as you probably felt when you arrived."

Ares frowned, "He left? Since when?!"

"Five days ago," Rei sighed, "His guardians are taking his place and they have been feeding the barrier with clean energy but at this point, we are almost running out of ideas, we, senshi." She shook her head, "We cannot go to where he is because at this point, we don't know exactly where he is—we don't know if he found Pluto, we don't know if he's actually in the underworld..."

"Serenity was taken to the underworld..." Ares muttered with disbelief and shook his head, "That is why..."

"What?"

"War has begun..." Ares looked at Mars, "Up there—in Olympus. Darkness is approaching us..." He held her hand, "The Olympian army will attack any minute now," he looked at his daughter with worry, "Without the prince here... I will need you to help me fight."

"How?" Rei widened her eyes, "How are we going to—"

"Mars," Ares took a deep breath and looked down for a minute, "I know it is not easy to be attached to a dynasty like mine. I did not give you a decent childhood, instead, I forced you to hold a weapon and fight from a very young age because that is the only thing I know how to do well. I was not loving or caring, that I know. I was not flexible—I have been told too many times in my life but I want you to know, that all I did—the reason I sent you to Serenity was to give you a second chance to live." He looked at her, "I wanted you to have friends, I did not want you to be alone anymore—I wanted you to create new memories, away from me and away from your mother. I am sorry for having put such a heavy burden on your shoulders..."

Rei's eyes began gleaming with tears, "Father..."

Ares' eyes widened, it was the first time he has heard her calling him by that name and his chest felt like it was about to explode with emotion. Rei couldn't hold her tears for long and she just let them fall with grace and tightened her grip on his hand, "You don't have to ask for any forgiveness," she shook her head and smiled sadly, "You may say you were not loving but... it was because of you that I was able to smile, while living at the palace. I remember you coming home after a long day, after having another bitter argument with Mother and you would always let me know that you were there for me—even if it was by teaching me how to hold a weapon. You were making me strong enough to endure such penumbra." She looked up at him, "Yes, Mother was always cruel and cold toward me, and yes, you were not very much the loving kind but, somehow, I never felt intimidated by you. I never felt like you didn't love me. You were always there for me, you always defended me and when Athamas was threatening the princess, you believed me, you, the inflexible God of War."

Ares didn't know how to react to her words, he looked at her trying to understand the emotions swirling inside him and suddenly, the unexpected happened; his eyes began to glisten with tears. Rei knew it was nearly impossible to waver the tough character of the man sitting in front of her but she knew it was something that needed to be said. They both needed it—the support, those exact words of knowledge that have been ignored for too many years. "I suffered... but I know it was for my own good. I suffered because I really liked being with you... that day, when you sent me away, I wasn't crying because I felt abandoned, I was crying because I knew how much I was going to miss you." She scooted closer to Ares and looked at him in the eye, "You gave me life, yes, but being a fighter was a choice of mine and I thank you, for all you have done and taught me." Her hand combed the few pieces of long hair framing his face, "My dear Papa... I am honored to be part of your dynasty."

Ares pulled his daughter close to him and wrapped his arms around her in a loving embrace, "My sweet Mars, how I adore you." Mars let go of the feelings she had been keeping at bay broke into tears, joining her father's heavy sobs and stayed in that embrace for a long time; both comforting the pain and the fear. Both thanking in silence the circumstances that had brought them back together. After a few more minutes, Ares pulled back and cupped his daughter's cheek "They do not know I am here at this very moment—I must go back."

Mars responded to his paternal gesture by leaning on his hand and sighed, "Father, what should we do? I feel so helpless... we need to find our way to go the unde—"

"No," Ares bluntness startled Mars, "But—"

"You cannot step into that realm," Ares moved his hand, "It is suicidal—you would never survive and not because you are weak, but because that is a place that plays with your mind. Whenever there is a hint of doubt, the disturbed spirits and demons that live there will use it to their advantage to break you. Your spirit is shaken by the absence of the princess and by the desperation of you wanting to bring her back,"

"But the prince—"

"The prince did a stupid thing, yes, but as surprising as it will sound, he can go there and actually manage to find his way back."

"What do you mean?"

Ares sighed, "Child, the prince you all thought you knew does not exist—he never existed. It was a façade to help keep his mother's wishes intact. I am responsible for his awakening and I am also responsible for his return from that suspended state he was put in after the battle with Asteria. He needed to be brought back despite the High Gods' fears but I must warn you, your whole perception of him might change once you see him use his power."

"Are you suggesting he is dangerous then, that he is what you have always been predicted." Rei frowned, Ares shook his head "Mars, in the end, we all are dangerous to one another. We are creatures with power—we have ways to tear us down. I am the God of War... does not make me a destructive monster too?"

Mars pursed her lips and looked down, Ares quickly cupped her cheek again and tilted her head up, "What I am trying to say, is that this is a war that cannot be stopped if there is doubt in your mind and if there is no passion in your heart. To win this, you have to be unbreakable, unshakeable—the terran prince knows this and it is why he will put aside many things to get the task done." He exhaled more lightly this time, "Mars, any man in love would do what he has done without thinking about the consequences. Like I said before, I believe he has the power to set things back the way they should be and follow his family's dynasty and I want to see him succeed but to do this there are things you must let him do on his own. Hades is obsessed with control and he thinks that by keeping Endymion there things will be solved, but things don't work that way and sadly, he is too stubborn. He is my brother, after all, he does not listen to what he does not want to hear. As of me, there are other things I need to do up there than having another endless argument with him; I must fight for the security in Olympus before another outbreak happens—let his daughter deal with him, she is the one we must trust for now."

"But... what about us? What can we do?" Rei frowned, "Are we supposed to stay here and just wait and do nothing?"

"Child, you are already fighting—be an ally to Endymion's guardians. You must not let the shadows filter to this planet. I have to fight up there in the heavens but this Mars, this is your planet too—it has guarded you and you must be grateful. Serenity granted you a chance to reincarnate here and I have never seen you happier, you were finally free. Mars, you may not be human, you may be my daughter, but you do not belong up there. I want you to believe in goodwill and I want you to believe in love. Take the image of my failed marriage out of your head and follow your own path... I want to believe that one day Olympus will be worthy of you, I will work for that—I am fighting for that but in the meantime... you must protect this planet because its protector is fighting for your princess and the future."

Rei looked at her father and tucked another lose piece of golden hair behind his ear, "Do you believe in love, Father?" Ares chuckled and stayed silent for a minute, processing the word and the sentiment it represented. Love, he knew what it was, he knew what it meant but it was only a few times when he got to experience it. "Yes," he looked at Rei in the eye, "As surprising as that sounds, I do—I have seen it exist, I have seen it bloom and I have seen it survive the strains of time."

Rei leaned to hold his hand and pressed her lips in thought, "Did you ever love Mother?" Ares gave his daughter a sad smile and exhaled heavily, "It was only a matter of time for you to know the truth about that..." he nodded and tilted her head up to meet his eyes, "I did, yes... but, not the way love should be."

"I do not understand," Mars frowned, Ares shrugged his shoulder "The story between your mother and I goes very back in time, Mars. Our marriage was not motivated by romance and it was not based on love—it was an agreement between two souls that did not want to be alone." The god of war graced Mars' cheek with care, "There was once respect between us, we cared for each other, but her mind always played tricks on her. She is a deity of insecurity, child and it caught her—her own power and it began to eat her alive." Ares wasn't sure why he needed to go deep into that conversation, he wasn't desperate to clean his image or name, he knew he wasn't a saint but to his daughter, he felt the obligation to be fully honest and finally tell the whole story as to why Eris became so bitter and angry. "You once asked me... who that woman was, the one your mother talked about so unceasingly..."

"Yes, I remember..."

"That woman was Gaia, my child."

Mars' eyes widened with surprise, "G-Gaia? End—"

"Yes, Prince Endymion's mother—Gaia." Ares nodded and let out a heavy sigh, one heavy with melancholy, "We had a very close relationship that went more than one of disciple and master. As the god of war, I was commissioned to train her and prepare her to be part of the celestial army, and from all that time we spent together our friendship bloomed. I did no longer see her as another soldier; I watched her grow, I saw her bleed, and cry. I saw her scream with frustration and anger and I also saw her laugh—we were close. But I took her for granted. My nature has always been clear, I am no saint but to me, she was. She was pure and innocent despite her rebellious character; it was not fair to shadow her future with a man like me. For some reason, I always thought that she would be with me forever whenever Eris would disappear again. Your mother and I had more things in common at the time, she was older, she was a goddess that knew her ways and she was as cursed as I was. I felt more identified with her but what we had was always something shallow, physical—there is no need to disguise the words. That is what it was."

Mars shook her head, "But then... if you had feelings for Queen Gaia, why did you marry my mother?"

"I suppose I never imagined Gaia would fall in love and with a mortal man none the less." Ares smiled sadly, "I was different back then, child, like I said, I knew my nature and I took Gaia for granted. I valued her once I no longer had her within my reach. When Metallia exposed the truth and Gaia was sentenced, I was beyond mad and disappointed. She was my best disciple—my good friend yet I did horrible things to her that took many years of my life and many experiences to accept my fault and come to terms with it. Serenity and Chronos made me see how wrong I was, and with time, I learned to let her go and accept that I was not going to see her again and worked to atone for my mistakes. I turned to your mother and asked her to marry me... we shared a common feeling of not wanting to be alone, the moment I asked it felt like it was the most appropriate thing to do and she agreed."

"Then why did she become so bitter? Why did she always mention how much you were obsessed with Queen Gaia... if she knew this all along?" Rei frowned, "I don't understand... it is hard for me to understand why would you marry someone just to fight loneliness but..."

"Mars, love is not something you easily find up there," Ares tilted his head, "It does sound insane—stupid even, but that is how things are. Not all gods search their ever after—they just want power; that is why Gaia's actions were considered treason and why Serenity was always questioned for her ideals and beliefs." he sighed, "Eris wanted all the attention... and she had it... until she became pregnant."

Rei felt like if a cold bullet pierced through her chest, the thought of her being the reason for her mother's rabid anger but deep down she felt it. She knew it but did not want to believe it because that is not what mothers are supposed to do. Mothers are supposed to care and bring joy to their children, look after them, talk to them and be there when needed. Eris never did that for Mars, she didn't have a single memory of her mother being gentle or kind to her or anyone and she came to terms with it. Her mother was a mystery, one so full of regret and now she knew why. Being a mother was not in her plans, she wanted to be the only one in Ares' life and as obsessed as she was with her husband, all was taken away partly by the cathartic process Ares was going through to amend for his mistakes and what he did to Gaia and the other part was because what was left of his attention was given to her. Knowing this was no surprise but it still hurt, no child wants to be repudiated by its own mother. "I..."

"Mars,"

"I kind of always knew this..." Mars lowered her amethyst gaze, "That she was not happy with me around, I just... I suppose I never understood why... there were missing pieces scattered everywhere..." The priestess felt her father's hand lifting her chin and looking into her amethyst eyes, "The minute you were born my life changed. I knew what real love is... I understood Gaia's passion for her family and I understood Serenity's heart and devotion for her daughter." Ares sighed and shook his head, "Eris... she could not handle that I was in love with being a father... that I loved to have you in my life. You are my most perfect creation—just like titans have sacred treasures to guard and protect, you my dear are mine, and I had to protect you, even if it was from your own parents."

"I don't know what you are talking about..." Mars held her father's hand and smiled softly, "The heavens may not be fair all the time but I must pay my regards and thanks for I have the best father anyone could ever ask for." She shook her head and sniffled, "I am my father's daughter—Ares, and that is all that matters to me."

Ares smile widened with pride and joy, he felt complete. "That you are my child, but, do not follow my steps. Be your own kind... and please, stop being afraid." He shook his head, "Being attached to war not necessarily has to be a bad thing, to be happy you have to fight too. Life is a battle itself." Mars sighed and sat straight with her eyes closed, "Why do I have the feeling that there is a hidden message behind your words? Giving clues is not part of your repertoire."

Ares chuckled and leaned closer to kiss his daughter's temple, "Because you and I are very much alike," he stood up and looked down at her, "I am not giving you any clues my child, I am stating the obvious—like I said, I want you to be free; that is why you were brought here... cherish that freedom and make it worth."

Mars looked up at her father as he slowly began to vanish right in front of her eyes until there were only tiny specks of golden energy left and floating in the air. She turned to the window, the one she religiously opened for her grandfather every morning and closed every evening and looked up at the night sky; her amethyst eyes soon caught Jadeite walking back to the temple with a few logs under his arm and like if her gaze called out to him he turned and caught her back and gave her a soft wave in return before going inside. Rei sighed and leaned on the window frame with her eyes closed, her mind thinking about what Ares just told her. "You're right Papa—I have to make it worth. I will fight to make it worth. I promise."

The Divinity Series is rated M. Violence and intimacy may occur.

I do not own Sailor Moon, just this plot and some of the characters.

A/N: A Temizuya is a fountain near the entrance of a shrine and a temple where worshipers can cleanse their hands and mouths before worship.