Chapter 27: It's Going Down!

Lilly grumbled in irritation, her claws digging in her palms as she glared at her very rambunctious offspring. Babd giggled as she eyed the queen. "To be fair, they are your children," Babd surmised.

"Yes, but they're still royalty," Lilly hissed before taking a deep breath in. "THAT IS ENOUGH!" her voice roared, causing objects to clatter off the walls from the shockwave she emitted.

All the princes and princesses immediately stopped fighting and looked at the Demon Queen in shock. Lilly herself had wide eyes as she grasped her throat. She had felt no pain when she yelled, which was very strange.

"Uh, Cernunnos, what was in that stuff ya gave Lilly fer her throat again?" Rose asked curiously.

"Lilly?!" some of the children gasped.

The queen sighed before shutting her eyes. "Yes. My name is Lilly, not Aynaet," she muttered. "Aynaet is the name your father..." her eyes went right to Arthur's. "...made me take on when...he and I were wed."

It shamed her to admit it that she married Mallacht, and the hurt in her true husband's eyes was like a knife to her heart...even though she currently didn't have one.

"You're...you're the Goddess of Evolution?" Glade asked in surprise. "I thought Morgan was The Goddess of Evolution."

"She is...sort of..." Lilly replied, looking at her daughter casually. "But she was originally...my werewolf form."

The kids gasped and started encircling their mother. "What do you mean your werewolf form?!" Ruby barked. "And when did you learn to use Dad's shout?"

"Your asshole dad stole it from her," Arthur chimed in coldly.

Saffron blinked at the man. "And just who the hell are you?"

"Your mother's real husband," Arthur replied. "And The Griffin God."

The kids once again looked at their mom for answers and she took another deep breath in. "I have much to discuss with all of you, which is why you will be debriefed. Now, if you're quite done bickering, mo pháistí..." Lilly smirked suddenly, raising her head proudly. "STAND AT FUCKING ATTENTION!" [my children]

More objects shook and clattered, but moreso from the royal brood scrambling about to stand in line in front of the queen rather than the shouting. With their backs straight and their faces tight, their arms folded behind them in a military stance, Lilly made a similar posture before pacing before them slowly.

"That's a little better," she huffed, still walking to and fro before grabbing her staff from her suit. She then took one look at Alabaster, one of her white haired sons, and with a straight face, smacked him in the gut. "Suck it in, ya lazy bastard! What the hell have they been feeding you lousy, sorry excuses for warriors?! Stuffed turkey and soda pop?! Five hundred push ups! NOW!!!"

Alabaster went down quickly, immediately counting as he performed each push up flawlessly. Some of the children started snickering amongst themselves and Lilly automatically gave them a death stare. "Did I say you could laugh?! Penny! Fawn! Jay! Six hundred push ups for you!" The three troublemakers groaned before going down to begin their punishment. Lilly studied the rest of her surprised looking offspring. "Anyone else wanna piss me the fuck off?!"

When the kids shook their heads, Lilly nodded with miniscule approval before turning and walking through the living room slowly, contemplating her next words carefully. "May I speak freely, Mother?" she heard Saffron ask.

"You may," Lilly replied, her back to everyone as she stared up at the painted windows.

"What's going to happen to, uh...our siblings? The ones who sided with Dad?"

Lilly cleared her throat, clasping her hands even tighter. "The ones who survive the war will be tried and executed for their crimes."

"And Dad?"

An evil smile appeared on Lilly's demon face as she thought of what she was going to do to Mallacht. She'd been waiting for this for five hundred years and she could barely contain her excitement, but then she remembered that things could still go wrong. It was best not to get too carried away.

"Weeellllll," she groaned in amusement, turning her playful, bloodthirsty gaze towards everyone in the room before laughing a deep chuckle, the kind of unsettling laugh that only a demon could make. "I have something special planned for him."

"That is good, my queen," Babd said with a pointed finger. "But he must be executed."

"And he will be executed. Eventually."

"When?"

"I'll decide that at his trial."

"Lilly, you must kill him swiftly!" Babd said.

Lilly let out a fierce snarl that made everybody jump back, even the ones who were still doing push ups. "I WILL HAVE MY VENGEANCE, BABD!!!" she bellowed, causing cracks in the walls and floors before they self repaired. She aimed a very tense finger at the eldest Goddess of Death, her lips curled up with a sneer. "He has more than earned what I have in store for him. He will die when I'm finished making his worst fears come true."

"I do believe we have gotten off topic," O'Callaghan chimed in casually before looking at Alabaster, Jay, Fawn and Penny. "Did you finish your push ups?"

"I lost count," Jay mumbled with an eye roll.

"Then I suggest you start over to appease your mummy."

The four royals in question groaned loudly before doing as they were told. "One, two, three..."


In a very small room with a static-y television, a couch, a small wooden table and a few other items, Sean paced back and forth angrily. He'd been stuck down here for who knows however long and the TV was busted.

Again.

It was really his only source of entertainment at this point. He was particularly fond of the show "Knight Rider" with David Hasselhoff but during one of his favorite episodes, the TV stopped broadcasting. The radio wasn't working, either.

That was hours ago.

Sean walked over to the box set and slammed his fist on it, knowing full well it wouldn't make the stupid thing work. With a huff, Sean went back to pacing. Suddenly the white, pristine floor of his statue cell cracked and Sean jumped back, his fists raised.

"Fer Christ's sake, what now?!" he snapped as dirt started to fly through the crack.

The Irish native grabbed the only thing he had at his disposal: the heavy, giant clicker for the television. He raised it high, ready to hit whatever came through the opening that was slowly forming. A dirty hand shot out and Sean jumped back in surprise.

"Mmph!" a muffled voice shouted.

"What the hell?" Sean muttered as white hair pushed up through the crack and dirt. When Hosea's dirty face popped through, Sean grabbed his hand and helped pull him out. "Jesus Christ, Hosea! Am I glad to see you! What the hell are ya doin' here?!"

After dusting himself off, Hosea chuckled and pat Sean on the shoulder. "Well, after your mind got taken, Lenny and I got taken, too." Hosea reached into the hole and Lenny came climbing out of the crack.

"Jesus Christ," Sean grumbled as he wiped his red hair. "Lenny!" As Hosea helped Lenny up, Sean embraced the boy in a tight hug. "Is there any more of ya?"

Hosea reached down and helped Tilly next, then he helped Brian and James next. Both of them were adult males with black hair and green eyes. Sean and Brian immediately hugged each other. "We've been lookin' everywhere fer ya, Sean!" Brian laughed. "Yer a hard man tah find!"

"I gotta keep ya on your toes somehow!" Sean chuckled. "How'd you find your way here?"

"Coral helped us," Tilly replied as Hosea went over to the back of the television and pulled something from his pocket.

"Coral?" Sean asked in confusion. "Did Lilly finally wake up?! Are we gettin' outta here?!" Sean exclaimed excitedly.

"She's still asleep," Hosea answered as he opened the back of the television. "Once I have this working, Coral will be able to speak to us."

Everyone huddled over behind the television to watch Hosea work. "How do ya know how to work this thing?"

"Darrach was teaching me about electronics before I went under," Hosea replied with a grunt as he began fiddling with wires. "And Coral gave me the tools needed to do this...ah, this should do it..."

The television started clicking and hissing, and everyone circled around to see a woman's face on the screen. "Good work, Hosea!" the woman said, her Scottish accent thick and high pitched. "Glad ya got everyone gathered fur this."

"All thanks to you, Coral," Hosea chuckled as he pocketed his tools. "Have you figured out how to get us out?"

"Yes and no," Coral replied with a frown. "But I did figure out the point tah Dad takin' yas."

"Which is."

"He needs one more mind tah perform a ritual. He's goin' after yer buddy Dutch next."

People uttered gasps and awes of surprise. "Is Lilly alright?" Sean asked.

Coral frowned before the image was pointed at The Demon Queen Aynaet, and people shouted at the TV all at once in outrage. "What the hell is she doin' there?!" James belted angrily.

The queen frowned before clasping her hands in front of her. "Perhaps this was not the best idea, Coral," the queen spoke with a gravely and hoarse voice.

"Lemme at that bitch!" Brian shouted. "I'll rip out her fecking throat out!"

Coral huffed before walking over to the queen with a key of some sort. "All of yas need tah calm yer tits, me mother ain't the enemy."

"But she's the one who-" Sean began but Hosea put a palm on Sean's shoulder.

"Let's just see what she has to say, first," Hosea said calmly. "I'm sure there's a logical explanation."

Coral unlocked the queen's suit, and Sean and the others were horrified by what they saw. When the smoke cleared, Lilly stood before them with tons of scars that said, "Property of Mallacht". "Lilly?!" Lenny yelled in mortification.

Sean closed his eyes before opening them to look at his sister. When he saw her blind eyes, he frowned deeply. "Deirfiúr...what happened to you?" he asked sadly. [Sister]

Lilly's mouth turned down into a frown and she huffed before signing her response. [This is going to take a while.]


Apate grumbled in her lab as yet another experiment had died before her eyes. This was getting her nowhere, doing the same thing over and over. As her nails tapped on the desk, she eyed the blue acorn with a scowl.

"I wouldn't do it," she told herself viciously. After a few minutes, however, she caved and clicked the acorn. "Contact Darrach."

Apate did not expect two very flushed and disheveled looking men to appear on the screen that floated above the device. "Hellllllooooo, Apate!" Darrach laughed drunkenly with Vu at his side. "How are you, darling?"

With a rolling of her eyes, Apate ran a hand through her hair. "Don't get cute with me. I...called to ask for...guidance," she said hesitantly. "My experiments are not going well."

As Vu took a swig from a bottle, he grumbled. "Not good idea to mess with dark magic like this," Vu slurred. "We worried about Cahira's safety...and the rest of you."

"We've already taken the proper precautions," Apate growled as she put a dandelion in the petri tray. "That's why Carman set up shields to keep the infected inhabitants out."

"But they're still getting in," Darrach huffed. "If you would just let Ceq and I-"

Apate slammed her fist on the desk. "I will not let you set one foot on this island, is that clear?!"

Darrach sighed and nodded. "Very well...but you must consider the danger you're putting Carman and Cahira in, as well as the others on the island. What do you have to gain from all this, Apate?"

Apate sighed before looking at the screen sadly. This was getting tiresome, internalizing everything. She was just so tired. "Zeus' head."

Darrach and Vu smushed closer to the screen. "What you mean, lady?!" Vu barked loudly.

"Who do you think put Hope and I in Pandora's Box in the first place?"

Just then, Apate's lab door opened and she turned to see Cahira skipping towards her. "Hi Darrach, hi Vu! What's shakin'?" Cahira chirped happily.

"Hi, love!" Vu giggled. "Are you ready for tomorrow?"

"Of course! My bags are packed and everything!" Cahira chimed as she got to Apate's knee. "How are the experiments coming, Auntie Appa?"

"Not well," Apate said as she closed the machine. As Cahira settled into her aunt's lap, Darrach grinned. "We're so excited to see you tomorrow, little lady. It's too bad Apate doesn't want to come, she's more than welcome to."

"Uh, I am?" Apate asked as she raised an eyebrow.

"We have a truce, Apate. It's allowed for special occasions, and Cahira's birthday is certainly a special occasion. We're even making some Greek dishes."

Apate hummed as she considered that information. "Well, I would...but I have conditions."

Darrach hiccuped after taking a drink of alcohol. "Lay 'em on me, lady," he giggled.

Apate snorted into her hand as Cahira laughed. "You're drunk, Darrach! Shame on you!" Cahira said playfully.

"Yes, I'm such a bad influence," Darrach snickered drunkenly.

"So am I!" Vu chimed in happily. "You gotta be careful around us, Cahira. We make people do crazy things."

Apate couldn't hold in her laughter anymore and she threw her head back. "That's my job!" she cackled.

Suddenly the lab door slammed shut and the girls turned their heads to see Carman looking very angry. She growled menacingly as Apate got up, Cahira clinging to her form. "What have you two been plotting in here, or should I say what else?" the witch snapped as dark magic started to flow from her body in dark, oily tendrils.