Alright, everyone. Chapter forty-three of this fic and chapter 2 of Last Olympian is here, hopefully a lot earlier than you expected. This one hopefully going to go right into the action, well, depending on what I read in the next few chapters of this book lol. The endgame for this arc is going to be god-tier, like chapter 168 One Punch Man god-tier. Let's get right into this chapter, but first, some reviews:

Echoxenvy: "Great intro chapter man. I enjoyed the flashbacks a lot, especially the fight. That was really unexpected, the other Olympians coming in like that, and of course what happened to Zeus. The stakes have never been higher, and Luke's power is really starting to become scary. Enough to scare even Zane.
As for the rest of the chapter, it was good setup for what's to come, catching up with the characters, and the long awaited making up of Arthur and Zane. Finally, the two are friends. Nico has finally entered his emo phase, Taylor and Zane are slowly rekindling, and there's a spy in Camp. So much is happening. I can't wait for the next chapters, I know they're going to be epic.
Also, Young Matt was spot on, loved that. Well done bro."

Response: Thanks for the review, man. Sorry I haven't gotten around to reviewing yours yet, but I will soon, I've been pretty busy lately. Anyway, yes, Olympians fought Luke all together, and they all still couldn't defeat him even with twelve of them. Luke's power is at completely new heights, and trust me, you haven't seen anything yet. Luke's even going to make Ouranos seem weak. And I'm glad you liked the rest of the chapter, as it's mostly just set up for everything that's going to happen in this arc. Can't wait to get into it. Anyway, bro, hope you enjoy this chapter.

Guest: "Good for you absolutely loved the chapter! Hope to know what Hades is doing?"

Response: Thanks for the review, dude. And as for what Hades is doing, well, you're going to see in this chapter.

SaUvE ViPeR: "Awesome first chapter! It really feels like it's the end! I cannot wait for how this is all going to unfold, with Zane, Arthur, Taylor, everything. And Young Matt lol, I really wasn't expecting that! Looks like Zane's got a student. I bet it's a little weird for him, since he knows the main one, the strong one, but it also makes sense. Why not utilize his universe's Matt, since he has so much potential? It's a smart move. I really want to see more of Arthur's new forms, and Annabeth's eyes of the owl, and just an all around war. Something that makes all of the other fights in this story look like child's play. Since that's your category, I know you'll deliver.

Also, I can't say I feel too bad for Nico. After the things he said, he and Zane should take a break for a while. Taylor on the other hand...bring the ship back lol."

Response: Thanks for the review, bro. This isn't exactly the end, but Zane doesn't know that lol. I'm glad you like Young Matt, as it's been planned for months at this point. Both of the universes are very similar, so why can't Matt exist in this one as well? He's got a shitload of potential, and Zane's a very good teacher. Arthur and Annabeth's forms will show up later, when all out war finally breaks lose on screen. As for the final fight, well, let's just say it'll make your brain melt. And as for Nico, don't worry, that's not coming back for awhile. Anyway, hope you enjoy this chapter.

Shadowhunter2077: "Wow, you took Zeus out of the game really soon, I can see why you did that with Zeus around especially with him being as powerful as he is in the myths, he could easily destroy Luke with a hand behind his back, and now I realized that father and son were caught in the same situition by the same guy, both of them were only defeated because the lowered their guard and Luke had to use a new OP ability to save his ass.

And also this is reminding me of the whole Odin sleep in Marvel Comics (not the MCU), because in the comics when Odin enters this state is were every bullshit start to happen since Asgard don't have it's most powerful being to protect it, Zeus being in coma is the same thing, now is the time that every enemy of the Gods will attack, since Olympus is now in it's most vulnerable state.

Also I'm eager to see tge demigods new forms, one thing that always made me anger in the books was the fact that the demigods didn't uses their divine powers in the battle, like they all can di crazy stuff but they don't.

And how powerful is Typhon in this, because we already know that Zeus is more or less comparable to Old Matt, but were this leaves Typhon?"

Response: Yes, Zeus had to go in chapter one. He's far too powerful for any of the threats on the enemy side to actually be threatening, at least any of the threats so far. Underestimation is the best way to take him out, as it's the most realistic. And I'm glad you saw the parallels between Zane and Zeus, as both were nearly killed by Luke with a new OP ability. And yeah, it's kinda like Odinsleep if you wanna make the comparison, but this is more like forced naptime lol. And we'll see the new forms of the main demigods, quite a bit in this book in fact. Annabeth and Arthur will get their time to shine. As for how powerful Typhon is? He's very strong, stronger than Atlas, Poseidon and Hades, and about on par with current Hyperion and Zane, but weaker than Luke. Typhon was able to stalemate Zeus in the past, but Zeus has far surpassed the monster at this point. It's been millions of years after all.

ReaperKurosaki: "Wow, really didn't expect Zeus to be taken out of the picture that quickly, but I also didn't expect him to fight at all to be honest. But it makes sense that this Zeus would, as he doesn't take shit and won't back down from a fight. But he's also so overwhelmingly strong that I couldn't really see Luke having a chance of taking him down. But underestimation? That works. It makes sense, so I like it. It's a good way to present Luke as a big threat and raise the stakes. Also, I like how Zane has kind of taken over in a leadership position, handling stuff along with Chiron, and the little twist you put on the Princess Andromeda scene was cool. Having Hyperion come back even stronger than before was a good decision. And thank you, Titans and gods can train too, and get stronger in the process. It's something that's not explored enough, and I'm glad it's getting some light here. Now, I personally like Young Matt being a part of the team. Strategy wise, you want him there, knowing how strong his main counterpart is, and the dynamic he's going to have with the rest of the group. Lastly, Arthur and Zane being friends is epic.

Oh, and don't have Nico and Zane get back together in this arc, it would be way too quick, especially after the shit Nico said."

Response: Yep, like I said to Shadowhunter, Zeus had to go. And normally Zeus doesn't fight like that, but his main enemy and biggest threat to his rule just challenged him out in the open and he saw an opportunity. Luke had no way of taking him out in an actual fight and he knew it. No, he wanted Zeus to actually underestimate him, and strike with a new ability he developed. Just like he did with Zane. And yes, Zane is the leader now. He's the child of the Prophecy, and he knew he had to step up when this eventually happened. I alluded to it at the end of BoTL, but it's in full force here. And about Hyperion, yes, he trained and got stronger. He knew of Zane's new power, as Luke would have told him. He knew he wouldn't stand a chance normally. Gods normally don't train, usually out of arrogance and lack of effort, but Hyperion threw that aside in this situation. And yes, Young Matt is here. He's strong, powerful and a good fighter. He won't be in the story a crazy lot, go read Son of Hercules if you want a lot of Matt action, but he'll be prominent, especially in HoO. And don't worry about Zico. It won't happen anywhere near now, or possibly even at all.

Mr. Reader: "Hey Author, I really enjoy your story, it's certainly one of the best OC stories on this platform. Not to be rude, but what do you not like about Fayden from Demi-Titan, I'd like ti think it's a decent fic."

Response: Thanks for the praise, man, seriously means a lot. I've personally never read Demi-Titan, although Echoxenvy has. He told me it's pretty mid, the story is okay, as well as everything else. He just said that Fayden is just unlikable and the author is an arrogant prick. In Echoxenvy's words, he's a lot like Sea of Monsters Zane, just none of the redeemable qualities. Also, just fyi for funsies reasons, Zane and Matt absolutely shit stomp Fayden in a fight, literally no diff. Not really relevant, but I like to have fun lol.

Merrik69: "And right off the bat, we're changing stuff from canon. Which is fine, because that's how it works around here. Zeus actually stepping up and fighting Kronos was insane, and I think it's about time we start to call him Kronos instead of Luke, because there's no trace of the demigod we saw in the lightning thief any more. Good way to sideline an OP character so that we can put the slightly less OP characters on the front line haha. But seriously, good setups, I see this being the best and most epic arc yet. Hopefully Thalia makes an appearance and her and Zane can finally make up.

Also, what's up with Zane's beard? Isn't he like...sixteen? Lol I guess it's possible. And he said he was the tallest person in Camp, but then a few paragraphs later says Grover is taller lol. Everybody's going to be giants by the time we get to Heroes of Olympus."

Response: Yep, stuff is different from canon. It's going to be way different from here on out. Zeus fighting Luke was one of my favorite scenes so far, only second to something that happens in this chapter. And let me clear this up now. It is Luke, not Kronos. Yes, Luke is one hundred percent corrupted and completely different, but he's not Kronos yet. Kronos' broken conscience is seeping into Luke's, changing and influencing him. But it's still completely Luke in identity. As for if that changes later down the road, we'll have to wait and see. So about Zane having a beard and being six five, let's explain this now. His rage healing power and his potential as the son of Zeus is massively changing how he's grown and speeding up the process, as well as making him taller than he normally would be. Trust me, he's nowhere near done growing yet. I mean, look at how tall Heracles was, and Zane makes him look like an absolute joke.

Alright, enough with reviews. Let's blow this pop-stand.

(DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything portrayed here (Except the OCs). If the fact that this is on a fanfiction site didn't tip you off, you're fucking stupid.)

(000)

The door of the Big House closed behind me as I walked out onto the porch, Taylor in my sights. Oddly enough, this situation was the opposite of last year. Last year, before the Labyrinth quest, I walked out of the council meeting to talk with Arthur, while this time, I was going to talk with Taylor instead. The irony of the situation was not lost on me here.

I walked up beside the son of Ares as he leaned on the railing of the porch, not saying anything for a few seconds. Eventually, I spoke. "Hey, Taylor." Taylor didn't initially respond, leaving a silence between the two of us. "So…how long have you known about the prophecy? That I was going to die?"

That broke Taylor out of his silent trance. He turned his head towards me, looking at me with a concerned look on his beautiful face. "I didn't know any of the real specifics. Only Chiron and Annabeth actually knew the entire thing. I only knew as much as you did. You'd reach sixteen, and then you had a choice whether to save or destroy Olympus."

I grunted in response to Taylor's words. "Hm. Figures. I bet Nico likely knew about it as well, considering he can talk to ghosts that would probably know the whole thing." I scoffed, only a little bit bitterly. "I sure as hell wouldn't know. He doesn't really talk to me anymore." Kind of like a certain son of Ares, but I decided not to mention that to him.

Taylor sighed at my complaints and shook his head. "Look, Zane. You can't exactly blame Nico for the way he responded a year ago. I know what he said was incredibly harsh, but you did cheat on him." Taylor's face dropped and he looked out onto the camp. "You cheated on me, too." Taylor's words were no more than a mutter, but I heard him clearly.

It was my turn to sigh. "Yeah. I did." I crossed my arms and followed Taylor's gaze. "I don't expect him to forgive me, hell, especially not after what he said. And I don't expect you to forgive me either, Taylor." I turned my gaze to the son of Ares, who was pointedly ignoring my gaze. "I just want to make amends, Taylor. I just want what we had back then together. That's all, nothing more."

Taylor looked at the grass at the base of the Big House and let out a deep breath. "I…" Taylor trailed off, seemingly unable to find the words. His head shot up at me quickly, an unsure look on his pretty face. "Zane, I-I just don't know if I'm ready for that." Taylor turned his head away from me and sniffed. "What you did really, really hurt me."

I felt my heart break hearing Taylor's almost desolate tone. The son of Ares was someone I loved the most in the world but have hurt immensely. "Taylor, I'm not asking for us to immediately get back together and pretend nothing happened. That's asinine. But…" I trailed off, trying to find the courage to continue speaking. "…I just want to start over. Bring it back from the top, y'know? But if you're not ready for even that, It's fine. I won't bother you unless you want me to."

I stood up from leaning over the railing and walked down the stairs of the Big House, moving towards the arena. I didn't make it three steps before Taylor's voice rung out. "Wait!" I stopped in my tracks and slowly spun around, seeing Taylor standing at the top of the stairs leading up to the Big House.

Taylor took another deep breath as I looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "L-Like I said, I'm not ready to just jump back into a relationship with you out of nowhere. But…" Taylor looked at me, his face turning into a slight smile. "I could do with starting over again."

I smiled at Taylor words and walked towards him a couple steps. "Thank you, Taylor. Seriously, thank you." My heart jumped for joy at the situation. Taylor was my friend again! I held out a hand to the son of Ares, my fingers and palm outstretched. "Friends once more?"

Taylor's smile deepened at my gesture, before he took my hand and shook it. "Friends once more." Taylor repeated with a smile. Taylor kept shaking my hand even after a couple of seconds, which was a little awkward. "I'm shaking your hand for too long, aren't I?" Taylor asked with a sheepish smile on his face, as he continued to awkwardly shake my hand.

I chuckled good naturedly at Taylor's words. "Yep." When I handshake finally broke, I felt Taylor rub his fingers against the palm of my hand for a little bit too long, causing me to smirk slightly. He still liked me. I lightly clapped Taylor on the shoulder. "I gotta head back to the arena. Matt is probably there again, training his guts out. I'll see you around, Taylor."

Taylor smiled and waved at me as I walked away. "Bye, Zane." I nodded at his farewell before sauntering off in the direction of the arena. As I walked away, I sighed and palmed my forehead. That prophecy was something else.

I was and wasn't worried about the prophecy at the same time. They often had double meanings and I was pretty sure I wasn't going to die. I mean, like I said earlier, Alternate Percy was the one the prophecy spoke of in his universe and he's still alive. Why wouldn't I be fine?

But on the other side of the spectrum, that was a different universe. Yes, we had similarities, like Heavenly Diamond and Atlas having purple aura, but there were plenty of differences. Who's to say the prophecy itself was even the same here, much less have the same meanings. There were too many variables.

I didn't make it halfway to the arena before I got stopped. Percy quickly blurred into my line of sight, his badass manbun fluffing as he ran faster than light. He stopped in front of me, a hand held up. "Yo, Zane. Can I talk to you for a moment? It's really important and can maybe change the tide of the war."

I did a double take with an impassive look on my face, trying to control the sputter that threatened to escape my mouth due to Percy just casually dropping that. I was silent for a couple of seconds. "Uh, sure, man. What do you have to say, and how can it change the tide of the war?" I quicky switched to Commander Mode, as anything that could end the war was of interest to me.

Someone answered my question for the son of Poseidon, someone who wasn't Percy. "Something that can make one of us invincible." I turned my head at the familiar voice, only to see Nico materialize out of the shadow cast by a nearby tree. Nico looked at me with his arms crossed, a glare on his face. "Something that we can only get in the Underworld."

I returned Nico's glare with an impassive expression, one that was common on my face while I was in Commander mode. I crossed my own arms, trying to forget about the history between me and the son of Hades. "And why didn't you mention this at the war council? If it's something that can save our asses from Luke's Heavenly Diamond scythe, we all should know."

Percy answered for the son of Hades. "I asked him the same thing when he told me about it. Apparently, Nico thinks one of the counselors could be the spy, and he decided to withhold the information until he could get both of us alone."

I looked at the son of Poseidon, mulling over his answer. Finally, I nodded. "Makes sense. We're not sure who the spy actually is. It could be one of the counselors, or it could be some random demigod." I turned my impassive, emotionally shielded gaze back to Nico. "Alright then, di Angelo. What from the Underworld could help us in our current situation right now?"

Nico's brow furrowed at my impassive words and my intense gaze, likely annoyed I wasn't a stuttering mess in his presence. Nico leaned up against the tree before he started talking. "The Curse of Achillies. Or at least, the River Styx, which can bestow the Curse. I assume you know what happened to Achillies whenever he was dipped in its waters when he was a baby?"

The very well-known legend quickly came to mind. "Yes. The Styx made Achillies invulnerable except in one spot." I raised an eyebrow at Nico. "Why would we need it? I know it would make us practically invincible, but if we get hit in whatever the mortal spot is, we'll die. And I'm not sure the Curse would even protect us from Heavenly Diamond."

Nico shrugged. "No, it likely wouldn't. But anything else hits you, you won't take damage." Nico stood up straight from the tree. "But that's not the only benefit. The Curse makes you stronger. Immensely stronger." Nico looked at me, his hostile eyes boring into my soul. "That's what we need right now, right? Power. Luke is all but unbeatable right now, and from what Percy told me, so is Hyperion. The only person who could handily take care of them is in a coma and the other gods are fighting Typhon. We need the Curse, if not just for the added power boost."

I mulled over the information Nico just dropped on my head in silence, not saying a single word for a solid few seconds. "Fine. You have a point." I stretched my arms and cracked my fingers. "Alright. Let's head to the Underworld and grab the Curse real quick, then. We'll all go so we can handle anything efficiently that tries to stop us."

Nico nodded and Percy let out a slight sigh of relief. "Okay, good." Percy looked at me with a sheepish smile. "I was afraid we'd have to convince you to let us go, much less come with us." Percy turned to Nico. "When are we leaving?"

Nico looked at the son of Poseidon, an impassive look still plastered on his face. "As soon as possible, preferably right now. We don't have a second to waste, not with how the war is currently going." The son of Hades looked at me. "Should we bring Matt as well?"

I put a hand to my bearded chin, thinking about Nico's question. Bringing Young Matt with us would definitely allow us to effortlessly bulldoze everything in our sight in the Underworld, as Young Matt was easily the fourth strongest camper, behind me, Percy and Nico. However, it would leave camp virtually undefended, as all our heavy hitters would be gone.

I shook my head. "No. He'll be needed to protect camp in our absence. With all three of us in the Underworld, the camp will be pretty vulnerable for a time. Which is why we need to hurry up and get the Curse as quickly as possible." I looked at Nico. "I'll go grab my armor and then we can go. You have any way to get us to the Underworld quicker, or are we just going to go in through DOA Recording Studios, like last time?"

Nico shrugged, his expression not changing a bit. "There are many ways into the Underworld, but I suppose it literally doesn't matter. We're all fast enough to go to Los Angeles in nearly an instant, so we can go that way if we must." Nico looked between me and Percy. "I'll meet you two at the pavilion. Hurry up." With those words, Nico shadow travelled out of sight.

I looked at the spot where Nico had been standing for a few minutes, my heart aching slightly. Even after a year, he was still cold and distant towards me. I honestly couldn't blame him. I turned my gaze towards Percy, a question on my mind. "I know Nico said he didn't want to mention this plan at the council because of a potential spy, but how long has this been on his mind?"

Percy shrugged slightly. "Apparently a few weeks. He told me that he noticed how bad the war was getting but didn't make any mention of it until now because it got even worse. Zeus being nearly dead, my dad fighting a war on his doorstep and heavily weakened, and Hades is nowhere to be seen. Nico said we needed something to tip the scale, and this was possibly just the thing."

I sighed a bit before drooping my shoulders slightly. "Of course he told you before me…" I muttered under my breath. Percy obviously heard, but he didn't comment on my words. "Let me go grab my armor. Won't take very long." Percy nodded, and I blurred off towards my cabin, moving faster than the speed of light.

I practically appeared in the middle of my cabin, which finally had a king-sized bed once more, which I finally got around to getting. I walked over to my closet, pulling the chest that usually contained my Universal Titanium armor for me. I threw the lid open, almost being blinded by the shining armor in the box.

I threw my armor on, making sure every single thing was fastened, all my weapon sheathes were attached, and all my weapons were in them. I looked at myself in the side mirror on the closet door, nodding at the dazzling Greek style full plate made completely out of one of the strongest materials in the universe.

I raced out of my cabin at near full speed, moving towards the pavilion. The entire journey of going to my cabin, putting on my armor, and racing back had only taken about forty-five seconds, with most of the time being used to put on my armor correctly. Percy and Nico were already here at the pavilion, with each of them looking prepared.

I stopped right in front of the other Big Three children, creating a small shockwave that knocked the dust up of the marble floor. "We ready to go?" Nico and Percy both nodded at my question. "Good." I floated off the ground with my telekinetic flight and smirked at the two. "I'll see you two at DOA Recording Studios. Try to keep up." Percy rolled his eyes and Nico deadpanned at me, not amused in the slightest.

I blasted off into the sky, creating a small shockwave that didn't affect either Percy nor Nico. I quickly boomed off towards the direction of Los Angeles, moving at my top speed. It didn't take more than a one thousandth of a second to cross the entire country, as the bustling city of Los Angeles sat below me in a near instant.

I quickly remembered where DOA Recording studios was and floated down towards it, not caring whether any mortals saw me. The Mist would likely cover it up, and if it didn't, who would believe anyone who actually saw someone flying? I landed at the steps of the studio, looking at the glass door that I had walked through with Percy, Annabeth and Nico over three years ago.

I looked at the door as I waited for Nico and Percy to arrive, still seeing it had that same warning on it. 'NO SOLICITING, NO LOITERERS, NO LIVING,' it read. I chuckled at the words. "It still says that stupid shit?" As the words left my mouth, Percy appeared in a burst of speed behind me, followed quickly by Nico. I turned around and looked at the two with a smirk. "What took you guys so long?"

Nico didn't even spare me a deadpan look and walked right into the studio. I felt my heart lurch a little bit, but I hid the reaction very well from my face. Percy chuckled, however. "I saw an underwater ruin that looked interesting, and just had to check it out. As for Nico, well, he's just slow." Percy also walked into the studio, with me quickly following behind him.

Percy looked around at studio, which was much less filled than it had been the last time we were here. Guess getting rid of Charon made it easier to access the Underworld, as he wasn't there to overcharge anyone anymore. "Really brings back memories, huh?" Percy said, motioning around at the mostly empty studio.

I looked at the empty podium desk Charon used to inhabit, before I cut his head off and had it turned into a lamp. "It really does. We were just kids then." While both me and Percy were still under the age of sixteen, at least physically for Percy, we definitely didn't look it. I wouldn't call us kids anymore.

Percy smiled. "We definitely were. Hadn't even fought a Titan yet. Either of us." Percy walked past Charon's podium desk, moving towards the elevator that was the pathway to the Underworld. "Either of you remember how to open this? It's been a while." Nico didn't answer the son of Poseidon, as he was just standing beside the elevator unhelpfully.

I remembered how, though. "Charon had some kind of key card he used. Annabeth was the last person who had it, and since it's been three years, I doubt she still keeps it around. However…" I raised my hand and began to focus with my telekinesis. I targeted the elevator's door on the molecular level, grasping at the atoms and molecules individually. After a half second, the door practically exploded into tiny shards of metal the size of grains of sand, being completely deconstructed by me. "There's other ways to get in."

Percy shook his head, a smirk on his face. "That telekinesis of yours is total bullshit, man. I'm so jealous I didn't get that power." The three of us walked into the elevator, with there being enough space for all of us easily. Both me and Percy looked at the side of the elevator, noticing there was an empty keycard slot. Percy looked at me. "Now how do we get in?"

I looked at the son of Hades beside Percy. "Nico. Can you do something about this?" I asked Nico first, as just simply moving the elevator with my telekinesis likely wouldn't get us into the Underworld. It had to be some mystical godly shit most likely.

Nico, who hadn't said a word since we entered the studio, simply raised his arm and his black, shadowy aura materialized from it. His aura flew from his arm and into the keycard slot, imbuing inside it. Immediately, the elevator shot downwards, moving much faster than it had previously when we rode it three years ago.

It only took a few seconds for the elevator to fade away into an old barge like last time, only this was much quicker thanks to Nico's power. The black, trash filled water of the Styx flowed beneath us, being even more polluted than last time. "The Styx." I said, moving over to the side of the boat. "So, how do we do the whole Curse thing? Just jump in?"

Nico shook his head as he moved over to the captain's deck, taking the large oar in his hands. "No, it's a little more complicated than that. And we can't do it here, either." Both me and Percy looked at him in confusion. "The Styx here is too polluted. Watered down. If you jumped in, it might sting a little, but it wouldn't have the effect we want from it. No, we need to go deeper into the Underworld, where the river is more pure."

Nico started to row the barge down the River Styx, taking the place of Charon. Percy sat down on one of the seats, leaving me standing in the middle. I looked at Nico, noting how much colder he's been recently, even colder than he normally was. What was wrong with him?

I walked up to the captain's deck, standing beside Nico as the son of Hades rowed us down the River Styx. I took a deep breath to summon up enough courage to talk to the son of Hades, now that I'm no longer in Commander mode. "Nico, are you alright? You've been pretty quiet ever since we got here."

Nico didn't even look at me. "I'm fine, Zane. Now sit down. I need to row." Nico continued to stare straight ahead at the oily river, not even looking up at the stalagmite covered ceiling as we passed through.

I bit my lip, looking at the son of Hades in concern. "Are you sure, Nico? If you need, I can row for you." Despite everything that had happened between the two of us, everything I did and everything Nico said, I still cared deeply for him. Remember, I was madly in love with the son of Hades for a long time.

Nico finally looked at me, a fierce glare on his face. I nearly jumped back from the intensity of it and Nico's eyes temporarily flashed red, the same red as his eyes in his Shadow Form. The red faded, but the glare did not. "I. Said. I'm. Fine. Now fuck off."

My brow furrowed slightly, and I sighed. I couldn't leave things like this between us, not after it's been tense like this for a year. I needed to truly apologize and fix things. Maybe it could even lead to us getting back together. "Nico, look, if this is about me cheating on you a year ago, I'm sorry. Can we just fix things between u-"

I was cut off by Nico moving his gaze to me faster than the speed of light, his eyes now red and staying red. "NO! NO, WE FUCKING CAN'T!" I stepped back several feet as Nico shouted at me, bewilderment on my face. "We can't fucking fix anything! I hate you and I don't want anything to do with you! Leave me the fuck alone!"

I knew right then and there I should have just left it, turned around and said nothing else. But that idea, the idea of me and Nico one day being together again practically grabbed me by my neck and forced me to keep trying. I sighed. "Nico, please. It was over a year ago. I know what I did was wrong, horrible even. I'm just trying to fix things enough to where we can at least talk to each other without any of this shit. Please, tell me how I can make it up to you."

Nico's burning red eyes stared right into my soul, the expression of hate never leaving his face. "Oh, you can make it up to me, alright. You can make it up to me by FUCKING OFF! Now go away!" I felt my heart shatter at his words, but I didn't let it show on my face.

Actually, I was beginning to feel a little bit angry now. Yeah, I cheated on him, I know. But I actually told him myself rather than letting him find out on his own. Now that I thought about it, I've done so much for the son of Hades. I literally saved him from seventy years of imprisonment, reunited him with his father and his memories, brought him into my friend group at camp, saved his life more times than I can count, loved him more than I could even imagine, and this is how he reacts whenever I try to make amends?

My brow furrowed and my face turned hard. I returned the glare, the first time I'd ever done so. Nico was surprised as well by the gesture, his red eyes actually fading away. I crossed my armored arms and looked directly at the son of Hades. "Fine. I won't ever try to talk to you again, unless it's important." My tone was cold as ice, colder and harsher than I've ever leveled it at the son of Hades. I was kind of pissed.

Nico's rage faded away, at least I got that from how his body language stopped being so aggressive. I walked away from the captain's deck and black to the boat seats, sitting across from Percy. Percy's face looked like a kid's does when his parents started arguing very loudly in front of him, which I didn't blame him for. An uncomfortable silence came over the boat, none of us saying another word.

After another awkward couple of minutes, the black sands of the shore of the Underworld eventually came into view, with millions of souls as far as the eyes could see walking amongst the shore. Nico beached the boat and all three of us walked towards the same worn grey path we had walked on three years ago, the mood completely different than what it was then.

The three massive lines that lead to the judges of the Underworld came into view, but we walked straight past them, not a care in the word. We made it to the airport security style checkpoint with the ghouls in uniforms, although they didn't even bother to try and stop us. They simply took one look at Nico and turned their gazes.

Next was the walk towards the gates of the Underworld, which was more of the stupid metal detectors and shit. Cerberus came into view, the massive rottweiler the size of two African elephants. His eyes fell upon me, and his three heads twisted in rage. Seems he remembers me. He snarled like an animal and began to charge the three of us as we walked.

My eyes glowed a bright blue and two powerful blasts of lightning surrounded aura beams erupted from my sockets, moving faster than the speed of light. They slammed into Cerberus' chest, instantly turning him in a massive pile of ash. Neither Percy nor Nico batted an eye, as the feat was not impressive to them. Both of them could effortlessly kill Cerberus.

After getting by the massive monster with no difficulty, the three of us walked through the final checkpoint. As before, none of the ghoul guards tried to stop us, simply letting us pass through. The fields of Asphodel came into view, with the black grass, misty green fog and ugly black trees. Off in the distance behind the judgment tents, I saw the brilliant, shining realm of Elysium and the infinite, hellfire covered landscape of Tartarus.

After we made it past the tents, the three of us traversed the underworld in a burst of speed, knowing the size was practically that of the whole planet, outside Tartarus that is, which is infinite. Hell, maybe the Underworld itself was infinite, since it did technically exist in another dimension. It would have been even weirder if the Underworld was finite, but Tartarus, which resides in the Underworld, was infinite.

Back to the situation at hand, the three of us blasted through Asphodel fields faster than light, trying to get deeper so we could get to a purer part of the River Styx. After a couple of minutes, Nico leaned off our straight path and stopped, flaring his aura to get our attention. Both me and Percy turned around and raced towards Nico's position.

Eventually, the two of us appeared behind Nico, who was standing on a small black rock formation over the River Styx. The river was no longer covered in trash and completely pure. It would have been weird if there was trash this far into the Underworld. We covered enough distance to cross the distance between the Sun and the Earth.

Nico turned his gaze to the two of us as we stopped behind him, pointedly not looking at me. "The Styx." The son of Hades let out, motioning towards the black, oily liquid beneath us. "No longer polluted, at least not so this far out."

Percy and I walked up to the black river, looking down into the murky liquid with Nico stepping behind us. "So, as Zane asked earlier, how does this work? Do we just jump in, or is there some kind of special dance we have to do?"

Nico didn't immediately response, but I felt his aura start to flare up slightly. I quickly turned around to see what had got Nico so riled up, only to be blown back several feet by Nico's transformation into his Shadow Form. The black, particle filled aura of his erupted around his form, and his burning red eyes became visible again.

Like I said, Nico's sudden transformation blew me back several feet into the air above the Styx, as well as Percy. Before either me or Percy could fall in, Nico extended his arms, catching the two of us with two black, shadow arm constructs made completely from his energy. The massive shadow hands clutched around both of us tightly, making the two of us unable to move.

Both me and Percy looked at Nico in complete confusion, unsure of why he was doing this. "What the hell!?" Percy shouted out, struggling against his restraints. Nico's Shadow Form power currently blew both mine and Percy's base forms out of the water, so we were practically helpless. I sensed Percy's aura start to flare, signaling that he was about to transform himself.

I sent a telepathic message to Percy. 'Don't transform yet.' Percy subtly looked at me with one eye in confusion, still struggling against his shadow restraints. 'We need to know why Nico's doing this. He could be mind controlled or maybe he's just pissed at me for before. Let Nico or whoever could be controlling him believe they have the advantage.'

Percy sent the emotion of agreement and continued to struggle against Nico's constructs, clearly putting on a show. I looked Nico dead in the face, anxiety and anger starting to feel my being. Why was Nico doing this? "What the hell has gotten into you, Nico? Why are you restraining us?"

Nico simply looked at the two of us impassively. "Before we start the process of acquiring the curse, we're going to take a little detour." Nico looked off into the distance at seemingly nothing. "My father wishes to speak with the two of you and this is the only time to do it before the war fully starts in earnest."

That anxiety I had felt earlier was completely overshaded by the pure fury and outrage. Nico was…betraying us!? I practically growled and snarled at the son of Hades. "Are you FUCKING SERIOUS!?" I felt Nico's shadow restraints loosen against my strength as I tried to lunge at Nico, my strength being massively increased due to my sheer rage. Nico's face tensed and the constructs become stronger, continuing to hold me in place.

I nearly lost control and transformed immediately to attack Nico, but I managed to wrestle my anger into a slight submission. I glared hatefully at Nico, causing him to look away. "This is absolutely NOT the time to do this, Nico! There is an active war going on up above that we're getting our asses kicked in! I know you hate me, Nico, but selling both me and Percy out to Hades will practically doom the entire universe, if not more!"

Nico continued to not look me in the eye, staring off into the green shadowy mist of the Underworld to the side. "This won't take long. My father just wants to speak with you two, nothing more. We'll talk to him, come back here, get the Curse, go home and win the war. Simple process."

I scoffed and thought about spitting at the son of Hades. "That's complete fucking bullshit! Hades is going to fucking kill us! He hates me for blowing his arm off, and hates Percy because he's Poseidon's son!" I glared at Nico, my eyes turning bright blue for a second. "You better get some better fucking lies, because I'm not believing any of that shit."

Nico whipped his gaze back to me, his red burning eyes baring into me. "I'm not lying! All my father told me to do was to get you two to his palace, because he only wants to talk, nothing more!" Nico's words practically made me see red. He was lying. He had to be. Either that, or he's a massive fucking idiot for believing Hades' word as truth.

I laughed dryly and bitterly. "You're either the worst liar in the entire world, or the biggest fucking idiot." I glared at him again. "Your father is a fucking snake. He hates both me and Percy for being our father's sons, and he'd kill both of us at the soonest opportunity. That's what he's going to do after you take us to his castle, after he monologues of course."

Nico just shook his head and turned around, still holding both me and Percy. "I'm not lying, and neither is my father. You'll see." A shadowy aura formed around both me and Percy, and my vision started to grow a little darker. "I'm going to shadow travel us there, now. Try not to throw up." With that, all three of us melded into shadow.

(000)

Shadow traveling was weird. It was like travelling through a multiversal portal, only the only color you could see was black, rather than infinity. It felt like I was being tossed around and thrown into the air, but after traveling through dozens of portals throughout the multiverse, this was absolutely nothing.

Me, Percy and Nico materialized out of shadow into a very familiar throne room, one which we had been in over three years ago, under very different circumstances. The layout and the throne were the exact same, only there were no soldiers, no Furies, no nothing. Except for three very prominent figures standing nearby the throne.

The first and most recognizable figure was Hades. He stood ten feet tall, wearing the exact same black, soul filled robes he normally wore. His hair was jet black and draped down to his shoulders, looking slightly oiled. His face was smooth and handsome, having none of the facial hair his younger brothers had. He radiated power, as was natural, since he's one of the Big Three.

To the god of the dead's right stood a woman, or judging from her height and aura, a goddess. She was beautiful, as all goddesses were, complete with long, curly blonde hair and a white, gilded dress. She wore some kind of golden helmet that seemed to glow a bright yellow on the edges, as well as several arm and wrist bracelets that glowed the same way. Flowers also seemed to sprout from the top of her helmet, which didn't have a top.

To Hades' left was a different goddess, who looked very similar in terms of appearance to the other one. She was also around ten feet tall, same height as the other two divine figures in the room. She had long, strawberry blonde hair, which was adorned with a crown of roses. She also wore a simple green, Greek dress, looking much more modest than the other goddess beside Hades. I recognized her as Demeter, goddess of the Harvest. That must mean the other goddess here is her daughter, Persephone.

The three looked like they had been arguing about something, but they had quickly ceased once Nico teleported in the room with both me and Percy in his grasp. Nico stepped forwards a couple feet, before dropping to one knee before the three gods. "Father. I have done as you've asked."

Hades stepped forwards away from Persephone and Demeter, looking down at Nico with an impassive gaze. His eyes fell onto me and Percy, and the lord of the Underworld smirked. "That you have, my son." Hades' smirk deepened and he crossed his arms as he stared at us. "Zane Williams and Percy Jackson. My two least favorite nephews."

I glared at the god of the dead. "Your only nephews, considering the rest are dead right now." I saw Hades' smirk deepen even more, and I had to restrain myself from actually growling at the god of the dead. "What the hell do you want?"

Hades' smile did not waiver. "I wanted to talk to you. Did my son not tell you?" I gave the Lord of The Underworld my best 'get the fuck outta here' face I could, causing him to do some mix of a scoff and a chuckle. "Obviously, that's not all there is to it. What I wanted to talk about is rather…complicated."

I chuckled dryly, finding absolutely none of Hades' stupid humor funny. "Just say you're going to kill us and be done with it. There's literally no other reason you would bring us here." The thought of escaping Nico's restraints crossed my mind, but I wanted to get every single piece of information out of this greasy bastard I could.

Beside Hades, Persephone chuckled. "Well, this one has some balls, talking to you like that, wouldn't you agree, husband?" Persephone stepped forward as I floated in the air, still suspended by Nico's shadow constructs. Her hand sensually grasped around my armored crotch, making my eyes widen. "And I bet they're massive." I felt every single hair on my body stand up from the goddesses' words.

I saw Hades' grin immediately slip from his face at his wife's rather forwards action, his expression immediately being replaced with annoyance and anger. "Persephone…!" Nearby, I also saw Nico's hand tighten into a fist, which made me scowl in confusion. Nico had already told me about his current feelings for me. Why did he have that kind of reaction?

Persephone laughed and stepped away from me. "I jest, husband." She looked back at me, a hungry look in her eye. "Or do I?" Persephone said playfully, licking her lips as she did so. I felt myself pale considerably, and I had no idea how to react to what was currently happening.

Surprisingly, it wasn't Hades to rebuke his wife. No, it was Demeter. The goddess of the Harvest grabbed her daughter by the arm and pulled her away from me. "Stop being such a slut, Persephone! You'll give all us goddesses a bad name with your behavior! You don't need to be sleeping around like you husband, otherwise you'll end up with bastards like this child!" Demeter pointed at Nico, who simply looked at the ground more.

Hades looked more annoyed than I had ever seen him, which really said something, considering I blew his arm off three years ago. "Will you two just shut up for five minutes!? I am sick of you two doing nothing but argue!" Hades looked at Demeter. "Stop being so overbearing and trying to control your daughter!"

Persephone stuck her tongue out at her mother like a five-year-old, which caused Hades to immediately turn his fury over to her. "And you! Keep your hands to yourself! I did not have Nico bring Zane Williams her to sexually harass him!" I honestly could not believe that was a sentence that came out of Hades' mouth.

Hades sighed and grumbled a few unintelligible words to himself, before turning back to me and Percy, who were just completely silent. "Anyway, back to what I was saying before…" Hades clapped his hands together and his cruel smirk returned. "Yes. Both you and Percy Jackson shall die." Not surprising.

"What!?" Nico shot up from his kneeled position in a nanosecond, complete surprise written on his face, which I honestly found kind of sad. This idiot actually believed Hades would keep his word. "You lied to me! All you said you wanted was me for to bring them here to talk to you!"

Hades turned his gaze to his son, an impassive look now etched on his features. "I never lied to you. I simply never told you the entire truth. I never said I was going to kill them, but I am." There you go, Nico. Proof that your father is a snake.

Percy, who had been silent ever since Nico had captured us, finally chose to speak. "Why are you doing this?" Everyone looked at the son of Poseidon, who shook his head. "Don't get me wrong, I know you hate us and trust me, the feeling is mutual. But this is the worst possible time to do this, ever. The Titans are destroying us, and you want to kill the best two chances we have?"

Hades looked at Percy as if he was an idiot. "Of course. Killing the two of you will delay the Prophecy and allow Nico to take the spot of Child of The Prophecy." He glared at the two of us, walking closer. "The two of you are fools. If given the chance to make the decision on whether to raze Olympus or save it, there's no doubt you two would screw it up. Nico on the other hand, with my guidance, would do well."

I scoffed in Hades' face. "You're a complete fucking idiot if that's your thought process." I looked over at Nico, who was still restraining us. "He didn't even realize that you were going to double cross him in this entire thing. If you think he's the perfect pick to realize the Prophecy, you're almost as dumb as he is." Nico looked away at my words, a slightly downcast expression on his face. I had no mercy for the son of Hades.

Hades looked at his offspring. "Perhaps you'd be right, if he was allowed to make the decision on his own. However, he wouldn't. I'm here for that." Hades looked back to me and Percy, his arm crossing. "Now, to deal with the two of you." Hades grabbed Thymos off my belt before I could react, throwing it several dozen meters away. "None of that cursed weapon."

I resisted the urge to immediately transform and attack Hades, but without my Heavenly Diamond Morningstar, I needed to play this smart. I had to let Hades believe he had the advantage by goading him into playing around by fighting me, somehow get to Thymos and then take this arrogant bitch out.

Percy spoke before anything else could happen. "Before you kill us, Hades, answer me this one question." Hades looked at the son of Poseidon as if he was a bug, and considering the difference in their power level, he might as well have been one. "Why are you down here in the Underworld, doing nothing as the war goes on? I know you helped my dad, and the other gods fight Luke briefly, but why aren't you helping any further?"

Hades practically snarled at Percy's genuine question. "Because I don't owe Zeus and the others a damn thing. They stuck me down here in the Underworld, even when the birthright to Olympus was mine! I am the eldest brother! I should be the one on the throne, not Zeus!" Hades' black aura spiked from his body slightly, but he contained it.

Hades took a deep breath, calming himself before speaking. "And then they don't even give me a throne on the Olympian Council. Dionysius, the fucking wine god of all people, got a throne before me! Constant insults, demands of fealty, and other things I won't even speak of because we'd be here for millennia!"

Hades glared at both me and Percy, his eyes flashing the same red Nico's usually did. "I have given more than I can even care to remember to Olympus, yet they reward me nothing in return. They can burn for all I care, be erased at the end of Castellan's chaos scythe. I only helped them in attempting to destroy him because I saw an opportunity to end a threat before it got out of control, but now that is no longer an option, it's their problem."

I scoffed at his reasoning. "So, you're just throwing a big hissy fit because no one likes you, is that it?" Hades leveled his glare at me, but I didn't stop speaking. "Stop being so short-sighted and acting like a fucking child. So, what if you didn't get the recognition you believe you were owed? That's the same exact reason Luke is doing what he is doing."

I leaned forwards in my restraints. "Acting like this not only makes you look like a fucking clown, it also could get literally everyone killed, including yourself? You think Luke will stop at Olympus? No. He's going to keep conquering, waging war until there's nothing left in the entire universe to challenge him, including you. And then, he'll turn his attention to other universes, and bring even more untold bloodshed there."

Hades was not swayed. "He won't make it that far. Even if he defeats the Olympians, I have a way to defeat him." Hades looked at Nico, who looked away from his father's gaze. "Once you and Jackson are gone, Nico will be the one the Prophecy speaks of. He'll have the power to defeat Castellan, with my guidance of course." Yeah, okay buddy.

Hades turned back to me. "But enough with this pointless discussion." Hades looked at me with a smirk on his face, his black aura slightly rising from his body. "Go ahead and escape from my son's restraints." I wasn't surprised to find out Hades had known I let myself get carted here, but I guess Nico was, as he gasped slightly. Hades chuckled. "The two of you are leagues more powerful than my son. The two of you could effortlessly escape if you wanted. I know you are simply holding back to try trick me into thinking you are helpless."

Hades' smirk turned even more cruel. "Well, before my power, you are. Now go ahead and defend yourself. Wouldn't exactly be fun to kill you without a fight after you blew my arm off last time we met." I did as Hades said, immediately erupting into my Thunder Form. The familiar blue lightning surrounded my body in a cage, and the blue aura materialized around my form.

My transformation instantly broke through Nico's constructs, blasting him and Percy both back several feet. I drew both Keravnos and Prometheus' sword, dropping into a fighting stance as I faced down Hades. "Get ready for round two, you creepy son of a bitch. I'm not going to run away this time." Behind me, I saw Percy transform into his Earthshaker Form, his transformation cracking the throne room floor all around us.

Hades laughed and his shadowy aura slightly formed around him. I could tell he was nowhere close to full power, and I needed to get to Thymos to be able to surpass him. "Good. This will be therapeutic." Hades turned his gaze to Nico, Demeter and Persephone, his eyes bouncing back and forth between them. "You three destroy Percy Jackson. I'll handle Zane Williams."

I didn't even bother to look at their reactions as I instantly raced forwards at Hades, moving at my top speed in my normal awakened form. I tried to kick his head clean off, spinning in the air. Hades instantly reacted to my movement, catching my leg with no difficulty. The force of my kick created a massive burst of energy, blasting everyone in the room back, including Percy. The entire palace practically shook at my kick, and that was only the controlled force.

I struggled against Hades' grasp, trying to overpower him somehow. Hades' arm didn't even budge a millimeter and he simply stared at me. "You truly have grown immensely powerful, nephew. That kick of yours could have destroyed an entire galaxy if you hadn't controlled its power." Hades then quickly threw me to the floor behind him, creating a crater in the already damaged ground of his throne room. "But I'm still on another level."

I quickly stood up, not at all injured from the throw. "Yeah, yeah, yeah. 'I can destroy the universe, I'm one of the Big Three.' Shut the fuck up, you're not special anymore." I pointed the massive blade of Prometheus' sword at Hades, a serious look on my face. "Let's just skip the bullshit and get on with it. I don't have a lot of time to waste."

Hades scowled at me. "As you wish." With that, Hades blurred out of sight, appearing right in front of me. He had his fist pulled back, his signature black aura coating it. I barely brought Prometheus' sword up in time to block Hades' first punch, the strike creating a massive shockwave and sending me skidding back on the floor several meters.

Hades didn't give me any time to breath, as he immediately vanished from view again. I searched around for him with my aura sense, quickly finding out he was right behind me. I jerked around at trillions of times the speed of light, trying to take Hades' head clean off with Prometheus' sword. Before I could even blink, Hades brought up his pinky finger to block the blade, his black aura around it.

The blade made contact with Hades' aura coated pinky finger, stopping immediately in its tracks. I wasn't exactly surprised by the blade being stopped by Hades' currently much stronger aura than mine. Despite the sword being able to cut through nearly anything, it faulted at two specific things. Aura energy and chaotic energy.

Hades smirked at the blade stopping at his pinky finger. "Pathetic, Williams. You put up at better showing than this when you were twelve years old. Where is that same power tha-?"

"SHUT UP!" I roared at the top of my lungs; a shockwave being produced by nothing but my voice. It reminded me whenever I roared against Insano back when me and Matt fought him, but this time my voice was being amped by sheer rage rather than chaotic power. I pulled Keravnos back and charged it with an immense surge of aura, trillions of times faster than the speed of light.

I swung the blue aura coated axeblade upwards, creating a massive blast of lightning and aura mixed energy that completely coated Hades from view. The energy slash created another shockwave, but this one had mini shockwaves reverberating from the main one. The sound was like that of millions of rocks breaking in quick succession but mixed with the sound of millions of birds chirping.

I knew the energy surge had done nothing to Hades simply by feeling his aura, despite the fact I knew if I didn't condense the energy into a smaller scale slash the blast would have split a galaxy in two. My brow furrowed, and I created a storm of thunder clouds in the throne room all around me and Hades, the dark clouds already crackling and surging with lightning.

I thrust my sword forward, controlling the storm to send a massive barrage of lightning all concentrated to the point where Hades' aura was. The lighting erupted from the dark stormy clouds like an electrified volcano, slamming all down on one spot. By this point, the energy from my earlier slash had dissipated and Hades' form was now very clear.

Before the lightning could even reach the god of the dead, Hades brought up his left up, creating a barrier of black aura all around his, slightly obscuring him from view. The lightning smashed against Hades' barrier, crackling and surging as it tried to overpower the shadowy, tendril filled energy. The lightning made no headway at all, but I didn't let up the assault. I continued to summon even more lightning from the clouds, seeing if somehow, I could maybe overpower Hades in some way.

Eventually, Hades had enough. He brought up his other hand, but he did nothing more than snap his fingers. However, in no more than a picosecond, Hades' dark barrier expanded in all directions, creating a burst of energy that made my earlier attacks seem like absolutely nothing. A near reality shattering shockwave was produced by Hades' snap, which dispersed my lightning completely and sent me flying back, slamming me against the palace wall.

I used my telekinesis to rip myself out of the cracked dark stone, continuing to float in the air afterwards. To the left of the titanic battle that was happening between me and Hades, I saw Percy facing off against Nico, Persephone and Demeter. The four looked very shaken up, which made sense considering me and Hades were practically creating shockwaves I was surprised they were even living from.

They were clearing fighting, with Percy and Nico both in their respective forms clashing swords. Persephone and Demeter were playing as support, trying to distract Percy or damage him with range attacks. Nothing worked, as Percy was far too durable for them to even scratch. I could tell Percy and Nico were both holding back. Percy because he could kill Nico, Persephone and Demeter in three seconds if he really tried, and Nico because he was fighting with almost no ferocity, as if going through the motions.

My thoughts were cut off by Hades appearing in front of me in a massive burst of speed. Before I could even bring a weapon up in defense, Hades grabbed me by my Universal Titanium cuirass and slammed me against the wall once more, completely shattering it and causing it to completely crumble. The palace now only had three sides, and it was a miracle those three sides were even standing.

Hades didn't even give me time to breath, as he quickly turned around and threw me to the floor with immense force, creating a massive crater that practically deformed half the floor. I grunted, more from the quick movement rather than actual pain. I looked up at Hades in a crouched position, seeing his dark tendril filled energy surround him as he floated in the air. He looked down on me, his eyes a glowing dark red and a sinister grin on his face.

I snarled and quickly through myself to my feet, my aura and lightning cage surging around me. Hades' grin somehow became wider, and the two of us charged each other at full speed, both of us creating shockwaves as we flew towards one another. We met in the middle of the air, slamming against one another and creating yet another massive shockwave. Seriously, I don't even know how the other four are even fighting in this room with us.

Me and Hades began to exchange blows, millions of them happening in the span of a second. I swung with precise deadliness and rage with both of my aura and lighting coated weapons, trying to tear Hades into trillions of tiny little pieces, but nothing was working. He was simply just tanking my physical blows, blocking attack from Keravnos with small spurts of his aura and completely dodging Prometheus' sword.

Finally, after being on the defensive for so long, Hades threw an aura infused punch directly at my head. I was able to see it coming clearly, meaning Hades was holding back. At least, holding back more than he already had been. If Hades was completely serious, he'd be in that giant shadow form of his and he'd kill me in an instant at my current level of power.

I dodged to the side in the air, Hades' massive fist missing me by a couple of inches. I brought my armored leg back, coating it with aura, lightning and even blasts of telekinetic force. I was putting practically every bit of physical power I could actually conjure into this kick, and hopefully it would actually phase the god of the dead a little bit.

I pushed kicked Hades' directly in the chest, unleashing all the energy I had quickly built up in my foot. Lightning, blue aura and invisible force erupted from my foot as it made contact with Hades' chest, making a massive shockwave of its own. Hades grunted slightly was actually forced back around three meters, likely not expecting me to kick that hard in my current state. He would pay for that.

I pulled back the massive blade of Prometheus' sword, pressing one of the many buttons along the handle. Fire, yellow magical lightning, poison, and curse energy all erupted around the blade. This setting on the blade overcharged all of its energy-based abilities into one attack, massively amping it's sheer destructive power while also adding all the effects of the energy to it. I wasn't sure was curse energy would do to Hades, since gods can't die, but maybe it could kill his physical form?

Hades never gave me a chance to answer that question. He quickly recovered from being kicked back and sidestepped the massive blade as I tried to stick the pointy end of it in his face. He summoned a sphere of black aura in his right hand, much more concentrated and powerful than he had used so far in our fight. He balled his hand up into a fist, infusing the black aura throughout his entire arm and he threw a punch right at the flat of the blade.

As soon as Hades' fist made contact with the sword, it unleashed a massive blast of black, shadowy tendril filled energy, blasting Prometheus' sword out of my hands and completely dispersing all the energy built up on it. Prometheus' sword went flying dozens of feet away, clanging against the ground on the other end of the room. The shockwave knocked me back several feet, and completely disorientated me.

Before I could even comprehend what to do next, Hades quickly blurred right in front of my face and wrapped one of his massive hands around my neck. I felt the immense pressure of his grip on my throat, and I gurgled slightly. "Enough." The god of the dead finally spoke, holding me as we both floated in the air. "I grow tired of this pointless fight. I've only been toying with you, seeing what you're capable of without your father's Bolt or that cursed spiked ball of yours."

I coated Keravnos in lightning and bright blue aura, attempting to swing the axeblade right into Hades' face as he spoke. The god didn't even bat an eye as the incoming axe, as a shield of black, shadowy energy materialized to the side of his head, completely stopping the axe in its tracks. Hades simply squeezed my neck harder, and I completely dropped Keravnos as a high-pitched grunt escaped my lips.

Hades glared at me as I uselessly tried to bat his arm away with my armored fists, my punches doing completely nothing. "You're nothing but a disappointment. Immensely powerful, sure. But you aren't even close to my level of power. You weren't back when we first clashed, and you aren't now." I felt Hades' grip around my throat tighten even more, and I could feel the muscles start to tear and rip. "Goodbye, nephew. I'll make sure to send you to the deepest pit of Tartarus."

Time seemed to freeze as I tried to think of a way out of this. The most obvious answer was Thymos and Heavenly Thunder Form, but I stupidly let Hades throw Thymos away before the fight began. I didn't even try to retrieve it during the fight, because I knew Hades wouldn't even let me near it if I tried.

How could I get Thymos to me, or me to Thymos? Telekinesis was out. Hades was fast enough to see me try and bring Thymos to myself, and he'd either pop my head off instantly like a grape rather than enjoy it like he was doing now, or he'd simply knock the weapon away again.

Prometheus' sword was out as well, as the abilities the sword has aren't the most useful here. Fire and magical lightning are fine and all, but they wouldn't do jackshit to Hades. Curse wouldn't even probably work on Hades, since he's immortal and all. Poison could probably weaken him, but that was only if I was fast enough to hit Hades, which I'm not. None of this even matters, because Prometheus' Sword was also on the other side of the room. I'm not even going to consider Keravnos, because it's just a Celestial Bronze axe, nothing special.

As for my abilities, well, like I said, Telekinesis was not going to work. I couldn't deconstruct Hades with it, because he would notice he was coming apart on the molecular level and pop my head off. Telepathy was out as well, since I wasn't even sure how strong mine was compared to a god's, but I wasn't going to bet against Hades of all people. I mean, maybe I could heal from whatever Hades was about to do to me, but I would rather not find out whether or not I can heal from a decapitation via neck squeeze.

Suddenly, the idea hit me. I remembered seeing in Matt's memories that Malachi could teleport with his lightning. I didn't know if I could as well, since Malachi was a son of Ouranos, rather than a son of Zeus, but right now I would try literally anything. All I needed was some storm clouds and lightning, and then I could give it a shot.

Luckily, the storm clouds were already there. Made from when I tried to destroy Hades' barrier earlier, they hadn't been dispersed by all the numerous shockwaves by some miracle. I closed my eyes and willed lightning to erupt from the dark mist, to strike me. I didn't see it happen, but I felt it. I felt the lightning leave the clouds, imbue with my energy and aura, and hit my form.

I didn't exactly know what to do, but I improvised. I had no clue had Malachi could teleport, so I would invent my own way to do so. I willed the lightning to…deconstruct me. To dematerialize me into itself. I would become one with the lightning, and my physical form would temporarily cease to exist, yet exist at the same time as the lightning.

And by another miracle, it actually worked. As soon as the lighting hit me, my entire perspective changed. The world looked so…electrifying. And bright. I felt like every single particle of me was surging, jumping up and down like a child on a trampoline. Nothing felt the same as before. I could feel my aura, my power, but I couldn't feel my body. I was…different.

But I couldn't dwell on that right now. No, right now, I had a god to embarrass. I looked down at the world below, finally noticing I seemed to be part of the storm, looking over Hades. He was grabbing at nothing, although he couldn't tell. His face was still the same, and he still floated in the air. He wasn't moving at all, as if time was stopped.

Was time stopped? Or was I just moving so fast I was moving at Infinite speed as lightning? It didn't really matter, as both options had the same result. However, that's not what I cared about at the moment. I traced the room with my eyes, or whatever qualified as eyes at the moment, and found my target. Thymos. The Heavenly Diamond Morningstar glowed brightly in the corner of the room, laying on the floor.

I needed to be over there. I willed the lightning, or myself, to strike down beside the weapon. As soon as I did, I felt my entire world view change once more. With a thundercrack, I was kneeling right beside Thymos, the chaotic weapon in my left hand. My perspective was back to normal now. I could feel my own body as it should be. I could feel the blood pumping through my veins, the tendons and muscles flexing, and my aura surging through my physical body. My neck, which had definitely been injured by Hades earlier, was now completely fine.

Time resumed to normal as well, with Hades immediately noticing he was no longer holding me. "Wha-!?" Hades practically shouted; his face completely confused. His eyes quickly landed on me, as he no doubt followed my aura. The other four occupants of the room stopped fighting, with their eyes tracing to where Hades had been choking me. Apparently, my little lightning teleport had drawn more attention than I thought.

Hades saw my hand around Thymos, and his eyes widened. "Oh shi-!" I didn't let him finish, as the chaotic energy of the Heavenly Diamond weapon had already erupted from the weapon and seep into the aura around my form. Simply from the transformation alone, a shockwave far more powerful than any of the others was produced. Hades' palace was practically in shambles, which was saying something, considering how absolutely massive it was.

As I transformed once more, my normally bright blue lightning turned a darker, more sapphire color. My eyes, which normally mirrored the same color of my bright lightning, also turned darker as well. My aura, which normally didn't expand from me more than a meter, grew to nearly ten, also turning a darker blue color as well. The aura practically vibrated with chaotic energy, as it was filled with the signature black particles Heavenly Diamond usually exuded. Heavenly Thunder Form was finally here.

I stared Hades directly in the face with my dark blue, shining chaotic eyes. I saw everyone in the room freeze at my transformation, including Hades. Percy, Nico, Persephone and Demeter finally stopped fighting, and Hades looked at me with his jaw dropped. I couldn't blame any of them for their awe. My aura was absolutely massive, completely dwarfing Hades in strength.

Hades was not about to give up, however. The god of the dead didn't say anything to my new, almost mythical form. No, he simply powered up to his maximum power immediately, creating another burst of aura and a large shockwave, although not as powerful as mine. Hades grew to nearly twenty feet tall, the features of his form melding away into shadow. His face became featureless, with only his burning red eyes being easily discernable. He looked like a massive shadow demon.

Hades roared like a monster, the sound being like that of millions of Cerberuses all shouting at once, compacted into a single voice. He charged me, no doubt moving octillions of times faster than light, although he appeared practically in slow motion to me. Hades was powerful, no doubt. However, I was in a completely different realm than him now.

Shadowy tendrils and spike formed all around Hades' form, all of them prepared to impale me in all sorts of places. But that was not going to happen, no. I looked at Hades, and then to Nico, Persephone and Demeter. I had been betrayed by someone I once loved, practically offered up onto a silver platter to their snake father. At that, I felt rage.

Complete, utter rage. I hadn't been this angry in a long while, and with what has happened in the past year, that was saying a whole lot. My vision went red, my entire body starting to shake in anger. Before Hades could even close half the distance, I let out a massive, reality quaking roar that made Hades' earlier shot look completely pathetic. My dark blue, chaotic energy imbued aura increased in size fourfold, and the Underworld shook.

I could tell with my aura sense. The entire Underworld, as well as Tartarus rumbled at my might. Both of the infinite planes, the infinite spaces completely quaked just by me powering up and unleashing my anger all around me. Hades' assault was completely overwhelmed, all of his shadowy weapons being completely dispersed in a mere instant. Hades and everyone else in what was left of the annihilated throne room were forced to the ground, completely unable to even lift a finger as I unleashed my power.

It only lasted about ten seconds, but I knew it likely felt like much longer to everyone who felt my aura being unleashed. I know it did to me. Eventually, I let my aura die down, the size returning to it's normal area, or at least the normal area of my Heavenly Thunder Form. I looked around at the space around me, noting Hades' palace was completely gone. As were Demeter and Persephone, although whether they retreated or were destroyed from my power, I couldn't tell.

The only ones left nearby were Hades, Nico and Percy, all of them currently floored. Hades was the first to stand up, doing so shakily. He was still in his giant shadow form, but he no longer looked intimidating to me. No, he looked almost goofy at this point. He rose his shadowy head towards me, his featureless face looking me in the eye. Although his expression didn't even exist, I knew if he had his normal face, it would be completely filled with fear.

I didn't let Hades even get a chance to speak, lot alone do anything else. I moved towards him at full speed, my right hand pulled back into a fist as I passed Thymos into my left. I imbued my left fist with my chaotic infused aura, making sure to control the power so I didn't accidentally destroy the universe. I appeared right in front of Hades; the god of the dead completely frozen in my perspective. And I punched.

My dark blue aura surrounded fist slammed into Hades' torso, immediately breaking through like someone punching through sheet rock. Ichor exploded from Hades' torso and mouth, completely staining my arm before being incinerated by the intensity of my aura. As my fist passed through Hades' torso and out the other side, I could feel my chaotic aura being released through my fist.

That wouldn't be good if it all just exploded violently in every direction. It would probably kill Hades, and despite how the situation looks, I'd rather avoid that right now. So, using my immense aura control and some help from my telekinesis, I guided the chaotic energy into a single straight line, the aura shooting out like a dark blue, lightning surrounded beam erupting from Hades' torso.

Reality in that straight line behind Hades more or less…broke. Rips and tears appeared where the beam passed through, some of the rifts being multiversal portals, and some simply being impossibilities in reality, like random kaleidoscopes of infinite color, duplications of images, that sort of thing. It quickly faded and reality mended after a couple of seconds, the chaotic energy finally dissipating millions of miles away in the mostly empty Underworld.

All of this happened in the span of a couple of femtoseconds, my sheer speed making that possible. A massive glob of ichor erupted from Hades' mouth once more, and the god of the dead slumped to his knees. His shadowy giant form completely faded, as he returned to his normal height of ten feet tall. His normal features returned, only covered in ichor.

I dropped my Heavenly Thunder Form with a sigh, not tired or drained in the slightest. I had used it for less than twenty seconds, and my stamina had massively increased ever since my run in with Luke and Matt seven months ago. I currently didn't even need the form, as Hades' strength dropped to that of less than my base form. I still stayed in my regular Thunder Form to be safe, though.

I floated in the air slightly, grabbing Hades by the throat with my free hand. The situation was now reverse, as I was the one choking Hades while he weakly grasps at my armored arm, completely weak and helpless. "I'm going to say this once, Hades. So, you better fucking listen."

I felt the extreme urge to kill Hades right here and now. The god of the dead had tried to kill me personally not once, but twice. He was going to kill us the second time to make his idiot son the child the Prophecy speaks of, basically dooming the entire universe. Honestly, killing him was very justified. But I couldn't. With my father nearly dead and Poseidon preoccupied, Hades was our biggest divine heavy hitter. It made me want to vomit, but we needed him.

I glared at the heavily injured and weakened Hades. "After you recover from this, you are going to pull yourself together and are going to help us in this fucking war, understand? You are going to swallow your stupid ego, pull your panties out of your ass and be there when the final battle happens. If you aren't, and we're all still alive in the end, well…" I motioned to Thymos, holding the spiked ball towards Hades' face. "I think you can guess what is going to happen."

With that, I unceremoniously threw Hades to the cracked and destroyed ground, leaving the god of the dead in a heap. He didn't say anything, but I knew he could hear me. He better have, at least, or I'm going to kill him regardless. I floated back to the ground and walked towards Percy and Nico, who were still in their ascended forms, just staring at me as I walked.

Both of them looked at me in awe. Yeah, they knew how strong Heavenly Thunder Form made me but neither of them had truly seen it in action. They had seen me fight against Luke in the Battle of The Labyrinth, but I was much weaker then. Here, I basically one shotted Hades, one of the strongest beings in the entire universe, casually, too.

However, I didn't care about that. No, I was pissed. Pissed we had gotten sidetracked in this whole affair, pissed I even had to fight Hades again, and mostly pissed because Nico had betrayed us. I glared at the son of Hades, who suddenly looked very afraid. I blurred in front of him in a burst of speed before he could even react, grabbing him by the throat and lifting him off the ground.

Percy's eyes widened in surprise as I lifted Nico above my head. "Zane!? What are you doing!?" I silenced Percy with a glare, something I didn't do that often. However, right now, I wasn't in the mood to argue. This little fucking creep right here nearly got both of us killed, all because he was too fucking stupid to believe his father would double cross him.

I turned my enraged glare to Nico, who struggled against my armored arm holding him up. I felt his aura flare, and I knew he was going to shadow travel away, so I created a small, but powerful telekinetic barrier around him, making him unable to escape. "Give me one good goddamn reason I shouldn't FUCKING KILL YOU!"

Nico's eyes immediately became frantic as he struggled to escape my grasp, having no luck. "Wait! I-I didn't know he was going to try and kill both of you! I thought he was just going to talk to you guys, nothing more, I swear!" I immediately put pressure on his neck, tightening my grasp. Nico made a choking noise, and I could practically feel his neck get smaller.

I brought Nico back done to eye level, looking at him directly in the eye. "You can't be that fucking stupid. The entire time I've known you, you've been the smartest of our group, sans Annabeth. You had to have known what was going on, you little fucking traitor." Nico couldn't respond, as my tight grip on his throat made him unable to speak.

Percy put a rocky hand on my armored arm. "Zane, he's telling the truth." I looked at him in surprise. He was sticking up for Nico, even after what happened? "Just feel it in his aura. Or look into his mind if you need to. He didn't know what was going on."

I turned my glare to Percy, who didn't back down an inch. "You're sticking up for him!? Even after he brought us to that shadowy shithead back there? And even after he tried to kill you with Demeter and her weird ass daughter?"

Percy nodded. "Yes. Zane, he wasn't trying to actually kill me. He wasn't fighting seriously." Percy looked at Nico, who was practically asphyxiating in my grip. "And can you really blame him for believing his father? It's his dad and he practically worships him. Wouldn't you believe something your dad told you?"

I wanted to argue against what Percy was saying. I wanted to argue I would only listen to my dad because he was actually a god who wouldn't double cross me like Hades would, not because he was my father. But I knew the argument was weak. Of course, I would do what my father asked, he's my father. Dude literally made me. I didn't bother going through Nico's mind or emotions. I knew he was telling the truth, and I just wanted to take my rage out on something.

I growled and roughly threw Nico down to the ground, who immediately gasped for air and greedily sucked in as much as possible. "Fine. I won't kill him, then." I glared at Nico, who was still on the ground, gasping for air. "Take us back to the Styx then so we can do the ritual. We've wasted enough time here." Nico didn't verbally respond, as I'm pretty sure his neck had taken some damage, but he nodded.

When Nico had finally recovered and got his bearings, he placed his hands on our shoulders, although he was hesitant to put his on mine. Makes sense, because I just threated to kill him, and honestly, I still wanted to. Nico had practically yelled at me for trying to reach out to him and apologize, and then he goes and does something like this, albeit unknowingly.

Within seconds, darkness overcame my vision, and me, Percy and Nico all melded into shadow.

(000)

The three of us appeared right beside the same bank of the River Styx, although I couldn't exactly tell if it was directly the same one or not. The Underworld practically looked the exact same, as did all banks of the Styx. I immediately separated myself from the son of Hades, not wanting to be touched by him any time soon. I looked at the dark waters, barely able to contain my anger and frustration.

Percy stepped up to the bank, sighing as he noticed the obvious tension between me and Nico. "Okay, let's just pretend none of that happened and get on with this. Nico, what is the process of all this? You said there was a ritual, right?"

Nico was more withdrawn than usual, which made sense. It took him a few seconds to answer, but he eventually did. "Well, not exactly, per say. You can't just jump in. The river will burn away your body and your soul, no matter how durable you are." I looked at the dark river with wide eyes. Was it filled with chaotic energy? "You would be gone, for eternity. You have to stay anchored to your mortal life, by preparing yourself. Find something that keeps you grounded, and that will be your saving grace."

I stared at the Styx, contemplating Nico's words. I…couldn't do this, then. Staying mortal was not part of my plans. No, I wanted to become a god. I wanted to pursue the path of strength and power, despite all the pain and suffering it had caused so far. It was that, along with the goal of protecting those closest to me, that kept me going. Maybe I could anchor myself to the love me and Taylor once shared, but that was no longer in my life.

I looked towards Percy. "You have to do this, Percy." Percy looked at me in confusion, wondering what I was talking about. "I can't anchor myself. If I jump in that river, I'll be destroyed." Well, perhaps if I was in my Heavenly Thunder Form, it wouldn't affect me, but if I jumped in the way I was now, I'd die.

Percy shook his head. "No, Zane. It has to be you. You're the Child of The Prophecy. You're the one who's going to save Olympus and the universe, not me." Percy's tone was adamant, like what I was asking him to do was out of the question.

I shook my head in return. "No, Percy. I can't anchor myself to a mortal life. I want to be a god. I have nothing to hold on to." I glanced at Nico, but quickly turned my gaze away from him. "I have you and everyone at camp, but I want to pursue power to protect all of you. I can't exactly anchor myself to mortality for the sake of others if I want to shed it for the sake of others, too." I smiled at the son of Poseidon. "Me and the Styx just wouldn't mix. This is your job."

Percy was silent for a few seconds, before he returned the smile. "Well, being invulnerable would be pretty cool. Need some way to catch up to you after how strong you've been getting." Percy turned back to the oily river, his face serious. "I have just the thing to anchor myself to." It didn't take a genius to know Percy was thinking of Annabeth. Percy took a deep breath and was about to step in the water.

"Wait!" A deep, almost echoey voice broke out before Percy could touch the shadowy water. All three of us turned around and saw…well, a warrior. The Warrior. He was silverish and translucent, like that of a ghost. He stood at least six foot four, nearly as tall as I was, and almost as built and muscular. His face looked like it could have been handsome, if it wasn't for the scars. He wore Mycenean armor, complete with a hoplite helm and a sword at his waist. Down at his feet, an arrow was pierced through his heel. This was Achillies.

Achillies looked at Percy with a serious face. "Demigod. Before you enter the Styx and receive my Curse, I must warn you." Achillies shook his head. "Do not do this. The Styx will make you powerful, far more powerful than you can even imagine, but it will also make you weak. Your combat prowess will surpass anyone's, but your weaknesses, your failings will also increase."

Percy stared at the ancient legendary warrior; his brow knitted in confusion. "What are you talking about exactly, Achillies? What do you mean my weaknesses? Do you mean the heel, or are you talking about something else?"

Achillies shook his head. "The heel is only the physical weakness. No, the Curse also increased my mental ones. This arrow here in my heel," Achillies motioned to the arrow sticking out of his ankle. "…was not what truly killed me. It was my arrogance. Please, I implore you, don't do this."

I was about to argue against Achillies, about to tell him we had no choice, not with how powerful Luke had become. But surprisingly, Percy beat me to it. "I must. If I don't, then the entire universe could be lost. Luke Castellan, or Kronos as I'm sure you know him, is waging war on Olympus and we're losing right now. We need every advantage we can get, and this is one of them."

Achillies sighed at Percy's words. "Well, let the gods witness that I tried." Achillies looked Percy dead in the eye, his ghostly face serious. "If you must do this, demigod, then concentrate on your mortal point. Just imagine one spot on your body that will be vulnerable. This is the point your body will anchor your soul to this plane of reality. It will be your greatest weakness, but also your greatest hope. No being can be truly invulnerable. If you lose sight on what keeps you mortal, the river will burn you to nothingness. You will cease to exist, permanently."

Percy smirked at the long dead warrior. "Not the first time I've died." Achillies shook his head and faded away as Percy turned back to the dark river. "Well, this is it, then. The place where I might be erased from existence." Percy looked at me. "If this is truly goodbye, Zane, thank you for everything. You gave me a second chance at life. You're my brother, man."

I smiled at Percy's words, ignoring the fact that this could be the last time I ever see Percy. "Come here you fucking idiot." I brought Percy into a tight hug, holding onto him as if this could be the last time I ever see him. Percy chuckled as he returned the hug, making my smile wider. Eventually, the hug broke and Percy stared down the water. "You better come back, otherwise I'll remake your soul somehow and beat your ass."

Percy smirked back at me. "You'd have to wait in line, dude. Annabeth would be there first, kicking my shit in." Both me and Percy shared a chuckle. I saw Nico off to the side, looking uncomfortable at me and Percy's touching moment. I didn't give a single shit what the son of Hades felt right now. Percy turned completely to the water, not looking back again. "Here goes nothing."

With that, Percy dropped into the dark water, leaving me and Nico in complete silence.

(000)

Alright, y'all! That's the end of the second chapter of TLO, and this one was fucking awesome to write. Zane vs Hades 2 was one of my favorite scenes to write so far in this book, as it had so many callbacks to chapter seven and how Zane has grown and evolved since then. Seriously, I'm so hyped for the rest of the book, though.

Also, clarification right now, Luke does not have the Curse of Achillies. Luke doesn't even believe he needs it, as he has Aposynthesi and that thing's immensely powerful. Luke's already op enough with his bullshit time powers, so let's not give him invulnerability on top of that. Anyway, that's all from me, so I'll see you all in chapter three. Later bitches!

Also before we go, we're going to give a direct rating how strong each of the main cast is right now:

Zane: Planet Level in his base form, Galaxy levelS in his Thunder Form, Large Universe Level in Heavenly Thunder Form. (I'll give a full VsBattles profile on him again at the end of the arc, as I normally do."

Percy: Planet Level in base, Multi-Solar System Level in Earthshaker Form.

Nico: Continent Level in base, Solar System Level in Shadow Form.

Taylor: Large Island level normally, Small Country level with aura.

Annabeth: Island Level normally, Large Island Level with Eyes of The Owl.

Arthur: Large Island Level normally, Small Country Level in Cosmic Overload: Solar Flare, Multi-Continental in Cosmic Overload: Gamma Burst, Planet Level in Cosmic Overload: Supernova.

Grover: Continent Level as the God of The Wild.

Young Matt: Small Country Level in base, Large Star in Red Aura.