Ehhh... finally, the final chapter... Thanks to everyone who followed, liked and reviewed this story! It means a lot to me! I'm glad everyone enjoyed it. Anyway, I think you've waited long enough for that, I won't keeps you from reading any longer.

Thank you to Dragon-overlord-Yuu for the beta as always! Without her, many dots would be missing. and a wall would be a while.

Enjoy!

Things were back to normal. Classes were going fine, and Hades was quite well. They were so close to graduation now, yet only he and Apollon had broken their restrainers. They weren't scared that the others would succeed too, and yet… they were running out of time.

As they waited for their class to start, the gods chatted together, talking about nothing in particular. Loki was being restless, as usual, standing up and going around the classroom, throwing a small candy in the air and catching it back in his hand as it fell down.

"Hey, Mr. Death! Are you ever going to do another star gazing event?"

"For you to out someone else's relationship? No thanks." Hades replied as he scribbled down some notes about their homework from yesterday.

"We're all outed already though! We could do something before…before everything ends..." Balder said.

The atmosphere grew colder instantly. They didn't want to think about graduation, which was going to be a lot sooner than they had thought at first. Hades glanced quickly at Takeru, who smiled back at him. They hoped they'd be able to see each other again, but as time flied, it was less and less likely that they would.

"I think it'd be a good idea! Right uncle? It'd be a very good idea to do something all together again!" Apollon quickly said in an attempt to lighten the mood.

"Yeah. We'll talk about it at tonight's club activity meeting." Hades smiled at his nephew.

At least they'd have a good memory of their time together. They always went with the idea they were going to leave this school forever, since in the other case they would be stuck forever in the miniature garden.

The rest of the day went peacefully. After classes, Hades and Takeru fled to the astronomy club's room, saying they wanted to look at some stuff for the event. They left under Loki's teasing about them only finding an excuse to go make out in somewhere alone. Yui and the rest of the Greeks would join them later, as they had something to take care of before.

Silently, the two of them walked toward the club room. Ever since they had shared that look earlier today, when Balder mentioned everything was about to end, they needed to talk about it. They needed to talk about the past months and everything they went through, from the moment Hades jumped in the river to now.

They entered the room, putting their bags down by the wall. Hades went straight for the couch and sat down on it, throwing his head back and looking at the ceiling. Takeru took a long moment before slowly walking toward his boyfriend, letting himself fall next to him and passing his arms around his waist, hugging him.

"I don't want to lose you." he whispered, looking at the table in front of them.

"I don't want to lose me either." Hades smiled, trying to shake the sadness from his boyfriend.

Seeing as he wasn't reacting at all, Hades forced him to sit up properly, so he could look at him. He saw just how sad Takeru actually looked, tears filling up his eyes, even though he would not let them fall.

"Hey, Stormy." Hades whispered as he hugged him close. "It's going to be okay. We'll figure something out."

He pressed a kiss to the top of Takeru's head, burying his face in the boy's blue hair. His nose was filled with the smell off the sea, the saline air that reminded him of Greece. He tangled his finger in Takeru's hair, undoing his small ponytail and removing his headband.

Takeru hugged him strongly, his face buried in the crook of Hades' neck. "I almost wish we stay stuck here forever."

"We can't do that to Yui."

"I know…. That's why I said almost."

Hades gently pushed the boy away from him and cradled his face in his large hands, kissing the tip of his nose. "I promise we'll find a way, Tak. We will see each other again after we graduate. I'm not letting you go, not ever."

"It's a bit funny, how you are the one comforting me when a little while ago, it was the other way around." Takeru smiled sadly as he stared into Hades eye.

"Yes." Hades smiled back. "It's my turn to comfort you."

Hades leaned down and pressed a kiss to Takeru's lips, at first a simple brush of his lips, a small peck to the corner of his mouth, and finally kissing him properly. Takeru's lips were slightly parted, inviting his lover to deepen the kiss, and he did.

Hades let go of Takeru's face and pushed him down on the couch as the boy's legs moved to wrap themselves around Hades' waist, blocking him on top of the sea god. Their lips were locked together, their tongues twirling together as Hades pressed himself against his boyfriend. He felt his cheeks burning as he kissed Takeru's jaw, slowly trailing down to his neck where he gently bit the soft skin.

Takeru moaned against Hades' ear as he felt his skin getting warmer at every touch, every kiss Hades left on him. He bit his ear gently, earning a low growl. What he did not expect was Hades taking possession of his lips again. The sea god smiled, as he knew his boyfriend's ears were his weakness. But the fact he wouldn't let him touch his ears meant he didn't want to go further than this. And Takeru was fine with that. It would have felt wrong to do it, when really all the sea god wanted was to feel his boyfriend next to him. Anyway, they would have plenty of time later tonight to get it on.

"Hades…" Takeru moaned against Hades' lips.

His face was flushed, but not as much as the Greek's. Since Hades' had a pretty pale skin tone in general, when the blood rushed to his face during intimate moments, he became a deep red color, which always amused Takeru.

Takeru wrapped his arms around Hades neck, hugging him even closer, biting his boyfriend's lower lip. They stayed like that for a long time, kissing, biting and sucking, leaving love marks on each other, like they were going to be separated soon and wanted to make sure everyone knew the other belonged to someone.

After a long moment, they parted, breathless, staring into each other's eyes. Takeru let his legs fall from Hades' waist as the Greek man let himself fall on top of his boyfriend, his face pressed against the boy's neck.

"I love you." he whispered, his voice but a barely audible whisper.

"I love you too." Takeru replied in the same hushed tone, a smile gently spreading on his lips. "And you're getting it tonight."

Hades laughed softly. "I'll personally see to that."

They cuddled a while longer, not talking, simply enjoying the other's presence. They jumped slightly when they heard the door opening violently and hitting the wall.

"Hades! Takeru!" Yui's voice called, panicked.

"What's wrong?" Hades asked first, sitting up on the couch, giving Takeru the chance to do so too.

"Are we interrupting something?" Dionysus couldn't help but ask seeing the two dishevelled gods.

"No. What's going on, weed? Is everything alright?" Takeru asked as he tried to style his hair back to his normal hairdo.

"It's Loki and Balder, they have disappeared and Thor fears for the worst." the young girl explained.

Only then did they see the tall man standing in the background, looking more worried than ever. It was strange, since they were so used to seeing him with a straight face all the time. They remembered what Thor had told them a few days ago, when Balder had fainted during class and Loki had stayed with him the whole time during the god of light's stay in the infirmary. Thinking that Loki had to kill his own boyfriend… that was horrible.

"They've been gone since when?"

"After school. Loki said he wanted to show Balder something." Dionysus replied. "Thor was not with them and I didn't think it was an important detail."

"Loki said he wanted to end this soon. He's scared it's going to be too late otherwise, and Balder will… he doesn't want Balder to suffer any longer." The thunder god explained briefly.

"We need to find them quickly. Apollon is on his way to the Library to tell Thoth and Tsukito, and then to Zeus. We have to hurry." Yui concluded.

"Let's separate. I'll cover the west wing, Takeru you'll cover the school ground with Dionysus. Yui, north wing. Thor east wing and tell Apollon to do the south wing. He'll probably want Tsukito with him."

They nodded and left rapidly. They had to cover the school ground, and then if they didn't find them, the dorms and the forest. They had so little time…

They ran through the school. Balder and Loki couldn't be that far! Hades felt guilty… he hadn't realized he wasn't the only one suffering…

He had covered the whole west wing and had met Takeru as the boy came back in the school to find him, having finished looking around the school ground. They were now running through the corridors.

Seeing his boyfriend's worried face, Takeru gave him a gentle pat on the shoulder. He had gotten quite good at reading Hades' moods. He understood how his brain worked, and how he felt right now.

"Don't be too hard on yourself. Thor said it was bound to happen."

"I know. Still… I can't help but feel like if everyone hadn't been worrying about me, this wouldn't even be in the equation…"

"Balder has always been the god of destruction, it was in his fate. You Greeks have the Three Fates right? Well, it was on his string of life."

"How do you even know about that?" Hades asked, puzzled as they turned in a different hallway, still running.

"When Thor said the Norns had mentioned this would happen, I asked what it was and Apollon said they were like the Greek's Moirai, or the Fates. He explained briefly that they controlled the thread of life of every mortal, from birth to death."

"I'm surprised you remembered all that." Hades smiled as they reached the exit of the school.

"Fuck off." Takeru grinned.

They came to a stop in front of the door. The sun was setting. They were joined by the others fairly quickly.

"No sign of them?" Yui asked, obviously worried by the imminent danger.

The gods all shook their head. The only ones missing were, of course, the Norse gods. Thor had already left to go look in the forest. And as the day slowly faded out, it became urgent to find the others.

Suddenly a burst of light cut the horizon in two. The small group stared for a while, surprised at the bright light standing like a pillar right after the forest. The earth shook, catching them off guard.

"Oh no" Yui said in a small voice, tearing up.

It was too late. They didn't know what was going on, but it wasn't looking good. The earth shook again, and Thoth arrived on the stairs, looking at the beam of light.

Hades observed them all as Yui ran toward the Egyptian god, jumping into his arms for comfort, Thoth hugging her close in protection. He saw Apollon taking hold of Tsukito's hand. Dionysus walking away, not knowing how to react in the situation. And Takeru. He was standing there, staring, his expression blank.

He saw a blast of fire through the air, attacking the light pillar, followed by lightning strikes.

"It's not too late" He said, surprising anyone "We can still save Balder."

The earth rumbled again, sending them to the ground. "How?" Dionysus asked, skeptical.

"Me and Apollon. We can change into our god forms. You all- just help the spirits. I don't want them to be harmed."

"I'm going too." Takeru said, planting himself before him.

"Nope." Hades leaned down and kissed him gently. "I know you're strong, but without your godly powers, you could get hurt, Stormy. Please… stay behind, just this time." He pleaded.

"I'm not staying behind, I'm going too!" the sea god angrily replied.

"It's my turn to keep you safe. Please. Just do this for me."

Takeru frowned. He felt so useless without his powers! All he wanted was to help as much as he could. He wanted to help his friends. He wanted to save them, like he saved Hades, and like he wished he could have saved Izanami. He didn't want anyone else to go without him reacting.

"I am going. I'm not letting you go and risking your life without me there to defend you. And I want to help Balder too. I am going." He said, head high, looking mad, but mostly determined.

Something snapped around his ankle. Surprised, he looked down and raised the bottom of his pants, only to see that his shackle was gone. A wide smile spread on his face as he looked up to see Hades smiling back at him.

"You can't stop me now." he said as he walked a few steps backward, turning into his god form.

"You win this time, Stormy. Now come on, Apollon get your ass over here, we got a god to save."

The Greeks transformed and jumped into the air, following Takeru who was waiting for them already. Scepter in hand, fire surrounding him, Hades looked fierce and scarier than ever. And yet, he was the same Hades they had saved from that river's water, and helped him heal through the months. Now, it was time to give back what his friends had given to him.

"Yui" he spoke solemnly, looking down at the Japanese girl, "I count on you to help the spirits… and the rest of these boys to figure it all out." he smiled.

"I will" she winked back at him, her eyes teary.

By the sea, the landscape was a disaster. Fire was raging in the forest, holes in the ground where lightning and ray of light had hit.

"I don't see Loki-Loki." Apollon said as they stared. "I can't see him."

"I don't see him or Thor at all… and I'm guessing Balder is in the middle of that thing." Hades added.

"Over there."

They looked down at where Takeru was pointing only to see Loki lying down in the sand, Thor running toward him. They immediately dove to where they were, landing a few meters away, close enough to hear what was going on.

"I- I couldn't do it." Loki sobbed, hiding his face in his hand "I couldn't put him out of his misery."

"Loki, it's not too late." Thor tried to argue.

"Yes! It's too late I wasn't quick enough I wasn't… I wasn't…"

Before they could say or do anything, Takeru ran toward Loki and grabbed him by the collar, raising him off the ground. Surprised, the fire god stared at him, unable to speak, tears still streaming down his cheeks.

"Get a hold of yourself, idiot!" he yelled, shaking him "Do you think you'll save him by giving up? You're stronger than that, more persistent! Come on Loki, you're not alone in this. We'll help you."

Loki stared for a long moment, unable to speak. Takeru let him go and stepped back. Loki wiped the tears away and smiled his mischievous smile at the smaller god.

"Alright. Let's save Balder's butt." he smiled.

They fought bravely, trying to create a breach through the pillar of light. At some point, they were joined by the others. They concentrated their attacks on the pillar of light, relentlessly hitting it to create a breach. They needed to get Balder out of there, and quick. The garden was being destroyed, and soon there wouldn't be anything left to save.

The moment there was a crack big enough to let someone go through it, Loki jumped on the occasion. Surrounded by flames so the walls wouldn't close around him, the fire god hurried to his boyfriend's side. He had to calm him down and quick. They barely had minutes left before they would all die…

While Loki was taking care of that, the rest of them stayed outside, deflecting the destructive light that kept attacking from every side.

Takeru was standing far from his boyfriend, swinging his sword here and there, sending the light back where it came from. From the corner of his eyes, he could see Hades doing the same with his scepter. He dreaded the end of this fight. He didn't know what was going to happen and it scared him. To believe he might be separated from his beloved forever horrified him.

"Takeru, be careful!" He heard Hades yell.

Takeru turned around just in time to deflect a deadly ray of light that was coming his way. Right. Before thinking about the after match, they needed to live through this moment. What was taking Loki so long anyway?

Everything suddenly calmed down. The pillar of light was still there, but it wasn't attacking anymore. Nothing could be heard. Silence ruled on the battlefield. It felt unreal, to be able to call it over now.

The earth shook again, confirming Takeru's fears. It wasn't over yet. He turned to look at Hades as one last ray of light shot out of the pillar, directly toward his boyfriend.

The world stopped as he stared in horror to what was happening. The ray was shaped like a lightning bolt, springing right toward Hades, most likely going to kill him. He would have been able to avoid it, but the lightning was absolutely silent, and Hades was looking at his nephews, talking about something. He was unaware of the danger, and there wasn't enough time to act anymore.

Without a second thought, Takeru flew right over to his boyfriend. He couldn't afford losing him. Not after everything they had gone through. Not after everything Hades had gone through. He had finally come to term with himself. He had finally accepted he was allowed to be happy, that he could live. Takeru would never be able to survive if he knew Hades had died, so shortly after he had healed.

He placed himself before Hades, who turned around at the same time as the bolt of light hit Takeru. His eyes widened as he saw the sea god falling toward the ground, inert. There was a moment where he couldn't move, unable to understand what had just happened. In a fraction of second, he was diving toward the ground after Takeru's body, catching him in his arms just in time. He landed on the ground safely, falling to his knees as he cradled the boy's body.

"Wake up.." he whispered, shaking Takeru's body gently.

Takeru looked up at him and smiled, placing a hand on Hades' cheek. At the same time, the light disappeared and the others started surrounding them, wondering what had happened.

"Are you hurt?" the boy croaked before being taken by a fit of coughing.

"I'm-I'm fine… don't talk we'll get you help soon."

"Hades" Takeru's voice was slowly fading away. "Promise me… that you'll live… okay?"

Tears started streaming down Hades' face as the inevitable dawned on him. He was feeling death lurking nearby, ready to take his boyfriend away forever.

"Why did you save me idiot? Why…?" Hades sobbed as he pressed his face against Takeru's hand.

"Because…you deserve to live, stupid. Promise me to keep going?"

Hades nodded, no sound coming out of his mouth. He wasn't able to speak. He couldn't handle what was happening. Takeru couldn't die! Not him…

"I love you…'Des" the sea god whispered in a barely audible voice, smiling at Hades.

The Greek god gently pressed a kiss on Takeru's lips, but the boy was already gone. Hades hugged the corpse close, crying hard against Takeru's neck as the very last of life left his body. Why did it have to be him? After he had just broken his shackle… and their promise! How could he have…?

"Uncle..." Apollon gently said, putting a hand on Hades' shoulder.

Hades shrugged him off as he got to his feet, walking away. He wouldn't let go of Takeru's body. He couldn't. After all they had gone through, it felt unreal. Unbelievable. This was all just a dream, a horrible nightmare. Hades believed he would wake up from this, to find Takeru curled up in his arms, sleeping soundly. But the sharp pain he felt in his heart made him sure it was not a dream. It was the truth, the terrible reality. And it was his fault. If he hadn't been so sure they had won, that he could spare a few seconds to talk to his nephews, Takeru wouldn't have had to save him again.

Takeru had saved him twice. The first time, they had both lived and Takeru had helped him find joy in life again. But the second time, only one of them would live.

And he would never see Takeru again.

The garden had been saved in time, and Zeus had been able to reconstruct it for the rest of the time they had to spend at the school until the final day. And there they were, on the graduation day. Unlike what one would have expected, the atmosphere was cold and sad. They were all grieving the death of Takeru.

Hades was sitting in the far back. He was wearing his uniform, looking very formal in it. His expression was blank, but everyone knew he was still blaming himself over the death of his boyfriend. He still believe that if they hadn't been so busy worrying for him, they would have reacted in time to help Balder. And Takeru would still be here with them…

Zeus made a speech up front, but his big brother wasn't listening to him. He couldn't bring himself to believe he deserved this graduation, not after everything. Takeru should have been the one attending this ceremony, and not him.

As soon as it ended, Hades left the room. When he reached the hallway, he started running, ignoring his friends' calling him. He wanted to be alone. To be far from everyone. He wanted to go back to the underworld, where nothing would remind him of his lost beloved.

He stopped in the middle of the interior garden, looking up at the sky as the rain slowly started falling, hitting his face. He closed his eyes, enjoying the gentle touch of the small drops. It was like the rain was trying to tell him something, to caress his face with a gentle hand. Much like Takeru would do when Hades had breakdowns. When he needed comfort. When he needed him…

"Hades." he heard a voice behind him.

Slowly, the Greek god turned around to find Balder standing there, untouched by the rain. He was smiling sadly at him.

"I'm sorry that… it happened. I didn't want to hurt any of you and… and yet…"

"It's alright." Hades voice come out hoarse. "Don't blame yourself. You weren't Balder back then, and you had no control over what you were doing."

"I won't blame myself if... if you don't blame yourself. Agana Belea told me you felt guilty for being distracted back then, and that you both should have survived. But it isn't your fault, Hades."

Hades smiled, blinking tears out of his eyes. He walked pass Balder, gently tapping him on the shoulder.

"I'll still blame myself. It was caused by my misfortune after all. But I have a promise to keep, so don't worry for me."

And he left, disappearing in the shadows.

Despite wanting to leave for his realm immediately, he felt he should at least bid the others goodbye. He felt he also needed to apologize to Tsukito.

With a heavy heart, he walked through the school, until he met a small group of people who were looking for him. He asked the spirits if they knew where his friends were, and they pointed in the direction of the library.

Heart as heavy as his steps, he walked. But he did feel slightly better. He believed he was going mad due to his sadness and grieving, but he felt like that gentle rain had been a last hug from Takeru, a final goodbye. He still felt guilty, but he knew Takeru was in a good place.

He found the group of gods and Yui inside the library, discussing some matters. Balder was already with them. Yui turned around when she heard the sound of wet shoes against the floor, and immediately ran to Hades to hug him.

"I just came to say goodbye." he whispered as he hugged her back. "I'd rather grieve alone, in the Underworld, where I won't be constantly reminded of him."

"Promise you'll visit me?"

"Someday, maybe. I can grieve for a long time."

"We'll make sure he gets out of his cave every once in a while" Dionysus added as he joined them. "Take care, Hades."

He bid everyone farewell, and apologized to Tsukito. The boy simply smiled and bowed. Apollon wrapped an arm around his boyfriend's shoulders, hugging him close and smiling at his uncle.

Hades slowly walked toward his brother's office. Despite having his powers back, he had no idea how to leave the school. After a small, cold talk with Zeus, he finally convinced him to send him back to Erebos right away.

"I'm sorry, Hades. For everything."

"It's too late for that, Zeus."

Hades changed back to his god form and disappeared in a flash of light.

The path to his palace had never been this long. The whispers were loud. The Master was back, after all. Finally, down in the dark, he felt like he didn't have to care what he looked like. He let his sadness show on his face, his back slightly bent to the front, his steps slow and unsure. But there was no one to worry about him anymore. Who cared if he looked like he wanted to die? No one would stop him now. Even if he would honor his final promise to Takeru, he couldn't help the intrusive thoughts that was trying to convince him to try it again.

He reached his palace after what felt like hours. He opened the door, torches lighting up as he walked by them. He reached the throne room, greeted by his ghostly servants, with the intention to sit on his throne and never get up. That seemed like a very, very great plan so far. But something had to beautifully ruin it.

"Whatever took you so long, death boy?" an all too familiar voice said.

But it was impossible. It couldn't be that voice.

Hades looked up and saw someone sitting on his throne, dressed in Japanese-style armor, with blue hair ending in white and golden eyes. He was smiling stupidly at him. How could it even be possible?

"You- here- what- how?" Hades stuttered, making Takeru laugh.

The boy stood up and walked over to Hades. "Had a little talk with Izanami and Thanatos. I knew that hanging out with you, I'd get to see her again. But anyway. I told them I wanted to be with you even in death, and Thanatos brought me here. I've been waiting for a while you know."

"We were finishing school…"

Hades was too surprised to compute what was happening. Takeru was in front of him, but he felt he wasn't alive. And yet… Hades put his hand on Takeru's face, making sure it wasn't a hallucination.

"I'm really here, 'Des" he whispered, leaning gently in the soft touch "Dead, but here. And you're stuck with me forever and ever." he smirked.

Unable to wait any longer, Hades kissed him on the lips, tears of joy rolling down his cheek.

"Welcome home, Hades."

~Fin~