Chapter 29:

A/N: This is the end, folks. (Well not really - there will be an epilogue and a sequel, but yes, this is the end) Hold onto your butts!

"Hades?"

This isn't real, he thinks to himself. She left me. He's walking towards her, each footstep feeling like lead. When he reaches her, he traces his fingertips down across her cheeks.

"Is it really you?" he whispers.

She leans into his touch, and places her hands on his chest.

"Yes," she replies. "Yes, my love, it is me." She wraps her arms around him tightly, feeling his warm body, his cool breath on her ear and in her hair. He starts kissing her neck, each kiss becoming more insistent as he trails his fingers through her hair. His lips meet hers, and the emotion and passion of the kiss leaves the both of them clinging to each other, and before either of them realize what's happening, they're making love in this white, empty place.

Shortly after, laying in a pile of their robes, limbs entangled together, Persephone asks, " What is this place, Hades? Where are we?"

"I thought I lost you forever," he says, his deep voice raspy and broken in her ear. Her head is on his chest, and her hand is playing with the small tufts of hair around his navel. She's staring at his side. There is no dark mark there.

He tries to hold back a snort as her fingers brush a particularly sensitive area on his stomach. "You're ticklish." She smiles and kisses his chest.

"I am many things," he teases, cocking an eyebrow. "A god in love-"

"Hades," she looks up at him, suddenly serious. "There are very important things happening…"

He looks down at her. "I don't know where we are, or what this place is." I just know that you're here with me, and that's all that matters.

"Hades, this is serious-"

"I'm being serious, my love. I was in Tartarus and then I wound up here. I don't know long I've been here, or how I got here, but I do know that I don't feel…pain anymore. The burning is gone. And you're here now, and I couldn't be happier." He kisses the top of her head and smiles at her.

She smiles softly at him and touches his cheek. "Hades, your friends – our friends – they're waiting for us outside of this place."

"But once we leave," Hades looks at her, and his eyes begin to get darker and angrier, "You'll leave me. Zeus will take you away from me." He grits out his brother's name through clenched teeth.

"No he won't, Hades."

"You say that, but you don't know your father like I do-"

"I know he won't, Hades. He can't."

He gives her a look, cocking his head to the side. "What do you mean he 'can't'?" he asks, leaning back on his elbows.

The look of confusion on his face almost makes her giggle. "Oh my dear Hades, you can be so obtuse sometimes." She kisses his nose and he makes a face, which does make her giggle.

"I… ate the seeds."

If he's shocked, his face doesn't show it, and he asks, "How many?"

"Six," she answers immediately."

He nods and lays his head back down. "So you would spend half the year with me, and half the year with your mother." He clears his throat, "That would be Zeus' decision. I know it."

"Hades, I know it isn't perfect…but it's something. He can't let the humans die because of my mother." She touches his chest. "This is hard for me too. Please, let's go home."

"Why should I leave this place when it is so perfect? I feel no pain here, Persephone. None at all. And you're here with me. There's no reason to leave this place."

"Hades, listen to yourself! What about your kingdom? ! Who will rule it in your stead?"

"Poseidon can rule it," he says, rather flippantly. "He's always wanted to anyway."

"Our friends? Our family? What then?!"

"I don't know!" he shouts. "Persephone, I wouldn't know how to leave this place, even if I wanted to. I feel at peace here with you more than I've ever felt anything in my life. I don't…I can't go back to that pain. I can't lose you again." His eyes bore right through hers, and she almost looks away.

She cups his cheek. "Hades, your father has taken control of your body. He is going to destroy Zeus...And he'll probably end up destroying you."

Hades shuts his eyes and leans into her touch. "I went to my father. I …let him use my body." He opens his eyes, "What have I done, Persephone?" he gasps. "I was so angry, so, so angry. I wanted to kill him…destroy him, everyone. I just wanted to be out of pain… to have you by my side, and he took you away from me, just like he took Calliope away from me…" He clenches his fists.

She puts a hand on his chest. "My lord Hades, please calm down. Everything is not as it seems." She tells him about Aphrodite and her plan to take over Olympus.

Afterwards, she looks at him searching his face for any sort of indication of agreement.

"Persephone," he starts, " I just…I – I don't know how to fix the damage I've caused. This horrible mistake-"

"It will be hard, Hades, but you have to try. We have to leave this place." She kisses him, and get up and dress. She laces her fingers through his. "You are a king, remember? You are strong, brave and just."

He smiles at her. "You are right. Cronus does not control my destiny. I do."

Just then, black ooze begins to pour in from all sides of the white plane. A loud, malicious voice booms across the plane. "Do not think that you can regain control over body so easily, my son. I thought that I had completely destroyed you, but no matter - thanks to your idiot wife, I've managed to finally find the last piece of your consciousness. Soon I will destroy the both of you!"

The ooze begins to travel up their legs, burning their flesh. "Hades, you must hurry!" Persephone screams. She begins to feel the world spin around her and she feels herself fading. "Hades!" she yells. She gets one last good look at him before the ooze reaches up to his face. "I can do this," she thinks she sees him mouth.

When she returns to her body, she feels like she's been hit with several hundred tons of water. The sensation is disorienting, and she's quite sure that if she wasn't a goddess, she would be dead. As such, she staggers back from Cronus, clutching her head. She notices that her father is in much the same position as before. How much time has passed? None at all…? She falls back as she see Cronus clutch his side, dropping his scythe and almost falling to his knees. She sees Zeus immediately grab the scythe, moving to strike at Cronus and slicing off a small piece of his thigh, causing him to stagger and fall forward onto his knees.

"What have you done to me, you bitch?!" he screams at her, as much from the pain in his side as from the wound inflicted from his own scythe.

"Keep fighting him, Hades!" she yells, stepping backwards. I love you. Zeus runs up beside her, holding the scythe and his lightning bolt.

"I will not be defeated so easily!" Cronus screams, coughing up black ooze. "If I cannot have your body, Hades, then I will destroy it!" he says, cackling and coughing. Cronus rips off the upper part of his torn chiton robe and armor. Then, something truly strange starts to happen.

The undulating mark on Hades' body begins to rise up from his skin and detach itself; large clumps of black ooze fall onto the white, marble floor. Cronus smiles evilly at Persephone. "Your love has doomed him to destruction!" and as Cronus says the words, his gold eyes begin to fade and change color from gray, to green and then finally blue. The entire right side of his abdomen up to his neck looks like it has been clawed open – and it's not healing. He falls onto his back, lifeless. "Hades!" she screams, moving to run towards him.

"Not yet," Zeus says, stopping her. He points to the black oozing mass that came from Hades' body…and it begins to from a body of its own. A head begins to form, followed by a body and arms and then legs, and the creature stands up, black and dripping and smelling of pungent infection.

"Father, please!" Persephone begs. Zeus nods at her. "Go, run to Hades. I'll take care of Cronus, once and for all." The oozing figure laughs, causing a piece of his body to fall off, only to return to his body by falling onto one of the legs on the way down.
"Let's end this, Father," Zeus says, tossing back the scythe.

"Let's," the figure says, and the two rush towards each other in a flurry of light and metal clashes.
Meanwhile, as Persephone reaches Hades, she notices that he is still breathing. Of course he is still breathing, gods can't die. "Hades." She has tears running down her cheeks, and she feels her breath hitching.

She sits down and crosses her legs, putting his head on her lap.
His eyes are barely open, looking but not seeing. "…Persephone…is that…you?" His voice comes out pained and ragged. She wants to wail; to cry like she's never cried before. She won't.
"Yes, Hades I'm here." She runs her hand through his hair, bloodied and matted with sweat and grime. She won't look at his side, but she knows – she knows that the color is red. Mortal.

She's distantly aware of Zeus and Cronus, and she pays no mind as the palace begins to shake and crumble around them from the force of the battle.

"…I-" he coughs, spitting up red onto her hand, "I did it, right?"

"Yes, my love, you did." She keeps her hand on his neck, feeling his pulse. It's starting to fade. This can't be happening. He's a god…how can he be d- No. That's impossible.

The red blood from his torn up side is beginning to pool around them and the smell of iron fills her nostrils.

She hears a thunderous clash in the background and the fighting continues. She sees him start to loll his head back and she lightly slaps his cheek. "Stay awake, Hades."

"…Pers..phone…you…you…know I …love you." His eyes roll back. There's one last thunderous crack, but Persephone doesn't look up. She doesn't care.

She slaps him again. "Don't you dare leave me like this, Hades. Don't you dare," she feels his pulse fade even more and she screams. "Don't you dare die on me, you bastard!" Her falling tears leave small droplets on his face.

"Persephone." It's her father. He touches her shoulder. "The battle's over. Cronus has been defeated."

She looks up at him with tears streaming from her eyes. "He's dying, Father. I don't know what to do." The other gods are surrounding them, looking with horror and wonder.

She feels his pulse quickly fading, his breathing coming to a stand-still. "Somebody help him!" she screams. "Please."

Apollo steps forward and lightly touches Hades' side. He shakes his head. "He is mortal, now, Persephone. The wound is too severe to treat. He is going to die."

"Thanatos, please, don't do this!" she cries.

"I am not doing anything, my lady! I have no idea what is going on!"

He's mortal. He's going to die. She looks around at all the gods and screams in pain. His breathing stops. "No, no, no, no no!" she yells. "No!"

"My lady!" Persephone lifts her head up to the sound of a familiar voice. "My lady, I know a way!"

"Hurry, Hecate!"

"Of course, my lady," her friend says, sitting down close to her. "But this way, it involves a sacrifice. You must give up your immortal life for his-"

"No, absolutely not!" Demeter screams. "Let the scoundrel die!"

The other gods begin to murmur their opinions.

"I accept," Persephone says.

"Kore!" her mother rushes to her, crying. "You would sacrifice your life for this man?"

Persephone lifts up her chin. "No mother; I would sacrifice myself for this god."

Hecate touches Persephone's shoulder. "If you do not do this, Hades will completely die. No one knows where his spirit will go, if it will go anywhere at all, as no god, nor titan has ever died before. If you sacrifice yourself, though, giving your immortal life force to him, I may be able to keep a fragment of your spirit in this plane. You will be able to reincarnated, should your mother ever have any more children."

Persephone looks at her mother. "You know how important Hades is, mother. I have to do this. The Underworld needs its ruler."

Demeter touches her daughter's face. "My dear beautiful daughter, look at how strong you've become…"

"I need to do this, Mother. And besides, I will never be truly leave you."

His pulse is gone. Persephone snaps her head to Hecate. "Do it."

Hecate nods and places her hands on both Hades and Persephone, chanting. As she continues to speak, Persephone begins to feel weaker, but sees the rise and fall of Hades' chest begin again. She smiles when she sees his wounds begin to heal. She knows that they'll leave scars. His eyes open and he instantly gets up, though he seems to have some trouble with his right leg. He's looking at her. She thinks he might be yelling, but she can't tell what he's saying. He's definitely crying. She feels her body become lighter until she realizes that she has no body at all, and then she forgets who she is entirely. The only thing she knows is that she's made a good choice, whatever that choice was. She feels at peace.

The End.

A/N: The end, folks. There will be a short epilogue to tie up loose ends, and of course a sequel. I really appreciate all of you guys for sticking it out with me. So this is the end, but not the end, end. You know? Yeah, you know. As always, let me know your thoughts in the comments section. I love you all. Thanks again for being awesome! J