"We have guests," I heard Artemis say from behind me, and I could detect a smile even though I was not looking at her.

It was Hestia who rushed towards me first, whereas Hermes and Apollo, who still had Dionysus slung over his broad shoulder, still stared at me with gaping mouths and wide eyes, clearly not believing that I was right in front of them.

The flame-haired goddess instantaneously pulled me into an embrace. And once again, I felt quite awkward.

"Persephone," I heard her whisper breathlessly into my hair as she rubbed my back gently. "My lovely niece. How I have missed you so much."

Slowly, the awkwardness began to die down when she began to speak. I noticed something quite special about her as she held me in the gentle embrace. She was very warm, like the cosy type of warmth from a fire during cold winter days. She radiated a strong motherly aura, shown especially in the way she spoke to me and the way she held me. In her arms, I felt safe and loved, as though I was a child that was being protected from the harsh truths of the real world.

It was so very nice a feeling, that I couldn't help but smile.

She pulled away, but kept her hands on my shoulders. Assessing me with beautiful yellow orbs, she said emotionally, "You're still so very beautiful, as always. You really have no idea how much I worried for your safety."

At that moment, I reached out to embrace her, feeling more of her comforting warmth. She hugged me back, and I murmured, "Aunt Hestia…"

Never before have had I thought I could call a goddess 'Aunt'.

When she had released me and gave me another loving smile, she turned to Hades and hugged him with an equally loving smile. Hades didn't hesitate to pull her into a hug as well, a wide smile on his face.

"My brother," she simply greeted, but with feeling of gladness in her voice. Hades patted her back affectionately, and replied, "Sister, we had only just seen each other about eight hours ago. Surely you did not miss me that much."

Pulling away from him, she exclaimed, "I miss my family, regardless of how long we have not seen each other."

I watched with a small smile the exchange of sibling affection between Hades and Hestia, before I finally got a taste of my own sibling affection.

Or should I say, half-sibling affection.

"Seph!" Apollo exclaimed in happiness as he wrapped his arms around my frame and easily lifted me off my feet, which kind of shocked me at first. "I can't believe it! You've come back to us!"

Despite being taken aback by his straightforwardness, I giggled at his enthusiasm. Indeed he was the God of the Sun; he had a very sunny personality.

Artemis appeared next to us and gently swatted his arm in disapproval "Take it easy!" she exclaimed. "She's still all confused."

Apollo gave his older twin sister a playful scowl and said defensively, "Well, sorry for being happy that she came back!" Nevertheless, he set me down on my feet gently, giving me a wide grin.

As I looked between him and Artemis, I was still trying to believe the fact that the both of them were twins. They definitely did not really look like one another at all; Artemis with her dark blackish-brown hair and dark midnight blue eyes, Apollo with his bright golden hair and light sky blue eyes. They seemed to be the very images of the celestial bodies they represented; Artemis with the moon and Apollo with the sun. And another interesting fact to note was that Apollo looked slightly older than Artemis, despite her being the oldest. But then again, I knew Hades was the eldest child, even though Hestia looked slightly older than him. And also, regarding looks, I too looked extremely different from Zeus and Demeter.

My attentions were then turned away to my other half-brother, Hermes. He slowly wrapped his arms around me, and I returned the gesture.

"I missed you, Persephone," he said earnestly. "I didn't think I'd ever see you again."

I gave him a gentle pat on his back as I replied, "Well I'm here now, aren't I? And that's all that matters." When I pulled back, Hermes was smiling gleefully.

Suddenly, I could hear a mumble coming from the couch, and was completely surprised to see Dionysus lying at the spot where Hades and I had just sat. Apollo must have laid him down there before embracing me.

My unconscious half-brother was slowly stirring awake, slowly rubbing his eyes as he mumbled sleepily, or drunkenly, "What's going on? What's with all the noise?"

Slowly, he sat himself up and scratched his head, looking with narrowed, tired eyes at everyone around him. But when his eyes, which I saw was hazel-coloured, landed on me, it widened instantaneously.

"Either I'm still really drunk, or Persephone is really standing right in front of me," he muttered without taking his eyes off me.

With an amused smile, I said to him, "In the flesh."

I really didn't know how, but he miraculously got out of his drunken state, jumped up from the couch and instantly hugged me tightly.

"Gods above, finally!" he exclaimed with a slight slur in his voice. "You have come back, sister! All is right once again!"

I tried my best to keep my smile on, all while trying not to breathe. Apollo was right; Dionysus did really reek of all sorts of strong alcohol. My head got woozy instantly when the odour shot into my nostrils.

"It's good to see you too, Dionysus," I said wearily, feeling faint from lack of oxygen.

Hades must have sense my discomfort, for he came forward and gave a single tap on Dionysus' shoulder. The Wine God instantly fell back onto the couch and knocked out.

I stared at him with wide eyes before turning to Hades. "What did you do to him?" I exclaimed worriedly, my voice nearly reaching a high pitch.

He simply shrugged his shoulders. "I didn't do anything," he explained. "He was already too drunk."

Beside him, Hestia said firmly, "Apollo? Hermes? Get Dionysus to his room."

Apollo and Hermes sighed in dismay, but both of them obediently took one of Dionysus' arms and placed it on their shoulders, pulled him up into a standing position, and halfway dragged him to a flight of floating stairs nearby.

Hades and I sat back down on the couch, with Artemis still drinking her hot cocoa on the armchair near me while Hestia shed off her light coat and hung it on the coat hooks, next to Artemis' hunting jacket.

"So," she began when she took a seat at the other armchair. "What brings the both of you here at so late an hour?"

Hades then turned to me, looking intently at me. I didn't look at her, but I could feel Artemis' eyes on me as well. And I knew that the both of them were expecting me to answer.

Twiddling my thumbs nervously, I said softly, "I kind of ran away from my mother."

Hestia gasped in shock. "What?" she exclaimed. "Ran away? What happened?"

Just after she finished saying that, Apollo and Hermes returned to the scene. Hermes sat down on the floor, resting his arms on the glass coffee table, while Apollo stood behind Artemis' armchair.

I took a deep breath before I began to tell them.

"She tried to feed me the waters of Lethe again, but I realized it and stopped her. We had a spat, and she found out that I was with Hades again. Of course, she took it horribly and then locked me up in my room, telling me that she'll take me away from Heatherton tomorrow so that I won't see Hades ever again. But I managed to escape and tried to run to Hades' house. I was then chased by wild hounds, but Hades found me then. Luckily, Artemis arrived in the nick of time and saved the both of us."

I took another deep breath after I finished, and leaned against Hades, who gave me a small kiss to my hair.

I heard a low whistle, and Apollo remarked, "That sounded pretty intense."

Artemis, on the other hand, was nearly furious. "I can't believe Demeter tried to erase your memories. And all for her own selfish reasons."

"I agree with Artemis on that," Hermes commented, his spring green eyes looking at me pitifully. "I mean, she's your mother. How could she do that?"

I felt my bottom lip trembling slightly, and I bit on it quickly to conceal it before the sadness began to show. Hades gave me another kiss, but I only relaxed slightly.

I didn't notice she had gotten out of her seat, but Hestia was suddenly sitting next to me in less than ten seconds. Her eyes held sadness as she wrapped her arms around me delicately. I leaned into her frame, feeling her comforting warmth.

"My poor dear," she murmured as she caressed my hair. "I truly am sorry that Demeter would do such a thing to you. You did not deserve any of that."

"But Demeter deserves punishment," I heard Hades murmur lowly but angrily, and I was afraid to look at him and see the black fire in his eyes. Then, I heard him mutter to himself, "Maybe a few minutes in Tartarus could do the job…"

Hestia shot him a quick glare, before returning to her loving façade. "Don't worry, Persephone. You're safe now. Here in the comfort of your husband and your family. We'll take care of you, and keep you safe."

At this point, I couldn't contain the tears any longer. A few trickled down my cheeks as my lips lifted into a grateful smile.

"Thank you," I whispered through my tears. "Thank you so much. I swear, I couldn't have asked for better."

Hestia gave me a warm smile and kissed my forehead. "It is alright, my dear. We are your family, and family should stick together."

"Exactly," Apollo said cheerfully. "For example, even though Artemis can sometimes be such a nag and sure irritates me a hell lot of times, I still love her for who she is!"

Artemis' head shot up to look at him with a scowl and she immediately gave him a quick but sharp swat to his arm, which made him yelp in pain.

"Well if you'd stop being annoying for more than five seconds, I wouldn't be 'such a nag'," she hissed. But after a few seconds, her expression softened and she poked Apollo's stomach, saying gently, "But thanks for loving me no matter what. I can honestly say the same to you."

Apollo's lips broke into a grin. "Thanks, sister," he said happily.

As I watched them, I couldn't help but feel a slight tinge of jealousy. I know, totally out of character for me, but I envied the relationship they had. Both were acting like true siblings who quarrelled and squabbled, but still love each other very much regardless. It made me think of all the times I would sit in my room, doing my own stuff. I didn't have anyone to keep me company if she was out.

"You're so lucky," I muttered without much thought, but immediately regretted it. I didn't mean to say that, but it had managed to slip out of my mouth.

All of them looked at me in confusion. "What do you mean?" Apollo asked, looking at me questionably with a raised eyebrow.

Caught in the act, I sighed, "Having a brother or a sister. It seems comforting. Sure, there would be a lot of differences, but at least you have a companion."

"Persephone," I heard Hermes say, and I turned to look at him. He had stood up, and his spring green eyes looked at me gently. "We're siblings. Alright, maybe not full siblings, but we're siblings nonetheless."

I didn't stop myself from nodding and agreeing with his statement. True, they were not my true siblings, but they were half-siblings, very close ones if I might add, and that was good enough for me.

"Uh-huh," Apollo agreed wholeheartedly. "And we're kind of the tightly-knited ones, unlike the others back home who only kept to themselves. To think, when we finally return to Mount Olympus, we'll have to see all hundred and more of them."

Suddenly, my mind snapped into focus once again when I heard what Apollo had just said.

"What do you mean by that?" I asked, my curiosity now literally flaring inside me. I decided once and for all that this time, I will not be distracted and forget about the question for what could be the hundredth time.

And on cue, Hades and Artemis casted unsure glances at each other, remembering that I had asked the same question just about ten minutes ago. Their expressions were hesitant, and they averted their eyes from me.

Apollo looked at me confusion and asked, "Don't you know?"

I shook my head instantly. "What was I supposed to know?" I questioned him quickly, hoping to get the answer now.

"Apollo," I heard Artemis murmur. She was looking down at the floor, her arms folded tightly on top of her chest. "She doesn't know."

"Her mind was still too fragile," Hades added under his breath, still not looking at me.

Apollo's sky blue eyes widened immediately and he turned his head to look over to Hermes, who looked uncertain, and then to Hestia, who was beginning to look hesitant as well.

Now, the silence and hesitance in the air was killing me. With each passing second, the suspense grew bigger and bigger, until it finally took over me.

"Please tell me what's all this about. I really don't know." I pleaded quietly, now very desperate for an answer so that I could calm the jumble of nerves in me.

Apollo placed his hands on his hips and looked down at the floor, his expression similar to that of The Thinker's. No doubt he was contemplating whether to tell me or not. I was very sure.

"Please," I pleaded once more. "Please…"

"Just tell her, Apollo," Hades suddenly said in a hard voice. "She deserves to know everything now."

Everyone looked at Hades, and then to Apollo. For a little while more, he looked hesitant. But just then, he finally looked up at me, and I could see the uncertainty was still clear in his sky blue eyes.

"If you know, I am also the God of Prophecies," he said slowly. "I prophesise about future happenings that will take place no matter what happens. In addition, I'm also kind of part psychic. I sometimes receive visions of the future."

I nodded my head once, to show him that I understand. I listened to him intently, curious to know more.

"I believe Lord Hades has already explained to you about our 'reincarnation', did he not?" Apollo asked me. "About how we gods and goddesses live for the first fifty years of a century, only to disappear into a black void for the next fifty?"

At the mention of the black void, his eyes suddenly became fearful, but it disappeared quickly. Artemis was just about to get off her seat at that moment, but relaxed back when her brother returned to normalcy.

I nodded my head again. "Yes, he told me," I replied. And then, I added knowledgeably, "This is our last year here. Very soon, we'll disappear again."

To my curiosity, Apollo shook his head. "Yes, this is our last year," he said. "But. We will not disappear."

I raised an eyebrow and asked, "What? Then where do we go?"

"Home," he answered simply. "To Mount Olympus. Or specifically, for you and Lord Hades, the Underworld."

Nothing could describe how I felt when he told me that. My heart swelled with a mixture of many feelings, ranging from happiness to disbelief to excitement. A very big smile appeared on my face as I exclaimed, "That's great! That's absolute good news! To think, we can finally go home!"

I seriously wanted to jump for joy and start becoming all hyper and giddy with happiness. Finally! I could return to my true home; both in Mount Olympus and the Underworld. And also very soon, I could see my children and Hecate again!

But I then noticed that as I was still smiling, the rest of them were solemn.

My happiness suddenly halted once I realized that something bad will come out of this.

"There's a downside, isn't there?" I asked Apollo quietly, studying his solemn expression.

He sighed heavily and nodded his head. "What is it?" I asked him, feeling nervousness creeping up my back.

He bit his bottom lip, his eyes once again looking very uncertain. But then, with another heavy sigh, he then said in blank voice, "This would be humankind's last year of living."

Time seemed to have stopped then after I heard him say that. I stared at him, wanting to see if he was joking. But no. There wasn't a hint of jesting on his expression, which was still solemn and silent. The others too held the same expression, all feeling the weight of this piece of news.

But nobody could compare to how much I was suffering under the weight now.

When I had finally found my voice, I murmured, "So what you're saying is…"

The others looked at me with worry and sadness in their eyes. It felt so painful to me.

But not as painful as the next words I said.

"The world will end?"