Author's Note:

First of all, I want to say HUGE thanks to all those who wrote me such kind words after I wrote about my failure at the auditions. Really, I appreciate how kind of all of you were. All of you lifted my spirits up whereas those I called 'friends' didn't even give a damn.

So, as promised, a new chapter, which I hope all of you will enjoy :)

Muse of Fanfiction

(P.S. You guys are awesome!)

It was only three in the morning, and Demeter was standing by Persephone's bedside, watching as she lay asleep on the mattress.

She was really exhausted; both mentally and physically. It could easily be seen on her face, especially in her weary olive green eyes and the way her lips tilted downwards. She was tired from the fight she had with Hades. Still, she was thankful that she had managed to gain the upper-hand and thus regain her daughter.

But now, Demeter was fighting another battle. She was trying to fight against her inner demons.

Despite the fact that she had always feud with Hades, she didn't expect things to go this bad. Maybe what he said was right; that she should just forget all about it, as how he did. True, it had been too very long. But the anger she felt towards him for marrying her daughter without her consent still remained, even after the years go by. And it never died out once. Every time Persephone left to spend six months with him, Demeter was always reminded of it; always reminded of the grief, pain and sorrow that she had to endure. And it hurt her soul just a tiny bit more.

Demeter wanted to be relieved of the pain. She no longer wanted to feel it anymore. No longer wanted to suffer in her heart. But she realized that maybe the only way to stop feeling the torture was to just end her immortal life. What was the word that the mortals called it whenever one kills him or herself? Oh yes, it was called suicide.

She shivered in fear at the thought of ending her life. She didn't want to do it, and pondered for a while on whether or not it was even possible for a goddess to commit such an act. But somehow, it seemed to be the only form of escape for her. Throughout her immortality, she had faced scorn from the others of her kind, time and time again. She knew that nearly all the Olympians did not take a strong liking to her because of her behaviour. It made her feel like an outcast, which was a reason why she did not mingle around on Mount Olympus for too long and instead stayed on Earth.

Perhaps the only person who accepted her despite her imperfections was Persephone. Persephone would always be her loving daughter and best friend. She would also always be her confidante, knowing all her deepest secrets. The lively Goddess of Spring knew her too well, and could easily read her like a broken book.

But that made Demeter feel even guiltier. Because now, she knew that her daughter now harboured pure hatred towards her. She hated her for lying to her, for taking away her memories. She hated her for stealing her away from her husband and the rest of the family. She hated her for wanting to have her to herself.

However, despite all, she still wanted Persephone to be there with her until the very end, no matter what. And because Demeter had finally thought about giving up her life for when the fated day finally arrived, she wished for Persephone to be by her side for when the rapture occurred.

But she did not want her daughter to die with painful memories etched deeply into her mind.

Gripped tightly in Demeter's right hand was the glass bottle of Lethe water.

Her plan was to have Persephone drink the entire content while she still had the chance. But despite the plan that had already formed in her mind, the decision was still not yet finalized.

Hesitantly, she brought the tip of the bottle to her sleeping daughter's lips. But she did not tilt it. It just remained still.

Demeter bit her lip as she tried to make the final decision. It was difficult, and she was so confused. She had already hurt her daughter too much. She knew that and it made her feel absolutely guilty. But would wiping away her memories once again erase that guilt?

Shakily, she began to slowly tilt the bottle, watching as the chalky waters slowly began to move towards the entrance. With each passing millisecond, the water moved closer, and Demeter's hesitance grew bigger.

And just then, all of a sudden, before the chalky waters of forgetfulness could finally touch the sleeping Persephone's lips, Demeter pulled the glass bottle away.

No. She couldn't do this. She already knew that if she did the deed, the guilt she felt would never die down. Instead, it would grow bigger and start to haunt her. Haunt her so badly and mercilessly that she was so sure that it would break her apart with ease. She did not want to add fuel to the fire and salt to the cut. She did not want the horrible guilt to consume her mental well-being. She did not want to feel any more pain.

The pain she had to endure now was already too much.

In a spur of moments, Demeter quickly walked to the window, which was still broken from the time Persephone first escaped, and immediately threw the bottle out. In a few seconds, she could hear the glass bottle breaking upon contact with the hard ground, and she could almost hear the trickling of Lethe water as it seeped into the soil.

Demeter knew very well why she did that; it was a way to stop herself from reconsidering committing the vile deed.

She gazed out the window and saw that the garden was still in its dying state, getting worse with each passing second. It was confusing as to why it was like that. Demeter had finally gotten her precious daughter back. She was supposed to be happy.

Wasn't she?

No. she thought to herself. I can never be happy. I am too evil to be happy. I deserve this. I deserve this for my cruel deeds.

A silent tear slowly trickled down her left eye, but she did not bother to wipe it away.

The living room was still in its wrecked state after Demeter had left with Persephone just an hour prior. On the floor, Hades was still unconscious, trapped in the thorny barricade conjured up by the wrathful Harvest Goddess.

All was still and silent.

Until suddenly, there was a shift in the air. A supernatural shift.

In the middle of the destroyed room, a shadow began to form out of thin air. Its unearthly feel radiated throughout the living room. Slowly, with each passing second, it began to take a more humanoid shape. To others, it may seem like a ghost. But to Hades, if he were awake, and Persephone, if she were here, this shadow was none other than a friend from the Underworld.

Finally, the shadow became the witch, Hecate.

Her dark scarlet lips were pulled into a small smile as she was eager to see her great king and queen once again. The thought of appearing on Earth to visit them always did made her smile.

But the smile disappeared instantaneously and her dark violet eyes widened in complete shock as she took in the sight of the room she had appeared in.

It was like an aftermath of a disaster. It was completely ruined. The door had been broken down, the wood-panelled walls were cracked and scratched, the windows now missing of their glass panels and the floor was littered with the broken decorations that were placed in the room.

What had happened? she wondered. But there was one thing that she could not help but notice. In the atmosphere, she could detect that a battle had taken place here. But this was not just an average brawl between two mortals. No, this was a battle between two gods with clashing powers. She could feel the power of one of the battlers still lingering in the room, and she knew immediately who the battlers were.

And speak of the devil. Hecate had finally caught sight of one of the fighters on the floor, trapped by a thorny growth.

"LORD HADES!" she cried out in panic and immediately rushed to his side, the hem of her long, dark amethyst dress sweeping the floor, brushing away broken shards of glass. Her skirt billowed around her as she dropped her knees to the floor, right by her unconscious king's side.

Hecate reached her hands out to tear away the thorny stalks that trapped him, but was stopped short when she felt the sharp and pointed growth pricking her fingers. The sudden pain rushed through her entire body, and she let out a small yelp.

She brought her palms to her face and examined it. There were tiny holes where the thorns had punctured her skin, and beads of her ichor started pooling. And then, With pure concentration, she willed herself to heal, and was glad to see her ichor slowly seeping back into her veins and the puncture marks closing up until her the pale skin of her palms was once again flawless.

Damn all of Tartarus and the souls who inhabit it! she cursed loudly in her head. What had given Demeter so much strength to trap the King of the Underworld?

But she did not ponder on that thought for too long, for she knew that now, her sole mission was to free her king. And since she could not do it with her bare hands, she had to resort to using her powers.

Hecate held her hands above the thorny stalks and quickly shut her eyes. She emptied her mind of everything except her intentions of releasing King Hades. Finally focusing on that one thought, she conjured up her magic in her palms.

She could feel her dark magic collecting itself from deep within her chest and then slowly working its way to her fingertips. There was a sudden shift in the atmosphere once again as the Witch Goddess' powers became stronger.

Finally, she felt it at its maximum height. With fierce determination shown clearly in her dark violet eyes, she released her full magic directly onto the thorns.

Hecate watched silently as the stalks full of thorns began to wither and shrivel. The healthy green faded into a sickly brown and the sharp thorns suddenly curled, some dropping off. The 'cage' began to shrink and dry up until finally, it broke apart, finally releasing Hades out of its confines.

Unfortunately, the Underworld lord still did not awaken. Gathering more of her power within herself once again, Hecate placed the palm of her right hand on his forehead. She could feel how cold he was, but she most certainly was sure that he was not dead, as evidenced by his chest rising and falling in slow breathing.

"Wake up…" she murmured worriedly under her breath as she continued to attempt to revive him. "Wake up, Lord Hades…"

Desperate, and slightly afraid, Hecate summoned even more of her magic and flowed it into Hades. With all of her forever-beating heart, she hoped that it would already be enough to awaken him.

And luckily, to her joy, it did. But the way he awoke shocked her to her core.

"PERSEPHONE!" he screamed loudly in fear as he jolted into a sitting position, causing Hecate to pull her hand away in an instant, as though she had just touched a stinging poison.

Hecate fell back onto her bottom, staring at him in shock. In an instant, Hades suddenly whipped his head in her direction, and his worry-laced and frightened fathomless black eyes bored into hers.

"Hecate?" he said in a sharp exhale of breath. His obsidian eyes were full of disbelief and slight anger. Disbelief because Hecate was here. Anger because she wasn't the woman he wanted to see now.

"Yes, my lord. It's me," Hecate murmured, feeling slightly shaken by Hades' current condition. She did not want to have such ill thoughts of him, knowing him to be a strong character; mentally, physically and emotionally. But now, he looked like a frightened but dangerous wild animal which had been recently separated from its pack and was absolutely lost in the wilderness.

He did not say anything in response. Instead, his eyes began travelling the entire room, looking very desperate.

"Where is Persephone?" he suddenly questioned worriedly. "Where is my wife? What happened?"

Hecate assumed that he was talking to her since she was the only one with him now, despite the fact that his tone did not indicate that he was directing it to anyone.

"I do not know, my lord," she answered dutifully. "I did not see Lady Persephone when I first arrived. I only saw you in an unconscious state, trapped by thorns. I had managed to free and revive you."

Suddenly, his eyes widened and he got to his feet at lightning speed. His eyes wandered around the room again, taking in the sight of how wrecked he was, before he walked away with quickened strides.

"Oh, no," he muttered under his breath. "No, no, no, no, no…."

"Lord Hades, what is wrong?" Hecate asked in a concerned voice as she got on her feet and rose to her full height, brushing away dust from her skirt as she did before following him.

"Demeter," he muttered in a mixture of anger and concern as he picked up the telephone and began to quickly dial a number. "Demeter has kidnapped Persephone. She came in here and we got into a fight. Unfortunately, she had managed to knock me out."

Hecate did not hold back her gasp and her hand flew to her dark scarlet lips immediately as her dark violet eyes widened. "Gods above!" she exclaimed in pure shock. "What are you going to do now, Lord Hades?"

Hades was about to answer her when suddenly, the dial ring of the telephone stopped, and there was a click on the other end.

"Hello?" a sleepy voice of a young woman answered.

Hades thanked the Heavenly Mother that she had answered his emergency call, even at this time of night.

"Artemis. I need your help. Persephone is in trouble," he said quickly, his words rushing out of his mouth.

"Lord Hades?" she said, her voice now very awake and laced with alarm. "What happened? What happened to Persephone?"

In a serious tone, he answered, "Demeter kidnapped her."

"Sisters!" Clotho suddenly cried out, causing both Lachesis and Atropos to jump in shock.

"What is wrong, Clotho?" Lachesis asked, her green eyes studying her younger sister in concern.

"Is something bothering you?" Atropos questioned with the same concern as Lachesis'. Her green eyes too were looking at her worriedly.

Clotho was breathing heavily as she looked into the green eyes of her sisters. Quickly, she willed herself to remain calm and collected as she gave her sisters the answer.

"It is time."

Hestia, Hermes and Dionysus all rushed out of their rooms just in time to see Artemis hurriedly running out of hers. She was dressed as she always would when she was about to go hunting, even having her bow and her quiver of arrows with her. But the worried and hurried expression on her face meant something otherwise.

"Artemis? What's wrong?" Hestia asked her niece as she hurriedly followed her down the stairs, with Hermes and Dionysus following right behind her.

Artemis quickly grabbed her black hunting jacket off the coat hook. Pulling it on, she answered in a rush, "Persephone has been kidnapped by Demeter. Hades called for my help."

Hestia, Hermes and Dionysus were instantly shocked by the news. They couldn't believe it. Demeter had struck once again. They thought that she would change but it seemed now that she was only changing for the worse.

"Are you going to rescue her?" Hermes questioned his half-sister fearfully.

Slinging her quiver over her right shoulder and her arrow over her left, she answered back, "I am going to try."

"But what if you get hurt?" Dionysus asked, scratching the back of his head in anxiety.

Artemis made her way to the garage as she opened her mouth to answer. But before a sound could be made, a new voice suddenly cut in.

"Artemis!" Apollo cried out as he rushed towards all of them. Everyone turned to look at him, and could instantly see the worry and fear in his sky blue eyes.

Artemis stopped in her tracks and made her way to her twin brother. Cupping his face with both her hands, she asked with concern, "Apollo? What's wrong?"

Apollo took rapid deep breaths before he answered breathlessly, "I've seen it. It's going to happen."

Suddenly, everyone's heart began to still and drop, and they felt fear chilling in their spines. Artemis' fear-ridden midnight blue eyes widened and she breathed, "What?"

Taking another deep breath, Apollo answered, "The rapture. It's tonight."