Artemis only stared at Apollo with wide, frightened eyes. Her state of shock worried him, same as how he was worried for the well-being of the other three in the room. He knew very well that it was indeed abrupt and shocking news.
Why wouldn't it? The world was going to regenerate in less than twenty-four hours, but everything on it now – buildings, animals, mortals - would disappear.
Suddenly, Artemis snapped out of her trance and turned on her heels, making her way to the garage door once again. But as she walked with big strides, she instructed Apollo to inform the other Olympians as quickly as he could, and instructed the other three to prepare to leave for Greece in a few hours, giving them instructions to ready their passports, IDs and plenty of spare cash. She also slipped in a suggestion to not bring so many things, seeing that they would not have a need for mortal items when they are reinstated as gods and goddesses. Artemis too informed them to wait for her to give a call when she was done with her rescue mission.
Hestia nodded her head dutifully. Despite the Hearth Goddess being the oldest in the house and the caretaker of the young gods and goddess, she knew that Artemis' good leadership skills are a force to be reckoned with. Quickly, she instructed Apollo to immediately call Zeus and try to get a hold on anyone else, and instructed Hermes and Dionysus to prepare to leave.
Artemis hopped into her jeep, placing her bow and quiver on the passenger seat beside her. As she revved up the engine, she opened the door of the garage with the push of the button on the remote. When it finally did, she sped out of the garage and onto the length of road which would lead her onto the highway.
It was nearly four in the morning now, and the first rays of Helios' sun would be emerging soon. The cool air hit her face, her bistre hair flowing behind her. As she drove at maximum speed towards Hades' house, not giving a damn about speed limits, she could only hope that it wasn't too late.
Hades was in his room, changing into new clothes out of his torn and ragged ones, when he suddenly heard the phone ring.
Quickly, he put on his grey T-shirt and grabbed the black leather jacket that was draped on the chair before he rushed downstairs, putting the jacket on as he went. When his feet had touched the floor, he made his way to the telephone and answered it in a matter of seconds.
"Hello?" he answered.
Apollo's voice spoke up from the other line. "Lord Hades, I have important news."
Hades immediately noticed the way the Sun God's voice sounded urgent and worried. "What of?" he questioned.
In an instant, Apollo replied, "The fated day. It's tonight. The rapture will commence tonight."
At that very moment, Hades froze instantly and he could feel his heart slow down just as time did. As he stood there holding the phone to his right ear, his pitch black eyes, void of any emotion, stared blankly at a wall in front of him, letting the impossibility of Apollo's words slowly seep into him. But the words weren't impossible now. Just hard to believe.
Hecate appeared gracefully out of the kitchen with the rustling of her long, dark amethyst skirt. Hades did not really know what she was doing in there, but he did not think of it even the slightest bit. He was still in his dazed trance, silent as the dead who roam to no end in the Asphodel Plains.
The witch immediately noticed the state her king was in, and the strong worry she felt just a while ago came back in an instant. Approaching him slowly, she asked gently, "Lord Hades? Are you alright?"
Hades did not answer. In fact, he hardly seemed to notice her. His eyes were still blankly staring at the wall behind the witch. He too did not seem to hear her. It was as though he was only here in body, but his soul had wandered off to areas unknown.
Hecate gulped the lump that had formed in her throat down silently. She could no longer deny the fear that was growing inside her. She had never seen Lord Hades like this. Never seen him so…. vulnerable.
She shook off her fear and tried once again to get him back to his senses. "Lord Hades? What is wrong?" she asked quietly.
Luckily, in the nick of time, Hades' senses slowly returned to him, and he finally noticed Hecate eyeing him with concern. He had heard her as well; at the same time he also heard the anxious voice that was coming from the phone which he was still holding to his ear.
"Lord Hades? Are you there?" Apollo asked.
Hades shook out of his stupor, directing his eyes away from the wall to his shoes. "Yes, I'm here," he finally answered after many seconds of not responding.
He could hear Apollo give a faint sigh of relief, but he then said seriously, "We have to get Persephone out soon, Lord Hades. You have to get her out and get to Greece before midnight in Greek standard time. Right now it's eleven in the morning there, and best if you get on one of Lord Zeus' private jets in about an hour and a half. Do you know where exactly Demeter may be hiding her?"
There were much information to take in, but that question struck Hades like one of Zeus' lightning bolts. He realized only now that he may or may not have an idea of where Demeter may have taken Persephone. What if she had already fled the state, or worse, the country?
But somehow, deep within his mind of jumbled and messy thoughts, he had a very good idea of where he could find the two goddesses.
"I think I do," he answered in a low mutter, eyes never once leaving the floor.
Suddenly, he heard the honking of a car outside, and he knew that Artemis had finally arrived.
"Your sister's here," he told Apollo. "I have to go."
Hades was just about to tear the phone away from his ear when Apollo suddenly said, "Lord Hades?"
He stopped and kept the phone next to his ear, asking Apollo, "What?"
Only two simple words were said by Apollo.
"Good luck."
Hades did not know what to say for a while. Did he really need luck for this? All he needed to do was just locate the whereabouts of his wife, break her out of imprisonment, get to Greece and be reinstated as a god. It won't be that difficult. Would it?
But in the end, Hades managed to say a grateful 'thank you' before putting down the phone.
"Lord Hades. I beg of you to inform me of what is going on" Hecate said in a worried voice as she followed her king up the stairs to his room.
Without looking back at her, Hades told her everything there and then as he searched his room for the necessary items he needed.
"The fated day is tonight, Hecate. The Olympians will gather at the ruins of the Temple of Zeus in Olympia, where we will be transported back to Mount Olympus. We will return today, my old friend."
Hecate's dark scarlet lips dropped in shock. She could not believe it. Very soon, the gods and goddesses that were forced by the Fates to spend a millennium on Earth will finally return. It seemed too good to be true.
"Indeed, that is good news to my ears," Hecate managed to murmur with a small smile. "The Underworld will truly celebrate the return of its long-lost king and queen. But what of Lady Persephone, my lord?"
Hades grabbed his counterfeit passport out of the drawer of his night drawer as he answered, "That is what I am about to do now, Hecate. I'm going to rescue her."
Just then, a female voice called out his name from outside the room. In a matter of seconds, Artemis ran into the room.
"Lord Hades, we have to be quick," the Hunting Goddess urged. "We cannot waste any more time."
It was then she realized that her cousin, Hecate, was also in the room. Artemis was indeed surprised to see her there, but she only gave her a small smile and a brief greeting, to which Hecate responded with the same.
Hades stuffed his wallet (which contained a more-than-reasonable amount of cash and a whole lot of credit cards), his passport and a black hoodie sweater into a small green Swiss Army rucksack. Then he stood still for a while, trying to remember if he had forgotten anything.
And he suddenly remembered the most important things he needed.
He immediately slid open the drawer of his night drawer once again and rummaged through it. Finally, his hands found hold of what he had been looking for.
The platinum Evan's Industries cards which would allow him to use one of Zeus' private jets to get to Greece.
Hades looked at the two cards in his hands for a split second before stuffing them into the rucksack. Then, after slinging it over his shoulder, he turned to Artemis and said, "Let's go."
Artemis nodded her head quickly and rushed out of the room, with Hades following behind her and Hecate following behind him. But just as he had walked through the now-opened entryway where the front door used to be, he turned to Hecate.
"Hecate. I need you to do me one favour. Can you do that?" he asked her solemnly.
Without a moment's hesitation, she nodded her head. "I will, Lord Hades," she replied dutifully in a voice full of loyalty.
Hades gave her a warm, grateful smile, and he said, "Can you please tell my children that Persephone and I will finally return to them?"
A smile played on Hecate's dark scarlet lips. She felt touched in her heart and nodded her head. "Of course, Lord Hades. I will be sure to do that."
The grateful smile that donned Hades have not faltered as he placed a hand on her shoulder in a friendly manner. "I'll see you soon, my friend," he told her warmly.
And then, he turned away and ran to Artemis' jeep, which was parked in the driveway. Hecate stood where she was, watching as her king jumped into the seat beside Artemis just as the goddess drove away, before she finally disappeared.
As Artemis drove, Hades could not help but look back at his house. A deep feeling struck his gut when he realized that he was going to miss that place.
Oh Gods. I felt like hell.
My mind was blurry, and I felt like I had broken every bone in my body. Pain shot through me like a bed of poison needles. However, just as I was about to wallow in the pain, I couldn't even feel my body at all. I felt entirely numb.
What happened? I thought to myself as my eyes widened a bit more.
The first thing I saw was a ceiling.
The second thing I saw was that I was in a messy room that looked as though a whirlwind had passed through.
The third thing I saw was that I was lying down on my bed wearing nothing but a tank top and capri pants. My hair was all around my head.
And the last thing I saw was Demeter, sitting beside my bedside, looking blankly at the wall in front of her.
Seeing her instantly made me panic and I guess I had squirmed a little, because she suddenly turned to look at me, locking her dark olive green eyes on my amber ones. Quickly, she got off her seat to reach a hand out for me, and she cupped my cheek delicately.
I let out somewhat of a low hiss at the touch, as though I was anticipating pain from the contact. It was as though I was a lost wild animal which simply refused to be touched. It was as though her palm contained poison, and that it would burn my face off.
But no. It just remained like that; a simple contact.
"Persephone," I heard her murmur. "Kore? How are you feeling?"
When she had asked me that, I couldn't help but realize that this was the voice of her old 'Demi Korey' self. The part of her that wasn't vengeful or full of anger, but nurturing and loving. This was the part of her that I had yearned for to make an appearance, to just remind myself that my mother had not yet slipped into madness.
However, maybe my mother had slipped into madness, if she had different personalities all at once.
I didn't look at her when I answered honestly, "Not so good. My body is very sore."
In an instant, she placed her other palm on my forehead, and I could feel her powers building up. It slowly spread through my body, working its magic on me. It was quite a tingling and toe-curling sensation.
Finally, she pulled away both her hands from my face. I stayed still for a little while longer before I brought my hand to my face. Slowly, I flexed my fingers, trying to see if there was an soreness coming from the joints. There wasn't, and I then tested my entire body by slowly sitting up and stretching. Luckily, no more soreness.
"Thank you," I said under my breath as I willed myself to look at her. Now, as I studied her in the dim moonlighting, I could see how tired and pained her eyes were; how she longed for sleep and for relaxation to come to her. But unfortunately, it didn't.
Suddenly, she stood up from her seat and skirted around the end of my bed to my wardrobe. I stayed where I was, watching her with curiosity.
"What are you doing?" I finally asked her, my voice confused and suspicious.
She took out a folded T-shirt and held it in her arms as she answered, "We have to get packing now. We're leaving Heatherton."
And suddenly, my heart just stopped beating.
My suspicions were right. My mother had gone crazy. I thought she was alright now, but it turned out to be just a mask. She was still bent on taking me away from my Hades.
And my eyes widened when I remembered him.
Hades….
I remembered everything in a flash; the fight, Demeter's angry green eyes, Hades' worried black ones, him being knocked out by her and then being trapped by sharp thorns.
I was so shaken by the thought that only one word managed to get past my lips.
"No."
Demeter froze from taking out anymore clothes from my closet. Without turning around, she said flatly, "What."
My shoulders were stiff and my legs were shaky as I shook my head as a show of defiance. "No," I said once again, my voice clearer this time. "I refuse to leave Heatherton. Even though I may still love you on the inside, your actions have caused me to despise you so much. I will not stay separated from my family just so that you could have me for yourself."
Demeter dropped all the clothes in her hands, letting it fall into a pile on the floor. Then she whipped around, and I saw that the vengeful and angry Demeter had returned as she glared at me.
Pulling her lips back, she seethed, "Now you listen here-"
But she did not finish whatever she was going to say, because the house then echoed a loud boom that had come from downstairs.