Hey, guys. (hands up in surrender). I am so so sorry for my lateness. You wouldn't believe what a crazy and busy week I had. As I began writing this chapter, I was reminded of a report I was supposed to deliver on Wednesday, so I spent most of the weekend and week writing it. And my cousins arrived here on Thursday, so I decided to spend time with them and lay off writing for a bit. I only got back to this chapter yesterday. Again, I'm sorry.
I have news for you, not sure if good or bad. There may be a strike in my college, so I might have a lot of free time to write. Even if there isn't, I'll try to write as much as I can now that my schedule's cleared and I'll only be having tests in June.
Another thing is I decided to split this chapter in two parts, because there's too much going on here and I don't want to give you everything at once. I want you to have time to assimilate what's going on before you have all the info. So it will take us a while to get back to the present.
Also, what would be chapter 10 might also be split in two parts because I had an idea for a surprise I'm sure you'll enjoy, but with it the chapter would get too long. Therefore, it might take us about 6 chapters before we reach Season 1 of Winx. Sorry for those who are anxiously awaiting till we get there.
Now, let's get to the shoutouts:
knight7572: what you're saying has more to do with the series than this fic. If you want to discuss Winx, feel free to PM me, I do love to chat. Yeah, it is indeed ironic. You'll see about your theories related to Flora and Bloom's powers in the next chapter.
winxkate: The connection between Hades, Bloom and Flora will be explained in the next chapter and I'm still debating on when to reveal Gaia's ally. Your theory is indeed a good one and you're on the right track there. I'm glad you found my explanations so far sufficient, any doubts feel free to PM me.
Flora: Thanks:) That makes two of us. Just kidding. But seriously, even I don't know exactly what's going to happen in this story. I'm making this up as I go along.
Sweety Chou: Thanks :) I'm picturing him that way as well, but I think it would be best if you pictured him as OUAT Hades. You've got a great theory there, the connection between Hades, Bloom and Flora will be explained in the next chapter. There will be an explanation to what the dragon fire really is and what Hades plan to do with it. I'm seriously trying to redeem Hades here, it was completely unplanned, he was supposed to be the villain only. I guess I have a soft spot for those, as you can see in A World Of Fiction.
Guest: Thanks :) I'm glad to hear you think so, cause I agree. This will be the best story I've ever written, I think.
Windrea: I already PMd you regarding your review. Thanks for your help.
Now, before we start the chapters, I would like to make clear that there were two mistakes in the last chapter regarding Greek Mythology. Now, since this story's fiction, I have adapted the tales and twisted them to fit into the plot. However, I feel the need to let you know that it's not 100% accurate, so if you feel the need to know what I adapted, you just have to read Windrea's review to chapter 8.
Happy reading!
"You know what you must do." Gaia told her most secret advisor, who nodded. She handed over her most precious secret, the one thing she hadn't been able to trust even to her dear sons. Her ally nodded before promising to take good care of it and so, with a heavy sigh, Gaia left the Golden Kingdom and quickly changed her location to Limphea. She appeared right by the famous Tree of Life, where mortals believed resided all life in the Magic Dimension. She had been the one behind that idea, not wanting them to know where it truly resided, afraid for what could happen if someone got word on it. With gracious steps, the goddess of life approached the tree and gently pressed her hands against it.
"I'm relieved to see that you're not harmed by this evil." She whispered before extracting her hands. " That means my search must begin somewhere else. But where?" Suddenly, the ground began to shake and she could feel an immense dark energy around. An energy she knew well, since it belonged to none other than Hades. She sighed once again while wondering why he was there.
"Hello, mother." The god of death said calmly and when she looked at him, Gaia knew what had happened. She could feel it, she could see it, she knew it. He wasn't himself anymore, he had lost control and this terrified her.
"Hades. What have you done?" She asked him incredulously and he laughed heartlessly.
"What I should have done a long time ago. I don't know why you always stopped me from letting it take over, this isn't so bad." He replied and she shook her head desperately.
"No. This is more than bad, it's terrible." She muttered and he avoided her eyes, not wanting to see the disappointment that he was sure would be clear on her face.
"You should have known better than to upset me, then. You knew that kicking me out of the Golden Kingdom would only infuriate me and make me lose control, yet you agreed to it." He was furious and lost and she felt for him because she knew that this was her fault.
"I agreed on it because you harmed someone of great importance to your brother. You needed to be punished and I convinced Zeus to take it easy on you. He wanted to strip you of your powers, you know." She told him severely and anger filled him.
"But I never harmed Leto, this was all her lies. All I did was try to court her and she avoided me." He argued and Gaia was unsure on whether or not she should believe him.
"It doesn't matter anymore, since you've already lost control. You've done the only thing I always told you not to, the only thing you could have done that would be unforgivable." Her words surprised him, since he had done many things that were considered to be unforgivable.
"So this is unforgivable? What about all the mortals I killed and the souls I trapped in the Underworld?" He argued and she smiled sadly.
"I forgave you for that because I knew that it was a way to prevent you from doing exactly what you did. As long as you had control, I didn't care about the awful things you'd have to do." She explained and Hades started wondering if she herself understood the absurdity of what she was saying. Before he could point it out, she continued."I thought you knew the importance of controlling the darkness, but apparently not."
"Maybe that's because you never told me. All you said is that it was dangerous." He replied with arms crossed over his chest and a determined look came upon her face.
"All that I haven't told you was simply because I wanted to protect you. You are my son and I have already cursed you to an eternity of pain and struggle, I didn't want you to know just how huge is the weight you've always carried in your shoulders." He was touched by her words, but his curiosity grew with the new informations she was delivering.
"What are you talking about?" She looked away, not wanting to face him.
"You didn't have to be the one forced to live with the darkness, you could have been a happy and light person like Poseidon or a great leader like Zeus. It was because of my weakness that you had to suffer and I'll never forgive myself for that." The pain behind was clear on her face and the feeling of empathy and understanding filled him. But there was a problem. The darkness was in control now and it didn't want him to keep up with his conversation. It wanted him to do what he had come here to do. So instead of replying to her heartfelt confession, he took a few steps until he was right in front of her.
"I didn't come here to argue about your betrayal. My objectives are much bigger, darker." He said and she raised her eyebrows as she tried to guess what he intended to do. He didn't give her much time to think, though. Unsurely, regrettably and quickly, Hades placed a hand on her shoulder, where her mark lied. It was the mark of Gaia, one that many of her deepest followers had. The symbol of life: a red rose.
"Hades..." She said, shocked about what he had done. But it was too late, she could feel herself getting weaker by the seconds and it wasn't long before she fell down, unconscious. It was no secret that due to his powers, Hades' touch was lethal. However, when it came to gods, the consequences were different than that of mortals. After all, gods were immortal, so they couldn't die. But the touch of death could render them immobile and unconscious, unable to fight back. Hades sighed as he looked at his fallen mother and guilt filled him, but he wasn't the one in control anymore. His actions were no longer his own, they were dictated by the growing force inside of him.
"I truly am sorry, mother. You were the only one who showed me kindness and love, the only one who ever truly believed in me. But right now that's not enough. Empty promises won't save me. You can't save me." He whispered, sniffing as he tried to stop the tears that threatened to fall. The next step was clear, he could hear the darkness whispering in his ears what he needed to do.
So he knelt by her side and put a hand on her chest, where her heart resided. Where the heart of all living beings resided. Its pulse could now barely be heard since Gaia was weakened by his touch. Hades used his magic and the darkness' power to drain all of her powers, her energy. By now he was sure that he had made a terrible mistake and the stupidity of his actions weighed down on him. But it was too late, he had already killed Gaia, in many ways. And he knew that he would never be able to forgive himself for that.
Once the transference was finished, Gaia was left a weakened, pale and lifeless body. She wasn't truly dead, her soul wouldn't follow its path to heaven. Her fate would be much worse than most mortals, even those trapped in the Underworld. She would forever be doomed to be trapped in her body, in an eternal sleep that she would never wake up from. Well, Hades assumed she would never wake up from it. He had never known somebody that could survive after receiving his lethal touch and, since he had never touched a god, he wasn't aware of the consequences of it or ways to reverse it.
He didn't have much time to wonder about what to do with Gaia's body because the darkness already had plans for it. He stood up with her fragile form in his arms, feeling exhausted from stealing her magic and from the guilt and sorrow that overcame him. The next part of the plan was rather simple, but for someone who was as broken as he was, it turned out to be a difficult task. Using Gaia's life powers, Hades was able to open the Tree of Life so that he could place Gaia inside it. Vines encircled her body, making sure that she remained in an upright position. Her face was serene, as if she was sleeping deeply, though Hades knew it wasn't that simple. She was most likely trapped in nightmares made by the darkness.
He sighed before kissing her forehead gently and whispering his goodbye in her ear. Then he closed the tree of life, hiding her existence from the world and placed a powerful spell to ensure that no one would be able to retrieve her from there. Not even his brothers. With another sigh, he took one last look at the Tree of Life before leaving, back to the loneliness of the Underworld.
In the Golden Kingdom...
"I'm starting to think that perhaps this wasn't the best course of action." Poseidon told Zeus as the two were talking about 20 minutes after Hades had been kicked out of the Golden Kingdom.
"I feel terrible for doing this to Hades, but I must do what's best for my family. And Leto is my family, even if we're not together anymore." Zeus replied with a heavy sigh and Poseidon's eyes widened.
"Are you forgetting that he's also your family?" He asked calmly yet sternly.
"Of course not. But being my brother doesn't make him more important than the people who I've lived with for centuries. The fact that Hades has taken reclusion in the Underworld that it doesn't feel like he's family." Zeus argued and, upon seeing the shocked look on his brother's face, he was quick to explain it."I'm not saying he isn't, all I mean is that he's not so important to me that I would consider him above the mother of my children or other goddesses he might attack in the future." This time the god of the seas couldn't say anything to disagree.
"I see your point, but still, he just started trying to live with us. And remember what mother said, he was in love with her. Maybe we've been looking at it the wrong way." Zeus looked at him with raised eyebrows.
"What way are supposed to look at it, then?" He asked and before Poseidon could answer, they felt something terrible. Both pressed their hands against their hearts, which all of sudden started beating faster. Their breaths started coming in shorter and just as they would have thought that they would explode, it ended. Everything went back to normal, or as normal as it could be.
"What the hell just happened?" Poseidon screamed, concealed fear behind every word.
"I'm not sure. But it sure worries me. Do you think it's related to Hades?" Zeus asked and Poseidon's eyes widened once he came to a realization.
"Wait a minute. Do you remember what mother always told us when she thought we were about to do something harmful to mortals?" The god of the seas asked and Zeus looked lost in thought for a while.
"Never forget that you can hide no secrets from me. If you harm any humans or animals, I'll know it." Zeus repeated the words Gaia always told her sons.
"Don't take this as if I'm trying to control you, because I am not. It's just what it means to be the goddess of life, I am connected to all living beings and that includes you. The hearts that beat inside you are connected to mine, so if something goes wrong with you, I'll know it. It's my way to protect you and the rest of the universe." Poseidon finished and they shared worried looks.
"Something's wrong with her." Zeus stated their conclusion.
"We need to find her, and fast. Where did she say she was going?" Poseidon asked and it didn't take long for the god of the skies to come up with the answer.
"Limphea." Without another word, both disappeared and reappeared back on the planet of nature. They didn't get to where Gaia was because gods were immune to the tracing spells usually used to find people. So they would have to search the entire planet in order to find Gaia. Luckily, Zeus and Poseidon were known and loved there, so it didn't take long for a few villagers to come to them and tell them that they had last seen the goddess of life heading towards the Tree of Life.
The two gods arrived there not even a minute later and they were disappointed when they didn't spot their dear mother. They called for her, but after a few minutes of silence, decided it wouldn't work. She couldn't hear them, which could mean she was too concentrated on her quest. Or maybe, something bad had happened.
"Maybe we should ask the trees about it." Poseidon suggested and Zeus raised his eyebrows. "She always said that the trees are our biggest allies and they know everything." The god of the seas added firmly and Zeus shrugged his shoulders.
"Couldn't hurt to try." The god of the sky replied and both approached the Tree of Life. As they neared it, they could feel the dark magic that was surrounding it and they knew. "Show us what happened!" Zeus yelled at it and the tree shook for a bit before it opened, letting them see Gaia's frozen body inside.
"No." Poseidon muttered in disbelief and his older brother tried to reach Gaia, but as he touched the tree, he was thrown back hard. "Brother, are you alright?" Poseidon rushed to where he was and Zeus shakily sat up.
"I'm fine, but that spell is very powerful." He replied simply and the younger man helped him stand up before both looked back at the Tree of Life. It was clear what they must do, so without any more words, they used their magic to try to undo the spell. It was no use, after a few minutes of trying, there was no change except for their tiredness.
"Do you think Hades might have caused this?" Poseidon asked and Zeus nodded.
"I'm sure it must be him, no one holds so much darkness." Was the god of the sky's reply.
"Whoever did this, we need to break it!" Poseidon determinately before he helped his brother stand up. They joined hands before they went back to concentrating their magic. A convergence between gods, even less powerful ones, usually would be able to break such a spell. But this wasn't just any magic, no, it was dark magic so intense that only Gaia would be powerful enough to break it. That only complicated things.
"That didn't turn out so well. What now?" Poseidon asked as they stopped convergence so that they could return their breathing to a normal pattern. Zeus looked at him, lost.
"I'm not sure. I don't understand why we weren't able to break the spell." The god of the sky complained.
"Perhaps we have underestimated Hades' powers." Poseidon suggested and Zeus shook his head.
"No, there's no way mother would have made him more powerful than us. She always made it clear that we were given the same amount of power, only in different ways." The younger brother was unconvinced.
"Then how do you explain this?" Zeus didn't take much time to come up with an answer.
"He must have stolen her powers. Hey, what if he used the touch of death? Gaia would have never seen it coming, she trusted him too much." Poseidon's eyes widened as he understood what his brother was saying.
"Do you really think he would go that far?" He asked incredulously and the god of the sky sighed.
"I don't know what to believe right now. But if we consider the facts, Hades had every motive to take revenge on us. He was shot down by the woman he was apparently in love with and we kicked him out." There was still one point that didn't make sense to the god of the seas.
"But why would he come after Gaia? She was the only one who never betrayed him." He inquired and Zeus shrugged.
"Perhaps because she was the only one who was available? I don't know, all I know is that we have to find a way to save her." He replied determinedly and it was Poseidon's turn to sigh. Though he hated getting involved in the fight between his brothers, Poseidon knew that this was more serious, so he had no choice but to get involved.
"Okay, then we must go after Hades, since he might be the only one who can help us." Zeus only nodded to his suggestion and so the two decided to go after the god of death. After trying to come up with his location, they agreed that it would be best to search in the most obvious place first. So they chose to go to the Underworld.
So, what are your thoughts? Did you understand what happened with Hades and Gaia? Did you like how I portrayed their relationships here? What about Poseidon and Zeus? As you can see, they're best bros and so it's no wonder Hades didn't like them.
What will happen now that Gaia's trapped and not even Zeus and Poseidon could free her? And what will Hades do now that he has Gaia's powers and the darkness, therefore becoming the most powerful being in the entire Magic Dimension?
In order to make up for the long wait, I'll try to post the next chapter by Friday most. It's already partially written, so it shouldn't take long to finish. We'll have the appearances of many gods there.
ABOUT THAT, I HAVE MADE A COLLAGE WITH IMAGES OF HOW I PICTURE THESES GODS TO LOOK LIKE AND I'M GOING TO POST IT ON MY TUMBLR PAGE (username: sweetmemories2606-SINCE I CAN'T REALLY POST IT HERE). WOULD YOU GUYS PREFER THAT I POSTED IT BEFORE OR AFTER THE NEXT CHAPTER WHERE MOST OF THESE GODS WILL APPEAR?
Think we can make it to 5 reviews?