Hello, people. As promised, here we have the final part that will focus mainly on the gods. I hope you are understanding Hades, Zeus and Gaia's story, because it is very important in order to understand The Price Of Love. If you find something unclear, don't hesitate to PM me or telling me in your reviews. I am all for hearing what you guys think and making you understand the craziness that is this fanfic.
Now, for the shoutouts:
Guest: Nothing to say here, except thanks for your review.
winxkate: Really? I thought it was a given, after all he couldn't enter the Golden Kingdom anymore and go after Zeus. I'm glad you find it interesting, there's a lot more to come. Soon we'll get to the Winx series and it will get even better.
Windrea: You'll see Flora and Bloom's connection here. That's an interesting theory, though totally not what I had in mind. Ah, that was an idea of mine. I was going to call it Olymous, but then I watched S3Ep22 of Winx (currently rewatching S3) and I came across the Golden Kingdom. I thought it would be fitting as the home of gods, since it's the home for the most ancient and powerful magic creatures in Winx.
Flora: Yep, everything went down last chapter, hence the title. This one's just as emotional and crazy. Here we have the aftermath and you'll see what happens to Hades. That's because I hadn't posted them yet, I wanted to wait until this chapter was up. They're available now.
This chapter's pretty long and interesting, so I suggest that you take your time reading it, absorbing everything. We'll have a small recap on what happened in the next one. Happy reading!
In the Underworld...
As Hades reached it, he was met with the sigh of his most loyal and ancient servant, Arcadia. She had been the first fairy ever made by Gaia and also a great warrior. She had initially been a fairy of music, but after years of studying magic with the help of Athena, her mentor, she had achieved superior abilities such as that to control time. She had become an example to be followed because of her wisdom, sense of justice and kindness. Thanks to her powers, Arcadia had managed to live longer than other fairies, almost achieving immortality. However, 500 years before, during a war that included her original home planet, Melody, against Eraklyon, she had been killed and her fate had been the Underworld. Hades had found her incredible and unique, so he had taken her as his servant and so she was trapped with him. She wasn't his oldest servant, but she certainly was his favorite one. Some even claimed that there was something romantic going on between them, though both would deny it every time.
"Good afternoon, master. What brings you here after so long?" She asked Hades as he entered the huge cave where his chambers were located. She had been cleaning the throne before he arrived. Hades didn't reply to her question, making her sense that something was wrong with him. She hadn't yet heard of what happened with Leto, so she assumed that he was just there to visit, check out how things were during his absence. "Did you have a good time in the Golden Kingdom?" She asked after a few minutes of unbearable silence. He looked at her, blue eyes cold.
"Do you really believe that I would come back here if I was having a good time?" He asked her coldly and harshly. She recoiled at the anger in his tone, but since this was no unusual occurrence, she didn't find it strange.
"I'm sorry."She knew that apologizing was the only way to calm down the lord of the dead. Hades was much too tired and broken to be his normal bossy and cold self, so he didn't keep yelling at her.
"Just go." He told her and she didn't wait for long before she was out of the room. Finding himself once again alone, the god of death sighed before throwing himself on his throne. The darkness screamed in his head, but he wasn't going to follow its orders right now. Hurting Gaia had made him realize how stupid he had been and the feelings of anger and sorrow that had overcome him ended up helping him regain a bit of control. So he was no longer at the mercy of the darkness.
"For centuries I have accepted the fact that I am cursed to be trapped with this darkness, this uncontrollable force that makes me feel worse than anything else ever could."He whispered to no one in particular. "But not anymore." He said determinately as the image of Gaia apologizing for cursing him came to his mind. He knew that it wasn't her fault, she had tried her best to defeat the darkness, but it was just too strong. She wasn't to blame for his suffering; in fact it was the opposite. She was the one who brought him joy and happiness and helped him control it. And now she was gone.
"I will never forgive myself for what I've done." He whispered as the tears finally fell down his face. He wasn't as evil as everyone assumed and he certainly wasn't heartless. He was just cursed, like many.
Memories of Gaia came to his mind, of times when she helped him calm down when he was having a fit of anger or when she helped him control the darkness. She had always told him to hold onto a good memory when he felt like losing control, but what was the point when she was no longer there? How would he survive when the only thing keeping him from breaking down was gone? "I must find a way. For the sake of the Magic Dimension, of my brothers, I can't lose control again. Keeping the darkness at bay is more important now than ever." He spoke determinately and he could feel the pull of the darkness getting weaker.
"I need to ask my brothers for help. They're all I have now that she's gone." He admitted before sighing. The idea of asking Zeus for help made his stomach churn, but he didn't have a choice. He had gotten rid of Gaia and Zeus was the only one besides her that could help him. And there was Poseidon too, he was known for his never ending kindness that Hades was sure he had inherited from their mother. Both of them were powerful enough o stop the darkness, Hades assumed. "So I must search for them and tell them the truth." He added before standing up. He knew that getting their help wouldn't be easy, but he had no idea just how difficult it would be.
Just as he was about to leave, he heard the sound of footsteps and soon his two brothers arrived in the cave. Both had looks that mixed anger and sorrow and so Hades knew this wasn't going to be a joyful conversation. First he needed to find out if their anger was about Leto or Gaia.
"Hades." Zeus said venomously while Poseidon remained silent.
"Hello, brothers. Have you come here to give me anymore lectures regarding Leto's lies?" Hades asked them just as coldly.
"Could you please not do that? It was hard enough convincing him not to destroy you." Poseidon said sternly while keeping their older brother in a tight grip.
"I'm finding no reasons not do so now." Zeus said through gritted teeth.
"You might find it hard to believe, but that makes two of us. " Hades' reply had them staring at him wide eyed.
"What?" The god of the sea asked, hope seeping into his words.
"You didn't just say that. You couldn't." Zeus incredulously said and his arms, which had been crossed over his chest, fell to his side.
"I did something unforgivable, something not even Gaia would be able to erase." The two older brothers shared confused glances.
"What did you do now?" Poseidon asked, planning on testing him to see if he would confess to harming Gaia.
"I think you already know that."Hades replied vaguely and the anger that had momentarily left him came back to Zeus.
"I honestly don't understand how you could do something like this. It's too terrible, even for you." The god of death lowered his head, the words had hit him hard and regret filled him.
"I didn't mean to, the last thing I would have done was to hurt Gaia." This only confused the god of the sky, but Poseidon could see guilt and regret in Hades' expression and that comforted him a bit. "But I wasn't really myself when I went after her and…" Hades added, but he was unable to finish the sentence, it was just too hard.
" Now what do you mean?" The god of the seas asked, suspicious and confused.
"Can't you see, Poseidon? He's trying to trick us. We shouldn't believe him, even less now that he has hurt Gaia." Poseidon looked unsurely at his older brother, having understood his meanings, but still desiring to help their younger brother.
"Zeus is right, you shouldn't believe me. What you should be doing is trying to find a way to save her. That's more important right now." Hades' next words confused them even more, but they sensed the urgency behind them.
"Then tell us how we can do that. How to undo the barrier and return her to her normal state. If you us to ever forgive you, you must give us these answers." The god of death could feel the darkness' distress at the idea and he failed to understand the reasons for it. After all, he had no idea how to return Gaia to her normal state or how to break the spell.
"I don't have these answers, so you'll need to seek them elsewhere. Perhaps Athena can help you, since she seems to have all the answers." Hades replied to Poseidon after a few seconds of silence.
"You're lying!" Zeus exclaimed angrily while the god of the seas shook his head.
"No, he's not. I can tell, mother explained to me how to know when he's not telling the truth and that's not the case. He really doesn't know how to help us save Gaia."
"But he's the one who caused this, he should know how to undo it." Zeus argued and Hades looked at them sorrowfully.
"I wish I knew how to fix this mess, but as I've mentioned, I wasn't myself when I caused it." He reinforced and another look was shared between Zeus and Poseidon.
"Okay, then. We'll assume that you're telling the truth for now. Let's go, Zeus." The latter said and the first one looked at him in disbelief.
"We can't let him get away with it, he must be punished." Hades laughed bitterly after hearing these words.
"You've been saying that a lot lately. Isn't keeping me from going home me enough punishment?" He inquired and Zeus looked at him harshly.
"Not for you." The older brother said firmly and Poseidon sighed.
"What do you suggest we do then, older brother?" He questioned and Zeus looked at him apologizing, knowing how much he hated getting involved in his fight with Hades.
"We'll trap him here. That way we can make sure that he doesn't go after us or anyone else." Poseidon pondered it for a few seconds before nodding.
"No, please don't trap me here." Hades begged, fear filling him as he knew that being trapped would only make it easier for him to lose control.
"I'm sorry, little brother. But until this situation's fixed, we have to keep you here." Poseidon said before him and Zeus got closer and joined hands. Hades didn't try to stop them from performing the spell, knowing that it could strengthen the darkness. So he just watched as his brothers concentrated.
"Guess it's done." Zeus said after a few minutes and he looked at the god of death. Now that he wasn't so concentrated on performing the spell, the surprise at his lack of reaction or stopping them came to him.
"You can't keep me here forever. I'll find a way to get out." Hades claimed, wanting to distract them from wondering about his actions.
"By then we'll have already healed Gaia and you'll never be able to hurt anyone ever again." Zeus fought back before him and Poseidon left the Underworld. Alone again, Hades sighed in relief that they had left before his anger could get the best of him. He sat down and started wondering how the meeting between the two brothers and Athena would go. Suddenly, an idea came to mind and he decided to call Arcadia back into the room.
"I have a job for you." He told her excitedly and she looked at hi fearfully. "But it will require you to be a little less…dead." He added with a smirk and this perked her interest as she wondered what he was planning.
In the Golden Kingdom...
As Zeus and Poseidon arrived, they were surprised to spot a deep silence that filled the kingdom. They walked uncertainly until they reached Zeus' \chambers, where they were relieved to hear loud voices. As they entered the god of the sky's throne room, they were surprised to spot many gods surrounding the bed.
"Zeus, thank goodness you're here!" Leto exclaimed as she approached them.
"Is something wrong? Why are you all here?" Zeus asked her worriedly and she sighed.
"It's Apollo. He's having another vision." She replied and his eyes widened. It was no secret amongst the gods that Apollo, being Zeus' favorite child, had been granted more powers than his siblings. He had been given the gift of prophecy along with his powers over light.
"It has been a while since he's had any visions of the future." Poseidon commented and there was a loud scream that made the three of them rush to the bed. Themis, Athena and Metis, who were gathered around Apollo, stepped away.
"Apollo? My son?" Leto sat down by his side while Zeus and Poseidon stayed behind her. The god of light sat up slowly and blinked a few times before his vision focused on his mother.
"Mother. I'm sorry for scaring you, but you know how I get when I have my visions." He told her gently and she smiled at him.
"I know. Are you okay now?" She asked and he sighed.
"I'm not sure. What I just saw was... troubling." He replied while looking at his father and uncle. "Do you know where Gaia is, father?" He questioned and Zeus and Poseidon shared worried looks.
"Yes, I do. We looked for her after we sensed something was wrong and we found her on Limphea." Poseidon answered cautiously and the others immediately knew that something was wrong.
"She's trapped in the Tree of Life, Hades has trapped her and cast a powerful spell that even we weren't able to break." Zeus added before anyone could ask anything.
"Oh goodness. This is terrible!" Leto cried and Metis looked paler than ever.
"And are you sure that Hades is the one behind this?" Athena asked, casting a glance towards Leto, who avoided her. It had come to everyone's understanding that the goddess of wisdom didn't believe in Leto when it came to Hades' actions and she had tried to convince Zeus of it, unsuccessfully.
"Yes, he confessed when we met him in the Underworld." Zeus answered firmly.
"He's trapped now, so he can't harm us." Poseidon was quick to assure the scared looking goddesses.
"And Gaia is trapped too? What are we going to do?" Metis exasperatedly said and Apollo brought the attention back to him with his next words.
"She's not just trapped, she's immobilized." They looked at him curiously and he quickly elaborated. "Hades touched her." More panicked gasps were heard.
"Are you sure of that?" Poseidon asked and the god of light nodded.
"Yes. Gaia showed me, you know how we have a mental connection due to my powers." He answered and they were reminded of the vision he had just had.
"So that's what your vision was about, it was Gaia showing you what happened to her?" Zeus asked him hopelessly, since usually Apollo's vision showed the future, not the past.
"No, my visions also showed me how the spell that's trapping her there will be broken." His answer only led to more question.
"And how would that be, after not even a convergence between myself and Zeus was enough to break it?" Poseidon asked him and Apollo blinked a few times, letting them know that he was tired. After having a vision, he usually would need to rest before he could tell them about it, but this time rest would have to be left for later.
"According to my vision, there are two people who can break such a spell." Silence followed as they awaited to find out who these were."I was surprised to see it, but they were two...fairies." The last word brought back chaos and it took a few minutes for Zeus to convince everyone to fall silent.
"Fairies? Are you sure, son?" He asked and Apollo nodded.
"Yes. I didn't see their faces, but judging by their wings and how they were in the air, they are definitely fairies." He told them and Metis scoffed.
"And what fairies could be so powerful that they would be able to break a curse cast by the god of death, one that not even our most powerful god could?" She asked him and his response was surprising.
"They're not just regular fairies, of course. They will be different, special. And they will be so powerful that depending on the path they choose to follow, they could destroy the Universe or save it."
"So you're saying that the future of the Universe, our future, lies in the hand of two fairies?" Zeus incredulously inquired and Athena, always being the wisest, decided that focusing on the craziness of that fact wouldn't be the best course of action.
"What's so special about this fairies, as you've mentioned?" She questioned and Apollo smiled. He always enjoyed watching his older sister outsmarting even their father.
"They will be chosen by Gaia herself as the ones who free her, in a way. One of them will be a fairy of fire, but she'll also be the keeper of the most powerful flames there is." The goddess of wisdom quickly caught onto what he was referring to. Her long blonde hair that she usually let loose was pulled from her eyes as her blue orbs stared into his own eyes intensely.
"The dragon flame?" She asked and Apollo nodded. The dragon flame was a power created by Gaia long before any of the gods were created. The great dragon, one of Gaia's most trusted allies, was in charge of keeping such mystical flames safe. It wasn't just a fire power, it was stronger and Gaia had also mixed her powers with the dragon flame. Therefore, whoever possessed it would have incredible healing powers and a deep connection to living beings. So far no one had ever been chosen to hold it.
"So the great dragon will choose a simple fairy to be the keeper of the dragon flame when it could choose one of us?" Zeus asked and Apollo shrugged his shoulders.
"Apparently that is what fate has in store. Remember that some things even Gaia can't control, so you must not underestimate these fairies just because they are mortals. They will be essential for the continuation of the Magic Dimension." Apollo advised them and they knew that he was right.
"What about the other one?" Poseidon asked.
"She's even more surprising and interesting. According to my vision, she will be a fairy of nature, an inhabitant of Limphea." This information didn't surprise them much. "Unlike the fire fairy, she will be chosen by Gaia herself, when the time is right. The goddess of life has made it clear to me that this particular fairy won't be important just by chance, her fate will be defined by Gaia."
"And what will she be chosen to do?" Athena asked him curiously.
"As it seems, the fairy of nature will be given access to the goddess' own powers, hence becoming more powerful than even some of the gods. She will be able to do things none of us can do and she will have a deep connection to Gaia that will allow her to live her destiny as she's supposed to."
"I still don't see what's the connection between these two fairies." Zeus said confusingly and Leto nodded.
"I believe that we should think of it this way: the only person who's more powerful than Hades is Gaia, so she'd be the only one who could break the spell. Since she's currently immobilized and probably unconscious, someone else will have to free her, but they will need to have powers related to life in order to do so. Both of this fairies will have a piece of Gaia's own power inside of them, so together they might be able to free her and save us all. Their souls will be connected forever." His explanation left Athena and Leto proud and the others in shock. It was too unreal and strange to find that two fairies would be able to perform something they couldn't do.
"Then I guess it is our job to make sure that they follow their destinies as they are supposed to." Zeus said after a few minutes of silence.
"We must keep an eye for them, because if Hades somehow finds them before we do, the results could be catastrophic." Apollo said and Leto shivered.
"I can't even imagine what will happen if he does. He'll probably kill the two girls." She was surprised when he shook his head.
"No, he won't. If he finds them, he will have use for them because they are also the only ones who could free him from the Underworld."
"What?!" Zeus exclaimed, face devoid of color.
"I thought your vision showed them freeing Gaia." Athena asked him, confused.
"It did, but it also showed them freeing him. It's the first time my visions are not conclusive." He claimed and Metis looked horrified.
"So it's not certain that they will free Gaia?" She asked and Apollo's response was interrupted by the sound of the door being forced open.
"There you are, Artemis! What took you so long?" Leto scolded her young daughter. Artemis, goddess of the hunt, had a terrified expression on her face. Her medium length, reddish brown hair was tied in a very messy bun and the green gown that she wore to hunt was filled with dirt.
"I'm sorry I'm so late, I didn't get your message until a few minutes ago." She replied to her mother before placing the bow that she was carrying on the ground.
"It's okay, sister. What matters is that you're here now so I can tell you about the prophecy." Apollo told her and Artemis' eyes widened.
"A prophecy? So you've had another vision?" She inquired and upon seeing a nod from the god of light, she shook her head." That's not good, whatever you've seen must have been terrible. Terrible." She started freaking out and Zeus and Leto shared worried glances for her clearly hysterical state.
"What do you know about my vision, Artemis?" Apollo curiously asked her, sensing that there was something she wasn't telling them.
"I need to show you something that I'm sure is related to it. But first I need to ask, is Gaia okay?" They were confused by her question, but the urgency in her voice made Apollo quick to answer.
"I'm afraid not. Hades has trapped her in the Tree of Life and she was given the touch of death." Artemis covered her mouth and Zeus helped her sit down for her legs were shaking. Her entire body was shaking.
"Oh, no. This can't be!" She exclaimed and her green eyes searched the room for a sign that she had heard it wrong, but the scared and sorrowful faces of her family told her it was true. "Then I have no choice. I must tell it to you, even if she'll hate me forever for that."
"Tells us what?" Poseidon asked while giving her a gentle look. She sighed before answering.
"It was supposed to remain a secret, no one was supposed to know. But now that Gaia's fallen, I have no choice but to break my promise." Silence filled the room as everyone awaited for her to reveal Gaia's secret.
Centuries passed after the gods learned of Apollo's prophecy. Throughout this time, hope was what kept them going on about their lives now that Gaia no longer was there to help them. The absence of the goddess of life affected everyone in the Magic Dimension, fairies, witches, wizards, animals, trees and the gods could feel Gaia, the forests of many kingdoms went from beautiful and magical places to simple nature spots. The trees no longer could speak, as Gaia had spelled them to do so in the past, and the animals were more scared and reserved.
Zeus and Poseidon could feel their powers weakening, they were no longer the all powerful gods they had once been. Though their magic remained, it wasn't the same, there were spells they could no longer perform because Gaia was the only reason they were ever able to do so. In an attempt to keep the balance in the Magic Dimension, the two of them became more involved with the humans, though they barely left the Golden Kingdom. Gaia's demise had made the gods fearful of the human world and so they retracted themselves into their home and stopped visiting the mortals. Artemis was the only one who still spent time away from the Golden Kingdom, she took it upon herself to keep an eye on Gaia and so Limphea was made her resting spot.
As a consequence to the gods retraction, humans began forgetting that they were real and so they became myths and legends. After 1000 years since Hades trapped Gaia, no one in the Magic Dimension believed in gods anymore. They stopped asking for help, stopped loving and honoring the immortal spirits that were responsible for so much in their lives. The gods didn't mind much, they were too concerned for their safety in case they left the Golden Kingdom to care about being remembered.
There was one god who cared less than the others about being remembered. Hades. Being trapped in the Underworld was a deep punishment that he hadn't expected and it was making him lose his mind. The loneliness, except for the company of the dead, made him cold and bitter and he went back to what he had been before he had decided to live in the Golden Kingdom.
Despite his angered and broken state, Hades never gave into the darkness again. He dedicated his every moment to keeping control and eventually the voice of evil was barely heard. He had assumed that the negative feelings that haunted him would only make him weaker, but he was wrong. Because there was one feeling that overcame all, the only thing that kept him going: Love. More specifically, Gaia's love. And the hope that he might have it again some day made him determined to keep control so that he would be deserving of it.
He also hoped that one day he could be free from his prison and he knew that he could be. He knew of Apollo's prophecy because Arcadia had told him about it. After he had come up with the idea to use Gaia's powers to bring her back to life, successfully doing so, he had asked her to go to the Golden Kingdom and try to find out what Zeus and Poseidon were planning to do when it came to saving Gaia. Arcadia had overheard the conversation between the gods due to her super sonic hearing and so she had revealed to Hades that there were two fairies who could one day free him. She didn't mention the part about Gaia because though she was working for him, she feared he would kill them if she told him that they could undo his spell.
In order to keep an eye for said fairies, Hades used his newly achieved powers of life to bring back many of his servants in the Underworld. They were sent to different places across the Magic Dimension and were ordered to look for for a fairy of nature or a fairy of fire. As a way of knowing which were Gaia's chosen fairies, Hades asked his servants to check if the fire fairy was the keeper of the dragon flame. It wasn't so hard to spot that, since the dragon flame was extremely powerful and could easily be felt by magical creatures. As for the nature fairy, Hades discovered that Gaia had told Apollo that she would have the mark of the goddess of life, a red rose, and so the search was made easier.
It was a race between Hades and Zeus to see who managed to find the fairies first. Since the fire fairy was easier to spot, both always seeked her first. Usually Zeus would find them before Hades since he had more allies and he would use his magic to protect the fairy, thus giving her his own mark: a lightening bolt. That was a way for Hades to know if the fairy could be persuaded or not.
It took 2000 years, but Gaia's chosen one was finally found. When Astrid appeared on the Golden Kingdom, claiming that baby princess Flora had the mark of Gaia, it was a relief for Zeus, Apollo, Poseidon and all the other gods. They thought that they could finally breathe, take a break from endless searching. They thought that the battle against Hades was finished once they had Flora on their side, protected from the god of death. But they were wrong, deadly wrong. It wasn't the end, on the opposite, the adventure was only beginning.
So, what are your thoughts? Did you like the talk between Hades, Zeus and Poseidon? I'm sure you weren't expecting him to be trapped so soon or assumed that this chapter would be filled with action, but my intention was to focus on Hades's feelings.
What about Apollo's prophecy? Can you see now how Bloom and Flora fit into this story? I know that I'm pushing it when I put fairies in the same spot as gods, but I hope you understood the reasons why.
If it's not clear yet, I'll let you know that the two man who appeared since chapter one are Zeus and Apollo and Gaia's most trusted advisor is Artemis. Those tree will be the main gods from now on, besides Hades, but we'll have a few appearances with others. You'll also see a few people who work for either Hades (I think you know that one already) and Zeus (You'll see in chapter 11/12).
We'll go back to the present in the next chapter and the story will follow with Flora and Hades. Either in chapter 11 or 12 a surprise will come and I'm sure you'll appreciate it. HINT: we'll have romantic scenes with a couple I'm sure you weren't expecting to see yet and the appearance of an important character relatable to Arcadia (think powers wise).
There are still a few stories regarding the gods that will be told during the book and I think you'll find them surprising. There will also be flashbacks to the scene when Artemis tells them Gaia's most precious secret.
DON'T FORGET TO CHECK OUT MY TUMBLR PAGE FOR THE PICTURE OF THE GODS ON TUMBLR! (username:sweetmemories2606)
If we make it to 5 reviews and I'll try my best to update this weekend.