Updating fast? Who am I? I don't know.

Enjoy!

As the capital city of Crocus came into view, it sent Azzie's stomach into a spiral. This was really happening, huh?

After the meeting with The Olympians at Mt. Othrys, she and the rest of the crew were teleported back to the Crime Sociere airship, after which they immediately gunned it for Fiore, and the capital city. As Simon had put it, they did indeed have someone they could talk to. Someone who they had almost forgotten about.

Azzie would never forget him. She doubted Katsuchi or Tetsu would either.

"Hey, Azzie," turning around, she saw Simon had come up behind her at the window.

"Yes?" She asked quietly. Simon regarded her quietly.

"You gonna be able to do this?" He asked her. Azzie's gaze fell to the ground as she shrugged her shoulders.

"I won't know unless I try," she said earnestly. This didn't seem to be the answer the redhead wanted, but he nodded.

"I hope we aren't pushing this on you," he said, "I'd hate to make you relive anything." Azzie forced out a chuckle.

"Aren't we all reliving something?" She asked, "you, on this airship, flying towards that man? It didn't end well last time." Simon snorted.

"This time he's locked up under top security," he said, "and he doesn't have his allies anymore."

"As far as we know," she replied.

"Don't jinx it." This made her smile, turning back to look out the window again. She wasn't pleased to have to do this, but it was something only she the the boys could do. That was why she had volunteered. They needed to see if they could get any information, and it was more likely that they could get it.

She heard the door slide open behind her, but she didn't look. She could assume who it was.

"Are you sure you don't want us to come too?" Another voice said. Azzie turned to see that Takara and Jason were with Katsuchi and Tetsu.

"Yes," she said, "no need to make ourselves look stronger than we are. We want him to think we're desperate for answers. Tetsu showing up with his sister would do no good." Takara seemed miffed by this.

"Let me see the fucker," she said, "I want to know who stole my brother from me."

"Technically Hades did that," Tetsu reminded her.

"We'll be okay," Katsuchi said. His eyes betrayed his feelings. She could see he didn't necessarily believe that.

"What should try and ask him about?" She asked curiously.

"Try and prod him towards getting an answer about Hades," Simon replied. "Literally any information you can get would be helpful. We don't know anything about him."

"Well, we know a little," Jason said, "but not enough to know why he's doing this." Azzie wasn't sure they really needed to know that. If what they'd learned from Hera and Pythia was true, Hades was trying to resurrect the God of Death. Did they care what his reason was? But she couldn't think like that. They needed all the information they could get out of him. Even if it was minor, it may have been enough to help out.

"We'll get an answer out of him," she said. "Don't worry about it."

After getting the clearance from the Queen, Simon walked Azzie, Katsuchi and Tetsu towards the prison. Azzie kept to herself the entire way, wrapped up in her thoughts. She needed to come up with what they were going to say, but what could they say? How could they just walk up to him and ask questions?

"This is it," Simon said. Looking up, Azzie saw they had reached the bottom of the stairs that they'd been going down, a locked iron door ahead of them.

"Seems like it," Katsuchi muttered.

"I'll be right out here," Simon said, leaning up against the door. "Remember, you don't have to fear him. He's been chained up with anti-magic stone. There's nothing he can to you except try and mess with you. Don't let him."

"Bit late to be giving that advice," Azzie said weakly, "he's been doing that with no effort the whole way here." Simon grimaced at this.

"Just direct the conversation," he said. "That's all you have to do." Nodding, Azzie took the lead and opened the door. Once inside, they were greeted with a massive corridor with cells on the one side. As they walked towards the cell number they'd been given, Azzie felt her palms begin to sweat. Her stomach tried to argue that she needed to go to the bathroom instead of doing this, but she fought forward. She wouldn't let him control her any longer. Instead, she focused on the dark stone on her left side. On the beads of water clinging to them. See? She didn't have to overthink anything.

Her confidence was shattered when they heard a metallic wheeze.

Azzie jumped, nearly letting out a yelp. Seems she was afraid. She felt a hand on her shoulder, and looked over at Katsuchi. He nodded at her, and she nodded back. She wasn't alone. She had them. He couldn't hurt her. They continued on, finally reaching cell number seventy-five. One of the only ones inhabited on this floor. Looking in, Azzie forced herself to look at the man inside.

He was chained at both his wrists and ankles, cutting off his magic as effectively as possible. He was sitting cross-legged on the floor, his hands on his knees. He was hanging his head, but Azzie didn't need to see him to recognise him. She knew who they were here to see.

The metallic wheeze returned.

"You can never escape me, Azzie. I am your Master."

"I figured I'd get this visit sooner or later," the man said, his voice garbled by the metal that coated half his face. The human half was gaunt and dirty from his time in prison, but the only tell that the metal was old was the dirt covering it. The man focused his one good eye on them, and Azzie felt a chill going down her spine.

"Nice to see you again, you old bastard," Tetsu said. The half of the mans mouth that was visible smirked.

"Snarky as ever, Tetsu," Kronos said, "I've missed you all. How nice of you to come and visit me."

"This isn't a social call," Azzie snapped, glaring at him. "We need to talk to you."

"Yes, I figured as much," he replied as he stroked his unkempt beard. "Only a matter of time before you came for answers. Did you really think I'd give them too you?"

"You're a worthless brat, abandoned and unloved."

"And why wouldn't you?" Katsuchi asked, crossing his arms, "who would you be betraying? The Olympians went down, Kronos. Zeus is dead."

"Is he now?" Kronos asked, genuinely sounding surprised. "That is a surprise. Did the Fairies beat him?"

"They did," Azzie answered, "but we didn't come here for that. We came here to get our answers out of you. Will you give them too us?"

"Depends what you want to know," he said, "I suppose I have some time open in my schedule. I really must be ready by noon, though. I have a wall to stare at." Azzie took a deep breath, getting ready to hear the old man drone on.

"Explain exactly what that 'guild' was supposed to be," Azzie said, "what did you do to us?"

"That's all?" He asked, "Easy enough. The guild was originally an experimental group overseen by Hades. The whole point was to see if we could take and replicate the power of a Demon Lord and create soldiers out of you. Sadly, it failed. None of you carry power equal to a Demon Lord, so the project was scrapped. However, Hades and I lobbied to keep you all under the umbrella, as you had not outlived your usefulness. See where that got me, huh?" He chuckled. "Point is, that's what it was. Some of you were better than others to keep around. Icas and Maya had their uses. Taisho was a loose cannon, but he got the job done. You three never took to the job. Icas especially was an interesting case." Azzie raised an eyebrow at this.

"Why is that?" She asked, "what happened to Icas?" Kronos coughed into his hand before replying.

"Icas' body modification magic was completely changed by the Demon Lord Magic," he explained. "That 'Hellenization' Body Magic of his was amplified by it, and it twisted him into something else. I'm sure you noticed that he became something of an asshole." Of course Azzie remembered. Icas had been downright psychopathic as they grew up, so much so that Tetsu was forced to slash his face open because he'd nearly killed Maya.

"Why did it do that?" Katsuchi asked. Kronos shrugged.

"No idea," he replied. "If I had to wager a guess, I'd say it's because his magic has origins in the Dark Arts. Hellenization Body Magic isn't exactly something common to find, it's a Forbidden Art. The connection was most likely what happened."

"What's wrong, Azzie?! Scared Master Kronos will give me the pleasure of killing you?!"

Azzie took a moment to consider this. If Icas' magic had been amplified differently then there, it being related to Zomrus made sense. He'd been affected differently, almost turned into exactly what they wanted from them.

"That wasn't what you wanted?" She asked curiously.

"Icas wasn't nearly powerful enough to be what we were after," he replied. "Powerful yes, but not powerful enough. Especially if Simon Scarlet was able to take him down." This was getting off track. They weren't hear to talk about Icas.

"Did you send Maya after us?" Azzie asked, trying to shift the topic.

"Hm," Kronos muttered, "I'd almost forgotten about that. Not me directly, Hades was in charge of that."

"Why did he?" Katsuchi asked. Kronos paused at this, watching them. Azzie was afraid he was catching on, so she balled her fists.

"I killed her on accident," she said, voice shaky. "I want to know why it came to that!" Kronos didn't flinch at her tone, just kept watching her.

"Explaining that would be a whole other subject," he finally replied. "Let's not get into that."

"Let's get into that, actually," Tetsu said as he grabbed the bars of the cell. "You don't decide shit here. We want answers, you'll provide. What, are you afraid Hades will interrupt your lifetime imprisonment to kill you quicker?" Kronos regarded him quietly, not saying a word. For a moment, the only sound echoing off the walls was the metal rig keeping Kronos alive. After a few more seconds, he sighed.

"Hades needed to know if Taisho's death had changed things," he said.

"Changed what?" Azzie demanded.

"The Demon Lord power given to you was from Vantros, Taisho's Demon Lord." He explained, "after Damien Dreyar killed Taisho and absorbed Vantros, Hades was concerned that the power given to you three would have vanished. He wanted to make sure, so he sent Maya after you. She was tasked with bringing your emotions to a fever pitch, to bring out that power., She succeeded, giving her life in the process."

"Why are you all so useless?! I ask one thing of you, and you failed!"

"Why did he need to know that?" Katsuchi asked.

"I don't know," Kronos replied, "and before you demand an answer, don't bother. I wasn't privy to that information. Hades kept his playbook very close to his chest."

"Well you better get thinking," Azzie hissed, "because we're not leaving until we get an answer."

"What, do you want me to lie?" Kronos demanded, "I'm telling you, I don't know why he wanted to know. He just did."

"Well start theorising then!" Tetsu demanded.

"Damn kids," Kronos grumbled under his breath, shaking his head. He was silent for a moment before speaking up again. "If I had to guess, which is all this is, I'd say Hades wanted to know if the experiments had resulted in nothing."

"We know they did," Azzie said, "it failed."

"I know that," Kronos replied, "I mean if he were to do it again. If Hades could find a way to perfect the experiments, to create soldiers on par with Demon Lords, he wouldn't need to worry about losing those powers if the Demon Lord takeover wizard who had given the power died. But that's just my hypothesis." Azzie thought about this for a moment, trying to decide if this made sense. If it did, then it made Hades even more terrifying. Was he trying to build an army of people like them, but stronger? Would they help him raise Zomrus, or would they come later? So many questions, no answers.

'So Hades told you nothing?" She asked, glaring at his good eye. "You seriously don't know anything about him?"

"I know he's an arrogant whelp who thinks he's so strong no one can ever stop him," Kronos replied. "I don't know what he wants, but he doesn't think he can be stopped."

"If I hear another peep out of you, I'll kill you."

"You don't seem to have any love for him," Katsuchi noted.

"Fallout at work?" Tetsu teased. Kronos huffed at this.

"He was a normal kid before he got sent on that damned mission," he replied. "I don't know what Cain found there, but whatever it was changed him." Azzie pretended to act surprised at learning his real name.

"Is his real name Cain?" She asked, Kronos nodding.

"It is," he said. "Was a normal kid from the Pergrande Kingdom who came with us because he believed in our plight, and he got turned into something else. I don't know what happened, but he's just not who he used to be." Azzie made a face at this, considering their options. Finally, she rested on revealing a card of their own.

"Did you ever hear him mention the name Zomrus?" She asked. She could practically hear Katsuchi and Tetsu tense beside her, but she didn't care. She needed to know. Kronos watched her with a raised eyebrow, not speaking.

"I don't believe so," he finally said. "As I said, he wasn't one for revealing his hand to anyone, let alone me." Azzie frowned.

"Did he ever reference some King?" This only seemed to confuse Kronos further.

"Well I don't recall," he said, "but I'm getting the distinct feeling this isn't just for the closure I suspected it was for."

"I didn't come here to listen to you drone on and on," Azzie snapped, "we came for answers! Did he ever mention a King or not?!"

"This is about more than closure, isn't it?" Kronos asked, "you're here on some mission. You were sent to-"

"Useless Bitch!"

"You don't get to talk!" Azzie shouted, knuckles turning white as she gripped the bars as tightly as possible. "You don't get to control the conversation! Not now, not ever again! Answer me before I kill you! Did he mention a King or not?!"

Azzie was too frazzled to notice the air around her beginning to crackle. Kronos looked alarmed at this.

"Azzie-" he said slowly.

"Don't put my name in your filthy mouth!" she cried, "Did he or not?! Answer me! Answer-!"

Azzie was interrupted as Katsuchi and Tetsu pulled her away from the bars, Katsuchi protectively hugging her and blocking her view of Kronos.

"Relax," he said, his voice calm. "He can't hurt you from in there. He's powerless." Tetsu closed in the hug from behind, making her tear up as the next breath she tried got hitched in her throat. She hated that she was crying in front of Kronos, but she couldn't help it. Standing here, in his presence, had made all those horrible memories float to the surface. She wanted him dead, and she wanted it to be by her own hand. Even in death, she couldn't reap enough revenge from him.

But she couldn't focus on that now. She had other things that needed tending too. Her own open wounds would have to wait. Maybe it was a bad idea to do this after all.

"Are you guys okay?" A familiar voice asked. The hug was broken as the trio turned to find Simon jogging up to them, looking alarmed.

"As okay as we can be," Katsuchi replied, hands still protectively around Azzie.

"I felt a surge of magic," Simon said, "and then anti-magic. Azzie, are you alright?" Azzie wiped at her wet eyes and managed a nod.

"Sure," she said weakly.

"Ah, Simon Scarlet." Kronos said, "I figured these three had some company. No way they'd have come here on their own." Azzie appreciated the way Simon barely tilted his head towards Kronos as she came closer to her and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Do you need a minute?" He asked. Azzie nodded weakly.

"Yes," she said. "I think I do." Simon nodded.

"I'll finish up here," he said, "go topside and get some air. Relish in the fact that you'll never be back here again. I'm sorry I put this on you guys."

"Don't apologise," Tetsu said, looking at Kronos, "it's good to see the old fuck rotting and forgotten. I hope you enjoy, Iron Eye." Azzie could feel Kronos' eyes on her as they walked away from his cell, leaving Simon there alone with him. But she didn't care. She wanted to be as far away from that man as possible.

"Before you destroy what's left of me, I promise I did nothing to set her off," Kronos said. Simon didn't really care what his excuse was. He was too wound up after putting the onus on them to confront their old Master again.

"I don't give a shit what you did," he growled, "I'm just here to finish what they started. What did they ask you?"

"Asked me about some Zomrus and a King," Kronos replied with a wave of the hand. I know nothing about it, so don't both trying me again. You'll get the same answer."

"I don't plan on trying again," Simon said. "You're just some minuscule player to them."

Kronos' good eyes narrowed.

"How does it fell, old man? To know you've been abandoned in this cold, dark cell by your Masters the second you outlived your usefulness? Must seem ironic, considering what you threatened Azzie, Katsuchi and Tetsu with."

"Do you want a rise out of me?" Kronos demanded. "I believed in what I did. I will not apologise for trying to stop the end of the world."

"What does the end of the world matter if we lose our humanity in the process?" Simon demanded. "World may as well end at that rate We wouldn't be worth saving."

Kronos said nothing to this, continuing to stare at the ground.

"I hope one day you are forced to make a choice, Simon Scarlet," he said finally, "one that rends your mind incapable of choosing between them. I pray you choose wrong, and watch what you love ripped away from you." Simon scowled down at him.

"Enjoy this while it lasts," he snarled, "it's the last time you'll ever look at another humans face that isn't delivering food."

With this, he walked off, leaving his old enemy chained and alone.

Before anyone asks, the dialogue in italics interspersed in this chapter is memories from Azzie's perspective of things Kronos told her in the past. Just wanted to clear that up in case anyone got confused. I hope you all enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try and get five!