Janus waited until sundown, before she ventured out of the glen. She fell asleep for a few hours, questioning her very existence.

God's words rang true, but Janus wasn't sure whether or not she should follow them. Was her pride going to be her downfall? Was there nothing she could do to stop this from happening? And what about Maximus? Should she trust him?

God seemed to have a lot of faith in Maximus. But that faith meant nothing to Janus, if she didn't know where to look for the pointy-eared dog.

Still, the second she woke up, she could feel God's presence wrapped around her, enveloping her in a bright, happy light that made her feel all warm and fuzzy on the inside. Janus wondered if God really did care about everyone, but why He let everyone decide for themselves whether or not they wanted to return to God?

Didn't everyone want to return to God, be whole again?

Janus looked around.

Yes, it was time for her to leave the glen and search for Maximus. Now, where was he?

"Good luck," Aslan said, smiling at her. "I know you'll do well."

Janus smirked. "Thank you, Aslan."

"Now, go," God said, getting Janus' attention. "I will be with you, always."

Janus nodded. "I won't forget. Thank you. Both of you." Janus took off out of the glen. She returned to the aisle of cherry trees, determined to find out where Maximus had gone and what his fate would surely be like, if she didn't find him soon enough.

~o~

Janus found herself in a sticky spot. Not only did she see many of the citizens of the First World falling asleep at a campsite, until God could find them decent homes for them to stay at, but it was getting around them that would prove most conspicuous.

Janus knew she would need to get back to the cave, a distance that wasn't too far away from where she stood, but was it the best she could do, given her current situation?

"Eh… great," Janus whispered, knowing this was dangerous. Still, she would tackle this as best she could.

She moved into the campsite, with the tents bearing curtains with Aslan's symbol on the front, sewn into the fabric. She nearly sneezed, as she turned this way and that.

Guards were everywhere, and she had little time to talk. The sun was nearly set in the sky.

Oh, what did God tell her?

"You have until sundown to find Maximus. If you find him in the night, he will attack you."

Yes. These were God's words to her, and Janus knew she was in trouble. How was she to reach Maximus now, now that dusk had approached?

The sun was almost set.

It was nightfall. Janus failed her mission.

Janus watched the guards move about the camp. She sat down on one of the benches, lost in her own thoughts. She failed him. She failed Maximus. She wondered why she cared that she failed her mission.

No, this was really the right choice to make. Oh, she was such a fool.

"Do you need help?" a satyr asked. Janus looked up at him, seeing the body of a man with goat's horns and the legs of a goat, staring back at her.

It was Pan, the God of the Wild. Janus recognized him. Pan carried with him his panpipes. They certainly were beautiful.

Pan smirked. He played a few tunes for her, using his panpipes. The effort was enough to leave Janus sagging back against the bench, nearly falling asleep there… by the time Pan woke her up, Janus stirred, shaking her head several times to wipe the drowsiness from her eyes.

"Are you alright? You've been asleep for five minutes," Pan stated, leaving Janus anxious.

"Oh no! My mission! I failed him. I failed Maximus and God!" Janus declared, covering her mouth! She just disobeyed God. How could God forgive her? Now, she was like Maximus, disobeying God's orders.

Well, maybe she was different. And yet, they were alike. Oh dear!

"I am with you, Janus. Are you okay?" God stated in her ear, leaving Janus feeling well enough to walk again.

"I'm fine, my Lord. Splendid," Janus said, calming down. Maybe she could relate a little to Maximus. Why then did God say Janus was different from Maximus? That made no sense. Oh, what was she getting herself into?

Pan pulled out a second set of panpipes from his satchel. He passed one of his panpipes over to Janus, telling her, "Here. Use these on Cerberus. It'll put him to sleep and the Underworld will be open to us of the living and those of the dead."

"Thank you," Janus said, taking Pan's gift.

Pan inhaled, exhaling slowly, "So, tell me your mission. What is that about?"

Janus looked at him, wondering if she could trust him, "I shouldn't tell you. God told me not to tell anyone what I'm up to."

"You could tell me. You could also tell Zeus and Hera about it, too. There they are!" Pan said, noting an elderly man with silvery hair, a silvery beard, and wearing white robes. His wife, Hera, who was dressed in a flowing pink dress. The way Zeus and Hera looked at Janus sent Janus reeling.

Did these gods and goddess know about Janus' mission?

Zeus put his hands on his hips. He looked at Janus, telling her, "Did you think you were facing Cerberus alone? Come! We will deal with this beast ourselves!"

Janus was confused. Who was Cerberus? And why did they have to defeat him? Surely, Cerberus wasn't that bad, was he?

"Okay. But I don't know about this?" Janus stated, looking positively disheveled.

"Come now! What have you got to lose?" Zeus asked, laughing up a storm.

"Right," Janus said, following Zeus without question to the cave, where Janus' troubles began.

.

Pan ran as fast as he could in search of God and Aslan. He didn't know why he was doing this, only that it seemed right. By the time he reached Aslan's tent, Pan found God chatting with Aslan. The two seemed positively focused on their task at hand, when Pan showed up, interrupting their meeting taking place within Aslan's tent.

"My Lord, Janus is gone. Zeus went with her to Hades' cave! What should we do now?" Pan asked God, cautious over this new turn of events.

God looked at Aslan, knowing what to say, "You can tell Janus not to panic. Everything is going as planned."

Pan bowed before Him. "As you wish, my Lord." He scampered off before another word was spoken.

Aslan looked at God in interest, saying to Him, "My Lord, is this really necessary?"

God breathed in and out slowly. He looked at Aslan, placing a hand on his furry right shoulder. "There's no need to fear. Janus must see who she is up against, before we work on redeeming Maximus. It all comes down to this moment."

"Oh," Aslan said, exasperated by all that was happening, "Do you think Janus can do it? Redeem Maximus? I don't know if this will work out."

God looked on at the outside world, beyond Aslan's tent. He said to the Great Lion, "If Janus fails to put Cerberus to sleep, then I will do it myself. Cerberus needs to learn his place. This is the best way to begin his redemption journey."

Aslan sighed. He knew that was God's answer. He just feared it wouldn't get said right away. "Fair enough. Then let it begin."

~o~

Janus followed Zeus into the cave, leading to the Underworld. The stench of death was in the air. A soul passed through the walls, landing into the river.

Janus gulped.

Was this to be her fate?

Janus surely hoped this wasn't the case. But then, anything could happen.

"Come on!" Zeus called out to Janus. "We're not too far away!"

"Away from what?" Janus asked, not liking this.

"There! There he is! Play those panpipes!" Zeus cried, as an unearthly growl reverberated against the walls.

Janus froze. She couldn't believe what she was hearing.

For the first time, no sound penetrated the walls. That is, until the growl grew louder and louder, blocking out any sound that came.

And the three-headed dog approached her. His deathly red eyes, showing up in pairs, alarmed her. Janus cried! She didn't want to go near this creature! But then, she took another look at the poor beast.

No. This poor beast wasn't just any creature. Janus recognized him!

It was Maximus! Maximus was totally different. He was Cerberus. Janus wanted to be surprised, but just seeing what Maximus had become upset her.

Janus could not believe Maximus would do this.

"Play the panpipes, Janus! Send Cerberus to sleep," Zeus said, smirking at her.

"Do what?" Janus asked. She feared for Maximus' life. She didn't want him to fall asleep. Not if it meant the worst would happen to him.

"Do not deny me. Do not deny the Lord, God Almighty. Now, play those panpipes! Do not disobey God again," Zeus said, stern with her.

Janus sighed. She lifted the panpipes up to her mouth. She played a tune, once she figured out the right notes. At first, nothing happened.

Then, one of Cerberus' heads started to drift off to sleep. Janus moved to the side to get another of Cerberus' heads to fall asleep, too. It was working! Cerberus was falling asleep! By the third time, and managing to figure it out, Janus put Cerberus into a trance.

Cerberus collapsed on the floor, falling into a deep sleep.

For a moment, Janus was happy. Then, she remembered what she had done. Guilt filled her. She could not bear the thought of what she had done to Maximus. Why did she treat him, as though he was already Cerberus? That was another question, and Zeus didn't have time to give her an answer, before guiding her out of the cave and back to civilization.

Janus felt like she failed Maximus. She felt like she had betrayed him and herself.

Oh, what was she to do?