Child of Hades {Interactive Story} (PJO/HOO/TOA)

FIFTEEN: Give Us A Little Love

Nothing went remotely how I thought it would. Not at all.

When I limped with the help of my friend into the throne room of my father, I was painfully aware that we were the only three in there. Hades had been busy recently, so much so it appeared he was nursing a wicked headache. Thirteen feet tall, even sitting on his throne, he towered over Simon and I. I clutched my abdomen tight, Hades noticed us and glanced up.

"Have you failed me?" He asked.

I faltered. Whatever I was going to do, I suddenly found it very hard to find my voice. If he couldn't sense Fabia pursuing her course to the Lethe, I wondered how foggy his mind was. I had no doubt he had stretched to his limits searching for and collecting as many souls as he could on Earth, and I didn't think I'd done him any favours by calling upon an army of them. That was his job; get the ghosts. Me? Cure the Lethe. And I wasn't even sure if that was happening - I didn't know where Fabia was. I thought... I'd hoped she'd have gotten there by now. Cure the Lethe, and Hades' mind might clear as well. And then he could help stop Tyler.

Yet immediately upon my arrival, have you failed me.

Tyler and Simon were not in the throne room. I didn't know when to expect their arrival. I didn't know how much time I had before something went sour. But then I must have been standing there too long, and the doors to the throne room swung open behind us. Tyler made his way in, sword poised gently under Matt's scarred chin.

Crap.

Hades stood then, but stumbled. Yes, this had all taken a very big toll on him. Tyler locked eyes with me, and shook his head. Simon grabbed my hand. Tyler ushered a silent Matt towards the god of death himself, stopping only at the same distance from the throne as us, but across the room. This wasn't how he'd wanted it to go down. He didn't have the element of surprise nor his army, and I was here. But he had Matt by his side, his backup plan, and he was at his command. And Matt was powerful. Powerful enough to hypnotize a god? We had yet to see. Hades was certainly out of it enough that it might be possible. He didn't even call on his army to defend him. He didn't even brandish a weapon.

Was he — no. No. He was waiting on me to defend him. Me, in this state.

The gods were blind. I couldn't move, I should have been dead, yet he still waited for me to defend him. I got a sick feeling in my stomach, like for a second I actually fully and completely wanted Tyler to succeed.

"Hades." Tyler smiled coyly, falling unflatteringly into a mock bow. As he went down Matt looked at me, and then at Simon. I furrowed my brows. He was scared. But no, I felt Simon nod beside me. A message had been relayed. A message I had missed.

Suddenly Simon pushed away from me. It was so sudden I didn't even have a chance to try and hold myself up. I yelped as I hit the marble floor, cursed, and held my abdomen tight. I moved to ask Simon what the hell that was for, when I stopped.

Simon brushed past me, and walked straight up to Tyler. I'd almost missed his jaw tighten.

"Hey, dirt bag," Simon called. If the goal was to surprise Hades, he'd done it. It might have even been a chance for Tyler to use the god killer on him. Yet Hades wasn't the only one who was surprised, or better, distracted. Tyler was so shocked by Simon's sudden outburst, he'd released his grip on Matt and swung the multi-ironed sword towards Simon, who expertly jumped out of its reach (and just in time, I had inhaled so hard in that moment I'd hurt my abdomen even worse).

"If you try anything, you could die." Tyler offered easily.

"Behind you." Simon commented. Tyler knit his brows together, and turned back to face the son of Hypnos.