The Contest between Gods

even try to hide his sarcastic tone and sarcasm.

”Rest? Do you think Ive been resting these past five months?! I haven slept a wink since we fought Lord Demeter! ”

Hades let out a frustrated groan and ran his fingers through his short blond hair in frustration. His eyes were covered by the darkness of the room, but Apollo could tell that they were angry.

”You
e acting as if everything is going great, ” Apollo pointed out. ”Lord Hades, you
e the reason why Lady Eurydice was killed and the reason why our children are being tortured by the gods! ”

Hades froze in his tracks and stared at Apollo in disbelief. He had never expected the God of Lightning and Storms to actually stand up for him.

”What are you saying? ” He asked in confusion.

”Im not saying anything. I am simply stating a fact. ”

”A fact that is completely untrue! And I don know why you
e trying to convince me otherwise, Apollo. It does seem that nothing is going smoothly here, so why waste your energy on defending a man who doesn deserve it? ”

”Because I believe that you do deserve everything that you
e receiving right now, Lord Hades. Even though we can never be true allies, that doesn mean that I won do anything to help you when you
e in need of my assistance. ”

”No offense Apollo, but your help has not done much except to cause me problems. ” Hades snickered. ”Now stop trying to persuade me, so that I can finally sleep! ”

Apollo sighed and closed his eyes in defeat. He knew that he wasn making any progress and he probably wouldn change Lord Hades mind anyway. Although Hades did seem extremely agitated by his speech and his threats of revenge, Apollo knew that he was probably still confused about the whole situation and couldn really decide which side to choose. At least, he hoped that he couldn . For Lord Hades sake, he hoped that he was still on the right side. But, as he was leaving Lord Hades room, the god called out to him one more time before he left.

”Wait Apollo, what about you? Are you really a servant of Lord Hades? ”

”Yes Lord Hades. I live with Lord Hades and Im also a member of his household. ”

”Alright. Then I guess it is okay that you
e here. Just please make sure that no one tries to harm me. ”

”Don worry my lord. Ill ensure that no one approaches you unless you ask for them to. Also, if I hear anyone trying to attack you while Im here, I ll come to your rescue, I promise. ”

Apollo sat in a chair, watching Lord Hades sleep peacefully. His chest rose and fell softly under the thin blanket, which hid his body underneath it completely. He had already changed into some new clothes that Lord Hades gave him, and they were comfortable enough to stay on while in his current state.

While Lord Hades was sleeping, Apollo had decided to look through Lord Hades books of wisdom to get some ideas about how to fix the problem that Lord Hades had caused. Unfortunately, they weren useful information. Lord Hades had told him that those books weren very useful and only had hints about how things worked, but Apollo believed that he should still at least look into it. Lord Hades had once said that if you want answers, its best to keep asking questions until someone gives them. Maybe thats what they were doing: asking questions to try and figure out what was wrong. As for how Lord Hades could possibly have fallen asleep in the middle of the party he planned for tonight, Apollo had no idea.

The only books that had helped Apollo at all so far consisted of books that contained a history of Lord Hades and some books written by the Greeks about Lord Hades and his power. These books didn seem to be that helpful either since Apollo couldn figure out why a God of Death, who always seemed invincible, might have gotten injured. He thought it would have been impossible for a God of War to fall from his throne in the middle of a war because then Lord Hades would die. Perhaps his wound could be healed somehow? Or maybe he had used one of the gifts that God of Death possessed. Either way, the Gods seemed to think it was possible, especially Lord Demeter, Lord Hephaestus and Zeus.

Apollo sighed and laid back onto Lord Hades bed. Since he knew that he would probably spend the entire day here and couldn really do anything to occupy himself, he started to think of what he would do with the rest of the day. After deciding against doing anything productive, Apollo closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep. When he woke up, he found himself lying in the grass next to the river. He immediately noticed the absence of Lord Hades, whom he had seen earlier that afternoon. Quickly running over towards the river, he tried to search for Lord Hades, but to his disappointment, Lord Hades was nowhere to be seen.

”Where did Lord Hades go? ” Apollo mumbled to himself, confused. Suddenly, the sound of a loud scream pierced the air and Apollo quickly recognized that voice. It was Lord Hades! Quickly picking up his pace, he rushed towards the source of the noise. He arrived inside the dining room where the servants had stopped the guests to eat dinner. There, he saw Lord Hades, holding his bleeding head in pain and clutching his heart which looked as if it was about to beat its way out of his chest. The crowd around him began cheering loudly, praising Lord Hades. However, the people kept on clapping their hands, mocking Lord Hades. It was as if the whole celebration was for Lord Hades and not for Lord Demeter or Lord Poseidon. This angered Apollo and made him walk over to Lord Hades and help him hold the bloodied mess of his head with both hands.

”My lord! You
e hurt! Let me take care of it. What happened to you? ” Apollo asked anxiously.

Lord Hades laughed, but instead of sounding joyful, it was filled with despair, as if he was in so much pain that he wished it would just disappear.

”Why would you even care about me? Why do you care about anything?! ” He shouted. ”We don talk and you treat me like Im worthless. Well it seems I have to show you why Im worth so much more than you ever could have imagined! ”

Apollo frowned, but before he could retort something, Lord Hades began walking backwards towards the stairs leading upstairs. His hand reached out towards Apollo, begging for Apollo to follow him.

”If you want to protect me, you have to join me! ”

Before Apollo could respond, Lord Hades disappeared behind the staircase and the screaming of the spectators and servants around him echoed throughout the room. Apollo hesitated. What was he supposed to do? Should he try to catch Lord Hades before he disappears again? But Lord Hades must realize that he can be followed if he goes to the top floor. So there was no way that he could escape from Apollo. In the end, Apollo decided that he would stay behind for the night and see where Lord Hades had gone tomorrow.

In Lord Hades bedroom, Lord Hades threw himself on his bed as soon as the door was closed behind him.

”Dammit…dammit… ” He cursed as he gripped his hair tightly in anger. ”Why did I say that? Of course I don deserve him! I deserve death! All the Gods know that I shouldn have taken him on as my prisoner. How stupid of me! Dammit…why did I do that? ”

Even though he hadn been able to move his arms for quite some time due to the amount of damage he had suffered at the hands of the Titans, Lord Hades managed to grab a pillow and throw it violently towards the wall. His plan failed. Lord Hades felt utterly helpless. He wanted to leave this palace, to find somewhere else where he could hide from everyone. He needed to go home. He needed to be safe from the cruel world that surrounded him.

But there was no place he could go anymore. Lord Hades had destroyed his home, his sanctuary, along with thousands of innocent mortals and demigods who had sacrificed themselves for him. They died because of him. If Lord Hades had known what awaited him after destroying his own home, he wouldve never dared to use any of his powers. Lord Hades had killed his friends and family without even batting an eye, causing him to feel guilty about that.

After spending hours tossing and turning on his bed, Lord Hades eventually gave up and got up to prepare for his punishment.

He had already spent years punishing himself by constantly reminding himself of how many enemies he had and how many lives he had ruined. That was until Apollo came into his life and changed his life forever. Now Lord Hades couldn imagine living another day without having him by his side. Apollo brought him joy and happiness that he had been deprived of for so long. It was a miracle that Apollo had returned to him, and he knew that he couldn let him go. He knew exactly what he had to do. And now, he knew what he had to do first.

Lord Hades had waited until the evening of the day that Apollo had arrived. He had waited until everyone had already retired for the evening so that no one would be able to notice what he was planning. He had watched from afar as Lord Hades carriage pulled up outside the palace. As soon as Lord Hades stepped out of the carriage, Lord Hades had thrown his sword onto the ground and summoned forth the power of lightning and wind, which had wrapped itself around Apollo, making Apollo fall down from the sky.

Lord Hades walked towards Apollo slowly, careful to avoid any possible traps. Once he was close enough, he held Apollos face in his hands and stared directly into his eyes, as if looking deep into the soul of Apollo. Apollo remained silent, but when Lord Hades leaned closer to Apollos face, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath to calm himself before opening them again to stare back at Lord Hades.

It was too dark to see Lord Hades expression, but he could tell from his voice that he wasn happy.

”What were you thinking? You knew that you wouldn last another second against the Titans and yet you went and defeated them anyway, so how is it that you managed to injure yourself so badly? Wasn that a big risk? Have you forgotten what happened in your old home? ”

Apollo remained silent. He didn dare make any sort of reply, because he knew how dangerous the consequences would be. Even after everything that he had done, Lord Hades was furious with him.

”You should have listened to me! ” Lord Hades continued to shout. ”I warned you that your power would come to bite you in the ass sooner or later. Don worry, Ill send you away as fast as I can so you won die in vain. And when the time comes, youll thank me. ”

Lord Hades turned and started walking back into the palace, dragging Apollo behind him.

”I will kill you, ” Apollo said through clenched teeth.

Lord Hades smirked and replied, ”Id like to see you try!

When Lord Hades was almost halfway up the staircase, he suddenly stopped and turned around to face Apollo. Before he could speak though, Apollo heard footsteps approaching from behind. Turning around quickly, he caught sight of his attacker. Lord Hephaestus stood behind him, glaring at Apollo with pure hatred in his eyes. Without hesitation, Apollo raised his shield and pushed Lord Hephaestus away. Then he grabbed the handle of his sword and started to run towards Lord Hades, ready to attack if need be. Lord Hades smiled devilishly.

”Hephaestus! ” He yelled.

Lord Hephaestus appeared behind Apollo, grabbing Lord Hades by the back of the neck and pulling him off the ground, throwing him over his shoulder. He then proceeded to drag him towards the dungeon below.

”Let me go! Please! I have to talk to Aphrodite! ” Lord Hades pleaded. ”Shell understand! ”

Hephaestus ignored his pleas completely. Instead, he continued walking down the staircase until they entered the dungeons.

Athena gasped loudly as they walked past her throne and she ran down the stairs to stop them from continuing forward.

”Lord Hades! What are you doing?! ” She exclaimed.

”Get lost! ” Lord Hades snapped angrily.

He struggled to free himself from Hephaestus grip, trying every trick he knows to get free from him. However, he failed.

”No! ” Athena yelled furiously. ”Not you too! You
e only here to kill Apollo! ”

Lord Hades rolled his eyes.

”So you two have already met! I told you that I would kill Apollo! ”

Athena glared at Lord Hades in frustration, shaking her head in disbelief.

”Lord Apollo doesn belong in your domain. You must get rid of him now before he causes any more trouble! ” She ordered.

The guards approached, preparing to restrain Apollo once they were close enough.

Suddenly, Lord Hades eyes flashed blue as electricity sparked across his body, causing the guards to fall to the ground. When Lord Hades turned back to look at Apollo, he saw that Apollos entire body was glowing brightly and was staring back at him defiantly. For one moment, Lord Hades looked shocked; however, a smile formed on his lips as his mind worked swiftly. With a wave of his hand, the guards who still stood up dropped to the ground and their eyes glazed over. The others collapsed as well, falling unconscious.

Lord Hades laughed wickedly as Apollos glare widened.

”Oh! My little angel has finally found himself some backbone! Im so proud of you! This just proves how strong my will can really be! You should take that as a sign of respect! ”

As Apollo struggled against the guards holding him, Lord Hades walked towards him and took hold of both of his wrists gently, smiling lovingly into Apollos eyes while he talked.

”I think it will prove beneficial for me if we talk in private, don you agree? ”

Apollo didn answer.

Lord Hades sighed dejectedly. ”Fine! Lets discuss things in the privacy of your chambers. Come. Lets go. ”

Apollo sat silently in Hades study chair. He glanced nervously toward the door, wondering what the Titan Lord would want to discuss with him. Had Hades decided to forgive him and give him a second chance? Or maybe Hades was simply going to force him to apologize and explain himself…Apollo didn blame him either way. After all, he was the cause of so much destruction that Lord Hades should be angry at him not only for what he did at Mount Olympus, but also for what he had nearly done to Lady Demeter…and especially for what he had almost done to Lady Artemis…Apollo shuddered at the memory of Artemis falling into the sea, screaming as she disappeared beneath the surface…or rather…into Tartarus.

Suddenly the sound of footsteps filled the room. Lord Hades walked into the study calmly, smiling triumphantly. Apollo tensed up as he noticed the triumphant look on Lord Hades face.

”Apollo! You have done well! I am very impressed, even though I should not be. However, this isn over yet. Do you realize how dangerous your defiance to the gods has made you? Do you realize that you and your friends will surely suffer for this? You will be executed tomorrow night…but Ill make sure that no one ever sees your sorry excuse of a mortal corpse! ”

Lord Hades walked over to Apollo and put his hands firmly on his shoulders, forcing Apollo to meet his gaze. As he did so, Apollo began to feel uneasy. Lord Hades stared into his eyes for several seconds before speaking, never breaking eye contact.

”If you wish to remain alive, I suggest that you cooperate with me fully in these matters. Otherwise I shall find someone else to punish you for you insolent behavior! ” Lord Hades released Apollos shoulders and stepped back.

”Thats it? ” Apollo asked hesitantly. ”What else do you want from me? ”

”Well, I would love to keep you prisoner in this very tower for a few centuries, perhaps even longer… ”

”Ill do anything, ” Apollo answered immediately.

”Anything? ”

”Yes! Whatever you want. Just please leave me alone. ”

”I have something else planned for you…something very special. ”

Lord Hades grinned evilly and turned to walk towards the door.

”Don you dare hurt anyone in my castle! ” Apollo called out desperately as Lord Hades reached the door. Lord Hades turned back to Apollo with an amused smile.

”I promise I won . In fact, why don you join us in our dinner tonight? ”

”What does it have to do with me? ” Apollo responded.

”Because there is only one other member of the Olympian Court left alive. ”

Athena stood outside of the cell where Lord Hades locked Lord Apollo in, waiting anxiously for her master to return. She hadn seen him since that morning, nor had anyone who came to fetch Apollos belongings. Since then Lord Hermes had tried to call her multiple times, but she had refused to open the communication devices or to speak with him. She wasn sure whether she wanted to stay loyal to Lord Hermes or follow Lord Hades orders, but she couldn just stand back while he threatened Apollo. If Apollo were killed then Lord Hermes might never forgive her for allowing it to happen.

When Lord Hermes had arrived on the scene, Zeus had taken command of the situation. Lord Ares had helped Lord Hermes restrain Lord Hades while Lord Zeus questioned him. According to Lord Hermes, Lord Hades had threatened to destroy all mortals in his dominion if he didn listen to his orders. Zeus had agreed to Lord Hades demands. Although Athena didn believe it for a minute, the events of the day convinced her that Lord Hades had a legitimate reason to fear Apollo. Lord Hades seemed determined to kill him.

Lord Hermes opened the cell doors and entered carrying Apollos sword and shield. After closing the doors behind him, he handed Apollos belongings to her