AUTHOR'S NOTE:

HI WOW OKAY

I don't have any idea why I had stopped where I did, I may have gotten busy with school and just never happened to finish the last couple chapters The world may never know, that was something like 7 years ago... geezus I'm sorry! But I still remember how it's supposed to end, and even though my eyeballs burned while re-reading the rest of this story (god, all the formatting errors and generally cheesy everything), I wanted to finally work on finishing this story, if nothing else than to just have it finished. My style and experience has definitely changed since then- I'm currently attempting to pursue story writing for magazines and journals, as well as working on the bones of a couple of novels- but I hope that you all will enjoy this chapter still! Hopefully just one more, and that won't take another 7-8 years to write.

"What sort of deal?" Zeus asked from his stone encasement. His brother circled around him as if pondering his many options. Around them fights continued to take place, titans and gods warring amongst the temple and its gardens.

After an agonizingly long silence, Hades finally spoke. "I'll bring these titans back to their prisons, and I'll even ensure their bonds are checked and re-formed so they cannot escape again." He waved his hand and a long staff appeared in his grip, a two-pronged spear that appeared to be cold to the touch, no matter how the light hit it.

Khloe watched from across the terrace, fear rising inside of her as she strained to hear what Hades was proposing. The god of the underworld kept pausing, savoring this moment where he had the God of all gods in his grip. The other divine entities who had found respite from the defeat of their titans stood and stared at the two, unable or unwilling to step between them. Straining to hear what they were saying, Khloe inched closer to Zeus and Hades, never taking her eyes off of Hades' hideous sunken eyes.

"Get on with it, Hades," Zeus scowled. He was encased so tightly in stone that if he struggled at all, it didn't show. Nearby, Apollo was focused on shooting every titan he could with his bow, but he didn't see Menoetius come from behind with swinging fists, and Apollo fell roughly to the ground under the titan's blow.

Khloe was kneeling, hidden behind a bush, mere feet away from the scene. She fought to stifle a horrified gasp as she watched her mentor writhe in pain. With Hades still entrapping her father just before her, she couldn't call out to Apollo without drawing Hades' attention.

Hades merely glanced over at the god of music, undisturbed by this show of brutality. An idea formed, and a treacherous smile began to creep slowly on his face. He lowered his staff and pointed it at Apollo, who laid on the ground, groaning and clutching his ribs. At this gesture the titan seemed unnerved, and he turned away, swinging for the next person to cross his raging path. With the brute out of the picture, Hades glared back up at Zeus, setting his jaw.

"The next god to die comes with me to the Underworld. Their soul will belong to me, forever. And I will take care of the Titans myself." Hades spoke so commandingly that Zeus was taken aback. He opened his mouth but shut it again, staring at Apollo who realized the precarious position he was in. The two gods locked eyes and for an agonizingly long moment nobody moved or spoke. "That is my deal," Hades said, his words dripping with venom. Fights continued to rage on in the background, but both Zeus and Hades' stares were locked on each other.

Realizing the destruction and injuries continuing to spiral into complete chaos all around him while he was helplessly trapped, Zeus finally let out a calm breath. He frowned at Hades, his eyes dulled over without their usual vigor. He could see his brother's grin already curling. "I'll have you know you're a disgusting cad," he snarled. "But you have a deal."

The god of the underworld smiled coyly, raising his staff away from Apollo, who immediately shuffled away to a short terrace wall, just far enough away so he could recover and still watch the tense scene unfold. Hades raised his staff up towards Zeus and laughed coldly. Hermes shouted something in the distance, but was too far away for any of them to hear. Sweat covered Apollo's face and his ribs ached, but he couldn't tear his eyes from his father and uncle, until another Titan in the distance came barreling towards them.

For the next sixteen years, he was continually haunted by the terrified scream that ripped through his soul, when Menoetius had swung large fists at Khloe and knocked her away from her hiding spot. But in her desperate attempt to escape, she had scrambled to her feet and ran away from the Titan, and was caught in between Zeus and Hades' staff.

The world had stopped altogether.

Gods and Titans both looked towards the center of the gardens, where Zeus' encasement had dissolved around him and he was kneeling on the ground, clutching the small lifeless body in his arms. Hades was aghast, stepping back and shaking his head. "No, no- That wasn't supposed to happen!"

Zeus looked up at his brother through furious copper eyes. His queen ran to him but stopped short, seeing her daughter's body in his arms, and she fell to the ground with wracking sobs. "We made a deal," Zeus said lowly.

Quaking with anger, Hades said nothing for a long silence, before finally snapping his fingers and causing his staff to dissolve into shadow. "Yes… We did." He stepped forwards, but Hermes stepped in front of him.

"Don't you dare." He crossed his arms, bruises covering his body from head to toe.

"Don't get involved, fly-boy. She has no choice," Hades gestured to Khloe, and Zeus clung tighter, "but whether you join her is still up for debate."

Hermes looked back at Khloe and his chest tightened. Tears springing to his eyes, he turned back to Hades. "Three days," he began, and held up a hand before his uncle could continue. "Three days we mourn the loss of our daughter and sister, and then your bargain may be met."

Hades said nothing, his eyes narrowing. With a dissatisfied grunt he turned away and shadow rose behind him as he walked, and a blinding darkness quickly filled the temple gardens. As quickly as the shadows had appeared, the darkness vanished, and Hades and every last titan was gone with it, leaving only the ruined gardens and the Olympians, kneeling over a child's body and mourning the loss of their Little One.