- Hades and Persephone -
"My arm's numb," Hades said.
Persephone didn't answer. She had a thousand-yard stare as vines that had formed out of her back pulsed into the ground. A black crown of brambles sat atop her head. Her pupils shifted slightly as if they were following something.
"Hades..." Her tone was filled with worry. "Your father is fighting Death."
"That can't be," Hades argued. "The only one who could have gotten Chronos out of Erebos is Thanatos."
Hades could tell by Persephone's silence what had happened. He stood up and covered his good hand in blue fire.
"When I find that traitorous-"
"GET DOWN!" Persephone shouted.
Tree roots shot out of the ground and caught an orange glowing arrow. The arrow exploded into a large ball of fire. Hades weaved the flames around the two.
"Apollo..." Hades said. "I need to warn Death."
"You can't," Persephone said as tree roots formed a protective dome around the two. "You need to stay put until the snipers are handled. They're clearly targeting you and I'm not going to let you give them another chance."
"Death needs to know about Chronos's power!" Hades shouted.
"What power?" Persephone questioned Hades.
- Sabu, Yvere, Heinrich, Elijah, Artemis, Apollo -
"I just saw them fire another arrow," Sabu relayed to the others. "Low!"
The other three crouched down as a volley of arrows shot over their heads from the side.
"She's shifting around," Sabu's eyes scanned the empty rooftops of the Underworld. "Keep moving!"
"I have an idea," Heinrich said as he lifted the group into the air with a stone platform. "It's less safe but we need to hurry."
Sabu nodded. "Let's go."
Artemis swung around the buildings, watching the flying rock head towards her brother. She realized she needed to take care of Sabu first if she wanted to be able to pick off the others. She pulled an echo out of her pocket and called Apollo.
"Heading towards you," She said. "I don't think I can stop them before they reach you. Aim for the glowing-eyed one in the front if possible."
"Got it," Apollo confirmed. "The other two have hunkered down, so I can switch targets temporarily."
Apollo ended the call and put his echo away. He took a deep breath in. His eye's filled with a sun-like shine as his arrow turned into pure energy. He turned to the four's flying rock and fired the arrow, leaving an orange streak in the air that ignited into flames as it went. The rain in the arrow's path turned into steam.
Sabu saw the arrow. He could tell by the conspicuous nature of the attack that it must have been something dangerous.
"Drop us!"
Heinrich wanted to question Sabu's orders but didn't have time to. The moment he heard the worry in Sabu's voice, he listened. The rocky platform plummeted to the ground. Sabu softened everyone's landing with a blast of wind at the same time the arrow exploded.
'That should give her the opening,' Apollo thought as he turned back to Hades and Persephone's wooden dome.
The arrow turned into a miniature sun that filled the area with scorching heat. Steam filled the surrounding area. Artemis tied a vial full of green liquid to her arrow and shot it into the steam.
- Lucifer and Apollo -
Lucifer had the same revelation as Peter once he felt the rain hit his skin. He knew that he needed to worry about Poseidon but decided it would be best if he could help deal with the snipers first. His vision was still a little bleary as he flew up. Even with the blur in his vision, he could still clearly tell where Apollo was. His eyes followed the arrow that had been shot. He was able to tell that Apollo had been aiming for a flying target.
He knew Hades was still on the ground and that the only other flying targets would have been members of his team. He clenched his jaw and flew straight for Apollo.
Apollo could see Lucifer's fast approach. "Don't overstep, fallen."
Apollo loosed arrow after arrow at Lucifer. Lucifer dodged most of the arrows, with the only ones that landed any damage only scraping the side of his wings or face. Before Lucifer could fully close the distance, Apollo was off the roof. Apollo thought he was clear from Lucifer as he threw his grapple rope to another building.
"Where are you going?!" Lucifer shouted down to Apollo.
Lucifer went to shoot down a jet of blue fire but his aim was thrown off. He moved his wing to catch a green arrow that was aiming for his head. A cloud of green smoke surrounded him as his flames caught the side of Apollo's cloak.
Apollo threw a handful of yellow orbs into the sky as he fell to the ground. The same blinding fash from before went off. He grabbed his grapple as he noticed Lucifer, eyes closed, was hurtling down to him.
"The poison should be..." Apollo mumbled.
Lucifer grabbed Apollo by the face. Before he could finish the god off, he heard the crashing sound of water being shot at him. He released Apollo and flew backward. He locked eyes with Poseidon. His arms ignited into a blue flame.
- Lucifer and Poseidon -
"Keep your hands off of my family," Poseidon warned.
Lucifer stared deeply into Poseidon's eyes. "I'm not Anubis, you failure. Whatever petty revenge you're after, you won't find it here."
Poseidon was ready to snap at the mention of Anubis. The only thing stopping him was Lucifer's eyes. He felt as if they were staring into his soul. The chill he got made him shift his gaze to the side. Before he could speak, Lucifer attacked with a large blast of flames.
The two began their battle across the Underworld. Both circled the other as they flew. Clouds of steam formed with every exchange. Among all the chaos, their battle was the easiest to follow. The air filled with trails of steam with every collision of the two's attacks. As the fight progressed, hydras started to pop up around the city.
'Where's the trident?!' Lucifer questioned.
- Peter, Lao, Dimitri -
"No sense in chasin' that," Peter said, watching Poseidon and Lucifer's aerial battle. "Look for the trident!"
Dimitri and Lao nodded.
The rain seemed to be getting heavier. It would have been blinding if Dimitri hadn't been weaving it around the three. The streets were flooding, and the miniature waterfalls that had formed on the roots were now large and crashing into the ground.
"How long is this going to last?!" Dimitri had to yell to be heard over the rain.
"Don't know!" Peter responded. "What matters is findin' the trident so Luce can focus on Poseidon!" 'Shit!' he cursed in his mind. 'This is gettin' worse and worse. Luce...'
- Death and Chronos -
["That's better,"] Chronos said.
The rain had been completely stopped in time in a dome on top of the canopy. It looked as if Death and Chronos were in a picture in the middle of a rainstorm.
Death turned his head and noticed the steam trails from Lucifer and Poseidon's battle. He needed to finish his fight with Chronos now. He charged at Chronos.
The sound of the two's battle was drowned out by the rain. Every scythe swing, every step, completely covered by the heavy sound of the rain tacking on the roots outside of Chronos's time bubble. The exchange was bloody, with Death taking a more dangerous approach so he could finish the fight quicker. Chronos was worn down, his blue body stained in red.
Chronos fell to a knee, his breath heavy as his blood pooled around him. He looked up at Death with sadness.
["Won't do-"]
Death cleaved Chronos in two vertically. He severed Chronos's head and stomped it as it fell to the roots, leaving a mush of red, blue, and grey. The once-frozen rain fell all at once, drenching Death's body and sweeping Chronos's body away.
["Stay dead this time,"] Death turned and ran towards Poseidon and Lucifer's battle.
Death had gotten a fair distance away when the water that had swept Chronos's body away started to flow backward.