The Labyrinth Through Camelot | {COMPLETED}

Chapter 10 - Jude

Escaping from Hera's rage had been no easy task. Amongst the wind and rain, Zale and Luna worked together to usher every Knight from out of the battlefield and into the portal they had created. The decrease in the storm's power, however, meant that the twins were losing the strength to keep it going. Jude wasn't surprised that retreat was necessary. But once all the Knights were through, the Goddlets were quick to follow. They kept their distraction up until the very last minute, desperate to keep Hera away from them. Jude wasn't really sure how long it took them to get out of the battle completely after Nesrin had saved Merlin, but it was long enough to feel like an eternity.

Once the Chaos Twins hopped through the portal themselves, it closed behind them. The two slumped against the nearest person, which happened to be Koa and Hudson. The two caught the twins easily, supporting them now that they were completely out of the battle. But it wasn't just the twins that were exhausted. The battle against Hera had worn them all out and Jude wasn't sure how they were supposed to go another round like this.

But they hadn't found Freya yet. That meant that the battle wasn't over.

"Where are we?" Kenna mumbled, turning around to look at the place. Zale and Luna had transported them to some sort of underground river where the only light was coming down from the ceiling. The light appeared to be balls floating in mid-air a good hundred feet into the air. The place was dark and rather spooky but for some reason, Jude wasn't entirely afraid of it.

"The Underworld," Zale explained weakly, wheezing as he attempted to stand on his own without Koa's help. He failed and leaned back into Koa's support once more. "Hades said we could rest here and right now, I know I could really use a rest." Luna coughed into her hand and pushed herself out of Hudson's arms, only to stumble and get caught by Sadie this time.

"Careful," Sadie said softly, momentarily forgetting that Luna wouldn't be able to hear her. "You used a lot of power in that battle and even before that, you used up a lot of strength in the Labyrinth. You're pushing your limits."

"I'm okay," Luna signed, an easy enough sign that no one needed to interpret for the Knights.

"Let's go find Hades and Persephone now. I'm sure Nesrin's with them," Koa replied, gently pushing Zale back up to his feet. She brushed herself off and tossing her weapon in the air. It fell back into her hand as a coin and caught it in the palm of her hand before she spoke again. "If she brought Merlin here, they'll be there. We'll need his perspective to plan a good attack against Hera and stop her for good."

With no complaints from the rest of the group, Koa led the way towards Hades and Persephone's home. The castle, which Jude had easily missed in his first glance of the place, loomed in the distance, once that looked too far away for the exhausted twins, but the more they walked, the closer it seemed. Jude knew his Greek Mythology fairly well enough to know exactly who Hades and Persephone were, but the land of the eternal dead wasn't at all what he had been expecting. He figured it would be some sort of barren wasteland filled with fire, lava, and hopeless souls wandering around helplessly, with maybe a few permanent tortures scattered across the lands, but this was completely different. There was enough light that a decent amount of the land was visible and there were trees and other shrubberies that filled the grounds, creating a darker version of the Overworld. The water trickled peacefully in the distance and once they neared the castle, there were lamps and candles that dotted the many paths throughout the land, filled with the same blue fire the torched in the Labyrinth had been lit with.

The closer they got to the entrance to the castle, the more obvious it was that there were people there waiting for them. It was easy to spot Nesrin, standing close to the people Jude could only assume were Hades and Persephone, but his attention was quickly drawn to Merlin. He was standing next to a spirit that he almost instantly knew was the late King Arthur. There were two more men, standing at the doors to the castle, who seemed familiar, although Jude couldn't quite place why.