Second Chances: Artemis

Chapter 33

Rachel was currently tossing and turning in her sleep again. Ever since Thea had begun her quest to find all three pieces of this so-called Kronos stone, her dreams had been full of monsters. And not just any monsters, but monsters that were supposed to be legends from the Greek myths Donna and Zara had let her read about. Creatures like the Minotaur and the Chimera. But that wasn't what cause her nightmares. She was used to dreams about monsters, she'd been having them her whole life, even if this was a different kind of monster.

No, what really got her attention was the fact that in every dream, no matter what monster it was, they were always circling the same item. A relatively small black stone, it looked like it was made of obsidian and it radiated power. Not just any kind of power, it was the same kind of power she felt festering inside of her. The power of darkness and death. She just didn't know what any of it meant. Though tonight's dream was a bit different, since in addition to the usual monster, in tonight's case, a Cerberus, there was also what looked like the ghost of a pale man with oily black hair.

"So, you are the one who can get around my little trap." the man said.

"What?" Rachel asked, so confused right now.

"I placed the final piece of the Kronos stone in the one place that was beyond the reach of gods and mortals while also taunting my father by putting it in his grasp while also ensuring he could never reach it, even if he regained his physical form. No one with Olympian power, even an avatar, can claim it." the man said.

"You're Hades. Or what's left of him." Rachel said.

"Indeed. You have the power of darkness in you. I'm impressed that someone so young could possess such power." Hades said.

"Keep away from me." Rachel said, not wanting to hear about her power anymore, since she hated it.

"You're afraid of your power." Hades said.

"It's evil. Nothing but destruction. It's." Rachel said.

"Death?" Hades asked with a smirk.

"Yes." Rachel said.

"And why is that a bad thing? Death itself is not inherently evil, it's part of life for both mortals and as you can see, even immortals." Hades said.

"When I use my powers, people get hurt." Rachel said.

"Because you aren't using them, you're losing control over them, because you're resisting them. The power you wield is dangerous, yes, but that's only because you've been trying to suppress them. You're afraid of them and you're letting that fear stop you from embracing them. Death is not something to be feared. It's a part of the natural order of things." Hades told her.

"What happens if I lose control again?" Rachel asked.

"I don't have all the answers Rachel. But what I do know is that you were given this power for a reason. Don't hide it. The only way you will know peace is for you to finally embrace your power and your destiny." Hades said, but before Rachel could respond, she felt herself waking up, knowing she needed to talk to Donna about this immediately.

"Wait, you spoke to the spirit of Hades?" Donna asked Rachel after she was told about her dream.

"Yeah and I saw the Hades Stone. It's in a dark void full of monsters, like the kind from the stories you showed me." Rachel said.

"He put the stone in Tartarus. I have to admit, that's clever, since no god or mortal would ever be crazy enough to go there." Donna said.

"And he also said it was to taunt his father." Rachel said.

"Makes sense, since Kronos is currently scattered into millions of pieces in Tartarus with no physical form and it sounds like Hades took extra precautions to ensure that no member of the Greek Pantheon could retrieve it. Which means that your powers are our best bet to do that. Somehow." Donna said.

"Hades did give me some advice about my powers and I think maybe I'm done being afraid of them. It's time to see what I can really do with them." Rachel said and Donna grinned.

"Great. We'll start preparing now, since I do think that we should put off retrieving the stone until Thea gets back, since this is her mission. We're just helping her out." Donna said and Rachel nodded.