HEPHAESTUS

NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO. Hephaestus’ mind screamed. But they kept smiling. The hand squeezed their cane, pulling half of their weight toward the ground. Their muscles tensed, their heart racing, and their breath coming in ragged gasps. They knew they had no choice but to go where they were being taken, and they forced a smile onto their face, hoping to hide the fear they felt.

‘’Yes’’

Floor ten.

Mara was swinging around a giant bed with her feet kicking in the air as her mouth was filled with sweets from the jar that she took away from the council room. Ukko was looking outside the window with a wide smile of amusement.

Hephaestus had years to feel a mattress like this. Soft, ready to drown you inside. The smell of roses and cotton filled their nostrils, making their mind feel dizzy. Candles burning with the scent of vanilla explode in the warm room.

They could relax easily but standing could see how stiff Lucifer was against them. Standing up and walking away from her, close to the wall it was one thing for sure. She had questions and they had answers.

They did not blame her. They burst out tones that they wished to hide more deeply. But looking at that person standing in a place meant safety. The person who was as twisted as they could remember. Now, dressed in diamonds and gold and a fancy long light blue dress. They wanted to scream, shout, and tell everyone the truth. But then they thought,

Maybe it was not them. It was someone else. Just similar. Their mind just played games.

They just lost their mind.

After they got outside the council room the boy with the black hair let out a smile to them and a wink. Hephaestus did not react to his gesture and returned to Mordred, trying to speak. To apologize, to explain. They held his right arm and he pulled instantly away.

What were you thinking? You are mental. It’s all your fault.

His eyes were cold and harsh, just like his voice, making Hephaestus flinch far from him.

There was a soft hand resting on the top of his shoulder. Hephaestus looked up, noticing Hermes facing Mordred with a gentle look.

Calm down. He whispered softly. And he calmed down with just a single breath. With just a sentence. It’s alright. No One got hurt.

They saw him walk away downstairs as Hermes stood still in front of them with a straight grin.

Thank you. Hephaestus tried to look away from his green eyes, holding a bright smile.

But his lips fell easily to their ear so he could shatter their hopes.

You have crossed many lines. He almost hissed. And every one of them unfolds a truth.

Hephaestus tried to speak but he wouldn’t even let them.

I took one more look at your files and it doesn’t make sense about your past.

Hephaestus stretched their wrist and held their breath.

I can explain, I–

I don’t know what you are or why you are here but let me demonstrate it. People here need protection. Need to be safe. One more mistake and I can tell him to take care of you. They heard him let out a sadistic scoff. And believe him. He will.

As they saw him walk away Hephaestus imagined the words they could have said to him but it was too late as he was far away. But the green eyes of the superior said everything. That they had made a mistake.

But then, Lancelot walked with a sweet smile that Hephaestus was surprised to see.

‘’Thank you’’ They said to the Demon. They did not know why but thanking him felt like the right thing to do.

For three seconds, they turned back to the person with the green braids, smiling as they walked away on the opposite side with the rest of the members. And their deep brown eyes stared right at the gunsmith. Hephaestus gulped and turned to Lancelot once more.

‘’Do not thank me yet’’ He replied with a scoff. ‘’You have to see the morning first’’

That sentence lets them think for hours. But the thinking stopped when Lucifer spoke again, looking at Ukko with a shrug.

‘’What was that?’’ She asked.

Hephaestus blinked twice, confused. Shifting to Ukko he was having the same question as her. Mara was humming to her pillow with one of her eyes, facing them. Lowering their head, they looked at their leg. It had probably a week to live if they did not repair it.

‘’I thought that you worked for them and you are saying that it is not safe?’’ Lucifer asked.

‘’I am not working with them’’ They stated.

‘’How do you know the scientist?’’ She asked, her voice now eager.

They did not speak about it and looked down at the crystal-made floor. There was a sudden heat on their face, making the tears ready to fall.

Hephaestus stretched their wrists and took a deep breath.

‘’It’s complicated’’Thery replied and they wanted to down themselves in a sink.

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‘’This whole thing is complicated’’ Lucifer stood up, furious. ‘’You hide a secret like this…’’

Her voice broke. Hephaestus remained silent.

Ukko sighed and stretched his neck once more with his eyes looking at Lucifer concerned about her own emotions.

Mara fixed her posture and looked down bored.

Her fingers threw the jar to the ground and cleaned her face from the crumbles‘’This is stupid’’ She said and pulled herself up, stretching her arms.

‘’I am getting out’’ Her hand waved goodbye. following the heavy dark door.

‘’What do you mean?’’ Lucifer asked her.

‘’Listen’’ Mara turned to her cockingly. ‘’They want us to do…whatever they have planned for the artifact. And I really do not want it to be part of it so...’’ She moved closer to the door. But now Ukko stood up too, looking at her concern.

‘’So what? You are living?’’

Mara shrugged so calmly that almost made Hephaestus surprised.

‘’That is the plan, yeah’’

And she was gone. Lucifer tried to after her with a furious gaze, looking at Hephaestus before she stepped out. But Ukko stayed with them, sitting next to them, looking at them with his eyes filled with light. Deep, wild like an autumn forest. And yet kind.

‘’She will be alright’’ Ukko enlightened. ‘’She is just worried about …’’ Ukko sighed. ‘’A lot’’ He jerked his head to the right. Hephaestus nodded.

‘’Are you okay?’’ He asked concernedly.

Why do you care?

They made everyone drink something that was the center of a battle. Their entire world flipped in. The one they loved betrayed them. The past was after them again. They made a fool of themselves and the others inside the council room. They were killed. They were killed in front of a child. Everyone was falling apart, people did not trust them, and people were walking away. Mordred was walking away. And people expected them to fight. To kill.

Like it was so easy to do so.

And even comfortable sheets that could make you sleep forever were not enough for them to get calm. To feel safe. To feel like themselves again.

‘’I want to throw up'' Hephaestus gagged, looking up at the clean bright ceiling.

‘’Yeah, figures'' He laughed.

‘’It’s my fault'' They panted.

‘’Probably’’ He laughed again, this time louder. And almost with a mock.

‘’I don’t know what to do’’They pulled their hair back and their body shrank to the cold floor. There was a wrong sound echoing from their prosthetic once more. But this time, they did not care.

‘’Well,’’ Ukko leaned against the wall and let his body fall closer to theirs. Now, both of them, sitting down on the floor, staring at the dark door, waiting for someone to speak. Or cry out their emotions.

Ukko was the first to speak with a hidden laugh.

‘’Thanks to you, we are still alive. '' He explained.

‘’Thanks to me?’’ Hephaestus arched their brow again.

‘’Of course’’He winked ‘’It seems your charms caught a council member's attention’’ He said, mentioning the man with the thick dark hair and scars on his face. ''you better hope he wasn't the council's "bad boy"!

Hephaestus snorted and started laughing out loud like a maniac. Looking back, the man was around their age, perhaps he was twenty. His face and body were appealing but in that moment that was the last thing that they wanted to care and think about.

‘’Maybe give him a kiss and you can fix everything’’ He laughed, exposing the dimples from his wild face. "Well, that would certainly be one way to fix it," he said, grinning mischievously. "But perhaps a hug might do the trick too!"

‘’Shut up’’ They scoffed, pushing him back. They tried so hard to breathe from the laughter. It almost hurt them that they had the time to listen to jokes. But Ukko was smiling too. Bright enough for them to forget for just a second all their worries. Only for a second.

‘’Everything will work out.’’Ukko rested his hand on their shoulder.

‘’Lucifer?’’ Hephaestus pouted, remembering the fear on her face.

‘’She will come around’’He insisted.’’I know that she will.’’

‘’But you are right’’ He said, his smile shifting away. Hephaestus’s eyes snapped. ‘’This place is a hidden place’’ There was a sudden change in his character. A mature one. Hephaestus had forgotten that he was a noble. A guard. A soldier.

‘’And they seem that they know nothing or…’’ He looked up and returned to them with a frown.

‘’You think they are lying?’’ Hephaestus raised their eyebrows, stuttering those words. ‘’They are lying to us?’’

He let out a hum. ‘’A secret society who does everything in the dark and tells us that they want to bring peace for warlocks.’’ His eyes faced them.

‘’Of course, they are lying to us’'' Ukko sighed with a small laugh. But there was no mocking. It was fear. ‘’There was a demon with them’’ He said. ‘’As far as I heard, they can figure out the truth’’

Hephaestus remembered Lancelot’s gentle smile and the way they stood up for them.

‘’They might need a martyr that whatever they said was true’’ Ukko suggested.

‘’What if it was a plan?’’ Hephaestus muttered.

‘’Plan?’’ Ukko arched his brow and crossed his arms together, interested in their ideas.

‘’Mordred is loyal to Hermes...'' They took a deep breath. ‘’The cotton candy man’’They explained better.

‘’Oh,’’ Ukko’s eyes rose. ‘’He looked attractive ‘’He muttered after.

‘’So whatever he said, he would believe no matter what’’

‘’I mean if there was an attractive man like..’’

‘’Focus’’ Hephaestus scolded him.

‘’I am not skilled at that,’’ He explained with a frown.

‘’But you know that demons can sense the truth. Lucifer too.''

‘’Yes?’’ Ukko thought about his answer. ''Probably.'' He shrugged.

‘’What if Lancelot…the demon was there for you to believe the lies?''

‘’So we could trust them…’’ Ukko sighed. ‘’But why should we?''

''Keep us here’’ They said. ‘’In line in..’’

Then, it snapped. Their cogs worked perfectly. Their mind worked perfectly. Everything worked. They were not insane or afraid.

‘’Mara’’ Hephaestus gasped.

‘’What about her?’’ Ukko asked.

‘’Hybrid…’’

‘’If I remember she is half demon’’ Ukko stuttered.

‘’Can Hybrids detect lies?’’

He raised his eyebrows instantly when he realized what they were trying to explain.

‘’I am not sure. I haven’t known that they existed since I saw her''

‘’Can, they detect lies?’’ Hephaestus asked again with a stutter.

‘’I guess’’ He replied fast. ‘’If she is a half demon…’’

‘’She knows’’ They said breathlessly with their mind working and working.

That is the plan, yeah.

‘’We’ve been watched’’ Hephaestus panted.

One two three. A small metallic container flew out of the window. One, Two, Three. A clicking sound. The room was drowned in smoke. Thick dark smoke left Hephaestus’s head dizzy. Their breath was cut in half. Nightmares spread around their head. Not nightmares. Memories. Fire in the room, screams echoing. Blood on their hands.

‘’Hephaestus’’ Ukko coughed.

‘’Run’’ They grunted to the floor with tears falling from their eyes. ‘’I will follow’’

‘’But..’’

‘’RUN’’

Now they could hear his footsteps in the distance. Hephaestus counted from one to three, forcing themselves to stand up. Their vision was now blurry. They could only trust their hearing.

Footsteps. A pair of sharp tall heels. A familiar humming. Hephaestus thought that their mind was playing with their memories. A dark shadow approached slowly, however. The light blue color is swirling with the smoke. The top of the figure is emerald green, and the eyes are brown like an oak tree.

There was a licking of lips and a chuckle that sounded like something insane.

Hephaestus lifted their eyes and head up with their vision slowly getting used to the smoke.

One, two, three. The humming stopped. The vision is now clear and their breath is lost.

‘’Hello, Birdy'' Leviathan grinned.

Hephaestus’ eyes twitched. That made Leviathan, even more, amused, and got lower to be at the same height as them.

Their hand was soft and cold against their cheek, pulling Hephaestus’s face close enough for them to feel Leviathan’s heavy breathing.

‘’What should I do with you?’’