Roarke stood where the rocks met the shore, looking beyond the vast blue water and white clouds. It had been several months since the trial on Olympus, and he still expected Viola to show up. He wouldn't let himself believe that his last desperate act may not have worked at all. Maybe she was truly...

He turned his head at such a thought.

"Finish the thought, Mr. Roarke," said a familiar voice behind him. "You were never that hesitant with them before."

Roarke whirled around to find Scathach, sitting on the sand. She had on the same dress, from what could only be describe as their first 'date'.

"What are you doing here, Scathach?" he questioned, coldly

She frowned. "Wow....is it just me being dead, or is there a chill in the air? The same thing that you're doing: waiting." She stood effortlessly and walked over. "You believed that when you threw the Oath Rod into Tartarus....you were condemning her the same way I did to you, or worse, you think she's dead. That you waited too long."

"Well," he said feeling trapped at the moment. "The thought had crossed my mind. No one could survive a fall of that magnitude and into Tartarus besides."

"Except Ariel," remarked Scathach bitterly.

"And what does that have to with anything," he shot back, not about to let this woman start in on Ariel.

"I'm just saying...IF you'd let me finish...that some people do survive. Gods and demigods beside: Viola is strong enough to withstand the demons of Tartarus, and get back to this...island."

She gave him a withering look, and an anxious laugh. "If I had known that you made a stupid promise to Hades...of ALL people I would have come back here, whether you wanted me or not."

"What makes you think I didn't want you?" he replied irritably.

"You never said it, even when I got on the ship...you never said anything," she shot back.

"So, you're going to blame me for that?" he asked. "You make me think you love me only to find out that the entire thing was an attempt to leave."

Scathach turned away. "I did what was necessary...Oh. OK, It was so much more complicated than that." She looked at him. "You know what I lost...getting to that island?"

Roarke relented a little, "Yes." He paused. "But that's no excuse for what you did to me!"

"I tried to tell you the truth but you wouldn't listen!" she responded with a cry.

"Please! You just wanted off this damn island as much as I do!"

She huffed. "You do? Why?"

The question took him completely by surprise, and he couldn't make an answer.

She continued, "You're happy here. More happy, then I've ever seen you. You have Miri back, and 4 beautiful daughters...one of them happens to be mine...but let's not get technical about it. You have the woman you love." Her voice faded a little at this comment, before she continued her voice as strong as before: "You've won...you beat your father, you beat Zeus. They wanted you to be miserable on this rock, and you're not."

Scathach gave him a sad look. "Roarke, I'm sorry for what I did all those years ago...for hurting you and not telling you the truth about Viola. I did...care for you." She paused.

She ran her fingers through her long black hair, and sighed, deeply. "When I learned of the bargain with Hades, I was so angry with you! I kept thinking 'How could you be that stupid?' I though what perfect revenge. This was probably a setup for stealing my child." "You never got me more angry then at that moment, and then I heard Michael telling me that it was true. You were too young at the time, and that's why you made the sacrifice because you were scared. So I let that stupid monster of Hades' kill me."

"Scathach-"

She stopped him. "Let me finish my piece. I gave my life to keep her safe. I knew full well that you would find her. But I also knew that if I sacrificed myself that some kind of karmic debt would be incurred. Then Michael would be involved, and I made him promise that one day my...our daughter make everything right."

Roarke listened.

Scathach sighed. "Death is the ultimate moment of 20/20 hindsight. As I lay there, taking my last breaths...looking up at her beautiful blue eyes, I knew all my own mistakes. And I forgave you. I made Michael promise to send Viola back as a guardian so that when she's here...she can come and go freely." She stopped her pacing. "I hope you can forgive me, too, someday." She grinned wryly. She looked about to continue with her story, but a shout made both of them look around.

Harry was waving frantically.

Roarke looked over at Harry, and then back at Scathach.

"She's in the infirmary," she said with a smile. Impulsively, she kissed him as she faded away.

"I forgive you," he said softly, before running up the beach.

Viola sat, wrapped up in a cool towel on an examining table, listening to some guy named Koslov explain that she would need Aloe for her scraped knees. All this for a soul...not bad.

She didn't remember much from her plunge into darkness. Just that it stopped as suddenly as it started.

She looked over at the leather-clad god, who sat in a chair, passing the red crystal between his fingers.

"You know how Hecate got this crystal, Vi?" asked Ares, in his usual boisterous tone.

"No," she answered. Her voice was barely a whisper.

"She made Berias forge it from a volcano. Then she put it on a stick." He sat next to her, and let her see the crystal up close. "So much trouble...over a rock."

"So Hecate barred my mother to this island with a rock?" she asked.

He grinned. "Yeah, ain't it great? There's a lesson in all of this, Vi." He sat by her on the exam table. "People will follow anything to their deaths. A symbol....nothing more then a symbol."

"Kinda like war."

Viola had just about had it. Ares was annoying her beyond belief.

"Now, of course...another blunder like the one of Olympus and..."

There was a burst of light, and Chryse stood in front of them, with her arms crossed in front of her. "And what, Ares. You know, just because 'The Fates' gave the island to you instead of Hecate, doesn't mean that I have to actually like this."

He smiled. "But Chryse, my dear. The possibilities of what we can accomplish are endless."

Chryse balked at the idea. "You know, there's a saying 'If it ain't broke. Don't fix it.'"

Chryse walked over to Viola, and meet her eye to eye. "How ya feel, girl?"

"Cooked."

She pulled a chair over. "Well, you certainly scared a lot of people. You got your soul back at least. Well, I can tell you: Karmically: Self defense is quite cool." She looked at Ares. "Didn't expect you to go after her, Ares."

The God smiled. "What can I say? The world would be too quiet without Scathach's kid around." He glared at the girl. "However, that was no reason for your father to drop that stupid rod on my head."

"I wasn't aiming for you," spoke Roarke, standing at the doorframe.

Ares tossed Roarke the crystal. "A souvenir, uncle, from the days when this island use to be ruled by Hecate."

Roarke looked over at Chryse. "What's he babbling about?"

She frowned. "The Fates decided that they didn't want to give Hecate back the island. Persphone had to be around to run the underworld, until Hades gets back. So Ares made them an offer for the island. He's our new boss."

Ares

Ares got up, and gathered some papers that appeared from an unseen drawer.

Roarke groaned, and sat next to his daughter. She put her head on his shoulder, as Ares explained: "Yes, the 'Twilight of the Gods' is fast approaching, I thought I might get into a new lucrative field. Real estate is always good for a few laughs." He took out a pair of ancient spectacles, and a list. "Yes, we might need to cut a few pieces of fat out of the outfit. Tell me, is 'Fisher' still around?"

"Unfortunately," answered both Roarke and Chryse.

Roarke looked over his slightly reddened daughter, and even held her face in his hands, to make sure that she was indeed there, and this wasn't some dream. "Don't ever do that again," he said, part laugh part crying.

The girl nodded, and put her head against his shoulder.

Chryse walked over to Ares. "So tell me, just exactly how are you planning to run this island?"

Ares smirked. "I was thinking more along the lines of working specifically with operations."

Chryse raised a thin dark eyebrow. "Operations? My department?"

"Exactly," said Ares, keeping his eyes on her.

Chryse sighed, deeply. She smiled at Viola. "No more jumping into Tautrus, Kiddo." She walked over to Ares. "I think....that I would like to see your specs, and find out how far you can go."

Ares grinned, and turned to Roarke. "I'm gonna like being the boss." And they disappeared.

Hades lay back on a cushion of grass softer than any grasses of Earth, and hugged Skye's naked body closer. "It's been a ball, sweetheart, but they're nagging at me to let you go. You've still got a mortal life to finish, you know."

She groaned, hiding her face in his chest. "Ah, Hades...I'll see you again? When it's over?"

He looked uncomfortable. "Well..."

Skye sat up, suspicious. "This did mean something to you? Not just scratching a five hundred year old itch?"

"Well..." he repeated.

She stood up, arms on her hips and glared.

"Wow," he breathed, staring up at her.

She felt a smile fighting to cross her face. Whatever else, he'd always been honest in his appreciation of her physical assets. "So I will see you again. At the end."

He stood up, too, and tried to take her in his arms. "Listen, sweetheart, if it were up to me, I'd say yes in a minute. But...it's not up to me. You're a mortal woman, Skye my sweet, and your ex-" he shut up abruptly.

"What about my ex?"

"Skye," Hades said anxiously, "I don't want you to go like this. Please," he produced to silver chalices, beading with condensation. "One last toast, before we both say and do things we'll regret?"

She gave him a hard look, but she too, didn't want to fight. She took a chalice. "To us."

"To us," he replied, somewhat sadly.

They drank.

Skye's eyes closed. Hade's caught the chalice as it slipped from her fingers, and dumped the rest of the waters of Forgetfulness out. He caught the lady in his other arm, and looked at her peaceful face.

"It is an unfair Universe," he murmured, as she faded from his grasp. "But you and Detective Logan will have a long and happy life together."

Michael appeared before Hades, giving the god a long stare. He nodded in approval, and disappeared.

Viola sat on the beach, using the crystal Ares had given her as a 'souvenir' to play with. She rolled it across the hard packed sand to each of her sisters, Halli helping Iris. It was so nice to be a kid, if only for a little while, playing normal kid games, and listening to her sisters laugh happily.

She glanced up to where Ariel sat, holding Miranda on her lap while Roarke sat behind, holding them both. Remains of a picnic sat on the blanket in front of them. A family picnic. 'My family,' she thought happily.

She spotted something strange down the beach and rolled the crystal to Halli, "You two play a minute by yourselves," she said, "I'll be right back..."

Without thinking about it, she just willed herself there. And stared at Chryse, who had ditched her spandex for a leather outfit more outrageous than any Viola had worn. And she remembered vividly Chryse picking on her wardrobe.

"This is a new look for you," she smirked.

Chryse blushed. "Ares...well, never mind. Well, looks like you actually did it. You know 'technical' finally got that stupid program to work. This was planned right down to the last second."

Viola smiled. "What gave me away?"

"The little back flip into Tartrus. If you actually did a little yell with it, I would have know that you were watching 'Xena' when you did that program." Chryse rubbed her hands together. "Well, down to business: listen, kiddo, I know you're having fun here, but vacation time is almost up. Your Dad and Ariel have work to do on this island. And so do you."

A sword appeared out of thin air. Shiny, rather on the small side, definitely not dangerous looking. "I have to slay dragons?" Viola asked dubiously.

"Nah. Not this week: I'll check with the scribes. You're a Guardian of the Island, now. Plus you're the water element."

Viola glared.

Chryse shrugged. "Don't look at me like that. It was Ares' idea. You're water. Halli's earth, and Iris is air."

"What's Miranda?" she asked curious.

"She's nothing. She use to be 'Time', but since she's on her 2nd 'do-over', she doesn't get that element back."

"Not like you'd call time an element anyway."

Chryse shrugged. "Anyway it's your job to make sure people like Sebastian don't mess with the island."

Viola took the sword. It was just the right weight and length. It fit her hand perfectly. It felt...right. "What about the Council? Can I use it to keep you from messing with the island?"

"We thought of that. It won't work on us," Chryse replied smugly. "Now, you do have to carry it around, but it's magic - you won't see it or feel it until you need it. Clear? The good news is, we don't expect you to need it any time soon."

"Gee. Thanks." She put the sword at her side, and it was gone, just as Chryse said. But if she didn't exactly feel it, she was aware that it was there.

"Anything else the Council can do for you?"

"Well...I could use a boyfriend..."

Chryse grinned. "Yeah, I'd love to see the look of Roarke's face if Shakespeare showed up, with his wife and kids in tow." and disappeared.

The travel agency door opened as Ares walked through. He smiled at both Fisher and Clia. "Good Morning," he said, pleasantly.

Clia dropped her cigarette, as Fisher actually gasped in shock.

Ares sat down in a chair. "I've been thinking plainly that we need to cut some fat in the budget. Our biggest loss is the hot air that comes about with you two arguing."

"What?" said Clia. "We get along perfectly."

"I agree," concurred Fisher.

Ares huffed. "As good as anyone whose been stuck together for about a thousand years." He pulled out a tablet. "Both of you need a vacation."

Clia took a drag off of her cigarette, and exhaled. "So whose gonna watch the office with us gone?"

Ares snapped his fingers. In shower of silver light, Sebastian and Dena appeared together, bound by a pair of silver handcuffs.

"Yes, this is Sebastian's punishment for killing Cal's parents. It was Discord's idea." Ares laughed. "Ya gotta love that girl. Dena's here for getting Sebastian out of Tartrus in the first place."

Clia and Fisher groaned.

Ares leaned back in the chair and put his feet on the desk. "Enjoy the trip."