Chapter 1

Dusk descended upon the world, creating giants among men as the retreating light played with the shadows, elongating them into the misshapen monstrosities born from the mind's irrational fears. A confusion of colours set upon the land unique to this specific time of day. The normal hues of day growing darker until the black of night overspreads the sky like a blanket, only to be broken by pinpricks of light from the stars and the glow from the cities warding off the terrors that it brings. Like classical music it can be most beautiful, and yet at the same time haunting and unsettling.

An ancient and abandoned amphitheatre stood empty, waiting to fulfil its role in the last rays of the receding light. The remains of great stands once filled with an adoring crowd now bare and desolate, the cheering replaced with the haunting of the wind, stirring up dust and leaves and moving through the aisles as if searching for lost and long forgotten dreams. Though in this empty shell echoing its former glories the stage stands ready and prepared for the next great show. The actors in their positions, the set ready and the light... fading fast. The most important member had yet to arrive and unlike the saying, the show cannot continue without him, for he is the most important player and the crowd will not respond to the call of any but him.

The gathered ensemble stood impatiently, as if waiting for their cue from the director. They do not like to be kept waiting. It is something that they are unaccustomed to. Bedecked in wonderful garments worthy of such a production; or so it would seem. As the fading light relinquishes its hold upon the earth the only discernible features left of our three actors upon the stage are their silhouettes. Two graceful, slender women and a squat, pudgy man – all thinking about better ways they could be spending their time.

To keep themselves preoccupied they had each taken to their own musings, ignoring the air heavy with awkwardness. They were not used to being in each other's presence without some sort of agenda to discuss. Other than that they preferred to keep to their own or entertain themselves by meddling in the mortal realm, lest they start a fight by offending the others in some way. Some of them could be so uppity and dealing with it is more trouble than it's worth.

The first woman with her hair done up in a loose bun broke the unusual, eerie silence of the approaching night with the clink of her spoon against her bowl and the audible crunching noise her cereal made as she slowly chewed, each crunch bringing her immense satisfaction and annoying the others to no end. No matter how much she ate the bowl never emptied, much to the disappointment of the other two present.

The other woman gave off an aura and beauty that would surely enchant those who would find themselves in her presence, whether that is fortunate or a slice of bad luck, however, depends upon the individual. She wore her hair down in luscious, lazy waves that bounced at the slightest of movements and a few pieces of jewellery that glittered and shined in the ambient light of her laptop screen. She seemed to be playing a game comparable to The Sims series, only much more detailed and complex. She hovered her cursor over a dark haired teenager and his blonde girlfriend. The two seemed to be heading home after a day out, chatting along happily, wrapped around each other, oblivious to the clamour of the people and vehicles around them. Things were going well. They had reached a lull in their conversation and the young man leaned over as if to kiss his girlfriend. Just as he did, she proceeded to click on him and brought up the options and browsed through the selection. He had almost landed the kiss on his girlfriend's cheek when she clicked the 'Say something awkward' command and quietly giggled to herself as the young man fulfilled the action. She had taken an interest in him and his girlfriend years ago and he had never failed to entertain her in some way, even if he didn't know it.

The squat and pudgy man could not be described as anything other than squat and pudgy. He held a canned drink in his hand that seemed to have the same bottomless properties as the cereal bowl and seemed to be lost in his own world, unaware of his surroundings – or so he would have liked to be. The amphitheatre brought back magnificent memories of times past and the wonderful plays and glorious tragedies enacted upon the stage. Back then it was all about the various and entertaining ways in which the mortals would be punished. He would have liked to relive those special times, but the slow, drawn out crunch of the cereal kept bringing him back into the reality of faded glories.

They had each been asked to appear here and would not have done so for anything other than the sheer curiosity of what their missing member could possibly want to discuss or get from them. But curiosity can only hold an interest for so long before it vanishes and though no one spoke, they each knew that they would all leave relatively quickly if he did not make his appearance soon.

As if hearing their thoughts spoken out into the open, the last remnants of the elongated shadows were drawn to a single point at the top steps of the amphitheatre, pooling together and then sickly bubbling as a pale figure in dark clothing slowly rose from within the dark, shadowy soup. As the figure formed and took on a solid shape everything in the area was affected by his presence and bearing, the surroundings growing colder and darker. A flair for theatrics seemed to take precedent within the family as he had just as much skill making a grand entrance as his brothers, though his took on a darker, subtler tone that would leave one breathless and aghast, though not from fear initially... that would come last.

The awe came from the smooth and graceful movements that one would never have expected. The majesty of every move calm and calculated, to draw the eyes of every being present. The three present on the stage had all stopped what they were doing to observe this feast for the eyes, if it was anyone else it would most likely be their last meal. He descended the steps, drawing closer with each footfall, every move not without purpose. Not a sound was heard as his feet touched the ground. The closer he got to the stage the more the pressure of the ambiance seemed to be building. He lifted his head to survey those before him, an analytical glare that deconstructed people to their core. He had them mesmerised, they just didn't know it. He knew that in a few moments they would feel the unfamiliar hand of death making its way up along their spine. Its fingers moving along with deliberate sluggishness until it settled around their necks, the cold seeping into their very bones, leaving them frozen on the spot.

He looked away as if he had just realised the reason for his arrival and made his way onto the stage. The wind whispered through the aisles, caressing dry leaves and their rustling echoing as light spattering of applause from the audience as the final member of the ensemble made his appearance. The play could finally begin. Act I, Scene I.

The pudgy man advanced on him threateningly, clearly not pleased. Raising his hand, he threw the can he had been subconsciously sipping out of moments before, trapped in his repeating reverie. Tall and lean, the man nonchalantly sidestepped the incoming beverage and watched its trajectory to see where it landed. Just before it could touch the ground, a shadow rippled underneath the can and then the can vanished, swallowed by the shadow. It emerged seconds later from a shadow behind the pudgy man, completing its trajectory by promptly hitting him in the back of the head. He smiled to himself. Headshot.

The pudgy man staggered, a little dazed by the unusual events and certainly not used to being hit in the head by flying beverages. Regaining his senses he rounded upon the lean man, "What are you playing at!?" he yelled.

"Well, we were playing a strange game involving flying canned drinks, which I can safely say I won without contest," he said apathetic to the pudgy man's rage. "That headshot was worth 10 points at least and the look on your face, well, that was priceless. Otherwise I am not too sure what you are going on about."

Indifferent to the grown man throwing a tantrum, the two women stepped forward, not wanting things to continue any further without some clear answers to this strange gathering and the intent of that macabre entrance. Silencing the pudgy man with a glare, they turned their steely gazes upon the lean man. It was no time to act like some spoiled little child, he might be joking around now, but that power was all too real. To make his kin fear the touch of death like some mere mortal was not the kind of clout any of them should have, especially over each other. The heavens forbid what would happen if the king were to find out.

The woman with the bun spoke, her voice deathly even, indicating a clear desire for no funny business. She said but one word, "Explain." She had never seen this side of him, but somehow she knew that this was the real him, untainted and unfiltered. She had observed him over millennia, she had complained about him for millennia, she had forced cereal upon him for millennia, but she would never have expected it to be some ruse constructed so perfectly that the whole family believed that persona to be him. He might look relatively the same, but this was a completely different person they were dealing with. Unhindered by the sulkiness that usually hung about him and the rage that bubbled quietly beneath the surface.

"So the games are over then? Well I suppose we should end them before they get too intense, some people can get a bit too competitive," the lean man said as he looked over the two women standing in his path and motioning with his head toward the indignant pudgy man. "Maybe we could have had another round some other time, but do make note that I won the opening contest," he reluctantly admitted. "What sort of game were we playing anyway?"

"Explain," the other woman repeated, her voice carrying as much power as she could imbue it with.

The lean man smiled to himself as he directed his attention towards her. "Oh don't worry dear, I will. Let's first just take a moment to soak up the atmosphere. Did you ever visit this amphitheatre, maybe see a couple tragedies? I used to come and see one now and then, sat right there," he pointed to the middle of the middle row. "Always amazed at how those tragedies ended. I used to think 'Oh these mortals, when are they ever going to learn?' Sometimes I still do, you know? Like when some of them act like their lives really matter in the greater scheme of things. Don't get me wrong, there are those exceptional individuals that come around now and then that cause ripples to turn into waves, but those are very few and far between. Honestly, if I had not been witness to them I'd pass them all off as nonsense."

She gasped quietly to herself as she realised that her power had had no effect on him and had not succeeded in swaying him in the least. She was more taken aback by the verbal onslaught she and her companions found themselves under. Never had she heard this man express himself as much as he did now, and from no further prompting from their side other than the need for an explanation. Allowing her shock to fade into the background, she realised the full gravity of what he had just done. In need of some validation or assurance, she turned to look at her female companion, one of the few beings to spend an extended amount of time anywhere near him. Her fear spiked at the look of complete and utter bewilderment etched across her companions face. She had hoped for something more than that, honestly anything would have been better. She found none.

"Don't worry," the lean man said. "I am not here to harm any of you; I swear it on the Styx." The rumble of distant thunder confirmed what he had just said. "Not that it means much anyway," he said clapping his hands together as if he were bringing some sort of closer to what had just happened as he surveyed each of them in turn.

Unable to break free of his pace the two women found themselves numbly nodding along, though the pudgy man got this weird glint in his eye, as if he had just been presented with an opportunity. Before he could act upon this impulse the lean man spoke, "Since the games are over, I suppose we should get down to business," the last ebbs of humour and playfulness leaving his voice full of authority and unnaturally calm or bored, it could be either.

The pudgy man faltered. All thoughts of getting his own back vanished as if suddenly smacked by realisation. DON'T DO IT! You do NOT want to mess with him! realisation screeched at him before kicking him in the shins and running away.

"You all have something that I have need of," a simple statement with many repercussions, "I am not here to force you to my whims, but to seek your voluntary assistance and I will do something in return, but we must agree upon it. Before I continue, I would like you to swear an oath on the Styx that not a word uttered hereafter will reach another living soul." The lean man paused; surveying the faces of the three who stood before him with no doubt that they would all agree.

They were thoughtful. Running the words through their heads, slowly chewing and digesting every word he had said and noting the peculiar flavour (was that a zest of lemon?). It wasn't a trap – that was clear. They had choices set out before them and there was a massive loophole in his wording so glaring that it was doubtful any of them had missed it. Outright refuse and have nothing to do with this, agree to his terms and decide what to do after hearing his scheme or jump into the backseat and stick along for the ride. Exchanging glances, the three had all telepathically chosen to first hear him out and make their choice afterwards. Directing their attention back to the lean man, who had patiently and graciously allowed them a few moments to contemplate, they nodded their heads in consent and recited the oaths binding them to silence on the matter.

The lean man lightly chuckled to himself, it was all coming together. All that was needed now was a little coercion on his part, something he never doubted for a second. "Excellent," he mused as he took a quick glance toward the heavens, illuminated by the scattering of stars and the silvery luminescence of the moon. "To get straight to the point, I have spent epochs silently observing, surveying and waiting on certain individuals, all the while playing my role and fulfilling what I was required to do. I have provided the benefit of the doubt on many an occasion hoping for a change – a paradigm shift, if you will – and I had thought that moment had arrived with the presence of a certain demigod and his friends. Alas, it was not so, as mere months afterwards everything went back to how it had been, maybe even worse so, despite the efforts of some. I asked for you here tonight to grant you a chance and a possibility. Understand that it is all or nothing, each of you must consent and in doing so bear witness to the fall of the old regime and the rise of a new age."

So the opening scene drew to a close as leaves rustled between the steps of an empty amphitheatre, save for those advancing the plot upon the stage. The others were swept along with what he had to say and who could blame them? The man was an orator, reading and gauging their reactions as if it were a book. So taken in were they that they had failed to notice the gradual passing of the crescent moon hovering over the horizon, a sliver of a sly smile beginning its journey across the heavens, and the consequences that it would have. History would remember this night; he had made sure of that. The night of the Delphi Pact.

ΔΙΟ.ΟΙΔ

Years later…

The forest was quiet and still, unusually so. Not a breeze in the air nor the rustle of leaves. The only sounds that could be heard if one listened close enough was the slight crunch of boots on the blanket of snow and the disturbance of a few branches as they briefly scraped against fabric. And soon enough, even those little sounds ceased as the hunter paused to signal her companion. They had been tracking their prey for a few days and had just got tantalisingly close. Her anticipation of the conclusion of the hunt was reaching its peak, but she had to calm herself. The conditions that the day had presented them were far from ideal for any hunter. Without the aid of the wind and hardly any other creatures around, sound would travel quite a bit further than it usually would and no such chances would be taken concerning their prey. Yet this was a facet of the hunt that she most certainly enjoyed. A challenge that she had yet to encounter, while also serving as a test for her accomplice.

After the brief pause, the two moved off again in opposite directions in the hope of flanking their prey. Rounding the trunk of an ancient tree, frozen stiff with ice, she found what had taken them days to finally meet. Nestled in the hollow at the base of a tree was the largest white tiger she had ever seen. It had paws the size of her head. Long, lithe limbs. Muscles that bulged beneath the skin, hidden under a luxuriously magnificent coat. Ice blue eyes with vertical pupils that signalled that this glorious creature was born and refined here, that it belonged here. All of this was regally relaxed in the hollow of the tree, as if it was lazily awaiting on some servants to come and tend to its needs. The hunter stood there taking in the sight, knowing that this would be her finest trophy, the centrepiece of her showroom. She took the bow off her back and notched an arrow. She would have to make this quick. Such a beautiful creature deserved as much, but also because she did not want to ruin the pelt unnecessarily. The longer the fight went on, the greater the chance that there would be some undue damage. She pulled back the arrow and held her breath.

Then the clouds rolled in, not even bothering to ominously gather in the distance for a few hours, and unleashed their downpour upon all and sundry unfortunate enough to be outdoors. The rain created dimples in the snow and the winds raged between the trees, bending them to their will, knocking snow and ice from the branches and blowing the scent of the would-be hunters directly at the tiger. Artemis chanced a looked up at the sky and sighed. She wondered what could have set her father off this time. That momentary action was all it took for the beast to vanish. She turned back too late to fire off her nocked arrow, knowing that she would not be able to pursue as long as her father kept up this storm.

Her companion approached from where he had been observing the situation. His snowshoes made muted crunching noises as he advanced. He was wearing something similar to what Artemis wore, an insulated jacket with a hood and pants along with a pair of hiking boots. Their clothes had splotches that varied from white to grey to assist them in integrating with their environment. On his head he wore a beanie, diagonally divided into grey and white, and a pair of reflective sunglasses. His hands were bare, like hers, for better use of spear and other miscellaneous weapons he had secreted on his person. As he got closer his spear glowed and then vanished before he spoke with a smile playing on his lips. "Face it, that tiger just hit the jackpot."

Artemis looked over at him, unpleasantly befuddled, exasperated and repulsed by his smile. It was something she would not grow used to and it continued to creep her out and brew a conflict of emotions within her, because the smile on Ares' face was a genuine one. Not filled with bloodlust or the anticipation of a fight, but a genuine smile reflecting how content he had become, not even upset by the interruption of the hunt and the escape of their prey.

Artemis was not as unperturbed by the situation as him. The wind tugged at her hair, whipping it this way and that as her mood began to reflect that of the weather. "That tiger was going to be my centrepiece! There had better be a good reason for this interruption. It took us long enough to find the damn thing and now we're going to have to do it again."

Ares looked up at the gathered, grey clouds darkening the sky, his sunglasses shielding his eyes from the rain and said, "I think it probably is, in his opinion at least. Enough so that it's raining so hard the water hasn't even had the opportunity to turn into snow."

"It's undoubtedly something ridiculous and irrational, like Hera having an affair. Ha, imagine that," Artemis said as her bow glowed and disappeared in a manner similar to Ares and his spear.

Ares snorted before he said, "The possibility of that happening is about as much as you giving up your chastity."

Artemis chuckled along with Ares at the illogical probability of it all before once again turning her eyes to glance up at the roiling clouds. "We had better go before we are forcibly summoned to the inevitable meeting and to avoid the possibility of drowning in this forest," she said as thunder began to rumble across the sky and lightning fizzed from cloud to cloud before breaking free and arcing towards one of the trees.

"Yeah," Ares concurred. "If it's this bad, something really must have happened."

They both nodded to each other before lighting up the area briefly and vanishing.

ΔΙΟ.ΟΙΔ

Athena was not enjoying herself, she rarely did these days. She had enough on her plate without her father adding his buffet size problems as well. Athena was making her way through the palace, dressed comfortably in a pair of old whitewash jeans and a light pastel top, admiring her work as she moved along. Her loose blonde curls occasionally fell into her eyes as she made mental notes about all the areas that could use a touch up as well as those where she could incorporate some of her newer designs and ideas, as she pushed the glassed perched upon her nose back into place. She turned down a long, singular passage that contained almost nothing but art. The marble tiles sparkled despite the situation outside. Statues, dotted here and there, stood to either side in an amalgamation of differing sizes and poses. From the tastefully coloured walls hung a myriad of tapestries, paintings and the occasional stick figure scrawls of some artfully inclined toddlers. At the end of the passage she encountered a set of stairs leading up to what she knew was the most secluded room in the palace. The passage she had just walked through was the only way to the room (unless you were a god), so whoever had business there would have no choice but to make themselves known. At the top of the stairs was the only entrance to the room and in front of the door stood two of Zeus' most trusted guards. Hold on, two? Normally the entrance to the room was guarded as well as the bottom of the stairway leading up to the room.

This illogical break from the norm piqued Athena's curiosity and always urged on to satisfy this need, Athena began to ascend the stairs at a rate not recommended for any sort of mortal being. In no time at all she had succeeded in climbing the few hundred steps up to the room's landing. There she found what she had expected to find downstairs, two guards meant to repel any sort of unsavoury intruder.

To her right stood the embodiment of strength and power, Kratos. Honestly he was the macho man's definition of a macho man. A heavy set muscular body with complementary battle scars and a matching set of chest hair and a full beard, not combed into a glorious, unruly mess. He radiated strength even when he did not want to and had to be provided everyday amenities that had been reinforced in some way. For instance his toothpaste had ended up on the ceiling on multiple occasions because the tube was simply too flimsy and the straps of his sandals snapped when he was putting them on, or if he had succeeded in getting them on they would then break some time during the day or he would wear the soles out as he moved around. He had ripped through so many shirts that he hardly ever bothered to put one on anymore. Kratos was a jovial guy and Athena had not met anyone with a mean or discriminating thing to say about him. With a bottomless pit for a stomach, he was always pestering the servants in the kitchen for extra meals. According to him, one needed to have at least nine meals, excluding snacks. These included the normal breakfast, lunch and dinner as well as pre-breakfast breakfast, post-breakfast breakfast, pre-lunch lunch, post-lunch lunch and pre-dinner and post-dinner.

On Athena's left stood someone she tried to avoid at all costs and if she did meet her, she always tried to have Kratos around. Her name was Bia and as the embodiment of force and violence she had caused quite a few issues around the palace, so much so that she had to be shadowed by Kratos to prevent any further incidents. Athena had yet to find something that did not annoy her and she had injured so many beings that an infirmary was added just for her victims. One individual had been sent there because his breathing had gotten on her nerves. They now made it a point to not put anyone with an expiry date anywhere near her. Bia looked unkempt to say the least, with her dark wild hair and flecks of dried blood under her fingernails. She had a predilection for spiked clothing (which she sharpens herself) and steel capped boots (makes it significantly easier to part someone's teeth from their face). All of this went perfectly well with her death glare. When she turned that gaze on her unfortunate victims, they all froze in place as if she was Medusa herself. Her eyes were the coldest, most desolate shade of blue. Devoid of any semblance of empathy or care. Like being abandoned in the middle of the Arctic tundra with nothing but the sight of the bleak, cloudless, hollow sky. Barely illuminated in the weak sunlight. Surrounded by the endless expanse of white encompassing the entire horizon with barley anything resembling a ripple or bulge in a smooth, powdered wasteland.

Athena subconsciously found herself shirking away from Bia as she got closer to the door. If she could have avoided this meeting she would have done so at all costs just not to be anywhere near Bia. Not bothering Bia because she did not want the unnecessary attention and even if she did greet she wouldn't get much more than silence in return. Turning her focus towards Kratos she warmly greeted him, "Greetings Kratos. Do you have any idea about what has occurred?"

Kratos smiled at her as he boomed out a response, even though she wasn't more then a few meters away. "Greetings," he rumbled in a gravelly reply. His voice was like the crunch of car tires as they drove over gravel, just exponentially louder. As if someone had turned the volume up to max on the recording equipment and it now sounded like a pair of massive boulders bouncing their way down a rocky outcrop. "I do have an idea, but it would be more practical to ask inside. Just ready yourself before you go in. This is the angriest I have seen him in millennia."

Kratos ushered her to the door and as she passed he patted her on the shoulder. Immediately Athena felt her body surge with power and strength, buzzing around inside her as if she had had been set to vibrate so as not to disturb anyone in the meeting. Looking over and thanking him with a nod and making note of his warning, Athena crossed the threshold and entered the meeting room to find that apart from Zeus and his wife, she was the only one to have arrived. Hera sat stoned faced in a sleeveless satin blue dress with her long hair pulled back, next to her husband, looking like none of this really affected her as she waited for everyone to turn up. Zeus looked calm enough, dressed in a white suit accented with gold trimming. His hair styled back and his beard cut short and neat. But then Athena began to notice the minor details. The windows rattled at random intervals as gale force winds whipped the rain into them incessantly. Zeus was gripping the armrests of his seat as if he was restrained with powerful magnets. The wood cracked and splintered from his iron grip. And it took a moment to notice due to the little boost she had received from Kratos, but the air inside the room hummed with power. Athena had no doubt the room was charged with static electricity, helped by the fact that unlike outside, the air was still with hardly any moisture. She did not question that if any mortal were foolish enough to enter at this moment they would be electrocuted from the mere fabric of their clothes rubbing against each other. The biggest give away though were the flashes of lightning that arced along his body randomly. Honestly it was a bit mesmerising to watch as flashes of light crackled along his beard towards his chin before disappearing, only to have another reappear and make its way from one eyebrow to the next.

Since she was the first to arrive, Athena decided to pick the seat furthest away from the angry lightning man who was doing his best impression of what he thought a human bug zapper would look like. If any of them had any inkling of her presence in the room, they made no greetings or movements to indicate they had. Zeus seemed to be struggling to ensure that he did not lose control while inside the room and Hera was lost in her own reverie. Realising that none of them would be of any use to answer her questions and not being one to waste an opportunity, Athena she would read to pass the time until the other members of this little meeting arrived.

Summoning a book from the vast horde that occupied her library, Athena settled in to read. Just as she was about to open the book, Artemis and Ares appeared in the room, well saturated from the onslaught that Zeus had summoned. Athena, clearly not pleased by their arrival, huffed and turned towards them. "You know you have such great timing."

"Yeah. Sorry about that. I know we're late," she said clearly picking up on Athena's sarcasm, but still missing the point.

Athena sighed to herself, convinced that it was not worth the effort. "Just hurry up and do something about your clothes. You're dripping on the floor."

Only after had they swapped out their wet clothes for dry ones did Ares and Artemis realise the state that Zeus and Hera were in. Neither had uttered a word the whole time. Not even to make a complaint. And that pricked at their fears more than anything else.

Still seemingly unaware that everybody had gathered Athena decided that now would be a good time to try and get some answers. "Father," she called out trying to bring him back to reality. "Everybody's here. Will you tell us what happened?"

Athena had barely spoken above a whisper, but Zeus shot out his seat like she had been shouting at him through a megaphone. Though equally startled at his sudden movements, Athena could relate. She'd had numerous occasion where she was concentrating so intently on something that interested her that it seemed like her surroundings became dimmed and blurred, like everything else in the world ceased to matter or exist. It was always disconcerting when she was pulled back into the mundane tediousness of reality.

Zeus had gathered all of his bearings and was informing his wife that everyone had arrived. If Hera was startled, she didn't show it. But she did seem to be trying to focus, like a camera lens adjusting for a picture. Blurring in and out, trying to pay attention but constantly zoning out. She made the effort, but her mind was clearly somewhere else. From his actions, Zeus seemed calm enough, but the rain outside refuse to let up and lightning still arced around his body every now and then. His mind was clearly still somewhere else as he stared blankly at the wall opposite his seat for a few moment before he cleared his throat and began to address them. "Right… yes. Now that we are all here, we need to do something about Hades. I am open to suggestions."

He looked around the table expectantly, but he only got shocked, blank stares in return due to his sudden bombshell.

Artemis reined in her wits and spoke up. "Hold on. Where did this Hades business come from? Can we back up a little and hear the whole story and then plot the downfall of the Lord of the Underworld?"

"Right…" said Zeus as he realised he had skipped a few steps and left out some minor details. "Brad and Marc are in the infirmary. We don't know what's wrong or what happened, but hopefully they will remember something when they wake up. I'm not saying it was Hades (which it was), but I'm not saying it was not him either (which it definitely was)."

"And how did we jump to blaming it on Hades?" questioned Athena. "We haven't had any contact with the others since this whole mess started and that was almost a century ago. We have tried entering before but the domain laws come into effect, so the same should apply for him. Honestly it does not make logical sense to blame it on him."

Zeus turned his attention towards her, the lightning arcing around his body grew more violent, leaping off his person and creating scorch marks upon the table they were all seated around. He spoke, his voice low as he hissed at her through his clenched teeth, "Don't you dare question me about this. I know it was him and I don't need logic to explain that. Nothing about this whole situation is logical. If he can do what he did that night he can certainly target someone sitting hundreds of kilometres in the air outside of his domain."

Ares nodded, agreeing with him. "Trying to apply logic to what we currently find ourselves in is cute, but if we are going to do anything about what happened to the boys or about our situation we'll first need some answers."

Athena bristled at Ares' comments. Out of everyone seated here she understood their situation the most. As far as she knew (which was saying a lot) she was the only one looking for a way to return things to the way they had been. Turning here steely gaze upon him, she started to recite the tirade she had composed and memorised for such an occasion. "Listen here you-"

Before she could even begin her meticulously thought out insults, there was a knock on the door. Everyone's attention turned towards the sound as if an intruder had just burst through the door. Even Hera's, as if she was waiting anxiously for this moment. The door slowly opened to reveal one of the castle servants. A young woman stood there with shoulder length chocolate brown hair looking as if she would wet herself at any moment. Ignoring her rattled state (it was a common sight when anyone found themselves in Bia's presence and she was handling it better than most) Zeus spoke up. "Yes, what is it?"

"I was informed to tell you of any change concerning your sons-"

She never got to finish her sentence as immediately after hearing that it concerned the boys Hera had flashed out of the room without warning. All that remained of the unfortunate servant was a smouldering pile of ash where she had once stood. Athena, Artemis and Ares appeared stunned for a few moments as they processed what had just happened. Hera knew that they had been trying to cut down the number of deaths induced by witnessing a god's divine form. In fact, they had been on a record run since the last mortal had perished. This was largely due to the Divine Protocols they had instated and compulsory health and safety classes for all mortal beings concerning what to do to ensure that they survive when interacting with a god.

Zeus looked down at the remains with a frown creasing his brow before calling in Kratos.

"Yes, My King."

"Get someone to clean this up," was all he said before leaving in a blinding flash himself.

ΔΙΟ.ΟΙΔ

In the infirmary Zeus found Hera seated in between the beds occupied by the dark haired twin brothers, holding their hands as tears dripped down her face in relief and happiness at their wellbeing. Hera, unable to keep her eyes on both of them at once, looked back and forth from one to the other with a small smile. The weight of her worry had started to show in her appearance. Grey had started to creep into the soft, dark curls of her hair and her flawless skin began to look fatigued, with wrinkles creasing her brow and crinkling at the corners of her eyes. Taking in the sight before him, Zeus approached and rested his hand comfortingly on Hera's shoulder, letting her know that he was there if she needed him. Continuing to silently shed tears, Hera squeezed the hands she held reassuringly and softly whispered to them, "I'm just so glad you're alright."

Brad and Marc looked at each other out of the corners of their eyes before telling her the same thing, at the same time, "We know Mom. Thanks."

Zeus had hoped to give them some time relax and collect themselves, but he knew that the sooner he had any information about what happened, the quicker he could do something about this Hades problem for the first time in almost a century. Looking down at his sons with a fondness he hardly ever displayed, he asked them, "Do you remember anything about how you two landed up here?" he said with a little gesture to indicate the sparse furnishings of the infirmary.

Once again, the two of them shared a quick look as if confirming their stories before launching into their spiel. Marc started off, "We were fooling around somewhere-"

"-Insignificant. And then we heard this unusual sound," and Brad continued.

"There was this random caw-"

"-Or squawk."

"Or squawk and the flapping wings of some bird-"

"-That sounded like it was in a fight."

"We went to go and check out what it was-"

"-But when we got there, there was only this present and-"

"-A few of these black feathers."

At this point Zeus felt like he needed to step in. "Wait… hold on. You two are telling me you randomly found a present. Like a gift wrapped box with a bow?"

"Yeah," said Brad, "a present."

"Or a gift," Marc followed.

"Depends who you ask. With-"

"-A nametag. Addressed to-"

"-Us. So we picked it up and-"

"-Opened it."

"So you two thought it was perfectly normal to find a random package with no one in sight and open it?" questioned Zeus. Once they got well enough he was going to have them spend a lot more time with Athena.

"Well, yeah," said Brad.

"It had our names on it," said Marc.

"We opened the lid and-"

"-Something hit us."

"Knocked the wind-"

"-Right out."

"Everything became blurred and the world-"

"-Tilted. We heard that cawing-"

"-Or squawking."

"Or squawking again before we-"

"Passed out."

AN: Hey guys.

This is my first fic. I've had this idea bouncing around in my head for a while and I finally decided to write it out… months ago.

*Ahem* Well, never mind that. I have a general idea about where I want to take this, but I am open to ideas and feedback. Maybe some of you can help me fill in the details. If you have any parts that you like or dislike, let me know. I'd like to hear your opinions and thoughts.

Right… that's about everything I wanted to say… BYE!

Awesome Montage Music: Dinosaur by Jax Panik