THE BATTLE OF THE GODS
By Sawyer Fan
Disclaimer: I do not own Kamigami No Asobi in any way, shape or form. I am only writing this for fun and not for profit.
I would rate this T or PG-13 for violence, action/adventure, some mild language and suggestive themes.
This is my first fanfic for this anime/manga. I wanted to write something that mainly focuses on Apollon because I can't find many fanfics on him, and I think his character is so adorable. I am mostly writing this from the anime's view point, but I will incorporate some of Apollon's other abilities that the anime didn't touch on. He was quite a versatile god :)
This story is not beta'd so forgive any mistakes.
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A feminine form draped in the finest of silks made her way silently through the marbled hallways as her shadow fell upon the gigantic alabaster pillars on either side of her. She was no ordinary woman, and anyone who happened to gaze upon her would discover that instantly. There was a regal grace to her bearing as well as a matured beauty that was the envy of many a woman.
She made her way purposely through the ornate doors that housed her sanctuary, her lone place of refuse from her everyday duties. Here she could do as she wished without having to worry about anyone finding out.
Namely her philandering, arrogant peacock of a husband, and his brood of bastard offspring who littered her pristine world at Mount Olympus. To be in their company day after day was a slap to her pride, each one having come into the world through another woman. While she grudgingly tolerated most of her husband's progeny, there was one in particular she despised.
The undisputed "Queen of the Heavens", the goddess known as Hera, set her cold, brown-eyed stare upon a pedestal that had a basin of crystal clear water setting on top. She waved her hand over the still liquid and suddenly it sprang to life, colors blending together to form images. Within seconds, the figure of the one she hated appeared in the water, his visage sending her calm demeanor into a seething rage.
Apollon.
God of the Sun. He was also the God of light, prophesy, music, poetry, the arts, archery, medicine, healing, truth, knowledge and even plagues. He was the epitome of youth and manly beauty, and he would eternally stay young looking, unlike many of the other gods, such as herself, whose looks matured over the thousands of years.
His annoyingly bright and happy smile assaulted her eyes as she watched him laughing with a group of young gods such as himself. The insufferable youth was supposed to be wallowing in guilt and sadness, his loving and kind heart slowly dying inside until it rotted and he became cold and bitter.
Hera clenched her hands and shook with fury as she thought of how her husband, Zeus, had robbed her of victory. She had it planned all perfectly! Every one of Apollon's tragedies she had an huge part in. It was all to lead him to the fateful meeting with Cassandra.
The moment Hera laid eyes on Cassandra, she knew the human girl would be perfect. She was beautiful, yet emotionally delicate. Apollon would also be drawn to her because Cassandra was a prophetess at a temple. They had much in common, and the goddess knew the gullible imbecile would fall for the girl instantly.
It was a foolproof plan. Hera orchestrated every detail, right down to the 'false' vision of Apollon and Cassandra's future together. The goddess smirked at her brilliance. She had switched Apollon's prophetic box with her own exact copy.
The foolish boy had no idea the box wasn't his and that Hera had cast a curse upon the gift so that when he and Cassandra touched it, a dark aura would enter inside and take hold of any negative emotion they felt, amplifying it until complete despair and darkness overtook their hearts and minds. The human girl succumbed to the power almost instantly, which the goddess had counted on.
She watched the tragic events unfold in her sanctuary, grinning with malicious glee. Out in public, she wore a stoic visage, but inside she was ecstatic as Apollon fell into a deep depression. Even Zeus tried his hand at comforting the boy. Of course it failed miserably, causing a sizable rift to develop between father and son.
It was around that time she came up with an idea to trick Zeus into having an apocalyptic prophecy about Apollon becoming insane because of his despondence and then wreaking havoc on the Earth. Hera knew her husband would be forced to destroy the young god before the disaster happened to save humanity. It was poetic justice; remove the one from the universe who never should have been born in the first place.
But now she realized that idea was part of her undoing. She would have never imagined her husband would devise such an elaborate scheme to save Apollon. He had even managed to save the Norse god of light, Balder, from his fated course of destruction.
A school to teach wayward gods about humanity? Bah! Hera smelled a field of rotting fruit when she heard of the plan.
Zesus' son, Dionysus, didn't need to be there because he was quite friendly with the human race, often milling around the populace incognito. But he was close to the Sun God, so of course he'd watch out for his little brother. Hades was asked because he had a soft spot for his nephew, and without hesitation he would protect Apollon.
The biggest joke was having Apollon himself there. The Sun God loved humans and found them fascinating. He didn't need to 'learn' about humanity. No, her husband wanted to stop the prophesy from happening by healing the Sun God's growing inner darkness. The Norse and Japanese gods were added to make it appear more legitimate.
Still she had a bit of hope when Apollon had his little dark episode at the academy. Hera had known the spirit of Cassandra was watching over her love, but the goddess made sure that her words of comfort wouldn't reach his ears. Instead, he would be reminded of the tragedy he caused, and the dark aura would grow stronger inside him.
It worked beautifully for years, yet in the end that too failed. Cassandra was able to finally sooth the guilt and grief Apollon felt. It was all because of the interference of that human girl, Kusanagi Yui, that Zeus forced to come 'help' the gods.
To her keen eyes, Hera knew the teenager was attracted to Apollon, but Zeus made her swear an oath not to harm, trick, or use her or anyone the girl was fond of to achieve any goals. While this Kusanagi Yui was much stronger than Cassandra ever was, she still could've destroyed the Sun God through her somehow. The goddess wasn't allowed to mess with the other gods either. Zeus was actually thinking things through for a change.
Angrily, the Queen of the Heavens swiped at the water in the basin, erasing the vision of Apollon. Now she would be forced to put up with that annoying twit for a while until she could come up with something else to get rid of him. One consolation was that he was back at that academy and not roaming around Mount Olympus.
Yet she was curious as to why Zeus listened to Apollon's request to keep the school going. The prophesy was averted and the young gods all passed, so why keep this farce going? She knew better than to think Zeus allowed it because his son had fallen for the human girl. Her husband liked to sleep around with mortals, but he frowned on his children getting romantically involved with them.
Hypocritical male whore...
When Zeus was distracted enough, Hera would use her sharp mental faculties to cajole her husband into telling her what she wanted to know. If she was honest, she was quite fond of messing with the "King of the Gods". Sometimes he was as gullible as Apollon, but Zeus' folly was his arrogance, while the son was an easy mark because of his cheerful, loving nature.
With a long suffering sigh, Hera turned from the pedestal and began to walk to her extravagant lounging couch to take a brief rest. A sudden pounding from outside her room caused her to pause.
Irritated, the Goddess snapped, "Who is it? I wish to not be disturbed at this time!"
An amused. male voice answered from behind the doors. "It is Hermes, my Queen. I have a gift from a devoted follower of yours. It is quite impressive, I have to admit."
A gift? It had been a long time since someone had given her a tribute. The faint smile on her face fell as she thought of the one god who did receive most of the attention and worship...Apollon.
No! She mustn't waste any more of her thoughts on that worthless fool. A wise mortal had taken the time to garner the approval of the Goddess of Marriage and Family, so she must be gracious and accept.
"You may enter," Hera spoke in an imperial tone, sweeping back a loose train of light blue silk in an elegant show of her supreme visage. Her eyes opened in surprise and commendation as she watched Hermes, the Messenger of the Gods, levitate a gilded gold tree into the Queen's sanctuary.
The 'leaves' of the tree were made of emeralds and other green minerals while other various precious gems formed the flowers that generously adorned it. The object glittered brilliantly as the sun's beams hit upon it from high, open windows.
"This is very pleasing," the Goddess said with a contented smile. "Place it in the corner near my seat and you may leave."
"As you wish," Hermes replied, trying his best to keep his sarcasm in check. He wouldn't be a bit surprised if the witch had it commissioned herself.
Not many worshiped Hera except out of fear, or wanting revenge for a love scorned.
Hermes gladly left the Queen alone with her new treasure, but was met with a set of stormy grey eyes as he closed the doors to Hera's special room. He smiled warmly at the sight of his older half sister, Athena, Goddess of Wisdom and Strategic Warfare. Waving her forward, he urged his sibling to follow him to a less conspicuous area where they could talk freely.
Outside the massive palace that housed the twelve Greek Olympian Gods, Hermes led Athena to a smaller and less frequented garden to continue their conversation. He knew it was no coincidence the goddess was milling near Hera's private domain.
"Did you overhear something to make you suspicious of our "Queen"?" he asked his sister suddenly.
Athena frowned as she sat herself down upon a marble bench near a flowing fountain. "Every time I see her go into that room, I get suspicious," she admitted. "She only goes there to hide things from the rest of us because she knows we can't penetrate the protective shroud around it."
"Well, she got herself a new trinket, so maybe that will keep our illustrious ruler happy enough to forgo any new schemes," Hermes suggested.
"She can't be happy Apollon was saved," the Goddess of Wisdom said as she began to lightly twist the braid her lustrous, black hair was held in. "While its good he's at the academy and out of Hera's reach, I still don't like him out of my sight for long."
"I have to admit things aren't as cheery without him here. Even a flash of that brilliant smile of his can make a bad day better."
"That is true," Athena said fondly with a nod of her head. "Its been over a year since I've seen him face to face."
"Have you asked Father to see him?" Hermes queried.
The goddess huffed in irritation. "I've tried many times, but I was told to stay away, or his goals for the gods and humanity could be ruined. What could go wrong with me seeing my little brother?"
The Messenger of the gods had to chuckle out loud at that last sentence. "What could go wrong with an over protective older sister who is a skilled warrior? If one of those mean foreign gods dared give Apollon a nasty glare, or said a cross word to him, said warrior would rise up and do battle."
Athena shot her brother a look before muttering under her breath, "I'm not that bad..."
"I'm sorry, my dear sister, but you are horrible when it comes to Apollon." Hermes raised his hands up in a show of peace when he saw the goddess rise from her seated position. "I know you raised him when Father brought him to Mount Olympus, but he's not a child anymore. He can defend himself."
"That is the problem; he won't defend himself," Athena replied, unable to hide the worry in her voice. "He'll only try to please them more to gain acceptance. I wouldn't change a single thing about him, but I hate to see others trying to take advantage. Apollon has such a pure love that he wishes for everyone to be happy, even at the cost of his own happiness."
"Maybe try asking Father again since the prophesy was averted. If that doesn't work, try throwing one of your epic fits of justice." Hermes gave a playful wink. "You're a clever woman, so I have faith you can come up with some excuse to get onto that mysterious island he has them all hidden on."
The raven haired goddess grabbed her youngest brother by the shoulders and gave him a beaming smile. "You're absolutely right! I will go to Father and make him agree one way or another."
Hermes smiled back. "I wish you the best on your quest to find our missing ray of sunshine." The young god watched as his sister left with a determined look in her eyes. When Athena set her mind on something, she followed through until all avenues were gone.
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On a floating island hidden from humans and other deities, the King of the gods, Zeus, sat imperially in his oversized, high backed chair inside of an enormous room. While it resembled his throne room back at Mount Olympus, it was considered his 'office' at the Academy of the Gods where he was the head master. Here he was known as Zeus Keraunos to keep in the human tradition of having a first and last name.
The supreme god looked to his right where the figure of the Egyptian god of Wisdom and Knowledge, Thoth, was leaning against one of the marble columns near the throne. He was chosen to be the 'professor' over the youthful group of gods, and he was given the name Thoth Caduceus.
"I thank you for agreeing to teach again at the academy," Zeus said with a quick bow of his head. "I know they were a challenge to your patience."
"Indeed." Thoth crossed his muscular tanned arms over his chiseled chest which peeked out from a half buttoned up blue dress shirt. His cerulean eyes fixed upon the older, golden haired god. "But I am curious as to why you are continuing to keep this school going. All the gods passed and we managed to avert the disasters with both your son and the Norse god, Balder."
His hand tightening on the staff of power he used to control the skies, Zeus frowned before meeting the gaze of the other male. "There is still a threat of another calamity," he admitted. "In one month will be the alignment of the planets, the one day our powers become their weakest."
"Yes, I had known for some time it was coming. It is the first time it has happened in my lifetime."
Golden eyes narrowed as the God of the Heavens scanned through his extensive memories, recalling one moment in particular. "I had seen this gathering of the planets once before, and I fear what I saw then will happen again."
Thoth inched closer to the older god, his immense intellect ready to soak in any detail he could glean. Zeus had been around much longer than he, and the Egyptian had to admit he found the Greek to be smart and astute; someone to respect and learn valuable lessons from.
"What happened on that day?" he asked bluntly.
"While the rest of the gods were weakened by the alignment, there was one god who grew stronger due to it," Zeus spoke quietly, reliving the incident in his head like it only happened yesterday. "The Titan god of the sun, Helios."
Thoth's eyes widened in alarm when he figured out where Zeus was going. "A sun god's powers will actually grow stronger due to the fact the sun's rays will be directly in line with all the planets instead of being scattered about. It would be like a beam of concentrated light and energy."
"Correct," the Greek god concurred. "We were so focused on trying to figure out how to get through the phenomenon that we were caught totally by surprise when Helios' body suddenly shot out into intense flames and scorching rays of light. He destroyed anything in his path. Thankfully no humans or animals had been created yet, but it caused damage to the Heavens and the planets."
The supreme ruler of the gods lowered his head in a brief moment of sadness. "Poor Helios was nearly destroyed by his own powers. He was forever weakened after that episode, and he withdrew from all of us because he feared going out of control again."
"Apollon," The God of Wisdom realized. "The same thing could happen to him and this time a lot more harm would be done. I can understand bringing him back to the school to protect the Heavens and the Earth if his sun powers can't be contained, but why allow the other gods to come along too?"
"My plan was to send the other gods home and then recreate this island. I was going to keep Apollon here with me until after the alignment, but when everyone wanted to bring back the academy and seeing how happy my son was being around these gods and that human girl...I couldn't say no."
Zeus covered the upper part of his face with the palm of his right hand as he slowly shook his head. "I was so relieved to see my son overcome his darkness that I would have given him anything at that point."
Thoth raised an eyebrow as he studied the god before him. "Hmph! And here everyone thinks of you as this immodest, tyrannical ass of a god when you're nothing but a soft touch deep down."
"Who dared to say I was an ass?!" Zeus demanded, his arrogant demeanor returning full force.
Smirking, the Egyptian god shrugged his shoulders. "I don't recall off hand, but it is good to see you back to yourself." But wanting to get back to the matter at hand, he asked, "Do you think the suppression spell on Apollon's ring will be enough to keep his sun powers in check?"
"When the alignment draws closer, I will double the curtailment the ring shackle currently has, but I'm also going to be looking at other means as well."
"How will you deal with the safety of the others?"
Zeus gave a devilish grin. "I will have everyone go home to their respective realms just before that day arrives as a school shut down. The human schools have it all the time, so why not our academy? When the danger has passed, I will have them return and resume their studies."
"I'm going to assume Apollon knows nothing of this possible danger," Thoth ventured, "so do you plan on telling him at some point?"
"I will tell him when I send the others home," Zeus replied with a dismissive wave of his hand. "He'll only fret about it if he knows beforehand, so I'll let him enjoy himself for now."
Thoth nodded his head in agreement. It made perfect sense to him to keep the information quiet for the time being. There was no need to go looking for unnecessary drama when cooler heads were in control of the situation.
Everything would work our as planned. The Egyptian God of Wisdom was confident in that knowledge.
*Author's note* Here is the first chapter. Don't worry, Apollon and the others will appear in the next chapter.
When doing research for the gods, I read all kinds of different accounts of the same story. Some had Athena being the first born (with or without a mother). She came out full grown from Zeus' head, so I saw her as being a possible mother figure to Apollon. I'm sure Hera didn't take up that role, and Apollon's real mother stayed with Artemis on Earth (per some stories I read).
I had Dionysus as the older brother because I felt he looked much older than Apollon and acted like an older brother in the anime.
This is my twist on the anime/manga and the mythology stories I came across (and remember from my Mythology high school class). I took some liberties, just like Kamigami No Asobi did ;)