"Apollon " Dionysus began as they emerged, unharmed, into the kingdom of all the gods. "I know you need time to mourn Yui, but it's only a matter of time before she shows up. The other Goddesses can't keep secrets, and even if they could, Zeus would be more than happy to send her on her way"
"You must have realized what happened, Dee-Dee" Apollon 's voice was low and sad, he barely looked up at his brother as they stood off to the side.
"Who is this 'She'" Dionysus jumped as Loki spoke, the Norse god had his arms crossed over his chest and was glaring at the Greeks in front of him.
"Well Loki" Dionysus sighed. "The 'She' we're referring to is.."
He was cut off as a flurry of dark hair ran into him, arms twining around his waist. A young goddess had latched onto him, her violet eyes shinning as she excitedly spoke. "Dion! I missed you all so much" Her voice echoed like honey over the Gods present.
"Hello, Eris. We missed you too, I assure you" Dionysus smiled. He gave Loki a pointed look as she released him and moved to Hades, conveying that this was the girl they'd been talking about. Eris, goddess of Disorder and Being. Even now he could see the stem of one of her golden apples peeking out from a pocket in the white dress she wore.
Dionysus looked back to Apollon . He was standing off to the side, eyes focused off in the distance. There was no doubt they'd both felt it by now. Apollon 's sudden feelings for Yui had shattered the bond Zeus had created between the Sun God and Eris.
"I'll go tell Aphrodite and the others that you're here! They didn't believe that Ate could be telling the true for once." Dionysus sighed as Eris spun on heel, ignoring Apollon as she hurried off to wherever the others were.
"Did you see it, Dionysus?" Hades spoke softly, his voice just low enough to avoid Apollon overhearing them.
"Yes. It's spreading" He shook his head sadly.
"What's spreading?" Balder reached out and took Dionysus's arm. "What's so bad about that girl? She seemed nice enough..."
"She isn't 'nice', Balder" Their heads turned toward Apollon as she spoke. "The exact opposite actually."
Dionysus sighed, knowing the spitefulness was a product of Apollon's loss. "Eris is the goddess of Disorder and Being" He explained. "Because the concept of Being is a light energy, there has to be something to balance out. Disorder isn't enough on its own, so the Goddess of Disorder and Being has always been cursed with what we call, The Chaos"
"The Chaos?" Takeru shoved his hands in his pockets, leaning back against a white pillar as he listened.
"It's essentially a second soul. The Chaos is what plants the nasty ideas in Eris's head and prompts her to becoming our Goddess of Destruction for a short amount of time. It can't keep control long enough to end the world or place any of us in immediate danger, but it's enough to start conflicts and end civilizations." Hades's voice echoed across the small patio they stood on. "Eris of course can remember when the Chaos is influencing her, and usually restrains herself from causing anything too horrible."
"Usually ends up in giving Aphrodite a bad haircut or making Hera irritable toward Zeus for a day. " Dionysus tried to lighten the mood with his joke.
"But there's a catch?" Thor suggested from his place next to Loki and Balder.
"Yes. A severe one at that" Hades nodded.
"See, The Chaos is always fighting for control of Eris's body; clashing with her soul in an attempt to be free to do as it likes." Dionysus looked off in the direction she'd taken. "If The Chaos gains too much control, it will trigger Eris's change in from. She'll stop being the Goddess of Being and transform into the Goddess of Disorder, Chaos, and Destruction. If that happens, she won't be able to stay here in our kingdom anymore. She'll go to the Underworld with Hades."
"And The Chaos has spread far in the time we've been absent" Hades sighed. "Dionysus, I have to return to the underworld as soon as Zeus announces our return. Promise me you won't let her transform"
"I promise" Dionysus nodded. "Apollon will help when he comes around to our side again"
"We'll help too" Balder smiled. "After all, Zeus is combining everyone into a joint kingdom, right? So we'll help keep Eris as she is!"
"So will we" Tsukito nodded.
"Thank you" Hades smiled as they heard footsteps on the stone path that lead to their patio.
"Um..." Eris paused by the stone steps, taking in the scene. "I'm supposed to bring you to the courtyard...the others want to see you and Zeus will be making some announcement."
Dionysus caught sight of the flushed look on her face. "What made you blush, Eris?"
"Oh! Nothing...I mean there was just this God that was um" She blushed harder. "Touchy."
"Did Eros try to-" Hades glared at Eris.
"Huh? No! No it wasn't Eros. Actually um...Eros and his Japanese counterpart were arguing with Aphrodite when I left" Eris looked to the ground. "He um. This one was uh...Norse"
"Feyr" The three Norse gods in their company said unanimously.
"I'll kill him this time, I swear" Loki gave a hard look to Thor. "Something you were supposed to do"
"It isn't our fault our God of Lust thought Miss Eris was beautiful" Balder scolded the two of them. "Besides. I think our Greek friends are plenty annoyed enough"
They glanced to Dionysus and Hades, both of whom were fuming. Apollon hovered behind, avoiding Eris's gaze.
"You guys, I'm fine really I-" Eris froze, her eyes flaring wide a moment.
"Huh?" Dionysus snapped back to his senses. "Eris are you-"
They all watched as whimpered once, pinching her eyes shut before opening them again. Her left eye had changed from violet to piercing scarlet. The goddess's mouth twisted into a snide smirk, her eyes flitting from one God to another. No one moved as her fingers went to her dress pocket, removing a glittering golden apple.
"Eris no" Dionysus's voice was strong as he stepped forward, reaching for the girl. "Put the apple away. Make Chaos stop"
She giggled to herself, rolling the apple between her fingers as she avoided Dionysus. Her eyes turned from her Greek friend to the Norse Gods on her right, specifically falling on Loki. The apple sparkled enticingly toward him, almost encouraging him from trying to take it from her.
"Eris, please" Hades tried.
Again she avoided Dionysus as he moved quicker, dancing out of his range and up onto the first step of the patio. She was now stationed between Balder and Dionysus with Hades a few feet to her right. Balder reached forward impulsively, touching her shoulder before Dionysus could try getting at her again.
"Huh?" Dionysus stepped back as the apple fell from her hands, hitting the pavement with a metallic sound before rolling away from her. Hades stepped away from it, warning the others to avoid touching the apple at all costs. "E-Eris?"
She had frozen in place, eyes pinched shut again. Balder's hand remained on her shoulder, his own eyes wide as she suddenly turned, nearly knocking him off balance. Loki called his name as he was jerked forward, worried about what the goddess was trying to pull.
"What the-" Loki froze as Eris merely wrapped her arms around him, hugging Balder closely as she opened her eyes again. They'd returned to their usual violet.
"You made it stop" She said quietly. "You made the voice stop talking to me...stop telling me what to do"
"Well that makes sense I guess" Balder said cheerfully, shocking the others as he hugged the goddess. "Light chases away darkness right? And Chaos is a part of darkness."
Dionysus laughed, crossing his arms over his chest. "We should head to the courtyard, Zeus hates to be kept waiting. And besides, its been a while since I've seen Aphrodite"
"Come on then, let's go" Balder smiled as Eris separated herself from him, eyes bright again.
Dionysus and Hades hung back as the others followed Eris, even Apollon trailing after them in a cloud of his own sulking.
"What do you think of that?" Dionysus asked as soon as they were out of earshot.
"I think it makes sense. Balder is the God of Light after all. Choas is a part of destruction in all mythology. It just so happens that his light may be what causes Chaos to leave Eris alone" Hades answered as they walked toward Zeus's courtyard.
"And could it stop the transformation?" The god's voice was low and murky as he spoke with his uncle.
"You know as well as I do, Dionysus" Hades sighed. "Despite the nonsense Zeus gives her about holding on...despite the desire she has to remain as she is. They always turn, Dionysus. Nothing can keep Eris from experiencing the Chaos transformation. All we can do is prolong the time she spends as the Goddess of Being."
"I know...I just thought-" Dionysus sighed. "We saved the Norse God of Destruction, so why couldn't we do the same for ours?"
"It's just the way it works...and she doesn't have to die. Once she's in the underworld she could cause as much destruction as she wanted" Hades was looking ahead, back to the goddess who was merrily pulling Balder along, much to the distaste of Loki.
"I still want to believe that we can save her too..." Dionysus couldn't pull his eyes away from the pair. "I guess I just feel as if Balder could saver her. Light makes Darkness flee."
"But it also creates shadows" Hades replied. "Though he could encourage the Chaos to flee, he would also make it stronger. She'll have a while yet to be as she is, Dionysus. She won't turn as suddenly as Balder did."
"She hates that part of her, you know? She despises it" Dionysus clenched his fist.
"I know" Hades nodded. "What I'm worried about is the process speeding up"
"What? Why would it speed up?" Dionysus looked to his uncle, terrified.
"Apollon. You saw it too, Dionysus. The Chaos has taken over far too much...much more than it should have in the short time since we last saw her. Apollon's feelings for Yui broke their bond and she felt it...and I'm afraid that the bond may have caused the Chaos to spread further. Seeing Apollon in the state he's in now may just make it worse." Hades sighed.
"I just hope he realizes it before he causes it to spread further."