Woo hoo, We're back (Woo hoo?). lol, anyways, than you all for your reviews. We really appreciate them, this being our first foray into this fandom. Anywhoo, the story might seems slow right now...but there are BIG plans ;) Hope you like it! Enjoy, xo dazzeling diamond and rubyinnle
The group walked in complete silence, bar the noises made from their footsteps and Archie's incessant crinkling of his chemistry homework. Theresa glanced solemnly at her cell phone, eager to check Jay's messages. Ooh, wait…there's another one! She noted, the screen flashing a familiar name, He's probably wondering why I haven't replied to all the other messages…
"Well… Look who's suddenly jealous," Archie remarked, wearing a self-satisfied grin to rival the Cheshire Cat's. Herry and Odie shook their heads, aware of what was about to erupt. Neil, however, remained oblivious as he examined his manicure, ensuring that not a single nail had chipped within the last five minutes.
"I am not…but speaking of 'chemistry', I don't think you have many skills in that department!" Atlanta barked defensively, a challenging glare in her eyes. Archie met her glare, momentarily disarming any words of attack
"Well, Svetlana thinks I happen to have a natural talent for—"
Atlanta gritted her teeth "The only thing you have a natural talent for, is being full of—"
"Atlanta!" warned Odie and Herry simultaneously.
"—hot air," she finished, biting back other words that had been eager to escape her lips. She stood squarely in front of Archie, with her arms crossed and her eyes alight. He returned her defensive stance, but with a slightly less intense air about him, in fact, he hadn't wiped the grin of his face since they'd started arguing.
"Guys," whined the unmistakable voice of Neil.
"What?!" burst Atlanta and Archie, the unison of their voices were matched by their violently swift glances at Neil. Neil shivered, as though to avoid the daggers of their eyes. Still shivering, he pointed to a few figures standing in front of the teenagers.
Archie and Atlanta turned, only to find Hera's unreadable face rendered so still she may as well have been marble, along with the all the other deities by her side. The only one without a serious face was Aphrodite, or perhaps that was because she was still wearing a seaweed beauty mask and seemed more irritated than solemn.
The argumentative teenagers smiled sheepishly. "He he…" Atlanta laughed nervously, her eyes darting around shiftily, avoiding Hera's cold expression. Hera's face was usually cold, and not cold in the emotional sense of the word. Her alabaster skin hardly appeared to move over her taut face, the icy tone in which she normally spoke only accentuated this.
"Hera, do you wanna start tawking to 'em, cause I've got a bit situation heeyah," Aphrodite commented in her thick Queen's accent, her voice barely veiled with patience. She gestured towards the seaweed on her face, some of which proceeded to fall from her permanently flawless skin, and form a rather odd 'splat' sound on the floor. Had Hera's face not been terse to point that it might have torn, the teenagers would have probably laughed.
"You may go," Hera murmured calmly "We will call you when your presence is…" she paused, in search of a better word "…Required."
Aphrodite grinned, "Fabulous!"
With that, she strutted out of the gym in a hurry, leaving the bewildered adolescents with the rest of the deities. There was an odd moment of silence, as no one dared speak. Hera, who normally spoke with an immediate authority, seemed to biding her time, contemplating her words before she spoke.
"If you guys don't mind…do you think I could join Aphrodite? I've heard that seaweed facial is really good for your pores…" Neil spoke up hopefully "it's all the rage in Japan," he added, as though it would make any difference. He received nothing but disapproving glances (from the Gods) and numerous rolling eyes (from his friends).
His shoulders slumped momentarily, before placing one hand on his hip, the other fanned out towards himself "Sheesh, the existential angst, that I am sensing in this room, is so thick, you could probably cut it with a nail file!"
Theresa giggled inwardly. He had a point, she had to admit, and she was starting to feel a similar annoyance to Aphrodite's. If Hera wasn't going to talk, why had they been called? She tapped her foot impatiently, as her mind wandered off into other things…Jay…the upcoming debutante ball…those shoes she'd been eyeing for ages. Just then, she felt another buzz in her pocket. Jay…? She thought both worriedly and hopefully.
Quickly, she glanced at Archie and Atlanta whose argument seemed to be continuing via a vicious staring contest. Those two…Theresa found her thinking, an involuntary smile crossing her face. Odie had an odd sort of look on his face, the bored kind, which made him appear as though he were solving some very heavy equations in his head, just to kill some time. Herry on the other hand, from the look on his face, probably wasn't thinking…at all. The buzzing in Theresa's pocket continued, as she contemplated whether it was worth checking the messages at all.
Just as she was about fish her phone out of her pocket, Hera decided to speak.
"I'm afraid I have news," she began solemnly. Atlanta sighed; it was never good when the person started with "I'm afraid". It may as well have been the sound of a toilet, flushing our summer vacation down the drain…she couldn't help but think, Wow, my poetic techniques are getting good, he he, Odie was right… I better get an 'A' on that poetry oral… Just then she felt Archie's arrogant eyes on her back.
"Oh come off it, you did not win the staring contest!" she hissed. He threw her an overly macho smile, which ordinarily would have provoked more than the rolling-of-the-eyes she gave him. With Hera watching…Probably not a good idea, she confirmed mentally.
"The prophecy," Hera recommenced, with a heavy sigh "when we first heard it seemed correct, and over time it has been proven…fulfilled…and yet, it did not reveal everything,"
Several pairs of eyebrows shot up simultaneously. Hera's seemingly stoic gaze shifted from person to person. Artemis, Persephone and Hercules, who stood behind her, held incredibly still faces, as they studied the expressions of the teenagers in front of them.
"What are you talking about, Hera? Seven descendants were needed to defeat Cronus…and we have, haven't we? Hasn't the prophecy been fulfilled?" Odie asked, attempting to hide any shakiness in his voice. He'd more or less confirmed what all the others were thinking.
"It is not necessarily Cronus, now, that needs defeating," Hera stated almost hypnotically, her cryptic answers were becoming increasingly irritating.
"So, what you're saying is, we're not defeating Cronus, we're defeating someone else?" Theresa questioned, trying not to let the exasperation in her voice show.
"Again, not necessarily someone else, or Cronus on his own…the prophecy did not account for other opponents or alliances…and therefore, the fact that you were originally seven may not remain so…" Hera answered calmly.
Theresa nodded skeptically, her brow furrowing in annoyance. Suddenly, her mind was rendered completely blank, and was replaced with a flash of blinding light. The light was so bright, its source could not even be determined. The light seemed to dance, to sway, but never falter. Theresa felt her temples begin to ache; her forehead began to produce heat. It was unlike any vision ever before.
Just as the light appeared to die, a gleaming gold chariot pulled by two majestic lions appeared. They ran with a slowed elegance, their muscles rippling beneath their flaxen coats, iridescent in the strange bright light. It didn't appear as though they had a destination, yet they moved with such unquestionable agility, that could not have been simply…running. Then, as quickly as it had come, the vision disappeared, the intolerable light leaving no remnants, no flashes.
"Theresa…Theresa!" shrieked Atlanta's panicked voice, as she grabbed the sides of her psychic friend's arms.
"What?" Theresa cried in disbelief, once she realized the fear on everyone's faces. She turned from Odie to Archie, their faces splashed with concern, to Persephone, who'd come fearfully to her protégé's side.
"What is it?" Theresa demanded impatiently "I mean, yes, I had a vision…but you guys are acting like some sort of spir—"
She paused there, fighting her instincts to keep going. They weren't completely off-base in their concern, their fear for her. It hadn't been that long ago that she'd lost control, and perhaps the traces of that were still too fresh in their minds. How could she blame them for questioning her current state of sanity, psychic and otherwise?
"What did you see?" Hera questioned steadily. The tone of her voice seemed to put everyone else back into line, including Persephone, who dutifully and somewhat nervously stepped back from her student.
Theresa cleared her throat; she was going need to be as coherent and calm as possible in order to convince them that was ok. Certainly the vision she saw was odd, and disconcerting, but it hadn't done anything to harm her.
"Look, I just had a vision," she commenced casually "and I saw lots of bright light, and then I saw a couple of lions pulling a gold chariot…that's all,"
She noticed Hera's already pallor complexion pale to the point of pure ice. Persephone too, appeared as though something had sent a chill through her immortal bones, hesitance painting its likeness upon her features.
Hera turned to the other Gods, leaving the teenagers to stare curiously at their guarded discussion.
"It couldn't be…" Persephone whispered, saying as more a statement of impossibility than of shock.
"I cannot be sure," said Hera "We would need to consult Chiron,"
"It couldn't be…" Persephone repeated, her soprano voice trilled with uncertainty.
Artemis came forward, "I'll go see him now…the sooner the better"
"Perhaps we will need the eighth one after all," Hercules commented, his eyes questioning Hera quite openly.
Hera did not answer immediately. A frost entered her eyes as she said, "Perhaps we will,"
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