This chapter may be crappier. Sorry for the errors. Don't forget to review, favorite and follow. It would be appreciated and will make me try to enhance my writing skills. :)

ATHENA

We, gods & goddesses, have finally developed a new way of travelling. We don't need carriages anymore like we did the last couple of centuries ago. We now call it fading. We just visualize where we want go and our bodies would fade slowly. It's better and faster.

We just arrived at campus and we all smile. We missed this place even though we were gone for just three weeks.

I take in the beautiful blue skies of Athens and while looking around I spotted the Parthenon. My temple now destroyed. The place where I grew up and the most familiar place to me. I'm smiling back my tears so they won't fall.

"Are you okay?" Hermes asks, he's always the first one to ask. That's when I notice that everyone was looking at me.

"C'mon, guys! Looking at me won't make the Parthenon 'whole and alive' again," I pointed out and made air quotations. "Let's just go to our rooms. See you all at dinner," I proclaimed and they just nodded in agreement.

We head to our rooms with our roommates. Mine is obviously Artemis. We've been roommates since we started studying here. She's a very fine roomie because her things are very well organized and she stays out of my way as much as possible. Of course I return her the favor.

"It's the Parthenon again, isn't it?" Artemis inquired. I know what she's talking about: how I was about to cry earlier.

"Yes. I just miss seeing the place built and good as new. But I guess some things aren't meant to last forever," I muttered. I looked at Artemis and I saw pity and sadness in her eyes.

"I guess so," Artemis responded. I know something's wrong because she lost her mood, I can tell. "What's wrong?" I asked.

"I realized I can't hunt anywhere here. There's no place to go. All gone," She pondered. I guess we all lost something. I know that all of what we have is long time gone but the mark it left is still here. Like how Dad created lightning and thunder just left side of Parthenon when I was still living there.

I hugged Artemis because I can't bear to say anything more. These things always bug us in our everyday lives.

HERMES

I'm the first one, as usual, to get to the dining hall. My friends are slowpokes and can they just show up already?! I'm so hungry and I can't eat yet since they're still not here. Assholes for making me wait. I swear to the River Styx, next time I won't wait for them anymore.

So many minutes have passed and no signs of them. I'm bearing all this fangirling of some girls next table by myself. It's obvious they're freshman... and plant nymphs. They keep staring at me until... "Beat it, nymphs," someone said. My bet that this someone is Athena. I take a look at the girl. Jackpot, baby!

"What took you so long?" I boomed.

"Aren't you used to us?! Anyway, I'm so hungry! Can we eat now?" She requested. I couldn't say no because damn I was so hungry too.

"Come on then. But wait, let's have a bet," I challenged her.

"Sure. What's for dinner? Greek Salad," she beamed.

"Fuck, I was going to say that! Lamb Stew is my bet," I smirked.

We reach the place where the foods are placed and guess who won?! Of course, Athena. Half-way through our meal, the others arrived.

"Why are you so late?" Athena asked them.

"We had to... uhm..." Hephaestus gulped.

"Uhm what?" I asked. They're acting weird.

"We had to see Iris. We were asking her if she got mail for any of us," Artemis quaked.

"Are you all idiots? Hermes is the messenger of the gods and you didn't even bother asking him? Or are you hiding something?" Athena belted. They looked at each other as if having no idea what is happening.

"I hate to say this-" Apollo tried to say something but Artemis place her hand on his mouth.

"Apollo's drunk! Hehehehe," Artemis said.

"Fuck this shit, Artemis. Okay, okay. We were at Olympus," Persephone boomed.

"What happened?" I asked worriedly. If something happened to my favorite winged shoes, I will kill everyone.

"Oh nothing.. Just another meeting with Dad and Hera. They were saying that we should be careful, blah blah blah," Persephone said. I shot her a deadly look.

"We should be careful because Dad got into some fight with Uncle Hades. And you know Uncle Hades, he likes to make us suffer. That's all," Persephone said.

"Oh wow. Should I bring out my sword now?" Athena beamed. She received deadly looks from us. How could she joke about it when she herself suffered long ago because of the same thing happening now.

"Your jokes aren't funny," I whisper to Athena. "Sorry," she mouthed, I just nodded.

"And may I remind you that everybody in this hall is staring at us right now. You stooges better sit down and eat," I told them.

The usual things were discussed like why can't frogs be pink, if we think that Dad is a man whore, what's the color of Uncle Poseidon's underwear and other stupid stuff like that.

I see Athena in the corner of my eye looking sad and depressed. Is she upset because of the kiss? That was a dare, for Zeus' sake.

"Can I talk to you privately?" I asked her and she agreed. I wait for her and we go to an empty hallway. I reach for her hand and we're now fading off to her favorite place in the world.

We get there faster because I did the travelling stuff and just so everybody knows or for those who don't know yet, I'm the god of transitions and I'm also the messenger of the gods (which is good for me because I get freebies cough cough winged shoes cough cough) and I'm quick and cunning. Sorry for that.

Athena was so surprised. "Why are we here?!" She asked me furiously.

"I thought that you wanted to be here since this is your favorite place," I admitted. I really thought that she needed a break from everything.

"No-I mean yes but... look at it. It's close to nothing, it's crumbling down." I see her anger fading away and being replaced by sadness.

"You know that they're preserving this. They're doing the best they can, I heard," I explained.

"Well, they're doing a good job." Sometimes I wonder if the old Athena is still there. The good mannered Athena. Time had changed her into a walking disaster. Sarcastic, bad tempered Athena. But I still appreciate her because I know what she'd been through... like the kiss.

"Oh and before I forget, I just wanted to say sorry for kissing you. It was just a dare. And I can't seem to know anyone intelligent other than you," I remarked. But maaan, deep inside I'm not really sorry because I enjoyed that kiss. But don't get me wrong here, I don't like Athena. Maybe, maybe not?! I don't know.

"You don't have to be sorry and I'm not upset about it. It's just this place and Dad's fight with Uncle Hades because we know that it might happen again," she muttered. I'm really mad at Dad for getting in another fight with Uncles Hades and not knowing the consequences first. But Uncle Hades is too pathetic for choosing one of us to torture. Can't he just slap Dad or something like steal his thunderbolt.

The last time Dad and Uncle Hades fought was when Persephone refused to go into the Underworld and Dad said she had the right to stay but Uncle Hades said that she didn't and it become worse after like several days until it stopped. Or we thought so. The day after we thought that conflict was over, Athena was gone. We searched everywhere and there was no sign of her until Uncle Hades sent his pet minotaur with a letter from him saying:

Dear Zeus,

Your daughter is with me. You never told me about her beauty that is almost like Aphrodite's. A bravery like Ares'. But most of all, her courage to face all these problems you gave them. I kidnapped her because I thought she was this stupid, silly girl but I forgot that she's the goddess of wisdom. I'll just tell you what she's experiencing right now: pain. I will free her if you can get her and give me Persephone.

Yours truly,

Hades

Uncle Hades and I got this love-hate relationship but that letter made me just hate him. How could I not hate him for torturing my best friend.

A couple of weeks later, Dad gave up Persephone and got her fast before she could die. When she arrived at Olympus, she lost a bit of weight and her legs are covered with bruises, eyes red from crying and she went crazy for a year. She didn't speak to anyone but to me and Artemis. It took us a lot of time to get her back. It took her lot of time to get herself back. We waited patiently and when the day came, we celebrated. Dad was incredibly generous that time and everybody was beyond happy. Athena was back to herself again.

But now, not her usual self anymore.

"Don't worry, we're here to protect each other and Dad and Mom won't let it happen again," I assured her. She just smiled at me and I gave her a hug. "Everything's going to be fine."

We decided to go back to campus at 11 o'clock. Both of us are very tired because of the continuous races we had wherein I always got to win.

I accompanied her to her dorm and a worried Artemis was there waiting for her.

"WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?! I was worried, you bitch. And you little dimwit, didn't tell us that she's with you and..." She stopped.

"And what? Well, you're the dimwits! We weren't in the hall and you saw us left. What do you think happened? I was kidnapped and she was saving me?" I asked jokingly.

"Shut it, Germes. I fu-" "When will you stop calling me 'GERMES' and you read it exactly like germs. You little slug." "Whatever. I fucking hate you. Go rot in hell," Artemis hissed. Yeah, she's like this. Get used to it.

"There's no hell. In fact there's an Underworld. Get things straight," I snap.

"Will you two quit it? It's 11 and someone might hear us. I'll meet you inside, Artemis." Artemis immediately goes to their dorm.

"Thanks Hermes. Love you to death, bro," She beamed.

"How many times do I have to tell you that we're not siblings?" I imitate her. "Good night, sweet Athene," I whispered to her ear.

"Sweet dreams, Germes," She mumbles and went inside their dorm.

I never actually thought about liking Athena but I think I'm getting there.