It wasn't too hard for Chang'e's label to get her gig performing in Central Park. They had already booked one of their other major up-and-coming artists there, and all it took was some shuffling around in order to make her fit. When they found out that she was able to get Bragi to join her as her opening act they were even more thrilled. The park was a hive of activity as workers assembled the stage for her. She had been clear that she didn't need anything fancy, as long as they were in a spot large enough to fit her fans. The only request she and Bragi had was a bundle of backstage passes for their friends.

The two gods sat with Blaine and Sam in a nearby trailer as they watched everything come together through the window. A trio of jade rabbits hopped around their feet, occasionally thudding against the trailer wall. "Amazing," Blaine said in awe as he leaned back in his lawn chair. "Would you have though five years ago that you'd be performing in Central Park?" he asked his fiancee.

Bragi smiled. "There are a lot of things I thought I'd never be doing five years ago." He held a pad of paper in his hand and was absentmindedly writing things down. Blaine figured it was some kind of power ballade that he was composing for the show. Or maybe for fun. He wasn't sure if any of Bragi's songs had any real words in them, or at least words that people could identify.

Sam was sipping on a complementary mimosa that the show's promoter had offered him. "I can't believe that both of us have made out with gods," he said with a smirk. Blaine gave him a look. "What? It's true. I mean, okay, I only made out with 'Cedes before she ascended, but it counts, right?"

Chang'e giggled. "Sam, I think that makes you some kind of Recurrence hipster."

Bragi smiled. "Ah, yes, you knew the gods before they were cool."

Blaine shrugged. "Well, we know two of them. Who knows who the other ones will be." He absently scratched his chin. "Though we haven't heard about a new one for a few days now."

"They might just be hiding," Chang'e offered. "I mean, she never said that we had to burst onto the scene immediately." Bragi shot her a look.

This caught Blaine's attention. "Who's 'she'?"

Bragi shook his head. "No, just forget about it."

"Forget about what?"

"I don't think we're supposed to talk about it."

Blaine frowned. He and Bragi had been doing so well lately, dealing with his divinity and everything. Now all of a sudden he had lost all of his previous mirth and looked more dire than ever. "Bragi, what aren't you allowed to tell me?"

Sam put a hand on Blaine's shoulder. "Dude, chill. It's just god club."

He looked to his friend. "Huh?"

"God club. You know, they've obviously got their own stuff. First rule about god club is you don't talk about god club."

"Besides Blaine," Bragi added, "if I thought you needed to know about it then I'd tell you. But it's better that we drop it."

Chang'e nodded. "He's right, I shouldn't have said anything in the first place."

Blaine let out a slow breath. "Okay."

"What we're saying, though," Bragi continued, "is that maybe somebody is becoming a god right now."


"You are of the Pantheon. You will be loved. You will be hated. You will be brilliant. Within two years, you will be dead.

"You are the final messenger. Angel of light. Of communication. Of revelation."

"We meet again, Gabriel," said Ananke. "I've missed you."


"Then they'll probably just wait a bit to announce themselves in a cool and fun way."

Sam smiled. "Oh, you know who'd be a cool god to have show up? Zeus. Get all his lightning bolts all over the place.

Blaine frowned. "Oh, ew, no. Zeus would do nothing but have sex with everything and be a terrible father."

Chang'e nodded. "Yeah, Sam, you should probably look up the old myths before you make suggestions like that."

Sam pouted. "But...but he was so cool in Hercules..."

"Personally, I wanna see Artemis or one of the other moon goddesses," Chang'e said. "Get some moon squad action going on."

Blaine nodded. "Huh. I always liked the Egyptian gods as a kid." He snickered. "I guess that's what a childhood of Yu-Gi-Oh and Mummy's Alive will do to a person. But Anubis would be cool." He turned to Bragi. "What about you? Who would you like to see show up?"

Bragi shook his head. "Oh, I shouldn't answer that. I know too many of them."

"How many?"

Bragi looked right into Blaine's eyes. "All of them. All their stories, all their myths, all their legends." He sighed. "That's why I've been writing. I've got way too many stories in my head to keep it clear. I have to get them out." He blinked, as if he had forgotten that he was writing something until he actually acknowledged it out loud. He looked down at the pad and scanned his eyes over the pages. "I think I just rewrote the entire story of Pandora's Box from memory."

"Ooh, let me see!" Sam said as he reached for it. "That one's my fav!"

Blaine stood up. "I'm gonna stretch my legs," he said as he walked away. He grabbed his coat as he stepped into the chill January air. There was another rabbit outside (Mercedes really needed to keep track of those) casually nibbling on the grass poking through the snow. He wondered if they needed to eat. Did they even have organs? Tiny little jade hearts pumping streams of dust through tiny veins? Blaine wondered how long it would be until somebody from the scientific community asked Chang'e to donate one for dissection.

He didn't like not knowing what was going on. Lack of communication was what tore him and Kurt apart so many times before, and now that he had become a god of speaking Blaine thought that maybe those troubles were over. Still, Bragi thought that it wasn't important, and Blaine trusted his judgement that much.

Ugh. The last thing he wanted to do was become like Rachel and mope in the bathroom for a week.

His phone buzzed with several alerts. Tina had just arrived in New York. Mike was on his way from L.A. to do the same. The rest of the alumni were finding spots in their schedules to find ways to the city, like so many others flocking to see the latest pantheon. And he had a new twitter follower - somebody named Gabriel, who's avatar was just a picture of a trumpet.

Blaine texted Tina, telling her to go straight to the Bushwick apartment and he'd meet her there, plus Artie and Quinn should be there all day. He then shot Kurt a message for where he was going, promising that he'd be back in time for the concert the next night. Snow had started falling, but it wasn't too cold out. He figured he could walk from here.


People across the globe swarmed into the airport. Most of them were under twenty five. Tina figured that rockstar gods were more appealing to the youth than the elders. She knew for a fact that she would have come to New York even if her friends hadn't joined the ranks of the Pantheon, but she didn't tell anybody this - it just seemed so impersonal.

She was one of many who had been enraptured by the performances she saw. She heard stories from those who were their live about how they felt so fulfilled with meaning that they nearly burst. She wanted to experience that for herself. She wanted to feel revelation. First she wanted to get away from the crowd, who were loud and obnoxious and in need of a shower.

She slipped down an empty hallway in the hopes that it was a shortcut to the exit. She didn't stop to think that it was empty for a reason, and she didn't fully acknowledge the tape that had been torn down indicating that the area was under construction. Really, she didn't notice until her foot stepped onto broken and jackhammered tile that maybe she'd taken a wrong turn. She sighed. "Ugh, classic Tina." She kicked a tile for emphasis, turned -

- and saw a woman. She was draped in a black cloak, a matching veil over her eyes, but it was lacey enough that she could still see them. Were they...purple? Had she followed -

- falling. Burning. Glowing. Ancient power surrounded her and filled her.

"You are of the Pantheon. You will be loved. You will be hated. You will be brilliant. Within two years, you will be dead.

"You are the morning star. Goddess of the sun. Of protection. Of of exorcism."

"We meet again, Zorja Utrennjaja," said Ananke. "I've missed you."

Zorja rose from the crater she was kneeling in, marvelling at the pale gold skirt and scarf wrapped around her. Tattoos of stars ran up her arms to her shoulders, and she could feel them meeting across her shoulder blades. She could also feel the gold paint covering the top of her face, and the streaks of it running through her hair. She could also feel the sun, so far away, peeking through the clouds, and she thought that maybe it could feel her.

"I'm number three?" she asked carefully. She remembered so much now. Ananke. Yes, they had met before. Many times. She (Zorja) had been here many times, but she was still Tina. It was all very funny feeling, but a good kind. Like a fizzy lifting drink.

"Number four," Ananke replied as she took Zorja's hands. "Gabriel wants to take a different approach, but I'm sure we'll all be hearing from him soon."

Zorja nodded. "There are others here, I think." She looked to the side. In front of her was a wall, but beyond that, where the sun was shining, there was so much.

"Yes. And more are coming."


Author's Note: Two gods in one chapter! Wow! Fun fact: Tina's god has changed like twelve times. At times she was Sedna, sometimes she was Hestia, I think I think I had her as Shiva at some point. But I finally settled. As for Gabriel's identity, well...it is a mystery. But you can probably guess it.