Disclaimer: We own Greek Mythology, and actually have an apartment next to Olympus. We regularly party with the deities, drink their wine, eat their ambrosia and pretty much live it up...

Did I mention today is 'Lie In Your Disclaimer day'? :P

A/N: Immense apologies for the extremely tardy arrival of this chapter! Mystery-Immortal and I have just started post high-school studies this year, uni and the like...and it's been, well INCREDIBLY busy!

To top it off, I have been going through a creative writing dry spell, which may or may not show in this chapter :S

BY THE WAY:

For the purpose of this story's characters and plotline, Mystery-Immortal and I decided to use Hestia instead of Dionysus as an Olympian (Although mythology states she gave up her place to him, so she could guard the eternal flame). We hope you guys don't mind.

In no particular order, THANK YOU to...

Mystery-Immortal... For telling me when I'm too hard on myself :) You definitely gave me that initial boost when I started this chapter.

Ruby... For the endless role-plays, discussions and playlists...When it comes to this fic, you *sings* Never-miss-a-beat, never-miss-a-beat, never-miss-a...:P

Pretzel... For proving to be the inspiration for Calliope, in more ways than one. Thank you for hand-holding my sanity in the first few pages of paragraphs, it was just the guidance I needed.

African-Titan... For updating RID! You reminded me just why I love fan fiction so much, and how long it's been since I've been here!

Elegos-Sirinial-Shamtul... For that PM, which reminded me that y'all are still here, even if I haven't been.

And Ellen 26... Girl, your messages and reviews and proved to be such positive signs for me, at a time where all that was needed for the scales to be tipped. They were, and I got over my doubts and just sat down and wrote. Thank you so much!

Enough from me! Please enjoy!

Recap:

Olympus

"I can't believe you didn't do a head count! After I warned you!" one voice admonished, loudly.

"EEK…Zeus is gonna kill us…" said the first voice, quivering in terror.

"No, Calliope…" the second one said curtly "…Zeus is gonna kill you."

Greece

It irked Raine. Wasn't he the general catalyst for the whole thing in the first place? At least, for Ruby's side of the argument. And now, she was asking her not to 'drag him into this'? Rolling her eyes, Raine nodded an agreement in Ruby's direction, respecting her friend's wishes in spite of the fact that she knew nothing would be cleared up this way. Not for too long, anyway.

"Now," Raine began "Neither of you are going to talk. You are both going to remain as silent as one of these Lions, and pay attention. I don't want a single word out of either of you. Now, listen here…"

Chapter 9: Handling Mortals and Entering Portals

"So. If you two could be remotely civil, and possibly avoid crossing the proverbial borderline, we might all survive with our craniums intact, hm?" Raine suggested sharply, her focus flitting between the two females in front of her.

Sneaking a small glance at Ruby from the corner of her eye, Shaira saw the loathing in her eyes.

Unadulterated loathing.

As to what caused the loathing, besides the fact that it involved herself, Shaira wasn't sure.

If the fury streaming from Ruby's tawny irises were bottled, Australia would be deemed a country in possession of nuclear weapons…Or worse.

It was beyond infuriating now. Raine had sat them down, and ordered peace, or rather, civility, yet, neither of them had bothered to explain the initial cause of the 'argument'. Taking charge, Raine had brusquely admonished the pair, and demanded a truce of some form. A concept which irritated Shaira, as Raine, the most thorough person she knew, had some how sidestepped the part where she presented the cause of Ruby's animosity and Ruby concurred.

Raine surveyed the pair. She hadn't signed up to president the Peace Corps, but she wagered that would be a slightly less strenuous task. "I'm sure that an outsider may perceive this female tension as amusement, but let me assure you, this will not bode well with our friends, not to mention the teachers. Also, the fact that neither of you have granted me any form of assurance, invariably points to the fact that you are clearly not paying attention, rapt or otherwise."

"Yes, oh All-Knowing one," Shaira answered, a slight clench in her tone souring her melodious response. In return, she earned a sceptical glare from her intellectual friend.

Jumping up from her sitting position on low stone platform, Shaira sighed. "I meant it, Raine." She replied, acknowledging the question behind the glare. The brunette's stare paused disbelievingly on her Indian friend. The girl may have been a brilliant actress, but the situation, for her, was still too unclear for her to be telling the truth. Raine knew, that in her sudden burst of retaliatory behaviour, she hadn't noticed Ruby look pleadingly at Raine, silently begging her not to disclose the cause of the argument. She still found it foolish, Ruby's choice not to tell. Certainly, the red-head had her reasons, but at present, justification of anything seemed a lost art.

Thus, Ruby had the worst hand in the deck, and Raine, the dealer could tell…what with Ruby's inexperience at the game. Shaira, in the mean time, maintained a poker face, unaware that her cards were consistently better than Ruby's. And the game continued.

"Fine, Raine." Ruby said gravely, physically pouring every iota of energy into achieving the seemingly non-existent 'Zen'.

Raine's glance slid from the red-haired female to the Indian, and then reversed. Seemingly assuaged by their answers, at least temporarily, Raine happily relinquished the topic for the time being. Still, given that Ruby had begged Raine to withhold the real explanation; she knew an eruption would occur sometime in the imminent future.

"Alright, now, we are headed to the Temple of Apollo. Both of you follow me." Raine ordered, aware neither would argue at that point. Without waiting another second, she turned and began to make her way towards the temple, where she was aware the rest of their class would be waiting. It was frustrating…Being left behind.

Shaira followed in silence, a rare occurrence for the talkative female. Pushing her Chanel sunglasses back down onto her face, she strode confidently behind Raine. How any of it had been her fault, still wasn't clear. Surely it was something along the lines of provocation…There was a law for something like that, right? Not having undertaken Legal Studies at school, she was uncertain, but she knew that acting out of provocation was a real thing. Preferred? Perhaps not, but it definitely occurred.

Ruby's vitriol still emanated towards her like reverb, it persisted in reaching her long after their hateful music had faded. Just like how when Shaira danced on stage, the bass seeped into the skin, and virtually vibrated in her veins, racing through to her heart at a pace so violent it was immediate, there was no escaping it, it…Evidently, now, stuck in Greece with Ruby, there was no escaping this.

As she walked, even the unpleasant nature of what had occurred earlier couldn't diminish the spring in her step. Or perhaps it was because of the shoes themselves. The knee-high black gladiator sandals were most appropriately represented on her slender dancer's legs. Just thinking about them, Shaira felt a sudden accent on each stride. She remembered when she'd seen them in the window.

Somebody up there MUST have been thinking about her, when some incredibly prominent rays of light cascaded in the direction of shoes, just short of creating halo around the divine Italian leather. Then, naturally, they fit her like they'd been made specifically with her in mind. No, she did not suffer from the shoes, the way other girls may have…her legs were not awkwardly cut by their dangerous length, nor did they cut off circulation, if anything, it seemed like she enhanced them. There was no question…they were parfait.

And now, wearing them in Greece, with her red jumpsuit, felt even more appropriate. It was very much an 'heiress on holiday' look. Yes, at one of the early trip meetings the teachers had requested 'practical shoes', and had somehow managed an oddly coincidental glance in her direction, but it wasn't until that day that they looked at her shoes and merely sighed. Practical shoes! Well, they were practical, weren't they? They were flat, for crying out loud! Regardless of their opinions as to whether they were 'practical', Shaira had worn them anyway. It was irritating, other people always thinking they knew best.

Just because such shoes wouldn't have been practical for anyone else, didn't mean she couldn't handle it.

As they continued walking, Shaira found herself becoming increasingly pensive. Did Raine actually know why Ruby had snapped? The thought rewound itself before it had even formed…Of course she did! She was Raine, The All-Knowing, as the group had dubbed her long ago. The uncanny ability to just know, to provide the dates, times and rules to anything, right from the most obscure of historical events to changes in their school timetable…Raine managed to know it all.

So, if Raine knew, why was she keeping the truth from her? They'd always been sort of close, so why would she not just set the record straight. And if Raine was as intelligent as they all knew her to be, she must have had some strong reason for not telling her. Shaira wondered if that was what she really ought to be worried about.

Did Antonio know? He was no fool… Except for when he argued with her, of course.

Maybe he knew what was stinging Ruby. It wouldn't surprise Shaira, those two were strangely good friends and often had a lot of personal jokes, which they refused to explain to her. Hmmm, note-to-self…Ask Antonio why Ruby is now looking at me like I murdered her lover… Shaira mentally reminded herself, carefully avoiding Ruby's eyes.

"If to smoke you turn, I shall not cease to fiddle while you burn."… The random quote dangled unexpectedly in Shaira's mind. For a split second, the idea that such a line would ring so distinctly out of nothing at all, caught the performer off-guard. They weren't the lyrics to the aria from her most recent singing lesson, clearly…So, where had it come from? Then it hit her. They'd come across it in Ancient History, she remembered that much, when they were studying Roman Emperors…Although, she did remember taking more interest in Cleopatra, at the time.

Regardless, whoever had said it was long dead now, but somehow, they'd managed to caption the look on Ruby's face with peculiar accuracy. The tension between them continued contorting itself into something that would soon envelope them again, and Shaira sincerely hoped she'd find out what was eating Ruby before then.

"We are here." Raine announced crisply. Both Shaira and Ruby turned to face their classmates at the Temple of Apollo. It took a few seconds before the extreme oddity of the situation sunk in. Shaira gasped, to which Ruby, though equally puzzled, responded by pairing rolling eyes with a contemptuous snort. On a different level altogether, Raine's face remained unchanged. Either way, something was wrong…very wrong.

Their classmates were frozen.


"But I'm t-too young to…to…to… diiiiiiiiiiie!" Calliope's muffled sobs drenched Clio's sleeve, followed by a few incoherent but dramatic siren-like whines. Melpomene continued to glare with a vicious intensity.

"I'm too young, I tell ya!" Calliope shrieked insistently "I really, really, don't wanna go to Hades…it's dark and weird and…and…" immediately her words dissolved into wails.

"Oh shut it, Miss 'Epic One', Jeez, Apollo must have been drunk out of his mind when it came to assigning you…" Melpomene reprimanded, waving her arms about.

"Mel, is Zeus really gonna…gonna…" Calliope couldn't bring herself to say it, as she glanced up at the Muse of Tragedy, her eyes filed with a baby-like hope.

"Yes, he's going to send you to the Underworld, so you can snorkel in the River Styx and pick Asphodel Apples in the Asphodel FIELDS!" Melpomene snapped, but immediately found herself softening as she noted Calliope's genuine fear that she had rendered herself incompetent in the eyes of all. The quivering signature pout made it unmistakable. Sighing, Melpomene shook her head.

"No, fool, you're not going to die…It's besides the point that you physically can't…" Melpomene muttered, attempting to sound firm but slightly kind. The Muse of Epic Poetry stared at her like she'd just announced that she'd found Aphrodite's Girdle and had managed to alter its inalterable size, just to fit her. Ah, undiluted joy.

"That's RIGHT! I can't die… BOOYAH!" Calliope managed to execute a perfect version of the Running Man...A really enthusiastic Running Man.

All the while she shrieked chants of accomplishment, which managed to sound like poorly written Rap song for a motivational seminar "Uh huh…Tha's right…Who's not a fail-yah! Y'all know it! Yea-eah! Calliope's in da house…Ain't gonna bring me down, so turn yo' smile into a frown!"

"..He may, however, choose to severely punish you for all eternity, though… If there still is some form of eternity for them, after we get through all this, so don't get cocky." Melpomene finished sharply.

Calliope immediately stood to attention. "Yes, Sir! I mean, Ma'am… I mean, Sis…Uh…Your Most Tragedy-ness?" Desperation painted its comical caricature upon her most suitable visage.

"No, Just…" Melpomene paused, grimacing, holding up a soft hand to accentuate her negation "Just…no."

A button-shaped pout on Calliope's lips slowly spread into a smile that was both bashful and cheeky, which immediately set off warning bells in Melpomene's head.

Melpomene opened her mouth to protest. "No…NO, N—"

She was cut off as her sister leapt onto her with an incredible force, crushing her with a sizeable hug. The other Muses gathered around, briefly taking their eyes off of the sleeping mortals, to witness the sudden display of sibling affection.

Somehow managing to writhe herself out of Calliope's bone-crushing hug, which, not surprisingly, was epically difficult, Melpomene took a few steps backwards.

"I. Don't. Do. Hugs." Melpomene semi-growled, slightly puffed from wrestling herself out of Calliope's sisterly embrace. Calliope grinned the way Ares did when he re-watched the Battle of Marathon. Smugly triumphant, she crossed her arms and smiled at her sister.

"You'll be converted yet!" Calliope proclaimed.

"Zeus save me," Melpomene murmured under her breath.

"Not to interrupt or anything, Melpomene, but…" Euterpe, Muse of Music, spoke up, her child-like voice quivering like leaves in the breeze.

Summoning the effort to speak gently to her highly sensitive little sister, Melpomene paused a few moments before she even turned to acknowledge her presence. Calliope came and stood by the Muse of Tragedy.

"Yes, Euterpe?" Melpomene pressed carefully.

Euterpe merely pointed towards the mortals lying on the marble, the whirls of mist gently curving in and around their bodies.

"What about them?" Melpomene asked, though she felt foolish for doing so. She certainly was aware they were there and also that they were short three of them, but deciphering Euterpe's simple action was frustratingly difficult.

"They are waking up," Euterpe whispered, like she was repeating forbidden words "That one over there—" she pointed to blonde female with a scowl on her face, and shivered involuntarily "she's been awake for awhile, and I'm guessing she's not too happy…"

Melpomene sighed. The mortals had been lulled into deep sleep shortly after they arrived, after Euterpe had played a sweet lullaby on her lyre. The move was strategic, it meant that it would rejuvenate their human bodies from the side effect of the portals, as well as buy the Muses some time as they attempted to solve the situation of the missing three. They couldn't very well explain everything to the present nine, contact the God's, wherever they may be, and orchestrate the power transference while three were missing.

It had been a desperate hope on the Muses part, that they would find the missing three before they attempted to contact Hephaestus, which they knew was becoming increasingly risky. Urania had been trying, studying the stars and alignment and whatever weird stuff she was good at (Melpomene was ashamed to admit she never quite understood Urania's tracking powers…Using the stars during daylight? Too strange) but for some reason, the missing three were still not at the Temple of Apollo, as they were expected to be…and as the others had been.

Now the false slumber was wearing off, and they were going to have to deal with them. Certainly, Euterpe could lull them back to sleep, but Melpomene had decided they would be wary of wasting power…If the Gods were in danger, well, they certainly couldn't be more invincible, to whatever threat was out there, regardless of whether it was after them or not.

Folding her lips inwards, Melpomene took breathed in deeply through her nostrils; her exhale marking the finale of her racing contemplations. The rest of her sisters gathered around, shedding glances in the direction of the mortals, who were now squirming slightly, as though fighting off the weight of their sleep.

"Well, it looks like we're going to have to do things in a new order, girls…We're going to have to tell these kids what's going on, then—" Calliope paused to take a deep breath "—contact the Gods, and ask them how to bring the other three here, since we can't locate them…Then once they bring them here, or advise us on how to do that, we contact them again, explain the situation to the mortals, conduct the power transference, and then hot foot it back to Olympus a la Ancient Times!"

Pleased, and surprised, that Calliope had managed to pinpoint their exact route of deeds, Melpomene nodded vigorously. "It may be the only way, I mean, we're still in Modern Times…Modern Olympus, and ironically, time will out run for us to go back in time, because each second we are here, we reduce the twelve days they have to complete whatever it is that awaits them."

The Muses nodded in solemn unison. Calliope continued nodding along slowly, her eyes closed in agreement as she raised a finger, hoping to add to Melpomene's point. Her eyes popped open, as she retracted her raised finger. A look of puzzlement shaped her countenance.

"Twelve days? Are you sure…" Calliope asked, supremely worried that that was a ludicrously short amount of time.

Melpomene rolled her eyes. "Yes, remember…It was in the fine print, you read it, at the temple…Didn't you?"

Calliope smiled sheepishly. "Well, I-uh…couldn't actually find it on the page, I just pretended, because we had to hurry up with the mortals…"

Before she could finish, Melpomene whipped The Prophecy scroll out of her belt, allowing itself to unroll in front of Calliope. Placing a magnifying glass at the bottom of the page, she waited for her sister to read the print she'd previously neglected.

"Ok, let's see, what does it say…Asterisk…Oh, haha, I get it—" Calliope ceased with the giggles before Melpomene could snap, and quickly cleared her throat to keep reading "…*They have exactly twelve days to complete the job…Authorized by the Delphic Oracle, Delphi…Weeeeeell, isn't that just peachy!"

Melpomene tugged at the top of the scroll, so it rolled up immediately, skimming the end of Calliope's nose in the process.

"Excuse me," said a polite voice, not belonging to any of the Muses.

The sisters turned to face the mortal. She wasn't particularly tall, but she had the lean physique of a diligent athlete, as well as short mahogany hair.

"Yes, dear?" Terpsichore, Thalia and Polyhymnia chorused. The girl didn't appear to recoil at their startling unison, but a certain flash of curiosity patented itself in her eyes.

"Um, well, this is gonna be an odd question…Especially, if I'm where I think I am…'Cause if I AM where I think am, then I normally wouldn't be able to do this. Um, anyway…Am I dreaming?" The girl seemed genuinely unsure, as she glanced at each of the Muses, awaiting an answer. The Muses shared a few nervous glances of their own.

Calliope, who had a way with children and teenagers, stepped forward. She placed an arm around the confused, albeit rightly confused, girl.

"What's your name, honey?" she asked sweetly.

"Lana…" she replied, her voice sliding up a chromatic scale as though she were questioning the authenticity of her own name.

"Well, Lana, I'm not gonna lie to you…" Calliope began "You happen to be on present day Mount Olympus, home of the Greek Olympian Gods…I know the décor's dreary right now, but all will be explained, er, later."

Lana blinked, like a night owl, her head unmoving. "Gotcha…I am dreaming…Wow…This must be of those 'Out-of-Body' dream-things. I've heard about those, never actually had one…"

Melpomene rubbed her temple, furiously hoping it magically give birth to some brilliant idea, but nothing came. Those kids were never going to believe them. They were all going to imagine they were in some giant 'Out-of-Body' dream. Then again, Melpomene knew that the truth sounded so preposterous, she couldn't blame them.

"Lana, you're not in an Out-of-Body dream, you actually are at present day Mount Olympus, as are your peers," Melpomene said, gesturing towards her stirring friends "and you are here for a very grave reason, which we will soon explain."

Lana laughed. "Yeah, suuuuuuuure…Well, I guess, in a dream, anything goes!"

"How about you go and wake up your friends and I prove to you that you are indeed in present day Olympus?" Melpomene suggested, finding it difficult to keep the challenging tone from her voice, but she sensed that mortal could take it.

Funny things they were, mortals. Melpomene only ever dealt with playwrights, performers, artists and such…They were usually so deluded in angst, that they welcomed the inspiration for tales of tragedy. Ordinary mortals on the other hand, non-artists, were a different story.

The teenager grinned haughtily. "Ok!" she replied, as she sprinted over towards her friends and began shaking each one with a dynamism that had been successfully betrayed by her size.

Elapsing into a discussion, the Muses cast brief looks over at Lana, as she continued to wake each one. Two of the males immediately rolled over and fell back asleep, with only so much as a protesting arm as a further sign of action. All the girls awoke however, and the blonde one looked particularly alive. Eventually, after much jumping and shaking on Lana's part, and seemingly, some threatening on the part of the blonde, the males awoke.

"So, tell them what you told me," Piped up an insistent voice.

"Goodness, Lana…you're fast," Melpomene said, turning to face the girl, standing in front of her dazed friends.

"Well," Calliope began, trying desperately to avoid looking at Ares like-mind for fear of inarticulate behaviour "You nine teenagers and your three missing friends are, uh, like-minds to each of the Gods and Goddesses of Olympus. You're all here because there is some kinda funky threat looming; well, not funky, more like…Evil, but you get the idea? Anyway, we are the Muses, the nine daughters of Zeus, the enchantresses of inspiration, you could say, as we are, as our title suggests, Muses! To the artists of the world!

"So! To get back on track…The Gods have had to flee because of this threat, which, as the name Threat would suggest, threatens to destroy their existence…and an existence without them, and GAH, us…like, an existence where we never existed, you know like, not that we just, POOF, disappear, but that we ACTUALLY never EXISTED to begin with, where humans never knew of us…

"Well, the very history of the world would alter and the future as you know it…May or, EEK, may not end up existing, if the Gods don't! So, you guys are gonna be like temporary Gods, go back in time, defeat The Threat and rid the world of this evil. Then the Gods can come home, peace can be restored and the world as we know it won't be destroyed! Everybody claps! Whoo hoo!" Calliope found herself clapping in solitary, and hid her arms behind her back immediately afterwards.

A silence, which was neither stunned nor indifferent, passed over the occupants of Olympus. None of the adolescents spoke, none of them smiled. None of them showed any sign of emotion at all, probably still affected by lyre-induced sleep.

Then the like-mind of Ares spoke up. "You're right Lan', we are dreaming…"

"No, but I might be…" Calliope sang dreamily, unable to stop herself from staring this time.

Melpomene shook her head. "Look, I know there is hardly any way we can make you believe us, at least, not until we transfer their powers…Then you'll see for yourself, but how about we contact Zeus himself?"

"Sure, try that." the blonde one replied with sour tilt of her head. That one's Hera's…No doubt about it, Melpomene thought, as she pulled out the gold disk. Rubbing its surface reverentially, she waited for Hephaestus' face to appear.

"Melpomene! You know all contact is risky…Please tell me it's a matter of mortal life and death that you've contacted me before I put you through to Zeus." said a nervous Hephaestus, as his face materialized on the disk. In the background, Melpomene heard Aphrodite and Ares arguing…Something about a nymph. Quickly subtracting herself from the sudden distraction, she responded, "Please, Heph'…We've got a Titan-sized issue…You've gotta put me through to Zeus."

"Not until you tell me the problem is," He replied in a matter-of-fact voice. Calliope looked over the adolescents, and noticed a curious expression on the shy blond male's face, upon hearing Hephaestus' voice.

"We're missing three of the mortals and we can't find them!" she blurted out.

Hephaestus' eyes widened. "Hold on, I'll put you on loud speaker…and vice versa."

Melpomene felt her gut clench at the terror of actually preparing to her Zeus' booming voice, and knew all her sisters felt the same. Normally not on the receiving end of one of Zeus' lectures, Melpomene was especially worried.

"Yes, Melpomene," resounded Zeus' gravelly voice, even in his lowered tones it managed to echo around Olympus. The teenagers began to look increasingly startled of their 'dream'. Disbelief became increasingly difficult upon hearing the voice of a God…A certain sense was faith is instilled, whether it followed willingly was another story. The spiky-haired male, the one who wasn't actually a student, seemed particularly shocked upon hearing Zeus' voice.

"Uh, the situation is, and please don't be mad…It's really not our fault, something went wrong in the location calculations…But three of the mortals didn't show up at the temple as expected. The others were all there, and have all arrived here safely—"

"You left three mortals BEHIND!" Zeus barked his voice like a ferocious clap of thunder on the stormiest sea. Melpomene glared at Calliope.

"Uh, it was my fault…I forgot to do the head count before we left…but, uh, nine out of twelve, not bad, right?" Calliope rushed in, finishing on a hopeful note.

There was a pause on the end of the line. The mortals seemed slightly worried now, but Melpomene didn't have time to decipher their expressions.

"Calliope, dear," Zeus began tightly "That was a most foolish act, or non-act, on your part. It has forced you to contact us, through a connection we cannot deem completely safe…There is always a chance that whatever threat is out there, could tap into it and find out our place of hiding! Like one of those 21st century computer viruses! Bloody Microsoft Windows!"

"Uh, we're sorry…Really sorry, but right now, all that is important is getting these mortals—" Calliope looked over at the adolescents "—to believe us, and bring the three that are missing,"

"Look girls I— Oh, Hera, wants to talk to you, hold on…" Zeus trailed off, muttering under his breath as Hera became the prominent voice on the end of the connection.

"Alright, this is a task most fraught with risk, as Athena has just confirmed for me…Forcing us to use our powers while in hiding, well, who knows what kind of traces we may leave for the Threat?" Hera stated brusquely, and the Muses immediately felt like inadequate beings. Melpomene afforded the mortals a quick look, and noticed the blonde, the one she'd deemed Hera's like-mind, look suddenly jolted.

"We can locate the missing mortals, and then you must guide them towards the Temple. From there, we can open a portal in Apollo's temple, but we cannot force the mortals through...Making any power connections to the humans themselves, before transference, could prove dangerous, make them marked beings, easy targets for the Threat. After all, if the Threat is after our powers, among many things, any sense that we are using them, before transference, is extra dangerous. Thus, unfortunately, the portal may open, but we cannot force them through."

Each of the Muses exchanged fearful glances. What good was opening the portal if there was no chance of knowing that the mortals would go through it? Suddenly, the sounds of a musical voice intermingled with the sharp tones of Hera, in an argumentative tango. "Fine." Hera finally said "Girls, Aphrodite wants to talk to you."

"Muses…And Mortals," Aphrodite began smoothly, suddenly her voice changed "Mortals, I hope you're feeling well, hmmm? Girls…Boys?"

Melpomene rolled her eyes after noticing an insanely interested gleam enter each of the males' eyes. "Cool it, Aphrodite," Melpomene said sharply, aware that the Goddess of Love and Beauty hadn't even started. Thus, a warning was duly required.

"Look, girls," Aphrodite recommenced, a slight shrewdness enveloping her lilting words "Through this connection, I can tell that my like-mind is one of the missing three. Well, if that is the case, unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, you needn't worry…They will reach, as expected."

The Muses were stunned. "What do you mean? How can you guarantee such a thing?" Melpomene asked, almost indignant, although she hoped desperately Aphrodite was right.

"Simple," Aphrodite chimed, the sound of her voice indicating a satisfied smile on the other end of the line "If she's anything like me, then she will have an insatiable curiosity, especially for eavesdropping, but I digress… The portal will open, and she will simply want to know what it is, and they will all there be pulled in before you can say 'Ares slept with that slut of a wood nymph'!"

"Oh, no-he-DI'NT!" gasped Erato, always a fan of Aphrodite's gossip.

"I didn't!" resounded Ares' protest, some distance away from their contact disk.

"Oh puh-lease, you were all over her leaves, and right in front of me, don't even deny it!" Aphrodite shrieked in return, before switching to a more dulcet voice "So, don't panic darlings, she, my beautiful like-mind, will fix your misdemeanour through being her fabulous self! Ta ta! Now, Ares…" Aphrodite's voice trailed off, as she went to rant at the War God, so they could indulge in a vocal war of their own. Somehow the fact that she was married had once again slipped her notice.

It was only when she disappeared, that the boys' subterranean mentalities managed to rise back into a state of sobriety. The blonde like-mind of Hera, gave a glare deadlier than poison at the like-mind of Zeus, who stared at her with a typically clueless face. The kind that suggested that hormones conveniently forgotten they ever existed. She then proceeded to give him a stinging smack in the arm, swatting him as though it were reflexive, habitual even.

"What?" he said, confused, looking at the girl that slapped him.

"It will be much worse next time, I promise." The blonde said tightly.

This lot are definitely Zeus' and Hera's…and we've established Ares'…thanks to Calliope, so here's hoping Aphrodite's is as curious as she claims! Melpomene thought.

"Hephaestus has informed me that the portal will be opened shortly." Interrupted the stern voice of Hera "Now listen girls, here is what I've decided. It wouldn't be the most desired, but it is perhaps the safest way handling things. In order to avoid too many power transactions, we are going to keep an eye on the mortals as they pass through the portal. The second that they do, we are all going to transfer our powers to each of them, and seal up the portal simultaneously, understood?"

"Yes, Your Majesty," The Muses chorused obediently.

"Good. Now I'm going to sever this connection, and watch for the teenagers in the Temple. You, must all watch for the portal opening in Olympus, so you can close that the second the mortals come through, am I clear?"

"Yes, Your Majesty," The Muse repeated, this time joined by the mortals.

If Hera was surprised by the sudden response of the mortals, she did not make it known "I bid you good luck."

With that, the connection was gone, and the mortals and Muses stood in a silence similar to the previously shared one. Calliope wasn't sure, but it appeared to her that mortals were making connections themselves. Certainly, they were unsure, but no longer disbelieving, that was the biggest hurdle gone. Throughout the conversation with Hephaestus, Zeus, and Hera, the looks on the respective like-minds' faces was unmistakable. Perhaps they did not yet understand what they felt, or what was happening, but they definitely felt something. Now it was a matter of making sure their minds matched their feelings.

"Now, do you believe me?" Melpomene inquired, looking directly at Lana, who glanced upwards as she tilted her head from side to side in mock consideration. Hopefully, the fact that when she looked up, she would see a marvellous palatial ceiling that was actually translucent (which Hephaestus designed it so the Gods would feel limitless sky above them, but a sense of definition that they were at the very top) might tip the scale in Melpomene's favour.

"Maybe," Lana conceded slowly, looking at her peers, who also appeared to be nodding slightly.

"Well, all," began Calliope "just keep an eye on that pillar, that's where our main portal appears…It has express connections to all the major temples."

The teenagers nodded a little more forcefully this time. Calliope breathed a sigh of relief, she had a feeling they were slowly coming around. Now, if only the other mortals would come around…

"Be warned," Melpomene commenced gravely "The second your friends pass through the portal, you will all experience a feeling of intense lightness. It will feel like you are all weightless, floating beings and that is normal…That is the power of each God and Goddess being transferred into each of you. Explanations and Lesson: Power 101, will be a little later."

"Gotcha," Lana replied, finding herself oddly convinced, yet aware that she shouldn't be. It was all just a very, very…VERY vivid dream, right?

"Also," added Melpomene "Try to avoid getting overtly emotional in any way, when your friends pass through, whether it's a strong influx of anger, excitement, fear…Whatever it may be, because, that's when your powers are transferred and a sudden reaction during the change, and for awhile afterwards, will result in uncontrollable forces of power. WHICH, we cannot afford. So please, keep the emotions in check."

That would be an immense task, Melpomene decided. Mortals, especially adolescent mortals, from her many nights of human-watching with her sisters, knew that they were prone to strong onsets of sudden emotions. Regardless of country and time period, Melpomene's mortal-watching had always shown this common thread, linking teenagers around the world and through time. Why would this time be any different?

Turning to join her sisters and the teenagers in awaiting the portal, Melpomene shifted her focus to the pillar.

Zeus help us all… She prayed silently, meaning it.


"They. Aren't. Moving." Shaira whispered, as they walked amongst their classmates. Each of the students and teachers had become frozen replicas of themselves, creating a highly unnerving installation of familiar mannequins.

"No shit, Sherlock," Ruby answered, but even she couldn't hide the shock in her voice.

Both girls glanced at Raine, who hadn't spoken since they'd arrived at the Temple of Apollo. Immediately, they could tell that none of their group were there, which instantly tied a knot in Shaira's stomach.

The temple was ordinary enough, and perhaps a bit of a let down. But amongst the broken stone columns and grass, she could hardly think about architecture at a time where their fellow Mortonia Heights students were stuck mid-movement. Meandering around the class, Shaira wondered if she was the only one feeling chills from the disturbing scene in front of them. Never a fan of horror movies, a waste of money in her opinion, Shaira was sure that something like this, but perhaps at night, wouldn't be out of place in a cinematic thriller. Only, it was real.

The idea that it was some weird prank did cross her mind, but there was no way they were all skilled enough in posing, and well, not breathing, that it could be that. Then, after it struck her that no one was actually breathing, let alone moving or blinking, she'd screamed. Ruby made no attempt had hiding her disgust, but she did dilute it, perhaps out of joint fear or confusion.

Shaira paused in front of Amber. She was standing in a mid-conversational pose. Her eyes were upwards, clearly in the middle of an apathetic roll, while both hands were in front of her, fingers splayed virtually into a jazz hand position, but as though they were about clap to emphasise a point in a scandalous tale. Her tinted eyelashes were heavily laced with mascara, furthering the falsity radiating from her very being.

The golden-blonde mane, which not so long ago had been dyed dark chocolate, was long and glossy, at first glance. At a closer inspection, the sheen coating the hair was clearly chemical had a lack-lustre appeal to it, possibly due to the constant drenching in dyes. Although, the lower layers of hair had an unusually extreme shine to them, almost like plastic. The fake tan, was as its name suggested, fake, and looked it too. Yet, it remained a constant in Amber's 'beauty' regime.

Shaira liked to think the attempt in hair and skin colour change were all a part of her pathetic conspiracy to look more like Shaira, that they were somehow all a part of her stupid efforts to win Antonio, and more or less all of Shaira's respect from their peers. She even tried to steal her mind, in some ways.

For last year's persuasive speech in English, the overall topic had been 'Social Awareness'. Shaira had spoken about the detriment of counterfeit fashion to the fashion industry…as had Amber, who'd very clearly given Miss. Halliwell her chosen topic after Shaira. Regardless, whatever she had been playing at, it hadn't work, with Shaira taking an A+ and Amber a lukewarm response with a B+. The victory had been particularly sweet that day. She'd not only achieved for herself, but she'd beaten Amber and proved her worth to anyone else, who'd give her a glance and immediately dismiss her as an unintelligent performing princess. Apparently, it shocked some people to know that she was actually extremely competent in English. She had no idea that some people were so closeted in their judgements.

Hmph…Always doubting me…That bitch, she thought, mentally spitting the words. But the frustration wasn't purely aimed at Amber. She'd been through people dismissing her intellect before. Like now, with Ruby and maybe even Raine, assuming she wasn't competent enough to understand the truth behind their explosive argument.

No one tells me anything, she decided stubbornly, then went back to scrutinising her blonde rival.

Glancing at Amber, right in her upwardly staring eyes, Shaira circled her nemesis. Then, her eyes fell on the long waves of blonde tumbling down her back. Wait a minute…The Indian girl paused. Quickly, she looked from side to side, before turning her attention back to Amber's hair. Carefully, lifting one of the lower layers of hair, Shaira found herself gasping silently with excitement.

I knew it! I knew! These are synthetic…Haha, the skank wears extensions…Really, you'd think she could afford better ones at least, she rejoiced in the confirmation of one of her long unresolved theories. Partially ashamed she even had a theory regarding the hair of her enemy; she still couldn't deny that she was pleased to discover that some of it was fake…like her personality.

Just then, Shaira noticed an odd light coming from face of a broken column in the distance. It was doubtful that it was really anything spectacular, most likely just the way the sun was hitting the surface or something. Then again, it wasn't a reflective surface, so how could it appear as though the origin of the light was coming from inside it?

"Raine…Ruby…Check this out!" Shaira called, skipping towards the column, throwing an impromptu jeté in. It was important to stay in practice after all. On the odd occasion, she was guilty of cha-cha-ing the supermarket aisles, and singing in dressing rooms of shops. No one ever seemed to mind too much though.

Ruby cringed. "Raine, should we, really?"

Raine seemed to consider the idea for a moment, but glancing over at Shaira who continued to beckon them as she headed to the pillar in the distance.

"You know her. She always dances before she thinks, but…" Raine paused, an odd feeling overcoming her "…perhaps we should."

Yeah, she has a knack for dancing through life, Ruby thought cynically.

Not one to argue with Raine, she followed the intellectual girl towards the broken pillar. Shaira had paused in her place, waiting for them to catch up before she headed over to pillar, where light seemed to be radiating like a halo around the circumference of the column face.

Having reached the Indian girl, the three females walked together, until they reached the shining beacon.

"Wow." Shaira said, breathless in awe, reaching a hand to touch the shining surface.

Raine opened her mouth to speak "Shaira, that might not be advi—"

Before the brunette could finish, she felt herself, and her friends become in engulfed in the very light that had entranced them.


"Look…Look!" Euterpe's petite soprano voice squealed, as she waved excitedly at the main pillar. Sure enough, a circular burst of marigold light opened as though it were trying to rival Apollo's sun. Three figures seemed to come through, two walked through shakily; the other seemed a little disorientated but managed to look mildly graceful at the same time.

Melpomene pointed at Calliope and Urania, and the pointed at the mortals coming through the portal. Immediately, Calliope and Urania ran towards the three dazed girls that had just passed through. But they wouldn't remain dazed. Not for very long.

Melpomene and the rest of the Muses ran to rest of the mortals, aware that the power transference would occur at that very moment, and it did.

It was in their faces, in their body language. The effect was oddly lyrical, as an invisible weight seemed to stem from each of their bodies and join, uniting each of the teenagers in a way they never would have experienced. Their eyes were mixing palettes of awe, delirium and most importantly…belief. Change was occurring, and they knew it.

Quickly, looking over at the three females who'd just come through the portal, to complete the twelve, Melpomene noticed the same change in them. But given they had no prior understanding of the change that was occurring; their faces read like maps of fear, connecting their emotional route in their body to their visage. It missed nothing.

Then, just as quickly as it had happened, the weight in the room faded away like it never existed, and the sense of peace was oddly unnerving. The Muses continued to wait for something further to occur, but it seemed like the transference was over. Sharing a communal sigh of relief, the Muses turned to the mortals.

The one who was clearly a like-mind of Aphrodite immediately saw her 'Ares', and somehow, managed to perform a poetic leap into his arms from a good twenty feet away. Was it the first sign of their newly transferred powers? The Muses weren't sure.

Calliope stood with the red-haired mortal and a brunette with a long plait down her back, while she watched from their distance, twenty feet away. She looked over at the crowd of mortals further in front of them, suddenly noting the extreme sadness masking the quiet blond male as he simply stood there, right next to like-minds of Aphrodite and Ares.

Wiping a bead of sweat from her forehead, Calliope fanned herself with her hands. When did it get so hot on Olympus? It was like she was standing next one of those mortal inventions known as a 'radiator'. She'd watched one foolish mortal in the eighties; accidentally sit on one, achieving nothing but a burn on her backside. The post-reaction to that had been so hysterical; she'd invited Hermes, who felt particularly underappreciated that day, to re-watch it with her. All they'd ended up doing that day was rewinding and re-watching that human, and collapsing into laughter every time. Dionysus, an honorary and non-resident Olympian, had dropped by with his latest wine-making experiments. Drinking that had probably helped.

Ahh, good times…Holy Gaia, it sure is BOILING…Calliope mentally murmured, I'm pretty sure it was just fine a moment ago…

Suddenly one of the mortal females, standing beside her spoke up in a voice that sounded like it didn't know how to panic, but was trying. "Ruby, No!" she called out.

Then, before Calliope could understand anything that was happening, she found herself pulled to the side at an inhuman speed, by the mortal with the plait, suddenly removing the Muse from the source of the heat.

In doing that, they both narrowly dodged an enormous sphere of raging fire…

Flying in the direction of Aphrodite's like-mind.


Soooooo, I hope you all enjoyed that :) Reviews are welcome…like rain to the desert, stars to the sky, choc chips to the cookie, flowers to the garden…ok, these pathetic similes are getting me nowhere…I'll be straight like vodka ;)…Guess, I had one more simile left, lol anywhooooooo…

Please review!

XOXO

Dazzeling Diamond

P.S. There is a banner that I designed for the story, on our profile page (thanks to Mystery-Immortal for helping me source the pics). It took some time, some severe photo-shopping, but it's done…Love to know your thoughts :)