Chapter 52 (It's a long one lol)
I wake close to noon but it's really no surprise as I was up until after three in the morning. I get up and dressed for the day as I think about how exactly I'm going to approach Warren about Olympus. I've been with Warren almost a year now and any time it had been brought up he became defensive and either shut down or found a way to change the subject. Which being apart of the family I am isn't all that strange to me, for no one liked talking about their past less than my father, but with Warren it was different. Dad doesn't like talking about his past because it's too painful for him and he is also afraid of losing the people he loves because of the thing's he'd done. Warren also seemed afraid but not for the same reason. No it was something else. He didn't seem scared of me finding out something... no the look in his eye's told me he was afraid for me, as if the information would place me in danger or hurt me in some way. Which of course made no sense to me because he knows better than probably anyone at this point who and what I am.
I sigh as I walk out my door and head in the direction of Warrens shop where I feel his presence. I have to figure out how to make him see that I need to go there and he is the only one I trust to help me with that. There must be something I can learn to help me in his native land, and even if there isn't I still want to give their leaders a piece of my mind. Condemning another land to live with your lands problem children is wrong and I intend to make sure they know that.
I arrive at his store and looking in the window I see him cleaning the seven months of dust that has settled on everything. I walk in just in time to hear him sneeze as he turns to see who it is and smiles.
"Gesundheit." I said with a slight chuckle and he laughs as he nods and thanks me. He then starts to notice that something is obviously on my mind and so he decides to try being slightly direct.
"So what's up Nori you just out for a stroll and thought you'd stop in or do you need me for something?" Warren said as he came over to give me a kiss on the cheek in greeting. I sigh as I look him seriously in the eye trying to leave him no room to think this is a joking matter.
"Warren we need to talk." I said and it's his turn to sigh because he knows anytime I've said that it's usually bad news for him.
"About?" He asks.
"Olympus..." I get out and he immediately starts to tense up, pull away, and shut down.
"We've had this conversation..." He starts to say and turn away from me but I catch his hand and grasp it firmly to let him know that he's not getting away this time.
"No we really haven't Warren. We have talked a lot about your early time here, about Zeus, and the other gods in general. But every time I have asked about Olympus you either joke about it, change the subject, or my personal favorite just plain shut down and shut me out." I said to his half turned back and his head droops slightly with my words.
"You don't understand what you're asking Monori." He states and I find myself on unusual ground with him because I hear the anger in his voice and it's directed at me. I have seen him mad before plenty of times, but it was always about the situation not me. Good I think to myself at least I was getting something new and not the same story on a different day.
"Then make me understand! You are the only one I can trust to help me get there Warren and I need to get there." I said trying to bait him into an outburst.
"I can't help you with that!" He turned back to me to say through clenched teeth and I see he is very determined that this will be the truth.
"Can't? Or Won't?" I asked continuing to egg him on.
"FINE I WON'T!..." He said yanking his hand from mine and turning to walk a few steps away fuming as he paces back and forth looking at the ground.
"What are you so afraid of Warren? I already know you were a criminal banished from your..." I start to say but he comes over and get's in my face.
"You know NOTHING!" He screams with fire in his eye's at me before moving away again.
"What you know is a lie! A lie that Zeus came up with and made all of us live by because he couldn't deal with the truth!" He seethes shaking his head at the memory and I know must look very surprised because I definitely feel it. When Zeus and the rest of the Greek Gods had shown up we had of course done the best we could to find out as much about them as possible. We had captured Hermes at one point and after I spent about week probing his mind we had learned four thing's. First that Olympus was not a mythical mountain in the heavens, but was the name of the land they had come from. Second that they had been banished here to this land without magic to suffer for all eternity for their crimes against their realm. Thirdly that each of them draws their power from an element of nature human or otherwise. Fourthly and most annoyingly that these supposed gods are very resistant to my telepathic abilities. Hermes mind wouldn't break for good like most being's would because his power would heal the damage I did, but that also meant that threats against him during interrogation didn't really carry much weight.
"How could it be Warren? What I know of you guys was either told to me by you, or torn from Hermes mind when we captured him at the beginning of the war." I said folding my arms across my chest and raising my eyebrows in question at him as I finished. He scoffs and shakes his head at me as if I'm missing something very obvious.
"Are you telling me that everything you have told me is a lie?" I asked slight anger seeping into my tone as well at the implication.
"No!..." He shouts as he stops to look at me placing his hands on his hips and shaking his head.
"Everything that I have told you is the truth, but then I'm no longer tied to Zeus's will anymore as Hermes is now am I?" He seethes and it starts to become a bit clearer to me.
"Hermes is still under Zeus's complete control and as such he can only know the truth Zeus allows him. As is true with all of them and is apparently even partly true about me when Zeus is near. And if you want someone to blame about that then you can blame the first of your line of power!" He shouts at me and then I see him realize he's made a mistake as he starts throwing things around his shop. I'm confused by his outburst and at first I just let him vent his frustration, but when he goes to push over the grandfather clock I run over and throw my arms around him to stop him. He struggles with me for a moment trying to buck me off his back. It only takes him about thirty seconds to see that he can't and with one last howl of frustration he falls to his knees in defeat. I just hold him and rest my head on his shoulder as he breathes deeply trying to calm himself. We stay that way for a minute or two before he pats my hands that are still linked around his front. I slowly release him and I come around to join him as he sits down amongst the broken clock pieces and display cases.
"Warren what did you mean?" I asked trying to catch his eye's that are just staring straight at the floor between us.
"Warren what did you mean about the first of my line of power?" I ask with a little more confidence and he sighs as he closes his eyes and shakes his head.
"I think you should call your father and tell him to come over here." Warren said as he finally meets my eyes and I can't help but laugh uncomfortably at his request.
"Warren he's at home with..." I start to protest but he cuts me off.
"I Know! But I can see your not going to let this go and as much as I don't want to... I guess It's time I told you both the true story of the Greek Gods." He said and I can't help but shudder at what he is saying but I also know that I can't do as he suggested, because I can't bring Dad into this. He can't know too much about them before he is supposed to meet them, it risks changing thing's too much.
"No just tell me...I will tell him when I get back to my time, but we both know too much foreknowledge is dangerous." I said and after he thinks about it for a moment he nods.
"As I told you earlier the story you know about how we came to be here is a lie, well mostly a lie. We were banished for our crimes yes, but our only crime was being born." He said pausing to let that sink into me.
"Monori You and I are much more alike than you would have ever thought. I like you am the son of an immortal." He said and I roll my eye's because he isn't telling me anything I don't know.
"Ya I know, all your people are immortal." I said but I shut up when he starts to frown and shake his head.
"No they are not. In my land there was a council of three hundred and seventy immortals that ruled over the land. This council was made up of the patriarch or matriarch of the oldest families of the land. Each of these families gained their power in a war that was fought longer ago than you can imagine. Even I don't know if this is true but the story goes that each of the council families is named for a warrior of that war. That the original council was made up of all the warriors that were left from this war. They put down their weapons and ended the war sacrificing everything to serve all the people instead of just their side. Each one eventually chose an heir,taught them everything they knew, and then passed their power to them in death. This council over time became more and more relaxed about it's rules. One of which being that a member of the council was never to have children of his or her own, and that is where we come in to this story. We are the first-born of the council who inherited our parents power, and it is for that crime that we were banished. Our parent's judged us almost unanimously to be abominations, but what they were really afraid of was that one day we would attempt to overthrow them. So they took control of us and commanded us to leave through a portal to this land with no magic. Where we would be powerless and doomed to walk with our shame forever." He said and the fire in his eye's was getting further away as he goes almost into a trance reacounting the tale, but it was no less furious.
"Now you may have noticed I said almost unanimously...There was one member of the council that not only disagreed with their ruling, but with the relaxing of the rules as well. He was the oldest and considered to be the wisest of the council as such he was the Primarch of the council. If a vote came to a tie he was the one who had the final say on the matter. He was so disgusted with what had become of the council that he chose to leave with us, but unlike us he was able to bring his object of power with him and unfortunately that would be his undoing ." He said and then he paused and I could tell he didn't want to continue this story, but I had to know. I had just sat there stunned by his words watching as his gaze went further and further away, but after he has been silent for a full minute I try to push him on.
"How?" I said and his gaze returns to the present with a slightly startled jump on his part.
"He stayed with us for a time and when Zeus started to take over he tried to warn us,but we were young and impulsive. He also discovered he had a problem of his own. His power was slowly becoming different...corrupted in a way. It was his theory that because the mineral that his object was made from only occurred naturally on Olympus it didn't belong anywhere else. He slowly grew more and more vengeful and prone to violence. In his more coherent moments he decided to leave us so that he wouldn't end up hurting any of us. That was when he used the one thing that the council gifted him when he chose to leave, for when he changed his mind and wished to return they said. It was a magic bean and he used it to go to the land of your ancestors the enchanted forest. Now from here I can only speculate what happened but I'm fairly certain that this is along the lines of what happened. At some point it was discovered by someone of that land that his power came from this object. That someone found it and used it to take his power for their own, and so on and so forth until a man branded a coward by his village took control of it to save his son from being drafted into the ogre wars." He said stopping there because he knows by this point the story is familiar to me. He reaches over and grabs my shaking hand trying to calm my fears.
"No...It's not possible." I said shaking my head and he just gives me a sad smile.
"Think about it Monori. You know your families story and so most importantly you know what The Blue Fairy told your brother about what was wrong with his father." He said trying to make me connect the dots myself which I had but I still refuse to believe.
"No...No!" I said pulling my hand from his and he sighs.
"She told him that what ailed him was specific to your land. That it was because his powers didn't belong there and she thought sending him to a place without magic would save him. Little did she know that it wouldn't have but she couldn't have known that." He further tries to explain but he is only succeeding in making me mad at this point.
"The Greek God's are not dark ones! I would recognize your power if you were and it's different from Dad's and mine!" I shout at him starting to lose my cool now.
"Your right we are not dark ones, but that is only because our weapons are still on Olympus. They haven't become corrupted over several millennia of being somewhere they shouldn't. Your dagger has become something entirely different from what it once was. Your dagger has indeed become a curse and I'm sorry there is no changing that." He said scooting over closer to me.
"This has been all very clever and entertaining Warren but I still see a flaw in your story." I said coldly and he rolls his eyes growing tired of this argument.
"And what's that?" He asks sighing.
"You forget I have seen you all in the future. I have met all the Greek God's in battle before..." I start to say but he starts to laugh.
"Oh you have? Have you? I'm sure you haven't my dear and I'm almost surprised you haven't asked yourself why you have never seen this one because he is one of the more famous Greek God's." He said smiling as I start to think about it going over the list in my head. After I stay silent for about a minute he sighs.
"I'll even give you a hint. Name the three Greek God's that are considered to be the top three of all of them." He said throwing me a slight smirk.
"Zeus, Poseidon, and H..." I go silent as his eyebrows raise knowing I'd been about to name Hades, because it dawns on me that I have never seen him let alone met him.
"Hades the lord of the underworld. Think about what you know about the laws of magic and then think about why Zeus would name him as such." Warren said and I hate to say it but the pieces really start to fall into place for me.
"There is no coming back from death. Magic can do much but not that." I recite hearing my father's voice in my head.
"Then may I ask how anyone living could lord over that place? When Hades left us and never came back the last few hold outs to Zeus's deal fell to their lust for power, and I should know as I was one of them. He named him lord of the underworld because he said he was dead to us as he would never be coming back. And even if he had Zeus would have killed him before he could ever threaten his power." Warren said and I had to agree with him from what I knew of Zeus he was right. But as fascinating as this all was it really changes nothing. From what he has told me the only way I have to kill Zeus is on Olympus so I still need to go there.
"Thank you for telling me all this Warren. I understand now why you don't want to go back there, but that being said I still need your help to get there." I said and he starts to look angry again as he get's to his feet.
"Obviously you didn't understand because if you did you'd know we can't go there!" He shouts and I sigh as I get to my feet.
"Warren from what you told me there is only one way for me to end the war in my time. I must go to Olympus and convince them to give me Zeus's dagger." I said and he just starts to laugh as he turns from me.
"Tell me something has Zeus ever seen your dagger? Have any of them seen it?" Warren asks with out turning to me and it's my turn to start laughing. Because what kind of idiot did he think I was that I would let that sociopath see where I keep my one worst weakness.
"No of course not!" I said and now he does turn back to me arms folded as if I'm missing something important again.
"You already have the weapon you need Nori. You've just been so blinded by the fact that it's your weakness as well that it has never occurred to you to use it against him. Your dagger is made from the same exact metal that his is, and even in it's corrupted state it should work to kill him. The tricky part is getting close enough to use it on him without his getting wind of it. You don't need to go to Olympus to find something to kill him with, and I really doubt they would ever give it to you anyway. They would consider you a greater abomination than they do me." He said with a slight chuckle.
"How would they know that Hades didn't give me his power as thy were given theirs?" I ask and he comes over to hug me and whisper in my ear.
"Because your name is on the back side of the blade just like all the children of the council are." He said sadly and we just stand there for a while holding on to one another. I still don't want to believe what he has told me, but I would be lying to myself if I didn't admit that what he'd said was entirely possible. I stand there with Warren in his shop among the broken clocks for a few more minutes before it occurs to me that if he is telling me the truth about this. Then he has known how to kill Zeus all along and he never said anything in all the conversations we'd had about why his future self sent me here. I don't want to assume that he has played me this entire time, but I know that I can't leave this question unanswered. I pull out of his arms and look him in the eye hoping he has a good explanation for keeping this from me.
"Why?" I ask but my voice dies there because I'm too afraid of what his answer might be. He looks at me confused not understanding what I want from him.
"Why what?" He asks for clarity's sake. My eye's close and my head turns away from him slightly as I let out a sigh.
"Why? Why in all the conversations we have had about Zeus and why I'm here. Why have you never told me that my dagger was his weakness as well?" I ask and then meet his eyes once more as mine start to water a little.
"Honestly?" He asks and I nod my head.
"That would be nice at this point." I said a small amount of ice entering my tone.
"At first I was afraid for my own life, because technically it's mine as well, and I don't think I need to remind you that you were not my biggest fan when we first met. You may not be able to control me with your dagger but it should work just fine to kill me regardless. Then we started to become friends and every time I did tell you something about us it was still met with distrust. Then we started to become more than friends and I knew the truth would hurt you which I didn't want. Then you told me of your hidden abilities and I was hoping once you learned to control them you could find another way, another weakness. So I guess the simple honest answer would be that I was really hoping I wouldn't have to. I didn't want to burden you with the knowledge that you are more connected with the people I know you despise, than you ever could've imagined." Warren said taking one of my hands in his and then shaking his head as looked back up into my eyes.
"I should've seen this coming. That you would want to go to the source to research your enemy, but I didn't and I'm sorry I wasn't ready to deal with questions about that place. Every memory I have of my home realm is a bad one Monori. I don't think I'll ever want to go back there and I know they never want to see me return... I'm so sorry." Warren said as he drops my hand and turns away from me most likely thinking I'm angry with him. I admit I'm angry, but more with myself than him. I had seen parallels between our power many times even Blue had now that I thought about it. She had told me flat-out once that his power rivaled my father's. I had been so wrapped up in hating the man I thought I knew to recognize what she already had. Yes our power read as being different but that was from the dagger being away from Olympus so long. At it's base though there was no denying the similarities between Warren and Dad's level of power. Dad was the more knowledgeable about magic in general yes, but Warren could do anything that he could and just as easily. But this all matters very little because it still doesn't change the fact that he should have told me. I understand his not telling me when I we first met here in this time. Because he was right I probably would've tested the theory and tried to kill him. But once we had started to trust one another, and especially once I trusted him enough to tell him about the dagger... he should have told me.
I can't think about this anymore though or I'm going to end up saying something I don't really mean. With out a word I turn and start for the door but before I reach it he grabs my arm to stop me from leaving. I close my eye's and take a deep breath to keep my cool.
"Nori?...Monori please say something." He pleads as his grip tightens on my arm slightly.
"Let go." I mumble forcefully and I feel him tense up a bit.
"What?" He asks and I think he is hoping he misheard what I said so I turn my head and glare at him over my shoulder.
"Warren if you value your hand you will let go." I said and he complies with my request so I turn to fully face him once more.
"You want me to say something but you know what I don't know what to say. You have just told me that I'm a member of the club of people who have made my life a living hell for almost two hundred years. I don't know what to say. Other than you should have told me before now! I don't know what to feel other than betrayed. I honestly thought that after everything we have been through we owe each other better than this." I said and he starts to open his mouth to say something but I cut him off.
"NO! Please just...No. I'm angry right now Warren and I need to go before I say something I will regret." I said and I turn again to leave.
"Nori I'm sorry I just knew this would hurt you and I didn't want that... I love you!" He said and I hear the pain in his voice as I reach for the door handle.
"I know Warren...and you know I feel the same but right now...That only makes it hurt worse and I need some space." I said and then I exit his shop. I fly over to Dad's cabin and unlock the door with a simple hand gesture. The fireplace lights behind me as I hang my coat on the hook. I sit down before the warm flames and begin to meditate to clear my mind.
A/N~ So I should probably explain where all that came from. In episode 19 of season one Blue tells Baelfire that what ails his father was specific to their land and that it was because his power didn't belong there. Now my first thought was "Okay then where does the power belong then?" I thought about it and thought about it and when I tried to categorize what the dagger's curse turned you into I kept coming back to three words, Immortal Dark God. I could have just as easily tied this into the Norse god's (Odin, Thor, and so on) but the show already has ties into Greek mythology. King Midas, Pandora's box, and Medusa to name a few of them, (Which when the box it showed up reminded me of this idea I had lol) so I went with the Greeks (Plus I like them better anyway, they just seem more fun to me).
