If you've ever thrown up before, or seen someone through up before, let me tell you, watching Kronos puking his guts out was far worse. He was coughing and retching, sending bits and bile all over the glossy black floor. He gagged continuously as if making a show of it.
The first thing that came up was probably his breakfast, or perhaps something else that involved human bones and blood. Ewwww.
The next thing that appeared was the most ironic thing in the history of Greece - the stone that Rhea and I had tricked him into eating. He must've been so confused, but his puking didn't allow him to wonder when he'd eaten a rock. He'd barely gotten the chance to sputter, "what…?" before doubling over to hurl again.
My father came next. Then Hades. Then Demeter and Hera. Surprisingly - and luckily - they weren't covered in vomit like I'd expected. They came out perfectly clean and dry, right down to the baby blankets that had turned into tiny togas for the gods, who were still the size of babies, even though they'd matured into their teenage forms whilst inside the Mad Titan's stomach. As soon as they were out on the floor, though, they grew, and as soon as Hestia was freed from their prison, all six of the original Olympians stood together, all in their late teens or early twenties.
Kronos coughed a bit more, but nothing more would come up. I shuddered. Ewwwww again. The gods were staring down at their father, as if not believing that they were free. Demeter was even looking around in awe of the world. I guess living inside your father's stomach for the first two decades of your life does nothing for your frequent flyer miles. Talk about Most Terrible Parent of the Year.
Then, Kronos fainted.
He crumpled out of his throne like a puppet with his strings cut, right into the puddle of his own vomit. Ha! Serves him right!
"Follow me!" Zeus shouted to his siblings. He was already at one of the side doors.
His five siblings all looked at each other and I could almost hear their combined thoughts like Who on Gaea is this guy? Of course, they all knew each other, but Zeus was never swallowed, so I guess they didn't know that he was their youngest brother - the only one that their mother apparently loved enough not to let him get eaten (at least, that's probably what they would think).
They followed him nonetheless after one last glance at their father, which was probably for the best, since the commotion had attracted a few servants and Titans to the throne room. The servants' door just closed behind Hera when the first Titan burst into the throne room.
"Find the intruders!"
I just left them to their hide and seek. I trusted Zeus to lead himself and his siblings out of the Black Castle through the route that we laid out for him. He would get them all back to the caves where he grew up.
By the time they got back, I was already lounging - still invisible, of course - on a rock. And let me tell you, it's really hard to find a comfortable position to lounge on a rock. Why couldn't they have invented temperpedics back in Ancient Greece?
Zeus and the others gathered around his rough-hewn wooden table, where a map of the castle was already drawn out. He moved some pieces around, looking very much like some of the generals from my time in World War II. If only he didn't look up with a nervous expression on his face.
"So, are you going to tell us who you are, or do we have to guess?" Hera asked as she turned her nose up at Zeus.
"I'm your brother," he said. "Our mother tricked Kronos into eating a rock instead, then she had me snuck out of the castle. I've been living here, training for the past eighteen years until I was ready to break you guys out so we can take Kronos off the throne."
Hades crossed his arms. "And we're supposed to believe that?"
"Um…" Zeus bit his lower lip. "Yes? I mean, I did save you and all."
There seemed to be a bit of tension between the oldest and youngest sons, when suddenly Poseidon butted in between them, wrapping an arm around each. He had the widest smile on his face and his hair was as wild as his eyes.
"In that case," said the future sea god, "Welcome to the family! Thanks for saving our hinds back there, and we'll be glad to help defeat father!" He sent glances at the rest of his siblings, smile dropping for just a second into a challenging look.
"Of course," Demeter agreed. "If you are our brother, then we must all band together to remove our father from his throne. He has ruled these lands for far too long with his tyranny."
"Besides, it is our destiny." The rest turned to Hestia, who'd just spoken. Her voice was soft and kind, a lot like how I remembered it from that campfire we'd had years back (forward?). "Mother told me of the prophecy before father swallowed me. We are destined to overthrow father and cast him into oblivion for his crimes against the world, just like he did to his father."
"Excellent point!" Zeus said, wrestling his way out from under Poseidon's arm. "And seeing as I was the one who saved you, I shall lead this quest."
"Hey! Wait just a minute!" Hera shouted. She pushed Zeus back with one finger, advancing on him. "You're the youngest one here! One of us should be in charge."
Zeus began shouting back at Hera with reasons why he should be the one in charge - mainly because he had been training for this his whole life and without him they'd still be rotting away in their father's stomach, but I tuned them out at this point. I had nothing to do, no part in this part of the play, so to speak. At this point, I'd already put all of the pieces that I needed into play, moving them together, forward and backward to line them up facing victory. From now on, it's on them to keep the past intact. Then again, obviously there was still something that I was expected to do, or else I would've jumped already. I tuned back into the conversation just as Hades shouted, interrupting the quarreling future couple.
"Stop it already! At this point, it doesn't matter who is our leader because we won't win the battle if we just march in there like this. There are only six of us and who knows how many dozens of minor warriors outside. We don't have the power to take down our father and all of his forces. The Titans are just too strong."
"Good point!" Zeus said. "I've planned for this!" He bent down to pull up another large scroll, slamming it down on the table over the other one. He unrolled the thick parchment, showing a rough sketch of six ugly creatures. "We must go to Tartarus first!"
"What? Are you mad?" Hera cried.
"No. I believe that our little brother is right," Hestia said. "We've seen and heard everything that father has seen and heard these past eighteen years. We know that he imprisoned The Hecatonchires and the Cyclopes because he found them too ugly to look upon. These six do not deserve the fate bestowed upon them; it is only right for us to free them."
And that, ladies and gentlemen, is why Hestia is the smartest of the siblings. Also because she is the oldest, even though they all sort of have the same life experience.
Either way, they were going to Tartarus, which I opted out of because one, it's not something on my bucket list, and two, did I mention is was Tartarus? Home of all monsters? Yeah, I thought so. If I didn't have to go and I didn't want to go, I wasn't going. I would just stay right in Zeus' man-cave until they got back with their new, super-powered weapons and super-powered allies. I'm totally not going to be a helicopter son and hover over my father as he proves himself by slaying Kampe - the prison master and jailor of the six large non-Titan children of the earth and sky.
It took them a whole week to get back, emerging from the eternal darkness of pain and suffering with a few cuts and scratches, but armed with the Master Bolt, the Trident, and the Helm of Darkness.
I was about to get closer when a thread of ice slithered up into my ear. It was the voices of the three Fates, whispering to me. "You were not meant to meddle, young hero. Time has wrapped itself around you in a cloak, so entwined with your life and soul that you have transcended the mortal plane, transcended godhood. We do not know what you are anymore, and this frightens us."
Just like that, they were gone, taking their ominous warnings with them. It seemed they dragged me along, too, because I suddenly found myself falling when I was sure there was solid ground beneath just a second ago. I fell through the air quickly, falling to the ground just as Hyperion struck with his spear. The tip buried itself in the solid rock just left of my face.
How had he seen me?
I looked up, just noticing that he wasn't aiming at me; he was aiming at Hades, who was emerging from the shadows just ten feet away.
The final battle between the Titans and the Gods was waging.
I was in a large valley, stripped barren by the powerful forces of nature at war. On one side, across the dirt and low shrubs and mounds of defences, I could see Zeus commanding his scant army of gods, Cyclopes, Hecatonchires, and spear-wielding warriors. With his Master-Bolt, Zeus sent bolts of lightning into the melee below, striking down the Titans and their minions in patches. On the other side, where Zeus' lightning zapped, were Kronos and his troops, all fighting side-by-side with mad eyes and vicious snarls. Iapetus wielded his spear with such ease that it put Thalia to shame, going mono a mono with my father and his trident.
Then, I wasn't on the ground anymore; I was suddenly at Zeus' side. He grumbled as he overlooked the battle, leaning heavily on a large boulder as he recovered from his multiple strikes against the enemy.
"We've been fighting for almost a decade now against father," he muttered to Hestia, who approached with gentle hands outstretched.
"Rest, brother," she advised, ignoring his comment. Her hands glowed slightly, and squares of ambrosia appeared in them, "Here. Eat. Regain your strength."
Zeus shoved the first square into his mouth and mashed it with his teeth. He wasn't even really chewing at all as he inhaled the godly nutrition. His whole body glowed just enough so that I could see, and when he dimmed, the colour had returned to his face and sweat had evaporated from his brow, yet the exhaustion in his expression remained. I guess it wasn't something that ambrosia could heal.
Lifting his Master Bolt, I saw another bolt rip down from the heavens with an earthshaking crash, sending several dozen Titan warriors flying; a few of them looked well-done and extra crispy.
"We've been fighting well, brother," Hestia said. "Be proud that we have lasted this long with our small force."
"How can I be proud, sister? Ten years and neither of us have taken a grasp at victory! I'm starting to think that we will end up destroying the world before either of us can claim it. Father will never be stopped!"
"Get a hold of yourself!" Hestia snapped. "We must have hope! We will find a way to defeat father and his forces. We will save this world from his tyranny. You have to believe that we will."
Zeus sighed. "Yeah. Yeah, I know." he leaned against the boulder again, this time out of stress, not strain. His forehead pressed against the rough surface for just a moment before he backed away. Where his forehead as been, sweat now trickled down the rock. He must've seen something there, because a new, brilliant smile suddenly lit up his face, and for the first time, I saw the resemblance between him and his future son, Apollo. "I have an idea! Gather the Hundred-Handed Ones!"
The Hundred-Handed Ones, an army all on their own, were in the middle of fighting against some of the larger, minor Titans. A few of them were called back from the battle by Zeus, where he laid out his plan to stop Kronos once and for all. They would craft chains - strong and powerful golden chains that would hold Kronos. These chains could not break, and they would have to be crafted quickly, because without the Hundred-Handed Ones to fight, the Titans would surely be able to tip the balance in their favour.
Once the chains were forged, Hades would use his Helm of Darkness to sneak them into the enemy base - the Black Castle atop Mount Orthus - where he and Poseidon would capture their father and hold him in these chains.
Of course, it all went according to plan - as most things did for the gods when they were fighting for a unified cause. When they were fighting each other, well, let's just say things don't go this smoothly.
The two elder brothers had their father in chains at the base of his throne. Zeus stood in front of him, hands gripping the shaft of the scythe that his father had used so many centuries ago to slice up Ouranos, his own father.
"Don't do this, boy!" Kronos growled. "You will regret it!"
"Shut up!" Poseidon shouted, swinging his arm to wrap another layer of chains around his father, thin time through his teeth.
Now unable to speak. Kronos could only watch with wide eyes as Zeus fulfilled the Fates' prophecy, chopping his father up into a thousand pieces. Together, he and his two brothers cast each of Kronos' pieces into the depths of Tartarus, never to be found again (if only they knew).
Without their leader, the Titan army fell quickly to the gods, some fleeing, some rounded up, and some surrendering, but just being put in chains anyway. The battle was just wrapping itself up with a neat little bow.
Once the battle was over, I looked out at the sunset. It was beautiful, but I knew that my time had come. I would jump again; I could feel it coming. And, or once, I didn't wonder where I was going to end up. I didn't wish that I could go home.
"Take me to where I'm needed," I whispered into the divine abyss.
I closed my eyes, waiting for the familiar vacuum feeling of the time vortex...but it didn't come. My eyes snapped open. I was still in ancient Greece, staring out at the sunset. The anticipation of a time jump - a feeling like sitting in a jet-plane waiting for takeoff - just settled in the pit of my stomach, warming me from within.
I wasn't being pulled anywhere. I was no longer resisting, and the noose loosened from around my neck. Perhaps this is what I needed the entire time.
Closing my eyes again, I was no longer bracing myself. I was searching. Something deep within chimed like a church bell, a low ringing like a giant cowbell being rung against my ribcage. Opening my eyes, I knew where I was needed. I knew when I was needed. With a smile, I jumped forward, off the cliff's edge, and a time vortex opened below me. I happily greeted it.
2660
*Dylan Walts*
CSP2708