A/N: I'm going to try to get this story finished by the end of the year, I said back in 2014. Five years later, and I'm finally posting the last chapter. I'm not sure what took me so long. I've had a rough draft of this whole story written for ages. I have an epilogue to wrap up loose ends, which I'm really hoping to post tomorrow, eleven years from the time I started writing this. One day I'm going to finish a multi-chapter story in a reasonable amount of time. I know. I know. Promises, promises.

Chapter 16
Phantom

Cronus had his eyes glued to the scrying pool. For hours, he'd stood there watching and waiting, but nothing had happened.

"Where are they?" he muttered as he shifted the pool's focus from one place to another. "What are they up to?"

I didn't know, but I wished I did then maybe I'd have something to do for a change. Cronus had instituted several plans in recent weeks, but none of them had involved my participation and I was bored stiff. Anything would be better than just standing around waiting for something to happen.

I knew Cronus was getting anxious too. It wasn't just the way he was muttering at the scrying pool now that made me think so it was his behavior after some of his recent encounters with our enemies. He'd come back mumbling things about Telkhines and video arcades, and Nemesis and the Midas' Touch, things which made no sense, at least not to me. Each time I'd gotten the impression they had something to do with a recent failure, but I had no idea what. It was times like that I wished my brothers were still around, then, I'd have had someone to talk to about this kind of thing. We might not have been close, but they were better company than Cronus. At least, I could talk to them.

I supressed the urge to sigh with frustration, the last thing I wanted to do was attract Cronus' attention. He was wound up so tight right now that there was no telling what he might do. The safest thing for me to do was stand there quietly until something happened. I just hoped something happened soon or I would probably go crazy with boredom.

An interminable amount of time seemed to pass before the heroes appeared on the surface of the scrying pool. They emerged from a portal into a tunnel just a short distance away. I couldn't believe it. Cronus had decided to move to new location a few months after the Echo debacle because he believed that since our enemies had seen our hideout they might figure out where it was. Now, they were practically on our doorstep.

How did they find this place? I wondered. Not that it matters, at least now I'll get to do something besides stand around waiting.

I kept a close watch on the scrying pool as they drew steadily nearer.

"I'm not getting a reading on the phantom," Odie complained fiddling with some sort of electronic device.

Phantom, I thought bemused, what phantom?

"Are you sure it's working?" Neil asked.

"I fixed it," Odie snapped. "It's working."

"Theresa can you sense Cronus?" Jay asked.

"I can practically smell him," she growled in response.

"Okay, that's just gross," Neil retorted, clearly disgusted.

"Come on," Herry said pushing Neil forward. "The gods need our help."

That's what got you involved in all this to begin with, I thought, a prophecy that claims you're supposed to defeat Cronus instead of the gods, what more help could they need?

Suddenly, Theresa wheeled around to face her friends.

"This isn't about the gods," she exclaimed furiously. "This is about us. When we stop Cronus we finally get out lives back."

She turned to Jay.

"Wouldn't you like to sail again?" she asked softly.

"I still sail," he answered.

"Only when you're chasing sea monsters," she retorted.

"Neil, you were going to a supermodel not a superhero," she pointed out.

"I'm almost past my prime," the blonde nitwit wailed.

"Odie, don't you want to go to university?" Theresa asked.

"I'm studying with Hermes and Hephaestus," he answered brightly.

"And how's that going to look on your résumé?" she asked.

"Oh. Yeah," he muttered visibly deflated.

"We've got lives to live," Theresa declared, "and if we don't finish this thing with Cronus we'll never get to live our dreams."

Oh whine, whine, whine, I thought. At least you had a chance to dream and live a normal life that's more than I've had.

"Right now," Herry stated, "my only dream is to beat Cronus."

Then keep dreaming, I thought, because that's never going to happen. You'll never beat Cronus. It's time to accept reality. This is how your lives are going to be from now on, a never-ending battle.

"Then let's end this," Theresa insisted.

"Yes, Theresa," Cronus agreed, although she couldn't hear him. "It's time to end this." Turning to me he added, "Let's welcome our guests shall we?"

He summoned one of his scythes and touched the surface of the scrying pool causing the tunnel the heroes were travelling down to start collapsing.

"Run!" Jay shouted.

The heroes raced down the tunnel as fast as they could, trying desperately to keep ahead of the falling debris. Suddenly, Odie stopped to retrieve something. Falling rocks were about to crush him when a blue force field sprung up between him and the danger. He turned to see whom or what had saved him and I was as shocked as he was to discover his rescuer was Theresa.

"How did you do that?" Odie asked, while I stood silently beside Cronus and wondered the same thing.

"Just hurry," Theresa gasped.

Theresa and Odie barely made it out before the tunnel collapsed. Unfortunately, for the heroes, they'd ended up in the chamber housing the scrying pool with several tons of debris blocking the exit. The tunnel collapse had trapped them with Cronus and me.

"Agnon," Cronus ordered.

Growling, I reached down, grabbed Odie and Neil, and proceeded to throw them across the room. Meanwhile, Cronus summoned one of his scythes and whirled it around his head creating a powerful gust of wind that picked up Jay, Theresa, Archie, and Atlanta, and blew them up to the ceiling. They hung on to whatever they could, desperately trying to avoid being blown away.

"Wow air. Very scary," Herry, now the only hero still standing, mocked.

"Oh I don't want to scare you," Cronus informed him, "I just want to destroy you."

He slammed his scythe into Herry sending him flying into a wall. Abruptly, the wind vanished, and Jay, Theresa, Archie, and Atlanta tumbled down. Somehow, Jay managed to land on his feet. Maintaining a defensive crouch, he drew his xiphos and turned on his energy shield preparing to attack Cronus.

"We know what you did to the gods," he said.

What he did to the gods? I thought. Cronus hasn't done anything to you or the gods in months. He's been too busy trying to come up with a new plan.

"What are you talking about?" Cronus demanded obviously as confused as I was.

"It's over Cronus," Theresa shouted. "You changed my life forever it's time to change yours."

"Hmmm, there's something different about you," Cronus mused slightly puzzled.

"It's here," Odie yelled.

What's here? I thought. What's going on?

Suddenly, a strange purple wraith rose from Theresa.

"Theresa, the phantom," Jay warned.

The phantom, whatever it was, headed straight for Cronus and before he could react, it passed right through him.

"What kind of…" Cronus started.

Before he could finish, Theresa kicked him in the face sending him tumbling down the stairs that led to the scrying pool.

"Ow," Cronus exclaimed putting a hand to his abused body, "that…that hurt."

"Good," Theresa growled.

"I-I-I'm bleeding," Cronus stammered. "Tha-that's impossible I'm a god."

"Not anymore," Theresa informed him icily.

"What have you done to me?" Cronus demanded and I heard something utterly unexpected in his voice…fear.

"I thought Cronus sent that thing," Archie commented confused. "Why did it attack him?"

"I don't know," Jay replied equally baffled.

"I do," Odie told them nervously.

So do I, I thought. It attacked Cronus because he didn't send it.

"What is it?" Jay asked Odie.

"Who cares," Theresa snapped. "It stopped Cronus we won."

While they were distracted, I started moving toward Theresa, but the phantom floated around me, blocking my way. After seeing what it had done to Cronus, I decided I wanted no part of it and made good my escape.

I took refuge in a nearby cave, but I didn't stay there long. I realized that Cronus would probably be furious with me for deserting him, so I decided to go back and see what was happening. Now that he was powerless, I figured the heroes would want to return Cronus to Tartarus, but maybe I could try to help him.

I returned to the main cave, careful to remain hidden. I figured if nobody saw me, maybe everyone would forget about me. If the heroes were going to take Cronus back to Tartarus, I didn't want them to take me too. If I could help Cronus, I would, but I wasn't going to try to rescue him if it meant the heroes capturing me too. Cronus had never stuck his neck out for me, and I saw no reason to stick mine out for him.

When I arrived, however, what I saw made no sense. It looked like someone had trapped Cronus and six of the seven heroes inside a force field. After a moment, I realized that Theresa was missing.

What's going on? I wondered. Where's Theresa? Why would she take off and leave her friends behind with Cronus?

Something strange was happening here, and I wanted to know what. I crept a little closer hoping to hear something that might give me a clue.

Herry was slamming his fist against the force field in an obviously futile attempt to bring it down.

"It's okay, Herry," Atlanta tried to reassure, although she didn't sound so certain of that herself.

"It's not okay," Herry snapped. "We're trapped in here and Theresa has gone crazy!"

"Any progress?" Jay asked Odie who appeared to be tinkering with something.

"I can't lock on to the force field's vibrational frequency," Odie responded.

Cronus laughed. "Mortal science doesn't apply to the magic of the gods," he scoffed.

"Well you're not a god anymore, are you, Cronus?" Archie retorted.

"Ah, but your friend Theresa is," Cronus pointed out. "She has the power of the gods and soon she'll defeat Zeus."

Theresa's going after Zeus, I thought. Why would she do that? Aren't they on the same side?

"Theresa won't be able to stop Zeus," Jay disagreed.

"She stopped me," the former god reminded him.

I didn't understand what was happening, and I wondered if maybe the phantom that had attacked Cronus was somehow connected to all this. Then, there was what Cronus had said about Theresa having 'the power of the gods'. The phantom had stolen Cronus' powers when it passed through him, was it possible it had then transferred those powers to Theresa? I remembered Jay telling Cronus that they knew what he had done to the gods. Only Cronus hadn't done anything to anyone. The heroes thought that he was responsible for this phantom, but I knew he wasn't. Clearly, Theresa was, and it sounded like she'd used it against some of the other gods as well. I wondered what had made the other heroes think that Cronus was responsible for it in the first place.

"Theresa was right," Atlanta snapped. "If it wasn't for you and the other gods we'd all have normal lives."

Maybe that's it, I thought. Theresa's angry because as long as she's fighting Cronus she can't have a normal life. She blames him and the other gods, and somehow that anger and resentment must have manifested in the form of this phantom. Now, she's using it to take away the gods' powers. She even thinks she's strong enough to take down Zeus.

"You must know a way to stop this," Jay said.

I doubted that, and even if Cronus did somehow know a way to stop what was happening, he certainly wasn't going to tell Jay what it was.

"You truly expect me to help you," Cronus mocked laughing hysterically, and unknowingly proving my point.

"I know how you can help," Herry announced.

I did my best to suppress a laugh as Herry unceremoniously grabbed Cronus and proceeded to throw him against the force field.

"My hand was starting to hurt," he explained to the group at large.

"Oh, good thinking Herry," Jay congratulated. "Cronus looks pretty tough. Let's try that again. Something's bound to break."

Cronus tried to crawl away, but Herry grabbed him by the back of his jacket and prepared to hurl him against the force field again.

"Wait, wait," Cronus bargained quickly, "maybe I can help."

"We're listening," Jay prompted.

"What would a secret hideout be without a secret exit?" Cronus asked.

"Why didn't say that before?" Jay inquired.

"Because," Cronus muttered petulantly, "I don't like you. Now will you put me down?"

After exchanging a glance with Jay, Herry obligingly dropped Cronus on the ground. Cronus picked himself up, brushed himself off, and stalked off in the direction of our lair's secret exit. It didn't surprise me that he'd given in to the heroes so quickly. He always fled when things became even slightly difficult, if there was even the remotest chance he would end up back in Tartarus, so this was exactly the sort of thing I expected him to do.

They were heading in my direction, so I ducked down a side tunnel hoping they wouldn't notice me. As soon as they'd gone by, I came out, and started creeping along behind them. I had no idea if the heroes planned to take Cronus with them when they left, but if they tried, and I stopped them, then, perhaps Cronus would forgive me for running away earlier.

I kept to the shadows as Cronus and the heroes approached the exit waiting to see if Cronus would need my help. I was surprised when the heroes left without taking him with them. After all the trouble he'd caused them, I'd been expecting them to return him to Tartarus as soon as possible. Instead, they left without a single word or a backward glance. Perhaps they no longer considered Cronus a threat now that Theresa had stripped him of his powers or perhaps they were too concerned about their friend's well-being to worry about him.

I debated leaving Cronus alone. After everything that had happened, I wasn't sure that he'd want me around. Before I could make up my mind, however, he turned around and spotted me.

"What do you think you're doing?" he demanded.

I shrugged helplessly in response.

"Never mind," Cronus snapped, storming passed me and back the way we'd come.

I stayed where I was for a moment before following him. It was always wise to be close by in case he decided he wanted me for some reason, but I kept my distance and stayed quiet. There wasn't anything to say. I knew Cronus wouldn't want my sympathy, but I couldn't help feeling sorry for him. What do you say to a god who's lost his godhood, anyway? What words could I possibly offer that would make this situation any more bearable? I knew that if Cronus ever got his powers back he could and would hold anything I said against me, so it was better not to say anything.

We waited in increasingly oppressive silence for what felt like forever. I wanted to watch what was happening with the heroes on the scrying pool, but of course, now that Cronus had lost his powers it wasn't working. I wondered if Theresa had found Zeus, I wondered if she'd stolen his powers, and I wondered, what her friends would do if she had. Clearly, they weren't on the same page when it came to this situation or she wouldn't have left them behind. What would they do if they had to fight her? How far would they go to stop her rampage? Would they even need to? If Theresa had absorbed the powers of multiple gods, and I suspected that she had, how long could she last before those powers overwhelmed her? I didn't know much about the gods' powers, but I knew enough to know that no mortal, no matter how much magic she possessed could possibly control the powers of several gods without eventually self-destructing. Mortals simply couldn't channel that much power.

After what seemed like forever, a strange purple light suddenly entered Cronus' chest, and the next thing I knew, he was summoning his scythes as if nothing had happened. He seemed ecstatic, and I didn't blame him. I couldn't imagine how he would've managed if his powers were gone for good. Cronus had no idea how to live like a mortal.

We hurried to the scrying pool, both of us anxious to learn the outcome of Theresa's confrontation with Zeus. The fact that Cronus had regained his godhood made me think that Theresa had failed to defeat Zeus, or at least, that the powers she'd foolishly stolen had destroyed her.

When we arrived, we saw the heroes standing on a beach. Amazingly, even Theresa was there. Somehow she'd survived absorbing the powers of however many gods, and her friends hadn't had to destroy her either. I wondered what, exactly, had happened. Had Theresa's friends managed to talk her out of her mad scheme or had she realized on her own that her plan wasn't going to work, and decided to give back the powers she'd stolen? Had she taken Zeus' powers too? My mind raced with questions, and I hoped I'd learn the answers to some of them.

Theresa was standing behind Zeus who was bidding farewell to Poseidon.

"Goodbye brother," he called as Poseidon disappeared beneath the ocean waves.

With Poseidon gone, Zeus turned his attention to Theresa.

"That was interesting," he commented, which made me think that perhaps Theresa had taken his powers after all, but then why had she given them back?

I knew I could be wrong. Maybe Zeus just found the idea that he'd had to fight against someone whom he'd thought was on his side interesting. Either way I was certain that Theresa was in big trouble.

"I'm so sorry," Theresa apologized.

Oh how nice, I thought sarcastically, rolling my eyes, she's sorry. Well, that makes everything all right.

Did Theresa really think that a simple apology would make everything okay? I'd been around gods long enough to know that they tended to punish first and ask questions later. Theresa had committed a serious offence, and the gods weren't likely to let her get away with it. Now that they had their powers back, however it had happened, she would be lucky not to end up in Tartarus. I was certain that no apology would change that, so what happened next took me completely by surprise.

"Don't be," Zeus told her quietly. "You were right. We don't know what it's like to be mortal. That's why gods can't be true heroes. We can't be hurt, so we can't take real risks or make genuine sacrifices. You," he continued turning to address all of the heroes, "all of you, do. Thank you."

"Hey, no problem," Neil responded. "It's, uh, it's what we do."

I stood staring at the scrying pool in stunned disbelief. Those three words 'You were right' searing into my brain, burning like acid. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Theresa had defied the gods, and Zeus was thanking and forgiving her. When had the gods become so lenient? This was not what I was expecting. Had Cronus using those the gods had punished in the past against the heroes, individuals such as Hecate, Arachne, Sybaris, Lykon, Brontes, Steropes, Arges, Sisyphus, and the Telekhines, finally made them realize that their punishments were too harsh? Could it be that they, or at least Zeus, really believed that Theresa's actions, however misguided, were right? It seemed too absurd to be true, but what other explanation was there?

Zeus disappeared, leaving Theresa alone with her friends, assuming they were still her friends after what she'd done.

"I still let you all down," Theresa told them sadly. "I had the power to stop Cronus and I lost it."

"So we keep fighting," Atlanta declared firmly.

"We can take Cronus," Herry chipped in with certainty.

"Piece of cake," Odie added.

"But you could have had normal lives," Theresa pointed out.

"Normal is totally overrated," Neil informed her.

"So we're stuck together," Archie contributed, reaching to take Atlanta's hand. "I can think of worse destinies."

"Cronus is still out there," Theresa tried again.

They're letting her off the hook, I thought, so why is she pushing them to get angry?

They had every right to be furious with her. She'd betrayed the gods, stolen their powers, betrayed her friends, and failed to return Cronus to Tartarus when she had the chance. Thanks to her, she and her friends would have to keep fighting a deranged god, possibly forever. It seemed she'd gone to a lot of trouble to accomplish absolutely nothing. If her goal was to defeat Cronus, then she should have taken him back to Tartarus, not gone after Zeus because she was angry and frustrated, and taking it out on everyone.

Theresa's behavior reminded me of times Cronus' own actions had cost us a chance at victory. He'd had Odie alone, completely at his mercy, and instead of simply eliminating him, he'd tried to use him to get the missing piece of Hermes' Herald's Staff. Then, he'd given Odie the staff because he thought that the boy was on our side. He should have remembered Odie's ancestor, Odysseus, and his cunning, but instead he'd let his own desire to see one of our foes destroy the others blind him. There had been other occasions too, when he'd been so certain that he was going to win only to have victory snatched away. The Echo incident came to mind. At the time, staging an elaborate execution for the heroes had seemed like a fine idea, but the minute something unexpected had happened, we should have dropped them into the acid pool. Cronus hubris had cost us dearly more than once, and now Theresa's had done the same to her and her friends. Unlike Cronus, however, she wasn't trying to blame someone else, and unlike my brothers, her friends were willing to let the matter drop, instead of becoming angry with her.

She's lucky, I thought, to have friends like that.

"Hey, lighten up a little," Jay told her. "I think you did pretty good."

Pretty good at what, I wondered, messing up what might have been your once chance to defeat Cronus?

Even though I envied her, I still didn't understand how Theresa's friends could be so forgiving.

"But what about our lives?" Theresa asked, still seemingly determined to get a rise out of her friends.

"Maybe it's time to start living them," Jay suggested.

Theresa's face brightened visibly, as though, somehow, that one remark was enough to eliminate any lingering fears or doubts she might have had about her friends' willingness to forgive her. She hurried after them, and the scrying pool now showed only a deserted beach.

"They finally did it, Agnon," Cronus chuckled, drawing my attention back to him. "They defeated me just like the Oracle foretold."

I shrugged not really sure what his point was.

"That means the prophecy has been fulfilled," he clarified, "and I survived."

He turned back to the scrying pool and laughed again.

"Enjoy the moment, Jay," he said. "For the future is no longer foretold."

A/N: I hope you enjoyed this chapter. While you wait for the epilogue, why not read some of my other stories. I've recently posted some new drabbles to "Random Ramblings" another story I'm hoping to finish soon.