Quick AN here for those that didn't see what's on my fanfiction profile. This was delayed over a day exclusively because of the ziplining trip I went on with a family member. It was a pretty exhilarating experience, I must say. I've also watched Record of Ragnarok for like the third time now and can't get Poseidon's OST out of my head, lol. I keep imagining that playing in my head whilst I think over how a certain fight with the Poseidon here will go down in a later chapter.
Enough about that though. On with the chapter!
The Olympian God of Destruction:
Chapter 12: The Titanomachy V
Atop Mount Othrys…
"I take it you have yet to find them, my Lord?" Atlas remarked rather observantly, as he stood before his uncle, who sat upon the throne that once belonged to their father.
"No. I haven't." Kronos replied with a very clipped tone, making it clear how annoyed he was, as he sat in deep concentration. Channelling the power of the throne to spread his gaze out across all of the endless world below. Something he'd been doing mostly since they'd escaped. "Hyperion is still patrolling out there as well and has yet to find anything either."
"That's unfortunate." The musclebound Titan rubbed his beard. "I'm sure we'll discover them eventually. It's only a matter of time before we find out wherever they're hiding."
"With Hyperion looking out there as well, I'm certain there'll be something soon enough." His brow furrowed, as anger creeped into his voice. "I would've found those damn brats a while ago if they were alone, but it's clear that they've made an ally with someone capable of concealing them away from my gaze. And given Rhea's disappearance as well, I have little doubt that mother is the one playing a hand in it, at this point."
"True. There's little chance she isn't the one aiding them at this point." Atlas, his general, nodded affirmatively. "We've already checked in on Oceanus, as you requested, and it's clear he knew nothing. And it's doubtful that Nyx or Pontus could've been responsible either, given the former sparsely communicates with anyone that isn't one of her own children, and Pontus prefers to keep to himself these days. That leaves only Styx and Gaea, as far as I'm aware, and given that the former was still in her residence around the underworld a few days ago, according to Pallas, it's almost impossible she's the one either."
"I have little doubt she and her children have made way for where they are though, given they left there, and I could not see them from up here." He scoffed. "Which means she was concealing their path from me. What other reason would she have to hide herself and her children from under my nose if not to go wherever they are?" It didn't surprise him much there. That damned woman and her children had never liked him or his rule. "Forget about that though. How has our recruitment been going of the other deities?"
"Fairly good, my Lord. Plenty of them have come forward to support you should they be needed. There're quite a number who have yet to respond though or have outright refused to be a part of the conflict."
"I'm assuming that Oceanus was one of the latter?"
"Yes. I'm afraid so, Lord Kronos."
Had he not been in such concentration using the throne to scan all over the endless world, Kronos would have rolled his eyes. "Don't be. He was too much of a coward to join me and the rest of our brothers when we dethroned and cut down our father, so his cowardice now is unsurprising."
"Very well." Atlas nodded. "I suppose I'll leave you to it then, my Lord." He gave a short bow before he turned and made his way out of the singular throne room.
As he left, Kronos, for what had to be the thousandth time at this stage, crushed the inkling of fear that attempted to claw its way inside him, as he redoubled his efforts looking down from the heavens. "I'll find you, you little prick. That damned prophecy will never come true." He muttered angrily, after a moment. "Even if you should manage to achieve your own True Divine Form Beerus, I will still be victorious by the end of this little war you declared on me. I must prevail."
"You truly are in the utmost of denial, aren't you?"
Kronos stilled in his seat. His concentration over the throne's power wavering completely as a distorted masculine voice reached his ears through the wind. One that he hadn't heard in a long, long time.
Before his very eyes, mist and small clouds suddenly seeped in out of nowhere, and began to form just a few metres in front of him, creating the shape of a bearded face with glowing, bluish-white eyes that he never thought he'd see again, in any capacity.
"You're still the same fool you were back all those years ago, when you slew me for your own petty gain." The mist and cloud-formed face sneered at him mockingly.
Kronos body shook, as his hands gripped and dug into the armrests of the throne, cracking the celestial stone as his eyes glowed gold. Pushing down the shock he felt, as he stared balefully at the cloudy visage. "And just what in Tartarus' name do you think you're doing back here, in my throne room, you piece of shit?"
"Your throne room?" The cloudy visage repeated derisively. Mocking him with his tone once again. "This will never be your throne room, brat. You're just the ungrateful punk who stole it from me after reducing me to this pitiful state. All so you and the rest of my disgustingly ugly sons could shoddily rule the universe yourselves."
"Oh, that's rich coming from you, father." Kronos sneered back. "You were nothing more than a tyrant to us all from the day we were born. There wasn't a single one of us that didn't despise you and your awful rule. Me and my brothers did everyone else a favour by ousting you."
"Just as your son will do everyone else a favour, when he gets rid of you." Ouranos' cloudy form countered back with a dark smile. "You think yourself better than me, you foolish boy, but you never have been. Everything is going along as I have decreed. Your own eldest son has finally come along to take you down, and no matter how futilely you try to stop what I have forecasted, it will only end in your defeat."
Kronos grit his teeth. His menacing aura coating over his body as he opened up his left hand and materialized the scythe he'd used to cut his father down in it. His hand damn near crushed the shaft as he gripped it tight and glared at the cloudy visage with nothing but contempt. "No, father. I will overcome your damned prophecy. I refuse to be slain like you were."
"You will overcome nothing, boy." Ouranos stated as resolutely as one would an absolute fact. "I have seen the future, and I know it is set in stone. Your efforts will be in-vain. By the end of this war, I assure you, your fate will be far worse than mine."
Kronos' scythe suddenly swung out with his arm, as he pushed himself off the throne. The power from the swing created a shockwave so strong it splintered the entire floor beneath him and shook the very foundations of the castle and the mountain protected by divine magic. The blade passed right through the cloudy form of Ouranos and dispersed it with ease, but this got Kronos nothing but a bark of laughter from the primordial of the heavens. The chilling sound of his laughter reverberated everywhere around the angered Titan king, still mocking him to the end.
"I look forward to watching you squirm, as you try hopelessly to overcome the fate, that I have given you, son." The last word was said with no amount of affection. There was only a malicious edge to it, as he jeered at him. "Only your own destruction awaits, and I cannot wait to watch that come to pass."
With that, his presence vanished completely. His final words echoing in the wind, only taunting Kronos further
Kronos' divine heart raced, as space and time spasmed and warped around him with his rage. His other hand clenching hard enough almost to draw his ichor, as he glared wrathfully at the spot where his father's cloudy form had once been.
"Damn you, father…" The ruler of the universe spat, as he felt Atlas presence, as well as that of his brothers, minus Hyperion, coming toward him. No doubt to ask what was going on with him, and why he'd just shaken Mount Othrys.
He couldn't find it in him to give a damn though. The only thing on his mind, was what his blasted father had uttered, and the weight of finality that'd been behind them. His paranoia shot through the roof as they stuck to him.
A fate worse than yours? No… No, I will not let that happen! I refuse to play into your hands, you senile bastard!
Try as he might to crush it and convince himself that his 'dear old dad' was just messing with him to throw him off his game… fear once again clawed at him from the inside. More than ever before at his apparent 'fate'.
A fate he was willing to do whatever it took to avoid. Nay, he would avoid.
There was no other option for him. He had too.
He must.
Back on Crete… Around that same time…
"You've come to personally aid me, have you?" Was the first thing that came from Beerus' mouth after hearing this new goddess' very direct introduction. One brow having risen as surprise slowly gave way to curiosity.
"That is correct." Styx nodded affirmatively. Her beatific features grinning as she motioned towards the four hooded figures behind her. "And I have no doubts that we are but only the first to come to you. For you see, whilst you and your siblings have a personal grudge to hold against your father Kronos, the current ruler of the cosmos, for his abhorrent actions against you, there are plenty of us who have been under his rule for quite some time who, to put it lightly, are quite dissatisfied with it."
Though she was being tame, it was not difficult for either Beerus or Zeus to hear the resentment and vitriol in her tone when she said 'dissatisfied'. It was clear to both that her feelings toward their bastard father resembled much closer to genuine hatred than anything else, and she wasn't bothering to hide it.
"Oh, but before we go further into any of that," Styx moved her head to look behind her, at the four hooded figures in line. "All of you, please, remove your cloaks and introduce yourselves. There is no need now to conceal yourselves."
They all quickly followed their mother's instructions. Their cloaks falling back off their bodies as though they'd never been attached in the first place and disintegrating into golden particles the instant that they touched the ground. All to reveal four rather unique individuals.
Starting from the far left was a physically imposing brute of a man with more tanned skin that stood over eight-feet tall, with a bald head and a hooked nose to go along with an incredibly sturdy, square jawline. His face set into a deep scowl with not even a microgram of fat to it. Cheeks literally looking like they'd been carved out of granite with how thick they looked. His gaze was hard and strong, unblinking as he stared at them with completely dark eyes. He wore a white tunic that only covered the right side of his upper body with the exclusion of the arm and fell to about his knees. His upper body that was exposed rippling with insanely dense and large muscles bigger than both Beerus and Zeus, a hard chest and rock-hard abs. Veins literally crawling all over his enormous arms and the rest of his huge figure. Biceps bulging outward without even the tiniest flex on his part. His legs appearing so massive and heavily muscled as well that they may well be thicker than a tree trunk.
While not to the same extent Atlas did with outward appearance, there was no denying that through looks alone, the man practically personified strength itself.
"Kratos." The giant man said tersely with a deep, gruff voice that sounded like gravel. He gave a tilt of his head respectfully towards Beerus, and partially Zeus as well, before crossing his beefy arms and not uttering another word.
Beside the behemoth was a woman of much less stature, who stood about half a foot shorter than then Beerus and Zeus, just under six-foot. She was fair skinned, with hair that was blonde like Demeter's, but a bit darker and flowed down just passed her rear and spilled over her shoulders, with the ends of her locks curling around and covering her ears from view almost entirely. Her face was naturally beautiful in a way that would've taken the breath out of most mortals from Beerus' previous universe, as pretty much every female deity seemed to have the capacity for here. She held dark-red lips underneath a small button-nose just a little bigger than Demeter's and wideset yellow-brown eyes below a high forehead just a tad shorter than Hestia's. Her chin was just a little bigger than Hera's, with a sharp and narrow jawline much the same and cheeks that were almost as high and sharp.
Her tunic was the same colour as the hulking man beside her, with it also leaving her lithe, but toned arms bare, along with a section near her armpits and around her chest area down close to the centre, exposing a good deal of side-boob and cleavage from her perky, pearly-white, C-cup breasts. It reached down around her thicc thighs, acting more like a slim skirt than anything else, and leaving her slim, but also impressively toned legs bare for the most part as well. Her build was clearly more athletic, but still held a small waist and wide hips. One thing that momentarily caught both Beerus and Zeus' attention though was the look in her eyes, one that projected just as much of an unyielding gaze as the tall, bulky and brutish man's. The only difference was, hers seemed to be much more forceful in the way she looked them – mostly Beerus – over. And whatever she must've seen in Beerus' eyes as he held strong and unmoved in the slightest by it, got her to smile lightly and give a slight, respectful bow of her head.
"It is an honour to meet you, Beerus." She all but exclaimed with a clearly feminine, yet hard voice that conveyed a very outgoing and unabashed persona, as she placed her hands firmly on her hips. "My name is Bia, and I look forward to aiding you in whatever way I can in the war you have declared on The Crooked One."
"The Crooked One?" Beerus' brow rose again, higher this time, at the moniker. She was clearly talking about Kronos there. He supposed crooked was one way to describe that prick, but given the way no one reacted, it was apparent that it was something he'd been referred to as for quite some time. Likely long before any of his siblings and he had been born.
"A nickname. One given to Kronos by his own brothers for his cunning and dirty fighting tactics in their early years." Another voice, one distinctly more masculine than Bia's, explained to her right.
Beerus' and Zeus' attention went to him. A pale-skinned man with long, dark hair that reached down to his upper back and was about as tall as him. His face held a hard, square jawline like Kratos', just less pronounced. His cheekbones were near razor-sharp leading down to a sturdy chin and up to a more normal-looking nose. His caramel eyes full of zeal as he looked back at Beerus. A similar tunic to the bigger man's worn by him, only for the other side of his upper body to be covered, excluding the arm. This exposed his fully defined abs and impressively muscled body noticeably slimer than the other male's, with much more sleekly muscled arms and legs that brought his physique closer to that of an elite-level swimmer's.
"Of course," He continued. "I'm sure you can tell that such a moniker fits him well for far more than simply how he fights." An excited smile leapt forth to his features. "Which is why his defeat will feel so sweet in the end." The man respectfully bowed forward with one hand to his chest as he uttered passionately, "I am Zelus. It is a pleasure to meet the one who has caused such a stir as of late with his actions. You have no idea how thrilled our mother was at hearing the news of what you'd done on Mount Othrys, and I must say that I too am much the same."
"I'm sure we all are." The two brothers gaze shifted finally to the last of the figures, as her feminine voice drew them in. She was, quite obviously, exceedingly beautiful with a pale complexion and was reasonably tall, standing just a few inches shorter than Bia. Her long, vibrant brown hair fell down to about the middle of her back and like Bia's also fell down over her shoulders, where it started to curl and become wavier. Her lips were full and red, with a tiny chin smaller than any other and a jawline just a little less sharp and narrow than Bia's, with higher cheekbones to compensate. A pair of wideset eyes the same colour as her hair gazing back at Beerus pleasantly beneath a forehead just as high as the other woman with a comparably sized button nose to match.
Her tunic, just as white as her siblings, flowed down near her feet but parted away the closer to the bottom like some kind of split dress. This showed off her creamy, slender legs that were almost as toned as Bia's with slightly more thicc thighs and did well to show off her own slim waist and wide hips. Her lithe, but athletic-looking arms were also bared as well with a section exposed near her armpits and one on her chest as well, though only to about a third of it, revealing a small bit of her own ample cleavage and a decent amount of side-boob from her D-cup breasts.
"It's a pleasure for me to be meeting you as well, Beerus." She continued with a courteous bow of her own, hands clasped in front of her by her pelvis. Her expression quite hopeful. "I am Nike, and I am here like my siblings and mother to offer you any support you may need to ensure a decisive victory in your war against Kronos."
This is certainly not something I was expecting… Beerus thought to himself, as he eyed the five newcomers. In all honesty though, he probably shouldn't have been. If that so-called father of his was brazen and depraved enough to devour his own children, prophecy be damned as an excuse, then it didn't come as a surprise to him that he was a real piece of work in general. One great enough to at least run afoul of a number of people to rise up against him, especially given what Gaea had told him before about him sending those Cyclopes and Heka-whatever down into a horrible place, from what he'd gathered, called Tartarus.
Truth be told though… he just hadn't cared. All that mattered was the slight he'd dealt to him specifically, as well as his fellow siblings sans Zeus to a lesser degree. It wasn't until now however, where some such folks had gone out of their way to come here to him directly, that it properly sunk in for him.
And also gave him a question. "How did you even know we were here?"
"It was Gaea who gave me the general direction of where you were." Styx revealed without hesitation, glancing over him towards the smiling primordial. "After hearing of your exploits, I let her know of my interest in you and asked her of your whereabouts, and she let me know of an Isle a fair distance off from where I was that you were on. One protected by her magic, which once I set foot on, I would know was the right one immediately, due to the way her power permeated throughout it."
"I see." Beerus glanced behind himself at her as well, somewhat bemusedly. Able to catch himself before he asked how that was even possible when she'd been here the entire time. Because he understood quickly just how silly that would sound talking about that woman. Her physical form may have been here, but by her own admission, she was the Earth itself. Thus, given what she'd said, he didn't doubt that even with her being here in more physical form, she could still hear and feel everything going on, on land, because it all was just a part of her. Communicating with her, for anyone, pretty much was as well be as simple as just looking down and talking to the ground, it seemed.
"And I must say," She raised her voice a little more, just to ensure the others could hear her in case they hadn't before. Her eyes quickly scanning over the five other presences she'd felt outside of Beerus and Zeus that she hadn't recognised and noting each of their expressions before her gaze flickered over to the mother of seven. "It is good to see you again, Rhea. It has been some time." Her amused stare then shifted slightly to the final figure. One she'd noticed earlier upon arrival here too but hadn't commented on at the time. Though that certainly wasn't to say she wasn't pleased to see her. "And you're definitely a sight for sore eyes, Metis."
"B-Big sister…" Said Oceanid broke out of her small stupor, just then. Controlling the surprise she held at seeing her fellow Oceanid, and 2nd generation Titaness appear so suddenly with her children in tow. "It is good to see you too…"
Beerus might've risen a brow at Metis' reveal there that Styx was apparently her older sister. Given that all of them could essentially be traced back to Gaea however, as far as he knew, that meant they were all pretty much related. Something that still did, and likely would persist to mentally perturb him for some time, unless he was given a good reason at some point as to why such a thing was different here than in his old world. Once again though, he pushed that away as there were more important matters to attend to.
"Brother, I believe you should take her up on this offer." Zeus said earnestly whilst glancing to his elder, bringing Beerus' attention to him. "It can never hurt to have more allies in a conflict such as this. I don't doubt our bastard father will likely be getting more support himself outside of his brothers and nephew that were with him during the time we escaped. All from other gods that are more in line with his rule and prefer the status quo he has brought."
"What your brother says is true and has already occurred." Styx relayed with a more bitter tone this time. A full scowl having formed on her face by the time the two brothers looked back to her. "My consort Pallas, in fact, is one of those who has chosen to give his allegiance to Kronos and his ilk. As soon as he heard word of what happened, he sided with Kronos and made way immediately to Mount Othrys to give his support, should it be needed. I never even got the chance to try and convince him otherwise." The woman then scoffed. "Not that I believe for a second that damned husband of mine would've listened even if I did."
"Ah… I had wondered why he wasn't here with you and your children…" Gaea actually winced from her spot, perfectly able to not only hear her, but feel just how scornful the eldest of the Oceanids was over it. Her smile no longer present. "I could never quite get a read on how supportive he was of Kronos' regime, but I assumed that given your own distaste for them, that he probably shared the sentiment. I guess I misjudged him on that… What a shame…"
"Yes. Quite." Styx replied brusquely. A tint of clear anger in her tone that was impossible to miss. "He has made his choice in the end though, as have we." Her four children nodded, all looking as annoyed as their mother was at their father's show of allegiance, yet resolute at the same time in the choice they were making.
By this point, Poseidon, Hades, Hera, Demeter and Hestia had gotten over the initial surprise of the five's sudden arrival and were mainly just listening in at this point to see where it went. Hestia in particular however, frowned deeply at what she heard about Pallas. The fledgling goddess feeling put off by him so readily ditching his family to give aid to their father, instead of sticking with them. Knowing how her father was now to some extent, she couldn't even imagine how much of a blow it'd feel like for her if any of her family decided to side with him over them, given what he was like. She could honestly tell just from looking at them now that that decision by him had hurt them all. And it would do even more so knowing that if her brother accepted their aid, there would be a high chance that they would meet head-to-head as enemies on opposing sides of the conflict.
"So, what say you, Beerus?" Styx asked politely, focusing her full attention on Beerus, as she offered her hand to him. "Will you accept our aid?"
Beerus took a small moment to ponder it. If lines were being drawn now, then it looked certain that Kronos may well end up with an army at his side as support, alongside the five buffoons he already had. He could, after he'd gone through sufficient training for his own True Divine Form, run them all down in his warpath towards Kronos, if needs be. That was a potential option, but one that wasn't favourable to him. Not because he didn't perceive himself as being able to pull it off, but because of just how annoying it would be to deal with them all, just to get his hands on Kronos. He had no idea how many of them would be on his side, as he had no clue how many gods or other creatures existed here as of yet, however, he could be certain that there was a quite a few at least.
He'd rather not waste time dealing with grunts, unless he had to, once he was ready to hunt down and obliterate that prick who'd eaten him. Having other allies fighting on his side outside of potentially all of his siblings could indeed be useful for handling Kronos' other grunts. They could at least thin the herd of idiots that had chosen foolishly to align themselves with the soon-to-be-destroyed Titan if nothing else. Provided none got in his way of eradicating Kronos off the face of this world, having more allies in this skirmish seemed fine to him.
"Well, seeing as you're so adamant, and you don't appear to be lying, I'll accept your offer." He said amiably, as he took her hand in his. "Just so long as we're clear that none of you will get in my way when the time comes. That bastard Kronos is mine to take out. I won't accept anyone interfering with that."
"You have my word we won't." Styx replied without missing a beat. Her dainty hand handling the grip of Beerus' own fairly well and squeezing back assuredly. Her tone and gaze making it clear to him she was telling the absolute truth, with how serious she was. "We will remain completely faithful to your side in this conflict. Whatever you may need of us, we shall give, provided we are able. All so that we may work together to put an end to your father's reign."
"Even if that means I send you out to fight against your own husband and father?" he asked of them all pointedly. A question which got him a much stronger squeeze from Styx's hand, as her eyes began to vaguely glow an ethereal white. The children themselves gaining fierce looks of determination behind her.
"Definitely." She said, giving a sharp, almost ruthless smile. "As I said, Pallas made his choice, and should he meet us on the battlefield, I will personally show him how big of a mistake he has made in siding against us. That, I can promise you."
Heh, I'm already starting to like the cut of her jib… Beerus thought to himself with some amusement, as their hands finally separated. "Very well then. Welcome aboard, I guess."
"Thank you." She nodded gratefully. "Now that that's settled, there's something I believe should be brought to your attention straight away. All of your attentions." She said, whilst quickly running her eyes over each and every one of them. Her tone turning even more serious.
"And what would that be?"
"I will need to ask if you have a plan for the potential of you all getting discovered, especially if you still need time to prepare, because soon enough, this Isle will be compromised."
That took everyone there, other than Styx's children and Gaea by surprise.
"What do you mean by that?" It was Hestia who spoke up first. Concern flashing over her face at the Titaness' words.
"It is exactly as mother says. This Isle will be compromised soon enough." Nike spoke up, her own tone serious as she levelled her gaze on Hestia. "Look to the sky if you don't believe me. Look to the west, in particular."
They all did so, mostly out of curiosity for what she was talking about. Both Beerus and Zeus especially squinting their eyes as they looked far, far ahead into the distance and scanning the sky.
It didn't take long for a few of them to spot the oddity going on in the mostly pale-blue ether. "Are those… gold lines going through the sky?" Zeus muttered the thought Beerus too was thinking, sounding befuddled.
"Hyperion." Rhea mouthed. Her mood souring fast, as she recognised where they were coming from. The Titan's chariot. "Of course, Kronos would send him out first…"
"Who's Hyperion?" Demeter spoke up this time, looking at her mother quizzically.
"He's one of Kronos' brothers." Metis spoke up this time, her voice as dead serious as her sister's was at this point, as she nabbed the siblings' attention. "You all met him back atop Mount Othrys. He's the one who fired the light-beam at Beerus that almost blasted us all down. Remember?"
"Tch. That guy again?" Beerus scoffed hearing this. "What threat exactly does he pose? If Kronos' so called 'all-seeing gaze' on his little throne can't find us, as you said before, thanks to Gaea's magic, then how in the heck is he supposed to be a problem?"
"He's certainly not one when he's far out, young one, but he will be if he gets close enough." Gaea relayed, not looking shocked at the situation. "My magic creates a protective veil around the Isle that essentially makes all activity on it, as well as all those on it, completely untraceable. Unseeable. Kronos, it's true, wouldn't be able to see you all here because of that, as I can block his all-seeing gaze that uses his father's throne from down here. Hyperion however, if he gets close enough, would be able to see and feel my power veiling over the island, no matter how well I've hidden it."
"And how's that?" Beerus couldn't help but ask his current mentor, somewhat intrigued.
"His power granted through his divine domain allows him to do it. He holds dominion over heavenly light, which gives him the unique ability to pierce through the veil so to speak, and notice things that none of his other brethren by themselves could." She explained.
"Which is precisely why Kronos made him their scout." Styx continued. "Gaea's barriers are certainly more potent than anyone else's, and for anyone else, unless you stumbled upon this Isle by sheer coincidence or were tipped off by her, no one would be able to find you all hiding out here. He, however, is a problem. Soon enough, he will fly close enough to this Isle that his power will have him take notice of Gaea's magic surrounding it. I can guarantee you, the moment he does, he will come down here to investigate why that is. And as soon as he touches foot down on this place, like I was able to do, he will sense all of your presences on here instantly."
"So, what if he does, though?" Poseidon spoke up, sounding confused as to why this was being taken as such a huge deal. "Beerus was able to stop his attack before with his own power and overpowered one of the others back in that castle prior to that. Couldn't he just do that again with Hyperion, and send him packing?"
"That'd only be feasible if Hyperion decided to remain in his base state. Considering what went down before though, it's highly likely he'll go into his True Divine Form the moment he sees or feels Beerus' presence." Metis asserted wisely. "And once he does that, Beerus as he is now without one of his own, doesn't have a chance of defeating him in a direct confrontation."
"Oh…" Was all that the second youngest of the siblings could say to that, especially when Beerus himself didn't refute such a claim.
"Plus, even if we assume that Beerus still could send him packing even then, our position would still be compromised, since Hyperion would still know where we are, and could just tell Kronos and the rest of his allies right after the fact. Then before you know it, we have all of them descending right on us, no doubt all in their True Divine Forms as well. And we're nowhere near prepared for a scenario like that." Metis continued critically, highlighting what was essentially the worst-case scenario before them all.
"Are all of you well-versed enough that you at least have full control over all of your inner power?" Styx asked mainly towards the siblings, but it was Rhea who answered for them with a shake of her head.
"No. I'm afraid not. Only Beerus and Zeus so far have reached that point. The rest of them still have to catch up in that regard, and I'd say I'll need roughly three weeks to ensure they do."
"Well, you might have to cut it a little short then, because if I had to guess, it'll only be about two weeks at best before Hyperion arrives here. Maybe a day or so more if we're lucky."
"And if we're not?" Zeus asked cautiously.
"It could be as low as ten days, possibly." Styx said solemnly, clicking her tongue in annoyance. "Given his current trajectory, that's the least amount of time I see it taking him to arrive here."
"Great… Just great…" Zeus groaned, pinching his eyes shut. "And we can't just go somewhere else random, as Kronos will likely spot us from up above himself before Gaea even has time to put a veil over us again…"
"We could always just disguise ourselves by shapeshifting into animals and try to hide our presences. Would that work?" Hades broached calmly.
"That might work, if it were any of the others on ground level with us. Against my brother Hyperion though? No. Such a trick would not work on him." Rhea shot down immediately with a shake of her head. A look of consternation plastered on her beatific face. "I have personally bared witness to those trying such a thing on him in the past, and thanks to his domain's power, he saw through it right away."
"Well that is disconcerting…" Hera muttered, before an idea popped into her head. "Wait, hold on. Is luring him away an option?"
"Lure him away? You mean like a decoy?" Metis asked, to which Hera nodded. "Hmm… I don't know…" The Oceanid pondered that, while propping her chin up on a clenched hand. "That could work, but it's extremely risky… Hyperion wouldn't be the only one alerted at that point. Kronos would no doubt also spot you from atop Mount Othrys without Gaea's protective, magical veil. Whoever would be using themselves as a decoy to draw Hyperion away from reaching this Isle would absolutely have not just him chasing them down, but also Kronos and the others as well. There's a strong chance that they'll end up getting pinned down and captured, because if all of them are together, they could easily block any attempt you could make to dematerialize back here, or somewhere else." Her eyes narrowed perceptively. "In fact, I'm pretty sure only one of them would be necessary to put up a similar magical field around the area from the one covering Mount Othrys that they'd notice the decoy in. From there, all Hyperion would need to do is lock you down for a short period, and then no doubt the backup will arrive, and you have little, if any chance at all, of escaping that situation."
"Actually, I could help with that." Gaea cut back in, drawing everyone's attention. "While I may not be fast enough to put a protective veil over you in time to stop Kronos from spotting you, I can get rid of that field if its put up, allowing whoever goes out to keep on the move."
"But won't he know for sure then that you're helping us?" Metis countered, showing the primordial a look of concern. "While I don't doubt your words, Lady Gaea, I am certain Kronos wouldn't take that slight lying down and will start coming after you as well. He could very well try to do to you what he did to his father in retaliation..."
Gaea rose a brow at Zeus' consort. Not intimidated in the least by that. "I have no doubts that Kronos has likely figured out by now that I am most likely helping in hiding you from him, so that may as well not be a concern. Furthermore, I hold no fear for my son. I'm the one who gifted him that favoured weapon of his all those years ago, in case you forgot. I know how it works. He can come after me with it all he wishes, but it won't get him anywhere. He'd need to strike me down in my physical form, just as he did to my former consort Ouranos, and I have no intention of allowing him the opportunity to get me in a similar position to what he and his brothers got him in all that time ago." Especially considering that were it not for her at that time, Kronos and his brothers wouldn't have even gotten that opportunity in the first place.
"I guess…" Metis said uneasily. "But that's assuming it's just Hyperion doing it. What happens if all of them descend at once to capture them, after Kronos spots them? If alerted to your interference, they may be inclined to go into their True Divine Forms all at once just to counter that. I'm not sure even you'd be able to block the field being put up by the combined power of all of them should that happen."
"True. If such a thing happened, even I'd be hard-pressed to hold back against them all like that for very long." Gaea conceded, but looked far from put off by that fact, as she gained another knowing smile. "However, there's potentially a way we can ensure that Kronos and the others won't become pursuers."
"Is there now?" Beerus spoke up, gazing with intrigue at his current teacher, as everyone else regarded her with a similar form of interest with that statement. "And what might that be?"
"Some of you seem to have forgotten, but I'm not the only one around who can block my son's all-seeing gaze utilizing his father's throne." She looked toward Styx. "There are a few others capable of it as well, and one of them just so happens to be with us here right now, who has just said she's willing to lend her assistance. Has she not?"
"Ah…" Styx grinned, as everyone turned to her. "I see where you're going with this."
"Yes." The protogenos of the Earth and life nodded, let her massive breasts jostle as she pulled one of her arms out from under them, and pointed towards the eldest Oceanid. "You were able to conceal yours and your children's presence from Kronos throughout your whole journey here, if I'm not mistaken. If you are there right by whomever we send out, you should be able to do the same again for the both of you, which leaves only Hyperion, and potentially his sister-wife Theia if she's with him, as your pursuers. You can focus on that whilst I focus on keeping him and potentially Theia, if he's brought her along, from stopping your ability to dematerialize away."
"That… that could actually work." Metis agreed after a bit once Gaea lowered her arm, beginning to smile slightly as Hera's decoy idea now seemed to appear much more feasible. "You're willing to do that, right sister?"
"Why wouldn't I be?" Styx said bemusedly, as she glanced over at her younger sister. "I said that I and my children will give aid whenever and wherever we can, and I don't go back on my word. I'd be more than happy to tag along with this to ensure it is a success."
"Wonderful. I guess that means Hera's idea is a go then." Metis nodded in acknowledgement in said fledgling goddess' direction. "Since we have a plan going now, there's only one thing to decide, and that's who'll be the bait?"
"Isn't that obvious?" Hera smiled lightly, as she pointed at her oldest brother. "Beerus would make the perfect bait for that."
"Oh?" Beerus rose a brow at her inquisitively. "Pray tell, Hera, why's that?"
"It's rather simple, dear brother." She replied whilst lowering her hand, having everyone's attention. "You're the one they want the most out of any of us, after what you did back on their turf before we all escaped here. I don't doubt that out of all of us, if you were to go, then Hyperion would chase you the most fervently. And that means you've got the best shot at luring him the farthest away from the rest of us. Unless I'm mistaken somewhere, of course."
That last quip seemed to challenge anyone to refute her assertion. Beerus could only chuckle at this.
"Heh, I guess you're not." He shrugged. "Suppose it's better than nothing."
"You'll go along with it, then?" Metis asked.
"Sure. I'll bite. That asshat would just get in the way of our training if I don't." He'd much prefer to beat the shit out of him for daring to stand in his way, but that was too risky given that he could go into his True Divine Form, and if he did whilst he was trying to batter him, it wouldn't end well. Not according to Gaea anyhow, and he trusted her word enough at this point to not go for the full-on combative approach, until he was ready to deal with that transformation trump card. Recognising this, he then turned to Styx again, looking rather nonchalant at this point about the whole thing. "It looks like I'll be counting on your services soon enough. Do try not to disappoint me."
"I aim to please." The 2nd generation Titaness remarked back with a confident look. Taking no offence to his little quip at the end insinuating there was even a possibility of her not doing her part well. "It should be interesting playing a little game of cat and mouse with that arrogant ass."
Beerus had to chuckle once again at that. The irony wasn't lost on him, that he of all people, would be playing the part of the mouse here. Truly, this world was rather hysterical, it seemed. "You said that it'd be two weeks if we're lucky, right?"
"Yes." She nodded. "It's the more unlikely amount of time it'll take for him, though. The ten-day window, in my opinion, is much more likely."
"Then we'll do it a week from now, then." Beerus decided. "That'll allow me to get a bit more important training in and should mean we can appear far enough away from here due to where he is, that he's less likely to suspect a misdirection. All while we lead that fool as far away as we can from here. That sound good?"
"That is fine." She agreed. "I have no issues with that."
"Good." Beerus brought his clenched hands behind his back again and touched them together. "Feel free to do what you want until then. Zeus?"
"Uh, yes brother?" the silver-haired younger sibling blinked.
"Come with me." He said, as he started to walk away. "I'm eager to learn those abilities you showed. I'll need the first the most, given what I'll be doing next week."
"Oh, right!" Zeus nodded quickly, following along behind his elder. "Just don't forget those spars you'll owe me for it."
"Hmph. I won't. I'll give you all your requested ass-kickings, don't you worry." He then turned and looked at the others as he walked away. "Hope you all enjoyed that little show before. It's over now though, so get back to your own training." Something then popped into his head, which he hadn't really thought since it'd been mentioned to him until now. What with their new arrivals and the talk of gaining allies, this could be a good time to kill two birds with one stone. He then looked toward the primordial goddess of the Earth. "Oh, and Gaea?"
"Yes? What is it, young one?" Mother Earth queried curiously. Meeting his eyes, as he momentarily halted in place. Zeus doing so as well.
"Seeing as I'll be leaving this island for a little while, once we give that buffoon the slip, I was thinking I might just take a detour. Try and head to this Tartarus place you mentioned and free those sons of yours. How about it?"
Upon hearing this, everyone had varying looks of surprise at what he'd just said. The rest of his siblings other than Zeus having been told about Gaea's children's predicament by their mother, who felt they should know about it. Thus, they too were aware of that situation. However, neither them nor their mother had thought he'd go for them so soon.
No one was more surprised at this than Gaea herself, but that expression quickly gave way to an excited, hopeful smile, as his words really settled in. Her eyes beginning to gleam with joy at the prospect of being properly reunited with them. "I would love that, Beerus! Please do if you can, you won't regret busting them out of there. They'll be a huge boon to you, I guarantee it!" Her attention then immediately turned to Styx. "You don't mind going along with him there, do you?"
Quickly getting over her own initial surprise at Beerus's second plan of action, Styx turned to Gaea and shook her head. Almost wanting to giggle at the near childishly beaming expression Gaea now had. She couldn't blame her for being like that, though. "Not at all. I'd be glad to. My usual residence is a boundary between this plane and the underworld already. If we're indeed able to 'give that buffoon the slip', as Beerus so kindly put it, then I can take him down through there and we can head down into Tartarus to free them. I doubt it'll be easy, but the Cyclopes and Hekatonchires would be huge assets, in more ways than one. That cannot be denied."
"Wonderful!" Her gigantic globes jiggled profusely as she slapped her hands together in front of her chest and clutching them with the other almost as if in prayer. Her beaming smile damn near face-splitting at this point, at the potential of her baby boys finally getting rescued from that awful place. And that was no real offence to her son Tartarus, who personified the pit beneath the underworld, but it truly was a horrid place that she didn't want any of the children she cared about being imprisoned in. "They've had a bad lot for much too long now. This'll give them the chance to turn that around and be truly free, as they always should've been. Oh, I can't wait to see them again!"
Beerus just rolled his eyes. The goddess' aura waving off of her and being infectious enough to get him in a good mood again as well. And not just him either, but everyone else as well. Just the same as what Hestia always seemed capable of, only more potent and refined. Speaking of Hestia, as the purple-haired fledgling god turned away, he caught his twin sister giving him a fond smile for what he said he'd do, as she waved him away. He just smirked back and did the same, before motioning Zeus to follow him again as he turned away fully and started walking off again. Fully intent to get himself ready for his little excursion a week from now.
As he did, he missed the devious look Hera sent his way, now knowing her prime window to make her move to get back at him. As soon as he got back, she'd go for it, and he'll never see it coming.
AND CUT!
That's the end of this one and I hope you all got some enjoyment out of it. Next one, as it says on my profile, will be releasing on the 25th, which is the one-year anniversary of when I first published this story. This one was on the shorter side, and is again more of a set-up chapter, but best believe, the next one will be around 12K or more, and will have the payoff to it. Should be a good one, I hope.
I'll see you all then!