AN: The initial idea for this came from Lyger 0, but I added my own spin to almost everything about it.

To Anon: The hits just keep coming for the heroes.

Replies to Reviews of "Light in the Darkness," Epilogue:

To Lyger 0: It wasn't mentioned, but Bunnyx did return before the wedding. That will play a role in the next story, "Brightest Days."

Stephanos let out a breath, stretching his arms out to either side, and twisted his head to pop his neck. They had been hiking for almost two hours already, ever since they had left their car back in the parking lot at the base of the mountain. "Oh, man," Stephanos groaned, dropping to sit on a tree stump. "I'm calling it right now: we need to take a break, or else we won't be able to get back to the van."

"Are you serious?" Nikos demanded, folding his arms and giving Stephanos an annoyed look. "The more of these breaks we take, the longer it's going to take for us to get there!"

Pyrros arched an eyebrow at him. "Considering that we haven't taken any breaks before now, I doubt there's much danger of that!"

Stephanos poured some water into his mouth from his bottle before squirting his face, shaking his head and sending water droplets flying in all directions. "Maybe not a long break, but enough get us there."

"Thank goodness," gasped Zoi, plopping down next to Stephanos and pulling out a bag of trail mix. Popping a handful in her mouth, she held it out to Stephanos before offering some to the others.

Dimitrios picked a few nuts out of the trail mix, then guzzled almost half his water bottle in a single long pull. "I knew I should have brought two of these," he complained, examining the bottle with a frown.

"There's a pool over that way," Eleni told him. "You can fill it from there."

"Are you insane? Do you have any idea how nasty that is? I don't want to get parasites!" protested Dimitrios, eyes widening in terror.

Pyrros chuckled. "What, you didn't bring a water purifier?" he asked rhetorically.

"That's why I brought a water bottle."

"And here I thought you were planning to go for a swim later," Eleni retorted, smirking.

Dimitrios grinned. "That's different."

"We're probably not going all the way to the top of the mountain," Stephanos reminded Dimitrios. "You'll be fine; if you need it, you can have some of my water."

"Thanks, man." Dimitrios stood up and stretched, letting out a loud groan as he did so.

"Can you not be so loud?" hissed Eleni, frowning. "It's bad enough that all the animals get chased away by the constant hikers going up and down the trail; you don't have to scare them away more!"

Dimitrios gave her a deadpan look and rolled his eyes. "You and your animals."

She pursed her lips. "Half the point of hiking out in nature is to actually see nature," she argued. "Or at least as much of it as is left…"

Nikos jumped to his feet, looking around excitedly. "So, do you think we'll actually find anything today?"

Eleni raised an eyebrow at Dimitrios, standing up and shouldering her pack. "Not if he has anything to say about it, we won't," she grumbled.

"Not that," Nikos replied, leading the way down the trail as the others slowly got up and followed. "I mean, it would be cool to see some birds out here, but I'm talking artifacts."

Stephanos shrugged. "I suppose it's possible," he allowed, "but considering how many people have combed over Olympus, I doubt that an earthquake in Germany's really going to shake anything loose."

"It did seem so much more likely sitting in the library the other day," Pyrros agreed, nodding. "But seeing it up close in the field… was that earthquake even strong enough to be felt this far away?"

"Maybe not, but it wasn't just a single earthquake in Germany," Zoi pointed out. "It was two earthquakes in Germany. Plus a couple in Brazil, and one in America, and several in Japan."

Pyrros hummed, his brows furrowed in thought. "That is true…" he allowed. "Seismic activity in one place has a minimal impact on the rest of the planet; seismic activity dispersed around the globe should have a potentially-significant impact everywhere."

"The earthquakes could have acted as a sifter," Zoi suggested. "It could have pushed things up to the surface that haven't seen the light of day in centuries – maybe even millennia."

"Sure, but Olympus?" Eleni demanded. "You've got to admit that it seems a little farfetched."

"As farfetched as the idea of life on other planets?" Zoi pointed out meaningfully. "As farfetched as the idea of superheroes empowered by magical jewelry?"

Eleni hummed doubtfully.

"And that's saying nothing of whatever is going on in France right now," added Pyrros, shuddering. "I mean, the same logic that dictates that we shouldn't find relics of the gods – beyond artifacts associated with their worship – would also dictate that the Tarasque is nothing but a mythological hybrid, an embodiment of a civilization's basest fears, all brought to life. But here we are."

Dimitrios scoffed. "So you're saying that because there's a Tarasque, there must also be Olympian gods?"

Pyrros shrugged. "I've heard of worse theories."

Nikos rolled his eyes. "There's nothing wrong with at least checking it out."

Stephanos hummed pensively. The six of them had been sitting around a table in the dining hall after their Mythological Archaeology class at the University of Athens earlier that week, discussing the most recent events in Paris, when Eleni had commented on the earthquakes, wondering what kind of impact they could have had on the local wildlife. Pyrros had commented on the possible effect on the archaeological sites around Mount Olympus, and all six of them had decided to check it out. Although privately he still doubted that they would actually find anything just going on a walk around the base of the mountain, Stephanos had not been in the mood to dissuade the others from their plan. After all, even the worst-case scenario still involved spending a day hiking with friends! So here they were, nearing the halfway point of their hike, almost at the base of the mountain on the east side. "Even if we don't find anything, it's still a nice day for experiencing nature," he pointed out, throwing one of his arms out wide to encompass everything around them.

"Absolutely!" agreed Eleni, smiling brightly. Stephanos grinned, raising an eyebrow at Eleni, who rolled her eyes. "Don't even think about it."

Nikos groaned. "Well, if you just want to sit around, I'm going to go and explore ahead!" he called, jogging down the path away from them.

Stephanos stifled a laugh but turned to the others with a serious look. "So what do you think about everything that's happening in France?" he asked Dimitrios.

Dimitrios shrugged. "I haven't really given it too much thought," he replied. "I'm just glad it's over there and not right here!"

"You have to admit that it's a fascinating specimen," Pyrros objected. "I don't think we've seen anything like it before, apart from myth and legend. And from the few reports that have gotten out, this Tarasque was tough enough to defeat practically all the superheroes in the world and force them turn tail and run away. If that's the case, it's got to be bad news – and not just for France."

Eleni hummed, frowning. "The last I heard from my friend in Paris, the Tarasque's breath was killing everything – plants, animals… people. If it doesn't stop…" She shrugged helplessly.

"But if it breathes," mused Zoi, stroking her chin, "it must be living in some form. And if that's the case, then there has to be a way to stop it."

Stephanos pursed his lips doubtfully. "At this point, that's more of an academic exercise, don't you think?"

"Naturally," Zoi agreed with a nod. "But it's a fascinating exercise nonetheless."

Climbing over a tree that had fallen across the path, Stephanos turned around and held out a hand to Eleni, who raised an eyebrow at him before scrambling over on her own. He shrugged and stepped out of the way while the others followed. Once they were all set to continue, he opened his mouth to speak, but froze on hearing Nikos shout from further down the path. "Hey! Take a look at this!"

Stephanos cocked his head. "What is it?"

Dimitrios raised an eyebrow. "Knowing him, it's probably a squirrel."

Rolling her eyes, Zoi started in Nikos' direction. "Come on; be nice," she chided Dimitrios. "We're here to explore, after all."

Pyrros shrugged and followed her. "I'll admit he's got me curious. Who knows? Maybe he actually did find something."

"Just as long as he doesn't try to take something he's not supposed to," muttered Dimitrios, though he slowly picked his way around the rocks to follow Pyrros and Zoi.

Stephanos sighed but jogged after them with Eleni bringing up the rear. He scanned the forest carefully where it sloped upward into the foothills of Mount Olympus, looking for any signs of movement. It was a bright, sunny day, with very few clouds in the sky. A soft breeze rustled the branches of the trees, but no animals were in sight. Walking a little further, he found Nikos standing off the path, just in front of a low cave entrance. As the other five gathered near the cave mouth, Stephanos tried to look inside past Nikos, but the interior was too dark to see more than the first meter of the dry, stone cave floor.

"It looks like this might actually have been knocked open by all that seismic activity," Nikos explained, pointing at the stone around the opening. Bending over to look where he indicated, Stephanos ran a finger along the edge of the stone, which lacked the usual patina. The color of the stone was lighter than the surrounding section. Nikos raised an eyebrow. "Still think this is a waste of time?"

Dimitrios frowned. "Are you sure we should go in there?"

Zoi nodded firmly. "Where's your sense of adventure?" she asked, aiming a flashlight into the cave before crouching low to get inside the small opening.

"If it goes back too far, we can always come back," Pyrros pointed out, following her. He withdrew his own flashlight as he did so, and the twin beams danced off the interior walls.

"At least you have flashlights," grumbled Dimitrios, scrambling through on his hands and knees to join them.

Slowly, one by one, Stephanos, Nikos, and Eleni joined the other three inside the cave, which immediately started to widen once they had passed the entrance, almost as large and deep as a classroom. Stephanos' flashlight played across the cave walls, catching and reflecting light in strange ways as the light caught and bounced off of what appeared to be fine gem powder set into the walls. Further ahead, the cave narrowed down to a doorway, a little taller than Stephanos himself, the floor beyond which appeared to almost shine as the light reflected off of it. Stopping in that doorway, Pyrros froze in place and gasped.

"What is it?" called Zoi, rushing in his direction.

"I'm… not sure?" he answered as the others converged on the doorway.

Stephanos was the second one to reach him, just as Pyrros stepped through the doorway. He looked over Pyrros' shoulder into a wide, tall room lined in stone that was unnaturally smooth, almost smoother than metal. The floor was perfectly flat, and a single stone pedestal rose from the exact center of the room, on which rested an ovular silvery bean-shaped artifact. Stephanos joined Pyrros inside the room, staring at the device. Someone bumped into him, and he stepped to one side, against the smooth wall, as the others entered.

"Is that interesting enough for you?" muttered Pyrros, stepping further into the room and moving closer to the device for a better look.

"I'm not sure if 'interesting' is the best word for it," Dimitrios murmured, leaning against the wall next to Stephanos.

"Have–have you ever seen anything like this before?" wondered Eleni.

Zoi shook her head. "Not on an archaeological dig," she replied, pointing her flashlight at the artifact, which suddenly flashed with bright light. A whirring sound emanated from something just below the artifact.

Stephanos started, scanning the room quickly for his friends. Pyrros was the closest to the device, having moved the furthest into the chamber. Stephanos grabbed for him, only to miss and catch nothing but air. "Hold on!" he called.

However, before he could do anything else, the device emitted a pulse of brilliant white light that bathed all six of them and reflected off of the smooth walls of the chamber, refracting into all the colors of the rainbow. Again and again the light pulsed, and Stephanos stared at it, transfixed. Something seemed to be dancing around and in front of the light, just outside of his reach.

Stephanos shook his head, breaking out of his reverie, and looked around at the other five, all of whom continued to stare at the now-inert bean. His neck and shoulders felt as stiff as if he had been standing in the same place for hours – days, even. But he had no memory of anything after the bean came to life. Shaking his head, he groaned, reaching up to rub his forehead. However, something felt different. "Guys?"

"Huh?" Zoi snapped out of her trance and turned to stare at him, blinking, as the others all did the same.

"What just happened?" wondered Dimitrios, rolling his shoulders, opening and closing his mouth stiffly. "Do you have any idea how long we've been in here?"

"I–I don't know!" gasped Eleni, looking around at the others in shock.

Stephanos looked down at his wrist. "My watch isn't working," he complained.

"The cave entrance is just back that way," Nikos called out, pointing. "Let me go and check." Without another word, he sprinted away from them and out of the cave, disappearing in a blur as he moved, sucking a wave of air behind him.

Stephanos stared after him, eyes wide, and his jaw dropped. "What the hell?"