Alrighty, here's the chapter of Sonomi, goddess of stuffed animals! I had a bit of fun with this chapter, which means that Sonomi will probably kill me. I love it; a Japanese goddess in ancient Greece. Ok! Some things to know:
Athens- the patron city of Athena. That' where The Parthenon, a huge temple built to Athena, is.
Sparta- a warrior city that has a long standing beef with Athens.
Odysseus- the legendary war hero of the Trojan War from Homer's The Odyssey.
Furies- like fire spirits. They guard the under world, but that's not important for this chapter
Nymphs- You all know what these are right? Water or tree sprite.
A soft chirping awoke Sonomi in the morning. She stretched slightly, then sat up in bed, smiling as the sun arose to meet the day. Her orange sheets fell away as she bounced out of bed, hitting her head on the pink lamp that hung from the ceiling over her head. Sonomi frowned and rubbed her head, then shrugged, a happy smile still on her face. As more and more birds joined the chorus of the first, the dark-haired Asian turned to count her vast number of teddy bears.
"One two three... I'm missing one." She said slowly. Sonomi glared. The sky around the new goddess complex darkened. Her eyes turned into bright red flames, horns shot out of her head, and a red devil's tail snaked up from her back. An ugly snarl escaped her lips. Just as she was about to unleash her annoyance onto the world, she spotted her fiftieth teddy bear under her bed. "There you are!" she cooed, scooping the blue and silver teddy up. "Thought you could hide from me. You were wrong!" After giving the bear a quick cuddle, she kissed it's nose, changed into her daily uniform, and headed downstairs.
The breakfast room was all a buzz with the freak thunderstorm that had just occurred. Sonomi ducked her head and proceeded into the room, but she did not, unfortunately, go unnoticed. It was hard to ignore a huge orange teddy bear.
"Hiiiiii Sonomi." Hollered Megan. Sonomi sighed softly.
"Good morning Megan." She said dutifully. Colleen came bouncing in just then and exchanged her greetings too.
"Hi Sonomi wow did you see that random thunderstorm that almost happened well it didn't and that's good cause then we'd all be really wet and that'd be sad wow I'm hyper can't you tell?" As the blonde goddess stopped to catch her breath, Sonomi nodded. "Ok…" she said slowly, before heading to the food area.
Sometimes I wish I was on an island, like Lindsay. Sonomi thought.
Speak for yourself. came the reply. Oooooohhh is that bacon?!
Sonomi smirked and took a bite. Mmm sooo good. she said evilly. She received a mental kick in the head.
Shut up Lindsay said grumpily, who sulked off to finish her breakfast of cold fish and bugs. Sonomi finished the piece of meat happily. Poor Lindsay. she thought privately. Then, rubbing her head, On second thought, nevermind. the Asian said grumpily. She finished filling up her plate, and went to sit in the dining area, but was met with a surprise.
There, in the middle of the room, sitting on HER cushion, was Jason. He looked perfectly pleased with staying there, regardless of Megan's and Colleen's evil glares. Sonomi glanced around, but there were no other empty seats. So, not wanting to be rude, she did the most logical thing she could think of; she sat on Lauren. "Thank you." The Asian said sweetly, as the blond goddess gave a squeak of surprise. Lauren responded by dumping Sonomi unto the floor. Sonomi sat there, dazed for a moment. Then she got up with a huff, and marched out of the room, wiggling her tail for emphasis.
Once outside, Sonomi took a few deep breaths of the crisp morning air. Then she sneezed. Damn pollen. Oh well. Time to go to lessons. Sonomi gave a smile, and skipped off to Athena's temple in Athens. It was a rather long skip, but Sonomi made it in record time. Soon she was standing in front of the Parthenon. It was still too early for any worshipers, so Sonomi made her way into the massive temple with ease. Athena loved being near the mortals, to help and guide them, but she didn't like the constant fawning and attention. Therefore she only came here in the morning and at night. Inside, a few elderly priestesses were lighting candles silently. The faint sounds of metal against metal and bubbling laughter were heard from the back of the temple, behind the large draperies that created the illusion of a back wall. Sonomi bowed slightly at the priestesses, who were smiling warmly at the huge teddy bear, and then entered the back room.
Athena was just finishing up a round of sword practice with the ghost of Odysseus. The war hero thrust his sword at the war goddess's weak side, but Athena was ready. Twisting out of the way, she blocked his attack, and brought her weapon up to meet his. With a quick flick of the wrist, she sent his sword flying. "I win." She said solemnly, sword at Odysseus's neck. Then she cracked a smile and extended her hand. Odysseus shook it, and then faded away, back to the Elysian fields. The gray-eyed goddess then turned to Sonomi. "Would you like to try?" she asked.
Sonomi shrugged and picked up the sword. "I'm not very good." She whined, dragging the heavy weapon into fighting stance. Athena smiled. Then she struck. Sonomi blocked it with a squeak, her arm muscles burning. Back and forth the swords went. Sonomi was getting tired; her orange teddy bear suit was soaked with sweat and felt like lead. Still Athena pressed on, swinging this way and that. Finally she spied a gap in Sonomi's defenses and drove her weapon home. The little Asian dropped her weapon in defeat as the war goddess's sword ran clean through her. She sank to the floor in a moan. "Ugh. Ugh! UGHHHHH!!!" Sonomi groaned, dramatically dying. Athena rolled her eyes at the teddy goddess rolling on the floor. She walked forward casually, and yanked the sword out of Sonomi' gut.
"Nice try, but you're immortal."
"Oh yea." Sonomi said. Brushing herself off, she stood up with a smile. "So, what are we doing today?" she asked quizzically. Since Aubrey was off fixing her temple that Megan had burned, Sonomi had the lesson time all to herself. Athena grinned, her gray eyes alight with an idea.
"Well, since you've already learned how to make, give, control stuffed animals, AND you've taught them to dance, I think now would be a good time to…" she paused for dramatic effect. "create your very own teddy bear army!"
Sonomi gasped. "NO!" she cried, "I don't wanna hurt them!"
Athena gave a frustrated growl. "You're immortal, therefore your creations can be immortal too."
Sonomi relaxed at this news. "Ok. Sounds fun!" she said excitedly.
Athena smiled and clapped her hands. Servants appeared in the door, carrying trays. Some held miniature armor and weapons, others held a large number the teddy bears Sonomi had made a few days earlier. They set them on the floor and backed out of the room with a bow. Soon there was silence in the room. Athena gave a soft cough, and turned to Sonomi. "Well?" Sonomi sighed and clapped her hands. Suddenly the entire ensemble of stuffed animals came to life, dancing an Irish step dance as music came out of no where. Sonomi then pointed to the armor. Legs still moving, the toys waited patiently in single file as each of them grabbed armor and a sword. One particularly picky teddy, a bright green one, took about ten minutes repositioning his armor and polishing it with his paw. Finally Sonomi grew impatient with him and gave him a soft kick. It sent him flying across the room with a squeal, but luckily his armor was in the right place so he landed safely.
Soon all the teddies had what they wanted and order was restored. Sonomi paced back and forth, looking at her stuffed regime. Yes, they would do well. She then turned with a snap of her heels to face Athena. "Ok, now what?" she asked. Athena produced an army of big stuffed dummies in the corner. "Just speak in a commanding voice and have them attack." She ordered Sonomi. The teddy goddess nodded and then turned to her miniature army. "Attack!" she screamed, pointing at the dummies. In a cloud of dust, they obeyed. In a few short minutes the dust settled. There stood a heap of dummy material. On top, a pink teddy bear was struggling to raise a flag. She succeeded with the help of a purple, and a red bear. Together they stood in victory as the rest of the stuffed animal population looked in wonder and awe. There was complete and utter silence, save for the clapping from Athena. "I think they will work well." The war goddess said.
Just then a scream erupted from outside. Athena and Sonomi rushed to the front of the temple and peered down at the chaos below. A black tidal wave was slowly engulfing the city. Citizens were running in fear as warriors clamored for their armor. Sonomi squinted at the scene and gasped. It wasn't black water, it was Spartans, in their dark armor on ebony horses. Leading them, on a blood-bay stallion, was Ares. He raised his sword as if in a trance and gave an odd war cry. The Spartans, ready for Athenian blood, sped forward.
Athena reached for her sword, but Sonomi was quicker. She gave a sharp shrill whistle that stopped the Spartans dead in their tracks. They turned to the Athenian acropolis, and were met with a nightmare. Slowly rising was a black-haired goddess in an orange bear skin. Her eyes blazed fiery red and she held a thin metal staff in one hand. As the Spartans looked on in horror, the goddess raised her hand. Suddenly a huge cloud blackened the sky. It was a horrific army of teddy bears, beady black eyes glistening, weapons in hand. As Sonomi gave an eagle cry, the stuffed army descended up the poor Spartans. Trained as they were, the warriors were unprepared for legions of immortal teddies.
As the center of Athens was enveloped in blood, turmoil, and screams, Sonomi and Athena made their way down into the chaos. Athena headed towards Ares, who was sitting on his horse, hacking at anything who got in her way. Sonomi followed suit, shoving all aside with her Pooh bear staff. Finally she saw a straight path to Ares. Gathering all of her strength, the Asian goddess hurled her spear at the war god. It hit his side, sending him to the ground. The shocking fall of their rallier sent the Spartans into confusion. Most took off for the boats, teddy bears still clinging to their arms like fuzzy piranhas. Ares struggled to his feet and ran after the warriors, but Athena's elbow connected with his temple and he fell over again, unconscious.
As the dust finally settled, Sonomi picked her way through the dead bodies, retrieved her staff, and walked over to Athena, who was leaning over Ares. The war god groaned and opened his eyes. Then he saw the two ticked goddesses towering over him.
"Oh shit" he moaned, and tried to sit up.
Sonomi drove her spear at his head. "I don't appreciate that language." She said sternly.
Athena bent over and grabbed Ares by the neck. "What in Dad's name were you thinking?! The Athenians and the Spartans had JUST reached an uneasy peace. You've just started another war! The Spartans'll probably alliance with the PERSIANS now for Dad's sake! Do you realize this?!" the warrior goddess shook her brother for emphasis. His eyes rolled into the back of his head, and he went limp. Athena threw him to the ground in disgust.
"I'm going to send him to Zeus. See how he weasels out of THIS one." The war goddess muttered. Then, turning around, she addressed Sonomi. "Well, I think you handled that very well. Good job on the lesson for the day." she said, beaming. Indeed, it had gone very well. Teddy bears were slowly climbing out of the rubble and coming up from the shore. They were a little battered and bruised, and some had stuffing coming out, but all were ok. The worst injury was a missing arm on a sapphire teddy. Sonomi rushed over to the poor animal and conjured up a new arm for it. The next few minutes were spent sewing in missing stuffing, mending torn fur, shining scuffed eyes, and brushing scruffy noses. Soon the teddy army was as good as new. Sonomi went around, patting the heads of each brave little soldier. They bowed low and marched off into Athena's temple.
As Sonomi and Athena watched the miniature warriors make their way up the acropolis, Athens began to come to life again. Citizens began coming out of houses, stepping lightly over Spartan bodies. Athena gave a small groan as she saw priests coming her way with trays fills with burning meat. They'll start groveling at our feet soon. she grumbled. Sonomi nodded and closed her eyes. As the grateful citizens approached the two goddesses, fire pillars of fire suddenly rose from the earth. They turned into five fury dolls, eyes ablaze and hair of fire. As the Athenians backed away in fear and awe, the toys picked up the goddesses and bore them up, up, and away to Mount Olympus.
As Sonomi and Athena got to the base of the mountain, they saw thunder and lightning shooting out from Zeus's quarters. Athena smirked. "Ares is getting what he deserves." She said, satisfied. Sonomi dodged as a large rock came rolling her way. The fury dolls sped up the mountain at lightning speed. They reached the entranceway just in time to see Ares come running out, badly burned and pissed off. He passed them, and Sonomi was unfortunate enough to glance up. The back of his toga was gone, exposing his very pale butt. Ugh!!! Bad image!!!!!! she cried. Athena looked very puzzled at her apprentice, who was now rolling around with anguish. She finally ended up dragging Sonomi into Olympus and into her house.
Athena plopped down on a chair as Sonomi leaned against a wall. "We still have an hour or two before lunch." Athena mentioned. "What do you want to do?" Sonomi's eyes lit up.
"Make more teddy bears!" she squealed.
Athena rolled her eyes. "You've already made over 300 in last 3 days." She said, calculating quickly. Sonomi pouted. "So?" she whined.
Athena sighed and got up. "Fine. I have a tapestry I want to work on anyway." Sonomi let out a delighted squeal and ran to her work area. She quickly began plans for 5 teddy bears, 3 stuffed ducks, and 1 very large pink rabbit. She could hear Athena already working on her weaving; the shuttle making a rhythmic beat as it went back and forth.
Suddenly there was a knock at the door. Sonomi bounced up to get it so Athena didn't have to stop her work. She opened the door and was met with a surprise. There stood one of the gods, his winged tennis shoes fluttering. Sonomi frowned, trying to remember his name. The god smiled flirtatiously at the Asian. "Is Aubrey here?" he inquired with mock etiquette. Sonomi looked him straight in the eye.
"No. Go away" .
Then she slammed the door on his surprise face. Athena looked up from her weaving at the loud bang. "Who was that?" she called.
"I don't know, but he wanted Aubrey," Sonomi replied. Athena gave a visible shudder and resumed work on her tapestry.
Sonomi had just finished putting the ears on the rabbit when Athena announced it was time for lunch. Tenderly placing the unfinished bunny on the table, Sonomi grabbed the other completed animals and headed out the door to the new goddess complex to drop off her treasures. After leaving them on her bed, she took a short shower, cleaned and pressed her bear suit, and headed off to the banquet hall for lunch.
As she opened the doors, Sonomi was shocked and annoyed to once again find Jason sitting in her seat. This time she didn't avoid the situation. Walking right up to him, she cleared her throat and addressed him. "Jason. That is my seat." She said through clenched teeth. The Filipino smiled apologetically. "Oh. I'm sorry." He said. Then he turned to strike up a conversation with Liz and Lauren who were sitting by him. Sonomi stood there annoyed, not sure what to do. Finally she gave him a smack in the back of the head and went to sit down in an empty seat at the end of the table. She was busy sulking when Aubrey came in, arms full of more offerings. Sonomi, remembering the events of earlier, went over to her. Unfortunately Aubrey didn't see her and they collided, the items flying everywhere.
"Someone asked for you at Athena's." Sonomi said, watching an annoyed Aubrey pick up pieces of jewelry and flower garlands. The ensemble goddess raised an eyebrow.
"Who was it?"
Sonomi shook her head. "I don't know his name. He was wearing those flying shoes."
Hermes came a voice.
Thanks Lindsay Sonomi replied. "Yea it was Hermes."
Aubrey's eye lit up and she licked her lips. "What did he want?" she said tentatively. Sonomi shrugged.
"He didn't say."
Aubrey sighed and gathered up her things. "Well if he doesn't leave a message, then he can't be worth my time." She said with a huff, before whisking in to eat.
Sonomi sat back down and waited for the food to appear. At the other end of the table, a still hyper Colleen was complaining to Nicole. "I mean, if I had CHOSEN these powers, then I'd be ok, but I didn't even have a choice! I should be the goddess of hyperness, or flying things, or, or GREEN CHICKENS! YEA!" Nicole nodded absently and pretended to listen to the blonde's rants. Jason was busy pretending to hit on Megan, and Lauren was laughing at poor Megan's plight. Katie had convinced Liz to an arm wrestling competition, and Aubrey was busy trying on all of her new jewelry. The food finally appeared on the table and Sonomi dug in whole-heartedly.
The rest of lunch was uneventful, save for Sonomi telling Lauren about Ares' white ars . The blonde goddess gave a squeal, hugging the little Asian, and proceeded into lala land, which caused her to run into a column of the Doric order. (AI: Yes, I'm bringing western civ. class into your chapter Sonomi!) Rubbing her head vaguely, she headed off to lessons, a sick smile still painted onto her face, a drunken giggle on her lips. Sonomi followed suit and headed off to lessons. She didn't, however, act like a love sick beagle in the process.
As the Asian goddess entered Athena's dwellings, the red-haired goddess was no where to be found. Instead, there was a note on the front door, telling Sonomi that she could work on whatever for a little while; Athena was off talking to Zeus about Ares. Sonomi smiled and sprinted off to her work area, anxious to finish her big pink bunny. Another idea struck her fancy however, and she decided to pursue it, leaving the poor rabbit with out any eyes, a tail, or a nose. By the time Athena came back, red-faced and fuming, Sonomi had created one, grade A, Jason voodoo doll. Of course he still needed to be magicked, but judging from Athena's mood, Sonomi wasn't about to ask her about it at that moment.
The weaving goddess sank into a chair with a growl, taking deep breaths. Sonomi inched forward. "What's wrong?" she asked timidly. Athena lifted her head.
"Ares claims that he doesn't remember leading the Spartans into Athens. He thinks something possessed him."
Sonomi gasped, but Athena waved her hand nonchalantly.
"Who ever heard of someone possessing a god?!" she went on. "The idiot just doesn't want to get in trouble. Of course Zeus ate it up like ambrosia. If Hera was there, then she'd see to it that.." The war goddess trailed off, muttering to herself. Sonomi backed out of the room, and managed to finish her pink rabbit before Athena came out of her stupor.
Mister Rabbit Foofoo was all done and sitting gleefully in a chair, so his creator decided to go back out and see what her mentor was doing. Athena smiled as her apprentice came in. "What would you like to do today?" she asked. Then she quickly added. "No, we're not making more teddy bears." Sonomi's eyes fell. "Fine." She sulked.
There was a silence between them.
A cricket chirped.
Athena absentmindedly reached over and squashed the little bug.
Finally Sonomi got up and stretched. "Well, can you teach me how to do voodoo?" Athena raised her eyebrow.
"Why?" she asked. Sonomi shrugged. The war goddess yawned and stood up. "Alright, since we have nothing better to do. First you need a doll of someone." Sonomi smiled and whipped out her Jason doll. Up went Athena's eyebrow again. "You've been planning this haven't you?" she accused Sonomi. The Asian shrugged and held out the mini-Filipino. "Maybe…" she said. The redhead took the doll, shrugged, and walked into a back room, beckoning Sonomi to follow.
By the time meditation came around, Sonomi had perfected a Jason voodoo doll, and, after wheedling her instructor a bit, made three nymph dolls who would serve as carriers over water. As the gray pigeon flew in through the window, Sonomi gathered up her torture device, and skipped off to Hestia's place.
She got there in record time, beating everyone but Lauren and Aubrey. Speaking of which, the two blondes seemed to be doing some black market trading of slaves and clothing. Sonomi glared at them suspiciously, but let it slide; she wasn't about to mess with the affairs of other goddesses. Soon Colleen and Megan came running into the room, looking nervously behind them. They had every right to do so, because in came Nicole, looking rather furious, a bright green stain down the front of her dress. As the duo collapsed into fits of laughter, Lindsay materialized, looking very confused. Not long after her arrival, Liz and Katie showed up, and the meditation could begin.
Hestia clapped her hands, calling everyone to order, but Sonomi was too quick. "Attention everyone. ahem ATTENTION!!!!" Everyone quieted down to see what the little black-haired goddess had up her sleeve. Grinning like a madwoman, Sonomi reached behind her back, and dramatically pulled out the Jason voodoo doll. There were gasps and some "oooohs" and "ahhhhs" as well. Everyone just stared, shocked into silence. Finally Liz spoke up.
"Can I try first?"
Sonomi grinned and tossed the doll to the spiky-haired goddess. Liz lightly tapped the doll's head, then grabbed his ear and twisted. A faint yell was heard from Hephasteus' dwelling. Nicole let out a giggle and pinched the doll's leg. Soon everyone had at least poked the doll once. Suddenly Colleen's eyes lit up evilly. She grabbed a pinch of air and drew out a needle. Megan, having that mental bond with the blonde goddess, gave a delighted gasp and grabbed the needle. There was a quick scuffle between the two. Finally they just said "We'll do it together." At the same time. Grasping the needle together, they drove it home, right into "the family jewels" as Katie would put it.
The scream ricocheted across Mount Olympus rocked the very core of Hestia's villa. Everyone turned, wide-eyed, to Colleen and Megan, who were giving each other high-fives over and over again. Finally, a very pale Lindsay spoke up.
"Even I'm not THAT evil." She breathed.
"Yes you are." Came the immediate response.
Lindsay gave a small grin. "OK, fine." She consented. Soon a revered silence fell upon them. Then, Hestia began to giggle. Nicole cracked a grin and joined her. Soon the whole villa was shaking again, this time from the sounds of jovial amusement.
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"Is it bad Doc?" Jason moaned. Apollo shook his head and patted Jason on the hand. "I think you'll be fine." He said consolingly. Jason sighed with relief and turned over in the bed. Suddenly he caught a whiff of perfume; like a wild rose on a summer evening. He turned to see Apollo in the door way, grinning like a fool. Next to him stood Aphrodite with a suggestive smirk on her face. "I'll take it from here Doc." She said smoothly. Apollo edged out of the room and Aphrodite came over to Jason's bedside. "Poor baby." She cooed, giving him a soft kiss on the forehead. Jason grinned and settled in for a long and slow recovery.88888888
Sonomi gave a small yawn and stood up. They had done the same lesson as the one the first day, only this time they had done a moving object. Sonomi decided on her military teddy. After reliving the battle through his eyes, she had a few ideas on how to handle the next battle. If there was one. Everyone else was stretching: getting out the kinks and knots. Lindsay was busy telling Lauren and Megan the best way to sauté ladybugs as she disappeared. No one felt like doing anything, so they just sort of lazed around Hestia's place until the sun went down with a spectacular pink and purple farewell.Up in her room, Sonomi gave her fifty teddy bears a quick cuddle before settling in. Of course she had to give EACH of them a separate hug, so it was midnight by the time she was done, and Selene was already up, driving her lunar chariot across the sky. Sonomi gave the moon goddess a friendly wave, and settled into bed. Soon the whole goddess hall was shook with loud chainsaw noises. No one paid any mind now, it was just Sonomi, fast asleep.
Another one down! Next is Aubrey's chapter. Expect it to be a bit like Lauren's in the way of romance. Aren't you glad Sonomi's nice and pure!!! cough cough.