"I wish I could just talk to him… he could stop this whole thing… couldn't he?" Paige was pacing in her backyard while Hermes was peeling an orange casually on a poolside lounge chair.
"No… well I mean, I'm sure there are some things he could do, but prophecies are prophecies and no matter what actions you take, the outcome is generally the same. You of all people should know…" Paige stopped pacing and moved towards Hermes.
"That's the thing though, Father beat the prophecy about me. He found a way around it, so why not do the same here and save both of his daughters from slaughtering innocents and possible each other?"
"Did he really beat it, Athena? Or is it merely a postponed inevitable event." Hermes shot her a questioning gaze, even though he knew the answer.
"You know I don't want power, I never did. I… I just want to be left alone." Hermes snapped his fingers and vanished.
"Hermes… I didn't mean you!" With another snap the messenger god had returned, orange in hand.
"Good." He smiled and stood up, moving over to Paige and sticking an orange slice in her mouth. "I wish that there another option, sister… as much as I don't get along with Aphrodite… I still do not want to see her end and I especially despise the idea of her taking over. "
"I'll do my best, Hermes, you know that." Paige sighed, collapsing into the lounge next to him.
"I know, Athena, that's why I'm on your side." Hermes paused, looking upwards for a minute in silence.
"Time to go, dear. I will be back later tonight." He moved over to Paige, placing a kiss on her forehead before snapping his fingers again and disappearing into thin air.
Hermes words had managed to calm Paige, but there was a still a deep seeded anger towards her own father that the Goddess had a hard time suppressing. If she had the ability to travel to Olympus, she would've been in his throne room in mere seconds, ripping that smug white beard right off his chin as she told him exactly how this whole war made her feel.
Spencer's house
"You were where?" Spencer had a notepad sitting in front of her, scribbling words as if Emily was in a therapy session or teaching a lecture.
"It was a huge white room, like something out of a sci-fi movie. Aegis popped in and out, like he does, but I didn't see much of anything. I asked him if I died and he said something about Hades' place not being this nice." Spencer's eyes widened as she dropped her note book and moved over to her bookshelf.
"Spence, what is it?"
"I had my suspicions…What was that other man's name, the one you said you heard when you were barely conscious?"
"Ummm. Ask something? Or askclips or… I don't know, it didn't sound English." Spencer began flipping through what looked like a large history book.
"Hmmm… Well fuck me." Emily looked at Spencer, shocked at her sudden use of profanity.
"What? Let me in that Hastings' brain for a minute." Spencer nodded and placed the book in front of Emily.
"Does that name look like what you heard?" Emily scrunched her nose, reading the lines that Spencer was pointing at.
"Yeah… that guy." Spencer fell down onto her bed.
"Em… this… this is too much. It's a dream right? We're gonna wake up tomorrow and it's all just going to be a crazy ass dream." Spencer covered her face with her hands.
"It doesn't feel like a dream…" I don't want it to be one if it means Paige isn't real, Emily thought, lying down next to Spencer on her bed. "If it's not a dream, if this is all real, what does it mean?"
"It means that most of the western world has been worshipping the wrong people since before Jesus." Emily still didn't quite understand where Spencer was going with this train of thought, which was normal. Spencer saw the confusion in her friend's face. "Greek gods, Em. Fucking Zeus and Hera, all the shit they skimmed over in ancient history freshmen year, that's what we're living in right now…" Emily looked away from Spencer, staring straight up at the ceiling, hoping it would all sink in, but it didn't.
"What do we do now?" Emily's voice was soft, almost too quiet for Spencer to even hear.
"I don't know, Em. We need to talk to Paige… I think she knows more than she's letting on."
Allison's house – Cellar
"Now now… no need to be all testy." Allison dragged the hot blade across the man's chest. "Don't play dumb with me… you of all people are not dumb. Especially now… Seer." Allison straddled the blindfolded man who was now chained to a chair in her basement. "Tell me… would you still be able to see the future if you had no eyes?" Allison's hands wrapped around his face, her thumbs pressing hard into his eyes. He cried out in pain as any man would, but he still refused to speak.
"You aren't protecting anyone. There are no innocents in this war, Seer. You know that, you've seen what it does to everyone involved. Help me end it before too many lives are lost." He spit in the direction of her voice, missing her by only a few inches. "Mona… make sure the seer enjoys his stay…" Allison disappeared without another word, smiling as she heard the man crying out as Mona did her dirty work.
Paige's house
"Paige!" Spencer beat on the other woman's door.
"Spencer I don't think she's home." Emily placed a hand on the other woman's shoulder.
"She has to be, where the hell else would she go?"
"Nowhere." Paige spoke up, appearing behind them. "We aren't supposed to meet until tomorrow. Is everything okay?"
Spencer didn't even hesitate, stepping right up to Paige and thrusting a finger into her chest. "Who are you? And before you answer, think long and hard about who you're talking to. I'm not an idiot, I can put a puzzle together."
Paige stood still for a minute before speaking, looking at Emily instead of Spencer. "I'm…" However, before she could finish the sentence a loud crash was heard in the woods behind them. "Emily, take Spencer out of here…" The two girls didn't budge, so Paige raised her voice. "NOW!" The change in volume was enough to force the two women to move, Emily grabbing Spencer as she sprinted through the other side of the forest, heading to Hanna's house. She needed to get the other girls.
"Awww… Sister. Why so alone? I was hoping you'd be having one of your infamous all female slumber parties?" Ares landed in the grass in front of Paige's home. "Did I miss the pillow fights, hair braiding and hot lesbian sex?" Paige didn't hesitate, slamming her fist straight into her brother's chest, sending the God flying backwards into a tree.
"Did I hit a nerve? You know, compassion for these mortals always was your weakness." Ares drew out two large blades, fire erupting from the edges. "I didn't come here to fight you, but a little sparring wouldn't hurt… right lil' sis?" Ares charged at Paige, blades swinging wildly. Paige easily avoided his blows, ducking and dodging the God of war.
"I do not want to fight you, Ares…." She yelled through the loud slamming noise of his blades connecting with the earth beneath their feet.
"But we used to play all the time, Athena? Don't you miss this? Just the two of us, God of War, Goddess of War battling it out."
"You lost any playful innocent you had when you bedded our sister." Athena yelled, producing a shield and spear of thin air, deflecting Ares' swords, still never throwing an offensive move.
"You were just sad you didn't get to her first." Athena let out a scream and shoved her spear at her brother, just barely missing his head. "Another soft spot, Athena. There are too many holes in your armor, sister."
"Not a soft spot, brother. Simply a reaction of disgust at the thought of getting that close to Aphrodite." Ares was the only Olympian who'd truly lusted after Aphrodite and the only one that had actually gotten under her skin.
"True, your persuasions do normally lean towards beautiful mortals, ones with long brown hair, sun touched skin… you fancy swimmers now don't you?"
That was the last straw, Paige lunged towards her brother, slamming him with her shield. He stumbled onto the ground and Paige was on top of him before he could raise his swords, spear tip pressed against his neck.
"Ha… Too predictable, Athena and just the information Aphrodite was looking for…" Paige thrust the spear forward, but Ares' had already vanished, the metal driving deep into the cold hard ground.
"Emily…." Paige thought… "Hermes… find Emily. Now!" She yelled as loud as she could before flying into the forest towards the other woman's house, praying she'd get there before her sister.
Hanna's house
"Allison?" Emily's voice was low, shaking slightly at the sight of her old friend.
"Did you miss me?"