Family
Chapter 142 How it Fell Apart
By: Major144
Disclaimer: I do not own anything, expect the OCs. This is just a story for fun.
(Author's Note: Special shoutout to misterlol. His character suggestion will be mentioned in this chapter and he will appear in a later chapter. Enjoy the chapter.)
Atalanta's flashback 15 years ago
After the defeat of Hookocho and his forces, peace had returned to planet Olympia. Hookocho had been patched up and shipped to a prison called the Citadel, while Martin had been praised as a hero. The pilots of the ships that had bombed Hookocho's battle station were also praised as heroes, but Martin got the most praise since he called the pilots and helped Atalanta take down Hookocho. Atalanta found herself spending time with Martin and the two of them began to have feelings with one another. Martin told Atalanta about his exploits and how he desired to be a legend someday. Atalanta told Martin about how she started planet Olympia and how she wanted the planet to be a symbol of peace and justice.
Then one day Martin returned from a trip with the top of his head now bald. Atalanta asked what happened and Martin explained, he got in a fight with an evil sorcerer, who managed to curse Martin with baldness before he died. Martin said the sorcerer had tried to curse him with blindness, but had gotten one of the magic words in the spell wrong. Atalanta asked why Martin had gotten into a fight with the sorcerer and Martin had explained that the sorcerer had robbed a jewelry store, he had happened to be in and one of the items the sorcerer had stolen was something he had bought for a special occasion. The human then got onto his right knee, pulled out a tiny black box, and opened it. Inside the box was a gold ring. Atalanta starred at the ring in awe.
"Atalanta will you marry me? I know I'm bald right now, but I think I can pull this look off." Said Martin.
"Of course I will. I love you for more then just your looks." Said Atalanta with a smile.
Martin placed the ring on Atalanta's finger and the two of them kissed. Some time later the two were married and Atalanta became pregnant. It was about that time that a good amount of treasure from some heroes was stolen, but nobody knew who did it. Atalanta gave birth to a boy with blue eyes and blond hair. The goddess sat in her bed cradling her new son, who slept wrapped in a blanket. Martin sat near his wife looking down at his son.
"So you thought up a name, because I was thinking about Martin Jr." Said Martin.
"Well I do have one name. This child represents the end of my life as an unmarried women without children and from that end there is a new beginning. I will call our son Fin to represent both an end and a beginning." Said Atalanta as she smiled down at her son.
"It's a good name." Said Martin with a smile.
A few weeks later Atalanta had knitted her son a tiny bear hat to put on his head and keep him warm. The goddess had tucked her son into his crib and was currently resting in her study, when she heard a commotion from the courtyard. Atalanta went to go investigate what was going on and found Martin surrounded by several angry looking heroes and a small chest full of treasure.
"What's the meaning of this?" Asked Atalanta as she headed out onto the scene.
"Your husband is the one whose been stealing our treasure!" Declared one of the heroes.
"It's all just a misunderstanding!" Cried Martin.
"We put a tracking spell on that treasure chest and once it was stolen we tracked it all the way here and found Martin with it." Said a hero with a sliver metal arms.
"I just found it laying on the ground." Pleaded Martin.
"Liar, that chest was in the vault of my house and I put a spell on it that would turn the palms of whoever sole it bright red." Said the hero with the sliver arms.
"Was this a plan to capture the thief, whose been stealing treasure lately?" Asked Atalanta.
"Indeed it is my queen." Said the silver armed hero.
A couple of heroes grabbed Martin's and forced him to show his palms. Martin's palms were bright red. Atalanta gasped in shock as Martin smiled weakly. The goddess turned to the heroes.
"I'm deeply sorry for this. I will have my husband return what he has stolen from you and all the other heroes."
"Yeah...I'll return everything." Muttered Martin.
Martin lead the heroes and Atalanta to one of the a to the cellar, where he revealed a hole hidden in the floor, which was filled with treasure. The heroes took the treasure and left the palace. Atalanta turned on her husband with an angry look in her eyes.
"Why were you stealing treasures from other heroes?"
"Oh...relax it was a only a little treasure. I was just stealing as kind of a challenge to see if any of the heroes would notice. No harm. No Fowl. Besides they got their treasure back anyhow, so everything is ok." Said Martin with a weak smile.
"Ok fine, just don't do anything like that again. Your supposed to be a honorable hero and my husband, it would stain your reputation and get you into trouble if you were caught stealing." Said Atalanta.
"Relax Atalanta, I'm the guy who saved Olympia and the husband to the Goddess of Adventure. There's not going to be any trouble." Said Martin.
"Alright." Said Atalanta as she relaxed a little.
But as time went by Martin decided he was going to steal the treasures of minor gods and goddesses. At first Martin was very successful, but he was eventually caught in the act by a wise deity named Iroh. The various gods and goddesses were outraged by this and Atalanta went about apologizing to them and returning what Martin stole. Atalanta then decided to confront her husband about his arrogance and misdeeds.
"You have to stop doing this Martin, you've angered a lot of people and they're all demanding that you get punished for what you did. I've managed to convince them not to punish you and that you'll stop stealing, but there's only so much I can do. Your going to have to meet me half way and prove yourself that your a good man to everybody." Said Atalanta.
"Alright Atalanta I'll behave, but I still think I'm more deserving of that treasure then some of those gods and goddess." Said Martin.
"That's an arrogant thing to say Martin. It reminds of a powerful being I once knew named Sun Wukong, though he went by the title Monkey King." Said Atalanta.
(Author's Note: Sun Wukong/Monkey King is from Journey to the West.)
"What this Monkey King guy got to do with me?" Asked Martin.
"Well the Monkey King was a lot like you in some ways. He was very talented and he accomplished many amazing feats, however he was arrogant and angered many gods and goddesses. Monkey King was given a minor position in the Lightopshere, but he didn't like it and declared that he should be running the realm, so the Monkey King began to cause havoc in the Lightopshere. The Lord of Goodness was fixing to step in and deal with Monkey King, but the Cosmic Owl came in to deal with the trouble maker himself and teach him a lesson in humility. The Cosmic Owl took on his human form and gave Monkey King a challenge. If the Monkey King could escape from the palm of his hand, then he would would be made the new lord of the Lightopshere. Monkey King accepted the challenge believing his abilities would be more then enough to win the challenge. The challenge began by the Monkey King flying into the palm of the Cosmic Owl and then he took flight. The Monkey flew forward at his top speed, until he was several thousand miles away and he came across five gold pillars. Feeling proud of his accomplishment, the Monkey King wrote his name on one of the pillars then flew back the way he came to declare he won to the Cosmic Owl, but when he returned the Cosmic Owl revealed that the Monkey King had failed to flee his palm. The Monkey King demanded to know what nonsense the Cosmic Owl was speaking and the Cosmic Owl told the Monkey King to look at one of his fingers. The Monkey King did this and was shocked to see that the finger had the Monkey King's name on it. The Cosmic Owl had won the challenge, since the Monkey King failed to leave his palm. The Monkey King called the Cosmic Owl a cheat and said the challenge didn't count. The Cosmic Owl stripped the Monkey King of most of his powers, then slammed him into a planet, and trapped him beneath a mountain as punishment for his arrogance. The Monkey King was trapped beneath the mountain for five hundred years, until a traveling monk freed him and had him join him on his pilgrimage. The Monkey King managed to redeem himself and got a new job in the Lightopshere." Said Atalanta.
"So this Monkey King got a little cocky and got punished, then he redeemed himself and had a good life." Said Martin.
"Not exactly. The Monkey King still had a bit of arrogance in him and he wanted a gold statue of himself so people could idolize it. The Monkey King asked the Art God to build a a gold statue of him, but he refused. This angered the Monkey King so he went about stealing the gold statute of others and tried to melt them all down to make a gold statue of himself. The Art God found out about this and was furious. The Monkey King was stripped of his job and he was turned into a puppet and cast to another world." Explained Atalanta.
"This...guy was really arrogant and he suffered big time for it. That still doesn't explain what this has to do with me." Said Martin.
"Martin you and the Monkey King have a lot of potential, yet your both letting your arrogance squander it. If you don't shape up, you'll be punished and disgraced. I don't want anything bad to happen to you and I don't want our son to grow up without a father, so please stop stealing and show some humility." Said Atalanta as she looked at her husband with pleading eyes.
"Alright...fine I'll behave." Said Martin.
"Thank you." Said Atalanta as she gave Martin a quick kiss on the lips.
A week later, Atalanta and her family traveled to a tropical planet called Sunshine for a little vacation. Atalanta was talking with some old friends of hers, while Martin rented a medium size boat with a couple of sailors to go fishing. The goddess thought it would be ok, for Martin to watch Fin and Martin agreed to do look after him. A few hours later a storm suddenly appeared above the ocean and large waves started to crash onto the beach. This was unusual weather for planet Sunshine and Atalanta began to look out to sea to figure out what the problem was. Off in the distance Atalanta saw a massive figure rise out of the water over a boat. Atalanta recognized the boat immediately as the one Martin and Fin were on. The goddess's body began to glow as she took off running towards the sea. Atalanta was running so fast that she was literally running across the water. The queen soon reached the boat and she could hear the panicked wail of her son, with a powerful leap she was on the deck facing the being that had risen out of the ocean.
The being that towered over the boat was a sea god named Seagos. He was hundreds of feet tall with a body made out of water, with a beard made out of seaweed, and a crown made out of barnacles. Atalanta stood before the sea god and began to address him.
"Seagos, why have you risen in rage and attempt to attack this ship?"
"Ah it is you Atalanta, I respect you so I will tell you why I am here. A mortal on this boat dove into the water and foolish stole a trident from my shrine. I simply rose to smite the thief and take back what is mine." Said Seagos.
Atalanta glanced behind her and saw Martin in a diving suit holding a gold trident.
"Um...I can explain." Said Martin smiling nervously.
Atalanta stormed over to Martin yanked the trident out of his hands and faced Seagos.
"Lord Seagos, I deeply apologize for what I husband tried to do and I give what he tried to steal, back to you. I simply ask that you spare his life." Said Atalanta as she tossed the trident up to Seagos.
The trident grew to massive size and Seagos caught it. Seagos looked down at Atalanta.
"I shall spare your husband's life, but the crime he committed will not go unpunished. Stealing the weapon of a god from a shrine is a huge offense and your husband will suffer the consequences." Said Seagos before he sank back into the sea.
Atalanta let out a small sigh as she turned her attention to her son, who was crying from a basket. The goddess gently picked her wailing son up and slowly began to rock him back and forth as she gently talked to him.
"There. There. Everything is going to be ok my little cub. Mommy is here now."
The baby calmed down as his mom rocked him. Atalanta shot a glare at Martin, who flinched a little. The boat returned to shore without Atalanta and Martin saying a single word to one another. The family returned to planet Olympia and a few days later they got a message that Martin was going to be sent to the Citadel for his crimes and there was nothing Atalanta could do to prevent it from happening.
The day before Martin was supposed to go to the Citadel there was an incident in one of the labs. A teleporter machine had exploded and Martin was found in the lab covered in soot, along with a trash can with a dirty dipper in it. Martin looked around the lab and then he spoke.
"I...think I teleported Fin...to another planet."
Apparently Martin had attempted to teleport himself and Fin to another planet to avoid being locked up. Martin had rigged the machine to exploded after it did it's job, but Fin had crawled into the machine, while Martin was disposing of a dirty diaper and Fin had been teleported away. Martin was taken to the dungeon and Atalanta came down and begged him for the planet he had planned to teleport himself and Fin to.
"I'll tell you where the boy is, if you don't send me to the Citadel." Said Martin.
"I have no authority or control over that! You brought that punishment on yourself! Just please tell me where you sent our baby! I beg you!" Cried Atalanta.
Martin looked at Atalanta and for several seconds that just looked at each other. Then after a long silence Martin spoke.
"We're no longer a family Atalanta."
Atalanta starred at her husband in shock. The sere selfishness of Martin's refusal astonished the goddess. Their son was in danger and Martin was trying to use that as leverage to get out of going to prison! The queen gritted her teeth and she yanked the cell door off it's hinges as she stormed into the cell. A panicked look appeared in Martin's eyes as Atalanta grabbed him by the throat and slammed him into a wall. The goddess raised her her free hand and turned it into a fist and then she swung it at Martin. Martin's eyes went wide as he saw the fist coming and he expected to meet a violent demise. But the fist stopped an inch from his face. Atalanta dropped Martin and lowered her arms.
"I hope you rot in the Citadel for all of eternity. Your no longer my husband. The man I married is long gone and your nothing but a shadow of him." Said Atalanta as she slowly walked out of the cell.
Some Spartans moved Martin to another cell and the next day he was sent to the Citadel. Atalanta spent the next several years searching for her son, but she couldn't find a trace of him.
End of flashback.
In the present, Atalanta finished her story. A few tears fell from the goddess's eyes. Finn looked at his mother then slowly wrapped his arms around her.
"Hey it's ok mom. That was the past and what matters is that we're back together now." Said Finn.
"Your right. I love you." Said Atalanta as she hugged Finn back.
"I love you to." Said Finn.
The two stopped hugging and Atalanta wiped her eyes.
"Now then. What would you have me do with your father? I've decided that you should get a say in what happens to him." Said Atalanta.
"Well...he did a bad thing to both of us, but he seems a little remorseful. I don't feel like forgiving him just yet, but I don't want to punish him to harshly either. Maybe...we should banish him for a little bit." Said Finn.
"Banishment sounds like a good enough punishment." Said Atalanta.
Later that day Atalanta went down to the dungeon to see Martin. Atalanta was carrying a backpack of supplies and a sword. Martin looked up at Atalanta.
"Finn has decided that your banished from the palace. I think a little time apart will do us...both some good and maybe you can find yourself." Said Atalanta as she handed Martin the backpack and sword.
"I...suppose I deserve this. Kind of surprised that you...both agreed on this, considering everything that happened." Said Martin as he took the items.
"Finn is merciful as am I. We're not forgiving you, but we're not going to be cruel or vengeful either." Said Atalanta.
The two of them headed out of the dungeon and out the front gates. Martin glanced up at a balcony and saw Finn along with Phoebe watching him. Atalanta looked at Martin.
"You...know after everything you did, a part of me still loved you and I kept the ring you gave me." Said Atalanta as she lifted up the front of her shirt to pull out a small silver chain around her neck that had a gold ring on it.
"You...more then I ever deserved Atalanta. I'm sorry...for what I put both you...and Finn through." Said Martin as he looked away guiltily before he began to walk away from the palace.
To be continued.
