Night had descended upon Mount Olympus, Isaac's group gathered around a campfire, resting on a flat expanse of mountain. They were closer to the summit than they had expected to be, but from Hermes' advice, it was better to wait until morning. Helios was incredibly loyal to Zeus, and it would be best to wait to approach the elder Olympian until after Helios had set off for his journey across the sky on his chariot.
"Wait a minute, hold on, stop me if I'm wrong, but you're telling us Zeus killed Helios' son, Phaethon, when he rode Helios' chariot too close to the Earth?" Rotor asked, Hermes telling them stories about the Greek Pantheon.
"Unfortunately, yes. And I hate to admit it, but it was one of the smartest moves Zeus had accomplished as a god. The chariot was riding too close to the Earth, scorching everything in its' path. The only way to stop it would be to remove the rider. And unfortunately, Phaethon refused to acknowledge that he was no longer in control." Hermes answered.
"How could Helios still be loyal to the one that had killed his son?" Isaac asked.
"Helios was obviously upset for a rather long time. But after reflection, and encouragement from the others, he realized that it was himself to blame, giving the reigns to Pantheon without first assessing that he was ready. And we must acknowledge that if Zeus hadn't done so, much of the Earth would be scorched and uninhabitable." Hermes explained.
"I don't think anyone back home is going to believe us when we tell them the story of how we actually climbed Mount Olympus to speak to Greek Gods." Bunnie commented.
"It is best they do not know. The more people believe in a deity, the stronger they become, their influence spreading across lands. It would be best if their influence stays in Spagonia. Otherwise… yeah, I don't want to think about 'otherwise'." Hermes said.
Soon, the others fell asleep, Isaac and Hermes the only ones awake. Isaac couldn't sleep, not wanting to be awoken by any of the Greek Pantheon in surprise. As the fire began to die, Isaac could only look into the flames, beginning to see things. Soon, Isaac could make out Sally, seeing her with Lily. Sally was holding the sword Isaac had made for her, using a small whetstone to sharpen the edge of the blade.
"Just like this?" Sally asked Lily, dipping the stone into a bowl of water.
"Exactly. Keep your hand steady and push the stone against the blade. Make sure the edge is even." Lily instructed. Sally proceeded to do so, the sound of the stone grinding against the metal.
"Sally?" Isaac asked, almost in disbelief of how he was seeing all of this. Sally looked around, almost as if she heard Isaac.
"Did you hear that?" Sally asked, not knowing what she had heard.
"I didn't hear anything." Lily answered.
"Sally, can you actually hear me?" Isaac asked aloud, causing Sally to look around more frequently.
"What the hell?" Sally reacted, walking over the window in her room. She opened it, looking outside, not seeing anything out of the ordinary. She soon closed it, looking confused.
"I swear, I thought I heard Isaac! My brain's probably playing tricks on me." Sally said, before sitting back down on the bed. Feeling himself panicking, Isaac used his power to prevent the fire from dying, soon seeing a fire ignite in Sally's fireplace! Sally and Lily reacted by backing away from it, not knowing why it had ignited! Isaac felt himself reaching for the fire, not quite knowing why he was doing this. Soon, his hand entered the fire, seeing something move in the fireplace's fire.
Isaac couldn't feel the ground underneath the fire, only reaching further into the flames. Soon, Isaac found himself crawling into the fire, finding himself enclosed somewhere. Isaac stepped out of the enclosed space, finding himself in Sally's room. He saw Sally and Lily standing there, shocked at his sudden appearance.
"Isaac?" Sally shockingly questioned, in disbelief that he was before them. Isaac began taking a few steps towards them, wanting to be close to them. Suddenly, he felt something pull him off of his feet, hurtling back towards the fireplace!
"NOOO!" Isaac shouted, before finding himself flying out of the firepit, a large figure having pulled him out of the flames! Antoine, Rotor, and Bunnie were woken by Isaac's yell, quickly seeing the figure and getting to their feet for a possible battle! Isaac landed near the edge of the summit, quickly scrambling to his feet, enraged by the large figure's actions! His muscles began to pulse, feeling his blood boiling within his veins, seeing the ground scorch underneath his feet!
"RRAAAAGGGHHH!" Isaac bellowed, launching himself towards the figure, driving his fist into its stomach! The figure was pushed back twenty feet, his feet still planted in the ground, a small ditch dug from where he was standing. The figure stood up straight, standing at nearly nine feet.
"Hmmm… I almost felt that." The figure said, before walking towards Isaac. He was soon illuminated by the fire, revealing himself to be rippling with muscle, wearing the pelt of a lion as a cloak!
"Isaac, stop! That's Heracles! He'll rip you to shreds!" Hermes quickly warned, not seeing Isaac as a match for him! Isaac's eyes burned with intense anger, only seeing the one who had prevented him from being able to communicate with his own family! Isaac's skin darkened, turning black! His veins glowed an unnatural red, becoming demonic!
Heracles studied this, never before seeing a transformation such as this. He began to grin, seeing it as a new challenge! He readied himself, beginning to charge!
"Bring it on!" Heracles yelled, charging full sprint towards Isaac! Isaac proceeded to do the same, clenching his fists! Hermes was panicking, not knowing what was going to happen!
"Shit! Shit! Shit! SHIT!" Hermes yelled, Isaac getting within striking distance! Isaac's fist hit Heracles' abdomen, feeling something give! Heracles' fist hit Isaac into his lower chest, Isaac feeling ribs being splintered! They were both pushed away by their collective strikes, Isaac almost tumbling off of the edge of the summit, while Heracles collided with a tree, the trunk splintering and falling over! After Isaac pulled himself away from the edge, he began to feel his ribs mend, already healing from the punch!
As he regained his footing, he saw Heracles begin to get up, more pissed off than hurt!
"I killed the Hydra! I captured Cerberus! Do you really think you can defeat me?!" Heracles ranted, marching towards Isaac!
"Get up! Get up! Isaac, get the FUCK up!" Hermes yelled, seeing Heracles getting closer and closer! But before Heracles could get within striking distance, a large rock collided with the back of his head! Stumbling a bit, Heracles looked towards the direction the rock came from, seeing it was thrown by Rotor.
"Stay away from him, you bully!" Rotor exclaimed, getting his attention. Smirking, Heracles turned his attention to him, walking towards him.
"It'll be interesting, making a banner from your hide." Heracles calmly threatened. Seeing him distracted, Isaac took the opportunity, launching himself into his back! Isaac grabbed his arms, suddenly spinning around, Heracles being taken off of the ground! In a quick display of strength, Heracles was launched off of the edge of the summit, hitting ledges of the mountain as he swiftly tumbled down!
Isaac was breathing heavily, his body cooling down. As his skin returned to its natural shade, his veins doing the same, Hermes was in a state of disbelief, never before seeing someone defeat Heracles in combat before!
"We… we better get moving. I highly doubt that'll keep Heracles from climbing back up." Hermes advised. Antoine quickly doused out the fire, grabbing his pack. Rotor was glancing back at where Heracles was thrown, anticipating him just launching himself over the edge to fight them again!
"We'll need to hide out near the Pantheon. Remain hidden until sunrise. Once Helios has left, we'll be able to introduce ourselves to Zeus and the others." Hermes instructed. The others soon followed Isaac, beginning to see a large temple on the top summit, illuminated by a mystical fire. Hermes soon instructed Isaac to stop and crouch, the others following.
"We'll stop here for the night. I'll take first watch. Rotor, you managed to get some sleep, so you'll take second watch. Isaac, nod off. You'll need your energy for tomorrow." Hermes said, Isaac placing his head on a rock, facing towards the illuminated temple. He closed his eyes, drifting to sleep.
"Isaac?" A voice questioned, Isaac opening his eyes. He found himself in Sally's chambers, lying on their bed. Sally was right beside him, a confused look on her face.
"Sally? How… how did I get here?" Isaac asked, sitting up.
"Get here? Isaac, are you alright? You seriously don't remember?" Sally asked.
"Remember what? I was on the summit of Mount Olympus, camping for the night with Antione, Bunnie, and Rotor." Isaac said.
"How do you know them? You've never met them before." Sally asked. Confused, Isaac looked at the wall, seeing the calendar was in March. They hadn't even evacuated from the Kingdom to the United Federation!
"The… The Order of Honorius… This can't be real! This already happened!" Isaac exclaimed, getting out of bed. He soon found himself naked, realizing it was the night he and Sally 'married' each other.
"Already happened? Isaac, you're scaring me." Sally reacted. Blinking, he saw a discrepancy in the room, a strange symbol etched into the wall.
"That wasn't there before." Isaac observed.
"Yes, it has! Isaac, now I'm really concerned. I think you need to lie down. Maybe… we could have a bit more fun." Sally suggested, a large smirk on her face. Isaac looked to her, not amused by this illusion.
"Who are you?" Isaac asked, beginning to feel anger.
"Isaac, you know who I am. Now, why don't you join me back in bed." Sally reacted.
Gritting his teeth, Isaac ran towards her, leaping onto her, his wrist on her throat!
"WHO ARE YOU?!" Isaac bellowed, heat radiating from his body! Choking out a few sounds, Sally's form changed, changing from a Mobian form to a human form, revealing her deceit.
"Now, who are you?" Isaac asked, gently relieving the pressure on her throat.
"Apate. Zeus already knew you were coming long before you docked. Of course, your reason for coming here is still a mystery. Albeit, bringing the severed head of Hermes is somewhat concerning. He sent me to figure out why you are here." Apate admitted.
"Okay… and you're just going to gloss over the fact you tried to seduce me as my wife?" Isaac questioned, finding it rather disturbing.
"Zeus instructed me to use all options at my disposal. Trust me, it wouldn't have been pleasant for myself, as well. And Morpheus sure as hell wasn't going to." She said, Isaac getting his wrist off of her throat. Isaac quickly got off of her, grabbing the sheet off of the bed to cover himself.
"I want to wake up." Isaac demanded.
"I… I can't do that. Invading dreams, sure, but not manually waking anyone up." Apate said.
"Fine! Then I'll do it myself." Isaac responded, seeing the window to the chamber. Taking a deep breath, Isaac ran towards it, launching himself and smashing through it! Isaac soon bolted awake, his heart practically beating out of his chest!
"Apate visited you through Morpheus' powers, didn't she?" Hermes asked, already knowing what had happened.
"Is it dawn yet?" Isaac asked, not wanting to try to go to sleep again.
"Three more hours. Helios should be getting ready to ride his chariot. But I doubt the others will be awake as soon as he leaves, so we should continue waiting to be sure." Hermes said.
"Zeus already knows we're here. Our reason, not so much." Isaac revealed.
"Best for us to remain quiet. We better hope that she doesn't try to use the same tactic on the others." Hermes said.
"Good suggestion." Isaac said, quickly getting to Bunnie and Antoine, a hand going to their noses, pinching them shut. After a few moments, they gasped for air, waking up.
"What in tarnation was that all about?!" Bunnie exclaimed, not appreciating being woken up.
"Shhh! Zeus is sending the Goddess of Deceit into our dreams to figure out why we're here! Now, did any of you have a dream that seemed too real or spoke about why we're here?" Isaac asked.
"Not that I can remember. Honey, how 'bout you?" Bunnie asked Antoine. Antoine began rubbing his arm nervously, not looking very confident.
"Antoine… what'd you say?" Bunnie asked.
"Nothing! I mean… at least, if mentioning we threw Heracles off of a cliff as being something important." Antoine said.
"YOU DID WHAT?!" Hermes exclaimed, almost revealing their location to all of Mount Olympus! Isaac quickly placing his hand over his mouth.
"You yell pretty loud for a guy without lungs." Isaac observed.
"If Zeus finds out we threw one of his sons off of Olympus, he'll throw whatever he has at us! Isaac, quick! Go to sleep!" Hermes demanded. Isaac laid down, closing his eyes. While struggling at first, Isaac soon drifted back into sleep.
"When you see her, keep her in your dream for as long as possible, at least until I can figure out how to keep her from telling Zeus anything." Hermes instructed.
"Zeus, I have information regarding the newcomers!" Apate exclaimed, running from her chambers. Zeus was sleeping in his bed, a large queen-sized bed illuminated with braziers. It looked different to her than when she was last in here, but it had been a long time since she had burst into here before. He soon yawned, stretching out his arms. Queen Hera was sleeping by his side, practically wrapped in her own set of sheets.
"Could this not wait until morning? Helios have not even begun his journey across the skies." Zeus asked, swinging his legs over the side of his bed.
"I apologize, my Lord, but I have received word that Heracles was sent tumbling over Mount Olympus after he had attacked them while they were sleeping!" Apate informed, Zeus not looking surprised.
"And this is important?" Zeus asked. Apate was confused by this lack of concern for one of his favorite sons.
"They overpowered Heracles! And isn't it concerning that your son was sent tumbling down Olympus?" Apate asked.
"He is immortal! Granted, he'll have a few bruises and cuts, but nothing he cannot walk off." Zeus responded. The conversation soon woke Hera, who looked very tired and frustrated by this conversation.
"Will you two please leave to continue your conversation?! Some of us would like to sleep at this hour!" Hera exclaimed, taking her pillow and covering her head with it.
"I share the same sentiment, Apate. Please, we will continue the conversation when I ask of it in the morning. Now, return to your chambers and sleep. I will keep this in mind until I ask of you again. Do not mention this until I specifically ask of you." Zeus ordered, rolling back into bed. Apate nodded, leaving Zeus' chambers.
As soon as she had left, Zeus rose from his bed, smiling to himself. Soon, the entire chamber vanished into the darkness, Zeus remaining. His physical form began to change, reverting to Isaac's form, having been a fabricated event. Hermes' physical description of Zeus and Hera was very beneficial to creating the illusion of Apate being awake. As soon as Isaac was sure his work was done, Isaac soon woke up, finding the sun rising above the horizon.
"Well, did it work?" Hermes asked.
"I do not believe Apate suspects anything. She seemed too concerned with her objective to notice anything out of place." Isaac answered.
"Good! That was too close! Alright, next time any of you have any strange dreams, try to keep your mouth shut." Hermes advised.