April 26th 2016 Nashville, Tennessee, The Parthenon 6:00 PM EDT

"Wow." I said in mild appreciation. "This thing is actually pretty impressive for something in bumfuck nowhere."

Cherry snickered. "Nashville is a major city. But yeah, I had no clue this was here. The defenses are…actually pretty hardcore." She glanced at Cassie. "You sure you can get us in Cass? I'm good but trying to bypass these wards would be tough even for me."

The three of us were standing outside the Parthenon in Nashville, staring up at the huge columned building. The one upside to having our entire group made up of teenagers was that it was easy to pass as a bunch of friends visiting the monument.

I was in shorts and a short sleeved button up with sandals, and the girls were wearing tank tops and daisy dukes. We looked like trashy teen tourists as played by slutty supermodels, but the basic vibe was pretty spot on. I glanced up at the building, triggering my appraisal.

[Appraisal function activated. Treasure detected. The Parthenon- C ranked defensive structure. A degraded copy of an ancient temple, reinforced by the gods to serve as a guard post on the path to Olympus.]

I could see her point. Cherry was only at D-rank, not to mention that temple was built for pure defense, which meant even without the gap she might have trouble with it. Given the larger spectrum the further up the ranks you went, she might not even be strong enough to breach it. Cherry was a can opener for sure, but you can't use one of those when the can is made of fucking prometheum.

Luckily, we had the littlest demigod, complete with her sunny smile and butterscotch blonde hair and literal fucking farm girl style headband. Cassie narrowed her eyes, biting her lip slightly. "I can kind of…see the entrance? It's weird. Like there's another layer of the place underneath the obvious visible one."

That was interesting. I frowned and held out a hand. "Can you try to show us? Cherry can help, the Hand of Glory has this whole reveal what's hidden feature." It was interesting I couldn't see it, but then, I guess I wasn't built for that, and an appraisal is words not images.

Illusions and glamorous usually had trouble because of my mental defenses, but this was neither. There was a world overlaid on top of this one. As Cassie put a hand in mine and a hand in Cherry's I saw that first world blur, shifting in a strange way so I could see what was underneath.

Stairs. A massive stone staircase leading up into the sky, guarded at either side by bronze statues. I appraised them. C rank, the both of them. I could take them, I was sure, but I also knew that blowing up the guards was NOT subtle, and that if I did I'd be screwing us.

"The statues will ignore you?" I asked, staring up at the imposing bronze guardians.

"Not ignore me." She said with a shrug. "But they'll test me to see if I'm allowed entry. Some sort of magic scan thing. I figure you guys can slip by them when they do it."

I'd been expecting her to just get us in, but this way actually worked better. If no one saw us enter no one would be able to narc on us when the shears went missing. Nodding to her, we let her lead us inside. We walked the length of the Parthenon, enjoying the sights and pretending to be part of the tour group. When we got to the back room Cherry cloaked us with the Hand, and we broke off from Cassie, circling around as she approached the statues.

As we started to circle around, I kept my eyes peeled for anything that might attack us. I didn't spot anything that was a direct threat as we approached the stairs, but the ancient greeks were a shifty bunch. "So." I said as we approached. "What were you talking to Cassie about? Is my favorite bag of crazy making friends?"

She giggled, shrugging the shoulder of the arm I held onto, the one across from the Hand of Glory active on her right. "She's sweet. I was mostly trying to help you out. She's a cutie and I bet she'll be a blast to fuck."

"Definitely." I agreed. "But I didn't bring you along just because you're helpful. In bed or in the field. I thought we could spend some time together. Doing things that don't involve me penetrating you." I paused. "Like…physically."

She grinned. "Planning to pound me in my emotions, daddy?" Batting her eyelashes at me, she just laughed when I rolled my own eyes. "That's sweet though. You know I like spending time with you. Even when we don't fuck. Anything you wanted to talk about?"

"Well." I drawled in amusement. "I turned Lincoln March into a sentient pair of boots that feel pain when I walk in them." I flicked my eyes down at the shoes. "I figured you of all people would enjoy the symbolism."

Stopping, she stared at me for a minute, then burst out laughing. "Because the best way to understand a person is to walk a mile in THEIR SHOES."

I leaned down and gave her a big kiss, pulling back with a wide grin. "SEE! I knew you'd get it. I'll let you borrow them sometime, maybe you can talk a walk in the sewers. I feel like just foot sweat and the impact of steps aren't enough."

She gave a thoughtful hum. "Well, that's true. Maybe some really heavy shoe polish? Something like…highly chemical and maybe a little corrosive? Nothing that would do long term damage, but like, something that'll burn."

We spent the next twenty minutes bonding over increasingly byzantine and horrible ways to torment my newest pair of footwear, and it made me smile to see Cherry so happy. The other girls and I had things in common outside sex, but since my change, Cherry and I had been drifting. Affirming my commitment to her was nice, but having something to bond over was a pleasant experience.

Sadly we had to drop it as Cassie approached. She couldn't hear until we let her in, but the perky little blonde wasn't exactly a 'glory in the despair of your enemies' type of girl. It was pretty hilarious watching her squeak and nearly jump out of her skin when we appeared. I reached out and caught her before she fell down the stairs, though I was pretty sure she could fly anyway.

"You scared me!" She scowled. "When you guys said you could sneak in, I didn't think you could become invisible."

I snorted. "Invisibility is for amateurs. The Hand doesn't make you invisible, it makes you undetectable. People don't see or notice or hear you, but they also don't randomly bump into you. The Hand's field shifts them around you. Especially when it's being channeled by a D rank Crypt Queen." I said proudly.

Cherry preened a bit, then shot Cassie a curious look. "So. You worried about this? I know the last time you were here was to see your dad. Honestly still shocked that didn't end with you getting plowed." Cassie looked horrified. "What?" Said Cherry innocently. "He's ZUES. You wouldn't be the first daughter he turned into a cream filled donut."

"There are SO many reasons that's gross to consider." Complained Cassie. "He isn't as bad as the stories make him seem. He came across pretty nice, if a little aloof. Can we please change the subject? We can talk about ANYTHING else."

Cherry shrugged, but I caught her smirking and had to roll my eyes a bit. Little sadist. "Do you have any relatives you'd like to visit while we're breaking in?" I asked. "You were seen at the gates. Having a godly alibi while we pop in for the theft couldn't hurt."

She perked up a bit. "I mean…I've always wanted to talk to Athena. She's the patron of the Amazons and she's SO COOL. She's a warrior goddess and absolutely brilliant. Either her or Artemis."

It always struck me as funny that the war goddesses were pretty much all virgins. Like they stabbed and shot shit to take out all the frustration from not being able to get any dick. Speaking of getting dick. "I don't suppose you know where Aphrodite's temple is?" I asked casually.

Look. I try to do the smart thing. Try to be rational and plan ahead. I try not to let my dick or my instincts lead me astray. I do. But there was no way I wasn't at least trying to dick down the goddess of love if I had a chance. Or at least stop in and pay my respects. Aphrodite had done a lot for me.

Eros and Psyche was…somewhat derived from her power in some ways. I wondered if she felt it. Wondered if it would work on her. Wondered if I'd need it to. I mean, I'm a dragon with a big dick, if I was her, I know I'd be curious.

Cassie shot me a suspicious look. "I mean. Sure. But I thought you wanted to go under the radar. Is visiting a temple the best idea?"

"Maybe not." I admitted. "But I don't think I can resist at least stopping in to say thank you." Besides. I was undoubtedly highly entertaining to Aphrodite given my predilections. I bet she'd keep it secret.

"No." Said Cherry flatly. I looked at her in shock. "Amy gave me strict instructions. I'm not supposed to let you do something incredibly stupid to get laid. It's like…her one rule. And bringing us to the attention of the gods so you can get some divine pussy is stupid." At me flate stare she looked annoyed. "I'm crazy, not stupid. Even I have limits. That should tell you how bad an idea it is."

I grumbled. "Fine. But if we need to hide or seek asylum from a god it's gonna be her." I reached out and grabbed her hip, yanking her against me, growling. "And I'm taking my frustration out of that sweet little ass."

She shuddered, a blissful smile crossing her face as her eyes unfocused. "Yes daddy." She whispered happily. Cassie looked equal parts disturbed and turned on, which to be fair is a perfectly reasonable reaction to most of the things Cherry does.

"So." I said, refocusing. "Do you know where we're supposed to find the Fates? Like where exactly do they live? Do they have their own temple?"

Cassie winced, drawn back into the real world along with me. "No. They live in my dad's temple. They're technically my sisters. I actually met Clotho. She's kind of a sweetie. The other two scare me. If you want to find and steal from them, you'll need to infiltrate the biggest, most well protected temple on Olympus."

I cursed. That might pose a problem. The defenses on Zues's temple were bound to be about as strong as anything up here. If not A rank then at least B. Cherry had no shot bypassing those. If it had been somewhere else, maybe they'd have left the defenses on the Mountain to do the heavy lifting, but Zues was paranoid in basically every myth. No way he wasn't in a magical fort knox.

Cassie apparently thought the stories about her dad were exaggerated, so it didn't shock me she hadn't warned us, but still, this wasn't good. I scowled, thinking over exactly what to do, and came up with a plan. An awful, amazing, inspiring, ridiculous plan. "Ok. I probably should have asked about that first, but I can roll with this."

As we came into sight of the cloud bottomed mountain at the top of the steps, I grinned at Cassie. "New plan. We're going to need some help. Someone we can bribe and who won't mind a little theft. Take us to the god of thieves. We need to go see Hermes." Time to see if I could bribe a god. I gave myself good odds.

April 26th 2016 Mt. Olympus 6:00 PM EDT

Mount Olympus was much less flashy than expected, but in a way that made it even more impressive. This place was…intense. Every random tree and bush was C ranked at least, and I considered stealing some shit, only to remember we were supposed to be focusing here. It would be pretty much peak moron to get caught pulling up bushes before we could actually steal the shears.

So we made our way along the stone paths between the temples, not stopping or letting anyone waylay us. Cherry was keeping us protected from notice, and I admit, I was plenty distracted people watching.

Something most people aren't aware of? There are a LOT of greek gods. Like…hundreds. Granted most of them are minor gods of shit like youth, the dawn, banks, whatever the fuck. Point was, there were more gods on Olympus than you could shake a stick at. And every. Single. One of them. Was at LEAST as strong as me.

Which explained the C rank trees and shit. Dryads. Were there bush dryads? That line of questioning had me wondering if dryads shaved their pussies and I forced myself back to a reasonable frame of mind.

If these randos were C rank, then I was better people like Ares, Athena, and the other members of the twelve were mostly B rank, and that meant Zeus, Hades, and Poseidon, the three notably most powerful of the twelve olympians, were probably A rank. I'd…vastly overestimated how powerful I was in the grand scheme of things.

Sure, I was almost definitely hitting B rank from this little trip, but even that was like…middle management up here. And there were tons of other pantheons. No wonder the rest of the systems hadn't made it to fucking S rank yet. They probably got killed every so often and had to start over. Greed really was bullshit, being able to use either items OR people to rank up through simple possession.

Seeing all this though. It didn't make me upset or worried. It made me HUNGRY. The dragon in me was howling for me to take, take, take. Treasure, women, so much value up here. Cute little teens, tall gorgeous model-perfect amazons with big fat asses, and everything in between. Goddesses were fucking HOT.

I ran through Raven's exercises, forcing myself to get used to the raw WANT, that rivaled my most desperate point droughts. Luckily, the distraction ended pretty quick as Cassie found us the temple we needed, surprisingly far from the peak.

"This is the temple of Hermes?" I said, gesturing up to the place. "It's so…out of the way? Like isn't he one of the big twelve?"

Cassie nodded, smirking. "I was specifically brought by here as a warning when I was a kid. Hermes is kept well away from all the major deities because he's a compulsive thief. They don't bar him from the peak, but he's watched when he's up there. Not that it really works, he comes and goes as he pleases, but they try their best to cut him out."

"Interesting." I said distractedly. The building we were approaching had ironically stolen most of my focus because…it looked nothing like a temple. In fact…it looked like a frat house. Peeling paint, uncut lawn, blacked out windows. Granted, according to my appraisal the building was C rank, but that seemed to be because of the materials used to build it.

We made our way across the lawn and stopped in front of the splintering door. Pounding on the wood a few times, we waited until the door opened to reveal…a satyr in a beer hat and a dolphins jersey. "Hey braaaaah." He bleated. "You delivering the pizza?"

"Nah man." I said casually. "We're here to see Hermes, bro. That dude in?" I pulled the girls against me and gave her a cheesy grin. "I brought bitches."

He barked out a laugh. "BYOB my man. I like it. Boss man is upstairs, but you can go on up and see him. He's tapping some sweet dryad ass for sure, so knock unless you're tagging in." He slurred slightly as he spoke, but luckily didn't try to actually touch either of my girls as he let us past, though he certainly looked.

We headed in, mounting the stairs and making our way to the second floor where we could here a squealing girl moaning and cursing like a sailor. I preferred talky girls, but I like some variety. "Yes, yes, fuck yes." Might be hot the first few times, but after an hour that shit gets pretty annoying.

"Should we…wait until he's done?" Said Cassie, her face flushing. "It seems rude to interrupt."

Cherry gave her a cheshire grin. "Aww is Sally Sunshine soaking her panties over a little slut opera? You should be glad about the soundproofing. Daddy makes us squeal way worse things than that amateur could dream up."

Cassie spluttered, but I just snorted and popped Cherry on the ass. "Be nice." I said to my unrepentant ghost girl. Then I headed for the room at the end of the unnaturally large hallways with a big gold H on it. Raising my fist, I pounded again. "Yo, Hermes! Got some business to discuss. Wanna open the door? You don't need to stop if you don't want."

There was a slight pause in the squealing, then a sigh. "Damn it." A voice complained. "I was halfway to my nut. Come in." I opened the door and winced at the smell. Clearly someone had been hard at work. Hermes, a tall, dark haired man with a hairy chest and piercing green eyes, rolled them at me.

Reaching down he slapped a bubbly brown ass cheek and the green haired girl panting on the bedspread. "Clean my cock, slut. Then get lost. Don't come back without a friend, you're too boring for one on one time." She flushed but popped up, tits jiggling to gobble his dick down desperately. She pulled off but at a glare, went back down to slurp his nuts one at a time.

Once she was done she bolted, and Hermes flopped back on the bedspread with a groan. "Fucking dryads man. Just because you're part tree doesn't mean you have to root your ass in bed. They have bodies like porn stars but I don't have the time to split wood all day if you know what I mean."

I nodded. "Dead fish. Never fun." He gave me a nod of solidarity then looked at the girls. "These for me? Because they look like they might be fun. I think that one might be a sister of mine, knocking up dad's little princesses is always a laugh."

Raising and eyebrow, I just stared him down, and he shrugged unrepentantly. "Alright fine. I know who you are. You've stolen plenty of shit, kid. And your little klepto there is literally built for my kind of fun. But I know you don't share. You sure I can't convince to give up your claim on baby sis there? We could tag team, I won't even touch your ghostie."

He raked a lascivious eye over Cassie. "If you want ass, I'll find you some. Hell, I can MAKE you pretty much any kind of girl you want." I said flatly. "But don't touch my merchandise." Cassie looked a bit offended, but also to scared of her brother to say anything.

"That's your offer then?" He said lazily. "I admit, custom pussy isn't a bad bid, but if you want me to rob dear old dad, you're gonna have to up your stakes." At my surprise, he snorted. "Yes, I heard you talking. Thief tricks don't work on the thief god. Not at that level. Your girlie there is orders of magnitude below my league. Plus you said my name."

I blinked. "Shit, saying your name is all it takes?" We'd mentioned several gods since coming up here. If saying their name was enough we might be fucked.

He shook his head. "Nah. Like I said, thief tricks. Her Hand of Glory bullshit would have caught most invocations. Unless you were of some direct interest to the god in question or they were ME it wouldn't matter."

Sighing, I gave him a nod. "Fine. Pussy isn't enough. How about treasure? Some badass magic item? Magic beer?"

He paused. "Wait…really?" I just shrugged. "Like…how magic? My brother Dion is a fucking wine snob, all our beer is mortal piss. How much can you make?"

"I can make a magic keg that refills itself if you want." I said with a laugh. "I think it's crazy to take beer over pussy personally-"

He snorted. "Did you see that tree bitch that just bolted out of here? There's one of those sluts for EVERY TREE ON OLYMPUS. And river. And lake. Plus over three thousand gods, and unlike you modern mortals I'm not so picky about who I fuck. Beer though…no, I'm definitely not against the idea."

I shrugged. "Fair enough. What do you want us to do to get ready? I have some supplies on hand to make things easier."

He shook his head. "Unnecessary. Laverna!" He bellowed. A sigh echoed and a door opened, admitting a sharp looking pretty woman with cold blue eyes and dark hair. He gestured to Cherry. "This is ghostie. I want her outfitted for a heist. Get it done."

Laverna nodded then turned to Cherry. "Come along, luv. Let's get you dressed up." The woman, who my appraisal told me was the C rank minor goddess of tricksters, charlatans, and con artists (Roman version apparently). After a brief consideration I finally nodded my approval and she left.

Hermes gave a nod of his own, one of respect. "Sister dear. Go spend time with Auntie. Your alibi will be important." Cassie looked a bit worried but finally nodded and left. Then he glanced at me. "You…well, there's someone else who wants to talk to you. I don't know if I envy or pity you." He pointed to one side. "Once you're done come back and we can begin our planning."

Shrugging, I headed for the door, curious who might be waiting. When I opened the door though, I stopped in my tracks.

People have different tastes. Fetishes, interests, preferences everyone's are unique, or at least close to it. No two people will find the same person the same level of attractive. It's just a law of nature.

The olive skinned bombshell in the steam room was a fucking fifteen out of ten in every category. Tits, ass, lips, eyes, hair. Every one far beyond flawless and somehow greater than the sum of their parts besides. Those soft pink dick sucking lips turned up in a playful smirk that got my blood pumping.

'Nicky." Purred the sex and chocolate voice of the woman my appraisal told me (unnecessarily) was the goddess of love. "You were talking about me earlier. I liked what I heard." I swallowed hard, stepping into the room, eyes locked on her.

"How did you hear that." I rasped, throat dry. "Hermes said no one would be able to pierce Cherry's protections without focus."

She giggled, and my cock was a fucking bar of iron. "Oh, Nicky. I WAS focusing. Eros and Psyche. What an interesting power. And the way you use it." She shuddered. "My sweet little sex machine. So many girls, so very satisfied. I couldn't be more proud."

"The power isn't divine." I said uncertainly. "Not like the plutonic veil. It's not based in your domain. How do you know when I'm using it? Hell, how do you know what it's called?"

Another giggle. "Oh, my sweet boy. Don't you know who Eros IS? He's a love god. My own son. And you've been taking up his mantle for all these months." She licked her lush lips, and they gleamed as if she'd glossed them as she spread her thighs, letting me stare at her naked body. "If you like, you can call me mommy."

April 26th 2016 Mt. Olympus 7:00 PM EDT

It took me a second to get my brain running when Aphrodite spread her legs. Which was weird. Look. I like to eat pussy. I like seeing women squirm and squeal and I don't mind the taste. But I'd never seen a pussy I considered 'delicious' looking.

Looking at Aphrodite's cunt was like looking at a four course dessert bar. Like I was staring at cheesecake or a pastry. It didn't LOOK like those things, obviously, but seeing that perfect gorgeous twat made me fucking HUNGRY. I wanted to eat it so bad I could fucking taste that pussy.

She giggled seductively, olive tits bouncing in the perfect way to draw attention as she did. I forced my dick to shut up and let me think, before meeting her seafoam green eyes. "Alright. Why? Why are you involved with all this? Why not tell Zeus? Why do…any of this shit?"

"Because." She cooed. "You're my baby boy. Ever since you got that ability I've been watching." She shuddered delightfully, jiggles where there should be jiggles. "Watching you dominate those little cunts. Oh baby, the things I've done to this pussy while I enjoyed what you do. You're a masterpiece."

"I mean…I'm not bad in bed." I admitted with a shrug. "But I'm sure there's better." I wasn't too proud to admit some people put in more work. I wasn't a kama sutra kind of guy. Just a ground and pound bitchbreaker.

She squealed in glee. "You're so CUTE. Of course there's better. You don't fuck like a casanova. You fuck like a beast. My little pussy crushing animal. Fuck you make me so hot when you work. Mommy wants to feel that fat fucking cock in person."

"I call bullshit." I paused. "Like I'm absolutely going to ruin your pussy. But I don't buy you'd set this up just to fuck."

Pouting, she shook her head. "The other Greed Hosts were more willing to accept when I dropped in their laps. Greed and Love often go hand in hand." My eyes widened as I stared at her, and she rolled hers. "Yes. I'm the Love host." She posed, letting those fat olive tits bounce free splendidly as she framed herself. "Be honest, don't I look the part?"

"You're…you've known where I was the whole time?" I said, my voice dry. "Were you the one who told Arg?"

She snorted. "Nasty old bitch. No. I fall more on Corrigan's side of the fence. Hope and Compassion are the same. I was asked to reach out and see how…flexible, you can be. Not as an ally, nobody trusts Greed, but we aren't against the idea of a temporary mutually beneficial…liason."

"You're going to keep doing that until we fuck, aren't you." I said exasperatedly, walking over to loom over her. She stared up at me through her lashes, nude body enticing and very ready for me. "Fine." I growled. "Take it out."

She squealed in delight, clapping her hands before they dove to my belt, fishing my dick out. She let it flop free and slap her between the eyes in the most stereotypical anime cock shock expression I'd ever seen, eyes crossed and pillowy lips forming a soft looking O.

Not buying it, I just raised an eyebrow. She pouted and grabbed my dick, licking it slowly from base to tip before nuzzling it. She slurped one of my balls into her mouth playing with it as she slurped. "So much fucking power in these." She sighed almost deliriously as she sucked the other, making sure to taste it.

"You make all the girls so crazy." She cooed. "I liked the whore best. The regulars are fun, but seeing how insane this fucking monstrosity made her? Mommy came so good baby. I squirted like a fucking firehose watching you pipe that size queen bitch." She sniffed lewdly, inhaling the scent of my dick. "I've always been a size queen myself."

I briefly considered trying to fuck her in dragon form, just to see what it would be like, but I didn't think we had time for me to really enjoy that. I think she knew what I was thinking because she shuddered expectantly when I had the thought. Eros and Psych WAS her ability in it's original form I guessed. Or something like it anyway, since Eros was her kid.

She pulled me to the side and sat me down next to her on the bench. Leaning forward, she protracted herself as she took me in her mouth, making sure to present her back and ass like a fucking centerfold as she inhaled me so I could watch her fat olive cheeks jiggle enticingly.

I moaned and let my head fall back. She felt…amazing. Her throat and mouth were better than most of the pussy I'd had, desperately gripping and working and wringing my cock like she was giving me a handjob with the inside her neck. She fondled my balls, tongue swirling and slurping and vibrating as she fucking went to town on me with her face.

Feeling my balls tightened, I was shocked, I never came this fast, but I didn't bother fighting it. I had an endless amount more, and this thirst bitch had earned a nice refreshing drink.

She mewled around me at that thought, hand going to her cunt as I came right down her throat. She pulled back tough, letting it flood her mouth and overflow down onto her tits. She squealed around the head of my dick as she drank, reaching up to scoop some of the overflow and stuff it into her aching pussy.

When I finished, she pulled back with a happy sigh. "You taste just like I imagined baby. So filling. You going to fill me in other ways?" She stood, mopping up and slurping the cum in front of me before climbing into my lap sensuously. "I have so many empty holes for you."

Holes I REALLY wanted. But…having already gotten off it was easier to think around her. Which meant it was easier to recognize that it would be smarter to learn more than get my dick wet. Post nut clarity is the worst.

She sighed belligerently as she felt the shift in my desires, dismounting and walking over to where there was a towel folded up. "Business it is then. Oh well, probably best not to play with a cutoff time anyway. I want the full experience." Apparently Eros and Psych's defenses didn't work on the SOURCE of Eros and Psych, but she wasn't reading minds anymore than I did, and I didn't care much about that.

I sighed. "Thanks for the blowjob at least. I assume you knew it would clear my head?"

She shrugged. "I assumed. If you'd decided to give into your baser desires completely I'd have been thrilled, but this is fine too." She wiggled that fat olive ass at me, smacking a cheek. "As long as you make it up to me later."

Seeing my gaze locked on her cheeks she giggled and put her towel on before sitting, thighs together so she was MOSTLY covered. "So." I said flatly. "Tell me about Corrigan. He knows where I am?"

"He does." She said with a nod. "But then, he knows where most people are. He's…scary. The Will system can be one of the hardest or easiest to advance. It's almost entirely self contained, so the willpower of the host is a big factor. Corrigan is very…willful."

Sitting back against the wall, I stared up at the ceiling, partly to think and partly because it made it easier to concentrate. "So is he involved in any of this? Or is this just a big coincidence?"

"Not a coincidence exactly." She giggled. "More an inevitability. Olympus is one of the bigger active godly planes. Greed Hosts aren't known for being prudent. I was glad to see you connect to me, amusing shows aside, because it let me prepare."

Knowing she'd been watching…honestly I didn't care much. She was hot and I wasn't ashamed of how I fucked. I assumed normal people would be unsettled, but I'd never been normal. You need to feel shame to feel embarrassment, and I just kind of didn't. Guilt, sure, but not shame. Not even after I got back my humanity.

"So what do you want?" I said bluntly. "I assume it has to be something other than just sex. Arg has been trying to kill me, and you just said you won't recruit me, so what?"

"I said CORRIGAN won't recruit you." She clarified. "I find you fascinating. I'm helping with this because I know that, ruthless streak aside, you remember favors. No strings, just considerations later on. Plus I can't have my favorite show canceled because you got caught putting your hand in daddy's cookie jar."

"So you just wanted me to KNOW it was you helping, so I'm grateful to the right person?" I asked in amusement.

"Well, and slob on your knob for a bit." She smacked her lips. "You taste exquisite."

"Glad you like it." I smirked. "So, you have a way of helping Hermes get us in? Or is Hermes himself the help? Because I have to pay him, so that doesn't seem like much of a favor to me. More like subcontracting."

Not that I minded the beer thing. Honestly thinking back that was still a ludicrously low price for this. He might just be double dipping. Which honestly I could respect. It's what I would do. Never get paid once if you can get paid twice.

"You don't have to pay him." She huffed. "He knew you were coming. His satyrs aren't idiots, they wouldn't have let you in if they hadn't expected you, and he isn't ALWAYS balls deep in a dryad, though admittedly it's a frequent pastime. I can't begrudge him that, I enjoy the darlings myself. Particularly the maples. They taste like syrup."

I made a note to look into that, it actually sounded hot. "It's fine." I waved her off. "A bit of good will with a god of thieves wouldn't be a bad thing to have, and beer is hardly an imposition, especially if this goes well. Can you put me in touch with Corrigan?"

Sighing, she shook her head. "Sadly, no. I'm being…more hands on than he would like. I'd prefer to keep that from him. You're on the right track reaching him, darling, just keep at it. Besides, secretly having mommy on your side is bound to come in handy, no?" I rolled my eyes at the mommy thing, I guessed that wasn't going away, but it wasn't like I gave a shit.

"Alright." I said in exasperation. "Maybe keep in touch. But you should hurry. I know you're B rank, and I'll be at your level soon enough. If you want to play mommy you should do it while you're still stronger than me." I grinned at her, and she gave a heated shudder.

"Don't tease me, darling." She cooed. "You can still put mommy in her place, even if she's stronger. I know what my boy likes. But if you want a visit, I'd say maybe try summoning me sometime. You might be pleased with the results."

Somehow I didn't think that would be safe, but I figured I could talk to Zee about it. "One more thing." I said. "Were you a love goddess before you got the Love System or is this what you became?"

She smiled prettily at me. "Wouldn't you like to know?" Popping to her feet, she sauntered over and pecked me on the lips before turning to flounce out, her bubbly ass bouncing with every step. I groaned in annoyance. That had been…frustrating. But hey, at least I got my dick sucked. That would probably help me focus at least a little. And I was damned sure going to need it. Time for me to go plan a heist.

April 26th 2016 Mt. Olympus 8:00 PM EDT

Hermes was grinning at me as I came back. "So, am I still getting my beer? Big sister obviously ratted me out, based on your glare. Can you really blame me for double dipping though? I AM a thief god."

I rolled my eyes. "It's fine. But you'll owe me a favor down the line for the beer. I don't work pro bono either." It would be better to have a favor from a god if I could anyway. I wasn't convinced Aphrodite hadn't set it up this way just to get me in my current position, and give me a way to get another possible divine ally on my side.

Laughing, Hermes collapsed back onto the bed with a whump. I looked around the room, interested to see how the god of thieves lived. It was a wide open space, hardwood, with faded yellow walls, thick curtains, and lots of furniture around the edges. I saw a pyramid of beer bottles balanced precariously on one of the dressers, and a fish tank with a turtle in it, upon appraising it though, I flinched back.

Hermes snickered. "That's Bai. I won him at an auction a few years ago."

"That's a fucking BLACK TORTOISE!" I hissed, pointing at it. "It's stronger than you are, how the fuck are you even keeping it contained." The appraisal of the creature told me it was fucking A-rank, and Hermes definitely wasn't.

"Earth restrains water." He pointed at the rock the small black animal was lying on. "Not normal earth, obviously. Anyway, being strong doesn't mean you can't be bound. Prometheus is a titan, but dear old dad still strung him up for that eagle. Don't make the mistake of thinking power is an absolute, kid. Leverage is where the money is at. Being able to slip through powerful defenses is my bread and butter."

"Putting aside the absurdity of you having that thing, or you naming it Bai, which means white." I said in exasperation. "I get your point. Bit ham fisted, really, though I'm guessing you also just wanted to show off the god beast you were keeping in a fish tank. Which I'm assuming isn't a NORMAL fish tank?"

It wasn't, I'd checked, but he wanted to brag a bit, so I'd humor him. "Nope. Hephaestus made it for me on commission. He does damned good work. And speaking of good work, looks like your ghostie is back."

Looking up, I saw the door open, and Cherry came striding in, strapped with a whole new outfit of what my appraisal told me was C-ranked gear. The suit was enchanted to the seams, with fun and interesting abilities that would help her with thieving and just generally make our jobs easier on this little run.

"Ah, Laverna." Said Hermes jovially. "Looks like our guest picked out her party favors. I take it you filled up a bag for me as well? Some useful toys I can bring along for myself?"

Rolling her eyes, the goddess passed him a small leather duffel bag. He jerked it open a bit, looked inside, then zipped it shut with a satisfied smirk.

"Alright. Now we know what your target is, but we need to narrow down where it is in the temple complex." The laid back himbo vanished and his eyes became sharper and more focused as he spoke. "Dad's temple is the largest on the mountain, mostly because he wouldn't allow anything else. This is both a benefit and a problem. A benefit because the larger complex means more gaps in security, but we may not be able to locate the item in question easily."

Reaching into a series of small cubbies on top of a nearby dresser, he pulled out a rolled up piece of what looked like leather at first glance.

Snapping it open, he laid it on the bed. "Alright, this is the only map I have of the temple complex. I've outlined the various security layers here, but there's a multitude of ways to bypass them depending on the capabilities we have at our disposal. Ghostie, you'll be planning our entrance. I always try my best to foster new talents when I can."

That might have been suspicious if I didn't suspect he was just trying to be as lazy as possible, but it worked for me. Cherry really could use some more experience.

Stepping up to the map, she gave it a once over, studying the defenses he'd annotated on the surface of the thing. "I'd say our best bet for entry is through the supplicant shrine. We slip in among the gods pleading their cases before the king and then break off through the steam pools."

Hermes nodded. "It works for entry. I can get you into the crowd. Of course, those steam pools are guarded. I'm assuming your plan is to use them as access to the aqueduct under the temple? You'll need a bypass for the grates, not to mention the ducts will take you directly through the temple guard barracks. They built it that way specifically to prevent people from doing what you plan to try."

She grinned. "Nope. Our entry point is here." Pointing at a back wall off the steam pools, she grinned. "We slip in through the oracle chambers. They use the steam for divination so there's a connecting wall. The oracles abut the Fates portion of the complex directly, and we can slip through there to get access to their chambers."

He gave her an amused look. "You don't think the ORACLES might notice the attempt?"

She shook her head. "We have countermeasures. The oracles are minor gods, those of them that are gods at all. Nicky's defenses will stop us from being perceived by anyone weaker than him, which they definitely are."

That was true. Minor gods would make them C rank, and I was at the peak of that rank in terms of power.

Still, I wasn't quite as sanguine about sneaking by a bunch of people who could see the future. At the very least they probably has guards. It did seem like it was the best opening though.

Hermes obviously agreed, nodding slowly. "That does open up some new options. The security there is a bit laxer because of the obvious protections. You'll need to blend in but if you can slip by them and gain access the the back wall of the Fates temple, it should be easy enough to grab the shears. You realize they'll notice right away though?"

I grinned. Reaching into my pouch, I pulled out a pair of golden scissors based on pictures I'd found of the shears.

[Appraisal function activated. Treasure detected. Shears of deception- F-rank. A pair of enchanted shears designed for the sole purpose of fooling those who view them. These shears do not do anything, but they give off a powerful and ancient aura them mimics another object they come in contact with.]

They were somewhat useless for basically anything else, but they would be a perfect simulacrum. I didn't know what the hell the shears of fate felt like though, so I was forced to rig the things up to mimic the aura of something they touched. Once we got in I'd just load up the aura and swap them out for the real deal.

Sadly, they did nothing, so once the Fates picked them up and tried to use them it would be obvious what happened (though I was hoping for a nice long round of 'repair' attempts). They would, however, hopefully give us time to escape.

This had been one of the preparations I made with all my points, and Hermes seemed impressed, though when he picked them up he clicked his tongue. "Good likeness, but it won't hold up."

I didn't bother explaining what they did, it wasn't relevant to him. "So." I said gesturing to Cherry in her new spiffy thief armor. "She might pass for one of your subordinates, though that isn't really something we want, but I have no chance of getting in unnoticed wearing this. You got any spare togas lying around?"

He grimaced. "Togas are more of a cloak, though the Greek variation is called a Himation. You're thinking of a Chiton. That was the tunic people wore back in the day and some here still do. You're not wrong though, dad prefers formality and tradition in visitors. We should get you some new clothes."

Patting my belt and pouch, I made sure to point out. "I need to keep this at least. It's where I have all my important gear. But you synch those things with belts anyway don't you?"

Shrugging, he walked over to a closet in one corner of the room that I wasn't sure had been there a second ago and opened it, rifling through the clothes inside before pulling out a pair of black garments trimmed in gold.

Passing them over, he pointed us to another door. "Bathroom is in there. I don't feel like going through the pissing contest of asking you to change in here and you getting pissed about me wanting to see your ghostie bare assed."

I gave him a flat look. "I've never eaten a god before. I wonder if those stupid winged sandals mean you taste like chicken."

He grinned at me. "I can't return the query. I HAVE eaten dragon, and they only taste a little like chicken."

Rolling my eyes at the messenger god, I grabbed Cherry by the hand and led her into the bathroom to get changed. She looked unamused. "I LOVE my new clothes Nicky. Why do I need to change out of them? I could totally blend in as like, a guard or something."

"Cherry." I said firmly. "Get your cute little ass out of that armor and put your damned Chiton on. If you make me strip you personally I'll be annoyed."

She batted her lashes at me. "Oh, daddy. I love it when you get all forceful. But fine. I'll be a good girl. Promise you'll strip me out of that armor another time and punish me for making you wait?"

I grinned, yanking her against me for a quick kiss and a sharp slap on her leather clad ass. "Like you need to ask for that. Now get dressed, I want this done so we can get out of here as soon as possible. I just hope Cassie is having an easy time selling her alibi."

We got changed, stowing our gear in my pouch before heading back out to meet Hermes. The god had changed into a Chiton of his own, this one blue with silver thread lining the edges, and he gestured for us to follow.

"So, I'll get you into the complex." He reiterated. "Head for the steam pools and I'll cause a distraction for you. Laverna will meet you at the pools to let you in, I contacted her about the plan while you were changing. From there you're on your own, but we should have drawn enough notice to make moving around much simpler."

I gave him a solemn nod. "I'll get you your beer after we're clear of the mountain. I can summon Aphrodite to hand off the magic keg."

He snickered. "I don't think the keg is the only thing you're gonna give her. And I doubt you'll be keeping your hands off much of anything."

Rolling my eyes, I followed him up the mountain, Cherry smirking as he led us up along the path toward the massive golden temple complex at the top. Hermes was right, Zeus did like to show off. I just hoped he was overconfident in his own security, because if he wasn't this was going to be a pain in the ass. I forced myself to calm down. All I needed to do was get the shears, once that was done I could free Raven, and then join her in B rank. This would all be worth it.

April 26th 2016 Mt. Olympus, Temple of Zeus, 9:00 PM EDT

Zeus's temple complex was…kind of tacky. There was a lot of gold, which would have paired well with the white marble in an accenting sort of way, but in the quantities it was present in just made the whole place look like King Midas tried his hand at designing the world's gaudiest casino.

Hermes snickered as he saw my expression. "It's awful right? No one has the heart to tell him, or if they do they're afraid he'll rip it out. The old man may have mellowed with age, but people REMEMBER Prometheus. All the new kiddies get doting imperious kindhearted dad, they don't remember what he USED to be like."

Which explained a lot about Cassie. I wondered how much of Zeus's new nature was culture dilution. More and more people forgot the old stories and learned about the Greeks from Disney bullshit. How much of the change was because of that new perception? How much of a god came from their worshippers?

It was something to think about. I might very well BECOME a god someday, I was pretty sure dragon god was on my path to…whatever I'd be at S rank. Not the next step mind you, but it was something I'd reach someday. Would I become susceptible to contamination like that?

Sadly, my introspection would have to wait, because after a bit of shit shooting with the guards, Hermes got us into the complex. Once we were inside, he excused himself after slipping the guard…something. The guy, dressed in full hoplite armor, escorted us to the area we were trying to access, taking us directly to the steam pools.

When we arrived, we stopped at the corner and waited. Within a few minutes, the air split with a wail of panic and the guards standing outside the steam pools bolted off in the direction of the noises. Our guard gestured toward the pools and then took off after them, clearly not wanting to missing when the shit finally hit the fan for this.

Laverna stepped from the shadows seamlessly, holding a finger to her lips as she walked to the doorway. She raised a hand, went through a complicated series of gestures and whispered a few words, and the steam at the entrance parted for us. Shrugging, we both stepped through the gateway and into the pools.

The steam pools in Zeus's temple were…pretty nice to be honest. Much nicer than the rest of the place, if also more understated. Bare stone as far as I could see, with calm steaming pools of water at various levels. Some in the ground, some in raised stone craters like stalactites that had been hollowed out.

Obviously steam was thick in the air, having congealed into solid form behind us to close Laverna off again. Guess we were on our own, but that was fine, I was prepared, and I called the map to mind as I grabbed Cherry's hand and dragged her after me in a seemingly random direction. She had a hand flared, having lit her hand of glory first thing when we entered as an added guarantee of safety, so we should have been unnoticeable.

Which was why I had to stifle a curse when we ran into someone who obviously knew we were there. A creature, golden scales covering a spindly body, pointed ears, bald head, red eyes and a forked tongue. As we came close it froze where it crouched on top of a nearby rock, hissing and sniffing the air. I grimaced, not sure what the fuck it was, and appraised it.

[Appraisal function activated. Treasure detected. Valektris-C rank. A gluttonous monster of Pluto made from the gathered fragments of bronze armor harvested from drowned greek soldiers, the Valektris hungers for the blood it's former wearers were denied.]

What the fuck? Was that even a real thing? What kind of magic made THAT? I looked down and saw the flame on Cherry's pinky go out. The sniffing got more intense. "Meat!" The thing hissed, in a voice like the scraping of metal on bones. "Meat for Ipsos! Show yourself meat! Reveal your flesh for Ipsos to taste. We will not consume. Only taste. Ipsos swears this!"

I didn't need a PHD in greek history to know that whatever this fucking thing was, it definitely WOULD eat us. I could almost definitely kill it, but we would fucked if I did. We couldn't afford that kind of notice. There were a LOT of gods here that could fucking murder me. This was a heist for a reason.

My eyes widened and I slipped my hand into my bag, pulling out the Plutonic Veil. This thing was some kind of metal demon, which meant it was under the command of the god in charge of that kind of shit. I slipped the mask on, then let go of Cherry's hand, appearing in front of it.

It hissed, jerking in surprise, then it's teeth bared in glee. Before it could attack I stepped up and slapped it in the fucking mouth. It was stunned, especially when I didn't follow up, just loomed over it. "A Valektris dares impede the servants of Pluto? Do you forget the earth that bares the bronze from which you spawn?"

Ipsos was talking in english, for some fucking reason, so I figured doing the same would work. To my delight, the creature reared back, curling around itself. "Mercy!" It shrieked. "Mercy great one! Mercy for poor Ipsos!"

I sneered. "Mercy for one such as you? A waste. Perhaps though, I can focus on more…worthwhile pursuits. But speak not of my generosity to others. Unless you wish me to carry word to our master of a despicable cur who steams itself within the temple of his brother?"

"Ipsos sees nothing!" It shrieked. "Ipsos speaks of no servant, no masks. Ipsos sleeps and only wakes in many hours!"

Nodding, I stepped around it. "Good. Return to your lurking, creature."

Ipsos nodded quickly, bowing and scraping as it scrambled off into the steam. Taking Cherry's hand, I vanished again from the senses of those living here. We followed my mental map to the back wall, where the steam pools touched up against the divination chambers. Looking to my Crypt Queen, I gave a nod, and her eyes blazed up a lambent blue as she turned us intangible.

We stepped directly through the walls, and ended up in…well, the only real term I could think of was locker room. I'd removed my mask and slipped it into my pouch, but I had to replace it with another of beaten bronze as we changed into the robes of the oracles.

Like Hermes had said, not all the oracles were gods, some were mortals brought up here to train, and I was as strong as a high end minor god right now anyway. Neither of us seemed out of place here once we dressed the part.

Stepping out of the locker room area, we found ourselves no longer alone. The massive chamber we'd stepped into was full to bursting with other people dressed like we were. Some sat in front of braziers, some in front of the corpses of birds or other animals. Some threw wands, or bones, or runes, none of which were greek in origin, but apparently they went with the scattershot approach here.

Knowing it would be suspicious if we did nothing, I pulled Cherry along towards the area we needed to be, signalling her to put out her hand. Walking with purpose will dissuade most people from questioning where you're going or what you're doing. We made a point to walk briskly but not fast enough to be interesting, strolling with intent towards what we needed to find.

The area in question was situated behind a tea making station, where a small red haired oracle was fumbling with a tea set. She had her mask off so she could drink, but was clearly unfamiliar with the brewing process. When she saw us arrive, she swallowed hard, glancing around. "Oh, I'm sorry, was my time with the tea leaves over? I've had such trouble with them today. My last divination told me I was going to be eaten by weasels, which doesn't seem…accurate. I think I'm doing this wrong."

I smothered a chuckle, holding out a hand. "No rush, we can sit with you for a bit until you're done. I'm Essus, and this is Aranea. We're new." Sitting down and being unobtrusive would be a good way to be overlooked.

She brightened. "Alright! I'm Cleo. It's nice to meet you both. Oh! Maybe I can divine your futures? Would you like a cup of tea?" I gestured for Cherry to take one, if only because she could drink it through her mask with her ghostly abilities. Cleo filled a cup with leaves, let it steep, then passed it to Cherry, who sipped deeply from the clay vessel. At Cherry's pleasant hum, Cleo grinned at her. "It's good isn't it? Dreamshade tea. I traded it from one of the shrine keepers."

"It's delicious." Said Cherry with a chuckle. Cleo seemed unbothered by the phasing, which made sense, she DID spend all day in the company of gods. "So, what does my future hold." I'd told Cherry to go ahead because the suspect nature of Cleo's predictions could explain away anything she came up with. Even if she got the prediction right we could just act like she failed again. Once that happened we could send her away so we could use the tea station ourselves, then Cherry could do her thing again now that everyone would have gotten used to us.

Taking the cup eagerly, Cleo squinted down into its depths. She inhaled sharply, trying to catch a scent or something, then her eyes flicked to Cherry. Her face was blank, remote, and her voice was devoid of all the previous cheer and perkiness. "You walk with death. A constant companion. She treads your steps. Finds you…interesting. Of her world but not."

Her face became animated again and she grimaced. "Ouch, ouch, ouch. Feedback. I hate when that happens." Frowning down at the tea leaves, she looked upset. "I'm not supposed to trance with leaves. I'm the worst at this. I'm going to switch to fire reading. Sorry to take up the table, you two have a nice day."

Giving us an apologetic look, she forced a smile and scurried off. She seemed to be far too caught up in her own problems to notice anything off about us. I poured some tea for Cherry and I, and let it steep before gesturing for her to light her hand again. Her fingers blazed and suddenly we were beneath notice.

The hand of glory was a wonderful invention, because it took advantage of existing circumstances to shroud the bearer. Sleeping people in a house, fog or steam, even lack of interest. It redirected, it didn't obstruct. It was why I was so convinced that combined with my own mantle and Eros and Psych's mental resistance it would form a coherent whole that would let us slip by the defenses.

Sure enough, no one looked at or noticed us after the hand was lit. We waited another minute or two, sipping tea, but once that was done, Cherry took my hand and phased again, leading us right through the wall behind us and into a large empty chamber.

At the far end of the chamber, I could see a massive loom, a tapestry draped across it. Next to it sat dozens of spools of absurdly bright and eye catching threads, with a few darker shades thrown in here or there. Next to THOSE, sat a pedestal, upon which lay a purple cushion, with a pair of golden shears perched atop it. I grinned as we stepped forward. We'd found what we came for. These were the shears that would free Raven.

As usual pat-reon has the advance chapters at that site /malcolmtent. Hope everyone enjoys.