Apollo's Story

Apollo

Index and middle finger massaged his temple in vain to alleviate the pulse driving itself through his brain at a constant and steady tempo. Apollo found himself making inward whistles through barred teeth as he passed through the streets of the Big Apple paying little head to the faces of millions of passersby on the side walk, as he himself took his route anonymous among them. He tried his best to not focus on the pain, but it was difficult not to.

Headaches were not a common occurrence for Olympians, in fact save for himself it was virtually unheard of as they were of course immune to all ills that were not of their own making. That’s what bothered him the most, there was only one reason he ever suffered this symptom, but this was a result of something he used at will and had not employed for nearly a decade now. Prophesy was always a messy and often fruitless endeavor, whatever information he attained was either too fragmented to matter or of something of little consequence, and every time yielded a temporary migraine. This one however was different, nothing had prompted it, it simply appeared some time ago and came off and on, each day growing worse than the last episode.

There was no one to turn to for this, mortals would prescribe pills that would prove useless against his immunity to drugs, and of course he was the only one of his kin that could be considered a physician by their standards, yet he could not heal himself of this most irritating symptom. So Apollo resigned to bear it, and wait until cleared out on its own, which he assumed it would.

His route to his home oddly enough had him pass by his kin’s flower shop, however it was a rarity that he would enter, interacting with his brethren was never high in his priority list even if that seemed rude. Of course it was best to avoid contact during this time of the year anyway, Demeter would always scheme and plot against her daughter's marriage which never lead to anything pleasant, or anything worth getting caught in the middle of. On a more frivolous note, he was still in his scrubs after clocking out at the hospital, not exactly meet and greet attire.

As the Far-darter passed by Ambrosia however the headache had a sudden flare, the worst yet, which prompted a full stop and a hand bracing against the brick of the establishment. Apollo grimaced as a nauseous feeling grew in his stomach coupled with faster pulses in his brain. Deep inhales were all that he could manage for relief, that and the patience to ride out this flare of the symptom.

His sojourn into the city had so far been pleasant, if not a little boring. The cab he had taken into the city had smelled suspiciously of marijuana and there were half-empty beer bottles strewn across the back seat. The driver had immediately engaged him in a breathless monologue about some baseball player being arrested for possession, never letting Poseidon get a word in edgeways. It was probably for the best, given his complete lack of interest in any sports, particularly baseball. Where was the fun or indeed challenge in simply hitting a ball and running? Mortal sports were completely baffling. Needless to say, he did not tip the cab driver at all and was met with a frosty glare in return.

The city itself was much less shady. Poseidon aimlessly wandered down street after street, stopping here and there to glance at a new gadget in a shop window. One thing he was intensely jealous of was the mortals’ skill with technology. The phone in his pocket was at least two years old and he had still not mastered all of its futuristic techniques. The notion of iPads and touch screens was a step into the unknown and one he was not willing to take. As such, he steered himself away from the flashing neon lights that adorned electronics shops and took a lazy stroll further into the city, knowing that his feet would subconsciously take him towards Ambrosia regardless of his actual desire. He could attempt to visit his brothers, but he was always afraid he’d interrupt Zeus with some pretty little intern and Hades … well, it was best to steer away from his establishments at the best of times. Poseidon had no intention at all of being privy to whatever was occurring at Madame’s. The safer, and in fact closer, option to call upon his Olympian brethren was the flower shop.

He stopped briefly to buy a coffee from a Costa store to ward off his growing thirst and the slightly brisk Spring breeze. Strangely, though perhaps not so given his birthright, Poseidon was never comfortable with the weather away from the sea. The sea breeze always felt indifferent, never cold, but that of the mainland was one extreme or another. A slight Autumn wind could make him feel as if he nestled with penguins in the far north, and a sunny day in August felt almost too stifling to bear. He mentally made a note to bring that up with one of the other Gods at some point. Zeus probably had something to do with it. Zeus always had something to do with it.

As he finally neared Persephone’s flower shop, a wry smile touched his lips as he surveyed the scene about him. Outside was Apollo, strangely enough, seemingly holding his head in some sort of distress and inside the store, he could just about make out Athena. Why on earth she was there he had no idea, but the notion that others had felt some sort of strange pull to the shop today was not lost on him.

“There is nothing subtle about a convergence of divinity,” he whispered under his breath, raising a hand in thanks to a car who had let him jog across the busy road to the store. He leant up against a lamp-post opposite the store a few metres behind Apollo and drained the plastic cup of coffee in his hands, deftly throwing it into a bin a short distance away. Catching Athena’s eye inside the store, he gave a lazy wave and a wink before turning his attention back towards his nephew.

“Hey, nurse,” he called in his deep voice, deadpan and laced with constant amusement. “You look sick. Maybe you should see a nurse.”

Hyperion walked down the hallway from where he had been thinking, these however were not idle thoughts one thinks when bored, and these were the thoughts of war. Eris had brought his brothers and sisters back from their slumbers, but for what reason? He continued to walk at quickened pace and out of the house and onto the wet grass the sun shining brighter with every step he took. Hyperion didn't want war and to be honest could care who was in charge, he looked around slowly before changing into his human form, Cronus would go into one of his rages if he saw him "lower himself by being a human."

He wondered quietly why his brother wanted to know where the Gods where, at first he thought it was for a treaty of peace, but now it seemed different like Cronus was preparing for war. He walked down the street without fear of being attacked, none of the Gods and Titians other than Cronus knew he was still kicking, he had just disappeared and for a while, he liked it that way for a while before coming out of hiding only to find this... he shook it out of his mind, he had other thing to plan and thought a good book and some flowers might cheer Cronus and his wife up.

He slowly made his way down the street and stopped at a book store and then stopped in front of a bookshelf holding a face reference dictionary and flipped through the pages then something caught his eye and he smiled and walked over to were the cashier was and handed her the money for the book, he had found Zeus. Hyperion walked out onto the cold street, he shivered before making his way down the street and he quickly counted the mortal money he had been given by Cronus for the time being, one thousand mortal dollars, not much in human terms.


He quickly moved down the street while looking for a flower shop to buy some flowers for his wife and Rhea once he met up with Cronus again he give them to her, it would cheer her up. He finally made his way down the street towards the business end of New York hoping to find some flowers and he finally stopped in front of the most little likely place, the words on the sign read clearly and Hyperion was glad no one knew he was still alive, the letter on the shop spelled out very neatly, Ambrosia.

He was silent and was about to walk away when he saw the Gods inside, well check another one of the big three of my shopping list he thought and walked away quickly and got some flowers from another store and moved of back to Cronus. He burst through the door of the house moving with purpose before knocking rapidly on Cronus is door, and then saying quietly “I’ve found them” he waited for Cronus to answer while holding the flowers tightly, my you will look like such a great warrior to Cronus he chuckled to himself waiting.

Apollo

A solid baritone voice attempted to make light of his ailment, Apollo recognized it as his own uncle, a fact confirmed when he mustered the strength to gaze upon his bemused face. The Far-darter did not think it jovial, and rewarded Poseidon with a light scoff in contempt having only added to the irritability if anything. All the while the pulse in his brain did not recede by any amount.

Another voice reached his ears which he knew to be another elder kin. Truthfully he had no intention of entering the shop, but the offer was made face to face and though he cared little for interacting with his kin, he should at least feign politeness. That, and in his current state it would at least be better to rest where he was welcome. By now the migraine finally began to recede, so straightening himself as best he could and lightly nodded.

Once inside Apollo found the nearest chair and plopped in it, then resumed rubbing his temples. “Sorry about intruding, I’m usually never this piqued. I swear there something in here splitting my brain open like a fault line making a magnitude seventeen.”

He waited patiently for his tea to arrive paying little head to what else was being said in the room by whoever as his symptom began to grow again, and his temples were massaged more feverously still in vain. Soon enough however the beverage was before him and he accepted it from Demeter, and thanked her.

He must have gulped it all down in one go and placed the cup on the nearby coffee table, and waited longer still at rest, again paying no heed to whatever conversation that might have been taking place.

Then all at once, as if the final strike of a hammer and chisel were made against the dam of his mind, agony soared through all of its recesses. Apollo found himself clutching the arms of the chair in a death grip, his entire body flexed and frozen as he bit back his tongue. His eyes became wider than dinner plates, and all color including that of his pupils vanished, replaced by an intense white light shown out in beams. Anyone who knew of Apollo’s “gift” of prophesies would recognize a vision by him, and as he was the only one experiencing it, all one could do was wait until it was finished.

The heavens were ablaze! Mangled corpses littered a ruin world as spires of earth erected themselves splitting open mountain and skyscraper. The seas boiled in furious hatred as the blue was drowned in the blood of man and beast alike. Fire rained down upon the damned though all innocent of the crime they were accused. But this was not the realm of Hades; no, a few diminishing landmarks were recognizable as that of this very city that the gods made their residence.

And from the sky fell a great ball of fire, and as it approached the earth Apollo found that it too was a familiar shape. It was the palace of Olympus itself! Architecture of Old buckled and crumbled becoming as burning ash, immolating the multitudes of those who were unfortunate as to survive this long in this new dying world as it met its fate with the earth tearing it asunder.

Apollo could also see in the remains of the streets among the bodies strewn indiscriminately the forms of his brethren, ripped and torn as to be almost be unrecognizable, but he knew. His father and king who’s hide was now tanned and split, the lord of the seas emaciated and bone dry as if the life were taken from his body literally, and even Hades, who now was no more than a statue of ash could be seen curling himself around another, in vain protecting his fair wife and love now a shadow of Creation same as he.

They were not alone, all of them were there, the Far-darter himself counted among them. But the sight that truly horrified him, the image that would forever burn within his immortal soul was that of his dear sister, impaled on a pike as beast, vermin and maggot betrayed her pure flesh consuming her with greed and malice, hunger never to be sated.

He wailed in furious agony at the sight coupled with the splitting of his brain and the splitting of the world around him, “NO!” It was a roar and a cry that reverberated throughout the humble shop splitting the ears, and curdling the blood of all who dwelled within. The Far-darter writhed in the chair as he wailed, clutching the armrests so tightly that the wood began to splinter under his fingers and would eventually be broken.

This lasted for about a minute or so, until the light from his eyes dimmed and color returned to it was well, his mouth falling deathly silent and ajar. His gaze was no where for a small moment, and his body was completely unmoving, one could almost swear that death embraced him in that moment, even his skin was a sickly white. But after a while his fingers lightly twitched, followed by a shaky hand and soon the quaking spread all through out his body. Apollo gazed at his hand, observing the shaking with utmost fascination, until the thought occurred that he must steel his own nerves. He clutched his wrist with his other hand, though still quaked.

When the quaking died down and his skin flushed back with color. He then suddenly remembered that he was not alone in the room, and knew that they would be starving for an explanation. He tried to let loose his tongue, but at first nothing could escape, as if there were some invisible barrier. Eventually however he gradually managed to make speech. “I,” he fell silent again briefly before he continued in the softest voice though clearly audible for the rest of the room lied mute, “This…has never happened to me. My visions, they always happen when I command it, always, but this…”

He took another moment to collect himself, then managed to say, “Everything, everyone…everything was eviscerated, everywhere.”

He leaned forward as if they had not heard him an reiterated in the voice of a tortured phantom whispering from the bowels of Tartarus, and in this voice his statement was absolute and directed to the well being of his brethren in the meaning, “Everything.”

Hyperion stood up straighter "I found Zeus working at a human company, his name now is Brandon Powers... he wasn't hard to find." Hyperion gestured at a human newspaper with Zeus's face on it and in bold lettering it said "Brandon Powers does it again" Hyperion smirked "Zeus has been busy in social light lately. While you were sleeping I was watching the Gods and I've lost track of how many humans Zeus has slept with."


"Now finding Hades was a bit trickier, but like his brother they both have egos the size of Mount Olympus, I've tracked him down to some recent gang sighting’s around this area...." he said calmly like an assassin pointing out his targets on a map he had placed on the table.



"Also Hades owns a nice restaurant and a human strip club" Hyperion sighed, his nephew had turned out edgy and maybe it was time for a face to face talk though Cronus would like to have one at the edge of a blade instead of peace. "I also have tracked down his wife and Demeter, Athena, Artemis and Apollo and... Poseidon at a flower shop downtown, if we act now we could catch four of them right now...." he said before silencing himself, he wanted peace now war but he was born a soldier and would die a soldier he guessed.


Hyperion walked away from the table for a minute and looked at his brother "must this end in blood brother?" he said looking at Cronus with a faraway look in his eyes as he paced back and forth. He stood still looking out a window out into the world around him "If we are to stand against the Gods brother we must stand as one..." He said turning to face Cronus before sitting in a chair to the side of the room "but I must ask you brother is this war necessary?" He had just done somthing no Titian had done before, questioned Cronus, but still he wasn't going to back down from this topic "yes they wronged you but then again you tried to eat them... you tried having revenge once brother and it failed because we could not stand together, revenge does not work! you need to rally the others with the strength to go on and fire their spirts with the true justace not petty revenge..." he said in a almost pleading voice

ATHENA

Athena nodded in response to Demeter’s reply. She understood that they weren’t friends, come to think about it Athena didn’t have any friends really, she didn’t allow herself to get close to anyone not since…not since Pallas. She shook her head and tears burned at her eyes as the memory burned through her.

Pallas, her best friend when she was young, was the daughter of Triton. They had become fast friends when Triton started acting as a foster parent to Athena. Triton raised her alongside his own daughter. Both being raised as ‘military’ children they sparred a lot, unfortunately during a friendly fight between the two goddesses, Zeus stepped in not understanding they were sparring and protected Athena and Pallas was mortally wounded. Athena held her as she faded away into nothing and she never forgave herself (She never really forgave Zeus either.) Out of sorrow and regret, she created the palladium, a statue in the likeness of Pallas and took on her name out of respect. Ever since she refused to really let anyone in. She shook her head and forced herself to calm down. She looked around and realized that Poseidon and Apollo had entered the building.

“Oh, Hello Apollo, Poseidon, how are--.” She hesitated as her phone rang. It was her assistant. Something must be going wrong. She sighed. Humans sometimes. She shrugged and shot them an apologetic look before she rushed out.

Her nephew had accepted her offer for tea, and even that small gesture made Demeter feel slightly better. Her nephew was not known to be as social butterfly among the Immortals, so his traveling to Persephone's shop and visiting was something of a surprise to her. She could count on a single hand the times Apollo voluntary visited the shop since they arrived in New York.

"Well, glad you seem to enjoy Earl Grey.." She chuckled lightly as she watched her nephew gulp down the entire contents in the small silver tea cup she had put before him. When she reached to take back the cup, her hand stopped short as Apollo's human form shook and his hands clawed into the rests of the chair.

"Apollo?" She said, her face now filled with concern as she bent down to one knee in order to look at the younger deities face. She had known Apollo to have visions, but never had she seen his body contort so fiercely . Her heart fluttered briefly and she reached a hand out brush the hair from his face, but she stopped herself halfway. It was not wise to touch one who was in a vision. Those who traveled between the planes of the mind and future were unpredictable. While she knew Apollo would not purposely hurt her, while he his mind was elsewhere there would be no telling of what his body would do.

It would seem to be only minutes before the young man let out a blood curdling "NO" that sent the surprised Harvest Goddess shuffling back and sliding onto her butt . The tile floor was cold on her exposed legs, but it did little to bother her.

"Apollo, what did you see?" She questioned, pushing herself off the ground.

“This…has never happened to me. My visions, they always happen when I command it, always, but this…”The Sun God stammered. Demeter's eyes scanned his face as if searching for more answers to his statement.

The boy seemed to take a deep breath before opening his mouth to speak once more. “Everything, everyone…everything was eviscerated, everywhere.”She exchanged a look with Poseidon before scrunching her forehead; her face contorting into a quizzical expression. "Everyone? Did you see what caused it Apollo? "Normally she wouldn't have pressed him so urgently for information, but with her daughter above ground and away from her, she needed would require a less vague answer.

Before he could reply, she turned to Poseidon. "Do you believe we should alert Zeus of this brother? I'm sure he would wish to hear what Apollo has seen and take the proper precautions."

---

“Silence!” Cronus roared. “Too long have we allowed these false Gods to rule in our own kingdom.You wish to speak of peace with my usurpers Hyperion? If that is your wish, perhaps you should join them if your craven heart bleeds for the fools so deeply. You are right, we did try to have revenge once but that was years ago and mistakes were made that will not be made again. It is time the mortals placed their faith into a different kind of being. It is time they listened to the voice of the Titans.”

His own voice rang in the dining hall and with such power behind it that not one of his brethren around him uttered a word in reply. Cronus cast a stern eye in the direction of Hyperion to address him once more. "I thank you for your information, but I refuse to listen to your words of peace. Speak any more of it and you and I will share more than just words brother. "

He cleared his throat and fixed his gaze onto the newspaper Hyperion had held in his hands. "We will not place an attack immediately. Instead, we will let them know of out presence in a dignified manner. Let them tremble and panic ."

Oceanus considered his brother's words as he stroked his bristly white beard. "You mean to send one of us to alert the Gods of our presence? Why not simply spring a surprise attack brother? We would quickly overpower those seen at the flower shop."

Cronus gritted his teeth before turning towards his elder brother. "I shall send two titans, and they will not harm a single hair on any of the Olympians. Walk past them in a street, wave, do anything to alert them of your presence but do NOT take action against them. I want them to fear us. It will spread like an infection if we let their fear of us fester for a long enough time."

With a murmur of agreement flooding the room, Cronus finally allowed a smile to flicker across his face. "Now, I ask that two go to ...make their introductions to Immortals at ..what's that flower shops name again?" He inquired, snapping his fingers for someone to remind him of the name.

"Ambrosia.." Theia replied.

"Yes, Ambrosia. I require two of you to go. Hyperion you will go and Oceanus shall follow closely behind. Remember...not a hair on their heads harmed."

Oceanus gave a polite nod before rising from his chair. Cronus turned a final time to Hyperion . "Do not fail me brother, or you will wish you had remained in Tartarus" With the final warning spoken, the Titan Lord would raise a hand and wave impatiently for the two to go and attend to their task.

Poseidon

A confused look appeared on the God’s face at Apollo’s outburst and a rare frown marred his brow. His eyes flickered from his sister to his nephew for a moment, and only when he was sure that this vision was over did Poseidon make his way over to the counter, pull a piece of paper and pen from it and scrawl a message in his thin, looping handwriting.

“Apologies. We will be closed for half an hour or so due to a family emergency.”

“Don’t say we never tell the humans the truth.”

Pacing over to the door, he stuck it over the ‘open’ sign and moved back to his two other Olympians, sliding himself up onto a table and crossing his arms. He pondered his sister’s question before nodding in silence for a long moment. “Zeus should know of this. Even if our little nurse is just a little tired, any unwanted vision filled with apparent death and obliteration is far from something to be ignored.”

His gaze shifted back to Apollo, concern apparent in his grey eyes. While one of only occasional seriousness, he was not one to ignore the link between the apparent consequential meeting of the Gods in this little flower shop and the appearance of this horrifying vision to his nephew. It has hard to justify fate as a God, but over his millennia being alive, Poseidon had come to believe that there was at least something akin to it playing its strange hand in the goings-on of both the mortal and immortal worlds.

Rifling through his pocket, he found his phone and pulled it out, flipping it open and pressing a few buttons with fingers too big for the tiny buttons. “What’s our eternal leader calling himself these days? Max Power? No, that’s too ridiculous, even for him. Ah, here we are. Brandon Powers.”

He hesitated a moment before dialling. “Apollo, you should really be the one to tell him. Catch.”

Without really looking to see if his nephew had caught the phone or not, he turned his attention back to Demeter, intending to ask where Persephone was. But at that moment, he heard the shrill beeping of a text message being delivered to his phone. Despite himself, Poseidon grinned. “Twenty dollars that’s Zeus. He has a ridiculous knack for timing.”

Demeter nodded in agreement to her elder brothers words. She watched as he threw his own phone towards Apollo so that the younger God could explain to his father his vision.

The rapid beeping of her own phone and Poseidon's made the Harvest Goddess raise a brow and pull her own out from the inside of her dress pocket.


Zeus want's us all at the manor for a dinner. No exceptions guys. Don't ask me what the hell for because I don't know and I don't care, just be there. "I'll take a ten, you're half right my brother. It's our Messenger God commanding us to attend a family dinner." Demeter pressed a finger to mouth in thought, rubbing her lower lip gently.

"I suppose I'll need to lock everything up, before we go" She murmured. While she stood deep in thought, two men ventured into the shop despite the sign her brother had planted in front of the store. One of the them; he wore a primly pressed military uniform that contrasted with the smile he gave Demeter. "Are those sunflowers for sale?" He questioned, turning towards the few golden flowers Demeter had put up on display.

"They are but I'm afraid were closed."

She lifted her eyes and met his own and in mere moments, her body became stone. Petrified as if by Medusa's own gaze, she could not move even to strike at the man before her. A small laugh of disbelief caught in her throat as she continued to stare at the man. All divine creatures had a certain aura to them that mortals did not possess. The aura of the Gods was a brilliant shade of gold to herself, though she never bothered to ask what it looked like to the others. This man before her had no gold aura.

He was a Titan and he shone brighter than the others.

"Hyperion." She finally stammered, unraveling her tongue and finding her words at last as she shoot a look towards her nephew and brother. She wrenched away from where she had been standing and walked towards the door to the entrance of Ambrosia. She lifted the stores main key from her pocket and pointed towards the exit while looking towards everyone inside. "There is nothing for sale here for you or your brother Hyperion. I know neither how or why you stand before us; nor do I care, but you need to leave. At once." She was neither a powerful god nor a particularly dangerous one , but being a mother had made her strong and she feared nothing but the safety for her child.


Persephone...., oh damn the River Styx. What if there were more than two Titans out and about? What if one of them found her? The voice inside her head was screaming and it took all her strength not to scream out loud as well.

They needed to go home. Now.

Apollo&Hyperion

She pressed him for answers, understandably with no frugal amount of concern. Had she let him speak however there would be no reward of information, Apollo of course had not seen what triggered the cataclysm. All that he knew was that unlike every other vision he’d experienced, this one wasn’t some distant probability that had a decent chance of never coming to pass, it was all to real as to be imminent if nothing was done. His elders in the room concurred that their king should be informed of this, practically a given course of action considering.

Poseidon tossed his phone at his nephew who reflexively caught it with restored dexterity, the symptom that had been burdening him was now all but erased, no doubt a result of his vision finally breaking out into his consciousness. But before he could speak with his father the device received a text from that very god. “Looks like I owe you twenty then,” Apollo replied to his uncle, permitting a small grin to briefly grace his features.

The Sun god took the time to compose a text directly to Zeus, his thumb was near the send button when two men entered, which he found strange considering Demeter had just completed closing the shop. At the sight of them she became petrified, and Apollo observed that like other immortals they had possessed auras that identified them. However Apollo, though spent little time with his kin in recent times, still knew all of them, these Immortals he didn’t recognize in the slightest.

Demeter seemed to recollect herself however and ushered them out with no frugal amount of distain, the venom in her voice was quite palpable.Hyperion said nothing, but the grin upon his face did not leave even as he motioned Oceanus to follow, the message sent. After they left Apollo had a raised brow, and for the first time since his arrival at the shop stood on his feet questioning, “What was that all about? And why did you call him Hyperion? Hyperion’s gone like all the other Ti- “The chill returned to his blood, the sentence need not be finished. There was a mystery to his vision that his elder queried him not a few minutes ago, now the answer was self evident.

The Old Ones had returned.

“Uranus have mercy,” he uttered. And for a moment a great sense of despair was welling within him, but as it neared to illicit a scream akin to what he’d let loose previously it halted. The feeling not only receded but was being replaced by another. His gaze became steeled and his free hand collapsed into a tightly held fist. An aggression was welling up to the surface now, the fear transformed.

Before he knew not that enemy, what circumstance brought upon the ruin he saw and his brethren slain. Now however there was a face, there was an enemy to fight, and enemy that his elders had defeated once before. The Far-darter would be damned if he let his kin fall prey to them.
He’d be damned if he let Artemis be feasted upon and violated.

The Far-darter made a few additions to his text, and pressed send. He spoke aloud to his elders in the grimmest of tones, “Lets go, we’ve got a lot of things to discuss.”

When “Brandon Powers” received the message, it would say the following. "This is Apollo, I received a vision that under no exaggeration concerns the fate of us all, mortal and otherwise, and I know why.

The Old Ones are on Earth again.

This is no prank, no jest, when we all meet for dinner, it will be to discuss preparations for war make no mistake.

I hope you’ll have a plan Dad.”

---

It wasn’t long before returned to his leader, and bore the news, “Our little message has been sent, to say they were surprised to see me would be an understatement,” he chided, a little proud of himself for exacting the results desired. His face transitioned into a frown however, what would transpire next was still something he didn’t want.

“Sir, I will only ask this once more, but are you sure you want this?”

Hyperion smiled at Apollo, and looked at the sun "your doing a good job kid, I really d..." he said sadly before saking his head but as he did he caught a glance at Apollo's phone and then looked at them with a forlorn look, he had the look of a a man that was trapped by honor and you could see he hated what he was doing.

Then he quickly moved outside and away from that damn flower shop Oceanus following quickly behind him. He waited until Oceanus had goten far ahead of him before punching into a brick wall and backing up tense, why? the question echoed in his head slightly before he kept moving, Cronus was after all a impatieant man. Hyperion sighed to himself, he felt like he was working for the mob, with his brother ruling over him like Hades would his henchmen.


Hyperion reached the gate of the house the titians were living in before pushing in the door and making his way inside and through the front door, before presenting himself before Cronus "well brother I have delivered your message to the Gods and I come with news... Zeus is bringing the Gods under one roof for a dinner they will be going to Brandon Poweres Mansion to do it."

Hyperion stood up beffore pacing " I don't know the exsact time of this dinner but it will be happening" he looked around at the other titians who were talking amongst themselves "tonight Zeus will call his court together and they will eat, Brandon Powers has many butler's and maids, I am sure we could sneak in if needed we'd just need to hide are aura long enough to do it" he looked at his brother " as a soldier and a genral of an army and bound by honor to you, this would be the perfect time to strike."

Hermes' voice drew her attention back to him. "Somebody burned it down with a couple humans inside. Queenie over there, didn't seem to know anything about it. That's all I know about it, but I guess the big question is...who the hell would burn it down?" Artemis gave him a look clearly showing her dislike towards the nickname he used for Persephone. Even still she was shocked.

Ambrosia had been a lovely little shop and many people in the area frequented it. She found herself wondering if maybe Hades had done it. There had been many times when the goddess stopped by her cousin's shop and found lines of men in the waiting area; either to buy flowers because they had done been put in the doghouse by their wives/girlfriends, or just using it as an excuse to be in Persephone's presence. Artemis wouldn't put it passed Hades to burn the shop down in order to keep those men away from his wife.

Artemis closed her eyes, shaking her head quickly in an attempt to clear her mind. She really shouldn't have been thinking about her best friends' husband that way, the brunette knew how much Perse loved him. It was strange really, Artemis had spend the last few centuries trying to dispel her negative feelings towards men but even still, she sometimes found herself thinking nothing but the worst of them.

"Hey Arty, you feel anything weird lately? Like..." She looked back towards the god of messengers, waiting for him to continue on. "It's like a buzzing. I keep hearing it in my ears. First I thought Hades sent his Furies or some shit to annoy me because I flirt too much with Seph, but...I don't know, maybe I'm just tripping out or something."

Her features grew serious at Hermes' observation. So apparently she wasn't the only one who felt something off, it sent a somewhat comforting feeling through her body. Then again it really could have been Hades revenge for Hermes' flirting with his Persephone and Artemis was actually just paranoid. Thinking it over for a few seconds she decided that it would be better if she announced her feelings.

"I was actually just telling Perse this morning about this uneasiness I had been feeling all day. The energy flow is just off to me, like something's changed." Her voice trailed off as she looked to the ground, contemplating what it could possibly mean. "I wonder where my brother is…" Her sight moved to the doorway, where the entry way was located. She'd feel better once her twin made an entrance.

Apollo

He had finally arrived at the extravagant driveway, feet treading the immaculate paved road that only generous sums of money could buy. Apollo never understood why of all things for his father to use as a ruse for his true identity, was what could be considered the modern god? Even after living for millennia vanity was not lost on him, but now of course was not the time to deal petty judgment within his mind as that proved inconsequential against the grand scheme of things.

The Far-darter had taken his time arriving here, on foot no less, only stopping at his apartment to change out of his scrubs. What he wore now could not be considered evening dinner attire in the slightest, for it was the humblest of things, a white T-shirt devoid of design or signature with loose fitting jeans and Chuck Tailor shoes. He cared little for what others considered “proper” or “apropos”, formality was something he’d long abandoned and resolved to view was mere pretense for the majority of such occasions.

Apollo had been in no hurry because his mind was of course plagued by the day’s earlier events. Those images were gnawing at him, as if he could already feel the vermin tearing at his skin hungrily. However his concern was not upon himself, but of his kin specifically his dear sister whose fate made him quiver and emit a quite rage at the same time. His vision had shaken him to the core of his immortal soul, which became all to apparent was a literally perishable possession. How was he to explain this to them, what he had seen, what he knew?

Of course it was his hope that he wouldn’t have to, his father must have relayed the news by now, and all he would have to do await for instruction once he arrived, there was after all a war to fight. Knowing this only grew the sickening sensation within his breast, and so he resolved to walk all the way to the mansion, contemplating how in all of the cosmos would they survive this. As if prolonging his arrival would post-pone the inevitability of his foreseeing, perhaps by a few precious minutes more.

Every moment was precious now.

The night seemed far cooler than it should be for the middle of the spring, as if the chill of winter would not relent its grasp, and Apollo could swear he could see a plume of condensation escape his mouth. He then stood before the door, a hard pulse in chest, the moment of truth had arrived. Was he ready? Were they ready?

He heard shouting from the other side, and at this his pulse lessened but his brow furrowed, for if he suspected right, his kin were even yet having another petty feud. No sense in staying outside however, whatever storm lied within he would have to brave, too much was at stake and even they would have to recognize this.

He entered without a word, and unless someone had been keeping tabs on the door they might have not even noticed his presence as he simply stood in the foyer, as if waiting for a sign of what to do.

Green eyes drifted from the door at the sound of the commotion coming from the other side of the room. Artemis watched with a curious fascination as Persephone and Hades put on a rather raunchy show. Hermes' comments only helped bring a smile to her face. Love had always been interesting, creatures of all kinds tended to do the most absurd things when under its spell and this situation wasn't any different. Artemis could see, and feel, the anger radiation off of Demeter.

To be frank she wanted to get away. She'd already seen the mother and daughter fight once today and she didn't exactly want to be a viewer of the next round. Leto loved her, just as she loved Apollo, but she had never stepped in the way of their pursuits. The female Titan had always stood by their side, just as they did for her, but the turbulent relationship between the two goddesses was a completely different story. A push and pull of forces, a power struggle between two powerful women.

"How are we even related to these people?" Green eyes turned to the god of messengers. A nervous giggle left her lips. "By accident?" She replied teasingly.

It was much too soon before he left her, her face slipping into a mask of indifference as she watched him leave to Athena's side. The wink he gave her in parting did nothing to ease her distaste. Drama had never been her poison of choice, therefore she stayed away from those she did not like, namely Athena and Hera. Beyond a polite hello and goodbye, conversation and familial actions were nonexistent. Artemis felt that it would always be that way too; too many betrayals and bad-blood between them.

She closed her eyes, a painful pulse starting between behind her eyes. The bad energy in the place just kept rising, as did the tension. She hated 'family' gatherings, they were always tension filled with fights looming right below the surface. Of course, with this group the fights always broke out somewhere and somehow. It was evident.

There was so much anger in the area; Persephone and Hades towards Demeter and vice versa, Ares and Hephaestus fighting once more for the hand of the lovely (and married) Aphrodite, and Hera towards any woman that remotely looked like they would hold Zeus attention for a whole two-seconds. Though the later she couldn't really blame, Zeus broke the 'sacred' bonds of matrimony too many times to go out and spawn a whole load of bastards, herself included.

She felt herself thinking over Hermes' question once more. 'Related' was all they were, connected by blood and hatred essentially. Artemis wasn't sure if she every really thought of the group as a whole as a family. The goddess often found herself feeling alone and isolated when forced together with the rest of her kin, bonds and alliances so easily broken and rearranged.

Stop… She thought, lately her mind had been doing nothing but spewing bitterness and anger. Slowly, the brunette blew out a calming sigh as she opened her eyes to once more look towards the foyer entryway.

A head of wavy brown hair caught her attention and Artemis' eyes all but lit up like a child's on Christmas morning. The sight of her brother made every bad thought and feeling leave her mind as she hastily made her way towards him, all but throwing herself at him once she was close enough, her arms wrapping around his neck in a hug. Artemis may have been older than Apollo but it didn't always seem that way.

"What took you so long?" She whispered as she tightened her grip on him.

Apollo

Surrounded by a warmth he became, suddenly and without warning, not to say it was unpleasant as it turned to be quite the opposite in fact. His thoughts yet again had encased him in a cocoon blinding him from outside influence. That is until his twin greeted him in the embrace.

In the first second he was caught off guard and somewhat bewildered, but in the second he registered what happened. At this he relaxed, and for the first time in a long while a pure smile graced his features, his arms encompassing his sisters frame returning the embrace. And for a brief moment the image of her from the vision didn’t exist, she was here, with him, untouched and spoiled.

Safe.

Of all the things in this world, none were so precious to him as Artemis. He truly loved her as much as any man could love a sister, who reflected him as the moon reflected the sun. They shared a womb, they shared their hunts, and they shared the sky each day. Perhaps it was selfish, but if there was one of his kin he wished to see not participate in the coming conflict, to spare and to preserve, if there was one person in their family he could save, it would be her. That of course was impossible, none of the immortals would have any say wheather they would fight or not. It was go to war, or perish, and none of them, not even the likes of Aphrodite and Persephone were exempt.

She tightened her embrace and whispered to him, it seemed she had been long expecting his arrival. He realized that like himself she had little to do with the rest of her kin, and so he made a mental note that once all was set and done, he would visit her more often. At her query his vision gazed above her, (which wasn’t hard as there was a considerable height difference) and gained something of a forlorn look in his eye. “Well, I suppose I had a lot to think about,” his voice barely above her own whisper.

He gently broke apart from their embrace, the small smile still gracing his lips, “It’s good to see you too,” ha said. He then queried, “I assume everyone else is here too?”

Artemis was so glad that her other half had finally arrived. She felt safe, content at having his presence next to hers. It seemed like eternity had gone by since the last time she had gotten to hug him. "Well, I suppose I had a lot to think about." She heard him whisper in response to her question and when he gently pushed her back to look at her she felt her chest tighten a bit in nervousness, even the smile that Apollo offered her did little to dissipate the feeling. She knew something had to be wrong with the look in his blue eyes. "It's good to see you too…I assume everyone else is here too?"

It really had been much too long since they had seen each other last. The brunette goddess had so many things to tell her twin, one major bit of information being about their mother and the large secret that she had been keeping from them.

She gave him the look, the one that told him she could see right though his mask. "Yes…in case you didn't notice the intense discomfort radiating from the area, everyone is here. Hades, Perse, and Demeter are fighting with Zeus trying to break it up; Ares and Heph are, of course, fighting over Aphrodite while Hera's being a giant bitch. You know, the usual." She announced filling her twin in on the current going-ons of the household. Artemis raised her hand and pressed it against his cheek. "Apollo, what's wrong? Has something happened?"

Green eyes darted to the side as she noticed Demeter's entrance, watching them though mainly Apollo. The look that the older goddess had been using to look at him just confirmed Artemis' thoughts that something was wrong. Her body went rigid as she thought of all the possibilities that Apollo's tension and Demeter's worry could mean. "I sensed it," She muttered as she looked back at her brother. "Something has changed, hasn't it?"

Athena

---

The doors to the room had opened to admit her fathers wife, Hera being trailed by Ares; looking like a child ready to throw a tantrum and the lame Hephaestus with his wife in tow, and as always Aphrodite's gaze was more surely aimed towards the god of war, however subtly it was plain to see if you knew what to look for. As she awaited her brothers turn on the table she noticed the glint of a plan flicker to life in the eyes of the newly arrived 'Cael' as he preferred to be called these days and she had to force down her instinct to roll her eyes at his obvious intent to show his superiority over her and all of their kin, as per usual. The smirk that had broken out across his face all too blatant to her tastes.

Athena tried to ignore her sibling as he approached, hoping that he would instead acknowledge their fathers call for dinner to be taken in the dining room and be diverted. But that was just wishful thinking talking and she knew better than to expect such a simple conclusion to this, as she saw him stand behind hermes his vile noxious laughter filled her senses as she watched him take the figure of himself and use it to scatter the board before placing it in place of her king, causing the titan lord to clatter onto the floor. Her eyes flared a dark crimson for a fraction of a second before returning to deep blue, as he spoke; taunting her as he attempted in vain to assert his superiority.

"There are no rules in war. So if you want to win the game, then you just need to win it.”

Athena sighs softly before speaking "Always such a simple mind, childlike really. It is not about war having rules, brother, but in understanding how your opponent thinks in their approach to the conflict. But alas the concept is something you would be unable to grasp. All you do is act and thrive on the conflict it causes to those around you, but for you it is the conflict, win or lose that boils your blood and sets your passion alight." she shakes her head "You and her have always had a connection with that have you not? She enjoys your primal nature and you enjoy the conquest and apparent victory over our smith."

She smiles and leans back in her chair, her fingers lightly caressing the king that was thrown to the floor as the other pieces retake their places upon the board, a faint aura of pale light covering each.

"I do tire of your vain hope to prove yourself better; oh yes you've had your fair share of victory, but your flaw is that you see one won battle as the victory to end the war and become complacent in your won laurels."

Athena stands slowly before placing the king as the final piece upon the freshly set board, then walks towards the dining room leaning close to Ares as she passes, whispering softly for his ears alone.

"A word of caution brother, you've had your conquest, and you've tasted the spoils but beware that your foe is not beaten and simply bides his time. I don't doubt you'll ignore me, but don't say I didn't try." she shakes her head as she walks away, to take her seat at the table.

---

“My beautiful and handsome children; my beloved sisters and brothers; I am pleased to have us all gathered here today for this harmonious and hopefully peaceful dinner. I haven’t heard much from some of you, so if you would like to share how your mortal life fairs you, then please feel free to share. There is something grave that I must discuss with you all eventually, but before I get to that I would like for us to feel like a family first.”

Athena sighs at her fathers words, clearly this night in intended to drag on more than it should. Whatever is praying on his thoughts, the reason for tonight, must be serious indeed for the shear amount of stalling before details are revealed. Their appeared to be some unease shown by Apollo on arrival which spoke to the Grey Goddess that he knew what tonight was about, and their fathers stalling was not to his liking.

Apollo

She gave him confirmation of everyone’s presence within the mansion, even noting some of the typical interactions of his kin to which Apollo resisted rolling his eyes. He saw a concern grow within her however and she expressed this saying "Apollo, what's wrong? Has something happened?"

Has something happened?

At first he was confused as to why she would ask such a question, after all didn’t Zeus... The Far-darter’s eyes shown realization, near disbelief in them. He said almost more to himself than to his twin, “He hasn’t told you.” A moment passed in complete silence, this new information taking its toll to the point where he paid no heed to what else transpired in the foyer. When the moment ended, his bared a deeply frowning brow and barred teeth in the direction of the dining hall.

Ignoring his sister Apollo strode into the dining hall and was set to bombard his father with questions. What was there to gain from not telling his children and siblings? What purpose was therein failing to warn them immediately what was happening, what was at stake? How could put on that stupid grin and pretend all was well, when of all people in the entire cosmos he should be the most troubled, having faced these monsters before? But Apollo had the wit to calm himself, for now Zeus would address them, Apollo resolving to sit at the obsidian table awaiting for his father to break the news. To Apollo’s great disappointment however he merely mentioned that there would bad news, and decided to yet again stall what would be the most important council in millennia.

No.

The Far-darter wouldn’t have it, in his mind there was had no time to waste, he’d done enough of that taking his sweet time in arriving, though at the time he thought they’d be discussing this already. He rose out of his seat, and faced his father with a face of disappointment and contempt, and perhaps he would be thought insolent by all others within the hall but he spoke anyway, “Feel like a family? You want us to feel like a family? Please don’t even try to pretend that we have any semblance of that word, at least not until each of us can openly acknowledge our failings and vices, myself included. But more than that, wouldn’t it be far more prudent to address imminent threat to us, and all six billion men women and children on this earth?” his voice was rising and growing ever more irritable.

“That perhaps you of all people would understand what’s happening? What do you want? For us cease this infighting? To act unified and ignoring the discrepancies and grievances between us? They’ll never do it, they’ve had thousands of years to do it, why would they start now when they feel nothing to gain? Well now I say to all of you, that were in not that our very survival hinges within the choices made in this hour I would not care if you bashed in each other’s brains to your hearts content, but it seems even some part of me long dormant and diminished still loves as kin.

“But please father, do continue, see how far they go to please you without compromising their egos.” When he was finished his body seemed to relax, and rested his hands upon the table supporting himself, and sighed deeply, “I’m sorry,” he apologized. He then he looked to his father apologetically, “I’m not known for my temper, but even you don’t know what I saw, and I shouldn’t blame you. Nonetheless this can’t be put off for another minute.”

He rose again and addressed them, “Let me tell of my visions. Think of them as the sense of hearing, you don’t typically choose what you hear though you can tune yourselves the sound around you to detect what is near. Normally what I see is far off, distorted, subject to change. But earlier today the vision I had was the equivalent to putting ear to a jet engine, it is something that is just short of being inevitable.”

And so it was that the Far-darter sate them down, recounting the events concerning the return of the Titans who visited Persephone’s shop, and foretold in explicit detail the world he saw. Of the earth caked in the ash of mortals, of the fall of Olympus and detailed descriptions of the corpses of the Olympians not even omitting the fate of his dear sister. Of and age in which all would be laid to ruin under a red sky and sea, of a Crimson Age yet to come.

He finished and regarded them grimly, “You know me not to be an exaggerator, nor paranoid nor deceitful. But this will happen if we do not act, and sooner than any of us would like. What say you, my kin?”

“My beautiful and handsome children; my beloved sisters and brothers; I am pleased to have us all gathered here today for this harmonious and hopefully peaceful dinner. I haven’t heard much from some of you, so if you would like to share how your mortal life fairs you, then please feel free to share. There is something grave that I must discuss with you all eventually, but before I get to that I would like for us to feel like a family first.”

What a crock of shit that was.

What sort of family are we to rape, attack, and attempt to overthrow one another every hundred years or so? Hera thought to herself, with her mouth opening to correct her husband. She knew exactly the sort they were, the type mortals would pay to watch on HBO. She quickly snapped her jaw shut when the younger Immortal began to speak.

“Feel like a family? You want us to feel like a family? Please don’t even try to pretend that we have any semblance of that word, at least not until each of us can openly acknowledge our failings and vices, myself included. But more than that, wouldn't it be far more prudent to address imminent threat to us, and all six billion men women and children on this earth?”


She couldn't quite hide the surprise in her eyes at Apollo's sharp words. No attempt was made to hide the wicked grin on her face as the Immortal continued to speak. He quickly continued on, Hera herself listening quite intently.

When he was finished, Hera regarded the God of Light with a cool expression. His words and whatever truth they held did not surprise her. They did frighten her however, even if Zeus's golden child chiding had managed to put her in a slightly better mood.

While she waited to be sure Apollo had finished his tale, ( the details of their impending deaths making even her cringe), Hera took a step forward to where golden haired youth now sat.

“Death.” Hera said. “That is what awaits us if we continue as we are now.” She stared down at the God, her revulsion of Zeus's children suddenly forgotten. “You are neither a deceiver or fool God of Light, and in your words I have seen the truth." A hand swept a tendril of black curl from her face and her emerald eyes darkened. The green orbs passed over every Immortal in the room before speaking.

"I am not a kind woman. Many of you can attest to that," the raven haired Goddess said. The smallest of smiles passed over her lips before she continued. “I bear little love for many of you,” she admitted. Her eyes fell onto her crippled son in his human form and lingered for only a moment, barely long enough for any to notice besides Hera and the man himself. “And some I care for more than I might admit or show, but...” she paused. “I would not wish the sort of the death our God of Light has described on any of you.” Her eyes danced around the room once more before landing on the prophetic godling.

"I am neither warrior nor strategist, but whatever I must do to avoid our impending doom, so be it. Ask what you will of me.

Hera locked her arms together, ignoring the looks any Immortals might give at her outburst.

Aphrodite turned on her heels and stalked into the mansion, the smile which usually sat upon her lips was swapped with a frown at the current predicament she had been put in. The blonde could feel Hephaestus close on her heels, his minions not far behind him, she highly doubted she could shake the smith that evening. Once entering the foyer she shrugged off her coat handing it to one of the many servants working for her father, looking around she noted Hades, Persephone and Demeter no doubt arguing again, not that she could judge after the blow up which had just happened outside. Deciding to skip the pleasantries with her siblings, the goddess walked straight towards the dinning room, taking a seat at the elaborately decorated table, she immediately reached for her wine, waiting patiently for her family to join her.

Already she began to feel the affects of the tediously long day take its toll on her form and the wine in her hand certainly wasn't going to help her stay awake. Placing the glass down she instead opted for water; Aphrodite knew Hephaestus was close by, she could feel him, he use to make her skin crawl and although she had to admit this version was a whole lot better, it still didn't do anything for her. How many times would she have to explain to the smith that true love was not something that came with materialistic items, no matter how breathtakingly beautiful they may be, if she had been as shallow as a mortal then perhaps the diamonds and jewels and the new meat suit would have been enough for her to forget about Ares, yet she was not, despite people's conceptions of her. Her love for Ares was too strong.

Perhaps the inevitable talk between the trio would finally make Hephaestus see sense and release her from the shackles of marriage, but then that posed the question as too if Ares love was passionate enough to claim her as his own bride, a part of her doubted this, but this was not a thought for today. No, now her mind was focused solely on how to get Hephaestus to see sense. “HA! CHECKMATE BITCH!” Ares roar echoed throughout the mansion, with a shake of her head she hid her smirk from behind her glass, her eyes drifting towards her 'husband.'

It wasn't long until everyone joined her at the table, once everyone was seated Zeus rose, standing at the head of the table a rather welcoming smile plastered across his face, something was definitely wrong. [i]“My beautiful and handsome children; my beloved sisters and brothers; I am pleased to have us all gathered here today for this harmonious and hopefully peaceful dinner. I haven’t heard much from some of you, so if you would like to share how your mortal life fairs you, then please feel free to share. There is something grave that I must discuss with you all eventually, but before I get to that I would like for us to feel like a family first.” Oh she just couldn't resist the urge to roll her eyes at that one, family, when had they ever been like a real family? Even when they sat high above on Mt Olympus they still weren't a family.

Apollos words spoke for everybody, well certainly for herself. Hera spoke and for once she found herself agreeing with the Queen of the Gods, something she never thought would occur in her life time "I agree with Hera, although I fear I will not be of much help, I will do what is asked of me." Aphrodite spoke up softly looking between Zeus and Apollo "but what is it you propose we do to prevent these premonition's?"