*********
Poseidon climbs down the mountain with the other Olympians.
I had missed my older brother Hades. When he jumped down the hole and Themis speculated he'd return in a few years I'd almost strangled her. For years we've been waiting for him and it wasn't until a few months when Metis got pregnant and she and Zeus got married was when we had hope. Even if it looked bad.
Hera's power activated and we could almost feel each other's lifeforce. It felt really weird but calming at the same time. We could sense that Hades was alive. Barely, but he was alive. Hera's power had also made us stronger the more of us we had gathered together.
Zeus had wanted to go down and get Hades after the first two weeks. Themis had warned him that his abilities completely prevented him from passing the tests. Apparently, his abilities would activate by themselves if he was in danger. Zeus worked tirelessly trying to fix it. On the bright side he couldn't commit suicide.
Hades leaned against Hecate who for some reason was inside the barrier she was burning. This could mean a few things. She was on our side, her spell worked enough to allow infiltration, or she made a new one. The fire was a three foot ring that went up the barrier and it was about to converge at the top in only two weeks.
When we reached the bottom, our aunts and uncles greeted Hades. We had never really noticed how much of an impact the quiet and usually serious Hades was. And even though I had no doubts, showed us how much Zeus really cared for us.
We all sat in the Meeting Tent, named it myself, and we all sat down and traded stories. While Hades' experience was short, it was painful to hear. Zeus was troubled while Hades described drinking from the rivers of the Underworld. Zeus was mostly confused when he heard of the shirtless, bird headed man, attacking me in one of the Moirai's tapestries.
"Ay Zeus. If I catch any suspicious bird-men I'll let you know."
Zeus smiled. "Please do."
He smiled as Hades continued to describe his torture with the Erinyes and his now soul bond with the long fork in his hand. Apparently Hecate nursed him back to health and then they came back here.
"Why are the scars still there?" I asked. First Zeus and now Hades, just on a much larger and more unhealthy scale.
Hecate shrugged. "I suppose the River Phlegethon mixed with the stygian iron made the scars permanent. It should get better but it will no doubt be permanent."
Hades raised his eyebrow and smiled at us. "And what were you guys doing. Metis finally has a kid, you two idiots are walking around shirtless willingly, Hera and Zeus seemed to have gotten together after waiting for what I assume was years." He winked at Metis again and she chuckled.
"I swear they're so dramatic. Going on awkward moonlit dates for like a whole year before Hera confessed." Hera covered her blushing face and slid down her chair. Zeus scratched his head and chuckled.
"Anyways," he said. "We were able to get some work done while you were gone. I fought Atlas' brother Menoetius who was... well… less than worthy of my presence you could say." Hades raised his eyebrow and I smiled. I was a bit busy but it did sound a bit underwhelming. Zeus shrugged. "I had climbed the mountain he was on and just discharged a shit ton of fresh lightning on him and he disintegrated."
I rolled my eyes. It probably didn't go like that but Zeus was weird like that. "I had fought Iapetus himself. It was pretty intense but I learned a neat trick." I rubbed my hand together and smiled before growing to twenty feet. I had to be on my knees and bent over to fit in the tent. "Yup, I've learned the secret behind being able to sit on mountains. I'm a genius."
"Why did you target those two?" Hades asked after giving me a nod.
"Well we couldn't get to Atlas himself. We've tried multiple ways for two years. So we went after his direct family to try and draw him out or at least break his spirits. You know he's the one making all the plans for the titans. Apparently he was the main figure for preparing the invasion."
Hecate shook her head. "Well instead of crushing Atlas' spirits, you've essentially defeated the people he cared about most and he definitely wants revenge. You've turned a problem into a catastrophe."
I shrugged. "This entire war is a catastrophe. I mean, look at us." We had started out this war with an almost carefree attitude and things were only getting better and worse at the same time. We were defeating titans left and right, but we still weren't too confident about fighting the Lord of Time, Mad Dad Cronus, as I called him now.
"So what's the plan?" Hades asked, drinking down a third cup of water.
"Well we for sure can't let them invade us. So the day before the barrier falls, we're going to march right over to Cronus' annoying ass and throw him in tartarus," Zeus explained.
"There's still the slight problem of his powers over time but Themis has trained us in what she calls, Theory, for years now. Honestly, Zeus may be the only one who could really hold his own." I said. I didn't like to admit it, but I wasn't too confident in fighting Cronus. Not to mention Atlas was no doubt going to be there.
Hades grew a dark frown at my words. "I think we'll be able to handle it. I may have to try out this Theory you talk about." He looked at Themis and she nodded.
Metis cracked her knuckles and stretched. "We will work on battle plans. Hades you should rest and practice Theory." We all got up and went about our business. Hestia pulled Hades over and they began to talk while I went to go train.
I was a nervous wreck. I couldn't stop thinking of fighting Cronus and had nightmares every night. I was honestly better off fighting Atlas instead of our father. Zeus was always confident but he had fears too.
He was going to have kids in only a few months. If things didn't go as planned, he'd never meet them and I could sense his anxiety with our new connection. I spun my trident and sliced a tree in half. It immediately grew back and I looked behind me.
Demeter was standing behind me with her arms crossed and frowning.
"What are you doing?"
"Uhh, training?"
"These trees are living beings too, you know." She walked over and rubbed the bark. Even though we had already reached maturity, Demeter seemed to have still grown a few years older. She kept her blonde hair in a bun still but she had grown a few inches and had bags under her eyes, showing how much work she's been doing. Her hands looked rough from handling the sickle, but they were reverting to normal at a visible rate.
"Give them a few years and they might get a nymph." She slapped me on the forehead. "Use those boulders or something instead."
"Yes ma'am!"
She rolled her eyes and chuckled. "Where's Zeus? I need to ask him something."
"He should be making battle plans with Metis right now."
"Thanks."
*********
Metis looked over a map of Cronus' palace.
It was really just a mansion with large rooms. He didn't seem to do anything that would seem fun or relaxing. Hell, his torture room was almos the size of his throne room.
The plan was to try and pull a quick sneak attack on him. We learned from Theory that extended fights with Cronus was impossible. I had tried out Themis' training program before and it was not fun. As the eldest of a titan, I was a master of the spear but Themis was a problem. She used her ability to get on equal strength with Cronus and was impossible for me to even keep track of.
Zeus had definitely gotten faster and he could keep up at first, but after a few hours he would get tired.
We had asked Hecate for help but she had made an oath on the River Styx to never harm Cronus, so she couldn't help us directly in the fight.
I rubbed my chin, a habit I picked up from Zeus. "I think Hades might be able to get you guys in the ceiling scaffolding. But Poseidon needs to be on the floor for his powers to work. Perhaps if we- EEP!"
Zeus came from behind me and hugged me before giving a few pats on my belly. "Hey you idiot. We have to focus." I started to wriggle out of his grasp but didn't put much effort into it. He hugged me tighter and kissed my neck.
"I'm focused. On you." He whispered.
"Real smooth you flirt. Honestly, is all you think about is sex. I swear I should hook you up with Aphrodite."
"Not sex, just cuddles." He kissed the top of my head before rubbing his cheek into it.
"I can't concentrate like this!"
He took me to a couch and put me onto his lap. I took my stylus and a tablet and bagan to jot down notes as he relaxed. I didn't know what was up with him. He was so calm and carefree about everything. That's why I loved him so much. I needed him as much as he thought he needed me.
Being king was going to be hard and he called me his "emotional confidant." I could say the same for him. When Oceanus had shown me suitors, I was less than impressed. I wanted someone who was strong and reliable, yes, but they also needed to be able to show weakness and not let their ego get in the way. Zeus was perfect and I loved his family. That is other than the titans.
"Zeus, do you know the bird headed man?" I asked. His reaction was peculiar to say at least when Hades mentioned it. I've learned to read people well, and I could see Zeus jotting his mind to remember him and I could tell when he found out.
"No. Don't know him at all. I may have a few ideas but I'll worry about it later." He kissed me. "I'm trying to relax."
I nodded and looked back at the map. He was lying. I didn't know what this person meant to him, but he seemed more curious than scared so I decided to put it off until later. We began to throw around more ideas for our plan.
After a few minutes Zeus patted my stomach again. "What are you thinking of naming the child?" He asked.
"Well first thing you should know is I'm raising it. Teach it strategy and Theory instead of blowing things up."
"I do strategy and Theory!"
"Anyways, if it's a girl, I was thinking of Athena, and if it's a boy, maybe Thyellos."
"Why's that?"
"Thyellos comes from thyella and it means tempest." I gave him a wink. "Athena is for me. Wisdom and war, strategy galore." She smiled at me.
"I'm not too good at things like this, but I like the names."
"You're not too good at anything." I kissed him again as someone entered the tent. My mood was ruined as I thought it was Hera prepared to ruin the moment again but I beamed when I saw Demeter walk in. I stood up and gave her a hug.
"How did things go this time?" I asked.
"Same as usual. Mortals really take a long time to learn things and there's so many of them. I was going to ask Zeus if he could come with me."
Zeus stood up. "Did something go wrong?"
"No of course not! I just thought you'd like to meet your future subjects."
Zeus shrugged. "I suppose it'd be good for me. Where's Prometheus?"
"He was called by his brother Atlas last week. Now that you've defeated his other family, he won't let his brothers out of his sight."
"Yeah sorry about that. When will we be leaving."
"Tomorrow morning." She gave me a smile before leaving. Being pregnant was lame. I needed to eat more, was slower than ever, and now I'd get these smiles every time someone mentioned sleep.
I stretched and sat down in front of the map again. "I need to get this done. Go get your things prepared." I waved Zeus away. He gave me a kiss and walked out.
"Don't overwork yourself." He said as he stepped out of the tent.
I touched my stomach. It was a really bad idea to get pregnant. Now I had even more to worry about if we lost. Cronus would probably let me give birth just to do something horrible. I could already see it. I shivered and got back to work.