Young Writers Society

The three main prophecies are simply enchanted objects located within each location, that only gods can recognize. It may seem easy, but you will encounter many challenges along the way.

Locations:

New York City: Empire State Building
Moscow: Moscow Kremlin
China: Forbidden City

Character Slots:

Character Template:

Code: Select all

[b]God/Goddess:[/b]
[b]Human Name:[/b]
[b]Strengths:[/b]
[b]Weaknesses:[/b]
[b]Appearance [i](As a human)[/i]:[/b]
[b]Personality:[/b]
[b]Other ([i]any specifics about your character not mentioned above)[/i]:[/b]

It smells like strawberries. Not the sweet kind, the sour bitter ones; they almost catch the tip of your tongue. They’re the worst ones. The sour strawberries are the ones you need to watch out for. Besides the strawberries, it’s the stench of infant sweat and spilled juice-boxes that really irked my soul. The funniest part about this is that I don’t have a soul, and if I did have one, it would be long gone by now.

In New York City around this time, it’s supposed to be freezing cold. March, usually, is a freezing month. Although, now, it’s hot as Hades and everyone is walking around with these distasteful ‘flip-flops’. I don’t understand what it is with these people. I’m going to make it my first resolution to talk to Jupiter about this malfunction as soon as I arrive back at Olympus.

It’s my first time to this specific city. You know, Cupid and I would wander--here and there-- around Greece and Venice, I’m very fond of those places, they project grace and poise. New York City is the last place I wanted to be.

As I’m standing infront of this day-care, I start to think. If Cranos has this mighty so called undefeatable power that Zeus keeps talking about, then how did he defeat him in the first place? Given, he technically had Hades help, but even then; that’s still no reason to throw us all out here on Earth and expect us to perform correctly. Especially without causing a scene. It’s just stupid, in all reality. I’d rather be home, tending to my garden and ruining Taylor Swift’s love life like normal.

I take a deep breath and turn around, leaning against this short-ish metal fence. I hated standing in front of daycares but it’s really the only location in this city that gives me some sort of sound. It’s like music to my ears, literally. I hate children. But the sounds of their thoughts, the innocent little side remarks going through their brains; it’s almost calming. Adults are usually so tempered, so stressed and annoying, really. It’s like the ultimate game-- people watching: clairvoyance edition.

I start to walk towards the Empire Hotel near the Lincoln center where Knox is staying. We thought it’d be best if we stayed in separate hotels. I’ve only been here for a couple hours. I arrived by sea, I hypnotized these stupid sailors into giving me a ride.

I’m not sure on where to go, in all honesty. I’ve never been in a ‘hotel’. What even is this? Where’s the privacy? No way.

I approach the desk thing, what do they call it-- a concierge? Weird word. Sounds french.

The man at the desk looks old. His beard is starting to grey and his face looks almost… sunken. It’s too bad. He was probably handsome.

“Excuse me, sir,” I start, “I wasn’t sure on whether or not to come to you first, or just make my way up there myself and blow all these elevator wires out of this little fancy hotel.”

“Uhm,” he puts down the bag of chips he was viciously devouring, “Ma’am, I mean, very...very beautiful lady, I’m not sure what you’re getting at. What could I help you with today?”

My eyes are, at this point, digging deep into his pupils and my finger is moving across the desk slowly.

“I said, Mr…” I looked at his nametag, “Anderson, I would appreciate it if you could show me to room 225.”

“Do you know the guest who’s staying in that room?” he asks, probably looking up something stupid on the computer. I could easily persuade him without answering anything else. These mortals are naive.

“Yes, very well actually,” I respond, “His name is Knox.”

“I see. Okay…” He looks back up at me and finally his eyes meet mine, and it’s done for. He grabs the spare key to that room and leads me to this elevator. It’s more like a small box where people breathe the same air. Just repulsive.

Once we get up to Ares’ room, I leave Mr. Anderson at the elevator and make my way to room 225. I knock on the door and lean against the empty wall across from it, glancing down at my nails and crossing my legs.

He takes a minute to answer, which isn’t surprising. Who knows what he was possibly doing in there. I smile when the door opens and he smiles back.

“Wow,” I say, “And I thought you looked best as a God.”

Apollo - Ruben

Silence. Emptiness. Oblivion.

Opening sequence.

Apollo opened his eyes. He inhaled the scent of something . . . familiar. Pushing himself up with ease, Apollo glanced around.

It was an Auditorium. He was standing on the stage. The lights were off. It looked like the Auditorium was an old-fashioned one. Like something from the eighties. Wait just a minute, thought Apollo.

This wasn't just an Auditorium.

This was the Auditorium.

It was coming back to him now. He and the other gods were escaping to earth. He tried to pinpoint a location to land. The location was supposed to be at seat A28 at a Billy Joel Live Performance.

"Huh," said Apollo to himself, "No one's here."

Dusting himself off, he raced down the long aisles and through the door. He burst out into the sweltering heat of New York.

"What in the world?" groaned Apollo, "It's February isn't it? No. March."

Storming down the sidewalk, he decided that at this confusing moment, he should probably go to Ares's rendezvous point at that hotel.

Setting himself to a brisk walk, he continued on in a random direction of the city, hoping that the huge building in the distance would be helpful and possibly the hotel.

Blast! That's the Empire State Building!

The sidewalks were crisp and burning, so it was altogether a very unpleasant walk.

Apollo turned around towards another big building.

"Hope that's not the Chrysler Building," muttered Apollo, even though he didn't realize that it was.

Homework. I'm the god of war, of hatred, of fear, of blood-lust, and I'm worried about homework. Maybe my human teenage brain is making me feel irrationally worried about turning it in late. Then again, it's art homework for Mr. Sanchez, and Mr. Sanchez never holds back a mean remark-- about turning it in late or the quality of the work.

I'm Ares. On Earth, I go by Knox and take elective classes at random high schools around the country. The past few years, I've been really into their art programs. I've been in programs for singing, acting, writing-- you name it, I've taken it. (And no matter who the teacher was, they were guaranteed to be a better teacher than Apollo, but I wouldn't say that to his face if I were you. I love a fight, but you probably wouldn't survive one, even with a god as much of a... hippie as Apollo. He definitely has a temper, and the last person to say someone else was better than him got donkey ears.)

I glance around the hotel room I'm currently in. Certainly not a bad one, but I can't ever make it too nice or the schools I enroll in will get suspicious. I could easily shift to an adult and pretend to be Knox's parent to ease their suspicions, but sometimes that seems like too much work. Of course I can have multiple forms at once, but having two of them present in a principal's office while I act like I have a son while also being said son? That's just ridiculous.

The knock at the door doesn't startle me because I know exactly who it is. I gaze down at myself. Goodbye, teenage body, I think remorsefully, before shifting my appearance, changing my long, lanky figure into a muscular, older one, changing myself from this image of Knox-- the brown-haired, bangs high school boy with scattered freckles-- into the brown-haired, bangs, just graduated college image of Knox (still with freckles) that Aphrodite prefers me in.

I glance back up at the door, then my array of weapons scattered on the bed. Even if I'm nearly certain it's Aphrodite, I suppose there's a chance it's mortal police. I sigh, waving a hand, pulling the weapons up in the air and pushing them under the bed with my mind before going over.

I open the door, and there she is. I try to control myself but end up failing, feeling my eyes drift down her figure then back up to her face again, where she's smiling. I smile back. Her long black hair, her tall figure, tanned skin, and, of course, her eyes. Today they shine a bright green, like an emerald. I blink, and they shift to a soft blue color, trying to align themselves to my preference of beauty, which is silly, because she looks beautiful no matter what she wears or what color her eyes are. Although now that I think about it, the soft blue eyes do go nicely with the dress she's wearing.

"Wow," she remarks, her eyes narrowed as she looks over my figure before giving a slight smirk. "And I thought you looked good as a God."

"Not looking bad yourself," I smirk, before moving aside and gesturing. "Come on in."

She walks in briskly, in that Aphrodite-doesn't-take-crap-from-anyone type of way that's always amused me a bit. She pauses, looking around my room, and I can see the judgement in her eyes, which just makes me smile wider. This is one of the best hotels in New York City, but because I didn't get the penthouse room, she still thinks it could be better.

"Not up to your standards?" I tease. "I'm a high school student right now, remember?"

She grins, walking closer to me and standing on her toes to whisper in my ear, "Hmm? Well you don't look like a high school student. You don't talk like a high school student. You look like a man." Her hands are on my shoulders as she looks into my eyes.

"What about the other senses?" I ask, watching her. She smiles.

"Well let's see. You don't feel like a high school student." She steals a peck on my lips, then pulls back, considering. "You don't taste like a high school student." She wrinkles her nose. "You do, however, smell like one."

I laugh, and she smiles a bit. "I was about to take a shower before you showed up," I admit. Gods don't really need to take showers, but I like the feel of it all the same.

"A shower would be nice," she says, tilting her head a little, before sighing. "Unfortunately, your father has sent us down here for a reason, I believe. We're supposed to meet up with the others soon, aren't we?"

"You just had to ruin the mood," I grumble. My father, Zeus, is worried about something-- which he hasn't even told us about-- and now he expects us to fix it. As usual, he didn't want to be a part of the actual mission. He'll probably show up at the end, congratulate us, then write in history how the almighty 'King of the Gods' once again saved all the puny Olympians with his amazing strength and enormous ego.

Aphrodite nods, a bit of a smirk on her face. "But you do still smell. So maybe just..." she waves her hand at me, and I grimace as the smell of expensive cologne and roses wafts over me.

"Awesome. I always wanted to smell like mall samples," I mutter, and she laughs, a clear light sound that makes my breath quicken a little.

"You're starting to sound like a human. Maybe you should spend more time on Olympus. You know some of the Muses are offering art classes. Why don't you take one of theirs? You spend all your time with the mortals." Her tone is light, but the message is clear: I spend too much time with the humans and not enough with her. I fight the urge to remind her that even though we have several children together, she's married to another god.

"Because I'm the God of war," I say, conveniently avoiding her hidden message and answering her question instead. "They won't tell me what they think, they'll tell me what I want to hear. I like my art teachers. They don't hold back. They criticize and I improve."

"I suppose that true. Then again, isn't it nice to get complimented every once in a while? I love getting compliments." She sighs wistfully.

I take the hint. "You look radiant," I remark, and she gives me a beaming smile.

"Why, thank you! Now. Off to find the others."

"Yay," I mutter sarcastically. "This'll be fun. We have no idea where they are. New York City isn't exactly small, and Apollo is terrible with directions. With our luck, he'll be on the opposite side of the city looking for this hotel. It takes a lot of uncoordination to get lost in a city where the streets are numbered."

"Well, if we know he can't find us, we might as well go find him. And if we don't know where he is right now, we might as well have fun while we search," Aphrodite says, a small smile playing on her lips.

I smirk a bit. It's been a while since our last date. Even if this won't be a proper one, walking around New York City isn't a bad way to pass the time. "What did you have in mind, Ms. Venus?"

"When in doubt, start in the romantic places." She says with a smile. "So, Mr. Knox, do you fancy a carriage ride in Central Park?"

I hate New York City when it’s hot. It’s just not my cup of tea. I’m not particularly sure why, but it’s a strong hatred, and I’ll never stop hating it.

I sat on the dock by the Statue of Liberty overlooking my beautiful creation and might I say-- the humans once again ruined it. I’ve never seen water so polluted. Actually, that’s a lie, there were a few oil leaks back in 2014.

The wind started a slight breeze and I somehow smelled a strong aroma coming from the Empire Hotel a couple streets down. It almost smelled… familiar, like something I know all too much. I couldn’t really put my finger on it, so I stood up and walked closer, only for it to hit me.

It was like roses, and the smell of gold before it gets plated-- all put into the best smelling potion in the history of perfumes. It had to have been Aphrodite. I’ve always been amused by her. The way she thinks or, should I say, maintains herself. I’ve never met, in my whole entirety of living, a woman who could look absolutely magical without doing one ounce of makeup. Hera spends hours in the washroom, and trust me I witness it, every morning. Not to mention Zeus complains about it everyday. She’s the one I’m most worried about when it comes to unmasking our godly appearances.

She was most likely with Ares, which wasn’t really surprising. They think we don’t know about their little affairs. It’s quite hilarious watching them sneak around the world like we can’t just look through the telescope and watch them. For the time being, though, the main thing we needed to be focused on were these damn prophecies.

I knew this was going to happen, eventually. I blame it on my brother, Hades, even though he claims he had nothing to do with it. Hades had always been Cranos’ favorite child and I hated him for that. When Zeus banned them both, it was the right decision. He was going to come back one way or another, though, it’s just a shame it had to be so soon.

As I walked into the Empire Hotel, the two gods were walking off the elevator.

“Ah, there you guys are,” I started, smirking, “I could smell that spell from a mile away, Venus, you need to be careful.”

She makes a pouty face and begins to flail her arms wildly, “Blah blah blah,” She began, “Who are you to tell me to stop having fun? You probably rode here on a giant seahorse!”

Her voice projected and I started to get paranoid, so I made her cover her mouth with her hand. Ares looks at me, almost looking like his head is about to burst off his body. He opened his mouth to speak, but I had got to it first.

“Don’t even start, Ares,” I whisper to him, “Your mistress may end up dead.”

He holds back his tongue and looks back at Aphrodite, who rolls her eyes and removes my hand from around her mouth with ease. She then hissed at me, like a literal cat, and twines her arm back with Ares’.

“First of all,” she starts, “There’s nothing wrong with being a mistress, and you have no room to talk, considering you so generously blessed this earth with so many mortal children.”

I sighed and ran my hand over my face in frustration, “I can’t deal with this. I just can’t right now. Venus, Knox, lets go find the others before Cranos gets to Zeus.”

“Why do we even need to help that old man, anyways, Uncle?” Ares began, as we walked out of the hotel.

“Well, without him there would be no you, or Venus, or any god for that reason. Your grandfather would have ate you all one by one, and there would be no Olympus. Just hell,” I say as my eyes directed us towards Apollo’s location. We ended up near Times Square.

Hence, there he was, Apollo, leaning against a building. He seemed pretty into the violinist he was listening to, feeling the music notes with his hands as the musician ends his song. He looked up at us as we approached.

“I couldn’t find the hotel,” he said confidently, “So I assumed you would just find me. Wasn’t that musician amazing, though?”

Apollo - Ruben

"Thank you, sir," said Apollo politely, grabbing the man's hat. He snatched a vest and two jackets from a few other people (Very tactfully, if he did say so himself), but ended up hurling them away. It was the surface of the sun after all.

"Wait, no. I'm on Earth," grinned Ruben. He laughed at his own wittiness. The mortal world was absolutely hilarious and awesome. It was as if Apollo was the supreme god of the land and everyone did to his bidding. He could take anything from anyone and they wouldn't take it back. Apollo had a flashback and suddenly remembered when he snatched Ares's Imperial high-grade light-weight crossbow. Ares then cursed Apollo preventing his legs from existing for about two decades. (But the bow was actually very nice. In fact, he shot it a few times at Poseidon. It was hilarious. Hermes even applauded him.)

The familiar melody of a classic Mozart began playing somewhere near. He snapped his fingers, and Apollo materialized in front of a male street performer. The performer and the watchers took no notice of him.

The music made him light-headed, but in a good way. Like a lullaby. It vaguely reminded him of "Goodnight, My Angel" by Billy Joel.

Feeling the aura of something different, Apollo opened his eyes, not realizing they were closed.

Finally, thought Apollo, annoyed. Nevertheless, he strided confidently towards them, "I couldn’t find the hotel. So I assumed you would just find me. Wasn’t that musician amazing, though?”

Ares rolled his eyes.

"What made you so bulky, Ares? I saw you a while back down here in the Mortal World a few decades back. You looked different from this," Apollo glanced at Ares.

"My name is Knox," replied Ares, through gritted teeth. He gave Apollo a warning glance, and Apollo remembered the time Ares cursed him. And those other fourteen thousand seventy-two times.

Yeah, they weren't fun. So Apollo took the warning glance and did not push any further.

"When are the other gods coming?" asked Apollo, "And my name is Ruben, if you were wondering," -giving a big glance at Ares, "Definitely not Apollo."

Ares started shooting literal tiny daggers from his eyes at Apollo, who dodged them with somewhat confusion.

Something Aphrodite said held Ares back.

"So, when are the other gods coming?" asked Apollo again, "Do we need to wait for them or something?"

Athena- Sage

The U.N. headquarters bustled with activity when Athena walked up to her office. It was always active, but it took some getting used to. Mortals were fickle creatures, and she loved and hated them for it.

Athena dodged a woman carrying a large box of papers.

"Sorry, Sage," the woman said, sidestepping another person.

"It's alright, Rose," said Athena, laughing lightly. "I can't believe it's busy already."

"Always busy," said Rose. "It takes some getting used to, but you'll get the hang of it."

Before she could answer, Athena was swept into a crowd of white-collar men carrying briefcases. She fought her way to her office, where she promptly collapsed into her chair.

She had only been working at the U.N. for a week, and despite the fast pace, she enjoyed it. Athena worked in the Political, Peace, and Humanitarian Network. It focused on her own values, and she was skilled in battle strategies.

"Good morning, Sage," said a voice behind her. Athena turned around on her swivel chair.

"Good morning, James." Athena smiled at him.

"We have a meeting in 15 minutes," he told her. "I know you're passionate about politics, but try to tone down your excitement. We're getting headaches listening to you."

Athena's smile tightened. "You're sounding a little emotional, James," she said, "but I'll grab some Tylenol for you guys."

James went red, and he muttered, "Don't be late," before scurrying out the door. Athena laughed.

The rest of the day went by smoothly, and Athena exited the building. She smoothed the frays against her dark hair.

Time to find the others, she thought. She had some idea of where the others might be: Poseidon would probably be near the docks; Apollo would be by Broadway. Aphrodite and Ares would probably be on a romantic walk.

Broadway was closest, so Athena set off toward Times Square. As she walked, she caught the scent of roses coated with gold.

"There's Aphrodite," Athena whispered. And she recongnized the nonchalant posture of her half-brother, Apollo.

Athena smiled and waved. "Uncle, over here!"

Nike never counted herself as a very embarrassing god. Sure, as a god, she was probably the weakest and never did anything by herself, but she always counted as one of the most respected gods. Everyone wanted a shred of victory from her, but they were all idiots. She never gave too much victory to them.

Athena was a different story. The powerful goddess of wisdom had become Nike's role model immediately. There was no hesitation for Nike. She was the goddess of WAR and WISDOM! Sure, Ares was the god of war, but he was sometimes stupid and did stupid things (, Although Knox, Ares's mortal form, was a whole change of character).

This was why Nike was depicted on Athena's right hand in most images. But seriously, why would anyone DO THAT? Of COURSE she would be on Athena's LEFT hand! Athena was RIGHT HANDED, so she couldn't have a little mini-goddess on her good hand at all times!

This was why Nike didn't feel like an embarrassing god. But as Victoria in her mortal form, that was different. No one looked up to her or bowed down to her. She was just another kid on the streets. Her mortal form's powers consisted of: keeping anything clean or dry; minimal teleportation; distractor charms; and of course, granting victory. However, there was one power that was missing on that list: Keeping bullies away.

Cleaning things would definitely not help keeping the bullies away. Her teleportation would draw attention. The distractor charms didn't work if someone was directly looking for her, and why would giving the bullies an ounce of victory do anything? That was clearly stupid.

"What's the little goody-two-shoes doing on this street?" said the tall one.

"Yeah, this walkway is for humans only," said another one, "Not ugly goblins like you!"

Victoria gave herself a mental note to convince Athena to beat up these fools somehow when everything got back to normal. Back to normal, thought Victoria wistfully.

She needed to get to wherever the other gods were. She tried to sense one of their powerful auras, and felt herself close in on one. It was a familiar aura. Athena! thought Victoria happily. She started running towards the aura. Dodging the grabs of the street bullies, she ended up in times square.

Where are they? Victoria looked around, lost and scared.

Thanatos was running late.

The day had started out well. He had gotten ready earlier than he ever did - and seeing that he always had souls to collect, he usually got up incredibly early in the morning. (He certainly wasn’t his twin, though he did care deeply about Hypnos.) He had already talked to Hecate a few days ago about covering for him while he worked on stopping Cronus. He had even prepared his outfit the night before. By all accounts, Thanatos should have been one of the first ones to arrive at the meeting with the other gods.

But ghosts never got the memo.

The newly departed didn’t, either. Thanatos got all of a block away from the little apartment he had been renting before he ran into his first ghost. He tried to direct towards where he knew Hecate would be starting the rounds, but then he ran into another ghost. And another ghost. And another ghost. That was the problem with densely populated cities. People were always dying there, and their souls were usually restless. There had been a backlog ever since the human population started skyrocketing. It was an administrative nightmare; Thanatos was just happy he wasn’t Hades. Having to organize the influx of deceased souls would be absolutely horrendous.

By the time he finally reached Times Square, Thanatos was a mess. His hair was starting to fall out of its ponytail; his suit jacket was starting to slip off of one shoulder. Even one of his shirt’s buttons had come undone. That last ghost had been more grabby than Thanatos would have liked.

He scanned the crowd of people for the gods. He wasn’t exactly sure who he was looking for - who knew how late he was compared to the rest of them? - but it was overwhelming to be faced by so many souls all at once. That was another detractor to cities. There were so many people in them that Thanatos felt like he was drowning in one of Poseidon’s tidal waves. To be good at his job, he had to be in tune to the presence of souls. It was hard turning it off; he had to seriously think about not seeking out every single little soul lurking in here.

As he shut his eyes and tried to focus on just the people immediately around him, he bumped into someone. His eyes shot back open. Taking a step back away from the person he had almost certainly offended, he was reminded of just how crowded New York City could get - he bumped right into the people trying to pass by behind him and the original person he had run into.

“I’m sorry,” he apologized. He wasn’t really sure who he was apologizing to. Then he took a closer look at the person who he had bumped into: she was a little girl with auburn hair. She had to be ten at most. And she looked lost and scared and so small. Thanatos felt a pang of pity and worry in his heart. He knew he had to meet with the other gods and that he was already late, but someone had to help this girl! Everyone else was just ignoring her like she wasn’t even there. Who knew what would happen if she didn’t get help she needed? Olympus forbid he had to collect her soul when this was all over because she had suffered some tragic fate.

Thanatos finally drowned out the other souls of Times Square.

That was when he realized he hadn’t just run into a mortal girl - he had run into a goddess. He tried to remember which goddess she was, but it was too hard to. It had been far too long since he had last interacted with gods that didn’t regularly work in or pop into the Underworld. He wasn’t even sure they had ever met, much less had a conversation.

He fixed his ponytail.

“Uh, hi,” he said, giving her a wave. “I just realized you’re one of the people I’m supposed to be meeting right now. I’m Thanatos. I know everyone knows me, but you probably don’t know know me - if you know what I mean?”

As he went to give her a very awkward smile, his suit jacket slipped a little more.

He hurriedly went to fix it.

“Hades couldn’t make it,” he said. “He said he was going to send a memo, but I’m not really sure if he did. Everything’s been so hectic in the Underworld since Cronus escaped - he probably forgot to. But, uh, I’m his replacement! I’m ready to help in whatever way I possibly can.”

As we're all standing there with Apollo, everyone else starts to arrive one by one. I wasn't sure who else Zeus sent to help, but if Hades is one of them, Poseidon might just flip.

Sooner or later, Athena shows up, "Uncle!"

Poseidon turns to see his favorite neice, hugged her, and smiled, "My beautiful Athena."

Athena and I get along. It's not the closest relationship, but we get along. I look at her and speak, "Who else are we waiting for?"

"Zeus sent someone from the Underworld," She starts with, "Not sure who yet. I just overheard my father talking about this in his meeting."

My heart drops. I've always been absolutely terrified of the Underworld. I'm a goddess of lust, of the one thing on this planet that people live for: love. The Underworld is the place where Gods and Godddess go to rot. I know Hades wouldn't come himself. Poseidon would easily cause problems with him, and Earth would be done as we know it. So, that's easy, what other gods live in the Underworld?

My mind starts running about 30 miles a minute while the others are talking.

Hecate? No, last time I heard she was torturing some blue eyed little boy in Italy. Not to mention, I don't think Poseidon isn't really fond of her either. The second person--or thing of you will-- is Cerberus. That thought quickly escaped my mind. I don't think he'd blend in. Then it hit me. Thanatos. He's been to Olympus to attend meetings, when Hades cannot.

"Thanatos," I blurt to the group, "Thanatos."

I'm guessing they were on a whole other topic by the time I figured it out so I clarify, "Athena said Hades is sending someone from the Underworld. It's Thanatos. It's really the only person that makes sense."

Athena nods, and so does Ares and Poseidon. Apollo seems to be out of it, looking past Poseidon's shoulder. My vision follows his to a little girl on the street. there's a man, looking down at her and having a conversation. I can't see his face; he's turned with his back facing us.

"That's him," Apollo starts, "That's Thanatos. It smells like death, and his aura is odd, I can't put my finger on it."

I move closer to Ares. I can't stand people from the Underworld. They're too powerful. We're complete opposites. I'm sensual, Earthy... anyone from the Underworld moves anti-matter and black holes. Believe it or not though, a lot of them are the most lutsful, falling for my tricks.

The little girl looks our way before sprinting at full speed towards Athena. She stops before her, bows, and smiles before speaking, "This is Athena," She says.

How did she know that? Ares grabs my wrist and puts be behind him.

Thanatos walks up just in time "She's a goddess as well. This is Nike. Or, as she would like to be called, Victoria."

Poseidon smiles at her, "Welcome Nike."

The little girl seemed really intriqued in Athena, but most young girls like her are; even if they're a goddess. Athena is the goddess of Wisdom and War.

Poseidon starts to describe what we are to do next, "Okay, guys, let's start heading to the Empire State Building. Zeus--so wonderfully-- decided to give us a map. I don't think we need it, our insticts are enough really, but lets keep it just in case. It says its this way."

He starts to walk East. We follow behind him. I still stay behind Ares as he talks to Thanatos. He's very protective of me, even when he's around men that he's met before. I think it's just this particular mission.

Victoria felt at home again. Gods all around her. All ready to protect her. She would be able to give her victory to any of them at any moment and they would be safe for as long as they wanted. That reminded her:

"Hey guys, should I give you all some victory or something like that right now?" asked Victoria.

Every single god and goddess stopped, cocked their heads, and stood in silence for a moment.

". . .That actually sounds like a good idea," said Tritus.

Tentatively, while the other gods were pondering, Ruben asked, "Can I go first?"

Knox, Tritus, and Venus said, "No!" all in unison.

"We do remember last time that happened you know," said Venus.

Ruben laughed awkwardly, "Um yeah, I'll just go last."

"I wonder if we should give it to him at all," muttered Knox. Knox and Ruben began this little mini-fight where they repeatedly shot small, sharp objects out of their eyes at each other.

"Uh, just for clarification, what are we talking about here?" Thanatos inquired, trying and failing to not look flustered.

"Ha!" said Poseidon, making Athena flinch, "Apollo here once asked Nike to grant him some victory to beat Zeus in a contest. The problem was, he was so confident that he was going to win the contest that he hosted a party. During the party, he used all of his victory in a mini-contest against Satyrs! So when he finally came up against Zeus, there wasn't anything to watch! Zeus beat him up so bad! And the reward was that Zeus could wear Apollo's bow for three centuries. Apollo was a total mess!"

Athena and Thanatos chuckled, and the rest of the gods boomed with laughter. Victoria felt a little confused.

"I thought he won the contest," said Victoria, "That's what I heard."

"No," said Knox with a smile, "That's what Apollo told you."

Ruben literally shrinked, making everyone guffaw again. Victoria reddened and puffed her cheeks with annoyance.

"Why did yo-" Victoria's furious speech was cut off.

Zeus sighed, slouching in his desk chair.
He was tired of this. All this craziness.
He wondered how the other gods were doing on their mission.
Even that was more exciting than being stuck here. Trying to run Olympus and train the other minor gods and deities.

A thought struck him
Maybe he could sneak away for a couple of hours.
He sat up, smoothing his dark black hair. Might as well check up on the gods. Make sure they were actually doing what he said.



Zeus stepped up behind the group.
"I see the party started without me."

Nike swivelled, mouth open, halfway through a sentence. she clamped her mouth shut.

Poseidon, snapped around, "You weren't invited?"

Zeus chuckled, "Funny, I was bored, so I figured id join."

‘How you find us? Please tell me you didn’t ride your chariot here."

"First off I organized this thing, secondly." He pointed to Aphrodite, who was standing very close to Ares,” I could smell her from Olympus.”

Ares glared at him.

"And the chariot is hidden. Chill."


Zeus glared back at Ares, then scanned the crowd." Wheres Hades?'
Thanatos slipped up beside him." He’s busy so I’m here."

Zeus jumped," AH, Thana- " he adjusted the dark purple suit he wore."Don't sneak up on me like that."

Thanatos continued, "Aren't you supposed to be working too?"

"I am the king, I do what I want, besides, I’m tired. Trying to stop one's own father from destroying your home is tiring." He scanned the crowd of Gods, daring them to say nothing. "Right now let's find this thing. Ares, you lead."

Ares frowned."Its, Knox, and Apordidte is venus. What's your human name?"

"I’m literally leaving as soon as we find this thing, do I need one?"

Ares blinked

"Fine, uh, his Majesty?"

Ares blinked again unamused

"Ok uh, Zane"

Ares rolled his eyes and lead the way, Aphrodite holding his arm.

Venus - Aphrodite

All I felt was chills. They ran up and down my spine, relentlessly clawing at my brain. I stop in my tracks as we're walking and look at the sky, then back down at my feet. Ares stopped immediately and told the others to stop as well, "What is it?" He asked.

I couldn't seem to get any words out, opening my mouth but no sound coming out. I could feel someone. I could feel my heart adjusting to their heartbeat, my eyes dialating to focus, and my nose caught every single smell in upper Manhattan.

Athena grabbed my wrist and looked around to make sure there were no humans that could easedrop, "Somethings wrong," she said, looking at Zeus, "I can feel it. She's ice cold. I don't understand."

It was like there was a war going on inside of my head. Voices echoed within my conscious demanding to be released. I took two fistfuls of hair and screamed as loudly as I possibly could, every single person on that block turning to stare at me. The interesting thing, though, is that as I screamed it came out as a melody, one of a familiar nature. Apollo's eyes grew wide.

"Get these people out of the street," he mumbles to Poseidon, "Do something. I'm not one to complain, but we're getting stared at like hawks. Either that, or shut Aphrodite up."

"What's going on?" Poseidon moved infront of me and placed his hand on my cheek. He removed it immediately, turning to Ares, "Get her out of here," his voice remained stern,"Somewhere safe. We have a couple minutes before the skies turn."

The little girl, Nike, stood her ground behind Athena and Poseidon turns to her, "I'm not sure what use Nike would be in this situation. We can't allow her to drain her power. Athena, be a dear and take Nike to the Empire State Building. Hide her there. Make sure it's not the same location as Aphrodite. He's here."

"Why me?" I asked, at this point sprawled out on the pavement. Ares looked concerned as he kneeled beside me. I could feel his heart beating faster and faster as he grabbed my hand.

"He's tapping into her head," Ares whispered, almost so nobody could hear. At this point we all knew this was happening. This wasn't the first time something like this happened.

"This bastard is going to use her," Ares continued, "He's going to know our moves before we even make them. Aphrodite is clairvoyant. She can read us all. It's the perfect host."

Zeus looked up at the sky just as the clouds started to seperate, "He decided to bring the Harpie party."

Athena cursed and directed Nike towards the Empire State Building as Ares picked me up and looked at Poseidon, "I will return. I'm sure you'll need my help,"

Zeus smirked and laughed lightly, "Go take care of your girlfriend, son. It's the right thing to do."

"Don't listen to him and his poor judgement," Poseidon directed Ares, "Get her to a safe place. We can handle this in the meantime. Return promptly, though. We will need another hand," He glared at Zeus.

The hearth.

A place of safety.

A place where anyone can feel invincible.

At least, that's what Hestia thought. Not Hestia. Vespa.

That was her new name when she came down to Manhattan in mortal form. Unlike many of the other gods, Hestia was actual in the Empire State Building before the drama with Cronus. She had magically convinced the mortals there that she was just a supervisor, so she placed a fireplace on the side of the room. Of course, to mortals, it's a picture of a fireplace.

Vespa heard a scream outside.

"Comforting," murmured Vespa, wondering what happened. She glanced out the door and saw harpies descending from the sky, landing on a collection of people.

Demigods?, thought Vespa. In her experience, only Demigods had this kind of wrath occured upon them.

Vespa power walked over to the door (because running in a building is serious lack of etiquette and respect) and opened it and said to the probably-demigods, "You all need to spread out. So many of you together is like a beacon for monsters."

One of them turned to her and laughed, "We are a beacon no matter what."

It was only then when she realized who these people were, "You're gods, too?"

They barely nodded. A woman, probably Athena or Hera said, "What if this is Hecate?"

Without warning, Hestia reverted to godly form and shrieked, "I AM HESTIA. NOT HECATE!"

All the gods there jumped except for a little girl, who Hestia assumed was Nike, who looked very interested in a flower, and Hestia apologized, "Sorry, I am confused with Hecate too much. It makes me a little mad."

Apollo whispered something like, "Remember her?" To Poseidon. Oh Hestia remembered that incident with the two of them. In the early days, both Apollo and Poseidon had come to Hestia in hopes of marriage, but Hestia refused them. She believes they both still might have a grudge about it.

"Follow me. I know a place you can be safe," and Hestia led them to the hearth.

Death was in the air.

If Thanatos hadn’t already been feeling out of place with this group, the sight of the harpies and Hestia’s insistence on fleeing to the safety of her hearth made him truly feel like he didn’t belong in this group. He had barely been able to get a word in when Zeus showed up. It was a miracle he had talked to Nike before he joined the main group and had been able to introduce her to the others. And even when the others had confused Hestia for Hecate, Thanatos had known who she was. It wasn’t just because he was close to Hecate; Hestia was often considered a minor god, even though she played the crucial role of taking care of the hearth.

Thanatos struggled to connect with the other gods.

But when he saw the harpies swarming, he felt a pang of worry and the calling of death. The harpies may have been sent by Cronus - even though they were meant to be guardians of the Underworld - to attack the group of gods, but it was impossible for there not to be some kind of harm done to the mortals in a place as tightly packed as New York City.

For a moment, in the far off distance, Thanatos saw Hecate guiding a soul off towards the depths of the Underworld. They made eye contact. She was too far away from him to read her expression, but he was sure she was just as concerned as he was. The beings of the Underworld were meant to stick together. He closed his eyes and tried to tune out the soul’s presence. It must have been an accidental victim of the harpies.

When he opened his eyes again a moment later, the harpies were still swarming. Mortals were still rushing away from the attack. And the gods were far ahead of him, already heading right towards the Empire State Building. Hecate was gone; the soul was, too.

He fought against every urge to go running towards the mortals. It wasn’t the time to. He needed to follow the instructions of the other gods, even if it went against what felt like the right thing to do. Hopefully, the harpies would stop terrorizing the humans once they saw that their real quarry had escaped.

As he ducked into the Empire State Building, he caught the gaze of one of the harpies.

He was sure that she recognized him. This was one of his most frequently used forms. It didn’t make sense for her not to see him and know that he was Thanatos. But even though the harpies had to be there to harm the gods, she didn’t make a move for him. There was a look to her face that he couldn’t quite place - maybe respect for another from the Underworld, maybe understanding that he was just doing his job, or maybe even the promise to only let him escape this time because they had a connection.

He looked away and caught up to the other gods.

He just hoped none of them had noticed that harpy’s look.