Grecian Urn...

Marriage had mellowed Ruin quite a bit over the years. She still had a fiery temper and a viscous streak a mile wide, but it tended to be a slow burn these days. She was humming gently in the kitchen as she put the final touches on tonight's meal.She was always fond of tradition, and it was obvious in the anniversary menu she'd prepared - small spanakopita, souvlaki chicken skewers, and a large plate of fruit which she was picking at as she worked. Even her dress spoke of tradition - while not authentic garb, the hi-low dress she work was very reminiscent. flowing white with an empire waist, with one shoulder. Scrolled gold armbands rested on her forearms, and she'd eschewed footwear completely.

In the sunken living room, a large plush blanket was laid out, thick pillows scattered about. The baby was in her room, amused by her new mobile. All that was missing now was her husband, whom she knew had no real schedule for when he'd be home - they were both so busy these days, especially given the state of the world. The Vortex had returned them to their home, but they'd gone and found the same condo to buy - it was just a brilliant location. And the way America was going, it was working out Luckily, she was patient.

Hephaestus was too pleased to be able to create again to pay much attention to the rest of the world. His forge fired up, he spent what time was needed to fix the items he had destroyed. It took time - some items were so beyond repair they required complete retooling. It was only after significant progress that he allowed himself a break. Curious as to how she managed to succeed, Hephaestus made his way to the temple of his wife.

He stepped into her temple, listening to some attendant of hers babble about just missing Iris. Hephaestus nodded without listening and made his way into the parlor that was indicated, frowning as he saw Aphrodite just sitting there.

"Machanitin."

Iris had enough. Steping off the small porch of her small home off the highway in Oklahoma. First the coup, then their powers went all out of whack and now things were back to normal but all the mortals seem to have been frozen in time. Normally, Iris was laid back and let those in charge do whatever they wanted without question but now that things were directly affecting her she was rapidly getting annoyed with them.

"POTHOS" she shouted wondering where her beautiful son was at, seeing as she hadn't seen him at the meeting at Dite's temple.

Waiting, she calls his name again finding it odd that he did not appear in anyway or form. Frowning she shuts her eyes and reaches out for her son, hoping that when she finds him, it won't be any sort of embarrassing situation. Instead, she feels absolutely nothing not even a faint trace of her son.

Worried now she quickly vanishes from the dry plains of Oklahoma and reappears in the front of Dite's temple, intent on getting some answers. Hurrying up the steps, she is quickly met by an attendant that informs her of Dite's absence. With a sigh, Iris wonders if anything is going to go her way today as she allows the attendant to show her into a sitting room to wait for the mistress of the temple.

Artemis sits in the guest room of Selene's temple and brushed her hair in front of the long mirror. Dressed in a long comfortale sleeping gown, she stares at her reflection, eyes seeing bruises and bite mark that have long since healed.

On some level the goddess knew that at some point her huntress powers had returned but there had been no celebrating or excitement on her part because she knew that athough her ability to hunt, trap and trek had been returned she was still disgraced and she wasn't sure if there would ever be a way to fix that.

Satisfied that her golden tresses were perfect, Artemis returns the brush to small drawer in the vanity before heading to bed, pulling down the heavy blanket and crawling beneath it to spend another fearful and sleepless night.

"HADES!"

Demeter's voice rang out ahead of her as she stalked across the courtyard from her temple to that of Zeus, searching out a different brother. he had awoken with a cold vise around her heart, a feeling she knew all too well when her daughter was taken from her, taken away to the land of the dead by Hades.. the thief. But it was too early! too early for her to go.. it wasn't his turn yet. He was going to pay for this.

He was really going to pay.

She barged into the temple, waving a hand at the first person who tried to stop her, calling out again fro her brother.

"HADES.... Where are you. Where is she?!?"

The light in her garden was darkening by the time she got back home. It had taken so long for someone to answer her call and for them to figure out just who Beau was, but she was satisfied she'd left him in capable hands for the moment. Psyche had every intention of visiting him in the morning. Right now, she just wanted to sit back in her garden and wallow a bit before she slept.

( Picking a piece of wisteria off her beloved vine )

She could feel, as the moments go by, her memory eroding slowly. Little things, here and there were just slipping away.... and she knew she couldn't possibly have long. That, coupled with the niggling feel of the call from assistance had her swallowing down a growing feeling of franticness. She needed to go see about setting things in motion, to make sure they'd be ok once she was useless to most of Olympus again... but she wanted, more than anything, to stay with Morph until she had to go. it just wasn't, wasn't fair.

"I... I need to go do something. And you need to do this, and figure out if your realm is ok. I shouldn't be log, and I will try to come back. And if I can't, well... You need to know. No, I need you to know I loved you. I love you now. And ... I'm going to try." She smiled at Morpheus, leaning in to offer a lingering kiss before she disappeared, arriving on her sister's door step.

With a knock that was hesitant at first, then growing towards demanding, she finally pushed the door open and stepped inside, calling out to the sister she knew was here.

"Ate? ATE."

The mall was huge, and she had no idea where exactly one found baskets, as apparently there was a complete lack of Basket Depots in the near vicinity. giving up on the directory after only a moment (the thing listed countries on it, for pete's sake, and no one found a political system in a mall, did they?) and bounced back over to Strife, taking his hand once again and pulling him along with her.

"We shall just find a place... "

Down the corridors they went until she found a place that seemed suitable. "Pottery barn... maybe they sell baskets and pots?"

Releasing Strife's hand she went inside, assuming he'd follow behind her as she began to make her way through the strange and bizarre conglomeration of knick-knacks waiting for dust and furniture pieces that looked lovely in the store, but looked like they'd look like things that only looked lovely in a store once a person got them home. They had different sorts of wicker, which looked promising, and she had just spotted some basket like devices when she caught a bit of movement out of the corner of her eye... all very deja-vu and reminding her of Rhea on Othrys.

"Hold up... I'll be right back..."

Towards what looked like a display of wall mirrors and clocks she saw something that caught her eye... a flash, a bit of movement... something she couldn't not go over and investigate... she was still looking for it when she realized there was a fog around her and the mirrors, a fog that closed in on her with a decidedly un-good speed. She opened her mouth to call for Strike, gasping as she realized no sound was escaping at all. there was a moment of panic, then calm. It rolled over her, like this was the balance she'd never been able to achieve before... an internal balance, they just thrust her onto an even keel. With it came a sense of rightness, a sense of wholeness... of being more.

It took a while for her to realize she didn't even feel the absence of others in her head... that everything she normally felt, each connection... was either gone, or muted away.

But she could tell... She could feel... that this was OK. It wasn't unlike falling into a new world.. just a world without others.

There was little else but to be Balance... and things seemed a long more balance on this new level.

Apollo watched Hermes from a distance for a long time, gazing as the god wordless walked among the mortal statues. It was a somber sight, the world frozen and silent, devoid of everything that gave them their greatest strength. Hermes’ face betrayed his concern, and dislike for the situation.

“Are you going to stand there watching all day?” Hermes called out finally, looking back at Apollo with a dark expression lit in his eyes.

“You seemed to be entranced….”

Hermes was beside him in a flash, the god of speed looking more like himself than he had since the fall of Zeus. It was that realization that made Apollo cringe slightly, casting his eyes away as he licked his lips.

“You wanted to talk, I assume…” Hermes commented, his arms crossing over his chest in an annoyed air. “So talk…”

“There isn’t any reason not to be civil…”

“I’m being perfectly civil. Civil does not require me to be kind, however, to a brother who betrayed the whole of his people.” Hermes scoffed, turning to step past Apollo. He had no intentions of listening to his brother it seemed.

“Hermes, wait…”

“Why should I?” Hermes snapped, “You! You are the reason everything is like this. How long do you think our world can survive like this? In a world that doesn’t move? People give us our power, their knowledge of us keeps us here. Their buying, their selling, their movies and music, their love, their wars, everything they do keeps us here! Look at them!” His voice echoed like thunder in the stillness, motionless people vibrating with the sheer power behind Hermes’ anger.

“I am sorry….” Closing his eyes, Apollo looked away before he knelt slowly before his brother. “I do not deserve your forgiveness, but I beg for it none the less, my brother. I have been selfish…reckless. Of that I cannot be absolved, I know…”

“Forgive you?” Hermes’ voice sounded hurt more than taken aback. “You want me to forgive you? Why should I? You would have fed me to the wolves!”

“Please!” Apollo cried, looking up at Hermes, “for my crimes I cannot repent enough. Tell me what task you would ask of me, and I would do it…”

“Your fate isn’t in my hands…” Hermes snarled, turning away angrily. His shoulders were tense, and his head was bowed in an uncharacteristic manner.

“Hermes…”

“Just stop! By Zeus, just….just stop.” Hermes glanced over his shoulder at Apollo, eying him cautiously. “Why did you do it?”

“It was meant only to affect Aphrodite, Ares and Hephaestus. I did not intend for the whole pantheon to crumble. “

“Well bravo, brother, because you fucking set us all on our asses. Thank you, it was an excellent experience. We’ll have to do it again sometime.”

“I did not…”

“You did not, you did not, not, not, not. I got it! Congratulations, you fucked up something you didn’t intend to fuck up. You played with fire, and we all were burned. I’m unbelievably proud. Now go away….”

“Hermes….”

“Go away! Just go. Go apologize to your muses, to your counterpart and the whole mountain. Bleed for them, and then maybe I’ll be ready to give you. Maybe.”

Gaping a little, Apollo sighed and stood. There was little point in trying to argue forgiveness out of Hermes. But…but at least he had tried. It as a start of a long list.

There was a dissatisfaction she felt as she moved through the temple that, if she thought about it, had started creeping up a few days ago. She was back to being Love and Beauty, which she thought would have offered a feeling of completion, but there was something missing. It wasn't the crown of the sea, she was sure - Gaia knew that regent or not, the responsibilities offered to the Queen were still hers de facto, regardless of what Cronus wanted to play at.

The only thing she could think of was the children... and those she saw on any sort of regular basis were all fine, she could tell. There were others, Hymenaios in particular, who felt... off at the moment, more distant... but he hadn't been one for Olympus in ages. She tried to summon him to no avail - still not sure if that was a sign of a problem, or mere insolence on the part of her cherub. Granted, of all her children, the Erotes were the least likely to be problematic in any way, but given recent situations, it was always a possibility that he was still nursing the wounds of having been cherub of divorce and separation for a while.

More troubling was that when she tried to find him, she was unable to pinpoint a location, but again some no longer dwelling on Olympus were known to give up a corporeal form, preferring to be more of an *essence*. None of these thoughts were doing anything to solve a mood.

There were of course a few who'd be able to tell her where he was, without much effort... the messengers were one source, but she didn't feel like explaining what was going on to any who weren't asking at the moment. The other answer was her daughter.. if everyone was back to normal, Harmonia would know the general idea of where to find a sibling. Only problem there, of course, was where she tended to be.

It really was unavoidable.

With a soft growl she left her home, making her way quickly to that of Ares, heels offering an angry staccato across the marble of his entrance way. She offered an annoyed glance to the closest attendant, a brow lifting slowly. If he even thought of collecting Ares, well... it might not be pretty.

She liked watching him sleep, she thought, as she looked down at the god sprawled beside her. His face held a certain calmness to it that she didn't see when he was alive... it wasn't the cherubic scowl Anteros often wore while sleeping, or the innocent countenance Hori had, but just a contentedness, without the jaded edge most gods wore so often. Granted, she'd only ever seen him sleep twice, both times after marathon bouts of sex, but she was sure e was beautiful whenever he slept. She envied him the relaxation, the comfort of curling up and drifting off.

She was careful as she untangled her limbs from his and slid off the bed, watching to make sure she didn't wake him as she moved around the room toward a dresser, pulling out a halter top and running shorts and slipping into the silently. Socks, then running shoes were donned and a peak outside the window told her dawn was just breaking. Quietly she moved to the door, taking her time to open it and sneak out, pulling it closed just as gently behind her. She paused to listen, not hearing anything that indicated he woke up, and smiled before heading to the front door and out into the world.

And then she ran.

It was quieter than normal... that was an understatement. It had never been this quiet before, never without the sound of some sort of life around, no matter how uninhabited an area was. To know she was in one of the more congested area of the New World and still no life surrounded her? a truly strange thing. and yet, in a way, exhilarating. There was no need to hold back, no questions that would be asked about the preternatural speed and stamina she was able to exhibit on occasion. Sure, the Litae hadn't been around much, but there was no need to keep out of practice should they show. Not that prayers seemed to have ever had much effect in Los Angeles...

It was strange to have to move around the immovable people, but grew humorous as the run went on... it was like someone replaced them all with mannequins, for they fell if bumped into, then lay where they were. Would they bruise? it was only a passing question, as she wasn't overly concerned with their welfare. All in all, while she'd not like it all the time, this frozen people thing wasn't half bad as far as she was concerned... and while she didn't like what was the obvious answer of returning to Olympus to determine what happened, not even that could really kill her high spirits.

It was a good two hours before she returned to the house, panting slightly at the exertion, a towel draped over her neck as she stepped back inside... with luck, she had time to shower and make breakfast before Momos was awake. She couldn't imagine him being thrilled with the idea of Olympus either.

The earth was frozen... anyone who was still mobile could attest to that, if they were paying attention to the world left in thier charge. The gods continued as they wont, some confused, some worried, some ignoring things... very few taking action. while the gods played and watched the mortals, something of a higher power sat back and watched the gods.

What had started as an experiment of being was drawing to a close, the very fabric of control and order unravelling so slowly those who watched the skien could only notice a general oddness, and those that pay no attention continued on as oblivious as they desired.

It was easy now to pick out those who hid among the mortal coil, those who shunned the society set up by their peers. It was easy to remove them, when they proved complacent enough, absorbingthem back into the whole.

The others? They would follow soon.

Alive.

That's what she felt right now. Alive and full of hatred. It was better than any of the sex she'd had while she'd been lust. No offense to Hades, but Styx loved hate more than any orgasm. She felt so good, that she even felt like being out with the general population of mortals, just to be somewhere she could spread her gift around like butter.

She waited until Thanatos awoke, staying true to her word. Something had changed between them, no longer simply a brother/sister relationship, she now felt maternal towards him and that wouldn't change. It never did with her. If anyone fucked with him, they would fear nothing like the wrath of Hatred.

Once he was awake and off doing his own thing, Styx left Olympus - she'd certainly had enough of that mountain - and moved to the mortal plane ready to take in the sights and sounds of mortals ready and willing to accept her gift and really, there was only one place on Earth that appreciated her power. New Yorkers needed hate like Californians needed plastic surgery, it was their heart beat.

Appearing in the middle of Times Square, she expected lights and sounds to bombard her and instead got nothing. Nothing at all. No sounds. No honks. No people rushing by. Her plans were ruined! Everyone was frozen!

"What the hell is going on?"

Finally. Philotes could go out in public. With no offense meant to Gods Who Did That Sort Of Thing, Lotus was done with being the chaste homebody that she'd become over the last... well, however long it was. She could feel the need to touch, to interact, to BE. The urge to be in public, to talk to people, was overwhelming and she stood in front of the full-length mirror for the longest time. Boobs and legs and form fitting clothes were all on her agenda.

She left the house dressed to the nines and immediately saw the difference on Earth. Nothing was moving. Nothing was breathing or interacting or being. As she walked down various streets, her thoughts turned to other places she could go.

Like... a party. With a thought, she appeared in the middle of Eris' garden. A big smile and Friendship was ready to go. "Okay, who missed me?"

Everyone was back to normal, sort of, but Hori didn't feel all that different. He sort of stood there, looking at the wedding party that was frozen and frowned. They were making oaths, and Hori mere presence wasn't sending anyone into fits of lies anymore, and he should have felt better right? Maybe Ate was right and he just needed some sort of...hobby.

And while the idea of checking up on Eris came to mind, he imagined she was still at the house with siblings, or with Apollo. And none of her company appealed to him. Which left...Lethe, or Elpis.

Lethe, though, was probably alright. Tucked away in her comfortable home, and maybe Elpis would want to go with him to see her. And he hadn't had the chance to really talk to Elpis yet anyway. So, well... Hmmm.

"Elpis?" He called out, tugging at the emotional ties to his sister that could act like that 'hey, look at ME' attention getting bell. "Elpis!"

He knew the minute the powers shifted again. Power rushed through him and the piddly love he'd endured for what seemed like forever, rushed right back out. Ares flexed his biceps and might even have leaned down to give one a kiss as he rejoiced in the return of War. He was not meant for love, and he'd made an emo, annoying love god. But no more. Once again he was himself and it felt wonderful!

For a moment, he considered finding his woman and throwing her against a wall somewhere, but then he remembered she didn't love him at the moment. Pesky, that. It would have to be dealt with at some point; he couldn't have her not loving him, but not right now. Right now? He really wanted either sex or death and since sex was out of the question at the moment?

Death it was.

He stalked out his room and contemplated just were he was going to go and who he wanted to kill.

"Didn't you see them? Although they did slip out pretty quietly."

She grinned, even though her mother couldn't see it.

"I bet he is, but the dark had to be great, huh? Does it? Well, I'm glad then. Why do you ask?"

Kia loved making her mother happy. She knew she didn't do it all that often.

She had left Deimos with clear instructions not to return to Othrys, or to seek out a fight with Cronus... As irritating as her brother was, she wasn't quite prepared for that level of animosity. She could feel people in her temple as she returned, and after a brief moment of thought, left immediately, transporting herself to the lobby of a posh Upper West Side building... she wasn't technically queen at the moment, so taking a bit of personal time wasn't going to hurt anyone... besides, Cronus had made it clear that time sure wasn't going anywhere.

Hitting the cal button for the elevator, she blinked as it opened up showing a car holding a frozen couple, caught mid-fight it seemed. Deciding against that, she let the door close once more, and simply relocated herself to the hallway outside the penthouse. Given the hour (and her previous encounter with her friend) She knocked lightly, leaning against the door jamb as she waited.

As soon as she was no longer being paid attention to by Nyx and Reb, she calmed down quite a bit, becoming more her regular self than she had been in weeks. Harmonia bounced lightly as she looked at Strife, leaning up to kiss his cheek before stepping behind him and reaching up to cover his eyes with her hands.

"You're going to love this. It's so freaky."

With a thought she transported them both to the big top she had recently abandoned, and faced him toward the crowd, showing him the frozen masses.

"Oh but wait! that's not all! If you order now, you get an extra bonus for the same low price..."

Her hands slid down to his arms and turned him around quickly, towards the trapeze... where the aerialists were hanging in midair, not even moving. Pulling her hands back, she clapped lightly, looking at him expectantly.

The lights had gone dark so suddenly, she had expected everything to go out with it...  the party, Olympus, memories... him. His arms around her had startled her, and at first the fact that she didn't forget everything was more shocking then the rest. When she finally opened her eyes, she saw lights illuminating the garden once more (though not to the same extent,  thankfully, and everyone milling around as if nothing had just fundamentally changed... And really, she supposed it hadn't.

Stepping back a bit, her hand reached for Morpheus', and she walked him over a bit closer towards a hedge, away from the others, looking up at him for a long moment before speaking, her words as soft as her smile.

"You can feel it again, can't you? Your home."

*backdated before the Dite cast her spell*

There was a disadvantage to many who suffered from a powered polarization of powers. Zelos himself was not as badly off as others, which was to his advantage. While his skill with manipulating his talents was hardly as proficient, he had far more talent than Athena did. That was her down fall, ultimately.

In the mist of the night, and turmoil, the entirety of the mountain was far more obsessed with their individual woes to take notice of one star fading.

His work had been ugly, and she had cost him more than few injuries. But when it was all said and done, one Goddess of War was no more… He would have to remember to thank Apollo for his ignorance at some point.

He had been quite pleased to send a message to Aphrodite, informing her the task was done and he would await a audience with the new Queen of Olympus. As for his mother, he would simply explain that sometimes blood was needed to assure her that plans could unfold without suspicion. And in both cases, the once god of Jealousy would have his way.

Vengeance and greater power.

Momos didn't even wait until Anteros and Flidais were out of the room before he turned around and wrapped both of his arms around Ate. He gave her a kiss on her forehead, before looking down at her and smiling.

"I like your friends, baby. Especially the foreign one. She says should you ever want to make out with her again, you're most welcome. I told her I'd let you know."

He waggled his eyebrows at her.

"If you want to take her up on the offer, I'm sure we can get her back here."

Hades appeared on Othrys, skin pale and eyes dark. He'd been too wrapped up in relishing the return of his power to notice what else had changed, it was only when Persephone pointed it out the quiet that Hades realised something was...off.

She was wrong of course; it wasn't quiet, it was silent. The world was never silent, how could it be when it was filled with the living? Life was noise; silence belonged to the dead.

But the world was silent, which Hades had found...more than slightly worrying. Obviously life still existed, but it wasn't really living anymore.

And he'd found out more. The clouds weren't moving, the trees weren't moving, even the sun, although still shining brightly in the sky, was transferring no warmth to the ground. Everything had just...stopped. Aphrodite's spell hadn't worked after all.

No, that wasn't right because the spell didn't originate with Love. It was Cronus' spell, and it had definitely worked.

Hades had left his wife with her mother and headed off to the Underworld to take back his rulership...only that hadn't worked out quite so well. He was God of the Dead again, and his other titles had been restored in full, but he wasn't king. Couldn't be king. It just...wasn't letting him take it.

Now that was really annoying.

He took a path up to his father's temple, the warm Othrys breeze doing little to remove the chill in the air that Hades left in his wake. It looked better than the last time he'd been here, closer to its former glory. It was unsettling.

Stopping, he looked up at the building, letting his eyes take in each refurbished detail. Hades didn't knock.

"Cronus! What have you done?"

It felt like a dream, the world frozen in the act of daily life. Some people were caught in midstep, while others stared blankly at news papers and mid-sentence. Even the piano seemed dead, though he could still tap out a tune on the keys. Logic told Beau that this was a dream… But it seemed to not end, no matter how many drugs he took, how much he slept, or how piss drunk he was.

Beau Cade was simply the only person in all of Athens that wasn’t frozen in time.

“I don’t understand,” he muttered to himself, scrubbing his face as he stared. “What the fuck…”

He pushed away from the piano to pace a little, weaving around couples that were caught in the middle of a dance, staring into each other’s faces lovingly. Biting his lip, he glanced around the ballroom, and sighed.

“What happen?” He asked a man who was staring at the dancers, waiting for a moment as though he would answer. It was ridiculous, of course, to think there would be a sudden change, that the man would come to life and answer that brief question before resuming his blank stare.

“You need to re-dye your roots,” he commented, “the gray is staring to show.”

Of course the best part of a frozen world was how easy it was to get rid of cops. Stupid Interpol had finally tracked him into Greece. Wanted posters with his face had started to pop up a day or so before everything froze. But since then, Beau had had the pleasure of blowing motionless fuckers’ heads off.

“Maybe I should go try some golf?” Which was more like going out to the driving range and seeing how many times he could hit the sad excuse of a caddy in the head. “You know, I used to be such a good kid.” He looked at the graying man again, and nodded earnestly, “I was. My mummy told me so…I’m not sure what happened, really. I just soured I guess.”

Shrugging, he slapped the table top before moving off into the floor again. “Probably just insane. Insane is what they’d call this isn’t it? Because…well, the world couldn’t stop. Isn’t logical at all. So it all has to be in the mind…and only a sick mind makes the world stop.”

He pursed his lips a moment, before laughing inanely. “Has to be insanity….” He looked back at the graying man, “I’m insane!!”

Or at least he was certainly going mad.

Maybe he was dead? Or…in a coma. Both were good excuses for insanity, right?

Home.

The one place she had always felt safe in. The one place she always knew was her refuge.

Psyche walked into the temple she shared with Eros and looked at the mess she'd left when she'd run out. Images from that night bombarded her and she closed her eyes in defense against them, but it didn't work. Eros filled her vision. Eros, his wings so dark. Eros with blood falling from his lips. Eros shuddering away from her touch.

Eros demanding she leave him.

With a wave of her hand she made the horrible mess disappear. She wanted no sign of their fight left to stare at. Now, all she wanted was just quiet. Someplace to lose herself. And nothing fit that like her garden. Moving outside, she sat under her wisteria and just let her mind clear. She didn't care about the mortal plane, she didn't care that time had stopped. She just didn't care right now.

It didn't matter anyway. The only journey's still in motion were gods, and she wanted nothing to do with most of them at the moment, let alone dealing with their issues.

She'd good and truly fucked up and she had no idea what to do about it.

placeholder...for something yet to be determined

"Mmmm... back to what you want, I see... I'm starting to like you greedy."

She smiled, leaning back a bit to look up at him with a clouded expression... then smiled, transporting them both from the bar to the living room of the home she shared with Anteros.

"Home sweet home..."

She pulled back, hand reaching for his as she turned to move toward the hot tub. She led the way toward the back of the house, stoppng abruptly as she came to the doorway of the kitchen, spying Anteros and Flidais.

"I... thought you were in Bantry Bay?"

Awhile after he watched Thanatos stagger away, Neikos left his ennui inflicted brother Hori to raid the food table.

They had cake! Cake! He was going to kiss Ate next time he saw her, give her a big slippery wet one on the cheek because he couldn't remember the last time he was at any social function on Olympus and they had cake!

He wished the Ate and Styx punch-out thing would have kept going, at least until someone scored a TKO! Watching his sister punch another chick? Even if it was his aunt Styx? Was awesome! But then grand-dad had the "bright" idea to go stepping into the thick of the girlfight and whatever he said sent Styx one way and Ate another. He'd really bugged him because it didn't seem like anything interesting was really going to happen at this party.

Next to watching Ate hit Styx, the most interesting thing in his opinion was watching Thanatos getting plastered which he thought was kind of funny.

Strife decided he would have to ask Kia how she managed to get him that way because Neikos thought Thanatos was too uptight to really enjoy himself to the point of drunken intoxication. And that? That was kind of unfortunate he guessed because Death had an awesome job. Strife thought Death should enjoy it. In fact Strife wished he was Death, or rather he wished he had Death's job because he thought it was the most kickass job a god could have...being the redeemer; the reaper of souls.

He bet Thanatos enjoyed the perks of the job too. Like Blue Oyster Cult, "Don't fear the Reaper," perks...

Riiight! Who was he kidding? Thanatos was too uptight to take full advantage of any potential perks like seducing maidens.

Strife was actually kind of surprised he didn't have to run to Thanatos' rescue actually, rescue him from Kia---Hahaha. That sister of his was a pouncer. It was not that he really liked the spooky bastard that much, to keep him from falling into horny sisterly clutches, he just kind of felt oddly responsible for him after the peacock thing. Okay, he'd felt sorry for him too. Thanatos had reminded him of a lost puppy. Big soulful dark brown eyes...

Strife passed by Morpheus and Lethe who were dancing awfully close and he gave them a perplexed stare, almost walked into Limos while he was staring...

"Hey, sorry Twig---gonna get some foodage..."

And he completely lost his train of thought upon almost collision.

Now he as wondering what was up with Cousin Dream? Strife had never known of Morpheus as being into...Well anyone, or at least he'd never been known as a ladies man. So why would Morpheus be dancing with his sister? That was really weird.

He came upon the table and was making himself a plate, said a casual and abrupt hello to Kia, Nom and his grandparents when....

All the lights went out!

"Whoa! Who turned out ALL the lights?"

It was funny, really... how much a person could take for granted something as simple as the ability to walk without fear of falling flat on their face. Yet, since Apollo had done his dastardly deed, she'd lost her perfect balance... and it made everything, even walking a chore.

This is why she'd decided to spend any time not doing anything else sitting, or lying down. There was, she found, a particular art to such laziness... laying in one's bed for hours at a time was depressing, and made you seem pathetic. Lying in a hammock, with one's puppy nearby, however - well, that was relaxing, and not nearly so bad. Having decided all brothers with wings were crazy, and not knowing where Dei and Bos were, and having not been invited to the party Strife was at (And seriously not wanting to go anyway... they were all so mean to her)... She found herself napping in the hammock when she felt it.

It wasn't anything physical, really... in fact, at first she didn't quite trust what she was feeling. The tug and pull of everyone in the Pantheon that she usualyl felt, balancing themselves out like a scale in her head... it was a subtle feeling when she wasn't concentrating, but all of a sudden she could *feel* her parents again, the balance between love and war, the entire spectrum.... For one glorious moment it was back in her head, loud like a wave then quickly dampered to a barely there sort of tickling.

Opening her eyes she looked at the warhound curled near her.

"Graegus... What was that? Did you feel it?"

She had no idea, really, if Graegus had been affected at all... He was always pretty sweet and nice near her, and they hadn't tried taking him on a battlefield to see if he still ate souls or had somehow turned into some freaky butterfly chasing pooch... but the dog just looked at her like she was a bit crazy, then woofed.

"I don't know. It was there, then it was gone. Or... wait. It's not. Shall we test it?"

Again the blank look, then Graegus put his head back down on his paws, closing his eyes... She thought he'd be a bit happier about things, really.

Rolling out of the hammock, she took a few steps, and grinned. She felt fine. No inner ear weirdness, no feeling of vertigo... She leaned down, nuzzling the dog's head, then sprinted over towards a long wall, nimbly climbing to the top and pulling herself to standing, walking along the length... Balance was a beautiful thing.

In a black and white vintage cowboy shirt, Phobos was sitting in a bar in bumfuck nowhere Missouri peeping out from under a white Stetson at these old men sitting at a table playing a game of cards. They were gambling and talking about the old days while he smoked a cigar.

He liked the "old days" as they put it, he liked the midwest period; it was usually such an easy place to panic, at least it was when he was Panic. Tonight? Not so much.

He was mulling over his little plan to break up Harmonia and Strife while he sat there. If he and Deimos kept her busy, found something to keep her busy, then maybe she'd eventually forget about the little weasel?

Phobos sat there and listened to the jukebox run through several old country tunes that the old card playing geezers had selected. There was Waylon Jennings, Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, and there was even "Your Cheatin' Heart," by Hank Williams Sr. After listening to all these old tunes, he stood up from his stool, put out the remainder of the spent cigar under the heel of his snake skin boot, and asked the bar tender for another shot of whiskey.

He'd need another shot where he was going...

While the bartender was pouring his shot, he took a short stroll over to the jukebox and dropped in a few coins. His lips curled at their corners as his man Dwight Yoakman roared over the speakers. "Fast as you," Damn he loved this song!

The moment the song made it to the chorus, the outlaw spun around and drew two Colt Python pistols that previously weren't anywhere to be found on his person, into his hands and started shooting off the bullets into the old geezers at the table as if they were ducks on the old Nintendo DuckHunt game...

If there was one way to spread panic manually in an area...It was to kill a few people from that area.

By the time the gunslinging god got to the bartender who'd also drawn a sawed off shotgun out from behind the bar, and had already fired once at him already, something happened Phobos wasn't prepared for.

"Gawdamnit!"

He pulled the triggers again, aiming both guns, but there was no boom. There was nothing.

He took a few steps toward the fired bullet path and picked one of his bullets out of midair, "What the fuck?"

Phobos approached the bar tender who was stuck in place holding a shotgun toward him. He stared at the frozen man skeptically and then picked up his shot glass. He tried to drink it, but when he tried to down it he discovered that it was as frozen in place as the bartender. It was as frozen as if the man had left the glass in the freezer for over thirty minutes, only it was frozen without the chill of any frost touching it.

"This is some fucked up shit right here," Phobos spoke to the frozen bartender while holding his shot glass upside down and watching as nothing happened.

Hermaphroditos was huddled up cross legged in the center of his/her bed hugging a large stuffed cotton candy blue colored poodle while he watched some of the dvds he'd summoned from his New York apartment on the dvd player and television he also summoned from the same place.

He was watching Pretty Woman again...

Andy never got tired of Pretty Woman, it was one of his favorites and he loved the part where Vivian returned to that store where the salesclerk had been a real bitch to her the first time she went shopping with Edward's plastics to show the hussy what she wouldn't be earning in commission. That part was particularly wonderful at the moment because he wished he could do something similar when he went back to work. He wished he could go work for someone bigger and throw it in his old bosses face! That would show them all! Better yet, he should try for his own line because then the models would be working for him and he could ruin their careers if they got snippy with him!

While he sat there watching, suddenly thinking he should leave New York and go out to Hollywood for awhile, his wrist started burning and stinging. The moment he started to look at it his attention was drawn to his cell phone ringing. He grabbed the phone and rubbed his wrist while he put the phone to his ear. On the other end was his old boss wanting him back? This was a surprise! But then he caught sight of his wrist, "What in the name of Gucchi!"

He told his silent boss he'd call her back, and if he were to have waited for a reply he wouldn't have received one, before laying the phone over on the bed.

"Chosen? Eh?"

Andy had never had a tattoo before, but he was sure people just didn't sprout them!

Helios was at a loss. He stood in the large, arched doorway of his worn stable at the Rhodes Temple site, a bridle hung in the bend of his elbow. He stared out into the deepening darkness of a moonless night and felt physically ill. O god, it was going to be dark out there. Completely and utterly black. Like, not even a speck of light.

And why? Because some messengers from Lady Aphrodite had told him she wished him not to fly? Helios could count on one hand all the times Zeus had ever asked to hold his Chariot, and at least he had always explained himself! But the Goddess had mentioned morning... wait untli morning...

Helios wasn't entirely sure what that meant, but he couldn't help the hope firing to life in his chest like a banked smithy. The titan shifted uncertainly, leather of his tack creaking in the quiet. Even the horses seemed to be holding their breath for the outcome, still and strangely cooperative in their stalls, despite missing their accustomed routine. Helios was sure they were as ready as he to return to life as the sun.

The Titan turned finally, sighing slowly and trying to force the tension out of his body. He ambled towards the tack room, depositing the forgotten bridle from his arm to its designated hook. He knew if Dite were immersed in something universe altering, then Helios was best off staying out of the line of fire... but he couldn't help wondering how the earth was handling this... unusual turn of events.

Helios stepped outside again, beating his gloves against his thigh to dislodge dirt into a small cloud. He peered around him, listening to the sounds of the night, and suddenly stood rigidly upright. Because the sounds of night weren't... they just weren't there! Everything was quiet... no crickets, not wind in the tree branches, no...

"--the fuck?!" Helios muttered quietly, loping towards the cliffside edge of the plateau his barn sat upon. Looking down, he could barely make out the glass-like stillness of the ocean. So yeah, no sounds of the ocean moving... no motion at all..

"...wow. That is just... really not right." What the hades had Aphrodite done?!

She stepped out of the temple on Othrys and began walking up a path ignoring the lovely scenery that had sprung up into bloom since her last visit. The path was probably quite lovely if one was meandering along on a nice sunny day... Aphrodite, however, was more akin to being on a war path. She walked in silence, Deimos beside her as she made her way over once-familiar paths until she stood in front of the largest temple, hands sinking to her hips as she glared for a moment, before calling out.

"Cronus!"

The house felt way too quiet once Mel had left and with Anteros still sleeping off his early morning drinking binge, Psyche decided to take a walk on the beach. It was rare that she was anywhere besides Olympus, so she was going to enjoy this while she could.

A little girl with brown curly hair ran past her, shooting Psyche with a mischievous grin as she ran to collect sand for the sand castle she and her siblings were making. Psyche returned the smile, thinking about the child Eros and she always talked about having, but never got around to. Now that she'd cheated, she was unsure they would ever have offspring, let alone a marriage, once he found out.

She was so wrapped up in her thoughts, it took a minute or two for her to clue in that all the noise on the beach had stopped.

The ocean wasn't crashing. The birds weren't calling. And looking at the little girl she'd just smiled at, Psyche knew something was definitely off. She stood, bent at the waist, by the water's edge, her pail still gathering water that was no longer moving.

Psyche didn't even stop to think. She ran straight back to the house, calling for Anteros, the entire way.

Never once did she realize the nagging headache that had plagued her from day one of the switch was finally gone.

Cafe Botsares was now largely empty, the lunch crowd finally thinning out as the sun began her gentle descent west. Cronus sat silently, his eyes fixed on the gentle lapping of the sea against the coast. His astakos was only half finished, but he was no longer amused by it. The waiter hovered nearby, trying to decide if he should take the plate. Cronus had not touched the dish for a half hour. Piraeus had not been the port of Athens when he ruled, though he had to admit it was a better choice than Phaleron. The whole little town fairly bustled with activity.

Tourist accounted for more business than every nowadays, especially with such easy access to the many islands that stippled the Aegean. When he could sense the waiter's anxiety peaking, Cronus gestured that his meal could be taken away. With rush of relief the man scooped up the remains of the lobster. Cronus ordered a Greek coffee and the waiter nodded happily, quickly heading back to the kitchen.

Beside him sat a young woman, Sabienne. She was probably not even twenty, though Cronus found it particularly difficult to tell the age of women nowadays. She was French, though she repeatedly insisted she was half Greek. When Sabienne first mentioned this out on the beach in the morning Cronus smiled gently and nodded in agreement. He did not want to tell her she was mistaken. Cronus could smell a Greek a kilometer away and this girl was clearly a Gaul.

However she proved an amiable enough companion for the afternoon. She talked incessantly, but had a good clean accent and was simple enough to follow. It amazed Cronus how much her rambling stories of friends and enemies, the little dramas of her still nascent social life, echoed the tales of his own children back on the Mount.

She was very beautiful too, possessed of a hungry, lean body distinctly the province of healthy youth. Her skin was dark from days in the sand. Blonde hair, a shade lighter than it would be in the winter, was gathered into a loose pony tail, which trailed to an end halfway down the well-toned, distinctly feminine curve of her back. A loose dress covered her small breasts and thin waist, concealing the bikini she still worse beneath. Straight teeth and a clean complexion complimented her azure eyes, which blinked just enough to tell Cronus she was genuinely speaking to him. He made sure to smile and nod appropriately. She would be simply delicious.

Cronus shifted his gaze from the sea back to his lunch… companion. Sabienne's smile blossomed anew when looked at her again. Her stream of speech faltered a moment, some primal part of her mammalian brain registering that she was looking at something more than a man. He had this effect on most humans.

The waiter swooped back in at this moment, delivering the Greek coffee. He was gone again in a whisper of a movement. Cronus smiled gently. "Would you like more wine, Sabienne?"

She assented and Cronus picked up the bottle of Xynomavro and filled her glass. She quickly found her speech again and started off on a story about the first time she got drunk on wine, back when she lived in Marseilles with her aunt. As Cronus set down the bottle she suddenly stopped speaking. This was enough to give Cronus pause and he looked to her once again. She sat entirely still, though not in a relaxed posture. Her mouth was slightly agape, as if in the act of forming her next word, and her fingers were frozen in a nearly closed ring around the stem of her wine glass.

A quick glance at the town around her confirmed Cronus' suspicions. He picked up his coffee and leaned back in his chair. As he sipped at the thick, bitter liquid he once again looked out at the sea, taking a singular thrill at seeing the foam-capped waves captured against the formerly fleeing sun.

The once King of all Creation smiled tightly. "Now," he commented quietly, "the fun begins."

New moon or not, she was prepared. She had gathered the materials she needed, Helios had been sent a message not to fly, Deimos had been warned not to do anything but watch, the scroll had been retrieved from Cronus...All that was left was execution. She still had her wirroes about trusting Cronus with something of such importm but his knowledge of spells far outstripped her own, and she gathered that of Hades and Ares as well.

She was on Cyprus, near a temple dedicated to her birth, having choses it as a place of hopefully neutral ground. She stood skyclad in front of a marble column, a copper bowl perched on top of it, a scroll hanging in the air beside her. She had taken the things she brought with her and situated them around the column - earth from Olympus, Stygian ore from Hades, Water from the sea, fire from the eternal flame kept at Hestia's hearth.

She lifted her arms to the moonless sky, witnessed only by the stars and her son, the words she chanted that of a greek considered ancient even to those on Olympus. One by one, in turn, she added the various elemental samples to the bowl... first earth, then sea, then underworld, then fire, bending lightly to blow on the mixture, adding air, the breath of the gods.

The words spoke of balance, of putting things to rights... they spoke of all three realms the gods had seperated into, and the world as a whole. The spoke of those chosen, youngest in each realm, symbols of those who would choose those who would lead. It spoke of ancient ideals, held high even now.

And as she spoke the air around her moved, the dark sky offering a strange glow, the waves of the sea crashing high on the nearby rocks.

There was no guess as to when the change happened - the earth lurched, and suddenly everything was calm - sea, earth, and sky.

The world of the gods had been put to right.

But for mortals, Time stood still.

She had collected just about everything she needed, save the last key ingredient... and it had to be easier than the last. Really, who thought a bunch of virgin temple attendants could be so bitchy? She hadn't really liked pulling the seniority card on them, but it had gotten her what she needed. The last bit she could get from her own temple, and she was in the garden, carefully using a hand spade to gather dirt, moving it onto a linen napkin sitting on the ground beside her.... a few more moments, and she'd be able to get out undisturbed, and get this over with...

He staggered along the sidewalk toward Zeus' palace where Styx was staying and further away from his sister's garden party. He really didn't think he was drinking that much when he was watching Styx, Ate, and his father exchange words but he'd kept lifting the bottle to his lips. Truth was he would have felt a little bad for drinking all of the remains of Kia's bottle had he not felt so determined, but the more he'd drank of it the more determined he'd became to confront Styx for everything! He entered the palace...

"Styx!"

Momos smiled down at Ate, then walked her out of the garden, oblivious to the rest of the family.

Once they got to the outside of Eris' temple, he stopped.

"Do you want to go dancing, or elsewhere?"

"We were just *standing* near each other, and Selene was there! Why does everyone assume that means something?"

She frowned, taking another scoop of ice cream, then grinned.

"But yeah. I mean Helios. And apparently, Artemis didn't get the memo on how if you ignore a man for a long time, he figures you gave up... Dite sort of killed it all anyway. Art went about that the completely wrong way. But she hates me now... apparently, he's off limits or something, so she decided to play with your brothers-in-law."


That thought earned another scrunch of her nose, and she mimicked Psyche's conjuration of a drink, though hers was plain white milk.

"You really married into the wrong family. Though. All the other families kind of suck, too."

Something he wouldn't know.

"Do you miss it?"

But he thought he knew the answer anyway.

"Or is all this working out better for youse? Apollo's not a bad guy."

He paused, "I've missed you. I grew used to youse being there."

Another silent pause, "I've missed Lethe. It's too bad she'll have to forget it all again."

"Not at all. Not at all, niece."

She sniffed and looked down her nose at Ate.

"Simply that as a spawn of my sister, I doubt you know how to properly prepare anything, let alone how to wash your hands."

Oh, that felt good. Very, very good.

Girl? Did he seriously just refer to her as girl? She just smirked and offered a bit of a shrug.

"I do clean up nice every couple of years, I suppose. I trust you're finding everything ok?"

She was tempted to introduce herself, but didn't think it really worth the effort...

He had, through the grape vine, learned that first Andy and now Hedy was on the mount. Generally he would have been the first to find the kid, give him a noogie, and jested...

But then again, Hermes was generally more lively than he had been lately. There was a talk with Apollo, as brief as he could make it, about why his brother had been doing as he had done. It had, really, accomplished nothing but make the messenger moodier than he was, but at least he had tried. And for a moment he had considered dropping in to poke fun at Ares, only to discard the idea.

There was plenty of time to poke fun later. In more healthy manners.

So he was in Dite's temple, smiling at the attendants as he walked in and asked that one of them tell Dite he was there before he started off to find Hedy. And of course, what he found was a sleeping child.

Smiling, he found a place to sit and watch...

And relax

Warm. So warm and comfortable. Psyche stretched lightly as she regained consciousness. There was a hard male chest under her cheek and she woke up slowly rubbing her cheek over the tight skin against her.

Eros... She spoke to her partner with her mind before she woke up completely. Then her eyes opened. Drifting upwards, they widened. Oh my gods. That wasn't Eros. What...what had she done?

Luckily through the night, Anteros had drifted of to the side of the couch and Psyche had cuddled against him, so when she moved to escape, she didn't even have to move him. Quietly rushing out of the living room, she found the bathroom and shut herself inside with a lock. She started the shower, setting it to almost near burning hot and just tried to drown herself in it.

    All in all, She was rather dubious about the idea of family dinner. It wasn't that she didn't want to see people... She was rather fond of everyone she was related to. Her grandparents were quite lovely, so far as she was concerned, and she did have things she needed to discuss with certain  siblings.

    On the other hand... she had a finite, short amount of time with Morpheus, before everything got all messed up again. She wanted to be irrational, and think up all sorts of ways to avoid what was going to happen... but she voiced none of them. She wasn't even sure he'd want that, if it was possible... and wasting time on theories and ideas seemed... well, a waste.

    She paused in front of her mothers house and listened, hearing the sounds from the back, and turned to face him, offering a smile.

    "It sounds like everyone's in the back. Sure you want to go? We don't have to..."

She was in the kitchen, finishing a few final touches on dinner as she heard the door swing open.

"I know I'm not dressed yet..."

She looked up, a grin forming a she saw it was Kia, and not Eris as expected.

"Ahh... it's you. Disregard that. You early?"

“I was hoping for a nice sit down dinner…”

“Well, Eris, You are rather certifiable.”

“Cheeky. That's no way to talk to your mother."

Ate laughed, and looked at Eris. “Oh, right… like any sane person would want to figure out the seating arrangements for this dinner, if they were hoping to avoid bloodshed? We’re doing a buffet. Listen to your caterer.”

“Caterer?”

“Mmm. You’ll get my bill. You’re sure you want to unleash this sort of crazy?”

“I just want everyone to get along.”

“You invited the wrong family for that.”

Eris lifted a brow at her daughter’s retort, and shook her head. “You're a horrible daughter. So, here in the garden, you think?”

Ate glanced around her mother’s garden, and smirked as she nodded. “You’ve got what... Venus fly traps, yellow trumpets, cobra lilies, hemlock, belladonna, fox glove, white oleander… I don’t see why anyone wouldn’t want to dine amidst the carnivorous and poisonous, but it’s not like you can uninvite the family now, is it?”

“You’re in a foul mood.”

“Gee. Considering I’ve been shanghaied into cooking for a dinner I don’t want to be at for people I don’t want to see in a place where I’ve been officially banned… and the easiest bit since it all has been convincing Hori that Curry with Sprinkles really wasn’t the thing to make… Yeah. I’m in a mood.”

“Bah. Away with you.”

Eris shoo’ed Ate toward the kitchen, and surveyed the garden. Ate did have a point… there was a lot less that needed doing if they were going to have it out here. She manifested some bistro chairs in various groupies around the garden paths, as well as some wrought iron chairs, and watched contently as a string of Chinese paper lanterns hung themselves along the privacy hedges and over the garden. Rather then candles, each one produced an orb of darkness – her parents would be bright enough for anyone.

Along the side of the temple near the kitchens she conjured a long buffet table, then moved it toward the pool, Thwarting any plan Ate might have of hiding in the kitchen all night. If forcing your child to mingle with relatives at a family party wasn’t part of parenting, she didn’t know what was. Pleased with the way the garden looked, she moved toward the kitchen, watching as Ate did her thing.

“Need help?”

“I’m good.”

“What have you made?”

“Fried chicken, baked ziti, potato salad, ceasar salad, pasta salad, Shish kebab… plus crudités and an olive tray for starters, and for dessert, svinghi and kataifi.”

“Impressive.”

“Eh. You taught me how to make most of it…”

“Ahh.. and that school in France had nothing to do with it?” Eris smiled as she saw the look on Ate’s face. “You didn’t think I knew about that.”

“Didn’t think you’d care.”

“I pay more attention than you think.”

“Any attention is generally more than I think.”

“Am I really that horrid?”

“Eris… I have a lot of stuff to do. Won’t people be here any minute?”

“So that’s a yes.”

“No, it’s… no. You weren’t. We don’t have time for this conversation right now.”

“Your sister thinks this is a good time to bury the hatchet.”

“There is no hatchet. We’re never going to have some deep mother/daughter bond you seem to want lately.”

“But we could be friendlier. We could both probably benefit from that.”

“Probably. You’re beating around the bush about something… spit it out.”

“I’ll spit it out if you tell me why you’re in such a bitchy mood.”

“Will it get you to leave my kitchen? Fine.”

“My kitchen… but yes. Very well… Apollo’s asked me to marry him. I told him we needed to talk to family first.. especially Elpis. But I’d like it if the rest of you were ok with it.” She canted her head as she watched her eldest’s reaction, a bit surprised at the total lack of response. “ Your turn.”

“The only thing bothering me currently is the fact that I’m going to have very little time to get changed.”

Eris frowned, a bit perturbed at the reaction, or lack there of, and was about to argue it a bit when she heard something in the front of the temple, indicating someone had actually arrived on time.

“Yes.. do change first. I’m going to see who’s here. Yell if you need anything…”

She swept out of the kitchen, leaving Ate to finish whatever it was she was doing with various bowls and trays, making her way to the main hall, a smirk growing slowly across her lips. Oh, her parents were going to just love this… she knew it.

Artemis had no idea how long she had been trapped in Dite's garden with the twins. Somewhere time seemed to have stopped as they took advantage of her, leaving her with nothing but a broken shell when they were finally finished. After they had left it had taken her a good amount of time to get her feet under her and to just get herself out of Dite's temple. Even transporting herself to just in front of the stately home and conjuring up something to wrap around her bruised and desecrated body exhausted her.

Yet, the worry that the twins could appear at any moment and bring her back in kept her moving almostly blindly away until she realized she had no idea where to go. Home was out of the question because she certain didn't want to see Apollo in this condition or Mel for that matter after all she had been warned yet she had ignored the warning and she had paid the price for that bout of stubborness.

Pausing for a moment, Artemis closes her eyes and tries to think of someplace where she could go just to be alone, someplace where no one would think to look for her. Opening her eyes she glances up at the sky out of habit until she remembers that Helios is no longer doing his duty as the sun..he'd be home asleep since Selene was now taking his place in the chariot.

Selene..why didn't she think of that before. If Selene was now the sun she was most likely staying with Helios, the siblings would definitely be together during this crisis which meant there was an empty temple that she could use to hide out and stay safe.

With a renewed effort, the tainted goddess made her way toward Selene's 'unused' temple.

"What do you mean they are still together?"

Deathly low, her voice shouldn't have been so loud in the room, but the junior reporter's lip began to quiver in fear. There was no one scarier than Veronique Ossa when she was pissed, no one. She could literally make you or, rumor had it, break you into tiny, tiny little pieces if she chose. And right now? She looked ready to break something. The twenty-one year old just hoped she didn't have the inclination to break him.

"Umm...ahhh...well...ehhh..."

"Spit. It. OUT!"

He coughed. "Well, it seems the rumors just aren't true."

Ossa began to breathe deeply through her nose in an effort to calm herself. Of course the rumors weren't true. She'd started them herself, damn it! But they were supposed to drive the famous couple apart! Just like they did every other DAMN TIME. This was happening way to often for her taste. In the past week she'd driven one actor into scandal when she had wanted him in good standing and another into good standing when he was supposed to be scandal ridden! Now this!

Her teeth began to grind in impatience.

"WELL. Get out there and make them TRUE."

The reporter jumped as her voice grew louder with each word.

"I...I...I...don't think I can."

The screech and crash echoed throughout the building.