Grecian Urn...

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."

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.

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."

"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?"

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?"

"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...

    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.

Hori was doing surprisingly decent in the kitchen, and while she had a lot to do, She had a few other things to take care of before this little disaster in the making that Eris was planning... or at least, one thing in particular. After making her brother swear he wouldn't add sprinkles to anything, she left him instructions on finishing the potato salad, and stated she'd be back shortly.

With a cursory glance to make sure she didn't have flour on her, She relocated herself from Greece to California, outside of the one place she knew she could find Momos. She was here way too often, really... once for a favor, once for... well, and now She had to convince him that as far as anyone else was concerned, her last visit hadn't happened. Taking a deep breath, she stepped into the club, flashing Cindy a light smirk before stepping further in to search him out.

She really shouldn't be here.

She had returned to her home only long enough to find the note from Hori, groaning softly as she read it... how was she supposed to be finding time to cook with all this? Note in hand, she followed the directions and found her way to Vegas, navigating her way to the wedding chapel of his choice. She slipped in the back and into the seat beside him, leaning a bit into him as she listened to the minister give the vows.

She always loved weddings.

"Hey love. you...wrote?"

"... We're being nice because I said so, and I'll kick your ass if you're not?"

She smirked lightly at her sister.

"She's not really dumb, just... not all there. We were in a box for a few decades, right? She was a dead snake for over 4000 years. It has to affect the brain. But she makes Neikos happy, and that's the important part, right?"

Besides... it was imperitive to her little plan... if she ever remembered to focus on her plan when talking to those involved, however knowingly... instead of choosing to forgo all rational thought like she'd been doing lately.

"Mmm... Gossip. Limos growled at the terror twins a lot. Momos slapped Aphrodite on the ass, and got his hand fireballed. A muse apparently stole Artemis' beau out from under her nose... and it seemed in retaliation, Artemis has decided to no longer be a virgin huntress. Apollo tried to pin everything on Hermes... and Eris was a groupie."

Gods.. .She was really starting to hate this forced vacation. Sure, technically, she could work, but honestly she knew fuckall about good, wholesome decisions when it came to love or attraction... Or anything else for that matter as evidenced by her recent actions. She was ruin, not salvation. Her new plan, since working had proven a bust and her soaps were unwatchable (she knew it was bad the moment she started hoping for relationships to work out, and seemed to lose her taste fro the convoluted and contrived goings on of her favourite town of Salem...) was to sit in the hot tub for the next... year or so, or until she was back to normal.

Until everything was back to normal. It wasn't that she was avoiding things, really... just staying well out of the way. In the hot tub, with nothing to do, she had all the time in the world to be annoyed at herself for recent behaviour. She couldn't bring herself to regret anything... far from it, really.. but a part of her might have perhaps regretted that it was doomed to be only a momentary blip on her radar of control. If she thought about it, she realized the analogy really didn't fit, but... thinking was not what hot tubs and wine were for.

What annoyed her, really... was the idea of wanting it to be more. Or just wanting moer in geneneral, and wasn't that just proof that she was best off staying away from such things? She knew they weren't for her. Had always known that. And really, did it matter? One roll in the hay did not equal potential... whatever. Besides, it was Momos she was thinking about (Why was she doing that?) and he was one of the biggest skirt chasers she knew. He got what he wanted, right? And so had she. She'd done as promised and stayed until breakfast time (Or the time normal people who didn't spend all night out and about ate breakfast) so why was she feeling guilt over the whole thing? She sincerely doubted he was caring one way or the other.

Bah... she was annoying herself Just thinking about how annoying it all was.

Anteros was away, Adonis was with him... She had an entire house to herself and two bottles of wine. If she had her way, she wasn't leaving the hot tub for anything.

Ate left the relative calmness of Bantry Bay, a plan formulating in her head. Sh had three options as far as she could tell... One was to just... avoid the source of her emotional disarray. The second was to do the exact opposite, seeking him out to prove that it was all a fluke, and that she was fine. Third, she could just ignore it all, and assume business as usual. If she ran into him (and she was sure to do so, given that she'd just asked a favour of him) she culd just fall back into their normal pattern - comfortable, enjoyable, and safe. It was the obvious choice for action, and she easily ignored any internal disappointment that this was the way to go.

Still, she needed something or someone to distract her from her overwhelming urge to ignore reason. Mentally, she went over the list of usual suspects. Strife was probably busy with his girl, Lethe was annoyed at her (and a bit too insightful for comfort lately), Hori was a bit flaky on his best day and lethargic lately, Elpis was... Elpis, and if she had any insight on this, Ate just didn't want to know. Anteros had already proven gracious enough to let her distract him from his vacation and suffered her issues. Which left Zelos - and he was out, as she was already plotting to coerce him into service once things were back to normal, Momos, out for the obvious fact that he was the one distracting her in the first place, and Limos. Limos was probably still cranky and she doubted he wanted company, but she'd never really paid that any mind. He was also her first choice after Anteros, and Ant apparently had strange ideas about attraction. Erotes.

Finding him was easy enough - she knew what he hd planned to do, and from there it was a matter of following fresh foliage. She shimmered into view and stepped up behind him, resting her chin against the side of his arm.

"This is one big ass oasis... the global warming freaks are going to go nuts."

Once Ate had left the club, she knew she needed to work at getting rid of the pent up energy that she was currently blaming on Momos... One kiss freely given. What did he think this was, some sort of fucking fairy tale? She had kept her cool as she walked out, only giving into the disgruntlement she felt once she was outside his place. Cooking wasn't going to calm this... particularly not given her current state. A diner filled with misery was not the place for her. She wasn't too far from home... about 20 miles, give or take, which was just perfect as far as she was concerned. She walked a few blocks from the comedy club, easily ignored by mortals, clothes shifting into running clothes... sports bra, leggings, and sneakers. She stretched her arms out over her head, Bending her back down, arms remaining outstretched until they reached the ground in front of her feet. That was all the stretching she needed, really... And she began to run.

Ate had always run... Myths like to say she tread on the heads of men, rather than earth, but she didn't need to o that to wreak havoc with them. A bit of an exaggeration, perhaps, but she had spent her life outrunning the Litae, who were never quite quick enough to catch her. She ran fast and furious, never breaking a sweat as she pounded along the sidewalks of Olympic Blvd.. ... to Century City, cutting down Avenue of the Stars befor And while the e finding a road that paralleled Pico Blvd...., which would take her down to Santa Monica, and the areas she often ran with Adonis... not that he'd be able to catch up with in this sort of mood.

It took just over an hour... Ate could outrace any marathon runner when trying. And while the exertion was doing the trick... her body worked out its physical craving.... it didn't seem to be doing the trick for her mental state.

She let herself into Anteros' house, finding the note pretty quickly, and sighing as she read. It was good for him to be somewhere he was comfortable... She could use his knowledge right now. She sank onto the sofa, Fingering the remote and queuing up the recording for the past few days worth of Days, trying to sink her way into it.

Were kisses always like that , and she just forgot? Was it possible to forget something like that? Had she been really screwed up with this whole switch, and gone all sexpot or something? She didn't even *like* him that much, did she? He was fine, and they had fun, and he teased her.... except he said he wasn't teasing.

It was half an hour into the second episode of Days before she realized she had no idea what was going on. Apparently, her uncle had fucked her head up so badly.... Days held no interest. What the hades was wrong with her?

Glancing at the note again she waffled... did this count as needing him? on one hand, she hated to interrupt him... on the other... she couldn't concentrate on anything. Not even Days. With a groan she stood, instantly back in normal clothes, and just as instantly in Bantry Bay, knocking heavily on the door to where she assumed he was. He knew about this shit, right?

She left Limos plotting the reforestation of the Sahara or whatever was going to float his boat, and returned to the scene of the crime, managing to shudder only slightly as she felt the Mountain beneath her feet once more. She really needed better places to find people. Still... unless he left right after she did, This was going to be the best place to find her quarry...

She took a seat on the sie of the fountain in front of Love's temple, and waited for her uncle.

She didn't pause before she made it outside, figuring if people wanted to stay, that was their own decision... she cared mostly about getting Limos out of there. Once out of the temple, she took a deep breath, and turned to face the others.

"I, for one, am getting off this mountain..."

Apollo pushed past him, his arms around Eris as he laughed at Hermes. They all left him in the entry way alone, Dite's voice in his head as he tried to make sense...

Everything felt wrong. His hands were shaking as he reached out for the the door, only to pull back a moment later and look away.

It is all wrong Dite, he said softly, Apollo...

He drifted, stumbling back as groaned. It was wrong. It was all wrong. He moved from the entry way, and through Dite's more private quarters. A servant came running toward him, and Hermes jerked away, surprised and startled as he pushed her away.

"I know you were behind it, just fix it all." The girl hissed it at him as he back away, "Die...Die....Poor little Hermes."

"Get away from me!"

She stopped looking at him Maliciously (or that was what he saw) before she turned an ran out of the room, Hermes falling to the floor and crawling into a corner where he hide, curled into a ball and rockin'.

Its all wrong...I didn't do it....I...

Only he wasn't so sure anymore.

Chin up and full of confidence, she walked out of her salon into the main audience chamber, escorted by Deimos. She paused once inside, taking a quick inventory of those there... some were expected of course, and others posed quite the surprise. She pat Deimos arm lightly and released it with a smile.

"I'm going to make the rounds... if you'd like to rejoin your brother, that'd be fine."

If he wished to go with her he was of course welcome, but she doubted he was really in the mood. Seeing as how she already felt a pang of guilt for what she'd asked of him, she saw no need to torture him further. She decided to start at the back, moving to each group of individuals quickly, greeting each deity in turn, offering each a welcome of some sort, stopping only for a moment with each.

"Iris, thank you for coming."

"Anteros, please stop scowling... it's hardly flattering."

"...Flidais. What a surprise.. welcome to my home."

"Artemis. It's good to see you. Thank you for getting the ball rolling with the refreshments... There may have been riots. It's appreciated."

"Hephaestus..." To him she said nothing, just smiled as patted his cheek lightly, thumbing away the lipstick mark left by Artemis' kiss.

She moved closer to where the bulk of her children were gathered, and a small stand off seemed to be happening.

"Harmonia.. Do sit up straight, please.:

"Strife" She offered him a wink. "You're still here and sitting still? Wonders may never cease."

"Ate - It's been a very long time since you've graced my temple."

"Elpis. Welcome."

"Zelos... You already know I'm glad to see you."

"Limos.... my, you've grown up quite handsome, haven't you?"

"Lethe, a pleasure."

She bent down to kiss Phobos,the only one of her children present she'd not seen recently, on the cheek lightly. "You're plotting something, darling... I hope it waits till we're done here."

She straightened and smiled at everyone again, surprised at hose she noticed were missing.. Hermes, most obviously, and Thanatos - though she expected he'd return. Hermes, though - one could never be sure about. He could be dealt with later, though.

"Thank you all for coming. I do appreciate your patience. I wanted to say first that I realize everyone is being affected by this... and I kno no one is very happy. I do not know what has happened - but I plan on working hard to find out what it is, and restore everyone to their rightful selves. I know we're all anxious for answers, and while I can't promise any today, I do hope that maybe collectively we can perhaps pool our knowledge, and see if together we might be able to discover anything."

Limos didn’t leave his mother’s home, not when the other’s had. Instead he read, and ate. Mostly read, though. Lethe’s world tumbled out before him, with the eloquence that could have only come from the tongue of a muse, the emotional drive to give the emotion backing to her words. As though she would forget again.

But then, he supposed she would, much like he would stop sprouting trees and flowers. Much like any of their siblings would return to normal. (Such as Hori-Boy, who had returned from his trip and promptly tumbled over into his bed, as though nothing in the world could bother him.) Only the idea of her forgetting brought the idea of her being abused by themselves all over again. And they had, hadn’t they?

He looked at the page again forlornly, wondering when they had all become so selfish that they didn’t treat Lethe as a sister any longer, but rather as a quirk in nature that none wanted to deal with. Except Hori, it seemed, who dealt with all their siblings (save Lies and Falsehood) with equal pleasure.

And so he read more, engrossed and then…

It took every fiber in his body to hold the journal steady, though rage began to build. He had taken the news of Elpis with grace, having no real care either way. But this…this was worse than any hatred a sibling could have for another. This was a crime against his blood…a repeated crime!

Ate…. he almost screamed for her, but did not. Instead he stood in one flood motion. The book closed and politely stashed to out of the way of anyone who could stumble upon it and read. No one else needed to know. He and Ate could deal with the crimes…

Would.

Eyes narrowing, Limos left his mother’s home and stalked across the greens to Aphrodite’s palace. No scenes. That would be what Ate would say…

When he entered Love’s Temple, though, he ignored the glances of his sister’s, his eyes searching out the two beings he loathed the most in that moment, surpassing his hatred for Demeter herself.

He didn’t even wonder about what he could really do to them. He didn’t care. Son’s of war or not, the would pay.

As they sat, she could hear something in the hallway just outside the chamber, and frowned in the general direction, only lifting a brow as an attendant approached her.

"We are unable to locate Lady Aphrodite... and she has many guests."

"So... you're going to make them wait in the hall? My mother will be back eventually.. Let them all in already... "

Gods... sure they were cute, but they weren't all always very bright... She waved a hand dismissing the cabana-boy-esque doorman, and offered a somewat forced smile to the three gods already there.

"And... it looks like it's about to begin. I'm offering 5-2 odds there's a fight somewhere before Mother comes back... do I have any takers?"

She glanced from them to the door was opening, rather surprised atthe number of people now entering the room.

Putting aside the deepfelt dislike she had for the plan at hand, Ate draped an arm around each of her siblings' shoulders, pulling them in just tight enough that they wouldn't be able to escape her loving grip. She offered Anteros and Flidais a smirk, matched with a light bow of her head.

"I hate to break up this little party we've got going on here, enjoyable as it is, But I think we need to go drop in on Casa de la Discord... and I'm really not nearly inebriated enough to do so in good spirit. So I'm kidnapping both my siblings here so we can get it over with... I'm sure we'll see you both at the meeting. With any luck, it'll be a good time."

Witout offering Limos or Elpis the chance to argue, she snapepd a finger, depositing all three of them in the entrance way to Eris' temple, leaving behind trees and diners and such. Not that what they saw was anything less strange... There was no sign of Eris, but Lethe sat curled on a sofa, a journal like book on her lap that she was writing in.

"You're traveling through another dimension, a dimension not only of sight and sound but of mind. A journey into a wondrous land whose boundaries are that of imagination. That's the signpost up ahead - your next stop, the Twilight Zone..."

Anteros hoped he would find Ate at this diner he knew she liked to work at when she needed a break from her usual. If she wasn't there he was at a loss of where to search for her next with the exception of his house. He didn't think if her powers were as botched as his, that she would be at any of the other spots she worked. He only hoped that his mother was right in gathering everyone and hoped that once everyone was rounded up that together they could determine what had happened and hopefully reverse it. He didn't want to be...a god of hate and riots or whatever he currently was.

He opened the glass door with the brightly colored welcome sign suction stuck on the other side of the transparency.
An electric chime hailed their arrival as he waited for Flidais to cross the threshold, "After you."

He could still be somewhat of a gentleman despite the lack of sympathy for anyone other than himself.

Limos didn't care what people saw as the world exploded in color and the god appeared in the middle of the street with a seething hissing and glare. The tress seemed to perk up, flowers wiggling their way up through crack in the concrete. He couldn't stand it! It was all so wrong, and unclean. He even felt different, his sunken features slowly plumping up. His fingers look rounded out, and his eyes where clear and bright.

And he was hungry, as if he hadn't eaten for ages.

Stalking into the spoon, he hissed at the first hop that tried to give him a seat, and stomped his way to the dark girl that was sitting next to the other. His sisters. And they were in store for a storm, and didn't even know it.

"I'm BROKEN!" He roared, planets starting to perk up and lean toward him as if he were Gaia herself. "They...Its...There are flowers popping up where I walk! There is green grass, and trees, and I'm getting fat!" He looked as if he was on the brink of hysterics, an unusual sight for the usually mellow Famine. Whatever had him worked up, was something quite wrong.

"I didn't even go near her gardens! And now I'm, I'm like her," his voice pitched high and helplessly. He was hyperventilating when he finally grew quiet, shaking with furry, and unable to escaping the 'flowery' feeling he was having.

Getting off the mountain was easier than she had remembered - although, last time she was there she had been removed rather forcibly. This time she made it down on her own accord with considerably less impact to world events.

Not that she was any happier off the mount. She didn't know if it was general crankiness, some disturbing residue left over from being on the Mount for so long, or something else... but she felt off. Well, no. She felt fine... but the world around her felt off.

She had headed to her favourite place to sulk, a dark dank underground hell hole masquerading as a bar - it was cliche, sure, But it suited her mood. Or usually did. Maybe Eris had screwed the place up with some freaky discordant vibes, but everyone there was noticibly less down-trodden... the bouncer even told her he was thinking of going back to college. College! Blech. People wanting to better their lot in life was positively unnatural. She couldn't handle it in her mood, and so she'd heded out, heading for the one place guarenteed to bouy her spirits.

The community center of the town she landed in was a cheerful place, with bright colored walls covered in happy crap and posters with pithy sayings, like a kitten hanging off a branch saying "hang in there" or weird shit with babies. what the hell was motivational about a baby?

She wandered her way through the halls, checking the various descriptions on the dors before deciding to kick it old school, slipping intothe back of an N.A. meeting, just as the lovely circle of introductions were ending. There was Bill, who'd been off Meth for 182 days. Nadia, a pill popper clean and sober for 4 weeks. and Lulu, who'd stopped taking speed just three days ago, and still had the jitters real bad, y'all. Hello, her name was Ate, and she wasn't addicted to anything, but was going to help you all back down off the wagon.

A crowd like this was usually easy pickings... almost always someone broke down and realized how miserable thier lives were, how there was no redemption, how things were just better when they were killing themselves slowly from within. Once they simply accepted that their loves were ruined.

Tonight though, it had been like a eerie calm of conviction had come over them all, as they all reaffirmed their commitment to kicking a bad habit. Lulu claimed she felt the jitters just melt away, and Nadia went on some some crazy speil about how she did have a lot to live for, her life had meaning, and she was going to do it for the sake of her child.

Ate's folding chair had clattered noisily to the floor as she stood up rather suddenly, booth pounding on the linoleum as she'dstormed out of the room. This was bullshit.

She had then headed where she found herself now, the kitchen of a dirsty little greasy spoon on the graveyard shift. If people weregoing to be acting completely neurotically wholesome at least she could be doing something relaxing.

She flipped eggs and served them up with shit on a shingle, sent out pancakes and toast to any who ordered, all the while steaming internally.

This was Eris' fault. There was no other option.

And her mother was going to pay for this..whatever this was.

Horkos was deranged and napping at her mother's house but at least not crying about being crazy anymore, and Lethe studying tapestries but at least remember she was a goddess... so as far as Ate was concerned, they were both safe and sound at Eris' home, ad currently all her problem. The mountain freaked her out to no end, and she was not supposed to be here. She had a nagging feeling that something was wrong - the earthquake was far far from normal, as was the Titan's reaction to something so simple as the earth moving... and there was the slightest suspicion that her being up here was causing trouble. It was time to get out of dodge.

She moved through the Pantheon along the courtyard, rather certain she remembered the way.

Eris had been pacing restlessly when the tremors first traveled across Olympus, and it was only with a bit of luck she managed to keep her balance in anyway. Idle thoughts made her wonder what had annoyed Poseidon so that he sent earthquakes to Olympus, the thought instantly dashed with the sobering memory that Poseidon was no longer the one to make the earth shake. She was on her way out the door to look over the Mountain when three of her children burst in her door, Lethe looking particularly alert, Horkos looking decidedly less so, and Ate, of all people - who had not entered her mother's home in eons.

"Ate... what's this?"

"Did you feel it?"

"Yes, but what is this?"

"We were with Memory. Something happened... Hori hit his head, and Helios went all crazy, and i hate this fucking mountain."

"Something happened to the sun?" Helios was connected to Apollo, and if something was wrong... Eris moved towrd the door again, to be stopped by Ate's grip on her arm. "Ate."

"No, Eris. This is your first concern."

Discord's eyes blazed bright for a moment, and she looked at her daughter, then her two younger children, before sighing with a smile, She shook off Ate's grip, and stepped closer to Hori, lifting his chin with her fingers.

"Hey there, baby... what's wrong?"

Melpomene heard the knock at the door and gave her mother one last look, silently pleading with her to not go all... Mnemosyne like on the visitors, and stood, smiling at Helios and squeezing his hand lightly as she passed him. She opened the door to the temple silently, and offered a smile to the trio standing there, mentally chastising herself for not warning Horkos about her mother's preference for traditional garb. It'd be fine. She waved a hand, letting them enter,and closed the door behind them once more - some thigns just weren't open-door-policy friendly.

"My mother's expecting you."

Ate looked at the muse and nodded respectfully, fully aware of the favor being done. She glanced around the temple, hiding her awe quite well so far as she figured. Lethe, on the other hand, seemed distressed here, and tugged lightly on Ate's hand, whispering quietly.

"Why are we here? And why did you call me Princess? Is our mother a Queen?"

"No, hon.. she just sleeps with one. Just... stand still, ok? we're fixing things."

She stepped forward, with Lethe in tow.

"Lady Mnemosyne... thank you for seeing us."

"As I told my daughter... I've been expecting you."

It was right, nothing was right. He needed, he just needed to…to, put everything right! He had to make it all ordered and perfect and…

He stopped in front of Ate and stared, jaw lax as he gawked a little. He was going mad maybe, but there was something wrong in the way Ate looked back at him expectantly…

“I think I’m going crazy….” He blurted out, lip trembling a little, “I just yelled at Helios and Mel because they didn’t ‘get us’ and, and…Te…Everything’s all wrong.” He whined a little, flopping onto the ground and pouting into the grass as he looked at Lethe. Why couldn’t he just forget what he was?

And then the whole Mel and Helios thing, the way they were just so…couply.

“Ate…Whats wrong with us?”

Lethe frowned as she looked at the body on the bed, and nudged it again with her arm. The body, as it had for the past few hours, refused to move. It wouldn’t be quite so upsetting if it was a one time occurrence, but this was the third time this month she had fallen asleep beside someone who seemed to just… forget to wake up. It made no sense to her. It was starting to feel strange that no one she knew remembered anything… it felt wrong, but she didn’t know why. Or at least, not very right. And it wasn’t just the forgetting to wake up part that seemed strange… people weren’t doing other things they did, even when she first found the town… like sleeping or eating…

On the other hand, it seemed so normal to her. But she didn’t know why that was, either.

New York, New York

He didn't know exactly how Ares and the other two had pulled it off, but it didn't matter. Nope, all that mattered at the moment was that it had happened! And he wasn't thinking about consequence because Strife rarely ever did when it meant good things for him. He was ever a spontaneous creature of "the moment," who had been restricted for way too long. All that he knew was that he felt so ecstatic and so good and so free! Everything was suddenly beautiful and sparkly and alluringly fresh and new as if he'd taken the favored party drug: Ecstasy!

Ever since Neikos had received his first taste of power way back when his older brothers had first showed him how to use his own powers to string along mortals, he'd been addicted to the way that having power had made him feel. He craved it possibly more than any other deity among his siblings and it was possibly that mere fact alone that had made him ambitious. Ambitious enough he was, that down through the ages he had went after powerful mortals in order to attempt to have influence over them simply to gain some more powerful deity's attention who may have been watching. Actually he had tried like hell to gain the attention of any of the twelve, just whoever, so that he could be closer to the kind of power that he had thirsted for, a thirst that had never been quenched. And it had been Ares attention he had snagged; Ares had recognized his special talents.

Strife had always figured that as soon as Ares took the throne of Zeus, there would be a New World down below just waiting for Strife to be unleashed upon it! In Strife's brave opinion---It was their world now! Screw whoever didn't like it! It was time for Fun and Revelry!

It was dim and smoky inside. The music was blaring and now men were calling out at him although he was too high off of what had happened to tell what they were calling out. He pranced across the platform in a model's strut, swung his hips suggestively and gazed his crowd with hazy eyes. He slung the boa back around behind his shoulder before spinning around and into the pole which he proceeded to molest with stroking hand before straddling it with one crooked thigh....

Strife had never in a million years thought he would be doing this, but as soon as the curtain fell down over one reign and another reign began he had became so immersed in the three C's: conflict, confusion, and chaos, that it was no wonder he wound up where he ended up winding up down on the mortal plane and eventually ending up on this stage before this crowd.

It was like a starved animal that he had binged on the overflow of energies created off of one the largest political upheavals he'd ever been exposed to within the span of his existence. Unbridled power had trickled down upon him like rain and submerged him. In fact he had became so intoxicated that after he wound up down on the mortal plane staggering aimlessly around and spreading his mirth onto unknowing passerbys who were unfortunate enough to walk by him on the street, provoking reactions that stacked on top of the surge of power that had already intoxicated him? That he ended up in a thrift shop in New York before he'd ended up dancing in a strip club.

~Hello little boys, little toys
We’re the dreams you're believing
Crawling up the walls
Running down your face
Razor sharp, razor clean
Feel the weapon's sensation
On your back
With loaded guns~

Strife had previously entered the thrift shop pulling off his clothes which had dissipated upon touching the floor and putting on a matching mini skirt covered in coral colored sequins and tube brassiere that he'd seen hanging in the window he was skipping past. He had also put on a red jacket decorated in snake skin print that the store clerk had previously been wearing. Right before he left he grabbed a black feather boa that had been laying across the cash register before parading out the door and leaving the shop clerk hanging in the window with the ends of a clothes rack shoved through the backs of her shoulders.

It hadn't been long after that that he had found his way into this strip club and upon recognizing the beginnings of a song he liked had took stage, bumped the erotic dancer off the platform and started off by swinging the red jacket he'd killed for around and tossing it off into the crowd.

~Now hold on to me pretty baby
If you want to fly
I’m gonna melt the fever sugar
Rolling back your eyes~