Grecian Urn...

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.

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.

"He lost his words? Did you look under the bed?"

She gave both her brothers a disbeleaving look, and led them both to a fountain in the opposite direction that Morpheus and Lethe had wandered.

"Hedy... you're such a dork. Are you sure you're an erote? There's obviously something there that's not for us to see."

She took a seat on the side of the fountain and drew her legs up under her, looking at them both as she reached her hands in the water.

"So...other than the obvious. how's things? And seriously, Andy... What was that look for?"

"Well, I'd be honored for any visit... just tell me to write myself a note, and I remember better that way..."

She looked up as Andy noted his sister, and smiled in her direction, expression freezing a bit as she saw who Harmonia was with...

Morpheus. The idea that he'd be on the mountain hadn't even occured to her. It was good to see him... but weird. And she felt a sudden rise of guilt and trepidation as memories, fresh like they were just last week thanks to Mnemosyne, all came rushing to the surface.

"Oh."

She couldn't imagine she was top on his list of people to run into, considering how horrid she'd been to him. Not that it had been her fault, or really a choice. She looked back at Hedy and Andy, and smiled again.

"Your sister may have a better idea of what's going on. You may want to talk to her."

She stood in the doorway of the bedroom, head tilted a bit to the side in mild confusion at the sight in front of her. The last thing she'd expected on returning to her mother's house was Mr. King of Dreams himself... curled up asleep. She had to admit though... he looked cute like that.

She moved closer to the bed, and sat down on the edge, watching him, as if it was going to explain his presence, or wake him... and when that failed, she reached and shook his shoulder. He was here, at her mother's... her mother was not... and maybe he knew why. She couldn't even remember why she'd come to Dite's home in the first place, but the lack of the goddess and another in her place was a bit strange.

"Hey. Rise and shine."

War's temple: Section off from the dungeon.

Phobos was lying on his back against the soft red felt of his and Deimos's pool table. The image of his shirtless, lean, well toned frame lying there would have appeared seemingly serene and harmless if it weren't for what he was carelessly gazing upside down at.

There on the wall was a blood stained dart board hanging behind the pool table with something small, brown, and wriggling bound to the middle of the board. Three darts surrounded the hostage that formed the shape of a red triangle. Calmly Phobos seemed to aimlessly and effortlessly sling another dart while lying in this lethargic position in the direction of the board where within a fraction of a second after the dart was projected into the air and released from his fingers there was a shrill squeal from the mouse.

She offered her mother an injured look, one that was wasted on the older goddess asshe moved past them into the temple. She turned her attention to Strife, a brow raised in curiosity... still not sure what to think of what they just witnessed.

"We;;.. that rules out going home for a while. If she's going to see Daddy, chances are I'll be homeless by tomorrow. It'll go Kaboom..."

She leaned in, arm hugging around his waist as she grinned suddenly.

"Global thermonuclear war? Damn, it feels good to be a gangsta..."

It was an insistent tug that pulled at those old enough to remember... the strongest felt to those closest to Othrys. Rhea had felt it days ago, pulling her out of the reclusive home she'd kept herself in since the rise of her children. It was an insistent tug that pulled at those old enough to remember... the strongest felt to those closest to Othrys. Rhea had felt it days ago, pulling her out of the reclusive home she'd kept herself in since the rise of her children.

She knew, you see... she knew something was coming, and it could only be him. She'd been waiting... though the portents and omens all pointed to doom... doom for someone, at least. It tugged at them, this force, like a magnet pulling back those that would remember, who'd understand what this meant... and what it could mean for the future.

( Othrys looked like liked the shadowed forbearer of Olympus that it was... decrepit, run down.... a mountain of temples sitting in ruins. One would expect more of the flora and fauna to have taken it back, but there was something that kept out all but the most stubborn, as if Gaia kept this place the way it was, so much a she was able. )

She should have been content there, curled up in his arms as she was, luxuriating in soft kisses that for a change didn't need to be stolen. and she was content, at least mostly... there was this underlying restlessness to her, however, and a growing need to do something... and talk of childhood pranks had offered her an idea.

Nipping lightly at Strife's lower lip, she tilted her forehead lightly to rest it against his, eyes bright as she offered a smile.

"Want to go exploring? I promise a land devoid of peacocks..."

At least, she hoped there were no peacocks... even if Hera had gone to Mt. Othrys, she seemed to have left all the birds here...

Taking Styx's oath, the oath that they were all supposed to have took, hadn't seemed as important as just getting the hell out of dodge. Neikos figured like Harm, that they could take it later. Didn't matter if they took it in front of anyone as long as they took it, Auntie Styx would have known they'd took it whenever they took it.

They strolled past the glass doors he'd longingly sought while seated and took a less noticeable way outside. Harm was always smart like that.

The moment the smell of Aphrodite's rose gardens infiltrated his nostrils without any sharp word uttered and emitted from behind them, Strife sighed a sigh of relief

He looked down into Harmonia's velvety brown eyes, traces of the impact of the fresh kiss she'd just pressed against the corner of his mouth lingering in his pale blue eyes.

"I love you too."

He looked back behind them as if expecting some authoritative figure to come storming toward them and demanding that they go back inside and take their oaths before they leave. It made him feel very young again, much younger than he was.

"The treehouse?"

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."

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.

After Deimos and Phobos went rampant on a filthy run down hotel's patrons it was time to return to Mount Olympus to await whatever was in store.

Phobos sighed as if the very life force that animated his body was being sucked out as he looked on the face of his Mother's temple. He wished that they could be meeting at his Father's temple instead. Deimos and himself could at least occupy their own rooms and the rooms of the dungeon that they had turned into their own personal lounge and rumpus room if the meeting became drawn out and stale.

Once Ares and Hephaestus left, She was at a loss of what to do. The gravity of the situation hit home when she encountered Ares... and it suddenly seemed like such a lost cause. Some say the world will end in fire, some say the world will end in ice.... apparently Mr. Frost had never taken into consideration that the Gods would get so messed up they'd end it on their own. She wasn't sure what to do. She had stepped back into her temple, frowning at the general... confused yet robotic nature of her attendants, before realizing they probably didn't understand why they were no longer lusting after her. It made her wonder really... she never considered it such a defining part of her, the preternatural sex appeal, as she did now that it was gone. She had never realized it was important to her, the ability to make a man drool on sight. Until she didn't. Sure, her physical appearance hadn't changed, but the inner glow, the aura she produced, was wholly different now... as was a lot of her motivation for things.

her wandering had eventually found her back out in the gardens, taking a seat on a landscaped hill not far off the path. Gone was the agape love that she had felt for everyone for so long... it was strange to think of certain persons and no longer feel a universal love for them, even though she may dislike them. Now there was only one emotion... and if she thought too long on people, she could come up with only a short list of those she cared for in her current state. Gone was the love for Ares, the deepest feeling she had had for eons, leaving a hole in her heart... her very soul, torn out as it was. it hurt... it hurt physically when she thought of it, a land pressed in against her chest as if to staunch the pain. Gone with it was a lot of her motivation... her need to do things for certain reasons, all born out of love.

How was she to do this, now? How was she to make the Pantheon act as one, to solve a problem... when gone was her underlying love and desire to do the best for them she could?

She leaned back, resting elbows on the grass behind her, weight propped up by them, and closed her eyes, head leaning back... this had to work. And it had to be done. And for the... well, it just needed to be fixed.

She glanced over her three very different offspring, and wasted at least a moment wondering how they al managed to be born of the same union. As they each spoke her expression shifted from annoyed, to confused, to bemused, and she finally offered a wry smile.

"How nice to see you're all getting along as well as ever..."

She stepped into the room fully, slowly moving towards the end of the bed, capturing Anteros' hand in hers as she passed. She'd brushed him off when he first entered, and she felt badly... he didn't like to admit he ever needed anything from her. She motioned for him to sit, then kissed his brow lightly before taking a seat behind him, her hand lightly stroking his back as she watched all of them.

"So what have we come up with? I think it's obvious we've got something amiss here... Hermes doesn't think he has a change, but so far he's the only one we've seen unchanged. I plan on gathering at least a far group of representatives to find a solution... but I'm curious as to what you guys think... both on possible causes and answers."

As if life could get any worse? It always managed to get worse before it got better, but then Anteros seemed to be more cyncial then he had been these days.

Everyone who ever visited Sway was always smitten with the place upon entry. With just his mere presence, Anteros doused the place each evening with his love deity pheromones, so that just visiting the place was like being under the influence of unadulterated ecstasy. His guests were always content and always left satisfied with the exception of himself who never seemed to be very content or very satisfied.

But something was cosmically amiss and Anteros recognized it for what it was when things began going abnormally wrong...

Tonight had started out like any other night. People arrived. People were having the time of their lives, with the exception of himself who was just plagued with boredom and had been thinking of dropping in on his Santa Monica home to spend some time with his dog Adonis and his housemate Ate if she were around.

But then he'd heard crashes and bangs and people shouting. People started turning on each other as if the intoxicating bliss that infused his club had been sucked out by something and replaced with something else. Most people were turned off and left, feeling uneasy and unwelcome to be there. It was as if someone had left the door open for hate to enter, as if he'd made an enemy out of Styx herself and she had decided to bring Strife and Ate along to make a mess out of his nightclub.

Only he knew better.

He didn't understand any of it, but he knew none of this was Ate's doing. They were friends and had worked together before. She wouldn't do this to him and Styx had no reason. Strife...

It could have been one of Strife's pranks...

There was only one thing for him to do. He had to leave and find out what was going on and he hated that he had to do go up there to find out anything but he couldn't very well allow people in his nightclub to kill each other.

He instructed his employees to shut down the club for the night and for everyone to take the night off.

Minutes later he arrived on Mount Olympus and noticed the Moon was not the Moon he knew but the Sun? Was everything topsy turvy? This was not Strife's doing. This was something...bigger than Strife.

If the world was flipped upside down? Did this mean that instead of being a deity of mutual love and the avenger of unrequited love, that he was a deity of hate?

Someone had fucked up good.

He decided that he might find answers at his Mother's...If his Mother's temple had not been passed off to Himeros or Cupid since she'd became Queen of the Sea.

Entering the Temple of Love he was almost surprised to see that it hadn't gathered any dust, "Mum? Anyone here?"

She loved Neikos, but the boy did not have a very large stomach. After their foray into the food court he had begun turning green... and she had laughingly set him home to feel better with a kiss on the cheek and the promise of a visit later. She had moved away from California (She was still not used to a language other than Greek being spoken most often) and had transported her way to a rocky shore on the Aegean not far from Thebes, taking time to appreciate the sunset.

She was standing on a cliff edge, perfectly balanced on her edge with her face up to the sky when she first felt the rumble, before the earth tore away from under her. It wasn't just the world under her - the entire fabric of her world tore itself asunder as she fell, landing harshly on the shores of the below. She wasn't hurt - her pride, perhaps, or her ego... but the landing did little to her. Still, she cried out in anguish to the empty beach as she went numb, her head exploding in pain as all balance was torn apart, torn away from her. She couldn't.. feel anything. Couldn't feel anyone. Her stomach churned, threatening to expel it's contents. She tried to stand, and immediately felt her head swim. Her legs seemed fine, but she had no sense of balance. She felt horrible... and only wanted to get somewhere safe. unable to stand, she pulled together what control she could find, and went to the one place she knew someone would be... her mother's.

The swirl of smoke that deposited her there was a chaotic clashing mess, and the sheer effort of switching planes was enough to drive a sharp pain into her head... nothing worked.

The world had taken the change in power with considerably less upheaval than she had expected... she wasn't sure if that spoke well of the world's ability to adapt, or just spoke to the greek pantheon on how little they mattered to the world at large these days. Still, even Olympus seemed calm... eerily so, of course, but calm was better than riots in the streets, or whatever it was that generally occurred on these situations. Harmonia had spent a bit of time avoiding people, and she could admit, if only to herself, that she was a bit disappointed at the complete and total lack of attempts at revenge or retribution. What was the point of being the daughter of the two most powerful people around if not even one person tried to corrupt or abduct her?

Her brothers were decidedly absent, which really only added to her boredom... and even those who were around were all busy little working bees being useful for Dite. Her mother, however, had not thought to recruit her help.. and there was no way she was offering it. Though it would be something to do.

No one, however, seemed to be running around Ares' temple all idiotically... not even Strife. Which was weird. And while daddy wasn't one she'd ask this to (lest he suddenly force everyone into extreme productivity) Strife was a much better source of information.

And so it was that Harmonia appeared behind Strife, her brow raising slowly at what she observed.

"Hmm."

It was still. Very still... unnervingly so. She could tell there was no one else in the Temple... no one of importance, at any rate. She'd neither seen nor heard from her family since The Change... and she was rather trepedatious to do so. On one hand, she should be rejoicing... her parentals had just pulled off the biggest coup in ages. She no longer needed to worry about Zeus or Hera... instead, there was everyone else. So far, Olympus had shown a habit of getting back at her parents by targeting their children. Normally, she'd be content knowing that if something happened to her, there were more than enough people willing to fight to get her back... but Daddy now had something that might even be more important than her... a strange thought.

Maybe... maybe she'd just stay where she was, ensconced in her father's temple, lounging in the library or weapon's room... back and forth, day in, day out... And never ever leave. She'd been at it already for a long agonizing few hours... only a few more decades to go until it all blew over, right?