by Candy Crum
“You do not seem bothered by this, Brother,” Poseidon said. “Do you not remember that we were the ones that placed our father in that horrible place? Do you not remember that he tried to kill each of us at birth because he so feared losing his power? Brother, you cannot be so quick to dismiss this.”
Zeus turned to Poseidon. “I placed him there…”
“With the help of your brothers,” Hades interrupted.
“That may be so,” Zeus said. “But it is impossible for him to escape. Unless this oracle gave you some insight to this, Apollo.”
Apollo shook his head. “She was not certain. Agatha only stated that he would find his way out of Tartarus. We are not strong enough to defeat him now, even with the twelve of us. She believes that if we went to Tartarus now to stop the prophecy from happening that we would all be killed, making the prophecy come true hundreds of years sooner.”
Zeus laughed again. “You believe this? We are plenty strong. The three of us are stronger now than we were then. Only now, we have twelve. There are more of us, but we govern Olympus. If you truly believe this to be true, then we should move toward Tartarus, and destroy him where he lay.”
“Absolutely not!” Hera spoke. “Zeus, I believe Apollo. I believe this oracle. We have all felt the consequences of the law that you put in place. We are all weaker. Titans do not lose strength over time as we do. Cronus has more than likely grown in strength. We cannot fight him. There must be another way.”
“Brothers, you would go to Tartarus with me, would you not?” Zeus asked.
“I am sorry, Brother,” Poseidon replied. “I cannot. Hera is right. If there is even a shred of truth to this prophecy, we cannot risk it. Our father will have grown in strength. We are losing it. We cannot beat him in our current condition.”
“Hades?” Zeus asked.
Hades shook his head. “I stand with everyone else here when I say no. That is an impossible task. You are a fool for even considering it.”
Zeus appeared defeated. His motivation to kill Cronus and end their fear deflated.
“As all of you wish,” he said. “We will not make a move on Tartarus. We will also not give in to the humans. They have not yet learned their lesson. They will fail, and when they do, they will learn exactly what it is they gave up. They will learn that arrogance and selfishness will bring them down.”
Athena, goddess of wisdom, looked at Zeus for a moment before speaking.
“Is that not what you are doing to all of us now?” she asked. “You were just selfish in asking everyone to give up their lives to help destroy a titan that will come for all of us one day in the future. We ask of you to give us a way to stop that from happening, or at least to be able to defend our lives if it does, and you deny us. You are arrogant in believing that you are so much greater than the humans that we cannot even save our own lives, and theirs as well, when in fact, you are no different. You make their same mistakes.”
“Enough!” Zeus snapped.
Thunder crashed overhead, lightning illuminating everything in a bright flash. Apollo knew without a doubt that the conversation was over. There was nothing that would convince Zeus of the necessity to reconnect with the mortals. More than that, if they tried to do so behind his back, Apollo knew they ran the risk of being killed. Zeus had quite the temper and aggravating it was never in the best interest of anyone.
Apollo wanted to tell Zeus of the backup plan of which the oracle had spoken. Their human offspring could liberate them and save the mortals and Olympus from the apocalypse. He was not certain of when, or even how, but he believed everything that she had told him. Instead, Apollo decided that he would keep it to himself. It appeared that everyone, even Hades, was on his side. He knew that if Zeus was aware that humanity was the only hope, he would be enraged even more. It had to remain a secret from the god of gods.
Once again, everyone argued amongst one another. Zeus left the room in a fury. Hera was always quick to follow, but not then. She stayed, sitting silent amongst the worried Olympians. Apollo made eye contact with Hera from across the room. She stood then, crossing the room to speak in private with Apollo.
“What is it?” Hera asked. “The faces of everyone here reflect fear and worry, but mostly anger at Zeus’ decree. Yours, however… I see something resembling hope in your eyes.”
Apollo looked around, seeing that no one paid any attention to them.
“There is one last thing,” he said. “But I cannot say. Zeus cannot know. I would rather die than allow him to know.”
Hera sighed. “My husband is quite a mess. He is burdened with the weight of the Olympians, and also the world, yet he does not know how to properly handle either one. This is nothing to simply brush aside. Oracles have predicted many battles and many tragedies. The oracle that you went to long ago even shared her power with you. You have seen many helpful things. I do not ever question the powers of an oracle. Whatever hope you hold, it is the answer to our fears. You must tell me. My husband will never hear a word. I know why you will not tell him. It is for that same reason that I will not.”
Apollo nodded. “The oracle believes that if we cannot reconnect with the mortals that our only hope will be our human offspring. They will be the ones to save us. It will not be for hundreds of years, but at that time we will have a choice to make. One choice will destroy us all. God and mortal alike. The other choice will lead to the death of Cronus and save Olympus and the human world. If Zeus knew that our hope was our human children…”
“He may do something terrible,” Hera said. “He may prevent that from ever happening. However, some of us do not have mortal children. Artemis for instance. She has vowed never to take a husband.”
“Somehow that will have to change,” Apollo said. “You are the goddess of all things family. You can assure this happens. We need to ensure that our descendants survive. That they flourish.”
“Allow me to speak with the others. I will take this burden from you. You have done all you can, Apollo. Please, try to relax now. Conserve all the strength that you have. We all must do the same,” Hera said before walking away.
Apollo knew that she was right. It was not up to him any longer. He had done all that he could do. All he could hope for then was that Hera managed to gain the trust of the others in the matter. As the night went on, after everyone had returned to their own area of solitude, Apollo grew more hopeful. He was certain that was the best way, the only way, if Zeus could not come to his senses.
It had appeared that the god of gods had left Olympus, though Apollo did not know where he had gone, nor did any of the other Olympians. Zeus’ absence left the other gods hopeful. Without his watchful eyes on them, they would be able to speak freely and devise a plan that would save them all from wrath of the titan Cronus.
Present Time
Sixteen Years Ago
Over two millennia had passed since the gods conspired against Zeus, struggling to find a plan to save them from the terrible prophecy told by the oracle Agatha. Their powers had diminished to the point that they almost seemed human. The gods had conserved all the strength they had for watching their children, and their children’s children, and so on. Each god and goddess watched their descendants from generation to generation, one passing as the next in line was born. It was the only joy they received. Somehow, over all those years they were able to keep the secret from Zeus.
Apollo had revisited the oracle shortly after he and Hera had spoken. He told the oracle of their plan and she vowed to do all she could to help, and she did. She called upon a witch to cloak all of the human children born to the gods, keeping them away from Zeus’ sight. Each witch passed on this duty to their children, and they did so throughout the ages. Over the years, the plan had changed. The power in witches were waning, just as the power from the gods had. Soon, each descendant of the gods was protected by a single witch and that duty was passed from generation to generation. One witch for every potential fated child. The downside was that the power
used to cloak the child was so powerful that even the casting witch would be unable to find him, or her. It would be impossible to find the Fated ones until Cronus came back and magic was restored.
The world grew by the thousands, millions, and soon the world had billions of people. It was nearly impossible for the gods and goddesses to keep up with their increasing weakness, but they did all they could. Eventually, the time for watching had come to an end and the time for that terrible decision to be made had arrived.
“Hera,” Apollo said as she approached him.
He’d been staring into the eternal fire on Olympus. He had awoken to quite a strange feeling in the air. He could not place it, but he felt disturbance. Worry filled him, causing him to search for a potential cause.
“I could not place it,” he said to her. “But I felt something. It was a feeling that I had long since forgotten. It was intuition. I came here, staring into the flames, trying to see something. Anything.”
“What is it?” Hera asked.
“It is time,” he said. “Something is happening on earth. There are earthquakes happening all over. Massive storms brewing all over the world. It is unlike anything that I have seen.”
“It is Cronus,” a deep voice said, stepping into the room.
Hera and Apollo both looked up to see Zeus standing in the door.
“I have lost almost all of my strength, and I cannot see much,” Zeus said. “Still, I can feel him. My father. Cronus is free. I sent Artemis, Athena, and Ares to Tartarus. I did not have the strength to get there myself.”
“Zeus,” Hera said. “This is what we feared so long ago. This was foretold. Why could you not see it? Why could you not simply trust us?”
“Two thousand years I have watched us wither away. For just as long I have known it was something that was happening by my own hand. Still, I could not let go of my petty fight with the mortals. I could not let go of my arrogance. If things were different, I still have doubt that I could. That was, until I felt the presence of Cronus. It woke me, but then it disappeared. I am unsure of how, or why.”
Apollo and Hera looked at one another. Hera nodded at Apollo, smiling gently at him.
“Zeus,” Apollo said. “Something is happening on earth. I cannot understand what it may be, but it must have something to do with Cronus. Storms, earthquakes, and tsunamis. Earth is a terrifying place right now.”
“Poseidon, Hades, and I are all brothers. Each of us came from Cronus. God of thunder. God of the sea. God of death. Poseidon has the power to make earthquakes, as I have the power over lightning. It is him. Cronus is on earth,” Zeus said.
The other gods and goddesses came into the room, Ares, Artemis, and Athena among them.
“Apollo,” Aphrodite said. “Our descendants.”
“What is it?” Hera asked.
“Hera,” Aphrodite said. “Look for them. All of them. Each of us has seen it. Each one of us has a descendant giving birth at this very moment. Look for yours.”
“What?” Zeus asked.
Apollo stepped forward. “Long ago, the oracle told me the only key to saving us was our children. Over the last two thousand years we have hidden our descendants from you, knowing this day would come. I am truly sorry that we were forced to do such a thing, but there wasn’t another way. Look inside yourself before you react. Do you not find it strange that the night that Cronus escapes is the same night that twelve descendants of the gods are being born?”
Zeus looked angry for a moment, but his expression softened, one of defeat replacing it. Apollo’s words sank in. It appeared that even Zeus himself understood the weight of what was happening.
“What do we do?” Zeus asked Apollo.
Apollo shook his head. “The oracle was unable to reveal anything more to me. She said that we would be faced with a decision. One that would either doom Olympus and earth, or we would kill Cronus and save the world.”
“Then we must think of our options,” Athena stated firmly.
“What did you find at Tartarus?” Zeus asked.
Ares stepped forward. “Cronus is gone.”
All eyes were on the three that had been to the mountain.
“How is that possible?” Zeus asked. “I felt it. Still, I do not believe it. Did you find anything that explains how he escaped?”
Athena shook her head. “We do not know. All of the titans were dead and he was gone. The mountain was completely sealed.”
“How did you get in?” Apollo asked.
“I felt no life inside,” Artemis said. “It took most of our strength to get in, but we did. It was empty, aside from the massive dead bodies of the titans. We sealed it again on the way out, in case anything else happened.”
“It doesn’t make sense,” Zeus said.
“Wait,” Hera said, staring into the flames.
Apollo walked over to see what Hera had seen. It was then that everything made sense.
“Mount Vesuvius is erupting,” Apollo said. “This cannot be coincidence. We have all felt the stirrings. Our descendants are all giving birth. Most of all, the oracle told me that he would rise from a deadly mountain and decimate all in his path.”
“It is not a coincidence at all,” Hera said. “Cronus vowed that he would come back. The oracle confirmed as much. He must have created a portal to earth somehow.”
Zeus walked over to the fire then, staring at the very image they saw.
“In my arrogance, I never put much thought into anything he had said. I believed that I’d defeated him. That my brothers and I had put him away for eternity. When we left that day, I heard his vows for vengeance echoing out of the mountain.”
“As did I, Brother,” Poseidon said. “’I will rise from the ashes. I will rise from the ashes, and I will consume all of you.’ I believe that he was talking about that mountain. That volcano.”
Zeus nodded. “Yes. Those words haunted me for centuries, but I put them behind me. Never did I imagine that he could do such a thing.”
“Mount Vesuvius is one of the most active volcanoes in the world,” Poseidon said. “What if that has been him trying to escape all that time?”
“Two thousand years ago that volcano destroyed Pompeii,” Hera said. “Right around the time that the oracle predicted he would return. That must have been him.”
“It is possible that he nearly made it out then,” Zeus said. “Perhaps it has taken all this time to regain enough of his strength to try again.”
“But how did he manage to connect Tartarus to Mount Vesuvius?” Athena asked.
“Right now,” Hera said. “I think that may be the least of our worries. I can sense our descendants preparing to leave their mothers’ wombs and come into the world. All of this is happening at once. I fear that whatever decision we have to make needs to come quickly.”
“I agree,” Apollo said. “What are our choices?”
“We cannot fight,” Ares said. “We are far too weak.”
“We cannot trap him again,” Hades said.
“That is true,” Poseidon agreed. “We are far too weak for even that.”
“We grow weaker by the day,” Athena said. “Our powers dwindle inside of us. More so every day. There is no way for us to do anything. We do not even have the strength to get to Earth any longer.”
“These children are all being born for a reason,” Apollo said. “I refuse to believe otherwise, though I do not understand how they will be able to do anything. They are not even born into the world yet. Once they are, Cronus will surely hunt them down. He will be able to sense them. They have no powers to protect them. They are far too separated from us to have inherited any sort of demi-god abilities.”
“The witches still protect them, even today,” Athena said. “We have to trust that the new life will be protected as well. The witches will sense Cronus’ return. They will not allow the babies to be harmed.”
“But what if they did have power?” Aphrodite asked.
All eyes turned on her.
“No,” Aphrodite said. “I do. They have nothing. But what if they did?”
Everyone stalled, thinking about that for a moment.
“We have very little left to give. We have hardly any strength,” Aphrodite said. “We have no way to fight, or trap, or even hide. We are prisoners here. Cronus will eventually come for us, and he will take Olympus back. There is absolutely no question. All we have now is the love that we have for our family. Our children, and theirs, and their children after that. We have done absolutely nothing for them, aside from swearing witches to keep them cloaked from whoever would do them harm. What if we made the ultimate sacrifice for them? What if we gave every ounce of the power that we have left to them? If they truly are destined to save both Olympus and the world, then they will need it.”
“Actually,” Apollo said. “That is not entirely a bad idea. Cronus is using all of his strength to not only get through some portal from Tartarus to Mount Vesuvius, but to climb his way out from the bottom of an active volcano. He will need time to gather back his strength. That could take years.”
“This could buy us some time,” Hera said. “Our powers wane within our own bodies. These children are born from the gods. It doesn’t matter they are far too separated from us to have their own powers. They still carry our blood. They can use them. In the body of a child, as he or she grows in strength, so will the powers, just as they once did in all of us. They would be able to harvest and grow them. By the time that Cronus is ready, it is possible they will be, too.”
“This could kill us,” Athena said.
“Can you think of anything else that could possibly work?” Poseidon asked. “Because so far, this is the only thing that has potential.”
“I cannot,” Athena said. “I merely wanted everyone to know what could happen. I am willing to do whatever it takes. However, I have a suggestion.”
“What is it?” Apollo asked.
“We must hurry,” Hera said. “The mothers are in their final stages of labor. The babies will be here at any moment.”
