by Kip Hartzell
“Zeusticus! Show yourself,” Athene-A yelled, while marching toward the large throne-like chair.
In an instant, Zeusticus sat there in full armor. “Athene-A, we are training, what do you want?”
“I have reports of you using Cousins for combat. That is a direct violation of our Code of Conduct.”
“Your, Codes, are limiting and outdated. The Titans are using their influence of Godhood to persuade them to fight for them, promises of eternal paradise in the afterlife. I use Cousins to combat Cousins, by using some of the same tactics.”
“You are rationalizing there use, just as Aztek-Alon did.”
Zeusticus stood up and marched angrily down the steps, and met her, face to face. “Are you threatening civil war again, Athene-A?”
Athene-A looked away, and then back. “No, but your actions could have dire consequences in the future. You have advanced them in every category; technology, farming, domestication of animals, especially the art of war. You have moved them forward, far beyond our calculations. We need as much time as it takes to find the skulls and for Atlantis to return.”
This time Zeusticus looked away, as if being reminded of his mission. This time, he softened his position. “Athene-A, I only use our Cousins to combat the lost Cousins. Once the Titans are neutralized, I will use my influence to order them back to their stone age.”
She paced in front of the slow spinning hologram of the Earth. “I will discuss it with the Council, if you agree to set them back as soon as possible.”
“Agreed.”
She changed her tone. “How goes the war on your end?”
He huffed. “We are at a stalemate, but they are unable to complete the communications array. We destroy it continually.”
“Rhe-A reports that Cronus may not be in a hurry to complete it. He seems to be content with playing God with his subjects. She finds him very, ‘unpredictable.’”
“Any progress with my brother’s data?”
“Yes, we are working on several prototype weapons and dimensional shift dispersions. We still need more time and research.”
“Then allow me to buy you that time. Stop distracting me from my goals.”
Athene-A found herself alone, and still angry.
A few more years rolled by, while Athene-A struggled to keep Zeusticus in check. She had lost the vote to keep the Cousins neutral, either through desperation, or fear. She wasn’t sure which one held a higher priority. A few more Atlanteans acquired the self-teleportation ability, but it still alluded most of them.
She tracked Zeusticus down one day to a balcony. He was looking in at two young boys playing stick sword fighting. Athene-A estimated their age at not more than five or six. The larger one was possibly older.
“Have you come to berate me again, Athene-A?”
“Yes,” she looked at the children laughing and playing, “but, it can wait. Which one is yours?”
“They are actually twins, but mine is the larger one, of course.”
She gave him a strange look, one that only he could see through their personal cloaking devices.
“It’s a long story.” He looked back at the boys. “He’s going to be special.”
“What are their names?”
“Heracles, named after my wife, and Iphicles.”
The boys ran by the balcony opening. Heracles stopped and stared out at nothing. Athene-A looked closely at the boy, his dark hair and blue eyes made him look familiar. She sensed something familiar, her concentration was broken by the boy getting whacked on the head by the smaller brother. He squealed, and chased his brother out of the room.
“What makes you think he’ll be any more special than any of the other cross-breed children?”
“His scans are on the high side, almost more Atlantean than Cousin. Besides, an Oracle told me.”
“Oh, one of those cross-breeds thought to be able to see through time dimensions and see the future. It’s been reported that this kind of knowledge and understanding will allude them, usually to the point of madness. What did she see?”
“What makes you think its female?”
“They are almost always female.”
“She saw Heracles, defending our human Cousins from the Destroyer monster creations. As soon as we rid this world of Destroyers, we will have to contend with the mess they will leave behind.”
“Let me guess, the Oracle told you that you would win.”
“Of course,”
“Come, we have important matters to discuss.”
They turned and stepped into the invisible hovering shuttle, and quietly left.
It was nearing the ten-year mark, since the defeat of Uranus, and the rise of Cronus, when Athene-A walked through the halls of Mt. Olympus. As she approached the main Council room, she heard music, laughing, and singing. She pushed the great door open to see festivities of all manner. Almost all the initial personnel from the shuttles were there. Human Cousins scrambled about serving drinks and food, trying desperately not to get stepped on, or knocked down. Dionysus was experimenting with his new wines, from the looks of stumbling Minotaurs and Centaurs, she deduced it was a success. She pushed her way through a crowd to get to Zeusticus, who, was sitting across his throne. Before she could get to him, she came face to face with Pandemos-Aphrodite, her beauty was only matched by her twin sister, and by the attention of male and female alike, Atlantean or not, made her the most popular at the party. Athene-A cleared away from the crowd, and stood at the foot of the floating chair looking up at Zeusticus. She projected her need to talk to him. He disappeared, and then appeared beside her, by now, she ceased to be startled.
“I have important information,” she yelled over the noise.
His blood shot eyes glared. He then reached out and took her arm. In a blink, they were in a quiet atrium. “I see you are perfecting your skill.”
“At the moment, I can only transport one other person.”
Great, she thought, something else to stroke his ego. “There’s been a breakthrough on your brother’s research.”
Zeusticus immediately seem to sober up. “Go on.”
“When Pandemos was trapped inside Uranus ten years ago, she was not being stored there for organic digestion, she was there because of her relationship with agoam crystals. She was going to be used as an anchor to hold Uranus here in this dimension.”
Zeusticus paced. “You say she was not to be consumed like the Cousins, but used as a stabilizing agent?”
“Essentially, yes, and in order to accomplish this, she must be alive.”
His face brightened. “That means Her-A, and the others could still be alive.”
“Precisely.”
“We must free them at once.”
“We have other breakthroughs.”
Zeusticus threw his goblet away. “Please tell.”
“Gai-A, is not very happy with Cronus either, and seeks a peace pact. Rhe-A has confirmed this, there is dissention among their ranks, again, and a good time to attack, would be soon.”
His enthusiasm waned. “Why, we blow them to bites, and then they just regenerate. It’s an endless cycle of destruction. The only change is our numbers and supplies dwindle.”
“Until now,” she gave him a devious look, “we think we know how to close the dimensional portal.”
“What! Tartarus can be closed?”
“Our simulations show an eighty-six percent chance of success. Two-fold plan is to get the Titans on the other side, and then shut it down.”
“How are we going to get them through?”
“That will be your job. While you’ve been fighting, we too, have been working. Weapon enhancements we believe will be enough to make them move in a desired direction.”
“Come, to the battle room, we must plan.” Zeusticus walked away, as if he had a purpose once more.
The attack was swift and merciless. Mt. Orthys was reduced to rubble, again. The combatant Titans threw everything back, but they were no match for the o
nslaught. They fought their way off the mountain and performed a fighting retreat toward the dimensional rift, where they drew most of their power. The Titan, Atlas, saw the tactic of herding and broke loose. He gave commands to Cousins, and the orders spread. Soon, Zeusticus had to contend with hundreds of human Cousins. Zeusticus gave the order to counter with Cousins of his own. They were as ferocious as he’d ever seen. With enough of them, he could probably control the world. He was proud.
The Earth trembled as if Atlantis was taking off again. Atlas killed hundreds with boulders. They were to numerous, and crawled over him like insects. He was being overwhelmed and was driven toward Tartarus, where Cronus and the others fought. This was where it always ended. The Titans would draw strength from the rift and wait out the attack, and then rebuild. The ionization of battle caused the atmosphere to heat up. The clouds formed a dense precipitation blanket around the area. As night fell, lightning was prevalent across the sky.
Zeusticus and Hermes dove in after Cronus. Power almost depleted from his gauntlet weapon. He screamed a battle cry as lightning struck the weapon. It was immediately recharged. The new technology used several buffers to absorb energy without overloading. He fired the electrically charged weapon over and over. Cronus was given no time to recover, while he struggled to stay upright. He threw whatever he could get his hands on, screaming with rage. Cronus was battered repeatedly by the ion disrupter. From a distance, it looked as though he was grabbing lightning from the sky and sending it in a desired direction.
The attack chipped away at Cronus, as the others were herded around the rift, its glow lit the darkness. Cronus was completely out of control. He raged, and threw boulder after boulder. The barrage was so intense, he tried to use a boulder as a shield. It lasted only a few seconds. He was now missing several body parts as he dropped to his knees. He used the sickle type weapon to prop himself up. Zeusticus saw his opportunity and leaped off of Hermes, landing in front of the exhausted Cronus, he kicked the weapon out of his hand, leaving him to hold himself steady with his one good arm.
“Cronus,” Zeusticus yelled, “you are a traitor, and shall be punished.”
Cronus raised his battered face to the sky and howled in angry madness. Zeusticus took the sickle and levitated upward. The blade tore into Cronus’s groin, as Zeusticus accelerated upward, until he reached his throat. Steamy entrails spilled out onto the ground, along with many membrane skinned capsules. The battle was silenced as the choking giant fell back to the ground with a bone jarring crash. The Titans stopped fighting, and the non-combatant Titans were rounded up and led to the rift.
Zeusticus waded through the putrid entrails with his scanner. He dug through until he found what he was looking for. He ripped the capsule open to reveal Her-A in a fetal position. As soon as the air touched her lungs, she gasped and coughed to life. He smiled and cradled her as he waded out of the morass. He sat her down near Athene-A and several other Atlanteans, wiping away a slurry of mucus. She opened her eyes weakly and smiled. He looked up at Athene-A with glassy eyes. “Let’s get the rest of them, and the wounded back to Olympus.”
People moved quickly, soon, the area was secured and all the Titans, and their body parts, were rounded up and guarded. The non-combatant Titans were kept separate from the others.
The sun was shining the day after the carnage. Zeusticus and Athene-A scrambled to stay ahead of their victory. Poseidon, Demeter, Her-A, Hesti-A, and Hades, were near full recovery. Zeusticus stayed with Her-A as much as possible, but he could tell something was wrong, or at least, different. All of Cronus’ captives were-changed.
Hades, carrying several data pads approached Zeusticus. “It took you and your crew long enough to discover our suspended animation.”
“We were busy fighting a war, plus, we thought you were dead. Glad to be wrong, Brother.”
Hades half smiled. “Regardless, I have discovered a better method of closing the portal, but I need more time to study the portal controls.”
“So, you need to go back in there. I would think you would’ve had enough?” Zeusticus added sarcastically.
“On the contrary, I find it even more intriguing.”
“Most of the Titans are under control, the area should be safe enough. I’ll get a crew together.”
Athene-A walked in as Hades was walking out. She gave him a smile and a few encouraging words. She then turned her attention to Zeusticus. “I have good news, we can inoculate and isolate the Titan sub-gene. Rhe-A will be the first patient, she insisted.”
“Of course, she did. We also need to make another trip to the portal, my Brother thinks he can close it with closer study, building on passed research.”
“He always was brilliant. What are we going to do with the Destroyer detachment?”
“Since they are virtually indestructible, although I would like to continue testing that theory, I’ll probably put them in their other universe and close the door. At least the ones who can’t be converted back to their original selves.”
“Have you read the reports on our Cousins?”
“Yes, disturbing, the Destroyer, and our own, interference has accelerated their advancement.”
“They have found very efficient technological means of killing each other. The Titan faction is still obsessed with violence, and freeing their Gods. The others have kept up in order to defend themselves.”
“Once we secure the Titans, we’ll focus more on them.”
“How is Her-A and Poseidon?”
“Poseidon is slow to recover, but...Her-A... not quite herself, yet. She seems-angry.”
“I know, Rhe-A has changed, also. Sad, skeptical, more than before. Perhaps they’ll return to us over time.”
“We’ll see, now, we must prepare to send those monsters back.”
Hades emerged from the dimensional pit with a large handheld cupped under his arm. Zeusticus, Athene-A, Poseidon, Her-A, and many others, stood at the edge of the pit and watched him approach. Rhe-A was her normal physical self again, but stayed back remaining uncharacteristically quiet.
“You look worried, Brother,” Zeusticus said.
“I have good reason. Their technology is...phenomenal. I could spend the rest of my life studying it, which may be what I have to do. The composition of the dimensional door is strong on this side with the agoam crystals, but weak on the other side. I can close it from the other side...”
“But...”
“The controls can’t be destroyed, or it could cause it to collapse into a singularity.”
“A black hole.”
“Crude description, but, yes. Worse yet, when the controls cycle, it could open again.”
“So, you’re saying someone will have to monitor it?”
“Yes.”
“For how long?”
“...Indefinitely.”
A doomed hush came over the group.
Hades smiled. “Oh, don’t worry, I am volunteering.”
“Brother, it’s a death sentence.”
“Yes, but probably the longest one in history. The control area technology has distorted time. I may never die.”
“How will you control the Titans?”
“The control facility is large, and surrounded by its own distortion field, once outside of it, they can only get back in if someone lets them. Besides there are several places that weren’t destroyed by their meddling. Some quite nice. They will be fine, and neutralized.”
“What else will you need?”
“I’ve sent my list to Olympus.”
“How soon?”
“Should’ve been done ten years ago, it needs to be done soon.” Hades put a hand on his Brother’s shoulder. “I’ll be alright.”
The day was overcast and the people somber, most of the Titans had already been led through the portal and away from the building they constructed. Athene-A wasn’t sure what would happen to them, would they starve, live forever, live together, or simply die. Cronus was a particularly hard situation to take,
much like the other Atlantean-Titan hybrids that were too far gone to recover. Hyperion, Cronus, Iapetus, and Thei-A. All of them were going to be missed. Gai-A had managed to convince Zeusticus to let her stay, she was responsible for bringing down two Tyrants. She promised to live out her life peacefully on this side of the rift. Although, Zeusticus took precautions to ensure this. Her convincing ways managed to allow other Destroyers to stay as well, Themis, Maemosyne, Phoebe, and Hemer-A. Others, however, were on the run and a danger to all. Typhon, being the biggest threat. Poseidon was assigned to watch over the oceans, mostly because he had a score to settle with the Beast. He allowed Echidna to stay, mostly as bait, to draw Typhon out.
Athene-A watched over the procession of equipment and supplies taken into Tartarus. Several Cerberus played as they were led down the one large tunnel left for access. Zeusticus still didn’t trust the Destroyer Cyclops and Hekatonkheires. He forced them back into Tartarus. Gai-A almost pushed Zeusticus too far with her argument, but relented, but she wouldn’t forget.
Hades put his handheld away and gazed back at his brothers. “Brothers, don’t despair, time is but an eye blink, and I shall see you two again. Save this world and save all the people. I will do my part on the other side. Have you made the choice, yet?”
“Yes, Atlas, will be the conduit,” Zeusticus said, looking briefly at the Titan they had wrapped in the strongest chain links they could invent.
