Beyond Hades

by Luke Romyn

  All he had to go on was what his brother had told him. He had to help these people return to their home world. After that, well.... Talbot really had no plan for after that.

  He steeled himself. "You need to go to war against the Olympians," he said, turning back to Kronos. The panel of six Titans seemed to recoil slightly in shock.

  "We cannot go to war against the Olympians!" said Kronos. "They decimated our people during the last encounter when they forced us from Gaia. They have sealed us here. We cannot open the rift gate from this side. Our people have tried to decipher the Elder-tongue, but it is pointless. It is most galling, especially since they created a portal right here in the city!"

  "If I were able to open the rift, could you raise an army?" asked Talbot.

  Kronos leaned forward, his lidless, cloudy eyes staring at Talbot. "My people are not warriors, we are peace-loving. We lack the knowledge of warfare, though we yearn for the lands we were born in, and we cannot stand the fact that our children will eventually become monsters." The king of the Titans glanced at the others sitting with him, who all nodded slightly. He gazed out at the hundreds of faces of his people, unemotional, but also seeming to yearn for what Talbot had offered them -

  Hope.

  Looking beyond Talbot, Kronos spoke directly to Prometheus. "Prepare our warriors; our birthright and lawful sovereignty shall be ours once more."

  The Titan grinned slightly. "Yes, my lord," he said.

  Talbot paused in his thoughts. Some aspect of that grin struck him as odd. There was a trace of something in the way Prometheus's mouth curled that made Talbot feel he'd just made a huge mistake. The tone in Prometheus' voice also struck a chord deep within the archaeologist: another feeling, like when he'd remembered the actions of Heracles and the mannerisms of Zeus, that something wasn't right in this place. Talbot glanced at Wes and noticed the commando's brow was slightly furrowed. The commando appeared to be having similar feelings of disquiet to his own. He motioned to Wes, and they moved to the side of the room, Kronos talking to the Titans at the long table, and the citizens of the city slowly disbanding.

  "Something doesn't add up here," whispered Talbot.

  "I hear ya," replied Wes. "Not sure what's going on, but it sure ain't kosher. But what can we do?"

  "I have no idea," muttered Talbot. "I think I really screwed the pooch on this one. But my brother said -"

  "Are you sure it was your brother?" asked Wes suddenly.

  "What do you mean?"

  "Remember that story you told me about what happened onboard the aircraft carrier?"

  "Oh shit," replied Talbot, remembering the creature which had appeared to be Lieutenant General Walsh. Its eyes had been -

  Oh shit, thought Talbot. The thing that had taken over Lieutenant General Walsh had lidless eyes.

  Lidless eyes filled with black, swirling orbs of smoke.

  Exactly the same as Prometheus's eyes....

  The bullet had hit the lieutenant general directly in the head. Only something incredibly tough could have survived such an impact. Either that or it would have needed regenerating abilities.

  Talbot remembered the mechanical eagle, sinking its talons deep into the flesh of Prometheus's arm; he recalled the way that flesh had healed instantly, without even a drop of blood. That combined with the memory of the eyes....

  "Jesus Christ," whispered Talbot to Wes. "These things aren't innocent. I've been an idiot!"

  "What do you know?" asked Wes, his hand on the hilt of Chiron's sword, his narrowed eyes darting surreptitiously around the room.

  "These things have been involved in the whole thing," replied Talbot, his tone hushed. "Tell me, when you cut into Hades's arm, did it bleed?"

  Wes looked thoughtful for a moment, biting his bottom lip slightly. He looked up. "There was a lot going on at the time, but as far as I can recall, no, it didn't."

  "Damn," whispered Talbot. "We've been fooled since the beginning. I'd bet my right arm some of these guys are able to change their shape at will and regenerate like Prometheus. There's no telling how much of this whole saga was manipulated by them."

  "But what's the point?" asked Wes. "Why go through all this trouble?"

  Talbot thought about it for a moment, trying hard to keep his expression neutral, glancing over at Kronos and the other five Titans at the high table. Then it came to him like bolt of lightning in a field full of brass keys.

  What had they gotten out of all of this? They'd brought him here. The only one who could open the gate back into Olympia; the only person alive who could read the script of the Elder-tongue.

  The scope of the situation began to bear down on Talbot like an anvil. How long had the Titans been planning this? Had they planted someone in with the team Thomas had signed on with? Talbot dismissed the idea immediately, but perhaps there was some truth in what his brother's doppelganger had disclosed. Maybe they had somehow given people the idea that some great imaginary power was hidden in Tartarus. If the American government had thought that, they would certainly have sought out the one person capable of reading the language....

  And now he was here, offering to open up the gate into Olympia for the race of beings who almost destroyed the Greek gods.

  "We have to get away from here," said Talbot.

  "Follow me," replied Wes.

  The two cautiously made their way around the outside wall of the room, heading for the only exit out of the place. By luck or paranoia, Wes had brought his pack full of supplies and still wore the scabbard containing Chiron's sword, so they didn't need to backtrack.

  But they had no idea where to go, either. The building was like a maze, and the two of them had seen very little of it. They managed to get out into the main hall without anyone noticing, but once there Wes paused.

  Talbot looked around, and any doubts he'd had about his theory were dashed in an instant as he looked at the stairs in the middle of the huge room. They were designed for Titanic-sized figures - not human-sized, not even Olympian-sized. This building, indeed the entire city, had been established for many decades at the very least. Prometheus had said they had only been expelled from Olympia - or Gaia, as he had called it - a matter of years ago.

  The Titans were lying, of that Talbot had no doubt. Not now.

  "Where do we go?" asked Wes. "Do we look for the rift or just get out of the city?"

  "We have to get some breathing room for now," replied Talbot. "Let's head for the main gates."

  Talbot followed Wes, and they managed to slip out the front door of the main building. Moving through the streets furtively, they hid behind cover at any indication of movement.

  It became clear as they moved how deeply they had been fooled. As Wes and Talbot hid within a darkened alleyway, Titans moved from homes wearing full armor and weapons similar to those of the Olympians, power crackling along spears and swords alike.

  The Titans were at least twice the size of the Olympians, there were hundreds of them, and they wore armor which covered them almost completely, high collar-guards and full-faced helms protecting their heads and necks. Talbot doubted many of the Olympians would be able to reach that high anyway. Heracles would have been able to match these warriors for strength, but even he would have struggled to match their height and would have been disadvantaged for reach. And Heracles had been the greatest warrior from among the Olympians. With him gone, what chance would they have?

  But then Talbot remembered Briareus, the giant with one hundred arms and fifty heads, he could probably decapitate a few of these Titans. And he apparently had two brothers as well. Maybe they would stand a chance, but not if they were attacked by surprise.

  Titans came from everywhere, pouring from buildings into formerly deserted streets. For a nation which had proclaimed to be peaceful, they seemed remarkably prepared for war. Talbot shook his head in amazement; they must have been planning this for years.

  "We have to warn Zeus," said Talbot, his voice hushed.

  Wes seemed ready
to argue, but suddenly a bell started to ring, sounding a warning, or....

  "They've realized we're gone," hissed Wes. "Let's move!"

  They shot down an alleyway running parallel to the main street, heading for the outer gates to the city. Talbot had no idea what they would do once they got outside the city, but for the moment they were sitting in the middle of a nest of vipers and had to get out.

  The gates loomed before them, and Talbot felt a moment of hope; they were going to make it! The alarm bell was still clanging throughout the walled city, but all Talbot had eyes on was the gate. They started running toward it, all pretense of skulking gone. And then something stepped into their path that made them screech to a stop.

  A tiny puppy.

  A tiny puppy with three heads and a tail like a serpent.

  Cerberus snarled, but Wes grabbed Talbot's arm, urging him on. They moved closer and suddenly the tiny dog emitted an ominous howl, something too large to have come from such a small creature. Its shoulders bunched, becoming intensely lumpy and exploding outwards with an incredible growth of muscle and bone. The three heads stretched and inflated like demonic balloons, bared teeth soon growling down at them from a height some twenty feet above. The beast's forelegs thickened with gnarled muscle, the glossy hair of the dog's coat receding until only a spiky black pelt remained.

  Cerberus had grown to twice the size of an Indian bull elephant, his three heads snarling and foaming, the serpent tail whipping from behind. Two burning coals had replaced the innocent puppy eyes, and now it truly looked like the beast from hell Talbot had always imagined. The slapping of sandaled feet from far off in the city indicated that the Titans had heard the howl and would soon arrive at the scene.

  Wes drew Chiron's sword, glancing first at the huge Cerberus, and then behind them toward the sounds of running feet.

  "Aw.... Fuck it!" Wes snarled.

  Before Talbot could react, Wes darted forward, straight toward Cerberus. The huge hound's left head shot down - directly for Wes! - and the commando calmly sidestepped it. The great maw crashed into the ground, missing him by mere inches. Without a second's pause, Wes swung Chiron's sword in a glittering arc which seemed to pass straight through the left neck of the giant canine. The other two heads howled violently and Cerberus leaped to the right, demolishing the entire side of a building.

  The attacking head flew clear, rolling across the ground, sizzling and hissing on the stone path - shrinking as it did so. Within seconds it had returned to the size of the tiny puppy, dead eyes staring up at the black clouds. Thick, white goo pumped from the severed neck of the canine and Cerberus growled at Wes with its remaining two heads, but neither seemed willing to come within striking distance of the glowing sword again.

  Wes stepped forward, and the enormous beast turned to flee -

  But it was a trick! The long, serpentine tail whipped out, darting for Wes's face, venomous fangs rushing toward him.

  Luckily, the commando possessed lightning reactions, and his blade came up at the last moment, slicing the horrific snake-tail in two before it managed to latch onto him. Cerberus yelped piteously once more, its tail dropping to the ground, sizzling and returning to its original size.

  "We can do this all day buddy," Wes murmured, and it seemed Cerberus understood him, its middle head cocking and ears pricking up. "I'll just keep cutting shit off you until you're one paw and a nut sack. Or you could step aside and let us pass. Let some other fucker worry about us."

  The flow of fluid from the creature's severed neck had slowed, and the tail was not bleeding the white liquid Talbot presumed was its blood as profusely. Cerberus trembled slightly, until it finally, gingerly moved to the side, leaving them a clear exit to the gate.

  "Well, that was eas -"

  Wes's words were cut off as the two of them were driven to the ground by heavy bodies crash-tackling them from behind. Their arms expertly secured behind them by large hands, they were easily lifted to their feet and spun around, strong arms holding them from behind.

  Standing a few feet away was Prometheus, smiling maliciously as one of the other Titans handed him Chiron's sword.

  "I see you have finally seen through our ruse," said Prometheus. "In a way I am glad, it was beginning to annoy me to have to bow and scrape to you pathetic monkeys. I mean, really, look at your race - you're pathetic. I just wish you hadn't stepped on that damn finger. You remember, don't you? When I had you on that ship, posing as that fool lieutenant general? We could have ended this much sooner if you'd only gone along with things as I planned. But once again my impatience showed through."

  "I thought that was you," replied Talbot. "Your pretty eyes gave you away."

  "I still can't believe you got past both me and the Gorgon. She was supposed to freeze you until we could bring you back here." Prometheus laughed hollowly. "You are going to wish you'd just gone along with things and opened the gate into Olympia, because if you refuse, I'm going to make your torment a thing of legend; something else for your people to scribble alongside their other ignorant tales."

  Prometheus signaled to the two Titans, and Wes and Talbot were roughly hauled away, dragged back through the streets and into the main building once more. This time they were taken through another door in the main hall, one they hadn't entered before. The door led to a room full of devices which made Talbot's skin crawl. Though he professed no clear idea of what each did, he knew what they were designed for:

  Torture.

  The Titan holding Talbot sneered as they were shoved over to two vertical, metallic benches. The surfaces faced each other over a distance of about twenty feet. It took Talbot a moment to comprehend why, but when he figured it out a part of him cringed. They were holding devices, designed to make people watch each other while they were being tortured.

  The ropes were released from behind their backs, and they were secured to leather straps hanging from the tops of the tall benches, obviously designed for Titan-proportioned prisoners.

  "What the hell do you want from us, Profiterole?" snapped Wes.

  "You," Prometheus began, pointing an accusing finger at Wes, "only serve as a point of leverage should your friend refuse to aid us. I will gladly kill you. What we want is him." Prometheus pointed at Talbot, and he felt his heart lurch.

  Moving to the far wall, Prometheus nodded to the other two Titans, and they pushed a seemingly solid stone wall, heaving it sideways. Slowly the wall began to slide, disappearing into the corner. Prometheus then dismissed the two Titans, who bowed and departed the way they had entered, leaving Wes and Talbot alone in the huge chamber with him.

  "I have been charged with opening that rift," said Prometheus, indicating the previously hidden area. Talbot craned his head and saw what the Titan was talking about. In the hidden room stood another rift gate, its control tablets seeming to call out to Talbot. So this was how they meant to invade Olympia!

  "We were able to replicate the technology of the Olympians with smuggled plans. In fact, it was that very journey to Olympia which saw me caught and imprisoned, and their devising my winged friend to slowly consume me." He chuckled mirthlessly.

  "But that is all beside the point," continued Prometheus. "Our warriors will use this gate to travel directly into the rear fields of Olympia, attacking them by surprise and decimating their already weakened army. But the problem arises that, while we were able to reproduce the Olympian technology and travel to other locations, we still cannot open this rift; Olympia is somehow shielded, requiring something we do not possess. The Elder-tongue continues to elude us, and I believe only this can unlock it."

  Talbot had been wracking his brain, trying to understand how the Titans could possibly utilize the rift above the huge pit, and even if they did, how would they be able to enter Olympia? Though Zeus had admitted to small rips opening in the fabric of time, it seemed they had most of the entrances either secured or protected by wards such as the one he and Wes had been forced through. There was certainly no chance of an i
nvading horde conquering those defenses.

  But if the Titans had access to their own gate, that would be a different story altogether. They might be able to infiltrate Olympia undetected, and with the Olympians still recovering from the last war between the dimensions, they'd be slaughtered!

  "But with you, Doctor Talbot Harrison," Prometheus spat the words, "we can open this gate and fulfill our destiny as the true rulers of Olympia! You're going to do that for me, whether you like it or not."

  "What really happened to my brother?" countered Talbot, trying to buy some time.

  "Your brother was a fool. We didn't expect him to be with the advance squad of troops or else we would have never allowed Cerberus to attack them. He spoke directly to Cerberus, trying to convince the stupid beast not to attack, when one of my warriors released a swarm of fire hornets - insects possessing incredibly torturous poison - and they attacked and killed your brother. Thus, we had to organize a secondary plan. That plan was you."

  "How did you even know about me?"

  "Oh, I forgot, you haven't even come close to deducing the entire scheme. I was there the whole time, put in place to ensure everything went smoothly."

  "What do you mean?" asked Talbot.

  Prometheus's form rapidly shifted and changed, shrinking to the size of a man and adopting the form of someone Talbot recognized -

  General William Sharpe.

  "You son of a bitch!" said Talbot, surging forward and straining the bonds which held him.

  "'Doctor Harrison, your brother is dead.'" The words were the first Talbot had ever heard from this man back in his own world, in a time before everything had turned insane. It was a time when Talbot had simply been an archaeologist, unhappy with his life, but too scared to try and change it. Prometheus laughed, his features smoothly flowing into those of Hades.

  "'Meld with the short one'," the figure of Hades said, perfectly mimicking the tone of the Lord of the Underworld.

  The figure swirled again, becoming his brother. "Save these people, Talbot, they have done no harm to any -" The figure mimicked choking on the blood which sprayed from its mouth before breaking into harsh laughter and returning to the form of Prometheus.