A new age of Divinity: Theomachy

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Nate had called in Gulltoppr because none of them were in any mood to walk through the forest. The three were all completely exhausted by what had just happened. Nate was in the front because he was the only one who really knew how to steer Gulltoppr. Beth was slumped over on his shoulder passed out and Kenneth was in the back.
"Hey, can I ask you a question?" He asked.
"About how I managed to break through the time slow?" Nate guessed.
"Yeah, I am the son of Hermes and I could barely even move."
"Remember World Lag?"
"Oh yeah, that move you showed me."
"Yeah, it's basically the same so the moment I noticed what was going on, I used it. Apparently they can cancel each other out. Kinda how I know how to get away from Beth's Quick Thought. I'm not sure if Athena calls it that, but I'm gonna assume so."
"Wait, so does that mean you're the strongest of us?"
"We've all got our strengths and weaknesses... but of the three here, I'd say I'm currently the most powerful."
The two got to the gate and Nate elbowed Beth in the stomach to wake her up. She groaned and looked up at him slightly irritated, then noticed where they were. She had never thought she would be back to the camp after... however long she was gone. Nate could hear her thoughts, they were wild and unfocused, the moment one stopped, two more began. It was like a hydra of confusion, happiness, and relief going on in her mind. Everything was just flowing in and out of her head as if she couldn't hold onto one thought for more than half a second.
"Yeah, Beth... we're home," He told her as he swung his leg up over Gulltoppr's head "Come on." He grabbed her hand and helped her down the massive beast, then he turned to the horned lion and said "Good boy." He patted him as Hayden walked up to Beth "Here we go, buddy."
Beth saw Hayden and tried her best to straighten her hair, which wasn't good cause her hair was a rat's nest.
Hayden cleared his throat and said "H-hey...Elizabeth."
Beth's eyes widened and she turned red, no one had called her by her full name in years, last person who called her that, well let's just say they don't have the best relationship. Beth's father had never liked the idea of Beth being a tomboy. He always wanted her to do what traditional women did, clean the house, take care of the kids. But that didn't matter because when Hayden said it, it had a different meaning, like it belonged, not that she was in trouble and she liked it.
"H-hey, Hayden..." Nate visibly retched in the background, but Hayden didn't acknowledge it as he knew there was absolutely no winning an argument with him.
She looked up at him and was about to say something but Nate interrupted, "Let's get you cleaned up Beth." He glared at Hayden and grabbed Beth's shoulder, pulling her to get her cleaned up "Him? Really?"
"I will still kill you."
"In the state you're in, you couldn't kill a germ with soap. Come on, get cleaned up, then you can be all mushy with your boy toy or whatever."
"I hate you."
"Love you too, Ellie."
Beth mumbled something under her breath and went to the sanitation area to clean herself off. For the first time in a long time, she took a shower, then got new clothes on. She was brushing her freshly cleaned hair out and looked at herself in the mirror, then she picked up her dagger, lifting it to her hair, she grabbed a chunk of it and pressed it to the dagger, slicing it off to shoulder length. When she was done with all of her hair She washed off the dagger and put it on her belt. She walked out of the area and found Hayden waiting for her, which made her slightly nervous. She walked up to him and tried to continue their earlier conversation.
She cleared her throat, "So...how have you been?" Then she mentally scolded herself, it's been Gods know how long since she last saw him and it looked around Novemberish but she wasn't sure and this was the first thing she said to him.
Hayden sighed, "It's been rough. I mean you've been gone for two years-"
"Wait. I have been gone for two years?!" She looked at her watch that she grabbed with her stuff before she showered, it said December first. The day before her seventeenth birthday.
Hayden chuckled, "At least that's the same about you."
Beth looked at him, "What is the same?"
Hayden shook his head, "Can't say. Don't wanna get killed."
Beth snorted and lightly punched his shoulder, "I have been gone for two years, tell me what's the same, I am the same girl I was two years ago."
Hayden sighed, "But you're not the same girl, you were basically tortured by your mother. That definitely changes someone. Besides, a lot of us thought you were dead. That takes a toll on people who really care about you. But anyway, it's the way you always want to know the timing about everything. You need to know everything that's happening so you can have a plan."
Beth nodded then she looked away, "There is something else that has not changed." Then she saw Nate, Kenneth, and the others, hiding behind a bush spying on them.
"He almost killed himself trying to find you, ya know," Hayden sighed "Dallr may be a complete jackass, but he's not heartless."
"I know..." She looked directly at Nate and smiled, "That is why he is my best friend."
"Then tell him to take a freaking nap! He hasn't slept since you went missing. Where even were you?"
"I honestly do not know. It was dark all the time." Beth shudders, "You know... I do not want to talk about that now."
"I'm sorry. Wasn't trying to trigger a flashback or anything." Hayden sighed, "It killed me too not knowing where you were."
She looked at him and asked "It killed you? The son of the king of death? I thought you would have been happy to have another death. I mean it's what your father thrives on."
Hayden rolled his eyes, "Why would I want the women I love killed."
"Because it's a-" She stopped and looked at him again, "What did you just say."
"The women I love." He took her hand, "The one I always smile around because I don't want her to see my dark side. Beth it's you. It's always been you. For 6 years." Beth couldn't even speak, she just kept shuddering.
Suddenly they heard Mikayla yell from the bushes with the others, "Oh, just kiss already!!"
Kenneth grabbed Mikayla and pulled her down, "Shut the fuck up! It has to happen naturally, not her friends forcing her into it!"
"I mean... she could just enchant them and make them fuck butt ass naked right here and now," Nate suggested jokingly.
"Hm, good idea. Think I should do it?" Mikayla asked, smirking.
"No!" Beth screamed, "I will end all of you." She shook her head and grumbled, "Jackasses."
Hayden laughed lightly, "Oh, my God, you're so dramatic." He grabbed her gently by the face and kissed her softly.
Beth's eyes widened in surprise but she closed her eyes and kissed him back, pulling him closer. Kenneth and Eden squealed and cheered, Mikayla retched, Marc came out completely confused, and Nate smiled, playfully rolling his eyes.
"Wait a moment, earlier we heard that Athena went down to confront you three... how did you survive her wrath?" Hayden asked.
"Actually, yeah, that is a good question," Eden agreed. "You all confronted a goddess, and even three on one, none of you should have been able to take her on all on your own. How did you manage that?"
"She didn't come to fight," Nate explained "Never threw a single attack, that was all her warriors' doing."
"Still, I wouldn't have expected her to just let you all go."
"Nate had to beat the crap out of her while we were in Quick Thought?"
"Wait, he beat her in slow motion?" Hayden asked.
"No, he used World Lag," Kenneth told him "Opposite effects." While they talked, Beth looked over at the group and saw that Nate and Mikayla were being a little weird toward one another.
She was curious so she went over and asked "Hey, you two okay? I have never seen either of you being so... nervous around each other?"
"Yeah, there's been a bit of tension between us for a little while," Nate groaned.
"Oh, how come?"
"I needed some way to distract him... so..."
"Oh, my Gods, you two did not!"
"Tell anyone and I'll slit your throat, you know I will," Nate growled at her "But yeah... we do... every now and then."
"Wait, you two do it consistently?"
"Well, I'm gonna assume we're not gonna do it anymore now that he's... oh, Nate's going to bed. Okay, good night, ya party pooper!"
"Fuck off! I'm tired!" Nate shouted back without even looking back at her, then he went into his cabin, and for the first time in years, actually got a good night of sleep... or maybe a little longer than a night.

A Few Weeks Later

"Okay seriously, is anyone gonna go wake him up?" Marc asked "He's been asleep for like a month and a half."
"Well you try staying awake for two years because your best friend got kidnapped," Beth muttered as they sat around the fire "Dumbass lightning Demigod."
"But would it not be good for someone to wake him up?" Eden asked "He still needs food."
"He needs sleep even more. Remember, I told him to go as hard as he could, and god damn it he did, but he never even came close to falling asleep," Mikayla pointed out "I say if he's gonna be in a coma for another few weeks, fuckin' let him."
"Well, I have not seen you in a while."
"Oh, and here is someone I have not missed," Beth groaned as she got off the log and turned to face Estevan. "I may still be recovering after the past few years, but I have never lost to you. Get out of my face before I make you regret it like the last few times."
"Well, that is the thing, kid. When you are gone as long as you were, some people decide to start making some friends." A bunch of people started to surround the group "Ready to see what two years worth of training can do?"
"So, you've got a son of Ares, daughter of Zeus, which is much less rare than people make it out to be, non binary kid of Dionysus, and... that's about all the ones worth pointing out," Mikayla said "Marc? Strike 'em now!" He nodded and jumped up into the air, then sent a massive lightning bolt down at Estevan's gang, which knocked them all away "God, he is annoying."
Beth sighed, "Okay that is it." She stood up, "I'm gonna go wake up the sleeping beauty. We're gonna need him if Estevan is gonna pick on me."
Hayden stood up, "I will come with you. Just in case Estevan tries anything ya know." He blushed.
Beth blushed back and Kenneth snickered, "No funny business, you too." Beth glared at him and flipped him off, then she took Hayden's hand and the two started walking off to Nate's cabin.
When they arrived at the cabin, Beth faced Hayden, "Stay out here, he does not really like anyone in his cabin." Hayden nodded and leaned against the wall while Beth walked into the cabin and over to Nate's bed, she knelt down and shook him, "Psst. Psst. Nate." In his sleep he somehow headbutted her hard enough to make her stumble and fall back, and when she landed, she groaned, "Damn- hard headed asshole. Nate, you need to wake up."
"So, he isn't in a coma?" Hayden asked as he peered in.
"No, he is not. He is however refusing to wake up. Gods, he can be really annoying when he wants to be."
"He was awake for like two years straight, most of us would've died after even a week straight of no sleep," Hayden said.
"Yes, I get that he has been awake for two years, and I am sorry for that, but he still needs to wake up!"
"Mm... shut up," Nate groaned as he turned over on his side "I'm catching up on two hundred forty three and a half days of sleep," He mumbled.
"That's an oddly specific number," Hayden said.
Nate groaned and sat up, then explained "She was gone for two years, which is seven hundred thirty and a half days, right? And you spend a third of your life asleep, right? Well divide seven thirty point five by three and you get roughly two forty three and a half. Now would you both kindly fuck off?" Beth groaned and walked out of the house with Hayden, understanding that there was no winning an argument with Nate.