A new age of Divinity: Theomachy

Confrontation

In the morning, the group got up, and they all knew that this would be the day they would make it to Athena. In every room, the mood was ready, but also weary. Nate put on a long sleeved black undershirt and a white t-shirt with armor sewed in along with armored black sweatpants. Eden put her hair back in a bun, then put on a green tube top, black tights, and covered the tube top with a green flannel shirt which she tied at the bottom. Hayden put on some armored jeans, an armored hoodie, and put his scythe on his back. Mikayla put on black cargo pants, a black corset, a black long sleeved shirt, and a beige cardigan. Beth was nervous, but she knew this had to be done, so she decided to put on gray ripped jeans, and a Lore Olympus tee-shirt and a red flannel tied around her waist with her normal combat boots. Kenneth put on his usual jeans, winged shoes, and plaid shirt. Marc put on black sweatpants with a clip for his mace, a yellow t-shirt, and a red hoodless jacket. They came out of their rooms and saw everyone else, having taken room keys that were all next to each other.
"We all ready?" Hayden asked, to which everyone nodded "Alright. Let's go."
"Beth, do you have to wear that fanfiction version of the gods merch?" Nate asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Yes!" Beth squealed, "It is the only way I can take most of them seriously and if you ever ask me that I said this I will deny it, but it makes me feel confident."
"Fair enough," Nate sighed, "But who can you actually take seriously without...that."
"Probably my father and step-mother," Hayden said, "You know their story is her favorite."
"Yes and also Persephone and Hades are the only gods who do not seem to want to kill me."
"Seems like it at this point," Mikayla groaned.
"I doubt that," Eden told Beth "The Norse Gods do no harm to you."
"You know she meant the Greek Gods, but yeah, that's a good point. If we need more help to deal with anything she may throw at us, we'll probably have their support to a degree. The dwarves should be able to build us some new weapons should the need arise. Seeing as how you're gonna say absolutely fuckin' not, I'm willing to bet that we're gonna start a new problem with a literall fucking Goddess! Now come on, this show isn't gonna get started by itself."
"Alright, now that we've gotten the witty banter out of the way..." Hayden sighed "Let's finish this."
They walked down the stairs and out to the door just as the tour group also came out. For a few seconds, it looked like they had a few dozen more people with them, but they all knew that was just a fantasy. Each group went their own way and while the tour group got on their bus, the Demigods got on their giant horned lion. When Nate took Gulltoppr's reins, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When he opened his eyes, he gave Gulltoppr the signal to use his super speed and the lion did as he was told. They blasted through what was left of their journey through Arkansas, shot so fast through Tennessee that they caused a few buildings to collapse, took a turn up to go diagonally through Virginia, and finally stopped at Washington D.C. It was twilight, which made some sense as this was supposed to be the end of this little story.
"Alright, Athena! We're here!" Hayden yelled as they got off of Gulltoppr in front of the White House "This is what you wanted, isn't it?" The doors opened and Nate looked back at the rest of his friends.
"You all remember your positions?" Mikayla, Eden, Marc, and Kenneth nodded "Alright, we'll hopefully see you again soon." The four went off to their positions, sneakily avoiding the Athenian Warriors guarding the building.
As they walked up the stairs, the three kept their eyes on the nearest Athenian Warrior. They walked in through the doors and Nate closed them behind them. When the doors closed, the lights all turned on all the way down the hall. The three looked at each other and nodded, then walked down the hall. It was absolutely silent and this made them all nervous. Beth had left her spear in its hilt on Gulltoppr's side, and by now their furry companion was sound asleep. The boys at least had their weapons, but she had absolutely no armor or weapons.
'Merch not the best idea to wear to this, huh?'
"Oh, piss off."
The three shared a laugh for a moment, happy they could at least share one more moment together. Sure, Nate got on both of their nerves like no one's business, but they were all family at this point. They knew what they were getting into with each other and Beth was happy to have these two with her for this.
"Ready?" Hayden asked as he put his hand on the door.
"Yeah."
"It's been long enough," Nate said as he let out a breath "Let's do this."
They pushed the door open and Nate put his hand by his sword's hilt as the door swung open. Hayden took his scythe off of his back and swung it in front of him. They had expected to see some kind of refurbished throne room dedicated to Athena... but that was not what they came across. What was there was simply the body of... whom they assumed the desk in the middle belonged to. Everything else seemed completely normal, as if Athena had not felt a need to change any details.
'This... is not what I expected.'
'Agreed.'
"Ah, hello, you three," Athena greeted them as she sat at the desk "You came with only a few days to spare. I respect your boldness."
"Actually, we forgot for the most part," Nate told her "Yeah, turns out three years is a really long time for us Demigods, so we kinda forgot about your deal until you sent your pet to come and destroy our home."
"Mm, yes... well, now that you are here..." Athena got up from the desk, revealing her full size as a head taller than even Beth. "How about we cut to the chase?"
Athena walked around the desk and faced the three, who were all dwarfed by her. Her attire was far less casual than the last time they had seen her, which made sense as this was something that they had all been preparing for. She was wearing a dark green sparkling bicep strapped form fitting slitted dress that had a sweetheart neckline and on her feet were silver netted heels.
"Wait... wait, hold on," Nate said "So... did you send those Athenian Warriors to the hotel?"
Athena looked genuinely puzzled by the question and answered "I only sent Aiden as a messenger, but from the sound of it, there were more. I will deal with them immediately to not allow them to insight any more missions outside of my orders."
"Oh, well the thing about that is... they're all dead," Hayden told her "Turns out, whatever kind of battalion that was was made up of some of your weaker peons."
"Yes, it would seem so. Curious that Aiden did not mention this when he came back."
"Well, he was focused on trying to tear Beth's head off," Nate told her "I'm willing to bet he didn't even notice the whole battle going on."
"Yes... well, that is beside the point of today's meeting." Athena sat down on the desk "Have you made your decision, Elizabeth?"
"I have... but can I ask you a question before I give it?"
"Go ahead, child."
"Why do you need me?" Beth asked "You clearly have the numbers for... whatever you are planning, so why are you so obsessed with me?"
"Ah, I was wondering how long it would take you to ask that question," Athena sighed. "Ares and I have made a bet. We would each try our hand at ruling over Mount Olympus. He tried with brute force, but of course, our father cast him off of the great mountain. Now that he has failed and his throne lies vacant, my most powerful daughter would be the only logical choice to sit on his throne while I take our father's."
The three were all speechless, Nate narrowed his eyes at Athena and gripped his sword tightly. Hayden put the blade of his scythe into the floor behind him and just stared at Athena. Beth was absolutely dumbfounded that this was what Athena wanted her for. Sure, while she would love to become an Olympian and the leader of the Olympus's right hand, she knew it would mean giving up everything she had... which admittedly was very little. She looked at Nate and saw that he was ready to fight, despite what happened last time. She looked over at Hayden and saw that while his scythe was lodged in the floor, he was still ready for a fight.
"Elizabeth, what do you say?" Athena asked.
"No... I am sorry, but I have to decline. I enjoy the life I have, I do not want to launch a coup against Zeus."
"Fine... then, I suppose your friends will have to pay the price for your defiance."
'Beth, Hayden, run.' The moment the thought was transported into their heads, they did as Nate said, getting out of there, and Hayden shut the door behind them.