ATN: THE ELEMENTS OF BEAUTY

WE MAKE A PLAN

We landed in the throne room, and all the demigods came rushing at us, and started asking questions like media does when a celebrity comes out of an airport. The demigods kept asking us questions like, "How was she?", "Why was she crying?", "What did she say?", "Are the giants coming?" And I needed to stop this. So, I raised my voice, and said, "Quiet!"

You won't believe, all of them shushed. Now, I said, "We will answer all your questions, but hold on a second. Let us breathe."

We sat down on the ground with the other demigods, in front of Iris and the Queen, and told them our story. We told them our mission of going to the underworld. This was followed by many big eyes and 'Noooo!'s. But Iris just scratched her head and said, "I was expecting this. One good thing is that Gaia is not behind them this time. Jay?"

"Yes, Iris?"

"You'll have a part in this. The one giant is, of course, Periboea, as you know now. She was born to oppose Aphrodite. But the other is Clytius. Do you know who that is?"

"That dark skinned guy? No. I don't remember any of these gigantes."

"Okay. Anyone knows?"

A young dark skinned demigod raised his hand. He had blue eyes, and he wore a Los Angeles Dodgers cap. "Yes, Trent. Tell us." Iris said.

Trent Butcher, son of the supreme god of the pantheon, tried to speak. But, he stopped himself. He looked at everyone, and everyone looked at him. He went quiet. I didn't understand why. But I heard some of the others breathe a sigh of relief. That's when I started losing it. "Say what you had to say, Trent." I said.

"No, leave. Iris can tell you that. It gets awkward, no one wants me and Rhian to talk."

"Is it true?" I turned to Tina and asked.

"Yes." She said, "I have tried my best to let them get along with the others. But they have not been accepted like you guys have been."

"Why?"

"Because they are sons of the two most supreme gods. Others think they are two big to talk to." Tina gave the rest a disgusted look.

"This is how you will defend Atlantis?" I turned to the others and asked, "With no understanding among yourself? The giants will eat you alive. Guys, these two are kids, just like my brother here. These two, being sons of Zeus and Poseidon, are powerful demigods. They would bring the two super strong gods to our side. They have never been welcomed here like we were. Why? This is really sad." All were silent. I turned to Trent, "Trent, say what you wanted to say. I want to hear it. Not from Iris, not from anyone else. Just you."

Trent looked at me with thankful eyes. I looked at the looked at Rhian. He too, just like Trent, was dark skinned. His eyes were black, and his hair was brown. He wore a Dodgers T-shirt. He, too, was giving me a thankful look. Trent opened his mouth, and this time, no one made it awkward. Trent said, "Clytius is the anti Hecate. He is the absorber of all forms of magic."

This came as a shock. I had just got to know two weeks ago that my Mom was alive, and immortal. I had planned to meet her from that very day. Now, I couldn't let any dark giant stop me from doing that. Before this info, fighting the giants was duty to Atlantis and the people here, who had welcomed me as one of their own. But now, this seemed personal. I wanted to see my Mom, and nothing would stop me from doing that. "Oh, no, no." I said, "I am not gonna let him destroy my Mom. I haven't met her yet." I turned to Iris, "What do we do?"

"For now, go to Hades, and seek the ointment. Get that to Avik and Abhro's mother. Then, return here for the fight. Till then, we will fortify Atlantis against those overgrown idiots."

"How do we do that?" Riya asked, "How do we get to the underworld?"

"Well," Queen Anastasia said, "I guess I have someone who has been to the underworld on a mission before."

"Who?" Hiya and Abhro asked, together.

"Your leader here." the Queen pointed towards Tina. We all looked at her with surprise. Just when I thought that we were knowing her well, one new information came up about her. "Five years ago," the Queen went on, "Tina Roy, daughter of Ares, had travelled to the underworld to return Hades's pitchfork that he had lost during the war against Kronos's army fourteen years ago."

"Yeah!" Dadai said, "What's with that war?"

"Its nothing important anymore." Iris said, "For now, Avik, I guess you guys should take Tina with you. She has been to the underworld before, and knows the place. And having someone experienced in the underworld is really vital."

I turned to Tina, "What do you say?"

"I will be thrilled to go with you guys." Tina said, "But what about training?"

"I'll handle that." Juan raised his hands, "I'll see to the training while you guys are gone." Then, he turned to me, "You have a leader inside you, amigo. Lead them well. And take care of our capitan. Vamos!"

"I will." I said.

"Okay, the six of you," Iris said, "Go to your room, change, take whatever you need, and meet me in the training ground. I'll be waiting."

I went back to my room, and in my cupboard, found my backpack. I packed everything I felt I could need: my book, my war helmet, a T-shirt and some pants. Who knew how long it would take to reach the underworld and get our work done? I wore a fresh white 'I love New York' T-shirt, and put on a new pair of black jeans. I put my armor disc inside my pocket, and put on my belt and stuck my knife to it. Then, I left for the training ground.

Tina was already there, in her Lara Croft avatar except for the sword instead of two pistols. I went there, and stood beside her. My cousins joined us soon after. They had not changed their clothes. But all of us were having a backpack with us. Iris came a second after my cousins, in her brown gown, but she had combed her hair. She gave five sheets of yellow tablets, and a small bottle full of some yellow liquid to each of us. "What are these medicines, Iris?" Hiya asked.

"The tablets are ambrosia, and the liquid is nectar." Iris said, "Those are delicacies in Olympus, but only medicines for demigods. You should consume it when you need to heal. But consume only one tablet, or one sip of the nectar at once. Consuming more will make you weaker instead of healing you." Then, she brought out a wooden box from her gown pocket, and opened it. Inside, there were six rings, made of silver, and a red gem on its prong. Iris gave one ring to all of us, and said, "You must leave your phones here. You would get no signal and they will be useless. But if you need to part ways, you can communicate with each other through this. All you need to do is press the gems and say the name of who you wanna communicate with."

We packed the things and wore our rings. Iris asked us to visit the royal kitchen and pack some food in case we needed. We didn't have to though, as a servant came to the training ground with six paper bags saying, "The Queen asked me to deliver this." We took a bag each and put it in our backpack. Iris bade us farewell, and said, "Be careful out there. Hades isn't bad, but he can be a little stubborn. But there will be other hardships in the underworld. So, stay on your guard, and return, all of you." She put her hand on every single one of us, and left.

I looked at my watch. Twelve noon. Dadai looked at me and said, "Alright, brother, lead us." I turned to Tina, and said, "Alright, leader, how do we get to the underworld?"

Tina smiled, and asked us to follow her. We kept walking, and finally, reached the foot of a mountain. Tina drew her sword, and swung it at some weeds from there. We watched with open mouths, as a huge hole on the mountain's foot gaped at us. "Here it is. The gateway to death." Tina said, "Lets get in."