The Great Eight (Temporary Hiatus)

Chaos 101

Passing through the veil of mystic blue, the three teens were greeted by the woman behind the maternal voice. A woman, who was clothed in white robes with blue striped edgings, held the countenance of great knowledge. Whether that observation was due to the crow's feet around her eyes, her greyed-blue hair, her gaunt features, decades-old earrings, or from her softly spoken greeting we will just sum together. What was really shocking of the woman, was her ancient style of sandals, that paired with her clothes, gave the biggest sense of her being out-of-place in a modern age. Though from the ornate ceilings all the way down to the buffed, marble floors melded well with her garb rather than the clothes the teens were wearing. So who among the mismatched group were the ones really out of place here?

"I'm Ms. Hera. You must be Jay." The woman leaned over slightly to shake the teen's hand.

"Hera? As in the immortal goddess Hera? Wife of Zeus?" Jay asked. His voice getting just a bit higher the longer he spoke to the woman.

"You know your Greek mythology well. And your Atlanta. And you, Herry." The woman, now presumed goddess, turned to address the other two left over by the immediate entrance. Interrupting Herry's fascination with the portal as he continually prodded the corporeal color.

"What is this place?" Atlanta asked.

"Olympus High School. But this, this is a special part of the school where you will learn about your destiny." Hera explained, not without a little theatrical gestures.

"A school?" Herry intoned.

"Run by Gods?" Atlanta tossed in after.

"What do you mean, our destiny?" Jay completed the questionnaire.

"Oh my. So many questions. Five more of you will be arriving soon, but you should begin right away. There is no time to waste." With that, Hera led them further into what seems to be an endless set of ancient halls full of equally old architecture and histories. A distant sculpture of Zeus in the immediate hall they were heading down into. A giant reminder of their new reality and all their new destinies, before they even begin no less.

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The moon hung ominously above the mountain cliff, casting down an ethereal light on an assuming troupe of God and giants that walked to its face. Lugging behemoth lengths of chains behind them, the giants halted some distance from their leader as he told them so with a bark. Summoning his scythe, he buried it into the rock with a titanic strength which caused the cliff face to crumble around him. With an excited sneer, Cronus beheld before him a monument of a cell. A creature of such a size befitting of its prison, cast its eerily green eyes down below to the God which exposed to it moonlight for the first time in centuries.

"How would you like to make a deal?" Cronus asked charismatically. But with nothing more imminent on his mind then the downfall of the mortals destined to gather against him. The creature only settled for growling in response.

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"Hrg! You should lay off the donuts Hercules, you're gettin' soft!" Another woman, this one of fiery orange hair and in a perpetual state of being sky-high ( not unlike a certain red head's style ) was grunting as she arm-wrestled with a man of hefty proportions with an obvious lack of care for hygiene. But being distracted by the excessively large, double-doors being opened near them caused said Hercules to lose his focus and for the woman to pummel his hand into the table they were situated at.

"Children, I'd like you to meet Artemis and Hercules." Hera presented the two adults to the ( far ) younger trio.

"Hello!" Artemis practically sang to them. Pleased with her victory over Hercules, and extended her hand to Atlanta for a hearty shake.

"Uh, hi." Atlanta responded a bit more timidly to the older female. Before being focused on how Hercules greeted Herry.

"Hey hey! Look at'chou!" Hercules wrapped his iconic muscles around Herry and pulled him back into the couch he had been sitting in. Though Herry, the big boy that he is, seems to be halved by the famed man holding him captive beside him.

"Why are all the Gods of Mount Olympus here, in a school?" Jay asked, not satisfied with his answers as yet as for why he found himself in his current situation.

"It's safer for us here." Hera explained, stroking a peacock as she dramatically responded. As for the peacock, if you're really going to ask why an exotic animal is in a part of a building that shouldn't exit filled with the Greek Gods then you should recheck your priorities. " It also keeps us closer to you. So we can do what we can to protect you from Cronus. "

"Cronus?" Jay asked yet another question. Leading to Hera, which we will call the goddess of theatrics now, casting her hand to the center of the room. Summoning a, well a hologram, of the darker God decked out in a black tunic as if to further reinforce his bad-guy energy with preschooler color association techniques.

"For four thousand years, Cronus has been imprisoned in the underworld. But when the planets aligned on New Year's Eve -" The image shifted to a representation of the physical event of the planets aligning, " - he was able to draw on the cosmic energy and escape." After finishing her exposition, Hera stopped broadcasting.

"Our clock stopped at home, at midnight!" Jay's calculative mind was slowly putting things together.

"For a second, Thanks to Cronus, all time stood still." Artemis explained, in a pensive state.

"Just long enough for him and some giants to vamoose!" Hercules elaborated further on Artemis's point, releasing his hold on Herry to allow for a wide arm sweep. His tone anything but neutral towards Cronus.

"So, what does this have to do with us?" Atlanta shrugged, asking what seemed to be the million dollar question that would answer everything they've experienced so far today.

"Ya have to stop 'im" Artemis said so succinctly, and in-the-know.

"Stop him from what?" Jay pestered.

"From destroying the world." Hera finally elaborated, walking down from her raised platform that she had been on with her peacock a few moments prior. " Cronus used to rule the Earth. He was King of Gods and mortals. He wants to rule everything again, and well, let's just say he's not a very benevolent ruler."

"You expect us to save the world?!" Jay exclaimed, in absolute denial and fear.

"You got it!" Hercules said with a finger-gun at the trio and a wink directed at Herry.

"It is your destiny." Hera said, and to her credit, with a bit of sympathy. " The Oracle has seen this. You represent the new generation of heroes. Descendants of the great Jason -" She looked pointedly at Jay, "- Artemis -" She turned to Atlanta next, "- and Hercules." She looked to Herry last, who abruptly turned to his seatmate.

"I'm related to you?" Herry asked Hercules.

"Well think o'me as your great -" Hercules began to tick off his fingers as he went along, " - great, great, uh, great, great, great, great, great, great grandpa!" He at last finished with a flourished act of cupping his knuckles. " Ha ha! Let's see what yer made of m'boy!" Hercules laughed as he smacked Herry's shoulder in a friendly way. Leaving Herry gobsmacked on the couch as Hercules lifted himself up and towards the others. This wouldn't be the last time that something the Gods announced left the young heroes astounded.