The Great Eight (Temporary Hiatus)

Chaos 101 II

Discovering the dormitory after their abrupt departure from their regular lives, Odie and Theresa took a moment to soak in the new atmosphere. Because let's face it people, having to fight monsters and Gods is a magnificent destiny and burden to bear it's true but learning how to coexist with complete strangers is a fear on its own as well. And for Theresa, this was a test all in itself due to being used to extravagant accommodations.

"This is cozy." She acquiesced after she took a second to examine the middle-class furniture in the living space that the quartet found themselves bonding in at the moment. Odie took a seat on one of the couches, finding himself quite comfortable already in the building and with the people there. Jay and Atlanta were reclining in their own way while standing near the archway presumably to be ready to continue the tour. And in the middle of the room was Theresa who was finding herself none too impressed with the situation at hand. "What a day." She sighed as she dropped a motivational book, that may have been put there by Athena, back onto the coffee table after half-heartedly giving it a glance.

"What happened?" Jay shrugged his shoulders, interested to hear how she was found if it was anything like how he was, let's just say, rescued.

"I still can't believe it!" Theresa began, acting a fair bit melodramatically by using the cliché 'staring out the window' gimmick, "Daddy had just given me a brand new car for my birthday." To which Theresa recalled the epic moment when she dashed out to her waxed and shined, red convertible and leapt into the front seat. Exclaiming her love and approval to her father before talking the hot rod out for a spin by gassing it out of the private driveway and through the security gates of her family estate. "When all of the sudden " Theresa trailed off, barely managing to describe how she had a psychic clue that somehow managed to forewarn her of how a giant and scary bird was incoming. Needless to say, her car had become the victim rather than herself. And just like the other kids, Hermes and his griffins came just in time to save her and then hustle her to the school.

"Ooh, happy birthday." Jay chuckled nervously when he came up beside her and caught her from her reverie.

"Heh, thanks." Theresa responded a bit flatly back.

"I wonder how Cronus found that creature, I thought he only had the giants and the Typhus?" Jay contemplated aloud, catching Atlanta's eye as she moved across the room to sit next to Odie to which she merely shrugged.

"Typhus?" Theresa exclaimed in surprise, "Giants?"

"Cronus wrecked my wheels too!" Odie interjected, wanting to explain how he got there too since he encountered a different creature too.

"You saw him?" Atlanta asked as she leaned on her seat's arm to get closer to Odie.

"No, I had this run in with his pig. Or rather it had a run in with me." To which Odie recalled the moment in which his yellow moped scooter was totaled when it was charged by a giant, red boar and flung away using its tusks. Angry at not skewering, the then ignorant, Odie. But just as the boar lined up his next attack, Hermes had come once again and subdued the boar with his ability ( more like with his overpowered staff ) to control animals. The boar had no choice but to collapse onto the ground submissively, and Odie was then taken to Olympia like the rest of the others had.

"So, Cronus knows who we are and how to find us. There's supposed to be eight of us. We're six now, I wonder where the other two are?" Jay collected his thoughts and pondered further, or at least he would have if Theresa didn't interrupt his musings.

"Hera told us about Cronus." She stated.

"Yeah, sounds like he has serious control issues." Odie tacked on, trying to lighten the heavy atmosphere.

"Can we get back to the bit about the Giants and and the Typhus? Whatever that is." Theresa reiterated her earlier questions. So Atlanta decided to explain the other monsters for her.

"It's a giant, fire-breathing Giant with snakes for legs." Atlanta described with an all too casual, but also all too knowing and factual, tone of voice. "Come on, you want a tour of the dorm?"

"Ah, sure! Thanks " Theresa agreed, too in shock to process the things said that night to have act as her normal self would have. Nevertheless, she followed after Atlanta into the back garden of the dorms. Leaving the two boys to share a more personal one-on-one in the living room.

"Fire-breathing Giant" Odie chuckled a bit hysterically, "Yeah, right." But when Jay didn't laugh along with him at the absurd claim that Atlanta dropped on the newcomers, Odie was left flabbergasted. "Are you serious?!" Meanwhile the two girls found themselves going out into the moonlit backyard space.

"Okay, so where are the cameras? This has got to be a reality TV show." Theresa made a show to look around ( she couldn't see that fourth wall in front of her though ) to find the hidden cameras as she closed the door behind the two of them.

"This is for real!" Atlanta promptly insisted, "Trust me I've seen Cronus. There is nothing but evil there!"

"I can't wait to meet him " Theresa awkwardly responded before letting her own personal inquiries fly now that the subject of those inquiries wasn't present. "So, ah, what's the deal with Jay? You going out with him?" This caused Atlanta to take a proverbial step back at how out-of-context it was.

"Huh?"