CHEERY OLD ME AGAIN

With the full force of my army, even Anatasia struggled. Even then, she wiped out hundreds of empusai and injured more of my followers. So she should definitely get a nerf. But no matter how hard she tried, it could never be enough. Vastly outnumbered and surrounded, she was forced to play defense and was one of the few left on her side that could still fight.

But I'm not on the battlefield right now. I'm underground.

The ground trembled as it began to crumble. Cracks and fissures swallowed those who were unfortunate enough to be eaten by them. All of the "victims" were empusai. Both sides paused, and Anatasia ordered a desperate retreat. Vittoria, Hypsipyle, and Mei simply remained silent.

Something came out of the cavities in the ground. One by one, skeletons dressed in armor and carrying weapons poured out, followed by daemons. There were ten thousand of them in total.

In front of them was the lord of the dead, Hades, and I was beside him, on the same black skeletal horse, on whose saddle was a banner of the undead god. I cleared my throat. "Stop! Lord Hades has been most kind, willing to aid us in such a time of need! With his power, we can cast out these unruly fiends from our home! The gods have bestowed their blessing, and we are thus on the side of justice! Do not retreat, but fight valiantly! We will be victorious!"

Seeing this, the demigods rallied around me, and we smashed into, well, my army? Now it was them who fell back. Hades's troops were fresh from the Underworld, and everyone here was tired. DGH was staging a miraculous comeback.

Vittoria took off her mask and revealed herself to all. She simpers amusingly to the shock of the demigods behind me.

"Curse you!" Anatasia screeches. "You, our own, was behind all this?"

Vittoria nodded. "Yes, although I am merely following the Titan Lord's decree." Anatasia angrily charged, and I felt sorry for her. Vittoria, using my scythe, nearly killed her.

Vittoria points at me. "There he is! The son of Hades is right there! With his death, we will assure the glory of Lord Kronos!" Hecate makes herself visible and waves her hand. Hades's forces go flying, and the empusai pounce on them. Prometheus and Hades attack each other, going deep into the woods. Hecate follows them - where the three will do anything but fight each other - hopefully.

Vittoria and I go face to face. I blocked her first strike, then evaded the next. (About Anatasia's sword...I gave it to Hypsipyle. I was not dumb enough to use it without my mask on. and in front of Anatasia.) I fought with the iron sword I came here with.

I pushed Vittoria back. Hades's army offered a buffer to my new forces, whom I ordered to retreat. There were only a hundred demigods with me, and there was little they could do. Well, the ones who were injured, anyway. Excluding them, I kept a small force of sixty demigods with me. With Hades's troops, Vittoria's army was on the defensive.

Vittoria ordered her army to reorient and attack once again. However, that was not to be. A piercing cold only felt on the coldest of winter days permeated the air. Everyone froze dead in their tracks. The demigods on my side were mortified, in disbelief of the overwhelming power now surrounding them. Vittoria, Hypsipyle, and Mei bowed to it. The battle was over. We "won."

When everything went back to normal, Vittoria clenched her teeth. "All forces, prepare to retreat! We are withdrawing!" She glared at me. "Don't think you've won. Next time, I will have your head, son of Hades!"

"My name is Yiannis, by the way." Vittoria turned around to hide it, but there was a faint smirk on her face. She, along with the rest of the army, rapidly rushed towards their vessels. The people behind me clearly wanted to chase them, but that was a no-no. "The battle is over. With their retreat, the victory is ours. Besides, we have sustained too much damage to fight them again. DGH won't fix itself, you know."

And just like that, everything went the way I wanted it to. DGH's army was almost wiped out, same with the cult, and everyone will now think Vittoria is Kronos's daughter. As a bonus, Hades will be given some deserved legitimacy. Unlike Zeus, he managed to send Kronos's army "packing," which only makes Zeus's position more tenuous. It will be very hard now for him to earn the trust of the other gods after this, and his power will likely be weakened. After all, he's made two grave mistakes, and this one is too serious to ignore. His competency will be called into question, and either Poseidon, Hades, Athena, or some other Olympian may make decisions in his place. If Hades is elected, then Kronos will have much to gain from this arrangement. Also, I can get some clout, too. Since I'm the one that asked Father to save DGH, and with the story I plan to tell, I should have no problem earning everyone's trust. Plus, I do get some credit for saving DGH from extinction.

The hotel wasn't damaged, but as many as five hundred were dead. Out of those who remained, one hundred were injured. I spent the whole day tending to them, assisted by dryads, naiads, and centaurs. It was the least I could do. It was for James, the sweet pothead, and everyone else that shouldn't have died. They had to be honored, remembered.

Before I went inside my cabin to sleep, I saw fellow demigods bury the dead. Their tears formed puddles on the ground, and they hugged each other tightly, not wanting to let go. The reality of war had hit them, and they realized this could be the last time they were ever together. I watched them, crying up a considerable puddle myself. I wanted to bow at their feet, to apologize for what I did, and to take any form of punishment. I wanted to do it so badly. Why should they have to suffer so while everything went so wonderfully for me? It was so unfair.

Then there was Helen. She had been found unconscious in the forest by her friend, Amelia. She was placed in a bed, and I sat beside her, waiting for her to wake.

I helped my little sister sit upright. Her body jolted suddenly. "The monsters! The monsters are attacking us! There was an army of masked people, and..." Helen struggled to remember the rest. I gently patted her back. "Relax, you. You just got out of bed, so take it easy. The monsters and the army you mentioned ran away during the day. Besides, what happened to you? Amelia said she found you tied up to a tree in the woods."

"I don't-Yiannis!" My sister took in the sight of me, breathless. After eight months, we could talk again. She began to cry and poked my face, unable to believe it was really me. When she realized she wasn't dreaming, she started screaming. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN WHAT HAPPENED TO ME? WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN? WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU?"

I consoled my sister as we embraced, her tears drenching my shirt. Thankfully, it was a black tee shirt. I teared up a bit, too. After seeing her with Hades in that little dream, I never wanted to make my sister cry again. And I missed her so much. Finally, we could be together again.

"Sorry, little sis. Your big brother is too gullible and fell for a bunch of lies. I've heard some things from Antasia and your friends. You were so worried about me, and I'm really sorry for abandoning you."

"Then please don't do it ever again, you jerk." Helen tightened her grip. She had gotten much stronger while I was away, I see. And taller, too. She was only half a foot shorter than me now.

"I won't. I'll try my best not to, that is." Helen didn't let go of me. "What happened to you, Yiannis? Where did you vanish off to?"

"Well...it's a long story. But first, I'll tell you what happened here today."

Helen rested her head on my shoulder. I felt her arms tremble, her fingers clutching my shirt with ferocity. She ground her teeth as she spoke. "I see...so Vittoria..."

After patting her head, Helen pacified. "So that's what happened. Vittoria lied to you, abducted you, and planned to sacrifice you to Kronos in a hidden, remote area. Hades helped you escape, and you convinced him to protect DGH, even though he was serious about severing connections with Olympus and wanted nothing to do with the gods. You, meanwhile, barely managed to survive. And when you got back here, you saw all the carnage. You saved DGH, big brother, and me."

"Thank you, Helen. But Hades did all the work, not me." And I almost destroyed DGH entirely. I was no hero.

We talked for a bit more, and I noticed something different about Helen. She had matured splendidly. She was now independent and didn't need me as much anymore. Would we begin to slowly drift apart? I didn't know, and I was a little scared. I wanted to spend a lot of time with my sister, but I also wanted her to grow into an adult and live the life she wanted. It was an irony, but still, I was proud of her for taking such an important step. Even though she would soon no longer be my "kid" sister, hopefully, we can still play together as if we were. I wanted to hang on to the old Helen a little bit longer.

"Helen, I was planning to pay respect to those who died. Would you like to join me?"

"I would love to, big brother."

Even late at night, there were upwards of about a hundred people quipping prayers to the dead. They saw me and nodded, their eyes dry from sobbing. Helen teared up seeing this, telling me we should spend some time with those grieving. We spent hours giving condolences, and it took everything in me to not fall into grief myself. I learned the names of the dead, their personalities, every embarrassing moment they had, and how much they meant to everyone here. Now, they were no longer just a name and a face. The dead had become real to me, not abstracts. Now, they existed in images inside my head. I saw their humanity. My heart wrenched. What other horrors would I do next to overthrow the gods? How much despair will I cause? How many will die - humans, demigods, monsters - because of me? If I didn't exist, neither would the prophecy about me and maybe this wouldn't have happened at all. Was this also my destiny? To bring mass suffering?

I walked Helen back to her room, telling her I had something to do. Chiron usually enforced strict rules, but he was really lenient now. So, I could be outside for a bit more.

I sat with my back to a tree, my head in my hands. I cried alone, utterly miserable. That last question - the one about the prophecy and me - stuck with me. It whispered ideas and thoughts, why I shouldn't exist at all. How everyone would be better off and smiling and alive if I was dead. I usually blamed the gods for everything that went wrong, but were they always responsible? Everything I did, I chose to do of my own volition.

I noticed a knife next to me, just lying on the ground. It was sharp...sharp with words, as I discerned in our conversation. The dagger was seductive. It flirted with an idea. If I slit my throat, the Titans will be forced to concede and give up the war. The gods may be cruel and corrupt, but with Kronos's surrender, they won't be sending demigods to die for them. Or rather, nobody will be fighting each other to the death in a bloody war. They can at least live together, happily and in peace.

But I disagreed with the dagger - it was too forceful in its argument. The Titans would not surrender. Helen was always available, and Kronos would have her fight for him for obvious reasons. I wouldn't blame him, and I would want the same thing he did - Kronos cared about Helen the same way I did. The gods might just push for war anyway, Zeus not wanting any challenges to his throne, to fix his reputation and appease his ego. He would commit greater atrocities than I ever would - if he hasn't already. I was the only thing in his way - and I won't stand for Helen replacing me - even if she turned out to be better at this than me. I don't want her to feel the way I am and to blame herself...she would never order a massacre or plan for one the way I did. I wanted her humanity to be bottled up in her forever. I would become the cold-hearted monster that everyone expected me to be.

I tossed the knife as far away as possible. Our date was over. As I got up, someone poked my shoulder. My jaw dropped when I saw who it was. "What ARE YOU DOING HERE?"

"Were you not informed? I thought Vittoria had told you already. She wanted some extra hands to support you here." Oh, so that's what she meant by "some helping hands." Vittoria could have at least told me Hypsipyle would be coming here.

"Hypsipyle...what about your home? Why'd you come to help me?"

"I see. You really don't know a thing."

Hypsipyle informed me Morgan was ruling her island in her stead. What surprised me was that Andromeda had also come to help. Apparently, Andromeda had joined Artemis's sect recently and was now immortal. They did so so that Artemis would place them here, citing how DGH needs all the warriors it can get. While Hypsipyle didn't become an eternal maiden, she maintained a close relationship with both the goddess of the hunt and Andromeda, who helped her on several occasions. Andromeda referred to Hypsipyle, citing she had many more followers than she had and a stronger army. And Hypsipyle accepted the request, coming here personally.

"About the latter question...naturally, I would want to help you, Lord Yiannis. I swore an oath of fidelity, after all. But never mind that. What were you doing moping by yourself?"

I blushed. "You saw that?"

"Yes. I didn't mean to eavesdrop, however. I was wandering the forest when I saw you."

"I see...nothing happened. I just needed some time to myself, is all. Anyway, how are your people and Andromeda's? Nothing went wrong so early, I hope?"

Hypsipyle's smile faded. "No... we've been readily accepted by the gods and everyone here after arriving some time ago. However...I'm not sure exactly if this is a problem, but...our side has been paying respects to the dead."

"What?"

"When Andromeda and the others saw the plight of those who lost something precious, she felt sympathetic and learned about those who died fighting against us. I admit to doing the same thing - they are not the gods, just their pawns."

I'm SO glad that came out of her mouth. It reaffirmed my belief that I was in the right. That Kronos's cause was just. My side cared about others, even to those they tried to kill. I was so glad they chose to follow me and that they were with me now. And it brought me out of depression, reminding me that I did all this because I wanted a better world, one without the gods.

"My Lord?" Hypsipyle looked concerned. "You're crying. Is something wrong? Did I offend you in some way?"

"No, the opposite. You made me smile, Hypsipyle," I wiped a tear. I bowed to her. "I'm so, so glad you chose to accept me. Thank you. I promise I will be someone worth serving."

"I'm happy that you think highly of me, my Lord, but..." She lifted my chin. "I thought you would be mad at my decision and Andromeda's. Yet, you've congratulated it. And even you seem to be in grief, it seems."

"Yes. I've been entertaining some thoughts." I told her of my discussion with a question and a knife.

Hypsipyle looked at me as if I was a cat stuck in a box, unable to get out. A pitiful animal. Hypsipyle gently prodded me to get up and clasped me in a warm embrace. "You have nothing to be ashamed about, Lord Yiannis." She stroked my hair. "In fact, I'm thrilled as well - glad you took an issue with what you did. It's easy to use the gods as an excuse to justify your actions. Many heroes have done so, inflicting pain on those around them."

"You sound as if you know from experience. What made you trust me?"

"If you didn't notice, I've known Vittoria for some time. She and I both swore our lives to Kronos. I chose to trust you because Vittoria positively regarded you."

"You sure have a lot of faith in her, although I get why. I'm the same."

"Of course, I didn't blindly trust you just because you helped my people and me. Kronos initially planned to do it himself when he awoke."

"I'm guessing you complained to Father about following me, and he gave you some ideas to get to know me better."

"Yes. Like what to do with you in bed."

"Oh..." I crimsoned after some thought. "HUH? You tricked me?"

"Yes. Yiannis, men, especially male heroes, become something else with women."

"Hey! I didn't do any-" Hypsipyle silenced me. "My point is that then, and now, men succumb to their desires. Famous heroes act like it's their right to have a woman, especially one they saved, and they really couldn't say no. Unless they wanted to offend them, which would offend the gods. Of course, the male gods are much worse, so I guess it comes from them."

"So that's what you wanted to reward me the way you did. That was bait."

"Yes. The last hero I shared a bed with expected quite a lot from me. He wanted me and my followers to make him our king. And while I did have feelings for him, I soon saw he was a brute. For one, he was awful behind the sheets," she smiled devilishly. "And, yet, it was somehow my fault. He then proceeded to have affairs with my own followers and hurt them if they didn't obey." Ouch. As horrible as the guy was, Hypsipyle's smile was terrifying. A dude's prowess on the mattress was like his biggest insecurity.

"I'm guessing he suddenly disappeared, didn't he?"

"Indeed. With help from Lady Artemis, we framed his death as one caused by a monster."

"I'm guessing you planned to do the same to me if I resembled him."

"Yes. However, I saw decency in you and the same kindness you showed to the ones you killed today," Hypsipyle beamed. "I admit to having an ulterior motive, but the last kiss I gave you and our dance was genuine. And so is this." Hypsipyle wrapped her arms around my neck and kissed me again. And I saw something different. In her bed, her tongue forced its way into my mouth. She was daring me to respond. This time, she was much more gentle and even playful, teasing me. It was seductive in its own way, and this time, I couldn't resist. I clasped her hips and kissed her back, thanking her for the mental support.

Hypsipyle stepped backward, and that worried me. "Was my kiss that bad? Did I hurt you somehow?"

"No...I was shocked you replied so warmly. It was sweet of you and something I didn't expect. You have a right to be furious at me for what I did."

"I know. But I can tell you weren't joking about the hero you mentioned. You were also right to suspect me, and I've already forgiven you. Just don't do it again. I would also prefer you show appreciation in another way."

"Yes, Lord Yiannis."

"If you still doubt me, I'll try to clear things up with you. I don't want you to be uncomfortable around me."

Hypsipyle shook her head. "No, I'm happy to serve. But if you want, there is a favor I'd like to request."

"If it's not impossible, I'll try to make it happen."

"It's been one thousand years since I saw the world. Much has changed. This New York of yours...I see nothing but buildings. The people dress strangely, and they travel in fascinating carriages, ones without horses."

"Oh...those are cars." Ok, she gave me something impossible. Bringing her up to speed on the modern world would be challenging, to say the least. She was like a three-year-old, curious about the world and so ignorant.

"Cars?"

"Yes, cars. They don't need horses to drive because... they use something else. I'll show you around the city tomorrow, and we can visit the library. There's a lot I need to educate you on."

"Please forgive me. If it's too much, you don't have to do anything."

"No," I smiled. "I want to spend time with you. Hopefully, it betters our relationship. And you can place more faith in me. But don't just turn to me. There are others here who can help you, too."

"Understood, my Lord. I'm eager to spend time with you as well. Would you mind walking me to the hotel?"

"Ah, here, we call it DGH, demigod hotel for short. And I'd be happy to."

My father visited me in my dreams. "You've seemed to grow quite fond of Hypsipyle," he remarked.

"Yeah," I admitted. "Hypsipyle's kind, brave, and someone I already admire, just like Vittoria. And she's a goddess."

"I see. Well, I will not judge. As for our future - well done. Everything is in place, and DGH belongs to you."

"Yes, it'll be easy taking over Vittoria's role now. And we can have demigods join our side. Hypsipyle and Morgan have agreed to let them live on the Isle of Lemnos."

"Yes, they'll be a valuable fighting force. The gods have finally begun to act."

"It's too late, though. You've already resurrected."

"Yes, and the gods have lost three of their own. Ares is dead, and Apollo and Dionysus are prisoners in Tartarus."

"So Artemis was the only one who escaped?"

"Yes, however, neither Hypsipyle nor Andromeda would have been able to come to DGH if she didn't grant them permission."

"So you let her go on purpose?"

"Yes. And I'm aware of your frustration towards me. You're infuriated; I don't give you much to rely on."

"Well...yes. I guess I can't lie to you. I am mad. You make me Vittoria's boss, and I still get left in the dark."

"I'm not going to reprimand you because you are correct. I wanted to see just what you could do on your own, and you've blown past my highest standards. Again, well done. As one reward, you'll be first to know of any new developments."

"It seems everyone wants to test me these days. Well, whatever. I told Hades the truth. Did he say anything?"

"Yes, and it took a while to calm him down."

"I apologize. I should have told Hades earlier, right?"

"No, this would have happened even if he knew since your birth. He isn't mad, Yiannis. He is simply worried about your future and Helen's. But he's amazed at what you did. You dared to manipulate him."

"Is he going to kill me?"

Kronos cackled. It was a good-natured laugh, the one a father gives when he sees his child do something stupid or funny. "Be at ease, my son. You've won over Hades. In fact, once you turn seventeen, he will present a special gift to you, as well as to Helen."

"I'm guessing you played a role again. I'm always in your debt."

"Yes, you are. I am your father, after all."

"What about the Titans? What did they think?"

"You've more than proved your worth. Atlas has lost the trust of the other Titans, and he's been keeping a low profile at the moment."

"Please don't tell me he's planning to kill me or something."

"No, even Atlas wouldn't go so far. The Titans do not know about Helen. To them, you are our only hope. If Atlas kills you, he will provoke the fury of every Titan, especially me."

"I see. Well, that's a relief. Hopefully, it stays that way."

"Oh, it will." After more chatter, Kronos bid his farewells. In my next dream, I met Helen, and we fooled around in a playground. I laughed as we went down the slide together and built sandcastles. Yes, the future shone as brightly as the sun. No matter what, I would make the world better, one where Helen and I don't have to live in fear, and one where we can be happy.