Olympus, 28,000 light-years from Earth
It’s rare for the gods of Olympus to gather officially, but since they learned about the mysterious disappearance of Zeus it’s been happening more frequently.
It’s particularly rare for Athena to be the one to call for a meeting: she has little patience for most of her family, and so she does it only when she deems it absolutely necessary.
Out of respect for the Queen of Olympus, the meeting doesn’t start officially until Hera appears on her throne, teleporting with a majestic show of blue lights.
<I officially declare the Council of Olympus to be in session.> she says.
<Already? I even bothered to dress up, I was hoping there’d be more boys!> Aphrodite complains, adjusting the band of pink linen wrapped across her breasts. she’s wearing more clothes than usual, since she also has a semitransparent cloth around her waist.
<I’m sure there is no need for my father to be present.> Adrestia replies: Ares is the only divine vassal of Zeus to be absent.
Hera’s daughter Hebe didn’t dare to boycott the meeting; she looks even more uncomfortable dealing with her family than Athena, especially since she’s sitting between Aphrodite and Apollo, the only male god in the room.
<I object. It is absolutely unacceptable for Ares to refuse the summoning of this Council.> Athena says, standing up from her throne to address the room.
She’s sitting at the right of the currently empty throne of Zeus, in her role as his most trusted advisor, while Hera sits to his left.
<Objection overruled. My son only answers to Zeus.> Hera replies.
<Is the God of War free of the obligations that bind all the vassals of our father Zeus? When we agreed to the feudal system, many millennia ago, it was under the assumption that all vassals would share the same powers and responsibilities.>
<What are you blathering about?> Hera asks. Her disdain for the illegitimate children of Zeus is no secret, and she has no reason to hide it.
<Ares has attacked Hell, in a blatant violation of our peace treaty with the Demons.>
<A peace treaty with mortals. What a ridiculous concept.> Apollo chuckles.
<Whether you approve it or not, Lilith was acting as the foreign representative of Olympus when she signed the treaty. And Ares completely disregarded it.> Athena insists.
<He disregarded it because it wasn’t a valid treaty in the first place. A god cannot be asked to follow the wishes of mortals. We don’t all follow the so-called “democracy” you have in your Federation, Athena.> Adrestia responds.
<So a god’s word has no value? If we don’t honor our obligations towards mortals, how will the other pantheons believe we will follow our treaties with them? I ask for a vote to sanction Ares for his violation of the treaty.> Athena proposes, raising her hand.
<As much as I despise agreeing with you, I approve any measure to take down Ares.> Apollo responds, raising his hand as well.
Both look at Aphrodite with surprise as the goddess of sex raises her hand.
<Mother, do you even know what a sanction is?> Adrestia asks her.
<I feel sorry for those poor Demons! They’re one of the few species that can resist my charm, and you know that I love a challenge. Your dad deserves a good spanking this time!>
<Three votes in agreement with the sanctions, Athena? Very well. Who agrees to dismiss this utterly ridiculous idea?> Hera asks, raising her hand almost at the same time of Adrestia.
Hebe’s eyes move from one god to the other; only when she spots her mother Hera angrily staring at her, the goddess of youth timidly raises her hand against her wishes.
<Three in favor of the sanctions, three against. Should I call Ares to express his vote, or is this humiliation enough for you?> Hera gloats.
<Aww, I really wanted to spank Ares this time.> Aphrodite complains, pouting.
<I could ask for a vote from the Mortal Republic or the Winter Kingdom, but I’ll spare them from your wrath. I retire my proposal.> Athena concedes.
<I can see that you’re called the goddess of wisdom for a reason. To challenge the Queen of the Gods is a fool’s errand.> Hera says smugly, teleporting away with the same unnecessary spectacle of her arrival. Aphrodite does the same, disappearing in a cloud of rose petals.
<Sorry.> Hebe apologizes sheepishly, vanishing together with Adrestia who doesn’t say a word.
Athena and Apollo are the only ones left. They don’t say anything for a full minute.
<You have a plan.> the Sun God realizes.
<Always.> Athena replies. The two have been in a state of cold war for thousands of years, and there is very little respect between them. But they have one thing in common: disdain for Ares.
<Let’s talk about it.> Apollo proposes.
Midgard City, Antarctica
Noriko Null is standing in front of a massive construction site, watching her Nullbots disassemble the remains of the original Null Tower and adding more and more new models, to the point that the new building doesn’t resemble the old one anymore.
The outer walls of Midgard City are less than a mile away; the marks left by the construction crew are still visible on the icy ground, since despite the continent’s reputation snow is quite rare in Antarctica.
Nobody dares set foot outside. The self-warming jacket that Noriko is wearing is commercially available, but it doesn’t sell well: the novelty of surviving in the Antarctic desert has faded quickly.
The only one to join her is the man driving a hoverbike speeding towards the construction site, floating a few inches above the ice. He stops near her, taking off the helmet to reveal his grey skin.
<Kylon. What do you think?> she asks him.
The Winter Kingdom defector looks at the construction, and answers while unzipping his jacket:
<It’s bigger than I thought. Where are you going to find a power source for that?>
<Leave the technical side to me. What are you doing?> she asks as he takes off the jacket: it’s a custom-made model set to lower the user’s temperature.
<Enjoying the weather. It’s perfect out here.> he says, now bare chested.
<It’s -23 degrees Celsius.> she points out, trying to cover herself even more while trying to hide the fact that she’s staring at him.
<I don’t think I’ve had the chance to thank you for convincing the Global Defense Organization to let me leave their base; I was going crazy in that place.>
<Well, you gave me the access codes to the Shadow Network and the blueprints for the planetary shield, so I’d say we’re even.>
<You hardly needed them. I’m sure you would’ve built a shield on your own if given enough time.>
<Oh I’m not using the blueprints for this planetary shield, Kylon: this one is my own design.>
<Uh? Then what are you using the blueprints for?>
<I need them to buy something. Do you feel like taking a field trip?>
Lampyria, 163,000 light-years from Earth
Noriko feels quite uncomfortable as Lily Elosia embraces her, both with her arms and her bat-like wings; Kylon is left more confused than anything else, as he shakes the hand of a Lampyrian after greeting another one… in his eyes, all three of them look exactly identical to each other.
<I’ve missed you so much! I wanted to call you, but after what happened to Hell the risk to attract attention was just too great.> Lily tells her.
<That’s understandable. As far as I know the gods have yet to discover where I’ve moved your planet, but better safe than sorry.>
<How did you reach Lampyria? My scanner didn’t pick up any ships.> the second Lampyrian says.
<I have a portal generator now. It’s still a bit buggy, but I memorized the new coordinates of Lampyria after I used the Key of Heaven to bring it here.>
<I’m sorry to interrupt, but… what scanner? I thought Lampyria didn’t have this kind of technology.> Kylon comments.
<I brought a bit of technology from the Olympian Galaxy; Leela and Layla have been tremendously helpful to bring Lampyria up to speed.> Lily says, holding hand with both of the two women.
<Lily told us so much about Earth. I hope we can visit it some day!> one of them says.
<But what about those blueprints? Can I see?> the second adds, practically snatching the data disk off Kylon’s hands the moment he takes it out of his pocket.
<Layla, that was rude! Lily, tell her that was rude!>
<Why don’t you girls run a simulation to see how long it’ll take to rebuild it? We’ll look at it together after dinner.> Lily replies, kissing one of them on the cheek before they literally fly off.
For once, both Noriko and Kylon are very confused by the whole situation.
<So, uhm… are those your girlfriends or… wives?> Noriko wonders.
<No, they’re my daughters. They’ve been a big help in my work lately.>
<Talk about precocious.> Kylon comments, less used to Lampyrians than Noriko; even she has trouble accepting that after just a few months they are fully grown adults.
<We’ve looked through your Shadow Network data, fascinating stuff. Nori, I’ve made the adjustments you suggested to use it as a scanner, but I’ve yet to track where Ares took the Demons after he destroyed Hell.>
<Dammit, it’s taking longer than I thought. What about my proposal? Will your people accept?>
<They were hoping for a starship, but a planetary shield will do. They accept to lease the extraction rights, but only for thirty years… it’s a very long time for us, you understand.>
<Absolutely. It’s more than enough time to finish my project.>
<You bought the extraction rights of… what, exactly? Of the planet?> Kylon wonders.
<Of the Middle Galaxy. With Hell gone, Lampyria is currently the only inhabited planet here: I just bought the rights to extract as much hydrogen as I can from any nebula in this galaxy.>
<Isn’t hydrogen the most abundant element in the universe? Can’t you just take it from our own galaxy if you want?>
<The gods would definitely notice the disappearance of a few hundred solar masses from any legally owned nebula.> Lily points out.
<What do you need that much mass for?> Kylon asks.
<I took a vow to make Ares pay for what he’s done to Hell. Once I find him, I’m gonna take him out with a bang.> Noriko says, looking at the holographic screen mapping the Middle Galaxy and its hydrogen clouds.
<A very, very big bang.>
Boreas, 3.000 light-years from Earth
Leiko Tanaka looks at herself in the mirror. Nobody has set foot in the private chambers of the Ice Queen for weeks, not even the male concubines she employs from time to time.
This is the only place where she typically removes the Winter Armor, since its temperature is high enough to be comfortable to a human. She’s wearing a dress relatively similar to the business suit she would normally wear on Earth, but she has unbuttoned the shirt to see the scars on her chest.
They are slowly healing, but the Endless Winter is still glowing faintly beneath the skin. She covers up when the door to her room opens, allowing Tyche to sneak inside.
<Should you really be out of bed so early after your surgery?> the goddess asks.
<I barely took any rest when I gave birth. I see no reason to waste time for something far more important than that.>
<I still think that installing Vector’s Drylon device would’ve been safer; this is… risky.>
<Tell me, Tyche, is it possible to be the host of more than one Drylon device at the same time?>
<Uhm, no, I believe that’s not feasible.>
<That’s why: I don’t settle for anything less than perfection. When I bond with a Drylon weapon, it will be something far more valuable than a mere kinetic accelerator.>
<If you say so. If you’re so eager to work, can we start talking about the coup?>
Leiko looks at the palm of her hand. With just a thought, the air around it begins to freeze.
<I believe so. Summon my goddesses, Tyche… it’s time to bring sanity to this galaxy.>
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