A not so cute mini-Olympians

Sunrise was already in motion yet we still loitered within the facility, trying to find survivors yet none could be found, not even Rose's remains.

"Did you find anything here?" Chloe asked as I was staring at the empty tank in the chamber beneath the hallway. The mysterious thirteenth olympian is only labeled as number '13'.

"Nothing either," I replied. "Who do you think would be the thirteenth olympian?"

"There's no such thing" Chloe answered. "But if there was one, it'll probably be the god of the underworld."

"I think I have to disagree with that statement," Daryl argued, as he descended from above. "Father did envy the Olympians at his earlier days but I doubt he'd like to be one now. He's pretty much annoyed at people's squabbles, rants, and nonsensical prayers who instead should just be grateful that they're alive."

"... isn't that a bit harsh? Some of us are just wanting better life"

"A prayer to have your room magically cleaned? Having riches without doing work? And wanting society to change without even doing anything?" Daryl asked.

"I'll just take back what I've said..."

"It just shows people are fragile beings" Chloe reasoned. "Did you find anything in your search?"

"Indeed, I did. Come with me" he ordered.

In an overturned office, the others were waiting. Ethan was adamant at rummaging over files while the leisure girl was just sitting bored on one side.

"Daryl! Look at this!" Ethan called out, showing a map of Gaiaterra with a lot of markings, placed on the table. "What do you think this is? A treasure map?"

"No, but much worse." Daryl grimly responded. "This is the map I've been looking for. Where the facilities like this one are built..."

"Wait, hold on! That's more than a hundred facilities I'm seeing there! You can't be serious!"

"All over the world, every region had someone following the same order from someone named 'Athe' to do these vile experiments on children and teens. And the experiment wasn't just meant on humans but also on nymphs, satyrs, centaurs, and all creatures alike. It's all said in the files we found..."

"But this... Athe. Who is this person?" I asked.

"The true mastermind, of course! If we find him, boom! Our work is done!" Ethan exclaimed.

"Wow. That easy?" I asked. "Then you know where he is?"

"No clue on that either" Ethan replied.

"Then this is still far from over. Just look at this map. If they do have experimented with people on these sites, and they let all of them loose at the same time, then it would be chaos." I said, pointing at the map that's spread on the table.

"Speaking of which, I didn't see the children who were in the hallway. The tanks were shattered but there were no traces of them" Malorie brought up.

"Circe! It's probably her!" I scowled.

"She can never leave this island... Right?" Malorie asks for assurance. We currently settled inside the office of the missing sorcerer, searching for signs of where she could be while Daryl looked for other rooms. He insisted that there were still possible clues that would help him find more truth. He, as if craves it for something I don't know.

"That should be the case since this island is her prison. She might have influenced the outside with her connections but leaving this place, not a chance" Chloe said.

"Wait! Bea's still out there! We have to find her!" We ditched the place as we found no other sight of life, other than us. Amongst us, we took the files we found that we could use to shine light upon their existence.

But as we arrived at the port, we didn't see Bea nor her shadow.

"Looks like we aren't the only ones left alive on this island" Chloe presumed and held firmly the hilt of her rapier in her side.

Knowing such an event had raised, we rushed towards the forest to reach the port where Bea was waiting. But it wasn't her that was standing on board.

"Circe!" Although I didn't know if it was really her, I felt she was. Both Malorie and I saw her ordering the workers in the facility and heck, she's still even wearing that dress.

"Oh, you know me? Don't worry, I also know every one of you. The son of Hades, Daryl Chrome, and his partner, Ethan Gallant. Malorie Revere, the least favorite descendant of Aphrodite. Chloe Nightstalker, an unwanted daughter..." as she gazed upon me once more, her expression became serious and said "And last but not the least, Medeana Asperse... the child that shouldn't have been bornt. Seize them!"

From the forest, children came out and started attacking. They looked like children but their strength could compare to an adult and two of them were even holding broadswords larger than their height.

Each of us handled two of them, and it was no easy task.

"Hey, Dea! Aren't these the children from the hallway? What going on? Why are they attacking us instead of them who had been torturing them!?" Malorie asked while parrying a strong-looking young boy while avoiding pesky small girl's daggers and sneak attacks.

"Torture!? Nonsense! I am just giving them the ability they are meant to possess" Circe scowled.

"Ten against five? Isn't this a bit too unfair for a fight?" Chloe asked while fighting and blocking arrows from two female children with a thin rapier.

"What now? You're terrified of children?" Circe laughed.

"Children? All I see are brats with unchildly strength" Ethan complained while fighting a young boy and girl in broadswords. Every time the sword hits the ground, it causes a crater deep enough to put a whole hand.

"That is because they possess the power of the Olympians." Circe bragged.

"Wait! Chloe, did you say ten to five? Shouldn't there be twelve!?" I asked, evading every sucker punch of this annoying fast boy. Another one was behind him but she was too scared to attack with her small blade. "Watch out for those two! They might try a surprise attack!"

"What!? Two are missing!? Where are they!?" She scowled yet none of the children replied for they were too focused on the fight.

"Looks like you're out of two little Olympians," Daryl said. He wasn't even doing much. Every time the young boy tries to summon a vine, it quickly decays within seconds. And the girl behind the boy was scared stiff. Well, who wouldn't be scared of him? He had a very frightening grim face and doesn't even make them let a single step forward with every bullet he fires to the ground.

"No! Don't kill them, Daryl!" I shouted.

"Hahaha! These children are amusing!" An unfamiliar voice of a man spoke that surprised us and saw someone beside Circe. A tall, long-haired man, and what was weird was it resembled my mother, Athena. Except, manlier and his big hands were braced. "That's enough!"

The children stopped attacking then jumped into the ship after bowing towards the man as if they regard him as high and mighty.

"Seriously? What's wrong with these children...?" Malorie asked, all sweaty and breathing so heavy. She wasn't the only one though. Except for Daryl, we were pretty much exhausted with all the ruckus these children gave. Ethan even got a wound from them.

"Who are you!?" I asked.

"Oh, didn't my sister tell you about me yet? Awe, it really hurts that my niece doesn't know me" he mopped, with very bad acting skill.

"Quit the nonsense and tell us who you are!" Malorie complained.

"My, my, you're quite loud." He said then waved his hand towards Malorie. I thought he was just gesturing her to shut up because she's really a loud one but then she started screaming, and cowering as if something happened. She kept covering her ears and muttered multiple words none of us could understand from the way speak.

"What did you do to her!?" Chloe protested while holding the scared Malorie in her arms.

"You want to know? Go ahead and try it yourself" He said then Chloe was the next victim. But her reaction was the same as Malorie's. She was indeed scared but she was staring at a blank space with a terrifying face saying "please don't leave me".

"That does it!" Ethan gripped her silver sword, ready to attack but he stopped. In seconds, he transformed again. But instead of attacking, he started wounding his self with his claw and if it was for Daryl injecting something, he would have continued further.

"Daryl, what did you inject him?" I asked.

"Just tranquilizer the doctors prescribed in case he turned into one again" he replied then pointed his gun towards the enemy "So, you're Athe"

"Ding ding! Splendid! You're quite smart like my sister. For that, I'll reward you..."

"Cut the crap, and tell me all of your plans or I'll... argh!" Daryl suddenly dropped his weapon and became like the others. His expression wasn't scared though, but rather, he was angry and kept telling someone to go away. And I'm pretty positive that I wasn't the one he's speaking to.

"Now, nothing gonna bother our conversation. My little niece" He said.

"Niece!? Don't you dare call me one for I don't know you at all!"

"Oh, that's right. I haven't properly introduced myself. I am Athe, your mother's twin brother" He boasted.

"What!? Absolute nonsense! My mother doesn't have a twin!" I protested.

"She had, and she was supposed to have one. But our dear father of ours got so afraid of little destiny, he ate us along with our mother. Only Athena emerge fully developed while I have been trapped in her consciousness for many eons!" He growled that somehow almost gave me a heart attack. "but now... We had switched sides and I'm free!"

He kept laughing and laughing, it eventually creeped me out. "W-where's mom!? What did you do to her!?"

"Relax! She's safe..." then he pointed his head. "she's in here, where she should be"

"What!? Let her go!" I screamed as I run towards them. But the strong-looking child pushed me as soon as I was almost near them, and before I knew it, I was sent flying back to the others.

I coughed blood and couldn't stop fidgeting all over. I could barely even stand but I kept moving, just to try on reaching them. Reaching for my mom. She's been gone and out of my reach ever since she left me into the Forte residence. I can't let her get away again...

"Indeed... I was surprised that my sister could bear to have a child despite her promise of staying pure..." He then waved his hand toward me.

Everything dissolved, changing the whole vicinity into some kind of temple. It was dark outside, but flares burn on those large metal pans, granting light in this lonely place. Every material of the building was pure white marble, even the tall statue at the end that holds many offerings.

If it was just that, it wouldn't creep me out but then I heard a weeping voice just by the entrances.

I was literally shaking all over yet I found myself approaching where the voice was.

There was a very young girl, pretty similar to my age. Yet she was... how should put this... in pain... her clothes was ripped apart and I could see almost all her skin filled with bruises. Her body was shaking, traumatized by something that happened.

'Someone who had done this needed to pay!' my mind had thought.

I reached out for her and looked at her face as I caress it. She looked fairly familiar and not really that stranger to me and before I knew it, I started crying.

A second later, mom appeared as the statue that doesn't even have a single similarity to her, had disappeared.

"Mom! This girl..." I called out to her, yet she just passed through me, then in a blink, I Was Mom! Speaking through her words as our voices collide, feeling the same anger she had. "You! How dare you desecrate my temple! A mortal like you shall not be forgiven!"

My fury knew no bounds, as if hatred towards this lady was all I knew, even though what she had done was still a mystery.

"Mom, what are you...?" Words of my own didn't break through and all my voice was on my own mind, trapped.

And the girl that reached out for to mine even though she is being talked down until she screamed in pain while wiggling on the ground.

I was tormenting her.

"Mom! Stop it!!! Please... stop..." My eyes started burning hot along with excruciating pain while the whole scene got torched into ashes, sending me back to the reality where I was reaching in an empty space, a child was walking towards me with a dagger as if she was gonna kill me and the ship was starting to leave the port.

"Mom... what was that...?" I muttered then out of nowhere, the gal suddenly leaped to strike.

Instinct took over as I kicked her in the gut then run after the ship after taking her dagger. A great distance between me and them but miraculously, I managed to catch up and jump aboard with my two feet before they could get away.

"How...!?" Athe gasped. "Never mind. You are indeed smart enough to escape my power but not smart enough to be here."

I was surrounded by those mini Olympians, bearing arms at me. A big disadvantage on my side, especially after seeing their capabilities earlier. 'Stupid Dea!' I complained to myself for letting my instinct get over me once again.

"I gave you a chance to live alive on that island yet you still wish to confront us once more..." He said. "Indeed, truly plausible! But can you leave this ship alive?"

One after another, the little Olympians charged at me, and all I could do was avoid it. Their pattern was pretty obvious that all it takes was a little observation. The first strike would be the fast child followed by the two wielders of the broadsword that only need a step back to evade it. Next would be the vine attack of the mini Demeter but it's not durable so it just snaps when you force your way out. The trick on how to handle that strong looking just was just simple tripping and he'll stumble around.

"So you like being a slippery, child. Then turn into a snake!" Circe cursed, then every one of the children backed away.

They waited as if something's gonna happened but for me, all she did was give me an opportunity. I quickly dashed towards the sorcerer and took her hostage, pointing the dagger in her side. "Now, turn this ship back"

"How!? Why are you still not turning into a snake!?" Circe asked. She was really freaking out when I pressed the dagger a little closer to her until she shut her mouth off.

"It's my decision if I wanted to be one or not. Now, turn this ship!" I protested.

Athe just laughed as he claps his hand. "you are indeed a splendid child! Maybe that is why my sister chooses to bear you. But nothing's going to change what is destined to happen. I shall be the next to sit on the heavenly throne of Olympus, just the old prophecy had told. But since you survive this long, then I shall tell you what's about to happen." He pointed to the sky then continued to speak "Tomorrow, as the dawn arises, this godly body will be mine, and with the army I created, I'll invade Mt. Olympus to take my throne!"

"That will never happen!"

"Oh, it will. It's already written and foretold" He said then the mini Olympians started advancing as if Circe as my hostage was useless. I knew I was screwed and fighting back is all the chance I have although I didn't think I'd win either.

"Stay... Stay back!" I squealed, then the ship suddenly rocked hard.

Waves begin to crash, throwing water onto the deck until I fell along with Circe. I was able to grab ahold of the railing of the ship but Circe didn't and the waves kept pushing her back to where the island was.

"Ooh! Still manage to hang tight. I'm getting impressed by your actions, niece" He grinned then took an odd dagger from his side. It was a flat diamond-shaped blade. I know, doesn't really fit my taste yet I knew what he was about to do. "I wish we could spend more time my little niece but I have an important seat that awaits my presence."

My grip was weakening, but there was an incoming blade that I had to block, causing my grip to be released. A drop then splash. And again, I'm in the stupid salty body of water.

I resurfaced, and the ship was already further away that catching up was deemed impossible. They were pretty loud but the sea was dragging me faster and their voices diminish every second.

"Come on, stupid water! At least send me back to the others" I requested, then the wave has gotten stronger and it thrashed me more than ten times. Water even filled my nostrils but I couldn't do anything anymore and just let the waves take me back to the island. Expecting I'd really be sent there... But since when did the sea ever been kind to me?