"The gods cannot be stopped, no matter how much we try," Lanthanon commented, although he wished that it coudl be otherwise. He noted Calvin's sudden lack of energy and gave him a reassuring hug, but Lanthanon didn't know how he felt. The divine powers were always within him and now they were far too dormant for his liking. The next time he changed it would have to be somewhere where he could not cause too much damage. "The gods like manipulating humans and demigods. But I do not know how my parents and uncles and aunts feel. I want only peace and calm." Yet, he pondered, the other sea gods were willing to fight. Perhaps he just had not been around long enough to have a love for war, and he was glad of it.

"I only want the wind in my face and the earth in my feet! I only want the world as my own to travel and see." She sat suddenly, looking confused. "I am small, compared to all this. I am... fast, but weak." She smiled, but it was tiny. "I..." I miss my family.

Not this family; not this realm of gods and nobility and beauty. She missed her family; the ones who had taught her the way of the world and the ones she should be teaching herself. Had it been wrong to come here? Would she even make it out alive? Fighting gods and demis, near all more powerful and stronger than she. Would the Underworld be her next great adventure? Alone in the dark?

Aletheia sighed dismally. At the very least she should have brought her lyre. It soothed her mind when she was afraid.

"Ah yes. You are a god yourself Lanthanon, a brilliant one. So you cannot be stopped, no matter how hard we try!" She crushed her toes into the stoney cloud, attempting to smile up at her friend fully and brightly. She failed, but it was a valiant effort.

Zeus eyed his daughter and sighed. He had a weakness for the pleas of the women in his life, unfortunately. "Dearest, be kinder to your step mother. I am about to begin my speech anyhow." He told her, standing up from his throne and striding over to a raised area in the middle of the room. It overlooked everyone in the massive hall, and would project his voice out for all to hear. He gave a signal, and the sound of a thousand trumpets quieted the room.

"Welcome, children of the gods." He began, his expression one of graveness. "I know you are all wondering why you have been called here. As you all probably see everyday, the state of the world on Earth is becoming more chaotic everyday. The humans are killing each other for countless reasons, and hardly anyone worships us, the gods, anymore. And I believe you all know that without people to worship us, despite the fact that we are immortal, we can die. A war has been prophesized to happen in 2012, and the fate of all of us rests in the outcome of that war. We must destroy the humans and start anew, with people who will worship us as we are meant to be worshipped. They will stop destroying each other and live peacefully, not fighting for different religions, but for the true religion that worships us, the gods."

Aphrodite pouted pitifully, her big round eyes just perfect for the action. But she nodded and smiled, sweeping back to her throne as her father continued.

Aletheia sprang up. She sniffed back any tears that had started to gather and called out loudly, because she had to know. "Lord of the Gods, Mighty Zeus, how will you know who to exterminate? Can you sense their prayers? Will you examine each of their hearts before ending their lives? Why not create a haven, take the worthy there and leave the rest to destroy themselves?"

Diplomacy. That was something Hermes was a god of, was it not? All she had to do now was be certain, be absolutely certain that her family would continue to travel and live. Then came her new friends, and then the rest of the world - she would fight for those three groups that meant the most.

"I know I am a mere child of your child and a mortal, a tiny thing compared to the gods, but how will you decide who lives and who dies? What system will you use?"

Hera's frown sharpened into a smirk as the little gypsy child interrupted her husband. She looked at Zeus pointedly as if to say see? Even these earthlings don't agree. Even this little spit of a person has enough sense to stand up to this one.

Maisha closed her mouth as Zeus stood, but tapped the arm of the new girl in a friendly way and smiled at her. She couldn't believe that Aletheia was speaking up like this, where was her sense of self-preservation? But she agreed whole-heartedly with her friend. She hoped that this would be a just war, if there was such a thing. She refocused on the stunned and quiet Lue again, though, and tried to communicate through her sharp green eyes that she felt kinship with her, knowing how the curve of Artemis' silver bow in the night sky had looked down on her lonely journey just as it had her own, that is, until she had met her companions.

As Zeus spoke, Maisha felt a force pull her closer to her mother, and away from the center of the room, and she saw that everyone felt it, too. The demigods seemed to divide, the two now distinct halves growing farther apart as the king declared the war.

Ryan turned away from his friends. "Lue's," the newcomer, words made sense. It brought a different thought to Ryan. He placed his hands in his pockets and walked away from the congregating group and tried to ignore Zeus' words.

This is an extermination?

Ryan, ignoring the troublesome pull to his mother and merely decided to roam the palace, keeping to himself. Like he always had.

Lucia noticed that the demigods were drifting into two groups, and was careful to stick next to the girl that had brushed her arm. Maisha, was it? Something about those bright green eyes made her feel almost protected. (The bow the girl was carrying didn't hurt either.) There was a dull pull coming from the same side of the room as Artemis and some other goddesses. The girl pivoted on her sneakered heel to look at Ryan. He seemed to be important, and there was an aura of power and mystery about him.

That would not matter though, not if the gods were planning on wiping out humanity. "Wait-" Lue nearly shouted, waving her arms a bit to catch the attention of the greater god. "What about the Mayans? I thought 2012 was their idea!" Are you just using this as an excuse to start a war? The brunette added mentally. She knew going against the gods had dire consequences; maybe that was what happened to her father that made him want to hide her away from the world? Ugh, too many questions. "And Aletheia is right, what are you going to do about the innocents? Those who lived good lives serving their deities?" She paused to catch her breath. Granted, her father had admitted to being manipulative and 'rude' on more than one occasion, but he always repented. The maid that lived in her house as well, Alycia, was a good women. They didn't deserve to be killed. "I don't want my family and friends to die! Why the hell should I help you kill them?"

Ahh, she mentally kicked herself. That tone might have been a bit harsh for this situation. She took a measly step back to stand half-behind some of the friendly demigods she had met. This may get ugly.

Zeus paused, turning to look in Aletheia's direction. "How dare you interrupt me while I speak," he said sharply, a few lightning bolts raining down from the sky and striking the cloudy floor of the hall. He did not like being interrupted, especially when he was in the middle of explaining something important. "Silence!" A few more lightning bolts struck the floor.

"Zeus, calm yourself!" Demeter shouted at her brother, and she was confused, as well. She had heard nothing about exterminating humans before this, and she was outraged, to say the least. "And what do you mean? There will be a war involving the demigods, who are part human, having to kill those dear to them who are human? And your only reason is because they aren't worshipping us? That is outrageous!" She was furious now. Even Apollo, who had regained his composure from before, was looking as if this was news to him, as well.

"Anyone who objects will be forced to fight against those of us who choose to fight for this cause." He said gravely, continuing his speech. "As I was saying... It would mean that all of you minor gods and demigods would die, too, because the power that we possess and pass on to our offspring would diminish if we had no one to worship us. Would you rather live or die just like the mortals on earth?" He finished his speech, and there were soft murmurs among the crowd. Some people were outraged, some were actually contemplating fighting for the cause.

Calvin's face was of utter horror. "They called us here to tell us that we have to kill people?" He said, more to himself than to anyone else in particular. The idea would never have even occurred to him, and he sure as heck wouldn't change his mind now. The entire idea was preposterous. Why should someone worship a god who is willing to destroy him or her? What kind of god is that? Clearly not a just one.

This was wrong. Wrong, wrong, wrong! Maybe she had stumbled into some sort of twisted nightmare. Maybe she would fight if there was actually a good reason, but this? Maybe there would be something that would knock some sense into the gods.

That was a lot of maybes. She turned her scattered attention to Calvin. He looked utterly horrified. His mouth was slightly agape like a fish that had been assaulted by too much oxygen. "We need to fix this," the honey eyed girl whispered to the half gods that surrounded her, "we can't let this happen."

Calvin clutched Lanthanon tightly, wrapping his arms around his back. He had become so attached to him, more attached than he had ever been to anyone in his short eighteen years of life. "How are we supposed to fight this? Surely the gods will kill us. Well, except Demeter. She seems against this whole proposition..." He replied to Lucia's comment. He couldn't help himself, and leaned down to kiss Lanthanon. It would be horrible to lose him, especially since they had developed a strong bond in the short time they'd spent together. How would they fix this situation, though? That was an excellent question. Zeus was clearly out of his mind, proposing that they kill humans just because they weren't being worshipped. No wonder no one worshipped them, they were mentally insane. He just kept clinging to Lanthanon like a safety blanket.

Aletheia kept her chin up through the lightning. She would have defended herself. Zeus had paused, after all, but she thought better of it. Allie wasn't an idiot; these gods were absolutely mad and no matter how polite her protest she couldn't possibly imagine to change what he had set in his head. So she kept quiet, but kept proud.

"I," she hissed softly to her companions alone, "will not kill. I watch, I learn, I love and believe. I do not destroy."

Persephone, who had made her way to a much happier Hades a bit before, shook her head madly. "Father, this is not a good idea. The humans have grown in strength and numbers. They are stronger than we think; how can we hope to win their love by destroying them?"

"Everyone dies," Hades put in. "It all happens so fast anyhow; I don't see the point." He caught his wife's scathing glance. "… On why we should waste our time speeding it up?" he added hurriedly.Really, all he wanted was to go home and be done with it.

It felt like the gods were making a macaroni sculpture. They took all the demigods and brought them together in a nice, friendly pattern. Then they ripped all of the noodles off and left the bits of paper clinging to their backs. If there was no way to stop that, none of the children would ever be the same.

She had a connection with these people. She had to defend them. Granted, she did throw up a little bit in her mouth when the two boys kissed...

She quickly shoved that idea aside. "Zeus," she called out, knotting her hands at her sides and looking up at the god adamantly. "I will not fight my new friends, not for anything. I belong with them." Lucia would get what she wanted. She always did. Even if it was the death of her, she would get her way.

Slowly the fear was welling up inside of her. Tighter and tighter and tighter - and then Lucia had spoken so adamantely. It was brave and beautiful enough to make her cry, but half for being touched, half for fear. What could they do if the gods themselves were against them? What? And now, if Zeus was angered, he could fry them to a crisp without a second thought.

Ryan, you were clever to wander off. You were clever and quick -

Quick! Ha, she was quick. She could run and run and run and never look back. She could run if they came after her. She could run from Zeus's lightning, run from her father who refused to show himself, run from everything and be safe.

Aletheia often ran. The trouble was she could never quite figure out what she wanted to run to. Right now, if she ran to anything, it would be her new friends or her family - but they were the ones in danger. So she couldn't run. Not just yet.

Hades eyed the brave mortals curiously. It was foolish of them to speak up; didn't they know how to keep their opinions to themselves? Strange things, humans. Very strange. So fickle and fast, tiny flashes in his centuries old eyes.

"Belong with them, then," Aphrodite purred. "Belong with them and do as you will. You are specks of dust rising against a storm; wouldn't you rather join with the wind? My father is a wise man. Do not fight him." She wasn't just talking to Lucia; she was talking to everyone. Her voice was rich and lovely, almost hypnotic. "Fighting him is like running in water. Impossible. You must learn to swim."

Lucia's eyes narrowed. "There were small crystal creatures living on the bottom of the river. They all clung to the ground because if they did not do as they had always done, they were sure do die, right? The current would destroy them. Well, one curious crystal creature 'heeded them not, and taking a breath did let go, and at once was tumbled and smashed by the current across the rocks. Yet in time, as the creature refused to cling again, the current lifted him free from the bottom, and he was bruised and hurt no more.' That crystal made it to the ocean. He saw the world in a new way that none of his people had before." She pitched her eyebrows and smirked. "I think the same may be true for the demigods, depending on our choices, no?"

She looked to Aletheia, who seemed to be awed somehow. This girl understood her, she could tell.

Allie smiled brightly at Lucia, thinking she had met a kindred spirit, as Aphrodite drew herself up, a tall, glowing goddess. She made an imposing sight with narrowed eyes as her attention swerved to the relatively little demigod. "Dare you speak to me in that way?" she demanded. "I have no qualm with the novel and new; but you would be overwhelmed. Somethings are impossible. One of which is defying - " Aphrodite cut herself off and glanced desperately at her father, radiating with hot fury.

A haughty tone snuck into Lucia's voice, although on the inside her mind was screaming at her: ¡Shut up, estúpido!

"I was not speaking in a non-deferential way, I was just asking a question." If there was one thing that Lucia had learned growing up, it was that showing fear was as bad as running away. The gods were clearly immobile right now, and nothing would change their views.

Subterfuge was still an option of course. She could do what her father had done; get into the higher class and play a game of chess once you were there. The other demigods would probably be willing to help her if she could come up with a good enough plan.

Falling into silence, Lue glanced at Allie for probably the tenth time in the past few minutes and spoke quietly, "I don't think this whole ordeal is as planned out as Zeus wishes it to be. Am I the only one without any fight training whatsoever?" She adjusted her black beanie again, pulling it down to cover the tips of her ears.

((Wooo I've used two of my vocabulary words in the past three posts~))

Aletheia shook her head slowly. "I know how to carve a turkey and how to run on rope. But nothing when it comes to fighting. Maisha has her bows and arrows and swore to teach me one day. Lanthanon is a great beast in the sea. I think Ryan would be formidable; something about him seems bruised, as if he has fought much. I know not of Calvin," she explained softly. "You are not alone if you are surprised. Calvin and Maisha and Ryan only just learned of all this. I only half-knew. Just Lanthanon truly understood."

Allie was thinking up a plan as they spoke. A plan? No, not really. An idea. A premise.

The question? How had the gods come to be gods? By destroying their parents. At least twice this had happened. Kronos overthrew his family, and then Zeus overthrew Kronos. Could it happen a third? Was it possible? Were some of the gods unhappy with the way things were being ran? Could their children, demis and fulls alike, stop this? Or perhaps if only conflict were stirred, then perhaps the gods would be distracted enough for Aletheia and her new friends to find a way to save humanity.

"Be careful, Lucia - they are very powerful." She smiled warmly at her companion again, "But I like you."

"Thank you, I like you too," Lucia chuckled in response.It was comforting to know that she was not the only one with zero fighting experience. That meant the gods at least did plan on training them before sending them away like lambs to slaughter.

There was an odd look on Allie's face, one of concentration and a bit of worry. It seemed as if she had been speaking to herself as well as Lue when she told the Mexican girl to be careful. The look was chaste though, and was almost immediately replaced by a warm smile. Huh, maybe she just imagined it? Or was Aletheia thinking along the same lines as Lue herself was?

"Calvin," she said softly, wanting to pull the boy's attention away from the pale apple of his eye and onto the matter at hand, "Maybe we can get Demeter on our side, Hades and Persephone too, if we play the cards right." Calvin seemed a bit less distracted than he had after Lucia had first addressed the group, and now that she had let the gods know how she felt, it was getting close to the time to act on those emotions. "Then we could spark a feud or something..."

...Why was Calvin clinging to Lanthanon like a child? He had no idea, and quickly let go of the other boy and walked off on his own. He needed to have some time alone; why was he being so emotional all a sudden? It was incredibly unlike him to act this way. Very un-Sagittarius. He needed time to be alone with his thoughts. It wasn't often that he was around people for extended periods of time. Also, it wasn't that he was antisocial, he just felt exhausted after socialized too much, like he had recently. He walked off without replying, exhausted from the company.

Calvin walked off, putting his hands in the pockets of his white leather jacket and doing a hairflip. He didn't really have the need to wear a jacket, it was, after all, the middle of autumn.

Well, Calvin wasn't doing anything to help the situation. Lucia huffed and crossed her arms over her black dress, becoming annoyed with the boy's immaturity. He must have thought he was so cool, wearing a jacket and flipping his hair.

"Glad to see you care!" She yelled out after him, fisting her hands. She hated when people got all angsty.

(Short, sorry, the period ends in a few minutes .)

Calvin felt like ignoring her call, but it was irritating for her to think she know what he was feeling at this point. Pssh, she didn't know anything. "I need some time alone with my thoughts, thanks." He replied coldly. That was one of the reasons why he wanted to walk off and be alone; being around people could be restricting sometimes.

"And I do care, I just don't feel the need to act like I'm caring 24/7," he added, then proceeding to get the hell out of the proximity of all of them. Sighing, he found a spot in the massive hall where he could sit and think, leaning against the wall and closing his eyes, deep in thought.

Allie sighed at them both. "If this is true we are immortal and youthful until we act in such a way that circumstances or this war kill us themselves.We have time much." She glanced around quickly, "I am going to take a better look at the hall.I will be back soon."

She clambered up a cloudy beam, grateful that the gods seemed to be ignoring them once more.Near the top she wrapped her legs tight around the pillar – paying no heed to her skirt – and flipped back so the Hall of Olympus fell before her eyes (be it upside down) and her midnight black curls swung thick and messy below.The stone chafed against her thighs but not so much as the rough tree bark she was used to had, and it helped to keep her from sliding as she took in a deep breath, her face growing red with the blood rushing down to her head.

Aletheia's eyes swept across the room, taking in the arguing gods. The haughty – but so, so beautiful – Aphrodite, she caught the figure of Ryan in the distance – making her smile – and her other friends below, Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, Apollo, Artemis, Hades, Persephone, Athena… where was her father?

She squeezed her eyes shut tight and breathed again, pretending this cold stone pillar was a tree.She pretended she could hear the crackling of the family fire and her family sharing stories below. She imagined her cousins dancing and her mother playing the lyre like Hermes had taught her.Aletheia had finally found her heritage; it was confusing that all these mixed emotions flowed through her.

Maisha looked on as Calvin left the group, her eyes pausing on his lean back and then passing over both Ryan and Lanthanon before resting on the two girls still beside her. She turned to Alletheia, smiling, and tilted her head so she was looking at her upside down face right side up. "So, it seems we have some downtime until the gods decide what they're gonna do. How about that archery lesson?" She straightened up and turned to Lue, also. "And if you want to learn, it's probably the best thing for this war; less chance of getting hurt while still being useful."

She put her arm through Lue's and headed in the direction of the space beyond Artemis, when she realized that there was probably a better spot, farther away from all these people. "Hey, is there any way to get out of this building?" She asked her companions.

Athena was NOT pleased. The sun glinted off of her helm as she jerked her head at her sister, Artemis. The hunter goddess rose and drifted through the crowd of demigods to meet her, and she had an ominous expression in her sharp eyes. "You are with me, are you not?" The archer goddess asked in a low voice, her green orbs darting to Zues and back.

"Always, sister. As much as I love my father, he is wrong, and I cannot make him see sense. It seems humans have inherited their bloodlust from him."

At this point, Hera noticed the two virgin maidens and drifted over, sensing that they didn't like the thought of such bloodshed either. "My daughters," she greeted them gracefully, even though she was generalizing, and knew that these girls were not really her own. "How goes it? You are not agreeing with this obscene idea, are you? I myself am unsettled by the thought of the lives lost..."

"Hera, mother of all," Artemis smiled, "are you to join us in fighting against this? I know you are faithful to Zeus and have no earthling offspring to volunteer, but your help would be much appreciated."

"Indeed," Athena murmured, already strategizing in her head. "If we are to fight against these delinquints though, we should set up our camps on earth quickly. It is not wise for the purposes of battle, nor for the well being of Olympus for us all to stay here. We must take our allies and regroup elsewhere to get our troups trained an ready. Hopefully, though, we will have another one of the divine who has more power in numbers to join us, or we shall be poorly equiped for such a war as this shall surely be." The warrior goddess eyed her godly family, measuring their expressions, hoping to see some doubt in their deep and timeless eyes.

"Even if we end up with smaller numbers, we are well equiped with will power, justice, and the power of the mind, seeing as we have you, dear Athena." Hera nodded, also looking at the main group of the gods, all surrounding Zeus in a heated debate. "Speaking of justice, Artemis, how is your brother? Maybe he is willing to stand against this debauchery."

"Maybe I shall go see." Artemis replied solemnly, turning her ageless face towards her twin, who she knew would sense her gaze.

Allie - with a large, upside down grin - flipped her head up (knotted curls bouncing), slid part way down the pillar, then agiley leapt down from the cloudy beam to land beside the girls. "Persphone's Garden, mayhap?" she suggested, standing from her crouch with scraped knees. "And then, when we three fine ladies are finished, then we should speak somewhere quiet and unwatchable of things we would rather not be heard, and plans that should never be said." Aletheia winked cheerfully.

((Post featuring my gods coming shortly))

"My sisters!" Persephone smiled, acknowledging them happily. "It has been far too long since I left Mother or Hades to see you, Artemis, Athena." Then she noticed Hera and, feeling her usual insecurities, was unsure whether to curtsy solemnly as a humble step daughter or to hold up her head high like the Queen of the Underworld. After a moment's deliberation she dipped her head low and respectfully, but didn't stoop to bow. "Hera, it is an honor, as always." She turned to them all, curious. "Of what do you speak?" It wasn't often her stepmother, great goddess of family and marriage, spoke so understandingly to her husband's illegitimate Artemis, though she and Athena had always gotten on well enough.

---

Meanwhile, Hades was crabby again, his wife having kissed his cheek and moved on with the rest of the crowd. Mortals were the subject of his thoughts at the moment, which was an odd occurrence. Four children had spoken up in front of the Gods – four human children.Yet here were so many Gods who seemed to have hardly the courage to state their opinion. What was the difference, he wondered? What made them stupid or bold enough to do such suicidal things?

Well, there was always Hera. Hades smiled, thinking fondly of his sister. Ah, yes, she was brave enough to say how she really felt. One of the things he liked about her. Persephone, on the other hand, was soft spoken and gentle for the most part, but very very passionate. She would speak up eventually too, but she was more of a quiet manipulator – who tried the paths of words before anything else.

The three women nodded back to Persephone in turn, and Artemis was the first to reply.

"Queen Persephone, surely you are with us? You shouldn't have to wonder what we have been speaking of. Could even you, the sympathetic face of Hades, agree with this blood and gore? I don't believe it is in your nature..." The sharp-eyed Artemis scrutinized her half-sister, a knowing expression gracing her brow.

"Indeed, Queen of the Dead," Hera replied, not whowing how much it urked her to greet Persephone as an equal, but she did really want this to work out her way. "We will need your help, though you also don't have many children to side with us... that is, unless you hunger for the blood of the mortals below us." Hera's motherly eyes glinted with apprehension as she delt a lower blow; "I believe that those of us without the hordes of children at our disposal tend to value their lives more, and the lives of other mothers' children."

Athena was silently calculating what an alliance including Persephone would entail, since surely this would win Hades onto their side. But the dark god was unreliable, so she couldn't tell just yet what he would decide. Nor wether Persephone would actually join them, but with Hera's practiced persuasion, she surely would. She remained silent, her intelligent gray eyes watching the scene around her.

"I must go now, and speak with my brother," The archer goddess inturrupted, and floated away, her white toga flowing around her like an elegant gown, though it was nothing but plain cotton, as was her usual garb.

Maisha followed Aletheia to Persephone's garden, a path she hadn't actually paid attention to before, since she had just been following her friends. It turns out she wouldn't pay attention this time, also, because the group of goddesses across the hall caught her attention.

She watched as Persephone joined them, and how Hera seemed to be siding with both her mother and Athena, which she could tell was out of the ordinary, from the looks they were getting from other demigods and how Athena didn't seem entirely comfortable when the mother of the gods touched her shoulder in conversation. Artemis then broke away from the small group of ladies, who seemed to be talking about something incredibly important, due to the furrowed brows and intense looks of concentration in their eyes. That was the weird thing about the gods, she had found; that no matter how far away they were, their images were still crystal clear to her, undiluted by the distance.

Artemis' eyes met Maishas as she drifted to her brother in a faux- casual way, her gaze distracted but comforting nonetheless in the moment it held her.

"What do you think the goddesses are talking so intensely about?" she whispered to the two girls with her, leaning towards them so that no one else would hear.

At first being Queen of the Underworld as well as the Goddess of Rebirth and Spring had seemed such a contradiction to her.But then Persephone had come to see death itself as a rebirth, a chance for peace and quiet after the horrors of life (a little too gloomy, perhaps, but she was working on that).She shook her head: "Zeus, the Lord High, speaks some sense.The world is choking on itself; I see it through my flowers."

Her poor flowers, the only daughters she could bear.Persephone flinched at Hera's mention of children – the Goddess of Rebirth she was, not first, while Hades himself was dripping with death and thus infertile.A hand pressed to her empty belly as her shoulders slumped.If only she could have a daughter of her own, to love and to cherish and to show her mother.Demeter would love a grandchild, she knew.Hades would be less enthusiastic, but any child with Persephone's and his own blood he would welcome warmly.If only.

"But with you four I side, Sisters, Lady High; mortals last such little time already, they will be swept away with the next wind.Why should we deign to destroy them, our own creation we should care for?Beyond that, so many have had yet to place their loyalties.The babes and the gardeners and children; how do we divine innocence from guilt?The process would be maddening, and anything but such a thing would be cruel, callous, and sloppy." She paused before continuing hesitantly: "I cannot speak for my husband.He was assigned the Realm of the Dead, and it is there he locks his heart and rules with consideration.The Upper World is not his concern in his mind, so he dismisses it. I can only assure you that I, myself, stand against this senseless battle."

Zeus had a tendency to be blind to reason, and now was one of those many times. He had also expected the current uproar, but the many children of the gods did little in protest, aside from a small minority of dissenters. But, he thought, the Trojan War was started for a stupid reason, an even dumber reason than what Zeus was suggesting. At least it wasn't all because one of the goddesses thought she was more beautiful than the rest; the reason he was giving was a legitimate reason, and he felt that it was a solid one. Kill the humans who don't deserve to live before the ones that do deserve to live are killed. Right? It sure did irritate him when people refused to see it his way, but since he was the king of the gods, it didn't matter. This war would happen whether the other gods and their children liked it or not.

On the other side of the hall, Apollo had calmed significantly from before, when Calvin had had his outburst. However, the news about the war made him furious again, but he did not have an explosive rage as, say, Hades and Zeus, had. Anger was unattractive, and, being the god of all things beautiful, he held in his fury. He decided to go and find something to lighten his mood and think over what his father had said. Despite being a god and possessing a great deal of knowledge and experience, Apollo had never understood the concept of war. Even if it was necessary in the human population and even amongst the gods, it was something he hated to think about. After all, he was the god of all things beautiful, as well as healing, so war was completely contradictory to his nature. Why destroy all the beauty that had been crafted by human hands and the hands of the gods, as well? Why ruin the beautiful cities on earth for a silly cause as his father had suggested? It made no sense to him. And despite his godly status, he still felt utterly confused at how to handle this whole war business. All he knew was that he had to side against his father.

And at another point in the hall, Calvin sat alone, leaning against the wall while deep in thought. He gazed around the massive space, sensing the anger and fear emanating from the gathered gods and demigods. Why would Zeus, king of the gods and someone who had been worshipped as the prime deity at one point, even think of killing people on Earth so they "wouldn't die of overpopulation"? That was utter bull crap. He clearly didn't care about the humans, they were just worthless tools to be used and thrown away, weren't they? And who was he to assign value to human life? No one person deserved to live more than the next. But granted, he was the king of the gods, but the whole argument was utterly pointless. Calvin sighed angrily, realizing that the circular reasoning going on in his head was leading him to no better explanation than before.

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