Thousands of years in the past
Atlantis
Planet: Earth
Amanda walked quietly beside Pallid as they made their way through the crowd of people walking to the arc that dominated the city. She worried for her sister. She couldn’t remember ever seeing her so upset. Then Amanda couldn’t help but wonder if her sister had felt like that many times in the past. Did she somehow contribute to Katherine’s sense of isolation and rejection?
“This is the center of Atlantis,” Pallid informed her as he led her into the left entrance of the arc. “This side belongs to the male leaders. The female leaders are in the other column of the arc.”
Thankful for a reason to break out of her thoughts, she took in her surroundings with a sense of awe. So this was where the Olympian gods and goddesses used to work. It was strange to think of them as powerful leaders. They seemed more like common friends to her.
The building was more magnificent on the inside than it had been on the outside. The aqua plush couches and chairs gave warmth to the room. The ivory tables that were scattered around the chairs and couches held miniature statues on them. With a closer study of them, she realized the various statues were each a replica of one of the male leaders. One table featured Zeus. Another Apollo. And so on. She recognized each of them and marveled at the detail. Great care was taken into doing each one.
“We need to go up to the main floor, which is right above Zeus’ office,” Pallid informed her. “I hope you don’t mind a long walk up the stairs.”
She looked over at the golden staircase, which twirled around the entire column. Along the staircase were offices. Undoubtedly, each male leader possessed his own office.
She nodded and followed him up the stairs. There were quite a few people who were going up and down the steps, but most of the activity took place by the entrance where people made appointments. “Does everyone have to have an appointment to see a leader?”
“It is recommended, but there are cases where a leader will see someone without advanced notice.”
The setup was so different from Raz. Raz was simple. The queen ruled, and she saw the creatures on Raz several times a week for four hours at a time. The king was in charge of allowing visitors to see her so they could address their concerns to her. In Atlantis, the leaders were busy all day long.
As they walked up the steps, she looked in the first office window they passed and gasped when she saw Hephaestus, except he wore a veil over his face. She almost waved to him but then realized it wasn’t proper to do so since he hadn’t met her yet in his time. She noticed he sat by himself. Had he not seemed so content to work on a new piece of artwork, she would have felt sorry since he was probably lonely.
“Why does he get to stay up here?” she asked. “He doesn’t meet the criteria for perfection.”
“No, he doesn’t, but he is too valuable to condemn to the Underworld. He designed all the buildings, furniture, and artwork you see around you. He is a genius at creating things.”
“I can’t imagine that any woman wanted him though. How sad.”
“You didn’t learn about his brief marriage to Aphrodite? She married him because of his talent, but she cheated on him so he divorced her.”
“I had no idea they were a couple.”
“Well, she used him to get beautiful jewelry, so it wasn’t a loving marriage. He got her in the end though. He put a substance in her jewels that gave her a rash every time she wore them.” He chuckled at the memory. “It was all people talked about for weeks around here.”
“That’s why they don’t have much to do with each other on Olympia.”
“In Aphrodite’s defense, adultery was a common practice here. As long as both parties agreed to it, it was actually encouraged.”
She sniffed. “My future husband better be faithful to me. I won’t tolerate that kind of behavior.”
“I agree fidelity is the best for a married couple. You can eliminate a lot of damage that way. But that is not why we’re here. I want to check on Avar. He likes to hang out at the top of the arc.”
She glanced up the staircase and sighed. They still had a long way to go.
***
Jake found the entrance to the Underworld without any difficulty. The dome was the only one in the city. It was humble in its appearance, which led Katherine to believe the leaders thought so little of imperfect people they couldn’t even give them their standard exquisite entrances. She noticed people staring at her. Since she knew why they stared, she couldn’t help but feel like a freak put on display.
“Are you sure you want to come with me?” she asked, giving Jake a chance to back out.
“I’m sure,” he said without hesitation.
She wondered why he wanted to go with her. It seemed like this was the last place anyone wanted to be. She wouldn’t have volunteered to go down if she had qualified to stay above the ground without a veil. She supposed the people living in the Underworld felt the same way.
He opened the door. The room inside the dome was surprisingly dark with a single light coming from the bottom of the steps. The steps were made of gold, which surprised her since gold was a precious metal on Earth. But who knew? Maybe it was in abundance on Atlantis.
They slowly entered the room and shut the door behind them. That was when they heard the groans of despair. She took a deep breath as she began to take her first step.
“I should go first,” he offered. “Whatever is down there doesn’t sound pleasant.”
She was glad for his suggestion, so she followed him down the steps. As they furthered their descent, she became aware they were entering the bowels of a cold and clammy cave. She shivered, grateful he had insisted on coming along. Having him with her made her feel a lot safer than she otherwise would have felt.
Their journey down the steps didn’t take long, and by the time they reached the bottom of the cave, she saw the source of light was a single torch that was mounted on a wall. It gave an eerie glow to the corridor that loomed before them.
The groaning was louder than before, and considering the shadows that lurked ahead of them, she didn’t relish the opportunity to find out what was causing the distressing sound. She had just gotten here, and she already hated this place.
Sensing her fear, Jake whispered, “I won’t leave you.”
She smiled at him, grateful for his kind words.
He instinctively walked closer to her.
The light up ahead grew brighter, and by the time they reached the end of the corridor, they found themselves in a large circular area where a three-headed dog calmly waited for new inhabitants.
“Cerebus,” she softly spoke, recalling the lessons her father had taught her about the Olympians and their creatures.
The dog’s ears perked up at the mention of his name, and he went to greet her. He sniffed her hand and sat beside her.
“Do we wait here or should we go through the gate?” she asked Jake.
Cerebus barked, stood up, and blocked their entrance.
She glanced at Jake. “Obviously, we are to wait for someone to get us.”
Cerebus barked again and seemed to have nodded at her. Then he went back to her and sat next to her.
“I think he likes you,” Jake replied with a grin.
“I like him, too,” she admitted and petted one of his three heads.
The dog smiled in pleasure.
“I wonder why he’s taken such an interest in you,” he said. “I wonder if he takes a liking to everyone who comes through here.”
“That is a good question.”
“He doesn’t seem to be interested in me. Maybe that’s my answer.”
Someone cleared his throat.
Startled, they looked at the entrance of the gate.
An old man wearing a long black robe and carrying a long wooden staff greeted them. “I would say welcome to the Underworld, but this is not a pleasant place to be. Cerebus seems to like you more than anyone else who’s come down here except for Persephone. Perhaps he senses something in you he didn’t in the others. The leaders made him to detect the measure of goodness in a person’s soul. The people above ground couldn’t stand to look at a three-headed dog though, so he was confined to guard the entrance of the Underworld.”
She blinked in surprise. She wondered what Cerebus saw in her. Then she recalled Persephone’s name. “Persephone. Isn’t she married to Hades?”
“Hardly.” The man shook his head. “He forced her down here three weeks ago. Demeter, her mother, is filled with worry about her but doesn’t know of her whereabouts yet. Once Hermes returns to the arc and tells her, she’s bound to be upset. She detests this place so much and hates Hades even more. There’s no way Hades will get Persephone to stay here.”
Katherine bit her lip. She knew what their future held, but she didn’t want to reveal it to them.
“Why did he bring her here?” Jake asked. “Did she have a flaw that the leaders couldn’t tolerate?”
She noted the sarcasm in his voice and couldn’t help but respect him for how he valued all people, not just the perfect ones.
“Oh no,” the old man replied. “Persephone is as lovely as they come. She is so beautiful that even Aphrodite feels threatened by her. Her mother encourages her work by sending gentle rains, plenty of sunlight, and warm weather. Hades went to attend a meeting three weeks ago and happened to see her. Hades is extremely impulsive, and that being the case, he brought her down here before she had time to run from him. She was clearly afraid when I saw her, though she didn’t protest or say a word. She knows her mother will find her and force him to take her back. As long as she doesn’t eat anything, she is safe to go back up there to live.”
“Because if she eats anything down here, she will be forced to stay here,” Katherine said.
The man looked impressed. “You are well aware of our customs down here. Even Zeus cannot change this custom, and he’s the head leader.”
“She hasn’t eaten anything yet?” she asked.
“No. I don’t expect she will either. She must be incredibly hungry, but her desire to live above ground overrides that basic need. It’s not like she can starve since she’s covered under the Stone of Immortality the leaders hold in their possession.”
“And Hermes is here now?”
“I just took him to see Hades. I came back here because I heard the door of the dome chime. It is undetectable to those who enter, but I hear it every time. It is my job to take you to Hades. He will decide where you will live down here.”
“We’re only going to be here for a couple of days. We’re only visiting Atlantis. I refused to put on a veil, so I came here instead.”
“An unusual choice for someone to volunteer for this life, even if it is temporary.”
“I didn’t feel like being compared to my sister anymore.” She shrugged. “She meets the standards of perfection. She always has.”
“If that is your wish, you may stay at our temporary lodging. Hades will still want to see you first to keep tabs on who’s here.” Turning to Jake, he asked, “Why are you here? Surely, you are allowed to be up there.”
Jake cleared his throat. “I wanted to come with her.”
“Very well,” he replied. “Please follow me. We will take the boat down the River Styx until we reach Hades’ mansion. It is black and as gloomy as everything else down here. He can be difficult to bear with, but he means well. I think the Underworld brings out the worst in all of us after we’ve been here for a while. It isn’t easy to be constantly reminded you are not good enough for Atlantis. Hades was forced to do this job, so it’s not like he wants to be here any more than the rest of us do.”
She nodded as she and Jake followed him to his small boat. She was familiar with Hades’ moodiness from her school lessons. She also knew Persephone was the only one who could give him joy. Examining her surroundings, she understood why Hades was so temperamental.
***
Present Day
Ivory Palace
Planet: Olympia
Gaius, Olivia, and Julius landed their spaceship right at the door of the Ivory Palace, not concerned with the gods’ and goddesses’ rule that no one ever do so. They had crucial business to take care of and not much time to spare. Timing was everything, and if they acted too soon or too late, they would disrupt the delicate balance between action and consequence.
They stood outside the door and rang the bell, which chimed beautifully throughout the palace.
Hephaestus led them into the living room where Zeus, Ares, Athena, Demeter, Hades, and Poseidon were mapping out a strategic war plan. As soon as they saw the Augurs, they stopped and turned to them.
“Something else is wrong if you’re here,” Zeus told them. “We were going to visit you after we created a suitable plan to get to our replacements before they wake up. We are aware the Earthlings have discovered Atlantis’ location and are currently inspecting the area.”
“There is another development,” Gaius informed them. “The Infer who is currently there has traveled back into the past with the Queen of Raz, and he intends to change the course of history. He wants to make sure Atlantis never sank in the first place.”
Athena gasped. “Do you know how he intends to do that?”
“Unfortunately, no. However, we have seen through the Mirror of Time, and he will succeed. In the future, his action will condemn everyone in the Underworld and every Augur to death.”
Hades frowned. “Why would he destroy the people in my domain? They were my responsibility.”
“He doesn’t intentionally kill them. His decision to keep Atlantis on the map is what inevitably leads to their deaths. If we allow his plan to succeed, then Atlantis will still exist in our current day. In the near future, a rebellion will occur from the Underworlds all over the Earth. The people there will demand the same rights enjoyed by those above ground, and in order to put the rebellion down, Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, and Demeter will vote to eliminate them. Since every Augur will protest such an event, you will destroy us first.”
“No,” Zeus argued. “There’s no way we could be so heartless. The people in the Underworld shouldn’t be put to death just because they aren’t perfect.”
“Did they even deserve to put in the Underworld to begin with?” Hades snapped.
“That was a long time ago when we thought it best to do such a thing,” Demeter softly stated. “We were foolish back then.”
“Apparently, staying on Atlantis would have made us worse than we were,” Zeus said.
“But Hades and Hestia voted against such measures?” Athena asked. “Or were they no longer ruling by then?”
“They still ruled. The leadership remained intact,” Gaius replied. “They argued in favor of bringing the people back up from the Underworld.”
Demeter sighed. “Perhaps there is more heart in you than I gave you credit for,” she told Hades, her son-in-law.
He looked shocked by her admission.
“We cannot allow ourselves to do what the Augurs have said we’ll do,” Zeus decided. “We must stop the Infer from keeping Atlantis above the waters.”
“He will be harder to locate among the other Infers, but with the technology to assist us, we can find him and warn him,” Gaius said.
“In the meantime, we also need to prevent the people on Earth from discovering the replacements or taking any of that technology,” Zeus replied. “We cannot let the rest of the Earth fail as we had. That technology must be destroyed before it destroys others.”
“Agreed.”
“I have an idea,” Ares said. “The Augurs have mastered the technology without seeking out their own gain. They should find the Infer. He will believe them because he knows of their reputation. Then we will stop the people on Earth in our current day. Zeus, you are the leader, and you have control over the thunderbolt you created long ago. Demeter can control the weather. Poseidon can control the ocean. Hades can release his most powerful beasts from the Underworld. Athena will provide her wisdom so we maintain justice in our actions, and I will change our battle plans as we need to do so.”
Athena’s eyebrows raised in surprise. “There might be hope for you yet, Ares.”
“That is an excellent strategy,” Gaius said. “We will leave at once.”
“Thank you,” Zeus replied. “You have been faithful guardians of our technology.”
Gaius, Octavia, and Julius nodded their welcome and returned to their spaceship, ready for their next plan of action.