Chapter XXVIII

Isaac was smiling as he strode through the corridors early the next morning.  He had seriously considered trying to sneak into Eli’s quarters and fastening the bracelet on her while she was still soundly sleeping and unable to stop him.  But regardless of his feelings towards Eli, invading their privacy like that was a breech of promise to the whole team, and he didn’t want that going against him as well. Besides, he realized he wanted an audience to witness her humiliation at his hands.  Maybe then they would all recognize the truth of his words and acknowledge that Eli was the real danger among them. And in truth, he had no desire to see Arianna in Eli’s arms for any reason... even in the innocence of sleep.

He walked into the mess hall – that went completely silent the moment he crossed the threshold.  Ignoring the fact that almost everyone rose and exited, Isaac made his way to the cabinets to retrieve his meal packet, then took a seat at one of the empty tables.  He spared a look at Titus and Paul – the only two of his teammates that had remained in the room with him.

“You sure you wanna be in here with me?  I know you’re not on my side.”

“That doesn’t make you less our teammate or our friend, Ike,” Titus said.  “It just means we have a difference of opinion on something.  Isn’t that true for all of us about something?”

“Maybe,” he shrugged as he shoved a spoonful of his breakfast into his mouth.  “But the fact remains that you all picked Eli over me.”

“Ike, you would pick Eli over you if you were thinking in your right mind.”

“Really?” he asked slowly as he chewed the remainder of his meal.  “Did it ever occur to you that I might just now be in my right mind?  That coming here finally made things clear for me?”

“Given the amount of suffering you’ve had to endure since we got within range of the Nebula?” Paul asked.  “You’re just lying to yourself.  And once your mind clears, you’re gonna realize that and hate yourself for what you’re doing right now.  Those are gonna be regrets you’re always gonna have, and we don’t want that – none of us do.”

“You just worry about yourselves – I can take care of me just fine.”  Without another word, he deposited his garbage in the recycler and left the mess hall.  Titus and Paul exchanged glances.

“There is just no good way for this to end, is there?”

“It’s not gonna be a day in the sun... that much is sure.”

Titus lifted his comm unit to his lips as Paul followed Isaac toward the med bay.

************

“Hey, Doc – you got a minute?” Isaac asked as he stepped into the infirmary.  He didn’t notice that his teammates were quietly ensconced around the room.  They had anticipated this when Eli and Arianna had walked into the mess hall uninjured.  Aphrodite had obviously been accurate in her assessment of the situation, and they weren’t going to leave Eli alone until things were finally resolved... one way or another.

They had all actually been in the infirmary discussing – arguing – the necessity of keeping an eye on Eli, Arianna and Isaac to prevent anything from happening between them until Ares time ran out when the call from Titus alerted them that Isaac was on his way down to them.  They scattered strategically throughout the med bay to see what new development was coming.  Now they waited for Eli to respond to Isaac’s innocent query.

She took a moment to school her expression, reminding herself that Isaac was not acting solely of his own accord.  The fact that she had sworn an oath to do her best for these people regardless of the circumstances helped her inject a trace of warmth into her voice.  ”Of course, Isaac.  What can I do for you?”

Isaac frowned.  Surely Eli remembered threatening him – remembered that they were competitors for Arianna’s affections.  Why was she suddenly pretending to care about him now?  He started when she reached out a warm hand and gave him a gentle squeeze on the forearm.  He saw her lips move, but he couldn’t distinguish the words she said.  Instead, he realized he had been handed a golden opportunity, and without warning, clamped down on her wrist and locked the bracelet in place.  Then he met her eyes with a triumphant grin.

“Nothing,” he chortled.  “You can’t do a thing for me, and you can’t do a thing to me either... not now.” 

Eli looked at the circlet clasped around her wrist and felt a wash of red rage course through her.  She clutched it tightly, tugging with all her considerable strength, but it didn’t budge.  She looked up at Isaac in panic.  “What have you done?” feeling the fury begin burning out of control.

“I evened the odds – in my favor, of course.  I’m challenging you for the right to claim Arianna as your mate.”  He got right into her face and sneered.  “She’s. MINE.”

“Beloved,” Eli called, though her voice was a mere whisper.  Arianna rushed to her side and started pulling on the bracelet, all the time reassuring Eli with her voice. 

“It’s all right, Amado.  I’m here – I’m right here.”

“I’m losing control, Angel.”

“Hang on, Sweetheart.  We’ll figure this out... I promise,” tucking her fingers between Eli’s skin and the metal of the jewelry in an effort to reassure her.

Isaac took exception to her words and their interaction and raised his hands to strike Eli away from Arianna when several things happened at once.

Eden grabbed Isaac and knocked him back, away from Arianna and Eli.  Arianna maintained her clasp on Eli’s forearm - even as the skin changed to scales and deepened in color – not wanting to lose the tentative link they had established with one another.  Eli’s transformation was quick this time – no hesitation... no control.  But before she could reach her full size – something that would have exceeded the confines of the ship - they were all suddenly and unexpectedly transported to the planet they had been orbiting.

It was a large, open arena, and seated around the perimeter were what the Alpha Team could only assume was the entire Pantheon of Gods and their lessers and demi-gods.  It was interesting to note that the majority of spectators sat behind Aphrodite and her sisters.  A few sat to either side – in neutral territory, as it were – but Ares remained alone.  Even his lessers and the demi-gods of his line chose to remain neutral in this battle.  They all remained stoic as the Alpha Team in its entirety appeared before them in the exact positions they had been in the infirmary.

Except for Eli – her transformation had continued until she was almost her maximum size.  And it only took another moment once they materialized on the planet for her to reach that.  And they first thing she did was turn her attention to Isaac, who was still being held by Eden.  Eli puffed out an angry breath that held a hint of fire and narrowed her eyes at him.  Before she could take action, though, she felt love’s touch beneath the bracelet that had expanded with her rapid growth.  Looking down, she found Arianna gazing at her in love and understanding.

“Eden,” Arianna called softly without losing Eli’s stare.  “Step away from Isaac.”

“Az?  Are you sure?”

Arianna brushed another light kiss over the scales on Eli’s wrist in reassurance, then turned and met Eden’s black eyes unflinchingly.  “I’m sure.  We’ve come too far to turn back now.  We have to let this play out to its conclusion.”

“No matter what?”

“No matter what.”

Eden held Arianna’s eyes for another long moment, finding the truth she didn’t really want to see.  With a sharp nod of her head, she turned to Isaac.  “I’m sorry, Ike.  Don’t be stupid, all right?”

Isaac frowned in confusion, but jerked his head in acknowledgement.  Eden moved away from him, and he immediately turned his back to Eli and Arianna, crossing the arena to stand in front of Ares.  “You LIED to me,” he accused.

Ares crossed his arms over his chest, then lifted a hand to examine his fingernails.  “So, um... what’s your point?”

Isaac’s face glowed red in his anger, and he briefly wished Ares was on the ground instead of in the stands so he had a shot at pummeling him.  He settled for pointing a finger and raising his voice.  “My point is you LIED to me.  You told me that bracelet would keep her from transforming.  Look at her!!” motioning to the dragon that towered over all of them.  “She’s a full-sized monster!!” ignoring the rumbling he heard coming from behind him.  That also meant he missed the sound of running footsteps heading his direction.  But he didn’t miss Ares’ smirk just before the punch that landed on his ribs.  Isaac whirled in place with his fist raised, then dropped it when he realized a furious Arianna had hit him.  “Arianna?” he asked, one hand rubbing the spot she hit while the other reached out toward her.  Arianna took a deliberate step back, and before Isaac could close the distance separating them, a green-scaled claw dropped between them and blocked Arianna from his view.

“Amado!” he heard Arianna huff impatiently.  The dragon grinned wickedly.  “Elizabeth, how can I defend your honor if I can’t even see the enemy I’m defending you against?”  Isaac could almost hear the clever arch in her eyebrow and wished he could see beyond the massive claw.  “Lay your hand flat, Beloved,” he heard Arianna smiling voice.  “I’ll remain in your palm while I school Isaac in the error of his ways.  I’ll be perfectly safe there.”

Isaac watched as the green-scaled wall became a green-scaled floor.  Arianna stepped into Eli’s palm without a hint of fear or revulsion, then sat calm and relaxed when Eli moved her hand closer to Isaac’s position.  “Arianna?” he started, then stopped when she held up an imperative hand.

“Nono, Isaac.  You don’t get to speak – you get to listen.  Eli is not the monster here... you are.  And he is,” pointing to Ares who was trying to maintain a nonchalant, unconcerned attitude, but whose eyes showed an angry storm brewing.  “Him more than you,” she added thoughtfully.  “Because you’re the expendable patsy he set up to do his dirty work.”

“I don’t....” his expression a mixture of confusion and anger.

“I know you don’t.  It’s one reason Eli is holding herself in check.  If you had done this of your own accord, you’d already be dead,” her eyes meeting his seriously.  “Let me explain to you how Ares wanted things to work out.  Then we can decide where to go from here.  You see you and I were both superfluous in this equation.  Ares erroneously believed that I would be put off or even repulsed by Eli’s alternative nature – he had no way of knowing that she had shared it with me when we were still in the desert compound.  And far from being repulsed, I found her fascinating... captivating; the exhilaration of flying with her was just an added bonus in my book.”

A dozen sets of eyes looked around at each other as the words registered in their hearing.  When had Eli become a dragon in the desert compound and how had they missed it?  How had she taken Arianna flying without them being aware of such an activity?  It wasn’t like Eli’s dragon form was the size of a lizard.  Then they turned their attention back to Arianna’s words as she continued to enlighten Isaac to the truth of what was happening around them.

“You see, Isaac, the circlet you put around her wrist doesn’t disperse her ability to transform; it focuses her passion and her rage.  Ares wants that part of her – he needs it.  That’s where her strength is.  Anyway, I was supposed to be so afraid of or disgusted by Eli’s dragon form that I would come running to you to protect me from her,” gently stroking the smooth scaled skin she was seated on.  “In this form, Eli is mostly about emotion – she acts and reacts to how she feels because when she transforms it is usually to protect and defend what’s most important to her.”

“And that would be you,” Isaac said clearly.

Arianna nodded.  “That would be me.  Only in Ares’ mind, my running to you would have been a betrayal of Eli and she would have destroyed us both.  And that would have caused her to turn to him.”

“Why?” honest confusion in his tone.  Arianna smiled wryly.

“I know you missed it when Aphrodite told the rest of the team.  Was anyone able to share the story of soulmates with you?  Beyond what I shared?”  Isaac nodded slowly, his forehead creased thoughtfully as he tried to figure out where she was going with this.  “Isaac, Eli and I are soulmates – we have been for all of our lifetimes together.”

“But you chose me....”

Arianna shook her head.  “Not really.  I chose to protect my soulmate and her family from the machinations of someone who could have destroyed her in that lifetime.  And in doing so, I put us on this path.”

“How?”

“Our anger blew everything we knew apart.  It sent these people to this place and separated Eli and I from one another for lifetimes.”  She shook her head.  “Had I known….”

“... you never would have chosen me.”  He shook his head as the music slowly subsided in his mind and things suddenly came clearly into focus for the first time in ages.  He met Arianna’s compassionate brown eyes.  “I never really was a choice for you, was I?”

“No, Isaac, you weren’t – and I wouldn’t have.  I’m sorry.”

“So am I... for so many things.  I don’t know why....”

“Oh for the love of….” Ares cut in harshly.  “Really??  I’ve had enough.”  He turned to Eli.  “Time to pick your side, Princess,” knowing only the gods, Eli and Arianna understood his reference in regards to her first pass through the circle.  “You join me or they die.  And your mate dies first – as painfully as I can possibly make it.  And I’ve had millennia to perfect my craft.”

Eli gently urged Arianna to move from her hand, snorting when Arianna just glared at her.  Arianna put her hands on her hips and maintained her ground though she did remain seated so as not to topple over as Eli lifted her to almost eye level.  She rolled serpentine eyes before depositing Arianna behind her massive frame.

“HEY!” Arianna started to protest before realizing Eli was subtly trying to maneuver herself between Ares and Isaac as well without exposing Arianna to Ares.  With her attention on trying to keep Ares from inflicting damage on either Arianna or Isaac, Eli forgot to consider that Ares might attack from another angle.  She was taken completely by surprise when a blast removed the bracelet before a second blast hit her squarely in the chest, knocking her over.  In her unconscious state, without the circlet to focus her energy, Eli naturally reverted to her humanoid form rather rapidly.  Ares sneered in her direction.

“Wrong choice, Princess,” lifting his hand towards Arianna who was directly exposed as she knelt over Eli’s prone form.

“NO!!” Isaac yelled as he ran to intercept Ares, catching instead the fireball intended for Arianna and Eli just as he reached their position.  He slumped to the ground partially covering Eli, but managing to miss Arianna completely.  Ares smirked and raised his hand once more.  But instead of cowering, Arianna let the rage flow through her and rose to meet him.  Ares faltered, and it was Arianna’s turn to sneer at him.

“Lost your nerve, Asshat?” stepping closer to him without a suggestion of hesitation in her step.  Ares’s spine stiffened and he raised his hand again.

“You need to learn some respect for your betters, Little Girl.”

Arianna snorted.  “You’re not my better.  You’re not even my equal.”

Ares lost his smile.  “You realize she’s not able to protect you this time.”

“She already has, Ares.  We know the terms of the bet you made, and we know it’s our final necessary trip through the circle.  We’ve already chosen each other.  If you kill me, she will simply finish what you started and join me in eternity – WHERE WE WILL REMAIN.  If you kill her in an effort to destroy me, you still lose her, and I will take the steps necessary to join her in the afterlife – WHERE WE WILL REMAIN.  If you let us live, we will still be together when this lifetime is over and when we go to our reward, we will finally have eternal peace.  No matter what you choose, Ares, you can’t win.”

Ares’ countenance was livid, and he contemplated killing Arianna just for the brief thrill of victory he would feel.  But he realized she spoke the truth – he had been outmaneuvered.  Then his expression turned cruel.  “And what of your teammates?  Are they as willing to die for you and her to stay together?”

“Yes,” Isaac croaked from his spot covering Eli.  His body ached with the blunt force trauma to which it had been exposed, but he knew, judging from the area that had been hit, that it had mostly been a glancing blow meant to injure and cause pain more than do damage serious enough to kill him.  He spared a thought to be grateful for small mercies before turning his head slightly toward Ares – he refused to expose Eli and more than she already was.  “What you did to me was wrong.  What you did to them was unforgivable.”

Ares curled his lip in disgust before looking around at the rest of the team.  “And what say the rest of you, hmm?  Are you so willing to die for these two?”

“Yes,” Eden said strongly, stepping up beside Arianna.  “Because they’d do the same for any of us.”

“Yes,” replied Jacob, taking Arianna’s other side.  And so they continued to move and stand until they were standing with Arianna protectively in front of Eli and Isaac.

“Give it up, Brother,” Aphrodite suggested softly.  “It’s over.”

“It’s NOT over!!” he screamed, wiping the sweat from his brow.  “It’s not over until the warrior speaks; it’s not over until she chooses.”

“She’s dying, Ares,” Athena said quietly.  “The fireball you threw at her dragon form hit even as she had started her transformation back to humanoid.”  She shook her head.  “It was too much.”

“Why haven’t you healed her??”

“The rules clearly forbid me from interfering....”

“Fix her, Athena.  She doesn’t get to die as long as I have time left to claim her!!”

Athena merely moved to Eli’s side, easing Isaac away from her despite his weak protests.  “I’m going to help her, Isaac – I promise.  Then I’ll do what I can to ease your suffering as well.  But I need to mend Eli first.”

“Do what you’ve gotta do, Doc,” he mumble before slumping onto his back and closing his eyes.  Athena patted his shoulder, then turned her attention to repairing the vast amount of damage Ares had inflicted on Eli.


Chapter XXIX

Eli closed her eyes when the blast hit her, better able to deal with the excruciating pain lancing through her if she focused on breathing.  She could feel the warmth of Arianna around her, though it fluctuated with Arianna’s emotional state.  Then a heavy weight fell on top of her damaged body and her world went to darkness.

She floated in the darkness, quite content to remain still while allowing the warmth of Arianna’s presence to anchor her.  Then she felt it multiply exponentially and blinked open her eyes to find herself nowhere... alone.

She looked around carefully, unable to see anything of substance, though she could feel solidness beneath her prone body.  She sat up slowly before she rose, then assumed there was a floor as she felt it firm beneath her footsteps.  But otherwise there was little to be seen beyond the white mist that appeared to surround her.  She felt a shift in the warmth and glanced around to find Athena behind her.  She cocked an eyebrow.

“Athena?”

Athena bowed her head slightly in acknowledgement.  “Eli,” she returned.  “Are you ready to die?”

To say Eli was shocked at the question would have been an understatement of immense proportion and it was obvious in the alarm that transformed her expression.  “Excuse me??” waving off Athena’s answer before she could formulate a response.  “Why would you ask me something like that??  Of course I’m not ready to die!  Arianna and I have only just found one another again.  We have a lifetime together to live.”

“Then you need to let me heal you, and you must be ready to face Ares together.  Arianna has already done an amazing job on her own, but you need to be there to support her... much like your teammates are doing.”

“I beg pardon?”

Athena smiled, understanding Eli’s look of confusion.  She motioned around her with a finger.  “That warmth you feel?  It’s not just Arianna.  Abigail is helping Arianna channel the love and support of your teammates to you – to help stem the destruction Ares wrought on your system when he blasted you.”

“Are they all right?  Is Gay...?”

“Everyone is fine, as far as I know... except for Isaac.  He intercepted the second volley Ares lobbed in your direction.  He’s still better off than you are at the moment.  As for the other, it was Abigail’s idea.”

“How do you know?” asked Eli with a furrowed brow.  “By her own admission, she hasn’t been able to feel anyone except me and Arianna.”

“Something I did to protect her.  If she had been exposed to everything that she is actually capable of sensing, she’d have been driven mad long before you reached us.  So I put a dampener in place that gradually cut her off from everything.  It was only supposed to last until the song stopped.  But you and Arianna broke through and something in her shifted to protect herself.”

“Will it come back to her?”

“I think it already has.  As I said, she’s channeling all the good vibes she can through Arianna who is sending them to you.  We just need to get you healed and back to them quickly so we can end this once and for all – preferably without a lot of peripheral damage to everyone involved.”

“Except Ares,” Eli said darkly.  “It’s time he was made to pay for this.”

“Except for Ares,” Athena agreed, though her eyes were sad and tired.  They held one another’s gaze for a long moment exchanging silent apologies and acceptance.  Then Eli smirked.

“So why haven’t you already healed me?”

Athena grunted. “Have you met you?  You’re a very guarded individual, Eli.  It was all I could do to traverse the corridors of your mind to find you here.  I have no desire to cause more damage because you were fighting my efforts to help you.”

“What do I need to do?”

“Reach out to Arianna – she’s already doing that to you.  When you find one another, you’ll be comfortable enough to allow me to repair the harm Ares inflicted on you.”

“And then I can kick the crap out of him?”

Athena snorted.  “At the very least, my dear.”

Eli backed up the few steps she had taken until she hit solid at the crease of her knees.  She sank onto the slab, then lowered her body until she was once more laying flat.  She closed her eyes and waved a hand in Athena’s general direction.

“Proceed,” she commanded.  “The sooner we get this done, the better for all concerned.”

Athena stepped close and let her hands hover just above the area that had sustained such heavy injury.  “This might hurt a little,” she cautioned before she allowed the healing to flow through her being, then from her hands into Eli’s body.  Then all she could hear were the screams.

************

Ares watched as Athena moved toward Eli’s prone body, gently transferring Isaac’s weight from her to begin the healing process.  He didn’t see the Alpha Team shifting until they were standing in a pyramid behind Arianna, nor did he notice that they were physically linked together by their hands.  He never saw Arianna close her eyes and soundlessly move her lips as if repeating a silent mantra, nor did he see when the rest of the Alpha Team did the same thing.   He was too busy taking perverse pleasure in Eli’s agonized screams. He remained focused on Eli, waiting until Athena was completely involved in healing her and her cries had dissolved into whimpers before he turned back to the Alpha Team with a diabolical grin.

“So, who’s gonna die first?” he asked, then frowned when he got no response from any of the scientists who remained perfectly still with their eyes closed.  Instead, an objection came from Aphrodite.

“No one’s gonna die, Brother.  That was part of the agreement we made when we took this bet.  You don’t get to change the rules now to suit yourself.”

“Who’s gonna stop me?” he sneered.

“We are, Ares,” said Zeus, surprising almost everyone.  “We all are,” gesturing around the arena.  “It’s time this was over; it’s gone on too long.”

“You can’t do that!!  We swore a blood oath!!”

“And as one of the parties involved in creating that bond, I have the power to dissolve it as well.  I’m invoking that right.”

“And what do you say, Uncle?” turning to Hades.  “Will you stand with me and uphold our bargain?”

“No, Ares.  The time for this is long past.  Humans have earned the right to be free of our games and our foolishness.  It is time we simply accept that we are unnecessary and outdated.”

“You’re serious,” his tone flat but his eyes a maw of fury.

“We all are,” Hera assured him.  “We are too old and too tired to continue the machinations of the past.  It’s time we learn to let go and live the lives we have now.”

“What’s the point??  Without followers, we have no powerbase – we have no lives.  We’re nothing.”

“That’s exactly the point,” Apollo pointed out.  “We are already nothing where humans are concerned.  They believe us to be nothing more than myth or legend from a time very long past... if they’ve ever even heard of us to begin with.”

“And this is our chance to get that back – to be more than a myth or legend.  This is our chance to rebuild our powerbases.  And this time we have planets to build from... not just city-states.”

“Except they won’t believe.  Face it, Ares – there’s little we can do that they haven’t achieved for themselves now.  And these humans,” motioning to the still silent Alpha Team, “aren’t going to spread the good word about us – not after all of this.  Humanity outgrew us a long, long time ago.  We’re just finally catching up.”

“No,” Ares replied firmly, though his eyes looked less certain as he realized no one was on his side in this.  “No,” he said again more resolutely.  “It doesn’t end this way.  I’m not going down without a fight.”

“That won’t be a problem,” said a husky voice from behind him.  He whipped around to find a very pale, but extremely vexed Eli standing next to Arianna.  Arianna’s eyes remained closed but she and Eli were now linked by their joined hands.  He gave her a hate filled grin.

“Nice of you to join us, Princess.  Ready to be mine?”

“Over my dead body,” she replied with a sneer.

“I can oblige that request,” he answered as he lifted the hand that held a burning blue orb.  Quick as a flash, he released it in her direction, and several things happened at once.

Aphrodite and Artemis rushed at Ares from the stands, intent on knocking him off balance.  Athena strove to rise from where she still knelt trying to recover after healing Isaac, hoping to do the same... or at least intercept the fireball headed toward the Alpha Team and Arianna in particular.  Zeus actually risked throwing a lightning bolt at Ares, knowing there would be severe consequences if their powers met, but hoping his aim was still true.  And Ares just stood with a look of satisfaction on his face, waiting to hear her screams when Eli realized what he had done.

It only took seconds for all this to happen, then everyone froze to examine the tableau that now stood before them.  Aphrodite had managed to tackle Ares to the ground and knelt above his struggling form while Artemis pinned his arms to the ground to keep him from doing anything else.  None of that was remarkably surprising... especially when it was obvious by their new positioning that almost every god had moved in an attempt to keep Ares from succeeding.

No, what was truly astonishing was the Alpha Team – and Eli and Arianna specifically.  The Alpha Team was still linked together, only now their eyes were open and glowing a bright silver.  Eli held Zeus’ lightning bolt in her left hand and was examining it slowly with more than a hint of curiosity.  Arianna, on the other hand, was smirking at the fireball she was currently bouncing up and down in her right hand.

It only took Ares a few seconds to stop fighting against Aphrodite’s slight weight when he realized all motion had come to a complete standstill and the silence was deafening.  He looked around, eyes bulging from his head when he finally comprehended the truth of what had happened.  He tried to shrug Aphrodite’s weight from his torso as he jerked the arms still firmly grasped in the other goddesses’ hold.  He glared at them, then turned his attention back to Aphrodite.

“Let me up, Dite.  This is about me and them now.”  She held his gaze a moment, then deliberately looked at Eli and Arianna.  Only when they had both nodded their approval did she shift.  He yanked his arms from Artemis’ grip and shoved Aphrodite the rest of the way off of him before he rose to his feet.  “What in Hades was that??  You don’t ask them for permissi... erk!” gasping when a small hand wrapped in his tunic and twisted it up tight against his throat.  He looked down to find blazing black eyes burning silver staring back at him.  Eden smirked.

“I think it’s time for you to learn some respect for your betters, Little Man.”

He raised a hand to her, but she merely twisted tighter.  He coughed and grabbed at her hand, but when he exerted the slightest pressure against her, Eden continued to asphyxiate him.  His face turned an impossible shade of red and Eli finally felt compelled to intercede.

“Eden, we need him conscious,” Eli said with a smirk clear in her tone.

“He lets go of me before I release him,” Eden replied without letting her eyes leave his.  He dropped her hand and held his arms out at his side.  She sneered at him before she threw him from her, causing him to land hard on his ass.  He laid flat for several moments as he coughed and tried to regain his breath.  Meanwhile, Eden stepped back and extended her hand to Aphrodite, helping her up before she moved to reclaim her place just behind Eli and Arianna.  Aphrodite went and knelt at Athena’s side.

Zeus stepped from the platform on which he had been ensconced, bypassing his son as he walked toward Eli.  When he was within touching distance, he held out his hand.  “May I?” he asked, reaching for the lightning bolt she still held.  She shrugged and extended it toward him.

“Of course.  I’m not certain it would be of any use to me.”

“Perhaps,” Zeus conceded, “but you are the first to actually be able to handle one so casually – to say nothing of catching it out of mid-air.  You do understand that I wasn’t aiming at you?”

“Yes.  If the goddesses hadn’t been quite as accurate in their efforts to subdue Ares, I am confident it would have hit him squarely between the shoulder blades.

Zeus smiled.  “Good to know I haven’t quite lost my touch after all this time.”

“I can only imagine.  But you should probably move,” her eyes flicking over his shoulder to the movement behind him.  “It’s time we end this, and you don’t need to be in the middle.”

Zeus nodded.  “I owe you and your kind an apology.  If I hadn’t been such a selfish....”

“...asshat?” Arianna supplied with hard eyes.

Zeus smiled sadly.  “Not the first word I would have chosen, but it will suffice.  I wish I could go back and change... so many things.”

“You can only go forward from here,” Eli commented softly.  “Just work to make now the best you can – for everyone.”

“You’re a pretty smart humanoid, Princess,” Zeus offered with a slight bow and a tilt of his head.  “Now end this.  We are ready to simply live among ourselves.  We don’t need this kind of drama to entertain us anymore.”

“Then you really need to move... before Ares decides to take drastic action to eliminate you from between us.”  Zeus smirked and raised the lightning bolt to his lips.  He smiled at the tickle that ran across his skin.  He leaned forward to whisper to her conspiratorially.

“As long as I have this and she has that,” nodding his head in Arianna’s direction, “he’ll patiently wait until I remove myself.  He may not be afraid of me alone, but I’m pretty sure he’s a little terrified of your mate at the moment.  No one’s been able to do what she did either.”

“Pretty sure we didn’t do it on our own,” Eli said, glancing at her friends whose eyes still glowed silver.

“Perhaps not,” Zeus conceded, “but it’s impressive nevertheless.  Now if you ladies will excuse me,” he offered with a small bow before stepping to one side – their side – of what would soon be a confrontation.

“About damn time, Old Man,” Ares muttered, though his eyes never really left the orb now resting in Arianna’s hand.  “So haw are we going to do this, Princess?  You can’t defeat me as a mere mortal and I’m not giving up my godhood to make this a fair fight.  So how do you intend to win against me?”

Eli smiled softly.  “I’ve already defeated you, Ares – we’ve already defeated you,” squeezing the hand still enfolded in her own.  “All that’s left now is to kick the crap out of you, and thanks to your family leveling the playing field for us, that’s what we’re going to do.”

“Wait... what??” looking around at the gods who returned his gaze dispassionately.  “What did you do?  Why would you do anything to help them?”

Artemis sighed tiredly.  “We’ve already explained to you why.  And it only seemed fair that they have a shot at getting some of their own back for a change.”

“You didn’t take away my power,” more statement than question as he watched blue fire dance across his hand.

“No.  We gave them the ability to channel their own,” motioning to the Alpha Team.

“So it’s fifteen against one?” he snarked.  “Doesn’t seem very fair if you ask me.”

“No one asked you,” Arianna replied sharply.  “You’re the one who drew all of us into your little game.  We should all have the opportunity to express how we feel about that.  The fact that we can concentrate those feeling into a singular feed is simply fortuitous for us.”

Ares turned to her and let his hatred flow.  “You know, I was going to save the Princess for last.  After all, she might still come back to me if she had to watch everyone she loves – but especially you – suffer and die before her.  But I think instead I’ll allow you that privilege.  You just don’t know when to shut up.”

“Apparently, neither do you,” Arianna said as she hefted the fireball in his direction.  Backed by the anger of thirteen furious and two long-suffering humanoids, it knocked him ass over teakettle and landed him flat on his face.  It took him a dazed minute to realize he was lying on the ground with grass and dirt in his mouth before he recognized what happened.  He blinked his eyes and shook his head as he rolled to his feet.  Then he faced the Alpha Team and raised his arm, surprised at the reaction he found.

They weren’t gloating or celebratory; nor were they afraid.  Instead, they maintained their link and just stood waiting patiently for him to recover himself.  He realized he needed to cut their nexus to give him a chance at defeating them.  Before he could take another step, however, Eli spoke.

“Your choice, Ares.  You can choose to lose your godhood and live the rest of your life here as a mortal or....”

“Or?” he sneered.

“Or we will send you into the Void.”

Ares howled, laughing until his eyes ran with tears.  “You’ll send me into the Void,” he replied when he had recovered his breath.  “Sweetheart, that’s something even they couldn’t accomplish,” jerking his thumb in the direction of a majority of the Pantheon.

“They don’t owe you like we do,” Arianna said sweetly.

“Well then,” Ares invited, throwing his arms out to his sides.  “Maybe it’s time to pay up.  C’mon.  I’ll even give you a free shot.”

Every god in the arena held their breath.



Chapter XXX

“Well, what’s the matter?” Ares snarked as he crossed his arms over his chest.  He stood still a moment observing them before lifting a hand to his mouth and tapping his lips with a finger.  Then he smiled cruelly.  “Oh wait... you already had your free shot.” Glaring at Arianna.  “You can’t create any more fireballs and you,” pointing directly at Eli, “gave up a perfectly good lightning bolt.  Shame that,” he added with mock contrition as he turned his back and stepped away from them.  “But all the better for me to destroy you now.”

With those words, he whipped around, lobbing a flaming fireball from each hand towards the still unmoving Alpha Team.  He half expected Arianna to catch one of them again – hence the reason he sent two in her direction.  Unfortunately for Ares, Arianna didn’t catch anything.  The fireballs remained straight and true to their target, but they didn’t detonate when they hit the shielding, nor did they bounce away harmlessly.  When they hit the shielding around the perimeter of the Team, they were deliberately hurled back in his direction.  He couldn’t move fast enough to avoid being hit by them and he screamed in agony and frustration as he landed flat on his back once more.

He got up again, furious and wiping blood away from his nose and mouth.  He stalked toward the Alpha Team with murderous intent, but they didn’t flinch.  In rapid-fire succession, he hurled three more fireballs at them... only to have them return to him with even greater force and velocity than he had originally used.  His only saving grace was each one knocked him a little further away, so each successive blast was slightly weaker than the one before it.  Still, he was again knocked flat on his back, staring up into darkness and swirling stars while his ears rang like church bells calling the faithful to prayer.  He lay there simply trying to catch the breath he never realized he actually needed – aware of the noise and chaos floating around him but unable to respond.

The gods and goddesses crept closer – trying to determine his true state of being.  The Alpha Team didn’t move; they remained perfectly still letting the flow of energy streaming through and around them strengthen the shielding that encased them.

“Ares?” Zeus asked as he moved to Ares’ side.  “There’s not much time left.  Are you ready to concede defeat?”

“No,” he groaned harshly, though he made no attempt to move.  “I haven’t been defeated.  Athena needs to heal me so I can end this.”

“Athena can’t heal you.  You lost that privilege when you chose this path.”  Before Ares could protest, Zeus held up his hand.  “Besides, she used up her power helping Eli and Isaac.  She needs time to rest and recuperate before she can attempt any further healing – time you don’t have to spare.  Are you certain you don’t want to surrender and remain with us?”

Ares snorted – an act that promptly turned into a coughing fit that caused him to spit blood.  He wiped his mouth on the back of his hand, then turned hard eyes to Zeus.  “You don’t really think they can destroy me, do you?  You don’t believe they are capable of sending me into the Void??”

“Even if they cannot – we can.  And it is the condition you agreed to when you undertook this bet.”

“You would banish me??”

“If that’s the choice you make?  Yes.”

The anger that flowed through Ares at those words was fierce and it lent strength to his weakened body.  “Get out of the way, Old Man.  It’s time to finish this once and for all.”  He stood on unsteady legs and looked around at those he had called family.  “I will remember this,” he snarled.  “And there will be paybacks.”

With that, he turned his back to them and looked at Eli and Arianna.  He just stared for a moment, searching for a weakness.  They and the Alpha Team stood perfectly still returning his regard.  Despite the stillness of the world around them, their hair lifted as though a wind was blowing; it was their only movement... and a true indication of the power they wielded.  He realized Isaac had joined his teammates, and though his eyes were also glowing silver now, they didn’t seem to shine as brightly as the others.  So he decided to make him a target.  He had forgotten whom he was up against... or that they had taken a stand together against him.

Ares walked to within two arms length of them and stood perfectly still, holding Eli’s stare as he gathered his powers to him.  He felt it building, and he genuinely smiled for the first time in what felt like forever – because finally... finally he felt as strong and invincible as he had once been.  In the back of his mind he realized he was casting everything he had on this one throw of the dice, but he couldn’t make himself care.  When he won, it wouldn’t matter – he would be stronger and more invincible than he had ever been.  And he didn’t care how strong they were together, he was still the God of War.

He felt the wind swirl around him and his smile became cruel and sadistic.  It meant his power was reaching its zenith.  He never realized that the wind wasn’t emanating from him, but rather was reaching across the divide between him and the Alpha Team.

Ares closed his eyes, breaking his connection with Eli and allowing him to focus on bringing his power to the fore.  Then with a mighty yell, he unleashed every ounce of power he possessed and launched it at the Alpha Team.  And he waited for the resulting impact.

************

“What’s going on, Dite?” Athena asked, eyes still closed.  She had never felt as drained as she did at the moment, but she was thrilled beyond measure she had finally been able to make a positive difference in the well-being of her Chosen.  Another lancing pain went through her head and she clutched the hand she held tighter until the ache subsided.  She felt Aphrodite’s other hand cover hers, adding healing warmth which helped Athena relax further into her touch.

Aphrodite actually had a larger measure of power than the rest of them – had since they had encountered the Alpha Team’s approach to the Nebula.  The care and concern they showed for one another was strong; Eli’s and Arianna’s bond simply strengthened her power exponentially.  Now she was sharing some of that bounty with Athena to keep her from fading away altogether.  And in the meantime, she offered Athena a play-by-play of events as they unfolded around them.

“Not much.  Ares is still laying on the ground and Daddy is talking to him.”  She sighed and looked down at her sister before turning her attention back to her father and brother.  “I totally don’t get him, The.  Why won’t he like, you know... give up?  He has to know he’s lost.”

“I don’t think he cares, Dite.  It’s different for warriors.  They need something to fight for or fight against.  Otherwise they just fade away.  I think Ares wants to go out fighting.”

Aphrodite’s brows furrowed.  “You’re a warrior.  I don’t see you acting like a total dork.”

Athena smiled faintly.  “Ares and I are different kinds of warriors.  My skill was always tactics and strategy.  His strength lay in the chaos and carnage he could cause.  Besides,” she added, lightly squeezing the hand still held, “I have things to live for.  What does Ares have?  What has he ever had?”

Aphrodite shook her head sadly even though Athena couldn’t see it with her eyes still closed.  Then Aphrodite gasped and Athena clenched her hand.  “Ow,” she complained softly as she patted the hand that held hers.  “Not so tight, The.  You’re cutting off my circulation.”

“Sorry,” muttered.  “What’s going on?”

“I think Ares is in more trouble than he realizes.  It looks like he’s... he’s pulling all his powers together – you know, for like an all-or-nothing shot at those kids.”

“Yeah?”

“It feels like they’ve totally opened up their defenses.  Like when he blasts them....”

“They’re really going to be able to Void him without us, aren’t they?”

“I think so, yeah.”

Athena sighed.  “Can you help me sit up?  I think we need to witness this.”

Aphrodite jerked her head at Artemis – who had been keeping an eye on them.  She immediately knelt at Athena’s back and lifted her shoulders as Aphrodite gently tugged on both hands.  Only when she was upright did Athena open her eyes, and all three sisters turned their attention to the tableau playing out in front of them.

************

“Incoming encrypted transmission from Lt. Joseph Cornell,” the computer voice announced just before she heard the familiar voice.

“Mama?  I think we have a problem.”

Mary closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose.  The few months since she had been relieved of her duties by the Council had not been particularly restful and she was still suffering the lingering affects of the damage that had been wrought to her body by the poisoned shredder projectile.  Eve had done a fabulous job of finding an antidote and stemming further injury, but a lot of destruction had already been accomplished by the time she’d achieved her objective, and exhaustion was a normal part of Mary’s day anymore.  Still, she had a job to do and a responsibility to those kids despite the Council’s actions, so she sighed and gave a wry smile before she blinked open her eyes and looked at Joseph.

“Of course we do,” she replied drolly.  “What’s the situation?”

“I know that you’re supposed to be suspended, but....”

“Joseph!” she cut into his rambling before he could go off on another tangent about the unfairness of a great many things... including her removal as Chief.  “If it wasn’t important, you wouldn’t have called me in the first place,” she stated, staring him in the eyes.  He dropped his gaze briefly in apology and nodded.  “All right then – report.”

Joseph straightened at the authoritative tone and met her eyes squarely.  “We’ve finally been able to send a signal where Princess indicated we should be looking.”

“And…?” prompting when he stopped speaking.

“We can’t find anything.  There’s no response to our signal anywhere on the surface; there’s no debris or crash site that we can find; and there are no signs of life... at all.”

“Do you think Ian misunderstood the message she sent him?  He only had a week to learn that language.”

“I don’t think so, Mama.  We both know what a quick study he is with that sort of stuff.  Besides, we checked with the head of her clan when we first got the message to make sure he had interpreted it correctly.”

Mary blew out a slow breath.  “What should there be – assuming they went straight there once they jumped to translight speed?”

“At the very least we should be able to see the transport... whether it crashed or set down safely, there should be something there.  There’s nothing.  And if Nat did his calculations correctly – and you know he did – they would have been there long enough to have at least started construction on the extraneous structures.  There would be something,” he reiterated.

Mary pinched her bottom lip between her thumb and forefinger as she thoughtfully considered Joseph’s words.  “Bring up a schematic of their likely route,” she said after a few minutes of silence.  Joseph nodded and instantly Mary had the graphic in front of her.  She shifted his image to the bottom corner and expanded her view, moving it slowly back from the moon along the expected route Nathaniel had calculated for the Alpha Team.  A third of the way back toward the original drop off point, Mary froze.  She moved the screen around carefully, then blew out a breath and looked up to meet Joseph’s eyes again.

“Is this the Nusnaigewron Nebula?”

He nodded solemnly.  “It is.  But it lies on the very periphery of their sensor range.  They shouldn’t have encountered it beyond a distant anomaly on their scans.  They were all aware of the protocols addressing the Nebula; they shouldn’t have approached it.”

Mary exhaled slowly again, pondering all the information she had and her knowledge of the Alpha Team.  “Start looking for them in that area,” she finally commanded.  “Given what we know of that phenomenon, it’s the most obvious place for something to have gone wrong.

“Yes, Mama.”

“And keep me apprised, Joseph.  Suspended or not, I want to know....”

“I know, Mama.  I will.  You try to get some rest.  You still look tired and we’re all worried about you.”

Mary smiled wanly at the first son she had gained by marriage.  “Thank you, my son.  That means... everything.  Will you be here for the Equinox celebration?”

Joseph shook his head.  “Doubtful.  The Admiral has plans for war games.”

Mary nodded.  “Very well.  We’ll miss you.”

“I’ll miss being there, but....”

“We go where we’re called,” Mary finished.  Joseph chuckled. 

“Exactly.  I’ll be talking to you soon, Mama.”

“See that you do, Joseph.  Love you – take care of yourself.”

“Always – love you back,” he replied and ended the transmission.  Mary continued to stare into the dark screen for a moment longer before she tapped her comm link.

“Caleb, I need to see you whenever you have some free time.”  Then she turned her attention back to the reports she had been reading and let herself be lost in the minutiae that was running her business from behind the scenes.  She knew she would hear from Caleb soon enough.

************

Eli watched dispassionately as Ares staggered toward them on unsteady legs.  She could feel the strength of her team all around her – flowing through her veins and creating a maelstrom that surrounded them like a living entity.  From the intensity of power, she could only imagine the fury and indignation fueling them.  Arianna stood beside her – one hand clutching hers; the other holding Jacob’s.  Her eyes were closed once more, and Eli noted abstractly that Isaac had joined them as well.  It made her smile to know that when it counted, he had chosen to stand as a member of their family.  She idly noted that the entire team had closed their eyes while she held Ares’ dark gaze.  Still, she felt more like a conduit than a collection point – surprising considering she was Ares’ focus as she had been for lifetimes before this.

She kept her attention on Ares even as she allowed her senses to extend – the warmth of Arianna’s hand on one side and Eden on the other; Abigail directly behind Arianna – between Eden and Jacob – hands on Arianna’s shoulders; connected to the rest by a number of hands that rested on her body.  Everyone else had tightened their ranks... ensuring that they were touching in multiple places - shoulders, hands, feet.  She recognized in that moment that Arianna was the conduit that Abigail was using to focus their collective power.  Then Eli saw Ares close his eyes and knew that his final volley was imminent.  And she did the only thing she could do.

Even as Ares screamed and loosened the full strength of his collected energy, Eli dropped to her knees in front of Arianna, wrapping both arms around her middle and pressing her head into Arianna’s belly.  Without missing a beat, Eden clasped Arianna’s elbow to maintain the connection of the group.  Jacob slid his hand from Arianna’s grasp to take her elbow on the other side and Arianna wound both hands into Eli’s hair and held on tightly.  In that moment, they all - save Eli who was facing away from him - opened their eyes and gave Ares a malevolent look.

They absorbed the energy he hurled at them, adding that power to the frenzy they had already created around them.  They held onto it for a long moment, letting the buzz of power hum through them as Ares’ jaw dropped in disbelief and his eyes goggled at the impossibility of what he was seeing.  It occurred to him that he should probably run... or do something to remove himself from the path of destruction surely headed his way.  But before he could formulate a plan of action, Eli spun in Arianna’s arms and raised her hands to return his volley a hundred fold.

The light was blinding when it hit him squarely in the chest, and everyone – gods, goddesses and Alpha Team alike - closed their eyes in reflex.  So they missed what happened next.

************

Eli and Arianna blinked open their eyes to find themselves still wrapped around one another standing in an unknown space. Everything was stretched out and blurry as though being viewed through a filter and they watched as the lives they had seen in their dreamscape pass before them again in rapid succession.  Some they recognized – others not as much, but they were all familiar enough for them to instinctively understand that each of their lifetimes was represented in some fashion.

In each and every scenario, they recognized Ares’ presence in some form or fashion.  They heard his derision; his anger; his frustration; his disdain.  There was a scream of anguish, then mocking laughter... and everything went black.

************

They woke up lying on the ground curled into one another... surrounded by their friends and then by the gods and goddesses.  Abigail knelt next to them – a hand on each of them.  Eden stood behind her, both hands resting on Abigail’s shoulders, and each Alpha Team member subsequently linked behind her in a solid circle.  Eli brushed a light kiss over Arianna’s hair and Arianna’s returned the kiss on her neck.  Green eyes met black and Eli rasped out, “Report.”

“Not sure what to tell you, Boss.  You and Az kind of faded out on us for a bit there.”

“We think you went into the Void with Ares,” Aphrodite contributed.

“But we pulled you back,” Eden assured with a dirty look in Aphrodite’s direction.  “No problem.”  She shrugged.  “It wasn’t like you were really gone or anything.  It’s more like you weren’t all here.  And let’s face it....” she snarked with a twinkle in her eye.  “It’s not like....”

“Don’t say it,” Eli commanded harshly, though the laughter in her gaze was hard to miss.

“But Boss....” she whined.  Arianna snorted, but never moved from Eli’s embrace.

“She does kind of have a point, Amado – for both of us.  I’m just glad to be here and not there.  That was... weird.”

“It was something. I hope this means were done with Ares for good, though.”

“The fact that you were able to return while he remained there is a good sign.  Nothing has ever returned from the Void before.”

“I don’t think it was just us that did it,” Eli said with a pointed look at her friends.

“Perhaps.  You should all get some rest.  Then we need to talk before you leave.”

“That sounds ominous.”

“Not really.  But there are a few things you need to know before you resume your journey.  Go now.  We’ll keep watch for as long as you need to recover from all this.”  And without another word, Zeus waved a hand and transported them all back to their ship.


Chapter XXXI
 
“You know something?” Arianna asked as the door to their rooms shut behind them.  Eli, who had been coding the lock, looked over her shoulder and cocked an inquisitive eyebrow in her direction.
 
“I actually do know a number of things,” Eli replied with a smirk.  “What would you like to know?” she asked as she stepped away from the door and wrapped Arianna in an encompassing embrace.
 
Arianna slid her hands up Eli’s chest, delighting in the shivers and goosebumps that followed in the wake of her touch.  She grazed the side of the green neck before tangling in the blonde hair, tugging just short of inflicting real pain.  Eli’s eyes widened in response to her actions, and she tilted her head down slightly to be met with brown eyes blown almost completely black by arousal.  Arianna leered when she heard Eli swallow.  “That was pretty amazing of you earlier.”
 
“Oh yes?” Eli squeaked out with a rasp.  She cleared her throat and tried again.  “Um... which time?  I mean... what are we talking about exactly?”
 
Arianna chuckled, relishing the shudder that traveled through Eli’s body as warm breath ghosted over her pulse point.  “Oh I’d have to say any number of things – from protecting me and Isaac to catching a lightning bolt in your bare hands.”
 
“Still not really sure how that happened.”
 
Arianna scowled briefly.  “Yeah, I’m not very clear on that either – to you or to me.  I know I certainly didn’t put any real thought into it.”  She shook her head.  “But mostly it was amazing to see you again... all of you.  I’ve missed that wild, passionate, wicked side of you.”
 
Eli frowned.  “Are you unhappy with me like this, Beloved?” motioning to her humanoid form.
 
“Oh no, Amado!  Not at all!  You know that.  There are so many things we can only share when you’re humanoid like the rest of us, and I love it all.  But you have such control of yourself like this.  I know you have to... for everyone’s sake as well as your own peace of mind.  But you always allow yourself to feel more – be more – after a transformation because the emotions are still running so close to the surface of your being.  Besides, I do kind of like that possessive streak that comes out when you’re a dragon, and the control and compassion you showed with Isaac today....  That was....  It made me hot and horny,” she finally stated bluntly, her face flushing with color.
 
Eli goggled at her for a long moment before her smile turned cocky and her manner suggested a swagger despite a distinct lack of movement.  “Oh really?” she returned, sliding her arms down Arianna’s back and letting her hands cup both ass cheeks and squeeze.  “Do tell,” she commanded as she leaned down until their lips were just touching.
 
“I think we’d both be more satisfied if I showed you,” Arianna replied in a bare whisper. Then she leaned in and captured Eli’s lips fiercely.  Eli groaned and hefted Arianna into her arms, whimpering at the wet warmth she could feel despite the barrier of their clothing.  It was going to be a long, wonderful night.
 
************
 
“Um... Eden?” Isaac called out hesitantly as they all rematerialized back in the infirmary with the notable exception of Eli and Arianna.  It had only taken Isaac a second to notice their absence and call out to the Second in Command.
 
Everyone stopped moving when he spoke, glancing at Isaac before turning their attention to Eden.  For her part, Eden sighed, recognizing immediately why he had addressed her specifically.  She was tired and this really wasn’t her responsibility – except it was as long as Eli was indisposed, and Isaac deserved the chance to speak.  So she schooled her exhaustion and offered him a nod.  “Yes?”
 
“Look, I know all you guys are probably still mad at me and everything, and I know I have to talk to Eli and Arianna, but I just wanted to say I’m sorry.  I know you tried to tell me, and I didn’t listen; I know I made all of you angry at me because of it.  And although none of what happened was strictly my choice, it was still me and my actions - therefore ultimately my fault.  So I’m sorry.”
 
“It’s all right, Ike,” Esther responded almost immediately.  “We forgive you.”
 
“You do?” Isaac asked, his brows sliding up toward his hairline.  None of the rest repeated his words, but several of them looked askance at Esther and waited for her to explain.  But it was Abigail who spoke up next.
 
“Of course we do, Isaac.  We’re a family.  We’re going to fight and disagree, but when one of us sincerely admits wrongdoing and asks for forgiveness, the rest of us give it... simple as that.”
 
“Simple as that, huh?” he echoed, smiling just slightly when Abigail nodded enthusiastically.  “I hope you’re right... especially when it comes to talking to Eli.  Because I was pretty nasty to her and about her.  Not sure I could be gracious about forgiving if it was me.”
 
Eden snorted.  “I think you need to worry less about Eli and more about Az.”
 
Isaac winced. “Yeah,” he agreed, rubbing the spot she had punched.  “No kidding.”  He gave a little half-grin at the chuckles that went around the room, and he allowed his glance to follow it.  “Thank you, guys... really.  I know I was being an ass, and I really don’t have an excuse.”  He held up a hand before anyone could interrupt.  “I know there were outside influences, but it was still me.”
 
“Can I ask a question?” Titus spoke up.  Isaac met his gaze and nodded.  “Why did you think you had a chance with Arianna?  What did that Ares dude show you that allowed you to believe it was even a possibility after everything you knew about them?”
 
Isaac sighed.  It was embarrassing, but they deserved to know.  He motioned for them to take seats and went and fetched a bottle of water.  The whole incident had taken more out of him than he was willing to admit, and he took a long drought in an effort to replenish some of the energy he’d lost.  Then he took a deep breath and began to speak.
 
“Ares showed me our past life together, but all I remembered was that she chose me over the person Eli had been in that life.  It wasn’t until the music stopped that I saw everything clearly – as it really had been and as it truly was now.”
 
“So he lied to you?” from Naomi.
 
“Essentially, yes.  He showed me the truth, but he kept me from really seeing it.”  He held up his hands and waited for them to quiet down once more.  “In my memories – the ones I recalled while still under the influence of the music – my father asked me for a favor.  He asked me to be nice to the woman Arianna was then... to maybe try and date her for a while to get her mind off the woman Eli was then.”
 
“Did he say why?” asked Hannah.
 
“”Not in so many words.  My dad and Arianna’s were business partners, and her father didn’t approve of her relationship with Eli.  By doing this for my dad, her father would owe mine a really big favor.”
 
“And what did you get out of it?” queried Jacob.
 
“A hot girlfriend and my dad looking the other way while I did my thing.  I knew I was a disappointment to him – this just ensured he stopped nagging me about it.  I was a real party boy – a lot of what I was into was illegal at best.  But it made me feel good.”  He shrugged.  “She wasn’t enough to make me stop.”
 
“Why?  If she chose you like you said she did... like you believed she did... why wasn’t she enough to quit doing... whatever it was that you were doing?”   This from Paul.
 
“Because we both knew that her choice had nothing to do with me and everything to do with trying to protect Eli... even after they split and Eli walked away.”  Isaac sighed.  “When the music stopped, I remembered it all.  Arianna came to me and explained the situation and asked if I’d help her... just for a little while.  This was before she and Eli separated.  She’d spend time with me and I’d cut back on the parties and stuff so her dad would think she was doing her part of their arrangement.”
 
“This is giving me a headache.”  Eden rubbed her eyes before pinching the bridge of her nose
 
Isaac snorted.  “Imagine how I felt.  Anyway, the more time we spent together, the less she and Eli had, and eventually it tore them completely apart.  Arianna didn’t want to be with me any more than I wanted to give up my lifestyle for her, but we’d kind of painted ourselves into a corner – we were stuck together as a couple.  And while I didn’t hate it – she was gorgeous, after all – we weren’t in love or anything beyond what we had to show the world.  Don’t get me wrong – we weren’t miserable; we cared about each other, and maybe under different circumstances we could have been really happy and meant something to one another, but....”  He shrugged again.  “She never actually chose me – just like I never would have chosen her.”
 
“So what happened?” Danny asked quietly.
 
“A little more partying than I could handle.  It caused me to die in order not to kill a bunch of innocent kids.”  He blew out a breath.  “Not to sound heartless, but I think it was for the best, really.  I didn’t end up locked away or messed up for life and a bunch of people didn’t die because of me.”
 
“And Arianna?’”
 
“I dunno.  Ares didn’t show me that.  I guess he figured it wasn’t important.”
 
”Can I say I hope that prick ended up somewhere particularly unpleasant?” Deborah piped up.  “I don’t care what his reasons were – he had no excuse for what he did to them or to us.”
 
“Hopefully we’re at the end of it.  It will be nice to just worry about the work we came out here to do,” Eden said before discussion could begin.  “But right now, we all need to go get some sleep.  This respite isn’t going to last forever.”
 
“Girlfriend’s got a point,” Esther commented.  “Do we need to set some kind of alarm?”
 
“I don’t think so,” Eden replied.  “Aphrodite said they’d be keeping watch.  If they need us for something before we wake up on our own, they’ll call us.  Otherwise, we’ve got time to catch up on some of the sleep we’ve been missing.  I don’t know about you guys, but I feel like I haven’t slept in days.”
 
“Same,” Jacob concurred, watching heads bob their agreement around him.  “So let’s go get some rest.  We don’t know how long unlimited really is.”
 
As one body, the group rose and headed to the exit.  Isaac laid a hand on Esther’s arm and she looked up at him expectedly.  He shuffled his feet nervously and glanced at the ground a moment before meeting her eyes.  “I just wanted to say thanks... you know, personally.  You didn’t have to stand up for me like that.”
 
She smiled and covered his hand with hers, marveling at the stark contrast in their coloring.  Then she met his gaze again.  “Yes, I did, Ike.  None of us is perfect, and you were being manipulated beyond your control.  Some of those thoughts and desires may have been yours, but they were misrepresented to you.  Ares played you.”
 
“And once again I get to be the laughingstock,” he muttered bitterly.
 
“No one was laughing.  It could have been any of us – you just happened to be the one that got caught this time.  We’ve all made bad choices.  What matters is what we do with the consequences we get as a result.  Who knows?  We might all have been used similarly in another lifetime.”
 
“It kinda makes me wish we could have tapped into that.”
 
Esther frowned.  “What?  You mean your past lives?”
 
“Well, yeah.  Aren’t you a little bit curious?  To know what you were like or who you were or....”  He stopped speaking when Esther shook her head.  “Why?”
 
“I have enough responsibility trying to live the best life I can in this lifetime.  I don’t want to let my past successes or failures influence that.”
 
“That’s a pretty good philosophy,” Isaac said with a tentative smile.  Esther returned the grin thoroughly.
 
“It’s worked for me so far,” she acknowledged.  She tucked her hand into the crook of his elbow and tugged lightly.  “Now come and escort me to my quarters.  I think it’s time we settled down to rest.”
 
Isaac patted her hand awkwardly before starting toward the door.  “Thank you, Esther.  You don’t know what it means for someone to believe in you blindly.”
 
She squeezed the arm she held.  “Yes, actually – I do.”  They were silent for the remainder of their walk.
 
************
 
Eden was a little surprised when Jacob followed directly behind her and stopped beside her when they reached the door to her quarters.  She turned tired eyes on him and cocked an eyebrow in question.  “Something I can do for you, Jake?”
 
He smiled rakishly, though his exhaustion was clear as well.  “I was hoping you’d invite me in,” waggling his eyebrows for added emphasis.  Eden sighed and her shoulders dropped.  She really liked Jacob, and she loved what they shared together, but if there had ever been a time she’d been more out of the mood than she was right now, she honestly couldn’t recall it.  But before she could voice her hesitation, Jacob placed a gentle hand beneath her chin and raised her face until their eyes met.  “Just to sleep, Baby – I promise.  We’re both too tired for anything else, but I’ve missed you - just being with you... holding you.”
 
Eden looked at him a long moment, then stood on tiptoe to brush a light kiss over his lips before she turned back to the door.  She placed her hand on the pad and stepped aside to usher him in ahead of her.  A commotion caused her to slip inside quickly, then she paused to watch Isaac and Esther pass by her room before she soundlessly closed the door.  She locked it by rote then she turned around to face Jacob.  He didn’t say a word – merely opened his arms and waited for her to step into them.  He brushed a light kiss over her hair when she slumped against him.
 
“You okay?” he whispered.  He felt her sigh before she straightened to look him in the eyes.
 
“Yeah... I’m just exhausted, and we weren’t even on the front lines in all this.  I can’t imagine how Eli and Az and even Isaac feel.”
 
“Yeah, but we were their fuel pack.”  He yawned, then grabbed her hand.  “C’mon.  I’m kinda tired myself, and I really want to hold you tonight.  I truly don’t feel like sleeping alone.”
 
“Me either,” Eden admitted as she tugged them in the direction of her room.  “I hope they give us a while to sleep though.  I feel like I could go around the clock at this point.”
 
“That sounds awesome,” Jacob agreed.  They stripped out of their clothing and slid in between the sheets with identical sighs.  Then they chuckled tiredly.  “That was a little hokey,” raising his eyebrow and smiling when Eden nodded her understanding.  “But it sure feels nice.  I’ve missed this with you.”
 
Eden patted his bare chest and snuggled further into his body.  “Maybe after we get some sleep, we can do some other things we missed that feel nice.”
 
“Umm... I like that idea too,” Jacob murmured as he brushed another kiss into Eden’s hair.  And without another word, they fell into sleep together.
 
************
 
“So what are we going to tell them?” Athena asked from her bed as she looked around her room where almost everyone else was scattered over every available space.  An emergency meeting had been called as soon as they discovered the truth, and in deference to her still weak constitution they had agreed to meet in her suite instead of the neutral ground they normally required for discussions of this nature.  It wasn’t that it really mattered at this point, given the relative equality of their power levels; it was the principle of the thing - mostly old habits and tradition that made them want to remain on even footing in every situation.  But Athena had sacrificed a lot to help the kids they should never have intercepted or acknowledged, so sacrifices would be made to ensure her comfort and recovery... even if it put them on uneven ground.
 
“Do we need to tell them anything?” Artemis asked.  “It doesn’t really change anything for them.”
 
“And yet it changes everything.”
 
“Then we should tell them the truth,” Aphrodite stated.  “They deserve that much.”
 
“Do we even know what the truth is... really?” Hera commented.  “So far all we’ve got is speculation – there’s very little we can prove.”
 
“They should know what we know as well as what we suspect.  I doubt there is anything they can do about the situation, but they should at least be aware of what the situation really is.  That way at least they can keep an eye out if anything....”
 
“And do you think they will be able to actually do anything?  He fooled us for who knows how long.”
 
“Well, they did manage to send him into the Void,” from Apollo.
 
“Did they?  Can we be certain of that??” sniped Hermes.
 
“All right – that’s enough!” Zeus bellowed, rising to his feet and looking around the room at each and every god there.  Most met his eyes briefly before dropping, but Aphrodite never flinched.  She kept her gaze on him until he was the one to look away.  “Aphrodite will tell the humanoids what we know and what we suspect.  The rest of us will see if we can determine exactly what happened... and when.”  He glared until the muttering died down.  “I realize that Ares has been a thorn in most of our sides at one point or another.  Gods know I would have loved to have taken him down a peg or six more than once – the arrogant prick.  But the fact remains that he deserved better than this.”
 
“And what of the other?  Are we going to go looking for him as well?”
 
“Oh yes,” Hera responded before either Zeus or Aphrodite could speak.  “I despise being made a fool of.  He will be made to pay for what he did to my son, and then for what he did to all of us.”
 
“And those kids?”
 
Hera smirked.  “I’m almost tempted to let them have the first shot... just to watch them in action again.”  Then her expression sobered.  “But this is a family matter.  His punishment will stay in the family.  They have their own lives to lead without continuing to be involved in ours.”
 
“Better hope we find him before he finds them then... assuming that’s his intention,” Athena cautioned.  “I’m confident Eli will be more than willing to dispense justice if they come across him first.”
 
“You don’t think he’ll go looking for them?”
 
“I think he managed to escape this place with at least some power.  Anything is possible.”
 
“All right then,” Zeus said after a moment’s silence.  “We’ve all got work to do.  Let’s get to it.”
 
Athena waited until all but Aphrodite had cleared her room.  Then she met upset blue eyes.  “This is going to suck.”
 
Aphrodite nodded and gave her a sad smile.  “You have no idea.”
 
 
 
Chapter XXXII
 
The hand that was gently stroking the soft skin of her belly suddenly clenched, scratching the delicate surface and sending not-unpleasant shivers down Eli’s spine.  But it was the tensing of the frame she was cuddling close and the sharp, indrawn breath that clued Eli in to the fact that Arianna was suddenly upset.  She continued her light touch – running her hand up and down Arianna’s now rigid body in an effort to help her relax back into the post-coital bliss they had been sharing only moments before.  It took a few minutes, but gradually Arianna allowed herself to resettle into Eli’s embrace.  But before Eli could speak, Arianna whispered against her skin.
 
“I was really blind, wasn’t I?”
 
Eli turned her head and brushed a kiss over still-damp locks and whispered, “About what, Beloved?”
 
“About our connection – about what you were trying to share with me?”
 
Eli frowned.  “What brought this on?”  She shifted them until she was spooned behind Arianna’s smaller body.  “We’re making great progress, Arianna; we’re much further along than I had any reasonable expectation of being at this point.”
 
Arianna shook her head as she linked their fingers together.  “But we’re not... not really.  Not even close to where we would have been had I just been paying attention in the desert.”  She squeezed the hand she held to keep Eli from protesting.  “Do you remember what I said earlier – about you feeling more after a transformation?” feeling Eli nod behind her.  “You project more – your passion is more focused, and deliberately or not, it bleeds into our lovemaking.  I just... I didn’t know what that feeling was until tonight.  Because you weren’t projecting intentionally tonight, were you?”
 
“No.  As long as neither of us is completely open to the other, I have to think about it to project on purpose... like when we were practicing earlier.  But really strong emotions will bleed through.”
 
“Like they did when you were so adversely affected by the Nebula’s music.... But even more so if one of us is open – even when the other of us isn’t bright enough to understand.”
 
“Not fair beating up the woman I adore, Angel.  You didn’t know; and I wasn’t smart enough to talk to you about it then – to share with you what we could be together and make certain you understood what it meant.  If we’re going to go around shouldering blame, you have to let me take my part.  I’m not guiltless here.”
 
“I just wish – if I had known....”  Arianna turned in Eli’s arms until they were facing each other.  “It was so amazing, Amado.  I hate that I’ve missed even a minute of that with you.”
 
“What did you feel?”
 
“Tonight?  Or in the desert?”
 
“Yes.”
 
Arianna sighed.  “It’s hard to....”  She met Eli’s gaze and sighed again.  “There was warmth and color and passion and music.  There was also anger and frustration; wonder and light.”  She shook her head.  “I think I need to sit down and analyze it – to try and discover everything I felt... then and now.”
 
“Was it the same?”
 
Arianna shook her head.  “I don’t think so.  Similar, perhaps, but there were some differences.  I can’t.... I really don’t think I’m at all bright enough to understand it... much less explain it.”
 
“We’ll figure it out together.  Then I guess we’ll spend the rest of our lives making sure we don’t miss another minute.”
 
“And eternity.” 
 
Eli chuckled and waggled her eyebrows.  “I’m pretty sure forever will be something altogether different – something beyond anything we’ve ever shared.”
 
“Promise?”
 
“Guarantee.”  Then their lips met and there was no more talking for some time after that.
 
************
 
“Okay, that was really nice too,” Jacob commented as he pulled the sheet up over their sweaty bodies when Eden resettled herself on his chest.
 
“Nice??  That what’s you’re gong with?” Eden complained, jerking her head up to glare at him as her breathing slowed to its normal rhythm.  “After weeks of hit and runs and near misses and quickies, all I get is a ‘nice’??”  She kissed his chest, then rested her head on it.  “Hope ‘nice’ will keep you and your hand company for a while,” smirking when he put his hands under her armpits and drew her up until they were looking eye to eye.  She cocked a brow at him.  “You got something you want to add to that, Stud?”
 
“I just meant,” he started, capturing her lips briefly before breaking off to look at her again, “that it was as special as being able to sleep and cuddle with you.”
 
“Uh huh – nice save.”
 
Jake smirked.  “Helps that it’s true.  I love having sex with you – you know that.  But it really was nice to just hold you while we slept.”
 
“Yeah, I’ll admit that was pretty awesome too.”  She squirmed slightly, and Jacob lowered her back down into his body.  Eden stretched like a cat before curling back up into him.  “For the first time in what seems like forever, I feel like I got enough sleep to really be rested.”  She pushed up off of him into a sitting position and rubbed her eyes.  “I wonder how long we were out.”
 
“Well, since we didn’t bother to find out what time it was when we settled down to sleep, I’m not sure what to tell you.  But according to my chronometer, it’s almost zero six hundred hours.  So I’m thinking we got at least twelve standard.”
 
Eden yawned as she stretched again, then rubbed her eyes before she stood up.  “Well, whatever.  I just know I feel really good for a change.”  She stepped away from the bed and Jacob frowned as he turned on his side and propped hos head on his hand.
 
“Where ya going?  I was hoping for a round two.”
 
Eden smirked and her eyes twinkled with mirth.  “Yeah, well we both know you need some time to reload, and even if you were ready and raring to go again, we both have responsibilities to take care of,” she said over his protests.  “I wouldn’t say no to you joining me in the shower, however, and I expect you to be ready for round two when we’re done being responsible.”
 
“Why can’t Eli and Az be the responsible ones for a while?” Jacob whined as he rose from his spot on the bed.
 
“Oh, they will be,” Eden promised as she stepped into the en suite.  “Assuming they aren’t already.”
 
“Heh,” Jacob replied as the door slid shut behind them.
 
************
 
Eli and Arianna were already sitting in the mess hall when their team started to trickle in.  Everyone greeted them and each other briefly, but otherwise, there was little conversation as each member collected their meal and sat down to eat.  For one thing, they were all ravenously hungry; for another, they were waiting for... something... though none of them could have said exactly what that ‘something’ was.  Then Isaac crossed the threshold and the tension in the room ratcheted up to nearly unbearable levels.  The rest tried to greet him normally, but his mumbled replies coupled with the furtive looks he kept casting in Eli’s and Arianna’s direction dampened that effort.  So they quieted and waited for the confrontation they knew was coming.
 
He didn’t grab a meal packet, but instead crossed the room to stand in front of Eli and Arianna who watched his approach with neutral expressions.  He met each pair of eyes briefly before returning his gaze to Eli’s and clearing his throat.
 
“I’ve um... I’ve already apologized to the team, but I need to apologize to the two of you... especially you, Eli.  Even though I was under the influence of… something, the actions I took and the decisions I made were still mine.  And I’m sorry – truly sorry – for what I did and what I said.  Part of me knew better – knew that what I was doing was wrong – but I just didn’t care.  You both deserved better than the way I acted, and I promise that I will try my very best to never be that kind of asshat again... outside influence notwithstanding.”
 
He held up a hand to keep them from responding.  “Please... I’m not finished and I don’t want to mess this up.  I’m not good at this – apologies or public speaking.  But you deserve to know and they deserve to hear this,” motioning to the team members ensconced around the mess hall.  “They had to put up with my bout of stupid too.  They should be witness to my apology to you.”
 
“Isaac....”
 
“Eli... Boss, please.  This is important.  I know you could have destroyed me, and yet you didn’t because I was still part of this team... this family.  But if we want this family to heal and be whole again, I need to do this.  You need to let me do this.”
 
Eli nodded her head and motioned for him to continue.  Isaac heaved a sigh of relief.  “Thank you.”  He sucked in another deep breath and let it out slowly, eyes on the floor as he gathered his thoughts.  Then he looked up again, glancing at Arianna before he turned his attention squarely back to Eli.
 
“I’m sorry,” he said sincerely.  “I’m sorry for the mean things I said; for trying to come between two people that I knew in my heart were meant to be together.  I’m sorry for disrespecting both of you and the vows you had made to one another.  I’m really sorry for calling you a freak and a monster – the truth is I would kind of like to know how you do that and all.”  He turned his eyes to Arianna.  “I’m sorry for making you uncomfortable and for not respecting your choices.”  He looked back at Eli.  “And although I know it’s in the past and nothing we do or say can change it, I’m sorry for being the catalyst that brought all this about.  If I had understood then what I know now....”
 
“... so much would be different,” Eli finished and Isaac acknowledged her words with a nod.  She sighed deeply.  “You’re right – we can’t change it – we can only move forward from here.”  She met Arianna’s eyes when tanned fingers entwined with hers.  They spoke with only their eyes for a long moment, and the rest watched the silent communication in fascination.  Eli turned back to Isaac and cleared her throat.  “We forgive you, Isaac.”
 
“Thank you,” he interrupted and she held up a hand to cut him off before he could continue.  He jerked his head and clamped his lips shut.
 
“I want you to understand something, though – I need to understand this very clearly.”  He snapped his head in acceptance and Eli resumed speaking seriously.  “If you do something like this Ever. Again. – if you EVER try to come between my mate and I – there will be consequences and repercussions... outside influences or not.”
 
“I understand.”  He rubbed the bruise on his ribs.  “Your mate hits really hard.”
 
Eli smirked and nodded.  “And remember... she’s the peaceful one.”
 
“Crap,” he muttered.  “I am so rotated on a stick,” shaking his head, but laughing with the rest when the room exploded into relieved laughter.
 
Just then, Abigail slid into the room.  She’d suspected what Isaac was going to do and decided to monitor from a distance.  Since she’d been the conduit for the team’s energy to aid Arianna and Eli in their defeat of Ares, her abilities had returned with a vengeance.  It meant she was going to have to strengthen and fortify her shields as well as teach the others to do the same to keep from bombarding her with their thoughts and feelings.  So she’d patched into the feed and watched.  But the moment Eli had accepted Isaac’s apology, things had clicked into place, and it had sent her scrambling to get to the mess hall.
 
“Oooh!” she squealed, wrapping an arm around first Eli and then Arianna, poking her head between them before she pulled them together in a fierce embrace.  Even startled as they were by her actions, they still reached up their free hands to cover hers on their arms, squeezing as much as the awkward position would allow.  They held on until Abigail pulled back and brushed a light kiss across each of their temples before releasing them completely.  Then they turned and met blue eyes shiny with tears and sparkling with happiness.
 
“Gay?” Eli questioned, knowing Abigail would understand the nature of her query.
 
Abigail chuckled.  “I know that was unexpected and probably a little weird for you guys - though in fairness the last little while has been weird for all of us... especially you two.  It’s just... wow.”  She took a deep breath and looked up at the ceiling to find her composure.  She held up her hands even though no one had made an effort to interrupt.  So they all sat back and waited... until Arianna couldn’t stand the silence any more.  She covered Abigail’s clasped hands with one of her own.
 
“Gay?  Are you all right?”
 
Abigail met concerned brown eyes and smiled brightly, nodding her head.  “So all right; so incredibly good.”  She blew out a breath.  “I’ve told you guys how hard it is sometimes to be an empath... especially when I was growing up.  There were a few times when I cursed my abilities to feel and sense everything around me because of the constant noise in my head and the bombardment of feelings I was assaulted by – it felt like I was cursed instead of blessed because of my abilities.  It was only as I got older and more proficient at blocking and filtering that I became more comfortable with my role as an empath.  And then I was chosen as a candidate for this project, and I had to learn to adjust... because there were so many more variables than I was used to.”  She rolled her eyes.  “Honestly, there were more possibilities than I had ever imagined.  Not that it was a bad thing, but it was something I had to learn to account for, and I couldn’t protect myself from everything.  That’s why I was so glad when Eli came to me and asked if there was anything you guys could do to help.  And when all of you – and so many of the other candidates were willing to learn how to shield yourselves to help me keep my sanity....”  She glanced around the room and her smile was beatific.  “I knew that no matter what the results of the Committee’s decision, I had found friends for life... and a new family.”
 
“We all did, Gay,” Eden interrupted.  “And I think it’s safe to say we were all glad to do it.”
 
“I know you were, Eden,” Abigail offered with another smile.  “That’s part of what made it so extraordinary.  But I’m getting away from the point I wanted to make.”
 
“So what’s your point?” Jacob asked innocently, wincing when Eden smacked him across the back of the head.  “OW!  Whaddya do that for??” glaring at her briefly, then covering his head when she raised her hand again.
 
“That was rude.”
 
“So was hitting me!” ducking when she pulled back to swing.
 
“Enough, you two,” Eli instructed, meeting Eden’s eyes until she dropped her hand.  Jacob stuck out his tongue, then quickly shifted to the other side of the table to stay out of range of the arm that shifted towards him once more.
 
“You have to sleep sometime,” Eden said sweetly, grinning when he swallowed hard.  Then she turned back to find Eli glaring at her with an eyebrow cocked imperiously.  “Sorry, Boss,” she mumbled.  Only Abigail dared to laugh, and the sound brought all eyes around to her again.
 
“See, this... this is what I was talking about,” holding up her hands again.  “I got used to having this – a family I could sense but that I wasn’t bombarded by, and it was comforting.  Then we reached the Nebula, and everything went silent for me, and I finally realized just how much I relied on my ability to sense you guys.  I understood how important a part of me my empathy was.”
 
“You know that Athena dampened your abilities to protect you, right?”
 
“Oh yes – I understand that now.  But to begin with, it was terrifying.  I have never been alone like that before, and it was only when Eli and Az broke through that I realized it might not actually be permanent.”
 
“So using us as a fuel source with you as a conduit...?”
 
“It was something of a risk because Az was the only I was cognizant of when we started.  I wasn’t really sure what would happen since I couldn’t sense the rest of you, but I knew without a doubt that we had to do it... be a team to have a chance of defeating Ares.  Opening myself like I did when each of you did the same meant that the floodgates opened and the dampener Athena had placed on my abilities just disappeared as though it never was.”
 
“So you can sense us all again?”
 
“More than ever.  And normally it wouldn’t be a problem even though it was stronger than ever before, but we still weren’t synched like we were before.”
 
“Because of Isaac and me,” Eli stated unequivocally.
 
“Yes.  You two were still sorted wrong.  It wasn’t until you forgave him that things were finally right again.”
 
“But we still need to strengthen our barriers again, don’t we?”
 
“Yes, but at least we can do that now that we’re all one team again.”
 
“Can it wait?” asked an unexpected voice from the corner of the room, and all eyes shifted to find Aphrodite leaned casually against the wall.  She kept her gaze on Abigail who nodded slowly.
 
“I suppose it can wait for a little while,” she agreed.  “I’m not in pain... just a little uncomfortable from the unexpected cracks in my defenses.”
 
“Those aren’t cracks,” Athena commented as she stepped from behind Aphrodite.  “But that’s part of our story.  Come – we have some things to explain to you and then you all can be on your way to wherever you have decided to call home.  We have caused you enough delay.”
 
“Come where?” Eli asked.  “We’re all here already.”
 
“Yes, but we are not.  And most of us would like to be.  Come... join us in the arena once more, and after we’ve explained everything, you’ll be free to leave – I promise.”
 
“Why does that sound ominous?” Deborah asked, crossing her arms over her chest and pinning the two goddesses with a glare.
 
“Not ominous, but....  Please,” Aphrodite said, holding out a hand.  “We really would like for you to join us for a meal and some conversation.”
 
Eli looked at Arianna for a brief moment, then extended her hand to Aphrodite.  “Don’t make us regret this.”
 
 
 
Chapter XXXIII
 
“I know you like, haven’t had time to read about us or discover who we are and how we’re related to one another.  So I’m gonna give you a totally brief rundown before I have to start explaining things.”  Surprisingly, Eli didn’t contest Aphrodite’s words; instead she merely nodded for her to continue.  “Right.  So we’re the Olympians, a Pantheon of Gods numbering between twelve and fifteen depending on who’s doing the counting.”
 
The Alpha Team looked at each other before pointedly glancing around the room.  Then they all turned to Eli as they refocused their attention on Aphrodite.  She tilted her head in question.  Eli raised an eyebrow.  “We all fall on the upper end of the intelligence scale, so accurate counting is a skill we possess.  There are a lot more than fifteen of you here.”
 
Aphrodite smiled.  “You’re right - there so are.  But the Pantheon only counted the majors.  After us, came some radically gnarly dudes and dudettes – not as powerful as we were but important to our work.  Each god and goddesses had a number of lesser gods as part of our network.”
 
“And the demi-gods?”
 
“Our half-human children who have immortality but no power.”
 
“I don’t even wanna know,” Deborah murmured loud enough for the rest to hear; they nodded their agreement.
 
Aphrodite snorted.  “Yeah... you really don’t.  And anyway, the demis really aren’t important to the telling of this story.”  She looked at the Alpha Team.  “You righteous kids probably won’t believe this given how peaceful we are now, but we really weren’t very nice back in the day – not to anyone, but especially to each other.”
 
“Really?” Eden said drolly, her sarcasm clear.
 
“Oh yeah… totally.  I mean aside from our obvious opposites that we were always antagonistic with, there was a lot of infighting between each major god and their lessers.  Because there was always, always, always someone who wanted to move up the chain.”
 
“Even in the love family?”
 
“Oh honey... especially in the love family.  There’s a very fine line, ya know? Anyway,” waving her hands around, “my little clique isn’t what we’re here to talk about today either.”
 
“So what is?” from Mordecai.
 
Aphrodite pointed at him and smiled.  “I’m so glad you asked.”  Her expression morphed into something much more serious and the tension in the room ratcheted up into a feeling that was almost palpable.  The Alpha Team stiffened in reaction and Eli and Arianna clasped their hands tighter.  Unconsciously, the rest shifted closer together behind them.  Blue eyes sparkled on delight though Aphrodite’s countenance remained somber.  “This is about Ares and his... well, for lack of a better word, his minions.”  She glared at the one or two who would have protested out loud before they could utter a sound.  When she was sure everyone was going to remain silent, she brought her attention back to the kids who were regarding her with cold expressions.
 
“I’m going to take a huge leap of faith here and say that this is important?” Eli queried softly, though her eyes stayed hard.
 
“Like you totally wouldn’t believe.”
 
“Try us.”
 
Aphrodite cleared her throat.  “You need to understand that for most of us, we had kind of a balance, ya know?  Like I had Cupid and Bliss and Lust, but I also had Jealousy and Grief.  Everything kinda had it’s own opposite, you know... like to even things out a little.  But Ares, see... he kinda didn’t get that.  Because he had a physical opposite – Athena – and she got the flip side of war.  She got Strategy and Intelligence and Skill; Ares got stuck with Strife and Discord and Chaos,” holding up an imperious finger before they could interrupt.
 
“How did that even happen?” Hannah asked.  Aphrodite just looked at her and she felt compelled to continue.  “Why are there two gods of war?  Surely someone should have known....”
 
Aphrodite sighed.  “Yeah, you’d think so, wouldn’t you?”  She shook her head.  “No one knows, really.  See, we were all born to our specialties – love was my birthright; war was theirs.  But it for sure created one Hades of a situation.”
 
“No kidding,” Naomi muttered.
 
“Not everything about Ares and his lessers was bad, ya know.  It just seems like it because he got a lot of bad press.  There were a few times....”
 
“There is nothing good about war, Aphrodite,” Arianna broke in.  “And you’re not going to convince us otherwise - not after everything....”  She trailed off and shook her head as she expelled a long breath.   “So why don’t we just move on to why you brought us here?  What did you really need to share with us?”
 
Blue eyes bore into brown, but Arianna didn’t flinch.  After a moment, Aphrodite sighed and glanced away.  “I can’t believe how different....”  She waved her hands.  “It doesn’t really matter, I guess,” mumbled almost under her breath.  “The fact is that not all of Ares’ minions were completely Hades-bent on total destruction and world domination.  Some just liked stirring things up.”  She sighed and closed her eyes briefly before continuing.  “There was a god called Mischief – he was the one who pulled pranks and created havoc of the ‘boys will be boys’ mentality.  You know, nothing anyone would consider really dangerous or harmful... just a bit of innocent fun.”
 
“Until it’s not so innocent or harmless anymore.”
 
“Well, yeah,” Dite agreed reluctantly.  “But Mischief... he managed to keep things contained, mostly.  That is, he completely flew under our radar by not doing anything outrageous to bring attention to himself.”
 
“That’s important?”
 
“So much.  See, the bet with Ares kept him on our scope so to speak – we were keeping fairly close tabs on him just like he was on us.  And his minions like Strife and Discord and Chaos stayed in our periphery because they were the lessers Ares relied on the most... utilized the most often in his pursuit of not just destruction and domination but also the souls of the warrior and the bard.  We lost sight of Mischief in the ensuing crazy, and we think Ares did as well.”
 
“What happened, Girlfriend?” Esther asked with complete seriousness.
 
“When Ares made his last attempt – the attempt that split the two of you and sent us here – there was a lot of hatred and resentment towards him.  I mean no one was happy to be here.  Even though we were basically powerless on Olympus, it was comfortable and it was home.  And we still had enough residual power to make life easy for us.  Here we had nothing... were nothing.  It was....”  Aphrodite shuddered and shook her head.  “I can’t tell you how truly horrific it was for all of us in the beginning.  But we learned and adjusted and grew... at least most of us did.  And we like who we are now, and we appreciate the radical peace and contentment we have here.”
 
“Not everyone was happy though, were they?” Titus asked.
 
“Not by a long shot,” Aphrodite confessed.  “Ares took it the hardest because he lost the most.  Not only had he lost the bet, but he’d lost his powerbase and out of everyone, his and mine had remained the most significant.  He um... he went a little crazy.”
 
“What did he do?”  This from Eli.
 
“We didn’t know it at the time – I can’t stress that enough.  We didn’t become aware of the truth until just recently.”
 
“What. Did. He. Do??”
 
Aphrodite sighed.  “He convinced the rest of his entourage that if they joined their residual powers together – brought them all under one umbrella, so to speak – that he would have enough power to get them all back home.”
 
“Him being the umbrella, of course,” Arianna scoffed.
 
“Naturally.  He was the head of his household.  The rest would voluntarily turn whatever power they had over to him temporarily and when he got them all back home, he would return them tenfold.  And he would give rise to a new Pantheon and they would all be major gods.”
 
“They believed this load of crap?” Eden asked drolly.
 
Aphrodite glared at her, but black eyes never flinched away from her.  She closed her eyes and sighed.  “You have to understand how very badly we all wanted to go home in those early days.  Most of us would have considered a deal with that particular devil if it meant going home again... even without a return to the godhood power we had known before.”
 
“But he didn’t make the offer to all of you, did he?” Eli asked sympathetically.
 
Aphrodite shook her head.  “No.  We figure he didn’t trust any of us enough.  Besides, without the rest of us around, he would’ve been King of the Gods.”
 
“That would’ve sucked,” Jacob said forthrightly.
 
“Nooooo kidding.”
 
“So what happened?”
 
“Honestly, we’re still not completely sure.  Not even Ares’ minions can say with any certainty exactly what happened and when.”  Aphrodite held up her hands before anyone could interrupt her.  “Let me finish... please,” waiting for them to nod their acquiescence.  “Thank you.  None of them agreed at first – we all thought we could figure a way home, and they didn’t trust Ares to keep his word.  As time went on, however, we became resigned to the fact that we were like, totally stuck here.  We think that is when Mischief made his move.”
 
“What did he do to Ares?” Eli asked, leaning forward in her intensity.
 
“You need to understand that when his lessers turned him down, Ares went into seclusion... something he didn’t really come out of until we learned about the Alpha Team and this project.  Only, it wasn’t really Ares that emerged – it was Mischief.  As near as we can tell, he was the one lesser god that continued to maintain contact with Ares, and at some point....”  Aphrodite sucked in a shaky breath and shook her head.  “At some point – we think it was shortly after our discovery of you kids - he was admitted into Ares’ inner sanctum on the premise that you were proof Ares needed to return home and claim the power that was so obviously waiting there.  Somehow in all the confusion, Mischief stole Ares’ power and identity. He then went to the other minions as Ares, one at a time, and convinced them that they needed to trust him with their bits of power to get them all home – that there was no other way.  We don’t know exactly what he said or what he promised them – none of them will share that.  But we do know that he sucked Ares dry – there was little left beyond a skeletal frame when we found him.”
 
“Why did you go looking?  Obviously you didn’t really miss Mischief, so why did you go looking for Ares after we had supposedly banished him to the Void?”
 
“We didn’t.  When Mischief – as Ares – disappeared into the Void, the shielding he had been using to hide Ares’ remains disappeared.  When all of the lessers gave him access to their power, he was strong enough to keep Ares’ body hidden and still have enough left over to fight you.  We believe he only took a little at first so no one would really notice the drain. We know he took everything in his epic battle with you, because none of the war contingent has power or immortality now.”
 
“Oh.  Wow.  Does that mean...?” asked Naomi.
 
“They’re going to grow old and die, yes.  But that shouldn’t concern you as much as the fact that Mischief is out there, and he may be looking for you.”
 
“I thought you said nothing returns from the Void.”  This from Paul.
 
“It doesn’t... or at least it hasn’t in all the time we’ve been here.  But that doesn’t mean there couldn’t be another exit... or that he couldn’t create one.  After all, a lesser god has never been able to transfer power from a major god to himself, yet it seems that Mischief managed to do just that.  We just wanted you to be aware.  I know it doesn’t seem like much, but it’s all we’ve got.”  Aphrodite looked around at the kids who were regarding her impassively.  “For what it’s worth, I’m sorry.  We all are.  You certainly didn’t deserve any of this.”
 
“Yes, well - Ares probably didn’t deserve the end he got either... even if he was an asshat.  And we’re sorry about your friends,” motioning to Ares’ entourage.  “They didn’t deserve what they got out of all this either,” Arianna said briefly.
 
“Now you want to be sympathetic??”
 
“Now I have a little more reason to be,” Arianna replied heatedly.  “I don’t like Ares, and I despise what he and the rest of you did to us for lifetimes!!  Honestly, I’m not completely sorry that he’s gone, even if there’s a new menace out there set to plague us.  We’ll deal with Mischief if he’s stupid enough to try anything.  But the fact is I wouldn’t wish what happened to Ares on my worst enemy.  That was crap.”
 
“Thank you,” Aphrodite accepted softly.  “Do you have any questions for us?”
 
Eli looked around solemnly at her group, meeting and holding each pair of eyes until she was satisfied.  Then she turned back to Aphrodite and shook her head.  “I don’t think so.  Is there anything we can do for you before we leave?”
 
“No – we’re okay... really.  Now, let us feed you that meal we promised and then we’d like to share our stores with you – give you some fresh food take take with you, perhaps?”  Dite wrinkled up her nose.  “I know it won’t keep very long, but I saw what you all consider edible food.  It was kinda scary.”
 
Eden snorted.  “You oughta have to eat it.”
 
“So you’ll let us share some fresh fruits and vegetables to take on your journey?”
 
Eli nodded.  “That would be delightful.  We can come pick it up when we’re done eating here?”
 
“Actually,” Zeus spoke from behind them, causing them to whirl in his direction.  “We’d like to bring it to you if we could.”  He had the decency to appear a little abashed.  “We’d um... we’d like to see your ship if you wouldn’t mind showing us around.”
 
“Maybe a few of you at a time.” Eli conceded.  “It’s not a very big ship.  Too many bodies and we’ll start tripping over one another.”
 
“That’s true,” Artemis piped up.  “There was barely room for the three of us to fit into the dining area standing up when we were all in there together with them.”
 
“Fair enough,” Zeus agreed.  “Let us go prepare things and gather the promised supplies.”  Without another word, he and most of the rest of the gods exited the arena.  The Alpha Team turned back to Aphrodite for an explanation.
 
“They’re gonna bring everything to our largest room and will then make sure things are set up and ready for our little banquet.  Most of them really do feel bad for the whole fiasco – what happened here especially, but also for what came before, ya know?”  She looked directly at Arianna.  “If we had just minded our business....”
 
“Hindsight is a wonderful thing,” Abigail commented.  “I always wished for a little more foresight.”
 
“Haven’t we all?” Athena remarked drolly.  “Now come – let us give you a good meal and a lovely send-off.”  They got up and left the arena, following Aphrodite, Athena and Artemis through brightly lit corridors until they reached the banquet hall.  They stopped as they reached the doors when Hannah reached out a hand towards the goddesses.  They looked their question and she met blue eyes steadfastly.
 
“Aphrodite, are you all going to go looking for Mischief?” asked quietly.
 
Aphrodite nodded.  “We’re going to try.  The problem is, we’re not sure of where he is or where he, you know, could be.  We have to find a way to like, see into the Void first.  And if he’s not there and there is a way out, we’re gonna have to like, figure some radical way to trace his whereabouts.  I don’t think he’s gone... you know, like evaporated into nothing or something equally grody.  Not with the kind of power he amassed.”
 
“You think he still has that power?”
 
“We don’t have a reason to think otherwise.  Despite the truth of the matter that he was using his power against you, the fact that he was engaged in a genuine battle against a worthy foe would have renewed his powers to levels not found since we were brought here – much like mine were with all the love vibes and even Athena’s to some degree.”
 
“Did you ever consider that might have been his real reason for pursuing the terms of the bet?” Isaac asked.
 
“How could Mischief possibly know you would all stand together and fight??  Even we couldn’t foresee that as the absolute outcome!!”
 
“Maybe he didn’t either, but he really didn’t have anything to lose by trying, did he?  And it surely was a real possibility – that he would get a fight from Eli at least.  She is a warrior.  What did he really have to lose?  Seems to me he had a lot more to gain.”
 
“He brings up a good point,” Artemis commented.
 
“Indeed he does.  We’ll mention it to the others when we sit in Council again.  For now however, it’s time to feast.  Please,” she added, turning to the Alpha Team, “come in and enjoy the bounty we have to offer.”  And so saying, she opened the double doors wide and ushered the kids inside.



Chapter XXXIV

“So what exactly did Aphrodite say to you?” Eden demanded as she took a seat in the mess hall.  The last of the gods – Aphrodite, Artemis and Athena - had just left, and no one had missed the way Aphrodite had pulled Eli to one side before saying goodbye.  It was the reason no one had moved to take advantage of the one more night of guaranteed rest before they were underway again.

“You noticed that, did you?” chuckling softly at all the disbelieving stares she got.  Eli ran a hand through her short hair, making it stand on end and causing smiles to ripple around the room.  “I expected as much,” Eli confessed as she scratched the back of her neck.  She sighed deeply and glanced around the room.  “It seems that time here may not function the way we’re used to.”

“Excuse me?”

“Aphrodite told me that time isn’t the same here... for them.  Something to do with the Nebula, they think, but they really didn’t know or care to find out.  Once they realized they had no real way of keeping time here, they didn’t even bother trying.  It’s never really mattered of course, because they’re immortal. She didn’t know how it’s affected us while we’ve been here or how it will affect us after we leave.”

“Does it matter?” Naomi asked.

“Of course it matters!” Eden replied impatiently, then bit off the rest of her words at Eli’s signal.  She clamped her lips firmly shut and nodded for Eli to continue.  Naomi cut in first.

“I’m sorry.  I don’t see how.  We’re pretty much cut off from everything and everyone out here, completely on our own and on our own timetable.  Aside from having to adjust the logs to reflect the difference – if there is one – and try to find a way to prove that time isn’t actually the constant we believed it to be, what difference does it make whether we’ve been here for days or weeks or even months?  Nothing’s going to get done until we do it, and time on that doesn’t start ticking for us until we start the clock, so to speak.”

“On the one hand, you’re absolutely right,” Eli agreed, holding up a hand to forestall the protests she could feel around the room.  “The project only really starts when we start the chronometer running, although technically it began moving the moment we left the Alliance ship and took off on our own divergent path.  After all, our supplies and such were calculated on the basis of what we would need to get to a certain point and the project being in a specific place, and all that changed the minute we went on the run.  But even beyond all that, you’re forgetting one very important, key ingredient, Mimi.”

“What?  Because as I see it, whatever it is doesn’t matter.  The experiments are doing well; we’ve only used a tiny portion of our supplies on this detour; and we got some fresh provisions out of the whole incident.  That seems like a win to me regardless of anything else.”

Arianna gazed at her compassionately.  “You forgot about Mama.  She’s going to be looking for us, and we’re not anywhere close to where Eli told Ian we’d be.  If time really is different here from what it is outside the Nebula, she’s going to be worried.”

“Oh... crap.”

“And the odds are that she is keeping our families in the loop.  I know she promised MaTb that she would keep her informed.  I can’t imagine her not extending the same courtesy to the remainder of our family members.”

“Ooohhhh, crap.”

“Exactly.”

“I’m so sorry.  I completely forgot....”

”It’s okay, Mimi.  Mama will understand once we’re able to explain.  Our biggest concern right now is we don’t know how differently time functions here, if it’s altered at all.  For all we know, it could be the constant we’ve always known it to be.  But we need to be prepared in case it is extremely dissimilar from what we know.”

“However, there’s nothing we can do to change whatever the reality beyond the Nebula is and we all need to get some rest before we head out tomorrow.  To that end, I propose we all go to bed and we’ll worry about the rest as we encounter it.”

“You just want some of that newlywed nookie,” Jacob teased, knowing they would get the connotation even if they didn’t actually understand the words.  He laughed when Eli flushed a dark green and Arianna turned a lovely shade of chestnut as the rest chuckled and cheered around them.

Despite her obvious blush, Eli owned the moment like a boss, wrapping herself possessively around Arianna and accepting her weight when Arianna leaned back into her.  “I’ll take nookie,” stumbling over the unfamiliar word just slightly, “with my half anytime I have the opportunity, Jake... newly wed or not.  I’ve never been stupid....”

“Just a little slow on the uptake sometimes, Boss,” Eden offered with laughter dancing in her eyes and her voice.

“Maybe a little,” Eli agreed.  “But not tonight.  If you’ll excuse us....” loosening her embrace and extending her hand to Arianna, smiling when it was taken with alacrity and enthusiasm.  Eli gave her teammates and jaunty little salute.  “We’ll bid you all goodnight,” following Arianna out of the mess hall when she tugged Eli not-too-gently over the threshold.  The rest listened until the shutting of their door cut off their mingled laughter, then they looked around at each other.

“I think they have the right idea,” Abigail said.  “Besides, I want all the insulation between them and me I can get,” heading out the door and in the opposite direction Eli and Arianna had gone.  “Goodnight, everyone,” she called back.

Her words seemed to provide the impetus the rest needed to move and in mere minutes, the mess hall was empty and the Alpha Team was comfortably ensconced in their quarters for one more night of secure sleep.

************

“Are you sure about this, Athena?” Abigail asked as she reclined on the bed at Athena’s gentle insistence.  She hadn’t been particularly surprised to find the goddess waiting for her, but it wasn’t anything she had anticipated either.  She’d simply assumed – given what had actually happened - that Athena’s mention about the cracks in her shielding had been a throwaway comment meant to give them additional initiative to return to the arena.  She’d decided the shielding was something she’d need to work on with her team – a situation she was perfectly fine with.  They’d done it before and they could do it again.

So Athena’s offer made her hesitate... come to a complete stop, really, even as she obeyed the unspoken directive to lie down on the bed.  Not only was it unexpected – it was unheard of... at least in regards to her people and their history.

“I am,” Athena replied quietly.  “You know how culpable we all were in regards to this... whole debacle,” waving her hands around for emphasis.  Abigail nodded.  “Right,” not realizing just how much like Aphrodite she appeared in that moment.  “The thing is, this... you... your abilities – yeah, that screw-up is mine.  I mean, I didn’t intentionally try to mess you up or anything, really.  It’s not what I do.  Part of my ‘god-thing’, as Dite calls it, is to heal... not hurt.  I just....”  Athena’s jaw dropped and she stopped speaking the instant Abigail sat up and wrapped both hands around one of her own.  The warmth of feeling that surrounded her with the simple touch was incredible, and Athena just stood still and absorbed the emotion flowing between them.

“Athena – I get it.  I really do.  And I appreciate what you tried to do for me before... what you want to do for me now.  But are you really up to it?  I saw what you did for Eli and Isaac; I know what that took out of you.  The team and I can fix this.  Yes, I’m a little uncomfortable right now, but we can make it better with a little time and effort.  There’s no reason for you to put yourself in danger to put things back in order.”

“You are an amazing humanoid,” Athena said with a smile on her face and tears in her eyes.

“Nope,” Abigail said resolutely.  “I just do what I do.”

Athena lifted her free hand to Abigail’s face and cupped it gently.  “I can do this,” she informed her gently.  “I can make it better and stronger than it was before without completely removing your ability to sense your teammates this time.  I can do it because I’ll have help,” nodding her head towards a darkened corner of the room where Aphrodite waited patiently.  “She’s got vibes to spare, and she’s willing to share them with both of us.”

“But why?” asked not in a hurtful way, but in a tone of utter confusion.  “Don’t get me wrong – I really do appreciate the offer.  But why would you do this?”

“What are we getting out of it, you mean?” Aphrodite asked as she stepped forward into the light of the room.  Abigail nodded her head slowly and Aphrodite’s understanding smile was sad.  “Nothing, really, beyond the gnarly knowledge that we helped fix something radical that we totally messed up.  We can’t do anything to make up to the souls of Eli and Arianna the wrong that was done to them throughout an eternity of lifetimes – we can’t change it or erase the grief or reduce the misery they suffered.  But this, this is something we can totally make righteous again.  We can do this for you.”  She shrugged.  “So I guess we get to like, feel good about ourselves a little bit, ya know?  Knowing we did the right thing for the right person.”

“And this won’t do what it did before... cut me off from them completely, I mean?”

“Not at all,” Athena assured her.  “That’s one reason Dite is here.  She’d really good at that sensitive stuff, you know.”

Abigail looked back and forth between them, then nodded her head before reclining back onto the mattress and relaxing into its softness.  “Okay,” she agreed softly.  “But wake me up before you go,” she said through a yawn.  “I’m not sure I can stay awake for all of this,” blinking her eyes open and looking at both of them seriously.  “It’s been a long few days for me.”

“We’ll say goodbye before we go,” Athena promised.  She ran a tender hand over Abigail’s face from forehead to chin, gratified when her eyes closed and her breathing deepened almost instantly.  Then she turned her attention to her sister.  “Let’s do this.”

Aphrodite just nodded and closed her eyes as she extended her hands to begin.

************

“So what are we going to do?” Arianna asked as she exited the en suite.  Eli jumped slightly at the sound of her voice and turned to her with an eyebrow cocked in question.

“About...?”

“Seriously?” as she crossed the room to pick up her brush before seating herself in front of Eli and removing the towel from around her wet hair.  She caught the genuine confusion in the green eyes staring at her in the mirror and changed her tack.  “You were very deep in thought when I came in here – what were you thinking about?”

Eli flushed a slightly darker green and ducked her head.  “You really want to know?”

“Um hmm... especially now that you’ve got that lovely green flush of embarrassment going.  I’m going to walk the edge of a cliff and guess it wasn’t about Mischief and what Aphrodite shared with us earlier.”

“Um... no.”  A beat.  “Oh – was that what you were asking about?” pulling the brush carefully through the tangled wet locks.

“Um hmm.  But that wasn’t anywhere close to what was on your mind, was it?”

Eli glanced up into the mirror, letting her green eyes meet sparkling brown ones.  Her lips curled into a smile that matched the soft laughter she could feel shaking Arianna’s body and she shook her head before turning her attention back to the soft, smooth hair in front of her.

“No – not even close.  Because really... all we can do is live our lives day to day – hopefully get to that moon without any further disruptions or delays and start building the community we were sent out here to establish.  If Mischief shows up... well, we’ve shown what we can do to him when we work together as a single unit.  We can’t base anything we do on him or the possibility of him.  We’ll take care of him if we have to when the time comes.  Until then....”  She shrugged her shoulders.

Arianna bit her lip thoughtfully as she considered Eli’s words.  Then she nodded slowly.  “You’re right, of course.  We have enough real obstacles in our path without anticipating something that may never even happen.  But if you’d already figured that out, what were you thinking about so hard?”

Eli snickered and shook her head.  “Honestly, I started out thinking about what a ridiculous word ‘nookie’ is.  It is one of the silliest descriptions for the intimacy that is lovemaking that I have ever heard.  Really – who came up with that??”  She cleared her throat.  “Then, of course, that led to giving a little more thought to what Jake said.”

“About being newlyweds?  Or about the nookie part?”

“Yes,” Eli replied starkly, then cleared her throat.  “I mean I kind of like the implication of being newly wed... newly joined and mated to you.  I can’t see that ever changing.”

Arianna blushed.  “You say the sweetest things some times.”

“Only sometimes?” Eli teased.

“Yes,” Arianna smirked.  “Because sometime you’re a scientist, and really... I don’t care how much you like order or formulas and scientific fact.  It’s not all flowers and sunshine romance.  Sometimes it’s downright... well, even scientists don’t find everything about science intriguing.”  She glared slightly when she caught Eli hiding her laughter behind her hand.  “Not very nice,” she muttered.

“Nor very romantic,” Eli agreed.  “But more than a little amusing.  However, we’ve gotten a little off track.”

“Which track was that?” Arianna asked with a wicked, little smile.  “Oh right... the one where you were thinking about newlywed nookie.”

Eli rolled her eyes.  “Yes... that track.”  She finished braiding Arianna’s hair and bound it carefully before gently patting her back.  She wasn’t really surprised when Arianna turned and immediately snuggled into her embrace.

“What about it?” kissing her way up Eli’s neck and smiling when goosebumps shivered in her wake.  “Hmm?” whispered directly into Eli’s ear and causing her to tremble in reaction.  Eli gently pushed Arianna away from her, but before she could protest, Eli captured her mouth and plundered it with abandon.  Arianna responded in kind and both were panting heavily when they finally separated, staring into lust-darkened eyes.

“I lied.   I was stupid.  To think I could have ever lived without this... even for a moment.  I can’t imagine...”

“Hush,” Arianna instructed firmly as she placed a finger over Eli’s lips.  “We both made mistakes; and we were both a little slow on the uptake.  We know better now,” she added with a smile.  “So let it go, okay?  I don’t want to keep living with regret when we have such a bright future in front of us.  I just want to cherish each day we still have together.  It’s past – over and done.  We can’t change it, remember?“

“I know.  It just makes me a little crazy when I think about it.”

Arianna smiled rakishly.  “In that case, I need to give you something else to think about.  So how about we concentrate on that whole newlywed nookie thing?  We can think about other things later,” pushing Eli into a prone position beneath her.  Eli surrendered without protest and Arianna laughed in victory before proceeding to once more conquer known, but cherished territory.  Eli clenched her hands into tight fists and held on for the ride.

************

“Incoming encrypted transmission from Lt. Joseph Cornell,” the computer voice announced just before she heard the familiar voice.

“Mama?  I have news, but it’s not good.”

Mary looked up from the work she’d being concentrating on and gave Joseph her full attention.  She studied his countenance for a long moment, then sighed, folding her hands on the table and meeting his serious gaze.  “How bad?”

“Bad enough,” he replied.  “I went to the Nebula like you said.  There’s a lot of interference and crap so my readings are suspect at best, but I’m pretty sure I found them.”

“Pretty sure?”

“Sure enough I knew it was time to tell you; suspect enough that no one else is aware of my findings... not even Nat.”

Mary’s brows rose into her hairline.  Joseph and Nathaniel rarely kept secrets from one another.  “So what did you find, my son?”

Joseph smiled grimly, glad for her faith in him, but unhappy with the news he had to share.  “I’ve found what appears to be a crash site.”

Mary closed her eyes and released a slow, deep breath.  “Any survivors?” she asked after a brief moment.

“Yeah, this is where things are a little screwy.  I’ve got... it’s....”  He sighed.  “When we first discovered the site, there was nothing – no life signs; no fuission; nothing but a crap load of debris.  Then we got life signs... lots and lots of life signs – far more than fifteen, but the readings were intermittent at best, so I’m not sure how reliable that information is.”

“Wait... what??  How is that even possible??  And are you certain it’s them?”

“I’m not certain of anything, Mama.  But the site is about the size I would expect the Outreach to create if it was forced into an abrupt landing.  And now we’re getting fairly steady readings on fifteen life signs. Occasionally we’ll get a blip where there are none or a lot more, but....  My biggest issue is that I can’t get a reading of any energy activity beyond the life signs – no fuission... no nothing.  The only energy output at all seems to be emanating from the beings within the Nebula itself.  Even the Nebula....”  He shook his head.

Mary pinched the bridge of her nose between her thumb and forefinger. “All right... send me what you have.  I’d like the chance to look over it for myself before starting a panic.  Not that I don’t trust you, Joseph, but maybe....”

He held up a hand, relief showing in his eyes.  “I’d appreciate a second pair of eyes checking this.  Maybe you’ll be able to see something I missed.  And either way, you’ll have everything you need to be able to make an informed decision when you’re ready to call a team meeting.  In the meantime, I’ll keep searching.”

“I’ll make sure the Admiral knows that this is your top priority.”  She glanced down before meeting Joseph’s eyes again.  “I wanted you home for the holiday, but not a this kind of cost.”

“I know, Mama – me too.”  Without another word, he nodded and made the screen go dark.  Mary turned her attention to the information he had provided.  It was going to be a long night.

Chapter XXXV

“Did it work?” Athena whispered, not wanting to disturb the atmosphere they had created, but too anxious to let her curiosity stand unabated any longer.  “Is everything...?”

Aphrodite tilted her head up until it was level once more and slowly blinked her eyes open.  “We’ve done the best that we can for her... and for them.  Only time will tell if it’s enough.”  She released a slow, deep breath.  “We need to wake her though.  We promised we’d like, say goodbye, and we need to get out of here soon.”

“Is something wrong?  Other than the obvious, I mean.”

Aphrodite held Athena’s gaze for a long moment before shrugging lightly.  “I’m not sure.  Something is... off, for lack of a better term, but I dunno if it’s me or Mischief or something else entirely.  Either way, we need to get outta here and send these kids on their way.”

“You think Mischief is going to target them?”

“Assuming he’s still actually alive and kicking somewhere beyond the Void?  I think the only chance any of us are gonna have to defeat him is to engage him in a multi-pronged attacked.”  She giggled slightly at the stunned expression on Athena’s face.  “Whaaaat?” she drawled with an impish smile. “I pay attention when you talk to me.”

“More than I realized,” Athena agreed with a tender countenance, making Aphrodite blush.  “I believe you’re correct, though – we’re going to have to do more if we’re going to defeat him.  It’s not these kids’ responsibility to take care of this... even if he targets them.  He’s our mess to clean up.”

“Wake up Little Chickeeboo then.  We need to tell her goodbye.  Besides, we should be able to measure some degree of our success with a little radical girl talk.”

Athena just chuckled and shook her head.  “All right, Dite.  Shall I do the honors then?”

“Sure.  But hurry up.  It’s time to blow this joint.”

“And then there are days....” Athena muttered under her breath, but she moved back to Abigail’s side and gently shook her shoulder, smiling gently when sleepy blue eyes peered at her in confusion for long moments before recognition settled in and Abigail returned her smile comfortably.  “How do you feel?” Athena inquired with genuine concern.  Of all the kids on the Alpha Team – Eli aside – Abigail was the one to whom she felt the most connected.  She wasn’t sure why that was, but she knew it for the truth.

Abigail yawned widely and shook her head a little to clear it.  “Tired,” she replied succinctly, then let her gaze go inward.  “But better,” she added with a smile as she sat up.  “I can sense my team again without discomfort.”  Her smile grew to a grin.  “I feel amazing, actually.”  She held Athena’s gaze a moment longer before turning to Aphrodite.  “Thank you both.  I hadn’t realized how unpleasant those cracks in my defenses were.”

Aphrodite smiled graciously and extended a hand that Abigail accepted without hesitation.  “I’m glad we could make a positive difference this time.  It’s kinda nice to be on the right side of things for a change.”  She lightly squeezed the hand she held.  “You’re still gonna wanna work with your teammates to strengthen things from their side though.  Even if Mischief doesn’t come looking to settle this score, it’s in all of your best interests to take care of each other.”

“We will,” Abigail assured her.  “They’ll probably insist without me even having to mention it... just to be safe.”

Aphrodite pressed her hand once more before releasing Abigail with a smile.  “I’m glad to have met you, Abigail.  You’re one totally righteous babe.”

Abigail chuckled as she blushed.  “Thank you, Aphrodite.  I think you’re pretty incredible too,” eyes twinkling when she noticed the matching blush suffuse Dite’s light skin tone.  Athena’s eyes widened in surprise, and she cleared her throat to draw their attention in her direction.  She leaned forward and brushed a kiss over Abigail’s forehead.

“We probably won’t encounter one another again, but it has been wonderful to meet you. Be safe, Abigail, and travel well.  Take care of yourself and be kind to each other.  It will give me great joy to know you all are happy together and doing well.”

Abigail tilted her head as she took in Athena’s words, noting the sheen of tears in her eyes.  Abigail leaned forward, but instead of clutching Athena’s hand in her own, she cupped a hand over a smooth cheek, gently sweeping her thumb along the planed cheekbone.  “If it will give you such great joy, then why are you unhappy?”

“Not unhappy, as much as sad.”  She blew out a shaky breath.  “You... all you kids, but especially you... have been a breath of fresh air here.  And a reminder of what we had – what we could have been had we not been so petty and selfish.  I will miss you all.”

“You won’t be monitoring us?”

Athena dropped her chin to her chest to hide her tears and shook her head.  “We can’t.  Once you leave the Nebula, you will no longer be in our purview.  It’ll just be us again.”

“But I thought....”  Abigail turned to Aphrodite and arched an eyebrow, though her confusion was evident in her eyes.  “What am I missing?”

“We don’t have the energy or resources to keep a watch over you kids and search for Mischief too.  And we have a responsibility to find him and take care of him once and for all.  He needs to be brought to justice for what he’s done... much like Ares would have been had he brought to bear the situation we find ourselves in now.”

“You mean being stuck here in the Nebula?  I thought that was Eli’s and Arianna’s fault.”

“Technically speaking, yes, but it was his blood oath and our arrogance and foolishness that started this whole mess.”

“Humanity grew without us,” Athena offered softly.  “And we grew without them.  It’s better for everyone if we maintain the separation.  Otherwise, the temptation to revert to our old ways....   Do you see where I’m going with this?”

Abigail smiled sadly and nodded.  “Yes.  I think you’re wrong though.  Oh... not about the temptation – that’s just a natural part of the human condition.  We’ve all faced temptation in our lives.  But I think you’re underestimating your strength and your growth.  But I don’t blame you for not wanting to risk it.  You’ve been around a lot longer than I have.  I suppose you’d have better insight on the subject than I would.”

Athena chuckled and cut her eyes in Aphrodite’s direction, noting with a smirk that she was endeavoring to hide her laughter behind her hand.  “I think we’ve been outwitted.”

Aphrodite snorted.  “I know we have.  But it doesn’t change the reality that we simply don’t possess the strength or the resources we had... especially with the war contingent out of the picture.”  She turned back to Abigail.  “We’ll try to look in on you occasionally, but that’s about all we can promise.  Except we’ll miss you.  Having you all here has been....”

“... fabulous, dahling – absolutely fabulous!” Athena finished with flair that caused laughter to erupt from all three of them, though the tears still danced in her eyes.

Abigail leaned forward and kissed first Aphrodite, then Athena, letting her lips linger for a long second before pulling away.  “I wish you much success then.  You all deserve the peace humankind has finally achieved.”  Without another word, she lay back down and closed her eyes, falling back to sleep almost immediately.  Athena looked at Aphrodite, taking her proffered hand when it was extended.  Then they disappeared without leaving a trace of their presence.

************

“Hey, Boss – this is Deb.  You got a minute?”

Eli blinked her eyes open and tried to focus on the chronometer less than a meter from her face.  She frowned when she noted the time, wondering if she’d been left to sleep around the clock or if she had only been asleep for a couple standard.  She was quiet so long that Deborah finally cleared her throat and spoke a second time, albeit more quietly as she realized the time and the fact that she might be waking Eli up.

“Umm... Boss?  Sorry – I just noticed the time and well... sorry.  I’ll try back again tomorrow... or later today... or whatever.  Yeah.”

But before she could close the comm link, Eli cleared her throat.  “It’s okay, Deb.  It just took me a minute to orient myself,” not mentioning she hadn’t actually been asleep too long.  “How can I help you?”

“Are you sure?  I didn’t mean to wake you.”

“But it was obviously important enough that you felt the need to notify me immediately.  So talk to me – what’s going on?”

“Do you remember that research you had me doing? About the gods and goddesses and the bet and our histories and how it all tied together?”

“Yes,” Eli replied, muffling a yawn and leaning back into Arianna’s warmth when she spooned her body behind Eli’s.

“Well, the good news is I think I may have something.”

“And the bad news?”

“I’m not sure how it can help us.”

Eli pinched her lip between her thumb and forefinger and this time Deborah remained silent, knowing Eli needed time to process her words.  Finally she heard Eli blow out a breath and waited for her to speak.  She didn’t have to wait long.

“All right, I need a few minutes to reboot my brain.  Meet me in the infirmary office in fifteen standard.  We’ll have whatever time and privacy we need there.”

“Thanks, Boss.  I’ll bring the energy shots.”  Then she shut off the link before Eli could formulate a reply... which was just as well as Eli couldn’t contain the moan that bubbled up from her throat when Arianna leaned forward and kissed the sensitive skin between her wings.

“Not nice, Angel,” she growled.

“Neither is the fact that we’re giving up another round of newlywed nookie so you can go be the boss again.  Sometimes I hate the fact that you’re in charge of this ragtag, motley crew.”

“Me too, Angel.  But I’m good at it.”

“You’re exceptional, and I usually don’t mind sharing because you are so good at it, and it makes you happy.  But sometimes I’m selfish and just want you all to myself.”

“Sometimes, I’m selfish as well.”

“Maybe,” Arianna shrugged, “but you’ve learned to manage it a little better than I do.”

“Only because I have to, Angel.  Not because I want any less.”

“I know.  And I’m learning.  But you need to go so you can take care of whatever urgent crisis we’re facing now – because the sooner you’re done with that, the sooner you’ll be back in bed with me, and the sooner we can get back to that nookie thing.”

Eli chuckled and shook her head.  “You really like that, don’t you?”

Brown eyes widened comically.  “Nookie with you??  You really have to ask??”  She bit her lip pensively before dropping her eyes to the sheet beneath her.  “I must be doing something wrong,” she muttered to herself.

Eli cupped a hand under Arianna’s chin.  “You know better, Angel.  You know better.  You’re doing everything right.  What I meant was – you really like the term ‘nookie’.”

“Oh... OH.  God, sorry – I don’t know where that little bout of insecurity came from.”  She scrubbed her hand over her eyes.  “I probably need to reboot my brain too.”

Eli urged Arianna closer and brushed a kiss over her forehead.  “You probably need some more sleep.  We haven’t really gotten a lot the last couple nights.”

“No, but what we’ve shared has been worth the loss of a few brain cells and some sleep.  Oh, and to answer your question?  Even though I know that different words mean different things in regards to our intimacy together, I do actually like the term ‘nookie’.  It just sounds fun – it makes me giggle a little.  And sex with you in any form is fun in my book,” she added impishly.

“Mine too,” Eli confirmed with a smirk.  “But for now, I need to get a quick shower and go be the boss again.  It must be important if Deb felt the need to disturb us at....”  She peered at the chronometer and groaned.  “Is it really that early?”

“Yes.”

“Merciful gods – go back to sleep, Beloved. If I can manage it, I’ll be back sooner rather than later, but I can’t make any promises.  Deb obviously stayed up to work on this.”  She leaned forward and brushed a chaste kiss over still-swollen lips.

Arianna puckered up to return the kiss, but made no move to deepen it.  Instead she closed her eyes and lay back down, curling around Eli’s pillow and sighing in contentment.  “Go be the boss.  I’ll keep the bed warm for you.”

Eli smiled and rose, tugging the blankets into place around Arianna’s shoulders and brushing another light kiss over her temple before she made her way to the bathroom.  “Perfect incentive if I ever heard one,” she muttered as she slid the door closed behind her before turning on the light. She didn’t see the satisfied smile that crossed Arianna’s face.

************

“Good morning, Deb,” Eli said as she approached her desk in the infirmary.  Deborah was leaned over, propping her head up with one hand and rubbing her eyes with the other.  Eli clapped her lightly on the shoulder in greeting before she moved around the desk and took her customary seat.  She frowned at the haggard expression on Deborah’s face and asked in concern, “Are you all right?”

Deborah smiled wanly.  “Nothing a few hours of uninterrupted sleep wouldn’t cure,” she mumbled.  “And speaking of... I’m sorry....” breaking off when Eli held up a hand.

“Don’t worry about it, Deb.  It’s why I get all those credit chits and the massive power trip,” she said wryly, causing Deborah to laugh.

“Eeeyeah – I can’t imagine what I was thinking when I decided I wanted to be in charge of all this.  Just being responsible for this research....”  She shook her head.  “I appreciate your faith in me after what I did, but wow – can we try for something a little easier next time??”

“That bad?”

“Well, I still don’t have all the information I want,” she confessed.  “But there was enough....”  She shook her head again.  “It doesn’t matter right now, and I will bring the entire story to you as soon as I have it.  But for now....”  She leaned forward and passed Eli the Pad she’d had in front of her, and set an energy shot next to it.  Eli quirked a brow and Deborah just smirked.  “Trust me.  You’ll be glad you did.”

Without a word, Eli popped the top open and drained the bottle in one fell swoop.  She licked her lips to ensure she didn’t leave any remnants of chocolate behind even as she pulled the Pad closer and began reading.  She didn’t even realize when Deborah rose from the seat across from her and moved to stretch out in one of the infirmary beds.  It was a while before she went looking for her.

************

“I’m not asleep, Boss,” Deborah said when she heard footsteps headed her way.  “I couldn’t after the shot I drank earlier.  I really was just resting my eyes.  They kind of sting.”

Eli’s brow furrowed.  “Eye strain probably, but we’ll take a look and make sure.  Here,” handing her the Pad back. “Hold onto that for me a minute and let me take a look at your eyes.  Can you sit up?”

Deborah sat up and swung her legs over the edge of the bed without opening her eyes at all.  She could hear Eli’s movement, but otherwise, she sat in darkness and waited.  Finally she felt the warmth of Eli’s hand on her arm and heard her voice nearby.

“Open your eyes for me slowly, Deb.  I want to take a look at them superficially; then I want to examine them briefly.”  Deborah blinked her eyes open gradually, surprised to discover Eli was inches from her face. She didn’t move or shift, but kept her gaze locked onto the hazel one studying her so intently.  “I’m adding light to my examination,” Eli shared just before Deborah was blinded by brightness in first one eye and then the other. 

“All right,” Eli continued when she removed the light, causing Deborah to blink rapidly in and effort to remove the spots from her vision.  “Close your eyes for me again and tilt your head back.  I’m going to put some drops in your eyes that should relieve the burning and redness.”

Deborah did as she was instructed and in a moment, felt the relief Eli had promised.  She kept her eyes closed for another minute, then blinked the excess out of her eyes.  She turned to meet Eli’s expectant stare.  “Better?” offering her a cloth to wipe the moisture off her face.

Deborah accepted the small towel and nodded her head.  “Much,” she agreed.  “They actually feel normal again.”

“Well, the drops can help, but you should probably try to pace yourself a little better.  I know your work is important and we are on something of a schedule, but you need to take an occasional break.  Your eyes need the rest, and the rest of you would probably appreciate it too.”

Deborah shifted and stretched, causing both of them to wince at the number of bones that crunched and crackled with her movement.  She gave Eli a wry look.  “Yeah, I’m inclined to agree with that summary.  Maybe when we’re done here, I’ll go to the rec room and see if I can burn off the shot before I lay down for a little bit.  We are leaving this place today, right?  The rest of the research can wait for a few hours?”

“It can – or I can put someone else on it to help you.”

“If I say no to the help, are we still leaving today?”

Eli cocked her head thoughtfully, then nodded.  “We’re leaving today regardless.  We have other places to be.  Why?”

Deborah shrugged sheepishly.  “This place is giving me the creeps, but my notes and stuff won’t make sense to anyone else, and there’s no reason for someone to go back over the same information I’ve already been through – double the work for half the results.  Once I get a nap, I’ll try to get things in better order so I can have some help because there is a crap load of stuff still to go through.”

“Fair enough.  You let me know when you’re ready for help and we’ll get a couple people to help out.  We’re all kind of curious at this point.”

“Are you going to share what I’ve already found?”

“Not until I have more answers.  I added a list of questions at the end of your notes on the Pad.  You did good, Deb.”

“Thanks, Boss.  I’ll let you know as soon as I’m back at it... and when I’m ready for those volunteers.”  Eli nodded and waved as Deborah exited the infirmary.  It was a little while before she made a move to leave.


Chapter XXXVI

Eli turned off the heating unit on the bed when she stepped into the bedroom, then walked into the en suite to freshen up before crawling back under the covers to spoon around Arianna.  She was just starting to shiver the slightest little bit, and Eli planted a kiss on her neck as she felt Arianna relax back into her warmth.  Arianna snuggled in tighter into her embrace and Eli hugged her a little more fiercely even as Arianna turned in her arms and blinked her eyes open in the nearly complete blackness of their bedroom.

“Is everything okay, Amado?  You were gone an exceptionally long time.”  Her voice was low and scratchy, and she yawned broadly halfway through her statement.

“Thanks in great part to the energy shot Deb gave me when I got to the infirmary,” Eli replied wryly.  She sighed when she felt Arianna’s stare despite the darkness.  “Everything is as fine as it can be at the moment.  Deb just gave me some things to think about and consider.  She did confirm that we all originated from the humanoids of Jacob’s planet.  She was even able to trace some of us back through history there.  She’s going to try to do the same for everyone after she gets some rest – to see if we... all the rest included... have met in any other lifetimes.”  Eli sighed again.  “She’s actually been working pretty hard on this around all the other assignments she’s had going on.  I’m a little concerned.”

“Is something wrong?  With Deb, I mean.”

Eli’s shrug caused her to hug Arianna tighter to her again, and Arianna squeezed the arms around her as well as she was able.  “I think she just needs some real rest.  Her eyes were bothering her earlier.”

“Did you make her better?”

“For now, yes.  I’ll check on her again after we’ve both had a little more sleep.”

Arianna nodded softly against Eli’s chest.  “So what else did she say?” feeling Eli’s apprehension in her chest.  She patted the heartbeat by her ear.  “I can feel it, you know.  Tell me what’s bothering you Querida.  Let me bear the burden with you.”

Eli chuckled soundlessly. “You really are getting much better at sensing me, Beloved.  Tell me what you feel.”

Arianna pressed her hand a little more firmly against Eli’s chest and closed her eyes.  After a long moment of silence, she released a deep, slow breath and spoke.  “Aside from the exhaustion that I can clearly see even in the darkness,” propping herself up on an elbow before stroking her fingers lightly down Eli’s cheekbone and smiling when green eyes fluttered shut involuntarily in her wake, “I feel disappointment... and frustration... and anxiety or unease.  It’s....”  Arianna shook her head.  “What did Deb show you, Amado?  What is causing you such upset?”

Eli left her eyes closed, absorbing the sensation of Arianna’s undivided attention and relaxing under her subtle ministrations.  Arianna smiled and Eli’s expression reflected the same.  “That is so amazing, you know,” Eli commented quietly.  “To know you can feel what I’m feeling – that you choose to do so – and that you can calm me with just your presence or your touch.”

“Are you changing the subject?”

Eli blinked her eyes open.  “No, Beloved... not at all.  I don’t think you understand just how amazing a gift this is – to me especially.  I had long ago given up any real hope of knowing this,” covering the hand resting over her heart.

“Glad to know I’m not the only one overwhelmed by this,” Arianna murmured with tears in her eyes.  “I didn’t mean to make light, Amado.  I just... I never expected this at all; I didn’t know it was possible.”

“Shh,” Eli commanded, softly touching a fingertip to Arianna’s lips for a brief moment.  “You don’t need to explain.  I get it, remember?” offering a bright smile.  “But to answer your other question,” shifting the conversation back to less personal topics, “I think it is a number of things.  I’m disappointed with the lack of truth the gods shared with us.”  She placed the finger firmly over Arianna’s lips to still the questions before they began.  “They didn’t lie exactly – they were simply quite frugal with the truth.  There’s so much more beyond the basic story they offered us.  That frustrates me on any number of levels, but mostly because it feels like a lie.  And it is something that could come back to haunt us... especially if Mischief is able to return from the Void.  Because despite their reassurances otherwise. I don’t think the gods are certain about the permanence of his banishment.  And if he is able to come back from... wherever the Void goes, he’s going to come looking for us.”

“You think so?” smirking lightly when Eli’s eyebrow crawled up into her hairline in a patented expression of disbelief.  “I just mean you expect him to come after us first instead of visiting revenge upon the remainder of the Pantheon?  Aren’t they more of a threat to him than we are?”

“I don’t think so.  They let him become this powerful – actually enabling him in some cases.  We were the ones that managed to send him into the Void.  Pretty sure that’s going to put us right at the top of his list... especially since you and I were the ones to send them out here in the first place.”

“They should have left us alone then,” Arianna muttered.

“No argument from me, Beloved, but it doesn’t change the facts either.  And I’d be willing to wager good credit that he’s going to want to settle his score with us before he settles with what is left of the Pantheon.  That’s one reason I want to be well away from here as quickly as possible.  He may rethink a number of things if we’re not a sitting target.”

“And what of the gods?”

Eli remained thoughtfully still for a long moment before pulling Arianna tighter into her body and closing her eyes in exhaustion.   She sighed.  “Honestly, if they were to directly ask for help, I’d probably do whatever the team as a whole was willing to do for them.  But I’m not going to offer.  While I don’t think most of them mean us any harm at this point, they haven’t really done us any favors either.  And even if we can’t remember all the details right now, we both know they’re ultimately behind the situation we’re in now.  And I’m tired of being a pawn – no matter how unwittingly it is – in their little games and intrigues.”

“So tomorrow we go?” snuggling closer and closing her own as she felt lethargy creeping through her veins once more.

“Tomorrow we go,” Eli agreed with a yawn before dropping into a deep slumber.  Arianna followed a mere moment later.

************

It wasn’t sound that woke Hannah, despite her enhanced hearing.  She had learned to manage the normal sounds of the ship and life with her teammates – they were pushed to the back of her awareness.  And there was nothing to hear in the vast vacuum of space in which they were currently ensconced.  Instead, what woke her was the vibration of what sound would have been had it not been for the vacuum surrounding them and the Void from which the tremor emanated.  Its suddenness and strength was debilitating and it ripped through her being like a knife, pulling a piercing scream from the very depths of her body.  Abigail felt Hannah’s agony despite the barriers in place – its intensity and unexpectedness cutting through any manner of protection she had.  She grasped her head and whimpered in agony, reaching for the call button to alert someone... anyone... to the horror she could feel approaching.  But before she could speak, she felt the encroaching darkness overtake her, and her final thought was a prayer to her gods that one of her teammates would understand the urgency she felt.

************

Eden pushed up onto one elbow and glanced around the room with a glare as she tried to determine what exactly had awakened her from a sound slumber.  Almost immediately, Jacob sat up behind her, keeping a possessive arm around her waist and blinking furiously in the unexpected half-light of the chamber.  “Whassa matter, Baby?” he growled low in his throat as he leaned forward to brush a kiss over her shoulder.  He blinked rapidly again and shook his head, trying to acclimate his eyes to the light.  “Why’s the lights on?”

Eden shook her head.  “Dunno,” she said as she pushed the cover off her body and stood.  “I didn’t turn them on,” running both hands through her hair to move it off her face.  Her brow furrowed.  “Something’s wrong, though.  Pretty sure....”  She glanced around the room before meeting his eyes again.  The sheet was low over his hips and he was leaning back on one arm, gazing at her with lust and adoration apparent in his eyes.  He smirked when she cocked an eyebrow in his direction.

“I can admire the view, can’t I?”

“Maybe if we had time for you to do more than admire,” she conceded.  “But right now....  Didn’t we have a protocol in the desert that...?”  She broke off again as she moved to gather some clothes.  Then she turned and looked at him.  “Get up and get dressed, Jake.  Something’s wrong and we need to find out what it is before it becomes a serious problem.”

“You think that’s what this is?” motioning around the room at the half-intensity lighting as he pushed the bedding to one side and rose from the bed as he grabbed his trousers to slip on.

“Yeah.  I’m pretty sure Eli put something like this in place at the compound, even though we never really got a chance to utilize it.”  Eden furrowed her brow.  “I think it was for emergencies, she said – in case someone needed help but couldn’t ask for it.”  She shrugged her shoulders.  “I dunno.  I don’t really remember, anyway.  But I think we need to go have a look around in any event... just to give me a little peace of mind.”

“Why you though?”

“Huh?  What do you mean – why me?  Why me what?”

“Why an alert to wake you?”  Why not her?  Or me? Or any of the rest?”

“I think it’s supposed to go to everyone,” Eden replied absently as she tied back her hair.  “You know, so someone will get the message.  Let’s go see what we can find out.”

************

What they found was a majority of their teammates in various stages of grogginess gathered in the mess hall muttering amongst themselves and looking around at one another with more than a hint of confusion in their expressions.  Arianna was handing out energy shots and trying to get everyone to quiet down long enough for them to figure out what was going on.  Eden raised her fingers to her lips and whistled shrilly for a very long moment.  The sound caused silence to follow and she looked around with a satisfied smirk. 

“Better,” she managed as she accepted the shot with enthusiasm.  “Now... does anyone know exactly what’s going on?  And where’s the rest?” turning her attention back to Arianna.

“Eli is still sleeping, and so is Deb, I imagine.  She called Eli several hours ago to update her on the progress she’s made concerning our lineage and genealogy.”

“Did they find anything?” Esther asked before anyone else could speak up.

“A little,” Arianna admitted.  “We do all originate from Jacob’s planet, but that’s all Eli really shared with me when she came back.  I know she was reading reports and going over things for a long time after she sent Deb to bed.”

“So what about Hannah and Gay?  And what was the deal with waking all of us up anyway?  Is there a reason my lights just came on by themselves?”

“I think  - do any of you remember the emergency protocols Eli set for us in the desert?”  Eden turned and met Jake’s eyes.

“I guess I was right about that,” she commented as she directed her attention back to Arianna.  “But I thought those came with flashing lights and loud sirens.”

Arianna shrugged.  “Some do.  Depends on the nature of the emergency, I think.”

Eden glanced around again.  “That means we need to go find Hannah and Gay, because they’re still missing.”

Jacob pulled up the Pad that was almost always attached to his left hand.  “They’re at the far end of the hall across from each other.  I’m not showing any breaches or visible emergencies, but I’m not getting any movement either.  And according to the bio-scans, they’re both still in their quarters.”

Arianna placed a hand on Eden’s arm before she could draw breath to speak.  “Let me go wake Eli.”  She turned her attention to Luke briefly.  “Not that I don’t think you could handle... whatever... but Eli would never forgive herself if she wasn’t here to do everything she could for them.”  She looked back at Eden.  “Go check on them.  Then when Luke decides whether or not they need treatment, let me know so I can make sure she gets to the right place.”

Eden nodded.  “Will do, Az,” watching Arianna leave the room almost at a run and head in the opposite direction to the one in which they needed to go.  “Let’s go see what we can do for our friends.”

************

Arianna stood in the darkness of their room for a long moment, watching Eli sleep.  She was resting so deeply that Arianna couldn’t see the movement of her breathing – only the slightest twitch of her wings gave any indication of life.  In another moment, she crossed the room and extended a hand to rub gently between the wings, watching in fascination as Eli arched up into the caress before shivering delicately.  Almost immediately green eyes blinked open and Eli regarded her groggily with a frown.

“Beloved?  What’s wrong?”

Arianna didn’t bother to dissimulate or deny.  Instead, she started laying out what she knew, not surprised when Eli rose swiftly and began haphazardly dressing.  In another moment, she was decently clothed and they were headed out the door... toward the infirmary per Luke’s instruction.

It was eerily silent when they stepped into the room.  Each of their teammates had claimed a spot and was waiting in silence.  Luke had isolated Hannah and Abigail, raising the barrier as high as could be managed without causing more destruction.  Having already satisfied himself that Abigail was in a coma to protect her from further harm, he had turned his attention to Hannah, knowing from her sensitivity and reactions that she was still suffering a great deal of pain.  He cut his eyes at Eli when she entered the cubicle, nodding his acknowledgement before refocusing on Hannah.

“What’s going on, Luke?  What do we know?” her voice a bare whisper.

He shook his head.  “Not much, Doc.  Abigail is in what I’d describe as a medical coma... self-induced... to protect herself from whatever is happening here.  I think her symptoms are a response to whatever happened to Hannah.  She seems to be suffering, but I can’t find a reason or a cause.  Even her skin seems to be sensitive to it – bringing her down her was agony, but I couldn’t do anything for her where she was.”

“It’s all right, Luke.  You did the right thing.  Let’s see if we can figure out what is causing this.”

He nodded and rose from his place, letting her take the lead in Hannah’s examination.  “I will be so glad to get out of this Nebula.  Nothing has gone right for us since we got here.  It’s making me crazy.”  He snorted when he caught sight of the mischievous look Eli was giving him.  “Fine,” he conceded.  “It’s making me crazier than normal.”

“Yeah... me too,” she acknowledged before sliding back into serious mode and letting her eyes wander Hannah’s visage.  “I have an idea.”  She moved to the doorway and beckoned Esther to her.  Esther moved quickly from her spot and took he hand Eli extended to her.

“S’up, Girlfriend?” she asked casually, though Eli could see the genuine concern and worry in her dark eyes.

“You know the project you and Deb were working on – the one to dampen or block the Nebula singing?” waiting for Esther to nod.  “Good.  Can you go get whatever you were using to do that?”

“You think she can hear the Nebula singing again?”

“No,” shaking her head.  “But I think it’s something very similar.  And I think her suffering is what is hurting Gay.  If it can weaken one barrier, it stands to reason that it can weaken another.  And I don’t want to see them suffer – I know what that feels like.”

“All right, Boss.  Give me a couple minutes and I’ll have everything back here for you.  Just remember – there’s a lot of temporary and a lot of trial and error.  We hadn’t actually reached a viable conclusion yet.”

“Yes, but it gives us a starting place, and if it will give them some relief, so much the better.”

“Gotcha.  Be right back.”

Every eye followed her progress out of sickbay before Eden realized Eli was motioning for her.  She pushed off the wall and walked to where Eli waited for her.

“What can I do for you, Boss?”

“Your shield modulator – the one you and the guys were working on in engineering.  Can you modify it to work on smaller than a ship wide scale?”

Eden’s brow furrowed.  “Probably yeah.  How small?”

Eli gestured to the isolated enclosure.  “This... twice.  But they have to be separate from one another.  They can’t be enclosed together.”

Eden stared a moment longer, then jerked her head in the affirmative.  “We’ve got this,” turning to catch Paul’s eyes.  “C’mon, Paul.  We’ve got work to do.  Without a word, he, Titus and Isaac followed her from the room, anxious to help and suspecting they’d be needed before everything was said and done... even if it was just to lug heavy stuff.

Green eyes met brown and Eli absorbed the affection she could feel rolling off of Arianna in waves.  Then she stepped back into the cubicle and noticed Hannah seemed a little more relaxed.  She met Luke’s eyes. 

“I gave her a shot to help ease a little of the tension,” he confessed in hushed tones.  “I don’t dare give her too much, but she was making me miserable just watching her....”

“It’s okay, Luke.  I would have done the same thing.  I’ve got the others bringing their projects in to see if we can block whatever is causing this.  As soon as we get them stabilized, we need to see about getting out of here.  This place has caused us enough misery.”

Before Luke could reply, Esther and Eden and the rest were returning, and they started working to help Hannah and Abigail.

Part 5