"Whoa, Gem! Watch yourself!" Creed shouted.

Wind blasted me in the face, almost knocking me backwards. Creed grabbed my arm and pulled me forwards.

I leapt forwards, having no idea what was going on. Then I gasped.

We had appeared right on the edge of a cliff that soared miles down. I backed up.

I swung around, looking behind us.

We had popped up at the base of a massive Greek Palace. The roads were paved in solid gold. Statues of various people lined the streets. And standing right in front of the Palace was a titanic statue of a beaded man holding a lightning bolt, his face twisted in rage.

"Where are we?" I said, slowly standing up.

"Welcome to Mount Olympus, home of The Olympians, gods of the Ataraxi Empire." Creed said, pointing up to the Palace.

A man in a flowing sea blue toga stood there, arms folded. A trident floated next to him.

"Creed Troll Face and Gemini! Zeus demands your presence!" He boomed. Creed winced.

"Coming, Poseidon!" Creed said.

We stepped forwards to have an audience with the gods.

.  .  .

The throne room was massive.

Twelve thrones lined the walls in the shape of an Omega. All were occupied by twelve foot tall beings. Sheer power radiated from them.

The one at the head who sat on an intricate platinum throne sat forwards to study us. Zeus. Creed bowed respectfully.

"Lord Zeus." He said, pulling me down next to him.

"You may stand." Zeus boomed. We stood. He looked at me for a moment. Rage suddenly twisted his face and the sound of thunder boomer around us.

"You have brought one of THEM into Olympus?!" Zeus roared. Creed took a step back.

"Um... didn't you give her this rift?" He said questioningly. Zeus stood, a lightning bolt expanding in his hand. The Master Bolt.

"Why would I give anything but death to one of these Devil-Spawn?!" He bellowed, the wind roaring. I dropped to my knee suddenly.

"Lord Zeus, I apologize for our intrusion. We believed you had gifted me, but we were mistaken. Please forgive our ignorance." I blurted. The wind calmed, and Zeus looked down on me, frowning.

"That was... unexpected. One of you has respect. This is a pleasant surprise." Zeus said, sitting back down. Creed looked at me, amazed.

"I will let this pass. Once. You may remain in Olympus until sunrise tomorrow. But if you stay any longer, or return, you shall taste this bolt and I will scatter your remains in the River Styx." Zeus said.

"Thank you, Lord Zeus." Creed said. Zeus waved his hand and a guard and a servant stepped forwards.

"Prepare them a meal. They may feast with me and Hera tonight." He boomed. The pair bowed slightly, and led us away from the throne room.

.  .  .

"How the hell did you do that?" Creed asked me later. I shrugged.

"Do what?" I asked innocently. He shot me a look.

"You know damn well what. Calm Zeus down." He demanded. I giggled slightly.

"I had to deal with hot-headed kings like him. I tried to incite peace on Empires." I explained, grinning like a man woman. Creed chuckled. Then laughed. Soon we were both laughing so hard tears were streaming down our faces.

We composed ourselves, sucking in ragged breaths.

Suddenly the servant from earlier walked in.

"Lord Zeus and Lady Hera are ready for you." He said, stepping aside to let us through.

We walked into an intricate dinner room. Zeus and a woman with him had gone back to normal size. A massive pile of steaming food sat on the table. Zeus grunted, motioning for us to sit. We did.

We sat in silence for a few minutes, just eating. Then Zeus waved at me with his wine chalice.

"Tell me, girl, who is your father?" He asked.

"Reganeld, King of the Grimlands." I said automatically. He waved me off.

"Not from the Empires Trials. Your true father." He said. I frowned.

"Well... I don't know then. I thought he was my dad." I said, confused.

"Interesting. Very interesting..." Zeus pondered. Creed clapped his hands suddenly.

"On a different note, how are you doing, Zeus? I haven't talked to you and your family for a while." He said abruptly. Something about his tone felt off. Like he was avoiding the conversation. Even Zeus looked relieved for the distraction.

"Well. We have been well. We have made good progress on the western front. Odin will have no choice but to abandon Svartleheim." Zeus said. Hera sighed.

"Please no talk of war at the dinner table, honey." She said. He grunted, popping an olive into his mouth.

"Hercules got remarried. Again. He regrets you weren't able to make it." Hera said to Creed.

"Again? Who is it this time?" Creed sighed.

"One of the Nine Muses. I forget which one." She said, and realization suddenly hit me.

I was on Mount Olympus. Having dinner with gods. Making small talk. I got light headed for a moment.

"And you, dear? What is your life like?" Hera said. It took me a moment to notice she was talking to me.

"Oh, boring honestly. Nothing like the revelries of the gods." I laughed nervously. Zeus frowned, and Hera patted my arm.

"It's ok, dear. This is a safe place." She assured. Zeus snorted, earning a glare from her. He shrugged helplessly.

"I've just been all over the place with Creed." I said, leaving out Terra Prime.

"Well, any travels with Creed tend to be... interesting, to say the least." Hera said. Creed smirked. Even in Olympus he has no respect. I decided that I liked him for that.

"Indeed. Last time we traveled together, Apollo tricked him into-." Zeus started, but Creed cut him off.

"I swear to the Chalice, if you bring that up one more time, I will shove your lightning bolt so far up your ass..." Creed let the threat hang. Surprisingly, Zeus didn't kill him right then and there. Instead, he erupted into deep, hearty laughter. He beckoned for the servants.

"Get him a refill on wine. Hell, bring up the best we have. Tonight is a special night. For my old friend Troll Face has returned!"

. . .

After the initial tensions passed, it was actually a really fun dinner. I found Zeus wasn't nearly as uptight and serious as I had originally thought. He and Creed got drunk FAST. Hera just shook her head, smiling. She gave me a look that clearly just said 'men'.

Hera and I got along well. While Creed and Zeus got rowdier and rowdier, we just chatted. For a goddess she was very interested in my personal life. I ended up opening up about the craziness of the Empires Trials and the horrors of the Hermit Trials.

"That's just terrible! Now I see why my husband is so determined to destroy them." Hera exclaimed after I described the end of the Hermit Trials. "Now tell me Gemini, what came of your brother? And this Pearl girl?"

"FWhip kinda just... disappeared. I have no idea where he went. Pearl is lying low by working in a coffee shop. I talked to her right before all... this multiverse chaos started." I sighed. She patted my shoulder.

"You've been through a lot, haven't you?" She said. I just nodded. "Well, if you ever feel overwhelmed with it all, Olympus will always take you in."

The rest of dinner flew by in a blur. I eventually had to stop eating, but Zeus, Creed, and Hera seemed to be incapable of getting full.

But while Hera ate with manners, Zeus and Creed ate like... well, like Zeus and Creed.

Eventually, I had no idea how much longer later, they stopped eating. Zeus looked at me.

"You know what, Gem? You're welcome back any time. Olympus's gates shall always be open for you." He admitted. I couldn't help but smile. Then he cleared his throat.

"Creed, I would like a private word with you." He said. Creed nodded to us.

"We'll be back soon, ladies." He said. All cheerful manner had left his voice. I frowned, watching as they walked away. After a moment I turned to Hera with a bright smile.

"Where would the bathroom be? I think I ate a little too much." I asked. She pointed to the door that the boys had gone out of.

"Down the hall on your left." She said. I nodded my thanks, heading in the way she pointed.

When she was out of sight, I started looking around. I quickly found a balcony. Creed and Zeus stood on it, looking out into the beautiful starry night. I hid behind a plant.

"-her father?" I caught the tail end of Creeds sentence. Zeus sighed heavily. Me. They were taking about me.

"I have not felt that kind of presence in thousands of years. She is indeed a child of Asgard. Now, who her father is exactly I don't know. But I have some guesses." Zeus said. Creed nodded.

"My suspicions exactly. I would guess Freyr, but... she carries a different air. Not Vanir, that's for sure." He said. They stood in silence for a moment. My head buzzed.

My father was an Asgardian?

"If this is true..." Creed trailed off.

"I know. We can only hope." Zeus said.

"Exactly, my friend." Creed said. More quiet.

"Tomorrow you should head for Valhalla. Find her father. Tell Odin of our suspicions. And tell him I call for a ceasefire. This war has gone on too long. Our true enemy is Neptune." Zeus said. For the first time, he sounded as old as he was.

Suddenly a man walked by me. He wore a lion skin cloak, leather pants, and carried a baseball bat. Hercules.

"Father. Creed. It's the Dwarf King. He's here." Hercules said.

.  .  .

I walked back into the dining room, acting like I had been in the bathroom. All festive air was gone. A small, ginger bearded man covered in coal dust stood in front of Zeus, arms folded.

"The All Father wishes to send you a message. Here." The Dwarf King said. Zeus frowned, taking the note. He read.

"He wants a ceasefire. Good. Dwarf, you may stay the night in safety. I accept Odins demands. In fact, I had been planning on it." Zeus said.

Suddenly the Raven from Tartarus flew in, cawing. Zeus frowned.

"Odin, I accept! Gemini and Creed shall come to Valhalla on the morrow. And we shall have a ceasefire." Zeus bellowed. The Raven squawked, landing on Zeuses shoulder. It dropped a bit into his hands. Zeus unrolled it, and read it a few times. He paled, then turned to us. He tossed it to me.

"Get ready for war."