Past Regrets

"They died?"

"No, they were brutally beaten. WE were brutally beaten."

"All because you refused to believe them."

Jack had forced himself out of Zeus' memories after he saw the lifeless bodies of the other two elder gods. Eyes wide open and still on the thrones, he looked up at the plain gold dome that covered the throne room.

"If I refused to believe my brothers, would I have journeyed to the depths of Tartarus to check on my father?"

Jack paused and thought, seeding out his next words carefully. "How long did it take you three to heal?"

Confirming his thoughts with Zeus' silence, he continued. "Let me guess, by the time the war had reached its climax?"

"You do not get to talk to me like that mortal child," Zeus said, a dangerous tone attached. "Leave the past and move on."

"I don't get to talk to you like what?" he retaliated angrily. "Across your stupid memories, I saw so many dead bodies. Fucking dead bodies everywhere. Now I'm learning it's because of your incompetence." Catching his breath, Jack huffed. "So much for your 'mighty' self."

Jack felt a ton of weight drop on his head, but he didn't care. He had said what he intended to say. Whatever came next was Zeus simply confirming he was completely right.

"You will see how easy it is," Zeus snarled in his head. Jack suddenly felt hot and very uncomfortable. "After all, as my host, you are their leader."

"No."

"Do not tell me you criticized my actions only to end up as a coward?"

The heat cleared up as Zeus took control over their verbal battle. Jack breathed out, relieved, and continued the conversation.

"They are both older than I am, why can't they lead?"

Tutting, Zeus replied. "The fates carved different traits into each of your souls. Only you have leadership."

"I don't."

Before Zeus could respond, the throne room swung open. Averting his eyes from the door, Jack tried to see if he could catch a glimpse of both Sharina and Hephaestus. Unfortunately, it wasn't till the door slammed shut he was able to spot them.

"You can come down now," the god called from below.

Clenching the bolt, Jack shut his eyes. He pictured himself lifted off the massive throne and moved down to the ground. Then he began his rapid, heavy breathing. Slowly, he felt himself ascending whilst moving forward. As he got to the end of the chair, he began his descent to the foot of the steps leading up to the throne.

"You look like a scared baby," Sharina commented as he dropped to his feet.

He opened his eyes and steadied his breathing. Newt had also gotten down, though he wasn't sure how he moved back and forth so fast.

"What now," he asked the looming god, ignoring Sharina's remark and Newt's poor attempt at hiding his laughter.

Hephaestus shuffled uncomfortably, his eyes fixed on the constellations that littered the ground.

"Plus how did we get here?" the female host added, tapping her feet.

"I will start with the second question," he rumbled, now fixing his gaze on the girl. "You merely transferred your consciousness to another location, the same way we gods did in the past."

Newt spoke up for the first time since they got down. "So our bodies are still in his house?"

"That is correct." Hephaestus looked up. "Individually, after you gain mastery over your powers, you can access this place at any time. But as of now, all three of you must do it together."

"Won't we be leaving ourselves defenseless?"

"Quite the intuitive one," he remarked, reaching down to pat Newt awkwardly on the head. "Indeed you would be left without protection. This is why you three must master your powers as quickly as possible."

The god finally looked at Jack, his reddish-brown eyes scanning him. "Seeing as there is no place in the mortal realm you can train without drawing unnecessary attention from Kronos and other people that may deem you a threat, you must return here every day."

"More together time for us," Sharina grinned, clapping her hands.

"Yes, your efficiency as a team will be key in stopping the Titan Lord."

Jack leaned against the master bolt, taking care not to keep it too close to anyone else, out of fear of hurting them unintentionally.

"Do we start now?"

Hephaestus shook his head. "You may have seen the memories of the elder gods, but I am sure neither told you how the war ended or how they came to be."

Glancing at one another, the trio confirmed his words.

"I thought as much." Sighing deeply, he pulled out a small metal box from his pocket and began taking it apart. "I apologize. Remembering that horrific day still leaves me nervous for the future."

"Before you start," Newt cut in. "How did you survive if the gods were all wiped out?"

The god chuckled, his hands still moving rapidly over the now dismantled box. "Unlike the other gods, I am somewhat used to being gruesomely damaged. Because of this, I am able to reform or regain my consciousness faster than they do."

"This has to do with when Hera and Zeus threw you off Olympus?"

"Right you are. Twice I've been able to come back from injuries that most gods would take eons to heal. Aside from that, I can easily create another body for myself, though it may not fully contain my godly powers.

"Anyways, that's enough. I would love to tell you more, but time is unfortunately not on our side this time. Kronos approaches-"

He froze the box in his hand back to its original state.

"What's going on?" Jack asked, looking around at the others.

They weren't there anymore.

Looking down at his hands, he realized he was dissolving into dust and he could swear he felt two hands on his shoulder, shaking him violently.

"Jack get up!" he heard Newt urgently say from somewhere beside him.

Feeling himself sink back into his body, he sat up on the chair, trying to regain his bearings.

"What the hell is going on?"

"Your-"

Jack heard the door swing open, cutting Sharina off immediately. Standing to his feet, he stumbled over to the front door.

His mother smiled as he came into her view, spreading her arms open to embrace him.