Chapter 8: On a routine expedition

Ah, how the night went. I was feeling exuberant, full of life after that near death experience. Being with Eris was just... refreshing, something no one else had! How many people can honestly say they have a Goddess looking out for them while simultaneously maintaining a very hot and heavy relationship while on the look out for evil henchmen? Not many people...

I smiled as I woke up, which was something I rarely did. "Hmmm... Eris, you up?" I grumbled, feeling her side of the bed. Sure enough, my hands made contact with her soft breast informing me she was still there, fully naked and snoring loudly.

"Mmm..." She moaned, grabbing my arm and pulling me closer. "It's too early... Go'way..." She grumbled into my arm. I smiled and kissed her shoulder lightly. "Eh, a few more hours of sleep can't hurt."

Finally, I was awoken for the final time when Eris literally slammed my travel bag onto my chest. I coughed loudly and looked up to see Eris standing over me, one of her pure white eyebrows raised. "Do you intend to sleep in all day?" She asked, crossing her arms in annoyance.

There was no point arguing with the woman. I sighed and grabbed some clothes from the bag and quickly got dressed. "So, where is the 'underworld'?" I asked, buttoning my dress t-shirt. Eris pulled out the map from earlier and pointed to the southern most islands.

"Here. It's a two hour boat ride, and I found a great captain who's willing to take us out there." She informed me, munching down on an apple in my ear as I leaned in to examine the map.

"Where did you find a Captain?" I asked curiously. Eris smiled and led me into the living room. I didn't expect a man to be sitting on the couch, sharpening an uncomfortably large hunting knife. His arms were broad, twice the width of mine. His eyes were deep, dark pits of nothing, making him seem... soulless. He wore a handkerchief around his neck, which was blood red in color.

"Chronos, you probably don't remember my brother, Aries?" She said, guiding me towards him. "Aries? Play nice with Chronos. He doesn't remember anything about his old life."

Aries stood and shook my hand with a powerful squeeze, making me wince. "Chronos. It's been too long." He said with a smile. What creeped me out the most was that his teeth were pointed. "So, since you don't remember me, I guess you don't remember how we greeted each other."

In a flurry of motion, he swung his fist down at me. I totally expected to get my jaw decked in, but what I didn't expect was to grab his hand in time, swing him around, and plant it firmly behind his back. Aries laughed heartily and turned to Eris. "I thought you said he couldn't remember."

Eris smiled. "He's getting back bits and peaces the closer we get to our goal." Eris turned to me and smiled. "So, Chronos, Aries here is our captain.He's going to guide us through the dangers of the ocean."

"What dangers?" I asked curiously. "You mean like, rocks and reefs?"

The two of them chuckled, Aries patting me on the back as he did so. "Mount Olympus has been put on high alert since Eris's return and her finding you. They're pulling out all the stops to get you."

I sighed and rubbed my temple. "So, this leads me back to my original question. What dangers?" I repeated, making Eris shift a little. She knew I might not be down for any... unnatural forms of danger.

"Poseidon has been told to impede your progress by any means necessary. Hades is still going to get you and Eris to Equestria, but it's not going to be easy getting you there."

I flopped onto the couch, taking in the news I was just told. Okay, so we're traveling by sea to get to the underworld, Poseidon is going to stopped us by any means necessary... "How many mythological creatures are going to try and stop us?" I finally asked.

"All of them." Eris said crossing her arms. "But, luckily for us, Aries here can help deal with them."

I don't know why I began laughing, but it was the only reaction to the situation I could muster. What the hell could Aries do to help us against hundreds, if not thousands of mythological sea monsters?!

"Krakens?" I asked.

"Two of them." Aries shot back.

"Sea Serpents?"

"Hmm... Twelve last time I checked."

"Tidal waves?"

"As big as a skyscraper. But don't worry!" He assured, walking me towards the window with his arm around my back. "I have the best sea vessel in all of Greece! I'll get you and my little sister there safely."

"This is your boat?" I asked. Oh my God, just kill me now! It wasn't even a boat! It was a little wooden... thing! Its construction was ancient and it looked like it just barely kept the water out. "I don't think we'll be handling any Krakins with this!"

"Do not doubt my vessel, young Chronos." Aries shot back, then chuckled. "Huh... It's funny to think you are young now since being reborn."

"Yeah, funny." I said sarcastically. "Alright, can we just get the fuck to the underworld? I'm itching to see what this is like." I clapped my hands together and hopped in the boat.

What I didn't notice, was Aries knowing glance to Eris, who smiled deviously and twirled her apple around her finger, which Aries nodded, knowing what was going on.

Aries turned back to me and hopped in the boat as well. "Glad to see you're so receptive to her foolhardy idea." He said happily. "Now, Eris, if you would kindly step aboard, we can leave."

I smiled to Eris and offered my hand like a true gentleman. "Your vessel, my lady?" I smiled. Eris grinned and took my hand delicately in hers, using it as a balance as she stepped into the boat.

"The gentlemanly thing doesn't really suit you, dear, but it was a nice effort." Eris giggled, kissing my neck.

"You know, that's not how you say thank you." I reminded her, kissing her back on the lips. Aries had his arms crossed and brow raised as he tapped his foot impatiently.

"May we leave now, or are you two going to be making kissy faces at each other all day?" He asked. I smiled and nodded, helping him hoist the canvas up. Once the sails were at their full height, the boat began to move steadily forward, leaving behind the mainland and leaving us in more and more hostile waters.

Well, it wasn't very hostile... We had been sailing for just under an hour now with not a wiff of trouble in the air, although, Aries was always on the lookout.

"Ugh, are we almost there?" I groaned, dipping my finger into the water and twirling it in a circle. "I can see that Mount Olympus is clearly pulling out all the stops."

Aries stood at the bow of the boat, looking out over the ocean. The southern islands were just barely visible in the distance, what seemed like an eternity away with the boredom I was going through. He turned to me and grabbed my arm suddenly, pulling it out of the water.

"How long has your hand been in the sea?!" He asked quickly. I just raised a brow, looking back to the water.

"Um... a minute? Why? What the fuck is wrong?" I asked as he quickly ran to the other side of the boat. He pulled out two swords, passing one to me and Eris.

"They know you're here." He said quickly, getting into a defensive stance. I pulled out the sword from its sheath, eyeing its sharpness with a scrutinizing eye. The blade looked like it had been sharpened quite a bit, and used heavily, which was a bit unnerving.

Before any more conversation could take place, the boat rocked violently, throwing Eris into me. I quickly caught my lover in my embrace, holding her tight as the rocking continued, this time more violently.

"They're here!" Aries shouted as a massive hunk of meat extended from the water. The suckers along the long appendage were probably the size of my entire body. To say I wasn't scared shitless at this point was an understatement.

Am I the only one with scat lining their jeans right now?"

"Well, fuck my ass! What the fuck is that?!"

Fucking Liam Neeson released the Kraken!

The tentacle towered a hundred feet in the air, quickly coming down onto the boat. Eris latched onto me tightly as she threw us into the water, Aries right behind us.

I opened my eyes under the water, only to see a gigantic grey mass beneath us. Now, I'm not afraid of the ocean, but I'm afraid of what could lurk in it, and seeing that caused me to scream and thrash for the surface. Eris held me down though as she formed a volley of golden, glowing apples around her body, launching them straight into the beast, exploding on impact.

The Kraken let out a terrible roar, shaking me to the core. A tentacle lashed out, grabbing for Eris. She let out a bubbly gasp as the Tentacle began dragging her deeper into the ocean, towards the beast's mighty maw. I reached out in vein, trying to grab hold of my love, but my hand missed.

It fucking has her, dude! Save her!

"What the fuck can I do?! That thing has to be two hundred feet long!"

Lose control again, dipshit!

"I don't know it I-"

LOSE CONTROL AGAIN OR ERIS DIES!

"....onos..."

"Ugh... my fucking- what happened?"

"Chr...nos? Can... hear me?"

"E-Eris?"

I could feel my heart beating, which was a good sign. My head was throbbing which, while not fun at all, filled me with relief. If I was in pain, I was still alive, and if I was still alive, then that meant...

"Fuck... I lost control again..."

My eyes opened to see Eris staring down at me. My head was resting against something soft, which I guessed was her thighs, judging from my perspective. She stared down at me with concern at first, but that rapidly made way for a smile of genuine admiration, which then turned into a scowl of impatience.

"Chronos! Get up, you lazy excuse for a God!" She commanded, standing up. My head fell from her lap, hitting the rocky beach with a dull thud, causing my vision to spiral as I groaned in pain.

"What the fuck was that for?! I could have died back there!" I sat up and tapped my chin in thought. "What did happen anyway... All I remember is you getting pulled under, then... the rest is a blur."

Eris raised a brow and smiled, pointing behind me. I slowly turned around and got the biggest shock of my young life. Sitting on the beach was a gigantic gelatinous mass, covered in stab wounds and missing most of its limbs. Its eyes were burst open and there was a large gouge in its head, spilling gigantic trails of guts onto the beach and into the sea. Hundreds of seagulls flew overhead, hoping to get a free meal from the creature that I killed.

Eris chuckled and sat beside me, patting my cheek. "You're becoming more and more like your old self everyday. It's turning me on quite a bit." She let out a seductive giggle as her arms snaked around my neck, pulling my head towards hers. "I would love you silly right now, but we have a job to do."

I nodded slowly, getting to my feet. Then I realized that we were one man short. "Wait! Where's Aries?" I asked, looking around the beach for any signs of the psychopath.

"He's already heading into Tartarus. We should be doing the same." Eris said testily as she began to move towards a random cave in the cliffs around us. I stood to follow, but took one last look at the hulking beast of the Kraken with genuine concern.

"If I'm that powerful mortal, what the hell could I do as a god..?"

You do know that is a stupid fear right? You'll be everything you've ever dreamed of being and more.

"Sometimes I feel like you don't have my best interests at heart, brain."

Sometimes I'm sick of you bitching. Go. Mystery awaits.

I nodded to myself, taking one last look at the leviathan before making my way after Eris. For better or for worse, this was going to be the beginning of something new.

And the ending of everything else...

Author's Note

YAY! It lives! Holy hell, it's been a while, but I finally have a direction to go towards now. Yes, I'll be updating more frequently. I probably see at least seven or eight more Chapters in the foreseeable future, so let's make them memorable, eh?
See you all soon. <3
Allons-Y!