#1 Edited by Clara Mass (7655 posts) - - Show Bio

Forbidden Alliance

In Greek mythology, thee Labyrinth has a certain dichotomy.  Infinite traps in an inescapable maze that was created but than abandoned.  An elaborate structure meant to hold the Minotaur from wreaking destruction upon the innocence of Greece.  Built so cunningly that even it's architect had difficulty returning to his daily living.  I must say whomever wrote these fables is incredibly retarded.    
Clarice Michelle Zeraz walks along a bridge of fractured skulls.  Expired blood flows from sockets that once held courageous eyes.  Deadly sins surround her unbalanced soul.  Skin is at a standstill because it dare not show a sign of fear.  She however doesn't care for the sadistic decorations even if her heart pathetically begs her to end the foolishness.  However, she is unable to prevent what happens next.  In the oncoming hours she shall declare her supremacy onto those who believed her to be nothing more than a punch line.  An ebony veil conceals her flawless countenance.  Her hand is taken by her closest ally, Seward.    

Once upon a time I was in the dark.  Falling apart with an open heart.  I let a man in.  Pushed away all my problems.  Focused the entirety of life onto him and our future.  Sadly I grew bored.  My love didn't dwindle but I desired far more than peacefulness.  I blame myself but oh well.  What's done is done.  A love denied.  A love never hidden but still it ended because destiny took its course.
People judged me for my actions afterwards but oneself cannot judge a book by its cover.  Yes, it is true I actually floated on cloud nine for some time.  Living peacefully with a man I adored.  In all honesty it was yet another illusion.  A gift that couldn't last forever.  I knew this for a fact.  I mourned the loss of happiness.  Soon enough, owed favors muddled my mind.   
A preconceived notion for success still influences my every action.  I know what I have become but for once I'm ready to escape the darkness and touch the light.  Let the naysayers judge me but success will be mine eventually.  I will prove myself...to myself.  I accept all my mistakes made in these twenty-nine years of living but who are these women and men to judge moi?   
Strangers ask that I act brokenhearted but why should I?  How can I express love to the dead?  My son will understand his mother's actions because all she ever wanted was happiness for herself and the future.  Is that really selfish?  Too strive for joyfulness in a solemn soul.  Creating a dynasty for her lineage is a dream near completion.  A dream that cannot be destroyed by the fates.  I am not the villain of this story.  I am a hero for god's sake.  What happened to Michael was an honest to gosh mistake.  
I don't demand redemption.  I ask for acceptance for who I am.  A flawless entity surrounded by ugly personas. 
Seventy inches of blond hair stretched out onto the floor.  Swaying to her own rhythm, her melodious voice fills the vacuum of nothingness.  Welcoming the arrival of King Vasilias, the executive administrator respectfully bows her head when in his presence.  He is the reason behind her new found confidence.  Her king gives her strength during the most turbulent of times.  In order, to defuse any misconceptions the masked beauty signals Seward to lower his trident. 
"Clarice!  What is the meaning of such extravagance?  I gave you a single opportunity to scrape any possible defectors from our court and instead you set up a trap within the maze of Daedalus.  For some time now I have ignored the detailed rumors of your misconduct but this, this is an aberration of what your duty as my adviser entails.  Please do explain this overzealous plan of action.  I fear acquiring your assistance during the war has become a liability rather than an asset." 
Shackles near shambles shake as the Minotaur huffs and puffs.  Its mouth craves tissue, its hands clench for guts.  Violet eyes peer through the ebony veil.  Insulted by his unwavering questions she can can only take offense.  From the darkness arrives a doppelganger of Clara Mass whom intercedes from the staring contest shared between two wise folks.  Dressed in turquoise wrestling gear, an auburn mercenary taps the chest of the All-Father lightly. 
"I have informed Hermes to lie to Alceus, Helena, and company.   They already believe me to be some type of villainous who intends to take your throne.  Rumors of which are indeed false.  Rumors spread by the very people who intend to thwart whatever plans they presume I have.  My King this is simply a test to weed out those who think ill of the new Olympian hierarchy.  Not to mention we must figure out if the Olympian Champion and Angeni actually do have eyes for your throne.  I cannot allow my king to walk around blindly as his beloved nephew plots his downfall.  Don't worry you won't have to lift a finger.  If they so happen to survive and all my information is proved unreliable, I will drop the subject, and leave them alone.  However, if I'm proven right.  If there is even a slight clue that establishes my suspicions, I hope you will act accordingly." 
Vasilias knows I am right.  It is why he vanishes without pushing the matter.  As my body sits on its throne, protected by the ever so vigilant Seward, I take to my astral form.  Wandering the maze conceived centuries ago by Daedalus.  Searching for the slightest hint of my prey's arrival.  Let the games begin.  And hopefully someone perishes this evening.  Someone of the female gender specifically.  Is that a hint of jealousy?  Of course not.  Call it female intuition.   
All great changes are preceded by chaos ~ Deepak Chopra
#2 Edited by Angeni (5085 posts) - - Show Bio

Athens: The Bedroom of Helena Troy

Helena Troy the only daughter of Athena and Hephaestus pulled out some ancient old books and placed them on top of her wooden table and let out a deep sighed before removing her tiara and placing it next to the old dusty books. The inside of her room had a workshop and library, while her queen sized bed was pushed up against the wall since sleeping didn't matter much to her these days. The library was filled with bookshelves and thousands of books, old scrolls, tables and chairs for her to study and read. There were also blueprints, old war maps, and armor displayed on her wall, it wouldn't take a genius to know that this woman was actually the daughter of Athena. "I have went through every book in this library about the Labyrinth and nothing indicates what I am up against and how to escape." Helena who was now growing frustrated picked up one of the ancient books and tossed it across the giant room. The Labyrinth was an elaborate structure designed and built by the legendary inventor Daedalus for King Minos of Crete at Knossos. Its function was to hold the Minotaur, a creature that was half man and half bull and eventually killed by the Athenian hero Theseus. Daedalus had made the Labyrinth so cunningly that he himself could barely escape it after he built it. After a few more hours of searching and reading through ancient books, old blueprints of the Labyrinth, and not finding anything that would be useful for her journey the young goddess decided it was time to just give up and contact Alceus. "I will just have to use my wisdom and powers to survive the Labyrinth and also the help of my friends should be useful." Helena said before picking up the books from her table and placing them neatly back in the bookshelves.

As Helena turned around to exit her bedroom she stood before a middle-aged man with an athletic figure, black curly hair, elfish features, and a sly grin. The familiar looking man wore a pith helmet which sprout wings, and a suit. "Hey Helena! Long time no see little niece." Hermes said with a wink while circling around her and checking her out. "Um....Hello Hermes.... What brings you to my city?". She asked curiously before exiting her room because she was really feeling unconformable around the trickster who would probably prank her like he did when she was eleven years old. In contrast to many of the other Olympians, Hermes is much more reasonable and helpful than the other major Olympian gods with a greater understanding of mortals. He is not prone to the overt arrogance of some like Zeus or Ares nor the character quirks like Apollo or Aphrodite. Part of this may be due to part of his job being to help mortals rationalize divine events giving him a greater understanding of things beyond himself. He is shown to care a great deal for his children and to be far more accepting of others. Both traits not found as common among the major Olympians. His visits are often beneficial to gods and demigods and often helps them out though often this is at the request of another god or personal motivations. He tends to be one of the more clever gods as he tricked Argus into falling asleep and outsmarted Apollo when he was a child. "Did you just really ask that question niece? I guess people don't realize what I do anymore. Anyway I hear you're going down to the Labyrinth? That is a place this handsome fellow wouldn't go, but anyway I am here to deliver you some bad news." He coughed before pulling out a scroll from his bag and reading it to her. "I hereby inform you that Clara Mass the adviser of Mount Olympus had effortlessly infiltrated the Maze of Daedalus aka the Labyrinth! Oh gods just saying the name scares the living.....you get the point." Hermes chuckled while rolling up the scroll and placing it back in his bag. Helena clenched her hands tightly as she now discovered that Clara Mass her enemy has mysteriously infiltrated the Labyrinth. "Why has she done this Hermes? I know the gods know and see everything that goes on and I demand to--". Before she could even finish what she was trying to say the God of Messengers cut off her sentence. "You of all people should know that the gods cannot interfere with quest and prophecies. How about we make a deal? If you and your friends survive the Labyrinth, I will grant you and your friends a gift." Hermes said before looking at the clock and frowning. "I best be going and I wish you and your friends luck on this quest and I will be watching from you know....above." He chuckled. As the messenger of the gods, Hermes opened up a portal and before he could enter he gave his niece a wink and entered inside than suddenly vanished.

After meeting the messenger of the gods once again in her life, Helena quickly ran into her bedroom, grabbed her Trinity Foundation communicator and spoke into it. "Alceus if you can hear me this is Helena. I want you to contact everyone who is accompanying us in this journey and tell them to meet us at Athens. I just discovered some disturbing news and please do not forget to bring some useful items." The Princess of Athens said before removing her last finger off the button and placing the communicator down on a wooden table. "Okay.......I should get dressed and grab some useful items." Helena mumbled before dressing into her breastplate that had a eagle motiff on the chest which was integrated with a stylized Double-W, and her blue shorts patched with white stars. She than approached her wardrobe and opened it."I will always thank my parents for granting me these powerful gifts." Helena said before equipping the Bracelets of Hephaestus on both of her wrist, placing the Tiara of Athena which had a red, decorative star emblazoned on the front and placed it upon her forehead, and last she grabbed the Lasso of Athena which was glowing a bright yellow color and equipped it on the side of her blue shorts patched with white stars. "Hm.....I almost forgot about Athene." Helena quickly grabbed her childhood sword and smiled brightly. Athene was given to Helena by Hephaestus to slay the Kraken at the age of ten. Athene is a sword that is made of Celestial Bronze, a material that is effective on Gods, Demigods, Titans, Giants, monsters, and humans. Athene is used in close combat, and is light and balanced in its wielder's hands, and it cannot be damaged or broken due to Hephaestus metal-working. "Now I await my fellow friends." She said while exiting her bedroom and waiting for the arrival of the group that would accompany her in this journey.

#3 Posted by Thee_Champion (4937 posts) - - Show Bio

Outer Space: Undisclosed Asteroid Field

There are many who dream of possessing the sheer amount of raw power that the countless super-powered individuals can harness. Be they gods, superhumans, aliens, mutant, what have you, a select few possess fearsome power, a mere twitch away from their command. And while it was admittedly a wonderful sensation, such things are not without their consequences. Mighty Alceus is sadly one of those individuals, with enormous power bending before his indomitable will, he is cursed with forever maintaining a flawless control over his powers. His love for the planet Earth is endless, but once he descends from the skies and into a world dominated by the human race, he is surrounded by a world of paper. If he even dares to one day forget that his power must be regulated, a simple tap on the shoulder of another could result in a broken bone. The locations where The Champion needs to hold no restraint are scarce. However, the lifeless depths of outer space is one of those locations.

With a pleased smirk on display, Alceus cracked his knuckles as a cluster of asteroids swiveled around him. "Haven't had strength training like this in a while", his icy blue eyes flickered with a battle hunger as he began to shatter the nearby asteroids with explosive strikes in the form of punches, kicks, elbow and knee strikes. "Now time for something I'm rarely given a chance to do", The Champion's smirk grew wider as he thunderously clapped his hands together, generating an enormous shock-wave, one that disintegrated all of the nearby asteroids, reducing them all to rocky dust. Floating with a pleased facial expression manifesting on his face, the perfectly chiseled Olympian had tasted freedom once more. "Always good when I get the chance to cut loose sometimes", Alceus murmured. Suddenly, with no prior warning, his Trinity communicator vibrated and it became exceptionally clear to him what was about to transpire. Answering the call, a warm smile crept into his face as he heard the sweet soothing voice of his lover, Helena. She asked him to contact all those who desired to take part in their upcoming expedition into the Labyrinth that seemed to be housing some sort of mysterious supernatural activity. "Alright, I'll be there with the others", he assured, speaking into the communicator before slipping it into his satchel.

Even with his remarkable speed, it would take even Alceus an eternity to return to Earth from his location, which is precisely why the Son of Olympus wielded the golden sword that served him well during the Crisis In Olympus event. Unsheathing it from it's holder tied to valiant Alceus' muscular back, The Champion twirled the beautiful blade in a rapid fluid motion, instantly generating a spacial rift that would transport him to the Trinity Foundation headquarters in Utopia. Violently sucked into the pulsating rift, mere seconds seemed like delaying minutes as the grueling dimensional journey was uncomfortable due to the sheer distance between the two points. Emerging from a radiant rift, The Champion stood in front of his beloved team's headquarters. Wearing the black armored version of his attire, the golden hero quickly contacted Surkit via his Trinity communicator, "I'm outside the HQ. Come to my location, Bishop. It's time for us to head into the Labyrinth", he concluded, hoping that his teammate would receive his message as soon as possible. Tapping into his juvenile telepathic powers, again relying on his massive energy-reserves to support whatever psionic connection he was establishing, The Champion telepathically contacted his now mortal brother, Victor, "Hey Victor, it's Alceus. I'm opening a portal in your location. It's for us to go to Labyrinth. I hope you've geared up this", he said, swiftly ending the brief telepathic link with his somewhat estranged brother.

With his vast energy-sensing abilities, heroic Alceus, otherwise known as the God of Heroes in the halls of Olympus, was fully capable of locating his beloved brother's energy-signature, through concentration of course. After perhaps a minute of concentrating on Victor's less vibrant energy-signature, The Champion focused his sword's dimensional capabilities into a single point of concentration, the point where Victor's energy-signature was most focused. Successfully conjuring up a dimensional portal that formed in front of his brother, The Champion waited to see his brother again. In the meantime, a gate to the wormhole that would transport Victor appeared right before Alceus, it would be where his brother would emerge from. "I'm just waiting for Surkit and Victor, Helena. I'll be there soon. I hope you're armed to the teeth", Alceus informed, speaking into his Trinity communicator, a hint of concern for his lover in his voice as he spoke to her.

#4 Edited by VictorGrey (12721 posts) - - Show Bio

The wind cut air and humidity encompassed both, the weather truly signalled a new day, and with each day came new surprised. Victor stood at his balcony, gazing into the sky, trying to shut out the sounds of raging cars and the sight of bright headlights. Cars honking and hot dogs smell in the air, suddenly a portal cut the air behind him, a violation of nature it seemed, but he'd seen the same portal before and the man who conjured it, his own brother Alceus.

"Hey Victor, it's Alceus. I'm opening a portal in your location. It's for us to go to Labyrinth. I hope you've geared up this" a telepathic message was sent, Victor had become sensitive to violations of the mind ever since the witch Charmix had used the same methods in wicked ways. Victor's heart skipped a beat, the last time Victor had said the first half of the sentence, a war waged, uncles and fathers died, Park was gone, and Zeus was banished to the depths of space. This could end the same.

Victor went to his closet, clicking a button to reveal his stage of weapons and armours that expanded in front of him. He'd heard of the labyrinth as a kid, the Minotaur and its architect, this was a heavyweight mission. A perfect chance to try out his most recent armour. It was made to sustain attacks from superhumans to a certain extent, it sacrificed agility and manoeuvrability to make him a mini tank. Grabbing the dark armour, he equipped himself with a .700 caliber gun, custom made with a grip, quick reload and enhanced iron sight. This was inspired by one of the fights he'd recently had, the barrel would be able to stop charging creatures with a shot.

His adamantine knife would serve him well, it was made in the style of a bowie knife and composed of pure adamantine, the size of it was great and the weight heavy, but he would do well with his new armour. Grabbing some glove attachments and a few more weapons and gadgets, he should do well to surprise his teammates, and unintentionally intimidate them. Putting his armour on, he stepped through the portal, facing Alceus and nodding to let him know he was ready.

#5 Edited by _Son_of_War_ (304 posts) - - Show Bio

North Korea, undisclosed location, three hours prior-

>"Where is he?! Where is the monster that did this?!"< an solider yelled. Several soldiers were backed to a wall. Their base had been raided, and nearly destroyed. Most of their men were killed. They were outside the main base, against the main wall. Only about six of the men were left. All had their rifles placed in front of them, aiming their weapons hoping to find the intruder in their sights. They were idiots....."Idiots..." the mercenary said to himself, watching them from atop the wall they thought would protect them. He drew his pistol from it's holster. BAM! BAM BAM BAM! BAM BAM! Six shots echoed. The soldiers all crumbled over each other, dead. "Easiest money I've ever made." Hector said to himself with a smile on his face. He leaped down from the wall, landing perfectly on his feet. He'd been hired by some Chinese politician to do this. Why? He didn't really give two cents as long as he got his money's worth. He searched the dead bodies, none of them had anything he wanted to take as a memento. "Hmph. It wasn't a memorable battle
anyways." He said. He looked up at the burning base, still smiling. Job well done. He took out his phone, dialing the number of his client... well, he started to dial it at least.

As he pressed the first few numbers, BOOM. Wind erupted from behind him. Dust blew through the air and the flames of the fires tumbled and extinguished themselves. Though Hector continued standing, his phone was blown out of his hand. "Great...him again..." Hector sighed, turning around. As the dust dissipated, Ares stood clad in standard Olympian armor. "Hello son." The god said, half smiling. Hector shook his head. "What do you want, father?" He crossed his arms. His father's abrupt entrances were annoying. "Want? I want nothing from you boy. I NEED something." Ares said, an irritated look forming on his face in reaction to his son's attitude. "-and you will give me what I need." "I suppose that's an order, not a request then?" Hector said, raising an eyebrow. "Don't get smart with me child." Ares snapped, though calming himself a little afterward. "Son... I need you to prove yourself." The God of War said, stepping closer to his son. Hector scoffed. "Prove myself? This isn't another attempt at getting me to do your job for you, is it? I'm not in the moo-" "Shut your mouth, this is different." Ares said, interrupting his son. 

Hector, though always disrespectful (Much like his father was to Zeus...) kept himself from speaking. "I need you to prove yourself. Not to me, to Olympus. I've had arrangements made." Hector uncrossed his arms. "What kind of arrangements? What have you done, father?" "Gods have been dying, Hector. Hades, Hera, Poseidon, Atlas... the list goes on. I'm not easily made nervous, but this is beyond me. Hector, in any rate it's a very strong possibility that I may die soon." Hector's eyes widened. He hadn't payed any notice to Olympus in centuries, but God's dying? "Father...?" "I've had it arranged that you become my replacement if I give will to becoming nothing as well." Hector shook his head and grabbed his father by the shoulders. "No...No father... please tell me this isn't-" "It is, Hector. I die, you fill the void I leave." Ares sighed to himself, such news not being among his usual duties to give. "Father... I'm not a God. I'm not meant for such a task." Hector said. He'd been living on Earth; he didn't want changes like this. This was just....He couldn't comprehend it. "Your a demigod, Hector, and soon in your life you will learn that makes you my better." Ares said, placing a hand on his son's shoulder. Hector broke contact with his father, falling into the wall behind him. This was.... this was too much. He wasn't meant for this. "Son... you must learn that you have my blood in you. I've already made my decision." Hector, shaking his head, looked up at his father.  
"You said something about a proving?" Ares smiled. "Yes. Come here, son. I will reveal it to you." Hector didn't like his father, but he trusted him. He walked closer to his father. Ares placed his large hand over Hector's skull, and everything went blank. Soon, Hector felt something... cold air. He opened his eyes and found himself standing next to his father is what felt like a cave. "This...this is the Labyrinth." "Yes, it is. You remember the myth?" "Yes.... Home of the Minotaur..." as Hector pronounced this, a roar was heard deeper in the cavern. Steps...thunderous steps were heard, stepping towards them. Hector was about to reach for his weapon, but Ares grabbed him. "Continue the story son." Hector looked at him, slowly releasing his hand. "One day, the Athenian hero... Theseus....a demigod." "Yes, do go on." The steps in the cavern sounded like they were getting closer. A figure formed in the shadows. "Theseus volunteered, coming to the Labyrinth to slay the beast.." As the figure loomed closer, another roar erupted from it and it fell forward. Revealed by the dim light was a grotesque creature....the minotaur....And it's attacker was a young, Greek man. It must of been Theseus. After moments of battle, Theseus emerged with the minotaur dead. Ares turned to Hector, and the world remade itself. After a minute or so, they were back at the Korean base, still burning. "The point I was trying to make; Someone with an awful amount of resources has taken refuge in the labyrinth, and is building an army. We collected champions to defeat this individual. This is the chance you'll need to prove yourself to the gods." Hector thought to himself about the situation......"Alright, father.... I hope you aren't sending me in there without something other than my little Earthly weapons, right?" Ares laughed out loud. "We will get you suited up, son. Do not worry." 

Athens, current time-


A golden portal opened, and two figures stepped out. Ares had indeed suited his son for battle. He wore Olympian armor, made from standard materials to keep them indestructible. At Hector's request, A large shield had been given to him. Fitting the Greek, albeit Spartan specific styling, it was huge and would be a wall between any and all creatures wishing to kill him. Two short swords were strapped to his waist, a belt of knives was around his armored chest, and he held a large, double sided spear in his hand. He hadn't abandoned his Earthly weapons completely, however. He had two pistols strapped to each of his lower legs, and a rifle on his back. All his firearms were readied, filled with hollow-point rounds tipped with adamantium for full effect. He wasn't used to wearing armor, but it did bring back his glory days in the Bronze Age. Father had informed
him of the other champions beforehand, so he wasn't surprised. Ares, stopping silently behind his son, let him go forward. Hector turned, and they shared a short stare before turning away from each other. Ares stepped back into the portal, leaving his son to prove himself. 

Hector stepped towards the palace. He didn't know exactly what to expect from this venture...though he was sure he was going to end it the stronger for it. He had been told by his father of this "Helena" and that he was to meet her. Ares claimed he had already informed her beforehand that he would be tagging, but Hector didn't know about that......His father was always finding new ways to test him, and he shouldn't trust his words too often. Regardless, it was far too late to turn back. He was here and he was going, one way or another.
#6 Posted by Angeni (5085 posts) - - Show Bio

"Alright, I'll be there with the others", Alceus replied through his Trinity Foundation communicator. After the battle with Typhon in Athens, Helena was now engaged to Alceus Sol and they both were getting married somewhere in the summer, but she hadn't really thought of the wedding because she was so busy studying the Labyrinth and trying to discover who had freed the mighty Typhon from his imprisonment. Typhon was the last child of Gaea and was also known as the Storm Giant or Father of all Monsters. His wife was Echidna, and his father was the spirit of Tartarus.

Helena took a deep breath as she waited patiently for the group to arrive and as she waited patiently she thought bringing the people she cared for was a bad idea because she didn't want to lose any of them. "You look pale my child." A familiar voice said from behind her. Helena quickly turned around and stood before her beautiful mother who had long black hair, intense grey eyes, and she wore a beautiful elegant white dress. "Mother? What brings you to Athens?". Helena asked while trying not to look so nervous about the Labyrinth. Athena is the Greek virgin goddess of wisdom, handicrafts, useful arts, defense and battle strategy. There was a prophecy that Metis would give birth to a son that would be more powerful than Zeus, which is a problem because Metis was already pregnant with their first child. To prevent this, Zeus tricked Metis into taking the form of a fly and swallowed her. What Zeus did not know is that Metis was pregnant with a daughter. Over time however, Zeus began to suffer from a terrible headache and asked Hephaestus, to split his head open to find the problem. Athena sprung fully-grown from Zeus' head in full battle armor and shouting a battle cry. "I came here to visit my only lovely daughter before she enters the Labyrinth." The Goddess of Wisdom said before she hugged her daughter for a moment then pulled back and stared into her blue eyes. "Mother......Do you really think I could lead my friends into the Labyrinth? I'm nervous that I will lose one of them and I can't afford that to happen." Helena said with a frown. Athena placed her hand on her daughter's shoulder and nodded her head like she knew this has been bothering her daughter for a couple of days. "I don't think so.....I know so my child and I shall be watching you." Helena hugged her mother tightly as she said those words and smiled. "Thank you mother. I shall visit you and father once I return." Helena promised before pulling away from her mother. "We will be waiting my child. Now I must go and return to your father's workshop. I wish you and your alias the best." Athena said before disappearing and leaving her daughter only.

As the goddess of justice continued to wait patiently for the arrival of her teammates the Trinity communicator went off again. "I'm just waiting for Surkit and Victor, Helena. I'll be there soon. I hope you're armed to the teeth", Alceus spoke through the communicator. "Alright. You should know that I am always prepared and armed by now. I hope you're actually armed along with our friends because we're gonna need it." She replied to him through the communicator and just as she was about to say one last thing she raised an eyebrow as a tall built man entered her palace with body armor and covered with weapons. "You must be the son of Ares? I am glad to have you along the journey and I hope we can get along and not be like our parents." She smiled before approaching him and extending her arm out to him. "My name is Helena Troy, Daughter of Athena and Hephaestus also the Princess of Athens. The others will be arriving shortly so feel free to take a look around."

#7 Posted by Thee_Champion (4937 posts) - - Show Bio

"Alright guys, it's now or never. By the way, Bishop, there's something you need to know. These portals I open are some of the best you'll ever find but they're incredibly uncomfortable, sometimes it feels like you're skin is being torn from your bones but it's only a sensation so don't worry too much about it", Alceus revealed, chuckling as he rubbed the back of his neck. "Now then, let's go", The Champion said, as every second they spend outside the Labyrinth generates more time for the soulless creatures that dwell within to grow more powerful. Emerging from the pulsating dimensional rift, Alceus was donned in a black armored-version of his usual heroic dark blue attire accompanied by his trademark his red gauntlets and red armored boots. With his brother Victor and close friend Bishop arriving shortly afterwards, mighty Alceus' dimensional rift disappeared instantly, collapsing in a brief but exciting display of pyrotechnics. "We're here guys", Alceus said, turning to face his most trusted comrades.

Returning his attention to his environment, the valiant Olympian's mesmerizing icy blue eyes were witness to a flawlessly beautiful palace, one that rivaled even the glory of Olympian architecture found in the divine realm itself, it was quite admirable really. Suddenly, in a heartbeat, the Golden Tiger of Olympus' vast energy-senses detected the divine presence of both his fiancee Helena, and who was clearly the son of the legendary God of War, Ares. A warm smile overcame all other expressions on the chiseled warrior's flawless face as the sight of his lover was powerful enough to defeat all thoughts that troubled his mind, even those in regards to the Labyrinth, at least for a few seconds. Recalling the purpose of the gathering of such a diverse group of warriors, Alceus approached an armored Helena and the son of Ares. "Good to see you again Helena", he smiled, planting a light kiss on his lover's soft tender lips, before turning to greet the son of Ares with a welcoming but firm handshake. "You must be Ares' son, the one he told us about. Good to have you with us", Alceus said, offering a welcoming smile as he greeted the newest addition to their group, "My name is Alceus. And you are?".

And as he patiently waited for his relative's response, an unanticipated telepathic conversation was started by his closest siblings, wise Athena and beautiful Artemis. "Alceus, be careful. I know you have an uncanny talent for surviving through even the toughest of endeavors but the Labyrinth will be an elusive combination of most of the things you have faced. It will require your physical power, mental fortitude and ingenuity", Artemis began, "I love you. Please don't die", her words were carried by concern for her beloved younger brother, she couldn't bare the thought of losing him, and neither could Athena who also voiced her concern, "I can't say much. Artemis has said everything. But please come back to us when this is over. Think of it not as surviving for your brothers and sisters, but for the future generation of Olympians that you will raise with Helena", Athena advised. However, a certain Alceus had already considered the possibility of death, but was perfectly confident in his stubborn will to survive, "I appreciate the concern guys, but I'm not going to die. I'm going to survive, but not for any of the things you've said, but for all the people around the world I've sworn to protect with my life. That's why I'm going into the Labyrinth in the first place, to keep on protecting people", he answered, placing more importance on the safety of mankind than the emotions of his family in this case, for this was far bigger than the Olympians.

#8 Edited by Surkit (10522 posts) - - Show Bio

The ebony hero steps out of the training area while stretching his sore muscles. Putting on his mask, a message beeps in from the god of heroes. It was time for the maze. He wore the skin of the Nemian lion, gauntlets that gave you the strength to think you were Atlas himself, and a power ring, one of the most deadly weapons ever constructed. "I'm coming down now Al" Using the Flight ring, he effortlessly floats down from the peak of the Foundation building, meetin Alceus on the door step. As the group is wrangled together, Alceus nonchalantly tells him not to fear the sensation of being ripped apart by the seams. "...I'll try not to" He says wondering how someone couldn't worry about the sensation of being torn to atoms. The God of goodwill steps inward quickly, Bishop in not far behind.

He steps forward and is sucked in by the vaccum effect. the sensation is indescribable, it was more than just being ripped apart; it felt like his mind was being hit with every synapse of pain possible in the human physique. As it becomes unbearable, they all step out into point B, a place that peaked senses immediately from pain to awe. It stood like a beacon of hope, shining as though it had done so forever, and like it would continue to long after you had left the world.

In the distance Helena, a known ally of the Trinity Foundation, approaches with another god, one seemingly more ferocious, but also seeming somewhat less matured than the others. He gives Helena a light brotherly hug, then turns to the other new man in their group,not counting himself "Evening. I'm guessing your with the family" he asks with a scoff. "Hm... gonna guess that your Victor, Alceus told me about you, says your brothers." Holding out a gauntleted glowing green hand he states, "Honor to work with any blood of Alceus' "

He steps back from the group to allow the family their time before this life threatening event had the opportunity to make their reunion one with a bloody memory.

#9 Edited by VictorGrey (12721 posts) - - Show Bio

His heart was beating out of his chest, he'd be lying if he said it didn't. Everyone here was either nervous, scared or both. Helena feared losing comrades, friends and family. The Son of War seemed nervous back at Trinity, and Victor is too. He was the weak link in the group, the mortal.

"Alright guys, it's now or never. Now then, let's go" Alceus spoke as he conjured a gateway portal to Athens. Victor wore his protective armour, and had been used to travelling through portals, but resistance was inevitable. His armour shook violently as he stepped through. He retracted his face mask and looked upon beautiful Athens, with its flaws from the Typhon War still left, but it stood like a tower never crumbling. The group approached Helena and the Son of Ares.

"Helena" Victor nodded to his niece, the hug he'd received from her made all the difference, it made him feel like he has family, family willing to listen, provide, love and help. "Son of Ares" Victor nodded to the warrior to acknowledge him, the Son of War dressed in Spartan armour.

"Evening. I'm guessing your with the family" Bishop spoke, gaining Victor's attention. He'd been told by Alceus that a 'teammate' Bishop was going to be joining. "Hm... gonna guess that your Victor, Alceus told me about you, says your brothers. Honor to work with any blood of Alceus" the man raised his gauntlet, giving off a green glow, Victor firmly shook his hand and allowed the man to regain his composure. It seemed the Trinity members viewed Victor in Alceus' shadow. He can't blame them, they've known him, but he can't spend his whole life being a no-name. He was one of the heroes of the Crisis in Olympus, he was one of the big three. He'd sacrificed his immortality and powers both together to ensure victory for olympus. Now, he was about to do the next big dangerous thing, save the world.

#10 Posted by _Son_of_War_ (304 posts) - - Show Bio

As Hector entered the palace, he couldn't help but marvel at it's beauty. It was quite a sight; he would of taken more time simply to marvel at it if he hadn't had a job to do. He heard a voice breach the silence; a woman's voice. He turned his head to see who, from description from his father, must of been the daughter of Athena. "You must be the son of Ares? I am glad to have you along the journey and I hope we can get along and not be like our parents." she said with a smile. He was glad she wasn't too touchy on family matters. She approached him and extended her hand. "My name is Helena Troy, Daughter of Athena and Hephaestus also the Princess of Athens. The others will be arriving shortly so feel free to take a look around." Hector shook her hand as she told him her little summary of her title. Interesting enough. He took the chance to look around the palace, as he'd been wanting to.   

After a bit of time, he heard someone enter. He turned to see another clear Olympian, who approached Helena and planted a kiss. He deemed that of being Acleus, also who had been informed to him by his father....though his father had been somewhat spiteful when talking about him. Hector could care less about his father's opinions of people. The Olympian turned to Hector and extended his hand, who's he shook. "You must be Ares' son, the one he told us about. Good to have you with us." Acleus said, smiling. "My name is Alceus. And you are?" "Hector, sir." he said with the formality of a soldier, one of the few ways he knew how to speak. He figured it was better than informal soldier speech; which was composed of curses and insults, and was reserved for fellow soldiers and the enemy; considering Acleus, by his father's description, was his superior in every way.  

In not too long after, maybe a minute at most, two more entered. One was covered in armor fit for a mercenary, the other wearing a mask. Both looked human, from all he could tell. The one in armor nodded to him, though he didn't really notice. The two spoke to each other, but he didn't hear what it was they were talking about. Hector sighed and stepped slightly away from the group, arms crossed, thinking. This was going to be a change in his life, he knew it. It wouldn't end here, his father will keep bringing him deeper into the Olympian light. Hector had lived on Earth for centuries, and now Ares decides to bring him into these kind of matters? He would be angry if he didn't know better. This was important, whether or not he was involved in it. It's only his duty to aid. Hector shook his head. He took a seat, pulling the rifle off his back. He began messing with it, making sure everything was ready. Making sure HE was ready for this. Whatever "this" may be........

#11 Edited by Angeni (5085 posts) - - Show Bio

Helena watched as Hector walked away and began to explore her palace which gave her enough time to try and remember the mysterious monster that lurked inside of the Labyrinth. "How could I forget about the monster in the Labyrinth? I should know these things by--". Helena blue eyes widen as she began to remember the story of Theseus and the Minotaur. The Minotaur was born of a human, Pasiphaë, and a white bull. Poseidon sent the white bull to King Minos for him to sacrifice in his honor, but King Minos did not sacrifice the bull because he saw that the bull had the most beautiful fur that he has ever seen and let the bull live. However, Poseidon was spying nearby and saw that Minos had left his white bull alive. Thereafter, mad with rage and anger that Minos had not sacrificed the bull, he cursed Minos and cursed that Pasiphaë will fall in love with the bull. Poseidon then left for Olympus. Pasiphaë had Daedalus make a fake cow for her to hide inside and lure it. The result of their union was the Minotaur.

Pasiphaë nursed the Minotaur in his infancy, but he grew rapidly and became incredibly ferocious. Minos, after getting advice from the Oracle at Delphi, had Daedalus and his son Icarus construct a gigantic maze, the Cretan Labyrinth, to hold the Minotaur. Its location was near Minos' palace in Knossos.The Minotaur dwelt at the center of the Labyrinth and every three years, seven youths and seven maidens in Athens were taken from their families as sacrifices to him. Theseus, the son of Aegeas, volunteered to slay the Minotaur and was taken to the Labyrinth as a feast for the monster. The Minotaur was killed by Theseus with the help of Ariadne and her thread. Ariadne helped Theseus out of the maze with the help of a thread that showed him his way in, and helped him his way out.

Helena couldn't believe she didn't remember the ancient story especially when it had something to do with Athens, but since she was so nervous about entering the Labyrinth and failing to save her friends, she had seemed to forget everything. As the goddess tried to gather up all the information she needed before it was time to set off on the quest, the group arrived and they all looked prepared for the quest which was a good thing because everyone brought something that would aid the group in the Labyrinth. "Good to see you again Helena", Alceus said while walking on over to her and kissing her lips. "It's good to see you as well my love." She chuckled before planting a kiss on his lips and turning back toward the group who all raised eyebrows probably now figuring out that the two were a couple and engaged. "Helena" Her uncle Victor nodded at her. Helena nodded back at her uncle with a bright smile before remembering that she promised to help restore his powers by seeking the Golden Fleece once they all returned from the Labyrinth. The Golden Fleece was the fleece of a sacred golden ram. It was said to possess special powers. The Greek hero Jason, along with his crew of men, the "Argonauts" went on an epic quest in search of this mystical item. "I am glad to have you aboard Surkit." Helena hugged him tightly before moving to the center of the room and giving everyone a cold stare the same one her mother would give when she was serious about something.

"I know we are all nervous about entering the Labyrinth, but there is no need to be afraid anymore because the only thing greater than fear is hope and we all have hope inside of us and also have each other. I know surviving the Labyrinth is going to be a very hard task even for a god and mortal, but you are all capable of surviving and I mean every single one of you has the potential. Victor my uncle you may lack strength and power because you are a mortal now, but do not forget that you are very brave and you have massive experience, combat skills, and knowledge, and also you may wanna remind yourself of your future son. Hector you were one of the greatest warriors in history your father has made that quite clear to me, you are a master war strategist and soldier, highly impressive hand-to-hand combatant, weapons expert, and since you lived during the Trojan War I believe you know a lot, but you must remind yourself that you have to stay alive to prove your father that you are his son and you can possibly one day become the new god of war. Surkit is it true that you are able to stock piles of energy high enough, that you can make your skin nearly invulnerable and your muscles extremely dense, giving yourself super strength? sounds to me you can take down a cyclopes with your bare hands, but remind yourself that the group will need you and so will the Trinity Foundation and most certainly I will need someone to make me laugh. Alceus my love you are stronger than Hercules, faster than Hermes, and nearly as durable as Achilles and we will definitely need your powers and bravery, but also remind yourself that you must stay alive for our wedding and our future daughter. You are all brave heroes for joining me on this quest and I am thankful to all of you and I promise your name will be remembered throughout all of Greece for saving the world and being such brave heroes. Now, I was informed by Hermes that Clara Mass the adviser of Mount Olympus had effortlessly infiltrated the Maze of Daedalus aka the Labyrinth. The Labyrinth was an elaborate structure designed and built by the legendary inventor Daedalus for King Minos of Crete at Knossos. Its function was to hold the Minotaur, a creature that was half man and half bull and eventually killed by the Athenian hero Theseus. Daedalus had made the Labyrinth so cunningly that he himself could barely escape it after he built it. Luckily we don't have to travel to Knossos just to enter the Labyrinth. The entrances to the Labyrinth could be found all over the world and were marked with a Delta, the symbol of Daedalus. In addition, the Labyrinth increased in size constantly. Over time the Labyrinth gained a mind of its own and eventually grew out of Daedalus' control, since it began to grow and expand. I am certain there is a mark of Daedalus carved on a boulder in the Desert of Lost Souls which is where we are going right now and we must leave at once or we shall be attacked by nightfall. Let us make history and bring back a great story for our people, and may the gods watch over us. " Helena said before exiting the palace along with her teammates who were all prepared for what awaited them in the Labyrinth.

The citizens of the city all gathered up by the entrance and began to cheer for the heroes and wish them luck as they exited Athens, Helena didn't bother to turn around and say her goodbyes because she knew she would return to her city with a great story to tell the children and her people. "We are very lucky that I slayed the Desert Sirens a long time ago because we would of had some trouble." Helena called out as they all went in the direction east. The Desert of Lost Souls is the open desert just east of Athens where long ago Helena had to search and kill the three Desert Sirens because the creatures were luring her people and killing them. "We cannot choose to fly because we will not be able to spot the symbol of Daedalus especially during a sandstorm in fact there is always a sandstorm in the Desert of Lost Souls." She had to let everyone know because she knew one of them would ask why we couldn't just fly to the location instead of walking.

After so much walking the group arrived at the entrance of the Desert of Lost Souls. "Here we are! I need you all to stay behind me and keep your eyes on the person in front of you because it is easy to get lost here!". Helena had to speak loudly for everyone to hear because the wind was really loud due to the sandstorm. After instructing everyone the goddess of justice than led the group into the Desert of Lost Souls and each step she took on the warm sands made her remember her best friend Thalia. "Rumors were told that there may have once been a city in this silent desert because there are ruins ahead." Helena said loud enough for everyone to hear and to keep her mind from thinking about Thalia who both traveled into the Desert of Lost Souls when they were kids.

As the heroes continued their journey searching for the giant boulder that had the mark of Daedalus they suddenly entered the Desert Ruins the grounds where the three Desert Sirens use to roam who they would have had to fought if she hadn't slayed them. Helena took a deep breath and continued to walk forward until her blue eyes darted toward a giant boulder that was covered in complete sand. "I think that's the boulder everyone!". She said loudly before approaching the boulder and wiping the dust off the center of the boulder. "We found the entrance to the......Labyrinth....". Helena face turned completely pale as the symbol of Daedalus began to glow bright blue. "If you wish to leave... now is the best time to do so because once we enter that maze there is no turning back." Helena tone sounded deeply serious because entering the Labyrinth to her was no joke and people could really become insane or be killed by whatever lurked inside of the maze. The goddess turned around to face her teammates who were pale and noticed they all weren't joking about accompanying her on this quest. "Remember what I said earlier about what you had to live for and do not doubt yourself." She said before turning around and placing her hand on the glowing blue symbol. At first nothing seemed to happen which really confused the princess until the giant rock began to shake like an earthquake and then suddenly slid over revealing an entrance to the Labyrinth. "I shall go first and be quick." Helena told her teammates before first jumping into the pit and her teammates jumping in after her. "Alright, now where are---". Before she could finish her sentence the boulder shifted back to it's normal position and the group was now in complete darkness. "Oh great.....everyone start patting the walls and see if you find the entrance to the Labyrinth." She said as she began to pat the walls.

#12 Posted by Thee_Champion (4937 posts) - - Show Bio

Helena's speech was carried both by motivation but a sense of clear realism as well, she commended her comrades for their different talents and abilities, instilling within them the hope necessary to overcome their upcoming journey into the Labyrinth, while also warning them of the numerous dangers they will indeed face and that in spite of their capabilities, nothing they face should be taken lightly. With a warm but brief smile, Alceus nodded in agreement with his fiancee's speech, but not offering any verbal comment. Exiting the celebrated city of Athens along with his companions, The Champion's mindset was one of complete focus and undivided determination. Entering the scorching hot Desert of Lost Souls, mighty Alceus remained silent while considering the consequences of a hypothetical failure in this journey, "If something happens or I die, the world will suffer. There are a lot of heroes in the world, but there are very little good heroes. Just recently, Nova died. Kurrent isn't even Kurrent anymore.. I'm not going to fall. I can't", Alceus promised himself, briefly lost deep in thought.

While moving through the desert, the band of heroes were fortunately warned by Helena of the consequences of aimless wandering in the desert. His beloved Helena was quick to inform them of the dangers, advising them all to stay behind her and maintain their visual focus on those in front of them. The Champion nodded, standing behind Helena, while he would usually speak, the roaring sandstorm made conveying verbally a tad useless. But luckily, Helena's shouting was barely loud enough for the group to understand, or at least for Alceus to understand, he sincerely hoped that everyone heard her words, and simply to be safe, he established a brief telepathic link with all of his comrades, telepathically informing them of what Helena had suggested, "Guys, I don't know if you heard any of what Helena said because of the sandstorm, but basically she said to stick together. Keep your eyes on whoever is in front of you and keep close", he informed, as they moved together. Perhaps hoping to defeat possible boredom, Helena told the group of certain rumors that spoke of a city that once flourished in the harsh desert environment, and that the scattered ruins were remnants of said city. "I wonder if there really was a city here. The ruins definitely suggest so but it's not exclusive evidence", The Champion wondered as they continued wandering through the unforgiving desert sandstorm.

After relentless searching, it seemed as though the group had located the entrance to the dreaded Labyrinth. Helena had spotted a large sandy boulder and quickly approached it along with the group. Before activating the Labyrinth's mystical entrance, she reminded the group of her earlier speech and that if they had any doubts or even fear, then it should be revealed then so that said people may escape the fate that awaits them in the Labyrinth. Confident and calm in his capabilities, Alceus did not consider abandoning his mission, "I'm going in", he said, no traceable sign of hesitation in his certain tone of voice. As Helena placed her palm on the boulder, it briefly quaked then eerily slid over, revealing a pit that would lead the group into the Labyrinth. Helena jumped in first, followed by Alceus and the rest of the group. Almost instantly, the boulder mysteriously concealed the pit, rendering the group in complete darkness and unaware of the Labyrinth's entrance. Helena suggested that they all start patting the wall, however, the Golden Hero had a more efficient solution. "Wait Helena, I think I have something better", he said, using his masterful energy manipulation to generate a bright glow of white light all about his body, bringing light into the darkness so that they may all be able to see. "Now that we can all see, let's go in, we don't have any time to waste", he urged before murmuring to himself, "I feel like a candle", he chuckled briefly before waiting for Helena to lead the way, "Lead the way Helena", he asked.

#13 Posted by Surkit (10522 posts) - - Show Bio

"Hehe, thats what she said" He says nudging the son of war. He stands straight and says, "Helena, I'll do my best not to get myself killed...oh and here's a good one what has one eye like a cyclops and-" he sees Alceus give him a stern look, indicating that was not the joke to tell his wife. "You know what? I'll tell you later" She continues to explain the situation, finally revealing the culprit was none other than Clara Mass, newest member of the foundation, and ex- bed bug to Bishop. He had a mixed feeling about having to fight her, but in the end, how well did he really know her? After much inner-deliberation, he finally decides- If Clarice is against the Olympians, then she's against the Trinity Foundation. As they leave out of the city the people treat him and his group like champions before they've even won. so this is what it feels like He says to himself, never knowing the feeling of being appreciated for his actions in such a way. As the gates swing open and they walk through the seemingly endless and spinning terrain, the sand whips past his face, making his vision nearly useless, I wish I had a damn pair of goggles he thinks, and immediately out of his lended lantern ring came a pair of aviator goggles, giving him twenty twenty vision as though the storm was non-existent I wanna keep this thing so damn bad...

As they reach they reach the entrance, after Alceus had shown the way, and Helena had lead them inside. The sand on their bodies becomes a small annoyance, weighing them down slightly. As he follows behind her, his hand begins to blink a near white shade of light green h ignores, and continues on.

Moving next to his oldest friend from the Trinity he decides it would be best to be realistic "Look, Al, if something happens to me here, I need you to tell Emerald how it happened. I owe her that. I know, I know...'Nobody is going to die', but just in case alright? and keep an eye on her from time to time." At the end of his sentence he notices a quick pressure on his back and chest. Looking down he sees the sand from the storm, reforming with the sand on the ground. It had been wrapping around his and the others legs, combining until it had the strength to attack. The sentient sand moves unencumbered by the need to remain unseen any longer, beginning to entangle them all, in attempt to form a lung crushing cocoon. The ring luckily reacted, covering Surkit in an emerald aura, but he had to find a way out fast, for his friends, though strong, may have trouble with the magic sand.

He uses his plasma blasts throughout his entire form, pushing energy outwards, reforming the sand into rigged thick pieces of glass, that were easily broken. Looking at the others, he starts punching walls to gain more kinetic energy for his plasma.

#14 Posted by VictorGrey (12721 posts) - - Show Bio

As the team finished their formalities and greetings, the wise Helena moved to the Centre of the room, delivering a heart-felt speech and boosting everyone's courage and into a sense of confidence. He'd never heard such a speech in his life, and her ability to instill moral into her teammates was greater than Alceus's. The group headed off into the large body of the desert as Helena spoke from the distance, giving them all a backstory on what is to come. As the group listened carefully to Helena, a sandstorm was conjured up, encompassing everyone's vision and hearing made hard. "Fcking Sandstorms . . ." but if anything, this meant they were on the right path. Alceus however would establish a telepathic relay between the group, allowing Helena to continue uninterrupted and making it a useful tool to communicate when in the labyrinth.

After further walking that seemed like a lifetime, the group had finally arrived. Hidden in plain sight lay the entrance to the labyrinth, a great big boulder laying in plain sight under the cover of the sand. The sandstorm brushed off his mask as the team approached the boulder. Alceus used his energy manipulation abilities to light up the entrance to the labyrinth, making comments that the team needs to remain confident, he'd done the same a while back, make people laugh so they'd go into battle confident. This is it . . . no backup, just us. Victor stepped forward, trying to appear as confident as he can be to his teammates. He wasn't the weak link, even if he was mortal. He was a dangerous mortal

Within seconds of entering the elaborate maze, a sand monster rose from the ground to intercept them, several appeared behind it. Encompassing Surkit first and then coming to swallow up Victor. The Fallen God instinctively reached for a grenade, and pulled the pin, throwing it into the body of the sand monster and leaving it to swallow it up. The explosion was contained inside the creature, turning him into glass from the inside. Victor then doubled forward and kicked the glass creature into shattered pieces. "Don't panic people, these are just the appetisers"

#15 Posted by _Son_of_War_ (304 posts) - - Show Bio

Hector listened to the woman's speech, and appreciated it. His mind flashes, remembering his good times as the prince of Troy. The bronze, the huge stone walls of Troy, the glistening ocean...He remembers his days competing in the Olympics, proving himself against the Greeks, coming in second to a man from Athens. He remembers his first battle with Achilles, which ended in a stalemate on the battlefield...... He remembers Athena's gift of foresight, allowing him to see his own death at Achilles hand. He remembers hiding away on one of the Greek's ships.... He remembers watching the huge fire from afar as his home burned to the ground... He remembers, centuries later, battling along the Greeks, under the lead of Kind Leonidas of Sparta, under the alias of Dienekes, clashing shields with the Persians. He liked the Spartan shield styling, and stuck to it. After then the bronze ages slowly turned into the Iron Age, which is whole other story entirely unrelated to this one...
After her words and speeches, the group entered the deep desert. The woman started speaking of what lies ahead for them, when a abrupt sandstorm started up. Hector felt the sand bouncing against his helmet, sound like insects against a windshield. It was annoying, but just that. They continued on, for what seemed a long time, they found the entrance to the Labyrinth. The entrance was a simple boulder, a piece of trickery to remain hidden among the sands. The god known as Acleus lit the way with his odd abilities, making comments that Hector chose not to listen to. He was listening for danger, not chatter. A scrap on the wall, a scurry, anything that could be caused by something living. He was hoping for a fight.
As they went through the maze together, not too far in a beast of sand made itself apparent. Several of the others made sounds appropriate for a reaction to this sort of thing. As Hector felt a sensation on his legs, he turned his head downward and saw that the sand was engulfing his legs. He almost laughed, smiling. His vision hadn't turned red. This wasn't a battle. It was a nuisance. He put his hand on his chin thinking of a way to deal with the beast as it crawled up his leg. His firearms and bladed weapons wouldn't be of any real help.....he snapped his fingers, breaking his own personal silence. He stabbed his spear into the stone wall, so deep that it was impaled and stayed in place, then reached and pulled one of his short swords from it's holster at his waist. Leaning his other arm out, he slashed his sword across his wrist, bursting a vein. Blood began dripping from his wound as he holstered the sword. He didn't even flinch. 
He held his hand over the bleeding wound and, using his own inborn abilities, began filing his blood out of the wound. Sharing the kinship with Ares, he could lose an awful lot of blood without even getting drowsy. As the blood floated out of the wound and became a shapeless mass in the air he stopped filing it and, using his same abilities, made blood stop flowing from the wound. He manipulated the mass of floating blood in the air for a second, then made it fly down. It wrapped itself around the uncovered portions of his legs like a snake and then, just as fast as a snake, enveloped the sand around his legs. Slowly, it began compressing the sand. It remved the sand from his legs and crushed it on molecular level at his feet. Within a minute, the blood had compressed into a small, domino sized rectangle on the ground. Hector pulled the blood back into the air like a whip to reveal a highly compressed block of solid sandstone. Hector bent down and picked it up, holding it in front of his face. He felt a almost magnetic shake to it. It was still alive, but as if it had been trapped inside a box. He laughed out loud, putting the block in his pocket as a souvenir. He looked around to see if the others were as lucky as he was.

#16 Posted by Angeni (5085 posts) - - Show Bio

"Have you three gone mad? The Labyrinth must've affected you already." Helena told Surkit, Hector, and Victor who seemed to be fighting nothing. As she led the group into the Labyrinth, she could hear the walls shifting around her which made her face turn pale like a ghost. The walls were constructed of many different materials from stone to concrete as she led them in different directions that seemed to get them nowhere. "Clara Mass must be in Daedalus Workshop which is located in the center of the maze." Helena incorrectly assumed that Daedalus' Workshop was in the center of the maze because the center would be the oldest part, but when they arrived at the center they were actually surrounded by futuristic walls and doors. "What sorcery is this? I have read several maps that stated Daedalus workshop was always in the center of the maze. I truly will never understand this place and I have a feeling that the Labyrinth is growing a mind of it's own, but we must continue through this door if we wish to discover what that tyrant is plotting down here." Helena was beginning to grow frustrated and everybody could tell just by looking at her face and from the sound of her voice. As she led the group through the door everything had change and the goddess was happy to finally not be around concrete and stone. This room had paintings of the Roman gods at a feast on one wall. There was a fountain that didn't seem to work in the middle and mosaic tiles all over. "What is this place?". Helena whispered to her teammates. "Go back. Go back, warriors of Greece. There is no passage here." An old, filthy looking, insane man said while scratching his face madly. The man had wings that appeared ragged, melted, and damaged because they were partially melted. The base of each wing was stained with blood from being surgically attached to his back which looked rather disturbing. "Icarus.....you are suppose to be dead." Helena said, her blue eyes grew wide with amazement as she wanted to approach him to examine his wings, but something held her back from doing so.

Icarus was the son of Daedalus, King Minos' architect, who built the labyrinth for King Minos to imprison the Minotaur. In reality, the father and son were Minos' prisoners, imprisoned in a tower. The clever Daedalus plucked feathers from the birds that landed at the window and, over time, gathered enough to build two pairs of wings for himself and his son, Icarus. The two escaped, but Daedalus warned Icarus not to fly too high. The prideful Icarus didn't listen. He flew so high, the heat of the sun melted the wax in his wings, and he plunged to his death into the ocean. The loss troubled Daedalus so much that he refused to share the plans for his wings until his death.

"I did died and fell into the Underworld, where I was driven insane by the torment of my prison and my own prideful failure. I lacked much of my father's talent, I spent decades crudely repairing my wings, eventually grafting them to the flesh of my back, which finally allowed me to escape the Underworld with the help of Clara Mass who ordered me to keep you away from entering this door." He pointed his boney finger at the door from behind him. Helena raised an eyebrow and placed her hand on her glowing lasso. "You are in no condition to fight and I doubt you could take down three gods, one super powered hero, and a mortal who was once a god." Helena tried to put fear into the old man, but his pride would probably get in the way which caused his death during his escape from King Minos. "You think I wish to fight you? I cannot even kill a Harpie and you think I wanna fight a group of warriors from the great prophecy? Hahahaha! Helena Troy, I only come here to warn you of this psychotic maze that my father built and trust me it can drive the strongest, healthiest, and smartest man insane." Icarus said scratching his face madly again until he began to laugh like a maniac for no reason. "We shall pass through that door no matter how many warnings you give us and we will prevent the tyrant you work for from succeeding on whatever plan she has." Helena said while pushing the old insane man out of their path and entering the next room which now led back to the same old stone walls and concrete floors of the Labyrinth. "Not again......". She mumbled before leading the group further and deeper into the Labyrinth.

Time in the labyrinth was impossible to tell since time inside the Labyrinth did not correspond with outside time. When Theseus entered the Labyrinth, he thought he was down there for a few minutes, but he was actually in the maze for hours after slaying the Minotaur. Helena has heard two ways of navigating the maze which were possibly rumors, the first being Ariadne's String invented by Daedalus and given to Theseus and the second being with the help of a clear sighted mortal. After leading the group deeper into the Labyrinth the heroes finally came across a different room filled with waterfalls that led into Tartarus. "Do not drink out of the water it can--". Before she could finish her sentence, Helena became stiff and her eyes began to glow bright blue as she heard the cry of her best friend coming from the waterfall which led to Tartarus. "Thalia?! I'm......I'm coming!". The goddess of justice began to shout and walk slowly towards the waterfall like a zombie.

#17 Posted by Thee_Champion (4937 posts) - - Show Bio

It seemed that while vision had been restored by the bright light radiating magnificently all about the Golden Hero, his comrades had already fallen prey to the Labyrinth's trickery. All but Helena and Alceus found themselves engaged in an intense battle against an imaginary opponent, the Olympian couple being the only ones to somehow retain their sanity. "You guys are losing it? Already? Damn, so in a matter of time we'll all be affected somehow, we just won't know it", The Champion pointed out, an expression of intensity and pessimistic anticipation. The group continued traversing through the mysterious elaborate structure. And while Helena led the band of heroes with all the bravado and confidence she could muster, soon it became painfully evident that she too was growing frustrated with the lack of success plaguing their journey in the Labyrinth. They had yet to encounter any physical enemies, however, the psychological effects of such an unearthly location were already impairing the determined warriors. Would their minds truly succumb to these mind games so early? No definite promise could be made, but mighty Alceus would do all he could and use the mental fortitude granted by his indomitable willpower to resist as much as he could.

"Helena, this place, I've realized something or at least I think this is correct. What we should be worrying about is not fighting some grotesque monster or enemy. The real problem we'll be facing here are the mind games. They'll be the real challenge", Alceus stated, offering his view on the Labyrinth, "While I don't know about this place as much as you do, any one of us can kill an opponent, we're all capable warriors. But the mental fortitude needed to endure the psychological horrors that we will face, not everybody has that. In case one of us falls prey to them, there has to be someone with a clear enough head to see through the situation", the Golden Hero advised, soon revealing who he expected would be those mentally powerful enough to resist the psychological punishments. "I'm expecting both of us to be the last ones standing, on a mental note", he admitted, being that all allies other than Helena had already succumbed to the first phase of mental disturbances. After having made his opinion on the matter known, The Champion remained mostly silent, secretly exercising his mental capacities by formulating several strategies in preparation for all of the creates the group had been informed of and the ones that they could only choose to anticipate and predict. While little has transpired, it was made clear that very little could be thought certain in the Labyrinth. Cautiously following Helena while maintaining the alertness of his aware energy-senses, Alceus feared for his brother Victor who while possessed a great deal of experience and combat skill, his physiology was perhaps too human, and so was his mind, Bishop at the very least had the advantage of superhumanity, Victor however, could not say the same.

As they continued, they were soon confronted by an emaciated winged man who seemed to possess a manic scratching habit. Helena was quick to recognize he man, she identified him as Icarus from Greek myth. Icarus while not particularly concerned, did take the time to warn the band of warriors of the horrors of the Labyrinth, however, their sheer determination would not allow them to concede. Upon brushing Icarus aside, the heroes made their way into yet another room in the ever so confusing Labyrinth, however, this place, it was different from the others. It was populated by countless underground waterfalls. Helena was quick to warn them of the waters, advising them not to drink it, but an abrupt alteration took place within her, her eyes were glowing an eerie blue color. She began shouting Thalia's name, and seemed to be drawn towards the waterfall. "Sh*t", Alceus murmured, the mind games having truly begun, choosing Helena as their victim. "Helena stop! You're just hearing things, the Labyrinth is playing tricks on you, remember what happened to Victor and the guys? It's happening to you too", Alceus alerted, grabbing Helena's wrist in order to halt his fiancee's march.

#18 Posted by Surkit (10522 posts) - - Show Bio

A small old man tells a story with a large omen. This maze, he claims, is more than a trick to the mind but a trick on the mind. Bishop stands in the back gripping his biceps, taking in this forboding fools warning. Helena though aware of the consequences was undeterred in her mission. As they return into the spiteful labyrinth, a line his mother quoted from the bible crosses his mind. Pride comes before the fall.

He sighs deep in expectation of the worst, then follows last in line with the team of divine do-gooders. for what seems like hours, they walk on taking turns and curves, each foot step another sapping of strength with ten drops of sweat. Waring bronze gauntlets and a Lions skin didn't help. Bishop feels fatigued to near the point of collapsing, until reaching a fountain of noteworthy design, constantly flowing yet with no visible plumbing of any kind. He runs over to it, until seeing Helena, walking as though she had a concussion. The man was saying 'drink!' but the hero said 'help!'. He flicks the proverbial demon off his shoulder and grabs his wrist for support, and throws out a pair of emerald earmuffs and a green steel bar over her eyes, attempting to cut off whatever may be controlling her.

" 'Lena! This isn't doing us any good you have to fight-...You have no idea what I'm saying right now." The mix of blue and green starts yanking with the help of his gauntlets, on the tether to Helena attempting to reel her in and let OC figure out a solution while she were subdued, hoping to ensure the survival of her friends as well as herself. After all, Surkit was just a man with some items, Alceus was the real deal, bona fide god of heroes. If he couldn't find the answer, they'd all be doomed. The blue blaze wasn't sure about the other two, whether they would be of help or get in the way. If they wanted to gain his respect on the field, it would have to be with blood and sweat.

#19 Posted by VictorGrey (12721 posts) - - Show Bio

As the heroes advanced further into the labyrinth, the warnings, signs and omens were all telling them to leave, how could he be thirsty all ready? He'd only been her for minutes, right? A drift came from the distance, a waterfall! "We can dr-" suddenly Helena entered a zombie-like state, proving the maze can break anyone, and just because you last longer, doesn't mean you are invulnerable. "She's going for the waterfall!" Victor reached for a bola-like gadget. Throwing it with perfect aim, it tied down Helena's legs together, then activated and increased the gravity by over tenfolds to hold her feet to the ground, she wouldn't be able to take another step, and unless she can rip steel, she can't move.

"Guys, this should tie her down" his voice echoed across the cave. "She can't take another step" he himself was finding it hard to resist the water, but he wouldn't succumb, his will was indomitable. "Surkit, good job on that! Alceus, an energy field around Helena perhaps?" Victor took initiative, refusing to stand back and let the team do all the work. He rushed forward, speaking to Helena might work also.

"Helena, this is mind tricks, Thalia isn't here! You have to stop now!"

#20 Posted by Angeni (5085 posts) - - Show Bio

"Come to us. Come. Your soul belongs to Tartarus." A voice whispered in the goddess head as she continued to move closer to the waterfall. Each step she took memories flashed in her head reminding her of the terrible nightmares that haunted her when she was a child. Long ago, an Oracle foretold the destruction of the Olympians at the hands of a goddess in Athens. Due to her father being Ares, the Gods feared that Thalia would be the prophesied warrior, so they devised a plan to abduct her so that the Oracle's prophecy wouldn't come to pass.

One fateful day, Zeus and Poseidon descended onto Athens to take Thalia, unleashing an army of Cyclops to decimate the populace while they searched for her. They quickly found the young Thalia amidst the chaos and took her while she was training with Helena, though the goddess of justice attempted to stop Zeus. Helena lunged at Zeus to keep him from taking her best friend but Poseidon saw this and struck her down, breaking all the bones in her small body.

Zeus brought Thalia to the Sisters of Fate to remain there in torment, ensuring the prophecy would never occur. For several years, Thalia believed Helena would come to her rescue. As time passed, her hope began to fade, and was replaced with hatred for her best friend who left her to rot.

After becoming the Princess of Athens, Helena was compelled to find her best friend at any cost. Undertaking a perilous journey that took her across Greece, Helena finally found Thalia deep in the Temple of the Fates, suspended from spiked pendulums. Freed from her torment, Thalia wanted revenge against Helena for not protecting her and quickly assaulted her best friend. After a grueling battle, Thalia tackled Helena over a ledge and proceeded to pummel her into submission, using her bare fist. As Helena laid bloodied and beaten, Thalia saw her final blow breaking her knuckles. Willing to continue with a broken hand, Thalia was instead interrupted, as Lahkesis arrived and grabbed her, taking her to the Mountains of Sorrow to throw her off the edge. Helena, barely able to stand, managed to follow them to the mountains, but was too late as she saw her own best friend be thrown off the mountain. Helena, fueled by the rage over the loss of her best friend, found herself empowered, and defeated Lahkesis. "Zeus and Poseidon had chosen poorly that day. They took your best friend when it should have been you." She stated before her death. Athena arrived at the scene and then pleaded her daughter to forgive the Gods, but saw her pleas ignored, as Helena promised her the gods would pay for their actions.

"I forgive you Helena. Come closer to the waters and you shall see me again." The voice of Thalia whispered in her head. "Helena stop! You're just hearing things, the Labyrinth is playing tricks on you, remember what happened to Victor and the guys? It's happening to you." Alceus warned her, grabbing her wrist in order to stop her from her death. "I will not lose her again!". Helena replied in rage and grabbed her fiance by his wrist with her other hand and began to squeeze it with all her strength. "Lena! This isn't doing us any good you have to fight-...You have no idea what I'm saying right now." Surkit said while trying to reel her in with his powers. "You dare challenge me mortal?!". Helena removed her tiara before hurling her razor-sharp tiara at Surkit's gauntlets. As the goddess continued to move forward toward the waterfall she found her feet stuck to the ground by a device made of steel. "Nice try." She told Victor before ripping the steel with her bare hands with ease. "You all think you can beat the Goddess of--". Suddenly Helena was knocked unconscious by a short old man with a large sledgehammer. "That is not my daughter." The man revealed himself to be Hephaestus, god of forges, fire, technology, craftsmen, artisans, sculptors, metals, metallurgy, volcanoes, blacksmiths, hammers, stonemasonry, and armorer to the gods. Hephaestus appeared to the group as a huge lump of a man with his shoulders at different heights and a huge, bulging, misshapen head and his leg in a steel brace, with a wild brown beard that sparked fire from time to time. "My apologizes for dropping in on your quest, but I couldn't watch my daughter be controlled by the Labyrinth and you kiddies needed assistance. Anyway when my daughter wakes up tell her that I apologize for knocking her out with the most powerful sledgehammer in the world." Hephaestus chuckled before disappearing in a column of fire.

After being unconscious for a long period of time the goddess woke up with the biggest headache she had ever felt. "Ow.....what happened?". Helena rubbed her forehead while staring at the group with a puzzled expression on her face.

#21 Posted by Thee_Champion (4937 posts) - - Show Bio

The hypnotic powers of the mysterious waters seemed to be far stronger than initially perceived. While Alceus may have anticipated that struggles with willpower would occur, he did not consider that his fiancee Helena would succumb to this false tantalization. "She's not listening", The Champion whispered to himself, realizing that he may have lost Helena, but his determination would not fade, and neither would his comrades. Fortunately, Helena's next statement revealed what was drawing her to the supernatural waters, it was Thalia. Suddenly, with no restraint, the Athenian princess quickly grabbed mighty Alceus by the wrist and instantly squeezed it with all the strength she could muster. Grinding his teeth as Helena's grip tightened, The Champion winced slightly in pain, "Don't make me hurt you Helena, that's the last thing I'd want to do", he warned, before exerting enough strength in his arm to break free from Helena's grasp. "Fight off the influence damn it! That's not Thalia who's calling you!", a dead-serious Alceus shouted, hoping that his words would get through to her.

Lionhearted Alceus' closest friend in the Trinity spoke next, however, Bishop soon realized that his words were meaningless and resorted to using his powers instead. An enraged Helena quickly hurled her excessively sharp tiara towards the gauntlets that the Golden Hero awarded to his close friend. Quickly halting the tiara's flight with his electromagnetic energy, The Champion quickly dropped the artifact on the ground before warning Bishop to use his Green Power Ring. "Keep your shields up, she's stronger than Hercules so watch out for her", Alceus advised. And as she charged towards Bishop, Victor's device made it's attempt to halt Helena's march but unfortunately was unsuccessful as Athena's daughter focused her relentless rage on Alceus' now mortal daughter. Aware of the fact that should he allow his relationship with Helena to restrain him from protecting his friends they would suffer at the hands of the physically imposing goddess, Alceus decided to defend his comrades. "Alright, that's enough", he stated boldly, blue energy pulsating from his eyes, a yellow flame-like aura violently radiating around his entire body, The Champion prepared to do battle with his fiancee. "This is gonna end, now", Alceus' flashed menacingly, and while he was initially hesitant to battle his lover, he could not allow his friends to be harmed.

However, suddenly, in the blink of an eye, the once hypnotized Helena quickly lost consciousness and behind her stood a familiar elderly figure wielding a rather large sledgehammer. An unlikely ally in the form of Hephaestus emerged. While he apologized for knocking his daughter unconscious, he admitted to feeling uneasy at watching his daughter fall to the influences of the deadly Labyrinth. "Thanks but what the hell are you doing in here? Did you just appear or-", however, before a response could be given by the smith-god, Hephaestus vanished. Shrugging, The Champion decided to temporarily seize leadership within the group, "I guess with Helena unconscious, I'll have to find a way through this place. I'm open to any suggestions though", he said, turning back to the group before carrying his unconscious fiancee in his arms and moving with the group across the puzzling structure. After grueling hours of wandering around the Labyrinth, Alceus felt Helena moved slightly and soon she regained consciousness, Alceus allowing her to stand as she left the warmth of her his arms and wondered what had happened. "Oh, you tried to fight us, I was going to fight you to protect everyone but then your dad appeared and knocked you out with a sledgehammer then disappeared. He said he couldn't watch you lose your mind".

#22 Edited by Surkit (10522 posts) - - Show Bio

Muscles ripple and contract while the bronze skinned hero tries with all of both his will and might to reel in the enchanted Goddess. Even with a cowl that gave him strength to rip through a cement like paper, he as only just on par with her awesomely divine might. Her hands move like light, grabbing her tiara and hurling it at him, though on some level it seemed Helena was still in some control, aiming with her hawk eye not at his open face, but the deity granted gauntlets. The blessed medal of Hercules slices clean open, now leaving with only one of the two to try and corral the crazed Helena. It was only barely enough with the two; he was now no match, as she almost briskly pulls herself forward still. She turns to boast as a goddess but was obviously notn because Helena did not boast. Before she can speak her hosts name, the vessel of Helena is knocked unconscious by a small ugly, danny devitoesque man with a large sparking beard and disproportional limbs, his hands hanging closer t his knees holding a large smithing hammer. Surkit stares at the god with a face of bewilderment and gratitude and slight anger, before he addresses them as her father, "I think she'll understand... Me and you gotta have a talk about child abuse soon though" The green aura encased hero says, pointing his fingers at his eyes than back at the Godly smiths before he walks into flames chuckling heftily.

10 Minutes later

"Aight you know what...!" He turns with his hands dancing above him as he spoke and his nostrils flared as he began to breath deeply. The caves were starting to make him feel slightly claustrophobic. The only option was to think fast and find a way closer to the center, "I think I've got an idea. from what I've read these rings are like supercomputers on your hand. Maybe I can...yeah. Gimme a minute." He turns around and aims his one gauntleted fist at the path ahead of them. For a moment nothing happened, then Bishop stood stiff amd still for a moment chanting something to himself. The ring ignites in neon green sending out dozens of thin strings of light, each bouncing around a different path to their limits finding the correct possible direction. After a brief moment and high amount of tense strain to the now emerald coated conduit the streams return and the ring sends an image into his mind like a blueprint giving hima full latout of the terrain, though no occupants were detected, it seemed like an easy road to the center chamber. Their luck seemed ona roll as Helena wakes in Alceus' arms faintly, eventually rising to her full form. He turns hoping humbly not to garner any gratitude simply wanting to carry as he looks at them, "I know the way, I'll take front. " He lights an orb arond his hand with the ring and starts on with a casual and brisk step, Certain and confident their path would be a simple one

10 minutes into the depths of Daedalus' Machination

At first he seemed to be a slight drop in temperature, then the air began to thicken. Soon they were eventually walking in cloiuds of smokey fog so thick they couldn't even see their own hands in front of them, now knee high in swamp water "Guys...? Guys!" He yells back, unsure if they were even still with him. `With his back turned he suddenly before being able to know what it was, was swept off his feet and dragged across the dry rough blocks of the maze floor by a tentacled monster. Using his energy blasts he feels for it in the thickness, burning the tendril and just escaping, before yelling backwards, "I was wrong, We got another monster down here, keep your eyes peeled!" He realized how stupid that sounded the second after he said it, "Or your nose...just be alert!" He turns to lock eyes inches away from his with a dagger toothed beast, and in reflex, turns his hand into an energy blade, lobbing it's head off as it flounders on the ground. He claps the dust off his hands, "Wasn't so hard.." As he turns around he feels the booming of it's steps as the beast still standing, begins to shove a face out of it's neck, until two heads grow from where one was, "Aww fuuu--" He's thrown backwards by a hefty tail with spikes on it, smacking into an unforeseeable member of thier expeditionary group