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The Immortal Heart	By : amandalee Category: 1 through F > Clash of the Titans (2010) > Clash of the Titans (2010) Views: 7819 -:- Recommendations : 2 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: We do not own Clash of the Titans or the characters portrayed in this story, and we make no money from writing this.

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Chapter 55

The trek down to the shore was uneventful at best; only Cerberus showed excitement at the prospect of leaving the cave for good. It was decided that Chiron would stay on the mainland and see to the gods’ affairs while Zeus, Poseidon and Hades returned to Crete.

“Do not be afraid to deal out punishments if somebody is foolish enough to challenge our rule,” Zeus advised. Already more than a few titans had been imprisoned in Tartarus with no hope of ever being freed. “This is our world now. But for it to stay that way, we must be firm. Should any titan…--”

“The giants know what they are doing,” Chiron replied. “And you made yourself quite clear before we left. Anyone to challenge your rule will face the firey depths of Tartarus.”

There was one exception, of course, and they all knew – except Hades – who that was. Atlas’ punishment was so severe that quite frankly, Chiron believed that the unfortunate titan began to wish he could join his ilk in the pit.

“Do you want me to give her a message from you?” the centaur suddenly asked, and it took Zeus a moment to realize who the other was referring to.

“No, that will not be necessary,” he muttered in reply. “She was a passing fancy, that is all.”

“I am sure she feels differently…” Chiron pointed out, thinking back on the time the Olympian leader had spent with Metis.

*

Cerberus’ tail wagged when it saw the boat, and Hades realized that his monstrous guardian assumed it would be joining the group across the sea.

“Chiron, will you look after him?” he asked the half-god. “I know he can take care of himself but…”

“I will, brother,” the centaur placed a friendly hand against the beast’s shoulder. Cerberus, not quite understanding, began to wade through the shallow water as the gods boarded their transport, but Hades held out a hand to stop it. The animal only licked the hand when it was within reach. Hades wanted to tell it to stop, but he could not help being moved by the gesture. He sighed and patted each head.

“Stay here,” he commanded. “Stay with Chiron and keep out of trouble. We will return.”

Cerberus sat down, but clearly did not fully understand the amount of time its new companions would be gone. The creature watched as all three gods boarded the boat, but when Poseidon began guiding them away from the shore, Cerberus began to whine.

Hades could hear the noise. It was a monstrous sound, but pitiful nonetheless, because he knew what that whining meant. He turned around and saw Chiron and Cerberus, still standing at the shoreline, but Cerberus had stood up once more, wading through the water and attempting to swim.

“Cerberus, stay back!” he called out. “I order you, do not follow! We will return, but you must stay behind!”

“It’s alright, Cerberus,” the gods could hear Chiron say above the sound of waves. “They will be back. Do not worry.”

Hades sighed with relief when Cerberus finally returned by Chiron’s side, but he wanted to cover his ears when he heard a long, miserable chorus of howls.

“You did great, Hades,” Zeus said earnestly, placing a hand around his obviously distressed brother’s shoulders. “He will fare just fine during our absence, you know that.”

“I just feel so bad about leaving him behind. He guarded me with such commitment, and now I abandon him? I know he’s naught but a beast, but…”

“That is right, he is a beast, and he doesn’t feel what you or I do,” Zeus broke in. “He has cared for himself during all these years, and he will continue to do so now. Tell me that you agree?”

Hades offered his betrothed a weak smile. It was the best he could do. Then he nodded.

Zeus smiled back. Seeing Hades smile after his grim ordeal was always a treat. “It was best this way, brother,” he said, pressing a kiss to Hades’ temple before standing up in order to join Poseidon at the helm. Hades, however, grasped his arm before he could leave.

“There is something… I would like to ask you,” the older god said, his voice timid and his eyes nervous. “Earlier Chiron asked… he asked you… I mean to ask you… if… if you…”

Zeus patiently listened to his brother’s awkward attempts to ask what he was curious of, even though he knew very well what was on Hades’ heart.

“You mean to ask if I bedded anyone while I was away from you?”

Blushing, the elder god looked down at his hands in his lap, heart thudding in his chest. “I know you’re free to do as you wish… I just…”

“The answer is yes,” Zeus said in a neutral voice.

Part of Hades relaxed, knowing the truth. He felt his heart calm in his breast and he continued to stare at his hands. “Alright.”

“Alright?” Zeus repeated, slightly confused.

“I… I just wanted to know…” Thin fingers grabbed handfuls of robe fabric. “I was only curious.”

Zeus knelt in front of Hades, cupping a thin cheek and guiding the elder god to look at him.

“Do not be upset, brother,” he said with a warm smile. “You are the one I love. It is in my nature to make love as I please to anyone at any time. But you are who I hold at night. No one else.”

Hades finally looked into Zeus’ eyes and managed a smile. He was still quite sad from leaving Cerberus behind, howling on the shore, and now he was not even certain how he should feel about his beloved brother’s fidelity, or lack thereof. Of course Zeus had never promised that kind of loyalty in the past. He had always been one to take their sisters to bed whenever the mood grasped him, and he clearly had fun with the nymphs on Crete. So why did this news of another conquest affect him?

“Who was it?” he asked.

“You would be familiar with her,” Zeus replied. “Metis. The one who tried to help you. I spared her life and thought that I might better understand her.”

Hades gave a fleeting laugh. “Through intimacy?”

Zeus grinned. “Some days I understand others best when I make love to them.”

“Well…” Hades said. “I am glad you let her live. I would not have wanted her punished.”

“Of course.” Zeus drifted a thumb over the curved bone of his brother’s cheek. “She is an example of the kindness of an otherwise savage race. I have hope of peace when I look at the likes of her.”

“Perhaps you should make love to our enemies more often,” Hades suggested, feeling a lift in his spirits. “None can withstand charms such as yours. Not when you welcome making love any chance you get.”

“Even with Poseidon.”

Hades’ jaw dropped comically at the mention of their brother’s name. Could it actually be that Zeus had taken Poseidon to bed, despite professing countless times that he harbored no sexual attraction to the curly-haired god?

“But… you do not desire him,” Hades objected. “You have said so many times!”

Zeus gave a small laugh and actually had the decency to look slightly embarrassed. Obviously Poseidon was not a conquest the leader wanted to brag about.

“It was shortly after we departed from Crete,” he explained, figuring that he owed Hades an explanation. “I was… you could say, nothing short of desperate. I had not bedded anyone for days, and…” Zeus sighed, completely having forgotten that the subject of their discussion was aboard the boat with them. “…and he was the only one with me.”

Hades expected to feel a burst of jealousy at the confession, but strangely enough, such remained absent. Instead he was curious of the experience, trying unsuccessfully to imagine Zeus and Poseidon wrapped up in a lover’s embrace, mouths locked in a passionate kiss.

“How… how was it?” he asked, glancing furtively at Poseidon who stood at the railing, back facing them. How much of the conversation had he heard?

Zeus gave another quiet chuckle. “Awkward,” he replied. “But ultimately satisfying. I don’t expect a repeat of it, however.”

“Did our brother… enjoy it?”

“I believe he did… perhaps even too much.”

“I beg your pardon?” Hades asked, and now he could not help but feel amusement. Again he glanced at Poseidon, who kept his back turned to them. Perhaps deliberately?

“He confided in me that he quite liked what I did to him,” Zeus further explained with a laugh. He too looked at Poseidon and spoke loudly enough for the older god to hear. “I have to wonder from whom he will ask for such a favor next.”

“Brother, tell me,” Hades felt bold enough to ask. “How was it? I am curious to know, this being your first time.”

Poseidon promptly dropped the fishing net he had been repairing and dove off the skiff, disappearing into the water. Both remaining gods laughed at their brother’s reaction.

“It is not as embarrassing as you think it to be, Poseidon!” Zeus called into the water as he leaned over, staring into the green depths and waiting for his fellow Olympian to resurface.
But Poseidon did not resurface.

Growing concerned, Hades joined Zeus in staring over the skiff, waiting for their brother. Several minutes passed before they finally saw a god-shaped figure swimming through the waters closer to the surface. Poseidon’s movements were fast, but not frantic.

“He is fine,” Zeus said, a trace of relief in his voice.

When his head broke the surface of the water, Poseidon also looked rather relieved.

“Are you alright, brother?” Hades asked. Already he was being guided away from the floating god by Zeus, who was obviously still worried of the eldest god catching any illness which might yet be present.

“I am now,” Poseidon said, looking slightly embarrassed. “The sea helped to revive me. Otherwise I might have vomited on the deck.”

“And we would not want that,” Zeus added, looking a little aloof now. Part of him considered keeping Poseidon in the water and not allowing him back onboard.

“Does the water truly alleviate your illness?” he then asked, thinking that perhaps having Poseidon stay in the sea would be beneficial to them all. As it was now, the wind carried the boat briskly over the waves, guided partially by Zeus’ own influence over the weather. Poseidon, swimming beside them, was easily able to keep up with the boat despite his condition.

“I have told you that it does,” the other god replied, his feet paddling him forward with practiced ease. A fish tail and a pair of fins could not have done a better job at transporting the god through the water.

“Then perhaps you should remain there for now,” Zeus suggested, prepared for his suggestion to be met with vehement objections. Poseidon, however, was unfazed.

“I think I will, Zeus,” he said, and the following moment Poseidon dove, the shape of his body quickly becoming indistinguishable as it moved away from the surface.

“It is amazing how long he can remain underwater,” Hades said, having once again joined his youngest brother at the railing. “It’s almost as though he were a fish!”

Zeus laughed, ruffling Hades’ hair, which was already in disarray from being thrown about by the wind. “Who knows, if he stays down there long enough, perhaps he will turn into one!”

Hades was not sure whether to laugh or be repulsed by the idea of their brother rejoining them as a creature stuck somewhere between a god and a fish; cold, scaled and slimy with gills slowly opening and closing.

Turning towards his beloved, Hades received a face full of hair, and he wished he had thought to tie his long locks back. Zeus, seeing his brother’s annoyance, laughed and pushed the hair out of Hades’ face and mouth. They kissed, sweet and affectionate.

*

Meanwhile, Poseidon was reveling in the paradise that no other god could have imagined or experienced as he could. Though the deeper the seas traveled the darker they became, what he could see of his surroundings were beautiful. Every so often, the god would simply float, nearly weightless in the depths, enjoying his surroundings and watching the groups of fish swimming by. He felt at home here, especially now that his powers over water and earth had increased, and should any creature with a mind to eat him approached, he was certain that he could outmaneuver or overpower it.

As he swam to catch up with the boat, he considered how long he must have been beneath the waves without the faintest need to resurface for air. Once he had the underside of the vessel directly to his left, he slowed his pace and glanced at his hands. Webbed membranes of skin had formed between his fingers, an instinctive adaptation to his mode of travel. He did not need to look at his feet to know they must have adjusted accordingly. Curious, he placed a hand against his neck, searching until he found them.

Gills.

While not completely unprepared for the discovery, it frightened him nonetheless. What if he was turning into something only meant to live in the sea, without any possibility of ever stepping on land again? The notion was terrifying, as it would not only keep Poseidon forever apart from his family, but the physical changes might render him downright unrecognizable.

The god quickly swam toward the surface, and as soon as his head broke the water, he opened his mouth to call out to his brothers, anxious to find out if he could even use his lungs anymore. Relief washed through Poseidon when air filled his chest once again and his voice could be heard, sounding just as before, when he called Zeus’ name.

Zeus gazed over the railing, this time alone. His visage remained neutral, and Poseidon assumed that whatever changes his body had gone through, they were not yet terribly obvious.

“You were down there for a very long time,” Zeus remarked. “Are you alright, brother?”

“Yes, I believe so,” Poseidon replied, though feeling slightly less certain than he sounded. “I wish to come aboard again. Do you consent?”

A questioning furrow formed between Zeus’ brows, but he did not deny his brother’s request.
Hades rose from his seat in the boat’s stern, approaching the spot where Poseidon was busy climbing back onboard. He could not help but inhale sharply when he laid eyes on his brother’s hands.

“I see you have noticed the changes as well,” Poseidon remarked, spreading his fingers. He glanced down at his feet as he stood on the deck, noting their equally webbed nature, but as he dried in the sunlight, he saw the membranes shrivel and disappear, and one would not have known of the god’s adaptation to the water.

“Most fascinating,” Zeus said, just as impressed at the transformation as his brothers. Poseidon inhaled and felt the disappearance of his gills in his breathing.

“To think I wondered if you would become such as you swam alongside us,” Hades mused aloud.

“Is your health improved, Poseidon?” Zeus asked. Clearly the transformation was nothing compared to his concern about the wellness of the group. Poseidon held back the rolling of his eyes and nodded.

“Truly I feel better than ever,” he replied. “And I would like to add that the waters are without predators. I think our journey shall be peaceful.”

“Wonderful,” Zeus glanced in the direction where they were drifting. “And I would hope that our mysterious friend in the fog will not be bothering us a second time.”

Hades nodded, but Poseidon appeared as though he had realized something very important.

“Perhaps it had an ideal share of food back at the battlefield.”

Hades looked slightly alarmed. “Are you suggesting that creature is the same as the one you described at the battle?”

“I doubt there are many on Gaia’s surface that could be so big,” Zeus said, agreeing with Poseidon. “It only makes sense. Though I do not trust such a monster… it did help us win our war with the titans.”

“Perhaps it was a titan itself,” Hades suggested.

“You make an interesting observation, dearest brother,” Zeus replied. “But I have never seen such a titan before in all of my life.”

“And I would hope we never do again,” Poseidon pointed out. “If that thing wished it, I doubt we could prevent it from killing any one of us.”

“But with your influence over the waters, and Zeus’ lightning…” Hades began but was quickly interrupted by his youngest brother.

“That creature was more massive than anything I have ever seen,” Zeus said. “It tore Cronos to pieces singlehandedly. I won’t try to convince myself that I could defeat it in the case of a confrontation. All we can do is hope it will leave us in peace.”

Though concerned by the answer, Hades did not pursue the subject. He anxiously gazed out over the open waters, seeing the approaching sunset in the western horizon.

“When are we going to arrive home?” he asked Poseidon, presently not reflecting over the fact that he’d begun to think of Crete as “home”.

“Early in the morning, if nothing goes awry,” the curly-haired god replied. “In fact, you and Zeus could very well retire for the night. I will stay up and steer the boat.”

Grateful for the proposal, Zeus grasped Hades by the arm and led him toward their improvised bedding at the prow. The floor of the wooden boat deck was uncomfortable, but the Olympian leader had endured much worse and was not bothered. Welcoming Hades against his chest, he wrapped his arms around his smaller sibling and closed his eyes, body and mind soothed by the gentle rocking of the waves.

TBC...
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The Immortal Heart