Zeus lay sprawled on the floor with Apollo. It was far too hot for either of them to function. Artemis was off doing something in the woods. Cindy and Carl should be back any minute.

Zeus sighed and stretched lazily. He had arrived here four years ago. In that time, Zeus had been basically adopted into the family. He viewed Apollo and Artemis as his siblings, though he wasn't to the point of calling Cindy and Carl his parents.

It was no secret to the world that Zeus' mother had kicked him out of her house. She had been declared insane, but not enough to warrant more than therapy.

The door opened with a creak. Cindy stepped through first. "Are you boys being lumps again?"

Zeus grinned. "It's my day off, so yes."

Cindy shook her head and laughed quietly. She went on with removing her shoes as Carl came in.

Carl looked down at Zeus over the tops of his glasses. "I got news for ya, kid."

Zeus sat up apprehensively. "What is it?" Is someone after me? Are they forcing me out when I'm this close to buying my own place?

"Apparently some relative of yours is dead. Your mother told us. She looked pretty angry about it, but apparently you're in the will. Refused to come and tell you herself, thank heavens," Carl hung up his leather jacket and clomped over to the couch. "It's being read tomorrow."

Zeus blinked at the floor. He splayed his fingers out over one knee. He could see the hairs standing up from built up static. He'd need to brave the heat outside soon to release some of it. He had made the mistake of not doing it and Apollo had gotten a pretty hefty shock.

He realized everyone was looking at him and looked up. "Alright... I don't have much choice of whether I go or not do I?"

"Not really."

Apollo sat up and put an arm around Zeus' shoulders, ignoring the harsh static shock apart from a slight flinch. "I can go with you, if you want."

Zeus gave Apollo a small smile. "Thanks, man."

Cindy stood and put her hands on her hips. "Well if you boys are through being dramatic, who wants some ice cream?"

-

Zeus and Apollo entered the small room early. They were the first to arrive, apart from a white haired man Zeus didn't recognize. The room was empty apart from a desk, at which the man sat, and three chairs. Zeus hadnt told anyone Apollo was joining him, so who else would be arriving?

The man looked up from his paper and smiled. "You must be Zeus, and..." he tilted his head to Apollo. "Hermes?"

Apollo shook his head. "No. I'm Apollo."

Zeus didn't know who Hermes was, but the mythological name didn't escape his notice. "Would I know this Hermes?"

The older man shrugged. "I don't know. Based on your relationship with your mother, I would say you wouldn't. He is the son of your uncle Merlin."

Zeus only vaguely remembered his uncle. He must be the one who had died. The son, however, was someone he was certain he had never met. "Ah."

The door opened, and Sophia entered. She visibly tensed when she saw Zeus, her eyes flashing angrily. Zeus looked away from her quickly and edged to the side so he stood against the wall.

The man greeted Sophia, who responded politely. She kept casting hateful looks over at Zeus, each one making his calm facade crumble further. Apollo eventually walked over to Sophia and started talking in that bubbly, cheerful way of his. Before long, the two were having a very civil conversation, which Zeus ignored.

Before long, the door opened again. A lean, tall boy walked in. His bright green eyes gazed around with a calm, yet mischievous, gleam. He held a phone loosely in one hand. He had hawkish features and handsomely styled black hair. His appearance was that of a boy girls would drool over when he passed, despite the plain shirt, shorts, and sandals that he wore. This must be Hermes.

Directly behind Hermes, was the equally tall, but much more unkempt, Bifrons... or Janus, rather. He seemed even thinner than when Zeus had met him years ago. Janus scanned the room carefully, mismatched eyes slipping over Zeus without pause. No recognition. He gave a small smile when he saw Apollo, however.

The old man cleared his throat to gather attention before Hermes had the chance to say anything. "Well, this is everyone, plus a couple."

The room fell silent. Zeus felt Hermes' gaze on him. Janus has chosen to stand near the door. Apollo moved to Zeus' side.

The man began to read the will. Zeus didn't pay any attention. All he cared about was why he was here. Even with his inattentiveness, he heard that Hermes got most of the valuables and all of the money left. No surprises there.

"To Zeus, I leave the mansion and furnishings. He has more use of it than I."

Zeus' blood ran cold as ice. How had his uncle known? He had only seen Zeus three or four times. How could this man, now dead, have known that Zeus needed not only a house, but a large house?

Sophia glared over at Zeus. She said nothing, but Zeus knew he was on target to be assassinated as soon as she could have it arranged. Or perhaps she was just her usual spiteful self... who was to say.

Zeus didnt stay to listen to whatever remained. He moved silently to the door, Apollo right behind. Janus watched the two leave in silence. He made no move to stop them.

As soon as they were out of the room, Apollo put a hand on Zeus' shoulder. "You alright, Zee?"

Zeus took a deep breath. "Yeah. I'm fine. We need to watch Hermes, he's probably like us, if my theory is right."

Apollo nodded his agreement. "So the house, mansion, whatever... are you going to finally start Olympus, like you told me about a year ago?"

Zeus nodded slowly. "Yeah. I think I will. Did you see how thin Janus is? What happened to him?"

Apollo shrugged. "He never talks about that much. From what I understand, he's a high profile target for a lot of people. Lots of scientists. He was born in... uh... nineteen ninety-three I think."

"Ninety-three?!" Zeus' eyes widened. "That's over a hundred fifty years ago!"

"A hundred sixty-seven to be exact," Apollo corrected. "I haven't seen him in a while before to today."

Zeus looked back at the door. "I wonder if he'd tell us if we asked."

"Nope."

Zeus didn't ask how Apollo knew. The two failed into silence. Though it was never mentioned, they both knew what they were waiting for.

Hermes.