Generation 8 is in college, Reias and Roxie have a new son to care for and so

far Xylen hasn’t returned. General Buzz learned that the labyrinth plan he had

come up with ended up entrapping the very god he sought to please; and now

that god is out to get him. Dalen hasn’t figured out it was him yet but General

Buzz is taking no chances. At the moment, Dalen’s thoughts are elsewhere and

not on him, for which he is grateful. The temporary peace seems to be holding

for now.

Eve: I didn’t think you would come…I thought it was silly of me to think that the

God of War would ever come when I called.

Dalen: Well I may surprise you Eve. At least we’re here now. Shall we?

Eve: Sure. Let’s go in.

Eve finally had worked up the nerve to ask Dalen out. Ever since they met in the

labyrinth, she had been smitten with the handsome god. She heard stories about

him when she was growing up from her father and she always wondered if they

were true or not. She was thrilled when Dalen said he’d been thinking about her

too. Her father’s name scared off most potential boyfriends so she never had a

chance to learn about boys as a teenager. Who wants to be near the daughter of

Thanatos anyway? One wrong move, and the God of Death would smite you. At

least that’s what they feared.

She couldn’t stop staring at him all through their dinner, he didn’t seem to mind

her staring, perhaps he enjoyed it.

Dalen: Are you going to eat?

Eve: Huh? Oh…yeah.

Dalen: Something on your mind Eve?

Eve: Nothing much really…

Eve: Are the stories about you true?

Dalen: What stories?

Eve: Uh…the ones about you trying to destroy the legacy by betraying us to Xylen.

She blushed furiously; and on her pale skin it looked like a sunburn.

Dalen: They were. And I did…but I’ve been saved now.

Eve: Who saved you?

Dalen: An old friend, one whom I thought wouldn’t bother with me anymore. He

saved my life.

Eve: Was it Reias?

Dalen: Yes. We’ve known each other a very, very long time.

Eve: Reias is really the only god my father actually likes.

Dalen: And I’m glad he did. It gave me a chance to get to know you.

Eve: Me too.

Dalen: I may be the God of War but I am not entirely heartless, it’s only a very select

few who get to see this side of me. I have an image to maintain after all you know.

Eve: I am glad to be among them then.

Eve turned back to her nectarine tart, she was nervous and trembling slightly. He

had a surprisingly gentle touch for someone who is supposed to be hard edged

and fierce. She wondered how he felt about her, does he know how he makes

her heart beat faster when he was around? Does he see the flaming cheeks on

her face when he smiles at her?

When he pulled her to her feet and kissed her, she was sure that she’d died

and gone to the Elysian Fields; if a sort-of god could even die of course…she

wondered if he had heard her thoughts. Gods who have been around as long

as Dalen had could do that easily; she was still learning how to.

Their date was over too fast, she wanted to last longer. When he had to go, she

clung to him.

Dalen: I have to go Eve…I’ll see you again soon enough, I promise.

Eve: I know…you have things to do and I have to get back to school.

Dalen: I’ll be back for you.

Dalen: I’ll tell you a secret; I haven’t felt like this in a long time…it’s been so long I’ve nearly

forgotten what it’s like. I want…I want to do it right this time.

Eve: I’m glad I could remind you.

Dalen: Eve, I swear on my life as a god…I will protect you.

Eve: I believe you.

******

At the Temple, Euphoria and little Derek were singing the nursery rhyme together.

She adored the little boy, she wasn’t around when Solan was this young so she

was glad to have another chance with Derek.

Euphoria: Roxie, he is soo cute!!

Bliss: Sis, remember to share him with his parents now.

Euphoria: Well unlike you, I miss toddlers.

Derek stared at her; he knew more about her than anyone knew. But his

innocent face and adorable thumb-sucking hid it very well. His big brother Solan

could see emotions as colours, Derek could do more than his big brother and his

father all together. He could see a soul; and manipulate it. He had the sight of the

Fates as well, seeing the past, present and future and he would soon develop

the ability to manipulate time as well. Inherently, all full gods can time travel, but

none had the power to localize it; such as making one area of a place move

faster or slower. Derek could. And he knew what his own future held, and why it

was so important to play cute and innocent…

Besides, his father was otherwise occupied…

Reias: Do you have any experience with gods? Or child gods like my son?

“Well…no not really. In my line of work I never deal with them.”

Reias: Hmm. Well if you’re not here to be a Reaper then I suppose giving you a

chance at caretaker is a much better learning experience for you, Mr. Devereaux.

“Call me Zane, Mr. Devereaux sounds weird.”

Reias: Alright then, Zane it is.

Zane: So where is he? Your son I mean.

Reias: His mother is giving him a bath, she’ll be done soon.

Zane: I look forward to meeting him.

Zane: So does he have any favourite toys or things?

Reias: If I told you all that, it wouldn’t much of a learning experience would it?

Reias grinned; hoping Zane would understand he’s not being mean.

Zane: I suppose it wouldn’t be would it?

Reias: I appreciate you coming to help with Derek. I can use the help.

Zane soon found out why everyone who met Derek was instantly smitten with his

adorable smile and shiny blond hair.

Zane: Hello Derek, I’m Zane.

Derek: Zane!!

Zane: Very good, you can say my name.

Teaching Derek to walk would be a good starting point to bond with the little boy.

Even though Zane wondered if he was intruding on something a parent should

want to do for themselves, Reias didn’t mind and his wife Roxie was fine with

Zane teaching him to walk.

He found out how quickly a child god could pick things up; Derek was pretty

good at keeping up with what Zane was showing him. And his smile was melting

his heart every time he saw it.

It felt right, Derek was already beginning to accept him as part of the family.

******

Eddie wrapped his arm around his wife; it was a rare moment when they both

had time off work to spend together.

Eddie: Do you feel old yet? We have two kids in college and our third is ready to

go soon as well.

Aegina: You should know better than to ask a woman that Eddie; but sadly,

yes…

Eddie: Such is the life in a legacy.

Aegina: Yes, it is the way of things.

Loria turned to float on her back; night swimming was the best. The stars were

so pretty and bright above. She wondered if her other father was watching her

right now as she looked up. Loria did miss her brother and sister too; being the

youngest was bad when there was no one left to play with. Her birthday was

coming soon and she would be heading to college with them.

The generation 6 couple were also enjoying the warm autumn night in the pool.

Atalanta and Iolaus still felt young, even though they were the keepers of the

family’s history as the oldest members. Sometimes Atalanta missed her mother

Pandora, her mother was very good at telling her and her five siblings stories of her

grandfather Julius and what she knew about her great-grandfather Dion. Her father

was an immortal god so it wasn’t like both her parents were gone now. Bliss could

tell her things that even Pandora didn’t know. Besides, Atalanta was now a

grandmother herself; it felt strange to have a longer life span than her mother and

previous heirs, it was her Olympian blood.

At Academie Le Tour, Borias was hoping for the same luck that his twin sister

had with the well. He was a Family man at heart and college is the best place to

meet that special lady to have a family with.

The snow may have melted between then and now but it was still cold. Ephiny

had found her match with a man named Julien Cooke, who was a chef of some

sort. She seemed happy with him.

He never thought that the well would drop a goddess down for him. Athena,

Goddess of Wisdom was his ideal match it seemed. Borias wasn’t about to

complain, she seemed as equally interested in him as he was in her.

The dorm next store was where Endymion and Evander went. They shared it with

Virgil and Eve, the main line heir. Borias and Ephiny would soon have their little

sister Loria with them here and Varia and Velasca were close behind her as well.

The two dorms had enough room for everyone to be close together, just as their

parents wanted them to be.

The last few of the generation 8 teen birthdays, Autolycus and Lila would be joining

Loria soon enough at college with their older sister Alcmene who had already gone

ahead to college.

Loria would have Autolycus and Lila to spend time with as well as the identical

twins Varia and Velasca, so perhaps she wasn’t as alone in being the youngest

kid as she had thought.

Lila Morana PL/PO

Libra

9/6/5/7/6

LTW: 50 1st Dates

Autolycus Morana FA/FO

Gemini

7/1/3/5/8

LTW: Have 6 Grandkids

Loria Reed PO/K

Gemini

5/9/10/3/8

LTW: Have 20 Best Friends

At the house of Minos and Seiya, their identical twins were the last of generation 8

to grow up. Diamos had not come back from Terrenon and he had missed all of

their childhood. For Seiya, that hurt; but she knew it was necessary to safeguard

her children’s futures from Xylen.

Varia and Velasca stepped up to their cakes, ready to make their birthday wishes. To them, there was

only one wish they shared:

Varia and Velasca: I wish grandpa was here.

Varia Cutler FO/FA

Libra

5/9/4/5/7

LTW: Be The Law

Velasca Cutler FA/K

Cancer

6/3/6/5/5

LTW: Have Golden Anniversary

Meanwhile…

Perseus: How do we find Xylen and Dark Pellas? It seems we’ve been here forever and

haven’t made any progress towards it.

Diamos: I know, he is either laying low somewhere or he’s already gone. I don’t know which.

Leiya: He’s most certainly not gone, we know where the Red Sword is, and odds are so does

he, he’ll make a play for it.

Diamos: The Red Sword is the last one we need to recreate the Shadow Sealer,

it’s a race to see who gets there first.

Perseus: I’d like to go home eventually, I miss Hidden City.

Diamos: And I’ve missed my granddaughters’ entire childhoods, they’re probably

in college by now.

Leiya: I’m sorry about calling you all the way here, I know you miss your family…

Leiya: Are you mad?

Diamos: No, I’m not. I did miss you too Leiya.

Leiya: Once we get the sword, we can go home and this time, I’m going with you

to Earth.

Diamos: I expected as much.

Diamos: My family will love you, I’m sure.

Leiya: I hope so, because I love you.

Diamos: I love you too.

Diera: Those two are at it again…do they ever stop flirting?

Solan: I make it a point to stay out of the god’s way, if he wants to flirt rather than

work so be it. I hate wasting time fishing here, there’s an evil out there that we

need to stop.

Diera: I agree totally; but what can us mortals do?

Solan: Make him get back on track, that’s a start.

Diera: I’m also concerned about Valon; you know he has a thing for Leiya too.

Solan: Valon is not going to stand a chance against the god, he should cut his

losses.

Diera: Funny, since it was his gambling that got him into this mess in the first

place.

Solan: I remember; those guys are probably still after him now.

They were right about one thing; it was a race to the Snow Lake temple where

the Red Sword was, only both parties got there at the same time so it was a

matter of who was stronger…

Diamos: You won’t get away with the Lifebringer Sword, I guarantee that!!

Xylen: Mighty strong words Peace God; how do you intend to stop me from getting

the Shadow Sealer?

Diamos: I will stop you.

Xylen: You can try…

Xylen: How do you intend to stop me when one of your own has betrayed you?

Valon has two of the swords and he will give them to me.

Diamos: You expect me to believe that?

Xylen: I do since it’s true. Ask him.

Diera: He’s right Diamos, this snake does have two of them!!

Valon: What can I say? Chaos made a better offer.

Diamos had the Lifebringer Sword, he had taken it from the temple before Xylen

confronted him. If Valon has the other two and they have the other five with

them…the Shadow Sealer is an easy target.

He teleported out of the temple and started to call the others off, they had to get

out of here, quickly.

Xylen stopped him as he was running; luckily Dee had enough time to send the

Lifebringer Sword away.

Xylen: Gods damn you!! Where IS IT??!!

Diamos: Where you won’t get it, I can’t let you make the Shadow Sealer to use for

evil!!

Xylen: I WILL find it Peace God!! Even if I have to tear this whole planet apart to

do it!!

Xylen: Mark my words Peace God; you will pay dearly for this…PELLAS!!

Leave!!

Diamos: I will not let you do harm to anyone, I am still a god here.

Though inside, Diamos was more than scared of just what Xylen would do to

retaliate for the swords…could he really protect this planet and all its people?

Dark Pellas: Well, we shall meet again master. And next time I will not be so

nice.

Diamos: Pellas, I will defeat your new master and I will save you.

Dark Pellas: How touching; I bid you adieu my love.

Diamos: Don’t call me that, we are not lovers anymore. You are a dear friend

and that’s all we’ll ever be.

Dark Pellas: You wait, when your mortal toy breaks you’ll want me back. No one

can compare to an Adriel’s love…no one.

Diamos: You are wrong, you should get back to him…for now.

They headed back to their base in an effort to regroup and re-evaluate their new

situation. Valon had betrayed them; taking with him the yellow and purple

swords. He would give them to Xylen. They had five, and Xylen would come for

them soon enough to collect. Once all seven were together, the Shadow Sealer

would be formed and inherently, the Shadow Sealer is neutral; neither a force for

good or for evil. Its power and colour change depending on who holds it, if they

are good the sword is white, if they are evil, it’s black.

Solan: Do we have a Plan B?

Diamos: Not at the moment; I’m still trying to wrap my head around Valon

betraying us…

Leiya: I still can’t believe it…we’ve been through so much here and he never

once showed any disloyalty.

Diamos: Xylen is strong; and I fear he may be too strong for us…

Perseus: Now that doesn’t sound like the Dee I know; he’d never back down in

the face of evil.

Diamos: I appreciate the sentiment Perseus, really I do. But still, I wonder.

Perseus: There’s two gods here, and two of them; we can do it. Xylen is not at

his full strength yet; otherwise he’d have thrown down with us at the temple.

Diamos: Perhaps…

Diera: I should have known he’d flip on us…I just knew…

Perseus: Diera, he had us all fooled it’s not just you.

Diera: I wish we’d let those guys have him back at the Foul Sword Inn, would’ve saved us

from the displeasure of his company.

Leiya: He was fine for a while, remember?

Diera: One small show of good faith doesn’t make up for it!

Elsewhere…

Xylen: You betray your companions then follow us here, why should I spare you?

Valon: Because…I have something you want and need. The two swords I have

point the way to where Diamos hid the red sword.

Xylen: Interesting; but very stupid.

Valon: How so?

Xylen: I could kill you right now take those swords since I know what they do, why

do I need you?

Valon: I am not that stupid; I hid them. You kill me and you’ll never find them.

Xylen: Hmm, cocky move mortal…well played.

Xylen: I am slightly impressed at how devious you are. What do you want?

Valon: Power; riches; and the guarantee that we’ll be allies in this war against the

gods. I have no love for our own or the ones who seem to rile you so on Earth.

Xylen: Anything else?

Valon: Leiya; I want the exclusive right to kill her myself. The bitch deserves to die.

Xylen: You drive a hard bargain; alright granted. You shall have all the power

and riches you want once we get the Lifebringer Sword. Until then…be warned.

You are walking a dangerous line with me and asking for so much.

Valon: I will watch my back; I do that best, as a Warrior you have to.

Xylen: Hmm.

With that said; Xylen left him alone. The black influence of Chaos swam through

the whites of his eyes and he couldn’t help but smile; everything was coming

together nicely. Having power would make sure that no one would dare cross

him again, he had been waiting for this for a long time. He would answer to no

one and everyone would cower at his feet; Terrenon would be his before the

season was out.

******

End of Entry Forty-Seven.

For now, Diamos and his party have managed to keep the Shadow Sealer out of

Xylen’s hands for a little longer; but their fight is far from over on Terrenon. The

threat of Xylen’s rage weighs heavily on Dee’s mind, and for the first time he feels

that he’s in over his head. Can he and Perseus really stop Xylen here or will the

next target of Chaos be Earth and the legacy? The Shadow Sealer is their only

hope at defeating Xylen once and for all, can they get it before he does?

One can only hope…

One more

Special thanks go to peasant007 for Zane Devereaux, she and I had many PM discussions

on how to get her beloved Reaper child just right to preserve his character and integrity

true to his home universe. Most people who use Zane in their stories have him as a child

with partial memory loss and they give him a much happier life than he had in his home

verse; others use the adult version, the more trickier one of the two. She does use anything

that adult Zane gets into as canon for her own legacy; The Devereaux Legacy on

Boolprop. I hope that Zane’s job as caretaker and helper to little Derek here will turn out

good enough for her to want to put into her legacy! I think it will, but who knows? Thanks

for reading!