Welcome to the Party Chapter 10

Welcome to the Party
Chapter 10

"So, finally tired of hiding like an insect, Ares? I would have thought better of the dunce of war." Ephus stated, a small smile coming to his lips. 'Good,' he thought, 'Ares is mad as hell.'

"We shall see who the dunce is after I finish destroying you!" Ares stated, brandishing a black sword.

"Ah, so I see that you are hiding behind a weapon, like a true dunce of war," Ephus stated, causing Ares's face to grow even redder with anger.

Ares laughed with sadistic glee as he swung the black sword, producing an ear-splitting shriek. He then started to advance upon Ephus.

Ephus looked at the six gods sitting at the table. He then waved a hand, making all of them vanish. Nodding, he calmly turned back to face a startled Ares.

"It is no matter; once I have taken you, I will find all of them easily enough." Ares boasted as he again stalked toward Ephus.

With a sigh, Ephus shook his head as he drew the green sword. A thin smile appeared on Ares' lips.

"So, you have the sister sword; that is good. With both of them, I will be unstoppable."

Ares again boasted.

Ephus dodged the first few swings from Ares, whose smile was growing larger by the second.

Ephus was about to raise the sword to block again when everything seemed to freeze. Then, the exact Egyptian female appeared before him, his hand around her wrist.

"Godling! You must attack; my brother will kill you, taking all that you are." The green-clothed female stated.

"As I stated before, I will not use you that way. I will defend but not attack if you feel that way. I have not asked you, nor will I; if you choose to help me, so be it. If you do not, I guess Ares will eventually win," Ephus told the shocked female.

"I believe him, sister. Never before have I felt one as truthful as him." They both turned to see a tall, well-muscled male with dark hair and dark clothes. Ares' hand was around his wrist, much like Ephus's was around the females.

"BROTHER!" The female yelled as Ephus walked toward the male, letting the two embrace.

With tears in her eyes, the female released her brother, turning toward Ephus. Going to one knee, she started to say. "I will be your eternal servant..."

"NO!" Ephus almost shouted. "I will not make you serve me; I will not be your partner anymore. If I could release you, I would; I do not know how yet."

These last words from Ephus had both smiling slyly, and their smiles quickly vanished.

The female stood and nodded to Ephus and then her brother. "Brother, do you think it is possible?"

The male looked at the female, then Ephus, seeming to size Ephus up. "It is more than possible. Godling, you need to end this quickly; I will help, though it has to appear that you did everything. My sister and I will hold you to what you said."

"I hope to see you again, brother." The female started as the male, and then the female vanished.

A moment later, Ares appeared shocked that Ephus was right beside him. That, plus the fact that he hadn't seen nor felt Ephus move, didn't sit well with him.

This time, Ephus went on the offensive, giving Ares savage thrusts. Shocked even more, Ares found himself in the unknown position of having to move back from Ephus, the strikes getting closer and closer.

Ephus couldn't believe how savage the sword was moving on its own. Almost half an hour into the fight, Ephus and the sword found a hole in Ares's defense and lightly cut his chest.

Gasping, Ares held a hand to his chest, feeling the minor blood seepage from the cut. "How dare you! This isn't over-goodling, I..." Swinging again, Ephus almost caught Ares unaware, knocking the sword from his hand.

Growling like a wild, wounded beast, Ares dived for the sword, rolled to his feet, glared at Ephus, and vanished.

Ephus stared at Ares's location and sank to his knees. A moment later, the Egyptian woman appeared.

"I am afraid I took more than I should have. Your energy is so different; it was so hard to resist." Here, she raised her other hand to touch Ephus's shoulder gently. A moment later, she nodded, then vanished.

Ephus stood and then turned, waving a hand to make the six gods reappear. Sinking into the empty seat, the other five could only stare at him with astonishment.

"I know you have a power unlike one that has ever been seen." Zeus started, "I did not think that it included the Swordsmanship we just witnessed."

"Well," Ephus started, then saw that the green-clad female appeared. Putting a hand on his shoulder, she shook her head no. "I had an excellent teacher. Anhur, the Egyptian god of war, his lessons were intense. I learn rather quickly, especially when I have to."

Ephus saw that the female was smiling, nodding yes, then vanished.

"You might want to get more lessons," Hera spoke up. "You surprised Ares this time, though the next, he won't underestimate you again. The next you meet, he will come at you with everything he has."

"I have to agree with her," Artemis said as she stared at the green sword in the scabbard on Ephus's belt. "Not only have you defeated him, thereby embarrassing him, but you also injured him, an injury that will take far longer than he wants to heal."

"If I know my brother, he is even now trying to think up a way to wrest that sword from you. Another thing? You are the only one I know who has knocked a weapon from him. He will be far angrier than he probably has ever been."

Ephus turned toward Artemis, "his injury will take longer to heal?"

"Not a lot is known about the two swords. A legend states that they were a brother and sister, a brother and sister who found favor with the Titans, a rarity for humans, to be sure. The legends state that they both betrayed the Titans, who punished them, making both of them into swords." Artemis explained.

"The legend states that only a god of pure heart, through an ultimate sacrifice, can ever hope to release the two of them." Athena continued taking up the story. "It has been said that they are far older than all the present gods, Father and Hera included."

"It has also been said that swords take energy from their users to become more powerful. This is the main reason not many try to wield them," Aphrodite added.

Ephus nodded his head. It almost made sense, plus the apparent knowledge they both had. When the female didn't show up to confirm or deny, Ephus guessed he was right.

Ephus started to stand and found that he was far weaker than he thought. Falling back into the seat, he thought for a moment and concentrated. At first, nothing happened, but then he felt a slight twinge deep inside, a twinge that grew larger and larger.

'So,' Ephus thought, 'I can do this. After all, I thought it was just a stray idea.' A few moments later, all the others stared at Ephus as his skin and eyes started to glow.

"So, it appears that you have found your internal power," Zeus stated as they all backed away slightly, as Ephus felt himself starting to feel more normal.

Ephus let out a breath and nodded as he returned to normal. "I'm not sure what that was; I didn't know I could do that."

"You have what might be defined as a well of power inside you. We all have it, though; in the last two thousand of your years, we had exhausted it, having really nothing to bring out." Zeus explained.

Ephus nodded at the explanation as he sat there a few more minutes. Though he felt more normal, he still wasn't where he wanted to be.


Ares landed inside his headquarters with a loud, hard crash. Putting a hand to his chest, he winced at the was this what pain was? Interesting. Then he quickly decided that it wasn't for him.

Looking in the mirror, he almost gasped when he saw that the wound was hardly healing at all. So he thought it was true about the swords. If cut, it took much longer for a god to heal.

Touching the slight cut, he winced again, seeing that the seepage had started to stop. Well, it had until he felt it.

He stood, then quickly fell to the floor, finding that one of his legs was folded under him at an odd angle. Again, there was that feeling, though it was far more intense this time.

Growling, he sat there concentrating, feeling the pain subside in his leg, and then he thought it was right. A slight smile came to his lips as he touched the cut on his chest.

For the third time, he winced as he saw that it was hardly healed any more than it had been. What the hell? He was the god of war. How in all the realms had the godling defeated him?

As he sat there, he reviewed all the moves he'd seen the godling use. Many Ares knew, though, not very advanced but deadly. They were also familiar, many of whom he recognized from his Egyptian counterpart.

So the Egyptian bastard god of war was helping the godling, possibly training him. Nodding, Ares thought, 'He'd gone too easy. The next time, he would use everything.' When they finished the next time, he, Ares, would be the only one standing.

A few moments later, Deimos and Phobos appeared, shocked to find their father injured. Then they noticed that Ares wasn't healing like he usually did.

They both looked at each other and then at the black sword at Ares' side.

"Father, what has happened? Why are you still injured?" Deimos stated as he moved next to Ares. Extending his hands, he started to send healing energy. A moment later, Deimos was shocked, as if he were swatted across the room. Not only did he impact the wall extremely hard, but he also found himself going through the next wall.

When he appeared a few moments later, Ares looked at him with a slight grin. "Might not want to do that again. One has to heal on their own when it comes to an injury inflicted by one of these swords."

"Father?! You lost the sword; how did this happen?" A shocked Phobos asked.

Ares looked at Phobos, growling, "I was disarmed for a moment; it will not happen again. I far underestimated the godling, and that also will not happen again. That and the godling has the sister sword of the Caspian god killer."

Deimos and Phobos felt relief, and finally, their father started to take this seriously. "Have you thought of anything to counter and defeat him?" Deimos asked after seeing the wicked smile suddenly coming to Ares' lips.

"ERIS! You contemptible bitch!" Ares yelled, startling both of his sons. A moment later, Eris appeared and stood in front of Ares. "On your knees bitch! I know not how the godling broke the bonds, allowing me to hear your thoughts. He will not break any others. I SAID ON YOUR KNEES BITCH!" Ares' voice rang throughout the room.

With a strangled gasp, Eris crumpled to the floor as if a great weight was on her shoulders. "What do you want, you piece of sh..."

Ares' eyes glowed red for a moment; then he made a backhanding motion. This propelled Eris toward the wall, where she impacted with a crashing thud and slid to the floor.

"You need another lesson, slave!" Ares said with a sadistic smile on his face. Eris had been struggling to regain her feet when she again crumpled to the floor, starting to gasp with her hands on her throat.

"No matter what you think, the godling can't do a thing to help you. Why should he help the most traitorous bitch in all the realms? You are my greatest work; do you think I would release you when I can have everyone blame you? No sister, I will never release you; enjoy the small, tiny victory you have achieved." Ares stated, then started to laugh at Eris.

"You are wrong. Ephus will trounce you if you think he is that easy to defeat. He..." Eris started, then was quiet as Ares twisted his hands, which caused Eris's neck to snap. Ares began to laugh even harder, seeing just how helpless Eris was.

Ares thought it was grand, his laughter ringing off the walls, but then he noticed he couldn't move.

Deimos and Phobos were also taken unaware as they were suddenly nowhere near the building they had been in.

Ares was astonished; he was hurt far more than he had thought. "Too afraid to face me, you pathetic human?! I would rip you..."

Ares' eyes grew large when Ephus appeared in front of him. "I think it's about time you shut the hell up," Ephus said as he drew the green sword. Then, Ephus drew Ares' tongue out and slowly sliced it out.

Ares tried to scream with only the sounds of grunts and groans coming from his own throat.

"Ah, so much better. I am not here to destroy you; I am not here to replace you. What will I do?" Here, Ephus raised his hand, bringing an unconscious Eris to him. Passing a hand over Eris, Ephus growled, turning back toward Ares. Ephus' eyes were glowing as he reached Ares, snapping the male's legs in several places. He repeated this to both of Ares' arms.

Ares tried to scream. Why was he feeling the pain? It was beyond anything he'd ever felt. 'I will make the godling pay for this,' was the only thought going through Ares' mind.

Ephus then drew Ares' attention to Eris as he reached down within her. Then, he quickly snapped more than half of Ares's bonds. Each one that broke was like a gut punch to Ares as Ephus began to break the bonds faster and faster.

Ten minutes later, well over ninety percent of the bonds were gone.

I will destroy you, everything that you hold dear, godling. When I finish with you, the god realms will erase you from their memories. This will not go unpunished; you will never escape my wrath, Ares thoughts shouted as Ephus.

Ephus could only shake his head. Even after being as defeated as he was now, Ares was still issuing threats.

"Just like I thought, you are the complete dunce of war. I could destroy you right now. Do you think that you can win? I fail to see where exactly you think you have a chance to carry that out." Ephus looked over to Eris, who was starting to stir. Ephus was about to leave when he turned back to Ares. "Oh yeah, a present for your present treatment of Eris." Here, Ephus slapped his hands together; there was a sickening snap, and Ares started to gag as his head flopped to the side.

Ephus nodded, seeing that Ares had passed out; waving his hand, he and Eris vanished.

Both Deimos and Phobos were astonished when neither could get within a half-mile of the building they had been in. They were repeatedly tossed back each time they got to within a half-mile. Then, as if nothing had happened, they were both tumbling on the building floor.

Both of their mouths were hanging open when they saw their father. He was lying in a crumpled heap; his arms, legs, and neck were all turned at an odd angle. They both breathed a sigh of relief when they could still feel his power.

Deimos tentatively placed a hand over Ares' neck, sending healing energy. He was relieved when he wasn't again slung against the wall. Motioning to his brother, he both started pouring energy into healing Ares.

Almost an hour later, Ares jerked awake, seeing his sons standing over him. He was shocked when he couldn't talk, and then the memories flooded back to him.

Growing in volume, Ares' thoughts told both his sons to stop. As the anger overtook him, he felt his healing ability kick in. Within minutes, his neck and throat were back to normal. His arms and legs were taking longer than he thought they should.

Looking at his chest, he could see that it was only half-healed. Then there was the fact that his tongue hadn't grown a bit.

Both of Ares' sons were astonished. They had never seen their father defeated as much as he was. A few minutes later, Ares finally managed to heal both of his legs and get them working correctly.

Ares sat with a heavy thud. There had to be something he could do. So far, nothing had helped, and it seemed as if he may have also lost his sister. No, he had to rid the realms of this godling.

Both his sons sat nearby. They knew that when their father was like this, he might not speak to them again for days.

With all the gods who owed him favors, there had to be at least one deceitful one. Ares's eyes opened wide as a truly evil smile lit his face. Of course! They both owed him many favors.

Concentrating hard, Ares searched the heavens, finally finding who he'd been looking for. "Dolos, Apate, I need your services!" Ares thought yelled.

A few moments later, Ares felt the approach of two powerful gods. A moment later, a tall, black-haired male with a twisted, distorted face appeared. Beside him, a short, stooped-over female appeared.

The male stepped forward, patting his chest with his fist, then holding it out to Ares. 'Well, we heard you, the damn cosmos heard your bellowing. Who needs destroying now?"

"I think you'll like this; I need to get a bothersome godling out of the way. It has been a long time since you two were last here," Ares started.

"Cut the crap, Ares. It's not like we were sitting idly by like you. Get on with it; I'm already bored." Dolos stated.

"I'm sure both of you have heard of the godling Ephus?" Ares stated. The sudden snapping up of both their heads caused Ares to smile.

'So,' he thought, 'this might go easier than I initially thought.'


To be continued