It was close. The destined day was about to arrive. Cupid was almost ready to give birth, and the Rebellion was about to act. All the gods who sided with the Primordials were all set for an all-out war, but keeping themselves calm enough to not alert Zeus was slowly becoming harder. One god who had noticed the suspicious behavior was one you wouldn’t think paid close attention; this god was Dionysus.

  The God of Wine Fertility, Vegetation, Ecstasy, and Madness.

  Dionysus would always keep himself in a state of drunken bliss, but this time he had noticed so many signs that his father hadn’t, and when he brought it to Zeus’s attention, he just waved it off. This is what led Dionysus to go up to Cupid’s Palace and seek out answers himself.

  When he arrived, Psyche took charge in his husband’s stead and spoke with Dionysus, explaining the whole affair.

  Dionysus sat, and he understood why it needed to happen, but at the same time, Dionysus and Zeus had spent many good times drinking and having festivities together and had formed a strong bond, which is why he came up with his own plan during the meeting with Psyche, but Dionysus underestimated his adversaries, who were fully aware of what Dionysus was capable of.

  Dionysus was quickly apprehended before he could warn Zeus, and like so many unwilling players, Dionysus was trapped in a waking dream, unaware that his body was being manipulated like a puppet.

  Cupid was told about this possible insurrection and took a sigh of relief. Dionysus, though known as the God of Wine, can inflict madness within gods if given the chance, plus his wines can have great effects or even reveal certain truths.

  Cupid and Psyche would then receive word from Gaia, who was able to convince her two Hecaton sons, Cottus and Gyges, to join the rebellion, and not soon after, Artemis would message in saying she had convinced the Giants to join in as well. The army was looking great.

  Cupid was excited for this. Psyche would proceed to do some more planning. So far, everything was looking up. The amount of soldiers they were able to gather trounced Zeus’s forces greatly. It would take a miracle for Zeus to survive this war unscathed.

  However, when Cupid gives birth, they will be incredibly vulnerable, and though Uranus had put steps in place, Psyche had a hunch about his true intentions, and then there was Heracles, the leader of Zeus’s army; his strength outmatched every god alive; he would be the biggest issue.

  And with Hera joining the Rebellion, there was no way Heracles would be willing to work with them.

  So they needed to find a way to deal with him somehow.

  A week later Aphrodite would visit Psyche, who was still trying to work out a plan to get rid of Heracles. It was actually Aphrodite who said that Heracles was highly susceptible to madness. Hera had done this several times when Heracles was a mortal.

  This gave Psyche an idea: if they couldn’t find a way to beat Heracles, they could do the next best thing and have Heracles removed from play, and to do that, they needed to use a newly acquired puppet.

  Psyche would then contact Hypnos, who arrived the next night. Hypnos would meet Psyche in the den of the palace and would be informed of the plan to remove Heracles. The god of sleep reveled in the chaos this would cause.

  And waiting for the Olympion Tourney, all the gods were in attendance, but Psyche and Hedone would be there as well. Zeus was shocked to see them but was courteous nonetheless.

  Hedone was shy; this was the first time he had been to a tourney, and Zeus was happy to see Hedone. He didn’t even know Cupid and Psyche had a child.

  Zeus: Hello, young one. I am happy to welcome you to the tourney.

  Hedone simply hid behind Psyche, who comforted his child as they took a seat next to Zeus’s throne.

  The tourney was soon underway, and soon Heracles took center stage. He was a powerful brawler and fought like a seasoned warrior. It was incredibly entertaining to the crowd.

  Hedone hated the entire spectacle and soon hid himself in his father’s chest. Zeus saw this and remarked

  Zeus: My, my, what a little sensitive little pansy you have, though it’s to be expected when two frilly fruits decide to raise children.

  Hedone would whine, not liking that comment, and Psyche soon held his son close, and though he wanted to strike Zeus down right then and there, Psyche swallowed his anger and waited for the fireworks to go off.

  The final event was a group wrestling match; this was the exact moment they needed. Psyche would soon cover Hedone’s ears, and when the bell went off, the wrestling match started. Dionysus, who was being puppeted by Hypnos, would activate his powers and inflict madness and a violent frenzy upon Heracles.

  Heracles would let out a bloodthirsty battle cry and acted like a demonic beast without mercy. It took only a few seconds for Heracles to kill all the other combatants, but then he set his eyes on the crowd.

  It was chaos.

  Psyche took to the sky to get to safety. Zeus soon rushed into the crowd to stop his crazed son, pinning him to the ground. Zeus soon had to use his powers to bind Heracles and stop him.

  But Zeus had a feeling he knew what had happened; he quickly turned his gaze to Dionysus, who would quickly wake up at that exact moment, confused.

  But he soon found himself at the mercy of his enraged father Dionysus, and Heracles would soon be beaten within an inch of their lives and bound in Tartarus.

  Psyche internally celebrated what had happened; this went off with flying colors. Not only had they gotten rid of Zeus’s golden child and general, but they had also disposed of the one other pawn that could reveal their plans to Zeus. This was a rousing success.

  Psyche would then return to the palace and take Hedone to the playroom. Hedone was still troubled by what Zeus said and asked

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  Hedone: Papa, is there something wrong with us?

  Psyche: No, my little star, that lightning-flinging jackass is the problem.

  Hedone: Okay, he’s mean.

  Psyche: Yes, he is now. Then why don’t we go have fun and try to forget that stupid tourney we had to sit through?

  Hedone: Ok!!!

  Psyche and Hedone would then begin to play with each other and have an amazing time. Soon a servant would come into the playroom and say

  Servant: Excuse me, Lord Psyche, but we have a guest.

  Psyche: Oh, and who is it?

  The servant moved aside, and then she was revealed. Eileithyia

  She looked so incredibly timid and scared. Psyche soon stood up and came over to her.

  Psyche: So what brings you here, Eileithyia?

  Eileithyia: I am sorry for intruding, but I wanted to know if your offer to join the Rebellion is still valid.

  Psyche: Yes, it is, but what has changed your mind?

  Eileithyia: I saw how Father treated my brothers and his face when he did it. Monstrous. If I agree to help, can you assure my safety?

  Psyche: Absolutely.

  Eileithyia let out a sigh of relief, and Psyche took her to Cupid and stated that her role will be to care for Cupid and make sure his delivery goes smoothly. Eileithyia was more than prepared for this task and soon set to work caring for Cupid.

  Meanwhile, in the Olympian Pantheon, Zeus was heartbroken; he hated what he had to do, and he soon entered a deep depression, and what’s worse, Zeus had to beat and lock up Heracles, his golden boy, the second apple of his eye.

  Athena was trying her best to console her father, but she started to assume something was amiss. Dionysus and Heracles were drinking buddies. Why would he purposely inflict madness upon him? Athena decided to do her own investigation just to see if things were on the up and up.

  Hera reveled in Zeus’s sorry state; she adored every second of his misery. It was hard for her to play her role, but she knew good and well that her time was coming for her to get rid of Zeus and restore order to the Pantheon.

  Meanwhile, Melist was in his garden surrounded by his closest companions, the bees. Melist was an antisocial god who mainly resided in his garden with the bees. On occasion he would deliver mead to the gods, but a majority of the time he was in his garden.

  Melist was a short god, only standing at 5 feet tall. He dressed in a long, flowing skirt with no shirt and a single scarf around his neck. Both the scarf and his skirt had the signature black and yellow pattern. His hair was light brown in color.

  Soon a bee would alert Melist of everything going on and advise Melist to take a side in the matter. From what Melist heard, Cupid’s army was stronger and more likely to win while corruption was lurking within Zeus’s court.

  Melist hated leaving his garden, but he knew this was something he couldn’t avoid, so he soon met with Psyche, who understandably didn’t know who Melist was.

  And Melist was used to this sort of reaction considering he only left his garden three times a year.

  Psyche then asked what Melist could bring to the table, and Melist offered his Mead. Melist stated that he could create special bottles of mead that could provide great effects.

  And Psyche was all for it. Melist was accepted with open arms; the minor god would return to his garden and would soon have these specialty meads delivered to the armies in Tartarus. Psyche would then give a special assignment to Eros.

  Eros was tasked with finding Arachne and the Gorgon Sisters, who had been hiding in the Mortal realm.

  Psyche knew that these four had an issue with the gods for Arachne; she had an issue with Athena, while the Gorgons had a deep loathing hatred for both Poseidon and Athena.

  Eros took to the task and would begin looking for them. Arachne was the mother of all spiders, and if he were to find her, then they would know.

  Eros soon descended into a forest and quickly found a small spider.

  Eros: Hello, little one, I require your services.

  The spider would then jump from Eros’s hand and reveal its true form.

  A six-foot-tall man with four spider eyes, he had pale lavender skin and had six spider legs protruding from his back. His two front arms were like slender, razor-sharp needles, and his hair was short with a pink coloring.

  Spider: What do you want?

  Eros: I need to know the location of your mother.

  Spider: no

  Eros: But I have a message from the gods, and I need to direct it to her.

  Spider: The last time Mother associated herself with the gods, she received so much pain.

  Eros: But it is from that pain that all of you came to be. I am not a messenger of Hera; in fact, my master seeks to take her and her father down.

  Spider: Who is your master again?

  Eros: the primordial god Cupid, who alone can jerk Zeus around like a puppet.

  The Spider was shocked but took a chance; he opened a gateway to the Mother Den and proceeded to guide Eros through the many tunnels until they came across a massive hall.

  ?????: Hello, young one. What brings you back home?

  Spider: Mother, someone wishes to speak with you. He is a vassal.

  At that point there would be a monstrous scream as the walls began to quake; looking up, six spider legs would proceed to lower, and there she was, Arachne, the first and greatest spider.

  She was colossal with her human body connected to a lower spider half. She

  Arachne: What more do those infernal gods want from me? They cursed me for revealing their truth and cursed me to this form. Now what could they possibly want?

  Erose: Arachne, I know that you were wronged by Athena, and I can understand your anger, but I can promise you my master Cupid sits on a higher plane and plans on enslaving Zeus and killing those who follow him.

  Arachne: Cupid, you say the Primordial God of Love. This is interesting; proceed.

  Erose then told Arachne about the plan at play, and Arachne decided then and there that this was the right course of action; the gods were, in fact, monsters that needed to be brought down a peg.

  Erose had his first task completed; he would then leave the Mother Den, and as he stepped back out on the Mortal Plane, he sensed it—the gaze of a special owl. Erose simply teleported away and soon found the Tomb of the Gorgons; they had hidden themselves in the ruins of Athena’s temple.

  Using his power, Eros easily got inside and found the three sisters surrounded by a den of snakes. The snakes could sense Eros’s power and avoided him. which left the Gorgons to look upon them Each of them was blindfolded, their snaky hair wriggling and writhing about, acting as their eyes.

  Stheno: You are not a god; you are a vessel, but judging from your power level, the god who spawned you is higher than that of Zeus.

  Eros: Very astute of you, and you are correct: my master is stronger than the gods in the current pantheon.

  Euryale: Did you say current? Meaning there is another pantheon in the works.

  Eros: Possibly I can only confirm that something is coming, and it may be beneficial if you three were to join it.

  The Gorgons would then whisper amongst themselves for a moment.

  Medusa: So if we were to join, what is to come? What would we gain from it?

  Erose: What would you want? I can relay your request to my master, and I can assure you he will fulfill it.

  The three Gorgons then began to whisper amongst themselves once again, but it was Medusa who spoke up and said,

  Medusa: We want to procreate.

  Erose: Excuse me?

  Stheno: We want three partners for each of us. Each partner will be made from a rib bone from our bodies.

  Euryale: We want to have children, and you gods are the only ones who can do that for us.

  Erose: I see. Well, then, giving a moment to speak with my master.

  Erose would then teleport back to Cupid’s palace and would seconds later return with a smile on his face and say

  Erose: My master will happily provide each of you with husbands so you can start your families.

  The three Gorgon sisters would then hold their hands and smile.

  Erose would then fill them in on the whole story and what was to come. Erose then told them that when the sky turns a pastel pink and a great magenta typhoon surrounds Olympus, Erose was about to take his leave, but the Gorgons then advised him to speak with the Minotaurs.

  Erose thought an addition to the growing army wouldn’t be so bad, so he went down to the Minotaur’s labyrinth and was surprised to see an entire community of Minotaurs down there as well as the Fauns.

  Erose soon spoke with the Minotaur Chieftain Olondros, and the chief explained that by some miracle Ariadne, the goddess of the labyrinth, bestowed a kindness upon the Minotaur’s descendants, and the kindness was the gift of wisdom.

  Erose then proceeded to negotiate a term: they would help with the war and be given their own land.

  Olondros agreed to those terms, and Erose returned and gave his report. Psyche was impressed everything was in place; victory was assured; now it was a waiting game.