Orb of the Protogenoi

The Island I

Night had fallen when the yacht stopped not far from the coastline. Hades and Poseidon readied the things they needed on their journey to the island while Zeus talked to his sons.

"Zeus, we're ready," called Poseidon.

The blond boy turned to his sons and said "Wish us luck," he looked at Hermes, "especially you,"

He put his hands behind him and gave the older boy a cheeky grin. "Does this mean I can come with you?"

"If you want to get sappy, then yes, come with us in spirit." He went to the inflatable boat and they rode away.

Minutes later, the boys found themselves watching the boat land on the coast, and a while later, they saw them trudging into the forest

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An hour later, It was a clear night sky, but the full moon was out to give light to the small ship and the four boys on it. They were quietly having their dinner at the cockpit as the boat rocked with the waves of the ocean.

"So…who'll take watch first?" asked Hermes as he bit into his ham sandwich.

"Well, I am an early sleeper, as you may all know, so I'll be the last one since I wake up early." replied Apollo. He sipped from the straw of his soda and turned to look at Ares. "Why don't you go first, Ares? You like to sleep late."

Ares stood up while rubbing his hands on his pants and said "You wussies go sleep, I'm going after them." He went inside, leaving the others with curious looks. When he emerged from the coach a while later, a backpack slung on his shoulder, he was surprised to see the others also have their backpacks with them. He smirked at Apollo. "And I thought I have to throw you overboard if you started lecturing me,"

He grinned. "We may not get along, but there are some things that you and I have to agree upon,"

"By the way, how are we going to get across?" asked Dionysus.

Hermes said "I heard from Uncle Hades that there's a spare inflatable boat tucked away downstairs."

Ares made a "hmph" sound. "I was planning to swim but that works."

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Moments later they managed to inflate the boat and got ready before leaving. Apollo made sure to check everything before joining the others. Ares and Dionysus took each a paddle and started rowing while Hermes asked "Is it really ok for us to leave the boat? What if it floats away?"

"Don't worry, I double checked the knots and the anchor, it'll stay in place."

"Uncle Poseidon can always call his dolphins and we can ride them all the way home~" said Dionysus gleefully.

Ares grunted while rowing. "If that happens, he'll have to call me a shark to ride,"

"Oh! Oh! I want to ride a whale!" exclaimed Hermes.

Apollo just rolled his eyes and directed his flashlight towards the nearing land. He was glad for the moonlight, if not, it would be total darkness surrounding them, he prayed for the goddesses to guide them and the trio in their journey inside the woods.

Ares and Dionysus got out, pulled the boat to the shore and positioned it beside the other. The two got out and gave them their stuff. Turning their flashlights on and bringing out their weapons, they headed into the woods. For hours, they trudged along the wet grounds of the forest, occasionally hearing the cries and growls of the creatures in the night. They even came across a sleeping nymph who Apollo persuaded that he was the sun god (and the god who she had slept with centuries ago), but he received a stinging slap on his face and she turned into a tree.