Astoria: Goddesses Kisses - The Reincarnation of Hera

Mistake

When they arrived at H.E.R.A., Alex marched over to the security desk to talk to the guard. "Does Ladon have a check-in today?"

The guard searched on their computer before a scowl formed on their face. "No; Atalanta's on vacation. He couldn't have."

"Hmm." Alex thought. "Were you here for his confrontation earlier?"

"Yes, I know the guards who tried to arrest him."

"Would you be so kind as to find their location for me?" Alex asked politely.

Almost any agent in H.E.R.A would do anything Alex asked. "Of course." A few more clicks on the keyboard. "Looks like they're both in a closed-door meeting on Olympus."

"Hmm." Alex said again. "Do you have a copy of the incident report?"

"Yes." The agent handed it to them after a short search through files. Alex looked through it before handing it back to the agent. "Check Ladon in and process him. Then, you can let him go home. This is, after all, our mistake."

"Really, Alex?" Ladon's eyes were wide. "Thank you, Cyprin."

Alex and Tessa left Ladon with security and headed towards the elevators. "Alex? Where are we going?"

"I want to find those agents, and my mother asked for a visit to discuss the wedding."

"Oh, okay." Tessa grabbed their hand; not caring about the rules or PDA. After all, it's our day off.

------

When the couple got to Olympus, Alex asked the guards about the two agents, but they knew nothing about them. Strange. Instead, Alex and Tessa made their way to Aphrodite's estate. She happened to be in a meeting, so her agent led them to the lounge. It wasn't long before she came home. "Little Hart. Therasia." The Goddess greeted them. She motioned for them to sit while she took the seat across from them. "How are you both?"

"Well, Mother." Alex smiled at her beaming face. "Do you know anything about two agents in a closed-door meeting up here?"

"No, I do not." She . "I am sorry I cannot be of more help, but you are here to discuss the wedding."

"Yes."

Tessa was immensely grateful to Aphrodite, who was not only planning the wedding for them but paying as well; not that she didn't have the funds to spare. After a few millennia, you get . Aphrodite pulled out a small notepad and a pen. After half an hour, she made her way to the last question. "And what will you be wearing, Little Hart."

"A suit I think." They told her. "I would feel more comfortable in it."

"Very well." She marked it down. "Then, I believe that is all for right now." She looked at them. "Are you spending the night?"

"We—" Alex was cut off by Tessa's phone ringing. She apologized and answered the call from May.

"Tessa!" May yelled. "Something bad just happened. A few of Zeus' agents came in and told us that the entire department is shutting down; effective immediately."

"Are you serious, May?" Tessa was shocked beyond compare. "This can't be happening. Why?"

"That's kind of complicated. Can you or Cyprin come down to the office?"

"We'll be right there; we're on Olympus now." Tessa explained.

"See you soon."

The moment May hung up Tessa was explaining things to Aphrodite and Alex.

"This cannot be." The Goddess said. "The Artifacts Recovery office is one of my departments and Zeus never mentioned anything to me in our meeting this morning."

"Come, let us go down." Alex stood and grabbed Tessa's hand.

"I will try to get to the bottom of this. Do not loose heart." The Goddess told them both before they left.

------

Alex and Tessa walked into a dead silent office. People sat at their desks with nothing to do. Tessa sighed at the sight as Alex made a beeline for May. "What happened?"

"Well." She chewed on her cheek before answering. "They said that we were being shut down because after the Deukalion incident, they don't trust humans to guard artifacts anymore."

Alex and Tessa were shocked. "How could they say that? Alex and I got everything back and saved Olympus. He wanted to fry Zeus' ass."

"Tessa!" Alex whispered. "You cannot say that."

"I just did."

May stopped them. "What are we going to do, Cyprin? Everyone will be out of a job."

Alex looked determined. "I will not let that happen."

------

Caritas and Kyknos wandered through Olympus trying to get used to the area again. It hadn't been long that she had been gone, at least not for a Goddess, but it felt like it. Despite the abuse she sustained there, Olympus was her home and she loved it very much. She never would have given it up.

Caritas was staring at the pillars in the hall of offices when she ran into someone. "Oh." She stepped back. "Please, accept my apology. I was not paying attention to where I was going."

The man she ran into turned around and shock played on his face. "Caritas?" He smiled at her, and Caritas' heart almost stopped. Hades.

Hades, the God of the Underworld; or as Caritas thought of him, the man of her dreams. She'd had a crush on him since she was thirteen when he had taken her to see the Underworld. Hades had held her hand when she a particular demon, and now every time she saw him her heart skipped a beat.

She cleared her throat. "It is lovely to see you again, Hades." Caritas loved saying his name. It's perfect for him.

"When did you arrive home?"

"Yesterday." She answered. "I came to attend Alex's wedding."

"Ah, I see. Kyknos." The God greeted the Aura that followed behind Caritas. The white swan called back to him. He'd been around when Caritas since she was young and new well that she liked to keep her Aura out with her. "Well, it's nice to see you again, but I have a meeting with my brother, and he is infuriating when someone is late."

Caritas smiled wide at him. "Of course; have a nice time."

"I'll try."

Hades walked around her and headed for Zeus' office. Hades. Caritas walked away with red cheeks.

------

By the end of the day Alex had found jobs for over half the office, but they didn't feel any better since they still had half to help. Alex came out of their office to leave with Tessa.

"How are you doing?" She asked them.

Alex's face fell. "Not well I am afraid; I only got half the office jobs."

Tessa sighed. "We'll try again tomorrow. That's all we can do." Tessa didn't move. "This is my fault."

Alex looked at her in shock. "How?"

"This has to do with me having the potential to be Hera."

Alex grabbed Tessa's hand. "This cannot. Whatever this is about, it has to do with Zeus. Even if it was about Deukalion, it started with him. He was the one who sent the flood that killed Deukalion's wife."

Tessa started crying silent tears, and Alex pulled her into their arms. "What are we going to do If they want me to become Hera, what can we do to stop it?"

"We will do anything necessary to stop that; anything."