They all watched as, out of the shadows, came a young woman with long green and blonde hair, cat-like yellow eyes, and blonde furry cat ears on her head, with a long cat's tail extending from her back. Wearing a forest-green huntress outfit and black thigh-high boots, she silently stalked Aphrodite with a predator's grace.
Back in the theater, Artemis leaned forward and said, "Who is that?"
Tet glanced at the screen and replied casually, "Huh? Oh, that's Atalanta. She's still pretty pissed about the whole golden apple thing."
Artemis leaned back with a wide grin spreading across her face and said, "This is being recorded, right?"
Tet smirked. "Yep."
Apollo whistled low. "Well, Aphrodite's gonna die."
Hades folded his arms and spoke darkly. "Indeed. The odds of Atalanta being satisfied with putting her in a godly retirement home are very slim."
Tet said, "This version of Atalanta is one of the people I'm going to have help Chiron run Camp Half-Blood. She loves children, and she jumped at the chance when I offered it to her."
Aphrodite suddenly felt a sharp pain in her side and looked down to see an arrow sticking out of her body, her own golden ichor spilling from the wound. Before she could scream, she was filled with arrows from multiple directions, practically turning her into a pincushion. She screamed and unleashed some of her divinity, destroying the arrows and healing her wounds. She was about to say something—until she was hit with another volley. This continued over and over until Aphrodite no longer had the strength to keep going.
Only then did her attacker step out of the shadows. When Aphrodite saw her clearly, she didn't know how—but she knew exactly who it was.
"You… I should have known that it was one of Artemis's brainwashed bitches!" she spat, trembling with pain and rage. "I hate you and all the other girls that turn their backs on love, on me! Treating me like a nuisance, like love doesn't matter!"
Atalanta's expression hardened. "You're wrong. I do value the concept of love. I just hate you—the goddess who treats her own concept like a cheap soap opera, who makes or breaks relationships for her own amusement. Thanks to you, I ended up in a loveless marriage with a man I despised. On the outside I could only do whatever he said, but on the inside I was screaming until the day I died. So as thanks for that, I'm gonna watch as you turn into a helpless mortal and relish the fact that you'll grow old and die."
She departed the area through a portal as Aphrodite screamed in the background.
Back in the theater, Atalanta entered through a portal and took a seat behind Artemis. Artemis smiled proudly and said, "Well done, my huntress."
Atalanta bowed her head respectfully. "Thank you, my lady, for allowing me the chance for revenge, despite your own desire to destroy her."
Artemis waved her off. "Oh, don't worry. Watching it was just as satisfying."
Apollo snorted. "Liar."
Artemis glared. "Shut up, Apollo."
Tet clapped his hands lightly. "Will you all chill? It's Hephaestus's turn."
Hermes rubbed his head awkwardly. "I actually don't feel right about doing anything bad to Hephaestus. Compared to the others he didn't really do anything."
Tet said, "I'm not doing anything to Hephaestus. He's having a good time right now."
Tet changed the channel.
Hephaestus was hammering away at a lump of metal on an anvil as a young man with red hair and amber eyes assisted him. Hephaestus said, "A sword that can sever karma, bonds, and fate… that's one hell of an order. One that I may never be able to complete. But I really want to try. You've given me an impossible task, Muramasa, but for some reason I can't stop smiling."
Muramasa chuckled. "I feel the same. You realize we may be here for a few millennia?"
Hephaestus shrugged contently. "So what? I was going to be forced to retire anyway. Might as well enjoy it."
Back in the theater, Hestia said warmly, "Aw, that's nice. He's having fun and he made a friend."
Tet mumbled under his breath, "A friend that helped kill him in another world and timeline."
Apollo looked around. "Alright, what next?"
Tet said, "Just this." He snapped his fingers.
All of the Olympians on screen—minus Hephaestus and Dionysus, who was still trapped in the Backrooms—vanished. The channel shifted to show the Egyptian pantheon's retirement home. The Olympians appeared there in a heap, with a smiling caretaker saying, "Welcome, new arrivals. Let's get you checked in."
Back in the theater, Tet smiled and said, "And one final thing." He stored away Poseidon's Trident and added, "I'll find a use for that later. I could give it to Percy, but he uses a sword, so I'll wait until later to see if I can get someone to convert it into one. I'd rather that be done by someone who knows what they're doing."
Tet then held up Zeus's Master Bolt and said, "This, however, won't require any skill in forging, since it'll just be a power transfer." He pulled out a gold ring.
Apollo leaned forward. "What's that?"
Tet explained, "A version of Draupnir that was forged into an infinitely-replicating exploding spear that can also control wind and conveniently remain a ring somehow."
Hades widened his eyes. "Oh gods… you're not gonna—"
Tet transferred all the power of the Master Bolt into Draupnir and said, "There. A good gift for the god of the sky when they get here."
Persephone blinked. "Wait, you already have Father's replacement?"
Tet nodded. "Yeah. I've been helping them get ready for it for a couple years now. In fact, it was one of the first things I did."
Hestia smacked her forehead and said, "That's why you went for her as your first player. You've been planning this since the beginning."
Tet puffed his chest. "Give me some credit. I do plan things out every now and then."
Hestia sighed. "Dear, since I've known you, you've gone from one random thing to the next."
Tet shrugged. "Okay, I admit I do have random thoughts very often. Like for example—It's a shame Artemis doesn't have kids, because I'm positive they'd be the most lethal and dangerous demigods alive."
Artemis raised her hand to object, but then paused, thought about it, and said, "Huh. He's correct. If I ever were to have one, they would be extremely lethal and dangerous. Thoughts for later, I suppose."
Tet continued, "And another thought—why can't Apollo's kids power themselves up with sunlight like Escanor?"
Apollo gave a helpless shrug. "I purposely made sure my kids didn't know they could do that so the old man wouldn't blast them."
Tet waved it off. "Anyway, we've gone off track. It's time for one last group to go into retirement."
He snapped his fingers, and three old ladies holding threads and scissors—dressed in old tattered robes—appeared. Tet said, "Ladies, you are relieved of duty."
They stared at Tet for a long moment until Clotho finally broke the silence and let out a relieved sigh. "Oh, finally. Is this a vacation, or can we retire?"
Tet answered, "Retirement."
The other two sighed in relief as well. All three snapped their fingers, and in a puff of smoke they were replaced with identical, beautiful, curvaceous young women with white hair and tan skin wearing black bikinis and sunglasses.
Clotho said, "If you need us—and don't need us—we'll be at a beach in the Bahamas."
Lachesis waved. "We'll either be getting hit on or already having fun."
Atropos stretched luxuriously. "Yes, finally. Instead of watching others, we can actually enjoy ourselves."
Apollo blinked. "Wait—watching who?"
The three stared at him silently, then vanished in a flash of light.
Apollo stared at the empty spot for a moment and shivered. "I feel violated."
Everyone else echoed, "Same."
Tet dusted off his hands. "Alright, now that that disturbing revelation is out of the way, I'm gonna go rest for a bit. Apollo, Artemis, be ready by morning."
Apollo and Artemis both replied, "'Kay."
Tet added, "Oh, and Ramiris—you go with Artemis for now."
Ramiris puffed up angrily. "What? Why do I have to go with the scary goddess!?"
Artemis looked offended. "How am I scary?"
Ramiris pointed at her dramatically. "You hunt rare wild creatures!"
Artemis shrugged. "And?"
Ramiris squeaked, "I'm a rare wild creature!"
Artemis rolled her eyes. "Eh. I'm already leaving a planet full of werewolves and vampires alone. What's one fairy?"
Mina nervously raised her hand. "Yes, please don't hunt my people."
Tet put up his hands. "I'm not getting dragged further into this. Later."
He and Hestia disappeared in a flash of kaleidoscopic light.
Now completely alone, Tet and Hestia laid on their bed together. Hestia snuggled up to Tet, nuzzling her head against his chest as she looked up at him with soft, grateful eyes.
"Thank you for going easy on them, darling," she whispered. "I know you could have done much worse."
Tet smiled, stroking her hair gently. "Yeah, well, I prefer to keep my lady happy over satisfying my love of messing with people."
A playful, knowing smirk graced Hestia's lips. "Oh, I know," she purred. "Why do you think I'm still in my adult form?" She winked at him before snapping her fingers.
Tet watched in surprise and growing excitement as a soft, golden flame seemed to lick over Hestia's clothes, causing them to slowly burn away into nothing but shimmering embers that vanished before they hit the bed, revealing her bare body beneath. His surprise deepened into sheer astonishment when he glanced down and noticed she had, with the same magical gesture, gotten rid of his clothes as well.
Hestia moved with sultry grace, shifting to lay fully on top of him, her skin warm against his. She leaned close, her breath tickling his lips as she gave him a look full of promise and love.
"Here's to a long night," she murmured, "and many more to follow."
The next morning, Apollo and Artemis stood waiting for Tet and Hestia. When the two finally arrived, Hestia walked into the room with a satisfied grin and a noticeable skip in her step, while Tet followed behind her looking absolutely exhausted—yet unmistakably happy.
Apollo blinked, staring at Tet's drained expression. "What happened to you, man?" he asked, raising a brow with a half-amused smirk.
Tet rubbed his face, looking like he'd barely survived something monumental. "Oh, nothing," he muttered tiredly. "I just got reminded of the fact that my girlfriend is an Olympian."
Apollo immediately burst into laughter, clapping Tet firmly on the back with a sympathetic wince. "You did good, champ. C'mon, let's get you a Gatorade and some orange slices." His tone was playfully supportive, like he was congratulating someone who had staggered across the finish line.
As the two wandered off toward the kitchen area, Artemis exhaled loudly and folded her arms, shifting her weight with mild irritation. "I was really hoping you wouldn't leave me as the last one standing, Aunt Hestia," she said with a weary sigh.
Hestia giggled softly, a warm smile tugging at her lips as she brushed a stray lock of hair behind her ear. "You might change your mind when you find the right person, dear."
Artemis paused for a moment, her expression thoughtful rather than defensive. "Years ago, I would have laughed and said impossible," she admitted quietly. "But these days… I interact with men and women in equal measure and my oath no longer exists." She shrugged, eyes drifting to the floor as though surprised by how natural the admission felt.
Tet returned at that moment with Apollo and Ramiris in tow, still looking drained but composed enough to continue. He lifted a hand, and a swirling portal of brilliant kaleidoscopic color rippled into existence beside him.
"Alright," Tet announced, gathering his energy and straightening his posture with determination. "Let's get this show on the road."
Ramiris flitted nervously behind Artemis, while Apollo cracked his knuckles in excitement and Artemis squared her shoulders, ready for whatever was coming next.