Bob chuckled softly. "And here I thought you loved me Athena. Okay I'll explain what I can, but you're gonna have to fill in the gaps." Bob created a holographic map of the galaxy arm Neuveia was located in.
"As you can see, there are five star systems located about equal distance from Neuveia. I named Neuveia's star after Aphrodite because she spent most of her time here anyway. These two stars and their corresponding planets are named after Athena and Hera. These three over here are named Artemis, Demeter, and Hestia in that order"
Before Bob could say anymore, Hestia spoke up. "Wait... um... hold up one second please Master. These star systems and planets. You named them BEFORE the shit went down with Zeus? You hadn't even met us yet, let alone fucked us! No wonder I fucking love you so much! Thank you Master!"
"Yeah, they were named before everything started. In fact that's how we got on to the subject of virginity. Athena said something to the effect that you three were really gonna love me for naming things after you before we met. Then she asked if I knew Artemis and Hestia were still virgins. I remember saying something like, 'that's what the myths say, but they said Athena was still a virgin too'. Okay Athena, I think you need to pick it up from here."
Athena giggled. "Gee thanks Master. I thought you were doing so well too. I said something along the lines of I was until about ninety years ago." Athena went on to explain everything she had said about losing her virginity. "Zeus started giving me shit about it, and well, you know me. I got pissed and gave it right back to him. I told him he wasn't man enough to admit Cassandra was his daughter just like me and that I was tired of his bullshit of ignoring us like we didn't exist. The next thing I know, Master's sending Zeus back to Olympus. The rest, as they say, is history."
Hera started laughing. "Yup, you gave it to him with both barrels; that's for sure Athena! I remember the night Zeus tried to fuck you in his throne room while I was sleeping. Your screaming at him woke everyone on Olympus. I nearly died laughing when you told him if he even looked at you that way again, you'd help me cut his balls off. After you left, I told him if you ever asked, I'd gladly help you."
Bob grinned and said, "Speaking of feisty women, you three were very courageous standing up to Zeus the way you did. We've told you the events leading up to Zeus going bananas. I'd like to hear your side of the story. I think everyone would."
Hestia and Demeter pointed at Artemis as they giggled.
Artemis sighed rolling her eyes. "Okay, fine. I'll do it, but you two are gonna owe me BIG TIME for this one. I guess I should start a little before the shit actually hit the fan. We were sitting on some benches behind Demeter's temple taking a break from practicing our little shield trick. We'd found out that the shields were stronger if we linked minds. We could rotate them quicker and they regenerated a hell of a lot faster. The only real drawback was the time it takes to link up. That's what we were working on; trying to improve our mind linking speed. We had gotten it down to about three seconds, but we couldn't get past that point, no matter what we tried. We decided to give it a rest for a bit to see if we could come up with any new ideas."
"I think we'd been sitting for maybe two minutes when Hermes showed up saying that Zeus wanted to see all three of us right now. We thought it was a little weird. He'd NEVER sent for all three of us at the same time before. But then again, Zeus was always a bit weird, so it didn't set off any alarm bells. When we got to Zeus's temple Hera was waiting outside. She told us Zeus was in a real pissy mood and to watch our backs because she didn't know what he was capable of doing."
"We must have all been thinking the same thing at exactly the same time, because bam, the mind link was there instantly for all three of us. Once we got to the throne room, Zeus sealed all the exits. The whole scene was surreal. He was dancing around, talking to himself, and laughing hysterically. He told us exactly what he was gonna do to us and why. Although we'd never tried linking three shields before, it was all we had so we went with it."
"For some reason, we formed a triad me in front, Demeter behind to my left and Hestia behind to my right. We all raised our shields at the same time and I got a quick message off to Apollo asking him to go to Neuveia and get us some help. After that, I couldn't answer Apollo because I was too busy dealing with Zeus. I kept Zeus focused on me by using every damn trick I could think of while Demeter took care of shield rotation and Hestia handled the regeneration. All those weeks of switching partners during our practice sessions must've paid off. No matter how fast Zeus hurled his lightning bolts, the best he could do was to put a small dent in a shield that was gone before his next shot. We were only hoping to hold Zeus off long enough for a rescue team to get to us, but at the rate he was going, he would've run out of essence long before our shields failed us. I don't know how long we held him off. It seemed like forever, but it was probably less than ten minutes. It really doesn't matter how long it was. We held him off long enough for you and a rescue team to get there. So in the end we beat him and that's all that really matters."
"I know I glossed over a few things and made it sound easier than it actually was. You said we were courageous Master. But that's not the way it was. The truth is, we were really terrified. Especially me. I was the one taking the hits and I was scared shitless. When that first lightning bolt flew at me, I remember thinking, 'oh fuck, I'm dead!' But it never even touched me. The shield just absorbed it dissipating the energy all around us. I don't think I'll ever forget the look on his face when Zeus realized he hadn't even dented my shield. That look scared me even more than his lightning bolts. I've never seen anything like it before, and I hope I never see anything like it again! It's hard to describe. His eyes got bright red. He was foaming at the mouth and snarling at the same time. I mean it was a look of pure unadulterated hate. I saw him winding up and I knew he was gonna hit me with everything he had. I just closed my eyes and hoped my shield could take it. When that one didn't hurt me, I sensed he was gonna change tactics and go after either Demeter or Hestia. I couldn't let that happen. I started acting cocky and taunting him. I told him I was gonna make him my bitch, that he wasn't even man enough to take on his own daughter. Then I told him it was only a matter of time before Hera told him to fuck off, that she told me that unlike him, you had a real cock and you knew how to use it. Then I told him that Hera said his micro dick couldn't satisfy a mosquito never mind a real woman like her."
"I stood there calmly laughing in his face, but inside I was shaking like a leaf in a wind storm. I got him so mad, he was hitting me with everything he had, as fast and hard as he could. That's when you showed up. I saw you bouncing him off the walls like he was a rag doll and the relief just washed over me like a waterfall. Then Cassandra, Kadir, and Cailin came in and I knew it was really over. We'd done it! We were alive and unharmed! We'd won and that son of a bitch had lost. I was so happy that even though I was weak in the knees from all the stress, and then the relief, I think I could have done a few dozen cartwheels just to express my joy. That's it, that's the whole story. Thank heavens I won't have to go through anything like that ever again!"
Bob looked at Artemis with a gentle smile. "Being courageous doesn't mean being without fear, my feisty little woman. It means doing what MUST be done DESPITE your fear. Never doubt for one second that the three of you are heroines for standing up to Zeus like that in spite of your fears. I've been in combat many times. I know from personal experience that taking hits from a friend during a live fire practice or a training exercise, is a whole lot different than standing in front of an enemy that's trying to kill you. I can understand the fear you all felt. I've been there and felt that same fear myself many times."
"I learned a bit about how Olympian Shields work when Hera was attacked. I think I know why you little trick worked so well. Most magical beings have cone shaped defensive shields. But your shields are dome shaped like mine." Bob created three round glass domes each one a little bigger than the last. He then created three small statues and an oval shaped dome.
Then placing one of the round domes over a statue he said, "This is what your personal defensive shield looks like." He then placed the oval dome over the three statues standing side by side and said, "This is what your shields look like when there are two or three of you standing in a parallel formation." Finally, he placed the three statues in a triangular shaped formation and set the three round domes over them starting with the smallest one. "This is what your shields look like in a triad. They actually become three separate shields. Each one is a little bigger than the one before it and reinforces the others. Zeus would've had to punch through all three shields at once to get to you. There's no way he had anywhere near enough power for that. Hell, I'm not even sure I could do it. I don't know how, but you picked the perfect formation for what you needed to do."
