"You can't actually be considering going to Olympus" Zachias rumbled.

Jack looked into his metallic silver eyes. He shrugged and picked up the stone key with the complex fractal etchings carved into it. Zachias would get the message.

He rolled Janus' body over and started going through his pockets. Jack began with the left pocket that Janus had pulled the Genesis Staff out of.

Surprisingly, Jack checked every pocket on Janus' fancy suit and not only were they mundane, but they were also all empty. Apparently, the only thing he carried was his cane and key. That didn't seem right to Jack, but he decided to puzzle over it later. He had things to do.

Looking up at the ancient pedestal holding the stone gateway, Jack started walking towards it and Zachias stepped in front of him to get his attention. Before he could begin his protesting, however, they heard the double doors creak open.

There in the doorway, Matt was standing covered in blood.

"He's right Jack" Matt said bluntly.

He was covered in so much crimson, it was difficult to tell at first glance that he was shirtless. On closer inspection, there was one long slash up the middle of his chest that had bled down the front of his torso.

Other than that, it didn't appear that there were any wounds that would explain the red on his arms and shoulders.

Jack smiled at his friend. "Glad you could make it" he said before he realized what Matt had just said.

He looked between Matt and Zachias, narrowing his eyes.

"How do you even know what we were just talking about?" Jack asked suspiciously.

"Zachias just telepathically got me up to speed" Matt answered calmly.

"So you know that they threw Arthur through that door to become a forced soldier? That he could be fighting in battle with a collar around his neck right now?"

Matt winced but he still didn't look swayed. "And how long do you think it will take us to find and free Arthur on another world that we know nothing about? You think that will be a quick trip?"

"I think we have to try" Jack insisted.

"Jack the Earth is becoming a hostile environment. Hell, you were almost killed by a tree woman. What do you think happens to our families if we leave now?"

He didn't want to accept it, but Jack knew that Matt was right. He looked at the ground and clenched his fists. He had never felt so helpless in his life. Arthur was the best of them, and yet, his fate was the worst.

"Fine" Jack said painfully. "What do you think we should do now?"

Matt considered for a moment. "We need to clean all this up" he said looking at the well dressed body on the ground. "I still think we can take what we need from this organization."

"Aren't they going to be a little upset when they find out that we killed their bosses?"

Matt walked over and picked up the long cane that lay beside Janus' unmoving right hand. He manifested his shadows which took the shape of a well dressed man with white curly hair down to his shoulders and pale blue eyes. If Jack didn't know better, he would have thought he was looking at the real thing.

"I don't think they ever need to find out" the man said with Matt's voice.

"Try to make your voice more hoarse" Jack instructed, remembering Janus' distinct voice. Jack walked over to Janus' body and crouched down, pulling out the scripted necklace around his own neck with one hand and placing the other on the headless body.

He sent his focus into the pattern and willed the body and head inside. With a pop, Janus' body disappeared. Jack removed the key from around his neck and handed it to Matt.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

"You should go and do the same with Diana" Jack said without asking what had happened. If Matt wanted to talk about it, he would.

Matt took the small piece of metal out of Jack's hand and walked out of the room. Jack could feel that Zachias didn't approve of trusting Matt with the spatial artifact, but Jack had complete faith in his friend.

He sat there for a moment, staring at the stone gateway deep in thought. Zachias was still projecting himself next to Jack and he studied the human intensely.

Finally, Jack could take the scrutiny no longer.

"Is there something I can help you with Zachias?"

The big blue warrior nodded his bald head. "The day we met, when we vied for control of your body" Zachias began reservedly. "What were you thinking about just before you defeated me?"

Jack was surprised at this line of questioning. Zachias usually tried to avoid bringing up the circumstances by which they met. It was not exactly a fond memory for either of them.

"I was thinking about what I'm always thinking about" Jack answered casually. "Charlie Murphy's True Hollywood Stories."

Surprisingly, this made Zachias burst into booming laughter, like rolling thunder. It was the first time that he had ever laughed at one of Jack's jokes.

"Wait" Jack interrupted with wide eyes. "You actually got that reference?"

Zachias took a moment to finish chuckling before he answered. "Yes of course. That was one of your most vivid memories. I found it very humorous, even though I have no idea who Rick James or Prince are."

This revelation nearly knocked Jack off his feet. Maybe Zachias wasn't as bad as Jack thought. He couldn't be a total douche if he liked Chappelle's Show.

He smiled for a moment until his eyes were inevitably drawn back to the stone pedestal and gateway. His smile vanished as he thought about Arthur.

"What did you actually think about though?" Zachias pressed. "When you lay at my feet, defeated. What came to your mind that gave you the will to keep fighting even when you knew there was no hope?"

Jack could tell that he was just going to keep asking, so he told the truth. "I had a vision of you killing the people I love using my body" Jack admitted.

It took a minute before Zachias broke the silence again.

"What you did that day should have been impossible" he said almost to himself. "For a mortal like you to resist my will, it was an absolute miracle."

An idea came to Jack in that moment and he smiled.

"Zachias" he said slowly. "I want to make a deal with you."

----------------------------------------

Early that morning, just before the sun rose, Matt received a text from Jack telling him to meet him in the basement. Matt had been going through the mansion, trying to take an inventory of the resources they had won through conquest.

He had maintained his illusion of Janus and carried his cane all night. Matt had even practiced with Jack until he could do a passable impression of Janus' hoarse voice.

Walking through the house, Matt remembered to keep his cane in his right hand while holding his left hand over the small of his back. It was important to mimic as much of Janus' behavior as possible.

He descended the stairs and walked through the big hallway with the rows of columns along the sides. For some reason, Matt felt trepidation as he approached the heavy double doors that led to the room with the stone gateway.

His instinct was justified a moment later, as he entered the room to find nothing but a white crystal shining with lines of yellow light sitting on top of a handwritten note. The crystal and note lay on the stone pedestal at the foot of the empty doorway.

Dreading what he would read, Matt gathered himself before picking up the note and beginning.

Matt,

I'm sorry about this, but I couldn't leave Arthur in the lurch. He was enslaved and that’s not kewl.

You were right. We can't both leave Earth right now, but I can handle the away mission while you take care of things at home. I know you will probably feel like I abandoned you, but I promise to bring you a good souvenir when I get back.

I made a deal with Zachias and he said that this shiny rock would ‘guide you on your path’, so don't lose it. Also, do me a favor. Go get my sister and take her under your wing.

I know that you will take care of our families until we get back.

Anyways, I'm about to walk through a door to another world. Do you think Olympus will be more like Narnia or Oz?

Take ye sleazy… and I’m out,

Jack

Matt finished the note and facepalmed. “Fuck.”

----------------------------------------

With one step, Jack had crossed an unfathomable distance across the cosmos. As soon as he stepped through, the black liquid substance that had filled the stone arch was absorbed back into the doorway. Jack assumed that the black liquid was a form of space, as it had appeared in the basement as soon as he had inserted the stone key into the doorway and selected his destination.

Jack found himself standing on the light grey stone peak of a glorious mountain. The light of day was shining down on Jack. He looked around and saw nothing but mountains in every direction. They all had light colored rocky peaks that turned into forest about halfway down. These thick green forests surrounded and connected every mountain.

The rocky peak that Jack was standing on was holding a stone arch with a complex fractal pattern carved into it. In the direction that he had exited the stone arch, there was a gradual decline that, while not exactly a staircase, seemed to be a clear path to the bottom of the mountain.

Unfortunately, this was the only way down the peak other than falling, so Jack was forced to follow in the footsteps of the gods who had conquered this planet. The very same gods that he was here to defy.

End of Part I