I don't mean to sound like an asshole, but I was right. My sister had somehow managed the impossible task of herding surly, armed, teenage cats into an organized group that was actually making its way towards their collective homes. How did she do this you ask? I don't know, she never told me. But from what I can gather it involved a rather impressive display of some sort.
It turned out not everyone had touched the Veil. A lot of people just passed out when Prometheus had started speaking to them. Maybe 30% of my sister's group had managed it. And when we caught up with them they showed how much of a game-changer it was. You've probably never seen a pair of 13-year-old 5 foot nothing girls throw a car like a football. You never WANT to see a pair 13-year-old 5 foot nothing girls throw a car like a football at you. Nothing puts life in perspective like 2500 lbs of metal flying at you. Except for it shattering just before you are turned into a fine red paste.
I mean, it was definitely gonna squash me like a smacked mosquito, and then the Veil sounded loud in my mind like it was the only thing in the world. So I pushed. And the car shattered into hundreds of tiny pieces, and fell to the ground, all momentum lost. While this freaked me out at the moment, the large number of vastly oversized insects attempting to eat all the teenagers in front of me took priority, and protecting them seemed like the better thing to do. Unfortunately, my sister decided that me beating a horde of massive mosquitoes to death with a stop sign was an insufficient apology for being late to the rescue.
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"You should have hurried your butt up and gotten there sooner!" She hollered at me, stomping like an angry elephant in his general direction. Normally a 5 foot nothing girl isn't intimidating, but she was MAD. It had been nearly 3 hours, and we were nearing my apartment. Between hiking across a decidely not flat city, and dodging swarms of assorted oversized bugs, I was just plain exhausted. So I did what all good big brothers that screwed up do, I apologized, and promised chocolate.
"My bad, I'm sorry, you're right. I owe you chocolate eclairs." Truthfully, I was sorry. I had always promised that in the event of an emergency, I would be there to help my sister within a couple of hours at the latest, and I screwed up.
Do keep in mind that while Desori is famed for brilliant urban planning, we are NOT famed for having short, or even reasonably sized buildings. I lived on the 22nd floor of a nearly 60 floor apartment complex, in a wonderful single-bedroom that was significantly less worth the arm and a leg it cost a month when the elevators magically stopped working.
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22 flights of stairs, more than 200 kids ranging from 5 to 14 years old. It was a long, long, climb. On the plus side however, most of them fit into my apartment. It was a feat of human Tetris I doubt any shall ever top. Of course, they also went through my 6 month supply of cheap instant-noodles, rice, and beans Ina. Single night, but you do what you've gotta do sometimes.
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Deep in the bowels of literally the darkest known place in existence, under crushing forces that would turn a black hole green with envy, there sat what appeared to be a lone man. Of course, if you were to put a human next to him for scale, the human would be turned into a monomolecular smear, but assuming they were not, they would barely come up to his knees. The fact that he exhaled puffs of smoke and steam, and the unique golden-flecked hue of his skin also set him apart from his otherwise nearly identical children.
"Prometheus, your sentence has been increased by ten thousand years for malicious activity, interference with gaurds on duty, and breeching the terms of your confinement. If you wish to appeal, you may do so now, or never."
"I HAVE NO NEED TO BEG FORGIVENESS FOR BREECHING A CONFINEMENT AS UNJUST AS MINE. YOUR MASTERS ARE TERRIFIED AT THE THOUGHT OF 'MERE MORTALS' WITH THE ABILITY TO MATCH OR EVEN EXCEED THEM. BEGONE, LEST I DECIDE I'VE HAD ENOUGH OF THESE GAMES."
"Petition to review guilt of the imprisoned denied. Good day prisoner."
"REMIND YOUR MASTERS OF WHO FORGED THE LAWS THEY CLAIM TO RULE BY."
The ancient doors of the eternal prison boomed shut, and Prometheus was alone again.
At least, that's what the guards believed. Prometheus could easily sense another presence in his otherwise barren cell.
"IT HAS BEEN A LONG TIME, LITTLE TRICKSTER. COME TO GLOAT AT AN OLD OPPONENT? OR REMINISCE ON THE GOOD OLD DAYS?"
"Is your opinion of me that low? I've merely come to see an old friend, no ulterior motive whatsoever!" The fairy somehow managed to sound mortally offended while grinning from ear to ear. A loud 'harumph' was the only response.
"Your children are free, I assume that is what the extension is for. The foolish council decided your little pet project would be better use auctioned off. It went for a shockingly high price in the end. Nearly all little Light had in fact. She gave up some very juicy options for that tiny pocket of reality. What would prompt her to invest so much in something with so very little promise of return I wonder?"
"THAT REALM HAS ALWAYS BEEN A HUB OF ASCENDANT ACTIVITY. I MAY HAVE STARTED IT, BUT I WAS BY NO MEANS THE ONLY CONTRIBUTOR. THERE ARE NO LESS THAN A HUNDRED SAPIENT SPECIES IN THAT NEW STITCHWORK SPHERE OF HERS. NONE OF WHICH ARE TIED DOWN BY THE COUNCIL."
"How positively juicy. For both our sakes I hope your Gambit pays off. I've got too much riding on this as it is. If it burns I burn with it.
The ancient Titan merely smiled in reply.