Profound agony.

It was like having a limb removed; the phantom sting of something no longer there. My brother, my twin. I couldn't look at him, so I didn't look back. The hall ahead of me was dark, but I wandered forward. I had to be away. From him, from all of them. I watched as the torches behind me made dancing lights on the wall through blurred eyes.

I'm supposed to be stronger than this.

I could hear the vibrations of the others talking behind me. I felt hopeless; some broken thing, sobbing and alone. No one made a move to comfort me, but it was for the best I guess.

I am stronger than this. I will be.

I heaved a sigh and tried to steady myself. The muscles in my legs refused to help me up. Something in the shadows caught my eye. Normally, I would have called to Gae Bolg, but I couldn't muster the strength. A wispy form of a woman watched me from down the hall, making no effort to conceal herself. I looked over my shoulder, to ask the others if they saw her too, but they were grieving.

I was sick of crying.

I forced my legs to push me up and stumbled till I could move at a brisk pace down the hallway. The woman didn't run, or look deterred by my approach. When I got closer, she turned down another hall. I shouldn't let my curiosity get the better of me, but the woman turned around, as if to beckon me to follow. So I pursued. She was tall and elegant, clad in ancient armor. She radiated a warmth that lured me after her. I lost track of time and direction as I followed her down into the catacombs until we stood in some sort of antechamber face to face.

"Amelia O'Bryne, noble warrior, welcome to my home." Her voice was husky, but feminine. She swept low into a bow and I was compelled to do the same. She seemed to shimmer with star light, drifting in and out of the ethereal.

"Who are you?" I asked, having a hard time finding my voice. The woman glowed with a majestic golden light when she spoke, which led me to many assumptions, but I was not wholly ready for the answer.

"I am Athena, Goddess of Wisdom. I have watched you fight. I have felt your soul. You are a kindred spirit." She told me; her smile was like a proud mother.

"Thank you." I mumbled. I felt like I would have been more excited about meeting a god if I wasn't grief stricken.

"I am sorry about your sibling. I don't always get along with my siblings, but I would be heartbroken if something were to befall them that removed them from Olympus permanently. I digress, I have come to offer aid." She told me.

"You can bring Ethan back?" I asked, suddenly perking up. My heart skipped a beat. Before me was a God, surely, if anyone could bring Ethan back, it would be her. "Please Athena, bring my brother back to me." Athena glided toward me, and softly reached out to cup my cheek. Her face contained a sadness that mirrored my own.

"I cannot, child." She stroked my cheek with her large thumb, and smiled sadly. "But you can."

Her words didn't register at all. All I heard was no. But I quickly realized she said I could bring my brother back to life.

"What? How?" I asked eagerly as the fire returned to me and energy filled my body. The question wasn't a frail whimper, but a declaration of my commitment; of my strength. I would do anything to bring my twin back. We had come into this world together, kicking and screaming. I would not be left behind while he passed on. Athena gave me that proud motherly look again and patted my shoulder and my armor formed around me again, as if sensing my renewed will.

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"Come this way." She whispered in my ear, gliding towards the doors at the back of the antechamber. She led me through those doors, that years ago, would have been sealed tightly and barred off. Instead, the had been pommeled open. Great Templar crosses adorned the room, and a huge cradle like crypt lay in the center, its lid shattered. Along the walls, old tabards that Knights Templar would have worn, were displayed like flags. Each had a family crest, and the large cross on it. I looked inside the crypt as Athena drifted beside me. Inside was the indentation of the Spear of Longinus.

"Many years ago, after this place was claimed by the Christians, it became a temple to their Virgin Mary. I have since shared this space with her essence. I protected the Templars who hid their secrets here and I protected their treasures long after they had passed on. That abomination, Damien, he called himself, he was the first being in centuries to breach the long sought after relics of my temple." She explained. She stared at the Spear's cradle, full of disappointed.

"This place is no longer protected, and I no longer desire to guard it. I bid you, take the other relic to your Order of Vigilance, so that it does not fall into the wrong hands as did the Spear." She reached into the crypt with her ghostly hand and the whole thing cracked and shattered, crumbling away like frail stone. Deep beneath the crypt hidden in a tarnished bronze case, she extracted a chalice and offered it to me. My eyes widened with excitement.

"However, before you give this over, you should use its power to revive your fallen brother." She finished.

"Is this what I think it is?" I asked breathlessly. Athena smiled, motioning for me to take it. I grasped the Holy Grail gingerly. I had expected it to be heavy, but it weighed nothing. My fist clenches around it. I examined the Grail, turning it over in my hand. It was made of white gold, and covered in little blue gems. It was stained on the inside, like it had been used for wine, or blood.

"How do I use it?" I said, still marveling at one of the most sought after Artifacts in the history of everything.

"A single tear from a loved one is enough to bring someone back. The tear into the Grail, the Grail to the lips of the fallen. The soul will be pulled from the Underworld and returned to the body. But beware, if it has been too long, they may not be the same as they once were." Her instructions were clear enough. I moved to bolt out the door.

"Wait child, I must tell you one more thing. It is very important and you must listen." She glided back toward me and I vibrated on the spot, anxious to get back to Ethan. I motioned for her to get on with it, and then realized I was talking to a god. I winced.

"This man, Damien. He is a harbinger of a much bigger threat. The world of the gods has been shaken once more, as it was when we were all but forgotten in the New Age. This time, it is the gods themselves who are to blame. Eris, the Greek Goddess of Chaos is looking to gain a hold in the mortal world once more. Damien is what he says he is, a Demi-God. The first born in thousands of years, even after the gods and goddesses of all Pantheons agreed to sire no more children with mortals. He is Eris's son and he seeks to bring about a his mother's twisted will. Through him, she is gaining more power, and they are emboldening the monsters to resurface, despite the efforts of your Order. Be wary child, and carry this information back to your leaders." She told me.

"That...sounds menacing and way above our pay grade." I told her. She smiled sadly as she began to fade away into star light.

"Remember, for all intents and purposes, you are a daughter of Athena." With her final words, she shimmered out of existence and I bolted back down the halls of the catacombs. Lost and in the dark, I ran. It didn't matter. When I heard Ori's voice, I knew I was going the right way. I sprung back into the torchlight and slid on my knees to my brother's side. The others called my name, but they don't matter right now.

"Please come back." I touched Ethan's face, and ran my hand down to the gory hole in his body. With a forceful jerk, I propped him up higher on Orion's lap. He shouted in disgust and horror, but I try to push as much of him as I can, back inside, hoping he'll return whole. When I was down, I was already crying. I placed the Grail against my cheek, and collect more than a single tear. Then I placed the Grail to Ethan's lips and empty the contents, forcing his head back. I looked up at my boys helplessly. They stared at me, until Orion noticed the Grail, staring in astonishment. Ethan's wounds vanished almost instantly from his body, but he didn't move.

"Come on dickhead!" I shouted, slapping his cheek and shaking his shoulder. The Grail fell from my hand, discarded beside me like a simple tool.

"Damn it you stupid bastard, don't you leave me here alone!" I shouted again.

Ethan sat up with a start, gasping, and we all screamed out in shock. He laid back down hard in Orion's lap.

"Oh Ethan." I suffocated him with a hug. Orion and Tadashi also wrap their arms around us. This is what home feels like.

"Man, I could really go for a cheeseburger or something. Can we go home now?" Ethan said, his voice raspy and dry. We all laughed so hard we cried. Ethan tried to sit up, but was tackled by Tadashi instead.

"Hey buddy. You miss me?" Ethan giggled, hugging him back.

"Yes." Tadashi replied in barely a whisper. He just shook his head and pulled Ethan tighter, closer. I stood back to allow them some space. I looked over at my brother and Tadashi and their togetherness brought me happiness. I felt the tears coming again, and I thought about using the Grail, this time to whack Erik in his big dumb head. He and I would need to have a long conversation when we all got back. I calmed myself down and rejoined my friends on the ground, glad to be among those I loved.

The world was about to become a much more dangerous place, and I just wanted to remember this moment.