FicWad

She found herself in the marketplace again, but this time the feeling inside of her was worse. Walking between the stalls she had images in her mind of her and Pan the last time they’d been here. It made her sick to imagine him watching her back in New Olympia, knowing that she was a hair’s breath from her old life, but that she didn’t remember a thing about it. No wonder he’d seemed so nervous, he was probably afraid Hera would pop out from a dark corner and ask him where he was going with one of the former Heroes, someone he was forbidden even to talk to. Or Archie. She laughed to herself, causing a few heads in the marketplace to peer at her from over their shoulders. Pan must have freaked when he found out Archie would be in that sports display I was going to see, no wonder he didn’t want to go. She thought to herself.

Without really thinking, she suddenly realized that she had found herself in front the stall where she’d seen that necklace. She knew where she recognized it from now, Pan had returned that memory too (to his credit). It was the pendant Archie had bought for her back in their other life, when he wore that stupid mask and became afraid of everything. Only Archie. She thought to herself, smirking. She looked over the stall expecting to see the obnoxious thing glaring over the other pieces displayed on the bench. Her smirk turned to a frown when she discovered she couldn’t see it. She looked up at the stall to verify it was definitely the one she had visited before, and they looked back at the display.

“Excuse me.” She said suddenly, drawing the shopkeeper’s attention away from another client who was inquiring about a piece. He looked over at her and a vague look of recognition passed over his face. “You had a silver pendant here, a circular one with a blue stone, where is it?” She asked, not waiting for him to answer her.

“Ah yes, I remember you now. I’m afraid that piece was sold only a short while ago.” The man nodded solemnly. Atlanta was a little taken aback by his words. She hadn’t realized until now that she was considering buying the necklace. “But I have many other fine pieces,” the man continued, holding aloft a selection of necklaces, “perhaps you’d be equally pleased by-“

“Thank you.” Atlanta said dejectedly, not really listening to what the shopkeeper was saying. She turned from him and walked away before he could complete his sales pitch. Com’on Atlanta, snap out of it! This isn’t like you! She scolded herself in her head. She had thought that coming back to New Olympia would cheer her up, help her sort things out between her new life and her old life. But so far she had only succeeded in reminding herself of what she’d lost by never being called to be a Hero for the Gods. On top of that she hadn’t even succeeded in contacting Archie. He was on every TV screen in town, but it seemed like his celebrity status also successfully kept her from him. She wasn’t even sure if he was still in New Olympia. She’s been so eager to see the city from her memories, that now she realized that she’d never even bothered to check before she left BC.

“’scuse me.” Came a hurried voice, seconds before she received a jolt from the side as a youth pushed past her, breaking her chain of thought.

“Hey watch it!” Atlanta called after him irritably, feeling her temper flair to the surface easily as she brooded. But the kid wasn’t paying attention to her, he’d joined a crowd quickly gathering around what looked like a film crew that was set up in front of the central fountain in the marketplace. Atlanta was busy cursing crowds and youths insolent enough to bump people when rushing to them in her mind, when she got a glimpse of something through the crowd that caused her heart to rise in her throat, a whiff of purple hair. Suddenly the entire mass parted for a second, and her hopes were confirmed, they were interviewing Archie.

Suddenly, she was the one pushing through the crowd to a chorus of angry grunts and curses. She couldn’t believe her luck, she almost looked around to see if Neil was standing somewhere nearby, this was the kind of thing that only happened to him. She successfully squeezed through the last few people, and suddenly found herself at the wooden barriers which had been erected to keep the crowd from surging in while the TV crew conducted their interview. Archie was seated on the rim of the stone fountain, calmly discussing his ankle brace with the interviewer. She was caught all at once by how similar he looked, but how different as well. He was still the scrawny pale kid she remembered, who looked like he read poetry and was somehow much stronger and faster that he appeared. His hair was a little longer now, but still his characteristic purple. His mullet had become a short pony-tail, something she hadn’t noticed before when they’d been fighting Cronus. And he still has that silly little triangle of a goatee. It struck Atlanta that the more serious people took him, the more Archie dressed to make himself seem innocuous. Like he was subconsciously uncomfortable with all the attention he was getting, as much as he seemed to love it. Maybe his mind remembers that it was the spotlight that killed Achilles. She mused to herself. She’d have to tease him about that later. But then Atlanta caught herself in her thoughts. What was she talking about? This wasn’t Archie, her Archie. She looked at him again, and sadness crept up inside her as she let herself see how different time had made him from the Archie she remembered. He wasn’t wearing his blue hoodie and track shorts, he had on a sponsor jacket presumably from his athletic promoters, and wore casual jeans. His face was different too, like the different experiences and expressions he’d used this time around had twisted his features into something she no longer recognized. He held himself differently as well, he wasn’t the nervous, potentially self-conscious kid she remembered. He looked the part of the professional athlete, used to and comfortable in the spotlight. Her Archie was never like that. She suddenly realized that she’s been keeping these thoughts from herself. A part of her had been hoping and holding onto the thought that once she met with Archie and talked things over, everything would be alright. In some subconscious part of her mind, a plan had formed loosely that she would restore Archie’s memories, and together they’d reunite everyone and take on Cronus again, just like nothing had ever changed. Now, face to face with him, she realized how far fetched and childish these ideals had been. Like they’d come straight from her old life, from the mind of a 16 year old child, not a 26 year old woman.

She smiled sadly, looking over Archie. The old Archie would have been proud of what he’d become, a successful athlete adored around the world for the very things that had made his life difficult, his leg brace and his purple hair. She took one last look at him, studying his every feature to keep stored in her mind, and merged back into the crowd from where she’d come from. The enthusiastic fans behind her were only too eager to surge forward.

She left so quickly in fact, that she didn’t even notice the obnoxious silver pendant with a blue stone hanging around Archie’s neck.

*********

“You’ve reached the home of Phil and Atlanta, we’re not here right now but please leave a message after the beep and we’ll get back to you as soon as we can!” Her enthusiastic voice echoed mockingly to her over her cell phone as she sat at the café table, sucking down a stale tea. After a few more hours of wandering the streets of New Olympia, she’d come to a decision. She was going to phone back Pan and ask him to forgive her. Even if her memory had been wiped, everything they shared couldn’t have been fake could it? Besides, now he was the only one who truly understood what was going on in her mind. Maybe he was the only one who could ever help her feel sane again.

“Hey Pan, its Atlanta… could you give me a call on my cell when you get this? I- I really want to talk, I think I overreacted before and-" She suddenly noticed a shadow being cast over her table by someone standing behind her. A chill went down her spine for a reason she couldn’t identify. It was just some jerk standing over her, probably about to shoot her some pick-up line. Why did she suddenly feel so creeped out? She looked up from her cell phone, and suddenly noticed that all the tables around her which had previously been occupied were deserted.

“Oh keep going, please don’t let me interrupt.” Came a silky voice behind her, causing a lump of fear to rise in the back of her throat. Atlanta spun around, and came face to face with Cronus.

“C-Cronus?” She could barely get out, eyes wide. The cell phone dropped from her hand. The God put his head back and laughed, clearly enjoying the reaction he was having on her.

“So you DO remember my dear.” He purred, looking down at her with dark eyes. He smiled then, stretching the pink scar on his face. “Good. That’s going to make what I have planned MUCH sweeter.” His lips curled back as he uttered the last word, turning his smile into a snarl. “I think we both have a dear friend in this city we simply must visit.” He grabbed her wrist with lightning speed. His grip was like iron. Struggling, she didn’t remember him having this much strength back when they’d been fighting him. As if reading her mind, he brought his face closer to hers and whispered, “4000 extra years gives one a long time to improve, give or take 10 years.”

A portal opened up next to them, and without a word Cronus dragged the struggling Atlanta into the darkness of the circle. The void closed behind them without a sound, leaving the street empty. Except of course, for a green cell phone, screen still open, blinking on the ground. If one listened closely, one could just hear a faint cry of “Atlanta! Atlanta!” coming from the other end.

******

Pan scrambled across the kitchen floor, his feet sliding awkwardly on the tile as he rounded the island in the middle of the room, the phone lying uselessly on the ground. He’d been listening to Atlanta’s message, preferring to phone her back on his terms, when he had a good answer for her. Frankly, he didn’t know what to say to her, he hadn’t expected her to phone at all, not after he found her bags and favourite cloths missing from their room. But she had, and even more unbelievable, she was apologizing. But then she’d stopped talking, and he’d heard her utter ‘Cronus’ before there was a crash on the other end of the line. The last thing he’d heard was Cronus’s voice talking about visiting an old friend, and then the line had gone silent. Cronus had come back to finish what he had started, and Pan was stuck an ocean away.

Ever since he’d made the decision to seek her out in this new reality, restoring her memories had always been a nagging thought at the back of his mind. He loved her, he’d always loved her, and the good fortune in the universe that allowed him to start over with her had been a blessing he had not been expecting, but couldn’t pass by when it came his way. The Gods were protecting the 7, so he hadn’t been able to sense her, but that didn’t deter him. He’d traveled to Canada, where she’d once told him she was from, and searched for months. Then finally, in Victoria BC, he’d seen her in the streets, and had followed her until she’d gone hunting. He had no longer been able to contain himself then, and he’d approached her in his human disguise, as a hunter like herself tracking the same moose. He’s kept the human guise ever since, it was a small price to pay for staying with Atlanta. However, despite how much time they spent together, how much they enjoyed each other’s company, since the day he’d seen her in the streets of BC there’d been that nagging feeling in the back of his mind. It was a feeling that told him what he was doing wasn’t right, and it refused to go away no matter how happy he was. But that same part of him knew that if he restored her memory, she’d never be able to forgive him. What he was doing now with her was nothing short of deceiving her for his own ends, and the old Atlanta would see right through to that very point. So for the sake of himself, he’d lived with the guilt of not telling her. Living a guilty life with Atlanta was infinitely preferable to living a guilty-free life without her.

However, then he’d heard that Cronus had escaped from Tartarus again, and his guilt was joined by a streak of fear. It suddenly became possible that the Gods would decide that the 7 should have their memories back in order to fight Cronus again, or in the very least protect themselves from his revenge. So he’d listened, and he’d listened, but the Gods did nothing. Pan had thought he’d been given a lucky break again. And as long as he kept Atlanta with him, he could keep her safe. But then things had started turning inexplicitly against him, and he found himself increasingly powerless to stop them. First it was that ad for the New Olympia training course. Of all the places he’d never wanted Atlanta to revisit, New Olympia was it. He was terrified that the place would bring long buried memories to the surface of her mind, or even worse, bring him in contact with one of the other Gods. He still had his signal jammers that hid him from the other Olympians, but if one of them could catch him physically, Pan knew he was in for a world of trouble. So he had told her no, and given her every excuse he could think up in good time. But Atlanta had stubbornly kept at it, and he’d finally relented, under the condition that they only stay long enough to check out the program. It would be another problem if she decided the program was worth taking, but he’d worry about that when things came to it. Until then, he figured he’d just do everything to discourage her. He’d thought he’d had everything figured out, but he’d never expected to run into Cronus.
Or Archie.

He’d gotten her out of there as fast as he could, but he knew the damage had already been done. He’d seen it the second Archie and Atlanta had crossed gazes. The two of them didn’t understand it, but they still remembered the relationships they’d had as the 7 heroes. And in that lifetime, Atlanta had chosen Archie over him. Since then he’d seen bits of her old life creeping into the one he’d created with her back in Canada. She’d started up archery again, which she hadn’t done since they’d met, and kept trying to get him to go boogie boarding. But worst of all, he noticed that she started watching Archie on the TV. He’d confronted her about that, hoping somehow that he’d be able to stop her actions. Stop her from moving away from him. But even when he was confronting her, a part of him knew it was hopeless. Atlanta wasn’t doing it to spite him, she was just following the natural path of her life, a path that was never meant to be part of his. It was this realization that finally led him to decide that he had to restore her memories, regardless of the cost to himself. Any suffering he’d receive had been his doing, and his alone. So he hadn’t been surprised at all the way she’d reacted when she’d remembered her old life. What had surprised him was how willing she’d been to consider forgiving him.

But then Cronus had interrupted and ruined everything. In order to save Atlanta, he knew he would have to drive the one last nail into the coffin of their relationship.

Pan ran to the closet that he and Atlanta shared, and immediately started ripping through the junk that had collected on the floor. Cloths, spare hangers, shoes and bags were thrown across the room as he searched frantically for what he’d hidden there long ago. Then suddenly he stopped as his fingers closed over cool metal in the dark. Hermes’ teleporter slid effortlessly from underneath the pile. He looked it over, admiring the shape of it again. He’d stolen it almost the day Hermes had made them. In the old days it had allowed him to stay one step ahead of the gods in his mischief. He’d never been without it. But once he’d found Atlanta, he no longer needed a reason to escape. Since then, he’d hidden it in the back of the closest, a place that seemed appropriate at the time as it seemed to be the only place in the house Atlanta habitually avoided. Partially because he knew he could never return it without ever getting caught, and couldn’t just leave it out in the mortal world for the mortals to discover. However, he’d recently begun to accept that at the back of his mind, he truly believed that what he had going with Atlanta couldn’t last forever, and at some time in the future he’d need his trusty teleporter again.

Pan closed his eyes, and visualized the pile of rocks he had left in New Olympia, the one that was approximately his weight and size. Bringing the image clearer in his mind, he focused on it, and suddenly he could smell the sweet air of the marketplace. He opened his eyes, and found himself overlooking the commerce center in New Olympia. People around him let out gasps, certainly overwhelmed by the person who had suddenly appeared in their mists. This normally this would have worried him, what with trying to keep a low profile as a demi-god and all. However, right now only one thing concerned him.

“Where is he friends…” Pan murmured, feeling the warm glow rush through his body as he reached down into his powers. People around him gasped again and staggered back as his eyes began to glow gold, but he wasn’t paying any attention to them. Pan’s mind was racing over the grounds of New Olympia, jumping from plant to plant struggling to grow in the human world. Indiscriminate vines pushing up from the imperfections of buildings, mosses clinging to life between the cobblestone cracks, weedy flowers struggling for sunlight in the dirt filled crevices where buildings met the ground, his mind met them all and saw what they saw for a brief second in time, his actions fuelled by fear. Then his mind stopped on one particular image. “There he is.” Pan muttered. “Thank you friend.” He felt the little flower on the other end of his mind shudder with the pleasure of being useful. Then he cut contact, and was racing down the hill towards the marketplace, people fleeing from him as he ran. He had dropped his human masquerade, his hooves thudded over the packed dirt and cobblestone ground, the wind blew back his hat and revealed his horns perturbing from his forehead. He didn’t care how much trouble he got for revealing himself to humans, he had to help Atlanta, which meant he had to get to Archie as fast as he could.