"The Blessing Of The Gods"
When we arrived back at the top of Mount Olympus, we found that Robin Hood’s slaying of Medusa’s sister had indeed worked. All was once again alive and vibrant. The cold, clammy air of before was now bright and sunny; warm with the glow of the sun. As we found out later, Apollo had restored the warm weather once he was freed from his stone prison.
We immediately proceeded to Athena’s palace to rejoin the others. Athena had already gone to Zeus to inform him of all the goings on. Since the father of all gods had already been turned to stone, he was well aware of Hades’ treachery and furious enough to proceed with appropriate action.
Once in the courtyard, I momentarily removed the Multi‑Purpose Protection Field just long enough for the others to get out of the chariot and into the warm air. Unfortunately for my frozen self, I had to restore it in order to continue Rob’s repairs.
“How about a blanket?” suggested Cindy.
“You got one?” I asked. Athena nodded toward one of her centaurs who galloped off to find one.
Athena’s staff had prepared a banquet for everyone. While I continued the repairs on Rob, the others all ate heartily and discussed the future and the past.
* * * *
“How’s it going?” asked Melissa, bringing me a plate of food. The others were just finishing up as well.
“It isn’t easy,” I replied, shivering, “I don’t have the proper tools. I’m not sure I’m doing any good at all. If I am, I should have his circuits functioning soon.”
The door to the courtyard burst open as Zeus entered. For the very first time, we found ourselves face to face with the father of all of the gods. He was much larger than the other gods, standing well over seven feet. He had a long, white, flowing beard and carried a large scepter. Galloping in behind him was the winged steed, Pegasus, led by Hercules.
“I do not appreciate all of this misuse of the disrupter continuum,” he began in a very deep, concerned, yet comforting voice.
“Zeus,” started Athena, “I am afraid it was unavoidable.”
“I realize that, my dear. I do wish to thank all of you for your efforts. Indeed, without your assistance, Alexander of Macedonia would still have been condemned by us all. In addition, Pegasus would still be in the clutches of my evil brother. Instead, I have stripped him of as many powers as I am capable of. He will not bother anyone for quite a few centuries.”
“What about Cleopatra?” asked Melissa.
“She has had her memory stripped of these incidents and shall not be able to return to this time to cause anymore havoc. As for these woodsmen from Britain’s future, you will have to return them yourselves,” Zeus replied, casting a glance toward Poseidon, “I cannot allow my gods to continue making their presence known in other times, let alone other cultures or lands.”
“I would like you to keep the chariot,” stated Apollo, “it will provide you with the transportation needed to carry you safely through the Time Tornado.”
“And to repay you for all you have done,” stated Pegasus, “I would feel honored if you would allow Little Neptune to be one of your steeds. He is very strong and quite able to assist in pulling your chariot. I would like him to stay in the future to continue our line. Athena has informed me that there are no longer any winged horses like myself in the 22nd century?”
“The 20th century,” corrected Athena.
“Yes, the 20th century,” finished Pegasus.
“That’s very kind of you all,” I stated, “but without the repairs to my robot, I’d rather not leave just yet.”
“Lower your protective field,” instructed Zeus.
“His circuits will overheat, sir,” I replied respectfully.
Zeus nodded reassuringly and repeated, “Lower the field.” I reluctantly did so.
“Now stand back,” he instructed.
As I stepped about three feet away from Rob, Zeus shot two small lightning bolts right out of his eyes. One hit directly on Rob’s cooling system, the other on the over-active power plant. I watched as little flashes of electrical current danced up and down his entire body. When the flashes disappeared, I heard the familiar sound of Rob’s cooling fans re‑energize and return to full power. Rob performed his diagnostics and then reactivated all of his other systems, which only took a matter of minutes.
“Thank you, Zeus,” I said, “you’ve saved me a lot of time. I don’t even know if I would have been able to repair him in this time, without the proper tools.”
“It is the least I can do,” he responded, “now, I am afraid you must prepare to leave.”
“The chariot has already been instructed to return you all to Sherwood Forest, Nottinghamshire, England. I believe the year was 1193?” confirmed Apollo.
“That is right, kind sir,” smiled Robin Hood, “A.D. if you don’t mind.”
“Of course, A.D.” smiled Athena, “after that, you may use the Continuum Disrupter Vortex spell in your book to re-access the Time Tornado. It will return you to your own time.”
“How do we return the chariot to you?” I asked.
“There is no need; it is yours to keep. I have many others,” nodded Apollo. “I will also provide you with two steeds—in addition to Little Neptune—to pull your chariot.”
Woba leaned over toward Cleo and they began to whisper to each other. Glancing over at them, my eyes met with Cleo’s. He looked back at me with a hopeful gleam.
“If it’s all the same to you, Apollo, I believe I already have two strong steeds.” Woba and Cleo smiled and stepped forward, very regally.
“Indeed you do,” chuckled Apollo, “but are they capable of flight?” Woba looked again at Cleo and both of their smiles turned into little mopey pouts.
“That will not be a problem,” smiled Zeus.
Shooting one small lightning bolt from his fingertip, it hit the harness of the chariot. The little flashes of current danced through the harness for while and then disappeared.
“Now then, anyone strapped into that harness, will have the ability of flight,” he nodded.
Woba and Cleo galloped over to the chariot for a better inspection. They were joined by Little Neptune and the three of them began some sort of conversation. Little Neptune could not speak English, but we were later informed that the three could communicate telepathically (as most animals do).
Our three, four legged friends were strapped into the customized tri‑harness—Little Neptune in front and the pair of Cleo and Woba behind (so that Little Neptune’s wings wouldn’t get in anyone’s way). We bid our farewell to the gods of Olympus and started down the cobblestone road that would lead us to the landing and take-off area.
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