The fresh sea air blew against Suzy’s face. She looked at herself and she thought she looked terrible. She had cuts and burns all over her face and body, her bronze armor had dents on it and her clothes were torn and dirty. She looked around at her surroundings. The place looked familiar. The sun was beginning to set, turning the sky into a dreamy peach blue hue. No one was in sight. “Where am I?”She thought. Just then, she heard a deep, evil, very familiar laugh. She froze. Kronos. 

She turned around and saw him. He wore normal, casual clothes unlike his usual suit and he had an easy, gentle smile on his face. If Suzy didn’t know any better, she would’ve thought that he was Kris, the handsome, goofy rapper of EXO-M and a son of Pluto. “Hello, beautiful.” he said in a cheesy tone, smirking. Suzy rolled her eyes at the King of Titans. She tried to get Lightning Bolt out of her hair. To her horror, it wasn’t there. She looked at her hand which had the ring her father gave her. It wasn’t there either.

She then heard a cough. “Looking for this?”He asked. She looked up and in his hand, her ring and her hairpin was present. “Give it back to me, Kronos.”She growled. “Gee, I want to, but I can’t.” he said playfully. “You see, they serve as leverage.” he explained. “Leverage for what?”She asked, although she knew the answer. “For you joining my army, of course. In a matter of a few years, you shall be my heir apparent to the new Golden Age, my child. You shall live in eternal splendor and retain your ethereal beauty.”He offered.

Suzy didn’t hesitate. “I’d rather die than to serve in your army.”She spat. He sighed. “Very well then. Goodbye, Bae Suzy. You are a true warrior.” he said softly as if in prayer. Rushing up to her in an inhuman speed, he stabbed her with her own sword. She choked, gasping for air. Blood flowed out of her body. Kronos, using his thumb, wiped off blood from her sword and tasted it. “Sweet.” he smiled. He then took the sword out of her. She gasped. The pain was unbearable.

 “Farewell, love. A pleasure fighting with you.”Kronos laughed as she fell on the pale golden sand. She watched as Kronos disappeared into thin air and laughed at her fate. She then closed her eyes gently, her whole world blacking out.

-

“Suzy, wake up.”Zeus said, shaking her in order to wake her up. Suzy woke up with a start. She looked around and saw that she was still in her room. She looked at herself in the mirror. She was still in her flannel pajamas, there were no cuts or burns on her body and sweat matted her hair. She touched her hair and saw that Lightning Bolt was still pinned neatly on her hair and that her ring was still on her finger. She sighed in relief. “It was just a nightmare.” she said relieved.

She then met her father’s worried gaze. “Sweetheart, are you okay?”Zeus asked, his grey eyes filled with concern. “Yeah, appa. I just had a nightmare.”She said, trying not to make her father worried than he already was. “Are you sure? You can tell me.”Zeus said. “Dad, it was just a simple nightmare. Nothing much.”She said firmly. He wasn’t convinced but he let the matter go. “Suzy, you’re my youngest child. If anything happens to you, I don’t know how I’ll bear it. So, if you have anything to share, please do so.” he said.

Suzy felt really guilty at the fact that she was holding out such a big thing from her beloved father. She was about to tell him, but seeing her father’s grim and tired face, she decided not to. He had his own war to fight with the Titans who were once again ravishing America. Why should she pile on to his worries? “Dad, I think I should go back and prepare for the war with my friends.” she said nervously, chewing her lower lip.

“Why, sweetheart? You have less than three days till you turn twenty. You’re safe here.”Zeus said. “I know, it’s just….”Suzy’s voice trailed off. “Very well. You can leave after one last lesson.”He sighed. “Lesson? What lesson? Dad, the gods have taught me everything they knew.”Suzy asked, puzzled. “Almost everything, my dear. Hera and I want to teach you the art of aerokinesis.”Zeus smiled. “Flying on clouds? Daddy, no offense but that’s a bit farfetched for a demigod like me.”Suzy raised an eyebrow.

“Nonsense! You are my youngest but the most powerful child. You’ll get it in two hours.”Zeus laughed, slapping her on the back good-naturedly. She smiled and giggled at her father. “Alright, dad. Let’s start.” She said, getting up from bed. “I think you’ll need to change first, Suzy. You know how particular your stepmother is about dress code.”He joked. “Yup, you don’t need to remind me, dad.” She said, giggling at the memory about how Hera almost fainted looking at her torn, dirty clothes after she had fought an army of automatons singlehandedly.

-

Lay was worried sick for Suzy. He had a nightmare where he saw her getting brutally killed by Kronos on a beach. He couldn’t help but feel it was a premonition. “I hope she’s alright.”He thought. He looked around their dance practice room and saw his other non-demigod members looking awkwardly at the demigods preparing for the war. He couldn’t blame them. The demigods had made it their temporary base. Kai along with his siblings was practicing telekinesis by moving the weapons around, the Apollo kids were stocking up on their supply of nectar, ambrosia and herbs and Krystal and Tao were sparring with each other.

Just then, Krystal while defending herself pushed a jug of water on the ground. However, before it could break and spill its contents on the floor, Kai using telekinesis made it levitate in the air. He put it back safely on the table. Lay smiled at the son of Hades. “He has learned to use his gift quite efficiently.” he thought. Just then, all of them heard gasps of shock from a few people. The others looked out in the balcony and they gaped. Suzy was flying on a golden cloud with her legs crossed over. “She reminds me of Hera.”Krystal quipped with a whisper.

Lay nodded. They had the same regal expression, the same serene smile and the same grace. If they didn’t know better, they would’ve thought her to be a goddess, a daughter of Hera and Zeus, and not a demigod. She landed in the room. As soon as she got off, the cloud disappeared. Every man in the room stared at her with wide eyes. She was wearing a cream colored dress with a peach ribbon cinching the dress at her slim waist.

  Lay took it up a notch. He ran up to her and hugged her tightly. “I was so worried, Suji-yah.”He whispered. Suzy blushed but hugged him back. Thunder rumbled across the sky. She broke away from the hug and glared at the sky. “Dad, stop it.” she yelled. She looked at Kai who looked like he was going to punch everything in sight. She went up to him and enveloped him in a bear hug in order to appease him. “Hey, you.” she whispered. He hugged her back. “Don’t you dare ever hug any guy other than me, your brother and dad.”He said jealously. She couldn’t help but smile at his cute outburst of jealousy.

“Can’t promise.” she teased as she broke away. She looked at Lay. “Oppa, why did you say that you were worried? Is something wrong?”She asked, worried. “Well, I saw a nightmare.”He said. He then recollected everything to her. Suzy had instantaneously become pale. “You had the same nightmare too, eh?”She asked, a grim expression clouding her face. “Wait, are you saying you had a similar nightmare too?”He asked. She nodded.

“I am praying it isn’t a premonition.”Lay said. Suzy nodded in agreement. She felt unbearable pain when it was only a dream; she wasn’t going to able to survive the pain if it turned out to be real.

*Meanwhile at Olympus*

The council had become silent after hearing about the nightmare’s details. The whole atmosphere became gloomy and dim. “That’s why she didn’t want to tell me.”Zeus said slowly. Hera patted her brother and husband’s hand gently. “Apollo, please tell us; is this just a simple nightmare or a prophecy on what’s going to happen in the future?”Demeter asked. Apollo shook his head sadly.

“I do not know. The future’s looking very bleak to me nowadays.”Apollo said gloomily. The others sighed in agreement. The war had taken a toll on each and every one of them. “People, we mustn’t give up hope. Sure, Kronos has come back with an even stronger army with a much stronger demigod to host him, but I believe in my daughter and her army.”Zeus said, getting up. “For once, I agree with my brother. Suzy, Lay, Kai and the others will give their lives for Olympus whatever the cost.”Poseidon smiled.

The other Olympians nodded in agreement. Just then, Apollo had gotten another vision. He groaned in pain, making the others look at him in worry. “My son, is everything alright?”Zeus asked. “Yeah. It’s just a migraine. War’s taking a toll on me.”He dismissed the concern with a smile. Little did they know, Apollo had seen a vision of who Suzy would end up with.